More than 43 total passengers lay dead on a river bank in Tunoshna, Russia, late Wednesday afternoon.
Nearly all of them were hockey players who played in or who had some connection to U.S. ice hocky.
“A Russian jet carrying a KHL ice hockey team crashed into a river bank Wednesday while taking off in western Russia,” reported Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun from the Associated Press.
The plane was carrying 45 people with 37 from the Lokomotiv ice hockey team. They were traveling from Yaroslavl to Minsk to play the opening game againist Dinamo Minsk of the Continental Hockey League.
The crash was devastating news throughout the NHL and hockey fans in Penn Manor.
Russian plane crash. Photo courtesy of www.espn.com
“Though it occurred thousands of miles away from our home arenas, this tragedy represents a catastrophic loss to the hockey world — including the NHL family, which lost so many fathers, sons, teammates and friends who at one time excelled in our League,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Our deepest condolences go to the families and loved ones of all who perished.”
“It was a tragedy, I was shocked and the NHL lost some good players,” said senior Penn Manor NHL hockey fan Ian Toomey.
This accident adds to another horrific plane crash in a already cold September week.
With a young but talented team that has seen a lot of success in the recent past, Comets football hopes for more this season.
“Penn Manor (football) is now looked at as a competitive program which is now respected around the county,” said head coach Todd Mealy.
Josh Shetrompf, Penn Manor junior, hopes to play in the team's opener Friday. Photo by Amber Brenner
In his five years coaching at Penn Manor, Mealy has already racked up 3 consecutive winning seasons, a first for the program. He believes this is because of the lessons he and the other coaches teach on and off the field and that these lessons will help them have a successful upcoming season.
Coach Mealy singled out Wilson as the toughest competitor this season.”Wilson is always the team to beat. They haven’t lost a game since 2008 in division play,” said Mealy.
All competition aside, Mealy admits, “There’s no doubt that we really enjoy coaching this group.”
He especially likes his more experienced players that he believes helped a lot in building the football program up to what it is now.
Football coach Todd Mealy is hopeful about the new season.
Senior football player Cody Stryker thinks they have a good team this year and hopes for a great season.
“We have a good mix of talent and a lot of experience at important positions,” said Stryker.
“We like our seniors, but this year we only have 9. The smallest group in my five years here,” said Mealy.
But the coach doesn’t see this as a scapegoat for poor performance this year.
“The 101st airborne was dropped in on D-day and they never had any experience and they were still successful, so inexperience isn’t an excuse for anything,” said Mealy, throwing in a bit of his history knowledge.
The team’s biggest concern this year is cutting down on turnovers, and is something the coaching staff is concerned with. Last year they went through a four game stretch where they committed 14 turnovers, resulting in a 1-4 record.
“Three turnovers, you’re guaranteeing a loss. Five and you’re gonna get killed,” commented Mealy.
According to the coach, inexperience won’t be a problem because of how they are teaching the young players discipline on and off the field to cut down on turnovers and improve their play.
Mealy says, “If we teach them to be disciplined outside of football they can apply that to football.”
This would also make them better people in general for life outside of the game that can make them successful in their adult lives.
Coach Mealy has high hopes for the future of Penn Manor football and says “We’ve come close to winning a section title, but we haven’t got there yet. We have to find some way to get Penn Manor a section title.
Katie Breneman and Ande Olsen represented Penn Manor at the the A. Landis Brackville Scholar Athlete Banquet, where two players from each school in the Lancaster-Lebanon League are acknowledged for their accomplishments.
“It was just a honor to be nominated,” said Olsen, who received second.
Andy Olsen. Photo by Jay Jackson.
The award is given by the Brackville family and was originated by A. Landis Brackville, a former Penn Manor high school principal.
“It is the best of the best that get invited,” said athletic director Jeff Roth.
The award is given to student athletes that excel on the field as well as the classroom.
Roth said, “The students that are invited will be graded by 50 percent academic achievements, 40 percent athletic achievements, and 10 percent for how much they are involved in there community.”
It is an honor it be invited and even more to win the prize. Andy Olsen finished in the top five and was close to winning that award and the $1000 scholarship to the college of his choice.
“I was pretty happy and the kid that won definitely deserved it,” Olsen said.
Olsen was first team all-league linebacker for football and fourth in the senior class with a grade point average of 4.495. He participated in varsity track where he threw discus and shot put.
Katie Brenneman. Photo by Jay Jackson.
Katie Breneman also compiled a full resume including a PIAA field hockey state championship, field hockey LL league first team All-State, Penn Manor All around athlete and was a captain for all three sports. Those sports were field hockey, basketball, and soccer.
Breneman worked in the community by volunteering at the Woman and Babies Hospital and at Lancaster General Hospital.
Both Penn Manor students plan to continue their athletic activities in the future.
Many words can be used to describe Micheal Vick such as dog fighter, hero, reborn, bankrupt and now one of the highest paid players in the NFL, again.
Michael Vick recently signed a six year deal worth $100 million which will make him once again one of the highest paid players in the league.The Eagles quarterback contract contains about $40 million guaranteed according to ESPN insider, Adam Schefter.
The deal will make him the third highest paid player in the league behind only fellow quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
Michael Vick left talks with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin at training camp in Lehigh. Photo courtesy of Philly.com
He has been with the Eagles for two years now. Vick took over the reins as starting quarterback after Kevin Kolb got hurt in the first game of the season.
Vick never looked back, winning eight of his eleven starts, being named comeback player of the year, starting the bro bowl and setting career highs in touchdown passes with 21 and he rushed for 9 more.
Vick, 31, became the first player in NFL history to sign more than one $100 million contract in his career. He signed a $130 million contract for ten years with the falcons back in 2004 en route to a loss in the NFC Championship game to the Eagles. He only played 32 games under the new contract before his career turned upside down.
Even though he is guaranteed $40 million over the next six years he wont be getting all of that cash because he still owes creditors. But he should be able to pay all of that back by 2014 according to CNBC’s Darren Rovell.
Garnett Valley girls lacrosse was too much for the lady Comets to handle Tuesday night in the state semi-finals. Penn Manor played in the dreaded heat at Governor Mifflin and came up short 16-6.
College athletics is becoming more and more tainted.
Collegiate programs and athletes have been making headlines all over the country for violations or wrong doing by school standards or by NCAA standards. The schools, coaches, and even players then have to face the consequences, which could include loss of scholarships, jobs, or awards won by the school.
According to NCAA.org, the NCAA’s core purpose is to govern competition in a fair, safe, equitable and sportsmanlike manner and to integrate intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the educational experience of the student-athlete is paramount. Committees oversee certain aspects of competition to make sure it is fair for all student athletes. If there is a determined infraction in the program, then the committee decides what punishment is handed down to whom that imposed the infraction.
The NCAA does not have the same legal authority as a court system. For example, if they suspect someone of lying to them, then they can’t be charged with perjury.
The NCAA has a strict code that needs to be followed while recruiting potential players. For football, they may send only questionnaires and brochures to high school students who are freshman and sophomores. If the students are juniors, they only send recruiting materials after a certain date and can only call the student between a certain time period. Once the students become seniors, they may call the student more frequently and can visit recruits after a certain time period. Junior college players are under similar rules, except they can not be contacted until after their done with their first year of enrollment.
Breaking these rules can have severe consequences on schools athletic programs. Punishment can lead to probation, suspension from postseason play, and loss of scholarships for that specific program that committed the infraction.
Penn Manor’s strength coach, Jon Zajac, was performing front squats when he unexpectedly passed out the morning of May 14.
The coach was working out under the eye of former Penn Manor strength coach, Russ McDonnell, at his studio.
The normally physically fit trainer, who helps student athletes get stronger, suddenly found himself on the other end of the strength spectrum.
Zajac said, “I was feeling light-headed throughout the workout.”
“I took a step back, a deep breath then the next thing that I remember is Russ standing over me,” he added.
Zajac, who passed out for about 2-3 seconds, hit his knee with the 255 pound bar. He also hit his head but that was the least of his concerns.
After work, where he had his knee wrapped and iced, Zajac went into the hospital to get it checked out.
The x-ray came back OK but when the EKG (electrocardiogram) was performed because of his blackout, it was not the same result.
Lifter, Jon Zajac performing a snatch. Photo Credit: (123people.com)
The EKG results came back abnormal and Zajac was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.
WPW, according to medicinenet, is a condition characterized by abnormal electrical pathways in the heart that cause a disruption of the heart’s normal rhythm.
In other words, Zajac had an extra node in his heart that gave off small electrical impulses.
The syndrome affects 1-3 out of 1,000 people worldwide.
“I was shocked and confused about it. I never thought I had a heart problem I’ve always thought I was healthy,” said Zajac.
The doctors informed Zajac that he would need to have a heart ablation.
“They inserted a catheter up through my groin, through my vein and into my heart to burn the extra node,” noted Zajac.
It took six times before the node was incinerated which may not be the end of it.
There is a chance the node could grow back but only time will tell.
“I went in to get my knee checked out and ended up getting heart surgery,” said Zajac with a smirk.
Penn Manor girls lacrosse pulled out a victory of 18 to 10 against Seneca Valley (section seven).
Penn Manor was led by Senior Alicia Burns with 6 goals and three assists. Also Maddy Hess helped with four goals of her own.
The Comets are now 19-4 with a great record they plan to continue their winning streak for as long as possible.
Taking a look at the defensive side, Penn Manor’s Kelly McHugh pulled out a strong 14 saves for the girls which helped them keep the momentum throughout the game.
The girls went into halftime with a strong lead of 10 to 4.
The comets will continue into the state quarterfinals Saturday to face District 7’s second seed Siwickley Academy.
It was the shortstop’s turn to see what he could produce for his team with only one run separating the score in the bottom of the final inning. “CRACK!” He sent the ball to the third baseman who scooped up the game-winning out.
The sound of the crack of the bat is similar to a noise that makes these players cringe, a sound that makes the players tremble, a sound at which their wives wince.
The sound of a bone breaking. Or more likely for this group, their hip breaking.
These players are more susceptible to the agonizing pain caused by injury. Why? They’re on the back-nine of life, between the dignified ages of 50 and 83, but they’ve still got some spring in their step – with the help of a cane sometimes.
The team preparing to bat. Photo by Jake Shiner.
“We get a new hip, we get a new knee, we get a new back,” one of the wives said from her striped lawn chair parked under the nearest shade tree,” then they come back and play again.”
And they just keep on playing.
Decades after they first hit for their high school team – back when a McDonald’s meal cost a lot less than a buck – these old timers have taken up the game they love in a league created just for them in southern Lancaster County.
These over 70s players wouldn’t even have the chance to be playing competitively if it weren’t for self-dubbed league commissioner Fred Funk. Funk started the newest addition to the league just this year, but it took a lot of work. Finding old high school friends to play and a field to play at were both tough.
“A lot of those guys were big and strong back then, but now they’re just big,” smiled Funk.
Fred Funk can be called the creator of one of the leagues and even some of the teams. He sat in his alma mater Penn Manor for days sifting through decades old yearbooks, collecting names to contact for his baseball teams.
He was looking for Penn Manor baseball players from from the 1950s and the 1960s who would be in their 60s and even 70s now. He made roughly 200 calls to potential softball league players. But only about 10 percent actually got back to Funk to play. The other 90 percent claimed they were too out of shape. The biggest reason some of the guys could not play was because their wives didn’t want them to get hurt. But Funk still fielded a 60-year-old team that plays 21 games a season against 16 teams in the league.
Wayne in mid pitch. Photo by Jake Shiner.
Funk created a 70-year-old’s league which is in its inaugural season. There are a handful of teams in that league which also have players who are fit enough to play in both the 60-year-old league and the 70-year-old league.
Ron Brubaker, a member of the 60 and over league, has seen the better side of 60, but his dedication for the game of baseball has outweighed his health
troubles. Instead of playing in the outfield, he was limited to retrieving his teammates’ bats and balls. A bad knee originally forced him out of play, but how about when he made his return?
“Batting a thousand, Ron!” a teammate cheered after Brubaker lined a single through the left side of the infield, also batting in a runner on top of his new achievement. With a nervous smile, he slowly trotted to the bench to let a more capable runner take his place on the diamond.
An oldster turns on the jets to go to second. Photo by Jake Shiner.
His inner bench-warmer kicks in at the end of the game, he cleans up the field and lets a teammate know he may have forgotten something.
“Somebody’s glove!” he calls out.
“Young mind, old body,” Brubaker mutters about not only himself, but the group of guys around him.
By sticking with the team, he was presented with not only the opportunity to prove himself, but to also enjoy the game that
all of these players love.
“You wanna have fun but you wanna win,” explained Brubaker. Plus, “it keeps you half in shape for the grandkids.”
Therewere famous players at Penn Manor High School over the years, some were in the Olympics and some who played professionally- but none of them are in this league.
“Those are the kind of athletes we had,” recalled Mike Wilds. When referring to returning to softball with some of the same Penn Manor grads, Wilds added, “It’s nice to come together again 45 years later and still be able to compete.”
Well, some are able to compete.
Wilds has been sidelined because of his shoulder surgery but is looking to return soon to play with his old comrades.
The team preparing to bat.
Picture from award winning story by Shiner and Valentin
Llomar makes a put out against Funk’s team.
An oldster turns on the jets to go to second.
Mike wilds, right talks to a fellow teamate.
Fans watch the old timers play softball.
Their passion shines through their wrinkles, glasses, crooked backs and slight paunches. None of that matters when they’re out playing what they have loved for many, many years.
Team Llomar makes an out against Funk's team. Photo by Jake Shiner.
“I like the game (and) exercise,” said Butch Stauffer, 73. After playing ball for Solanco in his high school years, Stauffer had to touch the tips of his fingers to the palm of his opposite hand and call for a very very long time-out because… well, it was simple, really.
“I couldn’t milk cows and play ball,” said the southern Lancaster County native, who picked up the game after a 40-some year hiatus.
In his red Willow Street uniform with the number two imprinted adjacent to his heart, a pair of glasses, a chin that sticks out with determination and a glove fitted on his left hand, Jay Wolf is one of the oldest players in the league. He’s 81 years young and a 15-year softball veteran, he’s “about ready to retire,” but one thing still keeps him in the batter’s box.
“The F-U-N,” said Wolf, who recently drove by himself to Florida for the league’s spring training. Unfortunately his 100-year-old father was unable to attend.
There are many incentives to play when you’re 10 or 20 but when your 80, sometimes it’s as simple as friendship.
“It’s just camaraderie,” said a 60s league-er, Ed Schopf.
Players, managers, coordinators – it’s all the same, well, mostly.
Mike Wilds, right talks to a fellow teammate. Photo by Jake Shiner.
“There’s competition, there’s camaraderie,” manager Norm Linhart said, adding, “They’re not only dedicated, they’re marginally stupid for being out in this heat.”
For some, dedication starts in high school, but according to one 70s-league player, he started right out of the womb.
“I came out of the cradle and I’ve been pitching (ever since)!” said Charlie Perpetual, laughing.
These players will play until they either get injured or die playing the game they love so much.
One player convinced Funk to start a 50 and over league but sadly passed away last year before he ever got the chance to play in it.
They will play as long as they are able to. They also agree that they feel blessed to just be out playing ball at their age. The fragility of life is foremost in their minds when they play. They all say they feel lucky to be playing at this age.
“(We) still think we are invincible,” stated Funk.
But in reality they go through injuries just like everyone else which is about the only thing that will make them quit.
“It would take an injury for me to quit,” agreed seventy-one year-old Mel Underwood.
“Its a bunch of sixty-some year olds wanting to be 16 again,” said Funk.
