Bonifay’s impressive career includes one crazy footnote

July 4, 2020

It’s tough to top Mike’s choice of Rajai Davis, who has a whopping 415 stolen bases in the majors, yet has never fully been appreciated as one of the elite former Curve players. Still, there's really only one answer to this question, when you consider something that quite frankly is unbelievable. There have been some incredibly mediocre and even some pretty weak Curve players who made it to Triple-A over the years. They were in the right place at the right time when someone had to be to promoted to fill a hole at the next level. Yet somehow, Josh Bonifay, one of the best Curve ...

Fans might not like what they see upon return

July 3, 2020

Don’t be too eager to sit in the stands if your favorite team is lucky enough to open play over the next few months. Going to the game will be risky all by itself. Once there, the experience won't be the same. No food. No drink. No cuddly mascot to slap high-fives with. Don’t even think about cheering loudly for your team. And if you need to go to the bathroom, well, maybe you should have taken care of that before leaving home. The future of sports is still very muddled as America’s top leagues take their first baby steps toward resuming play. Questions abound, and the ...

Pirates-Curve bond strong, but fans shouldn’t be at workouts

June 27, 2020

Over the years, I’ve often wondered what everyone around here did during the summer prior to the Curve’s arrival in 1999. Unfortunately, we are finding out this year, with the minor league baseball season wiped out because of the coronavirus. I’ve read social media posts from countless sports fans talking about how they miss going to Curve games. Ditto. There was some very good news on the Curve front this week, though, as the Pirates announced they’ll be sending their taxi-squad players to work out at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The move further exemplifies just how good ...

PSU’s Franklin paying big price this season

June 26, 2020

As the cloud of the coronavirus darkens the entire sports world with uncertainty, James Franklin is planning a major sacrifice. He confirmed earlier his week that he will coach the football season without his family in State College. In an interview with Bryant Gumbel of HBO Sports, Franklin said the decision was made for his wife, Fumi, and two daughters, Shola and Addison, to remain at the family’s home in Destin, Florida and have the girls home schooled this year. Addison, 12, suffers from sickle cell anemia, making her more vulnerable to the virus, and the family felt this is ...

Sad to see RMU leave NEC, but it’s not all bad for Flash

June 20, 2020

Saint Francis lost not only its biggest rival, but also its biggest ally earlier this week when Robert Morris announced it’s leaving the Northeast Conference to join the Horizon League. While the Colonials’ departure is sure to bring about some sadness for longtime Saint Francis fans, the bright side is that it also presents some good opportunities for the Red Flash men’s and women’s basketball programs. Robert Morris’ departure from the NEC had been expected for some time, with the writing on the wall after the school opened its gorgeous new on-campus basketball arena, ...

Cue up Kool & The Gang, let celebrations start again

June 13, 2020

The PGA Tour became the latest sports league to resume activities this weekend, but plenty of us are still feeling a big void in our lives. Sports aren’t essential to living as we have all learned the past few months, but they do bring a lot of meaning and happiness to a lot of people’s lives. I write this as not only a sports writer who depends on events taking place to make a living, but as a fan of watching sports my entire life. Regardless of where you stand on the safety aspects of everything, the coronavirus pandemic has not only killed thousands, it has disrupted the ...