It's Game Time!

Hi again everybody! Well, after a 235-day wait, Golden Flashes football is finally set to return! Maybe it's me, or maybe it's the excitement from 2012, but this 2013 NCAA Football season sure took its sweet time getting here!

It has been a great Opening Week so far at KSU. From the packed sidewalks to the excitement brought forth by better than 4,200 freshmen, this place has been buzzing all week! 

Part of that excitement was caught on tape Monday afternoon during the season premiere of the Paul Haynes Show. We held it at the MAC Centre and you can hear it all the way until game time Thursday on our Golden Flashes iHeart Radio Channel. Coach Haynes and his staff have been counting down the months, weeks and now days until tomorrow night's opener and they are all very well prepared.

I am a big fan of superheroes, and this summer's blockbuster "Man of Steel" was phenomenal. I just finished producing the special broadcast open for tomorrow's game. Make sure you've got us tuned in right at 5 p.m. to hear it. Kickoff then comes your way at 6 p.m. as Rob Polinsky joins me in the booth for the fourth straight year. We are also welcoming back my former TV-2 partner Matt Miller to report from the sidelines this year. Matt and me were mainstays on TV-2's coverage of KSU basketball and wrestling back in 2005 and 2006 and it'll be great to have that added insight in our broadcasts. Check the photo below from DEEP in the archives!

We'll be LIVE! in the Hungry Howie's Broadcast Hacienda tomorrow night bringing the Thursday night opener to life for you on our flagship WHLO 640. Don't forget all KSU games will be simulblast on our Golden Flashes iHeart Radio Channel. If you haven't yet downloaded the FREE app to your smart phone and/or tablet, do it now!

Well, I'm off to beautiful Robert C. Dix Stadium! Talk to y'all tomorrow!

GO FLASHES!!

TL

Training Camp Wrap-up and Back to School

Hi again everybody!

Training camp unofficially wrapped up yesterday for the Golden Flashes and after a couple well deserved days off, the boys in blue and gold will start to begin preparation for the Liberty Flames. It will be good to see former Buffalo coach Turner Gill back on the sidelines at Robert C. Dix Stadium and he and his team will provide a worthy first opponent for Paul Haynes.

The coaching staff announced recently that Colin Reardon will be the starter behind center for the opener. He hails from one of the best-kept secrets in Ohio high school football - the Poland Seminary Bulldogs. As an avid fan of Ohio prep football, the Bulldogs are always a threat in Division III. David Fisher had a solid camp and I like what I've seen from the younger guys as well. Having been around this program for 13 years, I can't remember a time we've had this much quality depth at QB.

. . .

I haven't picked out my traditional opening night tuxedo yet. I was thinking either white with a gold vest or maybe something completely off-the-wall like purple and green.

. . .

The first day of school always brings mixed emotions. Part of it is putting summer in a casket and the doom of impending cold weather. The other part is seeing old friends again and the sense of a new beginning.

I have some good first day of school memories and some not so good. I remember my first day of Kindergarten at Shumaker Elementary and finding a note in my Peanuts lunch box from my mom wishing me luck. Then there was the first time I got to get on the big yellow bus with my brother - putting on the brave face so he wouldn't be nervous.

Then there was my first day as a freshman at Kent State. I foolishly scheduled a 7:45 a.m. class and the Cleveland Indians kept me up late the night before and badda bing badda boom I totally missed my alarm. I was able to hitch a ride from my aunt (and roommate), softball coach Karen Linder. She dropped me off at Bowman Hall for my next class and about halfway through it I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

I consider myself a connoisseur of the English language but I'm telling you, there were words in that syllabus Mr. Webster himself had never seen. My heart sank deeper as I saw one of the class requirements was a 5-6 page paper due every Friday. My bankroll vanished when I noticed there were four required textbooks for the course. My mind started racing as I thought of possible career alternatives.

Finally I realized the male professor I had signed up to take wasn't much of a male at all. The male professor was in fact a silver-haired female professor in a polka-dotted dress. My eyes shot down to the syllabus again.

PSYCH 30043 - ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGY 

I was in the wrong classroom.

I had managed to put myself in the second of Bowman Hall's lecture rooms. I was sitting in a senior-level advanced psychology class. To this day I thank the Lord I was in an aisle seat so I was able to sprint... err, walk quickly out of there without drawing attention to myself.

My most sincere welcome to the KSU Class of 2017. You will love it here.

TL

Wollet Ready for Senior Season

Hi again everybody! I just came from morning practice where - believe it or not - you almost needed a jacket. It continues to be unseasonably cool for football training camp 2013. We are also approaching that "stale" or "dead" period of camp when things start to get monotonous for everyone.

Senior Luke Wollet is currently enjoying his final training camp with the Golden Flashes. That's hard to believe as it seems like just yesterday the Poland Seminary product was making key plays for the Flashes' defense under the watchful eye of veterans like Brian Lainhart and Dan Hartman. It's been a joy to watch him evolve into one of the MAC's best playmakers.

Wollet is now under the charge of his third defensive coordinator in his KSU experience. I had the chance to catch up to the man who may enjoy McDonald's chicken nuggets even more than me.

"Camp's been good. We got a new group of guys and I think we are growing every day chemistry-wise and it's a process but I think we are taking the right steps," he said.

Wollet finished his junior season with 116 tackles - six of them for a loss - and added four interceptions to a Kent State defense which was known for wreaking havoc.

"We lost some great seniors last year and guys need to step up. For the younger guys it's about seizing opportunity - you only get so many chances in life.

"It was a really physical spring and coach Haynes is doing a good job of keeping our best interests in mind," he added.

One of the themes around this year's football team is trying to move on from the unprecedented success enjoyed by the 2012 season - something Wollet says is tough, but necessary.

"It's a new challenge for all of us. We've always had to come back from failure. We've always been faced with adversity here so we're excited for the challenge."

KSU will get a good look at many position battles and also look to build depth at Saturday (8/17) morning's jersey scrimmage.

Until next time, Go Flashes!

TL

Looking in on Day Three of Full Pads

Hi again everybody! Well the morning rains gave way to some intermittent sunshine this morning at Robert C. Dix Stadium allowing the Golden Flashes to pop some pads on day seven of training camp.

I have been attending training camp practice sessions every year since 2007 and I can't ever remember such intense energy and competition this early in the season. From the players to the coaches, it was a terrific high-energy morning session. I think Flashes fans are in for another entertaining football season.

One person I paid particular attention to was new defensive coordinator Brian George. Coach George worked with the defensive line a year ago and was a natural candidate for the promotion once Paul Haynes was hired. If this practice was any indication, Flashes fans are going to love Coach George in his new position. He was all over the field, working just as hard with a starter as a third string guy and his attention to detail is going to keep the KSU defense operating at the high level it has enjoyed for years.

Another young man I was delighted to see was Tyshon Goode. Old number five had a tremendous 2011 campaign and was key to Kent State's late-season surge. He missed 2012 due to injury but has been practicing all week and on this day made a fine over-the-shoulder grab. It was indeed a sight for sore eyes!

"He can bring a lot. We need those numbers (from 2011) again," coach Haynes told us afterward.

Quarterbacks David Fisher and Colin Reardon both took time with the other first string offensive players against the first and second team defenses. They both looked pretty good and I think either is capable of leading the team. Coach Haynes said neither has taken a "lead" in the competition.

"We're still trying to put some offense in and both of those guys are still learning so they are going to make some mistakes. We won't have a great feel until after the jersey scrimmage (Aug 17)."

The Flashes will have a pair of practice sessions tomorrow before a kick scrimmage on Saturday morning.

Until next time!

TL

Radio Show Update!

Hi again everybody! The dog days of August are here, and so far the weather has been kind to the Golden Flashes football team and coaches. It certainly has been an odd spring and summer around here, hasn't it?

Today marks the first day out at Robert C. Dix Stadium where the team will be going with full pads and helmets. Tomorrow will be the first "two-a-day" practice with one in the morning and a nightcap in the afternoon. I'll be checking them out over the next few days and report my findings here!

Speaking of football, I have some news regarding the weekly football radio shows. Last year we shifted the show from the early evening to the afternoon to accommodate the lunch crowd at Water Street Tavern and the response was phenomenal! This year we are going to make just a slight change.

Starting with the season premier on August 26, the Paul Haynes Show will take place on Mondays at the Water Street Tavern and will follow Paul's weekly news conference. I am pretty excited about this little tweak and think it will get game week off to a great start each and every week of the 2013 season. Cajun Dave's - the restaurant at WST - will remain open for lunch as well. The radio show will air live on our iHeart Radio channel and then be replayed throughout the week. It will also get replay time on our flagship, 640 WHLO.

I'll have more information on this and other topics as we get closer. Until then, have a great Tuesday!

TL