fall fun at the freeds

We finally had some enjoyable autumn weather.

Guy and Tracey came over and we carved pumpkins. Guy's ADHD set in and he took a butcher knife and sliced open the face before cutting a lid or cleaning it out.


Last year we discovered stencil pumpkin-carving. These are our pumpkins from 2008.


And this year's (Melissa's gracious attempt at Thomas the Tank Engine on the left).


Trevor and I went outside and played in the leaves.

Check out our entire fall photo shoot here.

it was fun while it lasted, kelly

Maybe Kelly Pavlik got his wish: He no longer has to carry the city of Youngstown on his shoulders.

This week's news that Pavlik has pulled out of a scheduled fight for the third time in 2009 because of a staph infection in his left hand leads me to believe his short career is over.


The fighter, who earlier this year said he was seeing a sports psychologist to deal with rumors combined with the stresses of fame, only defended his middleweight championship twice before a disastrous year of accidents, injuries, accusations and lost opportunities.

The third, and most would argue the only formidable defense, was originally scheduled for Oct. 3 against quick-punching left-hander Paul Williams. Pavlik backed out of that date, citing an injury to his hand, and quickly began working on rescheduling.

Both camps came to agreement with HBO that the fight would be scheduled for Dec. 5 in Atlantic City. On Sept. 29, at a press conference announcing the fight, Pavlik said, "The hand's looking good. Everything's fine."

Speaking to the injury, Pavlik said, "We got it taken care of, we kicked it in the butt and we're ready to roll."

Then, six weeks before the fight was to take place, Pavlik's camp held a press conference saying his hand will not have fully healed by Dec. 5.

HBO had built a schedule around the fight and was in the process of putting together a half-hour preview. Top Rank (Pavlik's promoter) had spent thousands on marketing the fight. Caesars Atlantic City was looking for a big boost with a sold-out crowd expected at Boardwalk Hall. Fans had booked travel plans and hotel rooms. And Williams started preparing for, training for and promoting a fight that was built on Team Pavlik's naive optimism.

"It's not the hand that needs to be corrected, they need to treat his heart," Williams' trainer George Peterson told a boxing website. "We are not waiting on this guy anymore."

I don't question Kelly Pavlik's heart--I think he'd step in the ring with a grizzly bear. What I question is his thought process. Why tell everyone the hand is fine when it's clearly not? Why reschedule a fight when the hand isn't healed?

Instead of "trying to keep it a secret" and "fool" everyone as Jack Loew admitted to the Youngstown Vindicator, Team Pavlik would have been much better off admitting in September the hand was not healing properly and it would be a long time before he could fight again. He would have got much more sympathy from his supporters that way, rather than forcing them to cancel plans and lose already-spent money.

Pavlik had issues with his hands as an amateur. He said he first discovered the current infection two weeks after his last fight, Feb. 21. That means he's been battling the infection for eight months. If surgeries on the hand were as intense as Pavlik claims they were, I simply don't see him coming back from this injury.

If in fact Pavlik's career is over, it was a career that was cut short and never lived up to expectations. Sure, he won good fights against Jose Luis Zertuche and Edison Miranda. He beat Jermain Taylor to win the middleweight championship ... the same 32-year-old Jermain Taylor who went on to lose three of his next four fights, including a Pavlik rematch.

Submitted by boxing guru Brian Richesson, here are 10 possible opponents who could have helped solidify Pavlik's career:

• Paul Williams
• Arthur Abraham
• Felix Sturm
• Winky Wright
• Joe Calzaghe
• Librado Andrade
• Mikkel Kessler
• Carl Froch
• Allan Green
• Randy Griffin

If I were a betting man, I'd say we won't see any of these fights, which is both disappointing and unfortunate. Pavlik had a nice 15 minutes in the spotlight when he was the blue-collar underdog from Lowellville. But like the rest of Youngstown, his best days are in the past.

come on ride the train ...

Since our favorite time of year is autumn, and seeing as how Trevor is completely enamored with trains, we decided to combine the two and take a scenic trip through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on the rails.

Going in, I thought the train ride was going to be pretty boring. In actuality, it was really cool. We boarded about 9 a.m. near the intersection of Rockside and Canal roads and soon learned, when you're dealing with trains, don't be late. One thing trains can be held to is their punctuality, unlike today's airlines.

We headed south toward Akron and, just as we got into the wooded area along Canal Road, the clouds broke and the sun highlighted the colors of Fall. Pretty picturesque.

Trevor was in awe. He quickly determined that Gordon was pulling us, we were riding in Annie and Clarabel and the conductor who kept telling him to be seated was Sir Topham Hatt (all characters from Thomas and Friends).

The train, called Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, is owned and operated by Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It loops from the Rockside station in the valley to downtown Akron two or three times a day. It stops about 10 places in between at quaint towns along the way, such as Peninsula, where we got off.

In Peninsula, we hit up a few family-run arts and crafts shops displaying local artistry. I'm not big into crafts, but again these shops were impressive. Among all the handmade artistry, the photographs of the park from local photographers stood out. The shops were situated along the Cuyahoga River and grassy areas provided a great landscape for relaxing on a park bench and letting Trev run through the leaves. We also hit up the Peninsula Winking Lizard, the best Lizard I've been to, and I had a Great Lakes Nosferatu and caught up on some college football scores.

On the way back north, we checked out the audio tour, which was recently synced to a GPS system so it knows exactly where you are and can describe exactly what you are passing at that very moment. Audio tours are typically pretty boring, but this one had some cool info on the National Park, the history of the Erie Canal waterway and the towpath. Unofficially, the canal served as part of the underground railroad and provided a means of transportation for slaves escaping from the south to Canada. Once the slaves hit Cleveland, the tour guide said, they were ecstatic because they were only a boatride away from freedom. Apparently, the first steam engine rode the Valley Railway in 1880 and signaled an era of progress and prosperity for the Cuyahoga Valley. It was a way for farmers and coal miners to transport their product from the Canton/Akron area to Cleveland. Then, in 1969 when Cleveland was so focused on becoming the industrial capital of North America, the Cuyahoga River caught fire because it was filled with oil and pollution from the nearby mills. The fire caught national attention and sparked the beginning of groups like the Environmental Protection Agency.

All history aside, I'd recommend the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad if you're looking for a relaxing and enjoyable day. I'd put my money on autumn being the best time to ride, although they host a Polar Express ride in the winter, among other cool excursions like a wine train and a beer event called "Ales on the Rails." Check out the schedule of events and purchase tickets at www.cvsr.com.

For more pictures from our day on the train, click here.

quick hits

It's been too long since I blogged, so here are some quick-hit, random things I've been thinking about lately that might interest you:

Sports
Instead of buying separate Pitt Panthers, Steelers, Pirates and Penguins T-shirts, I designed one that represents all of Pittsburgh sports. Click the image to view a hi-res version, download it and use it as your desktop wallpaper.


I recommend following Hines Ward @HWmvp86, Santonio Holmes @santonio10 and Shaq @THE_REAL_SHAQ on Twitter. These guys give great insight into what they do on a daily basis. Ward recently tweeted while hanging out at his bar in the 'Burgh watching a replay of Sunday's Chargers game, celebrating his 10,000-yard milestone. Shaq recently tweeted while eating at Lago in Tremont, asking Clevelanders to come see him and he'd part with tickets to the Cavs opening night. Cool stuff.

Music
I'm going to see Keller Williams on Sunday evening at the Kent Stage. I've seen him there before and the show blew me away: phenomenal musician at a great venue. Kent Stage is an old movie-theater-turned-concert-hall on the Rt. 59 hill heading downtown. They've got about 4 beer taps in the lobby, but I recommend pre-gaming at The Loft or The Zephyr. You should check it out. Advance tickets are $20. I'll review the show afterward.
Here is a video of what Keller Williams and looping is all about.
More information on the show and tickets here.


Also, I came across this entertaining video interview with Matisyahu, another pretty unique musician. Nice beatboxing sample toward the end ...




Family
Trevor is hilarious these days. Something new every day. What a great age. Here is a shot of him in my office reading one of my magazines. More pictures from a family party we attended on Sunday here.