Sports Extra with Dave Ross: UD tight end draws attention in New Orleans

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My brother lives in New Orleans and reports major attention accorded to the Saints recent third round choice in the NFL draft. Adam Trautman was a quarterback in high school in northern Michigan before becoming a dominant tight end with the non-scholarship Dayton Flyers. This was not an unexpected selection by New Orleans. Experts collectively saw Trautman as a second or third round pick and he was taken as the third stanza concluded.

There’s another UD tie on the Saints in quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1994 and spent most of his post-graduate military obligation at Wright Patterson near Dayton. The grandson of Green Bay coaching legend Vince Lombardi, he wanted to get into the “family business” and contacted UD coach Mike Kelly. A phone call was followed by a letter and a visit. Eventually the Flyers had a new part-time coach for the nose tackles who would stay for three seasons, 1996-98.

Hoying on ESPN

Following a bout with back spasms, Fort Loramie outfielder Jared Hoying should be in the lineup when his Hanwha Eagles are featured on ESPN Korean baseball very late on Saturday night (1 a.m. Sunday EDT). The game is “live” and reflects that Korea is 13 hours ahead of us.

He missed five games before returning on Thursday, going hitless in five at bats.

OHSAA girls to UD

If you know the backstory to the OHSAA moving the girls state basketball tournament to the University of Dayton Arena, the press release made for interesting reading. While it’s true that the two arenas on the Ohio State campus will have minimal advance availability to host OHSAA basketball, it’s also true that Ohio State hasn’t embraced the opportunities to host anything for Ohio’s high school athletes.

The OHSAA release notes the enthusiasm of the University of Dayton toward both hosting and delivering an outstanding experience for everyone involved, concepts that have been absent at Ohio State. Negotiations are now underway toward moving the boys state tourney to UD beginning in 2022. When that happens, UD Arena will become a “March basketball mega-epicenter” including the annual “First Four” of the NCAA men’s event.

Ticket prices

We often read of ticket prices in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars for national premium sporting events. It wasn’t always that way. Back in 1976 I had good second level seats for the World Series in Cincinnati for $10 each. In January 1982 I went to the Bengals Super Bowl appearance in the Pontiac Silverdome where all seats had a face value of just $40. Even when you adjust for inflation, these numbers now appear quite favorable.

Seaver trade feedback

Last Friday’s piece on Tom Seaver’s 1977 trade to the Cincinnati Reds drew the attention of Fort Loramie native and retired Dayton sportswriter Bucky Albers. “I was covering the US Open golf tournament and remember a couple of New York writers who couldn’t believe the Mets traded Seaver.”

Next week: Fort Loramie football scheduling update along with comments on state football expansion.

Sports Extra appears each Friday. Dave Ross joined the local sports media in 1975 and is the senior member of the OHSAA Media Advisory Committee.

Sports Extra

With Dave Ross

Sports Extra appears each Friday. Dave Ross joined the local sports media in 1975 and is the senior member of the OHSAA Media Advisory Committee.

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