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Jon VanderWal era comes to an end in Marietta

“I have not been sleeping much. I don’t ever want to experience that kind of season here ever again. We have to fix this.” This was March 5, 2025. Jon VanderWal and I were having dinner together in Toledo before heading over to the University of Toledo to watch a couple of potential Pioneer recruits later that evening. The Pioneers had just completed an unusually mediocre 11-14 season, but you’d have thought they’d not won an entire contest during the campaign by the mood. Little did I know it would be the last time we’d speak in person while he was the head men’s ...

COLUMN: How to pick a Super Bowl team if you don’t actually care

The Super Bowl is upon us again, and I’m here to tell you how to pick a team to root for if you have no particular attachment, emotional or otherwise, to the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Except I already did that two years ago. My five-point system to subjectively pick a side recommended backing the Eagles over the Chiefs. That did not actually result in you picking a winner, but that’s not really what fandom is about. And I can say that as a longtime Washington Apparently-Still-the-Commanders fan who has gone over 30 years without his team making it to the big ...

Column: Friendships off court fuel Warren on court

VINCENT — In the sport of volleyball, you need all six players on the court to be on the same page to have success. It’s easier said than done, but it helps when your players have good relationships off the court. When you combine a tremendous amount of talent with impeccable chemistry, ...

COLUMN: The return of high school football season is upon us

It’s hard to believe we’re already back to that time of year again — football season. Fellow scribes Jordan Holland, Kerry Patrick and Aaron Lee already have been out to make a few visits to their respective schools for the upcoming Pigskin Previews (Marietta Times, Aug. 22 and Parkersburg News and Sentinel, Aug. 29), but my first official trip will be Saturday when I make the trek to Reedsville to visit with the Eastern Eagles of third-year head coach Jason Jackson. Although the Eagles have some holes to fill after their graduation losses, coach Jackson’s program once again ...

Fun times so far at Olympics

Honestly, I don't give too much thought to the Olympics overall, but from the opening ceremonies on it's been quite interesting to say the least. Leading up to the Olympics, the biggest issue came with portions of the swimming where athletes had to compete in the Seine River. Well, that's not been anything to write home about if anyone has seen the footage from the competitors. However, it should be noted Canadian swimmer Tyler Mislawchuk, who vomited 10 times following the men's triathlon on Wednesday after the event was set to be postponed due to the water quality on Tuesday, didn't ...

R.I.P. to my Mr. Destiny

A former friend and colleague passed away last week. We worked as part-time sports writers for the local newspaper back in the Midwest in Moline, Ill., and eventually graduated from the same college in the same class. Our dream jobs were to remain on staff and eventually settle into a full-time position. At the same time, nothing was guaranteed as to if and when a position would open for either of us or both of us. Steve had immense talent working in the media – with his background in radio, television and journalism. He decided to remain with the newspaper in a part-time ...