Byline: BUD POLIQUIN POST-STANDARD COLUMNIST
So, I'm sitting there, a kid in an Iowa river town, and my father drops a magazine in my lap and tells me that I'll henceforth be getting a different copy of it every week in the mail.
A 'subscription,' he calls it. And then he leaves me to my reading... which, if memory serves, was a story written by a fella named Tex Maule about a boxer named Cleveland Williams.
All these years later, I'm still a subscriber to 'Sports Illustrated,' and (much to my bride's chagrin) I've got the decades and decades of back issues packed in boxes down in the basement to prove it. Which means that after all this time, Thursdays remain 'go-to' days in my week. As in, go to the mailbox and grab the latest offering from SI.
The romantic in me hopes that maybe, just maybe, a thin slice of history will repeat itself around here. The Post-Standard's newest publication, 'Central New York Sports' magazine, will be in stores and on newsstands this week... and who knows? Perhaps there will be parents in and around our town who will push it under the noses of their kids.
That is, after they -- the moms and dads -- read 'Central New York Sports' themselves.
I don't recollect who was on the cover of that first Sports Illustrated handed to me by my dad on that fine Iowa day, but I can report that Wesley Johnson, Syracuse University's 6-foot-7 transfer forward from Iowa State, graces the cover of our inaugural issue.
While that compelling photograph, taken by Dennis Nett, is just one of a collection of vibrant shots captured by our staff, it may well be the most creative. First, Dennis positioned three strategically placed strobe lights on the Manley Field House court; then, he balanced himself on the top rung of a ladder behind a backboard and took aim.
And some 20 Wesley Johnson dunks later, we had our spectacular premier cover photo.
There is more, though, than wonderful photography scattered across those 120 pages of 'Central New York Sports.' There are features and columns, charts and statistics, anecdotes and opinions. Meanwhile, all manner of sports are covered -- professional, collegiate, high school, participatory and the outdoors.
Donovan McNabb fields 10 questions from readers of The Post-Standard and syracuse.com. Rob Moore explores the mind-set of NFL players as they peer at the second half of their schedules. Gerry McNamara explains the psychology of the free throw. Erica Morrow 'fesses up to her transcendental meditation. Nikki Works, the Nottingham High School athlete, admits that Ben Wallace is her athletic role model. Dick Biddle weighs in on those crunching helmet-to-helmet hits in football. Former Orangeman Dave Archer discusses the toughness of ol' Ben Schwartzwalder.
There are stories on individuals such as Carmelo Anthony, Jim Boeheim, Floyd Little, Beezie Madden, Terrell Owens and, of course, Wesley Johnson. There are pieces on SU football and SU basketball and the Crunch. There are full-page tips on winter running and cross-country skiing and downhill skiing and deer hunting and snowmobiling.
And, sure, we'll take you to the banks of the Salmon River where the fishing is usually so good.
There are other elements to 'Central New York Sports,' of course, including even a sports-centric crossword puzzle (48 across, four letters, 'Yankee or Oriole, briefly'... anyone?) and conditioning tips from Will Hicks, SU's conditioning coach. And it all makes for a nice put-your-feet-up experience. So, why not grab a copy? Maybe, just maybe, it'll become a habit.
You know, like that other magazine did so long ago for that kid in Iowa.
Bud Poliquin's column and his 'To The Point' observations appear regularly in The Post-Standard. Additionally, that work, plus his on-line commentaries, can be found virtually every day on syracuse.com. E-mail: bpoliquin@syracuse.com.
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PHOTO
Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard
SU'S WESLEY JOHNSON is featured on the cover of the first issue of 'Central New York Sports' magazine, which is available in stores and newsstands this week.
