The one thing I have always wanted to do was give my own sports awards.
You know, the kind of thing that Oscar has going for him with the movies. But as A Nobody Of Vast Importance, I could never justify being cocky enough to pass out my own awards.
But I'm a graduating Nobody Of Vast Importance, so I'll do what I want.
While the basketball players and football players grab all the attention with the most visibility, none of them garnered any of The Post sports staff's end of the year awards. That is because some of the best athletes at Ohio play obscure sports that sadly few people actually attend.
So I want to honor some more of the great unknowns here at Ohio with a completely meaningless award from a fellow Nobody Of Vast Importance - The Shugar.
Hardest Decision Award -wide receiver/long jumper Scott Mayle - Air-Mayle earned a trip to Sacramento, Calif., and the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships as a freshman. He adds this to an impressive spring resume that includes leading all Ohio wide receivers at the annual Green and White game.
This begs the question - which sport should Air-Mayle choose? Should he drop football to pursue his chance of being an individual national champion in the long jump, or should he use his athletic talents to attempt to bring a passing game to the Bobcats?
Spring football and injury kept Air-Mayle from getting off the ground until the end of the track and field season and look what he accomplished. I admit I would like to see what he is capable of if he would focus on only track and field.
The Phil Mickelson Award -hurdler/jumper Foli James - Without James, the women's track and field team would be missing some serious points. She high jumps, she hurdles, she long jumps, she sprints, she captains the team, and I wouldn't be surprised if she helps tie everyone's shoes.
But doing everything keeps second-place James from that elusive individual MAC Championship. Doing all those events has kept her from winning, but she has kept her team, which has been decimated by injuries the last few years, afloat.
Biggest Unknown Award - the football team's wide receivers - This talented group of young athletes sadly could earn this award for the next four years. Receivers Anthony Hackett, Ahmona Maxwell and Air-Mayle could be all-conference and turning some serious heads, if they had Byron Leftwich and a west coast offense.
Hopefully, quarterbacks Fred Ray and Ryan Hawk, who have both shown glimpses of being able to pass the ball, and offensive coordinator Greg Gregory find a way to utilize some of the best raw athletic talent here at Ohio.
The Golden Coors Light Award - distance runner Justin Kempe - Kempe did something that many Ohio athletes should take notice of - he got dedicated. After four years of covering the track and field team, I have watched Kempe go from dead last in the MAC in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to qualifying for the NCAA Regionals for the same event a year later.
The regional-qualified Kempe wasn't at the bars, and he wasn't out late partying with friends. The amount of money Kempe receives from his scholarship is probably as insignificant as the $5 my grandma sent me to enjoy graduation. But he didn't let his career be overcome by college's vices, and there is nothing insignificant about that.
Shugar is a senior journalism and English major who is torn on whether it is a good or bad thing his headshot won't grace the sports page anymore. Send him e-mail at paul.shugar@ohiou.edu.
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Paul Shugar
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Paul Shugar
