Denny Meyer is picking up right here Richard Fox left off

On the SLL girls’ side, first-year Lake coach Denny Meyer is trying to continue the rebuilding process started by Richard Fox. Meyer has been rewarded, as SLL coaches picked Lake to win a championship.

The Flyers are led by sophomore scoring sensation Kaysie Brittenham, but add to the mix a host of talented athletes which include two transfers who learned previously from veteran Oak Harbor coach Dick Heller. One of those transfers is Coach Meyer’s daughter.

The Lady Flyers have depth, talent, and athletic ability, but the one remaining question is whether they can get used to winning.

“We tell them all the time, 30 years is long enough – let’s win the league,” Coach Meyer said.

In the TAAC, Cardinal Stritch is always king, or queen, on the girls court and expects to be again. The Lady Cardinals hope, however, to avoid last year’s postseason fiasco when they were upset by Swanton in the sectional playoffs, after defeating the Lady Bulldogs in the regular season.

Coach Gary Lemle welcomes in a new assistant in Brittney Barrera, who played for Lemle on the 2004 Lady Cardinals regional finalist team.

“We should be pretty steady on the floor,” said Lemle. “Our inside post play should be very strong, and obviously it helps having six letter winners back.”

The success of Coach Jim Sheehy will most likely continue on the boys’ side. But the Cardinal boys will have to deal with the talent provided by Ottawa Hills and Toledo Christian if they want to contend for a TAAC title.

“The season’s going to be interesting,” said Sheehy. “The kids are chomping at the bit, and are ready to go.”

(Press basketball previews are written by contributors Mark Griffin, Jeffrey D. Norwalk, Scott Calhoun, and Nick Huenefeld. They also contributed to the preview features about Waite and this column).

On the internet
So, you think you’re the biggest prep basketball fan in Northwest Ohio. Step aside for Dave Spengler, owner/operator of www.Davey1.com.

If you are at Bowling Green State University’s Anderson Arena or the University of Toledo’s Savage Hall to watch a district or regional boys tournament game, Spengler will be there, too — guaranteed.

Unlike other area prep sports sites, Spengler keeps his site updated. If you want to find rosters, news releases, or scores, his site is the one to go to.

Davey1.com has provided up-to-date schedules and game scores for 171 Northwest Ohio teams for the past four seasons. Spengler’s website covers the teams from 20 conferences, plus three independent teams.

“We offer the most comprehensive coverage, including tournament commentary (Spengler calls is “Trail Trash”) for Northwest Ohio that you will find anywhere on the internet,” Spengler claims.

In addition, Mike Jameson with Creative Video Imagery and Toledo Sports Radio will be providing coverage of high school basketball games in the Northwest Ohio market on its internet radio station, www.ToledoSportsRadio.com, along with airing the games on WMNT TV-48/58 on Sunday afternoon and replaying Sunday evenings, along with coverage on Time Warner Cable throughout Northern Ohio.

Jameson’s studio is in East Toledo, and he is a Cardinal Stritch grad, so Stritch will be one of the teams his company plans to broadcast. Other schools already on the agenda include Clay and Genoa, and Jameson is looking to expand to all 10 schools in The Press coverage area once he finds broadcasters who wish to specialize and invest in those productions. Schools include Northwood, Lake, Waite, Eastwood, Woodmore, Gibsonburg, and Oak Harbor. Jameson can be reached at 419-693-6667.