Nicholas Piotrowicz
The Toledo Blade
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Past articles by Nicholas:
Bowling Green trounced by Miami in MAC opener
BOWLING GREEN — Little by little, groups of orange-clad fans began to trickle out of Doyt Perry Stadium starting early in the third quarter Saturday. It was difficult to find fault in their desire to be anywhere else. Bowling Green turned in by far its worst performance of the season with a blowout loss to previously winless Miami, which eased its way to a 38-23 victory in the Mid-American… → Read More
MACtion goes behind the ESPN+ paywall
BOWLING GREEN — Mid-American Conference football, which gained a measure of national popularity for its weeknight games on the ESPN networks, will see some of its games televised for the first time on ESPN+, the network’s digital-only subscription service. Unlike ESPN3, access to ESPN+ is not included with a cable subscription. The platform, which runs on Apple and Android devices, Roku players,… → Read More
Achter headlines BG hall of fame class
BOWLING GREEN — Five individuals will go into the Bowling Green State University athletics hall of fame this fall, the school announced on Friday. Kate Achter, shown in 2014 as a St. Bonaventure assistant, is now the head coach at Loyola University in Chicago. BLADE PHOTO Enlarge Clay High School alumnus and former BG basketball star Kate Achter is among the field, which is the school’s 52nd… → Read More
Big Blue for Butler: Whitmer DL picks Kentucky
One of northwestern Ohio’s most sought-after recruits has a target destination. Whitmer defensive lineman Cavon Butler announced Friday that he has verbally committed to the University of Kentucky for football. The rising senior had offers from a several major programs, including Alabama, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, and from local Group of Five programs that included Toledo, Cincinnati, and… → Read More
St. John's Jesuit grad Jack Mewhort retires from NFL
St. John’s Jesuit graduate Jack Mewhort is retiring from professional football at age 26. Ohio State offensive lineman Jack Mewhort with his parents, Don and Gail Mewhort, before his senior day in 2013. Mewhort, an offensive lineman who played his entire National Football League career with the Indianapolis Colts, officially retired Wednesday following two injury-marred seasons. “The fans and… → Read More
Report: Urban Meyer knew of former assistant's domestic violence history
COLUMBUS — Despite his denial last week at Big Ten media days, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer knew of the domestic abuse allegations against former assistant Zach Smith in 2015, according to a report by college football journalist Brett McMurphy. McMurphy obtained an interview with the victim, Zach Smith’s ex-wife, Courtney Smith, as well photos of the abuse and text messages to and from her… → Read More
A loss behind him, Easter aims to return to big stage
LOS ANGELES — In the moments after his first loss as a professional, Robert Easter, Jr., remained light on his feet. Robert Easter, Jr., left, during his lightweight title unification bout against Mikey Garcia Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Getty Images Enlarge Mikey Garcia, a seasoned force in the lightweight division, put on an excellent performance on Saturday night at Staples… → Read More
Olympic model on the table for NCAA, but change is slow
CHICAGO — As the NCAA’s current model continues to face litigation under anti-trust laws, a proposed long-term solution is to treat college athletes akin to their Olympic counterparts. But until the next domino falls in a California courtroom, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany called any major changes “premature.” Former Clemson football player Martin Jenkins is the lead plaintiff in an ongoing… → Read More
Watch: Easter, Garcia make weight for title unification bout
LOS ANGELES — Fight on. Both Robert Easter, Jr., and Mikey Garcia cleared the 135-pound lightweight limit Friday at their weigh-in at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Toledo native Easter weighed 134.5 pounds, while Garcia’s trip to the scale read 135. The weigh-in cleared the way for the two undefeated champions to unify their championship belts Saturday night. Easter (21-0, 14… → Read More
Now in field for Marathon Classic, St. Ursula grads hope to make cut
In the first round of the LGPA Marathon Classic on Thursday, two St. Ursula Academy graduates will be in the field as Pinya Pipatjarasgit and Lizzie Win both received sponsor exemptions to be part of the field. Pipatjarasgit graduated from St. Ursula earlier this year, while Win will be a junior at Seton Hall in the fall. Win said Wednesday that the pair is going into the tournament with hopes… → Read More
Clay wrestlers win AAU national team dual title
Two of the highest honors in Amateur Athletic Union wrestling went to a team representing Clay High School and coach Ralph Cubberly. The Oregon Clay Gold team surprised its way to winning the AAU Scholastic Duals last week at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida, and Cubberly earned AAU national coach of the year honors. Clay wrestling coach Ralph Cubberly was named AAU national… → Read More
2020 QB prospect Jack Miller chooses Ohio State
COLUMBUS — Ohio State has its answer at quarterback in the next two recruiting classes. The Buckeyes — fresh off luring 2019 quarterback Dwan Mathis to change his commitment from Michigan State to Ohio State — received good news in the 2020 class as well, as four-star Arizona prospect Jack Miller officially committed Sunday. > THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COMMITTED #GoBucks 🌰… → Read More
GOLD STANDARD: Warriors hammer Cavaliers to sweep series
CLEVELAND — With each passing made shot, each progressively boisterous celebration, and an increasingly muted gathering at Quicken Loans Arena, what had been an inevitability finally became concrete. The Golden State Warriors are the best team in the National Basketball Association, and even LeBron James at his career peak wasn’t enough to swing these NBA Finals. Stephen Curry, left, scored 20… → Read More
Durant's 43 pushes Cleveland to brink of elmination
CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland was in the presence of greatness Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. LeBron James and the Cavaliers just happened to be on the wrong end of it. Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant scored 43 points on Wednesday night. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge Stephen Curry finally connected when it mattered most and Kevin Durant poured in 43 points, including a… → Read More
Can pro soccer do better in Toledo?
Second of a two-part series about soccer expansion in Toledo. Read part one here. On matchday, a procession of full-throated supporters make their way from the official bar to the stadium, replete with the whole soccer experience: drums, flags, smoke bombs, songs. It’s a different world — and it’s five miles from Comerica Park. Detroit City FC is a minor-league outfit in a major-league city, yet… → Read More
United Soccer League 'extremely interested' in Toledo expansion team
First of a two-part series about soccer expansion in Toledo. Professional soccer could be on its way to Toledo. The United Soccer League has taken an interest in the city for its third-division league, D3, which plans to begin play in 2019. Executives from the Tampa, Fla.-based league had meetings in Toledo and remain intrigued by the possibility of making Toledo one of its Midwestern teams. The… → Read More
Cardington-Lincoln keeps Eastwood softball from state semis again
Eastwood's Ashley Hitchcock, center, and her teammates walk off the field after defeating Fairview on Wednesday. For the second straight year, the Eagles fell to Cardington Lincoln in the regional final. THE BLADE/LORI KING Enlarge | Buy This Image FINDLAY — Unfortunately for Eastwood softball, the same opponent in the same round yielded the same result. Cardington-Lincoln belted seven… → Read More
Ohio State inks deals with two MAC schools, moves Texas series back
COLUMBUS — Ohio State’s football program agreed to terms with two Mid-American Conference schools for future games and “mutually agreed” with Texas to move the two teams’ home-and-home series back three years, it was announced Wednesday. Ohio State, which last played a MAC school in 2016 against Bowling Green, now has a MAC opponent scheduled every year from 2019 through 2021. BLADE/JEREMY… → Read More
Life with Archer: Local family rallies around son with rare disease
In a place where they never expected to be, dealing with something they had never heard of, time had a funny way of moving for the Brazeau family. There were moments in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan when Kirk and Nicki Brazeau felt as if took a lifetime. Then there were entire days that went by in what seemed like minutes. It was a… → Read More
Browns take Baker Mayfield with No. 1 overall pick
The Cleveland Browns tabbed Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield as their quarterback of the future. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge The Cleveland Browns had their choice of every quarterback available in Thursday’s National Football League draft, but made Baker Mayfield their long-anticipated choice to turn around the franchise. Cleveland, which became the second team in NFL history to finish 0-16 last season,… → Read More