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Tuesday, August 5, 2008 7:21 PM EDT
PEZZIMENTI: The road map takes me to State College
There was a time in my early 20s when I felt as if I was going nowhere. The worst part of it, a road map was nowhere to be found.
I was working and living in Kane, Pa. No offense to that particular town, but it didn’t exactly conjure up the images of what I had planned for myself.
I went to bed in a small third-floor apartment in the middle of town with the same dreams every night. I wanted to write for Sports Illustrated, the magazine I had received in the mail every week for years, the magazine I looked forward to reaching my doorstep almost more than I anticipated my birthday or Christmas.
In Kane, I was as far away as SI as humanly possible. At least that’s the way it felt. The Kane Republican, I was told on too many occasions, was the smallest daily paper in the state of Pennsylvania.
Then, less than a month in, I picked up on a call that changed everything. It was, thankfully, the first part of the road map.
Work at the Olean Times Herald, cover the St. Bonaventure basketball team?
“Yes” left my mouth before OTH sports editor Chuck Pollock could allow the question to roll off his tongue. It was August 2004.
I had grown up in the Olean area and on Bonnies basketball. During college I had bided my time working for the Bona hoops team as a student manager and serving as an intern at the OTH.
Suddenly, it felt as if I had hit that half court shot to walk away with a shiny new car or bundle of cash. At that point, that job was a close second to SI.
Chuck sold me on the fact that covering the Bonnies would provide a launching pad for bigger and better things. Heck, at the time, Olean seemed like a final destination, though I wouldn’t admit that thought.
It’s funny how our outlook on life changes over time. I’m far closer to 30 than 20 now, and the question of “What’s next?,” a.k.a. the next piece of the road map whacked me hard on the head about a year ago and hasn’t stopped.
So it’s back to the Keystone State, where I started this week at the Centre Daily Times in State College. Closely helping in the paper’s extensive coverage of Penn State football, as well as the region’s five high schools will take up the bulk of my time and energy.
I’m thankful for the new opportunity.
And of course, I’m thankful for a lot of people, who without them I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I reside today. There are so many of you to acknowledge.
To Chuck Pollock, thanks for believing in me. Mike Vaccaro, the former Bona beat man for the OTH and now columnist for the New York Post, once told me that, no matter what he’s writing, he always wonders what you would think of the final draft. I now know exactly what he’s talking about.
To fellow sports staffers Tom Roof and Jim Melaro, I learned so much from your vast experiences in the business. So much of what I’ve become is because of you.
To my old professor at Bona and former OTH managing editor, Pat Vecchio, I don’t know what I would’ve done without your guidance when I was so lost as a freshman and sophomore. I’m thankful every day that you took the extra time to help me.
To my family, especially my mom and dad, Dino and Karen, thanks for always giving me a home, being so encouraging and putting up with my long days. I couldn’t ask for better parents. And Grandma Mary, who cut out nearly every one of my hundreds and hundreds of articles. I can’t imagine the time that went into that.
To Anthony Solomon, Mark Schmidt and all the St. Bonaventure basketball players I spent countless hours with. Ahmad Smith, Tyler Relph and Michael Lee, especially, thanks for putting up with me and my questions in what had to be difficult circumstances.
To Bona sports info guys Steve Mest, Pat Pierson and Matt Pappano, you all always made my job easier.
To my best friend in the world, I know you wouldn’t want your name here in print, but I have to thank you for always being that shoulder I needed to lean on.
To the readers, thanks for taking the time to read and for all of your input, good and bad. Your feedback is what makes this job so fun.
To the Times Herald and everyone I worked with, thanks for the memories.
I will cherish them forever, no matter where the road may take me.
(Vinny Pezzimenti can be reached at vinnyp45@yahoo.com)
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