This week in Blade sports 10, 20, and 30 years ago, we start with The Masters, where a Toledo man lived a dream by serving as a caddie. Back home, the Mud Hens opened the regular season while the Storm began the postseason. And on campus, the Rockets hired a men's basketball coach, landed a local recruit, and cheered on a running back attempting to come back from devastating knee injury.
■ April 9, 2008: Charlotte outslugs Mud Hens — The Mud Hens collected 10 hits, including three-run home runs by Ryan Raburn and Matt Joyce, but they were burned by poor relief pitching in a 9-7 home loss to Charlotte. Derek Wathan, who entered the game with a five-game hitting streak, went 0 for 4 with a walk.
■ April 10, 1988: Toledoan caddies at Masters — Judd Silverman, tournament director of Toledo’s Jamie Farr Classic, is caddying for his friend, Gary Koch, at The Masters this weekend. “You get to see how a great tournament is run,” Silverman said. “You can learn so much. Nobody does it better than The Masters.”
■ April 11, 1998: Wheeling nails Storm — In a New York Minute, which equated to 15 seconds at the Sports Arena, the Toledo Storm’s status during the Kelly Cup playoffs changed dramatically. The Wheeling Nailers scored two goals in 15 seconds against Nick Vitucci to win 3-0 in Game 1 of the best-of-five series.
■ April 12, 1998: Storm win in wild finish — Call this one an old-fashioned cliffhanger. In the end, Storm defenseman Louis Bernard rode in on a white horse to save the day on a well-aimed shot with 15 seconds left to give Toledo a thrilling 6-5 victory against Wheeling in Game 2 at the Sports Arena, evening the best-of-five Kelly Cup series at 1-1.
■ April 13, 2008: ‘Mama’s boy’ to lead Rockets — Gene Cross, who is the new University of Toledo men’s basketball coach, was told not to look at his mother during the introductory news conference; he would get emotional. The coach who calls himself “the biggest mama’s boy there is” is about to get to work for the Rockets.
■ April 14, 1988: Rockets sign Adrian’s Riley — Jay Eck, University of Toledo men’s basketball coach, officially added three more players to his list of signees, including Scott Riley, a 6-foot-2 guard from Adrian High in Michigan. Riley averaged 26.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists as a senior last season.
■ April 15, 1998: Carrying a lot of wait — Wasean Tait suffered a devastating injury during the first game of the 1996 season. He has made the long, slow journey back through four surgeries on his left knee, extensive daily rehabilitation, and the doubts that follow. “There’s confidence in just being out on the field with the rest of the team,” Tait said.
—Compiled by Tommy Gallagher
First Published April 9, 2018, 12:00 p.m.