Talkin' Sports

great video

2009-07-16T10:58:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure if anybody found this video of an apparent dance-off between the UConn and South Florida baseball teams during a rain delay at this year's Big East Tournament.
It's quite amusing. Take a look at it.
My question is can anybody verify or deny that the guy doing the "handstand" on the tarp is Rocky Hill's Doug Elliot? If the uniform number is correct it is.
In either case, good stuff from the guys. I guess it goes to show how restless you can get during a delay.

I hardly knew ye

2009-05-26T18:32:00.002-04:00

I just received a bit of news that hit me like a hammer over the head.
Last summer I was lucky enough to get to play in the Rocky Hill football team's golf tournament fundraiser at Tunxis Plantation. I was paired up with a team of guys I did not really know, one of whom was booster club president Bill MacDonald. Another member of our foursome was Lewis Austin, a coach with the Newington Knights youth program who was friends with the Rocky Hill coaching staff. In fact, Lewis was friends with just about everybody. He was possibly the most jovial, most spirited, most happy-go-lucky, most humorous, most friendly person you could ever meet.
I found out today, much to my shock and dismay, that Mr. Austin passed away recently, apparently from a heart attack. Lewis had a string of health problems at the time I met him. He had recently undergone surgery for a leg problem from what I recall. But he kept pushing through it with a smile, eager to get better and stay out on the football fields and golf courses he loved for a long time to come.
This is a terrible loss for the Knights, for Newington football, for Indian Hill Country Club (where he was a member) for the town of Newington, and for anybody, like me, who had the pleasure of crossing paths with Lewis for even a brief moment.
I have not forgotten the fun our foursome had that day on the course, a day that started out a bit rainy and turned into a gorgeous summer afternoon. Our group was terrible. We had no intentions of winning, but Lewis' upbeat attitude kept us plugging away in search of pars. He also had a knack for coaching. He was able to give minor tips to each of us and see the results immediately in our swings.
I also remember that throughout the day, Lewis spent a large amount of time speaking about his children. His son, Nolan, has been a member of the Newington soccer team for several years. His daughter, Carlee, was working on her golf game, and Lewis was every bit the proud papa. He beamed when talking about them, particularly his pleasure at getting to play the links with Carlee and watch her improve.
This season Carlee is on the Newington varsity squad.
My heart goes out to the Austin family. I knew Lewis for one day, and a few brief encounters afterward. I feel I've lost a friend.
They lost a father, and one of the best.
See you some day on that great course in the sky, Lew.

feeling their pain

2009-04-11T03:59:00.002-04:00

On the night of June 22, 2002, I was in a hotel room in Hershey, PA, watching the James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me" on a local network station, when during a commercial break I overheard something that shocked me.
On Thursday morning I was sitting in my living room when similar news shocked me again, though, in a sad way, not nearly as much.
I cannot begin to understand how the family of Nick Adenhart is feeling right now. I cannot understand the emotions of his Los Angeles Angels teammates, his friends, and others who knew him.
But I do know a bit about what the Angels' fans are feeling, for what it's worth.
June 22, 2002 was the day that St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in his hotel room in Chicago, the victim of a heart attack, as the Cards were in town to face the rival Cubs. It was that news that a local TV anchor announced during that commercial break, and when I heard it, I wondered if I had heard correctly. It was unbelievable. I don't know if I breathed from that point until many minutes later when I turned over the ESPN to find out what I thought I heard was true.
As a Cardinals fan, I will never forget seeing the video at Wrigley Field that afternoon, as a packed house of both teams' fans waited wondering why the game was delayed. Then Cubs catcher Joe Girardi stepped to a microphone, and with tears in his eyes, delivered the message. I may not remember it exactly, but very close.
"We regret to inform you that due to a tragedy in the Cardinals family, today's game has been canceled."
I get tears in my eyes thinking about it seven years later. This was the arch-rival, or would have been on any other day. But on that day, it simply did not matter.
I relived the experience two years ago, when Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock was killed in a drunk driving accident in April, 2007. Hancock had been a member of the World Series winning team the year before.
Ironically, it was when the Cubs were in St. Louis for a series.
Of course, I didn't know either Kile or Hancock. I never met them. I don't believe I ever saw either of them play in person.
And yet, in both cases, I felt deeply saddened by their deaths, more than others you hear about on the news.
It is a strange business, being a sports fan. You become completely invested in the lives of people you have never met, or at least a small portion of their lives. You watch them on TV, day-in and day-out, and they become a part of your life as a result. They become important on some level.
And yet, when you get right down to it, you don't know anything about them.
Kile was a star, one of my favorite pitchers on the team, and a big part of the Cardinals resurgence as a franchise in the 2000s. Hancock was the epitome of a role player, a mediocre middle reliever known for eating up innings.
Kile had done nothing wrong. He simply had a heart problem that had gone undiagnosed. Hancock was the victim of his own foolish act, getting behind the wheel after too much drinking.
I felt the death of each pretty intensely. Tears welled in my eyes multiple times, and still do as I recall those moments.
Tears welled in my eyes once again this week for Adenhart. The 22-year-old had just pitched the best game of his young career, and showed tremendous promise. He was not guilty of anything. He simply went out, and another driver, with an impressive track record to put it one way, took away the lives of him and two of his friends (with another still in the hospital and possibly the next to go).
I won't spend any more time passing judgement. I won't spend any more time eulogizing the dead, whom I know nothing of personally. I won't try to offer condolences to the family, friends and teammates of Adenhart. It would only come up short of its mark even if they were to read this. That's not what I can offer.
In 2002 and 2007, I read the online message boards. I listened on the radio and on TV. I heard a nation of fans speak of how saddened they were by the deaths of Kile and Hancock.
Mostly, I heard the fans of other teams, particularly the Cubs, put aside trivial rivalries and reach out to those whom they would normally detest. It made a difference.
So if you speak to an Angels fan this week, and wonder why they are truly, deeply hurt on a very sincere and heartfelt level, offer condolences. I cannot explain it fully. I cannot understand it any better myself. But I know their pain.
I weep, this week, for them.

see you at the stadium

2009-04-10T03:42:00.004-04:00

It's almost 4 in the morning, and I just got back from the gym. I recently joined a 24 hour gym (Cardio Express in Wethersfield if anybody's wondering) to suit my nocturnal lifestyle, and so far it's working out well. But that's not the point of this post.
I'll be covering my first game of the spring in less than 12 hours, and I'm very excited about it. I was stuck in the office most of the winter due to drastically early deadlines and our desire as a staff to continue to get results from as many games as possible in the paper. That meant I was on phone duty most nights. Now with games in the afternoon, I get to go back out in the field most days.
I'll be at the Berlin-New Britain border war baseball game at Beehive, and with a pair of good teams (one looking to be among the elite in the state) it should be exciting.
I figured now is a good time to share some of my "preseason" thoughts (the season is actually two days old) on the spring sports in the area.
Predicted top team: Berlin baseball
If anybody is going to win a state title this season, put your fake money on the Redcoats. They return a team loaded with talent. In fact, when contacted about previews, two opposing coaches had the same comment. "They're [expletive] loaded."
Think about it. Last summer both the Berlin Legion team and Jaycee-TD Banknorth League team made it to their championship, the latter winning. The teams both had players from the current high school squad, though the Legion team had more. This team returned most of its key parts, including a pitching staff coach Leo Veleas says is deeper in talent than he's ever coached. That's saying a lot.
Team on the rise: Newington softball
I have a feeling this could be a very special year for the Indians. They went 13-7 last year, losing a number of close games that they should have won. Experience is the greatest teacher, and with all six players back in front of the outfield grass (and in softball that's what matters most) the talent is there to be among the best in the CCC and possibly the state. Now, Masuk looks extremely tough to beat for a state title (and it's way to early to talk about that for this team), but the Indians held them scoreless in a 0-0 scrimmage. Keep an eye on this team.
Bounce-back year: Rocky Hill softball
The Terriers have had a few bad years and are looking back at the golden days when they had pitchers like Natalie Tine and Ashlee Teraila leading them deep in the state tournament. Well, look out for Megan Ruonavaara, a player who will terrify hitters in the coming years as much as her name terrifies sports writers. Rocky Hill is back.
Most likely to defend a title: Berlin boys golf
The Redcoats golfers will try to steal some attention away from the baseball team, and with Ryan Lee, Kevin Jud, Mike Scheyd and others back, this team has a very good shot to defend its Division II state title. Scheyd, typically their No. 3 guy, shot even par in his first round of the season. Not a bad way to start.
Best local athletes you've never watched: Farmington tennis players Mark Kahan and Monica Szwed
Kahan lost the state open final last year, but bounced back by winning the New England title instead. Szwed, as a sophomore, went deep in the girls tournament, and with a little added muscle to her precision shots should go further. These two are fun to watch, no punchers here. Of course, I speak as a varsity letter earner in tennis, so maybe I'm biased.
Best rivalry: It may be more media driven than anything (guilty as charged), or maybe not, but the three-way rivalry between golfers Sarah Sideranko (New Britain), Kirsten LaPointe (Newington) and Erica Barnes (Berlin) is always fun. Sideranko and LaPointe have been dueling it out in the spotlight since being named all-state players their freshman season. They have such contrasting styles of play on the course, it's fascinating to watch them head to head. Sideranko will invariably outdrive LaPointe, but the latter seems to know exactly where to hit it with the strength she has to make an approach shot possible.
Meanwhile, Barnes spent two years just trying to get noticed and did so in a big way by finishing tied for second at last year's state open, on a day when the other two weren't quite as sharp.
They all face off against each other, and to add to the fun, Sideranko and LaPointe will be college teammates at Hartford next season.
Some upperclassmen to watch (in no particular order): Spencer Parker, Newington volleyball; D.J. Voisine, Plainville baseball; Matt Carasiti, Berlin baseball; Chris Linares, New Britain baseball; Amanda Palmieri, Southington softball; Kelly Paterson, Southington softball; Felicia Leone, New Britain softball; Josh Edelson, Farmington golf; Chris Kelly, Southington track; Jackie English, Wethersfield softball
One other storyline: baseball dominance
I predict, for the second year in a row, that area baseball teams will finish much better than local softball teams. Looking around the towns, it's hard to find a bad baseball squad. Rocky Hill might be the weakest, but I have a feeling the Terriers will challenge people. Southington and Newington don't look as strong as they've been, but there's always talent at those two schools. I wouldn't be shocked if all these teams make the postseason, with Farmington appearing ready to bounce back this season, and teams like New Britain, Berlin, Plainville and Wethersfield possibly among the best.

That's about it for now. Come out to the Hive Friday at 3.

MLB season preview

2009-04-05T03:46:00.002-04:00

OK. Spring is here. That means I will get out of the office and back into the field after a long winter which forced me to miss a lot of the action on the basketball court.
But, before we get to local high school stuff, I want to share my thoughts on the MLB season, and make my predictions for each team.
Now, as I did last year, I will make predictions on records for all the teams, but I will be doing this totally off the top of my head. The numbers will not add up to a possible outcome. But last season, I was relatively close on most teams, and actually quite proud of myself.
I am more excited than ever for baseball season. I think the birth of mlb.tv on the mlb.com Web site has allowed me to watch more baseball than ever, and I feel really well informed on the sport as a whole. So, with that in mind, expect my picks to be terrible. But here they are.

American League East
1. New York (95-67)- I've gone back and forth on this, and honestly, I think the top three teams in baseball are in this division. But one won't make the playoffs and another will need to win the wild card to get there. So, this is key.
The Yanks lineup is flawed, with Jeter getting old, Matsui not nearly what he used to be and Posada and Damon both reaching their final years. But, how can you beat the rotation with Sabathia, Burnett, Chamberlain, and Pettitte?
Well, the answer may be injuries, but until that happens, this is the team to beat if you ask me. They need A-Rod back desperately, but should be good when that happens. If they slip at all, they'll be caught.
2- Tie- Boston/Tampa Bay (94-68)- It's so close, let's just get a one-day playoff for the wild card. That would be fun.
The Sox's rotation looks stronger than expected. Penny is pitching well, and is healthy so far. Beckett, Daisuke and Lester are all very strong (again, if healthy. That seems to be a trend). Somebody will fill the last spot and at worst, Wakefield isn't a bad option.
The lineup post-Manny is still quite strong, though not as intimidating. Drew needs to get healthy, and I think Pedroia will come back just a bit from his MVP season. But I think Papi will pick up the slack.
As for the Rays, I can't figure out why David Price is starting the year in the minors, and if he weren't I'd probably have picked them ahead of New York. Bad move by the team if you ask me, because one or two games in the regular season could mean they don't get to October, so resting him could be a moot point.
But, this team still has a very strong rotation and bullpen from last year, Carl Crawford is poised for a big bounce-back year, and the rest of the team is young and improving. What's not to like?
4. Baltimore (75-87)- The rest of this division will suffer the consequences. The Orioles have some nice young pieces though, such as Adam Jones in center field. He's going to be a stud. The pitching staff has decent promise too, so I pick them barely ahead of the Jays.
5. Toronto (72-90)- I don't know why I'm quite so down on this team, but after Roy Halladay, I don't like much of what they have. Vernon Wells is getting old. Alex Rios is good, and Scott Rolen should do better than last year if he's healthier for once. But not much else.
I will be watching New Britain native Jesse Carlson closely as a reliever. His father is a great person and he's done well in his time so far.
American League Central
1. Minnesota (89-73)- Love the former Rock Cats in the rotation. And in a division with no great teams, consistency wins out. Nobody's staff is as balanced as the Twins, even if Scott Baker misses a bit of time at the start. But Denard Span needs to do better than he did in the spring and Mauer must get back healthy before too long. That could be a downfall.
2. Cleveland (85-77)- I could get laughed at for this, but I think this is a sleeper team. Here's why.
There's a lot of potential for surprise performances from the pitching staff. Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona need to perform up to expectations. Jake Westbrook needs to return from Tommy John surgery healthy and before July. But there's hope behind that. I expect big things from Carl Pavano, getting out of New York, and Anthony Reyes, who has as much talent as anybody when he screws his head on correctly.
Plus, I like Victor Martinez to bounce back, Sizemore to improve and others to do well. I like this team. I could eat these words in September.
3. Chicago (82-78)- An up and down club headed for another "down" year. Good pieces. Alexei Ramirez is a rising star. But I expect dropoffs from Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye and the rotation.
4. Kansas City (78-82)- Much improved, but don't buy the hype that this team could contend in this division. The young pitching staff is solid, but the offense has no big bats to get the job done. Simply put, who's driving in the runs? Alex Gordon's not that good yet, and Coco Crisp is no savior.
5. Detroit (72-90)- Bad times ahead for the Motor City. This pitching staff, injured and declining in a hurry, is bad. The offense is weaker without Sheff and Pudge. Granderson, Magglio and Cabrera can't score enough to overcome the deficiencies. Horrible year.
American League West
1. Anaheim of LA in the Valley [or something like that] (90-72)- Smoke and mirrors, and good coaching, are enough to win this division. This isn't nearly as good a team as it used to be, and there are some early pitching questions. But in the end, who's beating them. Nobody else is very good. And Scioscia is one of the best in the game at getting the most out of a roster.
2. Oakland (84-78)- Still don't think this team is very good. This might even be a bit high for them. Holliday's numbers should plummet in the Coliseum. The pitching staff is mediocre. The rest of the lineup strikes out too much. But look for the return of Giambi, back to folk legend status by the Bay. He was never comfortable in New York.
3. Seattle (83-79)- The Mariners weren't a good team last year, but they weren't as bad as their record. Or at least shouldn't have been. Look for Bedard to do better this year, and the team to get a serious emotional boost from that Griffey guy. Some guys are just meant to be in certain cities. Junior never should have left. He belongs to Seattle.
4. Texas (80-82)- Teams still getting better, but there still isn't enough pitching to go with stud hitters like Kinsler and Hamilton.

National League East
1. New York (91-71)- I know the rotation depth is weak. I know you're counting a lot on John Maine and Oliver Perez to do well. But I believe in both of those guys and the Mets have found success at the front of games with mediocre talent in recent years. It's been the back end that's caused problems. Now they've got that settled with two top level guys in Putz and K-Rod.
Now, the runs that this lineup scores will hold up, and with Sheff added yesterday, the lineup looks even a bit stronger.
2. Philadelphia (89-73)- Here's where I see pitching problems. Hamels is hurt. Moyer is a human wonder, but can't do everything. Myers is never happy. What else is there. I saw Happ in person last year. He's not that good.
Great bullpen, great offense (even better with Utley back at full strength). But pitching will be the downfall for the champs.
3. Florida (86-76)- This is another sleeper team. Most in the division consider the Marlins rotation to be the best of the bunch, though almost completely unknown. Chris Volstad is the next guy to get recognized, the way Hamels has over the past three years. Hanley Ramirez is a star.
But overall, not enough depth in the lineup.
4. Atlanta (83-79)- This team could also sneak into the playoffs, if Francouer bounces back, Chipper stays healthy and other things go right. The rotation will have trouble staying healthy, even if it is good when the guys take the mound. So that will keep them back just a bit.
5. Washington (71-91)- You know, I think this team is much improved talent-wise. But the record won't get much of a boost playing four legitimately good teams in the division. Love Elijah Dukes. Love Dunn to get the fans excited. Don't expect to be in the race.

National League Central
1. Chicago (96-66)- Best team in the NL is back. They choked in the playoffs, but they're built for regular season greatness. Zambrano, Harden, Dempster (and Peavy?). That's tough to beat. The lineup is balanced and better with Milton Bradley. Let's see how they do when they get to the playoffs this time.
Only minor question for me is will Gregg and Marmol be as strong as Wood was last year. That could effect things.
2. St. Louis (93-69)- Homer pick. But seriously, I love my team this year.
STAT TIME!
Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright combined for 23 starts last year, going 11-4 (Carp was 0-1 and never got past the fifth inning). That team won 86 games.
Now those two are back healthy and should start, at a very conservative guess, 40 games at least. Thats good for five more wins. Add in an offensive upgrade at short, a plethora of outfield talent and a bullpen that will now be an asset as opposed to a detriment. Josh Kinney will be a great reliever, Ryan Franklin will be at home in the setup role and Jason Motte will close games out with pure power. Mark it down. This team makes the playoffs barring injuries.
3. Cincinnati (86-76)- Everybody's favorite to be this year's Rays looks good on paper. Volquez, Cueto, Harang, Arroyo and Owings in the rotation: good stuff. But...
After Joey Votto (who I love), Jay Bruce (who I like) and Brandon Phillips (who everybody should know more about) the offense is full of unproductive outs and little power. This offense can't score enough to take pressure off the young arms. That's a recipe for disaster.
4. Milwaukee (81-81)- Braun is awesome, and I hate him for that. Fielder is dangerous. Other guys can hit for power, though not as much for average.
But the team's best pitcher might be Jeff Suppan, three of the other starters are constantly hurt, and Braden Looper is a solid pitcher. That's not a lot of depth, and no ace. Remember, before CC got there last year, this team was not headed to the playoffs. He won't save them this year, and Sheets is gone, too.
5. Houston (74-88)- This is a team where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Somehow these guys won't blend. Good pitching performances will go wasted. Good offensive days will be ruined by poor starts. And Carlos Lee is so bad in left field it's worth about 20 runs over the course of the season to opponents. I like what they did adding Pudge, and Berkman's still the quietest great player in the game. But this team is destined to hit the skids.
6. Pittsburgh (66-96)- In contention to be the worst team in the league, if only San Diego weren't so bad it would be a landslide. They have a rotation of guys who could never live up to potential. Maholm, their best chance to break that chance, is pitching poorly in spring.
The offense is hideous and the defense even worse. Beautiful park. Ugly team.

National League West
1. Los Angeles (88-74)- I don't love any of these teams, and I've flip-flopped on this several times (like the AL East). But Manny is a difference maker and makes that offense the best in the division (not that that says much).
I don't like the pitching staff. There's too much riding on young guys, and guys who may have had career years last year. We'll see. This team still has the most upside in the division.
2. San Francisco (86-76)- Combine the Giants and Dodgers and you'd have a great team. Cause Lincecum, Cain and Randy Johnson is a fearsome top three in the rotation. But who will score the runs. The offense is better, but still bad. Nonetheless, I think this team fits its park very well and will post a very good home record.
3. Arizona (85-77)- This could change if a lot of the young hitters step up. Webb and Haren are still great, but the rest of the rotation isn't as good as before. But if Stephen Drew and whichever Upton is on this team reach their potential, that could go a long way. Plus I expect good things from Felipe Lopez at second, and Eric Byrnes could see a big bounceback year, if he ever gets to play.
4. Colorado (74-88)- Who's still on this team from the 07 World Series? Spillborghs. Tulowitzki. Ummmm???
Alright, Todd Helton's still there, but far too much of the team salary is tied up in an aging hitter with bad home and road splits. Pitching staff is suspect. Offense has noticeably less pop without Holliday.
5. San Diego (65-97)- Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Look out 62 Mets. This team might challenge you, although that has proven harder and harder to do. Even the awful teams get some wins these days, and Jake Peavy's still a Padre for at least a couple months. Chris Young could bounce back and be a very good pitcher. And Brian Giles is... well, he's still there for what it's worth. (Adrian Gonzalez is one good offensive player this team has. He's about it.)
The offense is god awful. It's a shame that the owners' personal issues (divorce) are forcing the fans and team to suffer. Hang in there Pads fans.

Enjoy the season, fans. I know I will.
And stay classy, San Diego. It's going to be a loooooooong season.

some deserved credit

2009-02-01T14:42:00.002-05:00

I want to give credit to some of the people who don't get noticed, but have been working hard to help make their teams and us better. I'm talking about the team managers.
These kids tirelessly chart stats, carry game charts, and manage equipment, but most important to me is that they call the game results in every night.
A couple local managers have, as usual, been doing a fantastic job, and I'm sorry I don't know all their names. I can say we have come to recognize their voices on the other end of the phone.
Big cheers go to both Farmington basketball managers, who are typically the first to phone in basketball games each night. I believe the girls manager is Shannon DeBari, who is proving the be a great athlete and a great organizer as well. I don't know the boys manager, but excellent work as well. Timely, organized, efficient.
I also need to give extra credit to all the hockey managers that have been calling this season. Due to an earlier deadline than in the past, most local games end after our printing, and therefore don't get into the paper often. But a couple of these guys have been managing to call us as soon as the game ends and get the results in the paper. Last night, the Newington-Berlin manager called to report scores from the day before because their game had ended too late.
That's awesome. Your players will get the credit and recognition they deserve because you put the extra effort in. Awesome job.

Speaking of hockey, there are a couple interesting looking teams in the area. It seems these co-ops, while I am not a fan, are greatly helping competition. After a slow start to the season, Newington-Berlin is doing quite well lately, and looks on track for a tournament spot. Rocky Hill-RHAM continues to be far more competitive than either was separately. But the biggest success has been the Hall-Southington team. These two were made for each other. One was a defensive juggernaut will little offensive punch last year (Hall) while the other got used to 11-10 shootouts (Southington). Together they have proven to be very effective and are among the favorites in Division III (even though I don't think two schools that size should be in D-III).
I'm a little concerned for Farmington. The Indians have a very tough schedule remaining and have struggled all year. Ironically, a team that has done nothing but score goals in recent seasons is having trouble putting the puck in the net with some very talented players. I'm not sure what's going on with the Indians, but hopefully things will come together quickly.

If you get the chance, head over the Rocky Hill High on Monday. The Terriers girls basketball team will be making a nice gesture in honoring veterans at halftime and after the game. The girls were inspired by their annual trip to the town's Veterans' Home and Hospital and decided to invite all vets to their game for free. I hope they get a big crowd and both sides enjoy it.

Still very little love for the New Britain girls in the polls after losing first-place votes due to their forfeited games. The girls still came in at sixth this week and opinions are divided pretty evenly down the middle. But it seems things are going better than expected in the standings. I predicted earlier that the girls might lose a second-round home game because of it. But it's looking more like the team will finish in the top 8 spots in Class LL and still get those home games.

first one of the year

2009-01-11T14:49:00.002-05:00

OK, first off, sorry that I haven't been blogging. The problem, in all honesty, is that I haven't been at enough games lately to feel really comfortable talking about local players and teams. Our deadlines at the paper changed to 10 (hopefully a temporary problem) in December, and it means somebody has to stay in the office all night rather than covering a game to handle the phone calls from coaches. That's almost always me, because I am best at quickly putting things on pages and because I'm an editor.
I'm not complaining, but I do miss covering stuff.
So, since the start of basketball, hockey and wrestling season, I've seen exactly three games. I'll say what I thought about the last two of those first, and then try to get to what reporters Ken Lipshez and Andrew Lovell seem to be saying, and what I'm getting from coaches.

I made sure I got to see the New Britain girls basketball team at least once. They're simply too much fun. In the past four years this has consistently been one of my favorite teams to cover. They play an uptempo style starting with swarming backcourt defense which usually leads to a lot of fastbreak opportunities and flashy plays.
Perhaps it is ironic, then, that I feel the two most critical players to their success (not the best players, but the difference makers) are their least flashy. Sarah Sideranko's defense, as I've said before, makes Symone Roberts 100 times more dangerous. But the one who's been impressive lately is Tyler Kimball. If Kimball can be a constant post presence all on her own, which she's shown flashes of for three years, then this team has few weaknesses (outside a drastic lack of depth). But I doubt anybody can find a better three-headed attack in the state than those three players.
I really like the improvements I see from Heather O'Bright and Emily Polkowski as well. Neither is a star, but both find ways to contribute when they get in the game, and any winning team needs that.
I happened to see Sideranko and co-captain Monica Malec at the CCSU women's game on New Year's Eve. I'm sure they were rooting on former coach Beryl Piper, but in either case that's a good thing for young players to do. Go see players at the next level up close to see how they do things. You can get a lot better at basketball by watching it. It won't replace practicing, but it's a useful addendum to it.

Yesterday I got to see the Hall-Southington co-op hockey team, and I must say I'm very impressed. Now, I've never understood the strange system that determines hockey playoff divisions, so I don't understand how a co-op between one of the biggest schools in the state and a solid Class L school could leave this team in the lowest division, but since they are there they've got a good shot at a title run.
The combo seems to have been kismet. Hall was a defensive team looking for scoring power last year. Meanwhile, Southington had to sacrifice some of its incredible scoring potential at times to use Joe Harvey in goal, lest the score end up 10-9. Together the team seems to have a lot of very good pieces.
What a wild game, though. Apparently 6-1 leads in high school hockey aren't safe. The Warrior-Knights (I wish I could call them that officially. It's pleasantly excessive.) had to go back on offense in the third period to avoid losing.
I love what Eric Muroski was able to do, taking control and making two great shots for late goals, and there were a lot of other contributors. Harvey, Andrew Green and others made great plays as well.
I'm not a big hockey guy, but this team, any one that can post nine goals in a game, is dangerous in D-III.

As for stuff I haven't been able to see in person, a couple things stand out. First off, for those in Berlin fretting over the girls loss to Capital Prep before the new year, don't worry about it too much. That Prep team is legit, perhaps one of the top 15 in the state, and they will be one of the favorites in Class S. Besides, the Redcoats had to scramble to adjust midgame to losing Zarotney, and even though they played without her for much of last year, having to change plans on the fly is never easy. It's not hard to get distracted or thrown off.
Early on I thought Berlin was better than Wethersfield, now I'm not so sure. Both are very good, but I think the Eagles might have a little bit more firepower. Erin Verre is making a big case for some all-state consideration with her play, I honestly believe that based on what I'm hearing. I wish I could get out there and see her in action. I've been watching her and the rest of that team play for a few years, and there's always been steady improvement. That's also a team that knows how to play together.
I'm quite honestly shocked at how well Rocky Hill's been playing. Credit goes, as always, to coach Pete Egan, for bringing out the best in his talent. But a few players deserve particular mention. First off, Joyce Grodovich is the star that folks in RH envisioned when she was a talented freshman. She's clearly playing with far more confidence than before. It always appeared she deferred to some of the older players before like Meghan Daley, Meaghan LeMay and Sam Avery. Now Grodovich must know this is her team to lead.
The next key has been Ashley O'Connell, who looked promising last year, but also was playing behind Avery and LeMay in the post.
The surprises have been Amanda Biella and Krystina Chudy, who have both turned into solid ball handlers. It's made Rocky Hill far more competitive than expected this year.
I'm not completely sold on Southington, but they are a solid team. I haven't seen the Knights at all, so it's tough to say how close they are to last year's very good team. Marissa Chapman is another one who has never completely come into her own, but maybe this is her year. The team needs some other performers to really step up to get back to where it was.

On the boys side, I wish I could see Wethersfield. By all accounts the Eagles found some of the magic they had late last season on Friday night. It's too bad P.J. Santavenere didn't return to the team this year, because with him they'd have four or five good to very good players on the court at the same time. Vic Anderson can take a game over, Adam Williams and Tyler Murphy are potent weapons and they have some good role guys.
Keep an eye out for Wethersfield. If one's things certain with this team, inconsistency is almost always an issue. But remember, it took them awhile to get going last season but they were very dangerous by the end. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same this year.
But the most buzz is back in New Britain where coach Stan Glowiak really does have all the pieces. Darius Watson is almost unguardable lately according to Ken Lipshez (and the numbers support it), Raheem McKinley is a very good second scorer, Tebucky Jones has all the athleticism in the world (shocking, right?), Robert McKinnon brings experience off the bench and the team has actual depth in Quashon Moore and Tarik Hightower.
The most interesting thing to note is that this team doesn't have a big problem it's had for several years. New Britain's always played competitive even during some "down" years lately. The problem has been fourth quarters. No lead was safe as the team didn't always have somebody to trust with the ball in the closing minutes. Well, Steven Glowiak is one of the purest shooters around. Put the ball in his hands and the free throws will fall. If that's his only role on the team, it's a big one, and he's a good complement to the flash and dazzle of the rest of the lineup.

Hopefully I'll have more in the coming weeks. I really want to get back out there at games and see these teams in person. In the meantime, go see the CCSU women. They're very competitive, and although the first four games on the NEC slate, all wins, weren't against great competition, this team should be in the upper half of the league. They also play a similar style to New Britain: pressure the ball and watch the fast-breaks come.

back to work

2008-12-21T03:26:00.003-05:00

Alright, it's been a long time since I last posted. Truth be told, with all the rumors and hearsay about the future of the newspaper, I haven't been all that inspired to write on here. I hope all of you who still know the web address will let other potential readers know. The Journal Register Company wanted to put a banner ad on the blog, and I refused, so they promptly removed the link to it from The Herald's website. That is no problem. I will continue to blog on here on my own time.
So let people know that they can still find the blog at www.talkinsportsnb.blogspot.com, as you obviously know if you're reading this.
So, it's been a while since football season ended, so I won't really do a wrapup there. Now it's on to basketball season.
Shane Leupold asked me the other day if I was going to be blogging about basketball this winter. The answer is simple: of course I will be.
After all, basketball is the sport that I feel most comfortable talking about at the high school level. I just feel when I'm watching basketball that I get a good sense of players as individuals, with differing talents and weaknesses. I don't know football nearly as well on a skills level, or at least as a rater of talent. I know baseball and softball well, but those are sports you really have to see a player every single game to know just how good they are and see all their skills in action.
With basketball you can see a player's skills pretty clearly just watching them a handful of times.
Sadly, I've only been out to one game so far. Rockville at Farmington girls on opening night.
But I'm pretty familiar with a lot of local players, and I've been taking a lot of phone calls in the office and getting to see how teams are doing.
So, I'll give you a quick rundown of what I see so far, starting with the girls teams.
First off, the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance has started a new poll for girls basketball this season. I'm a member of the organization so this is a bit of a shameless plug. But look for the poll in print and on TV. You should see it pop up.
The voters have come to the conclusion that New Britain is the top team in the state, and I see nothing to dissuade me from that stance, which I already held.
Simply put Symone Roberts is deceptively good. A lot of people think she's just a scorer and nothing else. What they overlook is that the best part of Symone's game is her defense, and they fail to see just how stifling she can be for the opposing team's top guard. Symone is quicker on the court than any high school girl I've ever seen. She gets most of her points off steals. If she ever learned how to shoot at a higher percentage, and I'm sure she's working on it, she'd average 30 points a game easily, if not 35 or 40.
Keep an eye on Symone's career point total. If she stays healthy, she should have 2,000 before February easily. She has an outside shot at 2,500 if she has a monster season, which would be unreal in this day and age when girls everywhere in Connecticut are growing up playing the game from a young age.
Meanwhile, Sarah Sideranko is very tough defensively as well, but needs to stay out of foul trouble. Add in what Tyler Kimball can do down low, actually a perfect complement to Symone and Sarah, and the 'Canes are going to be very tough to beat. Kimball can clean up a lot of Symone and Sarah's misses.
Meanwhile, Heather O'Bright, Monica Malec and others are turning into very nice role players. But depth will be a problem.
I'll talk a little about Farmington, since I saw them once. I went into the game expecting nothing from them, as they appear to be young and inexperienced once again. I came out thinking that while they won't be a great team, they should be able to hold their own against most of the teams on their schedule.
I like Kellie Nissen at the point, but she needs to keep improving. Emily Kitching is a nice guard with a decent shot and some intangibles. Their bigs are tough-nosed. But mostly, I respected the way the team played defense as a unit. They really contest everything at all positions.
Scoring will be a struggle for them, but defense will allow them to hang around and maybe surprise a few teams.
Berlin looks awesome so far. They haven't been tested and they've played a few decent teams. Simply put the only team in the Northwest Conference I see giving them problems at all is Northwest Catholic. But I think Berlin, with Katelyn Zarotney back healthy and the team playing as the unit it never was when she was there last year, will be hard to beat.
The team has three legitimate bigs, Zarotney, Sarah Byrnes and Kaitlyn Bovee, all of whom are offensive threats, and Byrnes is a very good defensive player. Meanwhile, Lexy Vasquez is lethal from 3-point range and should give the bigs plenty of room to work down low. If Kim Rasmussen can distribute at the point and play good defense, which with her speed and poise she should be able to do, this team has no holes on offense or defense. None.
This team might be better than anybody imagines at this point. The bench looks pretty good too, with some surprise names showing up early like Liz Long, Monique St. Jarre and Alyssa Barrett. Each has done some amazing things.
But trust me. They won't blow everybody out all season. We need to see how they react in a tough game for the first time this year.
Wethersfield has been almost as impressive so far, and looks even stronger than the team that earned the top seed in Class L last year. I'm sure they want to make amends for the first-round exit, too.
Abigail Corning is another player that is subtly excellent. I can't count the number of out-of-area sportswriters who have watched her play and told me they weren't impressed with her game. I am.
For one, she is tough, extremely tough, on the court. And she has a nose for scoring. That's hard to gauge, but Corning seems to know just when to drive baseline (which is her signature move in my opinion), when to pull up, and when to look for a trip to the foul line. A lot of players can't adapt to different situations like she can. They try to do the same thing every time. Her ability to change it up is the sign of a great player.
Heather Lyhne looks to be putting the pieces together after showing a ton of potential for two years. Erin Verre is the perfect interior player to go along with a pair like that. She doesn't need to have the ball in her hands to do things. She'll go grab the offensive rebounds and do the dirty work.
Her sister Brenna is turning into a better-than-expected point guard. Jackie English is tough to guard with her size and shooting ability, although she needs to be more consistent from outside.
I haven't seen the freshman Morgan Murphy. But I hear good things about her, and I know she's got some talented genes. Her brother Tyler is a phenomenal athlete and keeps getting better at both football and basketball.
I really like Wethersfield's chances again this year, and the game against Kolbe Cathedral next week should be fun, whether they win or not. Kolbe's a legit top five team in the state.
As for other teams, Rocky Hill's Joyce Grodovich may be joining the elite player ranks, at least if she keeps scoring 29 a game. Plus Ashley O'Connell's been a consistent performer for the Terriers. They look far better than expected, although they beat up on two pretty weak opponents so far.
Southington also hasn't beaten anybody really good yet, although Newington and Farmington aren't pushovers by any stretch. But the Knights don't seem nearly as good as last year. I have to see them in person to say more about them.
I really was impressed last year with some of Newington's young players, particularly point Kristina Forsman who I think will be a star. I think that team plays as well as she plays this year. But I know Al Ford will know how to use his team's speed and athleticism to frustrate opponents defensively, even if they struggle shooting as they have since Kelly McVey graduated.
Plainville's going to be in for a pretty long year, but the Devils got a nice win over St. Paul it seems. Still, Alyssa Martino will probably be a focal point for defenses, and that could make it a frustrating year for her. Give Jen Micowski a couple years and this team will be right back though.

As for the boys, my knowledge is not quite as in depth. They've only played one week so far, not even a complete one. Plus there was a lot more graduation turmoil for local teams.
That said...
New Britain should be very good. Darius Watson is an electric player and the addition of Steven Glowiak gives the team a very consistent outside threat to keep teams from packing the lane against Watson, Tebucky Jones and the other slashers. Look for them to get better as the season goes on, hopefully.
Wethersfield has a couple dynamite pieces in Victor Anderson and Murphy. It's too bad P.J. Santavenere left for Middletown, but the Eagles are dangerous again. I continue to love the effort put forth by Peter Skevas on defense. The kid is fun to watch.
Newington's a bit of a mystery. Leupold is tough as nails, and has some pretty good skills at getting to the basket. Jon Riddick could be the most dominant rebounder in the CCC, but if you talk to the kid you realize that he doesn't quite know that about himself. He needs the self-confidence on the court to make it happen, and admittedly must work on his touch around the rim. This kid could dominate and completely frustrate opponents, but at the moment he's just a bit too "nice" on the court for lack of a better word.
Another pesky defender is Eric Figueroa. He needs to cut down on his offensive mistakes so that coach Wenzel can keep him in the game for defense. I haven't seen the Indians yet, but I'm hoping they can put things together.
Leupold tells me they'll be better than last year. I hope he's right.
Farmington may struggle, but they've always got Spencer Noon who can singlehandedly take a game over, with far less inate skill at basketball than he has on the soccer field. He's one of these players that must drive opponents nuts, saying how is this kid beating us. But he does.
Congratulations to Plainville on getting a win out of the way early. After an 0-fer year last season, the Devils can breathe easy the rest of the way. They seem much improved, with coach Marc Wesoly making a good first impression.
Berlin and Rocky Hill are other question marks. The Terriers lost a lot to graduation and it wouldn't surprise me if they were around the bottom of the league this season. The Redcoats are impressing new coach John Fote, familiar to Wethersfield fans. He says they are extremely coachable which is, of course, the ultimate compliment from a coach. That means expect more from the group the further they get into the season. But don't expect too much. It still seems like a middle of the pack kind of year for Berlin, although we've all been wrong before.

Finals Saturday

2008-12-05T22:09:00.002-05:00

Today should be exciting, and I regret that I won't be at any of the football games. I will be filling in for Sports Editor Matt Straub at the Central men's and women's basketball games while he is out sick. He should be back by next week though, in time for me to hit the courts for some high school basketball, which starts up right away.
But football first.
Six games today. Six predictions.
I had a very good run of 8-3 in the semifinal round, which was a big change from last year when I got just about everything wrong. Let's see how I do with these even tougher games.

Class LL, Glastonbury vs. Cheshire: I'll say I'm still not terribly impressed with Glastonbury. I don't know why. I just don't believe the Tomahawks are that good, and I don't think they're going to break the CCC's run of struggles in this game.
I think Ragone will have a big day for Cheshire and the Rams will return to their glory days of the 1990s for a brief moment. But I'm not saying that will last.
Class L, Newington vs. Masuk: It's been quite a season for the Indians after most prognosticators, myself included, thought a .500 season would be a stretch. I figured out I was wrong about that after watching them once this year, in the opener against Hall, and immediately jumped to the other bandwagon saying I thought they could win a state title. That was reactionary, but they're making that look smart.
However, I think this is the end of the road. Newington played maybe it's best game of the year against Simsbury, so they're peaking at the right time. But it's hard to match what Masuk has done the last two weeks.
I don't think it will be a blowout. In fact, I'd expect closer to a shootout. But I think Masuk will put it away solidly at the end.
Class MM: New Canaan vs. Darien: This is the best matchup of the day, the one everybody in the state wants to know about. The winner of this probably gets voted number one unless Glastonbury wins, because just about everybody has either a loss or no marquee wins.
I've been saying since week three that I thought New Canaan was the best team this year. I'm not backing off it now. I think they'll win this one in a great game.
Class M: Ledyard vs. Brookfield: Ask anybody if they thought Ledyard would be back here after getting killed by Berlin opening night. If they're honest they'll say no. In fact, most thought it would be the Redcoats returning to this time take home a title.
But here's Ledyard. And here's Brookfield, going almost completely unnoticed all season despite having only one loss (to Newtown).
I don't think Ledyard will repeat, because I think Brookfield's a significantly stronger team. But maybe it's too early still to count out the defending champs.
Class SS: Seymour vs. New London: Quite honestly, while SS proved to be a very good division this year, these are the teams that most people probably would have picked to get here. The funny thing is New London doesn't look quite as invincible as they did six weeks ago, and after seeing them in person last week the Wildcats look extremely good. They have size up front, speed on the ends, and a super talent in Mike Osiecki at fullback.
The fans everywhere will love to hear the score from this one. They always do when Jack Cochran's involved. And I think Paul Sponheimer goes out with a championship over his longtime rival.
Class S: Cromwell vs. Ansonia: It's hard for a Rocky Hill alum to say this, but I'll be pulling hard for Cromwell in this one. I get tired of seeing Ansonia dominate, and I'd like to see an unlikely school get a win over one of the state's all-time powerhouses.
I was wrong when Cromwell got to the playoffs last year. New London killed them and then got pounded by Ansonia. But this Ansonia team is nowhere near as good. And this Cromwell team might have been a little bit better and is still looking for revenge from the last time the school got to the final.
I like the Panthers to take this one home.

football semifinals

2008-12-02T16:38:00.002-05:00

It's that time again. Time for state playoffs in football, and lo and behold it's not even that cold today. That should make for some enjoyable games today at least. As for Saturday, that's anybody's guess.

I am about to head out to see Rocky Hill take on Seymour. It's the Terriers second playoff appearance after losing 22-19 to Hyde in 2005, a game that Rocky Hill probably deserved to win but missed a couple key chances at the end. We'll see if it's any different this time around, as Rocky Hill is once again a pretty heavy underdog.

But in general I'd say this is the most wide open the playoffs have looked in several years, at least since I've been covering them. Of the six divisions, I'd say only one has a definite clear favorite (Brookfield in M) and one other with a pretty safe prohibitive favorite (Masuk in L). The other four have two, three or even four teams that conceivably could win. I'm going to be curious just to see the scores come in after each game and see who stacks up where. The state polls should shuffle a lot by next week, but don't be surprised if New Canaan is still on top.

I'll start with the one other local game and go from there.

CLASS L

Newington at Simsbury: Up until Thursday I was worried about the way the Indians had been playing. Then they reminded me why I thought they were a title contender from very early on in the year. They pounded Wethersfield offensively, and even though the defense wasn't outstanding, it seemed to make the plays when it needed to, at least when the game was in doubt. It's hard to stay focused on Turkey Day with a 28-point lead.

Simsbury is good, and has certainly come from relative obscurity midway through the season to be one of the better teams in the state. Who would have guessed that Simsbury would be the second team in the CCC North to make a playoff game?

I don't know why. I like Newington to win a close one here. It's been quite a while since the Indians won a playoff game, but they played one of their better games of the season last week, and I think, should they stay healthy for this, they can get it done.

As for injuries, expect Harrison Scully and Jon Riddick to play in this one. There's no saving yourself for anything else at this point. And both are pretty tough kids.

Windsor at Masuk: Like I said, Masuk is a pretty solid favorite to win this, especially after pounding Newtown. While Windsor's been a good team this year, they have not been lights out. They have mediocre games, and never seem to blow anybody out.

I doubt they'll be able to put up a great fight against a very good team like Masuk.

CLASS LL

LL is more wide open than in years, mostly because the state's best reside in other divisions, mainly MM. But there are still some really good teams here.

Newtown at Glastonbury: Newtown really got pounded, and had New Britain or Southington won last week, might be sitting at home right now. So ironically, they have their current opponent to thank for their playoff spot.

I actually don't think they'll be returning any favors. While Glastonbury made it unblemished through a pretty good schedule, I don't think it was as good as what Newtown played. And I think Newtown's going to be pretty excited to play at this point after what happened last week.

I expect Newtown to sneak away. This is the game where Glastonbury doesn't get away with a mediocre performance, unlike when they played Southington.

Cheshire at Hamden: These two have been very under the radar. The buzz I hear about Hamden is they've always had the numbers and athleticism to be a good program, but now they have the coach too. Cheshire is hoping to regain its glory days.

I've felt pretty good about Hamden all season long, though, and I like the to sneak out in a competitive game here too.

CLASS MM

This is the cream of the crop. You could argue the top three teams in the state are all in this division. And poor Weaver is the fourth team that will have to try and deal with that, but shouldn't be around for very long. I'm really excited about these games.

Weaver at New Canaan: I saw Weaver against Wethersfield and quite honestly they got lucky. They should have lost, looking extremely unimpressive.

Meanwhile, I've felt all year long that New Canaan is the best team in the state. I don't expect this to even be close, although Rob Fleeting is a very good coach, and may have some tricks up his sleeve to even this out a bit. Still, look for New Canaan to roll.

Darien at Hillhouse: Darien's only loss was to New Canaan. Hillhouse went unbeaten against a slightly easier schedule, but not much. This is one heck of a semifinal matchup.

To be honest, I really would like to see a Darien-New Canaan rematch, so I will say that I expect that to happen. But I'm not so sure.

I really wish I could see this game.

CLASS M

Brookfield has a pretty open run here. None of the others were consistently impressive, and quite honestly Cheney Tech is overmatched.

Avon at Brookfield: Avon plays one of the easiest schedules in the state, and this year Tolland wasn't even as good competition as they usually are. I don't know much about Brookfield's schedule, but they sure pounded everybody.

I expect Brookfield to win this pretty easily.

Cheney Tech at Ledyard: Before Ledyard beat New London I thought they were slightly above average at best. Now they look like they could conceivably repeat as champs.

Cheney, for as well as they have played in earning this spot, is not on a level with any of the other playoff teams. The best team Cheney beat this year was either Prince Tech or East Catholic. That doesn't say a lot. Meanwhile, Ledyard is rolling after knocking off a true state powerhouse two weeks ago.

This won't be fair. But, as for me, I do feel Cheney deserves to play this game. They beat everybody on their schedule.

CLASS SS

The other matchup in this is probably the second best game in the state tonight, and either Rocky Hill or Seymour won't have an easy time in the final. In fact, I think this and LL are the two most balanced divisions this year. Any of the four teams could win either one. I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Montville at New London: Still, Montville got lucky. After putting up a one-point loss to the Whalers a few weeks ago, they had only to win on Thanksgiving Eve to clinch a spot, and lost to a pretty good St. Bernard group, but one they easily should have beaten.

Then Wolcott returned the favor by losing to Holy Cross the next day, so Montville's back in for what they probably had their minds on already. This is a grudge match.

I actually expect Montville to win this, in a thriller. The Whalers have struggled in big games since Jack Cochran got there, a strange thing to say about him. They are 0-2 in state finals, lost to Ledyard a few weeks ago and I think they are ripe for another upset against a team that is familiar with them. There's no playoff intimidation factor in this one.

CLASS S

Another set of games I'd love to be at. If you love the strategy of the game, and the roots with players going both ways, this is for you. These schools with small numbers bring the best out of athletes, and while the level of play isn't quite up to the LL and L brackets, the coaching is some of the best and the excitement from the schools might be even greater.

Hyde at Cromwell: This is the year Cromwell gets its playoff glory. The Panthers have a conference opponent that they beat pretty solidly first, and Ansonia is not as good as last year. Plus New London isn't around and these Panthers aren't intimidated by Hyde.

It's clear I think Cromwell will win Saturday too, but for now, I'll just say they should get past this one.

North Branford at Ansonia: I was stunned to see North Branford beat Cromwell, and I think the Panthers would love to get that matchup. But don't count on it. Even if Ansonia isn't as good as last year, they're still better than most. It's hard to be as good as a team that was voted the best in the state and had the state's all-time leading rusher.

Ansonia is used to getting to this point and winning. North Branford is relatively new to the game, although they got here in 2006.

So that's it. Let's see how these go now. I am headed out the door. See you at the game.

some updates

2008-11-27T01:44:00.003-05:00

OK, so a lot happened on Wednesday night, clearing up the playoff situation. Locally, Southington and New Britain are out, no chance of making the playoffs. Conversely, Rocky Hill is in. What was a 99% chance before is now 100%.
Newington should know now that a win against Wethersfield clinches their playoff berth as well. There is no grey area there. But there is no chance of the Indians getting a home game.
As for Rocky Hill, the Terriers can get a home game in a few ways, possibly even the top seed although that would be very unlikely. To get any home game Rocky Hill will need wins from five of the six teams it beat that still have games. In fact, it's a specific five teams for reasons that are complicated but I'll try to explain.
Rocky Hill needs: Middletown over Xavier, Stonington over Westerly (RI), Prince Tech over Capital Prep, Enfield over Fermi, and RHAM over Bacon Academy. I'd actually give them the edge in four of those. Prince, Stonington and Enfield all seem like solid bets to me. RHAM/Bacon sounds like a complete tossup. And Middletown would be a big upset win.
Here's the interesting part. There is another game, Plainville at NW Catholic, that on paper would seem to help Rocky Hill. The problem is, if Plainville wins that, or rather Northwest loses it, without all the others happening as well, then Rocky Hill would not win the tiebreaker against Seymour and would end up at best in a tie. The win for Northwest actually helps Rocky Hill in the tiebreaker.
Rocky Hill would still also need Ansonia to beat Naugatuck, which seems like a pretty good bet. If Naugy won, RH would need all six of its games to come through. Those are the only ways they can pass Seymour.
As for passing New London, they would first of all need the Whalers to lose to NFA. Then they would need to get more bonus points than them. New London is guaranteed one win from the Plainfield-Griswold matchup having beaten both. They also will be looking to get Waterford over East Lyme, Fitch over Ledyard, Windham over E.O. Smith, and the kicker, Bacon Academy over RHAM. Windham is a near lock against E.O., but Fitch is very unlikely to beat Ledyard. Waterford is probably a slight favorite to beat East Lyme. Which means if things go as expected, New London would have three wins to match the three I think Rocky Hill gets easily. If New London in fact loses, the RHAM-Bacon game could determine which team, New London or Rocky Hill, finishes ahead of the other, and possibly who gets home field in a matchup between them. But a New London win makes this all a moot point.

There were some big upsets tonight. I was shocked to see Montville lose, and a little surprised by Hyde's win over North Branford, which seems to have knocked Northwest Catholic out of the playoff race. Masuk made easy work of Newtown and while a Masuk win isn't surprising, the manner in which they did it makes them look like a clear Class L favorite, and maybe the clearest favorite in any division.

A THANKSGIVING NOTE:
As I wrote in my blog last year, Thanksgiving is a day on which I try to make phone calls to all the people who have been important in my life in a positive way over the past 12 months. For whatever reason, Thanksgiving seems the best time to do this, not New Year's Day, or Christmas or any other holiday.
As always, I have made it through the year on the strength of my friends and family, and those truly close to me continue to show themselves more and more.
I urge all of you to really consider where you might be without the important people in your life, and also where they might be without you. There's no shame in admitting we're all in this together, and that nobody can go it alone.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! Enjoy the turkey, the football and the smiles.
And keep your phone on in case I call you.

Thanksgiving week preview

2008-11-26T16:19:00.003-05:00

This is a big week, and there are a ton of big games around the state, so I'm going to do this a little differently.
It's a pick bonanza, as I will be making quick picks (no explanation) on many games around the state with playoff implications or which otherwise strike me as interesting.
I'll also be doing local picks as usual, with a couple of exceptions. I am a couple hours away from going to see Rocky Hill host Nonnewaug, and it's fair to say the Terriers should clinch a playoff berth. I'll also be at Wethersfield-Newington tomorrow, and that ones up in the air. I'm going to enjoy that.
As for Rocky Hill, the Terriers hopes at a home game were likely dashed last week by losses for Berlin, RHAM and Plainville, all games that might have gone the other way to help Rocky Hill. It looks like Dave Coyne's bunch will have to face either Seymour or New London on the road next week.
As for Newington-Wethersfield, just get out to this one if you live in one of those towns. This could be a classic, and the team's are about as evenly matched as they have been in a long time. Newington's better, and with reason has a chance at a playoff berth.

OK, on with the picks.
Wednesday:
Cheshire at Southington, 6 p.m.: If the Knights win they will have a very good shot at the playoffs. Lose and it's all over. Southington needs to root against New Britain, which shouldn't be hard for them to wrap their heads and hearts around.
Then they need to go out and beat a very good Cheshire team, which coincidentally is also playing for the playoffs.
I have no doubt that Southington remembers last year, but this is a little bit different team. I'm not sure the Knights have the firepower to stay with the top teams this year, and I'm thinking Cheshire will be celebrating a win, but not necessarily a playoff spot...
BECAUSE
Glastonbury at New Britain, 7 p.m.: If the Hurricanes win they will have the advantage of Cheshire, assuming that two teams among Hillhouse, Hamden, Lyman Hall, Guilford, Newington, Bloomfield, and Rockville win.
First things first, the 'Canes have to do what nobody else has and knock off the Tomahawks. Glastonbury has played the best of any team in the CCC this season, but I still say New Britain has more in the way of pure talent. If New Britain comes out and plays its best, it can definitely win this game. But that hasn't happened consistently for several years.
Meanwhile, Glastonbury is in either way, and could either A) take the game lightly, or B) feel the pressure to go undefeated and beat a team they haven't come close to in recent years.
I've got a hunch that New Britain will be celebrating a playoff spot by night's end, or watching scores tomorrow to find out for sure.
Thursday:
Plainville at NW Catholic, 10:30 a.m.: Sadly, this one won't be close, although a miracle upset could greatly help Rocky Hill's slim chances at a home game. Don't count on that happening. The Blue Devils are down to just over one full string of players and Northwest can make the playoffs with a win and a Hyde loss to North Branford.

And that brings me to the rest of the state. I wish I could see some of these games. This should be an exciting couple of days. Here's the quick rundown of my picks.
South Windsor at Rockville: South Windsor
Manchester at East Hartford: Manchester
Windsor at Bloomfield: Windsor
Montville at St. Bernard: Montville
Seymour at Woodland: Seymour
Hyde Leadership at North Branford: North Branford
Masuk at Newtown: Newtown
Stratford at Bunnell: Bunnell
SMSA at Bulkeley (matters only to Newington's playoff chances ironically): Bulkeley
Bristol Eastern at Bristol Central: Eastern
Platt at Maloney: Platt
Weaver at Hartford Public: Weaver
Ledyard at Fitch: Ledyard
NFA at New London: New London
Darien at New Canaan: New Canaan
Staples at Greenwich: Staples
Wolcott at Holy Cross: Wolcott
Kennedy at Crosby: Crosby
Naugatuck at Ansonia: Ansonia
Hillhouse at Wilbur Cross: Hillhouse
ND-West Haven at Hamden: Hamden
Bethel at Brookfield: Brookfield
Bacon Academy at RHAM: RHAM
Fermi at Enfield: Enfield
Middletown at Xavier: Xavier
Stonington at Westerly (RI): Stonington

week 9 in review, week 10 preview

2008-11-14T02:13:00.002-05:00

It's been a stressful week for me. I've been in the process of moving as well as dealing with some other issues. So I'm going to kill two birds with one stone here, and combine these posts for the week.
A few comments about last week. Very tough losses for Southington, New Britain and Newington. The Indians are still in control of their own fate most likely, as is Southington most likely (due to its remaining scheduled games). But New Britain needs some help again. Tonight's game in East Hartford should be huge.
Big, big, big, big win for Berlin. I can't emphasize this enough. Yes, the defense clearly didn't perform terribly well, but a win is a win at this point. And St. Paul was a dangerous team. One more big test with Northwest Catholic. Then Windham could be tough.
My record for the year, after a 5-4 week, is 53-14, and 6-3 in non-local games. Things are getting a little crazy here late in the season, just as they should.

On to this week's picks. I may be covering the Rocky Hill-Middletown game on Saturday, so nothing on that. But a word saying that if Rocky Hill wins that, the game against Nonnewaug on Thanksgiving should be pretty easy to clinch a playoff spot. And Ansonia beat Seymour tonight, meaning a home game is possible for Rocky Hill.

Friday:
Southington at New Britain (sort of), 7 p.m.: This one is at Rentschler Field but the Hurricanes will be listed as the home team. Not that it matters at all in football, so that means there will be no advantage in this one.
A loss here ends either teams playoff chances, while a win doesn't guarantee anything. This could end up being more about the rivalry than anything else.
On paper, New Britain has the most talent and has all season. But Southington plays very well defensively and always seems prepared for game time. The same cannot always be said for the Hurricanes.
This is going to come down to whichever team can make some big plays though, and I think the Hurricanes have the playmakers. I won't be surprised by any result in this, close or blowout win by either team.
But if I force myself to make a pick, I think New Britain will get the win.
Newington at Bulkeley, 7 p.m.: The Indians shouldn't have much worry about a second consecutive loss. The Bulldogs aren't good enough. The question for Newington will be all about points. It's going to come down to a few points either way as to whether or not they make the playoffs, and a game like this might be bad in the long run due to Bulkeley's few wins.
But Newington will get the win.
Wethersfield at Farmington, 7 p.m.: Again, Farmington is really struggling this season. It's too bad, cause this has been a good rivalry in other sports so far. But Wethersfield should win pretty easily.
Saturday:
Berlin at Northwest Catholic, 10:30 a.m.: Early morning start in the much at NWC. But, you know what. That field condition could ultimately help Berlin, which is probably much stronger in the running game, and not terribly good on defense lately. This should be low scoring due to the muck.
I think Berlin may have righted the ship a little bit, but the Redcoats, as I said before, are not out of the water yet. The playoffs are still in their control though most likely.
I like Berlin to get the narrow win here in a low-scoring game.
RHAM at St. Paul, 1:30 p.m.: St. Paul may score 100 points... well, if not for the rule that would suspend coach Jude Kelly for the next game if that were to happen.
Falcons win big.
STATE PICK OF THE WEEK
Simsbury at Manchester, Friday, 7 p.m.: After Manchester started 5-0 you might have thought it would be them for which this game would be significant. But look. There's Simsbury hanging tough at 7-2 in a conference with New Britain, Glastonbury, Southington and Manchester.
And the Trojans can pretty much wrap up a playoff spot with a win here, with Farmington the only other remaining game. Unbelievable really. The CCC North may be top to bottom the best conference in the state this year, even if none of the big three win LL.
I am really impressed with the way Simsbury is playing lately. And I think they will get the win in this one.

Stay warm everybody.

week 9 preview

2008-11-07T12:30:00.002-05:00

State tournaments for soccer and volleyball mean I won't be covering any football this weekend. It's a shame too, because this may be the single most exciting weekend of the year locally with hugely important matchups for Southington, Newington and Berlin.
This is the week that could make or break any of those three teams (Mostly break, because Southington and Berlin still have tough ones after it that they'd have to win too.) We should know a lot more about who's going to make the playoffs by Monday.
The Herald will still have coverage of all three games tomorrow, so do not fear. We will also have coverage of all three local soccer teams playing today (Farmington, Wethersfield, Southington) and the volleyball and soccer teams on Saturday.
On to the picks.
Friday:
Glastonbury at Southington, 7 p.m.: This is the big one, the one everybody's been waiting for, at least everybody in Glastonbury. While the Blue Knights have been on top of the CCC North for three years, this team has been waiting its turn to take over. The Knights have a major target on their backs and for that matter these schools have been playing each other repeatedly in several sports for the past few weeks. That never breeds friendliness.
I've talked to as many people as I can find who know either one of these teams lately to see what they think. The problem seems to be that nobody is familiar with both. Glastonbury, for inexplicable reasons, doesn't get a whole lot of press coverage, not nearly in the area of what Southington gets. And ADs and school officials don't get to see teams other than their own very often. So everybody's kind of on edge to see how this turns out.
I have not seen Glastonbury play this year, but I know they have taken care of business better than Southington against the weaker opponents that they have played for the most part. Southington has played a much tougher schedule, but the narrower wins against East Hartford, Manchester and the likes make me wonder if Glastonbury is more poised to be dominant.
But all that matters is coming out with a win, and both have done that.
I have a hunch that Glastonbury is a bit better this year. The scores usually don't lie. So I'm guessing that Glastonbury will sneak out with a big win and a very good chance at the playoffs. Southington will be up against a wall after that.
And this has nothing to do with my hatred of the air raid siren.
New Britain at Simsbury, 7 p.m.: This is another danger game for the Hurricanes. Southington on the schedule next week, but the Trojans are pretty good, good enough to beat you if you don't play well.
After seeing Weaver last week, and being only minimally impressed, I'm left wondering how a deeply talented team like New Britain lost to the Beavers. The only explanation is that New Britain slipped up in a big way. Do the same tonight and it could be another loss.
But I think New Britain put that behind them. And Southington-NB has a much bigger feel if the Hurricanes win tonight.
I think they will.
Newington at Bristol Eastern, 7 p.m.: Win this, and the only remaining challenge on the schedule for the Indians is Thanksgiving against Wethersfield. Maloney is way down this year and shouldn't be a struggle for them.
Eastern is a team that's hard to get a grip on. They've solidly beaten the weaker and middling teams on their schedule, but lost pretty soundly to most of the good teams. Remember, their "win" over Conard was a forfeit in a game that they actually lost on the field.
Newington has been up to every challenge this year. I don't think that will stop against a conference rival they know well. Newington wins.
Hall at Wethersfield, 7 p.m.: It's a gutcheck game for the Eagles after a truly heartbreaking loss last week. Because of it, Wethersfield has no real playoff chances. They're playing for pride and a winning record.
The team should be pumped up about playing a night game at home, renting lights for a field that does not yet have them permanently. And Hall is not a powerhouse, but a good team.
This seems similar to Wethersfield's game against Windsor, and I always like Wethersfield on the home turf. I think the Eagles will bounce back with a win.
East Catholic at Rocky Hill, 7 p.m.: This isn't one of those exciting games this weekend. This should be a blowout as it has been for a couple of years. Rocky Hill in a landslide.
Middletown at Plainville, 7 p.m.: The Blue Devils are still struggling a lot, and Middletown will be hungry for a win in a year with few. Middletown wins.
St. Paul at Berlin, 7 p.m.: The loss to Enfield changed things dramatically for Berlin. They now need to win out to make the playoffs. This is the hardest one (with Northwest Catholic coming up).
The question is, after giving up 52 to Enfield, a mediocre offense, can Berlin stop St. Paul, an exceptionally good one? I wish I had been at the Enfield game because I've seen Berlin twice this year and can't imagine the defense getting pounded like that. I'm guessing that it was a one-game blemish, but a really big one.
Even if you play well, St. Paul could beat you. But, St. Paul has not proven able to stop a good offense all year. And that's why I'm picking Berlin. There's a better chance the Redcoats slow down the Falcons than the other way around.
Either way, expect some points in this one.
Saturday
Farmington at Conard, 1 p.m.: Conard.
STATE PICK OF THE WEEK
Ansonia at Crosby, Friday, 7 p.m.: Hear me out on this one. Ansonia is ranked number one in just about every state poll right now, with a lot of voters saying until their amazing streak of wins ends, they are the best team.
I personally don't believe they are anywhere near as good as they were lost year. They are still a very good team, but I would have two or three others ranked ahead of them if I had a vote.
The thing is, their schedule is pretty weak on the whole. Wolcott and Watertown have been the two best teams they've played so far. Crosby may be better than them, although lost to Wolcott.
I don't think Ansonia's going to lose in the regular season, and maybe not in the playoffs. If that happens they would easily be voted the top team again, which might be unfair. But that's the way it goes.

There are some other big games with playoff implications out there.
Montville at New London
Seymour at Watertown
Amity at Shelton
Bethel at Bunnell
Brookfield at Newtown
Darien at Staples
Be sure to check the standings for changes on Monday. There could be quite a shuffle in some divisions.

a couple notes

2008-11-04T01:03:00.002-05:00

First off, I haven't been hearing from too many people lately. I know there's some loyal readers of the blog out there. So let yourselves be known. Please, comment on things. I'd love to get some feedback, but mostly I want to know what you guys think about local sports issues.
Secondly, I wanted to plug the hard work of staffer Andrew Lovell, who has successfully started a weekly column focusing on local athletes now playing at the college level. For too long their efforts have gone largely unnoticed at The Herald.
If you know of any local players at any college, any level, who you think should be mentioned or featured in Andrew's weekly story, please contact him at alovell@newbritainherald.com.
With the fall season winding down it will soon be time for us to select our All-Herald teams and players and coach of the season. So keep your eyes out for that in the coming weeks (and well into December).
Oh, and one more thing.
GO VOTE!!!!!

not in their house

2008-11-04T00:48:00.003-05:00

It's time for me to say something that I've been debating for a couple years now. I usually don't like to criticize people involved with the high school athletic departments. But every once in a while something will irk me more than usual, and it happened the other night at East Hartford High.
But I'm not talking about the Hornets. Despite their reputation (mostly unfair) the Hornets fans caused no problems that I could see at that game. What bothered me came from the Southington side.
More specifically, it rang out from the track, a sound so piercing, so overpowering that it forces one to plug his ears each time he hears it.
I'm talking about the air raid siren. And it's about time it found its way to the grave.
For those who don't know what I'm talking about, the air raid siren has been a relatively short-lived tradition of the Blue Knights football team. From my understanding, it began during the tenure of former coach Jude Kelly (though I don't know if it was his idea).
The siren was intended to be rung each time the Knights took over on offense, signaling to the opponent that they were about to be put under attack by a barrage of deep passing. You see, the Knights for years had the most potent air attack in the state, and their names litter the state record books for passing and receiving yards.
Things have changed, however. The Knights are no longer a pass-happy offense. They have become more and more balanced each season under coach Bill Mella, and in fact have used defense to win games more in recent years.
Furthermore, it has gotten to the point that the siren is now rung more than just to start a drive. It shrieks out first downs. It shrieks touchdowns. It shrieks big gains.
I mean, logically, if the opponent doesn't know it's under attack by the time Southington scores a touchdown, I don't think the siren, symbolically, is going to warn them in time.
Of course, that's not my biggest problem. That lies squarely in the fact that Southington brings the siren on the road, submitting opposing fans to have to listen to its harsh wails on their home field, and quite frankly, it is tactless, arrogant and offensive.
If I were an opposing AD, and I saw them wheel it up to the field, I would ask them to return it to the bus or leave the premises. If I heard it go off during a game, I would immediately ask them to go home.
I'm not joking about this. This runs along the lines of Terrell Owens raising his arms to the heavens... on the Dallas Cowboys midfield star... as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. And while I am a 49ers fan, at the time of that incident, I didn't blame George Teague for sprinting out to clothesline Owens. That was the Cowboys' house. That was like dancing on their altar.
And please, somebody from a Southington opponent, stand up for your school. Don't physically or emotionally harm anyone. But make some kind of statement that such insults will not be viewed kindly. Stand up for your pride.
Better yet. I call on Southington AD Eric Swallow to do the right thing, now that he has taken over the position (with positive results I must add). Get rid of the siren. It makes your entire athletic program look bad.
If nothing else, the siren should remain in Southington for home games. Let your own fans deal with the noise.

Week 8 in review

2008-11-04T00:39:00.003-05:00

Well, we finally found the surprises we've been waiting for. I'm still in shock over the Berlin-Enfield score, even if it did go into overtimes. There wasn't a whole lot of defense played in that one, and it may constitute the most shocking score in the state this year.
Wethersfield almost pulled off a big upset against Weaver, the same Weaver team that beat New Britain earlier this year and currently holds down a playoff spot in Class MM. If the Eagles had won the two teams would be tied for that spot, but alas, now it looks as if Wethersfield's playoff hopes are officially gone.
Southington eked out a win against East Hartford, I say eked because despite the 35-14 score the game was much closer than that. Maybe the Knights were looking forward to "bigger" games in the coming weeks. Maybe they'll surprise everybody once again and get back to the playoffs, but I have to say my impression of the team has taken some hits lately.
Newington had to grit out a win over Platt as well, but that was more because Platt played far better than I expected. That being said, Newington better play better themselves because the playoffs still aren't a complete guarantee, and because I think Newington has a shot at winning. But not with the incomplete performance I saw in that game. Masuk and others are too strong.
I liked that New Britain and Rocky Hill both rolled over weaker competition. That's what the best do. They both looked the part of playoff teams in those wins, although the road for the Hurricanes is still full of land mines. But, New Britain looks more prepared to weather them than it has in a few years, at least right now.
As for me, I got a couple things wrong this week. Along with Berlin, I incorrectly picked Shelton over Hillhouse, a predicted upset. Ooops. Looks like the Academics are as strong as advertised. Class MM is shaping up to be exciting, and the top seed actually means a whole lot when two of Hillhouse, Darien and New Canaan will actually meet in the semifinal.
My 5-2 week brings my overall record to 48-10, with a 6-2 record now in non-local games.

week 8 preview

2008-10-30T03:35:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe it's week 8 already, but here we are. Just a few more weeks until we decide who's in the playoffs and who's not, so it's crunch time. There's a lot of big-time games coming up soon, but on paper this is a pretty laid back weekend. The top playoff contenders have it fairly easy.
As for me, I'll be working a bit overtime with three games in three days. I'll be traveling out to East Hartford on Thursday for Southington's game. Then I'll be covering Platt at Newington on Friday and Wethersfield at Weaver on Saturday. Should be fun.
Let's get straight on to the picks.

Friday
Manchester at New Britain, 7 p.m.: This is probably the biggest matchup on the schedule. But, as we've seen in the last couple weeks, the Indians are pretenders. Their 5-0 start was merely coincidence of a weak schedule, and now they are struggling against good teams.
New Britain certainly qualifies as a good team, and I think the 'Canes can overpower Manchester up front and win this fairly easily.
Windsor at Farmington, 7 p.m.: Windsor's been kind of a weird team this season, looking really strong one week and then pretty mediocre the next. But they can easily handle Farmington.
Hang in there, Indians fans.
Plainville at Cheney Tech, 7 p.m.: Usually if the word "Tech" is involved it means an easy win for the opponent, barring some sort of co-op team. This is not your ordinary tech school. Cheney is well on its way to the Class M playoffs, and while I still very much doubt their ability to win there, they can certainly beat teams outside their own conference.
Plainville could compete in this one, but to be honest, I'm guessing Cheney is quite a bit better at this point, and will come out victorious.
Saturday:
Middletown at St. Paul, 2:30 p.m.: The Falcons need a bounce-back game, and this should provide the opportunity. Middletown is clearly a few steps below where it has been for several years now.
But look out. Middletown comes off a somewhat solid performance against Northwest Catholic, so the Blue Dragons might be growing up a bit. This probably won't be a complete cakewalk for St. Paul.
Then again, with that offense, they could post 50 points at any time. St. Paul comfortably.
Berlin at Enfield, 7 p.m.: Believe me, Berlin's offensive line will push the Raiders in whichever direction they want, sometimes in both. There is simply no way Enfield can slow down Berlin on offense, and I don't see Enfield, even with very good running back Walter Moon and receiver Pascious Mink (the greatest high school name I've ever seen) putting up more than a few points.
Rocky Hill at Prince Tech, 6:30 p.m.: See above rule about tech schools. It applies here. This will be a nice breather for Rocky Hill after a pair of very tough games in the middle of the schedule. In fact, most of the remaining games should be a breather.
STATE GAME OF THE WEEK
Hillhouse at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m.: Talk about an overloaded bracket, one could make the argument that the top three teams in the state are all in Class MM. New Canaan and Darien are getting top votes from some pollsters and Hillhouse is also unbeaten.
This is the toughest game remaining for the Academics until Thanksgiving when they face Wilbur Cross. So a win here and their playoff spot should be very secure (which I already think it is).
Meanwhile Shelton has lost to two very good teams (Hamden and Xavier) and by close margins. The Gaels are very good, and appear to be on a completely different level from anybody Hillhouse has played yet. Plus, Shelton needs the win to keep alive any slim playoff hopes. A third loss and they can forget about it.
I think Shelton will surprise Hillhouse with the home field advantage and will sneak out with a big win. But Hillhouse will still have quite a bit of leeway in Class MM, which thins out a lot after the top three teams.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Remember, get your trick-or-treating done early so you can get out to the games, preferably in costume. If I see any good costumes, I'll be sure to share them here.
Don't be too scared.

NBA preview

2008-10-28T15:21:00.002-04:00

It's time to kick off another NBA season, and as a lifelong Lakers fan, I'm somewhat excited. I still have trouble taking the league seriously. I think the game is played at a much purer level in college, mostly because the players in the NBA are too good offensively to need to play team ball. The best offense, as I'm sure most of you can see, is often just to give it to your best player and let him do the work.
But the league seems to be getting back to basics a bit in recent years, and not like the one-on-one driven slugfest it was in the late 90s.
I'd say things look very good for my purple and gold. If everything goes well, in fact, I think they could match the Bulls' record of 72 wins. But obviously, that would take a LOT of things going perfectly for the whole season and is far in the future.
Here are my picks for the league, and my thoughts on each team.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Boston- I could actually envision this team finishing as low as fourth or fifth if A) Ray Allen is just a bit too old, B) Garnett is just not quite as energetic from start to finish, and C) guys like Rondo and the rest of the bench don't keep getting better. But, on paper, this is still easily the best team in the East, and should win the regular season again.
2. Cleveland- LeBron is reaching another level, and the Olympics showed that. He's the most well-rounded player in the game and has a better supporting cast than before. This could be Cleveland's big year.
3. Miami- Watch out for Dwyane Wade. Nobody has been more critical of him than me, but his summer proved to me he's better than I thought. Add in Beasley and if Marion keeps his head on straight this is a very good team in the still subpar East.
4. Detroit- Age is catching up to this team. New coach. Billups and Hamilton are starting to get a bit older. And the inside defense just isn't what it used to be. Still dangerous come playoff time though.
5. Orlando- Dwight Howard is a beast. Enough said.
6. Philly- After the stunt that Elton Brand pulled I would love to see this team flop. But he and Andre Miller combined are a very dangerous team.
7. Atlanta- This team seems headed up. Last year's playoffs could be a springboard to even better things. But still can't predict higher than this for them.
8. Toronto- I don't buy the addition of Jermaine O'Neal making this team much better, no matter how good Chris Bosh is (and he is).
9. Chicago- The baby Bulls never really developed and I don't see Ben Gordon liking his diminished role at all. Give it a few years for Derrick Rose to completely take over, add a couple pieces and they are serious contenders.
10. Washington- I love Caron. I don't think much of anybody else on this roster.
11. New York- D'Antoni will change the atmosphere enough to bring 30 wins. I guess that's something.
12. Charlotte- More potential than people realize. But the pieces just don't seem to add up to anything greater.
13. Milwaukee- Can Michael Redd average 40 a night? He might need to. I didn't think so either.
14. New Jersey- Let the Josh Boone era begin. Sorry, Jersey.
15. Indiana- I'm not sure how many people can even name a player on this roster anymore.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Los Angeles Lakers- What's the worry about Bynum coming back? These players all proved to be very unselfish last year. For all the talk about Houston's new trio being great, why isn't Kobe, Bynum, Gasol in the mix with the Rockets and Celtics? C'mon. This team could win 70 games if healthy, particularly if Lamar Odom likes his bench role (he's be the best sixth man in the league, maybe ever), Jordan Farmar improves and Trevor Ariza returns healthy to greatly bolster the defense.
2. New Orleans- This team is getting scary good. They're good enough to win a championship, and Chris Paul is one of the most genuinely likable players in the game, skills and attitude combined. I'm going to grow to hate this team, which is unfortunate, cause otherwise they could be lovable.
3. Houston- Before I get too excited, let me see Artest actually stay in check. And for that matter, let McGrady prove he's more than a prolific regular season scorer. I still question whether Yao is the type of player to take control with those two guys around, and this should be Yao's team.
4. Utah- Say what you want about Jerry Sloan's personality (and in my opinion he's one of the least likable men in sports), but he sure can coach. Deron Williams is a star too, so this team is in the mix for a title.
5. San Antonio- This is another year that we will have to worry until this team draws it's last breath, cause with Duncan you always have a chance. But I don't see Ginobili ever being completely healthy for long, and Parker isn't exactly unbreakable.
6. Portland- One year away from truly contending, it will be interesting to see how good this young team can be.
7. Dallas- On the decline. The J-Kidd trade was worth the risk, but will start proving to be a bad decision ultimately. Still a playoff team though.
8. Los Angeles Clippers- I'm not sure why. Maybe out of spite for what Brand did to them. Maybe because Baron Davis is much better than anybody realizes. And Camby is the type of guy who makes a difference between missing the playoffs and sneaking in. I think they will, and look, that would make an all Staples Center playoff round.
9. Phoenix- You read it here. Shaq and Nash cannot play together effectively. It's not a personality thing. By most accounts both are great teammates (most of the time). It's a style of play thing. This team will get more and more frustrated by bad losses as the season wears on and will miss the playoffs.
10. Denver- This is the personality problem. Iverson, Carmelo and K-Mart can't make this happen again. Not without Camby.
11. Golden State- I don't even know why. I lied. I have nothing to say about this team.
12. Memphis- Gay and Mayo may prove to be the most overrated combo of players in history. But they both have a lot of athleticism. That doesn't win games in the long run. Poise and true skill do.
13. Seattle, er... Oklahoma City- That joke is already getting old. I hope this team fails, miserably. But I feel bad for the players, who will take the heat for what management did to a good city. Durant makes me think this team can be OK.
14. Minnesota- They've still got the guy who was traded for Garnett, right? So they can finish out of last.
15. Sacramento- Quick. Name a Sacramento player. Yeah. I know. It's tough.

Playoffs
EASTERN FINALS
Cleveland over Boston
WESTERN FINALS
Lakers over Hornets
NBA FINALS
Lakers over Cleveland, by a landslide. I'm telling you. This is potentially one of the 10 best teams of all time, thanks to that goofy Gasol trade last year. How again did that happen? I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride.

In conclusion, the top teams in the East are closing the conference gap, but after the Celtics, I truly believe the next four best teams are all in the West, and I wouldn't say the Celtics are the best overall. San Antonio might even be better than the next best the East has to offer. But Miami, Cleveland and Philly are headed in the right direction, and if the Bulls do anything right they could be there soon.
But again, nothing and nobody are beating the Lakers except injuries.

Week 7 in review

2008-10-28T14:47:00.003-04:00

I must be butter, because I'm on a roll. Last year I never had a perfect week making my football predictions. Now, I just had my second perfect week in the last three after going 8-0 last week.
The main thing is local teams are making it easy to be right. The top teams are doing little other than winning, and the bottom teams, sadly, are doing the opposite. There seem to be only a couple matchups each week that are hard to predict at times.
It was nice to see Rocky Hill finally get some votes this week in the state polls after knocking off previously unbeaten St. Paul a week after beating Berlin. That puts the Terriers in essentially a four-way tie for the Nutmeg League with those teams and Northwest Catholic (one of the Indians' two losses was a non-conference game). The difference is, Rocky Hill has played all three. The others still have to face off. Berlin still will face both St. Paul and Northwest.
The impressive thing about the Terriers' win is that they had to score points to do it. As a defense-first team, Rocky Hill can usually count on a win if it scores 20. But the Falcons had the firepower to frustrate that defense and Rocky Hill's offense went out and won it with the running attack.
Southington took care of business against Manchester. It's safe to say Manchester is a big step behind the other top teams in the CCC North and not the title contender some thought they might be after their 4-0 start.
Newington, New Britain and Berlin all had easy wins over outmatched opponents. There wasn't much question that would happen.
After seeing Plainville there's some hope for the future. The Devils have some young talent, they just need experience and a growth spurt to be competitive again. That should be coming next year and after. Keep working, guys. It will pay off.
With the perfect week, my record for the year is up to 43-8, and 6-1 in non-local games. I correctly guessed that Masuk was much better than Bunnell despite state rankings.

spirit of the game

2008-10-28T14:31:00.003-04:00

I was at Wethersfield High yesterday for the big conference championship battle between Farmington and Wethersfield in boys soccer. I have to say that the Wethersfield fans never cease to amuse me. OK, I have to admit that there are times they stretch sportsmanship to the brink, and probably even go beyond that. I don't support mocking opponents for the way they look or their names.
But the Wethersfield fans have a playfulness to most of what they do that tells you it's not malicious. That doesn't stop it from getting under the skins of opposing fans and players, which is part of the home field advantage.
Yesterday, and most of this season in fact, their favorite thing to do is the "roll call". They will chant a player's name until that player acknowledges them from the field. At that point they let out a big cheer for that player and go on to the next guy. This, we decided, is something that works in only a handful of sports where the action is less than constant.
They do this starting with warmups and continuing through most of the game. Yesterday, the fans got through most of the players and continued on. They chanted "Robby Jachym" until the longtime coach waved. They chanted "Hami Kara" until last year's goalie and the current volunteer assistant coach signaled them. Next was "Scott the Trainer" and Scott Applebaum took the applause.
Then it continued. But the referees either didn't hear them or wouldn't oblige. It stopped at that. I assume had any of them known my name, I would have been the next one to get chanted, standing on the sidelines at midfield, and then maybe they would have gone on to calling out the sideline runners and finish up with the opposing fans. But they lost interest before it got to that.
The other thing I like is that they may be the only fans I know who cheer the warmups. As Wethersfield went through the motions on its standard passing and shooting drill, the fans seemed legitimately upset when the Eagles would miss a shot off the post or entirely off net. They would likewise cheer when keeper Dillon Walsh made a save on his own teammate.
It's fair to say some of this enthusiasm is forced, but not entirely fake. There's a genuine excitement from these fans towards their classmates. And so long as it doesn't cross the line to being unsportsmanlike, which at times it does, I love it.
They'll need to do it without the drums at the state tournament, though. The CIAC doesn't allow noisemakers or signs of any kind at those games.

Week 7 preview

2008-10-24T02:33:00.003-04:00

Brrrr. I'm freezing right now. Of course you all know that it's getting chilly outside. I don't have to tell you that. After all, the weather is something for people to talk about who don't have anything of importance to say, or something like that.
But what you don't know is that the heat in my apartment has suddenly stopped working in the past two days. It's possible the landlord forgot to get oil for the house. Who knows? What matters is it's really cold in here.
It is making me dread those cold December football playoff games, which would be wonderfully exciting if I weren't concentrating more on getting the feeling back in my fingers and hoping my pen doesn't freeze.
You know what, those games aren't that far around the corner. We're coming down the home stretch here. Enjoy the games this weekend.
I'll be covering Plainville's game against Enfield on Saturday, and will be in the office taking phone calls Friday night. Ken Lipshez will be in Rocky Hill, Andrew Lovell following the Canes to Rockville, correspondent Gerry deSimas, Jr. in Manchester and Brian Straight watching Newington-Maloney. Show them love and share your blankets with them.
On to the picks.

Friday:
Southington at Manchester, 7 p.m.: The fairy tale should come crashing down for Manchester. A loss to Glastonbury last week. Now they must play Southington and New Britain in a row.
Southington needs to put this one away early and show the opponent they mean business. They can't keep letting teams hang around.
I expect Southington to win.
Maloney at Newington, 7 p.m.: Newington's too good. Maloney's just not what they were a couple years ago. The Indians keep rolling along at home.
Wethersfield at Conard, 6 p.m.: This is tough. I saw Conard a few weeks ago and they looked really good. But since then, they've been killed by two straight opponents and forced to forfeit two games for using an ineligible player, who is now no longer on the team.
I haven't heard who that player was, so I can't say whether it's a big loss on-field. But suffice it to say this is a team with some problems right now.
And Wethersfield had a good win over Windsor last week. I don't know what to think of the Eagles.
The difference maker is that Wethersfield has struggled on the road so far. So I like Conard to come away with a win at home.
New Britain at Rockville, 6:30 p.m.: I don't think this game will show much. Rockville seems to be down more than usual. New Britain's played well for the most part this year. I don't expect them to have a slipup this big.
New Britain wins.
SP/GT/LM at Rocky Hill, 6:30 p.m.: The Terriers know if they lose this one their win over Berlin last week won't mean anything. I'm shocked that Rocky Hill is getting no respect from anybody. People just aren't convinced yet.
I hope that changes this week.
I'll be honest. I haven't seen St. Paul yet this year. I've looked closely at their scores, talked to people who have seen them, and read as much as I could on their games. I just think Rocky Hill is a better team right now, and I think St. Paul gets its first loss of the season in this one.
Whoever wins this will have a serious leg up on a playoff spot. Whoever loses could be in trouble.
Saturday:
Farmington at Weaver, 12 p.m.: I wish I could say more good things about Farmington. I know the kids are working hard. I know they want to win. They are just overmatched each week right now.
Weaver should have no trouble.
Berlin at RHAM, 2 p.m.: I wouldn't want to be the Sachems. The Redcoats are going to be out for blood and to prove that they are still the best team in the conference.
RHAM simply can't match up with them up front. This one could get ugly on the scoreboard with Berlin running away early.
STATE PICK OF THE WEEK
Masuk at Bunnell, Friday, 7 p.m.: The top two teams currently in the Class L rankings face off in Stratford with a lot on the line. Masuk already has a loss, and might not be able to afford another. Meanwhile, I'm sure Bunnell wants desperately to hang onto the top spot as the only unbeaten in the division.
I just look at Bunnell's scores and notice that they never seem to be killing teams. It looks like they let even some mediocre to bad teams stay somewhat competitive.
Now scores, don't say everything. It's possible that could be the result of subs coming in with a blowout in hand in the second half.
But Masuk's scores impress me more, and I've heard one or two people in the know say they don't think Bunnell is nearly as good as the ranking they are getting in the polls.
I'm going to pick Masuk in what, on paper, is an upset. That should shake things up a bit.
Newington moves past the loser of this if the Indians beat Maloney.

So that's it for now. As always, stay warm.

World Series preview

2008-10-21T00:57:00.005-04:00

I don't care what anybody says. This is the matchup I want.
Who wants the Red Sox again, other than Sox fans? We've seen them. Just last year we saw them. Four years ago we saw them end the curse. It's over. The likability of the Red Sox is forever gone, and I'm not one of those people who needs a villain to make a sport interesting (not that it doesn't help sometimes).
No. I want a hero. I want something I can get caught up in even if it's not my own team. I need these Rays.
I remember 1991, when I was ten years old and learning about a new group of contenders known as the Braves. It's hard to remember that in the 1980s the Braves were the laughing-stock of MLB. Dale Murphy was about the only thing that made the team relevant, an eternally overlooked player (seriously, look up his career numbers), and for good reason. His team was terrible.
And then they became the Braves. They made it to 14 straight postseasons. They won the World Series once and got there five times.
But back in 1991 we were getting our first glimpse of them, and I can remember rooting hard for Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and the wonder kid named Steve Avery. David Justice was a star on that team. Ron Gant breathed life back into his own middling career. It was special to see the team attempt to go from worst to first, and they nearly did it before the Twins took the Series.
So, now, 17 years later we have the Rays, another team attempting to do the same thing. No major American team has ever had the worst record in its sport one year and gone on to win its championship the next year. It's that hard to do.
And I'll be rooting for the Rays with almost everything I have.
On the other side we have the Phillies, a very talented group of players trying to end what its city feels is an overlooked history of woe. Theres some truth to that. The Phils have only one title in their 100-plus year history, which is fewer than even the Cubs. And the city hasn't won a title in any sport since 1983 (76ers).
Truth is, I just can't root for a Philadelphia team. Not if there's an alternative. Maybe it's just me, but my experience in Philly has always made me think of the fans in that city as simply miserable. They are mean on an equal-opportunity level: they boo their own team just as much as the opponents, and both loudly. They abuse fans of the visiting team. They are simply mean.
If New York fans are always criticized for their air of self-importance, they have never been as outright nasty as Philly fans can be.
I like some of these Philly players. There may not be a more important player to his team than Chase Utley. I truly enjoy watching Cole Hamels pitch. And Ryan Howard seems like a good guy and is a fun player.
But I just cannot root for this team. For me, they offer that villain.
So bring on the series.
For a good article about the series read this, by the ever-entertaining Jayson Stark.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3653757

OK, so here's my prediction and on-field thoughts.
As I said about the NLCS, the best pitcher in the series is on the Phillies. Hamels is just that good, if you haven't noticed by now. But guys like Kazmir and Shields aren't far behind for Tampa, and the Rays have far more pitching depth. Sonnanstine and Garza are legit threats to shut a team down as well, and despite the blowup in Game 5, the bullpen is very deep and very effective.
In fact, I love that the group bounced back to essentially win Game 7. I'm sure many people thought they would not recover after having their first major gaffe of the year come in a potential series-clinching game, and in overwhelming fashion. That says a ton about the makeup of the team and pitching staff in particular.
Offensively, there's a ton of young star power here. Longoria, Upton, Crawford, Pena for the Rays. Rollins, Utley, Howard, Burrell for the Phillies. Role players like Shane Victorino and Akinora Iwamura who absolutely are the glue that make championship teams.
I can't decide which offense I think is better.
But here's the kicker. Tampa's still got that goofy stadium. They had an exceptional home record this year, and with good cause. Even teams used to playing there don't adapt enough all the time. The roof can screw things up in countless ways. The noise can get bad. Even the lighting can have an effect on things, not to mention playing on an artificial surface, even field turf as opposed to old-fashioned Astroturf.
Along with the pitching staff, I expect this to give Tampa an edge. And here's the other thing. Philly needs to get wins when Hamels is on the mound. If Tampa can steal a game against him at the Trop, this series could be over quicker than expected.
So while I think certain parts of this series are pretty balanced, overall I don't think there's much question that Tampa's a stronger team top to bottom. If the Rays win the first two games, and can come out firing in Game 3 in Philly, this could be over in four.
Or, if Hamels can get his team a win early on, and the Phils can go back home even, they could force the series back to Tampa.
But I don't see that happening. I see Tampa fever sweeping the nation.
And I see the Rays winning this, their first World Series title, in five games.
What a story that would make.

Week 6 in review

2008-10-21T00:37:00.003-04:00

Wow. That's all I can say after watching the game between Rocky Hill and Berlin this past Friday. I've been giddy about it basically since then. It was a very good matchup. Perhaps not perfectly played, but still very well played other than Berlin's many false start penalties. Each team had players step up and make spectacular plays. Each defense was stout. The coaching was great (which is to be expected from John Capodice and Dave Coyne, two of the most overlooked coaches in the state).
OK, the dirty non-secret is that I am a Rocky Hill alumnus, and therefore always have an emotional stake in their games. But I put that aside as much as I could to cover this game, and I have this to say. Berlin's a better team. The Redcoats are simply stronger up front, and more multidimensional than the Terriers. If these two played 10 times, Berlin would win at least seven of them, if not more.
But this was one of those two or three. This was the one where Rocky Hill got a little bit lucky, made the plays it had to and snuck out of Sage Park with a huge win and a very good shot at the school's second playoff appearance.
Berlin will bounce back from this. They should still make the playoffs (of course St. Paul will have something to say about that for both teams in the coming weeks, but after this I tend to think things are looking worse for the Falcons than these guys). This might end up the wakeup call that Berlin needed.
As for the controversial penalty call on Rocky Hill's winning touchdown, I believe the call was right. From my perspective in the press box, it looked as if the Berlin defender held back Rocky Hill receiver Mike Mancini, forcing Mancini to push him away before catching the ball. In a way, the slightly underthrown ball was the perfect thing for Rocky Hill. A perfect ball and the defender might have been in the right spot.
It's ironic for a team that completed just one other pass in the game and has struggled with the passing attack this season that arguably the biggest play of the year should come on a third-and-17 situation through the air.
Max DeLorenzo is impressive too. Some are saying he might not have the physical instincts it takes to be a dominant runner. I say he's still a sophomore. If he can make plays the way he did the other night, he's going to be special, real special.
I'm telling you. I could talk about this game for hours.
As for the rest of the weekend, how about Newington shutting out Bristol Central! Most people felt Newington would win this game. I don't think anybody saw a shutout for them against a team that does nothing but score. Newington is quickly showing itself to be a true title contender in a wide-open Class L.
New Britain put the Weaver loss a little further behind it with a blowout win over East Hartford. Actually, as the weeks go by, Weaver looks more and more like a playoff contender. That loss wasn't as bad as it once seemed. New Britain just has to keep this going and against better competition.
Same goes for Southington. I hope the Knights don't keep doing this one good game, one mediocre game thing for long. That's a recipe for disaster, but for now a win was a win against Simsbury.
And Wethersfield kept its playoff hopes alive with a solid home win against Windsor. The Eagles proved they are better than they were last year, at least. Conard's next, and the Chieftains are reeling, particularly after forfeiting two wins due to an ineligible player. But Conard still has a lot of talent.
I feel bad for Plainville. The loss to East Catholic, which wasn't even competitive, settled the debate of who's at the bottom of the Nutmeg. It's time for Plainville to focus on player development for next year. The team is very young with a new coaching staff, and will improve in time.
I went 6-1 this week, and correctly predicted that Glastonbury would pound Manchester. The Indians are pretenders. The Tomahawks are for real, and right now are the favorites over New Britain and Southington in the CCC North. November should be very interesting.
My overall record now sits at 35-8 and 5-1 in non-local picks. Those numbers aren't too bad at all.

Week 6 preview

2008-10-17T03:48:00.003-04:00

We are at the midpoint of the season, and after this week will be on the back end. Perhaps it's fitting in a way that I will get to see what should be one of the most pivotal local games of the year on Friday night when I watch Rocky Hill try to upset Berlin. There is nobody who questions that Berlin is the best team in the Nutmeg League. The team's results have shown nothing to believe otherwise. On the other hand, you will find a debate as to who is after that. St. Paul is unbeaten. Northwest Catholic has lost (in conference) only to the Falcons.
But, to be honest, I suspect that Rocky Hill is actually the next best team after Berlin. True, the Terriers lost to Northwest on a muddy day. I'm convinced on solid ground they would have won going away. St. Paul only beat the Indians by a point in what was, I'm told, a very well-balanced matchup. These are all good teams, but Rocky Hill seems to be a little more explosive at its best than the others.
And make no mistake about it, the Terriers are at their best on artificial turf. So while they play a road game at Sage Park, the surface will make them feel right at home. I have a feeling this could be a very good game, or it could be another Berlin blowout in what is setting up to be a remarkable season. If Rocky Hill is to win, its defense will have to make the difference. That seems pretty clear to me.
I'm glad I don't have to make an official prediction on this one. See you at the game.
As for the rest of my picks...
Friday:
New Britain at East Hartford, 7 p.m.: The Hurricanes showed, hopefully, that their loss to Weaver was simply a slipup and not a trend. In either case, I don't think East Hartford can stand up to them much. This won't be one of the epic CCC North clashes that could define the next seven weeks.
I like New Britain by a healthy margin.
Simsbury at Southington, 7 p.m.: On the other hand, Simsbury appears to be stronger than East Hartford. Of course, Southington seems to be among the state's elite once again, and after talking to some people in the know, the Knights close call against Bristol Eastern seems more an aberration than anything else. The Knights showed how good they can be against Conard last week.
I like Southington, by an equally healthy margin.
Newington at Bristol Central, 7 p.m.: Unless the lights of Muzzy Field are too bright, I just can't see the Rams slowing down the powerful Indians offensive attack. And likewise I don't think the Rams offense will have enough to consistently score against Newington's defense.
Newington has been the most pleasant surprise this season among local teams. Even had I expected good things from them, which I really didn't, I wouldn't have expected them to be this good.
Look for Newington to roll this week in an offensive show.
Saturday:
Farmington at Hall, 1:30 p.m.: Sorry, Farmington. This won't be the week for a win. Hall is way too good.
Windsor at Wethersfield, 2 p.m.: How expectations have changed quickly for the Eagles. A couple weeks ago, a team alumnus and friend of mine contacted me excited about the team's chances. He felt this was the year Wethersfield would do some serious damage.
Now, a pair of losses later, even he said it was the "same old Wethersfield".
I still think this team is solid, and in particular I think the Eagles play well at home. They are comfortable on their turf and enjoy having the fans. So I think they can keep this one close.
Windsor is a strong team, but definitely not as good as Glastonbury. I can't decide whether I think they are better or worse than Manchester. Probably a little bit better in my opinion.
But I also think Wethersfield will play better than it did against Manchester.
I'm going to call for an upset here and pick Wethersfield to get a good win at home.
Plainville at East Catholic, 7 p.m.: It's been easy to pick against Plainville lately, but chin up Devils fans. The Eagles of East Catholic High appear, on paper, to be the worst team in the Nutmeg League. Now, I said that RHAM looked worse than Plainville early on and I was wrong. There's a little more to go on here.
I actually like Plainville to win this by a solid margin. Don't expect a blowout or anything. And the Devils better avoid mistakes. But I think they will get a win here.
If not, they are officially the conference's cellar dweller.
STATE PICK OF THE WEEK
Manchester at Glastonbury, Friday, 7 p.m.: I don't really think this is a great matchup. But, it's hard to ignore two LL unbeatens from the same conference who both hold playoff spots based on the current standings. One of them won't for long.
You should have figured out by my comments above that I think, emphatically, that the one is Manchester. I don't believe the Indians are terribly good. I think they will be lucky to go .500 against their remaining schedule.
More importantly, I believe Glastonbury is legitimately very good, and WILL contend for that playoff spot. I like Glastonbury by a lot here.

Some other big games this weekend, as there are several:
St. Bernard/Norwich Tech at Stonington
Griswold at Montville
Crosby at Naugatuck
Avon at Tolland
New Canaan at St. Joseph
Bethel at Masuk

Enjoy.

Week 5 in review

2008-10-15T02:36:00.002-04:00

Did you see that? Haha. You probably don't care. But, for the first time in a year and a half of making weekly high school football predictions, yours truly had a perfect week, going 8-0.
OK, so I was still off about how close several games would be, but I got all the winners right.
New Britain bounced back with a blowout of Hall after its stunning loss to Weaver. Nice win there. I hope the 'Canes can keep it up and build some momentum with the tougher part of its schedule still ahead.
Southington bounced back, albeit from a close win, with a bigger win against Conard. I must say that this was the most impressive score of the week.
Southington 35, Conard 0
I saw Conard a week ago, and they are legitimately a powerful team. Their 2-3 record is a product of playing maybe the three best teams in the CCC, Southington, New Britain and Newington (with apologies to Manchester and Glastonbury, on whom the jury is still out, although Glastonbury is looking more and more like an elite team).
Rocky Hill won its warmup against Plainville and now heads to Berlin in a huge game this week. Newington continues to impress after a blowout of Bloomfield that I expected to be a bit closer. Things are looking very good for the Indians right now.
Wethersfield struggled again against a good opponent, not even playing Glastonbury close. It looks like the Eagles, with a VERY hard closing schedule, will have to hope for a .500 season. It's still out there to be had, but they will have to play better than the last two weeks.
I didn't get to see any action in person last week, so I don't have much to comment on there. Southington was clearly the team of the week, though. It looks like the Knights are hitting their stride.
As for me, I'm going to bask in the glow of my zero in the loss column, which brings my record for the season up to 29-7, and 4-1 in non-local matchups. I'll be back later in the week with a look at this weekend's games.

Week 5 preview/picks

2008-10-10T02:55:00.002-04:00

Back to the gridiron for another exciting weekend of games. Things should shake up a little bit with some key matchups in a few divisions. Locally it's not a bad slate of games either. There are some that you should definitely get out to.
I will not be covering anything this weekend. I'll be in the office on Friday night taking phone calls, and at a wedding on Saturday afternoon. So, it's open for me to make picks on all of these games.
Friday:
Bloomfield at Newington, 7 p.m.: This could be a trap game for Newington after a big win over Conard last week, but the thing about the Indians is they don't seem to take anything for granted. They haven't really played poorly in a game yet this year, and I don't really expect them to.
The key will be whether they can get healthy with both fullbacks (Harrison Scully and Fred Ortiz) nursing injuries. Those two are key to what the offense can do because they fight for small chunks on first down, and keep defenses honest, allowing the passing game and Spencer Parker's legs to make big plays.
I don't know much about Bloomfield, but their games tend to be shootouts. There should be a decent amount of scoring in this one, although the Newington defense has been good. I expect the Indians to get a win here and keep on rolling.
Conard at Southington, 7 p.m.: I saw Conard last week, and they are very dangerous. Southington is the epitome of consistency and good coaching, never ceasing to impress onlookers with how prepared the Knights are for each and every game.
I'm not quite sure why the Knights' game against Bristol Eastern was so close last week. Eastern's good, but I didn't think they were in Southington's strata this year. Either way, it should end up being a wakeup call for the Knights.
I think Southington will pull away late, with the defense proving too much for Conard to get much going.
Farmington at East Hartford, 7 p.m.: I don't have many words for the Indians. They just aren't playing well. East Hartford's not great, but they're probably too good for Farmington to hang with.
East Hartford wins going away.
Rocky Hill at Plainville, 7 p.m.: Same goes for Plainville as for Farmington. And the bigger problem is that Rocky Hill is very good. Now, the Terriers weapons don't translate as well on grass as on their own artificial turf. But they should be able to dominate this matchup up front and score a bunch.
Rocky Hill will win easily.
St. Paul/Goodwin/Mills at Enfield, 7 p.m.: Enfield didn't put up much of a fight against Rocky Hill, but I still say they are dangerous if a team isn't ready for them. So far everything's been going St. Paul's way, but I think they could find themselves in a fight here.
I still think the Falcons will win though. They look to be legit.
Saturday:
Glastonbury at Wethersfield, 12 p.m.: The Eagles first test, against Manchester, wasn't exactly a success. Turnovers were costly and the team let one slip away that they definitely should have won.
Make no mistake about it. Glastonbury is better than Manchester. Now, last year the Eagles' defense kept Glastonbury in check and gave the offense chances to win. It's still possible this year, but I don't think things look good.
Maybe home field will prove fruitful for Wethersfield, but I expect Glastonbury to win.
New Britain at Hall, 1:30 p.m.: The Hurricanes better bounce back quickly, cause Hall's a team that can beat you, like Weaver, if you aren't prepared. New Britain has always bounced back well in recent years after surprising losses. That's a positive thing to say about the team.
And I don't think Hall has quite the firepower to handle New Britain either. But I don't think this will be a blowout by any chance.
New Britain should win by less than two touchdowns.
State pick of the week:
Cromwell at Tolland, Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Out of a bunch of games with big playoff implications, this one interests me most. Cromwell's been showing up in some state polls lately, and I, for one, think they deserve it. The Panthers' program has been very impressive in recent years. Just ask Plainville coach Rocky Gagliardi, who was an assistant there at one time.
Meanwhile, Tolland made the playoffs last year, and is right in the hunt again this year. Both teams are unbeaten so far.
While the trip is a long one for Cromwell, I think the Panthers are among the elite in the small classes, and I expect them to get a big win in this one. Ironically, one team that will be rooting for that is Rocky Hill. The Terriers are chasing several teams in Class SS, Tolland among them.
Some other big matchups for the week (which won't necessarily make for competitive games):
New London at St. Bernard/Norwich Tech
Windham at Stonington
Greenwich at Ridgefield
Seymour at Crosby
Brookfield at Masuk
Danbury at Staples
Avon at Hyde Leadership
North Branford at Ellington/Somers
Those all pit teams with playoff aspirations, or the talent to pull off an upset. Now personally I don't think some of these matchups will be close. But the team that loses will still take a big hit in the points standings. This should be an exciting weekend.

MLB playoff predictions (take 2)

2008-10-09T02:35:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I feel happy getting things half right. The MLB playoffs are definitely one of those times.
After all, I was exactly right about the Rays and Phillies... in four games! That never happens. I was right that the Red Sox-Angels series would be tight, and don't be fooled that it didn't go five games. The Angels had a lead in Game 1 and were right in it in Game 4. That easily could have gone the other way, and sports editor Matt Straub almost had three cardiac arrests during the week.
And then there were the Cubs.
OK, I won't avoid talking about it. I was wrong about the Cubs, well, sort of. I said that at some point something would stop them from winning, as always. I just had no idea it would be so early on. I never would have predicted four errors in one game, all from the infield. I never thought their entire stacked lineup would fall asleep. I never thought Huroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley would prove to be aces when it mattered most. So, I was wrong about that.
Time to regroup and go at this again. And I love both of these LCS matchups. This should be exciting baseball.
ALCS, Red Sox at Rays
The sad thing is, if the Sox win this, then the Rays year, and accomplishments, will go the way of many before them. Who remembers the 2001 Mariners? They went 116-46 in the regular season, but lost the ALCS to the Yankees. And it was in New York, not Seattle, that the President threw out the opening pitch. Maybe that was just fate. But those Mariners, one of the best teams ever, are largely forgotten, and it's only seven years later.
How about the 1995 Indians? Try 100-44 in a strike-shortened regular season. But they lost to the Braves in the World Series (ironic that the one Braves team that won in the end was the one that was a huge underdog). So, your average fan doesn't remember just how good that Indians team was.
The point is, the Rays won the AL East by playing great all year long and holding off the Sox in the last two weeks of the year. But if they lose this series, it won't matter. In the end, people will remember the Red Sox as the better team (whether they were or not) and the Rays will be something for the history books only, not baseball lore.
And it could easily happen. These teams both have three VERY reliable starting pitchers, and a fourth that isn't bad in a pinch. I give the Rays the edge in that middle game, but other than that, how can you pick against any of the six guys going?
How about offense? The Red Sox sure look a lot like they did this time last year, balanced and dangerous. Who wants to pitch to Pedroia, Youkilis, or that Ortiz guy? Not to mention Jason Bay is proving he's pretty good, J.D. Drew is always dangerous and you can expect somebody else to step up eventually.
As for the Rays, they just looked very good against the White Sox, and Carlos Pena (the pride of Northeastern University) didn't hit a single homer in the series. He did bat .500 in three games.
If B.J. Upton heats up, he's a series changer. Same goes for Longoria, and Pena. That's a VERY good lineup.
There's little question that these are the two best remaining teams, and many people believe whoever wins this is taking home the World Series. That will have to wait. For now, it's going to come down to those late-game situations, that the Red Sox have been so good at during their postseason success years.
But the Rays have the much deeper bullpen, aside from the Sox advantage in postseason experience the only big edge either team has anywhere. I think that's critical, and I'm not the biggest believer in the importance of a strong pen. Strong pens don't win games. But at this point in the year, when every game is so important, they keep you from blowing one.
I hope this goes seven games. I hope they're all close. I hope Red Sox fans have 1,000 heart attacks over the next week.
And in the end, I hope their hearts are broken, if only so that the Rays get to shine. This team deserves it, and I hate seeing the kind of things that happened in 2001 and 1995 (except when it comes to last year's Patriots).
I may be picking with my heart, but I am picking Tampa in seven games.
NLCS, Dodgers at Phillies
This is weird, because entering the playoffs, I thought the Cubs were so clearly the best team in the NL that I hadn't quite considered the possibility the Dodgers would be in this series. Of course, I knew the Dodgers COULD win that series, I just never thought about what it would set up afterwards, how they would shape up for a seven-game series.
Truth be told, they shape up pretty damn good. In fact, they have the biggest edge in this series: starting pitching depth.
True, the Phillies have the best pitcher in the series in Cole Hamels, and he seems prepared to be a star this postseason, unlike his one-and-done last year. But after that, the Phils rely on soft-throwing vets, and Joe Blanton, who's not good for much this year (although Milwaukee didn't solve him). Seriously, while I respect Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer and think both are great pitchers to have over the long haul of a regular season, they aren't the type I would rely on now. The Jeff Suppans of the world, guys like that who step up in the postseason, are few and far between.
Lowe is similar, but has a proven track record. Billingsley and Kuroda are more typical ace-types, even if they aren't to that level yet.
So, if the Phils want to win, they will likely need two wins from Hamels. Then if they can get one from either Moyer or Myers somewhere, it could leave an interesting situation. The pivotal matchup in this series could be Blanton against whomever the Dodgers pitch in Game 4. Strange, isn't it. But that's the matchup that doesn't seem to have a favorite.
OK, so now we look at the lineups, and it's like the exact opposite. The Dodgers have the top gun (Manny), but the Phils (Utley, Rollins, Howard) have three legitimate stars, all of whom can change a game. That doesn't even include Shane Victorino and Pat Burrell, Victorino a clutch hitter, and Burrell typically the opposite, but still very dangerous.
L.A. has Rafael Furcal back, a key piece to its success, and Russell Martin is a very good hitter, and Andre Ethier is far better than most people realize. But the rest of their lineup is inconsistent, like James Loney, Matt Kemp and Jeff Kent. Those guys could easily go cold.
So the offensive edge seems to clearly be on Philly's side.
The bullpens feel like a moot point, but the Phils could have a bit more trouble in the middle innings if the older starters don't go deep. If it gets to Lidge, you can pretty much count it in the books, despite his postseason history.
[A note on the infamous Albert Pujols home run that allegedly destroyed Brad Lidge's postseason mindset: What people don't realize is that Lidge wasn't pitching well in that postseason before the Pujols homer in Game 5, which was a bomb of epic proportions. He gave up an earned run in Game 3, and nearly blew a save in game 4, which had the Cardinals won, they likely would have won the series. The only thing that saved him was the final play, either a spectacular double play turn by the infield, or a blown call depending on your personal point of view. Either way, if John Mabry hustles out of the box, Larry Walker scores and that game is tied. But, I'm not holding a grudge or anything.
The point is, Lidge was just off that October, in general. The Pujols homer was waiting to happen. He's not off right now.]
So that could be a minor advantage to the Dodgers, or a major one depending on the series. I would prefer to see Philly win this one. I can't root for either Joe Torre or Manny Ramirez personally, or the team that would vulture Manny when he was intentionally tanking it for his previous team for no good reason.
But the more I think about it, the more I like L.A. to win this series, particularly if that middle game goes their way or Lowe steals one from Hamels (which could easily happen). I'm going to take L.A. in six games.

Of course, what I pick usually comes true about half the time. So take the above picks with a grain of salt. I could just be trying to manipulate it to go the way I want.
But, with my luck they'll both go the way I don't want, and I'll be forced to sit through a Sox-Dodgers series.

week 4 in review

2008-10-08T00:21:00.003-04:00

Week 4 was devastating for some local teams, and a very good sign for others. First the positives.
Newington's win over Conard means two things: 1) The Indians are in the driver's seat for a spot in the Class L playoffs, and 2) The Indians are a very good team. Conard impressed me in the early going, and I thought for sure their bruising rushing attack would wear down Newington. But not so. The defense stuck it out, and the offense got just enough going to win.
Fans in Newington should be excited. That is a division that is wide open for a potential champion. Nobody jumps out. The players need to stay focused and take confidence from every win, without getting ahead of themselves.
Meanwhile, New Britain just shot itself in the foot with a loss to a weaker Weaver team. Now, the Beavers are good. But word from the game and around the state is that there was no reason New Britain should ever have lost this game. This makes every game on the schedule absolutely critical in an always-loaded Class LL. New Britain-Southington, at Rentschler Field in November, should be another battle with potential playoff spots on the line, but only for one team, not both.
Wethersfield, though it's playoff chances were probably not as good as New Britain, suffered a similar kind of loss. I know Manchester is showing up on some pollsters rankings. I know they're 4-0. But with the remaining schedule Wethersfield has, this was one of the easier games, and they lost it.
I think the Eagles will be favored in only one of their remaining games. But I think there are three or four others they will be capable of winning, including this week against Glastonbury. They better bounce back, or all the good vibes of a 3-0 start could be gone.
After the way Rocky Hill handled Enfield I am confident in saying that had the Terriers played Northwest Catholic on artificial turf, or even a good grass field, they would have won by 10 points or more. But c'est la vie. You get the schedule and you have to play the games where you're told. Don't lose hope, Terriers. The playoffs are still reachable. You've proven you are good.
No surprise for Berlin against East Catholic. Sadly, no surprise for Plainville or Farmington either, in blowout losses.
Oh, and Southington keeps winning, but this one wasn't quite as easy as expected. Maybe the Bristol Eastern Lancers have more in them than they showed early on.
I went 6-2 in my picks, including correctly picking Cheshire over Wilbur Cross. That brings my record on the year to 21-7, 3-1 in non-local picks.

I'll be back tomorrow to analyze the MLB League Championship Series.
And the day after that to look at this week's high school slate. For now I'll just say I've got so many numbers crunching through my head over the playoff point system already, that I don't know if I'll make it to the end of November without my noggin exploding.

week 4 preview

2008-10-02T16:41:00.003-04:00

[BLOGGER'S NOTE: Due to a change in coverage schedules for this weekend, I have removed my prediction on the Newington-Conard game. I will be covering that game on Saturday afternoon, and I do not want there to appear to be any conflict of interest in the coverage.
However, as it is an interesting matchup, I will provide some thoughts on it]

Things are starting to get much clearer, and after a muddy week 3, let's all hope things stay dry this weekend. The forecast is calling for it to be a little chilly at night, but sunny and dry during th day. So it should be good football weather, thankfully.
Of course, it will be the rare weekend where I happen not to cover any games. I'll be in the office on Friday, and while I may get out and watch a game on Saturday, I won't be reporting. Those duties will go to writers Ken Lipshez and Andrew Lovell, as well as a talented group of freelance writers.
That means I get to make picks in every local game this week, which is a bit of a treat. Let's see how things go.
Friday:
Bristol Eastern at Southington, 7 p.m.: Last year this would have been a big matchup. But the results so far this year don't look great for Eastern, but Southington keeps rolling along looking very strong against CT competition.
This is Southington's first home game, and the Knights are rested after a rainout last weekend. The fans should be into it, and the players eager to get back out there.
I expect Southington to jump all over the Lancers from the start and win this pretty easily.
South Windsor at Farmington, 7 p.m.: I know, every week the Indians seem to have an opponent among the weaker in the CCC conference. But it may be time to face up to facts. The Indians themselves are near the bottom of the conference.
I don't think South Windsor is as good as Fermi or Platt were, but they are probably better than E.O. Smith was, and I just don't see a lot of positives coming from Farmington.
I think South Windsor will win.
Weaver at New Britain, 7 p.m.: This has all the signs of being the trap game that New Britain has fallen victim to in recent years to teams like Windsor and Bloomfield. This is a good Weaver team, but certainly one the Hurricanes should beat. New Britain has to be careful not to let its early success blind it. It's still VERY early in the season.
Good teams lock down and win these games with relative ease. I don't know that New Britain does anything easily, but I will pick the 'Canes to come out on top.
Wethersfield at Manchester, 7 p.m.: The schedule gets a little bit tougher for the Eagles after East Hartford, E.O. Smith and Bulkeley, but not by much. Manchester just hasn't gotten back to the competitive level it was at a few years back.
The Eagles, like New Britain, need to make sure not to get caught up in early success. I hope the players realize they haven't beaten a good team yet, though they are capable of it.
I think Wethersfield will win this one, but it might get closer than comfort would allow, particularly on the road for the first time.
East Catholic at Berlin, 7 p.m.: Forget that after watching them I don't think anybody will beat Berlin. East Catholic isn't the team to even put up a fight.
I don't really have much more to say than I hope the Berlin fans don't mind blowouts. They will get very used to them.
Enfield at Rocky Hill, 7 p.m.: Sure, the Terriers lost to NW Catholic on Monday, and it was a heartbreaking game that they probably should have won. But the season is not lost, and the coaching staff will have to make sure they know that.
Lose to Enfield, and the playoffs will be almost definitely lost, and the Raiders are not a team to overlook. Enfield's passing attack happens to oppose one of Rocky Hill's minor weaknesses, so this won't be the best matchup for Rocky Hill.
But, I did see enough of the Terriers to know that they have a talented team. That was what made the NWC loss so difficult for them. This team can go places.
This is where they start to regroup. I'll pick them in a pretty close contest.
Saturday:
Newington at Conard, 2:30 p.m.:
This is easily the best matchup of the week. These teams will both be fighting for a playoff spot in Class L, and the loser of this game will be put in a very precarious situation in that regard.
Conard is always praised as a well-prepared team, while Newington has surprised many people so far this year.
Both are for real, and have competed very well against good competition so far. This should be a very close matchup.
In fact, there's the litmus test for it:
New Britain 24, Conard 19
New Britain 23, Newington 17
Can't get much closer than that.
Plainville at St. Paul et. al.: Who could have predicted St. Paul would be 4-0 after this week? Probably not many people.
At this point, I'll be very surprised if they aren't. The Blue Devils just need to worry about improving in practice and games each week, and hope for some bright spots to follow. I don't think wins will be coming.
St. Paul will win.
STATE PICK OF THE WEEK
Wilbur Cross at Cheshire, Saturday, 7 p.m.: At the office this week, we passed by a high school game on local TV and stopped to see who it was. It ended up being a thriller last weekend between Cheshire and Shelton, and it got us talking about how Cheshire has fallen far from the powerhouse it was in the 90s.
I think the Rams aren't as far away from being very good as their record shows lately. They are 1-2, but lost by one touchdown to a good Hamden team, and by a point in overtime to that unbeaten Shelton team.
Meanwhile, Wilbur Cross is solid again, with an overtime win against a very good small school in Hyde, a dominant win over Xavier and a win over Amity.
Both teams beat Amity, by similar scores, so this should be pretty close if you use standards like that to judge. I do.
In that case, I give the edge to Cheshire being at home, and I think it could be a spark for the team the rest of the year. I don't think either of these teams is going to be close to the playoffs in the end, but they won't be easy wins for anybody on their schedule.

Bring on October

2008-10-01T03:09:00.003-04:00

Back in March I made my predictions for the baseball season, and very unscientifically even guessed at win totals for all 30 MLB teams, without adding up to see if those numbers were even possible until afterwards.
Well, now it's time to bite the bullet and go back and see how I did. And this is the first time I've looked at the numbers since making those picks, so this should be fun.
Let's see how many games off I was for every team.
Team ..............actual finish......predicted.................difference
AL East
Tampa Bay ..97 wins............84 (3rd place)...........13 games
Boston...........95.....................98 (1st)......................3
New York.....89.....................93 (2nd).....................4
Toronto ........86....................82 (4th)......................4
Baltimore......68....................66 (5th)......................2
AL Central
Chicago.........88.....................87 (3rd)......................1
Minnesota....88.....................75 (4th).....................13
Cleveland......81 ....................95 (1st)......................14
Kansas City..75.....................68 (5th)....................... 7
Detroit..........74......................94 (2nd).....................20
AL West
L.A..............100......................92 (1st)..................... 8
Texas...........79.......................77 (3rd)......................2
Oakland.......75.......................72 (4th)......................3
Seattle..........61......................90 (2nd)...................29
NL East
Philadelphia.92......................91 (2nd)....................1
New York.....89.....................94 (1st)......................5
Florida..........84......................64 (5th)..................20
Atlanta.........72.......................86 (3rd)..................14
Washington..59......................82 (4th)..................23
NL Central
Chicago.........97......................89 (1st)....................8
Milwaukee...90......................84 (3rd)...................6
Houston........86......................73 (5th).................13
St. Louis........86......................87 (2nd)..................1
Cincinnati......74......................78 (4th)..................4
Pittsburgh....67.......................70 (6th).................3
NL West
LA Dodgers..84.....................90 (2nd)..................6
Arizona.........82.....................95 (1st)..................13
Colorado.......74.....................86 (3rd).................12
San Francisco.72..................68 (5th)...................4
San Diego.....63.....................85 (4th).................22

Whew! I'm glad that's over. I forgot some of those picks (Washington 82 wins!, San Diego 85 wins!). As you can see, I did very well on some things, and very bad on others. I did not foresee Tampa being this good, but I thought they would be competitive. I had a hunch that pre-season favorites like Detroit, Seattle and Colorado would not be quite that good, but in the case of the first two, I never imagined they would be that bad.
I also had a hunch on the White Sox, as I wrote. And I'm proud to say I was only one game off on my Cardinals, who surprised just about everybody else with their 86-win year.
Now, as for the bad, Washington was a very dark horse pick to get that high, and in retrospect I was dead wrong. San Diego struggled with injuries such as Chris Young missing over half the season and nobody could have foreseen Jake Peavy struggling like he did. That's just part of what makes this so interesting.
I got two division winners correct, two other eventual winners were my pick to finish second and two other winners I picked to finish third. That's not too bad. Of course, Cleveland, my pick to win the AL Central, finished far behind in third, and Arizona, which I thought was the best the NL had to offer, finished with only 82 wins.
I am not at all surprised that one division I was very close on was the NL Central, missing by only an average of fewer than six games per team. I follow that division like a hawk.
Being in New England, I was also very close on the AL East, missing by a mere 5.2 games per team, most of that a 13-game gap when the Rays exceeded any kind of expectation. I missed the other four teams by a miniscule 3.25 games each. I'm proud of that.
I was surprisingly closer on my AL predictins (8.64 games off per team) than NL (9.68 games per team). Overall I missed by an average of 9.26 games. It's hard for me to say if that's good or not, with nobody else to compare to, but with the unpredictability of a long baseball season, I'd say its not too bad.

AND NOW... FOLLOWING THAT PERFORMANCE... I AM COMPELLED TO GIVE YOU MORE PREDICTIONS GUARANTEED TO BE PARTIALLY TRUE
Time to predict the 2008 playoffs
American League
Chicago at Tampa Bay: I love Ozzie Guillen. I don't know what he's doing most of the time as a manager, but it somehow seems to work more than it doesn't. Well, his team came up with some clutch wins Monday and Tuesday, and that reminds me at least a little of last year's Colorado team.
On the other hand, Tampa is the real deal, and one of the more complete teams in these playoffs, particularly with Longoria back and if Percival can stay healthy.
One thing that worries me about the Rays is their imbalanced home and road record. They rely a lot on The Trop to win, and one slipup there in the playoffs could hurt them a lot. Consistency wins this time of year.
But, overall, I just think Tampa is a significantly better team than Chicago, more rested, better equipped to handle pitching matchups, and of course, they do have home field.
Prediction: Tampa Bay in four
Boston at L.A. Angels: At the beginning of the season, I thought the Sox were the best team in baseball, but it's been quite an up-and-down ride. No more Manny, but Jason Bay is about as good a replacement as they were going to find. A battered Josh Beckett not pitching until game three. Next to nothing from wunderkind Clay Bucholz, and likely an end to Schilling's career.
But here the Sox are, with Daisuke improving from last year as predicted, Lester suddenly a star and Pedroia the favorite to win the MVP.
On the other hand we have the definition of consistency in the Angels. After Vlad, how many guys in their lineup can you name. But they are all solid players, and if Garrett Anderson is healthy and gets hot he can be a series changer.
Plus their pitching always surprises, and they have that lights-out closer (of course, so do the Sox most of the time).
This one is tough. Something is still making me lean toward Boston. I think it's that deep down I think the Sox have more talent. This should come down to a couple things though, that don't favor the Sox:
1. Lester's youth
2. Beckett's spot in the rotation
3. No Manny
Lester was great this year, but I'm not sold he'll be unhittable as he might need to be in the pressure of October. I think he'll pitch well, but can he win a 2-1 game if needed.
Beckett will only get to pitch once, and how will that go coming off an injury.
And while Manny could tear apart a team over the haul of a season, and getting rid of him was absolutely the right move, the Sox will miss having that kind of an impact player now, when every at bat becomes critical.
Prediction: Los Angeles in five
ALCS, Tampa Bay at Los Angeles: What a strange matchup this would be, and many think that it would garner no TV ratings. But I have a feeling that fans will follow Tampa for the novelty of the team.
I can't think of two more balanced teams. Their pitching staffs look almost identical: no huge names, but guys who can pitch a shutout going every game.
The lineups have a few stars, but only one superstar (Guerrero). Still, they play smart, fundamental baseball.
It's Tampa's youth against L.A.'s experience. Usually experience wins, but this Tampa team is very similar to Detroit in '06, Chicago in '05 and yes, Anaheim in '02. Things have just seemed to go their way most of the year.
Prediction: Tampa Bay in six
National League
Milwaukee at Philadelphia: Before I begin, I must say that you couldn't hand-pick a batch of teams I root against more than this year's NL crop. I have nobody to root for. It will be painful.
That said, they are some pretty good teams, but mostly flawed.
These two are very flawed. They both strike me as incredibly immature squads, who tend to think they have earned respect that they don't deserve yet. Each of these teams acts like they are the best, but they've never proven it.
Both rely on the home run, have very inconsistent starting pitching at this point, and are impatient at the plate and error-prone in the field. This series will be all about who steps up with a big play, and I expect to see many of them.
In that regard, I like Philly's stars, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, a LOT more than Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.
I also like Philly because of Brad Lidge, who has been lights-out again this year, although he has a history of blemishes at the wrong time.
The one thing that would have made me say Milwaukee could win this is C.C. Sabathia, but after working him into the ground the last two weeks, I don't know that he can take anymore, and he has a history of bad playoff games as well. With Ben Sheets a big question mark due to injuries in September, things look bad for Milwaukee. But Philly won't run away with it either.
Prediction: Philadelphia in four
Los Angeles at Chicago: There is no question that the Cubs are the best team in the NL, and I don't think it's even close. Their pitching staff is unreal, particularly when weak-link Jason Marquis doesn't have to pitch. Their lineup is dangerous top-to-bottom, and their manager is one of the best.
Only the Cubs bullpen, and 100 years of history, can keep them from the World Series.
Los Angeles is a trendy pick because of Manny, but I just don't think the Dodgers team is good enough for him to make a difference. They have, at best, only one pitcher that I would guarantee a good performance from, and I'm not even sure I can say that about Derek Lowe. In fact, Chad Billingsley may be their top guy. Maddux is not the same pitcher he used to be.
Every postseason the team that wins is the one that has role players make big contributions, guys not expected to do so. The Cubs have more of those guys than anybody else, like Geovany Soto, Kosuke Fukudome, Jim Edmonds, Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa to go along with stars Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez
Prediction: Cubs in three
NLCS, Philadelphia at Chicago: I definitely don't think Philly can stump the Cubs in a 7-game series. Pitching depth will wear them down, along with immaturity. I expect the Phils to suffer a huge hangover after celebrating their win in the first series. It's been their M.O. for several years. Every time they achieve something, they think they've won it all, and suddenly they are sent home.
I think we will see that again.
Prediction: Chicago in five
WORLD SERIES
Chicago at Tampa Bay: Damn that All-Star game if you're a Cubs fan. 14 innings gave the Rays four home games, and how crucial are those going to be.
Last year, I predicted the Cubs would win when the playoffs began, ending a 99-year drought. This year, I'm not so sure. If I pick them to win, I'm sure they won't, and as a Cardinals fan I should probably do that.
But I can't pick them to win two years in a row and look stupid, and besides, I just think Tampa's going to get it done somehow.
I don't know if the curse will take over. I don't know how Tampa will win. I can't believe I'm not hedging my bets by picking the Cubs to win, thereby balancing out how upset I would be if they did.
Prediction: Tampa Bay in six, and Lord help me if the Cubs actually win because of this

week 3 in review

2008-10-01T02:50:00.002-04:00

Rain made for one of the more unpleasant "weekends" of football I can remember, and not just because of rainy nights at the game and poor field conditions. Football just should not be played on Monday and Tuesday, as it was in two local cases this week, and then, there were those messy conditions.
My picks were still pretty solid, though. I went 4-1, with one game postponed to November, incorrectly guessing only the Plainville-RHAM game. I guess it's back to the drawing board for the Blue Devils after a really tough loss to swallow. This just won't be Plainville's year.
A couple notes from this week:
It was a very disappointing loss for Rocky Hill at Northwest on Monday. First off, I felt that the Terriers were the better, more talented team. They were outplayed that day though, picking up many costly penalties, turning it over five times and failing to get its running game going.
Granted, the referees were questionable to say the least. And the field condition, as it usually is at Northwest, was bad. But this team needed a win there, and hurt its playoff chances greatly in a year I think they have a legitimate shot to get back there.
I do ask the question to anybody who can answer it as to why Rocky Hill had to play at Northwest in consecutive years, not to mention they will play at Middletown for a second straight year. That means the Terriers will play the three traditional powers of the Nutmeg League, along with Berlin, on the road this year. That's simply unfair.
As for Berlin, good luck Nutmeg. It is becoming more and more clear that Berlin is easily the best team in this conference, and if they play like they did in dismantling Middletown, they will take home their first state title.
Nice win for Newington, another team proving that it will be tough this year. I think the Indians have their toughest remaining game coming up, but I'll save that for next week's preview.
Some stars from this week:
Kaiuway Boima, New Britain: Went crazy in the second half with five touchdowns.
Mike Mancini, Rocky Hill: Quietly had a very nice day punting, with two fumble recoveries and defensively.
The entire Berlin offensive line: I've never seen such a dominant performance against an allegedly good team.
The week brings my overall record this year to 15-5, 2-1 in non-local picks.

Week 3 football

2008-09-26T03:55:00.003-04:00

Oh, Mother Nature has decided to play her tricks on us this weekend, and it didn't take long for that to effect the high school slate.
Before I even knew the game had been rescheduled (with Thursday being my day out of the office), the New Britain Golden Hurricanes had put a second-half hurting on Bloomfield for a 58-26 win after trailing at the break.
I guess I don't get to predict that game, but I would have guessed New Britain would win, just not by so many.
With a frequently muddy field to worry about, Northwest Catholic moved its game with Rocky Hill from Saturday to Monday. Here's hoping the field is in decent shape to play and not the mudbowl I've seen it be in the past when I cover that one.
So far everything else is on as scheduled, so as much as I can tell I will be out at Sage Park Friday night for a big matchup between Middletown and Berlin. It's a Nutmeg weekend for me, with two big conference matchups that should clear up the questions of who's on top this year.
I may also be called into action on Saturday to cover Newington's trip to Weaver. So, for now, I won't make any call on that game, but if plans change I will be back to make a pick.
On to the rest of them, and here's hoping we all can stay relatively dry this weekend.
Friday:
Platt at Farmington, 7 p.m.: I guess the schedule makers were nice to the Indians early on in the season, as they have another winnable game here. However, their blowout loss to Fermi last week does not bode well for them.
I'm guessing Platt is of a similar talent level to Fermi, and I think it will be another Farmington loss.
Wethersfield at Bulkeley, 7 p.m.: These Eagles sure know how to take care of business against lesser opponents. There was no messing around as they pounced all over E.O. Smith by halftime and the starters didn't have to take a snap in the second half.
Expect more of the same this week at Dillon Stadium. Wethersfield wins big.
Saturday:
Southington at Hartford Public, 12 p.m.: The Knights are back to their old ways, and Public doesn't seem quite as strong as it has been in recent years. I actually don't think Southington will have much trouble in this one. What will be interesting is to see who steps up for the Knights. It seems like a different person each game, and each season.
Look out if rain kills the air raid. But the Knights are less one-dimensional than they used to be, mostly because QB Josh Lamson can tuck and run.
Somebody will step up, and Southington should win.
Plainville at RHAM/Lyman Memorial, 11 a.m.: At the start of the season I thought Plainville would be the cellar-dwellers in the Nutmeg, simply because of their overall youth. But they've been better than I expected, and RHAM has been worse.
Now, I think Plainville will get a second win in this one, so long as the weather doesn't make it messy, in which case anything could happen. I'm still taking the Devils.
St. Paul/GT/LM at East Catholic, 1 p.m.: It's back-to-back Catholic school weeks for St. Paul after a big win over Northwest last week. This is simple. If you can beat Northwest, East is no problem.
If St. Paul loses this one, it would be the second week in a row they shock me.
STATE PICK OF THE WEEK
Danbury at New Canaan, Saturday, 2 p.m.: Score one for CT as Danbury took it to Rutland, VT last week. Things don't get easier when they return to the shoreline to take on defending MM champ New Canaan, which I suspect may just be the best team the state has to offer. It's a shame I don't get to see these teams during the regular season. I only know what I get to hear from others.
Well, like I said, I think New Canaan is the best team in the state based on what I'm seeing, so I'm going to pick them to win this, particularly at home. But Danbury must be playing with confidence.
I also will have my eyes on Darien at Ridgefield, because after the Blue Wave topped Greenwich last week, they got themselves on the state radar.

OK, let's do this. Get your rain gear ready, and just accept the mud. It will be more fun that way.

excitement at Willow Brook

2008-09-25T03:05:00.002-04:00

Have you noticed there's a very good team playing on the beautiful turf at Willow Brook Park these days.
No, I don't mean the Hurricanes football team. I'm talking about the boys soccer team coached by Matt Denecour.
For several years Denecour has struggled to find players willing to put in the time and effort to play and also with the skills to compete in one of the toughest soccer conferences in the state. Well, it arrived this year.
With the addition of some key underclassmen and the maturation of several players who have been on the team for a couple years now, Denecour's squad is making even the mightiest sweat it out, most recently forcing top-ranked Glastonbury to overtime before falling 1-0. That would have been one of the biggest upsets of the year in any sport.
Last week the 'Canes tied Simsbury, and ties seem to be their specialty so far this year. That will have to change if they want to get to the postseason. With the difficulty of their schedule (Simsbury, Glastonbury, Southington, East Hartford and Manchester twice each) they will need to get wins against their weaker opponents.
But I have a feeling they will get the job done and could be very battle tested and poised for an upset in the state tournament.
Suffice it to say, this is the most interesting story line I am seeing in the quickly moving season. I'll be following it closely.

week 2 in review

2008-09-25T02:39:00.003-04:00

Things are heating up, and not just in football. I've been busy watching soccer and volleyball this week and didn't get around to summing up week 2 in football.
As expected, some things became clearer, some more confused.
I thought I might have my first ever perfect week picking games and then... boom, a big upset (at least for now) and I'm back to dreaming about that perfection.
I must admit, with as much as I was wondering if the Northwest Catholic team was down a bit from past years, I never expected them to lose to St. Paul. Now I can't decide whether it says more about NWC or the Falcons. Is one not as good as expected, or is the other much better than expected?
The answer is usually somewhere in the middle. This week should go a long way in determining that as NWC faces Rocky Hill.
What we did find out, as I suspected, is that Newington seems to be a legitimate contender despite losing to New Britain. That game was every bit as close as I thought it would be. We learned, as expected, that Southington is once again very dangerous after plowing through Weaver. We learned that Wethersfield has a knack for beating up on weak competition, but we'll have to wait a few weeks to see what the Eagles do against a good team.
And sadly we learned that first-week wins by Farmington and Plainville may have been illusions.
Oh, and still waiting on the first points allowed by Rocky Hill, which has looked very good in two wins to start the year.
The players that most impressed me and others this week were Matt Roncaioli at Southington, Tyler Murphy at Wethersfield, and a rare recognition of a kicker, New Britain's Juan Duque.
I am now 11-4 overall and 1-1 in state games in my picks.
I'll be back tomorrow with the picks for Week 3.

Week 2 football

2008-09-19T01:16:00.002-04:00

Back to work for local teams. One week is gone, and there was a lot to feel good about, but it was only one game with nine or ten more to go. So that momentum will only last as long as this weekend's results allow it to.
I have a better impression of some teams, but it is still hard to say exactly how good, or bad, everybody might be based on one game against one opponent. There's not a lot of info to compare.
There are some big matchups this week with New Britain taking on Newington in my personal favorite. Plainville and Berlin match up, a good rivalry. And there are some good CCC matchups.
Only one game for me this weekend, Wethersfield hosting E.O. Smith on Saturday (no prediction for that as usual). Look for Ken Lipshez at both the Newington-New Britain game and Southington-Weaver and newest staffer Andrew Lovell at the Berlin-Plainville game. I am not sure about the others, but I believe former sports editor Brian Straight will be covering Rocky Hill-RHAM. Say hi to them all.
On to the picks.

Friday:
New Britain at Newington, 7 p.m.: New Britain didn't exactly overpower Conard last week, and Newington played far better than most expected against the Chieftains' crosstown rival Hall. So suddenly this jumped on the radar as a potentially big matchup.
New Britain has all the talent in the world, as written about in Ken's blog this week (lipservice2007.blogspot.com) and is the favorite I would say. But the Hurricanes still don't know how to dominate like their great teams used to. Maybe tonight will be when they start.
Newington knows how much one loss can hurt, going 9-1 last year and missing the playoffs. So they can't look for a moral victory. And the Indians have some serious weapons on offense too.
Still, I like New Britain in a game that should come down to the fourth quarter.
Farmington at Fermi, 7 p.m.: Farmington had a nice win against E.O. Smith last week, but it was said by several people to be pretty sloppy. Fermi lost 18-8 to Bulkeley, a team that is usually decent but not spectacular. So you have to say this is one the Indians could win.
I don't know. For some reason I'm not convinced yet that Farmington is ready to compete this year. I have to take Fermi at home to win.
Berlin at Plainville, 7 p.m.: I got a comment from somebody who said they thought this would be a good matchup, citing the fact that Plainville coach Rocky Gagliardi seems to have the team playing tough and fundamentally sound, both probably true although I haven't seen them play in person yet.
But Berlin has traditionally been bigger, stronger, and more talented at the skill positions, and that was when Plainville had many upperclassmen. I don't know if the young Plainville players can handle a good team like this so early in the season. It will be a good experience for them either way, to see what they have to work on. But I don't think Berlin will have trouble scoring, and should win easily.
RHAM at Rocky Hill, 7 p.m.: If you're looking for a bad omen to start the season for any team, RHAM lost to Cheney Tech last week. Not that Bill Baccaro's squad isn't well coached, but traditionally the tech schools don't hang with the others.
Rocky Hill, on the other hand, shut out what was supposed to be a good Stonington team in an expectedly low-scoring game. Suffice it to say, I don't think RHAM will find the endzone much, if at all, in this one, and the Terriers have pushed the Sachems around in recent years. I don't expect a close one.
Saturday:
Southington at Weaver, 12 p.m.: The schedule is not kind to the Knights early on, following up a trip to New Jersey with a game against a team that is always very tough.
I was impressed enough with Southington in that loss to Bergen Catholic that I think they should be able to come back with a win here. Last year, Southington won matchups like this with its defense, not typical for the school. The defense should be solid again this year, but if the offense can help out more consistently than last year it will help.
I don't quite know the identity of Southington yet, and this should be a telling game. I'm picking Southington to pull away late.
Northwest Catholic at St. Paul/GT/LM, 1:30 p.m.: Don't be fooled by NWC's loss to Xavier last week. That was an uphill battle all along. Now against a much smaller school it should be smoother sailing for the Nutmeg power.
Another reader pointed out that he thinks time has already run out for Jude Kelly to prove himself at St. Paul. That may be. I don't see them getting a win in this one. This isn't Oxford. NWC by a bundle.
STATE GAME OF THE WEEK
Hartford Public at Conard, Sunday, 1 p.m.: Here's two teams, usually pretty good, that both are hoping not to go 0-2. But one will, barring a tie, when they meet.
Public lost to Windsor last week, and Conard lost the close one to New Britain. Neither of those losses is inexcusable. But both need to get a win here.
I'm going to give the edge to Conard at home. I've heard from several people that they looked pretty good in the loss, and could have actually won against New Britain.

I'll be back later in the weekend to recap what happens. But go out to the games before the weather starts getting really cold. The 40 degree temps being predicted for this weekend may look like a pleasure cruise before too long.

a note about the pros

2008-09-19T00:52:00.003-04:00

Before I get into my picks of the week for the high school season (which ironically are printed above this on the blog and you probably already read them) I wanted to say something I meant to talk about last week.
Of course, it's the New England Patriots.
Full disclosure up front. I used to root for the Patriots (in fact, I used to root for the Red Sox a looooong time ago, but gave that up when I was around seven or eight years old). The Pats were never my favorite team, that has always been the 49ers (sigh). But I cheered for the Pats the rest of the time, and rooted for them back in the Bledsoe/Parcells/Curtis Martin days. (Although my favorite on the team was always Ben Coates. I always have a soft spot for pass-catching TEs).
But over the past decade, since the Pats' first Super Bowl victory when I was rooting heavily for them, I have seen some disturbing things from both the team and the fans. The team needs no explanation as rumors of cheating carry a lot of weight. But I've seen the fans go from the frustrated ones of a struggling or downright awful team to the arrogant ones of a winner that knows everybody is out to beat them, which usually leads to a very defensive attitude, particularly when that winner is not used to winning or being the favorite.
Put simply, Patriots fans last year reached the point of being unbearable. Their arrogance regarding their team was one thing. But their complete ability to not only overlook the character flaws of their own team, but actually celebrate them, was dispicable at times. I hate to generalize this way, because I know some Pats fans who, of course, are perfectly decent, honest, trustworthy and respectful human beings. But what shocked me most was how so many of them could cling blindly to the faith that their team had done nothing wrong, or the dictum that "everybody's doing it",as if that justified cheating.
So, very few things would please me more than to see those fans and players, who took it upon themselves not just to win last year but to needlessly embarrass opponents for the Jets' audacity of rightfully accusing them of cheating, be handed a big plate of humble pie this year. Don't forget that before the Pats were clinging to leads as the pressure of 19-0(TM) built up, they were running scores up on helpless opponents through the first half of the season, and padding their own stats.
And that brings me directly to the one thing about the Pats that might anger me more than their cheating, dishonesty, manipulativeness, arrogance and general offensiveness: the myth of Tom Brady.
We all know how this myth started. Bledsoe, always a QB prone to making bad decisions, gets hurt against the Jets early in the 2001 season. In steps Brady, an unknown player who never saw the starting position at Michigan, and the fans feared another doomsday. But somehow the new QB played smart, didn't make huge mistakes, and the Pats' defense and a man who must be credited as a brilliant coach went on to win the title (whether by cheating or not).
And all the credit went to Brady.
And more was heaped on him as they won again, and again. Suddenly Brady was a sure-fire Hall of Famer, despite never putting up exceptional numbers.
And then comes to town Randy Moss, and suddenly Brady has a weapon like few others, perhaps none other. There is not a better deep route runner than Moss in the league, and the deep ball is one of Brady's skills. And Belichick's system is still designed to force teams to respect the run and short passes, making this a match made in heaven.
Result: 2007, Brady's first spectacular statistical season.
Now, before you think I'm crazy, I'm not saying Brady is not a good or very good player. He is. But what bugs me is the seeming concensus among analysts and fans that, as I heard several times last week, he is clearly the best player in the NFL and is irreplaceable.
Well, we finally get our chance to find out, and I have to say I'm torn. Do I root against the Patriots so their fans and players can be brought back to reality and humbled? Or do I root for Matt Cassel, a guy with eerily similar pre-NFL pedigree to Brady, to once and for all destroy the great football myth of our generation.
My honest prediction is that the Patriots will go 11-5 or within one game in either direction, make the playoffs, and threaten to make the Super Bowl but will be stopped by somebody just a bit better. That is partly because of their cupcake schedule.
But mostly it's because the greatest myth about this team for the past eight years is that Brady was the reason it was successful. True, Brady did better than Bledsoe, because Drew was never a good QB in Belichick's system, or with a team that needed to minimize mistakes to make its defensive effort worthwhile. Brady gave the team the consistency and conservativeness it needed to win.
So can Cassel. While Cassel doesn't have Brady's experience, which admittedly has gotten better through the years, it was evidenced in Week 2 against the Jets that he can stay away from trouble, and the defense can still win.
We'll see. I guess either way I should be happy. I just kind of want to see Tom Brady's legacy shown for what it is, a very good career, but not necessarily worthy of the Hall, with a lot of team success, more than I want to see the team fall off its pedestal.

Week 1 in review

2008-09-15T02:50:00.003-04:00

It was an exciting first week of the football season locally, and a very successful one for local teams. The only team to lose was Southington, a defeat against New Jersey power Bergen Catholic which can certainly be excused. Other than that, there were two clear impressive wins for teams I wasn't sure what to expect from.
Berlin and Newington are the big winners, with solid scores over Ledyard and Hall respectively. The word on the street now is that Max DeLorenzo is something to watch at Berlin. As just a sophomore he showed an ability to completely take over a game. That's bad news for other teams.
And I was at the Newington win, and they looked surprisingly strong considering that few of their key players had much role in the offense last year at all. But Shane Leupold lived up to the expectations I had for him, at least this week, with 153 receiving yards and three touchdowns, not to count two interceptions.
My players of the week, the ones who impressed me the most from what I saw, were Newington quarterback Spencer Parker and Southington QB Josh Lamson, for similar reasons. Both will be critical to their team's success, and both stepped into difficult situations and played well, clearly in control of the offense.
Lamson led an opening drive touchdown for Southington to take an early lead on Bergen, and played well at times against a very physical defense the rest of the way. Parker looked unafraid to tuck the ball and run, accumulating 107 yards on the ground against Hall, and also threw for the three TDs to Leupold. While he needs to take better care of the ball when he runs (he has a habit of extending his arms as he ducks in and out of defenders), that aggressiveness and fearlessness will pay huge dividends.
I wasn't there, but I heard there was a very impressive day for Wethersfield QB Tyler Murphy against East Hartford, and of course DeLorenzo.
Rocky Hill also looked strong in shutting out Stonington, and defensive coach Jeff Perillo was very pleased when I saw him at the Newington game on Saturday. On a side note, I had failed previously to notice that the Terriers are in Class SS this year. While New London made the leap up from Class S with them and is a clear favorite in the division, that bodes much better for a potential playoff trip than another year in talent loaded S.
Congratulations as well to Plainville, which made winning look easy against SMSA. I hope the Devils can get a couple more this year, but the road will definitely get tougher.

As for my picks, I guess I underestimated some teams. I was wrong about both Berlin and Farmington (which blew away E.O. Smith in what was said to be a sloppy game). New Britain made things much closer against Conard than I expected, but got the win, and everything else pretty much went as I expected. I went 5-3 on the week and lost my featured state game when Xavier easily beat Northwest Catholic.

Week 1 picks

2008-09-12T01:57:00.003-04:00

I smell football in the air, and I'm excited. Even though it's clearly not my favorite sport, there is something exciting about the one (or two) day a week format that makes looking closely at each and every game possible and exciting.
As some, hopefully, will remember, last year I made picks for all the local games each week (minus the ones I covered, of course) as well as one "featured" game from around the state. I tried hard to pick state matchups that I thought would have some playoff implications and/or be exciting.
New year. Same plan.
But, let me say a bit about each team right now, before I get to the picks.
Berlin: It's going to be tough for the Redcoats to match what they did last season, going 10-2 and losing a heartbreaker in the Class M championship. They lost more talent in one graduating class than some schools see in four years. But don't count them out... ever.
Farmington: With a new conference (unfamiliar opponents every week) and a very young team, just getting a couple wins could be tough for this squad. I'll be pulling for them, but it's clearly a building year.
New Britain: If you want the best chance for a state title in the area, this is your team. The 'Canes have been building to this ever since Jack Cochran said goodbye. This is their chance to put the Cochran era behind with a special season. Southington and Weaver should be the biggest threats to a potential perfect season.
Newington: I'm going to miss watching Nate Pagan, but I have to say I'm excited to see what Shane Leupold can do in the spotlight. Leupold's been very good, but overlooked at times in the past.
Other than that, I don't know what to expect from a team that will have to change a well-worn gameplan.
Plainville: Young might be putting it lightly. This team has a painfully small amount of experience, but the perfect man at the helm to deal with it. Rocky Gagliardi knows this season will be tough, but has an optimistic attitude and more importantly, as one person pointed out to me today, a way of making you want to run through a brick wall for him. He should have the Devils playing hard at least.
Rocky Hill: You know, there's less buzz around this team then there's been since August 2005. That year, completely unexpectedly, the Terriers went to the Class S semis. I'm not saying they will repeat the feat this year. I'm just saying, there's something about a good coaching staff and system when nobody's really watching that makes for a good year.
Southington: See above. It seems like people, myself included, doubt the Knights every year. Well, I'm saying it here. If the Knights go 10-0 or 9-1 again, I won't be in the least surprised. But, if they go 6-4, I wouldn't be stunned either. Still, this is a team with a proven system.
St. Paul and Friends: One last party with Lewis Mills before they go their own way. The waiting period is over for Jude Kelly. This is the year the Falcons have to show some big improvements or Kelly will be criticized by fans.
Then again, this is only high school sports, not the NFL. So I don't think he has to worry for his job.
Wethersfield: I did not see the Eagles' good year coming last year. This is a complete wild card team. I know firsthand of some of the talent they have. But I also know it's been a bumpy ride recently.
The best thing going for them... any team that can honestly say its strength is in the offensive line has a chance.

OK, here we go. I will be at Giants Stadium covering Southington on Friday and in West Hartford to see Newington-Hall on Saturday. So I can't comment specifically on those games, but, man, am I excited to see The Meadowlands up close. I hope the entire town of Southington shows up for what is truly a special opportunity.

FRIDAY:
Conard at New Britain (7 p.m.): First blowout of the season. First chance to see just how good the Blackshirts can be, and first chance to watch the O-line push somebody around. New Britain wins.
E.O. Smith at Farmington (7 p.m.): Like I said, I think it's going to be a long season for Farmington. Based on past history, this is one of those winnable games, I think, but I don't think they're going to win. E.O. in a low-scoring affair.
Ledyard at Berlin (7 p.m.): It's extremely rare that a team gets a chance to avenge a championship loss right away. The Berlin guys, the few who played last year, say they were ready for this since the bus ride back from Arute Field.
But this is a game I think they'll wish they could play a few weeks from now as they get acclimated now. Ledyard in another nailbiter.
Oxford at SP/GT/LM (7 p.m.): First on-campus night game in school history. And, to be honest, I didn't know Oxford existed until this afternoon, and still can't tell you where it is on a map. I'm saying the Falcons et. al. get a win in the opener, but mostly cause I can't see them losing to a team that sounds like it's from across the pond.
Stonington at Rocky Hill (7 p.m.): Like I said, I've got a funny feeling about the Terriers. I like their defense... a lot. Could this be the first step in another magic year?
I'll take the Terriers in a close one, similar to the last two years against St. Bernard/Norwich Tech.
SATURDAY
East Hartford at Wethersfield (Noon): One thing I didn't mention above. The Eagles' schedule looks pretty favorable. There's a real chance for six or seven wins if they take care of a couple tough games.
In recent years, East Hartford hasn't put forth one of those challenges. I bet they'll be better this year, but I still like Wethersfield to win.
Plainville at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy (Dillon Stadium, 6:30 p.m.): If Plainville wants to get a win this year, and I say that seriously, the Devils better get one right here. That would allow them to at least play the rest of the season without a potential 0-fer hanging over their heads.
I think they'll be able to do it, but SMSA is a complete wild-card team. I have no idea what to expect from the magnet school. C'mon Devils! Bring back a win.
STATE GAME OF THE WEEK
Xavier at Northwest Catholic (Friday, 7 p.m.): A few things leap out at me right away here. First off, a night game at NWC? Did the school get lights on what is one of the worst fields in the state? That would be good for them.
Secondly, on the surface this looks like a pretty balanced matchup of private Catholic schools. But then you remember that Xavier probably comes close to tripling the student population of NWC, and that's with only males. So, should the Indians pull off a win in this one, it would seem to me to be a pretty massive upset.
Both of these schools have a football tradition, and this game is clearly the result of the CIAC allowing an extra game on each team's schedule this year. I love it.
I'm going to take Northwest in an upset. But I could be very, very crazy.

Let's have some fun out there, and please, people, be sportsmanlike in the stands. The kids are behaving on the field (most of the time). I want to see the parents and student fan sections (and sports writers too) do the same.
See you at the games.

their loss

2008-09-09T17:01:00.003-04:00

I'm sure by now many of you have heard about or read in The Herald the story of the Northwest Conference dissolving in the face of defections to the CCC. Six schools were approved by CCC athletic directors for entry into the behemoth conference starting next fall (Berlin, Middletown, East Catholic, Northwest Catholic, RHAM and Plainville). It is mostly a formality that the principals will finalize the deal soon.
That, along with Farmington's departure this year, will leave two teams in the Northwest Conference from the recent structure, Rocky Hill and St. Paul. Rocky Hill has applied for entry into the NCCC according to sources and St. Paul seems to be completely up in the air. There are very few options for the small Catholic school. Some conferences do not want private schools and it was rumored that East and Northwest might not get accepted into the CCC. Furthermore, St. Paul is now largely geographically isolated from most conferences in the state after its own application was denied.
My reaction to most of this is one of sadness and disappointment. Going back to when Farmington applied to the CCC and was quickly accepted, things unraveled quickly and in my opinion unnecessarily for the Northwest. It seemed that other schools immediately asked the question why Farmington would leave the conference and decided that there must be a reason, and they must act quickly so as not to get left behind themselves. But as far as I can see there was no reason why the Northwest could not have stayed together with eight teams, or more as it added the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy of Hartford, apparently starting this winter.
Perhaps I am wrong, but the actions of Berlin, Plainville, Middletown and the Catholic schools seemed to be totally reactionary. They panicked when Farmington left, and panicked more when they heard rumors that RHAM was unhappy with its admittedly absurd travel distances in the Northwest Conference. So they all immediately looked for ways out of what they perceived to be a collapsing conference. It shouldn't have ended this way.
The sadness for me is that as a writer and reporter I have thoroughly enjoyed the Northwest Conference, and honestly think it was far superior to the CCC, not perhaps in talent level at the top, but in a number of other ways.
Of course the CCC's larger schools could easily defeat the smaller NWC teams in many sports. But the CCC has more than its fair share of competitive imbalance across all sports. In fact, ever since the CCC's divisional realignment, other than football coaches you would have been hard pressed to find a coach in any sport who liked the competition in his or her division.
Meanwhile, the Northwest chugged along, consistently having spectacular balance and amazing races in football, basketball, softball, baseball, and volleyball. Every school in the conference brought something to the table, with only St. Paul struggling to be competitive in a majority of sports. Think about it.
Berlin- strong in just about everything, particularly football, baseball, wrestling and volleyball
Farmington- soccer and basketball power, with occasional championship level teams in other sports
Middletown- very strong in football and basketball, not to mention recent wrestling success
East Catholic- basketball hotbed, and very good in baseball and some "minor" sports
RHAM- strong in wrestling and baseball
Rocky Hill- softball, football, and soccer power, with strong teams at times in basketball
Northwest Catholic- football and basketball frontrunner with good teams in most sports
Plainville- baseball power, strong teams in softball and girls basketball as well
And don't forget St. Paul, which has been a softball power and getting better at basketball despite its noted struggles in some other sports. There wasn't a school here that didn't belong or add to the conference in multiple ways.
Furthermore, there is a different atmosphere around smaller conferences like the Northwest, Shoreline and NCCC as opposed to the giants like the SCC, CCC and FCIAC. In the big conferences, there is not nearly the camaraderie come tournament time that you see in the others. Nobody is prouder when a NWC school wins a state championship (after the team itself, of course) than the other schools in its conference. Coaches, minus the to-be-expected personality conflicts, root for each other. I just don't see that from any division in the CCC, where the lack of competitive balance leaves the league in a perpetual state of the haves vs. the have-nots.
I suppose the irony is that one rumored realignment for the CCC would be to put all seven of the former NWC schools in one division along with a couple others. Great. If that happens, imagine Farmington's consternation after leaving for legitimate reasons (they had no opponents in certain sports like field hockey as it is a much larger school than any in the NWC) or RHAM, who would be thrust back into long travels.
And what if the CCC does what many believe it should and sets up different conferences for different sports to fix competition problems? It will be nearly impossible for fans and schools to remember who they are up against from season to season.
For the time being, soak up the great rivalries in the Northwest for one last year. Maybe they won't know what they had until it's gone.

welcome back

2008-09-09T16:54:00.003-04:00

Summer "vacation" is over and it's back to the blogging world with a lot of things to talk about in the sporting scene, locally and nationally. I'm going to pound out a couple today.
Just like last year, I'll be focusing the blog primarily on high school sports, but occasionally talking about other subjects (as you will soon see). I will be back with my weekly high school football picks to be posted some time on Thursday or Friday afternoon before the games for the week. I also will continue to readily welcome comments and feedback on the blog, so let me know what you think.
Man, it feels good to have some high school sports back. The summer can drag on at times and as much as I love baseball, it gets tiring having one main sport to cover for three months and very little else to keep an eye on.
And unfortunately the rain has already cancelled most of the first day of the season, with only a handful of volleyball games still going on.
As for local teams, I expect our girls soccer teams to be very strong again this year, with a LOT of star power at Farmington, Southington, Berlin and Wethersfield leading the way. The boys teams look to be down a bit, with nobody likely to be as strong as the top teams were last year, but you can never count Farmington out of title contention and a new tougher schedule should make them battle tested come tournament time. It should also make the NWC race really interesting for the first time in a while without them.
As for volleyball, I really like the teams Berlin and Southington will put on the court, and I see positives in Rocky Hill, Farmington and Newington, so the teams should generally be pretty strong.
I must plead early-season ignorance about field hockey, swimming and cross country teams right now, but I'm sure some stars will emerge.
So, in summation. It's great to be back. Please check the blog often. And let me know your thoughts and opinions on anything and everything I write about. The more the merrier.

all-Herald section

2008-07-22T02:40:00.004-04:00

The Spring All-Herald teams were announced on Monday in a special section. I'd like to thank a large number of people who made the section possible, especially the athletes who took time off during their busy schedules to come in for a photo or send us one.
As usual, it is truly a pleasure to watch all the top athletes come into our office. We get to chat casually with them and get to know their personalities a bit. I won't say who our favorites are, but suffice it to say every time a group of 100 high schoolers spend some time in the office, there are some funny stories to go along with it. This year, a couple of them spent so much time chatting, they might be invited to our photographer's wedding in a couple of years. It's like they are close friends.
I was very happy to announce Sarah Sideranko and Andrew Perbeck as our athletes of the season. I've followed both for three years now and they are truly gracious and deserving. Wethersfield baseball coach Mark Bagdasarian was a worthy winner on the coach's side of things, in what was the most difficult decision for the staff in the nine award selections we made this past year.
We are always looking for ways to expand the All-Herald program, so if you have any ideas please pass them along. There may be better ways for us to honor the top athletes and coaches in our area and we are certainly open to exploring them. I can say that the first thing we must seek to do next year is honor our lacrosse players. When the All-Herald program began, lacrosse was a new sport at the high school level, and we had only a few small programs. Now, there are several veteran programs and the top players deserve to be honored.

In recap, here are our player and coach of the season award winners from the fall to the spring.
Fall 2007
Male athlete - Nate Pagan (Newington football)
Female athlete - Desiree Pina (Plainville soccer)
Coach - Sal Penta (Southington girls soccer)
Winter 2007-2008
Male athlete - Spencer Noon (Farmington basketball)
Female athlete - Symone Roberts (New Britain basketball)
Coach - Lisa Mandeville (Plainville girls basketball)
Spring 2008
Male athlete - Andrew Perbeck (Plainville baseball)
Female athlete - Sarah Sideranko (New Britain golf)
Coach - Mark Bagdasarian (Wethersfield baseball)

Good luck to all graduated seniors who will be starting at the next level. Off the top of my head, Nate Pagan, Dan Carducci, Des Pina, Allie Munson, Katie Matthews, Athalia Smith, Chantaul Smith, Kevin Josephson, David Soltis, Alex Bulger, Hami Kara, Lena Cantone, Jaime Rasmussen, Brendan McGourn, Mariusz Kurzatkowski, Molly McKinnon and a bunch of others have bright college careers ahead of them. We'll miss watching all of them.

summer vacation

2008-07-22T02:22:00.002-04:00

OK, so apparently I was influenced by the typically school-aged athletes I cover and decided to take two-plus months off after a school-year well done. Maybe this blog just slipped my mind. Or, there's always option "C" which is that I have a plethora of weddings to attend this summer, and I am slightly distracted.
If you chose, D) all of the above, you win. In either case, I've been relaxing a bit this summer when it comes to my blogging. I'm going to continue to write relatively infrequently, mostly because the busier parts of my year are scholastic in nature. But, I will be writing once in a while just so you all know I'm still alive.
Let me recap some of the more exciting moments of my summer (from a sports perspective only) so far.
The Rocky Hill football golf tournament was truly a treat. Thank you to Bill MacDonald and the booster club for comping my entry fee, so that I got to play a free 18 holes and hang out with some really fun people.
It is interesting to note the close relationship between the Rocky Hill program and the Newington Knights youth program, mostly because Rocky Hill def-coordinator Jeff Perillo is a Newington coach as well. I was in a foursome with Newington coach Lewis Austin, and a kinder, funnier, man you have never met (and he's also a pretty good coach, apparently in multiple sports as his golf lessons aided more than one person taking their hacks that day).
Anyways, nice to see the Terriers program growing.
I'm sad to say there was no sectional run for any of our 11-12 Little League teams this year. That's something I've covered each of the past three years, following Farmington in their well-documented run to the Eastern Regional in 2005, Berlin's loss in the Section 1 final in 2006 and Farmington's solid run in Section 1 again last year, as well as Newington's loss in the Section 2 final. I had gotten to think these things happen every year, but alas they don't, so I have had to look for some other things to cover.
I've found several sectional runs for teams in other divisions. Currently, our new staffer Andrew Lovell is keeping tabs on the Plainville 13-14 year-olds playing in Tolland. I saw them last year, and it looks like the Blue Devils will have the next batch of state title contenders coming real soon.
And in between those weddings, of which I have six to attend this year if you were wondering (it's becoming the running joke of the office that if I'm not there I must be at a wedding for the night), I am squeezing in time for my own competition. I have been playing in the CTUltimate summer ultimate frisbee league in Wethersfield, and my team has been doing quite well so far (with little help from me).
Currently we are 4-2, with our next game on Wednesday night. We are ranked fifth in a league of 18 teams, and we were leading another game 7-1 when rains came and the result was completely erased.
As for me, I serve mostly as a way for better (read faster) players to get some rest for a point or two. If I could gain some speed in these legs I might be a weapon. But alas, I was not blessed with swiftness.
So, it's good to be back, but don't expect to see too much of me until late August or September, when high school sports will be back in action.

and down the stretch they come

2008-05-19T02:42:00.002-04:00

One week left before the high school tournaments get underway, and there's a lot at stake this week. So let me review some of the things most worth watching.
Most importantly, I feel like I've overlooked the Berlin softball team. During preseason previews, I spoke to coach Jason Pires and felt the Redcoats could be a good to very good team. Then I watched them in an ugly loss to NFA and put them in the back of my mind. It seemed all season like every time Berlin would start to string together wins, a bad loss would pop up. RHAM: 4-0, making RHAM look like the easy favorites in the conference race with probably the best pitcher in the league. Farmington: 4-1 followed by East Catholic 6-5.
Well, here we are. And if the Redcoats top St. Paul on Monday, they will win the conference race outright with a 13-3 record. They could also do it if RHAM loses at Middletown.
I should have more on this team later in the week in The Herald, but I'll say this is storyline number one to watch this week.
Number two: Can New Britain beat Southington? The Hurricanes have probably the best team they've had since I've been watching them, the Knights have struggled more than they ever have in that time. This is up in the air. Southington's still favored Monday at Chesley Park, but don't be shocked either way. What a win it would be for New Britain.
Number three: Can the Southington volleyball team go undefeated? Two to go on the road at Fermi and Maloney. They beat both 3-0 earlier in the season. The Knights have far bigger fish to fry down the road (state title anyone?), but a perfect regular season would be nice.
Number four: The NWC baseball race. Berlin played itself out of this. But Plainville's still alive.
East Catholic: 12-2, at Rocky Hill, at Middletown
Plainville: 13-3, with only non-conference games left.
Berlin: 10-4
Plainville will be rooting for the Terriers and Dragons. But they'll probably be more concerned with three good non-conference warmups, which will have a huge bearing on their tournament seed.
Number five: Speaking of tournament seeds:
BASEBALL
Newington: currently fourth in LL with four games this week, three against tough opponents (Fermi, Bristol Eastern, Maloney)
Southington: currently 12th in LL and needs to do well this week to get better than that. Games against New Britain, Manchester, Simsbury, all very tough.
New Britain and Farmington both in at 9-9, and hoping to avoid play-down games as 34 teams have already qualified.
Wethersfield: Can clinch a tie with Guilford for the top spot in L with a win over Weaver Monday. Eagles are the lucky team that had almost no rainouts, and have a lot of rest time here.
Berlin: Currently ninth in L, with games against St. Paul and Rocky Hill left. Redcoats would love to move up and get a bye (of which there should be seven or eight in Class L).
Plainville: currently fifth in M, with a chance to move to third if they can tie East Catholic and Lewis Mills. But the Devils have to make sure they don't drop lower with losses. (There will be no byes in M, but rather play-in games, as 32 teams have already qualified for the postseason.)
Rocky Hill: looking to get one of those play-ins, but needs to win two of three against East Catholic, Portland, Berlin. No easy task.
SOFTBALL
Southington/New Britain: amazingly tied for ninth in LL. Could that game have any more implications. Probably only two byes available in LL, so that won't matter for these teams. But second round seeding could be big for either one, and of course a first round home game.
Newington: Clinging to home game status at the 16th seed. But a game, and likely loss, against Bristol Eastern looms, meaning these Indians could be forced to travel again. They also got a bad draw on the "by lot" number, which decides between tied teams.
Berlin: currently third in L, with a good lot number, and playing to stay there if they can beat St. Paul and Coginchaug.
They should get a bye, as there will be a maximum of 27 teams in the L tourney.
Wethersfield: currently 17th, and has games against Windsor, Weaver and Conard remaining. A home game is at stake.
Farmington: needs a miracle four-for-four week.
Plainville: 15th in M, playing for a home game with games left against Middletown and Suffield.
Rocky Hill: currently the last team in the M bracket, but in. There is no risk of a playdown game, but they will have to play somebody good on the road.

So that's it. That's what everyone is playing for. We will have some bracket coverage on Friday or Saturday. And then the long weekend to relax before the craziness. And that's not even to mention the tennis, golf and track action as well. More later.

not sure what to think

2008-05-14T01:50:00.004-04:00

Man, a couple local teams have been struggling lately. It's getting late in the season, close to playoff time, and I hope its just a blip on the radar for them, but it makes me wonder.
First off, the Berlin baseball team has lost four in a row. Now, to be honest, at the start of the season I did not expect them to be as good as they seemed when they were 12-0. But by the same token, I would never have guessed they'd lose four in a row. I can't even imagine when the last time Berlin baseball lost four in a row was. They've all been close, and I assume the Redcoats will start playing better again. I'll say this, history shows us that Leo Veleas gets his team ready for the postseason, and playing the best at that time.
I'm most confused by the play of the Southington softball team. Coming into the season, most people figured the Knights would struggle a little bit pitching. Nothing against the pitchers they have, but it is tough to replace somebody like Niki Davenport. But the pitching's been pretty solid, not just Sarah Lempicki, but Brittany Volpe as well.
What's shocking is the way the Knights defense has played, making sloppy mistakes, and costly ones in a couple of losses. Perhaps just as surprising is how the offense, once imagined to be a juggernaut, is failing to score runs, such as in a 2-0 loss to Simsbury on Tuesday. There are simply too many good, experienced hitters for this team to get shut out like that.
Up until now, I was willing to give the Knights the benefit of the doubt. While they had three losses, two of them were to Bristol Eastern, and one was to Rockville, a team they should have beaten, but a very good team. Simsbury is slightly below Rockville based on what I've seen, but still a good team. Yet, these are the kind of losses that great teams don't accumulate.
Maybe this Knights team simply isn't great. There's not much shame in being very good, but this team has the talent to be great and just hasn't lived up to it.
It will be most interesting to see if they wake up before the end of May, or it could be their shortest postseason in a long time.

Meanwhile, a couple other teams just keep winning. And since I'm talking softball, it's time to give the New Britain Hurricanes their due. For several years the 'Canes have beaten up on a soft schedule that coach Mimi Parks wishes they didn't have to play. She knows it gets them nowhere, and just gives a false sense of security, not preparing them for when they play even average opponents. They have posted some good records in the past but have been average against good teams.
Well, this year, they have made the next step. No, I don't consider them a true title contender in Class LL, mostly because of the depth and talent at the top of that class (Masuk, Cheshire, Trumbull, etc.). And they did lose 3-0 to Southington earlier, so they haven't been able to overtake their rivals just yet.
But, the Hurricanes have some solid wins against teams like E.O. Smith, Simsbury, East Hartford and Glastonbury. They also close with a good set of challenges, with G-Bury, Manchester, Simsbury and Southington a second time each.
I'm interested to see how they deal with Manchester, who's pitcher (Leone) shut them down last time around. If they get through that, why not take a good shot at Southington. If Simsbury can beat the Knights, New Britain's got the talent for it.
(But know that the Knights will do whatever they can to prevent that from happening. Despite the lopsided nature of it, this is the rare rivalry that still means something to both teams.)
Then there are the Wethersfield and Newington baseball teams, both with only two losses, and neither of whom I expected to do this well before the season. Both have had their share of good fortune, but both have also played well and had some surprise players step up and be very good. The most telling thing about each team is that it is hard to say who the best player on each team is. There are several candidates but none stand out definitively.
It's gotten to the point where these teams seem blessed. Perhaps it will continue.

a bit disappointing

2008-05-08T03:22:00.003-04:00

There's a HUGE high school baseball matchup on the horizon for Friday, and I'll be there, weather permitting as always.
The Berlin Redcoats and Plainville Blue Devils face off in Plainville with the Northwest Conference title on the line. The Redcoats are currently one game ahead of their arch-rivals, and both suffered surprising losses this week, so nothing is set in stone, regardless of who wins Friday.
Now, the last time they met, Berlin came out on top led by ace Matt Carasiti. Plainville's D.J. Voisine, a very good pitcher, went in that game, but I was surprised the Devils didn't go with their arguable ace, Andrew Perbeck. Perbeck is at least the most experienced pitcher on the team.
I was hoping we'd get to see that matchup this time around, with Plainville appearing to save Perbeck for the big game. But Carasiti probably will not pitch much after throwing four-plus innings in a surprise loss to East Catholic on Wednesday.
Whoever goes on the mound, these teams are not built around one player. This should be a fun game, and I can't say I have any clue which team will come out on top. Now, I have my opinion of which team is better, but it's just that, an opinion. It's very close, either way.
And there's something fun about rivalries.

On a side note, for anybody who is a fan of these teams or Wethersfield, all of whom have had some upset losses lately, don't panic. It just goes to show that baseball is a fickle sport. These teams are all still title contenders when the state tournament starts (along with another surprising season from Newington) and the key to getting there starts by getting a good seed, so that you get a couple home games and theoretically get a slightly more winnable game in the opening round.
But anything can happen so long as a team is decent. Remember, this is the sport where the best professional team wins about three out of every five games. Asking a high school team to go undefeated is not fair either. The best teams get it done over the course of the full season.
Still, it makes for a nervewracking postseason, which takes quite a bit of luck as well as skill.

some general guidelines

2008-05-02T01:59:00.006-04:00

When I was in high school, I'm proud to say I managed to earn a varsity letter as a tennis player, competing at first doubles for our team my senior year.
Perhaps the most notable thing about high school tennis, the first thing that most first-time observers point out, is that there are no officials at a match, not even typically at state championship matches. Players make their own calls, and must be trusted to be honest about them.
There are times, however, when officials might seem like a good idea. But I fully believe the players should be honest enough, and respectful enough of their opponents, to render them unnecessary.
Controversy brewed at the Farmington-Berlin girls match on Thursday, a critical one between probably the two best teams in the conference, and a growing rivalry. It is understandable that there would be some tension.
But there was what I felt in my experience to be an excessive amount of complaining from both sides about calls. Players and fans on both sides were quick to point out plays which they thought were called incorrectly against them by the other team, and even after some of the matches ended, the complaints carried on.
In particular, I overheard several parents pointing out to their children the calls that the other team had made wrong, and how good it was that they had played the match honestly.
My problem is this. If the complaints are coming from both sides, while both sides simultaneously are claiming honesty on their own part, something must be wrong. The fact is, making a split-second call with your naked eyes, while simultaneously trying to play the game, running around, preparing to hit the ball should it land in, is extremely difficult. Mistakes will be made and there will be times that a call is missed, or a player is positive they saw something that did not actually happen.
But the fact remains that there is a lot to be gained from the sportsmanlike approach required of players policing themselves.
My first bit of advice to players is this: When in doubt, always call the play in favor of your opponent. This was the way I made calls as a player, even when I suspected that the point should go my way.
Yes, there will be times when you make the wrong call and hurt yourself. But chances are, there will be other times in which you are sure you made the correct call in your own favor, when in fact you saw it wrong. Furthermore, your opponent may see you make a call in their favor that they believe was actually wrong. In that case, you will have gained their trust and respect as an honest player, and should you later make a call that goes against them, will be more inclined to believe you.
And fans, my message is this: understand that mistakes happen. Just because people make a bad call, even if from your vantage point it was an obviously wrong call, does not mean they are being dishonest or cheating. They simply might not have seen it from their point of view. Of course, there will always be some players who look to gain a small advantage from time to time by making a call in their own favor. But, I can assure you that the overwhelming majority of high school players take their dual role as match official very seriously, and would never intentionally make a bad call.
And coaches, your position as role model may be most important of all. Stress to your players the importance of making the right calls. Is winning worth so much that you would have them consider cheating to get there? Keep an eye out for bad calls, and be prepared to question a player should anything suspicious happen. You are the ones with the ability to teach.
But, please, don't let the values that can be learned from this tradition be lost by looking for outside line judges. It is far more important than the score.

personality traits

2008-05-02T01:59:00.003-04:00

While waiting for the Southington-Fermi volleyball match to start earlier this week, the photographer covering the event with me asked me what type of high schooler plays the sport, not typically one of the more glamorous ones. I was taken aback by the question somewhat, but there are certain types of kids who tend to play different sports, though no such simple categorizing could ever define everyone.
Another writer and I briefly explained to her that volleyball players often are more laid back, easy-going athletes, looking for a sport to have fun, be competitive and maybe get in shape.
Well, a few minutes later, a perfect example of the volleyball "sense of humor" appeared, something I've noticed before. Volleyball warmups take many minutes with each team getting its own time on the court without the other team there, in order to practice hitting. At Southington, when the hometown Knights are on the court, upbeat, energetic music plays over the PA system, designed to get the team pumped up.
But, when the other team warms up, the mood changes. Suddenly the mellow sounds of Enya, Sarah McLaughlin and others is pumped full volume through the gym, obviously intended to chill out the opposing team, but mostly having a somewhat comedic effect.
That's the volleyball personality. Competitive, but never so serious as to avoid a good joke.

the man behind the stories

2008-04-27T02:06:00.002-04:00

The Herald said goodbye, and good luck this weekend to longtime staff member Brian Straight. Brian, most recently the sports editor, one of many positions he held with the paper, accepted a position with another publication, which I'm sure will be lucky to have him.
In his time at The Herald, Brian was often the one responsible for some of the paper's best efforts, including many of the more ambitious layouts, special sections and features in the sports section. Brian has a dedicated personality, and always strove to bring the readers information in new and unique ways, including encouraging this year's revamping of the seasonal All-Herald teams, the annual Thanksgiving football subsection and sizable season preview sections for CCSU sports and the Rock Cats.
Brian believes in the value of local sports, regardless of the level, and should some day find himself on the Little League field as a coach with his children. You may not know him, but if you are reading this, you have surely enjoyed his work.
Most important to me, Brian had full confidence in his staff to get the job done, and in what seems sadly rare these days stood up for that staff in critical situations. I appreciate having worked with him for three years, putting out what I believe to be one of the best local sports sections in the state.
Now if he could just get his bowling game up to par.
Good luck, Brian, and Keep on Truckin'.

softball poll notes

2008-04-25T19:56:00.003-04:00

I just returned from a great matchup on the softball field between Bristol Eastern and Southington. Of course, both are perennial powers and state title contenders each year. This year is no different.
I am honored to have a vote in the New Haven Register's state softball poll, and I'll openly say that while the Knights have fallen out of the top 10 according to the voting, I have continued to vote them well within it. After watching them play the concensus number two in the state (exactly where I've been voting Eastern for several weeks) I will say anybody who doesn't think Southington is among the top 10 teams is not only ignorant, but is also fooling themselves.
I'll say it this way: put the Knights on a field with Lyman Memorial, the current 10th ranked team in the poll, and you won't see a competitive game like we did between Southington and Eastern. Southington would wipe them out.
But enough on that. I wish I could say it was a flawlessly played game between these elite teams, but it was not. Both made mistakes. But both have pitchers who know how to work out of jams and who have very good stuff. I'd easily say Sara Plourde (Eastern) is the second best pitcher in the state, and Sarah Lempicki (Southington) is better than people think. I just hope Southington can earn its respect at some point, because the Knights don't have a signature win yet. They should get a lot of revenge for their one bad loss when they face Rockville again. But they might have to wait till the tournament to earn their laurels, if they are up to the task.
Being at Southington softball made me think of former Knight Elisa VanKirk, one of the funniest people I've ever met, and one of the scariest hitters to step on a diamond. So I looked up her stats at George Washington University and found out that while she is hitting just .235, she is leading the team with six home runs this year. Get that average up, VK, or coach Bores will be disappointed.
Unfortunately, it was Plourde who hit a critical, VK-like home run over the fence on Friday, leading her team to a 3-2 win.

my apologies

2008-04-23T14:31:00.002-04:00

I've been very lazy with this lately, and at the worst time. Spring season is the busiest of the year, and should elicit more posts than any other. As many of you know I've been around the area a lot, enjoying the weather and the sports. I just haven't gotten around to writing some of my thoughts at all.
So, I'm going to try an extra-long post here about all the spring sports and what I've seen so far both in person and from the scores. Amazingly, I've seen almost all the baseball and softball teams so far, have seen all the volleyball teams, and I'm working on the other sports. I love Spring.
So, sport by sport, here goes.
BASEBALL
I continue to say the baseball teams are superior to the softball teams this year. Primary among them are Berlin and Plainville, who played what, by all accounts from my colleague Matt Straub, was a great game last Friday. Berlin got the upper hand, but I'm willing to bet Plainville won't go quietly in the conference race.
It's too bad we didn't see a Matt Carasiti-Andrew Perbeck matchup. I've been hearing buzz about them from even opposing coaches. Both are upperclassmen who have earned the respect they get. Hopefully next time around they will go against each other.
Wethersfield has been a surprise so far, still undefeated. But as coach Bagdasarian pointed out, they've been getting their fair share of lucky bounces. I still think they are a title contender. You don't beat both Bristol schools and Glastonbury without having talent, and as we've seen before Class L is always wide open.
I love what I see from some of the youngsters at New Britain and Newington in particular. Chris Linares (NB) looks like a future star and Armando Soler (NEW) the same. Should be a lot of highlights in the coming years.
SOFTBALL
I know the Southington Blue Knights have lost twice, but I'll admit I'm still voting them in the top ten of the state poll. I simply don't believe they would lose head-to-head to some of the schools being voted below them. The Knights have started slow offensively the past couple of years, but once the bats get going, this team can score runs.
Now, scoring runs against the elite opponents (Masuk, Bristol Eastern, Trumbull, etc.) is another story. But this is still a top ten team in my opinion.
Best story in softball is Berlin, which has only one loss since its ugly opener against NFA (also a top ten team). The Redcoats are among the top of the NWC, but I don't think they're the best, mostly because of what I've seen from RHAM. Molly Rathbun is undoubtedly the best pitcher in that conference from what I've seen, and the Sachems are tough to beat.
Plainville has also been much better than I expected, but clearly a step down from last year. However, they can hang with anybody in the league, and should be near the top as well.
The biggest reason is Missy Jandreau and Katie Treado have shown they are up to the pitching task after Sara Forcella was there for four years. They aren't as good as Forcella yet, but they are capable.
VOLLEYBALL
I already blogged about how dominant Southington looks. That hasn't changed. They haven't dropped a game yet, and with their upcoming schedule that shouldn't change for a while. This team is good. That's an understatement. Get out and see them if you are a volleyball fan.
But I was impressed as well with the dramatic improvement at Wethersfield, a team that could not compete well for several years. They've grown up, and are now a gritty team that wins close matches. They are not on a level with Southington, but are competitive against the teams they play.
Newington's Spencer Parker is awesome up front, dynamic. He's worth watching. Same goes for Ryan Cunningham at Farmington. These are all competitive teams.
LACROSSE
I've only seen the Newington girls, but they are doing quite well. They have a lot of senior leadership and I think new coach Selina Quirion is having a huge impact on the team.
GOLF
Wow, is all I have to say about the scores being posted on a regular basis by Farmington, Berlin and Southington. I'll be surprised if at least one of these teams doesn't win the state championship.
I'm also very interested in the now three-way challenge for top local girls player between Sarah Sideranko (NB), Kirsten LaPointe (NEW) and the new entrant Erica Barnes (Berlin). The Barnes-Sideranko matchup last week was exciting, and the girls seemed to play off each other in a good way. Sideranko, who is usually very laid back after a match, actually seemed quite excited to have pulled out the one-stroke victory, and why not. Barnes made her earn it to say the least. Meanwhile, Barnes' teammates would come up to check the scores, see her 39, and be amazed. Then they would find out she lost the match and be even more amazed. This is competition.
Wethersfield girls got a win the other day, and that's an accomplishment for the program. Gone are the days (I hope not just temporarily) when this team shoots over 300 combined, as they did sometimes last year. The team is solidly below or around 250, and getting better. I hope Cristin Carey can continue to improve and get in the 40s consistently by the end of this year.

Some early awards:
Best teams: Aside from Southington volleyball, an elite unit, this would have to go to the aforementioned golf teams. They seem to be in the 150 range every time out, right around two-over-par as a team average for nine holes. That's awesome.
I'd give an honorable mention nod to Berlin and Plainville baseball, with apologies to the unbeaten Wethersfield team. All three are very good, but the NWC teams are better I think.
Best individuals: This is tough. I'll just list a bunch that stand out.
Brendan McGourn (Southington volleyball)
Spencer Parker (Newington volleyball)
Sideranko
LaPointe
Barnes
Ryan Carroll (Newington baseball)
Steve Popp (Farmington baseball)
Alex Bulger (Plainville baseball)
Athalia and Chantaul Smith (NB track)
Monika Szwed (Farmington tennis)
Biggest surprises: Wethersfield baseball being unbeaten so far, as much as we thought they'd be a good team before the season. I don't think anybody saw this record so far.
Plainville softball has been a surprise as well, staying near the top of the league.
Barnes getting this good so quickly is somewhat surprising as well, but maybe I just didn't pay enough attention to her last year.
And a big surprise to the Wethersfield volleyball team for getting where they are. It's great to see their hard work pay off finally.

Alumni Report:
I ran into the Perillo family at a Newington softball game a few weeks ago. They told me that their son, Jeff, one of the best people around, is tearing it up for Mitchell College in New London after moving from shortstop to third base (probably a better fit for him) for the baseball team. No kidding.
Jeff is currently batting .438 through 23 games. He has two homers, 20 RBI, 13 doubles, 19 walks, only seven strikeouts and is a perfect 5-5 on stolen base attempts. Not too bad.
Found out this week that Brent Paladino of Kensington placed second at the Colonial Athletic Association golf tournament. This is no surprise to anybody who's ever seen him play.
I've run into a lot of other athletes at games recently, and in particular saw a lot of Wethersfield Eagles out to watch the baseball team this week. Several of the boys soccer team members were there, and they're all good guys and excellent athletes. It's nice to see the camaraderie between sports and students.

Keep up the good work everybody.

quick post on the spikers

2008-04-06T12:59:00.003-04:00

I wanted to quickly share some of my thoughts from Friday night before a busy sports Sunday (MLB, NBA and of course the women's final four).
Friday I was out at Southington for the first glimpse of the Knights volleyball team, which lost in the state championship match last year to Staples. During that match, me and my fellow writers felt the one thing missing for Southington was a true hitter, who could put points away against an elite defense. The Knights played defense well already, had an elite setter (who coincidentally was their best hitter as well last year) and served well as a unit.
Well, I'll say this. If Southington doesn't win the title this year, it WILL be a disappointment. This team is loaded. It simply has all the weapons it needs, including an elite coach in Lou Gianacopolous.
Watching the Knights dismantle a good Greenwich team (good, but not great), it was difficult to find a weak spot on the court. And as for that hitter...
There's plenty. Setter/right side hitter Brendan McGourn is back first off, and seems to keep getting better. Mariusz Kurzatkowski, who played as a sophomore, is back after focusing on soccer alone for a year. Mariusz is a leaper, with a high ability to place his shots between blockers and defenders. Rob Palko looks like a hitting machine right now, so much more confident than he's been, and more powerful. And Dave Taricani, who would be a top hitter for a lot of programs, might be the fourth option for this team, if its possible to put any of these guys above the others.
Where does a defense look to defend? To make matters harder, McGourn, who might be the top all-around player in the state, isn't the lone setter. Gianacopolous will employ the two-setter rotation with sophomore Nick DeFeo in the first slot, leaving McGourn to be a hitter as well. DeFeo isn't as experienced, but is certainly talented and learning.
And as for that defense, which most coaches will tell you is the biggest key to winning, Brendan Charmut looks like a potential all-conference player (or better down the road) as a middle blocker.
My apologies to the other Knights who I haven't noticed enough yet. This is a deep team as well, and how role players perform will be key in its success.
I have no doubt this is the most talented volleyball team I've covered. I can't wait to see if they are the best.

On a side note, if the rain and snow lets up for a couple days, which I think it's supposed to, I'll be at the Newington vs. New Britain baseball game on Monday, my first baseball game of the year.
I love this matchup. Two big schools with a lot of baseball tradition. Two great coaches in Eric Frank and Brian Crowley. It's a minor rivalry despite not playing in the same division of the CCC. And I love getting out to the Hive to spend time with New Britain jokesters Paul Majewski and Randy Brochu. The New Britain sports staff is by far the most cohesive as a group. They all seem to enjoy working with each other and rooting for each other. That's what high school sports should be about.
Come on down and check it out if you're lucky enough to have afternoons free this time of year.

early season thoughts

2008-04-04T13:35:00.007-04:00

I've gotten to see two local teams so far (Berlin and Newington softball) and I'm going out to see a very good Southington volleyball team tonight. So I don't have a lot to say yet.
The only thing I think I can say, and this really has nothing to do with the outcome of those two games, which were both losses against good competition, is that for the first time in a few years area baseball teams appear to have surpassed area softball teams in terms of quality. In fact, the girls have been dominating the landscape across all sports recently, from soccer to basketball to softball to tennis to gymnastics. But the guys on the diamond appear ready to make a ton of noise next month.
Plainville looks to be a legit M title contender, if not the favorite. Berlin is back as usual (coach Veleas always gets the best out of his players, as does coach Freimuth, who has had a couple down years before last year). Also in the NWC, Farmington looks like a potential surprise conference contender, and Rocky Hill appears significantly better, off to a 2-0 start against non-conference teams.
The CCC is as expected, a lot of talent in New Britain, Southington and Newington, all who may eventually have trouble in an always-loaded LL bracket. But all are good teams. And Wethersfield is poised for another possible run in Class L. I expect all eight teams to make the postseason.
On the girls side, Southington is back and has its best lineup since the team that won the state title in 2004 (at least in my opinion). It might be even better. Masuk has the best pitcher in the state, but if anybody can hit Fico it is this team. The Knights defense has to step up and help pitcher Sarah Lempicki for this team to stay in the top five all season as usual.
Newington, despite a loss yesterday, has a very good team, with a deep lineup. Now, LL is stacked of course, so a title is probably too lofty a goal. But these Indians could go deep if things go right.
New Britain is 2-0 and looks solid again. The Hurricanes are probably what they've been for a couple years, a good team that can upset somebody in the tournament.
I don't know what to think of Wethersfield. They've got most of the team back from last year, but they've always gotten a big boost from a weaker division, so you never know what to expect.
And then there is the NWC. The conference is balanced, but I'd say down a bit this year. Plainville's score against Cromwell, a 16-3 win, looked promising, and that lineup is potent. But Sara Forcella was an ace on the mound, and no slight to Missy Jandreau, but those are big shoes to fill. They're still a good team though.
Berlin could be good as well, but a very shaky opening performance means the Redcoats still haven't solved some of the problems that have plagued them for years.
I don't know at all what to think of Farmington and Rocky Hill. I'll have to see them play first. They could go either way.

But there's no question. The baseball teams are better as a whole.

I love spring season. So I'll probably be on here to post thoughts on tennis, golf and volleyball as more results start coming in. Now all we need is some warmth.

opening day memories

2008-04-04T13:35:00.003-04:00

Well, I got out to St. Louis to be with my fellow Cardinals fans for Opening Day festivities, in a year fraught with fear and trepidation of just what may come. For the record, it appears Cards fans are torn between those who buy all the hype that has had them picked to finish last in the division by some outlets (Sports Illustrated among them), and those like me who believe there is potential for special stuff in this team. But that didn't stop the fans from coming down to the park, which is spectacular, for the opener.
Things were even going really well for the Cards, holding a 5-1 lead over defending NL champ Colorado in the third inning, with ace Adam Wainwright on the mound, and the bad taste of last year quickly leaving... and then...
Allow me again to be a fan, and inject some of my, shall I say, charming personality traits (superstition chief among them) into my otherwise well-grounded blog. The baseball gods struck again.
The gods just could not deal with a 5-1 Cards lead, obviously still mad that they allowed a mediocre-at-best team to win its 10th World Series title in 2006, and sent the rains. What was supposed to be a drizzle, or on and off showers, turned into a downpour, and I was treated to the sight of what 10,000 Cardinals fans look like huddled under the left field stands. It was a pretty beautiful sight, I must say, but the game, my pilgrimage to St. Louis, was rained out. (For the record I brought a sign to the game, and managed to get on the big screen as a part of the left field seating section known as "Big Mac Land", sponsored of course by McDonald's. The sign read: Connecticut Cards Fan on Opening Day Pilgrimage. But very few people seemed to understand or care.)
I had to fly back to Connecticut to prepare for spring season here, and did not get to go to the makeup game, but here's how it went. Kip Wells, the pitcher who destroyed the Cardinals' season a year ago by not just being mediocre, not just bad, but at times worse than some high school pitchers I cover, picked up the emergency makeup start for his new team the Rockies. Ironically, he pitched six innings and allowed only one run, and to make matters worse than ever for Cardinals fans, the Rockies came back to win the game 2-1.
Now, I'm left asking myself this question: Are the baseball gods merely playing a one-day trick, sort of a last laugh because the situation presented itself and they just couldn't resist, or is this a sign of what is to come the rest of the season?
Well, wins the following two days seemed to brighten the picture, and I don't care if it's April 4, I'm enjoying a four-way tie for first place. We will see.
But I have to give it to those baseball gods. They've got a hell of a sense of humor.

I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time.

the most wonderful time of the year

2008-03-27T01:39:00.002-04:00

To say I love baseball might not express it enough. It's not even that I am so in love with the sport itself as the things it represents. Baseball is not only the game of our childhood (who doesn't remember having a catch in the back yard, or heading down to the field for a game on a warm spring or summer night?), but also the game of warm weather. It is the one major team sport that is played almost entirely during the summer in America. And I am definitely a warm weather kind of person.
So with the start of baseball season comes a promise that the mercury will soon be rising, and nothing makes me happier.
Baseball also has the appeal of being played almost every day. While we wait through days off during football and basketball seasons, our favorite baseball teams play at least six days a week. That means every day there is a game to look forward to each night. Enough said.
So, let me get into some of my thoughts on the MLB season. (As an aside, I am excited about getting to see some high school baseball and softball games too, but that's for another post.) First off, here's how I see each division going down, with a bit on each team. I'll also give estimated win totals, but I must admit I'm making them up on the spot, so don't do the math. It won't add up.

American League East
Boston (98 wins): The Red Sox are clearly the best team in baseball, and even with questions surrounding several pitchers (Beckett, Schilling, and the young guys), I can't see them not winning the division and finishing with the best record.
New York (93 wins): The Yanks lineup is still potent, maybe better than the Sox, but their pitching isn't close. And who knows whether Pettitte or Mussina have anything left. I think Joba should be starting, but I thought the same about Papelbon. Better to leave those decisions to guys who know better.
Tampa Bay (84 wins): Seriously. Don't sleep on the Rays. Kazmir and Shields are very good, the young hitters are better than you realize. But they're still not a contender.
Toronto (82 wins): I am not sold on this team... at all. It's hard to expect A.J. Burnett to be healthy for any length of time, and some people are starting to question Roy Halladay's stuff.
After them, what is the character of this team? A pretty solid lineup, assuming Alex Rios continues to get better. I don't know. I don't see it.
Baltimore (66 wins): Honestly, I could see them winning even less than that. This team lost Eric Bedard and even with a pair of young outfielders in Markakis and Jones (I think that's his name) they don't have anything to win. On top of that, the AL East has finally become the best division in baseball. Watch Peter Angelos squirm this year as Washington actually finishes with more wins.
AL Central
Cleveland (95 wins): Some still question this team. Nobody's really talking about them. But Sabathia is an ace, and might not be the best pitcher on his own team. Don't count Carmona out this year. I see improvement for Sizemore, Hafner had a very down year last year, and Victor Martinez may be the most unappreciated player in the game.
Detroit (94 wins): Yes, the lineup is the best in baseball. It's unfathomable how many runs they could score. 1100 is not out of the question.
But, the pitching staff is still holey. Verlander's great, but after him, who's a definite. Don't expect anything from Dontrelle. If you really look at his stats he had one-and-a-half good seasons. But people fell in love with his style and charisma too much to recognize he hasn't been that good since. They need their riflemen in the bullpen to get healthy.
Chicago (87 wins): I'm not sure why, I just think this will be a solid year for them. I can't even say why. Ozzie might be crazy, or he might be brilliant. Or both. We'll see.
Minnesota (75 wins): Don't count on Liriano after the injury. Oh, he has great stuff, but will he last for a full season. And will it matter. The lineup, other than two really good hitters, is pretty average, and even Mauer won't give you any power. The Twins are waiting for their new stadium to open, and I bet they'll try to make a splash in free agency leading up to that.
Kansas City (68 wins): Sure, this team has started throwing some money around, but has it improved the team. Count me in the 'no' category.
AL West
LA of Anaheim (92 wins): Any lineup with Vlad, and team with Mike Scioscia, has a leg up. Scioscia is a great manager at doing a lot with average talent. Vlad seems to be forgotten, but still put up monster numbers a year ago (.324, 27, 125).
Seattle (90 wins): I love the Bedard acquisition, but I'm still not sure this team has enough. King Felix has to stay healthy and avoid the lapses that have hurt him. If he becomes a true ace, this team will pass the Angels.
Texas (77 wins): I don't really know much about this team. But the AL should do very well in interleague, so I can't see them too far below .500.
Oakland (72 wins): The A's have looked 'OK' so far in their two games, but if Rich Harden isn't healthy, this team is very, very bad. They're bad even with him, and I think he's a top ten pitcher if he's healthy. But when you're saying, 'Well, Jack Cust is an underrated player', you have problems.

NL East
New York (94 wins): There's a lot of questions here. After Santana, the rotation is still very old, or very young. I like Maine, but Hernandez can't keep going and Pedro is an injury risk.
Then offensively, is Delgado done? Does Beltran have a star season or an above-average one? How about David Wright. When does he start hitting for more power. But, this lineup still has a lot of guys who scare you.
Philadelphia (91 wins): I am the biggest Cole Hamels fan on the planet, outside of Philly. And the three stars in the lineup are enough to make this a good offensive team. Also, look for Shane Victorino if healthy and playing every day to have a great year.
Atlanta (86 wins): Who knew Chipper Jones still had these numbers: .337, 29, 102? Not me. But I bet Braves fans like that.
Washington (82 wins): There is a mystical quality to opening a new park. And this team overachieved so much last year, I have to believe in their managing enough to think playing in front of fans could get them over 80 wins.
Florida (64 wins): I know about Ramirez and Uggla and the young guys. But seriously, who's going to pitch? I had to look this up, but apparently the answer is Mark Hendrickson, Scott Olsen, Andrew Miller, Rick VandenHurk, Ricky Nolasco. Eek.
NL Central
Chicago (89 wins): No closer (assuming Kerry Wood is still Kerry Wood), a shaky bottom of the rotation if Jason Marquis is starting, but a solid to very good lineup. I look for Derek Lee to be great, Soriano to be great and the others to all contribute. Please God, don't let the Cubs win two years in a row.
St. Louis (87 wins): I know you will call me a homer, or just plain crazy. I know that right now the pitching depth chart looks bad. And I know that Pujols could literally watch his elbow snap. But I am optimistic as a fan.
Adam Wainwright is a legitimate ace pitcher now (more on that later), and any lineup with Pujols is going to be dangerous. Of course a lot needs to go right, and if it doesn't it could be bad. But the 78 wins the Cards got last year were with just about everything going wrong that possibly could, and they got better as the year went on.
Kip Wells is gone, which has to be good for at least five more wins, and should Mulder and Carpenter come back healthy and effective, that's as good a three-man rotation as any in the game. I just hope we're not cursed. That '06 World Series probably pissed off the baseball gods something fierce when they came out of their drunken stupor.
Milwaukee (84 wins): I'm not big on this team either. And bad luck seems to be following them. Gallardo and Capuano hurt already, the latter out for the year. Sheets can usually be counted on to follow, and if Jeff Suppan has to be your ace, you're in trouble, as solid a starter as he is.
Is it just me, or are some people overprojecting Ryan Braun this year the way they did Sizemore last year? He should be great some time soon, but there's no guarantee it's this year. And Fielder is no guarantee yet either. But the upside for this team could be big, if things go right.
Cincinnati (78 wins): The best thing going for Cincinnati, for the first time in a long time, might be the top of its rotation. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo should put up very good numbers in the NL. The lineup still strikes out too much, though, and the rest of the rotation doesn't overwhelm me.
Houston (73 wins): I expect a huge dropoff for this team. Age is starting to settle in, and I think management is slipping. Roy Oswalt is awesome, and Berkman has been nothing but great for a bunch of years now. But the team banked too much on Tejada, who has very little of his old power left, and is destined to fall off quickly.
Pittsburgh (70 wins): At least they still have the best park in baseball. The joke about the park itself refusing to open until the team is good is getting really old.
As usual the Pirates have a bunch of young guys with some talent who will underachiever individually and even more collectively. Matt Capps is the next guy to eventually be lost to another team.
NL West
Arizona (95 wins): Forget the Mets, I think this is the best team in the NL. I think they were last year, too. But one bad playoff series can kill that.
Dan Haren gives them a second ace, with Brandon Webb being arguably the best pitcher in the NL. If the Unit can do anything the rotation could be scary good.
Plus there are future stars all over the lineup, even though most of them aren't there yet. The D-Backs look like they should be the NL team that forces others to spend and catch up in the next few years, and finally bring back the balance between the leagues.
Los Angeles (90 wins): Torre is not my favorite manager, nor do I think he's the best. But he brings a calm that has been sorely missing for this franchise for years. And he's got a very solid team on both sides of the ball. Nothing spectacular, but very good.
Or, Brad Penny could get hurt as usual, and the team could fall apart, as usual.
Colorado (86 wins): I expect a dropoff here. The rotation is really not that good, even though they finally have guys whose home/road splits aren't dramatic. Todd Helton might have another big dropoff year, and Matt Holliday can't duplicate last year. Can he?
Tulowitzki is the player to build around.
San Diego (85 wins): This team should be great, but gets so little offense and seems poorly designed to deal with its park. Peavy and Young are a dynamic 1/2, so if they do overachieve and get to the playoffs, they are dangerous. But why, oh why, did they trade for Jim Edmonds, even if he was dirt cheap? Edmonds can still field with the best, but his offense is actually a detriment to the team, and he might not even be healthy, creating instability in both areas.
San Francisco (68 teams): No team will be out of the playoff race sooner than San Francisco with the balanced teams ahead of them. They won't finish close to fourth. And I don't want to hear how good Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are. The offense is simply awful, and old, which means it should only get worse.

So, that's that. The reason I am doing this early (even if the season technically started) is that I am off in the morning to St. Louis, to fulfill a "religious" duty. I will be attending opening day with a good friend of mine, and it should be an experience to remember. It's tough being a diehard fan of a team that I so rarely get to see on TV, let alone in person. I managed to see the old Busch Stadium in September the last year it was open, and this will be my first visit to the new one, which was already underway at that time.
There's something about being able to spend time around a large number of fans in the same place. There's a comaraderie to it that I don't get to experience much. Only UConn basketball gives me that on a regular basis, and I regret that. But, I will stay loyal to the teams I chose to support as a young kid.
I get a chance to see Wainwright in his first opening day start. I expect there will be several more down the line, and it gives us a good chance to start the season off with a win against the defending NL champs. If not, I'll be a bit depressed.
Anyways, look for me in the left field upper deck on Monday.

an unwritten law

2008-03-19T04:06:00.003-04:00

While it is most certainly bracket season, the MLB regular season is just on the horizon and I wanted to share an interesting story I read, as well as perform a small experiment.
The Tampa Bay franchise, formerly known as the Devil Rays, has officially changed its name to the Rays. The intention, or one of them, was to illicit thoughts of the Florida sunshine as opposed to the sea creature. I'm not sure how that will help them, but they apparently are quite serious about it.
As reported by ESPN's Buster Olney, team president Matt Silverman has begun issuing $1 fines to those who slip up and lapse into their old habits of "name-calling". So far, the team has raised approximately $100 to be donated to the team's official charity, collected from players, management, friends, and interestingly the media.
Tampa fans are asked to report instances of media across the country using the old moniker rather than the official one, and Silverman is sending out citations to them. Of course it is largely in good fun.
Now, I am curious about this. How big has my small blog become? To find out, I feel I'm going to have to make myself a fifth-rate criminal.
Now, the earlier mention of the name in this blog doesn't apply, because Silverman says that historical references are acceptable use of the old name. So I'm going to have to do this right. It's a perfect chance to talk about a team that several of us on the Herald staff believe will be greatly improved this year.
Seriously, if you are a Yankees or Red Sox fan, don't sleep on this team. Aside from the sad news about Rocco Baldelli's degenerative muscle disease, it has been a good offseason for Tampa. Good young pitcher James Shields could give a 1-2 punch to the rotation when coupled with Scot Kazmir, should Kaz remain healthy. The team's lineup is much improved, and management made a wise decision to turn off the Barry Bonds free agency trail.
A playoff spot seems unlikely with the competition in the division and across the American League, but if things go right this will be the first time the Devil Rays... excuse me, the Rays, enter the land of winning teams.
Now, Mr. Silverman, if you're really listening, I will be expecting my citation. Send it care of
The Herald
1 Herald Sq.
New Britain, CT, 06051

impressive performance

2008-03-11T22:20:00.004-04:00

I just witnessed one of the most amazing, if not the most, performances by a high school athlete I've seen in my relatively short time covering sports professionally... and it was at a swim meet.
Pomperaug swimmer Travis McNamara set not only a Class L meet record, but a pool record in the 500 freestyle with a 4:29.74. Now if that time doesn't mean anything to you, consider this. The event was held at a college pool, which frequently hosts conference and New England championships.
The previous record at the Freeman Center (Wesleyan), which has been open for approximately a decade I believe, was nearly a full second slower than McNamara's mark. The Wesleyan team record was almost six seconds behind.
"You enjoy seeing such high level swimming," Farmington coach Scott Ferrigno said of the meet as a whole.
No kidding. Watching McNamara swim, with the seven next best swimmers in Class L trying to catch him, was like watching rowboats try to catch up to a motor boat. From the start of the race he was so smooth cutting through the water, and after one lap had already distanced himself by nearly a body length.
After 12 laps I turned to former Southington Athletic Director and CIAC member Bob Lehr and commented on how I was looking at the pool records on the wall to see how close McNamara might come. I speculated he might be within ten or 15 seconds.
As he raced through the final lap, everybody in the building was watching the clock. Now, as a member of the media, I am not supposed to cheer during events. But when he touched the wall I couldn't help but stand up and clap for him.
"With the level of swimming we have in Connecticut, it’s great," Ferrigno said. "Because, I know they have New England and college swim meets here, so it shows how strong Connecticut swimming is."
Truly impressive.

conference bragging rights

2008-03-09T03:49:00.005-04:00

There is always a lot of debate between sports writers and fans in this state over what conferences are better or worse than others. It seems that everybody thinks the teams he watches are either the best, or not nearly as bad as others think they are in comparison to the rest of the state. But very rarely does anybody do any actual fact-based work on the subject.
Now, let me preface this by saying the following system is not perfect. Secondly, let me say that I went into this little project entirely unsure what the results would be (suffice it to say they surprised me a bit). But I have ventured to do some actual comparison of strength of conference based on the small sample of games in the girls state tournaments.
Here is my formula. I calculated win percentages for every team, and conference, in the state during the tournament against teams not from the same conference. If two conference opponents played each other, it counted neither as a win, nor as a loss.
Secondly, I discounted games against the CSC (the tech school league), which is notoriously outmatched in these tournaments. The CSC went 1-12 as a conference, and is clearly the weakest conference in the state. The lone win was by Capital Prep, and I will say they should be very proud of that.
After that, ties were broken based on the combined number of byes and wins over tech schools for the conference. It is hard to hold it against a school for getting that matchup when they might have been able to beat a better team had they played them. Same goes for teams that earned byes. At least these teams advanced to a later round.
I did not count the four Class LL playdown games in the system, but noted which teams and conferences were victorious in them. So here are the results based on conference winning percentage.

League .......# of tms. ...record...win%...byes..wins over CSC
NCCC..................11........13-6.......684....2....1
Southwest.............9.........8-6.......571....2....0....2 playdown wins
CCC(all divisions)..14.......15-12.......556....2....1
ECC(all divisions)..13.......13-12.......520....2....2
SCC.....................14.........9-9.......500....0....0....2 playdown wins
Shoreline.............8.........4-6.......400....2....3
Northwest.............6.........4-6.......400....2....2
FCIAC.................12.........6-9.......400....0....0
Berkshire.............7.........4-7.......364....2....3
NVL.....................7.........3-6.......333....0....0
CSC.....................12........1-12.......077....1....N/A

So interestingly, the North Central Connecticut Conference, featuring Class M champ Avon and Class S runner-up Coventry, had the best winning percentage by a significant margin. This may be coincidental because of the large number of NCCC teams that played each other, but it is hard to say. The FCIAC also played itself a large number of times, but finished below .500. (Including those head to head games the NCCC was 17-10, a .630 percentage and still in first.)
Now this is not to say that NCCC teams would beat CCC, FCIAC or SCC teams head to head. Obviously school size effects a lot. It just says how conferences did when competing against other schools their own size.
This also doesn't account for different divisions within certain conference such as the CCC or ECC. (I'm not sure which conferences has different divisions or how individual conference schedules work.)
The four champs were all from different conferences (SCC, Southwest, NCCC, CCC). So there was no clear edge there.
Of course this settles nothing completely, and is just a representation of one two-week period. If the tournaments were played again starting Monday there would obviously be completely different results. But it is fun and interesting to look at.

the ups and downs of post-high school life

2008-03-08T21:43:00.003-05:00

I have had the good fortune of bumping into some of my favorite local athletes over the past two weeks. It's always good to hear how things are going for former high school stars at the next level. But, I was sad to see some of the unfortunate turns for a couple of them. Nonetheless, all seem to be making the transition well.
I first saw Plainville basketball star Amanda Pierlioni at the Blue Devils' second round game. Sadly, she was sitting with her leg in a brace and propped on a water cooler, the result of a torn ACL/MCL in her knee that prematurely ended her season at Bryant. But she had a smile on her face and said the season had been going well up to that point, and also that she should be back on the court next year.
Then today I ran into Southington gymnasts Kristy Dougan and Jessie Gianatti at the New England Championship meet. Dougan also had an injury cut short her season as a diver. She was able to redshirt, having competed in only four events, and is currently taking classes at CCSU so she can be close to home during the recovery period.
Gianatti has also put gymnastics aside, and is reaping the benefits. After struggling through injuries for two years due to the grueling sport, she is thriving as a soccer player.
I have heard from Southington coach Byron Knox that Yvette Mirando is performing well with his Bridgeport University team. The scores he listed off for me and my fellow reporters from her most recent meet brought back happy memories.
It was great to see some familiar faces, particularly as they were cheering for their friends and former teammates. I will continue to keep my eyes out for others this Spring. If you are, or know, a former Herald-area athlete, and wish to share some positive achievements since then, please let me know.

all good things come to an end

2008-03-08T21:27:00.003-05:00

Ironically, the championship runs of both the New Britain girls basketball team and the Southington gymnastics teams ended within hours of each other. I was witness to both events (please don't blame it on me, girls).
First, the Knights faced stiff competition at the New England Championship and fell short of a fourth-straight title, coming in third overall. Had the Knights performed their absolute best, they would barely have outscored the winners, Chelmsford, MA. Had they scored their average, which they were a little below, they would have finished exactly where they did. The bottom line was that both Chelmsford and second-place LaSalle Academy (RI) had better days. They might have been better teams, but all three were very close in talent. It came down, for the first time, to Southington needing to do its absolute best. The other teams did a better job of that.
Then the New Britain girls fell at CCSU to Career Magnet, in a game that featured unbelievable talent on both sides. There could prove to have been as many as seven Division I players in that game when all is said and done.
The Hurricanes looked like the more polished team for over three quarters of the game, but in the end their one fatal flaw shone through: a lack of depth. One foul out (starting guard Sarah Sideranko), a minor cramp for center Tyler Kimball and suddenly the 'Canes were on the losing side. Career dominated the offensive rebounding in the final minutes and earned the win. Take nothing away from New Britain, which played great. As my colleague Matt Straub pointed out, there were only 14 turnovers in the game combined. This was a very well played game all-around, and very fun to watch.
So, the Knights streak of state Class L titles is still alive at four. The Hurricanes, with most of their team back next year, should be among the final teams left again, if not the favorites to win it all. They just need to add a little depth.
Time to start a couple of new streaks.

it's about what's under the surface

2008-03-06T15:22:00.003-05:00

All I can say is that even from watching one quarter of the Career Magnet-Bulkeley Class LL semifinal game, there was more talent on that court than in any game played at the high school level this year. Both teams were loaded at just about every position on the court: players with very good offensive moves and even role players who can make exceptional plays.
I will say I think Career which, by the score at least, rolled pretty well over the Bulldogs, has more pure talent than New Britain, who it will face on Saturday at 5 p.m. at CCSU. But before everybody starts handing the title to the New Haven squad, keep in mind that every time somebody, or many somebodys, has counted the Hurricanes out over the last two years, they have had just enough fortitude in clutch moments to win the game.
There is certainly more to Symone Roberts than meets the eye. Her size can make you look past how lethal her speed can be on the court. And what is so often overlooked in her scoring outbursts is the fact that her defense is the best part of her game.
Same goes for Sarah Sideranko, who is streaky from the outside and doesn't have off-the-dribble scoring potential against great defenders. But she has a knack for finding the open player, and her defense, particularly combined with Roberts, can take over a game.
Add in Tyler Kimball down low, and you could make the argument that the three best defensive players on the court Saturday will all be in maroon and gold.
Furthermore, there is more to Cassandra Bell, Monika Malec and Heather O'Bright than meets the eye for sure. Malec made a very athletic play, storming downcourt and catching a rocket pass in stride for a layup, that caught my attention against Westhill. I simply didn't know she had that in her. Bell is starting to show some range from outside, which the 'Canes desperately need. (I'll say if New Britain had even one elite shooter, they'd be unstoppable. Teams simply can't focus on anybody else on the perimeter with Roberts getting into the lane. This was the role Dominique Stellmacher controlled for two years, and Bell needs to play like her as best she can.) If Bell hits like she can, the team jumps to an even higher level.
I don't know what to think for this game. Career looks awesome. New Britain has done next to nothing but win for three years. I can't begin to predict what I think will happen in this game. That depends on which team shows up and plays its best at the right time.
All I'm saying is don't believe talent alone wins games. There's far more than meets the eye, and these 'Canes have "it".

hockey and boys b-ball tourneys starting

2008-03-03T03:01:00.003-05:00

The girls' tournaments have been exciting, even if all but one of our area teams have been elimintated. Good luck to New Britain on Wednesday against Westhill, apparently the most overlooked team of the tournament going in. They put together back-to-back impressive wins against Southington and Holy Cross, and are a serious threat.
As for the hockey tournaments, I can't really speak much about them. I simply don't know much about the sport at this level, having seen only a handful of games this season. I will say good luck to the three area teams still harboring hopes of a state title, even though none appear to be favorites of any kind. I will be covering Southington at the Trinity rink on Monday night.
As for the boys tournaments, sadly it doesn't look like any local teams will be making extended runs. All drew road games in the first round, something I've never seen happen in my few years here, and they are tough matchups.
Like the girls tournaments, the staff has made its picks for the boys tournament, just for a little friendly competition between us. In case you were wondering, the girls brackets have come down to either Ken Lipshez or me as potential winners. It all hinges on one team at this point, but I won't say who. Again, I can't tell you everybody else's picks, but I can tell you my picks for these brackets.
Class S: Hyde Leadership over Cromwell
Class M: Hartford Public over Sheehan
Class L: Wilbur Cross over Maloney
Class LL: Windsor over Crosby
Both my Class L and Class LL predicted finals would be phenomenal games between very powerful teams. I hope they can happen so the fans can get a real treat. The other two classes seem really up for grabs in general.

It's almost Spring, which is exciting news for me. Just taking care of final business for this season. Included in that, look for our special section featuring the all-Herald teams for the winter season to come later in the month. Some of the teams are set, but you'll have to wait until then to see who made it. We'll also being doing our players (one male and one female) and coach of the season awards as well.

tournament turmoil

2008-02-29T03:15:00.003-05:00

Well, so far it's been a wacky set of girls basketball tournaments. Most interesting trend of the first two rounds, all three number-one seeds that had byes to the second round lost their opening game.
Wethersfield suffered a heartbreaking loss in a game it controlled most of the way to a very physical East Lyme team. I won't say the reffing was bad, but some of the Eagles have bruises on their arms from non-calls. Still, Wethersfield was sloppy, and the team that deserved to win has a game Friday night.
On the same night, Shepaug Valley lost to Coventry. I have to admit I had this one predicted, but it has to be a shock to a team to get the top seed and be ousted so quickly.
And then yesterday, in another commonly predicted game, Berlin outlasted East Hampton in overtime. Suffice it to say, the Shoreline Conference just wasn't that good. Old Lyme and East Hampton, two of the better teams (with the Bellringers undefeated on the year) in the league lost their only playoff games. Expect Morgan to be next.
Just to prove a point and settle an argument with one of my colleagues, who foolishly and ignorantly tells me I can't call the Shoreline Conference weak, the conference placed eight teams in the state tournament this year in girls basketball. After two rounds, only two of them remain, Cromwell in Class S and Morgan in Class M.
If you discount the game in which Cromwell and Coginchaug faced off against each other, the conference is sporting a not-so-fabulous record of 4-5 in the tournament. Look further and three of the wins came against teams from the Constitution State Conference, otherwise known as the tech league. Simply put, the CSC is a joke, and its teams never hold up against teams from other conferences. They are simply playing at a far lower level. The fourth win for the Shoreline was Morgan's 71-51 victory over Northwestern Regional, a team that advanced to the second round with a win over, you guessed it, a tech school, and has a losing overall record. That gives the Shoreline Conference exactly 0, read it again, 0 impressive wins in this tournament so far, and six losses. The numbers don't lie.

Back to the trend of top seeds losing. This says a couple things. First off, the seeds don't matter come tournament time. Matchups do. Secondly, there is something to be said for NOT getting a bye in the first round. All three of those teams had byes. Had they played somebody, it would have been a 32nd or 33rd seed that barely qualified for the tournament. In other words, it would have been a team any of them easily could have defeated.
But the significance is that they could have gotten the playoff jitters out against a weak opponent, rather than jump right in against a solid team like East Lyme, Coventry, or Berlin, which had already played one playoff game. Most of these teams had at least a week off between their conference tournaments and first state game. That's a lot of time to get rusty, and it showed.

Who can say what the quarterfinals and beyond will hold? Don't look to me. You should see the 'X' marks on my brackets. But at least I'm still clinging to a lead in the office pool.

tourney time

2008-02-27T03:05:00.003-05:00

Basketball tournament time is always exciting, and I've always particularly enjoyed the girls tournament. I can't explain completely why I enjoy the high school girls game more than the boys. I believe it's largely because the girls tend to play more team-oriented basketball. I can't say for sure, but I suspect it is because the girls players tend to have less of an ego than the boys. Even at this level, a lot of male players think they are better than they are, and the game for some teams is much more of a one-on-one endeavor.
But that's a tangent for another time. The point is that I am excited about the girls tournaments and have been following the results vigilantly. Sadly, the Herald lost one of its playoff teams tonight when Newington fell to NFA on the road. Nonetheless, I cannot underestimate how impressed I was with the job Al Ford and the Indians did this year. I had no expectations for them at the start of the year, and they certainly proved me, and many others, wrong.
For the record, I'll say that the sports staff has a tradition of doing a girls tournament pool (don't worry, no money on the line). It's been hotly contested the past two years, and invariably seems to come down to championship Saturday to decide it.
While I can't share everybody's picks, I'll say that my picks for the finals are as follows:
Class LL: New Britain over Bulkeley
Class L: Kolbe Cathedral over Wethersfield
Class M: Avon over Plainville
Class S: St. Paul over Bolton
That would be a very successful tournament for local teams, who I'll be rooting for heavily. I believe five locals will reach the semifinals of their tournament, with three in the finals. Maybe I'm a "homer". I hope it hasn't clouded my judgement.

The Class LL bracket as expected is stacked. Consider potential quarterfinals of Career Magnet vs. Trinity Catholic, Holy Cross vs. Southington, Mercy vs. Bulkeley. Even a second round Windsor vs. Holy Cross matchup is pretty epic, with the Warriors far better than their record shows. Seriously, anybody of about 10 teams could win this tournament, and others like East Catholic are sure to cause problems in the next round for some powers.
Class L isn't bad either. Wethersfield, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Northwest Catholic, Kolbe, Stonington. That's a pretty solid list.
On the other hand, I expect upsets by the seedings in the early rounds for M. I'm not convinced in the least of the strength of the top Shoreline Conference teams like East Hampton and Morgan, and I expect both to be gone early. But it is the one class where I'd say there is a clear favorite, and that's Avon.
As always, I know the least about Class S, other than that CSC teams (that's the former tech school conference that now includes SMSA, Capital Prep, Classical Magnet and others) cannot hang with others. Capital's win in the first round says a lot about them. They are a step above the rest in that league and can be competitive outside the conference.
But I expect St. Paul's experience against much larger schools to pay off. While the Falcons were the fifth best team in the Northwest this year, I picked them to run all the way through Class S. Another team that I think could make a good run is Bloomfield, which had injuries at times during the year and is healthy now, and more battle-tested than most in the bracket.

Well, I'll be at a lot of games this week and next. If I could go to two in a day, I'd do it.

a great debate

2008-02-22T02:05:00.006-05:00

I've been thinking about something for quite some time now. Something I've seen coming on the horizon since before the winter high school sports season began. In my mind it has sparked a raging debate, to which I cannot seem to find a conclusive answer.
On one side we have the New Britain Golden Hurricanes girls basketball team: two-time defending Class LL champions. Several of the players are the same, but several pieces are completely different from two years ago. A three-peat is possible, particularly after seeing the 'Canes survive the CCC tournament against Southington, Windsor and Bulkeley.
On the other side we have the Southington Blue Knights gymnastics team: three-time defending Class L and New England champs. The Knights are the clear favorite to win 'L' again with the top qualifying average in the state, and a fourth New England title could follow it two weeks later. This group is entirely different from the team that won the first title, with only two significant holdouts from even last year's team.
The question at hand is which is more impressive, particularly if both win their respective titles again this year? The 'Canes have won in one of the major sports, something that a lot of people across the state and country play, and something in which the chance of there being more competition is vastly greater. But the Knights haven't just won the state, they've won six states, and they've done it in dominant fashion for three years, with many different athletes.
For New Britain, junior guards Symone Roberts and Sarah Sideranko have never lost a state tournament game. Even more ridiculous, for Southington, senior Kelsie Straub has never lost a high school competition, be it a regular season dual meet, a state tournament, or a New England tournament. How would any of these kids react the first time they had to deal with a loss? I wouldn't want to go through that.
At the same time I struggle with the thought of how unique it is to see a dynasty in different sports. What Southington coach Byron Knox has done is impressive, but through his position at the CATS training center in Cheshire, he has worked with many of these athletes since they were little girls. The hard part was convincing them to join the high school team, often seen as second-rate compared to club competition.
It doesn't take much to convince players at your school to play basketball, and when you have a player like Roberts you have a dynamic weapon to start from. But winning titles, and in one of the more competitive divisions in all of CT high school sports, is not easy. Plus two different New Britain coaches, Beryl Piper and Karen Byrne, have attempted to lead the team to titles. Byrne will largely be judged, fairly or unfairly, this season on what happens in the next two weeks.
I guess this debate won't be settled, at least until one of them loses. I'm not sure that will be this year.

follow up on Southington

2008-02-22T02:05:00.002-05:00

After watching Southington play New Britain two more times, I'm convinced the Knights could win the LL title (particularly with what I see as a moderately friendly road in the tournament) if things go the right way. They can clearly play with the best teams in the state, and if they hit their shots they are not just good, but great.
Somebody asked me in a comment to my last post whether I thought Southington might be on the verge of another run of dominance as they have had in past eras, and to be quite honest I don't see it. Southington will always be a good team in LL, because of the size of the school, but it is not a town that breeds basketball players, or a private school that has a culture of great teams and therefore attracts players. Dynasties are created at a younger level with youth programs, and I'm not sure that exists in Southington.
Besides, Munson is graduating, and there are questions as to just how good the Knights will be next year, even with a lot of talent returning. But I'll be rooting like hell for them in the next two weeks.

noble Knights

2008-02-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

I just came from Southington girls basketball senior night and it was really a special night. The game was very exciting, with senior Sam DeFeo hitting a second-chance buzzer beater as the clock expired for the win. Southington 42, Glastonbury 40.
First off, it was a big win for the Knights, hoping to secure a good playoff seed and having roadies against New Britain and Manchester remaining.
But I wanted to give a little extra mention to the four seniors, who have always struck me as very good people off the court in my time dealing with them. Coach Jim DiNello talked about the group, Allie Munson, DeFeo, Jen Crowley and Charlene DaSilva, and was obviously moved by their character and the win.
"This one is extremely special," he said of the graduating class. "These four seniors have given me and this program every ounce of energy that they have. Their spirit, dedication, and support of each other, and I’m talking about all four of them. From Jen Crowley being a role player, knowing what her job is to Charlene not even being able to play, but being there for practice and being in those huddles, and talking to the kids, and keeping them up, and making sure everybody stays even keel. And then of course the two best captains I’ve ever had in my life in Allie and Sam. If I’m ever fortunate enough to have captains like them again I will truly be blessed."
DaSilva has missed the entire season due to an injury suffered early in the soccer season. Crowley was given a chance to start the game tonight, along with the other two who are normal starters. Many of you may know that Munson is headed to Cornell to play Division I basketball, and has truly turned into a star player this season. And DeFeo is one of those players who gets by with grit and determination, and a streaky ability to shoot the ball.
It may not be the most talented class ever, but talking to people around the team, it is a special one.

one more Super Bowl note

2008-02-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

A friend reminded me, and I've been hearing some other talk today, about a key moment in the first half yesterday. At the time I had fully taken notice of it, but I forgot about it in the excitement of the fourth quarter and afterglow.
It was the 4th-and-13 play the Patriots faced at the New York 31-yard line late in the half. Obviously, the 48-yard potential field goal attempt was within kicker Stephen Gostkowski's range. His career long is 52 yards as FOX noted. But in that moment it was apparent that the Patriots felt more confident going for fourth-and-long in a close game (7-3 lead at the time) rather than trying to kick the field goal indoors. Now, I would guess that Belichick in part wanted to put a stranglehold on the game, go into the half with a lot of momentum and be able to put the game away early in the second half (along the lines of my last blog about past champs). But if he had an automatic guy like Adam Vinatieri there still, my guess is he takes the guaranteed points.
Looking at Gostkowski's stats (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?statsId=7867) for the season, he made 21 of 24 field goal attempts for 87 percent. That's a great number. But a closer look reveals that he attempted only 5 from forty yards or more and is 6-0f-10 in his career. He had none over 50 yards this year and made his only 50-plus attempt in his career last season. Gostkowski only had nine field goal attempts all year of 30-39 yards, kicking ten of shorter distances than that.
Clearly, the Pats, often choosing to run up scores even late in the game, did not use Gostkowski much during the regular season and perhaps did not trust him to kick beyond 40 yards. 48 would have been a very long attempt for him, even indoors. And at a key moment in the game, without even being there, Vinatieri's legend grows.

an upset for the ages

2008-02-04T01:01:00.000-05:00

Wow. I have a lot to say about Super Bowl XLII. So let's get right to it.
First of all, I felt that midway through the third quarter the debate as to whether these Pats were the best team ever was already decided... and they clearly were not. Consider the playoff and Super Bowl results of all the other teams in the discussion (excepting the 72 Dolphins who most football analysts would agree were not the greatest team either). The best teams of all time have not only won the Super Bowl, but put the games out of reach before halftime for the most part.
The '85 Bears, with inarguably the best defense ever, dominated the Patriots 46-10. The '89 49ers, the best of their dynasty teams, overpowered the Broncos 55-10. The '92 Cowboys put away the Bills, in their third straight Super Bowl, in the first half and went on to score 21 points in the fourth quarter and win 52-17. The team in the year after, which I would argue is the best team ever, outscored the Bills 24-0 in the second half to put away a 30-14 victory. The '94 Niners, maybe the best squad that franchise ever had, coasted to a 49-26 victory over the Chargers.
Flash forward to the Patriots, struggling to put away an upstart Giants team, which had to pull off three legitimate upsets just to get to the game, which had numerous glaring weaknesses such as its defensive secondary, which had next to no playoff experience, and which was a 12-point underdog. And ultimately the Patriots paid the price for not getting the job done early. They left an opening and Eli took it.
Not to take anything away from the way the Giants have played of late, but they were not nearly the team the Pats were. Shouldn't the best team ever win the biggest game of its season? Shouldn't the best offense ever score more than 14 points against a defense with a gaping hole?
Enough said. Let this argument die now. These Patriots simply were not the best team ever.

Nonetheless, with that perfect record on the line, I would consider this the second biggest Super Bowl upset of all time, behind only Broadway Joe's infamous guaranteed win in SB III. Many fans nowadays forget or never realized how big it was for the AFL, arguably the equivalent of a minor league, defeating the top NFL team. Imagine the Canadian football champion beating the Giants, or Patriots, next week. That game insured that the merger would work, would last, and gave the league a chance to exist as it does now. It also was a 17-point spread, so the linemakers at the time saw it as a bigger upset than this one too.
I would consider this one of the five best SB's of all time on the field as well. There may not have been a lot of offensive flash, but there were certainly defensive plays galore, and when crunchtime came both teams made plays with the ball in their hands.
I still like the Titans-Rams game more, if only for the fact that there was more offense, and that the game came down to one unforgettable play as time expired, with defense ruling in that moment.
After that I think I would put the Patriots-Panthers game of a few years ago. Poorly played defensively, but constant excitement down to the wire.
This one gets lost in that jumble of Niners-Bengals, Giants-Bills, and Patriots-Rams. But I'd definitely put it top five with the upset implications added on.
NOTE: I was not alive for the early SB's, so I can't really speak for them. It's entirely possible that there were some thrilling games there which have sadly been lost from the public consciousness, and my own.

Moving on, how about Eli Manning? The guy goes from New York pariah to Super Bowl MVP in about a month. He was the better quarterback on the field Sunday night, making countless plays, pinpointing difficult throws and remaining calm in the closing minutes.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady ends up the goat for the Pats. Despite the phenomenal stats he put up, the Golden Boy left numerous throws short, high, long and wobbly. He looked, for the first time in his NFL career, like a sixth-round draft pick. And don't just blame the offensive line for this. Yes, Brady was rushed, but he missed on a lot of wide open opportunities without any pressure. He just didn't bring it tonight. Maybe the pressure finally got to him. I honestly never thought I would see, or say, that.

I watched the game in a crowded, small room with mostly people I don't know at all. Several of them were personally acquainted with Giants wide receiver David Tyree, who made a ridiculous drive-saving catch in the final minutes on a play in which Eli had no right to still be on his feet. These guys come from the same hometown as Tyree and could hardly contain themselves with each big play he made.
I would honestly rate that play, from Eli's elusive scrambling, to the throw, to the on-the-helmet catch setting up the winning touchdown, as the greatest play in Super Bowl history. And I can't really think of another that stands out in terms of scope, difficulty, shock factor, or significance.
Congrats, Eli/Tyree.

Finally, I want to take a stab at comparing this game to another great sporting event of recent years, which would not escape my thoughts as the final quarter ticked down. This game, in my opinion, was the football equivalent of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, in which Arizona improbably beat the Yankees. Forget for a second the fact that Arizona was quite arguably the superior team and there is no question this win was an upset. Forget that the Yankees were not their most dominant. There are clearly differences.
But, look at it this way. There was a team that had been a dynasty in recent years, trying to close out another championship. The Yanks had won four of five Series, while the Pats had won three bowls in four years not too long ago. And in the final game it came down to that dynastic team merely needing to hold a lead, which, coincidentally, is what each of them do best. The Pats simply don't lose close games in the fourth quarter. The Yankees, and Mariano Rivera, were lights out in the ninth inning.
And then, weird things started happening. Rivera gave up a hit, and afterwards made a rare fielding mistake, throwing wide of second base instead of getting the easy out at first. Asante Samuel drops a game-clinching interception, one that he makes any other time. Eli slips away from a sure sack (how did he get away?). And an unknown player makes an improbable catch to keep the drive alive, and set up the win.
And in the end, it wasn't a flashy play that won it. Luis Gonzalez bloops it over the drawn-in infield. Plaxico Burress slips away from Ellis Hobbs to catch a floating ball all alone when all he must have been thinking was "please don't drop this".
Of course, the Yankees haven't been quite the same since. Though they've made the playoffs in every season, they have not won a championship and have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs four times in six years. Is this the end of the Patriots dynasty? Who can say, but despite the overwhelming talent they have and should continue to have, the NFL is a strange beast, and winning a title in any league is clearly never a guarantee. For that matter, Spygate will not seem to disappear, and it is not inconceivable to see drastic things happening in the coming weeks and months.

Congratulations, Giants fans. Your team, which looked like the worst in the league after two weeks, is now the NFL champs. Sorry, Boston. Not this time.

"We're only going to score 17 points. Is Plax going to play defense?"
- Tom Brady, Super Bowl media day, on Plaxico Burress' prediction of a 23-17 Giants win

some posturing, perhaps

2008-01-31T03:24:00.001-05:00

I watched the Southington wresting team, now 17-4 on the season, dismantle a young East Hartford squad. Despite their youth, the Hornets have traditionally been a solid wrestling program and are well coached. Even with three forfeits, the Knights went on to a 51-28 win. They earned two forfeits themselves, and of the other nine matches won seven, five on pins, one on a tech fall and one on a major decision. To add to it, they were shorthanded due to injuries.
And yet all the talk around the team seems to be one of disappointment. Manager Mary Boissoneault (I hope I got that right, and coincidentally Mary is probably the most competent and hard-working manager I've ever met. She's going to go far some day.) spoke despairingly before the match about how injuries have left the team relatively noncompetitive. Coach Derek Dion said afterwards that the team has reassessed its goals since the start of the season. They appear to be without hope of winning a Class LL title, despite being ranked 10th in the current coaches' poll.
17-4. Just a reminder.
Now, with a powerhouse like Danbury standing in the way, there may always be little hope for the rest of LL, but surely Dion and the Knights (not the Belmonts for you fans of an earlier generation out there) have more confidence than this.
I'll say this. Southington may not be as strong as they were last year. But they still have enough talent to finish at least in the top three at the state tournament, if not better. And they still are a very good team. I hope they realize that before all is said and done, because it has certainly been another successful year in Southington.
Maybe they just want to stay under the radar. Could there be some Belichick in Dion?

sad times in the Hill

2008-01-31T03:24:00.000-05:00

It is an unfortunate time to be a Rocky Hill fan (or alum). The Terriers, who have never been a powerhouse in the winter season, scattering successful years including a boys Class S basketball title in 2002, are struggling through their worst collective season in years.
One editor in our office, who takes phone calls from coaches, pointed out that she has not taken a call from a Terriers coach after a win in weeks, be it basketball, boys or girls, wrestling, swimming, or hockey.
That is an exaggeration. But, the basketball and hockey teams have a combined 9-15 record since the start of the new year. The last win was the skaters, coming on January 21, while both basketball teams swept RHAM on January 18.
Meanwhile, the wrestling and swim teams continue to struggle with low numbers, a long-standing problem for both.
There is still hope for the basketball and hockey teams to make the state tournament, and maybe get things going. There was high hope in Terrierland for the girls in particular starting the season, and while I'm sure the girls are working as hard as ever, the results have been disappointing.
Here's to hoping February treats the teams better than January, and that there will be time to turn the seasons around.

better than advertised

2008-01-22T19:19:00.000-05:00

I've spent a good deal of time lately covering a pair of sports for which I have not always hidden my distaste: wrestling and hockey.
Now, I want to preface this. I still greatly prefer in the winter season to cover basketball. And I am not ready to call myself a big fan of either other sport. But, as far as high school sports go, there are worse things than having to watch competition on the mats or the ice.
First, I'll talk about wrestling, and while I could never imagine a situation in which I would want to participate in wrestling, I will say that the unique team/individual format leads to exciting moments. Nothing is more intense than seeing two entire teams screaming from the sidelines as two men battle it out with key team points on the line. The Art Powers Duals a few weeks ago were riveting, as Berlin knocked off three very good teams. The clinching matches are among the best spectator events in high school, and there is an excitement that cannot quite be described when the ref slaps his hand on the mat to signal a pin.
Ironically, for an individual sport it is the team aspect that makes wrestling so interesting.
Now, on to hockey, a sport I think is severely flawed. All sports (soccer, field hockey, lacrosse come to mind) in which a team can regularly outperform another and still lose frustrate me. It happens because there is simply so much luck involved in scoring a goal in those sports. A great play may result in nothing and a fluke play might become a goal. While hockey is not quite as guilty of this as the others, it can still be bad.
But what I do like about hockey at this level, at least when the referees keep the whistles in their pockets as much as possible, is the purity of play. There is less banging and bruising and more stick and skate control. With constant action, the sport is exciting to watch from up close, although I still find it hard to write about descriptively. I saw a perfect example of this in a game between Glastonbury and Southington earlier this week. The first penalty was called late in the second period, and up until that point the pace was good and the game exciting.
So keep it up wrestling and hockey. I won't often be complimenting you.

in honor of a true world hero

2008-01-21T15:00:00.000-05:00

from American Heritage Dictionary
lynch, v. : 1. To execute without due process of law, especially to hang, as by a mob.

from the online Etymology Dictionary
lynch (v.): 1835, from earlier Lynch law (1811), likely named after William Lynch (1742-1820) of Pittsylvania, Va., who c.1780 led a vigilance committee to keep order there during the Revolution. Other sources trace the name to Charles Lynch (1736-96) a Virginia magistrate who fined and imprisoned Tories in his district c.1782, but the connection to him is less likely. Originally any sort of summary justice, especially by flogging; narrowing of focus to "extralegal execution by hanging" is 20c. Lynch mob is attested from 1838. The surname is either from O.E. hlinc "hill" or Ir. Loingseach "sailor."

For all of those out there calling for the firing of Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Network, let me explain something. Tilghman did not make a racial statement, you merely misinterpreted it that way.
The word lynch does not, and never has meant, to kill black people, as horrific as that history has been in this nation. It is true that an abhorrent number of African-Americans were put to death by mobs in this nation. It is also true that the lynch mob was an active tool of social intimidation long before that, intimidating political dissidents among others, not exclusively used to intimidate blacks.
When I first heard mention of Tilghman's now infamous comments, joking that the rest of the PGA tour should form a mob and "lynch" Tiger Woods, it did not even occur to me that people might misinterpret it as a racial comment. Tilghman used the word correctly, and simply implied that in order to win tournaments, the PGA tour might have to take matters into its own hands. An unfortunate joke, perhaps, but certainly not racially motivated. The root of the word, as you can see above, came from the public murdering of whites who happened to hold opposing political views during the American Revolution and afterward.
And yet, up to yesterday I continued to hear intelligent people, including the Hartford Courant's Jeff Jacobs, insisting that Tilghman's comments were racially motivated. This simply isn't true.
Yes, the term lynch obviously draws a certain reaction from a majority of people, one which I would never have anticipated. But those reacting are the ones with the nearsighted, narrow view. They are the ones who don't understand that Tilghman probably never even considered the fact that Tiger Woods is part African-American when she made that statement. It was not relevant to the words she chose.
For her part, Tilghman quickly realized that her words might have been misinterpreted, and apologized for the accidental use of a potentially inflamatory word. For his part, Tiger Woods, apparently far more enlightened than most of us, recognized that Tilghman had not intended her comment in a racial manner at all, and said that he was not offended by it.
Now why can't the rest of us accept that, historically, etymologically, and literally, what Kelly Tilghman said had nothing to do with race? We just misinterpreted it that way.
*********************************************
Nearly forty years to the day of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death (April 4, 1968), the battle still rages in America and the world for racial equality and justice. It is not an easy fight, nor an uncomplicated issue, of course. But it is one that can only be solved through action and discussion.
I'll leave you guys on this day with the words of Dr. King himself. He was a true hero, a flawed man who nonetheless remained constant to his ideals and beliefs. In so doing he put his own safety and comfort, and ultimately his life, on the line for those he knew as well as those he never met. He also had the ability, through the sheer conviction of his words and the purity of his public actions, to passionately unite people on both sides of the same issue.
On April 16, 1963 Dr. King sat in a Birmingham, AL jail, arrested after organizing a non-violent protest in the city. While in jail he received a letter from local priests, pastors, ministers and clergy (his colleagues, remember) denouncing his actions for betraying the status quo.
Having a bit of time on his hands, Dr. King wrote a lengthy response letter to them, explaining his position and imploring them to do their parts in the greater struggle. It is one of the more underrated documents in American history and I urge each of you to take the time today to read it in its entirety.
(Here is a copy filled with typos, but still readable. http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html)
But pay close attention to the following section, as it highlights the crux of the entire struggle. And be sure to think about not only Dr. King today, but all those who put their beliefs on the line in the face of violent opposition, sacrificing their own bodies to preserve the dignity of everybody.

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity."

wait, i think i've seen this one already

2008-01-17T15:07:00.000-05:00

Sadly, this UConn womens' basketball season is starting to remind me of another year. It's not a perfect match, but I'll try to explain.
I'm talking about the 2000-01 Huskies, a team coming fresh off a national championship, returning every significant player from that roster, and adding the most hyped freshman in years in Diana Taurasi to the mix. That 00-01 roster included seniors Shea Ralph, Svetlana Abrosimova and Kelly Schumacher (who was very underrated, by the way). It had juniors Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams (the best class in womens' hoops history), and it had Taurasi. I admit, I can't remember the specifics of who the role players were on that team. But this was a group that had at least seven potential all-American players at various points in their careers, the core of which had proven they could win it all.
Now, the obvious glaring difference, right off the bat, is that this year's group has proven nothing. None have even made the final four. But the talent level, though not nearly as good, is still through the roof, and I would estimate is the second most talented group UConn has ever had, after that group. You have the wunderkind freshman in Maya Moore, you have the savvy and tough point guard in Montgomery. You don't have the all-Americans, but you have the balance to win it all.
That 00-01 team came out of the gates firing, dominating through November and December, but eventually fate caught up to it. Shea Ralph's career ended with a second ACL tear. Eventually, Abrosimova would get hurt as well, in the final weeks of the season. The team that entered the tournament was a facsimile of the one that started it, and while Bird brought the miracle to win the Big East tournament title, in the Final Four, the team blew a huge first-half lead to Notre Dame with Taurasi, thrust into the leading role too early, shooting woefully. Every UConn fan knows that story.
Now, back to this year. Things are rolling along, the team looks unstoppable. And then....
Kalana Greene gets hurt, damaging their defensive pressure. Now, Mel Thomas is done for the season, and her career, with an ACL tear. (On a side note, did anybody notice that Thomas walked off the court on her own after that injury? Is she the toughest person ever? I have never in my life seen anybody so much as stand up after an ACL tear.)
Add to that the lingering injuries to Brittany Hunter, who is never a guarantee to play any given game. And what happens? Well, the luxury of having Charde Houston come off the bench is gone, and Moore is fast becoming the primary go-to player for scoring. She's the only reliable shooter from outside, the most likely one to be able to give Hunter and Tina Charles room to work inside. But she's still only a freshman, like Taurasi was.
If Hunter isn't on the court, UConn doesn't have much chance at winning a national title. They are still one of the top five teams in the country, if not the second best. But winning consecutive games in the tournament against top competition is asking too much. We saw against Syracuse what not having Hunter does to this team, if the opponent knows how to take advantage of it (slow it down, control the ball, eliminate turnovers). And without Thomas, UConn never would have been in that game.
It's a shame to see Thomas' career come to an end this early. I predicted she would approach 200 3-pointers made this year alone (clearly an absurd number), but we'll now just have to see if the WNBA gives her a chance.
It may be even sadder to see this team's chances at glory go up in flames due to injury. But that's part of the game. Just look around the mens' Big East.
The good news: What happened following the 2000-01 season? Bird, Cash, Jones, Williams, and Taurasi turned into the real greatest team ever, and Taurasi led the team to two more titles after that with a cast of role players alongside. With Moore, Montgomery, Charles, Swanier, Greene and the highly anticipated arrival of Elena Delle Donne, the Huskies look to be in great shape for the next two to four years at least.

a lot of stuff has happened

2008-01-16T14:35:00.001-05:00

So, yeah, I feel like I fell asleep in blogger-land over the past two weeks (not aided by the fact that I've gotten sick for the first time in two years this week), and a lot has happened on the national sports scene since then. I'll try to write a couple more of these this week to discuss some of the big events, including the NFL playoffs, UConn stuff, and of course MLB's disaster.

But the first thing I want to mention happened a while ago. Like I said, I fell asleep in blogger-land and when I woke up I found that Goose Gossage had gone from an eight-year Hall of Fame reject, much of that time not even coming close to the required 75 percent, to a shoe-in, earning 86 percent of the vote. Somebody explain this to me without it sounding ludicrous or making the entire voting process a sham.
Are we saying that since last year, Gossage's stats and achievements were re-examined by enough of the voters, who suddenly saw the error of their ways and voted for the man after not voting for him for eight years? This isn't a small number of voters. We're talking about around 50 votes that he never got before.
All this proves is that the HOF voting is more politically charged, and based on image, than anything else. The writers did not want to have an empty class, leaving the five veterans committee picks as the only inductees, and since no clear-cut first-timer showed up on the ballot (although Tim Raines should have gotten more votes) the writers went with the guy who was closest. A lot of guys voted for him for the first time rather than leave their ballot blank or risk nobody getting in. And quite simply that makes the whole process a joke.
For what it's worth, I will never agree with the writers who choose to delineate between a "first ballot" HOFer and a "subsequent ballot" HOFer. If a guy deserves to get in, he deserves to get in. The percentage of votes he gets above 75 will delineate who were clearer choices than others. Don't decline to vote for a guy one year and then vote for him the next year just so he won't get in on the first ballot.
And the fact that some guys go from getting about 30 percent their first year and then eventually work their way up to 75 (Jim Rice, I'm talking about your fate next year) is almost laughable. Sure, some voters will rightfully re-examine a player's impact and eventually decide he merits a vote, but it shouldn't ever be over half the voters. That's just HOF voters wielding their power, saying, 'Well, I think you're a borderline HOFer, so I'm going to make you sweat a little before you get my vote.'
This all makes me sick.
But, congratulations to Gossage, who probably does deserve to be elected and should have been long ago. I just wish it didn't have to be like this.

a comment on St. Paul

2008-01-16T14:35:00.000-05:00

I just got a post from somebody hoping to get some coverage of the St. Paul baseball team in the Herald this spring. I will first of all say that St. Paul is in the heart of the coverage area for our sister paper, the Bristol Press, and therefore we have avoided covering its teams in the past. But, if several of the players are as you say from New Britain, I will have to look into getting some info this season from the Press.
Thanks for the comment.

and you thought Danbury was dominant

2008-01-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

Check out this story from the world of Florida wrestling. Dominant doesn't begin to describe this.
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/06/Sports/Brandon_wrestlers__lo.shtml

some late night Southington thoughts

2008-01-04T02:07:00.003-05:00

It just occurred to me that the Southington girls' 55-42 win over East Lyme on Wednesday, which I attended, was the 100th in coach Jim DiNello's eight years with the team. The milestone was on my radar at the start of the season, but I lost track of it over the holidays. It was an impressive win, but I guess the milestone escaped coach DiNello's attention as well. There was no celebration after the game, as there sometimes is for such events. But here's to coach DiNello and the Knights, who might be playing the best I've seen them in the past four seasons.
A big part of that success is the maturation of senior center Allie Munson, who recently verbally committed to Cornell for next year. I have watched Munson on the volleyball and basketball courts for three years developing from a young player with potential but lacking in physical toughness, into the opposite. Now she is backing up that potential and the biggest difference appears to be confidence in the post on both ends of the court. Munson looks like a star now, and teams will learn to fear what she can do.
But off the court she is very amiable and intelligent (Cornell doesn't accept academic slouches), and everybody I talk to in Southington praises her for her generosity such as tutoring she does on the side. It's been a pleasure to see her growth, and you can check The Herald this week for a more complete story on her step to the next level.

brief injury update

2008-01-04T02:07:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure what is legal to say, or what I am supposed to know, but word on Wethersfield point guard Heather Lyhne's injury is that it was, in fact, a dislocated knee but that there appeared to be complications other than that. My guess is that they are waiting for the damage to clear up a bit before they can properly do an MRI, but suffice it to say it is still very much up in the air whether she can return this season. But I would guess that the long-term prognosis is positive.
I'm not a doctor.

what a day

2008-01-04T02:07:00.001-05:00

This Friday (I guess that's today) is so big that it should have a special name, similar to Super Tuesday. I don't have a good one for it, so I'll just tell you a bit about it.
Today pits what I believe are the four best girls basketball teams in the state against each other. Now neither of the matchups will be a state championship preview, as the teams are in different classes. But by my guess you'll see three of the four eventual class winners against each other.
First off, Bulkeley plays at New Britain. I feel like people are overlooking the Golden Hurricanes, considering they are the two-time Class LL defending champions, returned arguably the best backcourt in the state and have been pounding opponents thus far. I think people took their eyes off the team after an opening-game loss to Windsor. But keep two things in mind. They lost the same opener last year, and this time around they were missing two of their starters in that game (Cassandra Bell and Tyler Kimball).
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are unbeaten and seem to be reloaded as they were when they were perfect and L champs two years ago. They might be the best team in the state (but so might all these teams).
Check out Ken Lipshez's preview of the game in today's paper. He spoke to Manchester coach John Reiser, who has already lost to both teams remarkably by the same differential, 17 points. But be sure to get to the game if you can.
OR...
If that one doesn't interest you, how about this one. Career Magnet at Mercy. Right now Career is ranked number one in most state polls, and while I'm skeptical, I can't argue with the numbers. They pounded a good Guilford team 91-29 on the road, and did the same to Hamden 90-35 at home. Wow.
Meanwhile, Mercy may have the most dominant player in the state in Rachel Roberts and Bianca Simmons isn't bad either.
If you believe my opinion, which you can take with a grain of salt, I am skeptical of Career after watching them in the Class M playoffs against Plainville last year. They were very good. But they were not close to the level of the top LL teams. Now, it's possible that they have returned most of their lineup and improved dramatically, but I'll believe it when I see it. I am guessing Mercy wins this.
Bulkeley-New Britain is beyond my capacity to guess. I just wish I could be there. But, alas...

I will be in Wethersfield to get my first look of the season at the boys basketball team against Rockville. The Eagles are playing well at 4-1, and beat what I thought was a solid Newington team before destroying coach Mike Verderame's former team, Platt. So, I am understandably curious to see this team.
Ken will be at Chick Shea Gymnasium.

new year's thoughts

2007-12-31T14:36:00.000-05:00

First off, Happy New Year to everybody out there! Matt Straub and I were having a conversation several weeks ago and we got to talking about which holidays were most important to us. It has often occurred to me that New Year's, since I was really old enough to stay up and celebrate, has always been one of my favorite and the most special holidays of the year. That seems interesting, since it really doesn't commemorate anything specific. It doesn't honor anything. It doesn't have any religious spiritual significance. But I do find New Year's spiritual. Let me try to explain.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day appeal to the ever-present desire in each of us to begin anew. Let's face it. We all love a fresh start, particularly when things don't go so well. And who among us can often say at the end of a year that everything has gone well in the past 365 days.
But New Year's is also a time to remember the things that did go well. So in that respect, it serves the best of both purposes: looking back and cherishing special moments, and being able to look forward to better times to come.
While Christmas and Thanksgiving are always holidays I try to spend with my direct family first and foremost, New Year's is the opposite. On the last day of the year I always try to spend it with my best friends, who in many ways are just as much my family as that formed by blood. Close out the year with those who have made it special, and start the next year with the people you most want to share it with. But most importantly celebrate the new beginnings.

I guess I'll just share with you some of my favorite events and storylines from this year. As a reporter and writer, I naturally get attached to certain things that I get to cover each year. I can still remember my first year on the job and how awesome it was to cover the Farmington Little League team on its run to the Eastern Regional. But, of course, every year brings different things.
So here's what 2007 brought.
I loved watching the exciting play of the New Britain girls basketball team. Back-to-back titles in one of the most competitive classes in CT high school sports is a huge accomplishment. Speed, defense, outside shooting, intensity, and teamwork are the things I think when I watch this team, and sometimes you ask if they could have knocked off some weaker college teams.
I had a blast covering all the great local basketball players, many of whom graduated in June. Tim Abromaitis, Jeff Veneziano, Yasmin Ithier-Vicenty, Amanda Pierlioni, Ashley Borofsky, Doran Mitchell and the list goes on and on for last year's senior class. This year there's still a lot of talent there. I followed these kids' exploits on the court closely, and got to see them from early on in their high school careers. I still love bumping into many of them at games now, home on break.
I got to follow the Southington gymnastics team on a third straight New England title run. It was a sendoff for their brilliant senior class of Kristy Dougan, Jess Gianatti, Yvette Mirando and Shannon Strachel. I'm curious to see how the Knights reload this year (as I hear some pretty exciting rumors coming out of Southington in the preseason).
And thought I don't cover them every day, I got completely caught up in the season for the CCSU Blue Devils. No team better exemplified what hard work and toughness can get you. And they all did it with a smile and friendly hello after the game.
But of course, Spring is my favorite season, and I have a ton of special moments there. I got to see Farmington knock off Berlin in girls golf after year's of conference titles. Both coaches and teams were gracious.
I saw Sarah Sideranko and Kirsten LaPointe continue to improve and I can only imagine how good they'll be in two more years on the links.
The Newington baseball run was awesome. They were overlooked most of the season by the press in other parts of the state (shoreline bias), but we suspected how good they might be. Their 18-inning victory in the state quarterfinals over Fitch is probably the most exciting and unpredictable event I'll ever cover.
It's sad to see so many of them graduate at once, but I'm sure I'll see them on the other side of the fence this Spring, as perhaps no other program I cover has more alumni return to games.
In the most anticipated event of the year I watched the Plainville Blue Devils hand Fitch pitcher Matt Harvey his first career loss. The kid was good, and hopefully for him he'll move his way up the professional ranks in the coming years. But Plainville's Eric Luke got the job done, and Jamie Raymond slapped the ball to death at the plate. (Speaking of teams that should be good in 2008, coach Freimuth has a dynamite group coming back).
I enjoyed watching Plainville softball rise to the top of the NWC and nearly pull off what most would have considered a big upset in the postseason.
In the summer, I was a little late getting on the path of the Berlin NewAlliance team, but I did watch them roll through the playoffs for a third straight title and an undefeated season. And coach Baccaro is great to work with, a truly classy guy who instills that in his players.
The fall brought a very successful football season for local teams, and a near miss for Berlin. I won't soon forget that championship game.
But perhaps I was most excited to see Wethersfield competitive for the first time in a while. The Eagles seem to be continuing that into the basketball season as well.
The Wethersfield soccer team was a thrill ride. I've never had more fun watching a team play in a sport that I admittedly am not a big fan of. But they made me a fan of them, both on and off the field.
Winter is well under way with potential, meaning 2008 should be another memorable year. Predictions? I'm not that foolish this far in advance. But I'll be there.
Happy New Year to all of you ... and a clean slate for '08.

get well soon

2007-12-29T23:21:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to offer my best wishes for Wethersfield point guard Heather Lyhne, who left tonight's game with an apparent knee injury. It looked pretty serious at the time, but hopefully Lyhne will be able to return at some point this year, and if not, by next fall for soccer season.
I hate to see any player leave with an injury, particularly in such obvious pain as Heather was in, and not under her own power. But credit the rest of the Eagles for regrouping after the injury, which came in a close game early in the third quarter, and defeating Berlin. It showed a lot of this team's character to be able to do so, and that is a big part of why they are undefeated so far.
Get better, Heather. We look forward to seeing your energy on the court again.

big game today

2007-12-29T01:44:00.000-05:00

I just want to remind anybody who takes the time to read my blog on a weekend that they should definitely check out the Hartford-UConn women's basketball game this afternoon. I don't think the Hawks can beat the Huskies, but I think this will be far closer than most people imagine, and who knows. Upsets are always possible, particularly when a head coach (Jen Rizzotti) is so familiar with the opponent's system. Don't miss this.
As for Hartford, I can't understand why they aren't getting more votes in the polls. Hopefully their victory over Michigan St. will cause some change in that, but the voters, particularly the AP, seem to be reluctant to recognize them.
Also on the schedule, there's a really good matchup in Wethersfield tonight between the Eagles and the Berlin girls team. Wethersfield is unbeaten so far, and Berlin has one loss. Both appear to be quite strong. It will be Wethersfield's balance and athletic guards against Berlin's interior play. Should be interesting.

100th post

2007-12-26T01:51:00.000-05:00

Coincidentally this is my 100th post. I just wanted to let you guys know I'll be back posting pretty often starting next week. I had been taking a few weeks to catch my bearings after a busy fall sports season, and start wrapping my mind around some things for winter season. I'm still very much getting to know our local high school teams.
I'm on vacation this week for the holidays, but still working a little on the side. So I'll share some more of my random thoughts with you guys. Sorry to not have a better structure to them.
I am working on a story about two Berlin High students who have signed letters of intent with Division I programs in non-glamor sports. These kids may not be quite as well known around the area, but I can say they are two of our most gifted athletes within their sports in the area.
If you know of any students who are deciding on where to play at the next level, let me know. It is an unwritten policy of the sports staff to try and limit feature stories to those signing with Division I programs, but we love to get mentions of those playing at Division II and III programs as well as other outlets. We love to know what players are doing after taking the next step in life and athletics (noted in Matt's blog about Central this weekend). So let me know. I'll be glad to mention it on here.
That also gives me a good chance to say something I've been meaning to for a while. I ran into the father of a former high school star (Rocky Hill's Chris Tyler) at a football game earlier this season, and he told me about how well his son was doing on the college gridiron. I love hearing stuff like this, and so does Ken. Please, let us know how the kids we used to watch on the field are doing at the next level. It would be my pleasure to share it with everyone.

OK, some more thoughts on games I saw this week. I know they weren't the most marquee of victories, but the Newington girls basketball team, during what is supposed to be a rebuilding season, is 3-2 right now, with a sweep of the Meriden public schools. I'm impressed. It's tough to replace so much of your scoring from a year before and get wins early the next season.
Second point. I saw the Farmington-Rocky Hill hockey game the other night. The Terriers co-op with RHAM seems to be going very well. Despite still not having huge numbers on the roster, they have more talented players than before and nearly upset the Indians. This is case in point for school's hoping to start a new program. Look for a co-op to start if you're worried about numbers. It's a good way to build.
Speaking of Farmington, as expected the front line is dynamic, with Josh Edelson, Jordan Haviland and Jack Kucia all scoring and assisting. The Indians are 3-1 with a blowout of Enfield (8 goals!!!) before Christmas. If you like hockey, or wish there were more scoring on the ice, check this team out.
Third point, back to Newington: I am calling the Newington boys basketball team my under-the-radar team to watch right now. They have five or six players who could be special this season. Guards Marc Tancredi and Shane Leupold are old-style players, passing into narrow lanes and finding shots for themselves and each other. Will Tyillian could be dominant. But the player that makes your eyes open wide is John Riddick.
Riddick can leap. And I mean leap. There should be nobody in the state who can outdo him athletically on the court. His shot is a work in progress. But man, is he exciting. And talking to him afterwards he seemed disappointed in his 14 rebound performance, perhaps because coach Scot Wenzel was a bit frustrated with some of his team's mistakes.
Hey, it's not necessarily a bad thing for a player to demand more from himself. I just hope Riddick knows that 14 rebounds is a good night regardless. If he uses that disappointment to make him focus on eliminating those mistakes, and perhaps working on his touch around the rim (a rarity for young players), look out.

Keep checking out the top 10 countdown in the paper. I love this time of year, and while I'm enjoying some time away from the office, I can't wait to get back to the gyms.

a few names to look for (if you can't get to the games themselves)

2007-12-21T01:06:00.002-05:00

I haven't seen all our local teams yet in basketball, but I want to talk about some of the under-the-radar players I've noticed on the teams I have seen. Of course you will hear a lot about the star players over the coming months, but the players around them will be key to success.
I've seen more of the girls teams so far, probably because they started a week earlier. So, I'll start with them.
Berlin: I got to see the Redcoats against Rocky Hill earlier this week, and to be honest, the whole team is a bunch of very solid role players. They play well as a group, but I think it's clear the name you'll probably hear the most over the coming months (and years) is Katelyn Zarotney, with seniors Meagan Guy and Kristin Legenza likely to be next.
So, with that in mind, I want to talk about Alexys Vazquez and Kaitlin Bovee. Vazquez is a fighter, with a finesse player's touch. On defense she will go hard at all times, and will likely play somewhere between guard and forward. But her biggest asset it that three-point shot, and when I say she has range, I mean range. She looks to shoot anywhere within 25 feet, a serious rarity at the high school level, and she can hit it. Teams will get burned by her.
Plainville: Everybody knows about Des Pina by now, or should. But she would be the first to admit she can't win on her own. Already this season she has been double and triple teamed, and slapped in the face by an opposing player.
Pina needs help from shooters in particular, and along with Alyssa Martino, who emerged last year as a deep threat, Val Caron could be just what is called for. Caron is young still, but has improved dramatically since last year. She has a shot, can take the ball off the dribble when needed and should improve more as time goes on.
The others we need to mention are Sarah Dinda and Alex Petit, who despite their small stature compared to the other bigs in the NWC, manage to hold their own on the glass. They'll need to.
Rocky Hill: Three months from now this player may be among those stars based on what I've seen. Two years ago she was a no-mistakes, but no flash guard whose job it was to pass off to more aggressive scorers on the team. Now she may be that scorer.
I'm talking about senior Meghan Daley, who I knew could be a very good shooter. But I've never seen her so aggressive putting the ball on the floor, so vocal on the court, or so seemingly determined to lead her squad. I'm looking for big things from her now.
New Britain: It's tough to consider any of the Canes starters role players. All five have the capability of being a star. But I'm going to remind people of all the little things that Sarah Sideranko and Cassandra Bell do.
Sideranko is far from being a sidekick in the backcourt to Symone Roberts. In her own right, the junior is as competitive as athletes come, at any level, and a lockdown defender. She also attacks the glass amazingly well for her size, always makes the extra pass, and at times can be a threat from outside.
Bell is a coach's dream in that she plays far above her natural ability by being very athletic. She can run, jump and bang on the inside. She filled in admirably for the injured Tyler Kimball in guarding opponents' tallest players. And at the time she wasn't fully recovered from a minor injury of her own, or at full stamina.
Wethersfield: You're going to hear about Heather Lyhne, Abigail Corning and Kelly Gionfriddo. But what about center Erin Verre?
Verre can be a tough task for opponents to handle, with her size. She is also quite athletic, a fullback on the soccer team, and smart on the court. Verre could be the difference in many games this season.

Now, on to the guys.

Berlin: I showed up to watch the Redcoats-Terriers boys game on Monday, my day off. I'm just that dedicated.
What I saw is a familiar last name: Glowiak. I'm talking about Steven, younger brother to former New Britain High star Bryan and son of New Britain coach Stan.
Like his brother, Glowiak is a pure shooter, one of the more natural looking shooters I've seen in the past four years. The ball leaves his hand in a flash, and that's usually a good sign. He may be a bit too fast on the trigger right now, but I'd rather have that than a great shooter who doesn't want to take the chance.
I like John Guzze in the backcourt as well. He's another good shooter, and seems to be well-served by the varsity experience he's gotten the past couple years.
Rocky Hill: I may never have seen such a drastic one-year improvement as that I see in Peter Foxen. Like Daley for the girls' team, Foxen may not be a role player for long. He plays fundamental defense in the post with what I'm estimating to be about a 6-3 frame. He denies his man the ball well, even against a stud like Nick Greenbacker of East Catholic.
And offensively he's become one of the team's top threats, scoring 17 with Greenbacker guarding him. He has a sweet touch around the hoop and can step out and take 17-18 footers. If he can learn to go up strong to the glass as well, he'll be really tough to defend.
I also like Ryan Bengston. Bengston is a fighter. He gets everything he can out of his talent. And he's the kind of player whose intensity on the court is contagious.

I'll be at Newington Friday night, so hopefully I'll have something to add on them. But I like what I see from most of the others, so far.

long time, no see

2007-12-21T01:06:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. But, we have been working on some good stuff lately. First off, our annual fall all-Herald teams were released on Wednesday, complete with our first ever selections for male player, female player and coach of the season. We figure to be doing that for each of the next two seasons as well.
It was a tough decision, but congratulations to Nate Pagan, Des Pina and Sal Penta. All three certainly deserved a lot of recognition.
We've also been working on previews for winter sports and have just scratched the surface of the winter season. It should be an exciting one with many competitive teams and individuals. I'm excited already, and I'll post a few of my early thoughts in a bit.
Also coming up starting on Sunday will be our annual countdown of the ten biggest stories or storylines of 2007. We will announce one a day, starting at number 10, and will work our way backwards to number one, which will be announced on New Year's Day. As usual, it was a really tough decision and some truly unique and interesting stories did not make the final cut. So be sure to check that out.
I'm not sure how much to say, but the Herald website should be seeing some revamping over the coming months. There will be some huge new projects to look for. I guess I'll leave it at that for now.
Happy Holidays, everybody! I can't wait to run into all of you at games.

exciting new stuff

2007-12-10T17:10:00.000-05:00

For those of you who didn't get a chance to read the Herald today, we are announcing a new addition to our seasonal all-Herald teams this year. For the first time we will be selecting a male player, female player, and coach of the fall season across all sports. The winners will be featured in a special sub-section on December 19 along with the announcement of all the all-star teams.
The nominees were announced today, as selected by the entire sports department staff, which will also select the winners. They were as follows:
Boys Player of the Fall (in no particular order)
Hami Kara (Wethersfield soccer)
Matt DesRoches (Wethersfield soccer)
Spencer Noon (Farmington soccer)
Nate Pagan (Newington football)
B.J. Aponte (New Britain football)
Josh Hudson (New Britain football)
Girls Player of the Fall
Desiree Pina (Plainville soccer)
Kelly Boudreau (Farmington soccer)
Katie Matthews (Rocky Hill cross country)
Taylor Friedmann (Berlin swimming)
Monika Drogosz (Farmington swimming)
Coach of the Fall
Bill Mella (Southington football)
Rich Heitz (Southington volleyball)
Sal Penta (Southington girls soccer)
Leszek Wrona (Plainville girls soccer)
Frank Cardona (Newington boys soccer)
Rob Jachym (Wethersfield boys soccer)
Steve Waters (Farmington boys soccer)
Steve Jarvis (Farmington girls soccer)

The reason for the large number of finalists for the coaching award was that there were simply so many impressive performances. While we had to limit it somewhat, it was tough to not consider all of the coaches on the final list.
Please share your thoughts. Who do you think should win each award? Do you have any particular stories or moments that impressed you for any of the athletes? Let me know what you guys think of the nominees. Only three will win, but all deserve incredible amounts of recognition for their hard work and success.
And be sure to check The Herald on December 19 to find out who wins.

bring it on

2007-12-05T02:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Basketball-season Eve everybody. Tomorrow I will be covering my first game of the year between the Southington and Wethersfield girls teams. The boys will start next week.
Ironically, it was at a Wethersfield soccer game several weeks ago now that I first started getting antsy for basketball. I was standing on the sideline and noting to myself that almost the entire starting lineup was on the soccer field. I started thinking I thought the Eagles would be pretty good this year with six or seven key returning players and no starters lost.
I also think Southington will be improved with an extra year of experience for a very talented group of guards. This is a perfect game to start the season out with.
Just a few of my own thoughts on this season. While there is not quite as much talent in the area as the phenomenal group over the past couple (five career 1,000 point scorers graduated last year alone for the girls), there are few weak teams around here. Almost everybody will be in contention for state tournament berths or conference titles. A couple could legitimately take home a state title.
We have milestones to look for. Stan Glowiak's next win with the New Britain boys will be his 300th, an incredible number. Jim DiNello is seven short of 100 with the Southington girls. And as a junior, Symone Roberts should reach 1,000 points in her career. We will be following her point total closely to see if she has a legitimate shot at 2,000.
We will see which teams can best compensate for missing stars from a year ago, and who will emerge as the scorers and rebounders in their places.
Somebody will surprise us. A freshman will make a name for him or herself. A group of moderately talented players will turn into a true team and be dangerous come tournament time(think of the Wethersfield boys in 2005 if you can remember).
There will be buzzer-beaters, and lots of them. I can't explain why there are so many of these at the high school level, but I see three or four a year usually.
There will be smiles, and tears, shouts of joy and agony.
Here are five questions to be answered.
1) Can the New Britain girls three-peat with a new coach?
The pieces are there for Karen Buirne taking over. Roberts, Sideranko, Bell and Kimball is a great place to start. But it takes some time to build chemistry between a team and coach. And will these players be able to deal with a few losses if things don't go well from the beginning.
2) Can Desiree Pina keep Plainville near the top of the Northwest Conference?
Few teams lost more than the Devils to graduation with their top scorer and top three-point threat leaving. But there is no doubt Pina is a unique talent. If anybody can carry a team on her back, it is her.
3) Who will emerge as the top local boys players?
Almost all of the top local players from a year ago graduated: Tim Abromaitis, Jeff Veneziano, Wilfredo Cruz, A.J. Wilkerson, Doran Mitchell. That's just the start of the list off the top of my head. Somebody will emerge to take their places.
4) How will all the new coaches do?
There are new coaches in Berlin, Wethersfield and New Britain. The first year for each will be interesting.
5) Can every local team make the tournament?
This has happened before. And it's not a stretch to imagine it happening again. A couple teams just need to find some weapons.

Well, that's about all I can say for now. I can't wait. Hope to see you all in the gyms.

NCAA bafoonery

2007-12-03T01:24:00.000-05:00

First off, let me say I am not about to write anything I don't expect to be written in nearly every sports publication in the country tomorrow and the days following. But my feelings are probably stronger than the criticism the NCAA will take from most writers, in large part because college football largely fails to capture my excitement to begin with.
But, I don't see how anybody can still take seriously a system wherein debate reigns over the game itself. Regardless of who was selected along with Ohio St. (strongly considered a lock) for the BCS Championship game, 90 percent of the country was going to be upset. That is because there was not a single team, including Ohio St., who could clearly be seen as superior to the rest of the contenders. So the fans of the team that got selected, LSU as it turned out, and perhaps the other fans of the Southeastern Conference, were going to be the only ones happy about it. Meanwhile in Blacksburg, Lawrence, Morgantown, Athens, and Honolulu (and several other places) fans were going to be upset.
Speaking of Hawaii, this brings me to my most frequent point of contention with the supremely flawed NCAA bowl system. How can a team win every game on its schedule, and not have even an outside shot at a national title? You may say all you want that the teams Hawaii played were not as strong as the teams others played, and you can believe all you want that the Warriors were not among even the five best teams in the country. But to never give them the chance to prove themselves brings into question the mere plausibility or legitimacy of determining a national champion to begin with.
But this year, that is only my second-best point in favor of at least some form of a playoff. Yes, every undefeated team in Division I-A (please don't sue me for not calling it the Championship subdivision), regardless of their conference affiliation or schedule, should get a shot in a national tournament. Take in as well the remaining contenders as narrowed down by either the BCS points, or a committee. There will always be something to debate. It will never be flawless, but if we are debating over who the seventh and eighth best teams in the country are, isn't that better than debating who the first and second are and immediately eliminating everybody else from having a shot?
You could make a reasonable case for all of the following teams to be in such a tournament: Ohio St., LSU, Missouri, Kansas, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia, USC, and Hawaii. That's a conservative list, which happens to be 9 teams. So somebody is going home unhappy. But by the current system, that unhappy team, which in my book would be either West Virginia or Georgia, didn't have any chance. So at the least we're giving six more teams a chance to prove it on the field.
The so-called championship game is now a joke. Whoever wins it will likely have more losses than Hawaii. They will not have proven definitively that they can beat all comers, because they will not have had a chance to face all of the aforementioned contenders.
It comes down to one simple guideline: subjective human opinion should not play such a huge role in determining who wins.
If not for the sacred principle of settling the game on the playing surface, what is the point of competitive sport to begin with. We might as well let teams work out, watch them scrimmage against themselves, and have a group of voters tell us who is going to play for the championship on August 15. At least then we wouldn't have to go through a meaningless season to ultimately come out unfulfilled and angry.

brief explanation

2007-12-02T13:40:00.000-05:00

For those wondering, the previous posts, a large number of them, were all in the course of a live blog of the Class M CT state football championship between Berlin and Ledyard, won by Ledyard 21-14. It was a thriller.
Unfortunately, the page only holds a limited number of them, so in order to read the rest, you have to click on the links listed under "previous posts" on the right-hand side of the screen.
They are cronologically backward, as that is the way the blog automatically posts.
If you are reading this now, and did not catch the game as it was going on, please take the time to read them. It really was an exciting game.

final report from Arute

2007-12-01T16:35:00.000-05:00

Wow. I'm still getting over this game. The Ledyard players are still gathered at midfield, while the Berlin team is clearing out as quickly as possible. The same goes for the fans.
I guess I'll quickly throw out winners for the other three title games tonight.
Greenwich over Shelton in LL
Bunnell over Masuk in L
Tolland over Seymour in SS
So far the southern half of the state has dominated the playoffs. Tolland is the only hope for this half of the state. That's unfortunate, but I'll be pulling for the Eagles tonight.
I'll see the rest of you in the gymnasium starting this week, as girls basketball will be up and running.

some thoughts

2007-12-01T16:28:00.000-05:00

First off, that was one of the best high school games I've seen in any sport. Both teams played well. The fans were into it. There was everything on the line.
Connelly looked a little like Elway, scrambling just enough and making great passes to keep things alive at the end.
In the booth we could not decide who the MVP for Berlin was between Hornberger, who made several great plays, Connelly and Jack Cooper, the heart of the team on both offense and defense.
Jacob Jablonski, who made the crucial interception and threw for the winning touchdown, was an easy choice for Ledyard MVP. Hornberger got the decision for Berlin.
This one won't be easy for the Redcoats to swallow, but they can carry their heads high. They gave everything, and almost made a phenomenal comeback.
That will some day be a happy memory for them, I hope.

stunning

2007-12-01T16:25:00.000-05:00

Everybody is standing right now on both sides. It's fourth-and-goal at the one with ten seconds to go and just as Berlin appears about the score, the ball is fumbled just before the goal line and while Berlin recovers, it is a turnover on downs.
Ledyard is going to win.

meanwhile, back at the ranch

2007-12-01T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Redcoats have gotten the ball back with just under three minutes to go, but can't get anything going against a blitz on first down. 88 yards to go. This will take an Elway-esque performance.
It's now third-and-10.

common ground

2007-12-01T16:10:00.000-05:00

The fans on both sides have found something to cheer about together. The Ansonia score was just announced to a big cheer.
It appears the one universally disliked team in the state is New London.

nothing doing

2007-12-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

Berlin chose to punt giving the ball back to Ledyard with 4:00 minutes left.
On the TV screen behind me, Ansonia has just scored again to go up 35-0 on New London. They won't have to worry about hitting the 50-point limit.

make the most of it

2007-12-01T16:04:00.000-05:00

All you can ask for is a chance, and the Berlin defense has given the offense that with a stop on downs. But a huge punt by Fredrick Hewett has left them backed up at the 14 with only 6:04 remaining. Fail to score here and it should be over.

clock ticking

2007-12-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

Berlin punt, Ledyard ball, but still plenty of time. 8:08 to be exact.

the tide turning

2007-12-01T15:55:00.000-05:00

It appears momentum did swing on that interception as Ledyard marched slowly downfield, or rather in short big bursts. A 55-yard rushing play and a 22-yard halfback option throw to, of all receivers, quarterback Marc Mignault for the touchdown. With the kick it's 21-14 Ledyard.
Can Berlin answer? They've looked a little lost at times in this half.

play of the game?

2007-12-01T15:44:00.000-05:00

Berlin looked good, but a great interception on first down gives the ball back to Ledyard at its own 11 with just over two minutes to go in the third.