see you at the stadium

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.

in honor of a true world hero

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.
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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."