We're going to be getting into the fun stuff now when it comes to high school basketball, the conference games.
The holiday tournaments are just about over with a few more to be completed on this Saturday before the New Year's holiday three-day break.
But it all begins again on Wednesday with some Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division games and some cross over match ups between the Medium and Large.
The real fun begins on Friday for the girls as we have the first of the big matchups which pits Montville against Bacon Academy.
How the Medium Division will finish is a mystery to most especially after Montville handed Windham a 20-point loss. The Indians seem to have the inside track in that division and with Caitlin Quinn back to her deadly self from outside after a slow start, it will give teams fits to keep up with the Indians. Nikkia Smith inside, Quinn outside and just for a little added dimension, Lindsay Stergio slashing down the lane.
Montville still has to play not only Bacon but also Stonington with Heather Buck. The Bears are off to a fine 7-0 start although they haven't been making headlines because they haven't met much of the iron yet. Buck is back to her old self as she continues to close in on the 2,000-point mark for her high school career.
I wouldn't push Griswold aside, either, as the Wolverines may be capable of an upset along the road.
One things for sure, we'll see you courtside over the next couple of months.

If you get the idea that this will be an unpredictable basketball season in the Eastern Connecticut Conference, you're probably right.
I'm only going to go out on a limb on one thing, and this is a very strong limb we're talking about.
In boys basketball, New London is the team to beat and no one in the ECC is going to do it. The Whalers will have no trouble winning the ECC Small and shouldn't have much trouble winning the league title either.
There are always ifs, an injury to Allan Chaney, other issues that may crop up, but outside of those- New London is the favorite.
NFA should be tops in the Large Division but the Wildcats will be able to ill afford an off night from R.J. Evans. They are vulnerable if that occurs and a Woodstock, Ledyard or East Lyme could take advantage of that.
Throw some names in the basket and pick one out in the Medium. Bacon Academy is off to a fast start. Stonington knocked off Killingly without Kevin Donahue. The Redmen have Shane Gibson but are not large and aren't great outside shooters and Windham is very quick although not very big.
Just some early thoughts on the high school boys basketball season, we will do the same with the girls season on Sunday.

The Waterford Lancer Holiday wrestling tournament provided some interesting moments especially one between two Eastern Connecticut Conference schools, Windham and Fitch.
Tempers got a little hot after Justin Beers of the Falcons nipped Tony Torres of the Whippets 5-3 in overtime in the 125-pound weight class.
The argument wasn't about the decision as much as about the wrestling as Torres threw Beers down twice on his right shoulder. Fitch coach Mark Kosman said he considered ending the match after the second throw down because Beers was in pain but his wrestler indicated he wanted to go on. As far as wrestling was concerned, it was the right decision as a move by Beers got him the take down in the final seconds of overtime to give him his first tournament championship ever.
"It's what I train for and I wasn't going to give it up that easy," Beers said.
Windham coach Pat Risley and members of the Fitch contingent got into a little verbal altercation after the match although both Kosman and Risley downplayed that afterwards.
Risley said it was just a little bit too much in the way of drama, Kosman said it wasn't anything between him and the Windham coach.
"It wasn't me and Pat, we have a good relationship, he's a great coach, I have nothing against him," Kosman said.

It's a story that I have been meaning to write for a while.
I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me and said 'my son (or daughter) is Division I material'.
Usually, I just shake my head in a polite fashion and listen to what they have to say, all the while knowing that there are so few Division I basketball players that have come out of Eastern Connecticut.
You have to marvel at the three young men who have aspired to such lofty heights and have battled to get where they are.
Yes, they have God-given ability. Yes they have the bodies the college coaches are looking for but New London's Allan Chaney, NFA's R.J. Evans and Killingly's Shane Gibson also have the heart, desire and drive to make their dreams into reality.
Will they make it to the pros?
Who knows.
Chaney, if he performs well for Billy Donovan's program at the University of Florida, would have the inside track. Evans, at Holy Cross, and Gibson, at Sacred Heart, will have a tougher road. But all three have already learned and earned something from this great sport of basketball- an education.
Check out what the three players have to say about how to become a Division I basketball player in today's edition of the Norwich Bulletin and on-line at norwichbulletin.com.

Some early prognostications for you from the early returns in girls basketball.
The Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division is going to be tough.
I know, tell us something we don't know.
There were some question marks with some of the better teams in the Division which will be the most competitive in the league this year.
Windham answered most of theirs with an easy win over Waterford as coach Ken Valliere probably has a deeper bench than a year ago. They don't possess a lot of height which could be troublesome when they meet up with Montville and Stonington.
The Indians have the most improved player I have seen thus far in Nikkia Smith. The six-foot-one-inch junior center was very impressive against E.O. Smith and they also feature the perimeter shooting of Caitlin Quinn and the slashing style of Lindsay Stergio. Andrea Daniels is a nice weak-side rebounder who can score on put backs, Nichole Delaney offers up some key baskets and Nini Giansanti adds depth, it's a good-looking club for Derek Wainwright.
Stonington may have the biggest answer but also the most questions. It's hard to argue with the talents of 6-4 center Heather Buck but the Bears have lost three of their top six players from a year ago, one to Fitch, one to gymnastics and one who chose not to come out. Sophomore Caroline Gosselin did score 10 points in the opener vs. St. Bernard and Emily Castle, back after a year off, added eight.
I'm hopefully going to get a chance to see Bacon this Friday vs. Fitch because the Bobcats are in this mix with almost everyone back from a year ago. Bacon is off to a 2-0 start after wins over RHAM and Lyman but Fitch will offer a good challenge.

I loved what Montville senior Caitlin Quinn told me because it is indeed the truth.
Any one who thinks that most high school kids are oblivious to what goes on at the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have slept under the covers too long.
Walk into the Sun and there are kids ( under 18) on the premises. They may not be in the casino but they are in the stores, restaurants, hanging out, where ever they are allowed to hang out.
It's not the mall any more Mom and Dad, it's the Casino.
So what's wrong with the Eastern Connecticut Conference playing its girls championship game there?
Nothing.
If anything, it has a lot of positives to it.
Bye-bye home court advantage for someone (usually NFA for the girls). Hello to a big time experience for the players.
It's something to be excited about, not afraid of.
Now, if we can just get all the principals on the same page, we'll be headed in the right direction.

If you get a chance this winter, you might want to check out the Marianapolis Golden Knights.
I had a chance to see them in action during the Hoop Mountain Prep School Basketball Classic this past Friday and if you like above-the-rim style activity, you're going to love the Knights.
Marianapolis has some players who will be on Division I rosters as early as next season led by Mike Myers-Keitt from Waterbury via Norwalk via Brooklyn, N.Y.
Myers-Keitt decided to take a year of prep school in, not only to help himself academically, but also to help himself in the eyes of Division I college basketball coaches. Many of whom had their eye on the six-foot-seven-inch prospect all weekend long.
Marianapolis coach Dave Vitale has also spoken highly of Aaron Strothers and shooting guard Niko Vukadinovic from Montenegro who can be a lights out three-point specialist.
When I saw them, Marianapolis didn't even have their point man running the show, Corey Wright, was sitting beside me doing the Marianapolis book at the scorer's table because he had tweaked his ankle the day before and the Knights still beat the Elite Shooting Stars 94-42.
Can Marianapolis capture the "B" Division New England Prep title, I wouldn't sell them short. As Vitale said, "his team has a lot of answers."
Check the Knights out, they're fun to watch.

Call me a wimp but there are times when you realize when you have been beaten and old Mother Nature did that to many of us on State Championship Saturday.
There were the intrepid ones such as my colleague, Brian Girasoli, who opted to stand on the sidelines to watch the New London - Ansonia Class S football championship in West Haven.
But in New Britain, the majority of the reporting cast decided to stay in the warm confines of the press box.
Looking out, to tell you the truth, I felt sorry for those sitting in the stands. At Arute Field at CCSU, the stands are right below the press box and therefore sit in the shadows with the wind whipping through, not a pleasant experience.
If there was one saving grace in New Britain, the football game was worth the battle with the cold as it was only decided in the last 10 seconds when Ledyard made its second great goal line stand of the playoffs.
Who stripped the ball?
No one knew.
Who stopped Jack Cooper from getting into the end zone?
Marc Mignault and a host of others.
But one thing was for sure.
The Ledyard Colonels won their fourth state championship under coach Bill Mignault and that made it all worth it for the Ledyard fans.

Its the most wonderful time of the year!
As a sportswriter, this is kind of what you live for, dashing to and fro, writing stories at a record pace and at the same time, going Christmas shopping.
Life is good.
Busy, that's for sure.
Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of being in Ledyard watching the Colonels advance to the Class M state championship game doing what the Colonels do best, run the football and play great defense.
Wednesday afternoon, I was in Cheshire for the CIAC football luncheon for all of the state championship participants. You will see plenty of stories from that over the next couple of days.
We're busily working on the Norwich Bulletin All-Area section which will be released soon and girls basketball previews come out next Wednesday.
In the middle of all of this, there's the UConn men and women playing, UConn mens soccer is in the round of 16 and we have prep basketball underway. And of course, on Saturday, state championship football with New London vs. Ansonia at West Haven and Ledyard vs. Berlin at CCSU.
What can I tell you, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

We've come to the end, at least, for most of the high school football teams.
The final games of the season begin tonight with Montville playing host to St. Bernard in the precursor to a Thanksgiving morning full of football.
The Saints and Indians play tonight at 6:30 p.m. on the turf and it will be the last chance to cheer on seniors like Taylor Lewis of Montville, the area's leading rusher, who has opted to go to college and play baseball at the University of Maine.
The New London Whalers will have another game beyond their showdown with Norwich Free Academy Thursday morning as that old rivalry continues. The Whalers have assured themselves a playoff berth in Class S. Ledyard needs to beat Fitch just to be sure it has a playoff game in hand. A win for the Colonels also gives them the ECC Large Division crown.
The other games on the schedule don't have that kind of impact as all the titles will have been decided but the fun of two generally close, geographically, schools playing one another is the drawing card.
That's true in Griswold where the Plainfield Panthers meet the Wolverines and in Killingly where Putnam comes to town. Can Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech and its new-fangled double wing offense pick up its first win of the season against Woodstock? The Windham Whippets need a win over E.O. Smith and a little divine intervention for them to make the state playoffs, Stonington caps off its season with Westerly and East Lyme tackles Waterford.
Take it from me, what's Thanksgiving without a little football as an appetizer and a good afternoon nap after Thanksgiving Dinner.
See you on the sidelines!

As seniors, they had been to a pair of Class LL semifinals and had enjoyed an undefeated season but as Keesen Howe quickly pointed out, there was only one thing that they missed out on and it was the thing that they had wanted the most, a state championship.
The NFA Wildcats were denied again Wednesday night by their nemesis, the Glastonbury Tomahawks, who shut them out 2-0 at Rocky Hill High School.
"They had a tremendous season," Coach Rob Briones said afterwards as he looked at senior sweeper Anthony Restivo, prone on the ground, shirt pulled over his head, not wanting to see another NFA season end.
"Honestly, I think I have the best sweeper in the whole state, Restivo was an oustanding player. But they did a good job of shutting down players who were key for us offensively like Andre Nicholas and Keesen," the NFA coach added.
It made it a little easier for Glastonbury when they scored just 2:01 into the game too as NFA was back on their heels early and never recovered, losing to Glastonbury for a third consecutive season in the state tournament.
Keeper Nick Migani watched the first two of those losses from the bench as he played behind Brendon MacFarlane.
"You see it and you're like 'maybe I can change it' and you can't," Migani said. "It's just horrible to go down to the same team over and over again."

You have to give credit where credit is due and that was certainly the case with Bacon Academy Tuesday night in the Class L girls soccer semifinal.
First, their leading scorer Liz Middleton was tripped up and had to be removed from the game just 8 1/2 minutes in with what coach Christine Taylor described as a badly sprained right ankle.
After that setback, the Bobcats had to deal with another 17 minutes later when they were whistled for a penalty in the box that resulted in a penalty kick which Farmington converted on.
Still, Bacon hung in there and the game was in doubt until the Indians scored again with a little under 13-minutes left to play.
A good effort for a gutsy team making its first semifinal appearance.
The Norwich Free Academy Wildcats make the similar trek to Rocky Hill tonight to play Glastonbury at 6 p.m. in a boys Class LL soccer semifinal.
NFA coach Rob Briones would have rather played on a natural grass field like New Britain's Willow Brook Park as the Wildcats haven't had the chance to play on turf this season. It does speed up the game and NFA will have to adjust.
The game is also being played in Glastonbury's back yard. Although Norwich is only about 45 minutes away up Route 2, Glastonbury is just about next door to Rocky Hill.

You had to wonder what was going through Simsbury coach Ed Lynch's mind on Monday because he didn't say anything the entire game.
Lynch stood behind the bench as his team lost to Norwich Free Academy 1-0 in overtime in a Class LL state quarterfinal at Fontaine Field.
It was hard to pick his brain afterwards too as he sent assistant coach Tyler Webb to talk with myself and another reporter.
One thing was clear, the Trojans didn't like the pitch.
"Honestly, with a field like this, it's a travesty that we play a quarterfinal game, the best eight teams in the state, to play on a field that is three yards too narrow and it's dirt. You would hope that we would have a more even playing surface. In this kind of situation, it's hard to have skill be the determining factor, it's more of how the ball bounces," Webb said.
Sorry but Norwich may not have the budget that a Simsbury does to care for and maintain its fields either.
Quarterfinal games used to be played on neutral fields but, because no one wants to host them and deal with the issues that go along with them, crowd control, staffing, etc..., you play on what the higher-seed has. The only thing the CIAC cares about is that it is properly fenced so that it can charge admission to the game.
And because it is played on a home field, the home team's soccer officiating board is also used, giving fans of, generally, the visiting team another cause to complain.
We've already heard from some of them.

Windham High School football coach Brian Crudden had a question this past Friday.
Could he use a barefoot kicker?
The Whippets have tried just about every other form of kicker this year. Receiver Tyrece Nickson, quarterback Spencer Beaudreault, offensive and defensive linemen, the water boy, even Windham High Principal Gene Blain volunteered.
In fact, Crudden used a different kicker on almost every kickoff in his Whippets win over Stonington Friday night.
So, how about a barefoot kicker?
Although Crudden didn't identify who it was, he said there was a youngster practicing who looked pretty good, there's only one catch- he kicks without a shoe.
Crudden questioned whether that was legal under Federation rules and the answer is 'yes'.
I spoke with referee Jack Barclay at the East Lyme- Killingly game and he said there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, he recalled the Vikings had a player who kicked barefoot just a few years ago.
Why do I get the feeling that we may see this barefoot kicker in a Windham uniform relatively soon.

And the Bulldogs just keep rolling along!
Lyman High School knows all about undefeated seasons in girls soccer and, barring an East Lyme upset, that will be true again in 2007 after the Bulldogs blanked St. Bernard, 2-0, in Uncasville Monday night.
"It's pretty tough," St. Bernard senior Lauren Kozlowski said when asked how tough it is to stop the Lyman offense. "We still have a relatively young defense too."
Ashlee Coutu wasn't going to be denied as she scored her 23rd and 24th goals of the season in the first 10 minutes of the game and had a couple of other good chances that just missed. Her goal now is to get one step further than Lyman did last year in the state-that would be a state championship- and there's one slight hitch to that plan. Lyman has to play in Class M this season as they finished one girl over the enrollment number to be a Class S school.
"We have Suffield, Tolland, Avon, right off the bat, Laurelton Hall down south and Rocky Hill could be a sleeper, you have some good teams in Class M," Lyman coach Mark Morello said.
"Watertown, Holy Cross, I could keep naming them."
And to make matters worse, Morello knows little about his new opponents although the opposite is true too.
"I hope it will even out because my folder was useless by the end of the summer when I found out we were in (Class) M by one girl. I had all my "S" stuff ready to roll and here we are in "M",'Morello laughed.

This was what could only be described as heartache for an athlete who has devoted his whole high school athletic career to running.
Woodstock Academy senior Mike Berkowicz, his left ankle taped and now with ice surrounding it Saturday at Wickham Park in Manchester, could only envision what could have been and what wasn't all because of a stupid tree root.
Berkowicz and the rest of his teammates were just beginning to practice for the State Championship meet last Saturday, two days after he finished second in the Eastern Connecticut Conference championship.
Berkowicz was about two minutes into practice when he stumbled over the root. Not thinking anything about it, he tried to get up,but realized the ankle just wasn't going to support him and two of his teammates had to help him back.
The ankle sprain meant Berkowicz could only stationary bike and swim up this past week instead of being out there and training. He still gave it a try and accomplished what many would have been happy with, a 20th place overall finish.
"We needed me to be about 20 places higher," Berkowicz said as his team finished fifth overall and missed running for the State Open championship.
His teammate, Zach Eckard, will be on hand for that on Friday as he placed fifth overall in the race.

Three years in a row.
It's not all that easy when you consider that Woodstock, East Lyme and Ledyard have all had very good soccer programs over the last three years but Norwich Free Academy has been just a little better.
The Wildcats clinched the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division again yesterday with the 4-0 win over the Vikings. Andre Nicholas, Casey McGarvey and Keesen Howe all contributed goals and all just happen to be seniors.
"It means a lot to the program to have these great runs," NFA coach Rob Briones said. "We were ranked number one in the state (at one point last season) and number eight in the nation, it's the generation of these kids because they've earned it."
But Briones knows all good things come to an end.
"The next two years will be decision time with what is coming up, we're going to be young so I'm trying to enjoy right now," Briones said with a laugh.
The Wildcats helped him enjoy it a little more on Wednesday with the early clinch as they still have ECC Large Division games to be played against Ledyard and Woodstock before they head to the Class LL state tournament.
"It was great that we played Brookfield and Westhill even though we lost to Westhill because there is so much competition in LL," Briones said. "Here in the ECC's, there are only two LL teams, us and Fitch. So we're looking forward to it and see what happens. Hopefully, we'll finish 14-1 and be able to rank high and get a first-round home game. Having a home game would be to our advantage."
The Wildcats still have that bitter taste in their mouth from last season when they finished 15-0 in the regular season but lost to No. 33 Glastonbury in a Class LL first- round state tournament game.

The happiest guy at the Eastern Connecticut Conference's Cross Country Championship meet last Thursday?
That had to be Andrew Hill from Bacon Academy.
The sophomore did something he hasn't been able to do all season, beat Jason Cusack of Griswold to the finish line as he placed third overall behind the likes of Mike Miner of NFA and Mike Berkowicz of Woodstock.
"I wanted to place (Thursday) but I didn't expect to come in third but I stayed with the front pack and eventually pulled it out in the end," Hill said.
"I've been trying to beat Cusack all year and I finally got him (Thursday), I was just trying to stay in front with everybody and I felt pretty good out there."
Hill suddenly finds himself in the favorite's role next year as both Miner and Berkowicz are seniors although there is still more to accomplish this season.
The biggest day of the year in cross country comes up this Saturday as all of the state's teams will gather at Wickham Park in Manchester for the cross country state championship races on Saturday.

This is the problem when you make picks on high school football games.
You almost need a crystal ball to predict the weather, injuries and other factors that come into play because had I known that Windham would meet Ledyard on a field more suitable for ducks, the pick would have been easy.
I'm not making excuses, now, I did pick Windham to beat Ledyard and Brian Crudden wasn't making excuses either. The Windham coach, standing in the rain as he had all night, agreed with Ledyard coach Bill Mignault that football was made to be played in weather like we had Friday night.
I think most of the media would agree and, why not, it's fun to watch especially when you're huddled in a press box protected from the elements. (By the way, I was the one who led the charge to shelter when the rain started pouring down in buckets).
But it did take away from Windham's game which is built on speed. Ledyard is the king of the bull rush and that's essentially what the Colonels did all night. Three passes, a couple of reverses, the rest were straight ahead dives, sweeps and counters using their big backs Stephen Jenkinson and Chris Blomstedt.
After the game was over, I had to find my way across the field to where the car was parked (why I chose Friday night to park as far away as possible is beyond me) and it was difficult even to walk on, much less run and cut.
But this is high school football and the unpredictability of it is what makes it fun (as long as you don't have to try and make picks each week!).

The hottest player in high school boys soccer right now, Miles Snelgrove.
The Lyman High School forward has torched teams for 10 goals in his last five games to move up the scoring ladder in Eastern Connecticut rapidly.
Why the sudden surge?
"It's just numbers," Snelgrove said, "without the team, none of it would happen. We're a young team that has really come together well."
Snelgrove refused to take much credit for the hot streak although Tourtellotte assistant coach Mike Arpin quipped Thursday night that Snelgrove has got to be the best player in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division right now.
"Honestly, yeah," junior Jacob Duff said when asked if Snelgrove has surprised him just a bit with his sudden rash of scoring.
"He works so hard to get the ball and put it in the back of the net, it's what we need," Duff added.
It's apparently working as Lyman is undefeated in their first nine games this season.

Waterford High School cross country coach Chris Gamble wasn't the only one pleasantly surprised by his team's finish at the Wickham Invitational on Saturday.
The same could be said for Windham High School girls coach Becky Howard as her Whippets finished in sixth place overall in the unseeded race.
"I'm hoping so," Howard said when I asked her if it says good things for Windham for the rest of the season.
"We were hoping to get our number five runner to close the gap and she achieved that. I think we're getting more in shape, I just wish we had been in this kind of shape at the beginning of the season," Howard added.
Kristen Hurley and Marissa Sanders were tops for the Whippets as they placed in 31st and 37th places respectively.
Hard to believe but the cross country season is just about over with the last of the dual meets today. The Eastern Connecticut Conference championship will be held next Thursday at the Norwich Golf Course and the state championship races take place the following Saturday at Wickham Park.

It was funny on Friday night when Norwich Free Academy receiver Ronnie Floyd ran by and said "See Mr. Allard, keep picking against us."
I now must be looked upon as some good luck charm as I've picked against the Wildcats the last three weeks and they've proven me wrong on all three accounts.
It's not that I don't respect NFA's program, it's just that the foes they've gone up against aren't exactly chopped liver.
East Lyme was coming off a nice win in the first week while the Wildcats just managed to get past Stamford. I had to like the Vikings chances.
The Wildcats just got past a good Plainfield team last week and Friday night could have gone either way as well against Windham.
So, it hasn't been easy and the Wildcats still can improve especially offensively (two dropped TD passes, two stalled drives within the Windham five) but here they are at 4-0.
They will have to forego one lucky charm, however, I will be picking NFA against St. Bernard, I just haven't figured out the score yet.

There had been some hopeful speculation in the Eastern Connecticut Conference that RHAM High School, a regional high school based in Hebron, is looking to come into the league.
As of right now, that doesn't seem to be on the immediate horizon.
I spoke with the Principal of RHAM, Scott Leslie, who didn't rule out the thought but also didn't give any indication that RHAM is ready to leave the Northwest Conference.
The NWC is in a little state of flux as Farmington has announced that it is leaving that conference. There has been speculation that a school such as Derby might be offered membership and you don't get from RHAM to Derby, at least, not very quickly.
If that would be the case, RHAM might look at other options including the ECC. It certainly would be a nice fit as the 1100-student school does offer a lot of programs, including football, that the ECC would find attractive especially as a Large Division school. The local league approached RHAM a couple of years ago but RHAM wasn't interested at the time.
RHAM already has relationships with some ECC schools, it co-ops football with Lyman and swimming with Windham. It also plays its Thanksgiving Day football game against Bacon Academy.
But Leslie added that, for now, RHAM is just watching and waiting to see what develops in its own league before looking elsewhere.

There are some goodies hiding out there this week when it comes to soccer, cross country, and volleyball.
The Woodstock Centaurs girls soccer team, currently sitting by itself atop the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division, will be challenged at home today as they host the Waterford Lancers who come in with a 2-1 record.
Also today, the two undefeated Large Division teams in boys cross country, NFA and Ledyard, meet in Norwich. Plainfield and St. Bernard run in a key ECC Small Division race in Central Village.
On the boys soccer field tomorrow (Wednesday), Lyman will get it's toughest test in the ECC Small Division as they travel to Tourtellotte, both teams sport a 3-0 Conference record. Lyman is undefeated in five games, the Tigers are 5-2.
NFA, again leading the ECC Large, visits East Lyme which is much better than a year ago and is also 3-0 in the league.
In volleyball, the Griswold Wolverines may be battling injuries but they're still battling. They host NFA tomorrow in a non-divisional contest. The Wolverines are 6-1, the Wildcats 5-1 overall.
And on Saturday, it's the final warm-up for the state championship races as the Wickham Park Cross Country Invitational is held at (where else) Wickham Park.
Looks like a fun week, we'll see you in Woodstock.

It was week three of the high school football season and, personally, I had the chance to go to the best game I've seen all year.
It wasn't perfect, Norwich Free Academy made its share of mistakes, Plainfield made some as well but as far as sheer intensity- this one had it.
I knew it would be close and it was as close as the 20-18 score indicated with NFA putting together a last minute drive that saved its third consecutive win of the season. But the Panthers did everything they could to put a "W" up on the board as well and Plainfield coach Pat Smith could only praise his Panthers for a good Saturday morning's work.
"Kids never quit here, we battled and we told the kids all week that we had a chance to play with this team and the kids believed it," Smith said.
"We proved something to ourselves although two points short of our goal but we're a good football team. We play extremely hard and people who come to Plainfield are going to know that they have to play a good game to beat us," he added.
There were no real upsets this past week although some would put Killingly's one-point win over St. Bernard in that category. I had that one as a toss-up although I did pick the Saints to come out on top. The Redmen will do OK against their ECC Small Division foes.
Waterford also put up a good fight against Windham but fell five points short.
This week gets a lot tougher with NFA at Windham on Friday and Ledyard vs. New London on Saturday as games that immediately stand out.

You can say one thing about the fall sports season thus far, it hasn't been a cool one.
One of the best examples came on Wednesday when temperatures actually reached the low 90's and were still in the high 80's come game time between Bacon Academy and Lyman.
That took some of the fight out of two of the best girls soccer teams in the area as both squads were running for the water bottles much of the game.
"It's not supposed to be this hot on September 26th," Lyman coach Mark Morello said.
I won't disagree, it was even very warm on the sidelines.
"It was a factor for sure," Morello added. "Playing last night (against Putnam), followed by a full day of school. Both sides, six hours. It was a good test because the legs were heavy those last 10-15 minutes for sure but the best thing was- the stuff between the ears. The mental focus was there, we didn't break down."
And, as almost all agreed afterwards, the ending was no surprise as the two teams battled to a 1- all tie.

Waterford High School boys basketball coach Mark Capasso resigned earlier this week as he cited health reasons as the motivation for his decision.
All I can say is, what a ride.
Capasso stayed on as head coach for all of a year and a half in Waterford. He tried to cool the situation down when he took over after Rich Conover resigned abruptly in the midst of the season in 2005-06.
Capasso came back this season and took Waterford to its first boys basketball state championship game in the school's history.
To say it was unexpected would not be emphatic enough.
In a run I can only compare to Tourtellotte back in 1987, the Lancers came together as a group of good players. There were no superstars, no six-foot-ten-inch monsters in the middle. It was a group of good friends that formed a strong unit and, not to take anything away from the effort, also had the luck of the draw in the Class M state tournament.
The Lancers nipped fellow ECC foes, Plainfield (48-46 in overtime) and Montville (51-45). They out ran Old Saybrook, which was in its first Class M state tournament game despite having Class S enrollment, and they overcame Joel Barlow's slow down attempt to beat them 34-33 in the quickest state semifinal I can ever remember.
Weston derailed the Waterford show at CCSU, 59-35, in the state title game but it certainly left plenty of memories that will linger a lifetime.
Unfortunately, that cannot be said of head coaches as Capasso's issues with his vocal chords wouldn't allow him to both teach and coach.

Injuries are a part of football, unfortunately, they seemed to happen often in week two but, fortunately, none seemed all of that serious.
Montville High School standout Taylor Lewis carried the ball 20 times for 157 yards against a good Ledyard defense Friday night before either a helmet or a foot got him in the shin and forced him to the sidelines. At first, it was thought to be just a cramp but then it started to tighten up and acted more like a deep bruise.
Montville coach Tanner Grove, after the game, was more than confident that Lewis would be in uniform and playing against Putnam this week. Lewis missed the Putnam game last season and the Indians were the victim of possibly the biggest upset of the year.
Ledyard back Tim McNeil also went down although much earlier than Lewis. McNeil banged up his left shoulder in the first half against Montville and finished with just six carries although those limited carries were good for 90 yards and a touchdown.
The problem with Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech Saturday afternoon was not who was injured but how many went to the ground against Fitch. The numbers continued to add up throughout the game, making it even more frustrating than a game decided by 42 points can be for a coach, just ask Tim Panteleakos.
The Indians do get a little break with Putnam coming in although the Clippers have had two weeks to prepare for Montville after losing 41-6 to Stonington in their first game. Ledyard plays its first home game against Griswold and Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech is home again against Stonington on Saturday.

We are just starting to get into the high school girls soccer season and there are a couple of things that stand out.
One to note is that the Tourtellotte Tigers are off to a 2-0 start and while that may not be impressive to some, it's important to the Tigers.
Tourtellotte coach Deb Spinelli was concerned at the beginning of the season about her team's ability to make it to the state tournament and started listing those games she thought her team could win. Putnam and Killingly were amongst those that she felt were "must wins" and, so far, her Tigers have done just that. Ledyard was one of those teams Spinelli thought the Tigers might be able to compete with as well but the Colonels are off to a 2-1 start and could cause Tourtellotte some troubles today in North Grosvenordale.
Woodstock is also a team that wanted to get off to a good start to build a little confidence and the Centaurs have done just that. Their win over Wheeler on Thursday has them sitting pretty at 3-0 on the season. The only other team to have done that thus far is Lyman and the Bulldogs have a tough game tonight at home when they host East Lyme.
The Vikings tied one of the Medium Division favorites, Montville, earlier this week at three.

How is the boys soccer season going thus far?
Just about as expected.
About the only upset, and it wasn't all that huge, was Bacon Academy's win over Woodstock but it just means the ECC Medium Division is as tough as ever.
Griswold, even without Sean Fisher and Edwin Loarca, are off to a 2-0 start as is Bacon, Stonington and Montville although none of those teams have played a Medium Division game.
NFA isn't scoring a lot but they are scoring enough to have posted wins over Waterford and Brookfield. They will have to deal with a much-improved East Lyme team and don't count out the Centaurs who came back to beat Fitch handily.
In the Small Division, Lyman looks like it will be the team to beat but Tourtellotte has been putting the ball in the net early. Wheeler could also have something to say.
Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the girls soccer picture early on.

What did the Windham Invitational Cross Country meet mean to local high school teams?
Most would tell you not much. That it was just a quiz building up the final exam which won't take place for about a month but it did tell us something about teams to watch in the upcoming month plus.
The St. Bernard Saints girls team, led by Caroline Riley who finished second in the varsity I race, will be a team to be reckoned with not only in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division but in the league as a whole.
The Saints finished ahead of perennial power, Griswold, but will still have to contend with the likes of Lyman (the two meet on Tuesday in Lebanon) and NFA.
The NFA girls also looked good thanks to the performances of two sophomores, Cassy Hunter and Kathleen O'Brien as well as senior Meegan Joly. The Wildcats captured the Varsity II race going away as those three runners were all in the top 10.
That should make for an interesting ECC girls championship meet come October at the Norwich Golf course.
The NFA boys, for the second consecutive year, also came out on top in the Varsity II race but there was a hint of worry about peaking too soon. It happened to the Wildcats last year and they don't want a repeat performance in 2007.
The Griswold Wolverines finished second in the Varsity I race with Jason Cusack, Erik Chester and Andrew Orum leading the way. The Wolverines just have to shore up their fourth and fifth runners and get them a little closer to the top three.
The Woodstock Centaurs were breathing a little sigh of relief that Zach Eckard was back on Saturday. He didn't race against East Lyme and the Centaurs suffered an unexpected loss. He ran on Saturday and Woodstock placed fifth overall in the Varsity I race.
We have dual meets for the next couple of weeks before most teams in the state gather on October 6th for the Wickham Invitational, the real warm-up for the states.

Time of possession has to be the most over-rated stat of all, especially in high school football.
The Fitch Falcons are a perfect example of how it truly doesn't matter how long you hold on to the football, it's what you do with it when you have it.
The Falcons only owned the time of possession edge in one quarter of their game with Salem, Mass. That happened in the second quarter when Fitch controlled the ball for 6 1/2 minutes but was outscored 14-7.
The Falcons had the ball for only two offensive plays in the first quarter but one of those was a 74-yard run by running back Bobby Johnson. They only had the ball for 5 1/2 minutes in the third quarter but one of those plays was an 89-yard kick off return by Jamal Gaston. They also possessed the ball for all of only three minutes in the fourth quarter but still only lost by three.
"The time of possession was in our favor and we marched up and down the field but those big plays hurt," Salem coach Scott Connolly said. "So to come back from some of those big plays and from being behind, it was a big win for us."

Were there any surprises on the first night of high school football?
There were a few things that caught my eye.
The first was the Putnam-Stonington game. Maybe I had too little respect for the Stonington offense or too much respect for the Clippers defense but the Bears ran roughshod over host Putnam 41-6 last night.
From what another coach who was at the game told me, the Bears just had a little too much in the way of size for Putnam.
In Willimantic, the difference was speed. The Whippets had more of that than Killingly did and the Redmen hurt themselves with five turnovers. It didn't help that Killingly's senior starting quarterback Kyle Fortin went down with a knee injury but the game was largely determined on the line of scrimmage as Windham's O-line, a line that has just one returning starter, opened some huge holes for Addison Fleming (184 yards).
The St. Bernard-Rocky Hill game was a coin toss in my mind, heads St.Bernard, tails Rocky Hill, and this time it came up tails. The two teams tied last season, last night went in Rocky Hill's favor, by a point in overtime.
Otherwise, Woodstock looked a little better than expected vs. Griswold, New London, Montville and East Lyme were all expected to win.
See you at the Windham Invitational this morning and Fitch High School tonight.

Well, it's finally here.
The high school football season officially kicked off Thursday in Plainfield with the Panthers knocking around first-year program, Prince Tech, 33-0.
Hopefully, you have picked up your copy of today's Norwich Bulletin which features the high school football preview package including everything you need to know about this year's teams as well as some past statistics, a radio coverage guide and the first picks of the season by the Bulletin staff.
If you want a more animated version of those picks, go to Norwich Bulletin.com where senior sports writer, Brian Girasoli, joins me on a video presentation of those picks.
The Bulletin will also be including more statistics in our football coverage this year. Just check out the box score following each story and you will get the top passers, rushers and receivers from each game.
And, as always, we look forward to seeing you at the games throughout the high school football season.

You could, in many ways, compare the Eastern Connecticut Conference jamborees to a pre-season NFL football game.
Fans pay admission to get into the jamboree, although hardly comparable to an NFL game, but still you have to pay. You get to see the varsity players run through the motions of a basic offense for a quarter and then it's the JV's turn.
No one really cares who wins or loses, on the sidelines it's more of a concern about coming out of the whole affair healthy for the start of the season this Thursday.
Coaches, generally, grumble about the dress rehearsal especially about the length of it as the last two teams usually have to hang around for four hours before they get to go home.
Who benefits?
The ECC does get a little money back from the gates which isn't a bad thing and there's always that young player or two who gets ink they may or may not see for the rest of the season.
On Friday night, two sophomores shone brightly in Griswold as the Wolverines own Rob Foisey and Killingly's Anthony Tetreault were the headline-makers. Tetreault for his ability to carry the ball and Foisey for his ability to catch it.
For those two youngsters, at least, the night was just about perfect.

The receivers are quick to tell you, Griswold High School is going to set up the run with the pass if they can.
And Griswold coach Glenn LaBossiere does little to change that notion as he has been working on installing a new offense for the Wolverines, the run-and-shoot. Although in Griswold's case, the shoot may come before the run.
"It could be, we want to keep people on their toes," LaBossiere said with a little chuckle thrown in. "We don't want to have 11 in the box all the time and have people try and stop the run. We ran a little of it at the end of last season."
But it didn't stop there as LaBossiere continued to perfect his offensive overhaul over the course of the winter and really introduced it in spring football.
One thing about the run-and-shoot; it's an offense that doesn't provide optimum protection with, generally, no tight ends and only one full back. That means your quarterback has to be able to make quick reads. LaBossiere feels he has that in junior signal-caller Sean Brackett.
"I said last year that I don't think there's a better quarterback around than Sean," the Griswold coach said.
"He makes the reads, he's a smart kid and puts the ball where it needs to be. He doesn't fall in love with one receiver, he tries to spread it around. We'll also start running it with some of the younger kids so that we'll be ready when he graduates."

It almost becomes a relief for a high school athlete to make the decision and eliminate the questions both internally and externally.
New London High School's Alan Chaney and Stonington's Heather Buck both decided that their minds were made up this week and instead of extending the process, they ended it.
Chaney, a rising star on the recruiting circuit, got the offer from two-time defending National Champion, Florida, and decided there was no better place for him to play basketball. Buck has been courted by the best and decided to stay close to home and play for UConn.
The two had different experiences to be sure. Buck's time in the spotlight was a much longer one than Chaney. Every where she went last season, she not only had family, friends and opposing fans keeping a close eye on her but also college coaches. It's a spotlight that won't shine as brightly this season and Stonington coach Paulla Solar admitted to me Saturday night that she's going to miss it a little this season. It's not every day that you get to chum around and pick the brain of some of the best in women's college coaches.
Buck and Chaney now get to enjoy their senior year and begin to think about the bright future that lies ahead. They also won't be asked that same question by everyone they meet and greet.
"Have you decided where you're going yet?"
That question has been answered, both internally and externally.

When Florida comes knocking and you're a high school basketball player, you generally answer the door.
It comes as no surprise that Alan Chaney took the plunge Thursday and signed on the dotted line with the two-time national champion Gators.
The six-foot-eight forward from New London High School was clearly smitten with the fact that Florida coach Billy Donovan flew out to see him play in an AAU tournament a couple of months ago and offered him a scholarship.
Chaney has been a fast riser among the nation's top recruits thanks to his performance in AAU ball. He wasn't even in the top 100 list of potential recruits until this summer.
The nice thing for the forward/center is that now he doesn't have to worry about where he's headed after his senior year with the Whalers. The question will be just how much playing time he sees in a school like Florida.
If there's one knock on Chaney, as some have pointed out, it's his desire. That will be tested quickly in Donovan's program.

Unfortunately, the beginning of the high school sports season means the end of the summer season but so goes the circle of life.
High school football teams begin practice on Monday, the rest of the sports begin about five days later and then the fun begins after Labor Day.
Before that, however, there is one bit of unfinished business that will reach a conclusion on this Wednesday.
Fitch High School graduate, Matt Harvey, will have to make a decision. Take what the Los Angeles Angels are offering or go to the University of North Carolina in five days.
I spoke with his father, Ed, as they cruised Long Island Sound yesterday and he has spoken with the Angels in the past couple days although he said no decision would be made until late tonight. The deadline for a decision is midnight.
It has been said the Harveys are looking for about $2.5 million for the third-round pick of the Angels to sign. The family may take some cues from a signing that occurred yesterday.
A friend of Matt's, Detroit's first-round pick as well as fellow Scott Boras client, Rick Porcello, came to a contact agreement with the Tigers.
The pitcher from Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey inked a four-year deal worth $7.28 million.
Matt has consistently said he is gearing up to go to North Carolina, we'll find out later on tonight if that will be the case. As soon as we get word, we will post it on norwichbulletin.com.

It seems most people believe Matt Harvey, the Fitch High School senior who was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft, has signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
If he has, it would be news to his dad.
Ed Harvey, who is also the head coach of the Falcons baseball team, was at the Eastern League All-Star game Wednesday night and, once again, said there has been little contact between the family and the Angels.
Harvey joked that he almost expects to next hear from them on August 15th at 11:59 p.m. The deadline for signing drafted players August 15th but it's not like the Harveys are worried. Matt, who is currently playing for a traveling high school All-Star team in the midwest, still has a great future ahead of him at the University of North Carolina.
Ed Harvey promised to keep us posted and we promise to keep you posted if anything happens between Harvey and the Angels.
This seems like a good time to mention this as well, we don't always hear everything that is going on in the local sports world so if you have a tip to drop us, please do. My e-mail is mallard@norwichbulletin.com and we always like hearing from you.

Summer is a great chance to go out and see some athletes who may be coming up through the ranks and will impact area sports in the future.
That's what I have been doing the past couple of days as the Junior League and Little League All-Star tournaments begin to wind down and District championships are played.
I have to say I was pretty impressed with the Killingly-Brooklyn Little League Softball 11-12 year-old All-Stars especially with their size and their defense.
Killingly-Brooklyn, which just merged this season, has some very athletic players on their team including third baseman Taylor Malstrom and catcher Julia Oleksy. Malstrom was three for four in Killingly-Brooklyn's 9-3 win over Sprague-Franklin-Canterbury/Columbia to win the District 11 championship on Monday afternoon.Oleksy was two for three with a triple and two runs batted in.
"She can bomb it," Killingly-Brooklyn manager Mike Hill said. "We have a bunch of kids who can bomb it, there's no question about it. But once you see (pitchers) who have their skills honed and can just bring it, we'll have to see."
One thing Hill shouldn't have to worry about is his defense. Killingly-Brooklyn cut down runners at third and at home on Monday.
"We practice hard, we work hard, we make plays and it pumps everyone up," Oleksy said of the defensive effort.
One can only hope this will say good things for both Killingly High School and Woodstock Academy in the future.

It has been a wild ride for the Carignan family this year and the hits just seem to keep on coming.
Gary Carignan, the manager of the Norwich American Legion baseball team, has been riding the emotional roller coaster so what happened this week with the Norwich program probably didn't phase him all that much.
Carignan learned, much to his surprise, that not only was he the manager of the program but also the coach as Don Murray, according to Carignan, just didn't show up the past two games against Jewett City and Waterford.
Carignan said Murray apparently disagreed with something that had been done but didn't specify what it was that caused Murray to apparently resign in the middle of the season with Norwich playing above the break-even mark.
Carignan just took the new assignment with a shrug as he has seen it all this year including losing his home to a fire. That situation is in the process of being remedied as the Carignan's are building a new home and recently received some great news as their son, Andrew, will shortly sign a contract with the Oakland A's.
"It's been a crazy year, an absolutely crazy year," Gary Carignan said. "You just take every day as it comes and you make the best of it and that's what we're going to do again here."
Norwich currently has a 7-6 record, they play a doubleheader Sunday in Waterford.

We haven't taken the summer off that's for sure.
American Legion baseball, an extension of the high school or college season for some, has reached just about it's halfway point and, so far, things have gone as expected.
Despite missing the three best pitchers of the high school crop, Rob Bono, Matt Harvey and Jesse Hahn, Waterford and New London have been rather dominant thus far in Zone VI.
New London is currently on a one-week break from the local Legion battles as they're in upstate New York playing in the World Youth Baseball Classic. If they were around, they would be happy to hear that for only the second time this season, Waterford lost. Niantic did New London the favor on Sunday which put New London a 1/2 game ahead of Waterford although they still have played three more games than Waterford has.
Norwich and Montville both sport 7-5 records while Niantic, Jewett City and Danielson are all at or near the break-even mark.
The final three Zone teams, Tri-Town,Ledyard-Pawcatuck and Moosup have their work cut out for them if they want to make the state tournament. Tri-Town would have to win 11 of it's last 15, Ledyard-Pawcatuck 12 of it's final 17 and Moosup 13 of it's last 15.
Remember to check out the American Legion baseball notes section in the Norwich Bulletin and Norwich Bulletin.com every Monday.

It was the final chapter of the high school season and it was probably only fitting that Waterford High School was involved.
The Lancers had a terrific 2006-07 high school sports year which only left one wishing that they could have won a state championship somewhere.
Four state championship games, four runner-up finishes which should not blemish the fact that the Lancers got to the boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball finals.
Softball had the last chance Sunday but Bristol Eastern wasn't about to let their first state title since 1997 slip away as they shut out the Lancers 3-0.
Waterford had a terrific opportunity, bases loaded, no one out, in the bottom of the fifth but Bristol Eastern pitcher Sara Plourde got a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to end the threat as Waterford came up empty.
"We had girls in scoring position and we couldn't get them in, that's what it comes down to," Waterford coach Kate Peruzzotti said.
"Could we have done anything different? I don't know, hindsight is 20/20, I don't know what we would have done differently. It's about putting the ball in play and we weren't able to do that (Sunday)," she added.
"I think it would have made all the difference," Waterford senior catcher Anna Levesque said. "We're a team when we score that we run with it, we didn't do it (Sunday)."
But all agreed on one thing, it was a great run, even an improbable one, just to get to the championship game.

Rachele Fico is the real deal.
Fitch High School girls softball coach Jon Grossman said that to me on Friday and I'm not about to disagree with him after watching the sophomore dominate a pretty good hitting Norwich Free Academy squad. Fico's effort gave Masuk a 1-0 win over NFA in the Class LL softball state championship Saturday afternoon at DeLuca Field in Stratford. It was Masuk's first softball state title in 33 years.
Fico struck out 17 and allowed only a single to Hillary Schnip while pitching a shutout for the 25th time in 27 appearances.
"I think she's actually a little bit better than what I had expected," NFA coach Jim Cotter said after the game played on a drizzly, breezy and very cool Saturday afternoon.
Cotter had only one hope, keep the game going as long as possible so that a little familiarity with her pitches might help his hitters.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, in search of their first state championship in softball, an infield error ended those hopes of extending the game beyond the normal seven innings as Masuk pushed a run across.
The only chance for a run for NFA came in the fifth inning when Schnip singled, went to second on an error and pinch-runner Marissa Ruiz went to third on a ground out. That's where she stayed as a pop out ended the threat.
Waterford didn't get a chance to play Bristol Eastern in the first game as rain forced a delay and it was a delay the Lancers couldn't afford. The Senior Prom takes place at Waterford tonight and the Lancers didn't want to start any later than noon time today. When that couldn't be accomplished, the agreement was to postpone their Class L title game with Bristol Eastern until Sunday at 4 p.m. in Stratford.
Congratulations do go out to St. Bernard as they rallied for a 6-4 win over Northwest Catholic in the Class S baseball championship. It was the only baseball title game played on Saturday as rain doused the final two.
Good thing the Saints got it in, St. Bernard holds graduation ceremonies on Sunday and couldn't have played again until Monday.

The Eastern Connecticut Conference saw a couple of teams go down yesterday but not without a fight.
You had to feel for the St. Bernard High School girls softball team which had the 2-0 lead in the top of the seventh only to see it disappear when Coginchaug scored five times. It was the Blue Devils third consecutive win over the Saints in the state tournament in the last three years.
Coach Andrea Gaines credited her five seniors for taking the program to the level it has reached, one that is capable of winning a championship, even though they won't ever do so themselves.
Griswold knew they were going to be in for a tough game against undefeated Seymour and that's what they got. The Wolverines fell but had a great run to get to the semifinals.
The Lyman softball team squared off with Terryville in a pitcher's duel that was actually won by Ashley Hogan of Terryville. She won the battle as she allowed only one hit, Lyman won the war as they scored the only run off a walk, an error, and a pair of infield fielder's choices. Sophomore Katherine Fitton was effective for Lyman as she allowed only four hits and struck out 11.
The St. Bernard baseball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit and a little on-field adversity to beat Trinity Catholic 4-2 and advance to Saturday afternoon's Class S baseball championship.
Waterford had to play another thriller as they downed Woodland Regional in eight innings to advance to the M final against Seymour. Seymour, earlier in the day at ECSU, had beaten Montville.
All of that and we still have two more softball semifinals today. Either Bacon or Waterford will advance to the Class L championship as they play one another in West Haven and in Stratford, NFA takes on Cheshire in the LL semis.
Oh, and the major league baseball draft takes place today.
Other than that, nothing is going on.

One more win and it's on to the state championship.That's sometimes easier said than done.
I was talking with Waterford High School baseball Jack O'Keefe Monday night and asked him if it would be nice to have a Montville-Waterford Class M championship final.
"I only care about Waterford and about our next game, we'll worry about the game after that when it comes," O'Keefe said.
Good answer although things do get a little better especially for the local baseball teams involved as their top pitchers are, once again, available.
Montville plays Seymour this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. and Waterford tackles Woodland Regional tonight at 7 p.m., both those games to be played at Eastern Connecticut State University.
The St. Bernard Saints are a little further from home as they play Trinity Catholic at Muzzy Field in Bristol tonight at 7 p.m.
The Griswold Wolverines girls softball team has a tough task ahead of them, a Class M semifinal vs. Seymour tonight at 7 p.m. at West Haven High School. Seymour comes into the game undefeated.
There's also the State Open track championship this afternoon in New Britain too as the end of the high school year is just about upon us.

Windham High School Principal Gene Blain probably said it best, "the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime."
Windham High senior Amanda Nappi, the best female javelin thrower in the state this year, will not get a chance to compete in her best event at the State Open track championships today because of a judge who decided he had to enforce the rules to the letter of the law and beyond.
You can read the entire story in today's Norwich Bulletin or on-line at Norwich Bulletin.com but one would say this seems to be a little over the top.
The senior had worked to get to this point throughout her high school career but on the first of her final javelin throws Friday afternoon, she slipped and felt her javelin drag behind. As that happened, she yelled out a four-letter expletive beginning with "s". It wasn't directed at anyone, just a "human reaction" according to Nappi.
Unfortunately, the judge heard it and disqualified the Windham senior for swearing.
It appears nothing can be done at this point but that four-letter expletive would hardly get you tossed out of many a high school event where some far worse utterances are overheard on a regular basis, some directed right at officials. A warning, yes, a disaqualification, no.
This is not to condone swearing but this is one case that I have to agree with Blain, the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Griswold High School softball coach Rick Arremony said after his team's win over Holy Cross in the Class M quarterfinals that the Eastern Connecticut Conference may not work for all sports but it certainly does for softball.
Lyman coach Gary Hoyt, Bacon Academy's Anna Dipierro, St. Bernard coach Andrea Gaines and others would certainly agree.
The ECC may have its woes but softball and baseball are not amongst them. The conference is one of the strongest in the state in those two sports, all you have to do is see the number of teams left in the state tournament for the evidence.
The league is represented by four teams in the Class M baseball state tournament's final eight, all play today. Add Fitch from Class LL and St. Bernard drom Class S and that's a really good showing by the league.
Five softball teams are already in state semifinal games next week. Griswold, Bacon Academy, Waterford, Lyman and St. Bernard all have trips to make to West Haven. NFA could become the sixth member of that group today should they beat Trumbull. NFA would have its semifinal game in Stratford on Tuesday, however.
The ECC may be much maligned but it is working for some, just ask the baseball and softball coaches.

You get the idea that playing softball at Bacon Academy is a lot of fun right now.
The girls softball team is on a roll and for the first time ever finds itself in a semifinal state tournament game, they can thank Erica Clauss alot for that.
Clauss is the motor that keeps the Bobcats rolling whether its her pitching, her offense or just her enthusiasm, as Clauss goes, so do the Bobcats.
The Columbia University-bound senior struck out 17 Wilton hitters on Thursday and allowed just one hit to make the 5-0 Bacon win look pretty easy. That came on the heels of a 1-0 win over Sacred Heart the day before where she had to go nine innings.
Clauss also kick started the Bacon offense on Thursday by drawing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the first. She advanced to second on a passed ball, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Katelynn Barr single. It turned out to be all the runs Clauss would need even if Bacon did add four more runs in the fourth but, more importantly, it also took the pressure off the Bobcats shoulders early as they had the lead to work with.
Some other teams hope to do that today. The Fitch Falcons and Waterford Lancers meet today in Waterford at four, the winner moves on to play Bacon Monday in West Haven.
The Griswold Wolverines stay home and host Holy Cross at 4 p.m., hoping to get past the quarterfinals for the first time in three years.
St. Bernard takes on a team that beat them earlier in the season as East Hampton visits the Saints and Lyman plays host to Somers in a pair of Class S quarterfinals.
We'll see you in Jewett City this afternoon.

It takes a little luck and the ability to overcome adversity to go far in the state tournament and Bacon Academy had a little of both those qualities on Wednesday.
The Bobcats baseball team got a shock when their number-two starter, Chris Zbin, took one warm-up throw and found out, he couldn't throw. A heat cramp tightened up his left shoulder which gave veteran coach Dave Shea a headache he really didn't need.
Shea did the only thing he could do, he looked in his dugout, saw his grandson, threw him the ball and told him to get out there.
On short notice, the freshman kept Bacon in the game even though he did allow five runs in three innings. That stat has a little deception in it, however, as the Bacon defense failed to rise to the challenge and committed four errors in the first two innings as well.
The saving grace for the Bobcats, their offense. It's one of the best in the area and it came through again as Bacon tied the game in the second and went ahead for good with two more runs in the fourth.
The win sent Bacon back to the Class M quarterfinals where they will play Woodland Regional at East Hartford High School on Saturday. It's familiar territory for the Bobcats, they lost in the state championship game to Montville last season.

It's kind of a bittersweet time especially for high school seniors.
There are a number of them who will be playing their last high school game today and in the coming weeks as the high school athletic year comes to a close with the spring state tournaments.
Today is certainly a busy one with the baseball, softball, track and girls tennis tournaments all getting underway.
In baseball, Matt Harvey pitches what could be his last high school game at Fitch before he goes on to either a pro or college career. The NFA boys play at Norwalk while defending Class M champion, Montville, is home to St. Joseph's. The only game that features two local teams in baseball is Stonington at Ellis Tech.
The track championships also get underway with Class LL in Manchester and Class L in New Britain and girls tennis has both the qualifying and first round matches in the same day.
There are still also a few regular season golf matches left to play and the Eastern Connecticut Conference wraps up it's boys tennis tournament today.
It sounds busy now but by the end of next week, the high school season will have just about come to a close.

I usually pride myself on knowing most of the athletes in this area so when the name Kouta Kobayashi appeared on the list at the 27th annual Woodstock Memorial Day 10K Road Race this morning, I just had to go talk to him.
The 14-year-old from Woodstock finished the 6.2 mile course in 41:31, good enough for seventh place overall. His sister, Maho Kobayashi who is just 16, was the second female to cross the finish line.
Unfortunately for Woodstock Academy, these two runners won't be on any of the Centaurs' running teams. It turns out both attend Whitinsville Christian Academy in Massachusetts.
"Last year, I thought I pretty bad here, so it was quite the improvement," Kouta Kobayashi, a freshman at Whitinsville, said.
"I didn't make it to states but I made it to the Districts (in Massachusetts) in cross country, indoor and outdoor track."
Scott Deslongchamps of Grosvenordale finished first overall in the race for a third straight year. Pomfret School squash and crew coach, Greg Rossolino, placed second overall with another high school runner, 15-year-old Brent Schouler of Northbridge, Mass. in 3rd. The top female runner was Laura Pagnozzi of Scituate, R.I., she finished 11th.

Sorry I didn't get the chance to say this yesterday but you had to like the atmosphere at Griswold High School on Friday night.
A warm night, a good crowd, a great softball game and no rain.
That last part was probably most important as the ECC girls tournament is notorious for that big thunderstorm looming in the distance ready to strike as soon as the game gets underway.
But Mother Nature held no suprises and neither did the game. As expected, a hard fought contest which was one by the first team to take advantage of an opportunity.
Unlike the first meeting between the two when the Wildcats ran by a frustrated Wolverines team 8-3, this game had plenty of excitement but little in the way of controversy. The calls were challenged about as many times as the pitchers, Griswold's Jess Arremony and NFA's Caitlin Eaton, which was little indeed.
The first mistake was the costliest one as an error in the outfield allowed Hilary Schnip to reach and, two outs later, sophomore Caroline Blanchard delivered the game-winning infield single for the NFA win, the third straight title for the Wildcats.
What will next year bring?
Good question.
I suggest you read the girls softball notebook in Monday's Norwich Bulletin as we explore that very question.
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

It seems to me that the ECC softball championship is a lot more fun than baseball.
Why?
The softball championship truly is a title game and the games tend to be much closer. That's probably because the best pitchers can pitch.
Take for example the action on Thursday.
St. Bernard, a Small team, took Bacon, a Medium team, to eight innings before losing 2-0. Lyman, a Small team, hung right in there with the Largest of them all before losing to NFA 2-1.
The coaches are into it, the players are into it and they are highly competitive, intense games and it seems to mean a little more.
Baseball coaches tend to look at the ECC tournament as more of a hinderance than a help. You may see Matt Harvey or Rob Bono early but you won't see them in the championship game because it's too close to the start of the state tournament. The championship game tonight will feature Waterford's number three starting pitcher against Fitch's number four. All the players will play, but the emphasis is clearly on what takes place next week not what is happening on the field at ECSU tonight.
That being said, I still think tonight's Waterford-Fitch game is going to be a good one to watch. Not often do you get to see a host of Division I college players-to-be on the same field against one another.
Make your choice, though, because the NFA-Griswold game shapes up to be one of those close, fast, well played softball championship games in Griswold.
Lacrosse fans also get a choice tonight as East Lyme hosts NFA in the ECC girls title match at 5 p.m. and Ledyard in the boys championship at 7 p.m. East Lyme the large favorite in both those games.

You had to feel good for the Norwich Free Academy girls lacrosse team on Tuesday.
The young Wildcats were not exactly given much of a chance against the Stonington Bears in their Eastern Connecticut Conference semifinal in Stonington.
The Bears had already beaten NFA twice, 13-7 and 12-6, and even coach Eric Page knew the task in front of his team was extremely daunting.
Still, when the final horn blew it was NFA that had won the day as they nipped Stonington in overtime 7-6. A celebration worthy of a state championship followed with no one happier that goalie Jessi Owen.
"I think the tournament might be bigger," Owen told me when asked to compare the regular season championship (won by East Lyme) to an ECC tournament championship.
"We've won this five times in a row so this tournament is definitely bigger. We didn't win the conference but we want to win this tournament and we're not going down easy," she added.
That was pretty evident on Tuesday but the tough task lies ahead as NFA tackles East Lyme on Friday on the Vikings home field at 5 p.m.

Let's just hope this isn't the beginning of the Norwich Bulletin front page jinx.
I don't think that will happen to a player like Matt Harvey of Fitch High School but he did suffer his first loss ever in high school baseball Monday night when Plainville beat him 4-1. Why do I get the idea this losing streak won't last long.
Everyone I talked to for the story had glowing reports about Harvey's talent and, more importantly, his make up. All of them spoke of his "baseball pedigree" meaning his father's love and knowledge of the game. He will go beyond that now as he likely will be the first-ever high school player out of Eastern Connecticut to be drafted in the first round by a major league baseball team.
Montville coach Phil Orbe said he remembered seeing Harvey playing in little league and never considered him a phenom, now, he's seen no one better at the high school level.
Plainfield coach John Schiffner, who also manages the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod League, said he may frown upon some going right from high school to the minor leagues but thinks Matt is mature enough to handle the jump.
Now, we'll just have to wait and see what happens on June 7th.

It's going to be a busy week.
The Eastern Connecticut Conference holds just about all of its championships this week with the exception of track which already took place on Saturday.
Monday and Saturday (barring any rain outs) are the only days without any postseason activity. Tuesday marks the beginning of the ECC girls lacrosse tournament with NFA at Stonington and Fitch at East Lyme.
The boys lacrosse tournament begins Wednesday with Fitch at East Lyme and Ledyard at Stonington in the semifinals.
The baseball tournament holds its quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Wednesday. Waterford is the top seed followed by St. Bernard, Fitch, Lyman, Montville (those two teams could flip-flop four and five seeds depending on results of games from Monday and Tuesday), Killingly, Bacon Academy (two more teams that could flip-flop seeds) and Stonington.
The quarterfinals will be played at Waterford, East Lyme, Ledyard and Stonington at 3:45 p.m., the semifinals at East Lyme and Stonington at 6:45 p.m.
Thursday is the ECC golf championship at the Quinnatisset Country Club in Thompson at 12:30 p.m.
Thursday also has the first two rounds of the softball tournament with top seeded NFA followed by Griswold, Bacon Academy, Waterford, Fitch, St. Bernard, either Plainfield or Lyman and Stonington.
The quarterfinals to take place at East Lyme, Waterford and Griswold, the semifinals at East Lyme and Griswold Thursday night.
Just about everything wraps up on Friday with the girls lacrosse championship at East Lyme at 5 p.m., the baseball title game at ECSU and the softball championship at Griswold at 6:30 p.m.and the boys lacrosse championship at East Lyme at 7 p.m.
Now that's a busy week.

Track meets are always a lot of fun, plenty of things happening, lots of people to talk with, lots of athletes trying their best but, like yesterday at the Eastern Connecticut Conference Championships, no one really seems to know what the score is.
You always hope for the best and expect the worst in these big events as a six hour marathon can grow, as it did on Saturday, to nine hours easily. This time it was a glitch in the scoring system that had things backed up, especially on the track, almost two hours.
The glitch had the timing company, early on in the meet, trying to time things manually. At the same time, results were coming in from other events and nothing was being entered into the computer right away.
At that point, it becomes a guessing game for coaches, reporters and fans alike.
"Who's ahead" was often the question.
"I don't know", often the answer.
The teams eventually guessed correctly as to where they stood and in the end, NFA would reign again in the boys and East Lyme would capture the girls championship. Unfortunately, it was also after 7 p.m. and most of the athletes were already gone. Some schools, like Ledyard, trying to get people home as it was also prom night.

You get the idea that you will be hearing more from these kids.
The Montville High School Indians softball team lost a lot from last season, seven starters to be exact. They may not have been in the thick of the hunt in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division this season but they are 11-7 and that's pretty impressive.
The Indians have two sophomores, Macy Stefanski and Kelsey Barlow, who are hitting 3-4 in their order and probably could be doing that for many of the ECC clubs. Barlow already has six home runs this season and can put a hurt on the ball.
They are also one of those young clubs that never really gets down on themselves as was shown yesterday when Woodstock came back to score five runs on them. The Indians calmly responded with seven more of their own and walked away with a 17-5 win.
Rachel Rogoff is not a dominant pitcher yet but coach Kara Tiven is doing the right thing, let the young team grow with a young pitcher and let's see what happens in a couple of years.

I was all eager to put down some thoughts about how we over react to things that we can't control at times, such as the weather.
That is, of course, until I looked at this morning's Norwich Bulletin and saw the headlines about the possible tornado that set down in Pomfret.
It was a bright, sunny, albeit a little windy Wednesday afternoon for the most part and here were Athletic Directors making phone calls and cancelling games because of the possible stormy weather.
Remember, a tornado watch, like the one we had yesterday, only means that conditions are favorable for such an event to occur. It doesn't even mean one has occurred.
Some school administrations, however, decided to be a little cautious and postpone most after school activities including interscholastic athletics.
Where I was in Ledyard, that seemed a little premature at the time as the sun was out until about the fourth or fifth inning when grey clouds began to gather to the north and west of the field.
By the time the game ended, those clouds looked ominous but they produced only rain and some continued gusty winds, no lightning, no hail, no tornadoes.
The same could not be said for the northeastern part of the state where a heavy thunderstorm rolled through with a possible tornado in tow. It now seems like it was a very good idea to have postponed the Montville-Woodstock baseball game as it was scheduled for the Bentley Athletic Complex and Bentley can be a large problem when it comes to shelter from a fast moving storm.
Tough call but it seems like they got it right this time.

If there is one thing about the Constitution State Conference, it's expect the unexpected.
The league, which is formed primarily of Tech schools, but now also includes public, private, magnet and charter schools has always been a confusing bunch when it comes to tournaments and league alignments. Most of the reason for that is because schools field programs when they have enough athletes to do so, some teams even disappear in the middle of the season as numbers dwindle.
While it may not be a great place for some programs, such as Parish Hill's softball program, many feel the league serves its purpose. It creates competition for schools and gives them a chance to compete for a title.
There are a couple of programs in the league who might aspire to win a state championship, some who want to do well in the state tournament but most agree that a league title is what they're shooting for.
Has the addition of the the public, private, magnet and charter schools helped the CSC?
Norwich Tech girls basketball and baseball coach Nick Spera thinks it has in the girls competition which was lackluster with just the Tech schools. He, however, feels it has really made no impact when it comes to the boys sports.

I don't think I would have put her name on top of this list coming into the season but Norwich Free Academy's Caitlin Eaton appears to be the front runner now for Player of the Year in softball in Eastern Connecticut.
Eaton hasn't played this well since she burst on the season as a freshman and it's certainly helping the Wildcats as they have climbed to the top of the Eastern Connecticut Conference's Large Divisionwith only one loss thus far.
Eaton came into the season off a troubling back injury that helped limit her to just 21 at-bats last season. Not sure what to expect, NFA coach Jim Cotter limited Eaton a closer role on the mound but wanted to keep her out in the field full time.
That thought quickly ended after games vs. Fitch and Waterford where she shut down both teams when she came into the game. Eaton is NFA's pitcher now and she showed her worth in that capacity again on Tuesday when she limited the Falcons to three hits.
Her bat is also doing plenty of talking as she also leads the area in homers with six and is right up there in doubles and triples as well. It makes it mighty difficult on any pitcher to face the likes of Eaton, Gen Barlow and Gina Facchini, the three hitters who occupy the middle of the NFA lineup.

Some teams just are too good for others.
In the case of East Lyme boys lacrosse, they're just too good for everybody in the Eastern Connecticut Conference.
If there was going to be a challenge, it would have come on Monday at the hands of Norwich Free Academy. The final score, however, was pretty telling, 19-6, in favor of East Lyme.
The Wildcats tried to be patient early but that patience had to be put aside when East Lyme scored three goals in the span of one minute in the first quarter. Add four goals in the second period and an eight goal blitz in the third and the game was pretty much history.
Kevin Raymond and Ryan Doherty form a heckuva 1-2 punch up front and the East Lyme defense didn't let much at all past in the first half.
The problem for the Vikings, NFA is not indicative of what they will meet come state tournament time.
Unlike other sports, the ECC does not prep a team like East Lyme all that well for state tournament play as this side of the state is still a youngster in the sport. That was shown in East Lyme's 12-5 loss to Branford on Saturday.
That meant, despite the easy win yesterday, East Lyme coach Gary Wight still feels his Vikes need to improve before the state tournament begins.

Just a few random observations from the past few weeks of covering high school sports in the local area.

- Sitting in a dugout or two, thanks to our wonderful New England weather, it's kind of funny what kids are talking about. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with what's going on, on the field, anyway. In some cases- is there a game going on?

- I can only imagine what was going through both Jim Cotter and Rick Arremony's minds on Tuesday as they watched their teams throw the ball around the field and watched runners just run the bases almost at will. Cotter, the NFA softball coach, could only say, over and over, that it was a strange game. Arremony, the Griswold coach was laughing afterwards, otherwise, he probably would have been crying as the Wildcats won the game between two of the top teams in the state 8-3.

- Let the players play. There are just too many whistles in girls lacrosse.

- Put a little ball on wet turf and watch it skid, quickly, on by as many NFA and Wheeler boys lacrosse players did on Friday in the rain at NFA.

- If you want to run a quick track and field meet, employ Dave Tetlow and Kyle Griffin from Ledyard. Everybody was singing their praises as they left the Ledyard Relays last Saturday in less than seven hours.

Well, once again, it's over.
Too much over so little?
Not really but maybe a little over the top.
The Putnam situation has been remedied as Dave Austin is back as head coach although the official title is now co-head coach with Athletic Director Chris Coderre. As Coderre told me last night, for all intents and purposes, the program will be under the guidance of Austin with Coderre just adding a helping hand.
No question, there should have been some punishment for Austin's selection of words directed at a player over that player's performance. This is not the world of our fathers and mothers, some things are just not tolerated any longer and Austin did deserve a one or (for consistency's sake due to a similar situation over the winter with boys basketball coach Tony Falzarano) two-game suspension for his choice of words.
Putnam Principal Bill Barry made it a much bigger deal when he either accepted or forced a resignation from Austin and then anointed himself as head coach.
He could have simply suspended Austin for two games, have assistant coach Dennis Walsh pilot the team for those games, let the parents know what happened and be done with it. Would it have leaked out to the press, probably, but it wouldn't have been as much of a show as it was.
There is also the issue of what was said between Austin and Barry in their closed door meeting that prompted the resignation, only the two of them will know as there were no other witnesses.
No excuses here but Bill Barry is still a first-year principal and both he, and Dave Austin, probably have learned some valuable lessons.
Let's hope the rest of the year is a little more tame in Putnam.

One has to wonder if the high school baseball mercy rule was actually a pretty good thing after all.
Maybe I'm only looking at one day but check out some of Monday's scores.
Waterford 37 Wheeler 1
Bacon Academy 23 Woodstock 1
Windham Tech 27 Goodwin Tech 4
Cheney Tech 24 Grasso Tech 2
That's just a sampling of them.
The baseball mercy rule could be modified a bit as, in the one year of its existence, it was a 10-run rule after 4 1/2 innings. Coaches argued that baseball teams could come back from that deficit and win and enough people were against it- that it was scrapped.
How about just follow the softball rule and go with 15 runs after 4 1/2 innings. Face it, when you're down by that much, the bat boy is usually on the mound pitching and every one knows the outcome.
Why prolong the agony?

There was a commercial on television for a financial firm that used this line.
"They do things the old-fashioned way, they earn it."
The stodgy old gentleman who uttered that phrase would probably appreciate Kyle Bowen because that phrase also fits in well with what he's accomplished.
I had a chance to talk to the 22-year-old, 2002 Killingly High grad the other night, the same day as he had learned that he had been one of the first to be selected to join with America's best in the trampoline at the U.S. Olympic training facility in Colorado.
What struck me most about Bowen is his dedication to the sport that he has loved since he was a teenager.
He not only is a performer, he's also a coach as he works with his former coach, Bill Young, at his Plainfield facility.
He's not only a coach, he's a judge. Bowen is certified to judge trampoline competitions through the World Championship level, the only competition he cannot serve as a judge at is the one he wants to compete in- the Olympics.
He's not only a judge, he's a fan and a promoter of the sport.
Bowen said to me he is surprised that the sport hasn't piqued American interest more as of yet as it is one of those "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" (to use another commerical TV line) sports. Exciting, fast-paced, and somewhat dangerous.
Here's wishing best of luck to Kyle Bowen in Colorado, maybe, we'll be wishing him best of luck in Beijing as well next year.
Read more about Kyle Bowen and his climb to the top in his sport in today's Norwich Bulletin and Bulletin on-line.

Bacon Academy was quite the sports lover's dream on Monday and a lot of people took advantage of the nice weather to come out and take in a game...or two.
The biggest crowd was over at the softball field where two rivals, the host Bobcats, and the Griswold Wolverines were playing.
The expected happened, a close game, highlighted by a couple of nice defensive plays by Griswold and some timely hitting on the part of the Wolverines as they danced past Bacon 3-0. One thing to remember, these two teams will see each other at least once more.
All you had to do was follow the tarred path (which I became quite familiar with) and there was a tennis match between the Killingly and Bacon Academy girls tennis teams. The Bobcats just managed to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Redgals in that one.
And if you didn't mind just a few more steps and down a slight hill, there was a baseball game between Bacon and Windham. All that one featured was a no-hitter by Bacon Academy senior Bryan Howes as the host Bobcats beat the Whippets 8-0.
All in all, not a bad 80-plus degree day to be in Colchester.

It's nice to have a team with ability, it's even nicer when that team is blessed with a little character as well.
The Waterford High Lancers baseball team certainly have ability and also plenty of confidence as they've already shown in several games this season.
They just held off a hungry Killingly squad 3-2 early this season and just this past week, won two close games. The Lancers nipped Ledyard 1-0 in 11 innings on Thursday, came back to beat NFA on Friday and then rallied for a 5-4 win over the number three team in the state, Fitch, on Saturday afternoon.
"Great character," Waterford's senior catcher Rob Bono said after the encounter with Fitch. "Our play is just showing it. If we get down, we're not letting it affect us. We're fighting right till the end and we're coming out on top."
The Lancers did hurt themselves a bit on Saturday as they committed six errors.
"I don't think we've had six errors all year," Waterford coach Jack O'Keefe said. "They were simple plays but we just started to bleed there and couldn't stop it."
The Lancers did give away a 3-0 lead as Fitch took a 4-3 lead by the fifth but Waterford was able to rally to win in the seventh.
Maybe not a perfect game but probably a typical one for these two ECC Large Division rivals who will meet again.

There was plenty to think about yesterday and this was only a softball game.
The weather was great in Waterford and the game was just as good, as most ECC Large games between NFA, Waterford, East Lyme and Fitch will be this season.
The question: Do you walk a batter with two outs and no one on?
In a normal situation, absolutely not. When her name is Caitlin Eaton of Norwich Free Academy, you might want to think twice especially if you're nursing a 2-0 lead.
Waterford pitched to the NFA third baseman twice and she burnt them twice as she ripped two triples and scored two runs including the game-winner in the Wildcat's narrow 3-2 victory Thursday afternoon.
"We dealt with the same thing, do you intentionally walk the winning run on?," NFA coach Jim Cotter said.
"We're a little different than baseball, we don't have too many three-run home runs (in softball) so I would probably do that," NFA coach Jim Cotter said.
Cotter did that in the eighth when he walked Anna Levesque. He got lucky, she didn't score.
As Waterford coach Kate Peruzzotti said, "the ball just didn't roll our way today."

He didn't want to think of it as a possibility but were the Norwich Free Academy Wildcats caught looking ahead just a bit to a game vs. Waterford today.
NFA coach Jim Cotter thought about that question for a moment after his Wildcats were shutout by Fitch 4-0 Wednesday and said he had hoped not especially after they found themselves down 3-0 in the first inning.
NFA could never recover.
Fitch junior Kristina Torres never let NFA get much going as she failed to walk a batter and allowed only three hits. A base-running miscue ended the only threat NFA could mount.
One thing the Fitch victory did signal is that there is a new kid in town in the midst of the Large Division battles as Waterford, NFA and East Lyme will now also have to contend with the Falcons.
As Cotter said, "it's going to be a great year."
I couldn't agree more as long as the weather breaks and allows us to enjoy it a bit more. I don't know about you but I've had more than my share of being cold watching a game this spring.

We've been getting a lot of response to the resignation of Dave Austin as Putnam High baseball coach.
Most have said it's a good thing that coaches are now being held accountable for what they say, in a huddle, in a practice, after the game.
But one parent, Sue Gardner, from Putnam had a legitimate question. After what has happened to Putnam boys basketball coachTony Falzarano (a two-game suspension for talking ill about his team to the media after a game and almost including a four-letter word in the description) and Austin (a resignation, be it voluntary or forced for directing a homosexual slur at a player in practice), how difficult is it going to be to coach in Putnam? Even at a baseball game Friday, two coaches were thinking that very same thing but dared not say anything.
In the past, what Austin said would probably have never been challenged. It was acceptable to use those analogies in practice and it was almost commonplace. We live in a different world now where every word we say, can, and will be judged (just ask Don Imus).
It means that coaches, those who teach and those who don't, should be given specific guidelines as to what they can and cannot say and what they can and cannot do. It also means there should be specific punishments as to the offense not a two-game suspension here or a resignation there.
If we're going to be politically correct all the time, let's do it by the book.

You can already get the idea that the softball battles are going to be just that in the Eastern Connecticut, battles.
As it traditionally is in the game, pitching will again be the key although some teams can also hit the ball well.
Take for example, Waterford. Their offense got them the one run they needed on Tuesday against Griswold as the Lancers posted the 1-0 win over Jess Arremony and the Wolverines. That was also a good effort by Waterford pitcher Brittany Connors who had to shut down a veteran-dominated Griswold lineup.
NFA had enough offense and just enough pitching to finally down seventh-ranked Lauralton Hall on Saturday in 13 innings.
East Lyme, Bacon Academy, St. Bernard, Lyman, and Plainfield all have experienced pitchers as well which makes for interesting races in all three divisions with, at least, three teams seemingly in the mix in each.
Now if we can just get the weather to cooperate.

It's about time that they're talking about it.
Brian Girasoli's article on Monday about high school golf got some discussion going about something I've felt strongly about for a long time.
In New England, golf should be a fall sport.
The reasons why are pretty simple. Just take a gander out your window at the lawn right now and it's pretty clear that winter hasn't quite left yet and we're approaching the middle of April.The conditions on golf courses at this time of year are not what one would consider to be the best.
The players are coming off a long winter of inactivity as far as golf is concerned, some a long of period of inactivity- period.
Plus, there are just so many activities in the spring and summer, many which do not take place on an athletic venue, that the reduction of one sport probably wouldn't matter all that much.
Here is the plus side.
The golf courses, in the fall, are at some of their peak conditions. The players, having played all summer for the most part, are much more prepped to play.
"Senior-itis" will not have set in yet so more athletes are available to choose from and the weather is just plain better. Plus, courses probably wouldn't mind the additional revenue as play from the public begins to slack off in the fall as opposed to picking up in the spring when everyone is antsy to get out and play.
There is the argument that golf will now buck up against football, soccer and cross country but that's not all that different than what it faces now, baseball, track, tennis, and lacrosse.
Let's hope the informal poll that will be taken by the Eastern Connecticut Conference's coaches at the end of the season feels the same and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference also listens.