Sports Writer to Be

Hey, I'm watching myself on television! Checking out Nashua-Central on the Comcast Varsity SportsZone. I'll have more to say about the sporting weekend in tomorrow's column, including the Nashua-Central game, last night's Keene-Dover Division II hockey playoff, and the Sopranos season premiere. Until then, in an effort to expand our coverage to sports from all over the country, specifically the odd mix of New Hampshire and New Mexico, I hand today's blog over to John Valdez, who reports on this weekend's regional action in New Mexico boys' basketball.

Rio Grande 59, La Cueva 43

By John Valdez, unpaid contributor, Sportswriter to Be

We were able to get into the La Cueva Rio Grande game after all. We got to La Cueva about 5:00 and their was a huge line already comprised of Rio fans who had tickets. The ticket office was not going to open until 6:00 PM. While we were roaming the lobby, however, we bumped into the LC AD, who went back into the ticket office and got us some tickets so we would not have to wait in the line. We then got into the La Cueva line (line to get in, once you had a ticket), which had no people so we were actually first in the gym on the LC side. They took extraordinary steps to keep the two groups of fans physically separated. Rio definitely had more fans there, since a lot of Rio fans actually made it onto the La Cueva side.

Now for the game. In a word - brutal. It was probably the most physical basketball game I have witnessed. There were many bodies hitting the floor, a lot of near scuffles, just brutal. Rio Grande jumped out to a quick lead, built it up to about 9 points and maintained it. Both teams played great defense, something that surprised me about Rio since they seldom play good team D. La Cueva chipped the lead to 6 points often but got no closer in the first half. In the second quarter both teams only managed 8 points a piece - Rio took a 24 - 18 lead into the break. Tension was high as this one LC guy threw a punch at one of the Rio guys then threw a tantrum when he got to his seat. There was more physical play in the second half - Jake Bowe slammed into Harvey Hale, who was down for a long period of time. One of the Rio guys got into Bowe's grill and Bowe pushed him and wanted to fight - he should have been thrown out of the game. This one other LC guy got in D-Macs grill at one point as well.

Rio was able to maintain their lead but LC started to chip away and got within 4 midway through the 3rd quarter and I am thinking to myself "here comes a Rio choke since in their attempt to showboat, they missed several layups in a row and also missed several free throw attempts." But they were able to build it back up and then LC's best player - Jordan Pacheco fouled out of the game. Rio was then able to convert down at the end of the game to win 59-43 in a game that was a bit closer than indicated. Rio's crowd was huge and in the closing seconds, the Rio student body started teasing the LC students to which the LC students started chanting "football, football" but they were drowned out.

In the end, LC did not lose with dignity, they were a bunch of cry babies.

I was pretty surprised that Rio pulled it out and that they played defense like they did. They now play Eldorado at 3:30 PM on Thursday. The Lobos lost as well and apparently the overtime show was brutal.

National Holiday . . .

By John Doyle, Sportswriter to Be

Friday finds me sorting out my sports options for the weekend (the wife is working for most of it) and counting down the minutes until The Sopranos season premiere on Sunday night . . .

I'll be covering Nashua at Central for Friday Night Lights tonight. If you're in the "Queen City" tonight and want to catch a good basketball game, stop on by! The gym is on the southwest corner of Maple and Lowell streets . . . It'll be our last FRIDAY edition of the basketball show--my Friday nights are now free until football kicks off in September. Anyway, here's my pre-game report:

An historic night in High School Basketball--the final regular season game for Nashua High School as we know it, next year this venerable institution, owner of numerous State Championships, will split into two high schools. Nothing would please coach Nate Mazzerole, this Panthers team, the current student body, the city of Nashua and thousands of alumni more than one more State Championship as this school, bursting at the seams, is split into two, ending an era in New Hampshire history, and in the annals of New Hampshire High School Sports.

But enough of that sentimental stuff for now, there is a basketball game to be played tonight. Nashua is thirteen and four, currently in fifth place and can clinch the fifth seed with a win tonight. Should they lose, they will need Keene to beat Salem in Keene tonight--highly unlikely. The Panthers will host a Super Thursday matchup, their last game in their home gym, and it could be against a number of teams, we'll just have to see where the chips fall in the other games tonight. The Panthers got by Pembroke last Tuesday night, sixty-three, fifty-two, snapping a two game losing streak to Merrimack and Salem, the two teams they are sandwiched between in Class L. Ryan Bourque was the defensive M-V-P of that game, blocking ten shots and pulling down six boards.

Tonight Central High caps off a regular season that has been one for the ages. They are looking to go seventeen and one, with their only loss coming to Trinity back on January eleventh, a game that seems oh so long ago. They haven't looked back since that game. On Tuesday night they dispatched Winnacunnet in Hampton, sixty-five, fifty-two, for their fourteenth win in a row. Last Friday night their frontcourt tandem of Sam Carey and Tyler Roche combined for fifty-five, in a seventy-four, fifty win over the Green Wave. But let us not forget about Central's other three starters, Matt Lemieux, Ben Glide and Michael Proulx. Dave Wheeler told the Union Leader he believes Lemieux is the best defensive guard in Class L.

Central looks to finish the season at seventeen and one, and Nashua, in their last ever regular season boys' basketball game, looks to win one for its city, and its seniors, but most importantly, solidify the fifth slot in Class L. Reporting live from Manchester, this is John Doyle for Friday Night Lights, High School Sports in Action.

Hump Day . . .

By John Doyle, Sportswriter to Be

Hard to believe we're already half-way through another work week. Looking forward to some serious sports this weekend--high school basketball and "FNL" Friday, and high school hockey on Saturday night, the Division I and II quarterfinals. I MIGHT try to head down to Boston to catch the America East quarterfinals (and risk being labeled "weird" by some, but hey, it's March Madness), and if I am really ambitious and all my plans fall through, I might take a shot at getting into the BU-UNH hockey game at the Whittemore Center this Saturday night. Until then, here are some thoughts to get you through the rest of the week

*****Some interesting developments in New Hampshire Class L basketball last night. While there were no major upsets, some scores do stand out, most notably Trinity, barely escaping Nashua with a 74-72 win over Bishop Guertin. Can anyone stop Luke Bonner and Trinity, asks Valdez, who has taken an avid interest in the high school sports scene in New Hampshire (scroll down)? Considering that Trinity held a 23-point lead at halftime, something tells me that in tournament play, there's no way the Pioneers would let it get that close in the second half. But Trinity has played a few close games, though ironically, the Central game was not one of them. Who knows what can happen? The Tournament rolls around, and four teams are going to have thirty-two minutes to do what they can against them. When put that way, it sounds like a carnival attraction.

Had a chance to catch the second half of West-Dover last night. When I entered the gym, West had a 29 point lead, and went on to win by that many. Coach Mike Romps of the Green Wave was much more relaxed this time (maybe he Googled himself and read my blog.) Dover has now lost five of six after a terrific eight-game winning streak. I thought West would win but not by that much. Brett Beaurivage is still one of my favorite players to watch, because of his passion and ability, but Jeff Dickson was awesome, cutting into the lane and following up his own long-range shots with excellent layups.

Here's where we stand as of this morning in Class L. Trinity is #1 and undefeated. Central is #2, with their only loss to Trinity. West is #3 with losses only to Trinity and Central. It will be a great, but predictable, tournament.

*****Checked out "Bracketology" on ESPN.com this morning, something I am usually loathe to do. Given the scope and sheer magnitude of Division I Men's basketball, I find it meaningless and frankly quixotic to speculate on exactly where each team will fall when Selection Sunday finally comes to pass in just eleven days. HOWEVER, I was curious to find out where ESPN would put Boston University, should they win the America East as expected. To my surprise, they were placed 14th in the East, with a projected matchup against Providence. Of course, if anyone else other than BU sneaks into the field of 65, they will automatically be relegated to a 16 seed, and lucky if they're not assigned to the ridiculous "play-in" game in Dayton March 16.

Speaking of the "play-in" game, is there any tradition in sports more stupid than this one? You pick two teams that have absolutely no chance at winning a national championship, and play them off for the right to get throttled by either Duke, St. Joseph's, Kentucky or Stanford two days later. And why is this game always held in Dayton? I understand that in the "play-in" game's first year, Dayton was where the rest of the bracket was set to play that weekend, but why is it still there? Do the people of Dayton actually enjoy it? Is this Dayton's basketball "bowl game?" At the very least, hold the "play-in" at the site of wherever the winner will be playing, so each team can at least get a feel of playing in the NCAA Tournament, which they earned by virtue of winning their conference tournament. Or, better yet, flip a coin on Sunday and let the winner host the game, giving that program a chance to celebrate their conference title in front of their home fans, and earn a little revenue--sort of a last meal before their "execution."

*****This Barry Bonds/steroids story sure has gotten some press lately, huh? My take: he did it. Period.

It's a disturbing story, and one to which I feel compelled to ignore, but as a lover of all things baseball, I cannot. As a fan, I need to know who is legit and who is not, and the troubling thing is that how it stands now, we may never know. Dan Shaughnessy made the point this morning that to try to prove who has been on steroids in the past is "like asking police to prove your blood alcohol level was over the legal limit when you drove home from your cousin's wedding in July of 1999." It is funny to think about it this way, but it is true, and it also brings up a good point. Too much of the media coverage surrounding this story, especially coming from columnists and commentators, seems to be of the mentality that everyone today uses them and everybody in the past didn't. The fact is, while we can be pretty sure that Babe Ruth and Ted Williams were free of the "juice," that does not mean players of the recent past (Mike Schmidt, Cecil Fielder, Brady Anderson, Jim Rice, etc.) were not.

*****

From Valdez,

So does anyone have a shot of beating Trinity and Luke Bonner? You have to figure Central probably does but Trinity looks pretty dominant.Although it looks like B. Guertin pushed them pretty hard last night even though Trinity had that huge lead at half. I would have to say that B. Guertin has alot of sack to be able to come back like that. When do the pairings come out for the NH tournament. I actually saw the Class I pairings this morning.

I read about it in the Nashua newspaper along with the story about Wilton-Lydenborough team from the south who qualified for the Class S playoffs. SO what will Killington, VT bring to NH sports? I would absolutely love it if El Paso joined NM and/or at least competed in NM. Trinity success with its size sounds like Eldorado. I am not sure Eldorado is the most talented team out there but they have the size to go low and pull down rebounds. No one can match up with them except for maybe Cibola. That Alosa guy sounded like a jackass in the article. So you have got to love Oyster River in Class I.

So I can't wait for this weekends games and I am just hoping that I can get into both the Cibola and Rio Grande games. I am going to Hobbs tomorrow and coming back on friday but I should have plenty of time to get to Cibola on friday afternoon. For the Rio game on saturday, I will have to make the long treck early as well. I have a feeling that Rio is going to get beat on saturday even though they have already beaten La Cueva earlier in the year. I am just concerned about their lack of fundementals, they have got to be able to hit their free throws. I can't believe a team overflowing with talent like that can't get that part of the game down. And if Hobbs loses at Alamo, it will be the first time in many years that a Hobbs boys or girls team has not made the state tournement, to which the NMAA will be hating life since Hobbs travels so well with all their fans. Nevertheless I am looking forward to our tournament as well. I am trying to figure out how much of the girls action I will watch on that wednesday. Last year I watched it all but it might be nice to kick back at home for awhile.

As for the Lobos, they have one more game at CSU on saturday. CSU is playing terrible so this could be a chance for the Lobos to break their streak. If they can do that, they may be able to pull off a tournament win. After that, another year down for Lobo hoops. I hope they can keep it going. In fact, after the state tournament, not alot to talk about regarding high school or Lobo sports. While I still love high school baseball, there will be no competition for La Cueva, who one magazine Baseball America is ranking 3rd in the nation. Street and Smith baseball preview ranked them 16th nationally.

EASING BACK INTO THE WORK WEEK . . .

By John Doyle, the Sportswriter to Be

*****Friday night I was again in the blast furnace known as the Manchester Central High School gym. I guess I shouldn't complain: I chose that game. Central was on fire again, absolutely smoking Dover by 25 points, with stud Tyler Roche pouring in all but two of his twenty-nine in the second half. Had a nice chat with Dover head coach Mike Romps before the game: more on that later. Other highlights: Shavar Bernier of Dover scored point number 1,000 of his career with a buzzer beater to end the third. He finished with 1,007. For his career, that is; he actually had "only" 25 for the game.

As for my experience, it is hard to go to game after game at Central and not be endeared to Little Green head coach Dave "Doc" Wheeler. He is, quite simply, a great guy, and a great friend to the Friday Night Lights broadcast. He always is willing to stick around and talk to Mike "Mut Man" Mutnansky and "Baseball Benny" after the game, no matter how long it takes for me to get through. That sort of accommodating attitude can lead one to gush a bit over the Little Green, as I was accused (in a tongue-in-cheek manner, of course) by hosts Mike and Benny during the later part of the broadcast. But what can I say? Central is the number two team in the state and absolutely pounds everyone they play lately. Their one loss to Trinity stands out like a sore thumb, but that was almost two months ago, and if and when the two teams go at it in the playoffs, it will be a completely different Central team Trinity will face.

Mike Romps, on the other hand, showed an ugly side of himself on Friday night. Like I said, we chatted a little before the game about basketball, Dover, facing Central, etcetera, but his temper flared throughout the game. He was not happy with his boys' performance and was not shy about telling them so. I can never doubt a coach's methods of motivation--what do I know about effective coaching? Romps, after all, took the Green Wave to the State Final last year, so he must have been doing something right. But his tone, when dealing with his players, was very accusatory and seemed more appropriate for a practice session rather than a full-blown game. His players were extremely exhausted pretty much from the opening tip (perhaps due to the heat), and Romps was on their case about it from the time the Wave let their early lead slip away. To get on a player's case about being tired is more appropriate during a practice than a game situation. In a game, you have to sub the tired player out, provide leadership and a game plan to the players you have on the floor, and deal with issues of conditioning at another time.

*****Went to a UNH women's hockey game with my wife yesterday. We had a great time and saw one of the better college hockey games I had seen this season. The 'Cats scored two Power Play goals to tie the game at 3 (both scored by Rebecca Paul, who finished with a hat trick) and Carolyn Gordon scored a sweet goal, right over Providence goalie Jana Bugden's left shoulder, in overtime for the 4-3 win. With the win, the 'Cats clinched the Women's Hockey East regular season crown.

I'm not going to get into a big "Men's sports vs. Women's sports" debate in this column, but it's too bad the crowd wasn't a wee bit larger at yesterday's game at the Whittemore Center. I know the crowds for women's hockey will never rival the men's, but to the UNH community, I say: you have an opportunity to see great hockey at a decent price with plenty of legroom, so check out a women's game. Plus, you get to see men's goalie Mike Ayers move the nets out of the Zamboni's way between periods.

*****The seeding for this weekend's America East Tournament is set: #7 (!) UNH plays #10 Albany on Friday night. Although the Wildcats split with the "Great Danes" (snicker) during the regular season, I anticipate UNH will be able to get past them. Then it's Vermont, whom UNH destroyed last week, thanks in large part to the Catamounts missing top scorer (and #4 nationally) Taylor Copperanth, who is out for the season with a broken wrist. Could UNH find themselves among the Final Four of the America East, one win away from the Championship game, and an appearance on ESPN2? Probably not, but it's fun to dream.

*****District Tournaments are complete in New Mexico, and here is the way the state tournaments line up (thanks to John Valdez).

5A Regional:

Friday Night - Sandia at Cibola
Saturday Night - Rio Grande at La Cueva
Hobbs at Alamogordo
Mayfield at Eldorado

Sandia/Cibola winner v. Hobbs/Alamo winner
Rio Grande/Cueva winner v. Eldorado/Mayfield winner

4A
Aztec at Capital
Moriarty at Deming
Taos at Kirtland
Silver at Academy

Aztec/Capital winner v. Silver/Academy winner
Taos/Kirtland winner v. Moriarty/Deming winner.

Jeff Carlton of the Albuquerque Tribune wrote a good article today wrapping up the district championships. It talks about the burdensome travel some teams had to endure over championship weekend. Keep that in mind when reading the next part of this column.

*****In other High School sports news, an awesome article in yesterday's New York Times about the harsh realities of high school athletics in Alaska. The article dealt specifically with the tremendous burdens of traveling from one remote village to another in order to play regular season games. I urge anyone in smaller states (all of them) to consider reading this article before bitching and moaning about district alignments and so forth in your own state. I assure you, these athletes in Alaska have it much, much tougher. Imagine a high school in New Hampshire having a high school in Miami as a district opponent? And then having to travel by boat, plane, and sometimes snowmobile? Such is life in America's Last Frontier.

John Doyle is a freelance sports writer in Dover, New Hampshire