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A small in numbers but large in heart Hamilton freshman softball team went 6-10 this yeaer behind the contributions of (front row, from left) Betsy Bohorquez, Myriana Burgos, Kati Schioppa; (second row) Karen Estrada, Ashley Laquerre, Steffi Ordonez, Brielle Blackshear; ( back row) Chrissy Keevish, Caitlyn Santiago, Ashleydaly Miranda, Lauren Jean-Baptiste and coach Mark "Goose" Laurenti. Not pictured are team managers Courtney Soyka, Shea Rogers and Danielle Wiley.
Hamilton softball falls in finale but has nice season
            May 13: The Hamilton West freshman softball team dropped it’s final game of the season, to Marlboro, but still finished the season with a decent 6-10 record. Chrissy Keevish pitched well, hit a double and scored a run, while Brielle Blackshear had a two-run single that gave the Hornets a momentary lead.
            The team roster included second baseman Betsy Bohorquez, third baseman Karen Estrada, shortstop Katie Schioppa, catcher Caitlyn Santiago, leftfielder Carla Mercado, centerfielder Myriana Burgos and outfielders Ashleydaly Miranda, Steffi Ordonez and Lauren Jean-Baptiste.
            “They all shared time to make this Lady Hornet team tough,” praised head coach Mario “Goose” Laurenti, who also lauded the work of team managers Courtney Soyka, Shea Rogers and Danille Wiley. “They helped each game run smoothly for me,” the coach said.
West softball tops TCHS as Schioppa wins fourth
            Apr. 11: The Hamilton West freshman softball rolled to a 23-7 win over Trenton as Kati Schioppa won her fourth game of the season and Caitlyn Santiago and Chrissy Keevish both blasted two-run homers.
         
 Brielle Blackshear, Betsy Bohorquez, and Myriana Burgos each chipped in with hits and RBIs, while Karen Estrada, Steffi Ordonez and Lauren Jean-Baptiste scored two runs each. Carla Mercado added a single and run scored.
Hornets top ‘Stars in township softball duel
         
May 5: The Hamilton freshman softball team out-slugged Nottingham, 27-12, as winning pitcher Chrissy Keevish had three hits and three RBI, while Caitlyn Santiago ripped a three-run homer and Steffi Ordonez chipped in with three hits.
             Brielle Blackshear, Carla Mercado, Betsy Bororquez and Ashleydaly Miranda all added two hits, while Kati Schioppa, Karen Estrada and Myriana Burgos added one hit each and made some strong defensive plays. Lauren Jean-Baptiste made a defensive gem at second base.
Hunterdon Central wins rubber match with Steinert 
                May 4: Playing for the third time this season, Hunterdon Central and Steinert suffered through a rain delay before the Red Devils emerged with a 9-3 win.
                Steinert was without stellar hitter and fielder Brooke Alagona, who fractured her wrist in the Hamilton Tournament final. Donna Cashin had to come out of the circle in the third inning after taking a shot off the leg, and Lea Mathes took over and got blasted on her pitching wrist.
                Not only that. . .
                “We left too many on the bases,” coach Cindy “The Hat” Astore said. “We had four big shots that could have been caught but were unbelievably caught. Give Hunterdon credit, they played a great game and are a tough team.”
                The Spartans fell to 13-3, with two of its losses coming to the Red Devils.


Chrissy Keevish throws a pitch against Bridgewater Saturday in the Hamilton Tournament. Keevish showed good control in the game, and on Monday her bat exploded in a Hornets victory (Photo by Ken Weingartner). 
Keevish powers Hornets to win over Trenton
         
May 4: The Hamilton West freshman softball team topped Trenton, 20-13, as winning pitcher Kati Schioppa got offensive support from Chrissy Keevish (4 hits, triple, 5 RBI).
            
Brielle Blackshear, Karen Estrada, Betsy Bohorquez and Myriana Burgos chipped in with one hit and one RBI each. Caitlyn Santiago, Ashleigh Miranda, Carla Mercado all chipped in with defensive plays to help the Hornets, while Steffi Ordonez and Lauren Jean-Baptiste each scored twice.
                                                          
* * *
              O
n Saturday, the Hornets went 0-3 in their own Freshman Tournament, losing to experienced squads Delaware Valley, Bridgewater and Hillsborough.

               There were some bright spots, however, for the Hornets. Against DelVal, Schioppa pitched well and walked just one. Santiago did a strong job behind the plate and Burgos made a nice catch with runners in scoring position.
             
Against Bridgewater, Keevish pitched well and got a strong defensive play by Bohorquez. Blackshear had a hit.
                
In the Hillsborough game, Ordonez dropped a bunt for her first hit of the season while Mercado made a great catch on a fly ball and Estrada shrugged off some injuries for some nice defensive play at shortstop.


A happy band of Spartans display their plaques and impressive trophy after winning the Hamilton West Invitational Softball Tournament Saturday. The team members include (front row, from left) Alexa Nytkas, Amber Dietrich, Adrianna Boucher, Danielle Fabian (back row, from left) Christelle Cherubin, Stacy Manners, Angelina Aronis, Lea Mathes, Donna
Cashin, Caitlin Brugnoli and Brooke Alagona. Missing from the photo is Sarah Thomas, who was away on a school trip. 
May 1 Softball
Steinert freshmen dominant in winning Hamilton crown


Hamilton Freshman Softball Tournament on tap Saturday
       
Apr. 30: The Hamilton West and Steinert softball teams will both get some good competition on Saturday in the Hamilton High West Freshman Softball Tournament.
      The action starts at 8:30 a.m. with Hamilton vs. Delaware Valley (varsity field), Steinert vs. Hunterdon Central (JV), Bridgewater vs. Hillsborough (Wilson softball) and Woodbridge vs. Wall Township (Wilson baseball).
     At 10 a.m., match-ups are Hamilton-Bridgewater (varsity), Steinert-Woodbridge (JV), DelVal-Hillsborough (Wilson softball), HC-Wall (Wilson baseball).
        The 11:30 games are Hamilton-Hillsborough (varsity), Steinert-Wall (JV), DelVal-Bridgewater (Wilson softball), HC-Woodbridge (Wilson baseball).
             The semifinals are at 1:30 p.m. on the varsity and JV fields, and the finals will be at 3:30 p.m. (or 20 minutes after the semis) on the varsity field.
Hamilton softball ties Lawrence in high scoring affair
  
    Apr. 28:  The Hamilton freshman softball team tied Lawrence, 15-15, putting its record at 2-8-1.
       Nicole Reed had three hits and three runs scored for the Hornets, while Kelsey Meara and Jess Gephart both scored three runs.
       Defensively, Taylor Gonzalez and Zaina Banihani kept Hamilton in the game with strong outfield play. Alyssa Verderese struck out a season-high seven, five on called third strikes. 

Steinert softball rolls with three straight wins
            Apr. 23: The Steinert softball team ran its record to 7-1 with a 15-9 victory at Colonia today. It was the Spartans second win over the Patriots in three days.
            Steinert led 8-7 after five innings, then exploded in the sixth inning with six runs to put it away.
           
Donna Cashin hurled the win, notching six strikeouts for coach Cindy Astore’s troops. Powering the offense were Alexa Nytkas (4-for-5; 2 RBI, double, triple), Danielle Fabian (3 RBI, 2 HR), Caitlin Brugnoli (2-for-4; RBI, HR) and Brooke Alagona (2 triples and 3 RBI).
            
On Wednesday and Thursday, Steinert topped Colonia, 18-8, and Northern Burlington,. The win over Colonia was led by Adrianna Bouche went (4-for-5), Caitlin Brugnoli (3-for-4, triple, RBI), Nytkas (3-for-5, triple, 2 RBI) and Sarah Thomas (3-for-5, 4 RBI). Brooke Alagona struck out 11 to earn the win. The attack against NBC was paced by Fabian (4-for-4, 2 RBI); Thomas (2-for-4, 3 RBI) and Cashin (3-for-4), who also fanned eight in notching the win.
Hamilton has bright spots in loss to talented Hillsborough
        
Apr. 22: The Hamilton West freshman softball team fell in five innings to a powerful Hillsborough High team today, but there were some bright spots.
            Karen Estrada broke up a no-hitter that two Raider pitchers were working on with a sharp single to right field, and Steffi Ordonez followed with a nice sacrifice bunt. Kati Schioppa’s infield single put two runners and Estrada scored when Chrissy Keevish reached on a throwing error. Schioppa then scored on a fielder’s choice by Betsy Bohorquez.  
            Hillsborough improved to 8-1 while the Hornets fell to 3-6.
Hornet softball team explodes in win over Pemberton
        
Apr. 20: Unlike its last win, which needed a tremendous relay play to end a one-run win, the Hamilton West freshman softball team dominated Pemberton in a 20-7 victory today.
       
In raising their record to 3-5, the Hornets got a five-hitter from Chrissy Keevish, who allowed three earned runs in gaining her first victory.  Shortstop Kati Schioppa hit a three-run triple and Caitlyn Santiago belted a three-run double.
      
. Betsy Bohorquez and Brielle Blackshear chipped in with RBI singles, while Myriana Burgos, Lauren Jean-Baptiste, Carla Mercado and Asheydaly Miranda scored runs. Steffi Ordonez, Ashley Laguerre and Karen Estrada made big defensive plays to preserve the big lead.
       
Next up is always-tough Hillsborough at home Thursday.
Spartans lose first softball game of the season 
             Apr. 19:
After romping to four straight wins, the Steinert freshman softball team finally fell as Hunterdon Central took a 13-7 win today. The Spartans got strong efforts from Amber Dietrich  (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Caitlin Brugnoli (2-for-3, 2 RBI).
                Despite her disappointment over the season’s first setback, coach Cindy Astore still had enough wherewithal to request a free Fish4Scores hat. Quite impressive! Impressive enough to get a hat? We'll see.   
Hornets get strong outings in loss to Lenape
            Apr. 16: Despite falling to Lenape today, the Hamilton West softball team got some strong efforts from several players.
            Karen Estrada had a triple and scored on Brielle Blackshear’s single. Chrissy Keevish made some heads-up plays at shortstop, while Ashley Laguerre and Steffi Ordonez chipped in with some fine defensive play.
            The Hornets couldn’t survive a 4-hit, 6-RBI effort by Shannon "Bat Girl" Barlow, niece of Princeton University soccer Jim Barlow. Hamilton dropped to 2-4 and will visit Pemberton on Tuesday.
Ashley, Collins lead Steinert baseball past Hornets 
            Apr. 14: Eddie Ashley and Billy Collins each had three hits, including two doubles, as Steinert’s freshman baseball team took a 13-1 win over Hamilton today.
            Craig Buczynski notched the win, allowing two hits and no walks, while Jake Hupfl did not allow a hit in relief.
Alagona a one-girl show (with help) as Spartans top West
            Apr. 14: Brooke Alagona went 5-for-5 with six RBI, and for the heck of it also threw a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in five innings as the Steinert freshman softball team moved to 4-0 with a win over Hamilton today.
         
Danielle Fabian was 4-for-5 with three RBI, while Angelina Aronis and Caitlin Brugnoli each went 3-for-3 with three RBI.  
Mercado-to-Keevish-to-Estrada equals victory
       Apr. 13:
The Hamilton West freshman softball team staved off a last-inning comeback by North Brunswick Raiders and escaped with a 10-9 record to move to 2-2.
             Hamilton led 10-3 entering the last inning thanks to some key base running and hitting by Betsy Bohorquez and Myriana Burgos. But in the last inning North Brunswick mounted a big comeback and things looked shaky when Alexia Ortiz – representing the tying run --  crushed a two-out bomb over leftfielder Carla Mercado’s  head.
           Mercado chased the ball down to the fence, fired it to cutoff man Chrissy Keevish, who threw a strike to third baseman Karen Estrada. Estrada tug out Ortiz to win a thriller.
         Kati Schioppa threw a five-hitter and allowed four earned runs to notch the victory. Hamilton is back in action Wednesday against arch-rival Steinert.
Steinert softball team tops Lenape to go 3-0
        Apr. 9:
With four freshmen starting for the Steinert softball varsity team, one would think the freshman team would be kind of depleted.
        No chance.
        The Spartans romped to a 19-5 win over Lenape today behind Adrianna Bouche went (4-for-4, 2 RBI), Danielle Fabian (3-for-5, 4 RBI), Brooke Alagona (2 RBI) and Stacy Manners (3-for-4). Winning pitcher Lea Mathes struck out five and Alagona came in to strike out four more
.
Hornets softball team gives strong effort against RV
            Apr. 8: The Hamilton West freshman softball team dropped a 14-5 decision to undefeated Rancocas Valley (4-0), but the Hornets had some strong efforts.
            Hamilton collected seven hits, led by shortstop Chrissy Keevish (2 hits, 2 RBI, 1 run). Brielle Blackshear chipped in with a single and RBI and Karen Estrada had a hit and run scored for Mark “Goose” Laurenti’s squad.
          
Katie Schioppa “did a nice job pitching” according to the coach, as she allowed just five earned runs. Ashledaly Miranda scored a run and made a nice defensive play at second base, while catcher Caitlyn Santiago was also strong defensively.
           
Myriana Burgos, Lauren Jean-Baptiste and Carla Mercado all chipped in with strong plays in the outfield.
Spartans softball team explodes in first two wins
         Apr. 6:
The Steinert softball team got a home run and three RBI from Alexa Nyktas, while Brooke Alagona and Christelle Cherubin each went 4-for-4 in the Steinert softball team's victory over Hamilton today. Winning pitcher Donna Cashin struck out five while Alagona fanned three in relief. 
      The Spartans opened their season with 15-0 win over Northern Burlington,as Adriana Bouche and Alagona (3 RBI) each went 4-for-4 and Amber Dietrich had three hits and two RBI. Cashin struck out seven and Alagona whiffed another four in relief. 
Steinert baseball team mounts amazing comeback
       
Apr. 5: Before Steinert’s baseball team even came to bat, it was on the wrong end of a 9-0 score.
      
“It didn’t start too well for us,” coach Jamie Riese said in a classic understatement.
        
It did, however, end quite well for the Spartans who rallied for an amazing 10-9 victory over Allentown today.
       
Jeff Mattonelli fought off several tough pitches before driving in the tying and winning runs for the Spartans. Troy Flood got the win by pitching 5-2/3 innings of relief after a shaky start.
       
Eddie Ashley was 4-for-4 with four stolen bases while Jeff Komiskey had two hits as Steinert improved to 2-1.
Late letdown costs Steinert against St. Joe’s
            Apr. 3: Despite leading for nearly the entire game, Steinert committed three errors in the bottom of the sixth and dropped a 3-2 decision to St. Joe’s of Metuchen.
            Craig Buczynski was “stellar” on the mound, according to coach Jamie Riese. Steve Mutek was 2-for-4 with two doubles to lead the offense.
            “It’s tough to see a kid pitch as well as Craig did, and not see him get a win,” Riese said.
Schioppa powers Hornet softballers past ’Stars
           
Apr. 1: The Hamilton West freshman softball team opened its season with a 14-2 win over Nottingham.
           
Winning pitcher Katie Schioppa collected three hits and two RBI, while catcher Caitlyn Santiago had three hits and four RBI. Betsy Bohorquez and Karen Estrada each scored twice.
          
For Nottingham, Brittany Dragger and Rebecca Danberry pitched well, while Emily Rivera and Hadiqua Saddiqui scored for the Northstars.
Steinert baseball spells relief M-O-T-I-C-H-A 
            Apr. 1: The Steinert freshman baseball team opened its season with an 8-5 win over Hopewell Valley, as Matt Moticha had an outstanding relief effort by allowing just two hits in four innings.
           
Jeff Komiskey had the winning hit for the Spartans, while Billy Collins had a hit and two RBI and Ben Podgurski reached base four times.


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FISH TALES
(Also known as
Rich Fisher's blog)
May 7, 2012
Thanks go out to
Mollie, Ms. Quinn,
Alu, Nancy Mac
and other great

F4S contributors 
    May 7: Just want to start out by thanking Steinert senior Mollie Coyne and GALARE teacher Tracy Quinn for having me in as a guest speaker on Friday. It was a tremendous experience with a great group of kids.
    Mollie extended the invitation, Ms. Quinn made it happen and it turned out to be a great morning.
    Being a guest speaker is always a crap shoot. You go in and talk for a little bit and hope you spark an interest that will lead to some questions. If there are little or  no questions, it can get pretty embarrassing because I don’t have a heck of a lot to say after five minutes. . . on anything!  
    But the GALARE gang took care of that by asking some thought-provoking, intelligent and inspiring questions. They made me think of things I haven’t thought of in years and also made me think of things I take for granted all the time and never give much thought to. It also gave me a chance to experience a nice give-and-take relationship with the students other than a quick interview after the game.
    It’s kind of cool to see what kind of things young adults think about in this day and age, and I have to commend this group for being attentive and, not to sound like a britsh woman at Sunday morning tea, quite delightful!
    And I have to give props to Cat Castaldo, whose dad John put her up to a prank question that she didn’t even understand, but asked it anyway and had me laughing like crazy. Good job Cat! But don’t let your dad drag you down to our level too many more times!
    And Sydney, thanks for overlooking my Yankee dislike. Glad we could come to terms!
        * * *
    Congratulations also go out to Quinn and Robyn Korchick Lucchesi, both standout hoop players from the township, for their upcoming induction into the Mercer County CYO Hall of Fame. Both are quite deserving and are products of Joe O’Gorman’s knowledge of the game.
    Also, happy birthday to Tracy one day late, and happy anniversary to Robyn, who’s celebrating her 18th year with husband Frank today. All good stuff!
        * * *
    More thanks go out to Phil Alu and Nancy McManimon.
    When this site started over two years ago, I billed it as a “community sports” website, with the accent on the community. I have a few guys helping out but for the most part I’m still on my own and need help from the members of the community and the coaches of each team.
    I have certainly been getting that, as the influx of youth sports results has been better than ever this spring, as has the reporting of results from the high school coaches.
    But on Friday Phil took it to a new level. I couldn’t make it to the Hamilton-PDS game due to some other issues I needed to deal with. I really wanted to get there because so many township kids played on PDS.
    So Phil agreed to text me updates each inning, which he did a fabulous job of. And Nancy provided several pictures of the game, although that’s not news because she has done that often in the past.
    Now, skeptics will say this was only done because both their kids had big games. But they offered to do so before the game even started, no matter what the end result.
    It worked out great and I just want to thank them both. . .and thank everyone else for all the contributions you have been making this spring and, of course, in the winter, fall and summer.
        * * *     
    It’s hard to believe Marshall Harden isn’t in the Steinert lineup. Few programs can lose a guy like that and do what the Spartans are doing.
    Speaking of Steinert baseball. . . .how tasty is that 7 p.m. match-up against Robbinsville. Rarely do you get last year’s finalists meeting so early in the tournament. Steinert owes the Ravens some payback from last year, but Robbinsville is on fire.
    Should be awesome.                 * * *
    Here’s a little unfortunate news to report.
       Just call it “Bad Ending II”
       Steinert grad Angela “Pit Crew” Marinos’ had her outstanding collegiate softball career come to a gruesome end on Sunday.
       With Mercer County Community College playing Morris in the Region XIX Tournament Sunday, Marinos swung at a high and inside pitch on a hit-and-run play. She fouled the ball directly into her mouth, and blood exploded everywhere.
       Marinos was rushed to the hospital. There was no fracture but twor front teeth were pushed back, and it took over 25 stitches to seal all the wounds.
     This marks the second dark ending to a career for the popular Marinos. (To quote HGSA legend Tara Lavin “Who doesn’t like Ange?”). Her career at Steinert ended due to a broken ankle.
    Get well soon Ange. There are engines to overhaul!
        * * *
      Fish4Scores “Phase 2” is on the horizon.
     After making sure this was a site that was going to last and gain interest, I now want to take it to the next level and begin selling banner advertising to local businesses. The process will probably take a month or so to get started, but if you are a business owner out there looking to promote your venture and support local athletes all at once, please give it consideration.  
       If you are a sponsor and want to upgrade to a banner ad, you will obviously have a lower rate since you’ve already paid into it.
       More details will be forthcoming, but just putting it out there.
              * * *
    There is another exciting promotion for Fish4Scores in the works, but things haven’t been finalized yet so let’s wait until they are before we talk about it. But in getting it started, it will involve fun help from the community.  
             * * *
         My dislike of the Yankees is no secret to anyone who reads this blog, but here’s hoping Mariano Rivera can make a successful return next year.
      There is no way anyone in the world can not like this guy. He is humble, modest, keeps a lower than low profile and just happens to be the greatest player at his position that ever lived playing for a franchise that is nearly impossible to stay low profile with.   
      A guy like Mariano deserves to go out on his terms. He deserves to have a farewell tour around the league and let everyone cheer him. He probably doesn’t want that, but he deserves it.
      In my mind, he is the absolute key to this Yankee dynasty in the era of the closer.
    Get well and get back Mariano. You deserve it!                * * *
     My Flyers are down 3-1. My Sixers are up 3-1.
    I predicted Flyers-Devils would go seven games with four of them going overtime. I didn’t predict the winner, just the length. Well, change that from my prediction to my prayer.
    As for the Sixers, I thought they would hang with the Bulls after Derrick Rose went out, but didn’t think they would win. But Chicago is getting killed with other injuries too, so what the hell, might as well take advantage of it!
           * * *
    Mike “The Meatball Master” Papero continues to show his versatility, as he ran the clock flawlessly during Hamilton West’s girls county lacrosse game with Robbinsville Saturday. The Master also announces at hoop games, coaches football and coaches golf.
    Where there is time for meatballs, I will never know.

 April 28, 2012

Township athletes

should be making

us proud during

period of adversity

            Apr. 28: As much as everyone in the area likes Jimmy Hines, I’m afraid I  overstayed his welcome at the top of this blog. No less than three people this week said “Hey, isn’t about time for a new blog, I’m a little sick of Jimmy Hines.”
            Well, OK, a month might be a little too much, so here we go on to the land of the Hines-less.

            * * *

            We all know what’s going on in Hamilton Township these days and it is not casting us in a very good light around the area.

            But we can’t help what our leaders do, we can only do what we do.

            That’s why this township should be proud of some of the young athletes at Hamilton West High School this week.

            In case you missed the stories posted on Fish4Scores earlier this week (and still on the home page), a group of Hornet football players helped out at the Miracle League by playing baseball with individuals with disabilities, and Hamilton West softball catcher Brianna Castellano has gotten her teammates and Nottingham’s softball team to “Play for Pink” Monday night during their game at HGSA.

            Granted, these aren’t the only high school kids from the township that do nice things. It happens at all three schools.

            But during a week of total upheaval in our township, the timing of these athletes could not be better to make us feel good about ourselves. Isn’t it nice to know that there are some young kids among us who aren’t just thinking about themselves, but are looking out for others?

            Show them how much you appreciate it.

            Prove to them you’re proud of what they have done during this bleak week.

            Come to the HGSA complex Monday night and donate to breast cancer. And watch a good softball game while you are there.

            * * *        

            Megan Cibree is about as much of a lacrosse expert as you can get when it comes to the sport in Hamilton Township.

            The Steinert senior has played in the Spartans program since she was a freshman and Steinert was a club team. Her boyfriend plays on the Steinert boys’ team.

            If she’s not playing lacrosse with the girls, she’s watching it with the boys.

            So who better to ask if the sport is catching on in Hamilton.

            “Oh yeah, definitely,” she said during a recent boys game that was very well attended. “You really see it at the boys’ games. I’m not sure if it’s catching on with the girls as much, because there really is more action in the boys’ games.

            “But we’re still getting better crowds. People are really starting to get into it more.”

            It helps that the Steinert boys and Hamilton girls have been winning a few games this year, which always helps pump up interest.

            Granted, they are playing weaker schedules than the best teams in Mercer. But New Egypt coach Jay Corby, a township resident who has done an outstanding job out there in Plumstead, says that’s the way to go.

            “If you’re trying to build a program, you have to have some success first,” Corby said. “You have to go out and win a few games, and get the kids some confidence. Then other kids in school see that the team is winning and maybe they want to come out.

            “Once all that starts happening, then you can try and get a tougher schedule. But for now, let them enjoy some wins.”

            * * *

            Whoever knew this township was such a rugby factory?

            Believe it or not, no less than four former high school athletes are playing club rugby at their respective colleges. Steinert’s Garrett Braddock is at Syracuse, Nottingham’s Mike Elberson is playing at Ursinus, Steinert’s Jonathan Pulley plays at Albright, and Hamilton West’s Amanda Rossi just went to the collegiate club championship game with Pittsburgh before the Panthers fell in the finals in chilly Ohio.

            When somebody finds out where this feeder system is, please let me know.

            * * *

            You may have noticed that I am trying to run game by game results of various sports.

            You may also have noticed that they are like, really crooked. They kind of swerve their way downward.

            You may not care. Or, you may wonder why.

            My answer is, I do not know why. They are straight when I type them in and proof them and all that. Then when the site publishes, they are crooked.

            One of life’s little mysteries I suppose.

            * * *

            I’m not a huge hockey fan. I used to be, back in the day of the Broad Street Bullies winning Stanley Cups, but there’s just too many teams to try and keep track of the regular season.

            BUT. . . I don’t know if any sport’s playoffs are more exciting than the Stanley Cup playoffs.

            The NFL playoffs and NCAA tournament are gut-grinding because they are one-and-done. But as far as best-of-seven series, the emotions of these hockey playoff games are incredible. It seems like so many of them are one goal games, down to the wire with a goalie out.
           I think one of the big differences in hockey and the NBA is that with hockey, barring a penalty, the game plays out in a rhythm with few stoppages down the stretch. In basketball, foul shots and timeouts in the final few minutes pretty much stall things. In hockey, you never get the chance to catch your breath, which is what makes it so cool.

            I don’t even care about some of the teams in these playoffs and I’m all edge-of-my-seaty at crunch time. It’s good stuff. And it’s gonna be pretty wild around here in the next few weeks with Flyers-Devils.

            Let’s go Flyers!  

            * * *     

            Speaking of playoffs, I am a Sixers fan, but it kills me to see Derrick Rose out for the rest of the playoffs.

            Part of what makes any post-season game great is watching the stars go head to head and see who rises to the top. For the Bulls to lose their best player, that just cheats everybody. Will the Heat feel good about beating a Rose-less Bulls?

             Actually, with that crew, who knows?

            * * *

            I guess there’s something wrong with me, but I just can’t get into the NFL draft. I don’t know why. Maybe I’ve just seen too many hyped guys fall flat, so watching all this stuff and all these interviews and everything just doesn’t do much for me because you really never know what’s going to happen.

            I can understand people doing it. It’s a great haven for hard core football fans. I’m a big fan, but I’m more a fan of just watching the games. I’m not a fantasy guy, I don’t play pools, I just love to watch it.

            What does make me laugh, are the people who sit there and watch the 86,000th pick with the same intensity as the top 10. “Ohhh, how can they take that guy when that receiver at Saskatchewan College is still available. That kid’s a sleeper!”
          * * * *
      Congratulations to College of New Jersey coach Sharon Pfluger for becoming the first Division III women's lacrosse coach to win 400 games. Sharon is not from Hamilton, but she's a friend, a great person and a great coach and I'm happy for her.