| Archives | Business | Entertainment | Health | Living | Maine News | Online Only | Public Records | Sports | Tourism | Travel |
 |
|
| Shop the Coast: | Cars | Classifieds | Dating | Dining | Golf | Jobs | Lodging | Real Estate | Yellow Pages |
|
|
|
|
|
February 29, 2008
It's official: Samuel signs with Eagles
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles have signed free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel. The Eagles agreed to a six-year contract on Friday with Samuel, who spent the last five seasons with New England and had 16 interceptions the last two years. Samuel also tied the NFL career playoff record with three interceptions returned for TDs. The Eagles will likely trade or shift positions for either Lito Sheppard or Sheldon Brown. Samuel, a two-time Pro Bowl selection with two Super Bowl rings, has 22 career interceptions. He was protected by New England last year by the franchise player tag. Posted by Frank Coppola at 05:13 PM | Comments (0) Samuel appears ready to leave Patriots
Well, it looks like free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel is as good as gone from New England. Various Internet rumors already have Samuel agreeing to a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. All the team will say is that Samuel is in town for a visit today. The Eagles are reportedly ready to throw a six-year, $60 million contract at Samuel, who is easily seen as the best cornerback on the market. That's far too rich for the Patriots, who are about to lose one of their biggest playmakers on defense. Of course, it would have been nice had he made one more play in the Super Bowl on that last Giants drive (grumble, grumble...). As expected, it looks like Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli have some serious work to do this offseason. To this point, there's been no updates on Randy Moss, who can now officially sign with any other team. Gulp. Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:37 PM | Comments (0) February 28, 2008
Bruschi's return a welcomed sight for Patriot fans
A couple days ago, we mentioned in this space that the New England Patriots were due to receive some good news. And since we don't have the powers to turn back time and reverse the result of Super Bowl XLII, this will have to do: Linebacker Tedy Bruschi is returning to the team for a 13th season. Bruschi, who has been to five Super Bowls with the Patriots and won three, reportedly agreed to a new deal on Thursday. The surprise is that it is a multi-year deal. Bruschi has taken things one year at a time since suffering a stroke 10 days after the Patriots won the 2005 Super Bowl against the Eagles. There was much speculation that Bruschi would have retired had the Patriots completed their undefeated season. Alas, no such luck. Bruschi's return is welcomed news for New England's thin linebacking corps, although the Patriots could really use some young blood at the position. Bruschi turns 35 in June, and the team is still awaiting word on the possible return of 39-year-old Junior Seau. Earlier this week, New England released 30-year-old Rosevelt Colvin in a salary-cap move. Colvin's season-ending injury took its toll on the Patriots' defense, giving Bruschi and Seau larger roles than the team would have liked. Let's hope that New England either drafts a young linebacker this year or signs a strong free agent to lessen the burden on Bruschi and perhaps Seau next season. Bruschi may have lost a step, but his leadership and presence in the locker room cannot be overlooked. And despite his advancing age, the former Pro Bowler still had 92 tackles and a pair of sacks in 2007. Welcome back, Tedy. Here's hoping for a happier ending next season. Posted by Frank Coppola at 10:28 PM | Comments (0) February 27, 2008
Winnacunnet girls rout Keene in playoff opener
Let's just say that the rest of Class L wasn't encouraged by the Winnacunnet High School girls basketball team's 87-41 romp over Keene on Wednesday in the first round of the state tournament. The defending champion Warriors sent a loud message that they're still the team to beat, routing the Blackbirds on the strength of their trademark press defense. Next up: No. 8 Trinity in Saturday's quarterfinals. By Dan Doyon No. 16 Keene had the unfortunate task of facing a Winnacunnet team that was licking its chops in Wednesday’s preliminary round of the Class L tournament. Winnacunnet jumped out to leads of 12-0 and 28-8 thanks to its relentless press and cruised to an 87-41 win over Keene. The Warriors forced 19 turnovers in the first half and sank 11 3-pointers on the night for their top scoring output of the season. Winnacunnet (17-2) continues its quest for a second straight championship on Saturday (7:30 p.m.) against No. 8 Trinity (13-6) in the quarterfinals at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The Pioneers advanced with a 65-37 defeat of No. 9 Exeter (10-9) in Wednesday’s other action. Keene finished its season at 5-14. “You can’t really do much more than what we did tonight,” Winnacunnet coach Ed Beattie said. “We came ready to play from the top down; everybody who stepped on the floor played well for us tonight. It was unfortunate for Keene to catch us after a loss, because we had a little more incentive.” Sophomore point guard Tiffany Ruffin scored all of her 18 points in the first half to lead the Warriors, while Caroline LaRosa netted 15 points off the bench. “(Winnacunnet) really shot lights out in the first half,” Keene coach Eric Matte said. “That’s a really confident team. One of the things I told my players at halftime and after the game was to look at their desire. They were coming off a loss on Saturday and I think that worked against us. They came out a little more hungry, a little more focused.” The Warriors’ backcourt tandem of Ruffin and Lindsey Mahoney combined for 17 points in the opening quarter. Keene’s first bucket came from Camryn Warner (12 points), three minutes into the game. Winnacunnet’s lead stretched to 19-2 following a 3-pointer by Ruffin and a hoop from Brianna McCain. LaRosa’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sent Winnacunnet into the second quarter with a commanding 28-8 advantage. “That is just a tournament-tested team that played very well,” Matte said. “They’re a very well-coached team and they’re very good at what they do.” The Warriors forced 10 turnovers in the second quarter and shot 8-for-12 from the floor in extending their lead to 51-16 at halftime. Many of Winnacunnet’s easy shots came as a result of its press defense. “It makes the game easy,” Beattie said. “I was pleased with our defense. Forget about our shooting, it takes care of itself. Our defense was very focused and mentally awake tonight, and that is very important.” Winnacunnet had a similar start in its only meeting with Trinity this season. The Warriors jumped out to a 19-0 lead in their 67-48 win over the Pioneers in Hampton on Jan. 22. “Every night in the tournament you have to be focused on what the opponent is going to try to do and what you have to take away from them,” Beattie said. “Tonight we did a nice job and we’ve got another game on Saturday.” Winnacunnet 87, Keene 41 Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:49 PM | Comments (0) February 26, 2008
Bad news keeps piling up for Patriots
One of these days, the New England Patriots are going to receive a piece good of news. They’re certainly due for it. Things have hardly been rosy for the Patriots since their shocking loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The national media’s obsession with Bill Belichick’s videotaping habits has been bad enough. But consider all these issues that have also popped up, giving Patriot Nation a collective headache. • The Patriots were sued for millions of dollars by a former St. Louis Rams player and three fans. Of course, these other issues pale in comparison to the S-word. Despite the NFL’s wishes, wannabe watch dogs at ESPN, Congress and other outlets continue to beat the Spygate drum. Thanks to dolts like Arlen Specter, the story has been given new twists and turns as people continue to look under Belichick’s rug for more evidence of so-called cheating. (We’ll say it again: What the Patriots did would have been perfectly legal were it done in an enclosed area. Big frigging deal.) Specter flipped his lid when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him Belichick has been taping defensive coaches’ signals since he became New England’s coach in 2000. Of course, this was old news that Belichick and Goodell had admitted long ago. You see, Mr. Specter, Belichick didn’t think he was breaking any rules. So why wouldn’t he have been taping signals all along? The more I hear of this Spygate situation, the clearer it becomes that Goodell just wanted to make a statement about being the new boss in town. Under the Paul Tagliabue regime, these borderline rules violations were apparently ignored. But Goodell had come down hard on players like Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson, so he knew the players’ association would be in his face if he didn’t come down hard on Belichick, which he did. Unfortunately, blowhards like Specter and most casual fans hear the word “cheating” and get their panties in a bunch. What the Patriots did was not cheating, plain and simple. How can videotaping something in public view be cheating? How can videotaping something from one location be OK, but from another location be cheating? It doesn’t make sense. Then there’s Matt Walsh, who was ripped by Belichick and personnel guru Scott Pioli in the Boston Globe earlier this month. Apparently Walsh holds a grudge against the Patriots after they fired him for secretly tape recording conversations he had with Pioli. But some people want to believe that he was ordered by Belichick to videotape a St. Louis Rams walkthrough prior to the 2002 Super Bowl, an accusation Belichick basically laughed at because it was so dumb. Not to be outdone, that multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed by some idiot lawyer in Missouri who claims that former St. Louis Rams players and fans are due damages because of an alleged taping that probably never took place. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought lawsuits had to be based on facts. The lawsuit has been torn to shreds by sports law experts in the last few days, which is a sign that the rest of the world might not be out to get the Patriots after all. And that, in these times of turmoil, counts as good news for Patriot fans. Frank Coppola can be reached at fcoppola@seacoastonline.com. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:53 PM | Comments (0) February 23, 2008
Hockey East clinch a cinch for UNH
The University of New Hampshire men's hockey team accomplished one of its main goals on Saturday night by winning the Hockey East regular-season championship. Of course, the way the Wildcats are playing, they have much bigger things in mind. UNH fans are starting to get visions of the school's first national title, but for now they'll have to be content with the results of Saturday's 5-1 win over Boston College. By Roger Brown UNH scored four power-play goals Saturday night and wrapped up the Hockey East regular-season championship by beating BC, 5-1, at the Whittemore Center. Left wing Danny Dries collected two power-play goals. UNH also received a power-play goal from right wing Matt Fornataro, a five-on-three goal from center James vanRiemsdyk and an even-strength goal from center Phil DeSimone. Freshmen scored four of the five goals. “We’re just not at the level New Hampshire is, that’s for sure,” BC coach Jerry York said. “We have a ways to go to catch them. We’re clearly not as good as New Hampshire. They’re a notch above us.” It was UNH’s seventh regular-season title. Only Boston College (10) has more. Boston University has also won the regular-season title seven times. UNH stretched its unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1). The Wildcats improved their record to 21-7-2 overall and 17-4-2 in the league. “I’m real happy for the team,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “It’s a great group. To win the Hockey East regular-season championship is pretty special. It was nice to do it in front of our fans at home.” BC dropped to 16-9-7 overall and 10-7-6 in the league. The Eagles began the night in sole possession of second place, but fell to fourth place. UNH goaltender Kevin Regan made 26 saves. BC’s John Muse stopped 26 shots. UNH put 15 shots on goal during its eight power-play opportunities. BC was scoreless in seven power-play chances. The Eagles began the night with 38 goals in 157 power-play opportunities (24.2 percent). “Specialty situations were tremendous,” Umile said. “Our power play in getting better.” It was a 3-1 game after 40 minutes, and UNH added power-play goals by vanRiemsdyk and Fornataro 18 seconds apart in the third. The Wildcats carried a 1-0 lead into the second period and increased their advantage to 3-0 before the period was five minutes old. DeSimone scored from the slot at 3:28, and Dries collected his second goal of the game when he jammed the puck past Muse from just outside the crease at 4:43. “They pressure a lot on the penalty kill,” Dries said. “You have to move the puck fast. “We’re playing well. It’s been a great year so far. We just have to keep up the momentum in the playoffs.” BC scored its first goal of the weekend with 4:34 left in the second, when junior right wing Andrew Orpik intercepted a pass inside the UNH blue line and took advantage of a clear path to Regan to make it 3-1. UNH led 1-0 after Dries scored a power-play goal with 2:41 left in the opening period. Dries collected a rebound low in the right faceoff circle and fired a wrist shot that sailed over Muse’s right shoulder. “We’ll have to lick our wounds, go back to square one and start building up again,” York said. ’CAT NOTES: Dries has at least one point in 11 of his last 13 games. He has 17 points (eight goals) during that span. … Fornataro has a team-high six power-play goals. … Radja and Fornataro each had two assists in the victory. … UNH has four regular-season games remaining — a home-and-home series against Merrimack, and two home games against Vermont. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:21 PM | Comments (1) Question of the Week: Should the Red Sox trade Coco Crisp?
What should the Red Sox do with Coco Crisp, trade him or keep him? Frank Coppola Roger Brown Mike Zhe Jay Pinsonnault Mike Sullivan Posted by Frank Coppola at 05:52 PM | Comments (0) February 22, 2008
UNH blanks BC, closes in on Hockey East title
Don't look now, but the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team can clinch the Hockey East regular-season title with a victory over Boston College on Saturday at the Whittemore Center. The first-place Wildcats moved one step closer with a 2-0 win over the second-place Eagles on Friday night at Conte Forum. By Roger Brown In what may have been the team’s most impressive defensive performance of the season, the University of New Hampshire handed Boston College its first shutout loss in 2007-08 by skating to a 2-0 victory at BC’s Conte Forum. Gerbe, who is Hockey East’s leading candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, entered the weekend as the league’s leading scorer (44 points). He had a game-high seven shots on goal. “We didn’t give them any space to make a play,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “Defensively it’s as well as we’ve played. Right now everybody on our team is playing with a whole lot of confidence.” Right wing Bobby Butler and defenseman Brad Flaishans provided the UNH offense. Butler handed the Wildcats a 1-0 lead 5:02 into the second period, and Flaishans added a power-play goal with 6:36 to play. That was more than enough support for senior goaltender Kevin Regan, who turned aside 28 shots. BC entered the game with the No. 3 offense in Division I (3.70 goals per game). “We played unbelievable defensively,” Regan said. “We did a great job bottling them up and not giving them any Grade-A opportunities. Credit to our coaching staff — they really prepared us well.” It was Regan’s third shutout of the season and the ninth of his career. “That’s what he’s been doing for us all season,” Umile said. “He’s making the saves he should make and he’s taking away the great scoring opportunities. That’s what makes him special.” UNH, which is 7-0-1 in its last eight games, raised its record to 20-7-2 overall and 16-4-2 in Hockey East. The Wildcats are 11-0-1 in their last 12 league games. BC remained in sole possession of second place, but dropped eight points behind UNH. The Eagles are 16-8-7 overall and 10-6-6 in the league. BC goaltender John Muse made 27 saves. Butler was cutting toward the net from the middle of the right faceoff circle when he gained possession of the puck and took a shot that hit the left post and bounced into the net. Flaishans scored on a slap shot from above the left circle. “Both goalies were very good,” BC coach Jerry York said. “The power-play goal was a big turning point. It was hard to fault John on that one. Before that it was 1-0 and we were battling. “New Hampshire started the game sharper and crisper than we were. Certainly we were impressed with New Hampshire.” BC put one shot on goal during its two power-play opportunities. The Eagles began the night with the top-ranked power-play percentage in Division I (24.5 percent). “I’m really, really pleased with how the team played tonight,” Umile said. “We didn’t give them a whole lot of space to create offense, which they can do very well.” The teams will meet again tonight in Durham. UNH can secure the regular-season championship with a victory tonight. “I think our intensity has picked up a little bit (in recent weeks),” Regan said. “As you could see tonight we’re playing playoff-type hockey.” ’CAT NOTES: Freshman defenseman Matt Campanale replaced junior Jamie Fritsch in the UNH lineup. Fritsch was serving a one-game suspension he received for fighting in Saturday’s 4-3 triumph over Providence. … James vanRiemsdyk and Jerry Pollastrone assisted on Butler’s goal. Matt Fornataro and Mike Radja assisted on Flaishans’ power-play goal. … Regan’s victory was the 47th of his collegiate career. He’s tied with Northeastern’s Bruce Racine for second on the league’s all-time victory list. BC’s Scott Clemmensen holds the league record with 52 victories. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:05 PM | Comments (0) Uphill battle too tough for young WildcatsBy Dan Doyon That didn’t stop a determined York bunch from trying to climb itself out of the early hole, but the uphill battle proved to be too difficult to overcome. No. 3 York made the top-seeded Lakers sweat it out and climbed within three points in the final minutes, only to fall 40-33 inside the Cumberland County Civic Center. Lake Region (18-2) made only three field goals in the second half, but made enough defensive stops and key shots down the stretch to send it to Saturday’s Western Maine championship game (2 p.m.). The Lakers will play No. 2 Falmouth (18-2), which survived in overtime, 47-44, against No. 6 Greely (13-7) in earlier action. Freshman center Niki Taylor overcame two quick fouls to put up a strong performance with 12 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and five blocks for York. Fellow freshman Stephanie Gallagher also netted 10 points for the Wildcats (16-4). “We had some good opportunities early, we did what we wanted to do, we just couldn’t get the shots to fall and we dug ourselves a huge hole,” York coach Rick Clark said. “I thought it showed tremendous character in the team to fight back and get within three. We had chances down the stretch, we had them but we just couldn’t get them in.” York held the Lakers to 1-for-9 shooting from the floor in the third quarter, as Taylor closed the gap to 28-21 entering the final quarter with a bucket. The teams combined for three points in the first four minutes of the quarter and Lake Region held a 31-25 lead when York sophomore guard Emma Clark banked in a 3-pointer to bring the Wildcats with three, 31-28, with 2:28 left. Seeming to have all the momentum, the situation turned quickly for York. Laker Krysti Leach hit her only bucket of the game, which was followed by Morgan McLean’s steal on the ensuing inbounds pass. McLean found a cutting Erica Webb (10 points) to give Lake Region a seven-point cushion at 35-28 with 1:50 remaining. “Krysti Leach, she only hit one field goal but there couldn’t have been a bigger shot than the 18-foot jump shot she hit from the corner,” Lake Region coach Paul True said. “We talked in our timeout about playing to win and not to lose and that’s exactly what she did. She stepped up and hit a huge shot.” York’s last chance came after Gallagher hit a trey to cut the lead to 35-31. Taylor came up with a steal, but her pass was intercepted by Renee Nicholas, which led to the Lakers, sealing the game from the free-throw line. “Lake Region is a very good team who is very solid and you can’t spot them that many points,” Clark said. “It took a lot of energy to get back into it and we kind of ran out of it at the end.” Lake Region pressed York hard to start the game and forced seven turnovers in the first quarter. York’s first field goal came from Meredith Reid with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. McClean hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 15-5 lead after one. York turned up its own defense in the second quarter by causing nine turnovers (26 in the game). The Wildcats closed within 17-13 after Taylor found Brittany Bracy for a basket. With a little over two minutes left in the half, Clark decided to sit Taylor down with two fouls to prevent her from picking up a cheap foul. Lake Region took advantage and closed the half on a 7-0 run, as Nicholas had two buckets in the paint sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Meghan Craffey. “I didn’t want her to get her third foul and not have her in the second half,” Clark said. “They had a little spurt but we needed her in the second half if we were to get back in it.” “In the first half we played with great defensive energy and we were making them play a little more uncomfortable than they wanted to,” True said. “Our defensive pressure led to easy basket opportunities early on.” Though York will graduate key senior leadership in Haley Westman, Bracy and Stephanie Hartman, the Wildcats will return all five starters and nine players overall, which should put them in the hunt again for the upcoming years. “There were definitely times where we got back in it, but they gave us a run for our money and we knew it was going to be tough,” junior guard Laney Yeomelakis said. “We did the best we could, but we’re going to come back next year and be strong and see them again.” LAKE REGION 40, YORK 33 3-pointers — York 2: Gallagher 1, Clark 1; Lake Region 2: Craffey 2. Fouled out — None. Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:24 AM | Comments (0) Traip denied trip to regional championshipBy Mike Zhe But ballhandling against heavy pressure was a real concern for Traip Academy, and that’s one of things that kept it from reaching its first Western Maine Class C boys basketball final in seven years Thursday night. The third-seeded Rangers battled back gallantly from an early dose of adversity at the Augusta Civic Center, but had no answer for a late one, falling 59-46 to No. 2 Winthrop. “I think we concentrated so much on defense that we might not have been focused enough on handling the ball,” Traip coach Jeremy Paul said. “We’ve had easier times against tougher pressure.” The final score was deceiving. The Rangers (17-2) led by three early in the third quarter — after falling behind by 12 practically out of the gate — but then got buried under a landslide of turnovers and hot Winthrop shooting. “They had a good full-court press that kind of got us out of our game,” guard Brennen Connor said, “and we couldn’t get back in it.” Mountain Valley Conference runner-up Winthrop (19-1) advances to Saturday night’s regional final here against top-seeded Dirigo, a 48-45 winner over No. 4 Boothbay in overtime on Thursday. Up 26-23 after Trevor Higgins made a pair of free throws early in the third quarter, everything fell apart for the Rangers. While 6-foot-4 Ramblers forward Larry Foster (17 points, all in second half) was scoring from inside and out, Traip’s offense got out of synch. “Once we got over halfcourt, we seemed to rush the shots,” said guard Tyler Metevier. “Halfway crazy,” summed up Paul. A Foster 3-pointer kicked off a 12-2 run that put the Ramblers ahead 35-28. They led 38-30 and were holding for a final shot to close out the third when a bizarre sequence unfolded. First, Traip forced an over-and-back, and Winthrop coach Dennis Ducas was whistled for a technical foul for leaving the coaches’ box. Higgins made one free throw to cut the lead to seven. But the Rangers turned the ball over while holding for their final shot, and then fouled guard Sam LeClerc during a 3-pointer. LeClerc (19 points) made all three shots to make it 41-31. All that was left after that was for Connor to bank in a shot from halfcourt at the buzzer — which he did, to make it 41-34. But that would be the final highlight of the night for Traip; the deficit never got any smaller. Rugged forward Eric Modica led the Rangers with 16 points. Metevier had 14 but Higgins, the team’s leading scorer, was held to five and fouled out with more than six minutes left. “Trevor’s a big threat,” said Metevier. “Having him on the bench definitely hurts.” The Rangers trailed 14-2 midway through the opening period, committing eight turnovers in the frame. But Metevier gave them a spark with back-to-back steals and layups, and they closed the quarter on a 6-0 run. Things looked bleak when guard Higgins was whistled for his third foul and had to leave the game with 6:23 left in the second and his team down 19-10. Instead, his teammates rallied. Behind a pair of 3-pointers by Metevier, the Rangers rolled off a 12-0 run, one fueled by defense and aided by five straight Winthrop misses at the foul line. Andrew Smithgall ended the drought with a follow in the final seconds, but the Rangers jogged into the locker room with a 22-21 lead and their fans on their feet. “The first run we responded pretty well,” said Metevier. “We’ve been doing that all season. But that second run, they just came out on fire and we didn’t get the shots we wanted.” Paul has seen his team bounce back from adversity most of the season. Unfortunately, it only had one bounce-back in it on Thursday. “I thought we were ready,” he said. “And being up at halftime, I thought we were going to step up and do it. But they put it together and we didn’t.” NOTES: Traip hasn’t reached the regional finals since 2000-01. … Modica and Connor are the only returning starters next year for the Rangers. … LeClerc was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Mr. Maine Basketball award earlier in the day. Winthrop 59, Traip 46 WINTHROP (59) Traip 8 14 12 12—46 Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) February 21, 2008
Traip boys, York girls lose in regional semifinalsThe season came to an end Thursday for two of the top high school basketball teams on the Seacoast. The third-seeded Traip Academy boys lost to No. 2 Winthrop, 59-46, in the semifinals of the Western Maine Class C tournament at the Augusta Civic Center. The Rangers fell into an early 14-2 hole before storming back to take a 22-21 lead at halftime. But Winthrop took control in the third quarter and handed the Rangers just their second loss of the season. The Ramblers will play for the regional championship on Saturday (8:45 p.m.). Meanwhile, in Portland, the fourth-seeded York girls suffered a 40-33 loss to top-ranked Lake Region. The Lakers (18-2) held off a young Wildcats team to advance to the regional championship for the third straight season. The Lakers will face Falmouth at 2 p.m. Saturday in the regional final. Posted by Frank Coppola at 09:02 PM | Comments (0) February 20, 2008
St. Thomas girls ousted in semifinalsBy Mike O’Neil After the Saints had missed their first shot of the night, Cortney Ness gathered the rebound and quickly hit Liz BelBruno down the court for an easy two. Seconds later, Ness passed to a wide-open Eliza Polli before any St. Thomas player had a chance to even reach half court. With Ness a force on both ends, the Marauders made easy work of the Saints, holding St. Thomas to just 10 points in the second half of their 48-22 win at Southern New Hampshire University. After splitting a pair of games this season, the second-ranked Marauders (19-1) will face top-seeded and defending champion Lebanon (20-1) for the Class I crown on Saturday. Third-seeded St. Thomas finished its season at 18-3. “I really thought the key to this game was getting up early,” said Hanover coach Dan O’Rourke. “I really wanted us to get a four- or six-point lead so we could settle in.” And settle in they did, bridging the first and second quarters with a 10-2 run and taking a 20-10 lead with 5:28 left in the first half. “It was 20-12 and we had the ball twice and threw them both away,” said Saints coach Larry Averill. “They were the kind of turnovers that were very uncommon with this team, and we just never seemed to calm down.” After triggering the offense with a pair of outlet passes earlier in the half, Ness was untouchable at the other end, as her reverse layup with 6:17 to go in the second quarter gave Hanover an 18-10 advantage. “Her transition right off the bat set the tone,” said Averill. “We just didn’t execute physically.” Hanover’s 6-foot junior center finished the night with a game-high 17 points to go with 10 boards. “She owned the boards,” said O’Rourke. “We did a great job holding (St. Thomas) to one shot, and when you start getting late into the playoffs, you have to own the boards. You can’t give up second chances.” The Marauders shot 50 percent from the field, and the fact that they did it against one of the better defenses in Class I made it a bigger accomplishment. The Saints allowed just 37 points per game this season and held their opponents under 40 points 11 times. “In the last two years, we noticed we’ve been able to spread teams out,” said O’Rourke. “We have the presence inside and then we can shoot from the outside.” The Saints struggled with their shooting all night long, going 8-for-45 (18 percent) from the field, including 0-for-8 from beyond the 3-point arc. At one point, St. Thomas went over nine minutes without a field goal. “They had people in our face all night long,” said Averill. “We really didn’t have the space we were used to having.” Kean and Tobey finished with four points each, while Girard finished with two. “We wanted to extend out on them,” said O’Rourke. “They had something like six threes in the quarterfinal game, so we wanted to have them beat us off drives.” HANOVER 48, ST. THOMAS 22 Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:40 PM | Comments (0) Coco Crisp getting stale in Boston
The other shoe finally dropped at Red Sox spring training on Wednesday when center fielder Coco Crisp said he would probably request a trade if he doesn't win back the starting job he lost to rookie Jacoby Ellsbury in last season's playoffs. Really, you can't blame Coco. From the reports, it didn't sound like Crisp was angry at the Red Sox or pouting about losing his job last fall. He just doesn't want to collect dust in the dugout. "I want to play," Crisp told the Associated Press. "I wouldn't be happy sitting on the bench." Crisp said he understood why Terry Francona made the switch to Ellsbury prior to Game 6 of the American League championship series. Crisp had hit .182 in his first eight playoff games as fans clamored for Ellsbury (.353 average in 33 regular-season games) to get a shot. Ellsbury never let go of the starting gig, hitting .375 over the next six games as Boston won the final two games against Cleveland and four straight against Colorado to win the World Series. Immediately following the season, speculation began that the Red Sox would try to trade Crisp in an effort to get Ellsbury into the lineup every day. There were several rumors floating around at the winter meetings, but those deals were seemingly put on hold as Boston waited for the Johan Santana trade talks to reach a conclusion (the Twins were reportedly hot on Ellsbury). Crisp has played a Gold Glove-caliber center field since getting traded to the Red Sox before the 2006 season. He got off to a great start offensively in spring training that year, but he broke his finger in early April and missed 42 games right off the bat. Really, he was never the same offensive player after that. Crisp hit .264 with eight homers and 36 RBIs in 2006, playing 105 games. He played in 145 games in 2007, but still hit only .268 with six homers and 60 RBIs and 28 steals. All in all, it was a big disappointment for a player who hit .300 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs with the Indians in the season before coming to Boston. Red Sox fans thought they were getting a younger, cheaper version of Johnny Damon when Crisp came to Boston but he didn't come close to meeting those expectations. As it turns out, Ellsbury may be the player to fill those shoes. It remains to be seen what the Red Sox can get for Crisp given his struggles the last two years. But you've got to think they'll try to bolster their pitching staff after losing Curt Schilling for at least half the season and perhaps the whole year. Boston re-signed Bobby Kielty during the offseason, so there's no immediate need to get another outfielder into the mix. The A's have been shopping pitcher Joe Blanton (14-10, 3.95 ERA), although Oakland is reportedly asking for the moon in return and certainly would want more than Crisp. Hey, after a relatively quiet offseason, it's nice to see Theo Esptein with something to keep himself busy. Frank Coppola can be reached at fcoppola@seacoastonline.com. Posted by Frank Coppola at 02:03 PM | Comments (0) February 19, 2008
Portsmouth boys knock off St. Thomas on senior night
By Mike O’Neil But Tuesday night, Law couldn’t have asked for a better senior night of his own. Helping to fill the gap left by the injured George Tsougranis, Law netted 12 points, including a rafter-rattling, two-hand dunk late in the fourth quarter as Portsmouth outlasted a game St. Thomas team, 58-47, at Stone Gymnasium. “It was a good night for the seniors,” said Portsmouth coach Jim Mulvey. “Sam rebounded the ball well tonight, then to have him cap it off with a hometown dunk.” With their sixth straight win, the Clippers improved to 15-2 on the season. With a home game in next Thursday’s Class I tournament opener already secured, Portsmouth will go into Friday night’s regular-season finale against Kennett tied with John Stark for the second seed in the tournament. Stark will host Oyster River (17-0) on Friday. “Second or third, we’ll end up in the same bracket anyway,” said Mulvey. “We don’t like to look that far ahead. We’re focused on the first one.” Tsougranis missed his third straight game for the Clippers after injuring his hand last Thursday night in Plymouth. With Tsougranis out and Harvey working himself back, Zach Abrams and guard Mike Fransoso both turned in strong nights. With the game tied midway through the first quarter, Fransoso and John Mulvey (game-high 21 points) traded baskets in an 11-4 run as Portsmouth took a 17-8 lead. “First we had to match up with their big kids, then Fransoso really hurt us,” said St. Thomas coach Dan Parr. “Mulvey got loose a couple times, but (Fransoso) hit a couple big shots from the top of the key.” Fransoso finished the night with 13 points, while Abrams had seven to go with eight boards. “Mike and Zach really stepped it up tonight,” said Mulvey. “(Abrams) does everything. He sets screens, gets the ball inbounds, and we keep asking him to do more.” The Clippers led 43-29 late in the third quarter, but the Saints refused to pack it in. Matt McLaughlin led a 12-4 run that helped the Saints (4-12) make it a 46-39 game with 3:01 left. But St. Thomas missed too many opportunities at the line, going 12-for-22 from the stripe, to get any closer. Three free throws by Mike Montville and Law’s big dunk put the game away. “We stuck around,” said Parr. “It was a great effort. But we fouled (Montville) and gave him three shots after being down by seven or eight, and it ends up being another frustrating end.” Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:58 PM | Comments (0) York girls advance to regional semifinalsPORTLAND, Maine — Rick Clark didn’t like everything he saw during Tuesday night’s Western Maine Class B girls basketball tournament game, but he liked what he saw at the end. Clark watched his fourth-seeded York High School team outscore fifth-seeded Fryeburg Academy by 10 points in the final quarter as the Wildcats extended their season with a 57-45 victory at the Portland Expo. York trailed 43-41 with less than five minutes to play, but closed the game with a 16-2 run. The Wildcats made 10 of their 11 free-throw attempts in the final eight minutes. “We got impatient at times and that got me a little nervous, but the last four minutes we controlled the pace,” Clark said. Freshman forward Stephanie Gallagher and junior guard Laney Yeomelakis each tossed in a team-high 16 points for York, which also received a 13-point effort from freshman center Niki Taylor. “At first I was nervous, but I knew my teammates were there and they gave me confidence,” Gallagher said. “That calmed me down and I kept my composure.” Fryeburg, which led 27-24 at halftime, received a game-high 28 points from guard Coreen Hennessy. The Raiders turned the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter and 29 times in the game. “They did a good job pressing us,” Fryeburg coach Michael Hart said. “I think we had a great individual effort from Hennessy, but we turned the ball over too much. York did a great job with the press and made their free throws. That was the difference.” The Wildcats raised their record to 16-3 and will play No. 1 Lake Region (17-2) in the regional semifinals on Thursday (7 p.m.). Fryeburg completed its season with a 13-6 record. “We felt like if we could put enough pressure on people other than Hennessy we could keep her in check and we could play our pace,” Clark said. Portsmouth Herald correspondent Dan Doyon contributed to this report. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:45 PM | Comments (0) No Kidding: NBA playoffs are going to rock
Well, our long national nightmare is over: Jason Kidd is officially a member of the Dallas Mavericks. OK, maybe it was only a nightmare in Dallas and New Jersey, but this deal is great news for NBA fans, who have to be salivating at the thought of this year's playoffs. The Western Conference playoffs alone are setting up to be something like we've never seen. Last year's huge upset by eighth-seeded Golden State against No. 1 Dallas may have been a sign of things to come, because it's going to be downright crazy out West this spring. The blockbuster deal for Kidd is the third for a Western Conference power in the last few weeks, joining the Lakers' trade for Pau Gasol and the Suns' acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal. Now Dallas jumps into the pool by getting Kidd, a future Hall of Fame point guard who is going back to his original team. Remember those dysfunctional "Three J's" Dallas teams of the mid-'90s with Kidd, Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson? I recall something about a love triangle with Kidd, Jackson and singer Toni Braxton being prominently involved. And you thought Spygate was a team distraction! You've got to wonder where these deals leave the Western Conference's other top contenders, namely the Hornets, Spurs, Nuggets and Jazz. Let's not forget, it's New Orleans that's somehow leading the pack out West right now, led by All-Star point guard Chris Paul. And San Antonio is probably the last team on Earth that is going to make a panic move because of all these other trades. Still, you've got to wonder if the Spurs' clock is ticking just a bit. The Lakers, Mavericks and Suns are going to be really, really tough to beat now, although injuries to Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum may slow L.A.'s title hopes. San Antonio still has the bling, though, and Tim Duncan has four championship rings for a reason. Anyone counting out the Spurs now may regret it come June. San Antonio just completed a brutal nine-game road trip at 6-3, winning six of the last seven games. The only loss during that stretch was a 98-90 setback to the Celtics on Feb. 10. Speaking of the Celtics, whichever team comes out of the Eastern Conference may be the big winner in all of this. Those West teams are going to be seriously beat up and spent by the time the Finals roll around. In the East, the only serious contenders are the Celtics, Pistons and Cavaliers. Maybe the Magic if they got really hot. Like Scarlett Johansson hot. Probably not gonna happen. Frank Coppola can be reached at fcoppola@seacoastonline.com. Posted by Frank Coppola at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) February 18, 2008
Belichick, Patriots should have broken Spygate silence sooner
In case anybody missed it, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and personnel guru Scott Pioli have finally broken their silence about the infamous Spygate controversy. Belichick apologized for the season-long scandal and told the Boston Globe that the impact of videotaping another team's defensive signals on the Patriots' game plan was minimal, that it rates as a 1 on a scale of 1 to 100. He also strongly denied allegations of taping the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to the 2002 Super Bowl, allegations that caused one former Rams player and three fans to file a huge lawsuit -- albeit a ridiculous one -- against the Patriots over the weekend. "In my entire coaching career, I've never seen another team's practice film prior to playing that team," Belichick told the Globe. "I have never authorized, or heard of, or even seen in any way, shape, or form any other team's walkthrough. We don't even film our own. We don't even want to see ourselves do anything, that's the pace that it's at. Regardless, I've never been a part of that." Belichick and Pioli also had some harsh words for former employee Matt Walsh, who helped keep Spygate in the news during Super Bowl week with his comments about having tapes that could get the Patriots in further trouble. Walsh also hinted that he was the one who recorded the Rams' practice on the eve of the Super Bowl. That's where Belichick and Pioli really took offense, with Pioli revealing the circumstances of Walsh's firing in 2003. According to the Globe, Pioli said Walsh was "secretly tape-recording conversations between him and me." Pioli then said he knew it was true because "two other employees saw him doing it, and I checked after, and heard it on the tape myself." Wow. Now that's some real spy stuff. Walsh was apparently let go immediately, which puts his Spygate comments in proper perspective. It seems to me that Walsh got his revenge during Super Bowl week with those comments about the Rams practice. Not to say the Patriots or Belichick were distracted against the Giants -- you can't take anything away from the way New York played -- but it just makes you wonder. Belichick actually said that he "couldn't pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup" in the Globe story. Now, I'm not sure if the Patriots are coming clean now just because the season is over or if because they are feeling some pressure from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell given the absolute nonsense of the Arlen Specter hearing last week. For the record, Belichick said that he didn't want to talk about the Spygate incident during the season because it would have been a distraction and kept the team from focusing on its main objective: winning games. The tactic nearly worked to perfection, as the Patriots were 18-0 before their shocking loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl. But given the simplicity of Belichick's remarks and the strong denial he made yesterday, I really wish he had done this months ago. Like, as soon as word of this scandal broke. Belichick and the Patriots have been crushed in the national media because of this story, largely because the coach and the team basically refused to comment on it. I don't think handing out a strong denial would have been a distraction to the team in the least. Not saying anything about it was a bigger distraction and just allowed the story to have legs. Personally, I have no beef with the way Belichick does business. I think he's right when he says that his No. 1 priority is to win games, but in this case I think he messed up in a big way. He should have given his explanation for the Spygate incident, offered the same genuine apology that he made yesterday, and given some insight as to the minimal effects the taping had on the Patriots' preparation. Yesterday Belichick echoed the thoughts that many of us have had in the previous months, saying that he didn't understand what the big fuss over Spygate was given that the defensive signals the team taped were in plain view to everyone at the stadium. He again said that he misinterpreted the rule about taping signals, saying that he thought it was OK as long as that information was not used in the current game. "My interpretation was that you can't utilize anything to assist you during that game," Belichick told the Globe. "What our camera guys do is clearly not allowed to be used during the game and has never been used during that game that it was shot." If he had just offered that explanation in September, Spygate would have likely died a quick death. Coaches have been doing this kind of taping for years and years. That's why this is so frustrating to Patriots fans. In the end, what they did was not a big deal in the least. Did they break a rule? Yes, a minor one that had a minimal effect on anything. But look at what the Patriots' silence did. By saying nothing for so long, Belichick only made people wonder. The media threw him and the team's legacy into the fire, and they haven't really let up since. That's the real shame of all this: In the minds of some people, the Patriots legacy this decade will forever be tainted because of a minor rule violation. In the end, much of that is Belichick's fault for not speaking up about this earlier and defending himself and the franchise. For all the great things he's done, he did the Patriots a disservice there. That said, there's nobody else in the world I'd rather have coaching my football team. And if that coach can deliver another Super Bowl championship next season, most of this controversy will finally be forgotten. Frank Coppola can be reached at fcoppola@seacoastonline.com. Posted by Frank Coppola at 02:55 PM | Comments (0) February 16, 2008
Radja's late goal lifts UNH past Providence
By Roger Brown Norton received a five-minute major for hitting from behind and a game misconduct with 5:30 left in the third period, and the University of New Hampshire didn’t waste the power-play opportunity. Center Mike Radja scored on a shot from the right faceoff circle with three minutes left in regulation, and that goal ended up being the difference in UNH’s 4-3 triumph. Radja’s shot sailed over the right shoulder of Providence goaltender Tyler Sims (33 saves). Radja leads UNH in goals (18) and game-winning goals (six). “I couldn’t even see the net to be honest with you,” Radja said. “I was just trying to use the defenseman as a screen and it went right in.” Defenseman Joe Charlebois, right wing Matt Fornataro and right wing Mike Sislo also scored for the fourth-ranked Wildcats, who raised their record to 19-7-2 overall and 15-4-2 in Hockey East. UNH has a six-point lead over Boston College, which is alone in second place. “You can’t hit from behind,” Providence coach Tim Army said. “You gotta hold up. The call is accurate as five-minute major. “Five minutes is a long time to kill that late in the game. Guys are getting tired. You’re rolling the dice because you’re giving too many good players too many touches in that situation.” Freshman right wing Jordan Kremyr collected Providence’s other goal. It was his first collegiate goal. The loss dropped the Friars to 13-11-4 overall and 10-7-4 in the league. Providence and Northeastern are tied for third place, eight points behind UNH. UNH carried a 3-2 lead into the final period, but the Friars tied the game when Kremyr put a rebound over Kevin Regan’s right pad with 8:32 remaining in the third. “We were fortunate with the penalty at the end after they tied it up,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “Radja has done a lot for us lately in terms of scoring.” UNH had a 2-0 lead after one period, but Providence sliced that deficit in half when Norton scored on a wrist shot from the slot 1:28 into the second. The goal came during a Providence power play. The Friars pulled even when Norton beat Regan (37 saves) with a shot from the right faceoff circle at 13:44 of the second, but UNH regained the lead a little more than two minutes later. Sislo converted a rebound while Regan was off the ice during a delayed penalty Charlebois and Fornataro collected first-period goals for the Wildcats. Charlebois scored on a shot from the right point at 3:59, and Fornataro made it a 2-0 game at 13:45 when he swept a crossing pass from Danny Dries into the Providence net while the Friars were short-handed. Army said he benched Norton for most of the first period. “I thought some of our upperclassmen weren’t really sharp when we started the game,” Army said. “We challenged him in the locker room after the first intermission. I thought he responded after that and scored a couple of nice goals. Unfortunately (he made) a bad decision at the end to take a five-minute major.” ’CAT NOTES: UNH defenseman Jamie Fritsch and Providence center Nick Mazzolini each received a five-minute major for fighting and a game disqualification with 3.4 seconds to play. A game disqualification carries an automatic one-game suspension. … Charlebois’ goal was his first of the season. … UNH will play Boston College twice next weekend. Friday’s game will be at BC’s Conte Forum and can be seen on NESN. Saturday’s contest will be in Durham. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:09 PM | Comments (0) Upset bid falls short for PHS hockeyBy Dan Doyon The Clippers also had the opportunity to play the role of spoiler, as Moultonborough entered the weekend within reach of the sixth and final playoff spot. After a strong second period for Portsmouth tied the game at 3-3, Moultonborough made sure its path toward the tournament remained clear. Moultonborough exploded for three goals in the third period to come away with a 6-3 win over the Clippers inside the Exeter Ice House. Keeler Lapham, who is among the top 10 scorers in Division III, added to his strong season with four goals and two assists for Moultonborough (6-8). “We’re trying to get a playoff spot, so this was a big win for us,” Moultonborough coach Kevin Campbell said. “It was huge.” The teams combined for 21 penalties and six power-play goals. Portsmouth coach Fred Rancourt said the penalties took away from his team’s flow, especially in the third period. “There were a lot of penalties, but overall it was a pretty evenly matched game,” Rancourt said. “When you boil it down, we missed some opportunities early to score some goals, and that came back to hurt us later in the game.” Portsmouth (2-11-1) had three power-play chances early in the second period and cashed in on one of them. Senior Will Evans buried a shot between the legs of Moultonborough goaltender Curt Casey (22 saves) to tie the score at 2-2. Lapham poked his second goal past Portsmouth goalie Will Buntrock (32 saves) after five minutes of constant pressure. Buntrock played well in the period, stopping 13 of 14 shots. The Clippers were presented with another power play late in the second, and Evans banked in his second goal to tie the score at 3-3 with 3:22 left in the period. Evans, primarily a defenseman, was moved up to forward on special teams due to injuries. “Evans really stepped up, he played great defense and scored two goals for us,” Rancourt said. “He’s been playing defense all year, but we had him everywhere tonight and he played great.” Moultonborough came out flying in the third and recorded the first seven shots of the period, with Jared Donahue (two goals) making it 4-3 on a power-play goal at 2:42. Lapham scored on a backhanded shot four minutes later and closed the scoring with his fourth goal late in the game. “In the third period we tried to change up our strategy on (Buntrock),” Campbell said. “Instead of firing right at him, we tried to go upstairs on him and go side-to-side.” “It’s hard to generate offense when you have to scramble all game,” Rancourt said. “Our penalty kill guys are also the guys who score a lot of goals for us, so they’re tired by the time we have an even-man rush.” Portsmouth seniors Buntrock, Evans, Richie Cady, Nate Doskocil, Shawn Heiman and Oliver Jenkins where honored in a pre-game ceremony. Posted by Frank Coppola at 09:41 PM | Comments (0) Question of the Week: Can Celtics win championship?
Do the Celtics have what it takes to win the NBA championship? Ed Flaherty Frank Coppola Roger Brown Jay Pinsonnault Mike Sullivan Posted by Frank Coppola at 07:01 PM | Comments (0) Anti-Patriot actions by Specter, Gary are absurdIt seems like professional sports should be televised on Court TV rather than ESPN these days. Just days after star pitcher Roger Clemens and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spent their afternoons on Capitol Hill for various reasons, we get word of this latest chapter in the theater of the absurd:
Former St. Louis Rams player Willie Gary (don’t worry, I’ve never heard of him either) and three fans sued the Patriots on Friday over allegations that New England cheated in the 2002 Super Bowl by taping a Rams practice before the game. Now, honestly, this is getting out of control. I’ll get to Willie Gary in a second, but first I need to bring up the completely idiotic actions of Sen. Arlen Specter. The poor Patriots, probably still shell-shocked from their Super Bowl loss to the Giants, had to listen to the Pennsylvania Senator/buffoon/blowhard drag them through the coals to serve his personal political agenda this week. Gee, Senator, the timing of your original Spygate outburst was pretty convenient — right before the Super Bowl. Hungry for a little face time, are we? And what do you know, you’re from a state with two NFL teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles) who suffered big playoff losses to the Patriots over the last several years. Hmmm, I’m beginning to doubt your motives, Senator. Even the Steelers said Friday that they think the Patriots’ alleged spying played no role in those playoff losses. And in case you missed it, there’s no love lost between the Pats and Steelers. But really, what in God’s name is Specter doing? He should be embarrassed. Last I checked, the Patriots violated an NFL rule, not the freaking law! You would HOPE that a U.S. Senator would have SOMETHING better to do than waste his time, and his citizens’ money, with this garbage. Spygate happened MONTHS ago, and now he’s conveniently bringing it up? Please. Senator, with all due respect, you are a complete joke. It continues to amaze me how overblown a story Spygate has become. Videotaping coaches’ signals in the NFL is about as old a practice as walking upright. If Sen. Specter is REALLY serious about cleaning up the NFL he’d better spend this same amount of energy investigating all the other teams in the league too, because I guarantee you they’ve all been guilty of this stuff at one time or another. And yes, Senator, that includes your precious Eagles and Steelers. I’m sorry, but it’s just not that big of a deal. Bill Belichick says he thought it was legal to tape the signals provided the knowledge gained from such videotaping wasn’t used in the same game. And you know what? I believe him. Belichick’s not an idiot. You think he would really have risked his legacy and that of his team’s for whatever minor advantage these tapes gave him? Let’s get serious. The Patriots went 18-1 after the Spygate episode. Clearly the tapes played no huge role in their earlier wins. To say that belittles all the hard work of the players and coaches, and fools like Arlen Specter should get their heads dunked in a toilet for saying otherwise. Now, about Mr. Willie Gary and these other plaintiffs who are seeking millions of dollars in a federal lawsuit because the Rams lost the 2002 Super Bowl to the Patriots. Are you kidding me, people?! Has it really come down to this? A player filing a lawsuit against a team because it won the Super Bowl. Good God. It’s crap like this that makes the rest of the world hate America sometimes. First of all, this lawsuit --- crazy to begin with --- is based on allegations. Before the game, former Patriots employee Matt Walsh allegedly taped a walkthrough practice by the Rams. Walsh, however, says he can’t comment on the issue. The lawsuit accuses the Patriots of fraud, unfair trade practices and engaging in a “pattern of racketeering.” Patriots coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft are named as defendants in the suit. Excuse me while I roll around on the ground laughing. I’ve heard rumors, by the way, that the Patriots actually caught the Rams spying during that same week and had to have someone removed from the stadium. But you don’t see Arlen Specter investigating that, do you? God what a clown. Gary, in case you were wondering, was signed by the Rams as a rookie free agent in 2001. He was released in September 2002 and went on to play in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League. In other words, he probably needs some cash. End of story. You know, a fourth Super Bowl championship would have REALLY helped in dealing with these absurd stories. Thanks, Eli Manning. I hope you choke on that shiny new ring. Posted by Frank Coppola at 01:14 AM | Comments (1) February 15, 2008
Short-handed Clippers earn benchmark win
By Mike O’Neil Portsmouth boys basketball coach Jim Mulvey said the junior forward cut his hand on the backboard while going up for a rebound Thursday at Plymouth. So with their second-leading scorer on the bench, the Clippers rallied and put together one of their best nights of the season, capping a three-game week with a 72-52 win over Souhegan on Friday at Stone Gymnasium. Portsmouth won its fourth straight game and improved to 13-2 as John Mulvey scored 23 points and Zach Abrams and Sam Law each scored 13. “Before we came out, I put one word on the board: ‘Team,’” Coach Mulvey said. “That’s what we needed tonight, a good team effort. It was a fun one tonight.” Mulvey thinks Tsougranis, despite a couple of stitches, should be available Monday when the Clippers begin another three-game week. Portsmouth hosts Kennett on Monday and St. Thomas on Tuesday before ending the regular season Friday at Kennett. “We’re going to have our hands full,” Coach Mulvey said. “Kennett probably isn’t going to make the tournament, but I’ve seen them, they’re a really good team. They’ve been in every one of their games. We have St. Thomas coming in here Tuesday, so we’ll have a hard time for sure.” Coach Mulvey said last week how his bench had started to mold into a big part of the team and with Tsougranis out, it proved worthy of its coach’s praise. Law and Sherrill (12 points) had big nights off the bench after Portsmouth lost Paul Harvey in the first with an ankle injury. “We’re getting more guys involved,” Coach Mulvey said. “Tonight it was great to see a guy like Chris MacDonald getting in there and hitting some shots. Chris is a guy that works hard every day, so to see him get in there and make some plays, it was fun. The guys on the bench were just has happy for him as he was, and that’s what chemistry on a team is about.” The Clippers struggled early, but still led 15-12 after one. Souhegan (2-13) pulled to within one on a Sam Laforet jumper, but consecutive 3-pointers from John Mulvey gave Portsmouth a 28-14 lead. “Early on they were hitting everything,” Coach Mulvey said. “We switched to a zone and I think that took them out of their game.” Law scored six of his 13 points in the second quarter as his runner with 1:17 left in the half capped the 23-2 run and gave Portsmouth a 38-16 lead. “I like the way we’re playing right now,” Coach Mulvey said. “We have to get some guys healthy, but I like where we are. Our defense is getting better; we’re ready for the tournament.” Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:59 PM | Comments (0) Warriors tighten grip on playoff spotBy Dan Doyon McKenna didn’t want to see a repeat Friday against Concord, and thanks to a dominating start, the Warriors were in no danger. Winnacunnet jumped out to a 12-0 lead, setting the tempo in its 64-38 Class L win. Winnacunnet broke a two-game losing skid and evened its record at 7-7 with four games left in the regular season. Kyle Ratcliffe and Ryan Dubois each scored 14 points for Winnacunnet, while Jordan Boover had 12. “We talked early on about coming out with intensity and with a defensive presence and we kind of did that early and set the tone on them and we kept it going the whole night,” McKenna said. “We’ve come out, jumped on teams early and let them back in. That was one of our goals tonight. To get out, get a nice early lead and maintain it. We were able to do that.” The Warriors started the game with a full-court press and Concord (2-12) didn’t get its first basket until Randy Paciorkowski scored with 3:25 left in the first quarter. The Warriors led 19-4 after the opening frame and shot 9-for-11 from the floor, with Dubois scoring 11 of his points in the quarter. “One of the things we keep telling the kids is, ‘Let’s make it easy, let’s go to the basket,’” McKenna said. “We have a tendency to be complacent and settle for jumpers, so I was happy to see them be aggressive and push the ball down the floor.” “Their aggressive defense really put the pressure on early and they showed a lot of poise and tough play out there, they deserved it,” Concord coach Todd Steffanides said. “That’s our storyline, we don’t take care of the basketball. And if you give a team like Winnacunnet extra possessions, they’re going to hurt you.” Despite the double-digit lead, the Warriors were not perfect and had 16 turnovers in the first half. Concord played even with Winnacunnet in the second quarter and trailed 29-14 at halftime. Winnacunnet came out with something to prove in the third and started the quarter on a 12-5 run, capped off by a Ryan Dunn 3-pointer for a 43-19 lead midway through the quarter. “We got a little sloppy there in the second quarter,” McKenna said. “What we talked about at halftime was that (Concord is) a Class L team and we gave them some momentum. It was 10-10 in the quarter, and they showed they could play with us. In the third quarter we wanted to show them that wasn’t the case and the kids responded well.” The Warriors are in prime position to make the Class L tournament for the first time since reaching the 2005 quarterfinals. Winnacunnet gets a big test Tuesday night at first-place Salem. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:36 PM | Comments (0) Regan saves day as UNH settles for tieBy Roger Brown UNH goaltender Kevin Regan made a career-high 52 saves and the Wildcats earned a point by tying the Friars, 1-1, at Schneider Arena. Regan stopped 20 shots in the opening 20 minutes — the most saves he’s ever made in a period — 19 in the second, 10 in the third and four in overtime. Regan’s previous high was a 46-save effort in a 2-1 triumph against Maine last season. “He played terrific,” Providence coach Tim Army said. “When you get over 50 shots (the goalie) has to do some good things. I thought he made some real difficult stops. He looked good around his net. We had some rebound opportunities, but he wasn’t floundering. He was nice and square. “I thought he played extremely well. He seems to do that more often that not, that’s for sure.” Providence entered the weekend averaging 37.7 shots on goal per game — the most of any Hockey East team. Providence goalie Tyler Sims made 28 saves. “We knew coming down here they like to shoot the puck, so I was prepared to see a lot of action,” Regan said. “They throw the puck on net from everywhere. Any goalie will tell you that’s better than (facing) 20 shots and having to make a big save. It’s really easy to stay focused when you’re seeing a lot of pucks.” League-leading UNH is 18-7-2 overall and 14-4-2 in Hockey East. Providence (13-10-4, 10-6-4) is part of a three-way tie for second place with Northeastern and Boston College. Those teams trail UNH by six points. Regan made 13 of his 52 saves during Providence’s four power-play opportunities. The Friars failed to score a power-play goal. “They take a lot of shots, you gotta handle it,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “I don’t like to see that number of shots. That’s not the way to play the game. Kevin is playing really solid. He made some really good saves when he had to.” Freshman left wing Danny Dries scored the UNH goal, which handed the Wildcats a 1-0 lead 6:45 into the game. The goal came during a UNH power play. Assists were credited to defenseman Brad Flaishans and center Mike Radja. Jon Cavanaugh, a sophomore center, pulled the Friars even when he scored from near the left post at 13:39 of the second period. The best scoring opportunity in overtime came when Radja missed the net on partial breakaway with 40 seconds to play. “Anytime you can put points up on the board in this league it’s a good thing,” Army said. “You want to win the game, but the only thing we can control is how we play. They’re fourth in the country for a reason, so we did a lot of good things.” ooo Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:20 PM | Comments (0) February 13, 2008
Politicians make joke of Clemens hearing
See, this is why most people in the world don’t trust politicians. Only in Washington could a public hearing about steroids in baseball be divided over party lines. I guess it’s what we should expect in an election year, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less embarrassing. Legendary pitcher Roger Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, sat through nearly five hours of questions in front of Congress on Wednesday, giving their versions of the truth in regard to Clemens’ use of steroids and human growth hormone. Not surprisingly, Clemens spent the afternoon denying ever using the drugs, even though his good friend and former teammate Andy Pettitte says Clemens told him he’s used HGH ... even though Clemens’ wife, Debbie, was admittedly given HGH by McNamee. As the day went on, the motives of the committee changed from trying to uncover the truth to picking sides in the fight. Republicans seemed to side with Clemens; Democrats with McNamee. Check out this beauty from Indiana Republican Dan Burton toward McNamee: “You’re here under oath, and yet we have lie after lie after lie after lie. ... This is really disgusting. You’re here as a sworn witness. You’re here to tell the truth. I don’t know what to believe. I know one thing I don’t believe and that’s you.” Ouch. On the other hand, Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings lobbed this verbal jab at Clemens: “It’s hard to believe you, sir. I hate to say that. You’re one of my heroes. But it’s hard to believe.” California Democrat Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, took it one step further. Waxman actually had the gall to apologize to McNamee for the shots he was taking from the other members of the committee. “Mr. McNamee, you’ve taken some hits today,” said Waxman. “In my view, some were fair, and some were really unwarranted. … I appreciate your cooperation, and I want to apologize for some of those remarks that were made to you.” Are you (bleeping) kidding me? And this is how the afternoon ended. Previously, Waxman looked Clemens in the face and basically told him that McNamee was a more credible witness, pointing strictly to the testimony of Pettitte. Waxman noted Pettitte’s reputation as a decent and honest man (even though he’s admitted to using HGH himself), someone who is considered one of Clemens’ best friends. And yet even Pettitte said in his testimony that he thinks Clemens used HGH. Clemens was so upset by Waxman’s statements that he interrupted him during his closing remarks, saying that just because Pettitte said he thought Clemens used HGH doesn’t mean he wasn’t mistaken. Waxman didn’t like that. He responded by slamming his gavel and barking at Clemens: “This is not your time to argue with me.” Come on, children. Hey, you’ve got to give the Rocket credit for sticking to his guns and defending himself. He’s still playing the denial card despite some mounting evidence against him, still claiming hard work is the lone reason for his 354 career victories and seven Cy Young Awards. And this time, he’s facing perjury charges if he’s found to be lying. Clemens didn’t even have to go through this circus, mind you. Some members of the Congressional committee said so on Wednesday, mentioning that the only reason this hearing was held is that Clemens wanted it in an effort to clear his name. Unfortunately, the hearing didn’t do much to uncover the truth. Clemens’ version of the truth is increasingly hard to believe given Pettitte’s testimony and the admission that Clemens’ wife used HGH given to her by McNamee. On the other hand, McNamee was verbally undressed time and again by several members of the committee as a repeated liar, a drug dealer, and someone who has tainted the National Pastime. Hard to believe him, too. If we actually had some politicians who cared about discovering the truth rather than keeping to party lines and getting some face time on national TV, this could have been a more useful event. Posted by Frank Coppola at 06:28 PM | Comments (0) Winnacunnet girls avoid upset against Dover
By Dan Doyon Upset-minded Dover didn’t fold and was a thorn in the side of Winnacunnet the whole night, as the Warriors had an uncharacteristic 30 turnovers of their own. Despite those struggles, the defending Class L champion Warriors still had enough to hold off a spirited effort from the Green Wave, 60-52. Winnacunnet (14-1) won its ninth straight contest to stay ahead of Salem (12-2) in the Class L standings with three games remaining. The Warriors host the Blue Devils next Tuesday after Friday’s game at Concord. “We survived,” Winnacunnet coach Ed Beattie said. “(Dover) played very well; they were very physical tonight and they looked like they really wanted to play. We had a lot of mistakes tonight, but you have bad games; you’ve just got to move along.” Dover dipped to 6-9 and is in good position to grab one of the final spots in the Class L tournament. Green Wave coach Mike Gile said he couldn’t have asked for a better effort, particularly on defense, where they held Warrior guard Tiffany Ruffin to 11 points. “When you prepare to play the No. 1 team, the first thing you need is the effort, and that was outstanding tonight,” Gile said. “We tried to make sure Ruffin didn’t have a career night, so we guarded her real well. We forced them into more turnovers than we had.” Dover closed within four points on two occasions in the third quarter, but Winnacunnet finished strong on a Conley Burns bucket. The Warriors then slapped on the press, resulting in a Caroline LaRosa steal and bucket for a 45-37 Winnacunnet lead after three. The Green Wave scored the first six points of the fourth to creep within 45-43 after a pair of baseline jumpers by Curran Leighton (game-high 20 points). Warrior guard Lyndsey Mahoney (12 points) answered with a 3-pointer, as Winnacunnet held a 49-45 lead midway through the fourth. While Winnacunnet had some downfalls on the offensive end, its full-court press worked down the stretch and put the game away. A LaRosa steal and pass to Mahoney for a layup gave Winnacunnet a 57-47 lead with 2:56 left. Winnacunnet stretched its lead to 32-19 following a 14-4 run to start the second quarter. Dover closed within 33-27 at halftime after a Katie Zubkus bucket. Winnacunnet’s strong front line of center Emily Siegart and forward Burns stood tall again. Siegart (10 points) and Burns (eight points) grabbed 10 rebounds each. Winnacunnet 60, Dover 52 Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) Clipper boys hang tough for big road winBy Mike O’Neil On Tuesday night in Northwood, the Clippers opened their toughest stretch of the season, a brutal six-game stretch covering the final two weeks of the regular season. Against a Coe-Brown team that usually gives the Clippers a tough time, Portsmouth started the final stretch on the right foot as it outlasted the Bears, 66-60. “This is a real good win for us,” said Portsmouth coach Jim Mulvey. “No matter how hard we try, or how much we practice, Coe-Brown plays a style we just can’t really plan for. Their coach is tremendous, their kids work so hard. Every time you play them, it’s difficult because there’s so many things you have to prepare for.” With their second straight win, the Clippers improved to 11-2 on the season in Class I. They will continue their three-game week with a trip to Plymouth (6-8) on Thursday before hosting Souhegan (2-12) on Friday night. “We have so many games coming up,” said Mulvey. “It’s all coming at us at once. We have three this week and another three next week. They’ll be tough, tough games. A lot of these teams have improved. Look at (Coe-Brown), they’ve come a long way since we saw them the first time.” The Bears (8-7) focused a lot of their attention defensively on stopping Clipper guard John Mulvey, and through three quarters they were successful. But in the fourth, the Portsmouth sharp-shooter worked himself open as his 3-pointer with 4:34 to go gave the Clippers a 49-46 lead. After the Bears pulled within one (51-50) on a Kevin Grenier (15 points) hoop, Mulvey worked himself open again for another 3-pointer, giving Portsmouth a 54-50 lead with 2:50 to go. “I think we gave (Mulvey) some good looks late in the game,” said Coe-Brown coach David Smith. “(Mulvey) did a great job coming off some screens. But overall, I thought the kids did a great job on him.” With Mulvey held in check, Zach Abrams kept the Clippers close in the third quarter. With Portsmouth trailing 39-32 with 4:40 left in the third quarter, Abrams scored five of his 14 points in a 11-2 run as Portsmouth took a 43-41 lead after three. “We wanted to go a little bit more inside,” said Jim Mulvey. “Our kids did a great job at halftime making adjustments. In the second half, we were able to control the tempo; we wanted to be a little bit more patient.” Coe-Brown’s Stephen Moore opened the second quarter with a wide-open 3-pointer, leading a 14-2 run that gave the Bears a 27-15 lead with 4:22 remaining in the first half. Moore netted 13 points on the night, but was held to just one field goal in the second half. “I thought that was one of the keys for us,” said Jim Mulvey. “We needed to slow down the Moore kid. He and Kevin (Grenier) are players. Johnny (Mulvey) helped hold Moore to two points in the second half. Johnny’s not known for his defense, but we needed someone to step up and guard him. We had a lot of guys step up tonight.” PORTSMOUTH 66, COE-BROWN 60 Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:02 AM | Comments (0) February 12, 2008
Tuesday's high school highlightsPetzy leads Exeter past Alvirne Sean Coleman and Alex Blomeke added 13 points each for Exeter, which improved to 10-4. Alvirne, which dropped to 8-5, got double figures in scoring from Tim Cox (21), Brennan Donnelly (12), Max Mahoney (11), Tyler Prescott (10) and Sonny Garcia (10). “It’s a real good win for us,” said Exeter coach Jeff Holmes. “Alvirne is a quality team. They have real good balance, and it’s tough to concentrate on one guy.” Exeter found itself down most of the first half, but ended up with a 34-31 lead at the break. “Defensively we picked up our intensity and Petzy hit some big shots,” said Holmes. Boys Basketball Dover 54 Girls basketball Amy Lemieux led the way with eight points and Ali Higgins had five points. This was the final game for seniors Higgins, Austen Taylor, Courtney Connor and Corey Tackett. “They should be proud of the way they played,” said Traip coach Paul Marquis. Alvirne 42 Middle schools JV boys basketball Girls basketball Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:50 PM | Comments (0) February 11, 2008
Celtics, Big Baby growing up fast
Here's how good the NBA's Western Conference is: The Houston Rockets, at 30-20, are on the outside of the playoff picture as of this moment. A team that features All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, one that's 10 games over the .500 mark, wouldn't make the postseason if it started tomorrow. That's crazy. If the Rockets were in the East, they would be a virtual playoff lock. In fact, they would be the No. 4 seed and have home-court advantage in the first round. How is this relevant to your Boston Celtics you might ask? Well, those Celtics happen to be a New England Patriot-like 16-0 against the Western Conference this season. It's a record that includes wins over the Lakers, Mavericks, Jazz, Nuggets, Warriors and those aforementioned Rockets. Pretty impressive. Oh, and the list also includes the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, who dropped a 98-90 decision at the Garden on Sunday afternoon. It was sort of a national coming out party for the Celtics, whose victory was broadcast on ABC. It was a showcase for a team that won a total of 24 games last season and endured an 18-game losing streak around this time a year ago. That same team, although with a much different roster, is now a remarkable 39-9 and owns the best record in the entire league by three full games. It was also a statement win for the Celtics, who beat the Spurs without their top two post defenders, forward Kevin Garnett and center Kendrick Perkins. Garnett, you may have noticed, is also fairly important on the offensive end, as well as being arguably the best floor leader in the league. I guess that's why he's among the top two or three MVP candidates at this moment. Now, it must be noted that the Spurs were also playing short-handed on Sunday, missing point guard Tony Parker, who has -- ironically -- a bone spur in his left heel. Parker was the Finals MVP in the Spurs' sweep of the Cavaliers last season, but make no mistake: The Celtics were worse off without the services of Garnett, who has missed seven straight games with an abdominal strain. It speaks volumes to the job Celtics GM Danny Ainge has done that Boston has gone 5-2 in those games. (You think Cleveland could go 5-2 without LeBron James? Probably not even if those seven games were against the Memphis Grizzlies.) Although Paul Pierce (remember him?) was clearly the star of Sunday's win, scoring 35 points, Boston's supporting cast nearly stole the show. That's a group that includes point guard Rajon Rondo and rookie forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who continues to be a crowd favorite at the Garden. I was at the game on Sunday, so I'm not sure if it came across on the TV broadcast, but there was an electricity in the crowd when Big Baby was about to check into the game. It's not like we expect him to score 20 points out there, but you know he's going to bring a fun-loving, hard-working presence to the court. And sure enough, Davis did just that. Mind you, he didn't draw an easy assignment. Davis was matched up against Tim Duncan, owner of four championship rings and probably the most underrated superstar in the history of the league. (Seriously, if Duncan played in New York, L.A. or some other big market, we'd be comparing him to the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. He's that good. He doesn't care about numbers, doesn't care about glory or fame. Just wants to win. Really, he'd make a good Patriot.) Big Baby, playing a season-high 33 minutes, finished with nine points and eight rebounds. More importantly, he did a real nice defensive job on Duncan, using his large frame to keep the three-time Finals MVP uncomfortable on the block. Duncan, as all great players do, still got his numbers: 22 points, 14 boards and six assists. But many of those shots were off-balance bank jobs, tough shots that Davis forced but went in anyway, only because Duncan is such a stud. How big a deal was this win? Well, it was the first time in Duncan's 11-year career that he's lost a game in Boston. The times, they're a changing. Rondo, meanwhile, was arguably the most entertaining player on the court. The second-year, lightning-quick point guard continued to silence his dwindling number of critics by dishing out 12 assists and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. He finished with just five points, but that's the beauty of Rondo: He's a pass-first, true point guard whose main concern is running the offense and being a stopper on defense. Even without Garnett and a starting lineup that included immortals such as Leon Powe (still one of my favorites) and Brian Scalabrine, Boston didn't need Rondo to carry a big offensive load. Again, that's a credit to Ainge. First-year Celtics Eddie House and James Posey gave their usual sparks off the bench, along with Big Baby, while Pierce and Ray Allen did the rest. It had to be a jumbo-sized confidence builder for Boston, which now knows it can beat the Spurs even without Garnett. Granted, games played in the middle of February aren't nearly as interesting to San Antonio as those played in May and June. This is the model franchise in all of basketball, maybe all of sports, and they'll be just fine come playoff time. Even in defeat, the Spurs are a treat to watch for true basketball fans. Their ball movement was terrific, even without Parker handing out the rock. And Duncan remains in his prime as arguably the best power forward of all-time. The only negative for the Spurs was the incessant flopping of guard Manu Ginobili, who spends more time trying to draw fouls than he does burying jump shots, and he hits a ton of shots. But Sunday wasn't about the Spurs, it was about the Celtics. And as the aftereffects of Super Bowl XLII continue to haunt many of New England's sports fans, the game gave us a nice diversion and some positive news to refresh our minds a little. These Celtics, they're pretty good. Maybe New England will have another championship to celebrate this year after all. Frank Coppola is the assistant sports editor for Seacoast Media Group. He can be reached at fcoppola@seacoastonline.com. Posted by Frank Coppola at 10:53 PM | Comments (0) February 09, 2008
UNH completes weekend sweep of rival Maine
By Roger Brown UNH received 28 saves from goaltender Kevin Regan and completed a weekend sweep of Maine by posting a 4-1 victory Saturday night at Alfond Arena. Right wing Bobby Butler (No. 9) right wing Matt Fornataro (No. 11), left wing Danny Dries (No. 6) and center Mike Radja (No. 17) provided the UNH offense. “We came up here for two wins and it was a good weekend of hockey — it wasn’t one-sided,” Fornataro said. “Playing Maine up here you have to be opportunistic and that’s what we were this weekend.” UNH, which stretched its winning streak to five games, improved its record to 18-7-1 overall and 14-4-1 in Hockey East. The league-leading Wildcats have a five-point lead over Boston College, which is alone in second and was idle Saturday. “I thought the team played solid hockey all weekend in a great environment,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “It doesn’t happen too often you come up here and get two, so we’re thrilled. I think the team is playing as well as we’ve played.” Maine dropped to 8-15-3 overall and 4-12-3 in the league. The Black Bears have lost five in a row and are 1-7-2 at home against Hockey East opponents this season. “For the most part I thought they defended their goalie better than we defended ours,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. “I think that might have been the difference in the game, because both teams had good opportunities. The second difference was they finished and we did not. They have some guys who can put that puck in the net and we’re not there yet.” After a scoreless first period, the Wildcats grabbed a 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the second. Butler used Maine defenseman Travis Ramsey as a screen and beat Maine goalie Ben Bishop (20 saves) with a shot from the slot at 9:18, and Fornataro doubled UNH’s advantage while the teams were skating four-on-four with 2:42 left in the period. Fornataro was just outside the crease when he redirected Kevin Kapstad’s pass from the left corner into the Maine net. Dries made it 3-0 when he converted a rebound from close range at 12:47 of the third. Dries has six goals and seven assists since he was moved to the top line Dec. 28 (12 games). Right wing Jeff Marshall spoiled Regan’s bid for a shutout with 5:14 to play, then Radja finalized the scoring when he blocked Bishop’s clearing attempt and shot the puck into an empty net at 15:35. It was Radja’s fourth goal of the weekend. Radja also collected two assists in the victory. “Anytime you can get two (victories) in this league, especially against Maine in Orono, it’s a great weekend,” Umile said. ooo ’CAT NOTES: Saturday’s game was the 100th between Maine and UNH. The Black Bears lead the series 53-42-5. …. The victory gave UNH its first regular-season sweep of Maine since the inception of Hockey East (not including forfeits). UNH won 3-2 Friday night and 2-0 on Dec. 16. UNH hadn’t swept Maine since the 1982-83 season, when the Wildcats were also 3-0 against the Black Bears. … Maine left wing Andrew Sweetland, was a late scratch. Sweetland had a goal and an assist Friday night. … UNH will play Providence twice next weekend. Friday’s game will be at Providence’s Schneider Arena, and Saturday’s contest will be played in Durham. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:09 PM | Comments (0) Portsmouth teams fare well at state swim meetBy Ken Stejbach Portsmouth High School’s Dawn Brown and the boys 200-yard freestyle relay of Robert Garcia, Eddie Young, Alex Kappel and Sam Park might beg to differ. All of them owed their victories at Saturday’s Division II NHIAA Swimming and Diving Championships to their team and teammates. The Portsmouth boys finished third in the team competition, while the Clipper girls took sixth place. Brown, a senior captain, won the girls 100-yard breaststroke in 1 minute, 9.51 seconds, and Garcia, Young, Kappel and Parker swam away with the 200 freestyle relay in a clocking of 1 minutes, 35.88 seconds. Julie Swan also recorded third- and sixth-place finishes for the Portsmouth girls. The Portsmouth senior came out of the second heat to finish third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:05.69. She finished sixth in the 100 free in 58.26 seconds. Brown, who finished second last year in the 100 breaststroke, came in seeded third, but swam to first. She said it was “my team” that made her finish first. Brown also finished sixth in the 50 free (26.67). It was the St. Thomas Aquinas girls and the Oyster River boys, however, that claimed the much cherished team titles. St. Thomas, led by Abby Whittaker, Acadia Tucker, Emily Kates and Jess Blais, won the girls meet with 204 points. Souhegan (155), Oyster River (153), Derryfield (146), and Hollis/Brookline (87) rounded out the top five. The Portsmouth girls finished the night with 84 points. To show up at the state with only six girls and finish sixth, said Portsmouth coach Dan Truesdale, “is nothing short of spectacular. Words can’t describe how proud I am of them. We had truly, truly outstanding, outstanding swims by every single girl.” Whittaker won a pair of events, and was a part of the winning relays for St. Thomas Aquinas. Whittaker won both the 200 IM (2:17.78) and 500 free (5:33.98), and teamed with Blais, Tucker and Eileen Sipple to win the 200 medley relay. She also teamed with Blais, Tucker and Kates to win the 400 free relay (3:54.11). The Oyster River girls were led by their pair of divers — Reegan Carbone and Krystin Vasile — who finished first and second, respectively, with scores of 216.65 and 176.65. As for the boys ... The third-place Clippers finished with 131 points. “To think that five years ago there were only three boys on the team ... now there are 20 ... and we came in third by six points,” said Truesdale. “Every single boy swam his heart out. “This truly marks Portsmouth’s emergence back into the state swimming scene.” The Oyster River boys, led by divers Jack Lewis, Tim Hartford and Arturo Jaras Watts, and both their 200 medley and 400 free relays, won the meet with 210 points. Souhegan finished second with 137. Bow (111), and Campbell (104) rounded out the top five. St. Thomas finished 10th with 55. Epping’s one-boy team of Zack Fuller, who sped to third in the 50 free (23.53 seconds) and fifth in the 100 free (52.39), finished 18th with 22 points. Lewis won the one-meter diving title with hitting-it-right-on-the-nail 348.70 points. Hartford finished second with 254.30, and Jaras Watts, third with 220. Oyster River’s 200 medley relay (Aaron Moss, Danny Duvall, Tom Duvall and Derrick Kotlus) won with a time of 1:47.79, and its 400 free relay (Danny Duvall, Moss, Brendan Kotlus and Derrick Kotlus) won with a clocking of 3:35.17. Kappel, Young, Garcia and Parker, Portsmouth’s winning foursome, talked about their win. “Sam (Parker) wasn’t on the team last year,” said Garcia, “but he came back and we all improved from last year.” “We came together and did well,” added Young. Parker, who three years ago was the anchor on Portsmouth’s winning 400, explained why he came back to the team this season. He didn’t finish his sophomore season and didn’t swim his junior year. “There’s no better feeling than winning the relay,” said Parker. Parker said he didn’t know he was going to be part of the team till the day he showed up. “It’s a great group of kids and I wanted to spend my last year swimming with them,” said Parker. Parker and Young are seniors, Garcia and Kappel, juniors. Division I Laird, a sophomore transfer from Kentucky, finished second in the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 17.90 seconds) and third in the 100 backstroke (1:04.48). Laird also teamed with Jordan Clarke, Katie Rolfs and Courtney Pearson to finish fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:59.40). LaChance finished second in the girls one-meter diving competition with 298.95 points, and Eberhart, fifth with a score of 225.60. Nashua North won the meet with 211 points, followed by Dover (142Ѕ), Keene (128), Salem (127), Bishop Guertin (124) and Londonderry (100Ѕ). Winnacunnet, which finished 17th with four points, was led by Sarah McLean, Kara Colarusso, Sarah Mitchell and Carolyn Hooper, who combined to finish 11th in the 200 medley relay (2:17.65). Also scoring for the Exeter girls were: Pearson (seventh, 50 free, 26.93), Clarke (10th, 100 backstroke, 1:09.15), Rolfs (11th, 100-yard fly, 1:10.57), the 200 free relay (Pearson, Clarke, Laird and Sarah Kelso), which was clocked in 1:51.32, and the 200 medley relay (Emily Jalbert, Sarah Pardus, Kelso and Rolfs), which was clocked in 2:19.18. Billy Decker and Tyler Hazekamp led the Exeter boys to eighth place (44 points) in the boys competition. Decker finished fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.31) and seventh in the 200 IM (2:17.68), while Hazekamp finished seventh in the 50 free (24.46 seconds) and ninth in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.41). Decker and Hazekamp also teamed up with Robby Keith and Erik Hanson to finish ninth in the 200-yard medley relay (2:01.25), and ninth in the 200-yard free relay (1:46.69). Pinkerton Academy won the boys meet with 243 points, followed by Londonderry (223), Bishop Guertin (202), Nashua North (167), Keene (130), Merrimack (96) and Salem (72). Winnacunnet’s lone boy qualifier, Nick Africano, wasn’t able to compete due to food poisoning. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:02 PM | Comments (0) Question of the Week: Do you believe Clemens or McNamee?
Whose steroids story do you believe right now: Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee? Frank Coppola Roger Brown Mike Zhe Jay Pinsonnault Mike Sullivan Posted by Frank Coppola at 05:54 PM | Comments (0) Portsmouth girls fall short against Hanover
By Mike O’Neil But holding onto an eight-point lead with 2:52 left, the Marauders showed why they’re one of the favorites to win the Class I crown as a late run helped Hanover post a 58-38 win at Stone Gymnasium. Hanover outscored Portsmouth 12-0 down the stretch and improved to 15-1 on the season. “This was a great game for us to be in tonight,” Hanover coach Dan O’Rourke said. “We hadn’t practiced in a while, so with a couple games left it was good for us to see what kind of basketball we’re going to see in the playoffs. The intensity, the fans got into it, it had the atmosphere we needed.” With its 11th straight win, Hanover stayed within striking distance of first-place Lebanon (17-1). “We proved tonight we could play with one of the best teams in Class I,” Portsmouth coach Dan Casey said. “But we also showed how small the margin of error is against teams like that. If you make a mistake they make you pay.” Before the game, Portsmouth seniors Erin Bailey, Stef Biron and Onni Irish were honored on Senior Night. “It really felt like old times,” Biron said. “We’ve all been playing together all our lives. It’s great to see how we’ve developed as players and how we’ve all stuck with it and have had fun doing it.” “The chemistry of this team has been great,” Bailey said. “We’ve all started to come together.” The game might have been the trio’s last at Stone Gymnasium. The 11-7 Clippers will likely be seeded 10th or 11th in next Wednesday’s opening round of the Class I tournament. Possible opponents include Coe-Brown, Hollis/Brookline, or John Stark. “Being on the road might not be such a bad thing for this team,” Casey said. “Three of our biggest wins of the season — Oyster River, Coe-Brown, and Hollis/Brookline — were all on the road. So as close as these teams are, being on the road shouldn’t matter.” “I think this team has a chance to be a final four team,” Irish said. “Hanover is a great team, but we competed with them tonight.” All season long, the Marauders have been able to jump on teams early. Friday was no exception as they used a 15-2 run to break open a one-point game and take an 18-6 lead after one. Lizzy Belbruno led Hanover with 18 points, eight coming in the first quarter, as her 3-pointer with 3:09 left gave the Marauders a 16-6 lead. “That’s been our pattern all year,” O’Rourke said. “We get up by 10 or more in the first, but eventually teams get back into it.” Portsmouth would trail by as many as 15 with 2:10 left in the half, but it used a 16-4 run to bridge the second and third quarters and pulled to within three (37-34) with 1:58 left in the third. With Portsmouth trailing 33-24 at the half, Irish and Amanda Studer pounded the paint inside as Studer’s layup with 1:58 left made it a three-point game. Studer led the Clippers with 18 points, while Rosa Drummond had 10. “I think we all picked it up defensively,” Casey said. “We got a steal right off the bat in the third and we were able to finish it off. We just started to pressure them a bit more.” “(Portsmouth) scored 18 points against us in the second; that’s the most any team has scored on us all year,” O’Rourke said. “They never quit.” A three-point play by Tori Chaltain gave Hanover a 44-34 lead seconds into the fourth quarter. The Clippers would cut it to eight on two occasions until Hanover’s 12-0 game-ending run. “We may have run out of steam,” Casey said. “We had to fight so hard to get back into it, I think we might have been out of gas.” Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) Nashua North too tough for WinnacunnetBy Dan Doyon The Warriors were slow out of the gates, while the Titans were on target from the opening tip in their 69-48 win. North jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the first quarter and didn’t allow the Warriors to draw closer than 10 points the rest of the way. North (9-3) has won nine of its past 10 games using the balanced offensive attack and solid defense it showed Friday. Brad Zapenas led the Titans with 16 points, while Mike Salis (15 points) and Kyle Pederzani (13 points) also contributed. “We started fast and that’s especially important on the road and against a good team,” North coach Andy Otocka said. “(Winnacunnet) is a good team and they’re going to beat people this year. We shared the ball well. We took their hits, whether it was a press, man-to-man or a half-court zone, and that’s a tribute to our seniors.” Winnacunnet (6-6) was coming off wins over Exeter (82-73) and Nashua South (53-47) and is right in the middle of the Class L standings. Warriors sophomore Harry Knowles scored a game-high 17 points. “They’re physical and they were defending very well and we just weren’t ready for it,” Winnacunnet coach Jay McKenna said. “We weren’t ready for their intensity up front. We fell behind early and when you fall behind a good team, it’s very hard to get back in it.” Winnacunnet’s offense had trouble putting together scoring streaks, and part of the problem was its lack of rebounding. Warriors center Kyle Ratcliffe missed Tuesday’s win over South with the flu and was limited Friday. Winnacunnet’s other top rebounder, Nate Vincent, broke his nose and suffered a concussion during practice Sunday, but McKenna hopes he’ll be ready for Dover on Tuesday. “We went to South and played without two starters and played well,” McKenna said. “Kyle just isn’t himself yet and we could’ve used Nate’s physical play tonight, but injuries happen and sometimes you have to go with different lineups and figure out a way to win.” Alex Pratt’s 3-pointer gave North a 25-11 lead midway through the second quarter. Another trey by Abdul Dieng made it 35-19 at the half. “We play 10 guys, which is a nice problem to have,” Otocka said. “We have all kinds of guys we can go to for quality minutes.” Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:20 AM | Comments (0) Late shot gives Clipper boys big road winBoys basketball Portsmouth improved to 10-2 on the season, while Hanover fell to 10-3. Portsmouth entered the final quarter trailing 47-36, but outscored the hosts 26-13 in the final eight minutes. “It’s a big win for us,” Portsmouth coach Jim Mulvey said. “Hanover is definitely a top-four team in the state and to beat them on the road is tremendous, especially being down 15 at one point in the third quarter. It was a great comeback for us.” George Tsourgranis led the Clippers with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Zac Abrams added 11 points and 11 rebounds. However, Coach Mulvey said it was the defensive play of Mike Fransoso in the fourth quarter that keyed the Clipper rally. Fransoso came up with five steals in the final quarter. The Portsmouth junior varsity team won, 45-40. Exeter 71 Epping 56 Epping improved to 8-5. Sanborn, which was led offensively by Rob Verrault (10 points), dropped to 2-9. Girls basketball Sarah VanHorn led Marshwood (12-6) with 12 points, while Michelle Williams added nine. The Hawks limited Sanford to seven second-half points. “It was a total team effort tonight,” Petrie said. Newton Country Day 30 Middle schools Girls basketball Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:17 AM | Comments (0) February 08, 2008
Radja's hat trick lifts UNH past Maine
By Roger Brown Radja collected three goals and senior goaltender Kevin Regan made 32 saves in UNH’s 3-2 triumph at Maine’s Alfond Arena. “It’ll be good when he graduates — get him out of the league,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. “He’s a heckuva player. That third goal in particular was really special.” Radja’s third goal came while UNH was short-handed and finalized the scoring with 12:35 left in regulation. He pounced on a loose puck along the wall near the UNH blue line, raced up the left wing, cut in front of the crease and scored on a high backhanded shot. It was his 16th goal of the season and his fifth game-winning goal. “No one hit me so I was able to pull it across and use my backhand,” Radja said. “I like scoring goals, and anytime I can put one in it feels good. They came out and battled us for 60 minutes. That’s what we expected.” UNH improved its record to 17-7-1 overall and 13-4-1 in Hockey East. The Wildcats remained in sole possession of first place, three points ahead of BC. Junior Ben Bishop stopped 32 shots for Maine, which dropped to 8-14-3 overall and 4-11-3 in the league. “Good win for us,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “Mike played extremely well. Kevin played well in the net. It was a solid game. I thought both teams played very hard.” Maine defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin opened the scoring on a shot from just inside the blue line 3:59 into the game. The Black Bears held that lead until 20 seconds remained in the period, when Radja took advantage of a Maine turnover and beat Bishop with a shot from the right faceoff circle. Radja, a senior, handed the Wildcats a 2-1 lead 16 seconds later. After receiving a drop pass from Danny Dries, he collected the 50th goal of his career on a shot from above the right circle that hit a Maine player’s stick and deflected into the net. “Those goals were huge — huge,” Umile said. “That was a killer at that point. They got the best of us in the first period, yet we come out of it leading 2-1. That was big.” Andrew Sweetland, a freshman left wing, made it a 2-2 game when he collected a rebound in the slot and took his time before firing the puck past Regan at 8:41 of the second. It remained 2-2 entering the third. The Black Bears are 0-4-1 in their last five games. “We’ve been working hard and playing hard,” Whitehead said. “Unfortunately we’ve been losing a lot of tight games like this. We’ve got to find a way to come out on top in a few of these if we want to make the playoffs.” ooo ’CAT NOTES: Radja’s first goal was the 100th point of his collegiate career. He has seven goals in 10 career games against Maine. … Maine, which began the night ranked last among Hockey East teams in power-play percentage (11.0), failed to score on all six of its power-play opportunities. UNH came up empty in five power-play chances. … The Wildcats have won their last eight games against Hockey East competition. … The teams will meet again tonight (7). It will be the final regular-season game between UNH and Maine this season. Posted by Frank Coppola at 10:59 PM | Comments (0) February 07, 2008
Schilling injury another blow to Boston fansWe all knew that 2008 would face an uphill battle in matching the magic that 2007 brought to sports fan across New England. This, however, isn't what we had in mind.
Just four days after the Patriots' Super Bowl loss to the Giants, the Boston Herald is reporting that Red Sox veteran Curt Schilling could be lost for the season due to a significant shoulder injury. Oh, and Kevin Garnett has missed five straight games with a strained abdominal muscle and the Celtics aren't sure when he'll be able to return to the court. In related news, the Celtics are just 8-6 in their last 14 games after a 29-3 start. Good grief. Schilling, 41, is reportedly suffering from an injury to his right rotator cuff or labrum that might require season-ending surgery. The Herald's report says Schilling and the Red Sox are at odds about the possibility of voiding the pitcher's one-year, $8 million contract he signed last November. Although he's no longer an ace, Schilling did go 9-8 with a respectable 3.87 ERA in 24 starts last season. More importantly, he went 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four postseason starts. Umm ... Johan Santana anybody? Now that it's too late for the Sox to make a deal for the former Twins ace, Boston must make the most of its suddenly younger rotation. An injury to Schilling would push rookie Clay Buchholz into the starting rotation behind Josh Beckett, Dice-K, Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester. Buchholz, 23, won over the Fenway fans by throwing a no-hitter last summer, but it remains to be seen how he -- or the 24-year-old Lester -- would hold up over the course of a long season. Throw in the questionable health of the 41-year-old Wakefield and the inconsistent first season for Dice-K, and the Red Sox rotation suddenly has plenty of question marks. Hey, look on the bright side. At least this took our minds off the Patriots for a little while. Ugh... Posted by Frank Coppola at 02:22 PM | Comments (0) February 06, 2008
Portsmouth's Spiller will attend Yale; Exeter's Kelly to ArmyBy Roger Brown Spiller, who played three years of varsity football at Portsmouth High School, took his official visit to Yale in late January. He said that only reinforced his decision to join the school’s football program. “I’m very, very pleased,” Spiller said Wednesday night. “My family and I did a lot of hard work trying to find the right fit and find a place where I was wanted. Finding a school that wanted me as much as I wanted them is what it came down to. “(UNH) coach (Sean) McDonnell called me, but he told me their scholarship spots were filled.” Spiller, who is 6-foot-2 and 270 pounds, played offensive line, fullback and defensive line for the Clippers. He said he’ll likely end up as an interior defensive lineman in college. “That could change depending on how things go in training camp,” Spiller said. “They told me that’s my best shot of any position to get on the field as a freshman.” Spiller had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder in November, but said that won’t prevent him from playing varsity lacrosse this spring. Yale’s 2008 recruiting class also includes former Pinkerton Academy quarterback Bryan Farris, who spent last season at Phillips Andover Academy. Farris kicked a late field goal that gave New Hampshire a 23-20 victory over Vermont in last year’s Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl. Spiller said Brown, Harvard, Pennsylvania and Bowdoin were among the schools that interested him. “I met someone during my visit who had offers from Iowa and Wisconsin — full-ride offers — and turned them down for Yale,” Spiller said. “It’s tough to turn down such a prestigious university.” ooo Brad Kelly, a senior from Exeter High School, signed a national letter of intent Wednesday morning to attend and play football at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Kelly, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end/defensive end, is projected to play the tight end position for Army. He was an All-State first team selection at tight end for the Division II champion Blue Hawks last fall. Posted by Frank Coppola at 09:17 PM | Comments (0) UNH announces football recruiting classSean McDonnell, the 10th-year head football coach at the University of New Hampshire, announced today that 14 student-athletes have signed letters of intent to attend UNH and play football for the Wildcat football program. The list includes a player from the Granite State, and several offensive and defensive lineman. “I feel good about the overall athleticism that our coaching staff has identified in the recruiting process,” said McDonnell. “We have filled an important need in the offensive and defensive lines with this recruiting class. This class will greatly improve our versatility as a football program. Many of these players can play at a number of positions and I feel that they will add great depth to our program.” Alan Buzbee, a 6-3, 225-pound RB/LB from Chester Woods, N.J., was a three-year letterwinner in football and a two-year letterwinner in basketball. Although plagued by injuries in his senior year, Buzbee was named first-team all-conference, second-team All-Essex County and third-team all-group as a junior. As a result of those outstanding accomplishments, Buzbee was named the Junior Defensive Player of the Year in Essex County. Statistically, he compiled eight total touchdowns and 600 total yards on offense. Defensively he recorded 82 tackles, 5 sacks and 1 interception. Buzbee, whose brother Alex was a rookie with the Washington Redskins, is one of two recruits hailing from Seton Hall Prep. The other is classmate Chris Zarkoskie. Alan, we feel, has a big upside. His size potential and speed will add to the defensive side of our football program. Mike DiLima, a 6-5, 285-pound OL/DL from Olney, Md., was named an All-WCAC offensive tackle and was an honorable mention all-metropolitan selection while at Our Lady of Good Council High School. He played for one of the most talented football teams in the country and led his squad to the playoffs, while starting on the offensive line. DiLima was named the Offensive Lineman of the week five times and was a constant leader in the classroom as a four-time honor roll student at OLGCHS. A big, physical offensive lineman, he will add great size, strength and depth to the UNH offensive line. DiLima has outstanding athletic ability for an offensive lineman. With his size, he will instantly add to the interior offensive line. Matt Evans, a 6-0, 200-pound RB/LB from Hanover, Mass., was a four-year starter in football while at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass. A team captain as a senior, Matt led the Tigers in all defensive statistical categories for the second consecutive season. On offense, he split time at running back the past two seasons. As a result of his outstanding defensive efforts, Evans was named a two-time first-team All-ISL linebacker. Evans features an impressive combination of speed, athleticism and intensity and has been clocked at a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash. He was named a first-team NESPSAC selection and All-New England two straight times. He was also selected to the Massachusetts “Super 26” All-State squad and will play in the Shrine Football Classic. An outstanding student, he was named to the “Patriot Ledger” All-Scholastic team twice. He also played basketball and lacrosse while at Thayer Academy. He has great athleticism and a nose for the football. He will add to the linebacking corps and special teams depth at UNH. Ken Howard, a 5-10, 220-pound RB/LB from Plainfield, N.J., rushed for over 2,000 yards on just 199 carries for an average of 9.4 yards per carry at The Hun School of Princeton. His unique blend of power and speed has earned him both all-league and all-state honors. Howard was named first-team all-prep in both 2006 and 2007 by “The Trenton Times”, “The Trentonian”, “The Star Ledger” and the NJSIAA. The MAPL Offensive Player of the Year as a junior, Kenny was named “The Star Ledger’s” Prep Player of the Year in New Jersey as a senior. A team captain in both football and track, Howard gained additional accolades on the oval as a junior and was named first-team all-conference and second-team all-state. Howard is a big back who has great vision. He will add explosiveness and size and power to the UNH backfield. Josh Lane, a 6-2, 275-pound OL/DL from Derry, N.H., was a three-year, two-way starter at Pinkerton Academy for head coach Brian O’Reilly. A senior co-captain, Lane led the defensive line with 68 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. He was also an anchor on an offensive line that has been a key component in his team winning three state titles. In recognition of his outstanding play, Lane was named first-team all-state for the third consecutive year. He was also twice honored as a member of “The Union Leader” All-Star Team, as well as “The Eagle Tribune” All-conference Team and was picked as “The Eagle Tribune” Defensive Player of the Year. He also was recognized as a finalist for the prestigious “Mr Football Award,” which is given to the best player in the state of New Hampshire. Josh is an outstanding offensive line prospect. He has great strength and balance and will continue the fine tradition of offensive lineman from the Granite State. Isaiah Martin, a 6-2, 285-pound OL/DL from Pennsauken, N.J., led the Pennsauken Indians from his line positions to the state semifinals in two of his three years as a starter in the PHS program. A captain in his senior year, Martin was named first-team All- Olympic Conference on both the offensive and defensive lines. During his senior campaign, he became a Second-Team All-Group IV selection in Southern New Jersey. He has also been selected to play in the Southern New Jersey All-Star Game. A multi-sport athlete, he has lettered in both basketball and track at Pennsauken High School Isaiah is a raw, explosive, offensive lineman who will add depth to the interior of the UNH offensive line. He has great strength and power for a young offensive lineman. Walter McCarthy, a 6-5, 240-pound OL/DL from Warwick, R.I., was a two-year starter on both the offensive and defensive lines at Milton Academy for head coach Kevin McDonald. On the defensive side of the football, McCarthy completed the season with 40 tackles, 15 assisted tackles, 30 quarterback pressures and 6 sacks. On offense, he helped anchor an offensive line that was able to generate over 1,500 yds rushing, 1,250 yds. in the air and the team averaged an impressive mark of 31 points per contest. McCarthy was nominated to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, was selected first-team All-Independent School League (ISL), first-team All-NESPSAC and All-New England “Super 26” All-State. Finally he was selected to play in the Shrine Football Classic. He is also a three-time varsity letter winner in hockey. Walter is an outstanding offensive tackle prospect. He has great size potential and with his long arms and athletic ability he will be an outstanding pass protector at this level. Joey Orlando, a 5-10, 175-pound WR/DB from Bethlehem, Pa., completed his high school career at Liberty High School with 81 receptions for 1,380 yds., 13 receiving touchdowns and a 17 yd per catch average under head coach Tim Monceman. Defensively, Orlando finished with 121 tackles and nine interceptions. In his senior year at LHS, Orlando was named to “The Express Times” All-Area Team, “The Morning Call” All-Area Team, and he was selected to be a member of the East Team in the Pennsylvania Annual East-West High School All-Star Football Classic. His team was a two-time runner-up for the PA4A state championship. A three-sport athlete who excelled in football, track and basketball, he is the son of Bo Orlando, who played for several teams in the NFL, finishing his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A gifted wide receiver, Joey has soft hands and elusive moves. He will fit in well as a slot receiver in the UNH offense. Dontra Peters, a 6-0, 180-pound RB/DB from Annapolis, Md., captained the 2007 St. Mary’s High School squad and led the team in rushing with 1,346 yds. on 134 carries (9.3 yds. per carry) and 19 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 14 passes for a total of 213 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He completed the season with 22 solo tackles in the secondary. An honor roll student, he was selected to “The All-Capital Gazette Team, was a first-team MIAA pick, a first-team Baltimore All-Metropolitan player and an honorable mention all-state selection. Dontra also lettered three times in football and twice in track and field. An explosive athlete with great vision and break-away speed, Dontra will add great athleticism and explosiveness to the UNH football program. Tyler Sargent, a 5-11, 180-pound DB/RB from Fairview, Pa., is the third Wildcat player to come to UNH after playing under head coach Jerry Lightner at Fairview High School. A talented athlete on both sides of the football, Sargent recorded 78 tackles and five interceptions as a junior defensive back. In his senior campaign, he scored 31 touchdowns, while also rushing for 2,071 yds., good for an average of 9.5 yds per carry. He combines speed (10.7 in the 100 meters) and power and holds the school and county record in the long jump (22’-5”). For his efforts on the field, he was named first-team all-conference, second-team Associated Press All-State, and Pennsylvania District 10 Player of the Year. In addition to being a stand out in football and track, Sargent is also a two-time captain and starter on the FHS basketball team. Sargent is a very good all-around athlete. His speed and quickness and nose for the football will help make our secondary more athletic. Jared Smith, a 6-4, 275-pound DL/OL from Greencastle, Pa., was a three-year starter for Greencastle-Antrim High School where he recorded 62 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and blocked a pair of field goals under head coach Chuck Tinninis. A second-team all-conference defensive tackle in his junior campaign, he was also a first-team all-conference performer at defensive tackle in his senior season. Smith was selected to be a member of the West team in the Pennsylvania East-West All-Star Football Classic. Smith is a big, strong interior defensive line prospect. He is explosive off the football and will greatly help improve UNH depth on the defensive line. Matt Welch, a 6-5, 210-pound QB/FS from Lowell, Mass., was a three-year starter at Lowell High School under head coach Scott Boyle. He began his career at LHS as a sophomore starter at tight end and free safety, but later moved on to play quarterback and free safety in his junior and senior campaigns. Welch was a three-time all-conference football player at Lowell and led his team to the conference championship as a junior. An outstanding basketball player, Welch started four seasons and was named all-conference all four years. He was a three-time team MVP and scored his 1,000th point in his junior year on the hardwood. Matt is a tremendous athlete. He has great vision and touch in the passing game. He is a tough competitor and has the athleticism to play multiple positions at UNH. Josh Vick, a 6-1, 215-pound QB/FS from Apollo, Pa., was a two-year starter in football under head coach Chris Heater at Kiski Area High School. Vick led the WPIAL in passing as a senior after completing 143 passes for 2,110 yds. and 14 touchdowns. The Pennsylvania triple A javelin record-holder (208’) , he owns every passing record at KAHS, including his top passing contest, where he completed 21 of 22 passes for 340 yds. and four touchdowns against Latrobe HS. A first-team all-conference player, he was also named to “The Pittsburgh Tribune Top 25”. Vick will conclude his high school playing career at the Pennsylvania East/West All-Star Game. A first-team all-conference pick in his senior year, he was also chosen honorable mention all-state, honorable mention all-conference as a junior, and he was a member of the Ivan White Courageous Award “Pittsburgh Gazette” Fab 22 in his junior and senior campaigns. He was named a “Valley News Dispatch” All-Star in his junior and senior seasons. Josh is a very strong-armed quarterback who has good size and arm strength. He has great accuracy and touch when passing the football. Chris Zarkoskie, a 6-2, 290-pound OL/DL from West Caldwell, N.J., has earned numerous awards and honors for his accomplishments as a football player at Seton Hall Prep where he was a two-time all-state selection and named all-conference and all-county three times each. He earned a total of seven varsity letters in both football and track at SHP, highlighted by a senior football campaign that saw him make 72 total tackles on defense and 75 pancakes on offense. His efforts as a senior earned him second-team all-state honors and first-team All-Non Public State, first-team All-Essex County and first team all-county. He was also named the Essex County Offensive Lineman of the Year, all while maintaining a 4.0 in the classroom. He joins teammate Alan Buzbee, also from SHP, in this year’s UNH signing class. Chris is a very physical and strong offensive lineman. He is a very good center prospect due to his flexibility and athleticism. Posted by Frank Coppola at 04:52 PM | Comments (0) Patriots, Belichick facing many offseason changes
With most of New England still suffering from Super Bowl hangover, Bill Belichick and the coaching staff are already looking ahead to the 2008 season after the Patriots' 17-14 loss to the Giants on Sunday. For a team that went 18-1 (that still really hurts), the Patriots are likely to have their share of changes next season. The team has several big-name free agents, as well as the No. 7 pick in April's NFL draft thanks to a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. The Patriots also have some important pieces (LB Rosevelt Colvin, $7.6M; WR Donte Stallworth, $8M; and WR Kelley Washington, $4M) who are due to have big salary cap hits next season and may not return. New England's biggest needs are in the secondary and at linebacker, and the talent at those positions could be further weakened due to free-agent defections. Here, then, is a look at the Patriots' key free agents and my guess at the chances of them returning to New England in 2008. Randy Moss, WR: Moss was Tom Brady's favorite target and set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches after agreeing to a cheap, one-year deal with the Patriots. He'll almost certainly be seeking a big raise after rediscovering his Pro Bowl form, but seems to truly enjoy playing in New England. Chances of return: 70 percent. Asante Samuel, CB: The guy with the "Get Paid" tattoo is about to do just that. He accepted a one-year, $7.8M deal with the Pats after being hit with the franchise tag last year, but as part of that deal he's now an unrestricted free agent. The Jets and Eric Mangini have already made noise about going after him on the market. Not looking good. Chances of return: 10 percent. Tedy Bruschi, LB: If the Patriots had finished off the 19-0 season, I think Bruschi almost certainly would have retired. Now? I'm not sure he wants to go out with a Super Bowl loss. At 34, he's not the player he once was, and he was more effective prior to Colvin's season-ending injury, when the team was able to limit his playing time. Chances of return: 60 percent. Randall Gay, CB: Pound for pound, cornerback is the Patriots' weakest position, and Ellis Hobbs is the only one of the top three who is not a free agent. (Some Patriot fans wish he was after his inconsistent play this season.) Samuel's likely departure means there could be a major overhaul at that spot. Gay was the team's No. 3 cornerback this season. Decent, but far from great. Chances of return: 25 percent. Eugene Wilson, S: What in the world happened to this guy? Not long ago, he was seen to have a brighter future than Samuel in the Pats' defensive backfield. He seemed to be a young Rodney Harrison in waiting. Now? He hardly saw the field after struggling with injuries and spotty play. Quite a downfall. Chances of return: 5 percent. Jabar Gaffney, WR: Stallworth and Washington are likely to be cut given their large cap hits for next season, but I have a feeling Brady will stump for the return of Gaffney, who had a habit of coming up with big catches for this team during the season. He seems to be a team-first player who would be satisfied with a modest deal and a role as the team's No. 3 or No. 4 receiver. Chances of return: 80 percent. Troy Brown, WR: This looks like the end for Brown, who was basically given a farewell tour by the team this season as a show of respect for all he's done over his 15 years in New England. Brown played in just one game this season and did not make a catch. He was inactive for the Super Bowl. Brown will be 37 in July and is likely to retire. When he does, the Patriots are almost certain to retire his No. 80 jersey. Few other players symbolize the Patriots dynasty better than Brown. Chances of return: 1 percent. Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) February 05, 2008
Petzy scores 1,000th point in Exeter winEXETER — Chris Petzy showed what great form and countless hours of shooting can do Tuesday night. That’s the combination that makes Petzy such a great shooter, according to Exeter High School coach Jeff Holmes. Exeter’s senior co-captain notched his 1,000th career point on a pull-up jumper with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter, and the Blue Hawks went on to defeat Manchester Central, 52-51. Petzy tossed in a game-high 25 points, and Alex Blomeke added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Hawks, who improved to 8-3 in Class L and 11-3 overall. Manchester Central, which dropped to 8-3, was led offensively by Mike Stys (23 points), and Will Bayliss and Brett Parenteau (each with 13). Petzy said he knew he was getting close to 1,000 the last three or four games, but he said his coaches just kept telling him to play his game and play to win. “It was just the mindset I was trying to keep, and it worked out tonight,” Petzy said. “We got the win, and I got the 1,000th point.” Petzy’s 1,000th gave the Blue Hawks a 45-41 lead, one they never quite relinquished. Stys tried a long jumper at the buzzer, but it didn’t go. “It’s huge,” said Holmes of the win. “We had to start beating some teams ahead of us in the standings. It was a real big win against a real good team.” BOYS BASKETBALL Newmarket led by three points after three quarters, but scored 27 points in the final eight minutes. “We just executed better,” Newmarket coach Jamie Hayes said. “We were more patient, made the extra pass and didn’t settle for contested jumpers.” Kousonsanong held Epping’s Chris Crowley to 14 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. Crowley, Epping’s leading scorer, collected the 1,000th point of his high school career earlier this season. Newmarket’s Curtis Williams had 21 assists and seven rebounds. He led all scorers. The Mules, who extended their winning streak to five games and improved their Class M record to 8-2, also received 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Joe Downing. Mike Fecteau tossed in 16 for Epping, which fell to 7-5. Marshwood 62 Marshwood’s three other seniors — Brendan Crosby, Chris Dalecki and Ben Polichronopoulos — each made significant contributions to the victory. Crosby made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, Dalecki scored 10 points and Polichronopoulos collected five points and seven assists. Noble, which trailed 33-20 at halftime, fell to 1-16. Laconia 58 Matt McLaughlin led St. Thomas with 26 points. The Saints, who dropped to 4-10 in Class I, also received 17 from David Baxter. Laconia raised its record to 7-6. Winnacunnet 53 Ryan Dubois had nine points and 15 rebounds for the Warriors. Winnacunnet point guard Ryan Dunn made all six of his free-throw attempts and finished with eight points. The loss dropped Nashua South to 5-6. Traip Academy 69 Cody Abbott had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Traip. Brennen Connor had nine points and six boards. GIRLS BASKETBALL Stephanie Gallagher led York with 14. The Wildcats received 12 points from Laney Yeomelakis and 11 points and 11 rebounds from Niki Taylor. Falmouth, which beat York for the second time this season, improved its record to 16-1. Traip Academy 53 Jordyn Cronen added 11 for Traip, which also received 10 from Amy Lemieux. The loss dropped North Yarmouth’s record to 4-12. St. Thomas 47 Charlie Sheehan and Courtney Tobey each tossed in seven for St. Thomas. Laconia dropped to 9-7 following the loss. Epping 52 Moriah Mahala and Casey Thorp each scored seven for the Blue Devils. Freshman Emily Barbeau tossed in a team-high 17 for the Mules, who fell to 4-10. Middle schools Boys basketball Portsmouth (JVs) 49 Posted by Frank Coppola at 10:48 PM | Comments (0) February 04, 2008
A Super letdown for heartbroken Patriot fans
Moments after Super Bowl XLII ended last night, I turned off the TV, went to bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time while wondering how the New York Giants pulled off a 17-14 miracle win over the now 18-1 Patriots. When I woke up this morning, I did the same thing. I'm still staring, really. Still in a state of shock about what happened at University of Phoenix Stadium. How Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots forever blew their shot at football immortality. Although the aftereffects of this loss truly have yet to sink in, the scars will remain with us forever. This was not your ordinary game, not your ordinary Super Bowl. As the unflappable Brady said during the week, this one was different. A chance to become the first team in league history to go 19-0. Pro football is all about history, dynasties and legends. The Patriots were on the doorstep of arguably the greatest team achievement in the history of sports, not just the NFL, and they let it slip through their fingers. Notably Asante Samuel's fingers. But Samuel's missed interception on the Giants' final drive certainly wasn't the biggest reason the Patriots lost. Oh, no. Credit New York's unrelenting defensive line for its monster efforts in crushing New England's offensive line and treating Brady like a rag doll the entire night. Look, New England's playcalling will leave some fans scratching their heads and blaming offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. From the start, the Patriots had no offensive rhythm. Their first play of the game, a reverse, was snuffed out by the Giant defense faster than you can say Mercury Morris (God I hate that guy). And really, it wasn't much better the rest of the way. To me, the key series of the game came in the second quarter following Ellis Hobbs' interception of Eli Manning deep in Patriots territory. After the Giants milked about nine minutes off the clock on their opening possession, the Patriots marched down the field and got a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. Manning then led New York down the field again, but Hobbs picked him off and got the Patriots the ball back. All during the season, this would have been the moment when the Patriots put the hammer down on their opposition. Already up 7-3 despite a lopsided deficit in time of possession, New England would have gone down the field, thrown a couple deep passes and taken a 14-3 lead that left the underdog Giants reeling. Instead, they went three-and-out. Uh-oh. The Pats had second-and-3 around their own 40-yard line and couldn't get the first down. On third down, they ran a conservative run to the left with Laurence Maroney that lost yardage and forced them to punt. Where were the aggressive, high-flying Patriots we saw in the regular season? That was the moment when I knew last night's game wouldn't be a blowout. By halftime, with the completely sluggish Patriots still up 7-3, I was praying for even a one-point win. It never came. Sure, the playcalling was suspect at best. But what did Brady really have time for? The Giants' defenders were in his face all night, a relentless group that spoiled New England's shot at history. Even at the end, it looked like Brady would find a way to pull it off. Finally shaking the cobwebs off the Patriots' dynamic offense, he marched them down the field in the fourth quarter and gave them a 14-10 lead with a touchdown pass to Randy Moss with under three minutes left. The Patriots needed just one defensive stand, one stop, to win the Super Bowl and go 19-0. They couldn't do it. There was the failed stop on fourth-and-1. Then the ultimate bend-but-don't-break defense fell apart, allowing Manning's miracle now-you-have-me, now-you-don't Hail Mary heave to David Tyree (who???) on third-and-long. Then the touchdown pass to -- of all people -- Plaxico Burress, whose prediction of a Giant victory somehow came true. But even with 35 seconds to go and three timeouts left, diehard Pats fans thought Brady had a chance. Well, maybe until Maroney was stuffed on the kickoff return around the 20-yard line. That was pretty much all she wrote. After another huge Giants sack on Brady and a couple failed Hail Mary passes, suddenly the game was over. Giants 17, Patriots 14. Tip your cap to the Giants. Really, they deserved it. They played harder than the Patriots, they played more physical, they got some lucky breaks, and they made more plays when it counted the most. Make no mistake, this will go down as the most devastating loss in Boston sports history. The Red Sox horrors of the Buckner game in 1986 and the Boone game in 2003 pale in comparison, maybe because the Sox have crippled their curse by winning two World Series in the last four years. But there's no getting over this one. Sure, the Patriots and Brady could bounce back and win another Super Bowl or two down the line and lessen the blow. But this was about immortality, a chance that comes around once in a lifetime if you're lucky. If these Patriots couldn't go 19-0, I'm not sure anyone will. Like Brady said before the game, they were going to remember this one for the rest of their lives, one way or another. As fans, we were put in the same situation. Really, nothing could ever have topped an undefeated football season. It would have been sports nirvana, probably the highlight of our lives as New England fans. But now it's gone. We'll remember it all right, but for all the wrong reasons. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:48 AM | Comments (0) February 03, 2008
Spygate fools in media need to be silencedHonestly, If I hear one more person try to overshadow Super Bowl XLII with more Spygate garbage, I might have to ask Mr. T to get involved. Somebody needs to silence these fools.
It's pretty shameful, isn't it? On the eve of what could potentially go down as one of the most significant games in NFL history, that a few Bill Belichick haters out there keep beating the Spygate drum, in all likelihood because Belichick refuses to kiss their ass like they want him to. Frankly, it's embarrassing. This was already the most overblown story of the decade, and now some dirtbags in need of attention -- namely Sen. Arlen Specter, ESPN's Mike Fish and Gregg Easterbrook, and former Pats employee Matt Walsh -- have AGAIN raised the issue in the few days before a team has a chance to go 19-0. HELLO! 19-0, people!! Can we stick to that, please? This is an issue that happened five months ago, for God's sake. The NFL investigated it, handed out a very harsh punishment, and said the case was closed. Doesn't it seem a LITTLE bit fishy that these new Rams allegations are coming up on the weekend before the freaking Super Bowl?!?! This story had one -- ONE! -- unnamed source. It was as irresponsible a piece of journalism as I've ever read. You don't bring up these kind of allegations on the eve of the Super Bowl unless you have multiple sources and pretty good evidence. Unless, of course, you just have an ax to grind against Bill Belichick and the Patriots. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell put it best the other day, repeating something that Bill Parcells once told him: If you're an NFL coach and you don't think somebody is taping your signals, you're stupid. Mainly because it's frigging legal to do so as long as the camera's not on the sideline!! People in the national media don't seem to get this. That was the Patriots' problem in the Jets saga: The camera was on the sideline. Granted, they broke what seems like a minor rule and deserved to be punished. I think they were punished much too harshly given what they did, but Goodell wanted to make a statement, and that's understandable. But it's laughable that these CLOWNS continue to act like taping signals on the sideline -- as opposed to anywhere else in the stadium -- gives the Patriots this HUGE edge. It's funny listening to former coaches like Jimmy Johnson and Parcells talk about how this sort of thing happened all the time, it was actually expected. There's a reason that people who actually know something about football, at least those who aren't biased against Belichick or the Pats, think this story is a running joke. As for the others? It's gotta be drugs, that's the only explanation. Now, shut the hell up about Spygate and let us enjoy our football team's quest for perfection, OK? My god. Here's hoping that the Patriots rub it in their critics faces with another championship tonight. Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:29 AM | Comments (0) February 02, 2008
Clipper girls bounce back, top PlymouthBy Terrill Covey Behind 14 points each from Stef Biron and Onni Irish, Portsmouth got back into the winner’s column and improved to 9-6 in Class I. “This is big for us,” said Clippers coach Dan Casey. “The fact that they got back into it and we kept our composure is a good sign for us. It’s easy when the other team goes on a run to get flustered. We didn’t do that.” Plymouth jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but Portsmouth closed the first quarter on a 17-4 run for an 17-8 lead. Both teams struggled to find the basket in the second quarter, as Portsmouth settled for a 24-19 halftime lead. Despite foul trouble for Irish and Rosa Drummond, Portsmouth clicked early in the third quarter behind Biron and Amanda Studer, who came off the bench to record eight points, five rebounds, five steals and five assists. The pair combined for eight points in the quarter, en route to a 40-28 lead after three. “Our goal as a team this year is to have the team ahead by as much or more when you leave the court, as it was when you came on,” Studer said. “I just wanted to do that.” “A lot of people stepped up today,” Casey said. “We had a lot of steals and deflections and we kept them out of synch on offense.” Casey credited Studer and Susie French (six points, eight rebounds) for big contributions off the bench. “Susie has a nose for the ball and makes good things happen,” he said. “She has proven that she comes in ready to play, and that doesn’t always happen with freshmen. She and Ali Beauregard have helped the team a lot.” Portsmouth was able to hold Plymouth at arm’s length through the fourth quarter despite a strong showing by Plymouth’s Kristen MacNeil (seven points, seven rebounds). Kristen’s an excellent player,” said Plymouth coach Rick Knowles. “I think our whole team played well defensively. But Portsmouth is a good team, we knew that. We worked hard and played pretty well, I just wish it would’ve ended differently.” For Casey, the win is bigger than you would expect against a 5-11 opponent. “Plymouth is the best sub .500 team you will see,” Casey said. “Their effort is always there, and they are a hard team to compete with.” He said his team’s defense was key in securing the win. Callie Bacon scored only two points in the game, but she came away with nine steals and four assists. Three of those steals came in the fourth quarter. “This was very big coming off the loss to Oyster River,” Bacon said. “We stayed strong when they made a run. When I went back in in the fourth quarter, I just wanted to force them to play at our pace, instead of us playing at theirs.” She said the help off the bench was big, not just for this game, but for their run into the playoffs. “It’s good for us to know we can depend on our teammates,” she said. “It’s good to feel like that as a team.” Irish finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Biron ended with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Posted by Frank Coppola at 09:26 PM | Comments (0) Super Bowl forecast: Perfect ending
SUPER BOWL XLII Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:17 PM | Comments (0) More than ready for some football!Here are some videos to help get everyone in the mood for some football on Sunday. You've heard that they're playing a game in Arizona, right? Patriots? Giants? Big, shiny trophy on the line? That's what I thought. Go Pats!
Posted by Frank Coppola at 11:05 AM | Comments (1) February 01, 2008
The growing legend of BradyHere are a couple great stories about Tom Brady's rise to stardom that Patriots fans will likely enjoy as the time ticks down to Super Sunday: From ESPN: 'Almost' perfect From Sports Illustrated: Self-made man Posted by Frank Coppola at 12:20 AM | Comments (0) |
|
Seacoast Online and Blog the Coast are owned and operated by Seacoast Media Group.
Copyright © 2005 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved. Please read our Copyright Notice and Terms of Use. Seacoast Newspapers is a subsidiary of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc., a Dow Jones Company.
|
