Overtime

New Canaan’s scheduled game at Seymour tomorrow night may be moved to New Canaan because of the weather.

A decision will be made by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Updated information will be posted on the New Canaan football web site.

Five years ago Tom Chiappetta had the idea of filling a void and creating a Sports Hall of Fame for Fairfield County. It is a task that sounds simple but is monumental in terms of effort and organization.

“You don’t always know when you start something brand new,” Chiappetta said. “We knew it was a good idea. It got the endorsement of others. We were not trying to invent the wheel. A lot of different places have a hall of fame.

On Monday night at the Greenwich Hyatt, with a crowd of at least 550 people on hand for the Fairfield County Sports Commission’s 5th annual Sports Night Awards Dinner, Chiappetta, the organization’s founder and executive director, will hopefully take a moment to fold his arms, scan the room and take pride in a job well done.

The Sports Commission has become well recognized in the region, both bringing together the county’s rich sports lore and honoring many of its outstanding athletes and coaches.

“The most terrific part about it is the way it has been very, very well received,” Chiappetta said. “The greatest part is when the Hall of Famers come back, and you can see it means a lot to them by their speeches and what they have to say. This is where they grew up.”

One of the great aspects is the way the Sports Commission has brought together youth, scholastic, college and professional sports into one package.

Previous Hall of Fame inductees include Bobby Valentine, Steve Young, Calvin Murphy, Bruce Jenner, Donna Lopiano, Kristine Lilly and Chris Drury. They will be joined this year in the professional category by former UConn star and current Hartford coach Jen Rizzotti and former NBA great Charles Smith.

What makes the evening special is the way each of the 15 towns has a Sports Person of the Year honored. This year’s class is a diverse group, including Stamford’s Alli Oakes, New Canaan’s Lou Marinelli, the Darien High School girls hockey and Staples boys volleyball teams.

How many Hall of Fames put together stars at different competitive levels on the same stage?

“I think this takes it up a notch, and we haven’t even scratched the surface,” Chiappetta said. “Putting this idea together, for me it is as good as it gets.”

There are a limited number of tickets left for Monday’s dinner. For more information, and to learn more about the Sports Commission and the great work it has done, click here.

A strong case can be made that the Westhill High School girls soccer team is the best one in Stamford this fall. The Vikings are 8-1, the fastest start in school history, and not only have a strong chance to qualify for the FCIAC as well as the state tournament, but to be a legitimate contender.

One of the biggest reasons for the Vikings’ success is Kirsten Eriksen, their outside back. And midfielder. And, sometimes, forward.

Westhill coach Dave Flower usually moves Eriksen to any spot that needs a boost, and for good reason. Eriksen, a junior, is a three-year starter and last season was named to the All-FCIAC team. Despite that recognition, she remains one of the league’s most underrated players.

In yesterday’s 3-0 win over Trinity Catholic, Eriksen had two assists. Like her team, she does not possess a weakness.

I caught up with Eriksen this afternoon during a rare day off for the team, when she discussed the Vikings’ outstanding record, what it is like to play multiple positions and her pregame superstition.

New Canaan High School football coach Lou Marinelli likes to joke that one of the worst coaching moves he has ever made was trying to dissuade Zach Renner from playing major college ball.

Renner, who made the University of Georgia as a walk-on, blocked a punt before halftime of Saturday’s 45-19 loss to Tennessee. It was the third block of the redshirt sophomore’s career.

After special teams practice on Sunday, Bulldogs coach Mark Richt ended his usual announcements by saying he wanted to see Renner.

“I was kind of nervous,” Renner said.

Richt told Renner he had an extra scholarship and was giving it to him for the rest of the season.

“I was speechless,” Renner said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Renner than called Marinelli with the good news.

Renner blocked punts in consecutive games last year against Arizona State and Alabama.

So what is his secret?

“People keep asking me that,” Renner said. “Our special teams coach said I just have the knack for blocks. I just try to capitalize on any opportunity to help the team. On the one Saturday I didn’t think I’d get there.”

Renner said scholarships are given on a year to year basis, so he doesn’t know whether it will extend beyond this season.

Whether it does or not, Renner’s accomplishment has to be the feel-good story of the fall. He is an inspiration to any young football player.

“I came out as a freshman here and it was unreal,” Renner said. “The speed and the pace of the game. I just feel fortunate and I’m having a lot of fun.”

It is a Tuesday in early December. Five days earlier your team has won on Thanksgiving to qualify for the state tournament, and you have had a short week to prepare for an opponent you don’t know that much about.

Who do you want coaching your team?

New Canaan’s Lou Marinelli, Staples’ Marce Petroccio and Greenwich’s Rich Albonizio have all been in and succeeded in the above scenario. The three oversee the most decorated football programs in the FCIAC.

This makes for a compelling question: which coach do you want on the sideline with your team?

And if you prefer one of the league’s 16 other coaches, select other and send a comment along stating which coach you want and why.

The poll is open until noon on Sunday. This is a tough question. I’m interested to see the results.

I don’t usually post my Advocate columns ahead of time — usually putting up a link after the fact — but this is a story that should get out there as early as possible.

The Darien High School volleyball team will be hosting its second annual Dig Pink National Breast Cancer Awareness Rally during Friday night’s home match with Wilton.

All the information is in the story, but it is worth noting the effort being made by Blue Wave coach Laurie LaRusso, her players, their families and friends. LaRusso is famed for her three-hour practices, and they have helped produce 18 league and 14 state titles.

Everyone involved has made an equal time commitment to Friday night’s event, and one can only hope the public will come out so the program will experience comparable success in a cause that transcends wins and losses.

Here’s the column:

DARIEN — Perhaps no team I have covered in recent memory has been more envied or more misunderstood than Darien High School’s volleyball team.

The Blue Wave have won 17 FCIAC and 14 state titles since 1990, including each eight times in a row, thus the reason they are treated as scholastic sports’ version of the Yankees, which is a shame. My first year as a sportswriter was Laurie LaRusso’s first as the team’s coach. And I can tell you with all certainty that LaRusso has produced better people than teams or athletes.

That is saying something.

Mention the Blue Wave to an opposing coach before the start of the season, and the first response is usually “just give them the trophy now,” which discounts the countless hours LaRusso’s players spend in the gym — in season and out.

On Friday night, the quality of the program and the ability to use its prominence as a platform will converge in the best possible sense, when the Blue Wave host their second annual Dig Pink National Breast Cancer Awareness Rally during their home match with Wilton.

The freshmen play at 4 p.m., the junior varsity at 5 and the varsity at 6.

Dig Pink is part of the Side-Out Foundation, a Virginia-based non-profit organization, which uses volleyball as a means in the fight against breast cancer.

Events such as the one Darien will be hosting take place nationally. LaRusso came up with the idea a year ago. It is a cause close to her heart.

“It’s all about the awareness for kids,” LaRusso said before her team’s practice Monday afternoon. “I’ve had a lot of friends who have been hit hard by this disease. This can happen to anyone.”

Despite getting a late start a year ago, the Blue Wave raised $4,000. This fall the eight juniors on the team and their mothers have been working hard for several weeks planning and publicizing Friday’s event. There has already been $1,200 raised by a bake sale at the Darien football game last Saturday.

When the team has not been busy working on sets, passing and hitting, it has been making T-shirts and putting together flyers.

“It’s nice to be recognized for something new, not just winning but supporting breast cancer,” said Mackenzie Begley, the team’s junior setter. “We did this last year and it’s a really good thing.”

Admission to Friday’s match is $5, with all the money going to Dig Pink. Cancer survivors will be admitted for free. LaRusso said there will be statistical information about breast cancer announced to the crowd during timeouts and between sets. Stamford Hospital will have a booth set up to distribute pamphlets and provide information.

“This is just a way to give something back to a community that has been so good to us,” LaRusso said. “It also lets the community see the type of beautiful kids I have in my program.”

LaRusso said the decision to put her juniors in charge of the preparations was a calculated move.

“The seniors are busy with their college applications, and the juniors, though their course load is tough, it gives them a little ownership of the team without being owners yet,” LaRusso said.

The Darien players have found it fulfilling to play a part in something that transcends wins and losses.

“It’s been a good way to spend our time,” said Sarah Suckow, another of the team’s juniors. “We want to get a much bigger turnout than last year. It’s been a fun thing to be involved in.”

Suckow’s mother, Deb, has been one of the many parents who have put in tireless hours behind the scenes.

“I love that the girls are getting involved in this type of thing,” she said. “You see them spend so much time on academics and sports. To see them do this, I am proud of them.”

As an added benefit, fans on Friday will get to watch a team that, heading into today’s match with Bassick is — surprise — 10-0 and has not dropped a set. Though only two players, twin towers Colby Billhardt and Sarah Gorski, who are each 6-foot-1, saw much playing time a year ago, the team is building toward another successful postseason run.

“Everyone has really been stepping up,” said outside hitter Corinne Sommi, who along with Billhardt and Gorski is one of the Blue Wave’s captains. “We worked so hard in the preseason and now we are starting to jell. We’re getting there but I don’t think we’ve reached it yet. I think we’ve done a pretty good job this season.”

Asked if the team felt pressure to carry on a long-running tradition, Sommi said, “There is, but it motivates us as well. The team has really great chemistry. We are all friends on and off the court.”

LaRusso is as humble a coach as there is, but she did admit because her program is so revered in Darien, it will enhance the chances of filling the stands in the gymnasium Friday night.

“I think as visible as this team is, it is good to give back,” she said. “I think it will be more effective.”

LaRusso will never let her team to look past any opponent, but with all the work performed by her players, their families and friends, even she would have to admit that before the first ball is served Friday, the Blue Wave are already winners.

To make a donation to Dig Pink, log onto http://home.att.net/~coachylarue/volleyball/

I just received a text message from Fairfield Warde coach Duncan DellaVolpe with some good news: David Wolff, who was taken from the field in an ambulance during the second quarter of last night’s game with New Canaan, was released from the hospital at about 12:15 this morning with a mild concussion.

Wolff was momentarily knocked unconscious and immobilized.

DellaVolpe said Wolff was sore but fine and praised the medical staff at New Canaan, where he was an assistant for the previous 10 years, for providing excellent care.

(Rick Lewis, who is in his 32nd year as Westhill High School’s girls swimming coach, will be blogging about his experiences this season)

By Rick Lewis

A lot has happened during the last few weeks. Swimmers have logged a lot of yardage and spend endless amounts of time learning more about technique; divers have performed their lists many times over. The dual meets are well under way, with the stronger teams moving to the top of the standings, with no real surprises.

Speaking of dual meets, there is nothing more fun to watch than a close meet that comes right down to the wire. Last Friday, everyone at Wilton was treated to a truly great meet as New Canaan and Wilton, two of the best teams in the state, went head to head for 12 events, with New Canaan prevailing, 95-91, in the final event.

I have heard from a number of people telling me how exciting and fun it was to be a part of that meet. I know the feeling, having had a number of meets like that over the years.

Today there is another great meet: Darien is at Greenwich. It has been one of the best meets in Connecticut the past two years, with Darien giving its all to try to unseat Greenwich, unsuccessfully. Today they get another try. It should be very exciting!

With New Canaan, Wilton and Darien all in Class M, the state meet should be very exciting this year! The FCIAC meet is also beginning to look very competitive and deep, as nearly every team has swimmers posting very good times already.

More on the Greenwich–Darien meet next week.