Sounds great, he can stay home and life every CIAC player’s dream and play for the Huskies.
Really?
The announcement came the same day New Britain Herald reported that police arrested a second teen in the videotaped beating that took place on school grounds in May allegedly involving Jones Jr.
Timing is everything.
It’s like Wedding Crashers, when Sack was about to lose Claire to John Beckwith, so he puts Claire on the spot and proposes to her in front of the entire family.
Let’s see what happens. I think if Jones Jr. is found guilty, the offer has to be pulled. Let him walk on and earn a scholardhip. And if he’s found innocent (which may be touch since it’s allegedly on video), then we can just pretend none of this ever happened.
The Norwalk-Greenwich game could be intriguing. Greenwich was down last year (yes, in Greenwich, three losses is a down year), Norwalk was up (yet for the Bears, three losses was considered “underachieving” after it was seen as the team-to-beat in the FCIAC last season).
But when your father had a score-management rule named after him by the CIAC, your father is asked to leave schools even after he fills its trophy cases, and your father is accused of tweaking transfer rules, you can’t easily hide.
I would not blame Masuk head coach John Murphy – who has always been very accessible to the press – if he added “no comment” to his vocabulary. or for that matter, if he closed practices to the media.
But I could see media from all across the state taking interest in what’s going on in Monroe. And I’m sure these kids just want to play some football.
Plus, like it or not, Jack Cochran is once again a private citizen when it comes to the gridiron.
So please, before we all start renting helicopters to get a paparazzi-like glimpse of Casey Cochran in a red and white, let’s treat him like every other kid.
I also don’t think any NFL team is going to risk the backlash of signing Michael Vick, who just finished service a sentence for his role in a Virginia dogfighting operation.
I posted the question a few months back on Facebook, and my friends had mixed reactions. There was no in-between. It was either “this is America, he deserves a second chance” or “he’s a dog-killer.” The debate itself got pretty nasty between strangers on both ends of the scale.
As much as I love dogs, and it sickens me to think dogfighting is acceptable in some parts of the country, I think Michael Vick deserves a second chance.
The question is, what NFL team is going to take a chance on Michael Vick? Is a team willing to deal with PETA showing up to protest at every home and road game, and maybe even at training camp and practices?
And from a playing point of view, can Michael Vick fit in with any NFL offensive schemes? Vick was known to run if flushed out of the pocket, or if his receivers couldn’t get open. His last active season, 2006, Vick ran for more than 1,000 yards. And the Atlanta Falcons’ offense was based on him.
Those who follow my own site know I mock the Naugatuck Valley League. For no reason but regional pride. The same reasons NVL fans mock people like me who went to an FCIAC school. I think someone like me who dined on lobster, caviar and Grey Poupon in the New Canaan cafeteria as a high school football player will show respect for Greenwich, Ridgefield and Darien before a Seymour, Shelton or Ansonia. And vice-versa.
Hopefully it’ll remain a non-violent league rivalry (no pun intended, NVL fans. I meant “non-violent” as in “please don’t punch me in the face”).
To my surprise, not every answer was “Ansonia,” preceeded by a year. A few Derby teams were cited, and it made me remember how great Derby football once was… and that it wasn’t too long ago that football hit the skids there.
During my short span, there have been some great Seymour and Shelton teams, too. And don’t forget Naugatuck, which was seemingly unbeatable for a long time in the early 1980s.
And soon, Oxford could be part of the discussion. Keep in mind the school spawned off from Masuk and Seymour, both schools rich in football tradition.
Valley fans, what do you think? What’s the greatest team to ever come out of the Valley? Give me a team, a year (or era), and why it’s the greatest.
Oh… and ate over-cooked burgers and bone-chipped filled hot dogs in the New Canaan cafeteria, just like every other high schooler did.
The biggest question tonight at the Hall of Fame Classic: If New Haven County beat Fairfield County by more than 50 points, would Ansonia head coach Tom Brockett – who was in charge of the New Haven side – be suspended from the first regular season game his team played? Or From next year’s Hall of Fame Classic?
Or would Ridgefield head coach Kevin Callahan, the head of Fairfield County’s team, be allowed to tell someone at the CIAC that Brockett did everything in his power to keep the score under controll?
Of course the all-star game is not a CIAC sanctioned event, and fortunately we didn’t find out. Fairfield County linebacker Trevor Treibt broke through the line of scrimmage and blocked a Jordan Rozas extra point that would have made it a 50-0 game with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter.
No doubt, Fairfield County was outmatched. As one Valley football fan told me today on Facebook, he knew just by a look at the rosters that New Haven would get the win.
I don’t fully agree – then again I only saw a few games and scrimmages up in the Valley last season and really did not get a full look at talent up there. I did see some of these guys up at the Governor’s Cup game two weeks back – Cheshire QB BillyRagone, Ansonia RB Tristan Roberto, Law linebacker Ricky Rozier, Foran lineman Russ Furlow – and was very impressed with their abilities.
I thought New Haven had a good shot to win this one. But I wonder if that fan knew it would come this easy for New Haven County?
By the way, if you thought Ragone, who is heading to Penn to play ball, should have got the offensive MVP award over Masuk QB Bobby Baker in the Governor’s Cup game last month, you get a consolation. Ragone was the offensive MVP for New Haven County.
Friday night will be huge for the Callahan family at the Hall of Fame Classic.
Kevin Callahan, the Ridgefield head coach, is in charge of the Fairfield County all-star team, which takes on New Haven County at 7:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart.
Kevin’s son J.D., who just graduated from Lehigh, will be an assistant coach. Kevin’s other son, also named Kevin, will be the center. Now that isn’t a “I want my son to play” move, either. Young Kevin was a two-year starter for Fairfield Warde.
Though young Kevin practiced with the first line Friday, he downplayed the situation. He said he’s thrilled to be on the same field as players like Norwalk lineman D. J. Morrel, Rocco Colandro of Darien and Joe Kestenbaum of Staples.
Sure, Kevin’s excited to play for his father. It’s something he saw former teammates Maxx and Marcelo Catapano do on a daily basis during Tony Catapano’s four-year run as Warde’s head coach.
If you think the Catapano’s had more pressure, you may be wrong. New Haven County plays this game for keeps. And the folks east of the Housatonic aren’t to thrilled that Fairfield left Ken Strong stadium with a 31-30 double-overtime win.
