McClelland Miscellanea

March 9, 2010 · 7:55 pm

Manchester-Essex Ousted by Undefeated Cohasset 50-40 in D4 Championship

Meredith Kelly (19 points) defends Lizzy Ball (14 points) in the key matchup of the game.

(Boston) Meredith Kelly led Cohasset (25-0) to the Division 4 title on Tuesday afternoon at the TD Garden as the Skippers defeated Manchester-Essex (13-13), 50-40.

Meredith led all scorers with nineteen points but that was only half the story. The defensive job she did on ME’s main scoring threat, Lizzy Ball, was the game decider.

Lizzy ended up with fourteen points but they’ll be the hardest points she’s ever gotten. She made six free throws (6-for-8) but only 3-of-18 from the floor and nothing (0-for-3) from long range. Credit Meredith and the Skipper help defense, which stepped in when Lizzy broke free.

The final score in this one is misleading. The Hornets were very much in contention (trailing only 15-14) with 5 ½ minutes left in the first half. Julia Martz (11 points) had eight of those points in what looked like anyone’s game.

However, ME’s chances slipped through the cracks over the next 7 ½ minutes of playing time, stretching into the second half. The Hornets came up pointless in the next fourteen possessions while the Skippers produced twelve points over the same span.

Seven turnovers by the Hornets during that scoreless segment were the chief contributors to the resulting 27-14 deficit 2 ½ minutes into the second half. ME would carry that double-digit deficit for the rest of the game.

Undefeated Cohasset (25-0) poses with D4 championship trophy

Cohasset had the senior leadership with the lead to be patient on offense and used the clock. They settled for high percentage shots (their last six baskets were layups) and prevented ME from getting into any kind of comeback rush.

The final score is also misleading since ME scored the last seven points of the game over the last three minutes after Cohasset had turned things over to its reserves.

I saw St. Mary’s of Lynn defend Pentucket star Erin McNamara out of her normal game in the D3 North tournament (held to 9 points after averaging 20) but have teammates pick up the slack and carry the Sachems to victory. Lizzy Ball faced the same defensive situation versus Cohasset, but on this day, the talented junior found teammate help wanting.

Samantha Christopher, Alicia Volpe, and Lizzy Ball watch the closing seconds from the bench

( All stats are unofficial. )

Leave a comment

Filed under Cohasset, Manchester-Essex, Pentucket

Tagged as 2010 state D4 champions, Alicia Volpe, Cohasset, Lizzy Ball, Manchester-Essex, Meredith Kelly, Samantha Christopher

March 7, 2010 · 10:28 pm

Lawrence Academy (Class C) and Tilton School (Class B) Win NEPSAC Titles

(Beverly) I took in the Class C and Class B finals in the NEPSAC boys’ tournament at Endicott on Sunday afternoon.

The athleticism and action of these prep stars is always a treat. Hardcore fans know that warm-ups will usually produce highlight-reel dunking shows.

Stars of the future take part. A few years ago, Andray Blache was on hand for South Kent.

Jaymie Spears – The former Georgetown High player, now with St. Mark’s School had a long afternoon in the Class C finals against Lawrence Academy

I went to see Jaymie Spears, formerly of Georgetown High School. I was pleased to see that not only was he on the St. Mark’s Lions roster but he was also a starter.

Once the game started, however, the former MVP of the Cape Ann League as a sophomore, had a nightmare game.

The Lions lost 55-43 and struggled against the spirited defense of undersized Lawrence Academy. Jaymie got into trouble early with three turnovers that led to a couple of baskets.

The third turnover raised the frustration level of Coach Dave Lubick because Jaymie tried to go behind his back down the lane, was stripped and LA got a layup.

Jaymie had a steal and a rebound in the second ten minutesof the first half but missed two free throws, a trey, and a jumper from the left. However, St. Mark’s trailed just 22-20 at the half.

The second half didn’t go well either. Jaymie had good looks at a couple of three’s in the first five minutes and missed, getting pulled immediately after the second miss. He had a couple of more looks at three’s later in the game and reluctantly shot them and missed both. He did make two free throws in the last minute.

Therefore, he ended up with an unimpressive 0-for-6 shooting and three turnovers. However, he’s a sophomore at St. Mark’s and getting a chance to play with top-flight players. One of the seniors has a scholarship to Georgetown.

Shabazz Napier (#10) of Lawrence Academy hangs in for a layup versus St. Mark’s

The dazzler for St. Lawrence (29-0) was Shabazz Napier. This guard is listed as a junior and I can assure you that D1 colleges know all about him. He’s a great defender with speed to get open anywhere he wanted to. His passing was noteworthy as well. He was the MVP of the tourney.

I also saw Tilton School avenge an earlier loss to Marianapolis Prep School (Thompson CT) with a 69-61 win.

Tilton took control early and had depth that was amazing. They started great players, went to the bench, and brought in more great players. They put on an eye-catching pregame show with a freshman named Goodluck Okonoboh (6’7”) and a junior (Ryan Canty) displaying a variety of jams.

Ryan (6’9”) was a dominating presence. He is not only tall but also big and strong. Marianapolis had no one who could deal with him. During the game he did take a very hard fall on a breakaway when one of the Marianapolis players clobbered him to the ground. No foul was called and Ryan got up and played on.

Gerald Coleman (20 points) of Tilton is heading for Providence and it won’t take him long to get there with his speed! This was another player with all the ingredients to be great – shooter, quick, defender, and passer.

Gerald was the MVP of the Class B tournament.

Leave a comment

Filed under Jaymie Spears, Lawrence Academy, Marianapolis, St. Mary's, Tilton

Tagged as Gerald Coleman, Ike Azotam, Jaymie Spears, Lawrence Academy, Marianapolis Prep School, Ryan Canty, Shabazz Napier, St. Mark's School, Tilton School

March 6, 2010 · 10:48 pm

Whitinsville Christian takes Central Mass D3 title 58-44 over Maynard

The Whitinsville Christian team poses with D3 Central Mass trophy

(Worcester) Whitinsville Christian scored the first ten points of the game as well as the last seven points of the game and defeated undefeated Maynard (25-1), 58-44, to win the Central Mass D3 title on Saturday afternoon at WPI.

WC (20-4) reached the Central Mass finals last season against undefeated Sutton and lost but with many returnees on its roster, the Crusaders showed poise early. While WC was making shots, Maynard was making turnovers – first five possessions.

One of those turnovers led to a breakaway for 6-8 Hans Miersma (17 points). Hans’ size gave the Tigers problems all game as “big” for them was 6’2”. Hans blocked a number of shots and intimidated other Tiger shooters in close to the basket.

The Tigers finally scored on a Mike Fowler steal that led to an old-fashioned 3-point play after eleven fruitless possessions.

A couple of treys (Brian Viscariello) later the Tigers trailed, 15-9, after a quarter.

Another old-fashioned 3-point play by Mike Fowler had the score at 26-19 with 1 ½ minutes to go in the second period.

WC followed with eight unanswered points in a run that stretched into the third quarter. Colin Richey (13 points), Hans, and Andrew Dykstra (13 points) did the scoring damage during this segment and WC had what looked to be a comfortable 35-19 spread, 1 ½ minutes into the third period.

WC was still in good shape (44-29) late in the quarter before Maynard made its move, getting nine points in a row with a trey by Peter Frank ending the run. Now down only 44-38 with 7 ½ minutes left in the game you had a sense that the undefeated team would close strong and wondered what WC had left.

However, what Maynard didn’t have thereafter was 3-point accuracy. They launched eight and didn’t make any. On the other side, WC free throw shooting was an adventure. The Crusaders missed seven of thirteen in the final quarter.

Jason Silva’s layup put the score at 51-44 with 2 ½ minutes left. The rest of the way the Tigers came up completely empty with a couple of turnovers thrown in. The victorious Crusaders produced points on each of their final five possessions to win 58-44.

The final score hardly reflects the difference between the two teams. Maynard dug itself too deep a hole early. The tourney-savvy Crusaders played well with the lead and had playmakers on offense and defense.

WC now plays New Liberty in Springfield on Tuesday (4:15PM) in the state semifinals.

Leave a comment

Filed under Maynard, Whitinsville Christian School

Tagged as Andrew Dykstra, Central Mass D3, Colin Richey, Hans Miersma, Maynard, Whitinsville Christian

March 2, 2010 · 11:28 pm

St. John’s Wins D1 Classic 79-78 Over Lynn English in North Semis

Ryan Woumn can only look on as St. John’s defeats his Bulldogs

(Salem) It was a classic even before it was played with enough plots, subplots, and teases to entice even nonsports fans.

An estimated 3000+ fans took in the game. Irving Vizciano takes a free throw in front of The Prep crowd.

And what a crowd it drew – an estimated 3000+ spectators to Salem High School on Tuesday night.

And what a game they saw, as St. John’s Prep (21-2) rallied in the last quarter to defeat Lynn English (21-2), 79-78, in the Division 1 North semifinals.

In simple math terms, Lynn English dominated St. John’s in the second and third quarters by a combined 46-27. In the first and final quarter, St. John’s had a 52-32 advantage.

The back-and-forth of things gave both sides plenty to cheer about and trust me the standing cheering sections from both schools were very active throughout. St. John’s asked about “SAT scores,” and Lynn English countered with “free tuition.” And so it went.

The official stats from the game were shaky to say the least. In the four sources that I checked (Lynn Item, Salem News, Boston Herald, Boston Globe) the final numbers varied. That’s why I keep my own stats and report them as “unofficial” at the end of the blog bottom.

Left to right – Pat Connaughton (16), Tripp Doherty (1), Mike Carbone (14) and Stephen Haladyna (28)

Stephen Haladyna led all scorers with 28(?) points. His game was all about slashing to the basket or in numerous cases being on the scoring end of a press break. I’ll guess it was a career game for the 6-4 sophomore.

The Bulldogs limited the open court for the Eagles usual top scorer (Pat Connaughton) and he ended up with sixteen points getting just six of them in the second half.

Jarell Byrd (21 points) paced the Bulldogs but in my opinion, he didn’t get the ball nearly enough. The Eagles defense was in trouble during the infrequent times he actually had the ball in the frontcourt because he has range and can rip to the rim.

The Prep had a four-minute breakout in the first quarter with a 17-2 segment that changed a 5-4 deficit into a 21-7 advantage with two minutes left. The damage was from in close except for one Mike Carbone trey. The Prep led 23-11 at quarter’s end.

In the second period, the Bulldogs continued to look to be in serious trouble trailing 31-17 with 3 ½ minutes left. Suddenly LE found a stretch of offense (17-4) that carried them to a 34-31 halftime spread. Inside stuff, free throws (six), and an Irving Vizciano trey did the damage for the comebacking LE team.

Having seen both teams play well (and poorly) for a quarter, what we’d see in the second half was anybody’s guess.

LE made their move at the end of the third quarter, closing it with ten unanswered points. Sophomore Keandre Stanton’s dunk and tip-in were Bulldog crowd-pleasers in the last minute. LE led 57-50 after three periods.

The rest at the end of the third quarter seemed to settle the Eagles as they came out on a 13-2 tear in the first 2:25 to sit comfortably at 63-51. Three straight inside scores by Stephen Haladyna and a trey from Mike Carbone did most of the damage.

That lead was eight (76-68) with two minutes to go before the “fun” began. A Jarell Byrd trey, an Irving Vizciano free throw, and a Jarell Byrd layup while the Eagles had four empty possessions set the score at 76-74 with thirty seconds left. Anyone’s game, for sure.

Tripp Doherty was fouled in the backcourt and made one free throws with 24 seconds left. Again plenty of time for LE.

Mike Carbone – 14 points including two clinching free throws for The Prep

This time the, “Where are you, Ryan Woumn?” thoughts had to be dancing through many from the LE side. However, suspended and sitting in the front row he wasn’t available. And what happened was that LE went through 19 seconds looking for a slash to the basket that never occurred. Jordan Rogers got off a desperate trey late that Mike Carbone rebounded. With five seconds left, Mike made both free throws to close the door on LE, 79-74. LE’s four points in the last few seconds did not alter the outcome.

Sophomore Mike Carbone (14) had four 3’s but his two free throws in the last five seconds were the game-sealers for St. John’s.

St. John’s gets to move on to face Central Catholic on Friday night at the TD North Garden. CC won an earlier matchup by four points in Lawrence.

LE functioned without head coach Buzzy Barden and top player Ryan Woumn. St. John’s started juniors and sophomores yet played like a team of seniors.

Is it too early to suggest that Sean Connolly will not always be coaching at The Prep? What a job he has done with a young team.

( All stats are unofficial. )

Leave a comment

Filed under Lynn English, St. John's Prep

Tagged as Jarell Byrd, Keandre Stanton, Lynn English, Mike Carbone, Pat Connaughton, Ryan Woumn, Sean Connolly, St. John's Prep, Stephen Haladyna

February 24, 2010 · 10:59 pm

Masco Survives Opening Round Tourney Scare By Arlington 55-48

Chris Splinter – Scored go-ahead, late-game layup for Masco

(Boxford) Masconomet (18-3) scored all the points in the last two minutes and that was the margin of victory (55-48) versus Arlington (10-11) in the opening round of the Division 2 North played at Masconomet on Wednesday night.

Masco (#2 seed) moves on to play Salem at home on Sunday (February 28th) at 4PM. The Salem team took in the Masco/Arlington game.

The Chieftains put together a 21-5 run that started late in the first quarter into the second quarter that turned a 13-11 AHS advantage into a 32-18 deficit with 1 ½ left in the second quarter. The taller Chieftains hit one trey but everything else came from layups, converted rebounds, and free throws. Adam Bramanti (17 points) put up eight points and Collin Burke (14 points) seven points during this surge.

The Ponders, however, scored the last six points of the half to close to 32-24.

Arlington (#15 seed) moved its man-to-man defense to fullcourt and changed the pace away from Masco’s comfort zone. The Chieftains had fourteen turnovers in the second half. Four of those giveaways led to AHS putting a 12-2 run against Masco to tie things at 36-36 with 3 ½ minutes left in the third quarter. Miles Powell (16 points) contributed old and new 3-point plays for the visitors.

Greg Moulton – 15 points for Arlington

Miles Powell – 16 points including three 3’s for AHS

The 4th quarter saw Masco build a 48-42 lead with 3 ½ left in the game only to have AHS use a Miles Powell jumper, a Greg Moulton (15 points) trey, and a Brandon Castro free throw to knot things at 48 with two minutes left.

Both teams swapped turnovers before Masco broke out of backcourt pressure and Chris Splinter drove in on the right under significant defense and made a layup with 1 ½ left.

Now down two (50-48) AHS missed a lead-taking three (Miles Powell) and then both team swapped turnovers. With 31 seconds left Masco struggled to get the ball inbounds and burned two timeouts to prevent a turnover. The careful approach paid off because when Masco did get the ball into play Jake London (9 points) was fouled and made both shots. AHS missed a couple of shots before Chris Splinter (9 points) made a free throw. Another missed three and it was Adam Bramanti’s chance at free throws. He made two with two seconds left and Masco reached the 55-48 final score.

The Ponders put up three’s without conscience and fortunately for Masco connected on just 4-of-23 attempts.

Masco’s 21 turnovers should give teams ahead the green light on bringing pressure. Many of the miscues were on ill-advised passes.

On the other hand, the Chieftains zone defense forced AHS into a long-range, low percentage offense and the Ponders couldn’t make enough shots to force Masco away from it.

( All stats are unofficial. )

Leave a comment

Filed under Arlington, Masconomet

Tagged as Adam Bromarti, Arlington, Collin Burke, Greg Moulton, Masconomet, MIAA Division 2 North, Miles Powell

February 24, 2010 · 3:12 pm

Triton Cheerleaders Practice to be the Best

Triton cheerleader coach Erin Dempsey puts squad through Friday afternoon practice

(Byfield) If you want to avoid crowds, just show up at a high school thirty minutes after the dismissal bell on the Friday afternoon that leads into February vacation.

That is what I did at Triton on the afternoon of (Friday) February 13th. While nearly everyone else in the school had headed for the exits, the Triton High School cheerleaders were involved in an afternoon practice.

“Even though basketball has ended we’ll continue to practice because we have two competitions left,” explained Coach Erin Dempsey. The next competition for the Viking squad will be the Braintree Winter Cheerleading Invitational on February 21st.

Triton captured a solid second place finish to Wilmington in the Cape Ann League competition (February 7th at Triton) and received a high enough score to move on to the regionals.

“In the CAL competition, each team performs a 2 ½ minute routine,” said Coach Dempsey. “We’re scored on specific areas like; gymnastics, pyramids, partner stunts, motions, and dance. We incorporate all of those things into the routine. I thought that our strong points at the CAL’s were tumbling and pyramids.”

The team performs before four judges who each can give up to 25 points for the team’s performance. A team has to total at least 67 points to move on to the regionals and Triton has accomplished that in each of the last six seasons.

Triton has not won the Cape Ann League title yet, but optimism abounds. “We’re getting better and closer to the top and have just one senior,” added Coach Dempsey. “We have a good crop of 8th grade cheerleaders coming in with 8-10 of them trying out for the football squad in June.”

Coach Dempsey referred to “good team chemistry” and tri-captain Becca Moore confirmed it – “The girls on the team become your family and you form bonds that are unbreakable.”

Another of the tri-captains (Lindsey Goldstein) told me something I already assumed, “There are injuries (in cheering) and it can be dangerous.”

Triton cheerleaders practice

Only those attending cheerleading competitions see the girls’ full repertoire. “The rubberized track at the football games and the hardwood floors at basketball games are unsafe places for us to do some of the things we do in cheerleading competitions,” explained Coach Dempsey.

In the CAL, cheerleaders are limited to doing a routine at halftime and tumbling during timeouts. The rest of the time, they sit in the bleachers. Football is a better arrangement, according to Coach Dempsey, “In football the crowd is in front of us and we can interact with them. In basketball we’re secluded and limited as to what we can do.”

Cheerleading is a varsity sport at Triton and just like other varsity sports, there are plenty of opportunities to continue in the sport (like travel teams) away from the high school setting. “In the spring, a lot of girls switch over to All-Stars where organizations have their own gyms and travel to competitions throughout the country,” said Coach Dempsey. “I coach an All-Star team in Danvers and we travel nationally.”

In the summer, the Triton cheerleading squad attends a 3-day camp at URI. “We’ve done it for two years,” recalled Coach Dempsey. “There in a relaxed atmosphere we get to work on team-building, tumbling, and stunts.”

Although cheering is demanding in many ways, it is still worth it, according to Viking tri-captain Makayla Fernandez. “I have been cheering since I was seven,” she said. “I’ve gotten plenty of good exercise and had a lot of fun.”

( This story appeared in The Town Common on February 24, 2010. )

Leave a comment

Filed under Triton

Tagged as Becca Moore, Cape Ann League, Erin Dempsey, Lindsey Goldstein, Makayla Fernandez, Triton cheerleaders

February 22, 2010 · 11:55 pm

Beverly Falls in Overtime to Reading 69-67 on Last-Second Layup

Kenny Reed (26 points) gets a ride from celebrating Reading fans after his last-second layup defeats Beverly.

(Reading) Denied a chance to win the game in regulation, Reading’s Kenny Reed (26 points) wasn’t denied in overtime.

The Rocket senior twisted in for a layup just before the buzzer to oust Beverly, 69-67, in the first round of Division 2 North basketball on Monday night at Reading.

A Beverly turnover (Felix Zamot travel after getting trapped in front of the Beverly bench) with 14.6 seconds left kept the Panthers from setting up for the final shot and gave Reading a chance to organize for the game-deciding last shot.

The Rockets came out of the timeout and put the ball into the hands of Reed at midcourt with eleven seconds left and cleared out to give him room to operate. With Curtis Manuel (17 points) in tight coverage, Reed spun in from the right and beat the buzzer with the game-winning shot.

Kenny Reed (arms folded) waits at the end of regulation to see if he’ll get a chance to win the game in regulation with a free throw.

Earlier, this same Kenny Reed was fouled in regulation at the buzzer, or so we thought, with the score tied at 61. A discussion among the officials and the supervisor of officials, that lasted ten minutes, ended with the ruling that the foul had been committed after the game had ended. This led to overtime. Believe me, the most relieved player in Reading at that announcement was Zach Zigglebaum who had been charged with the foul.

Few players have ever been “iced” the way Kenny Reed was during the excruciating delay. Even an amateur student of body language can detect in the photo that he was feeling the pressure as the delay went on-and-on. Could he have made the free throw to win the game, with two chances at it? We’ll never know.

At the start of the game Reading ran twelve straight after a couple of treys by Justin Marrs (14 points) had given Beverly an 11-4 lead. The Rockets led 21-15 at the end of the first quarter and Kenny Reed already had fifteen points. Six of the points came on 3’s, one that looked to be NBA range.

Reading built the lead to 31-24 at the half and there was little reason to think that Beverly had the firepower and defense to make a game of this one in the second half.

Turned out they did. Michael Clayton (13 points) and Justin Marrs combined for Beverly’s next seventeen points. Clayton’s put-back tied the score at 41-41 with a minute left in the third quarter.

Reading started fast in the final quarter as Kenny Reed and then Trey Jones found room for layups. Trailing 49-43, the Panthers took an eight-point run, with Curtis Manuel adding the last two baskets and Beverly led, 51-49, with five minutes left in regulation.

There were seven lead changes over the next three minutes. Trey Jones (16 points) put a three, a steal, and a layup into this late-game segment and gave Reading a 4-point lead (61-57) with two minutes to go.

Michael Clayton – 13 points for Beverly

Curtis Manuel – 17 points including 8 in the last quarter

Reading did not score again in regulation while Beverly got a layup from Michael Clayton and a Rocket turnover and a layup with 13 seconds left from Curtis Manuel to tie the score. Then there was the debated foul at the buzzer before the game went into overtime.

In the overtime, Jerry-Ellis Williams (15 points) gave Reading an early 65-61 lead with a layup and a jump shot. Beverly answered with a Clayton three and a free throw from Zach Zigglebaum. Brian Borque (10 points) hit a jumper. Curtis Manuel answered in kind.

Trey Jones missed a shot. Beverly turned the ball over. This set the stage for Reed’s game-winner at the buzzer in overtime.

Leave a comment

Filed under Beverly, Reading

Tagged as Curtis Manuel, Jerry-Ellis Williams, Kenny Reed, Michael Clayton, Trey Jones, Zach Zigglebaum

February 17, 2010 · 3:18 pm

Snow Scenes from Newburyport on February 17th

Backyard view in Newburyport - February 17, 2010

I guess you own a camera for mornings like February 17th in Newburyport.

The snowfall from the previous day/night was there to see on that Wednesday morning. Toss in some bright sunlight in the early AM and the visuals were terrific. This is a backyard view.

Trees were especially beautiful with snow still attached to even the thinnest of branches.

I try to walk to and along the Merrimac River boardwalk, every day and I always carry my camera (Canon PowerShot SX10IS) with me just in case something interesting presents itself.

On this day, I wasn’t the only one carrying/using a camera. I saw one gentleman walking down the middle of a street shooting up into the trees. There were hardly any cars around, so he wasn’t endangering himself.

Snow-laden trees overhang Merrimac River boardwalk

The Merrimac River boardwalk was plowed! Usually a snowstorm signals the beginning of some tricky footing there. On this morning, the snow-laden trees add to this naturally attractive spot.

Frog Pond on the Bartlet Mall

I knew that the Bartlet Mall would be visually special with the addition of snow.

George Washington knows from whence the wind came during the snowstorm

My favorite statue is the George Washington one on the edge of the Bartlet Mall. No question about the wind direction during the snowstorm is there.

I picked a historic white house on High Street and let the snow highlight it.

Junco waits for a feeder to be cleared of snow.

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport

Tagged as Bartlet Mall, Merrimac River boardwalk, Newburyport

February 6, 2010 · 1:10 pm

Undefeated Pentucket Girls Win 20th at Newburyport 64-32

Pentucket’s Erin McNamara heads in for a layup off a Clipper turnover as Nbpt’s Molly Rowe defends

They are the elephant in the Cape Ann League room. Who? The Pentucket Regional girls basketball team.

There’s good and then there’s them.

Pentucket won their 20th game of the season last night (February 5th) at Newburyport High School, 64-32.

This terrific team is undefeated, and certainly unchallenged, in the Cape Ann League this season. They have won by an average of THIRTY points in the fourteen CAL games. A “close” CAL game for them was the 62-44 “nail-biter” at North Reading on December 23rd.

To finish off the unbeaten season, the Sachems will have to find a way to defeat Amesbury at Amesbury on February 9th (won earlier 66-44) and Triton at home on February 11th (won earlier 76-56).

There is a website called “Maxpreps” which rates Pentucket 5th in all of Massachusetts. Those teams rated better must be realllllllly good.

My visit to NHS was my first in-person look at Pentucket. I had read that their press was very effective. That was/is true but being on hand enabled me to see a few other positives.
(1)This team can shoot from the outside.
(2)They have size inside that can score.
(3)Their pressure isn’t just backcourt pressure. Many of the first-half turnovers that they forced the Clippers into happened in the frontcourt. Picking up your dribble is the first step toward getting yourself turned over anywhere on the court.
(4)I also saw many Newburyport dribblers being forced toward their left – weak dribbling hand.
(5)I watched the Sachems shoot before the game and noticed quickly that they all shoot from the outside with the same form. They didn’t make every shot but the misses weren’t form related.

Junior Vanessa Cahill lines up a free throw

(6)I checked their roster listed on the program and this domination of the CAL is not likely to end soon. The tallest player (Victoria Cahill) is a junior. Arguably, the two best players on the team (Ashley Viselli and Erin McNamara) have younger sisters (freshman Nicole Viselli and sophomore Leigh McNamara) on the roster. There also is a sophomore Tori Lane who may be the younger sister of senior starter Emily Lane.

Anyhow, Pentucket is a very impressive team. They should end the regular season 22-0 and be a major player in the MIAA Division 3 state tournament, which starts in a couple of weeks.

Leave a comment

Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Ashley Viselli, Cape Ann League, Emily Lane, Erin McNamara, Molly Rowe, Pentucket, Pentucket girls basketball

February 5, 2010 · 2:44 pm

Lemming Left Still Follows Obama

Ideologue-In-Chief drives away support

How optimistic of Michael Cook to write the column entitled, “Obama not lame duck…not yet,” in the Newburyport Current after Ted Kennedy’s seat moved across the aisle.

Relax Michael, Newburyport did not vote for Scott Brown. In fact, Mike Capuano was the preference of the area Dem leadership not Martha Coakley and their support for her was very mellow.

Actually, Martha should have won statewide. Forget her underwhelming approach to campaigning; this is, after all, Massachusetts. She lost because the formerly magic letter beside her name on the ballot was a “D.”

And that “D” joined her at the hip with the current administration. Martha didn’t have the willingness or sense to run away from the current administration and the voters made her pay for that foolishness.

How can you describe Scott Brown’s campaign as “a tad disingenuous,” without any explanation?

You mentioned chuckling over writers referring to Obama’s dreadful poll numbers. Thanks for giving me a chuckle by stating that, “President Obama remains the most respected politician in America today.” Since you cite no polls for such an unlikely statement, I’ll assume that you made it up.

You said that Obama “receives high marks from most Americans on national security issues.” Again, no source cited, so again dubious conclusions pass as fact. Those high marks could have been for his having an opinion on issues. I’m not so sure that folks familiar with Fort Hood or the attempted airline bombing are giving him high marks for national security results.

Michael, how can you blame health care reform opponents for stopping it. Your Democrat friends have the numbers in Congress without including anyone else. So why can’t they get it done? Simple. Their indescribable attempt at health care reform cannot even get full Democrat support. Weren’t those bribes to Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson a sure sign of the bill’s impossible-to-sell provisions?

Next time there’s a tea party in Massachusetts you ought to show up to get a clearer view of what they’re up to. I went to one on the Boston Common and noted two themes – (1) government spending is out of control and, (2) Barney Frank had a major part in the collapse of the housing market. What is your problem with either?

Of course, there are extremists in any movement. Denouncing tea partiers, because of the work of a few of them, is like suggesting that the Democrat Party is evil because bomber Bill Ayers is on board.

Thank you for conceding that, “the Dems will still likely lose some seats in November.” Under the best of situations that usually happens. Brace yourself, Michael, because things will be much worse seat-wise if Obama lets his ideologue nature get the best of him. The voters in three states have tried to get his attention.

Let me make a prediction: If Obama does not change his approach shortly, he will lose the support of every moderate Democrat in Congress. And those Democrats will have to start taking action against Obama very soon or they will be hung with their support for him in November and risk suffering Martha Coakley’s fate.

I wonder what could happen to Congressman John Tierney if an opponent could chain him to supporting President Obama’s agenda. Is there another Scott Brown in the Sixth District?

( This letter-to-the-editor appeared in the Newburyport Current in the February 5th edition. )

Leave a comment

Filed under Barack Obama, John Tierney, Mike Capuano, Newburyport, Newburyport Current, President Barack Obama

Tagged as Barack Obama, John Tierney, Martha Coakley, Mike Capuano, Scott Brown, Ted Kennedy