Spent the night in Southie, taking in the Comcast Tourney at BC High.
A Central boys and girls sweep.
For the record, I’d like to use the event as “Exhibit A” in my argument that the “three ref” concept is assenine.
Spoke to sides from both the CC girls and the Pentucket girls and the BC High and Newton North boys, then watched Central boys and perky Watertown.
3 officials equals whistles … lots of them … right and wrong.
I do not enjoy 60-free throw games, not when one of the teams is strictly a jump shooting team.
Central boys played two games with 93 fouls whistled. That’s about one and a half per minute.
Twice, Central was whistled for three-shot fouls and a third time, a foul on Desrosiers that had to be for illegal use of airspace around a shooter, resulted in a Watertown four-point play.
You could have hoisted a stockade fence between Carson and the shooter, but the official, who obviously felt left out in the whistle-fest must have gotten a little antsy.
Sorry HR95 and Stormy, three refs equals disaster.
Other impressions.
I may have sold Watertown short in my live blog the other night. The Stockmal brothers can fire. Harry’s crew, in my eyes now, is clearly the team to beat in the D3 north sectional.
This was not the same team I watched in Springfield back in January.
Carson again was a man. Yowzah, three rim rockers, 13 of 17 shooting.
And Billy Marsden displayed wonderful adaptation skills. He’s not shooting it well right now, so he went to the hole and created. He had some dazzling no look assists and went to the line 16 times in a 22-point night.
But i think what makes it all so devastating is the fact that Rick Nault is now getting contributions from everywhere. You just don’t know who and when.
Garcia, Pena, Zenevitch, Wheeler, Puello and Alvarez all continue to finish and make teams pay. And Benny Fernandez is just so valuable on the point.
I sometimes wonder if these seven, sans CD and BSB wouldn’t be right there in the MVC race with Lowell and Andover.
Central is just so calm, up, down, pressed, running game, physical halfcourt game, the Raiders just play. It’s scary, but so is the tournament where one bad day and they are the 2007 Pats.
On to my Saturday assignment, the D1 North sectional wrestling at Haverhill.
I will say this, there is no more dedicated athlete than the high school wrestler. Heck, half of these guys haven’t eaten a real meal in months.
I know I was tough on the Mass. guys earlier, and the sport may be dying as far as numbers (outside the Timberlane Regional district that is) go, but these athletes are to be saluted for their toughness and grit.
A couple moments from the semis and finals (yes, I watched all of those matches, 42 of them) that will be etched in stone:
First and foremost, Lawrence’s Aaron Blanco allowing 8-year-old Ollie Longo his first career pin on the mat in intermission, then mauling his three “real” opponents in a total of 3 minutes, 34 seconds.
Haverhill’s Isaiah Williams, taking his semifinal opponent and tying him up in a tight little pin package that had to have said victim thinking he was messing with an annaconda, not a 160-pounda.
Lawrence heavyweight Pedro Cruz, chowing on a delicious slice of pizza then about 17 minutes later sticking his semifinal foe in 16 seconds … headlock, flip, pin….
Tommy Holt fighting for his life, riding out the final two minutes of his one-point championship win on the top with Haverhill coach Bret Legault imploring from his corner of the mat. Why was this so special? You couldn’t hear a peep out of Legault. He was drowned out by his wife, who was right there with the coach, pounding the mat and pleading for Holt to “Stuff his head … Lift your hips,” and whatever else he had to do to hang on.
Also, it was amazing to watch more than a few wrestling moms, sitting or kneeling by the mat, pleading their sons to “Get up!” and “Run it, run it … Cross-face!!!” It’s an entirely different culture, and I really respect it.
Sometimes, I don’t understand it, but I respect it.
Oh year, you know Ollie Longo was there and so was my wife Sondra.
I’d like to thank the MIAA for forcing me to pay $19 (12 for the adults, 7 for kids) to get in.
$12???????
Pardon my French, but are you bleeping me????
I listen to those overpaid, BMW-driving, aristocratic bureaucrats tell me they have to charge $11, 12 and 13 for the Tsongas, the Garden, the Centrum, and all these football playoff sites.
I choked on my anger when the gracious Kraft family gave them Gillette Stadium, fee free with everything paid for (lights, concessions, security, scoreboard, everything) and the MIAA still charged, what 12 of 14 bucks.
But I cannot take, and will not take, paying $19 for my wife and son to sit in a cluttered, decrepit Mansfield gym.
Something has to be done. This is an outrage.
