Beyond the Scoresheet

March of the Champions

I got phone and e-mail updates from Saturday’s state championship tripleheader, and it sounds like I missed something special (yet again). A record crowd, even if it was for three games, and a new arena created an awesome environment and a day three teams and their fans will never forget, even if none of the games quite lived up to their billing.

I’ve been busy with my new job and whatnot, but I’ll see if I can get around to posting some final thoughts for this season and some historical perspective later this week.

For now, my Top 10

FINAL TOP 10

1. Delbarton (27-1-1)
2. St. Augustine Prep (18-7-2)
3. CBA (19-4-2)
4. Bishop Eustace (15-8-4)
5. Bergen Catholic (12-10-5)
6. Seton Hall Prep (6-10-5)
7. Don Bosco Prep (9-11-5)
8. Kinnelon (24-2-2)
9. Ridge (23-4-3)
10. Randolph (15-5-5)

updating scores

In addition to these score requests, how about a hand for Hunterdon Central? After Sunday’s game with Cranford was canceled due to transportation issues, the team found a way to reschedule the game for today, even though the cancellation would have put Hunterdon Central in the playoffs. That’s classy. The move allowed Summit, whose game today was cancelled to make room, to qualify for the state tournament. Here’s hoping that even if Hunterdon Central loses, coach Chris Mikolajczyk and his team get an at-large bid.

EDIT: Cranford beat Hunterdon Central 4-1. I think every player, coach and team in the state just gained a ton of respect for Hunterdon Central with that move. Hopefully the at-large committee will follow suit.

Holy smokes, we got them! Thanks to many people, but especially Jim McConville, for catching me up with some scores.

late night blues

If it’s 2:20 a.m. in Texas, it must be hella late on the East Coast.

I was so late getting home from work tonight that I ran through scores without responding to very many e-mails, so I apologize to those people who submitted scores on Friday but did not hear back from me. I thank you for the help.

That being said, we’re still missing a ton. What the heck? How am I missing a Gordon score six hours after the game ended? So shoot me an e-mail and correct that.

Couple other things … The Shore Conference has apparently reversed itself and will hold a Shore A and Shore B tournament. I’m not posting any more than that until somebody I trust faxes or e-mails me the brackets, because it sure doesn’t seem like anybody knows what’s going on down there. … Princeton Day is playing in the Mercer County Tournament for the first time in forever - seems there’s no requirement that teams play a percentage of their games against Mercer County opposition to qualify for the tournament. Mercer publics have to be happy that Princeton Day, Pennington, and Notre Dame ended up in the same quarter of the draw. … Fair Lawn’s win over Northern Highlands tonight sure was big - I heard about it from at least four different sources. I also heard from three different sources about the Westfield-Hunterdon Central game. Now if some of those people would just report on Old Bridge, we’d be all set.

Oh, there’s an ice cups page hiding on my site. I haven’t made time to link to it yet, but here it is. Do people want each cup to have its own page, as I did for the holiday tournaments?

Have a great weekend … GO GIANTS!

(Yes, I know the Super Bowl’s next weekend, but Pat Verney and I, among others, are pumped for the Giants anyway.)

NFL playoffs digression

Let me talk football for a moment. What a series of games the NFL had this weekend! Between my high school sports coverage, my Sunday soccer league and my occasional social life, I haven’t watched a ton of football this year. But I managed to watch three of the four games this weekend, and they were all terrific. The fourth one - Green Bay’s win on Saturday - was played in one of the crazier snowstorms in NFL history. Quite a weekend!

Tonight, I had arranged to DVR the Giants-Cowboys game and watch it later this evening with one of my old roommates, a Cowboys fan. Driving into my apartment complex, I caught a glimpse of a neighbor’s TV and thought I saw somebody in white being interviewed. So I spent the whole game thinking the Giants were going to lose, only to see them pull it out in the end! Holy crap! I still can’t believe the Giants won that game after being completely unable to stop the Cowboys for most of the game.

Having been in Texas Stadium when the Giants beat the Cowboys in the fall of 2006, I can appreciate just how quiet that place got and how big it was for the Giants to win a game in that rivalry. I’ve hated the Cowboys since I was a little kid and they got the best of the Giants every year, it seemed, after Super Bowl XXV. So it’s nice to be on the other side of that.

Now I just wish I could be at Lambeau on Sunday.

RIP Brian Fleury

I’ve thought so many times about what I would feel and say when this happened, but I’m still at a loss for words. The best coach I ever had, yet never had, and the best man I knew, died today at age 40.

Brian Fleury

Here’s the Daily Record article from Saturday, along with a photo gallery, and Joe Hofmann’s Sunday column. In the photo gallery, check out the shot of Coach Fleury in high school. My mom always said he looked like Derek Jeter. Here’s the Star-Ledger’s article.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

– W.H. Auden

Meningitis scare

Well, the hockey must go on, but I’m sure we can all agree the meningitis scare in North Jersey has us all thinking about more serious things. Ramapo High School has news posted about the condition of its students and a Thursday blood drive in Franklin Lakes. http://www.rih.org/?detail=381#ID381.

Best to everybody at Ramapo.

history lesson

lot of games to touch on and shout-outs to be given, but I’m going to give some historical notes instead.

First, today’s big early shock - Pingry beating Randolph 3-2. First time Pingry had beaten Randolph in almost seven years (0-8), since the final week of the regular season in
February 2000. That was when they were both in the Mennen Division and split two games in the final week of the season, allowing Pingry to finish third at 5-6, ahead of Randolph at 4-7. They met twice in 2000-01 and once each year since, with an additional meeting in the 2003 Mennen Cup quarterfinals. Most of the games have been close, with a few exceptions from 2001-02. A big breakthrough win for Pingry, though. I don’t know how long it can keep happening, but Pingry just keeps winning.

Also today, Morristown-Beard edged Bergen Catholic 2-1. The Crimson have had the Crusaders’ number the last few years, but not by much. That’s another result that makes rankings tougher - would Kinnelon beat Bergen Catholic? Comparative scores are a crapshoot, but still.

You had to love the war of words between Ramapo coach Steve Schick in the paper last week and Northern Highlands coach Jason Beswick in the paper after his team’s 3-1 win on Saturday. Both laid claim to their team being the league’s best, Beswick doing so after his team had proved it on the ice. These teams cannot meet again unless they are matched up in the NJSIAA tournament, since they play in different NBIAL divisions.

Obviously, Delbarton beat Seton Hall Prep 5-1 Friday night, the most decisive result in the series since a 6-2 Delbarton win in February 2001. Four goals is the largest margin of victory in the series since 1996 (Delbarton 8-1). I’m sure Jeff Goldberg or Mike Morreale could give you the all-time series, but in what I’m calling the modern era (separate NJSIAA tournaments, 1994-95 on), Delbarton leads the series 15-10-2. But as most fans know, Seton Hall Prep leads the NJSIAA tournament series 5-4.

Finally, I’ve heard that St. Augustine Prep, which has only three non-league games currently on its schedule, has been unable to get a Gordon Conference school on its schedule. I know that’s a long ride, scheduling can be hard, and elite players have more junior commitments, but you can’t tell me Seton Hall Prep (four non-league games), Don Bosco Prep, and Bergen Catholic have NO room on their schedule. I suggest those three because St. Peter’s Prep played three games in Maine, and Delbarton, CBA, and Pope John are all close to full. As everybody knows, Gordon Conference teams have very little to gain by scheduling a team like St. Augustine Prep, but boy, would I like to see it. Paging Peter Herms …