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Six-Pack for the Steelers
Posted by pblackwell | 02/01/09
Remember those days when everyone complained about boring, lopsided Super Bowls, about how the commercials, halftime show, parties, anything BUT the game proved more interesting?
Well, stop thinking that way. Of the last X Roman numeral games, V of them have gone to the wire, and edition no. XLIII between Pittsburgh and Arizona was as good as any of them - and you even had Bruuuuuce at halftime!
For a long time, it looked like that 10 or 14-point swing at the end of the first half, from the Cardinal goal line to Steeler James Harrison returning an INT 100 yards for at touchdown, would be the difference. It was 20-7, but hardly inspiring stuff since (1) the Cardinals were giving it away with penalties and (2) the Steelers gave it back by not capitalizing on those flags...
CATEGORY: Football (American)
TAGS: Super Bowl, Steelers, Cardinals
Weekly Column: The Job of a Lifetime
Posted by pblackwell | 02/03/09
Should the winter weather decide to behave on Friday night, Christian Brothers Academy and Bishop Ludden will engage in yet another chapter of their “Holy War”, and once again Buddy Wleklinski and Pat Donnelly will be barking out instructions from the sidelines.
The rivalry started in 1963. Wleklinski and Donnelly played against each other in the mid-1970s, then came back to coach at their alma mater a decade later. Since 1987, every CBA-Ludden game has featured Buddy and Pat. They have come to personify the rivalry, as well as their respective schools.
This comes during a season where Wleklinski saw CBA dedicate its home court in his honor, weeks before Donnelly reached the 400-win mark with several of his former players in attendance...
CATEGORY: Basketball
TAGS: Coaches, high school, long-time, AL Knapp
Miles Ahead, Again
Posted by pblackwell | 02/04/09
A decade ago, as I was starting out at this job, the first team that really captivated my storytelling senses was the Fayetteville-Manlius girls basketball squad that would win 22 in a row before Corcoran beat them in the sectional finals.
Steve Miles coached that team, then left a few years later, tending to family and setting priorities, as we all should.
Now, in 2009, it's looking a lot like 1999 - except the venue is Cazenovia and the team isn't unbeaten. But the same championship dreams linger.
When Paul Harney couldn't return to coach last year's Section III Class B-2 champion Lakers, Miles got the job just weeks before practice started - his first stint in six years...
CATEGORY: Basketball
TAGS: Steve Miles, Cazenovia, road wins
Bruce's Vivid Dream
Posted by pblackwell | 02/05/09
In the course of his new record called "Working On A Dream", Bruce Springsteen has managed to confound fans and critics alike - some of whom love it, some of whom loathe it. They even love and loathe in the same breath.
So like any genuine Bruce fan, I gave the CD a few listens before offering an opinion - and the thing didn't sound like anything masterful at first, with its stytlistic mood changes from pure bliss to sadness.
Yet it grew on me, for as with so many of Bruce's other records, the songs' lyrics rang true, the choruses were instant sing-alongs and a deep wisdom ultimately comes out of the whole project by the time it's done.
No American musician I know has taken the kind of journey Bruce has undergone in the last seven years alone...
CATEGORY: Music
TAGS: Bruce Springsteen, new album, thoughts
Just Another Reminder
Posted by pblackwell | 02/07/09
One moment, we were celebrating the milestones of Al Knapp (more wins that any other Section III boys basketball coach) and Bob McKenney (400 wins), and getting ourselves ready for the deluge of the Section III post-season that hits over the next four weeks.
Then, just as our radio show on WHEN was ending, we peaked up at the TV in the studio and the story was already out - in 2003, Alex Rodriguez had a positive steroid test.
My first thought - this will get some attention. Anything A-Rod does anyway, even if it has nothing to do with baseball, things like marital troubles and pop star dalliances...
CATEGORY: Baseball
TAGS: Alex Rodriguez, steroid test, questions
Weekly Column: Old Leader, Familiar Themes
Posted by pblackwell | 02/08/09
Late in 1833, Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States, was in the midst of bringing down the Bank of the United States. He was convinced the money belonged in state banks and was bent on stopping the national bank’s recharter before its haughty chairman, Nicholas Biddle, bought off members of Congress.
When the national bank called in loans and restricted credit, merchants freaked. Some of them went to Jackson himself, begging for mercy, or money, or something to make their business flow again.
But when the merchants talked of the people’s troubles, Jackson was blunt: “The people, sir, are with me...
CATEGORY: Government
TAGS: Andrew Jackson, presidency, "American Lion", Jon Meacham
Playoff Time!
Posted by pblackwell | 02/09/09
So now we reach the Section III post-season, a month full of drama and daring where champions emerge on both a team and individual basis.
Wrestling got the head start on everyone with a trio of league championship meets in the western, eastern and northern parts of the section.
It began in Solvay with the OHSL Liberty/Patriot meet, where Hannibal beat a field of 15 with 214 points as Cato-Meridian edged out Cazenovia for second place.
Though the Lakers' Alex Petroff, with his fourth league title at 125 pounds, snagged Most Outstanding Wrestler honors, the Warriors finished in front. Hannibal had just one champion (Josh Lewis, at 171 pounds), but placed four others in finals and also had a trio of third-place finishers...
CATEGORY: General Sports
TAGS: Section III playoffs, wrestling, volleyball
And the Tension Builds..
Posted by pblackwell | 02/11/09
A day in high school sports is like a month, so what are three days like?
Well, a lot happens, even early in the week, especially when we're at the bridge between the regular season and the playoffs.
They already had the main events in indoor track, over two days, as the Section III championships took place Monday and Tuesday at Manley Field House. This is the last year at Manley because of SU's proposed changes to the facility. Where will the indoor athletes go? Hamilton College? Colgate? Cornell?
For now, they were still at Manley, and you had Cicero-North Syracuse (Class AA), Jamesville-DeWitt (Class A) and Tully (Class D) winning both the boys and girls championships. Marcellus (boys) and CBA (girls) took home the Class B titles...
CATEGORY: General Sports
TAGS: Section III, sports, late season, playoffs
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Random ThoughtsYou can listen to Phil Blackwell, Eagle Newspapers' sports editor, at 10 a.m. every Saturday on WHEN, AM620
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