Well, that was a short break between fall and winter sports seasons....
Okay, so there isn't a break at all. Before the state football championships are even decided, a handful of hockey, basketball, volleyball and bowling teams were already getting started for 2009-10 (man, 2010 already?), so we might as well talk about it.
Let's start with the pucks. Chances are, if you play Section III ice hockey, you'll run into someone with a chance at winning a state title...

CATEGORY: Hockey

TAGS: Section III, ice hockey, preview

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So it was the day after Thanksgiving, and football fans were settling in for what turned out to be a riveting Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl. The rest of the country (at least those with shopping inclinations) was catching up on sleep after those early-morning doorbusters.
Then the headlines started to emerge: Tiger Woods involved in a car accident….seriously injured…taken to the hospital….oh my goodness.
The worst part supposedly ended when the world’s most famous golfer was found only to have facial injuries and was quickly released from the hospital...

CATEGORY: Golf

TAGS: Tiger Woods, incident, affairs, commentary

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It's a cliche, perhaps, to point out that it's an exciting time for Section III girls basketball - but so what. It's also true.
The storylines going into 2009-10 are plentiful, as are the list of contenders in each class - though a few distinct favorites do stick out, like Bishop Grimes in Class C.
Already, the action has been heated...

CATEGORY: Basketball

TAGS: Section III, girls basketball, 2009-10 preview

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So you thought the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball dynasty, with three state Class A championships in six years (the last two in a row), would actually take a bit of a break to let some others move to the top.
There was reason to think that way. Brandon Triche was finally tradiing his red and white for Syracuse Orange (and a spot in the starting lineup, as it turned out). Alshwan Hymes was going to Canisius...

CATEGORY: Basketball

TAGS: Section III, boys basketball, 2009-10 preview

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Seven girls cross country runners from Fayetteville-Manlius - Mackenzie Carter, Courtney Chapman, Jillian Fanning, Hannah Luber, Molly Malone, Heather Martin and Katie Sischo - arrived home Sunday night at Hancock Airport from its trip to the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, just as they had done the previous three Decembers.
And just like those other three times, they were warmly greeted by parents, siblings, friends and lots of congratulatory revelry - greeted as national champions.
No Section III athletic program has reached the utter heights of these Hornets, and really, it can't be celebrated enough.
What Bill Aris has built goes beyond the simple term "dynasty" that we give to any sports team that wins multiple championships in a row...

CATEGORY: Running

TAGS: F-M, cross country, fourth straight national title

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A week ago, in this exact same space, I examined the Tiger Woods situation with about half of the so-called "information" on hand.
Much of what was said there remains true. Only Tiger really has the right to determine when, and where, to talk about all this. He's not the first world-famous athlete to be unfaithful to a spouse...

CATEGORY: Golf

TAGS: Tiger Woods, scandal, further comments

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You can argue, either way, whether that last second went off the clock in the Jerry Jones Palace in Arlington at the end of the Big 12 title game between Texas and Nebraska.
Maybe Mack Brown was right and Colt McCoy’s throw went out of bounds long before 0:00. Or maybe the Cornhuskers were right, and the brain lapse (Texas had a timeout – why didn’t they use it?) should have cost the Longhorns its predetermined seat at the BCS championship table, to be laid out Jan. 7 in Pasadena.
Whatever you think, this much is certain – Alabama, by throttling no. 1 Florida in the SEC final in Atlanta and moving to 13-0, richly deserves to play for college football’s big prize. Texas? Well, that’s an entirely different matter.
This has been stated before, but it bears repeating...

CATEGORY: Football (American)

TAGS: BCS, Texas, Alabama, TCU, Boise State

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Well, I thought two blog entries were enough in the two-week Tiger Woods saga...

CATEGORY: Golf

TAGS: Tiger Woods, scandal, hiatus, thoughts

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Even before Sunday, you could hear the national debate heating up. People were taking sides. The arguments were passionate. And for once, it wasn't about a certain golfer's problems or the Heisman Trophy.
(On the latter, congratulations to Mark Ingram, Alabama was overdue, but Ndamukong Suh was the best player in the country.)
And the clamor only grew louder after the games were over, and the Indianapolis Colts (comfortably) and the New Orleans Saints (closely) had moved their marks to 13-0.
Indy has already clinched everything possible in the AFC - division, bye, home-field advantage...

CATEGORY: Football (American)

TAGS: Unbeaten teams, Colts, Saints, perfect quest?

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Good timing helps. Here we are, at the purported end of the first decade of the 21st century, and the retrospectives are everywhere, best-of this and worst-of that, in hundreds of categories, shapes and sizes.
You won’t see that here. There are just too many topics to wrap around and, history buff though I may be, it’s too easy to get lost in nostalgia, and not appreciate or acknowledge the current moment we live in.
Yet a trip to the cinema did evoke some unique ideas about this decade. The new Clint Eastwood film “Invictus” tells the story of how Nelson Mandela unified South Africa through supporting the nation’s rugby team in its unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup.
This was a gigantic feat. South Africa, post-apartheid, still had deep racial divisions and mistrust...

CATEGORY: General Sports

TAGS: Sports, society, importance, comments

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As of this exact moment, the Senate's version of the health-care reform bill is on its way to passage, the filibuster squashed as weeks of debate and deal-making finally came to a successful conclusion.
Naturally, the progressives are pitching a fit - at President Obama, at the Senate, at Republicans, at the insurance companies, at the lobbyists, at Big Pharama, at just about everyone who does not share their exact ideology.
In their mind, the whole thing is a failure, a sellout, a fraud...

CATEGORY: Government

TAGS: Health care debate, progressives

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Since everyone else is saying this decade is ending, well, I guess I'll join in.
No doubt, you've seen all the end-of-decade lists for any subject - some legitimate, others not so much. Lists can inform, but they are subjective by nature. To compare moments, to say one was better or more important than the other, is nothing but opinion.
So, in my lame attempt to join the party, I'll offer a different sort of retrospective, focusing only on high school sports in Central New York from 2000 to 2009.
There's plenty to digest on this topic, but I'll focus on memorable teams and individuals that captivated fans and communities...

CATEGORY: General Sports

TAGS: High School sports, decade, memories, high points

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Upon hearing the stunning news that Florida head coach Urban Meyer was stepping down at age 45, concerned about his own health, all that came to mind was a press conference 27 years ago, in the professional ranks.
There was Dick Vermeil, coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, just turned 46, a hero to everyone in green for transforming the long-suffering Eagles into NFC champions...and he was quitting?
Sure, the strike-shortened 1982 season had been a disaster in Philly, but no one wanted to get rid of Vermeil. And the fact that he was just going away, not running off to another coaching job? Simply preposterous.
But it wasn't crazy to Vermeil. What was crazy was what his life had become - nothing but coaching, 24/7, 12 months a year, nights spent sleeping in his office...

CATEGORY: Football (American)

TAGS: Urban Meyer, Florida, resignation, Dick Vermeil

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So Urban Meyer changed his mind. Is that a crime?
It's not even unique to big-time athletics at the University of Florida. Billy Donovan, in the wake of leading the basketball Gators to back-to-back NCAA titles, accepted a higher payday and a jump to the professional ranks with the Orlando Magic - then backtracked within hours. The Magic, with Stan Van Gundy, coped just fine, and Donovan settled for less money - but more happiness and peace of mind.
What, then, to make of Meyer? One moment, he'd had enough, was scared about not getting enough quality time with his children, and wanted out...

CATEGORY: Football (American)

TAGS: Urban Meyer, Florida, Colts, beaten

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As these last minutes of 2009 slip away, it might be a good time to take one more look back at the sports journey of the last 12 months..what worked, what didn't, what was and what might have been.
January - Sure, Florida got the crystal football, but it was Utah that went a perfect 13-0 and merited the national championship. Dismissed at 9-7, the Arizona Cardinals erased six-plus decades of playoff futility by winning the NFC title, and Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in a five-set Australian open final. Surely Federer was done, right?
February - An extrarodinary Super Bowl in Tampa saw James Harrison, Big Ben, Santonio Holmes and the Steelers snatch the crown from the upstart Cardinals in the final seconds...

CATEGORY: General Sports

TAGS: 2009, Sports Year, recap

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