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Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
MCT FINAL FOUR Preductions
Mt. Olive vs. Delbarton
This first game is a hard game to guess...and since I am 11-1 in my picks I do not want to guess wrong. If this were the NCAA Tournament, I would be about to freaking retire with my predictions. Of course gambling is bad and wrong...and it is doubly bad when you are gambling on a Jesuit school). The point is, when I guess these games I really put a lot of analysis into this. And this game has all the makings of a great game. Mt. Olive has a few losses this season but they are all to big named programs like Seton Hall Prep and Columbia. In fact, they have no losses to sub par teams. However, Delby has tripped up a few times. Don't get me wrong, losing to DePaul and West Side don't count in my book. But losses to Madison and Montville create a lot of questions.
To win, Delbarton will need this superstar Monsignor Paddy O'Sullivan (I love this kid) to be his regular awesome self. But the Green Wave (by the way, they need to change their name to the Irish Bull Fighters or something...the name "Green Wave" just doesn't do much to scare opponents) needs to get their supporting cast involved. They need more than Jon Leanos creating magic too. They need big games out of Harry Marino, Andrew Waldele and Ben Tolkowsky. To me, Delbarton will win if Logan True takes more shots from three-point land. He can drain them, he just needs someone to pass him the ball.
But to be honest, Mt. Olive has a little more going for them though. Of course they have an answer to Delbarton's Sullivan in the way of Russell Holloway. But while Sullivan will take the game into his own hands when the game is on the line, Holloway is not affraid to dish the ball to his teamates. Holloway is one of those players that makes other players better. If you notice, in games where Holloway does not put up bigger numbers, guys like Jerod Hatcher and Andrew Haduck are scoring bigger numbers. And other guys like Brian Bublitz, Matt Bratter and Jared Grubow get open to make opportune shots. The x-factor for this game is Brian Drury though. He gives the depth the Mauraders need and has no problem sinking a bomb from the tre when called upon.
PICK: Mt. Olive (forgive me Father)
Mendham vs. Chatham
This is the game that I want a front row seat at. Chatham has owned Mendham this year beating them twice. But Mendham only has three losses in total including another one to Weequahic. The problem with Chatham is they have flaked out a few times during the season with losses to Summit and Weequahic. This game will surely have all the makings of a great match.
But the reason Chatham has been dominating this series is they just match up well to Mendham. Chatham's Billy Oliver has the size of Mendham's Mark Cisco with the skill of Mendham's Rob Berish. Oliver is just dominate on both sides of the ball underneath the paint. His defense is the reason why Chatham has been so good this year. That and the fact that guys like Pat Butler and Burton Gildersleeve step up nicely on D as well. Mike Sweeney and Josh Toolajian add much needed offensive prowess. Chris Conroy and JP Carlton also give much depth on the bench to make Chatham a nicely rounded team.
But if you remember, the NY Giants lose two games to the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season this year. But when it game down to playoff time, the Giants came through. Just like the Giants, I have seen the Minutemen really mature through this season. In fact, one of this sites new favorite players is Marky Mark Cisco because of the way he has grown this season. Cisco is a much different player than he was in the first two games vs. Chatham. I think Oliver will be caught off guard at how much smarter Cisco is playing now. If Oliver is forced to keep his eye on Cisco than Mendham wins and in a big way. Rob Berish could single handedly take one a Chatham team without Oliver. But he won't have to because guys like Chris Hanson (NOT the guy from Dateline NBC...just to clear it for the record), Chris Campisi and Max Ferri are solid on both sides of the ball. Mendham is very solid with their depth as well with Mike Salerno, Caleb Demoss, Colin McAleeney, Kent Poges and Conor Tinquist. Mendham has just been playing too good lately to let this game slip away.
PICK: Mendham
Start 'em & Sit 'em
For those of you Fantasy players out there here is who you should sit and start this week.
Start 'em:
Pat Sullivan, Delbarton: Sullivan will be good for 25 points this game. Although I think the team will lose, he likes to have the ball in his hands when the ball is on the line.
Mark Cisco, Mendham: I just see Cisco having a big game. I see him putting up over 20 points in this game.
Sit 'em:
Russell Holloway, Mt. Olive: In leagues that give points for assists, definately start Holloway but Holloway has creates a lot of openings for the rest of his teamates. That is great for his team but takes big offensive points away from his offensive point totals.
Billy Oliver, Chatham: Actually, I see Oliver having a big game but I would sit him in leagues that give points for defensive points. I don't see him putting up the big defensive numbers because of the way Mendham will match up to him this game. I bet he puts up about 20 points which is worthy of a start. But if you are counting on his regular 10 blocks, it ain't happening this night.
This site no way condones playing Fantasy Basketball with HS Players. Start 'em & Sit 'em is just for fun and no way meant to demean any player (which this site will NEVER do). This site is designed to be fun for all the players, fans and parents.
This first game is a hard game to guess...and since I am 11-1 in my picks I do not want to guess wrong. If this were the NCAA Tournament, I would be about to freaking retire with my predictions. Of course gambling is bad and wrong...and it is doubly bad when you are gambling on a Jesuit school). The point is, when I guess these games I really put a lot of analysis into this. And this game has all the makings of a great game. Mt. Olive has a few losses this season but they are all to big named programs like Seton Hall Prep and Columbia. In fact, they have no losses to sub par teams. However, Delby has tripped up a few times. Don't get me wrong, losing to DePaul and West Side don't count in my book. But losses to Madison and Montville create a lot of questions.
To win, Delbarton will need this superstar Monsignor Paddy O'Sullivan (I love this kid) to be his regular awesome self. But the Green Wave (by the way, they need to change their name to the Irish Bull Fighters or something...the name "Green Wave" just doesn't do much to scare opponents) needs to get their supporting cast involved. They need more than Jon Leanos creating magic too. They need big games out of Harry Marino, Andrew Waldele and Ben Tolkowsky. To me, Delbarton will win if Logan True takes more shots from three-point land. He can drain them, he just needs someone to pass him the ball.
But to be honest, Mt. Olive has a little more going for them though. Of course they have an answer to Delbarton's Sullivan in the way of Russell Holloway. But while Sullivan will take the game into his own hands when the game is on the line, Holloway is not affraid to dish the ball to his teamates. Holloway is one of those players that makes other players better. If you notice, in games where Holloway does not put up bigger numbers, guys like Jerod Hatcher and Andrew Haduck are scoring bigger numbers. And other guys like Brian Bublitz, Matt Bratter and Jared Grubow get open to make opportune shots. The x-factor for this game is Brian Drury though. He gives the depth the Mauraders need and has no problem sinking a bomb from the tre when called upon.
PICK: Mt. Olive (forgive me Father)
Mendham vs. Chatham
This is the game that I want a front row seat at. Chatham has owned Mendham this year beating them twice. But Mendham only has three losses in total including another one to Weequahic. The problem with Chatham is they have flaked out a few times during the season with losses to Summit and Weequahic. This game will surely have all the makings of a great match.
But the reason Chatham has been dominating this series is they just match up well to Mendham. Chatham's Billy Oliver has the size of Mendham's Mark Cisco with the skill of Mendham's Rob Berish. Oliver is just dominate on both sides of the ball underneath the paint. His defense is the reason why Chatham has been so good this year. That and the fact that guys like Pat Butler and Burton Gildersleeve step up nicely on D as well. Mike Sweeney and Josh Toolajian add much needed offensive prowess. Chris Conroy and JP Carlton also give much depth on the bench to make Chatham a nicely rounded team.
But if you remember, the NY Giants lose two games to the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season this year. But when it game down to playoff time, the Giants came through. Just like the Giants, I have seen the Minutemen really mature through this season. In fact, one of this sites new favorite players is Marky Mark Cisco because of the way he has grown this season. Cisco is a much different player than he was in the first two games vs. Chatham. I think Oliver will be caught off guard at how much smarter Cisco is playing now. If Oliver is forced to keep his eye on Cisco than Mendham wins and in a big way. Rob Berish could single handedly take one a Chatham team without Oliver. But he won't have to because guys like Chris Hanson (NOT the guy from Dateline NBC...just to clear it for the record), Chris Campisi and Max Ferri are solid on both sides of the ball. Mendham is very solid with their depth as well with Mike Salerno, Caleb Demoss, Colin McAleeney, Kent Poges and Conor Tinquist. Mendham has just been playing too good lately to let this game slip away.
PICK: Mendham
Start 'em & Sit 'em
For those of you Fantasy players out there here is who you should sit and start this week.
Start 'em:
Pat Sullivan, Delbarton: Sullivan will be good for 25 points this game. Although I think the team will lose, he likes to have the ball in his hands when the ball is on the line.
Mark Cisco, Mendham: I just see Cisco having a big game. I see him putting up over 20 points in this game.
Sit 'em:
Russell Holloway, Mt. Olive: In leagues that give points for assists, definately start Holloway but Holloway has creates a lot of openings for the rest of his teamates. That is great for his team but takes big offensive points away from his offensive point totals.
Billy Oliver, Chatham: Actually, I see Oliver having a big game but I would sit him in leagues that give points for defensive points. I don't see him putting up the big defensive numbers because of the way Mendham will match up to him this game. I bet he puts up about 20 points which is worthy of a start. But if you are counting on his regular 10 blocks, it ain't happening this night.
This site no way condones playing Fantasy Basketball with HS Players. Start 'em & Sit 'em is just for fun and no way meant to demean any player (which this site will NEVER do). This site is designed to be fun for all the players, fans and parents.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
GIRLS B-Ball: MCT Final Four Predictions
Well well well...we have four teams left in the Girls MCT. Who will move the finals? Who will pack their bags? Every team is very deserving of getting this far. HP has been the real deal all season. But can they take down the bigger, badder West Morris Highlanders (which by the way is the best mascot name in the conference). Or will WMC show HP that they their lowly Hills Division is no match for their Iron talent.
Then you have the Evil Empire known as Morris Catholic who has just been demolishing teams all year. Will Chatham be another casualty of MoCath's Dark Side?
The fun starts on Friday Night at FDU. See who we think will be moving closer to the MCT Trophy!!!
6:30pm Hanover Park vs. West Morris Central
Hanover Park's heroin last week was Ashley Addison who battle back from flu symptoms to help the Hornets to move forward to the Final Four of the MCT. I really like HP's chances here not only because they only have one loss all year but because of the play of the whole team. Jenna Wortman has ben terrific all year while Lindsey Singer and Ashley Merwin can be deadly if left alone. Even Beth Esposito has been helpful in drawing fouls at the right time. But I do feel coach Doug Wear will not be able to take the Hornets past WMC. The Highlanders are for real this year and already have their sites on the mighty Morris Catholic. Emily Peel is just one of the most fabulous players in the Iron Hills Conference. And Haley D'Angelo does it all too. She drops three's, draw's fouls and even has a knack for blocking shots. What the Highlanders has that will be the x-factor is their depth. Their bench would be starting on most teams in the league. Julia Scanlon and Alisa Greco and can steal the ball, while Mary Consol and Eleni Kozas have no problem drawing a much needed foul. It's back-up players like Lindsey Sullivan that will wear HP down.
PICK: West Morris Central
8:00pm Morris Catholic vs. Chatham
Julia Moorehead runs the Cahtham offense with ease. She gets a lot of help from key players like Lindsay Atchison and Jenna Dunleavy. What is nice about Chatham is they play like a total team with Annie Weichert who plays both D and O will very nicely and Caroline Murphy who is deadly from all over the court. Cougars Caroline Connors and Sara Cox are brought in to give a breather, but are just as potent as the rest of them...expecially late in the game. But Chatham has not seen a team like Morris Catholic yet. Kathleen Schuckers is one of the finest players in the county. Cara Hurly (Bobby's younger sister) is absolutely money from down town. Amanda Kreuder, Ashley Bays, Jenny Fitzgerald, Jeane Drury and Lily Calo look like they have been playing together since Kindergarden. The x-factor for Morris Catholic? Their secret weapon? Well it's Casey Schuckers...also known as "Lil' Shuck"!
PICK: Morris Catholic
Then you have the Evil Empire known as Morris Catholic who has just been demolishing teams all year. Will Chatham be another casualty of MoCath's Dark Side?
The fun starts on Friday Night at FDU. See who we think will be moving closer to the MCT Trophy!!!
6:30pm Hanover Park vs. West Morris Central
Hanover Park's heroin last week was Ashley Addison who battle back from flu symptoms to help the Hornets to move forward to the Final Four of the MCT. I really like HP's chances here not only because they only have one loss all year but because of the play of the whole team. Jenna Wortman has ben terrific all year while Lindsey Singer and Ashley Merwin can be deadly if left alone. Even Beth Esposito has been helpful in drawing fouls at the right time. But I do feel coach Doug Wear will not be able to take the Hornets past WMC. The Highlanders are for real this year and already have their sites on the mighty Morris Catholic. Emily Peel is just one of the most fabulous players in the Iron Hills Conference. And Haley D'Angelo does it all too. She drops three's, draw's fouls and even has a knack for blocking shots. What the Highlanders has that will be the x-factor is their depth. Their bench would be starting on most teams in the league. Julia Scanlon and Alisa Greco and can steal the ball, while Mary Consol and Eleni Kozas have no problem drawing a much needed foul. It's back-up players like Lindsey Sullivan that will wear HP down.
PICK: West Morris Central
8:00pm Morris Catholic vs. Chatham
Julia Moorehead runs the Cahtham offense with ease. She gets a lot of help from key players like Lindsay Atchison and Jenna Dunleavy. What is nice about Chatham is they play like a total team with Annie Weichert who plays both D and O will very nicely and Caroline Murphy who is deadly from all over the court. Cougars Caroline Connors and Sara Cox are brought in to give a breather, but are just as potent as the rest of them...expecially late in the game. But Chatham has not seen a team like Morris Catholic yet. Kathleen Schuckers is one of the finest players in the county. Cara Hurly (Bobby's younger sister) is absolutely money from down town. Amanda Kreuder, Ashley Bays, Jenny Fitzgerald, Jeane Drury and Lily Calo look like they have been playing together since Kindergarden. The x-factor for Morris Catholic? Their secret weapon? Well it's Casey Schuckers...also known as "Lil' Shuck"!
PICK: Morris Catholic
Monday, February 11, 2008
Special Report: Sportsmanship and the Lack There Of
Sportsmanship Monument at the State University of Florida In my years of being involved with high school sports, there have been many times where I am completely amazed at the level sportsmanship that I witness. Whether it is football, wrestling, baseball, girls lacrosse...it doesn't matter. Most kids are very resillient. In fact, most kids could show adults a thing or two about sportsmanship. That is one of the exact reasons I like high school sports so much.
In his post game interview after losing the Superbowl to the Giants, I was really dissappointed in Bill Belichicks lack of sportsmanship. During the questioning, I intentionally was waiting for him to give a little credit where credit was due. The Giants beat his Patriots fair and square...but he could not tip his hat to Big Blue. He just solomnly wallowed in why he lost. At that exact moment, I lost all respect for him.
Even Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady gave the Giants a nod for their effort. One of the first things Brady said was, "You have to give the Giants credit for this win." Bang! What was so hard about that?
But what has gotten my goat in the High School world was a little display of un-sportsmanship that I saw a few weeks ago. I was attending a high school wrestling tournament and witnessed a big display of sore losership.
Here is the story: What basically happened was a wrestler was beaten at the tail end of his match. His opponent was able to get the points needed to win with a late move and the match ended. The loser of the match gave a look like he felt he was cheated out of the match. The referee had to force him to shake his opponents hand and the kid stormed off the mat, stomping his feet as he went.
As just a casual observer, I thought the kid was being a baby (to be honest) but I could see how he might be upset. In fact, I love the emotion of the game so I gave him an initial pass.
But then I heard some other high schoolers in the stands chatting that that particular wrestler has a knack for being a bit of a "cry baby" after losing matches, to put it in their words.
But then I heard some other high schoolers in the stands chatting that that particular wrestler has a knack for being a bit of a "cry baby" after losing matches, to put it in their words.
Then a mother of another wrestler leaned in and gave me a little more information about Mr. Crybaby. Aparently, the week before her son wrestled him and beat him. It was a big blow to the kid because he was either undefeated or only had a loss or two at the time.
After the match, the kid gave the same display of un-sportsmanship behavior. He stomped around the mat, barely shook the hand of his opponent and whined to his coach. In fact, after the match this woman's son made an even bigger effort to give props to his opponent.
The winner of the match walked over to Big Baby and said something like, "Way to wrestle hard." But Baby replied some kind of snied remark like, "I would have won if you didn't cheat." or something just as retarded as that.
If he said that to me I would have shown Cry Baby who won all over again. But in a true act of class, the winner of the match just walked away and went on with his life.
The bottom line, and the point I am trying to make, is "sportsmanship" is part of sports. Whether you win or lose, giving a sincere handsake to your opponent and looking him in his eye is part of the game. That is all you have to do. You are basically telling the other team or player, "Thanks for a great match!" or "Way to play hard!" or "You really showed us how good you are, thanks!"
Remember folks, if that guy, girl or team doesn't show up, you don't even play. So at the very least, just say "Thanks for coming!" even if they do beat you.
When you don't show sportsmanship, you just make yourself look like an ass. Why not show a little props to the guy or girl who beats you? What are you just so freaking arrogant that you need to act like nobody in the world is better than you?
I realize kids need to cool down after a game...especially when they lose. I am not talking about that. Emotions fly and athletes need to decompress. I am the worst with that. When I lose a basketball match, even if it is a pick up game, I have to literally walk away for a time so I can cool down (unless I am completely out of shape...then I go enter into a whole different kind of funk).
But decompressing is one thing...showing a complete lack of respect for an opponent is uncalled for. In fact, I think they should suspend a kid for not showing the proper post game sportsmanship. In Russia, if you don't shake your opponents hand after a wreslting match they chop of your hand (I just made that up...but I am probably not far off).
But what Belichick did (or I should say, "didn't do") after the Superbowl should be penalized somehow. And what this un-named wrestler did after his losing matches should be penalized as well. If you don't shake the hand of an opponent, you should get at least a one game suspension. If you storm off the mat, whining like a baby, you should be banned until you grow up.
Overall I am really amazed by High Schooler's resilliency to bounce back. I have interviewed kids after big losses and in most cases they tip their hat to the other team. In fact, a lot of times they will highlight some of the great things the other team did. To me, that is sportsmanship at its pinnacle.
Basically, the basic message for high school athletes is this: Keep doing what you are doing! And when you come across someone like at that wrestling match, just walk away (and then tell me so I can write about it).
As for you Bill Bellechick, you should take some guidance from these high schoolers (except Mr. Baby Loser Boy from the wrestling match). Plus, you will probably end up replacing all your old 30-something linebacker crew for a bunch of young studs and will be back in the Superbowl next year anyhow.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Need For Speed
Folks sorry for the late post, but I think it warrants mentioning that the IHC-HILLS has a new North 2 Group II State Sectional Champion:
Mendham High School Boys Track. If I am not mistaken, I think this is the first team title in MHS winter track history.
You can read about the detailed performances here and a nice Kuty art here.
Mendham's placers:
55m - Steve Tamburello (2nd) who missed first by .01 seconds.
Joe Riposta (6th).
400m - Jack Robinson (3rd).
800m - Thomas Kearny (6th).
1600m - Mike Franklin (2nd).
James Frick (3rd).
3200m - Mike Franklin (1st).
Jon Riley (4th).
55m Hurdles - Matt Mendonca (5th).
4 x 400m - Mendham (3rd) (Robinson, Tamburello, Mendonca, and Ian Mead).
Boys, Congrats on your first Title; I expect at least another one next year as there are only 2 seniors on your team.
Now, about that Group II overall...kick it.
Mendham High School Boys Track. If I am not mistaken, I think this is the first team title in MHS winter track history.
You can read about the detailed performances here and a nice Kuty art here.
Mendham's placers:
55m - Steve Tamburello (2nd) who missed first by .01 seconds.
Joe Riposta (6th).
400m - Jack Robinson (3rd).
800m - Thomas Kearny (6th).
1600m - Mike Franklin (2nd).
James Frick (3rd).
3200m - Mike Franklin (1st).
Jon Riley (4th).
55m Hurdles - Matt Mendonca (5th).
4 x 400m - Mendham (3rd) (Robinson, Tamburello, Mendonca, and Ian Mead).
Boys, Congrats on your first Title; I expect at least another one next year as there are only 2 seniors on your team.
Now, about that Group II overall...kick it.
Morris County Tournament Results (Boys and Girls)
What a day in at the Morris County Tournament! No suprises though. I predicted every single game correctly (both girls and boys). In fact, I am 11-1 in correct predictions for the boys in this tournament. What does that mean? Nothing. Except for the fact that if I could gamble on this stuff I would be writing this article on my brand new I-Mac Air from the back seat of my pimped out Aston Martin V8 Vantage yelling at my driver to get the ECT tournament so I can cash in on more $$$.
But enough about me and my really great predictions. Lets get into the real action. Seriously, there were real no suprises but we did notice some gutsy play...which we love. So we have decided to hand out some "Player of the Weekend" Awards.
The girls Player of the Weekend goes to Ashley Addison of HP. Addison was actually pulled out of her game by Coach Wear because he thought she was too sick (fighting the this illness that is going around...which I have as well by the way). But in true competitive fashion, Addison told the coach to put her back in. He did and what did she do? She dropped 15 and moved the Hornets into the Semi's. We love that kind of stuff here at IronHillsSports.com.
The boys Player of the Weekend goes to my main man Mark Cisco of Mendham. Cisco was unfreakingbelievable yesterday for the Minutemen under the post. He ended up dropping 17 and he was just all over the place. I have been saying Cisco has been improving every week and he really has. Ealier in the season he had a bad habit of taking a pass under the post, dribbling it once and then shooting. The dripping once part was killing him because smaller defenders were able to get to the ball (We notice everything at this site Cisco). But Cisco corrected that. In fact, he seems like a much different player from even a month ago. If Cisco can play with the fire he did yesterday, I see Mendham going all the way in the MCT Tourney.
Lets get into yesterday's action...
BOYS RESULTS
Mountain Lakes 30, Mount Olive 43
No suprises here. Russell Holloway dropped 11 and Jarod Hatcher added 10 as the Maraurders hammer the Mt. Lakes Lakers. Mt. Olive is rolling here but they haven't played anyone yet. Their biggest test is next week.
Mountain Lakes 30
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Chris Blackwell 0 1 2 5
Mark Dobrosky 1 0 1 3
Dillon Hamill 0 0 0 0
Jack Reilly 2 0 1 5
Jim Renehan 0 2 0 6
Jake Tripucka 1 0 2 4
Chase Winter 3 0 1 7
Totals: 7 3 7
Mount Olive 43
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Brian Bublitz 0 1 0 3
Jared Grubow 4 0 0 8
Dan Gutman 4 0 0 8
Andrew Haduck 0 1 0 3
Jaleel Hatcher 0 0 0 0
Jerod Hatcher 1 2 2 10
Russell Holloway 4 0 3 11
Totals: 13 4 5
Mount Olive (14-4) 10 4 17 12 43
Mountain Lakes (11-9) 9 4 7 10 30
Mo-Beard 52, Mendham 61
Mo-Beard is a good team in my opinion. Alganan Jones, Larmond Jr. and Ken Monteith are all solid players. In fact, Monteith is freaking gold from the 3 point land. But with that said, Mendham is just plain good. Rob Berish is just a superstar. And Cisco is just playing terrifically. But they also have the supporting cast of Chris Hanson (not the guy from Dateline) and brothers Chris Campisi and Steve Ciampaglio (they sound like brothers at least) who can be deadly if left unguarded. I really am starting to like this Mendham team to take the MCT Crown.
Morristown-Beard 52
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Carter Daly 0 0 0 0
Sean Fetterman 1 0 0 2
Travis Franz 0 1 0 3
Brandon Jefferson 3 0 0 6
Aljanan Jones 2 1 4 11
Colin Larmond Jr. 5 0 2 12
Kenneth Monteith 0 5 3 18
Adrian O'Connell 0 0 0 0
Jiyon Ruffin 0 0 0 0
Totals: 11 7 9
Mendham 61
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Rob Berish 7 2 0 20
Chris Campisi 0 1 2 5
Steve Ciampaglio 1 1 0 5
Mark Cisco 7 0 3 17
Caleb DeMoss 2 0 2 6
Chris Hanson 1 1 2 7
Kent Poges 0 0 0 0
Tore Vicarisi 0 0 1 1
Totals: 18 5 10
Mendham (15-4) 19 14 11 17 61
Morristown-Beard (12-8) 10 13 8 21 52
CHATHAM 50, MORRIS HILLS 38
What the hell Morris Hills!!! Well, I actually picked Chatham to win but for some reason I have an affinity to MoHills. But I was secretly hoping for an upset. I just like those guys because they seem like a gutsy bunch. But you need to see what Chatham is doing here. Oliver was his same old great self but Pat Butler stepped up nicely yesterday as well. In fact, Chatham has a nice supporting staff to Oliver. They could have a chance to take the MCT tournament. But in my opinion, it will be an uphill battle with Delby and Mendham in the mix.
Morris Hills (38)
Adam Katz 5-1-2-15, Andrew Zelnick 2-0-0-4, Justin Doniloski 2-1-0-7, Dan Kellner 0-1-0-3, Matt Marotta 3-0-1-7, Shane O'Shea1-0-0-2, Joe O'Shea 0-0-0-0, Billy Bowan 0-0-0-0. Totals 13-3-3-38
Chatham (50)
Burton Gildersleeve 1-1-0-5, J. P. Carlton 0-0-0-0, Josh Toolajian 0-1-2-5, Billy Oliver 7-2-3-23, Mike Sweeney 2-0-0-4, Chris Conroy 1-0-0-2, Pat Butler 3-0-5-11 Totals 14-4-8-50
Morris Hills 6 8 11 13 -- 38
Chatham 12 11 14 13 -- 50
Records: Morris Hills 13-6, Chatham 16-4
Delbarton 39, Roxbury 37 (OT)
I didn't think Roxbury would be a push over and they did not dissapoint. In fact, they put up a really good fight. Mangiro put up 16 and Alex Szarejko (AKA the Eastern European Nightmare) was deadly from three point land. But they could not hold off Father Paddy O'Sullivan and the Green Wave of Delbarton. I like Delby's chances of taking this crown too. But they will need to get active from the "three" to get past Chatham and Mendham.
ROXBURY (37)
Kevin Ahern 1-2-0-8, Matt Bodnar 0-1-0-3, Casey Harris 0-0-0-0, Angelo Mangiro 6-0-4-16, Brian Mohr 1-0-0-2, Jared Ndiba 0-0-0-0, Eric Vaccacio 0-0-0-0, Alex Szarejko 0-2-2-8, Tommy Rosatelli 0-0-0-0. Totals 8-5-6-37.
DELBARTON (39)
Pat Sullivan 8-0-10-26, Jason Ramirez 0-0-0-0, Will Gesicki 0-0-0-0, Tim Kwilos 0-0-0-0, Jon Leanos 2-0-4-8, Harry Marino 1-0-0-2, Jason Seifert 0-0-0-0, Ben Tolkowsky 0-0-1-1, Logan True 0-0-0-0, Andrew Waldele 1-0-0-2. Totals 12-0-15-39.
Roxbury 8 9 9 6 5 - 37
Delbarton 6 13 7 6 7 - 39
Records: Delbarton 15-7, Roxbury 10-9.
GIRLS RESULTS
Parsippany 38, WMC 56
Whoa!!! Take it easy West Morris, no need to run up the score. Actually, I say why not run it up? We love Elena Noonan at this site because she is a really nice player for Parsippany. We also noticed Noelle Grande's play in this game. But they could not hold off the mighty Highlanders. Emily Peel was just superb in this masterpiece. WMC could make it all the way in this tourney. But getting past MoCath will not be easy.
PARSIPPANY (38)
Courtney Ford 1-0-0-2, Kayla Picinich 2-0-0-4, Elena Noonan 5-0-6-16, Aysun Malta 1-0-1-3, Lindsey Loboda 1-0-0-2, Noelle Grande 3-1-2-11. Totals 13-1-9-38.
WEST MORRIS (56)
Emily Peel 7-0-6-20, Lindsey Sullivan 0-0-0-0, Julia Scanlon 2-0-0-4, Haley D'Angelo 6-1-3-18, Eleni Kozas 3-0-0-6, Kelly Maguire 1-0-0-2, Alisa Greco 1-0-0-2, Mary Consol 1-0-2-4. Totals 21-1-11-56.
Parsippany 3 9 11 15 - 38
West Morris 18 15 14 9 - 56
Records: Parsippany 13-7, West Morris 18-2.
Boonton 32, MoCatholic 66
Carly Foesel was great in this game sinking 18 points. But Morris Catholic plays like they are pissed. Kathleen Shuckers drained 19 points, Cara Hurley nailed another 11 and four other players scored 6 or more points. I actually don't see the need for MoCath to have to play any more games. Just give them the MCT Trophy now.
BOONTON (32)
Carly Foesel 5-0-8-18, Jen Vasta 0-0-2-2, Cynthia Shanahan 0-1-0-3, Diane Dearie 1-0-1-3, Renee Norton 0-2-0-6. Totals 6-3-11-32.
MORRIS CATHOLIC (66)
Kathleen Schuckers 8-1-0-19, Amanda Kreuder 1-0-0-2, Ashley Bays 0-2-0-6, Jenny Fitzgerald 4-0-0-8, Jeane Drury 3-0-2-8, Cara Hurley 1-3-0-11, Lily Calo 2-1-2-9, Casey Schuckers 0-1-0-3. Totals 19-8-4-66.
Boonton 8 6 3 15 -32
Morris Catholic 25 15 17 9 -66
Records: Boonton 12-8, Morris Catholic 22-0.
Mt. Olive 32, Chatham 58
Lindsay Atchison(14), Jenna Dunleavy(18), Annie Weichert(9) and Caroline Murphy(10) would all be superstars on any other team. But they are all on the same team which is why I like their chances in taking the crown (forget about what I said about MoCatholic). Chatham is good solid. In fact, this tournament can go in any direction. But Chatham has a legitimate shot at taking Gold.
MOUNT OLIVE (32)
Kim Cochran 3-0-0-6, Amanda Dizinno 0-1-0-3, Nichole Muller 0-0-4-4, Autumn Harnish 3-0-1-7, Celesia Rouson 2-0-1-5, Britney Gulick 2-0-1-5, Krista McDonald 1-0-0-2. Totals 11-1-7-32.
CHATHAM (58)
Julia Moorehead 2-0-0-4, Lindsay Atchison 5-0-4-14, Jenna Dunleavy 8-0-2-18, Annie Weichert 3-0-3-9, Caroline Murphy 4-0-2-10, Caroline Connors 0-0-1-1, Sara Cox 1-0-0-2. Totals 23-0-12-58.
Mount Olive 10 09 08 05 - 32
Chatham 16 11 20 11 - 58
Records: Chatham 17-3, Mount Olive 4-16.
Hanover Park 45, Morris Knolls 33
Morris Knolls put up a valient effort but the Hornets of HP were just money all night. Besides Ashley Addison's heriocs Ashley Merwin played solid and Jenna Wortmann was her superb self. I don't know if HP has what it takes to get past the next round, but maybe they can prove me wrong.
MORRIS KNOLLS (33)
Katie McMahon 3-0-2-8, Alyssa Meola 0-0-0-0, Melissa Abrahamsen 2-0-0-4, Jaclyn Bertos 2-0-3-7, Brynn Abrahamsen 3-0-4-10, Eve Rodrigues 1-0-0-2, Jen Biondi 1-0-0-2. Totals 12-0-9-33.
HANOVER PARK (45)
Lindsey Singer 1-0-5-7, Jenna Wortmann 4-0-2-10, Beth Esposito 1-0-1-3, Allison Campbell 0-0-0-0, Ashley Addison 5-1-2-15, Ashley Merwin 1-0-8-10. Totals 12-1-18-45.
Morris Knolls 6 10 5 12 - 33
Hanover Park 7 8 12 18 - 45
Records: Morris Knolls 10-8, Hanover Park 17-1.
But enough about me and my really great predictions. Lets get into the real action. Seriously, there were real no suprises but we did notice some gutsy play...which we love. So we have decided to hand out some "Player of the Weekend" Awards.
The girls Player of the Weekend goes to Ashley Addison of HP. Addison was actually pulled out of her game by Coach Wear because he thought she was too sick (fighting the this illness that is going around...which I have as well by the way). But in true competitive fashion, Addison told the coach to put her back in. He did and what did she do? She dropped 15 and moved the Hornets into the Semi's. We love that kind of stuff here at IronHillsSports.com.
The boys Player of the Weekend goes to my main man Mark Cisco of Mendham. Cisco was unfreakingbelievable yesterday for the Minutemen under the post. He ended up dropping 17 and he was just all over the place. I have been saying Cisco has been improving every week and he really has. Ealier in the season he had a bad habit of taking a pass under the post, dribbling it once and then shooting. The dripping once part was killing him because smaller defenders were able to get to the ball (We notice everything at this site Cisco). But Cisco corrected that. In fact, he seems like a much different player from even a month ago. If Cisco can play with the fire he did yesterday, I see Mendham going all the way in the MCT Tourney.
Lets get into yesterday's action...
BOYS RESULTS
Mountain Lakes 30, Mount Olive 43
No suprises here. Russell Holloway dropped 11 and Jarod Hatcher added 10 as the Maraurders hammer the Mt. Lakes Lakers. Mt. Olive is rolling here but they haven't played anyone yet. Their biggest test is next week.
Mountain Lakes 30
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Chris Blackwell 0 1 2 5
Mark Dobrosky 1 0 1 3
Dillon Hamill 0 0 0 0
Jack Reilly 2 0 1 5
Jim Renehan 0 2 0 6
Jake Tripucka 1 0 2 4
Chase Winter 3 0 1 7
Totals: 7 3 7
Mount Olive 43
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Brian Bublitz 0 1 0 3
Jared Grubow 4 0 0 8
Dan Gutman 4 0 0 8
Andrew Haduck 0 1 0 3
Jaleel Hatcher 0 0 0 0
Jerod Hatcher 1 2 2 10
Russell Holloway 4 0 3 11
Totals: 13 4 5
Mount Olive (14-4) 10 4 17 12 43
Mountain Lakes (11-9) 9 4 7 10 30
Mo-Beard 52, Mendham 61
Mo-Beard is a good team in my opinion. Alganan Jones, Larmond Jr. and Ken Monteith are all solid players. In fact, Monteith is freaking gold from the 3 point land. But with that said, Mendham is just plain good. Rob Berish is just a superstar. And Cisco is just playing terrifically. But they also have the supporting cast of Chris Hanson (not the guy from Dateline) and brothers Chris Campisi and Steve Ciampaglio (they sound like brothers at least) who can be deadly if left unguarded. I really am starting to like this Mendham team to take the MCT Crown.
Morristown-Beard 52
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Carter Daly 0 0 0 0
Sean Fetterman 1 0 0 2
Travis Franz 0 1 0 3
Brandon Jefferson 3 0 0 6
Aljanan Jones 2 1 4 11
Colin Larmond Jr. 5 0 2 12
Kenneth Monteith 0 5 3 18
Adrian O'Connell 0 0 0 0
Jiyon Ruffin 0 0 0 0
Totals: 11 7 9
Mendham 61
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Rob Berish 7 2 0 20
Chris Campisi 0 1 2 5
Steve Ciampaglio 1 1 0 5
Mark Cisco 7 0 3 17
Caleb DeMoss 2 0 2 6
Chris Hanson 1 1 2 7
Kent Poges 0 0 0 0
Tore Vicarisi 0 0 1 1
Totals: 18 5 10
Mendham (15-4) 19 14 11 17 61
Morristown-Beard (12-8) 10 13 8 21 52
CHATHAM 50, MORRIS HILLS 38
What the hell Morris Hills!!! Well, I actually picked Chatham to win but for some reason I have an affinity to MoHills. But I was secretly hoping for an upset. I just like those guys because they seem like a gutsy bunch. But you need to see what Chatham is doing here. Oliver was his same old great self but Pat Butler stepped up nicely yesterday as well. In fact, Chatham has a nice supporting staff to Oliver. They could have a chance to take the MCT tournament. But in my opinion, it will be an uphill battle with Delby and Mendham in the mix.
Morris Hills (38)
Adam Katz 5-1-2-15, Andrew Zelnick 2-0-0-4, Justin Doniloski 2-1-0-7, Dan Kellner 0-1-0-3, Matt Marotta 3-0-1-7, Shane O'Shea1-0-0-2, Joe O'Shea 0-0-0-0, Billy Bowan 0-0-0-0. Totals 13-3-3-38
Chatham (50)
Burton Gildersleeve 1-1-0-5, J. P. Carlton 0-0-0-0, Josh Toolajian 0-1-2-5, Billy Oliver 7-2-3-23, Mike Sweeney 2-0-0-4, Chris Conroy 1-0-0-2, Pat Butler 3-0-5-11 Totals 14-4-8-50
Morris Hills 6 8 11 13 -- 38
Chatham 12 11 14 13 -- 50
Records: Morris Hills 13-6, Chatham 16-4
Delbarton 39, Roxbury 37 (OT)
I didn't think Roxbury would be a push over and they did not dissapoint. In fact, they put up a really good fight. Mangiro put up 16 and Alex Szarejko (AKA the Eastern European Nightmare) was deadly from three point land. But they could not hold off Father Paddy O'Sullivan and the Green Wave of Delbarton. I like Delby's chances of taking this crown too. But they will need to get active from the "three" to get past Chatham and Mendham.
ROXBURY (37)
Kevin Ahern 1-2-0-8, Matt Bodnar 0-1-0-3, Casey Harris 0-0-0-0, Angelo Mangiro 6-0-4-16, Brian Mohr 1-0-0-2, Jared Ndiba 0-0-0-0, Eric Vaccacio 0-0-0-0, Alex Szarejko 0-2-2-8, Tommy Rosatelli 0-0-0-0. Totals 8-5-6-37.
DELBARTON (39)
Pat Sullivan 8-0-10-26, Jason Ramirez 0-0-0-0, Will Gesicki 0-0-0-0, Tim Kwilos 0-0-0-0, Jon Leanos 2-0-4-8, Harry Marino 1-0-0-2, Jason Seifert 0-0-0-0, Ben Tolkowsky 0-0-1-1, Logan True 0-0-0-0, Andrew Waldele 1-0-0-2. Totals 12-0-15-39.
Roxbury 8 9 9 6 5 - 37
Delbarton 6 13 7 6 7 - 39
Records: Delbarton 15-7, Roxbury 10-9.
GIRLS RESULTS
Parsippany 38, WMC 56
Whoa!!! Take it easy West Morris, no need to run up the score. Actually, I say why not run it up? We love Elena Noonan at this site because she is a really nice player for Parsippany. We also noticed Noelle Grande's play in this game. But they could not hold off the mighty Highlanders. Emily Peel was just superb in this masterpiece. WMC could make it all the way in this tourney. But getting past MoCath will not be easy.
PARSIPPANY (38)
Courtney Ford 1-0-0-2, Kayla Picinich 2-0-0-4, Elena Noonan 5-0-6-16, Aysun Malta 1-0-1-3, Lindsey Loboda 1-0-0-2, Noelle Grande 3-1-2-11. Totals 13-1-9-38.
WEST MORRIS (56)
Emily Peel 7-0-6-20, Lindsey Sullivan 0-0-0-0, Julia Scanlon 2-0-0-4, Haley D'Angelo 6-1-3-18, Eleni Kozas 3-0-0-6, Kelly Maguire 1-0-0-2, Alisa Greco 1-0-0-2, Mary Consol 1-0-2-4. Totals 21-1-11-56.
Parsippany 3 9 11 15 - 38
West Morris 18 15 14 9 - 56
Records: Parsippany 13-7, West Morris 18-2.
Boonton 32, MoCatholic 66
Carly Foesel was great in this game sinking 18 points. But Morris Catholic plays like they are pissed. Kathleen Shuckers drained 19 points, Cara Hurley nailed another 11 and four other players scored 6 or more points. I actually don't see the need for MoCath to have to play any more games. Just give them the MCT Trophy now.
BOONTON (32)
Carly Foesel 5-0-8-18, Jen Vasta 0-0-2-2, Cynthia Shanahan 0-1-0-3, Diane Dearie 1-0-1-3, Renee Norton 0-2-0-6. Totals 6-3-11-32.
MORRIS CATHOLIC (66)
Kathleen Schuckers 8-1-0-19, Amanda Kreuder 1-0-0-2, Ashley Bays 0-2-0-6, Jenny Fitzgerald 4-0-0-8, Jeane Drury 3-0-2-8, Cara Hurley 1-3-0-11, Lily Calo 2-1-2-9, Casey Schuckers 0-1-0-3. Totals 19-8-4-66.
Boonton 8 6 3 15 -32
Morris Catholic 25 15 17 9 -66
Records: Boonton 12-8, Morris Catholic 22-0.
Mt. Olive 32, Chatham 58
Lindsay Atchison(14), Jenna Dunleavy(18), Annie Weichert(9) and Caroline Murphy(10) would all be superstars on any other team. But they are all on the same team which is why I like their chances in taking the crown (forget about what I said about MoCatholic). Chatham is good solid. In fact, this tournament can go in any direction. But Chatham has a legitimate shot at taking Gold.
MOUNT OLIVE (32)
Kim Cochran 3-0-0-6, Amanda Dizinno 0-1-0-3, Nichole Muller 0-0-4-4, Autumn Harnish 3-0-1-7, Celesia Rouson 2-0-1-5, Britney Gulick 2-0-1-5, Krista McDonald 1-0-0-2. Totals 11-1-7-32.
CHATHAM (58)
Julia Moorehead 2-0-0-4, Lindsay Atchison 5-0-4-14, Jenna Dunleavy 8-0-2-18, Annie Weichert 3-0-3-9, Caroline Murphy 4-0-2-10, Caroline Connors 0-0-1-1, Sara Cox 1-0-0-2. Totals 23-0-12-58.
Mount Olive 10 09 08 05 - 32
Chatham 16 11 20 11 - 58
Records: Chatham 17-3, Mount Olive 4-16.
Hanover Park 45, Morris Knolls 33
Morris Knolls put up a valient effort but the Hornets of HP were just money all night. Besides Ashley Addison's heriocs Ashley Merwin played solid and Jenna Wortmann was her superb self. I don't know if HP has what it takes to get past the next round, but maybe they can prove me wrong.
MORRIS KNOLLS (33)
Katie McMahon 3-0-2-8, Alyssa Meola 0-0-0-0, Melissa Abrahamsen 2-0-0-4, Jaclyn Bertos 2-0-3-7, Brynn Abrahamsen 3-0-4-10, Eve Rodrigues 1-0-0-2, Jen Biondi 1-0-0-2. Totals 12-0-9-33.
HANOVER PARK (45)
Lindsey Singer 1-0-5-7, Jenna Wortmann 4-0-2-10, Beth Esposito 1-0-1-3, Allison Campbell 0-0-0-0, Ashley Addison 5-1-2-15, Ashley Merwin 1-0-8-10. Totals 12-1-18-45.
Morris Knolls 6 10 5 12 - 33
Hanover Park 7 8 12 18 - 45
Records: Morris Knolls 10-8, Hanover Park 17-1.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
MCT Hoops Predictions (Girls & Boys)
Well, well, well...here we are at the MCT Quarter Finals. What can I say? No suprises yet, except for Roxbury's defeat over HP. I really thought HP would be able to pull that off. But maybe Roxbury has something to prove. Well, if they can beat Delby this weekend, then they have my attention. Until then, they are this far by mistake. If that upsets Roxbury, than prove me wrong.
Also, you need to take note that Mendham's Rob Berish has been polishing himself up for the MCT Tourney by dropping a league high 42 points in a Tuesday Night regular season matchup.
As for the rest of the teams, no suprises. The girls B-ball has even gotten my attention. My new favorite girl b-baller is Noonan from Parsippany. She is all skill and no frills!
Well, that is enough gibber jabber, lets get right to it:
MCT Quarterfinals(at Randolph H.S.)
Roxbury vs. Delbarton, noon
Roxbury did a nice job by knocking off a pretty good HP team. But they will be no match for Father Paddy O'Sullivan and the rest of the Green Wave.
PICK: Delby
Morris Hills vs. Chatham, 5
Love this match-up. Adam Katz has the guts and the heart to pull this one off for Morris Hills. But they just have been too shakey, and I have stuck my neck out for MoHills too many times this year. Plus, Billy Oliver and the Chatham Cougars are just playing great.
PICK: Chatham
Mountain Lakes vs. Mount Olive, 2
Mountain Lakes has been having a nice run. But Russell Holloway could care less. He will put on a spectacle as he takes his Maraurders to an easy win.
PICK: Mt. Olive
Morristown-Beard vs. Mendham, 7:30
This has the making of a really good game. Both teams really match up terrifically together. Colin Larmond Jr. has been too distracted this week while officially signing his letter of intent to B.C. as a wide receiver. But while he was doing that, Mendham's Rob Berish was dropping a league high 42 points in regular season play. Between Berish and Marky Mark Cisco, I don't see Beard getting past this round.
PICK: Mendham
Girls basketballMCT Quarterfinals(at Morris Knolls H.S.)
Mount Olive vs. Chatham, noon
Mt. Olive has gusto and the ability to play well in this tournament. But Julia Moorehead and Lindsay Atchison have been rolling lately.
PICK: Chatham
Parsippany vs. West Morris, 1:30
Parsippany's Elena Noonan has earned a spot in our "favorite player of the week" category for her guts. She just plays really tough and I think she is a real gamer. But the problem is she needs the rest of her team to step up. But they will need a real miracle because Lindsay Sullivan, Eleni Kozas and Emily Peel gel like nobodies business.
PICK: West Morris
Morris Knolls vs. Hanover Park, 3
Jaclyn Bertos and Brynn Abrahamsen can work magic for the Knolls. But there is no better tandum in the league than HP's Ashley Addison and Jenna Wortmann. Coach Wear has brought HP's Girls Hoops back!
PICK: HP
Boonton vs. Morris Catholic, 4:30
Boonton's Carly Foesel, Jen Hesse and Cynthia Shanahan do have what it takes to take down the mighty Morris Catholic. They also have the coolest mascot name in the state in the Bombers. But behind Lily Calo, Jeane Drury and Jenny Fitzgerald Morris Catholic is an amazing 21-0. There is no way the Bombers pull this one off. Plus, I am not stupid to pick an upset over an undfeated team like that.
PICK: MoCath
Also, you need to take note that Mendham's Rob Berish has been polishing himself up for the MCT Tourney by dropping a league high 42 points in a Tuesday Night regular season matchup.
As for the rest of the teams, no suprises. The girls B-ball has even gotten my attention. My new favorite girl b-baller is Noonan from Parsippany. She is all skill and no frills!
Well, that is enough gibber jabber, lets get right to it:
MCT Quarterfinals(at Randolph H.S.)
Roxbury vs. Delbarton, noon
Roxbury did a nice job by knocking off a pretty good HP team. But they will be no match for Father Paddy O'Sullivan and the rest of the Green Wave.
PICK: Delby
Morris Hills vs. Chatham, 5
Love this match-up. Adam Katz has the guts and the heart to pull this one off for Morris Hills. But they just have been too shakey, and I have stuck my neck out for MoHills too many times this year. Plus, Billy Oliver and the Chatham Cougars are just playing great.
PICK: Chatham
Mountain Lakes vs. Mount Olive, 2
Mountain Lakes has been having a nice run. But Russell Holloway could care less. He will put on a spectacle as he takes his Maraurders to an easy win.
PICK: Mt. Olive
Morristown-Beard vs. Mendham, 7:30
This has the making of a really good game. Both teams really match up terrifically together. Colin Larmond Jr. has been too distracted this week while officially signing his letter of intent to B.C. as a wide receiver. But while he was doing that, Mendham's Rob Berish was dropping a league high 42 points in regular season play. Between Berish and Marky Mark Cisco, I don't see Beard getting past this round.
PICK: Mendham
Girls basketballMCT Quarterfinals(at Morris Knolls H.S.)
Mount Olive vs. Chatham, noon
Mt. Olive has gusto and the ability to play well in this tournament. But Julia Moorehead and Lindsay Atchison have been rolling lately.
PICK: Chatham
Parsippany vs. West Morris, 1:30
Parsippany's Elena Noonan has earned a spot in our "favorite player of the week" category for her guts. She just plays really tough and I think she is a real gamer. But the problem is she needs the rest of her team to step up. But they will need a real miracle because Lindsay Sullivan, Eleni Kozas and Emily Peel gel like nobodies business.
PICK: West Morris
Morris Knolls vs. Hanover Park, 3
Jaclyn Bertos and Brynn Abrahamsen can work magic for the Knolls. But there is no better tandum in the league than HP's Ashley Addison and Jenna Wortmann. Coach Wear has brought HP's Girls Hoops back!
PICK: HP
Boonton vs. Morris Catholic, 4:30
Boonton's Carly Foesel, Jen Hesse and Cynthia Shanahan do have what it takes to take down the mighty Morris Catholic. They also have the coolest mascot name in the state in the Bombers. But behind Lily Calo, Jeane Drury and Jenny Fitzgerald Morris Catholic is an amazing 21-0. There is no way the Bombers pull this one off. Plus, I am not stupid to pick an upset over an undfeated team like that.
PICK: MoCath
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Thursday Night Girls Hoops Predicitions
This Thursday Night brings a heck of a lot of craziness to Iron Hills Girls Basketball. Well actually not really, but there is a lull before this weekends MCT games so I figured I'd pick these games.
Here you go:
Morris Hills at Chatham 7
A rematch of this past weekend's MCT matchup. Laura Urbanowicz and Colleen Kelly 4-0want revenge. But only one problem...Julia Moorehead and Lindsay Atchison could give a flying flipper. Chatham is not 14-2 (or close to that) for nothing.
PICK: Chatham
Dover at West Essex, 7
Wessex girls are really rolling and hard. They just shoved it to Summit a few weeks ago and are on a winning streak in the ECT. I'd like to see Dover get out of the slump...but it ain't happening this night.
PICK: Wessex
Summit at Hanover Park, 7
Ashley Addison and Jenna Wortmann will combine for 32 in this game blood bath.
PICK: HP
Parsippany Hills at Parsippany, 7
The only thing you need to know is Elena Noonan's name of Parsippany. Say it out loud. Write it down. Yell it from your roof top. Now sit down and watch the easiest prediction of the night.
PICK: Parsippany
Morris Knolls at West Morris, 7
Haley D'Angelo and Emily Peel are going to destroy the Knolls. Sorry to be that blunt. I am actually trying to wake up the Knolls.
PICK: West Morris
Randolph at Morristown, 7
Christina Epps and Amani Ladson of Mo-Town would love to shove it to Randolph. But I see Leah Papalia and Breanne Maughan holding them off.
PICK: Randolph
Columbia at Roxbury, 7
It is not a matter of if Columbia will win. It is a matter of Roxbury getting out of the game without any serious injuries. Columbia is just too good.
PICK: Columbia
Weequahic at Mendham, 7
I like the way Mendham matches up to Weequahic behind Katie Gomeringer and Sassy Weinstein. But I really think Jade Wilson and Jasmin Mott are in a different league.
PICK: Weequahic
Here you go:
Morris Hills at Chatham 7
A rematch of this past weekend's MCT matchup. Laura Urbanowicz and Colleen Kelly 4-0want revenge. But only one problem...Julia Moorehead and Lindsay Atchison could give a flying flipper. Chatham is not 14-2 (or close to that) for nothing.
PICK: Chatham
Dover at West Essex, 7
Wessex girls are really rolling and hard. They just shoved it to Summit a few weeks ago and are on a winning streak in the ECT. I'd like to see Dover get out of the slump...but it ain't happening this night.
PICK: Wessex
Summit at Hanover Park, 7
Ashley Addison and Jenna Wortmann will combine for 32 in this game blood bath.
PICK: HP
Parsippany Hills at Parsippany, 7
The only thing you need to know is Elena Noonan's name of Parsippany. Say it out loud. Write it down. Yell it from your roof top. Now sit down and watch the easiest prediction of the night.
PICK: Parsippany
Morris Knolls at West Morris, 7
Haley D'Angelo and Emily Peel are going to destroy the Knolls. Sorry to be that blunt. I am actually trying to wake up the Knolls.
PICK: West Morris
Randolph at Morristown, 7
Christina Epps and Amani Ladson of Mo-Town would love to shove it to Randolph. But I see Leah Papalia and Breanne Maughan holding them off.
PICK: Randolph
Columbia at Roxbury, 7
It is not a matter of if Columbia will win. It is a matter of Roxbury getting out of the game without any serious injuries. Columbia is just too good.
PICK: Columbia
Weequahic at Mendham, 7
I like the way Mendham matches up to Weequahic behind Katie Gomeringer and Sassy Weinstein. But I really think Jade Wilson and Jasmin Mott are in a different league.
PICK: Weequahic
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Boys Basketball: MCT Results
Sorry for the delay in getting the MCT tournamet results to you. I was in church all day yesterday praying for the Giants to win. Which they did of course! Congrats to them!
And moving right along. I am sure you would be amazed to know that I picked a stellar 7 of 8 games correct. If gambling on HS sports was legal, I would be a very rich man right now.
At any rate, lets get into the games. Here is how they played out:
Morris Knolls at Delbarton
You have to love the NCAA Tournament when a sub par teams upsets a big name like Duke or Kentucky in the first round. This game has all the makings of an upset. Actually, I am only kidding around. To be honest (and seriously not trying to be mean), Knolls is lucky to have an invite to this tournament. Knolls b-ballers' Pete Lionetti will be playing hard and Cardio will be solid on defense. But prepsters' Pat Sullivan, Ben Tolkowsky and Jon Leanos will combine for 40 in this blood bath.
PICK: Delby
Of course, I already knew Delby would win this. But I didn't know Father Paddy O'Sullivan would drop 29 points. Is that kid nuts or what???
MORRIS KNOLLS (45)
J.J. Boylan 2-1-6-13, Sean Pauls 4-3-1-18, Pete Lionetti 1-0-4-6, Brandon Danzy 1-0-0-2, Kellan Cardio 2-0-2-6, Mike Boylan 0-0-0-0, Mark DeFeo 0-0-0-0, Chris Diaz 0-0-0-0. Totals 10-4-13-45.
DELBARTON (56)
Pat Sullivan 8-0-13-29, Jon Leanos 1-1-4-9, Harry Marino 1-1-4-9, Ben Tolkowsky 2-1-1-8, Andrew Waldele 0-0-1-1, Jason Ramirez 0-0-0-0, Jason Seifert 0-0-0-0, Logan True 0-0-0-0, Tim Kwilos 0-0-0-0. Totals 12-3-23-56.
Morris Knolls 11 7 20 7 -45
Delbarton 11 12 20 13 -56
Records: Morris Knolls 4-15, Delbarton 13-6.
2Morristown at Mount Olive
I've gambled on Morristown too many times this year to fall for them again. I really thought they would be one of the best in the area behind Georgie Bass and Mike Colvin, but this is just not their year. I just think Mount Olive is way too stacked starting with my vote for the area's best b-baller Russell Holloway. Andrew Haduck, Brian Bublitz, Jerod Hatcher and Dan Gutman are not too shabby as Holloway's supporting cast either. I actually like Olive's chances of making it to the finals.
PICK: Olive
Again, I am really not trying to gloat here but I am a freaking HS B-Ball guru when it comes to picking these games. I just new Holloway and company would be too much. But I give Timmy Breeman major props for his offensive output.
MORRISTOWN (54)
George Bass 0-1-0-3, Justin Pearson 2-0-2-6, Kurt Davis 2-0-3-7, Mike Colvin 0-2-1-7, Tim Breeman 7-0-5-19, Tom Breeman 1-0-2-4, Mike Bailey 0-1-0-3, Jarret Neely 2-0-1-5. Totals 14-4-14-54.
MOUNT OLIVE (61)
Andrew Haduck 1-2-5-13, Brian Bublitz 0-2-0-6, Jerod Hatcher 1-2-4-12, Dan Gutman 4-0-8-16, Russ Holloway 3-0-4-10, Jared Grubow 1-0-0-2, Jaleel Hatcher 0-0-0-0, Matt Bratter 0-0-2-2, Alonzo Rael 0-0-0-0. Totals 10-6-23-61.
Morristown 12 18 10 14 - 54
Mount Olive 19 13 17 12 - 61
Records: Morristown 4-14, Mount Olive 13-3
5Montville at Mountain Lakes
Montville's Rob Jagesser and Matt Vinci will really give it their all in this game. But the Mustangs do not have an answer for Jake Tripucka. Tri-Puck (which I just legally changed his name to) is money from all over the court. On the rare occasions when he does miss? Well, the 6'5" Chris Blackwell taps them in.
PICK: Mountain Lakes
I am good. Period. I just pick these games like I see the future. I want to give props to my boy Tri-Puck (just trying to give myself some street cred). He drained 11, including two bombs from downtown.
MONTVILLE (39)
Ryan Gajdos 1-1-0-5, Matt Vinci 2-0-0-4, Chris Lacey 0-0-0-0, Jordan Gajdos 0-0-0-0, Rob Jaggasar 1-0-1-3, Eric Toporoff 3-0-0-6, Joe Kim 1-0-0-2, Travis Warech 6-0-7-19. Totals 14-1-8-39.
MOUNTAIN LAKES (43)
Jake Tripucka 2-2-1-11, Mark Dobrosky 3-0-2-8, Dillon Hamill 2-0-0-4, Chase Winter 2-0-4-8, Jim Renahan 0-1-0-3, Chris Blackwell 2-0-5-9. Totals 11-3-12-43.
Montville 8 14 6 11 - 39
Mountain Lakes 12 9 4 18 - 43
Records: Mountain Lakes 10-7, Montville 11-9.
7West Morris at Chatham
I love this match up. And Jared Washkau is to this site what Brett Favre is to John Madden. We love this kid. He's a 6'6" transfer student from Long Island who almost single handedly took down the mighty Columbia Cougars. He gets a lot of credit for moving from the city to the back woods of Long Valley. God Bless this kid for that alone. Hey, we're only kidding Long Valley...sort of. But you know what? As much as we love Washkau, I don't think they will be able to sqeak one out vs. Chatham. Chatham has heated up and at the right time too. They are coming off a big win vs. Mendham which gives them nice momentum. Billy Oliver has just been outstanding lately.
PICK: Chatham
I just didn't think Washkau could pull it off. But he gave a nice effort dropping 19 in the loss. Josh Toolajian stepped it up big in helping Oliver to make easy work of WMC.
WEST MORRIS (50)
Josh Boyd 1-0-0-2, Jared Washkau 4-0-11-19, Matt Wehrhahn 1-0-0-2, Derek Kambour 1-0-1-3, Brent Roehrich 4-0-0-8, Anthony Germinario 1-1-0-7, Brett Bonnono 4-0-0-8. Totals 14-3-13-50.
CHATHAM (67)
Billy Oliver 7-0-5-19, Josh Toolajian 2-4-4-20, Burton Gildersleeve 0-2-1-7, Pat Butler 2-0-0-4, Mike Sweeney 1-0-5-7, Chris Conroy 2-0-4-8, J.P. Charlton 1-0-0-2. Totals 15-6-19-67.
West Morris 9 10 20 11 - 50
Chatham 17 14 16 20 - 67
Records: West Morris 7-10, Chatham 14-4.
Morristown-Beard at Morris Catholic
To be honest, I am not quite sure who to pick here. Morris Catholic is fiesty as all get out. They also have a fairly tough schedule, which explains their 7-9 record. Steve Kreuder is an animal under the boards, while Tim Williams a nasty at pick pocketing the ball away from opponents. I think Colin Larmond Jr. will not let this one slip away, but he is going to need Kenny Monteith to be money from outside three point land and Al Jones to stick to his style of play.
PICK: Beard
Mo-Beard showed a lot of gumshen in this game. Of course Larmond Jr. shows why he is the team leader. Jefferson did great by adding 15.
MORRISTOWN-BEARD (61)
Aljanon Jones 5-01-1-14, Brandon Jefferson 3-0-8-14, Ken Monteith 0-1-2-5, Travis Franz 1-2-0-8, Colin Larmond Jr. 8-0-0-16, Sean Fetterman 2-0-0-4. Totals 20-4-11-61.
MORRIS CATHOLIC (57)
Steve Kreuder 3-0-1-7, Paul Logiudice 1-0-3-5, Tim Williams 6-2-1-20, Travis Williams 4-0-0-8, Brett Bially 1-5-0-17. Totals 15-7-5-57.
Mo.-Beard 11 18 18 14 - 61
Morris Catholic 10 9 14 24 - 57
Record: Morris Catholic 8-9.
Hanover Park at Roxbury
I will not count out Par Hills to pull of an upset behind Greg Solomine, Blake Cruz , and Greg DePugh. All three of them can score into the high double digits. However, MoHills has got some steam to burn off after nearly losing in double overtime to 0-16 Dover. Adam Katz wants a MCT title too bad to lose this early in the tournament. To be successful, Justin Doniloski needs to get off the shneid a little bit and Matt Marotta needs to get more boards. And Kellner and Doug "The Dude" Dudek have been way too quite. If all these guys hit on all cylinders, nobody can stop them. Katz can't do it himself! Actually he probably could, but he shouldn't have to.
PICK: MoHills (lets get it going!)
Readers of this blog must say, "how does he do it?" I am not talking about Justin D., I am talking about me. How do I pick all these games so accurately? Well, since you asked I will say only this, I am just that good! But with Justin D. stepping it up, which I asked him to do, it makes it easy to pick.
PARSIPPANY HILLS (22)
Greg Solimine 0-2-2-8, Jon Jablanka 0-0-2-2, Bryan Becher 2-0-0-4, Majamandor 0-0-0-0, Reinhard 0-0-0-0, Kesselmen 0-0-2-2, Menzel 0-0-0-0, Carger 0-0-2-2, Hurt 2-0-0-4, Justin Thomas 0-0-0-0. Totals 4-2-8-22.
MORRIS HILLS (46)
Adam Katz 2-2-3-13, Andrew Zelnick 0-0-0-0, Justin Doniloski 5-0-11-21, Dan Kellner 0-0-0-0, Matt Marotta 1-0-0-2, Shane O'Shea 1-0-0-2, Joe O'Shea 1-0-0-2, Tom Reeves 0-0-1-1, Billy Bowan 1-0-0-2, Doug Dudek 1-0-1-3. Totals 12-2-16-46.
Parsippany Hills 2 5 5 10 - 22
Morris Hills 9 9 11 17 - 46
Records: Parsippany Hills 4-11, Morris Hills 13-4.
7Whippany Park at Mendham, TBA
Ashok Vegesna is the only senior on Whippany Park, has shown some spunk! Especially last week when they put a three point clinic in a win vs. Madison. Eric Cipolla, Nick Lucchesi and Mihir Jain will all be ready when they take the Minutemen. But it will be all for not. The Minutemen roll in this one. The Minutemen suffered a tough loss to the area's top team Chatham this week. That loss actually helps them to loosen up heading into the MCT. There is no better tandum than Mark Cisco (who just gets better every game) and Rob Berish (probably the best talent in the Hills Division).
PICK: Mendham
Geez, what a blowout. I am starting to lean toward Mendham taking this tournament. However, they have a lot more of good teams left to play.
WHIPPANY PARK (33)
Ashok Vegesna 2-1-1-8, Mirhir Jain 1-1-1-6, Eric Cipolla 0-0-2-2, Chris Jones 0-0-2-2, Nick Lucchesi 2-1-2-9, Louis Passero 0-0-2-2, Pasquale LaBracio 1-0-0-2, Robert Gelosa 1-0-0-2. Totals 7-3-10-33.
MENDHAM (59)
Rob Berish 9-1-6-27, Chris Campisi 0-1-2-5, Tor Cedarall 0-0-1-1, Mark Cisco 5-0-4-14, Max Ferri 0-0-1-1, Chris Hanson 0-1-0-3, Colin McAleney 2-0-0-4, Ken Poges 0-0-2-2, Tore Vicarisi 0-1-0-3. Totals 16-4-15-59.
Whippany Park 6 9 8 10 - 33
Mendham 15 17 18 9 - 59
Record: Mendham 13-3.
And moving right along. I am sure you would be amazed to know that I picked a stellar 7 of 8 games correct. If gambling on HS sports was legal, I would be a very rich man right now.
At any rate, lets get into the games. Here is how they played out:
Morris Knolls at Delbarton
You have to love the NCAA Tournament when a sub par teams upsets a big name like Duke or Kentucky in the first round. This game has all the makings of an upset. Actually, I am only kidding around. To be honest (and seriously not trying to be mean), Knolls is lucky to have an invite to this tournament. Knolls b-ballers' Pete Lionetti will be playing hard and Cardio will be solid on defense. But prepsters' Pat Sullivan, Ben Tolkowsky and Jon Leanos will combine for 40 in this blood bath.
PICK: Delby
Of course, I already knew Delby would win this. But I didn't know Father Paddy O'Sullivan would drop 29 points. Is that kid nuts or what???
MORRIS KNOLLS (45)
J.J. Boylan 2-1-6-13, Sean Pauls 4-3-1-18, Pete Lionetti 1-0-4-6, Brandon Danzy 1-0-0-2, Kellan Cardio 2-0-2-6, Mike Boylan 0-0-0-0, Mark DeFeo 0-0-0-0, Chris Diaz 0-0-0-0. Totals 10-4-13-45.
DELBARTON (56)
Pat Sullivan 8-0-13-29, Jon Leanos 1-1-4-9, Harry Marino 1-1-4-9, Ben Tolkowsky 2-1-1-8, Andrew Waldele 0-0-1-1, Jason Ramirez 0-0-0-0, Jason Seifert 0-0-0-0, Logan True 0-0-0-0, Tim Kwilos 0-0-0-0. Totals 12-3-23-56.
Morris Knolls 11 7 20 7 -45
Delbarton 11 12 20 13 -56
Records: Morris Knolls 4-15, Delbarton 13-6.
2Morristown at Mount Olive
I've gambled on Morristown too many times this year to fall for them again. I really thought they would be one of the best in the area behind Georgie Bass and Mike Colvin, but this is just not their year. I just think Mount Olive is way too stacked starting with my vote for the area's best b-baller Russell Holloway. Andrew Haduck, Brian Bublitz, Jerod Hatcher and Dan Gutman are not too shabby as Holloway's supporting cast either. I actually like Olive's chances of making it to the finals.
PICK: Olive
Again, I am really not trying to gloat here but I am a freaking HS B-Ball guru when it comes to picking these games. I just new Holloway and company would be too much. But I give Timmy Breeman major props for his offensive output.
MORRISTOWN (54)
George Bass 0-1-0-3, Justin Pearson 2-0-2-6, Kurt Davis 2-0-3-7, Mike Colvin 0-2-1-7, Tim Breeman 7-0-5-19, Tom Breeman 1-0-2-4, Mike Bailey 0-1-0-3, Jarret Neely 2-0-1-5. Totals 14-4-14-54.
MOUNT OLIVE (61)
Andrew Haduck 1-2-5-13, Brian Bublitz 0-2-0-6, Jerod Hatcher 1-2-4-12, Dan Gutman 4-0-8-16, Russ Holloway 3-0-4-10, Jared Grubow 1-0-0-2, Jaleel Hatcher 0-0-0-0, Matt Bratter 0-0-2-2, Alonzo Rael 0-0-0-0. Totals 10-6-23-61.
Morristown 12 18 10 14 - 54
Mount Olive 19 13 17 12 - 61
Records: Morristown 4-14, Mount Olive 13-3
5Montville at Mountain Lakes
Montville's Rob Jagesser and Matt Vinci will really give it their all in this game. But the Mustangs do not have an answer for Jake Tripucka. Tri-Puck (which I just legally changed his name to) is money from all over the court. On the rare occasions when he does miss? Well, the 6'5" Chris Blackwell taps them in.
PICK: Mountain Lakes
I am good. Period. I just pick these games like I see the future. I want to give props to my boy Tri-Puck (just trying to give myself some street cred). He drained 11, including two bombs from downtown.
MONTVILLE (39)
Ryan Gajdos 1-1-0-5, Matt Vinci 2-0-0-4, Chris Lacey 0-0-0-0, Jordan Gajdos 0-0-0-0, Rob Jaggasar 1-0-1-3, Eric Toporoff 3-0-0-6, Joe Kim 1-0-0-2, Travis Warech 6-0-7-19. Totals 14-1-8-39.
MOUNTAIN LAKES (43)
Jake Tripucka 2-2-1-11, Mark Dobrosky 3-0-2-8, Dillon Hamill 2-0-0-4, Chase Winter 2-0-4-8, Jim Renahan 0-1-0-3, Chris Blackwell 2-0-5-9. Totals 11-3-12-43.
Montville 8 14 6 11 - 39
Mountain Lakes 12 9 4 18 - 43
Records: Mountain Lakes 10-7, Montville 11-9.
7West Morris at Chatham
I love this match up. And Jared Washkau is to this site what Brett Favre is to John Madden. We love this kid. He's a 6'6" transfer student from Long Island who almost single handedly took down the mighty Columbia Cougars. He gets a lot of credit for moving from the city to the back woods of Long Valley. God Bless this kid for that alone. Hey, we're only kidding Long Valley...sort of. But you know what? As much as we love Washkau, I don't think they will be able to sqeak one out vs. Chatham. Chatham has heated up and at the right time too. They are coming off a big win vs. Mendham which gives them nice momentum. Billy Oliver has just been outstanding lately.
PICK: Chatham
I just didn't think Washkau could pull it off. But he gave a nice effort dropping 19 in the loss. Josh Toolajian stepped it up big in helping Oliver to make easy work of WMC.
WEST MORRIS (50)
Josh Boyd 1-0-0-2, Jared Washkau 4-0-11-19, Matt Wehrhahn 1-0-0-2, Derek Kambour 1-0-1-3, Brent Roehrich 4-0-0-8, Anthony Germinario 1-1-0-7, Brett Bonnono 4-0-0-8. Totals 14-3-13-50.
CHATHAM (67)
Billy Oliver 7-0-5-19, Josh Toolajian 2-4-4-20, Burton Gildersleeve 0-2-1-7, Pat Butler 2-0-0-4, Mike Sweeney 1-0-5-7, Chris Conroy 2-0-4-8, J.P. Charlton 1-0-0-2. Totals 15-6-19-67.
West Morris 9 10 20 11 - 50
Chatham 17 14 16 20 - 67
Records: West Morris 7-10, Chatham 14-4.
Morristown-Beard at Morris Catholic
To be honest, I am not quite sure who to pick here. Morris Catholic is fiesty as all get out. They also have a fairly tough schedule, which explains their 7-9 record. Steve Kreuder is an animal under the boards, while Tim Williams a nasty at pick pocketing the ball away from opponents. I think Colin Larmond Jr. will not let this one slip away, but he is going to need Kenny Monteith to be money from outside three point land and Al Jones to stick to his style of play.
PICK: Beard
Mo-Beard showed a lot of gumshen in this game. Of course Larmond Jr. shows why he is the team leader. Jefferson did great by adding 15.
MORRISTOWN-BEARD (61)
Aljanon Jones 5-01-1-14, Brandon Jefferson 3-0-8-14, Ken Monteith 0-1-2-5, Travis Franz 1-2-0-8, Colin Larmond Jr. 8-0-0-16, Sean Fetterman 2-0-0-4. Totals 20-4-11-61.
MORRIS CATHOLIC (57)
Steve Kreuder 3-0-1-7, Paul Logiudice 1-0-3-5, Tim Williams 6-2-1-20, Travis Williams 4-0-0-8, Brett Bially 1-5-0-17. Totals 15-7-5-57.
Mo.-Beard 11 18 18 14 - 61
Morris Catholic 10 9 14 24 - 57
Record: Morris Catholic 8-9.
Hanover Park at Roxbury
I love the fact that Roxbury's center, Angelo Mangiro, is a frosh. Not only that, but he is good. I think Roxbury will be very good the next few years behind Roxbury's answer to Shaq. But they won't be getting past Greg Baruka Hornet's with stinger's Pete Nagy and Phil Gatti. I see this Hornets team going far into this tourney.
PICK: HP
Nagy, please shut the door. Kids, turn the channel for a few minutes. Thank you, now HP: What the F happened!!!! I have been sticking my neck out for you guys all year. I picked every game right this past weekend, except one game. Do you know which game I got wrong...yours!!! Okay, settle down Unruly. Take a breath. Calm down. Okay, I am calm now. Listen HP, I love your style of play. I love the grit you guys play with. I really think you guys can be fiesty enough to take down Chatham, MoHills and Mendham. Now, I am not giving up on you guys yet. But I need some more gumshen from you guys. This game is over...forget it. Move on. Lets focus on the Big 3 now. Your job now is assisin. You pick off all three of those teams and you move to immortal status on our site.
HANOVER PARK (51)
Phil Gatti 2-0-1-5, Pete Nagy 2-1-6-13, Greg Baruka 4-0-2-10, Chris Seery 7-0-2-16, Nick Pravatta 0-1-0-3, Mike Geisser 1-0-1-3. Totals 16-2-12-51.
ROXBURY (60)
Alex Szarejko 4-1-2-13, Kevin Ahern 1-0-2-4, Eric Vaccacio 1-2-5-13, Brian Mohr 2-0-1-5, Angelo Mangiro 4-0-4-12, Casey Harris 0-0-1-1, Tommy Rosatelli 2-0-3-7, Matt Bodnar 0-1-2-5. Totals 15-4-21-60.
Hanover Park 10 16 14 11 - 51
Roxbury 11 11 12 26 - 60
Record: Roxbury 9-7.
I will not count out Par Hills to pull of an upset behind Greg Solomine, Blake Cruz , and Greg DePugh. All three of them can score into the high double digits. However, MoHills has got some steam to burn off after nearly losing in double overtime to 0-16 Dover. Adam Katz wants a MCT title too bad to lose this early in the tournament. To be successful, Justin Doniloski needs to get off the shneid a little bit and Matt Marotta needs to get more boards. And Kellner and Doug "The Dude" Dudek have been way too quite. If all these guys hit on all cylinders, nobody can stop them. Katz can't do it himself! Actually he probably could, but he shouldn't have to.
PICK: MoHills (lets get it going!)
Readers of this blog must say, "how does he do it?" I am not talking about Justin D., I am talking about me. How do I pick all these games so accurately? Well, since you asked I will say only this, I am just that good! But with Justin D. stepping it up, which I asked him to do, it makes it easy to pick.
PARSIPPANY HILLS (22)
Greg Solimine 0-2-2-8, Jon Jablanka 0-0-2-2, Bryan Becher 2-0-0-4, Majamandor 0-0-0-0, Reinhard 0-0-0-0, Kesselmen 0-0-2-2, Menzel 0-0-0-0, Carger 0-0-2-2, Hurt 2-0-0-4, Justin Thomas 0-0-0-0. Totals 4-2-8-22.
MORRIS HILLS (46)
Adam Katz 2-2-3-13, Andrew Zelnick 0-0-0-0, Justin Doniloski 5-0-11-21, Dan Kellner 0-0-0-0, Matt Marotta 1-0-0-2, Shane O'Shea 1-0-0-2, Joe O'Shea 1-0-0-2, Tom Reeves 0-0-1-1, Billy Bowan 1-0-0-2, Doug Dudek 1-0-1-3. Totals 12-2-16-46.
Parsippany Hills 2 5 5 10 - 22
Morris Hills 9 9 11 17 - 46
Records: Parsippany Hills 4-11, Morris Hills 13-4.
7Whippany Park at Mendham, TBA
Ashok Vegesna is the only senior on Whippany Park, has shown some spunk! Especially last week when they put a three point clinic in a win vs. Madison. Eric Cipolla, Nick Lucchesi and Mihir Jain will all be ready when they take the Minutemen. But it will be all for not. The Minutemen roll in this one. The Minutemen suffered a tough loss to the area's top team Chatham this week. That loss actually helps them to loosen up heading into the MCT. There is no better tandum than Mark Cisco (who just gets better every game) and Rob Berish (probably the best talent in the Hills Division).
PICK: Mendham
Geez, what a blowout. I am starting to lean toward Mendham taking this tournament. However, they have a lot more of good teams left to play.
WHIPPANY PARK (33)
Ashok Vegesna 2-1-1-8, Mirhir Jain 1-1-1-6, Eric Cipolla 0-0-2-2, Chris Jones 0-0-2-2, Nick Lucchesi 2-1-2-9, Louis Passero 0-0-2-2, Pasquale LaBracio 1-0-0-2, Robert Gelosa 1-0-0-2. Totals 7-3-10-33.
MENDHAM (59)
Rob Berish 9-1-6-27, Chris Campisi 0-1-2-5, Tor Cedarall 0-0-1-1, Mark Cisco 5-0-4-14, Max Ferri 0-0-1-1, Chris Hanson 0-1-0-3, Colin McAleney 2-0-0-4, Ken Poges 0-0-2-2, Tore Vicarisi 0-1-0-3. Totals 16-4-15-59.
Whippany Park 6 9 8 10 - 33
Mendham 15 17 18 9 - 59
Record: Mendham 13-3.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wrestling: Morris County Tournament Predictions!
As we get ready for the Morris County Wrestling Tournament, I wanted to take a moment and honor Jim McLean who was one of the area's best wrestler's in the early 90's. McLean died tragically in a skiing accident in Colorado. McLean graduated in 1993 and went on to to wrestle at Rutgers where he was a team captain. After that he went on to become a doctor of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. He was 33 years young.
103 -- Steve Godine (Whippany Park) vs. Mike Intile (Montville)
Godine is having a nice season and deserves to represent himself at the 103 weight break. But Mike Intile will have more points when it is all said and done.
PICK: Intile
112 -- Dave Arbelaez (Morris Knolls) vs. Eric Fajardo (Boonton)
Arbelaez beats Jeff Canfora of Delby to get to the finals. Then Eric "Mr. Fantastico" Fajardo will take down Arbelaez.
PICK: Fajardo
119 -- Clint Donnelly (Kinnelon) vs. Kevin Collins (Randolph)
Kevin "Phil" Collins earns a birth in the final round. But Clint "Eastwood" Donnelly gets the win.
PICK: Donnelly
125 -- Dan Herr (Morris Knolls) vs. Dmitri Gizas (Dover)
Dmitri Gizas squeaks into the final round of the MCT. But Dan Herr takes the prize.
PICK: Herr
130 -- Joe Ficchi (Whippany Park) vs. Tom Glancey (Mendham)
Ficchi is nursing injuries. But just like Ralph Macheo in the final round of the Karate Kid, he will save his best moves for last. Glancey has made a name for himself this year and I see him making it to the final round. But the Feech wins in dramatic fashion.
PICK: Feech
135 -- Jude Tropona (Pequannock) vs. Kyle Hussey (Parsippany)
Jude Tropona has wrestling in his blood. But Kyle Hussey is a total gamer. I see this as one of the better match's in the MCT. Hussey's dramatics over HP last week will keep him rolling.
PICK: Hussey
140 -- Kyle Bieg (Randolph) vs. Rich Szymczak (Hanover Park).
Bieg will have a tough time against Rich "The Polish Pinner" Szymczak. But he comes away with the MCT title at this weight break.
PICK: Bieg
145 -- 1. Nick Bach (Parsippany) vs. Chris Tracy (Hanover Park).
Nick Bach will upset Ponomarev to get to the final round. But Chris Tracy will take down Bach.
PICK: Tracy
152 -- Andrew Conley (Madison) vs. Jake Gruebert (Hanover Park)
Both tough wrestlers. I think both these guys are deserving of a win here. But I am picking Conley sqeaking out more points.
PICK: Conley
160 -- Zach Garripoli (Roxbury) vs. Kevin Orchard (Mendham).
Garripoli gets to the final round with ease. While Orachard works hard to eek into the final round. But I am calling Orchard works too hard to make it to the finals to let one last match get by him.
PICK: Orchard
171 -- Kyle Kaufmann (Madison) vs. Will Larusso (Roxbury).
Will Larusso has been strong all year. He will deservedly make it to the finals. But Kyle "Killer" Kaufmann will make sure Larusso stays in second place.
PICK: Kaufmann
189 -- Chris Lloyd (Morristown) vs. Brian Byrne (Mendham)
I see Sal Carfaro of WMC getting far but Byrne and Lloyd face off in the final round. Lloyd is the looming favorite in this match. But no wrestler is hotter or has been working harder coming into this tourney than Byrne. This will be one of the best matches of the night, but I see Byrne's quickness being the difference.
PICK: Byrne
215 -- Mike Suk (Randolph) vs. Adam Hodge (West Morris)
Hodge is having as nice of a high school athletic career as you could ask for. Just a tough kid with the skill and smarts. But Suk is like Mr. Perfect of the WWF in the early 90's. Every aspect of his game is polished. He will make sure he gets this year's title at the 215 weight.
PICK: Suk
Hwt -- Joe Serrao (Parsippany) vs. Doug Meringer (Hanover Park)
Serrao beat Meringer earlier in the year. But Doug "Macho Man" Meringer learned a lot from that match. Lucky for Serrao there are no top ropes in HS wrestling. But I still see Meringer winning in dramatic fashion.
PICK: Meringer
Thanks for the memories Jimmy!
Being a huge competitor, I am know McLean would be really into this tourney. And I know all the kids below will not disappoint his memory. This will be a really great tournament and there are tons of talented boys competing this year. But we've been watching all these kids and feel we have some nice predictions below. Remember, our motto at this site is heart counts more than winning. So I am really looking to see some great matches! Good luck boys and here are our predictions:
103 -- Steve Godine (Whippany Park) vs. Mike Intile (Montville)
Godine is having a nice season and deserves to represent himself at the 103 weight break. But Mike Intile will have more points when it is all said and done.
PICK: Intile
112 -- Dave Arbelaez (Morris Knolls) vs. Eric Fajardo (Boonton)
Arbelaez beats Jeff Canfora of Delby to get to the finals. Then Eric "Mr. Fantastico" Fajardo will take down Arbelaez.
PICK: Fajardo
119 -- Clint Donnelly (Kinnelon) vs. Kevin Collins (Randolph)
Kevin "Phil" Collins earns a birth in the final round. But Clint "Eastwood" Donnelly gets the win.
PICK: Donnelly
125 -- Dan Herr (Morris Knolls) vs. Dmitri Gizas (Dover)
Dmitri Gizas squeaks into the final round of the MCT. But Dan Herr takes the prize.
PICK: Herr
130 -- Joe Ficchi (Whippany Park) vs. Tom Glancey (Mendham)
Ficchi is nursing injuries. But just like Ralph Macheo in the final round of the Karate Kid, he will save his best moves for last. Glancey has made a name for himself this year and I see him making it to the final round. But the Feech wins in dramatic fashion.
PICK: Feech
135 -- Jude Tropona (Pequannock) vs. Kyle Hussey (Parsippany)
Jude Tropona has wrestling in his blood. But Kyle Hussey is a total gamer. I see this as one of the better match's in the MCT. Hussey's dramatics over HP last week will keep him rolling.
PICK: Hussey
140 -- Kyle Bieg (Randolph) vs. Rich Szymczak (Hanover Park).
Bieg will have a tough time against Rich "The Polish Pinner" Szymczak. But he comes away with the MCT title at this weight break.
PICK: Bieg
145 -- 1. Nick Bach (Parsippany) vs. Chris Tracy (Hanover Park).
Nick Bach will upset Ponomarev to get to the final round. But Chris Tracy will take down Bach.
PICK: Tracy
152 -- Andrew Conley (Madison) vs. Jake Gruebert (Hanover Park)
Both tough wrestlers. I think both these guys are deserving of a win here. But I am picking Conley sqeaking out more points.
PICK: Conley
160 -- Zach Garripoli (Roxbury) vs. Kevin Orchard (Mendham).
Garripoli gets to the final round with ease. While Orachard works hard to eek into the final round. But I am calling Orchard works too hard to make it to the finals to let one last match get by him.
PICK: Orchard
171 -- Kyle Kaufmann (Madison) vs. Will Larusso (Roxbury).
Will Larusso has been strong all year. He will deservedly make it to the finals. But Kyle "Killer" Kaufmann will make sure Larusso stays in second place.
PICK: Kaufmann
189 -- Chris Lloyd (Morristown) vs. Brian Byrne (Mendham)
I see Sal Carfaro of WMC getting far but Byrne and Lloyd face off in the final round. Lloyd is the looming favorite in this match. But no wrestler is hotter or has been working harder coming into this tourney than Byrne. This will be one of the best matches of the night, but I see Byrne's quickness being the difference.
PICK: Byrne
215 -- Mike Suk (Randolph) vs. Adam Hodge (West Morris)
Hodge is having as nice of a high school athletic career as you could ask for. Just a tough kid with the skill and smarts. But Suk is like Mr. Perfect of the WWF in the early 90's. Every aspect of his game is polished. He will make sure he gets this year's title at the 215 weight.
PICK: Suk
Hwt -- Joe Serrao (Parsippany) vs. Doug Meringer (Hanover Park)
Serrao beat Meringer earlier in the year. But Doug "Macho Man" Meringer learned a lot from that match. Lucky for Serrao there are no top ropes in HS wrestling. But I still see Meringer winning in dramatic fashion.
PICK: Meringer
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Mid-Season Hoops Awards
I thought I would give you all a sneak peak into how we are ranking the boys b-ballers so far. There actually is quite a bit more of ball left to play, so a lot can change. But if the season were to end today, this is where they are right now.
There are a ton of talented players out there. We are taking notice of all of them. Even the kids on losing teams. So if your team stinks, don't give up! We are still watching.
Enjoy where the awards are right now (remember these are not set in stone):
Mad Skillz Team (Iron Division)
Sterling Gibbs - Seton Hall Prep (awesome ball handling skills)
Ashton Gibbs - Seton Hall Prep
Russell Holloway - Mt. Olive
*Jameel Grace - Columbia
*Yvon Raymond - Columbia
*Not fair these two are on the same team.
Mad Skillz Team (Hills Division)
Adam Katz - Seton Hall Prep (this kid plays harder than anyone in the league...Hills and Iron)
Steve Connolly - Parsippany
Rob Berish - Mendham
Billy Oliver - Chatham
Dashawn Eagle - Weequahic
All Unruly Team
(where heart means more than skill)
Chris Kehoe - Summit (knocking off Chatham and MoHills wins you this award)
Justin Doniloski - MoHills (reminds me of Russell Crow in the Gladiator)
Jared Washkau - West Morris (awesome job in Columbia loss)
Mark Cisco - Mendham (this kid amazingly improves every week...love a kid that listens to his coach)
Phil Gatti - HP (this kid had me at hello...just a gritty, tough player...I would take 5 of him any day)
Who Will Make Noise Down the Stretch?
Matt Wehrhahn - West Morris
Burton Gildersleeve - Chatham
Dan Gutman - Mt. Olive
Kevin Ahern - Roxbury
Chris Jung - West Essex
Greg DePugh - Par Hills
Tariq Yaqoobi - Parsippany (Love that kid's name!)
Frank Vasquez - Dover
Greg Baruka - HP
Kyle Aiken - Randolph
Ben White - Livingston
George Bass - Motown
Fakehead - HP (I am just seeing if he is paying attention)
There are a ton of talented players out there. We are taking notice of all of them. Even the kids on losing teams. So if your team stinks, don't give up! We are still watching.
Enjoy where the awards are right now (remember these are not set in stone):
Mad Skillz Team (Iron Division)
Sterling Gibbs - Seton Hall Prep (awesome ball handling skills)
Ashton Gibbs - Seton Hall Prep
Russell Holloway - Mt. Olive
*Jameel Grace - Columbia
*Yvon Raymond - Columbia
*Not fair these two are on the same team.
Mad Skillz Team (Hills Division)
Adam Katz - Seton Hall Prep (this kid plays harder than anyone in the league...Hills and Iron)
Steve Connolly - Parsippany
Rob Berish - Mendham
Billy Oliver - Chatham
Dashawn Eagle - Weequahic
All Unruly Team
(where heart means more than skill)
Chris Kehoe - Summit (knocking off Chatham and MoHills wins you this award)
Justin Doniloski - MoHills (reminds me of Russell Crow in the Gladiator)
Jared Washkau - West Morris (awesome job in Columbia loss)
Mark Cisco - Mendham (this kid amazingly improves every week...love a kid that listens to his coach)
Phil Gatti - HP (this kid had me at hello...just a gritty, tough player...I would take 5 of him any day)
Who Will Make Noise Down the Stretch?
Matt Wehrhahn - West Morris
Burton Gildersleeve - Chatham
Dan Gutman - Mt. Olive
Kevin Ahern - Roxbury
Chris Jung - West Essex
Greg DePugh - Par Hills
Tariq Yaqoobi - Parsippany (Love that kid's name!)
Frank Vasquez - Dover
Greg Baruka - HP
Kyle Aiken - Randolph
Ben White - Livingston
George Bass - Motown
Fakehead - HP (I am just seeing if he is paying attention)
Friday, January 25, 2008
Morris County Tournament PICKS (and Results as they come in)
Friday Night
Madison at Whippany Park, 7
Who will win between these two perienial power houses. You have Whippany Park, who is arguably playing better than ever. But then you have to consider Madison and their agressive style of play. Which one will win? Who know's, but I will tell you this...someone will. (sorry for such a crappy recap, I really don't know anything about either team).
PICK: Madison (for postarity reasons)
I stand corrected! Whippany pulled it off by draining 8 tre's. Good job Whip! But hang on because you will not be facing any more teams with losing records.
Whippany Park 58,
Madison 49
MADISON (49)
Darnell Evans 4-2-2-16, Ralph Sandello 1-2-3-11, Connor Smith 0-0-0-0, Luke Delavan 0-0-0-0, Arsolan Smalls 4-0-1-9, Kyle Goldblatt 2-0-1-5, Andrew Novack 3-0-0-6, Aaron Fant 1-0-0-2. Totals 15-4-7-49.
WHIPPANY PARK (58)
Ashok Vegesna 0-4-8-20, Eric Cipolla 4-0-3-11, Nick Lucchesi 2-1-3-10, Chris Jones 3-1-0-9, Mihir Jain 1-2-0-8. Totals 10-8-14-58.
Madison 15 12 7 15 - 49
Whippany Park 7 16 13 22 - 58
Records: Madison 4-11, Whippany Park 6-8.
Saturday
Boonton at Hanover Park
Boonton should be doing better than they are doing. Steve McKinnon will put up his regular 10 points but his supporting cast needs to step up. But seriously, there is no use. I see Pete Nagy, Phil Gatti and Greg Baruka making it deep in this tournament.
PICK: HP
Holy Shnickies!!! Did Boonton even show up for this game??? Who didn't score for HP?
HP 69
Boonton 35
BOONTON (35)
Sabani Gazmend 3-0-1-7, Jon Duque 0-0-1-1, Tucker Reed 3-0-1-7, Matt Sheehan 0-0-1-1, Shane Dencker 0-1-0-3, Mac Reed 0-2-0-6, Steve McKinnon 0-1-0-3, Travis Vargo 0-0-0-0, Besnick Rustemi 0-0-0-0, Ron Prophete 2-0-3-7. Totals 8-4-7-35.
HANOVER PARK (69)
Phil Gatti 3-0-1-7, Pete Nagy 0-2-3-9, Greg Baruka 6-0-0-12, Matt Rawson 4-0-3-11, Chris Seery 3-0-2-8, Alex Gialanella 1-2-1-9, Nick Pravatta 1-0-0-2, tim Daire 2-0-0-4, Mike Geisser 1-1-0-5, Steve Chan 1-0-0-2. Totals 24-3-10-69.
Hanover Park 22 21 16 10 - 69
Boonton 9 13 8 5 - 35
Records: Hanover Park 7-6, Boonton 1-13.
2Kinnelon at West Morris
Guard Pete Ciolino will do his thing for Kinnelon. But West Morris is really starting to come together as a team led by Jared Washkau. Matt Wehrhahn is also coming on strong. I think WMC is the best kept secret going. Their best accomplishment so far? Doing the "Rope-a-Dope" to Columbia a few weeks back. Even though Columbia won, the Highlanders have been a new team ever since.
PICK: WMC
Who is hotter than West Morris Central? No one is. This is why I love HS Hoops. No other sport can a team catch fire like b-ball. I think I might officially endorse the Highlanders as the team to take the MCT Crown.
Kinnelon 41
WMC 81
Kinnelon 41
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Peter Ciolino 2 0 4 8
Kirk Davidson 0 1 0 3
Paul DeMartinis 1 0 0 2
Steve Grembowic 0 1 0 3
Doug Jenne 1 0 3 5
Matt Jenne 0 0 0 0
Andrew Lobosco 0 1 0 3
Wil Prall 0 0 7 7
Chris Severino 0 1 0 3
Ben Tabor 1 0 1 3
Dan Walco 2 0 0 4
Kyle Wiedemann 0 0 0 0
Totals: 7 4 15
West Morris 81
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Brett Bononno 4 1 0 11
Josh Boyd 4 0 0 8
Nick Famularo 1 0 3 5
Anthony Germinaro 1 3 0 11
Derek Kambour 0 1 0 3
Brent Roehrich 2 0 0 4
Justin Sapir 2 0 3 7
Jared Washkau 4 1 4 15
Matt Wehrhahn 2 0 1 5
Tim Drzewinski 3 1 0 9
Brendan Thomas 0 0 0 0
Chris Donovan 0 0 0 0
Joe Shoemaker 2 0 1 5
Totals: 25 7 12
West Morris (6-8) 16 24 25 16 81
Kinnelon (3-11) 11 7 6 17 41
2:30Dover at Montville
The question in this game is how many points will Travis Warech have. I say, 25. I bet two Montville players will score more than the whole Dover team. Sorry to get your feathers ruffled Dover but if you you need to start winning games.
PICK: Montville
Does anybody know a bookie that would take bets on these games. I am a freaking guru when it comes to picking HS b-ball games. I am like 90% all the time!
Montville 51
Dover 36
Dover 36
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Michael Brown 4 0 1 9
Jacquan Jones 0 0 2 2
Raymond Negron 2 0 0 4
Lenny Quiceno 0 0 0 0
Ben Rodriquez 0 0 0 0
Henry Saltos 4 0 8 16
Sotiris Spiliotopoulos 0 0 0 0
Anthony Tobar 2 0 0 4
Frank Vazquez 0 0 0 0
Totals: 12 0 11
Montville 51
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Aakash Dheri 0 0 0 0
Jordan Gajdos 0 0 4 4
Ryan Gajdos 0 0 2 2
Robert Jagessar 1 1 0 5
Brian Keane 0 0 0 0
Joe Kim 2 0 1 5
Justin Kuriawa 0 0 0 0
Chris Lacy 0 0 0 0
Derek Margiotta 0 0 0 0
Rob Simeonglou 0 0 0 0
Eric Toporoff 3 0 1 7
Matt Vinci 5 0 3 13
Travis Warech 4 0 7 15
Totals: 15 1 18
Montville (10-7) 16 12 6 17 51
Dover (0-15) 5 5 6 20 36
Rebounds: Montville (Travis Warech 6, Joe Kim 5, Chris Lacy 4, Matt Vinci 4, Eric Toporoff 2, Aakash Dheri, Ryan Gajdos, Robert Jagessar) .
Assists: Montville (Joe Kim 5, Ryan Gajdos 4, Travis Warech 4, Matt Vinci 2) .
Blocks: Montville (Ryan Gajdos, Chris Lacy, Eric Toporoff, Travis Warech) .
Steals: Montville (Travis Warech 5, Joe Kim 2, Ryan Gajdos, Matt Vinci) .
5Randolph at Morristown
Kyle Aiken needs to get his team going. The MCT is a new season. This tournament can heal a team up. Randolph couldn't ask for a better match up either. Morristown has been having a tough year, despite having the talent. But Georgie Bass and Mike Colvin have been starting to get their groove on lately.
PICK: Morristown
Morristown actually has an outside chance of taking this tournament. They have been under achieving all year long mostly bc of injuries. Now they are starting to play like everyone thought they would.
Randolph 58
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Kyle Aiken 8 3 4 29
Brian Berger 0 0 0 0
Rich Embden 3 0 1 7
Mike Harris 1 0 0 2
Scott Kralstein 6 0 1 13
Saban Mrkulic 2 1 0 7
Totals: 20 4 6
Morristown 74
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Mike Bailey 0 0 2 2
Drew Barone 0 0 2 2
George Bass 5 3 1 20
Tim Breeman 6 0 2 14
Michael Colvin 2 0 2 6
Kurt Davis 4 0 2 10
Jarett Neely 4 0 2 10
Justin Pearson 4 0 2 10
Totals: 25 3 15
Morristown (4-11) 21 19 16 18 74
Randolph (2-12) 13 14 15 16 58
5Morris Knolls at Pequannock
Morris Knolls should be playing much better than they are. I know Knolls is a hockey town, but come on. I would like to see Knolls get it together a little bit and give their fans something to cheer about. But there are two reasons why they won't on this day: Nick Buonforte Jordan Tabackman.
PICK: Pequannock
Wow, Knolls actually suprised me with this one. I am glad they actually decided to show up. They played strong all game. That is the type of thing we take notice of at this site. Keep it up Knolls. If you played like you did yesterday, you may catch someone by suprise next week.
Pequannock 51
Morris Knolls 57
Morris Knolls 57
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
J.J. Boylan 4 0 2 10
Kellan Cardio 2 0 1 5
Brandon Danzy 2 0 1 5
Mark DeFeo 0 0 0 0
Chris Diaz 2 0 0 4
Pete Lionetti 5 0 6 16
Sean Pauls 0 5 0 15
Matt Trivigno 1 0 0 2
Totals: 16 5 10
Pequannock 51
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Matt Breen 3 0 0 6
Nick Buonforte 5 1 3 16
Martin Kelly 1 0 3 5
Jordan Tabakman 5 0 7 17
John Vedovino 0 0 2 2
Alex Hemler 2 0 1 5
Totals: 16 1 16
Pequannock (6-10) 13 15 14 9 51
Morris Knolls (3-13) 13 18 14 12 57
Rebounds: Morris Knolls (J.J. Boylan 11, Pete Lionetti 11, Brandon Danzy 5, Sean Pauls 4, Kellan Cardio 2, Mark DeFeo, Matt Trivigno) .
Assists: Morris Knolls (Brandon Danzy 3, Sean Pauls 3, Kellan Cardio 2, Chris Diaz 2, Pete Lionetti 2) .
Blocks:
Steals: Morris Knolls (J.J. Boylan, Brandon Danzy, Chris Diaz) .
5:30Butler at Morristown-Beard
Don't bother staying up late to watch this nail biter. By the way, what the hell is a beard? Is it like facial hair? That doesn't make sense. Seriously, where did that name come from?
PICK: Beard
Still no clarity on the origins of Beards name. But I was money with this pick. Larmond seems to be continuing his atletic dominence over their at Beard.
Beard 66
Butler 38
Butler 38
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Jeff Adubato 1 0 0 2
Mike Fitzpatrick 1 0 0 2
Charles Gripenburg 4 0 1 9
Ken Jablonski 0 0 1 1
Brendan Kelly 3 2 0 12
Ryan Lowry 3 2 0 12
Totals: 12 4 2
Morristown-Beard 66
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Carter Daly 2 0 0 4
Sean Fetterman 2 0 0 4
Brandon Jefferson 3 0 0 6
Aljanan Jones 4 1 5 16
Colin Larmond Jr. 6 0 8 20
Kenneth Monteith 0 1 0 3
Adrian O'Connell 1 0 0 2
Jiyon Ruffin 2 1 2 9
Totals: 20 3 15
Morristown-Beard (8-6) 8 14 26 18 66
Butler (0-14) 5 5 13 15 38
7Parsippany at Parsippany Hills, TBA
I actually think this will be the best game of the prelims. Cross town rivals aside, Steve Connolly and Tariq Yadababbaqoobi have really been gelling lately. They can score with anyone. All they need is to keep the opponents score down and their record is a lot different. But my boy Peppy DePugh is doing the job for the Vikes. I see Hills winning, but Parsippany won't suprise me if Parsippany pulls it off.
PICK: Hills
You may be asking your self, "Self, how is Unruly so good at picking HS Hoops games?" The answer is simple folks, I am just that good! :-) Actually, there are really no suprises this early in the tourney. The big upsets come next week and the week after. Sorry Par Hills, but I don't see you moving past the next round.
Par Hills 53
Parsippany 41
Parsippany 41
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Steven Connolly 4 0 2 10
John Kaminski 0 1 0 3
Ameen Kandil 1 0 0 2
Will McLean 0 0 0 0
Matt Mundanchira 2 1 0 7
Tariq Yaqoobi 1 3 4 15
Ross Schultheis 0 0 0 0
Nick Tsintadze 0 0 0 0
Totals: 8 5 6
Parsippany Hills 53
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Brian Becher 2 0 1 5
Blake Cruz 2 0 1 5
Greg DePugh 1 0 1 3
Greg Solomine 1 5 4 21
Justin Thomas 6 0 4 16
X Karger 0 1 0 3
Totals: 12 6 11
Parsippany Hills (5-9) 14 16 7 16 53
Parsippany (3-12) 11 15 6 9 41
Morris Area Scoring Leaders
Pat Sullivan Delbarton 21.0
Russell Holloway Mount Olive 20.5
Rob Berish Mendham 20.1
Billy Oliver Chatham 17.8
Adam Katz Morris Hills 17.8
Jake Tripucka Mt. Lakes 17.6
Jared Washkau West Morris 17.4
Sam Mushman Pope John 16.6
Ryan Gresik Newton 16.1
Travis Warech Montville 15.8
Steve Connolly Parsippany 15.7
Scott Wagenblast Lenape Valley 15.7
Nick Buonforte Pequannock 15.6
Matt Tobin Hopatcong 15.6
Jordan Tabackman Pequannock 15.5
Mark Cisco Mendham 15.4
Derek Hall Jefferson 15.3
Justin Doniloski Morris Hills 15.2
Dave Crawn Newton 14.9
Nick Lenker Sparta 14.3
Kyle Aiken Randolph 14.1
J. T. Wilson Pope John 13.9
Kevin Ahern Roxbury 13.8
Tim Williams Morr. Cath 13.8
Phil Gatti Hanover Park 13.6
Kyle Mascilak Sparta 13.2
Madison at Whippany Park, 7
Who will win between these two perienial power houses. You have Whippany Park, who is arguably playing better than ever. But then you have to consider Madison and their agressive style of play. Which one will win? Who know's, but I will tell you this...someone will. (sorry for such a crappy recap, I really don't know anything about either team).
PICK: Madison (for postarity reasons)
I stand corrected! Whippany pulled it off by draining 8 tre's. Good job Whip! But hang on because you will not be facing any more teams with losing records.
Whippany Park 58,
Madison 49
MADISON (49)
Darnell Evans 4-2-2-16, Ralph Sandello 1-2-3-11, Connor Smith 0-0-0-0, Luke Delavan 0-0-0-0, Arsolan Smalls 4-0-1-9, Kyle Goldblatt 2-0-1-5, Andrew Novack 3-0-0-6, Aaron Fant 1-0-0-2. Totals 15-4-7-49.
WHIPPANY PARK (58)
Ashok Vegesna 0-4-8-20, Eric Cipolla 4-0-3-11, Nick Lucchesi 2-1-3-10, Chris Jones 3-1-0-9, Mihir Jain 1-2-0-8. Totals 10-8-14-58.
Madison 15 12 7 15 - 49
Whippany Park 7 16 13 22 - 58
Records: Madison 4-11, Whippany Park 6-8.
Saturday
Boonton at Hanover Park
Boonton should be doing better than they are doing. Steve McKinnon will put up his regular 10 points but his supporting cast needs to step up. But seriously, there is no use. I see Pete Nagy, Phil Gatti and Greg Baruka making it deep in this tournament.
PICK: HP
Holy Shnickies!!! Did Boonton even show up for this game??? Who didn't score for HP?
HP 69
Boonton 35
BOONTON (35)
Sabani Gazmend 3-0-1-7, Jon Duque 0-0-1-1, Tucker Reed 3-0-1-7, Matt Sheehan 0-0-1-1, Shane Dencker 0-1-0-3, Mac Reed 0-2-0-6, Steve McKinnon 0-1-0-3, Travis Vargo 0-0-0-0, Besnick Rustemi 0-0-0-0, Ron Prophete 2-0-3-7. Totals 8-4-7-35.
HANOVER PARK (69)
Phil Gatti 3-0-1-7, Pete Nagy 0-2-3-9, Greg Baruka 6-0-0-12, Matt Rawson 4-0-3-11, Chris Seery 3-0-2-8, Alex Gialanella 1-2-1-9, Nick Pravatta 1-0-0-2, tim Daire 2-0-0-4, Mike Geisser 1-1-0-5, Steve Chan 1-0-0-2. Totals 24-3-10-69.
Hanover Park 22 21 16 10 - 69
Boonton 9 13 8 5 - 35
Records: Hanover Park 7-6, Boonton 1-13.
2Kinnelon at West Morris
Guard Pete Ciolino will do his thing for Kinnelon. But West Morris is really starting to come together as a team led by Jared Washkau. Matt Wehrhahn is also coming on strong. I think WMC is the best kept secret going. Their best accomplishment so far? Doing the "Rope-a-Dope" to Columbia a few weeks back. Even though Columbia won, the Highlanders have been a new team ever since.
PICK: WMC
Who is hotter than West Morris Central? No one is. This is why I love HS Hoops. No other sport can a team catch fire like b-ball. I think I might officially endorse the Highlanders as the team to take the MCT Crown.
Kinnelon 41
WMC 81
Kinnelon 41
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Peter Ciolino 2 0 4 8
Kirk Davidson 0 1 0 3
Paul DeMartinis 1 0 0 2
Steve Grembowic 0 1 0 3
Doug Jenne 1 0 3 5
Matt Jenne 0 0 0 0
Andrew Lobosco 0 1 0 3
Wil Prall 0 0 7 7
Chris Severino 0 1 0 3
Ben Tabor 1 0 1 3
Dan Walco 2 0 0 4
Kyle Wiedemann 0 0 0 0
Totals: 7 4 15
West Morris 81
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Brett Bononno 4 1 0 11
Josh Boyd 4 0 0 8
Nick Famularo 1 0 3 5
Anthony Germinaro 1 3 0 11
Derek Kambour 0 1 0 3
Brent Roehrich 2 0 0 4
Justin Sapir 2 0 3 7
Jared Washkau 4 1 4 15
Matt Wehrhahn 2 0 1 5
Tim Drzewinski 3 1 0 9
Brendan Thomas 0 0 0 0
Chris Donovan 0 0 0 0
Joe Shoemaker 2 0 1 5
Totals: 25 7 12
West Morris (6-8) 16 24 25 16 81
Kinnelon (3-11) 11 7 6 17 41
2:30Dover at Montville
The question in this game is how many points will Travis Warech have. I say, 25. I bet two Montville players will score more than the whole Dover team. Sorry to get your feathers ruffled Dover but if you you need to start winning games.
PICK: Montville
Does anybody know a bookie that would take bets on these games. I am a freaking guru when it comes to picking HS b-ball games. I am like 90% all the time!
Montville 51
Dover 36
Dover 36
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Michael Brown 4 0 1 9
Jacquan Jones 0 0 2 2
Raymond Negron 2 0 0 4
Lenny Quiceno 0 0 0 0
Ben Rodriquez 0 0 0 0
Henry Saltos 4 0 8 16
Sotiris Spiliotopoulos 0 0 0 0
Anthony Tobar 2 0 0 4
Frank Vazquez 0 0 0 0
Totals: 12 0 11
Montville 51
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Aakash Dheri 0 0 0 0
Jordan Gajdos 0 0 4 4
Ryan Gajdos 0 0 2 2
Robert Jagessar 1 1 0 5
Brian Keane 0 0 0 0
Joe Kim 2 0 1 5
Justin Kuriawa 0 0 0 0
Chris Lacy 0 0 0 0
Derek Margiotta 0 0 0 0
Rob Simeonglou 0 0 0 0
Eric Toporoff 3 0 1 7
Matt Vinci 5 0 3 13
Travis Warech 4 0 7 15
Totals: 15 1 18
Montville (10-7) 16 12 6 17 51
Dover (0-15) 5 5 6 20 36
Rebounds: Montville (Travis Warech 6, Joe Kim 5, Chris Lacy 4, Matt Vinci 4, Eric Toporoff 2, Aakash Dheri, Ryan Gajdos, Robert Jagessar) .
Assists: Montville (Joe Kim 5, Ryan Gajdos 4, Travis Warech 4, Matt Vinci 2) .
Blocks: Montville (Ryan Gajdos, Chris Lacy, Eric Toporoff, Travis Warech) .
Steals: Montville (Travis Warech 5, Joe Kim 2, Ryan Gajdos, Matt Vinci) .
5Randolph at Morristown
Kyle Aiken needs to get his team going. The MCT is a new season. This tournament can heal a team up. Randolph couldn't ask for a better match up either. Morristown has been having a tough year, despite having the talent. But Georgie Bass and Mike Colvin have been starting to get their groove on lately.
PICK: Morristown
Morristown actually has an outside chance of taking this tournament. They have been under achieving all year long mostly bc of injuries. Now they are starting to play like everyone thought they would.
Randolph 58
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Kyle Aiken 8 3 4 29
Brian Berger 0 0 0 0
Rich Embden 3 0 1 7
Mike Harris 1 0 0 2
Scott Kralstein 6 0 1 13
Saban Mrkulic 2 1 0 7
Totals: 20 4 6
Morristown 74
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Mike Bailey 0 0 2 2
Drew Barone 0 0 2 2
George Bass 5 3 1 20
Tim Breeman 6 0 2 14
Michael Colvin 2 0 2 6
Kurt Davis 4 0 2 10
Jarett Neely 4 0 2 10
Justin Pearson 4 0 2 10
Totals: 25 3 15
Morristown (4-11) 21 19 16 18 74
Randolph (2-12) 13 14 15 16 58
5Morris Knolls at Pequannock
Morris Knolls should be playing much better than they are. I know Knolls is a hockey town, but come on. I would like to see Knolls get it together a little bit and give their fans something to cheer about. But there are two reasons why they won't on this day: Nick Buonforte Jordan Tabackman.
PICK: Pequannock
Wow, Knolls actually suprised me with this one. I am glad they actually decided to show up. They played strong all game. That is the type of thing we take notice of at this site. Keep it up Knolls. If you played like you did yesterday, you may catch someone by suprise next week.
Pequannock 51
Morris Knolls 57
Morris Knolls 57
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
J.J. Boylan 4 0 2 10
Kellan Cardio 2 0 1 5
Brandon Danzy 2 0 1 5
Mark DeFeo 0 0 0 0
Chris Diaz 2 0 0 4
Pete Lionetti 5 0 6 16
Sean Pauls 0 5 0 15
Matt Trivigno 1 0 0 2
Totals: 16 5 10
Pequannock 51
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Matt Breen 3 0 0 6
Nick Buonforte 5 1 3 16
Martin Kelly 1 0 3 5
Jordan Tabakman 5 0 7 17
John Vedovino 0 0 2 2
Alex Hemler 2 0 1 5
Totals: 16 1 16
Pequannock (6-10) 13 15 14 9 51
Morris Knolls (3-13) 13 18 14 12 57
Rebounds: Morris Knolls (J.J. Boylan 11, Pete Lionetti 11, Brandon Danzy 5, Sean Pauls 4, Kellan Cardio 2, Mark DeFeo, Matt Trivigno) .
Assists: Morris Knolls (Brandon Danzy 3, Sean Pauls 3, Kellan Cardio 2, Chris Diaz 2, Pete Lionetti 2) .
Blocks:
Steals: Morris Knolls (J.J. Boylan, Brandon Danzy, Chris Diaz) .
5:30Butler at Morristown-Beard
Don't bother staying up late to watch this nail biter. By the way, what the hell is a beard? Is it like facial hair? That doesn't make sense. Seriously, where did that name come from?
PICK: Beard
Still no clarity on the origins of Beards name. But I was money with this pick. Larmond seems to be continuing his atletic dominence over their at Beard.
Beard 66
Butler 38
Butler 38
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Jeff Adubato 1 0 0 2
Mike Fitzpatrick 1 0 0 2
Charles Gripenburg 4 0 1 9
Ken Jablonski 0 0 1 1
Brendan Kelly 3 2 0 12
Ryan Lowry 3 2 0 12
Totals: 12 4 2
Morristown-Beard 66
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Carter Daly 2 0 0 4
Sean Fetterman 2 0 0 4
Brandon Jefferson 3 0 0 6
Aljanan Jones 4 1 5 16
Colin Larmond Jr. 6 0 8 20
Kenneth Monteith 0 1 0 3
Adrian O'Connell 1 0 0 2
Jiyon Ruffin 2 1 2 9
Totals: 20 3 15
Morristown-Beard (8-6) 8 14 26 18 66
Butler (0-14) 5 5 13 15 38
7Parsippany at Parsippany Hills, TBA
I actually think this will be the best game of the prelims. Cross town rivals aside, Steve Connolly and Tariq Yadababbaqoobi have really been gelling lately. They can score with anyone. All they need is to keep the opponents score down and their record is a lot different. But my boy Peppy DePugh is doing the job for the Vikes. I see Hills winning, but Parsippany won't suprise me if Parsippany pulls it off.
PICK: Hills
You may be asking your self, "Self, how is Unruly so good at picking HS Hoops games?" The answer is simple folks, I am just that good! :-) Actually, there are really no suprises this early in the tourney. The big upsets come next week and the week after. Sorry Par Hills, but I don't see you moving past the next round.
Par Hills 53
Parsippany 41
Parsippany 41
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Steven Connolly 4 0 2 10
John Kaminski 0 1 0 3
Ameen Kandil 1 0 0 2
Will McLean 0 0 0 0
Matt Mundanchira 2 1 0 7
Tariq Yaqoobi 1 3 4 15
Ross Schultheis 0 0 0 0
Nick Tsintadze 0 0 0 0
Totals: 8 5 6
Parsippany Hills 53
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Brian Becher 2 0 1 5
Blake Cruz 2 0 1 5
Greg DePugh 1 0 1 3
Greg Solomine 1 5 4 21
Justin Thomas 6 0 4 16
X Karger 0 1 0 3
Totals: 12 6 11
Parsippany Hills (5-9) 14 16 7 16 53
Parsippany (3-12) 11 15 6 9 41
Morris Area Scoring Leaders
Pat Sullivan Delbarton 21.0
Russell Holloway Mount Olive 20.5
Rob Berish Mendham 20.1
Billy Oliver Chatham 17.8
Adam Katz Morris Hills 17.8
Jake Tripucka Mt. Lakes 17.6
Jared Washkau West Morris 17.4
Sam Mushman Pope John 16.6
Ryan Gresik Newton 16.1
Travis Warech Montville 15.8
Steve Connolly Parsippany 15.7
Scott Wagenblast Lenape Valley 15.7
Nick Buonforte Pequannock 15.6
Matt Tobin Hopatcong 15.6
Jordan Tabackman Pequannock 15.5
Mark Cisco Mendham 15.4
Derek Hall Jefferson 15.3
Justin Doniloski Morris Hills 15.2
Dave Crawn Newton 14.9
Nick Lenker Sparta 14.3
Kyle Aiken Randolph 14.1
J. T. Wilson Pope John 13.9
Kevin Ahern Roxbury 13.8
Tim Williams Morr. Cath 13.8
Phil Gatti Hanover Park 13.6
Kyle Mascilak Sparta 13.2
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ABC's of the Iron Hills Conference: Mid-Winter Edition
A. Alan Buzbee gets the nod here. This stellar athlete would be getting tons of press right now but because of an early football season injury he had to sit out his entire football and basketball season. Still he got a D1 scholarship to University of New Hampshire based solely on his junior year. Ashton Gibbs misses him on the B-Ball court. Just remember Buzbee's name. You might be hearing it on a national level some day.
B. Sarah Bella, Mendham's record breaking shot putter. Every week she is breaking meet records. Actually, the only records left to beat are her own...which she is doing.
C. Columbia Boys B-Ball. What can you say? Ranked 7th in the State and Undefeated. Nothing is fazing this group.
D. Chris Dart, Chatham Swimming. Just qualified of the Olympic Trials in the 100 meter backstroke.
E. Elena Noonan is kicking butt for Parsippany Girls Hoops averaging 19 points per game.
F. Mike Franklin from Mendham track. Franklin is running distance races in blazing times.
G. Asthon Gibbs of Seton Hall Prep. Already heading to Pitt on a full ride and having an outstanding season.
H. Also known as the LeBron James of the Iron Hills (at least on this site he is), Russell Holloway of Mt. Olive will be scoring his 1,000 in the next few games is averaging 21 points per.
I. Emily Peel has brought her West Morris Central girls hoops team to an outstanding 14th rank in the state.
J. Jared Washkau of West Morris Central almost single handidly took down the undefeated Columbia Cougars the other night under his home court.
K. Adam Katz has already broken 1,000 for the Morris Hills Scarlet Knights.
L. Chris Lloyd of Morristown is one of the better wrestlers in the area at 189.
M. Morris County High School Sports (aka: http://www.mchss.net/) just does a fabulous job of providing awesome footage of the local coverage in Morris County. He also sells pictures of kids in action. And he is very affordable!
N. Nick Vena, also known as the Freshman Pheonom. Vena has broken the freshman record for the shot put in the country. That is the United States record.
O. Billy Oliver averages 18 points per for his Chatham Cougars.
P. Morris Hills' Sean Pohorence is rocking Winter Track for the number one ranked team in the conference.
Q. Question? How is it that Columbia has two of the most talented kids in the conference in Jameel Grace and Yvon Raymond? Its not fair.
R. Mendham's Rob Berish has broken out of his shell, bringing his team to the number one team in the County. Mark Cisco's help is not hurting.
S. Seton Hall Prep Hockey: 4th best in the state at 6-4-2.
T. Roxbury Wrestling is the twelfth ranked team in the state at 11-1.
U. Hanover Park's Girls B-Ball coach Doug Wear secured his 100 victory of his career last week. He is following in the footsteps of his father, Wendle, who was the girls head man for decades.
V. Mendham distance runner Laura Vigilante is getting stronger as the weeks go on. At only a sophomore, Vigilante has forgotten how to come in anything besides First Place, as she has done several times this year in the 1600 and the 3200.
W. The West Morris girls b-ball team is a whopping 10-0 and ranked 16th in the state.
X. Ali Mix has taken his E.O. team to 7-3 and has the talent to pick off Columbia if they play their cards right.
Y. Roxbury girls hoops star Cori Younghans is draining 16 points per game. She might very well be the most talented girls hoops player in the conference.
Z. ZZZ...that is what the Morris Knolls and Randolph boys basketball teams have done to me this year.
B. Sarah Bella, Mendham's record breaking shot putter. Every week she is breaking meet records. Actually, the only records left to beat are her own...which she is doing.
C. Columbia Boys B-Ball. What can you say? Ranked 7th in the State and Undefeated. Nothing is fazing this group.
D. Chris Dart, Chatham Swimming. Just qualified of the Olympic Trials in the 100 meter backstroke.
E. Elena Noonan is kicking butt for Parsippany Girls Hoops averaging 19 points per game.
F. Mike Franklin from Mendham track. Franklin is running distance races in blazing times.
G. Asthon Gibbs of Seton Hall Prep. Already heading to Pitt on a full ride and having an outstanding season.
H. Also known as the LeBron James of the Iron Hills (at least on this site he is), Russell Holloway of Mt. Olive will be scoring his 1,000 in the next few games is averaging 21 points per.
I. Emily Peel has brought her West Morris Central girls hoops team to an outstanding 14th rank in the state.
J. Jared Washkau of West Morris Central almost single handidly took down the undefeated Columbia Cougars the other night under his home court.
K. Adam Katz has already broken 1,000 for the Morris Hills Scarlet Knights.
L. Chris Lloyd of Morristown is one of the better wrestlers in the area at 189.
M. Morris County High School Sports (aka: http://www.mchss.net/) just does a fabulous job of providing awesome footage of the local coverage in Morris County. He also sells pictures of kids in action. And he is very affordable!
N. Nick Vena, also known as the Freshman Pheonom. Vena has broken the freshman record for the shot put in the country. That is the United States record.
O. Billy Oliver averages 18 points per for his Chatham Cougars.
P. Morris Hills' Sean Pohorence is rocking Winter Track for the number one ranked team in the conference.
Q. Question? How is it that Columbia has two of the most talented kids in the conference in Jameel Grace and Yvon Raymond? Its not fair.
R. Mendham's Rob Berish has broken out of his shell, bringing his team to the number one team in the County. Mark Cisco's help is not hurting.
S. Seton Hall Prep Hockey: 4th best in the state at 6-4-2.
T. Roxbury Wrestling is the twelfth ranked team in the state at 11-1.
U. Hanover Park's Girls B-Ball coach Doug Wear secured his 100 victory of his career last week. He is following in the footsteps of his father, Wendle, who was the girls head man for decades.
V. Mendham distance runner Laura Vigilante is getting stronger as the weeks go on. At only a sophomore, Vigilante has forgotten how to come in anything besides First Place, as she has done several times this year in the 1600 and the 3200.
W. The West Morris girls b-ball team is a whopping 10-0 and ranked 16th in the state.
X. Ali Mix has taken his E.O. team to 7-3 and has the talent to pick off Columbia if they play their cards right.
Y. Roxbury girls hoops star Cori Younghans is draining 16 points per game. She might very well be the most talented girls hoops player in the conference.
Z. ZZZ...that is what the Morris Knolls and Randolph boys basketball teams have done to me this year.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Racism Go Away!
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
That is my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quote of all time. It just says so much about who Dr. King really was and what his dream was. He wanted equality for man kind. He was not just talking about black and white either. He was talking about the whole human race. He really wasn't talking about American when he was saying nation. He was talking about the world.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
That is my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quote of all time. It just says so much about who Dr. King really was and what his dream was. He wanted equality for man kind. He was not just talking about black and white either. He was talking about the whole human race. He really wasn't talking about American when he was saying nation. He was talking about the world.I actually think in the U.S. we have come a long way. At least from the 1800's. And compared to other countries. But we do have a long way to go to get to where Dr. King was talking about where we should be.
But I really would like to talk about one thing that seems to something that helps us to forget about racism and inequality. Something that helps us to see the same color and not see religious differences. Something that helps us just be together as humans and enjoy ourselves.
That something is SPORTS.
A few years ago I was coming home from a business trip in Boston. On the way come, cutting through Connecticut, I was listing to the Stephen A. Smith radio show on ESPN Radio. He was talking about how crappy the Knicks were doing. I had a long stretch of CT to drive through so I decided call in and join the vent-fest of callers.
I must have waited on hold for 45 minutes. The call screener kept coming on the phone and telling me to hang in there, so I did.
Meanwhile, Stephen A.'s topic switch from the Knicks to some stupid comment that Bryant Gumble said on HBO about racism. I forget what the details of the story was, but it was maddening that Gumble was bringing it up because he is more white than I am.
But I digress. While I was on hold the call screener came back on my line and asked me if I could talk about this topic. He said I had about 15 more minutes. So I had time to think about it.
So I really tried to think about racism and why we were talking about it on sports radio. But as I thought about it, I thought that sports seems to have a way to neutralize racism. I thought that in sports I never hear somebody say, "he's a pretty good player, for a black guy" or "that Chinese guy can really run". It is more like, "Michael Strahan is a freaking great." The thought that he is an African American just doesn't come up.
Finally, Stephen A. came on the line and I was the first caller after he gave his rant of whatever Gumble commented on. I was able to blurt out to Stephen A. my thoughts of racism and that the topic does not belong on sports radio.
He commented that Gumble had some good points and blah blah blah. I remember telling Stephen A. that it was a dull topic and that we should rather be talking about bad the Knicks are.
Then I remember Stephen A. commented to me that racism will not go away and that we all need to talk about it more. Then I remember I got one last comment on the air and I said in annoyed voice, "It's a boring topic!"
But don't get me wrong, I am not saying that racism is boring or should be ignored. All I am saying is that a better topic would be that sports has done wonderful things for racism. In fact, if it weren't for sports, we would probably still be 75 years behind where we are today.
Think about it, the negro baseball leagues had such talented players that Major League Baseball could not help to want that those players in their leagues. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier but he wouldn't have if he stunk. Same thing with football. Arther Ashe was such a great tennis player that he because a pioneer to force people to consider African Americans has prospects.
But after my call with Stephen A. I thought about what he said. "We need to talk about it more.", is what he said. I really pondered what he said. But then I thought, maybe he needs to talk about it more, but "we" do not. If he needs to get past hurts to him or his ancestors, than by all means, talk about it. But I think in the setting of therapy or a support group would be better, not on the radio.
Again I am not trying to be cold. I just think amongst the industry that he and I are in, we should celebrate what we have done for race. I think Dr. King would smile and nod at what sports has done for racism.
Morgan Freeman was on 60 Minutes a few years ago. Mike Wallace asked him some questions about racism. Freeman grew up in the poor sections of Mississippi. He grew up in the heartland of the Klu Klux Klan. But Freeman, did not stop smiling when asked about racism.
In fact, Freeman said something I will never forget. He said, "Racism will go away when we stop talking about it."
At the time, I thought that was a funny thing to be coming from an African American. But it made sense. If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist.
I don't think Freeman was talking about stuffing it under the rug. I think what he meant was if we constantly bring it up for unwarranted reasons, than we are just fueling anger. What is the point of that? That is not what Dr. King was talking about.
However, racism is real...we cannot forget it, ever. Dr. King never wanted us to forget it. But we have to remember what his dream was about; "To be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character."
But today, on Dr. King's birthday, instead of pondering about racism, why don't we think of how far we have come? I say we celebrate sports today, and sports role in fighting racism!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
FRIDAY NIGHT ROUND-UP
Columbia 63, West Morris 62
Jared Washkau had just an amazing game scoring 31 points in a near defeat of the undefeated Columbia Cougars. The Wolfpack stunned the Cougars all game, and held their leading scorer Jameel Grace to only 7 points.
Columbia (11-0) 21 18 15 9 63
Morris Hills 64, Mendham 74
The stars are really starting to align for Mendham. When I say stars I mean, Rob Berish and Mark Cisco. After playing a very agressive b-ball game vs. the mighty Morris Hills, the Minutemen took the win and has now improved to 9-2. The Itailian Stalions Steve Ciampaglio and Chris Campisi are also stepping up huge for the Minutemen. Campisi drained four 3-pointers for his team.
What happened to Morris Hills? Well they were not push overs in this game, Adam Katz drained 25 points, including 11 from the line. Justin D. added 11 and Kellner drained another 15.
Mendham's strategy in this game was agressive and to foul and foul often and let Mo-Hills beat them at the line. MoHills just could not keep up. "They came into this game with an agressive game plan and it worked for them." Katz said after the game. "Cisco had a really big game for them and the Itailian Stallions were too much for us" (Katz didn't say any of that)
MORRIS HILLS (62)
Adam Katz 4-2-11-25, Andrew Zelnick 0-0-0-0, Justin Doniloski 5-0-1-11, Dan Kellner 5-1-2-15, Matt Marotta 2-0-1-5, Shane O'Shea 0-0-0-0, Joe O'Shea 2-0-2-6, Billy Bowan 0-0-0-0, Doug Dudek 0-0-0-0. Totals 18-3-17-62.
MENDHAM (74)
Rob Berish 7-0-8-22, Mark Cisco 11-0-4-26, Chris Hanson 0-0-3-3, Steve Ciampaglio 3-0-4-10, Caleb Demoss 0-0-0-0, Chris Campisi 0-4-0-12, Kent Poges 0-0-1-1. Totals 21-4-20-74.
Morris Hills 18 14 11 19 - 62
Mendham 19 16 20 19 - 74
Records: Mendham 9-2, Morris Hills 9-3.
Dover 36, Chatham 64
Dover continued their streak after their loss against Chatham last night improving to 0-10. Sotoris Spiliotopolis, also known as, The Greek God, scored 8 points while Anthony Tobar drained another 19.
Of course, Billy Oliver scored 19 and brought his team to an impressive 9-3. But the real story is the streak.
Tobar said after the game, "Our goal was to keep the streak alive. We are just happy we were able to do that. It was fairly close going into the fourth quarter, but coach only allowed us to score four points in the fourth to ensure the streak would stay intact." (Tobar didn't say that...nor would he probably ever say that)
DOVER (36)
Jaquan Jones 0-0-1-1, Anthony Tobar 8-1-0-19, Sotoris Spiliotopolis 4-0-0-8, Henry Saltos 0-0-1-1, Alejandro Hernandez 2-1-0-7. Totals 14-2-2-36.
CHATHAM (64)
Billy Oliver 5-2-3-19, Burton Gildersleeve 2-3-0-10, Josh Toolajian 0-3-1-10, Pat Butler 3-0-0-6, Mike Sweeney 3-0-0-6, J.P. Carlton 2-0-0-4, Kirk Thiel 1-0-0-2, Kevin Murphy 2-0-3-7. Totals 18-7-7-64.
Dover 6 13 13 4 - 36
Chatham 17 12 16 16 - 64
Records: Dover 0-10, Chatham 9-3.
Seton Hall 60, Roxbury 54
Ashton Gibbs scored 26 points (boring), while his freshman brother added 11 more in a win vs. Roxbury. Roxbury made a big push in the fourth quarter, scoring 19. Kevin Ahern was money from out side draining 4 tre's. But they just could not hold off the Gibbs Bros.
"We have a good system, my brother Sterling passes me the ball and I score." Ashton Gibbs said after the game. "Sometimes I pass it back to him and he scores. It seems to work for our team." (Gibbs didn't say that)
SETON HALL PREP (60)
Ashton Gibbs 8-1-7-26, Jimmy Burke 2-1-2-9, Tony Peters 3-0-1-7, Rahmaan Patton 2-0-3-7, Brendan Kirby 0-0-0-0, Sterling Gibbs 1-3-0-11. Totals 16-5-13-60.
ROXBURY (54)
Alex Szarejko 3-1-0-9, Eric Vaccacio 1-2-0-8, Brian Mohr 2-0-0-4, Kevin Ahern 2-4-0-16, Tom Rosatelli 1-1-0-5, Angelo Mangiro 4-0-2-10, Matt Goss 0-0-2-2. Totals 13-8-4-54.
Seton Hall 17 14 17 12 - 60
Roxbury 13 12 10 19 - 54
Records: Seton Hall Prep 8-4, Roxbury 6-4.
Randolph 50, Morris Knolls 40
Randolph would be undefeated right now...that is if they didn't lose 9 other games. But they are 2-9 now. I am fighting trying the desire to be incredibly sarcastic so I better just move on to the next game.
RANDOLPH (50)
Kyle Aiken 4-1-4-15, Mike Harris 2-0-0-4, Rich Embden 2-0-2-6, Brian Berger 0-1-1-4, Saban Mrkulic 3-2-0-12, Scott Kralstein 1-1-0-5, Kevin Farrell 2-0-0-4. Totals 14-5-7-50.
MORRIS KNOLLS (40)
Sean Pauls 4-3-0-17, Brandon Danzy 4-0-2-10, Kellan Cardio 2-0-0-4, Pete Lionetti 3-0-1-7, Marc DeFeo 1-0-0-2. Totals: 14-3-3-40.
Randolph 14 7 14 15 - 50
Morris Knolls 6 13 5 16 - 40
Record: Morris Knolls 2-12, Randolph 2-9.
Hanover Park 55, Parsippany 49
Chris Seery comes out of obscurity to drain 19 points in this win vs. Parisppany. Phil Gatti added 19, including three from down town. My boy Pete Nagy also added 11 points.
HP was too much for Yabbadabbaqoobi and the Redhawks. Steve Connolly played impressive, draining 23 points, but couldn't hang on vs. the Hornets.
"Seery was on fire in this game." Gatti said of his teamate. "He was money from all over the place. We needed someone to step up and he answered the call." (All fake quotes)
HANOVER PARK (55)
Phil Gatti 2-3-5-18, Pete Nagy 4-1-0-11, Matt Rawson 2-0-0-4, Chris Seery 7-0-5-19, Tim Daire 0-0-0-1, Mike Geisser 1-0-0-2. Totals 16-4-11-55.
PARSIPPANY (49)
Tariq Yaqoobi 2-2-0-10, Jon Kminski 1-0-1-3, Steve Connolly 9-0-5-23, Ameen Kandil 0-1-0-3, Matt Mundanchira 0-2-0-6, Donnie Allieri 2-0-0-4. Totals 14-5-6-49.
Hanover Park 14 16 11 14 - 55
Parsippany 6 17 15 11 - 49
Record: Hanover Park 5-5, Parsippany 1-10.
Mount Olive 60, East Orange 54 (OT)
Four of Mt. Olive's starters scored double digit numbers in their suprise win over the EO Badgers (or whatever they are called). Russell Holloway was his superstar self nailing a whopping 29 himself.
Sir Mix A-Lot only had 7 while David Lowery added 17 in the loss. Isiah Johnson made a showing with 12 points but it was just not enough.
"We really wanted to shut down Sir Mix A-Lot." Holloway said after the game. "He was tough to contain, but we were just happy to have the win." (all fake quotes)
EAST ORANGE (54)
Ali Mix 2-1-0-7, Dayjin Williams 0-1-2-5, David Lowery 4-2-3-17, Isaiah Johnson 5-0-2-12, Jerel Antley 1-0-0-2, Akeem Cummingham 0-1-1-4, DeShaun Jones 0-1-0-3, Kester Klean 2-0-0-4. Totals 14-6-8-54.
MOUNT OLIVE (60)
Andrew Haduck 3-0-4-10, Russell Holloway 11-0-7-29, Jerod Hatcher 3-1-1-10, Dan Gutman 4-0-3-11, Jared Grubow 0-0-0-0. Totals 21-1-15-60.
East Orange 15 9 16 11 3 -54
Mount Olive 10 12 11 15 12 -60
Records: Mount Olive 8-3, East Orange 7-3.
Jared Washkau had just an amazing game scoring 31 points in a near defeat of the undefeated Columbia Cougars. The Wolfpack stunned the Cougars all game, and held their leading scorer Jameel Grace to only 7 points.
West Morris came on strong in the fourth quarter outscoring Columbia 25 to 9. "We knew if we could hold Raymond and Grace to less than 20 points a piece we could hang in there. We feel we did that. We made a big push after the game, but it was just too little too late." Washkau said after the game.
Even though they lost, the Wolfpack should consider this a moral victory. This would have been a devastating blow to the 11-0 and 9th state ranked Cougars had they lost.
"Whew", Raymond said after the game. "That was way too close. I think we were just too nervous to be this far in the woods. Next time we face them on our home court, it will be a blow out." (Raymond did say any of that...although, they were probably nervous being that far in the woods of Long Valley)
West Morris (3-8) 14 14 25 9 62Columbia (11-0) 21 18 15 9 63
Morris Hills 64, Mendham 74
The stars are really starting to align for Mendham. When I say stars I mean, Rob Berish and Mark Cisco. After playing a very agressive b-ball game vs. the mighty Morris Hills, the Minutemen took the win and has now improved to 9-2. The Itailian Stalions Steve Ciampaglio and Chris Campisi are also stepping up huge for the Minutemen. Campisi drained four 3-pointers for his team.
What happened to Morris Hills? Well they were not push overs in this game, Adam Katz drained 25 points, including 11 from the line. Justin D. added 11 and Kellner drained another 15.
Mendham's strategy in this game was agressive and to foul and foul often and let Mo-Hills beat them at the line. MoHills just could not keep up. "They came into this game with an agressive game plan and it worked for them." Katz said after the game. "Cisco had a really big game for them and the Itailian Stallions were too much for us" (Katz didn't say any of that)
MORRIS HILLS (62)
Adam Katz 4-2-11-25, Andrew Zelnick 0-0-0-0, Justin Doniloski 5-0-1-11, Dan Kellner 5-1-2-15, Matt Marotta 2-0-1-5, Shane O'Shea 0-0-0-0, Joe O'Shea 2-0-2-6, Billy Bowan 0-0-0-0, Doug Dudek 0-0-0-0. Totals 18-3-17-62.
MENDHAM (74)
Rob Berish 7-0-8-22, Mark Cisco 11-0-4-26, Chris Hanson 0-0-3-3, Steve Ciampaglio 3-0-4-10, Caleb Demoss 0-0-0-0, Chris Campisi 0-4-0-12, Kent Poges 0-0-1-1. Totals 21-4-20-74.
Morris Hills 18 14 11 19 - 62
Mendham 19 16 20 19 - 74
Records: Mendham 9-2, Morris Hills 9-3.
Dover 36, Chatham 64
Dover continued their streak after their loss against Chatham last night improving to 0-10. Sotoris Spiliotopolis, also known as, The Greek God, scored 8 points while Anthony Tobar drained another 19.
Of course, Billy Oliver scored 19 and brought his team to an impressive 9-3. But the real story is the streak.
Tobar said after the game, "Our goal was to keep the streak alive. We are just happy we were able to do that. It was fairly close going into the fourth quarter, but coach only allowed us to score four points in the fourth to ensure the streak would stay intact." (Tobar didn't say that...nor would he probably ever say that)
DOVER (36)
Jaquan Jones 0-0-1-1, Anthony Tobar 8-1-0-19, Sotoris Spiliotopolis 4-0-0-8, Henry Saltos 0-0-1-1, Alejandro Hernandez 2-1-0-7. Totals 14-2-2-36.
CHATHAM (64)
Billy Oliver 5-2-3-19, Burton Gildersleeve 2-3-0-10, Josh Toolajian 0-3-1-10, Pat Butler 3-0-0-6, Mike Sweeney 3-0-0-6, J.P. Carlton 2-0-0-4, Kirk Thiel 1-0-0-2, Kevin Murphy 2-0-3-7. Totals 18-7-7-64.
Dover 6 13 13 4 - 36
Chatham 17 12 16 16 - 64
Records: Dover 0-10, Chatham 9-3.
Seton Hall 60, Roxbury 54
Ashton Gibbs scored 26 points (boring), while his freshman brother added 11 more in a win vs. Roxbury. Roxbury made a big push in the fourth quarter, scoring 19. Kevin Ahern was money from out side draining 4 tre's. But they just could not hold off the Gibbs Bros.
"We have a good system, my brother Sterling passes me the ball and I score." Ashton Gibbs said after the game. "Sometimes I pass it back to him and he scores. It seems to work for our team." (Gibbs didn't say that)
SETON HALL PREP (60)
Ashton Gibbs 8-1-7-26, Jimmy Burke 2-1-2-9, Tony Peters 3-0-1-7, Rahmaan Patton 2-0-3-7, Brendan Kirby 0-0-0-0, Sterling Gibbs 1-3-0-11. Totals 16-5-13-60.
ROXBURY (54)
Alex Szarejko 3-1-0-9, Eric Vaccacio 1-2-0-8, Brian Mohr 2-0-0-4, Kevin Ahern 2-4-0-16, Tom Rosatelli 1-1-0-5, Angelo Mangiro 4-0-2-10, Matt Goss 0-0-2-2. Totals 13-8-4-54.
Seton Hall 17 14 17 12 - 60
Roxbury 13 12 10 19 - 54
Records: Seton Hall Prep 8-4, Roxbury 6-4.
Randolph 50, Morris Knolls 40
Randolph would be undefeated right now...that is if they didn't lose 9 other games. But they are 2-9 now. I am fighting trying the desire to be incredibly sarcastic so I better just move on to the next game.
RANDOLPH (50)
Kyle Aiken 4-1-4-15, Mike Harris 2-0-0-4, Rich Embden 2-0-2-6, Brian Berger 0-1-1-4, Saban Mrkulic 3-2-0-12, Scott Kralstein 1-1-0-5, Kevin Farrell 2-0-0-4. Totals 14-5-7-50.
MORRIS KNOLLS (40)
Sean Pauls 4-3-0-17, Brandon Danzy 4-0-2-10, Kellan Cardio 2-0-0-4, Pete Lionetti 3-0-1-7, Marc DeFeo 1-0-0-2. Totals: 14-3-3-40.
Randolph 14 7 14 15 - 50
Morris Knolls 6 13 5 16 - 40
Record: Morris Knolls 2-12, Randolph 2-9.
Hanover Park 55, Parsippany 49
Chris Seery comes out of obscurity to drain 19 points in this win vs. Parisppany. Phil Gatti added 19, including three from down town. My boy Pete Nagy also added 11 points.
HP was too much for Yabbadabbaqoobi and the Redhawks. Steve Connolly played impressive, draining 23 points, but couldn't hang on vs. the Hornets.
"Seery was on fire in this game." Gatti said of his teamate. "He was money from all over the place. We needed someone to step up and he answered the call." (All fake quotes)
HANOVER PARK (55)
Phil Gatti 2-3-5-18, Pete Nagy 4-1-0-11, Matt Rawson 2-0-0-4, Chris Seery 7-0-5-19, Tim Daire 0-0-0-1, Mike Geisser 1-0-0-2. Totals 16-4-11-55.
PARSIPPANY (49)
Tariq Yaqoobi 2-2-0-10, Jon Kminski 1-0-1-3, Steve Connolly 9-0-5-23, Ameen Kandil 0-1-0-3, Matt Mundanchira 0-2-0-6, Donnie Allieri 2-0-0-4. Totals 14-5-6-49.
Hanover Park 14 16 11 14 - 55
Parsippany 6 17 15 11 - 49
Record: Hanover Park 5-5, Parsippany 1-10.
Mount Olive 60, East Orange 54 (OT)
Four of Mt. Olive's starters scored double digit numbers in their suprise win over the EO Badgers (or whatever they are called). Russell Holloway was his superstar self nailing a whopping 29 himself.
Sir Mix A-Lot only had 7 while David Lowery added 17 in the loss. Isiah Johnson made a showing with 12 points but it was just not enough.
"We really wanted to shut down Sir Mix A-Lot." Holloway said after the game. "He was tough to contain, but we were just happy to have the win." (all fake quotes)
EAST ORANGE (54)
Ali Mix 2-1-0-7, Dayjin Williams 0-1-2-5, David Lowery 4-2-3-17, Isaiah Johnson 5-0-2-12, Jerel Antley 1-0-0-2, Akeem Cummingham 0-1-1-4, DeShaun Jones 0-1-0-3, Kester Klean 2-0-0-4. Totals 14-6-8-54.
MOUNT OLIVE (60)
Andrew Haduck 3-0-4-10, Russell Holloway 11-0-7-29, Jerod Hatcher 3-1-1-10, Dan Gutman 4-0-3-11, Jared Grubow 0-0-0-0. Totals 21-1-15-60.
East Orange 15 9 16 11 3 -54
Mount Olive 10 12 11 15 12 -60
Records: Mount Olive 8-3, East Orange 7-3.
Friday, January 18, 2008
FRIDAY NIGHT HOOPS: Unruly's Picks
7Dover at Chatham
This is my upset of the week. I am picking Chatham going down hard in this. Dover wakes up out of their winter slumber and shocks Billy Oliver and Burt Gildersleeve. Psych! Just kidding. I say Chatham scores 50 in the first half. Toolajian drains 5 tre's too.
PICK: Chatham (in a laugher)
7Hanover Park at Parsippany
My main man Phil Gatti and his buddy Nagy seem to play well together. They will need to do just that tonight. If Tariq Yaqoobi and Steve Connolly get rolling, HP will be in for a suprise. Parsippany is starting to play well. I still think HP will fend them off, but the Red Hawks will not be a push over.
PICK: HP
7Parsippany Hills at West Essex
Greg Solimine, Blake Cruz and Greg DePugh can all score solid points. They really need one of them to break out a little bit more. If one of those guys gets 17 points or higher, this game is in the bag. These two teams match up well. Jeff George has the home court on his side. But I think Par Hills has lost too many close ones to let this one slip away.
PICK: Par Hills
7Randolph at Morris Knolls
This match up is being billed as the "Match-Up of the Century"! Who will win, the 1-9 Randolph Rams travel up the hill to face the 2-10 Morris Knolls Green Hedgehogs (or whatever their called). Who will win? I think the question really is, who will show up? They'd be lucky if the teams do.
PICK: Who cares!
7Morris Hills at Mendham
Ahhh, this is the matchup I have been waiting for. My two favorite teams in the Iron Hills Conference. Lets see, you have the 9-2 Scarlet Knights of Morris Hills vs. the 8-2 Minutemen of Mendham. Both teams are riddled with talent. But both teams play different styles of hoops though. The Scarlet Knights have a lot of talented kids in Justin D., Doug "The Dude" Dudek and Dan Kellner. Then you have their quarterback, Adam Katz who has just been having an awesome season. But you have to look at Mendham who looks like they have two college sized players in Rob Berish and Mark Cisco. The Hills had trouble vs. Chatham's big men. I think it will be close. But I see the home team prevailing. And I see my boy Mike Salerno providing some off-the-bench heroics late in the game.
PICK: Mendham
7Morristown at Livingston
I see George Bass' ancle heeling up and him breaking Morristown out of their slumber tonight. Livinston has been slumping lately. A win would really wake them up. But it won't happen tonight.
PICK: Motown
7Columbia at West Morris
The only thing West Morris has in their favor this night is that for the first half Columbia will be nervous of all the pig squealing they will be hearing up in the woods of Long Valley. But once Jameel Grace and Yvon Raymond settle down it will be pretty much over. And beleive me, when this game is over these city boys will be running on that bus and getting the hell out of there.
PICK: Columbia (not even close)
7Seton Hall Prep at Roxbury
This has the making of a great game. The 9-3 Roxbury Gaels (they really need a new mascot name) vs. the 5-4 Seton Hall Pirates. Rumor is that the rest of the team is starting to play around Ashton Gibbs. Gibbs is no doubt a superstar, but he needs his supporting cast to step up. But Roxbury is playing with a ton of confidence. Eric Vaccacio and Kevin Ahern do not have D1 scolarships, but them and the rest of the Gaels play great "team" ball. Plus, they have a great coach. I just don't see SHP getting past Roxbury on Gibbs alone.
PICK: Roxbury
7East Orange at Mount Olive
Mount Olive is 7-3. And Russell Halloway is the Iron Hills' LeBron James. This kid drains buckets all day and can score over 30 points no problem. But individuals do not win games alone. EO is 7-2. And they have quite two nice weapons in Larby & Johnson. And their point man is Sir "Mix" A-Lot. Mount Olive is on a roll but EO has taken down some pretty solid opponents in Roxbury and Seton Hall Prep. Plus, they only lost to mighty Columbia by one or two points.
PICK: EO
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: With all this steriod talk in the MLB I just want to send a public announcement to our student athletes. I have been reading a lot on this subject and the long term effects of them. Some of these long term effects are really scary and should be taken into consideration. First off, steriods and HGH work in making you bigger. Not only do they make your muscles bigger, they also make all of your internal organs bigger. And those internal organs don't shrink. If you look at a guy who has taken steriods, you will notice that their stomachs stick out. That is bc their organs are too big. The scariest defect is the percentage of defects in offspring raises dramatically if you take these drugs. Listen, if you are taking these performance enhancing drugs, stop NOW. If you are thinking of taking them, DONT. Just work out harder and take natural supplements. You will regret taking them. D1 athletes are D1 athletes because of two reasons, 1) they have the natural ability and 2) they work extremely hard. If you want to be a D1 player, then work your ASS off. But don't take these drugs. And if the guy selling you these drugs say they are not harmful, don't listen to him. He just wants his money...beleive me. Good advice is always FREE. Bad advice always has a price, remember that. I will be doing a big article on the harmful effects of these drugs, but in the meantime, STAY OFF THEM. Have fun in your sport.
This is my upset of the week. I am picking Chatham going down hard in this. Dover wakes up out of their winter slumber and shocks Billy Oliver and Burt Gildersleeve. Psych! Just kidding. I say Chatham scores 50 in the first half. Toolajian drains 5 tre's too.
PICK: Chatham (in a laugher)
7Hanover Park at Parsippany
My main man Phil Gatti and his buddy Nagy seem to play well together. They will need to do just that tonight. If Tariq Yaqoobi and Steve Connolly get rolling, HP will be in for a suprise. Parsippany is starting to play well. I still think HP will fend them off, but the Red Hawks will not be a push over.
PICK: HP
7Parsippany Hills at West Essex
Greg Solimine, Blake Cruz and Greg DePugh can all score solid points. They really need one of them to break out a little bit more. If one of those guys gets 17 points or higher, this game is in the bag. These two teams match up well. Jeff George has the home court on his side. But I think Par Hills has lost too many close ones to let this one slip away.
PICK: Par Hills
7Randolph at Morris Knolls
This match up is being billed as the "Match-Up of the Century"! Who will win, the 1-9 Randolph Rams travel up the hill to face the 2-10 Morris Knolls Green Hedgehogs (or whatever their called). Who will win? I think the question really is, who will show up? They'd be lucky if the teams do.
PICK: Who cares!
7Morris Hills at Mendham
Ahhh, this is the matchup I have been waiting for. My two favorite teams in the Iron Hills Conference. Lets see, you have the 9-2 Scarlet Knights of Morris Hills vs. the 8-2 Minutemen of Mendham. Both teams are riddled with talent. But both teams play different styles of hoops though. The Scarlet Knights have a lot of talented kids in Justin D., Doug "The Dude" Dudek and Dan Kellner. Then you have their quarterback, Adam Katz who has just been having an awesome season. But you have to look at Mendham who looks like they have two college sized players in Rob Berish and Mark Cisco. The Hills had trouble vs. Chatham's big men. I think it will be close. But I see the home team prevailing. And I see my boy Mike Salerno providing some off-the-bench heroics late in the game.
PICK: Mendham
7Morristown at Livingston
I see George Bass' ancle heeling up and him breaking Morristown out of their slumber tonight. Livinston has been slumping lately. A win would really wake them up. But it won't happen tonight.
PICK: Motown
7Columbia at West Morris
The only thing West Morris has in their favor this night is that for the first half Columbia will be nervous of all the pig squealing they will be hearing up in the woods of Long Valley. But once Jameel Grace and Yvon Raymond settle down it will be pretty much over. And beleive me, when this game is over these city boys will be running on that bus and getting the hell out of there.
PICK: Columbia (not even close)
7Seton Hall Prep at Roxbury
This has the making of a great game. The 9-3 Roxbury Gaels (they really need a new mascot name) vs. the 5-4 Seton Hall Pirates. Rumor is that the rest of the team is starting to play around Ashton Gibbs. Gibbs is no doubt a superstar, but he needs his supporting cast to step up. But Roxbury is playing with a ton of confidence. Eric Vaccacio and Kevin Ahern do not have D1 scolarships, but them and the rest of the Gaels play great "team" ball. Plus, they have a great coach. I just don't see SHP getting past Roxbury on Gibbs alone.
PICK: Roxbury
7East Orange at Mount Olive
Mount Olive is 7-3. And Russell Halloway is the Iron Hills' LeBron James. This kid drains buckets all day and can score over 30 points no problem. But individuals do not win games alone. EO is 7-2. And they have quite two nice weapons in Larby & Johnson. And their point man is Sir "Mix" A-Lot. Mount Olive is on a roll but EO has taken down some pretty solid opponents in Roxbury and Seton Hall Prep. Plus, they only lost to mighty Columbia by one or two points.
PICK: EO
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: With all this steriod talk in the MLB I just want to send a public announcement to our student athletes. I have been reading a lot on this subject and the long term effects of them. Some of these long term effects are really scary and should be taken into consideration. First off, steriods and HGH work in making you bigger. Not only do they make your muscles bigger, they also make all of your internal organs bigger. And those internal organs don't shrink. If you look at a guy who has taken steriods, you will notice that their stomachs stick out. That is bc their organs are too big. The scariest defect is the percentage of defects in offspring raises dramatically if you take these drugs. Listen, if you are taking these performance enhancing drugs, stop NOW. If you are thinking of taking them, DONT. Just work out harder and take natural supplements. You will regret taking them. D1 athletes are D1 athletes because of two reasons, 1) they have the natural ability and 2) they work extremely hard. If you want to be a D1 player, then work your ASS off. But don't take these drugs. And if the guy selling you these drugs say they are not harmful, don't listen to him. He just wants his money...beleive me. Good advice is always FREE. Bad advice always has a price, remember that. I will be doing a big article on the harmful effects of these drugs, but in the meantime, STAY OFF THEM. Have fun in your sport.
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