Sunday, December 31, 2023

Sports Moments of '23

Well, we've come to the end of another year. 

There are always things happening, so who knows what a normal year is anymore.  Every year has its ups and downs. Some events that happen are more public and others are more private. It depends on the event and the people involved. 

I know people don't like to do rankings/lists. It's easy content and not very rich content. 

Well, I'm still going to list my top local games of 2023. I'm going to try to add some commentary with each game and not just list. As I say ever year, these are only games I was at, and I'm sure I missed some. Also, these are listed in order of date, not by ranking. Every moment and game are different, I didn't feel like I should rank them. 

 Not surprising, I have a lot of baseball listed. 

On to 2024, which will hopefully bring a lot more highlights. 

Here we go. These are my top games of the year. Let me know your thoughts and what I may have missed. 

February 23 - Ludlowe Girls Basketball Wins FCIAC Championship

Following a perfect regular season, the Ludlowe girls' basketball team won the FCIAC Championship, 52-42 over St. Joseph. It was the first girls' basketball championship in school history. 

Ludlowe would finish the season 26-1, with the only loss coming in the state championship. 

May 8 - Ludlowe/Warde baseball

Warde 8 Ludlowe 2 in 10 innings. The game was much closer than the score. 

Ludlowe held a 2-1 lead into the seventh before Warde tied it with two outs on a single by Paddy Galvin. Game remained scoreless until Warde look the lead in the tenth on a Carson Swaim three-run double and added three more to break the game open. 

Incredible game. Great game for the town and baseball in a great baseball town. #OneTown 

 As a Ludlowe coach, and working at both schools, a tough loss. 

Thanks as always to Rob Adams for broadcasting this game. I often try to get Rob on Ludlowe games, and especially Ludlowe/Warde games, so I like when we can make it work out. 

May 25 - Warde baseball wins FCIAC Championship for third year in a row

For the third season in a row, the Warde baseball team won the FCIAC Championship. This year, they defeated Westhill 6-1. 

You can hear Rob Adams' call of the game below. 

Warde baseball also repeated as state champions on June 10 in an incredible game against Staples, but I was not in attendance, so that is why that game was not included. 

May 31 - Ludlowe/Hamden Baseball

I wrote about this a little bit in my season ending blog post. It was a state playoff first round game, and we (Ludlowe) were trailing Hamden 4-0 in the fourth inning. 

With the bases loaded and one out, Ben Crawford, who had not played all season due to injury, came up to pinch-hit. Crawford drove the first pitch he saw off the wall in right-center field for a bases-clearing double. Awesome moment. And I'm only telling part of the story on purpose. 

June 3 - Jimmy Dobbs walk-off hit for Warde baseball in playoffs

With Warde and Southington tied at one in the seventh inning of the state quarterfinals, freshman Jimmy Dobbs came up with the game-winning single to propel the Mustangs into the state semifinals. 

June 10 - Ludlowe softball wins state championship

Ludlowe softball defeated Southington 5-2 to win the Class LL softball championship. 

The win for Ludlowe snapped Southington's impressive 40-game win streak. 

Ludlowe softball also won the FCIAC Championship for the third year in a row. Much like Warde baseball's state championship, I was not in attendance so that is the reason it was not included.   

July 8 - Trumbull/Waterford Babe Ruth game

It was another summer of broadcasting Babe Ruth baseball with Rob Adams. We saw so many great games. Whenever Trumbull and Waterford matchup, you know you're getting a great game between two terrific programs. 

July 8 in the CT State Tournament was no different, Matt Shampine and Ryan DeMelo were locked in a pitcher's duel with Trumbull holding a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh before Waterford scored two including the game winning hit by Kian Gordy to lift Waterford to a 2-1 victory. 

Trumbull scored their run in the third when Luke McDermott reached on an error to score DeMelo, who had singled earlier in the inning. 

These two teams would face off later in the tournament, including in the championship, and Trumbull would come out with the victory to head to the New England Regional. Trumbull would end up advancing to the Babe Ruth World Series. Terrific run and a special group. 

July 11 - Waterford/New Milford Babe Ruth no-hitter

A few days later, Waterford would come away with another big win. 

Colby Sheehan threw five no-hit inniings and Thomas Flanagan did not allow a hit over the final two as Waterford came away with a no-hitter in an 8-0 win over New Milford. 

You can hear the final out and the full game below. 

Final out: http://sndup.net/stys

October 28 - Ryan Menozzi game-winning catch vs McMahon

Ludlowe's Ryan Menozzi caught a 22-yard touchdown with thirty-six seconds remaining in the game to give the Falcons a 35-32 lead over Ridgefield and Ludlowe would go on to win by that score. 

It was a hard-fought back and forth game that (at the time) kept Ludlowe in state playoff contention. 

November 9 - Ludlowe boys' soccer defeats Ridgefield in state playoffs in PK's

Alex Parent came up with some clutch saves in goal as Ludlowe defeated Ridgefield 2-1 in PK's in the second round of the state tournament. Alex missed a cello solo as part of a Veteran's Day concert due to the game running long. 

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I've mentioned Rob Adams a bunch of times in this blog post and in many blog posts. He posted a blog post earlier today where he included a highlight package of games, he called this year. Go give the blog a read and listen to the highlights. 

 

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Thursday, December 28, 2023

2023 Fairfield Holiday Hoops

2023 Prep Holiday Tournament All-Tournament Team 

Winter break means holiday tournament basketball around Fairfield on Wednesday and Thursday. 

There's the varsity girls' tournament, the Todd Burger Holiday Tournament, the boys' varsity tournament, The Fairfield Prep Holiday Classic, as well as a boys' JV tournament, the Walter Fitzgerald Tournament. 

The girls' tournament featured Ludlowe, Warde, Seymour and East Hampton.  

In the first round of Wednesday, East Hampton defeated Ludlowe 61-27 and Warde defeated Seymour 46-33. 

On Thursday in the consolation game, Ludlowe defeated Seymour 60-38. East Hampton took home the championship, defeating Warde 48-33. 

Congrats to Ludlowe's Kate Cimador and Warde's Emmy Carley on being named to the all-tournament team. 

As far as the JV boys' tournament, Prep won the title over Notre Dame. Ludlowe defeated Warde in the consolation game. In the first round, Prep edged Ludlowe and Notre Dame topped Warde. 

To the boys' varsity tournament, which features the four Fairfield high schools, Ludlowe, Warde, Notre Dame and Prep. Notre Dame won the title with a 68-41 victory over Ludlowe. In the consolation game, Warde defeated Prep 59-54. 

The All-Tournament team consisted of Will Kane of Prep, Ryan Moore of Warde, Tate Mahoney of Ludlowe, Nate Charlot of Notre Dame and Kamryn Salters of Notre Dame, who was named tournament most valuable player. 

Great job by everyone who was involved in hosting and running the tournaments. From all the coaches to Matt Narwold and Gina DiGiacomo at Warde and Tom Curran and Graham Nemi at Prep, This extends to everyone who worked the tables and contributed to the success of the tournament in many other ways. 

I was disappointed to see the lack of media covering the games. I know Fairfield Prep's students broadcasted some, but not all, of the boys' varsity tournament, but all these games should have professional coverage. That would be print or broadcast media or both. I get the reasons why, just disappointing.

I also wish we did more surrounding the reason that the girls' tournament is named in honor of Todd Burger and the boys JV tournament is named in honor of Walter Fitzgerald. Both men who lost their battles with cancer. In the past, there were donation efforts for the American Cancer Society. 

Always a great couple of days of basketball to end the calendar year. 

Now on to the rest of the season.  


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Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Traditions Change

Christmas Eve 2023 

Traditions change over the years. 

I am not a fan of change. And I love tradition. But I know change is inevitable and not necessarily a bad thing. I need to get used to those changes. 

Some of those traditions that change are holiday, and specifically Christmas celebrations. 

Even though I am Jewish, we do Christmas with "extended family" in New Jersey. It's too hard to explain. 

For Chrismas Eve, we go to my Aunt Ellen's. When we were growing up, we went to my Uncle Tommy's but then they moved to Florida and Christmas Eve moved to my Aunt Ellen and Uncle David's. 

Christmas Day, since I've been born, has been at my Uncle Gary and Aunt Tina's. They moved towns in NJ a few years ago, but still continue to host. 

More than who is hosting, it's the actual events and the people who have changed. 

As all the "kids" get older, they have their own families that they do the holidays with, so everyone is more spread out. 

In terms of the events of the days, those have even changed. 

It used to be, all the kids would get presents from aunts and uncles on Christmas Eve. We'd change into our pajamas, take a group photo and then open presents. 

It was also part of the tradition that you had to wait for someone (normally the oldest adult present) to say it was okay to open. From what I remember, that was Aunt Shirley for many years, and then sort of was more random years after that. 

Then, a number of years ago, it was decided that rather than everyone get multiple presents everyone, we would do the "White Elephant" gift exchange. This was different. The adults partook rather than just the kids' getting gifts. The gifts varied in types. 

One year, I got a sack of Five Guys potatoes. This was perfect for me as someone who loves potatoes, and I picked it without knowing what was in the gift bag until after I had picked and opened it. 

Another part of Christmas Eves past was watching either a Christmas movie, like Shrek or The Grinch Stole Christmas, or watching home videos. 

There were also Christmas Days where we would play board games, such as Apples to Apples and others. 

Now, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ends up mostly being just sitting around talking. It's still great to spend time with the family. 

There are other memories throughout the years from specific years, but again, different years make for different experiences. 

Another part of our Christmas, is visiting other family, specifically my dad's sister and her family. 

In terms of other traditions and changes, when my grandmother was living in Jersey City, we would stay there, then, for many years we would stay at an Embassy Suites. Part of this experience was the happy hour and snacks on Christmas Eve and the breakfast on Christmas morning at the hotel. 

Then, this year, and one other, I think during COVID, we stayed at a different hotel. 

As I said in the beginning, all the changes are weird to me, and as much as I may not like it, I understand it. 

Christmas Eve 2005 or 2006

Christmas Eve 2013
Christmas Eve 2016

We have some other photos from over the years, but these are just a few.

 






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Friday, December 15, 2023

Successful Friday

I knew it would be a busy, crazy day. I just hoped things would go smooth. 

For the most part, yes, they did. 

First off, we had the winter Pep Rally at Ludlowe. 

While I wasn't running it, I was more involved from an Athletics and Nest Advisor standpoint, as our Athletic Director, Todd Parness, was at an Athletic Director's Conference. 

There were also a lot of additions from Pep Rally's we have done in the past. It wasn't just sports team, but clubs and other school groups were added. 

This made for more teamwork and planning, but everyone worked together to get all the students' recognition they deserve. Yes, I'm a sports person, but we have so many other great groups at the high school also. 

Big shout out to Head Principal Dr. Greg Hatzis for the overall leadership and oversight. 

Great work by Nick Albano and the drum line. Fun addition to the music that The Nest plays throughout the event. 

Speaking of music, thanks to Jack Bilotta for helping to play the music between groups. 

The Nest Leaders, way to lead the Pep Rally. Scottie, Stuart, Kiera, Katherine and Kayleigh. Tremendous work. 

The Nest Leaders

All the other club advisors, student leaders and captains, good job promoting your clubs, groups and teams. 

I know there was a lot of prep work that was done by Todd and Greg, as well as the student council advisors.

Very pleased with how the Pep Rally went, especially considering there were many changes from the past. Hopefully, we make a few tweaks, and the next ones are even better. 

Then it was on to the season opener for Ludlowe boys' basketball at Bullard Havens. 

This was a matchup against former Ludlowe assistant coach Lawrence Richardson, who is the head coach of the Tigers. That made for some added fun. It was great to catch up with Lawrence before and after the game. 

As for the game, it was a tight first half, with Ludlowe up 32-31 at the break. The Falcons were able to break it open in the second half and came away with a 68-48 victory. 

Ludlowe was led by the Mahoney brothers as Tate had 21 points and Charlie had 19. It was a great team win with contributions from seniors through freshman. 

Good start to the season. Lots of basketball to play. 

A long but successful day. 

 



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Sunday, December 3, 2023

Supporting Friends

We could call this another edition of "Adventures of Shawn."

All season I said I wanted to try to get to a Newtown game to support my guy Dan Farina, who is in his first year as the head coach there. 

However, due to conflicts with Ludlowe games, there were very few options and I hadn't been able to make it yet. 

Until Sunday. 

I decided I would go to their Class L state semifinal game versus Darien at Newtown High School. 

All week people were trying to get me to come, and I figured I should. I made more of a fuss about reasons not to do than I should have. 

The drive, the rain, buying a ticket, etc. 

Of course I would pick the game where it rained throughout. 

But it was good for me to get out of my comfort zone a bit. 

Driving to Newtown was something new as I was on roads I had never driven myself. Normally I stick to the Fairfield County FCIAC schools to go to, with a few exceptions. 

The drive there and back, while using my GPS, was fine, with the exception of my tire pressure light coming on about five minutes from the school. It was also raining so we had to deal with that for the travel. 

We'll get the tire figured out. Hoping it's just because of the cold. Seems to happen on some of my longer drives in the winter the last couple of years. 

I also had to purchase a ticket, which is fine. 

However, it's not something I am used to. Honestly it might be one of the first times I have ever purchased a ticket for a high school sporting event. Normally, I am either working the game, covering the game, on the comp list, or have access just do to my job and knowing people. Here I was just a fan. 

I'm sure reading this, you are like, why are you telling us this. It's just part of the story. 

As I've said previously, I am not good at being just a fan. I always feel like I need to be doing something and cannot just sit in the stands. If I am just watching, I need to be standing up against a fence and often walking around. 

Thankfully, I was there with Sara Kinley, Mel Sulich, Craig DeAngelis and others so we were able to talk while watching the game. I also Tweeted (Or X'd?) updates, because that's what I do. I just followed their lead and hung out in the end zone with them. 

A different view for me watching a game, but it was also about hanging with friends, while supporting others. 

The rain was constant throughout most of the game. However, heavier at times. 

I was prepared with a rain jacket with a hood, booths and an umbrella, but for some reason, didn't decide to use the umbrella until the second half. By that time, I was soaked. Oh well. It's all part of the fun. 


Basically our view for the game

It was weird for me to be rooting for a non-FCIAC team against an FCIAC team, but I support my friends. 

Ok, I've buried the lede (or lead) of how the game went on the field. Darien came away with a 21-0 lead and will play New Canaan next weekend in the Class L Championship. 

Despite the loss, congrats to Dan and the Nighthawks on a terrific season. Tremendous first season with a lot of exciting times in the future. 

Happy I was able to be there to support, despite the result. 

Also, congrats to Tommy Howell, an assistant at Joel Barlow on their state semifinal win and advancing ot the state championship. 


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