2022 in Review - Thoughts and Games of the Year

So how to recap 2022. 

In was a pretty average year personally, but like every year, there are plenty of ups and downs. 

Work, which involves sports, coaching, and watching sports. Yeah, that's basically my life. 

I keep saying I am going to or at least want to blog more, but do you really care that I went to work, then likely went to a game or practice for a team? I'll answer that. No, you don't. So I need to find more interesting items to blog about. There's also certain work related items that I am just not going to write about. 

In professional local sports, Aaron Judge's homerun chase had to be the biggest story of 2022. It was both a Yankees and American League record that captivated the entire baseball world. 

For professional sports, there were not a lot of other highlights for 2022. At least there aren't a lot of highlights that come to my mind. We want drama in sports and that often brings us memories. Drama and history. 

On the downside for the year, there are many people I know who lost loved ones this year. There are many people dealing with many different life issues as well, who we think about. 

We are still dealing with COVID, although to a much less degree, thankfully. 

Hope everyone has a great New Years and a tremendous 2023. 

People talk about how things will change and hope they hope for things, but it really is just another day. It's a different year, but nothing will change unless you can make an effort. Just because the year changes, it doesn't automatically mean things will change. Actions are needed if you want things to change. Those actions don't have to happen just because the year is changing, they can happen any time. Yes, I realize how cliché this all sounds, but it is true. 

As is often the case, friendships were created and strengthened. 

On to 2023, but first, we look back at 2022....

We've done this on this blog before. I list/rank my top local sports moments of the year. This list below is only games I was in attendance for, in one form of another. 

I limited the list to 10 games, although I am sure there are games and moments I am missing. For example, I have nothing from the summer which consisted of Legion, Babe Ruth and Little League baseball. 

These are in no particular order. 

Vivona/Ludlowe baseball top Warde - May 9 

Ludlowe baseball comes from behind to defeat Warde 3-1 with Matt Vivona picking up a two-out bases clearing double in the sixth inning as the Falcons knocked off the Mustangs. You can hear Rob Adams's call of the game here. 

Cooper Dailey 38 to set Ludlowe school points record vs Maloney - February 26

In the final regular season game, Ludlowe's Cooper Dailey scored 38 points, including 20 in the first half, to set a new school record for points in a game. The previous high was 35 set by Kevin Bentivegna in 2011. 

Ryan Presiano buzzer-beater to help Prep beat NFA in state quarterfinals - March 14

Fairfield Prep's Ryan Presiano hit a buzzer beater to lift the Jesuits to a win over Norwich Free Academy. The play, and the call by Rob Adams on Local Live, as well as video's by Justin Devellis of News12 and Dan Gardella of GameTimeCT made it on ESPN's SportsCenter Top Plays. 

Warde baseball wins FCIAC Championship - May 26

Warde baseball repeated as the FCIAC Champion, as they defeated Westhill 4-1. 

Warde baseball wins state championship - June 11

After winning the FCIAC Championship, the Warde baseball team kept up their winning ways through the state playoffs and held on to defeat Southington 7-5 to capture the state title. 

Masuk vs Barlow in the SWC Semis - May 23

Getting a chance to see Matt Scott pitch in person, who was terrific, was awesome. A wild pitch was the difference as Musuk defeated Scott and Barlow to advance to the SWC Championship. Tremendous baseball game to watch and it was fun to go outside of the FCIAC. 

Warde vs Westhill baseball regular season game at Cubeta - April 29

It was one of the most hyped regular season games in recent memory. Kyle Kipp for Westhill vs Zach Broderick for Warde. The game more than lived up to the hype as it went nine innings with Warde coming away with a 2-1 win on a Griffin Polley bunt single that pushed across the tie-breaking run in the top of the ninth. 

*Wow, I have a lot of Warde baseball in here. As a Ludlowe baseball coach, not sure how I feel about this. 

Ludlowe softball wins FCIAC Championship - May 25 

Much like Warde baseball, the Ludlowe softball team won the FCIAC championship for the second year in a row. The Falcons defeated Danbury 2-0 in the championship. 

Greenwich football wins state championship - December 10

The Greenwich football team defeated Fairfield Prep 37-17 behind a strong effort on both sides of the ball from Charlie Dixon. Hear how Rob Adams and Chris Erway called it as heard on WGCH Radio. 

Ludlowe girls soccer defeats Warde in PK's in the FCIAC quarterfinals - October 28

After Warde defeated Ludlowe 4-0 in the regular season matchup, the Falcons got their revenge in the postseason. The game was tied at two through regulation and overtime, and then Ludlowe edged Warde 4-3 in penalty kicks to advance to the FCIAC semifinals. 

2022 Fairfield Holiday Tournaments

The week between Christmas and New Years often features many holiday tournaments across sports on the local scene. 

The 2022 Fairfield Prep Holiday Classic basketball tournament was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Fairfield. 

The tournament features the four high schools from Fairfield. Ludlowe, Warde, Notre Dame and Prep. 

After many years of the tournament being at Alumni Hall at Fairfield University and last year being at Warde, this was the first tournament in the new Leo D. Mahoney Arena at Fairfield Univ. 

The arena is really nice. I love the setup of the stands and how close the fans are to the action on the court. There was something special about Alumni Hall and the history there, but the new place will be great. I love that they have the history section, which highlights Alumni. 

As for the tournament, the first night saw Notre Dame defeat Ludlowe and Prep defeat Warde. 

Notre Dame downed Ludlowe 81-43 and Prep edged Warde 44-35. 

That set up a consolation game between the two public schools and a championship game between the private schools. 

Neither game of night two was close in score. Warde took down Ludlowe by 20, 55-35 and Notre Dame won the championship, defeating Prep 78-50. 

If you missed the games and want to re-watch, you can via Hudl and Prep TV with Rob Adams on the call. 

The All-Tournament team was named, with Ryan Torello getting named to the team from Ludlowe and Jack Plesser from Warde. For Prep their representative was Jamere Brown. Finally, for Notre Dame, it was Carmelo Ayala and Nate Charlot with Charlot being named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. 

I was on scorebook duties for all four games of the tournament, as the official scorer. I often do Ludlowe's book when the game is not at Ludlowe. Then, Tom Curran, AD at Prep, asked me if I wanted to do the Prep book for both of their games. It worked out that they didn't end of playing Ludlowe, so their was no conflict there. 

Their was also a JV boys tournament at Ludlowe, featuring the same four teams. That tournament is named after Walter Fitzgerald, who was a long-time Fairfield High School and Warde coach, who passed away in 2010 from cancer. 

Warde won the JV title, for the second year in a row. They defeated Notre Dame in the final.

In the girls tournament, Ludlowe defeated Warde for the championship. The girls tournament, which rotates between being hosted at Ludlowe and Warde, was hosted at Ludlowe this year. 

In addition to the two Fairfield public schools, the girls tournament currently features St. Paul Catholic out of Bristol and Staples. 

The tournament is named for Todd Burger, who was the former sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen, who passed away in 2006 from cancer.

To get to the final, Ludlowe defeated St. Paul, and Warde defeated Staples. 

In the consolation game, St. Paul took down Staples. 

The holiday tournaments are some of the best times of the season as it brings the town together and they are always a great atmosphere. 

Great work by everyone involved in putting on the tournaments. 

Sandy Hook - 10 Years Later

December 14, 2022. 

Ten years since the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Twenty-six lives lost. Twenty elementary age children. Six adults.  

Awful. 

Horrific. 

We all have stories of where we were and how the day went. 

For me, it was senior year of high school. In a high school 27 miles away. 

That day, I was on a field trip for a business class. We are at the Bridgeport Courthouse. 

We were taken on a tour of the courthouse where we were allowed. I remember we were sitting in the back of a courtroom where a case was going on.

One of the attorney's (I think the prosecution attorney) asked to talk to the judge. They went in the judge's chambers and talked and came out shortly after. The court proceedings ended for the day as the attorney had a child in nearby Monroe, and they were on lockdown. 

That was basically all we knew at that point. 

I don't remember what else we did at the courthouse, but I remember as we got back on the bus, we were getting information on our phones (at least I was) from various news outlets and other sources about what was going on in Newtown. 

We then went to Archie Moore's for lunch. (I think the statute of limitations is up and none of the teachers who were on the trip work at Ludlowe anymore, so I can say this.)

At Archie's, were were getting more information on our phones and from the TV in the restaurant. 

When we got back to school, classes were still happening and we weren't on lockdown, but there was in increased security and police presence. 

The school day ended and then there were decisions about sports to be made, 

As it was a Friday night, it was supposed to be a night of high school boys basketball. There was then the question of if we were going to play or not. 

For Ludlowe basketball, we were supposed to play St. Joseph in Trumbull. 

As the team manager, I remember getting messages from players, coaches and athletic dept. about what would go on. 

It was decided, that most games around the state, including ours, would be postponed, out of respect for the victims. We would practice, but it felt like it was more just because we felt we needed to be together. Teams are families and even though we weren't impacted directly, everyone was hurting but felt it was the right thing to do. 

I still feel like the right decisions were made, in my opinion. 

Yes, sports help with healing, but it's also about being respectful and realizing what is important. On that night, it was not sports. It was about spending time with family. 

We would play St. Joseph on Monday and honor the victims by wearing green (the color of Sandy Hook Elementary) as well as blue and yellow (the colors of Newtown), The players wore blue and yellow ribbons on their warmups and the staffs worse them on their shirts/jackets. 

I've definitely made this way to much about me when it didn't directly impact me, but we all have stories about this day and days like this. 

We remember those lost. The names. The stories. We honor those lost. We honor the survivors, We support the grievers. We make changes to keep people safe. We need to do more. We never forget. 

Cardinals Are The Champions

The Fall high school sports season came to a close on Saturday with the football state championships. 

Six championship games were played across two sites. Arute Field in New Britain, home of Central Connecticut football and Rentshler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, home of UConn football. 

I joined Rob Adams and Chris Erway as part of the WGCH crew for Greenwich and Fairfield Prep at The Rent. 

Greenwich came away with the state championship, defeating Prep 37-17. For the Cardinals, it's their ninth football championship. 

Turnovers were really the name of the game, as Prep turned the ball over six times (five interceptions and a fumble lost) and Greenwich did not turn the ball over once. 

Three of those five interceptions were picked off by Charlie Dixon, including one which he returned for a touchdown. Dixon also had five catches offensively. 

Rob and Chris did a tremendous job on the broadcast. Yes, they were calling it for WGCH out of Greenwich, but they have affiliation with both schools and both towns, and they called an extremely fair game.  

I tried to do stats for them. It did not go well. I need to learn a better way to do stats for football, because whenever I try, it never works out well. Wish I could figure it out because I know it would make be more valuable. Of course, I Tweeted and tried to promote the game and the broadcast. I also tried to take some photos. 

Thanks to John Holt at the CIAC for welcoming us and for answering our questions. 

It was a fun day with lots of laughs. Great experience. Thanks to Rob for asking me to join him and Chris. 

Photo: John Holt/CIAC

Despite the loss, it was a tremendous season for Prep. A team that started 1-3 and then finished the regular season with six straight wins to get in the playoffs. The Jesuits were playing the season in honor of their teammate Jimmy McGrath, who died in May. 

Congrats to all the state champions who were crowned on Saturday in football, and this Fall across all sports. Happy for friends who are coaches, including Dan Farina at New Canaan and Tommy Howell at Joel Barlow, who each won football championships as assistant coaches. 

Winter sports are already underway, but now it's full speed onto basketball, maybe some hockey and maybe even watching some wrestling. 

2022 Thanksgiving Football

Thanksgiving means Ludlowe vs Warde in football. 

This year, the game was held at Ludlowe. The Mustangs came in with a 5-4 record, while the Falcons came in with a record of 4-5. 

I once again, as I have all season, had scoreboard duties. For a game like this, there's so many people I know (I was told by Rob Adams the other day that I should run for First Selectman.) I was able to see a lot of people pre-game, halftime and postgame, but not as much as normal, or really as much as I might like. 

But I was working so I had a job to do...the scoreboard. 

I do more that that, because I'm too nice and I care too much. 

In terms of the game, the first half did not see much offense. 

Ludlowe got on the board with 8:46 to go in the first quarter. Jack Ransome punched it in from a yard out and Caleb McNeil's kick put the Falcons up 7-0. The Ransome run was set up by a few long run's from Aaron Field. 

The game would say 7-0 through the first half, Ludlowe had chances to extend the lead and Warde had chances of their own, but turnovers hurt both teams ability to score. 

With 8:25 left in the third, Michael Palladino took the direct snap and ran in around the left side from seven yards out to extend the Ludlowe lead to 14-0. 

Warde came right back down the field and answered. Charlie Gulbin connected with Will Rottkamp on the five-yard score to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 5:34 left in the third. 

We would head to the fourth quarter, with Ludlowe ahead 14-7. 

Warde would not go away. The Mustangs cut the deficit to one, 14-13 when Gulbin found TJ Sinis for the 10-yard touchdown. The Mustangs would go for two and convert as the Gulbin to Sinis connection worked again to give Warde a 15-14 lead with 9:27 to play. 

Ludlowe re-took the lead with 8:13 left. Field ran in from 25-yards out. The two-point try was no good but Ludlowe led 20-15. 

After an interception by Field on the defensive end, he iced the game with a 74-yard run with 4:41 remaining. Field ran in the two-point try to extend the Ludlowe lead to 28-15. 

Ludlowe would retain the Gallagher-Banyas Trophy. The Falcons have now won two in a row against the Mustangs, three in a row if you count the private league of 2020. If you don't count 2020, Warde leads the post-Fairfield High series 10-7. 

Field was named the Ludlowe game MVP, while Sinis took home the honor for the Mustangs. The MVP award is presented by the Fairfield Rotary Club. As part of the award, each recipient gets a $1,000 scholarship. 

Doing the clock all year was a different experience. Fun at times frustrating at others. Had fun with Phil Simpson, who was doing PA all year, in the booth. We worked well together, helping each other out, and just having conversations when we could also. I also had fun with some of the other people in the booth, like the Ludlowe players who were filming the game. Thank you guys for your help as spotters on plays. 

Finally, a shout out to Kyle Geriak for a tremendous job singing the National Anthem at a number of games, including teaming up with the band for today's Anthem. 

On to winter sports, especially basketball for me. 

JFK - 59 Years Later

When I was younger, I had a fascination with US President's and specifically, John F. Kennedy. 

I am not sure why, but I read books and did other research on him. I even remember doing a project on him for a class. 

Today, November 22, is the anniversary of JKF's assassination. I have watched many videos about day, November 22, 1963 and the events that happened in Dallas, Texas and around the country that day and the days that followed. 

The details can be found in many places across the internet and in books. Lee Harvey Oswald in the Texas School Book Depository Building. 

From the videos of the car and the motorcade prior to the assassination, to the famous picture of Jackie Kennedy leaning over JFK's body. 

Then you have the video of Walter Cronkite on CBS announcing President Kennedy's death. 

Later on, you have such pictures of Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as president while on Air Force One with Jackie standing beside him. 

Then, at JFK's funeral, you have the image of JFK Jr. saluting his father's casket. 

Such iconic images and videos. 

JKF was a controversial president, like so many. That can probably be said for every politician. Some people liked him, others did not. 

From the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missle Crisis, to his work with the Civil Rights movement, any many other things, JFK was involved in a lot, both good and bad, especially considering the fact that he did not serve a full term. 

Many politicians and influential people have a famous speech, or famous speeches, and specific lines in those speeches, some which become iconic. 

For me with JFK it will always be the part of his inaugural address on January 20, 1961 with his line of "My fellow Americans, ask not what the country can do for you, Ask what you can do for the country."  

November 22, 1963 goes along with those other days in our country where you know what it is. It goes along with December 7, 1941 and June 6, 1944 and more recently September 11, 2001. 

A bad day, but a day that changed this history of the country. 

A Day of Listening

Today was a day of doing a lot of listening. 

Listening to people talk. 

Listening to presentations. 

Two important talks that are totally different. 

Both have a sports aspect but not the main aspect. 

First, this afternoon, it was listening to John Trautwein speak at Ludlowe on the loss of his son to suicide and the importance of Life Teammates. If you want to learn more about John's story and his foundation, Will To Live Foundation, visit will-to-live.org. 

John also spoke at Warde this morning. He has come to both Fairfield schools a couple of times over the last few years. His talk impacts everyone differently, and has had a greater impact on the Warde community and the entire Fairfield community when then-Warde student Kevin Kuczo died by suicide on February 4, 2021. 

Kevin's father, Jim, who has a foundation of his own Kevin's Afterglow, spoke prior to John's presentation and introduced John. Both gentleman who have lost their sons have tried to help others not have to go through what they dealt with. Both of their missions are around the way people live their lives and how to make sure everyone is supported. 

It was very important and powerful. Mental heath and suicide has unfortunately become very prevalent the in recent years. John and Jim, among others, are working to break the stigma and help others. 

The speaker this evening at Warde, on a much different topic, was Wayne Mazzoni, to talk about college athletic recruiting. The event was a joint effort between both Warde and Ludlowe's athletic department's as well as both school's student services department's. 

Wayne is formerly an assistant baseball coach at Sacred Heart University and does many talks about recruiting. 

It was really informative and very down to earth. I hope all the student-athletes who were there got something out of it. There were athletes from both schools and multiple sports there. 

Wayne gave information for both the parents and students and was also interactive and answered many questions from those in attendance. 

The presentation was directed for the students and parents, but I felt as a high school coach and someone who works in athletics in the school, it was also good for me (and all coaches) to hear to help the student-athletes as they prepare for life after high school. 

I definitely learned and realized things.

You can learn more about Wayne and his services at WayneMazzoni.com

Overall, it was a day of listening and learning.