Circling the Playing Fields

Final Blog Assignment

Michael Grossi — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:36:14 +0000

Well, this post is the one where I recap my experiences blogging for the past three months. I feel that the assignment to create a blog was an excellent one. I definitely learned a lot through this assignment. I feel that I took away some valuable things from the assignment. The main one is that even though this is a blog and there are some opinions listed here, a blog is still a place where a person can post pieces with journalistic integrityand reporting. I also realized that a lot of people respond well when you tell them that you are writing a story about them for a blog.

While this blog was a great experience, there were some things that I would do differently. I would definitely like to have gotten out more to see some of the teams that I commented about. I feel that a lot of the time I was making conjecture from what I learned in other peoples writing, especially from the Globe and Herald. I wish I got out as much as they did so I could fully express my thoughts about certain teams and their playing style. I also wish that I did more reporting pieces. I did a few, but I would have like to have gotten more game stories. If I had the time, I wish that I went to one important game in basketball and hockey and wrote game stories about them. Unfortunately, I had other classes to do work for and I couldn’t do this.

I really enjoyed being able to communicate to the public about high school sports in Massachusetts. I felt that I did some really good work that had integrity and wasn’t just me spouting off my opinions. I like the fact that I was able to integrate a lot of my work that I did at the Globe into this. I enjoyed being able to post different stories and just disseminating a lot of information in a mass form.

I didn’t dislike anything about creating a blog. I love the quickness of getting information out and I like the fact that I could choose what to write and how to write it. The only thing that I disliked was the fact that I was in other classes and couldn’t focus too much attention on this when I had work to do.

I would like to continue this blog. I feel that I can get more information out to people and also retain the regular journalism values. It is a good forum around tournament time to give a lot of information out to people. If the Globe stays in business, I will be working there for co-op and hopefully be able to post some of my work from that on the site.

A lot of journalists look down upon blogs as tools for losers in their parents basement to write scathing untrue opinion about certain topics. This especially applies to sports. There are a countless number of sports blogs out there, and most of them don’t have any standards of reporting. Even though blogs are usually a forum of opinion, I like them a lot. I like them because it is kind of like being a columnist for me. I use journalistic values like reporting and editing and citing fact in my posts. Even when I do this, I can inject some opinion like a columnist can. I like blogs because they are a quick and efficient way to give out information, and if you retain integrity, a blog can be just as viable a source as a newspaper.

I did see some pleasant surprises while doing this blog. Prior to this blog, I had another that I hadn’t updated in about a year. On that one, I didn’t receive much traffic. So going into this blog, I thought I would see much traffic at all. However, this site was different. I received over 1000 hits and a lot of that came during tournament time when I was updating regularly. I averaged about ten hits a day. I was also surprised with the amount of information that I came across to put in this blog.

I did let my family and friends know about my blog and all of them liked it. However, I feel that they could have just said that to be nice. Overall, the response was good. A lot of people told me they liked the reporting that I did and how this site was a good mix of real, in-depth reporting and column like pieces.

Overall, I had a terrific time writing this blog. It was a forum for me to let loose and write what I wanted. I hope all who have read this blog and who continue to read it enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Cheers!

Baseball Top 10

Michael Grossi — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:15:48 +0000

The high school baseball is getting under way now, so I thought I would make a beginning of the season top 10. Here are my thoughts:

1. Malden Catholic

2. Plymouth North

3. Catholic Memorial

4. Andover

5. BC High

6. King Philip

7. St. John’s Prep

8. East Bridgewater

9. Masconomet

10. Abington

Here are some players to watch as well:

Division 1:Eddie Campbell, Pitcher, Bridgewater-Raynham; Nelfi Zapata, Catcher, Boston English; Chris Carmain, 1st Base, St. John’s Prep; Ryan Cusik, 2nd Base, Gloucester; Justin Quinn, Shortstop, Lincoln-Sudbury; Justin Sencabaugh, 3rd Base, Malden Catholic; Tyler Horan, Outfield, BC High; Michael Yaztremski, Outfield, St. John’s Prep; Brendan Walsh, Outfield, Central Catholic.

Division 2:Joe Flynn, Pitcher, Plymouth North; Matt Walsh, Catcher, Plymouth North; KC Murphy, 1st Base, Hingham; Nick DeStefano, 2nd Base, Belmont; Chris Splinter, Shortstop, Masconomet; Mike Pratt 3rd Base, Bishop Stang; Ben Bullock, Outfield, Apponequet; Brandon Lee, Outfield, Marblehead; Michael Muse, Outfield, Milton.

Division 3:Sahil Bloom, Pitcher, Weston; Ricky Travers, Catcher, Norton; Kevin Singer, 1st Base, North Reading; Kristian LaPointe, 2nd Base, Abington; Matt Greeke, Shortstop, Hamilton-Wenham; David Papagni, 3rd Base, Northeast Regional; Darren Hartwell, Outfield, North Reading; Joe Esposito, Outfield, Georgetown; Eddie Blum, Outfield, Weston.

Danny Ventura at the Boston Herald Keeps churning out some gems. Him and his staff has a bunch of previews and here are the links to them:

Division 1 Baseball Preview

Division 2 Baseball Preview

Division 3 Baseball Preview

Baseball Notes

Michael Grossi — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:40:54 +0000

Luckily, weather hasn’t been that bad at the beginning of the Spring Season and most sports are well under way. Baseball is one of the sports that has a lot of trouble with April games. Usually, there is snow cover so games can’t be played. That isn’t the case this year.

I wanted to let all of you baseball fans out there know about one player to keep your eye on this year. Joey Flynn from Plymouth North is probably one of the best pitchers in the state. Last year, he led North to a state title and this year, he looks to be stronger. In his last game, he struck out 13 batters and walked none. Because of him, you can expect Plymouth North to be in contention for another state title this year.

Two more quick notes. The first is that tomorrow, I will reveal my top 1o in baseball. Also, head over to the Boston Herald’s site tomorrow because Danny Ventura will be hosting a chat on baseball at Noon. To participate in the chat, go to www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school.

Here is a link to Danny V’s first top teams in baseball segment. Preseason baseball diamond nine

New Cape Cod League?

Michael Grossi — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:08:37 +0000

There is some interesting news brewing down on Cape Cod. Athletic Directors of some of the smaller schools are looking to re-form the Cape & Islands league. Here is the article from the Cape Cod Times.

A league of their own

Winter All-Scholastics

Michael Grossi — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:13:36 +0000

Both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald have released their choices for their Winter All-Scholastics. All-Scholastics are the best players that have played in each winter sport. To check out each papers choices for all winter sports go to Boston Globe Winter All-Scholastics and Boston Herald All-Scholastics. On the Herald’s site, just scroll down to see all sports.

On the Globe’s All-Scholastics, be sure to check out the underwater photo gallery of Nick D’Innocenzo (photos by Yoon S. Byun).

Duxbury Lacrosse

Michael Grossi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:56:29 +0000

As the spring sports season begins to start in earnest this week, one team to watch is the Duxbury Boys Lacrosse team. The Dragons have captured five straight Division 1 State titles and six in the last seven seasons.

The Dragons also haven’t lost to a Massachusetts public high school in 94 games (dating back to the 2004 season).

Duxbury has a slew of talent on its team and the talent knows that hard work is what makes the team so great.

The Dragons are led by Hakeem Lecky and Quinn Cully. Both will attend college on lacrosse scholarships. Lecky will play at Syracuse while Cully will suit up for the Fighting Irish. Both were also members of the schools super bowl winning football team.

Here is an article from the Patriot Ledger on the Dragons first game of the season. Duxbury Lacrosse wins opener

Hockomock League invites Attleboro to join league

Michael Grossi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:49:55 +0000

Some interesting news from down near Rhode Island. The Hockomock League, which is comprised of schools along the I-95 corridor near Rhode Island has extended an invitation to Attleboro High School to join the league.

A lot of things must happen in order for Attleboro to leave the Old Colony league. They first have to notify the league and then they have to comply with the MIAA’s standards for switching leagues.

If Attleboro does join the Hockomock, then gives the league 10 teams. This would enhance their chance of being split into large school-small school divisions and obtaining another playoff spot. That, though, is a conversation for another day as the MIAA won’t talk about splits for another two years after this years proposals were voted down.

Here is the article from the Sun Chronicle’s Mark Farinella. Hockomock extends invitation to Attleboro to join league

Spring Sports Season

Michael Grossi — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:45:37 +0000

Well, the hiatus is finally over. After two long weeks where there was no high school sports, we have finally reached that magical time of the year when schools hit the playing fields for the spring sports season.

This week is the start of the spring sports season. On Circling the Playing Fields, I will cover Lacrosse, Baseball and Softball. So check in for updates because I will be unveiling my top 10s for each sport shortly.

Get ready for an exciting couple of months as the weather starts to get warmer!

Walpole High School names a new head Football coach

Michael Grossi — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:28:06 +0000

As the clock ticked down at Gillette Stadium, the Walpole Rebels turned to their fans to thank them and to celebrate their Super Bowl victory over Mansfield.

Walpole thoroughly walloped Mansfield 41-21 on December 6, with junior running back Ryan Izzo accumulating 193 yards on the ground and had three touchdowns.

Leading the team in thanking the fans was head coach Danny Villa.

However, just 17 days after the Super Bowl victory, the football team’s universe was turned upside down.

On December 23, Villa, who had been coach and athletic director for eight years at Walpole High School, resigned citing family issues as the reason for resignation.

That reason wasn’t the only one behind the resignation of Villa.

Villa allegedly had an illicit relationship with a 15-year-old female student. He sent over 500 text messages to the student in the span of one month. The student’s father saw some of these text messages and reported the incident to the school on December 11^th. Villa was charged with three counts of child rape and enticing. The penalty for those crimes carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“Many of our students are experiencing a sense of loss, confusion, and betrayal,” Superintendent Lincoln D. Lynch III said in a statement following the charges. “As a community, it will take time to heal from this difficult situation.”

Now, three months after Villa resigned from his position, Walpole has named a new head coach for the upcoming season.

Luckily for the team, it is a familiar face. The replacement for Villa is Barry Greener, who acted as the interim head coach while the school was searching for a new coach. Greener was informed he would be the new coach early on Friday.

“It’s a job I’ve always wanted, but never felt it would materialize,” Greener told the Boston Herald. “When the opportunity arose due to unfortunate circumstances, I decided to put in for it.”

“I am happy to announce that Barry Greener was chosen as the head football coach of Walpole High School,” Walpole Principal Alan Bernstein said in an official announcement to the media. “The committee was impressed with Coach Greener’s ties to the academic community, his knowledge and passion for the sport of football and his dedication to Walpole’s student athletes.”

Attempts to reach Greener and Athletic Director Jim Erker directly were unsuccessful.

Greener has been an assistant coach at Walpole since 1972 except for a few short years in the 1980’s when he coached at Dover-Sherborn. He has been both offensive and defensive coordinator for the Rebels. Greener has also been the coach of the tennis and wrestling teams at Walpole. Besides sports, Greener was also a history teacher and is currently a physical education teacher at the Johnson Middle School in Walpole.

Greener hopes to keep the entire staff from last year, including offensive coordinator Bill O’Connell, who was thought to be one of the top candidates to replace Villa.

Walpole went through a lengthy process to choose a new head coach. The school chose a ten person committee to interview potential candidates. The committee was composed of administration, teachers, parents of players and community representatives.

The first task for the committee was to whittle the list of applicants from around 20 to a list of six applicants that would be the finalists for the position. The finalists were interviewed the week of March 23.

Athletic Director Jim Erker told the Norwood Daily News Transcript that the school was looking for “the best possible coach who can lead the program, maintain Walpole’s tradition of excellence, and also lead it into the future.”

Now that Greener has taken the reigns of the Rebels, he will have to meet some lofty expectations.

Walpole is one of the favorites to return to the Division 2 Super Bowl in 2009. The Rebels return a host of key players, including two-time Division 2 Player of the year, Ryan Izzo. Also returning is Sonny Mastromatteo, the quarterback for the past two seasons.

“Sure we have Ryan Izzo and Sonny Mastromatteo coming back, but we have some holes to fill,” Greener told the Herald.

Now that a coach has been chosen to run the football team, the Rebels can return to some sort of normalcy and start on their mission to get back to the Division 2 Super Bowl.

Jon Kanavich Feature

Michael Grossi — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:33:20 +0000

For my sports journalism class, I had to write a piece that involves history. When I covered wrestling for the Boston Globe, I found out the coach of the Division 1 Championship team, Framingham, was on the last team to win a state wrestling title for Framingham. Here is the piece I wrote.

Fifteen years ago, Jon Kanavich took to the wrestling mat for the final time in his high school career.

He donned the customary blue and white Framingham High School singlet and trotted out to the middle of the orange and black mat to shake hands with his opponent. However, this match wasn’t any old match. Kanavich was about to wrestle Wellesley’s Dean Diamond in the semifinals of the state finals in the 119 pound weight class.

Friends and family of Kanavich and his teammates at Framingham were littered throughout Wayland High School’s gym. Not only were fans cheering for the Flyers, but they were cheering for every player that faced one of Framingham’s rivals.

“The atmosphere in the gym was amazing,” said Kanavich. “Fans were cheering for other team’s wrestlers to beat our rivals; it was just really exciting.”

The first two periods of Kanavich’s match against Diamond were pedestrian. Kanavich scored on a few escapes but Diamond was in control most of the time, staying on top of Kanavich and keeping him pinned with his stomach to the mat. Entering the third, Diamond looked to finish off Kanavich.

In the third, each wrestler had golden opportunities to score points. Diamond got two takedowns and looked to be in control. But toward the end of the match, Kanavich was able to take Diamond to the ground. Kanavich had a hold of Diamond’s shoulder and pushed as hard as he could but Diamond wouldn’t roll onto his back. Diamond eventually escaped from Kanavich’s grasp.

Despite all of the cheering, Kanavich wasn’t able to pull out a win against Diamond. He lost the decision 12-8, but his match was still instrumental in the team’s success during the day.

“My goal was to win the individual match [against Diamond],” said Kanavich. “I was disappointed that I didn’t win but to finish third overall gave my team extra points.”

Because of Kanavich’s strong showing and three other wrestlers winning the title in their weight classes, Framingham won the team state title for the first time ever.

“It was exciting to win a title as a player,” said Kanavich. “It felt great and it really propelled our program to prominence.”

Wrestling wasn’t just for fun for Kanavich. It had a profound influence and major effect on his life.

“The program at Framingham did a lot for me,” he said. “The coaches had a real impact on my life. I wasn’t that great in school and wrestling taught me discipline. I ended up fulfilling a dream by coaching at Framingham.”

Now, fifteen years later, Kanavich’s wrestling career has come full circle. Two weeks ago, Kanavich coached a group of dedicated Framingham wrestlers to the school’s second ever state title.

“Winning a state title as a coach gave me a deep level of pride in my wrestlers,” he said. “Seeing the kids go through it and experience the feeling of winning a state title was awesome.”

Even thought the accolade is the same as when Kanavich won the state title in 1994, there are new rules now. Back in 1994, wrestler’s wrestled in individual events against random opponents and where they finished determined how many points the school would receive. Now, teams wrestle as teams and against other teams. The team that wins a match in a certain weight class gets points depending on how big of a win it was. Then the points are added up and whichever team has the most points are the victors.

“Comparing winning the team title then and now is like comparing apples to oranges,” said Kanavich. “In 1994, [wrestling] was more about winning the individual match for yourself. Now, with the way the tournament is run, it is more about the team.”

Now, Kanavich has two team titles on his resume as well as 104 career victories on the mat. Kanavich was also named a Boston Globe All-Scholastic and won a state title in the 103 pound weight class in 1993. But while he has had so much success on the mat, it is success in teaching others that is most gratifying for him.

“Overall, it was more fulfilling to win a team title as a coach,” said Kanavich. “In 1994, I wanted to win individually and failed, but as a coach, I was able to see the happiness of the wrestlers from the outside.”

Now, after accomplishing the goal of coaching Framingham to a state title, Kanavich is looking at next year to see if he can have the same impact on some kids that his coaches had on him.

“I see coaching at Framingham like a family business,” he said. “I took over for my old coach and I hope, someday, that one of my wrestlers takes over for me.”