Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Shining the spotlight on awe-inspiring performances.
Bethel High School graduate Matt Barnes has made a lot of people in professional baseball say, "Wow!" The first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 2011 MLB Draft has been a force this season. In eight starts between Greenville and Salem, the hard-throwing pitcher is 4-0 with a barely visible, 0.60 ERA. In 44 2/3 innings, Barnes has given up just three earned runs while striking out 67 and walking just six batters. Those are incredible numbers across the board. Max Pacioretty of New Canaan turned in a brilliant performance for Team USA in the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Helsinki over the last two weeks. The forward, who plays for the Montreal Canadians during the NHL season, was the seventh leading scorer in the tournament and …
Monday, May 21, 2012
Second installment of former great athletes from area and what they're doing now.
CHRIS TRACZ (North Branford) Tracz was an All-State selection in both basketball and baseball at North Branford High School. His 1,872 points still ranks as the most in school history in basketball. The 2000 graduate had a career record of 24-5 as a pitcher and also tossed a no-hitter. Tracz was inducted in the school's Hall of Fame in 2011. He just finished his third season as the head coach of Marist College in Poughkeepsie.In 2011, Tracz guided Marist to a 35-17 record, with the 35 wins being the second-most in school history. The baseball media guide says Tracz is "arguably the greatest pitcher to wear a Marist uniform." During his career at Marist, Tracz had a record of 38-9 with a 3.13 ERA. RICO BROGNA (Watertown) Brogna is …
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Share your kids’ athletic accomplishments with neighbors in New Canaan.
Welcome to your Community Sports Gallery. For more than one year, here on your homepage, New Canaan Patch each morning has featured the “Daily Sports Digest.” There, you’ve shared your children’s accomplishments in youth and recreational sports—in short write-ups, photos and videos—supplemented by our updates on local varsity scores, standings and schedules at the varsity level. Today we dedicate a new space for those same write-ups so that we can feature them in your daily newsletter for all your neighbors to enjoy. Here are 5 steps you need to post your write-ups and photos to the New Canaan Patch Sports Gallery: Your local editor will feature your photo(s) and write-ups in our daily newsletter, for thousands of your neighbors to see! …
Friday, May 18, 2012
A special tribute to my father who passed away four years ago.
Ever since my father died, I don't play golf very much anymore. In fact, I only play once a year and when I do, I take just one swing and call it a day. One swing is all I need to put a smile on my face and go home. No mulligans, no excuses, no do-overs. On May 17, I hit one ball to honor my father who died on this day, and I do it early. Patrick J. Devlin passed away at 6:37 a.m on May 17, 2008. On the anniversary of his passing, I get up well before dawn and drive to the Westchester Country Club in Harrison, New York. I make sure I allow for enough time for traffic, bad weather, and other unpredictable things, like leaving my Big Bertha driver at home, which I've done before. As long as I make it to the tee box at 6:37 a.m., all is good…
Thursday, May 17, 2012
First installment on former great athletes from our area and what they're doing in their second careers.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from New Canaan youth or recreational sports featured on New Canaan Patch? Here's how!] MO VAUGHN (Norwalk) Known as "The Hit Dog" during his 12-year career in the Major Leagues, Vaughn lives in Solon, Ohio, where he owns and operates "Mo Vaughn Transport," which is a trucking company. The former first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox and the 1995 American League MVP also owns and operates OMNI New York LLC, which bought and rehabilitated more than 1,100 units of distressed housing in the New York metropolitan area. The company manages these properties to provide low-cost housing using government tax credits. RICH DIANA (Hamden) A graduate of Hamden High School, Diana was an All-American football …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I'm thinking about all the great accomplishments by players and teams from our southwestern CT Patch towns.
I'm thinking the Cheshire boys volleyball team realizes they're on the verge of doing something special. A year ago, they had a perfect season, going 22-0 in route to a state championship. Behind 6'10" senior Nate Howard, the Rams haven't lost this year, increasing their winning streak to a remarkable 34 straight games. I'm thinking that Shayna Delaney of Pomperaug is authoring one of the best seasons of any player in the history of girls lacrosse in Connecticut. She scored a total of 20 goals in her first two games and still hasn't been stopped. Delaney has ripped the back of the net an incredible 96 times for the Panthers in 2012. I'm thinking about the great things that are happening with the Pomperaug baseball team. Besides suffering …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Area players go after the NCAA Lacrosse championship.
The field of 16 has been reduced to eight teams after the first weekend of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. Several athletes from our Fairfield and New Haven County Patch towns are playing key roles in pursuit of a championship. ROBERT ROTANZ (Westport) Rotanz went to Fairfield Prep before heading south to Duke. The senior midfielder scored three goals in Saturday's win over Syracuse in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Rotanz ranks third on the team with 36 goals and 43 total points. He was an All-ACC Academic selection after his junior year. MATT WHITE (Ridgefield) A two-time All-American at Ridgefield High School, White has been a force for the Virginia Cavaliers. The junior attack ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 15 …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Eyes of Connecticut are on Jonathan Quick as he tries to lead the LA Kings to the Stanley Cup.
Jonathan Quick was born in Milford and played scholastically in Hamden and Avon, but the eyes of the entire state of Connecticut are now squarely focused on the 25-year old goalie of the Los Angeles Kings. Quick has led his team to the Western Conference finals and on the brink of playing for the Stanley Cup. "We are so proud so of Jonathan," said Bill Verneris, head coach of the Hamden High School hockey team. "I get so mad when the announcers talk about him being from Milford and Avon and don't mention us. We're really proud of him and helped steer his career in the right direction." Verneris took over as head coach in 2001, the same year that Quick was a sophomore. In his first season guiding the program, Verneris had a tough decision …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
No license needed for inland or saltwater fishing!
The DEEP has designated Saturday as a “Free Fishing Day,” where no license is required to fish recreationally in inland or marine Connecticut waters. According to a press release, this is a great opportunity for experienced anglers to share their passion for fishing and protect the future of the sport by introducing a family member, friend or acquaintance to fishing. It's also a great time for visitors to our state to try out the many fishing opportunities found here. Where's your favorite fishing spot? Please tell us in the comments!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Matt Barnes of Bethel earns promotion with Red Sox and several other players from the area continue to make major gains in the minor leagues.
Matt Barnes of Bethel appears to be on the fast track to Boston. The first-round pick of the Red Sox in last summer's MLB draft has earned a promotion to the team's Class A affiliate of the Carolina League. Barnes, who received a $1.5 million dollar signing bonus, made five starts for Greenville (S.C) in the South Atlantic League, going 2-0 with a 0.34 ERA. The right-handed pitcher out of UConn told the Boston Globe that he was elated with the promotion. “I was extremely happy and, obviously, it happened pretty quick, so I can’t complain about that,’’ said Barnes.“Everybody wants to move up as fast as possible. I had just pitched that day and they called me in after the game and told me. My family was waiting outside and I was able to go …
Glen K Dunbar
9:44 am on Saturday, May 12, 2012
I would Love to be able to take on Fishing as a hobby. But, unlike the lot of You I am so overwhelmed ww/dumb house chores and caregiver nonsense. Glen more ›