New coach

Well, Well, Well - Boyertown has a new football coach. Mark Scisly coached at Salisbury High School last year where he was for four years. He is the new Boyertown football coach, but it wasn't easy for him. The vote at the school board meeting was 5-4. Apparently some of the board members wanted someone who teaches at Boyertown. Scisly is a teacher at Emmaus High School. Goold luck Mark. Despite the close vote, we're all behind you.
Congrats also goes to the Exeter High School girls' bowling team who pulled off the hat trick by winning three straight Berks League titles. They will try to defend their Eastern Pa. title as well this weekend. When this season began, it was expected to be a bit of a rebuilding season since they lost three seniors from last year. Instead, they went 46-2 and only two losses to Wilson prevented a perfect season. Ironically, it was Wilson they beat in the championship match by 120 pins.

I'm baaaaack!

Hi, I'm back. It's been awhile since my last blog (a week to be exact), so I'll try to catch up on what's been going on. Later today, the Exeter H.S. girls' bowling team is going for the hat trick. They're going for their third straight Berks County team championship. Good luck Coach Ellis and bowlers.
As all the local high school basketball teams go by the wasteside in district play, only the Daniel Boone boys' team is left. They are playing the third place consolation game tonight, but already have qualified for the state tourney starting next week.
In college news, there are several local swimmers in action. Boyertown resident Emily Christie is part of the 200 medley relay team at the University of Michigan. The relay team finished third in a recent meet. Individually, Christie finished fourth in the 200 meter butterfly in a time of 2:06.41. In the same meet she was sixth in the 100 butterfly (58.96).
Boyertown grad Liz Geary is swimming for Lafayette College. In a recent meet against Army, Geary was part of the first place 200 medley relay team. She was third in the 100 backstroke (29.40), and fifth in the 200 backstroke (31.04). She was also second in the 200 individual medley.
Am I asking to much for the Flyers to win a game tonight. They've lost eight straight game and went from near the top of the conference to nearly out of a playoff spot. Tonight they're playing San Jose. Come on guys, you've got to beat a California hockey team in your own building.

Innocent or guilty

So Roger Clemens had his day in Washington D.C. The evidence against him is starting to pile up. But let's stop a second before we pronounce a guilty verdict. The trainer who is ratting him out has a pretty good track record of lying. And if Clemens is the liar, then he is doing one bang up job of acting. Despite the evidence against him, he almost has me convinced of his innocense. What makes this Mitchell report so wrong in my view is that anybody who is named in the report is dammed as a cheater. Until somebody shows proof that Roger or all the other named in the report that steroids were, we shouldn't damm anyone to sports purgatory. This sounds a little to close the McCarthy hearings in the 1950's. I thought we grew up a little since then. It doesn't appear that is true.

The weather has sure played havoc on the district playoff games over the last two nights. Both Boyertown and Oley Valley girls' team are moved back to tonight. The Berks County individual bowling tournaments were also pushed back. The boys' tournament got its first day in on Monday. Daniel Boone's Kory Schlegel is in second place at the halfway point with a score of 919. He is seven pins behind the leader, Jayson Ulrich of Governor Mifflin. Exeter's Collin Adam is in fourth place iwth 909 pins.

As a dedicated Philadelphia Flyers fan, I'll be rooting hard for them to win tonight and break a mini losing streak. No Philadelphia sports team has won a championship in 25 years. This getting ridiculous. There are adult Philadelphia fans that have never seen a championship in Philly. The Flyers have an outside chance to break the curse this year, and of course the Phillies will certainly be contenders this year. As a Philadelphia sports fan for more than 40 years, I need one of these teams to win a title. It will be many years before the Sixers can even contend for a championship, and the door is closing on the Eagles' opportunities. So its the Flyers and the Phillies that we have left. Come on guys! Win something for us long suffering Philly fans.

New coach

As the snow piles up outside, more cancelations have come in. The Oley Valley girls' District 3 playoff game has been pushed back to tomorrow night. The Berks County Boys' Bowling Singles Tournament has been pushed back to tomorrow night. That means the girls tournament will be pushed back to Thursday night. I haven't heard yet about the Boyertown girls' team.

I'm not sure if the Boyertown School Board is meeting tonight, or if the weather has postponed it. If they meet tonight, they will vote on a new Boyertown High football coach. Mark Scisly is the man who will be voted on tonight. He previously was the head coach at Salisbury High School. He is a teacher at Emmaus High School. I'm hearing it may not be a sure thing that he gets the approval from the board.

College athletes

While we are just starting with the post season for basketball and wrestling in high school sports, lets not forget some of the local athlets in college right now. Mike Spaid is having another incredible wrestling season at Bloomsburg. He is currently 30-4 after a 6-2 decison over Dustin Rogers of West Virginia. After finishing eighth in the nation last year, Spaid has a real chance for a national championship. Good luck Mike.
Freshman swimmer Kylie Francis of Gilbertsville took first place in the 100 backstroke in a match against James Madison on February 2. She was also fifth in the 50 freestyle.
Andrew Powers is having an amazing freshman season at Gettysburg. He scored 19 in a game against Dickinson on February 6.

basketball madness

Congrats to the Daniel Boone High School boys' basketball team. The Blazers defeated Holy Name in the Berks League semifinals last night, 60-58. Now all they have to do to win the league championship is beat Reading on Friday night at the Sovereign Center. The Red Knights have not lost a league game yet this year and defeated Muhlenberg last night in the other semifinal game by a wide margin. A Blazer win would be a much bigger upset than the Giants beating the Patriots.
Also congrats go to the Spring-Ford girls' basketball team after beating Perkiomen Valley last night in the PAC-10 championship game. The Lady Rams' head coach is Boyertown grad Jeff Rinehimer who was a pretty good player in his day. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Now is the time of the year I hate the most, the first round of the district basketball playoffs. Why do I hate this time of year? Because very few of the games are very competitive. Several years ago the PIAA decided to shorten the regular season in favor of getting more teams in the district playoffs. As a result you have first round match-up with top seeds playing teams that aren't even above the .500 mark. Sometimes all this accomplishes is to embarrass the losing team who is down by 30 at halftime. It used to be that making the district playoffs was an accomplishment. Just playing a district game meant something, a reward for a good season. What does it mean to play one game and lose by 40 points? I say decrease the number of teams in the district playoffs and add a couple more non-league games for everyone. But that's just what I think.

playoff bound

It's official, the Boyertown High girls' basketball team is heading to the District 1 playoffs. The Lady Bears will be the 23rd seed and will have to travel to Sun Valley (the 10th seed in the first round on Saturday, February 9, at 7 p.m. Let's face, that's a tough draw. The Boyertown girls will have play their "A" game to get by Sun Valley. Sun Valley is 20-4 this season and they will be tough to beat in their gym. If the Bears do get by them, they will then play the winner of Abington (#7) and Garnet Valley (#10) in the next round. That game would be played on Wednesday, February 13.

The Oley Valley High school girls' team has also qualified for the playoffs. The Lady Lynx are ranked 15th in Class AA of District 3. They will take on the number two-seeded York Catholic in Dallastown on Tuesday, February 12. Under normal circumstances, winning that game would be a tall order for the Lady Lynx. But it looks like the three seniors, Amanda Breneiser, Brianna Ninni and Sara Trupp are not playing due to personal reasons. That will make the Lynx a real longshot since the team will be made up of sophomores. This will be a real maturing experience for these young ladies. Good luck and give it all you have girls.

It's also fall sports signing day tomorrow. It's the first day high school athletes from the fall can official sign a letter-of-intent to attand a college. Boyertown's Tyler Sands will sign to attend the University of Illinois. At just about the same time, Oley Valley field hockey players Lindsay Fry and Marci Richard will also be signing. Lindsay to Lasalle and Marci to Bucknell. Antietam's Corey Hertzog will sign to attend Penn State where he will play soccer.

playoff time

It's playoff time in Berks County and there is plenty to keep track of. Neither of Boyertown's basketball teams qualified for the Final Four in the PAC-10, but the girls were just one win away. The program, under coach Mike Ludwig seems to be turning around. After a 4-9 season last year, the girls finished the PAC-10 this season wth a 8-5 record. Their 14-9 overall record will surely get them in the district playoffs that begin with a pigtail round February 8 and 9. At this point the pairings have not been announced. A win or two in the districts will do a lot for the program. Good luck Lady Bears!
In Berks County, the Daniel Boone and Oley boys' basketball team have both made the playoffs. In fact, they will meet each other in the quarterfinal round on Monday, February 4, at 6:30 p.m. at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Wilson vs. Holy Name or Wyomissing game. The Jays and the Spartans must play a playoff game to determin the one - two seeds in Division 4. Daniel Boone is ranked fourth in the District 3-AAA power rankings which will give them a high seed in the district playoff.s Oley is ranked 24. Neither the Antietam boys' or girls' basketblal team made it to the Berks playoffs, but they should be in the district playoffs. THe boys are ranked 13th in the Class A power rankings, while the girls' are ranked ninth in Class AA. Oley girls' are ranked 17th.'
Congratulations to Jeff Sowers of Daniel Boone who scored his 1,000th career point last night. He has had an outstanding senior season for the Blazers and has been a big part of the team's success. He should have plenty of chances to improve on his 1,003 career points so far as Boone could go far in the county and district playoffs.
I, like millions of other people, will be glued to the TV set this Sunday to watch the big game. It's amazing how big the Super Bowl has become. It's way more than just a championship game, it has become a national holiday. I once heard that more toilets are being flushed during halftime of the big game than at any other time of the year. That just makes me wonder how the heck they know that. Since the Eagles aren't playing, I'll just be rooting for a close game. Too many Super Bowls just not very competitive. Here's to a last second touchdown to win the game.