This and that

(Freshman Audrey Bamford will be a Bear to watch at this weekend's Lancaster-Lebanon League Track and Field meet. Photo by Chris Bradley).

Here are a few tidbits I wanted to throw out on a gray Thursday afternoon.

Girls Soccer:
For all intents and purposes, it appears that the Lady Bears will begin play in the District Three tournament on Monday night at home against Governor Mifflin. This is NOT official yet – first round pairings will be released tomorrow. But looking at the latest D3 power rankings, it looks like that will be E-town's matchup for its first district game.

The Mustangs are currently the 21st-ranked team, with a record of 7-7-3. E-town is 12th at 13-3-1. These two teams also matched up in districts last year, with E-town winning 2-1. More on this game in the days to follow (if indeed that is the matchup).

While we're talking about girls soccer, here are a few notes on E-town's loss to CV on Tuesday night in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs.
• I was impressed by CV's defensive discipline. They limited E-town's amazing ability to possess the ball and put together strings of passes. They also did a good job of against Courtney Peffley and Katie Leverentz (E-town's top 2 scorers), keeping them away from the action as much as possible.
• Memo to whoever makes CV's uniforms: red numbers on a dark blue jersey are extremely difficult to read. Throw in an outline or something.
• I'll tell you, although CV did an excellent job forcing the Bears away from the playing style they are accustomed to, E-town did a great job of playing hard. This is a good group that never gives up and never, ever stops going hard. In particular, Dani Faller plays with her foot on the gas at ALL times in the middle of the field. She was out for the overtimes due to an injury, and her presence was missed. She is definitely a full-throttle player.
• CV may have been organized on defense, but they weren't very aggressive in the midfield. E-town routinely beat them to 50/50 balls.
• I think the loss to CV is just a setback for this E-town team. They are a talented bunch, and have what it takes to do well in districts and possibly get to states. If only they could avoid those pesky overtime games.
• Here's a scary thought: E-town has only TWO seniors on this team – LJ Funck and Erin Kurtz. Funck has been the team's rock on defense for years and will be tough to replace next year, but the Bears will be scary good next year as well.

Track and Field
The L-L meet is tomorrow (although the weather report doesn't look promising). Things get underway at Hempfield at 4 p.m. and continue Saturday at 10 a.m.

On the girls side, expect big things from Audrey Bamford in the high hurdles, high jump and the long jump. She'll qualify for districts in at least one of those events, and possibly all three of them.

Here is a list of the E-town girls that are in the top six on the L-L League Honor Roll, as of Sunday, May 4.

100: 6. Ann Romanuaskas, 12.6 (leader at 12.1).
100 Hurdles: 3. Audrey Bamford, 15.4 (leader at 15.2).
400 Relay: 5. Bailey Davis, Theta Cleis, Chelin Gallagher and Amanda Hershey, 52.3 (leaders at 50.3).
Shot Put: 5. Kirsten Hayes, 37-3-1/2 (leader at 39-5).
Long Jump: 3. Audrey Bamford, 16-10-1/2 (leader at 17-9-1/2).
High Jump: 5. Audrey Bamford, 5-3 (leader at 5-6).

For the boys, here is the L-L Honor Roll (again, as of May 4). Expect big things from Jordan Hallman, Dustin Horning, Larrian Payne, Josh McMaster.

100: 2. (four-way tie) Jordan Hallman, 10.8 (leader at 10.6).
200: 3. Jordan Hallman, 22.2 (leader at 21.9).
1,600: 2. Dustin Horning, 4:28.7 (leader at 4:19.03).
1,600 Relay: 3. John Romain, Greg Crawford, Josh McMaster, Jordan Hallman, 3:27.32 (leaders at 3:20.05).
High Jump: 5. Larrian Payne, 6-4-1/4 (leader at 6-11).


One last thing. I really have no qualms with giving one of my "competitors" a plug when they write a good piece. Ed Gruver of the Intelligencer put out a nice story today on Erick Baker and the EAHS baseball team. Here's a link.

Nice story by Ed on a great kid.

That's all for now, E-town. Until next time, stay classy.

Cheers.

Quick update

Hello out there in cyberspace. I just wanted to take a second and keep you updated on what's happening with the blog. With the short break between winter and spring sports, I took a brief (and much needed) respite. However, spring sports are already practicing and I'm working hard on previews of every EAHS team, which I will post here when they are complete.

Once games get into full swing later in March, I'll be cranking out daily entries again and will be working on more slideshows and things like that.

In the mean time, though, I'll check in every couple of days with some thoughts for you to chew on until I can get the previews done.

Here are a few:
• It's coming up on my favorite sports time of the year. March Madness kicks off soon and, of course, baseball opening day is less than two weeks away, which makes me giddy. I've been spending waaay too much time studying my fantasy baseball magazines to prepare for my upcoming draft(s). I plan to dominate my keeper league this year, as long as Josh Beckett's back holds up and Billy Butler goes .320/30/100/100. Hey, anything's possible.
• I gotta say, this NBA season is one of the best in recent memory. I mean, tons of activity at the trade deadline, which NEVER happens, and a ton of excellent playoff races happening right now. In the west, anything can happen at this point. Will Kobe and Gasol continue carrying the Lakers? (Side note: funny how before the season everyone was saying how unhappy Kobe was in La-La Land, and now he's got the Lake Show on track for the top seed in the conference). Will the Suns learn how to play with Shaq? Can Houston keep it up without Yao? Are the Spurs still the team to beat? So many questions. I'm telling you, The League hasn't been this fun to follow since the days of MJ.
• Of course, the absolute mess that is my Maryland Terps and Baltimore Orioles puts a bit of a damper on my excitement. Ugh.

That's all for now, E-town. Until next time, stay classy.

Cheers.

This and That

Hello everyone. Just wanted to post a couple of things for today.

I'm working on a preview of the Gettysburg-E-town district playoff game on Saturday night. Still trying to dig up info. on Gettysburg, but I have a few leads, so once I get it all together, I'll get it up, definitely by tomorrow. By the way, the game is Saturday night. I know a few newspapers (not mine, of course) had it as a Friday night game, but I can assure you that it is Saturday night at E-town.

Staying with the Bears, I thought they played an excellent first half Tuesday night against Columbia. Problem is, that didn't happen in the second half. In the game preview, I wrote that E-town couldn't afford to have the one bad quarter that has seemed to plague them much of the season, or they would lose. Well, they had that quarter in the third, and they lost. Columbia was a completely different team in the second half. I'm not sure if they woke up and played that much better after halftime or if the Bears just had a bad half, but Columbia definitely earned that win with an excellent second half. I remember saying to someone at halftime that I couldn't believe this Columbia team had won 20 in a row because I wasn't thoroughly impressed with them. And to an extent, I'm still not. If I was a betting man, which I'm not, I'd bet that McCaskey beats them tonight.

In case anyone was wondering about the EAHS wrestling team's upcoming sectional tournament, I've got you covered. The tournament is on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Central Dauphin East High School. The Bears are in Section Two and are the only L-L team in the section, and it's a LOADED section. The other teams are
Cedar Cliff (15-3 and district quarterfinalist),
Central Dauphin (17-1 and district champion, with one of the best teams in the state),
CD East (one of the weaker teams in the racket),
Harrisburg (again, not an overly strong team),
Hershey (not bad, but shouldn't post too much of a threat)
Lower Dauphin (oustanding team, 14-3, district quarterfinalist)
Middletown (I think we all know by now, from the Donegal Tournament, how good Middletown is. They have a few good kids in the lighter weights)
Red Land (don't know much about them, shouldn't be too much of a threat)
Susquehanna Township (average team, from what I hear).

Cedar Cliff, LD, CV AND Middletown. Ouch, it's gonna be tough for the Bears.

This tournament, of course, decides who goes to districts. I'll post the first round matchups when I know them.

Lady Bears end with a win

Before I head out for the weekend, I wanted to post a few things for you to chew on as you begin your two days of freedom.

• Congratulations to the E-town girls basketball team for ending their season with a win last night. The Bears set a season-high by scoring 60 points and beat Steelton-Highspire 60-55. Their previous high point total was 59, which came in their only other win of the season back in late December. E-town was led by its team captains – Becca Bigler and senior Jen Dunkelberger (both pictured above). Bigler had a great night, scoring 12 points in the third quarter en route to a team-high 19. Dunkelberger went out with a bang in the last game of her high school career. She poured in 15 points, including a 3-pointer in the second quarter.
This is a great boost for the Bears, who will lose only Dunkelberger off of this year's team. It gives them a nice memory of the season and should add to their confidence heading into next year.

• So I read that Arlen Specter wants to investigate the NFL and the New England Patriots for destroying the infamous "SpyGate" tapes from earlier in the season when the Pats were fined and had a first round pick taken away for videotaping the NY Jets defensive signals during the game. While I want to see the Pats punished as much as the next guy, taking it to Washington is RIDICULOUS and an absolute waste of taxpayer dollars. I don't know much about politics and I don't claim to, but isn't there more important things that Specter could focus on? He needs to leave this issue alone, because nobody cares. NOBODY. What a joke.

• How do you Phillie fans feel about the Mets potentially landing Johan Santana? Better hope Charlie Manuel decides to give Ryan Howard the day off when the Fightin's are facing Johan, or he could be staring at the Golden Sombrero (that's 0-for-5 with five strikeouts for you non-seamheads).

• My pick for the big game this Sunday? NY 31 - NE 28. Probably wrong, but just a hunch.

• Also, check back either Sunday or Monday for a preview of the EAHS boys basketball first round L-L game. If the Bears are playing Columbia (The Tide are playing Catholic tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Penn Manor for the right to see who plays E-town), Barry Ford (who edits our sister paper in Columbia) and I will be joining forces to give you a preview du juor (I probably spelled that wrong. It's Friday, cut me some slack.) for you. If E-town gets Catholic, you still get a preview. See that? Either way you're a winner.

Until then, stay classy Elizabethtown. And enjoy the weekend.

Cheers.

This and That

Hello everyone. This morning, there's certainly been a lot going on in the past two days or so in the world of sports – both in E-town and on the national stage. I need a space to give updates, state my opinions and, occasionally, vent. That's what "This and That" is all about. By the way, I have yet to come up with a better name for this portion of the ol' blog. Just one of those things I guess. One day, while I'm in the shower or playing Xbox, it'll hit me. And then I'll forget it.

OK, moving on. Here's some news about the E-town sports scene:
EAHS Boys Basketball:
Boy oh boy, these Bears continue to surprise me. Well, not really that it's surprising that they are in the hunt for league and district playoffs...maybe I should use "impress." Yeah, that sounds better. E-town won its fifth straight game last night, beating a pretty good Cumberland Valley team by five points. Here's a little tidbit for you: the Bears are in the midst of a five-game winning streak – they won four games all of last season. Hmm....I'd say that's improvement.

Quinn Cozzens paced E-town with 24 points, including three 3-pointers. Cozzens has had an excellent season so far, but it just seems like this team fits together like jigsaw puzzle. Every player is a piece and when they're all on the same page, they all bring something to the table that makes the team that much more successful. When Cozzens and Chad Styer are open outside and nailing threes or long jumpers, it's usually because big men Nate Koach and Kyle McNeil are either commanding extra attention inside or setting great screens. And once the outside shooters get hot and drawing defenses out to them, Koach and McNeil have a field day in the paint. Add that to Jordan Hallman's emergence as a steady point guard and you can see whey they've reached 11 wins already. And they have depth: Nate McCurdy, Mike O'Shea and Brad Garber can all come off the bench and contribute. Anyone who has ever been around organized basketball at any level will tell you how important that is to the success of a team

They feed off of each other, with each player doing his part, and it's working. The Bears got away from that a little bit in the first half on Tuesday night against Conestoga Valley, but they responded by executing the gameplan in the second half, and you could see the difference. Now they have to sustain it. That's the key. They haven't clinched anything yet. Sure, they're close to league and district playoff berths (that Cumberland Valley last night was a major boost for their district status), but they don't have them yet. And they know it. This team has an excellent attitude and they all have good heads on their shoulders, so they know what's left for them to do. We'll know a lot more after their next two games: Friday vs. Garden Spot and Monday vs. Solanco.

Whew, that was a mouth full....

PGA Golf
Call me crazy, but I love watching the PGA. Love it. And I couldn't be more excited that my man Tiger's playing this week. I also love that Tiger's now talking a little bit of trash to the field, saying yesterday that the Grand Slam (winning all four majors in the same year) is "easily within reach." Remember, this has never been done before in the history of golf. I've followed Tiger's career intently since he first came onto the scene. Hey, I was in high school and just getting into golf and he was young and full of energy. Who else was I going to become a fan of, Ben Crenshaw? I'll admit that after his dominating performance at the 97 Masters, I was pumped, but I never imagined what kind of golfer he would become over the next 10 years or so. You can't help but be impressed by what he's done. But Tiger has never been one to say much about how great he really is. that's why his statement yesterday was great in my opinion. He basically told the world's best golfers, "you guys are good, but I'm better. You can't beat me and there's really nothing you can do about it." good times.

NFL
Forget the Super Bowl for a minute, I need to vent about my team, the Washington Redskins. Joe Gibbs retired a few weeks ago, leading everyone to believe that owner Dan Snyder would hire defensive coordinator (well, he's actually associate head coach - defense, but the Skins' ridiculous titles for their coaches is another post in itself) Gregg Williams to replace him as HC. He was hand-picked by Gibbs (a man who has more power in our nation's capitol than that Bush fella) to be the heir apparent. He was groomed for four years. He had plenty of players publically declaring that he should be the next head coach. So what does Snyder do? Basically he's overlooking him and is likely going to hire Jim Fassel. JIM FASSEL. Whaaaat? Not only that, but he's going to replace offensive guru Al Saunders (whose 700 page playbook was FINALLY being mastered by Jason Campbell and the Redskin offense after two years) and will likely need a new defensive guy after he passes Williams over for the promotion. Snyder, that sniveling weasel, sat there at the Gibbs press conference and preached continuity, and continuing what the team has been building on, and now he's going to overhaul THE ENTIRE COACHING STAFF? Baffling.

Now that my blood is boiling, I'd better end this post and go eat some lunch.

Cheers.

This and That

Well, what a weekend it was. Four good football games, a memorable press conference (much more on this later), and one of the worst commercials two professional athletes have every agreed to be in. Oh, and there was plenty of E-town sports action as well. And since this is an E-town sports blog, we'll start with that.

Not a great Friday night for the EAHS boys basketball team. The Bears managed just 29 points (including two in the fourth quarter) and were blown out of the gym by Hempfield 53-29. They fell to 3-7 in league play, one game behind Solanco and Ephrata for third place in Section two, and two games behind CV for second place. There is still time for them to make a move, but E-town certainly can't afford another performance like the one it had on Friday night.

The E-town wrestling team was solid at this weekend's Central Mountain Duals. The Bears were without a few kids, but they should be healthy entering this weekend's L-L League Tournament at Manheim Township on Friday and Saturday. I haven't nailed down a specific starting time yet, but I'll post it as soon as I know. I'm excited to check out Township's new gym. I've heard it's out of this world. Should be fun.

Congrats go out to Bob Schlosser and Co. for their continued success this season. The E-town College Blue Jays just picked up the program's 900th win and are trucking along with only one loss so far this season. Check out the Chronicle (hopefully this week) for a feature on the team. Keep it up Jays.

Four pretty good games in the NFL this weekend, eh? Things got off to a great start with the Packers-Seahawks game in a blizzard in Green Bay. What an atmosphere. Glad to see Favre in the conference title game, and would love to see him in the Super Bowl. Who wouldn't? You know, besides Giants fans.

Speaking of the G-men, what an upset they pulled over Dallas. Putting my pure disdain for everything Cowboys aside (hey, I'm a Skins fan, it's understandable), I have to admit I didn't think they'd lose that game. Apparently, neither did owner Jerry Jones, who took the liberty of giving his players two extra tickets each for the NFC Championship game, before they even took the field against the Giants. Oops. Tony Romo looked like a guy in his first full year as a starter, and people might want to hold off on their Canton plans for him for a little bit. Oh yeah, and then there was TO crying. Yes, crying. Crying! I couldn't help but laugh at him. I mean, I guess it's good that he cares that much about the team and all ... but crying? Really? Fannnn-tastic.

Jacksonville gave the Pats a little bit of a game, but they are just too good. Simple as that. And then the Jags have the nerve to trash talk Tom Brady AFTER he picked them apart? Baffling.

The Chargers also pulled an upset yesterday, beating Peyton and the Colts. In Indy. Without Tomlinson. With Billy Volek at the helm. With Norv Turner as their coach. Woooow. So does that mean last year was an aberration for Peyton? Does he still not have what it takes in the big games? Hmm....

Ahhh...and then there was the Oreos commercial starring the Manning brothers (I know, shocker). Seriously one of the absolute worst commercials I've ever seen. Is there NOTHING Peyton won't agree to endorse? It's just doubtful to me that you'd see the other "faces" of their respective sports (guys like Jordan, Tom Brady, Sid the Kid, Jeter) be in a commercial like that. Learn how to say no Peyton. Conversely, the Coors Light commerical with Dennis Green just pretty much laughing at everything in the fake press conference is hilarious.

My picks for this weekend: Pats and Pack. Yeah, I know I'm a risk taker.

This and that

From time to time here on The Sideline, I'll give you my version of "This and That" (I know, the creative juices must really be flowing today for me to come up with such a captivating name. This is where I'll basically fill you in with more E-town sports happenings than you could possibly fathom (ahem, sarcasm), and even try to throw in a tad bit of wit to keep you entertained along the way. Afterward, picture me screaming at you like Russel Crowe in "Gladiator," "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" Or picture me having my hand blugeoned with a hammer so that I don't type any more lame jokes on this blog. Your choice.

Anywho, E-town, onwards and upwards. Here, lads and lasses, is the very first installment of This and That:

EAHS Wrasslin':

That's Travis Leber, E-town's 171-pounder. Yeah, he's strong.
The Bears continue to impress me, checking in this week with two more section victories following their win at the Donegal Holiday Tourney in late December. E-town beat Manheim Central Thursday and completely dismantled Cocalico Saturday to go to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the section.

Manheim did give the Bears everything they could handle, however. Oliver Thayer came through in the clutch with a huge tech fall that pretty much clinched it for E-town.

I'll admit that in Maryland (where I'm from for those who didn't know), the sport of wrestling is almost a nonfactor. We had about five kids on my high school varsity team (not kidding) and I never went to one match in my four years there. I'm not knocking the sport, it's just that some sports are bigger than others in different areas of the country. For example, my HS was a huuuuuge basketball school, so they got the lion's share of the attention. So when I moved to Elizabethtown to work here, it took me a little while to learn the sport of wrestling. You can imagine how I felt when I attended my very first wrestling match EVER, and then had to write about it. Bad times. The only wrestling I had ever seen before involved George the Animal Steele and Jake The Snake Roberts. But over the past four years, I've really developed an interest in the sport and am finally starting to understand it a little. I used to wonder how in the world the crowd knew to yell "TWOOOOOOO" at the ref, but I finally know how to tell when a takedown has happened. Hey, I'm learning, and if any of you would like to take some time and explain the intricies of the sport to me, I'm all ears.

Sorry, got a little off track there. Back to the Bears. They continue to wrestle solid up and down the lineup and I think that's what helps them. If they fall behind, they have guys capable of getting big points and bringing them back into the match. Plus I'm a sucker for the Mike Sernoffsky clap. I love the intensity. Love it.

Girls Basketball
For those who don't know, Becca Bigler is one heck of an athlete. I've written about Becca, or "Bigs" as the EAHS announcer calls her, for a couple of years now and she impresses me in every sport. Friday night against Solanco, she was relentless, attacking the boards, playing aggressively and scoring a lot of points. The only downside is that her aggressive play tends to get her in foul trouble. But Mike Pericci's Baby Bears are coming along and are getting better every time they take the court. L-L teams might want to enjoy beating E-town now because it might not last too much longer.

I was a little distracted on Friday night, though, by the pimp suit being sported by Solanco's coach. All white. Yeah, that's right. What a show. Good stuff.

Boys Hoops
Look out, here they come. The Bears have woken up a bit in 08 and have now won three straight, climbing back to within two games of .500. I predicted 12 wins this year for them, and they are at five with 11 games left. I'm standing by my earlier statement that this could be a team that makes a great run for an LL playoff spot in the second half of the year.

Right now, they are a game out of second place, trailing Ephrata and CV by a game. They play Ephrata tonight. I love the athleticism E-town has – Quinn Cozzens, Chad Styer, Nate Koach, Kyle McNeil, Mike O'Shea are all good players. Plus Jordan Hallman has been contributing points, which is huge for E-town. With a little confidence, this team could make some noise. Just one schlub's opinion.

Bowling
Big match today for the Bears, who are sitting at 20-4 overall and 16-4 in league play. they lost a key one to L-S on Friday, but Etown is still in the hunt for the section crown, and they proved last year that they can't be counted out until the last match of the season.

E-town College men's basketball
Well, the Jays finally lost a game this year and are 10-1, which is remarkable. Bob Schlosser and his staff have done a fantastic job so far this season and has the program two wins away from 900. Wow.

I haven't been able to see them yet this year, unfortunately. Still waiting on that scientist to finish my clone so that I can make it to more events to cover. Alas, it's a work in progress.