Monroe-Woodbury Relentless Champs, outshoot, outpass, outcheck Tigers, 6-3 in T-

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By “Red Light” Bailey. November 27, 2006 UPDATED WITH PIX 2:02 A.M. E.S.T.: Monroe-Woodbury’s Crusaders showed why they are the Section 9 State Champions Sunday night, taking a 2-1 lead after one period, stretching it to 5-2 in the final period for a 6-3 win to take the Tigers 2006 Invitational Hockey Tournament. The big, fast-moving, slick-passing, hard shooting Crusaders played 90% of the game in the Tigers defensive end punishing Mike Cambareri with 41 shots to just 19 by the Tigers, and 9 of those came in the Third Period.


 



 


 


 JARRING GOAL! After falling behind 3-1 in the second period, a rare misplay at the Crusader blue line let the Tigers Charlie Pavarini carry in on left wing who passed to  Matt Altieri (far left of picture) to the right of Crusader goalie. Altieri passed across the goal mouth to Ryan McGee swooping in on right wing — seen in front of Sean O’Sullivan (M-W goalie).  Ryan rammed the puck into the lower right corner to make it 3-2 with 3 minutes to go in the second period. The Tigers were back in it! Photo, WPCNR Sports 


First Period and Second Period All Blues All the Time


 


In the first period, Monroe came out flying. The Monroe-Woodbury Coach told WPCNR after the game that his team plays a cycle-the-puck system in the offensive zone working it around in a circle. He added the team plays a trapping game like the New Jersey Devils, stationing his defense at the blue line. And they pinch forward to the opponents’ blue line if the offense is keeping it in.


 


At many stages this evening, it looked like Monroe was consistently on a power play with 5 skaters hounding the Tigers and taking long shots, short shots, hard shots at Cabarini. Monroe makes this work becase they have fast skaters who rarely make a bad pass. It was evident all first period, because the Crusaders were out forechecking the Tigers deep in their own end consistently. They were getting a lot of shots and because the shots were so hard, Mike was giving a lot of rebounds.


 


Andy Himelson, big number 7, gave the Tigers the first taste of the explosiveness of the Crusader stars 3 minutes and 48 seconds into the game when he swooshed in across the goal mouth, shot, and jammed his own rebound to make it 1-0.


 


Tigers Answer


 


Phil Segona stole the puck from a Crusader defender to the right of goalie O’Sullivan and passed to Rui Encarnacao to the left of O’Sullivan a mere minute later to tie it 1-1, But, this was one of the few successful forecheck efforts of the night by the Tigers, who usually create their opportunities. They could not do that consistently tonight.


 


Five minutes later at 9:43, The Crusaders stuck again when  Himelson again stole the puck walked in on goal, Cabarini went down stopped the shot. Chris DeThomas was at the side door and netted the rebound for a 2-1 Crusader lead after the first period. The Crusaders left fly 14 shots in the first period to 3 for White Plains. Though  there was only one penalty in the period, it looked like the Crusaders were perpetually on a power play. They are a great team.


 


Carney Kills em


 


In the second period, Julian Carney poked home a rebound off a hard shot to make it 3-1 three minutes and 27 seconds into the period, which stood up until the Tigers McGee gave the Tigers hope late in the period. Again the Crusaders in what looked like a shootaround warmup in the Tiger end, fired 14 shots at Cabarini.


 







Superb Defensive trapping and holding position, frustrated Tiger rushes the whole night long. Here Andy Himmelson (in blue nearest camera) pokes away a lead pass for Tim Conroy, while his comrade in “Dee” Brad Campagna beats a Tiger to the puck. Himelson and Campagna broke up rushes at the blue line and even pinched at the Tiger blue line keeping the puck in the Tiger zone. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


But, as they had all night, the Crusaders skated right back hard and in the Tigers’ faces, answering 27 seconds later when a blistering slapshot by Chris Meily clacked off Tiger Goalie Cambareri’s stick out in front, and rebounded straight out to Tyler Sioboda  inbetween the circles who blasted a forehand just to Mike’s left and in for a  4-2 lead to close the second period. It was the biggest goal of the night.


 


The Third Period stayed 4-2 through the first 6 minutes of the third period before Monroe-Woodbury’s Ian Mauriello got his stick on the puck in center ice and, getting up a head of steam skated uncontested straight down Broadway in the circle to the right of Cambareri and beat him clean to Cambareri’s left side, lower right corner, making the net  bulge for a 5-2 lead.  Mike Altieri answered 18 seconds later, when on one of just three Tiger goal gangups tonight, Charlie Pavarini passed the puck to Ryan McGee to the right of the goal who fed Altieri on the opposite side of goaltender O’Sullivan’s left, Altieri whisking it into the net to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 9 minutes to go.


 



 


With 9 minutes to go in the game, and a 5-3 lead, Monroe-Woodbury returned to their one-third ice game, and kept peppering Tiger goaline Cambareri with shot after hard shot, chewing up 6 minutes of precious Tiger comeback time. This was the balance of the action in the final half of the third period right here. This was the scene most of the evening a lot of big blue jerseys hanging out, circling like sharks in front of the beleagured Tiger defenders, blasting away and capturing rebounds and firing again.  Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


By this I mean, Monroe-Woodbury keeps passing and shooting the puck at your goaltender in your ice, most of the time, and they always get the rebound, and they always keep the puck in, I have rarely seen anything like this, but then they are the State Champions. They are aided greatly by their quick-reacting defensemen  Andy Himelson (#7) and  Brad Campagna,  who play on the opposition’s blue line, and in reactions of incomparable timing keep the darn puck in you zone. When your forwards do break out they pesk you up in center ice and stand you up at their own blue line, or hold their ground and deftly poke the puck away.


 


The Tigers took one of the night’s rare penalties, an unfortunate hooking by Pavarini, and that extended Monroe-Woodbury’s shooting gallery time, though they did not score. When the penalty ended, Jaime Fairhurst got called for a crosscheck and the Tigers were shorthanded for another two minutes. With the penalty killers exhausted from chasing rebounds onto Monroe sticks,  Mauriello stole the puck again at the Monroe blue line and under a full head of steam ¾ the length of the ice, skating uncontested swooshed in front of Cambareri and tried to jam it in on Mike’s left side. Mike turned it aside but Julian Carney trailing the play picked the rebound and lofted it over Mike’s left shoulder into the upper right corner for a 6-3 lead with 3:03 to go in the game.


 


“The Conroy Creaming”


 


Then the game got very ugly. On a Tiger breakaway, Tim Conroy was taken down from behind. No penalty shot was called.  In an ensuing melee around the Monroe net, Crusader defenders objected to their goalie being jostled on O’Sullivan’s two toughest saves of the night. Minutes later Conroy coming in on goal for a rebound and was lined up and crosschecked from behind across the shoulders and sent flying into the Monroe net, and was real slow to get up.


 


The Conroy Creaming was a flat-out dirty play from behind that the Crusader player  lined up and deliberately laid on Conroy. The coach should  kick that player off the team. If a player is hurled into the net and his throat/neck hits the cross bar you could break the player’s neck or paralyze him.


 


The player who did that disgraced his fine team — a great team — by laying on a vicious hit from behind just because he could. He tars his team with one brush with that act, and the players I saw for Monroe hit hard and clean and play the puck not the man. And it ended the game with a pall.


 


A Champion player doesn’t make a hit like that. 


 


Champions don’t play like that.


 


Fights.


 


Naturally this lead to retaliation. On the next Monroe rush, a Crusader pushed the Tiger goalie. The Crusaders’ Mauriello and  Matt Goldstein of the Tigers were sent off for roughing at 1:34 to go.


 



 


At 11 seconds to go in the game the Tigers and the Crusaders mixed it up in front of the nets and two fights broke out. The referees ended the game without playing the last 11 seconds.  It was an ugly end to a well-played game by Monroe-Woodbury all because one player decided he’d play tough guy by cross-checking a player flying into a net. It’s easy to hit a person from behind. Nothing difficult about it at all. Even I, a lowly untough 61 year old reporter can do that and on skates too. That’s how tough it is to hit a person from behind. Even a 61 year old can do it. Photo, WPCNR Sports



 


Coach Howard Rubenstein of the Tigers, said he was disappointed his team did not play better,  but noted Monroe Woodbury has very skilled players who pass and shoot well, and rush the puck up ice. He said he’d like to play Monroe Woodbury again.



All’s Well: White Plains Coach Howard Rubenstein hands out awards after the game. Photo, WPCNR Sports.


 


Tiger Paws: Tim Conroy said his shoulder was all right after the game…There were only 10 penalties called tonight, 7 on the Tigers…however 5 of those penalties were in the roughhousing last 3 minutes of the game…After seeing the first Monroe-Woodbury power play in the first period where the puck never left the Tiger end…it was a good thing the Tigers did not take a lot of penalties…All 6 Monroe goals were scored at even strength…Shots on goal: Cambareri stopped 41, O’Sullivan had a leisurely night in the nets stopping 19, 9 of those in the third period…


 


In other action…Mahopac defeated Horace Greeley for third place, 5-3, and Stepinac shutout Ryetown-Harrison, 3-0, and Brewster defeated Somers-North Salem, 5-2.


 


The WPCNR Three Stars of the Game: Star # 1: Ryan McGee (Goal to get Tigers back in the game, and an Assist to keep hope alive) of the White Plains Tigers; Star # 2: Andy Himelson,Defenseman for Monroe-Woodbury, (1 goal, 1 assist– incredible work disrupting the Tiger rushes and keeping the puck in the Tiger zone); and Star # 3: Julian Carney (who scored the big 4th goal and the clinching 6th goal). 

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Conroy’s Elegant Backhanda Wins Tiger-Greeley Shootout, 5-4.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By “Red Light” Bailey. November 25, 2006: The shootout was tied 1-1 after three shooters a side had taken their shots after  50 minutes of play and six shooters.


 


 



Conroy Slips his backhander in past Horace Greeley Goaltender, Dylan Picker for the Shootout Clincher. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


 Tim Conroy started skating slow cruising in head-to-head with Greeley goaltender Dylan Picker with a chance for sudden victory.  He conned Picker to his forehand about 15 feet out drawing the netminder sprawling forward, then deftly sweeping to his backhand in Andy Bathgate style, Conroy slipped the puck cleanly alongside the goaltender’s sprawled right leg into the center of the net for the winning goal. Pandemonium! The Tigers leapt the bench and raced to join Conroy after the coup de grace for a mass hug in front of the stands. The Tigers were 3-0, and looking good.



The Equalizer: Rui Encarnacao(9) behind the net has just cruised past after Phil Segona, farside has jammed in Rui’s rebound to tie the score with 1:50 in regulation. Picker looks into his net at the puck. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


The two hundred fans for the nightcap of the White Plains Tigers Invitational Hockey Tournament had seen the Tigers Phil Segona tie up the game jamming a rebound home after Rui Encarnacao’s flip over aimed over the goalie’s shoulder had hit his armboard and dropped the puck in front between the tender’s legs.  Segona, right on Rui’s tail in a superb trailing effort, rapped it between the goaltender’s legs for the tying goal at the 13:10 mark of the final period with 1:50 to go– one of the few rebounds Picker had allowed.   Encarnacao had corralled a loose puck in center ice and broke alone on a breakaway swooping in on left wing  with Segona trailing on right wing, beating the defenders playing catch up.


 


Goal Disallowed.


 


The Tigers Matt Goldstein got caught retaliating on a heavy check with 1:21 to go in the third period, and on the ensuing power play a Quaker low on the box rifled a shot across the goalmouth behind Tiger Goalie, Mike Cambareri, but a Quaker was sprawled in the crease and the goal was disallowed to the disbelief of the Quakers.


 



NO GOAL! NO GOAL! Referee disallowing Greeley goal with 13 seconds to go in regulation because the across-the-goal-mouth shot was put in by a player in the crease. The Photograph appears to show the player is definitely in the crease. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


This was a honey with great goaltending by the Tigers’ Mike Cambareri who kept the Tigers in the penaltyfest with 43 saves, including 3 breakaway saves in the second period, and two stops in the shootout. Dylan Picker was Patrick Roy-look-alike in goal for the Quakers denying the Tigers point blank consistently. It was a game that built and built in intensity with both teams throwing everything at each other.


 


Cambareri Big Time in Period Two


 


 


Cambareri was spectacular in the second period where the Quakers  leveled 17 shots at him in 15 minutes, and scored 3 times. The second period began with the Tigers trailing 1-0, the result of a first period short-handed goal by Greeley’s Cole Cherney who snared a loose puck behind the Tiger net and jammed it in around the left post behind Cambareri. Though the Tigers threw 11 shots at Picker in the first, it remained 1-0 going to the second period.


 


The Second Period saw the Tigers tie it up on a feed from Matt Altieri to Ryan McGhee skating across at the top of the circle left to right, rifled one on a clear shot at Picker and it entered lower right corner to tie it 1-1 at 2:11 of the Second Period. The Tiger penalty killers, Charlie Pavarini, Jamie Fairhurst, Phil Sigona Rui Encarnacao and Tim Conroy frustrated the bigger, but not as fast Quakers, killing off two penalties back to back, allowing only one shot on goal from the 10 minute mark to the 7 minute mark.  When Rui Encarnacao scored with another quick low right corner shot at 9:04 of the second period, the Tigers had a 2-1 lead.


 


 



Rui Encarnacao (9) has just fired in a flaming forehander that has caught the lower right corner on a screen shot for a 2-1 Tiger lead in the second. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


Then the Quakers stepped it up a notch


 


C. Belles scored on a breakaway to tie at 10:59and Cherney on a great effort on a rebound in a melee to the left of Mike Cambareri, and whipped it behind him into the far left corner to make it 3-2, Greeley at the 13:47 mark. This was after concentrated pressure by the Quakers, who dominated the last five minutes of the second period.


 


White Plains superior speed produced another equalizer in the last 10 seconds of this rouser of a period. Steve McCarrick fed Tim Conroy who swooped into leaving three Quakers down ice. Conroy fed to Rui Encarnacao who, skating left to right across the goal mouth just about between the  circles shot as he was falling and fired, skated around the net, and when Picker failed to cover the bound slipped it behind him on the right side to tie it 3-3 at 14:47 of the Second Period with 13 seconds to go.


 


The second period showed heavy hitting as the bigger, rangier Quakers were bumping the elegant swift skating Tigers who had been having their way getting down into the Quaker ice. Not in the last half of the second period. Nine penalties were called in the last 10 minutes of the period.


 


Breakaway Goal Almost Stands Up


 


The Tigers came out flying in the third period on a power play but got caught pinching for the go-ahead goal when a puck came flying off a Tiger leg on a slapper and ricocheted into center ice. Cole Cherney snared it  with John Amodeo on right wing with him. With only one defender to beat, Cherney passed to Amodeo who beat Cambareri cold, lower right corner for the go-aheader at 2:40 of the Third Period. It was 4-3, Chappaqua. Thirteen penalities were called in the third period…9 on Horace Greeley and 4 on White Plains. There was hooking, slashing, roughing, interference, check from behind. The action was gritty, tough, fast and high energy. End to End action with the Tigers finally scoring on Segona’s rebound off the Encarnacao steal when the Tigers were on a power play due to a check from behind by Belles at the 12 minute mark.


 


8 Tiger Power Plays in the Final Stanza. 


 


Greeley stymied 8 Tiger Power Plays in the third period with heavy hitting, brutal, deft stickwork and looked like they were going to stop the 9th  until just 1:50 was remaining in the game. Encarnacao’s alert steal in center ice and Segona following the play  as Rui flew past the slow Greeley defenseman and closed in. Rui shot high on the right side hitting Picker high. He failed to smother!  Picker deflected, but could not smother and Segona’s stick bladed it in to tie it up. The Tigers threw 17 shots at Picker in the third, but the 18th went in to tie 4-4


 


The overtime was cautious ending in a 4-4 tie. In the shoot out, Cole Cherney lead off for Chappaqua. Pavarini closed his shot on the right post padding it aside. Phil Segona skated in on Picker. Picker covered his head-on shot. Ian Steinberg closed on Pavarini and again Mike smothered the low left shot to the right. Pavarini refused to commit.


 


Second up for the Tigers in the shootout was Rui  Encarnacao who beat  Picker who committed to soon on Rui’s forehand as the boards shuddered with Tiger fan approval.


 


Belles whose penalty gave the Tigers the extra power play in the third period, was Greeley’s last hope he got Mike to commit and scored. With six shooters gone by it was now, “next goal wins.”


 


Tim Conroy took the ice and with his Andy Bathgate style won the game deking Picker to come out and whisking the backhand past him. The rest as they say was history.


 


Tiger Paws: This was big league hockey in every way…Tiger speed is blazing (all must be of French Canadian ancestry, with a lot of Montreal Canadien in them)…they are fast on their blades and tough in the corners. In the two tough wins this weekend they out forechecked and worked the corners against big tough players, and for the most part, refused to lose their poise…They are much more fun to watch than the Rangers, Islanders and Devils.


 


Saves: Mike Cambareri stopped  43 shots, Dylan Picker, 38…There were 28 penalties in this hockey game , 17 on Greeley, 11 on White Plains. The penalties increased as the game went on…6 were called in the First Period. 9 in the second period, and 13 in the third period… In other tournament action Saturday, Ryetown-Harrison beat Brewster, 5-3; Ryetown plays Stepinac Sunday at 4:15 today. Stepinac defeated Somers/North Salem, 6-0; Monroe-Woodbury downed Mahopac, 4-2 and will face White Plains Sunday night at 8:15 P.M. for the Invitational Crown. Mahopac plays Horace Greeley at 6:15 P.M.


 


Three Stars of the Game: Star # 1  Horace Greeley’s Cole Cherney (2 Goals, 2 Assists); Star # 2: White Plains Rui Encarnacao (2 goals, 1 Assist) and Star # 3: White Plains Tim Conroy (Game Winning Shootout Goal)


 


 



Tigers Celebrate! Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


 



Hockey Night in White Plains. Photo,WPCNR Sports


 


 

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Flying Tigers Hold off Somers/North Salem, 4-3 in Furious Finish.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Red Light Bailey. November 25, 2006: White Plains held off a furious finish by Somers/North Salem, making Phil Sigona’s point blank goal off a flip in from the left crease on a pass from Rui Encarnacao and Tim Conroy at  4:34 of the Third period hold up for 10 minutes for a 4-3 win in the Tiger opener  of the 2006 White Plains Tiger Invitational Hockey Tournament Friday. The Tigers play Horace Greeley Saturday night at 8:30 P.M. on Ebersole Ice in their second game. 


 



TIGER Phil Segona behind goaltender and defender (8) puts the rubber in the net for the winning goal at 4:34 of the Final Stanza after Rui Encarnacao (9) and Tim Conroy (right) set him up. It was Segona’s second goal of the game. Conroy had 2 assists, and Encarnacao 1. Photo, WCPNR Sports



 


 


The Tigers took a 1-0 lead at the 3:26 mark of the first period on a brilliant hustle goal unassisted by Matt Altieri (shown at far right in this shot, stick in air, flat on ice), who picked off a clearing pass falling to the ice and batted it 20 feet into the lower left hand corner of the Somers net. Outstanding pesky pucking behind the goal by Charlie Pavarini, center of pic, and Ryan McGee(8) resulted in Altieri’s hustle goal. As a Somers defender cleared the rubber,  Matt intercepted in an athletic dive-and-shoot motion and deftly lined it low and hard past the screened goaltender, zipping it into the net. The puck is about to jut the net out to the right of the official’s arm. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


Somers-North Salem got the equalizer on a power play goal at 4:06 of the second period as Nick Mastroianni skated across in front from 30 feet out and fired unobstructed dead-on, beating Mike Pavarini to his left side. Somers stepped up the hitting,  checking and decking Tigers left and right disrupting the flying Tigers. Somers aggression distracted the Tigers to where Joe Marasco scored a shorthanded goal 11 minutes into the second period, with the Orange and Black on a power play, Marasco slipping behind the Tiger defense, giving Somers a 2-1 lead at 11:32.


 


The Little Forward Stuns


 


Jeremy Lindh, the little forward, the Bobby Shantz of hockey,  who comes up to the knees of every player on the ice took a pass from Weston McCandless and Matt Goldstein, skated in deep on the near side to the goal line and 15 feet to the goaltender’s right,  fired a parallel  to the goal line shot from the side of the net in behind the Somers netminder of the unlucky keeper’s skate to equalize matters  a minute later at 2-2 at 10:32.


 



 


The Tigers peppered 15 shots on goal in the second period packing most into the last five minutes. The pressure paid off when  Phil Sigona took a pass from Tim Conroy from the side of the net at the top of the left circle, skated in to the top of the circle and blasted a forehand blazer whipping it into the lower right hand corner for a 3-2 lead at 12:39 into the second stanza. Here Sigona facing the sports camera celebrates from where he fired the shot into the lower right hand corner of the net.  Defenseman  Steve McCarrick(24) raises his stick in celebration. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


Through two periods the Tigers had outshot Somers-North Salem 25-10.


 


Somers tied it up off a face off to begin the third period, a mere 3:39 into the final 15 minutes as Joe Marasco took the draw  to the left of Pavarini and skated straight in unmolested


On Mike’s left and beat him between post and leg for the equalizer.


 



The Seek Line Combines for the winner. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


Not to be denied the “Seek” Line of Conroy, Encarnacao and Sigona hit the ice and working deep in the Somers end worked the puck loose. Encarnacao circled in the near corner behind the goal, unchallenged by Somers defense, he skated in passed to Tim outfront who fed to Sigona waiting on the back door on the left post at point blank range got it past the goaltender who had come out a skate too far. Phil was right there to stick it in for a 4-3 advantage 3 minutes and 26 seconds into the period. There were ten minutes and 34 seconds to go.


 



Bottling them up: The Tigers work the trap in center ice in the final minutes killing off two penalties. Defensemen Steve McCarrick, (24) and Jaime Fairhurst (16) and their mates did not let Somers-North Salem get into gear. Photo, WPCNR Sports 


 


The Tigers were tested on two power plays by Somers but they handled the kills brilliantly, particularly the second man-advantage, bottling Sommers up in the center zone like the Devils trap. Mike Pavararini made his toughest save of the night on a three-foot high mortar shot from the top of the circle plucking it out of the air before it found the upper right corner.


 



Closing the Backdoor. Mike Pavarini, Tiger Den Minder, closes the door as Somers attacker attempts to jam the post in final two minutes. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


Somers pulled their goaltender and  Charlie steered away one close call with less than a minute to go, and the Tigers held on to win one of the most entertaining high school hockey games you’ll see. Tiger Coach, Howard Rubenstein, said Somers gave the Tigers all they could handle, and the Tigers were fortunate to come away with the win.


 



Chippie Second Period.  Matt Altieri (6) fires! Puck heads for Somers Goaltender as a Flying Tiger dives for the bound with 2:25 to go in the rousing Period 2. Photo, WPCNR Sports 


 


Tiger Paws: The Tigers unloaded 35 shots to 19 for Somers-North Salem…There were 14 penalties in this contest, 9 in the line-em-up and let’em have it second period. The contest was well-called by the officials. There were three or four Tigers who were slow to get up in this one due to the heavy hits. The Tiger conditioning helped considerably in the Third Period as Somers appeared to not have the legs to challenge on the two power powers in the last 7 minutes… The Tiger forechecking was the difference in this game, fearless forechecking created every Tiger goal.


 


In other tournament action, Horace Greeley beat Stepinac 5-2 and White Plains will faceoff against the Quakers Saturday night at 8:30 P.M.  Mahopac defeated Brewster, 7-0, and the Indians will play Monroe-Woodbury at 6:30 P.M. Monroe Woodbury defeated Ryetown-Harrison, 9-0. Brewster will play Ryetown-Harrison at  9:45 A.M. Saturday morning, and Stepinac will play Somers-North Salem at  4:30 P.M.


 

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Stepinac Snaps WP String, Wins 30-0 in Rainswept Game.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. November 23, 2006 UPDATED WITH GAME STORY PIX 11:30 PM EST: Stepinac scored on sustained drives the first three times they had the ball against White Plains in this morning’s annual Turkey Bowl Game between the cross-town rivals, building a 24-0 lead at the half behind halfback Rashaad Slowley’s three touchdowns to post Stepinac’s first win in four years in the longtime rivalry, snapping a 4-game White Plains Turkey Bowl win streak.



Backfield In Motion: Stepinac Junior “Rocket Rashaad”  Slowley (anything but) carrying the ball about to angle to the right and go in for a touchdown in the First Quarter, to start the dominating peformance of  The Crusaders. Photo, WPCNR Sports



Key Third for the Tigers: The Tigers were moving the ball in the opening series and on this third down play a pass complete to Bobby Thompson was just short of a first down. An in motion penalty on the 4th down go-for-it forced the Tigers to punt. Photo WPCNR Sports.


 


Rashaad Slowley the 6 foot, swivel-hipped Crusader back highlighted four Stepinac touchdown drives with key runs of 15-yards and scored all four Crusader touchdowns as the bigger harder-hitting Stepinac line swept away Tiger defenders on play after play in a game played on a muddy, tractionless(at least for the Tiger defense) gridiron, windswept goopy and merciless. In what is likely the last game played at Parker Stadium in this series on this field as White Plains knows it, this was no classic, and sounded the end of natural grass football in White Plains. (The field will be converted to synthetic Field Turf over the summer and new metal bleachers installed.) Perhaps this is a good thing noting the condition of the field at gametime.


 


Stepinac dominated the Tigers in this one marching down the field the first three times they had the ball, and scoring three 2-point conversions to boot.


 


Illegal Motion Penalty Stops Tiger Mo


 


It did not start out that way. White Plains elected to receive the kickoff  and Matt Robles returned the ball to the WP 20. Robles next carried the ball three times for 4, 2, and 14 yards for a first down on the 40. White Plains managed another first down at the 50 and on 3rd and 5 a pass to Bobby Thompson was just short of a first down at the Step 42. It was 4th and 2 and the Tigers were moving the ball. This was the highlight of the game for the Tigers. As they took set positions, the Tiger left end moved and the linesman tossed the yellow flag. Illegal Motion. Five yard penalty. The Tigers were moved back to 4th and 7 on the 48. John Perez with the wet football punted just 13 yards and Step took over at the 35.


 


The Crusaders began to move and did not stop moving it until midway in the third quarter.


 


Rashaad Slowley took over. He cruised to a first down, 20 yards to the Tiger 40, then another first down at the Tiger 30. Matt Robles stopped the Crusaders momentarily by tackling Maurice Easterling in the backfield giving the Tigers what appeared to be a chance of stopping the drive. On the next play a face mask was called on the Tigers and that put the ball on the 9 for a first and goal to go. The two penalties appeared to take the heart out of the Tigers right there. Rashaad Slowley ran for two yards then slanted in around right end inside the goal line end zone pylon for six points with 1:34 to go in the quarter. Joe Collins caught three receivers in the end zone and completed to Easterling for a 2-point passing conversion and it was 8-0. That was where the First Quarter ended.


 


Slowley Turns Into Ray Rice.


 


Rashaad Slowley continued his Ray Rice impersonation in the second quarter as the Tigers went three and out, again punted poorly and Stepinac started up again from their 41. Slowley ran the ball swiftly slipping tacklers to the Tiger 43. Greg Datino cruised to the Tiger 30. Slowley then bounced off tacklers at the line of scrimmage, slipping around two Tigers in the center of the line and started stepping up the gut for 21 yards to the Tiger 5. He scored two plays later to make it 14-0 with 8:39 to go in the half. And again Quarterback Collins passed for a 2-point conversion to make the score 16-0.


 



BOOM! And it’s 22-0 At the Half. Rashaad Slowley into the end zone for the third Crusader Touchdown at the end of the First half. Photo, WPCNR Sports.


 


Slowley scored on another touchdown following yet another mispunt recovery, and this time Collins ran the ball in for 2 points, making it 24-0 at the half. The third quarter found Slowley scoring again after a Tiger fumble late in the third quarter on a 2 yard run.


 


The Stepinac line was blowing the Tigers off the ball on the slow track all morning and after the first touchdown drive the Tigers could do nothing on offense. The Tigers end the season at 2-8, the Crusaders, 4-7. It was Stepinac’s first win in the series since 2001, their 10th win over all against 26 defeats. The Crusaders truly dominated this game, the two crucial penalties not withstanding. Had the Tigers made that 4th and 2 in the first quarter instead of the unfortunate illegal motion penalty, the game might have been closer, but not the way Mr. Slowley was running today. The only time Stepinac punted, they did that well, too.


 


Honorees


 


The Tigers Bobby Thompson and  The Crusaders’ Ryan Hoffer were chosen as recipients of  the sportsman awards at the close of the game.


 



Bill Flooks, far left, and Greg Drummond, far right being honored before the kickoff as Dedicatees. Photo WPCNR Sports.


 


Bill Flooks and  Greg Drummond of White Plains were honored  as the Dedicatees of today’s Turkey Bowl for their long unselfish service to Archbishop Stepinac High School and the White Plains High School football program, respectively and  their  tireless, generous community service.


 



White Plains High School Alumni Association Gives $10,000 to the WPHS band for new uniforms.  To right are members of the Board of Education: Michelle Tratoros, dark coat, Peter Bassano (blue cap), and Bill Pollak (yellow cap). Photo, WPCNR Sports.


 


The White Plains High School Alumni Association awarded a $10,000 check to the White Plains High School Band for new uniforms for the “Best Band in All the Land” just prior to their spectacular halftime show performed in a driving rain on a muddy field.


 



“WP” Forever. The Best Band in All the Land playing the Alma Mater at start of the game in panchos and berets, Looking sharp in the monsoon. Band Director Leslie Tompkins is perched precarious on a wet ladder to conduct the musicians. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


 


The show was easily the best program Leslie Tompkins the Band Director and her stalwarts have ever marched at Parker Stadium performing  pinwheel formations, creating a steamboat with turning wheels to “Rolling on the River” and dancing as their brass section played “Thriller.”


 


A crowd of around 1,500 fans from the community filled the old concrete bowl for the last time, and fans from both schools were totally impressed by the band which looked as good as a Big Ten Marching Band today in miserable marching and playing conditions


 


So another football season ends with the pleasant memories of a Tiger team that did not turn in a great record, but there were those names and moments to remember: Matt Robles nearly running the Tigers to victory over Mount Vernon and touchdown saving tackles week after week, Savaugn Green’s acrobatic clutch catches, Ray Mitchell’s go-to work, Paris Young  Conner Spellman amd George Don Pierre’s valiant efforts on comeback drives, Joseph Petit and Bobby Thompson never-give-up leadership. Paul LaBarbera’s standing in and engineering chances to win. Mike Howard’s “step up leadership.” It was a season of more bad breaks and the most bad officiating this reporter has seen in seven years of writing WPHS football, but the team, the attitude, the heart was always there.

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America’s Hometown: Plymouth, Massachussetts

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WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER. Thanksgiving Portfolio. November 23, 2006: On this Thanksgiving, let us remember that band of hardy intrepid souls who crossed an ocean in a boat no more bigger than a large Chris Craft and settled in an unforgiving landscape and started a country in the cold landscape of New England. They were helped by Indians who welcomed them, without whom they would not have survived. A salute to this brave band. They sailed into a bay, dropped anchor and just carved out a living after living in incredible conditions in a ship’s hold for weeks, crossing the storm-tossed North Atlantic. Here are some views of America’s first hometown captured by the WPCNR Roving Photographer. Click on “Read More” for all the pictures.


Plymouth Rock Landing. Plymouth, Massachusetts. Photo, WPCNR News















Plymouth Rock Landing. Plymouth, Massachusetts. Photo, WPCNR News



The Mayflower II. Plymouth Harbor. Photo, WPCNR News


 





Governor William Bradford Statue on the Shores of Plymouth Harbor, Plymouth Massachusetts. Photo, WPCNR News.



Indian Statue welcoming the Pilgrim Settlers. Plymouth, Massachusetts. Photo, WPCNR News.



“Plymouth Rock,” The landing place of the pilgrims. Photo, WPCNR News



Settlers Home, left, circa 1690. Photo, WPCNR News



Church, Plymouth, Massachusetts, late 1700s. Photo, WPCNR News.



The Jury: Old Burial Ground, Plymouth Massachusetts. Last resting place of the pilgrims overlooking Plymouth Harbor. The sacrifices, bravery and perseverence of these persons stand as examples to Americans today. Photo, WPCNR News


  



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Mayor Deputizes Rita Malmud to Negotiate 85 Court Street Removal With County

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. November 22, 2006: Council President Rita Malmud agreed to head up a committee of Tom Roach, Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power to initiate a series of talks with Westchester County leaders to bring about the closing and relocation of the 85 Court Street County Drop-in Shelter tonight.


Malmud accepted the Mayor’s challenge after 40 minites of acrimonious finger-pointing between the Mayor, and Glen Hockley and Mr. Roach over the Council 4-3 vote to table indefinitely the Mayor’s resolution calling for the county to close the shelter that has been operating since last January at 85 Court Street. The Mayor said it has been there too long, he objected to Mr. Roach’s comment that the resolution was “political” on his part.


The Mayor blustered and bristled that he had exhausted possibilities with the county, that they had “deaf ears.” Mr. Roach said the resolution had the effect of doing nothing except creating acrimony, and that the previous resolution was inflammatory. The mayor insisted it was not political. Mr. Hockley took his fellow council members to task for not voting for the resolution, citing again his statistics from the police department that there were over 500 incidents, involving the homeless from 85 Court Street and 86 E Post Road. Hockley in a prepared statement said this is “a life and death issue, a quality of life issue.”


Mr. Roach called for the Commissioner of Public Safety, Dr. Frank Straub to address the Council in a public meeting on the scope of the demands on police services, appearing to cast doubt on Mr. Hockley’s numbers. The Mayor did not readily endorse Dr.Straub’s appearance. Dr. Straub has been very invisible around city hall the last ten months, and did not appear at the press conference the Mayor, Mr. Hockley and Rick Ammirato of the BID held citing Dr.Straub’s department statistics on the homeless.


After about an hour of discussion on the homeless issue — (more than was spent on the Memorandum of Understanding) — Rita Malmud weighed in between Mr. Roach and the Mayor, stating she felt the resolution would do nothing. The Mayor innocently invited Mrs. Malmud would she try to talk to the county — because he had and they have not responded. Mr. Power said nothing would be gained by the resolution that the Mayor threatened to put back on the agenda for December 4.


Mrs. Malmud, looking somewhat dubious, agreed that she would speak to the county representatives on the issue, and that she would involve Mr. Power, Mr. Roach (who said he had been talking to the county privately on the homeless saturation of White Plains), and Mr. Hockley and Mr. Boykin.  Mr. Boykin suggested the resolution would do nothing and suggested the Mayor had to talk to the county, at which the Mayor blew up and said his letter of some months ago and his efforts had fallen on “deaf ears.”


 

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MOU Provokes No Council Discord. Legal Opinion on Legality Suppressed.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. November 22, 2006: In a work session last night, the Memorandum of Understanding on the New York Presbyterian Hospital land deal with the city, ( revised slightly) was redistributed to the Common Council by the Mayor’s Office. It provided for one more acre of “free” park land from the hospital, (a total of 20.6 acres in all) and stipulated the hospital would reimburse the city for all its incurred costs should the hospital pull out of the deal at any time.


A legal opinion from Corporation Counsel Edward Dunphy justifying the city right under the charter to initiate and enter into the Memorandum of Understanding, was secretly distributed in sealed envelopes to all seven Members of the Common Council, but not to the media. The “opinion” justifies why the city legally has the ability to submit a subdivision plan to the Planning Board.


The press asked for a copy and Mr. Dunphy refused to give a copy to WPCNR because the opinion was attorney-client privilege, even though WPCNR suggested it was a rationale, for the Council entering into a Memorandum of Understanding and therefore a statement of policy. Dunphy said curtly, “You’re not getting it.”


Malmud Upholds Suppression of Legal Precedent


WPCNR asked Council President Rita Malmud if she would ask the council to waive their right of attorney-client privilege, in order that the media may have the legal opinion justifying the council’s right to agree to a Memorandum of Understanding on the New York Presbyterian Hospital deal. Malmud said she had not read the opinion yet, but refused to commit to waiving the attorney-client privilege on the sensitive matter. The unprecedented Dunphy Doctrine remains a secret at this time.


Mayor Joseph Delfino told WPCNR Mr. Dunphy has jealously guarded the right of attorney-client privilege for eight years, and said he himself “had not read” the legal opinion justifying the city ability to subdivide for a property owner and enter into an agreement with a property owner on a subdivision before it went through the Planning Board.


Paul Wood, Executive Officer for the city, told WPCNR he would give WPCNR a synopsis of Mr. Dunphy’s opinion Wednesday morning, rather than the actual opinion.


Sliding off the Table Before Its Time


The resolution on the Memorandium of Understanding (acquiring 6.5 acres of land for a park for the City, in exchange for a 126-unit subdivision on hospital property adjacent Bryant Avenue was officially tabled by the Common Council November 7 to be taken up on December 4.


A revised resolution was taken up Tuesday evening with no majority vote or any kind of vote whatsoever to untable the measure. Calls to the city legal department for a ruling on how the Council can take up a resolution they had tabled to a certain date could be revised and changed without any official council action were not returned.  As the matter was taken up no official action was made by the Council to “untable” the resolution.


 


20.6 acres — 6.5 for park — rest “buffer:”


The discussion on the Memorandum of Understanding began with Executive Officer Paul Wood explaining to the Council that the Mayor had negotiated an extra acre of free park land as part of the deal so that the amount of land preserved by law as open space would equal that of a normal subdivision rather than a conservation easement. Wood also said this brought to 20.6 acres the amount of land preserved, which consisted of 6.5 acres for city park and the balance “buffering” between the park and the subdivision. Councilman Benjamin Boykin raised the question of rather this was the maximum the city could get. Wood assured him it was it. “This is it,” Wood said.


Wood reported that the city had clarified the matter of reimbursement to the city should the hospital pull out of the deal, saying the hospital had agreed to reimburse the city for all monies spent by the city in creating all the paperwork for the subdivision for the hospital, if New York Presbyterian Hospital pulled the plug on the Memorandum of Understanding “at any time.”


Wood also seemed to satisfy the Council concern about the 99 year lease, indicating the Hospital had agreed to turn over the land to the city.


The council asked no other questions concerning the Memorandium of Understanding revision distributed to them. They took the sealed envelopes containing Edward Dunphy’s secret legal opinion with them to examine.


The Mayor said he would reconvene the Council tentatively next Tuesday to get their comments back on the resolution.


MOU Could be approved if “Minor amendments”


Earlier Tuesday afternoon, WPCNR had asked Council President Malmud whether the previous Memorandum of Understanding had to be withdrawn and a new resolution submitted, thus delaying approval of the revised MOU past December 4. Ms. Malmud, in a prepared statement wrote:


If Council Members request MINOR changes to the MOU, that could be handled by simple amendments.  If Major changes are suggested, then possibly the legislation would be reintroduced.  Remember, this MOU does not legally require a Public Hearing before passage.

As of today, I do NOT believe that all seven members of the Common Council have already made up their minds about how they will vote on the MOU.  Many of them need more information before reaching a decision.   Most of this information has already been requested, but not yet received or fully detailed.

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Math In White Plains: Nation’s Go To Numbers Man Explains Focal Points

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. “Math In White Plains:” An  Interview with Francis “Skip” Fennell, President  of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.  First of a Series. November 21, 2006: Last winter several White Plains parents addressed the White Plains Board of Education expressing concern that their children were not being taught basic math. One of those parents,  took the case of her 4th grade daughter whom she said, “was missing significant pieces from her math curriculum, including the use of vertical math computations, and math enrichment.” She stated that “vertical math computations have been completey eliminated from my daughter’s math curriculum,” and that the TERC math instruction program had been implemented without informing parents of the district until January of 2006.


 


The local “math rebellion” was a harbinger of controversy to come. When the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times published articles portraying the new Curriculum Focal Points issued by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics as a change in direction and the failure of conceptual math, WPCNR contacted Francis “Skip” Fennell, of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics  at his office in Reston, Virginia,  to learn where TERC and “conceptual” programs like it fit in with the Curriculum Focal Points.


 


 



Francis “Skip” Fennell, President, National Council Teachers of Mathematics:


The nation’s number one man in Math explains the new emphasis on the Basics.


Photo Capture from NCTM website.


 



The parent stated concerns about the TERC program in the White Plains elementary schools: “My daughter’s overall understanding of math has gone down significantly with the complete implementation of pure TERC and this really caught my attention by December, 2005. Understanding TERC homework and completing them were commonly on issue…my daughter was confused and frustrated because of the wording of the material…she did not have enough math skills learned to answer the homework.”


 


Focal Points Spawn Major News Articles


 


The White Plains parental protest was a harbinger of things to come.


 


Nine months later, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times wrote two articles criticizing the TERC math method and similar conceptual math techniques and making much of the September issuing of a new policy on Focal Points, by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, as admission that conceptual math programs such as TERC were not doing the job.


 


Francis “Skip” Fennell, President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,  issued two scathing letters to both newspapers for their articles. To The New York Times he wrote,


 


“What some refer to as basic skills have always been a fundamental core of elementary school mathematics. Always. But we want more. We want children to understand the mathematics they are learning and we want them to be able to solve problems, which is, in the long run, why we do mathematics. Our recently released Curriculum Focal Points identifies important mathematical topics in each grade, from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It identifies the mathematical content students need to understand deeply and thoroughly for future mathematics learning.


 


It offers a framework to guide states and school districts as they design and organize revisions of their expectations, standards, curriculums and assessment programs.


 


This is not a change, but reflects what has been the council’s commitment to teaching and learning for more than 80 years.”


 


And to the Wall Street Journal, which described the issuance of the Focal Points as “new marching orders,”  Mr. Fennell objected to their editorial labeling of the Focal Points as an admission that math instruction with conceptual math was going in the wrong direction:


 


Contrary to the impression left in your article, learning the basics is certainly not “new marching orders” from the NCTM, which has always considered the basic computation facts and related work with operations to be important. Nor is the new focal-points approach to curriculum development a “remarkable reversal” for NCTM. As stated in NCTM’s 1989 and 2000 standards, conceptual understanding and problem solving are absolutely fundamental to learning mathematics. The council has never promoted estimation “rather than precise answers.” Estimation is a critical component to the overall understanding and use of numbers.”


 


Given the concerns expressed locally by the parents at the January, 2006 Board of Education meeting, which prompted Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors to report the next month, “We do teach basic math,” WPCNR contacted Mr. Fennell at his office in Reston, Virginia,  to learn where TERC and “conceptual” programs like it fit in with the Curriculum Focal Points.


 


 


Mr. Fennell: The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics doesn’t get connected in any way with comments relative to a particular textbook or curriculum series that a school district or state might adopt. I know that program (TERC Investigations). It’s fairly new. It’s fairly popular. I know it was negatively criticized in the Wall Street Journal on September 12, when we released our Focal Points.


 


 


WPCNR: You do not endorse one method (curriculum, program) over another?


 


Fennell: We don’t endorse curriculum materials one over another regardless of what the mathematics is, or what the instructional path is so I really can’t comment on that.


 


WPCNR: Why were the Focal Points issued?


 


Fennell: Forty-nine of our 50 states have curriculum guides. They probably range from 20 or so objectives in a given year to over a hundred. The Focal Points is a document – 40 pages – and is to help the local school districts decide among those objectives (in some elementary grades there are over a 100 at particular grade levels) – clearly they’re (all) not of the same level of import or significance at this particular grade level. The Focal Points is to begin the discussion about thinking about the most important content, the most important mathematics at particular grade levels.


             We’re trying to get some coherence in what’s important in terms of the mathematics kids learn at these grade levels. We’re (the states) essentially all over the map. If you look at the New York framework there are certain skills that are introduced in one grade, while in another state they may be introduced in another grade. We’re trying to have a conversation around what’s important and when it is important.


 


WPCNR: Do the focal points put more emphasis on teaching the basic skills to use them more in problem solving?


 


Fennell: We’re certainly calling for fluency in the ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers and fractions, but that’s not a departure from things we’ve said in the past. The answer to that (your question) is YES.  I suspect that (and I can’t talk to TERC investigations or any curriculum), that any curriculum would have similar goals.


 


WPCNR: What makes TERC Investigations so popular?


 


Fennell: The TERC Investigations was one of three curriculums supported in the mid to late 90s by the National Science Foundation. I can’t give you a sense of how popular it is. Do I know it’s popular?  Absolutely.  You’re better off talking to TERC. I’m not the right person to talk to about the popularity of any curriculum program.


 


 


WPCNR: The Curriculum Focal Points are essentially saying that some of the objectives are producing test scores are declining?


 


Fennell: When you examine the international math and science data, the person most well-known for professional analysis is Wayne Smith of Michigan State University. When he first carded those scores in the late 90s he sort of pronounced the United States mathematics curriculum “is a mile wide and an inch deep,” meaning treating topics with relative shallowtry. To some extent, the focal points are to begin a discussion about what’s important at various grade levels, and how that’s delivered, whether it’s TERC or Houghton Mifflin or what have you.


 


WPCNR: If we’re a mile wide and an inch deep what has this (math atmosphere) produced?


 


Fennell: What he’s saying is they looked at curriculum from around the country and other countries, including those that scored better than ours in international assessments have fewer topics and go deeper into those topics.


 


WPCNR: Does this say American math students would be doing better if they had a better understanding of certain basics i.e., resulting in your focal points?


 


Fennell: I think you could probably say that a lot of teachers would be interested in a discussion about what is important in my grade level, pick your grade, 3,4,5,6 and then one of the things they need to do is to make sure they (the students) have a pretty solid understanding of  whole numbers…fractions (processes) as it relates to their ability to solve problems in that area.  Teachers, as you well know are driven by the sort of straight test that comes out of the No Child Left Behind Legislation, many of those (tests) if not all of them mirror the curriculum frameworks that have however many objectives they have, and so the (basic) elements themselves and the tests themselves  are sort of shallow in the depths of understanding which they’re able to get kids to note so one can certainly hypothesize that a conversation around what’s really important at these (lower) grade levels could have an impact not only on state frameworks, but potentially, the state tests as well.


 


WPCNR: You’re based in Reston, Virginia. You’re familiar with the Maryland State School System, I was reading a Washington Post article how the Maryland Middle School Schoolers have done extremely well on the state tests, unlike the White Plains middle schoolers. You’re Maryland Middle Schoolers are passing at an excellent rate (68% — 90% on Advanced Math courses in the 8th grade). What do they do in the lower grades that’ s different?


 


Fennell: What we have here is an apple and oranges situation. The Maryland state test is based on the Maryland Curriculum, the New York State test is based on the New York Curriculum, they’re not one and the same.


 


The National Assessment of Elementary Progress Test


An Overview:


 


Fennell pointed out that the only way you could draw a comparison was to see how Maryland eighth graders and New York State eighth graders did on the National Assessment of Elementary Progress mathetics test, given to a representative selection of districts in each state every two years. (In 2007, 340 schools in New York State have been selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in NAEP 2007, according to the NY State Education Department website, www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/naep//home.shtml.


 


The test is 90 minutes long and will assess only one subject (reading or math in grade 4, reading, math or writing at grade 8, and reading and writing at grade 12.) White Plains schools were not sampled in the White Plains School District for 2005 or 2006 NAEP, and no White Plains schools have been selected for NAEP 2007, according to John Burman, Media spokesperson for the NY State Department of Education.


 


WPCNR: Do you have a comment on what Maryland does to produce such extraordinary scores? (Kensington Maryland 8th graders  achieved the 90% passing at the Algebra I level in 8th grade, and 67% passing at the 8th grade math level as a whole — for reference White Plains math passing effort is 58% in 2006, according to the State Education Department) What is the good thing Maryland does in math in the lower grades?


 


Fennell: The Montgomery County Public School District has over a hundred elementary schools, and they have done a lot of work with the school districts on a state level. Donna Washington, the Math Coordinator at the State level has done a lot of work making sure that supervisors are very familiar with what they refer to here as the Voluntary State Curriculum and the assessments that go along with it.  It could be the kind of preparation that begins at the state level and trickles all the way down to the classroom level, in this case, in Kensington.


              


WPCNR: What do they do in Kensington to make such consistent performance?


 


Fennell: The various staffs of the Montgomery County Public Schools deserve some credit for making sure the teachers are up to speed.


 


 


(In the next Part of this Series, WPCNR discusses with the Math Coordinator of the Montgomery County Public Schools, how they approach their math program.)

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Water Main Bursts in Highlands. Restored by 6:30

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WPCNR Highlander. November 20, 2006: A watermain burst on Midchester Avenue in the Highlands section of White Plains about two hours ago according to a resident. Midchester Avenue is without water service at this time, and there is flooding in that section. A call to city hall has been put through, but no other details are available. A water main burst at The Westchester on Paulding Street took about twelve hours to restore a few weeks back. The resident reports no hot water or water service.


A resident reports that as of 6:45 PM water service had been restored on Midchester.

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Former WPHS Musician Kim Wood Reports on OSU-Michigan Classic.

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WPCNR Across The Field. Special to WPCNR From Kim Wood, WPHS Class of 05, Clarinetist, University of Michigan Marching Band. November 21, 2006: I was at the game on Saturday and it was quite the experience. Everyone was excited for this game and even that’s an understatement. The  atmosphere was so intense in the stadium. I’ve never had to scream so loud just to hear my own voice, which I lost the next day.


The  environment of Columbus wasn’t as hostile as I expected it to be — in the past, Ohio State fans have beaten up Michigan fans, etc. There were  rude remarks here and there, which is expected, but that’s about it.


The band (driving in 6 coach buses) drove down the notorious High St. on campus — it’s a bunch of sorority/frat houses — and the kids outside of the houses were making signs and taunting us. They didn’t have the guts, however, to do any of that when we were walking into the stadium with our uniforms on.  No one was brave enough to.



White Plains own Kim Wood, Sophomore at U ofM and a member of the University of Michigan Marching Band on the sidelines at halftime just before stepping out onto the field for the halftime show, with close friend. Photo, Courtesy, Kim Wood.



 



Kim Wood, Class of 2005 at White Plains High School, former thirdbaser with the White Plains High Softball Team, and clarinet virtuoso, now a member of the 225-person, University of Michigan Marching Band, seen recently at Michigan Stadium. Kim auditions weekly to see if she will be marching with the big band at Michigan football games. Last week she played her way in to the big game. She is one of 40 clarinetists in the band. This is her report on her experience at the game of the century OSU and Michigan in Columbus. Photo, Courtesy, the Wood family.




We arrived at the stadium well before  kickoff as to avoid any sort of problems with fans. When it came time for us to do our pregame, the stadium got very loud. The stadium was  full well before the game started, which I guess isn’t surprising  becaue of the magnitude of the game.


I’ve never heard booing as loud as  I did on Saturday when we ran onto the field for our pregame. Everyone in my section said it was the most tiring pregame they’ve ever done.  The entire stadium was booing us from start to finish and it was very  hard to hear.


As for the game, it was great. It was a game that any  sports fan lives for. It wasn’t one-sided and it was always tense. One  minute I was screaming out of joy, the next I was quiet and depressed.  We really tested them. After that game, it became even clearer that  those two teams really do deserve to be #1 and #2. After the game was over, it seemed like everyone in the stadium rushed the field. It was a  great moment, if you’re a buckeye fan. The fans’ presence was really  felt that day and they were very impressive. They were loud when they
needed to be.


However, the Wolverines clearly never gave up. To keep  the game to a 3-point difference in Ohio Stadium, in that crazy atmosphere, at that level of football is something to be admired. They  deserve to be #2 still (which they are) and I (obviously being somewhat  biased) feel that no other team deserves to play the Buckeyes in the national championship game. We proved that we have the potential to  score against them, which no other team could do. We gave them a run  for their money.


As for the band, we had to wait at least an hour for the Buckeye fans to exit the stadium. The exit was, of course, right  next to our seating area. We had to sit there and watch them mock us with remarks like “Good luck in Pasadena” and “Michigan sucks”, etc.


The fans (and even the band (who arranged it in the 40s) which I find very unclassy) sing this song called “We don’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan, we’re from Ohio”. They sing it at every game, so, even when they’re not playing us. The fans enjoyed singing that in front of us as they exited the stadium. They were taking pictures of us as well, probably to remember our sad faces.


It seemed like everyone took a piece of the field with them and raised it over their heads like some sort of trophy. One fan decided to through their piece into our band’s section. The field looked like the moon once everyone left — there were so many empty patches that looked like craters. Finally, we exited the stadium quietly, got on the buses and departed Columbus for  Ann Arbor. All things considered, I had the time of my life. The atmosphere in that stadium was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.



The game was probably the greatest game I’ve ever seen and I was proud of our football team even though they didn’t completely live up to their name. Both teams/bands are fantastic and have such great tradition. The rivalry between them will always be special and will  never die. Hopefully we’ll be meeting again on Jan. 8 in Glendale, AZ.

P.S. Derek Jeter was at the game as well. He was on the Michigan sideline. He was going to go to Michigan with a baseball scholarship  but decided to go pro instead. I attached a picture I took with him right before our halftime show.

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