WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Michele Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board of Education. March 14, 2005: A Public Hearing on the 2005-06 Preliminary Proposed Budget of the White Plains City School District will be held in the Assembly Room of Education House, 5 Homeside Lane, on Monday, March 21st, 2005, at 7:30 P.M.

        The public vote on the budget and the election of Board Members will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 2005, and the polls will be open from Noon to 9 P.M. P.M., at six locations. 

        Two Board seats will be up for election, each for a three-year term of office, beginning July 1, 2005.  Petitions are available from the District Clerk at 5 Homeside Lane.  They must be signed by100 qualified voters and returned by April 27^th. For further information, please call 422-2071.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Tim Sheehan. Exclusive Analysis of The Tiger Championship Game from Troy, NY. March 13, 2005: Tiger guard Kim Adam’s injured ankle scratched her from playing, but many other things were set up nicely for a potential upset win.  The upbeat crowd – twice as large as Nottingham’s – was in place, with orange and black displayed in abundance.  The school hierarchy – including Superintendent Connors, H.S. Principal Toper and Board Member McGuire – came back for a second night of excitement.   Mayor Joe Delfino came with Corporation Counsel Ed Dunphy – undoubtedly in case a legal challenge was needed – in tow. 

The Tigers Console Each Other After Saturday night’s buzzer beater. Photo by Tim Sheehan for WPCNR Sports

Nottingham had just survived a one point game in the semifinal against Massapequa — could WP’s David have a chance against Nottingham’s Goliath?   With 1.8 seconds to play in a tie game, one that many at halftime thought would not be this close, a freak play ended the Tiger’s magical season, and Nottingham prevailed 40 -38. 

Smothering D From the Opening Tip.

 

 

As advertised, Nottingham (Nott) was athletic and disciplined at both ends of the floor.  On defense, they employed a zone press at either the ¾ mark , a disguised half court trap on the wings or plain (but smothering) man to man coverage in the half court end that emphasized complete “in your shorts” spacing to disrupt WP’s regular driving and passing lanes. 

 

On offense, senior sensations Sophrenia Sallard at forward and point guard Cintia Johnson got the ball early and often, with senior forward Lilian Daniels always lurking around the basket for offensive rebounds and easy put backs.  The other Nott players were content to patiently swing the ball around and set up Sallard or Johnson for “can’t miss” looks that at first glance didn’t seem so easy, until the ball went into the hole.

 

Sallard demonstrated one facet of her college worthy repertoire on the game’s first hoop, as she glided down the wing, seemingly out of range, and coolly sank a Clyde Frazier style jumper.  Johnson started her own show as well, driving into and through WP’s 3-2 match up zone to score or dish.  Nott quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but WP – in a pattern to be repeated throughout the night – came back on a Bronzo jumper and a put back and the score was 6-4.  However, that was the bright spot for a rather bleak WP first quarter and half, as Johnson and Sallard scored on drives, Johnson 3 pointers and easy transition buckets.

 

All Over the Tigers. In Their Face.

 

On offense, WP was simply lost for most of the first half.  In the face of tenacious defensive pressure, WP players too often coughed up the ball off the dribble when driving and Nott defenders weren’t buying on Tiger pump fakes and forced a few travel calls and one 5 second violation.  The Tigers offered soft, tentative or telegraphed passes out on the wings — these were often intercepted or tipped away.  Nott had obviously scouted Rush Henrietta’s fronting tactics that worked well the previous evening on WP centers Covington and Bronzo.  WP’s attempted remedy – a lob pass over the front defender to the wheeling center – was anticipated and almost always batted aside or intercepted by Nott’s agile and astute help defenders. 

 

Adding insult to injury, with Adams out and Liz Flooks drawing extra scrutiny, White Plains outside perimeter game was completely shut down.  The Tigers couldn’t even take – much less make – any three point shots, as they were given no open looks. 

 

Flooks, who had saved her best “7-11” impersonation for the team’s playoff run (like the convenience store, she always seems to be open), could not shake free of her indefatigable defenders.  Moreover, WP could not send weak side crashers (like Flooks) to the offensive boards, as they were properly wary of allowing the speedy Sallard and Johnson from running on the break.  WP was often forced to settle for one shot, a problem that was exacerbated by a cold shooting percentage, to form a double whammy scoring block. 

 

Ultimately, WP was down 13-6 at the quarter and 20-11 at the half, and the game was not even as close as the score indicated.  Only 3 WP players had points at the half:  Bronzo, Covington and Osher.  Understandably down, the hometown crowd was hopeful for a comeback, but a few undoubtedly wondered (not out loud, of course) if the displayed talent level differential between the two teams was just too great.   But a comeback was indeed in the works, and the game will rightfully be remembered in HS hoop circles for years to come.

 

The Tigers’ Willis Reed.

 

This improbable comeback began at the end of the halftime break, while both teams were off the floor, and WP basketball aficionados in the stands were discussing appropriate offensive/defensive adjustments that they would make if they were in the locker room.  Out of nowhere,  the injured Kim Adams suddenly appeared on the court by herself and started taking 3 points shots.  Fed by her younger brother, Kyle Adams (an 8^th grade basketball diamond in the rough, no less), Kim stopped swishing 3’s and – what is she doing? – began to drive in for some lay-ups.   

 

The armchair quarterbacks in the WP audience stopped their miracle comeback planning efforts and became transfixed on the almost surreal half court scene, as the solitary Adams performed a bevy of cuts on either foot with little difficulty in front of her father’s (referee Bob’s) watchful eye, and Nott players began to file on the Court, more than a few looking back at Adams as they headed to the other end of the Court.  The WP boosters screamed loudly as Adams removed her sweats and jogged out on the floor – ala Willis Reed in ’69 – for the start of the third quarter.  Win or lose, no WP fan would disagree with the notion that the 2 ½ hour drive to Troy on consecutive nights was now officially worth it.

 

The Tigers Claw Their Way Back Into It in the Third Stanza

 

Undoubtedly feeding off the Adams lift, and some deft offensive adjustments by Coaches Adams and Flooks, the Tigers came out roaring in the third quarter.  To combat the overly tight “in the shorts” Nott’s defense, the Tigers started driving to the hoop and posting up taller guards Angelei Aguirre and Adams on their way-quick (but smaller) Nott counterparts.  Better coordinating their inbound passes to Bronzo (making sure that she got to her spot only just before she received her pass), Elise hit her patented turnaround jumper and Aguirre drove the lane for a lay-up and suddenly it is 20-16 and Nott calls a timeout.

 

In the start of a pattern that would become all too familiar for the balance of the game, Nott emerged from a huddle with a plan:  get the ball to Johnson and Sallard for some quick buckets and get some breathing room.  But WP was beginning to realize that they could take this kind of hit, and come back with some hooks of their own.

 

The Creeping Tigers

 

Nott reinstates the ¾ court press and forces a turnover before unleashing Johnson for yet another 3 pointer to get some scoring space.  But WP catches Nott flat footed on the press and rifles the ball down the floor in a volley of passes that ends with a Bronzo lay-up.  Adams and Aguirre continue to post up the smaller guards to create short shots, foul line trips or put back opportunities for Bronzo or Covington. 

 

Moreover, as the refs were calling a somewhat tighter game than the previous evening, the new “why pass when you can drive” WP offensive style was creating another dividend:  foul trouble for Nott stars Johnson and Sallard, who copped their 3^rd fouls and were relegated to the bench with 3 minutes left in the 3^rd quarter.  Additionally, Nott defender fatigue allowed WP hoop drivers to get the half step necessary to draw help defenders, freeing up heretofore smothered shooters for 3 point opportunities, as Liz Flooks finally got clean looks and launched 2 of them.  Although not converting, the silver lining was that the “inside/outside” offensive game that served the team well in its playoff run seemed to be reappearing.

 

Climbing within 1.

 

With the Nott superstars taking a breather, WP continued to hammer the ball down low to guards Adams and Aguirre, drawing fouls and collapsing the Nott defense.   A Bronzo foul shot closed the gap to 26-23, and when WP forward Nina Johnson crashed to the floor to grab a loose ball, one could sense that WP players felt that they deserved to be there and they were indeed back in the game to stay.  Adams drove again, got the foul call and calmly converted both ends of a 1:1 charity line appearance to make it 26-25 at the close of the third quarter. 

 

Ironically, a Bronzo put back a hair after the 3^rd quarter buzzer sounded was waived off by the refs – some WP fans later lamented the unlucky timing of that shot, as those 2 points could have staved off defeat.

 

Two Lightning Weights Slug It Out. Bumping and Bopping.

 

At the start of the 4^th quarter, both defenses remained intact, with WP sticking to its 3-2 match up zone, tweaked only by tighter coverage on Johnson in 3 point territory and dispatching a roving wing defender to doggedly follow Sallard as she traveled from one wing to the other via the baseline, ala Reggie Miller, to get free on the opposite wing. 

 

Sending the WP defender to shadow Sallard to the other side of the court nullified the   weak side advantage that Sallard enjoyed in the first half.  However, the chaser who followed Sallard along the baseline (largely Kim Adams) received a lesson in trench warfare, as she gamely absorbed body blows from the multiple (and not quite stationary) picks set by Nott forwards along her baseline journey. 

 

Nott started the 4^th quarter in their trusty man to man defense and unleashed their now reinserted main weapons – Sallard and Johnson – to again pad the lead.  Sallard glided toward the hoop and canned another Frazier style jumper and then followed up with a slashing drive that ended in a three point play – 31-25 with 6:08 to play.  But WP came right back on two transition buckets (at least one of them by Bronzo) and Nott’s lead was whittled to 31-29. An Adams drive led to a foul line trip – Adams swished both to tie the game at 31 with 5:46 left and Nott calls timeout.

 

Down the Stretch They Come.

 

Nott gets the ball and – what else is new – finds Cintia Johnson open for yet another clutch three pointer.  WP cannot immediately answer and then back on defense doesn’t chase Sallard as she does her all too familiar baseline waltz, grabs the pass on the weak side and calmly hits the open jumper.  It is 36 -31 with 3:54 left and WP fans are wondering if Sallard or Johnson are ever going to miss. 

 

 With 3:31 left, Liz Flooks re-enters the game and thereafter Angelei Aguirre posts up again for a short jumper to narrow the Nott lead to 3.  WP fans’ prayers were then – in the short run – answered as Cintia Johnson finally missed a 3 point shot with 2:22 to go, though it initially looked good but bounced “in and out” at the last second.  Danica Covington capitalized on that divine intervention – or just plain good Karma – by muscling in for post up lay up to close the Nott lead to 36-35 with 1:55 to go; Nott calls timeout.   Everyone in the gym knows what is coming next – either trouble (Johnson) or more trouble (Sallard). 

 

Crunch Time. All Even with a Minute to Play.

 

Out of the huddle, Nott chooses trouble, as Cintia Johnson jukes right, crossover dribbles left and flies into the lane for a highlight reel underhand scoop lay-up and gets fouled to boot!  But she misses the free throw and it is 38-35.  

 

With 1:07 left, Adams drove to the right block, was stymied but found Liz Flooks in her favorite place, the weak side offensive board.  Flooks converts the left lane lay-up to close the deficit to 1 – 38-37 – with 1:07 left.  I’m not quite sure how, but WP got the ball back again, and Elise Bronzo finds Flooks again in the weak side blocks for a shot attempt and a foul.  Flooks converts one of two free throws with 28.2 seconds left to tie the game for only the second time and Nott calls timeout.

 

Aguirre Foils the drive.

 

Call me crazy but I’m betting that it is time for Sallard to take her multiple pick protected baseline journey and grab the feed pass.  But I am dead wrong, as Johnson takes the ball and just dribbles the ball well outside the top of the three point mark, waiting for WP point defender Aguirre to come out and get her, and failing to secure some company, being content to dribble the clock away.  Nothing seems to open up for Sallard and with just 10 seconds left, Johnson moves in, jukes right, cross over dribbles left (isn’t this familiar?) and explodes into the lane toward the hoop. 

 

 But Angelei Aguirre thinks that she too has seen the move before and gets just few feet further to her right, forcing Johnson to ever so slightly move further away from the hoop before she hoisted up another scoop shot.  This forced the shot to hit the glass at an odd angle, it bounced off the backboard and the buzzer sounded.  Some players and a few fans thought that the 4^th quarter had expired, but the buzzer sounded because Nott had violated the 30 second shot clock; there was still 1.8 seconds left.

 

Key Inbound In the Tiger Backcourt Under the White Plains Basket.

 

So the game is tied at 38 and a few greedy WP fans (like me) are wondering if the Tigers should chance a long, “Alley oop/Hail Mary” type pass to Bronzo down underneath the WP offensive goal for the win.   But then I remember what Coach Adams probably knew all along – the danger that if the pass was tipped out of bounds without either team obtaining possession, the ball would be returned to the spot deep in the WP defensive end from whence the throw emanated, giving Nott a chance to win. 

 

Better to play it safe, just inbound the ball, let the clock expire and hope that the second half advantage enjoyed by WP continued in the overtime period. 

 

Anatomy of a Heartbreaker

 

Interestingly, the inbounds pass was originally slated to take place in front of the Nott bench, along the sideline in Tiger defensive territory, but the ref at the other end quickly ran down the court, and directed that the inbound spot had to be underneath the Nottingham basket, further away from the WP offensive basket at the other end of the Court. 

 

However, since WP was not playing for a shot, but was just trying to hold on to the ball and force overtime, from an offensive standpoint, this position change for the inbound pass was irrelevant.  But the defensive consequences – Nott was closer to their offensive basket to score if they intercepted – of the switch were significant, and in this case, catastrophic.

 

Surprise Press.

 

Two differences from the usual inbounds routine may have hurt WP as well.  Up until that point, underneath Nott’s basket, Nott had never pressed on (or otherwise contested) the WP inbounds pass, preferring to set up their press at the ¾ mark – WP may have been caught off guard when Nott pressed at the end line.  The second anomaly is what appeared to be a  standard practice for a contested inbounds pass – two WP players to set a pick to free up one player to cut to the ball and safely grab the pass – was not followed. 

 

The Play.

 

Both WP players in the backcourt broke for the ball, were well covered, and perhaps to avoid a 5 second violation the in bounds pass was rushed, understandably slightly off the mark and the ball bounced off of a WP player.  Improbably, the loose ball bounced towards Sophrenia Sallard who snatched up the ball, whirled towards the basket and shot the 14 footer, just like Reggie Miller, in one swift motion. 

 

(Editor’s Note: Sallard’s shot was instinctive, she told the Syracuse Post Standard, “I was in the right place at the right time and the ball ended up an my hands,” Sallard said moments after the victory. “I didn’t even really know I had the ball. I couldn’t believe it. Go figure. But it went in, and it’s fantastic.” )

 

Swish! Tears and Ecstasy.

 

The buzzer sounded, the shot hit nothing but net, the ref signaled that the basket counted and the WP players and fans were stunned as they realized there would be no overtime and no chance for a championship.  Nottingham was the State champion and their celebration – though deserved – was tough medicine indeed for WP players to swallow.

 

NOTTINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL CELEBRATES THE SOPHPRONIA SALLARD MIRACLE SHOT. Photo by Tim Sheehan for WPCNR Sports.

 

POLICE ESCORT WELCOMES THE TIGER CHAMPIONS BACK TO WHITE PLAINS SUNDAY: Class AA Section II Champions, State Runnersup. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

Kudos.

 

Danica Covington and Elise Bronzo deservedly made the tournament All Star team, as did Rush Henrietta’s Shenise Johnson and Nottingham’s Sophrenia Sallard and Cintia Johnson.

 

That Championship Season.

 

Fans milled about afterward to console the players, their parents, die hard supporters and the team coaches.  Seeing that some players were tremendously affected by the loss, some implored the Coaches to tell the players to hold their heads up for the fantastic game that they played, a game in which they lost by 2 points to the State champion without making one three point shot! 

 

One coaching veteran of many recreation teams over the years said sadly of the inbounds pass snafu: “You have to remember, they are just kids.  But they had a tremendous season and no one can take that away from them.” 

 

A GREAT DAY FOR THE WHITE PLAINS TIGERS TODAY as fans welcomed the Tigers back after they have played the best season in White Plains Women’s Basketball History.  Photo by WPCNR Sports

 

Everyone who journeyed up to Troy that night will not forget the tremendous playoff run and the fact that the team always played as a team and never quit in the final game against the most talented team they had ever faced, came back time after time after time, and was 1.8 seconds away from forcing Goliath into overtime, where team David knew the chances were good that they would get off a good shot from their sling.

PUT THEM ON THE WALL! The 2004-2005 White Plains Tigers. 24-4, Class AA Section II Champions. Number 2 in the State. Principal of White Plains High School Ivan Toper is in second row, left. Coach Sue Adams is at upper right. In front of Ms. Adams is Coach Deb Flooks. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. March 12, 2005: Nottingham High School of Syracuse beat White Plains 40-38 to deny the Tigers the State Championship tonight in Troy, New York. The Tigers were in it all the way and finished with a record of 24-4, with many of the same cast of heroines returning next season.

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WPCNR PHANTOM OF THE THEATRE. By John F. Bailey. March 11, 2005: Fort Hill Players winter production of Deathtrap, the longest running thriller ever on Broadway, is a revival of Ira Levin’s play-within-a-play that works and keeps the audience guessing. It brings back the John Barrymore of White Plains, D. Scott Faubel (denizen of The Journal-News news room in real life), for another one of his meaty performances in tough roles and introduces a new star to be, Mike Edmonds, just in his early 20s.

APPLAUSE. APPLAUSE: The cast of Deathtrap, sans Patti Rome greeted with a minute and a half of applause after their premier performance Friday evening.  Left to right, Richard Molyneaux (Porter Milgrim), D. Scott Faubel (Sydney Bruhl), Mike Edmonds (Clifford Anderson), Bona Crehan (Helga Ten Drop)Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

D. Scott Faubel, the Tommy Heinrich “Old Reliable” of the Fort Hill Players, (who has landed star turn after star turn from The Odd Couple to Art), creates a believable Sidney Bruhl  (played by Michael Caine in the movies) as a nasty old playwright whose bulging, gleaming eyes, and calculating nature thrill and chill. Faubel’s Bruhl has a slightly insane Captain Queeg edge to him that has this play going from laughs to horror in a gunshot and a lightning bolt.  

 

Faubel is not the Michael Caine type – but instead makes his Bruhl far more evil. Mr. Faubel has the ability to make you forget the famous actors who played the parts Mr. Faubel plays, a tribute to the Faubel method. He’s a dominator that takes a part and makes it his.

 

Welcome, Mr. Edmonds!

 

Faubel’s furtive mannerisms deliver the sinister side of the playwright without a hit, Sidney Bruhl, and his worthy foil is 22 year old Mike Edmonds in his first major role for the Fort Hill Players. Mr. Edmonds hails from Arizona and has come to New York to be an actor. He is one.

 

Edmonds plays Clifford Anderson, the student who attracts the attention of Bruhl during a summer writing course. As Act I opens, the audience observes Bruhl and his wife played by Patti Rome in her first major dramatic role for FHP discussing the play Mr. Anderson has written and sent to Mr. Bruhl for his opinion.

 

Bruhl, income dwindling and in need of a hit, is jealous because Anderson’s first time play is great. (Or so we are lead to believe). Bruhl and his wife discuss collaborating with the young playwright. Bruhl invites him over to discuss the possibilities. Bruhl is furious that one of his students has written the “one set, five character, moneymaker.”

 

Who is plotting against whom over the “valuable property” named “Deathtrap” is never quite clear.  The overriding theme is an inside look at writers’ vanity, their jealousy and lusting for success at any cost that exists in the real theatre. (Not to say anyone has killed anybody in the theater over a play yet. But, it could happen.)

 

You’re Killing Me or Are You?

 

Faubel, discussing dwindling finances observes, “Nothing recedes like success,” and voila, motive is born. The premise of the play:  some want that success enough to kill for it. What’s new?  Who is killing who in this play, how they are going to be killed, and were they really killed makes for bizarre twists that will engrosses the audience in the puzzle of the Deathtrap.

 

The play takes on two layers. The audience of 50 persons on opening night is taken on a serious of emotional swings as events they see are not always what they seem. From the first big turnaround “sold” by Patti Rome’s histrionics at the end of Act I, the audience buys the play and goes along for the wild ride.

 

Mr. Faubel’s timing is perfect, his desperation, his slinking,  (especially trying to find out what his young protege has locked in his desk drawer, is funny. Faubel’s pompous observations send-up the vainglorious playwrights of our time.

 

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

 

But it takes two to tango and Mr. Edmonds  in the Christopher Reeve role (in the movie) Clifford Anderson,  the playwright-wanna-be, acts with the self-assured cockiness recalling to mind Presidents and Executive Officers we have known.

 

Mike Edmonds as Clifford Anderson. Photo by WPCNR StageCam

 

Edmonds, acts with an easygoing control is self-effacing, sycophantic, charming, playing to Bruhl’s ego with genuine sincerity. In Scene 3 of Act One when the amazing first murder takes place, Edmonds changes character smoothly from victim to co-conspirator and the audience buys it.  Edmonds looking like a White Plains High senior, builds his character through the play, and turns as evil as Bruhl in the play’s unexpected, shocking climax.  The audience swallows him all the way.

 

Like any good criminal,  Edmonds has you trusting him all the way and hating Bruhl, when it was really the other way around all along. Edmonds creates a Professor Moriarity-like superiority to his nemesis Bruhl when he vainly describes what has happened in an acid, mocking delivery. The audience’s collective jaws drop as the nice young man turns into not so nice young man. Edmonds face in his lecturing of Faubel took on  “the masque of Fu Man Chu,” the look of pure evil – the evil that it takes to kill.

 

Unlike the twerpy male movie leads of today,  Mr. Edmonds is a young actor who can act.

 

Two Dominators and three sidekicks.

 

Patti Rome, the statuesque brunette of the trio, More Than Music  in her debut in a dramatic role for FHP as Bruhl’s wife in Act One has to project and make her lines heard in her role, perhaps stating them more slowly. She delivered too quickly, too high and too quietly to cut through the “Snidely Whiplash” rumble of Faubel and the engaging elocution of charmer Edmonds.  Her body language and exasperation with Bruhl were genuine. It is an admirable first effort and she will get better. Ms. Rome did not stay for bows, as she was gifted with a new grand daughter Saturday evening and rushed to see the new actress.

 

Patti Rome as Myra Bruhl (in rehearsal). Photo by WPCNR StageCam

 

Rome, though has the most powerful moment in the play. She is the evening’s first key shocker and gets it exactly right.  Her horror at her husband’s deed at the close of Act One turns the audience into the play.

 

Ms. Rome gives this all she’s got, she screams piercingly, expresses anxiety, and creates a creeping hemorrhaging feel of panic that ices the theatre atmosphere much as panic and shame do in real life. Ms. Rome handled her lines well, but, in my opinion,  has to contralto them a little deeper in the back of her throat rather than speaking from the front of her mouth. She’s got all the emotion, body language and that worried wife role out there.

 

Brona Crehan as the ditzy psychic, Helga Ten Dorp, does a good comic turn as the neighborhood psychic who foresees what is to come, but gets it slightly wrong, keeping the audience guessing. However, Ms. Crehan overworks her Hungarian accent and needs to slow it down to make sure the audience gets her predictions. She’s a natural comedian, but she has to modulate slower to deliver the accent, perhaps a little less thickly.

 

One of the dangers with doing impressions of accents is you tend to do them too fast.  Take a cue from Peter Green’s Count Dracula. He was effective because he was slow. You know what you’re saying, but the audience does not. Crehan has the flightiness of the eccentric down. She has the wonderful comic flare of Imogene Coca and is appealing to look at and balances the skullduggery afoot in this brooder.

 

The Rochambeau Theatre may have a lot to do with Ms. Rome and Ms. Crehan’s troubles with clarity, or maybe this reporter needs hearing aids. The high domed ceiling creates bounce, echo and tends to distort the women’s voices while mellowing the mens’.

 

Richard Molyneaux as Porter Milgrim, Bruhl’s lawyer, deserves admiration for skewering the blue-blazered Connecticut lawyer perfectly. I loved his Westport accent and thought I was looking in on Greenwich. I knew people like him.

 

Highlights.

 

The special effects in Act II are atmospherically perfect: lightning, thunder. The staging of shootings, stabbings, deaths are disturbing and real and neatly choreographed.

 

Best moments: The Faubel-Edmonds discovery scene at the top of Act II when Bruhl finds out what  his young lover Anderson is doing. Edmonds doing the famous explanation of the plot at the conclusion, and the horrifying denoument.

 

The Set Design by David Jacob the Director, was very Connecticut. However,   I did not like the situation of the writing desk being situated where it was upstage right,  because it forced Edmonds to speak to the back of the set when he is typing. Fortunately Edmonds has the pipes to overcome this. By placing the desk in the left center of the stage, audiences on the left angle in the wings are blocked. I deliberately moved my seat to the right side so I could see the centerstage action.

 

They cannot see the action behind the desk when they view from the left side. I have never seen a play where an actor is forced to speak straight to the back of the stage. The actors usually are angled laterally.

 

The lighting created what Producer Joan Charischak describes as “a glowing ember,” and the set takes on the aura of a sinister place. The lightning flashes and thunder and startling gunshots were jolts of reality. The producer reported a cable broke during the first act causing  shortcircuit, but the actors persevered admirably and the technical crew fixed the cable for Act II.

 

Mr. Edmonds and Mr. Faubel worked as a team. They were believable. Timing impeccable, interaction – especially on the violence, sobering and shocking. Mr. Edmonds reminds one of a young Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. Just 22, Mr. Edmonds was encouraged to audition by a friend of his at work, Suzanne Davis (whose Lucy in FHP’s Dracula  was another memorable performance by a beginning actor).  WPCNR looks forward to more of Mr. Edmonds’ work, he and Mr. Faubel nailed Toneys for this performance.

 

Deathtrap matinees Saturday at 2, this evening at 8 and next Friday and Saturday at 8 at The Roch, Rochambeau Theatre, 228 Fisher Avenue. For tickets, call 914-309-7278 or go to www.forthillplayers.com. Photo by WPCNR News

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. March 11, 2005: The Fastest Game On Earth  was the tagline Madison Square Garden used to promote the New York Rangers back when there was a National Hockey League in the 1950s. The Broadway Blues always had tickets and used to run tiny hockey stick shaped ads in the sports sections of the old Herald Tribune and World-Telegram and Sun to fill the blue smokey rafters of the old garden where you were right on top of the action. Kids could attend 2 PM Garden games against the Red Wings, the Bruins, Black Hawks and Maple Leafs and of course The Flying Frenchmen.

 

 

The Voice of the Bad Boys of Hockey is Ebersole Rink’s own John Ransom who invented phrases such as “Be part of the Evil Empire,” and “The Bad Boys of Hockey,” Ransom handles public address duties at the Danbury Arena and contributes to the family entertainment atmosphere and the creation of the Danbury Trashers mystique. Fans come out and come back thanks to the friendly ushers, the well-disciplined crowd control, and a “family” crowd evenly divided between college students with their dates and families with hockey playing sons and daughters. Ransom’s son has become involved with the team as a stick boy and despite their rough and rowdy, no-nonsense ice style, the players have become the darlings of Danbury. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

The Danbury Arena: Home of the Trashers. Newly refurbished and has become a Danbury hub thanks to the Trashers. Photo by WPCNR Sports

 

Well, the NHL ruined itself this season, but the fastest game on earth lives in places like Bridgeport, Providence, Flint, Fort Wayne, Kansas City, Elmira, Adirondack in the United Hockey League and the American Hockey League. Instead of the Flying Frenchmen The Tri-State area has the Bad Boys of Hockey, the Danbury Trashers, owned by the youngest owner in sports A. J. Gallante owner of a carting company in the Danbury area who has singlehandedly given Danbury a team it has taken to heart,  supporting their Bad Boys with an average attendance of 2,400 fans a game.They have drawn 81,345 in 34 dates.  Tonight in the first of two straight home games they meet the Adirondack Frostbite their chief rival in the UHL Eastern Division. The gloves will be flying.

 

HOCKEY IS ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE! At the Danbury Arena. Here the Trashers in white attack the Motor City Mechanics. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

The United Hockey League is a well-balanced league considering that the Trashers have a 12-8-5 record in 1-goal games and a 14-3 record in 2-goal games. The games are competitive, end-to-end action, and are highly energetic. These are young professionals playing because they love the game, certainly not for the money or the 1,500 mile busrides from Danbury to Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and western New York.

 

The New Philadelphia Flyers. The Main Street Maulers.

 

The young Trashers from their opening game were the targets of the league as older teams tried to push the new guys around. The Trashers were having none of it and lead the league in penalty minutes with 2,378.  There was one game where the owner even got involved in an altercation, but John Ransome says he was there and it was blown out of proportion. The league actually banned a Trasher for life from taking a poke at a coach. However, there has been bad blood built up over the course of the season

 

Number 40: Ruman Ndur – The Trasher you don’t want to mess with. Within the first 10 minutes of every game, there’s usually a fight as the Trashers defend their ice and themselves.  Ruman Ndur has a classic fighting style, he drops his gloves, rolls up his sleeves, and poses like John L. Sullivan. The fans love him. Photo by WPCNR Sports

 

The Boys in Black are penalized so much they have 18 short-handed goals. Though big, they are fast and get a ton of breakaways as opponents with a skater advantage attempt to “pinch in.”  For the record, the Trashers in  65 games have 92 Majors – that’s at least 92 tiffs, with 474 Minor Penalties, 8 Bench Penalties, and an astounding 58 Misconducts. They are very touchy feely guys and very sensitive.

 

Trashers Congrat Scott Stirling on another win. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

 

The Trashers have the best goaltender in the league Scott Stirling who leads the league in wins with 31 wins and has a 2.31 Goals Against Average. He has lightning like reactions and looks like a cross between Bernie Parent and Terry Sawchuck. He fills the goal but has matinee-idol looks behind the mask. The T-men play excellent defense in front of him, kill penalties well and always are battling the odds. They like this image.

 

The Trashers have made it easy to purchase tickets to their games, by telephone and on the internet through an easy-to-navigate website, www.danburytrashers.com. On the site the fan gets a complete update on the previous game and can access the entire league’s statistics, including attendance figures.

 

 

TRASHER PLAY-BY-PLAY ON THE NET: in this reporter’s opinion, what has gotten Danbury to come on out and support the hockey club is that the team internet-casts all of its games on their website free with an audio play-by play, relayed worldwide by their Public Information Director, Phil Giubileo at the microphone. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

For fans who miss hockey on television they can watch the Trashers play at home, enjoying Mr. Giubileo’s play-by-play with the web live telecast for $6 a game. No doubt, the ability to follow a team when the local media are not covering them is what has helped the Trashers grow in popularity. (New York-New Jersey Juggernaut, National Pro Fastpitch Teams take note).

 

The Price is right.

 

Everything about the Trasher operation is big league except the prices. They fit a working reporter’s pocket book. For less than the cost of two beers at Madison Square Garden, you can watch two hours of hockey action, and enjoy beer (cut off after two periods), soda and concessions at prices that are very reasonable. A Trasher front row seat is $12. For that you get Zamboni Races on the video screen; replays of goals, fights, and sequences on the big video jumbotron; and you are closer to the action, virtually on top of the game. It reminds you of the Old Madison Square Garden.

 

THE SAN DIEGO CHICKEN HAS MET HIS MATCH: It’s Scrappy the Trasher launching Trasher T-shirts to the fans inbetween periods. Photo by WPCNR Sports

 

The Staff is nice and you have parking.

 

You can park in the Danbury garage, or at the railroad station lot across the tracks next to the old Danbury Railroad Museum. You can park for $4.50, even get walk-up tickets at the door. But, the team is very popular, so I suggest phoning ahead.

 

 

The World’s Sexiest Zamboni — Always a Thrill. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

Inside the arena, the staff does everything possible to make you feel welcome. The box office girls are pleasant, the souveniers are really big league, the ushers are always glad to see you. The concessions move fast. The arena is intimate and there are no bad seats.

 

Never a dull moment.

 

The pregame introductions introduce “The Evil Empire, your Danbury Trashers.” Every stoppage of action, for “discussions,” or whatever,  produces hard-driving up tempo music that keeps the jive going that appeals to the twenty-somethings and the 50-somethings.

 

Inbetween periods there is the world’s sexiest Zamboni, painted to look like a sanitation truck (the Trashers are owned by a carting company). There is the ever popular Chuck-a-Puck raffle, where hundreds of fans throw pucks on the ice with hopes of taking home a pot of money. There are promotions. At a recent Motor City Mechanics game, two local girls hockey 12-and-under teams competed. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

The Trashers do a lot of promotions and outreach to local groups, and thanks to their internet play-by-play, fans (mostly children) are able to keep in touch with the outstanding young men who visit schools to clinic youngsters coming up. The Trashers are only tough on the ice. They are good interviews and clean cut. They also travel on the road in jacket and tie.

 

TRASHERS SUPPORTED THE Danbury Hornets — a 12-under Girls Hockey Team that played an exhibition between periods. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

The Trashers are getting set for the playoffs, having four home games remaining after this two-game set with Adirondack. Upcoming home action is with Elmira, March 18; Richmond, March 23; Motor City, March 26 and the final home game is with Muskegon, March 27. The Trashers play their final 7 on the road before playoffs start mid-April.

 

 

 

Trashers to watch are leading scorer Number 22, Bruce Richardson with 20 goals and 54 assists; the opportunistic Blake Bellefeuille, Number 13 with 16 goals and 14 assists; Jeff Daw, Number 11 with 21 goals and 42 assists (63 points);  and Number 24, Dan Cristiansen with 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points.

 

KICK SAVE ON A PENALTY SHOT by Scott Stirling. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

 

Top policeman on the team is former  Ranger, the big defenseman from Nigeria, Number 40, Ruman Ndur, a fan favorite and Number 71, Mario LaRocque, a little tough guy who has 26 assists as a defensemen. I miss Brad Wingfield, Number 42, who broke his leg several weeks ago in a wild game. Wingfield’s wife works the souvenir stand in Danbury and reports big Brad is mending well but that his only hockey now is on the PC.

 

 

 

The Trashers also lost their stylish winger Brent Gretzky, who this reporter saw score several impossible goals earlier in the year. Nevertheless the Trashers are second in the division to Adirondack who they play tonight back-to-back at the Big D in Danbury.

 

The Trashmen have a record of 38-22-5 behind the DACK’s 41-15-8, 9 points behind with 11 games to play.

 

 

 

 YOU TALKIN TO ME? SCRAPPY WANTS TO SEE YOU THERE AT THE PLAYOFFS. Photo by WPCNR Sports.