Brockton v. Charlestown at Boston Garden Tonight

By Lisa E. Crowley

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON—When Brockton’s boys basketball team takes the floor at TD Boston Garden Monday night, topping the list of strategies to win is the team’s tenacious defense that has brought them to the Garden’s storied parquet floor and the Div. 1 South Sectional Championship. “Two more games,” said Brockton’s William Baker after the Boxer’s 57-48 win over Madison Parker Saturday at UMass.
“It’s not just to The Garden, it’s to the DCU Center,” Baker said.

The win earned the Boxers the Div. 1 South title and a game against Charlestown to potentially advance to the state final.

The team celebrated the sectional championship, but Baker said the team is focused on the next game and playing the team defense that forced Madison Park to turn over the ball a crucial 3 times in the waning minutes of Saturday’s match—turnovers that gave Brockton the ball and forced Madison Park to foul.

Brockton extended its lead to 9 by the time Blakely dribbled the ball to tick off the game’s final seconds and a celebration of the south Sectional final.

Blakely and Baker said the team’s all-around defense was the deciding factor in Saturday’s game and the pair intend to match or better Saturday’s performance.  

“We all played really good defense,” Baker said.

Blakely, a junior, and Baker, a senior, said they remember 2 years ago when Brockton lost at Boston Garden, one game short of the state final and ultimate glory.

“We just want to put our city back on the map,” Baker said.

Baker’s family has supported his basketball career since he was a little boy and this week’s tournament run has been no different.

Family members boasted T-shirts with his picture from when he was a little boy to today.

Lakisha Wilson, one of Baker’s relatives, said Brockton this year has been proving over and over they are an excellent team, and now they have 2 more games to finish.

“They were unranked at the start of the season—no one would give them their props,” Wilson said.

Brockton takes on Charlestown for the Div. 1 state semifinal, Monday, March 12.

Tipoff is at 7:45 p.m.

Boys B-ball Heads To South Sectional Final

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The number 1 seeded Brockton boys basketball team will play number 2 seeded Madison Park Saturday at 4 p.m. for the South Sectional Div. 1 final after narrowly beating Newton North Wednesday, 49-44.
Brockton's road to the south final included 10-plus point victories over West Roxbury and Catholic Memorial.
Madison Park earned its berth in Saturday's final by edging out a win over Natick 69-62 and just getting past Taunton 63-61 in the quarter final, and holding off Franklin 63-60 in Wednesday's semis.
Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The game will be played at UMass Boston.

BFD Raises $6,000+ In Lung Assoc. Stair Climb

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON—It was 789 steps up to the top of the Mellon Financial Center in Boston for hundreds of firefighters, including 16 from Brockton who raced up the 41 story building to raise money during the American Lung Association’s “Fight for Air Climb.”

While some competitors were passed along the way up, Brockton’s team kept going, not wanting to stop and knowing they  would enjoy an easier way down the stairway after the competition.

“Some guys had to stop, but everyone on Brockton’s team kept going,” said Bill Hill, one of Brockton’s competitors. “We definitely took the elevator down,” Hill said with a chuckle.

To put things in perspective, the Bunker Hill Monument has 294 steps and no elevator down.

Brockton joined the event for the first time this year and came in 7th, only about 1 minute behind first place team Portland, Maine.

More important, Hill said, is that the team raised more than $4,000 for the American Lung Association.

The Boston event took place Saturday, Feb. 4.

Thirty-nine teams ran up Boston’s Mellon Center last month.

Teams from all over the Northeast have participated in the event in various cities across the region including Springfield, New York City, New Haven, Conn., Bennington, Vermont, and Buffalo, N.Y.

Hill said Brockton plans on participating next year and are shooting for the first place spot.

Girls Softball Signups March 1.2

BrocktonPost BROCKTON--Brockton Youth Softball League for Girls will host 2012 spring registrations March 1 and March 2 at the Raymond Elementary School, 125 Oak St., from 6 to 8 p.m. For on line registration or more information check out BYSL's website at www.brocktonyouthsoftball.net/ For other information call 508-941-5766.

Lee, Noddle Leave 'Em Laughing Out Loud

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—After a no-holds barred, free-wheeling stand-up talk by former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee and Brockton Rox coach Ed Noddle about their days in pro and minor league baseball, organizers have nearly met its financial goals for a plaque in honor of Brockton’s Bill McGunnigle—a pioneer and innovater during the early years of baseball.
“I think it put us over the top,” said West Bridgewater resident John McGunnigle, great-grandson of McGunnigle, who as manager/player led the legendary Dodgers franchise, then known as the Brooklyn Bridgegrooms, to an at-the-time unprecedented back-to-back pennants in 1889 and 1890.
The Lee-Noddle inside-baseball discussion, held at Joe Angelo’s Café Sept. 22 and attended by nearly 100 people, featured the two-longtime ballplayers and friends sharing stories from their days in the baseball world, including Lee’s desire to punch out Bill Buckner when they were rising stars in California and Noddle’s memories of former Red Sox manager John McNamara, who beat out Noddle for skipper of the Pawtucket Sox and, who as Manager of the Year, went on to lead the Red Sox to the ill-fated World Series in 1986.


John McGunnigle said he and other supporters are close to having raised the estimated $4,000 toward installing a plaque in Bill McGunnigle’s honor at Campanelli Stadium—home of the Brockton Rox.
About $2,000 of the plaque’s cost was donated by MetroSouth Chamber of Commerce and Brockton 21st Century Corp.
The plaque is estimated to cost about $4,000 to manufacture and install.
John McGunnigle said he will not know the total cost of the plaque until he contacts Rox management to find out the actual cost to install the plaque, but either way, the Sept. 22 event made a large dent in fundraising efforts.
“It was a really fun and great night,” McGunnigle said.

Along with city officials, residents and baseball lovers from near and far, the crowd included Ronald G. Shafer, a 38-year reporter-editor for the Wall Street Journal, who has written a recently published book, “When the Dodgers were Bridgegrooms: Gunner McGunnigle and Brooklyn’s Back-to-Back Pennants of 1889 and 1890.”
Shafer, a resident of Williamsburg, Virginia, is married to Stoughton High School graduate Mary Lynch Rogers, the great-granddaughter of McGunnigle, whose connection to McGunnigle helped turn him on to the pioneering ideas McGunnigle implemented, and tried to implement, into baseball during the game’s formative years. “He really was ahead of his time,” Shafer said. (Pictured below signing book and with wife Mary at Cooperstown-Correction: Dodger Stadium)
Among Gunner McGunnigle’s (pictured, right) many accolades include being the first manager to win back-to-back pennants in 1889 and 1890. Not only did McGunnigle win the two championships, he did it in two different leagues. The Bridgegrooms were in the American Association in 1889 and then moved to the National League for the 1890 pennant.
It is still a feat that has not been repeated, Shafer said.
Shafer said McGunnigle was also the first manager to use hand, bat and other signals to direct players on base to steal or send messages to players identifying pitches the opposing hurler might throw—an advancement that is as much a part of today’s games as those more than 100 years ago.
Shafer said McGunnigle believed alerting his players to opponents pitches was so important he wanted to run electrical lines from the dugout to the batters box to essentially “wire” his players for signals from the bench.
Shafer said while the idea was ahead of its time, it was nixed by an electrician who said there was a chance players could be electrocuted.
McGunnigle is also a disputed inventor of the catcher’s mitt.
Shafer has unearthed a copy of Reach’s Official Baseball Guide from 1875 (below) that cites McGunnigle as using the first catcher’s mitt as a player for the Fall River team.
The guide states McGunnigle cut off the fingers of a brick layer’s gloves and used the glove to protect his hand in a game against a team from Harvard.
One of the Harvard players followed McGunnigle’s example and the catcher’s mitt caught on everywhere except in baseball’s hallowed Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y. where Joe Gunson is credited with wearing the first catcher’s mitt in 1888—13 years after McGunnigle—while playing for a Kansas City team.
Part of the problem surrounding who invented the catcher's mitt is a distinction between the so-called "pillow mitt" and McGunnigle's innovation.
"Gunson claimed to have invented what is the modern big 'pillow' mitt, and some at the Hall of Fame agree. Other experts say it was Brooklyn Bridegrooms catcher Albert "Doc" Bushong," Shafer said in an email.
"My book shows that Bushong was already using such a glove when Gunson claimed to have invented his. Doc had a degree in dentistry and wanted to protect his hands for a future career as a dentist, which he became in Brooklyn after retiring," Shafer said.
Either way, McGunnigle used a glove in 1875--padded or not--to protect his hand from the steam of a pitcher's velocity.
Shafer said it is too bad McGunnigle doesn’t get the credit he deserves and should have a place at Cooperstown highlighting his innovations because he did so much for the game.
“It was such a long time ago, and the game was changing so quickly and the Hall of Fame came so much later,” Shafer said. “McGunnigle should really have his own place,” Shafer said.
(Top photo, Lee, Joe and Sheila Angelo; McGunnigle photo courtesy Shafer and Hall of Fame; Reach's Guide page courtesy Shafer)
Click here to visit Shafer's website or here to purchase his book on Amazon...

Grit, Determination Power U.S Women's Soccer

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
Anybody catch that goal by Abby Wambach???!!!
You know what I mean.
The Women’s World Cup. U.S.A. vs. Brazil played Sunday morning.
Time seemed to stand still as the pass from Megan Rapinoe made its way from the left wing across the goal mouth, past the outstretched hands of Brazil's goalkeeper Andreia to Wambach’s forehead on the far post.
Time was ticking off the clock.
U.S.A. was down to its last 30 seconds in extra time behind Brazil 2-1 in a topsy-turvy game marred by a controversial red card and the subsequent first penalty kick that U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo saved, but Brazil was given a successful second chance on another questionable call.
Rapinoe’s soaring cross had to go in.
It just had to. You could feel the U.S. was going to tie the score.
It was a perfect pass, in the perfect spot, to the right player at the right time and Wambach-known in soccer circles as the Queen of the Midair--made no mistake. (Wambach pictured at top)
It was textbook.
A header just like your coach tells you to do. Attack the ball—which means keep your eyes open--and drive it hard to a corner.
And DID Wambach drive it.
The springs holding the back of the net in place could clearly be heard on ESPN’s broadcast as Wambach’s goal plowed into the net and bounced back out with effect as Team U.S.A. overcame numerous hurdles at the last second to tie the score, send the match into overtime and eventually win on penalty kicks.
Wow Wambach!
Thank you for slamming that baby home.
What a pass by Rapinoe. Sometimes getting an assist is almost as good as getting the goal.
Team U.S.A.’s miraculous win wipes away the controversy surrounding the ref’s questionable red card and ejection of Boston Breakers’ Rachel Buehler—a stalwart on defense at the 64-minute mark.
Forget about the Hope Solo save on the first penalty kick for Buehler’s red card and then having to face another when the officials indicated some kind of encroachment on the save. (Solo pictured second from top)
Forget about Brazil evening the score on the rekick of the penalty shot.
Who cares now.
With everything against them, the U.S. women’s team showed what they were made of: grit and determination.
Never say die--even with 30 seconds left.
They played a man down for nearly 60 minutes—a regulation soccer match is 90 minutes—and they took the play to the Brazilians, who even a man-up mustered little offense, except a stealth attack from superstar Marta’s big toe that put Brazil in the lead 2-1 just 2 minutes into overtime.
Another controversy. The player who passed Marta the ball to go ahead probably should have been called for being offside.
Oh well. Doesn’t matter now.
At the professional level it’s not often a team playing with a man down looks like the one in the driver’s seat, but that’s the way the U.S. played it.
They attacked.
Not only in the overtime, but from the moment Buehler was sent off.
They seemed to get the fact the deck was stacked against them, except in the minds of viewers and fans.
Thousands of German fans who packed the stadium in Dresden, Germany joined in chants of “U.S.A.” and the momentum was in Team U.S.A.’s court.
Down 2-1, the U.S. controlled the ball for much of the overtime and you just knew they were going to score, but when?
Time was REALLY running out. The game should have been over at the 120-minute mark, but 3 minutes of extra time was added for a number of Brazilian stalling tactics, most notably by Erika, who clearly faked an injury to chew up time.
Didn’t matter.
Looks like the Brazilians learned that sometimes doing everything you can to win isn’t a good idea.
Marta—what a great player. She may end up the Don Mattingly of women’s soccer. Sorry girl. You’re still young. At 25, you’ve got a few more World Cups to play. This isn’t your time.
Not sure if it’s this Team U.S.A.’s time. Today will tell.
Today’s game against France (11:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, ESPN) will be a tough one.
The French have never made it this far and they might think, just like the U.S., they have destiny on their side.
Don’t think so since the U.S. has beaten the French 11 of 13 matches, but you never know. Never underestimate an opponent. That’s why we play the game.
This American women’s team needed a defining moment and on Sunday they got it.
To draw attention to the women’s World Cup I joked with friends the best thing that could happen in the tournament would be for one of the women on the North Korean roster to defect.
I was wrong.
There is nothing better than a last-second, man-down, all-against-you win capped by a pass and a shot for world-wide headlines and highlight reels.
Go U.S.A.!!!
(Top two photos courtesy of Getty Images. All others courtesy ESPN)

Rox Set Home Hit Record Sunday Against Colonials

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Ed Nottle, who led the Brockton Rox to the franchise’s only championship as field manager in 2003, was hired as the club’s coach Sunday, according to a statement from Rox officials.
Nottle was suited up for his first game back on the bench Sunday, July 11 when the Rox walloped the Pittsfield Colonials 13-6 and the team set a new record for the number of hits on its home turf with 22.
“We’re thrilled to have Ed’s positive energy and enthusiasm back in the clubhouse,” said Rox CEO Chris Carminucci.
“We feel that Ed’s spark will be contagious and will help the team reach its expectations.”
Nottle replaces Bob Didier, who resigned from the club for personal reasons.
With Sunday's win the Rox's record stands at 22-19, just one game behind the Can-Am leading Colonials who will be at Campanelli Stadium tonight for the second of a three game series.
The 22-hit game fell short of the Rox's 24-hit all-time record which was set in July 2006 when the Rox were on the road against Nashua.

Brockton Native Comes Home For Wheelchair Bowling Championship

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Surrounded by family members he had not seen in person for more than 20 years since moving to Florida, Brockton native Michael Cannizzaro held the championship trophy for the top scorer in the B division of the American Wheelchair Bowling Association’s 50th anniversary National Championship—a first place title made sweeter because he won it in his hometown.
“I’ve been second (in the National Championship) for the last two years,” Cannizzaro said. “I want to win it here,” he said.
His nephew David Cannizzaro whose daughter Chelsey had never met her great-uncle until the tournament—said his Uncle Michael had the win with a few strings left to bowl, but remained quiet and calm as other bowlers finished out their matches.
“He didn’t celebrate. He kept quiet about it, but you could see he was really excited,” David Cannizzaro said.
Michael Cannizzaro joined more than 50 bowlers and hundreds of spectators for the American Wheelchair Bowling Association’s National Championship held at Westgate Lanes in Brockton from June 20 to 25. (Pictured, second photo from top at left rolling a practice ball)
Tournaments are held all year long around the country, but the National Championship is the “Big One,” competitors said.
The AWBA, formed in 1961, celebrated its 50th National Championship at Westgate Lanes in Brockton—a special moment commemorated in Brockton in part because of Tournament Director Wayne Webber.
Also in a wheelchair, Webber said he received treatment for injuries out of the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in West Roxbury, but also worked in Westgate Lanes’ Pro Shop for more than 3 years while living in Massachusetts before moving to Florida 19 years ago.
“There’s a real rapport here and it’s been a special place for me and others,” Webber said.
Westgate Lanes has become a special place for Michael Cannizzaro having won his first National Championship with his family watching, but getting to the tournament was no small feat.
Cannizzaro made a unique-for-him road trip from Florida to Brockton to not only compete in the National Championship, but also visit with family members who he had only previously talked with on the phone.
“It was like a family reunion,” said Rosalie Linscott, Cannizzaro’s sister who now lives in Foxboro.
(Pictured in photo at right back row: Terry Powers, Ann Powers, Rosalie Linscott and David Cannizzaro. Front row: Ray Dennison, Michael Cannizzaro and Chelsey Cannizzaro)
Linscott said except for a few family members who have traveled to Florida to visit Michael, most have never met him because he has lived in Florida for 22 years and rarely travels because of his handicap.
However, the National Championship being held in Brockton was powerful incentive for Cannizzaro to visit.
“He said, ‘I’m going to that one,’” Linscott said.
What made it happen was friend Ray Dennison, also in a wheelchair, who drove with Cannizzaro in a special wheelchair van more than 1,460 miles from their homes in Port Charlotte, Florida—just north of Fort Myers--to a hotel near Linscott’s home in Foxboro.
The pair took two days to make the trip.
“It’s not easy for those guys to get around. It was really a marathon trip for them,” Linscott said.
While Cannizzaro was crowned National Champion for the first time, Reading, California resident Walt Roy was crowned champion for the fifth time in the “scratch” division.
A Hall of Famer, Roy, 68, who has been bowling for more than 30 years, said he would not miss the National Championship for the world.
“This is our Super Bowl, our World Series, and our Master’s,” Roy said. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” he said. (Pictured in top photo bowling a practice strike)
Roy urged other men and women in wheelchairs to become involved in the sport not only for exercise, rehab and meeting new people, but also maybe to win.
“Go out and try it,” Roy said. “You don’t have to be a national champion—just have fun,” he said.
However the competitor in Roy added: “You can be as good as you want to be—maybe you can be a national champion.”
During opening ceremonies held Thursday, June 23 a celebration to veteran’s featured “Singing State Trooper” Sgt. Daniel Clark and Brockton Firefighters Pipes and Drums.
Westgate Lanes manager Harry Minassian Jr. said the opening ceremony was amazing and heartfelt.
“Everybody was crying,” Minassian said.
Al DeGirolamo, legislative aide to State Rep. Michael Brady, was one of those who was honored to throw out one of the first balls of the tournament.
Like the men and women who competed in the tournament throughout the week, DeGirolamo sat in a wheelchair and held the heavy bowling ball on his lap as he used his arms to wheel the chair to the line of the alley.
He said he used all his might to send the ball down the lane. DeGirolamo laughed noting he might need more practice.
"I got three gutter balls in a row," DeGirolamo said. “I gained a lot of respect and admiration for what those competitors do,” he said.
To find out more about the AWBA or learn about leagues and how to join, click here to visit the AWBA website.

Runners Pound Pavement In Brockton Road Race

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Nearing the finish line of the Brockton Firefighters Pipes and Drums Road Race, Hingham’s Chris Barry urged every ounce of power and speed from his 11-year-old body as he tried to catch Under 15 division leader Matt Moran but try as he might, Barry finished second—only 7 seconds behind winner Moran.
“It's maddening,” Barry said, shaking his head after the race and drinking water with his mother Lauren who came in second in the women’s division. (Pictured below with Bruins shirt with mom, Lauren at right)
Irritated, but undaunted, Chris Barry said he will only try harder to win the next race.
“Next time,” Barry said.
Barry, his mother and more than 150 racers, volunteers and spectators from nearby towns like East Bridgewater and Hingham or as far away as Lynn and Boston, congregated at Brockton Firefighter’s Keating Hall on Perkins Avenue for the 5th annual Brockton Firefighters Pipes and Drums Road Race held Sunday, June 26.
Ninety-one men, women and children competed in the 5K/3.1 mile road race around the streets of the Campello area of Brockton.
The first runner across the line was Chad Green who finished in 18 minutes, 12 seconds. (Pictured at right)
Placing first overall among women was Kristina Coriarty (pictured below with trophy) who finished in 19 minutes, 25 seconds and was the second runner to finish the race.
Following the race, runners, families and friends enjoyed a barbecue and mingled among the crowd, including Brockton’s Angel Otero and Kati Mack (Pictured left to right) who noticed the two families likely had the youngest spectators in the crowd.
Otero held his 1-month old son Daniel—number five for he and his wife Nicole.
Mack cradled 8-month-old Ilira as the pair talked about children, running and the need to cover the newborns' heads and skin from the sun that began to peek through the clouds after the race.
Mack ran the 3.1 mile race with sister-in-law Shannon Mack. Otero said he watched with his wife Nicole as their third child Mia ran the race in the under 15 girls division.
Otero said even if he didn’t have Daniel in his arms it would be very unlikely he would run next year’s Pipes and Drums race—or any other for that matter.
“I don’t even like to run to the ‘fridge,” Otero joked.

Brockton U12 Girls Top Abington Tourney

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The Brockton Girls U12 softball team took top honors in the 23rd annual Abington Father's Day Softball Tournament held last weekend.
The team defeated 4 teams to make the finals and beat Kingston's U12 girls 8-2 to win the championship in their age bracket and remain undefeated during the tourney.

Girls Softball Signups Begin Thursday

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Brockton Youth Softball League for Girls 2011 Spring sign-ups will be held March 3 and 4 at the Raymond School, 125 Oak St.
Signups will be From 6 to 8 p.m.
For more information, call 508-941-5766 or go on line www.brocktonyouthsoftball.net to register online.
Cost for the spring program are as follows:
T-ball: ages 5 to 6 years--$50
10U: for ages 7 to 10 years--$60
12U: for ages 10 to 12 years--$75
16U: for ages 13 to 16 years-- costs $75.
(Photo courtesy Brockton Youth Softball for Girls)

Thomas' Fiesty Temper Hits Homerun For Brockton Youth Sports

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—For more than 50 years as a player, coach and over-all volunteer for Brockton’s city baseball, softball and basketball leagues, George Thomas’ hot-temper and fiery personality has led teams to victory, made things happen as a one-man fundraiser and league official, and on the way has helped other young hot-heads learn the finer parts of a game.
Thomas, 75, was honored Thursday night Jan. 20 during a fundraising event for his decades of service that has not only resulted in helping to lead Brockton youngsters down a positive path, but also the placement of his name on the new baseball field at the Mary E. Baker Elementary School on Quincy Street.
“You don’t do it for a reward. You do it because you have to and want to,” Thomas said to a gathering of more than 200 people at Joe Angelo’s Café after several family members and friends recounted how Thomas taught them how to live life and play sports during a more than 40-year career of volunteerism.
On a lighter note, Thomas joked--as he stood on a stage under blue, red and white stage lights--that he had told his wife Sheila (pictured at right with Thomas who is getting a kiss from daughter Sherrie Rioux) during their 52-year marriage he would someday be in lights and she would sarcastically respond “how the hell are you going to do that,” and it turns out his love of sports, family and friends had found him—to his infinite surprise--under the spotlight.
“This means so much to me. I’m so proud to have a baseball field named after me,” Thomas said, adding, “I’m so thankful I’m here to see it,” he said.
The event was held to honor the field being named for Thomas and to raise money for a new electronic scoreboard at the field, estimated to cost about $10,000.
The night was full of laughter, food, music, and memories of a man who began playing baseball on the diamonds of Brockton as a young boy, as a player for Brockton High School and went on to play fast-pitch softball when was stationed in Korea with the U.S. Army. In 1957, after being discharged, he returned to Brockton and began coaching Little League baseball and youth basketball.
For more than 50 years, Thomas could be found between 6 and 9:30 p.m. either at one of the city’s baseball fields or basketball courts. Thomas now lives in East Bridgewater with wife Sheila, who he said has been behind him all of the way.
“It’s a lucky thing I did in my life 52-years ago when I married her,” Thomas said.
During the event, Ward 2 City Councilor Thomas Monahan gave Thomas—a lifelong family friend—gave Thomas a baseball signed by all of the players from the 1981 men’s adult “A” League Championship team that initiated a decades-long friendly joke between Monahan’s father Thomas “Popeye” Monahan, who died in 2003 and Thomas over $500 and championship jackets for the team.
“He’s like a link between me and my father,” Monahan said. “It meant a lot to me,” he said. (Monahan is pictured in top photo with Thomas who is tossing the baseball in the air)
Not only did Thomas receive the signed baseball, he also was given a proclamation from the State Legislature presented by state Rep. Michael Brady, (pictured at right with microphone) who joined the night's band, "Just Two Guys," on stage for one of the songs, making the duo into a trio, dubbed, "Two Guys and a state Rep." by one audience member.
One of Thomas’ numerous grandchildren, 19-year-old Alicia Thomas, who lives in Enfield, Connecticut, said she is close to both her grandparents and is honored to be able to join her aunts and uncles--Thomas has four children: Michael, Thomas, Sherrie Rioux and Debbie Thomas-- cousins and family friends in honoring a guy who has stayed young at heart and will always be remembered by generations to come.
“If I’m a having a bad day my Granddad always makes me smile,” Alicia Thomas said. (Pictured below in back row with a handful of Thomas’ grandchildren)
Laura Galligan, who is a family friend in many ways, said she knows a side of Thomas that isn’t as well known as his coaching and volunteerism in Brockton sports.
Galligan said as an elector at Christ the King Church, a Catholic Church in Brockton, Thomas has reached out to the community in more ways than they know.
“He is a very spiritual man—very humble, kind passionate and caring,” Galligan said.
Thomas said when he was a teenager playing in the city’s basketball league an opposing player fouled him hard and the referee didn’t call a foul.
Thomas said he went after the ref and after pushing him, the referee “went flying” and the man sprained his ankle.
Thomas said not only was he suspended for the rest of the year, he learned that he needed to control his temper and learn another part of the game.
“We’re not only teaching baseball, but also teaching what life’s all about. You’ve got to teach sportsmanship,” Thomas said.

Rox Hot Stove Banquet Friday Night

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—The Brockton Rox will have a semi—Boston Red Sox reunion this Friday night during the team’s annual Hot Stove banquet that this year features new Rox manager Bill Buckner, Red Sox pitching legend Bill “The Spaceman” Lee and former Red Sox manager Jimy Williams.
"The Hot Stove Banquet is always a great opportunity to get together during the off-season and talk baseball, said Rox Chief Executive Officer Chris Carminucci in an email. “We're lucky to have three Red Sox legends on hand, and it should be a great evening," he added.
The event will be held Friday, Jan. 21 at the Shaw’s Center beginning at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $60 per person and includes dinner.
There will be raffles, prizes, and a question-and-answer session with the panelists. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Room to Dream Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Tickets are going fast, but some are still available by visiting the Brockton Rox website.

1970 Boxer Football Video Recalls BHS Early Days

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton High School football coach Peter Columbo is always looking for new ways to improve his team.
Saturday night Peter Columbo received a dose of his father Armond’s coaching medicine from a DVD of old 8mm films from the 1970 team that went undefeated the first year Armond took over and went on to win the first high school Super Bowl in 1972.
“This team is historic,” Columbo said. “This team goes on to prominence and we are carrying on the tradition,” Columbo said moments before the DVD was played on numerous TV screens in a private room at Joe Angelo’s Café.
Following the showing of the DVD that mostly displays the 9 games the 1970 team went on to win during an undefeated season, Columbo said it makes him look forward to next season.
“They played some great football,” Columbo said, noting he was in junior high when the film was made. “It’s impressive and inspiring,” he said.
The 1970 team was undefeated, but because the Super Bowl did not exist yet, did not earn that title although a banner marks the team’s achievement.
When the high school Super Bowl tournament was launched in 1972, Brockton High won the first two.
The 30 to 40 former players, past and present coaches, school officials and volunteers who attended Saturday night’s intimate showing of the new DVD watched as images of Brockton High School in the 1970s flashed on the screen.
Many laughed and joked as they recalled students and teachers, remembered the remarkably 1970s gym shorts and T-shirts students had to buy and wear to join in on physical education classes and scanned the football scenes either for themselves or friends.
The 39-minute video mostly shows highlights from the football team’s season from 1970to 1971.
Gary Leonard, President of Save our Sports, a non-profit foundation that raises money for high school sports programs, named numerous players and what they are doing now.
Many are area businessmen and lawyers, others have moved away, including one player who is now in Egypt working as a renowned artist.
Leonard also played on the team as center and lineman.
Bobby Bonnette, who turns 80 this year, (Pictured at right) has been a constant figure on the sidelines for more than 40 years and continues to do all he can to help the team, including selling 50-50 raffle tickets during Saturday's dinner and film.
"I'm one of those little guys who couldn't play,but I can do this and still do all I can to support the team," Bonnette said.
Brockton High Athletic Director Thomas Kenney said the DVD’s are available to anyone who is interested. The cost is $10 and can be purchased through the high school athletic department and by calling at 508-580-7546 or by email at thomaskenney@brocktonpublicschools.com.

Benefit Supports Brockton High Sports

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Save Our Sports, a non-profit organization that supports Brockton schools sports program, will host a " Night of Champions II," Saturday, Jan. 15 with this year's celebration highlighting the Brockton High School 1970 football team that went 9-0 for the season and the first year Coach Armond Colombo took over the team and began an era of Boxers' success.
Brockton High Athletic Director Thomas Kenney said attendees will be in for a treat during the night when the group unveils the first showing of a DVD presentation made from old 16mm film Coach Colombo took that depicts opening activities at the high school in 1970.
"It really takes you right back to that time. I've watched it three or four times now," Kenney said.
When the 1970 football team went undefeated, Kenney said, there was no high school Super Bowl, but when it was enacted in 1972, the team was unstoppable.
"Brockton won the first two Super Bowls," Kenney said.
The event takes place this Saturday, Jan. 15 at Joe Angelo's Cafe beginning at 6 p.m.
There will be a buffet and all who attend will receive a DVD copy of the commemorative video as a souvenir.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance by calling 508-580-7540 or they can be purchased at the door.

Brocktonians Step Into Mixed Martial Arts Ring

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Two Brockton men will be fighting for titles Saturday night Jan. 8 at the Mansfield Holiday Inn for the American Fighting Organization championships.
Brockton resident Steve Dunn will challenge for the welterweight championship and Brockton native Shawn Galano will challenge for the heavyweight title.
The AFO is a mixed martial arts league based in New England that was recently named "Promotion of the Year" by the Boston Herald.
For ticket prices, reservations and schedule of bouts click here to visit American Fighting Organizations website.

Bill Buckner To Take Helm Of Brockton Rox

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The Brockton Rox announced Tuesday Jan. 4 that 22-year major league veteran Bill Buckner will be the club’s field manager for the 2011 season.
Brockton Rox CEO Chris Carminucci said in a prepared statement having Buckner as head coach is a move he hopes will help propel the team to a championship.
“He’s well-known and well-respected by New England sports fans, and has an incredible wealth of knowledge about the game. Our fans and players are in for a great experience in 2011," Carminucci said.
Buckner said he is looking forward to hitting the field and returning to a game he loves.
“I’m excited to spend the summer in back in Massachusetts with the Rox,” Buckner said in the statement. “I’ve been looking forward to getting back into baseball, and it should be a good season,” he said.
Buckner, 61, was driven from the area by heartbroken and, in some cases over-the-edge and revengeful fans who could not accept the Game 6 loss during the World Serie in 1986 when Buckner misplayed a ground ball at first base. The Mets went on to win Game 6 and won the World Series in Game 7.
Since the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, many hard feelings have dissipated and Buckner has been a welcome visitor to the area and now, Rox officials say, will use his extensive baseball knowledge to lead the Brockton Rox.
Buckner's career began in 1969 and ended with his retirement in 1990.
Buckner played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Kansas City Royals, amassing 2,715 hits, 498 doubles and 1,208 RBI. He led the National League with a .324 average in 1980, 35 doubles in 1981 and 38 doubles in 1983. A superb contact hitter, Buckner never struck out more than 39 times in a season.
Buckner made appearances in the World Series with the Dodgers in 1974 and the Red Sox in the infamous 1986 run. In 1981 he was a N.L. All-Star.
After his retirement, Buckner served as a hitting coach with the Chicago White Sox from 1996 to 1997.
A Vallejo, Calif. native, Buckner was a second-round choice of the Cubs in the 1968 draft after playing college ball for Arizona State University.
“It’s a great day to to have Bill Buckner join our organization,” Rox CEO Chris Carminucci added.
In 2010, Brockton went 54-39, second-best in the league, and reached the playoffs for the fifth time in the club’s history.
Three Rox players were selected to Baseball America’s All-Independent Team after the season, making Brockton one of just two independent clubs--out of over 60--with three players on the list.

Blue Hills Horse Unit Gains News Friends

By Lisa E. Crowley
The BrocktonPost
MILTON--When the Massachusetts DCR Park Ranger Mounted Unit hosts its semi-annual holiday open house next Sunday, the popular horse-riding unit will have a few new friends by its side.
A new non-profit organization, Friends of the Massachusetts Park Ranger Mounted Unit has recently formed with the goal of raising enough money to bring more of the mounted units back into the state’s public parks beginning with increasing the number from one to three that currently patrol the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton.
“It’s in its infancy,” said Maureen McLaughlin, a Hanover resident and president of the group which completed the incorporation process in October.
“Hopefully, eventually, it will grow and more people will help out and donate money,” McLaughlin said.
The holiday open house will be held Sunday, December 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the stables adjacent to 685 Hillside Street in Milton that once housed a corps of hoof-stomping horses that patroled the 7,000 acres of Blue Hills Reservation.
The event is free and includes pony rides, free pictures with Santa and other children’s activities, hot cocoa, cookies and tours of the historic, yet run-down Brian T. Broderick stables and barn.
The event is free, but Friends organizers hope attendees will make donations to help the group begin what are expected to be long-term fundraising events.
The holiday open house has been an annual celebration held by the rangers in the mounted unit—that is when the mounted unit has been in existence.
Once a mainstay, throughout the last decade the horse unit has been pared back and has been on again-and-off again in Blue Hills and other state parks because of budget cuts.
In 2004 the unit was completely disbanded after the State Legislature cut funds for the horses despite an outcry of public support that attempted to save the beloved unit.
In the spring of 2008 the mounted rangers rode again after being reinstated through a $100,000 budget rider that supported a three-horse patrol.
It has operated as a three-horse unit since. However, two of the horses do not patrol the Blue Hills on a regular basis and are with the Plymouth Country Sheriff’s Office.
Once dozens of horses and rangers trotted through the more than 15 state parks and reservations and covered more than 300,000 acres.
The Blue Hills mounted unit travels to other area parks performing safety tours and educational programs but is limited.
Because the historic Brian T. Broderick stable and barn is in such a state of disrepair, horses are stabled elsewhere.
The stable and barn are currently used to store lawn and other maintenance equipment.
All across the country mounted units often are the first line items eyed for cuts during difficult financial times and in a majority of cases friends groups have organized to raise money to save those horse units.
These friends groups have had a greater and lesser degree of success.
Last year the City of Boston cut its 12-member Boston Police mounted unit. It saved the city $600,000 but ended an era of the horses patroling Boston’s streets and public parks that dated back to 1873.
A quickly launched friends group was unable to prevent the Boston unit's demise.
In Cleveland, Ohio, the mounted police have patroled the streets for more than 100 years. For more than 20 years a friends group has paid for the care and cost of the horses and the City of Cleveland pays the bills for employees and stables.
Currently, the Cleveland Mounted Police has seven horses and three riders—down from 11 a few years ago and far short of the 80-head during the unit’s heyday.
The Cleveland friends group estimates it costs about $160 per day, or more than $58,000 a year, to pay for the hay, oats and other necessities to care for the horses and city funds are getting smaller and smaller.
In Washington D.C., an elite mounted unit formed in 2003 by Congress to patrol the nation’s Capitol was decommissioned just two years later when Congress cutoff the $145,000-unit with six officers and five horses and have not been patrolling since.
From Philadelphia, Penn., to San Jose, Calif., to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire--where a friends group has kept the horses on the beaches at least for this fiscal year--legislators have cut money to pay for the popular mounted units.
Lt. Susan Murphy Survillo, a mounted ranger with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the state agency that oversees the state's parks, said people love the horse units and are an invaluable public relations asset for the rangers and police forces around the U.S.
"People want to see the horses in the parks and on the beaches," Murphy Survillo said. "Nobody is going to come up and pat a cruiser or an all-terrain vehicle. We're the goodwill ambassadors for the DCR and the state," she said.
While the horse units are people magnets--especially for kids--they are useful as safety personnel on trails and can reach places and navigate terrain motorized vehicles cannot.
Supporters also say the mounted units in city, suburban and rural parks and communities have been credited with deterring crime and keeping possibly highly-charged crowds in control.
"An officer or ranger on a horse has a wider range of view and can see much more of what is going on on the ground," Murphy Survillo said. "An officer on a horse is also intimidating and might stop someone from doing something because of their presence," she said.
Friends group President McLaughlin--whose is an avid dressage rider and competes with her thoroughbred Laddie throughout New England--said while the group is small today, they hope to grow and be able to help in the restoration of not only the mounted units, but also the decrepit Broderick stables and barn—loosely estimated in the millions to restore.
"That's a dream and probably years down the road, but you have to start somewhere," McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said she and fellow friends board members, Lisa Young of Salem and Jeff Livingstone of Franklin are hopeful those in the area’s equestrian world, park enthusiasts, and horse-unit lovers will donate and help keep alive the tradition of the mounted unit in the state’s parks.
They are supported by a handful of volunteers and are beginning plans for fundraising events, such as a possible bowling tournament, Country-Western line dancing nights, golf events and in the spring, seek to offer self-guided trail rides through Blue Hills for those who own horses.
McLaughlin said the Friends--for a fee--would offer coffee and donuts before the ride, lunch afterward and special trail maps for riders to clip-clop through the Blue Hills.
She said the group rides are popular in other areas and are a way for horse lovers and owners to meet other horse owners on a social level.
She said often horse owners ride alone because of busy schedules or their friends do not have horses.
“It fosters camaraderie and it’s for a good cause,” McLaughlin said.
Anyone wishing to make a tax deductible donation or want to join the group visit the group's Facebook pages at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-the-MA-Park-Ranger-Mounted-Unit/112526825455601
(Photos courtesy Friends of Massachusetts Park Rangers Mounted Unit and DCR)