"Roehrig" is not Italian.
Well, Jenny Roehrig, midfielder for the Massachusetts women’s soccer team, is – it’s just her last name that’s not. That’s because her dad is German and Irish. Her mom, Maria, on the other hand, was born in Palermo, Sicily in 1959.
Maria’s parents, Carlo and Ersilia Tumminello, immigrated to America with their daughter in 1961, intrigued by the freedoms and opportunities the United States offers. In 1963, Ersilia gave birth to Maria’s younger sister, Laura.
After growing up in a proud Italian household where red, white and blue are among the most flaunted colors, Maria joined the New York Police Department in 1981. It was there that she fell for her partner, Willy Roehrig later in that year. There must have been amore in the midst of the NYPD, as the two married in 1983.
But this story isn’t about them. It’s about their daughter, Jenny, and her undying passion for the game of soccer. A passion that, perhaps, can be attributed to where her mother hails from.
What soccer means to Italy can be summed up in one word: everything. The love the Italians manifest for their national sport is one hard to duplicate on any continent. Every match is followed diligently on television or radio. Replica jerseys of beloved players, who are closer to rock stars than athletes, are donned by young Italian children. And little soccer games pop up spontaneously in the streets.
“It’s similar to the way Americans embrace football or baseball. They’re very enthusiastic about it. It’s their major sport,” says Maria Roehrig. “To them it’s constant action. They feel it is the true athlete because as an athlete in soccer you have to constantly be moving. And they think that in itself is skill, is excitement and they just really enjoy it.”
This may seem like the type of craze Americans have for their sports – but it’s much more than that.
“Just picture football, baseball, and hockey here in America rolled into one... that's soccer in Italy,” Jenny adds. “Soccer is everything to them.”
It’s not uncommon to see a group of people playing a game on a sidewalk or in the middle of the street. Only the severe injury or illness could ever prevent an Italian from lacing up his or her shoes and booting the ball around. A stroll through the back streets of any Italian town can remind one of the obsession for high school football that grips states like Texas and Louisiana. It is this type of fervor that Jenny Roehrig – who has been to Italy four times – has played with throughout her four years at UMass.
Just finishing her year as senior captain Jenny wrapped up a collegiate soccer career played with a passion so intense that it had to stem from Italy. For four years, she left everything she had on the field. UMass coach Jim Rudy says he always knew what he would get out of Jenny – a quality effort every time day in and day out, with a high priority of hard work.
“Usually when I give them a break – a five-minute break to go get water – she usually was of the first two or three that is back on the field right away like, ‘OK, I’m ready to go. What’s up now? What do you need?’” he says.
This is probably because of whom Jenny has in her cheering section. Rudy describes Jenny’s parents are like “the ultimate fans.” They make sure that at least one parent goes to each game. Rudy says Maria is very passionate about soccer and very supportive of all the Minutewomen, not just her own.
When the final horn of Jenny’s college career sounded, she had started all 70 games and recorded 11 goals and 14 assists, for 36 points. But these numbers didn’t spring out of nowhere. They were the result of a young life dedicated to her favorite sport.
Jenny – and her younger brother, Willy, 18 – started playing soccer just like any other kid, kicking the ball around with friends in neighborhood yards. When Jenny was four years old Maria signed her up for St. Margaret’s, a church soccer league near their home in New York. Maria thought it would be a good idea to get Jenny running around and playing a sport for an organized team.
Jenny’s dad and his friends were her first coaches and she got to play with almost the same coed group for four years, something she loved. An environment in which she got to play against friends from school and in which parents were all friends made games both competitive and fun. One year she even played on an all-boys team, which she says was a great experience. But Jenny always took it a little more seriously than her friends did.
It wasn’t until Jenny began playing for her first club team, the Newfield Lightning, however, that her parents began suspecting that what started as a recreational hobby was beginning to snowball into something else. Willy began to notice Jenny doing certain things not so typical of a girl her age – his daughter would regularly play sick or even injured. Some Italian passion leaking out, perhaps?
“At about eight years old, that’s when she started really, seriously playing hard,” Willy says. “She was getting pretty focused. I could see the focus coming in and it just got more intense as she went on.”
Jenny Roehrig would play banged up or under the weather – anything to keep her on the field. This is when it first looked like Jenny might wind up playing soccer in college. She began showing the same infatuation citizens of Italy take to soccer. If they can’t play it on a field, or in the street or in an alley, they’ll play it on the beach. There a little soccer courts set up on the sand so people can play a pick-up game whenever they please. There is an ardor for soccer incomparable to anything in America.
When the Lightning eventually folded Jenny played for the Sachem Angels of the Long Island Select Program, where she played against the best female players on Long Island. Her first year, the team won the state finals for the first time ever. It was there that Jenny developed some of her fondest soccer memories.
Though she played only four years with the Angels, Jenny says she and her teammates were like sisters and that the parents – especially the cheering posse of moms – grew very close as well. Then, like everything else good, the squad started to diminish and it was time Jenny, who had also been on a New York State Olympic Developmental Program (ODP) team (a higher level than Long Island Select Program) to move on to the Massapequa
Spirit.
It was her success there, cocktailed with her accolades at Newfield High School in Selden, N.Y., that first caught Rudy’s eye. As a Wolverine, Roehrig tallied 39 goals and 42 assists (120 points) en route to becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. During her senior year, she amassed 39 points on nine goals and 13 assists. Her stats got her named All-County twice, All-League three times and All-Conference twice throughout her high school career. Rudy saw the love the young Roehrig had for soccer and recruited her to the Maroon and White.
Where did this passion come from? Was it the product of good parenting? An upbringing that preached hard work? Or both, combined with having a mother from a foreign shore where enthusiasm for soccer is as pure as it can get?
“My cousins play soccer, indoor soccer and outdoor soccer, even though now they’re professionals, they’re doctors, dentists and lawyers, they still play soccer at least once a week. It’s really big for them,” Maria says.
“The last time we were down in Sicily, [Laura’s husband] Danny and my cousins, who are younger than I am but older than Jenny, had started a soccer game out on the street,” she recalls.
Willy remembers one instance when Jenny was about three or four years old that defined the Italian love for soccer. The Roehrigs were visiting Maria’s aunt, Franca, and uncle, Giuseppe, at their home in Italy. Jenny started playing soccer with Franca and Giuseppe’s kids, Piero, Fabbio and Mario, in the house surrounded by glass and expensive ornaments and decreatives.
“I’d be like, ‘Be careful!’ and the aunt and uncle were like, ‘Oh, no problem,’” he says. “You know, like nice, laid-back Italians – ‘Oh, don’t worry about it. Let them play, let them play.’”
But the Tumminellos’ embrace of soccer is only a small sampling of the type of romanticism the Italians take to the game.
“Soccer is everything to them. They play soccer everywhere,” Jenny says. “They cherish the moments they have when they play. I mean, they have fun, but at the same time they take it seriously. Everyone is so competitive but shows such passion for the game, even if it isn’t on an actual soccer field.”
It is with this sort of zeal that Jenny tries to exhibit in every game she plays. Though her UMass career is over, she says soccer will always be in her. If she can find the time from her job at Goldman Sachs, a full-service global investment banking and securities firm she has committed to, she would like find some intramural soccer leagues to play in.
Even though the family is not rooted in the old country anymore, the Roehrigs hope to make sure by exercising such a for the European game and such close family ties that their Americanism and pride in their heritage will never die. And though they love calling Italy a second home, the family couldn’t be happier that they came to the United States and now have – on top of the liberties and opportunities of this country – have having an American soccer player to show for it.
Like Carlo Tumminello says, “It’s the besta move I ever make in my life.”
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Locals give their 2 cents about war in Iraq
Congress isn't the only place where frustration with the Iraq War is on the rise, yet there seems no clear consensus about what to do next.
Average Americans - area residents included - also hold divergent views.
"I don't think you can pull the troops out of Iraq," said John Riskalla, 40, of Attleboro, Mass., "Once you committed to doing that, you're stuck. I think we have to stay. I felt the same way (when U.S. forces invaded in March 2003)," Riskella said. "I felt it was a bottomless pit, and I think that's why so many other world leaders didn't think it was such a good idea."
Riskella said he couldn't suggest a timetable for when U.S. troops should withdraw, adding only that it will take "a long, long, long, long time."
Wayde Wilson of Lexington, Mass., disagrees.
"I think (the troops) should (come home). They shouldn't be there anyway," he said.
Wilson said he has no political affiliation and was not initially against the war, but thinks now that the military situation has deteriorated since the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003.
"Who knows where (Osama bin Laden) is. If you can find him, we go after him and leave everybody else alone," said Wayde, 40. "Let (the insurgents) blow up themselves. We're killing more of our own than saving (Iraqis)."
Robert Voyer, 83, who served with the Marines from 1942 to 1944 is no stranger to war. A member of the 3rd Marine Division, he fought in Guam during World War II.
Voyer, of Attleboro, says invading Iraq was the right idea, but is critical of the way the war has been executed.
"(We should stay) until we start fighting our real war," said Voyer, who identified himself as a staunch Republican. "I think we need to use our Air Force so we can get what we can. We have enormous power."
Average Americans - area residents included - also hold divergent views.
"I don't think you can pull the troops out of Iraq," said John Riskalla, 40, of Attleboro, Mass., "Once you committed to doing that, you're stuck. I think we have to stay. I felt the same way (when U.S. forces invaded in March 2003)," Riskella said. "I felt it was a bottomless pit, and I think that's why so many other world leaders didn't think it was such a good idea."
Riskella said he couldn't suggest a timetable for when U.S. troops should withdraw, adding only that it will take "a long, long, long, long time."
Wayde Wilson of Lexington, Mass., disagrees.
"I think (the troops) should (come home). They shouldn't be there anyway," he said.
Wilson said he has no political affiliation and was not initially against the war, but thinks now that the military situation has deteriorated since the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003.
"Who knows where (Osama bin Laden) is. If you can find him, we go after him and leave everybody else alone," said Wayde, 40. "Let (the insurgents) blow up themselves. We're killing more of our own than saving (Iraqis)."
Robert Voyer, 83, who served with the Marines from 1942 to 1944 is no stranger to war. A member of the 3rd Marine Division, he fought in Guam during World War II.
Voyer, of Attleboro, says invading Iraq was the right idea, but is critical of the way the war has been executed.
"(We should stay) until we start fighting our real war," said Voyer, who identified himself as a staunch Republican. "I think we need to use our Air Force so we can get what we can. We have enormous power."
Monday, May 14, 2007
Bat, pen both precious for UMass left fielder
It seems kind of ironic – a collegiate softball player majoring in journalism and English who wants to cover music instead of sports. But that is exactly the case with UMass junior Lauren Proctor.
The equation may seem a little more strange when one considers her pedigree. Her stepfather, Richard Restuccia, played professional for the Milwaukee Brewers before wear and tear on his shoulder forced him into retirement. But it’s not just Papa Proctor, however. Her mom is just as big a sportsaholic.
“They are sports nuts. I’ll give them a call and they’re saying, ‘Today we’re watching the Atlanta Braves and then we’re going to watch this sport and this sport,’” Proctor says. “And so I’ll be talking to them and my mom will be, ‘Yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. Home run!’” Proctor says.
Despite this overwhelming upbringing into the Wide World of Sports, Proctor thinks she would rather write about concerts and tattooed guitarists then sports games and athletes.
And she is grabbing her ambitions by the horns.
So far, she has already gotten her foot in the door with multiple music publications like Performer Magazine, a magazine for which she has a concentration on artists coming out of the area. But this 21-year-old likes to keep busy – so she spreads herself around. She also writes for www.talkofnewyork.com, a hip-hop site run by BET photographers which receives 104,000 unique visits a day. The site has allowed her to interview people like Tyrese, Clinton Sparks (Diddy’s DJ) and Frankie J.
Or how about Skope Magazine – an internationally circulated magazine that just got a deal to be distributed in Barnes and Noble.
She also writes promos for Existence Records, an electronic label out of Canada that just had a release featured on iTunes Canada, UK, and Japan, reaching Number eight on the Japanese charts.
But Proctor doesn’t stop there.
She is also in the process of starting an online music magazine called Thrill Music Mag. It will cover all musical genres and is set to launch Sept. 1. She says she has stories lined up with artists ranging from My Chemical Romance to Justin Timberlake and Amy Winehouse. The site will feature a section called ‘Tastemakers’ that will feature highlight artists who necessarily ‘chart-famous’.
“I love writing about music. I’ve always loved music and in high school I made it a point to find new bands before they got famous. I feel lucky that I’ve found something I truly enjoy so much,” she says. “My parents have definitely encouraged me to be a sports writer but I guess I feel a different calling with my life. I love sports and have really enjoyed playing, but just don’t necessarily see sports journalism in my future.”
No matter what kind of a career her future holds or what kind of doors her diploma opens, Lauren knows that right now she plays for UMass Softball – that’s all that matters. Her team just won the Atlantic 10 Championship for the 13th time in 14 years – and 19th overall – and the Minutewomen have no intention of stopping there.
It was announced during the NCAA softball selection show on ESPNews on Sunday that UMass will host the Regionals for the second year in a row. The Minutewomen are the No. 2 team in the Amherst Regional and will face No. 3 Rhode Island (33-20) at 4:30 p.m. The regional is double elimination and runs through Sunday.
“I think it took us a little while to get going and to figure some things out, which is natural. But, I would say, that we’re doing well,” Proctor says.
It didn’t take Proctor long to figure things out, as she was a key factor in the Minutwomen’s success from Day One.
Heading into the further depths of the season, she maintains a batting average of .367. Over the course of the season she racked up 33 runs, 54 hits, 40 RBIs and a .503 slugging percentage. She is the epitome of a solid player – though she does not lead the team in any of the aforementioned categories she is consistently in the top two or three and she will always come through in the clutch.
“LP is as timely as anybody,” Sortino says. “She’s probably one of our best hitters with runners in scoring position this year. She’s solid.”
Though Proctor’s 2006-07 numbers may jump off the stat sheet to the casual reader, they are still the result of the steady progress she made since first donning the maroon and white.
She started all 54 games of her freshman season, finishing fourth on the team – and ninth in the A-10 – with a .322 batting average. By the time the year was done she had accumulated 27 runs scored, 47 hits (including three home runs) and 31 RBIs. She also garnered a slugging percentage of .466 and an on-base percentage of .385.
She continued her excellence during her sophomore year, starting in all 57 games. She mustered a .364 batting average to accompany her 30 runs scored, 60 hits, 20 RBIs and a .419 on-base percentage. She also had a slugging percentage of .455.
Her outstanding numbers earned her the honor of being selected as a third-team ESPN The Magazine All-District, first-team NFCA All-Region, Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team, first-team Atlantic 10 All-Conference and Academics All-Conference.
Those types of accolades have the ability to make any player look down their nose at her peers – but not Lauren Proctor. Her goal is not to amount statistics or numbers that win her the attention of the who’s who of the sports world, but rather to perform well day-in and day-out and help her team.
“I would say that I work for the hopes of contributing to the team and hopefully the team will do well in the end, but those types of honors are just an added bonus,” she says. “It’s nice to get that recognition, so it’s just a bonus for all the work that happens.”
While the adjustment moving from the West Coast to the East Coast might pose difficulty for most young students, it was no problem for Proctor, who is used to uprooting and relocating.
Born in Phoenix, Ariz., she moved to Pismo Beach, Calif. After finishing her sophomore year of high school in the picturesque city of California, her family again upped and moved – this time to Redmond, Washington. After Lauren tossed her high school graduation cap into the air, her father’s job as a regional manager for a sprinkler company forced them to pack their bags and move to La Jolla, Calif.
Whether it was this constant relocating at such a young age or the company that met her at UMass, Proctor did a terrific job of adjusting from the laid-back atmosphere of California to New England.
“I think that move in the middle of high school really helped me embrace a new place and the team was amazingly welcoming,” she says. “[Coach Elaine Sortino] made a point to make sure that I understood that I would be a key player from the very beginning and it was a great transition.”
Where a young, aspiring college athlete chooses to attend school depends very heavily on the coach that is doing the recruiting and Proctor couldn’t be happier that Sortino sought her out.
During her recruitment, the two would talk on the phone for hours at a time. Proctor says her coach is truly interested in who her players are and really tries to understand them. Any thing they shared over the phone held true once Proctor arrived at UMass – nothing is fake with Sortino.
“The coach I talked to over the phone during my recruiting period is the same coach that has been here,” Proctor says.
Sortino is relentless on her players. She wants the very best out of everyone that sports a Minutewomen’s jersey and eats and drinks nothing but UMass Softball. And this legacy that gripped Proctor actually stretches throughout the United States.
“I talked to some other coaches and Jackie Joseph of Michigan State said, ‘She is legendary.’ She used that word, ‘legendary’ and that’s when I kind of realized, ‘You know what? She is,’ Proctor says. “She’s a great person, a great coach – I couldn’t ask for more.”
“She is tough on us, but I think it’s because she wants us to succeed,” she continues. “She has the belief that if you’re going to succeed in the classroom, you’ll also succeed on the field and so you have to bring your work ethic to every aspect of your life.”
It usually takes just the right coach to ease the initial blow of the college jump and Sortino did just that. But, of course, Proctor’s teammates deserve some of the credit.
All of the Minutewomen have formed a bond rare among sports teams nowadays. The ‘25 players, 25 cabs’ mentality of Red Sox teams from decades ago is nonexistent in the UMass clubhouse. It is no-pressure, low-key atmosphere where the girl at the locker next to yours is not just your teammate, but also your friend.
“It’s a great group of girls,” Proctor says. “We have a really healthy team culture where everyone’s friendly, everyone is really respectful. There’s not a lot of seniority issues. It’s really a model team – one of the best teams that I’ve ever played for.”
Oh, and did you know Lauren Proctor speaks Spanish? It’s true.
While growing up in Arizona, she had a nanny from Mexico City named Lupe. With Lupe knowing only Spanish, Proctor was brought up learning the language. When Lupe stopped working for the family, however, Proctor knowledge of Spanish depleted, so she became taking courses at UMass in order to pay homage to the person who helped raise her. In fact, she plans on getting a Spanish minor.
“It’s always come fairly easily and it’s something that I’m really passionate about. So, when you’re passionate about something doing the work for it never seems like work,” she says.
That equals a double major in journalism and English with a minor in Spanish. That will be a pretty impressive resume when applying to Oxford – yes, Oxford. Her dream is to go there for grad school for her Ph.D. and she plans to apply to become a Rhodes Scholar. She knows it is a longshot but that will not stop her from going for her dream.
In fact, she plans to get an early start by heading over to Trinity College at Oxford for part of the summer to study. While there she will probably indulge in a little traveling, and training and maybe even working with Softball UK.
But, whether she is learning Spanish in the U.S. or using American English in England or covering Nas for a living, Proctor is going to make noise with something other than a bat in her future. She will use the same diligence and hard work she does on the softball field to achieve whatever dreams lie within her grasp.
The equation may seem a little more strange when one considers her pedigree. Her stepfather, Richard Restuccia, played professional for the Milwaukee Brewers before wear and tear on his shoulder forced him into retirement. But it’s not just Papa Proctor, however. Her mom is just as big a sportsaholic.
“They are sports nuts. I’ll give them a call and they’re saying, ‘Today we’re watching the Atlanta Braves and then we’re going to watch this sport and this sport,’” Proctor says. “And so I’ll be talking to them and my mom will be, ‘Yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. Home run!’” Proctor says.
Despite this overwhelming upbringing into the Wide World of Sports, Proctor thinks she would rather write about concerts and tattooed guitarists then sports games and athletes.
And she is grabbing her ambitions by the horns.
So far, she has already gotten her foot in the door with multiple music publications like Performer Magazine, a magazine for which she has a concentration on artists coming out of the area. But this 21-year-old likes to keep busy – so she spreads herself around. She also writes for www.talkofnewyork.com, a hip-hop site run by BET photographers which receives 104,000 unique visits a day. The site has allowed her to interview people like Tyrese, Clinton Sparks (Diddy’s DJ) and Frankie J.
Or how about Skope Magazine – an internationally circulated magazine that just got a deal to be distributed in Barnes and Noble.
She also writes promos for Existence Records, an electronic label out of Canada that just had a release featured on iTunes Canada, UK, and Japan, reaching Number eight on the Japanese charts.
But Proctor doesn’t stop there.
She is also in the process of starting an online music magazine called Thrill Music Mag. It will cover all musical genres and is set to launch Sept. 1. She says she has stories lined up with artists ranging from My Chemical Romance to Justin Timberlake and Amy Winehouse. The site will feature a section called ‘Tastemakers’ that will feature highlight artists who necessarily ‘chart-famous’.
“I love writing about music. I’ve always loved music and in high school I made it a point to find new bands before they got famous. I feel lucky that I’ve found something I truly enjoy so much,” she says. “My parents have definitely encouraged me to be a sports writer but I guess I feel a different calling with my life. I love sports and have really enjoyed playing, but just don’t necessarily see sports journalism in my future.”
No matter what kind of a career her future holds or what kind of doors her diploma opens, Lauren knows that right now she plays for UMass Softball – that’s all that matters. Her team just won the Atlantic 10 Championship for the 13th time in 14 years – and 19th overall – and the Minutewomen have no intention of stopping there.
It was announced during the NCAA softball selection show on ESPNews on Sunday that UMass will host the Regionals for the second year in a row. The Minutewomen are the No. 2 team in the Amherst Regional and will face No. 3 Rhode Island (33-20) at 4:30 p.m. The regional is double elimination and runs through Sunday.
“I think it took us a little while to get going and to figure some things out, which is natural. But, I would say, that we’re doing well,” Proctor says.
It didn’t take Proctor long to figure things out, as she was a key factor in the Minutwomen’s success from Day One.
Heading into the further depths of the season, she maintains a batting average of .367. Over the course of the season she racked up 33 runs, 54 hits, 40 RBIs and a .503 slugging percentage. She is the epitome of a solid player – though she does not lead the team in any of the aforementioned categories she is consistently in the top two or three and she will always come through in the clutch.
“LP is as timely as anybody,” Sortino says. “She’s probably one of our best hitters with runners in scoring position this year. She’s solid.”
Though Proctor’s 2006-07 numbers may jump off the stat sheet to the casual reader, they are still the result of the steady progress she made since first donning the maroon and white.
She started all 54 games of her freshman season, finishing fourth on the team – and ninth in the A-10 – with a .322 batting average. By the time the year was done she had accumulated 27 runs scored, 47 hits (including three home runs) and 31 RBIs. She also garnered a slugging percentage of .466 and an on-base percentage of .385.
She continued her excellence during her sophomore year, starting in all 57 games. She mustered a .364 batting average to accompany her 30 runs scored, 60 hits, 20 RBIs and a .419 on-base percentage. She also had a slugging percentage of .455.
Her outstanding numbers earned her the honor of being selected as a third-team ESPN The Magazine All-District, first-team NFCA All-Region, Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team, first-team Atlantic 10 All-Conference and Academics All-Conference.
Those types of accolades have the ability to make any player look down their nose at her peers – but not Lauren Proctor. Her goal is not to amount statistics or numbers that win her the attention of the who’s who of the sports world, but rather to perform well day-in and day-out and help her team.
“I would say that I work for the hopes of contributing to the team and hopefully the team will do well in the end, but those types of honors are just an added bonus,” she says. “It’s nice to get that recognition, so it’s just a bonus for all the work that happens.”
While the adjustment moving from the West Coast to the East Coast might pose difficulty for most young students, it was no problem for Proctor, who is used to uprooting and relocating.
Born in Phoenix, Ariz., she moved to Pismo Beach, Calif. After finishing her sophomore year of high school in the picturesque city of California, her family again upped and moved – this time to Redmond, Washington. After Lauren tossed her high school graduation cap into the air, her father’s job as a regional manager for a sprinkler company forced them to pack their bags and move to La Jolla, Calif.
Whether it was this constant relocating at such a young age or the company that met her at UMass, Proctor did a terrific job of adjusting from the laid-back atmosphere of California to New England.
“I think that move in the middle of high school really helped me embrace a new place and the team was amazingly welcoming,” she says. “[Coach Elaine Sortino] made a point to make sure that I understood that I would be a key player from the very beginning and it was a great transition.”
Where a young, aspiring college athlete chooses to attend school depends very heavily on the coach that is doing the recruiting and Proctor couldn’t be happier that Sortino sought her out.
During her recruitment, the two would talk on the phone for hours at a time. Proctor says her coach is truly interested in who her players are and really tries to understand them. Any thing they shared over the phone held true once Proctor arrived at UMass – nothing is fake with Sortino.
“The coach I talked to over the phone during my recruiting period is the same coach that has been here,” Proctor says.
Sortino is relentless on her players. She wants the very best out of everyone that sports a Minutewomen’s jersey and eats and drinks nothing but UMass Softball. And this legacy that gripped Proctor actually stretches throughout the United States.
“I talked to some other coaches and Jackie Joseph of Michigan State said, ‘She is legendary.’ She used that word, ‘legendary’ and that’s when I kind of realized, ‘You know what? She is,’ Proctor says. “She’s a great person, a great coach – I couldn’t ask for more.”
“She is tough on us, but I think it’s because she wants us to succeed,” she continues. “She has the belief that if you’re going to succeed in the classroom, you’ll also succeed on the field and so you have to bring your work ethic to every aspect of your life.”
It usually takes just the right coach to ease the initial blow of the college jump and Sortino did just that. But, of course, Proctor’s teammates deserve some of the credit.
All of the Minutewomen have formed a bond rare among sports teams nowadays. The ‘25 players, 25 cabs’ mentality of Red Sox teams from decades ago is nonexistent in the UMass clubhouse. It is no-pressure, low-key atmosphere where the girl at the locker next to yours is not just your teammate, but also your friend.
“It’s a great group of girls,” Proctor says. “We have a really healthy team culture where everyone’s friendly, everyone is really respectful. There’s not a lot of seniority issues. It’s really a model team – one of the best teams that I’ve ever played for.”
Oh, and did you know Lauren Proctor speaks Spanish? It’s true.
While growing up in Arizona, she had a nanny from Mexico City named Lupe. With Lupe knowing only Spanish, Proctor was brought up learning the language. When Lupe stopped working for the family, however, Proctor knowledge of Spanish depleted, so she became taking courses at UMass in order to pay homage to the person who helped raise her. In fact, she plans on getting a Spanish minor.
“It’s always come fairly easily and it’s something that I’m really passionate about. So, when you’re passionate about something doing the work for it never seems like work,” she says.
That equals a double major in journalism and English with a minor in Spanish. That will be a pretty impressive resume when applying to Oxford – yes, Oxford. Her dream is to go there for grad school for her Ph.D. and she plans to apply to become a Rhodes Scholar. She knows it is a longshot but that will not stop her from going for her dream.
In fact, she plans to get an early start by heading over to Trinity College at Oxford for part of the summer to study. While there she will probably indulge in a little traveling, and training and maybe even working with Softball UK.
But, whether she is learning Spanish in the U.S. or using American English in England or covering Nas for a living, Proctor is going to make noise with something other than a bat in her future. She will use the same diligence and hard work she does on the softball field to achieve whatever dreams lie within her grasp.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
God doesn't hate gays...He hates the Westboro Baptist Church
Oh, boy, I have been waiting a very long time to do this – bash the Westboro Baptist Church. Well, my chance is finally here.
The raving bunch of pseudo-Christians have made the headlines of many newspapers and the top story of many evening news shows for their deplorable protests at the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq. Armed with signs reading “God hates your tears”, “God hates America”, “God hates fags”, “Thank God for IEDs”, these pathetic souls picket the burial services of America’s heroes fallen to combat because they feel the United States is a sinful and “doomed nation.”
Run by the Rev. Fred Phelps (who actually looks like he died about seven years ago), the WBC says the U.S. government has disgraced the Lord God and the Holy Bible by creating gay-friendly laws and telling the whole world homosexuality is OK. These psychopaths have been seen inflicting horrific emotional pain into the lives of a deceased’s family by holding protests (for whatever particular reason) mere feet away from a funeral.
They picketed the burial of Matthew Shepherd, a 21-year-old homosexual man who was lured from a college campus bar, tied to a split-rail fence and brutally beaten to death simply because he was gay. Members of the church (if you can even call it a church) shouted harassments at Shepard’s mother, telling her Matthew was burning in hell for committing the ultimate sin – sodomy. Mrs. Shepard was seen crying hysterically as friends and family members tried to console her.
But, gay people aren’t the only ones who suffer the WBC’s wrath. Phelps and his band of idiots are often at the funerals of soldiers killed while defending their country in Iraq – because, since America is a gay-loving nation, they were sent straight to hell. The protesters brought signs that help them spread their love to other victims of tragedy. They like to stand near the funeral procession with banners that say “Thank God for AIDS”, “Thank God for 9/11”, “Thank God for Hurricane Katrina.” No one is spared from this group’s spew of hatred – almost everyone is going to burn because America is ‘tolerant’ of homosexuality.
And these sick bastards just came painfully close to sticking their filthy paws into another American tragedy – the Virginia Tech Massacre. That’s right. The Westboro Baptist Church planned on protesting the funerals of the victims of the horrific shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people on Patriots’ Day. Members say higher education preaches rebelliousness against God and, therefore, these kids deserved to die.
“Why did this happen, you ask? It’s simple,” says godhatesamerica.com, one of the church’s websites. “The Lord your God sent a crazed madman to shoot at your children, and he didn’t miss. Get this straight – God sent this South Korean madman to kill 31 of your children at Virginia Tech. Was God asleep while this place? Was He on vacation? Of course not. He willed this to happen to punish you for assailing His servants.” – This gem comes straight from godhatesamerica.com, one of the WBC’s lovely websites.
The church agreed to cancel all protests related to the Virginia Tech Massacre – with a few stipulations. It suspended all pending pickets, and won’t schedule future pickets, in exchange, however, for three hours of national radio time with Mike Gallagher on his National Radio Show, where its members will openly discuss its religious positions on tragedies like the shootings at VT. They also plan on doing the same routine at the funerals for victims of the tragic tornadoes in Kansas – their home state.
And what about some of their websites – godhatesfags.com, godhatesamerica.com, godhatescanada.com and godhatessweden.com? They all spew the same kind of trash as the rest, but for different reasons. Phelps created the third website in response to the Dominion of Canada passing of a law on April 28, 2004, that makes any criticism of gays a crime punishable by fines and jail time. He created his anti-Sweden site after Pastor Ake Green was imprisoned for preaching that homosexual sex is an abomination.
Yeah, these people are simply beautiful.
I wonder where Phelps attended Sunday school and what kind of Bible he studied. It certainly was not the Bible of the Lord God – that’s for sure. My God loves every one of the creatures He created and would never condemn someone to hell simply for being gay. Phelps and his posse of mentally-warped heathens are using their First Amendment rights (a perk of the so-called “doomed nation” of America) to spread their message of hate.
Mr. Phelps, this God you claim you are speaking for does not exist. The one true God is a loving and caring one and He weeps because of what you are doing. You are sending not His messages, but rather the message of the devil.
But, just to cover all my bases, just in case a God with your frame-of-mind does exist, here is a message from me to you, Mr. Phelps: Take that Holy Bible you have perverted and those mindless drones you have brainwashed and have them forever keep you company in the bowels of Satan’s kingdom.
The raving bunch of pseudo-Christians have made the headlines of many newspapers and the top story of many evening news shows for their deplorable protests at the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq. Armed with signs reading “God hates your tears”, “God hates America”, “God hates fags”, “Thank God for IEDs”, these pathetic souls picket the burial services of America’s heroes fallen to combat because they feel the United States is a sinful and “doomed nation.”
Run by the Rev. Fred Phelps (who actually looks like he died about seven years ago), the WBC says the U.S. government has disgraced the Lord God and the Holy Bible by creating gay-friendly laws and telling the whole world homosexuality is OK. These psychopaths have been seen inflicting horrific emotional pain into the lives of a deceased’s family by holding protests (for whatever particular reason) mere feet away from a funeral.
They picketed the burial of Matthew Shepherd, a 21-year-old homosexual man who was lured from a college campus bar, tied to a split-rail fence and brutally beaten to death simply because he was gay. Members of the church (if you can even call it a church) shouted harassments at Shepard’s mother, telling her Matthew was burning in hell for committing the ultimate sin – sodomy. Mrs. Shepard was seen crying hysterically as friends and family members tried to console her.
But, gay people aren’t the only ones who suffer the WBC’s wrath. Phelps and his band of idiots are often at the funerals of soldiers killed while defending their country in Iraq – because, since America is a gay-loving nation, they were sent straight to hell. The protesters brought signs that help them spread their love to other victims of tragedy. They like to stand near the funeral procession with banners that say “Thank God for AIDS”, “Thank God for 9/11”, “Thank God for Hurricane Katrina.” No one is spared from this group’s spew of hatred – almost everyone is going to burn because America is ‘tolerant’ of homosexuality.
And these sick bastards just came painfully close to sticking their filthy paws into another American tragedy – the Virginia Tech Massacre. That’s right. The Westboro Baptist Church planned on protesting the funerals of the victims of the horrific shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people on Patriots’ Day. Members say higher education preaches rebelliousness against God and, therefore, these kids deserved to die.
“Why did this happen, you ask? It’s simple,” says godhatesamerica.com, one of the church’s websites. “The Lord your God sent a crazed madman to shoot at your children, and he didn’t miss. Get this straight – God sent this South Korean madman to kill 31 of your children at Virginia Tech. Was God asleep while this place? Was He on vacation? Of course not. He willed this to happen to punish you for assailing His servants.” – This gem comes straight from godhatesamerica.com, one of the WBC’s lovely websites.
The church agreed to cancel all protests related to the Virginia Tech Massacre – with a few stipulations. It suspended all pending pickets, and won’t schedule future pickets, in exchange, however, for three hours of national radio time with Mike Gallagher on his National Radio Show, where its members will openly discuss its religious positions on tragedies like the shootings at VT. They also plan on doing the same routine at the funerals for victims of the tragic tornadoes in Kansas – their home state.
And what about some of their websites – godhatesfags.com, godhatesamerica.com, godhatescanada.com and godhatessweden.com? They all spew the same kind of trash as the rest, but for different reasons. Phelps created the third website in response to the Dominion of Canada passing of a law on April 28, 2004, that makes any criticism of gays a crime punishable by fines and jail time. He created his anti-Sweden site after Pastor Ake Green was imprisoned for preaching that homosexual sex is an abomination.
Yeah, these people are simply beautiful.
I wonder where Phelps attended Sunday school and what kind of Bible he studied. It certainly was not the Bible of the Lord God – that’s for sure. My God loves every one of the creatures He created and would never condemn someone to hell simply for being gay. Phelps and his posse of mentally-warped heathens are using their First Amendment rights (a perk of the so-called “doomed nation” of America) to spread their message of hate.
Mr. Phelps, this God you claim you are speaking for does not exist. The one true God is a loving and caring one and He weeps because of what you are doing. You are sending not His messages, but rather the message of the devil.
But, just to cover all my bases, just in case a God with your frame-of-mind does exist, here is a message from me to you, Mr. Phelps: Take that Holy Bible you have perverted and those mindless drones you have brainwashed and have them forever keep you company in the bowels of Satan’s kingdom.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Can a brother get a cheap sweatshirt?!?!
Like it says to the right of this article, I attend the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. But, you see, I often forget this, what with the plethora of non-UMass paraphernalia floating around campus and all.
Moseying my way to class every morning I pass numerous peers wearing sweatshirts and caps that feature the names and logos of colleges not our own. I encounter attire that sports emblems of colleges ranging from Fitchburg State, UNH, University of West Virginia, Miami University, even UCLA. The last time I checked a college student is supposed to have pride in his/her school. Why, then, am I constantly bombarded with my fellow UMassers donning any colors besides maroon and white?
I am so distraught over this issue that I have actually posed this very question to a few individuals among the masses that wear paraphernalia of other universities. And they say it is mostly because one cannot get a quality UMass product on the cheap.
At the U-Store in the Campus Center, a University of Massachusetts sweatshirt go can go for more than $60. Fed up with getting as screwed over at the U-Store as at the local gas station, most students head down to Steve & Barry’s at the Hampshire Mall for all their UMass clothing needs.
There is one catch, though – there is no UMass attire at Steve & Barry’s. That’s right, there is no Maroon and White apparel in a clothing store mere minutes away from the UM campus. The majority of students must choose to settle for a seven dollar-something with “Rutgers Scarlet Knights” embroidered on it.
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?
Students should be proudly flashing their school’s colors on sweatshirts, sweaters, hats…anything that can tell a crowd, “I go to UMass and I am darn proud of it.” But, apparently, the folks down at the U-Store – or perhaps the manufacturers – think we students are members of the Rockefeller family and can drop that much dough for a piece of clothing.
News flash: We can’t.
I don’t know about my classmates, but I can’t afford to fork over a lot of cash for anything. The money I have on me most of the time consists of whatever coins I manage to find to the floor of my dorm room on any particular morning.
I love my school. I love everything about it – the people, the classes, the opportunities, the parties. I want to flaunt my status as a UMass student (as I’m sure many other students do). But I’m not made of money. I’d like to be able to purchase some Massachusetts paraphernalia and at least be able to buy licorice after. After all, I am not Paris Hilton – I cannot wipe my rear end with $20 bills. I need clothing I can afford.
The outrageous prices on UMass gear are masking school pride and it is very unfortunate. Go to any other college campus and you will see the students strutting around their turf with all sorts of clothing decked out with their schools’ logo. The reason you don’t see Massachusetts students sporting UMass stuff in larger quantity does not mean that they are lacking in school spirit. They have it coming out of their ears. Just think about it. We needed riot police to control the swarms of (idiotic) students that trashed Southwest after the football team lost a game. But, unfortunately, the high prices of paraphernalia forces many-a-student to settle for some lame ‘Oregon’ sweatshirt.
There are two Steve & Barry’s gift cards in my wallet – which one of my friends was nice enough to give me – and it would be nice if (even combined) I could walk in and buy a decent UMass sweatshirt. Unfortunately, that is just not the case.
I look forward to seeing my fellow students strolling throughout campus with Maroon and White garb on, but it seems as though that may not happen for quite so time. I guess we will have to further suffer the eyesore of seeing our peers walking around with the logos of other schools plastered all over them. At least until the time comes when people wise up and realize that we college students cannot fork over a bunch Mr. Jackson’s for a piece of clothing we would love to own, that is. So, until then, let me be the first to say, “Go Tar Heels!”
Moseying my way to class every morning I pass numerous peers wearing sweatshirts and caps that feature the names and logos of colleges not our own. I encounter attire that sports emblems of colleges ranging from Fitchburg State, UNH, University of West Virginia, Miami University, even UCLA. The last time I checked a college student is supposed to have pride in his/her school. Why, then, am I constantly bombarded with my fellow UMassers donning any colors besides maroon and white?
I am so distraught over this issue that I have actually posed this very question to a few individuals among the masses that wear paraphernalia of other universities. And they say it is mostly because one cannot get a quality UMass product on the cheap.
At the U-Store in the Campus Center, a University of Massachusetts sweatshirt go can go for more than $60. Fed up with getting as screwed over at the U-Store as at the local gas station, most students head down to Steve & Barry’s at the Hampshire Mall for all their UMass clothing needs.
There is one catch, though – there is no UMass attire at Steve & Barry’s. That’s right, there is no Maroon and White apparel in a clothing store mere minutes away from the UM campus. The majority of students must choose to settle for a seven dollar-something with “Rutgers Scarlet Knights” embroidered on it.
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?
Students should be proudly flashing their school’s colors on sweatshirts, sweaters, hats…anything that can tell a crowd, “I go to UMass and I am darn proud of it.” But, apparently, the folks down at the U-Store – or perhaps the manufacturers – think we students are members of the Rockefeller family and can drop that much dough for a piece of clothing.
News flash: We can’t.
I don’t know about my classmates, but I can’t afford to fork over a lot of cash for anything. The money I have on me most of the time consists of whatever coins I manage to find to the floor of my dorm room on any particular morning.
I love my school. I love everything about it – the people, the classes, the opportunities, the parties. I want to flaunt my status as a UMass student (as I’m sure many other students do). But I’m not made of money. I’d like to be able to purchase some Massachusetts paraphernalia and at least be able to buy licorice after. After all, I am not Paris Hilton – I cannot wipe my rear end with $20 bills. I need clothing I can afford.
The outrageous prices on UMass gear are masking school pride and it is very unfortunate. Go to any other college campus and you will see the students strutting around their turf with all sorts of clothing decked out with their schools’ logo. The reason you don’t see Massachusetts students sporting UMass stuff in larger quantity does not mean that they are lacking in school spirit. They have it coming out of their ears. Just think about it. We needed riot police to control the swarms of (idiotic) students that trashed Southwest after the football team lost a game. But, unfortunately, the high prices of paraphernalia forces many-a-student to settle for some lame ‘Oregon’ sweatshirt.
There are two Steve & Barry’s gift cards in my wallet – which one of my friends was nice enough to give me – and it would be nice if (even combined) I could walk in and buy a decent UMass sweatshirt. Unfortunately, that is just not the case.
I look forward to seeing my fellow students strolling throughout campus with Maroon and White garb on, but it seems as though that may not happen for quite so time. I guess we will have to further suffer the eyesore of seeing our peers walking around with the logos of other schools plastered all over them. At least until the time comes when people wise up and realize that we college students cannot fork over a bunch Mr. Jackson’s for a piece of clothing we would love to own, that is. So, until then, let me be the first to say, “Go Tar Heels!”
Friday, March 30, 2007
Homophobia in camouflage
There was once a time when black people could not join the military. There was also once a time when women could not join the military.
Fortunately, legislation passed in 1866 and 1942 , respectively, changed all of that and got the ball rolling on fighting discrimination in America.
Since the very beginning of our nation’s history, certain Americans have been chipping away at the foundation of prejudice and inequality in order to make a more democratic and equal United States – and we’ve come a long way.
Despite our progress over the years, however, there remains a group of people who still can’t choice to one of the most honorable things possible – serve their country in battle.
The people I am referring to here are homosexuals.
For years young men and women looking to join the military had to identify their sexual orientation on their enlistment form. And if they admitted to being gay, they were rejected.
Then in 1993 President Bill Clinton took the biggest leap in history for gay rights in the military when he signed the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. Basically, the bill said the government wouldn’t ask an enlisting private if he/she were gay as long as he/she didn’t say they were gay.
It was a compromise between banning homosexuals entirely and allowing them to serve while being open about their sexuality.
But the policy is not exactly justice.
As soon as a soldier admits to his/her sexual orientation, he/she is discharged.
This is the one of best examples of the lack of acceptance that has plagued this country since its earlier hour.
Whether or not a soldier is gay is nobody’s damn business. A soldier enlists in the military because he/she wants to serve the country and rejecting an aspiring private simply because of what he/she likes in bed is as discriminatory as anything I’ve ever heard.
But, good news might be on the horizon for homosexual patriots.
Representative Marty Meehan (D-Mass) has reintroduced a bill that would repeal the military’s policy on barring gays. It would allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve while open about their homosexuality.
Meehan proposed the bill last year with 122 co-sponsors, but it got squashed in the Republican-lead Congress. But this year the Dems have control and, thus, the bill has a better chance of passing.
According to Meehan, the bill now has more than 100 co-sponsors and seven freshmen.
It even has the support of three Republicans – one of which is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
She says she is in favor of the bill because her husband, Dexter, was cared for by a lesbian nurse when he was wounded in combat in Vietnam.
But even with the increasing support, this whole thing is still pretty embarrassing.
Every member of the US Congress should be trying to get this bill passed. That is, at least, if they consider themselves real Americans.
The United States is supposed to be the land of equality and freedom. Whites, blacks, Orientals, gays/lesbians, fat people, short people, tall people should all be treated equal by the law.
Every time someone is treated differently because of who they are, it spits in the face of everything America is meant to be.
The US in supposed to the ‘home of the free’ and whenever a group of people that are a little different than the norm are discriminated against it is like someone wiping their mouth with the American flag.
Since the policy was signed into law, 11,000 soldiers – almost the amount as one army division – have been kicked out of the armed forces simply for coming out of the closet. Of those 11,000, 38 have been Arabic translators.
The people who sent us into Iraq and are now scrounging for more military recruits are the same people booting soldiers out because of what they like to do in their bedrooms.
Attention politicians: If you want to keep gays and lesbians out of the armed services, you are not real Americans. You are pseudo-American bigots and a disgrace to this nation.
Any citizen that is willing to take up arms to defend his/her country should be praised – not discriminated against when discovering what they like in the sheets.
Who the hell is writing the military protocol anyway? Tim Hardaway?
It’s certainly not the American troops – that’s for sure.
According to a survey conducted by both combat and non-combat units, 73 percent of US military members say they would feel comfortable serving with openly gay and lesbian comrades. And more than one in five soldiers polled said they already know for certain that someone in their unit is homosexual and that they are fine with it.
So don’t even try suggesting those pinheads that are opposed to gays and lesbians being in the military are trying to keep the best interest of the troops in mind. The soldiers say they’re fine with it. It is merely a bunch of idiotic, homophobic numbskulls that want discriminate against people to keep their own ‘ideal’ America intact.
Well, morons, enough is enough.
Fortunately, legislation passed in 1866 and 1942 , respectively, changed all of that and got the ball rolling on fighting discrimination in America.
Since the very beginning of our nation’s history, certain Americans have been chipping away at the foundation of prejudice and inequality in order to make a more democratic and equal United States – and we’ve come a long way.
Despite our progress over the years, however, there remains a group of people who still can’t choice to one of the most honorable things possible – serve their country in battle.
The people I am referring to here are homosexuals.
For years young men and women looking to join the military had to identify their sexual orientation on their enlistment form. And if they admitted to being gay, they were rejected.
Then in 1993 President Bill Clinton took the biggest leap in history for gay rights in the military when he signed the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. Basically, the bill said the government wouldn’t ask an enlisting private if he/she were gay as long as he/she didn’t say they were gay.
It was a compromise between banning homosexuals entirely and allowing them to serve while being open about their sexuality.
But the policy is not exactly justice.
As soon as a soldier admits to his/her sexual orientation, he/she is discharged.
This is the one of best examples of the lack of acceptance that has plagued this country since its earlier hour.
Whether or not a soldier is gay is nobody’s damn business. A soldier enlists in the military because he/she wants to serve the country and rejecting an aspiring private simply because of what he/she likes in bed is as discriminatory as anything I’ve ever heard.
But, good news might be on the horizon for homosexual patriots.
Representative Marty Meehan (D-Mass) has reintroduced a bill that would repeal the military’s policy on barring gays. It would allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve while open about their homosexuality.
Meehan proposed the bill last year with 122 co-sponsors, but it got squashed in the Republican-lead Congress. But this year the Dems have control and, thus, the bill has a better chance of passing.
According to Meehan, the bill now has more than 100 co-sponsors and seven freshmen.
It even has the support of three Republicans – one of which is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
She says she is in favor of the bill because her husband, Dexter, was cared for by a lesbian nurse when he was wounded in combat in Vietnam.
But even with the increasing support, this whole thing is still pretty embarrassing.
Every member of the US Congress should be trying to get this bill passed. That is, at least, if they consider themselves real Americans.
The United States is supposed to be the land of equality and freedom. Whites, blacks, Orientals, gays/lesbians, fat people, short people, tall people should all be treated equal by the law.
Every time someone is treated differently because of who they are, it spits in the face of everything America is meant to be.
The US in supposed to the ‘home of the free’ and whenever a group of people that are a little different than the norm are discriminated against it is like someone wiping their mouth with the American flag.
Since the policy was signed into law, 11,000 soldiers – almost the amount as one army division – have been kicked out of the armed forces simply for coming out of the closet. Of those 11,000, 38 have been Arabic translators.
The people who sent us into Iraq and are now scrounging for more military recruits are the same people booting soldiers out because of what they like to do in their bedrooms.
Attention politicians: If you want to keep gays and lesbians out of the armed services, you are not real Americans. You are pseudo-American bigots and a disgrace to this nation.
Any citizen that is willing to take up arms to defend his/her country should be praised – not discriminated against when discovering what they like in the sheets.
Who the hell is writing the military protocol anyway? Tim Hardaway?
It’s certainly not the American troops – that’s for sure.
According to a survey conducted by both combat and non-combat units, 73 percent of US military members say they would feel comfortable serving with openly gay and lesbian comrades. And more than one in five soldiers polled said they already know for certain that someone in their unit is homosexual and that they are fine with it.
So don’t even try suggesting those pinheads that are opposed to gays and lesbians being in the military are trying to keep the best interest of the troops in mind. The soldiers say they’re fine with it. It is merely a bunch of idiotic, homophobic numbskulls that want discriminate against people to keep their own ‘ideal’ America intact.
Well, morons, enough is enough.
Mills always finds a way
She is a towering 6-foot-1. She is described by UMass coach Marnie Dacko as being the squad’s go-to player. She is also hands-down the best interview on the team. This she to whom I am referring is junior captain Kate Mills and – to this sportswriter – she has been the Massachusetts women’s basketball team’s Most Valuable Player this season.
The 21-year-old powerhouse is, more often than not, the biggest thing out there on the court. She has the strength of a bull and the touch of an angel. She uses her grit and strong build to outmuscle opponents under the basket, but stills maintains the poise and grace to throw the ball through the nylon. Rare it is that one sees her type of vigor cocktailed with such polished style and finesse. And if you think I’m exaggerating her dominance, just take a look at the stats.
She has amassed a total of 468 points in the regular season’s 29 games – an average of 16.1 per game (both marks are team-highs). And she doesn’t let her overwhelming altitude goes to waste, as she is second on the Maroon and White in rebounding, pulling down 194 total boards so far.
Impressed yet? Yeah, so am I – but I’ve just scratched the surface.
Mills manages to possess the qualities of two of the most polar-opposite players (in terms of height) in NBA history – she has the selflessness and passing ability of 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues and the impenetrable forcefield aspect of 7-foot-7 Manute Bol.
Third on the team with 70 assists, she doesn’t hesitate to shovel the ball off to a more-open teammate. And, having batted down an unprecedented 63 shots (a UMass single season record), she has a mind-boggling 56 blocks more than the team’s runner-up, senior forward Tamara Tatham.
It was, in fact, Tatham who Dacko expected to carry the team on her back, but it seems as though Mills has picked up that job.
She has been the high-scorer is a team-leading 14 games and has pulled down the most rebounds in nine of the season’s contests, second most on the Minutewomen.
Freshman guard Kim Benton started off her collegiate career the way every basketball player dreams of – she began draining threes left and right. When she’s on her game she gives the ball and the net a type of relationship that is nothing sort of romantic. But, on the extremely atypical night when the jump shot of the 5-foot-5 guard (this should give you a idea of exactly how small Mr. Bogues actually is) can’t seem to find its mark, Mills is always there to pick up the slack. You can rely on her to be moving around near the baseline looking for room to work with – and getting just enough of it to do her thing.
It’s just never a bad idea to dish it to #41 when she’s near the basket. She is shooting .539 from the floor and .821 from the free-throw line. She always uses her raw strength and natural ability to employ, what I have dubbed, the four steps of the official Kate Mills Style of Execution: 1.) Receive pass, 2.) Get one’s bearings and look for an option, 3.) Elevate, 4.) Use a little backboard and a lot of touch to deposit a 2-pointer.
And never did Mills use this seemingly-flawless method better than in UMass’ game versus Dayton University on Feb. 22.
She registered a career-high 28 points in the 66-58 win over the Flyers that temporarily put the Minutewomen in a four-way tie with Dayton, La Salle and Richmond for sixth place in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. (They are now the seventh seed.)
And this was no fluke, either.
It was actually the second straight game in which the Elkton, Md., native established a career-high in the points category.
The game before Dayton, a 75-67 loss to Xavier on the 18th, Mills racked up 25 points, passing her old personal record of 24. The 12 rebounds that she added in the losing effort allowed for her second consecutive double-double.
Last week, the A-10 finally recognized Mills’ excellence by naming her a third-team All-Conference selection.
Dacko says she is disappointed that UMass wasn’t represented by more players in the voting, which is conducted by the league’s coaches. But that should not take away from the honor bestowed upon Mills, who was a second-team All-Conference selection last season.
There are over 150 women’s basketball players in the A-10 and our Kate Mills has been placed among some of the finest.
First-team, second-team, third-team – it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that a panel of A-10 coaches has decided that one of our beloved Minutewomen is one of the top 15 players in the conference. Though, I’ll admit, she almost definitely should have been placed even higher.
The Maroon and White are leaving today for their first game in the ‘one-n’ you’re-done’ A-10 Tournament – a matchup against St. Bonaventure on Friday.
Though an immaculate trip to the tournament’s championship is unlikely, any success the Minutewomen have will stem from the performance of Mills.
Check this same exact page on Monday and if UMass is triumphant and Mills is not the main factor – color me surprised.
Either way, no matter what this weekend holds, next December take a seat in the Mullins Center for a women’s basketball game and when you ask yourself, “Who is that lofting player dominating under the hoop?” you’ll remember that it is one Kate Mills, unofficial MVP of the UMass women’s basketball team.
The 21-year-old powerhouse is, more often than not, the biggest thing out there on the court. She has the strength of a bull and the touch of an angel. She uses her grit and strong build to outmuscle opponents under the basket, but stills maintains the poise and grace to throw the ball through the nylon. Rare it is that one sees her type of vigor cocktailed with such polished style and finesse. And if you think I’m exaggerating her dominance, just take a look at the stats.
She has amassed a total of 468 points in the regular season’s 29 games – an average of 16.1 per game (both marks are team-highs). And she doesn’t let her overwhelming altitude goes to waste, as she is second on the Maroon and White in rebounding, pulling down 194 total boards so far.
Impressed yet? Yeah, so am I – but I’ve just scratched the surface.
Mills manages to possess the qualities of two of the most polar-opposite players (in terms of height) in NBA history – she has the selflessness and passing ability of 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues and the impenetrable forcefield aspect of 7-foot-7 Manute Bol.
Third on the team with 70 assists, she doesn’t hesitate to shovel the ball off to a more-open teammate. And, having batted down an unprecedented 63 shots (a UMass single season record), she has a mind-boggling 56 blocks more than the team’s runner-up, senior forward Tamara Tatham.
It was, in fact, Tatham who Dacko expected to carry the team on her back, but it seems as though Mills has picked up that job.
She has been the high-scorer is a team-leading 14 games and has pulled down the most rebounds in nine of the season’s contests, second most on the Minutewomen.
Freshman guard Kim Benton started off her collegiate career the way every basketball player dreams of – she began draining threes left and right. When she’s on her game she gives the ball and the net a type of relationship that is nothing sort of romantic. But, on the extremely atypical night when the jump shot of the 5-foot-5 guard (this should give you a idea of exactly how small Mr. Bogues actually is) can’t seem to find its mark, Mills is always there to pick up the slack. You can rely on her to be moving around near the baseline looking for room to work with – and getting just enough of it to do her thing.
It’s just never a bad idea to dish it to #41 when she’s near the basket. She is shooting .539 from the floor and .821 from the free-throw line. She always uses her raw strength and natural ability to employ, what I have dubbed, the four steps of the official Kate Mills Style of Execution: 1.) Receive pass, 2.) Get one’s bearings and look for an option, 3.) Elevate, 4.) Use a little backboard and a lot of touch to deposit a 2-pointer.
And never did Mills use this seemingly-flawless method better than in UMass’ game versus Dayton University on Feb. 22.
She registered a career-high 28 points in the 66-58 win over the Flyers that temporarily put the Minutewomen in a four-way tie with Dayton, La Salle and Richmond for sixth place in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. (They are now the seventh seed.)
And this was no fluke, either.
It was actually the second straight game in which the Elkton, Md., native established a career-high in the points category.
The game before Dayton, a 75-67 loss to Xavier on the 18th, Mills racked up 25 points, passing her old personal record of 24. The 12 rebounds that she added in the losing effort allowed for her second consecutive double-double.
Last week, the A-10 finally recognized Mills’ excellence by naming her a third-team All-Conference selection.
Dacko says she is disappointed that UMass wasn’t represented by more players in the voting, which is conducted by the league’s coaches. But that should not take away from the honor bestowed upon Mills, who was a second-team All-Conference selection last season.
There are over 150 women’s basketball players in the A-10 and our Kate Mills has been placed among some of the finest.
First-team, second-team, third-team – it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that a panel of A-10 coaches has decided that one of our beloved Minutewomen is one of the top 15 players in the conference. Though, I’ll admit, she almost definitely should have been placed even higher.
The Maroon and White are leaving today for their first game in the ‘one-n’ you’re-done’ A-10 Tournament – a matchup against St. Bonaventure on Friday.
Though an immaculate trip to the tournament’s championship is unlikely, any success the Minutewomen have will stem from the performance of Mills.
Check this same exact page on Monday and if UMass is triumphant and Mills is not the main factor – color me surprised.
Either way, no matter what this weekend holds, next December take a seat in the Mullins Center for a women’s basketball game and when you ask yourself, “Who is that lofting player dominating under the hoop?” you’ll remember that it is one Kate Mills, unofficial MVP of the UMass women’s basketball team.
The Dynamic Duo
Senior Stephanie Barrett remembers when she met Nadia Villarroel as if it was yesterday.
It was at Bertucci’s for the team’s first preseason meal back in the summer of 2003 and Barrett sat timidly at the table looking out at her fellow members of the Massachusetts women’s soccer team. Then, someone grabbed her attention. A petite, outgoing young lady was making her way around the table shaking everyone’s hand and introducing herself.
Barrett, a shy 17-year old freshman from Katonah, N.Y., sat twiddling her thumbs, waiting for this one-person welcome wagon to mozy on over towards her.
“She was crazy,” Barrett recalls. “She introduced herself right away and shaking all our hands and I actually thought she was already a veteran on the team.”
As it would turn out, this girl was no veteran at all. She was, in fact, fellow-freshman Nadia Villarroel.
“I didn’t know anyone coming in. I didn’t look up my freshman class; I didn’t look up the team at all. I came in really oblivious,” Barrett said. “While Nadia looked us all up and what we looked like. She introduced herself right away and was shaking all our hands. I didn’t know she was a freshman. And I didn’t even know if I would click with this girl. I thought she was crazy.”
It’s been four years since they met in that quaint Italian restaurant on East Pleasant Street, and Barrett and Villarroel have turned that little meet-and-greet into a partnership – and a friendship – that has grown as much as they have.
The two were accompanied to UMass by goalkeeper Kristin Walker (who would be redshirted her first year) and midfielder Elizabeth Weinsten. The quartet came as a breath of fresh air to UMass coach Jim Rudy as well as the entire Massachusetts women’s soccer program.
The Maroon and White had suffered a season of hard-knocks in 2002, starting with the untimely death of Stephanie Santos.
Santos had been one of UMass’ best players the season prior, her freshman year, recording a team-high seven goals and five assists for 19 total points.
She was killed tragically on June 9 of that year when the car she was riding in crashed into a utility pole in Granby, Mass.
Rudy immediately began phoning Santos’ teammates scattered throughout the country to inform them of the horrible tragedy.
“Everybody came back for the funeral and the wake. It was an emotional experience that you don’t want to have to many of,” Rudy said. “Some kids went back and they didn’t train all summer and some kids did train, but when they came back the memory was refreshed. We had a few players that never really recovered from that because she was such a great kid. That team really went down the tubes.”
The Minutewomen ended their ’02 season ended with a 6-11 record. The rare losing season did not sit well with Rudy and he began looking for new blood that would provide some sort of spark to his ailing squad –and that’s where Barrett and Villarroel came in.
“They’ve been part of a process where they came in when we were on the low end and now they’re going out and we’ve made a definite climb back to respectability. And [Villarroel, Barrett and Weinsten] have helped us achieve that.”
Rudy was first turned on to Barrett by the coach of her club team, the Yorktown Jaguars, Whitney Stark. Rudy had recruited one of Stark’s players years earlier in Heidi Kocher, who became an All-American attacking defender.
“I felt like in terms of evaluations, we speak the same language,” Rudy mentioned.
All the hype drove Rudy and his UMass recruiters to a few of Barrett’s club – where the teenage star did not disappoint.
Barrett also racked up impressive credentials at John Jay high school. She was a four-year letterwinner and helped lead the Indians to a share of the League II-A title her senior year. A three-time All-league player, she amassed a career total of 30 assists and 54 goals, a school record.
Villarroel was first discovered by Rudy’s assistant coach Rebecca Myers, now the coach of boys soccer at Northampton High School, when Villarroel was playing for the Massachusetts Stars of the MAPLE [Massachusetts Premier League] League.
“Myers did the initial evaluation and got a chance to see her play in outside competitions and liked her,” Rudy said. “We had to overcome recruiting by other schools to land her here.”
Villarroel was also a four-year letterwinner. As a member of the Belmont High School Marauders, she was a two-time Middlesex League All-Star and first-team Eastern Massachusetts All-Star. She won the Eastern Massachusetts MVP award in both 2001 and 2002 and was a first team All-State selection in 2002. Upon graduating, she became fourth on Belmont’s all-time points list with 49 goals and 58 assists for 107 total points.
The pair might be a close-knit twosome that shares inside-jokes and finishes each other’s sentences now, but if you had suggested that at the beginning of freshman year, they would have called you nuts.
“We have completely opposite personalities and at first we kind of clashed a little bit and we had completely different best friends,” Villarroel recalls. “It really wasn’t until the end of our freshman year, beginning of sophomore year when we actually became close and kind of understood each other’s personalities better actually became quite best friends.”
“It was clear that we had different personalities,” Barrett added. “But after we figured out that we could actually click because of our differences, we actually became really good friends and really tight.”
Despite any differences in personality the two may have had, that didn’t prevent them from teaming up well on the soccer field.
They combined for 6 total points their freshman year as Villarroel recorded four assists and Barrett tallied a goal, as the Minutewomen finished the season with a disheartening 4-12-1 record. Senior forward/midfielder Adair Blyler was UMass’ leading scorer with six goals and three assists for 15 points.
“I thought I was pretty much prepared for it,” Villarroel said. “I tried to just stay in shape, really get at my best level. It was kind of intimidating at first because you have all these older girls and we were used to being somebody and really high up there, like that big senior role and you have to start fresh and prove yourself again. I mean, I was up for the challenge, but it was different.”
“It was very competitive. I came in shape, so that fine,” Barrett said. “And Nadia was a real competitor of mine, actually, because we were both freshmen that were trying to compete, not only for team positions, but starting and all that. In our senior class there were a couple of tough girls that really wanted the best out of you, so they demanded it. I had to prove myself a lot and that was good. I think everyone should have their freshman year.
“We loved our senior class when we were freshmen. They were great,” she continued. “They were tough, but they loved us and clicked well with them. And then over the years, you just become closer with every class.”
Sophomore year was more merciful to the duo, now seasoned veterans in the art of collegiate soccer.
“It was a familiar feeling,” Villarroel recounts. “When you come a month early in the preseason and you know the girls and everybody knows you and everybody’s excited to see you and you don’t have to worry about making friends or what people think of you or first impressions it’s so much easier. At that time I was trying to focus on helping the new girls.”
“I guess I was a lot more confident. I had a really good spring and I ended up playing defense then,” Barrett commented. “I guess it was intimidating, especially to the newbies because I was not only just a sophomore that was playing a lot, I’m just a very vocal person and they know that. I just had a lot more confidence and my team had a lot more confidence in me so it was easier playing and directing and the defensive thing that I had to do.”
The 2005 season their junior year was a breakthrough season for the Maroon and White juggernauts, as they posted the best statistics of their college careers up to that point. Villarroel registered a goal and four assists, while Barrett tallied two goals. The two combined for a total of 10 points on the season.
“I think it was a lot easier than this year because the pressure’s not all on you. You have people to look up to and you have people who are going to take responsibilities when things aren’t going right,” Villarroel said. “It was really different. Now, it’s more like if things aren’t going right, [I] have to fix it, you have to have a leadership role.”
The duet has done its best to pick up where captains Lindsey Bellini and Amy Maffucci left off last year and their teammates haven’t had any complaints.
“They’re really good captains. They’re supportive and they keep the team together. They’re both great leaders on the field,” junior forward Britt Canfield said. “They’re really good captains. They’re supportive and they keep the team together. They’re both great leaders on the field.”
“Nadia and Steph are true-born leaders. They stepped up this year. Everything reflects off of them and they do a great job,” sophomore forward Vanessa Patry echoed. “On the field and off the field they really represent what UMass is about, so we’re really going to miss them. I’m really going to miss them, personally, a lot too.”
Over the last four years, the two have taken all newcomers under their wings and have proven to have a peanut butter and jelly-like relationship – both are great individually, but even greater put together.
“We have a great relationship,” Barrett said. “Nadia never stops. She’ll just keep going after you and after you and just set an example. We click on the field. She can always go to people one-on-one and mediate things and it just balances. I’m more intense and vocal in certain ways and she’s more behind-the-scenes.
“As a friend, she’s always there,” Barrett went on to say. “She will listen to anyone and anything on the team. She isn’t biased. She will just listen and help you out and is very supportive.”
“I have a great time with Stephanie,” Villarroel said. “On the field she’s great. She’s solid. I can always count on her. And, off the field, it’s the same thing. She’s takes more of a vocal role in the leadership type of thing and that’s really handy.
“I think we’ve done a pretty successful job in our roles. I think because we’re so different we really balance each other out,” she continued. “That was one of the advantages we had over some captains that have come here and I think our record shows that we have been successful in it.”
“They’re good. They talk to each other,” Rudy commented. “If they have issues that they agree upon they usually present them to me, you know, ‘Can we do this, can we do that? Can we make a change here?’” They’re responsible.
“They just don’t sit back and accept their captaincy as something that’s just a title,” Rudy continued. “They lead.”
Well, that leadership certainly paid off as the Minutewomen enjoyed an 11-6, 5-4 A-10 season in 2006.
Villarroel pocketed four goals and two assists for 10 total points, while Barrett recorded a goal and three assists for five points.
Since their freshman season, this dynamic duo has combined for a sum of 36 career points.
Graduation always leaves one lingering question for all departing seniors: “What’s next?”
Barrett is a marketing major and is looking to get into the marketing and licensing end of the fashion industry. Villarroel, on the other hand, is a BDIC major with a concentration in forensic science. She is thinking about attending medical school to specialize in forensic pathology, but has expressed enormous interest in traveling abroad first.
“I want to go abroad and go to Spain or some Spanish-speaking country because I’ve taken a lot of Spanish and my family’s Spanish, so I want to actually use it and apply and be able to speak it very much fluently,” Villarroel mentioned. “And if I go to Spain, I would love to play on a team there.”
It’s often said that you tell a lot about a person by the way they act on a sports field. If that’s the case, Rudy isn’t the least bit concerned about what’s in store for his captains’ futures.
“They’re very strong women with great personality. And I think that when they get done here they’re going to survive very well out there,” he said. “I don’t see them sitting back and accepting what comes their ways. They’re going to make their own way.”
It was at Bertucci’s for the team’s first preseason meal back in the summer of 2003 and Barrett sat timidly at the table looking out at her fellow members of the Massachusetts women’s soccer team. Then, someone grabbed her attention. A petite, outgoing young lady was making her way around the table shaking everyone’s hand and introducing herself.
Barrett, a shy 17-year old freshman from Katonah, N.Y., sat twiddling her thumbs, waiting for this one-person welcome wagon to mozy on over towards her.
“She was crazy,” Barrett recalls. “She introduced herself right away and shaking all our hands and I actually thought she was already a veteran on the team.”
As it would turn out, this girl was no veteran at all. She was, in fact, fellow-freshman Nadia Villarroel.
“I didn’t know anyone coming in. I didn’t look up my freshman class; I didn’t look up the team at all. I came in really oblivious,” Barrett said. “While Nadia looked us all up and what we looked like. She introduced herself right away and was shaking all our hands. I didn’t know she was a freshman. And I didn’t even know if I would click with this girl. I thought she was crazy.”
It’s been four years since they met in that quaint Italian restaurant on East Pleasant Street, and Barrett and Villarroel have turned that little meet-and-greet into a partnership – and a friendship – that has grown as much as they have.
The two were accompanied to UMass by goalkeeper Kristin Walker (who would be redshirted her first year) and midfielder Elizabeth Weinsten. The quartet came as a breath of fresh air to UMass coach Jim Rudy as well as the entire Massachusetts women’s soccer program.
The Maroon and White had suffered a season of hard-knocks in 2002, starting with the untimely death of Stephanie Santos.
Santos had been one of UMass’ best players the season prior, her freshman year, recording a team-high seven goals and five assists for 19 total points.
She was killed tragically on June 9 of that year when the car she was riding in crashed into a utility pole in Granby, Mass.
Rudy immediately began phoning Santos’ teammates scattered throughout the country to inform them of the horrible tragedy.
“Everybody came back for the funeral and the wake. It was an emotional experience that you don’t want to have to many of,” Rudy said. “Some kids went back and they didn’t train all summer and some kids did train, but when they came back the memory was refreshed. We had a few players that never really recovered from that because she was such a great kid. That team really went down the tubes.”
The Minutewomen ended their ’02 season ended with a 6-11 record. The rare losing season did not sit well with Rudy and he began looking for new blood that would provide some sort of spark to his ailing squad –and that’s where Barrett and Villarroel came in.
“They’ve been part of a process where they came in when we were on the low end and now they’re going out and we’ve made a definite climb back to respectability. And [Villarroel, Barrett and Weinsten] have helped us achieve that.”
Rudy was first turned on to Barrett by the coach of her club team, the Yorktown Jaguars, Whitney Stark. Rudy had recruited one of Stark’s players years earlier in Heidi Kocher, who became an All-American attacking defender.
“I felt like in terms of evaluations, we speak the same language,” Rudy mentioned.
All the hype drove Rudy and his UMass recruiters to a few of Barrett’s club – where the teenage star did not disappoint.
Barrett also racked up impressive credentials at John Jay high school. She was a four-year letterwinner and helped lead the Indians to a share of the League II-A title her senior year. A three-time All-league player, she amassed a career total of 30 assists and 54 goals, a school record.
Villarroel was first discovered by Rudy’s assistant coach Rebecca Myers, now the coach of boys soccer at Northampton High School, when Villarroel was playing for the Massachusetts Stars of the MAPLE [Massachusetts Premier League] League.
“Myers did the initial evaluation and got a chance to see her play in outside competitions and liked her,” Rudy said. “We had to overcome recruiting by other schools to land her here.”
Villarroel was also a four-year letterwinner. As a member of the Belmont High School Marauders, she was a two-time Middlesex League All-Star and first-team Eastern Massachusetts All-Star. She won the Eastern Massachusetts MVP award in both 2001 and 2002 and was a first team All-State selection in 2002. Upon graduating, she became fourth on Belmont’s all-time points list with 49 goals and 58 assists for 107 total points.
The pair might be a close-knit twosome that shares inside-jokes and finishes each other’s sentences now, but if you had suggested that at the beginning of freshman year, they would have called you nuts.
“We have completely opposite personalities and at first we kind of clashed a little bit and we had completely different best friends,” Villarroel recalls. “It really wasn’t until the end of our freshman year, beginning of sophomore year when we actually became close and kind of understood each other’s personalities better actually became quite best friends.”
“It was clear that we had different personalities,” Barrett added. “But after we figured out that we could actually click because of our differences, we actually became really good friends and really tight.”
Despite any differences in personality the two may have had, that didn’t prevent them from teaming up well on the soccer field.
They combined for 6 total points their freshman year as Villarroel recorded four assists and Barrett tallied a goal, as the Minutewomen finished the season with a disheartening 4-12-1 record. Senior forward/midfielder Adair Blyler was UMass’ leading scorer with six goals and three assists for 15 points.
“I thought I was pretty much prepared for it,” Villarroel said. “I tried to just stay in shape, really get at my best level. It was kind of intimidating at first because you have all these older girls and we were used to being somebody and really high up there, like that big senior role and you have to start fresh and prove yourself again. I mean, I was up for the challenge, but it was different.”
“It was very competitive. I came in shape, so that fine,” Barrett said. “And Nadia was a real competitor of mine, actually, because we were both freshmen that were trying to compete, not only for team positions, but starting and all that. In our senior class there were a couple of tough girls that really wanted the best out of you, so they demanded it. I had to prove myself a lot and that was good. I think everyone should have their freshman year.
“We loved our senior class when we were freshmen. They were great,” she continued. “They were tough, but they loved us and clicked well with them. And then over the years, you just become closer with every class.”
Sophomore year was more merciful to the duo, now seasoned veterans in the art of collegiate soccer.
“It was a familiar feeling,” Villarroel recounts. “When you come a month early in the preseason and you know the girls and everybody knows you and everybody’s excited to see you and you don’t have to worry about making friends or what people think of you or first impressions it’s so much easier. At that time I was trying to focus on helping the new girls.”
“I guess I was a lot more confident. I had a really good spring and I ended up playing defense then,” Barrett commented. “I guess it was intimidating, especially to the newbies because I was not only just a sophomore that was playing a lot, I’m just a very vocal person and they know that. I just had a lot more confidence and my team had a lot more confidence in me so it was easier playing and directing and the defensive thing that I had to do.”
The 2005 season their junior year was a breakthrough season for the Maroon and White juggernauts, as they posted the best statistics of their college careers up to that point. Villarroel registered a goal and four assists, while Barrett tallied two goals. The two combined for a total of 10 points on the season.
“I think it was a lot easier than this year because the pressure’s not all on you. You have people to look up to and you have people who are going to take responsibilities when things aren’t going right,” Villarroel said. “It was really different. Now, it’s more like if things aren’t going right, [I] have to fix it, you have to have a leadership role.”
The duet has done its best to pick up where captains Lindsey Bellini and Amy Maffucci left off last year and their teammates haven’t had any complaints.
“They’re really good captains. They’re supportive and they keep the team together. They’re both great leaders on the field,” junior forward Britt Canfield said. “They’re really good captains. They’re supportive and they keep the team together. They’re both great leaders on the field.”
“Nadia and Steph are true-born leaders. They stepped up this year. Everything reflects off of them and they do a great job,” sophomore forward Vanessa Patry echoed. “On the field and off the field they really represent what UMass is about, so we’re really going to miss them. I’m really going to miss them, personally, a lot too.”
Over the last four years, the two have taken all newcomers under their wings and have proven to have a peanut butter and jelly-like relationship – both are great individually, but even greater put together.
“We have a great relationship,” Barrett said. “Nadia never stops. She’ll just keep going after you and after you and just set an example. We click on the field. She can always go to people one-on-one and mediate things and it just balances. I’m more intense and vocal in certain ways and she’s more behind-the-scenes.
“As a friend, she’s always there,” Barrett went on to say. “She will listen to anyone and anything on the team. She isn’t biased. She will just listen and help you out and is very supportive.”
“I have a great time with Stephanie,” Villarroel said. “On the field she’s great. She’s solid. I can always count on her. And, off the field, it’s the same thing. She’s takes more of a vocal role in the leadership type of thing and that’s really handy.
“I think we’ve done a pretty successful job in our roles. I think because we’re so different we really balance each other out,” she continued. “That was one of the advantages we had over some captains that have come here and I think our record shows that we have been successful in it.”
“They’re good. They talk to each other,” Rudy commented. “If they have issues that they agree upon they usually present them to me, you know, ‘Can we do this, can we do that? Can we make a change here?’” They’re responsible.
“They just don’t sit back and accept their captaincy as something that’s just a title,” Rudy continued. “They lead.”
Well, that leadership certainly paid off as the Minutewomen enjoyed an 11-6, 5-4 A-10 season in 2006.
Villarroel pocketed four goals and two assists for 10 total points, while Barrett recorded a goal and three assists for five points.
Since their freshman season, this dynamic duo has combined for a sum of 36 career points.
Graduation always leaves one lingering question for all departing seniors: “What’s next?”
Barrett is a marketing major and is looking to get into the marketing and licensing end of the fashion industry. Villarroel, on the other hand, is a BDIC major with a concentration in forensic science. She is thinking about attending medical school to specialize in forensic pathology, but has expressed enormous interest in traveling abroad first.
“I want to go abroad and go to Spain or some Spanish-speaking country because I’ve taken a lot of Spanish and my family’s Spanish, so I want to actually use it and apply and be able to speak it very much fluently,” Villarroel mentioned. “And if I go to Spain, I would love to play on a team there.”
It’s often said that you tell a lot about a person by the way they act on a sports field. If that’s the case, Rudy isn’t the least bit concerned about what’s in store for his captains’ futures.
“They’re very strong women with great personality. And I think that when they get done here they’re going to survive very well out there,” he said. “I don’t see them sitting back and accepting what comes their ways. They’re going to make their own way.”
Dacko a queen of hoops
Robert (Cal) Hubbard, having been a Major League umpire and umpire-in-chief of the American League as well as a top-notch NFL lineman, holds the distinction of being the only person inducted into both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the National Football Hall of Fame. Jim Thorpe, an athletic jack-of-all-trades, is in both the college and pro football Halls of Fame.
What may surprise you, however, is that UMass women’s basketball coach, Marnie Dacko, has them both beat. She is a member of three halls of fame: The Trumbull (Connecticut) High School, the Southern Connecticut State University and the New England Basketball Halls of Fame.
But she didn’t get there by luck. Her success is the result of an entire life dedicated to knowing and studying the intricacies and fibers of what makes up the game of basketball.
In 1971, a 16-year old Marnie Dacko moved with her family from Chamblee, Georgia, to the town of Trumbull, Connecticut, when her father, who worked for General Electric, was transferred. The young Dacko entered Trumbull High School for the first time her junior year and looked to make an impression with its basketball program.
Well, she did that and then some, winning the school’s first state basketball title in the Eagles’ history in 1974, her senior year.
“I think I was the biggest player they’ve seen,” Dacko recounted. “Coming into an environment and having basketball as a common thread, it was a great opportunity for me. We put Trumbull on the map. Our men’s team, at the time, was state runners-up and the women’s team won it [the championship title].”
Her dominance and passion on the high school court proved to Dacko that basketball was something that would follow her throughout her life – including college.
And if you had thoughts about collegiate basketball or physical education back in 1974, only one school came to your mind: Southern Connecticut State University.
Dacko played on the softball team, too, as a pitcher and first-base-player in addition to earning immense respect for her work on the floor.
“I played post, but I was a post player that could hit the outside shot before the three-point shot was even introduced – which is a scary thing,” Dacko joked. “We were the UConn of my generation. We ran a fast-breaking team, we ran a lot. Our rivals back then were Texas, Penn State, UMass was a rival and Springfield College was a rival way back then.”
Four years of hard work and solid performances finally earned her a spot among the most honored and revered members of the Owls’ family when she was elected into the SCSU Basketball Hall of Fame.
“It’s a great honor simply because Southern has had so many talented and great women’s basketball players,” Dacko said. “The tradition started way back in the early ‘70s and they’ve always produced some amazing basketball team.
“[It’s] great to be associated with so many of my teammates that are incredible athletes, as well as human beings.”
Dacko would graduate in 1978 will a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education.
Before breaking onto the UMass scene, Dacko started her successful coaching career right after graduation. She received an offer from St. John’s (N.Y.) University and pounced on the golden opportunity.
By the time her tenure as the Red Storm’s assistant coach ended in 1984, she had accumulated an overall record of 118-43, including a school record 27 wins in 1982-83, and two Big East Conference Tournament titles. She also won 102 games during her last four seasons when the team made four consecutive trips to the postseason, three of which were to the AIAW or NCAA tournaments.
Dacko then migrated a little further west to Evanston, Ill., where she would spend the next 11 years of her life as the assistant coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats. As the team’s second-in-command, she obtained a record of 189-122, coached a total of 25 All-Big10 players and paid a visit to four NCAA tournaments from 1987-93.
“We produced some great teams within the Big-10 and still a lot of [the players] are either my colleagues today and my friends today and I’m still in touch with them. It was a tremendous experience,” Dacko commented.
Dacko’s coaching career would take one more pit-stop before rolling into UMass – this time at Cornell University.
As a rookie head coach she finished her first season at 12-14 and won Ivy League Coach of the Year honors. She would later become the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach in school history with 80 total victories, all the while coaching the Big Red to its only two winning seasons it has ever had in the Ivy League, during her final two years.
“I was there for seven years. [When I came in] they were the worst team in the league. I left there after seven years and they were one of the best teams in the league,” Dacko said. “It was a great experience for me – recruiting top-quality student-athletes, the kids worked extremely hard, there was never any established program already there, no history for women’s basketball, so I feel we really got it going from the fan-standpoint and a player-standpoint and it was a great university to work for.”
In 2002 she finally decided to take over the reins of the UMass women’s basketball wagon and she says she has never looked back.
“It was a great experience. It was a great opportunity for me to come in and have seven seniors, one of whom was Jen Butler [who would later be drafted into the WNBA],” Dacko said of her first season at UMass. “The second game in the A-10 season at Dayton, Katie Nelson blew out her knee and I think we won about three games after that. So, it was disappointing for the seniors, it was disappointing for somebody like Jen Butler, who had so much potential and we had so much of an upside as a team.”
The Minutewomen finished the 2002-03 season with a .500 record, going 14-14 overall. The injury to Nelson gave UMass a setback that was hard to come back from, as they ended the 2003-04 season with a 6-22 record.
“We really didn’t [recover]. Katie was out that year [too],” Dacko explained. “We were asking our players to do a lot with so few numbers, that starting the building process.”
That building process took the Maroon and White through 2004-05 ( in which they finished 14-15), as well as last season.
“Last year was a good year,” Dacko said. “I thought we underachieved non-conference. There were games that we lost at the buzzer where I thought we should have won. I think, lacking leadership – the leadership that I think we needed to have – we came out flat in games, we dug ourselves in a hole where we would turn the ball over. We would go through scoring droughts, at the same time turn the ball over and really not play defense. So, we didn’t make good decisions and that even dug us further in a hole.”
The team finished a disappointing 11-17. Pam Rosanio, Kate Mills and Tamara Tatham were UMass’ leading scorers with 350, 436 and 279 points, respectively.
“Off the court, she’s like a mom to me,” Rosanio, a junior guard, said. “And on the court she’s good. She’ll tell you when you’re really doing horribly and then she’ll tell you when you’re doing the right things. So, it’s good to hear both sides of it.”
“I think she’s more passionate about winning [then most coaches],” Tatham, a senior forward, commented. “She really wants to win. She’s not one of those coaches that is going to yell at you and make you do a whole bunch of sprints, because that’s not going to get us to do what we need to do.”
Dacko knows that she has a great group of players that will always have her back and she is anxious to see what the rest of the 2006-07 season is going to bring.
“Our kids, in the preseason last year, did a seven and a half week conditioning program that was very, very vigorous,” Dacko mentioned. “We just wanted to really impress upon [the players] that we don’t want to be in that situation this year.
“I look forward to getting on the floor with this team – a team that finished a strong year a year ago,” she continued. “We won eight out of our last 11 games, so I’m just looking forward to seeing if we can pick up where we left off, without skipping a beat.”
Basketball has brought Dacko all over the globe – from New England to the Ivy League to middle America and even to Australia and New Zealand when she was the assistant coach for a Big 10 All-Star Team – but she has made it abundantly clear that she does not want to pack her suitcases any time soon. She’s still got big plans for UMass women’s basketball in the immediate future as well as upcoming years.
“You know, I’d like to bring an A-10 winner here,” Dacca said. “I’d certainly like to build and establish a program where the best athletes in the state want to come here, the best athletes in New England want to come here and it’s the school in the East where you want to come. You’re looking at UConn and you’re looking at Boston College and everybody should be looking at UMass the same way.”
What may surprise you, however, is that UMass women’s basketball coach, Marnie Dacko, has them both beat. She is a member of three halls of fame: The Trumbull (Connecticut) High School, the Southern Connecticut State University and the New England Basketball Halls of Fame.
But she didn’t get there by luck. Her success is the result of an entire life dedicated to knowing and studying the intricacies and fibers of what makes up the game of basketball.
In 1971, a 16-year old Marnie Dacko moved with her family from Chamblee, Georgia, to the town of Trumbull, Connecticut, when her father, who worked for General Electric, was transferred. The young Dacko entered Trumbull High School for the first time her junior year and looked to make an impression with its basketball program.
Well, she did that and then some, winning the school’s first state basketball title in the Eagles’ history in 1974, her senior year.
“I think I was the biggest player they’ve seen,” Dacko recounted. “Coming into an environment and having basketball as a common thread, it was a great opportunity for me. We put Trumbull on the map. Our men’s team, at the time, was state runners-up and the women’s team won it [the championship title].”
Her dominance and passion on the high school court proved to Dacko that basketball was something that would follow her throughout her life – including college.
And if you had thoughts about collegiate basketball or physical education back in 1974, only one school came to your mind: Southern Connecticut State University.
Dacko played on the softball team, too, as a pitcher and first-base-player in addition to earning immense respect for her work on the floor.
“I played post, but I was a post player that could hit the outside shot before the three-point shot was even introduced – which is a scary thing,” Dacko joked. “We were the UConn of my generation. We ran a fast-breaking team, we ran a lot. Our rivals back then were Texas, Penn State, UMass was a rival and Springfield College was a rival way back then.”
Four years of hard work and solid performances finally earned her a spot among the most honored and revered members of the Owls’ family when she was elected into the SCSU Basketball Hall of Fame.
“It’s a great honor simply because Southern has had so many talented and great women’s basketball players,” Dacko said. “The tradition started way back in the early ‘70s and they’ve always produced some amazing basketball team.
“[It’s] great to be associated with so many of my teammates that are incredible athletes, as well as human beings.”
Dacko would graduate in 1978 will a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education.
Before breaking onto the UMass scene, Dacko started her successful coaching career right after graduation. She received an offer from St. John’s (N.Y.) University and pounced on the golden opportunity.
By the time her tenure as the Red Storm’s assistant coach ended in 1984, she had accumulated an overall record of 118-43, including a school record 27 wins in 1982-83, and two Big East Conference Tournament titles. She also won 102 games during her last four seasons when the team made four consecutive trips to the postseason, three of which were to the AIAW or NCAA tournaments.
Dacko then migrated a little further west to Evanston, Ill., where she would spend the next 11 years of her life as the assistant coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats. As the team’s second-in-command, she obtained a record of 189-122, coached a total of 25 All-Big10 players and paid a visit to four NCAA tournaments from 1987-93.
“We produced some great teams within the Big-10 and still a lot of [the players] are either my colleagues today and my friends today and I’m still in touch with them. It was a tremendous experience,” Dacko commented.
Dacko’s coaching career would take one more pit-stop before rolling into UMass – this time at Cornell University.
As a rookie head coach she finished her first season at 12-14 and won Ivy League Coach of the Year honors. She would later become the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach in school history with 80 total victories, all the while coaching the Big Red to its only two winning seasons it has ever had in the Ivy League, during her final two years.
“I was there for seven years. [When I came in] they were the worst team in the league. I left there after seven years and they were one of the best teams in the league,” Dacko said. “It was a great experience for me – recruiting top-quality student-athletes, the kids worked extremely hard, there was never any established program already there, no history for women’s basketball, so I feel we really got it going from the fan-standpoint and a player-standpoint and it was a great university to work for.”
In 2002 she finally decided to take over the reins of the UMass women’s basketball wagon and she says she has never looked back.
“It was a great experience. It was a great opportunity for me to come in and have seven seniors, one of whom was Jen Butler [who would later be drafted into the WNBA],” Dacko said of her first season at UMass. “The second game in the A-10 season at Dayton, Katie Nelson blew out her knee and I think we won about three games after that. So, it was disappointing for the seniors, it was disappointing for somebody like Jen Butler, who had so much potential and we had so much of an upside as a team.”
The Minutewomen finished the 2002-03 season with a .500 record, going 14-14 overall. The injury to Nelson gave UMass a setback that was hard to come back from, as they ended the 2003-04 season with a 6-22 record.
“We really didn’t [recover]. Katie was out that year [too],” Dacko explained. “We were asking our players to do a lot with so few numbers, that starting the building process.”
That building process took the Maroon and White through 2004-05 ( in which they finished 14-15), as well as last season.
“Last year was a good year,” Dacko said. “I thought we underachieved non-conference. There were games that we lost at the buzzer where I thought we should have won. I think, lacking leadership – the leadership that I think we needed to have – we came out flat in games, we dug ourselves in a hole where we would turn the ball over. We would go through scoring droughts, at the same time turn the ball over and really not play defense. So, we didn’t make good decisions and that even dug us further in a hole.”
The team finished a disappointing 11-17. Pam Rosanio, Kate Mills and Tamara Tatham were UMass’ leading scorers with 350, 436 and 279 points, respectively.
“Off the court, she’s like a mom to me,” Rosanio, a junior guard, said. “And on the court she’s good. She’ll tell you when you’re really doing horribly and then she’ll tell you when you’re doing the right things. So, it’s good to hear both sides of it.”
“I think she’s more passionate about winning [then most coaches],” Tatham, a senior forward, commented. “She really wants to win. She’s not one of those coaches that is going to yell at you and make you do a whole bunch of sprints, because that’s not going to get us to do what we need to do.”
Dacko knows that she has a great group of players that will always have her back and she is anxious to see what the rest of the 2006-07 season is going to bring.
“Our kids, in the preseason last year, did a seven and a half week conditioning program that was very, very vigorous,” Dacko mentioned. “We just wanted to really impress upon [the players] that we don’t want to be in that situation this year.
“I look forward to getting on the floor with this team – a team that finished a strong year a year ago,” she continued. “We won eight out of our last 11 games, so I’m just looking forward to seeing if we can pick up where we left off, without skipping a beat.”
Basketball has brought Dacko all over the globe – from New England to the Ivy League to middle America and even to Australia and New Zealand when she was the assistant coach for a Big 10 All-Star Team – but she has made it abundantly clear that she does not want to pack her suitcases any time soon. She’s still got big plans for UMass women’s basketball in the immediate future as well as upcoming years.
“You know, I’d like to bring an A-10 winner here,” Dacca said. “I’d certainly like to build and establish a program where the best athletes in the state want to come here, the best athletes in New England want to come here and it’s the school in the East where you want to come. You’re looking at UConn and you’re looking at Boston College and everybody should be looking at UMass the same way.”
Sunday, March 4, 2007
A global perspective
My beautiful girlfriend is studying abroad in Italy right now and I miss her terribly. Even more disheartening than not having seen her in over two months is hearing of the problems she’s facing over there simply because she is an American.
Let me elaborate.
About a month ago she was walking through the tight, stereotypically-Italian streets of Siena - where she is staying - when she and a friend she was with stepped into a coffee shop so that her could buy a snack. After going a few minutes without receiving help from the employees behind the counter, the friend was about to ask for some service when one of the Italian workers gave with a snooty, Mediterranean ‘No.’ When my girlfriend and her friend asked why, the employee responded (in accented English), “Because you come from a country where George Bush is your president.”
Stunned, my girlfriend just said, “Buona giornata (Have a good day),” and she and her friend turned around and left.
The aforementioned story was not exaggerated or made up – it really happened. And she said it wasn’t a one-time thing.
In fact, more and more often American citizens are experiencing this kind of hostility when touring throughout the world (especially Europe) and it seems most of it stems from the actions of our commander in chief, i.e. his decision to invade Iraq.
In March of 2003, President Bush tried to gain international support for the invasion, but came up a little short of his goal. France neglected to send troops, Canada neglected to send troops, Germany neglected to send troops. Even Egypt and Israel (arguably our two greatest allies in the Middle East) refused to support the war against Saddam Hussein.
These nations, and others that did not send support, said Saddam did not have the weapons of mass destruction [WMDs] Bush claimed were there and invading Iraq would distract us from the real war on terror as well as from countries like Iran and North Korea – both of which were reportedly making greater strides toward dangerous WMDs.
And the 30 countries that did send aid (the coalition of the willing) did so with much reluctance and protest from their respective governments’ political rivals and numerous citizens and activists.
The coalition of the willing included allies such as the UK, Poland, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and…you guessed it: Italy.
In March of 2003, against strong domestic opposition, then-Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, sent 3,000 Italian troops to Iraq – the fourth most after the US, UK and South Korea – in order to assist the nation he said “is the best friend of my country.”
The war now reaches its fourth anniversary later this month – and not a lot of progress has been made - Just look at the facts.
Just look at the facts.
The WMDs found by military forces proved too old to be used as designed (according to the US Department of Defense, the administration’s own inspectors and Charles Duelfer, the chief weapons inspector) and 16 different US spy agencies say that the war has made terrorism worse because it has fueled another generation of Islamic extremists.
Since the invasion, the land of my ancestors has amassed the third highest number of soldier casualties (33) of any coalition nation stationed in Iraq.
It is for these reasons (and others) that Americans are facing resentment when touring foreign countries.
The mistakes our administration makes here are affecting the wellbeing of Americans elsewhere. The Italians are sick and tired of our establishment’s faulty decisions resulting in the deaths of their soldiers – and, quite frankly, I don’t blame. But how is it the fault of my girlfriend – or any other American, for that matter?
Newsflash Europe: many US tourists hate President Bush and his policies. And even if they don’t, the unpopular decisions of a nation’s government cannot be blamed on the citizens of that nation. It’s just like how Italians/Italian-Americans were not responsible for the atrocities of Benito Mussolini during World War II.
The carnage that this mess has caused is being blamed on innocent Americans like my girlfriend and it’s just not right.
I know that are no Italians or other foreign nationals reading this, but I feel obligated to try to protect all of my fellow citizens.
Americans tour the world probably more than any other group of people in it (in fact most countries’ economies flourish because of it) and it’s not fair that they get harassed because of our president.
So, to any foreigners out there who might hold a grudge against Americans, not every loud tourist with red, white and blue on their lips likes President Bush.
The consistent harassment our citizens endure has lead to many of them placing Canadian flags on their bags in an effort to avoid a tongue-lashing.
I’ll be visiting my girlfriend over Spring Break and I won’t exactly be shouting the National Anthem in the middle of a piazza. But if someone approaches me if I come from the US I will say, “Yes I am – and I’m not ashamed of it either."
Let me elaborate.
About a month ago she was walking through the tight, stereotypically-Italian streets of Siena - where she is staying - when she and a friend she was with stepped into a coffee shop so that her could buy a snack. After going a few minutes without receiving help from the employees behind the counter, the friend was about to ask for some service when one of the Italian workers gave with a snooty, Mediterranean ‘No.’ When my girlfriend and her friend asked why, the employee responded (in accented English), “Because you come from a country where George Bush is your president.”
Stunned, my girlfriend just said, “Buona giornata (Have a good day),” and she and her friend turned around and left.
The aforementioned story was not exaggerated or made up – it really happened. And she said it wasn’t a one-time thing.
In fact, more and more often American citizens are experiencing this kind of hostility when touring throughout the world (especially Europe) and it seems most of it stems from the actions of our commander in chief, i.e. his decision to invade Iraq.
In March of 2003, President Bush tried to gain international support for the invasion, but came up a little short of his goal. France neglected to send troops, Canada neglected to send troops, Germany neglected to send troops. Even Egypt and Israel (arguably our two greatest allies in the Middle East) refused to support the war against Saddam Hussein.
These nations, and others that did not send support, said Saddam did not have the weapons of mass destruction [WMDs] Bush claimed were there and invading Iraq would distract us from the real war on terror as well as from countries like Iran and North Korea – both of which were reportedly making greater strides toward dangerous WMDs.
And the 30 countries that did send aid (the coalition of the willing) did so with much reluctance and protest from their respective governments’ political rivals and numerous citizens and activists.
The coalition of the willing included allies such as the UK, Poland, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and…you guessed it: Italy.
In March of 2003, against strong domestic opposition, then-Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, sent 3,000 Italian troops to Iraq – the fourth most after the US, UK and South Korea – in order to assist the nation he said “is the best friend of my country.”
The war now reaches its fourth anniversary later this month – and not a lot of progress has been made - Just look at the facts.
Just look at the facts.
The WMDs found by military forces proved too old to be used as designed (according to the US Department of Defense, the administration’s own inspectors and Charles Duelfer, the chief weapons inspector) and 16 different US spy agencies say that the war has made terrorism worse because it has fueled another generation of Islamic extremists.
Since the invasion, the land of my ancestors has amassed the third highest number of soldier casualties (33) of any coalition nation stationed in Iraq.
It is for these reasons (and others) that Americans are facing resentment when touring foreign countries.
The mistakes our administration makes here are affecting the wellbeing of Americans elsewhere. The Italians are sick and tired of our establishment’s faulty decisions resulting in the deaths of their soldiers – and, quite frankly, I don’t blame. But how is it the fault of my girlfriend – or any other American, for that matter?
Newsflash Europe: many US tourists hate President Bush and his policies. And even if they don’t, the unpopular decisions of a nation’s government cannot be blamed on the citizens of that nation. It’s just like how Italians/Italian-Americans were not responsible for the atrocities of Benito Mussolini during World War II.
The carnage that this mess has caused is being blamed on innocent Americans like my girlfriend and it’s just not right.
I know that are no Italians or other foreign nationals reading this, but I feel obligated to try to protect all of my fellow citizens.
Americans tour the world probably more than any other group of people in it (in fact most countries’ economies flourish because of it) and it’s not fair that they get harassed because of our president.
So, to any foreigners out there who might hold a grudge against Americans, not every loud tourist with red, white and blue on their lips likes President Bush.
The consistent harassment our citizens endure has lead to many of them placing Canadian flags on their bags in an effort to avoid a tongue-lashing.
I’ll be visiting my girlfriend over Spring Break and I won’t exactly be shouting the National Anthem in the middle of a piazza. But if someone approaches me if I come from the US I will say, “Yes I am – and I’m not ashamed of it either."
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
An All-American holiday?
By Domenic Poli
Monday finished up one of those calendar occurrences that are oh-so-cherished by members of any student body: a three-day weekend. The reason for this most recent elongated treats was so the country could observe one of its lesser-recognized holidays. I am talking, of course, about Presidents’ Day – or should I say Washington’s Birthday?
You see, the nation uses the annual holiday as a way of honoring, arguably, America’s two greatest presidents – George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays are Feb. 22 and 12, respectively – but it was not intended to be that way.
I soon found out that Presidents’ Day was, in fact, originally intended to paid tribute to Mr. Washington, only. When I learned that what my calendar lists as ‘Presidents’ Day’ (a day when most remember the faces on the one and five dollar bills) was really instituted in memory of Washington alone, I was a little disappointed.
I mean no offense to Mr. Washington, of course – he is the Father of our Country and, arguably, the greatest American in history.
He fought gallantly for his homeland in the conflict that would grow into the French and Indian war, in 1775 he was elected commander in chief of the Continental Army, leading a ragamuffin bunch of militiamen through six years of arduous warfare in the American Revolution and when the Constitution (which he was largely responsible for fashioning) was ratified in 1776, the Electoral College chose him as the first President of the United States. The future of American democracy depended on how Washington would conduct himself while in office.
As we all know, he did a superb job as President and every bit of democracy that thousands of immigrants flock to this country every year for is due, in very large part, to Mr. Washington.
So, I wasn’t so much upset that he didn’t have a holiday all to himself, as I was surprised – especially when I learned that Mr. Lincoln was initially let out of the equation.
Lincoln is perhaps the greatest commander in chief in American history. Look at the facts. He kept the nation together when the Civil War threatened to crumble it and he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared that all slaves (even in the Confederacy) were forever free. As you all can see (and probably knew already) Lincoln was not exactly chopped liver. He was instead one of the greatest presidents in history.
But there have been 41 other men who have proudly served this nation (some well, some others not so well) as its elected leader – don’t they all, like Lincoln, deserve a little recognition?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the country out of the Great Depression, through much of World War II, formed Social Security and established a huge worker relief program for the unemployed – all this while being crippled with polio, mind you.
How about President John F. Kennedy?
JFK guided the country through much of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. He helped fund the advancement of science, established the Peace Corps in 1960 and, as the man who proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was probably the greatest pioneer for civil rights in history.
And that’s just the start of the list.
Harry S. Truman won World War II when he decided to drop the A-bombs of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945, and Woodrow Wilson helped the Allies win the previous World War by declaring war on Germany in 1917. He then tried to end all future wars with the League of Nations and his Fourteen Points.
The argument I’m making here is that we’ve had 42 former presidents, and – though some of them may have done a lousy job – each one of them deserves to be honored for the work they did for their country. Though, I’m certainly not trying to take anything away from Mr. Washington – or Mr. Lincoln – for that matter.
The third Monday in February should stand with a different name in order to honor the two tremendous presidents whose birthdays envelope the date, and there should be another day during the calendar year to pay tribute to all of our former presidents – because, even if they didn’t do a bang-up job, they all gave up their otherwise simple lives just to be subjected to the constant scrutiny, pressure and attention that come from handling the reigns of the one of the greatest nations in the world – and they all did it because they loved their country.
Monday finished up one of those calendar occurrences that are oh-so-cherished by members of any student body: a three-day weekend. The reason for this most recent elongated treats was so the country could observe one of its lesser-recognized holidays. I am talking, of course, about Presidents’ Day – or should I say Washington’s Birthday?
You see, the nation uses the annual holiday as a way of honoring, arguably, America’s two greatest presidents – George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays are Feb. 22 and 12, respectively – but it was not intended to be that way.
I soon found out that Presidents’ Day was, in fact, originally intended to paid tribute to Mr. Washington, only. When I learned that what my calendar lists as ‘Presidents’ Day’ (a day when most remember the faces on the one and five dollar bills) was really instituted in memory of Washington alone, I was a little disappointed.
I mean no offense to Mr. Washington, of course – he is the Father of our Country and, arguably, the greatest American in history.
He fought gallantly for his homeland in the conflict that would grow into the French and Indian war, in 1775 he was elected commander in chief of the Continental Army, leading a ragamuffin bunch of militiamen through six years of arduous warfare in the American Revolution and when the Constitution (which he was largely responsible for fashioning) was ratified in 1776, the Electoral College chose him as the first President of the United States. The future of American democracy depended on how Washington would conduct himself while in office.
As we all know, he did a superb job as President and every bit of democracy that thousands of immigrants flock to this country every year for is due, in very large part, to Mr. Washington.
So, I wasn’t so much upset that he didn’t have a holiday all to himself, as I was surprised – especially when I learned that Mr. Lincoln was initially let out of the equation.
Lincoln is perhaps the greatest commander in chief in American history. Look at the facts. He kept the nation together when the Civil War threatened to crumble it and he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared that all slaves (even in the Confederacy) were forever free. As you all can see (and probably knew already) Lincoln was not exactly chopped liver. He was instead one of the greatest presidents in history.
But there have been 41 other men who have proudly served this nation (some well, some others not so well) as its elected leader – don’t they all, like Lincoln, deserve a little recognition?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the country out of the Great Depression, through much of World War II, formed Social Security and established a huge worker relief program for the unemployed – all this while being crippled with polio, mind you.
How about President John F. Kennedy?
JFK guided the country through much of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. He helped fund the advancement of science, established the Peace Corps in 1960 and, as the man who proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was probably the greatest pioneer for civil rights in history.
And that’s just the start of the list.
Harry S. Truman won World War II when he decided to drop the A-bombs of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945, and Woodrow Wilson helped the Allies win the previous World War by declaring war on Germany in 1917. He then tried to end all future wars with the League of Nations and his Fourteen Points.
The argument I’m making here is that we’ve had 42 former presidents, and – though some of them may have done a lousy job – each one of them deserves to be honored for the work they did for their country. Though, I’m certainly not trying to take anything away from Mr. Washington – or Mr. Lincoln – for that matter.
The third Monday in February should stand with a different name in order to honor the two tremendous presidents whose birthdays envelope the date, and there should be another day during the calendar year to pay tribute to all of our former presidents – because, even if they didn’t do a bang-up job, they all gave up their otherwise simple lives just to be subjected to the constant scrutiny, pressure and attention that come from handling the reigns of the one of the greatest nations in the world – and they all did it because they loved their country.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
My un-American blacklist
Midterm elections took place last November. During the months prior, the country was subjected to countless advertisements promoting numerous politicians running for public office. Even though each one was slightly different, they all shared a common theme: What is best for "America?" "Let America be America Again." "America Can Do Better."
"America" this, "America" that. Every candidate seeking election seemed to try to remind people that they are U.S. citizens and to go vote. All this talk about being an American got me thinking - what exactly is American? Or, better put, what are some un-American things when it comes to politics?
I spent a good amount of time thinking about this and I came up with my own personal list of four things I believe are politically unpatriotic.
The most un-American thing out there is simply not voting in the first place. This nation was built on the principle of being a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The idea of a democratic system is that the people decide, by a majority vote, who will lead and represent them.
This is the reason the Founding Fathers selected a president over a king - they wanted to be able to elect their leader, instead of allowing the next generation in a royal bloodline to become the automatic top-gun who calls all the shots.
To this day there are countries run by monarchial dictators who refuse to hear the voice of the people. That's why it made me want to puke when I heard that, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, only 24 percent of Americans under the age of 30 voted last Tuesday - and that number is up by four percent from 2002.
Citizens of Iraq, who had to brave threats of bodily harm and/or death, produced a higher voter turnout than this when they held their first democratic election in over 50 years back in 2005. Americans are taking the democratic masterpiece known as voting for granted, and it is beginning to sicken me beyond words.
Next on my politically un-American blacklist is something so very common - belonging to a political party. When you check one of those little party-affiliation boxes on your voter registration form, you hand over your political independence and subject yourself to the bias of one particular alliance.
There are many people who tend to vote a certain way (which is only natural) but still stay unenrolled - and that, my fellow Americans, is the way to go. They vote for the party that they favor and still keep their political freedom.
Think about it. How many Republicans do you know who dislike President Bush, even with the increasingly unsuccessful war in Iraq, the highest national debt in history and his legalized constitutional violations all being as blatantly obvious as Ann Coulter's Adam's apple?
Not many, right? That's because they've attached themselves to one perspective and can't open their eyes to see the overwhelming evidence staring them right in the face. And if you think I'm only going to attack the GOP, just stop yourselves right there because, despite my many liberal points of view, I am far from a Democrat.
A lot of Dems have promoted their party as the open-minded one, the one who will fight for the average American and the one that has never done anything wrong in its existence. How many Bill Clinton fans either don't know, or don't care, that the former president bombed a factory in Sudan that he believed was making chemical weapons?
(FYI: The factory was manufacturing aspirin, and though no one was killed in the attack, the owner sought $50 million in damages).
Or how about the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Most Democrats shrugged it off as something unimportant and a private matter, but I don't think it's too much to ask for the man who represents my nation in the international arena to respect his wife and his marriage.
Third on my listing of things that are un-American from a political standpoint are exit polls. The politician that a citizen votes for is supposed remain private. It is the voters' business and no one else's. Now, I know that most exiting voters choose to reveal which box they checked off to whatever microphone-wielding field reporter that has chosen to occupy the sidewalk, but that is just because the realization that a vote is private and personal information, which used to be a cherished component of the election process, has been lost deep in shouds of time since the days of the Founding Fathers - but it doesn't have to stay this way. We can change this unfortunate generational trend. The next time you cast a ballot and a TV reporter (or anybody for that matter) asks you who you voted for, give them a patriotic cold shoulder. That way you will uphold this cherished anonymity of the democratic procedure and maybe the Framers will roll back over in their graves.
I could write for days on end about this topic, but, to keep from boring you, I will wrap this thing up. (Drumroll please) Last, but certainly not least, on my Un-American Blacklist is...rigging an election.
Anything that is done to steal an election is a true molestation of a democratic society, and it has happened far too often.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that President Bush won both the 2000 and 2004 elections due to some sort of fraudulence. It appears that faulty voting machines, hanging chad ballots and some foul play may have won the elections for Bush.
And, again, I'm not one-sided here. I know about JFK's victory in 1960. Even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admits that his uncle's colleagues used the votes of people who had been dead to defeat his opponent, Richard Nixon.
A Commander in Chief is supposed to be selected by a coalition of proud, free-thinking Americans, and whenever anything happens to thwart the democratic method, we, as a nation, are the victims. Americans need to take a step back and decide whether to turn their heads to these atrocities or to help put our country back on the path of true democracy.
"America" this, "America" that. Every candidate seeking election seemed to try to remind people that they are U.S. citizens and to go vote. All this talk about being an American got me thinking - what exactly is American? Or, better put, what are some un-American things when it comes to politics?
I spent a good amount of time thinking about this and I came up with my own personal list of four things I believe are politically unpatriotic.
The most un-American thing out there is simply not voting in the first place. This nation was built on the principle of being a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The idea of a democratic system is that the people decide, by a majority vote, who will lead and represent them.
This is the reason the Founding Fathers selected a president over a king - they wanted to be able to elect their leader, instead of allowing the next generation in a royal bloodline to become the automatic top-gun who calls all the shots.
To this day there are countries run by monarchial dictators who refuse to hear the voice of the people. That's why it made me want to puke when I heard that, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, only 24 percent of Americans under the age of 30 voted last Tuesday - and that number is up by four percent from 2002.
Citizens of Iraq, who had to brave threats of bodily harm and/or death, produced a higher voter turnout than this when they held their first democratic election in over 50 years back in 2005. Americans are taking the democratic masterpiece known as voting for granted, and it is beginning to sicken me beyond words.
Next on my politically un-American blacklist is something so very common - belonging to a political party. When you check one of those little party-affiliation boxes on your voter registration form, you hand over your political independence and subject yourself to the bias of one particular alliance.
There are many people who tend to vote a certain way (which is only natural) but still stay unenrolled - and that, my fellow Americans, is the way to go. They vote for the party that they favor and still keep their political freedom.
Think about it. How many Republicans do you know who dislike President Bush, even with the increasingly unsuccessful war in Iraq, the highest national debt in history and his legalized constitutional violations all being as blatantly obvious as Ann Coulter's Adam's apple?
Not many, right? That's because they've attached themselves to one perspective and can't open their eyes to see the overwhelming evidence staring them right in the face. And if you think I'm only going to attack the GOP, just stop yourselves right there because, despite my many liberal points of view, I am far from a Democrat.
A lot of Dems have promoted their party as the open-minded one, the one who will fight for the average American and the one that has never done anything wrong in its existence. How many Bill Clinton fans either don't know, or don't care, that the former president bombed a factory in Sudan that he believed was making chemical weapons?
(FYI: The factory was manufacturing aspirin, and though no one was killed in the attack, the owner sought $50 million in damages).
Or how about the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Most Democrats shrugged it off as something unimportant and a private matter, but I don't think it's too much to ask for the man who represents my nation in the international arena to respect his wife and his marriage.
Third on my listing of things that are un-American from a political standpoint are exit polls. The politician that a citizen votes for is supposed remain private. It is the voters' business and no one else's. Now, I know that most exiting voters choose to reveal which box they checked off to whatever microphone-wielding field reporter that has chosen to occupy the sidewalk, but that is just because the realization that a vote is private and personal information, which used to be a cherished component of the election process, has been lost deep in shouds of time since the days of the Founding Fathers - but it doesn't have to stay this way. We can change this unfortunate generational trend. The next time you cast a ballot and a TV reporter (or anybody for that matter) asks you who you voted for, give them a patriotic cold shoulder. That way you will uphold this cherished anonymity of the democratic procedure and maybe the Framers will roll back over in their graves.
I could write for days on end about this topic, but, to keep from boring you, I will wrap this thing up. (Drumroll please) Last, but certainly not least, on my Un-American Blacklist is...rigging an election.
Anything that is done to steal an election is a true molestation of a democratic society, and it has happened far too often.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that President Bush won both the 2000 and 2004 elections due to some sort of fraudulence. It appears that faulty voting machines, hanging chad ballots and some foul play may have won the elections for Bush.
And, again, I'm not one-sided here. I know about JFK's victory in 1960. Even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admits that his uncle's colleagues used the votes of people who had been dead to defeat his opponent, Richard Nixon.
A Commander in Chief is supposed to be selected by a coalition of proud, free-thinking Americans, and whenever anything happens to thwart the democratic method, we, as a nation, are the victims. Americans need to take a step back and decide whether to turn their heads to these atrocities or to help put our country back on the path of true democracy.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Home sweet Fenway
Throughout the world there are structures that have a striking essence to them. And inhabitants of every place think that their structure is the most captivating of all. For citizens of India, it’s the Taj Mahal. For the Britons it is Big Ben or Buckingham Palace. But if you have dirty water in your veins, it is none other than Fenway Park.
Having been born and raised in Quincy, a town less than ten minutes outside of Boston, I was brought up believing that the Fens is a sacred terrain, much like a church. And in a sense, it is. It’s a place where folks come to spend time with one other, pray intensely, and their requested miracles sometimes go unanswered, or at least for a while anyway.
Well, this sacred terrain was one of the most significant structures throughout my childhood.
My grandfather bought into a season tickets deal back in 1970. For years he would take my dad or my uncle to a handful of games every season. Then, when I was born, he handed the tickets down to my father and he has taken me or my brother to Section 30, Box 77, Row A for as long as I can remember.
The feeling that I get when I’m there is unlike any other. The stadium has such a celebrated history, and when I’m sitting there, right smack-dab in the middle of Red Sox Nation, I realize that I have become part of that history. I can almost see the ghosts of games played- Babe Ruth bringing the crowd to its feet, Ted Williams not tipping his cap or Dave Roberts sliding under Derek Jeter’s tag in Game 4. It’s an eerie, almost surreal feeling.
Erected in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest in the Major Leagues. But what is even more fascinating to me is the significance of the structures within the structure. Fenway has almost as many separate pieces of storied real estate as Washington D.C Every historical dimension and feature provides interesting obstacles challenging to players, but entertaining for fans.
Even though almost of all you are quite familiar with it, I will give you a brief verbal tour of this slice of heaven known as Fenway.
First of all, the Green Monster is the most synonymous feature connected to baseball lore in the entire country. To players, the 37-foot spectacle stands out in left field as a haunting reminder that home runs do not come easily in the Major Leagues. At a reasonably short distance of 315 ft., it is riddled with dents of homers, destined to be reduced to wall-ball singles.
Despite the particularly short porch in left, Fenway owns one of the longest centerfields in the league. At 420 ft. from home plate, it is said that the stadium’s centerfield is where triples go to die.
Not wanting to be left out of Fenway’s list of oddball dimensions, right field also has its share of secrets and adventures. Besides for a low concrete slab, which gives the baseball a pinball machine-like effect, right fielders must deal with blinding glare of the setting sun, which can disable their ability to locate a fly ball. At around 380 ft, Fenway’s right field is one of the most feared amongst outfielders, who must learn to adapt to its tricky nature.
But, keep in mind that the field isn’t the only feature that could share an anecdote. The press box would boast about how it held the presence of broadcasting legends Curt Gowdy, Ken Coleman and, now, Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo. The visitors’ dugout would talk about the games when it hosted legends like Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson and Whitey Ford.
This delightful little ballpark hosts over 36,200 seats, and every one of them has a story to tell. Two of those seats include Seat 3 and Seat 4. They are the ones with which my family holds partnership.
One of my favorite stories from sitting in those seats is from a game played back in 2001. It was pitcher Bryce Florie’s first game back after a devastating injury suffered just the year before.
On Sept. 8, in a game where he was pitching against the New York Yankees, Florie was drilled in the face by a line drive off the bat of outfielder Ryan Thompson. (A pitch thrown 96 mph is estimated to be hit back at around 120 mph). The impact fractured his cheekbone, as well as his orbital socket and damaged his retina. It took him out of baseball for about a year.
Then on the night I was there, I saw one of the most emotional spectacles in my life. About two-thirds of the way through the game, manager Jimy Williams came out to the mound to initiate a pitching change. However, this was no ordinary pitching change. As Williams signaled for his righty, the Fenway Faithful simultaneously rose to their feet. As soon as the intercom started blasting rock music, the stadium announcer declared, “Ladies and Gentlemen, coming into the game…Bryce Florie.” With that the pitcher trotted in from the bullpen and Fenway exploded into pandemonium. I got this feeling inside of me that is hard to describe. But, I know that I felt everything Florie did at that moment. I was as excited, nervous and misty-eyed, as I’m sure he was. The fans gave him an ovation unlike any I had ever heard before. His brave comeback from such a devastating injury made the vicinity come together, as one.
This moment is a perfect example of why Fenway Park means so much to so many fans, including myself. Red Sox Nation is not merely a club, but more like a family. When Florie made his dramatic comeback on that cool night in 2001, Sox fans young and old rose to their feet to welcome back one of their brothers, whom they had never forgotten about.
However, my story is just one of millions that could be told by millions of people. Other stories would be of a stadium full of people holding their collective breath as Carlton Fisk frantically waved his arms, begging his home run to stay fair in 1975. Carl Yaztremski hitting his 400th home run into the right field bullpen. Or about Ted Williams embracing a Fenway crowd one last time at the 1999 All-Star Game.
And though the Sox ended the 86-year old Curse of the Bambino in 2004, I can still hear and feel the despair of deceased fans who passed away waiting for the championship that came just a little too late. As corny as it may sound, there is a sort of brotherhood among the members, past and present, of Red Sox Nation. I sympathize with the generations of diehard fans and Royal Rooters whose time simply ran out before their beloved BoSox could bring home the crown.
But, I can’t help feeling that when the Sox held the victory parade after winning the World Series, that the ghosts of Red Sox past, including my Italian immigrant great-grandfather, Crescenzo DiMichele, were right there by my side. Together we celebrated with the Sox and thanked them for finally bringing one home to Boston.
Having been born and raised in Quincy, a town less than ten minutes outside of Boston, I was brought up believing that the Fens is a sacred terrain, much like a church. And in a sense, it is. It’s a place where folks come to spend time with one other, pray intensely, and their requested miracles sometimes go unanswered, or at least for a while anyway.
Well, this sacred terrain was one of the most significant structures throughout my childhood.
My grandfather bought into a season tickets deal back in 1970. For years he would take my dad or my uncle to a handful of games every season. Then, when I was born, he handed the tickets down to my father and he has taken me or my brother to Section 30, Box 77, Row A for as long as I can remember.
The feeling that I get when I’m there is unlike any other. The stadium has such a celebrated history, and when I’m sitting there, right smack-dab in the middle of Red Sox Nation, I realize that I have become part of that history. I can almost see the ghosts of games played- Babe Ruth bringing the crowd to its feet, Ted Williams not tipping his cap or Dave Roberts sliding under Derek Jeter’s tag in Game 4. It’s an eerie, almost surreal feeling.
Erected in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest in the Major Leagues. But what is even more fascinating to me is the significance of the structures within the structure. Fenway has almost as many separate pieces of storied real estate as Washington D.C Every historical dimension and feature provides interesting obstacles challenging to players, but entertaining for fans.
Even though almost of all you are quite familiar with it, I will give you a brief verbal tour of this slice of heaven known as Fenway.
First of all, the Green Monster is the most synonymous feature connected to baseball lore in the entire country. To players, the 37-foot spectacle stands out in left field as a haunting reminder that home runs do not come easily in the Major Leagues. At a reasonably short distance of 315 ft., it is riddled with dents of homers, destined to be reduced to wall-ball singles.
Despite the particularly short porch in left, Fenway owns one of the longest centerfields in the league. At 420 ft. from home plate, it is said that the stadium’s centerfield is where triples go to die.
Not wanting to be left out of Fenway’s list of oddball dimensions, right field also has its share of secrets and adventures. Besides for a low concrete slab, which gives the baseball a pinball machine-like effect, right fielders must deal with blinding glare of the setting sun, which can disable their ability to locate a fly ball. At around 380 ft, Fenway’s right field is one of the most feared amongst outfielders, who must learn to adapt to its tricky nature.
But, keep in mind that the field isn’t the only feature that could share an anecdote. The press box would boast about how it held the presence of broadcasting legends Curt Gowdy, Ken Coleman and, now, Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo. The visitors’ dugout would talk about the games when it hosted legends like Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson and Whitey Ford.
This delightful little ballpark hosts over 36,200 seats, and every one of them has a story to tell. Two of those seats include Seat 3 and Seat 4. They are the ones with which my family holds partnership.
One of my favorite stories from sitting in those seats is from a game played back in 2001. It was pitcher Bryce Florie’s first game back after a devastating injury suffered just the year before.
On Sept. 8, in a game where he was pitching against the New York Yankees, Florie was drilled in the face by a line drive off the bat of outfielder Ryan Thompson. (A pitch thrown 96 mph is estimated to be hit back at around 120 mph). The impact fractured his cheekbone, as well as his orbital socket and damaged his retina. It took him out of baseball for about a year.
Then on the night I was there, I saw one of the most emotional spectacles in my life. About two-thirds of the way through the game, manager Jimy Williams came out to the mound to initiate a pitching change. However, this was no ordinary pitching change. As Williams signaled for his righty, the Fenway Faithful simultaneously rose to their feet. As soon as the intercom started blasting rock music, the stadium announcer declared, “Ladies and Gentlemen, coming into the game…Bryce Florie.” With that the pitcher trotted in from the bullpen and Fenway exploded into pandemonium. I got this feeling inside of me that is hard to describe. But, I know that I felt everything Florie did at that moment. I was as excited, nervous and misty-eyed, as I’m sure he was. The fans gave him an ovation unlike any I had ever heard before. His brave comeback from such a devastating injury made the vicinity come together, as one.
This moment is a perfect example of why Fenway Park means so much to so many fans, including myself. Red Sox Nation is not merely a club, but more like a family. When Florie made his dramatic comeback on that cool night in 2001, Sox fans young and old rose to their feet to welcome back one of their brothers, whom they had never forgotten about.
However, my story is just one of millions that could be told by millions of people. Other stories would be of a stadium full of people holding their collective breath as Carlton Fisk frantically waved his arms, begging his home run to stay fair in 1975. Carl Yaztremski hitting his 400th home run into the right field bullpen. Or about Ted Williams embracing a Fenway crowd one last time at the 1999 All-Star Game.
And though the Sox ended the 86-year old Curse of the Bambino in 2004, I can still hear and feel the despair of deceased fans who passed away waiting for the championship that came just a little too late. As corny as it may sound, there is a sort of brotherhood among the members, past and present, of Red Sox Nation. I sympathize with the generations of diehard fans and Royal Rooters whose time simply ran out before their beloved BoSox could bring home the crown.
But, I can’t help feeling that when the Sox held the victory parade after winning the World Series, that the ghosts of Red Sox past, including my Italian immigrant great-grandfather, Crescenzo DiMichele, were right there by my side. Together we celebrated with the Sox and thanked them for finally bringing one home to Boston.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Don't blame commercials!
Last Monday, I was sitting in a booth at the Worcester Dining Commons on the UMass campus, like I do almost every morning before my first class, and began reading that day's issue of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. After reading through the front-page stories, I turned the page where I was embraced by two headlines: one about Saddam Hussein's seeking an appeal on his death sentence and an uplifting one about strides in HIV research.
My eyes then ventured down and spotted a headline that almost made me choke on my tater tot: "Advertising blamed for kids' ills." I quickly began reading the article to learn more about the topic that had so violently grabbed my attention. The story reports that the American Academy of Pediatrics has produced a new policy statement that says advertisements via television, billboards and magazines are partially to blame for the vices of American children. It suggests that problems such as adolescent obesity, eating disorders and underage drinking are caused, in part, by the ads that young people are exposed to.
The world-renowned doctors' group referred to commercials promoting sugared breakfast cereals and full-page ads featuring petite and diminutive models as some of the factors contributing to the vices carried by the nation's youth.
The group's new statement also proposes that doctors across the country should lobby Congress to take direct action. The group suggests banning junk-food advertisements during programs focused on attracting young viewers, limiting commercial advertising to no more than six minutes per hour and confining alcohol ads to showing only the product - not fun cartoon characters or sexy women.
The statement insists that these ads fuel the temptation of na've youngsters and that the federal government needs to do something to curb this disastrous influence.
My response to all of this? Oh, please.
I know that kids are impressionable and that corporate companies spend countless dollars trying to target them with their advertisements, but to suggest that these pictures and images are actually responsible for the bad decisions and eating habits of young people is ludicrous.
This is just one more example of people trying to pin problems on something psychological and, quite frankly, it's thinking way too much into things.
Advertising cannot be directly blamed for the poor choices people make. Commercials and magazine ads do not tie an adolescent down and force him/her to devour "Quarter-Pounder" cheeseburgers or a liter of "Vault" or to have unprotected sex at the age of 14 - the kid does it all on his/her own. Pinning the culpability on advertising companies is just another example of how certain people try to pull responsibility away from kids and pass it along to somebody else.
The advertisements on TV are just that: advertisements. They are trying to promote a certain product in order to increase sales - that's the whole idea. But, here's the best part: you don't have to buy it.
When I was growing up, my friends and I were subjected to the same sort of commercials, billboards and full-page magazine ads as kids are nowadays, but we didn't run out to buy a dozen "Frostys" and a pack of cigarettes because of them. Companies can spew whatever type of advertisement they want on people. It still comes down to a personal choice.
The folks who try to use advertisers as scapegoats for the problems that America's youth has adapted are the same ones who try to blame high obesity rates in children on the voracious eating habits of the Cookie Monster.
That delightful blue creature has been an American icon for generations and was one of my favorite members of the "Sesame Street" gang growing up. Yet, there are still those mindless, probing "big brothers" out there who claim that his enormous love of cookies and ravenous style of eating tells young kids that it is OK to shovel handfuls of baked goods down their throats.
That is ridiculous, bordering on laughable.
I'm going to say this just once: leave the Cookie Monster alone. He didn't do anything to you. He is a harmless television character, and anyone who thinks he is responsible for 17 percent of American kids being obese, as the article stated, needs to get a life.
I didn't eat cookies and get out of shape because of the Cookie Monster. I did it because I truly love cookies - they're yummy and delicious.
And I've got a question: Where the heck are the parents of these children who watch these ads?
They're supposed to be supervising what their kids are subjected to. If a few dead-beat parents can't monitor what their children view, that doesn't mean that advertising companies should be to blame.
Little by little, the amount of responsibilities that parents display is eroding, and the social/mental/emotional problems of their screwed-up kids are tacked onto others.
I'll admit that obesity, eating disorders, teen drinking and pre-marital sex can probably be influenced somewhat by ads. But when you get down to it, the choice to eat that bacon cheeseburger, or down that six-pack of "Budweiser," all come down to choice. Kids just need to wise up and think for themselves, and if they can't, their parents need to step up and try being parents.
My eyes then ventured down and spotted a headline that almost made me choke on my tater tot: "Advertising blamed for kids' ills." I quickly began reading the article to learn more about the topic that had so violently grabbed my attention. The story reports that the American Academy of Pediatrics has produced a new policy statement that says advertisements via television, billboards and magazines are partially to blame for the vices of American children. It suggests that problems such as adolescent obesity, eating disorders and underage drinking are caused, in part, by the ads that young people are exposed to.
The world-renowned doctors' group referred to commercials promoting sugared breakfast cereals and full-page ads featuring petite and diminutive models as some of the factors contributing to the vices carried by the nation's youth.
The group's new statement also proposes that doctors across the country should lobby Congress to take direct action. The group suggests banning junk-food advertisements during programs focused on attracting young viewers, limiting commercial advertising to no more than six minutes per hour and confining alcohol ads to showing only the product - not fun cartoon characters or sexy women.
The statement insists that these ads fuel the temptation of na've youngsters and that the federal government needs to do something to curb this disastrous influence.
My response to all of this? Oh, please.
I know that kids are impressionable and that corporate companies spend countless dollars trying to target them with their advertisements, but to suggest that these pictures and images are actually responsible for the bad decisions and eating habits of young people is ludicrous.
This is just one more example of people trying to pin problems on something psychological and, quite frankly, it's thinking way too much into things.
Advertising cannot be directly blamed for the poor choices people make. Commercials and magazine ads do not tie an adolescent down and force him/her to devour "Quarter-Pounder" cheeseburgers or a liter of "Vault" or to have unprotected sex at the age of 14 - the kid does it all on his/her own. Pinning the culpability on advertising companies is just another example of how certain people try to pull responsibility away from kids and pass it along to somebody else.
The advertisements on TV are just that: advertisements. They are trying to promote a certain product in order to increase sales - that's the whole idea. But, here's the best part: you don't have to buy it.
When I was growing up, my friends and I were subjected to the same sort of commercials, billboards and full-page magazine ads as kids are nowadays, but we didn't run out to buy a dozen "Frostys" and a pack of cigarettes because of them. Companies can spew whatever type of advertisement they want on people. It still comes down to a personal choice.
The folks who try to use advertisers as scapegoats for the problems that America's youth has adapted are the same ones who try to blame high obesity rates in children on the voracious eating habits of the Cookie Monster.
That delightful blue creature has been an American icon for generations and was one of my favorite members of the "Sesame Street" gang growing up. Yet, there are still those mindless, probing "big brothers" out there who claim that his enormous love of cookies and ravenous style of eating tells young kids that it is OK to shovel handfuls of baked goods down their throats.
That is ridiculous, bordering on laughable.
I'm going to say this just once: leave the Cookie Monster alone. He didn't do anything to you. He is a harmless television character, and anyone who thinks he is responsible for 17 percent of American kids being obese, as the article stated, needs to get a life.
I didn't eat cookies and get out of shape because of the Cookie Monster. I did it because I truly love cookies - they're yummy and delicious.
And I've got a question: Where the heck are the parents of these children who watch these ads?
They're supposed to be supervising what their kids are subjected to. If a few dead-beat parents can't monitor what their children view, that doesn't mean that advertising companies should be to blame.
Little by little, the amount of responsibilities that parents display is eroding, and the social/mental/emotional problems of their screwed-up kids are tacked onto others.
I'll admit that obesity, eating disorders, teen drinking and pre-marital sex can probably be influenced somewhat by ads. But when you get down to it, the choice to eat that bacon cheeseburger, or down that six-pack of "Budweiser," all come down to choice. Kids just need to wise up and think for themselves, and if they can't, their parents need to step up and try being parents.
It may be time to hit the showers for male practice players
They are considered an essential part of the team. But a new proposal by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics may soon change all that.
The Massachusetts women's basketball team's male practice squad is held in very high regard by the Minutewomen, and is thought to be as important as any other part of the program.
The 15-member CWA committee of administrators and athletes from Division I, II and III schools has requested that the routine of having men scrimmage against women in practice be disallowed.
"[Men practicing with women] violates the spirit of gender equality and Title IX," the CWA said in a statement released on Dec. 6.
Title IX was a groundbreaking federal law requiring fair and equal treatment for any educational program that receives federal funding. Part of the Education Amendments of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX was the first piece of national legislature to ban inequity in policies and programs of any educational institution.
The law especially affects collegiate sports. In short, Title IX states that universities that receive federal funding must spend equal amounts of money on athletic teams for men and women.
Supporters of the new measure feel that permitting men to practice against a women's basketball team takes a backward step from the ruling passed 34 years ago aimed at eliminating any discrimination in the world of academia on the basis on gender.
Despite the noble intentions of the law, certain measures taken in order to comply with it are, at times, considered unnecessary - even by the people it was intended to support.
"I'm not happy. I think the men should be able to play with us," UMass coach Marnie Dacko said. "I think they add a great deal of intensity. They're a great aide in helping women basketball players all over the country and I think [the league] would be doing a disservice if they chose not to allow men to practice [with women].
"I think that somebody out there is complaining," she continued. "You know, they need another cause to complain about and so somebody brings it up and starts something in a negative connotation."
Members of the women's team displayed confusion and disappointment at the idea of the NCAA restricting whom they can practice against.
"I think that it kind of sucks," junior guard and team co-captain, Alisha Tatham said. "We love when the guys come in. They really push us. They give us a lot more than, maybe, if a women's practice team were to come in. The guys are a lot more physical, they're a lot quicker.
"I don't see what's wrong with it," she continued. "There's a lot of people that play against guys all the time. I don't know why they'd take it away."
Neither does junior civil engineering major Ryan James.
James, 21, is one of the six members of the men's practice squad - and he says he's frustrated that the NCAA is trying to interfere with, what he considers, a team's own personal business.
"I can't really see any logic behind this new proposal. At the collegiate level, coaches should be able to prepare their teams in any reasonable way they feel will help their players," he said. "I think the NCAA shouldn't get involved with the structure of women's practice. It should be up to the coaches and the players collectively to decide if men should be allowed to practice or not."
James, a native of South Deerfield, Mass., first donned the uniform of a UMass practice-teamer after seeing a flyer at the basketball courts at the horseshoe in Southwest. After trying it out, he found himself making friends on both the practice squad and the varsity team and decided to stick with it. It's a decision he says he's glad he made.
"I do enjoy scrimmaging against the women. It's fun to play against girls that are just as physical as you are," James said. "I've gone through harder screens playing against the women than I have against most other guys I've played against.
"I'm just happy to be able to play basketball a couple of extra days a week," he said. "And I think [the women] are happy to get an extra challenge a couple days a week."
According to a report by USA Today, though the origin of having males practice against female players can be linked to a few different people, legendary women's coach Pat Summitt is generally credited with instituting the idea at Tennessee in the 1970s.
The strategy paid off for Summitt, now in her 33rd year as head coach of the Lady Volunteers, as she has claimed a record six NCAA titles. Perhaps it is the result of such success that has led to this now-common method being used by basketball programs of countless universities throughout the country.
According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, this is the third season in which UMass has applied the tactic regularly.
In addition to James, the squad also consists of sophomore Steve Games (20-years old), juniors Ken Parsley (20) and Aidan O'Kennedy (21) and senior Zak Tseytlin (22). A sixth member, junior Morgan O'Loughlin (20), practiced with the team in the fall, but has left for a semester abroad in Australia.
On top of trying to protect the dignity of Title IX, advocates for the NCAA's proposed rule also explain that using male practice teams harm the varsity's back-up players.
"To have talented, capable female student-athletes stand on the sidelines during official practice while the team's starters practice against 'more talented men' is a lost opportunity," the statement said. "To have them sitting out of practice while a full 'scout team' of men comes to practice is costing them the opportunity for growth and betterment that they were promised during recruitment."
James disagrees.
"I guess the reasons for this proposal is that it takes away valuable practice time for other girls on the team. Based on my experience, all the girls get plenty of playing time during practice and seem to enjoy the challenge that we give them," he said.
Junior forward and co-captain Kate Mills, certainly enjoys the challenge. And she wholeheartedly appreciates everything the men do to prepare her and her teammates for upcoming games.
"It's disappointing to hear - that [the NCAA] would [try] do something like that," she said. "I think it's the NCAA thinking that it's taking away from [the men's] school or something like that or they're getting something extra than other students. But, it's their decision to come onto the team, so they get some privileges about it."
Not that many privileges, though.
Members of a practice team are obligated to adhere to the same academic standards as every other student-athlete - they must be full-time students, pass a physical examination and maintain a 2.0 grade-point average. They do not, however, benefit from scholarships or excused absences that varsity athletes do. Therefore, they must work their class schedules around practice times.
Though they may not be on scholarship or travel with the team to away games, the members of the scout team are given the same amount of respect as any of the people permitted to enter the women's locker room.
"We definitely consider them a part of our team and one of the reasons for our success - just as much as the coaches or the [jersey players]," Tatham mentioned. "They're a part of our team as well because they're helping us."
Junior guard/forward Pam Rosanio echoes the kudos from her captain.
"I think the guys' team helps. They're a heck of a lot quicker than we are and just stronger, so, I mean, it helps us come gametime when we're playing against people who aren't as quick as [they are]," she said.
The CWA, however, feels that the rule's passing is essential to quell, what it calls a "disappointing" recent trend.
According to the statement, when Title IX was enacted, 90 percent of Division I women's athletic programs and women's teams, were headed by a female. But, in 2006, those numbers had plummeted to eight percent and an all-time low 42.4 percent, respectively.
To add salt to the wound the declined has caused, 82.3 percent of all intercollegiate coaches are men - while a mere 17.7 percent are women.
Those responsible for the proposal feel that prohibiting women's teams from scrimmaging with designated male-scout teams is the only way to increase the number of women active in women's college teams and to gain some of the ground they feel they've lost since 1972.
Tatham, on the other hand, wants everything to stay put.
"I definitely hope it stays the way it is," she said. "I don't want it to go away just because it makes me better as a player."
Ryan James seconds that.
"I hope the proposal falls through," he commented. "If it doesn't, then I'll have to go back to playing against men."
The Massachusetts women's basketball team's male practice squad is held in very high regard by the Minutewomen, and is thought to be as important as any other part of the program.
The 15-member CWA committee of administrators and athletes from Division I, II and III schools has requested that the routine of having men scrimmage against women in practice be disallowed.
"[Men practicing with women] violates the spirit of gender equality and Title IX," the CWA said in a statement released on Dec. 6.
Title IX was a groundbreaking federal law requiring fair and equal treatment for any educational program that receives federal funding. Part of the Education Amendments of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX was the first piece of national legislature to ban inequity in policies and programs of any educational institution.
The law especially affects collegiate sports. In short, Title IX states that universities that receive federal funding must spend equal amounts of money on athletic teams for men and women.
Supporters of the new measure feel that permitting men to practice against a women's basketball team takes a backward step from the ruling passed 34 years ago aimed at eliminating any discrimination in the world of academia on the basis on gender.
Despite the noble intentions of the law, certain measures taken in order to comply with it are, at times, considered unnecessary - even by the people it was intended to support.
"I'm not happy. I think the men should be able to play with us," UMass coach Marnie Dacko said. "I think they add a great deal of intensity. They're a great aide in helping women basketball players all over the country and I think [the league] would be doing a disservice if they chose not to allow men to practice [with women].
"I think that somebody out there is complaining," she continued. "You know, they need another cause to complain about and so somebody brings it up and starts something in a negative connotation."
Members of the women's team displayed confusion and disappointment at the idea of the NCAA restricting whom they can practice against.
"I think that it kind of sucks," junior guard and team co-captain, Alisha Tatham said. "We love when the guys come in. They really push us. They give us a lot more than, maybe, if a women's practice team were to come in. The guys are a lot more physical, they're a lot quicker.
"I don't see what's wrong with it," she continued. "There's a lot of people that play against guys all the time. I don't know why they'd take it away."
Neither does junior civil engineering major Ryan James.
James, 21, is one of the six members of the men's practice squad - and he says he's frustrated that the NCAA is trying to interfere with, what he considers, a team's own personal business.
"I can't really see any logic behind this new proposal. At the collegiate level, coaches should be able to prepare their teams in any reasonable way they feel will help their players," he said. "I think the NCAA shouldn't get involved with the structure of women's practice. It should be up to the coaches and the players collectively to decide if men should be allowed to practice or not."
James, a native of South Deerfield, Mass., first donned the uniform of a UMass practice-teamer after seeing a flyer at the basketball courts at the horseshoe in Southwest. After trying it out, he found himself making friends on both the practice squad and the varsity team and decided to stick with it. It's a decision he says he's glad he made.
"I do enjoy scrimmaging against the women. It's fun to play against girls that are just as physical as you are," James said. "I've gone through harder screens playing against the women than I have against most other guys I've played against.
"I'm just happy to be able to play basketball a couple of extra days a week," he said. "And I think [the women] are happy to get an extra challenge a couple days a week."
According to a report by USA Today, though the origin of having males practice against female players can be linked to a few different people, legendary women's coach Pat Summitt is generally credited with instituting the idea at Tennessee in the 1970s.
The strategy paid off for Summitt, now in her 33rd year as head coach of the Lady Volunteers, as she has claimed a record six NCAA titles. Perhaps it is the result of such success that has led to this now-common method being used by basketball programs of countless universities throughout the country.
According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, this is the third season in which UMass has applied the tactic regularly.
In addition to James, the squad also consists of sophomore Steve Games (20-years old), juniors Ken Parsley (20) and Aidan O'Kennedy (21) and senior Zak Tseytlin (22). A sixth member, junior Morgan O'Loughlin (20), practiced with the team in the fall, but has left for a semester abroad in Australia.
On top of trying to protect the dignity of Title IX, advocates for the NCAA's proposed rule also explain that using male practice teams harm the varsity's back-up players.
"To have talented, capable female student-athletes stand on the sidelines during official practice while the team's starters practice against 'more talented men' is a lost opportunity," the statement said. "To have them sitting out of practice while a full 'scout team' of men comes to practice is costing them the opportunity for growth and betterment that they were promised during recruitment."
James disagrees.
"I guess the reasons for this proposal is that it takes away valuable practice time for other girls on the team. Based on my experience, all the girls get plenty of playing time during practice and seem to enjoy the challenge that we give them," he said.
Junior forward and co-captain Kate Mills, certainly enjoys the challenge. And she wholeheartedly appreciates everything the men do to prepare her and her teammates for upcoming games.
"It's disappointing to hear - that [the NCAA] would [try] do something like that," she said. "I think it's the NCAA thinking that it's taking away from [the men's] school or something like that or they're getting something extra than other students. But, it's their decision to come onto the team, so they get some privileges about it."
Not that many privileges, though.
Members of a practice team are obligated to adhere to the same academic standards as every other student-athlete - they must be full-time students, pass a physical examination and maintain a 2.0 grade-point average. They do not, however, benefit from scholarships or excused absences that varsity athletes do. Therefore, they must work their class schedules around practice times.
Though they may not be on scholarship or travel with the team to away games, the members of the scout team are given the same amount of respect as any of the people permitted to enter the women's locker room.
"We definitely consider them a part of our team and one of the reasons for our success - just as much as the coaches or the [jersey players]," Tatham mentioned. "They're a part of our team as well because they're helping us."
Junior guard/forward Pam Rosanio echoes the kudos from her captain.
"I think the guys' team helps. They're a heck of a lot quicker than we are and just stronger, so, I mean, it helps us come gametime when we're playing against people who aren't as quick as [they are]," she said.
The CWA, however, feels that the rule's passing is essential to quell, what it calls a "disappointing" recent trend.
According to the statement, when Title IX was enacted, 90 percent of Division I women's athletic programs and women's teams, were headed by a female. But, in 2006, those numbers had plummeted to eight percent and an all-time low 42.4 percent, respectively.
To add salt to the wound the declined has caused, 82.3 percent of all intercollegiate coaches are men - while a mere 17.7 percent are women.
Those responsible for the proposal feel that prohibiting women's teams from scrimmaging with designated male-scout teams is the only way to increase the number of women active in women's college teams and to gain some of the ground they feel they've lost since 1972.
Tatham, on the other hand, wants everything to stay put.
"I definitely hope it stays the way it is," she said. "I don't want it to go away just because it makes me better as a player."
Ryan James seconds that.
"I hope the proposal falls through," he commented. "If it doesn't, then I'll have to go back to playing against men."
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