Jeremy Spoke In Class Today (Sports and Football)

I have to be somewhat quick today, as it is Halloween and I will be shuttling The Son from place to place to show off his costume (I’ll put some pics up soon). First of, a big thanks to “Jeremy” (who is also known as “Jimmy from Port Chester”, according to Tim Parry) for touching base. It seems Jeremy wants Greenwich head coach Rich Albonizio and his staff to be removed from their positions. Apparently “Jeremy” has 250 signatures on a petition, and he’d like to discuss this with me. In fact, why don’t you all have a look-see at what my new friend has to say, in a comment that he left for me on Sunday? This is the comment, in its entirety, with minor edits to words that were inappropriate. It starts with a reference to the picture that I posted in my last entry…

Why don't you loosen up a little bit and take your own advice. I went by your station on Thursday and some b**ch said you don't work there during the week. So what kind of job is that anyway. I now have 250 signatures in support of getting rid of Coach Rich Albonizio and his staff. I have been going to Cardinals games for many years and have listened to you guys from time to time wich is how I foundd out about your blogger. Your broadcasts are very blazzei and you have what seems like 10 guys doing the game I can't really keep up with all the people. I know your buttbuddy pal Tim Parry has no guts how about you? Let's see if you have the guts to at least talk to me off the air about why I want to get rid of The Coach. I have some very legitimate reasons you see. I must add that there are many voices ready to be heard to get rid of this Coach. Are you going to hear us or are you going to prove to be another lackey of the Greenwich coaching staff. Balls in your court be a man or be a d*ckhead. I assume you will not post my comment whichh is why I gave you my emailaddress.
Good Farts,
Jeremy

OK, to start, “good farts” has become a catch phrase for all of us. Funny, when I want to be heard by somebody, I normally don’t take this kind of tone, but “Jeremy” has his own style, so whatever. Anyway, he says that he included an email address, which I looked for, and amazingly, Blogger says that the account has been deleted. I am more than willing to meet with Jeremy to discuss his concerns, but he has to know this – I can’t do a thing about getting Coach Al fired. We’re radio broadcasters. We do not work for the Greenwich school system. Besides, why would I want to have him fired? I have known Coach Al for several years now and he has been nothing but courteous, professional and classy to me. I know all of us at WGCH have nothing but decent things to say about him. I’ve had one disagreement with him – which happened in my first year calling Cardinals games, and we quickly squashed it, once he knew our side of the story. Am I one of his lackeys? No – I can disagree with him on coaching moves. Do I have to walk a very fine line with criticism? Heck yes.

Oh, by the way, Tim Parry and I have become friends. You might have inspired us to go out with our wives some night, have some dinner, maybe go to Sea World…

Just a reminder for everyone – these people are not professionals. They are all amateurs, so there’s a different standard to be had. Plus Rich Albonizio is heading towards 100 wins at Greenwich, and 200 for his career. From where I sit, that’s a pretty darn good record. Throw in three FCIAC titles, five Class LL championship game appearances, and the 1999 state title, and you’ve got a successful career. However there are always going to be critics. People say he plays favorites and runs up the score. As I’ve said before, we’ve talked about score control and I’ve always thought they’ve handled it well. The 50-point rule in Connecticut is not called “The Albonizio Rule”, is it?

As for our broadcasts, it’s not the first time we’ve been criticized. I take it all into consideration, and have received suggestions that I’ve put to use (mention the score more, and things like that). However the positive reviews outweigh the bad, so I’m OK with it. Are we blasé? I don’t think so, but when you’re constantly broadcasting blowouts, your tone is going to be different that it would be during a close, good game.

Unfortunately, “Jeremy” is the reason that I took away the option for anonymous postings. Perhaps the next time he posts something with his email address, I can put it up on the blog and you can all send him a note of thanks.

So “Jeremy”, the ball is now in your court. Ricky and I will be at Cardinal Stadium on Friday night. You can come talk to us there.

To the “Super Six.” Things stay the same:

1) Greenwich (7-0, Last Week – 1) – Norwalk was a tough out for Central and Staples. Against the Cardinals, they had a scoreless first quarter. From there, it was all Greenwich.
2) Staples (7-0, 2) – Playing at an extremely high level right now. Only New Canaan stands between them and a date at Cardinal Stadium for the regular season finale/FCIAC Championship. The way the Rams are playing, that’s not a done deal.
3) New Canaan (6-1, 3) – Also playing like they’re on fire. WGCH will be broadcasting the Brunswick/KLHT game at 3:00 on Saturday. Otherwise, I would want to have a seat at Staples Field. The big edge goes to the Wreckers simply because they haven’t lost at home since Nixon was in office. Or something like that. I have a feeling my cell phone will buzzing with results from that game via either Tim Parry or JR Bergman.
4) Wilton (5-2, 4) – It’s disconcerting that the Warriors allowed Harding to score 26 against them, but I won’t hold that against them. With McMahon losing to Ridgefield, and Central annihilating Warde, I’m content to keep the Warriors right here.
5) Central (5-2, 5) – No reason to drop them either. They won big against Warde.
6) McMahon (5-2, 6) – Yes, they lost to Ridgefield, but the Tigers have been so inconsistent that I can’t justify moving them up in favor of dropping the Senators.

Dropping out: Nobody. Status quo. Couldn’t find enough compelling reasons to shake things up. Ridgefield stays on the fringe, while everybody else falls into the pack.

We’ll be on the air Friday, as the Cardinals make a quick turnaround from the Norwalk win to play the Black Knights of Stamford at 7:00. The pregame show starts at 6:50, live from Cardinal Stadium, with me, Ricky Fritsch, Nick Angotto, Zach Fisher, Sean Kilkelly, Curt Gowdy, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Mel Allen, Dick Enberg, Dick Vitale and Dr. Joyce Brothers. (Movie reference…where’s that one from??)