Overtime with Kyle Brennan

0
45

Round of Applause

Kyle Brennan

Local American Legion baseball teams are playing well early in the season. Naugatuck Post 17 is off to a 4-2 start after defeating Prospect-Beacon Falls Posts 194-25 on Tuesday night thanks to a two-run, two-out single in the sixth inning by Zach Dreher. Naugatuck also held on for a 1-0 win over Oxford on Monday as Adam Neveski tossed a two-hit shutout to beat an always-solid Oxford squad. PBF is also playing well despite the loss to Naugatuck as Posts 194-25 has split its last four games. Hitting has been a strong point for Prospect-Beacon Falls in contrast to past years, in which offense was always the team’s Achilles heel. Pitching has also been good for PBF, including Kyle Georgia, Brian Langdon, and others.

The Susan R. Matthews Memorial Scholarship Fund got off to a great start Tuesday night at Full Harvest Bar & Grill in Beacon Falls as a fundraiser yielded over $2,500 toward future scholarships for a graduating Woodland baseball player. Former Hawks pitcher and current JV baseball coach Ryan Matthews, along with the Woodland Grand Slam Booster Club, started the scholarship this spring in memory of his mother, a longtime supporter of Woodland and Beacon Falls baseball. 20 volunteers, including 15 Woodland baseball players, and the Full Harvest staff served over 125 guests, with all tips going toward the scholarship fund. The first recipient of the Susan R. Matthews Memorial Scholarship was Sean Deegan, who Ryan described as a model student-athlete and an outstanding young man. Congratulations to Sean, Ryan, and everyone who donated to the scholarship fund.

The Boston Bruins certainly earn a round of applause this week. Sure, winning their first Stanley Cup in nearly 40 years deserves recognition, as does setting off riots in the streets of Vancouver, one of the more peaceful cities in the entire world. But what gets the loudest ovation is the Bruins’ tab at the Shrine nightclub at Foxwoods on Saturday night. When all was said and done, a receipt was printed at 2:01 a.m. in the amount of … drumroll … $156,679.74. I’ll give you a moment to read that number again. How is this possible? Well, let’s check by line on the bill, which has since been posted on numerous media websites. The tab included a $300 bottle of Bacardi, 36 Red Bull energy drinks for $180, nine bottles of Grey Goose MG for $5,400, four bottles of Crown Royal for $1,200, three bottles of Captain Morgan for $900, a bottle each of Ciroc Red and JW Black for $700, 136 Bud Lights for $680, 27 bottles of assorted champagne for $13,600, 67 bottles of Fiji water for $268, and finally—a 30-liter bottle of Ace Midas champagne, which cost $100,000. I’ll give you another moment to read that number. What might be even better is that taxes amounted to $7,460.94 and the included tip was $24,869.80. This great accomplishment has since been dulled down a little due to reports that the owners gave the $100,000 bottle of champagne as a gift. At least the Bruins will be signing that 30-liter bottle and raffling it off for charity.

Wimbledon is back—and almost halfway over by the time you’re reading this. Wimbledon is one of my favorite sporting events of the year (as I’ve mentioned several times in Overtime) and it’s a perfect way to start off your day. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many American players—especially men—ranked highly enough to be serious contenders. Andy Roddick is one of my top five favorite athletes, yet he always finds a way to come up short in Grand Slam tournaments. Mardy Fish, John Isner, and Sam Querrey are always fun to watch and root for, but none has become a serious contender to win a Slam. The Williams sisters are playing after missing most of the last year, including Serena after a slew of serious health problems. Hopefully my American tennis-loving appetite will be satiated at last.

High school graduates deserve a round of applause, as Woodland students graduate on Thursday before Naugatuck holds its ceremony on Monday. The ceremonies are awfully late this year thanks to the brutal winter, but the days are here at last. I know a lot of high schoolers can’t wait to get out of their schools, but I’m sure they’ll look back one day and realize that high school wasn’t as bad as they thought it was when they went through it. I was one of those who loved high school—can’t you tell?—and was a little sad to see it go, but there are always bigger and better things to move on to. So congratulations to all of the graduates, especially my brother Cal and the great friends I have in Woodland’s senior class, and best of luck in whatever you decide to pursue next.

Chorus of Boos

Terrelle Pryor is a bit of a clown. The former Ohio State quarterback and one of the most coveted high school football players in the last decade is turning pro after what looks like serious NCAA violations and improper benefits during his first three years as a Buckeye. Pryor was exchanging autographed memorabilia for tattoos and cars, which is clearly not allowed by NCAA rules. Whether you agree with the NCAA rules or not—which many commentators do not—Pryor went overboard and wasn’t truthful with former head coach Jim Tressel, whose job was lost as part of this whole mess. Pryor decided to declare for the NFL Supplemental Draft (bet you didn’t know that existed) and hired diva agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him. A terrible excuse for a press conference at a Miami hotel saw Pryor apologize for nothing before Rosenhaus deemed him the best athlete at the quarterback position in football. It’s always amusing when another person helps dig a hole even deeper.

Tony’s Takes

Tony’s back and has saved plenty of material for a summer’s worth of Tony’s Takes. So without further ado, here’s Beacon Falls’ favorite … um, we’ll get back to you on that.

1. The Madden Curse will continue this season and if Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis (who won the fan-voted tournament to appear on this year’s cover) doesn’t have an injury, the Browns will still never make the playoffs.

2. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder will win a championship within the next three seasons. (Overtime note: I’ll tell him to stop talking about the NBA until the fall.)

3. I think the St. Louis Rams would make an impact in the NFC West if they sign Plaxico Burress, who was recently released from prison and wants to play this season.

Lips to CN’s Ear

“They never quit. They had the heart of a champion. The kids on both teams were amazing. The Pirates played so hard for every inning. Even when we were scoring, they weren’t giving up. We had to earn everything we got.”

Union City Little League Yankees manager Chris Sheedy after his team won the UCLL championship with a 14-12 comeback victory over the Pirates. The Yankees trailed by nine runs at one point in the game but came all the way back, taking a 14-11 lead with a three-run sixth.

“We are on a little bit of a roll. We are making some great plays in the field and we continue to get timely hitting. Zach came in and did a nice job on the mound and we have shown the ability to come back from a deficit.”

Naugatuck American Legion Post 17 coach Bob Dibble after his team improved to 4-2 on the season with a 7-5 win over Prospect-Beacon Falls Posts 194-25 on Tuesday night at Woodland High. Post 17 has capitalized on strong pitching and timely hitting to make a strong showing during the first two weeks of the season.