Thursday, May 17, 2012
First installment on former great athletes from our area and what they're doing in their second careers.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Darien youth or recreational sports featured on Darien Patch? Here's how!] MO VAUGHN (Norwalk) Known as "The Hit Dog" during his 12-year career in the Major Leagues, Vaughn lives in Solon, Ohio, where he owns and operates "Mo Vaughn Transport," which is a trucking company. The former first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox and the 1995 American League MVP also owns and operates OMNI New York LLC, which bought and rehabilitated more than 1,100 units of distressed housing in the New York metropolitan area. The company manages these properties to provide low-cost housing using government tax credits. RICH DIANA (Hamden) A graduate of Hamden High School, Diana was an All-American football and …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I'm thinking about all the great accomplishments by players and teams from our southwestern CT Patch towns.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Darien youth or recreational sports featured on Darien Patch? Here's how!] I'm thinking the Cheshire boys volleyball team realizes they're on the verge of doing something special. A year ago, they had a perfect season, going 22-0 in route to a state championship. Behind 6'10" senior Nate Howard, the Rams haven't lost this year, increasing their winning streak to a remarkable 34 straight games. I'm thinking that Shayna Delaney of Pomperaug is authoring one of the best seasons of any player in the history of girls lacrosse in Connecticut. She scored a total of 20 goals in her first two games and still hasn't been stopped. Delaney has ripped the back of the net an incredible 96 times for the …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Area players go after the NCAA Lacrosse championship.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Darien youth or recreational sports featured on Darien Patch? Here's how!] The field of 16 has been reduced to eight teams after the first weekend of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. Several athletes from our Fairfield and New Haven County Patch towns are playing key roles in pursuit of a championship. ROBERT ROTANZ (Westport) Rotanz went to Fairfield Prep before heading south to Duke. The senior midfielder scored three goals in Saturday's win over Syracuse in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Rotanz ranks third on the team with 36 goals and 43 total points. He was an All-ACC Academic selection after his junior year. MATT WHITE (Ridgefield) A two-time All-American at Ridgefield …
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Board of Education and the Darien Junior Football League are both asking the Planning & Zoning Commission for permission to turn on the lights at town football fields for more nights, and the league is asking for higher lights.
A request by the Darien Junior Football League to raise its night lighting from 20 to 30 feet should not result in more glare for nearby homeowners—and in some ways it may even reduce it, according to league officials. Neighbors living near both Holahan Field, behind Town Hall, and the Darien High School playing fields have complained in the past about the lights used by the high school and the football league for early-evening practice. The Planning and Zoning Commission has restricted use of the lighting to certain times and to no more than 20 feet above the playing fields. Now, with their three-year permits expired, both the league and the school district are going before the planning board to get renewals. This time, each also is …
Eyes of Connecticut are on Jonathan Quick as he tries to lead the LA Kings to the Stanley Cup.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Darien youth or recreational sports featured on Darien Patch? Here's how!] Jonathan Quick was born in Milford and played scholastically in Hamden and Avon, but the eyes of the entire state of Connecticut are now squarely focused on the 25-year old goalie of the Los Angeles Kings. Quick has led his team to the Western Conference finals and on the brink of playing for the Stanley Cup. "We are so proud so of Jonathan," said Bill Verneris, head coach of the Hamden High School hockey team. "I get so mad when the announcers talk about him being from Milford and Avon and don't mention us. We're really proud of him and helped steer his career in the right direction." Verneris took over as head coach in…
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Share your kids’ athletic accomplishments with neighbors in Darien.
Welcome to your Community Sports Gallery. For more than one year, here on your homepage, Darien Patch each morning has featured the “Daily Sports Digest.” There, you’ve shared your children’s accomplishments in youth and recreational sports—in short write-ups, photos and videos—supplemented by our updates on local varsity scores, standings and schedules at the varsity level. Today we dedicate a new space for those same write-ups so that we can feature them in your daily newsletter for all your neighbors to enjoy. Here are 5 steps you need to post your write-ups and photos to the Darien Patch Sports Gallery: Your local editor will feature your photo(s) and write-ups in our daily newsletter, for thousands of your neighbors to see! Thank you …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Darien bats come alive in an 8-6 win.
In a seesaw battle, Darien baseball came from behind to beat Stamford 8-6 on Thursday. The Blue Wave displayed some power, stroking two home runs, two doubles, and 10 hits in all. Darien started the scoring playing small ball. Thomas Carruthers led off the game by beating out an infield hit, stealing second, and advancing to third on an errant pickoff attempt. After Sam Gillespie walked, Alex Yergey drove in Carruthers on a fielder's choice. Darien starter Dillon Duncan sailed through the first two innings with the help of catcher Gillespie. Duncan threw out a runner attempting to steal third in the first inning, and shortstop Carruthers threw out a runner who had strayed too far from third base on a ground ball in the second. Darien …
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Matt Barnes of Bethel earns promotion with Red Sox and several other players from the area continue to make major gains in the minor leagues.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Darien youth or recreational sports featured on Darien Patch? Here's how!] Matt Barnes of Bethel appears to be on the fast track to Boston. The first-round pick of the Red Sox in last summer's MLB draft has earned a promotion to the team's Class A affiliate of the Carolina League. Barnes, who received a $1.5 million dollar signing bonus, made five starts for Greenville (S.C) in the South Atlantic League, going 2-0 with a 0.34 ERA. The right-handed pitcher out of UConn told the Boston Globe that he was elated with the promotion. “I was extremely happy and, obviously, it happened pretty quick, so I can’t complain about that,’’ said Barnes.“Everybody wants to move up as fast as possible. I had …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Former NFL players from the area talk about Junior Seau's death and life after football.
[Note: Want your photos and/or write-ups from Darien youth or recreational sports featured on Darien Patch? Here's how!] The death of Junior Seau, a former All-Pro linebacker who spent 20 years in the NFL, sent shockwaves through the football world, from Pop Warner leagues to the professional ranks. Seau appeared to be to too young, too wealthy and just too happy to take his own life. "It's sad and shocking," said Todd Philcox, a 1984 graduate of Norwalk High School who was a back-up quarterback in the NFL for three teams during a career that lasted five years. "I played with Junior for two months when I was in San Diego. He was a great leader and had an infectious personality. It's really sad what happened." What happened to Seau seems to…
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Regional sports network SNY, which also broadcasts the New York Mets major league baseball team, will televise 325 hours of UConn programming, including 17 women's basketball games.
The University of Connecticut women's basketball team has a new television home. Starting next year, Geno Auriemma's prolific program will be televised on SNY, the home of the New York Mets, which has a reach of about 13.7 million. SNY paid $4.55 million for a four-year contract to televise 17 games a season plus retelecasts, pre- and post-game shows, and other studio programming. Click here to read all the details on MultiChannel News. Connecticut Public Television had televised the women's games for the past 18 years. Editor's note: This article originally was published by Mansfield-Storrs Patch.
John Sini
12:22 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Taxpayer, There have already been two test runs with higher lights -- P&Z Commissioners and staffers were present in the surrounding neighborhood during one of them. These tests revealed that the higher lights created better field coverage for Darien's student and youth athletes, thereby enhancing their safety. Moreover, documented statements from those witnessing the test and the findings of an … more ›