Crosby head coach Nick Augelli (RA archive)
By JOE PALLADINO
Republican-American
WATERBURY — It is amazing how much chaos can be created by a little ice and snow.
Local sports schedules were wiped out by the weather that swooped in Monday night, and that raised the old, but familiar question: Why didn’t we play anyway? The parking lots and roads were clear Tuesday night. Travel was safe. OK, there was no school Tuesday, but why no games Tuesday night?
Do you want to know why? No one knows why. That’s why.
It is policy, pure and simple: no school, no extracurriculars. Go find another cause.
With games backed up, basketball fans are the lucky ones. The postponements loosened up the schedule. There were too many good games jammed into Tuesday. Now, there is a manageable spread for spectators, though not for teams.
For example, the Kennedy-Sacred Heart boys game that was to be played Tuesday is now a Sunday afternoon game.
Sunday? Indeed, Sunday at 4 p.m. The Hearts will play three games in four days, the third being the Sunday tip. Also, the Hearts will play a total of four games next week and, if there are no more postponements, an astonishing six games in nine days.
Even the money-grubbing NBA doesn’t pack so many games into so few days.
Memo to administrators and superintendents: It is OK to make the occasional exception and play a game even when school was closed.
Of course, city hoop fans are the beneficiary of this. For example: On Tuesday, you couldn’t see all the terrific city games, which included Wilby at Waterbury Career, Crosby at Holy Cross, and Kennedy at Sacred Heart. Now, you can. Wilby is at Career tonight, Crosby at Cross on Friday and, as mentioned, Kennedy at Sacred Heart on Sunday.
Chaos can be a beautiful thing.
This brings us to one last question for today: Is there a way that city hoop fans can enjoy more games with less struggle? After all, not everyone can be like the city’s biggest hoop fan, former Waterbury parks director Sam Leisring, who misses nothing, or the state’s biggest fans, Frank and Sheila Beneski. The Suffield couple attended last weekend’s Sacred Heart-South Shore (N.Y.) game at Alumni Hall. They are legendary.
The man who has an idea about this is Crosby coach Nick Augelli. Before a recent game, the Godfather of city hoops said: “I think we should bring back city basketball doubleheaders.”
Standing nearby when the coach said that was Crosby athletic director Dave Ieronimo, who, it should be noted, nearly went into a swoon.
Augelli is correct. Bring back doubleheaders.
“I am going to suggest it,” Augelli said. “There has to be a way that we can get fans back into the gym.”
Augelli noted also that a marquee city game could be played on a Saturday, or perhaps even weekly doubleheaders on Saturdays.
Ieronimo had every right to have his knees buckle. The logistics for this are nightmarish. For one thing, a city team would not willingly give up a home game, and I don’t blame them. You could make it a neutral-site event, of course, with Wilby, Sacred Heart, Kennedy and Career playing a doubleheader at Crosby, for example.
If gate, concession, and raffle revenue was shared, if the gymnasium was full, be it Wilby, Kennedy or Crosby (the three largest), this might work.
It’s worth a try. You would come out to a warm city gym on a cold winter night to see a city doubleheader, right?
Here’s an idea: Start by coming out this week. The games, I promise, will be terrific.
Send comments to jpalladino@rep-am.com, and follow on Twitter @RAOffTheRecord.