Sparky's Corner

Kevin "Sparky" Cooney is one of our trusty statisticians/observers. He's a big'un, so leave the necessary space near the scorer's table. Note to coaches: Please resist the temptation to put him at power forward. He's there to keep stats, not make All-City. Sparky also covers sports for the Intelligencer/Record, in Eastern Montgomery County.
He needs attention, so e-mail him at SparkyRec26@aol.com.

MAR 1
PUBLIC LEAGUE
QUARTERFINAL
Gratz 47, King 35
If it's March, it must be my time to watch the Public League playoffs. Actually working my second Pub game of the year (King-NE on Tuesday was my first).... The Bulldogs were, well, the Bulldogs. In the first half, it was Bill Ellerbee's defense at its finest, holding the Cougars to one field goal en route to a 28-3 lead at intermission. The game allowed me to get another look at jr. F Michael Blackshear, who I saw in the post-season last year. The guy can flat out rebound. He was, in my mind, the backbreaker early, grabbing eight first half boards and starting to get the Dogs out on the break. Also was impressed by sr. PG Messiah Reames, who has a nice jumper and appeared fearless on the way to the hoop. King looked like a totally different team from the one that took the floor at NE on Tuesday. They didn't take crash the boards as well as they did in the second half against the Vikings, and didn't find any sort of shooting until the game was too far out of reach.... Not to sound like a parrot to the other guys on the site, but I think that the Vikes would have given Gratz a better game, just because Steve Smith would have been the most talented player on the floor. The people at Gratz do things
right. There's never been any sort of scare when I've been there, and the atmosphere is one of fun and excitement. A Sighting: Gratz assistant football coach Rich Kozlowski selling T-shirt and other souvneirs at the end of the gym. One of those things included a huge (I mean, HUGE) Bulldog that looked amazingly like the Gratz mascot. Actually looked really cool.

FEB. 25
CATHOLIC NORTH
Conwell-Egan 65, Judge 50
Talk about the best laid plans going awry. My original intent going to the C-E/Judge game was to do a story on the first perfect Northern Division team since 1978. Instead, the Eagles pulled one of the biggest upsets in recent league history. Led by jr. F Andrew Holland (28 pts., 16 in the first half) and sr. F Walt Pinkas (20 pts., 10-12 from the line in the second half), C-E
took control of the game early and never looked back. It's a shame that Pinkas, playing in only his third game of the season after tearing his left knee 10 months ago, wasn't around for the whole year. If he's there, C-E is a playoff team. Judge shot 2-for-18 from 3-pt. range. For a team playing on a senior day, and with so much history on the line, they seemed remarkably flat and disinterested. Now, instead of heading into the playoffs on a roll, they will be forced to answer questions about how this loss will affect them, and can they beat Dougherty for a third time after beating them in overtime twice in the regular season? Kudos to referee Jimmy King, who is retiring after 24 years (17 at the varsity level). The assistant coaching situation in the league is out of control. In addition to head coach Bob DiFlorio, C-E had 6 assistant coaches on the bench. In addition to Bill Fox, Judge had 6 assistant coaches and a moderator on its bench. Something tells me they didn't need all these coaches. Something also tells me that we're not going to receive as many e-mails from "The Abyss" this week.

FEB. 18
CATHOLIC NORTH
Ryan 45, La Salle 43
A lot of people bad-mouth the Northern Division because it's too boring, not competitive against the South, etc. But when it's played at a high level, a Northern Division game can be extremely entertaining to watch. And Ryan-LaSalle was a gem on the Raiders' Senior Day. It was my first real look at Ryan this season, and they look nothing like the wretched 1-13 teams of the past. Sr. G-F John Capella is the real deal, and right now he's my North MVP. (sorry, Judge fans). When the chips were down on Sunday, he carried the Raiders on both ends of the floor. First off, he scored his 1,000th point with 1:23 to play in the third on a dead-solid three-ball. (Capella was 5-for-8 from trifecta land.) Then, with his team really struggling in the fourth, he dashed into the lane, scored, and drew an Emmett McGowan foul with 1:58 to play to tie the game at 43-43. On the next trip down for the Explorers, he stepped into the passing lane, grabbed the steal, and set John Pellegrino up for a game-winning drive with five seconds to play. La Salle had one final chance, but Gabe Marabella's bank shot from right under the hoop with two seconds left somehow (I still don't know how) stayed out and fell to the floor. Overall, Bernie Rogers has the Raiders playing extremely well and at a level they haven't seen since, well, Bernie played there in 1992. (I remember him as a scrappy point guard that we used to hate during my senior year at Judge. Boy, was he tough.) If he's not coach of the year, they should retire the award. In the end, this is almost like a wrestling storyline setting up for one final push at the big pay-per-view known as the playoffs.

FEB. 16
CATHOLIC NORTH
La Salle 53, McDevitt 35
Time to play everyone's favorite game show, the Match Game. Today, we'll give you the following questions. You guess the answer.
Question #1: McDevitt can not hit shots from point ________ range. (answer: Blank). The Royal Lancers were pretty poor on the offensive end of the floor. They only had two field goals in the first quarter of this game. They missed a ton of layups. They don't have a true shooting threat that can knock down the jumpers when they need it. They scored less than me at a supermodel
convention. Of course, other than that, they are fine Which of course leads to Question #2 McDevitt threw up so many bricks, they are _____________ (my answer, building a extension to the gym). Question #3: La Salle had more turnovers than ____________. (Correct answer, pastry chef) Boy, this rivalry game was sloppy at times. The Explorers turned it over 10 times in the first half. And nine more in the second. In contrast, this was the best I've seen La Salle shoot in a few weeks. Sr. WG Tom Mattern is quietly developing into the sniper they are going to need come the playoffs. Sr. G-F Gabe Marabella got in foul trouble in this one in the first half, but bounced back. Overall, the Explorers are starting to put it back together, if they can cut down the turnovers. Question #4: Sparky's Corner was so bad on Friday. (how bad was it?), he did _____________ (correct match: stupid game show parody).

FEB. 4
CATHOLIC NORTH
Judge 35, McDevitt 22
Nah, that's not the halftime score. That's the final. Normally, coaches that purposely pull the ball out and sit on in just to keep the score down would get slammed in this space. But I totally understand why Jack Rutter held the ball all afternoon. It was the only shot he had. Rutter held the ball for the final four minutes of the first quarter and the final 4:45 of the third quarter. The third quarter ended with both teams scoring two points and taking two shots. Ugly? Hell, yeah! But this is not meant to be a beauty pagent. It turned a pretty sparse crowd (Judge's "Abyss" had about had about five people in it) pretty loud. At one point, former Judge player Drew Dickson screamed out "That's the only way they think they're going to beat us." No player scored in double figures, although Judge made the most of the limited possessions they did have, turning them into easy layups. To be honest, I'm not sure how the McDevitt players liked the idea (a few of them looked like they swallowed sour milk), but I'm not sure if Rutter really had any other option. Normally, Ted asks for some highlights of players who've done a lot. Well, sorry, even though I can remember every possession by heart. (Pass, pass, pass, pass, ....), I don't know if there were ANY players who had exemplary performances. No player scored in double figures. No one had more than three rebounds. Sighting: Ron Zawacki, former Judge assistant, Ryan head coach, and now currently an assistant coach at Neshaminy.

FEB 2
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 48, La Salle 44
A Jim Dandy of a game in a Dandy gym to watch one (More on that later).... The basic storyline in this one was simple. Dougherty jumped out to a huge lead in the first half when La Salle couldn't hit the side of a barn. In the second half, reverse the scenario, except the Cards hit their foul shots (9-of-10 in the fourth quarter) to earn the victory. The more I watch
Dougherty, the more impressed I am. How in the world did this team lose to North? ...At the beginning of the year, I thought that jr. WG Tim Smink would be their only scoring threat. But the key to the win against La Salle was getting scoring from soph WG Isaac Greer (11 points, nine in the first half) and sr. F Mark Seidenburg (10 points, all in the second half) going as a second weapon besides Smink (17 points). 6-7 sr. Bryan Green is another player a lot of people are high on, although he was limited to three points against La Salle. The Explorers, meanwhile, looked like a team missing their floor leader, Sr. G-F Gabe Marabella was in civilian clothes, unable to participate because of an ankle injury. Sr. WG Tom Mattern couldn't find the flow in the first half, but he sure did in the second scoring 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. That couldn't save the Explorers, who shot 4-for-15 in the first half to fall behind 26-12. But that's not likely what you're reading this space about. Those with long memories are
looking to see what would happen in Marty Jackson's return to the "Looney Bin" for the first time since last season's confrontation. Well, the good news was that everyone was on their best behavior. The fans did try to hang a sign saying "Marty's #1 Fan Club" against the pads, but Dougherty officials said no to that. The fans gave the traditional ribbing to the emotional Jackson, chanting "We Love Marty!" and "Dougherty sell-out". (Marty went to school there). They even waved tissues at him when he complained to the officials (who were lousy, by the way). The Bin has always been one of my favorite places to watch a game, even though sometimes they do go over the line. If you've never been there, you have to check it out... One final note: The game, scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., did not start until 8:49 pm, and didn't finish until 10:03 pm. There was a good reason, however. La Salle JV player Dorcell Moore suffered an injury to his neck and head with 3:14 left in the JV game. Dougherty and La Salle officials did a great job of helping the young man at the scene and immediately calling for the Philadelphia Rescue squad. The good news is that Dorcell did have full movement, was sitting up with an ice pack on his head. The Rescue squad did carry him out, but that appeared to be a precautionary tactic.

JAN. 19
CATHOLIC NORTH
La Salle 57, McDevitt 42
A neighborhood rivalry; the better show was in the stands as opposed to on the court (more on that later). Sr. Emmett McGowan is proving some youth league basketball coach to be a very smart man. McGowan is a linebacker for La Salle football, and built that way, very strong and sturdy. Normally, that's a ticket to the low block. But McGowan also has a great outside touch. He sank 5-of-8 trifectas en route to a game-high 19 points. La Salle really was in control of this one the whole way except for a five-minute stretch in the third quarter where McDevitt rallied. The Royal Lancers have some players, chief among them sr. F-C Brandon Vaughan. Vaughan is a leaper who pounded the glass in the third quarter. Good raw potential. As usual in this one, the crowds were a good part of the story, with McDevitt's famed Krazy Korner making the short trip over from Wyncote to "battle" the La Salle version of the group. We can't publish half of the chants overheard, but I think I'm in desperate need of a hearing test now. Overall, a fun atmosphere.

JAN. 14
CATHOLIC NORTH
Judge 61, La Salle 54 (OT)
It wasn't the prettiest thing to watch, but that's the Northern Division for you, and right now these are the best two teams in the North (Sorry, Ryan and Wood). My first look at the Crusaders on the season revealed a team that's not that big, but boy are they balanced on offense. Sr. F-C Rich Schmidt scored 16, sr. CG John Horcher scored 14, sr. WG Brian Mooney and sr. PG Kevin Wolf scored nine each, and sr. F Mike "Dean" McCauley scored eight. Compared that to a La Salle attack which was basically sr. G Gabe Marabella (22 points, 10 rebounds), sr. F Emmett McGowan (14 points four trifectas). Marabella was all over the court. "He's the emotional leader of that team," Judge coach Bill Fox said. "Everything that got started was a result of his hard work. They kept feeding off him." Sr. Gs Tom Mattern and Rob Sullivan didn't find their shots until late. Judge had a nine-point lead midway through the fourth, coughed it all away and actually trailed by one with 40 seconds left. They forced overtime, and eventually wore the Explorers down with a 15-8 session. Good crowd, but there was room to move. NFL Conference-title Sunday is always a tough draw. Kevin Hanlon, my fine website colleague, was in attendance. How long had it been since Judge beat La Salle? Seven meetings.

JAN. 5
CATHOLIC NORTH
La Salle 65, Dougherty 58 (OT)
My first city-leagues game of the year was a good back-and-forth game that was entertaining and clean (only 15 turnovers between the two teams). For all the talk about the CL North being down, this was the best-played contest I've seen in the division in two years. (That may not be saying much, but oh well). La Salle can flat-out shoot the ball; Tom Mattern, Rob Sullivan, Emmett McGowan and Chris Reedman all drilled threes. The best shooter on the floor, however, was Dougherty jr. WG Tim Smink. Smink, who is clinically and legally deaf, scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half on 7-for-12 shooting. Dougherty took a 52-51 lead with two seconds left in regulation on Donnell Smiley's beautiful pick-and-roll basket off Mike McDonald's inbounds pass under the hoop. Sullivan, however, got to the line with 0:01 left on a disputed call. He hit the first, but missed the second to force overtime. From there, La Salle took command as McGowan drilled a three with 2:34 left to give the Explorers a lead they would never lose. Gotta love Mark Heimerdinger, CD's coach. First of all, I know why Ted calls him "Slick" -- he has shaved his head. Line of the night: Heimerdinger to La Salle guard Reedman after he grabbed an offensive board off a missed foul shot as play was going on in front of the CD bench: "How tall are you son, 5-foot-3?" That was followed by "Guys, we let a guy 5-foot-3 beat us on the glass! Way to go!"