By Kim J. Harmon

By KIM HARMON

Published: Dec 12, 2003 12:00 am

By Kim J. Harmon

With the state of professional sports nowadays (NBA teams these days can barely get out of their own way, let along score 100 points in a game) who can blame someone for retreating to a Playstation 2, XBox or Nintendo Gamecube for some freaky sports action?

Nobody, thatâs who.

There are lots of companies â like Sega Sports, EA Sports and 989 Sports â producing lots of variations of the games we love and, each year, doing what they can to make the experience better and better.

Letâs take a look â

With Tigers Woods 2004 from EA Sports, you not only get to play some of the most awesome courses in the world (such as St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and TPC at Sawgrass), you get to play some of the most awesome courses in the fantasy world (such as The Highlands, Wallaby Creek, The Predator and Emerald Dragon) either in a single round and during an extensive, 52-week pro tour season.

And when we say you get to play, thatâs what we mean. With an amazing new EA Sports Game Faceâ¢ feature you can create a golfer in your image (the amount of customization in facial features and body makeup is incredible). And the best thing is, thanks to perfect analog control, you can sport a good swing rather than the one you take with you to the course every week.

With lots of cool modes (like Real Timeâ¢ events synched up with your console clock), this may be the best sports video game ever produced.

But we might get an argument from fans of ESPN NFL Football from Sega Sports. The animations are the best ever â from the gang tackles and sideline catches to the double-team blocks â and the visuals are terrific. Combine that with an unbeatable franchise mode and the incredible new First Personâ¢ mode and this is a football game that takes the experience to a new level.

When comparing ESPN NFL Football to Madden 2004 from EA Sports, it comes down to a matter of taste. Each franchise has created incredible features in an effort to overtake the other, but fans loyal to either will probably not switch.

Sega Sports also produces ESPN College Hoops, ESPN NBA Basketball and ESPN NHL Hockey.

Along with the perfect ESPN experience, the ESPN College Hoops and ESPN NBA Basketball have terrific animations and deep, deep, deep franchise (or, in the case of college, Legacyâ¢) modes. And both â in an effort to combat the fun Freestyleâ¢ control of NBA Live 2004 from EA Sports â feature new Isomotionâ¢ controls that add a new dimension (like crazy crossover dribbles and tough defensive moves) to the animations.

ESPN College Hoops and NCAA March Madness 2004 from EA Sports also give you the ability to recruit (and by recruit, we mean just about everything that goes into recruiting â sending assistant coaches to scout games, inviting prospects to attend your games, offering scholarships and seeing them rejected). And, yes, your players may leave early for the NBA so you must be on top of off-the-court stuff.

Now with ESPN NHL Hockey from Sega Sports and NHL 2004 from EA Sports, the presentation has progressed so far that the effort to provide ultimate control in gameplay has become a primary objective. Besides the deep franchise modes and all the fun mini-game modes, ESPN NHL Hockey has given players unbelievable control with their checks, wall hits, and board pinning.

Soccer fans will enjoy FIFA Soccer 2004 with 18 leagues, 500 teams, and some 10,000 players featured. The game engine (already good) has been fine tuned, the animations enhanced and the management (Career Modes, in-game management, and player controls) deepened, but one of the great features is the new Off The Ball Controlâ¢ allows the player the ability to control a player not in possession of the ball in order to jostle for space, call in a tackle, or make a run for the ball.

People who prefer the smell the oil and gas can grab NASCAR Thunder 2004, the best racing game available. There are more than 60 challenging events, a career mode (complete with sponsorships, car construction and R&D) that spans 20 seasons, and the ability to create rivalries among your competitors.

If realism is a problem, there are more arcade-style or cartoonish games like Hot Shots Golf 3, NFL Blitz, NHL Hitz and NBA Jam. The best of all of them may be NBA Street Vol. 2, an incredibly fun street basketball game featuring some 25 NBA legends along with some playground superstars. Itâs a 3-on-3 basketball carnival with great animations, new moves (like Back 2 Papa, where you can pass the ball off the backboard) and great power-ups.

The Way We Were

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It’s important to clarify the tone and context of Derek Pisani’s remarks, particularly the satirical line about suing Newtown for "Gross Stupidity." This was clearly a tongue-in-cheek jab at the exhausting culture of legal threats that’s become a staple on the local Facebook Group forums. It was a reflection of frustration over endless regulatory hurdles and obstructionism, and the desire to avoid common sense solutions not an insult aimed at residents. Satire, is meant to provoke thought and highlight the absurdities. If we are unable to distinguish between satire and literal threats, perhaps the comment hit closer to the truth than we’d like to admit. Rather than focusing on Pisanis style, we should be discussing the substance of what he’s pointing out: that Newtown’s progress is being routinely blocked by a small but vocal contingent who seem intent on saying “no” at every turn. They are saying no to any development, no to common sense solutions to crowd control, etc. Newtown deserves leaders who are willing to call things as they see them, even if their language ruffles feathers. That doesn’t mean they lack respect for constituents—it means they care enough to challenge the Mob and push for solutions. Isn't that what we elect people to do? I applaud Pisani's dedication, he certainly has earned my vote. Regardless, let’s not reduce conversation to tone-policing and outrage. Let’s focus on the issues that matter.

Who is Calling Newtowners Stupid?

Thank you for pointing out the trail access provisions included in the BOS motion—it’s an important clarification that deserves more attention in this conversation. If the development is, in fact, required to provide permanent free public access and commit to ongoing maintenance of this section of the Rochambeau Trail, that is a remarkably beneficial outcome for the town. oIt’s not every day that a private project shoulders the long-term burden of preserving and caring for a public historical corridor at no taxpayer cost—especially one that previously had no formal access, upkeep, or visibility. Let’s be honest: the idea that the only way to protect history is by preventing any development nearby is a rigid and unworkable standard. What’s being proposed here appears to strike a rare balance—historic preservation, public access, and smart development all rolled into one. That’s not a loss its a win. So rather than allowing a handful of voices to derail progress under the banner of “historic purity,” maybe it’s time to acknowledge the reality: this trail is better off with structured stewardship and visibility than remaining an overgrown ghost on old maps. Let’s move forward. Bring in the easement, bring in the public access—and yes, bring in the bulldozers!!! Progress and preservation can coexist. Let’s not let the NIMBY use fear or nostalgia keep us stuck in the past.

Discusses Rochambeau Trail And 6 Commerce Road

I've heard that several people are under the impression that the public might be banned from the Rochambeau Trail. Points 2 and 3 from the BOS motion (included in full below) make it clear that public access to the trail is part of the requirements for the developer. From what I understand, it requires free public access to the trail in perpetuity. Technically, this could be argued to be a "payment-in-kind," that attempts to balance public good with overall town growth. We can argue about weather that balance is acceptable and how the trail may be affected, but with the understanding that the trail is expected to be maintained as a publicly accessible trail regardless. July 15, 2024 Board of Selectmen approved motion: Discontinuance of Reservoir Road: Selectman Cruson moved the resolution: Resolved, that the Newtown Board of Selectmen, in accordance with Section 2-115(d)(8) of the Town Charter and Conn. Gen. Stat. §13a-49, and subject to the conditions set forth below, hereby discontinues an unimproved portion of Reservoir Road described as “Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued “on that certain survey map which will be recorded on the Newtown Land Records titled “Map Showing Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued” dated August, 2023 and revised September 15, 2023, and certified substantially correct by Gregory Szyszowski of SLR (the “Survey Map”), said discontinuance contingent and effective only upon the completion of the following: 1. The approval of an application for the development of land in the manner described in a letter from Attorney Thomas W. Beecher to First Selectman A. Jeffrey Capeci and Members of the Board of Selectmen dated May 30, 2024, pursuant to the “Residential Open Space Development” regulations of the Borough of Newtown by the Borough of Newtown Zoning Commission, and construction of that approval project within the timeframes required for special exception approval; 2. The inclusion of the discontinued portion of the road as part of the final Declaration of Conservation Restriction; 3. The conveyance of a mutually agreeable public easement to the Town of Newtown for pedestrian, bicycling, equestrian, and all other passive recreational uses (to exclude the use of motorized vehicles except as may be necessary by the Town or its designee to effectuate the purpose of the easement), and for municipal utility purposes; Be it further resolved, that Castle Hill Real Estate Holdings, LLC., its successors and assigns, shall not use any portion of the discontinued road as a vehicular road or access way to and from any developed portions of the property. Be it further finally resolved, that should any of the foregoing contingencies not occur, then the discontinuance contemplated herein shall not become effective and this resolution will become null and void. From: https://www.newtown-ct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif12216/f/minutes/bos_7-15-24_min-_att_final.pdf

Is this paper road (roads that only exist on paper map but not in reality) even owned by the Town? Many roads that predate the Town's road standards are privately owned and were never accepted by the Town, such as many of the nonconforming roads around the lake communities where the property owners own right to the center line. That is something we had to deal with when working on the Roads Ordinance a few years back. We also had to deal with a private road to run the utilities to the new SHS.

For anyone who wants to know, I cant post a link here, but Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority has an entire website. Look up "HRRA whats in whats out"

I Get It!

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By Kim J. Harmon

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