Bits & Pieces

 

By Kim J. Harmon

Once in a while I can be surprised and I was surprised last Saturday night – twice.

I had spent most of the day up in Worcester, Massachusetts, touring the Higgins Armory (which is filled with all sorts of medieval armaments and armor), and ‘round about three o’clock (right when my daughter locked the keys in the car and I thought we’d be stuck up there forever) I figured a ninety-minute ride home and then a half hour ride to Newtown might get me there in time to see the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team in its South-West Conference quarter-final match with New Fairfield as well as the Newtown High School volleyball team in its South-West Conference quarter-final match with Masuk.

Yet, I debated.

Why hurry home? I figured, the soccer team – at 12-3-0 for the year – should be able to get through the quarter-finals and the volleyball team – which limped into the playoffs – would probably get beat again by Masuk.

So, why hurry?

But whenever I debate with myself, I always get those niggling doubts in the back of my mind. That all started a few years ago when I sensed, as I was driving to Boston for a convention, that the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team would beat Masuk for the first time in 10 years or so – which it did.

So I decided to hurry.

And I got to Newtown High School in time to see the final 17 minutes of the second half and was stunned to see the Nighthawks lose, 1-0. I was able to get over to Masuk in time and – for Pete’s sake – was stunned to see the Nighthawks win, 3-1.

Man, was I glad I hurried. That volleyball match was the best the ‘Hawks played this year – bar none. Erin Carolan and Ally Gellert seemed to jump an extra six inches that night and sometimes leveled hammers I didn’t even know they had. Then there was Stephanie Logan in the middle, using a deliberate overhand spike that just buried Masuk; Anne Schneider setting true spikes to the middle and the corners; Shannon Kohn cleaning up the back row; and Caitlyn Elf on the corner or at the net using all manner of chicanery to get Masuk off balance.

Over all, football is my favorite sport, baseball is a close second, and basketball is third. But for pure entertainment value, there is literally nothing more exciting than a well-played volleyball match.

I was glad I hurried.

+_+_+

I just about wore out the RECALL button on my remote on Tuesday night. Tell me, what’s a sports fan supposed to do when Game 3 of the World Series is on one channel and the New York Knicks are opening the 2001-02 NBA season against Michael Jordan and the Wizards on the other channel? It’s inhuman to put those two things on at the same time . . . someone tell me, what IS an inadvertent whistle, anyway? . . . memo to self: always remember to put a jacket in the car no matter how warm it seems when you leave the house . . .