Bits & Pieces

By Kim J. Harmon

 

I must say this every year (or every year that the New York Giants don’t play in the Super Bowl), but thank heavens it’s finally over. Now we start muttering those three words that make early February and the Valentine season so special to a lot of us.

You got that right – pitchers and catchers.

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Speaking of baseball, wouldn’t it be better for former slugger Jose Canseco to read a book before he writes a book?

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I had another one of those OMG (as in oh my god) moments last Thursday.

I went up to Middlebury to watch the Newtown Middle School basketball teams take on Memorial. There was about four minutes gone in the first period of the girls’ game when I walked into the gym (my schedule says 3:45 tip, not 3:30 tip!) and it took about 30 seconds before my eyes popped out of my head.

Memorial has this seventh grader who is stretching the tape close to six feet who is, at this level, virtually uncontainable. She can run, she can dribble, she can shoot and she understands the game and all I could think about was this girl heading to Pomperaug in two years and what that could mean for Newtown.

Remember Lisa Masella? She had size, too, as a seventh grader but she was awkward and still learning the game of basketball. It took a few years for Masella to develop into an exceptional player – but this girl is already there.

To be on the safe side, I won’t mention her name (the coach got very nervous when I asked him a little bit about her; he thought I was trying to recruit her) but I think Newtown would be very lucky if she heads to Holy Cross in Waterbury.

Otherwise, watch out.

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The sports world has gone mad.

I know, that’s old news – but did you see that story about that Brazilian soccer player? It seems Manchester United (among other professional soccer teams) heard about this Brazilian phenom and requested some game films to evaluate him.

The kid is nine years old.

Parents are already putting way too much pressure on their kids and stuff like this – especially in situations where the kids shows much more ability than his or her peers – is just going to make things worse.