Thunder Road, ACT, Bond Auto to help flood victims

Everyone has heard of literally hundreds of ways to help in the aftermath of this weekend's storm. I have been bombarded - in a good way - by friends and family all over the country asking about how we fared in the storm. This weekend, one of the biggest events on the Thunder Road calendar will help victims of the biggest storm we've seen in...well, that some of us have ever seen.

Here's the release just issued from T-Road and ACT:

Thunder Road and Bond Help Local Food Shelf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                           ACT-083111-49

Barre, VT – Thunder Road International Speedbowl and Bond Auto Parts have teamed up to help a local food shelf following Hurricane Irene. Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to this weekend’s Bond Auto Labor Day Classic at Thunder Road in Barre on Sunday, September 4.

Bond Auto trucks will be located at all Thunder Road gates this weekend and will be accepting non-perishable food items and cash donations to benefit the Waterbury Food Shelf which lost its entire inventory in last week’s flooding.

“This is a chance to help our fellow Vermonters who have lost so much in the recent flooding,” said Thunder Road General Manager Darla Hartt. “We are encouraging all our fans contribute as every donation, no matter how small, will help.”

Bond Auto trucks will be on hand to accept the donations, when the Thunder Road gates open at 10:00am on Sunday, September 4.

Final Mountaineers thoughts from 2011

The New England Collegiate Baseball League announced its year-end awards recently, and I was overwhelmingly disappointed to see just one Mountaineer on the All-NECBL First and Second Teams, and no Vermont representation in the miscellaneous categories either.

But, I do have to say, the one guy chosen was perhaps the easiest choice of all: All-NECBL First Team closer Kyle Grana. Grana made 19 appearances for Vermont this summer and led the team with 11 saves (the next closest save total was two by Spencer Jackson). Grana pitched 21.1 innings, allowed just 9 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 4 walks, 28 strikeouts with 1-1 record and a regular-season ERA of a mere 1.27. His stout presence alone was intimidating, and then when he fired toward home? Yikes.

Grana was one of three Mountaineers who were named NECBL All-Stars for the late-season all-star game. Greg Bachman and Matt Whitehouse were also honored, and I feel at least Bachman should have been on an All-NECBL team somewhere. The guy was Vermont's most consistent hitter - and a supreme clutch hitter.  He led the team in hits with 30, doubles with 10 and triples with 3. And as is typically the case with a big hitter, he also led the team in strikeouts with 28, but, he was always swinging.

Other leaders include:

Batting average: Jeff Cammans, .294

Home runs: Rob Kelly, 4

RBI: Kelly, 17

Runs scored: Kelly, 19: Cammans, 18; Brett Johnson, 17

Hits: Bachman 20, Cammans 29, Kelly/Rob Griffith 25

Doubles: Bachman 10, Johnson 8

Triples: Bachman 3, Tyler Young/Cammans/Johnny Mishu 2

Walks: Brian O'Grady 27, Michsu 23

Hit by pitches: Cammans 7, Young 4

Strikeouts: Bachman 28, Rolando Gautier/Derek Jones 27

Vermont thre 16 pitchers in 2011, and four of those 16 started seven games each - Fred Shepard, Ryan Fasano, Troy Scribner and Cody Ege. Whitehouse started six games, JD Leckenby started five and Anthony Marzi started three.

The Mountaineers finished in third in the Western Division with a 26-16 record. They went 7-3 in their last 10 games and was just two games out of first place in their division.

Vermont set a new NECBL single-season stolen base record of 118, smashing the previous record of 110 set by Central Mass. in 1997. Brian O'Grady set a new team record with 25, eclipsing Beau McMillan's record of 22 set in 2003.

It has also been reported that Jason Falcon, who was set to replace John Russo as manager, will in fact not return, citing a conflict with his position with the Clark University baseball program. There has been no official word yet as to who will coach the Mountaineers in 2012. Vermont will host the 2012 NECBL All-Star Game as part of a season-long celebration of its 10th anniversary.

-Anna Grearson

VPA changes for 2011-2012

Tom Haley already wrote a piece summarizing what was presented to us at the Vermont Principal's Association Media Day last Thursday, but here are some more random bits and pieces from the two-hour meeting in Montpelier:

1. CVU has surpassed Essex as the state's biggest high school.

2. There is a discussion about adding a fourth division for track and field. If anyone hasn't noticed, the D-III state meet is huge, and there is a similarly huge difference between the Windsors of the world and the small schools that can't field a full team but still have plenty of talent. Track is a sport that welcomes athletes of all sizes and abilities, and I would love to see a D-IV for the smallest of the small schools. There was also talk about creating a 1-A 2-A system for Division I football, again because of a regular talent gap. This caused some "Oh please"'s and "Let's not go there"'s. Naturally.

3. The new field hockey eyewear rule and the concussion education state law have garnered much negativity, yet I can't for the life of me figure out why, when you get right down to it. Let's protect kids' faces and heads. Why is this a problem? Yes, it's expensive to outfit a whole field hockey team with protective eyewear at $40 per player. I understand budgets are tight - and already set, leaving an uncomfortable discussion about how to pay for goggles - but we're talking about a kids' face here. Not an arm or a leg you can hide - it's their face. Many feel it will impact the game - it creates a "blind spot" for athletes, making them want to lower their heads to see below the goggles which places them in a very perilous position.

And the concussion education state law (Act 58) requires all school-sponsored athletes and parents to fill out paperwork that says they were given information about concussions. It does not apply to recreation leagues like BYSA but it does apply to elementary and middle schools - which very rarely have athletic directors to help coordinate the effort. It was brought up that this law may lead to less volunteerism because now the onus is on the coach - often a parent - or some may deem the effort too much. I asked what the penalty would be for not submitting the required paperwork - would there be a pile of athletes not eligible because mommy and daddy didn't sign a piece of paper? But on the other hand, concussions are serious business and need to be treated seriously. I think the law should include youth sports. Who cares if it means more work - it means kids are safe. Who's going to argue against that? 

4. Did you know there are over 4500 coaches in the Vermont state school system? NOT counting the youth programs? I know there are a lot, but man, 4500?

5. Ah yes, my favorite: the sportsmanship talk. And so little of it involved the student-athletes. It's the parents we spent most of our time talking about. I'll leave it at that.

6. There is still no word on whether Stowe will field a girls basketball program this winter. The Raiders are on some schedules, but the VPA has not heard yay or nay yet. Same with Burlington girls hockey, and the boys team is also on the fence, which would create an interesting seven-team tournament this winter. Sharon Academy has dropped boys and girls lacrosse while Stowe will add boys and girls lacrosse. The Oxbow boys team is still a club team but I imagine the Olympians will become a varsity program in the near future. There will be no Cabot girls soccer team, but those still interested in playing may play at Danville. 

The co=op and member-to-member programs have changed in one major way: those athletes from the sending school used to have to play at the lowest level offered - usually JV - so as to not displace a student-athlete at his or her home school. Now, it will be a local decision. (Teams that make cuts are not allowed to accept students from other schools, and sending schools can only choose one school to send their athletes to.) 

7. Out-of-season coaching was also changed to a much simpler policy: You cannot coach your team outside of the season while school is in session. Summer recess is another thing - that time period from the last day of school to 10 days prior to the start of the fall season - is allowed. Volunteers and coaches paid $1 contracts (yes, it happens) are not included and can coach at any time. The exception is a coach who coaches his or her own child - they can do that every day of the year if they want. 

My question: What does this do to varsity coaches who coach AAU and other club teams that may also include their own athletes? 

-Anna Grearson

Another Mountaineer makes it to The Show

We ran a quick story in the print edition earlier this week about Darin Mastroianni, a two-season Vermont Mountaineers veteran who made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. He went 0-for-2 in the ninth spot in the order but did record a sacrifice. It's amazing to me how slim the window of opportunity can be - namely the fact that it's someone else's bad luck that becomes your good luck - in terms of making it from the minors to the majors. This is the premise behind my advisor, Marty Dobrow's, latest book, 'Knocking on Heaven's Door,' which I am once again shamelessly plugging. 

Norman James forwarded me this piece by Don Leypoldt, and I am sharing it with you. 

By Don Leypoldt

August 24, 2011

 

Former Vermont Mountaineer outfielder Darin Mastroianni became the 75^th NECBL alumnus to reach the Major Leagues today.  The Toronto Blue Jays called up Mastroianni, who batted ninth and played center field, when a roster spot became available due to their recent Aaron Hill and John McDonald trade to Arizona.

 

The product of Mount Kisco, NY played for Vermont in 2004 and 2005.  Mastroianni hit .299 during his first summer in the Green Mountain State.  He swiped 20 bases in 21 attempts in 2005, ranking second in the league by just one larceny.

 

The Blue Jays selected Mastroianni out of Southern Indiana in the 16^th round of the 2007 draft.   He was an All-Star for the High-A Florida State League in 2009 and the Double-A Eastern League in 2010.  Mastroianni had amassed nearly 200 stolen bases in his Minor League career.

 

Between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Las Vegas this season, Mastroianni hit .266 with 37 extra base hits and 28 steals at the time of his call-up.

 

Mastroianni becomes the seventh NECBL alum to debut this year.  

 

Mastroianni’s 2005 Mountaineer teammate, then-catcher David Carpenter, ironically debuted on June 30^th with the Houston Astros.  Carpenter, now a pitcher, has a 3.14 ERA in 20 games.

 

The 2005 Mountaineers are well represented in major league baseball as Mastroianni’s and Carpenter’s teammate in 2005, Rob Delaney, is now on the 40-man squad for the Tampa Bay Rays.

 

The 2005 Mountaineers were finalists in the NECBL Championship series, bowing to Newport, RI two games to one..

 

 

Pretty cool. It makes me wonder where the guys I spent all summer watching will end up in five years. I have no doubt we will see many more Mountaineers in MLB uniforms. Who will be next?

-Anna Grearson

It is indeed a small world after all

Occasionally a neat story just falls onto my desk. In this case, since I have no desk because of the Memorial Day Weekend flood, it landed on my shared space in our makeshift newsroom/former conference room.

I wasn't surprised to see a news release with my name written at the top and the word "column?" next to it. I was surprised to see that the release was from FEMA. What do I have to do with FEMA?

Apparently, a lot.

The release describes how a Barre native, Rich Quinlan, came back to the Granite City with FEMA, which he has worked for over the last 24 years. Turns out, Quinlan came "back as the Deputy in Charge of the disaster recovery operation here after this spring's storms and flooding." This was his 26th Vermont disaster (we have had that many?!) along with major disasters that drew national attention, like Katrina.

He says in the release: "I hate coming home this way, but at the same time, I'm glad to be in a place where the locals know I'm one of them. I know the rivers, streams, towns and culture. It's neighbor helping neighbor."

While anyone is grateful for whatever assistance is offered after a disaster, it means more when you see a familiar face - and when that familiar face knows the lay of the land and knows its people.

Apparently, this Quinlan guy - a former hockey player at North Adams State (now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) - is pretty darn good at his job. He has a "100 percent success rate for declaration requests to the President." Not a bad stat sheet. He later credits his hockey career for instilling discipline, passion and commitment and the power of working as a team.

He has made sure the state of Vermont has followed all the criteria to be awarded federal aid - to the tune of $65 million since 1987.

But, this is where I come in. He credited his tremendous success rate to a "well-versed knowledge of the Stafford Act, the legislation sponsored by Vermont's own senator, Robert T. Stafford, which authorizes federal disaster funds to be administered for major disasters."

My middle name happens to be Stafford. My grandmother, for whom I am named after, is a Stafford. Robert Stafford - "Uncle Bob" to many members of my family - is the same name behind the Stafford Loan for college students and it's amazing to me to keep learning about how much he did for our state, especially its people. 

Thanks, Uncle Bob (and Rich Quinlan), for allowing more than 1,500 Vermonters to have the opportunity to apply for federal aid in the wake of the most financially devastating event we've seen in a while. According to the release, issued July 28, "over $3 million has been approved for housing assistance, other needs and U.S. Small Business Assistance loans in Vermont."

A very cool find in a very small world.

-Anna Grearson

 

A long list of Mountaineers-turned-pros

Earlier this summer, I was asked how many Vermont Mountaineers really "make it" to be the big leagues after their summers spent in Montpelier.

It depends what your definition of "making it" is, of course, but according to the latest list issued by Norman James, there are 69 former Mountaineers who have gone on to play in some level of minor league baseball - and more than one up in The Show.

Of the 69, 36 are still playing at some level. Some never get past Rookie or Short A ball, while others, like David Carpenter and Rob Delaney, have "made it", and made it big.

Looking through this list, the mascots simply crack me up. It doesn't get any more creative than minor league sports in terms of what these teams are called. We have Muckdogs and Blue Claws, Jammers, Grasshoppers and Pelicans. There are Roadrunners, Vaqueros, Renegades and River Dogs, Dust Devils, Nuts, Sky Sox, Drillers, Jackals and Rox. There are simple Cardinals, Cats and Devil Rays, but there are such things as Swing, Pilots, Wild Things and Legends. There are Hooks, Avalanche, Chuckars and Rascals, as well as Bees, Jackhammers, Smokies and Grizzlies, Lumberkings, Blaze, Osprey and Cyclones (from Brooklyn, of course). There are Surf, Lugnuts, 51s and Fisher Cats, Spikes, Bandits, Miracle, Rock Cats, Otters, Thunderbolts and Power. There are Rattlers, Manatees, Stars, Sounds, Crosscutters, Threshers, White Caps, Seawolves, Flying Tigers, Sliders, Crawdads, IronBirds, Shorebirds, Keys, Threshers, Ducks, Stone Crabs, Biscuits, Beach Bums, Quakes, Travelers, Saltdogs, Hot Rods, Tourists, Silver Hawks, Cougars, Rawhide, Redbirds, Snappers, something called the Aquasox, Voyagers, Captains, Aeros, Diablos, Dragons and my personal favorite - the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

There are names a bit more familiar to Mountaineers fans on the list: Josh Wilkie, a right-handed pitcher from 2003; Blake Lalli, a catcher from 2004; Darin Mastrioanni, an outfielder from 2004 and 2005; Dan Merklinger,a lefty from 2005; Matt Rizzotti, Mark Sorenson, Zach Zaneski, Miguel Magrass and Josh Satow; Curt Smith, A.J. Balsinde, Chris Friedrich, A.J. Pollock and Max Perlman, Nick Greenwood (he caught for me when I threw out a first pitch in 2008), Gerald Ogrinc, Casey Harman and Ethan Paquette (both Vermonters!) and many, many more. Mayhaps I'll start paying more attention to those minor league notes and games on TV, especially the Futures games and league playoffs.

I am currently reading my advisor, Marty Dobrow's, second book: "Knocking on Heaven's Door: Six Minor Leaguers in Search of the Baseball Dream," and reading it reminds me so much of the Mountaineers season just past. It also gives me so much more of an idea as to what these players go through. Yes, this is a shameless plug for Marty's book, but it's also cool for me to be able to tie it all together with what I see Johnny Mishu doing on the field and what Doug Clark has gone through to make it up the Giants' ladder. READ IT!

Pelkey may again play internationally...and then again at home

I made a mistake in a recent column that appeared in our print edition - Montpelier's Amanda Pelkey is still very much in consideration for the United States' team that will host the 2012 women's world championships next spring in Burlington.

And part of that journey begins today and runs through Aug. 20 at the USA Hockey Women's National Festival in Blaine, Minn. According to a USA Hockey release,

"The Festival will serve as the selection camp for the 2011 U.S. Women's Select Team that will compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation Eight Nations Tournament in Vierumäki, Finland, Aug. 24-31 and the 2011 U.S Women's Under-18 Select Team that will take on Canada in a three-game series Aug. 18-21 in Rockland, Ont.

Among this year's attendees are 19 of the 21 members of the U.S. Women's National Team that captured the gold medal at the 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship. In addition, 14 of the players were on the 2010 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team, including four-time Olympian Jenny Potter(Edina, Minn.) and three-time Olympian Julie Chu (Fairfield, Conn.). They join two-time Olympians Caitlin Cahow (Branford, Conn.) and Molly Engstrom(Siren, Wis.).

Among the players under the age of 18 invited to the Festival are eight members of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team that captured the gold medal at the 2011 IIHF Women's U18 World Championship, including goaltender Megan Miller (Long Grove, Ill.); defensemen Courtney Burke(Albany, N.Y.) and Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.); and forwards Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.), Sydney Daniels (Southwick, Mass.), Paige Savage (Carrollton, Texas), Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.) and Dana Trivigno (Sateauket, N.Y.).

"We're excited to be heading to the National Sports Center with 79 of the most talented players in the nation," said Reagan Carey, director of women's hockey for USA Hockey. "We're proud of the success our women's program has enjoyed, but we know we can become even better.""

Pelkey, a forward, will play on the "White" team (there are four: grey, red, white and blue), and will be joined by a North American Hockey Academy teammate: Paige Savage of Johns Creek, Ga., will play on the Grey team.

Pelkey is the lone Vermonter, but there are several players among the 79 competing with New England ties, having played at Dartmouth, Boston College, etc.

We'll keep following this story, and like the Pelkey family, we hope to see Amanda skating against the world's best here at home next spring. Best of luck, Amanda!

-Anna Grearson

I know him!

Two days are never the same in the world of journalism. Some days you have to deal with some strange people and their equally stange ideas about life (and what should or shouldn't be in the paper, etc.).

But then there are days when you get to talk about your friends (though in some cases, still some real strange folks).

A friend of mine from Springfield College sent me a message with a link to a North Adams Transcript story about Matt Rodovick, a mutual friend of ours, also from Springfield College. Rodovick, from Stamford, Vermont, is currently the pitching coach at St. Michael's College and is also an assistant with the American Legion Colchester Cannons - coached by a familiar face to Vermont Frost Heaves fans, Jeff Mongeon, who officiated several Heaves games both in Barre and in Burlington. They recently won the state Legion tournament, and traveled to South Dakota earlier this summer to play baseball. Rodovick pitched for the North Adams SteepleCats  - who play in the same league as the Vermont Mountaineers - during the summers while we were both at Springfield College, and it was cool for me to be able to see him play not just in a Pride uniform.

He lives, breathes, eats and sleeps baseball, and he's always up for a heated discussion on just about anything. He's a huge Laker fan, and even with that huge character flaw, he also happens to be a good friend of mine.

Here's the link to the Transcript story. 

Congratulations, Roddy.

-Anna Grearson

I survived the "car"nage of my first Enduro

I debated going to last night's Enduro at Thunder Road all day. The weather weighed heavy on my mind - as it had cancelled a trip to Island Pond (home of Late Model driver Reno Gervais) earlier in the day - and the hard-to-ignore fact that yesterday was my lone day off for this week.

But, as I have written about earlier this summer, I had really wanted to see some good wrecks, and if it's one thing the Enduro promises, it's good wrecks. So I went.

And it. was. awesome.

I marched right up to the press box and announced to Times Argus correspondent Tom Herzig that this was my first-ever Enduro. He chuckled and quipped, "Oh yeah? Have you had your Tetanus shot?"

There will be more to come on my experience with this 101-car/101-relatively novice racecar drivers, 200-lap, two hours of chaos, as I plan on writing next Monday's edition of On Deck about it, but I had to say something before a week passed.

In his pre-race meeting with those who would score the event - each driver had to have someone keep track of the time said driver passed the start/finish line - Thunder Road/ACT president Tom Curley offered this bit of encouragement:

"I'd tell you to have fun, but this isn't fun. I don't know why you paid your $10 to do this, and I wish I could give you all that $10 back."

So...what does this mean? What have we all got oursevles into? Flips, fires, spins, crunches and all kinds of racin', that's what. There are only two flags used: the red one, which only comes out for a flip or a fire, and the black one, which only comes out of you are a real bad word. At the start, the cars lined up three-wide starting at Turn 1 and wrapped all the way around to Turn 3. When the announcer (and the HUGE crowd, easily the biggest of the summer) counted down "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 GREEN FLAG!", those at the front of the pack stepped on it only to run smack into the back of the pack in Turn 3, as the back of the pack had barely even pushed on the gas.

Ah yes, the Enduro. I think I found my new favorite redneck spectator activity.

-Anna Grearson

Minor league basketball notes

It may be August, but it's always basketball season somewhere.

Two separate emails came my way this week, one a coaching update in the new NBL-Canada and the other a huge step in the right direction for American minor league basketball.

The Saint John Mill Rats announced this week that former NBA player Jaren Jackson will return for a second season with the New Brunswick-based team - its first in the new National Basketball League of Canada. Jackson and the Mill Rats will join six other teams in the league's first season beginning in November and running through March. The league will play 36 regular-season games. 

Anyone else a little jealous? I will miss the Frost Heaves so much this winter, and I wish Saint John wasn't such a haul of a road trip away. Best of luck to the Mill Rats and the whole NBL venture.

I also got another email from the "Smashing Success" Premier Basketball League - the one everyone but the league's owners jumped ship from earlier this year - and apparently they are truly trying to be a smashing success. But they aren't just concerned with themselves, as one might imagine. The PBL and CBL are inviting all other minor leagues in the United States to a "Unification of Standards" convention in Chicago Sept. 10. 

Apparently not wanting to (continue?) to make similar mistakes made by the ABA, which was the primary reason for breaking free of the unstable league.

From the release:

"The convention will discuss the creation of the United Basketball Federation of America (UBFA), a national model that centers in forming standards that would be followed by teams and recognized by sponsors, venues, and most importantly the fans. “This standardization has been overdue for some time,” said Dr. Sev Hrywnak, Chairman of the Board of the Premier Basketball League. “We formed the Premier Basketball League to remove ourselves from the bad experiences we endured in the ABA with teams due to poor league management,” continued Dr. Hrywnak.

The Minor League Basketball Convention was the idea of Mr. Mark King, Owner of the Florida Flight team of the Continental Basketball League (CBL). “It’s time that we started working together and create something much bigger than all of us as individual teams, and leagues,” said Mr. King.

“I spent a year working for an ABA team with the expectation of a salary,” said King. “The position turned into an unpaid internship because financial obligations could not be met. If leagues like the ABA are not going to do their due diligence and verify the business plans and financial backing of their member teams, the UBFA will.” President and CEO of the Premier Basketball League, Brij M. Desai, commented.

 

I hope this works out and makes minor league basketball in the United States less of a punchline and more of a viable enterprise both for fans and for players. 

-Anna Grearson