AnoThER SEASon REMEMBERED

Nearly 300 days elapses between the first practices of one summer and the last celebrations of another, in between which is the life span of a single high school sports season.

And while some issues boiled up –going from five to six classes in some sports, nickname controversies, the usual turnover of coaches – for the most part the focus stays where it should, on the athletes and their accomplishments.

Familiarity was a constant theme. Skaneateles, even with a new coach, repeated as state champions in boys soccer. So did Baldwinsville in boys lacrosse, part of a quartet (all the others from Long Island) who matched what they did in 2022.

This was also true at the sectional and regional level, at least when it came to Cicero-North Syracuse football, who turned back CBA’s strong challenge in Class AA but yet again saw its state title dreams dashed in the semifinals by Buffalo Bennett, who went on to win it all.

Further bolstering this point, there was a string of state titles won by very familiar powers, including a clean sweep of all the ice hockey honors.

For all it had done dominating area large-school hockey, West Genesee had gone 13 years without a state title, but changed this after surviving a tense sectional final with B’ville as it dominated all three state tournament games, including the last two in Buffalo.

Skaneateles also knew the feeling before, but with Chad Lowe setting a state record for career shutouts, few

Years Ago

l From page 6 just heard the voice of the people at work,” said Betty O’Brien, a West Lake Rd resident, as she and the other opponents of the plan left the Gothic Cottage. The residents of Peth Road and the surrounding area came well armed for their joust with the company, but had to wait two hours while the board heard other petitions. Attorney Dennis Cleary of Cazenovia has spent the weekend preparing a seven-page letter urging that the application for a zoning variance be denied by the ZBA. “This application represents a gross deviation from the permitted uses in the district,” his letter stated. “It would adversely affect real estate values, and there has been no showing that the proposed structure is necessary or at all consistent with the appropriate development of the area,” he concluded. Walter Winslow, who has purchased property in the area, also did his homework. He released balloon up to a height of 200 feet from the proposed site, and waited for comments from the neighbors. The balloons were readily

Random Thoughts

Phil Blackwell

opponents even got on the board against the Lakers, making the task a lot easier for his teammates.

Clinton’s girls hockey team also won it all, with the extra treat of clinching it in front of many local fans in nearby Utica, carried much of the way through the season by the scoring of Drew Kopek.

Plus there was the boys basketball stars from Westhill. In a year where Liverpool and New Hartford both reached the state final four, Westhill again went to the top in Class B, conquering Glens Falls with a wellbalanced attack led by the quartet of Shawn Mayes, Luke Gilmartin, Omar Robinson and Kam Langdon.

Move to the spring, and Skaneateles girls lacrosse also knew well the path to glory. With much of its team back from 2022 and Emily Evans back in goal, these Lakers avenged last year’s state final loss to Bronxville with a near-perfect display of team lacrosse – passing, shooting, defending and everything else you need to win.

Individually, few could top two runners who piled up accolades in three different seasons.

B’ville senior Solomon HoldenBetts surprised some by winning the individual state Class A cross country race, but topped it in the spring with state and national championships in the steeplechase plus a hand in the Bees’ winning 4x800 relay side.

Another senior, Kate Putman, brought home state indoor and outdoor titles in her specialty, the 1,500meter run, also lighting it up in cross country on her way to joining a loaded visible from every direction, in plain sight of drivers, joggers and walkers out enjoying the countryside.

20 Years Ago – June 25, 2003

Ask 20 average Americans when the Civil War began, you may get 20 different answers, none of them correct. And that is why the eleventh annual Civil War weekend at Peterboro is important. History is brought to life. It no longer exists within a boring textbook or some stale museum exhibit. It flourishes with a vitality and freshness that Civil War reenactors willingly contribute. Ordinary people with nine to five jobs dress in Civil War costumes and assume an identity of someone who lived long ago because the past holds a fascination that they cannot shake. Linda Wiley is one of these people. According to Linda, “Each of us has a little niche. There’s one gal I know who loves to do a washer woman, and she knows the history of washerwoman in that era. When I first came to a reenactment, I noticed no one was doing the parlor singer or concert singer, so I wanted to do that.”

N.C. State squad full of other Upstate New York running greats.

Then there were the landmark accomplishments, whether it was Cortland’s girls basketball team breaking through during a state final four run or B’ville’s softball team finally winning a sectional title and first-ever championships in lacrosse for the Indian River girls and Marcellus boys, the latter of which got all the way to the state finals. We haven’t forgotten about the coaches, either. Two in particular – Tom Blackford and Jamie Archer – were just named to the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023, Blackford in a year where he got past 600 wins and Archer in a season where the J-D lacrosse team he coached made another run to the state

slow play”

That was the name of the article that appeared in Golf Magazine in 1973. The cover had a picture of Lee Trevino who was Golf Magazine’s “Instruction Editor” at the time. As you may recall, Trevino earned the title, “Fastest Player on the PGA Tour” during his prime. The “War on Slow Play” is still being fought by the USGA and the Royal & Ancient (governing bodies of the Rules of Golf). They are constantly thinking about ways to speed up play. Here are Trevino’s thoughts in 1973 on what the USGA and Royal & Ancient “should have” done to encourage faster play… title game.

1. Shorter Courses - “There has been over the past few years a trend toward longer and tougher golf courses, which has contributed vastly toward the longer, time consuming process of getting in 18 holes. Enough is enough, when you consider that the average National handicap is 16 or 17.

2. Fewer Bunkers - “There are courses that have enough sand to wear out a herd of camels. There are some architects around to whom I have talked who are leaning more towards the 6,400 to 6,500 yard courses with traps that the average hacker can putt out of with the accent on trees as hazards”.

3. More Rangers - “The use of more rangers also is a great aid in speeding up play. In most cases, the ranger will not find it necessary to say anything to a lagging group. The rangers mere presence is a psychological spur reminding them they are falling behind”.

4. An End to Honors - “As far as I’m concerned, one of the greatest all time ‘wasters’ is honors. Waiting until the guy hits first or waiting for the guy away to putt first when his cart is 50 yards away is silly”. By the time everybody has figured out what the scores are on the hole, it takes longer than a ‘truce meeting’ so the guy with the six finally gets to hit first. The first guy to the tee should be able to hit first”.

5. Park Your Carts at the Back of greens - “A majority of golfers simply drive their carts to the front of the green…pitch up, leave the cart and proceed. Then when they have holed out, they must walk straight back into the line of fire from the group behind them”.

6. Fewer Practice Swings - “Practice swings are unnecessary and exhausting. They not only waste a lot of time but they also have to kill you off eventually. You hit the ball 85 times and you take 400 practice swings. All you’ve done is knock yourself out”.

And after a relatively tame Central New York winter and spring, those Quebec wildfires made the last weekend a crowded one, especially June 9 where state semifinals in lacrosse, softball and baseball all took place on the same day along with many state championships handed out in track and boys tennis.

That pushed back the last games until June 11, when boys lacrosse was decided. As B’ville’s happy Bees made their long way back from Long Island, it was time to rest – but not too much.

Practices for 2023-24 start in less than two months.

Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.

7. Stop Marking Your Ball - “The marking of balls on the green is tremendously overdone. You’ll act like a Supreme Court Judge when he marks his ball two club heads to the side. Then, nine times out of 10, when it finally comes his turn to putt, he puts the ball down wherever the coin happens to be and putts out.”.

8. Two Waggles - “Golfers take too many waggles. You’ll see these guys all over the place. They’ll waggle three, four or five times but never the same number. You begin to wonder…’God, isn’t he ever gonna hit it”?

9. No More Television Acting on the Greens - “I played with a fellow who before each putt, took a half a dozen practice strokes before he’d step up to the ball. Finally, I pointed out to him that all those practice strokes didn’t seem to be doing him much good since he couldn’t make a putt longer than ‘Pancho Villa’s mustache’. I’d estimate that 75% or more of the average players waste too much time green reading. Reading a green is simple: Bermuda grows towards the setting sun, bent grass grows downhill…that’s it”.

10. Allow Partial Par-3 Play Through - “The Par-3 holes are one of the chief roadblocks to faster play. Have a sign allowing the group behind you to hit into the green once you’ve reached the green, then putt out as they are making their way toward the green while the the group putting is holing out. The ‘little things’ are important in the race against the clock”.

The last sentence of Lee’s article said, “Watch me man. I’m fast. I like it that way and I’m sure you’ll play better golf and have more fun”.

Whenever humor is used to, “make a point”, I believe “the point” is always more effectively made. Lee Trevino made his case to deal with slow play in 1973 with humor and he did it as well as anything I have ever read on the subject. I say “all” golf courses should adapt Trevino’s strategy immediately. If they do, I predict an 18 hole round will take us no longer than three hours and 15 minutes to three hours and 30 minutes.

LET’S DO IT !!!

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