Let's go Hurricanes and Explorers!

Congratulations and good luck to Manatee High School and La Salle College High School as they both play, respectively, for the Florida and Pennsylvania state football championships this weekend.

First off good luck to my cousin Joey Roche, longtime teacher at THE Manatee High school, self proclaimed Provost of Saint Joseph's University-South, and a generous supporter of St. Joseph's Preparatory School and my old basketball team. Manatee knocked off perennial national powerhouse St. Augustine last weekend and will play Plant tonight for all the marbles. Working the end zone again?

Secondly good luck as well to my buddy Kevin Dougherty, the patron saint of North Philly, the Dean of Discipline at the Young Scholars Charter School, and the defensive backs coach of LaSalle. They will take on State College High School in Hershey tomorrow night.

Drive safely couz...

Wake-Up Call: Plant-Manatee matchup not surprising

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

After last week's seismic shift in prep football, the Plant Panthers (12-1) and Manatee Hurricanes (13-1) emerged to earn spots in Friday night's Class 5A football state-championship game in Orlando.

Now that the stunning news has settled, should we really be that surprised?

The Panthers went into Lakeland's Bryant Stadium, a place where opponents rarely win, and throttled the Dreadnaughts 20-0.

The Hurricanes were just as thorough, defeating two-time defending state champion Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, the nation's No. 1-ranked team by USA Today, 28-20 in the other 5A state semifinal.

Nearly everyone was expecting Lakeland vs. St. Thomas Aquinas. Well, why not? In four of the past five seasons, that was the 5A final.

Now it's Plant vs. Manatee, the unexpected matchup.

But make no mistake.

Both teams deserve to be here.

Last week's results were not a fluke.

"With all due respect to St. Thomas Aquinas – they've been a great team for a number of years and they still are a great team – they got knocked off by a better team in Manatee,'' Plant coach Robert Weiner said. "I knew how good Manatee was (it defeated Plant 49-33 in a preseason exhibition game on Aug. 28), but everyone was talking about St. Thomas Aquinas in mythic proportions, like they would just roll to the state finals.

"We've got it on film now and it's not one of those things where you say Aquinas would've won the game nine out of 10 times and this is just that one time when Manatee won. No, Manatee outplayed them. They were the better team on that night. All teams at this level of the playoffs have heart and great character, but Manatee is so fast and physical and flies around the football. This was a well-deserved victory by Manatee.''

Now the Hurricanes might be facing an interesting psychological hurdle...



La Salle defensive stars eager to make memories in state final Philadelphia Daily News

NOW IN their fourth year at La Salle High, Ryan Saraceni and Vinny Migliarese boast a treasure trove of football memories.

Not all involve playing.

La Salle 35, Ridley 7 Lancaster Catholic 23, W. Catholic 21 LaSalle Wins State Quarterfinals
We take you back to Nov. 24, 2006. The night after Thanksgiving. Before a monstrous crowd, the Explorers were playing St. Joseph's Prep, at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, for the Catholic Red championship.

Ryan and Vinny were in the stands. Their brothers, Rob and Joe, respectively, were on the field, playing key roles in what became a 14-7 upset win for their school.

If you were there, you could have easily picked out the younger brothers.

"It was a pretty cold night," Ryan remembered. "But all I had on was shorts and a T-shirt. And by the time we all ran on the field to celebrate...well, I was down to my britches."

As for Vinny. Down at field level, as the students yelled and screamed and congratulated every player in sight, he wasn't to Ryan's right. Wasn't to his left, either. In fact, he was exactly where he'd been all evening.

"When everyone ran down, I was the only kid left in the student section," he said. "Literally, the only one. I was on crutches. I remember thinking right then, 'This has to happen again, so I can enjoy it.'"

It did, and then some.

La Salle last year captured the CL AAAA championship. This season has again yielded that prize, along with the City Title and a deep run in the state playoffs.

How deep? Tomorrow night at 7 o'clock at Hersheypark Stadium, the Explorers will meet State College to determine Pennsylvania's very best large-enrollment squad.

The 5-10, 205-pound Saraceni will start at inside linebacker. The 5-11, 165-pound Migliarese will line up at cornerback. Together they've made a series of big plays throughout the postseason.

Among their current goals: to achieve lifetime family bragging rights.

"I've already been giving my brother a hard time, because he didn't win a City Title," Migliarese said, smiling. "If I'm able to have a state title over him, too, that would be awesome."

Said Saraceni: "There's always friendly competition between brothers. The longer this has gone on, more of that has melted away. He's so excited about this. Wants it for me so much."

So, Older Bro is talking about it?

"Talking about it? Probably more than I am," Saraceni cracked. "He photocopies the game plan each week, because he wants to know everything that's going on."

In that 2006 memory-maker, Rob Saraceni, now playing lacrosse at St. Joseph's University, served the Explorers at cornerback. Not only did he recover a fumble, he forced another within inches of the goal line, and Greg Frantz returned it 96 yards for a touchdown...

At The Palestra, Time Stands Still

Basketball Times Online: At The Palestra, Time Stands Still

Many aspects on the college game are beyond tainted, luckily, there's a time capsule in Philadelphia that can bring fans back to simpler times. In Philly, an old-fashioned Big 5 game at the Palestra is all you need.


By BRENDAN F. QUINN
Basketball Times

Once it was over on Wednesday night, a collective exhale extinguished the passion. It was a long, deep breath into the steamy air of an 83-year-old cathedral.

On the Villanova side, a nightlong crusade from a plucky underdog left the Wildcats battered, but not beaten.

On the Saint Joseph’s side, an emotion-charged effort saw the Hawks play over their head against a team they had no right doing so against.

Throughout the old gym, a sold-out crowd of 8,722 diehards exhausted itself for well over two hours. These fans – Saint Joseph’s and Villanova fans – come to this annual game choked with animosity. As they cheer, it’s not sweat that drips from their brow – it’s venom. Hatred is a strong word, but this comes close. Red-faced and charged with fervor, they watched as the Hawks, a book of matches, nearly took down the Wildcats, a flamethrower.

Whew.

After third-ranked ’Nova completed its catch-your-breath 97-89 victory over St. Joe’s in the Holy War, there was nothing left to be said.

It was the Big 5.

It was the Palestra.

College basketball’s time warp.

“Man, those ghosts just refused to go away tonight,” said Jack Scheuer before the postgame news conference. A revered writer from the Associated Press, Scheuer has covered basketball in Philadelphia since 1958, three years after the inception of the Big 5. He has seen La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Villanova trade haymakers since the Eisenhower Administration.

Back when Scheuer first covered the Big 5, it’s unlikely that blaming “The Ghosts of the Palestra” was a plausible explanation for what happened on Wednesday. The building was only 30 years old in ’58. The ghosts were just being born.

In the glory days of the 1960s, all of Philly’s City Series games were played at the Palestra. Those who attended those wars seem to drift off when retelling the stories. Sold-out crowds were split down the middle – half screaming for one team, the other half screaming for the other. Streamers filled the air after each team’s opening basket. “Rollouts,” banners unfurled by the students, could stir as much controversy as a bad call by an official. When any Big 5 outlier had the misfortune of playing a city team at the Palestra, well, they had little chance.

To read the entire article by Hawk alumnus Brendan Quinn please click on the title. Photo Credits: University of Pennsylvania Athletics and Greg Carroccio of Sideline Photos, LLC.

Vote for the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur

Well, your votes counted and the Academy of Notre Dame Women’s Chorale won the semifinals. They are asking for help one more time.

The Academy of Notre Dame : Women's Chorale is grateful to the Prep community for its support as they won their semifinal competition with Council Rock with 65% of the vote. Your votes helped them to move on to the finals and today the girls hope that you will place another vote for them in this final round that decides the winner of the competition! The voting is underway now and open until midnight. Academy of Notre Dame is competing against the Cherokee High School Girls Choir for the chance to win a new piano for the school.

To place your vote, go to http://www.b101radio.com/ and click on the banner for “Christmas Idol. The poll will be in the upper right hand of the page that opens. Just click on the circle next to Academy of Notre Dame Woman's Chorale and then click on the "place vote" button. You can place your vote up till midnight tonight.

The girls of the Academy of Notre Dame thank you for your support.

Weekend hoops...

I was spared from watching my St. Joseph's University Hawks lose again this weekend, this time to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but the rest of my teams won. A weekend of good basketball...

On Saturday I was able to watch my former team, the Young Scholars Charter School Hawks, win an exciting overtime game against People for People Charter School.

Then on Sunday to watch my buddy Kevin and his squad from St. Rose of Lima clinch the championship against Christ the King.

And finally today watching Speedy Morris' Hawks from St. Joseph's Prep defeat PET in an exciting game as Joe Nardi turned it on in the end.

Merry Christmas from St. Ignatius at the Prep ;-)

HOLY WAR (yes I'm calling it that) Recap

This game is being played at the more "neutral" Palestra rather than the Hagen Arena. Villanova, which sank 16 threes against Maryland on Sunday, has already handled two other members of the Big Five - Drexel and LaSalle - rather easily, and we can see them running St. Joseph's off the court if Martelli doesn't slow this thing down successfully. Let's lay the points with Villanova.

BetUs

#3 Villanova (-13.5) over St. Joes: Villanova should cruise past St. Joes in this lopsided Big 5 matchup. Phil Martelli's bunch has lost four straight and their isn't much light at the end of the tunnel. Watch for Villanova's backcourt, mainly Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher, to dominate from beyond the arc.

SBNation


"I look and I probe and I try to pull a thread," Martelli said. "I'm just not certain other than to be brutally honest with my players and say, 'None of you would get in the game for Villanova.' Yet, all of their guys would get in the game and get a lot of minutes for me. There is a big gap here."

The truth is the truth. And that is the truth.

Phil Martelli



The hair on the back of my head still stands up when I walk into the Palestra, see the sea of crimson in the student section, and start to hear "Gimme an H". An almost weepy moment for this usually stoic Irish-Pole. Kind of cool that after all these years I still get that feeling.

When we made our run in the closing moments of the second half the crowd, the entire crowd, starting chanting "Let's go St. Joe's" in unison, and it the was the loudest I've heard the place since the Holy war two years ago when Calathes and Nivins beat them by 20, or maybe in the early 90's when Mark Bass hit a three to tie up UMASS at the start of the second half in an Atlantic 10 tournament game. IT WAS LOUD, and my voice is hoarse today.

Sad to see award winning Daily News columnist Dick Jerardi writing features about Villanova. Has he been seduced by the dark side of the force? (just kidding Dick) Worse though is our own coach who is a bit too effusive in his praise of our cross town rival. Be friends with Jay, raise lots of money to defeat cancer, but don't give any potential recruit reason to possible choose them over us. If it did come down to our two schools all the Cats would have to do is show him one of your press clippings. You can respect their program without over-doing it. Unless Jerardi is slipping you sodium-penathol during these interviews please save that stuff for the confessional. You draw a salary to make St.Joe's look good, not the other guys. As former coach John Griffin once said "maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses." This would be the second year in a row that you've done this... and I don't know why. It serves no purpose.

Chelsea & Shannon texting scores to friends at a time out.

I always enjoy hearing from the experts, especially when they say we're going to get crushed. Of course if they read Phil's quotes in the paper who could blame them. But we know better. Those of us who have bled crimson and gray for a long time know that anything goes in a Big 5 matchup, and that increases exponentially when played at the Palestra. The most defiant cheer in all of basketball is "THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE", and the boys lived up to that last night. Some might say they were overmatched but they did not give up. In one sequence there were bodies all over the floor -- and Hawks, traditionally, for 100 years, have always hustled more than the other team. There is not much you can do about the other team's free throw percentage but you can work on switching men on a screen... which proved to be our demise. Game balls to Idris, Tay, GW, Gov, and Justin. If they play with that level of intensity here on out we have a shot at dancing. I only see us getting better and Baptiste hasn't played yet. (ahh.. the trip back from Rider erased from your memory banks 44?)

Unfortunately I can't share any of those great pics I used to as my alma mater will no longer allow me to post any pictures from my buddy Greg Carroccio at Sideline Photos. I suppose they feel that they already have too much publicity? But that doesn't mean you can't check out his site for hundreds of pictures from the Holy War, and every St. Joe's game. Greg will enlarge them to any size and they make great Christmas gifts for the Hawks in your life. Go get 'em ;-)

I made it to the New Deck and Slainte (30th and Market) last night, and got to see many great Hawks. One in particular I keep bumping into is former Hawk great Pat McFarland, now back home from Cleveland. Older Hawks would know that the former team captain scored more than 1,500 points in his career (remember -- only three years back then). In his senior year, 1972-73, he along with Mike Bantom lead the Hawks to a 22-6 record and both averaged 20.3 ppg! What Pat doesn't know is that he made me cry one night -- when his Hawk team lost in double OT to Nova 72-79. I had made a $1 bet with a Nova friend of my father's. When we lost, the tears came out as Dad instructed me to go get my piggy bank. (cut me a break I was only 8 years old;-) I've hated them ever since.

Pat is in the South Jersey High School Basketball Hall of Fame, the St. Joseph's University Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame... and now is a shooting instructor! When you have time check out his website PURE SHOOTING. He is helping, through clinics and one on one, many kids in the Delaware Valley become better shooters, and with his impressive resume and his pleasant demeanor I couldn't think of a guy better suited to do this, although it might be too late for 44 ;-0




44 with Pat, Tommy O'Rourke, Mike Matthews, Danny Caramanico
and John Gill pre-game.


A few other observations:

* Heard a rumor that some foolish Nova fans attempted to dine at the New Deck last night and were welcomed with the entire place singing the St. Joe's fight song, and quickly left. Silly boys... this is our bar in West Philly... please find your own, preferably out on the Main Line. Safer for you, safer for your BMW.

* I was able to meet some Hawks and have some refreshments at the New Deck Tavern and Sláinte, which underscored the need for an on campus watering hole. The vacant to be Irish pub across from the Hagan is needed as there is no pre-game meeting spot on Hawk Hill. We need to get this done.

* I was thinking of the popular ‘Theology On Tap’ as I met old friends and made new ones prior to the Holy War game on Wednesday. Even though everyone knows that is where Hawks meet prior to tipoff... there are no representatives from our alumni department. One might call that department on Hawk Hill in disarray as we lost our popular alumni director Frank DeVecchis last month, will lose our most recent head of development next month, and are oddly enough left with a non-alumnus as head of alumni -- an opportunity to press the flesh is being wasted. I figure if the USCCB is OK with the idea surely the Jesuits would be.

* Big 5 and Atlantic 10 rival LaSalle easily beat Rider, who easily beat us, but easily got beat by Nova, who we could have beat last night (44's got some beats there). So where do we stand this year?

* The name of our home court used to be called Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, and is now called Hagan Arena. Someone should let the announcers know. We also paid about 90 million for the Episcopal School -- so please call it by our new name -- the Maguire Campus. And for the record it is, officially, SAINT Joseph's University, but when abbreviating it's St. Joe's, not SAINT Joe's -- which was on the scoreboard.

* Please no more profanity in the student chants. There is no reason for it and that is not who we are. I don't care how many beverages you had pre-game -- since someone is paying all those thousands of dollars per course for you -- dare to be clever. You have it in you. Please don't become the least common denominator. Otherwise kudos to the students as they rocked the Cathedral on Wednesday.

Finally I received the following message on Facebook:

44,

I graduated in 08 @SJU and left the country. (I was an international student). I was browsing the web looking stuff of SJU, how the university is doing and all. I had no idea that Hagan Arena was finished and got to see the pictures! (ran across your blog). I miss the place a lot, thank you!

Andras

I hope my new friend Andras was able to catch the game on ESPN2 as well. I was proud of my Hawks last night. Please take this effort on the road and beat Minnesota. You now know what you can do.


AMDG,

THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE!

44


PS -- the best St. Joe's rollout of the night:


"NOVA GRADS TAKE 15 MONTHS TO FINISH A SENTENCE",

in reference to Nova graduate, former NBA ref and felon Tim Donaghy.






Villanova outlasts Saint Joseph's in Big 5 rivalry
SOMETIMES, you simply have to respect the rivalry, which in this case happens to be the fiercest the City Series has to offer.

So why should the 67th edition have been much different?

Just because unbeaten Villanova came in as the country's No. 3 team, having just taken out Maryland in the nation's capital? Or that the Wildcats (9-0) had won 20 of their previous 21 Big 5 games, a dominance that only the Penn program of the early 1970s could claim?

The 'Cats, after all, had already beaten Penn by 38 and La Salle by 18, both at home, which had some pondering if they could perhaps do better than the combined 83 points they had beaten the other four teams by in 2005-06 en route to the Final Eight.

Saint Joseph's, which had lost four straight after opening with three victories, was picked to finish closer to the bottom of the Atlantic 10 than the top. But a year ago, they went to the Pavilion and came within a missed front end of a 1-and-1 in the closing moments of pulling off the upset. Over a 'Nova team that would make it to the last weekend.

And who could forget what went down 2 years ago at the Palestra, when a 'Nova team that would make a late run to the Sweet 16 got smoked by 22.

They met up again in West Philadelphia last night. Two schools that don't really like to break bread together. This season, 'Nova has way better weapons. And many more of them.

The final was 97-89. But it was a five-point game with just under 3 minutes remaining, not too long after 'Nova had led by a dozen. St. Joe's Darrin Govens then missed a three from straightaway. Corey Fisher made two foul shots at the other end. But with 2 minutes showing, the Hawks' Carl Jones got fouled outside the arc by Scottie Reynolds and went to the line. He converted all three tries, and the ancient building was going only slightly bonkers, as it had every right to.

On the ensuing possession, Villanova's Taylor King nailed one from deep on the left wing to beat the shot clock. Just as he had done a minute earlier (and two other times in the second half). They would be two of only three baskets 'Nova got in the closing 7 minutes. But the 'Cats would make their last 29 freebies in a row after missing their second one of the second half.

The Hawk did indeed perish. It obviously didn't go quietly.

We should have figured what was coming when no team scored more than once in a row through the first 6 minutes. It was, as they say, good hoops. Villanova would go up nine, but St. Joe took a one-point lead before the 'Cats scored the final four points of the half to make it 41-38.

There was a bunch more to come. Long live the border skirmish.



Reynolds Unwrapped

Villanova's three wins since coming home from Puerto Rico were by 18, 19 and nine points over La Salle, Drexel and Maryland, respectively. The Maryland game was not that close.The Wildcats and the Hawks gave the packed house what it wanted, a night to remember.Villanova and Saint Joseph's put on a show. The teams traded the lead five times before the adrenaline finally wore off. Villanova hit six of its first nine shots from the field and Saint Joseph's was 5-for-8 before the first television timeout.


Villanova Fends Off Feisty St. Joe's
When St. Joe’s went down by as many as nine in the first half, it was looking like it could be another easy win for Villanova, the team that (until Wednesday night) had won in double-digits in all but three games in that 21-game span.

But the resilient Hawks went on a 15-5 run to take a 38-37 lead late in the first half. Their quick guards were getting into the lane with ease, and though Villanova big men like Antonio Pena and Maurice Sutton made the lane a tough place to finish in, senior guard Darrin Govens was already in double-figures when Villanova went into the half up by three.

“[The Palestra] is the best basketball building in America because the visiting team, quote-on-quote, has fans,” Martelli said. “Those other places that they want to talk about, because it’s one-sided, all the fans are for one team. But here there’s noise on every play, pro and con.”
Still, there were many more people cheering for the Hawks than the Wildcats.

“It’s kind of like a high school, little gym where everybody’s on top of you, but there’s, what 9,000 people against you. And that’s what we love as competitors,” said Villanova senior guard Scottie Reynolds.

King has played at Cameron Indoor at Duke, but he’s never seen something like the Cathedral of Basketball. “That was the first time I’ve been in a gym like that when all the fans were against us,” King said. “It was kind of crazy, but it was just another game.”


King delivers victory in Holy War for Villanova
Just like in any good rivalry, you can throw out the records and the rankings when Villanova and St. Joe’s square off against each other. Tonight’s version of the “Holy War” at the famed Palestra was no exception as the third-ranked Wildcats of Villanova were given a formidable challenge by the archrival Hawks of St. Joseph’s. Villanova emerged victorious in this high-scoring contest, 97-89.

St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli received inspired play from his upperclassmen. Junior forward Idris Hilliard led the Hawks in scoring with 22 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Senior guards Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson, who are no strangers to the intensity of this Big 5 rivalry, provided leadership and toughness for the Bala Ballers (And, yes, I did just make up that nickname for the Hawks of St. Joseph’s University on the fly). Govens chipped in 19 points and hit three timely 3-pointers to keep his Hawks perpetually within striking distance of the Wildcats. Williamson contributed by penetrating Nova’s trapping zone defense and scoring 13 points from the field and dishing out 7 assists. Freshman guard Carl Jones, a Northern Ohio native, provided Martelli some spark off the bench, using his speed and quickness to penetrate the Wildcats defense at various, odd angles. He finished with 16 points and three 3-point field goals made.



Dear Hawks,

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to bid on seven
(7) great items at the SJU Hawks On-Line Auction!

Items include an autographed framed photo of Jameer Nelson
/Delonte West, three (3) game-worn #34 Ahmad Nivins jerseys,
and a "throwback" SJU basketball shooting shirt.

Make the holidays extra special for someone on your list!

Click here to see all the items: http://sjuhawks.cstvauctions.com/gallery.cfm.

GO HAWKS!



St. Joseph's Hawks The Hawk 2010 Tee

HOLY WAR & THE HAWK T

This season's Hawk T is finally here!

It is available at the Saint Joseph's University Bookstore and rumor has it will be on sale at the Palestra Wednesday night for the Holy War.

Special thanks to Fiona and Diedre for modeling the new shirt!

Villanova-Saint Joseph's Preview

Villanova is off to their best start in four years, and a meeting with struggling Saint Joseph's may only add to it.

The intracity rivals meet Wednesday night when the third-ranked Wildcats look to continue their dominance in the Big 5. The Wildcats (8-0) haven't won their first nine games of a season since opening 10-0 in 2005-06 en route to the regional final of the NCAA tournament.

They can get closer to that mark Wednesday by beating the Hawks (3-4), another Philadelphia rival that competes annually for bragging rights. Villanova has won 20 of 21 meetings against Big 5 opponents Saint Joseph's, La Salle, Temple and Pennsylvania. The team has already beaten La Salle and Penn this season after winning all four games in 2008-09.

The Wildcats' lone recent loss to a Big 5 opponent came against the Hawks at The Palestra, 77-55 on Feb. 4, 2008. However, they took last season's meeting 59-56 on Dec. 11 to win for the ninth time in 12 matchups. Villanova also holds a 42-24 advantage in the all-time series with Saint Joseph's.

The Wildcats are entering this matchup coming off an impressive 3-point shooting display in Sunday's 95-86 win over Maryland. They set a team record by attempting 39 shots from behind the arc, making 16 to fall one short of that mark.

"We give our guys a lot of freedom shooting the ball," coach Jay Wright said.
Scottie Reynolds is looking to improve upon his season-high 25 points after totaling 28 over the previous two games.

The senior guard leads the team with an average of 15.3 points, and had 18 points in last season's win over Saint Joseph's. The Hawks, who went 1-6 in Big 5 games in 2008-09, are looking to snap a four-game slide after falling 78-66 at Cornell on Sunday. They last dropped five in a row from Feb. 12-26.

"We have a tough time right now stopping the boulder coming at you," coach Phil Martelli said. "We're not able yet to do that. That's going to take every guy stepping up and giving it more of a mental approach."

Saint Joseph's could use some improved play from guard Darrin Govens, who leads the team with 12.1 points per game. The senior scored 10 points against the Big Red but made only 1 of 7 shots. He's struggled over the last four games, shooting 31.3 percent to average 9.8 points after scoring 15.3 per game in the first three games - all wins.

Govens, though, had 18 points on 6 for 15 shooting in the last meeting with Villanova. The Hawks have lost four in a row to Top 25 opponents, including an 85-60 loss to then-No. 7 Purdue on Nov. 22 to start their current losing streak.

Hawks Take on #3 Villanova on Wednesday Night at The Palestra

The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (3-4) will take on traditional rival Villanova (8-0) on Wednesday night at The Palestra in a 9 p.m. game that will be televised by ESPN2. The Wildcats are r...

Not dead yet??

“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated?” Will Dougherty and North survive?

The word on the street is that North may be reincarnated as an independently run "Cristo Rey" school - a Catholic prep school targeted at low-income students whose families can't afford the $5,500-and-up cost of a Catholic education in this city.

Except, says Philadelphia Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell, the story isn't true.

"It's all rumors," Farrell told my colleague Val Russ on Monday, as Val and I worked to get to the bottom of The Rumor. "There have been no negotiations. North Catholic is not going to become a Cristo Rey school and, sadly, North Catholic will be closing in June."

Cristo Rey Network CEO Rob Birdsell was more equivocal. "I can't speak about the specifics of Philadephia," he told Val, neither confirming nor denying that conversations with the Archdiocese have taken place.

But a well-connected North alum familiar with The Rumor tells me that Bishop Joseph McFadden met with four heavy-hitting North alums last week - among them multimillionaire and philanthropist Paul Hondros - to chat about the school.

Also present were others with ties either to the Cristo Rey Network or to the Society of Jesus - the Jesuit order of priests that created the Cristo Rey model.

"They even toured North Catholic on November 11," said the source. "To say that nothing has been discussed isn't true."

Hondros was unavailable for comment yesterday, so I hoped the Rev. Timothy Lannon could enlighten me about what might've gone down in the meeting. Lannon, the Jesuit president of St. Joseph's University, is a close friend of Hondros' (a loyal St. Joe's grad who funded the university's new autism center).

"Lannon is the most high-profile Jesuit in the area," said the North alum. "You can bet that if the Jesuits are thinking of bringing Cristo Rey here, [Lannon] knows about it."

Lannon said that it was "premature to discuss" whether he even had a conversation with Hondros about Cristo Rey, North Catholic and the bishop.

And then he chuckled... Tracking 'The Rumor' about North Catholic Philadelphia Daily News




A new alumni group yesterday announced plans to save Cardinal Dougherty High School in Olney by buying the building from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for $20 million and reopening it as a private Catholic academy.
Steve Schmidt, chairman of the We Are CD Foundation, said he hand-delivered a letter of intent to the archdiocese's offices in Center City yesterday notifying it of the group's interest in buying the campus at 6201 N. Second St.

He declined to reveal names, but said his organization had spoken with an individual and two banks that are interested in providing $10 million, $5 million and $5 million, respectively, to cover the purchase price.

"It is not made up," said Schmidt, a former teacher at Mercy Vocational High School who now works as a supervisor of a city Recreation Department center in Logan. "We have factual information. We do have an appointment with a bank next Thursday."

The announcement not only stunned the archdiocese but also several business leaders who raise funds for Catholic schools in the archdiocese.

A spokeswoman for Michael O'Neill, chairman of the Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS), a nonprofit that raises funds for Catholic schools, said the developer had no knowledge of the We Are CD Foundation or its plans.

Some active in Catholic education privately expressed skepticism.

Marco Ferreira, a 1990 Dougherty grad who works in the mortgage industry, said the group, which was established Nov. 14, could not disclose prospective financial backers yet.

"We are not at liberty to say anything," said Ferreira, who is assisting Schmidt with the plan... Alumni group says it would buy, reopen Cardinal Dougherty Philadelphia Inquirer

Requiescant in Pace

Requiescant in Pace... Judy Millonde Apiyo and child

My alma mater used to have the slogan "at Saint Joseph's University... where people make the difference." We now have a new motto but that one still holds true. One of those people is Jack Millonde, the assistant Athletic Ticket Manager on Hawk Hill. Every season ticket holder knows Jack... and Jack knows each and everyone one of them, and all are greeted with a smile. Today though he needs our prayers.

Tragically Jack's sister, Judy Millonde Apiyo, age 24, passed a couple of days after giving birth, and sadly the baby died the same day. Funeral services for the baby were held on November 28th, with Judy's funeral today, December 5th. Jack returned to home in Kenya, Africa for the funeral this past Saturday.

Donations are being accepted to assist the Millonde family with travel and burial costs in the Office of Campus Ministry, Wolfington Hall. Checks should be made payable to Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131. Campus Ministry would also forward any letters of sympathy or Mass card to Jack as well. Feel free to extend your condolences on the Hawk Hoop Club Message Board at Prayers needed for Jack Millonde in Ticket Office.

Eternal Rest grant unto them O Lord and may your perpetual light shine upon the Millonde family. May thier souls, and all the souls fo the faithfully departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Rebounding Faith

Rebounding Faith
B. G. Kelley DECEMBER 14, 2009

I stare at my mortality, reading in a magazine that Bob Cousy, the great Boston Celtics basketball player of the 1950s and 60s, is 80 years old. Bob Cousy—80! Once he was the wizard of the hardcourt and I was a kid who wanted to be Bob Cousy—not James Dean or Elvis, mind you. I practiced five, six hours a day shooting, dribbling, passing to be like the Cooz. At 68 now, I am on the homeward-bound side of life’s slope, not playing many more basketball games, moving closer to my step into that long, terrifying night, that waiting world. Bob Cousy pushes my thoughts on death because we once discussed mortality.

It is a brilliant summer day on Cape Cod Bay. Cousy and I are playing a round of golf at the New Seabury Country Club. He looks alive and healthy, tanned as a shiny penny, trim as a trout. Somewhere around the fifth hole, he says, “You know, athletes are indestructible. That’s the way we think, but these days I’m more aware of my mortality.”

There is a slight hint of uneasiness in his voice. Immediately I think of Rousseau’s line: “He who pretends to look on death without fear lies.” I ask him, “Does the thought of death frighten you?” He becomes intensely introspective before replying, “No, the thought of nothingness after death does, but my faith pushes me to view death with promise.” As we talk I get the impression that Cousy, who has kept the faith, sees himself ascending to heaven in the company of popes and kings, roofers and teachers, truck drivers and C.E.O.’s. He adds, “I hope religion is not just a cop-out.”

Death is the other side of silence. One can curse it or bless it. Raging at God, who is un-touchable, gets you nowhere. Better to embrace the ideal at Catholicism’s heart: that the afterlife is a comfort, a bulwark to life. To die is to gain—to live again.

This awareness, raised by Bob Cousy’s being 80 years old, brings me spiritual clarity. It demands that I become more a receiver of God than a filter. I also sense that mortality need not destroy me nor infect the time I have left with a give-up, give-in attitude. Instead it provides strength for the time remaining to savor my most fundamental yearnings: to keep expressing and believing in the power of language; to love others (for what is life without love?); to play, for playing speaks to the heart of being human; to pray, knowing that here I must earn the next and final stop; and to buttress my belief that death is not separation but transformation, not termination but transcendence.

The Cooz and I come from the 1950s, a time of optimism, prosperity and affluence, when it seemed as if anything was possible. The Catholic Church prospered and the seminaries turned out plenty of priests. Big city parishes were filled with families who willingly sent their children to Catholic schools. Corpus Christi, my parish grade school in the Paradise section of Philly, was so loaded with kids—50 in each of the eight classes—that the sister principal had to segregate the boys from the girls. All seven Sunday Masses were filled.



Catholics grew up as part of the scenery, part of the times, comfortable with their roots, stability and parish training. Catholics learned a code of discipline, a focused work ethic, humility and a praise of God.

As a hard worker, team player and man of faith, Bob Cousy was perfect for the 50s. His creative passing and fast-breaking game boosted the promise of professional basketball. Cousy’s play attracted more fans in the seats and lifted the N.B.A. out of its second-rate professional sports status. And his electric style was showcased on television, where Bishop Fulton J. Sheen also appeared as a powerful figure in the lives of Catholics.

The zeitgeist of the 50s connected Catholics to their faith, to their history and to larger alliances like family, friends, neighborhood and tradition. It gave meaning to their lives and made sense of life. What bound us to Catholicism were these: the honest zeal of the parish priest, the birth and baptism of a child, our fathers taking us to Holy Name Society breakfasts, the sacredness of transubstantiation and the doubts about justice in civil society.

“My college was instrumental in my faith,” Cousy tells me on Cape Cod Bay. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, where he was imbued with the Jesuit tradition of giving back and paying forward. He did just that.

In l956 Cousy befriended the first black Celtics player, Chuck Cooper. Once when the team was in Raleigh, N.C., for a game, Cooper was told he could not stay in the team’s hotel that night because of his color. So Cooper decided to take a train to New York after the game, where the Celtics were to play the next day. Cousy, concerned about his teammate, went with him. They both waited five hours on the station platform for the 3 a.m. train.

On the sixth tee Cousy tells me that the Chuck Cooper experience had a profound effect on him. It forced him to embrace further the spirit of the Jesuit teachings: he became a Big Brother to Kevin, a 6’2” African-American 14-year-old. Cousy recalled a time at Blessed Sacrament, his parish church, in Worcester, Mass., where he has lived for 63 years: “It was a completely white parish. One Sunday when the church was filled, I marched down the middle aisle for Mass with my black little brother Kevin.” At Holy Cross, Cousy’s senior thesis was titled “The Persecution of Minority Groups.”

Personally, I am hoping and praying for a piece of paradise. It isn’t Key West, Aspen or Palm Beach, but that place with no referent postcard. What good is heaven if anyone who wants to can walk right in? I know it’s there, simply because I have seen a full moon, a single star, a sunset, the mountains, an ocean deep, the wilderness where the night air is as magnificently quiet as it is cold and clean, a rainbow that blows your sneakers off—all signs that point to paradise.

Just as surely as there are signs that ripen our spiritual perspectives, there are moments in our temporal life when clarity grows. Bob Cousy’s turning 80 is one such moment for me. Knowing that life is a terminal condition, I also know this: God draws life out of death. That’s good enough for me.

B. G. Kelley, of Philadelphia, has published in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and elsewhere. He was a two-year starting point guard for the Temple University basketball team. He can be reached at bgklly@yahoo.com.

Appeal for the St. Paul Miki School in India

Dear Tom,
I am energised to work among the children in the school and also for our dear parishioners. You might be surprised to know that I have taught them some hymns from "with Joyful Lips" and the children sing it beautifully. Though this is a Hindi medium school, I would like to make sure that children learn some English before they leave for high school at St. Xavier's in Lupungutu.

I also learned from Fr. Jerry Cutinha that you are campaigning for our cause. I hope with your help our dream of educating these tiny tots will come true someday. At present we are facing a lot of problems especially in the rainy season, as the heavy winds blow, carrying water inside the temporary classrooms. Children have learned to put up with all the troubles.
AMDG,

Fr. Gregory S. D'Silva, SJ
St. Paul Miki Centre, Pandabir

gregsdsilva@gmail.com

The current St. Paul Miki Church in Border - The current St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir.

Dear Friends:

My Jesuit friend Fr. John Deeney, whom I visited in India last year, has asked for our help so that the The Jamshedpur Province of the Society of Jesus may build a proper school for the tribal children in the town of Pandabir, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand. The current state of the church/school is most inadequate, as the pictures above indicate. The schools set up by the Indian government in the long neglected tribal regions are subpar, and according to my friends there -- are simply glorified baby-sitting services. As in any country the best way to break the cycle of poverty, in my opinion, is through education.

While many of us have felt the pinch of the recession remember that a donation of just $50 equals 2,221 Rupees -- and that can go a long way in India! So please don't feel that smaller donations won't help... they will, and will be greatly appreciated.

So below please find the appeal letter from Fr. Deeney as well as the imprimatur and instructions on how to donate from the The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, who have a collaborative agreement with the Jamshedpur Jesuits. If this is a charity you find worthy I'd ask you to send a donation to the address provided below. You may also donate online at Support Jesuit India Missions, although a check and intention letter is preferred. Regardless I would ask all of you to say a Pater Noster for the appeal as these children deserve a nice school -- as children everywhere do.

Please help us if you can. Should you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me at SJHAWK44@aol.com. Feel free to pass this link on to as many interested parties as you can!

In omnibus quaerant Deum,

Thomas F. Brzozowski/44

Fr. John J. Deeney, S.J.
Tome Jesuit Residence
XLRI, Post Box 222
Jamshedpur, India 831001
jjdeeney@gmail.com

Warm Greetings from Fr. Deeney, still very much in India!

Most who receive this correspondence know me very well. For those who do not I was born in 1921 and was raised in the Germantown section of Philadelphia -- Immaculate Conception Parish. I graduated from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, class of ’39, and immediately after high school joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Shortly after I realized my vocation my family moved to Most Blessed Sacrament (MBS) Parish in West Philadelphia, where my uncle, Monsignor John Daly, was Pastor for many years. I came to India in 1949, where I was ordained in 1952. I write this from India, where I now have been for 60 years.

During my whole priestly life I have always been involved with the Ho tribal people and active in evangelization and faith formation. Also I mastered their tribal language, which is quite different than Hindi, and is related to languages of Cambodia and Vietnam. With the help of Dahnur Purdy, a Ho tribal and Jesuit college graduate, I prepared liturgical and biblical books in the Ho language, and wrote the first Ho-English Dictionary and Ho grammar, and other books relating to the Hos.

Now 88 years old I have recently moved out of the Ho country to the infirmary at the Xavier Labour Relations Institute in Jamshedpur. However my heart is still among the Hos and there is one work which I am anxious to see completed. For 21 years I bicycled out every Sunday to the village of Bordor to say Mass for Catholics in that area. During that time the Ho Catholic community grew but we were unable to start a school. Providentially land has been acquired for a school in Pandabir village adjoining Bordor, where a school has been started but with no proper building – in fact to date we have just two open-air classrooms which aren’t ideal, as you can imagine, particularly during the monsoon season.

Before I die I am hoping to see a school building there, with a hall which can also be used as a chapel. During my last home visit to Philadelphia in 2007 I asked for help and many gave generously, however much more is needed. Should you be in a position to help us build a school and chapel for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are less fortunate please send a donation to the address below. Remember to make the check out to “Jesuit Missions”, and please make a notation that it is in reply to Fr. Deeney’s appeal for the St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir. Your donation will be 100% tax deductible and instructions from the Maryland Province Jesuits are attached.

The Jesuit Missions
(Fr. John Deeney, SJ Appeal)
Maryland Province Jesuits
Advancement Office
8600 LaSalle Road, Suite #620
Baltimore, MD 21264

This appeal would not have been possible without the help of many people, especially my sister Nancy Curtis, my niece Nancy Caramanico, my grandnephew Johnny Gill, Beth McCarthy and the girls’ youth group from St. Francis of Assisi parish in Springfield, PA, my friend Tom Brzozowski, and of course the Maryland Jesuit Province. To many goes the credit, but to God goes the glory!

Thank you in advance for reaching out to help us help these poor tribal children receive a Jesuit education. May God continue to bless each and every one of you.


Christ’s Peace!

John J. Deeney, S.J.


JJD/tfb

AMDG/2009

One of two open-air classrooms at the current St. Paul Miki School
– demand for Jesuit education necessitates a new building.

Fr. John Deeney, SJ with students outside the current St. Paul

Miki School in Pandabir.

These are the children you would be helping to educate with

your generous donation.

Hilarius Kongari, SJ, Greg D'Silva, SJ and

John Deeney, SJ, at St. Xavier's in Lupungutu.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you for expressing an interest in making a donation to Fr. John Deeney, SJ and Fr. Greg D'Silva, SJ for a new church/school at St. Paul Miki Parish in Pandabir, India. The Maryland Province Jesuits are happy to receive donations and transfer such funds to the appropriate Jesuit recipients overseas.

Included here are (1) a brief description of the Maryland Province Jesuits and (2) and a sample donor letter to accompany a financial gift. The following points, in particular, are helpful for donors to notice:

• The Maryland Province Jesuits assist Jesuit institutions outside the United States with which we hold a twinning or other collaborative agreements. Each such institution – e.g., school, social center, retreat house - must be sponsored by the Jesuit Province in which it is located. We are not in a position to aid organizations that are not direct works of the Society of Jesus.

• Checks should be written to “Jesuit Missions.” 100% of your benefaction will be forwarded by the Maryland Province Jesuits to the Jesuit-sponsored institution to which you wish to donate funds; but for compliance with the IRS, your donor’s letter must state that the gift is to be made as an unrestricted gift to “Jesuit Missions’” and that you express a “hope” that the money may be given to your intended overseas Jesuit institution.

• Please note, too, that you should send a letter accompanying your check.

• Once your check and your accompanying letter are received, a letter of acknowledgment will be sent to you for your tax purposes.

You may send a letter and enclosed check to our address: Maryland Province Jesuits Advancement Office, PO Box 64818, Baltimore, MD 21264.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss.

Thanks for your generosity.

Sincerely In Christ,

Edward F. Plocha
Director of Advancement
The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus

Loss at Bronc's Zoo

Saint Joseph's can't catch feisty Rider Philadelphia Daily News

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - They weren't playing the Wachovia Center this time, but Saint Joseph's-Rider still had an NBA-type of feel - especially in the first half - even in what looked and felt like a high school gym.

The atmosphere was still loud, albeit more congested. Anything but paradise. However, the play on the court was wide-open and fast-paced, with shots being hoisted seemingly every second.

The style seemed to suit both the Hawks and the host Broncs, a pair of teams that like to run and get up and down the floor.

But when it came down to the individual battles, once the race turned into a crawl toward the finish line, St. Joe's just failed to execute, whether it was rebounding or making a key stop at the defensive end. Rider, on the other hand, won the loose balls and came up with crucial baskets.

In the end, that's what sealed the Hawks' fate, an 81-73 loss to the Broncs last night in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,650 in Rider's Alumni Gymnasium. St. Joe's beat Rider in their opener last season, Nov. 14 at the Wachovia Center, 69-57.

"The difference to me was really when they needed a bucket, they shot layups. When we needed one, we were taking jumpers," said St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli, whose team's losing streak increased to three after a 3-0 start. "We had some decisions offensively that were too quick.''

Those quick decisions worked wonders for St. Joe's in the first half, when it shot 55.2 percent. However, the Hawks trailed at the break, 43-40, as they allowed Rider to shoot 51.4 percent. The Broncs ended up outrebounding the Hawks, 20-11, in the half, registering nine offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.

The Hawks outscored the Broncs, 50-24, in the paint, but Rider outrebounded St. Joe's, 44-32.

"We need guards to be involved in the rebounding, and we're counting heavily on our frontcourt - one of them - to be a double-digit rebounder," Martelli said. "So we just need to keep talking about it and challenging people."

(click title for entire article)

The Brennans were there last night... although I'm still waiting for my pretzel change from Corinne.

Snickers is ready to pull the sleigh ;-)