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By Ron P. Coderre
RPC here, cleaning out the “sports in-box” while trying to also squeeze in a few more hours of Christmas shopping before the stores close on December 24.
Congratulations on a New Baby
There’s a new addition to the northeastern Connecticut community. William Mulcahy Andersen arrived at 10 a.m. on December 10 just in time to enjoy his first Christmas. William is the son of Brian and Susan Andersen of Thompson. He came into the world weighing exactly 9 pounds and stretching out at 21 inches. In addition to mom and dad, William was welcomed by his 5-year-old twin big brothers, Jack and Braden Andersen.
RPC is pleased to announce that mom and baby boy are both doing well. Mom, who is the Development Officer at Marianapolis Prep, didn’t have much time to rest as she had to get the Andersen household ready for Santa Claus. She’s expected to be back to work and active in the Putnam Rotary Club sometime after the start of 2014.
Back In The Saddle
For those of us who read the fine print in the Transactions section of the daily sports news, it was a welcome site to see news coming out of Washington, D.C. regarding the Nationals baseball club in Syracuse of the International League. The Nats announced that Billy Gardner Jr. will be the team’s manager this upcoming summer. He’ll be joined by pitching coach Paul Menhart.
If the names Gardner and Menhart sound familiar to local baseball followers, both are southeastern Connecticut products and should be known by many from our area. Gardner, Jr. is the son of former Minnesota Twins manager and former major league journeyman player for the former New York Giants Billy Gardner, Sr. The younger Gardner, who played at Waterford and Mitchell College and had some year’s in the minors, has been coaching at a number of minor league spots throughout the country. This appears to be a good move for the very likeable Gardner.
Menhart, who once pitched in the major leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays is a knowledgeable baseball man with years of coaching experience under his belt. He played for the good New London American Legion teams coached by Jimmy O’Neill.
Gardner, who also used to blow the whistle for the Eastern Board basketball contingent and Menhart should form a good combination for the Washington Nationals. Let’s hope the next step might be some place in the major leagues for the pair.
Local College Hoops Update
The primary college news this week emanates as it has been lately from Quinnipiac University, where former Marianapolis players Ike Azotam and Ousmane Drame continue to shine. Azotam was named the ECAC New England Player of the Week for his performance when he averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats who went 1-1.
In a loss to Rider he had 24 points and seven boards and in a win over Vermont he posted 18 points and 13 rebounds. His numbers in the Vermont game were the 32nd time he’s had a double-double, which is second on the all time list at Quinnipiac. He’s also only the sixth player in school history to surpass 1000 points and 800 rebounds in a career. Drame had 14 points in the victory over the Catamounts.
In its most recent game the 6-4 Bobcats lost 69-58 to Lehigh University. Azotam once again was high scorer with 18 markers while Drame contributed 14 points.
From The Annals Of Putnam Sports History
January 1903: Putnam High School girls were defeated 12-4 in basketball by Connecticut Agricultural College (Could this possibly be the current University of Connecticut? I believe this was prior to Geno Auriemma.). The team bounced back to beat Killingly 24-13.
RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: Find something to cheer about.