By Ron P. Coderre

This week’s RPC column is dedicated to Quinnatisset Country Club golf operations manager Mike Pizzetti.  The cold weather and snow is the only reason Pizzetti isn’t at the course in the winter.  A hard working individual, Pizzetti deserves the opportunity for time off and sunshine,  besides that, his birthday is Jan. 16.

Jeff Jacobs is the well-known and highly respected sports columnist of the Hartford Courant.  His opinions, which range from a variety of topics on professional and college sports, are articulate, complimentary and sometimes scathing.  He’s also been known to express his candid thoughts on the performers and coaches without favoritism.  He’s not what might be classified as a “homer” because he is known to tell it like it is.

What most readers of the thousands of columns that he’s written don’t know about the popular Jacobs is that he lives in Moosup.  That’s correct, Moosup, the famous village in the town of Plainfield.

Occasionally Jacobs is known to write soft columns, which are more personal in nature, sometimes referring to people and events that he’s experienced in northeastern Connecticut.  An example is the column he wrote approximately a decade ago about the heart attack he suffered while covering a basketball game at Mohegan Sun.  In that article he highlighted and thanked two Day Kimball physicians, Lisa Cantor and Bill Bradbury, whom he credits with saving his life.

Recently he wrote on the topic of the difference of being a fan of sports and being a fan of a sport.  In hundreds of words he notes that being a fan of a team often brings out a side of people that isn’t displayed under normal circumstances.  For example, how parents at a game where one of their offspring is participating can sometimes be over the edge.  Even to the point of where their screaming may embarrass their spouse who is sitting beside them.

After going from originally being a fan of a team to a more relaxed and objective fan of the game, Jacobs admits he’s recently reverted to “the glory of a being a fan of a team.”  The reason – his son Liam who is a junior and a mainstay on the Bob Arremony-coached Plainfield Panthers.

Since Liam Jacobs has ascended to varsity status, dad, Jeff Jacobs admits that when he’s watching his son play he thinks “Anything is possible.”  He admits that he tries to adjust his schedule to attend as many games as possible.  When he can’t be in attendance he clips out game box scores from the Norwich Bulletin, which he pastes in a notebook, feeling like “I’m 14 again.”

The way Liam is performing, Jacobs has enjoyed reading and clipping, although he admits when play gets sloppy and turnovers occur he wants to apologize to Liam’s coach and the other parents for his fan behavior.  He admits he can’t stop himself from rooting as a fan of the team and knowing that “the next shot is going in.”  That’s the message he delivers to his son because right now he believes it, as he admits “I am a fan.”

After years of sitting and reporting on hundreds, possibly even thousands of games, where as a fan of sports he’s simply been an ardent but objective observer, Jacobs deserves the opportunity to root out loud for Liam and the Panthers.

As a father of three boys who played high school sports and brought me great pleasure, my advice Jeff is “Enjoy the ride.”  The years go by so quickly that soon they’ll only be memories.  Memories you can share fondly with Liam.

Farewell to a Man Whose 

Hammer and Tools Brought 

Pleasure to Many

Jean-Yves Drouin, known intimately by his friends and acquaintances as “Frenchie,” died unexpectedly on Dec. 29, 2014, doing what he did so well, working for other people.  At 67 years old he died too young, when he collapsed while working on a roof.

For 51 of his 67 years, “Frenchie” worked as a carpenter and handyman in the Putnam area, where he and his hammer and tools were the creator of porches, additions, roofs, fire pits and garages.  He was a craftsman who viewed every job he did as a work of art.

Around the community of Putnam he was often found driving his pick-up truck or motorcycle, which transported him to his favorite haunts, Dunkin’ Donuts, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore or flea markets and yard sales.

But it wasn’t until his daughter moved to North Carolina that “Frenchie” learned to relax as he became a huge fan of NASCAR.  On visits to North Carolina he was able to take in races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  His biggest thrill was a gift he received from his daughter of driving a NASCAR auto around the famed oval.

My personal memory of “Frenchie” is the pride he expressed when he showed me a plaque with his photo from his ride around the Charlotte track.  The small piece describing his experience, which appeared in Ramblings, Points and Comments brought his experience full cycle, making him a noted sportsman and celebrity.

His death was a shock to those who knew him or for whom he had plied his trade.  They are still reeling and find it difficult to fathom.  But from the “big track in the sky” Frenchie is smiling down on his friends and most likely rubbing elbows with some NASCAR greats.  You’ll be missed more than you would ever have realized, “Frenchie.”

On The Mend

It’s great to see Charlie Franklin up and about and strolling on Sports Avenue after a stop at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester.  Word on the street is that Franklin is up to his old habits of harassing his friends in the Elks Pitch League on Wednesday evenings and kibitzing with his customers at Putnam Farmers Co-op.  A 1958 graduate of Putnam High School where he played a little hoop, Franklin is promising to get back into his schoolboy playing shape.  Be on the lookout for Charlie and wish him well as he returns to good health.

Catching Up with Scoochie

Last week local fans enjoyed the opportunity to witness a great performance by a former Putnam Science Academy standout if they were tuned in to NBCSN for the Atlantic-10 game between the University of Dayton and Duquesne University.  The home team Flyers beat the visiting Dukes thanks to a solid performance by Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith.

Recruited off the Maple St. campus by Dayton coach Archie Miller, Smith is paying rich dividends for the man who believed in him.  In the victory over Duquesne, Smith turned in a tremendous floor game while managing to score a career high 16 points.  Some recent team issues have witnessed three Flyers suspended from the team providing Smith and others with the job of carrying the load for coach Miller.

While a Mustang for coach Tom Espinosa, Smith scored a career-leading 1,010 points.  The way the sophomore guard is performing in Dayton it appears that he could be headed for some great stats there before he receives his degree.

Bobby Ahearn, the former Marianapolis standout, is currently a freshman at Binghamton University.  In a recent game against the University of Hartford, Ahearn played 23 minutes in the 69-59 loss.  He was 3-3 from the floor for six points with three rebounds before fouling out.

Quinnipiac University leveled its record at 7-7 following a 68-64 victory over Monmouth College of New Jersey.  Ex-Marianapolis standout Ousmane Drame had 17 points in the win while former PSA big man freshman Chaise Daniels had three points.

RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: Nothing worthwhile comes easy or cheap.

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