Summer League Basketball

One of our young staffers had nothing better to do, so he trekked up to the Perzel Center in the heart of Mayfair to catch the Falcons basketball players in the summer league playoffs. On the previous night, the Falcons disposed of Father Judge by over 40 points. But, this night wouldn’t be as easy, as the Falcons would be taking on a very competitive team from Cherokee (NJ). This Cherokee team had some very tall and very athletic players on their team. But, our guys were just as athletic, and probably a bit quicker. During the game, the Falcons built a 25 point lead at one point. During the second half, with their shooting getting a little cold, the Falcons’ lead dwindled to about 10. The Falcons recovered and came away with a 15 point win.

Did You Notice……
….At the scheduled tip-off time (7:00PM), there were only 4 Falcons on the court. (Read On)

….Just prior to game time, a Falcon player was seen leaving the building. From what our staffer was told, that player forgot his sneakers. We’re not mentioning names here. This player’s quick thinking dad figured it would be quicker to head up to the mall and get a new pair than it would be to drive home and back. Now that’s taking one for the team.

….Two other players showed up just prior to tip-off. Tom “Puck” McKenna, statistician extraordinaire, mentioned that these two players were in “Mawuhwin.” After asking him a second and third time what he was saying, it finally dawned on our staffer that he was trying to say “Maryland”.

….In this league, they play two 16 minute halves, instead of four 8 minute quarters. We like the two halves better.

….that late in the second half, the score-keeper couldn’t seem to figure out what the score was. This left coach Lefty Ervin perplexed and he asked for some “adult” help with the scoring.

….the game was getting so far out of hand, it appeared as though Lefty took a short nap while the team was building their lead. (I’m sure he wasn’t sleeping, but from the other side of the gym, it was reported that he looked like he was sawing some logs.)

Faces in the Crowd….
….Keep in mind that this is June, and there are almost 3 months before any North team plays a real game. So, what do you think a Super Fan is to do? That’s right, he shows up for a summer league basketball game in Mayfair. We had not one, but two super fans in attendance for this game. Our young staffer was flanked by Mr Tim Murphy on his right and Mr Ed White on his left. Apparently, both Super Fans needed a NC fix.

….Sitting behind Murph, was his lovely daughter, Erin. Erin recently graduated from Little Flower and is, from what we understand, heading to LaSalle University in the fall. Good luck to Erin from the entire staff at TheFalconNest.

….Also spotted in the stands was JV coaches Guy Moore and Tom Ballard. They are just two of the very knowledgeable coaches on the NC staff.

….Near the end of the game, our staffer reports, he was introduced to Jim O’Connell, who is a North grad from the late 1960’s. Jim lives over in NJ these days and has a son on the Cherokee team. But, I’m sure part of him was still happy with the NC win. Jim and his family are huge supporters of North Catholic. It was real nice seeing him.

….As mentioned earlier, Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna was in the bleachers filming the game. Not sure who watches these films, but Puck needs something to do in the summer.