Eddie Alvarez Puts on a Clinic
MMA Champ, Eddie Alvarez, Comes Home
The clinic will begin at 7:00pm in the NC wrestling room (off the cafeteria) and will last for about an hour. There will be a $5 charge for anyone who is not a member of the wrestling club at North.
If you want to see one of our own, who has made it to the top of his profession, stop by the wrestling room Tuesday night. We hope to send someone from TheFalconNest to cover this event and provide some pictures. Click Here for Eddie's official website.
The Falcon Nest....Now on Twitter
How it Works.
Twitter is a social networking site, where you can join and follow and/or be followed by others. It’s in real time, so once someone “Tweets” (that’s what updates are called in the Twitter World), anyone who follows will see those updates seconds after they are posted. In addition, if you don’t “Twitter”, all updates by TheFalconNest.com staff will immediately be posted to TheFalconNest.com blog (See posts on right side of this page). At this time, updates are also posted to the football site, with the expectation that they will also be added to the other North Catholic sports sites. Twitter tweets are generally one or two sentence updates, given in real time to all those who follow. They can be used to notify people of NC events, scores during games, or just random thoughts that concern North Catholic.
What you Need to Do
There are two ways to follow our Twitter updates. First, you can click on the “Follow us on Twitter” link on the right hand side of this blog. Then, once you get to the Twitter site, create an account. The second way is to just keep coming back to this site to see the updates (Tweets) as they are posted in real time. The benefit of the first option is, if you have a phone with internet capability, you can get the mobile version of Twitter and follow our tweets whenever they are posted. If you can’t make it to a game, there’s a good chance someone from our staff will be there to report scores or any other significant event during the games. We’ll also try to keep you updated with schedule changes, website updates, etc. This blog will display the latest three tweets from our staff.
If that didn't help, try this video, which is titled, "Twitter In Plain English", from the folks at CommonCraft.com. Give it a minute to load up and then just click the play button. Twitter In Plain English
Our GoalThe goal of TheFalconNest.com is to try to reach as many North Catholic supporters as we can. With football, soccer, basketball and wrestling being represented on this blog, it seems like we’re off to a good start. We are willing to try nearly anything to get the word out about our teams and their successes. If you have any ideas and/or suggestions to reach more people, just drop us a line. I can be reached at webmaster@NorthCatholicFootball.com.
Random Easter Thoughts
Rumor has it....
………..Freshman wrestler and football player, Anthony “AJ” Vizcarrondo, entered the Freshman National Wrestling Tournament in Virginia. AJ made it into the final 8, which gives him the title of Freshman All American. After getting beaten in a close match (4-3), AJ swept through the consolation bracket to claim 3rd place. Click Here for Coach Savage’s recap of the post-season for the wrestling team.
.…..Senior Football all star Kyle Fellenbaum received the Frankford Boys Club “Boy of the Year” award last month. In between his school work and football schedule, Kyle found time to give back to the next generation of Frankford Boys Club football players. Read more about Kyle on the school site
…..The people who run the NC soccer website are working to add a “Donate” button on their site so people will be able to effectively “swipe” their card at that site to donate money. Don’t be surprised if they then add an online store later, where people will be able to buy soccer clothes and memorabilia right from the site. Good job to the soccer guys
.…..The school is utilizing a business tax credit to raise much needed cash for the school. The program is open to nearly any business who pays Pennsylvania business tax is eligible…..and, the best part of it is that it’s free.
.….Tom Kaiser was named Development Director, but I believe his title is something like Director of Educational Advancement. Tom’s job is to do whatever he can do to get asses in the seats and money in the bank. If you want to help Tom, just call the school. I’m sure he’d be willing to take whatever help you can provide.
....that Mike Ritchie was not mentioned in this week's edition of the Falcon Nest, even though he managed to run the alumni 5k run in the rain on Saturday.
Upcoming Events and games
….Baseball team - The Falcons travel to Archbishop Ryan on Tuesday to take on the Raiders in a Catholic League Red Division game. The Falcons are currently tied with Bonner for first place, with 4 teams only 1 game behind. On Thursday, the team will host Ryan at Piccoli field to complete the home-home series.
….Lacrosse – We believe the team has two games this week. On Tuesday, they travel to Council Rock North and on Friday, they host the Eagles, from Conwell-Egan. We say “we believe”, because we’re really not sure how this team is doing, but we’d know more if someone would write about the team in this column (there’s only so many places one man can be).
….School – The annual Red Tie Gala will be held on April 18, 2009 at Pen Ryn Manor. Click here for more info
….Soccer team – The soccer guys are very busy. After successfully pulling off their second annual Hall of Fame dinner, they will be holding a Celebrity Bartending event at Casper’s (Cottman and Frankford) on Saturday, April 18th, from 4:00 – 8:00PM. Also, the annual soccer golf outing will be held on April 25th, at the Juniata Country Club and Spa. Click here for more information on both events. Golfers and sponsors are needed.
….Football team – The football team will hold their annual golf outing on Sunday, May 17th, at Bryne Golf Course. Click here for more information. If you can help out by sponsoring a hole or bringing a foursome to this event, it will go a long way to helping the program.
FALCON WRESTLERS STORM THE OFF-SEASON!!!

THE NORTH WRESTLERS WERE COACHED IN VIRGINIA BEACH BY RICK MASCINO AND COSIMO COSTA.
THE WRESTLERS AND COACHES ALSO GOT TO SPEND SOME TIME ON THE BEACH WHICH GAVE COSIMO A CHANCE TO TAKE HIS SHIRT OFF TO FLEX HIS MUSCLES IN FRONT OF THE KIDS:

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME COSIMO TOOK OFF HIS SHIRT TO POSE FOR SOME PICTURES:
NORTH WRESTLERS AT MAWAS
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NORTH WRESTLERS WHO PLACED IN THE MAWA DISTRICT AND REGIONAL TOURNAMENT.
DISTRICTS:
JEREMY RIETH - 1ST PLACE
AJ VIZCARRONDO - 2ND PLACE
RICK MASCINO - 2ND PLACE
JUAN RUIZ - 4TH PLACE
REGIONALS:
JEREMY REITH - 1ST PLACE
AJ VIZCARRONDO - 2ND PLACE
RICK MASCINO - 2ND PLACE
JEREMY, AJ AND RICK WILL WRESTLE IN THE MAWA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SALISBURY MARYLAND THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY. GOOD LUCK RICK, AJ, AND JEREMY!
WELL THATS ALL FOR NOW. HAVE A GREAT EASTER.
COACH SAVAGE
Hopkins shuts out Roman
Editor’s Note: I know I wasn’t at the game, but since TheFalconNest.com had representation at this game, our winning streak is still intact. The team is now 3-0 when we have someone at the game.
Pablo tried his best to file a real report, but I didn’t have my Spanish to English dictionary handy, so I’ll just report the facts of the game. Senior pitcher, Bob Hopkins pitched a complete game, one hitter, as the Falcons cruised from beginning to end in this lopsided victory. Hopkins helped himself at the plate, going 2 for 3 (1 double) and knocking in a run. Sophomores Mike “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” Zolk and Ryan Hires both went yard, while combining for a 2 for 6 batting performance and accounting for 6 of the 7 runs batted in (2 runs were unearned). Nearly everyone in the lineup contributed in this game. Keep in mind that yesterday’s lineup featured 2 seniors and 7 underclassmen. That’s a lot of youth, which means this team could make some noise for the next couple of years.
Next game is Monday, when the Falcons play a non-league game against Penn Charter, at Villanova’s baseball field in Plymouth-Meeting. If you get a chance, go out and see the the first place Falcons in person.
Rumor has it that Jeff Graham, who’s trying to gain super fan status, was in attendance. That’s two games in a row. Jeff was seen chatting it up with Paul Moore, class of 1981. Note to Jeff: You have a long way to go to gain the status bestowed on men like Tim Murphy, Ed White and Tom Crossett.
Rumor also has it that former Falcon baseball coach, and man about town, Tim Murphy, was in attendance.
Final Note: I got a call last night from a friend of mine who was at the game. He told me that he saw some guy who resembled Pablo the intern, mumbling on his way home, something like, “EL blanco gorras son feos.” We’re not sure what that means, but we’ll get back to you.
The Future of the Falcon Nest
Our Humble Beginnings
This site was created as a vehicle for me to say what I wanted to say about the football team; specifically the happenings at the games and not so much about the games themselves. I tend to be a little opinionated, and for people who don’t know me well, I might rub them the wrong way. So, I created this blog site and purchased the domain name “TheFalconNest.com” and I began my weekly rants about the football games. Some was serious, some was in jest, but all was done with the intent of exposing the team and the games to not just the alumni who cannot make it to games, but to the world. There’s no easier way to do this than with the Internet. It was with this humble beginning that this blog was created.
After posting a few articles, I was asked by Tom Crosset if I could create a similar blog for the soccer team. You see, Tom is a thinker, and I believe he saw a real value in this blog thing. Hell, I was just doing it for fun. But, after Tom’s inquiry, I started thinking, despite the pain that I feel sometimes when I do that. I suggested that we use the same blog for both sports. After all, the name “TheFalconNest” was generic enough for any team to use, yet specific enough for North Catholic. Tom made his first entry on behalf of the soccer team on September 15, 2008 and the multi-sport North Catholic Sports Blog was born.
Gaining Momentum
After the football and soccer seasons ended, I felt that there was definitely something to this blog thing. I intended to follow the basketball team and do whatever I could do to help them out. So, after driving to Upper Marlboro, MD, to catch the first game of the 2008-2009 campaign, I posted a blog entry for the basketball team on December 7, 2008. Then, after finally tracking down Jim Savage, our wrestling coach, I was able to convince him that a blog would be much better than the normal email summaries he sends to the wrestling community. Coach agreed and sent me his first submission, which he had already sent out via email. But, on December 22, 2008, the wrestling team officially joined the nest and now can be followed by everyone and anyone.
I often get emails, text messages, phone calls, etc from alumni asking why nothing has been posted after a game. Sometimes I get those inquiries just hours after a game ends. I generally try to take care of stats and photos first and then, after a day or so, post an article here. One alumnus told me that this blog has become as regular as his morning cup of coffee. Wow! We’re now competing with Maxwell House. I can’t guarantee that we’ll be good to the last drop, but this blog certainly will make you “regular” after reading it.
A Desire to Expand
As I stated above, 4 sports teams at NC use this blog. It has gone from my personal blog about the football games to a community blog about all NC sports. But, there are more teams out there who could definitely use the exposure. If you would like the baseball, lacrosse, track and field or bowling teams to post here (we don’t have the table tennis team anymore, do we?), contact the coach and have them contact me at this email address: NorthCatholic@gmail.com. It’s totally painless to get hooked up…and it’s FREE!
The Rules of the Road
Since I technically own this blog, I get to set the rules.
Rules:
1. You have to have a basic understanding of the English language. I’m not an English major, and I’ve dangled a few participles in my day, but I have to believe that what I write is readable. We expect the same from any contributors to this blog.
2. What you write must be positive. We frown on this blog being used as a bully pulpit for a disgruntled writer.
3. We encourage the mentioning of the crowd, parents, alumni and any out of the ordinary thing that happens at a contest. We’ve found that people love reading about things other than raw stats and outcomes.
4. You may not take shots at the NC Administration. But, poking a little fun is always encouraged. They all have a good sense of humor……we think.
5. Taking shots at the league and/or the puppeteers at the Archdiocese is fair game. But, be nice when you do so.
6. No criticizing the officials. They have a tough job, and it doesn’t even pay them enough where they can get the glasses that many of them need.
7. A picture or two is always nice. (I prefer a sunset shot over the ocean myself)
8. As owner of this blog, I reserve the right to change the rules as I please.
Is He Done Yet?
In closing (probably didn’t think this would ever end, did you?), I just want to say that starting this blog was easy but the evolution was serendipitous (that word is worth about $3.38), and could be the single source of sports summaries for Northeast Catholic High School. But, we can’t do it without you (I’m talking to the coaches here).
North Catholic Wrestling Banquet
MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER(S): - Kevin Mallon and Matt Dugan
MARK RUSHTON SENIOR AWARD: - TJ Van Horn
MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER: - Jeremy Reith
JV ANIMAL OF THE YEAR: - Riccardo Roman
NORTH WRESTLING HALL OF FAME AWARD: - Tony Conway
Other awards of note:
Most Takedowns: TJ Van Horn
Most Falls: - David Davidson
Most Team Points: - Kevin Mallon
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING FALCON SENIORS ON THEIR COLLEGE CHOICES:
Kevin Mallon - will wrestle at Division 1 Lock Haven University
TJ Van Horn - will wrestle at Division 2 East Stroudsburg University
Shane Rand - will attend Seton Hall University on an academic scholarship
Matt Dugan - will attend either LaSalle or Holy Family
TAKEDOWN A THON
thanks to all that helped our takedown a thon. we raised over $3000 for breast cancer research! David Davidson was the #1 fundraiser with over $500 raised. Also thanks to the Memphis Taproom (http://www.memphistaproom.com/) who donated $1000 to our cause.
Lastly....best of luck to all of the falcon wrestlers in their off-season training....the season is only 8 months away!!!!
Letter to the Editor
Initial Feasibility Report
2009 Thanksgiving Program
Recent Stories about Closing
- Fighting to Save North and Dougherty
- Alumni stunned, angered by North Catholic closure
- Schools Dimissed
- Forever a Falcon
- North Catholic-Frankford seeing larger venue
- North closure bitter news for this Falcon
- The news stuns North Catholic, too
- No more schools
- Catholic schools shift with the population
- NC, CD leave proud sports legacies
- Plans to shut 2 Catholic schools prompt sadness
- Soccer alumni looking for ways to save North
- The tradition, the incredible memories
- Archdiocese says its not abandoning city kids for 'burbs
- North Catholic grads hope for miracle save
- Players, coaches heartbroken by school closings
- Dougherty, North Catholic teams stunned at news of closing
- Archdiocese: Northeast Catholic, Cardinal Dougherty to close
- 2 Catholic high schools to close in Phila
Articles Related to NC Closing
- Cristo Rey Info (Alumni Site)
- Cristo Rey Info (School Site)
- Supporters of Dougherty & North find a frustrating parade of Q's withoutA's
- No Falcon Left Behind
- What Happened to the Promise?
- TIME - Solving the Catholic School Crisis
- Critical Thinking: Education Alternatives to Consider
- Archdiocese Unleashes Nuclear Option on NC