GameTime CT

Connecticut's premier high school sports website

  • GIRLS SPORTS
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Field Hockey
    • Golf
    • Gymnastics
    • Hockey
    • Indoor Track
    • Lacrosse
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Volleyball
    • Track & Field
  • BOYS SPORTS
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Cross Country
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Hockey
    • Indoor Track
    • Lacrosse
    • Soccer
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Track & Field
    • Volleyball
    • Wrestling
  • Schools
  • Newspapers
    • CT Post
    • The Danbury News-Times
    • Greenwich Time
    • The Middletown Press
    • New Haven Register
    • The Norwalk Hour
    • The Register Citizen
    • The Stamford Advocate
  • Polls
    • Baseball Top 10
    • Boys Basketball Top 10
    • Girls Basketball Top 10
    • Football Top 10
    • Hockey Top 10
    • Boys Lacrosse Top 10
    • Softball Top 10
    • Other Polls
  • Scores & Stats
Girls Sports

Owen Canfield: Time for hoops

Gametime CT | October 22, 2013

Are you ready for Park and Rec basketball? Gladys Brennan at the Rec Department said Tuesday that she has not yet determined an opening date for the eternally popular Young Men’s League, which last year began play on Nov. 17.

Gladys and R.J. Poniatoski are in charge of this league. To reach Gladys, potential team representatives may call the Department at 860-489-2274 until 1. p.m. Poniatoski is listed in the Torrington phone book.

I enjoy watching this league’s games as much as the athletes, some of whom are in shape, enjoy taking part. Many decades ago, I worked part-time for the Rec Department, teaming with the formidable Andy Pitonak as scorekeeper and timekeeper for these games. I took great memories home those late evenings, of former high school and college stars like Jerry Alaimo, Clem Sidlosky, the late Eddie Barber, Al Kuzynski, Father John Montgomery, who was at that time stationed at St. Francis Church, Louie Ganem and scores of others. Many of the players had never played in school but all of them played to win.

Around this time of year, they got teams together, found sponsors and played because they still had in them that thirst for competition that is never truly quenched even after the music stops and the cheering crowds have long ago dispersed.

Even though he’s in overall charge of the league, Poniatoski is a board referee himself and can often be found on Sunday afternoons working a game or two. That is when they play, on Sundays, all games at the armory. “We usually schedule six games per Sunday starting at 10 a.m.,” he said. “We have A and B divisions. And we start up either the Sunday befoe or theSunday after Thanksgiving.”

The equally popular PAL League is already forming up and holding tryouts, according to Ms Brennan.

I’m sure Winsted has a similar league, but when I called that city’s Rec Department at 3.p.m. Tuesday, a recorded voice suggested I leave a message.

Speaking to Paige

I was so impresses by a Republican-American newspaper profile of Torrington’s Paige Middleton a couple of weeks ago that I had to call her. Paige is a junior honor student and athlete at THS. She is a starter in soccer and basketball for the Red Raiders and Wow, what a player!

I have known about her basketball skills because I had the opportunity to watch her play in the PAL League for a couple of years. She was a teammate of my granddaughter Hayley and the team leader.

But it was the answers to the interviewer’s questions in the aforementioned profile that moved me to call her. Yes, she repeated to me, her dream college is Tufts. She has visited the Medford, Mass. college and hopes to study – ‘ya ready? – biomedical engineering there after high school. What three people would she like to invite to dinner? J.K. Rowling, Abraham Lincoln and Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton. Paige said she is a very distant relative of the Princess. No kidding.

More. Psychology is her favorite subject in school; she’d rather eat beef stew than anything and yes, even though she had a little help from her Grandma, she taught herself to play the piano. OK?

Oh, one more little thing. Her favorite quote is from Buddha: “Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future; concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

I think she is an extraordinary young woman and I told her so.

One of a Kind

The late Bum Phillips, speaking long ago in praise of a fellow coach he admired, said: “He could beat yourn with his’n or his’n with yourn.” Never met Bum but from everything I have learned about him through the years he was a good man, good coach and good ‘ol Texas fella. They say he was more fun to talk to than any big league sports coach or manager since Casey Stengel.

About Gametime CT

Newsletter Signup

Don't strike out on CT high school sports news. Sign up for The Whistle newsletter from GametimeCT

You agree to our Terms of Use. Your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy.

Spring Sports Quick Links

Spring Sports Quick Links

BASEBALL 2021: PRESEASON TOP 10 | PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO SEE
SOFTBALL 2021: PRESEASON TOP 10 | PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO SEE
BOYS LACROSSE 2021: PRESEASON TOP 10 | PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO WATCH
GIRLS LACROSSE: PLAYERS TO WATCH | GAMES TO SEE
Spring Sports Schedules

Winter 2021 Preview Links

Winter Sports 2021 Links

2021 ALL-STATE TEAMS

GTCT: BOYS BASKETBALL | GIRLS BASKETBALL | BOYS HOCKEY | GIRLS HOCKEY
CHSCA: GIRLS BASKETBALL | GYMNASTICS | BOYS HOCKEY | CHSGHA: GIRLS HOCKEY

TeamPlayer Scores and Stats search

Scores and Stats

Video

Podcasts

Fall Sports Quick Links

Fall Sports Quick Links

2021 FOOTBALL COLLEGE RECRUITING LIST
2020 GAMETIMECT ALL-STATE TEAMS
BOYS SOCCER
GIRLS SOCCER
FIELD HOCKEY
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
2020 LEAGUE PLAYOFFS:
Central Connecticut
Fairfield County
Shoreline Conference
Southern Connecticut
South-West Conference

Twitter

Tweets

Polls

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
Follow Us
© Copyright 2017 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC