Post-Mortem
After last Saturday's nightmare, I am contemplating retirement from both ranking and coaching. I feel like Joe Paterno (sorry John Donodeo). However, my lucrative long-term contracts in both areas and the substantial remuneration and perks I receive preclude me from exercising the aforementioned option.

1. Chaminade...there was absolutely no reason why they should have won; how did they possibly get all 5 scorers in the top 22? I, and any other coach I can think of, doff our caps to the Flyer seven and Coach Carriero for a truly remarkable effort; hallowed tradition often results in the supreme effort; remember the Battle of Waterloo (or was it the naval battle of Trafalgar) was won on the playing fields of Eton

2. St.Anthony's...this was not the same team that was rightly ranked #2 to Shen at the season's start; I don't think they know what happened

3.Monsignor Farrell...the Lions missed a golden opportunity; wait until next year, but that's what the old Brooklyn Dodgers said and next year rarely came

4.Fordham Prep...congrats to Brian McCabe; he got the perfect stalking trip and was able to use his brilliant half-miler speed

5.St.Francis Prep...emerged from their larval cocoon as a monarch butterfly; kudos to John Barnes, who is emblematic of the "fifth everyman;" it was he who decided the one point squeaker over Sea; Terriers stick it in Buckley's ear

6.St.Joseph by the Sea...the agony of defeat

7.Holy Trinity...a pair of top efforts helped secure this placing; vastly improved team; Coach Muller has done this before

8.Kellenberg Memorial...a Kafkaesque performance (you're at a cross-country meet, you have no idea how you got there, or why you're there at all...and there's no escape)

9.Xaverian...given the Firebirds flop, there is no reason for not making the State Meet;McCartney & Buckley are beside themselves; rage is their only solution

10.Xavier...Dormer was right about deserving the #10 prediction going in; but 296 pts.,ouch

CHSAA Cities Predictions - w/ending Nov 2

Two years ago, I was a prognostication genius. The Firebirds won it all as I said they would. Last year was not as good. I touted my own team to win. They wound up a rather sub-par 4th (nobody was beating St.Anthony's anyway that day.) What happens this Saturday? Do I "overpredict" success for my own team? Is my heart clouding my handicapper's vision? We can discuss this all on Saturday after the race in the "South Bend" or whatever it's called now. A pint of Guinness should make us all think clearer.

(point totals and betting odds in parentheses)

1.St.Anthony's...(68)(1-2)...three scorers with single digit numbers should help ensure the Friars repeat; can either of the three win the race? If healthy and they're on, any one of them could conceivably emerge the victor; however, the back two scorers can't afford to go in the tank

2.Monsignor Farrell (76)(3-1)...have a legitimate shot; I was originally going to pick them in an upset, but Dave Daly made me think otherwise; (notice how I'm trying to cover myself); to win, they must split up the three Anthony's stars and rely on their great team balance; they will win, if they accomplish the split; drinks "on the CUFFE" if victorious (at the aforementioned "South Bend" or its successor)

3.Chaminade (100)(15-1)...McDermott is a slight favorite for the individual title off recent success; the Flyers need improved effort across the board to challenge for either of the top two spots

4.Kellenberg Memorial (134)(35-1)...feast or famine; which Firebird team will show up?; would love to beat Chaminade for 3rd (just on general principles), but need breakout races for tail end of team; unlikely; Can Schmidt beat McDermott for the championship of West Hempstead (as well as McCabe and the Friars)?; a solid possibility

5.Fordham Prep (171)(40-1)...McCabe leads an improving Ram squad; but can they improve enough; Febles is now saying to himself, "How can Buckley put his team 37 points ahead of mine? Gerry and I beat him last year when he said the same thing."

6.Xaverian (174)(no line...you get the rest of the field at 40-1)...now McCartney and his kids are ticked off at me; prove me wrong and make the State Meet, but beat Fordham and not me

7.St.Francis Prep (228)...Jiminez keeps improving and a 5th scorer is evolving, but evolution is a slow process and the Terriers are still in the larval stage

8.Regis (239)...Coach Donodeo life and death to hold off the fast closing P.Diddy

9.St.Joseph by the Sea (251)...must get more than one under 14:00

10.Xavier (265)...Dormer cajoled and, literally, bribed me to put his team in the top ten; it worked as St.Peter's is reduced to a non-listed 11th; proof again that graft and corruption are rampant in the CHSAA; Jim and Mary Scott are being brought in to investigate this outrage

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week ending October 26

1.St.Anthony's...easily handled Chaminade at Nassau-Suffolk Champs (30-47), but 5 man average was only one second faster than the Flyers; scored 4 thru 8, but times were so-so; look vulnerable, but is anybody else good enough to beat them

2.Monsignor Farrell...professional win by a wide margin at NY Sectionals; Cuffe spotted scouting the opposition at Sunken Meadow; that's a long trip; I wonder if his expenses were "on the cuff"

3.Chaminade...runaway win by McDermott at Sunken Meadow; Hoffman steps up his game for 3rd place, but others pretty far back; will McDermott the Very Younger be used at Varsity Cities?

4.Fordham Prep...finally...2nd to Farrell in NY Sectionals; McCabe race winner; times a shade better than Xaverian; be wary George, one false step and you're out of the top five

5.Xaverian...BQ Sectional Champ; congrats to Frank and the team; have a good argument that they should be 4th

6.Kellenberg Memorial...can't score with invisible athletes; IF sound and healthy can be a serious threat in 2 weeks; (IF the Queen had them, she'd be King)(I don't think Rudyard Kipling wrote that IF)

7.Regis...jump up a spot by topping "Sea" at Van Cortland; hey, John, at least the Yankees are in the ashcan

8.St.Joseph by the Sea...have to be disappointed by Sectional effort; still have the potential to crack top five, as the on the bubble teams have not established a gap

9.St.Francis Prep...individual BQ winner is solid and a class kid; still not out out state team running, but lower scorers must join the fray

10.Archbishop Molloy...steady improvement noted; better top man than Xavier earns them this spot

11.Xavier...time is running out

12.St.Peter's...only two under fifteen this week; not the way to get ready for the Cities

13.Bishop Loughlin...cracks the fabulous fifteen for the first time

14.Holy Trinity...lacking in back scorers

15.Iona Prep...staying in Westchester with the split squad didn't help

P.S. next week...predictions and odds

week ending October 19

1.St.Anthony's...narrow loss at Brown to Hendricken; narrowly beat Northport for 2nd (no rivalry there???); nice job without top dog; looks like a great job, but times don't seem overly impressive; tough read

2.Monsignor Farrell...Eureka...3 quality times aid a fine 4th place finish at Easterns; Sophomore Vito joins the mix; heavy sectional favorite, but can they challenge #1; possibly on best effort

3.Chaminade...captured team title at Bethpage meet; victory over Midwood doesn't exactly make your blood curdle; steel cage match this Sunday vs. Friars

4.Kellenberg Memorial...Schmidt top CHSAA time at Easterns; otherwise, TRAINWRECK; Aaron Meyer starts a cottage industry administering post-race to Firebird "A" Team

5.Xaverian...two quality scorers emerge at Easterns; finish ahead of remaining CHSAA pack despite missing athletes

6.Fordham Prep...TRAINWRECK II; finished behind Kellenberg at Easterns; enough said

7.St.Joseph by the Sea...they must've been at Brown, but Ivy League school only lists championship race (elitism); I'm too tired to call Salerno to find out; hold the spot on sheer laziness; belated thanks to student/engineer who erected Kellenberg tent last week

8.Regis...back in top ten, but still a long way to go; Donodeo is still a "Yankee Hater;" I really believe him; I mean, I really believe him; please, Regis grads, believe him; he was set up; never believe anything that you see on television

9.St.Francis Prep...after top two at Easterns "B", a big problem; recovering from Florida sunburn?

10.Xavier..."Heavy D" is heavyhearted; come on guys, step it up

11.St.Peter's...unvailed Frosh runner at Easterns; if get everybody together on same day, the Eagles could mount a challenge

12.Iona Prep...languished in "D" race at Easterns

13.Archbisop Molloy...languished behind the languished in "D"

14.Holy Trinity...see more this weekend

15.St.John the Baptist...matched vs. Holy Trinity this weekend

week ending Oct.12

1. St.Anthony's...continue to look vulnerable; 3rd in Manhattan "C" is not what the Friars had been banking on at season start; should rebound at Brown with return of Flynn

2. Monsignor Farrell...5th in Manhattan "F" does not bode well; still seems they have 49 guys under 14:15 (hyperbole), but when is the top guy or guys going to post a really fast time

3. Chaminade...looked a little punched out after dual meet triumph over #1; it's tough to come back on only two days rest (same for St.Anthony's); will sophs step up to aid the cause

4. Kellenberg Memorial...4th in Manhattan "B" with Schmidt leading all CHSAA harriers (13:04); closed the gap and pose a threat to teams above; showdown with Cuffe at the Dewey carnival

5. Xaverian...breakthrough race with 4th in Manhattan "A"; the Clippers are coming from under the shadow of the Verrazano

6. Fordham Prep...tough afternoon in the Bronx at Manhattan; the commute was probably too far; McCabe is allowed to have one clunker after his top notch performances so far this year; sophs did OK

7. St.Joseph by the Sea...kids missing at Manhattan; SAT's ???, college visits???; who really knows where any opponents athletes are on a given Saturday???

8. St.Francis Prep...Coach May was seen paddling through "It's a Small World (after all):" 10th in 4A race at Disney; no real barometer to judge, but it did not appear impressive; "It's a small world, after all; it's a small world after all..................."

9. Holy Trinity..."MIA"

10.Xavier...no comment this week; I don't feel like commenting

11.Iona Prep...7th in 2A at Disney; Gaels spotted on "Space Mountain" and "Runaway Train;" got adventureous and journeyed to "Dumbo"

12.Regis...see commentary for #7

13.St.Peter's...no comment (part two)

14.Archbishop Molloy...no comment (again); I'm not being paid by the word; I'm not being paid at all

15.St.John the Baptist...Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are Baptists

week ending Oct. 5

1. St.Anthony's...sans Flynn, a not so thrilling 4th at their own meet; still easily handle Msgr. Farrell and Chaminade; but lose to Chaminade 27-28 in dual meet, despite Murphy and Byrnes finishing one-two in under 12:50; how do ya figure?; "a chink in the armor"; (this statement is politically correct)

2. Monsignor Farrell... 11 points better than Chaminade at St.Anthony's Invite, but performance nothing to write home to Staten Island about; a number one killer has not emerged

3.Chaminade...gutsy effort vs. Friars as middle men stepped up big time; can't make the Flyers #1 for they were beaten by Farrell; a major quandry; at least it's getting interesting

4.Kellenberg Memorial...took a pass on consecutive weekend meets; shutout dual meet win over Holy Trinity means nothing as Titans kept best runners out; however, Lowenthal

and Schmidt canter through course in 13:42

5.Fordham Prep...in hibernation for the week

6.St.Joseph by the Sea...posted five mid-range scorers together at PSAL meet; consistency gets the improved rating

7.St.Francis Prep...abyssmal 21st overall and 5th in Div.II at Grout; last week we asked," where's the 5th man?"; this week, the 1st man didn't participate and the rest looked weak; stay away from Schenectedy

8.Xaverian...moves up two places on the hit parade with 10th overall at Grout and 4th in Div.III; get McCartney a job at General Electric; (for those who need the esoterica explained, Schenectedy was the home base for "GE"; no..."esoterica" is not a dirty word)

9.Holy Trinity...Mueller's Red Sox are in the ACLS vs. Yankees; no...it's Muller

10.Xavier...out of hibernation for a 7th place at Brewster Bear Meet; some ray of hope

11.Iona Prep...11th at "Bear," but edged out Regis in mid-week Sacred Heart Meet

12.Regis...certainly did not show much at St.Anthony's; turnaround is not out of the question

13.St.Peter's...same old story...only two are performing well

14.Archbishop Molloy...improved effort by Folenza at Sunken Meadow

15.St.John the Baptist...not showing the expected improvement

Week Ending Sep 28
1. St.Anthony's...ran three to victory at Xavier Meet; just tuning up for bigger and better things

2. Monsignor Farrell...crossed the Mason-Dixon line to take on the almost big boys (seeded race) at Great American; triumvirate of Carbonella, Williamson and Breen helped post a 10th place finish; plenty of depth & balance

3. Chaminade...put a good whuppin' (20-41) on Kellenberg in last week's dual meet; decent move-up by back scorers, but still a step away from Farrell

4. Kellenberg memorial...Schmidt earns top stop in Chaminade dual meet over McDermott by 2 seconds (13:03); otherwise, in the trash can on a Wednesday afternoon by the sea

5. Fordham Prep...McCabe at McQuaid takes 1st; 8th place in "medium size seeded race

(whatever that means)"; tough to guage

6. St.Francis Prep...coming on, but like many teams, "where's the 5th man?"

7. Regis...scored less points that Fordham Prep at the Rochester Jesuit extravaganza, but were in an "unseeded medium size race"; need to improve

8. St.Joseph by the Sea...can get more men under 15:00 than the rest of the teams

9. Holy Trinity...Muller's Titans crack the rankings with a nice performance at Xavier; is his name pronounced as spelled, or is pronounced as Mueller (#22 on 1954 NY baseball Giants), or Miller (like the AL Batting Champ, who spells it like #22 on the 1954 NY Giants)

10.Xaverian...why don't the Clippers spell their school beginning with "Xavier...", like Xavier;

who stole the "i" in Xavier; need everybody under 15:00

11.Xavier...because I believe in Dormer, not because they've shown anything; I don't even know where they are at their own meet

12.St.John the Baptist...kinda on hold; no apparent breakthroughs

13.Iona Prep...the Gaels join the list; definitely on the improve

14.Archbishop Molloy...sign of life; nice top finisher at Xavier Meet

15.St.Peter's...nice effort by Perina, but two scorers isn't going to cut it; Frosh looked great in "winning" unofficial team title, but could we please balance the A-1 & A-2 races as instructed

Week ending Sep 21
1. St.Anthony's...until proven otherwisw

2. Monsignor Farrell...Farrell boosters chartered a plane to get to Van Cortland on Saturday; it was the only mode of transport that got you there within three hours

3. Chaminade...top man solid, but overall weak performance (9th) at Briarwood; Careiro showed class by staying with the Championship Race; other teams from that region have "sandbagged" that race by going in the class races in previous years; dual meet vs. Kellenberg on Wednesday will determine if they stay at #3; slight favorite

4. Kellenberg Memorial..."dyestat chatterers" accuse KMHS top 2 as being "nothing special"; #2 harrier, BrianSchmidt, wins Bill Drake ChampionshipRace at Guilderland in excellent time; sick #1 only 13 seconds behind; need help from below as team finishes 6th; Estrella eschews my advice and takes Cross Bronx/Deegan instead of Baychester/233rd Street...enough said

5. Fordham Prep...McCabe in fine fettle to win at Bear Mountain; team finishes an OK at best 5th

6. St.Francis Prep...definitely looked like a state qualifier possibility

7. Regis

8. Xavier

9. St. Joseph by the Sea

10.Xaverian

11.St.Peter's

12.St. John the Baptist

13.everybody else

***results were unbelievably sketchy this week; Briarwood Race was run (or recorded) in a vacuum (skimpy results); Regis results were posted, but anyone after #22 in the Varsity Race and all runners in the Junior, Soph and 2 Frosh Races were competing as Claude Rains; lets wheel out Tom Dewey's mimeograph machine and Ed Bowes' analog watch; I know...I'm a 19th century man living in the 21st century; I waited 90 minutes for the results of the J.V. Race at Guilderland (yes, another hi-tech computer operation)

***the Van Cortland traffic delay was unfortunate; let's be thankful that none of our athletes were involved in the accident; there's always a race next week

Week ending Sep. 14

1. St. Anthony's...easy win at 3-man scorer Jim Smith Meet at Sunken Meadow; Flynn cruises in 16:29
2. Monsignor Farrell...crowned unofficial champions of Staten Island with a rout in Wagner Invite; as a prize, Coach Cuffe wins dinner for two at Carmens.
3. Chaminade...solid 3rd to Shen and Arlington at Shaker; big gap between McDermott and 2nd scorer for the Flyers
4. Kellenberg Memorial...2nd to #4 State ranked Bethlehem (42-78) at Washingtonville; mystery top two are able to split Bethlehems top four, but the rest of the Firebirds were not in close attendance
5. Fordham Prep...looked good at "The Practice Meet;" McCabe breezes
6. St. Francis Prep...runners appear to be in shape by the times at Sunken Meadow
7. Regis...I know; how can I drop you down in rankings if it was only a practice meet; I write the column so I can do anything I want ("it's good to be the King")
8. Xavier...Coach Dormer spotted by Marty Brown at 1996 U-2 concert; was Coach Donodeo there too?
9. St. Joseph by the Sea...no threat to Farrell, but over 60 points ahead of Xaverian and St.Peter's at Wagner
10. Xaverian...two points ahead of St.Peter's; McCartney wanted the dinner for two, but team fell short by a whole lot
11. St.Peter's...sign of life by select juniors; may do down the road
12. St. John the Baptist...nothing to write home about at Sunken Meadow; better barometer next week
13. everybody else for the time being (St.John's Prep, Mount, Iona Prep, Stepinac, Molloy, Holy Trinity)

PRE-SEASON Boys CHSAA Rankings