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CHAMPIONSHIP NOTEBOOK One of these years, good weather will accompany Championship Sunday at John Burns Park. A cold and raw rain—one that occasionally turned freezing—pelted Massapequa all day November 30. Last year, the second half of the Super Bowl and the entire Touch Bowl was played during a steady snowfall. And just like last year, league officials gave the go-ahead to playing the games as scheduled thanks to the forecast of local weathermen who predicted the rain and snow would not roll in until late-afternoon…Super Bowl XXXIII featured numerous players who also played in the 2001 Bills’ 41-6 win over the Lions in Super Bowl XXVI. Pete Annarumma, Derek Broadnax, Sean Sharkey, Christian Soto and Anthony Zito played in both games for the Bills while Gus Anthanassulas, Jim Denicker, Erik Grzan, Doug Gurley, Richie Hosein, John LaGrega and Brandon Oppenheimer played in both games for the Lions. In addition, Lions’ HB Kaheem Shorter played for the Bills in ‘01…Will the third time be the charm for a team trying to win a fourth straight Super Bowl? The Merrick Mavericks fell to the Manhasset Steelers, 20-7, in Super Bowl XXII in 1997. That was the first of three straight Super Bowl wins for the Steelers, who were upset by the Massapequa Stallions in the 2000 semis…Winning three straight Super Bowls is remarkable, but the Bills have pulled off something almost as unique by making three straight trips to the Super Bowl twice this decade. After beating the Lions, the Bills fell to the Steelers and the Franklin Square Falcons the next two years…The East Meadow Seasons (2000 and 2004) and Westbury Haulers (2006 and 2007) have also lost two Super Bowls this decade…The Bills’ Super Bowl win was a record 11th and their appearance was a record 29th...Quote of the day came from Panthers coach Frank Gaudioso, who said his team hopes to remain in Division II despite winning two Touch Bowl titles in three years. “We’ll be the gate-keeper of the ‘A’ division,” Gaudioso said. “Anybody can beat us, they’re good enough to play in the ‘A’ division.”…Among those in attendance at the Panthers’ victory was Bob Going, the brother of Panthers co-founder Rich Going, who died in 2005. “We think about him all the time,” Gaudioso said of Rich Going…Congratulations to the Bethpage Chaos, who became the seventh straight no. 1 seed to win the Division III crown…A tip of the cap to Barry Bekoff, who referred the Super Bowl for the 31st straight year…And hearty good wishes to Joe Ribauto, a 26-year veteran who retired after serving as the head referee in Super Bowl XXXIII…Looking ahead to 2009, the big question, of course, is can the Bills become the first team to win four straight titles in Division I? It’s going to be hard to bet against them, especially if they can finally avoid the injury bug…But the Bills will have plenty of competition from hungry rivals, including the Lions and Haulers, each of whom are bursting with athleticism and have come agonizingly close to ending the Bills’ run over the last two years…Watch out, too, for the Mineola Colts, who nearly beat the Lions in the semifinals, possess plenty of championship experience and will likely be coached again by Jim Ambrosio, who made the Super Bowl a second home during his tenure with the Mavericks…A lack of offense in the second half of the season derailed the East Meadow Seasons, but the perennial contenders should be right in the mix again…The Manhasset Vikings took a big step forward by returning to the playoffs this year...The Franklin Square Falcons and Wantagh Regulators will attempt to follow in the Vikings’ footsteps after missing the postseason this year…In Division II, the Panthers will be the pre-season favorites again presuming they don’t move up. Motivation won’t be a problem for the Herricks Hellcats, who were the no. 2 seed but were upset in the semis by the Vengeance…The Vengeance were competitive against the Panthers in their final two games and will be dangerous if they upgrade an offense that scored one TD or less six times…The law of averages says the Lynbrook Buckeyes, who lost five games by seven points or less, will be markedly better, while the Brookville Brawlers and East Meadow Titans will each look to improve following last-place finishes…The Chaos and their suffocating defense would be an immediate contender in D-II, as would the Valley Stream Wolverines, the long-time D-III contenders…The Elmont Seminoles reached the D-III championship game and will be a top contender again. The Hicksville Havoc, which finished 5-5 after a 4-0 start, will be eager to remedy the disappointment of missing the playoffs while the Valley Stream Bengals, 0-19-1 in their first two years, look ready to make another upward move after notching two victories…Thanks again to all team reps for their thoroughness and timeliness in providing recaps for the NCTFL Report…We wish you a happy holiday season and a safe, happy and healthy 2009. See you in the fall. |