Reporters Notebook (Gettysburg Times: 02/02/08): "Take me home, Jersey roads"

I was visiting some friends this weekend, and during my travels in the sweet land of New Jersey, a cop pulled me over.
“Son,” the State Trooper said as he approached my window, “do you know why I stopped you.”
Not really.
“You turned when the light was red,” the officer explained.
There must be some mistake, I thought.
“No one was coming,” I argued, “and I turned right. There was no sign saying I couldn’t turn on red.”
The officer tilted his sunglasses and raised his eyebrows.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked.
Apparently, you can’t turn right at a red light in Jersey.
I’m a law-breaker.
~ Scot Andrew Pitzer

Gettysburg Times (012508): "Conover's lessons left a lasting impression"

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER

Times Staff Reporter

The wrestling camp director, on the first day of a week-long summer camp at the Hanover YMCA, quickly browsed over a room full of elementary wrestlers.Then he peered down at his roll-call list.

The camp director was Hanover High School wrestling Coach Terry Conover.

And I was enrolled at camp.

“Scot Pitzer,” read Coach Conover.

He looked up from his list, and saw me – then a fourth grader – with my hand raised.

“Where are you from, knucklehead?” asked the legendary coach.

I paused, before taking a deep breath.

“Biglerville,” I said.

An awkward silence ensued.

“Well,” the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame coach quipped, “I guess that's alright."

The veteran coach, who plans to retire at the end of this season after amassing more than 550 dual meet victories, didn’t seem to mind that a Biglerville kid had infiltrated a wrestling camp that was under his leadership, and largely attended by Hanover area grapplers. Interestingly, he thanked me — as well as the other ‘out of town’ kids — for coming.

“I don’t care where you’re from,” I recall Coach Conover saying. “I’ll teach anyone how to wrestle.”

He didn’t seem to mind that a Biglerville kid was attending his camp, even though, at the time, the Canner and Hanover Hawk varsity wrestling programs were bitter enemies.

He didn’t mind, even though the rivalry between the Hanover and Biglerville wrestling programs was at its peak, with Hanover winning practically all of the battles en route to a record seven straight District titles.

And he didn’t mind that I was there, even though a Biglerville varsity wrestler with my last name gave Coach Conover’s middle-weights a headache the previous season.

Why?

Because the Coach Conover treats all wrestlers equally.

His passion for the sport, and for making every kid as good as they possibly can be, far outweighs any resentment that has developed over the years toward rivaling wrestling programs.

His respect for the sport, and for opposing grapplers, was evident Thursday night at the Canner Dome in Biglerville, where Biglerville middle-weight Lee Starner was dangerously close to running out of his five minutes of allotted blood time, as Starner was unable to halt a leaky nose. During what was the final break in the action, Conover walked over to the Biglerville side of the mat and helped the opposing coaches and trainers wrap tape around the center of Starner’s face, covering his nose to temporarily quell the bleeding. He preferred that the wrestlers won — or lost — the bout on the mat; not via a technicality.

Years after I attended his camp, Coach Conover still practiced what he preached. In my stint as a varsity wrestler at Biglerville, any time I’d square off against a Nighthawk, I made sure to go over to Coach Conover’s corner after the bout and shake his hand.

“Good job, Knucklehead,” Coach Conover would say, recalling our relationship from his wrestling camp.

Many opposing wrestlers, coaches and fans will admit that Coach Conover is an intimidating figure. But that’s a credit to his teams, who over the past 37 years of his tenure, were some of the best wrestling squads that this area has ever witnessed. His teams always came prepared, and it didn’t matter whether he had a state qualifier or a junior varsity wrestler in his lineup — all of his wrestlers were prepared, and every one, in every dual meet, gave everything they had for their mat boss.

Coach Conover leaves the local wrestling scene having established a legacy of perfection. If you were going to beat one of his teams, you had to be nothing short of perfect. And not many opposing teams, during the pinnacle of the Hanover Hawk wrestling era, were.

Coach Conover made opposing teams better, simply just by being on the other side of the mat. Counterparts knew that nothing short of 100 percent would get the job done.

If there’s any question about the level of respect that opposing fans have for Conover, Thursday night’s clash at the Canner Dome in Biglerville was a fitting indicator.

In front of a passionate Biglerville wrestling crowd known for its disdain of arch rivals, when Canner head coach Bob Gano took the microphone before the start of the match and lauded Coach Conover’s career, the home crowd responded with a standing ovation.

The legendary coach, obviously moved by Canner Country’s passionate salute, rose from his perch on the Hanover bench and thanked the Biglerville fans for their classy gesture. It was an emotional moment that even induced tears from Biglerville’s timekeeper, a longtime Hanover nemesis.

The local wrestling scene, quite frankly, is losing an icon.

At least one knucklehead is going to miss him.

Scot Pitzer is a Times staff reporter. Contact him at 334-1131, ext. 247 or spitzer@gburgtimes.com.

"Canner Country salutes Coach Conover"

"CANNER SEND-OFF - - - Biglerville salutes Conover, then hammers Hanover"

BY JOSH MARTIN - Times Sports Editor

It was only fitting that Biglerville was one of the final stops on Terry Conover’s farewell tour.
After all, the original Canner Dome was the site of countless clashes between Hanover and Biglerville, plenty of which were contested with league, sectional and district championships hanging in the balance. Thursday’s match had none of that as the Nighthawks were struggling to reach the finish line while Biglerville was seeking a school record for wins in a season. The mismatch on paper translated to the mat, where the Canners administered a 57-14 thrashing.
While the old gym wasn’t too kind to Conover, the Canner fans were, giving the retiring coach a pair of standing ovations prior to the start of the match.
“There were some big matches, a lot of upsets and some great things happened here,” said Conover. “I’ve got an awful lot of good friends here at Biglerville, which a lot of people won’t believe, but I do. They appreciate competition and winning and losing. They understand what it’s all about.”
Biglerville coach Bob Gano addressed the crowd prior to the varsity match, congratulating Conover for his hall of fame career that will have spanned 800 matches when he coaches his final dual meet at a tournament Saturday in Altoona. Gano was pleased with the reaction from the Canner faithful, who saluted Conover for his achievements.
“Our fans were very, very respectful,” Gano said. “I think they recognize that it can be a bitter rivalry but that doesn’t mean that you don’t respect what somebody has done. I thought Canner Nation did a nice job with that tonight.”
The Canners (24-3, 9-1 YAIAA-2) did a nice job as well, capturing 10 of 14 bouts en route to establishing a new school record for wins. The 24 victories achieved this season surpasses the 23 wins posted last year.
The teams traded the first four bouts, with Hanover’s Brent Hoff (130) and Zach Wolford (140) getting wins to offset pins by Biglerville’s Tim Kint (125) and Nick Asper (135).
Wolford had to go the full six minutes to off hold Nic Lieberum in an entertaining 3-2 bout. Wolford (26-0) hit a dump for a takedown 21 seconds into the fray, which proved to be the difference.
The Canners claimed the next two weights, getting a fall from Logan Bobo and a 6-2 decision by Shay Shive, who bumped up to 152 to face Tylor Elder. Shive was able to take Elder down twice and control the bout from the top position, but wasn’t rewarded with any nearfall points for his efforts.
“(Elder) was very strong and we were giving up 10-12 pounds,” Gano said. “If it was later in the match, I don’t know if we would have made the move. I thought we had to do what we had to do at that point.”
James Leedy used a takedown in each period for a 9-1 major decision at 160 before Biglerville put the match on ice with falls from Dale Nichols (171), Danny Thomas (189) Jeff Foster (215), Brett Smyers (285) and Briar Garber (103).
Smyers needed just 25 seconds to put his opponent away, and Garber rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a pin against Hanover’s Brandon Hoff.
“Briar Garber, that was a real nice job for him,” Gano said.
Jacob Gerlach posted a 5-0 decision at 112, but it was too little, too late for the Nighthawks (12-14, 5-5 Y-2).
“We don’t have the depth and skill that we’ve had in the past,” said Conover, who has been forced to juggle lineups due to academic and disciplinary issues. “It’s pretty tough to wrestle good people and win. It’s tough to compete, let alone win.”
Nick Leiphart closed the books on the match with a fall at 119, giving the Canners extra momentum as they prepare for the District 3 Team Championships, which begin next Tuesday. Gano believes his squad will be ready after seeing the way it bounced back from Tuesday night’s blowout loss to Bermudian Springs.
“We got our tails kicked in Tuesday night,” he said. “In my world, the quickest way to put that to past is to do it to somebody else. So, I said ‘we’ll see how well they respond’, and it was good.”
Biglerville 57, Hanover 14
125-Tim Kint (B) p. Steven Laughman, 4:44; 130-Brent Hoff (H) md. Lee Starner, 14-1; 135-Nick Asper (B) p. Kevin Tamayo, 1:03; 140-Zach Wolford (H) d. Nic Lieberum, 3-2; 145-Logan Bobo (B) p. Alan Taulbee, 1:34; 152-Shay Shive (B) d. Tylor Elder, 6-2; 160-James Leedy (H) md. Seth Shive, 9-1; 171-Dale Nichols (B) p. Zach Wentz, 3:35; 189-Danny Thomas (B) p. Justin Edelin, 4:26; 215-Jeff Foster (B) p. Tyler Yohe, 2:41; 285-Brett Smyers (B) p. Bryan Ness, :25; 103-Briar Garber (B) p. Brandon Hoff, 2:55; 112-Jacob Gerlach (H) d. Jesse Gardner, 5-0; 119-Nick Leiphart (B) p. Nate Storm, 3:29.

Reporters Notebook (Gburg Times: 012608) - "Fashion Statement"

Hauling a fluorescent pink back-pack Thursday night when I visited the Canner Dome for a wrestling clash between Hanover and Biglerville, the reactions that I garnered from passer-by were priceless.
“Hey Pitzer,” a person said, “I love the fashion statement.”
Ummm, ok.
“What in the heck is that?” a young teenager asked me about the back-pack, obviously picking on me.
“Do you know your back-pack is pink?”
Ummm, no.
“Is pink your favorite color?” asked a security guard.
Ummm, yes.
“My kids have back-packs at home that they’d let you borrow,” a family friend told me.
Ummm, no thanks.
“Don’t you own anything else?” asked a Concession Stand attendant.
Actually, I was dropping the bag off for a pre-school friend who had left it elsewhere the day before.
“Did people look at you?” the Mom asked.
Like you wouldn’t believe.
— Scot Andrew Pitzer

On Entertainment

For a pleasant diversion, follow this link.

On Anonymity

Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.
- Anonymous

C-A-N-N-E-R-S

the student section at the CannerDome as the Bermudian Springs Eagles enter the gymnasium for warm-ups prior to their match against Biglerville.

Bermudian, as expected, won 46-9.

On Being Prepared

On the NFL Title Games

The Free Advice NFL Title Games Pick 'em results:

Giants (25%) over Packers (75%)
Patriots (25%) over Chargers (75%)

On to the Super Bowl!

On Newspaper writers

Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock.
- Ben Hecht

Reporters Notebook (Gettysburg Times: 011908): "Global Positioning System"

Familiar with the latest technological motor vehicle fad?
Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are the new craze, enabling motorists to navigate toward their destination — near or far — with ease.
The device, a miniature computer placed in the vicinity of a vehicle’s dashboard, talks to motorists, instructing the driver where to turn and what routes to travel en route to a given destination.
“It’s perfect,” I recall colleague Jarrad Hedes telling me. “Now, we don’t have to listen to a woman telling us how to get somewhere.”
Prior to a vehicular trip, a destination is entered into the device, which then — via a global network of 24 orbiting satellites — tabulates the best possible route.
Jarrad, for example, when we leave the newsroom for lunch, actually punches in “Dunlaps” as a destination, and yes, the GPS takes us to the eatery.
But the devices do have their drawbacks.
Last weekend, I traveled to Ohio with Uncle Stan, and the GPS device successfully directed us on a seven-hour trip to Uncle Jeff’s house near Columbus.
However, the next morning, when we relied on the GPS system to find a school that was 10 minutes away (my cousin Ryan was in a wrestling tournament), we were a half hour late and missed Ryan’s first match.
The machine actually instructed us to turn on a dirt road.
“I don’t think there’s a school back here,” deadpanned Aunt Sharon.
We kept going anyway, hoping that the GPS knew what it was doing.“You have reached your destination,” the machine said.
Nope. We were in the middle of a wheatfield.
“I don’t think there’s a school back here,” said Uncle Stan.
At least the global satellites know how to find Dunlaps.
— Scot Andrew Pitzer

On the NFL Divisional Playoff Round

The Free Advice Divisional Playoff Pick 'em results:

Giants (83%) over Cowboys (17%)
Packers (80%) over Seahawks (20%)
Patriots (40%) over Jaguars (60%)
Chargers (60%) over Colts (40%)

Hmmm... the voting correctly predicted the actual result in 3 of 4 contests (75%).

The Title game polls are up.

"We may look like pansies..."

"...but watch what you say, or else, we'll put out your lights!"

ummm, what in the world is going on here?

This worries me. Literally.

Parents Beware...

Don't let your kids go to Ohio State. They've now embarrassed the Big Ten twice in a row in the BCS National Championship, and they have trouble spelling simple words, for example, the name of the school which they attend!

PATHETIC!

On What's for Dinner

In Spring, 2009 there will be 30% less beef on grocery store shelves than there is now.

Oh yeah, and the Democrats will blame it on George W. Bush.

Reporters Notebook (Gettysburg Times 01/12/08): "Kokomos West"

I planned an outing last weekend with a contingent of friends, instructing them to gather at Kokomo’s West, a wing joint in Camp Hill along the West Shore.
“Last time I ate there, it was pretty good,” I told my gang, adding that I had eaten at the restaurant “two or three years ago
My pal, who had previously dined at another Kokomo’s in the Harrisburg area, concurred. “They’ve got good wings,” I recall my bud saying, “and it’s easy to find, right there along the Carlisle Pike.”
Or so we thought.
As I was on my way to the eatery Saturday night, my friend phoned me.
“Are you there yet?” asked my friend, who was traveling with his wife and sister. “We can’t find it.”
I couldn’t find the darned place either — even though I had precise directions.
“It’s here on my map,” I said, “but I can’t find it anywhere.”
We arranged to meet at a Pep-Boys, and as we parked our vehicles, my friend’s wife went into the business, and asked an employee where Kokomo’s West is located.
Minutes later, we got our answer. And we were very surprised.
“Guess what,” said the young lass as she came out of the building. “It burnt down three years ago.”
Duh.
Perhaps a career in event planning awaits me.
— Scot Andrew Pitzer

ummm...

What is going on here...?

the Hillary Rodham Clinton quote of the day

Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, after learning that she had won the New Hampshire primary:

"One thing that my husband always preached was honesty."

On Investigations

It took Roger Clemens under 17 minutes to pressure Brian McNamee into pleading, "What do you want me to do?"

How long did it take Senator Mitchell?

On the NFL playoffs

The Free Advice Playoff Pick 'em polls results:

Redskins over Seahawks received 100% of the vote. Good thing it's free.
Giants over Buccaneers received 67% of the vote. That's free advice worth paying for.

Both the Chargers over the Titans and the Jaguars over the Steelers received 100% of the vote.

This weekend's polls are up.

"Canner Comeback - Pin filled rally helps Biglerville improve to 12-0; Thunderbolts, Warriors start slow" (Gburg Times: 01/05/08)

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER
Times Staff Writer

Apple Town was rocking Friday night at the 9th Annual Canner Duals in Biglerville, where the Canner wrestling team continued its undefeated season in dramatic fashion.
In an early 19-0 hole, against the Reading Red Knights, and then facing a seemingly insurmountable 33-18 deficit with three bouts remaining, the home team --- fueled by a raucous Canner Dome crowd --- garnered three consecutive pins, and won 36-33.
"Incredible," Biglerville head coach Bob Gano said following his team's victory. "Those matches are the reason why I love coaching at Biglerville."
Reading jumped out to an early 19-0 lead in the first four bouts, thanks to two falls and a major decision. But the Canners (12-0) rallied, gaining decisions at 215 and 285 pounds, a forfeit at 103, and a fall at 112, bringing the home fans --- still energized from Biglerville's 45-18 dismantling of local rival Gettysburg in the evening's previous contest --- to life.
"The kids never gave up, and that's what kept us in that match," Gano said. "Reading wrestled one heck of a match."
Trailing by 15 points with three bouts from 135-145 remaining, the Canners had arguably their top three middle weights --- juniors Nick Asper, Nic Lieberum, and Shay Shive --- still in the waiting room.
"We felt pretty good whenever we had Nick, Nic and Shay left," said Canner senior Jeff Foster. "We knew we had a chance. The crowd kind of energized the whole team."
When Shive opened the contest's final bout, at 145 pounds, with a takedown over John Moriarty, and the two were re-started in the center of the mat, the home audience was so deafening that the referee summoned spectators to quiet, because the grapplers were unable to hear the whistle.
"I had never seen that before in my life," said Foster.
Minutes later, when Shive sealed the comeback with a second period pin, the roof blew off the Canner Dome.
"I came here from Green Castle, where winning isn't that big, and tonight just blew my mind," said Canner upper weight Dale Nichols, a transfer from Green Castle. "I was just shocked. I'm used to 15 people in the crowd. I'm not used to half of the town being in the gym. Tonight was just intense, and it's just incredible to wrestle here and be a part of the tradition."
Asper notched a quick takedown at 135-pounds over Jose Rodriguez, and then stuck him in a cradle, earning a pin with 13 seconds left in the first period.
"We had some great anchors that match," Gano said regarding his middle weights. "The kids believed they could do it."
With two bouts remaining and Reading having what many teams would consider a comfortable 33-24 lead, Lieberum and Bryan Gold battled to a scoreless first period tie at 140 pounds. Lieberum escaped from the bottom position to begin the second period, and earned a quick takedown, taking Gold to his back in the process. The grapplers squirmed for several seconds, but Lieberum's grip tightened, and a fall was called at the 3:34 mark, pulling the Canners to within three points at 33-30.
"It was incredibly loud at that point," Nichols said.
Shive sealed the comeback in the ensuing bout, and the Canner Dome went into a frenzy.
"These are the kinds of wins that I grew up watching here as a kid,"Foster said. "The atmosphere was just unbelievable."
The Littlestown Thunderbolts, hoping to rebound from a Thursday night 51-18 destruction by Biglerville, finished the first day of the dual tournament 1-1, losing a 38-35 nail-biter to Kennard-Dale. Littlestown (12-4)actually held a 30-7 lead in the match.
The Bolts bounced back in the second round, topping Exeter 39-25.
After giving Biglerville a scare earlier in the night, Gettysburg (0-6) --- who was within eight points of the Canners with a half dozen bouts remaining the tilt --- was upended by Conestoga, 47-22.
"We always talk around here about how we want a perfect match, and that doesn't mean winning 85 to nothing," said Gettysburg head coach Perry Smith. "It just means everybody giving their best, going 100 percent. Against Biglerville, in seven of the 11 contested bouts, I felt our kids gave us everything they had. As long as we keep giving 100 percent every time we wrestle, we'll learn and we'll get better. We might take our lumps Saturday, but we're going to give it everything we have."
The second and final day of the tournament commences today at 9 a.m., and the unbeaten Canners face Pottstown in the opening round. Biglerville began its season last year in a similar manner, entering the second day of the Canner Duals with an unblemished record, before being topped.
"This is a tough tournament,"Gano said. "We've never won it, but we're going to keep wrestling hard and we'll see what happens."
Scot Pitzer is a Times staff reporter.

Round 1
Biglerville 45, Gettysburg 18
140-Nic Lieberum (B) fft; 145-Logan Bobo (B) p. Brandon Vogelsong, 1:27; 152-Shay Shive (B) p. Lucas Shultz, :29; 160-Seth Shive (B) d. Tony Cruz, 4-2; 171-Bryce Shaffer (G) d. Dale Nichols, 4-3; 189-D.J. Cool (G) d. Danny Thomas, 6-1; 215-Zach Mencl (G) fft; 285-Brett Smyers (B) p. Marshall Martin, 3:48; 103-Michael Shaffer (G) d. Briar Garber, 10-8; 112-Jesse Gardner (B) d. Justin Amato, 6-4; 119-Dustin Bower (B) p. Luke Mencl, 1:07; 125-Nick Leiphart (B) md. Matt Smith, 15-1; 130-Ryan Warner (G) d. Tim Kint, 9-6; 135-Nick Asper (B) fft.
*Biglerville deducted team point following 189.
Other results: Brandywine Heights 69, Oley Valley 12; Mount Carmel 52, Exeter 21; Carlisle 57, Greencastle 12.
Round 2
Kennard-Dale 38, Littlestown 36
145-Eric Smith (L) fft; 152-Thomas Showvaker (L) p. Folks, 2:34; 160-Lantz (KD) md. Charles Walls, 9-1; 171-Cory Beaver (L) p. Thompson, 1:10; 189-Page (KD) d. Joe Hansen, 4-2; 215-Ron Wetherson (L) p. Coulby, 4:19; 285-Tyler Zittle (L) p. Jones, :24; 103-Miller (KD) fft; 112-Stefanowicz p. Charles Keebaugh, 5:31; 119-Wilson (KD) d. Adam Bish, 8-2; 125-Gepp (KD) p. Michael Warner, 1:57; 130-Bracey (KD) md. Peter Leyva, 9-1; 135-Phil Macy (L) p. T. Robinson, 5:34; 140-B. Robinson (KD) p. Porter Strickler, 3:06.
Other results: Conestoga 48, Pottstown 20; Mount Carmel 48, Mercer 28; Carlisle 79, Oley Valley 0.
Round 3
Biglerville 36, Reading 33
152-Bauer (R) d. Bobo, 11-8; 160-Pena (R) md. Se. Shive, 10-2; 171-Ortiz (R) p. D. Gardner, :59; 189-Estela (R) p. Nichols, 1:07; 215-Thomas (B) d. Alvarez, 5-1; 285-Smyers (B) d. Metia, 4-2; 103-Garber (B) fft; 112-Gardner (B) p. Miller, :56; 119-Betancourt (R) tf. Leiphart, 1:50 (15-0); 125-Castillo (R) d. Bower, 16-11; 130-Galandis (R) p. Kint, 1:58; 135-Asper (B) p. Rodriguez, 1:47; 140-Lieberum (B) p. Gold, 2:49; 145-Sh. Shive (B) p. Moriarty, 3:34.
Littlestown 39, Exeter 25
152-Josh Lombard (L) d. Chrstian, 10-5; 160-Showvaker (L) p. Klebart, 3:48; 171-Walls (L) fft; 189-Beaver (L) fft; 215-Zittle (L) md. Farrell, 11-2; 285-Wetherson (L) fft; 103-Saylor (E) fft; 112-Kobylarz (E) md. Keebaugh, 14-4; 119-Bish (L) tf. Dreiling, 4:00 (16-0); 125-Hinkle (E) md. Warner, 12-2; 130-Feeny (E) d. Leyva, 6-2; 135-Macy (L) d. Giorgio, 5-2; 140-Edmonds (E) md. Strickler, 15-6; 145-Bower (E) md. Smith, 17-6.
Other results: Brandywine Heights 41, Dover 27; Kennard-Dale 36, Mercer 33.
Round 4
Conestoga 47, Gettysburg 22
160-Rogers (C) p. Cruz, 2:20; 171-Miles Sherman (G) d. Roe, 11-8; 189-Shaffer (G) p. Perkins, 2:14; 215-Cool (G) md. Marion, 14-3; 285-Martin (G) md. Frey, 14-2; 103-Horshor (C) d. Shaffer, 10-3; 112-Exler (C) d. Amato, 11-6; 119-Walk (C) p. L. Mencl, 2:10; 125-Chidester (C) p. Smith, 1:04; 130-Warner (G) tf. Christy, 18-3; 135-Biggin (C) fft; 140-Hyatt (C) fft; 145-Brady (C) p. Vogelsong, 5:50.
Other results: Dover 53, Greencastle 19; Reading 33, Pottstown 33 (Reading wins on bout criteria, 7-6)
Today
Wrestling begins at 9 a.m.
5th Round
Brandywine Heights vs. Greencastle, Biglerville vs. Pottstown, Littlestown vs. Mercer, Mount Carmel vs. Kennard-Dale.
6th Round
Conestoga vs. Reading, Mount Carmel vs. Littlestown, Dover vs. Oley Valley, Pottstown vs. Gettysburg.
7th Round
Brandywine Heights vs. Carlisle, Biglervile vs. Conestoga, Reading vs. Gettysburg, Kennard-Dale vs. Exeter.
8th Round
Greencastle vs. Oley Valley, Carlisle vs. Dover, Mercer vs. Exeter.Each team will wrestle two medal-round matches, with pairings to be determined following pool competition.

On Grace

Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.

"Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer." Said his mother.

"I don't have to," The boy replied.

"Of course, you do," his mother insisted. "We say a prayer before eating, at our house."

"That's our house," Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!"

On Genius

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.
- Oscar Levant

On 2008

1. Democracy stalls in Pakistan and the Pakistani military overthrows the current regime.
2. Iran and North Korea each conduct a "Nuclear Blackmail" stunt.
3. The New England Patriots lose.
4. Fidel Castro dies but US/Cuba relations do not improve.
5. The media blames all of the above on George W. Bush.

"Cousins"

the Mentzer family cousins (minus Meagan, umm where is she?) enjoying the Christmas season.

Happy New Year!

2008 is a Leap Year, folks, meaning we get an extra day - - - 366 days total.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year

A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing one or more extra days (or, in case of lunisolar calendars, an extra month) in order to keep the calendar year synchronised with the astronomical or seasonal year. For example, February would have 29 days in a leap year instead of the usual 28. Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat at an exact number of full days, so a calendar which had the same number of days in each year would over time drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year which is not a leap year is called a common year.