Forgive me please for putting a damper on the New England weather last week. I fell for the meteorolgists’ pessimism and they had me thinking that there was an outside chance of spring sports being able to get out on the fields sometime by the fourth of July. That’s all changed in the past week and teams are out on their respective fields playing baseball, softball, tennis, lacrosse, and track. Mother Nature has a mind of her own and I should know that.

OK, I know we are in the middle of March madness, but somebody needs to do some "splaining" as Ricky Riccardo would often say. When is enough enough? How many Division 1 men’s college basketball teams need to get rewarded by extending their regular season and going to post season play?

Here is the breakdown for teams playing in mid March: The real NCAA tournament started out with 66 teams in their field, up by two teams from the normal 64, while the N.I.T. had 32 and the C.I.T. (College Insider Tournament) had 16 teams. That’s 114 teams playing in the post season. Are you kidding me? This is definetly quantity over quality. I know I am repetitive on this issue, but "everybody gets a trophy today just for showing up."

March madness is finally here and the high schools are getting ready for the spring. Before we spring ahead, let’s wrap up the high school basketball season. If you are keeping score, we (Central Mass.) got shutout at the DCU center on Saturday. Central Mass. High School teams did not win a State Championship in any of the winter sports which are basketball and hockey for both genders. Winning a state championship is great, but it’s not the end all, meaning that we can’t measure a successful season by the standard of a state championship. State Championships in this area during the winter season are very few. Bartlett won a boys’ basketball title in 1979 while Oxford won a girls’ hoop title in the mid nineties.

Eastern Mass. is the best in basketball year in and year out. They proved that again this year as they won five out of six titles at the DCU center on Saturday. The big one, Division 1 boys, was won by Putnam out of Western Mass. in ovetime.Western Mass. sent four teams to the DCU while Central Mass. sent two teams, both were girls’ basketball teams. Western Mass. seems to have an edge on us (Central Mass.), over the past five years and Putnam took home the biggest trophy of them all this winter to give Western Mass. credibility.

Next year the Shepherd Hill boys’ basketball team will compete in Western Mass in basketball. It should be interesting.

There are teams across the Commonwealth that achieved more than a trophy that says state champion. Teams that overcame adversity by practicing life’s important principles are the real winners. We never hear about these teams. Becoming better people during a season is what high school sports is all about. Having fun and being the best you can be are what kids need to do during the grind of a long season. Some coaches are going to say they were disappointed in their season and some will say they overachieved. The latter is the better. Talent, good coaching, and a lot of luck equals a state champion. However, there is nothing like chemistry and "leaving it all out on the gym floor." That, in itself, is the ultimate achievement.

Face it, we are underdogs in these parts. The system doesn’t allow our teams to dominate year in and year out every year. It doesn’t mean we play the game the wrong way. It’s all about cycles and the right fit.

You are going to need a program for the 2013 edition of your New England Patriots. How is the loyalty factor on that team after the Wes Welker trade? And did you think the Kraft family was going to pay Tom Brady market value a month ago? I think we have seen the last Lombardi trophy for this organization. The golden rule is trade up not parallel. That also goes for signings. The hierarchy in Patriot land is a very stubborn group. Aren’t you better off with the devil you know rather than the devil you don’t know if you think both devils are equal? Wes Welker versus Danny Amendola? If Brady had 5-6 years left at peak performance, then maybe Amendola would look like a good trade. Now that Amendola is a Patriot, you can add him to the injury list along with Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Welker was the only sure receiver for Brady over the years. Tough as nails. The eastern conference does guarantee the Patriots a running start to the playoffs every year, but then it’s been the same story. Win a playoff game and hope. Watch out for the Miami Dolphins in the east this year.

This is a great time of year for high school sports as the spring sports are in the middle of their too short pre-season. Spring sports get two weeks to prepare and they are doing it indoors. Preparing indoors for an outdoor sport is challenging. There is always great anticipation on how the early April weather will affect the remaining eight weeks of the schedule. There are 77 days of varsity baseball and softball from April 1st to Memorial Day. Each bad weather day shortens the 20 game schedule. It’s tough for teams to hit their stride. Teams have to steal games in early April.Throw strikes and put the ball in play and your team will be there on Memorial Day weekend.

Thanksgiving Day is finally shaping up after a period of disruption this past winter that affected our local football communities, namely Oxford and Auburn.

Tradition has lost its shine in today’s world. While the Bartlett -Southbridge Thanksgiving Day football game still remains as the "grandaddy," going on 93 years in South County, the brand new Oxford-Bay Path Thanksgiving Day football game in 2013 will get a slap on the behind just like a new born baby. Kudos to both the Bay Path and Oxford administrations for getting this one done. Oxford-Bay Path made too much sense after Oxford decided to pull the plug on Auburn after 41 years of playing on turkey day. Please remember that this is an old school opinion. I believe that the Oxford-Auburn holiday game had a lot more chapters in it than 41. So be it. It’s over and as they easily say today, "let’s move on."

There still is no word on who is the home team for this year’s Oxford-Bay Path game, but one thing is for sure, these two schools will play each other on Thanksgiving. Both football programs are rich in tradition and have played each other over the years during the regular season. They opened up their seasons against each other last year in 2012. I am happy to see that Bay Path coach Al Dhembe will get to coach a Bay Path team on Thanksgiving.

Now let me throw in my 2 cents. Imagine the Oxford-Bay Path game on Thanksgiving eve at Nichols College. Talk about a jump start on attracting a crowd. This would be a great shot in the arm for the community. Nichols is empty on Thanksgiving because of the holiday break. What a thrill for the kids who are playing. Both programs will benefit by playing on Vendetti Field, but the real winner will be Nichols if they extend the olive branch in the right way. Community relations go a long way. Institute the Paul Brissette award for the game’s M.V.P. in honor of the founder and first football coach of the Oxford Pirates.This is a win-win for everybody.

Another good move for Thanksgiving is that Sutton and Blackstone-Millville will be competing against each other. Both start their first year of varsity football. This start-up rivalry will be a good one to follow in football.

Shepherd Hill and Tantasqua will be 39 years old this Thanksgiving and Shepherd Hill will face their toughest schedule ever in 39 years. The Rams play at Fitchburg, at Gardner, Leominster, at Grafton, Wachusett, SPM, at Holy Name, and Tantasqua. Weeks 8, 9, and 10 will be determined if the Rams win at least 5 of their first seven games. All those teams are well versed on the double wing offense that the Rams run so successfully. By the way, other than Grafton, what do the other six teams have in common with Shepherd Hill? I have forewarned everybody about this new 2013 playoff format. The players, coaches, and fans lose out on this. Opening Friday night in Fitchburg is not the place you want to be in early September and travelling to Gardner the next week makes away games with nothing in common a real bore. The MIAA and the football committee are dead wrong on this new format. Nothing makes sense. That’s the reason today’s high school athletes are not passionate about Thanksgiving Day rivalries or district titles.

While Shepherd Hill’s 2013 football schedule isn’t a fan favorite or travel friendly, the Bartlett Indians actually caught a break. In order, this is Bartlett’s gig for 2013. At David Prouty, at Millbury, Leicester, Oxford, Northbridge, Blackstone-Millville, at Uxbridge and Southbridge. On paper, I have the Indians winning 5 of their first seven to get them into the playoff picture. What do you think? Leicester and Northbridge are the two teams Bartlett could fall short. Bartlett has three key pieces on the chess board returning in their quarterback and leading rusher along with their fullback.

Oxford’s football schedule finally gets a break after many years of no relief. The Pirates can compete with the folowing in 2013. Uxbridge, Leicester, South, at Bartlett, at North, Millbury, at David Prouty, and Bay Path.

Good Luck to all the local athletes trying out for spring sports on Monday.

The Pope quit and the Sutton football team isn’t going to play Oxford on Thanksgiving Day as reported here a few weeks ago. Let me get this straight. Pope Benny is done. The Pope can’t quit. He has to go to heaven to give up his earthly title. The last time a Pope quit was in 400 A.D. This has been a tough time and I have to tell you, they are trying to shake my faith.

First, the Oxford-Auburn Thanksgiving Day game is dissolved after 41 years of tradition and now Pope Ben decides he has had enough. You just can’t quit being the Pope and quit playing Thanksgiving Day football games after 41 years. The only straight forward answers are coming out of Auburn. They are saying they do not have a Thanksgiving Day opponent for 2013 and are looking for a two year commitment from any school within a reasonable travel distance. The borders of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut are all in the mix along with any Massachusetts school. Sutton got cold feet after the announcement that they would play Oxford on Thanksgiving Day 2013. Sutton is rethinking their situation. It’s a real tangled web between Sutton and Oxford in athletics. I am hearing Blackstone Valley Tech and Blackstone-Millville as possibilities for Sutton on turkey day. Oxford seems to be overly concerned about the number of football players in grades 9-12. Oxford dropped Auburn for this reason and maintains that lack of numbers is the sole reason and concern for ending the Auburn holiday contest. I have a feeling that Oxford is taking a long hard look at their football program numbers at the present moment and are cautiously inching forward this winter. The Pirates have to persevere through this time of anguish. They have a new coach who has one year under his belt and the Oxford athlete is competing in basketball and baseball at consistent post season standards over the last half decade. The baseball team won the District E Division 3 title last spring and the Pirate basketball team is having another great season. Look for black smoke out of the Vatican and Oxford on a new Pope and Thanksgiving Day opponent.

It’s great to see all 3 local boys’ high school basketball teams earn their way into the 74th Clark Tournament.Please remember, our fourth local boys’ team, Bay Path, is not a participant of the Clark because of their Vocational school status. Bay Path is heading into the post season tournament in C Mass as their 11-5 record indicates that the Minutemen are having a fantastic season.

Now for the Clark Tournament. The Clark Tournament is 74 years old this year. The Oxford Pirates will open up the Clark at 1 p.m. this coming Sunday against Maynard in the small schools division. Oxford (number 3 seed) is the "darkhorse" for the rest of 2013 as they are closing out the regular season very strong, i.e. a win over Northbridge on Sunday. Bartlett will open the doors at Clark on Monday, Presidents’ Day, against up and coming Auburn. Bartlett lost to Auburn two weeks ago. Bartlett’s running style in the huge Clark gym should benefit the Indians. The Indians need a head count before they get on the bus to Worcester. They need to show up for this important game and run Auburn out of the Kneller Center and into Park Avenue. Bartlett is the number 3 seed in the large schools division.Shepherd Hill plays defending large school champ Quabbin at 6 p.m. on Monday. The Rams are the fourth seed in the large shools division. The Rams already beat Quabbin in a regular season game over a month ago.

The Oxford Insurance Agency will be at the Clark Tournament this year and will be part of the WGFP AM 940 broadcasting of all the local games mentioned above. Matt Morway and Pete Geanis will provide the play by play for all the local listeners and the Oxford Insurance Agency is the proud sponsor of the Clark Tournament pre-game show on WGFP. The pre-game show will get you ready for the upcoming game as well as all the action from the Kneller Center on the campus of Clark University.

The Oxford Insurance Agency pre-game show will begin 20 minutes from tip off. Please join Matt Morway and Pete Geanis from Clark University on WGFP AM 940.

Since it’s vacation week next week, please call or stop by the Oxford Insurance Agency and check out their low rates. They specialize in newly licensed drivers and family packages that can save you a lot of money.

Bartlett will also be covered by the Webster access cable network with veteran announcers Ted Avlas and Ed Kunkel Jr. making the calls from the half court sideline. The Clark Tournament really brings out everybody from South County. Bartlett makes their 43rd appearance at the Clark this year and Shepherd Hill has been a consistent participant since 1974. Good Luck to all the local teams.

A huge tip of the hat goes out to the Oxford Unified Basketball Team. This team strikes the heart in a great way. Oxford, under the leadership of Patty Ross and Coach Kevin Wells, gives kids with a disability a chance to participte in organized sports. Unified sports is an initiative of the special olympics.The Unified team works their skills in a team concept where they compete in an organized environment. Promoting physical fitness and having fun are what the Unified basketball team of Oxford have been working at with the assistance of Oxford high school students. Senior Andrew St. Germain has been a big help in assisting the Oxford Unified Team. What a great story and here’s hoping the best for this group.

"Say it ain’t so." The Oxford-Auburn Thanksgiving Day football game is over. The holiday football tradition between the two neighboring schools is over after 41 years of turkey, cranberry sauce, Drury Square, and the Yankee Doodle Dandies.

The Oxford Pirates told Auburn bon voyage last Friday as WGFP’s Matt Morway became the first responder of this untimely death of a one sided football series. "It’s always hard to see a long tradition end. By the numbers, Oxford athletic director John Doldooorian did what he thought was best for the kids at Oxford.

My biggest hope now is that the Auburn kids get a Thanksgiving Day opponent. They deserve one. Auburn athletic director Bill Garneau is a very good man. He is always good to me. He will find someone for his student athletes to compete with. "I wish both sets of kids much success," said the radio voice of high school sports in the South County over the past 27 years. Oxford based their decision and hung their hat on the safety issue of their athletes (low numbers on the roster) who competed on the most important day in high school sports. Oxford is very thin on the number of participants who play football according to Doldoorian.

Thanksgiving Day, my friends, is all about pomp and circumstance and most of all pride and tradition. Scores and series standings do not count on Thanksgiving Day. "Throw the records out on turkey day," they say. However, safety is the key element that will keep Oxford off the hook on this decision as they keep pointing at the scores over the past 41 years. The safety card that Oxford will play throughout this untimely controversial move is correct in the big picture. However, the flashlight of common sense and ethics is shining on both Oxford and Sutton today. Both schools should have made Auburn part of their decision. You cannot argue with the safety issue with kids. End of story. I don’t care what the series standings are in this rivalry because I looked at the scores over the 41 years these rivals played. Auburn leads the series 33-8, but 15 of those games won by Auburn were by a touchdown or less. If Oxford won 10 of those games, the series would stand in favor of Auburn 23-18. Now that’s a pretty good rivalry. That’s why scores and series standings never tell the whole story. Safety trumps everything. Always does and always did. Safety first.

Since we established safety as the priority for dropping this series, let’s get to the timing of these 41 years. Paul "the Bear" Brissette started this series when he became the very first football coach at Oxford High in 1968. The Pirates played a junior varsity schedule in 1968, 1969, and 1970 before they became a varsity team in 1971 and played Auburn on Thanksgiving Day 1971 for the first time and lost 10-6. Oxford athletic director Ernie Boss was also instrumental in starting the series. 41 years have come and gone and Oxford made the decision to severe its ties with Auburn and schedule Sutton as their holiday date for 2013. Sutton has never played a football game ever. They never warmed up in the endzone. Please remember the safety issue of a first year team trying to play on the varsity level.Oxford has 41 years of football under their belts and went through 36 serious months before they made the leap to varsity football. That’s 44 years of football. Now for etiquette, Sutton doesn’t skate through this as an innocent bystander. The Sammies needed to communicate with Auburn in the spirit of sportsmanship. The Sammies did the end around on Auburn. How did Sutton get talked into this football triangle? Did Sutton make a courtesy call to Auburn and ask them if all was on the up and up with Oxford regarding their 41 year relationship on Thanksgiving Day? Sutton doesn’t seem too concerned about safety issues in the same regard as Oxford. Maybe Sutton has the remakings of the "four horsemen" up there on Central Turnpike and are confident they will be playoff bound in their first year of football in 2013.

41 is not a lucky number for Auburn. Shepherd Hill stopped Auburn’s state record winning streak at 41 games in 2012 and now Oxford drops them after 41 years for a team that has never kicked off or moved the chains for a first down. The timing issue fascinates me on how fast Sutton said "yes" to Oxford’s invite. Oxford played the Dandies for a lot of years and now they get to play the Sammies. I can’t make these thing up. My curiosity is peaked by the fact that Auburn said no to two possible Thanksgiving Day opponents two years ago because Oxford would be left without a Thanksgiving Day partner. Auburn considered Oxford’s position before closing out the 41 year rivalry and took a wait and see approach. Auburn feels Oxford should have shown the same courtesy before they signed a contract with Sutton. This whole situation has a very uneasy feeling to it.

By the way, I always said that Oxford’s football schedule never gave the program a chance to rebuild or reload. Auburn was not the villain on Oxford’s schedule over the past 10 years. The MIAA threw Oxford to the wolves. The Pirates were behind the eight ball constantly. They were always over-scheduled the past 10 years. Auburn is only one tenth of the problem, but the Oxford kids liked playing Auburn. It was a tradition. Auburn was very sensitive and paid attention to Oxford’s football woes over the past 10 years. Auburn was never malicious and was an outstanding rival on Thanksgiving morning. Let’s tip our hats to Auburn for having the wisdom and the awareness of Oxford’s situation.

I find it hard to believe that this really happened without 3 way conference calls with the 3 schools involved. Auburn got penalized on this one because of their recent history. I have taken shots at Auburn in the past, but I can honestly say they were left out in the cold on this decision. Should the Oxford-Auburn football series end because of the directions that both schools are taking? Maybe. Lack of communication and punishing Auburn for running a first class program over the last decade has no place in the spirit of competition. The solution to this unfortunate mishap is for the powers at the 3 schools to get together and have Sutton and Oxford play the week before Thanksgiving until Auburn finds an opponent to take Oxford’s place on Thanksgiving Day. As they say in the Nike ad, "Just do it!"

The Clark Tournament is three and a half weeks away and Bartlett (9-3) and Shepherd Hill (9-3) can punch their tickets for the popular tournament. Here’s hoping Oxford can win some big games in the next three weeks to make it a threesome from the South County. Oxford is 6-5 as of today and plays Shepherd Hill tonight in Oxford. The Pirates then play at Grafton on Friday, then finish with Millbury at Auburn, Northbridge, Uxbridge, and Grafton. Oxford has to go 3-3 over their six games to qualify for the Clark and district post season play.

I see the Pirates winning four games and then getting hot in the tournaments. That has been Oxford’s mantra in the past and a strong finish is a testament to staying the course over a long season.

Bartlett is having a season as advertised although teams have found a way to get them down to the speed limit on occasion. The Douglas upset last Sunday, 65-63, could be the best thing to happen to Bartlett because the Indian loss comes at a good time to regroup the troops and move on. It’s no secret that the Indians want to travel in the left hand speed lane all the time. Their express pass needs a tweak before they get to the gym of their dreams at the Kneller Center at Clark. That floor was made for the Indians. They love to be chased on a big court where they can put the pedal to the metal. Nobody saw the Douglas upset coming.

Shepherd Hill has surprised many of us this season as they reloaded after losing four quality scorers from last year’s squad. The Rams like to speed in the fast lane also, and will run when they can. However, they proceed with caution on offense, but they will get out there and set the tempo if they can.

The team that can break our South County hearts is Quaboag. They are rock solid, just ask our local teams. Bartlett and Oxford have lost to Quaboag this winter and Shepherd Hill plays them on Friday night.

At least we don’t have to wait two more weeks for the Patriots to break our hearts. Come on, admit it, you knew the Pats were going to let us down again. We expect way too much out of them and we all know when they are good enough to win games against tougher teams. This was not the year for them. They can’t play defense, and defense wins championships. The Forty Niners and the Ravens play defense. Both those teams can defend the run and the pass. As long as Tom Brady is healthy, the Patriots will win the weak AFC East, get a bye in the playoffs, and be one and done. Those two Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants will never be forgotten and will be remembered as the downfall of the dynasty of the Patriots.

Condolences go out to the families of Theresa Dhembe, 85, William "Pat" Lefebvre, 81, and Evangelinia Pappas, 85, who left us this past week. Theresa Dhembe is the proud mother of Bay Path Football coach Al Dhembe. Eva Pappas came to Webster and little did she know that her move to Webster would impact the start of soccer at Bartlett High School. Her son Sam was an original Indian soccer player and is regarded as the best soccer player in Bartlett’s history. Sam also coached the Indian program. Pat Lefebvre moved his family from Windsor Locks, CT into Webster in the early 70s and his two sons, Bill and Noel, became Indian athletes right away. Pat had more stories than Walt Disney and he could make you laugh just by looking at you. He was always positive and will be considered a friend among friends. We lost three great parents this week. All three brought their children up the right way. Their kids competed with great pride on the athletic fields and the real world.

Last week Bill Rafferty died much too soon at the young age of 59. "Raff" or Bill was what his friends called him and he was a friend among friends all the time. A north village kid from Webster and he was proud to say that he learned how to live life at the old little league field on Slater Street back in the 60s. The little league field was his home in the good weather.

When the seasons changed to cold weather Raff headed up to the old Boys’ club via the railroad tracks in Dudley. The gym at the old boys’ club was made for Raff. His push shot from just inside of half court was something he mastered into perfection over the years. Night after night he would launch that push shot that became his signature shot. All this happened before the 3 point shot, of course.Raff would tell anyone who would listen that his basketball career would have been prolonged if the 3 point shot existed during his prime in the 70s while he was firing away at Marianhill High School in Southbridge.

Bill Rafferty was proud to be a gunner in hoops and was never bashful when it came time to shoot the bomb. Layups were something Raff had to do in pre game warmups. He was interested in the 25-30 foot rainbows. He said "there is nothing like the sound of the swish of a 30 foot shot going through the rim." Anyone who saw Bill shoot a basketball knows that the arc and hangtime were world records. A 30 foot basketball shot by Bill Rafferty needed a high ceiling for sure. That right handed push shot of his was one of a kind.

By the way, offense was Bill’s game. His theory was to outscore his man when he played. Rest in peace, Bill Rafferty, you touched us along the way in a humble way and we all thank you. God speed.

The MIAA has proposed a realignment for the boys’ basketball season beginning in 2013-14. Shepherd Hill will be affected by the proposal in post season playoffs. The Rams are now in Division one in Central Mass. They will be moved down to Division two and play their post season in Western Mass against Western Mass opponents.

A scheduling nightmare is on the horizon for schools like Shepherd Hill. The Rams are in the SWCL. The move means that Shepherd Hill will have to obtain a waiver to compete in the Clark Tournament because Western Mass teams never participated in the Clark Tournament. I hope the Clark Tournament committee recognizes Shepherd Hill as a qualifying school. Schools coming to Central Mass are Natick, Acton-Boxboro, Framingham, Franklin, Concord-Carlisle, Westford, Holliston, Ashland, Hopkinton, Bellingham, Wayland, Medfield, and Medway. This is another power move by Eastern Mass and comes on the heels of Milford leaving Central Mass.

What this does to the landscape of Central Mass? It means that the above mentioned schools are looking for an easier way to the state final game in boys’ basketball. Those schools are just outside of the Route 495 and barely inside of Route 128. Some schools are way up north on 495. The only positive sentiment that comes out of this is that St. John’s can now schedule all those schools coming into Central Mass in 2013-14.

Let’s not forget that the football experience begins next fall and then the boys’ basketball realignment is in for next winter. I am looking into my crystal ball and I see Shepherd Hill traveling to Pittsfield for an opening post season game in 2014. All I can say is, bring your lunch. It is going to be a long day. By the way, if Shepherd Hill wins the Division 2 Western Mass tournament, their reward is now that they can come back to Central Mass to play the division 2 Central Mass champ.