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Thursday, September 18, 2008
Background checks
PIAA executive director Brad Cashman issued a five-page press release regarding its registered sports officials, background checks and protecting student athletes.
"In a recent article published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it was reported that a few PIAA-registered officials had been convicted of criminal offenses but had been allowed to officiate PIAA Contests. The reporter did a thorough job and, while concerned that any persons convicted of serious crimes have officiated Contests, PIAA was not disappointed to see that fewer than 1% of the PIAA-registered officials in the District VII and District VIII areas had prior criminal convictions of any kind, and most of those were for misdemeanors and offenses that occurred 15 to 20 years ago. PIAA was even more pleased to note that, after the thorough and yearlong investigation was completed, there was no finding that any official, at any time, committed an offense relating to, or arising out of, his or her officiating duties. In any event, PIAA was grateful that the reporter brought to the attention of PIAA incidents that raise question about whether certain officials should remain registered with PIAA."
C- Josh Totterdale 1B- Alex Pihakis 2B- Justin Baker 3B- Jon Pozonsky SS- Matt Pierpont LF- Steve Roach CF- Mike Hull RF- Matt Parisse DH- Rick Lonero P- Mike Toward
This is the best lineup the 09' Big Macs will be able to put out there and it is the only shot they have to have a winning season.
I think Pihakis and Kelsey Boyle have the most breakout potential for the 2009 Big Macs baseball team. Pihakis is a powerful first baseman that could hit 8-10 homeruns for the year, while playing at a high level defensively. Boyle is an elite athlete with speed, power, and fantastic instincts. Boyle will likely start in the OF and it would not be a surprise if he hit over .400 this year.
Can't wait for the season to start.. goooo big macs!
Totterdale is definitely one of the best players to ever come through the CM baseball program. It is a shame that the coaching staff decided to hold him back last year. This year will be different though when he is all-section, all-wpial, and all-state.
This IS about PIAA officials but again with the Pihakis kid - don't forget he chose to go to another event rather than play with his baseball team - go figure - how's that for loyalty
Pihakis is all about loyalty. That's why he never once raised a big stink about sitting the bench for Bucci even though he clearly would have been a difference maker for that team. Alex is the ultimate team player, has a championship attitude, and is a great leader. I don't see how anyone could be negative on this superstar.
DJ Michalski(thats spelled way wrong) is the first baseman. Pihakis wont even come out for the team. I would like to see brad strimel come out and play third base. Kyle Almasy will also have to be a big time player considering Pierpont will be pitching a lot.
It's a good thing that Coach Bucci held Josh Totterdale back last season or the Big Macs wouldn't have one the State Championship. As many of you already know Charles Murphy was one of the best overall athletes ever to come out of Canon Mac.
If Totterdale is sooooo good than why did he quit the team? If Murphy got injured in a game than Totterdale would have had his chance.
As for Pihakis your name can only get you so far in life.
I'm glad that this coaching staff plays kids based on merit and not name/reputation.
murphy may have been equal to or better than totterdale behind the plate, but having coached totterdale in summer aau/travel baseball I know he couldve played 3rd base for canon-mac in 2008. With him at 3rd the big macs wouldve been 27-0, not 22-5! Totterdale is easily a top five player in the section.
As for pihakis if he's living off of his name what about the kid that only played because his dad is booster club president? Pihakis and totterdale both deserved to start ahead of that kid and so many others.
For those of you who don't know who Parkside Drive is; it is Bill Lonero.
As a parent I am so glad that Coach Bucci didn't bring him back last year. As you can tell he isn't a "team player" he is all about playing his favorites. Never before in my life have I seen an assistant coach stand on the sidelines and talk about players during a game and who should be playing and who should be sitting, but this is exactly what Lonero did in "07."
Obviously the team survived without his negative attitude last year. Lets not forget the Big Macs did win the State Championship.
Let's try to make this blog more positive in the future. Negative people should stay away. I will be happy with whatever players coach puts on the field. I know that he'll make the decisions that are right for the team as he has in the past.
I'm tired of all the negative comments on here, so I think it's time for a positive. Jordan Abromovitz... Great Coach. Not only is he a great coach but he is one of the best looking M-Fers of all time!
Anon, I think parkside drive (lonero) answered that. The son of the booster club president is the kid that parkside felt only played b/c his dad was the president of the boosters. His post also makes the case that totterdale and pihakis should have played in front of this boy.
Yea Lonero really knows what he is talking about. The two kids he supports weren't on the team by the end of the season so they're probably all-star caliber players right? anyone that thinks Totterdale was better than Murphy doesn't belong anywhere near a baseball field. Theres a reason Totterdale and Pihikas didn't play, they weren't any good. I bet Lonero also thought his son Rickey should have been a starter on the team last year while he was in 8th grade...what a moron.
Parkside, if Bucci was playing kids because of the position that family members held in relation to the program, wouldn't Pihakis have been on the field. It seems to me that a school board member has more power that a booster club member.
Anon agree with your comments that school board trumps booster club membership. But I must say the booster club president likes to throw his weight around in a bully-esque fashion.
if bucci is intimidated by bully-esque behavior, then the city of pittsburgh is in trouble. as a guard at the allegheney county jail, i dont think bucci should be very intimidated by anyone
Come on people, we all know that the booster club president's son was a deserving player on the 2008 CanonMac baseball team. Bucci might be intimidated by a president that throws his weight around, but the kid deserved to play so no intimidation necessary.
This is what parkside drive (lonero) does... He tries to blame everyone else for his own shortcomings and looks to turn the tide on unknowing people. The things that he has done to the baseball program in two years are just atrocious and the sad part is that he will be involved with it for four more years! This clown wants to be the varsity baseball coach at CM and the truth is that he isn't qualified to coach T-Ball. Case in point, my son used to go to Frank Porco for batting lessons and lonero came along saying that he teaches the same stuff as Porco. Well that was a bold faced lie. Further proof that Lonero will say/do anything to inflate himself while diminishing the hard work of others. I suggest to the fellow bloggers to proceed with caution around the man they call parkside drive.
I would just like to say that I no longer view my state championship season as an enjoyable one. After reading this blog and many of the previous ones, I am convinced that the majority of the CM community feels I was unworthy of a spot in the field. I now know how A-Rod feels in New York since we share the same disapproval from the fans. I only wish someone else played third base so that the season could have turned out better for everyone else. I am also convinced that CM has some of the most disrespectful fans in the area.
Count me among the Chris Douglas supporters! Bird, the only thing that matters is what you think, what your team thinks, and what your family thinks and I think all three of those entities would agree that you were a very important piece to the championship puzzle! It is just sad that a few jerks are letting personal jealousy interfere with appreciation for something that was truly wonderful. Birdman do not let a few negative comments get you down, as I can assure you that those views are in the minority. The state title would not exist without Chris Douglas (or any other player from the team if anyone cares to bash them as well) and you know that you had so many shining moments on the way to the title. Keep your chin up.
After reading these comments one is left to just wonder if Lonero wasn't on the Basketball coaching staff last year could our boys have won a State Championship as well? I wonder if/when Coach Bell will get rid of him.
I'm tired of hearing about all of this bs! first of all totterdale was not a better catcher than murph. murph had a better arm, stick, and blocked the ball better. and pihakis is all about loyalty? are u kidding me? the kid didnt show up to practice for 2 weeks during the wpial playoff run and skipped the wpial consolation game, which was the biggest game of the year to that point! did i mention that he skipped it to go to the penguin game. yeah hes all about loyalty, huh? i have nothing against the kid but theres a reason he got kicked off the team before the state playoffs. Also, we did just win the state championship. it seems like people forget that really quick. the canon mcmillan fan base is a joke (other than football). No one came to support the baseball team until we made it to the PIAA championship (family excluded). Lastly, how can you argue that bucci didn't play the best players. i believe we routed the competition en route to a championship. Every player on that field deserved to be on the field, and the bench accepted their role and cheered on the team. There was senior leadership on the field and in the dugout. Much credit goes to mike spartz, who was not an everyday player. but he did not complain about it, instead he worked his butt off and led the cheers from the bench. And whoever said that bird shouldnt have been on the field, did u forget the 2 balls he roped to the outfield in the championship game? The next time someone wants to talk about CM baseball from 05-08, just shut up, cuz i was there first hand.
oh yeah, and about the main reason this blog is up. dave culligan is an absolute idiot. he thinks he is above the game and the reason i suffered a concussion in the '07 season and bled all over the field. i can only wish that the same fate happens to that ass of an umpire. SCREW DAVE CULLIGAN!
If mediocrity is something that the CM baseball family has in mind, lets not forget the from where this program came from Regardless if you agree with the player personnel decision by the current staff their record is without peer. Last year team will go down in CM history as one greatest CM sport accomplishment ever. Either way you look at it, in the last two years, a 7 -2 play off record, 1 Section title and State Championship isn’t a bad two years.
Wow I can tell this lonero guy is a tool. Totterdale is an average player anyone who has seen him play knows this. All State? Canon-Mac baseball has always been a team sport and they have always pulled great teams together without "superstars". The CM team that graduated was a graet group of players who stood by each other, worked hard, and played good ball. About Bird... dude thats crap what they said you know you earned your spot. I love you man.
the only reason why "birdman" had those two ropes to the fence were because he swings for the fences everytime at bat and he finally connected with a ball those two times. he probably connected with the ball one out of every 100 at bats which is pathetic!!. he led the team in strike-outs and probably broke the Canon McMillan Baseball records for most strike - outs in a single season of all time.
I cant believe an adult would take the time to tell a kid he didnt deserve to play on a team that won the state playoffs. The won...He contributed...he helped get them to that point. Who died and made parkside dr god. I heard he was a cancer in 2007 and that is why he wasnt asked back.
Bell is stuck with him, he made sure of that....Bell is the godfather of his kid. Sweet, Huh?
This blog is about officials with questionable pasts...his may not be criminal, but i wouldnt want him around my kids.
37 comments:
"In a recent article published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it was reported that a few
PIAA-registered officials had been convicted of criminal offenses but had been allowed
to officiate PIAA Contests. The reporter did a thorough job and, while concerned that
any persons convicted of serious crimes have officiated Contests, PIAA was not
disappointed to see that fewer than 1% of the PIAA-registered officials in the District VII
and District VIII areas had prior criminal convictions of any kind, and most of those were
for misdemeanors and offenses that occurred 15 to 20 years ago. PIAA was even more
pleased to note that, after the thorough and yearlong investigation was completed, there
was no finding that any official, at any time, committed an offense relating to, or arising
out of, his or her officiating duties. In any event, PIAA was grateful that the reporter
brought to the attention of PIAA incidents that raise question about whether certain
officials should remain registered with PIAA."
Whammy!
2009 Canon-Mac Baseball Starting Lineup:
C- Josh Totterdale
1B- Alex Pihakis
2B- Justin Baker
3B- Jon Pozonsky
SS- Matt Pierpont
LF- Steve Roach
CF- Mike Hull
RF- Matt Parisse
DH- Rick Lonero
P- Mike Toward
This is the best lineup the 09' Big Macs will be able to put out there and it is the only shot they have to have a winning season.
anonymous,
Don't leave out Phil Staab, he's a very good baseball player.
This forum is about the PIAA officials and not Canon Mac baseball. Can't you ever give it a rest.
I think Pihakis and Kelsey Boyle have the most breakout potential for the 2009 Big Macs baseball team. Pihakis is a powerful first baseman that could hit 8-10 homeruns for the year, while playing at a high level defensively. Boyle is an elite athlete with speed, power, and fantastic instincts. Boyle will likely start in the OF and it would not be a surprise if he hit over .400 this year.
Can't wait for the season to start.. goooo big macs!
Totterdale is definitely one of the best players to ever come through the CM baseball program. It is a shame that the coaching staff decided to hold him back last year. This year will be different though when he is all-section, all-wpial, and all-state.
Jmat dont you have class or football practice to go to at Northwestern?
This IS about PIAA officials but again with the Pihakis kid - don't forget he chose to go to another event rather than play with his baseball team - go figure - how's that for loyalty
Pihakis is all about loyalty. That's why he never once raised a big stink about sitting the bench for Bucci even though he clearly would have been a difference maker for that team. Alex is the ultimate team player, has a championship attitude, and is a great leader. I don't see how anyone could be negative on this superstar.
DJ Michalski(thats spelled way wrong) is the first baseman. Pihakis wont even come out for the team. I would like to see brad strimel come out and play third base. Kyle Almasy will also have to be a big time player considering Pierpont will be pitching a lot.
It's a good thing that Coach Bucci held Josh Totterdale back last season or the Big Macs wouldn't have one the State Championship. As many of you already know Charles Murphy was one of the best overall athletes ever to come out of Canon Mac.
If Totterdale is sooooo good than why did he quit the team? If Murphy got injured in a game than Totterdale would have had his chance.
As for Pihakis your name can only get you so far in life.
I'm glad that this coaching staff plays kids based on merit and not name/reputation.
murphy may have been equal to or better than totterdale behind the plate, but having coached totterdale in summer aau/travel baseball I know he couldve played 3rd base for canon-mac in 2008. With him at 3rd the big macs wouldve been 27-0, not 22-5! Totterdale is easily a top five player in the section.
As for pihakis if he's living off of his name what about the kid that only played because his dad is booster club president? Pihakis and totterdale both deserved to start ahead of that kid and so many others.
For those of you who don't know who Parkside Drive is; it is Bill Lonero.
As a parent I am so glad that Coach Bucci didn't bring him back last year. As you can tell he isn't a "team player" he is all about playing his favorites. Never before in my life have I seen an assistant coach stand on the sidelines and talk about players during a game and who should be playing and who should be sitting, but this is exactly what Lonero did in "07."
Obviously the team survived without his negative attitude last year. Lets not forget the Big Macs did win the State Championship.
Let's try to make this blog more positive in the future. Negative people should stay away. I will be happy with whatever players coach puts on the field. I know that he'll make the decisions that are right for the team as he has in the past.
Battle Royal? You're scared.
Battle Royal? You're scared.
I'm tired of all the negative comments on here, so I think it's time for a positive. Jordan Abromovitz... Great Coach. Not only is he a great coach but he is one of the best looking M-Fers of all time!
who only played because of his dad?? and who should have been playing instead
Anon,
I think parkside drive (lonero) answered that. The son of the booster club president is the kid that parkside felt only played b/c his dad was the president of the boosters. His post also makes the case that totterdale and pihakis should have played in front of this boy.
Yea Lonero really knows what he is talking about. The two kids he supports weren't on the team by the end of the season so they're probably all-star caliber players right? anyone that thinks Totterdale was better than Murphy doesn't belong anywhere near a baseball field. Theres a reason Totterdale and Pihikas didn't play, they weren't any good. I bet Lonero also thought his son Rickey should have been a starter on the team last year while he was in 8th grade...what a moron.
Parkside, if Bucci was playing kids because of the position that family members held in relation to the program, wouldn't Pihakis have been on the field. It seems to me that a school board member has more power that a booster club member.
Anon agree with your comments that school board trumps booster club membership. But I must say the booster club president likes to throw his weight around in a bully-esque fashion.
if bucci is intimidated by bully-esque behavior, then the city of pittsburgh is in trouble. as a guard at the allegheney county jail, i dont think bucci should be very intimidated by anyone
Come on people, we all know that the booster club president's son was a deserving player on the 2008 CanonMac baseball team. Bucci might be intimidated by a president that throws his weight around, but the kid deserved to play so no intimidation necessary.
This is what parkside drive (lonero) does... He tries to blame everyone else for his own shortcomings and looks to turn the tide on unknowing people. The things that he has done to the baseball program in two years are just atrocious and the sad part is that he will be involved with it for four more years! This clown wants to be the varsity baseball coach at CM and the truth is that he isn't qualified to coach T-Ball. Case in point, my son used to go to Frank Porco for batting lessons and lonero came along saying that he teaches the same stuff as Porco. Well that was a bold faced lie. Further proof that Lonero will say/do anything to inflate himself while diminishing the hard work of others. I suggest to the fellow bloggers to proceed with caution around the man they call parkside drive.
I would just like to say that I no longer view my state championship season as an enjoyable one. After reading this blog and many of the previous ones, I am convinced that the majority of the CM community feels I was unworthy of a spot in the field. I now know how A-Rod feels in New York since we share the same disapproval from the fans. I only wish someone else played third base so that the season could have turned out better for everyone else. I am also convinced that CM has some of the most disrespectful fans in the area.
Count me among the Chris Douglas supporters! Bird, the only thing that matters is what you think, what your team thinks, and what your family thinks and I think all three of those entities would agree that you were a very important piece to the championship puzzle! It is just sad that a few jerks are letting personal jealousy interfere with appreciation for something that was truly wonderful. Birdman do not let a few negative comments get you down, as I can assure you that those views are in the minority. The state title would not exist without Chris Douglas (or any other player from the team if anyone cares to bash them as well) and you know that you had so many shining moments on the way to the title. Keep your chin up.
After reading these comments one is left to just wonder if Lonero wasn't on the Basketball coaching staff last year could our boys have won a State Championship as well? I wonder if/when Coach Bell will get rid of him.
did anyone else hear about Mike Toward?!?
While at a showcase in Florida, Turtle hit 98mph consistently with his fastball and his slider was 86-89mph... Lookout WPIAL!!!
I'm tired of hearing about all of this bs! first of all totterdale was not a better catcher than murph. murph had a better arm, stick, and blocked the ball better. and pihakis is all about loyalty? are u kidding me? the kid didnt show up to practice for 2 weeks during the wpial playoff run and skipped the wpial consolation game, which was the biggest game of the year to that point! did i mention that he skipped it to go to the penguin game. yeah hes all about loyalty, huh? i have nothing against the kid but theres a reason he got kicked off the team before the state playoffs. Also, we did just win the state championship. it seems like people forget that really quick. the canon mcmillan fan base is a joke (other than football). No one came to support the baseball team until we made it to the PIAA championship (family excluded). Lastly, how can you argue that bucci didn't play the best players. i believe we routed the competition en route to a championship. Every player on that field deserved to be on the field, and the bench accepted their role and cheered on the team. There was senior leadership on the field and in the dugout. Much credit goes to mike spartz, who was not an everyday player. but he did not complain about it, instead he worked his butt off and led the cheers from the bench. And whoever said that bird shouldnt have been on the field, did u forget the 2 balls he roped to the outfield in the championship game? The next time someone wants to talk about CM baseball from 05-08, just shut up, cuz i was there first hand.
oh yeah, and about the main reason this blog is up. dave culligan is an absolute idiot. he thinks he is above the game and the reason i suffered a concussion in the '07 season and bled all over the field. i can only wish that the same fate happens to that ass of an umpire. SCREW DAVE CULLIGAN!
If mediocrity is something that the CM baseball family has in mind, lets not forget the from where this program came from
Regardless if you agree with the player personnel decision by the current staff their record is without peer. Last year team will go down in CM history as one greatest CM sport accomplishment ever. Either way you look at it, in the last two years, a 7 -2 play off record, 1 Section title and State Championship isn’t a bad two years.
amen
Wow I can tell this lonero guy is a tool. Totterdale is an average player anyone who has seen him play knows this. All State? Canon-Mac baseball has always been a team sport and they have always pulled great teams together without "superstars". The CM team that graduated was a graet group of players who stood by each other, worked hard, and played good ball. About Bird... dude thats crap what they said you know you earned your spot. I love you man.
fyi staab, strimel, pozonsky and others will all probably play ball in the spring! warning for lonero/totterdale
A tool? totterdale is good darn good. you probably have never seen him hit. the ball goes like a mile or 2 every time.
the only reason why "birdman" had those two ropes to the fence were because he swings for the fences everytime at bat and he finally connected with a ball those two times. he probably connected with the ball one out of every 100 at bats which is pathetic!!. he led the team in strike-outs and probably broke the Canon McMillan Baseball records for most strike - outs in a single season of all time.
I cant believe an adult would take the time to tell a kid he didnt deserve to play on a team that won the state playoffs. The won...He contributed...he helped get them to that point. Who died and made parkside dr god. I heard he was a cancer in 2007 and that is why he wasnt asked back.
Bell is stuck with him, he made sure of that....Bell is the godfather of his kid. Sweet, Huh?
This blog is about officials with questionable pasts...his may not be criminal, but i wouldnt want him around my kids.
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