Monday links
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- December
- 4
Because I know some of you are still unraveling yourselves from the fall sports season, I thought I’d provide a special edition of links.
I went up to Lakeland yesterday, where “the defending state champion Hornets were soundly beaten by Beacon 54-22.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/SPORTS02/712040366/1049
In Rockland, my colleague Debbie Schechter wrote about “Nanuet, which looked strong in a 20-point win over Rye.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/SPORTS02/712040367/1111
I also had something on Carmel’s Meghan Murphy, “who committed to Dominican College.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/SPORTS02/712040360/1049
Last thing: If Ossining coach Dan Ricci was suspended last night  and a reporter for us said he received two techs  he will be out for tonight’s game at John Jay, per Section 1’s rules.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 7:04 pm by Josh Thomson. 
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
Coach Ricci did not coach today’s game against John Jay. It should never have come to this but that’s a story for another day. He did not deserve one no less two technical foul calls in Saturday’s game against Scarsdale. Just some more top rate refereeing in Section I…
Coach Ricci deserved everything he got on Saturday. He was a relentless source of embarassment to coaching in general that day. If Saturday’s behavior was any indication, Ricci was probably right behind a gym door today, checking out the game through a glass window and texting his assistants the plays they should call and the substitutions they should make.
I’ve seen that coach’s act, wasn’t there to see the game, but I wouldnt be shocked at all if he was out of control, no need to be a maniac out there to get your point across.
Have the two of you seen his act when he helps all of the kids who play for him. Have you seen his funny act when he helps the disenfranchised that have no father or mother or either? Picking them up for practice or driving them home or buying them something to eat? That one is hysterical. Maybe you have caught the knee slapper when he works for free to get his kids into college, he is so out of control when he gets into that act. He does summer and fall league and AAU as well as Empire States which includes kids that don’t even go to Ossining. He pays for his own gas to get there not to mention food and lodging. All out of his own pocket. He should be arrested for that maniacal behavior!
Nobody should question Coach Ricci’s passion and dedication to the students with whom he works. Frankly, from my perch, he is an amazing man! Yet one would be remiss and biased to defend his courtside behavior as acceptable. Instead his antics are deplorable and unsporting and this has been the case for years. High school coaches should first be role models and secondly be teachers of their craft. Screaming at officials and persistently questioning their integrity can only poison the very young people he so desperately is trying to help.
My daughter plays for Coach Ricci, and while he yells and screams I know he has a big heart. He would do anything for the girls. the refs at Scarsdale were awful and if anyone knew the whole story instead of hearsay they would have realized that he the technical fouls were bogus, nade by a power hungry inexperienced ref!