On The Sly

In addition, the Section 7 basketball chairpersons, Jon Rebideau and Jennifer Trowbridge, are in attendance and sit directly to my left. If any emergency arises, they are quick to react to solve the problem. And emergencies do arise. Like a basketball rim might be crooked or a basketball might have too much air or a court announcer's microphone might not work.

Plus, they have to keep an eye on the crowd and make sure that schools are being courteous in their assessments of the opposing team and the referees. They also have to write little notes for the court announcer to read to the crowd, such as, "Noisemakers are not allowed at sectional and regional tournaments." And, best of all, they notify the officials' table when the pizza arrives.

Working alongside them this year were Rick Smith from Ticonderoga and John Reynolds from Indian Lake. It made for a great group of game officials at the table, and you can bet there were plenty of jokes and playful jabs throughout the tournament.

My co-workers do all the important jobs, while I get to look around, observe the crowd, chat with passersby and think about what music to play next. It also gives me time to come up with deserving awards for some of the participants.

The major awards, of course, went to the teams winning the Section 7 championship this year:

Girls - Class D - Schroon Lake, coached by Carmine Decker
Girls - Class C - Seton Catholic, coached by Carrie Converse
Girls - Class B - Northeastern Clinton, coached by Andy Landry

Boys - Class D - Westport, coached by Brad Rascoe
Boys - Class C - Ticonderoga, coached by Dan Dorsett
Boys - Class B - Plattsburgh, coached by Chris Hartmann

But now the first annual On the Sly Basketball Awards for this year's sectional tournament:

Coach Who is Most Fun to Watch - Jim Zullo (Indian Lake boys) - Coach Zullo, was has nearly 500 wins, was the most animated, and you can tell how much fun he was having, despite the anguish he exhibited at times. He went through hundreds of expressions and even came over to the table during the game to apologize for yelling.

Coach Whose Voice Didn't Hold Up - Steve Pelkey (Moriah girls) - Coach Pelkey tried shouting out instructions to his ladies but by the second half his voice kept giving out mid-sentence. He also hit a few high notes along the way.

Coach Most Likely to Play in the NFL - Ike Tyler (assistant, Westport boys) and Kevin Richardson (assistant, Plattsburgh boys) - If I ever need bodyguards in a big city, these are the guys I'm bringing with me. Nobody would dare tangle with either of these friendly, but imposing, statures.

Best Dressed Coach - Carrie Converse (Seton Catholic girls) and Shelly Young (Ticonderoga girls) - Both of these coaches easily outdressed their male counterparts. Ms. Converse's matching ensemble drew raves and Ms. Young's school-colors purple shirt was outstanding.

Most Unique Coach's Name - Hokey McKinley (Westport girls) - Easy winner for a great guy and great coach

Pony-Tail Award - Nice-guy referee Tommy Edwards tried to find a pair of scissors to cut off my ponytail!

Eddie Rostak Lookalike Award - Carmine Decker (Schroon Lake girls) - Goose and I have said it for years, but when I told Carmine about this he didn't know who Eddie Rostak is. Would love to get a picture of them side-by-side.

Brotherhood Award - Andy Landry (Northeastern Clinton girls) - Andy, the long-running successful coach at NCCS, is my fraternity brother. Maybe next year we can pull out our old Pi Alpha Nu sweatshirts for one of the games.

Most Likely to Make a Hollywood Movie - Larry Converse and Jim Baker (Seton Catholic boys) - I know I've said it before, but if there were ever two guys who remind me of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, it's these two. With their Hollywood looks both of these coaches could easily be stars on the big screen. And, like Redford and Newman, they never seem to get old. They still have their youthful looks.

Most Likely to Make a Hollywood Movie (runner-up) - Andy Landry and Norm Bonneau (Northeastern girls) - Here's another long-running pair who have kept their looks, despite the stress of sectional, regional and state-championship play. They are great coaching partners.

Ray Charles Award - Brian Cross (Moriah boys) - During his exciting semi-final win Coach Cross refused to look at his players shooting foul shots in the closing minutes. Instead he would grab his water bottle, stand behind the bench and face the crowd and wait for the crowd reaction. At a most critical moment, senior guard Don Tesar sank two foul shots with 25 seconds left in overtime, while Coach Cross looked away.

Foxy Gagnon Lookalike Award - Jeff Reynolds (Indian Lake boys) - No, he isn't bald with a ponytail and a potbelly, but I couldn't help but enjoy this sharpshooter, who hit five long-range three-pointers and finished the semi-final game with 27 points. Okay, so I never hit a three-pointer in my life, but he is about the same size that I was when I played. And his style of play is the style of play that I wished for in my youth.

Head Honcho Award - Jon Rebideau, Section 7 boys basketball chairperson - the former Northern Adirondack coach has been our leader at the officials table since he took over from Don Parks back in, um, well, a long time ago. He always finds a way to keep his workers smiling. We hope he never leaves.

Most Dedicated Award - Mark Christiansen and Kirk Fraser, who direct operations at the Field House - During the course of events on any given day at the Field House, these two guys log plenty of miles. It's an expansive building and they cover a lot of ground. When the microphone malfunctioned one night, they went to no ends to make sure the problem was fixed by noon the next day. When I arrived the following day I was greeted by new equipment. They got the job done!

I probably missed an award or two this year, but, hopefully, there will be a second annual On the Sly Basketball Awards blog next year. Congratulations to the coaches and athletes and referees on a great 2008 Section 7 tournament.