Talk Bronx New York

             No. 1 John F. Kennedy and guard Jeffrey Arzu have won 11 straight entering the Bronx borough playoffs

   You can call this the John F. Kennedy Invitational. The top-seeded Knights are the clear-cut favorite. Of any of the four borough tournaments, them not winning would be the biggest surprise.

That’s not an indictment of the other seven participants; it’s praise for Kennedy.

No. 2 Wings Academy has righted the ship recently, playing better on the defensive end. No. 3 Truman got better as the year went on and No. 4 Lehman has a dynamic inside-out duo in center Armand (Big Baby) Thomas and guard Aaron Barnes. Class A high-scoring entrants South Bronx, Evander Childs and Taft could make trouble for the higher seeds as well.

Favorite: No. 1 John F. Kennedy Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

January 29, 2009
	A semicircle formed around James Henry Geddie, better known as Chubbs, as he placed his hands on the worn brown tiles of the subway platform and began to spin. The spectators at the 125th Street station in Harlemwatched him scissor-kicking his legs as he tossed his weight effortlessly from hand to hand. Mr. Geddie, 19, popped up after a minute, pleased with his performance. “I learned from the best,” he said. He was immediately followed by one of the spectators, who wasn’t a random subway rider, but another break dancer. In fact, everyone around Chubbs was a dancer, soaking up his impromptu lesson. Angel Izepia, who is 14, tried to imitate Chubbs’s moves but had trouble holding himself up on his hands for more than a few turns. “You got to whip your legs around,” Chubbs said. No money was collected during the short session on the platform, but for the dancers, nearly all from the same few blocks in the South Bronx, it was a chance to bond and share knowledge.

Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

Automotive improved to 5-0 in Brooklyn A West with an 89-44 demolition of Secondary School for Law, Journalism and Research on Monday. Jonathan Delacruz led the Pistons with 16 points and Eli Richardson and Clareld Stabler had 12 apiece.

Coach Will Stasiuk is enjoying the ride. Automotive was expected to return 13 players, but only seven have showed. A few have been injured and others quit. It has made them a small team: Richardson, a 6-foot-5 center, is their tallest player.

“I’m pleasantly surprised with how well we’re playing this year,” Stasiuk said. Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

That saying held true in the second round of the PSAL ‘B’ tournament as two of the top five seeds - No. 4 Riverdale/Kingsbridge and No. 5 Adams - were upset by underdog squads, and another highly regarded team, third-seeded Banneker, was taken to the limit by No. 14 Bronx Leadership.

Three double-digit seeds advanced to today’s quarterfinals at Hunter College in Manhattan.

Here’s a look at the weekend’s second-round action:

No. 3 Banneker 2, No. 14 Bronx Leadership 1

Bronx Leadership nearly upended undefeated Banneker before bowing out in a three-set loss.

The Wolves played the No. 3 seed close in a 25-20 first-set loss, then hit their stride in the second set, winning, 25-21, on the strength of two 4-0 runs.

The Lady Warriors held an early eight-point lead in the third set, but Leadership rallied to tie the set at 23, and pressed the set into extra points before losing, 28-26.

Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

Bronx Science’s Gregory Barber is undoubtedly the best PSAL bowler in the borough. The sophomore has averaged a respectable 183.71 pins per game while leading the Wolverines to a 7-1 record and first place in Bronx II.

Barber began bowling in a league in Queens at age 5; he has his own ball and a private coach, and he entered the week ranked 39th among boys in the PSAL.

But in the Bronx, Gregory Barber is an anomaly.

The borough’s teams have failed to reach the third round of the PSAL playoffs for the past five seasons. The second highest–ranked bowler in the Bronx is Wolverines co-captain Matt Dunay, who averages 171.60 pins per game, good for 83rd in the city. Bronx Science ranks 26th overall in the PSAL. The next-best Bronx squad is Taft, ranked No. 41 before games this week.

Such numbers raise an obvious question: Why is the Bronx stuck in a perpetual traffic jam on the lanes, so many miles behind Staten Island powers Tottenville, McKee/SI Tech and Susan Wagner?

Why are they lagging so far behind Queens contenders Bayside (second) and Thomas Edison (fourth), and Brooklyn’s Goldstein (fourth), Fort Hamilton (seventh) and New Utrecht (eighth).

Barber pauses for a minute, when asked about the paucity of quality Bronx programs.

“I just think they have more money over there,” Barber said.

It’s a provocative thesis, and one of many possible explanations for Bronx bowling’s spot in the PSAL slow lane.

Queried during their matches at Ball Park Lanes on Tuesday, coaches and players alike mentioned economic factors, early exposure to the sport and ready access to the lanes as necessary ingredients for success. Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post