HOSPITAL 2

If you remember, in August, I passed out and was taken to the hospital with a low heartbeat. I was told that my potassium level was too high. On Friday January 19th, I passed out again, and they told me I passed out while urinating (you understand why this is important later). And I was told by hospital personnel that my potassium was too low, which made my heartbeat go to 160 beats a minute.

Now I am not a doctor or a chemist. However, it seems to me it's pretty simple to figure it out. Solution -- one potassium pill equals no pass out; try two potassium pills -- no pass out; try three potassium pills, no pass out. Try four potassium pills - pass out. The answer would be to take three potassium a day.

Okay, now, let's start from the beginning, rapid heartbeat. Rapid heartbeats at 160- pass out. Fire department and ambulance show up. They are all great guys and were very compassionate and caring but also very competent. I am not a small person, and besides passing out, I had a terrible case of the gout. If you have never had it, you are missing one of the things that make good days worth living. Just a little pressure on the area brings you excruciating pain. Then four gentlemen- two from AMR and two from the Hamden Fire Department moved this almost 300 pound body down four stairs; down two outside steps; up the walkway and driveway with nary a wiggle on the stretcher.

When we get to the hospital I was taken immediately into a small room with five cubicles. Well. not really cubicles. Let me try to explain the room had too many people. I don't think the doctors or the patients knew who they were talking to.

Within the first hour I saw at least four doctors who examined me and asked the same questions over and over. They agreed that my potassium was too low; my heart rate was too high. After that it was a tossup. The most interesting diagnose is what I call the “pee syndrome.” That is, you pass out while you are urinating. I had never heard of it, but they told me it was fairly common. Now every time I go to a public bathroom I’ll look for bodies. It explains why I thought my friend was drunk when he passed out in the bathroom all the time.

The rest of my stay was a bit uneventful as they worked on balancing my medications to prevent me from fainting. Again I repeat over and over again how wonderful the personnel were. They put up with a lot of crap, both figuratively and literally.

There were a couple of highlights as there always are. Like, why do they wake you up to take your vital signs when you are on a heart monitor?

Then there was a lady who took my blood, who told me to look at something. When I told her I had low vision from diabetic retinopathy, she told me her eyes were also bad. She said she wore contacts and glasses. I understand now why I had all the black and blue marks on my arms.

And lastly, many of the help leave the room with “good luck.” Good luck is what I want at the casino or racetrack, not at the hospital

REUNION

Anyone interested in getting involved in a Hamden Father's Baseball/Softball coaches’ reunion should contact Tony Mentone at tonymentone@yahoo.com.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Samantha Bertini (HHS' 91) played basketball and softball at Hamden High. After leaving Hamden she went on to Washington University. She is presently a graphic artist and still lives in Hamden.

PAUL CARR

As a young kid I read "Lou Gehrig -- A Quiet Hero," over and over again. I was fascinated because we seemed to have similar backgrounds. Gehrig played first base, so did I. He was good-looking and had pretty good grades. So did I. Gehrig went to Columbia University and played baseball at Yale Field. This I could only dream about. There is one thing I hated about him. He had this terrible, debilitating disease, ALS, named after him. The disease robbed him of his strength, his muscle control, and his body functions.

Paul Carr, a local youth baseball, softball and basketball coach, was diagnosed with ALS several years ago. Just as he did as a coach, no challenge was too large for him. He gathered his family and friends around him and started a fund to be used for ALS research. He sponsored a massive walkathon in which he personally participated. On December 23, 2008, Carr’s body succumbed to the ravages of this horrible disease. But his indomitable spirit will always remain in his battle against ALS. Carr had raised over $150,000. Right now someone is using the funds he raised to find a cure for ALS, as Carr peers over his shoulder coaching him on.

DRAGON DANDIES

Hamden High first-year football coach Scott Benoit was named the New Haven Register's All Area 2008 Coach of the Year. Benoit led the Dragons to a 9-3 record and a place in the state class LL. playoffs. He turned around a Hamden program that had been down for the last three years.

Also named to the team was defensive lineman Joe-Von Ladson (HHS' 10), a 6'1", 265 pounder, who helped lead Hamden to its resurgence. Joining him on the All-Area team was punter Carmine Baldino (HHS' 09), who averaged 40 yards a punt. He also led the team in tackles and punt returns, averaging over 20 yards.

HOCKEY HIGHLIGHTS.

The Hamden High boys hockey team was ranked third in the state in last week’s state rankings. Over the holidays they lost two games to powerful Maine teams. They remain undefeated in Connecticut by beating East Haven 4-1 and Notre Dame of Fairfield 4-3.

Kudos to Hamden athletic director Jeanne Cooper for moving the Notre Dame of Fairfield game to 12 noon to avoid the snowstorm on Saturday.

MISSING COACHES

Several people mentioned that I left off my list for great coaches John Wooden and Bobby Knight. I agree, they were great coaches but I disagree with their style.

Wooden sat on the bench with his legs crossed, and sometimes seemed to be sleeping. His style just didn't "do it” for me.

Knight is a bully who loves to hear himself talk. He was always in someone’s face, including game officials. When a grown man throws a chair across the court in international competition, there’s a problem. He should have been thrown out of basketball forever.

BASEBALL SOON...

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 14, 2009.

MORE COACHES.

A couple weeks ago we talked about coaches on the local level. Now let's look at prominent coaches on the national level.

Some of my favorite basketball coaches are John Thompson of Georgetown, Thompson was a tough task master but he loved his players and treated his players like his own kids. Another of my favorites was Rollie Massimino of Villanova. Massimino started a game perfectly coiffed and dressed. By the end of the game Massimino looked like he had walked through a carwash. His jacket was off; his shirt, sweat- stained was pulled out of his pants and his tie was askew. . He was in on every dribble of the ball. And let’s not forget Jim Valvano from North Carolina State. The man was just intense. Who could ever forget the video of when he won the NCAA title and was walking around looking for somebody to hug?

Although I am not a big fan of pro basketball, they have a few great coaches in my estimation.

Red Holtzman, former New York Knicks coach was also a favorite along with Phil Jackson, former Chicago Bulls coach and now coaching the LA Lakers. Red Aurbach, Boston Celtics, has more achievements of any coach and general manager. If Reggie Lewis and Len Bias didn't meet untimely deaths, the dynasty would have never ended. I wonder if modern society would have let him light his victory cigar at the end of each game.

In college football, I loved Bear Bryant from Alabama. When all these end zone celebrations started Bryant told his players. "When you score, act like you have been there before." Although I seem a bit provincial the Yale. coaching staff of Carmen Cozza and defensive coordinators. Bill Narducci and Buddy Amendola were my favorites. Cozza was always a perfect gentleman but he somehow got the most out of his players. Remember 95 percent of the Ivy League players are playing for the love of the game, because very few go on to the pros. Narducci and Amendola were exactly opposite from Cozza. They were fiery, but they were in my estimation defensive geniuses.

My favorite local baseball coach in the area with Porky Vieira of the University of New Haven. Where do you start with him? He won, he turned college players into pros and he was a certified "nut.” I could do a whole column on his one-liners. If you were one of his players you did it his way or the highway.

Locally, there are two guys I admire as coaches. More than anyone else -- Lou Astorino and Vin Virgulto.. There's nobody that wanted to win more than these two, but they were high school coaches and although they wanted wins, they built productive citizens.

Astorino, Hamden High boys’ hockey coach, was a tough task master. He won numerous titles including one of his teams being rated number one in the country. His strength was in teaching and discipline. He gave his players curfews and called their homes to see if they were following curfews.

Virgulto coached Hamden High baseball, football, and badminton. All players had rules to follow, whether they were stars or not, he believed that sports are the last bastion of discipline. He once cut a freshman baseball player, because his grades were not up to par, Later, the player signed with a major league team. He thanked the coach for teaching him a lesson. Virgulto never blamed the kids for losing, but rather took the blame himself.

Now that I have rambled on about my favorite coaches let me give you my top five.

# 1 – Geno Auriemma, girls’ basketball coach at UConn. He’s brash, cocky, sarcastic, but he is a winner. He is refreshing in his own way. He doesn't give you a lot of bull. When asked why he thought he was going to win a certain game, he responded "because I have Diana Taurausi, they don't."

I am told that his practices are relentless, but I have never heard one of his players complain. In fact many of his former players have become coaches themselves.

# 2 - Joe Paterno, football Penn State. He is 82 years old and is presently negotiating a three-year contract. That says it all - he would rather talk about his players than himself.

#3 - Bill Parcells, New York football Giants among several others. “Big Tuna”, as he is nicknamed, has no peer when it comes to taking a mediocre team and making it a winner. He respects his players and they respect him.

Quarterback Phil Simms and Parcells would go nose to nose on the sidelines. After Simms had his say, he always seemed to perform better.

#4 - Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers. He is credited with helping and putting pro football where it is today. His players hated him while they were playing for him, but many later admitted he was the best thing that ever happened to them. He was a strict disciplinarian, and many of his players were actually scared of him.

# 5 - Billy Martin and Joe Torre, managers of the New York Yankees. I'm not sure why I put these two together accept that they were both winners and loved being Yankee managers. There, the similarities end.

Martin was fiery, combative type. He argued with management, umpires, and even with his own players. His ideas of a rally was a walk, steal second, bunt the runner to third and scored on a passed ball.

Torre was exactly opposite. He sat calmly on the bench, sometimes it looked like he was sleeping. If the leadoff batter got on he would rather look for the long ball to move the runner over.

Coaches come in all sizes and shapes; all strategies and temperaments. A little ways back I read a book by Phil Jackson about the triangle offense. The plays are built on the defensive reaction. I really think it is too complicated for high school or college. I sat for hours diagramming plays in trying to understand.

Many years ago a friend told me that when you read a book you should read the last chapter first. As I read the last page of the book. Here is what Coach Jackson said. "The first time he ran the offense with the Chicago Bulls, he had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The second time was with the LA Lakers and he had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. As I've always said, good players make good coaches