7th Grade 'Canes Win LV Knee-Hi Basketball 'Ship

7th Grade Canes (Dat only nutbag who won't smile)

After being down by eleven points in the first half, the 7th grade 'Canes roared back in the second, beating a tough DYC (Allentown Downtown Youth Center) team to win the LV Knee-Hi Basketball Championship for 7th grade kids, 78-67. The game was played today at Freedom High School.

It's a scary team. Although they have fallen behind several times this season, they always finds a way to come back and win.  In the last three years, they've lost just twice. Every single ball player is capable of scoring double digits in any given game, but what makes them good is that they work together.

Much of the credit for that is due to Head Coach Craig Golden. Unfortunately, he missed the game as a result of a death in his family. But his assistant, Dom Italiani, did a great job with these young men.

The game was interrupted briefly when Mayor John Callahan barged in, arguing a call. The ref asked him to leave, and he did, making rabbit ears as he left. I think he got thrown out of the pool too, even though there was no swimming meet.

On Monday, Callahan will call all the refs and apologize.

Dat and his Mom

Dat with Justin, still thinks he can't smile

7th Grade 'Canes Win the 'Ship, Too!

See that picture above? It's the 7th Grade 'Canes. They're a good, but not a great, team. Individually, they are very talented ball players. But unlike the 6th Grade 'Canes I described above, they often seemed unable to read and work with each other. They were beat up twice during the regular season, once by over 20 points.

But they got better as the season continued, and they are gritty. They fought and clawed their way through those losses to face a dominant South Parkland in the championship game yesterday afternoon at Freedom High School. And once they made it, they continued clawing and fighting. Down by ten points with 5 minutes to go in the second half, they never gave up on themselves. When the buzzer sounded, it was a tie game.

In OT, they were down again, but managed to climb on top by one point with 4 seconds to go.

And that was it.

Coach Teddy Street, whose jaw has been moving nonstop since the season started, finally has his moth closed in the team picture you see above.

Now you'd think that in a game between tough city kids from Bethlehem and suburban game boys from Parkland, the Bethlehem boys would be more intimidating. I certainly would guess that myself.

But we're both wrong.

These kids from Parkland were rough. Their two best players were actually tossed out of the game by the refs before they had even fouled out. Unsportsmanlike conduct, the refs claimed, although it just looked like good, hard play to me. Had they remained in the game, Parkland might have come out on top.

But yesterday afternoon, as flurries swirled around Freedom High School, the basketabll gods smiled on the 'Canes instead.

South Parkland Unhappy With Final Score.