South Shade ???

I have had lots of angry e-mails asking me why I have not commented on the situation at South Dade. The truth is there lots of hearsay, and lots of finger pointing, but I have yet to confirm much.

Here are the alleged recruits, and the facts that I have been able to confirm.

Isiah Varona – Always was going to South Dade, applied to the Magnet program early last year and was accepted.

Robert Rojas - Always was going to South Dade, applied to the Magnet program early last year and was accepted.

Gabriel Mardel – Rumored to be to be on his way south but he remains at Doral Academy

Andres Montero - He left Sunset and transferred to SD and apparently has already been through the infamous 8-track (AETRAC) and has been cleared to participate.

Wilson Metellus – I don’t understand the problem with this one, he was there last year and it was not a problem, he has been cleared to participate. There is one source promising to give me game breaking information but he says he is going to hold onto it for now. I don’t know what it could be, maybe that he is an illegal alien or something, it sounds ominous to hear it told, but for now it is a non issue to me.

Earl Hall - He still attends Robert Morgan Senior High but it is rumored that he will be a Buc this year. However, that is yet to be proven since the wrestling season has not started and he is not enrolled at South Dade. If he has changed residence and now resides within SD’s boundaries I really don’t see a problem here either. A lot will be made of recruiting, but what can anyone really prove is what will matter.

Didley Weche – State champ from Pace, just another ugly rumor as confirmed to me by a source earlier today. Apparently he went to some tournament with Metellus and the word spread that he was now aboard the South Dade ship, but my source assures me he is still at Pace

Someone else tells me that another 1 or 2 kids have possibly defected from Homestead to South Dade, but did not provide any names so there is really no way to verify their speculation and it is not worth the conjecture.

So there is lots of speculation and lots of allegations, but so far no one can thrown anything out that sticks.

You will have to wait a little longer

I am still putting some facts together, but there is much to tell...

Transfers and Move-ins



Quittings



and a Drug Bust or Two



Stay tuned

Be Back Soon!

Been a while but now it's almost time to get rolling again.

I have lots of news; some good, some bad, and some inevitable.



More to come soon...



Spidey

"The Streak"

I was very impressed with the Documentary last night, and I think the wrestling community at large should be pleased with the Documentary because of the positive attention it brings, and on a national level to boot.

The show gave great perspective on the Brandon machine, the dedication is takes to maintain such an entity, and the pride behind the thousands of kids that have benefited from the program.

I was further impressed with Coach Cozart; I admire his singular dedication to his family, to his team, and to his school and community. Brandon is a great example of what can be accomplished with a great amount of dedication and perseverance.

The Brandon parents should also be commended; the support system they have engineered for those kids is second to none, and people like Cesar Grajales should accept the credit that is due them for being an integral cog in the Brandon machine.

I enjoyed the Documentary very much, I like the program better now that I know more about it. I saw a human, vulnerable, and emotional side of Coach Cozart that I would not have known was there if not for this film. I believed Coach Cozart when he stated that he started the Graves so that they would get beat, but all the while doing his damndest to prolong it. He was gracious in defeat, and it seemed to me that he was even a little relieved though obviously saddened.

My congratulations one final time to Brandon for having their streak end in such a sporting and memorable fashion. My Congratulations to South Dade and to Coach Victor Balmeceda for their fantastic performance and the graciousness they showed in victory. And my Congratulations to ESPN, and the Wrestling community for being the beneficiaries of such a fine broadcast.

Mail Call !

Some of you have written me while I was away and it took me till now to respond. Please don't be upset with me, this is a very busy time of the year for me and my attentions were on other matters.

Still I have found time to answer your queries, so have at them.

For the rest of you, feel free to use this most current post for any new comments that you may wish to post.

My thanks to all of you that keeping the site moderately operational in my absence, I appreciate your loyalty.

See you all soon.

"The Streak" on ESPN2

I was contacted by one of my sources and asked to please post the following information so here goes.

On April 29th at 9:00pm EST ESPN2 will air “The Streak”; the documentary of the 07’ – 08’ wrestling season of the Brandon Eagles. It will include the dramatic end of the longest streak in sports history, as well as Brandon’s triumphant victory in yet another state tournament.

“The Streak” in quotations… I coined the phrase nearly nine years ago when I began the campaign to get Brandon to wrestle a legitimate schedule, I wonder if ESPN reads the Spiderman and stole the name I not only fashioned but made fashionable.

LOL!!! Relax folks I am just kidding, no delusions of grandeur here, just a little levity.

Congratulations once again to Brandon, and also to South Dade.

Talk about it

This is a busy time of the year for me so I will only be in an out and I will only post once in a while. Unless there is some breaking news, there won't be many reports. You may use this post to converse with each other back and forth or just to make commentary in the interim.

Spidey