The North Bergen South Little League 12-year-old All-Stars saw their great run come to an end last weekend, when they were eliminated by Livingston American in the Section 2 tournament in Livingston.
The locals won twice in the tourney, defeating Rutherford American and Teaneck Southern, to advance to the title game, but fell to Livingston American, 12-7.
The host team advanced to the state championships this weekend in Pequannock.
Once again, North Bergen South showed an incredible propensity to score runs, scoring 12 in the win over Rutherford and adding 14 in the win over Teaneck.
Catcher Eddie Malpica hit home runs in each of the two wins. Angel Gonzalez also hit a big homer. The team showed tremendous resiliency throughout the District 7 and Section 2 tourneys, with the ability to come back.
Head coach Baz Gutierrez did a fine job in putting the team together. They represented the district and North Bergen well. The players, like Nick Francisco and Nick Gonzalez, proved that they have a very bright future and will be players to watch in the future.
Much like the 2008 North Bergen South All-Stars, who went on to become standout players on the high school level this past season, chances are that these youngsters will be making headlines when they arrive on the high school scene in four years. They are certainly players to remember…
Bayonne’s Kenny Britt was at it again last week. The former Rutgers grid star, currently with the Tennessee Titans, was arrested in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and charged with Driving Under the Influence.
Britt, who is rehabilitating a serious knee injury he suffered last year, was apparently stopped at 3:30 a.m. last Friday morning at the entrance of Fort Campbell, a military base.
Britt was reportedly with Titans teammate Tommie Campbell and a female military soldier when he was stopped. He apparently was trying to bring the female soldier back to the base when the base police stopped him.
It marks the eighth run-in Britt has had with the police since he was drafted by the Titans in 2009.
In February, Britt pleaded guilty in Hudson County Superior Court to a downgraded charge of disturbing the peace, after he was arrested in Hoboken on suspicion of having possession of marijuana. The drug charge was dropped because police could find no evidence of the marijuana.
Britt also pleaded guilty last year to eluding police who alleged that they saw him speeding in Bayonne. He also had two outstanding arrest warrants in Tennessee for allegedly driving with falsified information on his driver’s license.
Because of his prior run-ins with the law, Britt met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last August to discuss a possible suspension, but Goodell chose not to suspend the wide receiver.
Now, this latest infraction could mean that Britt would face at least a four-game suspension and hefty fine from the league.
Britt has undergone two knee surgeries since he was injured in a game last September. He underwent reconstructive surgery on his right knee last year and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in May.
Britt has been a stalwart on the field for the Titans, catching 107 passes for 1,765 yards and 15 touchdowns in 31 career games, but this latest run-in with the law could spell the end for the troubled local product…
The best fighting supermarket worker in Hudson County is getting his shot at the big time.
Union City’s Jason “Monstruo” Escalera will be part of a big boxing tripleheader Sept. 29 at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut.
The card is being promoted by DiBella Entertainment and HBO Boxing and will be televised on the famed cable network.
Escalera, whose full-time job is with a North Bergen supermarket, will take on Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez in a 10-round super middleweight bout. Both fighters will enter the ring with undefeated records. Escalera is 13-0-1 with 12 knockouts, while Rodriguez, ranked in the top 10 in all of the major boxing organizations, is 21-0 with 14 knockouts.
The card is being called “The Road to Glory,” featuring some of the best up-and-coming fighters in the country. Escalera has been moving up the ranks and this will represent his first real attempt at the big time.
Escalera trains out of Joe Botti’s Union City Boxing Club. He’s getting the chance after HBO and DiBella executives were impressed by Escalera’s last fight, where he threw an astounding 650 punches in just eight rounds…
The St. Michael’s of Union City AAU basketball team won their first three games at the national championships in Orlando earlier this week, advancing into the national semifinals. We’ll have more on the exploits of the St. Michael’s team in next week’s editions…–Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.