See Inside for All 2008 Barnstable High School Fall Sports Schedules.... Foster Cass Wins 600th Career Game... Red Raiders Open With Wins in XCountry... PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 13 Centerville, MA 02632 Cape Cod Sports Report™ September 5, 2008 — Volume 16, # 37 Every Inning. Every Goal. Every Play.™ www.ccsportsreport.com CAN TURCO’S GIRLS MAKE IT AN EVEN DOZEN? On The Heels of Their 11th Division 1 State Championship Title, Turco Says This Year’s Red Raiders Can Get It Done Newsstand Price: $1.00 SPECIAL FEATURES : Frankly Speaking...................... 2 Barnstable High School Head Volleyball Coach Tom Turco Stands Gridiron Gab ................................. 2 Proudly With This Year’s Squad. The Red Raiders Open the 2008 Sea- Collegiate Beat ................................ 12 son on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at Dennis-Yarmouth. Photo by Sean Walsh Page 2 Cape Cod Sports Report Centerville, MA September 5, 2008 Frankly Speaking... The big sports talk about town seems to be whether or not Gridiron Gab Tom Brady will be the starting quarterback when the By John Garner Patriots take the field Sunday. Excuse me while I discreetly cover a yawn. Now that the exhibition games are Union’s KGB. Tom Brady is as New England as baked beans, but finally history, it’s time to begin The position with the fewest question-marks is without the unpleasant side effects. He’ll be in the start-of- the National Football League’s wide receiver, where Randy Moss, who caught an NFL the-season lineup without a doubt, Bill Belichick’s feeble regular season. record 23 touchdown passes and Wes Welker, who led attempt at trying to create a stir notwithstanding. He’s in Despite going 0-4 and looking the NFL with 110 catches, are lurking. Jabar Gaffney the top three of most games won, he’s starting the Patriots’ downright pathetic during the beat out departed Chad Jackson for the third receiver, games for years, and the guy who’s his number two didn’t Brady-less preseason, the New while returner C.J. Jones and special teams’ maven Sam manage to win a single game in the preseason. England Patriots are still picked Aiken will also see action. Ben Watson and sure-handed Hmmm…. I wonder if Brady will start. to win the AFC East Division and David Thomas are the tight ends, along with recently- Sure, he claims to have a bum foot, and he hasn’t one of the favorites to win their acquired Jason Posiask from the New York Jets-Jets- played in any preseason games, but he’s a football player, fourth Super Bowl during the past decade. Jets. for gosh sakes. Even if he is a pampered quarterback he’s Coach Bill Belichick and his band of merry While the offense during the preseason was used to being push, pummeled and thrown to the ground men host the rebuilding Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in a spotty and unproductive, the defense was absolutely with appalling regularity. If a sore foot is going to keep him 1 p.m. kickoff at Gillette Stadium and the Pats will play woeful. Playing with vanilla schemes and not much from starting the season, perhaps it’s time he retired and without third-down specialist back Kevin Faulk, who’s emotion, the Patriots gave up far too many scoring put that bad foot up on a comfy footstool. He can watch the been suspended for one game by the NFL. drives, especially in the first quarter when starters were games from the comfort of his own home, but I don’t think His place will be taken by former 1,000-yard facing starters. that is the way that Brady is planning on spending this year- rusher LaMont Jordan, a 5-10, 230-pound bruiser equally The defensive line of Richard Seymour, Vince or any year in the foreseeable future. adept at moving the pile or catching a swing pass out of Wilfork, Ty Warren and Jarvis Green is usually second Now, I’m not blaming Brady for the rampant lack of the backfield. to none in the league, but it didn’t put a consistent pass information. He’s the chess piece in this game Belichick He’s joined in the backfield by starter Laurence rush on opposing quarterbacks during the preseason. seems to feel he has to play. Brady knows which side his Maroney, Sammy Morris and fullback Heath Evans. Along with veteran Tedi Bruschi, athletic first round bread is buttered on, and I’m sure he’s learned over the After several 100-yard rushing performances late last draft choice Jerod Mayo will start at inside linebacker years not to cross his boss; a lesson many of us learn as we season, Maroney was unimpressive during preseason and will need to become more stout against the run. go through life. A lot of us have gotten the “keep quiet games, often failing to hit the line hard. Morris enjoyed Veterans Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas are the about this one” lecture. Those of us who followed it are still two straight 100-yard games in 2007 before going down outside backers, along with backups Pierre Woods and employed- those who didn’t…well, we may be employed with a season-ending chest injury. Evans is a tough rookie Shawn Crable. but not necessarily at the same job. I get the feeling Brady blocker and effective inside runner. The biggest concern revolves around the secondary, is fond of his current position, so he’s not going to give But unless the offensive line improves and/or particularly at cornerback where Ellis Hobbs is the lone anything away about the plans for this weekend’s game. gets healthy in a hurry, the backs will have little room to returning starter. He’s joined by rookies Terrance But how much of a naïve fool do you have to be to lose maneuver. Pro Bowl left tackle Matt Light’s return Wheatley and Jonathan Willhite, veteran Lewis Sanders any sleep over who will be the starting quarterback for the should help protect the quarterback’s blindside. Fellow Patriots? It’s either Brady, whats-his-name Cassel, or the and former Pro Bowler Deltha O’Neil. Safety should be new guy, O’Connell. The last two are guys who are far Pro Bowl OG Logan Mankins and Pro Bowl center Dan a strong point with the likes of Rodney Harrison, James from household names, even though Cassel’s been around Koppe will start on the O-line, along with Nick Kaczur Sanders and second year man Brandon Meriweather, for a while. He’s been around, but he’s been holding a and probably former practice squad member Billy Yates along with the possible return of graybeard John Lynch. secure place on the bench. His preseason was shaky, and at right guard. In the AFC East, New England will battle the defensive- I’m being generous with that description, because I always Offensively, the big question will be how effec- oriented Buffalo Bills, the Brett Favre-led Jets and the like to think the best of people. tive and mobile will Tom (Mr. Franchise) Brady be on woeful Miami Dolphins, whose offense should improve Sunday against the Chiefs? Is his foot injury the same he with the addition of Chad Pennington. The point is, what are the Patriots trying to do? If they was suffering with in the Super Bowl last season or is it Other strong AFC teams should be Peyton Manning and want us to talk about them, they don’t have to try so a new problem? Trying to get answers out of the Patriots the Indianapolis Colts, the talented San Diego Chargers desperately. They had an (almost) perfect season last year; is like trying to get state secrets out of the former Soviet and probably the always-tough Pittsburgh Steelers. they were the best team in football, except for one rather sad day in February. We still love them, and will watch the game. The Patriots don’t have to create interest to sell tickets; Cape Cod Sports Report® I bet you couldn’t get a ticket for the opening game for face value if you tried; and the entire season must be pretty well sold out, too. Established 1991 by Frank R. Finn Jr. (1948-2007) If they’re trying to create television viewership, if I Published weekly (50 times per year) by Cape Sports Media LLC cared that much about who was starting, I’d watch the first 10 seconds of the game and I’d be able to figure it out. I P.O. Box 774 - Centerville, MA 02632-0774 - Telephone: 508-771-1133 - Fax: 508-771-1187 may watch football, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m Offices: 1550 Falmouth Road, Centerville, MA 02632 stupid (that’s a joke- don’t send me angry e-mails). E-Mail: [email protected] — Web Site: www.ccsportsreport.com $35.00 per year in advance or $150.00 Lifetime But all the games in football are not always acted out on the field. A naïve person might think that picking up the Standard Rate paid at Centerville, MA 02632 football and advancing it ten yards might be what the game is all about. But, oh, are they wrong. As we have seen in Cathleen C. Finn — Publisher many sports over many years the game is as much about [email protected] what people think and what people say as about the action Sean M. Walsh — Publisher/Editor-in-Chief on the field.