‘no Excuse’ For Attacks

William Clarke, of Dupont, wearing a Rudolph the Red-Nosed R

Off the Bench with Adam Roberts



 



 

 &rsquo;Tis the season for giving, and in that spirit. I&rsquo;ve transformed into Adam Claus or Santa Roberts, whichever you prefer. I&rsquo;ve checked my list of who&rsquo;s been naughty and nice and I&rsquo;m here to dole out good cheer and holiday wishes for all.
I&rsquo;m putting in my requests to the real Kris Kringle because the elves don&rsquo;t recognize me..
First on my nice list is Scott Kaiser, the Abington Heights High School athletic director. Because of the success of the Comets and Lady Comets this year, I&rsquo;m putting a brand new trophy case on my wish list. 
The old one will just not be big enough for the 12 District II plaques that were won in 2009. Starting last winter and ending this fall, the following teams won the district: boys swimming, girls diving, girls soccer, boys tennis singles, doubles and team, as well as boys and girls track, baseball, boys soccer, girls volleyball and football.
There also needs to be room in the new trophy case for two State trophies that were earned by wrestler Evan Craig and the Comets baseball team.
With the success of this year, I&rsquo;ll make sure the new case leaves space for the 2010 brass.
For Lackawanna Trail, I have wishes for the marching band. After the history-making season put on by the Marching Lions director Katie Bower, the musicians and the color guard deserve continued success.
 This year, the competition band placed third in their chapter and 11th in the Atlantic Coast Championships (ACC). At both championships, senior drum major David Stark won the High Drum Major Award.
Stark&rsquo;s recognition at the ACC was also a first in Trail history. 
Moving to Lakeland, I have wishes for Coach Jeff Wasilchak and his Chiefs football team.
At mid-season, the Chiefs exploded into a five-game win streak that landed them in the playoffs. After back-to-back losses, the Chiefs rallied and didn&rsquo;t look back.
They may have fallen to Dunmore in the playoffs, but Lakeland had plenty to be proud of this season. This holiday, I&rsquo;m wishing them a continuation of their regular season winning streak for next year.
Finally, I have a wish for our three Abington area boys basketball teams. For next year, I hope the Lions, Comets and Chiefs will be given a game in the Holiday on the Hardwood event that was held at the Wachovia Arena on Sunday, Dec. 20. 
The event was the first holiday tournament held at the arena in eight years and showcased eight teams, with Holy Cross being the only Lackawanna County representative.
I&rsquo;ll give a pass to the organizers because it&rsquo;s the first year, but the Abington area teams just as rightfully deserve a shot to shine at the arena, which seats more than 8,000.
And it wouldn&rsquo;t be Christmas if I didn&rsquo;t give you, my dear readers, a wish list of my own.
For the new year, the Abington Journal staff would like all coaches to send us scores and a brief recap of games for inclusion in the roundup portion of the Journal.
This year, all I want is to see more mascots at games. Lackawanna Trail, I enjoy the Lion, thank you. But to Abington Heights and Lakeland, may I please have something with a plush head? For the record, my ultimate wish is to be a mascot for a game, but we&rsquo;ll take baby steps.
With that, Happy Holidays to everyone and have a safe and enjoyable new year.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good game.

My Holiday Wishes