Rich Monetti

The overwhelming difficulties of childhood mostly put at bay, my grandfather Carmine Monetti (or Charlie) certainly did his time playing stickball on the streets of the Bronx. I vaguely remember him telling me that if the kids didn’t have enough money for a ball, they would cut off the top of the broom stick and make do. Fittingly, it was the city game that continued the Monetti line.

Alfonso probably didn’t spend a lot of time mourning his wife and kept up with his extramarital activities. A player apparently, Alfonso’s infidelities were no isolated incident, and Carmine almost bore the brunt. Holding his son’s hand one afternoon on a walk, a jealous husband took a shot at Alfonso, and one branch of the Monetti line was almost cut.

A woman that worships the ground that a man walks on doesn't sound so bad as things go. "I am your Queen," begins Dani Felt's new single and female subservience could be her call. But the musical interlude definitely gives pause and time enough for Felt's yearning hum to signal a lyrical change of direction. One cue, a more autonomous footing amounts to the type of devotion that a king should seek, according to the estimation of Queen.

On Saturday morning November 15, the Byram Hills soccer team traveled to Middletown High School to face Greece-Athena in the semifinals of the New York State High School Championship. Eighty minutes of grit and gut check had both teams squared off where they started. Sudden death overtime the forum, an unfriendly bounce could provide glory and misery in an instant. Unfortunately, a tough skip off the turf with 6:36 left in the extra period sunk the hearts of the Bobcats, and all the fans who made the three hour journey with them.

Photo by Bill Smith

When the USFL hit the scene, the idea of spring football was pretty intriguing. The new league then signed Herschel Walker and notice was demanded. I probably tuned in and likely didn’t last more than a few plays. The same goes for the first USFL Championship game in 1983. More high profile signings following and the piqued interest ebbed again. None of these people were Giants, so the league was more a nuisance to me, and the move to fall sounded absolutely ridiculous. The three dollar settlement amused in the extreme, and the silliness was appropriately relegated to the dustheap. But when I heard Jeff Pearlman was writing a book, that also sounded intriguing, and I’m glad I gave it more than a passing glance.