DeafDigest Sports – March 8, 2018

barry@deafdigest.com; barry.strassler@gmail.com
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Hot DeafSports News at:
http://deafdigestsports.com/

— a dedication

— a basketball update

— Final announcement of Team of the Year honor

— first baseball game of season

— a “Gallaudet” football player getting “Super Bowl” ring

— slo-pitch softball tournaments

Deaf Sports Collections update
— difficult but amazing scoring feat in national deaf tournaments
http://deafdigestsports.com/deaf-sports-collections/

DeafSports picture of the day
http://deafdigest.com/no-one-said-this-football-player-was-deaf/

Basketball won/lost records (as of 03/08/18)
http://deafdigestsports.com/deaf-schools-won-lost-records/

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DeafDigest Sports Team of the Year announcements

Big School Girls’ basketball
Texas School for the Deaf

note:
three top teams dominated this season’s play; these
three teams (Texas, Maryland and Fremont) were heads
and shoulders above all other competing Big Schools
teams. At Clerc earlier this season, Texas, Maryland
and Fremont finished in 1-2-3 order.

Maryland defeated Fremont in the semi finals; Fremont
had the last shot for a possible game-winning basket
and missed.

Texas defeated Maryland in the championship finals.

These three teams are equal – just that only one
could be the Team of the Year and it is Texas.

In post-Clerc play, Maryland (22-5) won the local private
schools conference championship.

Texas (29-9) reached the Texas Association of Private
and Parochial Schools tournament.

Fremont (24-8) reached the regional CIF playoffs
(California is too big a state to host a statewide playoffs)

Trying to compare the competitive levels of hearing
teams in Maryland, Texas and California is comparing
apples with oranges, and DeafDigest Sports won’t go
into it – just that these three teams performed
very well in pre-Clerc and post-Clerc play.

A question:
could a small schools team challenge a big schools
team?

Yes. Mississippi girls lost 44-41 to Maryland girls
at the Hackney Classic, hosted by Alabama School
for the Deaf and Blind.

already announced

Big Schools Boys’ basketball
Maryland School for the Deaf

Small Schools Boys’ basketball
New Mexico School for the Deaf

Big Schools Girls’ basketball
Texas School for the Deaf

Small Schools Girls’ basketball
Georgia School for the Deaf
Mississippi School for the Deaf

To be announced next week
— All-American teams and other honors

……………………………………….

Dedication to a deaf athlete we never heard of

Buck Dougherty departed us. He was born deaf but
probably functioned as a hearing person all his
life not knowing sign language.

He played football four seasons at York High School
in Nebraska, making the all-state, all-classes
first team as an offensive tackle. He was the only
player from a small high school on the first
team. And he was the lightest player (around 175 lbs)
among others on the all-state offensive line.
That was in 1965.

A friend, from Nebraska sent DeafDigest Sports
editor a newspaper clipping about him. The newspaper
said nothing about his deafness.

The football coaches were alerted about that
newspaper clipping. Efforts were made to try to
contact him to recruit him to play Gallaudet football.
It was not successful.

He played four seasons of college football at
Peru State College before moving on with his life.

……………………………………….

East coast deaf schools slo-pitch softball tournaments

American School for the Deaf will host their own tournament
on Saturday, May 5th

Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf will host it
on Saturday, May 19th

note:
it is slo-pitch, not fast pitch, two different ball games

………………………………………

Fremont girls’ basketball

from maxpreps posting

44-39 (L) – CSD @ Redding Christian

RESULT
Loss
Played on 3/7/2018 5:00 PM

The California School for the Deaf varsity basketball team lost
Wednesday’s away playoff game against Redding Christian (Palo Cedro, CA)
in overtime by a score of 44-39.

………………………………………..

Texas baseball

February 27th: Lost 5-16 to Geneva.

Freshman Jaylen Johnson went 3 for 3 with a triple and a double with 3
RBIs.

March 1st: Lost 11-12 to San Marcos Academy.

We lost on the final play of the game after 11-9 lead in the final inning.

Sophomore Mason Rosko went 4 for 4 with a double and a walk. He also have
2 RBIs, 2 runs, and 2 stolen bases.

Junior Julian Ortiz went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. He also have 3
RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

Junior Chandler Sexton-Ruiz went five innings as a relief, allowed 5 hits
and 5 earned runs. He had 9 strikeouts in his no-decision appearance.

Texas School for the Deaf Baseball’s record: 0-2.

note:
Texas baseball team does not have a home field of its own!
They practice and play game at nearby ball park fields.
The school used to have a baseball field but when the
baseball program was dropped in the past, the girls’
softball team took over the abandoned baseball field
as their own. And when the baseball program was revived,
they had to play off campus!

………………………………………

a “Gallaudet” football player getting “Super Bowl” ring

This is fantasy, a world of make believe, but do read on!

In 1987 NFL went on a strike. Rather than to cancel
the games, the NFL teams hired replacement players
to play these regularly scheduled games. The Washington
Redskins won all three replacement games – and when
the strike ended, the team continued to win and
eventually won the Super Bowl.

Today, it was announced that the Washington Redskins
will give belated Super Bowl rings to these Replacement
players.

In 2000, a movie – The Replacements was produced.

The movie sort of “copied” the real story but with many
fictional changes thrown in. One of the “players”
on the movie Replacements team (Washington Sentinels)
was actor David Denman. He played the role of deaf
player Brian Murphy who “played” football at Gallaudet.

Gallaudet was mentioned in the movie, saying that
Murphy would have been a first round draft choice if
not for his deafness.

Denman, who was not deaf, played this fake-deaf role.

Now, let us fantasize that in real life the Washington
Sentinels players finally got their belated Super Bowl
rings, meaning a Gallaudet football player finally got his!