Right Next Door

I am reminded recently of how FotoFink has become more than just a photo website.  Of late, there seem to be three identities- photo sales (thank you all for that), an archive of memories, and a small community.  It is the sense of community that brought me to the Wilkes gym on Saturday- with 2 players and a coach on the women's basketball squad that had some FotoFink history, it seemed fitting to get some shots of some alumni who were right next door.

Amanda Palowski has been appearing on FotoFink since our first year, which was also Hoban's last.  That shot was from a memorable playoff game in Hershey, and was probably the last appearance of a Bishop Hoban sports team.  Since then, she's been on the basketball court, she's been caught in an embarrassing moment or two on the sidelines (she still says its a scratch...), we've watched her graduate, and now, after taking a long road to Wilkes, she's back.

Megan Kazmerski joined the ranks after the great merge.  As part of the girls volleyball team, she helped bring Holy Redeemer its first district championship in 2007.  After that, she was also part of the girls basketball team, and their runs into the state tournaments.  We were fortunate enough to be there for the prom (that's Meg in the yellow) and of course, we were there as she graduated as well.  As of now, she's a huge part of the Wilkes team in her freshman year.

Meredith Alexis was part of the Bishop Hoban community BFF (not what you are thinking.....  try Before FotoFink....).  After a stellar high school career in both basketball and volleyball, she went on to play basketball at James Madison University, then played professionally in Europe before returning home.  Just an FYI- no, I did not just happen to know all of that-  in this world of facebook and google, we have no secrets anymore.  Meredith was part of the coaching staff that took the boys volleyball team to the state tournament last year, and even managed to crack a smile on camera by the end of the season.  Currently coaching basketball and volleyball at Wilkes, she seems to have found a recurring place here on the website.

Alright- as noted, FotoFink is a community, FotoFink is an archive, but FotoFink is a place to buy pictures as well.  Feel free to do so-

Wilkes vs Delaware Valley

All of FotoFink

Enjoy!

Fruitcakes

 Sometimes, it's actually difficult to come up with a theme/song/thread for these posts to follow.  Sometimes, it's beach bash celebration night at Holy Redeemer and these entries practically write themselves.  Once again, I will ask forgiveness while I indulge my Hoban-ness - for me, this is a tradition that reaches back to the Argent Nation, later became the Red Sea, and now- the unstoppable force of Beach Bash 2010.  As much as I am an old-school, traditionalist kind of guy, I have to say that I like the latest version.

Beach bash --> Jimmy Buffett was an easy step.  Why Fruitcakes?  That should be pretty clear too.  Some of these fans definitely came out of the oven a little early.  Major FotoFink props go out to you if you knew there was a lost verse missing from that video- and if you hear the universal laughter ringing out among the stars.

The rowdy show in the stands helped fuel a pretty strong day on the courts- your Royals went 2-1 for the 3 levels of game that I attended, and the varsity was an exciting nail-biter.  Crestwood showed an interesting version of the 2-minute drill (don't shoot/don't tie???  Do we need a shot clock at this level?) but came back strong on the heels of an incredible run of three point shots.  In the end, the fan support carried Redeemer to victory, even without the palm tree.

I had the pleasure of standing next to Mrs. Degnan at the moment that Lou kicked the game winning extra point at the Holy Cross football game.  Tuesday, I ended up next to Mrs. Ell as Zach took the line for some free throws with seconds left and the game on the line.  Some advice-  if you are curious about how nerves can affect a person- don't look at the player who has the game in his hands.  He's fine.  Find the mother of that player, and you will know what nerves can do.

I am constantly amazed by how the camera can catch our athletes in the most embarrassing of moments.  Of course, I am far too immature to leave any of them off the site.  For a while, Jimmy Valentine was the clear winner in this category, but apparently, there is a new contender.....

Apparently, there was some confusion in the house of FotoFink at the time of the last blog entry- there seems to be no basketball this weekend, as originally thought.  Since the real job is forcing me out of town next week (yes- Florida in January!), it looks like the next time out for photos will be Saturday the 30th, for yet another triple-header at the Redeemer gym.  In the meantime-  Have a Very Fruitful Day!

Freshmen

JV

Varsity

FotoFink

Hello Again

Faithful followers of FotoFink may have noticed a....... pause.... in posts here at the blog.  The end of fall sports led to the holiday season, which in turn led to a sense of complacency (laziness), which finally ended as I realized that the basketball seasons were slipping away.  Truth is, it is good to be back.  The off-season pushed our staff dangerously close to finding the answer to the age-old question of "How many holiday photos can you take before you begin to lose your sanity?"

So-  Hello again!  Saturday presented a perfect way to get back in the swing with a triple header of girls' basketball at the Holy Redeemer gym.  While the focus (there's that bad pun again) here is generally on varsity sports, it's worth noting that last year's freshman girls basketball pictures are still recording a stunning number of hits.   Armed with this knowledge, it seemed appropriate to include all levels in this year's efforts- so you will notice 3 galleries linked at the bottom of this post.

You may also notice that Neil Diamond is not any further down the list in the life-long project.  It turns out that a hiatus is contagious, spilling over into all aspects of one's recreational pursuits.  Who knew?  Perhaps the restarting of the FotoFink machine will bring some advancement through the record cabinet as well.

Not much to note from the games themselves- the gym floor is still hard if you sit on it for three straight games.  Pulled pork sandwiches have been replaced by chicken-wing pizza as the concession food of choice.  Your home teams won one, lost two.  The high point for me?  The halftime show of the JV game-  Mites!!

Naming the players in each photo was quite an adventure, since I had no rosters, and apparently the teams have no websites.  Many thanks to Mary Griseto for her help in identifying players on the JV and Varsity teams.  She also helped with the freshmen, but the photos had already been posted without the tags.  Next time I will ask sooner.

Now that things are underway again, the FotoFink schedule is rapidly filling.  Tuesday MAY bring our staff out to the Redeemer boys basketball game, as there is a rumor that the fans are preparing something special.  Saturday looks like another triple header of basketball at HR, and there have been quiet requests for wrestling and swimming pictures as well.  As always, our staff will strive to cover as much as possible.

Here's the beef-

Freshmen

JV

Varsity

FotoFink

Enjoy!