Girardi to Visit Harrison Library

The end of midterm exams means a return to the varsity sports schedule, as several local teams will return to action tonight and this weekend.

Here's a look at the games ahead:

Today’s Schedule:

In boys swimming, Westlake and Harrison will hit the pool at at 4:30 p.m.

In girls basketball, Harrison heads to Briarcliff at 6:15 p.m.

In ice hockey, Rye Town/Harrison will face off against Fox Lane at the Brewster Ice Rink at 5:20 p.m.

Other Sports News

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi will visit the this weekend to partake in a fundraiser for the Harrison Public Library Foundation.

Girardi will be at the library from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., meeting with visitors and signing autographs. To see how you can purchase a ticket before the event, .

With midterms and regents dominating the schedules of local student-athletes across the state, it was easy to become engulfed in some of the week’s biggest sports stories around the country.

Most football fans began the week with a feeling of déjà vu as the road warrior Giants and the top seeded Patriots will play for the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in four years. This year’s Super Bowl will be played in Indianapolis where Eli’s big brother may have played his last game for the home team Colts. Nosebleed tickets for the big game can be found on StubHub for $2,400 a piece.

The Knicks, who were once thought to be title contenders, are 1-7 in their last eight games and face off in Miami tonight. In the only game that the Knicks have won, leading scorer Carmelo Anthony only scored one point.

Jorge Posada retired from the New York Yankees after 17 years in pinstripes. Joe Paterno was memorialized in a ceremony Thursday on the campus of Penn State.

Penn State’s Paterno Laid to Rest

Yesterday the Penn State family gathered together in the Bryce Jordan Center to pay tribute to their beloved former football coach Joe Paterno. While most people attended the event with heavy hearts and teary eyes, Nike founder Phil Knight used it as a forum to exclaim Paterno’s innocence in the recent sexual abuse scandal that cost Paterno his job. 

Paterno’s years at the helm of Nittany Lion football came with 409 victories, 24 bowl wins, 2 National Championships and one career ending scandal. The memorial service paid tribute to Paterno, the man and the football coach, but several others feel that the coach’s legacy is forever tarnished.

“Paterno’s mantra was 'success with honor’, as he got older and transitioned from head coach to a glorified mascot, the success became less frequent. Only recently did we discover the honor had left long ago,” said Eric Marmon the Senior Editor of The NY Sports Digest. 

Others see the issue differently.

“I am certain, beyond doubt, that the Penn State scandal helped lead to his demise. I thought his abrupt dismissal after 50 years of not just coaching, but playing a big role in putting the college on the map, was a scandal unto itself. It reminds us of the eternal cry: What have you done for us lately?” said Patch’s .

Paterno’s legacy will continue to be debated long after he is gone. But one thing is for sure, Pennsylvania State University and NCAA football are better because Joe Paterno was a part of them.

Yankees’ Posada Calls it a Career

Earlier in the week another member of the “Core Four” decided to trade his bat and glove for a pitching wedge and putter. Jorge Posada was a member of the Bronx Bombers since 1995 and helped the team add five more rings in his 17 years.

Posada was understandably emotional at his retirement press conference as he thanked teammates and quoted Joe DiMaggio. The former catcher had lost a step or two in the last few years, but proved to be a productive bat in the line up in his final season and helped the Yankees reach the playoffs yet again.

It is hard for fans to see players of this caliber get old, and it is even harder for athletes themselves to admit their skills are diminished. Posada may have stayed a year too long, but when you win five championships you’re entitled to an elongated swan song.

“Posada was a tremendous asset for nearly 20 years at a position played with brilliance by such Yankees legends as Bill Dickey, Elston Howard and Yogi Berra. Posada is just another example that you cannot lump all pro athletes in one ball. The rats are usually in the news, but it's the class guys who truly deserve the news,” said Maturo who is also a lifetime member of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Now that the final chapter of Posada’s playing days has been written, it is fun to hypothesize about the next step. Perhaps he joins former teammate Joe Girardi in coaching? Or he could team up with former backup John Flaherty in the broadcast booth? But the biggest question of all is after a career like his—does Jorge Posada belong in the Hall of Fame.