Vote to Light Kaplanis Field

Now I'm not a big fan of night football, I love shooting day games, this is a worthwhile cause. My wife forwarded an e-mail to me about Danbury's Kaplanis Memorial Field being part of a contest, in which it could receive free lights.

So if you VOTE HERE, the new field can get a free set of lights, courtesy of NorthEast-Eagle Electrical Distributors. Kaplanis Field is the only field in Connecticut on the list of entries, so there'[s no conflict for anyone.

Voting runs through Nov. 30, so spread the word.

Surgery: YOU Decide When I Do It

Remember my pain in the neck? It's much worse than I thought. Herniated the discs at C5 and C6. And C6 is so bad that it's pressing against the spinal cord, and there is no spinal fluid between the hernia and the spinal cord.

The neurosurgeon recommended surgery, but said I can try physical therapy to alleviate the pain -- though it won't fix the damaged discs. If anything it will help with my posture and stuff like that.

So I took the six-week physical therapy approach, with plans of getting the surgery done after Thanksgiving... But I forgot -- my wife is a retail manager, so she won't be able to take time off then for recovery. So I figured maybe after January 1.

Then I asked my brother-in-law, who had the surgery two years ago. He said "Get 'er Done" (Hey, he lives in Alabama!), but don't go swinging golf clubs the day before surgery:

"If surgery is inevitable, don't put it off. I did therapy for about two months that produced little relief. While I told you the bad in paragraph one [Don't play golf two days before like I did. I figured that they were going to fix it anyway, might as well swing away. That complicated the surgery in that they had to remove my ligaments.], let me say that the surgery was very successful. I have had stiffness from time to time, but nothing like pre-surgery."

So what should I do? I have physical therapy at 12:30 today, but I'm also thinking maybe next week I should just call the doctor and ask, "time and hospital?"

My concern is we're short-staffed at my day job and I don't want to leave them hanging with just a few week's notice. I'm also slacking on the blogs since coming back from vacation, but know you readers will (hopefully) give me a pass for a few days. And I don't want to interfere with my wife's schedule, though she said I have to do what I have to do.

So what do YOU all out there in the blogosphere think?

So when should I try and get this surgery on my neck done?
	During the season
	After the season
	After the holidays
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Remember the "Clip of the Week" Contest? It's Still Going On...

... and we would be thrilled to see you enter! We have a box of t-shirts to give away, but no one to give them to. And you wouldn't want to see our sponsor, digital Sports Video, get angry, would you?

We're making it easier for you to participate, too. Though you can refer to the original rules here, the following over-rule everything:

• Any video from a 2007-season game that includes an FCIAC or SWC team qualifies. So polish off your Week 1 clips. The weekly deadline still counts though.
  
• No need to send us the clip, just send us the URL. We'll compile all the videos in one post.
• Still, you must have made the clip yourself - no taping off-screen.

Thanks, and please keep the sponsor from harassing me! Enter your clips early and often!

Oh, and are you an A/V fan? Want to work with us? Matt Levine is looking for interns to help with The Fifty Yard Line. You can drop him a line at finalscoresportscasting@yahoo.com.

Masuk Drops From Top 10

The Day of New London Top 10 state coaches football poll

First-place votes in parentheses, record, points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis and last week’s ranking:

1. Ansonia (10) 3-0 384 1

2. Greenwich (2) 3-0 356 2

3. Shelton (1) 3-0 324 3

4. Southington 3-0 300 6

5. Staples-Westport 2-0 290 4

6. Bunnell-Stratford 3-0 243 T7

7. New London 3-0 207 T7

8. Hand-Madison 3-0 119 NR

9. Berlin 3-0 115 10

10. Stratford 3-0 110 NR

Dropped out: New Canaan (5), Masuk-Monroe (9).

Also receiving votes: Fairfield Prep (2-1), 93; Tie, Maloney-Meriden (3-0) and Masuk-Monroe (2-1), 77; Newington (3-0), 74; Windham (3-0), 64; Conard-West Hartford (3-0), 56; New Canaan (2-1), 48; Windsor (3-0), 42; Bridgeport Central (2-1), 40; Woodland-Beacon Falls (2-1), 38; Seymour (3-0), 36; Tie, Bloomfield (2-1) and Holy Cross-Waterbury (3-0), 34; Ledyard (2-0), 30; St. Joseph-Trumbull (3-0), 22; Tie, Cromwell (3-0) and Weaver-Hartford (2-0), 18; Northwest Catholic-West Hartford (2-1), 16; Rocky Hill (3-0), 14; Norwich Free Academy (3-0), 11; Ridgefield (2-1), 10; Cheshire (1-2), 9; Tie, Amity-Woodbridge (3-0) and New Britain (2-1), 8.

The following coaches voted: Chris Anderson, Woodland-Beacon Falls; Jim Buonocore, Fitch; Dave Cadelina, Bridgeport Central; John DeCaprio, Notre Dame-West Haven; Chuck Drury, Pomperaug-Southbury; Steve Filippone, Hand-Madison; Tanner Grove, Montville; Jude Kelly, St. Paul-Bristol; Tim King, Valley Regional-Deep River; Bill Mella, Southington; John Murphy, Masuk-Monroe; Marce Petroccio, Staples-Westport; Bob Zito, Maloney-Meriden.