Catch Craig Bruno on Live From the FC

Can't come down from the state championship football high? Neither can I. So tune in at 10 a.m. to Live From the FC and listen to interviews with the three Fairfield County coaches who won state championships this season. Have any questions for them? Send them via AIM to livefromthefc.

First up, New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli, who had one for the ages Saturday with the Rams' come-from-behind 34-30 win over Daniel Hand to take the Class MM crown.

Next up: Rich Albonizio, whose Greenwich team completed back-to-back FCIAC and Class LL championship runs with a 28-14 victory over Shelton.

And last but not least, Bunnell head coach Craig Bruno, whose Bulldogs also completed back-to-back campaigns in the SWC and Class L with a 22-14 win over league rival Masuk.

Click the link above, or the logo, to listen live. Or check later Saturday for the archive.

DING DING DING... Round Three Is Here...

Welcome to the biggest day of the high school football season. Can I have a, "No, duh?"

Six games will be played, six state titles will be awarded (in a state with less than 130 teams). You'll be able to see and hear every game, whether it's on TV, the Internet, or your old-fashioned transistor radio.

Start your day here with a cup of coffee at 10 a.m. and listen to Live From the FC. Our guests — Rob Adams of WGCH AM 1490, The One and Only Phil Soto-Ortiz of SportingNewsCT.com, and Mark Dwyer of New Canaan News-Review — will break down the Class LL, L, and MM games for you.

And if you can't make it to West Haven for Round Three of the Masuk-Bunnell series will be broadcast LIVE on CPTV, for those of you with cable television or rabbit ears, starting with pregame at 6:30. SportingNewsCT.com will also pick up the feed from CPTV.

Meanwhile, here's some press clippings to enjoy:

• (New Haven Register) Masuk-Bunnell to face off for a third time
• (New Haven Register) Bulldogs feature one of most versatile attacks in state
• (Connecticut Post) Bruno's creativity attracts opponents attention
• (Connecticut Post) Murphy, Masuk look to end title drought
  

Live From the FC: Talking State Playoffs

That's right, 10 a.m. Saturday, we'll be talking about the CIAC playoffs. Seven Fairfield County teams -- Greenwich, Bridgeport Central, Bunnell, Staples, Masuk, New Canaan, and Bullard-Havens Tech -- will play Tuesday with a trip to a state championship game on the line.

We'll talk about those games with Danbury head coach Rick Davis, New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli, and Connecticut Post sportswriter Sean Patrick Bowley.

Click the logo to listen live Saturday at 10 a.m., or later to download or listen to the Podcast.

IM your comments and questions LIVE at AIM to livefromthefc

Today on Live From the FC...

We'll be talking with Nick Angotto, the sideline reporter for WGCH-AM 1490 about all things Greenwich, like the Cardinals' 33-0 win over Wilton last night, what he knows about Spygate, and whether or not it's too early to start talking about the FCIAC Championship game.

Also we'll take it to the SWC and talk with The One And Only Phil Soto-Ortiz, who did the huge Pomperaug-Stratford game last night for SportingNewsCT.com. We'll also get his thoughts on today's Norwalk-Staples game and see what he thinks about tailgating at Wembley.

And if it's not Joe Ryan, it will be Matt Levine (or maybe both) calling in to talk about the game the webcast on MattLevine.net last night, Stamford's 22-16 win over Fairfield Ludlowe. Not only was it the Black Knights' first win of the season, but it was marred by an ugly on-field incident with 15 seconds left to play.

So click the link above and listen live -- the show begins at 10 a.m. -- or if you're getting ready to play a game today, check back later for the replay. If you're listening live, IM your questions (via AOL IM) to livefromthefc.

Stratford at Pomperaug: Live on Internet Radio

Just a quick note here: SportingNewsCT.com will be airing tonight's Stratford-Pomperaug game LIVE starting at 6:45. So if you don't want to brave the rain, you can still hear Phil Soto-Ortiz call the play-by-play and Rob Baird on the color in the comfort of your own home. Game starts at 7, and I believe they'll be doing pregame at 6:45.

Also, Phil will be my guest Saturday morning on Live From the FC, coming on at 10:20 to talk about the big game.

So SWC fans, you'll be getting your Phil (pun intended) of football.

Recap: SPB talks SWC on Live From the FC

You wanted some SWC talk on Live From the FC, and you got it... yesterday. Connecticut Post football writer Sean Patrick Bowley was my guest, and he led our discussion on the conference, his thoughts on the to-be-played Pomperaug-Masuk game, and his insights about the league.

The show lasted more than an hour, and Sean came on at around the 30 minute mark, Maybe 32 minutes in to it. So click on the link above and check out the podcast.

Masuk-Pomperaug Talk Featured on Live From the FC

Okay, I will admit it. I've done a bad job keeping up with the SWC Buzz since coming back from vacation. Boo-hiss on me.

Hopefully I will make up for it on Saturday, when I dedicate part of the Internet radio show "Live From the FC" to coverage of this week's big Pomperaug-Masuk game.

I won't mention any names, but the guest I have coming on knows a little bit about both teams, and is a very entertaining, tell-it-like-it-is guy.

Matter of fact, I may have this mystery guest stay on for a while for his take on the SWC. Up to him, of course.

Live From the FC, Bill Gonillo Tribute

Tomorrow will be a very special Live From the FC. I am going to be on the road, so guest hosts Mike Zito and Jason Intrieri will be there to celebrate the life of Bill Gonillo.

Jason and Mike have worked hard all week to secure a plethora of guests from the coaching and media world to share their thought about Bill, who passed away Sunday at the age of 44.

In addition to the many tributes to Bill linked to this blog, a team will walk in his honor on Oct. 14 at the Step Out to Fight Diabetes event.

Sunday: Joe Lato on Live From the FC

Does Matt Levine have timing or what? Not only will he be filling in for me doing Live From the FC, but he told me Thursday morning he booked Weston head coach Joe Lato as a guest.

Lato picked up his first career win on Thursday and the Trojans snapped a 22-game winless streak in the process.

So Sunday morning, 10 a.m., log onto Live From the FC. Can't listen live? Check back in at the same link for the archive.

Live From the FC: September 8 Lineup

It's another 8 a.m. call, everyone! Plain and simple, it's another scrimmage day, so we're getting things done early. You can click on the logo at the left to listen LIVE! Or you can access the playback from that page, too.

Here's the September 8 starting lineup:

• From WWPT-FM 90.3, Mike Zito and Jason Intrieri (these two will host the show on Sept. 29, by the way!). We will discuss this season's coverage of Staples football, and talk about the upcoming play-by-play team.
• Matt Cole, president of BlueStreak Sports Training, will come on to talk about some of the regional players who have gone through their summer programs, and which ones have really stepped up their games.
• And Joe Bouffard of Digital Sports Video will be calling in to discuss something you may or may not have noticed at scrimmages this year. He is also an assistant coach at New Canaan, worked some summer camps, and will talk about some of the SWC players he worked with.

On September 15, we will kick off at our regularly-scheduled time, 10 a.m.

Live From the FC Podcast Available

Thanks again to Matt Levine, Jason Intrieri, and Rob Adams for coming on the Internet radio show today. It appears only the first 30 minutes is archived, so some of the closing comments are going to be missing (lesson learned!). But that includes the thanks to three sponsors: Pamby Motors of Ridgefield, BlueStreak Sports Training, and Elite Passing Academy.

Pretty much we're talking about what you're expecting us to. A lot of FCIAC football. Who is hot, who is on the upswing, etc. Tried to slip in some SWC football here, but the show was stacked with SWC guys. Hopefully next week we'll bring some East of Route 25 flavor to the show (If I can quote Biggo!)

After all, I owe it to the SWC faithful.

Click here for the Podcast.

Live From the FC: Finally Debuting Saturday

So if you're up and around at 8 a.m. Saturday, you can click the logo to the left and listen live! Or if you're on a bus heading to a scrimmage, you can listen to the podcast once it's archived.

Tomorrow will be a roundtable discussion about football. My scheduled but unconfirmed guests will be Rob Adams of WGCH AM 1490, Jason Intrieri of WWPT 90.3 FM, and Matt Levine of WSTC1400/WNLK1350 AM and MattLevine.net. I'm sure it'll be a repeat of our dinner last month (thanks again, Jason!), talking about who we think will be the teams and players to watch, and separating the contenders from the pretenders.

We'll go 30 minutes this week so I can get out to some scrimmages (yeah, I'm being selfish!). Next week we'll be shooting for a 1-hour preview show.