Bronx Sports Roundup: Yankee's Granderson Powers Up, Monroe Welcomes New Volleyball Coach and More

Yanks' Curtis is Coming Up Grand
River Avenue Blues celebrated the one-year anniversary of Yankees center fielder and MVP candidate Curtis Granderson's resurgence yesterday. Granderson hit just .239 with 10 homeruns up until Aug. 11 last year. The slugger asked batting coach Kevin Long to help him with his swing. After sitting out a game against the Texas Rangers to let the changes sink in, Granderson has hit .271 with 45 home runs in 161 calendar games. He hit his 32nd home-run of the season in the 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim yesterday, tying teammate Mark Texeira for the second most homers in the league.

For Norwood Baseball Team, Age is More than Just a Number
The boys of the Next Millenium youth baseball team from Norwood are headed to the Cal Ripken Baseball League world series, but not without some controversy. Eight of nine teams in the region have complained about the age of kids on the Next Millenium roster, with one team filing a protest with the league. One player on the team lists the year he was born at 1995 on his Facebook page, making him at least 15. The league only allows 12-year-old players.

Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 10

Weather: A lovely one in the Bronx today, filled with sunshine and warm-but-not-stifling temperatures (low 80s). Enjoy.

On to your Bronx News!

A dramatic scene from Parkchester yesterday, as an irate man held a knife to his crying baby boy during a brief standoff with police in the pouring rain. Russel Rivera Jr., 30, was arrested and the boy was later returned, unharmed, to his mother.

According to City Hall News, Bronx Sen. Gustavo Rivera is the first State legislator to join the social media site Foursquare--where users "check in" to locations to let followers know where they are and what they're doing in real life. Rivera is using the site to promote community events, his spokeswoman said.

Bronx Sports Roundup: Yankees-Red Sox, Youth Baseball Controversy, Fordham Footballers Go Pro and More

Editor's Note: In lieu of a news roundup today, which we couldn't get to because of a fire and school building contamination, we offer you this Bronx sports roundup, courtesy of BxNN intern and Yankee fan Justin Bodden.

By Justin Bodden

Red-hot Yankees set to take on Red Sox for division lead
The most famous rivalry in all of sports resumes tonight as the Yankees face the Red Sox at Fenway for the lead in the AL East. The Bombers come into the series sizzling: winners of their last 7 games and coming off a sweep of the White Sox in which they didn’t walk a single batter. The Red Sox and their line-up full of MVP candidates are coming off a split with the Cleveland Indians. Both teams are tied for the second best record in the majors at 68-42. This season, the Yankees have struggled against the Sox, losing 8 out of 9. The Bombers hope for a replay of the 2009 season when they also struggled early against the Sox, losing their first eight games to their AL East rivals, but then finished the season winning 9 of the last 10 against them. That, the Yanks went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies for their 27th championship.

Bronx News Roundup, Friday, July 22

Welcome to Friday's Bronx news roundup. Let's get down to business, starting with the scorched earth we are all living through here in the Boogie Down and elsewhere around the country.

Weather: The National Weather Service says temperatures could reach 104 this afternoon and have issued an Excessive Heat warning. (My question: is there an Egregious Heat warning?) Tomorrow it is supposed cool down to a high of 100. We won't see any real relief until Monday when temperatures are expected to drop down into the relatively frigid low-80s! 

Story of the Day: Bronx Cop Penalized for Ticket Fixing
The Bronx ticket-fixing scandal has claimed its first victim. (Unless, of course, you factor in the criminal cases that blew up in the face of prosecutors who were relying on testimony from cops implicated in the scandal.) Gregory Manning, a former financial secretary with the Patrolman's Benevolent Association, pleaded guilty yesterday to departmental charges at the NYPD Advocate's Office. Manning, who had testified three times in front of a grand jury called to investigate dozens of cops implicated in ticket fixing, was docked 40 days vacation, suspended for five days and issued a $500 fine for his transgressions. Manning had already filed retirement paper work, but the NYPD would not process it because the veteran cop was involved in the ongoing grand jury investigation. This could be a path others implicated in the scandal who want to retire might take as well.

Quick Hits:
Rev. Carmen Hernandez, an outspoken advocate for gay rights and LGBT justice, and her partner Dorris de Armas, a grandmother, will be one of 98 couples getting married in the Bronx on Sunday, the first day gay marriage will be allowed in New York. (764 couples are scheduled to tie the knot in the five boroughs Sunday, the most ever on a single day in NYC history.) In an interview, Hernandez talks about her love for de Armas, her homophobic mother and her decision to come out to her congregation at age 30.

Bronx Sports Roundup: Red Hot Gardner, New Fordham Baseball Coach, and More

Yankees' Gardner the Great

Yankee speedster Brett Gardner has been on an absolute tear since the All Star break, and River Avenue Blues breaks it all down. He's batting over .500 since the Midsummer classic. Since the start of the 2010 season Gardner been one of the most productive players in all of the majors, with only a handful of players besting his production since then. There's even been talk of sliding him into the leadoff spot, moving Yankee captain Derek Jeter down in the order. Watch some of the gritty outfielder's best moments:


New Coach For Fordham U's Baseball Team

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, July 20

Quickie roundup today. 

Weather: Prepare yourselves. Today's high in the low-90s is nothing compared to what's coming. The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch warning starting tomorrow afternoon as "a large dome of high pressure" moves from the middle of the country to our neck of the woods.

Story of the Day: Pugilists Collide in Bronx Produce Market
Bunch of press today about the upcoming Saturday night boxing match/cancer fundraiser at Hunts Point market, including this story about Livingstone Joseph, a Bronx boxer from the Virgin Islands who has lost an aunt and uncle to cancer. More on the event here and here.

Quick Hits:
James Schlau, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 60 years for violently sexually assaulting three Bronx prostitutes last year.

Italian-American academic Dr. Joseph Scelsa of Morris Park was named the grand marshal from this year's Bronx Columbus Day Parade, which is scheduled for Oct. 9.

Bronx News Roundup, July 19

Weather: keep the sunblock handy and the AC cranked on--another hot and sunny one today, with temperatures in the low-90s. The heat will continue through the rest of the week, hitting a peak on Friday.

Story of the Day: Former Council Speaker Turns Bronx Builder
Today's Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at Gifford Miller, a former City Council speaker and one-time mayoral hopeful who, according to the story, "has no interest in ever returning to politics." His new career path--real estate--has brought him to the Bronx, where his firm is attempting to rezone a swath of land  in West Farms/Crotona Park to build a massive affordable housing complex.

We wrote about the $400 million project, which will consist of 10 high-rise buildings around the Cross Bronx and Sheridan Expressways, in the June issue of the Tremont Tribune, and some readers seemed wary of the plan. Read more here. 

Quick Hits:
The family of a 13-year-old Bronx girl say they will sue the Department of Education, claiming the girl was repeatedly raped by a computer repairman employed at her Harlem school.

Divinely Inspired, a Youth Basketball League Takes on the Bronx's Devoe Park

A new hoops league that preaches Christian values plays at Devoe Park every Saturday. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

Editor's note: A version of this story appeared in the latest edition of the Norwood News, out on streets now.

Shane Barker, a 16-year-old University Heights resident, does not usually use Devoe Park, the triangular and hilly green space that sits on the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue and is just blocks from his home.

“Me and my brother don’t come down here because there’s troublemakers,” he says.

But today is different. It’s a gorgeous, sunny Saturday morning and Shane, sporting cornrows and the wispy beginnings of facial hair, is one of 70 kids participating in a newly-formed basketball program created by a Bronx-based group called the New York City Christian Athletic League.

Aided by word of mouth and an infusion of funding from local Councilman Fernando Cabrera, the hoops program is flourishing in a park that has become synonomous with trouble.

The league’s founder, Edwin Santiago, and his “right-hand man,” Frank Abarca, both attend Bronx Household of Faith, an evangelical Christian church that meets at PS 15/291 on Andrews Avenue in University Heights.

Bronx Sports: MS/PS 279 Team Dominating Foreign Game, Improving Grades in the Process

MS/PS 279's extraordinary success on the rugby field (or court, as the case may be) has translated into academics as well. (Photo by F. Pinto)

 Editor's Note: This story appears in the latest print edition of the Mt. Hope Monitor, out on streets in Community District 5 now.

By Fausto Giovanny Pinto

In the concrete courtyard of PS/MS 279 in Morris Heights on a school day afternoon, coach Mike Rosario screamed at the Bronx’s most successful youth rugby team. “You already know!” he yelled. “Yes! Yes!” a varying range of pubescent middle school boys and girls yelled back, as two teams of five lined up for a drill.

Rosario tossed what looked like a bloated and misshapen football at the kids, who were all wearing what appeared to be oversized karate belts around their waists.

While the players went at each other, tossing the oblong ball at odd angles (never forward) amongst each other while defenders sought to strip them of their karate belts, local residents stopped at the school fences, curious and fascinated to see the foreign game of rugby being played by a group of mostly Hispanic youngsters.

“You get a lot of people from the neighborhood who stop and ask, ‘What’s going on?’ and when I tell them, they are like, ‘Rugby?’” said Rosario, a PE teacher at the school for 12 years now.

Yes, rugby. While many don’t associate the Bronx with rugby, PS/MS 279’s recent success is putting a spotlight on a sport that enjoys most of its popularity in countries like South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Rosario’s team recently won four trophies in two separate tournaments, prompting local Councilman Fernando Cabrera to honor them with a city proclamation.

The MS/PS 279 rugby team with coach Mike Rosario (top left). (Photo by F.G. Pinto)

Bronx Hoops Star Kemba Walker Declares for NBA Draft

Bronx boy Kemba Walker, the charismatic point guard who led the University of Connecticut men's basketball team an an extraordinary run to Big East and NCAA Tournament titles, announced today he will skip his senior season and enter the NBA draft.

The decision came as no surprise to many observers who watched Walker, who is on pace to graduate a year early in May, emerge this year as one of the most dynamic offensive players in college basketball. He averaged 23.5 points per game, good for fifth in the nation.

"I just think it's the right time for me to go to the NBA," Walker said at a press conference Tuesday, according to USA Today. "It's a happy day, but a sad day because I am leaving my brothers."

Walker, who grew up in Soundview and attended IS 174, wrote a diary during the tournament for the Daily News. 

The Bronx Sports Column: Two Bronxites Named All Big East; Boys HS Tourney Update

We'll continue today with my twin winter sports obsessions: tracking Bronx point guards playing in the Big East and following the high school basketball playoffs. (Note: Looking for more on varsity girls swimming results? Boys gymnastics? Let me know via e-mail-- akratz@norwoodnews.org -- or by leaving a comment.)

The Big Bronx:
Boogie Down ballers Dwight Hardy (St. John's) and Kemba Walker (UConn) made the All-Big East first team, with fellow Bronxite Corey Fisher (Villanova) earning a spot on the second team.

A few weeks ago, I opined that Hardy, a high-scoring guard from John F. Kennedy high school, deserved a mention in the "Best Bronx Point Guard" conversation after torching Walker's UConn squad. Still, I put him in third place on the list, behind Walker (1) and Fisher (2). It's still hard to put Hardy above Walker, but he's definitely surpassed Fisher in recent weeks. While Fisher's Villanova squad has faded, Hardy's St. John's team is streaking into the postseason. 

Here are the season averages of the Bronx's best:
--Walker: 23.1 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 1.8 steals per game
--Hardy: 17.9 ppg, 1.9 apg, 3 rpg, 1.4 spg
--Fisher: 15.5 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 spg

Bonus points to Hardy, who is averaging nearly 24 points per contest over his last 11 games, for getting the best of the head-to-head battles. Hardy put up 33 vs. Walker's UConn team and 34 vs. Fisher's Villanova squad -- both St. John's wins. Walker's heating up of late, but is only averaging 21 over his last 11. Fisher's averaged a little more than 15 over his last 11.  Fisher gets a bump for being the best passer of the trio, while Walker's 5-plus rebounds per game is remarkable considering he's 6-foot-1, 172 pounds.

We'll see how the Big East and NCAA tournaments to shake out before making a final call on this.

High School Hoops Playoffs Update (how the Bronx teams are doing):

Bronx Sports Update: HS Tourney Update; Monroe Teams Eye Nationals (Updated)

Monroe's Jeff Early

Quick update from the BxNN sports desk (which is shockingly close to the BxNN crime desk):

Both the men's and women's basketball teams from Monroe College -- strong junior college programs that routinely graduate players to bigger basketball programs -- took care of business last weekend and will be playing for births into the national junior college tournament this weekend.

Both teams will be tested on the road. The Lady Mustangs travel to Scranton, PA to take on Lackawana College, while the male 'Stangs, led by guard Jeff Early (pictured), will be in Maryland taking on a Hagerstown Community College team that defeated them earlier this year in double overtime.

Apparently, you can follow the games live on CyberSports USA. (UPDATE: The men's game, which starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, will also be streamed live on the website for Hagerstown radio station 1240 AM WJEJ. Click on the link on upper left-hand side of the home page.)

After a week off, the PSAL high school playoffs resumed last night. The Bronx fared decently.

Walton, which we wrote about last Friday, saw its championship dreams die after enduring a tough 60-64 loss to fifth-seeded High School for Graphic Arts Communication in Manhattan.

Meanwhile, DeWitt Clinton, Evander Childs, South Bronx and Alfred E. Smith all moved into the round of 16. Clinton and South Bronx face off at the Mott Haven Campus gym tomorrow night. Evander has the pleasure of meeting top-seeded Midwood on Midwood's home court, while Smith draws Brooklyn Collegiate at home.

In tonight's action, third-seeded Christopher Columbus hosts Manhattan's High School for Environmental Studies and Bronx Science stays home for its match against New Dorp High School. Both games start at 5 p.m. If both win, as expected, the Bronx will have six spots in the Sweet 16.

The Bronx Sports Column: A Special Night at Walton, Plus Our Boys HS Tourney Preview

Editor's Note: Today's column breaks down into two parts. The first part is a story I wrote for this week's edition of the Norwood News about the Walton Campus boys basketball team. The second part, written by Selim Khan, is a playoff preview that focuses on the teams from the northwest Bronx. Above, is a slide show from Walton's first round playoff victory last week. Enjoy. And, as always, send me suggestions, feedback, hate mail, photos, video, tips, ideas, whatever, to akratz@norwoodnews.org or leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Five Schools, One Team, One Walton Campus Spirit

As the seconds ticked down to zero in the Walton Campus’s thrilling 57-53 home court victory in the first round of the boys basketball city tournament, fans, coiled from the intensity of the game, rushed the court, hugging players and coaches and each other. A group of students formed into a circle centered with spontaneous dancers near midcourt.

They chanted: “Wal-Ton! Wal-Ton! Wal-Ton!”

None of these students attend Walton High School, which, like most large schools in New York City, was phased out in 2008 and gradually replaced over recent years by five smaller schools.

These days, Walton is only the name of the building and campus these schools inhabit. Aside from the building’s walls, sport is the only thing that brings students together as a community.

“When the DOE broke up all the schools, the one thing they didn’t think about was school spirit,” said Eric Swillinger, Walton’s coach and athletic director. “The last bastion of school spirit is campus athletics.”

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 23

Frigid air in the Bronx this morning eventually gives way to slightly less frigid air this afternoon, but the sun will shine!

A couple of programming notes: The Norwood News, which covers Board 7, hits streets today. We'll trickle out some of the published stories (and some that didn't make the cut) here on BxNN and have them all up on the News' site by the end of the week. Also, we will be Tweeting live (@norwoodnews, and I'll see if we can get it up on this site as well) from the Bronx Borough President's "State of the Borough" speech at DeWitt Clinton high school tomorrow, starting at 11:30 a.m. And look for Bronx Foodie and The Bronx Sports Column, making their triumphant returns on Friday.

To the news!

Story of the Day:
Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. gave a little highlight reel preview of his State of the Bronx speech to NY1's Dean "The Dream." Here's my condensed Sportscenter-like montage of what to expect: "The state of the borough is strong . . .  lots of new housing! look at all of our green roofs! loans are flowing to Bronx businesses! . . . don't worry about the Kingsbridge Armory, trust us, we know taking on the mayor was risky, but we got this under control . . . Listen up, American Idols and Glenn Becks of the world, you're wrong about us, the Bronx is no longer burning, stop the stereotypes or risk a rumble!"

Quick Hits:
Following an infusion of 268,000 cubic yards of sand, Orchard Beach, a.k.a the Bronx Riviera, has its beach body back in shape for summer.

A pair of Bronx cops will not be charged with excessive force, despite video evidence that allegedly shows them roughing up a 19-year-old for riding his bike, says NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Salsa legends Ruben Blades and Gilberto Santa Rosa play Lehman Center on Saturday.

Ida Keeling, a 95-year-old Bronx girl, cruised to victory in the 60-meter sprint competition at a northern Manhattan track meet last week. After taking up running at the age of 67, Keeling's been crushing age-related sprint records ever since.

Speaking of running, congratulations to the Bronx Science boys and DeWitt Clinton girls for their victories in the Bronx indoor high school track and field championships.

Today, angry parents, teachers and elected officials are planning to take their fight to clean up PCB contamination at PS 68 to City Hall.

Gov. Cuomo's budget plan axes state funding to schools for the deaf, blind and severely disabled, including three in the Bronx.

The Post reports that there is new evidence suggesting charter-school students are doing better than public-school students in social studies and science.

The Bronx Sports Column: Who's the Bronx's Best Point Guard? Dwight Hardy Makes His Case

Dwight Hardy, welcome to the conversation. (More on Hardy in this Bronxnet video above.)

Before this season, the question of who is the best current Bronx-bred point guard came down to two names: Villanova University senior Corey Fisher and Kemba Walker, a junior at the University of Connecticut.

After a highly productive three-year run mostly coming off the bench for Nova, Fisher, who attended New Jersey hoops powerhouse St. Patrick's Catholic School, etched his name in NYC street ball lore over the summer when he dropped 105 points in a summer league game.

A highly-touted McDonald's All-American out of Manhattan's Rice High School, Walker started the season in flames for the unranked Huskies, torching ranked foes Michigan St. and Kentucky during a preseason tournament and single-handedly putting UConn back on the national map.

Both play for top 10 teams and are worthy heirs to the point guard throne held in the past by Bronx legends like Rod Strickland and Kenny Satterfield. Both are more like so-called combo scoring guards than classic pass-first versions like Strickland, a Truman High alum who starred in the NBA.

But on Thursday night, JFK grad Dwight Hardy, the starting point guard for a resurgent St. John's team, forced his way into the conversation. On a nationally-televised ESPN game, Hardy outplayed Walker in Madison Square Garden on his way to 33 points. His performance carried the Red Storm to a convincing 89-72 victory and put St. John's in a position to possibly earn a NCAA tournament birth.

In the aftermath, Hardy told the Daily News: "I was just in a zone. When I'm in a zone, I just kind of black out. . . . The basket just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 10

Cold, but sunny today in the Bronx. Warmer temps on the horizon. 

Story of the Day:
Not so sure about this little Valentine's fund-raising effort by the Bronx Zoo. For a $10 donation, the Zoo gives you the opportunity to name a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach after your sweetheart. "Nothing says forever like a cockroach," Zoo Director Jim Beheny told the Daily News. "They are resourceful, resilient and have been around for hundreds of millions of years." They are also offering a Courtship Quiz for those who are still look for that special someone. The result of the quiz determines which creature matches up with your "wooing" style. (We linked to a different story about this yesterday.)

Quick Hits:
Paradmedics saved a toddler from a Hunts Point fire that injured nine. 

Two Bronx-bred hoopsters, University of Connecticut's Kemba Walker and St. John's Dwight Hardy square off tonight at Madison Square Garden. (More sports updates in tomorrow's "Bronx Sports Column." In the meantime, here's a roundup of the first round of the Bronx Boro Championship tournament.)

The Bronx ranks number four out of the five boroughs in pedestrian deaths. (Speaking of pedestrian deaths, Gun Hill Road has long been considered one of the borough's most dangerous roads. Tonight, there will be a town hall-type input meeting to discuss congestion and safety problems on Gun Hill Road at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center.

Hunts Point residents came out to protest a new strip club planned for the area, which owners say will bring 20 new jobs for exotic dancers. Residents say that's not the type of economic development they're looking for.

And finally, our favorite Bronx political columnist Bob Kappstatter re-appears on a new day, Thursday, as the Daily News revamps its borough coverage (no more Bronx Boro News on Tuesdays, unfortunately). Kappy reminds Pedro Espada that he still needs to pay $62,580 in sanitation fines for illegally taping and stapling posters to public property. Espada, as we reported yesterday is holding a rally this morning publicly fight charges that say he looted his nonprofit network of health care clinics. Plus, Kappy alerts us to the New Yorker's report that the Dos Equis commercial's "Most Interesting Man in the World" is played by Jonathan Goldsmith, a Jewish actor from the Bronx.

Want to make sure the news continues? Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here.

The Bronx Sports Column (New to BxNN!)

Our ace photographer, Adi Talwar, took these photos at DeWitt Clinton's thrilling 60-56 victory over down-the-street northwest borough rival Bronx Science, on Wednesday afternoon at Bronx Science's home gym. The loss put Science into a tie with Walton Campus for first place in the Bronx A West Division. Both teams are 12-6 this year.

For Clinton, the victory was huge. At 11-7, they are within one game of first, with two to play. Meanwhile, Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy pulled within two games of the top spot in the divsion, at 10-8. Should be an exciting final week of games.

In the Bronx A East Division race, Christopher Columbus (17-1), holds a two-game lead over Alfred E. Smith and South Bronx high schools, both sit at 15-3.

In other Bronx-related sports news, Yankees workhorse starter Andy Pettite called it quits today, retiring from baseball after 16 seasons, 13 with the Bronx Bombers. Here's Pettite at his press conference earlier today.

Also, several Fordham University athletes will be inducted into the school's sports Hall of Fame tomorrow, including swimmer/diver Mollie Welsh Kruger (they spelled her name wrong in the Fordham press release, which we linked to), who now lives in Woodlawn with her husband John and daughter Olivia. Congrats to Kruger and all the inductees.

Here's a quote from Kruger's friend and BxNN reader Jack Marth: "It's about time! As a proud graduate of Fordham, I've watched for years how Mollie's accomplishments remained on the Fordham record books-- but no induction into the HoF. My children took swim lessons at Fordham over the last dozen years or so, and they would note with pride how their friend's records were still on display on the board at the Fordham pool. At the same time they would also wonder why she did not have a HOF plaque in the hallway leading into the pool."

This being our first "Bronx Sports Column," which we'll be making a regular Friday feature on BxNN, I'm really looking for help from you, our valued readers, in finding out what kind of sports-related conent we should be writing about and you want to hear about. There seems to be a ton of Yankees coverage out there, but if you want more, we'll give it to you. How about more high school action? Little League anyone? Should we focus on the many college teams in the borough? Also, if you have a better name than "Bronx Sports Column," this is completely up for review and may be changed at any time. 

We won't be able to cover it all, but we'll do our best.

Anyway, please leave your suggestions in the comments section below or email me at akratz@norwoodnews.org.

One Title Lost, Two Found For Down But Not Out Boxer

By David Greene

Like the roller-coaster life he has lived until now, former middleweight boxing champion Iran "The Blade" Barkley, who recently regained one lost title belt, has now learned he will be getting a second belt--19 years after defeating Thomas "The Hit-Man" Hearns.

Barkley, 50, lost his first belt, the WBC Middleweight Championship belt he'd won from Hearns with Ring Magazine's "Upset of The Year" performance in 1988, back in October when a relative changed the locks to the family home at the Patterson Houses on Third Avenue.

The fighter would get a box of his possessions, minus the coveted belt. Barkley recalled, "I had it where I kept it." He reported the theft of the missing belt on October 28, and the NYPD released a photo of the belt to media outlets on December 8.

Barkley's Middleweight belt was recovered recently after it was
 sold to a sports memorabilia dealer. (Photo by David Greene)

Days later, a sports memorabilia dealer would contact Barkley and return the belt, Barkley recalled, "He didn't want no part of this and gave me back my property." Barkley thanked the man as well as the detectives at the 41st Precinct. Barkley declined to give the seller's name, in hopes of saving what family ties remain.

Barkley now says, "I don't have anything to say, it's a new year now and I'm just going to go on with my life, and I'm going to look forward to something new and better."

"Winning the belt was a great feeling," Barkley says of his first title, now holding his prized green belt with both hands, with Hearns' name written on it in magic marker. He continued, "Knowing that there was a lot of people, believing that I couldn't do it."

Clinton Football Overcomes Early Struggles, Looking for Next Big Upset Tomorrow

By Selim Khan

The clock may not be ready to strike midnight just quiet yet. Just like the 2007 New York Giants that went on to an improbable playoff run that ended in a Super Bowl victory, we may be seeing another Cinderella story taking place right before our very eyes in the DeWitt Clinton Governors varsity football team.

The 12th seeded Governors used a total team effort to pull off the upset against heavily favored #5 seed Erasmus Hall Campus, 20 – 16, this past Saturday at Midwood HS Athletic Complex in Brooklyn in the opening round of the PSAL playoffs.

They will play an even-more-heavily-favored Lincoln High School team tomorrow at noon on Lincoln's home field in Brooklyn.

Governor's Coach Howard Langley was confident in his bunch because even though Erasmus may have boasted a couple of talented Division I prospects, he wasn’t sure they had “25 kids better than us.”

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Nov. 1

Welcome to November everyone. To the news!

We'll start with the story of Luis Rosado, 29, a Bronx photographer willing to risk life and limb to capture scenes from the top of buildings and other structures. Rosado says he's been on top of 50 borough buildings, bridges and billboards. 

Now, for the requisite post-Halloween crime stories:

Two men were shot in connection with a Halloween party in Williamsbridge last night. Both are expected to recover. Neither is reportedly cooperating with police.

Two mask-wearing bandits robbed a Bronx man who was working on his motorcycle yesterday. They shot him even after he gave up his wallet and gold chain.
(That wasn't so bad.)

In other news:

On Friday, Carmen Huerta, a 33-year-old Bronx mom, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and driving drunk. A year ago, after drinking cognac at a party, Huerta crashed her station wagon on the West Side Highway, killing an 11-year-old girl. There were six other minors in the car.

A Colombian couple, now broken up, fights for customers of the line of butt-boosting jeans they started together. One has a shop in The Hub on Third Avenue, the other sells out of a store on Fordham Road.

The Bronx Science girls soccer team is second in the latest Post PSAL rankings as it heads into the playoffs.

The Lehman High School football team kept its playoff hopes alive with a thrilling win over Kennedy on Friday night.

Capri Anderson (born Christina Walsh), the porn star found in the bathroom of Charlie Sheen's Plaza hotel room during his allegedly coke-fueled rampage, is apparently a nice Irish girl from the Bronx.

A large man looks to make a big difference at the Andrew Jackson houses in Melrose despite increasing violence.

Gothamist writes about an e-mail they received saying the Bronx DA's office is worried that the NYPD is under-charging offenses to keep felony statistics down.

The Medical Examiner's office has ruled that the death of a Nicaraguan diplomat, who was found with his throat slashed and a fistful of hair in his hand in his Mt. Hope apartment last month, was a suicide, not a murder.

The Daily News named Robert Salerno, the cop shot three times in Morrisania, it's "Hero of the Month" in today's paper, but the story is not online.

And finally, in we-told-you-this-wouldn't-be-a-great-idea news, Bronx Parking, the owner of the new parking garages at the new Yankee Stadium are hiking up game-day prices in an effort to avoid defaulting on millions in tax-exempt bonds it used to build the garages. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez, who has been critical of the new Yankee Stadium project since its inception, says the city's Economic Development Corporation gave Bronx Parking $100 million for the project as well as the right to raise $237 million in tax-exempt bonds for the construction.