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News-Wire New Handball website - CPQHandballPaddleball.org The C.P.Q. International Handball & Paddleball Association Their mission is to draw attention to the national and international interest in these sports at all levels of competition and learning widening the awareness of techniques of the game and increasing the number of participants in championships under the one and only goal: "to develop healthy bodies with healthy minds".
Coverage of the November 12th, 2005 - $25,000 Miami Big Blue Open Doubles will be posted here!!! Please check back throughout the day for updates...thanks to Albert Apuzzi for covering the event for HBC.com Good luck to all the participants. Rumors - Rumor has it that if the Miami Tournament finishes on Saturday, there might be a Handball tournament at the Garfield Street Courts, Hollywood Beach, Florida on Sunday. Interactive Photo - Grant Park Handball Courts - click and drag on photo to zoom in. Results - $12,000 (WOOOW) World Outdoor Open One-Wall Doubles Paddleball Tournament - November 5-6th, 2005 - The Historic Garfield Street Courts, Hollywood, FL. Sponsored by South Kearny Truck Repair Center, Florida Truck Center, & CPQ Freight System. Handball superstar Robert Sostre and partner Andy Here take 1st place and cash prizes of $5,000, cash prizes also went to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. Check out the unofficial web site of the Historic Garfield Street Paddleball Courts at Hollywood Beach, Florida. check out Albert Apuzzi's photos of the event here!!!! NEW - USHA Handball BLOG!!! Interesting 1, 3, & 4 Wall Handball information.
Interesting Robots - Sony Robots going through an incredible Japanese Dance routine - Can they be programmed to play Handball??? Results - "B" Doubles - Saturday October 15th, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts, NYC "Killer Joe Strikes Again!!!" Killer Joe teams up with Giovanni Vasquez and leaves all competition under 12 points. They breezed through the entire tournament and easily defeated Lifeguard Eddie Crespo and Jason "The Whip" in the finals. Giovanni Vasquez moves a step closer to becoming an "A" player. Gio should have been given his "A" player card at the end of the 2005 season, since he has won so many "A/B" and "B" tournaments this year. In an interview after the tournament... Killer Joe said "I don't think I've ever played so consistent. I don't even remember hitting a ball out the entire tournament, and having a great partner like Gio helps out a lot. I let Gio run around on the weak side and I cleaned up the mess most of the time. I think I like this tournament stuff!! Next year is my year!!" coordinated by BJ Fludd Results - $10,000 1st place Interstate Mixed Doubles - Saturday September 24th, 2005 - Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. Sponsored by South Kearny Truck Repair Center, Florida Truck Center, and CPQ Freight Systems. PHOTOS, ARTICLES, FULL RESULTS Big Handball Money Draws Players Back To Competition - October 2nd, 2005 - With an upcoming $25,000 November 12th Tournament in Miami, and a rumored $55,000 March tournament where the winners will also get cars. New York City's best kept secret may soon break mainstream. Players all over are starting to look at the sport of one-wall Handball in a different light. In the past, played primarily for leisure and small recognition, may now change some of the star players lives. The large cash prizes are providing an added incentive for players to come out of retirement, and start competing in tournaments again. In fact one of Brooklyn's most fiercest competitors Humberto Baez is returning to the sport after a 5 year layoff. The last time he played in a tournament was in the 2000 Big Blue Citywide Championships where he came in 2nd place in the Men's Open Singles. After almost defeating the best player John "Rookie" Wright, and achieving most of his Handball goals, Humberto had decided to spend more time with his family and become the best dad possible. After he viewed the September 24th $10,000 Mixed Doubles at Coney Island he said he was coming back and looking to be a force in future tournaments. Humberto's doubles partner is Ray Lopez, many will remember back in the 90's at Zerega's Annual Indoor Handball Tournament, Bronx, NY, where Ray Lopez and Humberto Baez (playing with a broken right arm in a cast..just using his left hand) made it to the Semi-Finals. Look out this may be the team to beat in 2006. Results -
CISCO'S CLASSIC #5 "B" DOUBLES - Saturday October
2nd, 2005 - Castle Hill Park (P.S. 127), Bronx, NY 1st
Place: Wild Man Rick Montalvo and Bernie from (Arthur &
Tremont) $225 and a Trophy each, 2nd Place: Erbo and Edwin from (187th &
Arthur Ave., Little Italy), (Cisco's original home courts) received $90 dollars
and a trophy each, 3rd Place: Angel Teron and Lenny (Human Racquet) received
Trophy and entry A Handball theme exhibition by Arturo Carranza, Arturo is an occasional Handball player at Bailey Park, Bronx, NY his art is now being shown at Hostos Community College only 3 days left. Sept. 7th-Oct. 5th Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos, Hostos Community College/CUNY, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, Bronx, NY 10am-6pm 718-518-6728 Snapple Ice Tea uses Handball in NYC Marketing Campaign - The bus stop ad shows a woman playing Handball, and says... "Champion Handball coach Lovelace helps her students at Boys and Girls High School achieve their goals. Return the favor and shake her hand. Squeeze tight...She can take it." SnappleandNYC.com info by Albert Apuzzi Results - $10,000 1st place Mixed Doubles - Saturday September 24th, 2005 - Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. More info and photos coming soon!!!
Results - $15,000 1st place Interstate Handball Tournament - Saturday September 10th, 2005 - Flamingo Park courts, Miami, Florida In the Finals it was John "Rookie" Wright and Lefty Henry Santiago defeating Robert Sostre and Oscar DeJesus. 1st place winners John "Rookie" Wright & Lefty Henry Santiago $15,000, 2nd place Robert Sostre & Oscar DeJesus $3,000 and 3rd place PeeWee Castro & Willie Polanco $1,500 More info and photos coming soon!!!
Fund Raiser - For the Victims of Hurricane Katrina & Awards Ceremony - Men's A/B Doubles & Women's Doubles Handicap - September 25th, 2005 - Edison Park, 164th/Grand Central Pkwy, Queens, NY Trophies for 1st and 2nd place winners, Start time: 10am sharp, Donation: Juniors $10, Adults $20 (If you can afford more, please give more) Make checks or money orders payable to: New York Handball Alliance, PO Box 340466, Jamaica, NY 11434 All donations will be greatly appreciated, Please help us help those that can't help themselves. HURRICANE KATRINA
RELIEF FUND . . . BLOG - $15,000 1st place Interstate Handball Tournament - Open Doubles, 2nd & 3rd place $$$$ - September 10th-11th Flamingo Park, Miami, FL Please share Miami Tournament info with updates when available, post from your cell phone too!!! The Miami Handball Tournament BLOG Please forward Results and photos to HandballCity.com
Results - "B" Doubles - Saturday September 3rd, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts, NYC In the Finals it was Lenny (Human Racquet) & Angel Teron defeating Darnell Sutton & Armando 21-17. Results/News - NYC Open 1-Wall Outdoor Racquetball Doubles - August 27th, 2005 - Orchard Beach, Bronx, NY. Handball players take out the competition, winning 21-20 in the Finals. Legend pink ball Handball Champion/Pro Racquetball player Ruben Gonzalez, and National Handball Champion/#1 ranked Paddleball player on the planet Robert "Ice Man" Sostre teamed up to win the Championship. HBC ChatterBox!!!
Photos - Results - USHA 1-Wall Nationals - August 3rd-7th, 2005 - Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY
Results - USHA 1-Wall Nationals - August 3rd-7th, 2005 - Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY More info & Photos coming soon!!! Results - Rockaway Beach "B" Singles - August 6th, 2005 - Beach 105 Street right on the Boardwalk (Shorefront Parkway) in Rockaway Beach, Queens In the Finals Jay (from 88th) defeated Dennis Bouderau The following teams have been invited to play in the November 12th, 2005 $25,000 Open Doubles Tournament at Flamingo Park courts, Miami, Florida. John "Rookie" Wright & Lefty Henry Santiago, Dave Rojas & Tony Roberts, Buddha Reed & Eddie "Styles" Santiago, Oscar Dejesus & Robert "Iceman" Sostre, Henry Prieto & Carlos Figueroa, Pauly Yagual & Jaime Rivera, PeeWee Castro & Willie Polanco, and Anthony & Steve (4th Ave/4 Street). They will receive $1,000 per team, FREE Hotel accommodations and Air fare. There will be 8 more teams invited after the Sept. 10th tournament. There will be a total of 16 teams invited but, there will be room for 32 teams to compete for the $25,000 Nov. 12th tournament. Congratulations to Tony Roberts and Dave Rojas...winners of the $10,000 July 23rd tournament. All prizes sponsored by South Kearny Truck Repair Center. Please forward Photos and full results of your events. Results - "A/B" Doubles - Sunday July 31st, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts, NYC In the semifinals it was John "Rookie" Wright/Gio "lil Rook" Vasquez defeating Shaheem "The Dream" Nelson/Dennis Bouderau, and in the other match Dave Rojas/Larry Dubois defeated Willie Polanco/Steve from 4th St./4th Ave. 21-0 (yes it is not a typo...they got zipped). Willie and Steve are currently the champs of the Van Cortlandt Park night courts (West 242nd Street & Broadway, the Bronx) and are literally undefeated. Today nothing went their way. Dave Rojas played possessed and showed why he is still a Super "A" Player...and Larry Dubois (is an "A" in doubles) played great. In the Finals it was a spectacular performance by both teams. John "Rookie" Wright and Giovanni Vasquez pulled it out after being down most of the game. "Rookie" and Gio defeated Rojas and Dubois 25-20. Results - OOHA Mr. Liberty - (play for the Belt and Pyramid #1 ranking) - Saturday July 30th, 2005 - Liberty Park, Queens, NY. 33 players participated in the Action at Liberty. The top bracket had all of the "B" players play for the "B" belt, and the bottom had "A's" and "B's". Tyrone Snell defeated Sal 21-6 in the finals. Tyrone received $250 for Open 1st place, Sal 2nd place, the "B" winner Carlos Cardona received $100, 2nd place Carlos Espinal $50
Results - "A/B" Women's Doubles - Sunday July 3rd, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts, NYC The winners were Brenda Pares and Evette Amador. Results - Summer Classic Doubles - Sunday July 3rd, 2005 - Masher & Allegheny Street, Philly, PA The winners were Lefty Henry Santiago and Carlos Figueroa. Results - "B" Singles & Doubles - Sunday July 3rd, 2005 - Avenue Z & Nostrand Ave's (52 Park), Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY In the "B" Singles Finals it was Jay (88th) defeating G.I. Joe (Bronx). In the "B" Doubles Finals it was Gio "Lil Rookie" Vasquez and Reggie Mckeiver defeating Justin Ritchie and Winston. Results - OOHA "PEEK" - Open Singles & "B" Pyramid Singles - Saturday July 2nd, 2005 - Edison Park, Queens, NY In the Open Singles John Neckov defeated Reggie Mckeiver 21-20. The "B" Pyramid winner was Jay (88th) defeating Sean Pearlman 21-7. Full Results. Results - "B" Doubles - Sunday June 26th, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts, NYC The event was sponsored by Disc-O-Rama The winners were Gio "lil Rookie" Vasquez and Larry Dubois defeating Anthony and Eddie (49 Park) in the Finals.
Results - SAHA Open Mixed Doubles - Saturday June 25th, 2005 - Liberty Park, Queens, NY The winners were 1st Place $700 Shaheem "The Dream" Nelson and Karen McConney 25-6 over, 2nd Place $350 Gladys Miranda and John "Rookie" Wright, 3rd Place $150 George Figueroa & Quasia Watson, 4th Place $60 TeeTee Simmons & Tyrone Snell Results -
West 4th "B" Doubles - Saturday June 18th, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts, NYC
In the Finals it was "Killa" Joe and Joe "Boxer"
defeating Lifeguard Eddie Crespo and Larry Dubois 21-7.
Results -
"The 1st Out of the Hat" Tournament - June 12th, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts,
NYC. The winners were: 1st place Roland Brown (Bronx) and Joel
Vega
Photo Link!!! $5,000 1st place Open Doubles June 4th, 2005 - Flamingo Park, Miami Beach, FL by Eddie, AKA "Tennis Ball" Laboy also check out his website about the Historic Garfield Street Courts, in Hollywood, FL Urgent!!! - The Finals of the 2005 Big Blue Citywide Tournament will be held at London Planetree Park, 88th Street & Atlantic Avenue, Queens, NY. Driving Directions take the Van Wyck Expressway to Atlantic Avenue Exit and go west until you reach 88th Street. Results - $5,000.00 1st place -Big Blue Open Doubles Handball Tournament - Saturday June 4th, 2005 - Flamingo Park, Miami, FL - Sponsored by: South Kearn Truck Repair Center, Florida Truck Center, CPQ Freight System As expected the New Yorkers dominated this field which included players from CA, FL, NY & PA. Approximately $10,000 in cash awards were split between the top three teams. That is probably the largest prize for a one-day tournament. Semifinals - Henry Santiago/Rookie Wright d. Tony Roberts/Dave Rojas 21-11, Jaime Rivera/Paulie Yagual d. PeeWee Castro/Willie Polanco 21-19 Final - Santiago/Wright d. Rivera/Yagual 25-22 Third place - Roberts/Rojas d. Castro/Polanco 21-17 info provided by Albert Apuzzi Results - ABEBHA & PA1WHA Big Blue Open Doubles Handball Tournament - Sunday May 29th, 2005 - Jordan Park, Allentown, PA Results -
OOHA Long Island Open Doubles - Saturday, May 28th, 2005 - John Burns Park,
Massapequa, Long Island, NY It was LI vs. NYC in the early
rounds, but in the Finals it was all New York City.
Handball Buzz:
West 4th Street Open Doubles - Sunday May 22nd, 2005 - West 4th Street Courts,
NYC. The Buzz was about the $5,000 1st place purse of the upcoming
Big Blue Doubles Handball Tournament - June 4th, 2005 at Flamingo Park, Miami,
FL. Results - LTHA Men's Doubles - May 21st, 2005 - Lincoln Terrace Park, Brooklyn, NY In the Finals it was Gio "lil Rookie" Vasquez & Larry (West 4th) defeating Justin & Joe Thompson. Results - LTHA Women's Open Handicap Doubles - May 15th, 2005 - Lincoln Terrace Park, Brooklyn, NY 1st Place: TeeTee Simmons, 2nd place: Karen McConney, 3rd place: Lori Acevedo, 4th place Brenda Pares. Results - LTHA "Player Player" Men's "B" Singles - May 14th, 2005 - Lincoln Terrace Park, Brooklyn, NY The winner was Justin defeating Gio "Lil Rookie" Vasquez 21-20. Handball Article: Sunday May 15th, 2005 - New York Times - Travel Section, The Ticket: Handball Wizards by Mike Guy Results - 2005 12th Annual High School Spring Meet - Central Park, NYC $5,000.00 1st place -Big Blue Doubles
Handball Tournament, 2nd & 3rd place $$$$ - June 4th- 5th, 2005 -
Flamingo Park,
Miami, FL - Sponsored
by: South Kearn Truck Repair
Center, Florida Truck Center, CPQ Freight System - Sign up will be at 9am, THE
ENTRY FEE IS $40 PER PERSON. 80 PER TEAM.
It will be well worth even coming in second or
third place, There will be jerseys given out to most of the teams and should be
enough for all. Jerseys not shirts. The tournament will also be televised on
Florida's Spanish TV channel, and there will be some female dancers performing.
If people from New York come down it will be a huge event for the sport of
Handball especially in Florida. For more information contact: Spidey (Joey) or
Victor. Spidey cell 917-873-6740 or Victor's cell 954-483-0992
Application!!!
Results/Updates -
QuJHO - April 9th, 2005 - Elmhurst, Queens
Cold and Rain marked the beginning of the One Wall season. March 19th Winter
pyramid – postponed until April 2nd Results - USHA 1-Wall Pro Doubles (In Conjunction with The H.E.S. Invitational Doubles) - Sunday March 13th, 2005 - Brooklyn, NY Photos, Full Results, & video clip PHOTO LINK: COOL HANDBALL PHOTOS - courtesy of "China" from the Bronx
Results - The Kings Bay Open -Men's Pro Singles & "A" Singles, Women's Pro Doubles - Sunday February 27th, 2005 - The Kings Bay YM-YWHA, 3495 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn, NY Photos and Full Results Handball website: MDPHA - MigDog Promo Handball Association (cool video clips & photos) Maxim March 2005 Magazine Ad - one-wall Handball courts used in background of advertisement for Redken 5th Avenue, NYC (it's an ad for a men's hair products) Page 37
Press Release: February 26th, 2005 HandballCity's new website format!!! We have had some positive feedback about the new look. Reports show that individual visitors grew to almost 16,000... and total visitors jumped to almost 25,000 visitors a month. We would like to give Handball players and fans a unique experience while visiting HandballCity.com. You now have a one stop website for up to date news and shopping. Handball City is now using the New York Times as an affiliate for news feeds which are updated often throughout the day. You now have National, Local, International, Politics, Business, Technology, Health, Science, Arts, Music, Movies, Books, Travel, Dinning, Fashion, and Home & Garden. 100's of articles updated daily. We also have the weather, a web search engine, and stock quotes. Handball City has also affiliated with a ton of advertisers. Amazon, Yahoo Personals, Ebay, Best Buy, Allposters, Monster, Hot Jobs, Home Depot, The Vitamin Shoppe, Jamster!, Paragon Sports, 1800Contacts, Fossil, Sirius Satellite Radio, and many more. If you purchase products through any of the links on the HandballCity.com website, you will be showing support for the sport of Handball. We also have a Multimedia and Downloads section...Handball Action and Humor video clips. Plus we are giving you a look into the future with previews of the NHA (National Handball Association), XHL (Xtreme Handball League), and MOH (Monsters of Handball). Soon all the main pages will be using the new format. Also coming in 2005 will be an updated Locations to Play section, with courts from around the USA and World. Please give us feedback by posting on the various Handball discussion boards, and please visit us daily for news and weather. Flash Handball Game - You can play Handball online! (works okay) PHA (Pro Handball Association) Press Release - February 21st, 2005 (published on the PHA website) An interview with PHA president Jim Peixoto by Ben Thum Interesting insight into the future of the Professional Handball Association, a class organization on and off the court. Handball Gets Snubbed Again! The newest Gatorade (the leader in sports drinks) TV commercial campaign shows people sweating while playing different sports. The athletes of these sports then drink the sports drink to quench their thirst. In the commercial you have the already played out street basketball players, also soccer, but then they show two females playing tennis or is it racquetball, but on a one-wall Handball court. Those one-wall courts are called Handball courts, how can a leader in sports advertising not know this? In the commercial they are hitting a tennis ball with what looks like a racquetball racquet against the wall...and they are hitting the ball so hard that the wall breaks. Please write the production company and let them know that they should just promote the true sport of one-wall Handball, and yes Handball players do drink Gatorade. Handball Tools: The New and Official USHA One-Wall Handball Rules with Interpretations now available in PDF. (printable document format) Also exclusively available on HBC we have the USHA Referees Guide - produced by Albert Apuzzi In order to view guide please download Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 viewer - its FREE Tournament coordinators should have a copy of the rules when running their events. This will end any disagreements or controversy regarding technicalities. The basic rules or any change of rules should be briefly discussed at all amateur events before the tournament starts. Players and Referees in the Pro and "A" divisions should know the rules, and enforce them as much as possible.
Handball Article:
Handball Looks to bounce back by Breaking News!!! A new Big Blue Handball is on the market. The Handball is called "POWER BOLT" and seems to be a little larger and heavier than the Sky Bounce and USHA Big Blue Handball (used at the citywide). The description of the ball seems to be smoother on the outside, and made with a thicker type of rubber, the new ball also has a seem. Trying to test the feel of the ball at Dick's Sporting Goods (NY location - Roosevelt Field Mall, 630 Old Country Rd, Garden City, NY 11530) without getting thrown out by security was kind of hard. The ball did seem very bouncy and reminded me of the old pink ball Spaldeens but with a different texture. The ball is made in China. HandballCity will be putting this ball to the test this summer; with testing of durability, damage to bare hands, will it cause injuries?, the balls action, and feedback from players. The current #1 selling Big Blue Handball in New York City is the Sky Bounce ball (rated by HandballCity.com as best all around ball, and would like to see a future version with a little more bounce/air). Racquetballs by Ektelon, Wilson, and Penn are also used by Big Blue Handball players, but they seem to be harder on bare hands and shoulders. If you know of other Big Blue type Handballs please let us know. Interesting articles about Rotator Cuff (shoulder) injuries: search listings or quick summary. Shoulder and knee injuries are the most common injuries that can effect Handball players. New York City one-wall Handball Courts are getting some exposure!!! Checkout the video game by EA Sports called "NBA Street V3". The Television commercial also shows the Handball courts in the background. The video game producers really out did themselves with this game. You can also download screenshots and preview videos of the video game, and check out the courts section, especially (The Cage - West 4th Street courts, NYC, Gun Hill courts, Bronx, NY, Dyckman courts, Bronx, NY, and Rucker Park, Harlem, NYC). They did choose the best Basketball parks, in which have the most run with some of the best street ball players in the world. The estimated cost of production for a video games of this nature is between 5-10 million dollars. The Handball courts are rampant throughout the game. Hopefully EA Sports will someday produce a Handball video game. Currently the closest type of video game to the sport of Handball are the different Tennis video games. Handball Article: The memoirs of a Handball Player by Tru Truong Results - 2004 Men’s and Women’s YMCA National One-Wall Handball singles and doubles Championships - Saturday December 11th, 2004 - at the McBurney YMCA, Manhattan, NY Articles, Cool Photos, and Full Results HandballCity.com exclusive: Checkout Satish Jagnandan's webpage HANDBALL HISTORY - Linking up Handball's past, present, and future generations. United States Handball Association Hall of Fame Dinner honoring Handball legend Al Torres - Sunday November 14th, 2004, Gargiulo's Restaurant, Coney Island, NY ICHA Season End Awards Dinner - Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - Broadway Diner Restaurant, 590 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY Annual ICHA (Inner City Handball Association) dinner honoring the years outstanding Handball achievements. Presented with awards for 2004 were as follows: Al Torres-Lifetime Achievement, Joe Cassidy-Jack Lynch Award, Brenda Pares-Athlete Recognition, Satish Jagnandan-Athlete Recognition, Tali Elfassey-Junior Athlete Recognition, Victor LoPierre-Junior Athlete Recognition, Michael Schneider-Junior Athlete Recognition, Stan Zavoyskiy-Volunteer, William O'Donnell- Volunteer, and Rosemarie Bellini. Coordinated by Paul Williams-ICHA President Results - USHA Men's & Women's Pro Singles Stop #2 in conjunction with an Invitational Handicap "B" Doubles - Sunday October 31st, 2004 - at the new H.E.S. 9502 Seaview Ave., Brooklyn, NY Full Results, Articles, and Photos NEWS: April 17th, 2004 - October 24th, 2004 NEWS: June 21st, 2003 - April 10th, 2004 NEWS: April 6th, 2003 - July 12th, 2003 NEWS: July 27th 2002 - April 6th, 2003 NEWS: March 10th through July 21st, 2002
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Brenda
and Bernice held their one-day tournament at W5th St and Surf Ave, Brooklyn,
NY. The handicaps resulted in many interesting matches and upsets. 14 teams
competed in the tournament. In the final Lori Acevedo
and Maggie Crespo spotted Cynthia Johnson and Maribel Rodiguez 7
points in a 21 point game. Lori and maggie pulled it out 21-16. Cash awards
were given out.
tournament
held this past weekend was a success. A total of 50 teams participated in
the tournament, this event had to be completed on Sunday due to the weather
conditions. In the finals it was
This
was the debut comeback of Killa Joe, and he announced after his tournament win
that he is coming this summer to take every tournament. Nobody expected them to
even get past the 1st round game let alone win the tournament. Killa Joe playing
with a Boxer, hit a slew of rollers on his way to victory. McDonalds may have
over 1,000,000,000 burgers served, but Killa Joe has over 1,000,000 Killers
served.
The
Finals matched up defending champs PeeWee Castro and Willie Polanco vs. John
"Rookie" Wright and Tony Roberts. The team of Wright and Roberts were in control
most of the game, and at one point they had a 10 point lead. Castro (who was
hampered with an ankle sprain) and Polanco did rally to close the gap but it was
too little to late. Wright/Roberts defeated Castro/Polanco 25-20 1st place $300,
2nd $100 More info and photos coming soon!!!
Just
about all the New York City Pro players interviewed by HandballCity.com said
they were going to compete in Florida. Today also marked the 2005 debut of the
dynamic duo team of PeeWee Castro and Willie Polanco. Willie coming back from an
injury did not miss a step and they easily defeated there 1st round opponents of
"Wildman" Rick Montalvo and "GI" Joe from the Bronx. When "Rookie" found out
that Willie Polanco was playing in the Florida tournament....he said jokingly
"Cancel my Flight Please, cancel my flight". Other Results before the rain came
and the tournament was canceled...Tony Roberts/Dave Rojas d. Gio "lil Rook"
Vasquez/Ritchie "Knickerbocker", Buddha Reed/Eddie "Styles" Santiago were
beating Cesar Sala/Robert Sostre, and John "Rookie" Wright/Emmitt Fitzpatrick
vs. Oscar DeJesus/Ervin Irizzary. 
The
tournament had 20 entries, and was action packed from start to finish. The
winners were: 1st place - Anthony and Eddie from
"49 PARK", 2nd place - Darnell Sutton and Ritchie (Knickerbocker),
3rd place Lifeguard Eddie Crespo and Armando. Anthony/Eddie defeated
Darnell/Ritchie 25-24, both teams served with point game several times.
Dave Rojas and Rookie Wright were one finalist, they beat Tyrone and
Anthony 15-6, 15-3. Ervin and Oscar, top contenders in the 90s,
stretched Dave and Rookie to the maximum before falling in an 11-7 tie-breaker.
Eddie and Henry defeated national champion Peewee and "little Rookie"
in three games before losing in the semis to Rojas and Wright 15-9, 15-10.
Jamie and Paulie, known as "the kids", were the other finalists. They
overcame local heroes Eddie and Pete 15-4, 15-14. "Lefty" George
Figueroa and Tony Roberts overcame "Buddha" and Cesar 15-7, 15-11. George and
Tony fell just short in a fierce battle losing by identical scores of 15-12 to
the kids.
Watching the games with some longtime observers of handball they remarked
in unison that the athleticism of today's players, their speed, power and
opposite hands are far superior to the players of 30 and 40 years ago. In
the finals you had the veteran team of Rojas/Wright, national champions,
hardened and battle tested by many "handball wars" and winning an
extensive handball resume. Jamie and Paulie have a city-wide title under
their belt. One 21 point game was agreed upon because of the
approaching darkness. Rookie started with an intensity in the beginning of the
game. In championship fights, the the fighters usually come out tentatively, a
sort of feeling out process, but sometimes a fighter will come out
swinging from the sound of the bell going for the quick "knockout" or
to at least intimidate his opponent. Dave and Rookie were relentless as they
drove the kids into the mat. But the kids showed resiliency, heart and
true grit in climbing off the canvas and back to 10-15. Rojas and
Wright regrouped and finished the match off 21-11. The rallies were fast and
furious like two fighters throwing everything they had, rights and lefts,
at each other. Congratulations to Rojas and Wright and to the younger team of
Jamie and Paulie. They have good chemistry and will dominate into the next decade.
Finding that right partner can take years. Just ask most married people.
Special thanks to Anna Calderon, Eddie Petrizzi, Cesar Sala, Tony Roberts,
Dave the Bread man, Cynthia Johnson, Francisca Perez, Morris Franco,
Melissa Feliciano, Phong Nyguen, Mike Testa, Bob Weissbard, David Shargel,
Abe Pearlman, and Abe Podisky for their generous contributions to the event.
