Interview with George Golding

By Kevin Neibauer

Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with the very entertaining George Golding. Golding is very much a multi-faceted man. A school teacher by day, lacrosse player and referee in the evening, George also assists with the Phillies ground crew on game days as well as being very involved with the Philadelphia Soul as their mascot, Soul Man, as well as the former Trenton Devils mascot, Scorch. Without further ado, let's meet George Golding.

KMN- Tell us about your officiating background.

GG-"My family connection to officiating starts with my dad. I grew up watching him officiate basketball and football. He brought me on early, at the age of 6, as a scorekeeper/statistician for NESAC (North East Sports Athletic Conference). He then introduced me to football as an official with ARCO, finally working my way up to being a varsity football official (Referee and Line Judge) with the Central Board, with the PIAA. I continued with basketball as a ref and never pursued anything past high school rec leagues. In total I was involved for 30 years (15 years per sport). Once I tore my ACL, I worked the shot clocks for the PBLA and enjoyed it. Joe Fratoni gave me an opportunity to work the shot clock at a Barrage game, and he trusts me to work in the PBLA now. I am breaking into indoor lacrosse and hope to become an NLL official in a few years. My brother became an official as soon as he could and is returning to football after several seasons away from the game."

KMN-What is your sports background?

GG- "I grew up playing baseball and basketball, with baseball being my first love. I truly enjoy the game for the strategy, and the athletic ability it takes to play. I was recruited in high school to pitch in college, but decided to stay local and fulfill my dream of becoming a high school teacher. I began playing lacrosse when I turned 21, but I was a Wings season ticket holder for nearly 15 years. I loved watching the game and antagonizing visiting players. Through this, I became involved with Fann Cup because of two good friends, Keith Hennessy and Mike Barbera. I continued playing in the PBLA and have had opportunities to play in the Ales Hrebesky tournament in Prague and in the PILL".

KMN- How did you get involved with the grounds keeping and mascots?

GG- "While working for the Trenton Thunder (1999-2003, 2011) I gained some knowledge into grounds keeping and joined the Phillies organization in 2004 (2004-Present). I also work part-time with the Trenton Titans (formerly the Trenton Devils) during hockey season. My mascot connection goes back to 1999 when I started working for the Trenton Thunder. I became Boomer’s security guard and helped out when I could. I worked there for 5 years, and eventually had to take my position as a teacher. I was able to continue my mascot career, and help out Soul Man, with the Philadelphia Soul (2004-2008, 2011-Present). I assisted, and was part of, the 2008 Arena Football League Championship in New Orleans. I became a friend of the Trenton Devils (2007-2011) mascot, Scorch, until they suspended operations in April of 2011. I am fortunate now to work with the Trenton Titans and assist with game day duties. I owe my entertainment career to a great mentor, and wonderful friend Paul Devery."

"Attending Holy Ghost Preparatory was the greatest accomplishment of my educational life. I value everything that I have learned there and hold their teachings dear to my heart. Many teachers at HGP inspired me to become a teacher and continue their tradition in helping others as they have helped me. I am proud to say that I have earned my BA in Education, and absolutely love working with students."

KMN- What are your duties with the Phillies? Did you work the World Series? Describe a typical day in the life of a mascot.

GG-"My duties with the Phillies, since I'm game day, are to set up and break down batting practice, drag the field before and during the game, prepare the field (line, drag, paint, water) for the game, pull tarp for rain, and clean the field postgame. During the game we work under the stadium cleaning vehicles or watching the weather for the summer storms that pop up. I worked both World Series appearances in '08 and '09. The '08 win was the greatest moment in my life. Being a loyal Phillies follower since I remember, and suffering with my best friends for those years, winning it at home and celebrating on the field was so wonderful. My two friends I've had since I was 12 shared that experience with me."

“As for teaching I'm currently unemployed, thanks to the political uprisings in the neighboring state, though I teach high school English when I am employed. I worked at Medford Tech for 3 years and formed bonds with the terrific faculty there and taught some of the greatest kids in the world. I coached softball and helped lead the team to the first state playoff berth in school history. I love teaching and affecting lives of students. I believe in a philosophy that a teacher can make the content entertaining and students will want to learn more. So, that's what I try to do. Who knows, maybe one day I will have inspired someone to become a teacher like my teachers did for me at HGP."

"A day in the life of a mascot is tough because some days it embodies a couple of jobs running together. On a normal, school day, with a hockey game after, it involves packing the night before. All the essentials are prepped, packed and left by the door. I complete my job at school (not thinking about the game), and then after prepping for the next day of school, it's off to the arena. I arrive well before the public and before most of the front office. I am able to unpack the costume and personal items, and relax. I think about things that have happened during the day, and focus my energy as to what lies ahead tonight. I take a half hour nap, and then eat dinner. Following dinner, I get together with our emcee, Scott Cooney, and we talk about possible skits that could be interjected into promos. Once that's finished it's time to get dressed. I lead the team out prior to the anthem and then it's all improvisational skills after that. I try to be as crazy as I can be. My goal is to entertain the crowd, shake hands, meet as may people as I can, and leave them with a memory and a smile that they won't soon forget."

Thank You to George for taking time out of his busy schedule.

Wings release 2012 schedule

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings will open the 2012 season at the Wells Fargo Center on January 14 when they host the Rochester Knighthawks. This will mark the debut of Dan Dawson and Brodie Merrill with the Wings, Dawson being acquired in the Boston Blazers dispersal draft and Merrill coming from the Edmonton Rush in the Athan Iannucci deal. Iannucci will return to Philadelphia on March 17 when the Rush make their first ever visit to Philadelphia. The Wings will face every team in the National Lacrosse League except for the Calgary Roughnecks.

Saturday, January 14 - 7:00 p.m. - Rochester at Philadelphia
Saturday, January 21 - 7:00 p.m. - Washington at Philadelphia
Friday, January 27 - 7:30 p.m. - Philadelphia at Buffalo
Saturday, February 4 - 7:00 p.m. - Toronto at Philadelphia
Sunday, February 12 - 4:00 p.m. - Buffalo at Philadelphia
Saturday, February 18 - 7:00 p.m. - Philadelphia at Toronto
Friday, February 24 - 9:00 p.m. - Philadelphia at Edmonton
Saturday, March 3 - 7:00 p.m. - Rochester at Philadelphia
Friday, March 9 - 7:30 p.m. - Philadelphia at Toronto
Saturday, March 17 - 7:00 p.m. - Edmonton at Philadelphia
Friday , March 23 - 9:00 p.m. - Philadelphia at Colorado
Sunday, March 25 - 4:00 p.m. - Colorado at Philadelphia
Friday, April 6 - 7:00 p.m. - Minnesota at Philadelphia
Saturday, April 7 - 7:30 p.m. - Philadelphia at Buffalo
Saturday, April 21 - 8:00 p.m. - Philadelphia at Minnesota
Saturday, April 28 - 7:30 p.m. - Philadelphia at Rochester

Home games in BOLD

Blockbuster deal caps off busy few weeks for Wings

By Tom Hoffman

Last year it was Geoff Snider. Before that it was Sean Greenhalgh, Sean Thomson, Rob Van Beek, Ryan Ward, Luke Wiles and Chad Thompson. Now you can add Athan Iannucci to the list of former first round draft picks of the Philadelphia Wings to be sent packing in recent seasons following today's deal with the Edmonton Rush that saw Iannucci, Alex Turner and Brodie MacDonald sent West in exchange for 2011 2nd team All-Pro Brodie Merrill, Mike McLellan and Dean Hill. The Wings also picked up Edmonton's fifth round pick (#41) in this year's entry draft and the Rush's fourth rounder in 2013 while Edmonton gets the Wings #1 picks in 2012, 2013 and 2014. All of this on the heels of John Tucker resigning his spot as head coach and Tom Slate leaving his defensive coaching position with General Manager Johnny Mouradian adding the head coaching job to his resume, last season's offensive coordinator Blane Harrison moving to the defensive side (where he coached with NY/Orlando) and adding Jim Milligan of the Peterborough Lakers to run the offense.

Already this deal has sparked fan reaction, most of that towards the negative. If twitter response can be considered, some Wings players (Brandon Miller and Paul Dawson) seem to like the moves made. While Iannucci was a fan favorite and the team's top offensive player the Wings still managed to set a franchise low in 2011 averaging only 8.94 goals per game though to be fair he was still geting his legs back after missing part of the 2009 and all of 2010 recovering from knee surgery. Turner had a decent season but did not score a goal in the team's final five games while MacDonald was just one of several goalkeepers the Wings had in the mix. In Merrill, the Wings add one of the National Lacrosse League's best at getting to loose balls as well as one of the league's best transition players. Some have already hinted at the possibility of a transition with Merrill and Max Seibald. McLellan struggled in 2011 between Colorado and Edmonton but put up solid numbers in four season with the Titans. Hill could be looked to contribute to this squad much the same way Jason Crosbie and Jamie Rooney did with the 2008 Wings, a team that had very few problems on offense.

In one sense it is discouraging to see the team deal off players who have not only been fan favorites but also faces that even non-Wings fans might recognize. But when you miss the postseason in eight of ten seasons since winning their last NLL title in 2001 it's not like management is blowing up one of the best teams in sports history. The lack of winning is just one of a number of reasons Wings attendance has been on a downward spiral throughout the last decade, the last seven seasons being the seven worst attendance averages in Wings history. How this will all look on and off the field won't be known until the season gets underway in January. Will the players be right and this is the deal to start the Wings back on the road to respectability or do the fans have this one pegged as the beginning of the end for a once proud franchise? This question could be answered as early as the upcoming entry draft, one in which the Wings hold the top pick. The clock is ticking.

Twenty Five Year Tradition in the Lacrosse World Part 2

By- Kevin M. Neibauer

Today we look at the long list of names that have participated in the League. We’ll let Frank Menschner do the honors.

Tom Slate, J.R. Castle, Paul French (Wings), Scott Joyner, Bill Curtis (USA 2003 1 Bronze medal each), Brad Kotz (Wings & Thunder), Mark Hoffman, Donny West (Wave), Kevin Forester (Wave & Thunder, now an NLL official) PBLA refs Joe Fratoni and Joe Fee both refereed in the NLL. and now Mickey Hover and Bob Snider, George Castle (Wings), Frank Menschner (USA 1980 (20yrs old) & 2007(47yrs old) 2 Bronze medals), Ginny Capichionni (Storm & USA 2011, 1 Bronze medal ), Pat Crosby (Slovakia 2011), Tim O'Connor, Joe Caufield, Mike Ryan (Ireland 2011) Graham D'Alvia (USA GM 2007 & 2011, 2 Bronze medals), Jacques Bagley (USA asst.GM 2007 & 2011, 2 Bronze medals) JUST TO NAME A FEW!

The PBLA even has an international connection, Many Iroquois Nation members have participated. The list includes, Tracy Shenandoah (coach 2011 silver medal), Sonny Shenandoah, Ray Lyons and the Cook brothers, who lived and worked in Philly on the high rise buildings (Liberty One to be exact) during the week and then back to the reservation at Onondaga (Syracuse) for the weekends. They were part of the first Reaper Championship Team in 1988.

I was told by the people that run the MABLL (D.C.) and BILL (Balt.) that we paved the way for their leagues. I took over for Bill Malizia in1987 with Doreen Menschner as Treasurer and scorekeeper. Doreen died of a brain aneurism in 1993. Each season, the league Champions are awarded a trophy that is known as the Doreen Menschner trophy.

Steve Innamarato took over as treasurer in 1992 and has been a huge part of our success and the glue that holds us together. In 1988 we started taking travel teams (PBLA All stars) around North America, playing in Baltimore, Washington D.C., Virginia, New Jersey., New York, and Delaware. From 1987 to 1994 we took teams to Canada. Peterborough, Whitby and Oshawa and also the Iroquois Reservation in Onondaga & Oneida N.Y.

Playing against the likes of Rex Lyons, Scott Burnam, the Shenandoah's, Paul and Gary Gait, Joe Hiltz, Terry Preston, Jim Wasson, John Grant, who in 1991 asked if his 14 year old son John Jr. could play with us. We let him and he turned out to be pretty good!

And all these towns would bring teams to play at Rizzo too. In 2000 we started sending teams’ abroad (USA PHILADELPHIA) and for 8 years competed in the Ales Hresbesky Memorial in Radotin Prague, Czech Republic. The biggest box lacrosse tournament in all of Europe 16 teams from 9 different countries! I have recently (April) played in my 11th consecutive Ales Hresbesky Tournament, which makes me the only American to do so.

My personal career started by playing BOX lacrosse in 1977 in the old PMLL (Phila. Men’s Lacrosse League) which ran from 1975-1982. Started playing in the PBLA in 1986 and have been going strong for 25 years, I played every game in goal for the Reapers in that time except two in 1994 on what would have been my 7th wedding anniversary June 20th. My wife passed in September of 1993.

The PBLA is celebrating their 25th Anniversary on Saturday, July 16 at Rizzo Rink. Many of the alumni are expected to attend and even play a bit of Lacrosse. The event is open to the public, so if you want to experience the gala, shoot down to Rizzo Rink and watch how the game should be played.

I want to thank Frank Menschner and the entire PBLA organization for their cooperation in this article.

Update

For those of you that may be wondering. (I know its been awhile), here is how the 25th Season of the PBLA played out. The Outlaws defeated the BeerWolves to win the title. The Beer Wolves were defending Champions.

As far as the players profiled, Frank Menschner's team, the Grim Reapers, as well as Steve Innamarato's squad, The Edge, both lost in the semi-finals.

Brendan Gilligan, the youngster we profiled in Part one was a member of the Championship squad. Congrats to all and looking forward to Season 26!!!

Twenty Five Year Tradition in the Lacrosse World

By- Kevin M. Neibauer

Part 1

There has been a lacrosse league in existence in Philadelphia for twenty five years. Started by Bill Malizia, the Philadelphia Box Lacrosse Association continues its storied tradition with two games every Monday and Wednesday night thru August.

Located at Rizzo Rink, the league features an eclectic mix of youth and experience. Frank Menschner, the Commissioner has missed a total of two games in that quarter century. Menschner is proud of his achievements. Not only in that league, but his experiences in the Lacrosse world. Having traveled to far away places such as Prague, Menschner plays for the love of the game.

All of the participants hold down full time jobs or attend school. Ages vary from 18 to a few guys in their 40's.

The league can boast that some of the biggest names in the Lacrosse World as alumni. Former Philadelphia Wings Bob Snider and Mickey Hover either have or are currently playing.(Part 2 will deal with some more history and a partial list of some of the greats who have found their way on the floor of Rizzo Rink)

Playing in a non-air conditioned facility under I-95 in South Philadelphia; the atmosphere is far from glamorous. Yet not a single player notices the sometimes steamy conditions and the tremendous aroma from a local Steak House.

The Lacrosse players are more of a fraternity or brotherhood. All of the participants know each other well, travel together and even throw a few back together. On the floor, they are bitter rivals. As soon as the final horn sounds, high fives and hugs permeate the floor.

Its not just Menschner who has been around for twenty five years, Walt Bujak started out as a player and was on the first Championship team. Bujak is now acting as a referee.

"I played when it was basically pick-up games; I was on the first Championship team. Lots of great times,” Bujak said. “I realized that I was getting older, definitely slower and the kids were getting bigger and better so I stopped playing and became a ref."

What is it that draws individuals such as Budaj to keep coming out? "I love the game and I won't lie, the money is nice." Money? None of the players are playing for any money but for love. The officials are the only ones that get paid.

One of the newer players is 18 year Brendan Gilligan. Gilligan is new to the game and many of the veterans have taken him under their wing, some of his mentors do not even play with his team. It is clear that Gilligan has been accepted into the PBLA family. Clearly, a blueprint has been laid out for his development. He is being brought along slowly, but is having the time of his life. To further show the Lacrosse family ties, Brendan’s mother Doreen has come on board as timekeeper/scorekeeper.

Later this week, more of the history and a partial list of the great players who have participated. Many hall of famers and current superstars proudly call themselves alumni.