SPORTS COLUMNIST PETER JAKEY: ‘SNOWDAY’
They?re the two words students love to hear in the middle of winter. It?s what area student-athletes anticipated going into Monday night, and what they heard Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, hopes of another snow day were dashed Wednesday when schools in the county operated under a two-hour delay.
It?s nice for some students, who enjoy sleeping in, but it?s just not the same as an entire day off. Student-athletes from Posen and Rogers City found different ways to spend their day off. I contacted all of athletes below on the phone, asking for the phone numbers of their friends, and moving from there. It wasn?t a surprise to me how many I connected with.
Only one, Kyle Greene wasn?t home of the 16 phone calls I made. I also tried calling injured point guard Luke Hentkowski, but his phone was busy. If I had tried calling the same list of kids on a typical Tuesday night, I think the statistics would have gone the other way. I would have been lucky to get a hold of a handful of kids. Most Tuesdays, I?m not home.
So here it is, what some of the area high school winter athletes did on their ?snow day,? January 27, 2004. Adam LaLonde, Rogers City basketball: He found out there was no practice and went to work at Delekta Farms, where he graded potatoes from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Adam then went home and watched ?American Idol.? LaLonde would have preferred having basketball practice, especially with a Straits Area Conference showdown against Rudyard Friday in the RCHS gym. It?s a big game, one that LaLonde and his teammates are ?pumped and excited? about. Katie Lewandowski, Posen volleyball: She stayed home the entire day, visiting with her boyfriend Russ Kamyszek for a while and watching ?Days of Our Lives? and ?Price is Right.?
Katie also had time to make a spaghetti dinner for her family. She also shoveled snow for 20 minutes, but not the half-mile driveway at her home. That would have taken two or three hours. Chris Rhode, RC wrestling: Cleaned the basement and played ?True Crimes: Streets of L.A.? on his Playstation 2. Ashley and Lindsey Fleming, RC volleyball: Spent their day babysitting their niece and nephew, Taylor, 2, and Jaylen Fleming, 1, the daughter and son of Josh and Amanda Fleming. Josh is Ashley and Lindsey?s brother, for those who didn?t know. Ashley said the kids were ?pretty good.? The girls weren?t sure if they were going to be spend the night, as they were hoping for another school day.
Aaron Hincka, Posen basketball: Slept in until 1 p.m., about the time he would be in Mr. Lou Ciarkowski?s U.S. History Class. After shaking the cobwebs, he plowed snow from 1-5 p.m. After dinner he watched ?Sports Center.? There was no breaking news, he told me; just Super Bowl hype.
Isaac Momrik, RC basketball: Rode his snowmobile out to his girlfriend Brittany Hincka?s house in Metz and watched ?Happy Gilmore? and ?Varsity Blues? on DVD. The trip home wasn?t easy. He was concerned about getting stuck in a snowdrift and stayed on the roads, but at times, that proved to be rough. Shannon Ciarkowski, Posen VB: Caught up on some sleep and spent time with her family. She slept in until 9:30 a.m. and still took two naps. Working weekends at ?Dollar Discount? in Alpena takes away her time to get some rest. Shannon said her entire family was home, which is a rarity of late, and she enjoyed that time together. Kyle Greene, Rogers City BB: Out snowmobiling and unavailable for comment.
Russ Kamyszek, Posen BB: ?Cooped up and bored,? he said. Russ isn?t a person who likes sitting around too much, but he did hang out with his mom, Diane. Russ shoveled snow for an hour and visited his girlfriend Katie. Chris Paschke, Rogers City BB: After his mother woke him up from a nap at 6 p.m., sounding fairly awake, he told me he spent time catching up on homework in Chemistry and Advanced Algebra which should hav
Megan Hanson, Rogers City VB: Took a nap about the time she would have been in French class and did a little homework. She also watched ?Friends.? Josh Christ, Rogers City wrestling: Worked out, swimming 22 laps in his pool. He also was going to do 500 push-ups with a weighted vest. Kyrie Kuffel, Posen VB: She was the only one who counted the snowplows that passed her home. There were three. Kyrie spent time playing outside with her sister and did eight loads of laundry. There was time to watch ?Trading Spaces? and ?While You Were Out.?
Carrie Haselhuhn, Rogers City VB: Went swimming at the Driftwood Motel and ate lunch with her boyfriend Cody Rhode, on leave from the Marines. Carrie also shoveled snow with her brother Mike. He had the snowblower, while she settled for the shovel.