“I am pleased that Ted will remain part of the Fairfield athletics family by accepting the associate director of athletics position,” Director of Athletics Gene Doris said. “I am grateful for his hard work and dedication that built our men’s lacrosse program into a competitive and respected program both regionally and nationally. Ted’s decision to retire from coaching was a difficult one, but I am sure he will bring the same vigor to his new position that has made him successful in everything he has done. This position has been in our athletics strategic plan and it became obvious that Ted is the right person to fill it. He will continue to have our support in his fight against cancer and will take some well earned time for himself before transitioning into his new role.”

“This was a difficult choice for me, but in the end, I had to do what was best for me and my family,” Spencer said. “I feel a strong commitment to the student athletes who I recruited this past spring and who will return for the 2009 season. In speaking with the team, I know that I have their support in making this change and I am thankful to have been associated with such a group of fine young men.”

Spencer completed his 13th season at the helm of the Fairfield University lacrosse program in 2008 and owned a 93-90 overall record at the school. He coached the team during the spring despite undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments for cancer. The team finished the campaign with a 4-9 overall record and a 1-5 mark in its third season as a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League.

With Spencer at the helm, the Stags competed in two NCAA tournaments (2005 and 2002), as well as to two Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) titles. He was named the GWLL Coach of the Year in both of those seasons.

Before joining the GWLL, Spencer led the program to three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships (1996-98). The program qualified for four straight ECAC tournament appearances from 1996-99, and captured the tourney title in 1998 and 1999. He was named the MAAC Coach of the Year in 1996.

Players have flourished under his guidance and three have earned All-American Honorable Mention honors. Seven continued their playing careers in Major League Lacrosse, including Greg Downing, Mike Bocklet, and Nate Bauers in 2007.

Spencer’s new duties as associate director of athletics will include general athletic administrative oversight responsibilities and support of the athletic department’s external relations including the support of student-athlete recruitment programs, representing the Director of Athletics at external functions, and working with the University’s Advancement Division on development activities in support of Fairfield Athletics.

Doris said that the University will immediately begin a national search for the head men’s lacrosse position.

“These fields work, there’s tons more advantages to these fields, but they are going to have their drawback,” Parisi said. “And one of those is the pellets. You get one of those in your shoe and it’s going to bother you.”

But instead of complaining about those little pebbles, Parisi and former coaching mate Mike Mulvey did something about it.

They created a product called Turf Dawg, which as it turned out, became more than apparel that slips over your cleats to keep the pebbles out. They also became an additional accessory to a lacrosse team’s uniform.

“The exciting thing for us is we’re rolling them out to programs and getting players’ numbers on them,” Parisi said. “The kids are so fired up to get these, because you can customize your shoe.”

Here’s how Turf Dawg works: The neoprene sleeve slips over the shoe like a sock. The laces slip through the Turf Dawg’s grommets to help keep the rubber pellets (and other field debris) from getting in the shoe.

“The beauty of it is there’s only one attachment point, so it’s universal, you can use it on any shoe that you like,” Parisi said. “No matter the type of cleats you have, how thick the bottom is, they’re going to fit.”

Parisi said he is working on getting Turf Dawg into retail stores, but for now, it’s a custom team product. Wakeman Boy’s Club of Fairfield’s lacrosse teams are using them this season, and Fairfield University will use them starting this fall.

How is the Turf Dawg message being spread? Mostly by word of mouth. It helped sell the FCIAC and CIAC Class M champion Darien Blue Wave consider them for the future.

When Ludlowe played at Darien this season, Parisi said the Blue Wave players were complaining about getting pebbles in their shoes. And when he showed the players the Turf Dawg product, Parisi said they all wanted to know where they could find a pair.

Darien kids, were complaining about all the stuff getting in their shoes and I was standing right there. “You out to get Turf Dawg,’ I told them. It was like a perfect commercial for Turf Dawg. They were like, ‘Yo, where did you get that? Where can I find one?’” and now the team will be wearing them.

Parisi said he had another marketing breakthrough in the form of an audience. He tested concepts and product names and designs on his homeroom students.

“I don’t know what’s cool, I’m 40 years old,” Parisi said. “So I ask them, what do you think is cool? If you think it’s cool, and you want it on your shoes, then we’ll do it. But I do rely on the kids a lot. My designer in Maryland will draw something up, I’ll show it to my kids. I rely on them.”

Parisi says he’s hoping to spread Turf Dawg beyond the lacrosse fields this fall, by encouraging it as an offering for field hockey, soccer, and football.

And after a cool spring weather-wise, mother nature went crazy yesterday, blistering athletes with temperatures in the 90s. Which meant in-season conditioning became a major factor for all the athletes involved.

Here’s a quick roundup of winners, losers (though to be politically correct, they are runners-up), and more, including clips from the local sports media…

FRIDAY:
Westhill wins Class LL Baseball Title
I slammed Westhill pitched T.J. Hickey’s mound antics in a post a few weeks ago. He’s recovered nicely and, on the mound, became the go-to guy a lot of us saw during the football season. As he kept Masuk batters in check, Bobby Migliazza and Greg Smith led the offense in a 12-1 win up at Palmer Field in Middletown.

The clips: Stamford Advocate game story; Stamford Advocate sidebar; Connecticut Post.

Also Friday: Darien takes volleyball title; Staples wins again in Class L.

SATURDAY
The links:

• Masuk phenom Rachele Fico shuts down Naugatuck: Connecticut Post; New Haven Register.
• Law upsets Ludlowe for Class L baseball title: New Haven Register; Connecticut Post.
• Danbury takes Division II girls lacrosse championship: News-Times; News-Times sidebar.
• Prefect ending for New Fairfield lacrosse team: News-Times.
• Prep tops Ridgefield in 3OT to take Class L lacrosse title: Connecticut Post.
• Darien girls defeat Wilton again for girls lacrosse championship: Stamford Advocate.
• Blue Wave Boys make it a lacrosse sweep: Stamford Advocate.

Jeff Brameier-coached Darien boys lacrosse teams have won 11 FCIAC titles over the past 25 years, including four of the past five. The Blue Wave saw its fourth consecutive title slip away last season, when it was upset by Greenwich in the semifinals last season, and the same thing almost happened last night against another upstart team.

Playing in its first-ever FCIAC title game, Ridgefield stormed back from a 4-0 deficit and took a five-all tie into halftime.

But a 6-2 surge in the fourth quarter - in which the Blue Wave was able to control possession and keep the ball away from Ridgefield star Matt White - gave the Blue Wave a 13-9 championship game win over Ridgefield at McMahon’s Jack Casagrande Field.

“We practive against that kind of zone all the time,” Brameier said. “It’s one thing to get the shots, but you have to hit the spots against a very good goalie [Brad DePrima].”

Darien may have got comfortable with the early lead, which quickly evaporated in the second. In fact, White gave the Tigers a 6-5 lead with 7:29 left in the third quarter, and it looked then like Ridgefield’s momentum and determination would help carry it to the title.

But the Blue Wave hung tough and stayed focused.

“When a team takes a lead on you, especially in a championship game, you’ve got to find a way to regroup and not panic,” Brameier said. “It takes a lot of character, pride, and leadership. These kids have been there so many times that they know what it’s like to be in the heat of the battle.”

The third quarter may have not started off the way the Blue Wave had hoped, but they knew their mission.

“As soon as the third quarter came out, we knew we had to work hard and fast and bury them, and that’s what we did,” said Blue Wave junior attack Tyler Foley, who scored three goals and was named the game’s MVP.

But in the fourth quarter, the Blue Wave was able to win faceoffs and keep possession of the ball in its end of the field, which made White (three goals and two assists) a non-factor. Darien defenders also got the ball out of Ridgefield sticks at crucial times, and capitalized by getting ground balls.

“Our offense came together great today,” said Darien senior goalie Jameson Love. “They were a little slow at the beginning, and we were letting up on defense, not closing off the defense like we’re supposed to, but in the end our offense just pulled through and won it for us.”

And Love did give due credit his defensemen, who were able to keep all but one White breakaway shot in the fourth quarter to the outside.

“This was definitely one of our top two games of the season, with the Greenwich game being the other,” Love said. “This is definitely getting us ready for the state tournament. The way we played today shows that we can play with anybody.”

Next up for Darien: a Saturday CIAC Division II tournament home game against today’s Guilford/Barlow winner. Ridgefield will host either Trumbull or Staples in the Division I tournament on Saturday.

The Colonials softball team will travel to the seven-team regional at Rowan University this Thursday, and makes its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They will take on the bracket’s fourth-seed, Kean University, at 10 a.m.

Offensively, senior second baseman Kristen Lugovich leads the team in batting with a .417 average. The lefty slap hitter has six doubles and 17 runs batted in. Classmates Cortney Romyns and Stacey DiMaggio follow with .383 and .375 batting averages, respectively. Romyns, who has a 6-3 record from the mound, has four home runs, three triples and seven doubles. She is third on the team with 27 RBI. DiMaggio has five home runs and is second on the club with 33 RBI.

In 2002, Western advanced to the NCAA Division III College World Series in Eau Claire, WI. The Colonials last appeared in the NCAAs in 2006 and advanced to the third round.

The mens lacrosse team will travel to Western New England College and take on the Golden Bears Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Colonials, 13-6, defeated Plymouth State University, 18-7 on Saturday to win their first Little East Conference championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The winner of Wednesday’s first round match will travel to St. Lawrence University to take on the 11-2 Saints on Saturday, May 10 at North Country Field in upstate New York in the tournament’s second round. The NCAA Division III Finals will be at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on Sunday, May 25.

After squeaking into the FCIAC and CIAC playoffs last year, the Tigers are undefeated at 9-0. And that includes a first-ever victory over arch-rival Wilton, and an upset win last Monday over national powerhouse Greenwich.

So what’s the difference between this year and last, when Ridgefield went 8-11 on the season?

“Last year we talked to them about expecting to be that good, and they’re really buying into it,” said Ridgefield head coach Andy Stockfisch after the Tigers 12-4 win over St. Joseph on Saturday. “This year they really understand that they need to focus on one game at a time, and treat each game like a business trip.”

And another thing that is helping the Tigers: Stockfisch won’t let the team rest on its laurels.

“There are a number of things that we need to talk about just from this game,” Stockfisch said. “Never let them be satisfied with their performance, no matter how big the win is, how great of a play they make, or the opportunities they have. They need to always want to do better.”

The Tigers take on SWC front-runner New Fairfield tomorrow, a team that features Duke-bound long-stick midfielder C.J. Costabile, the sixth-ranked player in the nation according to TAKKLE.com.

But Ridgefield counters with one of the best attacks in the country as well, Matt White. Ranked 19th in the nation, according to TAKKLE, White, a junior, has already given a verbal commitment to University of Virginia.

And thanks to White, and the team’s undefeated record, Stockfisch thinks his phone will ring often this summer, with college coaches on the other end wanting to find out about the Tigers.

“Any time when you get a team of this caliber that is beating some of the best teams in the state, you’re going to have some players like Matt White who have been seen and going to get seen,” Stockfisch said. “This summer I feel I’ll field 50 calls from college coaches about all sorts of kids on this roster.”

LocalSportsFeed founder Tim Parry sat down with White for an interview after his five-goal, four-assist performance against the Cadets. Here’s what White had to say about the 2008 Tigers, his opportunity to play at Virginia, and about the rumor that he won’t be back for a third season as Ridgefield’s starting quarterback this fall:

Just before the official start of the spring season started, Benedict was denied a court injunction to have Whitten’s hiring overturned, and will now have a hearing in court on April 21. As you can see here in the court filing, Benedict has named superintendent David Abbey, principal Tony Pavia, athletic director Jay Egan, and the New Canaan Board of Education in the suit.

Coach Benedict has the right to sue whoever he wants, bring up injuctions, and whatnot until he turns blue in the face. But at this point, what good will it do? Right now it’s all about getting the last word in edgewise and getting it on the public record. And sometimes, that’s not a good idea.

Dragging this out is only going to divide the New Canaan players that Benedict allegedly loves. Whitten has a hard enough job coming in and replacing a legend, and may be rebuilding with a lot of younger talent playing over seniors. The first season of the Whitten era will be a mentally rough one for everyone involved, and having a court hearing come up in the middle of the season sure won’t help.

I think the One and Only Phil Soto-Ortiz sums it up best in this editorial for the New Canaan News-Review. And for more background about the Benedict-Whitten-Administration triangle, click here for an article be John Kovach, the editor of the New Canaan Advertiser.

And for full disclosure, Howard Benedict was my favorite teacher in high school, and I wasn’t turned on to reading, writing, or really doing anything in the classroom but daydream for six hours until I had him for two classes my senior year. I have him to thank for getting my ass in gear and helping me become a somewhat productive citizen.