Linked Up – 1/10/14

Tony Falzarano joins his team in celebrating his 600th career victory. John Shishmanian – Norwich Bulletin

It has been quite awhile since we produced a new version of Linked Up. For some reason there seemed to be a lot of stories about the value of athletics around the country of late, so we feature several of those, along with a few recent studies that seemingly prove some of that value. There is also an impressive coaching milestone among the local stories featured.

• From the Norwich Bulletin: Tony Falzarano joined elite company as he earned his 600th career victory.
• From the Meriden Record Journal: Roosevelt Shider is approaching some hallowed school and city records.
• From GameTimeCT: An extensive breakdown of the ins and outs of the SCC girls basketball season.
• From the Times Tribune: Linked Up has featured many stories like these, but here is one writer’s view on the value of high school athletics.
• From the Waterbury Republican-American: The Pomperaug boys basketball team has been the very definition of a turnaround team this year.
• From the Miami Herald: And here is another such piece, this time from a student-athlete.
• From the Hartford Courant: Taylor and Nicole Mierzejewski have been do-everything contributors for the Lyman Hall girls basketball team.
• From the New Britain Herald: A look at some impressive leadership displayed in high school sports this year.
• From the Pacific Standard: A new study confirms what many have long believed on the long-term benefits of Title IX.
• From the Bristol Press: Every meet is a learning experience for the St. Paul wrestling program.
• From the New London Day: An early-season wrestling match-up highlights the progress a pair of teams need to make as the season goes on.
• From Medical News Today: Another study showing that high school sports participation can be beneficial with improved health later in life.
• From the Coloradoan: A columnist offers some new year’s resolutions for high school sports fans. Also from the Coloradoan, yet another offering on what the high school sports experience did for the writer.
• From Hearst Media: A final breakdown (and argument starter) looking at the end of the season football poll.
• From the Greenwich Times: It has been a strong start for the Greenwich boys and girls basketball teams.
• From the Middletown Press: Jim Bransfield offers some possible resolutions for the new year and memorable moments from the past year.
• From the Norwalk Hour: Wilton showed off some impressive facilities juggling for a key basketball game, demonstrating the great resourcefulness of many athletics departments.