MY VIEW ON A FEW ITEMS

I was greatly disturbed by the news that Tebucky Jones Jr. was arrested for his part in a school fight.

'Twas a time when two boys could mix it up a bit over a heated exchange over a girl or some nasty comments and it didn't make headline news. Now I don't know exactly what happened but I'll share waht I do know.

Tebucky Jones Jr. is a great kid. He worked hard at his sports and his grades while at Farmington High as a freshman and the portion of his sophomore year he spent there. I heard that from several FHS people when he decided to transfer. They wanted what was best for him. He's always been respectful and mild-mannered, especially in the face of the contact he's absorbed on both the football field and basketball court.

Something about this is rotten. He was disciplined by the school when it happened in early May, which is a chance you take when you fight in school. Seems to me it should have ended there. Now, he's arrested two months later?

Is it possible that somebody figures they can tap into the money that Tebucky Sr. earned during his time in the NFL? I don't know this for a fact, but if it's true, it's very sad that Tebucky Jr. has to suffer for it. He's just a kid who got in a school fight. How many of us have done that?

From what I hear, the video that some other kid shot while the spat was going on shows Tebucky Jr. getting the other kid in a headlock. Boy it's a good thing I didn't get busted every time I got a kid in a headlock. I'd probably have been on death row at 15.

I'm sure this affair will not affect Tebucky's participation in sports next fall and/or winter, and by all means, it shouldn't. I hope and pray this doesn't scar him in any way. He doesn't deserve to be singled out. ...

Many Rock Cats regulars have concern about the condition of the field, particularly with the Bob Dylan concert coming up Wednesday. Some of the areas subject to high traffic where new sod had to be installed after the field was re-sod a few years back didn't take and it is now an eyesore.

The beauty of New Britain Stadium at its best is one of the reasons why people come. There is something soothing about a neatly groomed baseball field with the expansive sea of green grass offset by the red clay used for the infield and pitcher's mound.

The hope here is, with so many people packing the Emerald this season, that the concert doesn't add to the problems and that the powers-that-be see fit to dress it up for the rest of July, August and into early September. New Britain Stadium and Willow Brook Park are showcases for our city. We want to be proud of what the thousands of fans see. ...

The days are surely numbered for Eastern League baseball in Norwich. The Eastern League has promised the city of Richmond, Va., that one of the 12 EL franchises would be moved there for 2010. The Connecticut Defenders are the overwhelming choice, although there is still a small chance that the Erie Seawolves would make the move.

I wonder what will happen with Dodd Stadium if the EL departs. Will they bring a New York-Penn (short season Class A) team in there? Rumor has it the team playing in Burlington, Vt., will leave its quaint but antiquated home at the University of Vermont for greener pastures. After all, the school has dropped its baseball program so I'm sure there are no plans to modernize old Centennial Field.

Let's hope the NY-P League comes in rather than independent ball, which seems to be limping toward its demise in Bridgeport and just doesn't have the same pizzazz that the affiliated minor leagues have.