By Richard Carrier
Contributing Writer

I’ve been very proud of the work we – myself and Editor Roslyn Ryan – have done in the past two years to expand the coverage of sports in the county. We’ve been able to give every varsity high school sport at least some coverage and have extended that recognition to many of the junior varsity teams.

I’ve been quick to admit, that personally I’m not much of a “reporter,” not being someone with the traditional journalistic approach of “who, what, when, where, why and how,” heavily laced with statistics and records. It’s just not my thing.

I’ve kind of adopted a style I call “scrapbook writing,” trying to tell stories while getting as many kids’ names into the paper as I reasonably can – something every athlete and their parents, regardless of skill level, can look back on and enjoy down the road.

Ironically, my precious wife came up with a most unexpected gift this Christmas – a gift that allowed me to experience the delight of both a look-back and a look-over almost 60 years of my life.

You would not believe how hard it was for her to locate items from my early childhood – spent in a half-dozen homes or with relatives long-gone- but she collected photos, articles, stories, anecdotes and even the newspaper –The Providence (Rhode Island) Journal – published where and on the day I was born. There was some big war going on at the time, so my birth didn’t get much coverage, even in West Warwick Rhode Island.

Professionally organized, edited and leather-bound it has brought me great joy. How many people get to experience their pictorial and excerpt biography before they die? Come to think of it though, how many people have that experience after…?

This was obviously a tremendous undertaking and had much more impact than a mention or two in a county newspaper, but I still feel that those small efforts were worthwhile.

So, what’s your point Richard? Pretty simply, I will be doing a bit less of my “scrapbook writing” and probably not Extra Points as often, in the foreseeable future. (Is that a cheer coming from Soccer-Fan, NASCAR Dwight and two high school coaches? No doubt.)

I now will be doing fewer stories each month and Extra Points may appear periodically, perhaps only when there is some really good material.

That certainly would include Blessed Sacrament Huguenot’s JV boys basketball team.

Coach Scott Goodwyn has put together, or been blessed with, a squad that is really off the chain. Scoring at better than 60 points per game – that’s an average of more than two points per minute – the junior Knights are literally running the competition off the court.

They score on the break by driving to the hoop, but are just as likely to pull up for a three-pointer and make it.

The Knights would be fun to watch even if they weren’t so effective, but these kids really are good.

Want some more good news? The best running back to come out of Blessed Sacrament in a long while, if not forever, John Moore has been nominated as an Old Spice Player of the Year.

The senior tailback/linebacker is recognized as one of the high school football players “who goes above and beyond the call of duty, who are able to elevate their play and step up when the heat is really on” and “embody leadership, performance and desire,” according to the Old Spice criteria for the nomination.

These criteria make Moore eligible to be named one of the 50 National Players of the Year in the 10-year old program.