DANBURY — There’s nothing like a little contrast among teams to spice up a sporting event.
Take for example an opening-round game of the Danbury Youth Services 15th Annual Benefit Basketball Tournament, which will feature special guest Jennifer Rizzotti, the former New Fairfield High and University of Connecticut basketball star. One of the teams competing in the tournament, which tips off Friday at Danbury High School, boasts a roster of 12 somewhat experienced players who’ve trained since February. And its coach is thrilled to be part of an event that includes Rizzotti, a two-time All-American at UConn. Their opening-round opponent, meanwhile, practices by playing lunchtime games of B-I-K-E (a.k.a. H-O-R-S-E) on a parking lot rim outside the office with eight players who don’t really play much basketball and a “coach” who admits that he doesn’t know anything about the former Huskies’ legend. Adding to the contrast is the fitness levels of the two sides. One coach describes his team as a “bunch of old geezers” who haven’t played in decades. His counterpart boasts a roster of players who’ll be able to run up and down the court all night. Think you can match up the teams It’s not as apparent as it might seem. The squad of so-called “geezers” represents the Danbury Board of Education’s Custodian/Maintenance Local 35/United Electrical 222 Union. That team is also the one with the more experienced players who’ve trained for months and
Their opponent, the Cannondale Bicycle Corporation, has just eight players and little, if any, experience, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t athletes. Team members are avid bicyclists who enjoy a level of fitness that’d be the envy of most, according to Cannondale’s Ron Jones, who organized the squad.