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FISH TALES
(Also known as
Rich Fisher's blog)
Feb. 5 2012
Former GAK player
fondly remembers
coach Nick Wiener
    Feb. 5: Hamilton Township and Mercer County soccer lost one of the most influential men in their rich history this past week when Nick Wiener passed away at age 73.
    The Yardville resident coached German American Kicker teams for over 40 years and was responsible for not only winning championships, but for making better players.
       Chris “Buzz” Barlow, a producer for NFL Films, played for Hightstown High School and the University of Pennsylvania, but learned much about the game playing for Nick on the GAK.
        Chris was kind enough to share his memories of the legendary coach, which are as follows:    
      Mercer County lost a great man last Sunday with the passing of Nick Wiener, and the Mercer County soccer community lost a legend.
       In the late 80s and early 90s I was fortunate to play for Nick on his German American Kickers team. I had been playing for the GAK youth team for a few years when Nick decided he wanted me to join the men’s team. I don’t remember how that conversation went, but I’m sure it was something like this:
       “Chrissy…” (Yes, he called me Chrissy. No one else did but for some reason it didn’t bother me when he did it. Of course, I would come to learn that Pete became Petey, Ed became Eddie, Jim-Jimmy, Dave-Davey, and even Nick’s two sons on our team, Nick and John were Nicky and Johnny). . .

        “Chrissy, we have a game Sunday at 2, you’ll be there.” I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a command, and even though I was living in Philadelphia at the time going to school, I made sure I was at the game. I couldn’t say no to Coach Nick, but then again, why would I want to? I would be playing for a coach with a masterful knowledge of the game, and be playing with guys whom I’d admired and emulated for years.
        Nick was a coach who trusted his players and treated them like men. He saw no need to run up and down the sidelines yelling (unless he was after an official). And Nick could say just as much with a glance or a look as with a phrase. But either way, he was going to get his point across, and if personnel changes needed to be made, he didn’t hesitate to make them. It was so obvious how much the game meant to him and how much he cared. You couldn’t let him down.
        When you played for Nick, you would play anyone, anywhere. And for many years, it seemed like we did--from Farcher’s Grove in Union, (which did not have a blade of grass on it) to Perth Amboy—where we played underneath the Outerbridge Crossing, from Kearny to Newark to East Orange. It seemed like we spent most weekends going up and down the Jersey Turnpike.
        But there was nothing like a home game at the GAK club on Uncle Pete’s Road. It was soccer Camelot, and with Nick serving as our King Arthur, we hardly ever lost there. But there was so much more than just the game. After each win we’d be treated to dinner inside the club. We’d replay the game, tell tall tales, and think about the next time we’d be lucky enough to play there.
       My most vivid memory of playing for Nick came the year that we made a deep run in the State Cup and found ourselves in the final at Thompson Park in Lincroft. We gave up an early goal and then had a player sent off with a red card, so we had to play the remainder of the game a man down. Nick never panicked though, and because he didn’t, we didn’t. We managed to tie the game and won in penalty kicks.
       Eventually, Camelot had to end for me. Real world responsibilities like a job and family took precedent over soccer.    
      But I’ll never forget what I learned from Nick Wiener and how much fun I had playing for him with GAK.
    And I’m sure that right now, Nick is in a perfect place, preparing a side to play a game on the perfect pitch. In my mind, that place looks exactly like GAK, and Nick is standing at midfield ready for kick off.
    Rest in peace, Coach Nick.

Jan. 6, 2012
Here’s to those
who never quit
    Before getting to the headline item, I just want to wish a Happy Birthday (two days late) to my wonderful mom, Dianne Fisher. Love ya mom! Good luck in your Super Bowl pools. From what you tell me, they can’t get any worse than the regular season!
    * * *
    I have some new heroes.
     They are athletes I’ve come to respect after a couple of years covering high school swimming (which I never did before this website). You will probably never hear of them by the time they graduate.
       At least not for their swimming exploits.  
     My heroes are the boys and girls who will never be listed in the Top 3 when (if) the results are printed in the paper. Heck, even if they printed all top-five place finishers you wouldn’t see them.
     They’re the ones who finish dead last.
     By a lot.
     Believe me, I am not trying to be witty or sarcastic or smart-assy about this.
     It’s one thing for a swimmer at the top of their craft to bust a gut trying to break a record, win a race or, in some cases, win a meet. There’s plenty of adrenaline to push them and the crowd is cheering wildly, whether they can hear it or not.
      It’s an entirely different matter when the race is over where points are concerned, and there is just one swimmer still in the pool. Everyone is waiting for that person to touch out so they can get on to the next event.
      I’m talking mostly about a distance event since that’s where a swimmer can get behind by a really lot.
      And some do. It would be sooo easy for them to just say ‘Heck with this’ and climb out of the pool before their last lap. What the heck, whether they finish or not, they still get the same zero points.
    But you know what. They don’t do that. They churn and churn and churn, determined not to give up.
    They have the pride and the guts and the conviction to see it through. What doesn’t matter one iota in the grand scheme of the meet, matters to them. They’ve done all the work in practice, they’re sure not going to just give up on it when the actual meet takes place.
    To me, there’s something darn heroic about that. I admire the heck out of it. 
    So next time one of you swimmers is dragging along in last place, thinking no one is watching and that no one cares, just know it's enough that you care.
    And keep it up.
    It will serve you well later in life.
    (Feel free to re-read this during track season, as it is applicable then as well).   
                * * *
    How about Jeff Lurie saying Andy Reid isn’t arrogant?
    During his silly Tuesday press conference Lurie said the Eagles season was unacceptable. Well Jeff, nothing in the world is more unacceptable then the ludicrous comment that Reid is not arrogant.
     All that was left was for Lurie to say "And he's not overweight either, that's just your perception."
      Some day I’m gonna find out just what incriminating pictures Reid has of Lurie.
             * * *
    Of course, there’s arrogance, and then there’s arrogance.
    Tony Mack wants more money.
    Seriously? I mean. . .seriously?
     There weren’t enough LOLs, ROFLs, LMAOs or LMFAOs in the world to describe how hard I laughed when I read that.
     And there won’t be enough oceans in the world to hold Trenton residents’ tears if they actually give it to him.
    More money?
    Seriously?
           * * *
    So, the Miami (formerly Florida) Marlins got Carlos Zambrano.
    Yikes!
    As a Phillies fan, I should fear the Marlins with all the moves they have made.
    But I can’t wait to watch how that whole situation blows up down there.
    With everyone making their (pick one – bold, fearless, outrageous) predictions for 2012, I’ll give you one that I feel pretty good about. That entire Marlins scene will be the second coming of the chaotic Bronx Zoo made popular by Yankees of the late 1970s.
    Only the Marlins won’t win back-to-back titles.
        Just look at the recipe for disaster they’ve concocted.
      First you have Hanley Ramirez, who’s not the most grounded guy to begin with and who is already upset that he has to move to third base so Jose Reyes can take over.
     Ah yes, Jose Reyes. We know about him in these parts. For all we know, he may get a leadoff single on opening day then ask to be removed from the lineup that day and ask to be used only as a ninth-inning defensive replacement or pinch-runner in order to become the first guy to ever bat 1.000 while playing 162 games.
        Now they add Zambrano to the mix.  Here’s a pitcher who hits teammates with more regularity than he hits the corners. What happens when Reyes has a bad day at the plate and dogs it in the field when Zambrano is pitching?
    Ding, ding, ding! There's a right to the jaw, and Reyes is down!  
      One of Zambarno’s most recent fights with a teammate came against the White Sox, and he and Guillen went out to dinner afterward. Guillen calls Zambrano his friend and several articles state he was a major player in getting the pitcher.
      Of course, we’ve all seen how stable Ozzie has been over the years. He has had more bleeped out post-game press conferences on Sports Center than, um, well than anybody! Managerial skills aside, Guillen is about as loose a cannon as there is among managers.
    This, my friends, is gonna be a wild scene.
               * * *
     Sticking with Fish’s Hot Stove Blog for a moment,  I’m going to set an over-under number for local baseball announcers.
    The number is the same for all three of them – 200. What that means is, I think they are going to do/say the following things once each game, and more than once in at least 38 others.  
    Here we go:
    --John Sterling will make non-Yankee fans puke.
    --A bad play will be made by either the Mets or their opponent, and Keith Hernandez will groan and say “You just can’t do that” and be sincerely offended when the game isn’t played correctly. He will do that a lot, cuz the game’s not played correctly a lot.
    --Chris Wheeler will note that it was very important that the eighth hitter in the lineup got on base with two outs, assuring that the pitcher won’t have to lead off the next inning. I’ve also set the over-under at 300 that Wheels will discuss the importance of two-out hits; the benefits of getting them and the emotional distress of allowing them.
    I’ll take the over on all of them.
    Moving onto the national scene, I’ll set the over-under at 3 for FOX’s crack team that no one seems to like:
    --Joe Buck will make an exciting call.
    --Tim McCarver will make an observation without trying to make it sound like it is the most important thing ever uttered in baseball history.
    I’ll take the under on both of them. By a lot.
    * * *.
    NFL playoffs baby. Love ‘em!

    The next two weekends are awesome. Championship Sunday is good too, but it’s cool to know you have two playoff games on Saturday and Sunday the next two weeks.       And besides, Championship Sunday is starting to bug me with the lavish halftime shows that stretch the game out forever, but not quite as long as the Super Bowl.
    I'm sure that now I've made my grievance public, the NFL will quickly move to change things.
              * * *
    Must have been a wild night in Morgantown Wednesday. About 90 minutes after West Virginia’s basketball team torched Rutgers for 85 points, the Mountaineers football team scored a bowl record 70 against Clemson.
    Having been to Morgantown before, I’m willing to bet there were more than a few guys (and girls) doing a shot for every point scored by each . . .and nobody passed out.
          I actually covered that basketball game and had to laugh at coach Mike Rice, who I think is doing a nice job and will turn things around if given the chance.
       Someone asked Rice how far away the win over No. 10 Florida felt after two straight losses. Rice looked at him and said "That's a good question."
     Then he had an expression as if he were going to give a well thought out answer, and he just kind of muttered on word: "Far."  Sometimes less is better. That pretty much told the tale.