Last week brought us two home soccer games played under the lights at Ellenville High School. Opening the week was the Ellenville boys' varsity soccer team which dominated Coleman HS in a 5-1 win. Coach Maxwell Mead has the boys playing well and the Blue Devils, who are currently 3-1, are looking to have their best season in recent memory. Later in the week the Lady Blue Devils took to the field to host Rondout Valley. Coach Nicole Krom had the team ready and the girls played solidly in losing a 1-0 overtime decision. The Blue Devils could not find the back of the net despite many scoring opportunities and actually played their best and most exciting soccer of the evening after Rondout scored near the end of the first overtime period. Several Ellenville shots in the extra period sailed just wide or high of the net and one bounced off the cross bar. The lights are a great draw and the people who run 28 Maple Avenue should utilize them more often to increase interest in Ellenville athletics……….There is no better excuse to get absolutely nothing accomplished on a fall Saturday than college football. Last week saw the University of Washington, which finished 0-12 last year, upset national power USC 16-12 in front of a boisterous, capacity home crowd. New Washington coach Steve Sarkisian and underrated junior QB Jake Locker helped orchestrate the big upset. The win was especially sweet for Sarkisian, who, prior to taking the Washington job, was the QB's and Assistant Head coach at U.S.C. In other great games, Texas held off rival Texas Tech and their high-powered offense and the Army Black Knights got back in the win column by beating Ball State 24-17, to improve to 2-1………..I would never spend good beer money on a pay-per- view boxing event, but it may be safe to assume that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is the best boxer ever after his recent 12-round victory over Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather is now 40-0. The truly gifted boxer also happens to be as cocky and pompous as they come, and his long history of family dysfunction only adds to drama……….Stop the season! Both the NY Jets and the NY Giants are 2-0. The Jets got there by beating the hated Patriots and the Giants got there by spoiling the opening of the new home of the hated Cowboys. Everything is good right now for New York football fans……….I root for the Cleveland Browns, and as a Browns fan I often feel like those signs on the bridges trying to discourage depressed people from jumping were made especially for me………..The New York Yankees were so hot for the last month and a half of the season that even the most cynical Bombers fan was thinking World Series title. Well the Yanks have certainly cooled down in the last ten days. The Yankees have completely ruined Joba Chamberlain with their ridiculous "Joba Rules," and you cannot find a Yankees fan willing to admit that if we are down 2-1 in the league championship series that they would be confident with Chamberlain on the mound in Game 4. At least the current Yankees woes give the Mets fans something to cheer about……….You want something to cheer about? The Blue Devils football team is currently 3-0 and headed for a big showdown with Class C rival Sullivan West this Friday night. Over the last few seasons it has taken a public campaign to get support for the Blue Devils football team. Fans often wait until the team has wrapped up a playoff spot to show their allegiance, and this is a shame. There has been a renaissance in the past three years and the Blue Devils have put together a run that rivals any three-year period in their history. Don't wait. Get out there and support the team……….Max Preps, one of the leading sources of high school sports in the nation currently has the Blue Devils varsity football team ranked as the 6,716th best high school football team in the country. Have they watched all 6, 715 teams ahead of us?..........Got a kick out of Town of Wawarsing Town Councilman John Gavaris. Gavaris, who is seeking his second term on the town board, claims to "have a grip on the cost of things." Yet, in the current economic downturn being experienced by both the Town of Wawarsing and the Village of Ellenville, Gavaris still supports sending taxpayer dollars to Kingston for the Kingston YMCA to run a recreation program in Ellenville. Compare Gavaris's stance with that of fellow Democrat and longtime Town Board member, Theresa Hyatt who advocates the municipalities running their own program to save taxpayer monies that are spent on YMCA "administrative costs." Gavaris, who in the past has battled with those who dare to question his expertise, including veteran Town Clerk Jane Eck and long-time Democrat Lenny Distel, seems to think that his advocacy of sending town money to Kingston should warrant a second term on the board. Gavaris is wrong on this issue but after all — he did break in as a Village of Ellenville trustee, where he learned municipal fiscal management from former Village Manager Elliot Auerbach and Mayor Jeff Kaplan. Let's just hope that his fellow town board members and his constituents see through Gavaris's plan……….until next time!