New Canaan has knocked off Staples to claim the top spot in the final Bill Gonillo 5 media poll 2009, and is the Fairfield County Team of the Year.

Staples, the FCIAC champion, finished with eight of the fifteen first place voted, while New Canaan, the CIAC Class MM champion, had seven first place votes. But New Canaan picked up some steam with five second-place votes to Staples’ two.

St. Joseph, the Class SS champion, received four second place votes. Pomperaug, the SWC champion, had two first-place votes, and Bridgeport Central had one.

New Canaan is the repeat champion, and had led the poll through the first seven weeks of the season. Staples took the lead after New Canaan lost to Bridgeport Central 42-7 in Week 8, and had held it since.

“This really is an honor, considering we got beat as bad as we got beat that night against Bridgeport Central,” New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli said. “We were out of sync for two weeks after it. But to put it all together the way we did, it’s great to see people still believe we’re still a team of that caliber. It’s quite a surprise and honor that the media voted the way it did.”

The poll is named in honor of Bill Gonillo, the former News 12 sports anchor who died in September 2007 from complications related to diabetes. The poll also supports the American Diabetes Association’s mission to find a cure for and raise awareness of the disease, which affects 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population.

Tickets to the Bill Gonillo Memorial Double-Header basketball game between Sacred Heart and Fairfield University to raise awareness of the disease will be played this Sunday, Dec. 13 at Harbor Yard. You may purchase special $10 tickets through the FCIAC Football Blog by clicking on this link.

Dropped out: Greenwich (5)

Also receiving votes: Bethel Wildcats 10, Greenwich Cardinals 10, King Vikings 8, Masuk Panthers 4, Ridgefield Tigers 1.

Voters: Damian Andrew (News12), Dave Stewart (New Canaan Advertiser), Eliot Schickler (Westport News), Jason Intrieri (freelancer), John Nash (Stamford Times/Wilton Villager), Matt Levine (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM), Matt Norlander (New Canaan News-Review/Darien News), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Nick Fox (WGCH-AM), Pat Pickens (Fairfield Citizen), Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post), Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Tim Parry (FCIAC Football Blog), Tom Renner (Examiner.com), Zachary Eastright (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM).

The Bill Gonillo 5 poll is a media ranking of the top teams in Fairfield County. All FCIAC and SWC schools, plus FAA, CSC and SCC teams based in Fairfield County, are on the ballot for consideration.

Ballots are totaled on a 10-8-6-4-2-1 formula.

Popularity: 12% [?]

New Canaan has been atop the Bill Gonillo 5 Fairfield County Media Poll for more than a year now. But after Bridgeport Central knocked it from the ranks of the unbeaten – and out of the FCIAC championship game – there’s no way they keep the top position in the rankings.

So who should be number one? Staples has been in second place, while Pomperaug and Masuk have received some first-place votes this season. Central was tied for fourth, but can you really put a team with one loss ahead of an undefeated team?

King should also be considered, and is still stomping on its opponents.

Here’s the poll I send the Fairfield County media for the Bill Gonillo 5. Go ahead and take a stab at it. Rank your Top 6, 1 being the top team, 2 being the second best team, etc. The link is below, and I’ll close the poll out on Monday night at 8 p.m.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229VVR5HU9P

Popularity: 10% [?]

Thanks to everyone out there who took part in and/or sonated to yesterday’s Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes in New Canaan. It was such a fantastic event, both from the entertainment and educational point of view. Gerri Brown of the American Diabetes Association said the move to New Canaan helped bring out a greater number of walkers, but the ADA still fell short of its goal. So… we’ll keep trying to help out. Maybe as a sponsor, I can make more of an impact to help raise awareness of the disease beyond just the bill Gonillo 5 poll.

The New Canaan Rams football team walked again this year (you can still make a donation to their walk team). This time, they didn’t sprint. And they also had head coach Lou Marinelli walk as a part of its team. So of course the sports reporters on my team – Rob Adams of WGCH-AM and Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register (Matt Levine of WSTC/WNLK-AM ran the 3-mile course, cause he’s in shape!) – seized the opportunity to grill Marinelli on everything and anything.

Okay, really, we didn’t grill Marinelli. And he escaped us at the turn-around. But we did give him our two cents about the FCIAC’s scheduling, which has become complicated since the Fairfield school split a few years back gave the league an odd number of schools.

Fuller told Marinelli how it’s done in the 20-team Southern Connecticut Conference, where they break it down to four divisions based on size and strength. Then every two years, the out-of-division match-ups change takes place based on a team’s prior two seasons’ results.

So if you finish first in your division over a two-year period, you would play your four division rivals, and the other three first-place finishers and I think three of the teams from your crossover division.

Why did we bring it up? Basicly there’s some unfair contests on the FCIAC schedules that really don’t do anyone any good. The Greenwich-Harding game on Saturday comes to mind. Greenwich won 41-0 (on its homecoming).

Greenwich has a big clash up in Danbury this Friday that it would have been better preparing for. If you’re Greenwich, how do you get your team motivated to play Harding? And if you’re Harding, how do you pick your team back up after it takes part in that sort of game?

I’m not trying to sound mean, I’m just saying there needs to be some competitive balance here. Maybe instead of basing the schedules on size alone, strength needs to be put into consideration.

Then of course you’ll have some coaches say they have no chance to make the CIAC playoffs because they have to play too tough a schedule, and a string of 5-5 seasons could create a lack of interest in football.

What do you think? As the FCIAC football schedule good, bad, or somewhere in the middle?

Popularity: 10% [?]

The New Canaan Rams are still in the top spot after Week 2 in the Bill Gonillo 5 poll of Fairfield County media members.

New Canaan received 16 of the 18 first-place votes. Masuk and Ridgefield received one first-place vote each.

Rounding out the Top 5 are Greenwich, Masuk, Staples and King, which overthrew Shelton for the fifth spot.

The Bill Gonillo 5 poll is a media ranking of the top teams in Fairfield County. All FCIAC and SWC schools, plus FAA, CSC and SCC teams based in Fairfield County, are on the ballot for consideration.

Ballots are totaled on a 10-8-6-4-2-1 formula.

The poll is named in honor of Bill Gonillo, the former News 12 sports anchor who died in September 2007 from complications related to diabetes. The poll also supports the American Diabetes Association’s mission to find a cure for and raise awareness of the disease, which affects 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population.

You can join Team Gonillo, which will participate in Step Out, Walk to Fight Diabetes, this Sunday at New Canaan High School (or make a donation to the team) by clicking this link. Please come and support our cause.

Also receiving votes: Ridgefield (1) 22, Pomperaug 17, St. Joseph 11, Stamford 11, Bridgeport Central 9, Trumbull 9, Shelton 8, Darien 2, St. Luke’s 2, Trinity Catholic 1, Fairfield Warde 1.

Voters: Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Bob Birge (Coaches Aid), Damian Andrew (News12), Dan Farrand (freelancer), Dave Stewart (New Canaan Advertiser), Henry Chisholm (Connecticut Post), Jason Intrieri (freelancer), Matt Levine (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM), John Nash (Stamford Times/Wilton Villager), Matt Norlader (New Canaan News-Review/Darien News), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Pat Pickens (Fairfield Citizen), Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post), Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Sean Kilkelly (WGCH-AM), Tim Parry (FCIAC Football Blog), Tom Renner (Examiner.com), Zachary Eastright (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM)

Popularity: 9% [?]

The New Canaan Rams took the top spot after Week 1 in the Bill Gonillo 5 poll of Fairfield County media members.

New Canaan received 14 of the 16 first-place votes. Greenwich, Masuk, Staples and Shelton rounded out the Top 5.

The Bill Gonillo 5 poll is a media ranking of the top teams in Fairfield County. All FCIAC and SWC schools, plus FAA, CSC and SCC teams based in Fairfield County, are on the ballot for consideration.

The poll is named in honor of Bill Gonillo, the former News 12 sports anchor who died in September 2007 from complications related to diabetes. The poll also supports the American Diabetes Association’s mission to find a cure for and raise awareness of the disease, which affects 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population.

You can join Team Gonillo, which will participate in Step Out, Walk to Fight Diabetes, on Oct. 4 at New Canaan High School (or make a donation to the team) by clicking this link.

Also receiving votes: Bridgeport Central Hilltoppers (20), King Vikings (15), Ridgefield Tigers (14), Notre Dame-Fairfield (10), Trumbull Eagles (10), Darien Blue Wave (4), Fairfield Warde Mustangs (4), Bunnell Bulldogs (2), Norwalk Bears (2), St. Joseph Cadets (2), Brookfield Bobcats (1), Newtown Nighthawks (1).

Voters: Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Bob Birge (Coaches Aid), Damian Andrew (News12), Dan Farrand (freelancer), Eliot Schickler (Westport News), Jason Intrieri (freelancer), Matt Levine (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Pat Pickens (Fairfield Citizen), Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post), Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Sean Kilkelly (WGCH-AM), Tim Parry (FCIAC Football Blog), Tom Renner (Examiner.com), Zachary Eastright (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM)

Popularity: 9% [?]

The New Canaan Rams open the 2009 season as the top team in the Bill Gonillo 5 poll of Fairfield County media members.

New Canaan received 11 of the 12 first-place votes, and the Shelton Gaels received the other first-place vote.

The Bill Gonillo 5 poll is a media ranking of the top teams in Fairfield County. All FCIAC and SWC schools, plus FAA, CSC and SCC teams based in Fairfield County, are on the ballot for consideration.

The poll is named in honor of Bill Gonillo, the former News 12 sports anchor who died in September 2007 from complications related to diabetes. The poll also supports the American Diabetes Association’s mission to find a cure for and raise awareness of the disease, which affects 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population.

You can join Team Gonillo, which will participate in Step Out, Walk to Fight Diabetes, on Oct. 4 at New Canaan High School (or make a donation to the team) by clicking this link.

Also receiving votes: Darien Blue Wave (21); King Vikings (13); Ridgefield Tigers (10); Trumbull Eagles (10); Stamford Black Knights (9); Bridgeport Central Hilltoppers (8); Brookfield Bobcats (5); Danbury Hatters (4); Brusnwick Bruins (1); Bunnell Bulldogs (1); Joel Barlow Falcons (1); Newtown Nighthawks (1).

Voters: Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Bob Birge (Coaches Aid), Dan Farrand (freelancer), Dave Ruden (Stamford Advocate), Jason Intrieri (freelancer), John Nash (Stamford Times/Wilton Villager), Matt Norlander (New Canaan News-Review/Darien News-Review), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Sean Kilkelly (WGCH-AM), Tim Parry (FCIAC Football Blog), Zachary Eastright (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM)

Popularity: 8% [?]