If you were hoping this post would have good news, think again. But it's not all bad, I guess.

First, the nut-graph: We will soon raise our price on 99-cent downloads ot $1.49 - for schools/leagues that do not use our services for their posed photos, the price will go to $2.49.

Here's why: The company that hosts our website - smug mug - has decided to raise the cost it charges us for downloads by 50 cents. Wish it weren't true and wish we could absorb the fee increase, but as you can imagine our profit on a 99-cent download isn't a lot.

When will this happen: Short answer - any second now. Long answer: We were told the price change was to begin March 1. It didn't happen. But I'm told it will happen. Soon. And when it does, our prices will jump as soon as we can make the changes to the galleries.

So, if you want to lock in those 99-cent rates, I'd suggest you act soon.

(Remember, not all galleries have 99-cent downloads, especially galleries more than a two years old. If you want to know if a gallery qualifies, email me the name of the team and I can tell you quickly.)

Of course, another complicating factor is that many of our galleries are not listed because of our new website design. There are over 1,000 galleries we need to re-catagorize and it's taking forever to do that. It will get done at some point, but not soon.

However, all is not lost. We have a new search feature at the top of the website that works like a dream to find galleries. Simply type in the name of the team you are lookinf for and the list of the galleries with that team name in the title will appear.

For instance, say you want to find all BFA-St. Albans girls hockey photos from 2012. Type in BFA-St. Albans 2012 and you will find these, and probably some other BFA games, but you'll find your galleries soon enough.

A couple of hints on searching - we always use the proper school name in our gallery titles and not the mascot, i.e. BFA-St. Albans, BFA-Fairfax, not Comets, Bullets, Rockets, etc ... Also, we always put the year in title, so searches for Richford 2012 should yield great results. Sometimes we put the sport in the title - we will do so for all galleries moving forward, but it's possible a search for Enosburg girls soccer 2012 might not yield results, but Enosburg 2012 will - you will just have to search for the girls soccer galleries.

Make sense? If you have any questions, email shawn@coldhollowphoto.com

Thanks for visiting the blog!

Shawn

Some of you might have noticed we have changed the look of our website - www.coldhollowphoto.com - and while we are hopeful in the long term that it will be a change for the better, at present this process is not going as well as expected and the site is, for all intents and purposes, unusable.

Moreover, this is not likely to change until st least Wednesday.

Rest assured, all of the photos we have taken over the years are still going to be accessible in the future, but for right now they are not.

I apologize for the situation, but it's out of my control until I return.

If you would like to be notified when the site is functional again, please email me - shawn@coldhollowphoto.com and I'll shoot you an email to let you know when this occurs.

Thanks for your patience with this process, but we are hopeful that these growing pains will eventually lead us to a website that is better organized and easier to use in the future.

Thanks!

It's been an, um, interesting experience so far.

I'm not a good flyer. It's been 17 years since I've boarded a plane - coincidentally that was also to Alaska. That trip was memorable for a few reasons: My luggage ripped apart on the tarmac in front of my eyes as I sat helplessly watching from on board; we lost about 100 pounds of salmon and hailbut when the airlines lost the fish in transit and I got married. At least one good thing happened, I guess.

Actually, that trip was a complete blast, but that doesn't make for interesting reading.

Oh, and by the way, the airline was United.

I'm flying United again this time. For the last time.

The day began innocently enough with a 3:30 wake-up call, a quick shuttle to the airport and then a 35 minute wait on the plane as it was deiced.

OK, I'm getting ahead of myself. I also broke the airline x-ray machine.

When it was my turn to run my shoes, wallet and the rest of my gear through the x-ray machine, it broke. I was then hustled over, in various stages of undress and rising states of duress, to a back-up machine.

Eventually, I was deemed airworthy and boarded a plane.

Now I'm no small guy, I know that. I'm at least 50 pounds heavier than when I last flew - which means I've only gained a few pounds each year since then (it doesn't seem so bad when I phrase it that way). At any rate, I digress.

When I walked onto the plane my breath was taken away by how small the plane was. Immediately, my face went flush and I staggered a step heading to my seat.

It took me a while to adjust, but I didn't have a seat mate and so it was actually quite comfortable. I began to think this was not going to be nearly as streessful as I first thought.

Then the pilot came on the intercom and uttered a couple of phrases I didn't want to hear: 'Slight delay' and 'de-icing the plane.'

I had an hour between when my plane was to land and my flight to Seattle. Now I had 25 minutes, tops. And I had no idea what to do or where to go when I got there.

Moreover, if the plane needed de-icing then there was a better chance my prediction for this trip - dying in a fireball in a field in Topeka - would come true. Did I mention, I'm not a good flyer? I think the airline terminology is: Pansy Boy. Or on international flights: Wuss.

Again, I digress.

Finally, we were ice-free - I had to take them for their word, but I wasn't convinced - and the captain came on with more good news.

"Expect a few bumps."

Ahhh ... turbulence. What white-knuckle infrequent flyer doesn't want to hear those words.

It was indeed turbulent, but I just closed my eyes, said my good-byes and turned up the Tony Kornheiser Show podcast that was the only thing allowing me to maintain my tenuous grip on sanity.

The take-off was terrifying, of course. I get freaked out on a Ferris Wheel, so you can imagine how much I enjoyed a bumpy ascent into the wild blue.

But then the strangest thing happened - I opened my eyes and I was still alive.

Off to my right, the most beautiful full moon was visble along with pretty little white puffs of clouds that would do the The Simpson theme song proud. It was awe-inspiring and I was happy that one of my last experiences would be one of such natural beauty.

To my infinite amazement, I really enjoyed the next hour in the air. The air up higher was more serene and occasionally I didn't even remember that at any moment that propeller 15 feet from my right ear could shear off and sent me hurtling to my demise.

For a while I felt like I was looking at Google Earth, only without subtitles. I also was amazed at much world there was down there. I've never been south of Philly before today and the last time I was more than 250 miles from my home was ... honestly, I have no idea.

Of course, Mr. Goodnews in the cockpit put an end to my fleeting moments of introspective bliss. 'A rough ride down. Winds on the ground 25 mph. Secure all personal effects.'

Egads. I closed my eyes for most of the decent, but did sneak a peak as we approached the runway - I wanted to see Washington D.C. once before I became a part of the runway. (I'm REALLY not a good flier.)

I didn't see the president or Tony Kornheiser, the only two people I know who live in the District, upon our descent, but at least we landed - thanks, of course, to my sending positive reinforcements telepathically to my best friend/nemesis at the controls. (You GOT this, man! You can do it. Who's a good pilot? You are. Yes, you're good pilot - why I began treating him like a dog after a fetch I have no idea, but hey, it worked, didn't it?)

All that remained was for me to get from point A to point B. Or more correctly, From Gate A to Gate C. Which sounds like it would be that far. I mean, how long is a letter? Apparently, too long.

I should have known I was in trouble when the passengers behind me began to wonder how long it would take to get re-booked on a later flight. The answer is 75 minutes.

Still, I didn't know that then and I bravely speed-walked toward Gate C - wherever the freak that was.

Fortunately, I had company.

About a half dozen of us were all trying to catch the same connection. Mr. Fitness - who works on a tug boat - led the way in a dead sprint. Show off.

Harry and Maude Everyman trailed the main pack that included me, Mrs. Whinypants and cute little Miss Vancouver, an adorable Asian 20-something who works in the medical field in some capacity. Honestly, I wasn't listening that close, but she was pleasant, patient and we had a very enjoyable conversation about places she had been and how much I am afraid of flying.

I'm not sure why she was no nice to me. I'd like to think it was because I reminded her of a friendly old uncle, who just happened not be Asian. It's probably closer to the truth that she pitied me. Either way, it worked out well for me.

For as delightful as Miss Vancouver was, Mrs. Whinypants was not.

She arrived at the boarding gate a few minutes after I did - I left her and the Everymans in the dust about halfway through the terminal. And when she was told the same thing that I, Mr. Fitness and Miss Vancouver were told - sorry folks, planes closed - go to customer service - she let out a small wail.

Second later she was behind me. Panting from the long walk and fuming. Apparently, she had more reason to get on that plane than anyone else in the airport. I didn't get the name of which royal family she was from, but I'm guessing it was from the House of Bitch and Moan.

Because that's what she did for the next 10 minutes until everyone around her cut her a swath of about 5 feet - not easy to do tactfully while standing in line.

Finally, one of the customer service people called her out and basically told her to shut up. I didn't hear them say sit down, but that's what she did and then she got out her cellphone and told the same sob story to three different people, all of whom must be really glad to have her as a friend.

Finally, after 75 minutes it was my turn to get re-booked. A pleasant fellow named Carlyle tried his best, but his best was to get me on a plane eight hours after my previously scheduled depature.

And that, my friends, is where my trip to Alaska stands at 11:36 a.m. at the Samsumg power charging station just outside of Gate C-28.

Assuming I survive the rest of the trip, I will post updates as time allows. But not tonight. I'm now scheduled to arrive in Seattle at 8:11 PST and then exactly one hour later I hope to board a flight that will deposit my tired old ass in Anchorage a few minutes before the stroke of midnight Alaska Standard time.

Ciao for now!

SASA poses with their trophy

MAHA struck first with a goal by Adrianna Dotsie, assisted by Savannah Fellows, just 20 seconds into the game.

Julia Knight, who finished with two goals and an assist, tied the score 2:37 later, assisted by Meghan Connor and Elizabeth Dukas.

Dotsie connected again for the Thunderbirds at the 6:22 mark, assisted by Fellows and Renee Bouchard, for a 2-1 lead.

Knight tied the game at 8:13 of the first period, with assists from Lizzie Hill and Emma Lovelette.

Lovelette put the Saints on top for keeps with an unassisted goal 4:57 in the second period.

MAHA poses with their trophy

Grace Adamczak then tallied for SASA at the 6:53 mark, assisted by Knight.

Connor wrapped up the scoring with 3:09 left in the second period, assisted by Sydney Tabor.

Maddie Hungerford was the SASA goalie and Makayla Bombardier worked between the pipes for the T-Birds.

SASA Saints team members were: Sydney Tabor, Mckenna Remillard, Meghan Connor, Chloe Rouleau, Julia Knight, Maddie Hungerford, Maddie Curtis, Abby Casey, Lizzie Hill, Cam Hemingway, Grace Adamczak, Emma Lovelette, Hailey Savage and Elizabeth Dukas. The team was coached by Jeff Rouleau, Jen Savage, Brad Curtis and Maura Hemingway.

MAHA T-Birds team members were: Renee Bouchard, Makayla Bombardier, Adrianna Dotsie, Savannah Fellows, Abbey Besstte, Makayla Young, Madison Conley, Brianna Conger, Brianna Parent, Lora Fresn, Jenna Bourdeau. The team was coached by Paul Fellows, Mike Conger and Mandy Bouchard.

As the title to this blog infers, I'm trying to bribe you to like the site with a free sports image from my website.

Here's the deal: Click the like button on our Facebok page and I'll give you any sports image off our website.

It's that simple. To get your free image - which will be emailed to you - email me: shawn@coldhollowphoto.com and say you liked our page and I'll get you your favorite sports image from my website.

MAHA's Brianna Conger and SASA's Chloe Rouleau pass each other along the boards in Saturday's game.

St. Albans took a 1-0 lead on Elizabeth Dukas' goal at 10:39 of the first period.

The Saints made it 2-0 on Sydney Tabor's goal, assisted by Grace Adamczak and Chloe Rouleau, with 8:34 gone in the third period and Meghan Connor scored an unassisted goal with 4:04 to round out the scoring.

The U-14 MAHA girls, the SASA Squirt As and SASA Midgets are alsoin action Saturday. If I get a report from any of those games, I'll pass it along here at some point. The quickest updates will be made through out twitter account @coldhollowphoto and on my personal Facebook page (Shawn Corrow)

SASA U-10 girls celebrate a goal.

Saturday, the SASA Squirt A Leafs play with a chance to win the state championship with a win at Carins. The game begins at 10:40 a.m., weather permitting. If the Leafs lose, the winner-take-all game is Sunday at 8:30 a.m.

On Tuesday, the Squirts team remained unbeaten with a 5-2 win over Essex in the six-team tournament.

Mason Yandow had four goals and Connor Wood had one. Tyler Laroche earned the win in net for the Leafs, who are off until Saturday when they play the winner of a game between Essex and Burlington at 10:40 a.m.

At 10:10 Saturday morning, the MAHA U-12 Thunderbirds girls team plays the SASA U-10 girls at the Collins-Perley rink for a chance to win the U-12 AB state championship.

If the SASA Saints win, the winner-take-all championship game is Sunday at 8 a.m.

The Thunderbirds advanced to the final round with a win over CSB on Feb. 19.

CSB beat SASA in the first game of the three-team tournament, but the Saints prevailed 3-0 in the rematch on Thursday night.

Elizabeth Dukas, Julia Knight and Cameryne Hemingway scored for the Saints and Maddie Hungerford worked the shutout in goal.

In the five-team U-14 AB girls tournament, the MAHA Thunderbirds will play in the semifinals against Northshire at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in Middlebury. SASA also competed in the tournament.

The four-team midget state tournament begins Saturday in St. Albans. The Leafs play Wolf Pack at 4:10 p.m.

In tournaments that have been completed:

In the state Squirt B tournament, the Milton Youth Hockey Association Warriors won the state title on Feb. 19 after advancing out of the North Division playdown with 2-0 record, outscoring opponents 7-1. St. Albans went 0-1-1 and did not advance.

On Thursday, the SASA Peewee A team lost to CSB 3-0 in the state title game.

St. Albans earned a trip to the finals Tuesday night with a a 7-2 win over Essex at the Collins-Perley rink.

Cooper Cioffi had three goals and an assist, Logan Stanislas and Isaac Cioffi each had a goal and two assists, Keegan Morin had a goal and an assist and Cam Beattie also scored. Keegan Streeter had two assists and Owen Hungerford, Jacob Hall and Brent Boissoneault each had one assist. Goalie stats were not kept, but Stephen Peebles was stellar in goal.

SASA led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before scoring the final four goals in the third period.

SASA Peewees

Thursday night, the SASA U-14 A girls bowed out of their tournament in the championship game, losing to Rutland, 4-2.

Both SASA goals were both scored by Elena Brigham. The first goal was assisted by Maddy Dean and Aliza Ellis and the second goal was assisted by Dean. Gabi Metz was the SASA netminder.

On Tuesday night, SASA bowed out of the Bantam A tournament at Essex after a 3-2 loss to the hosts in the semifinal round.

Hunter Kirouac had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who led 1-0 after one period and who later rallied to tie the game at 2-2 on Cameron Russell’s goal 6:44 into the third period. Sam Shorey assisted on the first score. Goalie stats were not kept, but Ben Lovelette was brilliant in net.

SASA finished runners up in the Bantam AB tournament with a 3-2 record.

In the state Squirt AB tournament that concluded with a Stowe win on Feb. 18, the Missisquoi Amateur Hockey Association Thunderbirds picked up a triple-overtime win in their game, but dropped their next two games.

In the 11-team Peewee AB tournament, MAHA won three games and lost two and Milton won two games and lost two.

In the 10-team Peewee B tournament, SASA won its first game, but dropped its next two.

In the nine-team Bantam B tournament, SASA lost its two games. MAHA lost its first game, but the on-line tournament bracket does not have a result for their second game. They did not advance to the medal round.

The SASA U-12 A girls dropped both of its tournament games.

Again, if I have made some factual errors, please let me know and I'll correct them.

The first year, the sport was a demonstration sport. In 2007, the first state championship was awarded to Springfield.

South Burlington goes through it's practice routine / Shawn Corrow, coldhollowphoto.com

Other past champs are South Burlington (2008), Burr and Burton (2009 and 2011) and Colchester (2010).

There are three genres of dance championships awarded: Pom, Jazz and Hip Hop.

Teams can compete in two genres. The team with the highest combined score for both dances wins the state title.

There are five judges for each dance. The top and bottom scores are thrown out. The maximum score for each judge is 100. The combined scored of the remaining three judges is combined for a total score of a maximum of 300. According to event chair Sean Farrell, South Burlington has posted the high score in the regular season, scoring nearly 280 points.

Eleven schools are competing - Arlington, BFA-St. Albans, Burr and Burton, Colchester, Lamoille, Middlebury, MVU, Mount Anthony, Mount Mansfield, South Burlington and Springfield.

The largest team is MMU with 21 dancers listed on its roster; MVU has just 5.

South Burlington goes through it's practice routine / Shawn Corrow, coldhollowphoto.com

Here's the scoring matrix:

Teams could score as many as 100 points based on five categories: Communication and projection (10 possible points); choreography (40 possible points, 10 each for appropriateness to genre, difficulty and creativity; five points each for formations/transitions and the way the dance compliments the music; group execution (25 possible points, 10 each for synchronization, timing with the music and five points for spacing; dance technique (20 possible points, 10 each for rhythm and body control/placement; five points for image of a high school dance team in regards to appropriateness of music, lyrics, movement and apparel.

The three athletes were chosen in a statewide vote of the VSSA membership after being nominated by VSSA members, said VSSA President George Commo.

Iannotti, the undisputed leader of the Mount Anthony girls basketball team, earned the VSSA’s Female High School Athlete of the Month honor. The double-double machine and former Dream Dozen pick averaged 21 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in five December games. The versatile scoring threat tallied 27 points in the Patriots’ 61-58 loss to Rice on Dec. 17, and 26 points (including five three-pointers) in a 20-point win against Spaulding on Dec. 30.

Also nominated for the girls’ award were Vergennes senior wrestler Cara Strona and three hockey players: North Country freshman Whitney Bernier, Colchester sophomore Erin Turner and Burr & Burton senior Brooke Sabol.

St. Amour, the VSSA’s Male High School Athlete of the Month, became one of the youngest Vermont high school basketball players to reach the 1,000-point mark when he scored 34 points in this winter’s sixth game.

St. Amour scored 213 points in seven December contests for an average of 30.4 points, a pace that if maintained would have him join just eight other Vermonters in reaching 2,000 points. His month included a 40-point opening performance and a 22-for-23 night at the foul line against North Country.

St. Amour outpolled two other basketball players, Mount Anthony junior Aaryngton Bibens and Arlington junior Alex Hawley; two hockey goalies, Essex senior Pat Campbell and St. Johnsbury’s Chris O’Donnell; and St. Johnsbury senior track and field athlete Sullivan Kiley.

Sharry, a preseason NCAA Division III All-American pick and team captain, earned Open Division Athlete of the Month Honors. In December, Sharry returned from an injury suffered in the last practice before the Panthers’ first game to help lead undefeated Middlebury to a 4-0 month and the program's first-ever No. 1 ranking, and reached the 1,000-point scoring plateau.

In those four games, including a 17-minute stint in his first game back, Sharry averaged 17.75 points, 8.75 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 57.4 percent from the floor. Sharry reached the 1,000-point mark in the team’s Dec. 29 win over Curry.

Also nominated for the Open Division honor were Castleton State sophomore hockey goalie Erick Cinotti, Norwich University freshman women’s basketball player Aliah Curry, and Colchester eighth-grade football player Ryan Casey.

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Here are your Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association High School Division Athletes of the Month for October 2011. The Open Division Winner will be announced next Sunday evening.

Female
SAMANTHA ROCK, SENIOR, MILTON, SOCCER ... Rock scored half of Milton's 32 goals in October and added two assists, helping the Yellowjackets go undefeated in the month and earn the #1 seed in Division II. Her 16 goals came in just seven games. Only once in the month did she have a game without two goals (that came in the first round of the playoffs, when she scored four). She scored six goals in Milton's two October playoff games, including her 66th career goal in the Yellowjackets' playdown to set the all time scoring record for Milton.

Male
DOUG SAFFO, JUNIOR, BFA-ST. ALBANS, FOOTBALL Saffo piled up 930 yards in five games in October, scoring 10 touchdowns as BFA-St. Albans went 5-0 to wrap up the second seed in Division I and roll past Rutland in the first round of the playoffs. Behind a line that lost three starters from a year ago, Saffo's TDs included runs of 38, 44, 58, 59, 62 and 80 yards. His month was highlighted by a 341-yard effort and three scores on a muddy night in a 41-18 rout of Essex.

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