At 8:01 PM 10/11/95, Sean Pickett wrote:
>Then Mike Machnik wrote:
>
>> I would have trouble labeling the BU-CM connection a myth when I
>> have heard coaches and scouts talk about it.  But it is more like a
>> pipeline than a monopoly.  I should not have used the word monopoly;
>> I meant to convey the idea that if a CM kid is good and BU is
>> seriously interested in him, he is usually not interested in anyone
>> else.
>
>Just because it is talked about does not make it a pipeline, although
>the talk does reinforce the idea in peoples minds.  I dispute it is a
>pipeline, and I have more to say below.  On the matter of whether CM
>players would like to play for BU, I have no idea.
 
Well, the reason it is talked about is because to these people, who
certainly know the game, it does exist.  I don't believe they refer to it
with the intent of reinforcing any idea in people's minds.  It is simply
mentioned as matter of fact.  Of course, you do not have to agree with
them; that is fine and you have presented a cogent argument for your case.
 
>> Clearly, this is true.  However, it is also true that CM produces
>> more of the best non-private players in Mass than any other HS.
>
>I am not sure what Mike means here, as I thought CM was private.  At
>least I have always assumed that all the Catholic schools in the
>state are private.
 
No, not in the way that the term applies to New England high school hockey.
CM is a Catholic school.  Technically it is a private school, but when we
talk about "private" in terms of high school hockey, we mean prep and
private schools like Governor Dummer, St Mark's, Belmont Hill, etc. -
schools (usually boarding schools unlike the Catholics) that play each
other exclusively and do not play against the publics or Catholics except
on very rare occasions (my Catholic HS played Belmont Hill in a scrimmage
when I was a senior).
 
Perhaps the best way of looking at it is that the publics and Catholics in
Mass are affiliated with the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic
Association), while the privates/preps are not.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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