DEA Bedford Over 30

The imposing, firey Chris LaBerge was named Captain for the 2007 Spring Season in a unanimous vote. LaBerge's selfless play, on field coaching, and the ability to stir things up when necessary were the factors most referenced when casting the vote. LaBerge will be called in to play virtually every position in the upcoming campaign. The ability to tailor his skills depending on where he is on the pitch allows DEA to get the maximum amount of minutes for every player, while not sacrificing the quality of play. When DEA needs a good kick in the arse, LaBerge is there to do so. An imposing presence in either box, he can dominate in the air and is a threat from all over. He will be tasked in keeping DEA in line, their head's in the game, and most of all to win. DEA wishes to congratulate Mr. LaBerge on this honor.

Jim Cloutier, one-time GM of the Cote Improvements & Bedford Soccer Club franchises that were forebearers of today's DEA Conglomorate, died recently after a short illness. He was 67. Mr. Cloutier, the patriarch of the trio of Cloutiers who roamed the pitch for much of the 80's and 90's, ruled with an iron fist. Content to silently sit on the sidelines with his Black Russians in his hand, he would save his words of wisdom for after the matches. His personna was similar to that of the Raiders leader, Al Davis. He coined the phrase "Just win, goddammit." Cloutier spent countless hours in the Caribbean in search of the speed and tenacity that was sometimes missing from the franchise. We are not sure if he ever actually signed anyone on these missions, but he certainly spent a lot of time looking. Of course, much of that time was only looking from a beach chair, but he looked nonetheless. Cloutier was one of the only non-playing members to be allowed to wear DEA apparel, and he wore it proudly. He will be sorely missed by many.

DEA's return to Division One comes with the return to completely re-designed Legacy Field for the upcoming 2007 OTHSL Spring Season. After their most successful season in their OTHSL history, DEA was rewarded with a promotion to the upper echelon of the League. They had a quick stay in their last go of it, crashing out after a single season. DEA looks in better position to make some noise this time, as DEA Management pulled out all the stops and securing a solid roster in every position. They are so solid, even the sideline grill is manned. At the forwards, DEA will lead of 2006 Offensive Player of the Year, Willie Mungere. Willie's 7 goals scored set the team rookie scoring record. He is usually teamed with Chris LaBerge, the towering target man up top. Gary DuPlessis will continue to provide solid, dirty work required and can also chip in with a few goals. Willie Davis is a speedy threat with a cannon shot, and a player who get minutes when available. Kurt Englehart is also a player who will see some action on occasion Currently, DEA is still in negotiation to ensure the return of their gunslinger, all-time DEA leading scorer Jeff Bailey. His status is still listed officially as "UC". At the midfield, DEA looks to shine. Their "Midfield of Aces", is the Galacticos of the OTHSL. Led by their General, Elvis Zukovic, DEA will also have the deadly scoring ability of the sniper-like Ryan Carvalho and the team quarterback, Jerold White. All three play with a touch of audaciousness and also the capability to control the flow of the game. That is just the start. Barry Fitzgerald is the ideal right midfielder, and he'll have help on the left with Mike Fieden and Rob Cissel. This season will also see the much anticipated arrival of Christian Gagnon, the slippery player who manned the midfield for many years on the DEA Summer League team. Christian will see action at virtually every midfield position during the season. The backfield looks to be solid as well. Chris Florek is still slated to make his return after the nasty ankle injury he suffered last fall. Florek has been on the shelf for the entire winter, having been on the "Physically Unable to Perform" list while recouperating. Flo' will be paired with Tom "Bomber" Labonville, the lanky backfield ball winner who is just a tackling machine. Defensive Rookie of the Year, Chris Jones, will have a spell in the middle, but will spend much of his time locking down the right side. Longtime DEA veterans Peter Cline, Jon and Chris Cloutier can also be counted on the see action in either the back or mid-fields. One card DEA plans to have ready to play that they couldn't last trip to Division One is All-World keeper Lucas Hill. Lucas only played a couple of games last time, but he should be ready to go with another solid showing. He can be the difference between a 3-2 loss and a 2-1 win. Chris Cloutier will stand between the pipes and fetch the ball for goal kicks when Lucas isn't there. If it hasn't been noticed yet, there are some names missing here. Scott Sharby, the last of the Original Pacers, has been sent to the glue facto...I mean, has been allocated to the O-40's. DEA wishes to acknowledge Scott on his many years of outstanding service and ability. Second, John Demeritt will be joining Scott. JD's runs out of the backfield are surely nothing that has been seen in the Masters Divsion, and he will be a threat. Last, our fearless Leader, Dale Dubois, has also allocated himself to the Ole' Timers. Dale isn't dying, in fact it looks like he's arranging the schedule so he can drink for our game before going out to play his own game. It's still going to be weird for at least this guy not to have Dale in front of me yelling "Dale's Ball." Again...the Masters have no idea what is in store for them. The schedule is close to official. Look for updates soon. This should be an exciting season. Fox Sports World has purchased the rights for all 2007 home games. The road games will still be televised by their local affiliate. The rebuilt Legacy Field hasn't seen a boot in almost two years. The Town of Bedford completely tore down the field, fixed the Marianas Trench in the middle, widened it, lengenthed it, and cleaned around the exterior. One can only hope it plays as well as the Joppa Field International Airport DEA had at their disposal last year. Early returns are promising. As the Head Groundskeeper, Carl Spackler mentioned recently, "This field is a cross, ah, of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 180 minutes on it in the morninng, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff." So, we got alot going for us. Talented roster and a great pitch. Which is nice.

DEA Management has begun a roster review. Player invitations should be sent out shortly.

DEA held their Awards Gala at the Ritz Carlton this evening, a black-tie affair that always brings celebrities and other back-pages starlets to hob-knob with the players. This year's MC, Heidi Klum, commented that there was a bigger crowd that last year's Oscars. We aren't sure it was quite that big, but the house was certainly packed. So, onto the winners: OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Willie Mungere. Slick Willie tallied 8 goals and assisted on 6 others, and played in every match. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chris Jones. Jonesy filled in at sweeper when called upon, and typically played all ninety at the wingback as he was DEA's most reliable defender all year. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: This voting was tough, as both Slick Willie and Jonesy were rookies, and certainly deserved consideration. In fact, they for second for the award in an extremely close vote. The winner of the award went to Jerold White. Jerold was all over the pitch this year, contributing offensively with 5 goals and spearheading the attack with his flawless quarterbacking skills. GOALIE OF THE YEAR: Lucas Hill again won the award unanimously. His steller play all season allowed DEA to make the jump back to Division 1. FANS OF THE YEAR: The Laberge clan again was at every home gain and a few road games too. Every wife who contributed eats for the games gets a mention, as well as Jonesy's for baking muffins on her anniversary. WOW! GOAL OF THE YEAR: Elvis Zukovic's tremendous strike that whistled by Ipswich's stunned keeper to give DEA the improbable comeback win got the nod after much debate. DEA looks to be well-staffed in their return to Division 1. After dropping a few players who lacked the quality needed, and picked up some players who are both skillful and responsible, DEA had an excellent year and should feel proud of their achievments. Dropping a tough one to the Rovers in the playoffs was a disapointment, but DEA can sleep nights knowing they have a quality squad and will be competing with the upper echelon of the OTHSL instead of wallowing in Division 2 again. GREAT SEASON EVERYONE!!!!!