Denard Robinson (center) became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 2,500 yards and rush for 1,500 yards in a single season in 2010. He is pictured above in the Wolverines’ 40-34 victory over Ohio State this past season. Photo courtesy of University of Michigan Photo Services

By Gary Curreri

Denard Robinson has been making a name for himself on the football field since he was a member of the Deerfield Beach Packer Rattlers.

However, not by his birth name of Denard Xavier Robinson, but “Shoelace,” a nickname he got when he was 10 and playing for his Pee Wee team with his shoelaces untied. That practice has still continued to this day and Robinson hasn’t been tripped up from making noise on the college gridiron.

Robinson, who led the University of Michigan to an 11-2 record this year and a 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl Championship as he threw for two TDs in a 23-20 overtime victory over Virginia Tech at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, recently announced he would forgo the NFL draft to return to school for his senior year.

“It’s been a dream to play in the NFL, and, hopefully, after next year, that becomes a reality,” Robinson said. “But, I wouldn’t pass up being here with my teammates and coaches for anything. It’s my second family. I love my teammates. I love Michigan.”

“Seeing how the seniors led our team this year, I want to be that type of leader,” Robinson added. “We made steps and had a good season, but we didn’t accomplish our No. 1 goal. We’re still hungry.”

Robinson, who threw for 2,173 yards and ran for 1,176 in his first season under new coach Brady Hoke, is one of the early favorites for the Heisman Trophy.

From his Pee Wee coach Sammie Huggins to his Deerfield Beach High School football coach Art Taylor, his coaches knew they had a special athlete in Robinson, the son of Thomas Robinson, Sr., and Dorothea Robinson.

“He listened,” Huggins said. “That was the difference … Denard’s attitude was always great. That’s why you knew he’s going to go somewhere.”

In his junior year (2007) at Deerfield Beach High School, Robinson was one yard short of taking the Bucks to the state championship game and an upset victory over the nation’s No. 1 ranked team, Miami Northwestern.

Taylor marveled at the athleticism and the leadership of Robinson.

“As soon as he stepped on that field his sophomore year playing varsity, we knew we had something special,” Taylor recalled. He also laughed at the nickname. “After 25 years coaching, if the kid can throw it 90 yards in the air and is accurate and the kid can run as fast as he does … as long as he feels comfortable not lacing his shoes, fine with me. The kid’s been doing it all his life, why mess with it?”

Robinson has made quite an impression at Michigan as well. He became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 2,500 yards and rush for 1,500 yards in a single season in 2010, and just the fourth player in NCAA history to gain 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing in a season twice in his career (2010, ’11) – joining Missouri’s Brad Smith, UAB’s Joe Webb and Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick.

There is even a YouTube video out, put together by The Friars, an a capella group at the University of Michigan, that is a unique way of honoring the Wolverines quarterback.

During a concert on Dec. 3, the group performed a parody of Simon & Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson, set to the Michigan star. To view it, go to: tinyurl.com/72pklav

UPDATE 8:52PM

Five apartments are uninhabitable and the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team is assisting  with the displaced residents

Broward Sheriff FIre Rescue units responded to a 2-alarm fire at the Lime Tree apartments .The first call came in around 6:40 p.m. Monday Jan 23. Firefighters made an aggressive attack on the fire, declaring it out in about 20 minutes. Primary and secondary searches were conducted however no victims were found. One patient is being treated for a medical condition. There was heavy smoke in the structure which required ventilation while firefighters checked for any extension of fire.

The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshals Bureau and the State Fire Marshal’s Office will conduct the cause and origin investigation

 see video after the knockdown on ObserverTV

By Andrea Freygang

He was a fine American. For the man known for recognizing fellow Americans, that is how Firefighter Bill Elliott will be remembered. Elliott, 49, died in the line of duty on Friday, Jan. 6 when he fell from the top of a 100-ft. aerial fire truck during a training exercise in Pompano Beach. Elliott served 22 years as a firefighter with the department and is the department’s first on-duty death. Bill was previously with the Lighthouse Point Fire Department for seven years, making him a 29-year veteran of the fire service.

Fellow firefighters and personal friends Mike Anderson and John Butler were two of the thousands that showed up at Elliott’s family home after his death.  The duo explained how their friend Bill Elliott always ended conversations telling people they were fine Americans. In the aftermath of his death, many remembered what a fine American Elliott was.

“It sounds like a cliché, but he was the epitome of a good firefighter—everyone respected him in Pompano Beach,” said Firefighter Stan Babinski, who worked with him in Pompano Beach before moving to the Lighthouse Point department. “This has just been a total devastation for everyone because he is family.”

Since his death, a non-stop stream of visitors have come from around the state in support, starting with over 200 people who were at the hospital, then filled the home he shared with his brother John Elliott, also a firefighter.

“It was a career that chose him. He was working in Lighthouse Point public works and they asked him to work in either the police or fire. He chose fire,” said his brother. “He was an old-fashioned firefighter—he was hands-on, very mechanical — he could take anything apart.”

John also joined the “brotherhood” at his family’s urging.

“I wanted to be a firefighter when I was a kid though I worked for years in carpentry and finally my mom convinced me to follow my brother’s footsteps,” said John Elliott. “She knew what my dream was as a kid and I saw the camaraderie and brotherhood.”

And that camaraderie is what was helping to carry him through his brother’s death.

“Everyone has helped me get through this whole thing. I knew even after it’s all over, they will still be here to help me,” said John Elliott. “He had more friends than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

The response for the first line-of-duty death in Pompano Beach was incredible.

“It’s unfathomable — so many units from all over the county and all over the state —a few thousand people are expected at his funeral,” said Firefighter Scott Friend. “We’ve lost great people, but never in the line of duty.”

Local beach volleyballers Mark and Steve Van Zwieten (right), said the competition on Deerfield Beach could be fierce. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

With the Ranse Classic and the Red Bull Spiked Tournaments, Deerfield Beach has been making a name for itself both locally, nationally and now internationally as four Olympic teams have recently practiced on the local sand.

The most recent were the Canadian women and Russian men, who have spent the past two weeks at the local beach honing their skills and going through vigorous workouts and even playing against some of the top local competition.

Mark Van Zwieten, 24, of Pompano Beach, has been playing volleyball competitively for the past 15 years and played against the Russian team.

“I started in the backyard when I was 3 and that was because my family was into it,” said Van Zwieten, who graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School in 2005 and led his team to a 31-0 mark and a state championship. He was named the MVP.

“It is really nice that the beach is attracting top teams. It is something that I haven’t utilized as much as I would like to and it is something I am ready to start. I’ll be able to get out here more on weekends.”

Van Zwieten has also excelled on the beach. He has played in four FIVB Beach Volleyball Junior World Championships and competed in the Under 19 Beach Volleyball World Championships in France in 2005.

In October, Mark Van Zwieten and his partner, Andrew Fuller, placed fifth in the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“It’s nice to represent the country,” Van Zwieten said. “I’ve gone to a lot of places through volleyball. The Pan Am games was an amazing event and I got to see the top players from around the world.”

Van Zwieten said the attraction to Deerfield Beach is simple since everything is so close.

“People can come down here and spend the whole day here,” he said. “You could play for a couple of hours, go grab lunch and come back and play some more. You don’t have to go and try and find parking or anything like that.”

The “pickup games” are very competitive.

“It varies throughout the year, but they can get really competitive,” Van Zwieten added. “There are consistently top level players coming through Deerfield and it is nice to see the variety of players from throughout the world.”

His brother, Steve Van Zwieten, 27, of Coconut Creek agreed:

“It is really cool,” said Steve Van Zwieten, who recently played in the USA Cuervo pro tournament with Mike DiPierro and placed 13th after losing to the second ranked team in the U.S. in Nick Lucena (Ft. Lauderdale) and Matt Fuerbringer. Van Zwieten’s wife, Kendra, is also a top player. “Just growing up here and being able to play all over the world. You go to California and Europe. It’s been great. California is definitely a little bit stronger, but everything is spread out. Everything on the east coast is here. Teams from Brazil and teams have come from California come here on a regular basis.”

Steve Van Zwieten believes the sport can continue to grow because of the juniors now playing.

“When I was 18, there was no juniors tour,” Steve Van Zwieten said. “Now, alongside our tour, there are junior kids. The sport is starting to grow, especially with the economy. It is a really cheap sport to play. Here, you just need a ball to play. You have to really be in shape because of the heat and the beach sand …  running around all day.”

Captain Lee Magnuson, who has a court dedicated in his name, helped get the courts built. Now, roughly 100 volleyballers, ranging in age from 14 to 72, will filter through Deerfield Beach on a weekly basis.

“Instead of going to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, they will come to Deerfield Beach,” said Jimmy Mason, 54, who spends four months a year from Michigan. “It has a lot to offer – the restaurants, the pier and seven regulation courts and one futbal court.”

Local veteran volleyballer Hank Hoffman, 70, of Deer-field, said the sport got a boost locally when former Deerfield Beach resident, Cindy Phillips, started with Beach Dig and offered clinics.

Since our family, the Eller family, has lived in Deerfield Beach since 1923, I’ve often been asked to put in writing some of the history of the area, either experienced personally or that I heard from my parents or grandparents. For some of you old timers who might be worried about certain old “scandals,” don’t worry. I won’t be writing about those (smile). To read previous historical essays, go to www.observemewspaperonline.com and click on “The History of Deerfield.”

David Eller, Publisher

Birth of a newspaper

Deerfield Beach got its first newspaper in 1930 called the Deerfield News.

The first issue was on July 4, 1930. My father, Marlin Eller, 14 years old at the time, was featured in the first issue on the front page with his picture and a caption for having built a large model military airplane.

There was also a lot of local news like “Mrs. Butler had guests from Texas, the Longs, visited her last Thursday.” The Deerfield News folded after a short time.

Deerfield’s current  newspaper, The Observer, was founded in 1962. In reviewing some of the early Observer 1963 issues, the big stories included the fact that Hillsboro Boulevard, which had been dead-ended, was being extended with a crossing over the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks going directly west, rather than having all the traffic winding around Dixie Highway to head west, as it had been before. Hans Pufahl, Deerfield’s mayor, dressed western style in a cowboy hat, is shown cutting the ribbon, along with State Senator A.J. Ryan and Broward County Commissioner Bill Stevens.

The event was further celebrated by declaring it the “Westward Ho Day” with participants, including  Mr. and Mrs. Charles Parton, who had recently founded the Deerfield Beach Country Club, shown (right) in front of the Deerfield Furniture Company Store. Their nephew, Bob Parton, is the current president of the club.

Learning about stockings in college

Meanwhile, this writer, a son of Deerfield, was still off in college in northern Florida, first at Stetson University and later the University of Florida, studying engineering, but also learning much about certain social graces.

My first date in college was arranged by my roommate, Bob Hutson, who had a date and wanted me to go with his dates’ roommate to a drive-in movie in DeLand, Florida. Bob was driving, so my date,  a girl from New York, was in the back seat with me.

We had hardly settled in to watch the movie when I felt her hand take my hand and put it on her knee. The skin on her knee felt funny, kind of like snake skin, so I pulled my hand away.

A little while later, she did it again, and I pulled my hand away again. This continued a few more times until she gave up and left me alone. I thought the evening would never end.

Finally, we took them back to their dormitory. As I’m walking her up to the door, I finally got the nerve to ask her, “What’s wrong with the skin on your leg?” She said “What do you mean?” I replied, “It feels very rough, like scales!” She started laughing at me and said, “I’m wearing stockings, you idiot!” I must have turned bright red in the face. After all, Florida-bred boys didn’t know anything about girls wearing stockings.

Noah Flegel (R) with coach Dean LaVelle. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

Noah Flegel doesn’t mind leaving the other competitors in his wake.

The 14-year-old Lighthouse Point teenager has won two world championships and capped off his stellar year with being named Sports Illustrated for Kids 2011 ‘SportsKid of the Year’. He graces the cover of the December magazine.

“It is really cool to look at yourself on the cover of a magazine,” said Flegel, an 8th grade honor student at North Broward Prep. “It is really neat. I think it is really good for the sport, especially since we are trying to get wakeboarding into the Olympics. It should definitely help for that. It has really been good for me and really good for the wake-boarding industry. It’s been a really cool opportunity.”

Flegel said he wasn’t sure what his chances were. However, as he was named Top 10 and then Top 3, he thought he had a pretty good chance.

“I was really excited when I heard I had made it to the Top 3,” said Flegel, who said he and his North Broward Prep classmates were checking the Internet between periods the day the magazine was announcing the Top 3.

“We were all screaming when we saw it,” said Flegel, who was waterskiing at the age of 3. Not bad for someone who saw other kids wakeboarding in the Interacostal and thought it might be a fun sport to try.

Noah and his brother Keenan had to wait for their opportunity. They became Dean La-Velle’s first clients some eight years ago. LaVelle said he saw enormous potential in the brothers, but had to wait his turn. Keenan, 16, has since gone on to wake surfing and has won a world title two years ago.

“A couple of years ago, Noah really took off,” said LaVelle, who also trained pro wake-boaders Steel Lafferty and Raimi Merritt. “He would learn a good bit, but he literally wouldn’t ride all winter because he would rather go surfing. They are actually big time surfers. They would just wakeboard when they need to. In the last couple of years, he started to stay out more and ride his wakeboard. It keeps him current on everything that is out there.”

“The one thing I would like to pass on to these aspiring athletes is to make the uncomfortable … comfortable,” added LaVelle, a six-time world champion. “Noah does this so smooth and quick. He is going to be with the top, top guys and be one of the best in the sport ever.”

Among his wakeboarding stops was Milan, Italy last year where he won the International World Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) world title. Flegel said he never thought he would be landing so many difficult tricks, including landing a 900-degree spin, but now has his sights on a pro career.

“I had no clue,” said Flegel, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the 14-18 age division.

“I thought it would be something fun to do and keep us out of trouble and not bored. My friends are really excited for me. I want to go as far as I can take it, but I want to keep having fun. Hopefully, I can become pro and do well.”

Flegel also gives back, part of the family values his parents, Todd and Kirsten, have instilled in him.

“We went to an orphanage in El Salvador during a recent surf trip and donated a bunch of money and played with the kids,” Flegel said. “We just hung out with them for the day.”

“We also feed the homeless. We try to do it every month at a local church here. We just all prepare a bunch of food and then go serve it. We give them lunch and a little bag. It is really cool to help people out, especially knowing how hard it is for them.”

Flegel was honored recently at his school with an assembly where he received a Sports Illustrated for Kids varsity jacket and a poster of the cover. The humble Flegel said it was a nice touch.

“It was really cool,” Flegel said. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me, even better than winning a competition!”

Noah Flegel has won two world wakeboarding titles and graces the December cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids after being named the 2011 ‘SportsKid of the Year.’ Photo by Gary Curreri

In the summer of 2009, I wrote an article about Jim McNalis and his statue of “The Lady,” Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was finally released in 2010 from a nearly two decade imprisonment by the country of Myanmar (Burma). Jim was granted an audience Dec. 28.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

You know you got to go through hell before you get to Heaven.

– “Jet  Airliner,” Steve Miller Band

This song lyric best summarizes my thoughts about 2011.

This year, I faced the devilish dark soul of show business, yet have been saved by the grace of so many Back Stage Angels: volunteers at Mega-Con, PBIFF, Spooky Empire, FLIFF, the Geeks of Comedy, C.J. Comics and anyone who purchased The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World.

While celebrity scandal and divorce made mainstream headlines, Florida was blessed with visitation by many Class Acts: Max Winkler, Kyra Schon, Doris Roberts, Jon Provost, Pamela Poitier, Orianthi, Pat Novak, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Danny Murphy, Doug Jones, Steve Hunter, Tommy Hen-riksen, John Hamblin, Chuck Garric, Peter Ford, Dennis Farina, Barry S. Anderson and The Amazing Randi.

2011 Top films, in reverse alphabetical order: X-Men: First Class, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Muppets, Midnight in Paris, Hugo, The Help, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Artist.

Honorable Mention: War Horse, Soul Surfer, The Rum Diary, Into the Abyss, Insidious, Happy Feet 2, Gains-bourg: A Heroic Life, Drive, Dolphin Tale and Born to be Wild 3-D.

The Oscars are set for Feb. 26. Look for Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs and the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.

Warner Brothers is projected to be King of the Box Office next year, based on two movies: The Dark Knight Rises (opens July 2012) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which opens 12-14-12, a week before the “end of the world” on 12-21-12, according to the Mayan Calendar. Although, world-renowned magician and hoax debunker James Randi predicts, “The end of the world will not happen.”

So we can rest easy, and I can expect to write another 52 columns.

Dear Reader, thank you for your interest in Flicks, which now begins its 13th year with The Observer.

By Gary Curreri

Vernon Shazier got an early Christmas present when he won a $20,000 car in a charity golf tournament.

Shazier, a 41-year-old Pompano Beach reverend, made a last-minute decision to play in the Rod Evans Memorial Golf Tournament, hosted by the Church by the Glades, and it paid off as he won a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze after getting a hole-in-one on the 170-yard, 12th hole at the Palm Aire Country Club’s Cypress Course.

“It was a last minute deal,” said Shazier, who used a 6-iron on the shot. “The guy (Pastor Anthony Burrell) I normally play with on Fridays, I called him on Thursday night to see which course we were playing because he normally makes the tee times. He said, ‘man, I am not going to be able to make it tomorrow, there is a tournament I am playing in.’”

Shazier was asked by Burell if he wanted to play with him in the tournament and, since it was for a church, Shazier agreed. Shazier is the chaplain for the Miami Dolphins and carries a 15 handicap. He will play once a week or once a month.

Shazier believes there might have been a little “divine intervention” during the tourney when it came to the shot.

“The whole thing was kind of comical with both of us being pastors,” Shazier said. “When we walked up to the 12th hole, he said he was going over to lay hands on the car and pray for this car. I said, ‘just leave that car alone and let’s try to make a birdie.’ I said ‘don’t even think about making a hole-in-one or winning a car.’ He was over there praying and clowning around with the car and I hit my shot. I wasn’t thinking about making no hole-in-one or winning the car. The ball took one bounce and went in the hole.”

Shazier said after Burrell hit his shot, they walked to the green and Shazier stopped short, wondering where the ball was. He eventually discovered it was, in fact, at the bottom of the cup. Shazier, who won a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze for his first ever ace, took delivery in late December of the $20,000 car.

“I know there was some divine intervention,” said Vernon, whose family owns a 2002 Ford Explorer and 2002 Chevy Avalanche. “That is a difficult shot to hit with a 6-iron. That ball is moving fast and it took one bounce and, for it to take one hop and dive directly in the hole … It was perfect. It was really kind of numbing. It was hard to focus after that.”

Shawn Shazier said she didn’t believe her husband at first when he called. Then she thought he would never call her during his round of golf.

“He was so excited and said, ‘I got a hole-in-one. I won a car,’” Shawn Shazier recalled. “I was like, ‘you are joking right?’ and he said, “no, I just hit a hole-in-one, I won a car. I’m gonna call you back. I’m gonna call you back.’”

“This is exciting because this is rare and for him to actually do it during a tournament setting,” Shawn added, “This is a blessing. We actually look at it as a blessing.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

While the story and characters are as interesting as the first movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows does not hold up as well as the original film.  Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Kelly Reilly reprise their roles with relish. While Noomi Ropace (the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) adds dimension to author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world, the attention deficit disorder editing distracts from the action sequences.

Still, Director Guy Ritchie deserves credit for providing an interesting film that will satisfy both modern audiences and diehard fans. Like the first film, the organic musical score is a highlight. During a mountain trek, one can hear the theme song from Two Mules for Sister Sarah, which creates a subconscious link between Sherlock Holmes and the American cowboy.

Emily Chen (Below in zebra swimsuit), 10, and her younger sister, Ava (above in blue), 6, help the Deerfield Beach Dolphins to the girls team championship with 675 points and 1,160.50 points overall in the South Florida Recreational Swim League Winter Championships. Submitted photos

By Gary Curreri

Two local Deerfield Beach Dolphins Swim Team members showed a little sisterly love and turned in solid performances in the South Florida Recreational Swim League Winter Championship swim meet at Palm Beach Gardens on Dec. 10.

Emily Chen, 10, and her younger sister, Ava, 6, helped the Dolphins to the girls team championship with 675 points and 1,160.50 points overall. The boys team scored 485.50 points.

Emily Chen, who swam a time of 33.57 seconds, on her backstroke leg in the 50-yard medley relay for 9- and 10-year-old girls, broke a four-year-old record of 34.29 seconds when she broke the record in the individual 50-yard backstroke competition for 9- and 10-year-old girls with a time of 33.48 seconds.

This 5th grader at Park Trails Elementary School in Parkland also won first places in the 50-yard freestyle, 50-yard breaststroke, individual medley and freestyle relay contests. In 2011, she was undefeated in all swim competitions she entered, and, in both 2009 and 2010, Chen was voted the Most Valuable Swimmer of the Year for her age group by Dolphins’ coaches.

Not to be outdone, Chen’s 6-year-old sister, Ava, a 1st grader at Park Trails, took first places in 25-yard breaststroke, 25-yard butterfly and fourth place in 25-yard freestyle for 5- to 6-year-old girls in the same competition.

The two sisters practiced swimming four times a week at the Deerfield Beach Aquatic Center under the direction of Coach Rafael deSilva.

Deerfield Beach’s Rachael Ryan captured three events as she won the Girls 11-12 100-yard IM, 50 butterfly and 50-yard freestyle events, while Michelle Bachert, Ata Aktarma, Bruna Pavan and Max Maurente each won two events. Other individual winners for the Dolphins included Sean Ragonese, Drew Novak, Adian Vinograd, Hayley Johnson, Caitlin VanDyke, Emma Leonard, James Anderson III, Larissa Anthony, Teaghan Skulszki, Gabriella Castillo, Bonnie Kohner  and Otavio Metzker.

Johnson selected

Blanche Ely wide receiver Avery Johnson has been selected to the fifth annual Under Armour All-America Game set for Jan. 5, 2012  at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Johnson was one of four South Florida football players picked to play in the event. Johnson had six touchdowns this season, helping the Tigers advance to the Class 7A playoffs.