Naz vows to play for Apache; Bishop Ford says it's too soon

SETH WALDER/DAILY NEWS

Three roses sit beneath photos of Apache Paschall in a makeshift memorial on the second floor at Nazareth HS. Paschall, the girls basketball coach at the East Flatbush school, suffered fatal heart attack on Tuesday.

Controversy follows Apache Paschall wherever he goes.

A day after the unexpected death of the Nazareth HS girls basketball coach, a battle is brewing over exactly when his nationally-ranked team should resume its schedule.

The Lady Kingsmen are slated to play at Bishop Ford on Thursday, and members of its team, as well as its remaining coaches, want the game to go on.

Bishop Ford, however, sees things a little differently.

?We are not playing the game,? said Eileen Egan, Ford?s girls athletic director. ?My principal feels that the man has not been buried yet, there hasn?t been a funeral and we should not be playing a basketball game. I mean, we are a Catholic school. So my administration is not allowing us to play.?

Nazareth assistant Lauren Best, who was extremely close to Paschall, said Ford?s decision was ?disrespectful to Apache.?

Best, who will coach the Lady Kingsmen on an interim basis with fellow assistant Ron Kelley, said that Paschall?s teenage daughter, who attends Nazareth, was all for playing the game as scheduled.

?She wants the game to happen,? Best said. ?Most importantly, his players want the game to happen.?

Egan said Ford principal Frank V. Brancato and school president Raymond P. Nash decided against playing, and that she agreed with the decision.

Best said she was planning to travel to Ford in time for the scheduled tip-off at 6 p.m., though it?s unlikely that the Lady Kingsmen will find an opponent waiting for them when they get there.

Nazareth is scheduled to play host to Christ the King on Saturday in what is supposed to be a Homecoming game. Bob Mackey, Christ the King?s girls athletic director and basketball coach, could not be reached on Wednesday.

Best made it clear that the decision to continue playing without interuption was the players?.

?They all came to the hospital (on Tuesday) and we asked them what they wanted to do, and they came up with it on their own: they wanted to play,? said Best. ?That?s what (Paschall) would have wanted.?

Meanwhile, the East Flatbush school began the process of grieving for the wildly successful and controversial Paschall, who died of an apparent heart attack at age 38.

Students and teachers said a prayer for Paschall on Wednesday morning, and members of the girls basketball team were excused from classes to spend time with one another and reflect.

A memorial on the second floor holds three roses, pictures of Paschall and messages from members of the Nazareth community.

Funeral arrangements had not been announced, but Best and Murphy said his memorial service will probably be held next week.

Practice continued on Wednesday, with girls in the gym going through drills and smiling. Best complimented the players? positive attitude and willingness to push forward.

?They actually kept us afloat,? she said.

Best said she is certain that Paschall would have wanted the team to move on, especially since Ford and Christ the King are thought to be Nazareth?s greatest threats.

?If he could talk to me now, he?d be like, ?Just keep this (rivalry) going,? ? Best said. ?He?d probably tell me to say something crazy, to keep that fire alive. ?Dominate them!? That?s what he?d say.?

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/sports/~3/pc2YG9ROoQ0/story01.htm

marfan syndrome britney spears engaged craig smith craig smith eat to live eat to live ron paul money bomb