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July 28, 2010

Mike O'Brien steps down, Scott Holden steps in

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


The release came in the middle of May, when the sports community was busy covering the stories being created by the Ocean City baseball, Egg Harbor Township boys track, Ocean City boys tennis, Mainland golf and Holy Spirit baseball teams. It didn't get much play. But it deserves recognition.

"After 11 years calling games on the Mainland Channel," the release read, "Mike O'Brien will be stepping down from his play-by-play duties at the network. 'I consider it a privilege and an honor to have been able to call games at Mainland and wish the coaches and the players the best of luck,' O'Brien said.
The 1990 MRHS graduate called more than 50 games at The Corral, including two NJSIAA championship games and five Thanksgiving Day matchups. During his tenure, O'Brien has shared the TV booth with other former Mainland players like Ken Williams, Chuck Somers, Buddy Broome and Steve Parker, along with his current partner, Tom Shields.
The Mainland Channel has not yet announced a replacement for O'Brien."

O'Brien is a former wide receiver for Mainland football and a forward on the basketball team who was in love with the shot from the corner.

Since the release was sent a little over two months ago, the Mainland Channel has decided to spread out its coverage. Instead of covering a football game every week, the cable channel will cover one game per week including football, soccer and field hockey, among others. So there will probably be a number of people needed to fill the void left by O'Brien.

Though Scott Beeten and George Landis may have been the first guys to use the phrase "Stangs", it was O'Brien who really pushed it over the top, making it the common nickname for Mainland teams. He developed a web presence for the Stangs in addition to his work on the cable channel.

Mainland football without Mike O'Brien will be missing something, just like Holy Spirit football would be without Bob O'Hara or Ocean City without Tom Park.

The next obvious question is what O'Brien will do now. Where is he going with his broadcast career? Cris Collinsworth seems to have settled in as John Madden's replacement on NBC's Sunday Night Football. Marv Albert has already been replaced after stepping down from the Monday Night Football radio job. There will be an opening when Oprah retires, but that might not be O'Brien's style.

Whatever he decides, O'Brien should be proud of the excitement and dedication he brought to Mainland fans the last 11 years.

It will be hard to imagine Mainland football without Mike O'Brien. What's next - Chuck Smith coaching Oakcrest?

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Scott Holden was approved as the new head boys basketball coach at Lower Cape May Regional High School, as Brian Cunniff reported first last week.

Holden takes over from his brother, Pat. According to available records, that has only happened in one other family in the history of Cape-Atlantic League sports - when the Carey brothers, John and Fenton, succeeded one another a few times as head coaches of various sports at Ocean City High School.

But one thing has never happened before - to have two brothers, and their father, all serve as head coaches of the same program.

Pat Holden concluded his 14-year reign as coach at Lower Cape May with a 21-5 season, the first National Conference championship at the school since 1985 and its third in the CAL's 62 seasons. Pat's career record was 160-193.

George Holden, the father, was 153-101 in 11 seasons at Lower. His overall record was 212-141, counting seasons outside the CAL. He coached that 1985 team that was Lower's last conference champion before this year. And his son, Pat, was second team, All-South Jersey that year, leading the Tigers with 18.7 points per game and 81 percent from the foul line.

Seven years later, Scott Holden averaged 15.3 points per game and was a first team all star in the National Conference.

Already, the Holden family has made an major impact on Lower Cape May and CAL basketball over the last four decades. With Scott assuming the head coaching position, that impact should continue a lot longer.


Read more of Tom Williams' columns