Westport's Sean Mulcahy Took His Hometown into the Blue-Grey Game

Westport’s Sean Mulcahy, the UConn star defensive tackle, is back home briefly this weekend after playing in the Blue-Grey Game last week in Alabama and a little R and R in Florida.

And he disclosed that he took a little bit of Westport with him on to the field in the all-star Christmas Day classic nationally televised by ABC Sports.

“I have a huge love of Westport, you know,” Mulcahy told WestportNow after attending an afternoon showing of the latest “Lord of the Rings” movie with his mother, Liz.

“I wrote ‘Westport’ in marker on both of my forearms before the game. I still rep it, you know. Westport’s my hometown -- born and raised. I love it. I’ll never knock it.”

He said he got the idea for the Westport name display after hearing from several friends.

“A lot of people, you know, were like if you get a chance say something on TV about me – some of the people from Westport did it,” Mulcahy said.

“So I decided I might as well just write ‘Westport’ somewhere on my body or uniform where people could see it. I did and my parents saw it. It was pretty cool.”

The 6-foot-6, 295-pound Mulcahy missed his last game at UConn due to a neck injury but said he has now fully recovered. He said he played well in the Blue-Grey game.

“I started off a little rusty,” he said. “Obviously I hadn’t played in six weeks but the second half I got a lot more comfortable and was able to make some plays.”

Mulcahy, winding up his senior year, said it’s been a whirlwind visit back to Westport. He got in at 2 a.m. Friday and leaves Sunday for two weeks of training in North Carolina before heading back to school.

He said he has hired an agent, Joe Linta of Meriden, Conn., and looks forward to resuming training in March and the pro football drafts in April.

And all the while, Mulcahy said, he will proudly tell people about his hometown and the support he has received here. “Wherever I go I tell people where I am from – I love Westport.”

Back to the Gym

By Fran
WestportNow Consumer Correspondent
fran@westportnow.com

What else is New Year’s Day if not the day we all swear to head back to the gym tomorrow to undo the damage of the past few weeks? Or for more than a few of us, it’s the day we finally make that promise to get around to joining.

Not surprisingly, our humble town – where the fitness standards are as high as those for our children’s education – has more than our per capita share of health clubs, gyms, and personal training studios. (Random fact: Westport’s per capita pizza restaurant share is pretty high, too, and that’s maybe why we need so many places to work out.)

Remember that you can’t compare by price alone, since there are huge variations in everything from ambience to number of locations, age of fitness equipment, and size of towels.

Here are some of Westport’s fitness highlights. Note that the list is not all inclusive, since a few clubs insist on keeping their prices a closely guarded secret until they’ve actually got you in-house. Prices quoted do not include tax, which were added with the governor’s last tax package.

When you visit don’t be shy about asking for a special deal. For example, ask to have the enrollment fee waived, to add an extra month, or to throw in a personal training session or two. Go for it – they want you. A final caveat – I know I have probably left out some places (let me know) and don’t get upset if the prices aren’t exactly as outlined here. They change as fast as our New England weather.

The women-only California Fitness, 1200 Post Road East, 454-0000 is Westport’s own Madonna, having changed personalities so often (it was formerly called Women’s Body and Soul) it doesn’t know quite what it is. You have to walk through the fitness studio to get to the lower level locker room, which sometimes annoys the yoga-goers. The machines and equipment are in nice shape, while the classes are catch-as-catch-can, which can add a bit of serendipity to your day at the gym. Enrollment costs $99 which includes two free personal training sessions. Monthly membership is $79.

Women not in the best shape – or who get bored doing 45 minutes on a treadmill – swear by Curves, 1460 Post Road East, 259-5629. This popular and innovative health club promises to give a complete workout in 30 minutes. And that’s why it is one of today’s fastest growing franchises. No fancy equipment, but a one-time enrollment fee of $74 plus $29 per month gets you into any Curves location. You’ll be down two sizes by April -- seriously.

Fast Fitness, 1300 Post Road East, 319-0345 has top-of-the-line fitness and cardio equipment and a bright and sunny facility. Membership is co-ed and includes a comprehensive fitness analysis, nutritional guidance, and lots of individual attention. The $495 fee will buy you a year’s membership at its single Westport location; however, members are required to purchase a minimum of one $60 per session personal training session per week in addition to the annual fee. Classes are additional; for example, an eight-week, once-a-week Pilates class is $150, spinning is $12 per class.

Freestyle Fitness, 1465 Post Road East, 259-1471 is Westport’s newest addition to the fitness scene, with a bright and airy facility that occupies the entire second floor of a rather nondescript Post Road office building. More than a traditional health club, think of it as all-around let’s-get-healthy program with personal training and nutritional guidance key components. After paying $495 for enrollment, members are required to purchase one minimum $85 personal training session per week. Non-members can also book a series of personal training sessions which permit use of the facility. Worth a shot, definitely.

The Westport branch of New York Sports Clubs, 427 Post Road East, 221-0700 is co-ed, clean, and modern with the jazziest mini-TV’s at almost every cardio machine. Initiation fee is $199 for a one- or two-year membership, which includes one free personal training session. The monthly fee of $81 gives you any-time access to the Westport club plus off-hours access to other New York Sports Clubs (e.g. Norwalk, NYC). For $10 more per month a “Passport” membership gets you into all New York Sports Clubs at any time. Most classes are included with membership, with some (e.g.Pilates) offered for an additional charge. The mystery is why such a great club that provides state-of-the-art equipment offers towels the size of Kleenex.

Westport-Weston YMCA, 59 Post Road East, 226-8981. Shabby chic with old equipment, gloomy workout rooms, and bare bones locker rooms that can be a little depressing. (Too bad they couldn’t move to … oh, well, let’s not get into that.) But the staff is friendly, caring, and couldn’t be more knowledgeable about fitness. So who minds a little peeling paint? It costs $50 to join, and $50 per month gives you access to tons of classes and facilities. Use of the two swimming pools and some classes are additional.

In Westport it’s the Women’s Fitness Edge, 20 Saugatuck Ave., 454-EDGE, everywhere else it’s just plain Fitness Edge. The women-only Westport club is a bit cramped (don’t get me started on parking) and there is no steam or sauna in the locker room. But the equipment is kept up-to-date and in good repair, and the ladies are having a rollicking good time. Think of it as Westport’s own happy Chicago Mercantile Exchange where more news is traded than calories expended. You’ll see some real muscle action at the very up-to-date Norwalk facility (the former World Gym space behind the Crown Royale theater) where the men like to parade around those pecs they work so hard for. A $170 enrollment fee includes two free personal training sessions, most classes, and access to any Fitness Edge location which includes the aforementioned Norwalk, East Norwalk, and Fairfield. Next week one opens in Greenwich. You can’t argue with success.

Then there are personal training facilities which are not so much health clubs as ultra-private locales where the truly buffed or buffed-wannabees obtain personal training in a rarified atmosphere. With no enrollment fee and a $60 monthly membership fee, the co-ed Fitness Works, 275 Post Road East, 227-3770 requires you to book a minimum of two $80-per-session personal training sessions per week. Likewise you’ll get Pilates and “Gyrontonics” (that was a new one to me) at BodyWorks, 645 Post Road West, 226-8550. Private sessions are by appointment only although some group lessons are available.

Finally, although it’s far more than a health club, I have to mention the Saugatuck Rowing Club, 521 Riverside Ave., 221-7475, with its spiffy co-ed fitness center with the latest in equipment and a gorgeous view of the Saugatuck. It’s not fair to compare prices, however, because the $2,000 enrollment fee includes use of rowing facilities, boathouse, coaching, the fitness center, classes, posh locker facilities, and, of course, membership in what can arguably be called a country club with restaurant and banquet facilities. Two free initial personal training sessions are included with the $130 per month fitness center membership.

Here’s the cost of a one-hour personal training session:

Westport-Weston YMCA $55
Fast Fitness $60
Saugatuck Rowing Club $65
California Fitness $65
Body Works $75
Fitness Edge $75
New York Sports Clubs $79
Fitness Works $80

Meet you on the ellipticals!

Judge Blocks Government Bid for More Evidence Against Martha Stewart

With the criminal trial of Westport’s Martha Stewart set to begin within weeks, a judge today rejected government efforts to collect more evidence in the securities fraud case.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum said attorney-client privilege protects some of the documents sought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan while other material is not relevant to the charges.

She did permit the government to obtain billing records from a law firm hired by Stewart.

Prosecutors had sought 11 categories of documents from a law firm that represents Stewart and from co-defendant Peter Bacanovic.

Stewart, whose criminal trial begins in mid-January, is accused of lying to investigators about why she unloaded ImClone Systems stock on Dec. 27, 2001, just before it plunged on a negative government review of the company's cancer drug.

Stewart and Bacanovic, her stockbroker, are charged with conspiracy to "willfully and knowingly" obstruct justice and make false statements in the stock trading scandal.

Stewart, 62, has said she had a standing order with Bacanovic to sell the stock when it fell to $60. Both pleaded innocent.

In a written ruling, the judge said prosecutors failed to adequately prove they were entitled to most of the evidence they sought.

The judge noted that most of the materials were protected from becoming evidence because they are the product of work conducted between attorneys and their clients in preparation for trial.

She said the filing of criminal charges in the case "does not provide the broad elimination of attorney-client privilege and work product protection that the government seeks."

The judge said prosecutors needed to prove that confidential communications furthered criminal or fraudulent conduct for them to be allowed as evidence.

Former Staples Special Ed Coordinator Takes Over Top Post in New Canaan

David Abbey, a former special education coordinator at Staples High School, takes over as New Canaan’s school superintendent on Thursday.

He replaces Gary Richards who announced in May that he had landed a job in California. Abbey, 55, has been the district's second-in-command since last year.

Abbey was special ed coordinator at Staples from 1981 to 1988. He then took a similar job at New Canaan High School, moving up to the principal position there in 1991.

He left the district in 1997 to become assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Bedford Central School District in Bedford, N.Y. He returned to the New Canaan district in 2002.

He was named to the post earlier this month after a six-month nationwide search for a new superintendent.

"One consultant we worked with asked us, 'Do you want to coronate or do you want to validate?'" Deb Edwards, chair of the Board of Education, told The Advocate newspaper.

"After the search, we can look the town square in the eye and say he's the best man for the job."