A FEW YEARS AGO at the "Fight to Educate" boxing event at the Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester Central boys' basketball coach Dave "Doc" Wheeler registered an unanimous three-round decision against former Little Green football coach Jim Schubert for charity.

"I didn't go see it, but I heard Doc hit Schubert so many times that Schubert's grandchildren ended up with a headache," said Southern New Hampshire University's men's basketball coach Stan Spirou.

Now Wheeler has turned his attention to Spirou as the two coaches will lead their respective squads in the inaugural Sam Carey New Hampshire Basketball Classic on Friday, Aug. 3 at the SNHU's Fieldhouse. The classic will start following the BST Summer Madness high school playoff semifinals at 7 p.m.

"I have nothing but respect for Stan, but being a competitive coach, there's no way I'm walking out of that Fieldhouse with a losing record against Stan," said Wheeler. To that Spirou quipped "I've got to be careful how far out I roam away from the coaches' box. Doc has a big advantage over me, a big weight advantage that is."

The levity between the two coaches indicates how much fun the event will be for the coaches, players and spectators.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Brayden Carey Fund. Brayden is the son of Sam Carey, former Manchester Central and Southern New Hampshire University basketball star who was tragically killed in an automobile accident last November while returning home from Canada.

"Most of the credit should go to (tournament organizers) Mike Stys and Brett Sellingham for putting this whole program together," said Wheeler. "They did the leg work and we've got two rosters filled with great talent and people."

Wheeler will be coaching the White/Green team comprised of former Central High standouts David Cooper, P.J. Young, Tyler Roche (Boston College grad ), Joe Fremeau, Will Bayliss, Mike Stys and Matt Lemieux. Also on the roster are former high school stalwarts Luke Bonner (played for Trinity High, West Virginia, UMass) and Chris Burns of Merrimack, who played for Bryant College and is now assistant men's basketball coach at Rhode Island College.

"It will be fun to coach those guys," said Wheeler. "I know P.J. is still making his living playing basketball in Canada and Cooper is a still part-owner of the Millrats team that went to St. John's in New Brunswick. Fremeau is on my coaching staff at Central and Roche is working in Massachusetts selling medical supplies. Stys is playing for SNHU, Bayliss is playing for Wheaton College and Lemieux is teaching in Manchester. Bonner and Burns also wanted to be part of this game for Sam. It's really a collection of some great guys and players."

The Navy/Gold team comprised mostly of former Penmen players include Chris Brickley (former player for SNHU, Northeastern, Louisville), Mark Yeaton, Tim Lee, Troy Bowen, Miguel Gonzalez along with Steve Deluca of Merrimack (Brandeis University) and Scott Hazelton, former player at the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island.

"They asked me to coach and my response was 'anything for Sam Carey,' " said Spirou. "Each player connected with this game was touched in some way by Sam. Personally, I'm looking forward to coaching a group of guys, many of whom I coached at the Fieldhouse for many years. We experienced a lot together and it will be fun to sit down with them and reflect on some of those moments we shared in the past."

Spirou said he knows Wheeler was joking about wanting to beat him, but the Penmen coach said "I couldn't be prouder of the job Dave has done over the years at Central. He's a winner in my book. As for the charity game, trust me when I say the fans will be in for a treat. All these guys on both rosters are competitive and they will battle until the final horn goes off. They all still have a passion for the game. As for my team, if we don't perform to my expectations, I might end up holding a midnight practice after the game."

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IN 2009 Manchester Memorial graduate Jim Harmon organized a semi-professional football team, the New Hampshire Wolfpack, which competes in the New England Football League.

In their inaugural season on the Single-A level in 2009, the Wolfpack beat the Vermont Ravens to cap off a 9-1 championship season. The following season, they went 9-2, losing in the championship game to the Connecticut Panthers.

Last year, the Wolfpack transferred to the Double-A level and won the title, 27-24, against Western Connecticut. The Wolfpack completed last season at 12-0.

"This year the league felt we were strong enough to compete on the highest level (Triple-A). No team has ever won titles on all three levels," said Harmon. "So we'll see what happens this year."

The Wolfpack open their 10-game regular season today in Portland, Maine, at Deering High School. Harmon said he has a 60-man roster this season and the age range is 18 to 42.

"People who haven't seen us play should come out and watch us at least once," said Harmon. "Our fan base is around 200 and we're growing each season. This league is for diehard players, former high school and college players who just love the game and want to keep playing it."

Roster players listed from Manchester include defensive backs Justin Vasquez and Kelvin Lopez, running backs Chris Tomlinson and Jacob Staffiere, defensive ends Peter Pichardo and Dave Wiggins along with linebackers Aaaron Beike and Thomas Landry. Mike Harrison, Jeff Bozek and James Hathaway, all from Manchester, are offensive linemen and Elijah Mota is the lone wide receiver from the Queen City.

The team's home opener is Saturday, Aug. 4 at 3:30 p.m. against Tri-City Charge of Sandown at West Memorial Field.

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At a recent Building and Sites Committee meeting Peter Capano, Chief of Parks and Recreation and Cemetery in Manchester said he's seeking $165,000 from the city to repair the tracks at Livingston Field and West Memorial.

"We continue to have root problems from the trees at Livingston," said Capano. "The surface at Livingston is 10 years old and we were told that there's a structural spray that could add another decade of life to the track."

The spray job, according to Capano is $70,000.

The same is true at West Memorial where Capano said "conditions are perfect now to spray that track." Again the price tag there is another $70,000. Capano also reported some recent vandalism at West Memorial, causing minimal damage.

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John Habib is staff sports writer. Email him at jhabib@unionleader.com.