CMYK
SPORTS
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timesleader.com
THE TIMES LEADER
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FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011
W B S P E N G U I N S : C A L D E R C U P P L AY O F F P R E V I E W
OPINION
Time for Tims, teams to tussle It’seasyanother walk
BERNIE MIKLASZ
Pens renew heated rivalry with Norfolk as first round of AHL Playoffs begins tonight. By TOM VENESKY tvenesky@timesleader.com
They both wear number 24 and they’re both named Tim. And together, they may be responsible for creating the bitter feelings that existed between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Norfolk Admirals for much of the regular season. Feelings that are expected to boil again as the two teams square off for the first game in their playoff series tonight in
PSU
New name of game for Lions
Getting under their skin and over the top
UP NEXT
GAME 1 Norfolk Admirals at WBS Penguins 7:05 p.m. tonight Radio: 102.1-FM The Mountain
Wilkes-Barre. The first matchup between the two teams – Nov. 19, 2010, was peaceful enough as the Admirals defeated the Penguins 4-1 and no penalties were called after the first period. But that changed in the next meeting on Dec. 10, when Tim Wallace dropped the gloves with Admirals winger Tim Marks just five seconds after the opening
Tim Wallace
Tim Marks
faceoff. Two more fights ensued on the following faceoffs and the teams eventually went on to combine for 22 fights over seven games – including a line brawl. So what happened that compelled Wallace and Marks to become the co-founders of such bitter feelings between the two See FIGHTING, Page 8B
By TOM VENESKY tvenesky@timesleader.com
They’re the players behind the scenes that can win a playoff series for their team without putting a puck in the net. Those who are on top of their games when they get their opponents off of theirs. Agitators. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have plenty of them, and the agitating approach is one that could be pivotal against See AGITATORS, Page 8B
S W B YA N K E E S
Providing the pop
Vazquez blasts two homers
Say Stankiewitch any way you want, as long as lineman’s healthy enough to see action.
By VAN ROSE vrose@timesleader.com
By DEREK LEVARSE dlevarse@timesleader.com
Go ahead – Matt Stankiewitch has heard ’em all. After years upon years of hearing his last name butchered by other people – with many of the renditions being particularly unflattering – the Penn State center is quite used to it. So imagine all of the creative ways a certain highpitched octogenarian from Brooklyn finds Stankiewitch to say it. “Coach PaterUP no,” StankieNEXT witch said with Blue-White a laugh, “proGame nounces it many 2 p.m. different ways. It Saturday depends on how TV: Big Ten Newtwork, 9 I’m doing in p.m. practice that Saturday day.” Online: For the rewww.gopsu cord, the correct sports.com pronunciation is stan-KEV-itch. But after how the second half of last season went, he’s just happy to hear his name mentioned at all. Just days after earning some meaningful first-team snaps at guard against Illinois, an exhausted Stankiewitch discovered that he had lost 10 pounds following a mid-week practice. Tests revealed that mononucleosis was the culprit, effectively ending his 2010 season just as he was in position to make an impact. Stankiewitch wasn’t able to split time with Johnnie Troutman and he wasn’t available at the end of the season to help fill when center Doug Klopacz was banged up. “It kept me out for six games, but I wasn’t able to work out for eight weeks,” Stankiewitch said. “I lost a total of 17 pounds throughout the mono, and I wasn’t able to work out that whole time. See PSU, Page 6B
therivalNorfolkAdmiralsasthe two teams open their first round playoff series tonight. “The physical stuff is really important when it comes to playoffs,” said Zach Sill. “Constantly hitting guys night in and night out, they know they’ll have to deal with it and it can weigh on a player’s mind. “I want to get to that as early as I can.”
MOOSIC--Power hitter Jorge Vazquez didn’t win a roster spot with the New York Yankees in spring training, but certainly he got their attention on Thursday night. The third baseman slammed two long home runs to lead Scranton/WilkesBarre to a 6-2 victory over Buffalo at PNC YANKEES Field. The game also featured a spectacular BISONS catch by Yankee center fielder Greg Golson and a sharp performance from the bullpen. “Vazquez has power and he hit the ball well tonight,” said Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager Dave Miley. “He put up some big numbers for us last year. Sometimes he strikes out, but he has a knack of getting big hits.” Vazquez blasted a solo home run in the second inning, and slammed a two-run shot in the third that helped Scranton/
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PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER
The Yankees’ Jorge Vasquez (right) high-fives with teammates Jordan Parraz (8) and Brandon Laird after Vasquez hit his second homer of the game Thursday at PNC Field in Moosic.
See VAZQUEZ, Page 3B
GIRLS SOCCER
Wyoming Area’s Amanda Gallagher, left, and Pittston Area’s Daniele Fereck both go for the ball in WVC soccer action. The Patriots defeated their arch-rival Warriors 3-2 in the game. The victory was the first of the season for Pittston Area.
Pittston Area bridges gap to claim its first victory
By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@timesleader.com
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other for a 3-2 victory over PITTSTON Wyoming Area AREA in a Wyoming Valley Conference interdivisional girls socWYO. AREA cer game. Pittston Area improved to 12-1 in Division 2-A, while Wyoming Area fell to 1-2 in Division
HUGHESTOWN – Nothing beats that first win of the season. Especially when a team has been so close to victory before. And even more so when it comes against an archrival. Pittston Area fit those categories Thursday as freshman Sara Ruby scored two goals and sophomore Liz Mikitish added an- See BRIDGE, Page 5B
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BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
for Bonds
ST. LOUIS — Statistical update on Barry Bonds: If my count is accurate, Bonds received the 2,559th walk of his career Wednesday. The first 2,558 came on the baseball diamond. The last walk was issued in a northern California courtroom. Bonds was essentially given a free pass. Baseball’s all-time home-run leader was convicted on a single count of obstruction of justice, but a federal jury couldn’t agree on three other charges regarding Bonds’ alleged false statements to a grand jury over his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Judge Susan Illston declared a mistrial on those charges. The prosecutors could re-file, but legal experts don’t think that will happen. It’s doubtful that Bonds will spend a single day in prison. He’ll have to pay a fine, which he can afford. He may be ordered to provide community service. He could be sentenced to home confinement — and given Bonds’ reclusive ways, I’m guessing he’d be OK with that. And for those of you who believe this will permanently damage Bonds’ image and reputation? Well, I’ve got some flaxseed oil to sell you. He’s already been tarnished beyond repair. Given the voters’ stern and unrelenting view of steroid users, Bonds has no chance of being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. And that was true before this verdict. Anyone with a functioning brain already knew that Bonds used steroids. Bonds testified to that — while attaching the absurd caveat that he didn’t know what he was taking. Again, no reasonable person believes him; of course Bonds knew what he was doing. Did you really need a federal jury to validate that for you? And at a cost of $55 million? That’s the estimated cost of investigating and prosecuting Bonds during this seven-year battle. As Joe Sheehan of SI.com quipped, this was the worst expenditure of $55 million since the Los Angeles Dodgers gave a five-year, $55 million contract to pitcher Darren Dreifort. Indeed. This was a tremendous waste of time and federal resources. And on the surface the ruling made no sense. The jury didn’t find Bonds guilty of perjury on any specific points of testimony and seemed to settle on obstruction as a way to register general disapproval of his conduct. This is fuzzy, to say the least. If the jury doesn’t believe that Bonds perjured himself, then what, pray tell, did he obstruct? Here’s my takeaway: We, the jury, find Barry Lamar Bonds guilty of being unlikable, so we wanted to slap him with something. To be technical about it, here is the passage of grand-jury testimony that led to the obstruction conviction: See MIKLASZ, Page 3B