September 2012 Sports and Leisure Magazine

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SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Fall 2012

Fall 2012

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

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Wilson on the defense – on and off the field

By Charles Roberts Back when he played on the offensive side of the ball, George Wilson was on the verge of losing his job. Today Wilson—strong safety and captain of the defense—not only anchors the Buffalo Bills’ defensive backfield, he’s got the players’ collective back off the field, too.

Wilson, who serves as the Bills’ union representative, recently reflected on the difference between this summer’s training camp compared to those more than a year in the rearview.

“We love it,” Wilson said when asked if the new collective bargaining agreement that he fought for has changed training camp.

“That is something we talked about when we first got here and they handed us the week-

ly schedule. You know anybody who was here under the old collective bargaining agreement and had to go through the dog days of twoa-days, back-to-back two-adays, knows how valuable those changes have been.”

Bills head coach Chan Gailey agrees that it’s a noticeable change.

“Yeah, it’s a little bit different,” he said. “We can only practice once a day. There is no such thing as a two-a-day anymore.”

Given all the ongoing lawsuits against the NFL—filed by former players—regarding alleged lingering effects of concussions, among other concerns, safety has been top priority.

“For a lot of older players, it can allow them to extend their careers,” Wilson said.

“A lot of younger players, it can keep them healthy and keep them healthy longer at a younger age. And so I really think this is going to benefit most of the players and the owners in the long-run, because your money-makers are going to continue to be healthy.”

On the field, the 31-yearold Wilson is determined to right the ship with regard to how last year came to a close—a point he said has resonated with his teammates.

“That is something we’ve always said since the offseason [started],” Wilson noted.

“It continues to be our mentality. Nobody is going to let off that pedal, because we know how we started last year and how we ended the season—and we cannot allow

Bills are done waiting around, it’s a win-now attitude in 2012

By Charles Roberts What have you done for me lately? That question may linger in the minds of Shawne Merriman and Vince Young, a pair of high-profile NFL veterans released in August by the Buffalo Bills.

Merriman’s resume boasts three Pro Bowl appearances and the 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, among other accomplishments. In college, Young won a Heisman Trophy and a National Championship; as a pro, he maintains an above-average win-loss record.

However, as the summer dwindled, it became increasingly apparent that the Bills could no longer rely on what’s been done in the past to end a 12-year playoff drought. Merriman was released Aug. 20; seven days later, the team cut its ties with Young.

“I think he struggled a little,” Bills general manager Buddy Nix said of Merriman. “. …We think we have been patient but there comes a point where we felt like we needed to move on and look down the road.”

In terms of Young, Bills head coach Chan Gailey said it was a matter of a lack of consistency.

“We are going to try to see if we can find somebody that will give us consistency,” Gailey said, later discussing quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who the Bills acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks the same day Young was released.

“It just did not work out,” Nix said of Young. “Vince did everything he could. He worked hard at it. He did everything we asked him to do. It just did not work.”

It’s hard to fault the Bills for holding out hope with respect to either player.

Merriman’s built like the Incredible Hulk, and the 6-

foot-5 Young still shows flashes of being a gamechanging quarterback. But playing the waiting game doesn’t always pay off.

“Maybe he can,” Nix said, asked if Merriman has the potential to get back to Pro Bowl form. “I do not think any of us know that. I think

Photo by Mike Majewski

Vince Young was a highrisk/high-reward player, but ultimately, the Bills had to move on. the main thing is that time is a factor with us. We need to move on and we need to look past this week. We need to look further down the road.

So again, we have two good guys that are young and a couple of them that fit the scheme.”

“He was doing a good job.

He was,” Gailey said of Merriman. “He just was not where we thought he needed to be, as far as the other guys that are playing the position.

We have a couple of young guys we wanted to get some reps and get some playing time so we made the move.

You have to do that sometimes.”

The Bills had planned on using Merriman this year as a defensive end, a positional switch from linebacker. But

after spending more than $100 million during the offseason on defensive ends Mario Williams and Mark Anderson—all while veteran Chris Kelsay remained in the fold—Merriman became expendable.

“I think we have some good football players and I think that our defensive end position is so much stronger than it has been in the past—since I have been here in particular,” Gailey said. “I am excited about where we are headed defensively, with our personnel and with our scheme.”

As for Jackson, who in the blink of an eye replaced Young as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s backup, it’s about making the most of the opportunity with his third team in as many years.

“Right now, I am trying to just learn as much as possible, trying to get familiar with everybody and show my teammates that I am here to work,” Jackson, a secondround pick in 2006 by the Minnesota Vikings, said.

“That is pretty much it and I am not looking too far ahead of it right now.”

Jackson did reflect on the past a bit. But it wasn’t a matter of reliving his time under bright lights.

“I was very disappointed. I had gotten hurt there,” Jackson said, referring to last year in Seattle. “…Obviously I wanted to play better. I did not want to get hurt. Being that I tore my [pectoral muscle], I was limited in practice.

I probably only practiced once a week, maybe, with limited throws. It could have been better, but I felt good with the way that we finished the season kind of strong.”

After losing eight out of nine games to cap off the 2011 season, finishing strong is certainly a notion to the 2012 Bills are looking to embrace.

the Bills win five of a repeat performtheir first seven ance.” games, last year. But Bills fans may recall this year, things are that Wilson came into different, he says. the league as a wide receiver. He appeared “As a team overall, in three games during my first training the 2005 and 2006 camp here was ’05, seasons, but never and I can say by far caught a pass; his that I feel like this career looked to be in was my most proserious trouble. That ductive camp indiis, until a change of vidually,” Wilson jersey number and said. “But just seeing position. where we were as an Heading into the organization, as a 2007 season, the Bills team in the past, to gave Wilson his last see where we are chance—an opportunow I really think nity to switch to this has been our strong safety, a posimost productive tion he had never camp as a team overplayed. But at an even all.”

6-feet tall, which is “It has been a difrelatively small for a Photo by Jeff Barnes ferent mentality receiver, the Bills Receiver turned safety, George Wilson since day one of our coaching staff—at the should thank Dallas quarterback Tony Romo offseason program,” time led by Dick for his first NFL touchdown.

Wilson added. “We Jauron—thought a continued to talk about the players and coaches circled positional flip-flop might be direction we want to go in through a revolving door, and just what the doctor ordered. when we reported here on the uniforms underwent a And right they were.

July 25. And still to this day, complete makeover. Wilson, On Oct. 8, 2007, Wilson guys do not buy into the however, has remained a contransformed before a national media hype, the fans’ hype, stant—evolving into one of television audience during because we know that ultithe most respected players Monday Night Football—his mately it is up to us to consporting the Bills’ red, white first start—by returning a vert what’s on our roster and and blue. pass thrown by Dallas what we have on paper onto He was there in 2008 when Cowboys quarterback Tony the playing field. We have to the Bills started 5-1, at which Romo for a touchdown. Later continue to push the envepoint the team’s playoff that year, against the Miami lope and get better and be drought seemed poised to Dolphins, he returned a fumready when we take the field come to a close. And he cerble for a touchdown. in New York on Week 1.” tainly had a hand in helping In the years that followed,

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SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

From the Publisher From the combine to the draft to OTAs to the pre-season, real meaningful football is finally here!

There is a lot of excitement heading into the season that this could be the team that ends the Bill’s playoff drought, the longest in the National Football League. For a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since Jim Kelly was running the Kgun, there are finally many reasons to be optimistic this year, especially with some new acquisitions and homegrown players starting to come into their own.

One of the strongest presences on the football field has to be that of George Wilson. The current captain of the defense was almost in danger of sliding off the active roster when a position shift from receiver to strong safety re-energized his career and

put those soft hands to good use. With players constantly coming and going, Wilson has been a constant and has earned his respect both on and off the field, representing his teammates as the Bill’s Union representative.

While players like Wilson continue to develop and reward, the summer and fall have seen some big names come into Buffalo. Although none has been bigger than prized defensive end Mario Williams, the Bills were also able to pick up Tarvaris Jackson before the start of the season to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Unfortunately, those two acquisitions meant saying goodbye to two very accomplished but ultimately unproductive members of the Bills; former defensive rookie of the year Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman and

Heisman winner Vince Young.

As football starts gearing up, the NHL has its own escalation on its hands in a potential lockout. Everyone who had to sit through the 2004-05 lockout is hoping that the players and the owners can avoid this situation so that the season starts on time, or at the very least before January.

As the mercury starts to dip and the leaves begin to fall, there are still plenty of outdoor and indoor activities to enjoy. Whether you want to try your first 5K, climb a rock wall, or hit the links, be sure to check out our fun-filled guide.

Fitness fans won’t want to miss the Super Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness show on September 29.

For more details, see the ad on this page or go to www.northernstatessupernatural.com

Sports & Leisure Magazine 469 Virginia Street, Buffalo, New York 14202 Tel.: (716) 876-2738, Fax: (716) 874-8289 Email to: publisher@sportsandleisuremag.com Check us out on the web at www.sportsandleisuremag.com & www.hugesportz.com

Publisher & Editor Marian Giallombardo Associate Editor Jeffrey Levine Feature Writers Paul Adamo, Robert Caico, Rick Davenport, Mike Dyer, Mike Fox, Ivan the Impaler, Ed Kilgore, Joe Kirchmyer, George Kuhn, Jeffrey Levine, Adam McGill, Brian Michalek, Ron Montesano, Len Mytko, Gary Reeves, Charles Roberts, Dave Sully, John Williams, Rick Zurak (golf editor) Chief Photographer Jeff Barnes Staff Photographers Ryan Bartholomew, Bob Conlon, Nick LoVerde, Joe Valenti, Mike Majewski, Holly Malinowski Cover photos George Wilson & Alex Neutz by Jeff Barnes, Ryan Kraner courtesy St. John Fisher Athletics Advisory Board Phil Haberstro, Adam Lingner, Denny Lynch Contributing Writers Bob Conlon, Holly Malinowski, Sloan Martin, Bob Plezia, Dave Ricci, Kyle Soppe, Matt Tibaldi, Bob Timkey, Nanette Tramont Layout & Cover Scott Appleby, Graphic artist Liz Seivert Copy Editors and Office Assistants Len Mytko, Justin Vernold, John Williams Please send your letters, questions, and comments to: Sports & Leisure Magazine, 469 Virginia Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 or e-mail publisher@sportsandleisuremag.com. Please include your name, address and phone number or your letter can’t be published. All letters and responses become the property of Sports & Leisure Magazine, they may be printed, and are subject to editing. Sports & Leisure Magazine is circulated throughout Western New York and Southern Ontario. All rights and trademarks reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. ©1997 2012 Sports & Leisure Inc.Facebook: Sports and Leisure Magazine and Hugesportz.com

Fall 2012

Fall 2012

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Bills lack playoff look but will get there

By Ed Kilgore Ch. 2 Sports Director Don’t be fooled by the Bills up and down preseason results; this is the year they will get back to the playoffs, although it sometimes doesn’t look that way.

Penalties have been a problem, and while many of them are deserved as young players like rookie left tackle Cordy Glenn adjust to the NFL, it really isn’t a concern as I see it.

The lack of actual, tried and true officials is a big problem for the Bills and everybody else in the NFL preseason, but it still isn’t up there with the total rip-off that charging fans full fare for these meaningless games continues to be. The answer is probably that as long as the fans keep buying these tickets as part of their season ticket packages—the Bills increased their number 15 percent to 43,267 during the off season—the games will continue to cost the same as the much more meaningful and interesting regular season games.

Don’t worry, they’ll get this problem straightened out.

As for the preseason, coaches and players will tell you the games mean something because, well, they DO keep score after all. But that just isn’t all that true. We all know that Marv Levy could have cared less about the preseason during the Bills Super Bowl runs, but once the regular season kicked off, his teams were ready to play.

Chan Gailey takes a similar approach, and the first couple games of the 2011 and 2012 pre-seasons certainly reflect that. Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn’t get the Bills into the end zone at all in the preseason openers, and it wasn’t until his third game the lights really came on. He barely played in the fourth game, but when the Bills opened with a stunning 41-7 win at Kansas City, it

was pretty clear Gailey’s method made sense.

Not only that, athletes are a different lot when it comes to their psychological makeup. Since fans are paying full freight in preseason, one could assume the players would be giving full effort as well. Actually, some are and some aren’t. The players in danger of missing the final cut are under tremendous pressure and are playing for their lives.

For established starters, the reality is quite different.

Take defensive end Mario Williams, for example.

Signing for $50 million in guaranteed money might tend to make any player a bit complacent, and I have little doubt that’s why Super Mario looked like an average Mario during the exhibition games. When the regular season begins, that No. 94 will start becoming much more noticeable. Ditto for several players, including Fitzpatrick.

The reality is, we really won’t know how much better this 2012 team might be until we see them go through some adversity.

Lose a game that should have been won, or get hit with some key injuries, and the heart of a team becomes open for all to see.

Last year’s Bills showed they’ve upgraded their talent level tremendously since bringing in GM Buddy Nix to help Gailey rebuild, and even if you do have to speak fluent southern to understand either of them or the players they favor from the South, they’re on the same language level when it comes to winning and mental toughness. When they fell from 5-2 to an eventual 6-10 finish, the team didn’t have enough talent or depth to overcome a rash of injuries.

The big question remains, how much of their late season swoon was due to a lack of heart? A lack of mental toughness? We don’t know the answer to that question

yet.

We’ve heard about lack of mental or physical toughness before, and it’s not just with the Bills. The Sabres are in that same category, along with most everybody else in professional sports. It’s what separates winners and losers when the games really matter. In all four Super Bowl losses, it’s my contention the Bills were the less physical team in each and every game.

But with the current group, say what you want about Fitzpatrick’s mechanical faults and inconsistencies, I do believe he has the physical and mental toughness so vital to playing the most important position in football. Jim Kelly sure had it, but Fitz does too, and sorry Jim, but Fitz is a far faster and more dangerous runner who makes defenses react a step slower because of that elusiveness. The mental makeup of a team starts from the GM and coach down, but the quarterback must have that quality or the rest doesn’t matter much.

Although preseason doesn’t mean a lot as we’ve said, the mere fact Fitz is now “the” guy—never a question—is a huge plus. No matter how teams spin it, when quarterbacks are battling for a starting job in training camp, it isn’t a healthy thing for the team.

The backup battle was interesting, and the Bills have done the prudent thing in cutting Young and picking up Tarvaris Jackson on the cheap. Jackson makes the possibility of injury to Fitz go from disaster to at least somewhat manageable.

It says here the Bills will finally break the long playoff drought and make the 201213 playoffs, IF, and it’s the big IF, they aren’t racked with too many long term injuries to key players. Last year’s experience will be helpful this year, and especially if the team gets off to a fast start.

The pieces are almost there, not quite, but getting there, and anything short of the playoffs this year will be a huge disappointment.

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Fantasy football: Opening kickoff!

By Leonard J. Mytko Once the “Big 3” (Rodgers, Brees and Brady) As this super sensational are off the board, any quarsummer starts to wane, our terback who throws for attention now shifts to 4,624 yards with 27 touchanother fantasy football year downs in an “off” year is still with preseason action just about finished. And even if you don’t have a set game plan for your drafts quite ready yet, you’re bound to be inspired with just the football buzz in the air.

In this issue of Sports & Leisure, we help you wind up summer and envision a new fresh beginning to your league without being overwhelmed with page after page of mindnumbing information that so many fantasy publications and sources often provide.

So here’s a much more compact look at just some of the candidates to keep a closer eye on for the coming season.

Julio Jones, WR, Falcons Like a Georgia peach, Will recently drafted quarterback Jones blossomed late Andrew Luck look as good in Colts last year and bore fine Blue as he did in Stanford Red? fantasy fruit. His 20 one to watch. And even catches for 393 yards and six though Vincent Jackson scores down the stretch had signed with Tampa Bay, fantasy owners in a complete Rivers still has a bevy of tizzy and this could mean receiving weapons he’s on the cusp of super (Meachem, Floyd, V. Brown, stardom in just his second Royal, Gates) around him year. Sure, Detroit’s Calvin and seems poised to return Johnson led all wide to his 2010 form. Plus keep receivers last season with a in mind he’s playing against whopping 1,681 yards and some weak AFC West 16 touchdowns, but Jones is defenses so his stats could be quickly raising some eyesneaky and project high in a brows and moving up the hurry. ranks fast. We say be bold Jared Cook, TE, Titans and grab Jones before Ever so close to being on Megatron. the verge of a breakthrough, Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons perhaps new starter Jake Sticking with the Atlanta Locker will change all of that theme, you don’t need binocand bring out the best in ulars to see Ryan’s continued him. At the tail end of last growth during his first four season, we were given a seasons. Last year, he threw glimpse of that potential for a career-best 4,177 and with 21 catches for 335 yards 29 touchdowns and has a lot and a touchdown in the final of elite upside with his best three games. And even group of receivers yet. If though Rob Gronkowski and there’s a year Ryan will break Jimmy Graham are the out big, it’s this one. cream of the tight end crop, Titus Young, WR, Lions Cook’s now playing for a If you’re looking for the new contract and certainly Robin to Calvin Johnson’s has the talent to be among Batman, Young’s got plenty the best in the league. of that pop. As a rookie last Blair Walsh, K, Vikings year the former Boise State Rookie kickers tend to star caught 33 balls for 398 usually need some time yards and six touchdowns adjusting to the pros, but from Week 8 on, and that this sixth-rounder who momentum should carry recorded 412 points during over into this year, especially his very prolific four-year because he’ll be in a favorcareer at Georgia could be able passing environment the exception. He’s in the with Matthew Stafford. So it’s lower tier of fantasy kickers fairly safe to say you mainly because of the team can expect an increase to he’s booting for, but so far his targets and a bump up to this preseason he’s 8-of-10 his production in year two. with one of his misses from Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers

49 yards and a future looking extremely bright.

Andrew Luck, QB, Colts At one time rookie quarterbacks came into the league with low fantasy expectations, but Cam Newton changed all of that in an instant last year. In Luck’s case, his fantasy potential is just as great and it’s certainly exciting. So it wouldn’t be at all shocking if he comes close to 4,000 passing yards and gets in the range of 25-30 total touchdowns playing from mostly behind.

Peyton Hillis, RB, Chiefs He probably crushed many fantasy owners last year, but now the ex-Brown has a chance to redeem himself sharing time in the KC backfield with Jamal Charles. And with Charles coming back from a torn ACL, Hillis will probably poach a good chunk of his carries and should handle all of the goal-line duties. That alone makes him a good candidate to get back to scoring double-digit touchdowns.

Randy Moss, WR, 49ers Unlike Chad Johnson, Moss seems eager enough to end his legacy in the league on a positive note with the 49ers. This has all the makings of a perfect ending for the 35-year-old to ride off into the sunset playing for a winner. So it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Moss recharge the batteries and have a career renaissance one last time.

Isaac Redman, RB, Steelers If you’re going for a Steelers runner, Redman makes a strong argument to be that guy. Among him, Rashard Mendenhall and Jonathan Dwyer, Redman should get the bulk of the action because Mendenhall is coming back from a major injury and won’t be given a heavy workload right away.

And keep in mind Redman finished strong last year, running for 92 yards and a score against Cleveland in the season finale and 121 in a playoff loss to Denver.

Other players worth scouting: Brandon Lloyd, WR, Patriots; Russell Wilson, QB, Seahawks; Tony Romo, QB, Cowboys; Alfred Morris, RB, Redskins; Kyle Rudolph, TE, Vikings; Kendall Wright, WR, Titans; Nate Kaeding, K, Chargers; Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers.

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SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

NHL lockout looms, blame the owners

By George Kuhn The National Hockey League hopes to follow the successes that the NFL and NBA had in 2011 when those league locked out their players and forced them to accept a new salary cap, which lowered the players share of league revenue to 50 percent. A salary cap is a device that forces players to be paid less than their fair market value. A salary cap only becomes necessary when owners offer such large dollar contracts that the economic viability of the league’s business model becomes unstable, at least for some member franchises.

Under the current NHL salary cap, player salaries are limited to 57 percnet of league revenue. Prior to the NHL salary cap, first implemented in 2005, 70 percent of league revenue went towards players’ salaries. The NHL owners are even more ambitious than their counterparts in the NFL and NBA; they want to reverse the current salary cap numbers and keep 57 percent of league revenues for themselves while the players would get 43 percent, that’s about a 12 percent decrease in salary expenses.

The owners have only themselves to blame for the large player contracts being signed around the league. It is a basic principle of contract law that a contract consists of an offer and an acceptance.

Without the owner upping the price point, there is no salary escalation. So why is Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider pushing for a lower salary cap and also five-year limits on contract length while signing his players to six-year deals and signing unrestricted free agent Shea Weber to an offer sheet for an almost mind-boggling $110 million?

The league’s lowest revenue teams have trouble covering their expenses and with no meaningful revenue sharing plan, the

Fantasy baseball

By Mike Fox

Photo by Joe Valenti

If the owners and player’s can’t come to an agreement, another lockout looms large for the NHL. change. league’s wealthier teams For now the owners are obviously not interestseem to hold all the cards ed in helping them. In fact, in negotiations. But that when the Flyers try to pry changes as we near the Weber out of Nashville or NHL’s January 1st Winter the Rangers sign away star Classic extravaganza with players like Marian the Detroit Red Wings Gaborik from the Wild, hosting the Toronto Maple Brad Richards from Leafs outdoors at the Dallas—a large market University of Michigan in team with small market Ann Arbor. The NHL is financial problems—and enjoying a new higher proRick Nash from Columbus, file status on American telit’s obvious that the evision and NBC’s coverage wealthy teams have a comof the Winter Classic has petitive advantage in being reinvigorated the league’s able to leverage star playbrand with a $200 million ers from their economicalper year broadcast deal. ly challenged competitors That’s a tremendous turnand have no incentive or around for a league that intention to give away that was actually paying the advantage by instituting a network to broadcast its revenue sharing system games just a few years ago. that would at least allow If a lockout is imposed and teams like Phoenix, results in the cancellation Columbus or the Long of the Winter Classic, the Island to at least cover NHL will suffer an embartheir expenses. In fact, the rassing loss of credibility. If NHL exacerbates the ecothe lockout persists into nomic dilemma of the December, the players will lower revenue teams by have an advantage in negorequiring all teams to tiations as the owners will spend a minimum salary try to hold on to their presfloor amount on wages, tige with the outdoor economic suicide for teams game. that don’t have the revenue So with a supposed to afford it. deadline of September 15th According to Forbes for a deal that would start writer Mike Ozanian, while the season on time, look NHL revenues are now risfor a flurry of activity ing five percent annually beginning around and salaries are rising 10 September 10th to get this percent resulting in 18 out deal done. But December of 30 franchise losing 15th is a more likely start money. This is clearly an date for the 2012-13 NHL unsustainable business season. model so something has to

Fall 2012

waiver wire pickup contending for a Cy Young I’ve often Award? Even if preached the R.A. Dickey doesimportance of the n’t win the Cy, he’ll middle and late rank among the rounds of fantasy major-league leaddrafts, and this ers in wins, strikeyear the pickings outs and WHIP. were exceptionally No other starter good for some has provided more astute/lucky ownfantasy bang for ers. Chances are your buck. that if a team Arizona’s Wade owned more than Miley’s modest one of the followminor and major ing players in your league track league, they are record made him playoff bound even nothing more than as we speak. a late-round flier Mike Trout’s AL in most fantasy Rookie of the Year leagues, but he’s Award is already a quietly put togethforegone concluer a strong season sion, and more in the Arizona hardware is clearly desert. He’s shown in his future. Trout excellent control, will likely end up Photo courtesy MLBPressbox surrendering less leading the AL in R.A. Dickey’s improbable 2012 season has than two bases on batting average, been a godsend for the Mets and for his fantaballs for every nine runs scored, and sy owners. innings pitched. stolen bases, and This has allowed could become only him to pitch deep into Cabrera among third basethe third member of the 30games—averaging almost eligible players. I’m sorry 50 club (Barry Bonds, Eric seven innings per start— Edwin, for ever having Davis). Not bad for a kid and the wins have followed. doubted you. who gave the rest of the The next time you want The scouts kept telling us league a month’s head start to overpay for saves, that Chase Headley had before the Halos called him remember Fernando tools, but it took until his up from AAA. He’s already Rodney’s 2012 season. Most age-28 season for him to being compared with the former Rodney owners prove it. In direct defiance likes of Cobb, Mays and carry nothing but memories of his pitcher-friendly home Mantle. Assuming he still of quiet revulsion after a park, Headley has shattered has some upside at age 21, career-long pattern of teashis former career marks in we may soon be comparing ing us into giving him a job homers and RBI, and his him to Clark Kent. On just in time for his .274 batting average and 13 behalf of all his keeperinevitable self-implosion.

SBs are enough to make league owners, no, you canNot so this year, as he was him, well, make him a poor not have him. Ever. somehow again awarded a man’s Edwin Encarnacion.

Mark Trumbo already had closer job, this time with Alex Rios managed only two minor league seasons the Rays, and now leads the two 20-homer campaigns with 30-plus homers under majors with 39 saves, with over his first eight seasons. his belt, and smacked an Eck-esque 0.77 ERA and His speed potential was another 29 for the Angels in 0.78 WHIP. always enough to earn him 2011, so we knew he had If Rodney’s stats aren’t a job in fantasy leagues, but some pop in his bat. He’s enough to implant the Don’t last year’s .227-13-44 fiasco taken things to another Overpay rule, then certainly was the final straw for many level this year, adding 30 Aroldis Chapman has confantasy owners. Those of points to his batting average vinced you. Chapman has you who kept the faith have and more than one hundred used his 100 mph heat to been rewarded by a rejuvepoints to his OBP. simply overpower batters nated Rios, who should join I was quietly optimistic at this year. His 112 strikeouts the 20-20 Club for the secbest in our June issue about over 62 innings are a ond time. The other was in Edwin Encarnacion’s record-breaking pace, and 2010, with that 2011 matzo chances of maintaining a he’s surrendered only 30 ball stuck in between. Good top-20 fantasy pace, and he hits in that time. This luck with that next year, didn’t. He got better. His should be the first of many Rios fans. .291-32-84-13 line places 30-save seasons.

When’s the last time you him squarely in fantasy’s remember a 37-year-old top-10, trailing only Miguel

Now that it’s not too hot out, Fall is the perfect time to do a 5K or Adventure race.

The Runners of Fall

By Matt Tibaldi Another summer is soon to be in the books, and not a moment too soon. Alright, who am I kidding? However, we can find joy in the fact that we will be welcomed in Western New York by what can be considered by many to be “perfect” running weather.

It is racing season in Western New York, as thousands of runners flock to the race of their choosing to put a summer of training to the test. The fall racing season presents runners with all sorts of scenic running routes, filled of foliage, which creates a setting ideal for training and racing alike.

At these races, you will see a variety of running mentalities stepping up to the starting line to put their body and mind through tests of heart and will. Each runner will come to the starting line for a different reason. What those runners see at the finish line, 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, or even 26.2 miles away, is as different as the bib number pinned upon them.

On one end of the spectrum of the running mentalities that enter a race are the competitors eyeing to break the tape at the finish. Many runners have put in large volumes of hours and miles into their training schedules to achieve the honor of being the first one through the finish line. Whether it’s first

place in their age group, or in the entire race, these runners won’t be satisfied on race day without finishing on top.

For other runners, the finish line is the ultimate goal.

Here you have runners looking to race to achieve a personal best time, or simply just reach the finish line.

Many runners see the finish line as a goal to set in order to get up off the couch, and get into shape. They use the race as motivation to stay active, eat healthy, and while they’re at it, lose some extra pounds. These runners are some of the most inspiring people you will see at a race.

They create a chain reaction at any race they enter, as their finishes inspire spectators looking on to consider reaching a finish line of their own one day.

Organized runs have evolved quite a bit over the years, almost to the point where running has become a secondary reason for participating in the race. Races are becoming less and less traditional, as the rise of races, such as obstacle runs, has created much differentiation on the Western New York racing calendar.

Obstacle runs are races with a twist, or shall I say, several. They contain numerous obstacles planted along the run course that create additional physical challenges to an already impressive test of endurance. Racers

come to the starting line knowing they will not be nearly as clean as they are when they finish. These physical challenges force runners to hurdle, crawl, climb, slide and swim all the way to the finish line. While these can be timed events, these races are more about the experience. You see runners of all types take in the enjoyment of the adventure along the route, as the obstacles add a new element of fun to the run. And at these races, the fun doesn’t stop at the finish line.

A journey such as this is worthy of a reward, and it is at the finish line where runners receive their reward in the form of an unconventional shower and a post-race party. Once runners rinse off, there is an assortment of complementary food, beverages, and beer awaiting them, as they can look back on the race and share their stories with hundreds, if not thousands, of other finishers.

If you are looking to join the runners of Western New York, Eclipse Multi-Sport organizes a variety of runs and obstacle runs across the Western New York region. To see their full race schedule, please visit their website at eclipsemultisport.com.

Matt Tibaldi is a life-long running enthusiast, and has competed in numerous cross country and road races.

Photo by David Spicer

Once you run on a trail, you’ll never want to go back to the road.

Dirty thoughts

By Bob Timkey If you’ve ever jogged along the side of a busy road or city street, you know the importance of running toward oncoming traffic. Runners should stay to the left so they can keep an eye on approaching vehicles and be constantly alert to side step, dart or dive out of the way when a distracted driver strays over the white line.

Notice I say “when,” not “if.”

If you really enjoy running, or even if you love to hate it, like I usually do, it’s only a matter of time before you have a close call while running near traffic.

Want some real stress relief? Hit the trails and get dirty.

Trail running is a back-tonature, this is what we were put on the planet to do kind of experience. It typically costs absolutely nothing more than the price of the air in your lungs and the shoes on your feet and, if you’re inspired by nature and fitness, you’ll come home brimming with natural ener-

gy. You can’t buy this kind of buzz at a coffee shop drive through.

There are a few things to consider before you head out for your first trail run. Avoid trespassing on private property by sticking to public parks and marked trails.

Nothing ruins the mood of new found freedom and the wind in your hair like an irritated farmer with a shotgun and a stern warning. Here are some of my runner pals’ favorite spots to run off-road in Western New York: Akron Falls Park – Akron, NY Beaver Island – Grand Island, NY Bonds Lake – Ransomville, NY Chestnut Ridge Park – Orchard Park, NY Darien Lake - Corfu, NY Holiday Valley Ellicottville, NY Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge – Alabama, NY Letchworth State Park – Leicester, NY Mendon Ponds –

Pittsford, NY Niagara Riverbank path between the NY Power Authority and Whirlpool Bridge Sprague Brook Park – Glenwood, NY Youngstown to Lewiston bike trail, along Robert Moses Parkway Your next consideration is clothing. There really is no such thing as bad weather, just bad choices in apparel.

Even in the rain or snow, trail running can be a pure joy, sometimes even more so because you’re more likely to have the trail all to yourself.

Dress for the weather but don’t overdress. If you’re a bit chilly when you first step away from your car, you’re probably dressed just fine.

Do bring along a long sleeve T-shirt or light jacket and leave it behind so you’ll have something warm to slip into after your run. Also, a small towel and a clean, dry shirt will make your ride home a lot more comfortable. If you’re running on well worn, groomed trails, regular run-

ning shoes will work just fine. Just watch your step and take it slow. As you get to know a particular trail, you’ll be able to pick up the pace and step around roots and rocks just as you find your way through your home in the dark. On more technical, rocky trails, special trail running shoes with more aggressive tread and stiffer bottoms will protect your feet better from sharp edges. Socks are a good idea to protect your ankles from poison ivy and a brimmed hat is helpful in the rain.

The last important thing

to think about is hydration and perhaps some calories if you plan to run more than 45 to 60 minutes. Bring along a water bottle no matter what. If you’re only headed out for 20 to 30 minutes, leave it in the car. Any longer, carry it along. If you’d like to run longer than an hour, it’s a good idea to bring a sports drink, energy gels or a small snack like trail mix or a granola bar.

One other idea to add a special element of adventure: pick up a headlamp at a specialty outdoor store or your local hardware store (make

sure it fits on your head well enough so that it won’t jiggle free while running). Where park rules permit, running through the woods in the dark under a headlamp’s beam is a special experience that will bring you worlds away from the everyday experience of joggers who never leave their subdivision, and you might only be a half mile away in the woods behind your house.

Bob Timkey is an avid outdoor enthusiast and Ironman distance triathlete who lives and trains in Western New York.

Hickory Ridge Golf and RV Park

By Ronald S. Montesano If you were to learn that one of the most popular RV parks is attached to a golf course in Orleans County, would it surprise you? As the years pass, fewer folks are even slightly astonished to learn that Hickory Ridge is not just a golf course, but a full-fledged RV resort.

If you’re a checklist person, we can make this easy on you. Lake for fishingcheck. Party House for evening gatheri n g s , dancing a n d m u s i c c h e c k .

Clubhouse for lunch and d i n n e r- c h e c k .

RV hook-ups for a stay of one night to six months-check.

Challenging golf course that plays from open savannah to wooded fairway trails and back againcheck.

For those who want to know a little more about each amenity, we’ll break it down for you. Beginning with the golf course, the Hickory Ridge layout is a compilation of diverse terrains. The opening holes on each nine (1 and 2, 10 through 12) traverse the upper, windier portion of the course. Exposed to nature’s elements without the slightest protection, these holes invoke the English heathlands that

Photo by Ron Montesano

The ever-popular RV Park at Hickory Ridge.

often rival seaside linksland. From these points on, (3 through 8, 13 to 16) the golfer enters a Sherwood-style forest, where a premium is placed on accurate drives and approaches. If you’re a long-hitting, wild-swinging driver, consider putter from the tee! The final holes on each side (9 on the front, 17 and 18 on the back) emerge from the woods, creating a unique triangle between the Party House and the Club House.

Green fees begin at $14 for 18 weekday holes, walking or $22 with a cart.

They rise very little, to $18 and $22, respectively, on

the weekend. Foursome specials are available, saving each player $4 on weekdays and $5 on weekends. Hickory Ridge also has a driving range for warm-up or practice, with affordable bucket prices.

Unless you’re a 36-holes a day golfer, you’ll need something to do during time away from the course.

It’s our guess that you’ve parked your recreational vehicle in the RV Park.

After all, the seasonal spaces were nearly filled to capacity for 2012. And why shouldn’t they be?

Each site is equipped with water, electric, sewer and cable television hook-ups, and wi-fi internet connectivity pervades to boot.

If you’ve had your fill of golf for the day, a flexible activity schedule offers arts and crafts and other themed activities for children, pontoon boat and canoe rentals for all, as well as horseshoes, bocce ball, volleyball and other sporting fun for the entire encampment. continued on page 4

Photo by Ron Montesano

Batavia CC offers a challenging course, highlighted by aesthetic details.

Review: Batavia Country Club

By Ron Montesano There’s nothing effete about Batavia Country Club. The golf course, lodge and outer buildings call forth a hearty sense of rural strength, both in the way the business is run and the course must be played.

The front nine can play to a muscular 3800 yards, should you choose to go all the way back to the tips.

The club house and surrounding buildings are bathed in earth tones, casting a frontier shade on the entire complex.

When a business offers the best for less, folks appropriately get suspicious. When an enterprise reveals that its rates in 2013 will remain the same as they were in 2012, its clientele reacts with gratitude. For

members, the annual subscription rate will not be raised a cent.

One of the reasons to be enamored of Batavia is the renovated pro shop. Deep brown wood cubicles and cupboards house the shirts, shoes and equipment you need to get around the golf course in style and low numbers. The country club offers a thorough selection of the current and traditional apparel, in addition to a fine variety of clubs and golf balls.

During a drive-round photo tour of the course, the lush consistency of the rough and fairway grasses stood out. Interestingly, despite their most-green appearance, the course played moderately fast and firm. No one likes to watch

balls plug and stop in the fairway, and most folks get skittish when their shots explode like rockets and shoot across greens and boundary roads. Batavia Country Club’s superintendent is to be commended, as he has discovered the potion for achieving a desirable blend of both extremes.

The pattern throughout Batavia’s course is that there simply is no pattern. Rarely do holes trace similar topographical grades or directions. If one hole goes up and left, the next one is certain to either go down or right. The par three holes vary in length from short to lengthy, with two other distances in between. The riskreward second hole, a par continued on page 4

Hickory Ridge Given the proximity of sites to each other, a warm sense of community develops quickly. Rates begin at $38 for a singlenight stay most nights, and reach a manageable $2,050 for a seasonal lease on one of the four premium sites that abut Lake McCargo. A camp store, shower and laundry facilities are available to all guests of the RV resort.

Take your time getting back to kick back. Stop in to the pro shop to restock your bag, then shuffle to the right to the snack bar for a nice bite to eat. The grill offers an extensive menu of hot and cold sandwiches, from traditional fare (hot dogs and burgers) to wraps, Buffalo chicken and Philly cheese steak sandwiches. The cooks will also tempt you with an array of side orders, including sweet potato fries, onion rings and

from page 3

mozzarella sticks.

On Friday nights, three types of fish, strip steak, two parmesan dishes and stuffed ravioli highlight the popular dinner menu. What better way to ring in the weekend than a well-cooked meal in the resort’s wellappointed dining room?

Weekly specials liven up the chef ’s offerings, ensuring that you’ll have ample diversity of menu offerings and will rarely eat the same entrée twice.

When you’re done with lunch or dinner, take the long way over to walk off the full belly, past Lake McCargo and stop for a spell in the gazebo. If you’re in need of a longer stretch of the legs, continue on to the hiking and nature-watch trails for a spell in the wilderness.

You might get the urge to drop in a line and catch some dinner. Sidle on by the pool and dip

your toes in, or slide farther on for a cool-down.

The pool was designed to resort specifications and offers plenty of space for sunbathing and general lounging around.

Hickory Ridge Golf, Event and RV resort is located in Holley, NY, in Orleans County. Its facilities are available for rent for banquets and weddings, as the dining room can accommodate 400 guests. Visit their website at www.hickoryridgegolfresort.com to learn more about this multifaceted destination. Be sure to sign up for the resort newsletter when you visit Hickory Ridge on the web. That way, you’ll never miss any news from western New York’s RV and golf destination.

Ron M. writes about golf for Sports & Leisure and his website, BuffaloGolfer.Com

Batavia

from page 3

five of 472 yards from the member deck, plays downhill from tee to green, with a fronting pond the last obstacle between you and eagle.

Give it a go; after all, 16 holes still remain for cautious play.

The back nine cross Batavia-Byron road and works its way through the hillier portion of the course. The par-five 12th hole rises to a green set in a hilltop plateau; the one-shot 13th goes it one better, ascending higher to a green protected by a seeing-eye bunker. Three holes later, the three-shot 16th tumbles down from the peak, around a rightward bend, to a valley green. There’s no lack of excitement over the closing stretch at Batavia Country Club.

If, as we suspect, you are so enthusiastic about Batavia that you cannot wait until 2013 to get out and play, don’t fret. Green fees will be $15 weekday and $20 weekend during October. As the leaves of Western New York make their annual pilgrimage toward explosive autumn colors, there are few courses whose plumage will brightly burn like Batavia.

Planned improvements for 2013 include a focus on cart path repair and enhancement, to facilitate the movement of golfers around the course. The clubhouse lodge will see continued remodeling of downstairs facilities, to complement the elegant banquet room that fills the lodge’s top floor.

Batavia Country Club sits at the confluence of Batavia-Byron and Folch Roads. It is an easy drive from either Rochester or Buffalo.

Golf professional Tom Moynihan is available to instruct individuals or groups in the fine arts of short game and full swing. Visit the Batavia Country Club website at www.bataviacc.com to learn more about the club, its course and banquet facilities, and green fees membership rates.

Ron M. writes about golf for Sports & Leisure and his website, BuffaloGolfer.Com

Fall 2012

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Page 7

Brad Keselowski: A breath of fresh air in NASCAR

By Dave Sully after hitting oil, which had guaranteed a spot in Sprint been dropped a lap earlier Cup Chase.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver when Bobby Labonte lost his At Watkins Glen, he drove Brad Keselowski was on my engine. Keselowski, with the in both the Nationwide Zippo radar even before the race at stake and Busch direct200 and the Finger Lakes 355 NASCAR weekend at Watkins ly in front of him, Glen, which I kept the pedal recently attended. I down. There was was impressed with contact between his cautiously them as Keselowski aggressive driving went by, taking style, which is to say Ambrose with him he doesn’t pull over into second. for anyone, but he The last lap will doesn’t go head be talked about for hunting either, years, as both unlike some of the Keselowski and more thin-skinned Ambrose fought the drivers in oily conditions, NASCAR’s elite swapped the lead, class. Part of that and slip through the could be that he grass, with Ambrose drives for Roger ultimately winning.

Penske, one of the Keselowski had most respected car plenty to say afterowners in the histoward, but he was ry of the sport. In not angry. He was addition, I think thrilled to have so that Keselowski is much fun, and it very confident in was evident in his his ability and has post-race press conpaid his dues long Photo by Dave Sully ference. enough. Now he can Brad talking to the media after his eventful day “I had a shot to compete at the highat the Glen. get underneath him, est level, secure in and I took it,” Keselowski said Sprint Cup Race, finishing the knowledge that he belongs of when Busch got loose on second in both races. there. the slick track. “The track was In the Nationwide race Brad The 28-year-old complete oil. Neither of us was leading late in the race Keselowski, from Rochester was going to make it out of when Carl Edwards made a Hills, Mich., grew up in a racthere to the corner. That was dangerous outside move on a ing environment. His father unfortunate. [It was] certainly restart. He could have very Bob raced in the NASCAR not the ideal situation, to easily stayed on the gas, which Truck Series and won a race in wreck the leader, but it was likely would have wrecked 1997, while his Uncle Ron one of those unavoidable deals Edwards, but chose not to, raced in several divisions in where the whole track was unand it cost him the race. the 70s. drivable. Somehow we all Afterward, he declared, “Good In the year 2000 he began found a way to get back hard racing. Nothing wrong. racing stock cars and proceedaround, or some of us did. I The restarts are the best ed to win nine features in his regret that Kyle wasn’t one of chance to make a pass. I feel rookie year. As he began to be them.” like I gave away a little bit of a noticed, he graduated to high“When I got into turn two, win. I’m banking on nice-guy er and higher divisions, ultithere was nothing but oil,” points on that one.” mately beginning his Keselowski said regarding the On the final lap, he had an NASCAR career driving in the last lap tussle with Ambrose. opportunity to take the lead Nationwide Series in 2007 for “Marcos was right on my back, when Edwards missed a Dale Earnhardt Jr. and bumper. We got through turns downshift. Edwards drifted Hendrick Motorsports. In three and four, and it was into Keselowski, pushing him 2008, he finished third in the nothing but oil. I got out in toward the wall, ending his Nationwide Series, enjoying the grass, and I thought, ‘Oh, final bid. two wins along the way. no, I’ve thrown the race away.’

“Obviously, he missed the In 2009 he scored four I looked in my mirror and he left hander,” Keselowski charNationwide wins and his first was in the grass too. That itably offered. “He struggled to ever Sprint Cup win at shows you how bad the track get into the corner. I was realTalladega in April. The final was. We got to the carousel ly strong through there and three races of the year saw him and I must have hit the oil pulled up to his outside door. take over the No. 12 Penske spot one more time. I slipped I went into the turn and Carl Dodge, one of the better rides up; he didn’t.” got loose, came up the track in NASCAR. Continuing his “It was just fun,” he conand hit me. That kind of took success, he won the cluded. “We leaned on each away all my momentum. I Nationwide Championship other. We were both cool didn’t have a chance at it from the following year, a first for about it and didn’t dump each there.”

Penske Racing. other. That’s what I think You could sense in that In 2011 while driving the NASCAR racing is supposed interview that Keselowski was No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, to be, hard-nosed, going for measuring his words. You another very good ride from the win, and rubbing, without knew how he really felt, but Penske, Keselowski showed any of that intentional wreckhe wasn’t about to talk sour his grit when he drove the last ing nonsense. Marcos gets grapes. He will remember, four races of the season with a that. I enjoy racing with him.” however. broken ankle. During that With a press room full of Keselowski was also time, he scored two wins and media types, Keselowki made involved in a very exciting two more top three finishes in a strong impression, especially Sprint Cup race with Kyle a four-race span, earning him by not moaning and groaning Busch, NASCAR’s current vilthe 2011 Dale Earnhardt about what should or could lain, and Marcos Ambrose, last Tough Driver Award presented have been. Here is a driver year’s winner, where they by the Sporting News and also who gets it. He will be fun to made up the top three with the profound respect of everywatch in the coming years. two laps to go. It looked for one in the garage.

Footnote: On Sunday mornthe entire world that Busch, In 2012, Keselowski has ing I had the opportunity to take who had taken the lead on an continued to earn headlines, a lap at race speed in the pace earlier, somewhat dangerous, racking up three wins, nine car, driven by former NASCAR restart, was going to win. top fives, and 13 top tens, driver Brett Bodine. We reached As the cars took the white which have him in fifth place a top speed of 130 mph. That flag signifying the final lap, in the standings. With these was FUN! Busch suddenly got sideways scores, he is almost certainly

Photo courtesy NYRA/Coglianese Photo

Alpha and Golden Ticket leading the pack at Saratoga.

Stakes action abounds at The Spa

By Nanette Tramont The New York Racing Association’s premier meet began its 143rd season on July 20. “The Spa” featured live racing six days a week (Tuesday was dark) for 40 idyllic days, drawing top trainers, the best horses and a jockey colony second to none.

Opening day saw the 94th running of the Grade II $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes for two-year-old fillies— the first in a series of six graded main track “baby” races culminating with the Grade I $250,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes for colts on Labor Day. The 5-2 favorite So Many Ways, the daughter of Sightseeing-Happy Scene by Dehere, with Javier Castellano up, took the Schuylerville for trainer Tony Dutrow and owner Maggie Moss.

Day two featured The Spa’s first Grade I of the meet—the $300,000 TVG Coaching Club American Oaks for three-year-old fillies. Run at 1 1/8 miles, the race was won by Goldolphin runner Questing, the daughter of Hard Spun. Piloted by 19year-old Irad Ortiz, Questing was trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. It was the first Grade I win for both horse and rider.

Another Grade I for the girls was showcased on the second weekend of racing—the $600,000 Diana Handicap on Saturday on the turf. Phillips Racing Partnership’s homebred Winter Memories scored an exciting victory as the 8-5 favorite in an impressive six-horse field that included last year’s winner, Zagora. The four-year-old

gray/roan daughter of El Prado-Memories of Silver

by Silver Hawk was trained

by James Toner and piloted

by Javier Castellano. The race marked her sixth graded stakes victory.

The $750,000 Whitney Handicap, the $250,000 Test for three-year-old fillies—both Grade I is run on the first Saturday in August—and the $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt for sprinters continued the stakes action. Fort Larned,

by E Dubai, who went off at 7-2, prevailed over a nine-horse field for trainer Ian Wilkes to take the Whitney, and the evenmoney Contested overcame a bad start to win the seven-furlong Test by two lengths. It was the filly’s second Grade 1 NYRA victory this year for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

By Ghostzapper out of the Arch mare Gold Vault, Contested was ridden by Rafael Bejarano.

And it was bombs away in the Vanderbilt, run over a muddy track, as the 36-1 shot Poseidon’s Warrior upset the heavy favorite Shackelford, winner of last year’s Preakness Stakes.

The win gave jockey Irad Ortiz his second Grade I win of the meet and his career. It was Poseidon’s Warrior’s first Grade I. With half the meet in the review mirror, the 1 ? mile Sword Dancer Invitational tested the mettle of nine of the best turf horses over the firm going. Point of Entry, the Phipps Stable’s homebred four-year-old son of Dynaformer–Matlacha Pass, by Seeking the Gold, scored his second Grade I win in a row, and his fourth consecutive victory. Jockey

John Velazquez gave him the perfect trip on the rail for trainer Shug M c G a u g h e y .

Questing returned in the Grade I TVG Alabama and put on a spectacular show in her wire-to-wire win to stamp herself the leader of the three-year-old filly division. Setting blazing fractions (:22.84 for the first quarter and :46.01 for the half mile) on the fast track with Irad Ortiz again in the irons, the filly finished the 1 ? mile trial nine lengths ahead of her nearest rival.

The meet’s showcase event, the Grade I $1 million Travers Stakes, capped an all-stakes Pick 4 on Aug. 25. And although none of the winners of the Triple Crown races were around to compete, the “Mid-Summer Derby” gave race fans something to talk about for a long time—the first dead heat since 1874.

The 1874 heater between Attila and Acrobat was resolved in a run-off, with Attila emerging the victor.

The 2-1 favorite, Godolphin runner Alpha,

by Bernardini out of the Nijinsky II mare Munnaya, with Ramon Dominquez up, made it to the wire just as 33-1 longshot, Golden Ticket, by Speightstown out of the Deputy Minister mare Business Plan, under David Cohen did.

Trainers Kiaran McLaughlin (Alpha) and the Ken McPeek (Golden Ticket)—childhood friends—were seen by NBC’s network audience hugging and high-fiving when the tote recorded the steward’s decision.

Horseracing at its very best!

Page 8

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Doctari’s Fishing Forum

with Rich Davenport

Fall 2012

Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2012 Community Sports Report

Photo by Eric Boehnke

Musky, like this one caught by Rich Davenport, start increasing their feeding activity across WNY in fall.

Steamy summer sets up fantastic fall

September marks the end of summer, and, in theory, cooling weather as we start the march towards winter.

Water temperatures across WNY have held at mid-summer levels since June, but fishing activity seems to be on schedule across area lakes, while stream anglers hope to see some good rain to lift water flow to volume more favorable to running trout and salmon.

Walleye Lake Erie walleye continue to show strong, with these popular game fish holding under large schools of bait seemingly stretching from Dunkirk to Barcelona Harbor. Despite water temperatures in the mid-70s (surface), productive waters still show between 75 and 85 feet depths, running worm harnesses and stick baits (5 inches) off dipsey divers and 10-color lead core, worked on a slow troll while presenting roughly 60 to 65 feet down. Down rigging the same presentations will also deliver both eater and whopper sized ‘eyes to the boat.

Action seems to be shallower early, with fish moving out over 100 feet as the sun and heat of the day rises. A watermelon pattern, and orange and black, seem to be most productive colors. Anticipate the schools of migratory walleye to start their return trip to the west basin as water temperatures drop.

Chautauqua walleye show sporadically but should start an uptick as weeds start to die. Drifting a hot-n-tot along the outside edges or bouncing a night crawler/spinner combo tempt good action, but a sonar bait like the Silver Buddy or Cicada can be especially successful when jigged along edges of deeper drop offs off Long Point, Tom’s Point and off the Bell Tower.

Recently the NYS DEC announced changes to some of the walleye regulations, including an increase of the daily creel limit on Lake Erie to six fish, but this does not

take effect until the new license year begins Oct. 1, 2012. Be sure to pick up a regulations guide to get familiar with the many changes.

Trout and Salmon Lake Ontario trout and salmon start staging for the fall run, edging closer to shore with each passing day.

Big King Salmon show from depths of 200-400 feet, with stray specimens showing with more regularity much shallower. Spoons and flies trolled between 2 and 2.5 mph set 45 to 50 feet down, is a good bet to get in on some silver action before the fish head into the streams to spawn. With water levels low due to moderate drought conditions, anglers will be hoping for some good rains to draw fish into shore range.

Lake Erie also shows some excellent trout action, especially big lake trout, west of Van Buren Point to the NY/PA state line, holding tight to bottom in depths from 85 to 120 feet. A spoon or large stickbait presented down 80 feet draws savage strikes from rainbows, browns and lake trout, with 30-pound class fish (lake trout) very possible.

Inland trout anglers still have time if some rain lifts stream levels to more fishable levels and water clarity. With the inland season closing Oct. 15, hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate. Fly fishing fall emerging patterns like trico spinners, bluewinged olives and midge flies work when the hatch is on, but more attention to spinners or salted minnows may be paid if waters cool close to on schedule. Rain is a must, and a good amount is needed or we may have to wait until April 1.

Panfish Yellow perch are starting to set up on Lake Erie off Sturgeon Point and Sunset Bay in depths between 60 and 70 feet, changing as both weather and predator movement dictates, but when you can find them, the game is definitely on. Still fishing minnows on a vertical presentation cannot be beat, especially if you can collect some emerald shiner—a challenge when waters are this hot. Action extends throughout the days when weather conditions permit.

Chautauqua Lake yellow

perch continue their hot action, hitting just about everywhere lake wide.

Crappie, too, get moving as dying weeds attract all sort of prey. For best crappie bite, try at night.

Muskellunge Things start heating up for musky aficionados with September marking the start of the fall frenzy, and specimens of monstrous proportions start feeding more heavily to prepare for the cold winter ahead. Top water angling with large jerk baits works wonders during early morning hours until the sun is full in the sky, while trolling deeper weed edges in the upper Niagara River or along the deeper weeds of Chautauqua Lake can tempt the wary water wolf into striking.

National Hunting and Fishing Day The Erie County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs will be celebrating the 41st Annual National Hunting and Fishing Day at Elma Conservation Club, 600 Creek Road, Elma, on Saturday, September 22, 2012. The family-friendly event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. rain or shine, and is free for all to attend. Local conservation clubs and organizations will help demonstrate and instruct interested folks, both young and old, on archery and crossbow shooting, trap shooting and air rifle marksmanship, as well as offer instructional activities to improve your fishing skills, and much, much more. A free Sahlen’s hot dog lunch will be available.

Remember, take a kid fishing and give the gift that lasts a lifetime.

Rich Davenport is cofounder of WeLoveOutdoors.com, an avid Outdoorsman and member of the NYSOWA. His works are also published in NY Outdoor News, Walleye.com and the Buffalo News. Rich is also the Recording Secretary for the Erie County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Secretary of the Western NY Environmental Federation, member of the Erie County Fisheries Advisory Board and is the Co-Chairman and Region 9 Rep NYSCC Big Game Committee. Email rich@weloveoutdoors.com.

Nichols hockey coach Frank Sacheli; St. Joe’s Ralph Wilson, Bob Rich, Collegiate football coach Seymour Knox III, Jim and athletic Kelly, Rick director, Joe Martin and all Wolf; and the other brothers luminary Craig and members of Ron Wolfley, the Greater who both Buffalo Sports starred in the Hall of Fame N F L . will have Entering some addiposthumoustional compaly are former ny starting on UB softball Oct. 17. coach and Headlined administraby play-byThe longest tenured tor Nan play man and announcer in the NHL, Harvey, forlongtime Rick Jeanneret has mer major voice of the given fans some of the league baseSabres Rick game’s most iconic ball players Jeanneret, the calls over the last 40+ Wally Schang class of 2012 years of hockey. and Stan will have 14 Rojek and boxer Lou inductees: former St. Scozza.

Bonaventure basketball star The 14 inductees will George Carter; Buffalo Bills bring the total number of linebacking great Harry local sports legends in the Jacobs; local amateur sports GBSHOF to 254. star Kim Kaul; Niagara The Hall of Fame honors County Community those who have enhanced College wrestling coach of the lives of Western New 38 years, Eric Knuutila; Yorkers with their performhighly regarded tennis ances and commitment to coach, Todd Miller; former

the sports of the region, an effort surpassed only by the positive impressions they have left on our athletes of tomorrow.

“This promises to be a great day for the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and its incoming class,” Therese Forton, president of the GBSHOF, proclaimed.

“Our board has been working very hard the past few months to ensure an outstanding evening for all of those in attendance.”

This year’s induction will be held Oct. 17 at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in downtown Buffalo. Cocktails will be served at 5:30 pm, dinner promptly at 7 pm and the induction ceremony will start at 8 pm. Cost for the event is $85.00 per person, or $750 for a table of 10.

For information on tickets, please contact Tina Pastwick at 716-693-3807, or visit the hall of fame’s web site at www.gbshof.com.

Melissa Gearhart will, once again, serve as the event chair.

For additional information, call 716-888-2977 or e-mail maddock@canisius.edu.

All-Star festivities put the eyes of the baseball world back on Buffalo

By Joe Kirchm0yer Diehard Buffalo Bisons fans still recall the very first Triple A All-Star game ever played like it was yesterday. Held at Pilot Field in downtown Buffalo during the brand new stadium’s inaugural season in 1988, the game featured legendary Bisons Benny Distefano and Tom Prince, as well as future MLB stars such as Gregg Jefferies and Sandy Alomar Jr. Fast-forward 25 years and the Triple A spotlight was once again shining on Buffalo as the best players from the International and Pacific Coast leagues headed to CocaCola Field for a sold-out game and three days of All-Star festivities. The week included an exciting Home Run Derby in front of a near-capacity crowd on Monday, July 9; player excursions and team workouts on Tuesday, July 10; and an All-Star Luncheon featuring MLB great Tom Seaver on Wednesday, July 11, followed by the 25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game that aired on both the MLB Network and Time Warner Cable.

And Buffalo couldn’t have looked better, thanks to a stretch of perfect weather, big crowds at the ballpark and some exciting action on the field.

“We started talking to International League President Randy Mobley about three years ago,” Bisons GM Mike Buczkowski said.

“The game rotates between leagues, and we knew that the 25th game would be in an International League city. We then began having discussions to bring the game back to

where it started.”

Once it became official that Buffalo would indeed host the silver anniversary classic, the planning began. Two years of preparations would follow, with the biggest challenges being logistics and ticket sales, according to Buczkowski.

“We had players and officials flying in from different cities and different time zones,” the Bisons GM explained, “and many were bringing their families and guests to the game with them.

When you have 300 people coming in—and you also have to book hotel rooms and plan excursions—you have to be really well organized for it.”

With a ballpark seating capacity of 18,025, selling tickets to the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game would also prove to be a monumental task. And as it turns out, the organizational effort was hugely successful, with more than 17,000 fans in attendance for the derby, and a sellout crowd filling the stands for All-Star game. Even the Seaver luncheon at the Adam’s Mark welcomed a capacity crowd.

“As for the other cities that hosted the game before us, most of those stadiums only have 10,000 seats,” Buczkowski added. “We had 18,000 seats to sell, which was a big challenge as it came right on the heels of our annual Fourth of July celebration with the BPO.” Buczkowski said the team received tremendous support for the All-Star festivities from numerous sponsors and partners, including the NFTA and the City of Buffalo.

“The City of Buffalo is very excited to host the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game, giving our community the opportunity to see some of the game’s premier up-and-coming players, while showcasing our city to a national audience,” Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown said in a statement just days before the All-Star festivities began. “Coca-Cola Field, home of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, is one of the largest parks in all of Minor League Baseball, and the jewel of downtown Buffalo continues to be the standard in the realm of sports stadiums. We are excited to have the national spotlight on Buffalo, and will make every effort to ensure that the athletes, coaches and visitors experience the generous hospitality that earned our city the reputation as The City of Good Neighbors.”

“This was a unique opportunity for the Bisons, the city and Western New York to bring the baseball world back to Buffalo 25 years later,” Buczkowski said. “We don’t have a brand new stadium and we’re not after a major league team, but we still have a great ballpark with great fan support and we’re getting that message out to the nation.

“Over the next 25 years, we’ll continue to evolve. This ballpark, at the end of the year, will be half as old as War Memorial Stadium was when we closed it. It’s incumbent upon us that we continue to be the stewards of baseball for our region. We’re going to keep this place the best it can possibly be and keep it vibrant for the next 25 years.”

Fall 2012

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Page 9

Grand Island product Neutz enters 2012 season as UB’s top receiver

By Charles Roberts Alex Neutz grew up watching the Buffalo Bills, but it wasn’t until a change of heart in high school that football became something of interest.

Today, he’s the University at Buffalo’s No. 1 receiving option, replacing Marcus Rivers, who is seeking employment at the next level.

The title suits Neutz well, but don’t expect to hear him boasting about it.

“People tell me that I’m ‘the guy,’ but I don’t feel like I’m ‘the guy,’ because we have so many great receivers on this team,” Neutz, a junior, said. “…The biggest responsibility that I have is to lead by example and give my all at practice.

So where people might call me ‘the guy,’ I don’t feel like I’m ‘the guy,’ but it means a lot to be considered that.”

With arguably the best

hands on the team, Neutz emerged as a legitimate threat to opponents last year, catching 43 passes for 641 yards and four touchdowns, before missing the final three games with a wrist injury.

“When you only get 12 games to a season and you lose three of them, it’s a heartbreaker because you worked so hard and you missed 25 percent of your games, so I mean that’s a big percentage,” Neutz said.

Jeff Quinn, head football coach at UB, emphasized not only Neutz’s importance to the offense, but stressed that his conditioning has paid dividends.

“He’s more confident in his ability to time up the throws and the hits, make the big catches and stay on his feet, and pick up some yards after the catch,” Quinn said, refer-

Photo by Jeff Barnes

Football wasn’t always Alex Neutz’s thing, but it certainly is now. ring to how Neutz’s offseason conditioning has helped. “He’s one of the best out there, so when you lose a guy like that—it’s tough. But he’s

Local collegiate soccer shining stars

By Adam McGill With the collegiate soccer season just kicking off, there are several local stars that will get their fair share of attention this fall. The Western New York area has some of the strongest goaltending in the state and features an array of talented strikers and midfielders.

Before the season really gets under way, here is a list of the top shining soccer stars to watch in the area.

G, Rich Bund, Erie Community College Bund (Silver Creek, N.Y.) was very reliable in net during his freshman season at ECC. The sophomore was a Second-Team All-WNYAC selection and boasted a strong 2.16 Goals Against Average (GAA). He started 17 of the team’s 18 games and will again be the team’s strong point throughout the 2012 season.

F, Ronald Cox, Erie Community College Cox (Lackawanna, N.Y.) proved to be a valuable part of the offense in limited time last year. He scored seven goals in just seven games and the sophomore can put it in the onion bag with both feet. The

forward will be a strong part of the Kats’ offensive strategy this

Photo by Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics

Craven has become the face of the Buffalo midfield.

season, so expect him to be among the team leaders in goals and shots.

M, Richard Craven, University at Buffalo Craven will be the co-captain of the Bulls’ squad this fall, and the junior will again be anchoring the team’s midfield. Craven scored three goals this year and will benefit from the extra freedom in the

middle. He is the heart and soul of this team and will be involved in every big play in the upcoming year.

F, Andrew Dugan, Buffalo State College Dugan (Schenectady, N.Y.) will be up top for the Bengals in 2012 and the junior knows how to find the back of the net. Also at 6-foot-4, Dugan’s large frame helps him gain position against defenders when making runs at the goal.

He is as dangerous as they come inside the box, and the upperclassman will be among the team’s leading goal scorers by the end of 2012.

F, Marikos Habtemichael, Buffalo State College Habtemichael (Rochester, N.Y.) will be one of the most experienced returning forwards for the Bengals in 2012.

The junior scored two goals and assisted on one more in 2011, despite only starting five games. Habtemichael is very fast with the ball on his foot and he will continually stretch the field for Buffalo State all year.

G, Brett Petricek, Niagara University Petricek set a N.U. record with his spotless 0.77 GAA in 2011 and has been a brick-

HR Derby title belongs to Buffalo’s Pascucci

By Joseph Kirchmyer It took him a little while to get his bat warmed up, but when he did, Buffalo Bisons outfielder and All-Star representative Valentino Pascucci electrified the downtown ballpark on July 9.

After barely escaping the first round of the Triple-A AllStar Home Run Derby, Buffalo’s hometown hero finally let his bat do the talking, launching monster shot after monster shot high into—and over—the left field screen.

Pascucci bested Charlotte’s

D a n Johnson in the third and final round to Photo by Joseph Kirchmyer take home Valentino Pascucci took home the homerun the trophy derby crown, just one of the many highlights and send from this year’s All-Star festivities in Buffalo.

Buffalo Pascucci stayed hot in the baseball fans home very All-Star Game two days later, happy. Earning top honors in recording a double and three the Celebrity Home Run walks. It wasn’t enough to Derby was New England help his International League Patriots tight end Rob squad, however, as they fell to Gronkowski, a Western New the Pacific Coast League team York native. by a 3-0 score.

worked hard in the weight room and if you can find a way to make it translate to the football field, it’s a big help.”

“From that day [when I got hurt] on, I’ve been itching to get on the field, itching to play,” Neutz said. “And then you go through winter conditioning, then spring ball, and summer conditioning and just constant working, working, working for 12 games. I can’t wait for this season. I’ve trimmed down the weight a little bit, got in better shape; I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life right now.”

For Neutz, the road to becoming a focal point on a Division I football team is far from traditional.

Born and raised in Grand Island, Neutz said he grew up watching a Bills team featuring the likes of Eric Moulds at wide receiver. His father told

him about the team’s run to four straight Super Bowl appearances, pinpointing the significance of players such as Andre Reed.

Regardless, football took a backseat.

“I never had any aspirations of playing football,” Neutz said. “I was a volleyball player and that’s what I wanted to be.”

Today, he’s listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds—a stature that compares with most Olympic volleyball players. But one day, the switch flipped and he decided to break it off with his high-school sweetheart, so to speak.

“I was at a volleyball tournament in high school and it was pouring rain out that day.

There were like zero fans at the volleyball tournament and about 500 at the football game, so I was like, ‘This is the

wrong sport for me,’” Neutz recalled. “Then I talked to the football coach and he was like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to have a kid with your size and speed.’

After that, they gave me a few workouts and next thing you know, I had to tell the volleyball coach I was done. He wasn’t too happy, but it turned out to be a good decision.”

The “good decision” was the first step toward solidifying his place among Western New York’s most decorated high school wide receivers.

Neutz went on to become a three-year letter-winner at Grand Island High School. In 2008, he recorded 51 receptions for 1,182 yards—a Western New York record— and 22 touchdowns, blazing a trail to the James Lofton Award as the top receiver in the region.

wall between the woodwork. He set a school record with nine wins last year and his eight shutouts also was tied for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference lead. Petricek is the best goaltender in all of WNY and will certainly live up to the tile this semester.

M, Denver Spearman, Canisius College Spearman will spearhead the Golden Griffins’ offensive attack this year. The sophomore led the entire team in shots on goal in 2011, with 15, and he will be looking to add to that total this year.

Spearman is not afraid to let a shot rip from outside the 18yard box and has become one of the more aggressive mids in the entire MAAC. G, Jonathan Viscosi, University at Buffalo Viscosi will be back between the pipes for UB in 2012. The senior captain was outstanding last year, as he boasted an impressive 1.44 GAA with four shutouts.

Viscosi also led the conference with 5.27 saves per game and the veteran keeper will keep UB in every game this year. He is the backbone of this Bulls’ team and will again be one of

the best in the Mid-American Conference.

F, Callum Willmott, Niagara University Last season Willmott scored five goals and assisted on two more for Niagara. Willmott has an amazing understanding of the game and is never caught making lazy runs. The kid from across the pond plays like a true Englishman, and his physical style of play makes him a constant threat to win 50-50 balls. Willmott is one of the premier forwards in the area, and perhaps has the best skill set to be able to play at the next level.

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SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Fall 2012

Kurt Angle is still YOUR Olympic champion Wrestling Superstar talks about TNA/Impact, MMA, some memorable matches and Brock Lesnar

By Ivan the Impaler The timing was more than coincidental. The Olympics were a few weeks away, but a former Olympic Gold Medalist Wrestler was in Buffalo to display his craftsmanship not on the freestyle mat, but in the professional ring.

Kurt Angle, arguably the franchise player of Impact Wrestling (f/k/a Total Nonstop Action), appeared on June 22 as part of the Impact card at Coca-Cola Field. He teamed with A.J. Styles to successfully defend the Impact tag titles against Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian. (They would lose the belts to Daniels and Kazarian six days later in Orlando, Fla.).

A Pittsburgh native, Kurt was a multi-sport star in high school and an AllAmerican wrestler at Clarion State University.

Angle won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta (100 kg), and is one of a handful of men to become champions in both freestyle and “Professional” Wrestling.

In fact, he is the ONLY person to win an Olympic Gold medal in wrestling, an NCAA Title, and a World Championship in the professional ranks, securing titles in WWE, WCW, New Japan and TNA Impact. (For the record, he has a combined 12 World Championships and three tag titles between WWE/F, the WWF-owned version of WCW, New Japan Wrestling and TNA/Impact).

He’s been both a villain and hero in the world of pro wrestling; his WWE catchphrase of “Intelligence, Integrity and Intensity” alternately drew crowd approval or derision.

ITI: In your first book (“It’s True, It’s True!”), you wrote of your unusual methods of training for the Olympics. Tell us about carrying a friend on your shoulders up and down a steep hill in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. KA: It’s about 9/10 of a mile up....I did things my opponents wouldn’t do because I knew I wasn’t the most technically (gifted wrestler, nor) the biggest, the strongest or fastest. I knew my only chance of winning the gold medal, especially with the Russians, Eastern Europeans, Iranians, etc., (was that) I’d have to wear them down. My conditioning had to be a major factor for me to medal.

ITI: Correct me if I’m wrong, but after winning the gold medal, you did color commentary of some wrestling tournament on our then-Empire Sports Network? I want to say it was Mid-American Conference; I can’t remember. Was Bruce Baumgartner was doing color?

KA: (pausing and search-

ing his memory banks).....

That’s something I should never have got out of; just commentating. But I got away from that when I got into pro wrestling. I was a sportscaster in Pittsburgh,

my age (43), I don’t want a full schedule anymore. I’m going to go with the best deal I can and TNA is giving me the best deal I’ve had as far as being a part-time wrestler, and these live

The rest was wrestling and submission holds... Very, very, very seldom do you have a match like that. It was to the point that when I won, I got carried off with Team Angle (Haas and

Olympic wrestling champion that fought for him. But I’m sure there will be one or two someday. It’s not that he’s going to win a gold medal. And not many guys are going to do that....We had some deals on the table, but the timing wasn’t right.

The amount of time that I had to train wasn’t enough. So it just wasn’t in the cards for me.

ITI: Can you address the long-standing i n t e r n e t rumor/legend that you and Brock Lesnar, while working out, had an actual freestyle wrestling match in a WWE ring?

Photo by Jeff Baron

Kurt Angle sends Christopher Daniels airborne.

and I did pay-per-views for wrestling versus jiu-jitsu and those kinds of things where I was a judge. I don’t recall ...wait…. I (did) something with Jeff Blatnick....yeah, it was with Empire Sports (This Reporter later confirmed that it was Kurt, Jeff and Bob Koshinski, now with WBBZ-TV, covering the 1998 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic at UB.) ITI: Impact Wrestling (TNA) started broadcasting live recently on Thursday nights on Spike. You had live TV experience with WWE before; what adjustments or major problems is the company encountering going live? Is it just a matter of getting used to the process?

KA: No, the guys are on their toes now. I think 98 percent of the time we’ve been delivering the material.

(Recently) there was an incident when the show where it didn’t go exactly the way we wanted it to, but that happens in pro wrestling. It doesn’t just happen to us; it happens to other companies too....But we’ll learn from our mistakes. We’ve been ready to go live for a long time, and we are also ready to go city to city. The Orlando thing is getting a little stale. It’s time for us to start growing more as a company...TNA is here to stay and it’s not going anywhere.

WWE is obviously just a monster, (but) it’s good to have two companies because the wrestlers have options to go anywhere; it makes it easier as an athlete to decide. At

events are seldom.

ITI: I recall the hype when you came to TNA and you were facing Samoa Joe in your initial match on a payper-view. In retrospect, do you think it was the proper approach to go right after their top guy, or to build up to match like that?

KA: I would have built it up for a year. I look back and think they were looking for ratings. Joe was really hot at the time. Joe never reached that point since; I believe we need to re-ignite him and let him be Samoa Joe again. He’s an awesome wrestler and I enjoyed every match I’ve had with him; it’s been very physical. He was undefeated, and for me to come in and break that streak in one match.... if we could go back and do it again, I would have suggested a 6 to 12 month lead time before him and I faced off.

ITI: I’d like to talk - if you can - about one of my favorite matches ever: You against Chris Benoit in the 2003 WWE Royal Rumble in Boston. I don’t know whether it was the vocal crowd, the reversals or using each other’s finishers, which was new at the time.

KA: Yeah, God bless him.

I structured that match, and came up with the different ideas of the trade-offs; Chris and I worked it like it looked real. If you look back....we only hit the ropes once. The whole match was in the center of the ring.

There was only one punch.

Benjamin) - WWE (essentially) stopped the program.

Vince McMahon (allowed time) for Chris Benoit to receive a 10-minute standing ovation from the crowd.

For a guy to lose and get a standing ovation, it was like, wow, we really (did something). Triple H came over to me and said “you just raised the bar”. He knew that I structured the match, but Chris Benoit is Chris Benoit. That made me feel really good because I have lots of respect for Triple H - he’s one of the absolute best wrestlers in the business. So when he said that, he was basically saying “you just had the best match I ever saw in my life”....It was an epic night; I rate that right up there with me and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXI. ITI: Picture turning back the clock to age 27 and winning the Olympics in 2012.

Knowing what MMA is now, as opposed to 1996, and how big it’s gotten, would you still go with wrestling, or would you go into MMA? KA: I would have gone MMA....By the time I was as big as I was in professional wrestling, it was too late to turn back. I made several attempts, but things happened in my life. One was a broken neck. The next was going through a divorce.

That kept me from floating over to MMA. I met with Dana White several times.

But if it were now, and I just won the Olympics, then yes.

You know, I don’t think Dana White’s had an

KA: It happened in North Dakota....The wrestlers were b e i n g wrestlers, asking Brock how would he do against me, being an Olympic gold

medalist...Brock says “no, Angle’s way too small.” I heard that, so I confronted him. And he didn’t want to wrestle me... One day, he was in the ring sparring with Big Show...I caught Big Show’s eye and I told him to get out. I walked in, I tapped Brock on the shoulder. He turned around and said “Oh crap.” And we went at it. Yeah, Brock’s tough. In his prime in UFC before he got sick (diverticulitis), he was the baddest dude on the planet. That was when I was around 40 years old. I don’t think at that age, I would have gotten in an octagon with him, but as far as the wrestling mat, I held my ground against Brock and was definitely much better than him. I was more technical. I had better positioning.

Brock weighed 320, I weighed 220, so he was 100 pounds heavier. But I did really well, and Brock didn’t.

So, yeah, that’s the rumor and that’s the tale, but like I said- I still believe that Brock was at one time the baddest dude on the planet.

ITI: Do you feel Brock will return to MMA? KA: He doesn’t have anything to prove. His last two fights, it wasn’t him, with the illnesses he had...If I were Brock, I’d stay in pro wrestling, retire young and feel good. MMA is every bit as grinding as pro wrestling.

Obviously, training 4-8 hours a day or however long you train, that’s the hardest part. Getting in the ring and getting your bell rung is a

different ball game, but pro wrestling is the same way; you’re bumping around, your body just gets banged up. But I think Brock proved his point. He could’ve been a pro football player, he was a UFC champion and a WWF champion. There’s nothing else for him to prove. He just needs to go back to what he did best, and I think he was a better pro wrestler than he was a UFC fighter.

Kurt told us that he’s busy outside the ring with his acting career and Kurt Angle Foods. He doesn’t intend to increase his schedule in the upcoming years; he indicated he’ll gradually slow down “and do maybe 4 to 6 pay-per-views a year; then back out and have my retirement match.”

He’ll turn 44 in December. He still has neck problems. He’s seen too many performers stay in the business long after their shelf-life expired, many because they lack real sources of income. It seems Kurt has positioned himself well for Life After Wrestling.

But although he never said it, one gets the impression that he’ll always have his hand in the business, particularly on the freestyle side, maybe as a trainer, a coach or a broadcaster.

Athletes can walk away from competition, but they can’t walk away from a competitive nature. To develop the drive needed to win Olympic Gold and be proficient at two very different types of wrestling, as well as business and acting, you must develop intensity.

And Intensity is something you can’t walk away from.

(Bob Koshinski, Robert “Superstar” Schulz and Giuseppe Bradtino contributed to this article) UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday, 9/15 - NWA NY - Eagles Club, 1200 Buffalo Road - Gates (Rochester) N.Y. - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, 9/22 - UFC - Air Canada Centre - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - 5 p.m.

Bones Jones vs. Vitor Belfort; Matt Hamill vs. Vlad Matyushenko.

Tuesday, 9/25- WWE Smackdown (TV Taping) First Niagara Center Buffalo, N.Y. - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, 10/6- ESW Keenan Center, 433 Locust Street - Lockport, N.Y. - 7 p.m. Scheduled to appear: Hacksaw Duggan and Matt Hardy Thursday, 10/11 - COMEDY! (tentative) - See former and present BCW personalities such as Chris Gullo, Ernie Green and The Original Voice of BCW, Joe Todaro, for a stand-up yuk fest! - Broadway Joe’s, Main Street - Buffalo, N.Y. Saturday, 10/13 - Ring of Honor International Centre Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - 7:30 p.m.

Fall 2012

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

Trivia quiz

Collecting Memories

Photo courtesy MLBPressbox

David Freese won MVP Awards in the 2011 NLCS and World Series. Did he ring up 50 total bases along the way? single post-season year: Randy Johnson and who? a. Curt Schilling b. Francisco Rodriguez c. Tim Lincecum d. Cole Hamels 5. Andy Pettitte is the alltime leader with 263 postseason innings pitched.

Who ranks second with 218.3? a. Roger Clemens b. Whitey Ford c. Mike Mussina d. Tom Glavine 6. Who is the only pitcher ever to appear in seven games in a single World

Series? a. Rollie Fingers b. Kent Tekulve c. Alexi Ogando d. Darold Knowles 7. Only 13 players have at least seven career World Series home runs. Who is the only active player on the list? a. Carlos Beltran b. Chipper Jones c. Chase Utley d. Mark Teixeira 8. Only six players have had 10 or more RBI in a single World Series. Who was the most recent? a. Mike Napoli b. Vladimir Guerrero c. Adrian Beltre d. David Ortiz 9. Seven players have scored nine or more runs in a single World Series. Who was the most recent? a. Lenny Dykstra b. Lance Berkman c. Reggie Jackson d. Roger Maris 10. Who is the only player ever to steal seven bases in a single World Series? a. Ian Kinsler b. Lou Brock c. Omar Vizquel d. Deion Sanders Answers 1.c 2.a 3.c 4.b 5.d 6.d 7.c 8.a 9.b 10. b Brock did it in 1967 and 1968.

By Mike Fox The 2012 baseball season is fast winding down, and soon the Boys of Summer will be playing for a championship in the crisp air of October. This month’s quiz pays tribute to those who have risen to the challenge under the bright lights of the major league playoffs.

1. Who is the only player ever to amass 50 total bases in one playoff year? a. Alex Rodriguez b. Nelson Cruz c. David Freese d. Kirby Puckett 2. Kenny Lofton is the all-time leader with 34 career playoff stolen bases.

Who ranks second with 33? a. Rickey Henderson b. Rafael Furcal c. Johnny Damon d. Derek Jeter 3. Among players with at least 40 post-season plate appearances, only seven carry a career playoff batting average of .400 or better. Who is the only active player on the list? a. Josh Hamilton b. Albert Pujols c. Ichiro Suzuki d. No active player makes the list.

4. Only two pitchers have ever won five games in a

New Rochester boxing promoter revives the sport

By Bob Caico Professional boxing returned to Rochester on Aug. 8 courtesy of Pretty Girl Promotions (Mercedes Vasquez-Simmons), Team Snooki of NYC and manager Steve Nelson. A crowd of about 1,200 experienced a beautiful night at Sahlen’s Stadium and except for a couple minor glitches the show was a big hit.

Ireland’s Paul “The Punisher” Hyland scored a unanimous eight-round decision over Carlos Fulgencio in the main event of the evening. Hyland went after Fulgencio’s body early with hard lefts and rights, which opened up his head for a big right hand that staggered the Dominican. A flurry by Hyland dropped Fulgencio to his knees just before the bell. The Irishman came right at his opponent to start round two and a left to the body and a straight right to the head dropped him for the second time in the fight. Fulgencio looked like he would be done but to his credit he fought back and both fighters battled to the end of the round.

“He is a durable opponent, I put him down and he got over it then I got a bit excited and tried to finish him off,” Hyland explained. “I then decided to outbox him and if the knockout comes it comes.”

Hyland and Fulgencio

Page 11

Photo by Bob Caico

Kenny Abril (right) lands a right jab to the face during his win at Sahlen’s Stadium on August 8th. both took turns connecting over the next several rounds with Hyland having the slight edge in each round. In the seventh Hyland landed a booming right uppercut that hurt Fulgencio and the follow-up flurry of jabs and body punches floored Fulgencio for the third time in the fight just as the bell rang.

Both fighters exchanged punches in the last round that had the crowd on their feet. Hyland improved to 27-0 with scores of 79-71, 79-71 and 79-70 as Fulgencio dropped to 18-81.

In the co-main event local favorite Kenny Abril (13-51) won a unanimous shutout eight-round decision over veteran Doel Carrasquillo (16-21-1) of Lancaster, Pa. Neither fighter was in trou-

ble over the eight rounds but Abril’s ring generalship and being the busier fighter throughout won him the 8072 decision on each of the judges’ scorecards. This was a revenge fight as Abril lost to Carrasquillo earlier in his career. “I had to be sharp; I had to pay attention to my coach…and just execute the game plan, which was to box,” the victorious Abril said.

Middleweight Willie Monroe, Jr. returned to the ring after an extended layoff and won a six-round unanimous decision over Mark Anderson of Columbia, Sc. Monroe started slow but came on in the fourth and dropped Anderson with a straight right that looked like the finish. Anderson got up and survived the round as

with Mike Dyer

Kemp, Simpson cards are most collected Bills One winning season since 1999 could frustrate most Collecting Buffalo Bills cards can be a fun year-round National Football hobby.

League fans. But 9. 1964 Topps Daryle His 1963 Fleer and 1965 hope springs eternal in the Lamonica $60 Topps cards are valued at hearts of Buffalo Bills fol10. 1984 USFL Jim Kelly $150 each in mint condilowers. $60 tion. His 1960 Fleer rookie With the start of the regu11. 1963 Fleer Cookie card of 1960 is listed at lar season, the Bills are Gilchrist $50 $120. again breathing fire and 12. 1965 Topps Daryle Standout running back pointing towards the 2012 Lamonica $50 O.J. Simpson, spending his playoffs. Head coach Chan 13. 1965 Topps Pete days in jail, has a 1970 Gailey and defensive coorGogolak $30 Topps rookie card at $80. dinator Dave Wannstedt 14. 1965 Topps Cookie Ex-Buffalo quarterback have most Bills fans thinkGilchrist $30 Daryle Lamonica is high on ing of a big improvement 15. 1971 Topps O.J. the want list of Bills’ fans over the 6-10 record of Simpson $25 with a 1964 Topps rookie 2011.

16. 1960 Fleer Paul card of $60 and a 1965 Collecting Buffalo Bills Maguire $18 Topps card valued at $50. cards is a year-round adven17. 1987 Topps Jim Kelly When the Bills were winture for many fans. The Bills $10 ning titles in the 60s, sensahave excited Western New 18. 1989 Score Thurman tional Cookie Gilchrist led York since their inception in Thomas $8 the way with 25 TDs on the 1960 as a charter member of 19. 1986 Topps Bruce ground in 64 and 65. the old American Football Smith $8 Gilchrist, who died in 2011 League. With a combined 20. 1986 Topps Andre at the age of 75, has a 1963 22-5-3 record in 1964 and Reed $8 Fleer rookie card worth 1965, the Bills captured $50. back-to-back AFL champiNew Cards Other Bills with valuable onships as they turned back The 2012 Topps football cards include Paul Maguire, the San Diego Chargers on cards were released in Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, both occasions.

August. We’ll take a look at Andre Reed, Thurman No Bills title has come them in the next column.

Thomas and Pete Gogolak. since 1965 but Buffalo made The Topps Baseball Series II four consecutive Super cards were released in late Here are the most valuBowl appearances from June and became very much able Buffalo Bills cards 1991 to 1994. in demand with collectors.

1. 1963 Fleer Jack Kemp Jack Kemp football cards Upcoming Shows: $150. are the most popular with No shows are planned for 2. 1965 Topps Jack Kemp area faithful. the Buffalo area in $150 The former U.S. presidenSeptember.

3. 1960 Fleer Jack Kemp tial hopeful, who passed Retired sportswriter Mike $120 away in 2009 at the age of Dyer is the author of two 4. 1966 Topps Jack Kemp 73, spent 13 seasons as a sports books and sells sports $120 professional football quarcards at most area collectible 5. 1962 Fleer Jack Kemp terback. The Los Angeles shows. He has voted for the $100 native and graduate of Baseball Hall of Fame since 6. 1964 Topps Jack Kemp Occidental College directed 1983 and was editor of Who’s $100 the Bills to a 12-2 season in Who in Baseball for1984 and 7. 1970 Topps O. J. 1964.

1985. Send your inquiries to Simpson $80 The six most valuable mikedyer59@yahoo.com.

8. 1961 Fleer Jack Kemp football cards in Bills’ histo$80 ry are cards for Jack Kemp.

Monroe tried for the knockout blow. Monroe was not busy over the next couple rounds but did enough to win each. In the last round he tried to score the knockout and had Anderson hurt but he survived until the final bell. Monroe Jr. improved to 11-1 and Anderson slid to 3-8-1 after the 60-53 scores on each card was read.

Natasha Spence of Mississauga, Ontario, overwhelmed Lucretia Meacham of Little Rock, Ark. and scored a TKO in round four of a scheduled six. Spence threw a series of vicious body shots in the first two rounds and that set the tone for the final two rounds. The final round Spence went for the big ending and got it as

she dropped Meacham for a count of four. Meacham staggered to her corner and referee Dick Pakozdi waived off the bout as the bell rang.

Spence raises her record to 5-0-1 while Meacham drops to 3-9.

Raul Lopez of the Bronx improved to 7-1-1 by securing a four-round unanimous decision over Rochester’s Harvey Murray (4-4-1).

Lopez landed the more effective blows and won by 40-36 scores on the three judges’ scorecards. Despite the scores Murray counterpunched well and made it an entertaining bout.

Bryan Acaba of Brooklyn made no doubt of his return match with Jamell Tyson of Rochester by stopping the fellow lightweight at 1:12 of

the sixth and final round.

Acaba scored a flash knockdown in round one but Tyson came on strong in the last minute of the round.

Tyson was the busier of the two in the second round then both fighters took turns controlling action over the next three rounds. Going into the last round it was anybody’s fight to win as two judges were split and the third had it even. Acaba landed a booming right hand followed by a sweeping left hook in the sixth that floored Tyson for a count of three. Acaba’s follow up barrage on the dazed Tyson forced the stoppage. Acaba raises his record to 3-0 as Tyson dips to 3-8-2.