Page 2 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE July 2009

SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE July 2009

If the Buffalo Bills haven’topened training camp for2009 by the time you readthis, their bags will be packed,and one of the most anticipat-ed seasons in recent memorywill be just around the corner.

The signing of TerrellOwens has stirred interest inthe team and given fans hopethat the revamped offense willhelp carry them to a playoffberth.

However, any thoughts ofthe playoffs, or even anyattempt to measure the team’simprovement, hinges on therest of the teams in the divi-sion. We take a look at whatthe Jets, Dolphins, andPatriots did in the offseason,and how it stacks up to thechanges at One Bills Drive.

While the Bills were mak-

ing some large changes inOrchard Park, the Sabres, bycontrast, didn’t make anyhuge waves pre or post draft.After serving as the paradigmfor the post-lockout league,the Sabres are looking to read-just to the new realities of abigger, more physical style ofplay. Our draft coverage looksat what the Sabres have donein years past and what isneeded for a promising 2009-2010. The Amerks will alsolook to change their fortuneswith former Sabres coach TenNolan stepping in as VicePresident of HockeyOperations.

With the Home-Run Derbyand All-Star game a recentmemory, summer still meansbaseball, even in Alaska. BobPlezia shares his experience of

taking part in the SummerSolstice Game and we havenot one but two local playerswhose names were called inthe MLB entry draft. Ourbaseball trivia will test yourknowledge and fantasy base-ball tips should help moveyour clubhouse to the top ofthe league.

Summertime is also syn-onymous with golf. WNY haslots of great courses. Wereview The Links at Ivy Ridgeand Hickory Ridge and RickZurak dishes on the bestplaces to play golf in Canada.

•••••••••Our thoughts go out to our

chief photographer, JeffBarnes, on the recent loss ofhis dad.

From the Publisher

Sports & Leisure Magazine469 Virginia Street, Buffalo, New York 14202Tel.: (716) 876-2738, Fax: (716) 874-8289

Email to: [email protected] us out on the web at www.sportsandleisuremag.com

Publisher & Editor Marian GiallombardoAssociate Editor Jeffrey LevineFeature Writers Robert Caico, Rick Davenport, Peter Farrell, Mike Fox, ShirleyGiallombardo, Ivan the Impaler, Ed Kilgore, Shawn Krest (Buffalo Managing Editor),George Kuhn, Andrew Kulyk, Jeffrey Levine, Brian Mazurek, AdamMcGill, BrianMichalek, Ron Montesano, Len Mytko, Gary Reeves, Charles Roberts, Dave Sully, JohnWilliams, Rick Zurak (golf editor)Chief Photographer Jeff BarnesStaff Photographers Ryan Bartholomew, Bob Conlon, Nick LoVerde, Joe Valenti, MikeMajewskiCover photos Trent Edwards by Joe Valenti, Guillermo Sanchez by Bob CaicoAdvisory Board: Phil Haberstro, Adam Lingner, Denny Lynch, Shauna StisserContributing Writers Cheryl Bartholomew, Josh Colligan, Sarah Delmonte, Casey Fenton,Glen Jackson, Joe Kirchmyer, Greg Kowalczyk, Paul McCarthy, Matthew Miranda, JohnPerrelli, Bob Plezia, Ben Raby, Dave Ricci, Angela Stephano, Ken Shoemaker, Phil TaylorLayout & Cover Scott Appleby, Graphic artist Liz SeivertAssignment Editor Shawn KrestCopy Editors and Office Assistants Jeffrey Levine, Len Mytko, Justin Vernold, JohnWilliamsInterns Daniel Bates, Josh Colligan, Sarah KubiniecPlease send your letters, questions, and comments to: Sports & Leisure Magazine, 469Virginia Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 or e-mail [email protected]. Pleaseinclude your name, address and phone number or your letter can’t be published. All lettersand responses become the property of Sports & Leisure Magazine, they may be printed, andare subject to editing. Sports & Leisure Magazine is circulated throughout Western NewYork and Southern Ontario. All rights and trademarks reserved. Reproduction in whole or inpart without the express written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. ©1997 -2009 Sports & Leisure Inc.

July 2009 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE

By Shawn KrestThe Buffalo Bills will open

training camp looking signifi-cantly different from thegroup that ended the 2008season. The addition of TerrellOwens, a revamped offensiveline, and the possible resurrec-tion of the no-huddle offensewill create a new look whenthe Bills have the ball. Andwith several defensive playersadded during the draft, theteam will also feature newwrinkles on that side of theball.

Keep in mind, however,that the changes were made toa team that went winless inthe AFC East - the first timethat’s happened in Buffalo inmore than 30 years. Any dis-cussion of the team’s prospectsfor the upcoming seasonneeds to start with a look atthe teams in the division.Minor improvements may bemagnified if the teams Buffaloplays twice take a step back.On the other hand, if the otherAFC East teams makeprogress, then even a signifi-cantly improved Bills teammay not pay dividends on thescoreboard.

So here’s a look at how thechanges since the end of 2008will shape the Bills and theirdivisional opponents in 2009:Buffalo

The Bills biggest changewas the addition of T.O. Themove adds a scoring threat tothe offense and the attentionOwens will attract fromdefenses will make his team-mates bigger threats as well.The team is going with ayounger, smaller offensive

line, which could spell prob-lems with quarterback TrentEdwards, who has struggledwith injury in his short career.Or the smaller line couldmake it easier to run a no-huddle offense and put addi-tional pressure on defenders.

On the other side of theball, Buffalo’s pass rush shouldbe improved by the additionof first-round draft pick AaronMaybin. The Bills also addeddepth at defensive back andlinebacker, but lost cornerJabari Greer to free agency. Ifthe kids make an immediateimpact, the defense should be

as good as or slightlybetter than last year’sedition. Regardless, itwill likely be theteam’s weaker half.Miami

The Dolphins werethe surprise team inthe East, going fromDetroit Lions level offutility to a divisiontitle in one season.Was year one of theBill Parcells/TonySparano regime aflash in the pan, ordoes the divisionhave a new dynastyon the horizon?

While we’re notdoubting Parcellsability to build a pow-erhouse, expect theFish to take a stepback in 2008. Theteam clearly had aneye on the rest of thedivision, adding twocornerbacks on DayOne of the draft tocompete with top-flight wide receivers

like T.O. and Randy Moss.The team also brought backdefensive end Jason Taylorafter a one-year absence.

While the Dolphins’defense should be strong, theoffense could be the team’sdownfall. Quarterback ChadPennington was the comebackstory of 2008, but he has neverplayed more than 25 games inback-to-back years (whichwould mean slightly over halfa season in 2009), nor has heever posted back-to-back win-ning records as a starter.Furthermore, the league

showed signs of catching upwith the team’s offensive inno-vation - the Wildcat formation- near the end of last season.With an offseason of tape-watching, expect opposingcoaches to make their count-er-move.New England

The Patriots have been theclass of the division for mostof the decade, but the Pats justmissed the playoffs last year.

The 2009 season basicallyboils down to a referendum onTom Brady’s recovery. The AllPro quarterback went downearly last year, and while back-up Matt Cassel performed bet-ter than anyone could haveexpected, there’s only one TomBrady. While there have beenpersistent rumors that Bradyhas struggled in his recovery,the team put all their eggs inthe Brady basket, allowingCassel to move on to KansasCity, along with offensivecoordinator Josh McDaniels.

Most teams would give any-thing to have 80 percent ofTom Brady, but given Cassel’s2008 performance, it would

be a step backward for NewEngland. Brady will still haveRandy Moss and Wes Welkeras targets, and the Pats addedveteran talent in Fred Taylor,Joey Galloway, and tight endAlex Smith.

The defense lost MikeVrabel and Ellis Hobbs, butShawn Springs and LeighBodden might be a net gain.While New England - andBrady - may struggle with rustearly on, the transition fromCassel to Brady can’t possiblybe as rocky as the suddenswitch from Brady to Casselwas last season.New York Jets

No single word brings a big-ger smile to the face of divi-sional foes than “houseclean-ing.” No two words bringmore joy to opponents than“rookie quarterback.”

USC standout quarterbackMark Sanchez will replaceHall of Famer Brett Favre atthe helm for the Jets. He maybe the quarterback of thefuture for the team, but likeeveryone from Troy Aikmanto Peyton Manning, he’ll like-

ly take his lumps as a rookie.Making his debut tougher, theJets dropped wide receiverLavernius Coles, leavingJerricho Cotchery as the mainfocus for opposing defenses.

New head coach Rex Ryanis known for his big-playdefenses as a coordinator inBaltimore, and he broughtlinebacker Bart Scott with himto help install the playbook.Still, it might take awhile forthe Rex system to be fully ineffect in New York.Overall

On the surface, it appearsthat two teams will be worse,and one - New England -looks to be improved. Thatshould help the Bills go fromwinless to at least three divi-sional wins, possibly more. Ofcourse, at this time last year,everyone was penciling Miamiin for two easy divisionalwins, and the Dolphins werethe only AFC East team tomake the playoffs.

That’s why they don’t giveout the big trophy in July.

AFC East preview: What the other guys have been up to

Photo by Joe ValentiTrent Edwards will be throwing toan exciting new target this year. Butwhat have the other teams in thedivision done to counter him?

By Charles Roberts

With speculation swirlingthat former Buffalo Bills quar-terback J.P. Losman may beheaded to the newly-formedUFL, one can’t help but con-sider the lengthy list of first-round quarterbacks his namenow joins as having essential-ly played their way right outof the league.

Not including this year’sdraft class, there have been35 quarterbacks taken in thefirst round in the last 15 sea-sons. Of those 35, only 12have their current team’sundivided attention as thestarter. Trent Dilfer legiti-mately retired after a suc-cessful career and SteveMcNair was tragically killed,while seven of them werebasically forced out of theleague due to lack of options- Losman being the seventhto join that club.

The 2008 class producedtwo immediate difference-makers, as both Matt Ryan(Atlanta Falcons) and JoeFlacco (Baltimore Ravens)led their teams to the play-offs. But then look at the2007 class: Jamarcus Russell(Oakland Raiders) and BradyQuinn (Cleveland Browns).The Raiders claim Russell’stheir guy, but for anyone thatknows the game of football,with veteran Jeff Garcia sit-ting behind him, it’s highlyunlikely there won’t be acompetitive situation brew-ing come August. As forCleveland, it’s a two-manshow between Quinn andDerek Anderson.

Of those 35 quarterbacks,only five out of the last 15Super Bowl-winning clubscan boast that their first-round quarterback led themthere. Take BenRoethlesberger out of the mixand suddenly that numberfalls to only three out 15.

For all the bad, there cer-tainly has been some goodthough, too. Roethlesbergerhas hoisted two VinceLombardi trophies sincecoming out of the 2004 draft,while fellow classmate EliManning etched his name inone. Furthermore, out of thatsame pool, Philip Rivers hasproved himself as a legitimatefranchise quarterback in SanDiego. Three out of four is

not too shabby.But that’s just it - for every

Roethlesberger, there’s aLosman. Almost every classcan make that claim. In 1994,Heath Shuler and Dilfer cameout. Shuler flopped, wentinto politics, while Dilfer wona Super Bowl. The 1998 draftproduced arguably one of thebest to ever play - PeytonManning - but converselyone of the biggest busts of all-time - Ryan Leaf.

The 1999 draft wasstocked full of quarterbacks,all of whom had very success-ful collegiate careers, leadingseveral NFL scouts to believe

they’d translate into bigthings at the next level. TimCouch, Donovan McNabb,Akili Smith, DaunteCulpepper and CadeMcNown all went in the first-round that year. Couch,Smith, McNown? All threecould be selling used cars forall we know. McNabb hasobviously made a name forhimself, having played infour NFC Championship

games and one SuperBowl, while Culpepper’scareer has seen its upsand downs.

When the going’sgood, the cameras followyou around like you havea star on HollywoodBoulevard. When thegoing’s not so good, well,lets just say it’s less than adesirable way to make aliving (aside from themillions of dollars).

Just ask Shuler,Drunkenmiller, Leaf,Couch, Smith, McNoun,Carr, Harrington,Ramsey, Boller,Grossman, Leinart,Young and now Losman -they can all tell yousomething about proba-bly being booed in pub-lic, fighting for their job

and a few of them - changingcareers altogether.

The list goes on and willcontinue to. Three quarter-backs were taken in the firstround of the 2009 NFL Draft.Mathew Stafford went firstoverall to the Detroit Lions,Marc Sanchez fifth overall tothe New York Jets and JoshFreeman at No. 17. Is there aRoethlesberger or Manningin this year’s class? Or is thisa 2002 situation, where allthree guys are career back-ups?

As the old adage goes; timewill tell.

Attention first-round quarterbacks: The odds are stacked against you

Photo by Joe ValentiCould J.P. Losman be headingcloser to his native California asa member of the UFL’s new LasVegas franchise?


By Charles RobertsIf ever there was a

moment this season whenBisons manager KenOberkfell reached his boilingpoint, it may have been June30 during the post-gamemeeting with the press.

Sweat beaded up on hisforehead, Oberkfell stoodthere, laughing, but certainlynot in a way that gave offsigns of joy. More like thekind of laughter you can’thelp but engage in when youare so frustrated that wordssimply cannot make theirway out of your mouth.

“I don’t like laughing, butmy God,” Oberkfell said,shaking his head in utter dis-gust following a very bizarreloss. “Wow!”

The play that pushed himover the edge was third base-man Javier Castillo pickingup a slow-roller up the thirdbase line, then, rather thanmaking the simple flip tofirst for the force-out, he

erratically turned and threwthe ball in the vicinity ofthird without having a realchance at making any sort ofplay there, especially sincethey would have needed totag the Charlotte base-run-ner. The result was whatturned out to be the game-winning run, as the runnertrotted in at his own pace tobreak the 3-3 tie in the top ofthe ninth.

“I’ve been in this game for37 years and I’ve never, everseen that,” Oberkfell said, allthe while laughing, some-what astonishingly. “I don’tknow what he was thinking!I can’t explain it. These areTriple-A baseball players. Ican think of a lot of ways tolose games, but this isabsolutely befuddling tome.”

Plays like the aforemen-tioned have ultimately beena staple in the Bisons some-times up, but mostly downseason. What’s most unfortu-

nate for the Herd though isthat games such as the June30 loss truly spoil an other-wise masterful performanceby the Mets’ top pitchingprospect, Jonathon Niese,who could very well be onthe hill in Citi Field any timenow.

For Niese, who started theseason 0-6, the month ofJune has been like night andday for the lefty, who at onepoint won five straight.

Niese insisted that despitehis game drastically improv-ing, he hasn’t changed any-thing mechanically and thatif the parent-club Mets call,he’ll be ready.

••••••••For as much negative

press as this Bisons team hasreceived this season, Junewas actually a month forthem to hang their hats on,so to speak.

Despite losing verywinnable games on morethan a few occasions, the

Herd managed a near.500 record at 12-15and improved theirteam’s batting averageto .268 from .251 inMay and a ghastly .197in April.

Some of that couldbe players hitting theirstride and various ros-ter moves, but you cer-tainly can’t overlookthe significance of newhitting coach BillMasse.

“Sometimes in base-ball, it’s just a changeis needed,” Masse said.“Me personally, myway of doing hitting isI just try to be verypositive. Triple-A isnot necessarily allmechanics. Guys getin that mentality of‘Oh, here we go again.’I’m just like, ‘don’t getdown, don’t get down,stay positive.’”

Say what you want,but a fresh breath of airgoes a long way, espe-cially in a strugglingbaseball clubhouse.

“I’d like to thinkthat even if we’restruggling, I’m going todo the same thing,”Masse said.

•••••••• The Bisons honored for-

mer Buffalo mayor James D.Griffin when they renamedthe plaza outside the Coca-Cola field “James D. GriffinPlaza” on Tuesday, June 30.

A long-time supporter ofbaseball in Western NewYork, Griffin was a vital com-ponent of getting thennamed Pilot Field built.

“It is very fitting that we

rename this plaza for MayorGriffin,” current Buffalo

mayor Byron Brownsaid. “His relentlessefforts to get this stadi-um built are why wehave this and why weare here today.”

The 30-minute cere-mony was highlightedwith speeches by Bisonsvice president and gen-eral manager MikeBuczkowski andTommy Griffin, the latemayor’s son. A plaque inGriffin’s name will behung near the SwanStreet gate.

“I can’t think of amore fitting place tohonor my father thanPilot Field,” TommyGriffin said.

In addition to theplaque and renaming ofthe plaza, an announce-ment was made thatdonations are beingaccepted in an effort tohave an approximately12-15 foot statue builtoutside the ballpark.Early renderings of thestatue portray thesouth-pawed Griffin ina shirt and tie with hissleeves rolled-up,throwing out the firstpitch.

Initial reports are thatthey will need to raisebetween $80-100,000

for the plans to come tofruition. For more informa-tion on how and when todonate, visit bisons.com.

Bisons’ woes continue; Oberkfell lost for words

Photo courtesy Buffalo BisonsBisons fan will now see Buffalo’s for-mer Mayor, Jimmy Griffin, as they passthrough the gates of Coca-Cola Park.Community Sports Report

The Greater BuffaloSports Hall of Fameannounced its 10-memberclass of 2009 at a recentpress conference. Thegroup will be officiallyenshrined at the annualinduction dinner in lateOctober at the HyattRegency Buffalo Hotel.This event will mark the19th class to be inductedinto the Hall of Famesince its inception in1991 and brings totalmembership to 215.

A former NFL stand-out and College FootballHall of Famer and anNBA All-Star lead thegroup plus a host of locallegends, highlight theclass of 10 newinductees.

Former New OrleansSaints offensive lineman,Williamsville native andUniversity of Virginia All-American Jim Dombrowskiand former NBA All-Starand Riverside HS star CliffRobinson lead the groupwhich also includes DanBazzani (Coach and Player,Basketball), JackieBrummer (Gymnastics),Willie Evans (Football),George Killian (Coach,Athletic Administrator),Joe Merlo (Multi-SportAthlete/Coach) and LouRosselli (Wrestling).

In addition, two otherathletes – former BuffaloSabre goalie Roger Crozierand professional footballquarterback Al Dekdebrun– will join the Pride ofWestern New York – whichhonors Buffalo-area sportsimmortals posthumously.

This group will join arich heritage of nativeWestern New Yorkers, orthose who starred in andaround the Queen City

during their playing days,who are enshrined in theGreater Buffalo Sports Hallof Fame. The 2009 classwill be officially enshrined

in late October (date to beannounced) at the HyattRegency Buffalo Hotel.

The Greater BuffaloSports Hall of Fame honorsthose who have enhancedour lives with their per-formances and commit-ment to Western New Yorksports, an effort surpassedonly by the positiveimpressions they have lefton our athletes of tomor-row. For additional infor-mation on the GreaterBuffalo Sports Hall ofFame, please go towww.gbshof.com.

Tickets for the inductiondinner and cocktail party(exact date TBA) will go onsale in late July. Individualtickets will cost $85 withtables of 10 on sale for $750.For ticket information pleasecall Melissa Gearhart at theHyatt Regency Hotel (855-4863).

Class of 2009Dan BazzaniOutstanding HS/College

Basketball Coach andPlayer.Jackie Brummer Three -time NCAA GymnasticsChampion at Arizona State.

Jim Dombrowski S i x t hNFL Draft Pick in 1986;Highest in WNY history.Willie EvansAveraged 7.1 yards percarry for 1958 and 1959UB Bulls.George Killian One ofthe most influential indi-viduals in amateur sports.Joe MerloProficient Basketball scorerat Buffalo State andLafayette HS.Cliff Robinson 18-yearVeteran of the NBA andFormer UConn Star.Lou Rosselli M u l t i -Stages WrestlingChampion and NationalTeams Coach.

“Pride of WNY” AwardeesRoger Crozier S a b re s

First Goaltender and FirstHOF player.

Al Dekdebrun Cornellpassing star who played inthe AAFC, NFL & CFL.

Ten inductees to Greater Buffalo SportsHall of Fame to be honored in October

Photo courtesy Buffalo Sports HOFJim Debrowski (left) and Clifford Robinson make up part ofthe Great Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame’s newest class.


Photos by Jeff BarnesAfter playing side by side at Niagara Falls and later Syracuse, there’s a good chance thatsixth overall pick Jonny Flynn (left) and undrafted free agent Paul Harris could be reunited inMinnesota next season. Joking that he would win in a one-on-one against Harris, Flynn com-pares his game to Chris Paul: “He’s small like I am, he has the heart of a lion and he’s notbacking down from anybody.”

By Jeffrey Levine

Albert Pujols may beknown as “The Machine”but Royce Consigli has thedetermination of one. Ahumble young manwith tenacity to matchhis power hitting,Consigli works tire-lessly on his gamewithout ever seemingto show signs of wearor slowing down.

“I always told him tobe successful you needto do the things thatother people don’twant to do,” Royce’sfather Tom explained.“The sacrifices the kidmade are unbelievable:he has a tournamentthis weekend, thenThursday and Fridayhe goes to Art’s[Sandlot Baseball andSoftball Academies] to hit.That’s the type of workethic you need.”

For a young kid whoonce hit a plastic golf ballso hard that he ripped thetee off its base or knocked awiffle ball clear over thehouse, Royce has alwaystaken what comes naturallyand worked hard to ampli-fy those skills. For theWelland, Ontario native,that grit has translated into

a scholarship to theUniversity of Pittsburgh –among a staggering 75other Division I offers –

and hearing his namecalled by the Oakland A’s inthe 30th round of the MLBdraft.

Citing his hitting as hisgreatest strength withouthesitation, and adding thathe moves pretty well for abig guy, the six-foot-two,205-pound short stop andpitcher turned outfieldercertainly has his best yearsin front of him, not eventurning 18 until September.

“When Royce first stated

coming in we recognizedthat here’s a kid that has alot of potential,” Art Lauer,owner of Sandlot Baseball,

explained. “He makes theeffort to come in fromCanada and we decided tosponsor him for a littleover a year. Just the otherday we threw about anhours worth of battingpractice to him. I’m not aspring chicken so myshoulders were a bit sore,but when you see some-thing like that you go,well, I want to be a part ofsomething that can helpsomeone else achievetheir higher goals.”

A multisport athletewho has done everythingfrom winning silvermedals at the karatenational championships

to playing against up-and-coming pros in theDominican as a member ofU.S. Baseball Stars, all that’sleft for Royce to do is con-tinue working hard andone day live out his dreamof playing in the majors.

Sandlot Academy of WNYproviding the foundation tosuccess. Gain the competitiveedge pre-Season, in-Season,post-Season. Call the Sandlotat 716-689-0012 or visit on-line at www.sandlotwny.com.

Hitting for the Fences:Royce Consigli

Photo Consigli familyPower hitter Royce Consigli hassome important choices to makenext season: college or the bigleagues.

By Mike FoxAs we round second base

in the 2009 season, fantasyowners should be concen-trating on finalizing theirrosters for the stretch run.One of the more difficultaspects of this process istrying to determine whichunderachieving “star” play-ers should be targeted, andwhich should be jettisoned.

Jimmy Rollins has had arough year, even by his tra-ditional slow-starting stan-dards. His season-longslump eventually forcedmanager Charlie Manuel todrop him in the battingorder in late June, butRollins should be a safe betto reclaim his rightful roleas leadoff man for the high-scoring Phillies. His currentfantasy owners might beready to hit the panic but-ton, making this an idealbuy-low opportunity.

David Ortiz’s overall 2009stat line (.222-12-47) is stillatrocious enough that hisowners may be willing topart ways, but attentiveowners know that his Junenumbers were more in linewith what we expect fromhim (.313-7-17, 1.068OPS). The Sox lineup isalready stacked, and JedLowrie will provide anadded boost upon his returnfrom the IR. If Big Papi canstay healthy (a big if thesedays), that horrific April-May slump should be wellbehind him.

Alex Rodriguez, VladGuerrero and MagglioOrdonez have seeminglybeen fantasy stalwarts forev-er, but this keeps lookingmore like a good year to cutbait on all. It’s hard to fath-om a worse place to beembroiled in an “A-Roid”scandal than under the

media microscope of the BigApple, and that .256 battingaverage suggests Rodriguezstill might be feeling theeffects of his jerry-riggedtorn labrum, which willalmost certainly require fur-ther surgery this off-season.If he’s on your squad, don’tjust give him away, but youshould certainly be recep-tive to offers.

Don’t be so hesitant if youare still waiting for Vlad toreturn to form. While he’sprobably better than whatyou can find on your leaguewaiver wire, the fact is he’smanaged only four homersand two stolen bases in hisfirst 176 at-bats. Thosewarning signs we saw devel-oping over the past few sea-sons are about to start flash-ing bright red.

Joining Vlad on top of thehas-been list is Ordonez,who has given no indicationwhatsoever that this year’sstruggles (.260-4-28) arecoming to an end. He’s still

owned in 67 percentof all Yahoo leagues,so there may be a fewowners in yourleague willing to takea chance. If you ownhim, seek out theseowners now beforethey come to theirsenses.

The always-trou-blesome catcher posi-tion has been eventougher than usual,with virtually allhigh-ranked back-stops except JoeMauer and VictorMartinez strugglingat the plate, mostnotably RussellMartin and GeovanySoto. It took Martinalmost three monthsto hit his first home

run of the season, and hiseight stolen bases are notenough to compensate forhis sub-par .258 battingaverage. Soto has beenequally dismal, with a .230-8-27 line. It’s impossible tosuggest trying to acquirethem in a trade, and if youalready own them in yourleague, their bottomed outmarket value almost forcesyou to ride out the storm.The good news is they havenowhere to go but up.

Lastly, we offer a ringingendorsement for MannyRamirez as he returns fromhis suspension. We saw lastyear what a fired-up Mannyis capable of after he wastraded to the Dodgers, andhis sizeable ego will surelyenable him to shrug off allthose nasty things folks aresaying about him. Yes, hejust might be a cheater, butfantasy is best played withyour head, not your heart. IfMLB will let him play, soshould you.

Fantasy baseball

Photo by Jeff BarnesIs it fantasy blasphemy to say“avoid A-Rod?”


By George Kuhn

The Sabres emphasizedsize and grit with theirrecent choices in the 2009entry draft. Whileno team was betterprepared followingthe 2004-05 lock-out for the speedand skill of themuch anticipated“New NHL,” theSabres werenonetheless cri-tiqued by some aslacking the neces-sary elements ofsize and physicality,which traditionallyimpart balance forteams in a sportknown for therough stuff. Thoseconcerns proved oflittle consequenceas the Sabresreached game sevenin the conferencefinals in 2006 andstarted the 2006-07season with 10 con-secutive victoriesand remained at the top ofthe league standings. Manynon partisan observers sawthe Sabres at the head of theclass in the league at thatpoint and felt they werefavorites for the Stanley Cup,which injuries had deprivedthem of the year before. Butchanges were already under-way at the league level thatwould undermine the Sabresbest efforts.

Addressing the issue ofremoving fisticuffs from theNHL, League President GaryBettman announced duringthe 2006-07 season thatfighting was a part of thegame. It seems that state-ment was seen by some as atacit endorsement of on-iceviolence because within afew weeks three unprovokedassaults occurred in a leaguethat had been rather placidsince the lockout. Theseincidents included ChrisNeil’s unpunished head shotto Chris Drury on Feb. 22 inBuffalo as well as the ChrisSimon cross check to theface of Ryan Hollweg onMarch 8, which earnedSimon a 25-game suspen-sion.

Perhaps Bettman wasresponding to critics whofelt that hockey, and its fanbase, needed more physical

play. Let’s face it, the NFLhas usurped baseball asAmerica’s favorite sportbecause its violent collisionsadd to its entertainmentvalue. As the only majorsport that allows players tofight without being ejected,the NHL isn’t blind to theallure that fighting has to itsfans and perhaps it’s onlygood marketing to articulatea policy supporting that.Perhaps the Sabres were illprepared for the changes thatfollowed. But perhaps theleague has betrayed the com-mitment they made comingout of the lockout to removeobstruction fouls from thegame, and indirectly hungthe Sabres out to dry.

In this new post-lockoutNHL, the league has clearlydirected its referees to inter-pret the rules differentlydepending on which zonethe play is. Almost limitlessphysical play has been greenlighted in front of the netwhile penalized elsewhere.Penalties in the neutral zoneare not penalties in thedefensive zone. Players areallowed to skate unimpededthrough center ice, a penalty

is called if a defensive playereven elevates his stick andbrushes it against the puckcarrier, but defensive players

are rarely penalizedfor cross checks infront of the net thatsend a non-puckpossessing oppo-nent to the ice.Wasn’t this sup-posed to be an inter-ference penalty inthe new NHL?

The post lockoutSabres were built forspeed and skill, a lit-tle on the smallishside, and were notthe NHL team bestprepared for thisescalation of physi-cal play. A few morePatrick Kaleta typesare needed but itwill take a few yearsto develop thisyear’s draftees ZackKassian and MarcusFoligno into NHLregulars. Whenasked if the league

engineered a playing stylethat left his team at a com-petitive disadvantage, SabresGM Darcy Regier showed hisdiplomacy skills by anglingthe inquiry away from theleague. “Thank goodness I’mnot the commissioner afterthat observation so I don’thave to answer.” He thenredirected the analysis inter-nally. “ It’s a changing gameand we have to try andadjust to it. We can voice ouropinions at the general man-agers meetings but otherthan that it’s our job to figureout what’s going on in theleague.”

“The game has certainlygotten more physical, it’smoved back to the biggerplayers, not completely backbut it’s drifted in that direc-tion,” Regier continued. “Ithink it will probably contin-ue to move in that direction.It’s something that you haveto monitor on a yearly basis.We talk when we’re draftingplayers in terms of what willthe league look like three offour years down the road,and that’s an impossiblething to judge. So you take amiddle ground with players.

Certainly we looked at theprospects we have coming inthis year’s draft and we madea conscious effort to makesure we had NHL caliberplayers with some size backto complement the smallerskilled players we alreadyhave in the organization.”

So maybe within two years

the Sabres will have devel-oped the right mix of sizeand skill to thrive in this newNHL, just in time to coincidewith the prime years of theircore of star players; ThomasVanek, Derek Roy and RyanMiller. A new NHL engi-neered by the league officethat turned back the tide,

somewhat, of post lockoutreform. A new NHL that as itshook itself out, took theteam that best exemplifiedthe optimism and revitaliza-tion of the post lockout NHLand left them to play catch-up.

2009 Draft: Sabres retool lineup becausethe “New NHL” failed to stay the course

Photo by Joe ValentiThe Sabres could use more Gaustad types.

By Bob Plezia

There are over 30 summercollegiate baseball leaguesaround the 50 states today.One of the top summer col-legiate leagues is the AlaskanLeague. Many former andpresent major leaguers haveplayed in this league.

This is my thirdyear of coachinghitting in the colle-giate summerleagues, and I wasfortunate to be acoach this yearwith the Lake ErieMonarchs (LEM)of the Great LakesSummer CollegiateLeague (GLSCL).

LEM startedtheir preseasonwith a trip toAlaska in mid-Juneto play 12 exhibi-tion games in 12days against five ofthe six AlaskanLeague teams.

This was sort ofa triple thrill forme being withLEM, going toAlaska where I’venever been, play-ing against the notedAlaskan level players andcoaching a team with asmany .300-.400 college hit-ters.

We were honored to beinvited to play in the famousMidnight Sun game on June21, the Summer Solstice,where it is light about 20hours in Fairbanks. Thegame started at 10:30 p.m.without lights. (ESPN wroteup this game as one of theTop Baseball Events, alongwith watching a game atWrigley, a visit to the Hall atCooperstown, etc.) Ourgame ended at 12:35 a.m.without the use of lights.

On top of all this, at about11:29 a.m. on the 22, theroom and beds rocked a bitfor about five to 10 seconds.After checking the Internet,we found an earthquakeoccurred about 300 milessouth of Fairbanks, wherewe were currently playing,58 miles north ofAnchorage, 32 miles down,with a 5.7 magnitude.

This trip reminded me of atypical minor league baseballtrip, busing from town totown every few days, livingout of the suitcase, forgettingwhat day it was because theyall seemed the same, diningin fast food places like CarsJr.’s, Subway, Burger Bus,Wendy’s, staying in modestsettings, etc.

We started our first gamewith a lot of energy and webeat the Anchorage Bucs inAnchorage, 6-5. DougSchumacher (U. Ill.) hittinga solo HR.

The next day we lost tothe Mat-Su Miners, 7-4. Mat-Su is about 45 minutes from

Anchorage.The next game we faced

the Bucs again only to seethem score two runs in thebottom of the ninth to beatus, 4-3.

We came back strong witha 10-1 win over the GlacierPilots the next day.

LEM then traveled aboutthree hours to Kenai wherewe lost the first two games,3-2 and 5-3. LEM then beatKenai in the final game, 8-5.We sent 11 players to theplate in the top of the eightafter two outs to score sixruns to take a 7-5 lead. ZachDygert (Ball St.) hit a soloHR in the ninth to put awaythe win.

In the next game, whilethe LEM beat the Pilots thelast two times, the Pilotsnow beat the LEM, 7-2. LakeErie looked like a tired teamwith all the travel to the dif-ferent cities.

LEM then faced the Bucsagain whom they lost totwice. LEM held an 8-6 leadgoing into the bottom of theninth only to lose, 9-8.

We then drove toFairbanks, some seven hoursaway, to give the AnchorageGoldpanners their first winof the season, 9-3. Theseven-hour bus ride,although very spectacularsight seeing, was also tiring.

Then came the jewel ofthe trip, the Midnight Sun

Classic on June 21, theSummer Solstice, in front of4,400. This was the 104thannual game. As we arrivedat the park two hours beforethe game, we found theparking lot already full, tail-gate parties going on, mostof the stands full, music, etc.

The game is partof days of cele-bration of thebeginning ofsummer.

We took a tworun lead, thensome good hit-ting by the“Panners,” somedoubtful calls bythe umps, whichwe were warnedabout, and wesoon found our-selves down 3-2,and eventuallylost, 6-3. But thehometown folkwere happy. Anumber camedown to ourdugout area totake pictures withsome of our play-ers.

The final gameof the trip, the next day, wasagainst the Goldpannersagain. We led as we haveoften only to let the otherteam catch up and win. Butthis time it was different.After nine it was tied at six.In the top of the tenth RyanClark (Penn St.) hit a three-run HR and Kobrine Vitek(Ball St.) closed the gamewith 1 1/3 shut out inningsfor the victory. We startedthe trip with a win andended with a win.

The details behind the 4-8record was that although wewere in every one but onegame, we had a lower ERA,our hitting average was justabout even, and we hadmore hits with men in scor-ing position, however, westruck out 30 percent morethan our opponents, weaveraged over three errors agame leading to a .922 field-ing average vs. opponents.969, and we gave up 15 per-cent more walks and hadsome mental base runningand throwing errors whichwere too costly to overcome.

For the LEM and theAlaskan teams, these wereexhibition games gettingready for the season.

Hopefully with this expe-rience the LEM will make arun at the GLSCL title afterthe sore shoulders andelbows heal up.

Lake Erie Monarchs and AlaskanCollegiate Baseball – 2009

Photo courtesy Lake Erie MonarchsPictured L to R: General Manager, Jim DeSana;Robert Plezia; Manager, Mike Montgomery.


By Rick Zurak, Golf EditorIt started out as old farm

back in 1997 and has turnedinto one of the finest golfcourses in New York State.The Links at Ivy Ridge, locat-ed on Main Street in Akron, 10miles east of Buffalo has agoal: to get better in every waypossible.

“We were perfectionistswhen we started this project,”founder and co-owner DonNicholas said. “We spent a lotof time and money for the bet-ter part of seven years to buildthis course. We probablymoved more dirt than anycourse outside New York City.We’re in our fifth year and ithas been received better thanwe could have expected. Ihave never been one to lookfor any pats on the back. Rightnow we’re just trying to refinethe course and make it betterin every way.”

If there were ever “handson” owners, Nicholas and fel-low co-owner Jim Fiske arejust that. You will not find atime when at least one of themis not somewhere around theclubhouse. They combine forover 200 hours a week over-seeing the operation of thecourse and its improvement.

“I’ve never been one to sithere and listen to how nice Ibuilt the course,” Nicholassaid. “You just keep going.Everything here was built onaesthetics and playability.Right now we’re working onthe rough and the aesthetics of

the fescue.”“The Links” at Ivy Ridge

comes from the majority ofthe golf course being aScottish links-style course.There are a number of park-land-style holes, but themajority of the course fea-tures well-placed moundsand fescue to frame the fair-ways. You can get into trou-ble, but it takes some doing.The framing of the holes issuch that the severe fescueis off the beaten trail. If youhit it there, you deserve tobe in trouble. The moundsthat shape the holes willforce you into some inter-esting stances, but for themost part, they are there toshow you where “not” to hitthe ball. In other words, thecourse offers trouble, but isvery fair as well.

“We had enough roomwhen we built the coursewhich was big,” Nicholas said.“We have 200 acres. If some-thing doesn’t fit we can adjustit. It’s like art. You have tounderstand how golf coursesflow. The secret was takingone thing at a time. One tree ata time. How does it all fit in?You have to understanddrainage and how much eleva-tion you have.”

There is plenty of elevationchange at Ivy Ridge, whichmakes for great drainage.With the Summer of 2009 offto a wet start, play has notslowed at all at Ivy. Add to thata very slow economy and

most golf courses in WesternNew York are going through asignificant drop in business,but not Ivy Ridge.

“We feel we are the CragBurn of public courses,”Nicholas said referring towhat is considered to be thebest golf course in the Buffaloarea although it is private. “Wehave felt no drop off in busi-ness despite the economicaldownfall. We get a lot of peo-ple from Clarence andAmherst because they areclose by, but we also get a lotof people from places likeGrand Island and WestSeneca.”

Those people that are fre-quenting Ivy Ridge are doingso, not just because they get agreat golf course at a great rate(the best being $35 seven days

a week at 3 p.m.), but Ivy hasreceived rave reviews for itsfriendliness and hospitalitysince day one.

“It doesn’t take much to befriendly,” Jim Fiske said. “Weemphasize that in all ouremployees and they just do agreat job from the momentyou pull up in your car to thetime you leave. I’m talkingabout the guys at the bag dropto the girls on the beveragecart, to our servers and reallyeveryone.”

“We’re fussy about whoworks here,” Nicholas said.“Most of the rangers, startersand others we have known for20, 30, 40 years. They’refriends and family who have astake in our success. Theywant us to do well. They’realways collecting information

and pointing out how we canget better. We’ve got a productand we only want to push it toa higher level.”

One way Ivy Ridge hasimproved this year is with theaddition of a full-sized drivingrange. The clubhouse featuresa tremendous patio and theFamous Dukes Bar and Grillfor your drinking and diningpleasure. They have also madethe course look more appeal-ing by changing the color ofits appearance and thicknessof its rough.

“Going green isn’t alwaysthe way to go,” Nicholas said.“All green is boring. Look at adesert course sometime. Thecontrast in colors really standsout. We have put more depthin the color of our course bymaking the (tan colored) fes-cue stand out more. It makesthe fairways and the roughlook so much more rich. Asfor the rough, new coursessuffer from thin rough. It hastaken fertilizer, time and care,but we have made our roughmuch thicker this year andthat was our goal.”

Nicholas has his favoriteholes in the 180-yard down-hill par three fifth hole and theuphill par four 16th withwater in front of the tee boxand tall mounds on the rightand tall trees on the left. Ipointed out that the par three15th hole was much morechallenging not to mentionthe par five seventh hole withwater on both sides of the fair-

way. It goes to show that thereare many holes that stand outat Ivy Ridge and if you ask 10people about their most mem-orable hole you could just get10 different answers. It’s thatgood.

So how does one of the pre-mier courses in the area getbetter? Get out and play IvyRidge and afterwards you canlet either Nicholas or Fiskeknow what you think. I guar-antee you one of them will bethere working and will becompletely open to you sug-gestions.

“We plan to continue torefine the course and put outthe best product we can,”Nicholas said. “Originally wesaid we would leave no stoneunturned and that hasn’tchanged. We just grind awayand work on this thing to getit to where we want it to be.”

And the end result is a greatplace to play that just keepsgetting better.

For more information go towww.thelinksativyridge.comor call 716-542-6342.

Rick Zurak is theProducer/Host of the WesternNew York Golf Report TV Show,Tuesdays at 6:30 on TimeWarner Channel 20 in theBuffalo/Niagara Falls area. Heis also the Director of the NewYork State Junior Golf Tour. Formore information go to half-pricegolf.com. To contact Rickemail him at [email protected].

Ivy Ridge continues to make a great golf course better

Photo courtesy The Links at Ivy RidgeThe 16th hole at The Links at Ivy Ridge is an uphill par 4 withtrees to the left and the largest mounds on the course to the right.


By Cheryl Bartholomew

The weather was a forceto be reckoned with this yearat Locust Hill. Rain delayspresented challenges for theplayers at the WegmansLPGA tournament, whichran June 25-28. Friday hadtwo such delays, and thesteady rain for the finalround left fans wondering ifthe event would be pushedto Monday. But the playerstrudged through, althoughnone could match the deter-mination of Jiyai Shin. Shecaptured her second win ofthis year on the rainySunday, as fans watched hercompetitor’s scores suffer inthe tough conditions. HerThursday and Friday totalsof 133 set a new 36-holetournament record, giving

her confidence and puttingher in the lead by one strokegoing into Saturday. OnSunday, Shin maintained acomfortable lead despite the

less-than-ideal weather. Shekicked off her final roundwith a birdie on the firsthole, which set the tone forthe day. She continued to beundaunted, finishing up at17 under par (71). Her sevenstroke lead over second placefinishers Kristy McPhersonand Yani Tseng is the largestvictory of the year thus far.

Whether or not the LPGAwill return to Locust Hillremains unclear. The organi-zation is facing tough timesand lost sponsorships. Muchto the dismay of players andfans, another local spot hasalready been eliminated fromnext year’s schedule: theCorning Classic, after 31years of being held at theCorning Country Club.

Wild weather at Wegmans tournament doesn’t deter hin

Photo Ryan BartholomewLPGA winner, Jiyai Shin.

By Rick Zurak, Golf Editor

Niagara Canada is knownfor a lot of things. Clifton Hillin Niagara Falls is a monstertourist attraction with thrillrides, a new year-round waterpark, arcades, wax museums,the WWE store and more.Within two miles you can seethe Horseshoe Falls, theSkylon Tower, CasinoNiagara, Fallsview Casino,Hard Rock Cafe, and thensome. Even better, withintwenty minutes of the Fallsare more great golf coursethan you can shake an oldwooden stick club at.

Along with the great golfcomes a little history of theregion as well. BeechwoodGolf & Country Club featuressome of the best greens youwill ever find anywhere inNorth America. Located justfive minutes from theRainbow Bridge on ThoroldStone Townline Road inNiagara Falls, Beechwoodwas once the scene of musketfire and fighting. The date wasJune 24, 1813 to be exact,when British forces surprisedthe invading American troopsin the Battle of Beaverdams.The fierce engagement thatlasted three hours is recordedin American history as the“Battle at the Beech Woods.”The battle was fought in anarea that covers from today’sgolf course west to the pres-ent Welland Canal. Canadianheroine Laura Secord isremembered for her famouswalk from St. Davids toDeCou House to warn theBritish of the impendingattack.

Previous to becoming agolf course in 1960,Beechwood was worked asfarmland for over 100 years.The “Old Barn,” which pro-vides the unique focal pointto its clubhouse, was built in1883. Beechwood will becelelbrating it’s 50th anniver-sary in 2010 with plenty ofspecial events planned.

“The course itself contin-

ues to get better,” Beechwoodowner Brian Antonsen said.“We added three more cham-pionship tees this year and wehave a sand trap program setfor next year.”

Beechwood gets plenty ofacclaim for its great layout.From the dog-leg right firsthole, to the very challenging400 yard part four uphill fifthhole, to a great part three inthe 180 yard 11th hole, to the90 degree dog-leg right parfour16th, to the over thewater par three 17th and thehangman’s noose 18th holewhere if you don’t hit it right,you are in the water and dead.All in all, a very fun golfcourse where you will useevery club in your bag.

When you go there, tellWhitey (Head CPGAProfessional John White) andBear (Asst. Pro BernieMacAdam) that Rick Zuraksaid hello. You can tell bytheir nicknames that they arefriendly guys who are morethan willing to make yourround and total experience atBeechwood a good one. Formore info go to beechwood-golf.com.

If it’s variety you are look-ing for, check out LochnessLinks in Welland. About 20minutes from either the PeaceBridge or Rainbow Bridge,Lochness is the only truelinks-style course in the area,and that includes WesternNew York. Formerly knownas Hunter’s Pointe, Lochnessoffers plenty of personality.

“Our course is an upscalemodern links course,”Gerneral Manager StephenBillyard said. “It was built on225 acres once owned by theSt. Lawrence SeawayAuthority. It’s a layout withvery few trees and lots ofundulating greens, widelyacclaimed as a great replica ofclassic links as they are playedin Scotland, the birthplace ofthe game.”

Lochness Links was builtin 2000 and is a rolling land-

scape of testy mounds, 110bunkers, water, fescue andbentgrass with the occasionaltree. Besides the pot bunkers,there are seven ponds to con-tend with and strong par-threes, including the 245-yardeighth hole. Accuracy is vitalin playing LochNess Links.Keep your ball in the fairwayto stay clear of the rough, thebunkers and the mounding.

“Our 12th hole, a par-threemeasuring 185 yards from theback and 101 from the for-ward tee, has the most undu-lating green on the course”Billyard said. “If you miss thegreen long or miss it left, it’simpossible to pitch onto thegreen. And on the right side isthe Welland River as well assome 15 foot deep potbunkers protecting the greenas well.”

The LochNess LinksRewards Club is a program tosay “Thank You” for choosingLochNess Links and SwingRestaurant by issuing pointsback to you for every dollaryou spend at the club. Theprogram is simple $1 = 1point and is FREE to join bygoing to lochnesslinks.com.There are plenty of specialrates too. Everyday after 2p.m. receive twilight bookingdiscounts and after 4 p.m.receive super twilight book-ing discounts. Up to 40 per-cent off regular green fees.Every Sunday and Mondayafter 2 p.m. LochNess Links isoffering $40.00 golf and rideall afternoon.

If you have never played atrue links-style course, here’sa great opportunity. Takeadvantage of one of the spe-cials and make it a really spe-cial day on the “links” ofLochenss.

Other top shelf courses inthe Niagara Canada areainclude the Legends on theNiagara with 36 tremendousholes. Their sister course,Whirlpool just north of theFalls, has been a classic for

Niagara Canada continues as ahot bed of golf

(Top photo): Beechwood’s hole No. 5.(Bottom photo) Emerald Pines offers afun place to golf and dine.

continued on page 15


Photos Bob Knab/rkgraphics.smugmug.com There was no shortage of high flying action aslocal riders Steve Pelc (lt.) and Frank Knabtook to the summer slopes in the 2009 Red BullButtercup.

By Ronald S. Montesano

Where can you find finedining in Holly, New York aswell as delightful lunchofferings, golf, RV localeand a party house/gazebofor weddings and privateparties? The answer to allthese questions is HickoryRidge Golf Country Cluband RV Resort. Simply put,Hickory Ridge has it all.

Located in picturesqueOrleans County, roughly

halfway between Buffaloand Rochester, HickoryRidge offers 18 challenginggolf holes as the centerpieceof its property. The youngcourse dates to 1995, whenit was sketched and createdby local designer PeterCraig. Stretching to nearly6,400 yards, even the aver-age hacker will immediatelyrealize that length alonedoes not delineate thecourse’s difficulty. Upon fur-ther examination, the myri-ad lakes and streams indige-nous to the region providethe initial hazards for a finegolf score. Despite the rela-tive flatness of the openingholes, Hickory Ridge opensan intriguing series of holesacross Lynch Road thatmeander up and down ahillside. With the addednarrowness of the holes thatmove through the forestedportion of the complex,Hickory Ridge bares moreteeth than anticipated.

The course moves to a

climax with one of the mostchallenging par four holesin Western New York, thearduous 17th. After a chal-lenging drive to the cornerof a leftward dogleg, theapproach to the green isplayed quite uphill to agreen sighted on a plateau.Demanding a shot easilytwo clubs more than usual,the hole elicits more than itsshare of big numbers. Afterthe ascending challenge of

the penultimate hole, thedownhill par three 18thmight seem a bit of a let-down. Far from it, oldfriend. The blind tee shotdemands that each playerselect the proper club. If thegreen is missed to eitherside, a staunch recovery isrequired to have a chance atpar.

Regardless of any golfingchallenge, a day at all cours-es is not complete without asuitable apres-golf experi-ence. Hickory Ridge pro-vides lunch facilities sevendays a week, with fare rang-ing from salads and wrapsto cold and hot sandwichesand pizza. On Fridayevenings, the bloomappears on the rose as finedining returns to the club.Entrees include four uniqueseafood dishes, including asucculent Cajun-searedsalmon filet, two pasta dish-es and three other delightfulmain courses. Startersinclude soups, shrimp and

clams and mixed vegetables.From beginning to end,each dinner experience sug-gests great promise anddelightful taste.

In 2007, Hickory Ridgeopened its RV park to themany customers who appre-ciate a weekend or week-days away from home, withall the comforts of home athand. In addition to theavailable golf and dining,Hickory Ridge offers fish-

ing, Wi-Fi connectivity andcampfire rings to all resi-dents.

For the golfer whodemands greater access toHickory Ridge, tourna-ments and other outingsmay be schedule and partic-ipation in leagues may bearranged. Memberships areavailable for singles, cou-ples and families, for bothentire week and weekdaysetups.

In this time of economicawareness, the length towhich a dollar is stretched isthe operative element formost golfers. At HickoryRidge, from golf and diningto RV docking and clubmembership, the dollarstretches farthest.

For more information goto www.hickoryridgegol-fandcountryclub.com

Ronald Montesano directsBuffaloGolfer.Com, the onlineguide to golf in Western NewYork.

Hickory Ridge

Photo courtesy Hickory RidgeOne of the picturesque holes at Hickory Ridge with big ponds and great scenery.

Community Sports Report

It may have seemed like asummer oasis but on July 9there was snow on theground in Niagara Falls.

Gathering 50 of thecountry’s top snowboardersfrom the East, the RedBullButter Cup pitted riders inhead-to-head competitionto see who could be the

most original, the most dar-ing, the smoothest on acourse that defied the sea-son.

“I think we set a standardfor events on the East coastand really blew the doorsoff with this one,” eventorganizer Pat Morgan said.“There will be many moreto come.”

With the top prize of$2500 going to TimHumphreys, local favoriteand Colden resident RickyBeuler held his own by plac-ing fifth, good enough for$250 and some braggingrights. Shaun Murphy, ForestBailey and Hans Mindichplaced second, third, andfourth respectively.

RedBull Butter Cup comes to Buffalo


By Brian J. Mazurek

With a new six-year con-tract signed between BataviaDowns and the Western NewYork Harness Horsemen’sAssociation, it’s full steamahead for the season openeron Monday, July 27 at theGenesee County track.

The new deal, agreedupon in mid-June, hasBatavia Downs presenting 72days of live racing, addingone more race per night andsolves the winter stable issuethat occurred in year’s pastwhen there is no racing fromthe end of the meet in earlyDecember and BuffaloRaceway’s reopening in earlyJanuary.

“It’s a good deal for bothsides,” Mike Kane, Directorof Racing and Operations atBatavia Downs, said of thenew pact. “The new contractallows us to plan on thefuture with budgets and otherthings.”

“The horsemen will beallowed to stay here untilBuffalo opens their barns butthey are going to pay us to doso,” Kane added regardingthe winter stabling at BataviaDowns during the downtime.

With the expanded racedates, Batavia Downs had toadd days to its calendar. Thetrack will race Tuesday nightsthis season, beginning onSept. 15 and the last Tuesday

live racing date will be Nov.10. Post times for all eveningcards will be at 7:05 p.m.while matinees will begin at1:15 p.m.

“To put in bluntly, it’s theonly day we haven’t tried,”Kane said of added Tuesdaynights to the race schedule.“We did Thursdays beforeand it failed miserably pluspeople don’t want to come tothe track four straight nights.At least with Tuesday, we racetwo nights, take a night off,then have two more nightswhich is a lot better than fourstraight.”

Kane went on to say,“Monday nights were a possi-bility but with Monday nightfootball, it’s hard to compete,even though I don’t thinkMonday night football iswhat it used to be. So we

decided on Tuesdays. There’snot much competition sothere might be a window ofopportunity for us at OTBand simulcasting...there’s less

c o m p e t i -tion.”

The twomatinees areS u n d a y ,Aug. 30 andM o n d a y,Sept. 7( L a b o rDay). Thelast day ofracing isscheduledfor Saturday,Dec. 5.

L e a d i n gtrainer anddriver Ron

Bebeck Jr. will return todefend both titles. He isexpected to be challenged bythe powerful Holliday stablewith Ken looking at the driv-ing title and Sherri the train-ing crown. Other top driversexpected to compete are RayFisher Jr., Tom Agosti andKevin Cummings whiletrainer D.J. Milner is alsoexpected to ship in with astrong barn.

There are plenty of promo-tions on tap at BataviaDowns. Some of the high-lights include the New YorkState Sires Stakes/BataviaDowns Baseball Cap

Batavia Downs opens 72-day harnessracing schedule on July 27

Photo courtesy Batavia DownsKenny J winning 2008 Robert J. KaneMemorial in track record of 1:52 with JimMorrill Jr. in the bike. This year’s KaneMemorial is October 10.

By Brian J. Mazurek

After a three-year hia-tus as driver of harnesshorses, Jimmy Whismangot the urge to return tothe sulky and resume hisracing career.

Instead of starting hiscomeback at Indiana orOhio tracks, his homebase, Whisman packedhis gear and headed toWestern New York andthe move thus far hasmore than paid off.

“Greg Luther had afew horses here at Buffaloearlier this year andasked if I was interested indriving them,” Whisman said.“I jumped at it. I was hopingto get back driving and hegave me the opportunity to doso and thus far, it’s been betterthan I expected.”

During the three-year lay-off, Whisman dabbled in thereal estate business but got theitch to return to the harnessracing world.

“It took me like three orfour weeks to get back into therhythm of racing,” the 38-year-old from Lebanon, Ohiosaid. “It started out slow, get-ting like eight or nine races aweek. My first 30 drives in myreturn were my most difficultbut I feel I am back in theswing of things now.” Overthe Fourth of July holiday,Whisman averaged eight racesper night.

Whisman arrived at BuffaloRaceway in late April and wasable to hook up drives withlarge stables trained by D.J.Milner and Brenda Ohol.

Milner and Whisman havecombined to become a power-ful team. “Things are goingwell for us,” Whisman said ofhooking up with Milner. “Wedidn’t even know each otherbefore I arrived here but whenI met him, we just clicked. Hewas been giving me somequality horses to race alongwith Brenda Ohol and it’sallowing other trainers and

owners see what I can do. It’sdefinitely helped.”

The veteran reinsman alsohas a small stable of sevenhorses he trains, ironically forLuther who returned to Ohio.He left his horses underWhisman’s guidance.

And when Milner took abrief four-day vacation recent-ly, Whiman took over the largestable while overseeing hisown. It’s a bond that is grow-ing more and more each dayas they become familiar witheach other.

Thus far, Whisman hasnotched 13 wins, 14 placesand 19 thirds for $65,733 inearnings in 129 starts in hiscomeback year. For his career,however, he has 751 wins andover $3 million in pursemoney. He also has 169 careertraining victories.

Whisman said besides theoffer from Luther to drive hishorses, purse money on theWestern New York circuit wasalso a lure for him. “In Ohio,it’s risk versus reward. Thepurses are so low, it’s not real-ly worth the risk drivingthere.”

As far as his driving style,don’t look for Whisman todrive a horse as hard as he canfor as long as he can...a styleadopted by many drivers thisday and age. “I am morepatient. I want my horse to bepacing or trotting strong at the

wire...owners like that. Mytheory is if you drive for acheck (finishing in the topfive) the wins will come.”

Being a catch driver likeWhisman doesn’t mean asteady paycheck, however.“You are only as good as yourlast drive. You’ve got to showyour stuff and driving abilityand hope owners take notice.You then start getting qualityhorses to drive. I’ve paid mydues and am ready to do mybest here.”

Whisman has capturedsome Sire Stakes races atIndiana Downs and Hoosier(Indiana) Park in years past.He hopes to catch a few NewYork Sires Stakes rides in thefuture but nothing is currentlyon the horizon.

And for the rest of the year?“I am definitely staying here inWestern New York and I ammoving onto Batavia Downswhen they open,” Whismansaid. “I like the people I amdriving for, I like the otherdrivers...we are all in it to get apaycheck...but everyone hasbeen great to me. I am verycomfortable here.”

But is the Western NewYork circuit the only stop inWhisman’s comeback? “I’dlike to keep movingeast...Yonkers, theMeadowlands. But for now, Iam very happy here and Ithink I’ll be here for a while.”

Jimmy Whisman’s return to the sulkypaying off at Buffalo Raceway

Photo by Paul WhiteJimmy Whisman continues his comeback as he guides homeanother winner at Buffalo Raceway.

continued on page 15


Local boxersput the

Beatdown on their

opponentsBy Bob Caico

Nick Garone and his X-CelWorldwide promotional com-pany staged another profes-sional boxing show at theConvention Center in Buffaloon June 19. The five-bout cardfeatured four Western NewYork fighters who all cameaway with wins.

The card was billed asBuffalo Beatdown and thatlived up to its name for thelocal boxers on the card. Nick“Hands of Gold” Casal ofNiagara Falls, fighting near hishometown for the first time,overwhelmed game ShadHoward (13-15-3) of JeffersonCity, Miss. Casal droppedHoward near the end of roundtwo with some well placedbody shots and rights to thehead. Howard, to his credit,came out slugging in the thirdbut Casal was determined toimpress in front of his fansand landed the more powerfulpunches that hurt Howardand backed him into the cor-ner. Casal jumped at thatchance and landed 14 unan-swered shots that forced refer-ee Charlie Fitch to halt theaction at 1:30 of the third

round. Casal who lookedgood at 141 lbs. up from acareer low 130 lbs. in his pre-vious fight raised his record to19-4-1. “The weight waswhere I should be,” Casal said.“I feel very strong at 140 andwill try to make my run for aworld title fight there, that’smy dream.” His trainer andfather Ray added, “What teamCasal is looking forward tonext is to run our record to 22or so wins then step up to amajor fight to make our moveto a title fight in the nearfuture. Remember Nick isonly 23 years old but he hasbeen a pro for five years now,like I always said Nick’s ayoung veteran.”

Fast rising super feather-weight Guillermo Sanchez ofBuffalo improved to 9-0 with afirst round TKO over Ron

Boyd (6-8) ofWashingtonDC. Sanchezhad Boyddown twice inthe round, thelast one after aflurry of com-b i n a t i o n s .Time of thestoppage was2:59.

E x c e l lHolmes madea triumphantdebut in hish o m e t o w nwith a secondround TKOover DamienClement (0-2)of Dayton,Ohio. The

local heavyweight lookedsharp and bloodied the nose ofClement in the second round.Between rounds, Clementcomplained that he couldn’tbreathe from a possible bro-ken nose, and the fight wasstopped before the third roundbell.

Kenny Abril of Rochesterand Sebastian Hamel ofMontreal put on a competitivesix round super lightweightbattle. Abril scored a flashknockdown with the firstpunch of the fight but the ref-eree ruled it a slip, from thereon it was a close battle. Abrildid enough over the next fiverounds to score a 59-55, 58-56and 59-55 unanimous deci-sion to improve to 9-3-1.Hamel slides to 10-19-1.

The NABA lightweightchampionship title fight main

event between Meacher Majorand Michael Clark ended sud-denly and controversially. Thebout that began as if it wouldbe an exciting 10-round con-test turned when Major land-ed a blow to the back of theneck of Clark that droppedhim to his knees. The refereegave Clark a few minutes to

recuperate and resumed theaction. Clark still seemedstunned by the blow butfought on. Seconds later as thefighters tied up, referee HubertEarle called a break. Majorlanded a right hand to the jawthat knocked Clark on hisback and he seemed to be insome discomfort. Earle called

the bout off and emergencypersonnel entered the ring.Clark seemed to be ok but wascarried out on a stretcher as aprecaution. The bout wasruled a no-contest at 2:14 ofround one from an “accidentalfoul.”

Photo by Jeff BarnesExcell Holmes of Buffalo lands a right handon way to a successful professional debutat the Buffalo Beatdown on June 19th.

By Bob CaicoThe Buffalo Veteran

Boxers Association Ring 44has announced the newestmembers to the BuffaloBoxing Hall of Fame. Thefollowing will be enshrinedat their annual dinner onFriday, Aug. 14, 6 p.m. -11p.m. at Salvatore’s ItalianGardens, 6461 TransitRoad, Depew, NY.Bernie Blacher

Served as manager, train-er, promoter and in othercapacities for many of thefighters in Buffalo, includ-ing Joey Giambra, VicBrown and the Quinnybrothers. He was known asa man who treated boxersas his kids and did whatev-er it took to help them out.Bernie also managedSinger’s gym.Jimmy Gilligan

Gilligan compiled arecord of 53-37-1 from1934-1942 while fightingall the top featherweights inhis era including WilliePep, Joey Archibald and SalBartolo.Benny Ross

From 1921-1930 Ross bat-tled the great middle andlight heavyweights. Bennyfought Maxie Rosenbloom,Jock Malone, Lou Scozza,Tommy Laughran and JimmySlattery, to name only a few.Tony Sciolino

Sciolino chalked up arecord of 23-8-4 during hiscareer. Tony fought againstTommy Paul, Frankie Garciaand Wesley Ramey, all topfighters at their weight dur-ing the 30s and 40s.Frankie Best

Best was a Fredonia, N.Y.native who fought from1942-1949 and compiled a21-5-1 record.Jimmy Watkins

A Buffalo native, Watkinshad a 22-10-1 record as a pro-fessional after a very success-ful amateur career that endedin 1962.

For ticket information,contact me [email protected].

•••••••• You may have heard that

Ross “The Boss” Thompsonwas wounded when a gangstabbed and shot him outsidea local bar. Well except for asmall cast Ross looked goodand promises to continue his

career. He hopes to be in thering by September.

•••••••• Jimmy Ralston will hold

an amateur boxing card onAug. 15. Ralston’s shows arealways exciting and draw bigcrowds. See AD on backcover for more information.

••••••••Light welterweight James

Ventry of Niagara Fallsdropped his fourth straightdecision in Pittsburgh onJune 24. Ventry’s record nowstands at 7-9-1 after losing asix-round decision to RodSalka (8-0). Rochester heavy-weight Jermell Barnes (18-21-2) dropped a six-rounddecision to John Poore inAtlantic City on June 6.

•••••••• Nick Garone and X-Cel

Worldwide hopes to bringregular boxing shows toBuffalo because of the contin-uing and expanded supportfor each show. Garone plansto bring his next card back tothe Queen City in lateSeptember or early Octoberwith an exciting local mainevent. That would mark hisfourth show in the area in lessthan a year.

•••••••• The sixth annual “Fight

Night at Frontier” will be onThursday, Aug. 13 inRochester. A co-promotionbetween Resnick Productionsand DiBella Entertainmentwill bring the BroadwayBoxing series to the outdoorbaseball park with RonaldHearns (21-1) as the headlin-er. Also scheduled on thecard are Rochester’s WillieMonroe Jr. (5-0), Buffalo’sVincent Arroyo (9-0) and thepro debut of Aleem“Hammer” Whitfield ofGeneva, NY.

Local boxing happenings

Featherweight JimmyGilligan is one of six formerBuffalo boxing stars thatwill be inducted posthu-mously in the Ring 44Buffalo Boxing Hall of Fame.


On Aug. 1, history will bemade in the Lock City withWNY’s largest outdoor pro-fessional kickboxing card, atthe Ulrich City Centre.

Lockport’s Amer Abdallah’s(7-0) last fight at the KenanArena sold out, with over2,500 fans packing the arena.Fresh off his April 25, fifthround TKO of Jesse Colon(13-3), he’ll take one stepcloser to recapturing his NewYork State Light Heavyweightcrown as he takes on kick-boxing veteran, RonPenndleton (26-5) ofBaltimore.

Penndelton’s camp hasbeen less than humble intheir approach to this fight asveteran trainer Stan Johnsonsent some very clear mes-

sages to WNY fans. “We arecoming to Lockport to knockthis ** out. It’s just business.”Johnson stated last night.“We’re not worried about nocrowd, no fans, or nobodyelse. It’s just him and Ronniein there, and he’s got nowhereto run.” During a live TVinterview with Abdallah ear-lier this month, thePenndelton camp called inand interrupted the show.“We’re just calling to let youknow we’re coming to win”Stan Johnson said. “We’venever had this long to preparefor a fight. You’re in trouble,man.”

“Penndelton is writingchecks with his mouth thathis jaw can’t cash. I suggesthe saves his breath, he’ll needit for the ambulance ride

home,” Abdallah replied.“Forget his record, he’ll haveto kill me to beat me.”

Training Abdallah for thisfight is longtime friend andformer IBO Lightweightworld champion, AngelManfredy, along with formerTeam Mesi head trainer, JuanDeleon.

The official weigh-ins forthe Abdallah / Penndeltonfight will be at the MolsonSummer Concert Series, onstage, Friday July 31, rightbefore the Queensryche per-formance.

The event is expected tosell out, and tickets are avail-able now atTicketmaster.com or by call-ing 800 745 3000. Any tick-ets left, will be available at thedoor.

Kickboxing in the Queen City


By Ivan the Impaler

1) NWA Upstate and BigGuy Productions proudlyannounce that NO LIMITSTV is on the air! The bestwrestling TV show in WNYfeatures the finest competi-tors from Buffalo,Rochester, SouthernOntario and beyond!

You can witness theaction in Rochester at 3p.m. Sundays on My18(WBGT-TV). In SuburbanErie County, it’s on Time-Warner Cable Channel 20every Saturday at 4 p.m.,with replays Mondays at11:30 p.m. Folks in theRochester area can attend aTV taping at the MonroeCounty Fair on Friday, June17. There are shows sched-uled at noon, 2:30 and 7p.m.

2) TNA Wrestling will bemaking its first appearancein WNY. They’ll be at theErie County Fairgrounds fora house show on Saturday,July 11. Scheduled toappear are Kurt Angle, A. J.Styles, Team 3D and theirup-until-recent KnockoutsChampion, Angelina Love.In addition, TNA will be inJamestown on July 9,Hamilton on July 10, andSyracuse on July 12.

3) A pair of local indywrestlers have said ‘good-bye’ after many years in thebusiness.

J.P. Black recently had hislast match against BrodieLee. Although Brodie wonthe bout, J.P. won therespect and admiration ofthe fans. J.P., also known as“The Dark Pony,” was a for-mer NWA TexasHeavyweight Champ.

Eric Everlast also decidedthat it was time to move on.He lost his last matchagainst Ron Falco, but likeJ.P., Eric has nothing to beashamed of. He was listed inthe PWI 500 several times,and has held numerous

regional titles (ironically, heonce held tag team goldwith Falco as his partner).

In a further coincidence,Black and Everlast taggedtogether on WWF SundayNight Heat a few years agowhen they took on the teamof Bradshaw and Farooq(a/ka/a The Acolytes). Notso ironically, their friend-ship evaporated a bit later,leading to a bloody feudwhich produced manymemorable matches inRochester.

Like many wrestling“retirements,” will the bootsremain stored away, or willthey be dried off and wornagain in the near future?Whatever these two decide,we congratulate them ontheir careers, and for beingtrue professionals bothinside and out of the ring.

4) In a few sad notes,we’d like to acknowledgethe passing of Billy “Red”Lyons from cancer at age 77.Billy was a fixture on theWNY/Southern Ontarioscene; many fans rememberhim from his days in MapleLeaf Wrestling. He alsoserved as a ring announcerand TV interviewer forWWF when the fed movedinto this area in the late1970s.

The wrestling world wasalso shocked by the death ofJapanese superstarMitsuharu Misawa fromwhat was reportedly an in-ring spinal cord injury atage 46. Between All-JapanWrestling and Pro WrestlingNOAH, Misawa had won acombined eightHeavyweight titles. Manysay Misawa was the best prowrestler in the WORLD inthe 1990s.Upcoming events

Friday, Jul 17 - NWAUpstate - Monroe CountyFairgrounds - 2695 EastHenrietta Road, Henrietta,N.Y. - noon, 2:30 p.m. and 7

p.m. - Some of the matcheswill be taped for No LimitsTV! - See. www.nwaup-state.net for more info.

Saturday, July 18 - PWANiagara - FREE OUTDOORSHOW! – Lion’s Field, 500Elm St. - Port Colborne,Ontario, Canada - 6:30 p.m.

Friday, July 24 andSaturday, July 25 - ROH -Ted Reeves Arena, 175 MainSt. - Toronto, Ontario,Canada -8 p.m.

Wednesday, July 29 -NWA Upstate - LivingstonCounty Fairgrounds - 310Leicester St. (Rt. 36) -Caledonia, N.Y. - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 8 - NWACapital - Crosstown Plaza,2332 Watt St. - Schenectady,N.Y. - 7 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 5 -NWA NY - Upstate 8Tournament -The GermanHouse, 315 Gregory Street -Rochester, NY - 6 p.m.

Saturday Oct. 10 -NWA NY - Immortal Fest‘09 - Minnet Hall @ TheDome Arena -2695 E.Henrietta Rd - Henrietta,NY - Bell time at 6 p.m..

Monday, Oct. 26 - WWEMonday Night RAW - HSBCArena - Buffalo, N.Y. - 7:30p.m.TELEVISION

As noted above, watchNO LIMITS TV inRochester at 3 p.m. Sundayson My18. See it in SuburbanErie County on Time-Warner Cable Channel 20every Saturday at 4 p.m.(Replays in Mondaysat11:30 p.m.).WrestleVisionairs in Niagara County at 4p.m. on Saturdays on Time-Warner Channel 20.RADIO

Don’t miss the PainClinic, Saturdays at 10 a.m.on WHTK (Hot Talk 1280)in Rochester. They’ve got allyour wrestling news andcommentary, along withspecial guests!

News and notes from pro wrestling, both local and afarBy Ivan the

ImpalerRaging Wolf IV

was another suc-cess in the seriesof MMA eventsheld on SenecaNation Land inIrving on June13. The night fea-tured TWELVEbouts, but sur-prisingly, theevening wentsmoothly and rel-atively quickly, asonly one of the12 fights wentthe three-rounddistance. Thefans were totally juicedthroughout the evening, anddefinitely got their money’sworth.

In the two main events,Marc Stevens stopped SterlingFord in a welterweight contestby unanimous decision. In thelone heavyweight bout,Shawn Jordon KO’dMahnseah Boley in the 2ndRound.In other action:

Brian Kelleher beat JordanLitz by submission

Cliff Golembieski forcedJosh Bitner to tap

Mark Carrow KO’d StephenBettcher in 18 seconds

Anthony Richter submittedWilliam Torres

Eric Johnson TKO’d JasonBreinlinger

Alex Carrion forcedAnthony Giacchina to tap

Pat Gorman Jr. submittedBen Gallagher

Noah Faunce beat VinceCarli by tapout

Jeff Denz forced Billy Garretto submit

TJ Sumler TKO’d JamieFryer

The next card is tentativelyscheduled for October. Go towww.ragingwolf.com for moreinformation.

•••••••• On the worldwide scene,

just prior to this edition goingto press, Frank Mir will haveagain faced Brock Lesnar, butthis time, the UFCUndisputed Heavyweight Titlewill be on the line at UFC 100.Lesnar holds the HeavyweightTitle through his win overRandy Couture, while Mirwon the Interim Title (whichoriginated when Couture had

left UFC) fromAntonio Noguieralast Dec. 27.

On Feb. 2, 2008,Lesnar made hisUFC debut againstMir. Lesnar and total-ly dominated the first90 seconds, but Mircaught Brock in aknee bar and forcedhim to tap.Obviously, Lesnar islooking for revenge.

Also on the card,George St. Pierre willdefend his welter-weight title againstThiago Alves. Thisevent could be the

most-purchased PPV of theyear, with the possible excep-tion of Wrestlemania.

Sorry to report that NiagaraFalls, N.Y. native RashadEvans lost the light-heavy-weight title in the secondround on May 23 to LyotoMachida in a battle of unbeat-en fighters. Evans will certain-ly get another shot at the titlein the near future, althoughnot immediately. The Light-Heavyweight division hasbeen thrown into a bit of dis-array with the decision of cur-rent middleweight champAnderson Silva to move up aclassification. BetweenRampage Jackson, ThiagoSilva, Forrest Griffin andRashad, there are numerouscontenders laying claim for atitle shot.

Mixed martial arts update

Photo by Bob CaicoCrowd favorite Clifford Golembieski, from SilverCreek, (left), scored a third round armbar submis-sion over Josh Bittner, from Ontario, at RagingWolf IV in Irving, NY.


By Adam McGill

Buffalo State CollegeThe Bengals had an up and

down 2008 season. The teamfinished 11-21 with a confer-ence record of 2-8, but startedplaying stronger as the seasoncame to a conclusion. Theteam will be returning fiveupperclassmen, including fourseniors, and will be one of themore experienced teams in theconference.

Buffalo State will be relyingheavily on senior libero MariaSchaffstall this season. TheElma native led the team indigs the last two seasons with372 in 2008, a sizeable dropfrom her 2007 total of 531.Schaffstall is one of the mostconfident players on the teamand will once again be a strongpoint of the Bengals defense.

Also middle hitter KatieSember (Buffalo, N.Y.) will bereturning as well. Semberamassed an impressive 245kills last year and will be theteam’s strongest player by thenet. The duo has great chem-istry on the court and willsolidify the middle this seasonfor Buffalo State.

The Bengals open their sea-son on Sept. 1 by hosting PennState Behrend College. Theteam then travels to Cortlandfor the Cortland Red DragonClassic Tournament the week-end of Sept. 4 and 5.Canisius College

The Golden Griffs finished2008 at 17-11, with an amaz-ing 12-6 record in the Metro

Atlantic AthleticConference. Canisius lostin the conference cham-pionship last season andwas only a couple ofpoints away from win-ning the title. Head coachCathy Hummel wasnamed 2008 AnacondaSports MAAC Coach ofthe Year and will be look-ing to translate last sea-son success into morewins.

Senior MichelleGodfrey (NorthTonawanda, N.Y.), whowas named to the All-MAAC second team lastseason, totaled 199 killslast season. She played inalmost every game andwill be a focal point of theteam moving forward.Also setter Janelle Daviswill be coming back for asecond season. The soph-omore had an amazingfreshmen season for theblue and gold posting anastonishing 979 sets inthe middle for theGolden Griffs.

The team opens the seasonin Philadelphia at the La SalleTournament on Friday, Aug.28. Niagara University

After finishing 6-23 in 2008,Niagara has some off-seasonadjustments to make. Theteam needs more height in thefront row and to play moreconsistent in back-to-backgames if they want to win

more matches. On a positivenote NU did have four of theirwins come against conferencefoes and they did hold theirown against some of the biggernon-conference schools theyplayed.

Michelle James had a teambest 1,109 sets last season inher first season for Niagara.James showed her tenacity andaggressiveness on the court byrisking her body for loose

balls. The settercame onto the colle-giate volleyball

scene in a big way in 2008 andhas a promising young careerahead of her for the PurpleEagles. Fellow sophomore,Hannah Hendrick also had astrong freshmen campaignherself. She played in everygame and even more surpris-ing led the team with 342 kills.

The Purple Eagles opentheir season on Aug. 29 host-ing Coppin State University at10 a.m.University at Buffalo

The Bulls will play the two-time defending national cham-pion Penn State team this sea-son. Also on the bill for theteam will be four teams thatmade the 2008 NCAA tourna-ment. This will prove to bequite the uphill journey forBuffalo, but then again adversi-ty has always been the city’sstrong point.

For the seventh consecutiveseason every team in the MACwill make the conference tour-nament. With the Bulls alsoplaying 16 conference gamesthis season, every game will be

important when it comes todeciding seeding in the tour-nament at the end of the year.Unfortunately for Buffalo, theMAC is quickly become a vol-leyball powerhouse and is oneof the upcoming conferencesaround the nation.

The team will be returningstrong setter Lindsey Schlegel(Lancaster, N.Y.) who had ateam high 907 sets in 2008.Entering her junior season,she is primed to take the nextstep forward and become thetrue leader that the teamneeds. Also the team has a spe-cial talent in middle blockerKristin Bignell. The junior hasshown great athletic abilityand her tall frame (6-foot-3)helps her defend the netagainst the opposition.

The Bulls will start the sea-son at home by hosting theUniversity at BuffaloInvitational on Aug. 28.Buffalo then travels to PennState the next weekend of Sept.4. The Nittany Lions willprove to be the hardest foe onthe schedule but it will be agood learning experience aswell.

College women’s volleyball is set for 2009 season

Photo courtesy Buffalo StateLibero Maria Schaffstall (rt.) andmiddle hitter Katie Sember lookto once again be the Bengalsdynamic duo at Buff State.

By John Perrelli

Orchard Park senior KyleHoppy had a difficult deci-sion to make. He knew thathe wanted to play both foot-ball and baseball, but wasn’tsure where he wanted toplay both sports. Havingbeen recruited by theUniversity at Buffalo,Mercyhurst, Saint JohnFisher and Colorado State,he was in a comfortableplace for such a decision.Ultimately, he chose DI-AA school Bucknell inLewisburg, Pa.

“Basically, it came downto wanting to play both,and Bucknell told me thatas long as I can handleboth, I can play both,”Hoppy said. “I hope I canhandle it. We’ll find out.”

Hoppy will be on anear-full scholarship inthe fall, and hopes tomake immediate contribu-tions to both teams,despite his freshman sta-tus. He is excited aboutother incoming freshmenalso headed to Bucknell thisfall. “I know we’re bringingin a great running back…Ithink he was the all-timerushing leader in the historyof the state of Pennsylvania.There are a few other [fresh-men] who I think will reallyhave an impact on theteam.”

Where to attend college,and which sports to play,was the first difficult deci-sion.

But then an even moredifficult decision reared itshead. Hoppy found himselfdrafted by the BaltimoreOrioles in the 28th round ofthe MLB draft. Now, he’llhave to decide between pur-suing a professional base-ball career directly out ofhigh school or attending

college at Bucknell as hehad originally intended.

“I can’t even say whichway I’m leaning right now.There are outside factors, soas of right now, I’m justfocusing on training andgetting ready for whatevercomes. It’s time to workhard,” Hoppy said.

No stranger to hard work,Hoppy was a key element inOrchard Park’s state cham-pionship run, quarterback-ing the Quakers to their firstever football title. His bat-ting average for the Quakersthis season was a ridiculous.551.

His hard work has con-tinued this summer, as heprepares for whichever pathhe takes by working outwith Thurman ThomasSports Training in Elma.The focus of Kyle’s trainingis on both football and base-ball.

“There are three guys thatare helping me out thissummer to get ready forwhatever happens, and theyare really helping me toknow how to prepare,”

Hoppy said. “JohnMariacher, DemerisJohnson and ThurmanThomas have been great towork with at the Sahlen’sfacility in Elma. We’ve beendoing lots of strength andconditioning, and I think it’salready starting to pay off.We’ll see.”

At this point, though,Hoppy finds himself in aholding pattern. Final deci-sions yet to be made dependupon outside factors, likewhat the Baltimore Oriolesare willing to offer, andwhether Kyle’s educationwill trump any other possi-bilities.

MLB’s deadline forsinging Kyle is August 15,but Hoppy hopes to knowhis future sooner than that.

“I wanted to find a way toplay both football and base-ball, and that worked out.Bucknell has offered a greatscholarship. Education isthe most important thingfor me right now, but it’sjust not every day that youget drafted by an MLB team,so part of me really is excit-ed about that possibility,too. It’s a tough spot, but ina good way.”

When asked whatbrought him to the pleasantconundrum of having tochoose between attemptinga pro baseball career orplaying two sports atBucknell, Hoppy had theright answers. “I don’tknow…I guess I like towork hard, especially withthings I enjoy, like footballand baseball…I wentthrough a pretty goodschool system and I hadgreat teammates and coach-es. Now I’m training withsome pretty quality people.I guess I’m a pretty luckyguy that way. I’ve had agreat support system.”

Drafted by Baltimore Orioles, O.P.’s Hoppy facing difficult decision

Photo by John PerrelliBucknell or Baltimore?Orchard Park’s Kyle Hoppyhas many options after beingselected by the Orioles inthe MLB entry draft.


By Josh ColliganIt may not be the same

series airing Saturday morn-ings on ESPN2 or the samehousehold names like KevinVanDam, Skeet Reese orMichael Iaconelli, but if theremaining Toyota TundraBassmaster Weekend Seriesevents are anything like thefirst, it will be just as enter-taining.

The 62 boaters and the 50co-anglers blasted off fromLong Point State Park mari-na shortly after 6 a.m.searching for the biggestlarge and smallmouth bassChautauqua Lake had tooffer. The 112 anglersweighed 353 fish, totaling868-pounds 9-ounces. Onlyfive anglers came backempty.

“They did very well,”New York West RegionAssistant Director JoeAngelone said. “Eight-hun-dred pounds is a good day’sfish for the amount ofanglers that we had.”

But everything didn’t goso smoothly. The intermit-tent downpours and gustingwinds shut down the com-puter system the tourna-ment directors use to put onwhat Chautauqua CountySports Fishing andPromotions Director CraigRobbins calls a “first classtournament.”

“This is a pretty versatilecrew that we have and we’veseen a lot,” Angelone said.

“We haven’t had to run amanual tournament inabout two years.”

Consequently, like any-thing else, when humansare involved, error is possi-ble.

When announcing thetop-10 finishers for theBoater division, the anglerscaught a mistake the crewhad made. The crew hadincorrectly ranked the top-10. The mistake was fixedand the checks re-written,costing some $90.

One person who wasunaffected by the mishapwas Steven Hughes(Rimersburg, Pa.). Hughesused his 6-13 lunker to pro-pel himself past CaseyRohring (Burt, N.Y.) andinto the top spot, earninghimself a $5,310 payday. Inaddition to the money healso earned 200 points andthe early lead in the stand-ings.

The Rimersburg, Pa.native had a limit by 8 a.m.and credited his research forhis success. “We pre-fishedand found some fish on theoutside weed edges.”

But not everyone wasable to figure out the condi-tions quite as well. BradBrodnicki (Amherst, N.Y.)managed to catch a limittotaling 12-10, good for19th, but it wasn’t withoutsome tactical changes.

“Oh yeah,” he said whenasked if he had to change

his game plan. “In some ofmy spots actually the riverswere flowing out, the littlecreeks were flowing out andmudded up the wholeshoreline. It was reallytough. It made it challeng-ing.”

In the co-angler division,George Prvonozac (Warren,Ohio) took home the firstplace plaque and a check for$1,158 when his bagweighed in at 11-1, justbarely surpassing CharlesAngelo’s (Lakewood, N.Y.)bag of 10-11. Prvonozacalso was able to boat a limit,making his chances of win-ning much better as the co-anglers can only weigh theirbest three.

“I didn’t think I won itbecause this lake is so full ofbig fish,” Prvonozac said. “Iknew I had a chance of get-ting at least a good check,but I was a little surprised Iwon it.”

The Weekend Series willbe returning to the regionAug. 8 and Aug. 29 withtournaments on SenecaLake and Chautauquarespectively. The five-eventseries will then wrap-up onSept. 12 on CanandaiguaLake, and close with thetwo-day series finale Sept.26-27 on Oneida Lake.

For information on theWeekend Series visitwww.americanbassanglers.com or www.abaproam.com.

Bassmasters in BuffaloSummertimesmiles as anglingheats up

Summer has finallyarrived in WNY, and theslow rise in water tempera-tures have fish scattered andfickle as July comes into itsown. As weather patternssettle into the summer heatand sun expect fish activityto pick up as all game fishspecies set up for the habitsof the dog days ahead.Black Bass

Bass season opened with abang over Father’s Day week-end, with many local bassclubs holding tournamentsfor their members and inter-ested anglers alike. Anglersmay now pursue bass witheither artificial lures or livebait throughout the EmpireState, with daily creel limitsbeing five fish per day perangler, 12-inch minimumlength, across most waters.Lake Erie bronzebacksremain a hot commodity, asbig, goby-fed smallmouthget serious in their post-spawn to summer patterns.Rock piles and sharp dropsin near Buffalo waters candeliver rod-bending, arm-aching action, especiallyduring early morning hours.Expect fish to start movingover deeper, cooler waters asJuly wears on, with standardbass tackle delivering limitcatches in the right spots.Deep-diving crankbaits, lip-less crankbaits, tube jigsworked along the bottom ordrop shot rigs present goby-pattern soft plastics all workwell in July.

A resurgence of sorts ishappening in Central NewYork with Syracuse area’sOnondaga Lake. Althoughhealth advisories remain inforce due to decades ofindustrial pollution, this lakehas improved tremendouslyover the past 20 years, andhas become one of CNY’s topbass fishing lakes, with large-mouth bass exceeding thesix-pound mark becomingcommonplace. Anglersworking the north end of

Onondaga find hungry bassresiding in the weed bedsand fallen trees and stumps.Just remember that anglersshould consume no fishfrom Onondaga, but a dayspent catch and release bassfishing could deliver a large-mouth bass of a lifetime.Walleye

Action starts heating upon Lake Erie for NY’s mostsought after Lake Erie gamefish, as large schools of wall-eye begin their annualmigration from Ohio watersto the eastern basin in searchof the deeper, cooler watersfavored by their forage.Anglers running controlled-depth programs over 75-90feet of water should seenumbers and size while run-ning worm harnesses inwatermelon, black and pur-ple and orange and blackwhen presented in the rightsection of the water column.Pay attention to your elec-tronics and keep the trollslow (< 2 mph) for bestresults. Areas off Dunkirk toBarcelona prove best in earlyJuly, with schools spreadingeastward to near Buffalowaters by month’s end.Yellow Perch

What was once considereda fishery in severe decline,Lake Erie yellow perch havemade a surprising reboundover the past few years to thedelight of perch seekersremembering the days ofbuckets full of 15+ inch jackperch. Seneca Shoals,Sturgeon Point and DunkirkHarbor areas all prove stellarwhen still fishing over 55foot depths. Emerald shinersdeliver the best action, barnone, but with these pre-ferred minnows in short sup-

ply at local baitshops (due to fishpathogen contain-ment regs), manyare in a positionto either collecttheir own bait onthe water or useinferior goldenshiners as ana l t e r n a t i v e .Action can betremendous attimes, as big ring-

backs move about feeding onbait near bottom.

Sportsmen meet with DECOn June 9, 2009, a contin-

gent of sportsmen represent-ing Erie, Niagara andChautauqua Counties metwith DEC officials and NYSea Grant at University atBuffalo’s North Campus todiscuss the Fish Pathogencontainment regulations.Erie County Federation 2ndVP Paul Stoos facilitated thismeeting, and what a meetingit was. Although no deci-sions have been made, localanglers delivered a profes-sional, factual presentationconcerning the challengespresented for Lake Erieanglers, in particular perchfishermen. Ideas concerninga Great Lakes buffer zone fortransport of self-collectedbait were discussed. A followup meeting will be sought inSeptember or October tohold further discussions onthis important topic.

Remember, take a kid fish-ing and give the gift that lastsa lifetime.

Rich Davenport is co-founderof WeLoveOutdoors.com, anavid Outdoorsman and memberof the NYSOWA. His works arealso published in NY OutdoorNews, Walleye.com and theBuffalo News. Rich is also theRecording Secretary for the ErieCounty Federation ofSportsmen’s Clubs, Secretary ofthe Western NY EnvironmentalFederation, member of the ErieCounty Fisheries AdvisoryBoard and is the Region 9 RepNYSCC Big Game Committee.

Email [email protected].

Bass fishing starts to really heat up inWNY in July, with fireworks in bronzedelighting all who tangle with a trophy.

Doctari’s Fishing Forum with Rich Davenport


Come experience the rushof the race at Dunn TireRaceway Park this summer!The facility, formerly knownas Lancaster Speedway,offers multiple motorsportsentertainment options in afamily friendly atmosphere.

Thrilling IHRA profes-sional drag racing takesplace on Tuesdays andFridays. Tuesdays showcasethe Junior Dragsters andstreet car drag racing, whileon Friday nights the fastestdrag cars in the area go headto head for the win down the1/8th mile dragstrip.

Saturdays feature the bestdrivers in the northeast

United States racing side byside at Dunn Tire RacewayPark’s stock car races. Thestock car program offersboth full fendered and openwheel racing action on thehistoric 5/8th mile oval.

The action continues withmud bog racing on selectSundays. New to Dunn TireRaceway Park, the Mud Bogoffers mud pit racing, rockcrawling, and more.

In addition eachWednesday, Dunn TireRaceway Park hosts the pop-ular Shredd & Ragan CruiseNight with a car show andgrudge street car drag racing.

Dunn Tire Raceway Parkis an affordable entertain-

ment options for sportsenthusiasts, families, andgroups, with tickets forevents priced in the $10 to$15 range for adults.Discounts available for sen-ior citizens, rock bottomadmission for kids, and fam-ily passes available.

Dunn Tire Raceway Parkis located at 57 GunnvilleRoad, Lancaster, New York -just three miles away fromthe Buffalo Niagara Airport.For more information on thefacility and the upcomingevents visit the track’s officialwebsite - www.dunntirerace-waypark.com - or call 716-759-6818.

Something for everyone this summer atDunn Tire Raceway Park


By Mike FoxAll other major sports are

on hiatus, but we still havebaseball to cure the summer-time blues. This month’squiz gives you some pointsto ponder as you lie in theshade sipping your preferredchilled beverage.

1. Only two players haveled the entire majors in bat-ting average for three con-secutive seasons, Ty Cobband who else?

a. Wade Boggsb. Tony Gwynnc. Rod Carewd. Ichiro Suzuki2. Who was the first play-

er to hit 50 doubles and 50home runs in the same sea-son?

a. Brady Andersonb. Sammy Sosac. Albert Belled. Shawn Green3. Only two National

Leaguers have ever drawn150 or more bases on balls ina season, Barry Bonds andwho else?

a. Mel Ottb. Mike Schmidtc. Albert Pujolsd. Mark McGwire4. Who is the only player

ever to lead his league intriples, home runs and RBI

in the same season?a. Jim Riceb. Mickey Mantlec. Larry Walkerd. Roberto Clemente5. How many times was

Roger Maris intentionallywalked in 1961 during his61-homer season?

a. 0b. 3c. 15d. 216. Who set the National

League record when he hitinto 32 double plays in oneseason?

a. Mike Piazzab. Miguel Tejadac. Ryan Doumitd. Terry Pendleton7. Who is the only player

ever to hit 20 home runs fortwo different teams in oneseason?

a. Orlando Cepedab. Bobby Bonillac. Mark McGwired. Garry Maddox8. Who is the only rookie

since Joe Garagiola to havefour hits in a World Seriesgame?

a. Melky Cabrerab. Jacoby Ellsburyc. Troy Tulowitzkid. Willy Taveras9. All of the following

active players have scored atleast 1600 career runsexcept:

a. Ken Griffey Jr.b. Gary Sheffieldc. Alex Rodriguezd. Derek Jeter10. Who holds the record

for most consecutive seasonswith at least 75 RBI, with 20?

a. Eddie Murrayb. Dave Winfieldc. Carl Yastrzemskid. Hank Aaron

Baseball trivia

Photo by Jeff BarnesDoes Derek Jeter rankamong the top three activeplayers in runs scored?

Giveaway on July 31,Excalibur Night on Aug. 8with 50-cent hot dogs andsodas and on Aug. 30 it will bethe annual Weiner Dog Racesand the Mercy Flight fundrais-er.

On the Labor Day matineecard, the annual Driver’s BikeRace will be held while GastonGuindon, a fan favorite andregular driver on the WesternNew York circuit for years,will be honored on Sept. 12.

The extremely popular$1,000 HandicappingChallenge is slated for Aug.

14, Sept. 18 and Oct. 16. It’sfree to enter as long as youhave your Player’s Extra Card,which is also free to sign upfor.

••••••••On the racing side, there are

some great events on tap,highlighted by the $40,000Robert J. Kane Memorial Paceon Saturday, Oct, 10. Thisevent brings in some of thetop pacers from the northeast.There will also be Robert J.Kane Memorial T-shirts givenaway on this day as well.

Kenneth J captured the

2008 edition of the Kane Paceas Jim Morrill Jr. guided himhome in a track record time of1:52.

The rich New York StateSires Stakes will be scatteredthroughout the meet with the$200,000 three-year-old colttrotters invading BataviaDowns on July 31 and the$200,000 three-year-old fillypacers come to town on Aug.28.

The $200,000 two-year-oldcolt trotters follow on Sept. 2and the $200,000 two-year-old colt pacers on Sept. 4.

For more information onBatavia Downs and Casino, goto BataviaDowns.com.

Batavia Downs from page 10

Answers1. c 2. c 3. d 4. a5. a Mickey Mantle batted behindMaris in ’61.6. b 7. c 8. b 9. d 10. a

By Dave Sully

Ken Schrader is proba-bly best remembered forbeing the first person tosee Dale Earnhardt afterhis fatal crash - as he andEarnhardt basicallycrashed together andended up near eachother in the infield -but there is a lot moreto the amiable driverfrom Fenton, Miss.Not only did he carveout a successful, if notextraordinary 20 yearNASCAR career, whichshows four wins( T a l l a d e g a - 8 8 ,Charlotte- 89, Atlanta-91, Dover- 91), 64 topfives, and a 181 toptens, but he has drivenalmost every kind ofrace car in existence.Now at the age of fifty-four, he shows no signof, pardon the pun,‘slowing down,’ eventhough he has beenracing since he was16.”

Recently, I had theopportunity to chatwith Schrader who wasat the half-mile dirtOshweken Speedway nearBrantford, Ontario for aWorld of Outlaws LateModel race.

Given that he has drivenalmost every kind of racecar, I asked him hisfavorite. He answereddiplomatically, “I just likerunning different things.That’s why I’ve alwaysdriven so many differenttypes of cars.” Regardingdirt tracks, he added, “Ireally enjoy the dirt. Iactually started out onpavement my first year andthen I started running alittle dirt after that and Iliked it.”

As for the high point inhis career, he laughed, “Ihaven’t had it yet. I hopeit’s tonight.”

About his best NASCARfeat, he added, “I don’tknow. The best finish I hadwas fourth in 1994 if youwant to judge it by points.If you want to judge it bywhen I won the mostmoney or the most races, itwould be different.”

Continuing withNASCAR, I asked, “If DaleEarnhardt were alive,would there be a Chase(the NASCAR equivalentto playoffs)? His response:“You know, everybodywants to think Dale ranNASCAR, but he didn’t.The France family ranNASCAR, so I believethere would still be aChase.”

What do you think ofthe Chase? “I like it. I wasagainst it at first, but youknow, you can win allthose football games andbaseball games and what-ever all year long and go tothe playoffs and lose rightoff the bat, so we’re givingthe guys ten races to figure

out who’s the best from thetwelve who are in there, soI think it’s good.”

Regarding the economy– that has definitely hurtNASCAR but seems tohave injected life into local

short tracks – Schradernoted, “It’s just like anybusiness. The businessesthat are run efficiently andthe people that own it aredoing good, are fine. Ourtracks are all up we’rehappy to say.” Schraderowns the I-55 Speedway inMissouri, and co-ownsPaducah Speedway inKentucky and MaconSpeedway, all dirt tracks,with Tony Stewart.

We all know thatNASACAR is goingthrough tough times withfalling TV ratings and lowticket sales. I asked aboutthe recent NASCAR race atMichigan, where rafts ofempty seats appeared oncameras tracking the race.He declared, “Michiganwas kind of not fair. Youcouldn’t have picked aworse market in the coun-try to be showing theseats. Unfortunately,Detroit is so heavilydependent on the autoindustry and we knowwhat kind of shape it’s in. Idon’t see any upside to it.”

Schrader is understand-ably very defensive aboutNASCAR. When I askedhim if we could blame theeconomy for NASCAR’swoes and pointed out mybelief that when theychased the Southeast red-necks out of the sport byexorbitant prices they lostsomething, he responded,“They didn’t chaseNASCAR away from any-body. They didn’t take anyraces away from anybody.Some families that ownedrace tracks decided it wastime to get out of the busi-ness because it was a goodtime to sell the business,so they sold to other peo-ple, and that’s where the

races went. NASCAR did-n’t take any races away.The sport grew a bunch. Itwould not have grown asmuch without the corpo-rate dollars that have beenspent in sponsorship and

the corporate dollarswere not going to bespent for us to keepgoing toM a r t i n s v i l l e ,W i l k s b o r o ,R o c k i n g h a m ,Darlington, andCharlotte. It had toexpand, so youknow, it’s economicbad times for every-body. We hear aboutit every day.NASCAR is off a lotless in their percent-ages than the othermajor league sports.So, how bad arethey? I don’t know. Idon’t think they’rebad.”

Schrader wouldn’ttouch my questionabout whetherNASCAR is over-exposed, as manyboth in and out ofracing have suggest-

ed. He answered, “Heyman, I just worry aboutmaking these things turnleft and keeping names onthe quarter panels. I don’tdo all that stuff.”

Whenever a sports fig-ure has been in the busi-ness a long time, theinevitable questionbecomes, “How muchlonger can you do this?”My exact question was,“How much longer willyou race, until they dragyou out?”

He replied assertively,“Till they drag me out.”

Schrader spent manyyears in NASCAR, but iscurrently without a regularride. Since he doesn’t real-ly need a NASCAR ride, hewill not climb into justanything, noting, “I’veturned down two ridesalready this year.” Whenpressed about his NASCARcareer being over, hereplied wistfully, “I hopenot.”

For the night, he fin-ished eighth at Ohswekenby basically staying out oftrouble. He got as high asfourth, but never pressedit. He told me the trackwould be rough that nightand it certainly was.

I like to think of KenSchrader as racing’s“Everyman.” He has donewhat millions of Americanracers would love to do,and he has done it withclass. Racing could usemore of his ilk, but don’tcount on it happening any-time soon. The movementis too young, attractivemarketable personalitiesand the likes of Schraderare a dying breed.

Ken Schrader:Racing’s everyman

Photo by Alex & Helen BruceKen Schrader from OhswekenSpeedway’s WoO Late Model Race.

many years and always ingreat condition. All threecourses offer e-club specialsvia their Niagara Parks web-site. The other premiumcourse in the area is PeninsulaLakes. Located twenty min-utes west of Niagara Falls inFonthill, you’ll love the layoutand condition of Pen Lakes27 holes.

For a more friendlyapproach to golf, you haveplenty of options in the regionincluding Emerald Pines Golfclub in Port Colborne. Onceknown as Country Lane,Emerald Pines has 18 holes,but won’t beat you up with acourse ranging from 6200yards down to 5000 yards.Most of the holes are treelined and more traditionalthan the newer courses in thearea. It is good ole fashionedgolf with not a lot of trickyholes and plenty of birdieopportunities. And there ismore than just golf.

“Whether you’re playinggolf or planning a tourna-

ment, meetings,working lunches,

wedding or any special occa-sion,” the staff at EmeraldPines is there to assist you incustomizing you days at thecourse and clubhouse. Theyhave the people and a club-house with kitchen that isthere to cater to your everyneed. All in all, it’s just a funplace to play as well as drinkand dine.

Other courses that offer thesame theme, but perhaps a lit-tle more challenge (due tolength), are The Links ofNiagara at Willowdell,Niagara Falls Golf Club,Rolling Meadows, and PortColborne Country Club. Allfour courses are within 20minutes of either the Peace orRainbow bridges. The firstthing that comes to mindabout Willowdell is great fair-ways and greens. NiagaraFalls is a shot makers specialsthat will tease you with someholes in the 300-320 yardrange. Take my advicethough, hit your hybrid andwedge and give yourself a

chance at birdie. Not manypeople tear up the course.Rolling Meadows has a nicelayout and as you mightexpect, features some rollinghills. And Port Colborne isanother traditional layoutwith plenty of trees and birdieopportunities. You can alsoget around in four hours orless which is a treat thesedays.

Lastly, Fort Erie Golf Cluband Long Beach are twocourses that are great for play-ers of all ages and abilities.Fort Erie is mostly par threesbut it’s no pitch and putt. It’salso a great walk for thoselooking to get some exercise.Long Beach has come a longway since being taken over byJim Cocoran and offers you achance to grip, rip and not getin much trouble. As one play-er said, “Our whole familyplays every Sunday. It’s a greatvalue. We then have a familyget together at the clubhouse.”

Now there’s a good day atthe golf course, Canadianstyle.

Canada from page 8

Page 2 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE July 2009

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