Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

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November issue of Sports and Leisure Magazine

Transcript of Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

Page 1: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012
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By Charles RobertsIf Stevie Johnson has a mes-

sage on his undershirt, itmight have been penned by amember of the Buffalo Bills’front office—warning him ofthe consequences associatedwith flashing it.The 26-year-old Johnson,

playing in his fifth season, hasmade a name for himself notonly as a diamond-in-the-rough seventh-round draftpick, but equally as much forhis touchdown celebrations.This season, however, it

appears as if that’s a thing ofthe past. Missing fromJohnson’s post-score ritualhave been such extremes likepretending to shoot himself inthe leg, mocking a planecrash, and exposing hand-written messages hiddenbeneath his jersey, which hashappened twice in his threeyears as a starter. Also missinghave been the subsequent 15-yard unsportsmanlike con-

duct penalties and the hugechunk of change it has costhim in fines.The celebrations have not

been altogether eliminated,such as less calmly handingthe ball to the official amid aWeek 1 blowout. But they’vebeen within reason, so tospeak, merely a playerexpressing a bit of excitementwithout drawing unnecessaryattention from the officials orthe NFL’s heavy-hitting finedepartment.Heading into the Week 4

tilt with the New EnglandPatriots, Johnson had anopportunity to match his per-sonal-best mark of five con-secutive games with a touch-down. The streak dated backto last season’s finale, ironical-ly, in New England, during agame in which he flashed anundershirt reading, “HappyNew Year.”However, personal acclaim

seems to have gone from sit-

ting shotgun—if not in thedriver’s seat—to the trunk.

“I thought about it the yearbefore and I ended up notcontinuing the streak, so nowit is just trying to get wins,”Johnson said. “Not reallythinking about a record or astreak. Just being able to con-tinue to get points so we canwin.”Putting the team first cer-

tainly shows signs of maturityor at the very least, respect forBills head coach Chan Gailey.

“I do not know. You wouldhave to ask him. Maybe,”Gailey said when asked ifJohnson has matured this sea-son. “He is doing what we askhim to do and doing a greatjob of it right now. I see himbeing the player that we allthought he could be. I thinkhe is going to get better andbetter every week, to be hon-est with you.”

Despite Gailey benchinghim for the final two quarters

of the 2011 season, aresult of his NewYear’s Day display, theBills and Johnsonagreed to a five-year,$36 million contractduring the offseason.

“I do not worryabout that,” Gaileysaid when asked ifJohnson has toneddown his celebra-tions this year. “I didnot worry about it orwe should not havesigned him back, tobe honest with you.”

Still, sitting on thebench while his teamended the season ona sour note is some-thing that’s lingeredin Johnson’s memory.

“Yes, it is,”Johnson said with thebenching very muchon his mind. “Whoknows what the out-come would havebeen? But we endedup losing and I gotbenched in thegame.”

With a backfield that boaststhe likes of running backs C.J.Spiller and Fred Jackson, theBills’ ideal approach onoffense is one that features therun. That’s not a problem forJohnson at all.

“I would be selfish and Iwould be a fool to say that wecould keep four wide receivers[sets] and keep throwing theball when running the ball

was getting us down the fieldand scoring touchdowns,”Johnson said. “If we have toswitch to one wide receiver ifit is going to get us touch-downs, I’m ready to be a partof that.”

Still, the ever-colorful andoften fun-loving Johnson—hisbody chock full of tattoos, aspeck of his upper cheek shin-ing with its piercing—wears

his heart on hissleeve. But this year,that’s not a badthing, according tothe guy throwinghim the ball.

“He is an emo-tional guy and heknows that he hasto play with thoseemotions,” Billsquarterback RyanF i t z p a t r i c kexplained. “I thinkhe has found a wayto bring them in alittle bit. Thatcomes with maturi-ty and that comeswith all that stuff.He is definitely aguy that is a leaderfor us and a guythat we look to,especially the guysin that room look-ing at him and whathe brings to thefield with his emo-tion. It has beennice. The first threegames, he has beenable to get in the

end zone and he is able to behappy, show his emotion andcelebrate, but no penalties.”

Moving forward, there’s nodoubt that the Bills hopeJohnson has reason to cele-brate, particularly by crossingthe goal line. It’s crossing thefine line of what the NFLdeems excessive that’s got tobe a thing of the past.

Johnson growing into leadership role with the Bills

Photo by JoeValentiStevie Johnson’s touchdown production hasn’tdipped, but the accompanying celebrationshave certainly calmed down.

By Ed Kilgore

ALL NFL quarterbacksget booed by their homefans at somepoint, includ-ing Hall ofFamer JimKelly in Buffalo,John Elway inDenver, DanMarino inMiami, and onand on. It’s thenature of theposition, sort oflike being agoaltender inhockey. Your great plays arealmost taken for granted,and the mistakes are obvi-ous and then magnified.

Still, it baffles me howfans can be so tough on Billsquarterback RyanFitzpatrick at times, eventhough he is producingnumbers far more highlytouted QBs around theleague are not, at least atthis point of the season. Irecall walking out of thepress box at the Ralph afterthe Bills suffered their 52-28meltdown loss to thePatriots, and listening tomany of the fans claiming“Fitz has to go!”If Fitz happened to be a

high priced defensive end orlinebacker, I could under-stand the sentiment. TheBills defense allowed 45points in one HALF, and thequarterback is the problem?In that particular gameFitzpatrick threw four inter-ceptions. Making mattersworse, one of them was anunderthrown ball to rookieT.J. Graham that wouldhave been a touchdown.However, in that game

Fitzpatrick also threw fourtouchdown passes, and twoof them were perfectlythrown balls to tight endScott Chandler. His 350yards were most of theoffense since the Bills’ run-ning game was all but shutdown that day. Through his

first four games, Fitz had 12TD passes to lead the NFL,and at that pace, wouldthrow 48 TDs for the sea-

son. Now THATis production.The reality of

the Bills givingFitzpatrick as e v e n - y e a r ,$62.195 millioncontract exten-sion is thatthere simply isno other quar-terback theywould be ableto obtain either

through the draft or viatrade who would be asproven. By “proven,” I meanthe Bills brain trust knowswhat they have in theHarvard grad. They alsoknow what they don’t have,and to them, it’s worth thetradeoff.

Fitzpatrick has manyqualities you want in anNFL quarterback, and oneof the most important isthat he is durable. He cantake a hit, or even give oneout, which isn’t what thecoaches want but what theplayers love about him. He’ssmart, obviously, and does-n’t take sacks. He makesquick decisions and gets theball out. He’s not afraid tochuck it downfield, and he’smentally tough enough toshake off a bad play or a badgame and come right back.However, the question

always is, do these positivesmake up for the negatives?Fitz will drive coaches crazywith his inaccurate passesfrom time to time, andbecause he’s 6-foot-2, hegets a lot of balls batted atthe line of scrimmage, andsome of those become INTs.Fitz is almost always goodfor the “empty hand throw,”where the ball will inexpli-cably slip out while he’sthrowing it, about onceevery other game.The bottom line, I think,

is that Fizpatrick is not and

probably never will be theguy who can overcome anaverage offensive line orlack of a productive gameand win. He will move theball and he will get it intothe end zone, but fromgame to game, his inconsis-tency can be annoying atbest.

So what are the Bills todo?They don’t really have a

choice at this point. As wealready pointed out, theresimply are no other realis-tic options. TavarisJackson? Tyler Thigpen?Brad Smith?? No, no andno. They are all apt to makejust as many mistakes, butare far more unlikely toproduce touchdowns likeFitz can and does.

So, the Bills must contin-ue improving their offen-sive line and continue run-ning the ball effectively,and hope tight end ScottChandler stays healthylonger this year than he didbefore. Above all though,they simply MUST get bet-ter defensively.In a close game, Fitz is

usually pretty steady. Hisworst games usually comewhen the Bills fall behindand he is forced to throwon every down. It’s totallypredictable how that willturn out. Badly.

So Fitz is the guy for thisseason, and probably thenext one too, while theBills continue to exploreother options. I have littledoubt they will spend ahigh draft pick on a QB in2013, but it is silly toexpect a rookie to comeright in and be better. Oh,it is happening early insome cases, but the Billswill probably not be inposition to draft anotherAndrew Luck or RGIII.

Love him or hate him,Fitz IS the Bills quarter-back, and at least we can allagree that he is never dulland boring.

Fickle fans fixate on Fitz

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After a few shaky quar-ters to start the season,the Bills have shownflashes of blazing offense,led by running backsFred Jackson and C.J.Spiller. When injuries toboth backs slowed downthe running game, one ofthe most important play-ers on the field was alsosurprisingly among thequietest. Stevie Johnson’sbreak out season last yearwas marked with lots ofpost-TD celebrationantics and almost asmany yellow flags tomatch. Unhappy with hisperformance—and behav-ior—last season, the widereceiver is showing notonly maturity but alsoleadership. With threetouchdowns, Johnson hasmade a stronger state-ment than handwrittenwords on his shirt evercould.

As Johnson steps up

into more of a leadershiprole, the Bills said good-bye to one of their long-time leaders. Punter BrianMoorman, the team’slongest tenured player,was unexpectedly let goafter the third game of theseason. Although he wassoon snatched up by theDallas Cowboys,Moornman still remainsdedicated to Buffalo. HisP.U.N.T. Foundation,which helps childrenaffected by cancer, willstill continue to supportthe Western New Yorkcommunity and there islittle doubt that whenNo.8 retires it will be as aBill.

Although the comingof fall usually meanshockey, the NHL and theplayers are still lockedout over the next collec-tive bargaining agree-ment. With issues stillunresolved, or still

resented, from the lastlockout, it’s hoped by fansof hockey across the con-tinent that the two sideswill be able to resolvetheir differences beforetoo many more games, oreven the season, is lost.There are a lot of teams inthe league that lostmoney last year and as aprolonged holdout looms,it appears that the playershave a lot more to lose interms of salary and play-ing time than the ownersfrom waiting out thestorm. For everyone whohad to suffer through the2004-2005 lockout, weall sincerely hope that anequitable agreement canbe reached soon so theSabres can pick up on themomentum they began tobuild at the end of lastseason.Have a happy

Halloween and see younext month!

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 &

www.hugesportz.comPublisher & Editor Marian GiallombardoAssociate Editor Jeffrey LevineFeature Writers Paul Adamo, Robert Caico, Rick Davenport, Mike Dyer, Mike Fox, Ivanthe Impaler, Ed Kilgore, Joe Kirchmyer, George Kuhn, Jeffrey Levine, Sloan Martin, AdamMcGill, Brian Michalek, Ron Montesano, Len Mytko, Gary Reeves, Charles Roberts, DaveSully, John Williams, Rick Zurak (golf editor)Chief Photographer Jeff BarnesStaff Photographers Ryan Bartholomew, Bob Conlon, Nick LoVerde, Joe Valenti, MikeMajewski, Holly MalinowskiCover photos Stevie Johnson by Jeff Barnes, Amer Abdallah by Jason StoosAdvisory Board Phil Haberstro, Adam Lingner, Denny LynchContributing Writers Amy Biber, Bob Conlon, Holly Malinowski, Bob Plezia, Dave Ricci,Kyle Soppe, Bob Timkey, Nanette TramontLayout & Cover Scott Appleby, Graphic artist Liz SeivertCopy Editors and Office Assistants Len Mytko, Justin Vernold, John WilliamsPlease 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 -2012 Sports & Leisure Inc.Facebook: Sports and Leisure Magazine and Hugesportz.com

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November 2012 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 5

By Leonard J. Mytko

Could this seasonbe the Year of theTight End? And is thisrecent trend some-thing on which fanta-sy owners can begin tobank on? Just look atlast season when NewEngland’s RobGronkowski and NewOrleans’ JimmyGraham were amongthe top scorers at ANYposition. Gronkowskiset single-seasonrecords for bothtouchdown receptions(17) and receivingyards (1,327) from atight end whileGraham finished justone reception shy ofthe century mark andhad 1,310 receivingyards with 10 touch-downs. After thosetwo, though, there’sthe ageless wonder likeAtlanta’s Tony Gonzalez whohas made fantasy ownershappy on a weekly basis formany years now and let’s notforget San Diego’s AntonioGates or Dallas’ Jason Wittenwhen they’re both playing attop speed. Plus, the rise of thetight end can be foundthrough some of the youngertalents with Green Bay’sJermichael Finley,Cincinnati’s JermaineGresham and Tennesee’sJared Cook leading the way.Below you’ll find even morereasons why everyone is sotight end happy now.Heath Miller, Steelers

Nineteen catches for 170yards is ordinary, but fourtouchdowns already forsomeone who’s had three orfewer touchdowns in three ofthe last four seasons is simplymind-boggling. So if theeight-year veteran can con-tinue to be one of BenRoethlisberger’s top red zonego-to guys, he’ll be rightamong the elite options bythe end of the year despite hismediocre yardage. And noth-ing is signifying a letup to theSteelers passing game either.Kyle Rudolph, Vikings

On any other team, the for-mer Notre Dame star wouldbe getting far more acclaim,but catching one and two-yard touchdown passes fromChristian Ponder isn’t allow-ing for that. In fact, he’s regis-tered four of Minnesota’s sixreceiving touchdowns on theyear so far and a breakoutseason of 600 -plus yards andmore than eight touchdownsseems plenty possible now.

Martellus Bennett, GiantsLast year Eli Manning

helped the trio of JakeBallard, Bear Pascoe, andTravis Beckum to a tune of 55receptions for 833 yards andsix touchdowns. This yearthough, it’s been the formerCowboy castoff being themain guy at the position forBig Blue. And he’s connectedright off the bat withManning, already hauling in19 balls for 217 yards andthree touchdowns. He seemspoised to have a career year.Brandon Myers, Raiders

We all know CarsonPalmer loves to throw, regard-less of the score, and if hekeeps spreading the ballaround like he’s been doing,the Iowa product will becomea point-per reception (PPR)dream. He’s already beenthrown to 16 times and hascaught every single one ofthose passes except one for ateam-leading 228 yards. Nowif he can start turning thosegrabs into scores, he could beteetering on the brink ofbeing start-worthy. Coby Fleener, ColtsHe’ll have fellow rookie

teammate Dwayne Allen tostill contend with, but thegood news here is Fleener’slong relationship and on-fieldchemistry is with AndrewLuck where in three years atStanford together Fleenercaught 83 balls for 1,367 yardsand 18 touchdowns. Andeven if he wouldn’t be wise tocount on him as a weekly fan-tasy starter in this early going(13 catches for 139 yards andzero scores to date), it would-n’t be a stretch if he turns intoone by the end of the year.

Scott Chandler, BillsHe teased fantasy

owners with all six ofhis touchdowns inBuffalo’s first sevengames last year and itsure looks like he’soff to another quickstart again with fourscores in the firstmonth alone.Although this timearound, he’s moreinvolved and isn’tlikely to go sevenstraight games with-out a touchdown likehe did last season.And so he shouldbuild on his totalsfrom a year ago on amore consistent typelevel.Dennis Pitta, Ravens

For his first twoyears in the league,the former Cougarhas been playing sec-

ond fiddle to Ed Dickson,but after the team’s season-opening win against theBengals, he earned himself astarring role and is quicklydeveloping into one of JoeFlacco’s favorite targets. Andhe’s already halfway to bet-tering his totals from a yearago with 22 catches for 210yards and two scores movingpast the quarter mark.Greg Olsen, Panthers

Last year it was Olsen andJeremy Shockey combiningfor 82 catches, 995 yards,and nine touchdowns, butsince Shockey is gone,reverting back to the careerhighs he set back in 2009with the Bears is a distinctpossibility. And while hehasn’t exactly raced out ofthe gate just yet (22 catches,295 yards, one score), the27-year-old could get into agroove by midseason. Kellen Davis, Bears

Ever since the aforemen-tioned Olsen left the WindyCity a couple of years ago,Chicago’s offensive systemfrowned upon the position,but with Mike Martz nolonger there and as long asJay Cutler stays healthy,Davis finally has a chance togain some fantasy relevance.At the very least he’s defi-nitely worth keeping an eyeon as the season progressesbecause to date he’s got justeight receptions for 129yards and one end-zonevisit.

And some future stars towatch include: JordanCameron, Browns; RobHousler, Cardinals; MichaelEgnew, Dolphins.

Fantasy football: It’s a tight end revolution

Photo by Joe ValentiScott Chandler has gotten off to a hot fan-tasy start as a top target in the red zone.

By Charles Roberts

Brain Moormanmight be the mostbeloved punter inBuffalo Bills history.Then, on Sept. 25,

the team decided tohead in a differentdirection, announc-ing simultaneouslythat he had beenreleased and theteam re-signed freeagent punter ShawnPowell.

Moorman signedwith the Bills as afree agent in 2001,going on to play in179 games. He aver-aged 43.9 yards perpunt during his Bills’career and 45.5 yardswith a net of 32.7 on15 punts this season.

Bills head coachChan Gailey said the movewas strictly based on produc-tion, nothing personal. At thetime of his release,Moorman’s net-averageranked 30th among NFLpunters.

Still, releasing the longesttenured player on the teamwas a move that came as asurprise to several of his for-mer teammates.

“It is a tough situation,”Bills quarterback RyanFitzpatrick said the day afterMoorman’s release. “I defi-nitely think the whole lockerroom was shocked in termsof that going down after threegames and him being here for12 years. His locker was rightnext to mine. He is a guy whoover the last four years I havereally gotten a chance toknow well. I talked to him alittle bit yesterday, but he isthe kind of guy that is goingto get picked up somewherevery quickly. We wish him allof the best. That was a shockin the locker room when weheard that yesterday.”

Fitzpatrick was right;Moorman was signed by theDallas Cowboys Sept. 26, butit didn’t take away the shockfactor.

“Not only for us, he was agreat guy in this locker roomand everybody respectedhim,” running back FredJackson said. “Just what hap-

pened and just how he was inthe community as well. A lotof people had a lot of love andrespect for him. It is part ofthe game. We have to dealwith it. Move on. Hopefullywe can get better at the posi-tion and see what happens.”The community impact

that Jackson was referring tois the Brian MoormanP.U.N.T. Foundation, whichMoorman and his wife,Amber, created in 2004 tohelp Western New Yorkerswith pediatric cancer. Twodays after his release and withMoorman already a memberof the Cowboys, the organi-zation announced in a pressrelease that it will continue itsoperation.

Defensive end ChrisKelsay, who has been withthe team since 2003, had thisto say: “I actually found outfrom him. I was in yesterdayand before I left I ran intohim and he told me. It wastough. I have been with himmy entire career. He is a greatguy and he has done a lot forthis organization both on andoff the field. His foundation,the P.U.N.T. Foundation, hasdone a lot for Western NewYork. He is definitely going tobe missed, no question aboutit. It is the nature of the busi-ness we are in and you hate tosee him go.”

One of the guys affected

most by Moorman’srelease is kicker RianLindell. Aside fromhis booming punts,Moorman has beenthe Bills’ longtimefield-goal and extra-point holder.

“It is strange,”Lindell said. “We gotthrough meetingstoday and he was notnext to me. Kind oflike that movie“Stuck on Me.” I didnot have anybody tolean on over there.That is how the gameis. That is the NFL.”

Lindell, like manyof the players, under-stands that football atits highest level is abusiness. Despite los-ing the teammate hetalks to—and works

with—the most, he realizesthat Moorman’s only a quickphone call away.

“He is doing well,” Lindellsaid, asked if he talked toMoorman after the move.“He kind of understood. Hewas not happy how he waspunting either. He is doingwell; it was weird, kind of.But it is not like I can nevergive him a call or somethinglike that. He is doing well.”

Moorman’s replacement,Powell, signed with the Billsas an undrafted, rookie free-agent in April, but wasreleased prior to the regularseason. He was a three-yearstarter at Florida State, aver-aging 44.2 yards per punt in52 games. As a senior, he wasa consensus All-American,thanks to an average of 47yards on 57 punts.

“Moorman was here for along time and I am verygrateful for the opportunitythat I have been given,”Powell said. “…I am gratefulfor the opportunity that Ihave and I am going to makethe most of it I can. If I canhave half the career thatMoorman had, it will be suc-cessful. A two-time ProBowler and all of that stuff.He was a role model to mewhen I was here and helpedme to get better. I am gratefulfor him.”

Veteran punter Moorman moving on

Photo by Joe ValentiBrian Moorman was not only a fan-favorite,but also one of the most popular players inthe locker room.

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By George KuhnThe accompanying tables

show NHL teams ranked byrevenue, the gap between thehighest earner, Toronto at$183 million, and lowestearner, Phoenix at $70 mil-lion, suggests the real solu-tion to league-wide prof-itability would be revenuesharing. But the issue is anon-starter withCommissioner GaryBettman. Note that Buffalo’srevenue at $87 million ismuch closer to the teams atthe bottom than the teams atthe top.

The table ranking prof-itability shows that 18 of the30 franchises lost money lastseason on hockey related rev-enue.

While hockey fansbemoan the loss of the NHLseason so far, their sympa-thies seem to come down onthe side of the players, unlikethe 2004-05 lockout wherethe players were seen as over-paid and greedy. Recently,influential NHL players likeRyan Miller and Calgary starJerome Iginla have bothquestioned whether they canbelieve the NHL owners cry-ing out for reduced playersalaries so that their teamscan remain profitable. Butthe financial information inthe accompanying chartsshows that 18 NHL teamslost money last season onhockey related revenue.

The real issue here is prof-it, not revenue, which shouldhardly be a surprise. WhileGary Bettman has been tout-ing the leagues record $3.3billion in revenue increasingfrom 2.3 billion since the2004-05 lockout, only 12 of30 teams are profitable,according to the Forbes.comfigures (see accompanyingtable). NHL revenues haveincreased from $2.3 to $3.3

billion in the last seven years,a 5.5 percent growth rate thatwhile good is hardly out-standing. Considering thatthe Canadian dollarincreased from $0.85 to$1.02 against the US dollarover those seven years andwas the major factor in rev-enue growth for the NHL’sseven Canadian teams. Thefact that such a substantialpart of the league’s growth inrevenue came from currencyfluctuations, an economicfactor not related to the busi-ness side of hockey, showsthat the league’s modestgrowth rate overstates thehealth of its business model.So should the players trustthe owners who say that theyneed a larger share of rev-

enues to make their businessprofitable? Yes, perhaps theyshould. These numbers come from

Forbes.com, so they areunbiased and not NHL gen-erated propaganda. Theyreveal the problem of eco-nomic disparity among theleague’s member franchises.The revenue gap between thetop and bottom teams,Toronto ($183 million) andPhoenix ($70 million), is astaggering $113 million.The high revenue teams

drive up salaries around theleague by signing their play-ers and free agents to con-tracts that fit their high rev-enue structure. The low rev-enue teams can’t match thosecosts but are required to paya salary floor minimum fixedat $16 million under the caplimit. That minimum salaryis constantly pushed upwardas the cap rises, driven by theincreasing revenues of thehigh revenue teams. Last sea-son’s salary floor of $54 mil-lion was higher than the2007-08 cap limit of $50.8million! The players union wants

the league to address thisinequality by implementing arevenue sharing plan com-bined with a reduction insalaries over time that wouldsee a majority of future rev-enue growth going to thefranchises rather than toplayers.

But the owners of thehighest earning teams, mostprominently Buffalo nativeJeremy Jacobs, owner of theBoston Bruins, and Ed Sniderof the Philadelphia Flyersarent interested in sharingrevenue. And why shouldthey? They’ve got a goodthing going and are able tospend more money onsalaries to afford better play-ers in their attempts to winthe Stanley Cup. Boston won

a championship in 2011 andthe Flyers of late are alwaysin the playoffs. There is littleor no incentive for them totemper their ambitions andsurrender their economicand competitive advantages.

With the owners unwillingto solve the mess which theyhave created, they again putthe onus on the players to doso by proposing a salary cutback from 57 to 46 percent ofleague revenue. The playersdidn’t create this problem;they just signed the contractsthat the owners were willingto give them. The players’goal is to see every leagueteam stabilized financially byrevenue sharing thus avoid-ing another lockout sevenyears down the road. This is,after all, the third lockoutand fourth work interruptionof the Bettman era. Clearlythese lockouts don’t solve theleagues’ economic problemsor else they wouldn’t berecurring events.The problem with the

players’ proposal is that nosport league can afford torevenue share from ticketsales alone. Additional rev-

enue streams areneeded, like anational TV con-tract. The NFLsalary cap is cur-rently $116 mil-lion and eachteam receives$130 million inrevenue from sell-ing their TVrights. There issome sharing ofsome gate revenuebut the TV moneyis the key to prof-itability for thelower revenueNFL teams. Theycould play theirgames in a TV stu-dio, sell no ticketsand still makemoney. The NHLnational TV deal is$200 million,chump change toa league like theNFL and offers lit-tle help to theleague’s profitabil-ity dilemma.

Reality willeventually rear its ugly headand like every one of us whoworks for a living alreadyknows, the players will con-cede that the NHL is a busi-ness. And in every business,the owners own and theworkers work. The owner isthe boss and the worker mustdo what he is told to clean upwhatever mess the ownertells him to, even when the

owner made the mess. And abusiness that doesn’t makemoney won’t be around forlong. The example of the for-mer Roblin Steel in NorthTonawanda illustrates thispoint. The owner opened hisbooks in 1982 and told hisworkers he was losing moneyand needed wage conces-sions. They refused and toldhim they didn’t believe him.

He then closed the busi-ness. Then the workersreconsidered and askedfor a second chance butit was too late, theowner gave no secondchance. That was atough dose of reality.

Based on profitabilityalone from hockey relat-ed revenues, most teamswould benefit from acancelled season. Lastyear the 18 money los-ing teams lost a com-bined $126 millionwhile the 12 profitableteams earned a total ofaround $240 million. Bysubtracting those lossesfrom the profits, lastyear’s net profit for theleague was about $114million. For the players,their net loss in salarieswould be 46 percent of$3.3 billion (or more),which works out to over$1.5 billion. Clearly theplayers have much moreto lose in this staredown with the owners,including a year from

their careers from which theywill never recover those lostearnings. Accordingly, theywill make the concessions.

So the NHL will get it’smore favorable salary cap,the players will still get fabu-lously wealthy, and the fanswill get their game back.Hopefully coming soon to anNHL arena near you. Justdon’t hold your breath.

NHL lockout: Most of the teams are losing money

Photo by Joe ValentiGoalie Ryan Miller distrusts the owners andtheir motives in this fight.

NHL Teams Ranked by Operating Income in $Millions US DollarsOperating Income is earnings before interest,taxes, depreciation and amortizationTeam Revenue Operating

IncomeToronto 193 81.4Montreal 169 47.7NY Rangers 169 41.4Vancouver 146 23.5Edmonton 96 17.3Detroit 127 16.3Chicago 118 8.7Colorado 83 6.1Philadelphia 111 3.2Ottawa 100 2.8Boston 125 2.7Calgary 105 1.1Pittsburgh 110 -0.2Dallas 90 -1.1Los Angeles 101 -2St. Louis 81 -2.7Carolina 81 -4.4Winnipeg 71 -5.2Buffalo 87 -5.6Minnesota 97 -5.9New Jersey 100 -6.1Florida 81 -7Washington 94 -7.5Nashville 82 -7.5

San Jose 96 -7.8NY Islanders 83 -8.1Anaheim 84 -8.4Tampa Bay 87 -8.5Columbus 80 -13.7Phoenix 70 -24.4The Large Markets by RevenueToronto 193Montreal 169NY Rangers 169Vancouver 146Detroit 127Boston 125Chicago 118The Small Markets by RevenuePhoenix 70Winnipeg 71Columbus 80Carolina 81Florida 81St. Louis 81Nashville 82Colorado 83NY Islanders 83Anaheim 84Buffalo 87Tampa Bay 87

source: Forbes.com

Page 7: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

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Page 9: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

By Bob Timkey

A quick onlinecheck of the weatherforecast and NationalData Buoy Centerupdates from my deskon Friday afternoonsent me hurdling overthe skyway in 5 p.m.rush hour traffic inhopes and anticipa-tion of a rare, earlyseason; Great Lakessurfing session whilethe water and airtemps were still verytolerably on the pleasant endof the comfort spectrum. Iarrived at an easily accessiblepublic beach on the U.S. sideof Lake Erie to find fun,waist to chest high surf peel-ing across a left point break.Air temp was in the high 60swith water temp in the mid-60s. I suited up and paddledout as clear skies, moderatesouthwest winds and a gor-geous sunset loomed overthe lake while Canadiangeese tested their wings fortheir upcoming long flight toa warmer southern climate. I was the only paddle

surfer in the water while justa few kiteboarders made useof the same peak I was surf-ing as a ramp for their highflying aerial maneuvers. Ipaddled almost non-stopagainst the current to remainpositioned over the solidrock-bottom shelf thatformed a consistent peak,lining up perfectly with a setof “Do Not Enter” trafficsigns in the beach parkinglot. As I turned and paddledinto an approaching five foothigh freshwater wall, I decid-ed to call this peak “DoubleDo Nots” although I’m cer-tain some other local surfernamed this peak somethingelse a long time ago...proba-bly decades ago whenBuffalonians began surfingLake Erie during windyAutumn days on 10 footlongboards in the late sixtieswhile surfing movies filmedin Southern California and

Hawaii were all the rage.Later, they likely surfed thispeak on the first pointy-nosed shortboards in themid to late 70s.As the Great Pumpkin sundipped behind the liquidhorizon and the conditionsthreatened to soon becometoo dark to surf, I took off onmy last wave of the evening,followed its line with a leftturn and pointed my six footyellow shortboard nearlyparallel to the shore, pump-ing with my back leg to gainspeed, climbing and drop-ping intermittently on theface of the wave, connectingsteeper sections as the wavenaturally softened and thenreformed in the shallowingwaters. After milking thewave for as many turns as Icould, I dropped my backknee to the waxy surface ofmy surfboard and draggedthe fingertips of my insidehand along the glossy sur-face of the diminishing wavewhile putting more distancebetween me and the take-offpoint. As the exhaustedwave finally crumbled into aknee-high, rolling turbulentmess, I dropped to my bellyand rode in the prone posi-tion until I reached kneedeep water at the pebblybeach.

Approaching my car withboard tucked under my arm,shaking my head from sideto side as cool lake waterspilled from my hair andears, I noticed a cabernet

colored Subaru stationwagon with a single-finlongboard strapped tothe roof racks andmoved to approach itsowner, KennyAshburn, in the park-ing lot. As soon as Kenintroduced himself Irecognized him as alocal Great Lakes surf-ing legend that I’dadmired in the photogallery on theWyldewood Surf Clubwebsite years ago after

moving back home toWestern New York fromSouthern California. It wasthere I first discovered thatthese lakes were quite surfa-ble as long as I was willing togo out on stormy days whenmost people wouldn’t con-sider the conditions to beideal “beach weather.”Kenny was visiting family inBuffalo from his currenthome in Waikiki on theisland of Oahu. I expressedthat his reputation had pre-ceded him and he seemedgenuinely humble and gladto meet another Great Lakessurfer. There aren’t many.After sliding my board intothe back of my own stationwagon and peeling off myspongy wetsuit, I pulledaway with my driver’s win-dow down to draw every lastbreath of sweet air I couldfrom this incredible Octoberbeach evening. As my tirescrunched past in the gravellyparking lot, Ken took note ofmy pewter colored Volvoand expressed that he hopedto see me around.

Driving North along thecoast as dusk painted theclear sky tangerine to myleft, the stoke and vibe feltexactly like that of anevening glass-off inCarlsbad, Calif. It was a per-fect session to wash off theweek and the perfect gift formy 36th birthday on the fol-lowing day. A little saltwaterstained my cheek.

Double Do Nots: Lake Erie surfing

Photo by Bob TimkeyIt may not be as warm as Malibu, butthere’s plenty of good surfing to be hadon the Great Lakes.

November 2012 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 7

Area fans flipping

over newfootballcards

The reaction in NorthTonawanda is positive for the2012 Topps football cards.Rookie cards for star quarter-backs Andrew Luck andRobert Griffin III makethis new Topps set avery positive set.

“It’s not just Luckand Griffin,”AlPittaway, owner ofCenter Ice SportsCards in NorthTonawanda, said.“It’s also the first cardas a Denver Broncofor Peyton Manningand rookie cards ofBuffalo Bills StephonGilmore and T.J. Graham.”Pittaway, 49, father of two,

also points out his customersare “serious” about the manyvariations and parallel cardsin the set. “My favorite Toppsset is the 1984 one withrookie cards for Dan Marinoand John Elway. But this2012 set is a good, clean onewith nice white borders,” theRIT graduate added.I spoke to many Center Ice

customers last month andthey agreed with the storeowner.

Steve Warren, a 30-year-old University at Buffaloproduct, says he enjoys themini Tall Boys cards in theset as well as the rookie stars.

Warren, a collector since1991, says Jim Kelly is his all-time favorite player. You’llfind him at many Bills’ homegames. “I’m thinking Buffaloin the playoffs,” theTonawanda resident said.I have one suggestion for

Topps. The company shouldlook back at some of its oldercards. Young fans can enjoythe cards more if they see theplayers’ faces clearly. Toomany of the players faces arecovered this year by helmets.All of the cards are actionpictures. Showing some ath-letes on the sidelines wouldbe a big help for 2013.

You’ll get a kick out of cardNo. 201. The Kansas CityChiefs’ Peyton Hillis isshown diving for extra yardsin a game against theCincinnati Bengals. Second-year wide receiver A.J. Greenis all focus as he waits for a

thrown passon card No. 320. Now a SanFrancisco 49er, Randy Mossis a man in motion on cardNo. 258.I’ll always call the 1952

Bowman set my favorite foot-ball set but I give high gradesto the 2012 Topps set.Here are the top cards for

Topps football:Aaron Rodgers 1; Brandon

Weeden (RC) 3; Tim Tebow50; Alex Smith 52; DarrenMcFadden 60; CarsonPalmer 75; Joe Flacco 78;Chris Johnson 80; DeMarcoMurray 82; Drew Brees 100;Drew Brees 111; MauriceJones-Drew 120; RyanTannehill (RC) 134; JayCutler 135; Josh Freeman136; Andrew Luck (RC) 140;Cam Newton 141; LarryFitzgerald 150; Matt Ryan152; Mark Sanchez 160; BenRoethlisberger 170; AaronRodgers 177; Ray Rice 180;Jake Locker 192; Adrian

Peterson 200; Peyton Hillis201; Wes Welker 220; JamaalCharles 224; MatthewStafford 225; Cam Newton250; Randy Moss 258; ReggieBush 265; Philip Rivers 270;Andy Dalton 275; EliManning 300; MichaelTurner 308; A.J. Green 320;Brian Uhrlacher 329; MichaelVick 330; Robert Griffin III(RC) 340; Peyton Manning350; Arian Foster 360; SamBradford 370; MarshawnLynch 372; Calvin Johnson400; Tony Romo 410;Vincent Jackson 421; VictorCruz 430; Brandon Marshall438; Tom Brady 440.

Here are the BuffaloBills: C. J. Spiller 9; T. J.Graham (RC) 37; StevieJohnson 62; FredJackson 133; StephonGilmore (RC) 154; NickBarnett 174; RyanFitzpatrick 197; DavidNelson 255; MarioWilliams 306; TarvarisJackson 307; Marcell

Dareus 408; Aaron Corp(RC) 413; Scott Chandler423; Cordy Glenn (RC) 432.Upcoming Shows:After five months without

a show, Buffalo hosts two bigshows in one week. TheLeonard Veterans of ForeignWars Post on Walden Avenuein Cheektowaga hosts showsOct. 10 and Nov. 14. Morethan 40 sports card dealerswill sell and trade cards from5 to 9 p.m.

Buffalo’s largest show takesplace Oct. 14 at theHearthstone Center on DickRoad in Depew. Show pro-moter Rob Schilling sayssome 85 dealers will sell, buyand trade sports items from 9a.m. to 3 p.m. that day.

Columnist Mike Dyer ofCheektowaga can be found atall area sports card shows. Aretired newspaper sportswriter, he is the author of twosports books and has voted forthe Baseball Hall of Famesince 1983. You can contactDyer by sending email [email protected].

Collecting Memories with Mike Dyer

Page 10: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

Page 8 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE November 2012

By Mike Fox

Few moments in sportscan match the drama of theFall Classic, when the lightsare brighter, the crowds arelouder, and the importance ofeach pitch is magnified. Tryyour hand at these WorldSeries questions as we awaitthe emergence of the 2012champions.

1. Which stadium hostedthe first scheduled WorldSeries night game?a. Yankee Stadiumb. Tiger Stadiumc. Metrodomed. Three Rivers Stadium2. Who is the all-time

leader with 18 career WorldSeries home runs?a. Mickey Mantleb. Babe Ruthc. Joe DiMaggiod. Duke Snider3. Who is the only player

ever to win back-to-backWorld Series MVP Awards?a. Kirby Puckettb. Manny Ramirezc. Derek Jeterd. No one has ever won

twice in a row.4. Who is the only pitcher

to strike out at least 30 bat-ters in a World Series year?a. Cole Hamelsb. Randy Johnsonc. Bob Gibsond. Sandy Koufax5. Only fifteen pitchers

have recorded at least fivecareer wins in World Seriesgames. Who is the only activeplayer on the list?a. Chris Carpenterb. Andy Pettittec. Josh Beckettd. Matt Cain6. How many times has the

World Series ended with awalk-off home run?a. 2b. 5c. 6d. 8

7. What was the last teamto win a World Series Game7 as the visiting team?a. 1979 Pittsburgh

Piratesb. 1985 Kansas City

Royalsc. 1991 Minnesota Twinsd. 1997 Florida Marlins8. The Yankees have

recorded eight four-gameWorld Series sweeps. Onlytwo other teams have doneit at least twice, the Red Soxand who?a. Oakland A’sb. Baltimore Oriolesc. Cincinnati Redsd. Atlanta Braves

9. Who is the only playerever to hit six doubles in aWorld Series year?a. Pete Foxb. Michael Youngc. Jacoby Ellsburyd. Raul Ibanez10. Of the original 16

teams, which was the firstfranchise to win two WorldSeries?a. Detroit Tigersb. Chicago Cubsc. Boston Red Soxd. St. Louis Cardinals

Triviaquiz

Photo courtesy of MLB PressboxDerek Jeter was the 2000World Series MVP. Did healso win the award in 1999?

By Nanette Tramont

Everyone knows pedigreeis an important factor in rac-ing success to the equineathlete. But Batavia Downs’Holliday family proves it’simportant to the human ath-letes who pilot thoseequines as well.The family—driver-train-

er Ken; his wife, trainerSherri; their son, driver-trainer Mickey; and daugh-ter, parade marshal and out-rider Ashley—eats, sleepsand breathes pacers andtrotters, both at home inCowlesville, N.Y., and atwork in their barns atBatavia Downs and BuffaloRaceway.

With more than 5,000wins and $20 million inearnings, Ken Holliday, 49,is a long-standing figure inStandardbred racing. “I’vebeen in the horse businesssince I was 15, starting outmucking stalls and groom-ing,” Ken recalled. “I wasalways at the harness track.” He got his pari-mutuel

license in his native Ohiowhen he was 18, “drivingone or two very cheap hors-es.” He then added, “And ittook me a long time to getgoing. I didn’t win my firstrace until the next year.”

But he said he got luckyand got some breaks, gettingnew horses for new peoplewho wanted to get involvedwith the up-and-comingcatch driver who alsotrained his own horses.Holliday moved his fami-

ly here in 2006, his barngrowing to as many as 40horses. But he’s endured sev-eral injuries in the last fewyears—breaking both wristsin 2007 and suffering a sep-aration of his collarbone atBuffalo Raceway earlier thisyear—and with nine screwsholding together the bonesin one foot, he’s decided tocut back a bit.

Now with a 17-horse cen-sus, including open maresand $15,000 boy claimers,Sherri has taken over thetraining duties and 19-year-old Mickey drives.

“We’re working our waythrough it,” Ken explained.

“I’m down because of myinjuries, and trying to let myson get started.”

And start he did, notch-ing his first win at age 18driving a horse for hismother, Masteroftheclass, toa 21/4-length pacing victorylast October at BataviaDowns.

“He’s really doing fine,”Ken said. “Compared towhere I was when I startedout, he’s heads and shoul-ders above me.”

An athlete during hisAttica High School days—heplayed football and basket-ball—Mickey Holliday start-ed much like his father. “I’vegrown up around horses allmy life and I was at the barnevery day when I was little,”Mickey explained. “I’vealways been riding, but was-n’t really interested in beinga driver until I was 12 or 13.

“I just pretty much want-ed to be like my dad and dowhat he did. I fell in lovewith it,” Mickey added.His first start in a pari-

mutuel race—he’d exercisedhorses on track before—wasinauspicious. His horsenever hit the pace.The pull of family genes

was too strong for MickeyHolliday to resist, however.“It’s my whole life—to goout there a sit behind a1,000-pound animal andcontrol him with two line—it’s kind of a rush to controlsomething that powerful.”

Although nervous when

his son first started, KenHolliday “didn’t want topush him one way or theother,” but he taught hischild about the horsesand the people drivingthem 30 mph on thetrack.

“I believe animalsknow what a person feels.They know, you know,”Ken explained. “You haveto be confident.”

“You’re out there witheight other people andeight other horses—and

it’s 80 percent the horse and20 percent the driver,” Kencontinued. “You just have toput them in the right spot.”His son took it to heart.

And his aspirations are high.“Everyone wants to be thebest. Everyone wants to runin The Little Brown Jug,” thepremier pacing classic forthree-year-olds, the 67thedition of which was runand won last month byMichael’s Power.

Late last month, MickeyHolliday pulled up stakesand moved with six horsesback to Ohio to contestraces at Northfield Parkyear-round. He has his train-er’s license now and lastweek his first two starts as atrainer. Although both hischarges finished sixth, hesaid they raced better thanthey had previously.

“Right now, I’m happywhere I’m going,” Mickeysaid. “I plan on doing thismy whole life. This is all Iwant to do.”If his father is any indica-

tion, he should have a verygood chance of doing justthat.

Hollidays have a lot of success to share at Batavia Downs

Photo courtesy Batavia DownsFather Ken and son Mickeyhave made the Hollidayname heard quite often atBatavia Downs.

Answers1.d,1971 2.a 3.d4.c,did it in 1964 and 1968.5.b6. a,Bill Mazeroski, 1960 and JoeCarter, 19937.a 8.c 9.a10. b – won in 1907 and 1908, haven’twon since.

Page 11: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

November 2012 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 9

By Joe KirchmyerA rash of injuries at the

Big League level, which con-sequently depleted the rosterin Buffalo. A revolving doorof managers—from KenOberkfell to Tim Teufel toWally Backman. The BernardMadoff scandal and its finan-cial impact on the New YorkMets organization and theteam’s ability to sign freeagent players.There are plenty of com-

plicated reasons as to whythe Buffalo Bisons may havedecided to cut ties with theNew York Mets after atumultuous four-year rela-tionship, but the best expla-nation probably came downto something very simple:wins and losses.

After four seasons, thelosses were piling up at astaggering pace—260 winsand 313 defeats, to be exact.During the Mets era, theBisons finished no better

than third place inthe InternationalLeague’s North divi-sion, posted just onewinning season (in2010) and failed tomake a playoffappearance. Factorin a decline in ticketsales and a change ofaffiliation shouldhave come as nosurprise to anyone.

And at 2:25 p.m.on Friday, Sept. 21,during a press con-ference at Coca-Cola Field indowntown Buffalo, a new eraofficially began with thesigning of a two-year playerdevelopment contract withthe Toronto Blue Jays.

Representing the BuffaloBisons were owners Bob andMindy Rich, President ofRich Baseball OperationsJonathan Dandes, and VicePresident and GeneralManager Mike Buczkowski.

Among those on hand forthe Blue Jays were PresidentPaul Beeston, Senior VicePresident and GeneralManager Alex Anthopoulos,former manager CitoGaston, and former playersRoberto Alomar and PatHentgen. Buffalo MayorByron Brown and ErieCounty Executive MarkPoloncarz also took part inthe signing ceremony.

“We’re veryexcited for theopportunities notjust for Buffalo butfor Toronto and forc r o s s - b o r d e ralliance,” Bob Richexplained, “and totell you the truth, Idon’t like changingfranchises. I’d likethis to be the lastteam we’re with.Appropriately, ourfirst year playingtogether will be in

2013, which will be the 20thanniversary of the Blue Jays’back-to-back World Series.”

“Thank you for welcom-ing us into your community,thank you for welcoming usinto your state, and thankyou for welcoming us intoassociation with the Bisons,”Beeston said immediatelyfollowing the signing. “Whatwe want to do is become partof this community and makesure that the marriage is agreat marriage, and I’m surethat it will be. We want to behere for years. This is thestart of not a two-year deal,hopefully it’s the start of a42-year deal. You can counton us to do our best to makeyou proud. We cherish ourrelationships with our minorleague affiliates.”

“We’re here to provideentertainment and a winningenvironment,” Beestonadded. “We’re here to giveback to the community and

we’re here so that you will beproud of this association.The ties between Buffalo andToronto are very, very strong,and hopefully we can makethem stronger.”

Next up to the podiumwas Anthopoulos, who saidthere’s no doubt that Torontois “in this for the long haul.We expect to be here for along time and it’s on us tolive up to our end of the bar-gain and deliver a great prod-uct.”

“This is a two-way street,”Buczkowski added. “Ourhope is that more Blue Jaysfans from southern Ontarioare going to come to BuffaloBisons games, and we hopethat more Buffalo Bisons fansand Western New Yorksports fans are going to go toRogers Center to watch theJays. The possibility of beingable to see players play hereand literally drive an hourand a half up the road toToronto and be able to con-tinue to follow their careersis really something that isvery exciting.”

While baseball executivesfrom the Bisons nor the BlueJays can predict future suc-cesses on the field, we cantake a look at the currentstate of the Blue Jays andtheir minor league affiliates.On Sept. 21, the day theBuffalo-Toronto affiliationbecame official, the TorontoBlue Jays sat dead last in theAmerican League East divi-

sion with a 66-83 record.Also in late September,

Toronto’s former AAA affili-ate, the Las Vegas 51s, stoodin second place in the PacificCoast League PacificSouthern division with arecord 15 games above .500.The 51s, in turn, have signeda new two-year player devel-opment contract with theNew York Mets.Toronto’s AA team, the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats,stood last among six teamsin the Eastern League’sEastern Division in lateSeptember.

According to the Blue Jays’website, the top prospects inthe system include catcherTravis d’Arnaud, a 2007 first-round draft pick who camefrom the PhiladelphiaPhillies organization as partof the Roy Halladay deal;outfielder Jake Marisnick, athird round draft pick in2009; and pitcher AaronSanchez, a first round draftpick in 2010.

Rounding out the top 10organizational prospects arepitcher Noah Syndergaard,pitcher Justin Nicolino,pitcher Daniel Norris, short-stop Adeiny Hechavarria,pitcher Roberto Osuna, out-fielder D.J. Davis and pitcherMarcus Stroman.

Local baseball fans canexpect to see some of thoseplayers in Buffalo on open-ing day—Thursday, April 4,2013.

O Canada! Bisons ditch Big Apple for run with Toronto

Photo courtesy of the Buffalo BisonsBob Rich Jr. and Blue Jays President PaulBeeston signing the Bison’s new PlayerDevelopment Contract.

By Adam McGill

The college basketball sea-son is tipping off in a fewweeks, making this the per-fect time to review some ofthe area’s premier talent.Below are my shining stars inWestern New York to look forin the upcoming 2012-13collegiate basketball season: G Juan’ya Green,Niagara UniversityGreen averaged a team

leading 17.7 points lastseason for the PurpleEagles, while shooting anincredible 80 percentfrom the charity stripe.Green is the most danger-ous scorer in all ofWestern New York andthe upperclassman willshow it in every gamethis winter.G Marvin Jordan,Niagara University

As a freshman last year,Jordan stepped into aNiagara team that desper-ately needed a comple-ment to the aforemen-tioned Green. Jordanmore than filled the void,as he won the MetroAtlantic AthleticConference Rookie of theYear in 2011. He started31 of the team’s 32 con-tests and averaged a veryrespectable 11.3 points pergame. Jordan is the future ofthe Purple Eagles team andwill be looking to build onhis dream rookie campaign.F Nytor Longar, Universityat BuffaloThe junior from Rochester,

Minnesota lead the Bulls inalmost every major categorylast year. Longar averaged10.2 points and 6.4 reboundsand the upperclassman com-pletely dominated the paintin the Mid-AmericanConference. Longar hadcareer highs against theAkron Zips last year, as shescored 26 points against

Akron in the first game of theyear and grabbed 14rebounds in the secondgame.F Javon McCrea, Universityat Buffalo

Buffalo is one of theyoungest teams in the MACthis season, as they are onlyreturning one senior. McCrea

was the team’s intimidator inthe paint last year, and thejunior finished averaging14.9 points and sevenrebounds. McCrea may notbe the most polished jumpshooter, but he knows how tofinish around the basket andis not afraid of contact. F Jamie Ruttle, CanisiusCollege

Ruttle led the GoldenGriffins in points (11.7) andrebounds (5.3) last season.The junior will return as thefocal point of the Canisiusgame plan, so expect her tohave another huge season forthe C-Block.

G Jake Simmons, BuffaloState College

Simmons (Rochester, N.Y.)has been a fixture of BuffaloState’s offense since joiningthe team three years ago. Thesenior has averaged 19.1points over his three-yearcareer, including a dominant20.7 points last year. He is an

amazing defender and canhit any shot on the floor,so expect him to do someheavy damage in his finalseason for the Black andOrange.F Bianca Smiley, BuffaloState College

Smiley (Amherst, N.Y.)scored double-digit pointsin every game last year butone, as she led the Bengalswith an impressive 14.3points and 8.8 reboundsin 2011. The junior willagain control the paint forBuffalo State, and shegives the team a distinctadvantage in the low-post.F Kayla Stroman, NiagaraUniversity

Stroman has a phenom-enal season last year, butunfortunately missed theMAAC tournament withan injury. She is healthyagain and the junior islooking to build on lastyear’s performance in

which she averaged 12points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.6assists per game.G Harold Washington,Canisius College

Washington received All-MAAC Second-Team honorslast year, as the guard led theGolden Griffins with 17points per game. A very elu-sive guard that is not afraid ofcontact in the lane, the seniorwill again be running theoffense in 2012. Washingtonreally matured into a scoringmachine towards the end ofthe year, so expect him tohave the ball in his handsoften this year.

Local Collegiate Basketball Shining Stars

Photoby Paul Hokanson/UB AthleticsNytor Longar has dominated theMAC in the paint, leading the Bullsin almost every major categorylast season.

Page 12: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

Page 10 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE November 2012

By Ivan Godzuk

TORONTO, Ontario,Canada- Two fighters withRochester connections werevictorious at UFC 152 onSeptember 22 at Air CanadaCentre, in the land of thelocked-out Maple Leafs.

Rochester native Jon“Bones” Jones successfullydefended his UFC LightHeavyweight Championshipwith a submission win overVitor Belfort. Earlier thatnight, RIT grad Matt Hamill,coming out of retirement,had an easy time beatingRoger Hollett by unanimousdecision in another lightheavyweight contest.The limited space we have

doesn’t do justice to the

buildup for this event. UFC151, scheduled 3 weeks ear-lier, had to becancelled when DanHenderson, Jones’ originalopponent, got hurt whiletraining. Bones then refusedto fight Chael Sonnen onshort notice, which led tonasty exchanges with UFCPresident Dana White bothprivately and publically. Ontop of that, Canadian RoryMacDonald was originallyset to fight B.J. Penn inToronto, but withdrew aftergetting a nasty cut whiletraining.

Nonetheless, both Whiteand Jones were smiling afterthe event, as Jon had one ofhis strongest showings to

date despite a big scare in thefirst round. Belfort caughtBones in an armbar; Jonesessentially had to power-bomb Vitor to escape thehold, but damage wasalready to the left arm.Despite that, Jon’s grapplingability and elbows to thehead carried him to a fourthround submission win whenBelfort tapped out to anamericana armlock. At thepost-fight press conference,Jones (now 17-1, with theloss being a DQ against,ironically, Hamill) indicatedhe heard a “pop” in his armand that it needed medicalattention.In addition to “un-retir-

ing”, Matt Hamill (11-4) was

also coming back from aknee injury. Hamill facedHollet after VladimirMatyushenko had with-drawn due to, yes, a traininginjury. Hollett had a strongjiu-jitsu background, butlooked lost against Hamill.

Matt scored numerous take-downs (as well as a suplex)and was the clear aggressorthroughout the fight. Howone judge, Doug Cosby, gavea round to Hollett wasbeyond my comprehension.In other action,

D e m e t r i o u sJohnson became the firstUFC Flyweight Championwith a unanimous decisionover Joseph Benavidez....Michael Bisping won aunanimous decision overBrian Stann in the mid-dleweight class.....Featherweight CubSwanson KO’d CharlesOliveira 2:40 into theirfight.Hopefully, New York

State residents will see thistype of action live in thenear future if the StateAssembly gets off it’s buttand follows the Senate’slead in approving MMA inthe Empire State.

To read more about theevening, see Ivan’s blog onwww.hugesportz.com. Youcan also check there for a listof upcoming local prowrestling events from Ivanthe Impaler, cousin of theauthor.

BONES JONES AND MATTHAMILL BOTH WIN AT UFC 152

By Bob Caico

C a s a l ’ sBoxing inNiagara Falls,N.Y., pulled offyet anotherexciting andc o m p e t i t i v eamateur boxingcard Saturday,Sept. 8. Therewere 13 fightson the scheduleand each onewas just asthrilling as thenext. Ten of the13 bouts had amember of theCasal team andseven of themhad their handraised in victo-ry. The runnerups in each con-test showedtheir braveryand determination thatmade this card, the thirdshow brought by Ray Casalat his new gym, their bestyet. The main eventbrought the heavyweightsto the ring with DrewGraziadei going up againstErik Rogers in a rematch ofthe 2012 New York StateGolden Glove finals. Thefight did not disappoint asGraziadei and Rogersfought their hearts out andwere rewarded with Fightof the Night laurels. Theresults:Keith Gordon (Casal’s Boxing) dec 3-0Mike Gangemi (Roc Boxing)

Joey Krebs(Casal’s Boxing) dec 3-0J P Barone (Thunder Boxing)

Brian Camacho (Westside Boxing)dec 2-1Devon Davis (Roc Boxing)

Phil Violante (Casal’s Boxing) dec 2-1Shiaha Freeland (St. John’s Boxing)

Collin Murray

(Goomba Boxing) dec 3-0Frank Saunderson (Casal’s Boxing)

Dakota Witkop (Thunder Boxing) dec 2-1Michael Reeves (Roc St. Martins)

K Shawn Agee (Casal’s Boxing) dec 3-0Sequan Anthony (Roc St Martins)

Kauron Overton (Roc St Martins) dec 2-1Jackson Krebs (Casal’s Boxing)

Ahured Harad (Roc St Martins) rsc 3Steven Guy (Roc Boxing)

Mike Vega (Casal’sBoxing) dec 3-0 MikeHajdaj (Buffalo NWCC)

Donald Marshall (St John’s Boxing) dec 3-0Shevah Sheppard (Casal’s Boxing)

Kevin Bonk (Casal’s Boxing) dec 2-1Amir Farug (Westside boxing)

Drew Graziadei

(Casal’s Boxing) dec 2-1Erik Rogers (Buffalo NWCC)

•••••••• Don Patterson

hosted the firstin a series ofthree FridayNight FightsI n v i t a t i o n a ltournament atLUX nightclubin downtownBuffalo on Sept.28. A 17-boutcard featuredboxers fromC a n a d a ,P e n n s y l v a n i aand all acrossNew York State.A few notablebouts includedthe return ofLavias “Red”Williams ofR o c h e s t e r ’ s

Future Boxing. Williamswas a little out of shape butwas still good enough towin 3-0 over his opponentDylan Ruston ofSteeletown Boxing inCanada. Israel Scott ofInspire Boxing in NiagaraFalls pulled off an upsetwhen he won a 3-0 deci-sion over the reigning NYSGolden Glove super heavy-weight champion DrewGraziadei of Casal’sBoxing. The tournamentcontinues on Oct. 26 andwraps up on Nov. 30. Theboxing gym that has themost individual wins overthe three dates will takehome the large trophy.

••••••••

St. John’s boxing inBuffalo also hosted an ama-teur card on Sept. 28 witheight matches competedbetween the teams fromRochester, Dunkirk,Cleveland and Michigan.The host club had two win-ners in Charles Slobert andTobias Smothers.

Local boxing

Photo by Bob CaicoBryan Camacho (left) of Buffalo’s WestsideBoxing Club works the body of Jack Grady of theUniversity of Buffalo Boxing Club during theFriday Night Fights Invitational tournament at LUXnightclub. Camacho earned a 3-0 decision.

Community Sports ReportAll eyes will be on

Lockport’s Amer AbdallahNov. 17 at theKenan Arenaas the 35-year-old kick-boxer stepsup his chal-lenge againsta muchy o u n g e ro p p o n e n t .Having beenguaranteed ashot at theworld title,Abdallah hasa lot to prove.

Current lythe WorldKickbox ingAssociation’sNo.1 rankedlight heavy-weight kick-boxer in thec o u n t r y ,A b d a l l a hplans to keepit that way.He defeatedformer No.1r a n k e dF r a n c o i s“Bang Bang”Ambang in November of2011 to claim the nationaltitle, then successfullydefended his crown in Aprilduring a grueling 10-roundwar with top ranked TJGibson. Now at 35 years ofage, critics are citingAbdallah’s age and time leftin the sport. “It’s funny howthings change so fast in thissport” Abdallah stated. “Iused to always consider the35-year-old guys in thissport as old timers and pasttheir prime. Having reached35 myself, I feel as strong,fast and confident as ever. Iwelcome fights with theseyoung pups.”

Abdallah’s opponent isscheduled to sign this weekand has been described as a22-year-old knockout artistfrom the Midwest. “Untilwe have a contract in handwe cannot disclose his

name. It’s bizarre he hasn’tsigned yet.” Abdallah man-ager Ahmed Imamovic stat-

ed. “Amer and I have dis-cussed his future and timeleft in the sport. We are bothunmistakably in agreementthat if he ever shows signsof slowing down, we walkaway. There is too much asstake to risk injury.”

Joining Abdallah on thecard is professional mid-dleweight up-and-comingmartial artist, Buffalo’sKassine “The Dream” Omar.In one of the fastest knock-outs in kickboxing history,Omar’s last fight lasted amere six seconds as hedelivered a jumping sidekick to his opponent’sribcage knocking him out ofthe ring and out of commis-sion. Also on the card ispopular SuperMiddleweight, Buffalo’s KOKid, Jay Bauman, who willhave his hands full inattempting to win the New

York State title. Having beenlabeled the “blood and guts”kickboxer, Bauman looks

forward to displaying histalent, heart and power ashe fights for the covetedchampionship. Also, in oneof the most anticipatedcomebacks, former NorthAmerican K1 SuperHeavyweight Kickboxingchampion Ed “Black Rage”Burris will return to reclaimhis title and legacy.

Tickets are available at theLockport Athletic & Fitnessclub (716.439.5232) or atTicketmaster.com. The eventis proudly sponsored by LocalEdge along with MulveyConstruction, All MetalWorks & ADPRO Sports.

Special guest and TeamAbdallah advisor, “Baby”Joe Mesi will be in atten-dance along with severalother local professional ath-letes.

Abdallah: Experience vs. youth

Photo by Jason StoosAmer Abdallah lands a thunderous roundhouse kick to the jaw of TJGibson in his last title defense in Lockport on April 14th.

Photo by Jeff BaronJon “Bones” Jones is all smiles at post fight press conference.

Page 13: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012

November 2012 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 11

Page 14: Sports and Leisure Magazine November 2012