Page 2 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March/April 2013

March/April 2013 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 3

By Ed KilgoreCh. 2 Sports Director

When he bought the Sabresabout two years ago, TerryPegula was a giddy fan as hegushed about being a Sabresfanatic whodreamed thatsome day hemight actuallyown the team.Not just ANYteam, but THISteam. He spentseveral years liv-ing in OrchardPark and fell inlove with theteam and thatloyalty continued even after hemoved to Pittsburgh for busi-ness reasons. Pegula wouldhave jumped into the mixwhen the Rigas empire crashedand burned, but he didn’t haveenough money then.

He does now. Forbes esti-mates Pegula’s worth at $3.1BILLION. But already he’slearning that financial healthdoesn’t guarantee instant suc-cess when it comes to runninga hockey club.

Pegula is a very even-keelkind of guy if you’ve beenaround him, which is a bigattribute to have when you’rein the oil and gas business.Things can change in a hurry,and the key to being successfulis to be patient when you haveto be, but knowing when youneed to move on. On top of allthat, you need to be flexible,because nothing ever stays thesame. You reward your peoplewell, as long as they produce,but you also set a very highbar. Failure is not an option.

Pegula right away pro-claimed the “reason for theexistence of the Sabres is towin the Stanley Cup.” Sadly,he lost one of his FrenchConnection heroes in RickMartin, but continued restor-ing the Sabres history byreaching out to the alums andbuilding tributes to past play-ers in the First Niagara Center.He also poured millions intoimproving the Sabres dressingroom and training facilities,and about now he must bethinking he made things a lit-tle TOO cushy for his team.

Not long after taking overthe team, Pegula signed thenhead coach Lindy Ruff, a play-er he adored during his 10years as a Sabre, to a contractextension and more recentlyextended the contract of gen-eral manager Darcy Regier.

When the Sabres staggeredout of the lockout with a 6-10-1 record, Pegula became lessand less visible to the media,but as I wrote elsewhere, oneshould never mistake hissilence for lack of interest, orthe desire to win that Cup forthe fans of Buffalo.

The Sabres poor play finallyreached a point of no return ona Tuesday night when a crowdof about 19,000 fans booedlustily as their Sabres left theice following a disheartening2-1 home loss to the strugglingWinnipeg Jets. My guesswould be that Pegula spentone very sleepless night, andit’s also my guess that he notonly did not try to discourageRegier from making a big

change but encouraged itdespite his genuine affectionand respect for Ruff.

Do the Sabres have enoughtalent? If not, then the blamefalls with the GM, who hired

Ruff some 16 yearsago. But if Pegulaand his advisorsthink the talent isthere, for the mostpart anyway, thenthe only otheroption for a bigchange is to go witha new head coach.There are severalunder-achievingSabres who deserve

to be shown the door for theirsurprisingly poor performanceso far, but Regier and Pegulaknow trades can’t be made inhaste because a bad situationcan certainly become muchworse.

Going into the 2012-13 sea-son, even with the lockout, theSabres had every reason tobelieve rising star defensemanTyler Myers would continue tobecome even more dominant,and players like Drew Staffordand Marcus Foligno wouldcontinue their goal scoringbinges of a year ago. TheSabres needed help up themiddle and the acquisition ofCody Hodgson looks solid sofar. Tyler Ennis is starting tocome on, but 18-year oldMikhail Grigorenko is still aproject. The Sabres knew theywere too young up the middle,but they felt in theory the tal-ent could overcome the lack ofexperience. They were onlypartially correct about that.

So what happens after thelockout? Myers reports in poorshape, something he admittedto Ruff and his teammates afterhe was benched for a couplegames. Instead of being adynamic positive force, Myersbecame part of a huge defen-sively suspect back end.Foligno? Not even resemblingthe player who started pouringin goals right after he got offthe bus from Rochester.Stafford? Not out of shape, butclearly not in the right frameof mind to be effective. He wasalso in Ruff’s doghouse for notcompeting for loose pucks,much less not scoring goals.He had one goal through 21games. It took a coachingchange to Ron Rolston beforeNathan Gerbe finally scoredhis first goal, and he actuallyscored two in a 4-3 shootoutwin at Florida. The list goeson, but you get the picture.

Although veterans likeThomas Vanek, and RyanMiller to a lesser extent, wereflourishing under Ruff whenteammates were not, theSabres simply were not livingup to expectations. In fact, noteven close, and it was painful-ly obvious to players, fans andmedia. Oh yes, and team own-ership.

Pegula is a positive personby nature, but knew the timehad come for a change. Ruff nodoubt knew it too, but he’s nota quitter and would not havequit despite his teams’ strug-gles. Regier says the decisionto fire Ruff was his, and Ibelieve that means he hadcome to the same conclusion

as Pegula after they aired outtheir feelings along with presi-dent Ted Black the Wednesdayafter the embarrassing homeloss to the Jets. Pegula andBlack believe in Regier strong-ly, and part of their reasoningthat is often lost on fans is thatbefore Pegula arrived, Regieroften had his hands tied by theRigas family or later TomGolisano. Regier made terrificmoves to acquire Danny Briereand Chris Drury, but had noth-ing to do with their free agencydepartures. The loss ofdefenseman Henrik Tallinder,solely for monetary reasons,had a noticeable negativeeffect on Myers. The Sabresnever recovered from thoseand other dreadful mistakes.With Pegula’s deep pocketsthose scenarios will not berepeated.

Ruff is a winner, both as aplayer and coach. He coachedthe Sabres in 1,165 games in16 seasons and won 571games. He almost won a Cupin ‘99 and reached the playoffseight times. His 2006-07 teamwon the President’s Cup as theNo.1 team in the NHL duringthe regular season, but thatteam was knocked out in theEastern Conference Finals byOttawa in five games.

But it’s a “what have youdone for me lately” business,and Ruff’s recent seasons werein decline. Pegula, as well asthe rest of us, still won’t knowfor a while if Pegula went farenough just firing Ruff, or per-haps fired the wrong guy.

Ruff will be fine, both finan-cially and mentally. He knowsthe checks won’t bounce andhe has many of them still com-ing on a contract Pegula willhonor. There will be manyopportunities for Ruff, perhapseven in a front office positionif he wants to move on fromcoaching. If you haven’t beenaround Lindy, it’s your loss.Yeah, he’s a tough guy at times,but he has a marvelous senseof humor and is a joy to bearound. He’s still an icon inBuffalo, and hopefully he’llstick around for awhile as hedecides what’s next.

As this is being written, theSabres do seem to be respond-ing to interim coach RonRolston, who immediatelybegan stressing the team need-ed to pick up its pace of play.Ruff was sending the samemessage, but it wasn’t beingreceived.

If Rolston can guide theSabres back into playoff posi-tion, both he AND Regier maylive to fight another day. If not,Pegula will probably realize hemust also part company withRegier, and then let the incom-ing GM decide who will coachthe team.

Lindy knew this day wouldeventually come, and evenmentioned recently he’dthought about a change, butthat change would never comefrom quitting. It was time for achange, and Pegula knew it.His goal hasn’t changed; hestill will do everything he canto win that Stanley Cup. It’sjust that Lindy Ruff’s namewon’t be engraved on it whenit finally happens.

Pegula passes first tough testBy George Kuhn

As the highestdrafted playeron the Sabrescurrent roster—fifth overall in2005—fans havealways had bigexpectations forThomas Vanek.When he starredin the 2003NCAA FrozenFour held inBuffalo’s thenHSBC Arena,Sabres fanshoped that theirVanek wouldone day wear theblack and red oftheir belovedteam, that is,before theymoved from thegoat head backto the classicnavy and gold.

Since hebegan his NHLcareer in Buffaloin 2005, Vanek has hadsome rather impressivecareer highlights. He ledthe NHL with a plus 47while notching careerhighs of 43 goals and 84points in 2006-07.Following his 2008-09 sea-son, he was named theNHL’s top sniper by TheHockey News after a siz-zling start where he scored20 times in his first 26games and finished with 40goals.

But Vanek outdid him-self early in the lockoutshortened 2013 seasonopening with eight multi-point games, including twofive-point performances, tolead the NHL in scoring forthe first few weeks of theseason. He currently sitsthird in league scoring asof this story with 27points, trailing only SidneyCrosby and StevenStamkos.

Last season Vanek alsohad a strong first half andsat among the NHL’s topscorers but fell off thatpace with a second halfslump due to injuries to hisshoulder, chest and ankle.While he was not outward-ly impaired—the injurieswere not publicized lest anopponent takes libertieswith his vulnerabilities—itwas apparent that he wasnot up to his usual capaci-ties. So fans were left towonder if he really put outhis best efforts.

Always a streaky player,Vanek could score tengoals in ten games andthen go the next ten gameswithout a goal whilealways giving the sameeffort.

Was his hot start an indi-cation that Vanek hastaken his game to a newlevel or just the mother ofall hot streaks? “It’s a littlebit of both,” Vanek con-fessed. “Obviously some ofmy passes are going in,some of my shots are goingin. But at the same time Ithink my game is roundingout pretty well. Every year

you learn something. Atthis point in my career Ithink I’m pretty confidentin my abilities to create formyself and my linemates.”

Vanek agrees that at age29 he is at the peak of hisabilities. “Earlier in mycareer I wasn’t as strongmentally as I am now. Iwould beat myself up fordays if I would miss a goodchance or an easy pass Ithought I could make.Now I can still get frustrat-ed but I get over it fairlyquickly.”

In the new NHL, playersare allowed to skate up theice without the restrainingfouls, the hooks and holdsof the 70s, 80s and 90s. Butplayers like Vanek whohang around the defender’sgoal crease are at timessubjected to witheringphysical abuse includingrepeated crosschecks with-out any penalty callsagainst the defenders.Then on a forecheck, aslash to the glove of adefender will send Vanekto the box. This disparityin rule enforcement has leftVanek visibly upset as hetakes his place in thepenalty box.

“I don’t mind the beatingin front. I think it’s part ofthe game. I like it,” Vanekexplained. “But at the sametime it is frustrating whenyou get five or six cross-checks and they don’t callit which is fine. But thenyou give one chop (on aforecheck) and off you go.But that’s something I haveto do better at controlling.If I do get called, I need tojust shut my mouth and sitfor two minutes. But it sureis frustrating.”

Vanek and JasonPominville have been play-ing together since the2004-05 season with theRochester Americans wheneach tallied 68 points.Playing together in Buffalo,the two have developedchemistry on and off theice, a familiarity with eachother. One the highly tout-

ed prospect, theother the undraft-ed free agentwaived throughthe entire leaguein his first proseason.

“We play a dif-ferent game butwe read the gamethe same way,”Vanek said ofPominville. “Heknows 90 percentof the time whatI’m going to doand it’s the samefor me with him.We sit next toeach other (in thelocker room), wetalk a lot. We’repretty open witheach other. If wesee something welike, or don’t like,we let the otherknow. So there’sno frustrationthere because wecan talk honest-

ly.”“Thomas has played

well, he’s had some oppor-tunities and put themaway,” Pominville said ofhis linemates importanceto the team. “He’s skatedwell. I think if we can getpucks to the net he’s usual-ly there. And he’s so goodaround the net that a lot ofour players are goingtowards him so it’s nice tosee them go in for him forsure. He’s good at tippingpucks. He’s scored a lot ofgoals that way. We hope forhim to keep going this way.He’s a big part of the team.He has to make a differenceand most nights he’s doingit.”

“It’s been enjoyable tosee him play so well,”Pominville continued. “It’snice to be able to sticktogether with the sameguys and play the way wehave for the amount oftime we have. I think it’shelped us to be able tocommunicate and be ableto gel and to know wherewe want each other in cer-tain situations. A lot of it isjust getting pucks to thefront of the net becausehe’s just so good in thatarea.”

The addition of centerCody Hodgson to the linehas contributed to theirsuccess. Hodgson recentlyrose to tenth on the NHL’sgoal scoring leaders forthis season. “Cody’s beengreat. He’s a good center-man,” Vanek said. “Heskates well, finds the mid-dle well and he can movethe puck to both sideswhether it’s on his back-hand or his forehand. Ithink that’s his biggestasset. He’s good at findingopen ice. What I like aboutCody is that he’s alwaystrying to talk to Jason and Itelling us to let him knowif we see something for hisgame. He’s very openminded and wants to learnwhich is great.”

Thomas Vanek finds his next level

Photo by Mike MajewskiThomas Vanek’s hot start had him leading theNHL in scoring.

Page 4 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March/April 2013

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Publisher & 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 Thomas Vanek by Jeff Barnes, County photos courtesy of CattaraugusCounty Tourism, Greater Allegany Office of Tourism, Wyoming County Chamber ofCommerceAdvisory Board Phil Haberstro, Adam Lingner, Denny LynchContributing Writers Todd Etshman,Brian Funk, Brian MazurowskiLayout & 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, 192Louvaine Dr, Buffalo, NY 14223 or e-mail publisher@sportsandleisuremag.com. 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 -2013 Sports & Leisure Inc.Facebook: Sports and Leisure Magazine and Hugesportz.com

By Charles Roberts

Rope-like veins werepopping out of Bryan Scott’sarms during locker-roomcleanout day, the result ofpushing his body to thelimit while training for lifeas an NFL player, the pastsix seasons of which havebeen with the Buffalo Bills.Like many professional ath-letes, he has a rarephysique.

Scott is also armed with arare skill set off the field.And he certainly puts it towork.

“I’ve always been pas-sionate about the arts,”Scott told Sports & LeisureMagazine. “I wanted to starta foundation, so my secondyear in the league, I wasasking for advice and peo-ple kept telling me to dosomething that I was pas-sionate about.”

As such, he created anonprofit foundation, PickYour Passion Foundationfor the Arts, to encourageyouth participation inmusic, visual and perform-ing arts in underservedcommunities. His“ARTventure” program,part of the foundation, tookstudents from Buffalo’s FalkSchool on monthly fieldtrips to different art andmusic venues throughoutWestern New York.

His impact from a com-munity-relations standpointin Buffalo led to the teamnaming him as the winnerof its “2012 Buffalo BillsWalter Payton Man of theYear” award, which gavehim an extra $1,000 towardthe foundation.

“Sports and the arts, that’swhat I’m passionate about,”Scott said with an honestsmile beaming as he spoke.“So that’s what really led meto starting the foundation.”

Not long after Scott andthe Bills wrapped up the2012 campaign, he begansizing up his next oppo-nent.

“I’m planning on doing alot of work with my founda-tion,” Scott said. “This isthe first year that we got itback up and running. Thecompany that the founda-

tion was under,the NationalH e r i t a g eFoundation, bel-lied up and theylost all of ourfunds. So it tookus a little to getback on track andre-launch.”

“So, when I getback down toAtlanta [where Istarted his NFLcareer], we’regoing to see whattypes of programsI can implementduring the offsea-son, both thereand maybe inP h i l a d e l p h i a , ”Scott added. “We had theARTventure program [goingthroughout the season],where we take kids to localart spaces, so I’d like to getthat implemented in Atlantaand Philadelphia, as a start.Just getting the kids expo-sure to the arts—anotheroutlet, a creative outlet—isgreat. I really think ithelps.”

Like many players on the2012 Bills, Scott’s future, atleast with the team, was upin the air. An unrestrictedfree-agent-to-be, coupledwith the fact that changes tothe coaching staff wereimminent, left the 32-year-old Scott uncertain aboutthe next stop in his NFLcareer.

“It’s definitely difficult tofigure it out because I don’thold the cards. I don’t makemy future, per se, in thisbusiness,” Scott said rightbefore the new year with apositive ring to his voice.“But am I nervous, am Iworried, am I concerned?No. Not at all. Everythingthat’s happened has hap-pened for a reason. It’s beena blessing to play 10 yearsand hopefully I can contin-ue to play. I’m healthy and Ican continue to play at ahigh level, so hopefully it’shere. But if it’s not here,hopefully it’s somewhereelse. And if not, then it’stime to move on to the nextphase in life.”

As it worked out, Scott’s

wish was granted. The Billsannounced prior to theMarch 12 start of freeagency that he agreed to aone-year extension.

Whatever the futureholds for Scott beyond nextyear, it seems certain thattime-management won’t bean issue. His non-footballstats also include participat-ing in an ABC musical com-petition—“Monday Night atthe Mic”—in 2003, inwhich he was paired withGrammy Award-winningartist Michelle Branch; theduo lost in the finals to for-mer Bills quarterback DougFlutie and the BarenakedLadies. A Penn State gradu-ate, Scott wrote a song andlater performed it at thefuneral service for KevinDare, the former Penn Statepole-vaulter who died whilecompeting in February2002.

“I play football, piano,the drums and I like tosing,” Scott said. “I guesswhen you’re passionateabout something, you maketime for it. Obviously dur-ing the season I don’t get asmuch time to sit down andplay the piano for hours orget to the studio. But duringthe offseason, that’s how Ispend a lot of my time. Andwhen football is over, I wantto dive into the foundationhead-first and really sub-merge myself, because Ithink it really makes a dif-ference.”

Music, art and sports: The life of Bryan Scott

Photo by Joe ValentiBryan Scott’s off-the-field workpaved the way for him to be electedas the “2012 Buffalo Bills WalterPayton Man of the Year” recipient.

It’s hard to believe that thebiggest name to leaveBuffalo during the lockoutshortened NHL season maynot be Sabres head coachLindy Ruff, but Buffalo Billsquarterback RyanFitzpatrick. Fueled by spec-ulation all offseason, GMBuddy Nix finally pulled theplug on the same day thatsome embarrassing com-ments he made about theHarvard grad’s future wereleaked to the public.Fitzpatrick put up moretouchdowns than intercep-tions in his Bills tenure andwe wish him well with hisnext team. Similarly, CoachRuff gave Buffalo fans somememorable moments,including back-to-back con-ference final teams, and wethank him for his 15 years ofservice. As both a player andcoach, we hope that Ruffwill continue to call Buffalohome.

Hockey fans were eagerfor games to start again andno one came out of the gatehotter than Thomas Vanek’s

incendiary start to the sea-son. Expectations of Vanekhave been sky high sinceBuffalo matched an offersheet from Edmonton dur-ing the 2007 offseason, andthe Austrian winger hasmore than earned his keepwith eight multi-pointgames and two five-pointperformances. In the firstfew weeks of the season hewas keeping pace with scor-ing leaders Sidney Crosbyand Steven Stamkos—notbad company to have—andwhile he has fallen off pace abit, Vanek is still among theleague’s top ten.

Another Buffalo productmaking headlines is CoryConacher of the Tampa BayLightning. The diminutiveforward played his entirecollegiate career at Canisiusand, after going undrafted,is following in the mold ofMartin St. Louis in makingthe red light spin. Amongrookies he is listed at or nearthe top of most offensive sta-tistics and has been men-tioned as an early contender

for the Calder MemorialTrophy.

Thomas McCollum maybe on a slightly different tra-jectory than Conacher, butthe Western New York goal-tender has been getting inhis reps with the GrandRapids Griffins of the AHLand may one day get anoth-er call up to the parentDetroit Red Wings, whoselected him in the firstround of the 2008 draft.

When you think of NewYork, you probably envisiontall buildings, bright lightsand cement, the bustlingcrowds of people and noisytraffic, Madison Avenue andWall Street.

Think again...This month we feature

our Regional Tourism guide.Allegany, Cattaraugus andWyoming Counties offer awide range of scenic attrac-tions as well as events, festi-vals and so much more!

Our next edition will beour May edition, which willfeature our annual golfdirectory.

From the Publisher

March/April 2013 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 5

By Jeffrey Levine

When Adam Mair firstarrived in Buffalo, the hard-hitting, hard-workingwinger fit right in with theSabres and the city. Afterseven years in the Blue andGold and brief stops with theDevils and the SpringfieldFalcons of the AHL, Mair isback in the Queen City andis once again making oppos-ing teams feel his presence,although in a much differentway.

In October, Mairannounced his retirementfrom professional hockeyand took a position asDirector of PlayerDevelopment for CanisiusCollege. It is too soon intohis first season to tell what

effect Mair has had on theGolden Griffins, but theyhave held tough in the com-petitive Atlantic HockeyDivision, going 10-11-2 inconference and have a veryreal chance to improve uponlast year’s 10-14-3 record. Inhis new position, Mair willbe called upon work directlywith the coaches on practiceand game evaluation as wellas assist the staff with videoreview and opponent scout-ing.

Augmenting a staff thathas coached current NHLerssuch as Carl Hudson andCory Conacher, Mair is avaluable addition for bothhis professional experienceas well as his on-ice acumen.When asked about what he

could impart to hisyoung players, Mairdidn’t hesitate: Howto prepare for thegame,” heexplained. “I wasn’treally able to rely onmy skill to get meby. I had to find lit-tle areas of the gamewhere I could get anadvantage on a guy,either throughpreparation or tech-nique. I’m tryingreally hard to relaythat to the guys.”

With almost asmany penalty min-utes (829) as gamesplayed (850), Mairshould have notrouble instillingtoughness anddetermination in

the Griffs. Although he hasnever had any direct coach-ing experience, Mair has hadplenty of role models in fourformer Jack Adams award-winning coaches: JacquesLemaire; Bruce Boudreau;Pat Quinn; and, of course,Lindy Ruff. Mair’s physicalplay often belied his cerebralapproach to the game and ashe tackles his next challenge,it is apparent how attentivelyhe was listening during histenure in Buffalo.

“The ability to always tryand get better as a coach,”Mair said on what he learnedfrom coach Ruff. “I saw himgrow over the eight years Iwas there. Not that he wasn’tgood when I arrived, but [heexcelled] from his practice

prep to bench managementto concept. You need to stayat the cutting edge and striv-ing for constant improve-ment doesn’t stop when youstop playing.”

For someone constantlyfocused on being the best hecan be, Mair’s entrance intothe college ranks is just thenext challenge in his career.After playing in the OntarioHockey League instead offoregoing what would cer-tainly have been a Division Icampaign, Mair is not onlylearning about the nuances

of the college game but allthat goes into the entireprocess. “What’s nice for meis that I can focus on thehockey related aspects ofwhat we’re doing as a staff,”Mair said. “It’s been an eye-opener to see the amount ofwork that the staff here doeswith recruiting and adminis-tration. It’s incredible howmuch time they put in.Maybe at the pro level you’rejust worrying about runningpractice and travel but thereare a lot of hats that peoplewear around here: scouting;

coaching; making sure stu-dents go to classes. We prob-ably put in 80 hours a week.It’s all about loving to bearound the game.”

Luckily for Canisius andthe rest of Western NewYork, Mair will be contribut-ing to the game he loves in acity that has welcomed himwith open arms since hisarrival in 2002. “I’m glad forthe opportunity to live inBuffalo where my home is,”Mair said. “It’s nice to be ableto stay in a familiar spot andmy family likes it a lot here.”

Adam Mair goes back to school

Photo by Joe ValentiAfter a successful pro career, Adam Mair is exploring what the otherside of the bench is like with Canisius College.

By Mike Fox

NHL players and ownersfinally agreed upon a wayto divvy up a few billiondollars and much to thedelight of fans, and espe-cially fantasy owners, acondensed season is underway. We knew that slow-starting stars like SheaWeber were likely to rightthe ship eventually, but it’salways a bit harder to eval-uate whether hot-startingplayers can continue tomaintain that pace.

No column covering hotstarts would be completewithout mentioningBuffalo’s Thomas Vanek,who stormed to an earlyleague lead in goals andpoints before finally coolingoff. Only the staunchestfans of the Sabres believedVanek was really going towin an Art Ross Trophy, buthe has good chemistry withusual linemates JasonPominville and CodyHodgson so he should be avirtual lock to average morethan a point per game forthe first time since his soph-omore season of 2006-07.

David Clarkson seemeddestined to only excel inhits and penalty minutesduring the first four years ofhis career, but all thatchanged last season whenhe started to realize that aguy can make a good livingin the NHL if he’s ready toabsorb some abuse in frontof the opposing net. His 30goals and 228 shots wereenough to earn him regulartime on the New Jerseypower play this year, andthose who took a chance onhim have been rewardedwith a budding multi-cate-gory star. He may not be thesecond coming of KeithTkachuk, but Clarkson hasscored 10 goals in his first19 games (a 40-plus paceover a normal NHL season),including five on the powerplay, and is averaging betterthan four shots per game,has his +/- rating in the

black, and has still foundtime to make a contributionin penalty minutes.

Chris Kunitz seemed tobe entrenched as a solidNo.2 or No.3 fantasywinger. He had scored atleast 19 goals in every fullseason of his eight-yearcareer, but only reached the60-point plateau twice inthat span. Thus, many fan-tasy owners are dismissingthis season’s hot start asnothing more than an earlyfluke. Don’t make that mis-take. When a player is get-ting regular power play timewith the likes of Crosby,Malkin, Neal and Letang,good things are bound tofollow. There’s no reason tothink that Kunitz cannotmaintain his current point-per-game pace, making hima legitimate No.1 fantasywinger.

You can’t help but lovethe Viktor Fasth story thatis unfolding in Anaheim.The late-blooming Swedishimport went undrafted inmost fantasy leagues but isnow owned in better than70 percent of CBS Sportsleagues. Going undefeatedover your first nine startsand at least temporarilyleading the league in winswill do that to a fantasycareer. That percentage

could continue to climb,even now that incumbentNo.1 goaltender JonasHiller is back from the IR.Hiller hasn’t seemed com-pletely right since beingdiagnosed with vertigo in2011, and Fasth was out-playing Hiller even beforehis IR stint. While it’s tooearly to start comparing thisstory to that of Lou Gehrigand Wally Pipp, Fasth justmight be the clear-cut No.1Anaheim netminder atyear’s end.

Chicago’s CoreyCrawford and Ottawa’sCraig Anderson had similarseasons in 2011-12. Bothmanaged to win at least 30games despite their relative-ly high goals-against aver-ages, followed by a quickexit from the playoffs.Things are much differentthis season, with both goal-tenders showing signs ofdominance that are reminis-cent of Jonathan Quick’s faststart last year, and we knowhow that turned out. At thevery least, Crawford andAnderson should prove tobe capable No.1-caliber fan-tasy goalies going forward.Anderson’s backup is BenBishop, who has performedwell when called upon, butAnderson will get themajority of the starts inOttawa when healthy. RayEmery looms a bit larger inChi-town, but even if hecuts into Crawford’s playingtime, Crawford should pro-duce solid stats for therecord-setting Hawks.

As we go forward,remember that hockey islike baseball; it’s intended tobe a marathon, not a sprint.This means fantasy ownersmight need to shift strate-gies a bit. Traditional slowstarters might never reallyget a chance to get rolling,and a few early overachiev-ers might be enough tocarry a fantasy team to theirleague’s playoffs. Good luck,and enjoy our belated GameOn!

Fantasy hockey

Photo courtesy NHL MediaA rejuvenated CoreyCrawford has the ChicagoBlackhawks flying highagain this year.

Page 6 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March/April 2013

By George Kuhn

Thomas McCollum andCory Conacher are two play-ers with local ties who rosefrom relative obscurity tohockey’s biggest stage. Mostare now familiar with theCory Conacher story; formerCanisius College star nowcover boy on the currentHockey News and leadingcandidate for NHL rookie ofthe year. But ThomasMcCollum from Sanborn hasforged a rather impressivecareer as the best goaltenderto ever emerge from WesternNew York hockey.

Thomas McCollum, BestWNY Goaltender Ever

When McCollum wasdrafted by the Detroit RedWings in the 2008 NHL entrydraft following a strong show-ing in the elite OntarioHockey League, he becameonly the second local player(Patrick Kane) taken in thefirst round of the NHL draft.When he played for theStarpoint High School clubhockey team, few would haveforeseen such a career pro-gression, even McCollumhimself. “When I played atStarpoint, I never thoughtthat playing in the OHL waseven a remote possibility,”McCollum explained.

It’s safe to say that notmany NHL scouts attendWNY high school games atthe club hockey level, espe-cially when so many of thetop local players tend toforego high school hockey formore competitive juniorleagues or prep schools inother regions. For example,Patrick Kane was long gonefrom this area during his highschool years playing higherlevel competitive hockey inMichigan.

So when McCollum wasdrafted by the Guelph Stormof the Ontario HockeyLeague, the top junior hockeyleague, a few eyebrows wereraised. He had played one sea-son of juniors with theWheatfield Blades of theEmpire Junior League andcompiled numbers that werenot particularly impressive,winning only twice in 24games with a 2-19-3 W-L-Trecord and a 4.52 GAA. Buthis talent had shown throughplaying for a weak Bladesteam and his career took off inthe elite OHL.

“When I played MidgetMajor for the WheatfieldBlades, I had practiced withthe junior team so I wasfamiliar with their players andfelt that I could compete atthat level” McCollum said. “Iwas a little intimidated when Iwent to Guelph, but my firststart went well and my confi-dence grew.”

Playing for the Storm, heliterally took the league bystorm in 2006-07 with a 26-18-10 record, a low 2.39 GAAand a .918 save percentage.He followed that up with aneven better 2007-08 when he

posted a 25-17-6, 2.50 GAAand .914 save percentagealong with an outstandingplayoff run where he went 5-5 but posted a miniscule 1.91GAA and an outstanding .937save percentage.

His performance did not gounnoticed and the DetroitRed Wings drafted him in thefirst round of the 2008 NHLentry draft, 30th overall.Returning to juniors, he thensplit the 2008-09 seasonbetween Guelph and theBrampton Battalion puttingup a 34-16-4 record, a 2.11GAA and a .927 save percent-age.

The biggest game ofMcCollum’s young career wasagainst Team Canada in the2009 World JuniorChampionships. In the roundrobin matchup, McCollumand team USA jumped to a 3-0 lead 13 minutes into thegame. But Canada poured onthe pressure with a star-stud-ded team featuring futureSabres Tyler Myers, TylerEnnis, and Cody Hodgsonalong with other future NHLstars John Tavares, P. K.Subban, Jordan Eberle,Evander Kane, AlexPietrangelo and Jamie Benn.Canada tied the score by theend of the first period andwent on to win the game 7-4,with Tavares scoring threegoals. McCollum had faced27 shots and stopped 22.

“That was definitely themost watched game I everplayed in,” McCollum said.“It was chaos from the open-ing faceoff. Their first goal gotthem excited and we got backon our heels,”

His failure to hold that 3-0lead was noted by NHLscouts, some of whom feltthat if McCollum had playedthis game one year earlier, hisdraft ranking would have fall-en substantially. Fairly or not,he was being faulted for los-ing that game.

Following his junior career,McCollum started 2010-11playing for the Grand RapidsGriffins, Detroit’s AmericanHockey League affiliate,where he put up rather pedes-trian numbers: a 10-16-2record; 3.48 GAA; and an.881 save percentage. TheWings sent him down toToledo of the AA ECHLwhere he won twice and lostonce but saw his GAA soar to4.48 while his save percentageplummeted to .864.

For 2011-12, McCollumput up some decent numbersin Toledo with a 2.90 GAAand .911 save percentage.When injuries struck the par-ent Red Wings goalies,McCollum rose in the organi-zation back into the AHLwhere he reestablished him-self as an American Leagueplayer. He even got into hisfirst NHL game but gave upthree goals on eight shots.

His numbers in GrandRapids were unimpressivethat year, a 3.49 GAA, and.891 save percentage, but his

AHL coach, Curt Fraser,explained to MLive.com inJanuary 2011 that we was notconcerned. “A lot of younggoaltenders go through strug-gles when they first start, butTommy has all the tools. He’sexcellent technically, moveswell, he’s big. In practice heworks hard at preparing. Hisnumbers should be way betterbut, for whatever reason,they’re not.”

At the end of the season,Griffins GM Bob McNameradiscussed the struggles of hisyoung goaltender withMLive.com, “We needTommy McCollum to be bet-ter and he’s got to developquicker. As a goaltender, youhave to be patient becausethey take some time, andTommy has had a tough time,but there’s still potential there.He’s an extremely talentedgoaltender and heneeds tohave a big year.”

For 2012-13, McCollum isback in the AHL as GrandRapids backup goalie with a12-9-1 record along with a2.92 GAA and .893 save per-centage, while watching therise of the Wings new goal-tending prodigy Petr Mrazekwith his 18-8-1 record, 2.31GAA and .916 save percent-age.

McCollum’s status in theorganization was clearlyspelled out at redwingscen-tral.com, “Something hasgone wrong in McCollum’sdevelopment. By now,McCollum should be a start-ing-caliber AHL goaltender,but he’s struggled to becomejust an adequate backup.McCollum needs [to] make astatement in 2012-13, hisfinal season of waiver exemp-tion, to keep himself in theorganization’s future plans.”

But McCollum has not lostfaith in himself or hisprospects for an eventualNHL career.

“I feel like I’m playing bet-ter than any time in mycareer,” McCollum explained.“I wasn’t too thrilled afterbeing sent down to Toledo. Iwas disappointed in myselfbut worked hard to get back. Ilearned a lot about myself.”

McCollum knows thatserving an apprenticeship inthe minor leagues is often arite of passage for NHL goal-tenders. “Jimmy Howard(Red Wings starting goalie)played four years here inGrand Rapids.” At the sametime, McCollum is quick togive credit where credit isdue: “I learned a lot from[Anthony Micucci] as ayoung player,” McCollumsaid of the local area goaliecoach for having helped himdevelop his abilities. “I stillwork on things with him inthe summer.”

McCollum’s career as anamateur and professional isthe most impressive of anygoaltender ever produced inWNY. Local fans may not befamiliar with him because hehasn’t established himself in

the NHL, but he has had andcontinues to have a playingcareer that almost any localplayer can only envy.

Cory Conacher, FromCanisius College to the NHL

Cory Conacher played fouryears for the Canisius CollegeGolden Griffins and is theteam’s all-time leading scorer.From nearby Burlington,Ontario, he is a distant rela-tive of NHL Hall of FamersLionel Charlie and RoyConacher. Cory drew wideattention in his junior yearwhen he was featured in afull-page article in The HockeyNews touting him as an over-looked undrafted free agentsure to attract NHL attention.A current edition featuresConacher on the cover and awhopping six page storyinside. Clearly, the self-styled“bible of hockey” is fascinatedwith Mr. Conacher, and withgood reason. The story of hispath to the NHL is that of theclassic underdog who over-came seemingly insurmount-able odds.

As if standing only 5-foot-8and weighing 175 poundswasn’t enough of a challengein a physical game populatedwith opponents over six feettall and 200 pounds,Conacher also is a type I dia-betic and wears an insulinpump to manage his bloodsugar. He was also born withhis bladder on the outside ofhis body, had an operation tobreak open his pelvis andplace the bladder inside. Afterbeing cut from his AAA teamConcacher played AA bantamhockey. Canisius College, amember of Atlantic Hockey,did not have the same trackrecord of attracting NHL cal-iber players as some of themore storied programs in col-

lege hockey, but Conacherstill gave it his all. All thesedisadvantages only add to theallure of Conacher’s story.

After finishing his four-yearplaying career at Canisius,Conacher got his feet wet in2010-11 in the minor proECHL where he scored fourpoints in his first game for theCincinnati Cyclones. He thenascended to the AHL wherehe scored one goal in twogames for Rochester and tal-lied three goals and twoassists for the MilwaukeeAdmirals in five games.Overall he had scored ninegoals in his ten professionalgames, a rather auspiciousdebut.

Conacher was acknowl-edged as the MVP of the AHLfor the 2011-12 season afterfinishing fourth in scoringwith 39 goals and 80 points in75 games for the NorfolkAdmirals. His team won theCalder Cup as league champsand set a professional hockeyrecord by winning 28 straightregular season games.Conacher had been signed toa two-way NHL contract byTampa Bay during the seasonand made his NHL debutwhen the league ended itslockout in February.

Having already developedanother overlooked, under-

sized player in former MVPMartin St. Louis, Tampa wasthe ideal organization to seeConacher’s potential and bewilling to develop the small-ish forward. With St. Louishaving established himself asa top NHL player, winning ascoring title and MVP whileleading the Lightning to aStanley Cup championship in2003-04, Tampa GM SteveYzerman saw the potential inthe similarly undersizedunderdog, and the youngCanisius alumni has rewardedhim by leading all NHL rook-ies in scoring so far.

Conacher’s success is basedon being a complete player.He uses his speed to fore-check aggressively. He hasexcellent vision and hockeysense as shown by his rookieleading assists and plus minustotals. He has scored on 25percent of his shots and getshis goals by getting his nosedirty in front of the net withthe so called “garbage goals.”Conacher and the Lightningare scheduled to play inBuffalo on April 14. No doubtthe Canisius College StudentSurge section in the 300 levelof the First Niagara Centerwill be cheering for the Sabresand Cory Conacher on thatnight.

Two players with local ties experience the highs and lows of professional hockey

Photo by Mark Newman / GrandRapids Griffins

Sanborn native ThomasMcCollum, best goalie everfrom WNY.

Photo by Getty ImagesCory Conacher, formerCanisius star now leadingcandidate for NHL rookie ofthe year.

By Gary Reeves

One of the biggest prob-lems young defensemenhave is the lackof ability to turnfrom a back-ward skatingposition to aforward skatingposition with-out missing astride. Mosthockey playersthat I have stud-ied while skat-ing backwardbreak stride and take a littleglide. They then swing theirupper body and stick all inone motion using acrossover to push them-selves into the forward skat-ing position. This is a diffi-cult move defying allmechanics resulting in aloss of speed and footentanglement with yourbody and stick in an uprightposition, with your oppo-nent slipping away.

The proper method whileturning to the left in thebackward skating mode is

as follows. Asyour left skatebegins itsinward return ofstroke towardsyour right skate,you immediate-ly bring yourstick and upperbody twistingtowards theboards to a for-ward skating

direction. Next, bring theheel of your returning leftskate towards the center ofyour right skate. Your hipsare now ”loaded” in arecoiled position and in a“tripod” stance with yourright skate ready for thenext thrust in the forwardskating position. Althoughit sounds complicated, thisis a very simple move whentaught by an instructor whohas a good knowledge of the

game of hockey and skatingthe hockey way. In order toturn to the right just reversethe whole process.

Remember, whetheryou’re skating forward tobackward or backward toforward it’s continualstroking, right left–right leftfrom backward to for-ward–from forward to back-ward eliminating glidingand a crossover, which inturn reduces speed!

I always stress to my stu-dents, if you’re a NASCARracing fan and a driver takeshis foot off the accelerator,35 cars will end up passinghim in a heartbeat. “Itworks in every sport.”

Keep the skates movingand the power going!

For more informationregarding our Pro SkatingHockey Skills clinics or indi-vidual and team clinics, callGary Reeves 905.384.0508 ore m a i lcochrane@vaxxine.com.

More on defensive skills

Griffis Sculpture Park islocated in Ashford Hollowoff Route 219. The 400 acreAshford Hollow park, locat-ed eight miles outside ofEllicottville, is not only atremendous regional attrac-tion, but holds the distinc-tion of being America’slargest and oldest sculpturepark.

The park features over 250large-scale sculptures dis-persed through miles of hik-ing trails. Each sculpture wasplaced with the natural set-ting in mind, creating a trulyunique experience betweenart and nature. Visitors areencouraged to touch andclimb on the sculptures!

The park is actually splitinto two sections: Rohr HillRoad Site and Mill ValleyRoad Site. The Rohr Hill areais characterized by toweringsculptures set in fields andwoods just off the road. TheMill Valley Road Site featuresboth a smooth walk area, aswell miles of trails through avariety of terrain. Whetheryou have five minutes or fivehours, one can always get aflavor of the park.

The Griffis Sculpture Parkis open from May 1 toOctober 31, each year.

Rock City Park, in Olean,off Route 16 South, is some-times called one of theEighth Wonders of theWorld. This prehistoricocean floor is the World’slargest exposure of quartzconglomerate (also called

ocean spar or pudding-stone). Visitors are astound-ed by gigantic boulders sev-eral stories high with hugecrevices sometimes referredto as “streets.” From “SignalRock,” once used as a signal-ing point by Indians, visitorsenjoy the 1,000 square milepanoramic view of theEnchanted Mountains.

Rock City Park features athree quarter mile naturaltrail consisting of varioussteps and paths necessitatingcomfortable clothing andgood walking shoes. Duringspring and summer you willsee a variety of wildflowers,ferns, moss, MountainLaurel (which blooms late inJune) and of course enjoythe quiet serenity of the for-est nestled among this geo-logical wonder. Leaf peepersenjoy Rock City Park’s spec-tacular fall foliage.

A brand new 4,200 squarefoot building features anexpanded museum, souvenirand rock shop, virtual videoroom, and florescent rockroom. Guests can also utilizeRock City Park’s picnic areaand grills. Modern publicrestrooms are also availableand parking is free. Visitorsare furnished with a self-guided map and shouldallow one hour to completethe trail.

Amish Trail: For an inti-mate look at life in theEnchanted Mountains, travelto another era along NewYork’s Amish Trail where you

will find an Old OrderAmish population that hon-ors community, family andChristian Faith, and shunselectricity, phones, cars andother modern conveniences.The Amish intentionallychoose to live a simpler lifeseparate from the “English.”Take in stunning views asyou look for hand-paintedsigns in front of homes indi-cating the type of businessthey operate. The Amish areexpert artisans known for

their handmade quilts, rugs,furniture, and toys as well asbaked goods, candies andjams. They don’t accept cred-it cards. Shops are closed onSundays, certain holidays,and for barn raisings, funer-als and weddings. As youtour, drive cautiously andwatch for Amish horse-drawn buggies. Pleaserespect their privacy and

personal property, and donot photograph them as it isagainst their beliefs.

Allegany State Park:Located just south ofSalamanca, Allegany StatePark has treated millions ofvisitors to nature’s four-sea-son playground since 1921.Away from the bustlingcrowds, over 70 miles of hik-ing trails, three lakes, twosandy beaches and 55 milesof summer equestrian trailsentice you to explore the

great outdoors.Pack a picnic and enjoy a

relaxing, sunny day on thesandy beaches of Red HouseLake or Quaker Lake. Fishoff the dock or rent a paddle-boat. Take advantage of themany sports fields andcourts. Gather the troops fora rousing game of volleyballor fly a kite high over thetreetops. Live concerts and a

summer children’s programround out family-friendlyentertainment.

Hike miles of trails, or puton your helmet and lap thepark on rollerblades, moun-tain bikes, snowmobiles orsnowshoes. Glide throughsnowy woods on thegroomed trails of the ArtRoscoe Ski Touring Area.

Take a family-orientednature tour and experiencestunning views, forestedwildlife habitats and wet-lands. Discover waterfalls,salamanders, osprey, wildedibles, beaver ponds, fossilrocks and the occasionalbear. Bring your camera forlots of fun photo ops.

Mountain Coaster atHoliday Valley MountainResort: For an effortlessadrenaline rush, rideHoliday Valley’s MountainCoaster. Built into the hill-

side, rail “cars” pull two rid-ers up the track only tozigzag down 2,940 hair-rais-ing feet while maneuvering15 curves, 12 waves, a jumpand corkscrew spiral.Handbrakes let you choosethe speed of your thrill.

Sky High Adventure Park:Who said Tarzan shouldhave all the fun? HolidayValley Resort’s Sky HighAdventure Park, located onfour acres of wooded, slope-side terrain, will challengeand thrill visitors ages sevenand up. Eight courses dareyou to try five challenge lev-els including platforms, con-necting cables, bridges, ziplines and obstacles con-structed at various heights tocreate a heart-pounding out-door experience. Body har-nesses ensure you alwayshave a safe experience.

Photo courtesy Cattaraugus County TourismEnjoy a unique family experience at Griffith Sculpture park.

Photo courtesy Cattaraugus County TourismOld-world charm in “Amish Country.”

Located in Western New York’s scenic uplands, Cattaraugus County is a panorama of thriving communities, rolling farmlands, forests and picturesque waterways. Its wooded hilltops overlook valleys sculptured by glaciers of the Ice Age.

WESTERN NEW YORK SUNDAY DRIVER EDITION

Cattaraugus County has many things to enjoy!

Community Sports Report

Explore the “HiddenGems” of WyomingCounty!

Spend an afternoon, orthe entire day, getting lostin the wonder that isWyoming County, yourfour-season destination foroutdoor adventure andfamily fun. Every seasonoffers something unique toexplore, see and do. Take inthe tranquility of the woodsin winter, whether it’s onskis, snowshoes, snowmo-biles or horseback. Tap intospring while enjoying thesweetness of maple sugar-ing, the exhilaration ofwhitewater rafting, or oneof many unique agricultur-al tours. Camping, hiking,fishing, boating and sight-seeing highlight summerofferings. Did you knowthat nearly 800,000 touristsfrom around the nation andthe world visit LetchworthState Park, the “GrandCanyon of the East,” eachyear? Fall affords the per-fect time to cruise a coun-try road or hike one ofmany trails and enjoy theseason’s changing palette.

However, there is muchmore to discover than justLetchworth State Park.Wyoming County hasexcitement and adventurefor the entire family, manyunique items that you maynot even know about.Come explore!

Just A “Plane” Bed &Breakfast

Located at the southerntip of Letchworth StatePark on Rt. 19A, Just A“Plane” B & B is a uniqueplace to stay,which offersmore than achance to restyour head.Guests to thisquaint lodginghave theopportunity totake a planeride unlike anyother on earth;through thegorge and overthe waterfallsat LetchworthState Park!Capture thatonce in a life-time photofrom thebiplane as itgoes wherevery few othersare able to go.For more infor-mation, or toschedule yourgetaway, visitw w . j u s t a -plane.com.Letchworth Pines

Looking for a fun activityfor the entire family?Letchworth Pines is yourone-stop shop for bowling,pizza, arcade games andlive entertainment. Locatedin Portageville on Fillmore

Road, the Pines is the placeto go for family fun andgreat food. In the summer,the Pines is home to the“Wyoming County Idol”competition, a singing

competition similar to theone made famous by the hittelevision show.Contestants from aroundWestern New York competeover the course of sixweeks to win a grand prizeof more than $2,000. For

more information, visitwww.letchworthpines.com.The Stage of WNY

Located in the heart ofdowntown Warsaw, TheStage of WNY is a theater

showing both live perform-ances and current boxoffice movies. Prices formovies are only $5 per per-son, and most of the livetheater shows are free!Explore the centuries oldbuilding, take in a show,

and spend an afternoon theentire family will enjoy. Formore information, includ-ing current show schedule,please visit www.thestage-ofwnypc.org.

Hidden ValleyAnimal Adventure

Have you everspent the day feed-ing wild animals?Getting up closeand personal withzebras, water buf-falo, elk, andostrich? You andyour family can doall that and moreright here inWyoming County!Located off of Rt.20A in Varysburg,Hidden ValleyAnimal Adventureis an animal safarifeaturing over 30different exoticspecies of animals.Children of allages will enjoy atrolley ridethrough the park,and afterwardschoose from twounique diningexperiences: TheTrailside Grill fea-

tures all your fast-foodfavorites while The Lodgeis an upscale dining experi-ence. For more informa-tion, and tickets, visitwww.hiddenvalleyadven-ture.com.Balloons Over Letchworth

While the view offeredfrom the side of the gorge atLetchworth State Park isremarkable, the viewoffered by Balloons OverLetchworth is truly unfor-gettable. Taking off frominside the park itself, enjoya hot-air balloon ride rightdown the middle of thegorge, at either sunrise orsunset. View the sides ofthe gorge from the middleof it, and feel the rush ofthe three waterfalls belowyou. Balloon rides are avail-able every day, May-September, weather permit-ting. For more information,or to schedule your ownadventure, visit www.bal-loonsoverletchworth.com.

Wyoming County is con-veniently located halfwaybetween Rochester andBuffalo, south of the NYSthruway. The county is eas-ily accessible via Rt. 20Afrom either the east or thewest, and is about a 45minute drive from bothRochester and Buffalo.

For more information onthese, and other attractions,in and around WyomingCounty, visitwww.gowyomingcountyny.com. A full year-long eventscalendar is online and youcan also request a free 2013Wyoming County TravelGuide by contacting theChamber & Tourism office at585.237.0230.

Photo courtesy Wyoming County Chamber & TourismAdventure-seekers will surely enjoy Whitewater rafting in Wyoming County.

Four seasons to explore in Wyoming County

MARCH-APRIL 2013 • SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE • WWW.HUGESPORTZ.COM

WWW.HUGESPORTZ.COM • SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE • MARCH-APRIL 2013

Allegany County isnestled in thefoothills of theA l l e g h e n y

Mountains and offers a widevariety of activities appeal-ing to all visitors.

You will discover a mostlyrural countryside inter-spersed with individuallyunique villages and hamletsset amidst a stunning land-scape of rolling hills, deepvalleys, and picturesquestreams all connected to thehistoric Genesee River.Dense state and county for-est lands and open fieldsbeckon those who wish toexperience the outdoorswhich showcases spectacu-lar scenery and abundantwildlife.

You’ll find an unhurriedway of life with a full menuof seasonal activities includ-ing hunting and fishing,fairs, holiday celebrations,outdoor sports, and specialinterest events such as aTrout Derby, an ArtisansTour, a Hot Air BalloonRally, Heritage Days, and aGarlic Festival to name afew. Accommodations forvisitors include a wide rangeof choices including motels,bed and breakfasts, camp-grounds, and rental cabins.

Allegany County offerssomething for everyone.They boast a variety of “hid-den gems.”

Alton Sylor Bridge: Allegany county is known

for its bridges. Cross theunique Alton A. SylorMemorial Bridge, thelongest clear span timber

arch bridge in America, onyour way in to the historictown of Angelica, NY. Formore information on theirbridges, The AlleganyCounty Historical Society(in Wellsville) provides awealth of information onthe regions bridges and itshistory. Check outhttp://www.alleganyhisto-ry.org

Pink House: Situated on the corner of

W. State St. and S. BrooklynAve. in Wellsville, NY thisprivate Victorian homestands as a beautiful, his-toric, and haunted land-mark.

Cuba Cheese Shop andMuseum:

Acquaint yourself withthe long history of thecheese and milk industry inand around Cuba. See howit started and adapted tochange as technology andagriculture grew and mor-phed into what we know itas today. See artifacts andgraphics from history andvisit the neighboring cheeseshop to get a taste of localhistory.

McKinney Stables: Added to the national

historic register of build-ings in 1999 (#99001000),this historic block barnwas built in 1905 by NewYork City businessman,William B. Simpson, toprotect the bloodline of hisfamous stallion“McKinney” whose trottingrecord was known world-wide.

Wiscoy Falls, (Rossburg): An impressive five-

waterfall cascade below adam with rough hikingtrails and numerous fishingspots along the sides, aswell as the old power plantand old mill. Located min-utes from Letchworth StatePark, this waterfall systembeckons photographers,hikers, swimmers, andfishermen alike. This inter-esting location is noted forits fly fishing.

Hanging Bog: Over 4,500 acres, includ-

ing uplands and wetlands,boast miles of trails forhiking, bird watching,camping, cross-countryskiing, snowshoeing, hunt-ing, fishing (rainbow troutand panfish), and trapping.

Moss Lake(Caneadea/Houghton):

As you hike the trailaround this nature preserveand lake formed from a gla-cier melt, you will not onlyget to see the 15 acre boglake being covered by aunique sphagnum mossmat, you will also see tur-tles, frogs, wood ducks,canvasbacks, pied-billedgrebes, osprey, deer, wood-chucks, and an unbeliev-able amount of catfish.Moss Lake is a NationalNatural Landmark. You canget to Moss Lake via route19 or route 243.

Steinheim Castle: Currently the Career

Development Center forAlfred University, this cas-tle, built in 1875, was orig-

inally built as a homefor an AU professorand made to mirrorthe German architec-ture that she hadgrown up around. Theoriginal structure wasbuilt completely withlocal rock and wood.

Davis MemorialCarillon:

Originally con-structed in 1937 as amemorial to an AlfredUniversity president,47 bells (largest: 3850lbs.) still are playedfrom a keyboard of oakbatons atop a steel &glass tower. TheWingate MemorialSummer CarillonSeries offers recitalsfrom outside carillon-neurs every Tuesday inJuly at 7pm. This is ahistoric treasure forthe eyes and ears.

Terra Cotta Buildingand Museum:

See one of the beau-tiful outcomes of thediscovery and historyof terra cotta clay inAllegany County atthis national historicsite added to the regis-ter in 1972 (#72000820).

Bare-Knuckle Boxing Hallof Fame (Belfast):

Featured on ESPN, theBare Knuckle Boxing Hallof Fame offers a glimpseinto the history of bareknuckle boxing in AlleganyCounty. Housed in thetraining barns of championboxer John L. Sullivan

(where he prepared for thelast Bare Knuckle BoxingChampionship of theWorld against Jake Kilrain,a 75-round brawl that tookplace in 1889 in Richburg,Mississippi) and trainerWilliam Muldoon.

For more informationand to see artifacts, docu-ments, and pictures thatserve to preserve sports his-

tory go to www.bareknuck-leboxinghalloffame.com.

Lavender Festival: Featuring all things

lavender, artists, growers,and crafters gather on thisone day to feature theirhomemade lavender prod-ucts at the AngelicaFarmers’ Market. Go towww.projectlavender.com.

Photo courtesy Allegany County Office of TourismThere are no shortage of scenic views in Allegany County!

Discover Allegany County

Doctari’s Fishing Forum with Rich Davenport

Spring has sprung, andthat means it is time to trekto one of the many areatrout streams and enjoy aday or two of plying the fastwaters for one of WNY’smost popular pursuits.With this year’s winter leav-ing many ice fishermenfrustrated, April 1 and thestatewide inland troutopener cannot come soonenough. Light ice through-out much of winter alsomeans boats will hit thewater early, but rememberto wear your PFD when outfor trout or perch on one ofthe many lakes or navigablerivers.Lake Erie Perch

Boaters watch the weath-er closely this time of yearin hopes that area launchramps will be clear enoughof ice to put the boat backin the water and head out tothe perch grounds offSunset Bay and SturgeonPoint to get in on the earlyspring perch runs. Perchpacks run near depthsbetween 50 and 60 feet thistime of year, and verticallypresenting an emerald shinerjust off bottom puts big ring-backs in the boat in shortorder when you anchor overa hungry school. Perch fish-ing on Lake Erie hasimproved tremendously overthe past few seasons, and allindications point to anotherstellar year is in the offing.Remember that all anglersmust wear a personal flota-tion device until May 1 whenboating on the cold, early

spring waters. Best areas forearly perch show from SunsetBay to Dunkirk Harborthroughout much of April.Allegany County Trout

April 1 marks thestatewide inland trout open-er, and Allegany Countyholds one of WNY’s premiertrout streams – the GeneseeRiver. Winding through thehills of Allegany County, theGenesee holds large browntrout waiting for that spring-time meal. A small red wormworked along bottom, orsalted minnow, will drawbites from hungry trout

when water conditions areright. Areas aroundWellsville get main mention,and plenty of public access tothis waterway exists acrossmuch of the upper stretchesof this prime trout water. Flyanglers concentrate onnymphing, using gold-ribbedhare’s ear presentations. AsApril wears on, emerginginsect patterns and wet fliesstart to take top honors.

If fishing a lake is moreyour speed, try Allen Lake,located in north centralAllegany County. Shoreline ispredominantly accessible by

foot, and af l o a t i n gdock allows

for easy handi-capped access.Anglers should castpanther martin spin-ners, or work min-nows or wormsunder a float. Thislake sees its fairshare of stocking inthe spring, andoffers year-round icefishing as well.C a t t a r a u g u sCounty Trout

Trout andCattaraugus Countygo hand-in-hand,and with one of thebest steelheadstreams inCattaraugus Creekrunning along thenorthern countyborder, manyanglers flock to “theCatt”, plying thewaters near ZoarValley upstream tothe Scoby Dam,throughout winter

and spring. The Scoby Damat roughly 34 miles upstreamfrom Lake Erie divides this74-mile stream, and talks arewell underway to determinewhether a fish passage or fishladder should be installed toallow running Great Lakesrainbows access to the betterspawning habitat upstreamfrom the dam. With this for-mer hydro-electric powerdam in a state of disrepair,repair work must be done sostructurally this dam willmeet NYS legal requirements.Steelhead seekers typicallywork egg-pattern flies, or

wooly buggers to tempt troutholding along edges and nearriffles. Spinners and even thesimple night crawler alsowork well. Upstream of thedam sees in-line spinners asthe choice to cover water,and salted minnows bouncedthrough deeper pools to trickthese wary game fish.

If lakes are more yourthing, Allegany State Park’sRed House Lake and QuakerLake offer some spectaculartrout fishing at times, forrainbows, brown trout andbrookies. Both lakes receiveample stocking of trout byNYS DEC, usually in spring,but again in fall when excessbreeders are released fromRandolph fish hatchery toQuaker Lake. All standardtrout gear works well, withCleo spoons and 1/4 ozPanther Martins workingbest.Wyoming County Trout

Arguably, the most pro-ductive inland trout countyin WNY, Wyoming County ishome to three of our topinland trout streams – theWiscoy, East Koy and theOatka.

The Wiscoy Creek offersperhaps the best opportunityfor WNY trout anglers to fishfor wild browns. Stretchesbelow the waterworks damin Pike, NY have seen exten-sive erosion control and aer-ating work done by US ArmyCorps of Engineers, andWNY Trout Unlimited, mak-ing for high oxygen watersand cool temperatures – per-fect for trout to survive year-round. Anglers should expectto do much hiking along the

Wiscoy to find the perfectambush spots, and waders orhip boots are a must. Bottom-bouncing a red worm or salt-ed minnow in April is toughto beat, as is working gold-ribbed hare’s ear nymphswhen water conditions per-mit. Do not fear the stain, asoftentimes a slight stain onthis creek makes the fishingeasier, and the fish lessspooky.

The East Koy, nearGainesville, also proves apopular and productivestream, and with stockingefforts supplementing thepopulations each year, manylarge fish can be caught whenpersistence is employed.

The Oatka, near Warsaw,supports good numbers ofbrowns and brook trout, andis a bit larger in size than theEast Koy or Wiscoy. Thewidth of this stream is a flyangler’s dream, allowing forlong casts in many spots, per-fect for presenting a dry fly torising trout.

Rich Davenport is co-founder ofWeLoveOutdoors.com, an avidOutdoorsman and member ofthe NYSOWA. His works arealso published in NY OutdoorNews, Walleye.com and theBuffalo News. Rich is also theRecording Secretary for theErie County Federation ofSportsmen’s Clubs, Secretaryof the Western NYEnvironmental Federation,member of the Erie CountyFisheries Advisory Board andis the Co-Chairman andRegion 9 Rep NYSCC BigGame Committee. Emailrich@weloveoutdoors.org.

Spring means it’s time for Trout

Photo by Rich DavenportThis lucky angler shows off a nice brace of Wiscoy Creek wild browntrout.

Community Sports Report

Genesee River Wilds, anot-for-profit based out ofAllegany County in theSouthern Tier, has the mis-sion to “restore, protect andenjoy the upper GeneseeRiver.” Through the creationof a series of river accessparks, the group is creatingdesignated parking and easyaccess to the river for fish-ing, kayaking and generalenjoyment of the river.These sites, in differentstages of development areslotted to be open by latespring.

Genesee River Wilds isalso working to develop anenvironmentally sustainablesystem of nature parks andtrail systems, named theTriple Divide Trail System,along the Genesee Riverwatershed from the river’ssources in Potter County,Pennsylvania, to the south-

ern boundary of LetchworthState Park in New York. Onegoal is to develop the use ofthe Genesee River for multi-use, year round outdoorrecreation and enjoyment ofthe natural environment.The far-reaching strategicplan will eventually link theGenesee Valley Greenwaywith the Pine Creek Trail inPennsylvania, as well asthree of the most importantparks in the region:Letchworth State Park,Allegany State Park, and thestate parks and forests thatform the “PennsylvaniaGrand Canyon.”

The plan will also connectto the Western New YorkGreenway and the PineCreek Trail, with a largerconnection to the East CoastGreenway. The East CoastGreenway runs the entirelength of the easternseaboard. There is great

potential for the regionthrough all of these connec-tions in the areas of recre-ation, tourism, business andhospitality.

Another aspect of theirwork is conservation andrestoration. These effortswould assist in the restora-tion of the riparian barrier,the buffer along the river-bank that acts as a natural

filter to help minimize toxicrunoff from farmlands anddecrease the sediment that isharmful to wildlife both inthe river and into LakeOntario.

Genesee River Wilds hasmany events planned for2013, including its annualRiver Float, a full day adven-ture appropriate for interme-diate paddlers who would

like to experience a lazy dayon the water. They expectapproximately 100 paddlersto attend this year. If youwould like to register for theevent, please email gene-seeriverwilds@gmail.com.The group is currently seek-ing funding for planning ofthe trail to connect theGenesee Valley Greenway toWAG Trail in Allegany

County and you are encour-aged to find out more abouttheir efforts, events andplans. If you would like toexplore the Genesee River“Wilds” please visitwww.genseeriverwilds.comand become a member orcontact them directly at 585-268-7472 for more informa-tion.

Allegany County’sGenesee River Wilds

plans new andunique opportunities

on the river

Photo courtesy Genesee River Wilds, Inc.Genesee River Fourth Annual River Float, June 2012.

WESTERN NEW YORK SUNDAY DRIVER EDITION

March/April 2013 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 7

By BrianMazurowski

Checking is asbig a part of hockeyas shooting andskating, and may bethe most difficultskill to learn. Wetalked withBrayden McNabband Nick Tarnasky,two of theR o c h e s t e rAmericans heaviesthitters, about thebest time to learnthis skill and how a checkcan go wrong.

What do you remembergrowing up as a younghockey player learning howto throw a check?

Nick Tarnasky:Basically just keeping yourknees bent so you canbrace yourself and uponimpact you’re not going tojust fall forward and youcan keep your balance.Always try to put yourshoulder into the oppo-nent’s chest. And I thinkmost of all just be confi-dent with it, and prepareyourself mentally.

Brayden McNabb: I wasalways the bigger kidgrowing up, so when guysrun in to you, usually I wasthe guy [left] standing.

There’s a debate on when kidsshould be introduced tochecking, what are yourthoughts on when younghockey players should learnto hit?

NT: For me I think wewere starting around 13 or14, so right aroundPeewees. For me that wasgood. I know there’s a lot ofissues just because of thesize difference between kidsat that age, but at the sametime you can’t wait too longbecause then you don’t haveenough time to learn how todo it properly before you getin to juniors and pro. So Ithink at the age where kidsare strong enough to defendthemselves I think is appro-priate. When I learnedbetween 12 and 14, that wasperfect.

BM: I think the soon-er the better. You’vegot to teach it wiselyobviously. I’m not toosure what the age isright now, I know mylittle brother is inPeewee and I’m nottoo sure if they’re hit-ting yet. He’s a goalieso they don’t have toteach him much. Ithink the sooner thebetter. Then they canlearn to protect them-selves earlier.

When you see guys hit thewrong way, sticking theirelbow out or hitting someonein from behind, what do youthink is going through theirmind when they’re throwingthat bad check?

NT: I think most of thetime it’s an accident. It’s partof the game where you wantto play physical and some-times I think you just catchpeople wrong by just being asecond late or a second early.Sometimes players will putthemselves in a vulnerableposition and I think that hap-pens a lot in the game, but atthe same time I don’t thinkthere are a lot of guys outthere trying to throw dirtychecks. I think most guystoday are pretty respectful ofthe other players.

Hockey tips from the pros: Getting physical

Photo courtesy Rochester AmericansNick Tarnasky Brayden McNabb

Hockeycards still

popular witharea fans

I’ve been waiting all yearto write this: LET’S TALKHOCKEY!!!

With the opening of theso-called season in January,Western New York hockeyfans are running to theirnearest sportscard stores topick up the 2013 Score andUpper Deck hockey packs.You’ll find all the stars anda lot of rookies in thisyear’s hockey cards.

I’d like to say the designsare awesome.....Butyou know me. Theyare once again ho-hum. Score lookslike Score andUpper Deck lookslike Upper Deck,which is to saythey won’t chal-lenge the 1954Topps as theb e s t - l o o k i n ghockey cardsof all time.

I went tomy first NHLgame back in1952 when Isaw the NewY o r kR a n g e r s(Bathgate ,W o r s l e y ,Howell) take on theChicago Blackhawks at theOld Madison SquareGarden. I’d sit in the bal-cony at the old arena on50th Street in Manhattanand read Hockey Newsbefore the game.

The cards for GordieHowe, Ted Lindsay, TerrySawchuk and AndyBathgate (1954) are farmore beautiful to look atthan the 2013’s.

In Upper Deck, I do likethe pose for the New YorkIslanders’ John Tavares onNo. 116. Tavares digs lowto pick up a loose puck.Rochester native RyanCallahan has a talk withHenrik Lundquist in a NewYork Rangers game on 120.Sidney Crosby fans (justabout everyone) will enjoycard No. 151 as Crosbylines up with hisPittsburgh Penguins team-mates.

In the Score set, theSabres’ Thomas Vanek cel-ebrates a goal in a SeasonHighlight card on No. 2.Vanek had a lot to cele-brate this season, eh?

Here is a checklist for2013 Score hockey:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1;Anze Kopitar 3; MarkMessier 7; Pavel Datsyuk10; Steven Stamkos 15;Jaromir Jagr 19; DanielAlfredsson 23; IlyaKovalchuk 25; HenrikLundqvist 29; MartinBrodeur 30; Sidney Crosby35; Corey Perry 41; TeemuSelanne 42; Tyler Seguin56; David Krejci 60; Milan

Lucic 61; Brad Marchand62; Nathan Horton 66;Jarome Iginla 86; AlexTanguay 90; Eric Staal 101;Jeff Skinner 106; JonathanToews 116; GabrielLandeskog 131; MilanHejduk 133; Rick Nash147; Derek Roy 163; KariLehtonen 165; PavelDatsyuk 176; NicklasLidstrom 177; JimmyHoward 180; JohanFranzen 182; Ryan Smyth198; Jose Theodore 210;Anze Kopitar 221; DanyHeatley 237; Carey Price251; Max Pacioretty 254;P.K. Subban 257;Martin Brodeur281; Patrik Elias283; IlyaKovalchuk 284;Petr Sykora 287;

J o h nTavares 296;Matt Moulson300; HenrikL u n d q v i s t311; RyanCallahan 312;Brad Richards313; BrandonDubinsky 320;Jason Spezza327; Erik Karlsson 328;Milan Michalek 331;Claude Giroux 341; DannyBriere 344; Matt Read 347;Chris Pronger 348; ShaneDoan 356; Marc-AndreFleury 374; James Neal376; Logan Couture 390;Jason Arnott 413; MartinSt. Louis 417; VincentLecavalier 418; Phil Kessel431; Clarke MacArthur441; Daniel Sedin 447;Ryan Kesler 448;Alexandre Burrows 450;Alex Ovechkin 461;Nicklas Backstrom 462;Alexander Semin 466;Evander Kane 476; EvegeniMalkin 491; StevenStamkos 495.

Sabres: Thomas Vanek2; Luke Adam 5; DrewStafford 73; Thomas Vanek74; Steve Ott 75; TylerMyers 77; Tyler Ennis 78;Nathan Gerbe 81; LukeAdam 82; Marcus Foligno84; Travis Turnbull 522.

Here is the checklist forUpper Deck Hockey SeriesOne:

Saku Koivu 1; TeemuSelanne 2; Zdeno Chara 8;Tyler Seguin 13; Jon Quick79; P.K. Subban 92; MartinBrodeur 104; John Tavares

116; Henrik Lundquist122; Sidney Crosby 151;Steven Stamkos 168.

Sabres: ChristianEhrhoff 15; Ville Leino 16;Drew Stafford 17; RyanMiller 18; Luke Adam 19;Tyler Myers 20; JasonPominville 21.

Topps Baseball:At press time, the 2013

Topps baseball set made itsdebut. I was relieved tolearn there were no squir-rel cards in this set. Youremember squirrels wereshort-printed cards in2012.

This is a very nicelooking set and I’ll have afull report on baseball inmy next column for Sports& Leisure Magazine. Topplayers in the 2013 setinclude Derek Jeter, RyanBraun, Alex Rodriguez,and Bryce Harper (No. 1 inthe set).

Upcoming ShowsMark down April 7 as a

big date. Amherst’s RobSchilling hosts an all-daysports card convention onApril 7 at the HearthstoneManor in Cheektowaga.Knowing Rob, I’m surewe’ll have more than 100sportscard dealers at theshow, which runs from 9a.m. to 4 p.m. More on thatin the next column.

Meanwhile the nextWednesday night show isset for March 13 at theLeonard VFW Post onWalden Avenue inCheektowaga. That showruns from 5 to 9 p.m. andadmission is free.

Mike Dyer, retired sports-writer after 47 years cover-ing professional sports, livesin Cheektowaga. He is theauthor of “Getting into ProBaseball,” and “ProFootball’s Greatest Teams.”

Congratulations to Jake McCabe,the Sabres 2012 second-rounddraft pick, who captained TeamUSA to a gold medal in the

recent World Junior HockeyChampionship. The current WisconsinBadger had three goals and three assistsin seven games along with a team-high +9rating and was voted to the all-tourna-ment team. At only 19 years of age,McCabe already looks poised to patrol theblue line for the Sabres organization forseasons to come.

Photo by Greg Anderson

Collecting Memories with Mike Dyer

Page 8 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March/April 2013

By Brian Funk

On the morning of Feb. 2,Punxsutawney Phil, the“king of groundhogs,”awoke from his burrow andceremoniously proclaimed,“There is no shadow tosee…an early spring for youand me!” Before long in thewee hours of March 10th, wegroggily yet gloriously,moved our clocks ahead thatmonumental hour. We mayhave lost sixty minutes ofsleep, but Western New Yorkhas gained an almighty hourof sunlight!

So, as the last of the icedrips from our gutters, wemust rise up and once againput our running legs inmotion. That large whitemound at the end of the drive-way is succumbing to MotherNature’s warmth and allowingus passage back to the pave-ment or trail that lies beyondthe interior confines of thetreadmill. It’s time to officially“Spring forward!”

But what about our sneak-ers? Have they surrendered tohibernation, lost behind thesnow boots and piles of hats

and gloves? Have they migrat-ed south to the basement,smothered beneath the aban-doned golf clubs? Step one fortransitioning from winter tospring running; find your run-ning shoes.

In all seriousness, protectyour feet and your body. Areyour running shoes still ingood condition? Shoe expertsreport the life of runningshoes to expire between 300and 400 miles. Running inworn-out shoes increases the

impact and stress on your feet,legs, and joints, resulting inthe most common cause ofrunner’s injuries. The midsoleof the running shoe usuallydeteriorates first, leaving therunner without the necessarycushioning or stability. Thislack of support typically caus-es shin splints or knee pain,both agonizing annoyanceswith weeks, or even months,of recovery time. Step two fortransitioning to spring run-ning; make sure your shoesare in good condition.

There are some people whohave perhaps run a few timesa week on the treadmill, butmany of us have not put in agood run all winter.Regardless of the circum-stances, transitioning back tooutdoor, spring runningshould be taken slowly on anindividual basis. Our mainobjective is to stay injury free.If you haven’t run, or trainedvery little, it may take close toseven or eight weeks to getback on pace with where youwere running in the fall. Atfirst, try not to run two days ina row. Definitely don’t raise

your mileage until you haveestablished an effective base.Once you are successfullycompleting those groundworkruns, increase your distance insmall increments.

Remaining injury free dur-ing your transition back to theoutdoors also means focusingon flexibility, as well as cross-training to add strength andhelp rebuild your runningcapacity. In addition to justrunning, it is a good idea toinclude other cardiovascularworkouts such as elliptical,stairclimbing, rowing, or bik-ing routines. Following theforce of the outdoors, you canalso hop off the machines andalternate sprinting, jogging,walking, and hill or stairclimbs to take advantage ofthe newfound, spring sun-shine. As you becomestronger, slowly increase yourspeed and distances.

Stretching is the mostimportant part of the spring

transition, yet often over-looked. Take the time, yourbody will thank you. A flexi-ble lower back, hamstrings,quadriceps, groin, and calvesall play an integral part in suc-cessful running. Build stretch-ing into your regular routineboth before and after running.Prior to your workout, after agentle five-minute warm-up,focus on a pre-run stretch.Following your run and cooldown, it is absolutely impera-tive to properly stretch to pro-tect your body and improveyour performance.

We all run for different rea-sons. Some of us take to thepavement just to stay inshape. Others seek out a trailin search of a more technicalchallenge. For the many whothrive on adding the competi-tive spirit to their running,spring is a critical decision-making time to prepare forraces occurring later in theyear. Our friends at eclipse-

multisport.com and score-this.com both have an incred-ible variety of triathlons,obstacle races, marathons,half marathons, 5ks, and fam-ily fun races to inspire runnersof any level. Perhaps workingtowards a particular event willkeep you motivated duringtransition and focused on apersonal goal.

Spring brings change inmany forms. Remember, justas the blossoming on the treesaround you, transition is aform of progression. Youshould be conscious of a per-sonal growth and transforma-tion in your running. Takeeach day slow, be safe, andenjoy the individual accom-plishments you achieve asyour spring running evolvestowards midseason form.

Brian Funk is a caddy on theLPGA Tour, lover of the out-doors, and currently working onhis first book.

Running into spring

Photo by Aguilar MoranIt’s time to get outside andhit the pavement!

By Julian RadneyIt’s been a very long time

since the Canisius Collegeand Niagara Universitymen’s basketball rivalry hasbeen as intense, epic andcompelling as it has beenthis season.

On Jan. 27, the first gameof the season was an instantclassic. Playing in front of asold-out crowd at CanisiusCollege’s Koessler AthleticCenter, the Griffs and PurpleEagles of Niagara were in aseesaw battle that endedwith Niagara junior MarvinJordan hitting a daggerthree-point field goal with2.8 seconds left on the clock.That shot proved to be thegame-winning basket in thePurple Eagles’ 66-65 victory.The potential game-winningshot from Canisius juniorBilly Baron was waived offafter an official review of thevideo replay showed that theball left his hand just afterthe clock expired. Canisiusdominated the second half asNiagara did not take theirfirst lead of the half until6:23 was left in the game.

Round two on Feb. 10 wasanother great contestbetween the archrivals. Infront of a sold-out crowd atNiagara’s Gallagher Center,Baron had a chance toredeem Canisius’ previousloss by stealing the showwith a career-high 33 points.Baron went 11-for-22 fromthe field, 4-for-8 frombeyond the arc, and 7-of-8from the charity stripe in 39minutes of action. His 33points are the most for aCanisius player in a roadgame since former GriffMichael Meeks scored 36 ina win at Penn University inNovember 1994. Seniorguard Harold Washingtonadded 18 points as the Griffsdefeated Niagara 77-70 onthe road. The breakthroughwin ended a nine-year losing

streak for the Griffs when onthe road in Lewiston.

Both head coaches, JimBaron for Canisius and JoeMihalich for Niagara, areimplementing a very similarstyle of basketball this seasonwith up-tempo offenses thatmake scoring look easy, espe-cially when the players areout in transition. Each squadhas electric point guards whocan score, but they are passfirst point guards who lookto get others involved. Thesetwo teams are very matureand have a lot of big gameexperience. One downsideboth squads share is thattheir up-tempo offensecomes at the cost of a porousdefense. With that said, how-ever, it seems that on themost important occasionsboth teams can step updefensively to get a stop oftwo.

Statistics are usually apretty good indicator of per-formance and the numbersthis season are almost identi-cal. In the MAAC, Niagaraand Canisius are at the top ofmany important categories:second and third in scoringper game; fourth and second

in free throw percentage; firstand third in offensiverebounding per game; fourthand third in assists per game;second and fifth in assist toturnover margin; fifth andfourth in defensive reboundsper game; and third and sec-ond in three’s made pergame.

The players, as well as thefans, look forward to theBattle of the Bridge gameseach season “Those twogames are always the bestgames,” Canisius juniorChris Manhertz explained.“Both schools’ crowds areamazing, and the atmos-phere in the KAC (KoesslerAthletic Center) and theGallagher Center are thebest. After beating Niagara attheir place this year, theschool had an extra buzz thatlasted the whole followingweek because we haven’twon at Niagara in so long.”“I would love to play againstanyone in the MAAC cham-pionship this year, but if Icould choose, I would loveto play Niagara for the cham-pionship,”Manhertz added.“The regular season gamesare amazing so I could notimagine [the] game it wouldbe if we met in the champi-onship.”

Prior to the MAAC tour-nament, Niagara was leadingthe pack with a 13-5 MAACrecord and a 16-11 overallrecord. Not far behind,Canisius finished with an 11-7 record in the MAAC and anoverall record of 18-13.

While the March 11 meet-ing in Springfield, Mass. forthe MAAC championshipdidn’t occur, with bothCanisius and then Niagarafalling to Iona, both teamsmade a strong divisionalshowing and figure to bepoised next year for theirchance to take the MAACand punch their ticket to thebig dance.

Bitter rivals are not that different

Photo by Tom WolfCanisius junior Billy Baronhad a career-high 33 pointsagainst rival Niagara at theGallagher Center this sea-son.

By Brian MichalekLike a gem that forms slow-

ly over time, STAR Swimminghas earned its reputation overthe last half century as notonly one of the best swim pro-grams in the region, but alsoas a place to inspire and trainathletes.

“The program was createdabout 52, 53 yearsago from a group ofdedicated parentswho wanted to dosomething more thanjust recreationalswimming,” coachRick Aronbergexplained. “It’s cur-rently in placebecause of the goalsof young kids whowant to aspire to anylevel possible. Thispast summer, I amproud of our ownswimmers who quali-fied for the Olympic Trials.We are the only team inBuffalo to have anyone at thatlevel. It shows these kids thatthose dreams are happening,here, at STAR Swimming.”

“They form lifelong bondsaround the sport and theirphysical conditioning is noth-ing short of phenomenal,”STAR Swimming BoardPresident Bob Bender agreed.“Kids involved with competi-tive swimming aren’t sittingon the couch playing videogames as it takes real dedica-tion to fit in school, home-work, swimming, and a sociallife with as much time as theyspend in the pool.”

Coach Aronberg believesthat the attention the programhas received is a result ofeveryone at STAR Swimmingliving and working by theprogram’s mission statement:To empower swimmers tobecome champions, both inand out of the water—Dreams, Dedication, andExcellence throughout a life-time.

“That one sentence inspiresme as the head coach to run aprogram which trains andtries to get kids to the highestlevel possible, and hopefullyhelp produce the very bestswimmers in the Buffaloarea,” coach Aronberg said.“We seem to do that, year in

and year out, the past 50years.”

For Bender, the program’ssuccess is a direct result of theeffort of the coaching staff, aswell as the effort and involve-ment of the athletes’ parents.“From my perspective, theclub has been successful pri-marily because of the quality

and type of coaching and theinvolvement of many of ourparents,” Bender said. “Onecannot discount the dedica-tion of the athletes them-selves, but without the sacri-fices of their parents and thequality of our coaching theclub would not be nearly assuccessful.”

“The success comes frommy incredible coaching staff,”coach Aronberg agreed.“These guys are dedicated,and believe in what we do.Our success also comes fromour parents, who are commit-ted to helping the program, aswell as the kids, who believein the program, and inspireonce again, to reach those lev-els, and they believe at STARSwimming, those dreams cancome true.”

STAR Swimming has hadmore than its fair share of suc-cess stories. Courtney Otto, aWest Seneca native and for-mer STAR, is currently asophomore at Harvard andfinished ninth at the Olympictrials in 2012. Four otherswimmers— Phil Aronica,Matt Hogan, Allie Schirmers,Matt Schwippert—also joinedOtto at the Olympic trials andup-and-coming talent such asJoe Martin, Sydney Modeus,Victoria Butler and WillMcCuly are all starting tomake their mark

With all the great thingsgoing on in the pool, it’ssometimes easy to overlookall the ways that STARSwimming has been takingsteps to improve their overallproduct. “Our “Learn toSwim” program has seensome growth in the past yearand we hope that leads to fur-

ther involvement withthe sport,” Bender said.“As far as upcomingevents, we will again behosting the EasternZone SpeedoChampionships inMarch [21-24] and inAugust [1-4] at theBurt Flickinger Centerat ECC (which is ourhome base) along withour numerous regionaland local meetsthroughout the year.”

“Our program isgrowing every single

year,” Aronberg agreed. “Wehave always had potentialOlympians not only fromSTAR Swimming, but also atthe swim meets that we hostat the Burt Flickinger Center.Michael Phelps has come tothe swim meets we’ve hosted.We host three national levelmeets each year and are host-ing the USA Speedo SectionalChampionships. There willprobably be 600 athletes allover the North East that comein. Those future Olympians,and past Olympians, havecome to this meet each andevery year.”

STAR Swimming has notonly made a positive impactin the pool but also within theregion. “We have brought intwo and a half to three milliondollars of economic impactinto Erie County, year in andyear out, for a number ofyears,” Aronberg explained.“We have a big sense of pridein what we can do withhotels, restaurants, localestablishments, in giving aneconomic impact, and rev-enue. With all the swim meetswe host, we take a lot of pridein that.”

With all the success STARSwimming has had over thelast five decades, they shouldbe able to sustain that level ofpositive impact for years tocome.

STAR Swimming: A shining light in WNY

Photo courtesy STAR SwimmingJoe Martin competing in the PittsburghSuper Sectional.

March/April 2013 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 9

By Joe KirchmyerWhen the Buffalo Bisons

and the Toronto Blue Jaysannounced their new affilia-tion during a press conferenceat Coca-Cola Field in Buffaloon Sept. 21, there was noshortage of pleasant wordsexchanged, congratulatoryhandshakes and pats on theback. “You can count on us todo our best to make youproud,” Blue Jays PresidentPaul Beeston promised. “Wecherish our relationships withour minor league affiliates.”

After a failed four-yearmarriage to the New YorkMets that resulted in just 260wins and 313 losses, WesternNew York’s baseball fans wel-comed those comments withan overwhelming sense ofexcitement. The Blue Jays,after all, were loaded withprospects, and many of themwere expected to see exten-sive playing time in Buffalo.

According to the Blue Jays’website back on Sept. 21, thetop 10 prospects in the sys-tem included: catcher Travisd’Arnaud; outfielder JakeMarisnick; pitcher AaronSanchez; pitcher NoahSyndergaard; pitcher JustinNicolino; pitcher DanielNorris; shortstop Adeiny

Hechavarria; pitcherRoberto Osuna; out-fielder D.J. Davis; andpitcher MarcusStroman.

Less than a monthlater, however, the BlueJays would pull the trig-ger on a major tradewith the FloridaMarlins. Toronto solidi-fied its roster with theacquisition of five play-ers, including JoseReyes, Josh Johnson,Mark Buehrle, JohnBuck and Emilio Bonifacio.Told to pack their bags andhead to the Sunshine Statewere Yunel Escobar,Henderson Alvarez, JeffMathis, Anthony Desclafani,Marisnick, Nicolino andHechavarria.

And the drain of up-and-coming talent departing theToronto system didn’t endthere.

About a month later, theJays pulled off another majordeal to strengthen the bigleague club, this time acquir-ing National League CyYoung winner R.A. Dickeyfrom the New York Mets,along with catchers JoshThole and Mike Nickeas. Offto the Big Apple were top

prospect d’Arnaud, Buck,Syndergaard and outfielderWuilmer Becerra.

After the dust settled, theBlue Jays were suddenly ele-vated from perennial also-ranstatus to serious contenderfor the American League Eastcrown. But with five of theirtop 10 prospects no longer inToronto’s system, you have towonder if those handshakesand pleasantries between BlueJays and Bisons officials arestill being exchanged behindclosed doors.

Despite the loss of minorleague talent, local baseballfans haven’t lost their enthusi-asm. In fact, Buffalo’s mid-winter Hot Stove Luncheonon Jan. 18 at the Adam’s Mark

Hotel in downtownBuffalo drew a selloutcrowd who came to hearfrom Beeston and SeniorVice President andGeneral Manager AlexAnthopoulos from theBlue Jays, and BisonsVice President and GMMike Buczkowski. Fanswere also treated tointerviews with formerJays great George Belland outfielder AnthonyGose, who will likelystart the season in

Buffalo.While questions from the

audience were not part of thefast-paced Hot StoveLuncheon, guests did respondvery favorably to the newhome, away and alternateuniforms that were unveiledduring the event.

The creation of the newuniforms, according to a pressrelease issued by the team,“paid special attention to pop-ular team jerseys from thepast. The use of a ‘Scarlet Red’lettering and ‘Reflex Blue’numbers on the front of the‘Ice White’ home and grayroad uniforms was taken fromthe jerseys worn by the teamin the early years of Coca-Cola Field. A ‘Hitting Buster’

has alsoreturned to theteam’s official

on-field cap, a look Bisonsfans have long enjoyed fromthose first seasons at the ball-park.

“The alternate jersey paysspecial tribute to the team’snew affiliation with theToronto Blue Jays. The num-bering on the front and backis the same style incorporatedby the Herd’s new majorleague parent club. The alter-nate jersey will also feature abi-national patch on thesleeve displaying theAmerican and Canadian flagstogether.”

So while the Bisons willlook great on the field, a bigquestion remains to beanswered: Will the team playas good as it looks? The firsthint of an answer will beoffered for all to see onThursday, April 4, when theBisons open the 2013 seasonat home against the RochesterRed Wings in a 2:05 p.m. con-test.

At the home opener, fanswill see a familiar face—Marty Brown—who wasnamed manager of the team.Brown was Buffalo’s skipperfrom 2003 to 2005, winningthe Governors’ Cup here in2004. Filling out his coachingstaff are pitching coach Bob

Stanley and batting coach JonNunnally. Stanley played 13years in the big leagues, allwith the Boston Red Sox,while Nunnally roamed theoutfield for seven differentorganizations during a 15-year career. Voon Chong wasnamed athletic trainer whileArmando Gutierrez is thenew strength and condition-ing coach.

The Bisons also announcedtheir promotional schedulefor the 2013 season, whichincludes 11 popular fri-daynightbash! games. Thesegames will each be assigned atheme this year, ranging fromDisco Night to Zombie Night.

Another annual favorite,the Key Bank IndependenceEve Celebration with theBuffalo PhilharmonicOrchestra and Chorus andthe largest fireworks show ofthe year, will take place onJuly 3. The equally popularStar Wars Night will invadedowntown Buffalo on June22.

Once again in 2013 therewill be no shortage of give-away nights, including aCelery Bobble Head on Aug. 3and a Niagara Falls Replica onAug. 15. Mystery Ball Night,to benefit Women &Children’s Hospital of Buffalo,will take place on Aug. 22.

Toronto deals away talent, but Bisons fans remain a hopeful bunch

Photo courtesy of the Buffalo BisonsThe Junior Bisons at the new uniformunveiling.

By Brian Mazurek

For quite a few years,Buffalo Raceway and BataviaDowns have not had a“woman’s touch” on the racetrack. Female drivers havealmost become extinct.

But if things turn out theway Jami Chatt and BrittneyOhol hope and expect, theclose friends could change thelandscape of the male-domi-nated local racing colony verysoon.

Chatt and Ohol are in thequalifying phase of acquiringtheir driving licenses andbecoming regulars on theWestern New York harnessracing circuit. Both have their“under saddle” licenses, butthe pari-mutual paper is whatthey seek.

Being a regular female driv-er in WNY has becomeextremely rare. MaryannSarama-Luce, Betsey Brown,Laurie McNeight, Cindy StarkStevens and Anne Wheeler inyears past did have success butsince then not much can befound on the distaff side ofthings.

The same trend is truenationally where only BeaFarber and JacquelineIngrassia are the only notablenames of women who havecontrolled the reins success-fully.

Chatt and Ohol hope tochange that. Both have beeninvolved in the industry froman early age as each have comefrom successful families withlong-time ties to harness rac-ing with Buffalo Raceway andBatavia Downs.

Their harness racing futureswill be different though asChatt and Ohol begin theirjourney. The two, however,aren’t looking to make this acareer full-time, but some-thing for enjoyment at night.

Education is first.The 23-year-old Chatt is a

graduate of Oakfield-AlabamaHigh School and the StateUniversity of New York atFredonia, where she graduat-ed with a degree in childhoodeducation. She is the daughterof Cherie Haslip-Chatt, a for-mer driver on the WNY circuitand granddaughter of FredHaslip, a very successful andwell-respected trainer-driverwho raced at Batavia Downsand Buffalo Raceway from1965 until semi-retiring in2004.

Ohol is a 2011 graduate ofLockport High School and iscurrently attending MedailleCollege in Buffalo as a full-time student enrolled inVeterinary Medicine. She cur-rently trains a four-horse sta-ble. Her grandparents areMike and Brenda Ohol whoare still actively running a sta-ble locally.

“I remember jogging horseswhen I nine,” Chatt said.“Then when I was in theRising Stars race at BataviaDowns, my mom toldGrandpa ‘You know she’sgonna love this too much tolet it go.’”

But while Chatt has longed

to drive, the family had differ-ent ideas. “They told me toget an education first. Thatwas a priority but I got aBachelor’s degree and teach-ing at Oakfield and Elba,which I absolutely love doing,so now I am able to try driv-ing.”

Ohol has also found thather family isn’t keen on herdriving, but they’ve alsoaccepted her choice.

“I don’t want to make acareer out of driving,” Oholsaid regarding her priorities.“I’ve got six years of college togo at least and my parents andgrandparents are petrified ofme becoming a driver, so I amkind of doing it on my own.My goal is to open a clinic,have my own stable and driveat night.”

Ohol does have a youngand upcoming star on therace track in Dave McNeighIII, her mentor and boyfriend.“He’s my biggest critic,” shesaid laughing. “I’ve driven atfairs and qualifiers and mymom video tapes all my racesand Dave and I watch thereplays and he tells me what Icould have done differently.”

The process of becoming aharness driver begins by tak-ing a test that includes ques-tions about safety, equipment,rules on and off the track andall other areas of harness rac-ing. After passing, you haveshown your abilities to han-dle a standard bred and thenyou can drive in a qualifyingrace. The track judges mustgive you a certain number of“OKs” on your driving in therace and the horse must qual-ify at the set time standard inorder to get that “OK.”Driving the race without inci-dent but not reaching thestandard in time will not giveyou a satisfactory mark. Once

you accumulated enough“Oks,” your pari-mutual “pro-visional” license will beissued. That will be kept untilthe full license is issued afterthe judges feel you’ve provenyourself in all areas of racing.This can be a long process aswell.

“I hope to get my provision-al license within two to threemonths,” Chatt, who has yetto start the quest for “Oks,”said. “I will be qualifying somehorses at Buffalo and hopeful-ly I can race for real in thespring. I feel comfortablebehind the horses and the gateso I think I will do well. I’vedone this all my life.”

Ohol has already earnedsome “OKs” from the judgesand hopes to have her provi-sional license early in the meet

as well. “I’ve driven in fairraces and it’s some tough rac-ing there. I call it cowboy rac-ing, so I’ve been exposed toracing already. I just have toget some qualifying races andmore OKs.”

Once she earns her licenselook out. “I’ve been aroundhorses since I was little andknow a lot of the guys. I’m nota girlie girl...I love playingwith the horses, gettingmuddy so I am used to it. Butsome will look at me as a girland will make it tough on mebut I want to make a statementthat I can race with the men.I’m gonna race against thembut it’s about the horse. I studythe past performances. I lookat the race and see what I needto do and how it will play out.I will be prepared.”

Although they do not yethave their licenses, both ladieshave their racing colors allready to go. Chatt said she’sgoing with the familiar blueand yellow scheme that hergrandfather Fred Haslip wore.Ohol will attract a little moreattention in hot pink andwhite, the colors her horseXiao Xiang already races in.

When the get their licenses,it will be great to see the Chattand Ohol “battle the boys”sometime this spring andbring a new angle to theWestern New York harnesscircuit, not to mention awoman’s touch to the track.

For up to date BuffaloRaceway information andnightly picks go to http://brians-buffaloracewayselections.blogspot.com

Chatt and Ohol: Let’s get ready to race

Jami Chatt (left) and BrittneyOhol, adding a “women’stouch” to local racing.

Page 10 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March/April 2013

By Ivan the ImpalerSometimes in Our Great

Sport, the person you see inthe ring has very differentpersonae in private life.

Other times, a person’sbackground and upbringinginfluence the direction theirwrasslin’ character takes.

Now, we’re not sayingCody Deaner is a real-lifeCanadian redneck like hischaracter suggests. Cody isactually quite articulate andhas a good day job. Butwhen he steps in the ring,all the idiosyncrasies of hissmall-town Canadianupbringing made him a...well, a giv’er... and awrassler who competed onnational TV for TNA (nowImpact!) Wrestling. Afterinterviewing Cody, ThisReporter wasn’t always surewhere the line was drawnbetween character and real-ity.

Cody held titles in manyfederations in Ontario, suchas Classic ChampionshipWrestling, Great CanadianWrestling and New VisionPro Wrestling. He still com-petes in the squared circle,and recently shared somethoughts following a NeoPro Wrestling show inNiagara Falls, Canada.

QUESTION: At what agedid you become interestedin wrestling? What led youto get trained?

ANSWER: When I wasabout 4 or 5 years old ... theonly way (my mom) couldget me to sit still was to put(a tape of) Hulk Hogan andKing Kong Bundy in thecage on television … Assoon as it was over, I tore allthe couch cushions off thecouch, put them on thefloor, put a garbage bagover my head and cut holesin it, ripped off my shirtlike Hulk Hogan and didMacho Man elbows off thecouch. From then on, I fan-tasized about being a pro-fessional wrestler.

My last year of highschool, the teachers wenton a strike and (it was)decided that there wasn’tgoing to be any sports ... Iwas a football player (quar-terback) and a basketballplayer (point guard) ... atEast Elgin SecondarySchool (in Ontario).

Q: Named after (ROHwrestler) Michael Elgin,right?

A: Uh, no, not at all. Hewas named after the highschool. He didn’t go therethough. I don’t know if thatguy went to school. I thinkhe grew up in like a closetand his mother fed himporridge and he just gotreally big and becameunbreakable.

But yeah, they didn’t haveany sports... and I was real-ly bored.... (It was) mychance to start training tobe a professional wrestler....I got connected with“Danger Boy” DerrickWylde (in Niagara Falls,Ontario), and started driv-ing three hours there andback... two or three times aweek to train.

Q: Where is ElginCounty, more or less?

A: (The small town of)

Elmer, Ontario ... The seedsof the future Cody Deanergimmick was founded inElmer ... it’s a red-neckCanadian town. Peoplewent to the prom on trac-tors. We didn’t take limou-sines, we would go on trac-tors. That’s 100 percentlegitimately true. That isnot a gimmick.

Q: Some ofour first mem-ories of you inWestern NewYork was whenyou competedin FightingSpirit Pro, andthen NeoS p i r i tW r e s t l i n g .And when youcame acrossthe borderinto EmpireS t a t eWrestling, youwere (workingunder youroriginal ringname of) CodySteele.

A: Yes, yes. Ireally lovedthose days.Those are stillsome of myf a v o r i t ematches andfavorite mem-ories. And I’mnot just sayingthat becauseI’m talking to you. Theywere some of my favoritematches; Derrick Wylde inESW (North Tonawanda,NY) and at the BallparkBrawls (in Buffalo).

Q: You had some shots inWWE. One was a darkmatch (prior to Raw) withMuhammad Hassan.

A: Yes, the first match Ihad for WWE was againstHassan in Buffalo (in2004)...That went so wellthat they asked me to dothe Kurt Angle invitationalthe next night for theSmackdown tapings (inRochester).

Q: And then there wasthe night a WWE Star stolenachos from you...

A: That was Viscera, whowas a really cool guy. … I’mpretty sure it might havebeen his idea. He knew Iwas there, and I wasn’tdoing anything. ... Heprobably said, “Let’s getCody paid. Let Cody be theguy in the front row; I cansteal his nachos.”

I was also one of BookerT’s trumpet players when hewas doing King Booker. ... Idid a whole bunch of differ-ent extra bits for them, try-ing to get a job. And theyjust weren’t giving me acontract. I went up to ArnAnderson and said, straightup, what do I have to do toget a job here? I’ve beendoing darks and extra spotsfor the last year, year and ahalf. … I’m doing well. I getpositive reviews but ...you’re not signing me, whatdo I gotta do? ... Arn’sadvice was “You have to dosomething different ... andstand out. Whatever thatis.” ... I knew the only way Icould stand out and lookdifferent was to alter my

appearance and look, dosomething drastic.

Q: And thus CodyDeaner ..

A: And thus Cody Deanerwas born.… Where I grewup, there was three trailerparks. I lived in a littlebeach town … the popula-tion year-round was 50

(but) during the summer itwas 1,000. 950 peopleshowed up to live in trailersin the summer (and left inthe fall) ... So, the seeds ofCody Deaner are from myred-neck heritage and thetrailer parks.

Note- Cody says ScottD’Amour (TNA agent andtalent) and ”Showtime” EricYoung (TNA wrestler whodid guest trainer appear-ances at Derek Wylde’s gym)helped him get his foot inTNA’s door. Cody went toNashville to visit Showtime afew years before Cody gotsigned; it was through himthat he met TNAmainstay Jeff Jarrett, whowas impressed enough toentertain the idea of signingCody.

QUESTION: You’ve oftenreferred to yourself as a“giv’er.” What does thatmean?

ANSWER: To be a“Giv’er” means the follow-ing: First, give it all yougot; next, pedal to themetal and finally, to out-drink, outsmoke, and out-party everyone in sight.

Note- Cody appeared atseveral of the BallparkBrawl supershows inBuffalo, N.Y. At the finalBrawl (for now) in 2007, hewrestled in a 3-way “Hairvs. Hair vs. Mullet” matchagainst Brutus Beefcake andJonny Puma where the loserwould get his head shaved.Cody didn’t win, but man-aged to escape with his mul-let intact

Q: Here’s something Ihate to bring up. But: onWrestlevision TV, we did askit of Cody Deaner at theCanada Day Festival inFort Erie about a year

before you joined TNA. Youwere trying to “recruitcougars” ... Well, um, someof us noticed that after yousigned with TNA they aireda vignette where you and(woman wrestler) ODB goan amusement park.

A: Um … Yes?

Q: The story … Um, uh,I’m not sayinganything aboutyou, but the storyline, the wholeconcept seemedkind of similarto (whatWrestlevision did)…

A: (Oh, I see)… I mean, I’d loveto say youWr e s t l e v i s i o nguys came upwith a brilliantidea and that(TNA) stole youridea, but that was-n’t the case. Here’sthe case. Me andODB had to go ona date, and theydidn’t know whatto do. We werefilming the showin UniversalStudios, Florida,and they decide,hey, why don’t wejust have themwalk around thepark and actthemselves andwe’ll videotape it.

So that’s what we did.

Q: (Sigh) Okay. Anotherlawsuit crashed andburned.....Anyway, youdebuted in TNA Wrestlingand ODB soon becomesyour on-screen girlfriend. ..(In August 2009), youteam with her in a mixedtag match (against AngelinaLove and Velvet Sky) on the“Hard Justice” Pay-Per-View. (The stipulation was)if she got the pin, she’dbecome Knockout champ.However, you got the pin-fall. You then thought that,technically, you were theTNA Knockout Champion.

A: Yes, in my mind, I wasthe TNA Knockout champi-on for all of, well, about 3-1/2 - 4 days (from the PPVto the next TV show). …But (Commissioner) MickFoley decided to hold upthe title. … He ruined my

dream of being a worldchampion on the grandstage of national television.He ruined it.

Note- ODB faced Cody atthe No Surrender PPV onSept. 20, 2009 to decide theUndisputed TNA KnockoutsChampion. ODB won, soCody lost all claim to thetitle. His last match in TNAwas in December of that year.

Q: So, altogether, howlong were you with TNA?

A: I had a two-year con-tract, but didn’t wrestle forabout the first nine monthsto a year. I was only on tel-evision for about the last 15months or so of the con-tract.

(In the end), it was just amatter of numbers. I madesure they had plans for mecoming out of the matchthat I had with ODB, whichI’m very proud of; it was anawesome match and veryentertaining. ... The officecouldn’t have been happierwith it. I got rave reviewsfor it. But unfortunately, theplan they had followingthat had me (working) witha certain person, and thatperson (left TNA) beforethe Pay-Per-View. So all theplans I had before whichwere supposed to be set upthat night, didn’t end uphappening. Then, creativedidn’t have anything to fol-low through with.

Q: Since then, you’ve stillbeen doing the indy circuit;with (your) name recogni-tion, I’m sure you got a lotof bookings.

A: I did. As many as Iwanted and currently get-ting as many as I’d like...I’mmarried ... and have a 15-month-old daughter, so Idon’t travel the world for$50 anymore. I still lovewrestling and want to be aprofessional wrestler, butI’m not willing to leave mywife and my child for fivedays a week in order to fol-low that dream because …it doesn’t make sense for meanymore. I’m 30 years oldnow, which isn’t old, but it’sold in wrestling. I’ve got toput my family first andwrestling comes after them.

Q: But do you say “neversay never?’

A: I’m still in contactwith certain people in

wrestling. I still have con-nections. I still havefriends. So in terms of whenor are you going to seeCody Deaner on televisionagain? Never say never.

Q: Any final thoughts forour readers?

A: I’d just like to say Igenuinely meant it when Isaid that some of myfavorite memories wrestlingare in New York State; thepeople of (Western) NewYork really helped mycareer. (At) my dark matchin Buffalo, they respondedamazingingly when I cameout because people knewme or knew who I was.Because of the handful ofindy fans that were there,cheering for me, the rest ofthe crowd followed them. ...The next night inRochester, when I wrestledKurt Angle and said I wasfrom Rochester, they startedto chant “liar.” ... I thoughtit was hilarious that theyknew. It really helped ele-vate my career with themedia coverage that I gotfrom you guys and from thematches I had there. So I’dsincerely like to thank the(WNY fans), and hopefully,I’ll be back on a show.

UPCOMING EVENTSSaturday, March 16 -

NWA NY - Eagles Club,Buffalo Road - Gates(Rochester) N.Y. - 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 16- NeoWrestling Federation- 4536Portage Road, NiagaraFalls, Ontario, Canada-7:30 p.m. CODY DEANERis scheduled to appear!

Friday, March 22 -Canadian Pro Wrestling -Woodstock DistrictCommunity Complex -Woodstock, Ontario,Canada- 7:30 p.m. CODYDEANER is scheduled toappear!

Sunday, April 7- WWE-Wrestlemania 29 PPV- MetLife Stadium- EastRutherford, N.J.- 7 p.m.

Note: “Wrestlevision,”from Big Guy Productions,never had any conceptsstolen by a national promo-tion. In Suburban ErieCounty, it’s on Time-WarnerCable Channel 20 everySaturday at 4 p.m., withreplays Mondays at 11:30p.m.

Cody Deaner: Southern Ontario’s Biggest Giv’er Still Makes an Impact in Pro Wrestling

Former TNA star Cody Deaner is still kicking buttacross Southern Ontario.

March/April 2013 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 11

By Bob CaicoThe second round of the NY State Golden

Gloves tournament was held on Feb. 16 at TheTralf in downtown Buffalo. The card featured20 bouts in the open, novice and sub-noviceclasses. The first round of 22 fights in Januaryhad four open class contests while the secondround featured six more. Open class statechampions have the opportunity to go to thenational championships. The third round ofthe tournament continues at The Tralf onMarch 30.

The results of the second round open classwinners are as followsD’Andre Hockerson (St. Martin’s) dec 5-0Hassan Outley (Syracuse Boxing)

Oscar Peralta (Syracuse Boxing) dec 5-0Abraham Nova (Faragon Boxing)

Will Madera (Albany City) rsc -2Vinnie Denerio (Elmira)

Briana Smith (Casal’s) dec 3-2Mikiah Kreps (Inspire)

Sequan Felton (St. Martin’s) dec 4-1Joe Shell (Geneva)

Lane Thatcher (Roc Boxing) dec 5-0Taylor Atkinson (UB)

Novice class resultsAhmad Allyev (Buffalo NWCC) dec 5-0Paul Maley (Team Precision)

Charles Garner (St. John’s) dec 5-0Christan Colon (Westside Boxing)

Duane Williams (Bomb Squad) rsc- 2Dakota Witkopf (Thunder Boxing)

Other resultsKamari Hodrick (St. Martin’s) rsc-2Ryan Higgins (Victory Gym)

Dominic Diaz (Westside Boxing) dec 4-1Tyler Cruz (UB)

Petrit Daka (Team Precision) dec 5-0Corderal Thompson (Bomb Squad)

Mike Parilla (Syracuse) rtm-1Nick Sciandra (Buffalo NWCC)

Mike L. Stevens (Victory Gym) dec 4-1Anthony Wadsworth (Westside Boxing)

Rondy Bulls (Westside Boxing) dec 5-0Tim Akeredolu (UB)

Adam Morrell (KC’s Fitness)rsc-3Jeremiah Jones (Casal’s)

Alvis Colon (Westside Boxing) dec 4-1Joe Tardibouno (Casal’s)

Vincent Brown (St. Martin’s) dec 5-0Kevin Kirby (Victory)

Eric Oberdrof (Geneva) dec 4-1Ruben Lipkind (Buffalo NWCC)

Jeremiah Jones (Syracuse Boxing) dec 5-0Usiel Hernandez (Geneva)

••••••••

Thirty years ago (March 5, 1983) the StateGolden Gloves titles were held at the UticaMemorial Auditorium. Eleven open winnerswere crowned that night with Rochester domi-nating the field.106 lbs Vernon McGriff (Buffalo) def.George Young (Albany)

112 lbs Harold Loving (Rochester) def.Zinnell Webster (Buffalo)

119 lbs Darryl Loving (Rochester) def.Steve Lavere (Schenectady)

126 lbs. Joe Loving (Rochester) def.Ken Wyatt (Rochester)

132 lbs Curlie Sanders (Rochester) def.John Makeyenko (Buffalo)

139 lbs Roger Brown (Buffalo) def.Rodney Brandon (Rome)

147 lbs Ray Daniles (Albany) def.Sheldon McElvey (Buffalo)

156 lbs Willie Monroe (Rochester) def.Matt Farrago (Syracuse)

165 lbs Larry King (Rochester) def.Nate Jacobs (Buffalo)

178 lbs Mike Dozier (Elmira) def.Mike Lee (Buffalo)

200 lbs Dwayne Hall (Rochester) def.Jimmy Jones (Buffalo)

••••••• The Flare Center in Buffalo held an amateur

club show on Feb. 23. Boxers from Syracuse,St. Catherine’s, Rochester, North Tonawanda,Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Lancaster were fea-tured in 14 bouts. (rsc = referee stops contest)Dan Ryan (St. Catherine’s) rsc-3Mike McCool (Sweet Science)

Delshawn Greer (St. Martin’s) dec 3-0Keith Gordon (Casal’s)

Paris Davis (St. Martin’s) dec 3-0Jackson Kreps (Casal’s)

K’shawn Agee (Casal’s) dec 2-1Sequan Anthony (St. Martin’s)

Tre’von Stone (St. Martin’s) dec 2-1Vinnie Artist (Casal’s)

Kemari Hodrick (St. Martin’s)dec 3-0Fady Khatib (Syracuse)

Jared Ryan (St. Catherine’s) dec 2-1Dakota Agdenski (St. Martin’s)

Tim Akeredolu (U.B.) dec 3-0Tracey McGruder (St. Martin’s)

Kieshawn Stone (St. Martin’s) dec 2-1Dominic Diaz (Westside)

Elijah Johnson (Syracuse) rsc-1Derrick Greene (Goomba’s Boxing)

Dante Palmer (Lackawanna) dec 3-0Jack Grady (Victory)

Daniel DeJesus (Westside) dec 2-1Sequan Felton (St. Martin’s)

Shyloe Staples (Casal’s) dec 2-1Dallas Tindal (St. Martin’s)

Alexander Dededot (Victory) dec 3-0Corderal Thompson (Bomb Squad)

•••••••• On March 21 Rochester will host a card

headlined by Willie Monroe, Jr. against RussellJordan both of Rochester while Rochester’sDarnell Jiles Jr. takes on Guillermo Sanchez ofBuffalo. Greg Brady of Buffalo and DwayneHall of Rochester have separate scheduledbouts. Lavais (Red) Williams of Rochester willmake his pro debut against Jeremy Graves (0-1) of Niagara Falls and Brandon Williams willalso make his debut against an opponent to beannounced.

•••••••• Featherweight Orlando Cruz (19-2-1), who

trains with the Deleon Brothers in Buffalo atthe Northwest Community Center, is rankedNo. 1 by the WBO. Cruz has a fight in Floridaon March 22 and with a win he will be in linefor a world title shot.

•••••••• Lionell Thompson of Buffalo (13-2)

returned to the win column at Bally’s inAtlantic City on Feb. 23 against ChuckMussachio (18-3-2) in an eight-round contest.Thompson knocked down his opponent andforced him to remain on his stool before roundthree was to begin. Lionell was coming off atwo bout losing streak.

•••••••• NYS Middleweight champion Nick Brinson

(Geneva, Rochester) now fighting out ofAlbany picked up two wins in February.Brinson won in Pennsylvania and SouthCarolina to raise his record to 13-1-2.

Local boxing happenings

Photo by Bob CaicoDominic Diaz (Left) of Buffalo’s WestsideBoxing and Tyler Cruz of the UB Boxingteam battle at the 2013 Buffalo GoldenGloves.

By Mike Fox

It’s finally game on in theNHL, so we’re dedicatingthis month’s quiz to theguys who have volunteeredto stand in front of a netwhile skilled playerslaunch frozen chunks ofvulcanized rubber in theirgeneral direction.

1. Only four modern-eragoalies have had two con-secutive seasons with atleast ten shutouts; HarryLumley, Terry Sawchuk,Bernie Parent and who?

a. Jacques Planteb. Martin Brodeurc. Olaf Kolzigd. Gerry Cheevers2. There have been 13

occasions in which a goalieposted 13 or more shutoutsin a season, but only twohave done it in the modernera; Tony Esposito andwho?

a. Terry Sawchukb. Pelle Lindberghc. Ken Drydend. Dominik Hasek3. Who holds the mod-

ern-era record for lowestgoals-against average for aseason, at 1.56?

a. Brian Elliottb. Roman Cechmanekc. Dwayne Rolosond. Ed Belfour4. Who holds the record

for best save percentage in aseason, at .940?

a. Brian Elliottb. Tim Thomas

c. Roberto Luongod. Jaroslav Halak5. Which goaltender

holds the record for mostminutes played in a season,with 4,697?

a. Don Edwardsb. Ed Giacominc. Martin Brodeurd. Grant Fuhr6. There have been 46

occasions in which an NHLgoalie posted 40 or morewins in a season. Which ofthese goalies has reached40?

a. Henrik Lundqvistb. Cam Wardc. Jonathan Quickd. None of the above.

7. Who holds the recordfor most saves in a season,with 2,303? (Hint: he alsoranks No.2 all-time with a2,275-save season.)

a. Pekka Rinneb. Grant Fuhrc. John Vanbiesbrouckd. Roberto Luongo8. Martin Brodeur is the

runaway leader in careerwins. Only two activegoalies join him on the top-20 career list; RobertoLuongo and who?

a. Nikolai Khabibulinb. J-S Giguerec. Tomas Vokound. No other active goalies

are in the top-20.9. Who is the most recent

goalie to lead the league ingoals-against average fortwo consecutive seasons?

a. Tim Thomasb. Miikka Kiprusoffc. Dominik Hasekd. Tom Barrasso10. Of the last 18 Vezina

Trophy winners (best goal-tender), how many havebeen awarded to a memberof the Buffalo Sabres?

a. 4b. 5c. 6d. 7

NHL trivia quiz

Photo by Joe ValentiThe Dominator had 81 careerregular season shutouts,including 55 with theSabres. Did he ever recordat least 13 in one season?

Answers1.b 2.d 3.a 4.a5.a—He also holds the No. 2, 4, 6and 9 positions.6.d 7.d—During his days with theFlorida Panthers.8.a 9.b10.d—Hasek-6, Miller-1