Page 2 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

By George KuhnSabres fans are

known for embracinga favorite player in ademonstrative man-ner, filling the Audwith chants of“Loooooose” and“Stuuuuuu” for for-mer Sabres Don Luceand Stu Barnes.Current Sabre PaulGaustad is the latestobject of such fanaffection as the soundof “Goooooose” res-onates throughoutthe HSBC Arena whileGaustad’s hulking six-foot-four frame andwide wingspanprowls the ice, skat-ing like a preyingmantis looking forany opportunity todevour a visitingopponent.

Sabres fans do not attachtheir passions to a playerindiscriminately. They typi-cally identify with the hardworking athlete who typi-fies Buffalo’s blue collarwork ethic. Also, it doesn’thurt if that player happensto exhibit a physical style ofplay and backs up his team-mates on the ice. Consider arecent game againstNashville where PredatorScott Nichol continued hisrecent trend of taking cheapshots at Sabres players.When lined up for a face-offagainst Nichol, Gaustad

unloaded and dropped himas the linesman dropped thepuck. In the ensuing scrum,Gaustad was restrained bythe linesman from engagingNichol further while ayoung female fan, maybe 6years old, could be seenthrough the glass scream-ing, ‘Let him go!’ Seeinghim inspire such passion ina six-year-old illustrateshow Gaustad has earned thespecial attention of Sabresfans.

“It’s definitely an honorto play in a city with suchgreat hockey fans,” Gaustad

said. “It’s special thatI get recognized forsome things andworking hard. I justreally appreciate thefans here and howmuch they justembrace our team.”

His arrival in theNHL has not been anovernight successstory, but rather, theresult of years ofapprenticeship inhockey’s minorleagues. Born inFargo, N.D., Gaustadgrew up in PortlandOre., ascendingthrough the age ranksof youth hockey toplay for the PortlandWinterhawks ofCanada’s WesternHockey League. Oneof the few Americanbased teams in

Canadian junior hockey,Gaustad played for theWinterhawks for three sea-sons from 1999-2002. “Ididn’t think I could make itto junior, but each year thatI was there they gave metime to develop,” Gaustadsaid, “just like Buffalo doeswith their players here bygiving them the time theyneed to develop inRochester.

Following his three yearsin junior hockey, Gaustadspent another three yearsdeveloping in the American

The Goose is loose

Photo by Joe ValentiPaul Gaustad has become a fan favorite.

By Brian KoziolWGR Radio Host

Sabres fans wereprepared this time,although I don’t knowif it made it any easierto swallow. AnotherAll-Star has waivedgoodbye to Buffaloand his fans are lefttrying to figure outwhat is left.

Brian Campbell isnow a San Jose Sharkafter playing 391career games with theBuffalo Sabres, theonly NHL team he’sever played for.Campbell blossomedinto a top-tierdefenseman beforeour own eyes, madethe All-Star game twice andbeen a great person in lock-er room and the community.

The expectation aftersome minor negotiationswas that Campbell wasgoing to be moved so theclub would not be left withnothing at the end of theseason as they were previ-ously with former captainsChris Drury and DanielBriere. The team said theylearned their hard lessonslast off-season and thatCampbell would be eithersigned to a long-term dealor be sent packing for some-thing in return. The result: anew, young, promising for-ward in Steve Bernier and afirst round draft choice in

next year’s draft.Sabres general manager

Darcy Regier has taken crit-icism for his lack of move-ment in the past and he’snot one to throw aroundblame for Campbell’s depar-ture.

“You recognize that if youallow everyone to go to theunrestricted free agent mar-ket, and I’m not blaminganyone here, your draft can-not support the makeup ofyour hockey club,” Regiersaid. “Subsequently, in thebest interest of the club, youhave to get something back.Otherwise, you won’t haveenough players and youwon’t have enough quality.This particular year, we

made the decision to go theother way and try and fillthe asset side up a little bitmore. We did that in theshort term with our sightsstill on the playoffs. We stillbelieve this team can makethe playoffs.”

Ownership also has takenheat for its lack of foresighton letting Daniel Briere,Chris Drury, and Campbellget away. Tom Golisano saidthat he is involved in con-tract negotiations to thepoint that he at least mustgive the final stamp ofapproval before any offer isofficially made. The rumorabout Drury’s ‘verbal agree-ment’ last year still bugs

No Soup for Sabres fans

continued on page 14 continued on page 14

Photo by Joe ValentiRyan Miller is next on the radar for contract talk.

March 2008 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 3

By Charles RobertsWhoever instilled the old

adage “you only get onechance to make a firstimpression” in Steve Bernierdid one hell of a job. The22-year-old came to Buffaloknowing he had somepretty big skates to fill.Aside from being an All-Star defenseman, BrianCampbell was a fan-favorite, a team leader andwas very well respected inthe community. Bernier, aQuebec native, was excit-ed when he found out hehad been traded to anortheastern hockey citylike Buffalo, but knewwhat he was up against;replacing the guy theycalled “Soupy” would beno easy task.

Known by some as “TheBig Bear,” Bernier lives upto his nickname on theice. His 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame makes him aforce in the offensive zone,as his ability to throw hisweight around opens upchances for the guysaround him.

After his first game in aSabres uniform, less than24 hours after arriving inthe city, Bernier made itclear that he wasn’t stuckin reminiscing on whatcould have been in San Jose,or that it was awkward call-ing the Sabres his team-mates. He scored two goalsand added an assist, as theSabres dumped theNashville Predators 8-4.The numbers speak forthemselves.

It’s what he did in his firstgame’s final moments thatproved what kind of playerthe Sabres now have ontheir hands. Center DerekRoy was trying desperatelyto work the puck in the cor-ner, when he found himselfin a bit of a jam – twoPredators hanging all overhis back. The clock wasticking ferociously towardthe final buzzer. Bernierdidn’t care. This was hisnew teammate; nobody wasgoing to get away withroughing him up, regardlessof the score or juncture inthe contest. He flew in fasterthan the clock was tickingtoward a Sabres blowoutvictory and leveledPredators forward JordinTootoo. The two stood toe-to-toe, while Bernier had hisright arm cocked, with hisfist clenched, ready to deliv-er a heavyweight blow. Theywere ultimately separated

before fists were thrown,but Bernier established thefact that he’s a team player –a guy who goes down withthe ship and rolls with thepunches - literally.

“[Roy] is my center and

I’ve gotta defend him, but ifthat would have been any-body in this room I woulddo the same thing,” Berniersaid of Roy and the rest ofhis new teammates. “I knowthat anybody in here woulddo the same for me…it’sgood to have great team-mates.”

Playing in only his thirdNHL season, Bernier has asense of maturity about himwell beyond his age. Besideshis general calm demeanorabout moving from one sideof the country to the other,his take on the game givesyou the feeling that this guybleeds old school hockey.He’ll hammer a guy in thecorner, trade punches ifnecessary and understandswhat it takes to get the puckto the back of the net. Thelist of attributes doesn’t stopthere however. Quite possi-bly the most impressive traitBernier brings to the table isthe sense of urgency tobuild camaraderie.Although he doesn’t haveeveryone’s name down justyet, he seems to have stud-ied their styles of play.

“Peters’ line gets thingsstarted, especially, umm,”Bernier hesitates, turns to

his left and looks toward thetop of the locker stall imme-diately next to his “especial-ly Kaleta.”

Bernier turned to theGoose next. “Gausted is outthere and is like ‘you’re not

going to do thatto my team-mate,’ and youknow what,that’s just hock-ey right thereand proved thateverybody loveseach otherhere,” he notedof Gausted’s gen-erally passionateapproach.

It wasn’t untilBernier transi-tioned his obser-vations from histeammates tothe fans that hestarted to showhis age. Hispoised mannersuddenly growsinto an ear-to-ear smile. Thee x p r e s s i o ndrawn across hisface is one ofu n b r i d l e denthusiasm. Youcan see the kidin him.

“Even whenyou’re playing, you hear‘one, two, three,’ as theycount the goals – it’s justawesome,” Bernier said,almost in astonishment ofthe fanatical crowd. “Theyfollow the game and theyknow hockey, that’s what Ilike about it. Everybodytalked to me about the fansbeing awesome here and Ihad a chance to score rightaway…to have the feeling Ifelt…I cannot describe it, itwas just a great feeling.”

You could probably walkinto just about any WesternNew York tavern and strikeup a sports conversationonly to hear something tothe effect of: “First they loseDrury and Briere and nowthey trade away Campbell.”We’ve heard it all before.Buffalo sports fans haveexperienced heartache, nodoubt. Before you cry inyour beer though, look atthe mug as being half full,as the new guy in towncouldn’t be happier to havetraded 300-plus days ofnorthern California sun-light for a chance at startingsomething special inBuffalo.

No shrimp himself, Bernier big on first impressions

Photo by Joe ValentiIt didn’t take Steve Bernier long to catchthe attention of the Sabres or their faith-ful.

Bernier forCampbell

trade movesSabres

in new direc-tion

By Ch2 Sports Director Ed Kilgore

First of all, are the Sabres,right now, good enough to winthe Stanley Cup? If we agreethey are not, then it mightmake the departure of all-stardefenseman Brian Campbell abit easier to digest in terms ofthe big picture.

Not only that, just oneopinion here, but Campbellisn’t worth $5 million a sea-son, let alone $6 million ormore that he’ll eventually getfrom either the Sharks orsomebody else.

Some see the Sabres asrebuilding after a couple closeruns at the Cup, but theSabres brass doesn’t see it thatway. They call it “redefining”the team, and they think theyare now moving in the direc-tion they need to be moving.

The Sabres learned apainful lesson last springwhen they simply were nottough enough physically tohandle Ottawa in the EasternConference Finals. Even ifthey’d somehow gotten pastthe Senators, they would havebeen dispatched by Anaheimin the finals. Not many of uswould have guessed, except inhindsight, that losing grittyplayers like Jay McKee andMike Grier and J.P. Dumontwould matter so much interms of post-season play. Wedidn’t recognize it in the regu-lar season, when the swift andfancy Sabres won thePresident’s Trophy and werethe NHL’s darlings.

But the better of the two

Sabres teams, comparing lastyear’s squad and the team theyear before, was the team thatjust missed knocking off even-tual Cup Champion Carolina.THAT team may not have hadquite the regular season as the2006-2007 bunch, but it was ateam better suited for the play-offs, in retrospect.

Which brings us to thedeparture of Campbell. He’s aterrific player, and the Sabresdidn’t want to lose him. Still, Ithink the Sabres are no moredistant from a Stanley Cupteam today than they werebefore the trade with San Jose,and perhaps, they’re even clos-er. Campbell wasn’t the prob-lem, but he wasn’t really theanswer either.

The Sabreshave a lot ofskilled players,and they arebound anddetermined, sothey say, to geta new long-term deal withgoalie RyanMiller donethis summer. Infact, to digressa moment, theconcern aboutMiller moneykept the Sabresfrom offeringCampbell al o n g e r- t e r mdeal at the nearly $6 millionper he was looking for. Sowhat do they need? We allknow the answer to that one.More size and toughness.

Hello to Steve Bernier, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound power for-ward coming to Buffalo fromthe Sharks as “Soupy” sails toSan Jose. Bernier, a formerfirst-round pick in 2003, turns23 in March. Although somehave called him an under-achiever in San Jose, with only13 goals this season, he wasSan Jose’s leading hitter. Hecertainly showed his potentialin his Sabres debut, scoringtwo goals, adding an assist andcoming to the aid of linemateDerek Roy late in the 8-4 winover Nashville. He hastremendous upside, as he wasa big goal scorer in juniors anddoes have good hands. Add tothat fact the Sabres also get-ting a second No.1 pick in thisyear’s NHL draft, and its placemost likely somewhere in the18-22 range. TWO No.1picks, even though they don’t

help for a couple seasons ormore, can move the Sabrescloser to the team they’ll needto be to get back into seriousCup contention.

Rip general manager DarcyRegier all you want, andwhether it’s him or managingpartner Larry Quinn or ownerTom Golisano who is respon-sible for the Briere and Drurydepartures and the overpay-ment for Thomas Vanek, youhave to give Regier his due forbeing an excellent evaluator oftalent. He acquired Drury andBriere, both of whom hadtheir best seasons in Buffalo.He acquired Dumont, thenconsidered a first-roundunderachiever in Chicago.

Truth be told, the Sabres prob-ably wish they’d kept Dumontinstead of Ales Kotalik, but thepoint is, he built the teamsthat were Cup contenders -you have to give him that.

That two-year windowclosed, and championshipwindows seldom stay openmuch longer than that, butthere is no reason to thinkthere is no longer hope.

The formula for success haschanged since the lockoutyear, and the Sabres are now inposition to add some tough-ness that will give the team thebalance it needs, and didn’thave, even with the giftedBrian Campbell. The Sabresare not rebuilding right now,but they are under construc-tion.

Bernier has put a big spot-light on the shadow created bythe departure of Campbell,and while we don’t know theoutcome yet, consider thetransformation for the “newand improved” Sabres under-way.

Photo by Joe ValentiExhibiting some of the familiar Campbellintensity.

Page 4 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

Seasons are changing,but we seem to be caughtin the middle right now.While Western New Yorkis still buried under driftsof snow, Major LeagueBaseball players are work-ing out under the Floridasun. With the games start-ing for real in a month,Sports & Leisure Magazineis more than ready to makethe transition. Soonenough, we’ll be talkingabout bullpen stoppersinstead of syringes anddefensive substitutionsinstead of subpoenas.

The Buffalo Bills are alsoin transition this offseason,and the team’s early foraysinto the free agent marketshow that reports of theteam’s demise might justhave been exaggerated. Wetake a look at the newadditions and the work yetto be done on the Bills ros-ter.

The 2008 horse racingseason has started as

Buffalo Raceway is now infull swing. The thorough-breds will start racing inApril at Finger Lakes whileFort Erie will follow a fewweeks later.

We’re also caught in thetransition between sea-sons, watching the Sabres’regular season wind downand basketball’s MarchMadness, while still amonth away from thewarm weather sports ofbaseball and golf.Meanwhile, for some ofour hometown teams, thetransition might be a littleharsher than usual.Hopefully, the financialwoes that plague theRhinos, Rattlers andAmerks will be resolved forthe better, in much thesame way that the Sabresmade it through their owncrisis a few years ago.

After all, it’s spring.Hope springs eternal.

••••••••The Buffalo chapter of

the Professional HockeyWriters Association hasselected Buffalo Sabrescenter Paul Gaustad as itsnominee for the BillMasterton MemorialTrophy. The Masterton isawarded annually to theNHL player who bestexemplifies perseverance,sportsmanship and dedica-tion to hockey. Read moreabout Paul Gaustad onpage 2.

••••••••Fitness enthusiasts,

don’t forget to enter theNorthern States SuperNatural Bodybuilding &Figure Competition (heldat McKinldy High School,Buffalo) on April 26. Inaddition to natural body-building and figure, therewill be a bench press chal-lenge. For tickets/moreinformation, check outwww.northernstatessuper-natural.com

From the Publisher

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

Email to: publisher@sportsandleisuremag.comCheck us out on the web at www.sportsandleisuremag.com

Publisher & Editor Marian GiallombardoFeature Writers Ross Brewitt, Robert Caico, The Careful Gambler, Rick Davenport, PeterFarrell, Mike Fox, Greg Gardner, Shirley Giallombardo, Ivan the Impaler, Ed Kilgore,Shawn Krest (Buffalo Managing Editor), Brian Koziol, George Kuhn, Andrew Kulyk,Jeffrey Levine, Brian Mazurek, Brian McFarlane, AdamMcGill, Brian Michalek, RonMontesano, Len Mytko, Gary Reeves, Charles Roberts, Dave Sully, Tim Wright, RickZurak (golf editor)Chief Photographer Jeff BarnesStaff Photographers Ryan Bartholomew, Nick LoVerde, Joe ValentiCover photos Paul Gaustad & Steve Bernier by Joe ValentiContributing Writers Mark Bowers, Chris Colleluori, Corey Erdman, Glen Jackson,Christopher Koenig, Matt Ladewski, Don Lockwood, Matt Lyon, Nick Martin, StephenMarth, Chris Nentarz, Phil Taylor, Al Valentin, Ryan WolfeLayout & Cover Scott Appleby, Graphic artist Liz SeivertAssignment Editors: Shawn KrestCopy Editors and Office Assistants Todd Grady, Jeffrey Levine, Ben Muchnik, LenMytko, Mark Richardson, Justin VernoldPlease send your letters, questions, and comments to: Sports & Leisure Magazine, 469Virginia Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 or e-mail them to publisher@sportsandleisuremag.com.Please include your name, address and phone number or your letter can’t be published. Allletters and responses become the property of Sports & Leisure Magazine, they may be print-ed, and are subject to editing. Sports & Leisure Magazine is circulated throughout WesternNew York and Southern Ontario. All rights and trademarks reserved. Reproduction in wholeor in part without the express written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. ©1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Sports & LeisureMagazine.

Sweet Easter PieYou’ll need:1 Frozen Regular Pie Shell – not deep dish 1 Lb. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese3 Lg. Eggs 1/2 C POWDERED sugar2 T. Orange Zest 1/2 C. Rice - cooked1/3 C. Pine Nuts - toasted 1 T. Vanilla Flavoring• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven.• To toast the pine nuts, place them into a small dry pan on low to medium heat.

Stir until they are lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.• Using a hand mixer stir together the cheese, eggs, powdered sugar and zest. FOLD in the rice,

pine nuts and flavoring. Pour into the pie shell and place in the oven on the hot cookie sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes until pie is firm when shaken. Remove and cool on the cookie sheet.

• When cold. sift some powdered sugar on before serving.Serves 6–8. To double recipe use a deep dish frozen pastry shell or a 10-inch pie plate if making ahomemade crust.For a holiday touch, try decorating the top with fresh orange segments and powdered sugar.Pine nuts can be omitted if you’d rather not use them.Enjoy and Happy Easter!

March 2008 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 5

By Phil TaylorBy this time in the fanta-

sy NBA season all the play-ers’ values are well estab-lished and all the sleepershave woken up. What’s aguy to do if he needs anedge to help secure a play-off spot? It’s not the luck ofthe Irish that will pushyour team to the top. Youmay think that the waiverwire cupboard is bare butdon’t ever give up. It’s theowner who plays smarter,not harder that has theadvantage. In the spirit ofSt. Patrick’s Day, here’s asix-pack of players who areprobably still available inyour league and could helpyou to a title.Andray Blatche (F/C)Washington Wizards

Blatche, born in nearbySyracuse, has been on atear over the last sixweeks. Like the threeleaves of a clover, Blatchehas increased his averagesin three categories: points,boards, and blocks. If youlost Yao or didn’t draft a

good center and you needsome valuable stats at aposition where good help ishard to find, Blatche maybe the best available optionthis late in the season.

Mark Blount (C) MiamiHeat

When Shaq left and

Shawn Marion arrived inMiami, Blount was an after-thought for most fans, but

his production has beenmagically delicious for thefantasy owners that pickedhim up. Like Blatche hehelps in all the typical cen-ter categories and he’ll holdthe starting job for the restof the season.Damon Jones (G)Cleveland Cavaliers

Jones has made a careerout of talking a biggergame than he plays, butover the past month he’sbeen hitting the hoop fromdowntown with the best ofthem. There isn’t a pot ofgold at the end of his rain-bow shots, but there’s apretty good chance you’llfind three points theremore often than not. HisFG and FT percentages willhelp your team as well.Brevin Knight (PG) LosAngeles Clippers

At only 5-foot-10,Knight is a bit of a lep-rechaun by NBA standards,but he can still stand tallfor your fantasy team downthe stretch if you’re in need

Fantasy NBA and a wee bit o’ the green

Photo courtesy NBAKing James isn’t the onlyplayer on the Cavs makingan impact. with teammateslike Damon Jones.

By Tom AndoStarting with consecutive

losses, the usually dominantBuffalo Bandits were startingto plunge into theworld of medioc-rity. Looking fromthe bottom up, theteam was in adownward spiralas the MinnesotaSwarm came totown on Feb. 16,undefeated andhungry for a dis-mal opponent.The Bandits, how-ever, had anotheridea.

In a come-from-behind victory, theteam ralliedbehind KenMontour, their stargoalie, who made 38 saves onthe night. As always, theadrenaline of Pat McCreadyenergized the fans and gotthe Swarm riled up.

“You know that’s part ofwhat Pat brings to the team,”Bandits coach Darris Kilgoursaid. “Not only does he bringa great spark and burst to ouroffense but he can be verytough and change the pace ofthe game at any point.”

The Bandits won the game16-14 but faced adversity aweek later with Montour andMike Thompson out of thelineup. In their absence, 21-year-old rookie Daniel Samsturned in one of the greatestperformances in Bandits his-tory with a whopping 60saves. Sams was named theleague’s Defensive Player ofthe Week and Rookie of theWeek for the team’s 13-8 vic-tory.

A week later, the Banditsreturned home to face thePhiladelphia Wings, anotherundefeated team. Boastingthe league’s hottest goal scor-er in Athan Iannucci, theWings started the game in

dominant fashion, tallying agoal in the first 20 seconds ofplay. Beating Thompson sixtimes in the first to give the

Wings a five-goal lead,Kilgour made a move thatjust might have saved histeam’s season.

“I would say that it wasmore to spark the bench,”Kilgour said. “Nobody likesseeing their goalie pulledwhen he’s not playing thatbad, because three of thegoals were just wide openshots and there really isn’t agoalie in the league who canstop good shooters whenthey have an opportunitywith time and space to picktheir shots. It wasn’t anythingagainst Mikey as much as itwas to let the team know thatthis sort of play is unsatisfac-tory.”

Sub-par play wasn’t some-thing Kilgour was expectingfrom his team.

“I was thinking ‘What theheck’s going on? What teamis this? And where are theguys that I coach?’” Kilgourasked. “We kept our headsup, we had a rough start andMikey wasn’t getting a lot ofhelp and the scoring earlywas something we talkedabout, but the boys battled

hard and they kept bleeding.”Battling back, the Bandits

rallied and dominated therest of the game, coming

away with a 21-12victory, a perform-ance that Kilgourbelieves the fansdeserve. “With thefans that we haveyou always wantto play well infront of thembecause they showup to every gameand cheer theirhearts out andreally carewhether we win orlose,” Kilgoursaid.

After the winover Philadelphiaon March 1 the

Bandits stood at 6-4 and arehoping to take their winningways past the all-star breakwith the help of two perenni-al studs.

“Mark Steenhuis has beenunbelievable for us all seasonlong. He’s a great transitionguy, he’s great one-on-one,”Kilgour said. “And JohnTavares, in my mind the bestplayer of all time, he’s thesmartest player to ever playthe game.”

Joining Tavares andSteenhuis will be tough-nosed defender Chris White.

“Chris White is long over-due,” Kilgour said. “He’sfinally getting the recognitionthat he deserves. He was kindof stuck behind Kyle Coolingon defense for the No. 1 guy,and now that Kyle’s movedon, Chris is finally gettingwhat he deserves.”

With the Bandits three All-Stars and the rest of the sup-porting cast rounding intoform, the team should be allset for another late seasonplayoff run.

Bandits heating up for playoff run

Photo by Nick LoVerdeMark Steenhuis makes a move againstKnighthawk defenseman Jack Reid.

By Shawn KrestFor the second year in a

row, the Buffalo Bills enjoyedsome midnight madness at thestart of the NFL free agencyperiod.

Feb. 29 was the first daythat teams could sign freeagents, and, fitting for the day,the Bills leapt into action asthe clock struck midnight.Buffalo signed KawikaMitchell, of the SuperBowl champion NewYork Giants, plugging thebig-play veteran into atalented young lineback-ing corps.

Bills fans have longcriticized the team forhesitating to spendmoney, but this marksthe second year in a rowthat the Bills were earlyplayers in the free agentmarket. Last year, theBills added a pair ofoffensive linemen—Derrick Dockery andLangston Walker—shortly after the marketsopened. This year, withthe potential of aCanadian windfalladding cash to the bot-tom line, Buffalo aggres-sively added to the defen-sive side of the ball.

The early moves alsoquelled any concernsobservers may have hadover new GeneralManager Russ Brandon.Despite having a “busi-ness guy” instead of a“football guy” runningthe show, the team was able toact quickly and decisively tofill areas of need on the roster.

Mitchell will likely line upalongside Angelo Crowell, thelongest tenured Bills line-backer, and Paul Posluszny,who is returning from aninjury that brought his rookieyear to an early end. KeithEllison, who has receivedextensive playing time in histwo years with the team, willprovide talented depth.

The Bills got a first-handlook at Mitchell’s ability as hecontributed a defensive touch-down in the Giants late-sea-

son visit to Buffalo last year.By the end of a busy week-

end, Buffalo had added morekey pieces to a defense sorelyin need of help. Teams ranagainst an undersized Billsline over the last two seasons,but now they will find theirpath blocked by a pair ofobstacles.

Buffalo traded draft picks

for Jaguars defensive tackleMarcus Stroud, and signedfree agent tackle SpencerJohnson away from theVikings. The pair adds nearly600 pounds of meat in themiddle of the Bills defensiveline, giving Buffalo a presencein the middle not seen sinceSam Adams and Pat Williamswere filling holes.

The Bills didn’t neglect theoffense, entertaining a varietyof receivers and tight ends inthe early days of free agency. Alarge receiver to line up acrossfrom Lee Evans and a pass-catching tight end were tops

on the Buffalo wish list.Arizona’s Bryant Johnson

and tight ends Ben Troupe(Tennessee) and AlgeCrumpler (Atlanta) were earlytargets, but Troupe andCrumpler signed with TampaBay and Tennessee, respective-ly.

The other major area ofconcern was in the Bills sec-

ondary, and Tampa Baycorner Brian Kelly wason the Buffalo radarearly in the free agentperiod.

While this was thesecond year in a rowthat the Bills were one ofthe first teams to showup on ESPN’s transac-tions crawl, the teamdidn’t suffer losses oftheir own key freeagents this year.Cornerback NateClements signed alucrative contract in SanFrancisco last year,eclipsing Buffalo’s earlyadditions. Special team-ers Mario Haggan andJosh Stamer and sus-pended defensive endAnthony Hargrove werethe highest profile of theBills unrestricted freeagents.

The team also stoodto make headlines witha possible quarterbackdeal. Deposed starterJ.P. Losman requested atrade, but, with onlysecond-year man TrentEdwards in house, the

team seemed hesitant to pullthe trigger. With a weak cropof free agent quarterbacks,however, it is possible thatLosman’s price could risehigh enough to pry him loosefrom the Bills.

Much like a year ago, thefree agent market will likelyquiet down after a franticstart. As the late-April NFLdraft nears, the team mayagain become a factor on thesecondary free agent market.Sports & Leisure Magazinewill provide it’s annual Draftpreview and predictions nextissue.

Bills active early on free agent market

Photo by Joe ValentiA weak market for quarterback freeagents might make the Bills JPLosman a likely trade target.

continued on page 14

Page 6 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

By Greg GardnerPreparation is

the key whengetting ready forgames or prac-tices. Being pre-pared allows thegoaltender touse his skillseffectively andnot have theburden of beingdistracted. Ihave categorized five itemsthat should be done beforeeach game (and practice),and should be used in achecklist format.Check Bag

“If you wear the equip-ment, you are responsible for

packing theequipment.” Oneof my biggest petpeeves is when agoalie forgets akey piece of hisequipment afternot checking hisbag before he lefthome. It is evenworse when theplayer placesblame on a par-

ent. If you want to play,make sure everything youneed is in the bag.Checking equipment

Once the goalie hasarrived at practice, the firstthing he or she needs to do ischeck their bag. The goalie

should make sure that allpieces of his or her equip-ment are in working order.There is nothing that aggra-vates a coach more than oneminute before a game orpractice a goalie complain-ing that his strap is broken,or that is missing something.Make sure everything is inworking order.Mental preparation beforethe game

Goaltender is one of themost important positions ofall sports. It would be ashame and a disservice to hisor her team if the goaltenderwere not ready to play. Agoalie needs to make sure heis in the moment and should

probably do some visualiza-tion before the game. I likethe WIN motto: What’sImportant Now? Future orpast events can’t help agoalie, only the presentmoment. Make sure thegoalie is mentally preparedto playPhysical preparation beforea game

Good goalies stretch andwarm-up before games. Thisprevents injury and helps getyour body and mind into it

early. Make sure to have agood warm up before a gameand get into a good routine.Preparation during the“warm-up”

Pro goalies get a goodskate in and have a goodstretch before they face anyshots. It doesn’t do the goalieany good to skate on the iceand start making saves.Physical preparation is thekey. But most importantly,pros take the warm-up as if itis a game and get them going

early. Make sure to use how-ever many minutes youmight have to get ready forthe game.

These suggestions shouldaid a goalie’s development.

If you have any other ques-tions about these trainingmethods or are interested infuture goaltending clinics, con-tact Greg Gardner by email,goalie@greg-gardner.com, orby calling 716-286-8758.

Goalies get ready: Preparation is key

By Ross Brewitt“Hey big boy, how’s it

goin’?” laughsthe cheerfulcaller on theother end of theline, and Ii m m e d i a t e l yfind myself trad-ing chucklesand barbs withthis pal, whoneeds no intro-duction.

Well, maybeto the younger readers ofthis column, the oneswhose hockey memoriesonly go back to GilPerreault, maybe DomHasek. But my caller is nei-ther a decorated center nora gold medal goalie. He is arevered defenseman, one ofthe very best to ever playthe game. For Pierre Pilote,his “black & white” speaksfor itself, beginning in theGolden Horseshoe.

After moving the familyfrom Kenogami, Quebec,his father’s work took himto Fort Erie, and from therehe made his way throughminor hockey programs tothe St. Catharines TeePees,where in two seasons hequickly established himselfas (a) a defenseman with aflair for offense, and (b) adefenseman with a pen-chant for dealing out pun-ishment. His annual collec-tion of penalty minutesunderlined his judicialapplication of fists, stick, orbodywork.

These two aptitudescaught the eyes of the par-ent Chicago Blackhawkswho turned him pro in1952, just down the roadwith the AHL BuffaloBisons. If there was a draw-back in Pilote’s resume, ithad to do with his size, andthe looming problem itwould entail. Enter FrankieEddols, a journeyman NHLdefenseman, named playingcoach of the Bisons, whoexplained the facts of life tothe young Pilote andadvised him, in no uncer-tain terms, to change hisscrappy ways.

Now, looking back at the

better part of four seasonsspent learning his trade in

Buffalo, Piloteis philosophi-cal. “UntilEddols arrived,I was a kidbanging headsagainst big,tough guys likeBilly Juzda andBill Ezenicki,veterans endingtheir careers inthe AHL, and

figuring I could outlast ‘em.Finally Eddols said ‘theseold geezers will wear youout and you ain’t provinganything to them, or me.Cut it out and get back toplayin’ hockey.’ So I learnedto pick my spots and cork‘em when the chance cameup instead of goin’ lookin’for trouble.”

It was also in Buffalo thatEddols taught Pilote theshort outlet pass. It was askill Pilote became a recog-nized master at performing.

What followed for Piloteafter Buffalo was 14 NHLseasons, 13 of them withChicago, his final withToronto. Pilote was a mem-ber of the last Black HawkStanley Cup winners backin 1961, and served as cap-tain of the ‘Hawks from ‘61to ’67. He earned 10 straightselections to the NHL all-star team, was a three-timerunner-up in the NorrisTrophy (for the league’s bestdefenseman) in addition towinning the award in ’63,’64 and ’65. Pilote wasinducted into the HockeyHall of Fame in 1975.

Pilote was the entirepackage, although never asbig as many of those whoplayed defense then, orsince. For a size compari-son, a quick cruise throughthe NHL Guide brings uponly Brian Rafalski of theWings, listed as 5-foot-10,190 pounds. Yet Pilote, atthe same height and 178pounds, stepped up and lev-eled everyone.

Pilote was a rare hockeyparadox. He was a brilliant,playmaking banger, a rarecombination in any era, a

defenseman who once ledthe NHL in penalty minutesand Stanley Cup scoring inthe same season.

Pilote and I met andbecame friends in 1979when I recruited him toplay for the Labatt OldStars,and over the next six yearsfrom behind the OldStarsbench, I watched the masterat work in cities acrossCanada and the U.S. But onthis day I wasn’t into thegood ol’ days.

“Pete, how about givingme a new story. Tell me oneabout how tough you were,back when Bobby Hull andStan Mikita were carryingyour luggage,” I needle.

“Naw, I got a better onethat tells you how smart Iwas,” he counters. “We’replaying in Montreal, andthey had just brought upthis new tough guy from theCleveland Barons, so I’mwatchin’ him in the warm-up, you know, gettin’ hismoves, seein’ how good heis at keepin’ his head up. Inthe first period he comesfreewheelin’ out of theirend, and I’m linin’ him up.But instead, at the last sec-ond I whack my stick on theice and yell ‘HEY.’ Geez, itstartled him and when hesaw me his eyes got big, hecoughs up the puck andswerved out’a the way.”

“Man, over the yearsMean John Ferguson foughtNesterenko, Litzenburger,Hull, everybody on ourteam, but never laid a gloveon me. Told me after heretired that he alwaysremembered I had done hima favor back then. Hell, wewere practically pals!Would’a been nice had Iknown that back then,”Pilote said and thenlaughed.

Later, upon hanging upthe phone, I’m struck by thefact that here I am, hecklingbuddies with one of thegreatest defensemen ever.

And you can look himup, he’s all there in blackand white.

Career adjustment made in Buffalo: Ex-Bison one of the best By Brian

McFarlaneI have a

place in thecountry, andone of myneighbors ishockey’s fun-niest man—Dennis Hull.For youngreaders, anexplanat ionmay be in order. DennisHull is Bobby Hull’s broth-er and Brett Hull’s uncle. Ifyou don’t recognize thosenames, perhaps youshould skip to another col-umn. But if you do, you’llmiss out on a couple oflaughs.

Dennis reminisces abouthis days as a ChicagoBlackhawk:

“We had some greattimes in Montreal. Rightafter Maurice Richardretired, we would come offthe ice at the Forum, andthe Rocket would be sit-ting close by, right abovethe exit. And he’d shout atus. The Rocket liked toneedle Stan Mikita becauseStan was always gettinginvolved with HenriRichard, the Rocket’s kidbrother. As opposing cen-ters, they were always yap-ping at each other andswatting each other withtheir sticks.

The Rocket would sitthere nursing a beer andhe’d shout, ‘Mikita, you lit-tle DP, if I was out there I’dkill you. You touch mybrudder once more, youson huv a bitch I come outthere and keel you.’

So we’re coming off theice one time and Mikitasays to me, ‘Watch this.’When the Rocket gave himan earful he reached upand hit Richard’s beer con-tainer with his stick,dumping beer all over theRocket’s pants.

Oh, the Rocket wasmad.

The year after Bobbyscored his 50 goals, wewent to Montreal and therewas the Rocket ready togreet us. This time heignored Mikita and got onBobby’s case:

‘Hey, Bo-bee, you tinkyou’re such a big deal scor-ing 50 goals. I did it in 50games.’

And Bobby would grinand yell back, ‘You’re right,Rocket. That’s a great feat.I’m sure you were a lot bet-ter player than I am. A lot

better.’ Healmost apolo-gized to theRocket for scor-ing 50.

So the nexttime we’re at theForum, theRocket starts inagain. ‘Hey Bo-bee!’ Then hedidn’t seem toknow what to

say. So he yelled out, ‘Hey,Bo-bee. You know what?Someday you gonna be bigand fat like me.’

In ‘67 I was playing on aline with the Maki broth-ers, Wayne and Chico, andwe were out against theCanadiens’ big line, cen-tered by (Jean) Beliveau.He had (Yvan) Cournoyerand Gilles Tremblay aswingers. Now Beliveaubreaks away from us andhe goes in one-on-oneagainst Pierre Pilote andPilote falls down. So I rushover at an angle and catchBeliveau. I give him adandy two-hander rightacross the arm. Now this isBeliveau, my hero growingup. I even had a big pictureof him in my bedroom.Well, he shook off mycheck and with one handthrew the puck into theChicago net behind GlennHall. Then he turned to meand said, ‘Dennis, I did notexpect that from you.’

Well, I could havecrawled under the Habs’logo at center Ice. I said,‘Geez, I’m sorry, Jean. I’llnever do that again.’

So Billy Reay, when I goto the bench said, ‘Whatare you doing talking tothat guy? What’s going onout there?’

I said, ‘I wanted to apol-ogize to Jean.’

He said, ‘Apologize?What do you mean apolo-gize? Are you nuts? Younever apologize to thoseguys.’

You know how coachesoften say, ‘We’re all thesame on this team.’ BillyReay used to tell us, ‘We’renot all the same on thisteam. Bobby and Stan are alot better than the rest ofyou guys. Understand?’We all understood. Weaccepted it. Bobby was latefor the team bus one dayand the guys are all grum-bling about it.

‘Let’s go, Billy. Let’s go.’Billy Reay turns in his

seat up front next to thebussie and says, ‘Listen, if

it was one of you youngguys who was late, we’dgo. But it’s Bobby so we’llwait.’

Now Bobby, driving awhite Corvette, comes rac-ing down the street andthe car screeches to a haltbeside the bus. And there’sa familiar-looking womanin the car with him.Remember the PaulNewman movie Cool HandLuke and the actress whowas washing her car whenthe chain gang walked by?What a figure! Soapsudsall over her body. Andthat’s the actress Bobbywas with.

So Billy Reay leaps fromhis seat, grabs the handleon the bus door and yanksit open. He yells, ‘Bobby,get on this bus right now!’He pauses for a second,then shouts, “And bringher with you!” So Bobbyand the actress get on thebus and she parades upand down the aisle sayinghello to everyone and sign-ing autographs.

Billy had a great sense ofhumor. A wonderful man,Billy Reay.

I’ve been very busy sinceI retired from the NHL.Recently I bought a farmeast of Toronto and I enjoythe cattle business. Mybrother Gary lives nearbyand comes around to helpme out. I was sports direc-tor of a small college out-side Chicago for a time.And I was involved in a cardealership in the Niagaraarea. But I’m known morefor my speechmaking thananything else, having beenbooked at hundreds ofevents over the past 20years. I followed a famousopera singer on stage onenight. She was a very largelady but she had a beauti-ful voice and got a longovation. Then it was myturn. I don’t think sheliked it when I began bysaying, ‘Folks, I bet youthought the show was overbecause the fat lady sang.’

Except for her, peopleseem to enjoy my humor,especially my stories(some of them even true)about my brother Bobby.People say I laugh harderat my own jokes than any-one else. I tell them, ‘That’sbecause I never heard mostof them before.’ Oh yes, Ialso put a lot of these sto-ries in a book titled ‘TheThird Best Hull.’”

It happened in hockey

March 2008 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 7

By Gary ReevesI’d like to make refer-

ence to an article I wroteway back in 2001.

It’s interesting to notethat the CanadianOlympic Hockey Team ispracticing on an Olympicsize ice surfacein order to trainfor the upcomingWinter Olympicsin 2002.

In my opinion,all NHL ice sur-faces should haveOlympic-size icesurfaces and I’mnot alone in myopinion.

I recentlyattended a hockey ban-quet and the guest speakerwas Yvan Cournoyer (theRoad Runner), one of thefastest skaters in theNHL. In his speech, Yvanwas very critical of thesize of the ice surfaces inthe NHL. He stated thathockey today is so muchfaster than when heplayed. He made referenceto the fact that inNASCAR, as cars wentfaster they made race-tracks bigger and askedwhy the NHL hasn’t madeice surfaces larger.

The injury list in theNHL over the past fewyears has been horrific.Superstars being paid mil-

lions of dollars are sittingout most of the seasonwith injuries, so much so,that the Board ofGovernors called a specialmeeting to address theproblem. Their recom-mendation? Let’s move the

goal lineout sot h e r e ’ smore roombehind thenet; let’si n c r e a s ethe timefor moresevere anddeliberateinfractionsalong with

fines and suspensions; let’sprotect the goaltenderwith infractions withinthe crease area and lastbut not least; look at thesize of the ice surface.

It’s now seven yearslater and have thingschanged? Not really,except for new ruleenforcements on hook-ing and holding.

The game of hockeytoday is so fast that thereaction time on smallerice surfaces has becomea critical factor in its’direct relationship toserious injuries. Byincreasing the size of theice surface it will notonly increase the speed

of the game but willundoubtedly bring backthe smaller more speedyhockey players whowould have more roomto maneuver and make itharder for the infringe-ments of hooking andholding. I also find itvery difficult to compre-hend why the NHL has-n’t changed the rules onicing the puck! Thepresent rule is nothingmore than a license fordisaster.

The OHL (OntarioHockey League) and theOHA (Ontario HockeyAssociation) have ruledthat if the puck is shotfrom the offensive sideof the red line into thedefensive zone, wherebythe puck crosses the goalline unobstructed, it’s anautomatic icing call.This prevents twoopposing hockey playersfrom crashing into theboards at a high rate ofspeed while fighting forpossession of the puckand causing seriousinjury. It makes sense tome!

For more informationregarding Pro HockeySkills Clinics or individ-ual and team clinics, con-tact Gary Reeves at (905)384-0508 or fax (905)384-0430.

Reducing injuries: Bring Olympicice surface dimensions to the NHL

By Jeffrey LevineMarch Madness usually

elicits images of last secondbuzzer-beatersand cuttingdown nets, butthe U.S. Armyand the JewishC o m m u n i t yCenter celebrat-ed the traditionof college hoopsin a slightly dif-ferent fashion.

Building onthe success oflast year’s tour-nament, theArmy sponsoredtheir secondannual three-on-three tourna-ment on March1. Almost doubling in sizefrom its inaugural tip-off, thetournament boasted 30 teamsup from the 16 of last year.

Joining the ranks of other 3-on-3 tournaments like GusMacker, the spectators at theArmy’s tournament were asenthusiastic as the athletesthemselves.

“There was great competi-tion and the teams were fabu-lous,” Patricia Simonson, thedirector of health, fitness andrecreation at the Jewish Centerstated. “Every year we learn alittle more about how to run abetter tournament and this

year went off without a hitch.”After several rounds of sin-

gle elimination, O.N.E.

emerged as the winners of theday. Comprised of DeshawnBohana, Darrell Thompson,Marcus Ponzo and BrandonRoyster, O.N.E. defeated theContenders, last year’s runnerup, to stand alone at the topthe bracket. Posting back-to-back finishes, there is a goodchance that Hector Torres,Raymond Torres, JosephSzczepanski and KevinScibetta will be back next yearfor a chance to win it all.

Although the tournamentchampions can certainly beproud of their accomplish-ments, the true winner of the

Army’s three-on-three was theWestern New York communi-ty.

“We justwanted to find away to givesomething backto the commu-nity,” Capt. LaneM. Chereskin,Commander ofthe BuffaloR e c r u i t i n gC o m p a n y ,e x p l a i n e d .“[The tourna-ment was]something funand safe for peo-ple of all ages tocome out andenjoy.”

Other groupsand individuals shared thiscollective and communityspirit. Modie Cox of Do YourBest, Never Quit provided thereferees for the afternoon, andthe Jewish Center “wanted todo whatever they could tohelp out,” Simonsonexplained.

Because of the large turnoutand positive response from thespectators, a third three-on-three is already in the plan-ning stages as well as a sepa-rate women’s tournament thatcould happen as early as theend of this June.

O.N.E. winner at Army three-on-three tournament

Lt. to rt.: CPT Lane Chereskin, Deshawn Bohana, DarrellThompson, Marcus Ponzo, Brandon Royster, PatriciaSimonson, 1SG John Northey, SFC Scott Reed.

Page 8 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

By Dave SullyThe uncertain

future of one of thearea’s most venera-ble auto racing facil-ities in Lancasterwas recently clari-fied. Ralph Galluzzi,a former promoterof the facility, hasonce again acquiredthe rights to operatethe venue, officiallyending the oftendispirited reign offormer race driverJim Reid. Galluzzi, alongtime racer, had avested interest inkeeping the facilityviable, as he retainsa long-term goal ofbuilding a state-of-the-art drag racingfacility in theSouthtowns.

“About two years after Ileft, someone approachedme about a piece of proper-ty out in Evans that wouldmake a great drag strip - anold airstrip. I started look-ing into it, and I found outthere was a lot of interest,”Galluzzi explained aboutthe beginnings of his planand how it evolved. “ThenJim (Reid) announced hewas going to closeLancaster, and I thought ifthat had happened wewould lose the drag racer.So, I thought it was a goodbusiness move to come backhere, keep it running, build

the racing back up again,like it used to be, on bothends, stock cars and thedrag racing, continue to tryand build this new dragstrip and move the dragstersout to the new location,while keeping this as astock car track.”

The determined Galluzziwas emphatic about the factthat he would not be aban-doning the Lancaster prop-erty once the new facility isbuilt.

“My family an I will oper-ate both facilities,” Galluzziasserted.

With the Lancaster facili-ty in dire need of refurbish-

ment, Galluzzi’s acquisitioncomes as a breath of freshair for the entire WesternNew York racing communi-ty. Galluzzi is well aware ofthe conditions at the trackand has established a list ofpriorities, chiefly repavingthe track, new fencing, andnew grandstands. The firsttwo will be dealt with first,while the grandstands willbe replaced as moneybecomes available.

Another significantchange will be with the con-cessions. Rather than tack-ling that onerous task him-self, Galluzzi has contracted

Lancaster Raceway Park rescued from the brink by former promoter

By Bob CaicoProfessional boxing

returns to Salamanca with anational televised event onESPN2 on Friday, March 28at the Seneca AlleganyCasino & Resort. The box-ing show will be held at thenew 1,700-seat event centerthat will open on March 14.The Seneca GamingCorporation started theirSeneca Nation of IndiansAthletic Commission forboxing last year with a ter-rific night of fisticuffs at theSeneca Niagara Casino &Hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

The 10-round main eventwill feature former IBFWorld Jr. MiddleweightKassim Ouma (25-4-1, 15KOs) against former“Contender” star Cornelius

“K9” Brundidge (27-3, 16KOs). The eight-roundsemifinal match up willhave Mike Jones (12-0, 12KOs) of Philadelphia doingbattle with Gilbert Venegas(10-5-3, 7 KOs). DarnellJiles 8-0, 3 KOs) ofRochester and HenryLundy (10-0, 6 KOs) ofPhiladelphia look to keeptheir unbeaten streaks alivein the Jr. Welterweight divi-sion when they tangle in asix-round contest. Fourother preliminary fights areto be scheduled.

The Senecas are planningto have an all-Native boxingcard in Salamanca duringthe month of May and hopeto hold future boxingmatches at both the SenecaAllegany and Seneca

Niagara Casinos this year.Promoter Russell Peltz ofPhiladelphia provided avery exciting and competi-tive card at the SenecaNiagara Casino last Aug. 31.They have teamed up againto put on what looks to beanother thrilling boxingevent for March 28.

See the advertisement onpage 19 for ticket informa-tion.

ESPN 2 returns to WNY with their

Friday Night Fights series

Photo Seneca Niagara Casino Cornelius Bundrage

By Bob CaicoThe F.L.A.R.E.

Center on Leroy Streetin Buffalo and coachTerry Williams pre-sented a six-bout ama-teur card on Feb. 16.Boxers from RochesterSt. Martin’s and BadenStreet gyms ofRochester and Buffalo-area boxers participat-ed in the event.

Ravelle Harris fromSt. Martin’s took homethe Fighter of theNight trophy with his5-0 decision win overLuis Hernandez ofBaden. It was a seesawbattle with Harrisdoing a bit more to getthe decision. Other results:

D’andres Hockerson (RSM)dec 5-0 Jessie Martin (RSM)

Donell Terry (RSM)dec 5-0Marcus Coleman (RSM)

Devon Lockwood (BuffaloPAL) dec 5-0Win Gamble (RSM)

Sequan Felton (RSM)dec 5-0Tyshon Coker (RSM)

Andrew Jones (OlympiaBoxing) rtm-20Alex Quick (RSM)

•••••••• The Niagara District box-

offs for the Golden Gloveswill be held on March 20and 27 at Michaels’s

Banquet Facility inHamburg. Don Pattersonwill be hosting the event atone of the best venues forboxing. The area’s (west ofSyracuse) top amateurfighters will square off inthis advancement tourna-ment. Check out Diaab.comor call 716-400-9697 forticket information.

•••••••• “Baby” Joe Mesi returns

to the ring April 4 for thefirst time since his Oct. 12one-round destruction ofShannon Miller. Mesi (36-0,29 KOs) has won sevenfights since returning fromhis suspension and movedto number 16 in the currentWorld Boxing Counselrankings. The bout will be

shown on ESPN2Friday Night Fightsat the Twin RiverEvent Center inLincoln, R.I., hostedby promoter JimmyBurchfield. Mesi’s 10-round main eventopponent will beTerry Smith (30-4-1,18 KO’s) of LittleRock, Ark. Smith wasseen on ESPN2’sFriday Night Fightslast Aug. 10 when hedropped a 10-rounddecision to RobCalloway. This boutwill be another stepup for Joe and animpressive win overthe tough Smith may

propel him to a return to thetop 10.

Mesi is also being courtedto run for public office.Mary Lou Rath will be retir-ing from her Senate seat inthe 61st district, which cov-ers northern Erie Countyand all of Genesee County.Team Mesi is in the infor-mation gathering stagebefore deciding on runningfor the seat. In the mean-time Joe is focusing on thisfight and still hopes to fightfor the World title soon.

•••••••• Ron Resnick will present

Live Professional boxing onThursday, March 27 at TheArmory in Rochester.Rochester boxers and

Local boxing happenings

Ravalle Harris (right) and LuisHernandez both of Rochester eye eachother up in their amateur contest inBuffalo.

Seneca Poker at NiagaraFalls is hosting a Head’s UpTournament March 29-30.Preregister for the Head’sUp event now, the Tip-OffParty. The deadline is March16.

The tournament will besingle-elimination andcapped at 64 players.Registered tournament par-ticipants will draw teams atthe Tip-Off Party and thosewith teams correspondingwith the Final Four NCAA

teams win cash prizes. Theplayer who draws the cham-pionship team wins $500.Second, third, and fourthplace teams each win $250.

A $200+$25 buy-in isgood for $2,000 in tourna-ment chips.

Poker: Getting in the game

continued on page 14

continued on page 14

Photo by Dankollander.comRalph Galluzzi, promoter at the newly named “Dunn Tire RacewayPark.”

March 2008 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 9

By Brian J. MazurekComing from the frigid cli-

mate at Scarborough Downsin Maine, one would thinkdriver Robert Dinning came toBuffalo Raceway to stay in thedeep freeze.

Wrong.The 25-year-old has only

been driving professionally fortwo years and came to theHamburg half-mile oval as astepping stone for bigger andbetter things. He is the “first-call” driver for trainer/ownerBobbi Jo Martin and hopes topick up additional mounts asowners and trainers get toknow him.

“I looked at BuffaloRaceway as an opportunity forme to advancemy career,”Dinning saidof the movefrom the smallsummer timeScarboroughtrack where hewas the thirdleading driverthere last sea-son.

“The pursemoney is a lotbetter here,”D i n n i n gadded. “I’d likeeventually torace at big-time trackssuch asYonkers or Woodbine (inToronto). But I plan to be hereall season then move ontoBatavia Downs in July. At leastthat’s the game plan for now.”

Dinning has had a solidstart in just a couple of weeksof racing at Buffalo. He’s post-ed four wins in just 32 startsand his mounts havebankrolled over $21,000. He’sbeen averaging about fourraces a night but wants to getat least eight drives a night.

“I have to earn the trust andconfidence in people here,”Dinning remarked of his firstmonth of racing at Buffalo. “Ilike it here. People have beenvery nice and have acceptedme. Guys like Keith Kash Jr.and Ray Fisher have helped

me along and [to] adjust

here.”As far as his driving style,

Dinning described himself injust one word; “Aggressive.”He quickly added, “I want togo fast the first quarter mileand last quarter mile and hopefor the best the other twoquarter miles.”

Dinning went on to say thatit’s been an adjustment periodfor him at Buffalo Racewaybecause of the track’s layout.“That first turn at the start ofthe race is really tight and thehome stretch is really long. Ihad to learn to wait just a littlelonger in the stretch and notmove too soon. I guess it’s justtrying to rate the horse more.”

While Dinning has beendriving just two years, harness

racing isn’t new to him. Hisfather, John Dinning, has astable at Windsor Raceway inOntario, Canada, just acrossthe border near Detroit.

“I’ve always been aroundracing with my father,”Dinning said. “I went toLiberty College in Virginia andplayed hockey. A few yearsago when I knew my hockeycareer was going nowhere, Ihad to do something so I gotinto driving since I knewsomething about it. I’ve beenbehind a horse before so itwasn’t hard for me to learn.”

As far as training, Dinninglaughed and was quick to say,“I want no part of that. I strict-ly want to drive.”

And he’s willingto drive more thanhorses to advancehis career. “I’vealready raced atBuffalo on aSaturday night andthrew my bike inthe back of mytruck and raced atWindsor onSunday. I have noproblem with being‘road warrior.’”

He’s also lookingat additional driv-ing opportunitieswhen Buffalo isdark at Woodbine,Vernon and TiogaDowns, all within a

two-hour radius.Dinning is willing to go the

“extra mile” so he can earnenough money to have hisgirlfriend, Priscilla, relocate toWestern New York.

One thing Dinning is alsolooking forward to is battlingJim Morrill Jr. on the race-track. “I respect him,”Dinning said, “and I am sure Iwill learn a lot from him justwatching him and racingagainst him. It’s going to befun.”

But for now, Dinning wantsto solidify his driving resumeand not be left out in the coldwhen the spring and summerharness racing season reallyheats up.

Dinning hopes to use Buffalo Raceway as stepping stone

Photo by Yolanda EstellaRobert Dinning hopes tomake a name for himself atBuffalo Raceway during the2008 season.

Photo by Paul WhiteDriver Robert Dinning is shown driving the veteranhorse named Drop Zone. Dinning won his first race ofhis career at Buffalo Raceway recently on the 14-year-old Drop Zone.

Rabbit hunting inWestern NewYork in snow-filled woods

Rabbit hunting inWestern New York in snow-filled woods is awinter ritual formany hunters.Not only does itget them out-doors in theirfavorite huntingwoods, but it’salso an excel-lent workout.

Some mayargue that asomewhat smallanimal like the rabbit can’tpossibly be any challengefor a fairly experiencedhunter. The truth is they arevery difficult to huntbecause of their impressiverunning speed and the abil-ity to circle and cut backand forth when startled.

They also have a highlydeveloped sense of smell,sight, and hearing that helpsthem to survive in harshconditions while avoidingpredators.

A rabbit’s biggest advan-tage is their capacity tocamouflage their presence

in many differ-ent terraintypes. They’veadapted so thattheir fur match-es the color ofthe inhabitedterritory. Thisallows them toescape unseeneven throughthe thinnestcover. This is

especially true with thesnowshoe rabbit, the mostsought after prize in all rab-bit hunting.

The snowshoe is larger insize than the cottontail, andhas distinguishing large rearfeet and toes that spread outto form a snowshoe in the

winter. The snowshoe rab-bit, or ‘varying hare,’ has theability to change color froma warm weather brown to awinter white. This happenswhen the cold fall weather,and the shorter winter dayscauses the rabbit to changeits color to get ready forsnowfall. But from time totime, winter arrives late,giving the hunter the possi-bility to catch white rabbitsin brown woods. But it’s notthat easy; somehow thesnowshoe knows that itstands out, so they are morecrafty and wary than usual.

If you intend on huntingrabbits there are two waysto go about it: with or with-out dogs. Your best strategywould be to use a dog. Thepreferred breed of rabbithunters is the beagle. This isbecause they have an excel-lent nose for scenting andthe ability to follow thescent track of a rabbit that

New VLT lawwill keepBuffalo

Raceway inbusiness

By Brian J. MazurekFor years, Buffalo

Raceway struggled to sur-vive. As each racing seasonwould approach, questionswould be raised whether theErie County AgriculturalSociety, which owns BuffaloRaceway, would stop thebleeding and shut the doorson the Hamburg half-miletrack down for good.

New York State thenallowed racetracks to installvideo lottery terminals, alsoknown as slot machines.The additional revenuefrom the machines allowedtracks like Buffalo Racewayto stay afloat.

But with heavy competi-

tion from Indian-run casi-nos, tracks still needed helpand recently New York Stateallowed tracks to keep abigger slice of revenue.

“I can tell you that foryears we lost money butkept Buffalo Racewayopen,” Dennis Lang, thechief executive officer of theErie County AgriculturalSociety, said. “If the VLT’shadn’t come along, BuffaloRaceway would have closeddown. We couldn’t afford tolose any more money.”

Under the old law, forevery dollar bet on thevideo lottery terminals, 92cents is paid back to the bet-tor and of the remainingeight cents, 32 percent wentto the track with the other68 percent going to the stateand paying out purses to thehorsemen.

While surviving, it justkept the track afloat. A big-ger percentage was neededand New York State agreedafter some serious hagglingand negotiations. Trackssuch as Buffalo Raceway

and Batavia Downs are nowable to keep 42 percentinstead of 32 percent.

“If the numbers remainthe same, which remainvery good, we hope to havealmost an additional twomillion dollars to workwith,” Lang said. “Since weare in direct competitionwith Indian casinos, we areable to keep 42 percent. Wecan improve our marketing,advertise more and use themoney for capital improve-ments. It’s survival for alltracks.”

The additional cash flow,according to Lang, willerase any doubts as to thefuture of Buffalo Raceway.

“This new law willremain for the foreseeablefuture and what it does isguarantee the future ofBuffalo Raceway,” Lang said.

When pressed furtherwhen asked about where hesees the track in five years,Lang quickly put to rest anyquestion of the closing ofthe track. “We will be here,strong, and racing.”

Woods and Water with Tim Wright

Finger Lakessets season-opener forApril 19

By Brian J. MazurekThey’ll be off and running

again at Finger Lakes RaceTrack for the 2008 seasonbeginning on Saturday,April 19. The meet will runthrough Saturday, Dec. 6.

The thoroughbreds willgo to the post Fridaysthrough Tuesdays with posttime slated each day for1:10 p.m. There are excep-tions, however, as Fridaysbeginning May 2 until Aug.29 will have a post of 12:35p.m. Sunday racing willcease in September until the

conclusion of the meet withThursdays being addedinstead. Also, all post timeswill change to 12:15 p.m.beginning on Nov. 3.

The busy stakes season atFinger Lakes will begin onMay 26 with the running ofthe $50,000 George W.Barker Handicap for three-year-old and up New Yorkbreds.

Other stake highlightsinclude the $150,000 NewYork Derby for three-year-old New York State breds onJuly 12, the $100,000Aspirant for two-year-oldsand the $100,000 LadyFingers for two-year-old fil-lies on Sept. 1 and thealways competitive$200,000 New YorkFuturity for two-year-oldswill be run on Oct 4.

John Davila Jr. is thedefending riding champion

after scoring 158 wins in2007 while John Grabowskiwas second with 120 victo-ries. Both are expectedback.

Chris Englehart is thereturning champion on thetraining side with 117 tripsto the winner’s circle andover $1.2 million in earn-ings. Charlton Baker wassecond with 87 wins butwas only approximately$36,000 behind Englehartin earnings. Both areexpected back in 2008 andhave their usual powerfulstables.

Besides live racing, simul-casting daily is available atFinger Lakes.

There are also over 1,100video lottery terminals atthe track. The VLT parlor isopen from 10 a.m. until 2a.m. every day.

continued on page 14

Page 10 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

By Jeffrey LevineReturning to the States after

five days of intense round-robin competition in Japan lastmonth, the U.S. National SledHockey Team is looking tobuild on its respectable 2-2record and third-place finish asit once again gears up for inter-national competition.

Beginning on March 29 andrunning until the gold/silvermedal game on April 5, theboys in red, white and bluewill have their work cut out forthem as they match up againstthe world’s most talentedteams at the Sledge HockeyWorld Championships inMarlborough, Mass.

Even though the .500 per-formance from Japan mayseem mediocre at best, thestats belie the level at whichTeam USA was truly compet-ing.

“I thought the Japan per-formance was extremely posi-tive in respect to the effort thatwas put forth,” head coach RayMaluta said. “With a bouncehere or save there we have thepotential [at Marlborough] tobe world champions. That’sour goal. It’s a situation whereif we work our way into a gold

medal game anything can hap-pen.”

Standing in Team USA’s way,however will be the othermembers of Pool A: Canada,Norway, Germany, Japan andItaly. Rounding out Pool B,Korea, Czech Republic,Poland and Estonia will neverface the teams from Pool A andwill have their own separatechampionship series on April3.

Acknowledging that there is‘added pressure’ on Team USAbecause the championshipsare in the United States, coachMaluta has implemented newprograms to keep his playersin top form.

“The team’s now on aweight program that they’venever had before” Malutaexplained. “The players haveto check in every week andthey are in constant communi-cation with our trainer viaemail every Sunday. For anumber of them we’re alsowatching their diet. It’s some-thing they’ve never been heldaccountable before.”

Although team captain andParalympic gold medalistChris Manns, a Buffalo native,will be the official leader on

the ice, Team USA will rely asmuch on their veterans as theywill on their new young talent.Reluctant and unable to assignblame or praise for his team’srecent performance, coachMaluta instead emphasized theimportance of working togeth-er.

“This is a work in progressand we are going to stay to ourtask in terms of progression,”Maluta said. “We’re building ateam and no team is built onone player. It’s a team sport. Ifour defenseman coughs up thepuck we all suffer. My philoso-phy is that if we’re going tolose we’re going to do it as ateam, and if we’re going towin, we’re going to win as ateam.”

Playing six games in eightdays, Team USA faces a gruel-ing schedule that promises tobe one of the most excitingtournaments of the season.

“True hockey fans in theBoston area should find anopportunity to get over andwatch a game or two of thiscaliber,” Maluta stressed.“Once people see it, they’llwant to come back and watchit. It’s that good hockey.”

March to Marlborough: Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship

By Nick Martin and Chris Nentarz

Physicians, physical thera-pists, chiropractors, sportsenhancement specialists andpersonal trainers are con-stantly striving to improveyour performance, decreaseyour pain and improve yourfunction. On occasion, a rev-olutionary technique graspsour attention and lends soci-ety a new exercise technique,an improved treatment strat-egy or a revolutionary pieceof equipment that assists usin accomplishing our goals.

One of the newest buzz-words in sports medicine is‘functional training.’However, if one was to ana-lyze research and evidence,they would see ‘functionaltraining’ is not a technique,but a methodology that datesback to the ancient Romans.These ancient cultures usedmedicine balls, bodyweightexercises and multi-dimen-sional movements toenhance their strength andperformance. An ancienttechnique that has resur-faced across the world is ket-tlebell training.

Known as a Girya, the ket-tlebell is a cannon ball with ahandle molded to it.Throughout Russian history,the Kettlebell became syn-onymous with strength, somuch so, the Russian termfor strongman is Girevik or“kettlebell lifter.” Kettlebellsare not only found in gyms,but sports medicine centersas well. Walter Brown, ofBuffalo Spine and Sport, hasbeen implementing kettle-bells into his treatment regi-

mens for some time. Hestates, “The kettlebells pro-vides my patients with resist-ance that is equivalent to theforces we encounter ineveryday life. Kettlebellsallow us to move in threeplanes of motion whilesimultaneously training thedeceleration phase of move-ments, which is critical torehabilitation success.”

There are many distinctadvantages to using kettle-bells. First, the center ofgravity is six to eight inchesbelow the center of yourhand. This creates an entire-ly different force that istransferred to your hand,wrist, shoulder and core.Secondly, the handles of ket-tlebells are thicker, requiringmore upper extremitystrength to control themomentum created whenthe kettlebell is moved.Lastly, the kettlebell trainsthe eccentric or decelerationpart of the movement.

“This deceleration portionof kettlebell lifting requires a

co-contraction of our entirecore musculature,” Brownsaid, “which ultimately pro-vided us with improvedspinal stability for sport andlife.”

Next time you are in thegym, look for a pair kettle-bells. We highly recommendyou seek a professional whois experienced in kettlebelluse. Whether you are rehab-bing from an injury, trying toimprove your sports per-formance or enhancing yourwaistline, implement kettle-bell training into your regi-men. Try something differ-ent, it may be the missinglink to your routine.

Chris is a sought after pre-senter, physical therapist andperformance enhancementspecialist who holds over eightyears of experience workingwith athletes of all ages andlevels. Chris is currently aconsultant with many profes-sional and elite teams and ath-letes in Canada and theUnited States, and is presidentof Koinetic Performance, LLC.

Kettlebells and sports medicine: The missing link?

Nick Martin closely watches Joe Smith of The BuffaloBandits work a set of kettlebell swings.

March 2008 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 11

Marchmarks startof spring fishing

Spring is almost upon us,and with the change of sea-sons comes changes in fishbehavior, as just about everyspecies of game fish startpreparing for the rigors of thespring spawn. With daysgrowing longer, and the clockchange happening early,Western New York anglersfind more daylight hoursbringing more opportunity to“land the big one.”Lake Erie Tributaries

March is all about trout onLake Erie streams and withthe mild winter, stream flowsfrom the mouth to firstimpassable barriers are justabout right, and with the latesnows of February, all areastreams should see good flowas runoff feeds their currents.

Cattaraugus Creek anglersfind excellent numbers oflarge steelhead runningupstream from Irving all theway to Scoby Dam in

Springville as the spawn drawsnear. Egg sacs presented undera float delivers rod-bendingaction when worked in thedeeper runs and pools. Flyanglers find action runningwooly buggers and pheasanttail nymphs along the bottomnear riffles and cut banks. Anight crawler presented on afloat or bounced along thebottom should not be over-looked, especially if we see asignificant warm-up andthawing ground. When waterclarity is optimal, action canbe furious.

Chautauqua Creek andCanadaway Creeks startshowing good numbers oflake-run steelies, especiallyearly and late in the day.

EighteenM i l eC r e e k ,f r o mDerby toEden, per-h a p ss h o w sb e s tpotentialfor anglersseeking as h o r t e rdrive tosteelheadheaven.

W h e nmajor streams show murkyconditions, try some of thesmaller feeders, like Big Sister,Little Sister, Smoke’s Creekand Little Canadaway.Although small in size, largebreeders will choke thestreams during spring, andoften anglers may find theirfishing experience one of soli-tude and serenity with fishingpressure far lower than theirlarger, more well-known rela-tives.Lake Ontario Tributaries

Lake Ontario’s streams,such as Eighteen Mile Creek,from Burt Dam to OlcottHarbor and Oak OrchardCreek receive much attentionas big steelhead and bruiserbrowns give hours of excite-

ment to persistent anglers.Although numbers of steel-head may not be as impressiveas Lake Erie’s offerings, rain-bows from Lake Ontario typi-cally run larger and offer thetrophy-seeker tenacious bat-tles few places rival.Chartreuse egg patterns andsucker spawn flies deliverexcellent results early and late.In slower-moving deep pools,Berkley Power Bait presentedon a three-way rig can be justthe right enticement when allelse is ignored.

Smaller streams, likeJohnson’s Creek and TwelveMile Creek should now havesufficient water levels to drawrunning trout, recoveringfrom the fall 2007 droughtthat left many smaller tribu-taries dry.Late Ice Opportunities

Hardwater anglers had towait until February for safeconditions, and the late bittercold spell has most inlandwaters showing 10-inch icecover. If weather patterns con-tinue to hold, ice fishingshould remain safe at leastthrough the walleye closingdate of March 15. Pre-spawnshould bring these deep-waterdwellers closer to shore, espe-cially at night, as they beginbinge feeding for their springreproductive cycle. Jigs tippedwith minnows, jiggingRapalas and sonic blade baits

worked just off bottom drawlarge breeders to bite whentiming is right.

Chautauqua Lake yellowperch have shown the besthardwater bite. Crappiesbegin moving to areas offeringwarmer waters, such as bridgeand permanent dock stan-chions, where sunlight createsradiant heat in these struc-tures. Fish will also beginmoving to deadfalls for samereasons. Small grub jigs andminnows work best on lastice.New Fishing RegulationsProposed

NYS DEC has released thelist of proposed regulationchanges to fishing in lateFebruary. Although most pro-posed changes seem to focuson eastern NY, one proposaldoes affect Erie Countyanglers, with a change in min-imum size for keeper troutproposed for the waters ofEllicott Creek that runsthrough Amherst State Park.Current minimum size is 12inches, with a proposal seek-ing to eliminate this minimumsize as to offer anglers achance to harvest smallerstocked fish in this put andtake fishery. Information con-cerning all proposed regula-tions can be found athttp://www.dec.ny.gov/regula-tions/41860.html. A publiccomment period is open for

angler input until April 4,2008.Upcoming Events

Bison City Rod & Gun willbe hosting a “Teach Me ToFish” event on April 27. Forinformation, contact DaveBarus at 716-597-4081.

Southtowns WalleyeAssociation will be holding aone-day yellow perch tourna-ment in May, exact date still tobe determined. This one-dayevent is for the five largest yel-low perch caught from LakeErie and the Upper NiagaraRiver. For information call716-649-8202, or fax at 716-649-8237.

Lake Ontario Counties(LOC) Spring Trout andSalmon Derby begins on May2, running through May 11,2008. Over $30,000.00 incash and prizes. For informa-tion, call 888-REEL-2-IN(733-5246), or visit their web-site at www.loc.org.

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

Rich Davenport is co-founderof WeLoveOutdoors.com, anavid Outdoorsman and memberof the NYSOWA. His works arealso published in NY OutdoorNews, Walleye.com and theBuffalo News. Rich is also theRecording Secretary for the ErieCounty Federation ofSportsmen’s Clubs. Emailrich@weloveoutdoors.com.

A pile of keeper perch has been common onChautauqua Lake for ice fishermen this year!

By Mike FoxS p o r t s

fans havespent ani n o rd i n a t eamount oftime ponder-ing baseballduring theoff -season,mostly forthe wrongreasons. Thismonth, wecall yourattention tosome of themore notablea c h i e v e -ments of the2007 season,as a subtle reminder that not all base-ball news has to contain words likesteroids, Congressional, asterisk, orgauze.

1. Who joined Alfonso Soriano asthe only second basemen in historyto record a 30 homer/30 stolen baseseason?

a. Chase Utleyb. Brandon Phillipsc. Dan Ugglad. B.J. Upton2. Who broke the major league

record for fastest player to record 100home runs (325 career games)?

a. Ryan Howardb. Prince Fielderc. Adrian Gonzalezd. Victor Martinez3. Which player amassed 10 RBIs

in one game?a. Mark Teixeirab. Justin Morneauc. Garret Andersond. Alex Rios4. Curtis Granderson became the

third player in history to post at least20 homers, doubles, triples andstolen bases in one season. Who wasthe fourth player to join the club?

a. Brian Robertsb. Jimmy Rollinsc. Bobby Abreud. Grady Sizemore5. Which team became

the first since 1897 to score30 runs in a game?

a. Kansas City Royalsb. Chicago Cubsc. Detroit Tigersd. Texas Rangers6. Arizona’s Jose Valverde

led the majors with 47saves. Who was the ALleader with 45?

a. Jonathan Papelbonb. Francisco Rodriguezc. J.J. Putzd. Joe Borowski7. Who was the first

everyday second basemanin history to play an entire seasonwithout committing an error?

a. Freddy Sanchezb. Aaron Hillc. Placido Polancod. Orlando Hudson8. Two players joined the exclusive

20 homer/50 stolen base club in2007. One was Hanley Ramirez. Whowas the other?

a. Eric Byrnesb. Jose Reyesc. Jimmy Rollinsd. Carl Crawford9. Who was the only major league

pitcher to win 20 games in 2007?a. Chien-Ming Wangb. Jake Peavyc. Josh Beckettd. John Lackey10. Who became the 13th player in

history to turn an unassisted tripleplay?

a. Asdrubal Cabrerab. Troy Tulowitzkic. David Ecksteind. Ryan Theriot

Trivia quiz

Photo by Mark CunninghamPlacido Polanco led allinfielders with a .341 battingaverage in 2007, but howabout his defense?

By Mike FoxSpring is in the air, and fanta-

sy geeks are fine-tuning theirbaseball draft strategies. To aidyou, I offer my annual list ofpotential breakout positionplayers. Some of them comewith caveats, but all have thepotential to produce at a levelfar surpassing their auctionprice or draft position.Catchers

Most strategists agree thattouting rookie catchers is riskybusiness, but it’s hard to ignorethe Triple-A exploits of GeovanySoto. Soto was named 2007MVP of the Pacific Coast Leagueafter a .353-26-109 season fea-turing a 1.076 OPS. For goodmeasure, Soto hit .389 for theCubbies during his Septembercall-up. If he can show SweetLou he can handle his dutiesbehind the plate and earn a full-time job, Soto could be a top-10fantasy catcher by season’s end.

Others to consider: JarrodSaltalamacchia, J.R.Towles,Dioner NavarroFirst basemen

Prince Fielder stole most of theheadlines at this position last year,but San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalezhad a breakout season in his ownright. The former No.1 overalldraft pick quietly produced a.300-30-100-100 season. It’s hardto forecast much more than thatbecause of his cavernous homepark, mediocre supporting cast,and tough divisional rivals, butGonzalez will cement his spot as atop-10 first baseman, just not top-five, so bid accordingly.

Don’t dismiss James Loney’s.331 average as a fluke. Loney wasa career .296 batter in the minors,including a .380 season over 366AAA at-bats in 2006. He’s only 23,

so more power could develop, butfor now enjoy the solid averageand increased RBI.

Others to consider: Daric Barton,Justin MorneauSecond basemen

B.J. Upton will be manning cen-ter field for Tampa Bay this sea-son, but if he still retains second-base eligibility in your league, gethim. He won’t come cheap afterhis 20-20 season, but the best isyet to come. Upton’s talent isundeniable, and he’s surroundedby a young lineup that is drippingwith potential talent. Expect aBrandon Phillips-like rise to thetop of the second baseman rank-ings.

Somebody has to play secondbase for the Rockies. If this spot isstill up for grabs on your draft day,put your money on Ian Stewart.The Rockies are hoping Stewartcan make a smooth transitionfrom third base to second, allow-

ing them to add his potentbat to their everyday lineup.If he can earn regular at-batsat Coors Field, he’ll slide into

the top-ten at this thinnest offantasy positions.

Others to consider: KellyJohnson, and dare I say it,Rickie WeeksShortstops

This is the wrong positionfor you to be prospecting. TheBig Three are heads and tailsabove the rest of the pack, andyou should do everything inyour power to secure the serv-ices of Jose Reyes, HanleyRamirez or Jimmy Rollins.

If this doesn’t work out, con-sider Detroit’s Carlos Guillen ifyour league still recognizeshim as a shortstop. The Tigers’lineup is stacked, and Guillenwill provide corner infielder-type power numbers with ahandful of stolen bases.

Others to consider: J.J. Hardy,Stephen Drew

OutfieldersThis is traditionally a good

place to do your bargain hunting,and this year is no exception.Those who like to target reboundcandidates can choose from thelikes of Jason Bay, Vernon Wells,Hideki Matsui and Andruw Jones.If you prefer proven young risingstars, you’ll be more interested innames like Hunter Pence, CoreyHart, Nick Markakis, or ChrisYoung. Or maybe you like rookiesand post-hype players such asJeremy Hermida, CameronMaybin, Rocco Baldelli, AndreEthier and Carlos Quentin. All ofthese players could easily surpasspre-season expectations.

We’ll discuss pitchers in ournext issue. Until then, good luckto all in your upcoming drafts.Remember to keep digging in thelate rounds, because there’s goldin them th’ar hills!

Fantasy baseball

Photo Chicago Cubs/Stephen GreenYou don’t know much about GeovanySoto yet, but you will.

Doctari’s Fishing Forum with Rich Davenport

Answers1. b 2. a 3. c 4. b 5. d6. d 7. c 8. a 9. c 10. b

Page 12 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

By Don LockwoodWithin minutes of the

winning basket going inand the celebration thatfollows, Ray Blackburnwas telling anyone whowould listen, “the curse isover.”

The “curse” Blackburnwas referring to was hishigh school team,Lackawanna High School,winning the New YorkState Championship theyear after he left.Blackburn’s youngerbrother, LeSean, led thatteam.

Monroe recruitedBlackburn during his sen-ior season at Lackawannawhen he was a first-team all-WNY player and led theteam in virtually every cate-gory. He was on the MonroeCommunity College squadthat won the Region III titleover Mercyhurst Northeastin 2005-06 by a score of 98-78.

Monroe finished the sea-son with a 26-5 record andthe Region III title. At thattime, the Region III winnerwas forced to play in the

District play-in game wherethey faced the CommunityCollege of Beaver Countyand were defeated 82-71,one game short of their goal.

The Region III winnernow gets a direct bid to theNJCAA Division II NationalTournament thanks to theNJCAA.

ECC made an attempt torecruit Blackburn but by thetime head coach Alex Nworacould speak with him, he

was already committed tothe Tribunes. Blackburnplayed in 26 games for theTribunes, averaging 8.3points. Unhappy with hisrole and family issues athome, he decided homewas where he wanted tobe. After sitting out lastseason, Blackburn happilydecided ECC was wherehe wanted to be andimmediately set his goalson one thing, beatingMonroe for the Region IIIChampionship.

With a 24-5 regular sea-son behind him and a 4-1record versus rankedteams, Blackburn had hisgoal within reach entering

the Region III tournament.The top-seeded Kats dis-patched Genesee 75-67 in atightly contested game to setup the third meeting of theseason between Erie andMonroe.

In their first meeting, ECCturned a tight game at half-time into an 86-62 rout inthe second half led byBlackburn’s 18 points, 10rebounds, and nine assists.In their second meeting on

Valentine’s Day at Monroe, amiraculous Kats comebackgave them an 83-82 victory.The Kats scored five pointsin the last 6.5 seconds fortheir biggest win of the sea-son.

The Kats faced Monroe inthe Region IIIChampionship game withthe winner receiving the bidto the NJCAA Tournament ina crowded JamestownCommunity College gym.

An 11-point Monroe leadin the first half was reducedto one at halftime. Monroe,

who led the entire gameuntil the 17:23 mark of thesecond half, saw the twoteams exchange the leadeight times, sitting at an eventie five times as the gameneared its conclusion.

With the game tied 53-53with just seconds left, Eriemissed three-straight shotsand grabbed the reboundeach time before freshmanSimon Akowe scored thewinning basket with 5.7 sec-onds left.

Blackburn finished theseason leading the team and

conference in many offensivecategories but is quick todeflect the accolades thatcome his way. In their sea-son-opening tournamentwin at home, Blackburn wasnamed the tournament MVP.He shared the award with hisbackup, Steven Roberts.

With four more gamesremaining in their quest toclaim the school’s first-everbasketball national title, onething is for sure; Blackburnhas lifted the “curse.”

Blackburn leads ECC to the Promised Land

By Al ValentinA coach is usually content

with one star athlete but atNiagara-Wheatfield, coachRick Sweeney has three:Joey, Angelo and BobbyMalvestuto.

With such a talentedfamily, it’s possible thatall three boys couldbring the title home,and something thatwouldn’t surprise theircoach.

“If the boys come infocused and give 100percent there shouldn’tbe a reason why theydon’t win at States,”coach Sweeney said.

Bobby Malvestuto isthe oldest and a junior,who will be contendingin the 152-poundweight class. Bobbywent 21-2 this season. Hewon his weight class section-al even though his seasonwas cut short by 15 matchesbecause he was suspendedfor an incident in which hewas defending his brother.

“Joey won a match andthe opponent he beatpunched him in the mouthand broke four of his frontteeth,” coach Sweeneyexplained. “Bobby came into defend his brother andpunched the guy.”

Niagara Falls and the StateWrestling commission bothhave a zero tolerance policyfor violence. Although hewas doing what many otherbrothers would have, Bobbywas suspended for hisactions.

Last year left a bitter tastein Bobby’s mouth. Not onlywas he suspended for thisseason but he also lost hissemi-final match for the sec-tional championship.

“I lost by a point to a guyI can clearly beat,” Bobbysaid. “I went into the matchover-confident and you justcan’t do that in any sport youplay.”

This year Bobby hasturned it around. His coachbelieves it has to do with theend result of last season.

“He’s a lot more focusedthis year,” coach Sweeneystated. “Last year’s result hasmade him a better wrestler.It’s a tough way to learn buthe has learned not to over-look anyone.”

Bobby didn’t get to thispoint by accident. He liftsweights every day, runs andeats right. He has a true lovefor wrestling and his broth-ers. Although some experts

place Bobby’s younger broth-er, Angelo, ahead of him interms of talent, when youbring this up to Bobby hecould care less.

“As a big brother, youwant your younger brother

and sister to have more suc-cess. You want them to bebetter than you. It doesn’tmatter to me what othersthink,” Bobby said.

Being the eldest doesn’tmean you’re always thebiggest. Bobby’s youngerbrother Angelo competes inthe 171-pound weight class.This didn’t stop Angelo fromwinning sectionals last year.In his weight division, therewere 14 seniors and one jun-ior last year in the StateChampionship tournament.Angelo finished fourth.

Angelo is now a sopho-more. He finished this sea-son with a 36-2 record andwon his second straight sec-tional championship.

According to his coach,this record didn’t happen bymistake. Angelo wasunranked last year while thisyear he is ranked secondoverall in the state. Angelo isone wrestler dedicated to thesport.

“His technique is better;he’s more focused, and self-disciplined,” coach Sweeneyexplained. “He works outevery day and he is a truewrestler. He doesn’t play anyother sports. He concen-trates on wrestling all yearround.”

Angelo attributes his suc-cess to coaching, hard work,and dedication. His fun timeis hanging out with hiswrestling buddies.

“Coach Sweeney hashelped me out tremendously.I work out all year round,”Angelo said. “I wrestle dur-ing the summer. My friendsand I work out and talkwrestling all the time.”

Angelo will be going for

his first state title nextSaturday and many expertsbelieve that he will bring thetitle back to Western NewYork.

Angelo will also be onhand to watch the youngest

Malvestuto in action. JoeyMalvestuto won a sectionaltitle last year in the 96-pound weight class. He didthis as an eighth grader. Thisseason, Joey went 34-4 as afreshman and won his sec-tional in the 103-poundweight class. Joey has achance to do something hisbrothers could never do. Heis eligible to win five section-al championships.

Joey will try to redeemhimself this year. Last year atthe state championship hehad a quick exit.

“I got a tough draw. Ifaced a junior and senior. Itjust wasn’t my night,” Joeysaid.

The youngest Malvestutois just following in his broth-ers’ footsteps. He works outand wrestles all year round.He wrestles because it’s moreof a family thing.

“I wrestle because mybrothers do it. It’s a way tokeep us closer together,”Joey explained. “I hope to goto a Division 1-A school andget my degree.”

The Malvestuto boys willbe entering the gymnasiumwith a heavy heart nextweek. Their hard work, ded-ication, and motivation areaimed at making their fatherproud. When asked whatthey wanted WNY to knowabout the Malvestuto broth-ers, all three boys answeredthat they were wrestling fortheir dad.

Following in the footstepsof their father Robert, a for-mer wrestler himself, theMalvestuto boys all have avery good chance at bringinghome a state title.

It runs in the family: The Malvestuto boys

left to right: Bob Malvestuto (152 lbs.) Joe Malvestuto (103 lbs.)Angelo Malvestuto (171 lbs).

By JeffreyLevine

W h a tcould St.Leo’s theG r e a thonor stu-dent KristyKnoll possi-bly have inc o m m o nwith theS a b r e squick and cagey center DerekRoy? Well, for starters, theyboth play hockey, and, moreimportantly, they both skateagainst boys who are muchlarger than they are.

The 5-foot-4 Knoll beganher hockey career at the age of6 playing in the boys’ leaguesand has never looked back. At8 she was already playingtravel with the WheatfieldBlades while having to con-tend with a much more phys-ical game.

“Kristy has been checkingsince she was 8 even thoughmost girls never want tocheck at all,” said DanielKnoll Jr., Kristy’s father, whois also a hockey coach.“Hockey’s a pretty physicalsport but Kristy can handleherself. She’s a smart playerand doesn’t put herself in abad position. She has a 95average (in school) and she’spretty tough.”

Often skating on the sameteam as her brother who istwo and a half years older,Kristy has been working herway up through the houseleagues and travel clubs inWestern New York. Last year,Kristy had to contend with aknee injury incurred during aJV basketball game when sherefused to leave the hard-wood. While it may haveslowed her down, that samecompetitive spirit also kepther going. Refusing to sit for aseason, Kristy joined the AA

Buffalo Regals,where she got herfirst chance toplay defense.

“I liked playingforward but I alsoliked going todefense because Ican always try to

help prevent goals,” Kristystated. “I was never thebiggest scorer on team but Ican help out [on defense] andstill be offensive.”

Her father also approved ofthe switch.

“Kristy had never playeddefense before,” Daniel Knollsaid, “but she turned out to bethe best one on the team.”

Now at the age of 12, Kristyis making a positive impactwith the AAA AmherstKnights - one of, if not theonly, girl playing at that levelat such a young age - and hashigh aspirations for thefuture.

“For a long time I’ll proba-bly keep [competitively go-kart] racing for fun and I’mtrying to keep my hockeygoing so I can take it forscholarship (at a Division Ischool) or play on anOlympic team,” Kristy

explained. “I’d also like toteach other kids how to be agood hockey player.”

Despite her young age,Kristy has complimented hersolid game with a maturitythat would be admirable evenin a college hockey player.

“There are some things thatI need to work on,”Kristy admitted, “andthere are always otherthings to improve. Mygame’s never as good as Ithink it is because I’mhard on myself.”

A dual-sport athlete,Kristy may be hard onherself because she is soaccustomed to findingsuccess. Tearing alongthe track at RansomvilleSpeedway, Kristy hasquickly been establish-ing herself in competi-tive go-kart racing, com-piling 20 wins and onechampionship to hercredit.

If Kristy has served asa role model for other girls,there is no one it has had abigger impact on then her lit-tle sister Katie.

“When Katie was young wewould take her to Kristy’sgames,” Daniel Knollexplained. “We stood herstroller up against the glassand she would cry if shecouldn’t see. Now she’salready in her fourth year ofplaying.”

Although Kristy’s accom-plishments are certainlyimpressive, with the besthopefully yet to come, therecently converted bluelinerdoesn’t want any extra atten-tion for doing what comes sonaturally to her.

“Playing against boys is justwhat I do,” Kristy said. “Youjust go out [on the ice] andthere’s nothing really specialabout it.”

Kristy Knoll: Skating with the big boys

Kristy Knoll takes out some of thecompetition.

Sophomore Ray Blackburn ele-vating for 2 points in 70-69 winover Monroe College.

March 2008 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 13

Bulls head toCleveland for MAC

TournamentBy Stephen Marth

As the college basketballseason begins to dwindle, theUniversity at Buffalo men’sand women’s basketball teamslook to head into the MACTournament on a winningnote after both teams havegiven less-than-stellar per-formances throughout theseason. The men’s team, withits worst record since the2002-2003 season, looks tosurprise its MAC foes inCleveland, Ohio. The women,on the other hand, hope tocontinue their winning waysas their regular season comesto an end.

The Buffalo men’s basket-ball team (9-18, 2-12 MAC),after starting their 2007-2008campaign with two straightwins, have gone up and downconsiderably with mediocreshowings. The Bulls have beenled by junior guard AndyRobinson, who has continuedto surprise many since hisbreakout sophomore season.Robinson has already hit the353 point mark, surpassinghis personal record last year of318 points. He was alsonamed MAC Men’s BasketballPlayer of the Week for the EastDivision on Feb. 11 after play-ing against Northern Illinoisand Eastern Michigan.

In the contest versus theNIU Huskies, Robinsonscored a career-high 35 points,two shy of the school recordfor a road game. He also shot13-of-18 from the floor,including 8-of-10 frombeyond the arc. AgainstEastern Michigan, he decidedto play on a more defensivenote, scoring only sevenpoints, but contributing foursteals and a pair of blockedshots to the victory.

The Buffalo women’s bas-ketball team (14-14, 7-8MAC), on the other hand, hashad an above-average season,particularly due to the play ofsenior guard StephanieBennett. The 5-foot-8 co-cap-tain has already surpassedindividual records made in the2006-2007 season, includingscored points in an individualseason.

Last year, Bennett scored310 points in her 29 games.

This year, she has already hitthe 353 point mark in only 27games. Bennett also continuesto be a threat beyond the arc,making 73 of 184 three pointshots. She has also been a con-sistent nominee for MACWomen’s Basketball Player ofthe Week for the EastDivision.

With one game left at homeagainst Kent State in the regu-lar season, the Bulls look tostrengthen their seed in thetournament. If the seasonwere to end today, the Bullswould be the four-seed in theEast, facing off against theToledo Rockets, the five-seedopponent from the West. Intheir February match up ver-sus the Rockets, the Bullscame were victorious at home,winning 60-45.

As both teams head intoQuicken Loans Arena inCleveland, the women havemore promise in the tourna-ment. While the Lady Bullswere 2-4 against the West,games versus division leadersEastern and WesternMichigan were decided bythree points and six points,respectively. The men, howev-er, are 1-10 on the road, and 2-1 in neutral sites, with most oftheir victories coming fromgames held at Alumni Arena.

The MAC Tournament willbegin on Sunday, March 9 forthe MAC women, andWednesday, March 12 for themen. The MACChampionship Games willboth be held on Saturday,March 15.

Photo courtesy The SpectrumFreshman forward JawaanAlston gets fired up witheight points, five boards andthree assists againstYoungstown.

By Adam McGillCanisius College

Picked in the coaches’poll to finish first in thenine-team Metro AtlanticAthletic Conference thisyear, the Golden Griffinsare returning almost every-one from their 2007MAAC Championshipteam. First basemen KerryUlmer, infielder PaigeFreilberger, outfielderLauren Hope, and catch-er/first basemen EmilyHelbig will all be joiningthe team as freshman andshould help the team com-pete for their secondstraight conference cham-pionship.

Led by senior KatieMiranto (NorthTonawanda, NY), theshortstop will be a keyplayer for the Griffs both inthe batters box and thefield. Last season she ledthe team with a .371 bat-ting average and 44 runsscored as well as picking upall-MAAC first team honorsand being voted the presea-son MAAC player of theyear.

Joining Miranto on thepreseason all-MAAC teamare juniors Cameron Nortonand Jenny Maheu. Nortonhad a great 2007 season atthe hot corner and has theheight to make sure the ballstays in front of her onbounces. After an incredibleMAAC championship per-formance batting .415,Maheu is looking to be moreof a leader in the upcomingseason.

In an increasingly difficultconference, Canisius willcertainly be one of thetoughest teams to match upagainst.Erie Community College

The Kats have only threesophomores this season butE.C.C. consistently getsgood scouting from theBuffalo area and has beenbuilding their program.

E.C.C. pitcher CourtneyDamian is looking to have astrong season in 2008 withconfidence and great con-trol. Damian will face offagainst the stronger battersin the area, but with herpitching ability she couldpile up the strikeouts this

year. On the offensive side,outfielder Laura Lawandus isa good contact hitter andwill be hard to strike-out thisseason. She has a good eyeand likes to hit pitches highin the strike zone.

The team opens their sea-son on March 30, hostingBroome Community Collegeat 1 p.mNiagara University

Last year was a promisingseason for the Purple Eagles.The team made the MAACtournament for the first timesince 2000 and finished withan impressive 10-5 confer-ence record (18-20 overall).Only Canisius was picked tofinish higher in the presea-son polls and the Eagles lookto build upon last year’s solidcampaign.

Senior Tory Healy is oneof the premier first basemenin the conference, hitting foraverage and driving the ballanywhere in the outfield.The criminal justice majorwas voted to the preseasonall-MAAC team this year andcurrently holds the NiagaraUniversity record for RBIsand home runs. When

Healy’s career is finished,she could end up beingthe best softball playerin N.U. history.

Sophomore KristinKill (Portland, ME)looks to build upon her2007 MAAC rookie ofthe year season and .384batting average.Freshmen shortstopMaggie MacDonald hither first career home runas part of a 7-6 winagainst Princeton andher homerun power ispromising, especiallyfrom a position that typ-ically doesn’t havepower hitters.

Niagara is one of thebest teams in the confer-ence and the March 19match against Canisiusshould be very competi-tive.University at Buffalo

The Mid-AmericanConference, with teamssuch as Bowling Green,Miami-Ohio, and KentState, is a tough environ-ment for inexperiencedteams and Buffalo is veryyoung this season with

four seniors and four juniorson its roster. There is quite awhile before conference playwhich should give the Bullssome time to build momen-tum before facing the power-houses of the MAC.

Senior Marcy Hansen, oneof only three seniors, hasgreat fielding skills and isexpected to be among thetop three in batting averageby the end of the season.Finding a potential fixture atsecond base, Alex Bejaranowill also contribute to theoffense. The freshman ledthe team with three doublesin the opening tournamentof the season and will anchorthe Bull’s infield for years tocome

UB will also be relyingheavily on the arm of teamace Margo Schramm. Aright-handed pitcher,Schramm has some great off-speed pitches in her reper-toire. With some improvedrun support the senior couldpick up more wins this yearand have the confidence tohelp lower her ERA.

Canisius tops local softball

Photo by Tom Wokf ImagingSenior shortstop Katie Mirantowill have everyone in the con-ference watching her this sea-son.

Page 14 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE March 2008

Sabres fans every time con-tract talk comes up with anyplayer. Golisano has said hewon’t lose money on theSabres and that the Buffaloeconomic state won’t allowhim to make a lot of moneyanyway, but breaking evenor a small profit is how he’lltry and run the team.

So what’s next? Well,goaltender Ryan Miller hasbeen a huge reason for thesuccess of the club in thepost-lockout era. Miller’snumbers are impressive andhis durability only enhanceshis value. Sabres fans don’thave to go back too far intheir memories to find anexample of a great goalieplaying in front of an aver-age team. That may be whatthe future holds for thisclub while the rising starsleave for wealthier pastures.Miller’s contract has oneyear remaining on it. In myeyes, he has been the mostconsistent Sabres player thisyear. A great goalie can takean average team and allowthem to contend with the

top brass in the league.Signing Miller long-term

is essential to this team. He’sa leader, he’s vocal in thelocker room and clearly heis extremely popular in thecommunity. Sounds famil-iar, right? I could also betalking about Drury, Briereand Campbell. Miller mayget his long-term deal thatthe previous three all nevercould seem to get finalized.It’s going to be a pricy com-mitment but if the teamwon’t commit to Miller thenthe message is clear thatthey will never go that extramile to win the Stanley Cup.The salary cap has contin-ued to rise and the Sabreswill likely have the room tokeep Miller around, thequestion is though, willthey spend the money?With Rangers goalie HenrikLundqvist getting a new six-year contract averagingmore than $6.5 million perseason, you can start therewith the negotiations. Thesecond the season ends, thetalks will start.

For now, with Campbellgone to San Jose, the teamwill try to make a final runin March to find themselvesin the postseason. It will bea tough task with theEastern ConferenceStandings so tight.Shootouts have led to a lotof three-point nights, onlytightening things up evenmore. Campbell will likelybe a part of the postseasonas his new team, San Jose, isin much better standing inthe Western Conferencethan his former club.Campbell’s lasting thoughtwas a positive one.

“It’s been a lot of fun.They’ve seen me developand become a better player.They supported me and Iallowed them to call me‘Soupy’ and that was fine.They talked to me as afriend and a normal personand that’s what I respect themost.”

Soup from page 2with an outside concession-aire, Creek View Services, tohandle that area of the busi-ness.

As for the racing itself,the drag racing programwill run as always, onFriday nights, with Tuesdayused for amateur night,along with test and tune.The stock cars will runevery other week in general,rather than every Saturdayas in the past, reflecting thebiggest change. This shiftwas necessitated inGalluzzi’s view by the redink that inevitably accom-panied the weekly stock carshows as they were beingrun.

“For me to continuestock car racing here, I haveto make changes, bigchanges, and that I amdoing,” Galluzzi noted.“Hopefully the changes thatI make will improve thestock car racing for thefuture. I plan on workingwith other tracks if theyallow me to.”

Regarding those changes,the most obvious is theelimination of the highlyunprofitable super stockclass and the late models asweekly divisions, whilerestoring the popular modi-fieds (with a bigger purse)as the premier division.

The current plan is tobring the supers back forone or two shows, but asGalluzzi pointed out, “it’sgoing to be on my terms.”The late models will bethrottled back as well. “I’mgoing to bring the late mod-els back for four events plusthe U.S. Open,” Galluzzinoted, “only if they bringme cars. If they show upwith nine or 10 cars the firsttime around, they won’t beback. I want their support. Icame here to save this race-track. I need the support allthe classes. I can count onthe drag racers, but can Icount on the stock cars? Idon’t know. That’s why Ionly gave them eight events.Show me what you can dofor me, and I’ll show youwhat I can do for you.”

If these seem to be toughterms, consider the alterna-tive - no racing at all. As apromoter, Galluzzi can’t beexpected to do it all. He willdo his part, which includesimproving the conditionsfor the racers and the fans,while aggressively market-ing the facility, but it needsto be a cooperative effort.

Given that he will have anumber of Saturday nightsavailable, he has plannedsome major drag racingevents. A key date on the

2008 calendar, which willfeature a hundred lap modi-fied race, will be Saturday,June 28, the 50th anniver-sary of the track. There willalso be a special drag showin July as part of the 50thanniversary celebration.

As for staffing, many ofthe former employees willbe retained, with ex dragracer, Jack Baron, takingover as race director for thedrag racing, while formerdirector Gary Westphal willtake over operation of thetiming system. JohnnieNelson, who formerlyworked with Galluzzi andmore recently was involvedwith Andy Harpell’s ROCSeries, will be the new stockcar racing director.

Until recently, everythingabout Dunn Tire RacewayPark, née LancasterSpeedway, then LancasterRaceway Park, was inlimbo, but with the returnof the savvy and highlyrespected Ralph Galluzzi,there is ample reason to beoptimistic about the futureof the storied facility onGunnville Road.

For more information youcan log on to the track’s newwebsite www.dunntirerace-waypark.com.

Lancaster from page 8

might be hours old. Theycan also pick up rabbit scenton ice, snow and even alonga hot, dried-out, dusty road.A beagle will search for rab-bits by sniffing and walkingin different ways, and theywill stop at nothing passingthrough extreme terrain andharsh conditions like heavybrush, briars or tickets tofind and chase a single rab-bit. As soon as the dog findsone, it makes a specificalerting bark, allowing thehunter to get ready for apossible shot.

If you plan on goinghunting without a dog, thanyou should know how rab-bits react under differentweather conditions. Thiswill increase your chancesof spotting a rabbit and get-ting an efficient shot off.The best time for huntingrabbits would be the first

hot day after a cold periodbecause they will stay in thesun all day to get their furwarm. On a cold day, youwill find them in thick tan-gles of vines or briars andany other similar place thatprovides protection fromthe harsh conditions.

The most efficient tech-nique when hunting aloneis the stop-and-go method,in which you move five to10 steps at a time and thenstop to observe the sur-roundings. With or withouta dog, if a rabbit is flushedand pens up in heavy coverthen the trick is to moveslowly to that area and thenbegin stomping and kickingany portion of cover thatmight be holding the rabbit.A couple of hunters maywork as one with one of thehunters posting up to theanticipated direction a rab-

bit may choose to run onceflushed.

All things considered,hunting rabbit is tricky.Searching for a rabbit is adifficult thing to do. Successmight boil down to havingthe ability to see a specificrabbit feature or a minus-cule motion through heavybrush or in total snowy win-ter conditions. An experi-enced and successful hunteris trained to look for a darkglistening eye, a twitchingnose, a brownish-tinted earor even the flick of an ear inthe heaviest of cover. But itdoesn’t matter whichmethod you prefer. If youunderstand how rabbitsreact when pressured, youcan get great results with orwith out hunting dogs.

Rabbit hunting from page 9

friends, Kenny Abril (6-3-1)and Jonathan Tubbs (10-5-1), will turn from trainingpartners to adversarieswhen they battle for the NYState title belt. Worldranked Ella Nunez (5-3)and Sean Thompson (2-0)will try to improve theirrecords in separate boutswith Willie Monroe, Jr.,Chapo Figueroa, DwayneHardaway and Gean Ramosmaking their professionaldebuts. Call 585-254-3280for ticket information.

••••••••

James Ventry of NiagaraFalls, N.Y., fought to a four-round draw on Feb. 29 inLeMoore Calif. Ventry’srecord stands at 4-4-1 andwill return to California onApril 17. Lorenzo Davis ofthe Falls may make his pro-fessional debut on that card.

•••••••• Two local fighters were

on the undercard of the fab-ulous Rafael Marquez-IsraelVazquez championshipfight in Carson, Calif. onMarch 1. Nick Casal (17-2-1) stopped James Wayka

(15-7) in the third round ofa scheduled six. RossThompson (26-11-3) ofBuffalo lost a close eight-round decision to HenryBuchanan (16-1).Thompson weighed a careerhigh 177 pounds in his firstfight since dropping aneight-round decision to cur-rent middleweight champi-on Kelly Pavlik on Nov. 27,2004.

Boxing from page 8

hockey league with theRochester Americans from2002-2005. While his num-bers in his last AHL season(18G, 25A, 43pts) wereactually less than those inhis first year (14G, 39A,53pts), they don’t tell thestory of how he had evolvedas a professional. “Theydon’t tell about the differentsituations I was used in,”Gaustad explained. “Thefirst year I was used on thefirst power play unit. I thinkthroughout the years I’vebecome a more responsibleplayer, more confident, andknew and played my posi-tion a lot better in my thirdyear than I did in my firstyear.”

Gaustad describes hisrole on the team as “Energyand physical play, bringingthat presence, being respon-sible defensively and alsochipping in offensively.” Butenergy and physical play arenot the only assets Gaustadbrings to the ice. The Sabrespower play has benefitedfrom his size with Gaustadplanting himself in front ofopposition nets, obstructing

goaltenders view of incom-ing shots while positioninghimself for deflections. “Myrole has become more offen-sive, it’s just somethingwhere they throw me intodifferent roles and thenadjusting,” Gaustadexplained. “It’s just moreresponsibility and I enjoytaking on more responsibil-ity. So wherever they putme, I’m going to try andexcel and try to improve.”

Role models have beenplentiful for Gaustad as hehas developed in the Sabressystem. “In Rochester, I hadsome great veteran leader-ship in Jason Botteril andChris Taylor who reallyhelped me along,” Gaustadexplained. “When I cameup to Buffalo, we had DannyBriere and Chris Drury.[They] were the guys Ialways tried to follow,they’re great leaders.”

“One of the guys that I’vetried to learn as much as Ican from is Mike Grier,”Gaustad continued. “I thinkhe’s one very underrated[player] in this league. He’sdefinitely one of the best

forecheckers and defensiveforwards in the league. Ithink he’s one of the betterplayers, and harder playersto play against.” Apparentlythe coaching staff of the SanJose Sharks also sharesGaustad’s views, givingGrier the fourth highestaverage ice time per gameamong the team’s forwardsdespite being only theireighth highest scoring for-ward.

Gaustad is currently inthe last year of his contractwith the Sabres and willbecome a restricted freeagent this off-season. With acurrent salary of $850,000,Gaustad is due for a sub-stantial raise and with theleague’s renewed emphasison physical play, No.28’svalue to the Sabres is sub-stantial. For Sabres fans,there is no doubt that hisoff-season negotiations withthe club will be devoid ofthe drama all too familiar inrecent years and that theGoose will continue to plyhis trade here in Buffalo.

Goose from page 2

of steals. With Sam Cassellgone to wear the Celticgreen, Knight gets the full-time gig for the rest of theseason and always puts upgreat steal numbers.Desmond Mason (F)Milwaukee Bucks

Since returning fromthumb surgery, Mason hasbeen getting anywherefrom 20 to 40 minutes anight and is almost alwaysscoring in double digits.Mason has long been anunderrated player in reallife as well as fantasy, but

he’s one of those ‘glue’ guyswho shows up every nightand just does his job.Earl Watson (PG) SeattleSonics

Irish legend has it that ifyou capture a leprechaunyou get to keep his pot ofgold. If you capture Watsonoff the free agent list youwon’t get gold, but you willget over six assists pergame. Although he sharestime at point guard, he putsup the better numbers andchips in with a fair amountof steals as well.

To borrow an old Irishproverb, keep in mind thata tin knocker shines evenon a dirty door. In otherwords, if your team is a cel-lar dweller any of thesemediocre real life playersmay be a star for you if it hehelps you win a category.Happy St. Patrick’s Day, andmay the luck of the Irish bewith your fantasy team.

Phil Taylor is author ofAsk the Dr. appearing everyThursday onwww.FantasyBasketball.com

Fantasy from page 5