By Jeffrey LevineNext time you’re at Sahlen’s Stadium

to attend a WNY Flash match, be sure tolook up to section 118, or, better yet, just

listen. That’s because section 118 is home tothe WNY Flash Mob and with all the chants

and cheers and noise coming from the north endof the stadium, it’ll be hard not to notice them

next season.Easy to recognize but difficult to encompass, the

Flash Mob is listed as the official supporter’s groupof the WNY Flash but they’re best described by aperson who has experienced the rush of cheeringfor her team side by side with other fans.

“We’re a visible and audible source of support andpositive energy for the team so that they know thattheir hard work, skill, and talent does not go unap-preciated,” Sarah Black, a member of the Flash Mobexplained. “It enables a community of soccer fans toconnect with each other, cheer together, commiser-ate together, create tifos together and travel to gamestogether. Those fans who don’t want to sit back and

be passively entertained can get involved and bepart of the game.”

Tifo, an Italian word now understood asa passionate display of support for a

team, is the ideal way todefine what the Flash Mobfosters. Despite back toback to back champi-

onships, however, things at Sahlen’sStadium were not always so boisterous.

“I got involved in the Mob after thechampionship game when I went outwith some other season ticket holders

and we talked about how quiet the stands were dur-ing the game and throughout the season,” SabrinaBeach, a member of the Flash Mob, explained. “Therewere a few times during the season I had someone tellme to stop cheering because I was into the game toomuch. They shushed me. If you watch internationalor European League games, they’re never quiet.They’re singing, they’re banging drums. That’s what Iexpected. To have someone turn around and shushme felt a little strange. The team was too good not tohave the fan support.”

Danielle Spayde, another member of the FlashMob, took her assessment a step farther: “I was at the2013 NWSL Championship here in Rochester and thePortland Thorns had fans fly in and they were louderthan the rest of the stadium filled with Flash fans. Ithink that the Thorns were able to pull that win offpartially due to their fan support.”

In 2014, lack of fan noise certainly won’t be a prob-lem. With a membership base that is growing everyday, the Flash Mob continues to expand and adaptand evolve. Depending on who you ask, even thename of supporters oscillates between Mobbers andMobsters. Joining the Flash Mob is an opportunity tonot only share in the traditions of fellow soccer fans inthe region, but to also help create new traditions forfuture fans.

“I think what’s important is that the Flash Mob isvery organic, very grassroots, and above all very open

to ANY who would like to join in whatever ways theycan,” Matt Shields, one of many male Mobsters said.“Whether that is coming to a viewing party for a U.S.Women’s National Team match, or tailgating beforehome games, or exchanging “playful banter” withother women’s soccer fans... Any and all should feelwelcome, because they are, as I found out myself.”

“If they want to cheer with us they’re more thanwelcome to,” Beach agreed. “If we don’t have enoughroom in the section we’ll make room.”

Looking ahead to next season, the Mobbers alreadyhave some ambitious plans in place. They are tryingto raise enough funds to distribute song and chantsheets, get noisemakers at the games and take a roadtrip in order to, in Beach’s words, show opposing fans“how it’s supposed to be done.”

Buffalo and Rochester may not be the biggest citiesbut members of the Flash Mob are certain that theycan make their mark on women’s soccer.

“I think that being from a smaller market likeWestern New York it is important to focus on qualityrather than quantity,” Shields said. “There will alwaysbe larger cities with bigger populations to draw frombut where I think we can and will shine is in our ded-ication, creativity, openness and the sheer joy in, andappreciation for, seeing soccer being played at thehighest level in our hometown.”

Even if you have season or single-game tickets else-where, the Flash Mob invites you to stop by section118, visit their website, wnyflashmob.com, join theirfacebook page and follow their twitter account. AsBlack remarked, “The best team in the league deservesto have the best fans out there showing their sup-port!”

WNY Flash Mob

Winter 2013—14 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 3

By Charles RobertsThe names have

changed. The uniformshave changed. But for 14straight years, the resultshave been the same:When the NFL postsea-son gets underway, theBuffalo Bills are on theoutside, looking in.

There was supposed tobe a different feel to the2013 Bills, thanks inlarge part to a rookieclass that featured quar-terback EJ Manuel atnearly 6-foot-5, game-changing receiversRobert Woods andMarquise Goodwin, anda top-flight linebacker inKiko Alonso.

The Bills even cameinto the 2013 seasonwith a fresh look alongthe sideline, made up primari-ly by rookie head coach DougMarrone, 33-year-old offen-sive coordinator NathanielHackett, and big-name defen-sive coordinator Mike Pettine.

But in the end, the numberof losses outweighed the vic-tories–a familiar tune, regard-less of who conducts thechoir.

“It’s very difficult for theperiod of time that we’ve had,and not to go back in the past,to understand truly what youhave to do,” Marrone said.“When the coach gets upthere and says, ‘It’s attention todetail and hard work,’ we haveto do our share to make surethat is spelled out, exactlywhat people need to do. Ithink a lot of times, people usethe expression, ‘Be a pro,’ butthere’s a time where we haveto keep pushing them andkeep working through thepreparation in what we do onthe field.”

As the new face of the fran-chise, much of the attentioncircles back to Manuel, whosefirst professional season hasbeen a bit of a roller coasterride. During a Week 11 victo-ry over the New York Jets, heconnected on more than 70percent of his pass attempts.Two games later, however, hethrew four interceptions in anugly loss to the Tampa BayBuccaneers, a game that allbut mathematically eliminatedthe Bills from postseason con-tention.

“He has the ability to do it,there’s no doubt in my mind,”Marrone said of Manuel. “Theproblem is that it’s like any-thing else, he’s going to take alot of the heat because of theposition and that comes withit. At the end of the day, weneed to make sure that thepeople around him are doingwhat they’re supposed to do.To sit here and say that ifeverything was going wellaround him and he was theculprit, it would be easy forme to say and we’d go aheadand pull him and put anotherquarterback in there. I don’thave any problem with that.He is working his waythrough it and we need helpfrom everyone else aroundhim to make sure everyonedoes their job.”

There were, of course, othervariables facing the 2013 Bills.

InjuriesThings got off to an ugly

start, dating back to Augustduring training camp at St.John Fisher College inPittsford, N.Y.

Veteran quarterback KevinKolb—projected by many totake the reins while Manueladjusted to life in the NFL—slipped on a rubber mat afteran Aug. 3 practice, tweakinghis knee and subsequentlymissing valuable reps.

Shortly thereafter, Manuelwent down with a preseasonknee injury of his own, forc-ing him to miss a bulk of thesummer. But just when itlooked like Kolb was back inthe driver’s seat, he left thenext preseason contest with aconcussion; the injury notonly ended his season, butlikely his career.

With only a few days ofgame-week preparation underhis belt, Manuel returned toaction Week 1 against theNew England Patriots. If hewasn’t ready to go, undraftedrookie Jeff Tuel was theannounced backup plan.

Manuel had the Bills at a 2-2 record and looked poisedfor a third victory during aWeek 5 meeting in Cleveland.But then it happened: Manuelwent down with another kneeinjury. As Manuel’s replace-ment that evening, Tuel strug-gled—completing just eightof 20 pass attempts for 80yards and the game-decidingpick-six to Browns safety T.J.Ward.

With the Bills sitting at 3-6,Manuel made his return inWeek 10 at Pittsburgh. Theresult was a 23-10 loss thatwas far uglier than the 13-point deficit indicates.

Quarterback was hardly thelone Bills injury, however.

Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrdand budding star cornerbackStephon Gilmore were bothon the shelf until Week 6, atwhich point each returned ona limited basis. Also missingtime due to injury in the Bills’secondary were cornerbacksLeodis McKelvin and RonBrooks.

“Here’s how I feel,”Marrone said midwaythrough the season. “I’d loveto see our team with every-body healthy going out thereand playing, and maybe that’sunrealistic. But I would love

to see our football teamtogether, practicingtogether, playing togeth-er. Maybe that’s an unre-alistic approach in thisleague, but I would reallylove to see this footballteam together, and howgood we can be.”

Miscues and inexperience

The Bills had a legiti-mate chance to beat theat-the-time undefeatedKansas City Chiefs inWeek 9, with Tuel mak-ing his first NFL start(Thaddeus Lewis tookover as the starter inManuel’s absence afterTuel’s performance inCleveland).

But just when itlooked like a feel-goodstory was in the making,

Tuel’s lack of experience andNFL pedigree became a glar-ing issue for the Bills. Withthe ball on the Chiefs’ one-yard line, the Bills lookedpoised to take a 14-point leadin the second half. Instead,Tuel was intercepted byChiefs cornerback SeanSmith, who ran it back 100yards for the game-tyingtouchdown.

The Chiefs went on toimprove to 9-0, dropping theBills (3-6), 23-13. No matterwho was under center, theloss stung Marrone more thanany this season.

“I’m pissed,” Marrone saidafterward. “I’m going to gohome…I’m not going to talkto anybody…I’m just going toshut it down…I’m going to beby myself…I’m not going topet my dog.”

“I’m going to get firedup...,” Marrone continued.“I’m going to come to worktomorrow and I’m going towatch this film…I’m going tobe a pro…I’m going to be aman.”

Tuel, who finished 18 of 39for 229 yards with one touch-down and two interceptions,took full responsibility for thegame-changing play.

“It was zero coverage, allout,” Tuel said. “One-hundredpercent my fault, somethingI’ve got to see. I can’t do that.We’ve got to finish with a kickno matter what, whether it’san extra point or a touch-down or field goal. So it’s 100percent on me.”

One week after the Billsquite literally fumbled away avictory in Toronto against theAtlanta Falcons—StevieJohnson and Scott Chandlerput the ball on the turf in thefourth quarter and in over-time, respectively—Buccaneers running backBobby Rainey victimized thedefense, less than a minuteinto the contest. Rainey burstthrough the offensive line,shaking one would-be Buffalodefender en route to an other-wise untouched 80-yardtouchdown run. And that wasthe second play from scrim-mage.

Rainey’s touchdown runwas a dagger in the Bills’ col-lective heart; an exclamationpoint at the end of the sen-tence that indicates the teamhas been eliminated from

playoff contention, despitehaving more than 15 quartersof football remaining in theseason at the time.

Moving forwardThrough it all, the Bills’ vet-

erans have kept the lockerroom in order.

One Bills Drive is a drama-free zone. Nobody is publical-ly calling for Manuel or any-one from Marrone’s staff tolose his job.

A few impending freeagents will likely come andgo, but for the most part, thisteam should be mostly intact

next year.“It’s the first year [of the

new regime],” veteran run-ning back C.J. Spillerexplained. “You can’t say thatit’s the same thing still. Eventhough we’ve played a lot,everyone is still getting famil-iar with each other.Everybody is still trying to fig-ure out what we can do welland we’ve just got to learn toplay well. We came in withhigh expectations. Our expec-tations were to make the play-offs. …That doesn’t mean thatthis organization isn’t going in

the right direction. I think weare. We’ve got a great coach;we’ve got great leadership inRuss [Brandon] and DougWhaley, and they’re puttingpieces together to make thisorganization a championship-caliber team. Obviously whenyou don’t see results rightaway everybody is going tobacklash and say it’s the sameold or regression. To me,inside the building, I don’t feelthat. I feel this organization isheading in the right direc-tion.”

Same old song for the Bills, or is it?

Photo by Joe ValentiDoug Marrone had to overcome sev-eral injuries during his first year ashead coach for the Buffalo Bills.

By Leonard J. MytkoFor those of us that live

and breathe fantasy sports allyear round, the upcomingfinish to the 2013 fantasyfootball season isn’t an end somuch as a beginning tobuilding a team of players inour minds for next year. Andthat’s why we’re here for you.To not only give you a headstart in the day-to-day man-aging of your fantasy team,but also to help you preparefor the coming off-season. Ifwe look back to this pastyear, not many of uswould have foreseenPhilip Rivers becoming atop five quarterbackagain or Josh Gordon tak-ing the league by absolutestorm. Chicago’s AlshonJeffrey has alreadyeclipsed the 1,000-yardmark in his breakout sec-ond season. EvenDenver’s KnowshonMoreno and JuliusThomas have combinedfor 23 touchdowns so farto date. Let’s examinesome of the players whocould become householdfantasy names at thissame point next year.

Justin BlackmonWR, Jaguars

He’s had massive troubleseeing playing time due tooff-the-field issues, but don’tgive up on him just yet. He’sstill every bit of an elite talentas evidenced from his outputover the last 11 games (67catches, 1,030 yards, fivescores) he’s played in fromhis rookie year to sophomoreseason. If he can get hiscareer back on track, there’splenty of breakout potential.

Justin Hunter, WR, TitansHe hasn’t really proved to

be quite ripe yet in his NFLbaptism, but keep in mindhe’s had to deal with fairlymediocre quarterback playall along, which has stuntedthe growth of the entireoffense. So take his 18 catch-es for 354 yards and fourscores with a grain of salt andlook for the Titans to findmore ways to get the ball tothe former SEC stalwart nextyear with more big plays andmore touchdowns.

Zach Ertz, TE, EaglesWith a stature much like

that of Minnesota’s KyleRudolph or Dallas’s JasonWitten, the rookie fromStanford is starting to comeon with Nick Foles at thehelm now. And even though

he’s still sharing time with hisveteran counterpart BrentCelek, the baton could bepassed to Ertz as early as nextyear.

Marcus LattimoreRB, 49ers

He’s had to spend his rook-ie year on the reserve/non-football injury list, but SanFrancisco knew that going inwhen they drafted one of themost gifted players in thewhole country and will soonfind out if he’s an heir appar-

ent to Frank Gore. And thetime to put that question tothe test will hopefully comein 2014 when one of the bestrunning back prospects toemerge enters the 49ersbackfield.

DeAndre HopkinsWR, Texans

He’s on pace to have about850 yards, but he has lessthan 10 yards in two of thepast five weeks and hasn’tscored a touchdown in sevenweeks. As a rookie he’s had todefer to Andre Johnson, butone has to wonder if the five-time Pro Bowler will want tostick around while theTexans rebuild over the nextcouple of seasons.

Matt McGloin, QBAndre Holmes, WRRaiders

Both are basically for hard-core owners to take notice of,but the Raiders are alreadylooking ahead to next sea-son. What to expect fromthese two moving forward isanyone’s guess so they’re atleast worth watching sinceanother changing of theguard in Oakland is almostcertain on the offensive sideof the ball yet again.

Montee Ball, RB, BroncosBall was once in line and

had all the buzz around himto make an immediate fanta-sy splash as a rookie butKnowshon Moreno finallyshed his “first-round bust”tag and has held him off fornow. That said, Ball couldtake on a larger role as moreof a featured option in whatwill most likely still be a verypowerful offense in the com-ing year instead.

Ladarius GreenTE, Chargers

Philip Rivers andAntonio Gates have beenthe bread and butter ofthis offense for manyyears now but it sureseems like Green is wait-ing for Gates to hang upthe cleats. The Germannative is a much youngerand faster version ofGates and he’s suddenlybecome a real red-zoneweapon for Rivers with apair of scores and 206yards in the last month inwhat could be just himscratching the surface tosomething even morespecial in the year ahead.

Mike Glennon, QB, BucsIn the first 11 starts of

his career, the formerN.C. State strong-armedstandout has thrown for avery respectable 2,231 yardsand 17 touchdowns andappears to have landed onthe fantasy radar a lot earlierthan expected. Next yearhe’ll get a healthy DougMartin and Mike Williamsback so added potential foreven more fantasy intriguewill be evident.

Marquise GoodwinWR, Bills

Considering his fairly lim-ited college production anddurability concerns in hisrookie year, it’ll still be veryinteresting to see what hissophomore year in the leagueproduces. Speed is still speedand if he becomes more thanjust a situational deep threat,look out!

Others to consider include:Cordarrelle Patterson, WR,

Vikings; Mychal Rivera, TE,Raiders; Mike Gillislee, RB,Dolphins; LaVon Brazill/Da’Rick Rogers, WR, Colts;Kenny Stills, WR, Saints; RobHousler, TE, Cardinals; KirkCousins, QB, Redskins; colle-giate prospects Aaron Murray(QB), Johnny Manziel (QB),Sammy Watkins (WR).

Fantasy football Who’ll be waiting under the mistletoe?

Photo by Jeff BarnesWith lofty passing totals, PhilipRivers has played himself backinto great fantasy company thisyear.

Page 4 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Winter 2013—14

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Publisher & Editor Marian GiallombardoAssociate Editor Jeffrey LevineFeature Writers Paul Adamo, Robert Caico, Rick Davenport, Mike Dyer, Mike Fox, Ivanthe Impaler, Joe Kirchmyer, George Kuhn, Jeffrey Levine, Christopher Fee, Adam McGill,Brian Michalek, Ron Montesano, Len Mytko, Dave Ricci, Charles Roberts, Dave Sully,John Williams, Mark Zarbo, Rick Zurak (golf editor)Chief Photographer Jeff BarnesStaff Photographers Ryan Bartholomew, Bob Conlon, Nick LoVerde, Joe Valenti, MikeMajewski, Holly MalinowskiCover photos Pat LaFontaine & Ted Nolan, and Khalil Mack by Jeff BarnesAdvisory Board Phil Haberstro, Adam Lingner, Denny LynchContributing Writers Kevin Bonk, Todd Etshman, Jack Godzuk, Paul Gotham, ArunMorace, Bob PleziaLayout & Cover Scott Appleby, Graphic artist Liz SeivertCopy Editors and Office Assistants Len Mytko, Justin Vernold, John WilliamsPlease send your letters, questions, and comments to: Sports & Leisure Magazine, 192Louvaine Dr, Buffalo, NY 14223 or e-mail publisher@sportsandleisuremag.com. Pleaseinclude your name, address and phone number or your letter can’t be published. All lettersand responses become the property of Sports & Leisure Magazine, they may be printed, andare subject to editing. Sports & Leisure Magazine is circulated throughout Western NewYork and Southern Ontario. All rights and trademarks reserved. Reproduction in whole or inpart without the express written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. ©1997 -2014 Sports & Leisure Inc.Facebook: Sports and Leisure Magazine and Hugesportz.com

The Buffalo Bills started theseason with a new head coachand rookie quarterback and it’sbeen an up and down ride eversince. From E.J. Manuel goingdown with a knee injuryagainst the Browns to the rev-elation that is rookie line-backer Kiko Alonso to severalgames decided on the lastdrive, the Bills once again findthemselves out of the playoffs,but something feels differentthis season. Under the steadyand shrewd guidance of headcoach Doug Marrone the Billshave weathered injuries, inex-perience and miscues to givefans a glimpse of what thisteam can look like in thefuture. Despite a losing recordon paper, this has been anexciting and competitiveteam, which feels like a winfor this season and seasons tocome.

Speaking of new andimproved, the record has notdrastically changed, but theSabres have shown new life

since the ascension of Sabregreat Pat Lafontaine to theposition of president of hock-ey operations and his (re)hir-ing of former Sabres benchboss Ted Nolan as head coach.The move came after the firingof longtime GM Darcy Regierand head coach Ron Rolston, amove that was all but assuredwith the Sabres’ sluggish startto the season. While theSabres still sit at the basementof the Eastern Conference,Nolan has managed to eke outas many wins as Rolston did inabout half as many games.More importantly, the team isskating harder, somethingNolan stresses above almostall else, and are starting to out-shoot teams other than theMaple Leafs. Even if the winshave not come yet, Nolan andLafontaine have broughtrespectability back to ourproud franchise and given fansmuch more to cheer about.

With hockey season in fullswing and football reaching its

apex, the winter also bringscountless outdoor activitiesfor everyone in Western NewYork to enjoy. Let other citiesmeteorologists make jokesabout our region, but we haveeverything from snowshoeingand cross country skiing tosnowmobiling and some ofthe finest downhill skiing andsnowboarding in the north-east. And that’s not evencounting all the festivalsspread throughout the season.

••••••••Congratulations to my

niece Lyla. She has workedvery hard and is moving up topointe ballet shoes in January.Way to go!

••••••••A big THANKS goes out to

our readers, advertisers, ath-letes, teams, BuffaloNewspress and our staff forhelping us have a successful2013. We look forward to aneven better 2014! See you inthe New Year!

Happy Holidays!

FROM THEPUBLISHER

Winter 2013—14 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 5

By George Kuhn

Since their two seasonstogether from 1995 to 1997,former Sabres coach Ted Nolanand his star player, PatLafontaine, have maintained avery close relationship. Itshould come then as no sur-prise that when the formerSabres captain was announcedas the new president of hockeyoperations for the Sabres thathe would bring his formercoach and 1997 NHL coach ofthe year back to serve as inter-im bench boss. It’s a combina-tion that joins these two iconicfigures from the Sabres pasttogether while also lookingahead to the goals of future,changing the organizationalculture and building a winningteam.

With the Sabres languishingat the bottom of the NHLstandings and being severelyoutplayed under coach RonRolston, the fans at FirstNiagara Center made theirfeelings known about theirteams lowly status. It was clearthat a coach with NHL experi-ence was needed. The tremen-dous enthusiasm with whichthe fans and media haveembraced the return of Nolanand Lafontaine shows thatthese changes were beyondanyone’s imagination andprobably the best PR move inBuffalo sports history.

But the warm glow ofchange fades quickly and thebusiness at hand is improvingthe hockey team. Since hisreturn, the team has respondedpositively to Nolan’s methods.No longer overwhelmed fromthe opening face-off, the shotson goal have dropped from 36per game to 26. The team hasbecome competitive everygame although they still strug-gle to score more than one goalper outing.

Nolan says that his initialgoals is to raise the Sabrescompete level. “Before theplayers can do that they haveto trust each other. They haveto be reliable, they have to beaccountable to each other,”Nolan said. “Right now, thelast couple of games, I felt theguys are really competing hardand trusting one another, inparticular themselves. Withany kind of luck we’d be get-

ting better results in games.But overall the trust is coming,the compete level is coming.”

Addressing the team’s lackof offense, a league low 1.7goals per game, Nolan out-lined his plan: “As far as goalscoring there’s a differencebetween getting shots on goaland getting shots past the goal-tender. Every goalie in thisleague is pretty good so wehave to make sure we set somescreens in front and make it alittle tougher for the goal-tenders. First we build sometrust among the players, thenwe get them to compete at acertain level, then we get themto shoot with a purpose, dosome screening start jammingthe net. The players now aremore encouraged than dis-couraged following a closeloss.”

Nolan does not believe thatthe leagues last place team islacking in talent. “I think thenumber one talent that every-one seems to forget about isthe talent of working hard andcompeting. I think that is acertain talent. We need towork on that talent first inorder for the pucks to go in.Every player in this league is apretty good player. They haveto learn a little better net frontpresence, a little bit more grit-ty in front of the net, a little bitmore determination. Just a lit-tle bit more.”

The players echo Nolan’score values. Tyler Ennisexplains the change in attitudesince Nolan’s arrival: “I thinkit’s been a really big factor as towhy we’re improving everyday; positive reinforcement,encouragement. At the same

time being strict on the rulethat you have to work as hardas you can. It’s not just happygo lucky. There’s a differencebetween working hard andworking your absolute hard-est. When everyone givesthat little more that’s whenyou get wins. Your ice time isgoing to be based on howhard you compete.”

Team captain Steve Ott is aveteran player who has seenteams come together anddevelop over his career andknows that it takes time toget results. “We knew it was-n’t going to get better day by

day, but week by week we’reseeing progress. We’ve got toget results by scoring but oncewe do we hope it comes inbunches. If we keep putting upthe scoring chances we’ll getgoals. When you have a youngteam like ours and a bunch ofguys thrown together it takes awhile to gel. It takes to aroundChristmas time to get thatcohesiveness. We’re all startingto feel that now and hopefullyit will lead us in the right direc-tion.”

“We’re outworking teams,”Ott continued. “It’s not thatyou skate harder than the nextguy. It’s putting the puck in theright position to fore-check, tocreate chances and secondopportunities. That’s whereour offense is coming from.Now it’s time to finish.”

Finishing has certainly beenan issue but as long as theteam continues to skate hardand improve it’s not a questionof if they’ll get better, butrather, when.

“It’s playing hockey theright way”, Ott explained.“Instead of turning over pucksand back-checking and gettingfrustrated with each other, it’sgetting pucks back by fore-checking. Our best defense isoffense. It’s puck supportdown low in the offensivezone. When you have morepuck time in their zone youlimit puck time in your zone.You don’t want to be chasing.There’s nothing worse in ahockey game than chasing thepuck all night long. It’s tiring,it’s taxing and it’s frustrating. Itreally does make it harder onyour team. You want that pucktime as much as possible.”

What it means to have Ted Nolan backbehind the Sabres Bench

Fan favorite, Ted Nolan, isback behind the Sabresbench.

By Mike FoxIt’s still rela-

tively early inthe season, butmany fantasyteams findthemselves in anearly hole due tolack of produc-tion from theirsupposed “surething” goal-t e n d e r s .Reigning Vezinawinner SergeiBobrovsky man-aged only fivewins over hisfirst 22 startsand his atro-cious 2.81 goals-against average explainswhy. Jimmy Howard has asub-.500 record in Detroit.Rangers stalwart HenrikLundqvist has been out-played by 26-year-oldrookie Cam Talbot. RyanMiller is…well, you get thepicture. It’s much too soonto push the panic button,but some intriguing under-dog goaltender stories arestarting to develop thatmight deserve your atten-tion.

When the L.A. Kingsshipped Jonathan Bernierto Toronto in the off-sea-son, most took it as a clearsign they were just clearingthe way for JonathanQuick, which they were. ANovember injury to Quick,however, forced the teamto lean on Ben Scrivens,acquired as part of thepackage they accepted forBernier. Scrivens has beenoutstanding during Quick’sabsence, surrendering only20 goals in his first 15appearances includingthree shutouts, and whenQuick returns the Kingswill again find themselveswith the “problem” of hav-ing too many good goal-tenders.

Speaking of goaliewealth, the AnaheimDucks just keep churnin’them out. When JonasHiller was banged up lastyear, Viktor Fasth cameout of nowhere to fill thevoid. Fasth has missedtime this year, and Hillerhas been a bit shaky, but24-year-old rookie

Frederik Andersen haswon seven of his first eightcareer starts, with a 1.56GAA and .940 save per-centage. The Ducks rodeHiller hard whenever hewas available last year evenwith Fasth’s strong play, sothere’s no guarantee thatAndersen will continue toget starts. When Fasth getshealthy that will justmuddy the waters evenfurther, but there will be alot of Duck victories thisyear, so if you own one ofthem, be patient and hopeyour guy is the last manstanding.

Steve Mason posted aremarkable 10 shutouts forthe Columbus Blue Jacketsin 2008-09 en route to theCalder Trophy. Since then,it’s been an ugly riches-to-rags ride that was eerilyreminiscent of the story offormer Capitals phenom-flop Jim Carey beforeMason showed a spark oflife late last year whenColumbus finally got tiredof waiting and shippedhim to Philadelphia. TheFlyers cut ties with IlyaBryzgalov in the off-seasonand Mason has not squan-dered the opportunity toclaim the No. 1 job. Whilehis win-loss record hasonly hovered around .500all year, he’s posted a veryserviceable 2.04 GAA and.934 SV% over his first 19starts. I realize that anyonewho took a chance on himover the past four years hasnothing but bitter memo-ries, but Mason is still only

25, so there’sa goodchance thisresurgence isfor real.

J o s hH a r d i n g ’ sc a r e e rthrough lastseason wass o u n d i n glike a made-for-TV movies c r i p t :Former col-lege star lan-guishes inthe minorsfor a fewyears; missesan entire sea-

son due to injury afteradvancing to the bigs;diagnosed with multiplesclerosis, a disease whichaffects vision and balance(two pretty darn importantassets for any athlete); andends up winning theMasterton Trophy for dedi-cation to hockey. This year,the story plot has escalatedto the point of ….well, fan-tasy. Yet another injury toNiklas Backstrom hasgiven Harding a chance toplay full-time, and he’sresponded with arguablythe best start of any NHLgoaltender, with a 1.45GAA, .939 SV%, 14 winsand three shutoutsthrough his first 22 games.Even if Harding is ownedby your fantasy arch-enemy, how can you notroot for him?

Washington youngsterBraden Holtby is still flyingsomewhat under the radarbut he’s starting to looklike the real deal. Only 24,Holtby is already in hisfourth NHL season and hascompiled a whopping 49wins in his first 79 careergames. The free-wheelingstyle of the Caps hasresulted in a GAA that is abit high by today’s stan-dards but if your leaguecounts saves, those 30+shots he faces every gamewill offset those GAA defi-ciencies. Alex the Great isflying and the wins willcontinue to come in D.C.,so don’t be afraid to jumpon the bandwagon.

Fantasy hockey

Photo by Jeff BarnesHenrik Lundqvist hasn’t been the toast of the townin the Big Apple yet this season.

Page 6 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Winter 2013—14

By Charles Roberts

When Khalil Mack lefthis native Fort Pierce, Fla.,to play football for theUniversity at Buffalo Bulls,it wasn’t exactly headlinenews.

Quite a bit has changedover the course of fiveyears. The now 6-foot-3,248-pound Mack hasemerged as one the mostsought-after prospects inthe 2014 NFL draft. He wasnamed 2013 Mid-AmericanConference DefensivePlayer of the Year, in addi-tion to being a finalist forthe Butkus Award, givenannually to college foot-ball’s best linebacker.

Mack, 22, led the MACin sacks (10.5) and tacklesfor loss (19). His 94 tack-les, three interceptions andfive forced fumbles were allteam highs in 2013. What’smore, he holds the NCAArecord for career forced fum-bles (16) and is tied for theall-time mark in career tack-les for loss (75).

In other words: This guywill be playing on Sundays.But not before he sat downwith Sports & LeisureMagazine:

Charles Roberts: It’s been

quite the ride for you. Youwent from redshirting as af r e s h m a n — s o m e w h a tunknown—to being dis-cussed as a top 10 pick in theNFL draft.

Khalil Mack: It definitelyevolved through the grace ofGod. I got recruited by coachRobert Wembley of [FCS]Liberty and then he came upto Buffalo. And then Buffalocame down the next week

and made me theoffer. Since then,I’ve been workinghard to succeed,especially as a foot-ball player. But I’vedeveloped as a per-son up here inBuffalo, too, and Ifeel blessed to be inthe position I’m in.

CR: You easilycould have forgoneyour senior seasonto go to the NFL.Before the start ofthis season youtalked about want-ing to finish whatyou started here inBuffalo. Well, herewe are and you arepart of an 8-3 teamthat looks poised fora bowl game.

KM: It’s a blessing, man.I’m really fortunate to be inthe position I am, thanks tomy coaches and teammates.And then there are the guyswho have played here before;you think about what theguys like Naaman Roosevelt,James Starks and JoshThomas—he had a pickSunday against Miami [forthe Carolina Panthers]—didwhen they were here. It

motivates you.CR: The NFL draft talk is

unavoidable. I know you aredialed in, looking to win aMAC championship, buthow exciting is it to see yourname mentioned as a possi-ble top 10 pick?

KM: It’s pretty exciting,man. It’s pretty exciting. Butat the same time, I can’t gettoo excited. We’ve got agame Friday and we’ve got tokeep grinding, man. But, Imean, yeah, I’m not going tosay that I’m not thinkingabout it. I’m definitely excit-ed.

CR: Was there a point foryou when the switchflipped? In other words, atime when you knew youwere NFL-bound?

KM: Not so much. I heardit from teammates, though.Davonte Shannon, Starks,Naaman, those guys wouldsay, “Man, you are going inthe first round.” And I’d belike, “OK, OK. We’ll see.”But then I just kept working

hard and now that I’m inthat position, I can’t let thoseguys down. I can’t tell youhow thankful I am for thoseguys instilling that in me.I’m not going to say they sawit before the coaches or any-thing, but they kept pushingme to do the right thing andwork hard and I really thankthem for that.

CR: Is there one bit ofadvice in particular that’sreally resonated with you?

KM: My father always toldme, “There’s always someoneout there who’s workingharder than you.” And I did-n’t like that, so I’m alwaystrying to make sure that I’mworking as hard as possible.You’ve seen it. I put myself inthat position, even in prac-tice, where I don’t want any-one to outwork me. I’ve beencontinuously working hard,and like I said, it helps tohave great teammates thatpush you even further.

CR: It’s obviously way tooearly to even speculate, but

there are people out therewho do it, so let’s talk aboutit; I’ve seen a few mockdrafts that have you going tothe Bills.

KM: [Laughs] Man … thatwould be a miracle. But I’veseen it. I thought Steve[Means] was going to getpicked by the Bills, for sure.And then you have Naaman,who went to the Bills as anundrafted free agent. I’veseen it. It would be a lot offun and definitely a blessing.I’ve gotten pretty used to itup here, you know, exceptfor the weather. It was 55last week and today it’s 20-something.

CR: Jim Kelly didn’t wantto come here after going toschool in Miami and nowhe’s a full-time Buffalonian.

KM: Exactly. That’s whatBuffalo does to you. It’s thepeople. I’ve been aroundtown and you meet sometruly good people. We’ll seewhat happens.

Exclusive interview: The journey continuesfor University at Buffalo’s Khalil Mack

Photo by Jeff BarnesUB’s record-setting linebacker, KhalilMack, recently sat down with Sports& Leisure Magazine.

By Mark Zarbo

Hockey position andweight transfer should betaught every timea player firstlearns a new skill.Using these twodetails as yourstarting point willsimplify teachingand help playersrelate skillstogether.

There is a rea-son why “hockey position” isthe first skill taught to everyplayer. It is the strongest posi-tion a player can be in at anytime. This position lowers aplayer’s center of gravity andequally distributes bodyweight across both feet allow-ing for better balance. To gen-erate power out of hockeyposition, players need to beable to transfer their weightleg to leg, allowing one leg toprovide propulsion while theother leg supports all the bodyweight. There is not a skill inhockey that cannot be relatedback to this ability to maintainhockey position or use weighttransfer. Skating, shooting,checking, and dekes all relyon the ability to maintainhockey position while effi-ciently transferring weight legto leg.

Take a players stride forexample. One leg is support-ing the player’s body weightwhile the other leg is provid-ing propulsion forward. Asthe player skates up the ice, itis this ability to maintainhockey position and transferbody weight leg to leg thatkeeps the player balanced. Ifplayers are not able to main-

tain a low hockey position itresults in a shorter stride andthey are not as balanced.

When a player isnot able to sustainweight transferon one leg it toocan result in aplayer having ashort choppystride. The keywhen assessingplayers with theseskating faults is

figuring out which basic skillthe player lacks; staying lowin hockey position or the abil-ity to sustain weight transfer?

To do a long stride correct-ly, players need to develop theability to maintain a lowhockey position and sustainthe weight shift long enoughto allow the propelling leg toextend all the way out andthen back to center before ini-tiating their next stride. Onecue I use with players to makesure they are sustaining thisweight transfer is have themclick their heels when skating.By clicking their heels it letsthem know they have comeall the way back to center.Players can easily practice thisskill on their own by doing acouple laps before or afterpractice using this cue.

The transfer of weight hasan even greater effect on aplayer’s ability to shoot. Everyshooting skill from a basicwrist shot to advance tech-niques such as one timers orshooting out of a crossover allcome down to the player’sability to transfer their weightefficiently. Shooting shouldstart in hockey position withplayers generating power by

transferring their weight fromtheir back leg through theirfront leg. An easy way to tell ifplayers are transferring alltheir body weight is lookingto see if their back leg is stillon the ground after complet-ing their follow through. If aplayer leaves there back leg onthe ground, then they are nottransferring all of their bodyweight into the shot. This skillcan easily be worked on athome by having player’s prac-tice their shot and concentrateon transferring their weightfrom their back leg throughtheir front leg, getting all theirweight on that front foot.When done correctly, playersshould be able to stand com-pletely on their front foot afterthe shot has been released.

Hockey position andweight transfer are basic con-cepts that need to be continu-ally stressed. By using thesedetails you give players a start-ing point they can understandand can relate to other areas oftheir game. If you do notteach in detail then playerswill never learn in detail. Thekey is to be consistent withdetails so players are able torelate the skills to each other.The more you can relate skillsto each other the better play-ers are able to understandhow to correctly perform theskills taught in multiple situa-tions.

If you have any questions orcomments regarding this articleplease do not hesitate to contactme at 716.208.3724 ormarkzarbo@yahoo.com Youcan also visit:www.MarkZarboHockey.com.

Hockey’s most underrated skillsLaFontaine brings

winning backgroundto slumbering

SabresNo one is happier than

this sports writer to seeHockey Hall of Famer PatLaFontaine back with theBuffalo Sabres.

You remember how thespectacular center set upAlexander Mogilny’s 77goals as a Sabre back in1992. It was then that Patestablished team records forassists (95) and points (148)in a season. LaFontaine alsoscored 53 times that year.

What Pat LaFontaine didon the ice was mysterious.He was a gawky skaterwhose head bobbed up anddown as he hit his stride. Hecould almost bend his bodyinto a pretzel if it meant agoal or assist. His shot wasdeadly accurate.

I was there as a hockeywriter when the teenage starbegan his National HockeyLeague career with the NewYork Islanders back in 1984.It was right after the 1984Olympics and Pat joined theIslanders late in the regularseason. He opened every-one’s eyes with 13 goals in 15games as he starred along-side Hall of Famers BryanTrottier, Mike Bossy, DenisPotvin, and goaltender BillSmith.

Nightly, the media wouldlisten to the kid’s views ofwinning games. Female fansof the Islanders adored thehandsome-looking rookie.

The Islanders were wearywhile LaFontaine was takingbows in Sarajevo in ‘84. Butthe Americans couldn’t dobetter than seventh placedespite five goals and fourassists from LaFontaine inseven games. He collectedthree goals in a 7-3 rout ofAustria and added a goal andtwo assists in a 7-4 triumphover Poland.

It was quite an experiencefor Pat as he skated atNassau Coliseum inUniondale and thrilled theSRO crowds. The Islandersowned New York back thenafter beating thePhiladelphia Flyers,Minnesota North Stars,Vancouver Canucks andthen the Edmonton Oilersfor the Stanley Cup.

New York was just plaintired after winning theStanley Cup four straighttimes in from 1980-1983.Now they had to meet theWayne Gretzky-MarkMessier led Oilers in theStanley Cup finals in 1984.The players were dinged upafter five straight years play-ing in the finals. Theirinjuries never had a chanceto heal.

LaFontaine’s exciting playhad carried the Islanders intothe finals but Edmontonneeded only five games towin its first Stanley Cup.LaFontaine had a pair ofgoals in the series finale.

Now the first president ofhockey operations forBuffalo, LaFontaine begins acareer behind the desk withthe Sabres. It’s a far cry fromthe player who finished hisNHL career with 468 goalsand 1013 total points.

The 48-year-old St. Louis,Mo. native played with theIslanders through 1991. Heled the Long Island team ingoals, assists and points inhis final year. Then he siz-

zled for Buffalo head coachJohn Muckler in ‘91 and ‘92.In Pat’s final year as a Sabre,he flashed the goal lamp 40times and set up 51 otherscores. He completed hisNHL career with the NewYork Rangers in 1997.

While directing theSabres’ management team,the father of three broughtTed Nolan back as headcoach and Pat will be hiringa new general manager thiswinter.

I just hope he remembersall of those stories I wroteabout him back in the 1980s.Who knows? Maybe Pat willfind a seat for me in theSabres’ press box. Ha-ha. Justkidding. Or am I??New Club Begins

Elma’s Randy Krolewiczhas been a fixture at recentarea sports card shows. The52-year-old collector islaunching the Western NewYork Baseball CardCollectors Club. Look formore on him in upcomingcolumns.Shows on Deck

East Amherst’s RobSchilling put on quite an all-day card show in Novemberat the Hearthstone Manor inDepew. Record crowdsattended the event and manywere there to get an AndreReed autograph.

Schilling tells me he’llnext run a show April 13 atthe Hearthstone.

I saw a lot of great deals atthe show, including rookiecards for Mickey Mantle,Wayne Gretzky, WalterPayton and Michael Jordan.

The first area card showfor 2014 is Jan. 11 at theVFW Leonard Post onWalden Avenue inCheektowaga.

Mike Dyer, who lives inCheektowaga, spent 47 yearsas a newspaper sports writerand columnist. He wrote twosports books and was editor ofWho’s Who in Baseball, 1984and 1985.

COLLECTINGMEMORIES WITHMIKEDYER

WINTER DIRECTORY

Community Sports Report

The thrills, twists, turns,and high speeds in the snowreturns to Seneca AlleganyCasino & Hotel Feb. 7 and 8,with AMSOILChampionship Snocrosspowered by Ram Truck.

Crews with InternationalSeries of Champions (ISOC)Racing will turn one milliongallons of water into snowover a football-field-sizedplot of land outside SenecaAllegany Casino & Hotel.This year, the race site will bepresented in a new location,directly west of the casino,on the right-hand side of themain road leading to thehotel parking ramp. The race

course will include wickedtwists and giant ramps thatwill send vehicles flyingdozens of feet into the air.

More than 200 of the topsnowmobile racers fromNorth America and nearly adozen countries will face offin an action-packed series ofraces that combine big-airjumps and competitive rac-ing. The weekend is also oneof eight nationally-televisedevents on CBS SportsNetwork for the 2014 sea-son, with new technologyadded to the production thisyear for instant replay fea-tures. The races also will bestreamed live on U-Streamfor online viewing.

Last year’s races drew anunprecedented 10,000 fansduring the Saturday eventsand nearly 15,000 for theentire weekend. A panel ofSnocross industry expertsdecreed the Seneca Alleganyexperience as the “Event ofthe Year.”

“The event was special inso many ways,” said CarlSchubitzke, president andrace director, ISOC Racing.“Everyone at SenecaAllegany was so helpful andprofessional. The cityembraced the event. And thefans were just absolutelywonderful. They were gra-cious, enthusiastic and veryactive. That’s a real blessing,

and it gets theracers evenmore excitedto performtheir best.”

B l e ache r sset up aroundthe track canaccommodatethousands offans, andbright lightswill illuminatethe track dur-ing theevening hours,when the mainevents takeplace and aretaped for tele-vision. A new Family Zonewill be outdoors this year,which will include a small-scale “120” snowmobile totest drive. Various vendors,including food and beverage,will also be on site.

Indoors nearby at theSeneca Allegany EventsCenter, fans will have thechance to interact with racersand get autographs.Snowmobile gear will be onsale, and the popular TraxxasTry Me Track will return witha course filled with remote-controlled miniature trucks.

Approximately 50 prac-tice, qualifying, and finalraces will take place daily,including 22 races duringboth the Friday and Saturdaynight main events.

In New York, snowmobil-

ing represents a $1 billionindustry. In response to theindustry’s growth and popu-larity, Seneca GamingCorporation and the SenecaNation of Indians recentlyprovided a $66,850 sponsor-ship to Snow Bounders, Inc.,a local snowmobile associa-tion, for the construction andmaintenance of a new 1.5-mile snowmobile trail thatconnects Seneca AlleganyCasino & Hotel to 90 milesof existing trails in nearbyAllegany State Park. Thanksto that addition, fans cancome to the weekend eventson their snowmobiles.

“There’s so much to dothroughout the whole expe-rience,” Schubitzke said. “It’shighly entertaining, andthere’s never a dull moment.

Most of all, I think attendeeswill be amazed at the speedand athleticism of the ath-letes. They make the twists,turns and jumps look effort-less.”

Visit www.isocracing.comfor information, fan andracer memberships, scheduledetails and more.

Tickets for the event are onsale at www.isocracing.comand at the Logo Shop insideSeneca Allegany Casino &Hotel. Advance ticket pricesare $25 for Friday, $25 forSaturday or a value-priced$30 all-weekend pass. A spe-cial four-pack of weekendpasses is available online for adiscounted price of $100.Admission is free for childrenages six and younger.

Snocross returns to Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel

Photo by Lissa MarsolekKody Kamm making the most of his time as a competitive racer .

By Adam McGillWinter is already here

and with every inch ofsnow comes more powderfor snowboarders to shred.Every weatherman predictsthis to be another brutalWestern New York winterand that only means moretime on the mountain thisyear. For anyone lookingfor some of the hottest newgear, here is a full snow-board product guide:

Men’s GearBurton Antler Snowboard

The Antler is the latest ofBurton’s catchy, freestyleboards. It has Burton’s classV profile, which allows theboard to keep a steady pacedownhill and not get lost inthe snow. The Antler can befound in most stores andon every online outlet. Beprepared though because itwill set you back around650 bucks.K2 Slayblade Snowboard

The Slayblade has beenone of K2’s most presti-gious creations in recentyears, as the freestyle boardhas won countless awards.This year though, the boardhas had some minor tweaks

and will give snow-

boarders an even smootherride this season. The boardcomes in five sizes (153,156, 158, 161, and 164)and it also comes it five dif-ferent colors. Even better,this is one of the only 2014board that can be found forunder $600.Dakine Commander Gloves

These wool gloves main-tain a ton of heat on theslopes with a Gore-Texinsert and PrimaLoft insu-lation. The Commander isavailable in three colors(Black, Ivory, and Octane)and sizes vary from extrasmall to extra large. Theseare the top-of-the-linegloves from Dakine andwill set mountain fans backover $100.Oakley Shaun WhiteSignature Splice SnowGoggle

The Splice Snow Goggleis the perfect combinationof Oakley and the FlyingTomato. These ShaunWhite inspired gogglescome with multiple Oakleylenses with a Flexible OMatter chassis that forms toany head. They are UV pro-tected and will offer riders acrystal clear view down theslopes. The goggles are verylightweight and the numer-ous color combinationswill make them an instanthit on the mountain.

Women’s GearBurton FeelgoodSnowboard

The Burton Feelgood isone of the most popularwomen’s boards each sea-son. This year’s version hasthe classic eye-poppingcolor schemes and can befound in five different com-binations. The board isonce again extremely light-weight and the True Flextechnology allows it tobend with the rider downthe slopes. This eye-catch-ing board will be another$600+ find, but like all newBurton boards, it will beworth it.K2 Northern Lite

The board has a beautifulpicture of the NorthernLights and it really makesthe board stand out in thecontrast of the snow. Thesplitboard is extremely fast,due to its lightweight, andwill allow riders to pick upspeed quickly down the

mountain. The NorthernLite is a top-of-the-linefreestyle board on the mar-ket this year and will giveboarders plenty of freedomto adjust throughout theirride. Dakine Odyssey Gloves

On the mountain it tendsto get cold in a hurry. Thenumber one way to avoidthe blistering cold is tohave a reliable pair ofgloves. Dakine has becomeone of the best innovatorsin the business and theOdyssey is just anotherexample. The Gore-Texinsert and PrimaLoft insu-lation will keep any girl’shands warm, while alsoprotecting her nails. Theyalso come in black andivory as well as three sizes(small, medium and large).Roxy Sunset Art SnowGoggle

Roxy continues to beone of the frontrunners inwomen’s snowboard eye-wear and the Sunset Art isone of the best new sets ofthe season. The eyewearcomes in five different col-ors: black, black/rose, pink,purple, and white. They are100% UV Protected andhave a double set of lensthat keep the goggle fromscratching or fogging up.They can be found in localretailers at around $64.99and will be worth themoney on those sunnywinter days on the slopes.

Kid’s BoardsBurton Chopper Star WarsSnowboard

It didn’t take long for theworld of Star Wars to crashinto the mountain. Thisnew youth board fromBurton is available in eightdifferent characters fromthe prized movie series,including Darth Vader,Darth Maul, and Boba Fett.This board will bring asmile to any Star Wars fanthis Christmas season.Burton Chicklet Snowboard

The Chicklet is a younggirl’s board, which like ateenager’s locker, is jam-packed with colors andflair. The rainbow-coloredboard comes in eight differ-ent designs. This is the per-fect gift for the young girlthat is looking for a begin-ner to intermediate board.

2014 Snowboard Product Guide

Community Sports ReportChautauqua County sits

directly in the path of lakeeffect snow storms that gatherstrength over Lake Erie anddrop more than 200 inches ofsnow annually. This pocket ofprecipitation is precisely whywinter is a perfect time to plana visit.

Near Findley Lake, Peek’nPeak Resort and Spa providesan excellent backdrop forskiers and snowboarders.There’s even a tubing area andtrails for cross country skiing.The lodges, dining rooms,pool and spa are welcomeamenities after a day on theslopes.

Go cross country skiing orsnow shoeing along many ofthe trails throughoutChautauqua County. LongPoint and Lake Erie StateParks, ChautauquaInstitution, and theJamestown Audubon Centeroffer trails and open spaces.Join Evergreen Outfitters forguided snowshoe hikes—there’s even one during the fullmoon.

Hundreds of miles of trailsgroomed by five local snow-mobile clubs provide an idealsetting for sledding over oldrailroad beds, former trolleylines, open farm fields, heavilywooded areas and seasonalroads. Trails officially openDec. 18, weather permitting.Note that New York requiresthat all sleds be registered.Information can be found atwww.tourchautauqua.com/snowmobiling.aspx.

Winter is a great time tovisit the wineries in Lake ErieWine Country. Tasting roomsare less crowded, the experi-ence is more educational andintimate, and many new vin-

tages are released. Also winterand Ice Wine just naturally gotogether. Visit during theannual Wine and ChocolateWeekend, Feb. 14-16, 2014for a special Valentine’s treat.

Try seasonal brews during atour at Southern Tier BrewingCompany. Stop by the EmptyPint Brewery Pub for a selec-tion of 14 draught beers,including some guest taps,Thursday through Saturday,evenings, and Saturday andSunday afternoons. OnSaturday take a 45-minuteguided tour of the brewery at12:15, 1:00, 1:45, 2:30, 3:15 or4 p.m. Tours are available on afirst come basis and often sellout.

Take a sleigh ride onSaturdays and Sundaysthroughout January andFebruary through the historicgrounds of ChautauquaInstitution. Rides run every

half hour from 1 to 3 p.m.Tickets are available at theChautauqua Bookstore onBestor Plaza.

The annual Winter Festivalin Mayville is Feb. 14-16, andfeatures events, activities, andcontests for all ages includingfireworks, a flare parade, bon-fire and horse drawn wagonrides. If the weather cooper-ates, you might see a castlemade from blocks of ice har-vested in the traditional wayfrom Chautauqua Lake.

Hide away for a weekend ata bed and breakfast, vacationhome, resort or inn.Chautauqua isn’t your every-day winter weekend getaway.

For more ideas on visitingChautauqua County any time ofyear, visit www.tourchau-tauqua.com or call 1-866-908-4569. Be sure to reserve a 2014Chautauqua County VisitorsGuide.

Reasons to visit Chautauqua County this winter

Photo by Ed BernickEnjoy a relaxing sleigh ride in Chautauqua County.

DOWNHILL, SNOWBOARDING AND MOREBristol Mountain, 585-374-6000www.bristolmountain.comHoliday Valley, 716-699-2345www.holidayvalley.comHoliMont, 716-699-2320www.holimont.comKissing Bridge/Colden Tubing716-592-4963www.kbski.comPeek ’n Peak, 716-355-4141www.pknpk.comSwain, 607-545-6511www.swain.com

CROSS COUNTRY SNOWMOBILINGSNOWSHOEAllegheny State Parkwww.nysparks.comArt RoscoeAllegany State Parkwww.buffaloaudubon.orgByrncliff Resort & Conference Center585-535-7300www.byrncliff.comCummings Nature Center585-374-6160www.rmsc.orgHoliday Valley, 716-699-2345www.holidayvalley.comHoliMont, 716-699-2320www.holimont.comwww.monroecounty.gov/parkswww.nysparks.comPaths Peaks & Paddles, Inc.www.pathspeakspaddles.comPeek ‘n Peak, 716-355-4141www.pknpk.com

SKI CLUBSAdirondack Mountain Clubwww.adk.orgNiagara Frontier Chapter, 716-564-2106,Genesee Valley Chapter,www.gvc-adk.orgBell Ski Club, 716-773-3901Buffalo Nordic Ski Clubwww.buffalonordic.orgBuffalo Ski Clubwww.bscskiarea.com Huggers Ski Clubwww.huggersskiclub.orgLederhosen Ski Clubwww.lederhosenskiclub.comMeetup.comwww.meetup.com/WNYSkiClubMonroe Y Ski Clubwww.monroeyskiclub.orgNAR (Niagara Adult Racing)www.narracing.comRochester Nordic Ski Clubwww.rochesternordic.orgRochester Ski Clubwww.rochesterskiclub.comSchussmeisters Ski &Snowboard Clubwww.schussmeisters.comSCOL (Ski Club of Lockport)http://skicluboflockport.com

SNOWMOBILENew York State SnowmobileAssociation (NYSSA)Go towww.nyssnowassoc.org for alisting by county of NYSsnowmobile clubs and othervaluable information.888-624-3849http://nysnowmobilewebmap.com

SnowmobileRegistrationwww.dmv.ny.gov/recreation.htm#snowmobilesYou must register your snow-mobile if you operate thesnowmobile in New YorkState. A registration is notrequired if the snowmobile isoperated on the private proper-ty of the owner or private prop-erty the owner has a contrac-tual right to use. Cattaraugus CountySnowmobile Federationwww.enchantedmountains.info/what_to_do/snowmobiling.aspwww.snowmobilingWNY.comChautauqua Countywww.tourchautauqua.com/where_to_play.aspxWyoming Countywww.gowyomingcountyny.comAllegany Countywww.DiscoverAlleganyCounty.comNew York State Office ofParks Snowmobile Unit518-474-0446

OTHER INFORMATIONwww.weather.comGenesee Region TrailsCoalitionwww.grtcinc.org Monroe County SportsCommissionwww.monroecountysports.orgwww.monroecounty.gov/parkswww.nysparks.comwww.IloveNY.comwww.snowcrystals.comIf we’ve missed your club,please contact us and we’llinclude you next year.

Winter DirectoryCommunity Sports Report

The pace doesn’t slowdown in Cattaraugus County,unless you want it to, duringthe winter months with con-tinuing festivals, winter activ-ities and indoor fun. Discoverwinter wonderlands and pris-tine backdrops after the snowhas freshly fallen. Viewbreathtaking landscapes fullof trees glistening with snowdetailing each branch.

Feel invigorated whilecross-country skiing orsnowshoeing through PfeifferNature Center or AlleganyState Park. Pfeiffer NatureCenter holds many winter-time activities, includingsnowshoeing (Jan. 11), tokeep families active and enjoy-ing the outdoors. The ArtRoscoe Trails in Allegany StatePark consist of 24 miles ofwinter bliss for cross countryskiing.

Cascade through the hillson your snowboard or skis atHoliMont ski resort orHoliday Valley, ranked theNo.5 ski resort in the east bySki Magazine. The need forhibernation will never feel sofar away as you zigzag downthe 52 slopes at HoliMont orride the 13 high-tech lifts thatguide you to Holiday Valley’s58 slopes and trails.

Or find the thrill of winterriding on a snowmobilethrough over 400 miles oftrails, stopping at local estab-lishments that cater to riders.Group Camp 5 has recentlyopened on the Quaker side ofAllegany State Park. This gor-geously remodeled Camp has18 winterized cabins, sevenindividual facilities (three arehandicap accessible) and onegiant mess hall that includesthree upright refrigerators, afreezer and 14 tables withbenches. If you gather thewhole snowmobile club (can

hold up to 72 people), the costices down to just $6 per per-son per night!

There are festivals galorewith a focus on the holidays,music or food and drink.Celebrate New Year’s Eve rightby being part of the TorchlightParade at Holiday Valley SkiResort Let loose at the WinterBlues Festival Jan. 3-4 inEllicottville. Find fun at theOlean Area Sports andOutdoor Show being held Jan.25-26 at Good Times ofOlean. Don’t forget the biggestbiker party of the winter whenGowanda Harley Davidsoncomes to Holiday Valley onJan. 25.

If you follow the naturalprogression to slow down dur-ing the winter months or justlike to stay in the warmindoors, then view the variousexhibits held at the Regina A.Quick Center. Watch a classicplay or cheer on the St.Bonaventure Bonnies basket-ball teams in one of theirgames. Learn about Nativeheritage, ride into railroadpast or get in touch withnature at area museums thatoffer a full day’s activity forfamilies looking to get out of

the house. Friends of GoodMusic at The Quick Center ishosting frequent winter con-certs bringing diverse andrenowned musicians to per-form for all. It’s always a funtime at the events held at theSeneca Allegany Casino andResort in Salamanca. This yearthey are bringing Cheap Trick,comedian Lisa Lampanelli andthe Grand Funk Railroad forpure excitement! Or try yourluck at the vast array of slotmachines and card tables anytime.

Challenge yourself to learna winter sport. Ice skate at theindoor rink in Olean, test yourangler skills by ice fishing atAllegany State Park, or flydown the hills while tubing.Or grab the gang and go sled-ding. It’s sure to be fun on anyday in winter!

So no matter what youchoose for winter fun, comefind it in the EnchantedMountains!

For more information visit,www.EnchantedMountains.com, email, info@enchantedmoun-tains.com, or call,1.800.331.0543.

Lose the winter blues in The Enchanted Mountains of Cattaraugus County

Courtesy Cattaraugus County Economic DevelopmentBreathtaking landscape full of trees glistening with snow atAllegany State Park.

By Kevin BonkFrom its inception as a means

of transportation to its evolu-tion as a winter sport, snow-shoeing has always had a placein the winter months. Whetheryou’re taking a leisurely stroll ina snow covered forest ortrekking to the top of the nextpeak, snowshoeing provides arelief from cabin fever. With lit-tle or no instruction you can hitthe trail as soon as the shoes areon your feet and poles aroundyou hand. With the wide varietyof snowshoes and relative lowcost to buy or rent, WesternNew York’s hiking trails providemiles upon miles to explore.

The principle of snowshoeingis fairly basic; the larger surfacearea of the shoe distributes thewearer’s weight allowing theuser to “float” over the snow.Native Americans living in thecolder regions of North Americaall developed some form of thesnowshoe. As the environmenteach tribe faced was different, sowere their snowshoes: Inuittribes in Alaska used a large cir-cular shoe to maneuver in lightpowdery snow; central plainsIndians used a six-foot longsnowshoe to hunt buffalo; whilenortheastern tribes constructedshorter teardrop-shaped shoesto navigate through forests.

Just as Native Americansadapted snowshoe to fit theirneeds, modern snowshoes arefitted for today’s outdoorsenthusiasts. Originating in cen-tral Asia over 6,000 years ago,traditional snowshoes were typ-ically made from woodenframes and animal hide lacing.Today’s modern snowshoes bor-row the same concept but aremade from lightweight metals,plastic and synthetic fibers.Several improvements from thetraditional snowshoe are includ-ed on today’s models improvingtraction and maneuverability.Crampons placed on the under-side of the shoe grip into thesnow allowing better tractionfor traversing hills. Updatedbindings ensure the users feetare securely in place on thesnowshoe. The toe cord, whichis the connection point for thebinding to the shoe, varies giv-ing the user different levels orflexibility while they walk.

Several factors including thetype of trail, condition of thesnow and the size of the usermust be considered whenchoosing the right snowshoe.

More expensive expeditionsnowshoes have a deeper cram-pon to grip steeper terrain whilerecreational models have less ofa protruding crampon thatworks best on flatter groomedsnow. A proper fitting bindingplays a large role in making thesnowshoe feel like a part of theuser’s body. If the binding is tooloose there is a substantial lossof control. Also, a binding withgreater support will preventfatigue on your lower legs dur-ing long hikes. The type of trailsyou frequent will dictate thetype of toe cord you need. Arotating toe cord will leavemuch of the snowshoe on theground as you take a step andare suited for flatter terrain andgroomed snow. A fixed cord willkeep the snowshoe closer toyour foot. This type is moresuited for hill climbing anddeeper off-trail snow.

After selecting the propersnowshoe, grab a set of polesbefore setting out on your trek.Poles will help keep your bal-ance and take away stress onyour knees, not to mention giv-ing your upper body a workout.Adjustable poles work the best;when heading up or down hillsthey can be fitted to the properlength.

At this time of year when theground is blanketed in whitepowder, there are a host of areasto mark with your snowshoeprints. City parks are rarelycrowded during the wintermonths and offer flat ground forbeginners. You don’t need totravel far to find prime snow-shoe trails. Bonds Lake inNiagara County, Sprague Brookin southern Erie County, andMendon Ponds Park in Monroe

County all have miles ofmarked trails for beginner tointermediate snowshoers.

Outdoor outfitter Paths,Peaks, & Paddles (PPP) ofTonawanda has several snow-shoe events this winter to intro-duce and explore Western NewYork’s backcountry. Startingwith the Winter Feels Goodevent at Ellicott Creek Park onJan 11, the instructors at PPPwill be hosting free snowshoedemos and tours around thepark. For those seeking a moreadventurous outing, PPP isleading several excursions intoarea parks and forests. Weekendtrips include Erie CountyForest, Royalton Ravine, andZoar Valley among others.Rental snowshoes are availableand some trips include a back-country meal. The cost of theexcursions range from $15-25and a complete list of outingscan be found at www.paths-peakspaddles.com.

Byrncliff Resort andConference Center, located inVarysburg, N.Y., provides thechance for a great winter get-away. The resort has over 12miles of cross-country skiingand snowshoeing trails, withseveral miles of un-groomedsnowshoe-only trails. In antici-pation of a snowy winter theteam at Byrncliff has beenpreparing for the numerousskiers and snowshoers expectedto hit the trails. “We’ve beenworking year round to makeimprovements to the trails andfacility… with unique featuresof lighted trails for night-timesnowshoeing and overnightaccommodations,” LindsayEddy of Byrncliff explained. Anassortment of ski and snowshoerentals are available at the facili-ty. Ski and lodging packages inthe resort hotel rooms or MapleLodge Guest House are offered.For nighttime entertainmentbands will be performing duringthe weekend at the Byrncliff Barand Restaurant. For more infor-mation on upcoming events andwinter packages check outwww.byrncliff.com.

The winters in Western NewYork may be long and snowy,but for those who venture outwith snowshoes strapped ontheir feet it can be a veryrewarding time. From anancient form of transportationto a modern recreational sportthe popularity of snowshoeingis only growing.

Photo courtesy Paths Peeks & PaddlesSnowshoeing is great exercise,and fun for the whole family!

When the hiking trails get snow, the hikers get snowshoeing

Winter full ofhard waterpromise

Winter arrived early inWNY this year, and colderthan normal temperatureshave most area lakes andponds sporting icy surfaces.Ice anglers across the areahope this year will make upfor two sub-par hard waterseasons, and this early freezeonly fuels more excitementfor a potential Christmas-time ice excursion. Withmost, if not all, steelheadstreams sporting frozen andunfishable surfaces, anglersseeking tight lines hope safeice is near, and holdsthroughout winter.Basic hard water gear

Whether you are new toice fishing or spent manyseasons walking on frozenwater, knowing the basics tomeet the rigors of this excit-ing sport comes first. Choosewell-insulated outerwearthat is both waterproof andwind-proof to keep the win-ter cold at bay. Well insulat-ed, waterproof boots andgloves, too, will assure youhours in the extreme cold incomfort, and a good pair ofsunglasses helps keep theeffects of “snow blindness” atbay, especially on bright,sunny days.

Safety gear includes icepicks and cleats. Withoutthese, an angler has nochance at getting a grip on

ice. Another good tool to useis an ice chisel, more com-monly called a spud bar, asthis five to six-inch iron barhelps you gauge ice thick-ness as you walk out. Thespud bar is a most importantitem both early and late inthe hard water season.

Anglers also need an iceauger with sharp blades,manual or power (remember,you have to haul this gear onand off the ice, so know your“weight limits”). Now is agood time to examine thoseblades, as nothing spoils anouting faster than a dullauger. It is a good idea tohave a spare set of newblades with you, and localstores have a good supply ofthem right now. Round outyour gear list with an icescoop, preferably one with aruler on it, and a deep-sidedsled for dragging your gearand a five-gallon bucket, andyou have the basics covered.Tackle

Since what you seek tocatch dictates tackledemands, a variety of differ-ent weight ice fishing rodsand reels provide wider fish-ing options. These rigs looksimilar to standard rods, onlymuch shorter. However, thestationary nature of ice fish-ing also affords the use of tipups, hand line devices youset up that have a signal flagwhen a fish strikes. Eachangler can employ up to fivetip ups at a time, but somewaters have different rules

governing tip up use. All tipups must have angler’s nameand address on them.Terminal tackle and baitrange from ultra-small jigs tospoons and blade baits, plas-tics and plain hooks andsinkers to present minnowsand worms to hungry fishbelow.For the serious angler

If you have the budget andthe passion for hard wateradventure, portable shantiesare worth every penny theycost, and newer style unitslike the Ice Cube or ClamCorp.’s Big Foot, are light-

weight and cost-effective.Electronics such as a Vexilar,underwater cameras byAqua-View, and a qualityhand-held GPS all willenhance your ice fishingexperience. New smartphone apps fromGPShuntfish.com, orFishidy.com incorporate GPSenabled phone capabilitieswith available contour mapsof most major lakes, provid-ing the ability to know whatis under you, and the abilityto mark waypoints for returntrips.

Popular hotspotsNFTA Small Boat Harbor –Buffalo:

Usually one of the firstplaces to show safe ice local-ly.

Yellow perch, bluegill,crappie, northern pike andrainbow smelt top the list offishing opportunities.

Use small jigs and grubs,small jigging rapalas, smallSwedish pimples or tip upsbaited with large shiners.

Depth runs to aboutseven to eight feet.

Ample parking.

Chautauqua Lake –Mayville to Jamestown:

Very popular weekenddestination, many smallmotels and bed & breakfaststo host your stay.

Yellow perch, crappie,bluegill and walleye domi-nate the ice fishing atten-tion.

Shallow south basinfreezes first, with Burtis Baybeing tops on the spots –access from LakewoodCommunity Park.

Deeper north basin offerswider variety of options, withpopular places includingMaple Springs (access atMidway State Park),Prendergast Point (access atNYS boat launch) and LongPoint State Park – all havegood parking and easy accessto the lake.

Use small jigs and grubs,blade baits, Swedish pimplesand small to mid-sized jig-ging rapalas.

Wilson Harbor – Wilson:Shallow Lake Ontario

harbor with strong residentnorthern pike numbers.

Yellow perch, bluegill,rainbow trout and browntrout abundant during cer-tain parts of winter.

Use tip ups with largeshiners, jigs and grubs, jig-ging rapalas.

Ample parking.Remember that ice

thickness should be at leastfour inches of clear ice,and fish with a friend ortwo. Call local tackle shopsfor ice conditions beforeyou go, or check online aticeshanty.com. Don’t forgetto take a kid fishing, andgive the gift that lasts alifetime! Have a very MerryChristmas, and a HappyHard Water New Year!

Rich Davenport is co-founder ofWeLoveOutdoors.com, anavid Outdoorsman andmember of the NYSOWA.His works are also publishedin NY Outdoor News,Walleye.com and the BuffaloNews. Rich is also therecording secretary for theErie County Federation ofSportsmen’s Clubs, secretaryof the Western NYEnvironmental Federation,member of the Erie CountyFisheries Advisory Boardand is the co-chairman andRegion 9 Rep NYSCC BigGame Committee. Emailrich@weloveoutdoors.org.

Doctari’s Fishing Forum with Rich Davenport

Photo by Rich DavenportWheatfield angler Tim Kernahan showing off a day’s catchthrough the ice on Chautauqua Lake.

WINTER DIRECTORY

Page 8 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Winter 2013—14

By Bob CaicoThe New York State

Silver Gloves (under age of17) were held in Rochesteron Dec. 7-8. Winners willnow represent New YorkState in the regional cham-pionships in Elmira on Jan.4-5 with the NationalChampionships being heldon Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 inIndependence, Missouri.The Niagara District will berepresented by:Charles SlobertSt. John’s (Buffalo)Joshu GonzalezPAL (Buffalo)Anthony DiazPAL (Buffalo)Jared Gibb Casals (Niagara Falls)Keith Jones Casals (Niagara Falls)Vincent Artist Casals (Niagara Falls)Elijah Austin Casals (Niagara Falls)Ranse Almentaros Right move (Rochester)Angel Rodriguez Baden (Rochester)Jailyn Johnson St. Martin (Rochester)Kam’Ron Overton St. Martin (Rochester)Paris Davis St. Martin (Rochester)Tre’von Stone St. Martin (Rochester)Derrick GunterFuture Boxing (Rochester)Kieshawn StoneSt. Martin (Rochester)

Messiah Miles Future boxing (Rochester)Sequan Anthony St. Martin (Rochester)

••••••••The Tralf Nightclub in

downtown Buffalo was thevenue for a 16-bout amateurboxing card hosted byDiaab Entertainment andsponsored by CarubbaCollision on Nov. 23.132 lb Musa Mberwa (St. Martin’s) dec 3-0Derrick Allio (Geneva Boxing)141 lb Sam Rodriguez (Roc Boxing) dec 2-1Angel Vega (Jamestown YMCA)110 lb Marcus Floyd(Buffalo PAL) dec 3-0Parris Davis (St. Martin’s)141 lb Jose Hernandez(ROC Boxing) rsc-3Kevin Diaz (Jamestown YMCA)141 lb Houshuan Sambolin(ROC Boxing) dec 3-0Matt Ventry (Thunder Boxing)132 lb Ben Serrano (Buffalo Westside)dec 3-0Malick Stanley (NWBCC)141 lb Mike Hadjad(NWBCC)dec 3-0

Carl Davis (Thunder Boxing)152lb Anthony Woodruff(Westside)

dec 2-1Mark Renza (Sweet Science)141 lb Uciel Hernandez(Geneva) dec 2-1Bryan Montes-Camacho(Westside)165 lb Tim Akadoulou(U.B.) dec 3-0Tracey McGruder (St. Martin’s)132lb Tyler Ross (U.B.)rsc-3Daniel Colt Collins(NWBCC)141 lb Dante Palmer(Lackawanna Boxing)dec 3-0Jeffrey Ngayot (Westside)165lb Ryan Nicastro (U.B.)rsc-2Ryan Piazza (Thunder Boxing)201 lb Adam Morrell(KC’s Fitness)rtm-2Alberto Mercado(Westside)141 lb Daniel Dejesus(Westside)dec 2-1Akmad Aliyev (NWBCC)178lb Lawrence King (ROCBoxing)dec 3-0Montell Jones (Eastside Boxing PA.)

••••••••Casal’s boxing of Niagara

Falls hosted a sold out,standing room only cardwith over 500 attendees onNov. 16. Sequan Felton andMike Vega earned fight ofthe night award and it wasdeserving of its main eventstatus.70 lb Joey Krebs (Casal’s)decJay’den Ruth (St. Martin’s)138 lb Sam Rodriguez (ROC Boxing)decDerek Green (Goomba)110 lb Jackson Kreps(Casal’s)decOmar Charles (Westside)125 lb Ellion DeJesus(Westside)decAlex Castellano (Victory)145 lb Jose Hernandez(ROC)rsc

Robert Finn (Casal’s) 150 lb Jessica Camara(Toronto)decMikiah Krebs (Casal’s)135 lb Eddie Torres(Dunkirk)decGiovanni Torres (Casal’s)165 lb Connor Smith (UB)decJohn Nuchereno (Victory)132 lb K’Shawn Agee(Casal’s)decBen serrano (Westside)130 lb Musa Mberwa (St. Martin’s)dec Cameron Miller (Casal’s)156 lb Tracy McGruder (St. Martin’s)decMike Renza (SweetScience)145 lb Mike Christopher (UB)decBrian Montes (Westside)165 lb Donnie “Too Quick”Marshall (Buf)decJonathan Batron (St.Martin’s)145 lb Joe Tardibuono(Casal’s)decNiko Torres (Dunkirk)201+ Nolan Smith (Casal’s)decJack Jackson (St. John’s)135 lb sequan Felton (St. Martin’s)dec 2-1Mike Vega (Casal’s)

••••••••The New York State

Golden Gloves competitionwill be headed for down-town Buffalo at the Tralf thisJanuary. Any boxers 17years old and up have untilJan. 6 to sign up. The firstnight of competition isscheduled for Saturday Jan.25. You can log on to buffal-ogoldengloves.com for anapplication and more infor-mation.

••••••••Condolences are in order

for coach Bernie Barco ofROC Boxing in Rochester.Bernie’s dad Bernard passedaway on Nov. 30 at 84 yearsof age. RIP

Local boxing happenings

Photo by Bob CaicoTyler Ross (right) of the University of Buffalo Boxing teamlands a right hand against Daniel Collins of the NorthwestBuffalo Community Center in amateur boxing action.

As the actionmoves inside withb a s k e t b a l l ,wrestling, bowl-ing, swimmingand rifle athletesfrom public andprivate schoolswill be looking tomake their mark.Here are 12 stu-dent-athletes whoshould be grab-bing headlinesand turningheads:

RenaldoRodriquez-Spencer, wrestling,Cheektowaga

A state champi-on and withoutquestion one ofthe best grapplersto ever come outof WNY. His fly-ing squirrel takedown is thestuff legends are made of.

Cody McGregor, wrestling,Tonawanda

McGregor enters the sea-son needing just nine winsto overtake Ryan Mislin asthe all-time wins leader inTonawanda High Schoolhistory. A two-time statequalifier, Cody is theyoungest person in the his-tory of Tonawandawrestling to reach the 100-win club. The youngest offour brothers who all wres-tled for the Warriors, it isbelieved that Cody (140

wins), Jordan (138), Kyle(111) and Scott (109)McGregor hold the staterecord for most wins by sib-lings.

Lauren Pray, hockey,Kenmore West

The quick and agilegoalie has no equal betweenthe pipes. She is simply thebest in WNY and was a bigreason why Kenmore, a uni-fied Ken-West and Ken-Eastsquad, reached the statetournament last season.

Jontay Walton, basketball,Cardinal O’Hara.

The all-time points leader

for Holy Angels,Walton, a senior, isanother weapon inan already loadedLady Hawks teamthat is looking fora third straight tripto states. Walton isquick, confidentand fearless. Shebelieves she willwin every time shesteps on the flooras do her team-mates who feed offher energy.

Awilda Murphy,basketball, SacredHeart

Murphy, a sen-ior, formed a daz-zling 1-2 punchwith Walton dur-ing their threeyears together atHoly Angels.Murphy is one of

the most complete and con-sistent players you will everfind. She handles the ballwell, scores, passes, getsrebounds and teals; theresimply isn’t anything not tolike about her.

Sarah Franco, basketball,Lockport

Without question themost dominant post playerin the Niagara FrontierLeague. The 6-foot-2Franco and gritty teammateAlyssa Wagner form a dead-ly duo for the Lions. WhenFranco is on, no one,

Sports & Leisure winter athletes watch listBy Dave Ricci

Photo by Dave RicciCody McGregor cements his name inTonawanda High School lore.

continued on page 9

Winter 2013—14 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 9

By Paul GothamPre-season tournaments

and non-conference gamesare in the rearview mirror asthe local junior college men’sbasketball teams go into thesemester break. Before theyreturn for classes, the WesternNew York Athletic and Mid-State Athletic Conferenceswill be in full swing. The ErieCC Kats will open at home onJan. 11 when Mercyhurst NEpays a visit to the FlickingerCenter. The Monroe CCTribunes open conferenceplay on the road atMercyhurst NE on Jan. 9while the Thunderwolves ofNiagara County host theGenesee CC Cougars on Jan.16. Plenty will be at stakewith head-to-head matchupsbetween the Kats, Tribunesand Thunderwolves as theylook for a berth in theNational Tournament. MCC’sTribunes opened the seasonranked third in the nationalpoll. Since then NCCC, witha 10-game winning streak,has moved into the top ten,and the Kats will look tochallenge for the Regionaltitle.

Erie Community CollegeKats

Current record: 6-5.2012-13 record: 22-6/12-2

conference – lost to MonroeCC in the Region III D2 Titlegame.

Coach: Alex Nwora (15thseason, 245-102 careerrecord).

Top players: KyleBenjamin (9.6 rebounds pergame), Fabian MacDonald(18.6 points/2.5 steals pergame).

Upcoming home games:Jan. 6, Lakeland CC 8p.m.;Jan. 11, Mercyhurst NE 8p.m., Jan. 28, Monroe CC7:30.

Erie looks to return to theNational Tournament wherethey last appeared in 2011when the Kats finishedfourth. Kareem Sulaiman isthe lone returner from lastyear’s team that split withMonroe CC during the regu-lar season before falling in theRegionals. The Kats rely ontheir defense to create offense.With nearly nine steals andfour blocks (39th in the coun-try) per game, Erie uses thisto get out on the break andscore easy buckets. ECC hitsnearly seven threes per con-test. Local product, MarcusMorris (McKinley) has madefive starts for the Kats averag-ing more than 10 points and3.5 rebounds.

Finger Lakes CommunityCollege Lakers

Current record: 7-5.2012-23 record: 13-17/9-4

Mid-State AthleticConference – lost to HerkimerCounty in the Region IIIQuarter-Finals.

Coach: Richard Jones (12thseason, 213-137 careerrecord).

Top Players: BrandonBullock (16.2 points pergame), Dylan Verkey (14.5points / 2.7 three-pointers pergame).

Upcoming Home Games:Jan. 7, Tompkins CortlandCC; Jan. 16 Corning CC; Jan.18, Cayuga CC; Jan. 29,Broome CC.

FLCC will look to build offan opening night win at

Monroe CC. Bullock andVerkey (SenecaFalls/Mynderse) give theLakers an inside-outside bal-ance. Will Arberry can be adifficult matchup for oppo-nents. The 6-foot-4 forward isable to take smaller playersinto the post and score whilebigger players have difficultykeeping him in check on theperimeter. Ray Wiggins(Geneva/Geneva High) scores3.6 per game while JawanzaL o n g m i r e(Rochester/Brighton High)adds 2.1.

Genesee Community CollegeCurrent record: 7-2.2012-13 record: 15-16/6-9

WNYAC.Coach: Terry George (third

season, 39-30 career record).Top Players: Ervin Mitchell

(27.6 points and 8.9 reboundsper game), Naquil Jones (16.8points per game).

Upcoming Home Games:Jan. 4, Cayuga CC; Jan. 12,Lackawanna; Jan. 14,Mercyhurst NE.

GCC has won six straighton the back of Mitchell, thenation’s fourth-leading scorer.The Cougars rank 14th innational scoring at 91.8points per game. They hitalmost 37 field goals pergame. Their 9.6 steals lead toeasy baskets at the other endof the floor, and the Cougarsdish out 18.9 assists per con-test. 2012-13 All-AmericanVaughn Boler will redshirtthis season. Roderick Jones(Rochester/Edison Tech) andSasho Sohei (Japan) are theonly returners from last year’steam.

Jamestown CommunityCollege Jayhawks

Current Record: 2-7.2012-13 Record: 13-17/ 4-

10 WNYAC.Coach: Michael Cordovano

(19th season).Top Players: Tyreek Jewell

(24.0 points and 8.1 reboundsper game), Ohndo Smith (17points per game).

Upcoming Home Games:Jan. 14, Erie CC; Jan. 28,Niagara CCC; Jan. 30 MonroeCC.

Jamestown CC will look toend a five-game losing streakand turnaround the season.Their 28.6 free throwattempts per game rank 25thin the nation.

Jamestown CommunityCollege (CattaraugusCounty) Jaguars

Current Record: 2-6.2012-13 Record: 6-20/0-14

WNYAC.Coach: J.R. Kemp (fifth

season).Top Players: James Brown

(18.8 points per game),Terrance Johnson (eightrebounds per game).

Upcoming Home Games:Jan. 16, Mercyhurst NE; Jan.21, Alfred St.; Jan. 23, Pitt-Titusville.

The Jaguars boast a long-range attack like no otheramong Western New YorkJunior College teams. JCC-Cattaraugus makes almostnine threes per contest onaround 30 shots, ranking sec-ond in attempts and seventhin makes nationally. JakeChapman leads the aerialassault hitting 3.1 of 8.9 onaverage. Brown adds morethan two three-pointers pergame.

Monroe Community CollegeTribunes

Current Record: 7-5.2012-13 Record: 32-4, fifth

place NJCAA DII.Coach: Jerry Burns (23rd

season, 560-152 careerrecord).

Top Players: Isaiah Davis(14.2 points and 5.9 reboundsper game), Davon Jackson(4.5 rebounds per game).

Tashawn Desir is the loneholdover from last year’sTribune club that finishedfifth in the nation. Justbecause the faces havechanged, it doesn’t mean theapproach has been modified.MCC gets up and down thefloor. The Tribunes use a vari-ety of pressure to keep oppo-nents off-balance. IsaiahDavis is a slippery swingmanwho can knock down ajumper and get to the basketoff the bounce. At 6-foot-8Elijah Tillman is developinginto a low-post threat whocould make the Tribs difficultto beat in March. TheTribunes average almost 16assists per game.

Niagara County CommunityCollege

Current Record: 10-0.2012-13 Record: 21-9/11-3

WNYAC Lost to Erie CC inthe Region III DII Semi-Finals.

Coach: Bill Beilein (sixthseason, 81-37 career record).

Top Players: Eli Jones (21points and 7.1 rebounds pergame), Jordan Street (10.5points and 10.4 rebounds).

Upcoming Home Games:Jan. 7, Lakeland CC; Jan. 11,Lorain CCC; Jan. 16, GeneseeCC.

With five sophomores inthe lineup, Niagara Countyboasts perhaps the most expe-rienced junior college team inWestern New York. JordanStreet (Niagara Falls/NiagaraFalls High) gives theThunderwolves an imposingforce around the basket. Oncethe 6-foot-6 forward getsposition on the block, he isdifficult to move. Eli Jones(Fairport/Fairport High) hitsbetter than 64 percent of hisshots from the floor. Eric Hall(Buffalo/Seneca) chips inthree points and almost tworebounds. Chuka Ikpeze(Rochester/Bishop Kearney)adds 9.4 per game. NCCC iseighth in the nation with 12.5steals per contest.

Local junior college men’s basketball roundup

Photo courtesy NCCCForward Eli Jones has beensensational for NCCC, hittingover 62 percent of his shotsfrom the floor and averagingover seven boards per game.

absolutely no one, is goingto stop her.

Austin Gallagher, hockey,Lancaster

Was the second leadingscorer among underclass-men in the WNY Fed lastseason. The scrappy 5-foot-4 forward will likely com-mand more attention fromopponents this season, buthe will be up to the chal-lenge.

Aaron Tucker, basketball,Kenmore East

Bulldogs coach JayRobbins cannot contain thesmile when he talks aboutTucker. After struggling thepast couple of seasons fatehas finally been kind toKen-East as the 6-foot-2Tucker, who moved to WNYfrom Detroit, is their first

legit point guard since PJBlanch. As of now Tuckerdoesn’t have the scoring popof Blanch, but he has greatcourt vision and distributesthe ball well.

Cassidy Powers, bowling,North Tonawanda

A member of the SectionVI team that went to stateslast season, Powers is with-out question among theelite in the state. She’ll bevying for the NiagaraFrontier League’s triplecrown of top series, averageand game. Powers is one ofthe best from a program thathas a legacy of truly greatbowlers.

Nate Maloney, bowling,Niagara-Wheatfield.

A stud on the lanes,Maloney had two trips to

states before his first day ofhigh school, first going as amember of the FalconsSectional championshipteam as a seventh graderand then again last year as amember of the Section VIall-star team.

Alex Price, basketball,Kenmore West

The Blue Devils quick asa hiccup point guard mightbe the best all-around play-er in the Niagara FrontierLeague. The Blue Devilshopes to return to Buff Statewill rest on Price’s shoul-ders.

Chris Minor, basketball,Nichols.

The 6-foot-4 post playeris coming into his own andis ready to breakout in a bigway.

Winter athletes from page 8

By Adam McGillThe 2013 collegiate

women’s volleyball season isalready in the books and thisyear saw some truly histori-cal performances. Here is aquick recap of the localaction on the court.

Buffalo State CollegeBuff State made waves this

season as the team made theNCAA Playoffs for the firsttime in the program’s history.The Bengals finished with anincredible 25-10 record.

Unfortunately, the seasoncame to an end with a four-set loss to the University ofChicago (27-10) in theNCAA Playoffs. They lookeda little nervous in the earlygoing and couldn’t catch upby the time they got comfort-able. However, it still markeda historical season for thelady Bengals.

Junior outside hitterSamantha Parente was namedas an honorable mention All-American this year by theAmerican Volleyball CoachesAssociation (AVCA). Shebecame the first Bengal to getthe distinction. She was alsonamed MVP of the SUNYACtournament and was namedto the first team All-SUNYACas well.

Parente was among theleague leaders in kills (3.04kills per set) and hitting per-centage (.258) this season.She also finished with 3.34points per set and was thetrue leader of Buffalo State’soffense.

The team has a very brightfuture with Parente returningand will once again be a forceto reckon with next year.

Canisius CollegeThe team finished with an

11-18 overall record. Their 9-9 conference record was theseventh time in eight seasonsthe team finished .500 or bet-ter in the conference.Canisius is another localschool to have several playersrecognized this season.

Junior Emily Litwin(Williamsville, N.Y.) wasnamed to the all MetroAtlantic Athletic Conferencesecond team, while freshmanKatlyn Tyler (Pavilion, N.Y.)was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.

Litwin posted an astonish-ing 4.94 digs per game inconference play, which ledthe entire MAAC. Sherecorded double-digit digs in28 of her 29 games this sea-son and was a fixture in themiddle for Canisius.

Tyler led all MAAC rook-ies with 2.59 digs per set andshe added 2.13 kills as well.The outside hitter had a bril-liant freshman season andposted double-digit kills infive matches.

The Golden Griffins willhave several pieces in placeto make a serious run nextseason.

Erie Community CollegeThe Kats had another

rough season on the court in2013. The team finishedwith a 6-19 record andended up posting a winless0-6 record in conferenceplay.

The Kats depended heavi-ly on Emilee Piechocki(Rochester, N.Y.) this sea-son. She was the team’soffensive leader and was ontop of the scoring sheet eachgame.

In a big 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 16-25, 25-13) win overCayuga CC, Piechockiracked up 15 kills and 25digs. The outside hitter wasall over the court and hadone of the best performanc-es of her collegiate career.She was one of the team’strue stars all year long andwas at the top of the box

score every night. The Kats will once again

be hunting for new talent,as athletes only get twoyears of eligibility at ECC,so expect another bigturnover of players nextseason.

Niagara UniversityThe lady Purple Eagles

did not fare any better thanECC. The team finishedwith a 4-25 record, includ-ing a 3-15 record in MetroAtlantic AthleticConference play.

Amanda Sedore (Webster,N.Y.) led the team with 304kills (2.95 per start), points(346), and was second indigs (2.30 per game). Thejunior did it all and willhave a huge showing in herfinal campaign next year.

Junior libero, AllisonReis, was the defensive starfor Niagara. The Michigannative led the team with4.06 digs per set and keptthe team alive all year withher stellar saves.

N.U. will be returningtheir entire squad, as therewere not any seniors on thisyear’s team. It will be a hugeadvantage and the team willcome into next season witha great chemistry.

University at BuffaloBuffalo enjoyed a beauti-

ful season in 2013 and theteam finished with an 18-12record (6-10 conference).They tied the programrecord for wins since com-ing to the Mid-AmericanConference and it was trulya season to remember.

Senior Carissa McKennawas a leader again this yearand the middle blocker livedabove the net. She ended hercollegiate career nicely andher presence in the middlewill leave a hole in Buffalo’slineup next season.Additionally, senior KellySvoboda averaged 5.66 digsper set and the Clevelandnative will also be difficultto replace.

Outside hitter TahlelaBishop led the team with3.67 kills and 4.23 pointsper set. The junior will nowbe the face of Buffalo’s squadas the team will lose six sen-iors from this season’s roster.However, Buffalo will stillrequire a strong incomingfreshman class to get overthe hump next year.

CollegiateVolleyball

Photo by Paul Hokanson/UB AthleticsSenior Carissa McKennaenjoyed a beautiful seniorseason for the Buffalo Bulls.

Page 10 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Winter 2013—14

By Ivan the ImpalerIn retrospect, it was

an idea long overdue:honor one of WesternNew York’s mostbeloved citizensand favorite wrestlerswith a wrestlingmatch inhis honor…and a real-ly cool trophy to boot!

Six talented grap-plers gathered at theKeenan Center inLockport, NY on Nov.30th for the 1stAnnual Ilio DiPaoloMemorial Cup, heldunder the auspices ofEmpire StateWrestling. Not onlywould the winnerreceive the trophy, he’d alsoqualify for a title shot on afuture ESW card.

All six competitors areranked in this year’s ProWrestling Illustrated Top 500list.

No detailed description ofIlio is necessary for those inthe Buffalo area. The native ofItaly settled in this region andbecame a world-famouswrestler. The accomplish-ments of the restaurateur andphilanthropist live on throughhis family and Ilio DiPaolo’sRestaurant in Blasdell, N.Y.

The Participants- Brandon Thurston,

Tonawanda, NY- Former ESWHeavyweight and Tag TeamChampion, plus a star ama-teur wrestler for Niagara

County Community Collegeunder legendary coach EricKnuutila.

- Johnny Gargano,Cleveland, OH - Dragon GateUSA champion for over twoyears and running. If there isany justice in the wrestlingworld, he’ll be on national TVsoon.

- “Inferno “Johnny Adams,Niagara Falls, NY- A formerESW Interstate Champion andperennial fan favorite.

- RJ City, Toronto, Canada -He’s already a TV star on thekid’s show “Splatalot!” (onYTV in Canadaand Nickelodeon in the USA),playing defender Gildar. RJ isthe current GCW NationalChamp and is managed byBrian DeVille of the DeVilleAgency.

- Gabe Saint, Asheville, NC

- “The Bull ofB l a c kMounta in”held the ESWI n t e r s t a t eTitle as wellas the NWANY (nowU P W )Heavyweightand NoLimits titles.He wasaccompaniedto the ring bythe mysteri-ous and lovelyLady LaLa,whom R.J.City has madeno secret ofhis affections

for.- Trent Barreta, Long

Island, NY-. Former WWEwrestler was a tag team cham-pion in Florida ChampionshipWrestling (then the WWEdevelopmental territory)and was one-half of the DudeBusters. One of his trainerswas ECW legend and allegedBuffalo native MikeyWhipreck.

The MatchThe participants entered at

2 minute intervals; Thurstonand Gargano were the first twoin the ring. Wrestlers were tobe eliminated via either pin-fall/submission/countout/dis-qualification until only oneremained.

All six made their way tothe ring before any competi-tors were eliminated. When

total chaos ensued, the pinfallscame fast and furious. RJ Cityand Gabe Saint continuedtheir battle for Lady LaLa as RJgrabbed the mic in the middleof the match and sang “Fly Meto the Moon.” The last twocombatants were Barretaand Thurston; Barreta won thetitle with a pinfall following apiledriver.

Barreta admitted that hedidn’t know much about Ilio’slegacy at first. However, helater noted that “when I gothere, all sorts of people werepulling me aside telling meabout what the DiPaoloFamily means to this area. So,yes, I quickly realized this isnot just another indy trophy.It’s very special and it’s cool.”

Amongst the trophy presen-ters was Smith Hart of the leg-endary Hart Family. BrandonThurston, unfortunately, dis-

played an utter lackof sportsmanshiptowards Barreta prior tothe presentation.

Thurston was bitter after-wards, saying “The DiPaoloFamily made Buffalo theirhome; somebody from Buffalolike me should have been thewinner. Besides, I was in thering the longest; that proves Iwas the best man out there.”

Coach Knuutila surely dis-approved of this behavior.

UPCOMING EVENTSFri. Dec. 27- Great

Canadian Wrestling -Harmony Hall, 15 HarmonyRd. - Oshawa, ONT, Canada -Time TBA.

Mon. Dec. 30 - WWE(house show- NOT televised)- Ricoh Coliseum - Toronto,ONT, Canada - 7:30 P.M.

Sat. Jan. 11, 2014- UpstatePro Wrestling - Eagle’s Club,Buffalo Rd. - Gates(Rochester), NY - 6 P.M.

Sat. Jan. 11- WWE (not tel-

evised) - First Niagara Center- Buffalo, NY - 7:30 P.M.

Sat. Jan. 18- Empire StateWrestling- St. Johnsburg FireHall, 7165 Ward Rd. - NorthTonawanda, NY- 6 P.M.

Sat. Jan. 18- BunkhouseBrawl - Donovan Legion Post-Genesee St. - Cheektowaga,NY - 7 P.M.

Sat. Jan. 25 - ROH - DavidLawrence Convention Center-Pittsburgh, PA - 7:30 P.M.

Sun. Jan. 26 - WWE RoyalRumble PPV - CONSOLEnergy Center- Pittsburgh, PA- 7:30 P.M.

Sat. Feb. 1 - Neo WrestlingFederation - NiagaraSportsplex, 3710 SinnicksAve. - Niagara Falls, ONT,Canada - 7 P.M.

Sat. March 1 - ESW - St.Johnsburg Fire Hall, Ward Rd.- N. Tonawanda, NY - 6 P.M.

Sat. March 1 - MaximumForce Wrestling - Silver CreekHigh School - Silver Creek, NY- 7 P.M.

TRENT BARRETA WINS FIRST ILIO DIPAOLO MEMORIAL CUP

Photo courtesy ESWDiPaolo Cup contenders: Bottom (L to R) - BrandonThurston, Johnny Gargano.Top (L to R) - Brian DeVille, manager; R.J. City;Inferno Johnny Adams; Trent Barreta; Gabe Saintand his manager, Lady La La.

Amherst Mite Minor Selects win tournament

The Amherst 2006 Select hockey team wonthe Niagara Jr. Purple Eagle ThanksgivingTournament in the Mite 7U/Mixed Division overthe holiday weekend. The team posted a 4-0record by defeating the Niagara Eagles, Erie PA,and Cazenovia teams in the preliminary rounds.In the Championship game the team faced atough Niagara Purple team. After Amherst tooka 3-1 lead, the Niagara team stormed back to tie the game. The Amherst team continued to pushthe play late into the game with overtime looking inevitable. The game came to an exciting endwhen CJ Hurley scored the game winning goal after receiving a pass from Tyler Delisanti. Thepuck hit the back of the net just as the buzzer sounded. The successful weekend was a result ofgreat team play, goal scoring from every player on the team, and tough goal tending by NoahBenderson.

Video of the goal can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1LBF4_4TGM.Bottom: (L-R) Dylan Treadway, Luke Higgins, Goalie Noah Benderson, Anthony Higgins, Frank

Palladino, and CJ Hurley.Top: (L-R) Tyler Delisanti, Peter LaJeunesse, Matthew White, Head Coach Bill Higgins, Hayden

Blajszczak, and Jacob Lozo.

Former Sweet Home High School football standoutreceiver KJ Zinermon (class of 2011) is a sophomore(Jersey #19 WR/KR/PR, 6’2”, 190lbs) at MidlandUniversity in Fremont, Nebraska, which is a NAIA

Division I football university. He competes in the GPAC (GreatPlains Athletic Conference). Their final game was Nov. 16against a division leader, Northwestern College. KJ had a careerhigh game in receiving yards with four receptions for 145 yards,one touchdown, and one kickoff return for 59 yards. This wasrecognized as the best receiving performance by a Midlandreceiver for this season. Additionally, in week-one, KJ receivedthe GPAC Player of the week for Special Teams.

KJ started in all 10 games at wide receiver, kickoff returner,and punt returner. He finished the season leading the team intotal receptions, total receiving yards, average yards per recep-

tion, and total kick return yards. Last year as a freshman he appeared in all 10 games, starting forsix of them.

The GPAC released the 2013 ALL CONFERENCE PLAYER AWARDS for the 2013 football sea-son. KJ Zinermon was recognized in two categories. He was given the Honorable Mention Awardas a wide receiver and an Honorable Mention Award as a kick return specialist. He was the onlyplayer on the Midland University roster to receive conference awards for two different positions.

By Brian J. Mazurek

It may be the dead ofwinter in WesternNew York butthings will be aliveon Wednesday,Jan. 8 whenBuffalo Racewaykicks off its 2014harness racing sea-son with a 5 p.m.post. It will be the firstof 99 live racing cards atthe Hamburg oval located atthe Erie County FairGrounds. Racing will con-tinue until July 20.

A major change fans canexpect at Buffalo Raceway isa new race announcer.Michael Carter, aHattiesburg, Mississippi res-ident, has been named toreplace Gabe Prewitt, who isnow calling the races atPompano Park in Florida.

Carter has been a fill-inannouncer at ColonialDowns in Virginia andRosecroft Raceway inMaryland. “The race meet atBuffalo is fantastic, especial-ly during the winter months

with great drivers partici-pating from the eastern partof the country,” Carter said.“I am looking forward to anexciting season.”

Buffalo Raceway’s ChiefOperating Officer JimMango said, “This isMichael’s first full time jobin the announcer’s booth.He is very passionate aboutharness racing, has a dis-tinctive voice, and we arepleased to have him join ourteam.”

Ray Fisher Jr. comes intothe 2014 Buffalo Racewayseason as the defending dri-ver’s champion. He finished

second at the recently com-pleted Batavia Downs

meet but wasnamed Western

New YorkDriver of theYear. Shawn

M c D o n o u g h ,Batavia Downs’champion, looksto keep his hotstreak goingand challenge

for the crown.JD Perrin won last year’s

trainer’s title at Buffalo andfinished second to JohnMungillo at Batavia Downs.Both figure to battle it outonce again.

Racing in January will beWednesday night at 5 p.m.while Friday and Saturdayevenings will have a 6:40p.m. post. In February,Thursday nights will beadded to the schedule witha 5 p.m. start time.

For more information onBuffalo Raceway, includingrace replays, upcoming pro-motions, schedule and the lat-est news, go to www.buffalo-raceway.com.

Buffalo Raceway opens for the season

Winter 2013—14 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 11

By Mike FoxIn the NFL play-

offs, there is nosuch thing as best-of-seven. You eitherwin or you gohome. As wemourn still anotherlost season for theBills, let’s payrecognition tosome of the playerswho have found away to take theirgame to anotherlevel when thepost-season began.

1. Who is theonly quarterbackever to rush for 180 ormore yards in a playoffgame?

a. Michael Vickb. Colin Kaepernickc. Steve McNaird. Kordell Stewart2. Who is the only

active player with twocareer playoff games with150 or more receivingyards?

a. Steve Smithb. Reggie Waynec. Demaryius Thomasd. Hakeem Nicks3. Only two quarter-

backs have thrown fiveor more TDs in a playoffgame more than once intheir careers; DaryleLamonica and who?

a. Kurt Warnerb. Tom Bradyc. Peyton Manningd. Ben Roethlisberger

4. Who is the onlyplayer ever to catch 15passes in a single playoffgame?

a. Michael Irvinb. Darren Sprolesc. Pierre Garcond. Roddy White5. Drew Brees is the

only quarterback ever tocomplete 40 passes in aplayoff game. Who rankssecond with a 39-com-pletion effort?

a. Warren Moonb. Eli Manningc. Matt Schaubd. Drew Brees6. There have been

nine occasions in whicha running back had 35 ormore rushing attempts ina playoff game. Of thosenine, how many were byJohn Riggins?

a. 0

b. 2c. 4d. 87. Fred Taylor’s

90-yard run in 2000was the longest runin playoff history.Only three otherplayers have brokeone for 80 or moreyards. Who is theonly active player tohave accomplishedthis feat?

a. Felix Jonesb. Shonn Greenec. Ray Riced. Shane Vereen8. Who is the only

player with two careerplayoff kick returns fortouchdowns?

a. Ron Dixonb. Trindon Hollidayc. Desmond Howardd. Devin Hester9. Who holds the

record for the longestreception in playoff his-tory, which went for 96yards?

a. Isaac Bruceb. Deion Branchc. Muhsin Muhammadd. Shannon Sharpe10. Who is the active

leader in career playoffrushing yards, with 750?

a. Willis McGaheeb. Frank Gorec. Matt Forted. Ray Rice

NFL playoffs trivia quiz

Photo by Mike MajewskiBig Ben and the Steelers havemade some deep playoff runs, buthow many times has he passed forfive touchdowns in a game?

By Brian J. MazurekConsidering the magni-

tude of the highlights fromthe 2013 racing season,what exactly does BataviaDowns Gaming do for anencore in 2014?

“Meet the challenge,” wasthe response from ToddHaight, Batavia Downs’General Manager of LiveRacing.

But for now, in the wakeof closing night 2013, they’llsavor the triumphs of the recentlyconcluded live season atAmerica’s oldest lighted harnesstrack:• The world’s richest pacer, FoiledAgain, paid a visit on Oct. 5 andwon the 11th annual Robert J.Kane Memorial Pace. Two weekslater, Foiled Again won theBreeders’ Crown Open Pace atPocono Downs.• Export handle took another bigjump.• A state-of-the-art gaming flooropened in October.• Five new track records wereestablished while two others weretied.• Shawn McDonough became thefirst provisional driver ever to wina track driving championship,and he did it in style, outdistanc-ing Ray Fisher Jr. 103-88.

The final total mutual handleon Batavia races increased again,climbing by over $660,000, ornine percent over last year. Exporthandle, coming off a 50 percentincrease in 2012, was up another19 percent this season, though theon-track handle dipped 15 per-cent.

“We knew it was going to be atough year on-track with con-

struction of the new gaming floortaking place as our live seasonwas starting,” Haight said. “Infact, we had two days in earlyOctober that we raced with noon-track wagering at all. The on-track numbers improved signifi-cantly once the gaming floormoved downstairs on October 4.”

“So we’re extremely pleasedthat we continue to grow ourexport business,” Haight added,“and I’m confident we can turnaround our on-track numbersnext season.”

Haight noted that the ITW(Inter-Track Wagering facility)will be moving back to the race-track before the live season getsunderway, so the Downs will onceagain be able to conduct some oftheir most popular promotionsthat they weren’t able to do thisyear.

There were many highlightsaway from the betting windows,too:•The Western New York harnessracing community showed it istruly caring as $12,885 was raisedfor the “Stay Strong AnthonyColetta” fund in early December.Coletta was seriously injured in aracing mishap in mid-Novemberat Harrah’s Philadelphia, so

Batavia Downs drivers, owners,trainers, staff and fans donatedto help out the 31-year-olddriver in his recovery.• Of the new records, two wereset by pacers. Xenia Hanoverposted a 1:53 time to set theaged mares record and BarefootBeauty went 1:54.4 to set thetwo-year-old filly pacing mark,while two-year-old colt sensa-tion He’s Watching went 1:54.2to tie the record.• Fireyourguns was named the

Pacer of the Year.• Mystical Escapade, the BataviaDowns’ Trotter of the Year, set theaged mare mark with a 1:56.3,while Lutetium set the aged geld-ing mark with a 1:56.3. JSTrotting Bob, a two-year-old colt,got his name into the record bookwith a 1:58.2 clocking andBouncing Bax tied the three-year-old filly trotting time with a1:57.2.• While McDonough won the dri-ver’s title, Ron Beback Jr. was vic-torious 84 times and won thecomeback award.• John Mungillo, the WesternNew York Trainer of the Year, wonthe first Downs training title. Hetotaled 66 victories, nine morethan J.D. Perrin. Carl Smith fin-ished third with 37 wins.• Extreme Balance, with driverJack Flanigen, pulled one of thebiggest upsets in Batavia historywhen he scored at odds 168-1.The Jim Graham trainee returned$338 to win. Post-time favoriteswon at a clip of 40 percent.The 2014 racing season is tenta-

tively scheduled to being on Wed.,July 23, pending approval of theNew York Gaming Commission.

Optimism Abounds For 2014 Batavia Downs Season

Ray Fisher Jr. Shawn McDonough

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