Why I'm Rooting Against Big Brown

I wish no ill will on Big Brown, and I know the significance of a Triple Crown Champion. But I just can't bring myself to root for Big Brown in tomorrow's Triple Crown. The reason? I don't want a piece of my own adolescence lost.
I have always been a fan of the great Secretariat (right). In fact, one of the greatest sports moments I've ever enjoyed, was watching Secretariat's final race at Woodbine, in October, 1973. Long time horse racing fans know Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, the first horse to do so in 25-years. Big Red's victory in the Belmont Stakes was epic, 31-lengths, regarded by many as the greatest feat in horse racing history. And I was among the thousands at Woodbine in October, 1973 to see the horse's final race, in the Canadian International. Although not quite as dominant as Secretariat's run in the Belmont, Eddie Maple guided the horse to a 6-length win over Kennedy Road on a cold, damp day outside Toronto. I still have the two-dollar win ticket I purchased that day (uncashed) that says "Big Red" on the top.
I guess I'm afraid if Big Brown wins tomorrow, people may want to compare that great horse with the horse I consider to be the greatest of all time--Secretariat. I can't stand to see that happen. So I'm hoping another horse in tomorrow's field wins the Belmont.

What do you think? Will you be cheering for Big Brown tomorrow in the Belmont?

Jenn Stuczynski headed to Olympic Trials

Fredonia's Jenn Stuczynski is gearing up for the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon in early July. She currently holds the American record, in which she broke again 2 weeks ago clearing 16 3/4 feet. She needs a top 3 finish in the trials so she can head to her first Olympic games this summer in China. Baring an injury, it's safe to assume Stuczynski will do just fine in the trials. The qualifying round is July 3rd, and the finals are on July 6th.

Greer's Not Giving Up

Coaches always say it--"Competition brings out the best.." And in this case, it looks to be true. The Bills have been raving about the play of veteran cornerback Jabari Greer (left) in the three weeks of organized team activity so far.
I noticed it, too, while watching recent practices. After 13 starts last year, Greer seems poised and confident in his ability. And he remains one of the fastest players on the roster.
Some observers may have written Greer off as a starter, after the Bills used their first round draft pick on Leodis McKelvin. But Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell says not so fast.
"This made Jabari Greer compete even more," Fewell said today. "It's not like it's hands down, Leodis McKelvin is the guy. Jabari Greer has really stepped up his game."
The Bills also are keeping an eye on veteran Will James as a contributor at cornerback. If you're asking me, assuming everyone's healthy, McKelvin will probably be the opening day starter at corner opposite Terrence McGee. But look for Greer, James, and maybe even rookie Reggie Corner to get plenty of reps, and plenty of chances to bid for a starting spot, during training camp.

Look for Lakers in Five

It's great to see these two old NBA rivals go at it for the title. And I remain amazed by this fact--of the 61 NBA titles awarded so far in history, half of them (30) have been won by either the Lakers or the Celtics.
Unfortunately, the glory days for each of these franchises came many years ago. Here's hoping the series is competitive and awakens some of the echoes of Heinsohn and Russell, West and Baylor.
But I'm not sure it will. I think the Lakers have two much firepower in this series, and they have the best player (by far) in Kobe Bryant. A year away from his trade demand, Kobe has strapped the franchise on his back and almost single-handedly led them through the postseason. Kobe has finally found the competitive fire that Michael Jordan had during his Hall of Fame career, and his intensity and focus is rubbing off on his Lakers teammates.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, their best player, Kevin Garnett, has been known to disappear in crunch time. For that reason, I look for the Lakers to win the NBA title in fairly short order--five games.

Marshawn Lynch's Silence

It's been 4 days since the 2008 Porsche Cayenne that Marshawn Lynch owns struck a woman on Chippewa Street and left the scene of the accident. His vehicle has since been impounded. The woman that was hit suffered large bruises near her hip and needed 7 stitches. Even though she is o.k., it is very disturbing that Lynch has yet to speak to police. It leaves you to wonder if he was in fact behind the wheel, and if he wasn't.. why hasn't he come forward and said who was. He did not report his Cayenne stolen and witnesses have now come forward saying that they did in fact see Lynch in the Chippewa district that night. Since then, police have tried to reach out to Lynch, his attorney and his agent. Yet, he continues to remain silent. It makes you draw your own conclusions, right? The police are now saying that criminal charges will be laid soon against whoever was driving the SUV. The most serious charge would be leaving the scene of an accident — a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by a maximum of one year in jail. It is unlikely that Lynch, if he was driving would receive any jail time. The problem for Lynch is that no matter what the end result is, he has already severly tarnished his image in Buffalo. His silence speaks volumes!

Kennedy signs with Sabres

South Buffalo's Tim Kennedy has decided to leave Michigan State 1 year early to sign with the Sabres. On Saturday, he inked a 2 year deal that will allow him to attend the teams training camp this fall. He said his goal is to play for the Sabres, but he realizes that there is some heavy competition at forward and he may have to spend some time with their A.H.L. affiliate. Kennedy, a criminal justice major, will continue to work towards getting his degree despite leaving college early. He said he'll take a couple credits this summer, and then take online courses during the fall while he is playing.

Sabres Ticket Revenue

It's been a couple of months since we had a chance to interview Sabres Owner Tom Golisano in Rochester about the team, and the future of hockey in Buffalo. One point he made that resonated was his insistence that the Sabres not lose money. He said it's not imperative that he make money on the hockey franchise, but he would not tolerate a money-losing proposition.
That came to mind today, when I looked over a list of NHL ticket revnue published by the Toronto Star.
Here's the link:

http://www3.thestar.com/static/PDF/080530_nhl_tickets_revenue.pdf

The fact is, despite all their success on the ice and at the box office in recent years, the Sabres still just barely make the top two-thirds of the league, when it comes to ticket revenue. They take in $750,000 per game, less than half of what the Maple Leafs and Canadiens earn per game. This, of course, is due to ticket prices in Buffalo remaining very low, compared to other NHL markets.
The important point is that the Sabres do operate on a very tight budget. They can sell out the season and still earn less than $31-million dollars for the season from ticket revenue. That leaves them short of the $35-million or so they spent on salaries last year. Of course they get more revenue from merchandising, radio and TV rights, etc. but ticket revenue is the primary source of income for NHL teams.
It's no wonder Golisano and the Sabres downplay expectations of the team becoming big-money players when the free agent market opens in July.

Scott Norwood for Wall of Fame?

At Jim Kelly's annual golf tournament, there was a lot of talk about Bruce Smith's impending induction onto the Bills Wall of Fame. But Darryl Talley says there needs to be some consideration for honoring Scott Norwood. The team's kicker from 1985-91 ranks among the team's best in all kicking and scoring categories.

"Everybody seems to have forgotten Scott," said the standout linebacker, "if you look back on the early days, we won a lot of games with special teams and him kicking field goals. There's somewhere up there for Scott to be, but nobody wants to acknowledge it. Because he missed a kick? I missed some tackles in that game (Super Bowl XXV), Bruce missed some, Thurman dropped balls, Jim threw interceptions, whatever. Nobody seems to realize that here's a guy who contributed to our team. Here's a guy who made a major contribution to what this organization is about. It just irks me that people forgot."

Much like everything Talley did, he made these comments with passion and intensity.

Do you agree? Is Scott Norwood worthy of the Bills Wall of Fame? Have the feelings about him and the missed kick changed over the years? Please post your comments.