We know who their Center must have been...

Thanks to my nephew, John for this one. Thought it was funny...


Yes, #25 turned out to be the NBA's Chris Webber.

Williamsville South fires successful coach

 

I have to assume there is more to the firing of 24 year Williamsville South basketball coach Al Monaco than just complaints from a few parents over playing time...

One parent who spoke on condition of anonymity said Monaco gave extra playing time to certain players he knew well.

"He expressly did favor many friends and family. I definitely saw him favoring three students, people he knew," the parent said. "It has caused a lot of adverse reaction."

What a loser this parent must be. Maybe the reason your son gets limited playing time is because he flat out sucks! Or is simply mediocre at best. We all know how every successful high school coach loves leaving their best athletes on the bench. It's high school sports, not 10 and under T-ball. Tell your little over coddled brat to work harder during the off season.

I have to believe there is more to the story than just this. Unless more information comes out, we will be led to believe the superintendent caved in to a small group of wealthy, influential, over involved  parents. Maybe the next coach will make sure everyone plays equally and will pass out treats to the little snowflakes after each game.
Williamsville South's hoops coach removed

Let it rain!

The attached article about sweat is pretty boring. One thing I did learn is that it's a myth you'll sweat less if you are in better shape. But the clip below it is worth watching. One of the best Ben Stiller scenes ever. White chocolate!

3 Funky things you didn’t know about sweat - Healthy Living on Shine


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Misplaced praise

When former Burgard basketball player Ritchie Campbell returned to the courts this past week, he was greeted with a large ovation...

The now 40-year-old Campbell and former Burgard star received a loud ovation (some even stood) from the estimated 500 at City Honors during pregame introductions for the 411 Legends All-Star Game.

I wonder how the family of his shooting victim feels about his reception. You might remember, Campbell shot a young mother to death after she asked him to keep the noise down when he came home one night drunk...

He was released from prison last winter after serving 17 years for first-degree manslaughter.

Campbell, who once was considered a legitimate NBA prospect in the same vain as Ruffin and Clifford Robinson, was released for good behavior after serving most of a 12- to 25-year sentence for killing Yvette Donaldson during the early morning hours of April 27, 1994.

On that day, Campbell arrived at his girlfriend's apartment drunk, carrying a handgun he said was given to him for protection. Campbell started singing and creating a disturbance. A neighbor came over and asked him to keep the noise down because her child was sleeping. Campbell stepped outside the apartment and raised the gun toward the woman. It went off.

Two days later, the 32-year-old mother was dead from a gunshot wound to the neck.

I'll tell you, I hate when I come home drunk and I'm singing really loud and my loaded handgun "accidentally" goes off and kills someone. Standing ovation? What's wrong with the idiots in this crowd? The only reason he was the all time leading scorer in WNY basketball is because Burgard's idiot coach used to leave him in the game when Burgard was beating teams like City Honors by 75 points in the 4th quarter.

Campbell back on the court

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LeBron the choke artist

Congratulations on "taking your talents to South Beach", Lebron. You're averaging 2.2 points in the 4th quarter against Dallas. You're getting outplayed by your own teammate (Dwayne Wade) and a 38 year old point guard.

When I heard about what he had tattooed on his back, I had to put my stamp on the series. This photo is my gift to the city of Cleveland. Does anyone know the Heimlich?...

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Lions Club all star basketball game

Whether it's the Boy Scouts of America, the National Chamber of Commerce, or your local volunteer fire hall, whenever you have an organization, there is always the possibility of scandal or misappropriation of funds, etc. One organization that seems to have avoided this is the Lions Club of WNY. From Wikipedia...

Lions Clubs International was founded in the United States on June 7, 1917 by Melvin Jones, a Chicago businessman. Jones asked, with regard to his colleagues, "What if these men who are successful because of their drive, intelligence and ambition, were to put their talents to work improving their communities?" Jones' personal code, "You can't get very far until you start doing something for somebody else," reminds many Lions of the importance of community service.

The Lions motto is “We Serve.” Focal Lions Club programs include sight conservation, hearing and speech conservation, diabetes awareness, youth outreach, international relations, environmental issues, and other programs.

The Lions Club of Cheektowaga has sponsored a high school basketball all star game for girls for the past several years. The President of their organization is Dan Cassaci. Cassaci's brother Vito is a longtime volunteer with the South Buffalo Football organization. Dan Cassaci reports that the group was approached a few years ago to switch the event and make an all boys game the main focus. Knowing that the Lions Cub already sponsored the WNY high school football game in August, the club decided to keep the focus of the basketball game on the girls.

Last night at the pregame banquet, Bishop Timon graduate Mike Walton delivered the keynote speech. The girls were given embroidered bags along with their game uniforms. Congratulations to the WNY Lions Club for their great commitment to the visually impaired and for supporting WNY high school athletes. Because of them, many girls in WNY are given the opportunity to have their talents highlighted for the whole community to see.

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Strange exit

A college professor, who looks like he couldn't make an uncontested layup, gets ejected from a game at George Washington University. He had been honored minutes early during the halftime ceremony for donating money to the school. The whole thing seems a bit too contrived to me. No report on whether the ref plans on showing up to one of his boring lectures and heckling him...

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Basketball score 108-3

The basketball coach in this clip is quite annoying. He let his girls high school team defeat another school (made up of troubled girls, no less)108-3 in Utah. There are so many things a coach can do to keep a game from getting out of hand. Letting your players score at will against an overmatched opponent is not one of them and does nothing to improve your team.

In soccer, if we're routing a team, we make the players play one or two touch. In other words, they get one touch to control the ball and their second touch has to be a pass or a shot. They cannot dribble. This helps them to improve their first touch as well as play with their heads up (which helps them see more of their teammates). Both skills are needed when playing a more skilled opponent. We also switch our defensive players to forward at a certain point, where they are less likely to score. I'm not a basketball guy, but I have a feeling things like this could have been done in this game, too. However, maybe the coach in question isn't a basketball guy either.

What's great about it, is he probably believed beating a team 108-3 made HIM look good. He was probably shocked when people told him it actually made him look like a complete fool. Congratulations: You're the coach of the year! Now stick to teaching Math, nerd.

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Crazy free throw

Funnier than the free throw itself are all the conspiracy theories and scientific explanations that follow underneath the story. Funniest of all might be the gay Idaho State fan dressed as superman in the stands...


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Not impressed by Nichols

The Buffalo News did an article on the Nichols girls basketball team this week ...

Coach Bob Torgalski doesn't always go after players he wants on his Nichols roster. Sometimes they come to him.

That was the case with freshman phenom Taylor Rooks, who Torgalski said came gift-wrapped from the Clarence school district. Clarence doesn't allow grade school students to play JV or varsity team sports so the Rooks family turned to Nichols when it was time to decide on a high school.

"Clarence really helped me out," Torgalski said with a laugh. "They don't let you play up. The father was upset, they contacted us, and here she is."

Nichols is an overrated school. They're mostly people who aren't really wealthy but like to pretend they are. They think they're like a New England boarding school but they're more like the rest of us, actually. I have to admit, it was mighty white of them to let this girl come to their school to play basketball. What amazes me is how bad they are in sports, considering they can take players from anywhere in Western New York. The last time they were any good in boys basketball, recruited player Christian Laetner was coming up from Angola, New York. That was 20 years ago.

The worst are these middle class people that send their kids to Nichols, hoping to rub elbows with the Western New York power elite. How pathetic is that? Here's an idea. Why don't you go out and make a name for yourself instead of hoping other people's money falls into your lap?

If they didn't recruit most of their athletes, I'd say their uninspiring results the last 25 years were due to their supposed higher academic standards. But since they don't really build any decent programs on their own, I'd have to say their athletic department pretty much sucks. They come out in this article and say they are getting most of their players from AAU. I hope their girls basketball team loses every game this year and the coach gets a bad case of head lice.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/high-schools/scholastic-spotlight/article283129.ece

Here, a recent Nichols graduate decides he wants a new bike for his birthday. "You'll be sorry, Pee Wee Herman."

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Come on, dude

It's funny how people lose their minds at sporting events. A Rochester area man was arrested at a Community College basketball game for refusing to leave the arena. He had been heckling officials and was asked to leave the premises, when he refused...

Trooper Hollands located the subject who identified himself as John R. Parrinello, D.O.B 10/13/38 of 80 Berkeley Street, Rochester N.Y. Trooper Hollands advised Parrinello that he had to leave the premises due to having been asked to do so by the Genesee County Community College officials. Parrinello stated that he would not leave. Other GCCC staff indicated that Parrinello was no longer permitted in the building. Parrinello continued to indicate that he would not leave voluntarily.

There are usually about 25 people in attendance at Community College sporting events. Usually, when someone makes a fool out of themselves, it's a sign that they don't know what they are talking about. I often times have to remind parents, the game is not about them or myself, but those playing it. No matter how bad the officials are, the fan's only job should be to cheer. They are not intended to be active participants in the game, match, etc. And once they are asked to leave, they've really reached a low point and need to just do so to avoid further embarrassment. If this guy wasn't 72 years old, I would encourage mandatory ignorance counseling.

Man Arrested after being unruly at a Basketball Game. | WKBW News 7: News, Sports, Weather | B

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LeBum James

LeBron James is about as popular in Cleveland as Art Modell was after he moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1995. I think everyone expected him to leave Cleveland, but the way he did was inexcusable, especially for someone born and raised in Akron, Ohio.

His handlers contacted ESPN and created a TV special called The Decision. In it, he announced he was going to the Miami Heat. Last night, James and the Heat returned to Cleveland, where he was met with a chorus of boos, creative signs, and many middle fingers. The Heat whipped the Cavaliers and James scored 38 points. However, with three superstars in their lineup, the Heat are a mediocre 11-8. Here's hoping they miss the playoffs. Here is a photo of LeBron at last night's game doing his patented chalk toss. Yahoo cropped it to erase all the middle fingers James was receiving. (On a side note, check out the guy in the orange sweater. Do you think the girl next to him gives him the time of day if he doesn't have money for courtside seats?
LeBron James returns to boos in Cleveland, does the chalk toss

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New Gus Macker division?

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3-pointer

Organizers gave this high school quarterback two hours to make the longest basketball shot ever recorded. With ten minutes left, it finally went in. Here are two angles of this incredible shot:



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LeBron James fiasco

This whole LeBron James hype is ridiculous. ESPN is having an hour long special in which James will announce what team he is signing with. What a joke. This reaffirms my decision to get rid of half my cable channels. This proves that hyperbole is the greatest art form of the 20th/21st century. Who cares? Wake me up when James actually wins something.

Remember when great players stayed with one team their whole career unless they were traded? Now, it's not about the team. It's about how many jerseys they can sell. I hear James is going to sign with the Miami Heat with two other clowns I don't know anything about. I hope they lose and I hope they lose to Cleveland. Having three "superstars" doesn't make a team great. A great team has their superstars but they also have role players willing to do the dirty work necessary to be successful.

Buffalo-Amateur sports town USA

Buffalo really is a great amateur sports town. I think this article is right on the money. I didn't know about the Frozen Four or World Junior Hockey Championships coming here. I wrote a month ago about how the city should try and capitalize on the community's love of hockey to make it a true hockey town. I think this could be expanded to other amateur sports as well. Buffalo has some great facilities.For example, the Flickinger Center at ECC does a great job of hosting some big swiming tournaments.We need to find a point man who shares the same enthusiasm as the average citizen on sports. I don't think guys like Andrew Rudnick are getting it done. Chris Collins and Byron Brown need to find a point man to bring more events like the NCAA tournament here. We need to really roll out the red carpet so other groups want to bring their events here but last weekend's tournament was a good start.
Buffalo wins hearts of hoops fans : Latest Local News : The Buffalo News

Great shot in Manhatten Cup playoff game

Check out Bishop Timon player Kyle Kobis as he makes a great full court shot at the end of the 1st quarter in the Tigers 76-50 loss to Nichols. The kids from Nichols forgot to play out the quarter as they were too busy maxing out their parent's credit cards...
Stunning full-court shot highlights Manhattan Cup playoff action : Sports : The Buffalo News

Lackawanna/Lake Shore Game ends in Forfeit

I saw this in today's Buffalo News and it irritated me. Lake Shore girl's basketball coach Andrea Mungovan pulled her team off the court with 2:03 seconds left in a game against Lackawanna. Lackawanna was awarded a 2-0 forfeit win (which was probably the score of the game anyway at the time). The coach was upset about some foul not being called. I've seen this happen a million times. A coach is upset because their team is losing and they use the officials as a scapegoat. They always use the same tired phrase, 'I was afraid someone was going to get hurt out there."BS. The only thing that was going to get hurt was your pride.You took a high school game and tried to make it about you. If the Lake Shore HS Athletic Director is worth a nickel, he/she will relieve this coach of her duties. You don't pull your players off of the court. Garbage.

H.S. Extra: Lackawanna girls win by forfeit
NEWS SPORTS REPORTER

Lackawanna was awarded a forfeit by game officials over Lake Shore, 2-0, in a nonleague girls basketball game after Eagles coach Andrea Mungovan pulled her team off the court with 2:03 left in the game.
"They pulled the girls off the court and said one of our girls did something to try and hurt one of their girls," said Lackawanna coach Dave Oliveri. "But no foul was called and there was a referee behind the play and one under the basket, and neither one saw it. They said they wouldn't come back on the court if I let that girl come out."
Mungovan declined to comment.
Kayla Golden and Sharmayne Walton had 10 points each for Lackawanna before the game was halted.

I didn't even know Buffalo had a basketball team

The Buffalo Stampede semi pro basketball team made a mistake by prematurely announcing they had signed Leonard Stokes to their team (Yea. That Leonard Stokes). In reality, Stokes is waiting patiently for a contract offer from the Cleveland Caviliers. It was actually just a matter of miscommunication. The team thought Stokes wanted to play basketball for them but he actually had been asked by Byron Brown to run the snack bar at home games, due to his great track record at running successful restaurants.

Stampede 'jumped the gun' on announcement of Stokes signing
News Staff Reports

The Buffalo Stampede has made its share of gaffes on the basketball court during its brief history, but the second-year Premier Basketball League team made a huge off-court one Thursday.

The Stampede (2-5) sent out an inaccurate press release announcing the addition of former Turner-Carroll and Cincinnati Bearcats star Leonard Stokes without actually signing the former NBA Development League player to a contract. The two sides discussed the possibility of joining forces but Stokes never signed a contract.

"We may have jumped the gun a little bit," team owner Vince Lesh said Saturday night by phone before the Stampede's 114-111 win over Manchester at the Koessler Center.

Stokes didn't return a phone message from The Buffalo News.
Is the team open to issuing refunds to any disgruntled fans?
"If anybody said, "I'm here just to see [Stokes],' obviously it's not a problem," Lesh said.

I'm going to show up at the next home game and say, "I'm here just to see Stokes." Maybe they'll give me my $10 back or at least a free box of popcorn, or something.