Sports, Ink

This Day in Buffalo Sports History: ... And new champion

   August 30, 1927 -- When the list of great Buffalo boxers is drawn up, Jimmy Slattery usually comes to mind. He's on the small list of fighters who captured a world championship. In fact, he did it twice.

   Slattery piled up the wins in the early part of his career. Most of those bouts were held in Buffalo's Broadway Auditorium. He had won seven in a row there in earning a title shot in the light-heavyweight ranks against Maxie Rosenbloom in Hartford, Conn.

   The National Boxing Association's title was vacant when the two men entering the ring, but Slattery walked out with it after taking a 10-round decision.

   Slattery defended the championship three times, including two fights in Buffalo, before losing to Tommy Loughran in Madison Square Garden in 1928. Slattery simply went back to work after that, winning 15 of 17 fights before taking the title back in 1930.

   Slattery and Rosenbloom actually fought seven times, including one as late as 1931, and Rosenbloom won three of them. Slattery won one of them when it counted the most. He finished his career 111-13.

--- Budd Bailey

This Day in Buffalo Sports History: And still champion

   August 15, 1950 -- Heavyweight boxing championships don't come to Buffalo very often, so the first time was a noteworthy event.

   Memorial Auditorium staged its first title bout as Ezzard Charles defended his championship belt against Freddy Beshore. Charles had stepped into the vacancy caused by the temporary retirement of Joe Louis, and beat Jersey Joe Wolcott for the vacant crown in 1949. Charles had fought in Buffalo three times on his way to the title shot, and won them all.

   Beshore represented Charles' third title defense, but he wasn't really in the champ's class. Charles dominated most of the fight, which was described as one-sided by one writer. Finally, the crowd of 6,298 saw the bout stopped in the 14th round.

   Beshore was said to be nothing if not game. He never took a step backwards despite taking a beating from the skilled Charles.

   From there, the champion stopped Louis from having a successful comeback. Charles defended the title five more times before he was knocked out by Wolcott.

   Beshore's title shot looks odd in hindsight. He had lost his previous two fights before the Charles bout, with both of them coming in Buffalo. Thus, his career record in the Aud was 0-3; he never came back. Beshore finished his career 35-17-2 including losses to Louis and Rocky Marciano.

 --- Budd Bailey

Video: Analysis of Mavs' Finals victory over Heat

Jason McElwain speaks at Niagara Falls H.S.

Everyone knows the story of Jason McElwain. Diagnosed with Autism at 2 years old, he's the one that drilled six three-pointers in just four minutes of Greece Athena's Senior Day game in 2006. It was one of the most uplifting moments in the history of sports, one that won J-Mac an ESPY. Serving as the team's manager, he was given a chance to play and didn't disappoint.

On Monday and Tuesday, he spoke to kids in Niagara Falls. Through the "Men of Excellence" program, girls basketball coach Mike Esposito and vice principal Eddie Scott brought J-Mac to NFHS.

Check out Wednesday's paper for the story but here's a clip from J-Mac's Q & A segment:

 

---Tyler Dunne

Post Time: Derby Dozen gets a shake-up

By Gene Kershner

   The Post Time Derby Dozen was shaken up after a couple of weekends wherein some of the top horses faltered during their initial 2011 prep races. Uncle Mo retakes the top spot from To Honor and Serve, who finished third in this weekend's Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream in the first effort of his 3-year-old campaign.

 

In Post Time's Friday blog we were not keen on To Honor and Serve and had anchored our Pick Three ticket with the winner, Soldat ($4.80), and place horse, Gourmet Dinner. But don't count out the Bernardini colt just yet as Bill Mott may have needed this race and the prize is on the first Saturday in May, not the last Saturday in February. To Honor and Serve slipped to the No. 11 spot in the Post Time Dozen.

 

Here's a look at the ballot I will submit to the Wireplayers.com for this week's poll (trainer, probable jockey, graded earnings and place):

 

1 -- Uncle Mo (Pletcher, Velazquez, $1,260,000, No. 1). The Breeders' Cup Juvenile champ has yet to make his 2011 debut and looks to be pointing to the ungraded $100,000 Timely Writer, a one turn mile to be run at Gulfstream Park on March 12. It appears Pletcher will run him only twice before the Derby. He is looking more and more like the heavy favorite. His Derby Futures Pool odds closed as the second choice behind "all others" at 7-2.

 

2 -- Mucho Macho Man (Ritvo, Maragh, $270,000, No. 9). Winner of last weekend's Rebel Stakes at the Fair Grounds, he is most likely headed to the Louisiana Derby next before setting his sights on Louisville. The Macho Uno colt came out of the very competitive Holy Bull, which is looking to be a key race, one in which No. 6 Gourmet Dinner finished third.

 

3 -- Soldat (McLaughlin, Garcia, $510,000, No. 5). A solid performance in the Fountain of Youth put away doubts that he can't run on dirt after three turf starts and a win on a sloppy Gulfstream track. Having Kiaran McLaughlin involved in the Triple Crown trail will make things much more interesting. His 18-1 odds in Future Pool 1 look juicy now. Can he handle the 10 furlong Derby?

 

4 -- Santiva (Kenneally, Smith, $240,254, No. 11). Do you think Post Time has this one ranked a bit high? Take another look at the Rebel last weekend and the strong finish by Santiva. Keep an eye on Astrology's next performance. That could validate Santiva's win last November in the Kentucky Jockey Cup.

 

5 -- Brethren (Pletcher, Dominguez, $120,000, No. 22). He is on the outside looking in with respect to graded earnings at No. 22 (only top 20 earners qualify for a gate). He'll try and add to those earnings March 12 at the Tampa Bay Derby to qualify. I love how easily he won from the 10 hole in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa earlier in the month.

 

6 -- Gourmet Dinner (Standridge, Dominguez, $780,000, No. 2). The Delta Jackpot winner has had two decent outings at Gulfstream Park and finished strong Saturday behind Soldat. A lot of pundits thought he was a fluke winning the Jackpot, but his form has held up.

 

7 -- Stay Thirsty (Pletcher, Castellano, $110,000, No. 24). He worked on Sunday in company with stable mate Uncle Mo, breezing 1:00.60 for five furlongs, and fastest time of 27 horses. We'll see his 3-year-old debut at Aqueduct on Saturday in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes, where he will need to hit the board to add to his graded earnings total.

 

8 -- Dialed In (Zito, Leparoux, $240,000, No. 12). Winner of the Holy Bull in January, he most likely will have a date with Uncle Mo in the Timely Writer. He had a dream trip in the Holy Bull, but the ompetition will start to get a lot tougher. Another Triple Crown trail veteran trainer, Nick Zito, will be fun to follow in the coming weeks.

 

9 -- The Factor (Baffert, Garcia, $90,000, No. 28). Winner of last weekend's San Vicente, he heads to Sunland Park to see if he can stretch out over two turns for the first time. He's horse racing's best chance to get some major national exposure with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly rooting him along the Derby trail. He wouldn't be the first Derby horse to come out of New Mexico's Sunland Derby (see Mine That Bird).

 

10 -- Rogue Romance (McPeek, Leparoux, No. 8). The Smarty Jones colt finished behind Mucho Macho Man and Santiva last weekend in the Rebel. Jockey Leparoux may face a difficult decision on who to ride come Derby day with the call on Dialed In also. Has a trip over the Churchill strip finishing third in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile behind Uncle Mo.

 

11 -- To Honor and Serve (Mott, Velazquez, $250,000, No. 10). Let's give him one more shot, his next start will most likely be in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in April. Mott's just too good of a trainer to not have him ready to roll next month. Keep an eye on his work tab during March.

 

12 -- Runflatout (Sadler, Gomez, $0, NR). Here's the Post Time longshot horse. He'll need to pick up some serious graded earnings to make the gate, but he'll have the opportunity on the west coast in the Grade 2 San Felipe and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He posted a 96 Beyer in a maiden win for West Point Thoroughbreds. Someone has to emerge from the West Coast; I'm going with this one.

 

Honorable Mention: Astrology, Machen, Comma to the Top, Jaycito and Anthony's Cross.

 

Next week's race of the week will be the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct; check back on Saturday for the Post Time race analysis.

 

Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer, handicapper and member of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.

 

NBA Scout on Harris: "People are calling...but it's a hard road"

In addition to Saturday’s story on Paul Harris, here’s what NBA Director of Scouting Ryan Blake had to say about the former Niagara Falls phenom. It's been a rocky path for Harris the past few years, but he's still clinging to pro dreams. 

Blake has seen Harris in action with the Maine Red Claws multiple times this season and thinks he has a chance. Below, the scout talks about Harris’ leadership abilities, where he needs to improve defensively, whether teams are tracking him and more.

On what stands out initially with Harris:

“He’s kind of in-between positions. When you look at the league right now, it’s a league that just has players. Whether not a team has a 6-10 power forward or a 6-2 shooting guard, they’re looking for people that know how to play, that have experience. Players that just aren’t athletes, but know how to play.

“Paul, what I like about him now, is that he’s a leader. He’s very vocal, very energetic and plays hard. Some concerns we still have on him, although he’s an energetic rebounder, he sort of has that in-between game. He doesn’t have that position and sometimes gets lost on defensive rotations. Defensively, we have to figured out where he could play.

“Now, when it comes to someone playing in the D-League and someone on the cusp of making the NBA, it’s very minimal. It takes the opinion of only one team or one scout that could give him that opportunity.”

On what Harris needs to do to make it:

“He played OK in summer league. People are calling on him. But it’s a hard road. This is not an offensive opportunity to make it into the league. You have to play on both ends of the floor. When you come in, you’re not going to come into the NBA as a scorer. You’re going to come in playing a role and, most importantly, you’re coming in as a distributor/defender. If you don’t defend or don’t know defensive rotations, you’re not going to get that opportunity.

“Defense is not just about intensity. It’s about rotations, about knowing where to be. Not saying he doesn’t have it, but he has to grasp it. Sometimes you need that defensive experience. You need to grind it into you until you finally get it. Just because he’s out of college doesn’t mean he’s not going to develop it.”

On if NBA teams are keeping a close eye on Harris:

“The D-League is the most scouted professional league in the world. Everybody’s going to have a grasp on it. He has a great coach in Austin Ainge up there and (assistant coach) Hernando (Planells) is a great developer as well. When you have two guys like that, and there are guys on that team that teams want to see. Is there interest? There’s always going to be interest because if a team isn’t scouting the D-League they’re not doing their job.”

On if he thinks Harris will get a shot:

“I don’t know. I don’t know. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there are a lot of pretty players out there. There are a lot of beauties. What I do think is if you get him Olympic-conditioned and you play hard, that’s the best you can do.”

---Tyler Dunne

This Day in Buffalo Sports History: A firecracker of an idea

   July 4, 1996 -- The Buffalo Bisons started a tradition on this day that continues to this day. Or to yesterday, to be more specific.

   The Bisons started their holiday package of playing a game before a concert by the Buffalo Philharmonic. The climax wsa the biggest fireworks show of the year. The idea has caught on, as the downtown stadium usually has been sold out for the game.

   The Bisons went all out for the Fourth of July event, producing plenty of fireworks of their own. They gave their bats a workout in an 11-4 win over the Indianapolis Indians.

   Don Sparks had a three-run homer, while Geronimo Pena added a solo shot. On mound, Jimmy Williams went 7 1/3 innings, giving some relief to a tired bullpen. And second baseman Casey Candaele and shortstop Damien Jackson turned in good fielding plays.

   "We've been swinging the bats extremely well but I certainly don't want to jinx that," manager Brian Graham said. "Guys are a little tired and it's actually made them relaxed and comfortable. I know that sounds funny, but it's making them concentrate and nobody seems to panic in any situation."

--- Budd Bailey

John Wooden - Simply the best

Sometimes your heroes disappoint you when you meet them. John Wooden never disappointed anyone.

   Wooden, who died Friday at the age of 99, was as good a coach as we've ever had in any sport. We may never see 10 NCAA basketball titles from the same coach again. But according to all who encountered him, he might have been a better person than coach. All of his players kept coming back to him in order to soak up his wisdom.

   In 1977, I had the chance to interview Wooden with a few other reporters. It was at the NCAA Regionals in Lexington, Kentucky. I was covering it for the Syracuse University school newspaper, and Wooden was working on the NBC telecast. I believe all the reporters were rather awestruck. Coaches were too -- Dick Vitale, then of the University of Detroit, had all of his players walk up and shake Wooden's hand during practice that day.

   I remember asking Wooden about whether he ever thought basketball would become so popular that it would need a 23,000-seat arena, like the one we were in. His face lit up and said, "This type of arena for basketball doesn't surprise me at all! When I was playing back in Indiana, there was a 5,200-seat gym built just for a very small town's high school games. And the state championships were played in the 13,000 seat gym of Butler University. So I could see the potential growth of the sport."

   If that weren't enough basketball knowledge, the man sitting at the side of Wooden added his opinion to the subject. It was Adolph Rupp, the legendary basketball coach at Kentucky. I was smart enough, even in college, to do much more listening than talking during that conversation.

   I made sure to shake Wooden's hand afterwards, and thank him for his time. He smiled and said, "You're very welcome," making me feel like he had enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. Typical.

--- Budd Bailey

Flynn Hits Close to Home

Former Niagara Falls and Syracuse star Jonny Flynn dressed in rapid fashion Tuesday night, eager to see family and friends following the Minnesota T-Wolves 94-88 loss to the Toronto Raptors. It was Flynn's first NBA game in proxmitiy to his native Niagara Falls, and he impressed: 17 points on 6 of 14 shooting, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. Flynn scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter in attempting to rally the T-Wolves to a rare victory.

The downside of going early in the NBA draft is that you end up on a team that's usually rebuilding. As Flynn's learned, the 3-18 T-Wolves fit the mold. There just aren't many scoring options. It'll be interesting to see if head coach Kurt Rambis gives Flynn more liberty as the season evolves, or if he adheres to the triangle offense despite lacking the personnel to make it effective.

-- Bob DiCesare

Roster suggestions for 411 Basketball Game

For hoops junkies looking for a fix, the 411 All-Star game that will be held on Saturday, August 8 at Villa Maria College. Tipoff is at 3 p.m., which is plenty of time for you see the game and get home to watch Bruce Smith and Ralph Wilson go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at 7.

This is the seventh year of the event, which is organized by John Thomas, a 1987 All-Western New York selection at Bennett High School. The game brings together the best and brightest stars in the history of Buffalo and Western New York.

As many of you know, The Buffalo News ran a series naming the all-time All-WNY teams earlier this year. Many of those guys will be playing. In fact, Thomas is interested in knowing who YOU would like to see in the game. Give us a reply here and we'll relay the names to him. You can also send him suggestions directly on at http://www.the411brand.com.

---Allen Wilson