Sports, Ink

I had to work late on Saturday night, so I missed the ceremony - if that's the right word - that marked the group run concerning the Boston Marathon tragedy at Delaware Park early Sunday morning. I showed up a little after 10 a.m., and was very impressed by all the runners in attendance. I ran a couple of laps, and every so often I had to stop and chat with someone I knew - including some runners who had been in Boston.

My favorite story of the day came when I heard someone who wasn't able to finish the race because of the bombing was given a previous year's medal by another runner. Makes you proud to be a runner.

I'll have the story of one runner's trip to Boston in Sunday's column.

Here's the weekend running calendar, courtesy of buffalorunners.com:

* Buffalo Undy 500, Delaware Park, 9 a.m. Saturday, (202) 628-0123 x104. This attracted a crowd last year, so it's here for Round Two.

* Saps Run, 10K, 31 N. Main St. in Franklinville, 9 a.m. Saturday, 372-8184.

* Kaleida Spring Into Fitness 5K, 100 High St. in Buffalo, 10 a.m. Saturday, 859-7069. It's a new course this year, perhaps because of some of the construction in the area.

* BPAC 6-Hour Distance Classic, Northtown Center in Amherst, 8 a.m. Sunday. It takes a special type of athlete to try this one.

-- Budd Bailey

Abby Wambach says the opportunity for her to return and play for the Flash in front of fans and family is a real blessing.

6:53 p.m. - What more could you ask from a lacrosse game? Everything on the line for both teams. A record crowd in the house.

OK, maybe the weather could be warmer. But the Bandits and Knighthawks are ready to go at 7:30 p.m. If you aren't here, you can watch the game on the CBS Sports Network.

As you hopefully read today, the Bandits are out of the playoffs if they lose tonight. They will play Philadelphia somewhere in the first round if they win. Rochester wraps up a playoff spot with a win, but would need help from Minnesota if it loses.

The biggest news out of the morning shootaround was the calf injury of John Tavares. He did not fully participate in the workout, and was questionable for tonight's game. We'll see if you pops up on the list of scratches.

Darris Kilgour said he expects Anthony Cosmo will be in goal tonight, barring any complications from his concussion from two weeks ago.

7:13 p.m. - Scratches are full of surprises. Tavares is in the lineup, and Kurtis Wagar is in the starting lineup. Hmmm. Steve Priolo, who was supposed to have a hearing on his league suspension, is also playing.

Luke Wiles, Derek Hopcroft and Hayden Smith will sit.

7:26 p.m. - The Bandits just introduced their fan of their year. Words fail me in trying to describe his suit.

7:31 p.m. - Just retweeted a photo of the suit @WDX2BB, so take a look. And if you aren't following me, you can help me get to 200 followers (I'm at 199).

7:38 p.m. - Bandits had a moment of silence for those who affected by events in Boston.

7:47 p.m. - Can't ask for a better start out of Buffalo. Bandits lead, 2-0. D. Smith and Wilson with the goals. And as I type, Craig Point narrows the lead to 2-1.

7:56 p.m. - Shawn Williams and Dhane Smith have the lead up to 4-1.

8:01 p.m. - Matt Vinc has faced seven shots so far and made three saves. Buffalo has 4-2 lead at the TV timeout.

8:12 p.m. - John Tavares' goal was wiped out after review. We are tied, 4-4, after 15 minutes. Rochester has to feel relatively good about taking a shot early in the game in terms of the energy of the full house, and coming back to tie.

8:22 p.m. - This game definitely has settled down. There hasn't been much action in the first five minutes of the second period. Have to think that would help the Knighthawks.

8:27 p.m. - Matt Vinc has broken the NLL record for saves in a season. He went past 644 by Rob Blasdell  of Albany in 2002. Consider yourself a trivia expert if you knew that and didn't live in Rochester. 

8:32 p.m. - Dan Dawson has scored two goals in a row for the Knighthawks. That makes it 6-4, Rochester. And that's five straight goals for the Knighthawks.

8:38 p.m. - Bandits have given up runs of 11 goals in a row, 9 and 8. Rochester is at six and counting.

8:39 p.m. - Power-play goal by Wilson puts an end to that streak. Buffalo needed that one badly.

8:43 p.m. - We go to halftime with Rochester leading, 7-5. I go to the radio booth for an interview with John Gurtler.

9:02 p.m. - We're back. Buffalo could use the boost of a power-play goal to start the third quarter.

9:07 p.m. - They got that power-play goal, Shawn Williams dribbling one in. It's 7-6 with 9:39 left in the third quarter. Bandits playing with a little more energy. And now, in tribute to Mike Harrington, we have the blooper reel on the video board.

9:17 p.m. - Hat trick for Craig Point, who has been outstanding for the Knighthawks. It's 8-6 with 4:50 to go in third quarter.

9:25 p.m. - Billy Dee Smith just ran over a Rochester player on a two-on-one break and scored to cut the lead to 8-7.

9:28 p.m. - Joel McCready increases the Knighthawks lead to 9-7 after three quarters.

9:38 p.m. - Bandits trail, 10-8, with 9:52 to go.

9:53 p.m. - Two minutes left, and it's still 10-8. Time is now a factor, as the cliche goes.

9:58 p.m. - Steenhuis goal isn't enough. Bandits lose 10-9. Season is over.

11:51 p.m. - My two stories on the game will be posted on line in the near future. (The notebook features a conversation with John Tavares about his future.) Short version - after a good start, the Bandits had a long stretch where they couldn't get enough done. They rallied in the end but fell short. If this sounds like a description of the entire season, you are thinking like I'm thinking.

For those of you wondering, Darris Kilgour said he saw signs of progress at the end and hopes he's lucky enough to take on the challenge of continuing the rebuilding the team as head coach next season. I don't think 6-10 and missing the playoffs will go over well in a town with such good fan support. Could be an active offseason, although it will be too long for everyone's tastes.

It's been another interesting season. I appreciate the kind words of readers/fans throughout the season. Let's do it again in January.

--- Budd Bailey

Beth Weinberg posted this on Facebook under "Boston Marathon Solidarity Run." Lots of area runners apparently will gather at Delaware Park on Sunday morning to show their support. Here are the details from organizer Beth Weinberg:

By Gene Kershner

Some thoughts on the horse racing scene over morning coffee… 

With the bombings in Boston on Marathon Monday, high profile sporting events are sure to be on high alert and the folks running the Kentucky Derby have already taken action. Churchill Downs released new security measures on Thursday in a press release, including increased gate screenings, Do's and Don'ts lists and a catchy new phrase "See Something, Say Something," prompting fans to report any   unusual activity. 

It doesn’t appear that any of the horses lining up for tomorrow's Lexington Stakes (worth 20 points to the winner) are gearing efforts towards the Kentucky Derby. It looks to be more of a springboard to the Preakness possibly, but who knows, once an owner gets a whiff of Derby fever. The horse currently sitting in 20th place on the point leaderboard, Charming Kitten, has 20 points. My  handicap of the race can be found at ThoroFan's Handicappers' Corner this week. 

Speaking of Charming Kitten, should he get in, that would make five Derby starters for super trainer Todd Pletcher. He started five horses in the 2007 Run for the Roses (finishing in the 6,8,9, 18 and 20 spots).  A month and a half ago it appeared he and California-based trainer Bob Baffert would have close to half of the field, but it looks as though Baffert will have only one entry, Govenor Charlie, the Sunland Derby winner.

While I was initially critical of the Illinois Derby being left out of the Derby points qualifying races, organizers at Hawthorne Race Course have made the most of the slight, by moving the date back to this weekend. By moving the date back a few weeks, they created a scenario where the race has become a prep race for the Preakness, which is four weeks out.  The race has attracted some decent horses including Departing (7-2), Pletcher's Abraham (8-1) and Dale Romans' Dewey Square (8-1) in a full field of 14.

The Daily Racing Form reported yesterday that Fort Erie management is looking to move the Prince of Wales, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, from its traditional Sunday spot to a Tuesday afternoon on July 30. While they may attract the better riders from Woodbine, who are off on Tuesdays, the weekend players who typically will dive into the Fort Erie pool in the half million dollar race, may not be so inclined on a Tuesday night at 7 p.m. It's a risky move, but Fort Erie management is counting on it being a slow night (i.e., Saratoga is dark) in the racing world.

If you missed it last weekend, Wes Welker, the newest member of the Denver Broncos and notorious Bills killer, saddled a horse named Undrafted in last weekend's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at  Keeneland. He finished next to last after setting the pace early on. It was the first time the colt, purchased by Welker as a $50,000 yearling, finished out of the money.  

Both Woodbine and Finger Lakes open this weekend, a sure sign that spring has arrived. The $1 million Queen's Plate has been moved back from its traditional weekend; typically run the last weekend in June.  I have to believe the issues over the winter at Fort Erie may have had something to do with pushing back the race date for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. It is scheduled for Sunday July 7 in Toronto.

Finger Lakes will open its 162-day meet on Saturday afternoon with a nine-race card. The biggest race on the Finger Lakes calendar is the $150,000 New York Derby, set for June 1 in Canandaigua. 

Major league baseball didn't do the Triple Crown any favors, scheduling an afternoon home game for the Baltimore Orioles smack dab in the middle of the Preakness card. The Orioles are scheduled to play the Rays at 4:05 p.m. on May 18.  

Older horses make the Derby trail take a back seat on Saturday evening when the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic will be run at Charles Town in West Virginia. The big purse has attracted top horses such as Game on Dude and Ron the Greek, as well as last year's CT Classic champion, Caixa Eletronica and the Big Cap runner-up Clubhouse Ride. 

Two weeks to the Derby,next weekend we'll feature our Degrees of Separation post which will start segregating the horses into pretenders and contenders. 

Gene Kershner, a Buffalo-based turf writer, is a member of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association and tweets @EquiSpace.

By Gene Kershner 

We’re inching closer to Kentucky Derby weekend as we are a month away from the First Saturday in May and the last two races of the second leg of the Kentucky Derby Championship Series are upon us tomorrow. The Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn highlight this weekend and will be featured on NBC (Ch. 2, 4:30 p.m.) as the final telecast leading up to Derby day. The two races will be worth 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers in completing the most lucrative stage of the Series. 

I've posted my Kentucky Derby spreadsheet which currently lists the top 15 contenders on the Championship Series leaderboard with some interesting statistics as we head towards the First Saturday in May. I developed the sheet several years ago to try and collect valuable information including pedigree, speed figures, distance and wet Tomlinson figures and post position statistics in the Run for the Roses. 

This week's interesting news surrounded key jockeys and the decision made by John Velazquez, who was injured on Sunday afternoon, to choose Verrazano over Orb. Joel Rosario will ride the Florida Derby winner, who could be the favorite on May 4.  

Bluegrass Stakes 

The Bluegrass has drawn a large and deep field of horses trying for a last gasp attempt to qualify for the Derby. The race to be run on Keeneland's polytrack has an interesting group of 3-year-old colts, some who have never run on anything but turf or dirt trying to capture the biggest race of the spring meet in Lexington.  A horse who made this year's Derby wings column on the mild list is Rydilluc (pronounced Ry-Dill-Luke) who is 4-1 on the morning line.

Trainer Gary Contessa is sky-high on the Medaglia d'Oro colt who has won three straight on the turf, including the Palm Beach Handicap at Gulfstream by over three lengths.  "You know, watching him  rain in the morning, he does everything with ease.  His stride is probably one of the greatest strides I’ve ever seen in a horse in 30 years of training horses," said Contessa during this week's press  conference with the national racing media.  

Rydilluc drew post 13, a post that Contessa was prophetic about earlier in the week during the press conference. "My lucky number is 13 and if I got post 13, I’d just feel it was karma.  I think from out there, if a horse is acting up in the gate, you’re not going to be sitting in that gate for five minutes; you’re going to be in and out fairly quickly," said Contessa. Sometimes you get what you wish for. 

His main competition will be morning line favorite Uncaptured (7-2, 30 points), trained by Mark Casse, the second place finisher in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park on the polytrack last month. The Canadian-bred horse sired by Lion Hart has won four of six races on all-weather surfaces and has shown that he can win on dirt winning twice at Churchill Downs.  

Another horse that made my Wireplayers.com Derby Dozen list is Java's War (4-1, 22 points) the co-second choice along with Rydilluc. He just missed making the pollsters top 12, but would have if it had been a baker's dozen.

Arkansas Derby 

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas will be the scene for a very competitive running of the Arkansas Derby. Three colts headline the field of 10, that will be going after the $1 million purse. This race has produced terrific champions in the recent past such as Curlin, Afleet Alex and Lawyer Ron.  

The surprising morning line favorite is the Bob Baffert-trained War Academy (2-1), a lightly raced colt who has three career starts, only one in graded competition. He ships in from the west coast for his first race away from Southern Califorina and will face a stiff class test in his third off the layoff with Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the irons.

The second choice Oxbow (5-2) currently sits in 13th place on the leaderboard with 36 qualifying points, so even if he suffers a poor showing, he should still make the gate in Louisville.  Quinquagenarian Gary Stevens has come out of retirement to seek another Derby victory for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas and gets the call aboard Oxbow.  

Rafael Bejarano will fly in in to ride Overanalyze (4-1, 10 points) for trainer Todd Pletcher, who already has two colts in the Derby and also will send two colts to the gate in the Bluegrass. The Dixie Union coltcould be sitting on a big one coming in second off the layoff after a lackluster performance in the Gotham. He's won at the 9 furlong distance and should sit off the pace and try to pounce on the field at the top of the stretch.  

Falling Sky (10-1, 20 points), finished third behind Verrazano and Java's War in the Tampa Bay Derby after winning the Sam F. Davis could be a nice price for trainer John Terranova. His connections chose the Arkansas Derby over the Bluegrass to avoid "the wildcards" running in the Keeneland race. Martin Garcia takes over the ride for Jose Espinoza in a jockey change trumpeted by owner Jim Covello.  When the Bafferts ship horses to New York, they’re stabled with the Terranovas and there’s been obviously a number of times over the last few years where Martin has come east and ridden one of Bob’s horses in the big graded stakes races, and so they have a very close working relationship.  Our view is that he’ll fit the horse really, really well." 

Thoroughbred racing hits the main stage on NBC this weekend so be sure to watch the Road to the Kentucky Derby as both races will be nationally televised on Saturday afternoon. 

Gene Kershner, a Buffalo-based turf writer, is a member of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association and tweets @EquiSpace.

A couple of notes about marathons:

The Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, and it's always a highlight of the running year. I'm always impressed just how many Western New Yorkers make the trip to run in the event. I've talked to one of them and you'll read about him in Sunday's running column.

Closer to home, Krysten Stoll has been busy setting up a Facebook page called "Cheer on Buffalo Marathoners." The idea is to generate more spectators to support the runners at the event. Sounds like a great idea. Facebookers, take a look.

The running calendar just got busy. Here's the weekend slate, courtesy of buffalorunners.com:

* Young Life 5K Run, S4999 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, 9 a.m. Saturday, 825-6702. No one goes away hungry from this race, and there are some hills on the course to make it interesting.

* Mathletes 5K, 1339 Indian Church Road in West Seneca, 9 a.m. Saturday, 870-8956. This race honors the memory of late school teacher Cindy Frank. If they ask runners to do some calculations along the way, I might have a chance to medal for once. By the way, this race had some organizational problems, and those in charge did a great job of putting everything together on short notice. They'll have more than 300 there Saturday.

* Health Fair 5K, North Tonawanda Middle School, 9 a.m. Saturday, 807-3715. Say, a 5K race for $10? I know some friends who might like that idea.

* Anew Run, 83 South Main St. in Jamestown, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, 661-3894.

* Feel the Spirit, 921 Cleveland Dr. in Cheektowaga, 11 a.m. Saturday, 380-0231. Finally - a race on Saturday designed for those on the late shift. The people here have always been friendly and helpful.
 
* Canisius College Shoes for the Shelter 5K, Koessler Athletic Center at Canisius College, 10 a.m. Sunday, 888-2977. Note the new starting time, which no doubt is caused by a new course. It's a News Runner of the Year race, and the new course has to be flatter than the old one.

-- Budd Bailey

The weekend is over for National Lacrosse League teams, and the situation has become clearer for the Buffalo Bandits. Their playoff hopes have been reduced to slim, and none might arrive before we know it. Here's a recap:

There were five teams entering this weekend that were stuck on five wins for the season. Four of them won a game - Philadelphia, Rochester, Minnesota and Colorado. Buffalo did not, getting thumped by Minnesota. In Sunday play, Toronto beat Rochester while Philadelphia ended a losing streak with a win over Minnesota.

Let's then start with the obvious in looking at some of the playoff possibilities. If the Bandits lose their two remaining games, their postseason hopes are dead. They'll be at 5-11.

What's more, Buffalo could be done as early as Saturday night. If the Bandits lose to Washington while Rochester beats Calgary, Buffalo could do no better than 6-10 while Rochester would have seven wins with two to play. Philadelphia could lose its last two but win a tiebreaker with Buffalo if both were 6-10.

And ... in the crossover, either Minnesota and Colorado, which play against each other in their last two games, still could finish 6-10. Even so, Colorado would have the tiebreaker on Buffalo if both had 6-10 records because of head-to-head results. Minnesota would have the edge on goal differential in head-to-head games. The Bandits and Swarm split their two games, and they did not play any teams the same number of times (for example, Buffalo played Toronto three times and Minnesota played Toronto twice).

A Buffalo win over Washington and a loss to Rochester would have the same effect. The Bandits would be 6-10, and still lose tiebreakers to Philadelphia (assuming two losses there) and either Minnesota or Colorado.

Need some good news? If Buffalo loses to Washington and beats Rochester, it would finish 6-10. If the Knighthawks finished 6-10 (losses to Calgary and Edmonton as well), the Bandits would win a tiebreaker because it had won three of four with Rochester.

If I'm reading the rules right -- if Rochester, Philadelphia and Buffalo all finished 6-10, the Bandits would have a 4-3 record against the other two, Philadelphia would be 3-3 and Rochester would be 3-4. That would give Buffalo second place in the division - which would give it a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

Bet you didn't see that coming.

If the Bandits finish 7-9, they still could be behind both Philadelphia and Rochester if those two teams swept. Buffalo would win a tiebreaker from Rochester but lose it to Philadelphia. In case of a three-way tie, the Bandits again would again have the best head-to-head record against the other two teams and take second.

OK, the Bandits don't look as if they are capable of beating anyone right now. Traveling 2,600 miles to play a team that has a chance at first place in the West will make it more difficult.

The Bandits have a pulse. But it's faint. Very faint.

--- Budd Bailey

I won't try to comment on the particulars of Saturday's loss by the Bandits in Minnesota, since I didn't see any of it. (We have a paper to put out.) But you probably know the ugly statistical notes.

The worst loss in team history. The longest losing streak in team history (they also lost six in a row last year). The most consecutive losing seasons in team history (two). The most consecutive goals allowed in a game (11) since 2008 - as far back as I have records.

The Bandits are obviously in free fall, and seem incapable of winning a game right now - but it only takes one game to change that. That needs to happen from a Buffalo standpoint, because the news wasn't good around the rest of the league either on Saturday.

Colorado surprised Edmonton, and Rochester beat Philadelphia. That means Buffalo and Philadelphia are the only five-win teams in the league, and the Wings have the tiebreaker and a game in hand.

Buffalo's opponent next week, Washington, won in Calgary Saturday night. So the Stealth, Edmonton and Calgary are all tied for the lead at 8-6 in the West. That means Washington has plenty to play for next week when the Bandits visit.

One other issue of interest - one story out of Minnesota indicated Anthony Cosmo was injured. It's never helpful to have your number one goalie out at times like these, although we'll have to see what his status is for the coming games.

Two games are on the Sunday slate. Rochester is at Toronto, and Bandits fans should be rooting for the Rock in that one. The Knighthawks want to make the season-ending game here meaningless in terms of the playoffs if at all possible. Meanwhile, Minnesota is at Philadelphia. Both teams will be tired in playing an afternoon game. A Buffalo-Minnesota tiebreaker is difficult to figure at the moment, since the season series is tied. Someone will gain ground on the Bandits, though.

We'll know a little more tomorrow. The coming week, meanwhile, will give us time to ponder what is turning into an historic collapse.

--- Budd Bailey

It's mighty good to see April arrive on the calendar. March, and its cold temperatures, won't be missed.

In addition, the race calendar starts to pick up a bit. Here's the schedule for the weekend, brought to you courtesy of buffalorunners.com:

* Bengal Run, 5K, Buffalo State College, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, 878-6001. I had the starting time wrong in Sunday's newspaper. Registration closes at 9, the race itself begins at 9:30.

* Putting Hunger on the Run 5K, D'Youville College at 320 Porter Ave. in Buffalo, 10 a.m. Sunday, 884-5375. This is a nice little race that has a course that doesn't get much traffic over the course of the year. The cause is a good one too, as the event is sponsored by Friends of the Night People.

--- Budd Bailey