Full disclosure: I grew up playing tons of golf. Many of my teenage summers were spent playing at this particular course near my home growing up. I ate it, drank it, breathed it, and on a least two occasions put in 45 holes in a single day. And 72 over a weekend was common in summertime…..you get the picture.

Nowadays it’s the complete opposite. That 45 number is one that I sometimes haven’t reached for an entire season. In fact, the clubs haven’t even come out of the closet yet, not even for the driving range.

So while I’m no longer a rabid fan, I still pay attention out of the corner of my eye. And when a tournament event comes into the area, I’m all over it. Hence today would be the day to travel to Rochester’s renowned Oak Hill Country Club for the final round of the Senior PGA Championship.

It’s a real treat to see such a high quality of golf whenever the opportunity presents itself. Reason being is that opportunities to witness live golf are VERY rare in these parts compared to other sports in this part of the woods. Consider: Top level football and hockey are available right here in town, baseball and basketball just ninety miles away and all take place(and have been for years) multiple times each year.

For golf…well, there’s the occasional big time tournament at Oak Hill, the ‘95 Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship in ‘03 among others to have taken place every so often. That’s it, that’s all for the golf fan. So while watching a tournament is much easier to follow if seen on TV, the fact that a live experience is so rare makes up for its many shortcomings (difficult to see over people at times, unable to stay informed about scoring consistently. etc.)

And the added bonus for me in this situation would be that there were two competitors in the field who grew up playing on that same course that I once did years ago. Guys that we all looked up to and revered as kids learning to play the game going up against the other players that they battled during those times years ago.

It was plenty of fun, and it started from the time I hit the MCC shuttle bus parking lot. I had no ticket, but someone handed me a premium ticket with access to the Oak Hill club house for below face value. Sweet!!

So I get there at about 10am with a strategy to follow the local guys as much as possible with the goal of watching (HORSEHEADS’ OWN!) Joey Sindelar until he dropped out of contention. First off, I saw former Buffalo resident Jim Thorpe for a couple holes on the back nine, then waited on the twelfth green until Horseheads’ other stud golfer Mike Hulbert showed up. I watched him get his only birdie of the day on the one hole I watched.

Sorry Mike, I was going to stick with you longer but as he made for the 14th Sindelar was about to tee off at the first hole nearby and his entrance into play brought about an interesting and unexpected dynamic as he was in the same playing group with Greg Norman, who is currently engaged to retired tennis legend Chris Evert. The buzz for her alone was as big as for any player in the field, with possibly the exception of hometown Rochesterian Jeff Sluman. “Did you see her?”. “What’s she look like?” There even was an exchange where a fan(probably slightly inebriated) called for a “big hand for Chris Evert”. And loud applause ensued.

To her credit, she took it all in stride. She was there as just another fan. No entourage surrounding her, no pretentiousness that may come with being a renowned figure, and always obliging when fans came up for an autograph or just to chat. It really added to the day.

Also making the experience great was that clubhouse pass I had. If you are a fan of the game of golf and enjoy looking at memorabilia from days gone by then the club house will WOW you. Clubs used by legends such as Hogan, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, the Babe(Ruth and Zaharias) along with so many others are on display here. A trophy room also exists of the major world events played here. Three US Opens, two PGA Championships, the ‘95 Ryder Cup and more. It would be a great place to walk through whether there’s a tournament in progress or not.

And as far as watching my fellow high school alum, I wound up watching the entire round of his as he never really did drop from contention. Sindelar made a couple birdies early while the leaders(Sluman and Langer particularly) dropped like a rock right off the bat. And while Joey never got closer than two strokes, he was never far enough back for me to bolt to the lead group. When the smoke cleared and play completed Sindelar would finish just two strokes back of champion Jay Haas. Nice work Joey, you can thank the USRT karma for coming so close to the trophy. I mean, you know the old saying: “Those who can’t(break 100 if their life depended on it) do, teach”, ummm….or something like that. Right?

Would be nice to have more events like this around here, say like an annual PGA or Champions Tour event. Just sayin’.

It’s one of the oldest storylines in all of sports. Two clubs compete against each other with plenty at stake and on paper the matchup appears to be a complete and total mismatch. One side is the epitome of what the best in its sport is all about, the other appears to be nothing but fodder for them on the road to expected glory.

Except no one told the “fodder” of its role, and instead of them disappearing quickly off stage as expected they put up a valiant effort that catches all who watch completely off guard and set themselves up for an opportunity for a victory that fans will remember for years to come.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series between the Boston Celtcs and the Atlanta Hawks!!!

Yep, the mighty Celtics. Winners of more NBA titles(16) than any other club, homecourt of enough legends to build their own Hall of Fame wing. Owners of the league’s best record this season.

And there’s Atlanta, mediocrity personified. A long history themselves, for being nomadic(Buffalo, Quad(Tri)-Cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis) and pathetic, with one NBA title fifty years ago and not having seen the playoffs this decade. Even this season qualifying with a playoff worst 37-45 record. But hey, Dominique Wilkins was a heckuva player for a while there in the 80’s. Really.

As Dickie V. would say: “A total M&Mer, baby!”

If you’ve been paying any attention at all you know what’s happened. An energized Hawks club came to life in its three games at the suddenly raucous Philips Arena and has forced this series to go where no one thought it would. It is the only first round series to go the distance, the one headed for that classic two word phrase that defines an important game in a postseason series: Game Seven.

What in the name of Lenny Wilkens and Spud Webb is going on here!!!! Game 3 was Atlanta winning purely on their youthful exuberance and athleticism. Game 4 was Joe Johnson taking over down the stretch and refusing to leave the court without a W. And in Game 6 the Hawks saw Johnson become the focal point of the Celtics vaunted D and yet they scored on sixteen consecutive posssesions in the second half to gain control over a game which would be salted away when Johnson nailed a huge three with just over a minute to go.

Game 7 is in Boston ( Sun. 1PM ABC) where the Hawks have lost their three playoff games by an average of twenty two points, so obviously a win would be a tall order. And to make things worse, starting forward Marvin Williams(part of a trio of talented young frontcourt players) is listed as doubtful with a knee injury.

An Atlanta win would be the biggest upset in a postseason series in NBA history and the biggest in ANY sport (MLB, NHL, NBA) in quite some time. Since the NBA adopted the current sixteen team playoff format 1984, only three #8 seeds have defeated a #1 in the first round and really, two of those don’t hold a candle to this one. Last year’s Warriors team beat the Mavs, yet had also had swept them in the regular season and had come into the playoffs on a full head of steam. The ‘99 Knicks over Miami? Please, that was the lockout shortened season and only six games separated the two at season’s end.

That leaves the ‘94 Sonics/Nuggets series which had eerily similar circumstances to this one. The Sonics had the best record in the league and all of the first four games were won by the home club before Denver won the deciding game five in overtime in front of a stunned Key Arena crowd.

This would be a best of seven series that should have been a complete mismatch. And in a sport where you need an entire team to outplay the other in an entire series (unlike baseball where pitching is everything, and hockey where goaltending enjoys similar importance). A bigger and more difficult upset under such circumstances would be hard to find, wouldn’t it?

I’ll make no prediction so as not to be accused of jinxing by anyone. But I’ll be watching. Will you?

Some other thoughts on the first round that was……….

Barkley was right. The Wizards were the dumbest team in the NBA for calling LeBron “overrated”.
How’s this for a stat line: 29.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 7.7 apg vs. the Wizards. Helluva job shutting him down guys. That physical strategy worked wonders for you and put one of your own players out on suspension for the sixth and final game. Enjoy the golf course guys, and thanks! Way to make me look stupid in picking you to win the series.

Another barb going out to the mainstream media concerning James: Remember last year’s Conference Finals against Detroit where LeBron passed the ball off to Donyell Marshall for the game winning shot(missed) and was ridden mercilessly for not taking that shot himself?

I couldn’t help but notice how quiet the same media was after LeBron ran the EXACT SAME PLAY in game 4 with Delonte West taking the shot. Couldn’t have been because West made the shot, right????

Agent Zero….you were exactly that. I applaud your effort, but sit it out if you can’t help the team next time will ya.

Hey! I actually caught some of the Rockets/Jazz series. Just as I thought, it took the NBA’s second longest win streak ever to get the Rockets in the postseason. Since they weren’t on it during the postseason they were easy pickin’s for the Jazz. McGrady notwithstanding.

I REALLY want to know what was said in the Pistons locker room during halftime of Game 4, the entire series seemed to turn on it as Detroit dominated the rest of the game and series.

I thought Philly was a great hoops town. Why were there over five thousand empty seats at the Wachovia Center in the deciding Game 6?

And finally! Your WNYM round 2 predictions!

(2) New Orleans vs. (3) San Antonio

Looks like another great series with some great mano y mano matchups. Chris Paul v. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan v. Mark West highlight the marquee for this one. My heart would love to see the Cinderella story continue in New Orleans, and quite frankly I think this team’s all around balance gives them the opportunity to do it. But my mind goes with the status quo thinking that until I see the Spurs go down I’m not going against them. Spurs in 6

(1) Lakers vs. (4) Utah

The Lakers did to Denver what Boston should have done to Atlanta. Sweep them without breaking a sweat. This series ought to be fun to watch as both like to turn on the jets and have solid point guard play(Fisher/Williams). But how is Utah going to be able to stop the Kobe/Pau combination?? Being able to do so is their shot to beat them, gooooooood luck. Lakers in 5

(2) Detroit vs. (3) Orlando

Detroit’s stifling defensive system gets a big challenge in shutting down the potent Magic offense. Rasheed v. Howard will be interesting as will Billups v. Nelson. But if Detroit is as inconsistent in this series as they were against Philly then……
Magic in 6

One last thing before I go. The Euroleague is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary by naming a list of its fifty greatest contributors. I happened to find a nice little video of the members of the group. While even the most diehard of hoop junkies won’t know many of the names, there are some that are well known. One in particular having strong local ties.

Watch and find out who, til later!!!

This one’s for all the diehards out there paying close attention to the NBA Playoffs.

Yeah, me and the other three of you out there. OK, maybe four or five.

For the past week or so I’ve done the following: Work in the daytime, come home and watch hoops until I go to sleep late at night. Little if any Stanley Cup Playoffs for me (just tell me how the Sharks are doing as I’ve got them in the pool), no visits to the downtown ballpark, and setting records for fastest click of the remote control to NBA TV anytime I hear or see the words “NFL Draft” coming out of my HD set.

Week one of the “most wonderful time of the year” is in the books and your unofficial(self appointed is more like it) WNYM NBA postseason correspondent is here with some offbeat commentary on the games that were. Maybe somewhat of an awards ceremony, if you will.

The “Why Home Court Matters” Award.

The Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks were manhandled in their first two games in Boston in losing by an average of twenty one points and were looking exactly like a young team with a losing record that hadn’t been to the postseason in nine years.

Enter Philips Arena into the equation and my oh my how quickly things change. The youthful Hawks overran the Celtics playing with a bundle of enthusiasm and energy led by the rim rattling exploits of Josh Smith. And voila! We have a series(maybe)! Tip of the hat as well to Michael Bibby for doing the nearly impossible and making the series interesting after calling out Celts fans for being “bandwaggoners”. Uh, Mike…you’re playing in the king city of bandwagon sports fans. Just sayin’

The “Hello America, Now You Know Who I am!” Award.

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets. Chris has had an impressive career thus far in winning the ROY award in 2006 and has been mentioned as a prime MVP candidate this season with LeBron, Kobe, and KG. But let’s face it, spending your NBA career in Oklahama and New Orleans isn’t exactly going to get the word out about yourself, and not making the playoffs adds to that as well.

Enter Games 1 and 2 in New Orleans as Paul scores 69 points dished out 27 assists in two routs of the Dallas Mavericks and in the process completely outclassed future HOF point guard Jason Kidd. Paul leads a outstanding Hornet team that is solid in nearly all facets of the game. Shooters? Peja Stojakovic. Muscle underneath? Tyson Chandler, David West. Bench? Jannero Pargo, Bonzi Wells. If the Hornets stay together in the future, look out!

The “Funniest Moment of the Playoffs” Award.

This may be the best highlight of an otherwise dull series.

Honorable mention to Philips Arena going without the shot clock for much of the second half in game 3. Those time clock operators probably date back to the franchise’s days at Memorial Auditorium. (Yes, THAT Memorial Auditorium!) Speaking of the Aud….

A moment of silence to remember the passing of Darrell Garretson. He was a longtime NBA official working games for nearly thirty years also serving as NBA Supervisor of Officials for years as well.

But here in Buffalo he will always be the man whose whistle effectively ended the Braves 1974 season in Game 6 of their series against the Boston Celtics. His foul call on Bob McAdoo as time ran out in regulation of a tie game sent Jo Jo White to the free throw line for the series ending free throws. Very likely the most infamous referee whistle ever blown in Buffalo. Ever.

The “Ummm, Remember Us???” Award.

The San Antonio Spurs. Amidst all the hype of the stacked Western conference, the surging Lakers w/ Gasol… The reworked Suns w/Shaq… The Cinderella story in New Orleans…the 22 game win streak in Houston, the Spurs were admitttedly somewhat lost in the shuffle. The winning of the first two games of the Suns/Spurs series did help a bit, but it wasn’t until they annihilated the Suns on the road in Game 3 that eyebrows were raised. The Spurs raced out to a huge lead in the first quarter and never looked back with Tony Parker lighting up the LED board with 41 points. On another note….

The “Why You’ll Never Be Amongst the All-Time Greats” Award.

Shaquille O’Neal. Anybody who gets fouled intentionally at points of the game outside the final two minutes of play probably gets this award. But really, we’ve been hearing about this guy’s weaknesses at the charity stripe since the days of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and O’Neal is still a basket case when it comes to free throws.

That door you just heard slam shut could be one of two things(if not both). 1: The Suns’ championship window of opportunity, or 2: Steve Kerr packing his goods in Phoenix and headed back to being a televsion analyst.

The “Trends I Find Most Disturbing” Award.

Two share this award. First is the “fans wearing same color Tshirts for the playoffs” promotion that is sneaking its way into the NBA. Two major problems with this. One, this is a hockey thing, it simply doesn’t look right anywhere else and lets hope the trend doesn’t spread to the NFL or MLB. Also only the color white is acceptable. There have been some pretty hideous colors in the stands this past week taking focus away from the action.

Another trend somewhat unique to hockey is the whole “we gotta send a message to the other team” crap. In basketball it has appeared in the form of a hard and cheap foul in the final moments of a blowout. There couldn’t be a more utterly useless waste of energy than seeing Brendan Haywood knock LeBron James to the floor towards the end of Game 2, ditto Hornets/Mavs Game 3(the combatants’ names escape me right now). Leave that hockey stuff where it belongs.

The “We’re Trying to Build a Winner Like the Ottawa Senators Circa Late 90’s-00’s” Award:

The Toronto Raptors. If you love a bunch of stereotypical finesse Euros bombing three’s from the perimeter with Chris Bosh as the token inside guy, well then you’ve found nirvana at the Air Canada Centre. Carlos Delfino, Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon(k, he does have some toughness in him) and Jason Kapono(well he’s got a Euro sounding name!) fire away from downtown. When the shots go in, its a joy to watch. Otherwise….bleccchhh!

The “So THAT’S What Became of That Guy” Award:

Jameer Nelson. Remember him? The leader of the St. Joseph’s basketball team in ‘04 that had an undefeated regular season and wound up being the consensus player of the year? There he was Saturday in Toronto jamming the dagger into the heart of the Raptors season in scoring 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter on the way to giving the Magic a 3-1 series lead.

Runner up - JJ Redick, riding the end of the bench for the same Orlando club.

The “Schizophrenic, Playing to the Level of Our Competition Team” Award:

The Detroit Pistons. Is this the team that won fifty nine games during the regular season? Or is it the team that gave the lowly Knicks their two brightest moments of the season in defeating the Pistons twice? Seems like we’ve been seeing more of the latter here.

On a good note, an upset of the Pistons may be a good thing. If nothing else hoops fans won’t have to be treated to the ear-splitting - nails - screeching - across - the blackboard sound of the Pistons PA guy. DEEEEEEE-TROIT BAS-KET-BALL!!!!!

The “There’s a Reason I Haven’t Said a Word About This Series” Award.

The Utah Jazz/Houston Rockets.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz…..

No, I’m not insinuating that this has been a dull series and quite frankly far from it. The Z’s signify what I was doing when Houston rallied to win game 3 and Memo Okur made a critical rebound late in game 4. A novel concept would have been to have had at least ONE of these games begin prior to 10PM ET during this series.

Well, that wraps up this edition…..see ya as the playoffs progress!!!

Just one month after returning to my roots in Horseheads I find myself heading back, and once again for a hockey game. One where the stakes are high and involving the club with the area’s best and longest history of success on the playing surface as Saturday night would feature an NCAA D-III Quarterfinal at the Murray Center(aka “The Domes”) between Trinity College and the hosts at Elmira College.

(Note:Trinity College is not the school whose football team pulled off that wacky multi lateral play last fall. That would be Trinity University, but I digress…..)

For over three decades Elmira College’s hockey team has been one of the top D-III programs in the nation on a consistent basis. Since the program’s inception as a varsity sport back in 1974 the club has amassed an impressive resume of accomplishments including the following….twelve All-Americans, eight conference titles, twelve trips to the NCAA tournament with six appearances in the Final Four. Many players have gone on to play professionally either here or overseas.

Their history of coaches isn’t too shabby either. Tune in to any Sabres game and you’ll see a former EC coach(’81-87) in Brian McCutcheon. Ditto in Phoenix as Barry Smith(’75-’81) is another who once stood behind the bench at “The Domes”.

Ahhh…yes, The Domes. Hmmm….how to describe the home venue. Built in the early 70’s, the Murray Athletic Center is Elmira College’s major athletic venue and in some ways is Elmira’s version of “why the heck did we build UB out in Amherst?” Imagine a small school of less than two thousand students in a small town having its athletic facilities built ten miles away from campus at a location that makes the middle of nowhere seem like Times Square and you get the idea. Smart move huh???

The hockey arena is very large by D-III standards seating over three thousand mostly on wooden bleachers and is barely heated if at all. The joke has been that at times it’s warmer outside during a hockey game than inside(I can tell you that on some nights in which I was there that may have been fact). And when a big crowd there it’s a pain to get to and from, as there’s only one well travelled two lane road(Rt. 14) to get you in or out of the venue. D-III’s version of Foxboro more or less.

But it’s homey, and if you’re a fan of the Soaring Eagles The Domes is a place that will grow on you. For the locals it certainly has as they have frequently reached attendance figures that many D-I programs would love to have, though in recent seasons it has dwindled a bit with the presence of the ECHL Jackals saturating the market. And for my money, it’s the site of the greatest, most exciting, and exhilirating sporting event that I’ve ever been to. EVER! But that’s for another post(See next post down).

Oh yes, the game…..Elmira ran roughshod all over Trinity for a decisive 6-1 win that really wasn’t that close.(though Trinity certainly appeared to have scored another goal in the eyes of all save for the goal judge.) Elmira scored the first five goals of the game and kept the Bantams off the board until about seven minutes left in the game. And the nearly two thou in attendance went home happy knowing that Elmira would be headed for Lake Placid and its seventh Final Four in program history.

And maybe this time, they’ll finally come home with that elusive hardware.

“The courage and desire they(Elmira) displayed on Saturday night will not soon be forgotten by the Murray Center crowd of 4,000 which witnessed the Eagles’ gutsy performance.”
Ed Weaver - Elmira Star-Gazette(3/10/91)

How prophetic Ed turned out to be.

It’s been seventeen years since I was in The Domes on that night. Since that time, I’ve witnessed hundreds of sports events from from all corners of the continent. Saw the euphoria of a playoff series winning overtime goal at home, personally witnessed the heartbreak of the Music City Miracle, of No Goal. Seen three pointers at the buzzer to win, walkoff homeruns, four home runs in a single game by one player…hell, I’ll add the Sharpie and Strahan’s record breaking “sack” to that list.

But ask me today what sporting event, what one game stands out to me as the game? The one that stands out above all others ever seen live in the span of my lifetime?

Mercyhurst @ Elmira, NCAA Division III Hockey Quarterfinal, Game 2
March 9, 1991

Surprised? Just read on and see why this small college game ranks above all others in my book.

This best of two miniseries would be the fourth and fifth meetings between these two rivals in the ‘90-1 season. Elmira was in the midst of another glorious season in which they had won twenty six and lost only three. Yet two of those three had come at the hands of Mercyhurst, who had gone 18-6 against non Division I teams. Despite the presence of four players who were or would become All American’s Elmira was clearly Mercyhurst’s bitch.

Game one of the miniseries went to Mercyhurst 5-4 as Elmira fell behing 3-0 and never recovered. Under the best of two playoff format, all Mercyhurst had to do was get a tie in Game Two the next night to win the series. An Elmira win would force a fifteen minute “mini-game” immediately afterward to determine a series winner.

Win or you’re done against the last team you could possibly wish to face. Such was the scenario for the Elmira fans headed inside the Murray Center on that night. Nervous, on edge and yet charged up. The joint was ready to help energize the Soaring Eagles onto victory.

And at the end of the first period the score was 5-1!!!

Mercyhurst 5, Elmira 1.

For the first twenty minutes, Mercyhurst went and b*tch slapped Elmira around like the puppies they had been all season long against them. And obviously as a result the boisterous pre game energy was shot and “The Domes” had become more like a tomb on this night. A tomb for the 1990-91 Eagles season to be precise. I went out into the concourses to grab some grub and drink and be generally ticked off.

I’ll never know what exactly was said in the Elmira locker room during that intermission, were they threatened with deportation? To be kicked off scholarship? Sentenced to a Turkish prison if they lost??

Whatever it was it worked like a charm as the Eagles stormed back with four goals in the first nine minutes of play of the second period to tie the game at five, and a venue that had had all the atmosphere of a morgue in the first period had transistioned into the euphoric state of a madhouse at this point. Elmira appeared to go ahead late in the period but the goal was waved off as a crease violation and the second stanza ended tied at five.

Of course Mercyhurst would strike just seconds in the third to retake the lead. Now remember, no overtime, and a tie was effectively a loss here so again the venue was deflated, very deflated. Yet Elmira struck back just a minute or so later, and then would take the lead for the first time in the game on a goal with about thirteen minutes to go. I remember thinking….don’t stop….we gotta score again…too much time left!

That’s when EC’s Tom O’Brien stepped in, he made save after phenomenal save including a season saver without his stick in the final minutes of play. Amazingly enough, a game with thirteen goals thus far would go scoreless through the final thirteen minutes. Game Two Final: Elmira 7, Mercyhurst 6…..bring on the mini game!!!

A little backdrop before I go on. While fans were excited to see the night continue, the minigame concept brought back bad memories for many from just a year prior. In 1990 EC was the #1 team in the land headed into the quarterfinal series against SUNY Plattsburgh at home. The two teams split and in the minigame Plattsburgh scored early and held on win in front of a stunned silent Domes.

So guess what happens on this occassion? You got it, Mercyhurst lights the lamp in the first couple minutes and again the collective oh s*** groan comes over the audience.
On a positive note however, Elmira had clearly taken over the momentum of the game otherwise as Mercyhurst was just being peppered with shots and constantly in their own end. They held the onslaught off until EC finally found the back of the net with two minutes on the clock to tie the mini game. Season saved again!!!! From there it would be off to ooooooovertime(ten minute periods).

It would take a full sixteen minutes and then some to determine a winner. Once again, Elmira was taking the action to the Lakers and it would be Elmira’s thirty third shot(compared to the Lakers twelve) of the mini game that would bring the contest to its conclusion as Scott Doherty would slap a rebound into a wide open net and his name into the lore of EC hockey. His goal came at approximately 11:42 PM(7PM start) and ended the longest night of hockey in the history of the facility(And still is).

Euphoria. Hysteria. Insanity. You name it, this was the state of things in the stands in the aftermath. The high fives with people you can’t stand otherwise….hugging people you’ve never seen before in your life….and so on. The exhiliration was mind blowing.

There was also this for me and others….exhaustion.

I started to head down the steps, and my body was shaking from head to toe. The mood swings, the celebrations and depressions of the long night had left me emotionally and physically shot. I had to hang onto people until I got to a railing and just stood there, needing screw my head back on, trying to make sense of what I had bore witness to. One thing was that they’d actually won and another was that I didn’t think that I’d ever seen a game quite like that in my life. Never that long, none with that many swings in momentum, none where a team had to rally from a huge hole like that to win under such important circumstances. None where I had left a venue almost needing physical assistance to leave just from the intensity of the game and all of its manifestations.

And above all else, that last point is part of why, even now in another stage of life, and have been fortunate enough to witness what I have. When I think of all the highs, the lows, and in between that the world of sports hath wrought, in the end I keep coming back to a mid March evening in a small town hockey rink far from anywhere. What I saw, experienced, felt….

It has yet to be matched. Seventeen years later.

Mark Twain….Pudgie’s Pizza……signs of Ernie Davis on every other block, with a Jackals game to top it all off.

Yep, sounds like I’m back home again. Our road trip started last night with a visit to First Arena in downtown Elmira for an ECHL matchup pitting the homestanding Elmira Jackals and the Texas Wildcatters.

For those of you who may not be aware I was raised in nearby Horseheads. Graduated from Horseheads HS and earned an associates degree from nearby Corning Community College before eventually making my way up to the Buffalo area.

While it’s been over a decade since I’ve called this area home, its safe to say that in some ways that it’s a place I’ve never left.
Spend more than a few moments with me and it’s only a matter of time before I bring up something related to that part of the world. Be it my self deprication about growing up in a town named Horseheads, or the way that I pimp the area’s sports teams in a far too overzealous fashion.

Hence the term in the title of this post. To everyone else out there, the Elmira Jackals are just your basic nondescript minor league hockey club. But for me, well…yea, I’m going overboard but so what. People get it that I’m being silly yet getting that I’m simultaneously pimping the part of the world that I grew up in.

Which brings us to last night’s game on the pink ice surface of First Arena(typical minor league promotional stunt with heart shaped faceoff circles). Texas came into the game as THE juggernaut of the ECHL with only four regulation losses in fourty nine games this season. For Elmira a win would certainly be a daunting task, yet if any team had a crack at beating Texas it would be the Jackals as they had taken two of three from the Wildcatters earlier in the season.

But it wouldn’t happen on this night as Elmira would fall 6-3 as Texas showed who was boss on this night. The game turned for the Wildcatters early in the second period holding a 2-1 lead. The Jackals had gained a two man advantage and had appeared to be in prime position for the tying goal, yet Texas completely dominated the power play and controlled the puck consistently and eventually lighting the lamp while still down one man.

Texas kept the momentum in their favor throughout the game, where every Elmira goal was quickly negated by a marker for Texas. On a night where couples newly wedded on a local radio station were brought to center ice via limousine it would be the Wildcatters getting the love on this night.

For me still a successful night, hanging out with folks I hadn’t seen in a while and wolfing down a bit of the Pudgie’s Pizza(local chain that area folk tend to be ambivelent about yet any out of towner seems to love.). What more could one possibly want!