Caught Bob Dicesare’s column in today’s News and flipped when I saw part of his take about the “Raptors In Buffalo” scenario:

“If Buffalo lands a Toronto Raptors preseason game then let’s use the night to celebrate our basketball heritage. Bring in Bob McAdoo, Randy Smith, maybe Ernie DiGregorio and Bob Kaufmann, and acknowledge their place in Buffalo sports history. And while we’re at it, let’s raise McAdoo’s No. 11 to the rafters at HSBC Arena in recognition of all he achieved as a Brave and beyond. “

Halleh - freaking - lujah!

For too long we have seen ourselves as a city that is highly ambivelant about the NBA, almost to the point that where we enjoy such a status. Almost as if we’re supposed to be proud of not caring about basketball at its highest level here.

For whatever reason that may be it’s time to trash that mindset, at least for one night if this Raptors/HSBC Arena idea comes off. Let’s celebrate the fact that this city was once home to an NBA franchise, and one that gave us some great moments to boot during its short-but-sweet run at the Aud.

Bring in Boston, the team that had become the Braves’ archrival and opponent during two memorable playoff series. How about Atlanta? A nice young team whose roots also date back to Memorial Auditorium in the forties. Or if we want to have a villain - send in the LA Clippers, the club that bolted from Buffalo three decades ago in a bizarre franchise ownership change.

And at some point during the evening, do exactly what Dicesare suggested. Put a sky blue #11 up to rafters at HSBC Arena. Quite frankly, someone who is celebrated amongst basketball’s all time greats in Springfield certainly deserves far more of a presence in the arena than a passing notice and photo in the “Headlines” area of the venue.

But I highly doubt that you’ll ever see the right thing done. We’ve personally pushed for this virtually since McAdoo was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. The good folks downtown know of our mission, know others who are on board, and ought to know that he deserves such an honor as much as anyone who has ever worn a Buffalo pro sports jersey in this town.

That they appear not to is a shame and nothing else.

Dear Bucky,

You finally got to me.

Unlike the rest of the B-lo sports blogosphere, I’ve never had much disagreement with your commentaries and opinions on the Sabres. Like you I ripped the Sabres a new one immediately when co-captains Drury and Briere left town, and have become a bit annoyed with the inability to retain some of the key players that made Buffalo a Stanley Cup contender. I suppose I can understand why some out there get upset with your constant referrals to the “Druriere” situation, yet by same token it has been seven years gone by now and I still see comments referring to Hasek’s nasty departure from Buffalo. Keep it up if you so desire.

That being said, here’s word of advice to you: Leave the NBA commentary at the News to Mssrs. Sullivan and McKissic.

“NBA Finals not worth staying up for.” Really? OK, then exactly what Finals scenario WOULD you stay up for? Spurs/Pistons? Cavs/Suns? Knicks/Grizzlies? Being the alleged “big Celtics fan” that you are/were after the Braves left town, one would think that you’d be waiting with baited breath to see your team in the Finals for the first time in a couple of decades. Nah…guess not. Then again, what former Braves fan hops on the wagon of the hated Celtics anyway? Like any Bills fan would become ‘Fins fans in a relocation scenario. Just sayin’.

And since were you THE source for the what defines a “true” Celtic or Laker? Paul Pierce not a true Celtic? What? Someone who spends his entire ten year career in Boston and represents them six times as an All Star is not a “true” Celtic?

Why? Is it because he hasn’t won a title like those “true” Celtic predecessors of his. There’s a solid reason for that and it’s not Paul Pierce. It’s having a front office that was run by the likes of M.L. Carr, Rick Pitino, and Chris Wallace that never put a title contending team on the court with him during or before his arrival in Boston.

And Kobe not a “true” Laker??? Hmmm. Spending an entire career with the Lakers, earning ten All-Star appearances, helping to bring home three NBA Titles and winning an MVP award must not qualify since he begged out when things got rough. Fair point, sort of.

Except that the reason why all of those “true” Lakers never wanted such was because they never had to deal with a stretch of mediocrity like the Lakers had in the past three seasons(avg 40 wins). Case in point: the worst record of a Laker team with Magic Johnson(pre HIV - 1979-91) on the roster was 54-28. And yet like Kobe, Magic helped to run a coach out of town (Paul Westhead) even with championship results.

Yet we look on Magic fondly in part because his replacement WAS better (Riley) and took the Lakers to greater heights.

And I gotta wonder. What did you mean by “distant delinquents”?? A hidden shot at the league’s totally unwarranted thug reputation?? With due respect, which league has brought us Pac-Man Jones, Michael Vick, Ray Carruth, and the Cincinnati Bengals?? Which sport has given us an embarassing steroid/HGH scandal filled with indictments, subpeonas, and other endless legalese? When was the last time that the NBA had to appear before Capitol Hill?

Outside of referee Tim Donaghy and the occasional Carmelo mugshot, how often have you seen NBA entities in the police blotter lately? Yep, not much at all. Darn those delinquents….

We’ve got the Celtics and the Lakers in the Finals. The two greatest franchises in the history of the sport, both having a future first ballot Hall of Famer on their team (KG and Kobe) and were the top seeds in their respective conferences heading into the playoffs. What in the world more could the NBA possibly give you? In what other sport would such a scenario make even a casual fan turn away from their sets and say: “Eh, not makin’ it through the first half. Why bother?”

I can think of one right away. It’s called “not being a fan of the game, period.” So please, Bucky. Save your opinions for sports you actually know and/or care about.

Much appreciated,

Peter Farrell

The Celtics had everything go their way in Game 2. Officiating was somewhat one sided if you believe the free throw shooting stats(38-10). Paul Pierce played on his (allegedly) injured knee and scored 28 points. And a huge off the bench contribution from Leon Powe helped mightily in stretching a late nine point third quarter lead to an early fourth quarter gap of twenty four.

Powe provided for Boston what any club needs to win a title….a big contribution from a player not expected to be in such a situation to assist a club’s big guns(big 3 in Boston’s case) and provide ample rest for them that will keep them fresh as the series goes on. Powe’s burst of 21 points on this night seemed to be the boost that would allow Boston to coast to an easy Game 2 win.

But it didn’t.

It simply set the stage for the best player in the league to stage a Laker comeback which fell just a bucket or so short of becoming lodged in the annals of history. Kobe chipped in eleven points and the Lakers knocked down four three pointers in cutting a twenty four point lead with eight minutes to go down to just two with under fourty seconds left.

Later with the Lake Show down four, the disappointing Sasha Vujacic launched a lame three that missed badly and sealed a 2-0 series lead for Boston as the teams head west for the next three games. (Yep, they change the travel format for the finals only, time to ditch this I say.)

Only three times has a club trailed 2-0 in the Finals and rallied to win, last being the ‘06 Heat(fluke, just sayin’). And that Miami team is the only home club to win the three middle games(3,4,5) since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format in the early 80’s. Not that I want to crown the Celtics now, but history shows that it’s not looking good for LA right now.

But I will say this now, LA will bring it back to Boston. Time will tell if there will be one or two games there.

Other random thoughts on my mind(hoops related or otherwise)…I really bitched out the Celtics pyrotechnic crew for their lame pre game video. The fine folks of ESPN/ABC are at the opposite end of the spectrum with their goose bump/spine tingling/near tear jerking intro to the Finals. Major goose bump moments when hearing the voices of the late Chick Hearn and Johnny Most.

Dominik Hasek retired??? Should we start a pool to see when he changes his mind? And added bonus for what team he suits up for?

Seriously though, this was the greatest player to wear a Sabres jersey(Note: I didn’t say greatest player that was also very exciting to watch - #11 fans). Only player in franchise history EVER to win an Hart Trophy/MVP, not to mention several Vezina Trophies. The man was the biggest reason that the Sabres were a consistent postseason team and Cup contender.

And the fact that he did this during an era of severe league financial instability in which teams like Buffalo had no real chance to bring in any real assets to assist them in competition only adds to his legacy.

Hopefully the bad blood between Hasek and the Sabres and fans will dissipate soon(It’s. Been. SEVEN. #@$%ing. years.) so that he can have his rightful spot in the HSBC rafters with the French Connection, Patty La La, McAdoo(hey, he’s in MY HSBC rafters) et al.

Bills are over 52K in season ticket sales?? Two thoughts:

1. Yuck Fou Toronto.
2. Nice to see that people picked up on my idea. Just sayin’.

The Belmont - the most predictable two minutes in sports. Boy did we get suckered in to thinking we’d actually see a Triple Crown winner. Frank Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski are probably sipping champagne to celebrate the moment.

-Peter Farrell

There was a lot of buzz and excitement back in 2005 when the ABA Buffalo Rapids debuted here in Buffalo, giving the city its first pro hoops team since the NBA Braves departed in 1978.

But that excitement quickly disappeared as the team became enmeshed in cash flow and other operational problems, none more glaring than the team’s inability to secure a permanent venue to call home. The team moved from the Burt Flickinger Center to the Park School, Niagara Catholic, Buff State Sports Arena, Hilbert College and even the Gow School. Disgruntled fans, unable to find where to go from game to game, quickly bailed on the team. The owners left, new owners took over, the team was renamed the Silverbacks, and naysayers then threw ridiculous charges of racism against the team, citing the franchise logo bearing the image of a black gorilla.

This past season the franchise was inactive, but now the ABA is back, with a new nickname, new ownership, and returning is their former coach Rich Jacob, who held the team together through its darkest days and actually fielded a respectable squad despite all the off the court chaos and distractions. This time they are promising to make it work.

“We’re very excited” said Coach Jacob, who was on hand tonight as the “Buffalo Sharks” held a kick off party at Club Infinity in Clarence to welcome their supporters and start up season ticket sales.

The Sharks will play their home games at the Koessler Center on the Canisius College campus, and, as if to prove that there will be no repeat of the venue hopping which marred the franchise’s inaugural season, there was a certified letter on Canisius letterhead laminated and on display at the season ticket table, validating the secured agreement between the franchise and the college to host the home games of the Sharks. Officials from the College were also on hand tonight to welcome supporters and make themselves available for questions.

Owner Vincent Lesh has been a long time music and concert promoter here in Buffalo, and for him this is his first foray into sports management. “One thing I know how to do is put people into seats, and we’re going to promote the heck out of this team and bring basketball fans out to see this team” promised Lesh. Sharks season tickets run from $225 for courtside seats down to $75 for general admission, based on an 18 game home schedule. Lesh also stated that once up and running, tickets will be available at ticketmaster outlets and online at ticketmaster.com.

Lesh admitted that the Rapids/Silverbacks business model was a disaster from the get go. “I have no bad feelings towards the Nice’s or the Weir’s (former team owners) but their way of doing business is out the window. We’re going to run things differently to make things work.” Jacob added, “We have the experience now and know what worked and what didn’t so hopefully the benefit of that experience will pay dividends.”

The Sharks will have competition for the WNY pro hoops audience. Three weeks ago a competing ownership group unveiled the debut of the Buffalo Dragons, who will join the Premier Basketball League and play its games at the Flickinger Center downtown. The Dragons have come up with a unique business plan, intending to field a team of Chinese players and video stream its games into China.

We asked both Lesh and Jacob if this city can support two minor league basketball teams. Both chose their words carefully in their reply. “They are going to have their thing and we are going to have ours” said Lesh. “We have already signed up major sponsors, including Labatt and Met Life, who believe in our product and know we can develop and grow a fan base.” Jacob was proudly showing off some of his newly recruited players at tonight’s event. “These are young men who will have a connection to the community.”

So how did the “Sharks” nickname come to be? Lesh laughed and replied. “We had a sponsorship deal in place that involved the name and that fell through. But we liked the nickname and it stuck.”

The team has a web site, that for now is nothing more than their snazzy logo.

Remember that night back in 2005 when close to 4000 fans packed the Flickinger Center for the inaugural game of the ABA Rapids? The game was delayed for over an hour as fans stood in a massive line outside the venue to check in through one available metal detector. “Those fans are still out there in the community, and we want to win them back” said Jacob.

The 2008-09 Sharks season begins in mid November, with the schedule to be announced later this summer.

-Andrew Kulyk

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!!!

We interrupt the constant barrage of negative local hockey stories to bring you a feel good piece on the “true American sport(so sayeth the author)….”.

Last night College Station, Texas was host to one of the great college basketball games in recent memory. It took the allotted forty minutes plus five, yes FIVE overtimes for a winner to be determined between #25 Baylor and host #16 Texas A+M before Baylor was able to pull off the 116-110 upset.

What’s even more amazing is the fact that Baylor is even ranked and with a 16-2 record. Five years ago this program was on the verge of being eliminated amidst a scandal which involved the murder of one of the players(Patrick Dennehy) by his own teammate(Carlton Dotson) and the subsequent coverup by the coaching staff in an attempt to portray Dennehy as a drug dealer. Coach Dave Bliss left in disgrace and with players free to transfer the Bears lost plenty of talent including John Lucas Jr.(Okla St.) and eventual SEC Player of the Year Lawrence Robert(Miss. St.)

It looked bleak, and for a program that hadn’t made “The Tournament” since 1988 it was a low point especially for an historically mediocre hoops school such as Baylor. To be blunt, until last week Baylor hadn’t been nationally ranked since 1969.

In stepped Scott Drew, the hero of Valparaiso’s run to the Sweet 16 in 1998 to clean things up. A herculean task it was dealing with multiple NCAA sanctions as he had to play two seasons with only half his team on scholarship, and yet another season was played without any nonconference games. Drew’s first four seasons in Waco resulted in a 36-69 record(12-52 BigXII play) and only last season did the Bears get out of the opening round of the Big XII tournament.

Which brings us to this season and last night, Baylor began the season with some respectable road wins over Wichita State and Notre Dame to gain some notice that things were changing for the better. Yet for the most part the team was racking up the W’s at the expense of some very mediocre competition…three SWAC teams, Brown, Florida A+M….Wayland Baptist…is that Division I??? And its only game against a ranked opponent was a close home loss to #6 Wazzu.
A road trip to Texas A+M would be a good guage for the the progress of the Bears.

One longest game in the history of the Big Eight/XII Conference later we had our answer and with that, the return of a program five seasons ago left for dead as the win put them off to a start not seen in Waco since the Truman administation. This will be a team worth rooting for regardless of how the rest of the season plays out for them.

Click here for game recap and box score.