Fifteen-time Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Jason Couch and hometown star Ryan Ciminelli hold down the top two positions after three rounds in the PBA Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship Friday at AMF Thruway Lanes.
Couch and Ciminelli both had 7-2 records in the first round of match play Friday and are among the 16 players who will advance to this evening’s final match play round which will determine the top four who will advance to Sunday’s finals to be telecast live on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Couch, of Clermont, Fla., has a 5,639 pinfall total including bonus pins, and leads Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., in second with 5,478. Rounding out the top four going into tonight’s final nine-game round are Ronnie Russell of Marion, Ind., in third with 5,416 and PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., in fourth with 5,390.
Continue reading ‘Ciminelli In Contention At PBA Tour Event In Cheektowaga’
About a year ago with a roster full of super seniors led by WNY Player of the Year Will Regan, Nichols head coach Greg Plumb was commanding his troops towards a historic run that culminated with Nichols winning the New York State Federation title; the highest achievement for boy’s high basketball in New York State.
Less than 12 months later, Plumb is stepping down as the school’s basketball coach.
I spoke to Plumb, who’s been coach at Nichols for the past eight years on Friday. He’s not leaving his post to take another job with a different school. In fact, he’s going to remain as Nichols. Plumb said the reason for the decision was based on his family, more specifically his desire to start one.
Continue reading ‘Greg Plumb Stepping Down As Nichols Coach’
Last night the Ultimate Fighting Championship visited Louisville, Kentucky as UFC Live 3 – Sanchez vs. Kampmann, kicked off a great night of Mixed Martial Arts. The headlining bout was between the fighter formerly known as Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez, whose new moniker has been toned down to simply “The Dream”, as he took on The Danish Muy Thai expert Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann. Also on the card was former member of The Ultimate Fighter cast, CB Dollaway, as he fought the ever durable Mark Munoz. Another notably bout included WEC former bantamweight champion Brian Bowles as he took on the hard hitting Damacio Page.
In the first fight on the card both competitors, Bowles and Page needed a win to stay relevant at 135lbs. As soon as the fight started, Page was attempting to make a short night for his opponent, winging huge punches. Bowles did well to scatter out of the way and land a few jabs of his own, however he looked down right frantic doing so. Bowles eventually found his rhythm as he cracked Page with a vicious uppercut. Page fell sprawling to the mat as Bowles dived in firing punches trying to finish his opponent. Page was able to survive briefly, but Bowles was too savvy as he grabbed the neck of Page locking in a guillotine choke. Page, too prideful to tap out, went limp as the chokehold drained away his consciousness. The referee intervened, stopping the fight at 3:30 into round one, handing Bowles a huge win over a very game opponent.
Continue reading ‘Sanchez Earns Tough UFC Win’
Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced that fewer than 1,500 tickets remain for tomorrow’s 7:30 p.m. match-up with the Rochester Knighthawks.
By taking advantage of the Bandits’ “Pack the House” ticket offer, fans can enjoy the action of one of the NLL’s hottest rivalries for just $12 per ticket, with all 300 Level tickets for the game 50% off their regular price of $24.
Every game counts this year in the tightly-contested Eastern Division. The winner of the game will move into third place in the East. Buffalo also plays Sunday in Boston, and would move into second place with a win in both games.
To take advantage of the Bandits’ “Pack the House” ticket offer, just provide the password “Bandits” at checkout when purchasing tickets. Tickets can be purchased in person at the HSBC Arena Box Office, by calling 1-888-467-2273 or online at www.bandits.com or www.tickets.com.
Anthony Nelson capped off his record-setting senior season by earning the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award, as voted on by the league’s coaches, to become the second Purple Eagle to win the award. Nelson’s 3.4 steals per game leads the nation.
Nelson, who earned All-MAAC Second Team honors on Monday, is having a record breaking season for the Purple Eagles. He became the first player in program history to have over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 600 assists and 200 steals in his career, while setting the school’s all-time career assists record with 646.
His 3.4 steals per game and 96 steals this season are school records, breaking former teammate Tyrone Lewis’ records of 2.6 steals per game and 91 total steals set during the 2008-09 season. Lewis became the first Purple Eagle to win the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award during that season. Nelson’s 228 career steals are second behind Lewis’ 250.
Continue reading ‘Anthony Nelson: MAAC Defensive Player Of Year Winner’
♦ Is Niagara Falls big man Jordan Street a contestant on American Idol this season?
♦ On Tuesday night, Buffalo State’s pizza oven “broke”. Blogger McShea is God suggested we order a pizza, so I pointed out the Mister Pizza advertisement on the front of the scorer’s table. Forty-five minutes later, Keith McShea, his devotee MIG, and myself were enjoying a freshly delivered pizza in the front row.
♦ Cleveland Hill’s name was abbreviated on the Buffalo State scoreboard as CHILL.
♦ The winner of Saturday’s Class B2 title game between Wilson and Cassadaga Valley will earn its first ever sectional title.
Continue reading ‘H.S. Hoops Random Smatterings’
