Jane Possee vividly remembers that evening in December 1975 when her University of Rochester women’s basketball home game against Oswego State was delayed by circumstances that spoke to the inequity and unfairness of the times.
Read More »Gracious Don Allen established himself as one of Rochester’s finest golfers
When someone would laud Don Allen for his golfing acumen, he’d thank the person but quickly add that he was “just a local insurance salesman.” Allen was even more humble after winning a tournament.
Read More »Opining on Aaron Judge’s contract situation, Ryan Fitzpatrick’s retirement as a Buffalo Bill
I thought the contract the New York Yankees offered before this season was more than fair – perhaps even too generous, given Aaron Judge’s age and durability issues.
Read More »This longtime Challenger Baseball coach has made a career of pitching perfect games
Dave Lanning has been the designated pitcher of the Challenger Baseball World Series since its inception in 1993, and he has yet to retire anyone. The kids are batting a thousand against him. Lanning’s earned run average is higher than ...
Read More »Former pro baseball player is still in a league of her own
These days, Maybelle Blair clocks her pitches in years rather than miles per hour. So, when the former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League hurler toes the rubber – or maybe the grass in front of the mound – before Friday ...
Read More »Sports can serve a purpose in times of immense tragedy
In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, I came oh so close to kissing my sportswriting career goodbye. My job back then as a sports columnist for the Democrat and Chronicle suddenly seemed so irrelevant, so trivial. How could I ...
Read More »These Amerks reminded us what fun playoff hockey can be
The greatest player in Rochester Americans history pulled open one of the doors leading into the atrium of the Blue Cross Arena Sunday afternoon and motioned for me to go in first. I was expecting Jody Gage to immediately follow, ...
Read More »Opining on Dick Vitale’s courage, more Bills nicknames, stadium names
By the time he finished delivering a motivational speech that would have made Knute Rockne proud, Dick Vitale looked like he’d been through two rinse cycles. He was bathed in sweat. As he wiped perspiration from his brow, the 1,000 ...
Read More »Buffalo Bills have rich history of marvelous nicknames
This scribe has always loved catchy nicknames, so I was intrigued when the Buffalo Bills selected someone known as “The Punt God” in the sixth round of the recent NFL Draft. Matt Araiza earned that divine moniker after booming an ...
Read More »Smerlas, Haslett hoping these Bills can do what no other Buffalo team has
After the Buffalo Bills scored with 13 seconds remaining to take the lead against Kansas City in that NFL playoff game three months ago, Fred Smerlas sprang from the couch the way he used to spring from his four-point stance ...
Read More »A thoroughbred racehorse whose impact was not lost on us
It seemed like a good deal at the time – a rattletrap Ford van with more than 100,000 miles on the odometer in exchange for a promising thoroughbred whose family tree included Man o’ War, Native Dancer and the father ...
Read More »Opining on baseball’s enduring allure, Tiger’s return and upstate stadium makeovers
I am among the game’s fiercest critics. I have railed against the plodding pace, the proliferation of strikeouts, the lack of action in the field and on the basepaths, the obsession with analytics rather than romance, the spiraling ticket and ...
Read More »Milo the Dog has had a golden impact on Red Wings baseball, community
They had trained together five days a week for nearly six months in the backyard solitude of Josh Snyder’s rural home. And although Milo the golden retriever seemed to have this baseball bat fetching routine down pat, Snyder still worried ...
Read More »Opining on Brandon Beane, SU hoops, a poor investment, baseball’s return
If you pressed me to rank the most indispensable Buffalo Bills of this glorious era, I’d go with quarterback Josh Allen in the top spot, followed by general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott. Obviously, you need talented players ...
Read More »Revisiting Art Schlichter’s sad tale of gambling addiction
Monday’s seismic news that Atlanta Falcons star receiver Calvin Ridley had been suspended for the 2022 season for betting on NFL games got me to thinking about another player who wound up being banned for gambling. He was a guy ...
Read More »