Cnylink BlogsAimlessCity Muse City Scuffle Downtown After Dark Figuring it all out Leahy's Food Blog Make it Snappy Newshole Outbursts Rambling on Random Thoughts Tuning In Wondering about |
May 01 B'ville Gets BuzzedPosted by pblackwell | 05/01/08
In the latest chapter of this Twilight Zone boys lacrosse season, you had 3-7 Liverpool, lifeless on offense and getting spanked around for much of this spring, ready to get bashed again by high-scoring 9-2 Baldwinsville, a prime Class A championship contender.
So naturally the Warriors won 13-8. This may be as surprising as any result so far. Absolutely nothing in the behavior suggested that Liverpool would pound out 10 goals against B'ville's defense in the first half, or that the Warriors would blank the Bees in the third quarter to prevent any comeback attempt. A.J. Vittorio and Mitch Long led Liverpool with four goals each - this from a team that had a hard time getting to four goals in a game for much of the last month... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: B'ville, Liverpool, baseball, surprises, playoffs May 02 The Laker Breakthrough?Posted by pblackwell | 05/02/08
Cazenovia's girls lacrosse team had been striving, for years, to join the Class C elite. the Lakers won a lot, but the big fish always proved to be elusive, even this spring.
But on Thursday night, Caz caught a big one, winning a wild, 19-18 affair with CBA at Alibrandi Stadium. The Lakers blew two different three-goal leads in the second half, but used Sarah Wright's sixth goal with a minute left in regulation to tie it, 16-16, and force overtime. And OT turned into the Kara Cannizzaro show. She got a big steal, won a key draw and scored all three of the Lakers' OT goals, which proved to be enough to withstand a late CBA surge... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Cazenovia, lacrosse, Detroit, Derby, Office May 04 Weekend ViewPosted by pblackwell | 05/04/08
Because I didn't blog yesterday, there's a lot to catch up to, so here's a lot of notes...
- At the top, tragedy on a couple of fronts. We think about those that lost precious life and property due to the Friday tornadoes in Arkansas, and felt sad when Eight Belles had to be euthnanized after a second in the Kentucky Derby. She had run so well, but injured both legs as the horses galloped out following the race. This just two years after the injury to Barbaro in the Preakness. - It took all the joy out of Big Brown's brilliant run. From the far outside post, he got into the perfect position before the first turn, stalked, then took off at the far turn and went 2:01 4/5 despite two sprints into a tough headwind in the homestretch... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Derby, high school, playoffs, Guam May 05 Late, Late ShowPosted by pblackwell | 05/05/08
I doubt anyone was awake, perhaps even in Dallas, when the Stars finally put the San Jose Sharks away in Game 6 of the NHL West semifinals - halfway through the fourth overtime.
Confession - I only made it through the first OT, but got to see Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov make an obscene glove save to keep the game going. Combined, Nabokov and Dallas' Marti Turco made more than 100 stops before the Stars ended it. Given that they nearly blew a 3-0 lead to the Sharks, I doubt that Dallas can get past Detroit in the West finals. Meanwhlie, Pittsburgh used Marian Hossa's OT goal to eliminate the Rangers, setting up an all-Keystone East final between the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. That might get a bit violent. And hey, the home team is faring quite well, too... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: hockey, overtime, Ludden, Crunch, playoffs, fire May 06 Well-Oiled Westhill MachinePosted by pblackwell | 05/06/08
A quick scan of Monday's results in girls lacrosse includes Westhill beating Cazenovia 20-13, yet another big win for the Warriors that featured a whole lot of offense. Given Tim Alberts' desire to create Loyola Marymount basketball circa 1990 out there, this is nothing new.
What is startling is that it's the second time the Warriors have gone over 20 against a state-ranked foe without a big-name contributor. A week ago, Westhill dropped 21 on CBA without Katie Doherty. At Caz, it was future North Carolina Tar Heel Laura Zimmerman on the sidelines due to illness. And it didn't matter one bit. Five different Warriors - Doherty, Sam Marshall, Carolyn Clark, Mackenzie Rainone and Annie O'Connor - landed three or more goals... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Westhill, lacrosse, NBA, managers, SU, primary May 07 A Game-Changer, IndeedPosted by pblackwell | 05/07/08
So Hillary Clinton was correct in her proclamation late last week that North Carolina and Indiana would be a "game-changer" - as in, check mate for Barack Obama.
The rout in NC, combined with Hillary's Limbaugh-aided squeaker in Hoosier land, all but settled the nomination fight. Turns out the gas tax suspension proposal didn't fly with voters. Turns out that Rev. Wright wasn't the albatross that sank Obama's presidential dreams - not yet, anyway. To ask Hillary out of the race now is asking too much. An honorable exit following likely wins in West Virginia, Kentucky and Puerto Rico would let her leave on good terms - and the Obama folks would be wise to settle the Florida and Michigan disputes before the convention in Denver... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Obama, Clinton, lacrosse, Celtics, Myanmar May 08 Crunching Through an OT RollPosted by pblackwell | 05/08/08
The Syracuse Crunch won a playoff game in overtime and, no, this isn't a recording - although the repetition is something Crunch fans could get used to.
Make that five OT wins out of seven in the Crunch's quest for the Calder Cup. Down 4-2 late in the third period to Toronto in Game 4, on the brink of seeing a 2-0 series lead vanish, Syracuse caught up, tying it 4-4 on Derick Brassard's goal with 1:38 left in regulation and carried a two-man advantage into the OT session. Syracuse didn't convert on that extra power play - but it didn't matter. Joakim Lindstrom's shot from the point 9:44 into OT won it, 5-4, and put the Crunch in 3-1 command of the series. One more win, and Syracuse will be part of the AHL final four... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Crunch, Baldwinsville, lacrosse, playoffs, Kobe May 09 Pecking OrderPosted by pblackwell | 05/09/08
So you have Carthage and Jamesville-DeWitt atop Class B in boys lacrosse - at least that much is certain. What happens in the next week might determine the other pecking orders going into the playoffs.
That started on Thursday, when LaFayette beat CBA 15-10. The Lancers backed up its state no. 1 Class C ranking by blanking the Brothers for more than 18 minutes of time (that zone defense is quite frustrating), during which a 4-3 deficit turned into a 9-4 lead, and CBA wouldn't catch up. Granted, the Brothers have made up a lot of ground from its 17-7 defeat to LaFayette early in April. But the Lancers are still in charge, especially if they keep finding eighth-graders like Austin Cavender (five goals in this game) to excel... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Lacrosse, showdowns, NBA, NHL, Joba, Sawgrass, Office May 10 Hang On There!Posted by pblackwell | 05/10/08
First and most importantly, a Happy Mother's Day to all whom it applies. My mother deserves all the love and praise possible, and I'm still amazed how she raised all of us (I have three brothers and one sister), stayed sane, and kept a loving, stable marriage with my father - it will be their 40th anniversary this November. I've even forgiven her for her primary vote last February..
Hopefully, some of you got to partake in the DeWitt Rotary Club's pancake breakfast at Shoppingtown today. A big, happy crowd and great food on a comfortable spring day. The best part was getting to see Jamesville-DeWitt athletic director Bill Brown, just a week after he lost his house in a fire... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Mother's day, Bill Brown, CNS, drama, playoffs, golf, bear May 11 Weekly Column: Love, devotion or madness?Posted by pblackwell | 05/11/08
As the warm sun started to dip below the twin spires of Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, the classy celebrities in the sky boxes and the roaring rabble in the infield - and everyone in between - roared as one.
They had plenty of reasons to cheer. Big Brown, running from the outside no. 20 post, was tearing to a decisive victory in the 134th renewal of the Kentucky Derby, a beautiful horse with a real chance at grabbing the Triple Crown that has eluded everyone for 30 years. And those who love underdogs, especially those of the female variety, had a reason to scream, too, for Eight Belles, the first filly in the Derby since 1999, battled her way to second place, beating 18 colts, no mean feat in a race where just three fillies have won... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Eight Belles, Derby, tragedy, horses May 12 Welcome Home Tar HeelsPosted by pblackwell | 05/12/08
It wasn't news that SU's lacrosse women ripped Towson 21-9 on Mother's Day to move ahead to the NCAA quarterfinals - the Orange were heavy favorites, expected to roll, and did so.
What is news, though, is that SU will be at home for Saturday's 1 p.m. quarterfinal - against a team with even more local connections than SU itself. North Carolina earned the ticket to the Carrier Dome by surprising Virginia 11-7. Thus, Erica LaGrow (CBA), Kristen and Kelly Taylor (F-M) and Sarah Kuonen (West Genesee) all get to come home and try to spoil the Gary Gait crew's Final Four dreams. Later that night, SU offered the same kind of destruction to NCAA first-timer Canisius, 20-3, and it nearly got a chance for payback against Colgate... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: SU, Carolina, Garcia, playoffs, baseball May 13 Just Games, FolksPosted by pblackwell | 05/13/08
No doubt many of you are bummed about the Crunch seeing its chance at the Calder Cup disappear - along with that 3-1 lead in games - at the expense of the Toronto Marlies.
As said before, Syracuse did this to themselves. After it won the first two games in Toronto, the Crunch only won once more, a frantic Game 4 comeback. It could not close out the series in overtime in Game 5, or at home with a third-period lead in Game 6. Give an opponent that many chances to get off the proverbial ropes, and they will. Still, understand that these are only games... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Crunch, games, playoffs, baseball, NBA, Mayo, West Virginia May 14 Cats' Day Full of DramaPosted by pblackwell | 05/14/08
In four different places, West Genesee teams managed to hog the spotlight for various reasons.
Start with the girls golfers, who came within a single shot of ending Fayetteville-Manlius' 32-match win streak. Only Alex Seabury's last-hole birdie and season-best 30 saved the Hornets in a 154-155 decision. Back in Camillus, the softball Wildcats achieved a breakthrough against Cicero-North Syracuse in the most exciting way possible. Tied 2-2, it gave up three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win it 6-5 thanks to Lexie Myers' three-run double and Molly Shepherd's tie-breaking single. Move down the hill to the turf field at WG, where the girls lacrosse Wildcats and F-M went at it... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: West Genesee, Ianzito, Annika, NBA, Rays, Hillary May 15 Track ShowdownsPosted by pblackwell | 05/15/08
In the last Wednesday of the regular season, two boys track and field showdowns helped decide league championships.
Cicero-North Syracuse turned away Liverpool's challenge, 82.7 to 58.3, to again finish atop the CNYCL National division. No doubt the Warriors' defeat to Rome Free Academy on Monday took some juice out of this meet, but you still had the Warriors' T.J. Davis winning the 100 and 200 sprints and nearly going 23 feet in the long jump. CNS won by taking all the other field events, including Andy Kahl gettin first in the high jump and triple jump. Solvay's boys got through Westhill 80-61 to win the OHSL Liberty division crown and make it 53 league wins in a row. Greg Manning's late surge helped the Bearcats take the 4x400 relay, and he also set a school record (1:57... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: track, CNS, Solvay, Liverpool, playoffs, Henin, Olbermann May 16 End of A SeasonPosted by pblackwell | 05/16/08
Anyone who's bothered to read this blog with any regularity knows what kind of "Office" fan I've become - too devoted, centering much of life around those Thursdays at 9 p.m. when the antics of Dunder-Mifflin grace our TV screens.
As such, the Thursday season finale requires a longer examination - and they've set up next season quite nicely, along with giving us a shameless plug for Mountain W soda pop. You had HR man Toby leaving for Costa Rica after all, and it was so momentous that he even broke his quiet monotone and yelled once! In steps Holly, and Michael Scott immediately has the hots for her, even as Jim coaxes Michael into actual human behavior around a woman. That works quite well - until Kevin takes her out at episode's end... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Office, finale, lacrosse, playoffs, Preakness May 17 An Orange MilestonePosted by pblackwell | 05/17/08
Maybe it took too long for Syracuse University's women's lacrosse team to get to an NCAA Final Four, and maybe it took Gary Gait and his good-looking sideline suits to get a bit more attention.
But the bottom line remains the same - SU is in new territory, bound for Towson, in suburban Baltimore, after beating North Carolina 13-11 in Saturday's NCAA quarterfinal at the Carrier Dome. For all the attention lavished on the Section III stars (Erica LaGrow, Kristen Taylor, Kelly Taylor, Sarah Kuonen) that play for the Tar Heels, it was other upstate stars that made sure the Orange's national title dreams remained alive. After leading most of the game, SU fell into its only deficit, 10-9, with 10 minutes to play after a 4-0 Carolina run... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: SU, women, Final Four, playoffs, Werth May 18 Weekly Column: 'One and done" should be donePosted by pblackwell | 05/18/08
All of a sudden one day in 2006, David Stern looked up at the NBA he has ruled for nearly a quarter-century and, lo and behold, found he had some youngsters as young as 18 coming into the fold. And he didn’t like it.
So up went a rule, done in conjunction with the player’s union. Now you had to be 19 to turn pro, and every great 18-year-old had to go to at least one year of college before taking the leap to Stern’s fiefdom. Now we are beginning to see just how preposterous and idiotic that rule is, thanks to the controversy surrounding O.J. Mayo and the gifts (money, cars, the usual swag) he may or may not have taken from an agent’s runner in his brief stay at the University of Southern California... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Mayo, USC, college, NBA, Stern, age rule May 19 The Old Orange Order, RestoredPosted by pblackwell | 05/19/08
For the lacrosse community around here, things are not normal unless Syracuse is playing on Memorial Day weekend.
Well, after the beating it took in 2007, the Orange is back in the Final Four, the ticket to Foxboro secured in a hard-fought 11-9 win over Notre Dame. Following a great first half, SU watched the Irish surge into the lead in the third quarter, then went back in front late and stayed there. For that, they could thank John Galloway, the true freshman goalie from West Geneseewho went from possible goat to certain hero by making five point-blank stops in the last 10 minutes. Even Mike Messere had to be impressed by that stuff... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: SU, lacrosse, Celtics, Penguins, baseball, golf May 20 Feel-Good StuffPosted by pblackwell | 05/20/08
Yeah, I could write about the Spurs winning Game 7, or the Red Wings finally getting to the Cup finals, or that great Jamesville DeWitt-Carthage lacrosse battle. All were Monday-night headliners.
But that was before Red Sox lefty Jon Lester threw a no-hitter at Fenway Park, shutting down the not-as-bad-as-they-used-to-be Kansas City Royals. Good time for a first career complete game, becoming the first Boston lefty to pull off the no-no since Mel Parnell in 1956. And that was just the statisical part of it. What really matters is the fact that Lester, late in the 2006 season, was diagnonsed with lymphoma. Several rounds of chemo cured Lester, and he returned in time to pitch the Game 4 World Series clincher in Colorado. But that was in Denver... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Lester, no-hitter, cancer, lacrosse, playoffs, primaries May 21 Post-Season BeginsPosted by pblackwell | 05/21/08
So it is here - nearly four weeks of Section III high school playoff drama.
It started Monday and Tuesday, with team titles decided in boys tennis and boys golf, and continued with the first post-season track meets. For the golfers on Monday, it was cold and windy - even reports of snow at Thendara, where the A-2 players gathered. Still, Whitesboro (A-2), Cortland (B-1), Skaneateles (B-2), Bishop Ludden (C-1), Cooperstown (C-2) and Remsen (D) earned the team titles. Cortland did so despite having played its regular season in the fall, along with other Class AA and A schools. Whitesboro's Doug DeCarlo posted the low round of the day, a 74 at Thendara - which tells you how difficult these conditions were... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: playoffs, high school, Celtics, Piazza, Kennedy May 22 Days to Remember..Posted by pblackwell | 05/22/08
We spend Memorial Day weekend remembering those that gave their lives for freedom's cause. Yet there's already a deep sense of mourning around here.
From the fire that killed a mother and her two children in Eastwood, to the accident in Elbridge that took the life of Aaron Guadagnolo, brother of SU lacrosse players Tom and Kyle, the sobering news keep hitting us, on top of all the other crises, small and large, that pop up. What they do is teach us that life is, of course, very precious, and that every day can't be taken for granted. That alone is motivation to give your best effort to whatever you do, and spare nothing. In that spirit, and in the memory of all those we've lost this week, we try and get to the sports news..... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: perspective, CBA, Kitts, Lakers, baseball, Manchester United May 22 Weekly column: Indy returns, at lastPosted by pblackwell | 05/22/08
On the big screen, he first emerged out of a shadow, deep in the South American jungle, his face stubbled, wearing a bomber jacket, donning a fedora, handling a bullwhip and hating any snake that came his way.
One minute he was sneaking into a cave to retrieve a golden idol, the next minute he was running away from a boulder, running away from natives, running off to the next adventure. Something to do with an ark. Yes, an entire generation has passed - 27 years and close to five full presidential administrations - since Indiana Jones was introduced to movie audiences... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Indiana Jones, return, films, heroes May 24 Orange, Half-HappyPosted by pblackwell | 05/24/08
Thank Mike Leveille, and a few friendly pipes, for Syracuse's lacrosse team being able to spend Memorial Day in Foxboro, playing for an NCAA championship.
Due to a terrible second quarter and a nervous John Galloway in the net, the Orange were down 8-3 to Virginia in Saturday's semifinals, ready to expire. But SU ate away at that margin, caught up at 11-11 near the end of regulation when the Cavaliers got too cautious, then endured two draining overtime periods and three differnt Virginia shots that found posts. Laveille finally ended the epic with 1:43 left in the second OT. Laveille already had four goals and two assists on the day, and it was fitting that the team's best player put in the season's biggest goal... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: SU, lacrosse, Final Four, high school, playoffs May 27 Back to the TopPosted by pblackwell | 05/27/08
Syracuse lacrosse fans, you wake up on this Tuesday morning as proud supporters of the 2008 national champions.
Gone are those 5-8 memories of 2007. In its place are warm thoughts of a great, resilient team that showed its heart early in the spring and needed every bit of it to prevail on Foxboro. First came the Virginia comeback. Then, a title game with Johns Hopkins where SU was behind 5-3 in the second quarter, but turned it around on Kenny Nims' short-handed tally and zoomed in front for good, 6-5, by halftime. Dan Hardy, wearing no... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: SU, champs, finals, Indy, NASCAR, sectionals, golf, Big Brown, hoof May 28 Let the Playoff Rush Begin..Posted by pblackwell | 05/28/08
This is the part where the job gets a bit hectic around here.
All you had on Tuesday were Section III playoff games in girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse, baseball and softball. And that's just a precursor to Thursday, where you've got all five girls sectional track and field meets. So here's a brief summation of what took place... - Some surprises in Class A girls lacrosse, with Auburn getting a pair of late goals to win at Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool going to Baldwinsville and winning behind Mikey Meagher's 17 saves. This leaves the Warriors to face mighty West Genesee in one Class A semifinal, with the Maroons confronting Fayetteville-Manlius in the other - Class C will give us the Lakers vs... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: playoffs, Section III, lacrosse, baseball, Lakers, book May 29 A Very Busy ThursdayPosted by pblackwell | 05/29/08
All right, so not much is going on this Thursday.
Just a six-pack of Section III girls lacrosse semifinals, six boys lacrosse playoff games, all the baseball quarterfinals and softball opening-round games and all five girls sectional track and field meets. Even thinking about this volume of activity is tiring. Since we're further along in girls lax, we'll start with some good semifinals. In the A games at Marcellus, West Genesee goes for 44 in a row against upstart Liverpool and Fayetteville-Manlius tries to fight off a similar upstart in Auburn. Over at Henninger's Sunnycrest Field, Carthage meets Fulton and East Syracuse-Minoa confronts Watertown in the B semifinals. And at West Genesee, the C semis pit Skaneateles against Cazenovia and Westhill against Marcellus... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: playoffs, busy, Penguins, Celtics, baseball, Griffin May 31 Seems Like Old TimesPosted by pblackwell | 05/31/08
Playoff time and man, there's a lot to get to.
This weekend alone, you have the Section III semifinals in baseball, quarterfinals in softball, two sets of semifinals in boys lacrosse and the championship games in girls lacrosse at Solvay's "Pit". That's all. Start on the girls lax side. West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius took care of their respective Class A semifinals with relative ease, leaving us with the Hornets perhaps providing the one grand threat to the Wildcats' dreams of repeating as state champs. Watertown's ridiculous comeback against East Syracuse-Minoa gives them a third shot at Carthage in the Class B final. Both of the Cyclones' defeats this season came to the Comets... CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: playoffs, high school, Lakers, Celtics 
|
Random ThoughtsYou can listen to Phil Blackwell, Eagle Newspapers' sports editor, at 10 a.m. every Saturday on WHEN, AM620SubscribeEmail Archives |
