Rethinking major league baseball

Maybe it’s too much time in the sun. Maybe it’s reading all these stories about Western New York becoming a megalopolis, although I’m still iffy on that one. But after reading a story in today’s St. Petersburg Times, maybe it’s time we rethink the possibility of Buffalo supporting major league baseball. Here’s the thing: It’s not just the crowds Buffalo gets (the Bisons rank second in IL attendance through the first few weeks), but the proximity to other teams in the AL East or Central. How many people would come in to see Niagara Falls if the Herd met the Tribe? Or how about if the Jays came down the QEW for a series? I’m guessing Buffalo could do better than the 8,269 that showed up at Tropicana Field on Tuesday to see the Jays and Rays battle for third. Just like we’ve done with the Sabres, using the city’s proximity to bigger cities to bump up attendance figures, a baseball team would probably draw visitors, especially since a trip to the falls during July while in town to see the Bisons-White Sox series sounds a lot more appealing than a trip to WNY to see the Bears at the Ralph in December. Wouldn’t the Orioles draw pretty well here? How about the Red Sox? An interesting note in the SPT column above - only three teams have been worst in league attendance in MLB history for seven straght seasons, and all three failed to see an eighth season. Tampa is flirting with its eighth straight season at the bottom of the MLB barrel this year. Time to swoop?

Watch the Dolphins fall …

It’s another Travel Tuesday - last week that meant Wrigley - and this week I’ve been lucky enough to find my way to sunny Fort Lauderdale, which is about as picturesque as it comes. So while sitting by the pool, I opened today’s South Florida Sun-Sentinal, a great paper that gets overshadowed by the Miami Herald. Anyway, the Sun-Sentinel ran the obligatory NFL draft story and a good column about how Bill Parcells is already manipulating the system, then came a realization of how far the Dolphins have fallen. The Sun-Sentinel runs a standing feature on the front page about Jason Taylor’s dance routines on “Dancing with the Stars.” On the front page of the sports section! Wow. I wonder what recipes Ronnie Brown favors? Or what Ricky WIlliams grows in his garden? Wait, I think I have an answer on that one. It just shows you football ain’t what it used to be in this town. Let’s go a step beyond - one of the Sun-Sentinel’s writers is even blogging about Taylor’s experiences on the show. Lemme say it again. Wow.

UB recruits look legit

Everyone looks good on Youtube, but take a peek at the video below of incoming UB recruits Titus Robinson and Mitchell Watt. The Bulls seem to have landed a pair of big-timers in this class, and here’s the great news for UB — the coaching staff thinks it’s made better in-roads with the class of juniors available to sign a year from now. Could be a revival in Amherst soon.

Bad sign for Bills

Either Bill Parcells is on the scheduling committee, the NFL thought a game between formerly bitter rivals who’ve done little but stink it up for the past few seasons would make for great television, or — as we Western New York conspiracy theorists would prefer — the National Football League is out to get Buffalo. Seriously, why would the league strip the Bills of their biggest game, one that people here talk about from the day the season surfaces, even if the Dolphins are winless when the teams play?

I haven’t bought into the notion that the NFL genuinely wanted out of Buffalo — until this. One of the few things the league can control is scheduling, and to pull this rug out from under Bills’ fans is a shameless maneuver.

I couldn’t agree more with our old friend Chuck Pollock of the Olean Times-Herald, who echoes those sentiments in this column.

Niagara dinner, hockey schedule

A beautiful night for the Niagara sports dinner at Conference Center Niagara Falls (by the way, that’s what it’s called, I’m not missing words).
Plenty of hob-nobbing going on, but here’s the biggest news:

The men’s hockey schedule is absolutely packed next year:
• A home-opening weekend with Clarkson and St. Lawrence (will be huge draws)
• A return home game at Dwyer with Merrimack for last year’s trip
• Another set with Quinnipiac, this time again at Dwyer
• Away games at Bowling Green and Western Michigan early
• A trip to Cornell in what should be a great experience at Lynah Rink
• A pair of games at Maine
• AND a game at Michigan

Dates yet to be released, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as they’re available.

Wrigley yesterday

Wow. Wrigley on Tuesday was perfection. The weather was warm, the beverages were chilly, and the baseball was great. Although the one failing of Tuesday’s Chicago win over Cincinnati was Alfonso Soriano’s ridiculous injury, the Cubs got the bats rolling early and often and put a sound whuppin’ on the Reds. Some notes:

• Say what you will about Jay Mariotti on the “Around the Horn,” the guy’s a great writer. His piece in Tuesday’s Sun-Times about Dusty Baker’s return to Wrigley was just another day at work. I love the three-showers-a-day dirty line.
• News flash — Kerry Wood brings the heat. It was something to see Wood work the ninth. And his move to the pen seems adds legitimacy to a team that’s had little in the past few years. Mariano Rivera has been second to Tiger Woods in scaring opponents silly with reputation. With Wood lurking in the Wrigley pen, I’d be willing to bet Cubs’ opponents will be pressing.

Wrigley tomorrow …

Indulge me for a sec — especially since my buddies from the Ultimate Sports Road Trip get to do this kind of thing all the time. Courtesy of the Southwest “Ding,” which teases me with low fares every morning on my desktop, we’ll be taking in Tuesday game between the Cubbies and Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley. Great stuff. And it won’t just be me — Bills writer Jay Skurski will join me aboard the Southwest bird at 6:30 a.m.; we’ll meet up with former Tonawanda News managing editor Carly Peterson, who now works for a paper in Chi-town; and former T-News writer Eric O’Connor will drive down from Madison, Wis., where he’s working on his Ph.D. in Taking Over the World. The whole thing will only last 24 hours, but here’s the itinerary — get off the plane, hit the Sears Tower for our one tourist moment, stop at Pizzeria Due, a hotspot recommended by Channel 2’s Matt Pearl (a Northwestern grad). After that, we’re taking the train north to Wrigleyville and playing it by ear, although we’ve got cheap upper deck tickets already in hand. By the next morning, the whole thing is done. Ryan Dempster is on the hill for the Cubbies while Aaron Harang follows suit for the Reds. We hate those Reds.
If I run into P.J. Franklin, the day will be complete.

Alumni report; Anchorman update

OK, I know we could do this almost every night during the NHL playoffs and pull our hair out in the process, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum. Here’s what former Sabres did on Friday night:

• Keith Carney scored the game-winning goal in overtime as Minnesota evened its series against Colorado. Carney finished a plus-2.

• Daniel Briere had two goals, three points and four shots as Philly lost a heartbreaker to Washington. Briere also had three of his team’s eight takeaways, again proving my point that although he’s little, there are few guys I’d rather have fighting for a loose puck in the corner.

• The Rangers won, but it wasn’t Chris Drury’s best night. Drew finished a minus-one (although that’s a stat he’s never excelled at) and lost 19 of the 27 faceoffs he took. Ouch.

• Dainius Zubrus didn’t do much — except take four penalties.

• Marty Biron had a typical Marty Biron game — he played well in facing 28 shots, then gave up the game-winner in the waning moments. We’ve seen that before.

Anchorman update
As for the Anchorman challenge between myself and Channel 2’s Matt Pearl, I was feeling great when Ottawa came from three goals down to tie the Pens. Note to self: Don’t text trash talk to Pearl in the future until your team has won. When Ryan Malone scored the winner with just over a minute left, I got a very subtle “what was that score again?” So close. But Carney’s game-winner kept me alive. I need the Wild to roll through Colorado and hopefully the Stars can go up 2-0.

Opening Day ramblings

At noon on Friday, I assumed the Bisons opener was a no-go. The skies were charcoal, the rain was intermittent and the temps were chilly. A few hours later, it was 65, things lightened up, and a great time was had by all as the Herd rumbled with the Toledo Mud Hens.

Even this woman from Niagara Falls, who got hit in the back during the second inning, thought the experience was a good one. By the way, the good Samaritan who retrieved the ball after it hit the woman in the back was WGR’s Brian Koziol. Thought he deserved a plug after being a nice guy.

As for the game, it didn’t have much in the way of excitement, although Toledo did hit four bombs — three homers and another that was originally called a homer, then ruled a double — so somebody was providing offense.

Some thoughts:

• Want to get Western New Yorkers to come to your summer-time event? Sell beer and have live music. The Bisons are the latest to test the phenomenon as they started their Plaza Party on Friday outside Dunn Tire Park. This is a great setup, although the live band that played needs to be on some type of stage. Many on hand didn’t even realize the band was live because of the crowd. Live and learn.

• How is this team 3-6? They’ve got plenty of major-league talent, and their pitching staff was supposed to be one of the best in Triple-A. After the game, Torey Lovullo said he thinks the offense is getting a little passive, but he’s not worried about the pitching staff at this point. We don’t know how that can be true.

• Absolutely packed is the only way to describe the press box. Our buddies Peter and Andrew — the guys from Ultimate Sports Road Trip who have the greatest lives EVER — were just part of the crew on hand. Even Art Wander made an appearance, although he seemed more interested in the Masters, which was showing on the TV near the buffet table. Fun.

• The Bisons announced that they have not re-signed as an affiliate with the Cleveland Indians, meaning the truth about the Indians-to-Columbus rumors is probably spot on. That leads to all kinds of speculation, although I’m going back to my original thought that the Blue Jays will end up here. I realize the organization is poor at stocking its farm team, but it’s too important to not have American League East teams coming through Dunn Tire Park. I can’t stand the Yanks, but I always come by when the Herd meets Scranton Wilkes-Barre because the atmosphere is special.

• The same two teams play Saturday and Sunday, but the weather looks crummy both days.

Big Bear and other notes …

The biggest surprise of the Thursday presser in my eyes was Lindy’s declaration that Steve Bernier is in “elite shape.” Believe it or not, that gives me greater hope for Bernier’s future. He’s obviously big and strong, but disappeared for long stretches during his time after the Campbell trade. I’m assuming he disappeared for long stretches before the trade, too, or he wouldn’t be here. But if Bernier’s problem is simply maintaining focus, I think he’s in the right room.

• Most coaches are tough on good players and Lindy’s admission that Henrik Tallinder “wasn’t where I had him,” shows that he’s not going to let up on his top defenseman. He also called Tallinder “a tremendous talent,” which is clearly true. But Tallinder should be a perennial all-star — his reach, passing, and speed are as good as almost anyone in the league. Ruff said Tallinder was plagued by nagging injuries, but expect the blueliner to come back with more vigor next year. If the Sabres are to rebound, he’ll be one of the catalysts.

• Larry Quinn added that under the most recent league formula, home teams only keep about half of their revenues from playoff games. His point was that missing the playoffs isn’t as costly as it once was. It still has to hurt a team that’s increased its payroll from more than 65 percent, though.