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Showing posts from October, 2017

Old Team Tuesday: The Buffalo Wings

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Old Team Tuesday is a weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside. After a two-week hiatus, we return this week to close out a two-part series examining the history of professional roller hockey in Buffalo . ********************************************** After financial ruin laid waste to the Buffalo Stampede during the 1995 RHI season, Buffalo was left without a professional roller hockey team. The absence of a team meant Memorial Auditorium would close its doors for good in the spring, rather than in late summer when the roller hockey season would come to a close. Instability in pro roller hockey continued to be a problem, with teams folding and relocating at a frenetic pace. After playing for two years in Phoenix, the Cobras relocated to Glens Falls, New York for the 1996 season. The move failed to turn around the fortunes of the franchise, so they uprooted themselves yet again and signed a one-year agreement to play at the new Marine Midl

Clowns must regroup, and I rant about the NFL’s awful scheduling

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After a blowout loss in Week Six , fans of the Clowns hoped the team would find a way to get back in the win column and reverse the misfortune that seemed to be swirling around it. However, it seems those wishes will be put on hold until at least Thursday, as another slim loss sank Southtowns to 2-6 on the season. --- Lame name, big game --- Jaden Hayes’ Team 1 managed to top the Clowns count by the time the Bills closed out their win over Oakland (!), so the five-point margin can certainly widen if C.J. Anderson has a big game for the Broncos in Kansas City tonight. But either way, the result is pretty much sealed, unless Anderson runs backwards all night and goes into the red. Carson Wentz, blah blah blah. Jake Elliott, blah blah blah. Eagles win and have the best record in the league, blah blah blah. I asked her her name, she said blah blah blah. I could’ve seen this one coming a mile away if I was blindfolded and had my head buried in the ground like an ostrich (un

Blake Griffin is elevating the Clippers to new heights

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Coming into this season, the Los Angeles Clippers figured to slide a bit after Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets for a first-round draft pick, some cash, and a bevy of role players .   And yet, here we are, four games into the season and the Clippers have been the best team in the NBA. In the season opener, Patrick Beverley tormented rookie Lonzo Ball and kept the now 2-2 Lakers under 100 points, the only team to do so  thus far . The following game, the Clippers blew the roof off of Staples Center by hammering the Phoenix Suns, 130-88. The 42-point margin of defeat wasn’t even Phoenix’s worst loss of the young season, as the Portland Trail Blazers manhandled them 124-76 in the season opener (keep that tidbit in mind). Game three featured a strong second-half showing after a slow start, with the Clippers eventually making posters out of the Utah Jazz. And last night, in the team’s first true road game of the season, the Clippers pulled out a heart-

Esports go mainstream

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The 2016 North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Finals at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. By Jake Dehlinger ‘Esports’ is a word that is very confusing to many people. A lot of people look at the word and scoff. “Competitive video gaming? What a waste. Who would watch that?” Esports are gradually becoming more popular as time goes on. Television stations are showing games, big-name athletes and organizations are buying into gaming orgs, and advertising has gone to a whole new level. We are witnessing the coming-of-age of esports. With the stakes and money involved being at its apex, it won’t be long until esports becomes a staple along with the major sports. What is it about esports that is so appealing? For starters, accessibility is its most important aspect. Take a look at a traditional sport such as hockey. You need equipment, the ability to travel, the money, the physical demands of the sports, and the commitment. When it comes to video games, you