Sports

Nick Lazarony did something that hasn't been done for Batavia in a very long time. 

The 112-pound grappler won an individual title at the Monroe County League Championships, getting the first county title for the school in 23 years.

Lazarony was knocked out of the tournament early as a freshman and sophomore, then was injured last year. Finally, as a senior he made Batavia history.

Joe Amico and Kelly Boyle won Monroe County League titles back in 1986.

Lazarony pinned Chris Kauffman of Greece Olympia in 1:18 in the opening round Friday, then dropped Churchville's Jason Dey in the second round in 1:42.

He beat Pittsford's Brady Bason with a 5-1 decision in the semifinals.

He won the title with a win over Rush-Henrietta's John Northrup 8-2 in the finals.

"Breaking a 23-year old steak is pretty good," coach Rick Stewart said. "He's put in a lot of hard work and deserves this."

Lazarony wasn't the only Batavia wrestler to have a good Monroe County League tourney.

That is evident as Batavia had its best-ever finish in the tournament - where they are going up against the biggest schools in Section 5 - taking fifth. The teams ahead of them were all state ranked teams.

Spencerport won the tournament, followed by Penfield, Fairport and Hilton. A winner, three second place finishers and a third was good enough for fifth.

"Those four teams ahead of us are ranked high in the state in Division I," Stewart said. "We did well, putting four in the finals is an accomplishment."

It is the first time the Blue Devils have ever placed four wrestlers in the finals.

Ryan Darch's undefeated season at 160 pounds came to an end in the finals. He had two pins and a major decision, pushing his season record to 33-0 before matching up with Hilton's John Velieri in the finals. The match was tied at 1 before Darch made an aggressive move in the second period. He wound up losing a 7-1 decision, but placed second. 

Troy Ireland also had two pins and a decision in getting to the finals at 171 pounds, where he was matched up with Spencerport's Nick Baxter. Baxter won a hard fought 10-6 decision.

Josh Mase was on fire at 103 pounds. He had three straight pins in getting to the finals. But, he was pinned in the finals in just :59 seconds by Penfield's Brandon Ling.

Anthony D'Aurizio had a major decision and a decision to make the semifinals, but lost to Brockport's Christian Boley - the eventual champion - 7-1.

But he made up for the loss in the consolation round, beating Greece Olympia's Zack Shotwell 2-0 for a third place finish.

The Blue Devils have one match and a tournament left before sectionals.

"It lets the kids know they can wrestle with the best in the Section 5 and the state," Stewart said. "This is one of the toughest tournaments in the state. The kids are excited for sectionals and states. They have big goals."

(Thanks to Tony D'Aurizio for the photos)

As many people feared, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association cuts that we wrote about earlier in the month were approved.

According to the NYSPHSAA Web site, there are going to be a lot of changes.

The biggest of which is the reduction in the number of regular season games that teams are allowed to play each season. Sports that currently play 24 games, will now only play 20. Sports that play 20 games will be cut to 18 and sports that play 18 games are now only going to play 16. 

The will be cuts in wrestling and football will be reduced from 10 to nine games. That means a team that makes sectionals and loses in the first round will not get a chance to go into Pool Play. 

The only way a football team can play 13 games is to play in the state finals.

The amount of scrimmages teams for all sports are allowed to play have also been reduced.

Centralized sites will be considered for state tournament games if it will save the state money. 

Here is the announcement on the NYSPHSAA Web site:

1. Support the use of telephone conference calls and video conferencing for NYSPHSAA meetings to reduce the travel reimbursements costs for the NYSPHSAA and Sections. APPROVED

2. Support the use of officials from the host Section at all NYSPHSAA regional contests, except when the Sections involved mutually agree to use neutral officials. Effective with the 2009-2010 season and continuing to 2010–2011 school year. APPROVED

3. Support a moratorium on the expansion of existing NYSPHSAA tournaments as it pertains to participation. APPROVED

4. Centralized sites should be considered as part of the bid process for state tournament site selection when it can be proven that cost savings outweighs other criteria. APPROVED

5. Support the reduction of the maximum number of contests permitted during the regular season. Sports with 24 contests will be reduced to 20, sports with 20 contests will be reduced to 18 and sports with 18 contests will be reduced to 16. Wrestling will be reduced to 20 points. Football will be reduced from 10 to 9. The 9th game is permitted, with section approval, for teams who do not qualify for sectional play. For the teams involved in the sectional tournament the maximum number of contests shall be 10. For the sections involved in the state championship three additional games are permitted for a total of 13 games for the season: 1 game for regionals, 1 game for semifinals, and 1 game for championships. Effective for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. APPROVED

6. Support the reduction of the number of classes and divisions in team and individual NYSPHSAA Championship competition. REFERRED TO CHAMPIONSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE

7. Support the reduction of participants in NYSPHSAA Championships in individual and combination (team/individual) sports. REFERRED TO CHAMPIONSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE

8. Support the reduction of tournaments (multi-school competition) for team and individual sports.NO ACTION

9. Support the establishment of a maximum number of scrimmages permitted by a team to: Varsity, JV and freshmen – 2 scrimmages and Modified – 1 scrimmage. NO ACTION

10. The Executive Committee will meet three times per year with one meeting at the site of the Central Committee meeting. APPROVED

11. Support the establishment of a team travel restriction for all member schools limiting out of state team travel to competition with bordering states only. NO ACTION

12. Support the establishment of a moratorium eliminating mandated attendance beginning with the 2009-2010 school year at the following NYSPHSAA workshops: Safety, Life of an Athlete, Sportsmanship and Chemical Health workshops. APPROVED

13. Support eliminating participation in the NFHS Student Leadership Conference. DENIED

 With less than 15 seconds remaining, Rob Hoy was facing a huge challenge. The Batavia basketball team was down by 10 points going into the fourth quarter and had chipped away and was trailing Pittsford Mendon by 3 points.

Hoy - who scored a career-high 20 points in the game - was fouled putting up a 3-pointer, and had to hit all three shots to send the game to overtime.

He did it, sending the crowd into a frenzy and sending the game into overtime, where Batavia ended up winning 75-69.

The Vikings owned the game through the first three periods as shots were not falling for the Blue Devils, they were fighting a losing battle in the paint and were turning the ball over.

But coach Buddy Brasky switched up defenses in the fourth quarter, allowing for the comeback. 

Andrew Hoy handled the scoring right away in the fourth quarter. Rob also hit one early on. He scored a basket and hit a 3-pointer in the first three minutes. Then Marcus Hoy got a bucket and Andrew nailed another trifecta, making the score 56-53.

Nick Billow hit a pair of free throws for Mendon, before the dramatic closing minute.

Marcus Hoy got to the foul line and hit both before Robert Hoy's three foul shots.

You can't ask for a better start to an overtime than what Batavia had as the scored the first nine points. Joe Schlossel scored the first six points on two baskets and two free throws.

Then, Andrew Hoy drained a 3-pointer.

Mendon scored four points before Schlossel got to the line again, hitting both foul shots.

Then Billow hit a 3-pointer and scored a basket to make the score 69-67 with less than 30 seconds left.

Andrew Hoy was fouled and hit two foul shots and that was followed up with two from Vikings forward Atif Mustafa. Andrew Hoy hit two more free throws and Marcus Hoy hit two to ice the win.

The victory puts Batavia at 12-2. Andrew Hoy led the way with 24 points, with Robert Hoy scoring 20, Schlossel scoring 13 and Marcus Hoy pitching in 10.

Marcus Hoy also had eight assists.

Billow led the way for Mendon, scoring 24 points.

 This Sunday the Arizona Cardinals and two-time league MVP and one time Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner will attempt to tear apart one of the best defenses in the NFL in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also has a Super Bowl ring and is looking for his second.

Here is a forum for readers of The Batavian to talk about the big game and vote for who is going to win. The Steelers are a 6 1/2 - 7 point favorite, depending on which Web site you go to.

 Ryan Darch is perfect on the mat this season, and he hopes to keep it that way.

Darch has compiled a 30-0 record this season, including 10 pins and four technical fall victories, as he heads into Friday and Saturday's Monroe County League tournament.

He is the top ranked wrestler at 160 pounds in the small school division of Section 5 by armdrag.com.

 Darch's love of wrestling started at a young age, thanks to his father Ken.

Ken had been a star wrestler in high school and college and started teaching Ryan and placing him in tournaments - at the age of five.

Ryan had continued to wrestle but finally started taking it serious after his freshman season when he lost early on in sectionals. Darch realized his season was over and hated it. So he dedicated himself to learning the sport and lifting weights.

He became a student of the game, as his father puts it.

Ryan's hard work paid off as he had a solid sophomore season, advancing all the way to the Section 5 SuperSectionals, where he lost to John-Martin Cannon of Brockport, getting pinned in 2:25.

That was the last match that Ryan - now a junior - lost.

Batavia (17-5) has the Monroe County League tournament this weekend, then a match at Greece Olympia and the Ken-Ton Invitational tournament left before sectionals.

Darch is a top seed as is Troy Ireland. Josh Mase and Nick Lazarony are second seeds while Anthony D'Aurizio is a fourth seed in a very tough 189 pound weight class.

The Blue Devils will be wrestling in Class BBBB on Feb. 13 and 14. After that is SuperSectionals and then the state tournament.

Check out this interview with Ryan and Ken Darch:

Everybody has their own particular thing they like to do for the Super Bowl. Some have traditions and some do something different every year.

I have watched the game almost ever year with my best friend and his father. I always figured a lot of people watched the game at a sports bar, but that isn't the case.

"Actually, it isn't," said Rick Mancuso, owner of TF Brown's in Batavia. "It has turned into a day where people stay home and have house parties. They typically don't go out that day, so it isn't that big."

Mancuso says that TF Brown's was always slow on Super Bowl Sunday, until he started throwing a private party to get people in there. He invites about 175-200 people each year to fill up the restaurant/sports bar. The party starts at around 4 p.m. and most people leave right after the game.

"Couples and a lot of people from all over area come," Mancuso said. "They come for some great food and to watch the game."

Tully's is a chain restaurant/sports bar that has one located in Batavia. They offer all kinds of specials on Super Bowl Sunday and gets a very small crowd because of house parties.

We run specials and try to do what we can to bring people in, but we don't get a good return on everything," said manager Dennis Harper.

NFL Films once produced a half hour segment featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers defense of 1976. After surrendering 110 points in their first five games that year, they gave up only 28 over the final nine games. At one point in the highlight reel, during a Steeler’s game at Giants Stadium, the camera panned the Pittsburgh sideline. Standing in the background was an individual wearing a blue windbreaker. He looked like most any of the Giant’s field personnel that day, except for one small difference: he had no Giants logo on his windbreaker. Instead, his jacket patch read, “The Fieldhouse, Batavia New York.” Guess who! Before moving to New Jersey two months earlier, I played for the Fieldhouse softball team, sponsored by Jim “Biggie” Pastore.

 I began working at the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority on August 16^th, 1976. From work I had a bird’s eye view of the New York City skyline. Not that I enjoyed it. I would have traded the skyscrapers in a heartbeat for a bird’s eye view of a corn field or a clump of cattails. I missed Genesee County and, among other things, driving the back roads between the small towns back home.

Working at the Meadowlands, however, did have its perks, one of which included being standby personnel during the Giants home games.  

 Notable Giants on the ‘76 team were journeymen players Larry Csonka and Craig Morton. The Giants roster also included two promising rookies in middle linebacker Harry Carson and defensive lineman Troy Archer. Sadly, Archer’s career was cut short in an automobile accident in June of ‘79.  Defensive lineman John Mendenhall, from Grambling, was a real down to earth nice guy, always taking the time to say hello. George Martin, another d-end, and Harry Carson were the only members of that team to play in the Giants first Super Bowl ten years later.       

Due to stadium construction, the ’76 home opener at Giants Stadium was pushed back to Sunday, October 10^th against the Dallas Cowboys. I was on the field several hours before kickoff, well before players came out for their warm up. The Hawthorne Caballero’s, the halftime band, were doing a final walk through. I was taking in the sights when Art McNally, the head of the NFL Officials, came up to me and made some small talk. It was a heady moment for a kid from Batavia.  

One of my assigned tasks that day was raising the net behind the west end zone goal posts during extra points. Though it was the opening day for Giants Stadium, there were several minor things that still needed tending to – one of them being the goal post nets. Less than an hour before kickoff the nets were not yet in place. So there I was, trying to toss a line connected to the net over a wire running from the goal post tops. I kept missing. You think the crowd is relentless when the players make a bad play? They don’t let up on maintenance personnel either. The fans seated around the tunnel entrance razzed me to no end. Thankfully, by the next game Pinkerton guards would handle the job of hauling up the nets.      

 At the start of the game I took up a position against the wall below the first row of seats. But those being the years of Dallas’ Doomsday Defense – Harvey Martin, Too Tall Jones, Randy White and company - I sidled toward the bench every chance I got. Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson led the offense behind all-pro tackle Rayfield Wright. The only Cowboy I had a chance to actually talk with during the game was reserve tight end, Jay Saldi.

During the course of the game I followed the action up and down the field. I had no problem from field officials or the chain gang. It was easy to blend in among scores of sideline photographers. While the action on the field was violent and intense, and one could virtually feel the impact of sideline collisions, the officials did a nice job of controlling the game. The same couldn’t be said for the crowd as there were moments – several in fact – when the behavior appeared much rowdier in the stadium seats. I guess the home fans felt they were entitled to break in the place the way they saw fit. Anyway, the final score was 24 – 10, Cowboys.

 Two weeks later the Pittsburgh Steelers came to town. Once again I was behind the visitor’s bench, this time gawking at the Steel Curtain. Jack Lambert, Mean Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Mel Blount and Jack Ham would all be named to the All NFL Defensive Team that year.  L.C. Greenwood was impressive, a towering human being amid the “Steel Curtain” defenders. I did find it odd that he wore high-top turf shoes the same shade as Guldens mustard.

The Steeler offense was equally star-studded with Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris and a great offensive line.  And while he didn’t accumulate big numbers, I need to mention   reserve running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua. He was the guy with the flashy wardrobe who had live goldfish swimming around in the heels of his platform shoes. The Steelers shut out the Giants that day, 27 – 0.

During my ten years at the Meadowlands the Giants made some changes. The drafting of Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor and the arrival of Western New Yorkers Phil McConkey and Jim Burt totally changed the team chemistry.

Phil Simms’ wife, Diana, was from Wyckoff, N.J. the town we resided in. Before long a toddling Chris Simms was one my wife’s daycare charges in our home. We followed Chris’ career from the University of Texas to Tampa Bay and now with  Tennessee where he is currently a backup on the Titans. As might be expected, we are Giant fans.  

Richard Dunlap, former treasurer for the Oakfield-Alabama Little League, was sentenced to five years in prison today, the Buffalo News reports. Dunlap was accused of stealing as much as $30,000 from the organization during his time as treasurer. He was then alleged to have used the money to purchase, among other things, child pornography.

From the Buffalo News:

A tearful Richard L. Dunlap, 40, of Batavia, apologized for his crimes but was immediately remanded to the custody of prison officials by the judge.

Federal agents said Dunlap stole thousands of dollars from the Oakfield-Alabama Little League Association and used the money to buy child porn, adult pornography, a family vacation to Florida and other items.

Dunlap, 40, of 9 Irving Parkway, Batavia, plead guilty last September to the possession of child pornography, according to a Daily News article from October. Dunlap had also been granted a plea bargain for the theft charges and was ordered to pay $5,559 in restitution, funds that Little League officials found arbitrary.