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Biggest Heavyweight Boxing Match in a Decade TONIGHT!

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The heavyweight boxing scene is seeing a resurgence, and tonight, Saturday December 1st it will reach a new peak on the comeback trail.

Being billed at “POWER and FURY” it features 2 of literally the biggest and undefeated boxers in the world.

In one corner:, the WBC champ, American  6 foot seven-inch, Deontay Wilder with 40 wins, zero losses, 39 knock outs.  In the other corner, 6 foot nine-inch , British boxing champ, Tyson Fury, with  27 wins, zero losses, 19 knockouts.

It is a true clash of the titans, and with both fighters being undefeated, somebody’s “O” has to go.

The first press conference promoting this fight showed both fighter hurling personal insults at each other in New York.  It look like with the name calling, some bad blood may be involved, besides pride and the legacy at stake,

CHECK OUT THE INTENSE PRESS CONFERENCE EARLIER THIS WEEK  – CLICK HERE

The fight will be held TONIGHT – December 1st, at the Los Angeles Staples Center, and can be seen at local cinemas and cable Pay Per View.  The fight will be the last one of a boxing card, and the main event should start approximately 11:30pm Eastern time tonight.

 

PLACES TO SEE THE FIGHT:

MOST RECENT STAREDOWN

THESE CINEMAS are showing the fight starting with the 9pm undercard for $25 per seat.
Dayton South 16 and XD
Huber Heights 16
Regal Fairfield Commons Stadium 20 & RPX
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT CINEMARK.COM or at the DOOR.

You can also purchase the fight through your local cable provider SHOWTIME PAY PER VIEW  for $74 or Stream live online on Showtime.com or in the SHOWTIME app on supported iOS, Apple TV (4th Gen), Fire TV or Android mobile devices

  • SHOWTIME subscription not required/included

 

The fight is a fascinating clash of 2 personalities – both undefeated.

TYSON FURY – “THE GYPSY KING” was born in Manchester, England in 1988 and named after boxing champ Mike Tyson. On Nov 28th, 2015, Fury knocked out longtime champ Wladimir Klitschko in a world heavyweight title showdown, for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, Lineal and The Ring heavyweight titles.  As a rematch was being set up, Fury failed a drug test in Sept. 2016. A month later he forfeited the titles due to the test results and sought help for depression.  He has never been beaten in the ring.

 

DEONTAY WILDER – “THE BRONZE BOMBER” His incredible knockout record speaks for itself.  He has 40 fights, 40 wins and 39 knockouts. Wilder is the current WBC Champ and was an Olympic Bronze Medalist.  He was born in Alabama 33 years ago.  He has 2 sons and 3 daughters, one of which has special needs do to spina bifida.   Although highly unknown in the USA, he is a slight favorite for the fight.  Wilder looks capture the nation’s attention and put Heavyweight Boxing back on the map.

 

 

TO THE WINNER GOES THE SPOILS:
The winner of the superfight is pretty much guaranteed another big payday versus ANTHONY JOSHUA.. a British born Nigerian who holds the other championship belts that Tyson Fury forfeited.  Joshua has an impressive record of 22-0 with 21 knockouts and is also a huge fighter at  6 foot 6 inches tall..  The winner of  the FURY – WILDER fight would be in line for this mega bout which will be a unification of the titles, meaning just one champion of the world.

If you get a chance to watch the fight at home on PPV or stream the fight, or even stream the fight. Remember, the undercard fights start at 9pm and the main event should start closer to midnight.’

 

Thanks for checking us out on Dayton Most Metro. Food Adventures is a food blog, but every once in a while we will write on an event with a different topic.

 

The winner of Fury-Wilder will most likely face this man, Anthony Joshua in a unification superfight for all of the belts.

FIGHT HYPE—— FURY and WILDER

This gets settled TONIGHT !

 

Boxing in Dayton – From Past History to Present “Knockout”

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On Saturday Night (February 25, 2012), 17 brave locals will enter the ring at historic Memorial Hall in Downtown Dayton to show the boxing skills they’ve learned over the past several weeks, months and even years of training at Drake’s Downtown Gym in the first Dayton Knockout V.I.P. Fight Night!  This highly-anticipated event is presented by AIDS Resource Center Ohio and Dayton History (in collaboration with Drake’s Downtown Gym) with proceeds benefiting these two excellent organizations.  Knockout Tickets are $15 advance/$20 door for General Admission, with limited $25 advance tickets available that include three drink tickets and admission to the Speakeasy Lounge AfterParty featuring Funky G and the Groove Machine.

Knockout V.I.P Fight Night is the first event in the Memorial Hall Theatre since Bill Cosby appeared there in 2001, and an opportunity for Daytonians to revisit the venue in which many big acts have performed over the past decades – not to mention some big boxing events in the early 1900’s.  Continue reading for an interesting look back at Dayton’s boxing legacy, and at the end of this article – a chance to win tickets for the Knockout V.I.P. Fight Night…

Dayton Is Far From Being Down For The Count


A Brief History Of Boxing In Dayton – By J.T. Ryder 

 

 Imagine yourself ascending the wide limestone steps of Memorial Hall in the early to mid 1900’s, with its godlike statuary flanking you and its French Renaissance façade looming before you. It would be easy to be timelessly transported to another era, one of arenas and sporting grounds strewn with the blood and sweat of athletic champions. Even through the thick, stone walls of the hall, you hear the pulsating roar of the crowd that has gathered here to witness yet another pugilistic match between two worthy contenders, a spectacle of violence that sways between splendor and civilized chaos.

As you enter the hall, the haziness of the cigarette and cigar smoke, coupled with the heat of the crowd, drifts through the glare of the primitive klieg lights, giving the hall a cavernous appearance, like a misty vision of Valhalla. The sounds of brutality and bloodshed echo and rebound off the shadowed walls. A sea of boaters, bowlers and fedoras move in an undulating wave as the staccato voice of the bout’s announcer breathlessly shouts out each blow in a stridently clipped voice. Spectators clench betting slips in their hands and cigars between their teeth as they bark out encouragement for their champion and profane epithets towards his challenger. Close up, the ring reveals two opponents, locked in a ballet of darting evasions and devastating blows. These two gloved gladiators are continually caught in the sharply contrasting light of the popping flashbulbs of the eager press’ phalanx Graflex, the photographer’s jockeying for a better position, chronicling the sportsmanlike spilling of blood and hoping to capture either the triumph of the reigning champ or the rise of a new title holder, imprisoning the moment in emulsion.

Gene Tunney & Jack Dempsey at Memorial Hall

There was a time when Daytonwas a Mecca for boxing. There were countless gyms focused on boxing that dotted the city. Individual boxing clubs sprouted up, creating cross town rivalries that defended their honor in the various rings and exhibitions throughout the city. The Dayton Gym Club loomed large within the local and national boxing community. In 1950, it was voted as one of the best fight clubs in the nation and was home to several of the local Golden Gloves teams. From the late 1890’s, nearly two dozen world champions fought at the gym and the World Welterweight title changed hands there when Honey Melody was knocked out in 15 rounds by Frank Mantell, November 1, 1907. Westwood Field was another location that saw it’s share of international boxing stars. On June 25th, 1917, Jack Britton lost his welterweight title to Kid Lewis and later on, in 1918, Jack Dempsey knocked out Terry Keller in five rounds at Westwood.

“Jones failed to display half the ability expected and many fans were highly disappointed with the showing of the Gorilla. The fight was really saved by the constant driving-in tactics of Williams who won seven on the twelve rounds, three being even, Gorilla taking the others.”– Wire Report from Dayton

Until the seating was elevated in the 1940’s, Memorial Hall was the premier site for the local boxing scene. On April 22nd, 1935, Joe Louis knocked out Biff Bennett during an exhibition match at Memorial Hall. During a fight with favored boxer Gorilla Jones on April 22nd, 1930 Tiger Roy Williams won in a twelve round decision at Memorial Hall. Many other boxer fought within the walls of Memorial Hall, including Manuel Castro, Jimmy Kelly, Danny Budd, Joe Glick, Mike Ballerino…the list goes on and on.

The city also spawned some national and international luminaries of the boxing world, including Joe Sekyra, the once top rated light-heavyweight and heavyweight boxer who later went on to train a Dayton Golden Gloves team. There was also the lightweight journeyman Eddie Brandt, who was also the former president of Old Time Boxers’ Club of Dayton. Sugar Costner, who was once the top ranked welterweight, beat Kid Gavilan and Ike Williams before losing to Jake LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson. Charles “Buddy” Knox was a heavyweight contender who also trained a Dayton Golden Gloves team. There was also world ranked featherweight Joe Marinelli who defeated two former world champs, Jimmy Perrin and Joey Archibald at Memorial Hall.

Chris Pearson

There are also some very well known boxers from the Dayton area (omitting Buster Douglas’ brief stay here in 1979 while he attended Sinclair Community College). First, there is Chris Pearson, who is actually from Trotwood, but close enough to be counted. Pearson has been labeled by many boxing aficionados as one of the best upcoming middleweight boxers and the one to watch. This south-paw has been a U.S. National Amateur Middleweight Champion gold medalist, a 2-time Silver Gloves Champ, a 4-time Jr. Golden Gloves Champ, an 8-time State Fair Champ, a Jr. Olympic Bronze Medalist, the Ringside World Champion and the National PAL Champion as well as the 2009 Police Athletic League national champion. In his short, burgeoning career, he has beaten four former Olympians (including Brazil’s Yamaguichi Florentino, a veteran of 151 fights) and Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan, who was the 2008 Beijing Games welterweight gold medalist.

There is also Michael Evans, born July 22nd, 1977 and raised part of the time at his grandma’s apartment in Dayton’s Arlington Court housing project. Through a childhood altercation that led to fisticuffs, Evans got noticed and groomed by the local boxing community. He went on to become a national Police Athletic League champion, held two Junior Olympic titles, won a bronze medal at the Goodwill Games before going on to become the 2005 Golden Gloves champion. This led to him becoming a captain of the Team USA boxing squad, fighting bouts in China, Hungary, Ireland, England (including his sell out event against British Olympian Amir Khan at Liverpool’s famed Olympia ballroom), Japan, Thailand, Germany and all across America, including Madison Square Garden. Shortly before he was to lead Team USA into Russia, Evans was busted for selling crack cocaine to an undercover officer, drawing himself a four year stint at London Correctional Institute.

Next – Dayton native Ron Lyle. Continue reading…

2012 NCAA March Madness in Dayton, OH

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The Road to the Final Four® begins in Dayton, Ohio, with the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship First Four® games on March 13 and 14 at the University of Dayton Arena. As part of the festivities around the event, the Dayton Local Organizing Committee for the First Four is proud to announce the inaugural NCAA First Four Festival – Dayton on March 11 in Dayton’s Historic Oregon District.

“The University of Dayton Arena is one of the most respected venues in all of college basketball and we look forward to kicking off March Madness with a huge Selection Sunday Celebration” – Greg Shaheen, NCAA interim executive vice president of championships and alliances.

The University of Dayton has hosted the start of the Division I men’s basketball championship each year since 2001, having hosted a single opening-round game from 2001-10. After the tournament expanded prior to the 2011 championship, Dayton was selected to host the inaugural First Four, consisting of four first-round games played over two days. The University of Dayton Arena, which has hosted more NCAA Division I men’s tournament games than any other arena in the country, will host the First Four next month and again in 2013, when it also will host second- and third-round games of the championship. Local fans have helped the University of Dayton regularly rank among the top 30 nationally in Division I men’s basketball attendance.

On Selection Sunday, March 11, thousands will flock to Dayton’s Historic Oregon District for the NCAA First Four Festival – Dayton to kick off the Division I men’s basketball championship. This all-day, free event begins at noon and will feature family activities, a First-4-Miler fun run, food, beverages, large-screen televisions for watching conference tournament championship games leading up to the selection show, live music and educational displays featuring the latest in Air Force technology. The region is the birthplace of aviation and is the home to Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Heated tents and the ability to go in to one of your favorite Oregon District Businesses, who are all gearing up to make this an event you won’t want to miss, are examples of how the weather won’t impact the day’s events.

“Participating with the NCAA during the First Four allows the Air Force to communicate the unique contributions we bring to national security” – Lt General Thomas J. Owen, Commander, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Purchase your First Four® game tickets at www.NCAA.com/mbbtickets or www.daytonflyers.com or call TicketMaster at 1-800-745-3000. Learn more about the NCAA First Four Festival – Dayton at www.NCAA.com/firstfourdayton.

(from the Dayton Local Organizing Committee for the First Four)

“Road to the Pro’s- From the Locker Room to the Main Stage.”

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The Journey: The journey to become a professional athlete is not necessarily a straight and narrow one. Few are called and even fewer are chosen. The road less traveled is often the key to success in this game. Hard work, strong ethics, character, and charisma on the court combine for an explosive combination to rise above the competition.

The Triumphs: Test and trials in life are designed to make us stronger. We must be iron like, unable to be penetrated, standing firm and able to hold up against intense heat and pressure. Even setbacks can be the predecessor of major comebacks. One must remain as tough as steel and remember what brings us closest to our breaking point is what will be the motivation to see us through the eye of a troubling storm.

Passion: Passion is what pushes us through the hard times, reminds you of the great times, keeps you focused on making the most of your time and allows you to remain optimistic that the best times are yet to come. Passion oozes from the very guts of a champion; their potential is actualized through the blood sweat and tears it took to make it to the “Main Stage.”

For a champion, making it to the “Main Stage” is never enough. A true victor pushes past expectancy to clinch a championship title, hence making it official that all their hopes, dreams, goals, and affirmations have materialized in spite of the mayhem it took to arrive at that very moment.

The Article series, “Road to the Pro’s- From the Locker Room to the Main Stage,” is a collection of stories from pro athletes, coaches, scouts, pro hopefuls and others surrounded by the game of professional basketball, who will share stories that unveil the good, bad, ugly and the indifferent sides of what it takes to succeed on the professional level. Some of the individuals featured in the Road to the Pro’s series are Micheal Ray Richardson, former NBA New York Knick and New Jersey Net, Mickey Perry, former University of Dayton Flyer and pro hopeful, Sid Sharma, Bio Mechanical Engineer and Personal Trainer to Advanced Athletes as well as more surprise guest to come.

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Silverbacks Saturday at Hara Arena

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The Dayton Silverbacks were off to a banging start with wide receiver Melvin Bryant scoring within the opening minutes of the game for an early 7-0 lead; however, the Indianapolis Enforcers came charging back in an attempt to even the score as both teams put up points early in the first quarter.

In spite of the Enforcers attempts to rally back, it was clear the first half belonged to the Silverbacks. Even after receiving two consecutive penalties that would cost the Silverbacks 30 yards, they were able to tack on six more points off a fumble recovery as Defensive Back Neimiah Simons galloped through the goal line.

The Silverbacks led at the half 39-6

Silverbacks started the second half strong, scoring an early safety by Defensive Lineman, Shawn Stewart. Wide Receiver Marque Jones scored the first touchdown of the half to extend the Silverbacks slaughter 47-6.

Running Back, Ronald Russell, rushed for 39 yards and scored two touchdowns, which was the total number of yards the Silverbacks held the Enforcers to for the evening.

The Enforcers proved to be no match for the Dayton Silverbacks, as they finished with a final score of 75-6.

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Silverbacks Season Opener at Hara Arena a Smashing Success

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Dayton SilverbacksThe Dayton Silverbacks where off to a smashing start in their season opener at Hara Arena against the Indianapolis Enforcers, Saturday March 5, 2011. This was also the Silverbacks first game at their new Hara Arena field since moving from Hobart Arena in Troy, OH after three seasons. (see opening game photos here and watch game video at the bottom of this post)

The Dayton Silverbacks are the longest running Professional Indoor Football team in the Midwest and have been a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) for the past five years.

The fast pace, high impact, arena style football is sure to keep you on your toes and fully engaged with nonstop action from beginning to end.

Dayton Silverbacks Cheerleader - Natasha Yoho

Natasha Yoho

Natasha Yoho, thirteen year veteran cheerleader, is in her first season with the Silverbacks and could not be happier. Natasha stated, “I am very excited to cheer for the Silverbacks. It’s a new team for me and we [Silverbabes] practice seven hours a week to make sure we are bringing lots of energy and smiles to the fans. We love interacting with them and pumping up the crowd for the team.” The Silverbabes sponsored the raffle prizes, halftime games and activities for the Silverbacks for Saturday night’s game.

Jeff Kolaczkowski, President and Owner of Dayton Silverbacks stated, “The move from Troy to Dayton was a positive one, because it moved a lot of the players closer to their families and we expect to draw larger crowds since there will be less of a commute to see them play.”

Jeff added, “Tonight’s crowd turnout was a bit disappointing, but we will be increasing our marketing efforts to change that around. We are still working out some of the kinks with the move, but tonight was a great game, because whenever you win it’s a good game.” The Silverbacks led the Enforcers 50-13 at the half.

Although the Silverbacks maintained a marginal lead throughout the game, they had a quiet second half until late in the fourth quarter with six minutes and fourteen seconds to go in regulation. Wide Receiver, Marcus Fails, scored a touchdown to get the fans standing to their feet and cheering once again.

Dayton Silverbacks Wide Receiver - Daniel Stover

WR Daniel Stover

All five Wide Receivers for the Silverbacks scored at least one touchdown in the game. Kicker Jeff Hubbard opened the second half of the game with a seamless 21 yard field goal, Defensive Back, Chris Respress had two interceptions, and player of the game and Wide Receiver Daniel Stover scored three touchdowns to crush the Enforcers 69-19.

Stover stated, “We have been working hard and it’s real easy to get open with good players. Everything worked out, no one stood out, and there are no weak links in our chain. Our chain is stronger than ever. The common denominator of this team is that we all want to win.”

Silverbacks Wide Receiver, Mike Brown, who sat out in the season opener due to injury added, “This team has made a complete 180 and I can’t wait to get back out there. Our offense put up points bottom line. Our defense held their offense to less than 20 points and that was a complete team effort.”

Brown is hopeful that he will be well enough to play by next home game.

Dayton Silverbacks Coach Shepard

Coach Shepard

Coach Derrick Shepard, who is in his third season with the Silverbacks, is pleased with the win and the energy of the team; however, Shepard believes there is room for improvement from the players. Shepard commented, “Good job to all that put up points, but we all have room for improvement. A whole bunch of little ME’s makes one big team.”

When Shepard was asked what he expected from the Silverbacks this season he stated, “I expect to go all the way. Every coach would love to go all the way. Realistically, I would like them to walk away being a better player. If they become better players, then it was a successful season and I would be happy with that.”

Kevin Bukvik, Marketing and Community Representative for the Silverbacks, speaks to their community outreach efforts off the field by stating, “When I first came on board with the Silverbacks, I did not know if the guy’s egos would be a problem. But when I was first asked by the players when would we be going out to the schools to read to the kids, I realized there was not a whole lot of convincing I had to do. I guess they just get it. They are an awesome group of guys and are so down to earth. I love working with them.”

You can catch the Dayton Silverbacks in action at their next home game at Hara Arena as they square off against the Cincinnati Commandos Saturday April 2nd at 7:30 pm. For more information on how to obtain tickets visit www.silverbacksfootball.com or call 937-425-8050.

New Minor League Basketball Team Looking to Shoot Down Competition

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There may not be a new sheriff in town, but there is definitely a new professional basketball team in our midst, the Dayton Air Strikers, a Premier Basketball League (PBL) team.  The Air Strikers may be new to the Dayton-area and the PBL, but are looking to fly high in their first season.

The Air Strikers have been in existence for about three months and despite a 2-9 start the team is optimistic it can turn its season around.

Don Allen Sellers, Head Coach and General Manager for the Air Strikers, believes that he has a great group of talented men and makes it clear that he will not make any excuses for their slow start this season.

Don Allen Sellers

Sellers stated, “I want people to know the Premier Basketball League that we [Dayton Air Strikers] are a part of is not a semi-pro basketball league, it’s a professional basketball league. If you compared it to baseball it would be the Double-A of the Minor Leagues. These men are professionals and they get paid to play and I expect them to play as such. In spite of personnel changes and being a new team I won’t make any excuses for our guys. We have the talent. We just need to play like we have it.”

Sellers is a former NBA scout for the Memphis Grizzles and has coached overseas in developmental leagues, including ones in China, Dubai and Lebanon. Don brings tenure and tenacity to the Dayton Air Striker team.

Phillip "Mickey" Perry

University of Dayton graduate and 2010 NIT Championship winner Mickey Perry is among the talent Sellers speaks so passionately about. Perry, a guard for the Air Strikers, averages 11.5 points per game, shooting 41.3 percent from behind the arc and 71.4 percent from behind the free throw line according to the most recent PBL statistics.

Mickey added, “Even though we have lost some tough games, we are getting better every day. We just have to make sure we show up to play every night. It’s been hard with the constant shuffling of players and it makes it kind of hard to come together as a team, but I still won’t make any excuses. We just have to get out there and go hard.”

The PBL was formed in 2008 as a developmental basketball league and gained momentum in its first season, while TV Basketball Analyst Kenny Smith was Commissioner. The PBL is presently comprised of nine teams from Canada and the United States.

Air Striker games take place at Fairmont High School’s James S. Trent Arena in Kettering, Ohio. Be sure to support the Air Strikers as they take on Kentucky’s Bluegrass Stallions on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 7pm at Trent Arena.

For ticket information, schedule, team appearances, game stats and more, visit their website www.daytonairstrikers.com or contact them 937-410-4694.

Arenacross Comes To Dayton – Win Free Tickets

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High intensity, bar-to-bar dirt-bike racing at its finest is coming to Dayton as the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series brings some heat during the Winter season with its annual visit to the Ervin J. Nutter Center on Saturday, January 22. Tickets for Round 3 of the world’s most intimate form of racing are on sale now at TicketMaster.com and the Nutter Center box office.  (special DaytonMostMetro.com ticket promotion info at the end of this article)

Hundreds of the best Arenacross riders from around the globe will compete for their chance to be one of just 32 riders to make a pair of 16-rider main events in the AMA Arenacross and AMA Arenacross Lites classes. The national series travels throughout the country to several of the most renowned arenas in the United States, bringing in 150 truckloads of dirt to sculpt a man made dirt battleground. Technical obstacles, close competition and impressive airtime combine to create one of the most unique spectacles in the sporting world.

Anything can and does happen in Arenacross and the man left standing atop the podium at the end of the night with the coveted trophy will have earned his prize. The defending champion Babbitt’s Monster Energy/TiLube Kawasaki team and riders Chad Johnson, Tyler Bowers and Gray Davenport lead a highly-talented group of riders hungry to claim the prestigious national AMA Arenacross Series title.

Last season in Dayton, 2008 AMA Arenacross Series champion Chad Johnson captured his second win of the season for Babbitt’s Kawasaki. The win helped the two-time series champion stay within striking distance of his teammate and eventual champion Josh Demuth as the battle for the championship came down to the wire.

The AMA Arenacross Series is fun for the whole family! The always popular track walk and post-race autograph session gives an opportunity for fans of all ages to get up close and personal with the stars of Arenacross and get the a coveted autograph from some of the best riders in the world.

A limited number of Gold Circle seating is available. Kid’s seats are just $8 (excluding Gold Circle)! Adults admission starts at just $20! Tickets are available at the Nutter Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, and by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Tickets for all rounds of the 2011 season can be purchased by clicking here.  And for a DaytonMostMetro.com $4 discount, enter the promo code MMETRO.  (Restrictions: Not valid on Gold Circle seats; limit 4 per transaction; valid on the Sat, JAN.22, 7:30pm performance only)

OR…

WIN FREE TICKETS HERE ON DAYTONMOSTMETRO.COM!

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series at the Nutter Center, simply click the Facebook Like button to share this article with your FB friends, fill out the form below and leave a comment.  We’ll announce 10 winners this coming weekend.

Note – we will not share this info nor make it public.  We need your address so we can mail you tickets if you win, and you wont’ receive anything else from us – because hey, postage is expensive these days and we’d rather you just join our FB page!

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Through Conquests And Crusades…To Chunkin’

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Talking Trébuchets With Dayton’s Own American Chuckers

Regardless of one’s own opinion on violence, weapons of war often bring about a sense of awe just with their cunningly destructive force. One of the weapons of war that never fails to fascinate is the trébuchet, a mechanical siege engine dating back, in a less sophisticated form, to the 5th century B.C. The trébuchet, through the aid of engineering, became fearsome engines of war, growing larger, delivering a more devastatingly larger payload with more range and accuracy, playing a pivotal role during both Crusades and then all the way into the late 1400’s. With the advent of gunpowder, the trébuchet faded away as a weapon of war, its last known use being in 1521 during a siege of an Aztec capital. The first shot, however, managed to do nothing more than to fling the payload high into the air…until gravity took over, sending the payload plummeting straight down, destroying the trébuchet itself.

This is an illustrative point about how much mechanical engineering and applied mathematics are needed to not only manufacture the siege machine, but to fine-tune the trajectory so that you don’t create a scenario that looks as if it was intended for a Warner Bros. cartoon. In recent years, trébuchets have been used more for recreational purposes, flinging anything from flaming pianos to small cars far afield for the amusement of onlookers.

The premier event for this spectator sport is the Punkin’ Chunkin’ World Championships hosted by the World Championship Punkin’ Chunkin’ Association (WCPCA) and has been held in Bridgeville, Delaware since 1986. The WPCA is a nonprofit organization which raises money for scholarships and charitable organizations through this event. They break the machines up into categories, including air cannons, centrifugals, catapults and trébuchets. I was able to speak recently with Patrick Imlay, the team captain of Dayton’s own American Chucker. The first thing I asked him was about the design of Team American Chucker’s trebuchet, which did not follow the mechanics of a historical trebuchet.

“It’s called a floating arm trebuchet, so the weight comes straight down and the arm actually rolls across a rail to make the arm go forward.” Patrick went on to describe the engineering principles and physics behind the machine. “If the weight falls in a straight line, that gives you more efficiency. If a weight swings along an arc, like a traditional trébuchet, that is less efficient. So, the higher the weight falls, the more energy you get out of the weight and the straighter the weight falls, the more energy you’ll get. With our machine, what it is doing is accelerating at about 9.8 meters per second squared and from the time it’s released, it’s accelerating downward, so the higher we can get it, the more acceleration and velocity we will get and the more energy we will have to throw with.”

Even though I flunked remedial math in high school, I was fascinated with the physics behind what most would be happy to view as a devastatingly ass kickin’ machine. Imaly stated that some of the refitting that they were doing on the trébuchet for this year’s competition dealt with increasing the weight and reinforcing the machine to be able to withstand the aforementioned weight.

“What the weight does is, the bigger the arm is, if there is more weight, it helps the arm turn the corner without slowing down. More weight creates more momentum, which means that as you try to turn a heavier, longer arm, with more weight you will turn it equally as fast. There’s a certain point where, if you have enough weight, you’ll turn that corner regardless of the size of the arm. There’s a trade off between the amount of weight you lift up and the structure that it’s going to take to lift all that weight, and the structure that you want to have in place to handle all of that weight that is falling.” As an example, Imlay then explained, “So, if you put 30,000 lbs fifty feet up in the air and drop it, your system has to be able to handle all of that force or you have to transfer all that force to the pumpkin. If you have a misfire, you have 30,000 lbs of weight coming down onto something. Most of what we do to tune the machine is to keep it light and efficient.”

All this talk gave me the urge to take my silverware and make a makeshift trébuchet to launch some chicken wings onto that table over by the door. You know, the one with the guy talking annoyingly loud on his cell phone. In fact, I have had fleeting dreams of building a trébuchet for home use. I have fantasized about being able to launch my lawn clippings several blocks over with the hopes of making a bulls-eye onto that guy’s house who lets his dog crap in my yard.

Okay, back to the competition. The Punkin’ Chunkin’ World Championships has become a big thing in the last ten to fifteen years, gaining more attention and coverage form the media outlets. The Science Channel has even dedicated a whole show to the competition, which airs on Thanksgiving. As the attention has increased, so has the level of competition.

“Right! Just in one class there were eighteen machines and there were easily sixty machines out there at that contest. The first day last year (2009), they barely got all the competitors done. It went all morning, through the day until dark.” Imlay added that, “The second and third day went pretty quick about having the next team ready and putting them on the clock. They put you on the clock and then you have to fire within that window, then they measure the throw…their pretty methodical about structure of going down the line.”

In 2009, American Chucker entered the competition for the first time and managed to walk away with second place. With each competitor allowed to have three throws, after which the distance is measured and recorded. American Chucker’s throws were relatively consistent, being 1,427.28 ft, 1,424.27 ft and 1,885.99 ft. In contrast, the first place winner, Yankee Siege’s numbers were rather erratic, which were 1,298.16 ft., 1,869.32 ft. and it’s winning throw of 2,034.21 ft. Imlay explained to me the reason for Yankee Siege’s inconsistent throws.

“It’s weight is called a hinged swinging weight, so there’s a fixed pivot point and then the weight basket is hinged so that it can drop farther, but in the end, when you watch the machine throw, it continues with this violent rocking and that is all the energy that is left in that machine while, with our machine, the load comes straight down and kind of bounces once and that is all the energy that is left.” Imlay went on to say that, “Because of the way Yankee Siege is built and how inefficient it is, they end up dropping a lot of weight…twelve tons of weight…and they end up with a lot of left over energy in the machine which means that the whole machine has to be bigger and stronger so that the weight doesn’t break it.”

Since our conversation had been almost exclusively focused on the physics of punkin’ chunkin’, I decided to ask a more personal question to end out interview: Had Imlay ever thought about duct taping a co-worker, family member or friend up and launching them form the American Chucker?

“No.” he said, then after a moment of thought added, “Maybe some of the people on the team have thought about doing that to me.”

Even though the 2010 Punkin’ Chunkin’ World Championships are already over, I will not reveal the results. This will not stop me, however, from making sucker bets with my family on Thanksgiving Day while we watch the program on the Science Channel at 8:00 pm, which will be hosted by Jamie and Adam from the Mythbusters.

Dayton Sports Weekly Upate: 7/20/2010

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Sorry for the late post today.  Yesterday was exhausting and since I have a job I have to worry about during the day (I gotta sleep sometime!), it was the earliest I could make it.  So much happening around Dayton, it’s exciting.  The summer is only half way finished but my mind is already wandering to fall.  Maybe yours will too after today.

Well, I don’t want to do this anymore than anyone wants to hear it but the Dragons are slipping further into futility by dropping another 5 games in a row this last week, with their only win being last night, and results from today not currently available at the time of this writing.  The Dragons have dropped to second to last in the Eastern Division with a win pct of just .413, making them 4th from the bottom in the entire league.  At this point it’s hard to argue exactly what it is that is going wrong for the Dragons but as I’ve mentioned in the last few weeks, it simply looks like they cannot close a game.  There are few blow outs ever suffered here, and Dayton has, at the very least remained competitive through their summer struggles, but a close loss is not a win.  Seeing them lose such close games, the Dragons could easily be in a much different position at this point.  If you take the amount of games that the Dragons have lost by just one run since the beginning of June, they would have an extra 12 wins, and be above .500.  I know that’s a lot of conjecture, but as I said before, they have not been losing in blow outs, but struggling to finish good games, many of those going into extra innings I might add.  Here is hoping they figure out how to right the ship, if only to avoid falling into the basement at this point.

Hey, a bit of exciting news for the Gems, they are plugging along nicely as the season edges closer and closer to starting. First up, they announced that they have signed a two year deal with local TV station WWRD to air up to 20 regular season Gems games over the next two years. This is going to be great opportunity for the team that seemed to struggle a bit with getting it’s name recognized by the city’s patrons. Even the Dayton Daily failed to add a Gems header to it’s sports section for all of last year. This can only bring more attention a team that by all accounts deserves it.

The CHL also finalized it’s conference alignment with the affiliated IHL, splitting into a North and South conference. (names for these conferences are expected to change.) Dayton will be playing in the North conference with the remainders of the IHL (including the newly reformed Evansville Icemen), and include the following CHL teams: Colorado Eagles, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush and Wichita Thunder. The South will include the remaining CHL teams. Dayton will officially start this upcoming season home opener on October 16th. Playoff format was also announced, with 16 of the 18 teams qualifying for the playoffs. Each team will be seeded 1-8, with #1 playing #8, #2 playing #7 etc. Conference champions will expect to have new trophies, and conference champions will play for the League title.

The Gems have also announced the return of 7 players from last season’s roster. I am not going to go into too much depth there, but you can read about them here. A good bunch of players to have back if you ask me personally, a great way to start off the team.

Lots of great stuff happening here which is good to hear. I am sure there will be plenty of news coming out of the Gem’s organization in the coming months.

oh I wanted to add this to the post, so people can see how much larger the Gem’s world has gotten this year. The divisions aren’t noted here but I found it online and thought it would be a good representation of the Gem’s new affiliate league.

The Dutch Lions are almost done for this season. Has it really been that long already?  The Summer is winding down, and the Lions stand at an unfortunate 4th place. Their trip into Canada the other week really hurt, but that hasn’t kept the good news from rolling in. This last weekend Dayton played their last home game against the Kalamazoo Outrage and decimated them with a 6-1 victory. The Lions staggeringly out shot Kzoo 29 to 5. The whole amazing thing can be read here, what a way to finish their season in Dayton!
The Lions have one more game this weekend against the Chicago Fire and a win would be a great way to go out on the season but unfortunately should not change their current standings. Some other good news, both the Columbus Crew and Toronto FC have been keeping an eye on Dutch Lions players over the last few weeks. We could have our first MLS grads before too long, a tribute to the sensible skills and play style that the DDLFC has introduced state side.

Pretty soon there won’t be much to talk about with the Lions but as the news filters in, I’ll relay what I can.

So there wasn’t anything I could really find for Wright State, not even for club teams, which I’m keeping an eye on coming up here. I’ll try to get some football and hockey info in the coming months, and hope to see some more news regarding other college sports.

I do have an overlooked schedule release for the Wright State Soccer team, which might be of some interest to those looking to extend a possible Dutch Lions fix. Although Wright State’s season last year was not as prominent as several others in their recent past, don’t under estimate the Raider’s ability, tickets are only $5.00, how can you lose?

UD’s James Vercammen has been named on the preseason Buchanan award watch list. The Buchanan Award is given to the FCS’s national defensive player of the year. Since it’s introduction as an award in 1995, 9 of 16 recipients have gone on to play for the NFL. Vercammen headed the tough Dayton defense for 2009 that finished top in the Pioneer League. Making 134 total tackles set an new PFL record for tackles in a single season, outpacing the old record by 25 tackles, and earned him the honor of third best record in the entire FCS. Vercammen finished last year as Second Team FCS All-American and First Team All-PFL.

Sorry to see the Dutch Lions season drawing to a close? The UD Flyers announced their upcoming soccer schedule which will start Friday August 20thagainst Butler at Baujan Field. The Flyers, who were Atlantic 10 champions last season will have eight matches at home during the fall, and admission is free to all regular season games at Baujan. Soccer is truly becoming a power sport in the Dayton area, and an overlooked one at that. With professional soccer finishing up it’s first season in our fair city, perhaps it’s time to give the teams that have been here for a long time the credit they deserve. You won’t be sorry you go see a match at either University but go see one at least.

Goodnight everybody, have a safe week, and even though the Dragons are the only team playing in town for the next couple of weeks, start savings those lungs too cheer on your favorites this August.

Dayton Sports Weekly Update: 7/12/2010

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Woah, so clearly there is a gap in your brief sports news on DaytonMostMetro.com from last week.  What can I say?  The holidays got to me, and that amount of alcohol and fireworks makes for an uncooperative writing mood.  Besides, unless you wanted to read more about how the Dragons are stinking things up, you didn’t miss much.  This LAST week was the money week here in Dayton so thank God I’m here to tell you!  Unless you read it somewhere else first….  Here we go!

Ok ok don’t get all bent out of shape the Dragons didn’t do so bad over the last TWO weeks…  They managed to even themselves out with a really great run this last week but trust me when I say the week of the 4th was best left forgotten.  Also, I apologize but I’m not going to run down the 14 games I missed, so lets consider this another review on the fly week.  They started out great!  But a win against Fort Wayne was dashed away by dropping the other two games in that series, and what a shocker, both of them were by one run.  They continued the weekend of the 4th with another 3 straight losses to the Great Lakes Loons. That is 5 in a row, even for a team on a destined collision course with rock bottom, that can be hard to swallow.

But all was not lost!  In the ever blackening void that the team was traveling down, they found a light, an illumination, a 2 story glowing neon sign saying “Win a Game, second exit on the left.”  Heeding those wise directions, they slammed on the breaks, did a big U-ie  and hit the road for 6 straight wins, snagging two straight series from West Michigan and Bowling Green.  Ok West Michigan is practically the worst team in the league, but we don’t have much room to talk right now do we?  A win is a win after all, and the fresh air on the open road must have done the boys well because 4 of those games were even won by 2 or more runs.   Ahh, but something about heading back into the balmy Miami Valley must have staggered them, because 2 more losses against the Loons this weekend stopped them short.  (why have they played them the last 3 weeks in a row anyway?)  Oh well, you can’t win them all as they say, but I am pretty sure that now marks the Dragon’s longest win streak this year.

First news on the block for the Gems.  I had mentioned two weeks ago that they had delayed an expected press conference until an undisclosed date.  That date turned out to be last Wednesday.  At this conference the Gems finally announced their new Head Coach and General Manager, Brian Gratz. This is good news!  Sort of.. I mean, as near as I can figure… from what you can tell from the guy….  Let’s say he doesn’t have a huge record to work with.  Yes the Gems have definitely hired some young blood here, and some might consider it a gamble.  The Gems were not exactly the league sensation that I think ownership were perhaps hoping for in their first season back.  Their attendance was worst in the league (as was their record) and no amount of seriously cheap tickets or ridiculously cheap beer could seem to draw the crowds out to Hara.  The solution seems pretty obvious, namely, win more games.

So can this guy win more games?  It sure as hell looks like it on the surface.  His college career with Penn State is fairly distinguished, winning four American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Championships as a goaltender, after which he went up to the minors playing for a variety of teams over the next 5 years, but had pretty limited play time.  He has had two years under his belt as a professional hockey coach.  His stats certainly don’t lie, with two winning seasons, (the second a little worse than the first) but any winning season is better than what the Gems dealt with last year, so he won’t have to soar high, just get this bird off the ground.  If anyone asks where he was last year, I have heard he was coaching JV hockey at Penn State, but don’t quote me on that.

Are the Gems doing the right thing?  I can’t say.  Hiring someone young to take the reigns might be exactly what the team needs, hell what the City of Dayton needs, and there is always a possibility it won’t work out, but give the guy a chance to work  his skills and see what he can do.  He’s never coached at this level before, so hopefully the management up top will give him more than a year to prove his stuff.  Welcome to Dayton Coach Grantz, we’re waiting in anticipation.

On a final note.  The Gems are changing their jerseys next year to reflect a little bit more with their classics from back in the day.  Personally I was a big fan of the new ones… Not sure really how I feel about these, and I would have preferred to see them bust out some real throwback jerseys a few times a year instead of completely changing their look after one season.  Still, you be the judge..  No seriously, you can go vote on which one you like most but only until this Wednesday, so get crackin’.

Ok, so there have been quite a few games for the Dutch Lions as well so instead of going over a game by game, I’ll let you know how they fared and where they stand at the moment.  The Lions played the Michigan Bucks two weeks that brought them a 2-1 victory, and was followed up this last weekend with two losses in Canada, ouch.  First a failed comeback attempt resulted in a 2-1 loss against Forest City and on Sunday, a 2-0 loss left the Dutch Lions with no points for the week, and dropped them down to 3rd place in the league with only two games remaining.  Their last home game is this upcoming Saturday at 1:00pm.  Go watch them if you haven’t yet this year!

Up next is great news for the Lions.  Last week they held a press conference to announce that Dayton has been promoted to the USL Championship League (formerly USL-2).  In addition the Lions announced they will be creating a new women’s team to compete next year in the USL W-League.  This is a pretty amazing jump after only a single year of play, but clearly the Lions administration has a specific goal in mind for their organization and the USL must clearly see them as an asset.  The Lions will no longer be playing regional teams in a separate division of the PDL, but six seasoned teams from in the Northeastern region of the US.  This will be more challenging play for the Lions, but it will help in just about every aspect of the program including exposure, attendance, increased skill level, etc.  The Lions are on their way to create true major league athletes that could end up playing across the globe.

Did I hear rumors of them considering construction of their own stadium?  Ehh, I can’t back that up, but bring it on guys!

On a brief note to the Dutch Lion’s brothers who played in the World Cup Championship yesterday, my condolences.  It was a very hard fought game, with yellow cards flying every where and more flopping players than should respectfully appear on world-wide television.  Both teams were playing pretty….. strongly, and though I lament the loss to Spain for our adopted Netherlands, at least they didn’t win the game off of a dirty free kick call after tripping over their own feet and falling to the ground in the most unconvincing display of pain ever televised…  They set up a good run and made a good shot, end of story.

A quick note here, Cassandra Lloyd has been selected as the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Female Co-Athlete of the Year.  The first time for a Wright State athlete as I understand it.

I’ve mentioned the last few weeks about Wright State baseball athletes picked up by professional teams, so I wanted to take the time to note that  Cole Tyrell, a former Flyer who was selected in the 2010 draft by the San Diego Padres, has been promoted to their Single A club, the Eugene Emeralds, congrats, Cole, best of luck out there.

Football season is fast approaching, and Phil Steel’s College Football Preview has recognized seven Flyers to be on it’s pre-season All-Pioneer team.  Since I’m completely uneducated in Flyer’s football, I guess I had better start doing some reading before September gets here shouldn’t I?  Phew, there is going to be a lot to keep up with when college lets back in, isn’t there?

Well, I’m out, we’ll be back next week with more tidbits and updates on your favorite local sports, and until then, go watch a game in Dayton!

Dayton Sports Weekly Update: 6/28/2010

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Week four at the Weekly Update!  That seems like a milestone for me that I should probably write down somewhere.  Hope a couple of you went out and saw a game this last weekend despite the insane heat again.  Here we go.

Ouch, The Dragons had a rough weekend away from home against the Lansing Lugnuts.  They fought some hard games but alas were swept in the series.  This will make the third time this year that the Dragons have lost every game in a series against Lansing.  The only time they have been successful was actually their very first series of the year in which they swept Lansing.  The first game of the series on Friday was a 7-6 loss.  I’ve mentioned the last three weeks that Dayton’s losses frequently have been very close, usually coming by one run which can be difficult for a struggling team.  Out of the Dragon’s last 9 losses including this weekend, 6 of them have been by one run, one was by two and the other was by 4 back against Beloit earlier this month.  Of  course the other one was the Saturday game which was lost 4-1.  That’s not to say there wasn’t a fight, in fact, Friday and Sunday’s (a 5-4 loss) games were both taken into extra inning, and both time the Dragons fell short in the 11th.  I’ll spare you any of the details this week unless you’d like to go read the game wrap ups, but let’s just say there isn’t a lot of great news there right now.

The Dragons have got to show up against Fort Wayne early this week.  They just finished a series with them, all three games were decided by one run (1 win 2 losses) and that little bit of extra effort needs to show here or else this downward spiral might continue.  On the plus side, this weekend during City Folk, they will be home against the Great Lakes Loons again.  Despite the Loon’s great away win record, Dayton has had great luck against them all year.  Let’s hope they can keep it up.

UPDATE: 6/30/2010 Well apparently the Gems press conference was cancelled, stating “unforseen circumstances” as the cause. Your guess is as good as mine as to what this means. It could be someone couldn’t make it today, or it could mean something really big has happened, but we’ll let you know if anything comes up.

Hey guess what?  New head coach to be announced this Wednesday, June 30th.  Bout darn time right?  Check back here for an update on that on Wednesday.  There is also some interesting news involving an 18th team to the new CHL this year.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that two IHL teams would not be making the transfer over as a result of various problems, (Port Huron Icehawks and the Muskegon Lumberjacks)  As it turns out the single -A hockey team in Evansville has purchased the team and transferred them play for their own Icemen.  This means that Evansville will now be playing in the IHL, from the AAHL (getting confused yet?) and we have already mentioned that the IHL and CHL will be tenatively merging before the start of next season SO..  Muskegon will be with the new league in a sense, combine… sort of…, with the already existing Evansville Icemen.

Remember to check back, hopefully we’ll have some news on the Gems’ new coach

The Dayton Dutch Lions managed another loss-less week which included a tie against the Cincinnati Kings and a win against League leader, the Chicago Fire.  The only thing keeping The Lions out of first place right now is the amount of ties they have had.  Although this is definitely better than having a bunch of losses, you can see the main difference between the Fire and the Lions are the Fire’s two extra wins.  Even though they actually have 3 losses to the Lion’s 1, those wins make all the difference in the long run.  Still, the win against Chicago has put Dayton back within two points of the lead, which on the flip side makes having only 1 loss so important.

The Lions were in a prime position to have the lead in the League this week as a matter of fact, as they played a commanding game against Cincinnati.  They took a lead of 2-0 for the majority of the game, and looked as if win was inevitable but Cincinnati wasn’t going to go down without a fight and managed a score at the 70th minute of the game. Though a few free kicks were given to the Lions over the next few minutes, they could not capitalize on them and a potential 3-1 win went belly up as the Kings scored a second time in the 86th minute of the game.  Instead of going home with 3 points (which would put Dayton on top of Chicago this week by 1)  they had to settle for 1 point in a tie.  It should be noted that an estimated 75% of the fans in Cincinnati ths weekend were Dutch Lions fans.

The great victory this week was against the Chicago Fire.  It was a stunted first half however, as the score remained 0-0 after 45.  But shortly after the teams entered the field again, a cross kick from Bas Ent to Geert den Ouden would fly right past the King’s keeper to make it a 1-0 game after 55 minutes.  Defense prevailed for a while but as the 89th minute approached, and the game was winding down, den Ouden was there again, this time with the set up for George Davis IV, scoring another goal as regulation came to an end.  With 5 minutes of stopage time however the Chicago Fire managed to get a good shot off to make the ending result 2-1, and handing the Lions a great victory.  The next game up is against the Michigan Bucks on July 3rd.  I probably won’t be there as downtown will be calling my name, but best of luck to the Lions, another win will keep them in contention for the playoffs.

Would you believe there isn’t any new postings for the Raiders this week?  I had mentioned two weeks ago that former Wright State Pitcher Alex Kaminsky had signed with the Cleveland Indians earlier this year.  In his first game with the Indian’s Single-A affiliate, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, he threw 5 shutout innings, striking out  4, and won his professional debut game.  Congratulations!

Also it should be noted that Jon Durket signed with the Lake Erie Crushers of the Independent Frontier League as the 3rd free agent this year to enter into professional baseball.  This makes 5 Raiders that have joined the professional ranks this year, the most of any team Wright State has produced, best of luck to all of you guys out there.

Some good news for Flyers women basketball, as they have been awarded a grant for program funding.  This will hopefully build on a lot of momentum that Flyer’s women’s basketball has had over the last year or so.  The intention of the grant is to help increase awareness of the team and the games they play through various outlets and hopefully increase attendance at games.  People should know about this women’s team;  last year The Flyers won their first ever top 10 game with a victory over Michigan State, appeared in the AP and ESPN top 25 for the first time, held an average attendance of 3404 which was highest in the Atlantic 10, 34th highest in the country and if I might add, quite a bit better than some of Dayton’s professional team attendance from last year and this year, and finished last year’s season a staggering 25-8 which ties a modern-era record for most victories in a season.  Congratulations UD, that’s outstanding news.

That’s all for this week, I’m out!  Enjoy this weekend, City Folk is a blast, and with the new pavilion downtown, there isn’t any reason to not be there!

Dayton Sports Weekly Update: 6/21/2010

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Wow, is it just me or has summer hit full swing already? The sun was so bright I thought I’d see Leo the Lion pass right out at Baujan Field this last Saturday. Here is you weekly update for June 21st.

It’s been a pretty solid week for the Dragons, losing their first series away against the Fort Wayne Tin Caps, and winning their second against the Great Lake Loons in Dayton.  It made for a great weekend unless you saw them play on Sunday afternoon. Dayton had swept their series with Wisconsin to end last week and seemed to bring some confidence to the team as they travelled to Fort Wayne on Tuesday. Over the first 8 innings the Dragons scored 9 runs against the Tin Caps who only returned 4 until the top of the ninth, where they drove in another 4 on reliever Chase Ware, but managed to save the game with a final score of 9-8 to extend the Dragon’s winning streak to 4.  The rest of the series would be disappointing however, as the Dragons would drop the next two, both again by one run, 5-4 on Wednesday, 6-5 on Thursday.

Dayton came home to play over the weekend and managed two solid wins against the Great Lakes Loons who are not only near the top of the League standings but have been very dangerous on the road this year.  Friday night the Dragons had only 5 hits by 5 different players but made them count.  A home run in the second by Tommy Nurre, and one by Josh Garton in the 4th (his 8th of the season) with a man on base was all it took to win the game.  Saturday’s match went from a long night followed by a last minute clincher.  A no score evening seemed wrapped up when the Dragons scored two at the top of the ninth but oddly the Loons felt they had something to say about that and tied up the game with two runs of their own.  Three more innings provided no avail but then at the top of the 13th, the Loons got a runner in and were ahead 3-2.  The Dragons, not to be detoured, cracked out a single from Frank Pfister, and one from Chase Weems.  A bobbled ball by a Loon’s outfielder gave Pfister enough time to round the bases and get home.  One last line drive from Didi Gregorious into right field gave Weems all the time he needed to round third and make it home, the crowd goes wild, Dragons win, 4-3. This is followed up by a less than exciting loss this Sunday 7-5, but how about we just keep that one in the record books?

The Dragons will play away once more this upcoming weekend against Lansing who is  touch above their next opponent, Fort Wayne.  That series will be at home starting next Monday.  Both have pretty similar records right now, at around .520.  The Dragons can improve their standing by taking a few of these games, but it won’t be easy.  There is a pretty big gap between both of those teams and the Dragons, but perhaps since they just finished a series with Fort Wayne, they can be better prepared and know what to expect.

There isn’t much to report for the Gems this week. There hasn’t really been any news out of the CHL, and there is still no word on a possible head coach, or players for that matter.  Check back for more later.

The Dutch Lions had a very difficult week that resulted in not a single victory.  As I mentioned last week the Lions had 3 games on their plate.  The first was up against the Rochester Rhinos in the US Lamar Hunt Open Cup.  A difficult loss of 2-0 for the Lions was a shame but for a first year team in the PDL, they did the city of Dayton proud simply by making it as a result of their undefeated season at that point.  The second stop came on Thursday the 17th, a league match against the Cleveland Internationals.  The Lions started off at a slow trudge but ended up out shooting Cleveland most of the evening.  Though the resulting 2-2 draw doesn’t indicate that, an aggressive offense helped save the Lions from a second loss in league play (or in a row for that matter) and we continue  to see them near the top of the standings.  Lastly the Dutch Lions came home to Dayton on Saturday evening to take on the Columbus Crew of the MLS.  I think like many I had assumed that the Crew would not be playing their starters in this game.  That is nothing against the Lions, but the MLS clearly stands a head above the rest and an exhibition match against a 2008 MLS championship team seemed an unlikely win.  Yet on walked the starters and we all knew we were in for a ride.  Dayton came out lethargic, and who could blame them?  It was unsure to know how the game was going to go, but with the Crew scoring in the first 15 minutes they seemed to snap out of it and kept them from making any impressive shots on goal for the remaining first half, while the Lions, though developed some potentially great shots, failed to capitalize on any of them.

The Crew came out in the second half filled with almost all of their starters and things got ugly as they drove in two more goals past Keeper Oscar Moens.  Though many valiant efforts kept the score way lower than it could have been, the Crew took home the win, 3-0.  Three games in a week will put a kink in any team, and the Lions really tested their metal out there against some traditionally great opponents.  Though I’m sure we would have loved to see a win squeaked by at Rochester or against The Crew, there is always next year.

Dayton has an away game early this week against Cincinnati, and another home game this Saturday against the Chicago Fire.  No, not the MLS team, their PDL development team of the same name.  Aught to be a great match though.

There still isn’t a whole lot going on around Campus, but Wright State’s Men’s basketball coach Billy Donlon announced the hiring of an assistant coach by the name of Chris Moore.  Moore has been an assistant coach and recruiter at Morehead State.  He has been credited for signing two top 40 classes at Morehead State, as well as assisting the team that made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2009.  This is an exciting move for Wright State.  If he can snag the talent he’s been getting in the last few years and have them follow him to Dayton, the Raiders could be seeing a spot in The Tournament again real soon.

Speaking of all this news with The Dayton Dutch Lions and The Rochester Rhinos, the Flyers have a great article up about former player Issac Kissi.  Kissi, now a member of the Rhinos was recently interviewed (though the articles doesn’t mention the journalist responsible.)  He shares some interesting information about his time as a Flyer as well as his budding professional career.

That’s all for now, see you next week!  Since the Dragons wont’ be home until next Monday I expect to see Miami Valley South Stadium packed to capacity!  After all with the World Cup in full swing, it’s soccer season!  And if getting up at 7:30 in the morning to watch a live game from Africa isn’t exactly your idea of fun (or you can’t think of a good way to explain that to your boss) then an evening with the Lions might be just right.

Dayton Sports Weekly Update: 6/14/2010

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Good Morning , here are last weeks sports stories from Dayton Ohio, just in case you may have missed them:

The Dragons did pretty well this last week.  Though they didn’t see any action at home, they did win 4 games out of 6 including a double header this last Saturday that resulted from a postponed game on Friday against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.  In the first game of the day, the Dragons managed their second shutout game of the year as well as their largest margin of victory by defeating Wisconsin 10-0. Outfielder Cameron Satterwhite has been on fire this year, hitting .476 over the last 10 games and .375 for the season.  He had hits at his first three at bats during the first game of the double header, and achieved his first professional home run that night.  Starting pitcher Jacob Johnson won his third straight decision, with 5 scoreless innings; Chase Ware and Jason Braun finished up the game.  The Dragons started the second game of the double header by taking the lead in the third inning with a 3 man home run by Chris Richburg (.258).  Wisconsin fought back later in the game but never regained the lead.

As I had hoped, the Dragons made a good drive against some less prominent teams in the league but dropping two against Beloit helped them get above .500 this week.  Fort Wayne is up early this coming week, but the Dragons still have a good chance at starting strong against them.  The Dragons have won 4 of 6 games against the Tin Caps this year, including a three game sweep in early May.  This weekend however 5/3rd field will expectantly be packed for a series against the Great Lakes Loons.  The Dragons have only played the Loons one other time this year, splitting a four game series 2-2.  The Loons have a dangerously good win percentage while playing away (almost .700), so the Dragons need to keep on their feet and show the Loons who’s house it is.

There hasn’t been too much word from the Gems in the last week, and we’re still waiting on the announcement of who is going to actually coach the Gems next year but all was not quiet on the hockey front.  As the merger between the CHL and IHL continues to develop, two IHL teams have announced they will not be playing next year:  The Flint Generals and the Port Huron Icehawks.  Including 13 returning teams from the CHL, that will make for a total of 17 teams to be split into two conferences.  These haven’t been decided yet but most likely Dayton will still be playing it’s three adversaries of the IHL from last year.  Last time I noted that Dayton is unlikely to continue busing it’s team from game to game, but upon examining the likely conference alignments, there is a pretty good chance few flights may ever be scheduled unless they end up making it to the playoffs.  This is definitely positive, but it will mean The Gems will have quite a few long rides ahead of them in comparison to last year.  Still, if they were playing in the ECHL, it would be the same story.  Here is hoping these two leagues can come to an agreement quickly on how to merge together before the seasons starts.

The Dayton Dutch Lions started last week with their first loss of the season.  An uneasy loss of 4-1 against the Indiana Invaders on Wednesday could have meant signs of trouble, but the Lions found redemption back at their home field against the Toronto Lynx three days later on Saturday 2-0.  Whatever it was they put in those boys’ coffee that morning most have done the job because they out shot Toronto 14-4.  Mounting frustration and unnecessary tackles from Toronto was awarded with 5 yellow cards and an ejection of their coaching staff.  I was at that game and the swears coming off the field from Lynx players were loud enough to silence the crowd in the stands.  Their aggravation was palpable, needless to say.  It only mounted as the second goal from the DDL would come late in the second half as Steven McCarthy pitched the ball back into play near the Lynx goal and with a confounding luck and lack of an organized defense by Toronto, managed to fling the ball right into the net.  The game paused around the 85th minute for inclement weather, but was resumed only 15 minutes afterwords, and the Lions took home the win before the clouds opened up that night.

The Lions have 3 games over the next 6 days.  As stated last week, they will be travelling to Rochester NY for the first match against the Rochester Rhinos in the US Lamar Hunt Open Cup.  On the 17th they’ll play The Cleveland Internationals, and Saturday will be back in town to face The Columbus Crew of the MLS at Baujan Sports Field.  Buy your Tickets.  Good luck Lions!

I will squeak out a few headlines here:

Several Wright State Baseball players have joined the professional ranks during this years draft.  Gerald Ogrinc has signed as a free agent with the Milwakee Brewers and Alex Kaminsky has signed with the independant Northern League. Relief Pitcher Greg Robinson signed with the Arizona Dimondbacks, and second basemen Aaron Fields was drafted by the Cleveland Indians.   Not a whole lot else floating around in Raider territory at the moment but congratulations to all those guys.

Last week I had mentioned two track athletes that were competing in the NCAA track and field championship this year.  Some news here about how they did.  Katie Nagoette finished 17th overall in the pole vault.  Junior Mallory Barns placed 19th in the hammer throw and is Dayton’s first ever All-American in track an field.  This is a dry spell for any collegiate sports, heck the next date listed on the Flyers page is in August, so that will tell you how quiet the summer can be.  Still, as I mentioned before, things will start to pick up for both the Flyers and the Raiders in the next few months, but for now, I humbly pass along the news that is passed to me.

Take care for another week.  There will be great games going on in Dayton next weekend with both the Dragons and the Lions, so what are you waiting for?  Get to a game!

Dayton Sports Weekly Update: 6/7/2010

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Welcome to the first edition of the Dayton Sports Weekly Update.  Join us every Monday for a rundown of all of your favorite home teams from the UD Flyers to our newest club, the Dayton Dutch Lions.  We’ll try to keep you up  to date on anything you may have missed last week, and everything you want to know coming up this week from stats, and scores to the latest news.  Enough talking though, let’s jump right in.

The Dayton Dragons are still selling out games but are having a difficult time finding a good rhythm.  They’ve dropped six of their last ten games, and out of those, 4 of them have been by one run.  What makes that even more difficult is that those one run losses cost them 3 out of their last 4 series.  The Dragons play away from home for the next two weeks and won’t be back at 5/3rd field until June 18th.

This week they will be playing at Beloit and Wisconsin, and next week they’ll be playing at Fort Wayne.  Currently Fort Wayne is the only team out of those three that stand at a PCT of .500 or greater, so it’s a good week for the Dragons to make up some lost ground against some less challenging teams in the league.

The Dayton Gems had an interesting first year in Dayton.  After being competitive for half of the season they embarrassingly slid into last place in the league.  Ownership was at one time taken over by the IHL and then transferred to new ownership early on.  They also seem mired in an endless list of traded and cut players, which would be fairly typical of any first year team, especially if you don’t know who you’ve got playing for you.  Still, with such a difficult end to the year, the big guys upstairs clearly were not happy with Coach Marks and let him go, as well as several other staff members in an effort to right the ship before it falls to far.

If that wasn’t enough, the IHL’s contention as a league was in serious doubt at the end of the season with a flutter of rumors being passed around about their inevitable folding.  It was just recently announced however that the IHL and CHL intend to merge together into one large league similar to that of the ECHL, with two separate divisions.  This has a lot of implications for the Gems, namely their viability as a team in Dayton and how critical next year will be for them.  This will expand their playing area drastically, including a half dozen teams from Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Louisiana, and Colorado, to name a few.  Having said that, Dayton can no longer be considered in a “bus league” and will definitely have to hope fans will be curious about this new league to fill seats fast.  I for one encourage anyone who hasn’t seen the Gems play yet, do so next year when their season starts.  They did great things for the community last year, and though beleaguered as they were, deserve our support.

The Dayton Dutch Lions are doing an amazing job in their first year in Dayton.  In the giant unending tangle of a mess that is the United Soccer League, Premier Development League, the Dutch Lions find themselves in second place in the Great Lakes Division, suffering not a singles loss all season.  For those who might be unfamiliar with soccer, the Dutch Lions hold a record of 3-0-3 or 3 wins no losses and 3 draws.  As a result they are one point behind the Chicago Fire.  They tied their last game this weekend against Forest City London 1-1.

With their winning record so far this year, the Dutch Lions have also found themselves qualified for the 2010 U.S. Lamar Hunt Open Cup.  As one of 8 PDL teams to make the Open Cup, make no mistake that this is a prestigious honor.  The US Open Cup is the longest running cup series in the United States, dating back to 1914.  Qualifying teams can be from any tier of the United States Soccer Federation, from amateur teams to the MLS.  Since the inception of the MLS back in 1996, they have won the cup every year except 1999, in which the Rochester Rhinos beat out four MLS clubs to claim the championship.  The luck of the draw has placed the Rhinos as the Dutch Lions’ first opponent in the tournament starting June 15th.

The Dutch Lions have an exhausting schedule ahead of them before June ends.  On the 9th they play an away game against the Indiana Invaders, but return home this Saturday the 12th to play Toronto.  Then on the 15th they’ll be travelling to Rochester to take on the Rhinos in the first round of the US Open Cup, followed by an away game on the 17th against the Cleveland Internationals.  This will all be topped off by a home game (they are the away team however) against the Columbus Crew at Baujan Sports Field at The University of Dayton.  I’ll have my tickets for that one, I hope you will too.  All in all one heck of a next few weeks, all the best to the DDLFC.

What to say about university athletics in our town?  There is a heck of a lot going on and I will not do them justice here, but I will try to capture what I can about what is going on right now around town.  Though inevitably our thoughts will drift back to Basketball here in Dayton, I’ll try to be true to all the student athletes out there who play hard for WSU and UD.

Recently Raider’s Baseball found itself in the Horizon League Championship game after finishing the regular seasons with a 29-23 record.  On May 30th however they stumbled against Milwaukee 14-7 to end their season.  Though a disappointing end, the Raiders have found themselves as perennial contenders in the Horizon League, finishing the last 5 years over .500.

Women’s Softball also find themselves in the Horizon League Championship this spring, and after winning 4 out of 5, advanced to the NCAA Regionals in Ann Arbor.  Though they ended their season there, the Raider posted their second ever NCAA tournament win this season, an encouraging end to a great season.

There is more to mention here about upcoming news for the Raiders, but we’ll have plenty of time to get to it.  Check back soon.

The Flyers equally will have plenty to talk about in the upcoming months, especially as fall sports start to pick up steam so bare with me for now.  The Flyers had a more difficult time this year in both Baseball and Softball, both finishing with losing records, but the Flyers soccer team faired better in their spring training, going undefeated, and shutting out the likes of Ohio State and Wright State, and finishing with a 2-2 tie against Kentucky.

Dayton has also had great success this year in Track and Field.  This week two members will be competing  in the upcoming NCAA Championship in Eugene Oregon; Junior Mallory Barnes (hammer throw) and freshman Katie Nageotte (pole vault).  But there have also been several other distinguished athletes from various events noted this year, including Ashley Cattran and Sarah Allen who were recieved ESPN acedemic all-district honors this past week.  Cattran was also recently announced as the A10 student athlete of the year.

Well that’s it for this week, come back again and we’ll let you know what’s going on in the Gem City.  Show your pride for Dayton and those who play here, get out and watch a game!

Dayton Dutch Lions Feature Former UD Standouts

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Former University of Dayton men’s soccer standouts Randy Dennis and Jeff Popella are happy to stay in Dayton a little longer than expected after graduation a few weeks ago. Both are playing for Dayton’s newest professional sports team, the Dayton Dutch Lions. “It’s great to be out here with all the guys playing soccer, but I still miss home,” said Randy Dennis, whose family resides in Texas. Dennis was a key member of the Dayton Flyers defense last season, as he played in all 20 games and helped lead them to 14-5-1 record and a regular season Atlantic 10 title.

The Dutch Lions play in the fourth tier of United States soccer, the Premier Development League, and look to win the league title in their first season of play. The team consists of many Dutch players, most of whom have played professionally for top teams in the Netherlands, and many younger American players from various universities and clubs around the United States.

The team, along with guidance from coach Sonny Silooy, looks to combine the precision play of Dutch soccer, with the physical play of US soccer.  “Team unity is very important to us as we play different styles of soccer, said Popella. “There is the language difference (Dutch and English) and also trying to blend our styles of play together, so we all need to work especially hard on the team mentality.”

Priding themselves on youth development, the Dutch Lions consider their team the “Gateway to professional soccer” and strive to develop talent with players as young as four. Try-outs for the Dutch Lions Academy begin on June 1 for boys, and June 2 for girls at the Miami Valley South Stadium at 6:30 p.m. For more information on the academy, check out their web site.

The team plays their home games at the Miami Valley South stadium at Bellbrook High School. “The Dutch guys are used to soccer-only fields, so some of them don’t like the lines on the grass from football games,” said Popella. Even with this being the first season of soccer for the team, they have already developed a sizable fan base called the Orange Legion that supports them at every home game.

A few players from the Dayton area are on the Dutch Lions roster, including Popella and midfielder Eric Kissinger. Kissinger attended The Miami Valley School for high school and played D – III soccer at Haverford College. Kissinger looks to experience a successful season with the Dutch Lions as he only enjoyed 12 wins in his four years at Haverford. Popella attended Carroll High School before playing soccer for UD, where he scored seven goals in 11 games for the Flyers, as well as converting two penalty kicks.