SCHMITT: NU's AD gets two minutes for lamest excuse

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July 11, 2009

By Tim Schmitt The Tonawanda News Sat Jul 11, 2009, 10:30 PM EDT

NU hockey’s “road trip” deserves a call

We’re all for the Niagara men’s hockey team being able to play the schedule it deems necessary, but let’s give Ed McLaughlin two minutes for lamest excuse when the Niagara athletics director was asked why the hockey series between Niagara and Canisius won’t continue this year.

“We were short on home games this year and didn’t want to put another road game on the schedule for us in terms of our student-athletes and travel,” McLaughlin told another media outlet. “We don’t want to put kids on the road so much they don’t have time to be college students.”

Really? Put them on the road so much as in 25 extra minutes?

Niagara has long felt superior to Canisius in hockey and rightfully so. For years, the Purple Eagles reigned supreme in facility and scholarships, and played in what was regarded by insiders as a better, albeit smaller, league.

The feud has gotten hotter in recent years as Canisius has closed the gap, which hasn’t sat well with Niagara, its fiercest rival in every other sport.

And the decision to keep the Griffs off the schedule this year makes sense — when College Hockey America dismantles at season’s end and Niagara makes the jump to Atlantic Hockey, the two teams will forever be bound together in a bigger league, and getting games against power conference teams will become even trickier.

So, the schedule is Niagara’s prerogative, plain and simple. No explanation necessary.

But to say that “travel” would be an obstacle to playing a team that’s less than 30 minutes away is silly. We’re pretty sure the Purple Eagles could have been safely tucked into their dorms and apartments by 11 p.m., even if a game at Buff State went into overtime.

The good news? All this drama should make the first AHA clash between the two squads that much more volatile when the 2010-11 season rolls around.

Butter Cup good, but can get better

Here’s hoping the Red Bull Butter Cup at Snow Park Niagara Falls becomes a yearly event, after a solid crowd came out to take in the snowboarding competition on Thursday night.

Although the Butter Cup — in which participants are expected to “butter up” a number of stationary props — doesn’t yield the same vertical tricks as more glamorous events, one rider told me following the event that the moves were more technical.

Either way, watching snowboarders strut their stuff just a few blocks from the Falls was a sight to see. And seeing was just the problem. If organizers want to continue the event in the future, a new spectator plan needs to be drawn up. A crowd stood against a fence on Second Street, but there were only a few good spots. Wouldn’t one set of metal bleachers on Second have made a huge difference?

Enough about T.O. already

Our favorite local barkeep joked this week that his stomach gets queasy every time an out-of-towner asks what kind of impact Terrell Owens will have on the Bills this season.

It’s true — T.O. is a media lightning rod, but his performance should only rank somewhere near fourth on the team’s biggest question marks heading into training camp.

No. 1 remains left tackle, where the Bills seem content with Langston Walker heading into the season. If Walker can’t handle the weakside rush, the Bills will have to load up with help. That means other points along the line will be vulnerable. And all this leads to the second biggest question — can Trent Edwards stay healthy? It’s easy to see how the first two questions are intertwined.

All that being said, a recent clip for the upcoming VH1 show starring Owens even had our interest piqued, and reality TV is not our genre.

So our guy’s point is well taken. Interested in T.O.? Tune in to his show. But if you’re curious on the Bills’ chances, realize names like Walker, Edwards, Aaron Schobel and Ashton Youboty play a more vital role in the discussion.

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