march 27 issue one of erie sports buzz

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Issue One • March 27 - April 24 • www.eriesportsbuzz.com

NCAA DII Women’s Elite 8 Tournament

Erie Sports Buzz, March 27, 2014

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Pages 4-5

CONTENTS>>

Pages 14-15Page 9

Pages 16-17

MORE FEATURES

Erie Explosion Erie Otters Behrend Men’sBasketball

PiratesPreview

IndiansPreview

10 12 6 20 19

Local Sports Schedules: Pages 22-23

Editor-in-Chief:Alec Italiano

Sports Editor:Jacob Jaros

Copy Editor:Erin Dakas

Contributors:Jeff Castle

Trey CochranAnthony Morelli

Front Page Photo Credit: Alec Italiano

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-Alec Italiano


NCAA DII Women’s Elite Eight Basketball Tournament in Erie



ERIE, Pa. – The $45 million renovation to the Erie Insurance Arena (previously known as Tullio Arena) is getting a lot of use and well deserved attention since its completed construction in the fall of 2013.

The Otters are having one of their bet-ter seasons in recent memory, break-

ing records for attendance along the way. The Explosion and Bayhawks are currently using the venue for their sea-sons, and now the NCAA DII Women’s basketball Elite Eight tournament games were tipped off March 25 at the arena, and will run through the 28th when the national championship was played in the gem city. ThisisthefirsttimeEriehasplayedhost to the national tournament – Gannon and Edinboro have both hosted regional tournaments though in recent years. Bothprogramsqualified for the tourna-ment which began on March 14. And ac-

tually, the No. three seeded Gannon Lady Knights (28-4) faced off against the No. two seed Edinboro Fighting Scots (27-6) in the semifinals of the tournament inGlenville, W.Va. The Fighting Scots, led by head coach Stan Swank in his 27th year at the helm, overcame the Lady Knights 77-69. It was a back-and-forth game until a 12-3 Edinboro run seemingly put the game out of reach until a nine point run by Gannon broughtthembacktowithinfive.ButtheFighting Scots stayed resilient making free throws down the stretch and shoot-ing above 66 percent from three-point land making six of nine attempts. Junior Laurel Lindsay and senior Darche’ Jack-son were the leading scorers of the game for Edinboro earning 23 points and 22 points respectively. These two teams have a long history with each other, especially because of their close geographic proximity to one

another, and met three times in regular season play where the Fighting Scots took all three games. They won 75-72 at home on Jan. 18, again on the road 69-57 onvalentine’sday,andinthefinalgameof the season 86-76 at home on March 9. The highlight of Edinboro’s regular season came the day before when they scored 104 points against West Chester’s 82. These games secured the PSAC for the Edinboro women, securing their con-ference title.

After defeating Gannon in the semis, theFightingScotskeptonfighting

defeating the four seed Bloomsburg Col-lege 82-76 two days later, earning their bus ride back to Erie to play in the Elite 8 Tournament. It was here that Cal Poly Pomona (California Polytechnic) proved too much for Edinboro, beating them 81-61 in front of a packed house at Erie In-surance Arena on March 25. Sophomore Aginee Freeland let the

~ By Alec Italiano, editor-in-chief ~

Cal Poly Pomona

Edinboro advances to Elite Eight for second time in school history



Scots with 18 points, but the team shot only 36 percent from the field and 22 percent from three point land making only four baskets on 18 attempts. Com-pared to Cal Poly’s above 53 percent shooting from the field and making five of 10 three pointers. Junior Jada Black-well was the story of the game with a double-double scoring 35 points and getting 11 rebounds. Senior JJ Judge and junior Ashley Lovett were also noteworthy contributors – Judge made all three attempts from beyond the arc (13 points total), and Lovett who just missed the double-double with 14 points overall and nine rebounds. This ended Edinboro’s (ranked 25th nationally) 11-game winning streak in their first ever meeting with Cal Poly (ranked 18th nationally), and this is only the Scots second appearance in the Elite-Eight games. Their first ap-pearance was back in 1997 when they lost 81-46 to North Dakota. Cal Poly on the other hand has a high pedigree ranking third overall in DII history with 54 NCAA Tournament wins and a record-tying five championships. They will play for their sixth in the last week-end of March here in Erie, PA. Check eriesportsbuzz.com for a full recap of the Elite Eight Tournament.

Contact: [email protected]

Above, Edinboro students cheer after made free throws. Below, junior guard Val-erie Majewski brings the ball up court. Majewski finished with eight points.Photos by Alec Italiano

Behrend men’s basketball season comes to an end



The Behrend Lions just ended one of their most successful seasons to date, with an outstanding 24-5 record. On top of that, the Lions earned an Allegh-eny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) regular season and tournament championship, and just their second NCAA Division III tournament victory in ten years. The Lions season came to an end on March 8th against a talented Wheaton (Wheaton, Illinois) team in the sec-ond round of the NCAA tournament. Wheaton contained the Lions to just 40 points, which was their lowest total this season by more than ten points. The day before, Behrend defied all odds and de-feated the host team of Hope University (Holland, Michigan). The Lions barely nudged out the Dutchman by as score of 70-66. Junior, Nick DeLisio posted a team high 19 points. As a team, Behrend collected 34 points in the paint, which is just one point shy of 50 percent on the day. The Lions were led down low by Zane Hackett. The sophomore collected 7 rebounds and put up 12 points from the bench. Behrends win over Hope was just their fifth win ever in the NCAA tourna-ment. Behrend reached the second round in the 2008 season and the elite eight in the 2000 season. With their win over Hope, this year’s team joined the ranks of what only two previous Behrend teams have done in reaching the second round. This is a tremendous feat in which the Lions will look to improve on next season. Just a few days after the Lions AMCC tournament championship win over the Hilbert College Hawks they had 3 play-ers named to the All-Conference team. Nick DeLisio was named to the All-AM-CC first-team in 2014, this is an improve-ment from his third-team status last year. After the AMCC tournament, DeLisio led the Lions with 13 points per game and 3.7 assists per game. Also, guard, Keith Wallace and forward, Shane Skelly were

both named to the All-AMCC second-team. Along with being named to the second-team, sophomore, Keith Wallace was awarded the Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. Wallace led the AMCC in steals with 2.5 per game. To put the icing on the cake, head coach David Niland was named Coach of the Year in the AMCC. For Coach Niland, this is his staggering eighth Coach of the Year award in just 20 seasons as the head basketball coach of the Lions. Also, on March 18th, Niland was named the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). On February 28th, Behrend hosted the AMCC tournament championship. Their first competition was against the fourth seeded Pitt-Bradford Panthers. The Panthers did not put up much of fight while the Lions handled them 86-71. Nick DeLisio went off that game record-ing 26 points and leading the team with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. A day later, on March 1st, Behrend played the number three seeded Hilbert College Hawks. The

Lions did not have as much success as they did against Pitt-Bradford, but they still rolled comfortably to a 66-51 Cham-pionship win. DeLisio again led the Li-ons in points with 18 and Shane Skelly added a double-double. The victory over Hilbert gave Behrend the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. This is a team that has great poten-tial and I look for them to be as big as a contender next season as they were this season. The loss of seniors, Casey Courneen and Shane Skelly will be hard to overcome. . However, the Lions have great depth and young talent that are eager to contribute more next sea-son. Freshman, Malquan Pullium and Wes Davic are players I expect to have great seasons next year. Pullium posted 137 points this season and Davic put up 131 points and hauled in 113 rebounds. As fans, we have to be excited for next season to see what the Lions will have to offer. Congratulations to the Lions on their terrific season and their tremendous awards they received this year!

The team posses after their AMCC tournament victory. (Photo from: psblions.com)

~ By Trey Cochran ~



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Erie soccer player Ashley Lehr playing competitive ‘futbol’ in Spanish capital

~ By Joey Bilotta ~

Lehr also working at EduKick Madrid Football & Education Academy

Ashley Lehr, who grew up playing youth soccer in Erie, Pennsylvania, is

a long way from home. Lehr, a high level female soccer player from Pennsylvania and recent college graduate is working as Assistant Director of International Students at EduKick Madrid Football & Education Academy and playing women’s “futbol” competitively with A.D. Col-menar Viejo just outside the Spanish Capital. EduKick Madrid is a foot-ball & education academy residential boarding school for young competitive foot-ballers from 13 to 24 years of age that want to live, study and play soccer abroad in Spain. Growing up in the USA, Lehr, the oldest of five chil-dren in her family, always had both football (soccer) and languages are her primary passions in life. She attended Allegheny College in Mead-ville, Pennsylvania, where she studied a double major in Managerial Economics and Spanish and played four years of collegiate soccer. Lehr had a very successful soccer ca-reer at Allegheny. In 2012, she was award-ed First-Team All-Conference and named team captain and in 2011 she received All-Conference Honorable Mention as North Coast Athletic Conference Co-Champions, and in 2010 her squad made the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa-tion (NCAA) tournament.Lehr joined EduKick Madrid in October of 2013 with several duties required of her,

including promoting the new EduKick Ma-drid Women’s Football Academy Program. The EduKick Madrid Female Football Academy, with Lehr currently in the role of assistant director of students, is an edu-cation and football development year-long

course designed for com-petitive female soccer play-ers between 13 and 24 years of age that want to continue their academic studies in Madrid while also attend-ing a professional soccer development academy. As part of her position as Assistant Director, Lehr helps the participants with their academics, including organization, goal setting, and general understanding of the material. She also acts as a full-time adult monitor for the participants, residing among the players

in a private dorm room in the same hallway. Aside from these main responsibilities, she also translates player reviews and other football materials from Spanish to English, organizes player birthday celebrations, up-dates EduKick Madrid social media sites for public relations, and attends to the over-all well-being of the participants. In addi-tional to all these duties, Lehr also assist the EduKick Madrid Head Futbol Coach in the daily training sessions as required. “My experience has been absolutely fantastic,” Lehr said. “It has allowed me to be immersed in Spanish culture, learn and practice the Spanish language, and continue playing football in a competitive women’s league.”



Manager: Lance Parrish

2013 Recap: The SeaWolves were one of the Eastern League’s best in 2013, fin-ishing with a 76-66 record. Like every team, they had their bumps and bruises along the way but they pushed forward to field the second best team in the West-ern Division of the Eastern League. The SeaWolves were a playoff team, winning the wild card and finishing one game be-hind the Harrisburg Senators in the divi-sion. The SeaWolves season came to an end again the Senators, who defeated the team 3-1 in the first round of the play-offs. This finish is disappointing but with the numerous players that were promoted from the SeaWolves throughout the sea-son, it is a revelation that the team was able to compete above expectations.

Notable Departures: Hernan Perez, Daniel Fields, Jamie Johnson, Eugenio Suarez, Kyle Lobstein, Will Startup, Melvin Mercedes, Robbie Weinhardt.

Players to Watch: • Corey Knebel- Knebel has emerged as one of the best young relievers in the Detroit Tigers organization. He is a hard-throwing right hander whose fastball sits in the mid-90s and tops out at 98. Knebel is the Tigers #8 overall prospect accord-ing to ESPN and it is possible that he finds his way all the way up the major leagues by the end of the year. • James McCann- McCann was one of the SeaWolves top players in 2013 and

that should be no different in 2014. Mc-Cann is known more for his defense than hitting but still knows how to handle a bat nicely. He mashed 8 home runs and batted in 54 last year for the SeaWolves and should see those numbers continue to improve this year. McCann should be with the team all year and will be a con-sistent hitter in the middle of the lineup. He is the Tigers #6 overall prospect ac-cording to ESPN.• Steven Moya- Moya is a towering presence, coming in at 6’7” and weigh-ing 235. Because of this size, Moya has tremendous power and actually rates as an 80 grade, which is the best power grade in the Tigers minor league system. Hitting for average isn’t what Moya does best, nor is his defensive tools but with the power aspect, he projects as a starter and possible major leaguer in the future. Moya will be a newcomer to the Sea-Wolves this year and should be a mighty bat in the middle of their lineup. • Robbie Ray- Ray is a recent addition to the Tigers’ farm system, coming over this off-season in a trade that sent major leaguer Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals. Ray is so good that he im-mediately became the #3 prospect in the Tigers system. He is a lefty pitcher with a nasty breaking ball that is most effective when mixed with his accurate fastball. Ray projects to be an effective major league bullpen weapon someday but will be a starting pitcher for the SeaWolves this season.• Drew VerHagen- VerHagen was called

up last year to the SeaWolves and may an immediate impact in the short time he was in Erie. He impressed the team so much in only 12 outings with the SeaWolves that he was given the nod in the first game of the playoffs. VerHagen doesn’t have dominant stuff and his fastball only sits around 92-94 but he is able to ramp it up to 96-97 at times. He doesn’t project to be in Detroit for at least a few seasons but could find his way there sooner if they convert him to the bullpen.

2014 Outlook: With manager Chris Cron being named the Arizona Diamondbacks’ minor league hitting coordinator, the SeaWolves will be moving into a new coaching era in team history. Former Detroit Tigers catcher Lance Parrish will now be the manager of the SeaWolves. Since his playing days, Parrish has had a variety of jobs throughout the baseball community. He will bring this experi-ence and baseball knowledge to the Erie SeaWolves organization. The trials and tribulations of a transition period are sure to take place and the team may struggle to find their identity early. Nevertheless, the SeaWolves will field a team loaded with young talent with tons of potential upside. With the energy of the best mas-cot in the Eastern League in C-Wolf and the palpable vitality that the players feed off of from the fans, the SeaWolves will always be contenders and Erie will al-ways be a SeaWolves city!

~ By Jacob Jaros, sports editor ~Team Preview




Perfection is a hard thing to accom-plish in any sport, let alone doing

it two years in a row. The Erie Explo-sion found this out the hard way, as they ran smack into a wall in the form of the Saginaw Sting. The Sting snapped the Explosion’s 15 game winning streak in a dominate fashion, defeating the Explo-sion 45-27. This game was a rematch of the 2013 CIFL Championship Game and had im-portant repercussions for the loser of the game. Both teams came in undefeated and were vying for an early lead in the CIFL North division. The two teams were evenly matched in the first half of the game, playing to a 13-13 tie at the half. Then the wheels fell off for the Ex-plosion. Former Explosion quarterback A.J. McKenna took over in the second half and ended up with five passing touchdowns. The Sting defense hindered the usually consistent Explosion offense, shutting them out in the third quarter. It got so bad that Explosion coach Shawn Liotta pulled started quarterback Aaron Smetanka and replaced him with backup Taylor Genuser. This move did allow the Explosion to rally within one posses-sion in the fourth quarter. However, this would prove to be too little too late as the Sting iced the game with a 12 play eight minute drive that resulted in a one yard McKenna rushing touchdown. Trying to rebound on their first loss in two seasons, the Explosion would face

the Marion Racers for the second time this season. They already had a win over the Racers and came in with confidence that they would begin a new winning streak. Unfortunately, the Explosion’s hopes were dashed in a heartbreaking 22-21 loss. The Explosion offense would tally 22 first half points but struggle to produce anything in the second half. The offense was so bad that they only had 114 total yards in the entire game. Marion wasn’t much better as the mus-tered only 182 yards but they were able to do just enough to send the Explosion home with yet another loss. Explosion kicker Shon Rowser was the big dud of the day as he missed all three of his field goal attempts, including a 53 yarder with six seconds left that would have won the game. The only bright spot in this game was the Explosion defense. They im-proved upon the letdown against Saginaw and were able to intercept Marion quar-terback Nez Mincy three times, while limiting the Racers to a low 22 points.

Sometimes returning home is the best remedy to a struggling team. Upon

their return to the Erie Insurance Arena, the Explosion was struggling with of-fense and was dealing with a banged up starting quarterback in Aaron Smetanka. So, instead of trying to force the issue, Coach Liotta decided to switch it up a bit. He called his offense heavy on the run and it really paid off. Liotta turned the offense over to Richard Stokes and

Stokes proved his worth by go-ing out and having one of the best days in arena football history. Stokes ran for 267 yards on 29 carries and added a CIFL record 10 touchdowns! In fact, Stokes was so successful that the Ex-plosion didn’t attempt a pass the entire game. Coach Liotta said afterwards, “Once we got to the point that we had the success we

had, I thought it would be neat to try and win without actually throwing a pass. I’ve never done that. We’ve won by not running, by throwing every down. But never, not even coaching in high school, by just running.” The final for the game was 85-12 over the Bluegrass Warhorses and a step in the right direction as the Ex-plosion bounced back from two consecu-tive losses.

In a rare Saturday contest, the Explo-sion saw their luck continue to trend

upwards, as they defeated the Port Huron Patriots 65-30. This game was an all-around team victory and the Explosion dominated in every facet of the game. Quarterback Aaron Smetanka finally re-turned to his healthy and effective self. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns. He also did not throw an interception, which he has yet to do on the season. Wide receiver Travis Tarpley caught three of the touch-down passes for an effective night. Fresh off his record breaking night, Richard Stokes would fall back to earth with a pe-destrian 12 carries for 35 yards and two touchdowns. Where the Explosion really thrived though, was yet again on defense. They pressured new Patriots quarterback James Stallons relentlessly, leading to four interceptions. After finally losing their first two games in the past two seasons, the Ex-plosion seem to have righted the ship. They dominated their last two contests and look more like the undefeated team that won the CIFL Championship last year. With two games against the winless Detroit Thunder and a rematch with Port Huron coming up in the next month, the Explosion are sure to improve upon their 5-2 record and will put themselves in po-sition to return to the playoffs to defend their CIFL Championship.

~ By Jacob Jaros, sports editor ~


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Saginaw Sting’s the Explosion in CIFL Championship rematch Erie indoor football team still looking strong with a record of 5-2 after defeating Port Huron 65-30



Erie Otters 2013-2014 Season in Review

What a special season this has been for the Erie Otters. They are poised to take the OHL playoffs by storm and have set numerous franchise records along the way. The Otters were almost unstoppable this season, racking up an impressive 52-

14-2 record with 106 points. Both the wins and points were Otters franchise records. The Otters were so successful because of the incredible balance that they displayed throughout the year. They scored a franchise record 312 goals and only allowed 170 goals, which was also a franchise record. The franchise records are all the more impressive when you look at the individual stars that aided in accomplishing the feats. The team was invigorated by the youthful talent that the Otters roster contains, as well as the veteran presence that aided in the maturation of the young talent. This years crop of Otters are very special and they deserve to be highlighted individually for the integral contributions that each and every player gave to the team game in and game out.

A look back at the players who shaped the team into contenders~ By Jacob Jaros, sports editor ~

The impressiveness of Brown’s 2013-2014 season can not be understated. Brown’s season was the greatest season by a player in the Erie Otters franchise history. Brown scored 45 goals with 83 assists for a whooping 128 points. Not only was that the highest point total record in the OHL this year, but this is the highest total ever record by an Erie Otter. Brown was a star for the Otters in too many games to count this year and not only the MVP of the team but it is very likely he will be the MVP of the entire OHL.

Connor Brown

It was an incredible sight watching the repartee between Connor Brown, Connor McDavid and Dane Fox this season. On many nights, Brown and McDavid would set it up and Fox would nail it home. Fox was the premiere goal scorer for the Otters and the OHL. Fox set the single season goal scoring record for the Otters with 64 goals. He also added 42 assists for 107 total points. This was second in the OHL behind Brown.

Dane Fox

Even though Brown and Fox were the players to set franchise records this season, McDavid was arguably the heart and soul of the team. McDavid, who is just 17 years old, has improved year after year and this season was no different. McDavid scored 28 goals with 71 assists for a total of 99 points. What really makes these numbers impressive is the fact that McDavid missed time with injury and only played in 56 games. The sky really is the limit for this phenom and his improvement will be fun to watch for Otters fans for the next few years.

Connor McDavid

With Brown, Fox, and McDavid taking care of the Otter’s offense, it was important that the Ot-ters had a goaltender that they could count on. Oscar Dansk filled that role impressively. Dansk only allowed 96 goals all year in the 42 games that he played. He won 29 games on the year with only 9 losses. Dansk also racked up an astounding six shutouts! He is ranked as the #1 goalie in all of the OHL.

Oscar Dansk

When Dansk needed a day off, Devin Williams proved to be more than a serviceable backup. Williams was almost as impressive as Dansk and comes in at #6 in the OHL for goaltenders. He only played in 31 games and allowed 72 goals. Williams won 23 games to only 5 losses. Also, he was second in the OHL in shutouts, coming right behind Dansk with five shutouts!

Devin Williams



Good Luck in the Playoffs, Erie Otters! -Jennifer Gervasi

Erie Otters’ Exclusive Yoga Instructor

What do Qadry Ismail, Todd Steussie, Cris Carter, Golden Tate

and Adrian Peterson all have in common besides having played in The National Football League? They have all publicly discussed their use of Structural Integra-tion, better known as Rolfing®, to en-hance and prolong their playing careers. Adrian is well known for having torn up his knee in the 2011 season and to have returned the following season to almost set an all time record for rushing yards in a season. He has credited his Rolfing ses-sions with his quick return to playing at the highest level. Actually the list of pro-fessional athletes using Rolfing is quite long. From Olympic skaters to baseball players to golfers to tennis players, basi-cally every professional sport has found the value of Structural Integration. It’s not just Rolfing that is being used by the world’s elite athletes. New advances in pain therapy, healing strat-egies, movement therapies, along with a better understanding of how the brain ties all these things together, is turning the sports world upside down. It use to be that everyone was sure that pain signals came from areas of the body where there had been an injury. It reached the brain and you felt pain. Unfortunately there were too many inconsistencies with that way of thinking. Amputees occasionally would report pain in their missing limbs, which was brushed off as a psychologi-cal issue. But when mirror therapy began resolving this issue, scientists started re-thinking the pain process. From the work of Vs. Ramachadran of the University of California, San Diego to the Australian team headed by David Butler and Lo-rimer Moseley, among others, research on how pain happens is becoming better understood. Pain is not simple. If you were to strike your leg, you would feel pain. Or would you? There are an incredible amount of sensory signals reaching your brain every second. From where you are in relation-

ship to gravity, called proprioception, to how your body is moving and respond-ing to it’s movements. There is a constant stream of information making it’s way to your brain. Once the signal that is telling you about your leg being struck reaches your brain, it is sent to various other ar-eas such as where memory is processed. The signal needs to be understood. Is this something new? Is it not important at this moment? And just how much “attention” should be paid to it? If nothing else is go-ing on and it’s a bit unexpected, you go “ouch!”. But if you are in a serious car accident, no signal may be sent at that time. The brain has other things to worry about. The amputee that has pain in his miss-ing hand, may have sensory information going to his brain saying that the hand is in a tight contracted position, which happens to many who lose an arm or leg. No muscle can stay in contraction in-definitely, even if imagined, so the brain sends a pain message hoping that an ap-propriate response is made. But how can our amputee respond, he has no hand to relax! Ramachadran figured out that you can trick the brain by having him place his arm so that the missing hand appears to be in a box set in front of him and put-ting a mirror next to it so that the good hand is seen in the mirror replicating the missing hand. He then had him open his good hand and the brain recognized the hand in the mirror as the clenched hand

opening and the pain messages stopped after a few sessions. Next take movement therapy. You leave your therapist feeling less pain than when you walked in. Two days later the pain is back. You go back to that therapy because it worked so well. Same thing, you feel better, but a couple of days later the pain is back. What you may need is to change the movement patterns that may be undoing all the great work being done. Movement patterns are those pat-terns that allow you to go about your day not having to think about how to move. Think about all of the experimentation a baby goes through to learn how to crawl, or when a child learns to ride a bike. Af-ter a while the brain figures out a way to do these things by creating a set of move-ments, or patterns, that can be used re-peatedly in the future without having to think about them. But patterns can also cause issues after injuries. To help you get around after spraining your ankle, the body figures out new ways to move called compensation patterns. We all have them. They generally will cause restrictions or tightness in your movements as a way to protect the injury. If not corrected after healing, they will pile up on top of old patterns, till you can hardly move. That’s one of the reasons we start to feel old. We can’t move like we use to.

There are ways to reprogram these patterns. The ones you need can stay,

while the ones you no longer need and that are creating pain, can be changed. This is because the brain is plastic in na-ture. It constantly changes, less so as we get older, but you can change the patterns that are restricting your movement. Here’s quick way to see if your back is tighter than it should be. Stand com-fortably with your arms at your side. Raise your right arm away from your side till it is parallel to the ground. Twist-ing from your waist, slowly move your arm behind you till you feel a restriction. Look at your hand and make a mental

Sport Therapy Guru Jeff Castle What’s new in sports medicine





note where it ended up. Now come back slowly to your starting position. Next mentally imagine the same movement, without actually moving your arm. Move at the same speed and with the same feel. This time mentally imagine your arm going past the spot where you felt the restriction and keep going till you make a complete circle. Slowly come back to the starting position. Now do the same movement for real and see how far you can go. If you move farther this time than the first, that means your brain was restricting your ability to twist your spine. These therapies are changing how athletes

train and recover from injuries. Knowing we don’t have the full picture as yet, keeps me and others constantly looking for better ways to help our clients. It’s very excit-ing to study the brain, but at the same time it’s important to remember we are not parts, but a whole organism. We should be treated as such. In the coming months I will be discussing such things as stretching, head trauma, movement and how these things relate to the sports we love and what the newest research is suggesting about how to enjoy them more.

Marcinko814.504.4699

ERIEsistables Will Hold Fifth Annual Jr. Camp The Erie Explosion Dance Team, the ERIEsistables will hold their Fifth Annual Jr. Camp on April 13th, 2014. This Jr. Camp will be held at the Erie Insurance Arena during the Erie Explosion’s fourth home game against Port Huron. During Jr. Camp young girls will be placed into groups and

taught a routine by members of the ERIEsistables. Camp will run from 9:00am until 11:00am and the girls will then perform their learned routine during halftime. Girls aged 4 to 12 years old are encouraged to register with ERIEsistables Dance Team Di-rector Mindy Fulcher via e-mail

at [email protected]. Reg-istration is $25 and girls will receive a t-shirt, pom poms and two tickets to that day’s game. Last years Jr. Camp was at-tended by 50 young girls, many of whom are excited to partici-pate again this year. Please like TheEriEsistablesDanceTeam on Facebook for updates.

ERIE LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL IS NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS FOR ITS 2014 SEASON. AGES 4-16 BOYS & GIRLS.

$45.00 REGISTRATION FEE ($35.00 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL CHILD FROM SAME FAMILY)

REGISTRATION DATES – 2418 PEACH ST.

SUNDAY MARCH 23 2:00-5:00SUNDAY MARCH 30 2:00-5:00SATURDAY APRIL 5 2:00-5:00SUNDAY APRIL 6 2:00-5:00

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 814-566-1295 OR EMAIL

[email protected].

ERIELITTLELEAGUE.NETOR FIND US ON

FACEBOOK

GIVE YOUR CHILDREN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL®

P h o t o g r a p h y

Jeff

Jeff Castle Certified Rolfer™

6484 Buffalo Road

460-0177

Castlerolfing.com

“Rebalence your swing for the 2014 Golf Season”

Everyone wants the key to a longer, straighter drive when it comes to

golf. Usually along with that a hook or slice needs fixed as well, and lets not start with the putting game. Many golf-ers often invest in the newest club made with the newest material, or a better pair of shoes with the proper grip and sup-port to help elevate their game and be the envy of their foursome. Though they may work and help that hooked shot go another 20 yards up the fairway, those options tend to be on the pricier side. There is an alternative that is relatively inexpensive, low maintenance and easy to use; that alternative being: stretching. Easy as it sounds, yet rarely utilized. Now we have all grabbed our clubs, put them over our head, twisted around a couple times and swung the club for a few practice shots. I’m sorry my friends, but that does not constitute stretching! Although you are good in your efforts and have the right idea, it is not nearly enough to get your game going correctly. I’ll give you something to think about before you start teeing off for the begin-ning of the season: when is the last time you went into another sporting game like baseball, soccer, football or basketball and didn’t stretch prior (or afterwards, but that is later), and if you did or didn’t how did you feel afterwards? Using muscles we haven’t activated in a while plus physical exertion we’re not condi-tioned too equals feeling like we got hit by a bus the next day, especially as we age. Now why is that? Other than not having worked out as much as we should and drinking enough water throughout the day, it’s plain and simple in the scientific standpoint, lactic acid that you produce during the activity stays deep within the muscles used and you suffer from delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) the next couple of

days making simple tasks like taking the stairs or getting out of bed our mortal enemy. Typically it is difficult to move so people often think that the more still I keep the pain will stay away, when in fact that is the opposite. By staying still you’re letting that acid stay where it lays, whereas if we use the muscles gently and stretch them out we work that lactic acid towards the surface of the muscle and make it easier to flush away with other toxins. So we have one of the root causes of why we hurt and our game suffers, but how we do we make sure this doesn’t happen and can improve our game while doing so? Not just stretching before AND af-ter our golf game, but a regular stretch-ing regimen added to our everyday life. As many golfers know we use quite a few muscles in the drive and fairway swings. We start with our feet shoulder width apart and while keeping the non-dominant arm straight and looking at the ball we begin our swing. We rotate backwards keeping our non-dominant shoulder activated, and within the twist backwards we are bending our dominant knee, elbow and hip. When we begin the club decent towards the ball we are now

rotating and driving through our hips de-veloping the power and fully activating the outstretched arm to drive the ball for-ward praying our grip isn’t twisted caus-ing a dreaded slice or hook. So having all those joints and pivots used there are a lot of muscles utilized in these actions. All of those muscles need stretched out in order to give you that extra inch in the twist back and another inch on the rota-tion forwards adding yards onto your drive, or chip. So how do we accomplish something that will help us along in the season and on the fairway at the same time? Stretching is something you want to daily, but maybe not in the tradition sense once thought. Static stretching and holds are a bit of the past, and more det-rimental than beneficial. The muscle is not meant to be immediately ready for a drastic outstretching and to hold it there for an extended time. Your body needs warmed up and warned, in a sense. Wak-ing up in the mornings much of our body is beginning its process so we want the muscles to get warm and let them know we are going to do something to them. This can be accomplished by doing some activity such as walking, rowing or sit-ting on a bike and get our body to where you are almost sweating. Instead of stiff-ening our joints and bending at the waist and holding that pain for 15-30 seconds we want to gently work our muscles into that stretch rather than forcing them into it.

Active stretching is the target. Use and bend the joints and muscles at-

tached with them and go to just beyond the point of comfort for about 3-5 sec-onds and gently go back to the starting position. Take the amount of time on with the stretch and relax for the same amount of time. Repeat several times for each body part, every morning and

How to get more distance, accuracy out of your golf game ~ By personal trainer Anthony Morelli ~



WHAT IS A TIME BANK?

It’s a group of people who support each other by ex-changing services in response to individual and community needs. When you spend an hour doing something for another member, you earn a Time Credit, which you can then use to get an hour of a neighbor’s time doing some service that you need.The extent of your involvement is always up to you...you make offers as your schedule allows, and make requests as you need them. The timebank idea strives to rekindle that sense of community our grandparents enjoyed; when they knew their neighbors’ first names; when they all got together at the church social, the fire hall, and the grange; when they

stood tall and pitched in when someone ran into trouble; and when the term “neighborhood” referred to a group of people, not just a location.

Some EXAMPLES of OFFERS & REQUESTS

*minor home repair* *pet care * *cooking* *massage* *gar-dening * *car repairs* *housekeeping* *tutoring* *transporta-tion* *errands* *arts & crafts* *computer help* *yard work* *after school activities**sewing and alterations* *clerical* *childcare* *moving assistance* *budgeting*

CONTACT

Potluck dinners every third Mon. of month at 6 p.m. at The Church of Christ 2317 W. Grandview.

every night and your game could improve drastically. Really emphasize shoulder activation, hip activation and hamstring activation due to having the most effect on our golf game. The same goes for before we tee off, each time! Doing these active stretches not only helps safely improve our flex-ibility and overall posture, but it gets the blood flowing to the muscles making sure they have the proper energy to per-form the tasks we are about to demand on them. Repeat the steps of getting the body warm, actively stretching empha-sizing on the muscles we are going to use and open up the joints. Instead of finally getting into the groove by hole 4 or 5 we can impress our competitors with the first tee off. Once 18 comes around and your

competitors are praising the lord for the day to be over, we as the well balanced and stretched athletes aren’t done just yet.

Now is the time to do our static stretches and holds. This is where

we really help fend off the DOMS we just spent hours unknowingly working on. Our body is already warmed up, been used and ready to begin the healing pro-cess, so rather than working our muscles into it we want to stretch them out a little longer to get that lactic acid to the sur-face of the muscles so it is easier to flush away with the other toxins. Do all the basic stretches we did to warm up, but hold them for about 15-30 seconds, for a total of about 10-15 minutes of overall body stretching.

If you make this a part of your reg-ular routine, even if you’re a once in a while warrior, your game and body will thank you. Actively stretching and static stretching have their set place and time, so make sure to know the difference and perform each stretch properly. Always do research into the form and understand the intentions of the stretch, never just start twisting around hoping. Another tip for anyone is drink more water! I know this is asking a lot of some of you golf-ers, but bring a six pack of water with you instead of some of the questionable beverages.

Anthony Morelli can be contacted at [email protected] or 814.602.8284.



--> VISIT the website at grapevine.timebanks.org--> Tracy: [email protected] Fred: [email protected] or 866-6157 Katie: [email protected]



Manager: Terry Francona

2013 Recap: Before the 2013 campaign, the Indians’ management made it known that they wanted to field a winning team. They went out and hired Terry Francona as a manager and then signed high-pro-file free agents in Nick Swisher and Mi-chael Bourn. Francona brought a history of success with him and was the main reason why Swisher and Bourn decided to come to Cleveland. With this, Swisher brought an unmatched energy to the team and brought a feeling of camaraderie to the clubhouse. This brought the play-ers together and made them feel like a family. The unity that Francona and Swisher brought propelled the Indians to a strong 92-70 record and their first trip to the playoffs since 2007. They face the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild card game, where they would fall 4-0. This was a terrible ending for a team that beat the odds and silence many critics through-out the season. The Indians knew they could have done better and gone further on their quest for their first World Series

title since 1948. Overall, though, it was a successful season for the Indians to build on, as many of their players would be contracted to return in 2014.

2014 Outlook: I usually criticize teams for not making many off-season moves but I think that it may work in the In-dians favor. They lost two of their five starting pitchers in Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir and needed to find people to cover those lost innings and produc-tion. Instead of signing high-profile free agents like Matt Garza or Ervin Santana, the Indians decided to stand pat and in-stead allow their young pitching to fill the spots. Pitchers like Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and Carlos Carrasco will be called upon to fill the rotation spots. Bauer won’t begin the season in the ma-jors but will be called upon during the season to contribute. Salazar is someone who was able to make heads turn during his brief stint with the club late in the 2013 season. He is a future ace and was able to hone his skills and gain the expe-rience of pitching in the major leagues.

Besides the rotation, the Indians will re-turn their entire lineup from last season and should be able to build upon the high success that they had. Last season, the Indians were fifth in the major leagues in runs scored, which is highly impressive considering players like Nick Swisher, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Michael Bourn all had the worst seasons of their careers sta-tistically. Now, if these players are able to contribute like they have at previous points in their careers, the Indians offense may be able to be even better. This team is one of the most boom or bust in all of baseball. The rotation has high upside but could also turn out to be one of the worst in baseball. The lineup is streaky and needs to find balance rather than fall-ing into one of their patchy flashes where they fail to score frequently and find hits hard to come by. My guess is that the In-dians will be close to their 92-70 record from last year and will be in the running once again for a playoff spot.


~ By Jacob Jaros, sports editor ~

Off Season Deals Notable Departures Starters

OF David Murphy: two years $12 million with a 2016 option RP John Axford: one year $4.5 million

Ubaldo Jimenez, Scott Kazmir, Chris Perez, Joe Smith, Rich Hill, Matt Albers

• Acquired P Josh Out-man from the Rockies for OF Drew Stubbs

• Acquired INF Justin Sellers from the Dodg-ers for cash consider-ations

Trades 1B- Nick Swisher2B- Jason Kipnis 3B- Lonnie Chisenhall SS- Asdrubal Cabrera C- Yan GomesRF- David Murphy LF- Michael Brantley CF- Michael BournDH- Carlos Santana

Team Preview

Rotation1. Justin Masterson 2. Corey Kluber3. Zack McAllister4. Carlos Carrasco5. Danny Salazar

Bullpen: John Axford (Closer), Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Marc Rzepczynski, Vinnie Pestano, Josh Outman, Josh Tomlin



Manager: Clint Hurdle

2013 Recap: 2013 was a magical season for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They finally overcame one of the worst losing streaks in any sports’ history and put together a winning season. Not only did they over-come the historic losing streak, but they put together a run that would put them back in the playoffs. The Pirates accom-plished these feats by adding a veteran presence in Russell Martin to help their pitching staff, they increased reliability of their bullpen, and they saw maturation and improvement in their youthful talent. Key players like Starling Marte, Ger-ritt Cole, Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon, Pedro Alvarez, and Andrew McCutchen all had fantastic years and led the team to a 94-68 record. In fact, McCutchen was named the NL MVP because of the strong batting numbers, terrific defense, and the undeniable power to lead that he displayed game in and game out. In the playoffs, the Pirates faced division rival Cincinnati in the wild card game. They won the game against the Reds 6-2 to advance to the National League Division Series against the NL Central Division

winning St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortu-nately for the Pirates, their magic ran out and they were not able to overcome the strength of the Cardinals, losing the se-ries in five games 3-2. Even though the season didn’t end in a World Series like every team wants, the season was a sure success for the Pirates and a good build-ing block for the future.

2014 Outlook: I don’t want to sound too harsh towards the Pirates but the outlook is a lot less promising in 2014 than 2013. They failed to add any strong contribu-tors through free agency or trades and saw the departure of 2013 key contribu-tors A.J. Burnett and Garrett Jones. Un-less addition by subtraction can produce more runs and give up less runs, the out-look isn’t great. The Pirates only scored 634 runs, which was the sixth lowest in the league and but only allowed the sec-ond least amount of runs with 577. This means that the pitching was the strength of the team last year and that when the offense was struggling, they could count on the rotation to limit the opposing teams’ offense and the bullpen would close out games. What the Pirates should

have done, was lock up A.J. Burnett for one more year to give their rotation depth and a strong veteran to help youthful pitchers like Gerritt Cole mature. Also, the Pirates really should have made a run to trade for the Miami Marlins’ power hitting stud Giancarlo Stanton. The Pi-rates have some intriguing prospects and could have put together a package to pry the talented hitter away from Miami. The Pirates right field players were ranked the worst in all of MLB and Stanton would have drastically improved their offense. Looking forward without any strong moves, I don’t think the Pirates can replicate their impressive 2013 and will take a step back. A second or third place finish in their division will be the highest they can attain but still won’t see them return to the playoffs. Then again, the Pirates surprised many people last year and seem to feed off the energy of PNC Park. If the fans are as rabid and show up to games like they did last year, the Pirates may just be able to shock the world again and get closer to competing year in and year out.


~ By Jacob Jaros, sports editor ~Team Preview

Off Season Deals Notable Departures Starters

SP Edinson Volquez: one year $5 million

SS Clint Barmes: one year $2 million

A.J. Burnett, Marlon Byrd, Justin Morneau, Garrett Jones, Michael McKenry

• C Chris Stewart from the Yankees for P Kyle Haynes• OF Jaff Decker and RP Miles Mikolas from the Pa-dres for OF Alex Dickerson• 1B Chris McGuiness from Rangers for RP Miles

Mikolas• RP Duke Welker from the Twins for SP Kris Johnson• 3B Brent Morel off waiv-ers from Blue Jays

Trades 1B- Gaby Sanchez2B- Neil Walker3B- Pedro AlvarezSS- Jordy MercerC- Russell MartinRF- Jose TabataLF- Starling MarteCF- Andrew McCutchen


www.eriesportsbuzz.com8www.marketplacegazette.com Oct. 18 - Nov. 1

Lou BrunoGeneral Manager

Glass Block Specialties

By Bruno

“Improving your neighborhood one block at a time!”

997 French StreetErie, PA 16501www.glassblockspecialties.com

Showroom: 814.464.0632Fax: 814.464.0633

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Dec. 20 - Jan. 9

9www.marketplacegazette.com Oct. 18 - Nov. 1

Where in Erie are we?

PICTURE CHALLENGEEach week we’ll be displaying a picture, taken from noteworthy landmarks in Erie, and you’re knowledge of the city could win you a $10 gift card to the Brewerie Bar & Restaurant.

Go to our website, or mail your answer with this cut

For each issue we will draw a winner from those who guess cor-rectly. Good luck!

Dec. 6 - Dec.20

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WASTED BLOOD (HEAVY HARDCORE)

COUNTERFEIT (FAST LAKE EFFECT HARDCORE)

STARVE (LOUD ERIE DOOM)

SPUD DOG (ERIE POWERLIFTING CHAMPS)

Starts at 6pm, tickets are $7. Bring a buddy!

Saturday December 14 Show TBA

Your Guess Here!

IRS LETTERSCall Local Tax Help

814-490-4667Ask for Tracy

ErieTaxPrep.com

Sit. Stay. Play. Pet Sitting

814-881-1610Ask for Janellessp.vpweb.com

http://stores.ebay.com/Prescotts-Stash-4-Cash

Prescott’s Stash 4 Cash EBay Consignment

We specialize in toys, antiques, glassware, collectibles, sports memorabilia and finds of all kinds!! Erie’s only storefront eBay consignment store.

Now doing estate buyouts/cleanouts!

Sunday ClosedMon. - Thurs.

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Ask for Lou!

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march 27 issue one of erie sports buzz

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