RIT Captures the Atlantic Hockey Association Title
I meant to post this earlier, but I still want to mention that the Rochester Institute of Technology managed to achieve something that's pretty much unheard of: capture a regular season conference title in their first year as a conference member in division one. Unfortunately, there is a two year period where teams that are transitioning from a lower division can't play in the playoffs. This was the second year for RIT. On the bright side, it means that they accomplished all that they could have, and it's something that many believe has never been done previously.
I followed the team pretty closely this year, and I was very impressed. The effort was there almost every night, and that's how the team rose to the occasion despite their youth--only three seniors--and newness to division one. The team was very balanced offensively, goaltending was stellar, and the defense improved as the season progressed. It was a well earned title; one that should pave the way for a real bright future in division one.
Source: brettdaly.blogspot.com
Razorsharks Bolt from the ABA
The Rochester Razorsharks opted to withdraw from the American Basketball Association playoffs--several other teams also opted out of the playoffs--and focus on a new league that they'll join next year called the Premiere Basketball League. Now, the obvious question becomes why did they opt to do this? It's quite the story. The final straw involved a planned playoff date that had been canceled because the opposing team's coaches couldn't get to Rochester because of travel delays tied to a storm. That's fair enough, although it could have been prevented had they not been forced to toss together travel plans at the last second because the previous round game was 40 hours earlier. The Blue Cross Arena was booked the following week because of the NCAA Hockey Regionals. The league was unhappy with the delay, so they tried to force them to move to another venue. Now, the Razorsharks average over 4, 000 fans, while many of the league's teams play in front of a couple hundred family members and friends in a local high school gym. So the fact they had season ticket holders and sponsorship obligations seemed to be foreign to the league. Rochester had nailed down a date the following week and informed the league. Then a couple hours later the league's CEO e-mailed out to the other owners requesting opinions as to whether Razorsharks should be forced to forfeit. Needless to say, they opted to leave before any sort of consensus could be determined based on their opponents' opinions.
Now, this was just the last event in what has really been a comical experience for a team that clearly operates at a much higher level than most of the league. Their last home loss--about a year and a half ago--was to a team that was out of cash. Consequently, the Razorsharks paid their travel costs so the game could be played and that was their final game. Rochester hosted the "Great Eight" last season with the league. However, there are rumors of the league not living up to reimbursement promises despite the event drawing well. Southern California left the league partially because the league never reimbursed them. This year, the Toledo Royal Knights--the second team in Toledo this season--didn't bother to communicate with Rochester at all regarding a road game, nor would they respond to calls. Consequently, the league's president--an individual who tried to arrange a hostile takeover of the ABA because of his frustration with the league's poor leadership--told them not to bother traveling that day. Toledo proceeded to fold. Then Rochester opted not to travel to a road game in Brooklyn--which was the second team in Brooklyn this season--due to the accommodations they arranged. As it turns out, the motel has a storied past including prostitution and a murder.
Ultimately, the league is completely dysfunctional. Less than half of the teams survive from season to season. Generally, all of the successful ones bail within two years. The CBA took a couple teams last year, the NBA's D-League has one, and it appears a number of teams will bolt to this new league next year. Whether the intentions with expansion are good or not, I don't know. The idea of a league with tons of teams so travel is modest makes sense. But so many of the teams are so amazingly undercapitalized that it seems the league is happy to take their $10, 000 or so in expansion fees and watch the inevitable collapse--there are no enforced standards. That has ultimately led to this league being seen negatively, or as a "total farce" and the "Always Bad Association" as a local columnist put it. There are some good teams, but they are all dragged down by the bad apples. Rochester's future will be much brighter in this new league, as will the futures of the other teams that opt to leave the ABA.
Source: brettdaly.blogspot.com
How to Obtain Insurance Posted By : Eugene M. Smith
In our previous articles we've approached such issues as correct cargo insurance, clauses of the insurance agreement, term of validity of the insurance agreement and factors which influence the underwriting rate. Today we'll discuss how to obtain insurance.
Source: www.articlesphere.com
National Lacrosse League: Major league players & minor league management
Here's the entertaining scenario for this year's championship: The National Lacrosse League decided to sign a television deal with Versus--a third tier United States cable sports network. In the deal, they concluded that they'd host a game on May 12th at 4pm EST for television purposes. The Rochester Knighthawks' arena had been booked by a circus--they book two years in advance. The league moved forward with that date despite knowing Rochester couldn't host the championship.
So, as you might have guessed, the league's worst nightmare came true. Rochester made it to the finals and earned the right to host based on their 14-2 regular season record. The league has a little-known rule that if the host team's arena isn't available, it can be moved to the other team's arena. Yet, for some reason, despite knowing the scenarios, they decided to make a decision on the host site after the two teams had been determined. Why might that be? My hypothesis is they wanted to pick and choose the site. San Jose is the worst drawing team in the league, and I suspect they would have let Rochester host the game in Buffalo or Toronto had they made it. Otherwise, simply state the rule ahead of time. It's pretty simple.
In the end, the NLL put its television contract ahead of its fans and the integrity of the championship. Arizona will host Rochester. Oh, by the way, for some odd reason Arizona started selling single game tickets two days before a decision was supposedly made. With each blunder, I become more and more convinced they succeed in spite of their management, not because of it. The league proposed a minor league concept called the NLL2 that never came to fruition.They now want to compete with Major League Lacrosse with the NLL-O. The proposed NLL-O has already been delayed several times and the concept is incredibly flawed. While there's now a decent core of teams in the NLL now, the league has had its share of teams fold. Finally, the NLL has been forced to move its championship game to progressively less popular networks over the last three years.
I enjoy the sport immensely. Sadly, the league took a huge step back with this move. Should the lower seed win at home, in my opinion, an asterisk should be placed next to 2007 in the record books. The game could have easily been hosted in Rochester on the 5th; Versus has changed the NLL's time slot several times, so I'd hope they'd return the favor (although there are now reports that Versus simply told the league "no"). But, if nothing else, the league should have been honest with everyone regarding this policy. Instead they opted to give themselves the option of making up the rules after the two finalists had been determined.
Update: Despite this challenge, the Knighthawks defeated Arizona 13-11 in front of 9, 700 fans in Arizona. The game was a good one, although the Versus telecast was less impressive. It's too bad the higher seed didn't host the game, but the correct team will still go down in the history books as the champion. A viewing party was held at a venue in Rochester, and according to one account, over 1, 000 people packed the facility.
Source: brettdaly.blogspot.com
The Medley Centre: Is there a plan?
That question is being asked with heightened frequency of late. The Medley Centre was originally built by Wilmorite in 1990. It quickly became the region's most successful mall. But, Wilmorite proceeded to expand the malls in Greece (which cannibalized the customer base to the west) and Victor (which cannibalized the customer base to the east). Those two expansions--which oversaturated the market--and completely false crime rumors led to the mall's rapid decline.
In 2005, the mall was sold to Adam Bersin. With the announcement came promises of new stores and dramatic mall improvements. The price for those promises was tax breaks. While things progressed slowly, there were a few significant changes. Steve and Barry's moved into the property, a handful of new stores were added, and a new kids play area was installed. There seemed to be momentum during the 2005 holiday season, even though other promises such as renovated bathrooms and an improved fountain fell through.
Unfortunately, that momentum was quickly lost. No significant tenants were added in 2006. A handful of tenants came in for the 2006 holiday season, but roughly the same number left during the course of the year. And, after a lackluster 2006 holiday season, several small stores left along with The Bon-Ton. In fact, I suspect the vacancy rate is now higher than when the property was purchased. Bersin then sold the property to Robert Congel of Pyramid Properties for a handsome profit in April 2007.
Since the announcement, there has been no movement in regards to new stores. That's concerning considering the lucrative back-to-school season is already underway. Understandably, there has been a lot of noise in a local blog due to the deafening silence from mall management. Congel has the connections to unique stores that could reinvigorate the mall. Perhaps an announcement regarding his vision for the mall is coming soon. But, if I don't see movement during the holiday season, I'll be led to believe that they have a completely different plan in mind for the property.
Source: brettdaly.blogspot.com
'Gypsy outreach gets boost from Charlotte'
CHARLOTTE - When King Solomon began building the temple in Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C., it took 80, 000 stonecutters to lay the foundation.
Source: www.biblicalrecorder.org
Tijuana Tokyo's Expands Hours
I mentioned visiting Tijuana Tokyo's earlier, and I just found out they are expanding their hours. Given that I always want to see good, locally owned establishments thrive downtown, I thought I'd give them a bit of a plug. They are now open until 6pm Monday through Thursday, and until 9pm on Friday and Saturday. So it's a great option if you're looking for a good, but fairly quick, meal before a downtown event. They also have an online delivery option on their website, so it's another solid meal option for those who live downtown or nearby.
On an unrelated note, it looks like the Amerks and Knighthawks' lease issues are going to get resolved. Mayor Duffy proposed a lease solution that involves further scrutiny of their books, and they seem to be open to it. So that's positive news for sports fans and downtown Rochester. Finally, the old Jillian's location in High Falls is going to get converted into office space. While it's too bad the site wasn't a successful entertainment destination, the district appears on track to build up the critical mass it needs with housing and office space. Food/entertainment should then follow.
Source: brettdaly.blogspot.com
New Downtown Rochester Restaurants
Prior to yesterday's Knighthawks game, we decided to go out to dinner. I first tried a new restaurant in downtown called Sneaky Pete's. It's a small sports bar on Main Street near State. It looked like it had about a dozen tables and a bar. Unfortunately (for me, but great for them) it was so packed with Knighthawks fans that I decided to look elsewhere so we'd make the game in time. Their menu looked good and surprisingly large for a small place so I look forward to trying it soon though. Afterwards, I decided to try the Main Street Grill in the Clarion, but it was also packed.
Consequently, I was going to head to High Falls, but I happened to run across a relatively new restaurant that just added weekend evening hours on State Street. It's called Tijuana Tokyo's. You can find Mexican food, wraps, salads and soups. It's a fast casual restaurant that caters primarily to the lunch crowd. They also have delivery available via their website, and I suspect that's their main source of income on weekend evenings. The food was great and the owner was very friendly. There is meter parking near the restaurant (free after 6pm and on weekends all day), and the Sister Cities Garage is usually free on weekends.
Both are great downtown additions and I hope they'll both do very well. Before going to the next Blue Cross Arena event, you might want to check these places out. I like seeing downtown businesses open at night, and patronizing them is the best way to make that happen.
Note: Tijuana Tokyo's has returned to its weekday breakfast and lunch hours. During the summer, they may reopen during the evening. A recent Insider article indicated they are planning to open a second location on Monroe Avenue.
Source: brettdaly.blogspot.com
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