FNL PREVIEW: CENTERCOURT CLASSIC - ST. JOE’S VS JAMESTOWN
Within the local high school basketball scene, there are two weekends that everyone looks forward to: Championship weekend and the Centercourt Classic. Tonight, I’ll be with the Friday Night Lights crew at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute for day one of the 7-game showcase, hosted by Chad “Centercourt” Andrews.
The Centercourt Classic features teams from both private and public schools across the region, putting teams that usually wouldn’t play each other under the spotlight. With other showcases coming throughout the regular season, and holiday tournaments aplenty, what makes the Centercourt Classic different is how close it is to the playoffs. These are all postseason-caliber matchups that feature teams outside of league play just weeks before the playoffs begin.
The first six annual Centercourt Classics set the precedent that packed the house for each game, as no games had ever been broadcasted, creating an old-school culture of crowding the gym to have all eyes on the floor. At 7:30 tonight, WBFO and WNED Create’s ‘Friday Night Lights’ will make history as the first network to broadcast a game from the Centercourt Classic live, as the 12-1 Jamestown Red & Green take on the host team, #1 ranked St. Joe’s.
Jamestown vs St. Joe is the second of two games tonight, as the weekend begins at 6pm with Akron taking on St. Francis. Tomorrow, there are five games, all highly anticipated, broken into two ticked sessions:
At noon, #3 ranked Timon takes on Starpoint. At 1:45, #10 ranked Williamsville South battles with Nichols. The session concludes at 3:30 with #2 ranked Niagara Falls battling with former divisional foe and currently #7 ranked Lockport.
The final session features two top small school teams from the Southern Tier, #1 ranked small school Randolph vs the #2 ranked small school Westfield. Finally, #4 ranked large school Canisius duels with #8 ranked large school Health Sciences.
Beginning with the first session featuring the two games tonight, $10 tickets are available for each of the three sessions here.
You won’t want to miss tonight’s headliner at 7:30 between St. Joe’s and Jamestown. You can listen live on WBFO and watch the action on WNED Create with PJ Cauley and myself live from the Centercourt Classic on ‘Friday Night Lights.’
SABRES SUPPOSEDLY INTERESTED IN VANCOUVER’S SWEDE, SHOULD THEY BE?
The Buffalo Sabres have been rumored to be involved in trade conversations with the Vancouver Canucks regarding their 26-year-old center Elias Pettersson. While the Sabres fan base has been clamoring for General Manager Kevyn Adams to make a move to improve the roster since the season began, I wonder whether this is the type of player that Buffalo needs at this time, or if they are in the position where it matters if he is or not. Let’s dive in…
Pettersson has been the topic of controversy in Vancouver for the last month or so. Somewhere along the line, a rift separated him and fellow-alternate captain JT Miller, which led to both forwards being reportedly shopped around the league. WIthout any trade restrictions in his contract kicking in until this summer, Pettersson is at the mercy of the Canucks to be moved to any of the 31 other franchises, including Buffalo, which seems to be on most players’ No-Trade-Lists. Pettersson, a former 5th-overall draft pick, has seven years remaining on his $11.6 Million per year contract.
There are plenty of reasons why trading for Pettersson makes sense. Over the last two seasons, he’s arguably a top-10 centerman in the NHL. Pettersson posted 102 points two seasons ago, and 86 last season, he is unquestionably an elite playmaker. This season, he’s off to a slow start, with just 32 points in 44 games played. While those aren’t the top-of-the league numbers that fans in Vancouver have come to expect, Pettersson would currently rank 3rd on the Sabres in points with that per game pace. One of the biggest complaints with the Sabres’ current roster is their youth. If trading a 23-year-old Dylan Cozens to the Canucks is what it takes, that would certainly address the “they’re too young” concerns, but at what cost?
As I said before, Pettersson is locked into a long-term contract worth 11.6 million dollars per year. The expectations that come with a contract of that magnitude are outrageously high; add on top of that the pressure of being the “savior” for the Sabres to get them into the playoffs, and there is no guarantee that it would work out. As the organization themselves have said time and time again, this team is simply not hard enough to play against. Too often are the Sabres’ weak in puck battles and in front of either net. Does a 175-pound Swedish forward change their identity at all? In my opinion, no. You would hopefully have your top two centers set for the foreseeable future, but the bulk of the work still needs to be done to surround those centers with tough, rugged, powerful players that have a nose for getting to the net and defending with physicality and force.
From a fan’s perspective, I fear that Kevyn Adams is in a lose-lose situation here. If he makes the trade for Pettersson, he may very well have earned himself another year as General Manager, but at the cost of cap space both in the present and future, along with whatever assets they have to send out the door. If he doesn’t make this trade, the public perception will be that Adams is a lame-duck GM who can’t get any trade across the finish line and will be fired after they officially miss the playoffs this year. It’s a shame that the only high-caliber player available is Pettersson at this moment, because, due to no trade clauses around the league, Adams and the Sabres have no choice in who they can make a splash for in the trade market. There is no Matthew Tkachuk-type available right now, and it would be a miracle if one becomes available in the next few years after what Florida accomplished once they acquired him from Calgary.
The Sabres are back in action tonight as they host the Nashville Predators. Prior to puck drop at 7:00, Buffalo will honor Rob Ray as he gets inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.
BANDITS HOST ALBANY FOR NLL CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
The Albany FireWolves make the familiar trip down the I-90 to Buffalo tomorrow night as the Buffalo Bandits take to the floor for a rematch of last season’s Championship series.
Buffalo (5-0) comes off a bye week as the only remaining undefeated team in the NLL. Albany (2-6) sits last in the standings, but seek revenge after the Bandits ended their season less than a year ago.
It should be a fun one tomorrow night at KeyBank Center, faceoff is set for 7:30PM!
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