Prep Talk /By Keith McShea
Mets hit a homer for city schools
After one day, the Buffalo Public Schools already think the New York Mets are a big hit.
As part of Monday’s Buffalo Bisons-Mets affiliation announcement at Dunn Tire Park, Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon presented a check for $25,000 to Buffalo Superintendent James Williams for the Bisons High School Baseball Program.
“I thought it was extraordinary that the first thing they did when they got to town was donate $25,000 for inner city baseball — it looks like they mean to stay for a while,” said Dave Thomas, athletics director for the Buffalo Public Schools. “I think it’s terrific, and we will put it to good use.”
The impressive donation by the Mets fueled what is already an outstanding partnership between the Bisons and the city schools. The Bisons adopted city baseball in April 2007, helping fund various improvements like uniforms, equipment, transportation and coaching.
Thomas said the Bisons and New Era Cap Co. teamed to help provide $2.5 million for a sweeping renovation of Johnnie B. Wiley Stadium, which will feature a baseball field complete with fences, dugouts and lights.
That will be a great site for the sport in the city, and it couldn’t be more fitting: Wiley is the city facility which stands on the site of War Memorial Stadium — the home of the Bisons from 1961-1970 and 1979-1987 — at Jefferson Avenue and Best Street.
Thomas was on hand at Monday’s announcement, as were ballplayers from the city — in uniform — from Hutch-Tech, Riverside, Emerson and City Honors. Thomas said the Mets’ donation would likely be headed to upgrade equipment for city players.
“It’s critical,” Thomas said of the donation. “Because baseball hasn’t been doing well [in city schools], but it’s started to do better now, thanks to the Junior Bisons program and our summer program.”
The Bisons also helped sponsor a league which is going on right now. The Buffalo Middle School Developmental Fall Baseball League gives much-needed experience and instruction to seventh and eighth graders from city schools.
Around the halls
• Another great community combination announced recently was that the Buffalo Public Schools will form a crew team in the spring in partnership with the West Side Rowing Club. The Club will provide use of the Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse and racing shells. Again, a natural fit between the schools and one of the city’s best sports organizations in West Side.
• St. Francis is 0-3, but we still included them among our top 10 teams on our ballot in the large school football poll, even over some 3-0 teams. The Red Raiders lost a close game with Holy Trinty of Long Island, were competitive against defending Class A state champion St. Francis and lost this past week at national power St. Ignatius of Cleveland. And the bottom line is that we think Frannies would beat plenty of large schools out there.
The Raiders have another formidable out-of-town opponent this week Friday night at Cardinal Mooney in Youngstown, Ohio.
“We could be playing some different teams and maybe we’d be undefeated but would that truly be what we are?” said St. Francis coach Jerry Smith. “Hopefully we can rebound and play better against Mooney, and then when we go against Western New York opponents, we’ll see where we settle then.”
• Speaking of calls, they don’t come much more entertaining than Lafayette football coach Icky Satcher. The Mighty Violets survived a completed Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game when they stopped the two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 14-13 victory.
Here’s Satcher’s Hail Mary replay:
“The kid from Burgard drops back — we banged him and knocked him down, and he jumped back up. Pressure came from the opposite side, the quarterback stopped and the defense went by him and then he fired a touchdown pass. The kid caught it on the 3-yard line and fell back into the end zone.
“Burgard went bananas. I fell to my knees. My assistant was like, ‘Get up.’ I was like, ‘No.’ ”
Another entertaining account of the play — by radio announcer Rich Kozak on the Intense Milk Harvard Cup Game of the Week on WJJL-AM — is available at buffaloschools.org.
Live chat Thursday at 7
My live chat at the Prep Talk blog this week will be at 7 p. m. Thursday. Go to buffalonews.com/blogs to ask questions ahead of time.
