Matthews: The Dayton Red Wings?

WOULD DAYTON, OHIO EMBRACE OUR RED WINGS?

THAT CAN’T HAPPEN...RIGHT?

Let me begin by saying that I do not intend to be an alarmist in this short essay.

International League President Randy Mobley on Thursday notified Rochester Community Baseball President/CEO Naomi Silver and Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo that the league will move Rochester’s season-opening homestand and all subsequent homestands to other cities if the team and County can’t agree at least on a one-year extension of the current lease by March 1.

Cheers to Mobley for forcing the issue. This Red Wings-County squabble is an embarrassment for both sides.

I do not believe the Red Wings are going to fly the coop -- not this year and hopefully not for a very long time.

But...

New York State Majority Leader of the Assembly Joe Morelle (D-Irondequoit) was a guest on a local radio talk show this week to implore leadership of Monroe County and RCB to come to their dollars and senses and agree to terms on a long-term lease for Frontier Field. Why is that so difficult?

Mobley has let it be known that a team without a lease could not be tolerated for long for the sake of the entire 14-team league. That’s understandable and I believe he means business.

Morelle mentioned that several cities would love to have a Triple-A baseball team and specifically mentioned one possibility – Dayton, Ohio.

I don’t know why Morelle picked Dayton as an example but it was an interesting choice.

Dayton and Rochester have roughly the same metro population.

Dayton would fit in nicely geographically for the International League. It is a 72-mile drive to Columbus – home of Mobley’s IL headquarters -- a 117-mile drive to Indianapolis, a 150-mile drive to Toledo and a 153-mile drive to Louisville.

Dayton does not have a Triple-A team. It does not have a Double-A team. The Dayton Dragons are a member of the Single-A Midwest League.

Dayton entered the Midwest League in 2000 and moved into a new $23.5-milion stadium – Fifth Third Field.  The seating capacity is 8,200.

You might be thinking – too small for the International League.

Here’s the catch. The Dragons have sold out 1,246 consecutive home games – the all-time record for a North American pro sports team. Home paid attendance for the Dragons last season was 554,630. They’ve led Class-A in attendance for 15 consecutive years.

And it isn’t because the Dragons have been a consistently great product on the field. The team’s record since 2000 is 1,182-1,321 (.472 winning percentage) and it has never won the league pennant.

Obviously, folks in Dayton love pro baseball. I imagine they’d be very excited about taking a Triple-A franchise from Rochester or anywhere else. And Dayton is considerably closer to the Minnesota Twins (704 miles) than Rochester is (1,008 miles).

Did someone from the IL or Rochester Community Baseball whisper something into Morelle’s ear? If so, they’re not going to tell us. Or maybe Joe simply knows a lot about minor-league baseball.

For people who think there are no cities for the Red Wings to relocate to – Dayton would seem to be a reasonable option. Of course, so are Buffalo and Syracuse, thought I doubt that many Red Wings fans would regularly drive to either city to watch their “banished” home team play.

Again, I don’t believe the Red Wings are going anywhere. But if they spent even one season in another city, I do believe the team would lose the special place it has in the hearts and minds of many people in this region.

The Red Wings have been something we could count on for a very long time. A leave of absence – however brief it might be -- would not go down well.

A TIMELY WIN TO SAY THE LEAST FOR THE NEW-LOOK RAZORSHARKS

The Rochester RazorSharks beat the Vancouver Knights 136-109 Thursday night at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. Eight Sharks scored in double figures, including 19 by local product and fan favorite Melvin Council, a two-time playoffs MVP who was released by the Sharks earlier in the week Thursday night, according to a league and team news release.

Under the circumstances, it was an extremely timely and impressive victory.

The Sharks were enormously successful for their first 12 pro basketball seasons – 210-35 record (including 126-11 at home)...30-11 in the postseason (240-46 overall record)...eight league championships, including the past four in the Premier Basketball League.

The Premier Basketball League is no more. Rochester native, PBL founder and RazorSharks owner Dr. Sev Hrywnak , decided to replace the PBL this season with a “new and improved” eight-team North American Premier Basketball League.

The transition has not been kind for the Sharks. I don’t know how much of an improvement the NABL is over the old PBL, but the Sharks have mostly suffered in the transition.

The RaziorSharks will take a 3-8 record into Friday night’s rematch against visiting Vancouver.

After a rare three-team NABL trade Tuesday shipped three Sharks to Vancouver (John Ivy, Zach Reynolds and DaQuan Brooks), and Phil Valenti was released, only 4 players remain from Rochester’s season-opening 12-man roste.

(Leading scorer Corey Allmond jumped to the Moncton Magic of the Canadian Professional Basketball League before this Sharks season started. Wise move by Allmond).

Coach Chris Iversen, protégé of legendary former Sharks coach Rod Baker, entered this season with a phenomenal 38-3 record (including the postseason) and two championships with Rochester. He was replaced this week by assistant coach Clay Pittinaro.

The Sharks didn’t draw big crowds on a consistent basis even when they were dominating the PBL. I don’t know what the team’s future holds. But for their 12 years, they were the most successful team in Rochester’s pro sports history.

COULD GRONK COPY JIM BROWN’S JUMP TO HOLLYWOOD?

New England Patriots star right end Rob Gronkowski supposedly is contemplating retirement from the NFL in favor of pursuing a career in Hollywood action movies.

Gronk is a ham at heart. He has made a few cameo appearances in movies and would be a tremendous hit as a pro wrestler.

If you think a Gronkowski jump to Hollywood is a crazy and impossible idea, you’re probably too young to remember what Jim Brown did in the summer of 1966.

Brown had played nine NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He led the league in rushing eight times. He averaged 104.3 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry – not for his best season – for his career. He also had 262 catches for 2,499 yards and 20 TDs. He was 29 years old and expected to play at least one more NFL season.

Brown’s second major movie was Dirty Dozen. He played Robert Jefferson, one of 12 convicts sent to France during World War II to eliminate Nazi officers who were meeting in a castle. Filming began in the spring and fell behind schedule due to bad weather. Brown was a no-show for Cleveland’s training camp and owner Art Modell threatened to fine him every week he was AWOL. Brown, who had planned to retire after the 1966 season, decided to retire from football immediately.

Brown was so tremendous in the NFL that he was a cinch for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Is Gronkowski a future Football Hall of Famer? I think he is well on his way to Canton but would ruin any hopes of ever getting a bust in Canton if he retires now.

Gronk’s NFL stats:

102 regular-season games in 8 seasons...474 catches for 7,179 yards...15.1 yards per catch...76 touchdowns.

13 post-season games...68 catches for 972 yards...14.3 yards per catch...12 touchdowns.

IMAGINE MIKE MOUSTAKAS AT THIRD BASE FOR YANKEES

The New York Yankees reportedly have discussed signing slugging free-agent third baseman Mike Moustakas.

Just what the rest of baseball wants to hear: Another power hitter for the Bronx Bombers.

Moustakas, who hits left-handed and slammed a career-best 38 HRs for Kansas City last season, has been disappointed by the lack of lucrative long-term offers this winter.

The theory – possibly wishful thinking – is that Moustakas might be willing to sign a one-year deal at a relatively reasonable price because he’d figure a huge season and could set himself up for a nice long-term deal in 2019. That well could happen aiming at the cozy right-field porch at Yankee Stadium and facing fat pitches in a loaded lineup.

The Yankees are about $22 million under the $197 million luxury tax level.

SLUMPING AMERKS ARE PLAYING LIKE THE SABRES

The 2017-18 Rochester Americans have enjoyed a solid American Hockey League season – until recently.

In their last 12 games, the Amerks have only 3 wins in regulation, 4 losses in regulation and 5 losses in overtime and shootouts. They’ve earned only 11 of 24 points over that span and been outscored 33-27.

The Amerks have been playing like the parent NHL Buffalo Sabres lately and that’s not good.

Fortunately, the Amerks are far more likely to bounce back and make a strong run in the playoffs than the forlorn Sabres are.

GIONTA WAS QUITE A DRAWING CARD

Last Friday night, with U.S. Olympic hockey captain and hometown hero Brian Gionta suiting up for the Rochester Americans for the first (and probably only) time, almost 10,000 fans poured into Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. You’d have thought it was a concert.

The announced for Wednesday night’s Amerks game – with Gionta in South Korea – the announced crowd was 2,646 (including no-show tickets sold).

Rochester ranks 21st in the 30-team AHL in average home attendance this season at 4,548. For a change, it looks like the Hershey Bears won’t lead the AHL. Hershey is second at 8,867 – behind the San Diego Gulls at 9,234.

SHORT SHOTS

Bovada odds for the Winter Olympics men’s hockey gold medal: Olympic athletes of Russia 1-to-1...Canada 9-to-2...Sweden 9-to-2...Finland 8-to-1...Czech Republic 9-to-1...USA 10-to-1...Switzerland 33-to-1...Slovakia 80-to-1...Norway 100-to-1...Republic of Korea 400-to-1...Slovenia 400-to-1. USA is the 10-to-13 favorite to win the gold medal in women’s hockey.

Pro Football Focus ranked the Buffalo Bills 14th in special teams performance in 2018. The top 5: Minnesota, Baltimore, LA Rams, Atlanta and Dallas. The bottom two: Washington and the New York Giants.

Underdogs in the NFL postseason (including Super Bowl LII) were 10-1 against the Las Vegas point spread (ATS) and won 6 of the 11 games outright. The only winning favorite ATS was New England (favored by 13 ½) over Tennessee 35-14.

2017 Rochester Red Wings outfielder JB Shuck and pitcher Alex Wimmers will attend major-league spring training camp with the Miami Marlins.

The Knighthawks are offering a nice promotion for Saturday night’s home game against the Toronto Rock: “Two Tickets to Paradise”, in honor of rock legend Eddie Money, who’ll sing the National Anthem. For $10, fans receive one $10 ticket and one free ticket to the game (to take advantage of the limited offer go to www.knighthawks.com/paradise).  Game time is 8 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Friday, February 9

Saquon Barkley (21)...Jameer Nelson (36)...new Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero (42)...John WEallace (44)...John Kruk (57)...Chris Nilan (60)...Sandy Lyle (60)...Phil Ford (62)...Mike Kenn (62)...Andre Savard (65)...Mookie Wilson (66)...Danny White (66)...Bernard Gallacher (69)...Vince Papale (72)...Bill Bergey (73). Mia Farrow (73) and Joe Pesci (75) are invited to the birthday party.

Saturday, February 10

Josh Jackson (21)...Bobby Portis (23)...Max Kepler (25)...Liam Hendriks (29)...Travis d’Arnaud (29)...Paul Millsap (33)...Alex Gordon (34)...Zaza Pachula (34)...Justin Gatlin (36)...Lance Berkman (42)...Ty Law (44)...Wayne Gandy (47)...Daryl Johnston (52)...Lenny Dykstra (55)...Greg Norman (63)...Mark Spitz (68)...Dick Anderson (72).

Sunday, February 11

Dansby Swanson (24)...Ben McLemore (25)...Jake Matthews (26)...Nikola Mirotic (27)...Mike Richards (33)...Jabari Greer (36)...Jacque Vaughn (43)...surfer Kelly Slater (46)...John Bock (47)...Derek King (51)...Alexander Semak (52)...James Silas (69)...Eddie Shack (81). Brandy (39), Jennifer Anniston (49), Sarah Palin (54), Jeb Bush (65) and Burt Reynolds (82) are invited to the birthday party.


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