(Born June 2, 1922) -- For someone born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Eddie Donovan sure kept returning to Western New York a lot.
Donovan became well known in this part of the world originally as the basketball coach at St. Bonaventure. His teams went 139-57 during eight seasons there, and some of them were nationally ranked.
Donovan made the jump to the pros in 1961, as the New York Knicks hired him to replace Carl Braun as coach. Donovan moved up to general manager in 1965, and made several key moves that helped the Knicks win the NBA championship in 1970.
It was quite a coup, then, when the Buffalo Braves hired Donovan as general manager in 1970. He was executive of the year in the NBA in 1973-74, but returned to the Knicks in 1975. His second stay in New York didn't go so well, and Donovan lost the GM job in 1982.
In 1986, Donovan returned to Olean. He was a vice president there before retiring in 1994. Donovan died of a stroke in 2001.
--- Budd Bailey
When it comes to a marathon, there's always an unexpected glitch. One popped up and bit me on Sunday.
I picked up the results of the Buffalo Marathon and Half-Marathon at about 11:15 a.m. That's more than four hours after the start, which allowed 50 finishers for men and women in both. I wrote my story based on those results.
I always like to include top local runners for the marathon when I can. So I recognized the best Western New York finishers in the marathon in the story.
On Monday, I got a somewhat sheepish note from the local male "top finisher." It seems that he had entered the full marathon, ran several miles and decided to just do the half-marathon. He went left, instead of straight, and crossed the finish line less than three hours after starting. The problem was that he never told anyone he had cut short his run, and his chip was registered for the full marathon. Our runner was apologetic and thought the real local leader deserved the credit. (Steve Bohan, this is your substitute moment of glory.)
This actually happens quite a bit. Jeff John from buffalorunners.com spent most of Sunday trying to sort out the names and races, an effort which is more heroic than merely unsung. I've talked with race officials to tell them about this situation. They seem to think it would be easy to put some sort of timing mat at the halfway point of the marathon. Then, they'd know who crossed it on the way to completing the full marathon. Those who didn't cross the mat could be taken off the marathon list. It's another item on the list of things to fix for 2013.
For the most part, though, I heard few complaints about the race. The number of entrants was up by something like 20 percent. The change in the course went over well. It's good to see the race doing so well.
Shorter distances are on tap for this weekend. Here's the schedule, courtesy of buffalorunners.com:
* Brian Dugan Memorial Scholarship 5K, Lincoln Park in Tonawanda, 6:30 p.m. Friday.
* Woods Walk and Trail Run, Assorted, Pfeiffer Nature Center in Portville, 8 a.m. Saturday, 933-0187.
* Flight 3407 Memorial Race, 5K, Clarence Town Hall Grove in Clarence Center, 9:30 a.m. Saturday, 636-0209.
* Running Water 5K, Northtown Center at Amherst, 10 a.m. Saturday, 536-3004. I ran this race last year, and organizers did a good job. Good to see it back for Year Two.
* Run the 'Burg for Autism 5K, 4236 Clark St. in Hamburg, 11 a.m. Saturday, 572-3613. This has taken over the spot formally filled by the Kyle Reid run, and continues to draw big crowds.
* Juneteenth Run for Health 5K, 585 William St. in Buffalo, 9:30 a.m. Sunday, 830-6560. I'm glad I don't live in the neighborhood when the P.A. system comes on at full blast on a Sunday morning. But this always has been a very runner-friendly race with good people running the show.
* Buffalo Orienteering Runs, 5K & 10K trail runs, Hunter's Creek Park in Wales, 10 a.m. Sunday, 652-8727.
--- Budd Bailey
(Born June 1, 1975) -- Mchal Grosek didn't start his career in Buffalo, but he scored a milestone goal during his time with the Sabres. Then he helped the team again, oddly enough, while leaving.
The Czech right winger was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in 1993. He was the first player from that country to ever suit up for the Jets. It was on to Buffalo in 1996, when he and Darryl Shannon came to the Sabres in a trade for Craig Muni.
Grosek found regular duty in Buffalo through 2000. A highlight came in 1998, when the Sabres played the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs. Not only did the Sabres win in five games, but Grosek scored the series-winning goal -- overtime no less. Buffalo went on to the conference finals, and Grosek had six goals in the '98 playoffs.
The forward was part of the Sabre team that reached the finals in 1999. However, he requested a trade the following spring. Grosek was dealt to the Blackhawks for J.P. Dumont and Doug Gilmour. Grosek recently said in hindsight that asking for trade was a mistake, while Dumont and Gilmour made contributions.
Grosek also played for the Rangers and Bruins before landing in Europe. He became a head coach of a team in Switzerland in 2008.
-- Budd Bailey
By Gene Kershner
Once again, the Buffalo television market has shown it is a racing hotbed as the television ratings for the Preakness by city were recently released by NBC Sports. The overall ratings were down 8% from last year (6.0) and down 14% from 2010 (6.4). The 5.5 overnight rating was the lowest for the event since at least 2000.
This marks the third straight year, and the seventh time in eight years, that overnight ratings have dropped for the Preakness. The Derby was the third-most viewed since 1990 drawing over 14.8 million viewers.
The Buffalo market ranked fourth in the Kentucky Derby rankings and slipped down one spot to fifth in the Preakness final figures. Buffalo had a 13.4 rating and a 27 share for the Kentucky Derby.
The top 10 markets by city, showing rank, rating and share for the 2012 Preakness are as follows:
1. Baltimore, 16.5/36
2. Louisville, 13.1/25
3. Ft. Myers, 10.1/20
4. West Palm Beach, 9.2/18
5. Buffalo, 8.8/20
6. Richmond, 8.1/17
7. New Orleans, 7.9/13
8. Hartford, 7.8/18
9. Nashville, 7.6/15
10. Orlando, 7.2/16
Source: NBC Sports via Sports Media Watch
With a Triple Crown at stake the Belmont Stakes and NBC should be looking at some very positive numbers. The last two Triple Crown efforts by Big Brown (2008) and Smarty Jones (2004) achieved 10.5 and 13.1 ratings, respectively. A non-Triple Crown broadcast usually is in the 3-4 range.
Racing notes
* Godolphin Racing’s Alpha spiked a fever on Tuesday afternoon and will miss the Belmont Stakes trainer Kiaran McLaughlin reported earlier this week.
* The New York State Racing and Wagering Board (NYSRWB) this week put forth various security protocols for horses running in the June 9 Belmont Stakes. All horses entered in the Belmont will be required to be stalled in a secured area known as the stakes barn. In addition, all horses running in the Belmont Stakes, upon arrival at the stakes barn on June 6, will be required to have an out-of-competition blood test, which will be sent to the NYSRWB’s Drug Lab that evening for immediate review.
* Earlier this week, trainer Manny Azpurua confirmed that Ravelo’s Boy, who worked seven furlongs in 1:28.29 at Calder on Sunday, will enter the Belmont Stakes.
* The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame announced two candidates have been elected into the Hall of Fame through the Museum’s Historic Review process. Anthony Hamilton, one of the finest jockeys of the 19th century, and Planet, a dominant racehorse in the years leading up to the Civil War will be inducted into the Hall on Aug. 10. Those two will join contemporary selections jockey John Velazquez, the racehorse Ghostzapper, and trainers Roger Attfield and Robert Wheeler at the induction ceremony.
Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.
(Born May 31, 1972) -- Dave Roberts was one of the best base-stealers in Buffalo Bisons' history. Apparently he was taking notes while he was in town, because he'll forever be remembered for one of the most famous stolen bases in baseball history.
Roberts was born in Okinawa, Japan, and started his professional career in Jamestown in 1994. He crawled up the minor-league ladder and arrived in Buffalo in 1998.
Roberts' playing time with the Bisons went up in 1999. He hit .271, but his most amazing stat that season involved his feet. He was 39 for 42 in steals. The outfielder continued to display his speed in Buffalo through 2001.
Roberts finally got a chance to play full-time in the majors in 2002 with the Dodgers, and stole more than 40 bases in both of his two full seasons for Los Angeles. In the middle of the 2004 season, Roberts was traded to the Red Sox.
That year in the playoffs, when Boston absolutely needed to have a base stolen in Game Four of a series with New York, Roberts was ready. He swiped second base in the bottom of the ninth, and scored the tying run moments later on a single by Bill Mueller. The Red Sox went on to beat the Yankees in that game, and eventually erased a 3-0 series lead by New York. Since then, he has not had a day go by where someone hasn't thanked him for that swipe.
Roberts finished his career with the Padres and Giants.
--- Budd Bailey
(Born May 30, 1970) -- Sam Rogers probably was thrilled to be drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1994. After all, the team had been to the Super Bowl for the previous four years. He must have figured he was joining a dynasty.
Oops. Rogers came out of Colorado, and was taken by the Bills late in the second round. By the way, Western New York native Vaughn Parker was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the choice before Rogers.
The linebacker needed some time to work his way into the starting lineup. He didn't get a start in his rookie season, in which the Bills went 7-9. Then he got eight starts in 1995, when the Bills won the AFC East.
Then Rogers moved into status as a full-time starter. He spent five years as a regular, and made 228 tackles in 101 games as a Bill.
But leaving town didn't work out so well. He landed in San Diego in 2001, but didn't start a game. Rogers' career had a bit of revival in Atlanta in 2002, as he finished with 6.5 sacks, but saw little action in 2003 and was done with football.
--- Budd Bailey
(Born May 29, 1973) -- The hockey career of Jason Dawe divides up pretty neatly into halves. His problem is that the first half, the one that involved Buffalo, was by far the best half.
Dawe played junior hockey in Peterborough, Ont., and developed a scoring touch in 1990-91. The right winger had 43 goals in 66 games that season, and it helped get him taken in the second round of the NHL draft by the Sabres.
Dawe broke the 50-goal mark in his final two seasons in junior hockey, and then reached the pros. He split two seasons between Rochester and Buffalo, but seemed to find a spot in the Sabres' lineup with 25 goals in 1995-96. He had 22 more goals on the Sabres' 1996-97 team that won the division title.
But late in the 1997-98 season, Dawe was traded to the New York Islanders for Paul Kruse. The forward never found his scoring touch after that, and bounced from the Islanders to the Canadiens and the Rangers with plenty of minor league time along the way.
He finished his playing career with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL in 2005. He's said to be a youth hockey coach there now.
--- Budd Bailey
(Born May 28, 1969) --- If there's something Randy Mearns hasn't done in the sport of lacrosse, let him know about it. He'd probably like to add it to his resume.
Mearns has spent much of his life associated with the game. The St. Catharines native played junior lacrosse for several seasons, and scored 101 points in 18 games playing for his hometown team in 1990.
Then it was on to Canisius College, where he was an All-American and finished as the all-time leading scorer in Golden Griffins' history. From there it was on to the pros, which began with a brief stop with the Buffalo Bandits in 1993.
Mearns resurfaced in the pro game in 1995, when he joined the Rochester Knighthawks. He came back to the Bandits in 2002 and had a career-high 38 points.
These days, Mearns serves as the head coach of the Canisius team. Meanwhile, he's the popular color commentator on the Bandits' radio broadcasts. Mearns found time in 2006 to be inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
--- Budd Bailey
(Born May 27, 1949) -- Terry Collins took a long, long road to his current job as manager of the New York Mets. It included a good-sized stop in Buffalo.
Collins was a shortstop at Eastern Michigan University, where he helped his team win an NAIA national championship in 1971. He's a member of that school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
From there it was on to a career as a professional player. Collins was drafted by the Pirates and spent 10 years with that organization and with the Dodgers. Then it was on to managing in the minors.
Collins was the skipper of some good Bisons teams from 1989 to 1991, and is well-remembered by fans of those teams as a good manager. People figured he'd wind up in the major leagues some day, and that's just what happened to him.
Collins was hired as the manager of the Astros starting with the 1994 season. He spent four seasons there, and didn't have a losing record. Then he landed with the Angels, resigning in midseason in 1999 after two-plus years.
After some time managing in Japan, and a stint in the Mets' baseball organization, New York hired him in November 2010 to be their manager. There he has worked with several young players who passed through Buffalo on their way to the majors ... just like Collins did.
--- Budd Bailey
(Born May 26, 1952) -- Tom McMillen didn't just have an interesting career in professional sports. He had an interesting life. It included a stop in Buffalo.
McMillen certainly is the best basketball player to come out of Mansfield, Pa. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated then, one of the few prep athletes to have that honor. McMillen landed with the University of Maryland, where he was part of some great teams under coach Lefty Driesell.
McMillen graduated in 1974, and was a top player coming out of college. By chance, Braves' owner Paul Snyder's hometown was also Mansfield. Everyone figured the 6-foot-11 forward would be a good fit for the Braves, and that's where he went in the NBA Draft. Buffalo outbid the Virginia Squires for McMillen's services.
The forward didn't come to Buffalo for a year, accepting a Rhodes scholarship instead. He averaged about 5 points per game in a season plus 20 games here, and then was traded with Bob McAdoo to the New York Knicks for John Gianelli and a pile of cash. McMillen went on to play with Atlanta and Washington in an 11-year career.
McMillen went on to serve three terms as a Congressman. He is believed to be the tallest member of the House of Representatives in history. At last report, McMillen was the chairman of Homeland Security Capital Corporation.
--- Budd Bailey
