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• Setting The Bar High
• Local Youth Hockey Standout On FSN Tonight
• A Caravan Of FUN!!!
• Is It Their Year
• Good Bounce Back



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Setting The Bar High Written on February 1, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Who could have ever thought the Butler wrestling team would be the benchmark in the WPIAL.  This was a program which started from scratch but has quickly become one of the best in the WPIAL since Scott Stoner took over as coach back in 1993.  Currently ranked eighth in the WPIAL, the Tornado are well on their way to having a WPIAL championship, as a team and also a number of individuals as well.

Lets start with the coach, Scott Stoner.  After taking over for Coach McClarnon in 1993, he has turned this program into a perennial powerhouse in the WPIAL.  Posting seasons of 13-3 back in 2003, he and his guys haven’t looked back since.  This year, they may have one of the most dominant wrestlers in the WPIAL.  After going just 7-14 in 06-07, Butler turned things around the next year and 21-6 followed by a school record 23 wins the next season.  This year already, they have 12 wins and only two losses.

Cole Baxter may be one of the most dynamic wrestlers in the WPIAL.  His combination of speed and strength make him a solid bet to win a PIAA state title before it’s al said and done.  Just this past weekend at the Chartiers Valley Duals, Baxter won all five of his matches, four of them by first period falls.  In his first match, Baxter pinned his opponent in 36 seconds to win his 100th career match.  Not Bad!!!  He would quickly add four more to bring his career total to 104 (I am an expert math student)!  Baxter is now number one on the all time wins list, and has a career record of 104-10 in just two and half years at Butler.  He’s just  Junior folks…

In addition to Baxter’s 104 wins, coach Stoner also reached his own milestone by reaching 200 career coaching victories with Butler’s second round win on Saturday.  Stone now has 203 career wins in 17 seasons at the helm of the program.

Some of the other wrestlers we need to talk about are Black Caudill, who is 23-3 on the season and is just a FRESHMAN!!!  Mike Crawford, a junior, suffered a knee injury a few weeks ago but returned to win five matches over the weekend and is not 22-1 on the season .. not bad ..  Senior Chris White is also having an amazing season for Butler.  Wrestling in the 215 pound division, White is 32-4 on the season and, along with Baxter and Crawford, may be the best triple threat in the WPIAL.

This is a program with all the potential in the world to succeed.  With two of their top three wrestlers underclassman, look for them to be contenders for a long time in the WPIAL.

Butler is the number 7 seed in the WPIAL team tournament and will wrestle Franklin Regional in the first round on Tuesday night.

Local Youth Hockey Standout On FSN Tonight Written on January 28, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Jake Curry will be making his television debut tonight on FSN during the Pittsburgh Penguins game.  Not bad for a youth hockey goaltender from Butler.

Jake plays for the North Pittsburgh Wildcats, which is a youth hockey team in Pittsburgh, as a goaltender and will be interviewed by Dan Potash during the pre-game show and the first intermission of the Pens game tonight against the Senators.  The pre-game show starts at 6:30 and the puck drop is 7 on FSN and also WISR 680AM.  Jake will be on FSN.

Jake is the son of Chris and Greta Curry of Butler and if you want to join in on the fun, here is a link to Facebook to get more information.

A Caravan Of FUN!!! Written on January 27, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

The Pirates Caravan made it’s way through Butler yesterday and Charlie Morton, Garrett Jones and Ross Ohlendorf entertained a sold out crowd at the Grand Ballroom.  Also there was Tony Beasley, Tim Neverett and Steve Blass.  Not only were the guys fun to talk too, but they were insightful and very conversational with all the fans in attendance.  With the amount of people who showed up to support the Buccos, you would never know they haven’t had a winning season in 17 years.

Even though they haven’t had a winning season in 17 years, you can’t help but be excited with the way the team has started to rebuild (I know they’ve been rebuilding for 17 years) and get some young talent ready to go.  They have all the pieces in place and, I know I say it every year, but it is an exciting time to be a Pirates fan because they will be good, just give it time.

If there is one thing Pirates fans have, it is patience.  You can check out the photos from the Pirates Caravan right here! A good time was had by all!!

Is It Their Year Written on January 27, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

The Butler Tornado girls’ basketball team started off a little slower than some may have thought this year, but they played some tough teams, and they are better for it.  They played Mt. Lebo, who may be the best team ever in girls’ basketball, but they only lost by ten at home, so I’m not convinced Mt. Lebo is unbeatable.  They lost to two great teams down in Florida during Christmas and then lost to New Castle by six at New Castle just three days after coming home.  But, since then, they have been on a tear, winning eight in a row and only NA and Shaler actually gave them a game.

They are better for having played some good teams early in the season, because coach Dorthea Epps has fixed the flaws she saw in her team early on and they are a force right now.  Of course, they have Bresnahan who, as we all know is one of the best players in the WPIAL, but they also have Cassie Cygan, who is deadly from beyond the arc.  They have two top scorers and are playing great defense.

What most impresses me about Butler is they are not focused on Bresnahan in leading the team.  Grant it, this is her team and she is what makes them go, but she and coach Epps and her staff have found ways to get everyone else involved, and thats just down right scary.  They play pressure defense and will play 10-12 players every night, and that is a luxury not many teams have.  They can pressure and keep fresh bodies on the floor.  If a team can play that type of defense, they can run teams off the floor and that is what Butler is doing.

They still need to fix rebounding, just like the boys’ team does, but they have all the tools to win a title this year, especially the way they are playing right now.  Unless they get a bad draw in the first round like last year, playing a first round game against a home team basically, this team should compete for a WPIAL championship and maybe a state title.

A Butler vs. Mt. Lebo rematch in the championship game would be a classic game not soon to be forgotten.  Now let’s see how the playoff pairings will match up and if Butler gets another horrible location.

Good Bounce Back Written on January 27, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Butler needed to make a statement against Shaler to prove their loss to North Hills was just a fluke, and I think they did just that.  The Tornado came out and played well, although still not up to were they were at the start of the season.  They trailed in the fourth quarter but, like good teams do, they found a way to come back and win with good defense and making their free throws.  A 53-48 win over a team which was picked to compete for the section title is a good thing, especially when that team was playing great basketball early.

The biggest problem I saw from last nights win was the lack of defensive rebounding.  Butler gave up to many section chance points and were out rebounded in the game by a wide margin, especially offensively.  If Butler plays like that against NA or Central, they may get blown out.  They have to do a better job at boxing out and getting defensive boards and also finding ways to get their own section chance points.  Also, but has to knock down some shots from outside.  They struggled with this against last night, making only two threes in the game, although Snodgrass had a big three to pull Butler within one.  After that shot, Butler knew they could win and finished the game, something they forgot to do against North Hills.

I liked the intensity of Butler, I thought they showed more desire and a sense of urgency which I didn’t see against North Hills.  If you remember back to the beginning of the year, down at Shaler, Butler struggled to get going and won by nine because they made their free throws at the end of the game, and they did it again last night.  Butler got back to doing what they do best, keeping the score low and finding a way to win when the game is close.

Next for Butler is a tough match up with Pine Richland at Pine Richland.  Now, Shaler just beat P-R by 20 at Shaler, so lets hope the Tornado come to play or we could be looking at another upset, but I don’t think so.

A Good Loss? Written on January 25, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Butler lost to North Hills on Friday night by a final score of 45-43.  It was a tough loss for the Tornado because it was their first loss of the season.  So lets think, is it a good thing the Tornado lost.  Obviously, every team wants to win every game.  Only a few teams have ever gone the entire year undefeated.  The amount of pressure you feel when you are undefeated is unbelievable.  When your a team like Butler, who hasn’t really been in this position before, sometimes a loss can be good.

I may catch some heat for saying this and that’s fine, but I think Butler underestimated North Hills.  Think about it, NH was 3-10 overall and just 1-5 in the section and had lost 3 games in a row.  They don’t score a lot and they give up a ton of points.  In my opinion, I think the Tornado were expecting the Indians to lay down and go away.  But, that wasn’t the case.

For North Hills, this was the game of their season.  They likely won’t make the playoffs, although they are tied for fourth right now with Shaler and Pine-Richland, they haven’t given their fans much to cheer about and they are finally starting to get players back after dealing with injuries.  Even if NH makes the playoffs and loses in the first round, the game they will remember most about this year is beating the number 10 team in the state in AAAA.  That is a big deal for a team who is struggling.

Now, lets look at this from Butler’s view.  They couldn’t finish the game.  They missed shots they usually make, they had a chance to tie the game and couldn’t, they uncharacteristically missed free throws in the fourth quarter, they played great defense but still lost and they had NH down 10 in the fourth quarter.  They didn’t play bad, just out of character like teams do sometimes.  They didn’t get blown out, they just struggled in places they normally excel.

So, if there is such a thing as a good loss, this was it.  This should re-focus the Tornado, take the pressure of being undefeated off, give them confidence, let them know they have to show up for every game and also help point out flaws which need fixed.  No doubt coach Clement will have his guys focused and ready for Tuesday against Shaler.

Tuesday’s game for Butler will show what kind of character this team has.  This is a big bounce back game for Butler.

Morton To Replace Young Written on January 25, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Well, the Pirates Caravan is just around the corner .. literally, it’s tomorrow.  If you don’t have your tickets, make sure you get them now.  Stop by our studios at 112 Hollywood Dr or just give us a call at 724-283-1500.

If you are coming, you should know there has been a change.  Delwyn Young, who has a house in LA and is currently living there, is dealing with flooding issues because of all the rain dumped on California over the last few days and will not be able to make it to the Caravan.  Instead of Young, we will have Charlie Morton along with Ross Ohlendorf and Garrett Jones.

No big loss really, but Young would have been a nice compliment but ol’ Uncle Charlie will be a good fill in.

See you Tuesday!

It’s Always The Refs Fault Written on January 25, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Well, we heard the Flyers complain about the officiating after their 2-1 loss to my Penguins on Sunday afternoon (no real big shock there), and if you were at all surprised by the fact that the Vikings and others are complaining about bad officiating in overtime, which gave the Saints the win, you must not read sports articles very much.  There was a call in overtime on fourth and 1 for the Saints in which they appeared to get enough for a first down, but it was close.  The officials reviewed the play and gave them the first down, which was the right call.  There was no way the officials would have overturned the spot of the ball and given it back to the Vikings.  A good call by the officials.  Was the right call, you be the judge!

I think it was the right call for two reasons. One, the official on the far side had a good view of where the forward progress was stopped.  Secondly, there is not enough evidence to overturn the ruling on te field either way.  The call on the field was going to be the call which stood.

Now, if the Vikings are going to blame this game on bad officiating, they have issues as well.

First of all, they had FIVE, count them FIVE turnovers in the game.  The Saints were nice enough to let them hang around in a game they should have won by 20 points because of turnovers.  The Vikings didn’t take advantage of chances they had in the red zone.  They came away with field goals or they just gave the ball back to the Saints.  The Vikings didn’t deserve to win that game.  They turned it over too many times and Brett Favre should have called the police since he was being mugged on every play.

Grant it, the officiating wasn’t that great.  But it wasn’t great on either side.  So do I feel bad for Minnesota, NO. You lost, you turned it over 5 times, you played sloppy football you don’t deserve to win.  Am I excited for the Super Bowl, a little.  The two best teams are in the big game.

Oh, and I still have the overtime rules.  They are stupid!!  Each team should be guaranteed a possession instead of the team who wins the toss wins the game.  Change the rules already.

This should be a classic match up Feb the 7th, but something is wrong with Drew Brees.

The comment was made last night that Drew wasn’t throwing as hard or accurate as he usually does.  He did have three touchdown passes, but something wasn’t quite right.  Maybe it was the pressure of a big game?  If so, he better figure out how to deal with it becasue this game is even bigger.

The Super Bowl should be a good match up if both teams show up and play their best.  New Orleans will have to play almost a perfect game to beat the Colts.  Can they do it??  Only time will tell.

The Pirates Are Coming Written on January 22, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Next Tuesday, the 26th of January, the Pirates Caravan will make it’s way to Butler County …

The details are here … http://www.wisr680.com/programming/232-2010-pittsburgh-pirates-caravan

Those Pesky Guys In Green And White Written on January 18, 2010, by Wes Briggs.

Who would have though the New York Jets and Mark Sanchez would be in the AFC championship game??? Any takers??  I didn’t think so.  Here is a team who was all but eliminated from the playoffs before they went to Indy for a game which Indy should have won easily.  Instead, these Colts basically told the Jets we will let you in the playoffs because you will never make it anywhere.  The Colts quit in the game and cost the Steelers a playoff chance and let the Jets in.  Now we will get to see if their kindness will pay off or if the Colts will regret letting the Jets  into the playoffs!

If you look at the Jets, they are a dangerous team.  They have a great defense, probably better than the Ravens D last year, and they also have the best cornerback in the NFL in Darrelle Revis, but Pitt fans already knew that!  Their rushing attack is the best in the league and they have a quarterback who has figured out how to play below mediocrity and still find ways to win.  The guy only had 100 yards passing in the game total!!!  But when your defense is that good, it doesn’t matter! And whether you like what he does or not, Rex Ryan knows how to motivate his team!

The Colts looked flat, like they always do after taking 3 weeks off, and I thought Baltimore could beat them if they played even half as good as they did against Pats, it would have been a blow out.  Take Reggie Wayne out of the equation because Revis will shut him down.  So it’s up to the young receivers to get it done.  Can they??

My prediction for the Jets and Colts …. I would like to see the Jets win just because I could laugh at the Colts for quitting two games before the season was over and letting the Jets in just to turn around and lost to them, but they won’t … Colts 24, Jets 10

Now, on to the other game.  This should be a good one.  At least, I hope it will.  I thought the Pats and Ravens would be a good game and look what happened.  The Saints are hot, they haven’t missed a beat since the end of the regular season and Brees looks like he may be the best QB in the playoffs.  Better than Peyton you say??? Absolutely!!

Favre is playing like he is 21 years old again, and it’s so much fun to watch.  But were did Adrian Peterson go?? Did he forget how to run the football?? Here is a guy who has rushed for over 1000 yard every year he has been in the league, and he was a no show the last few games.  I know Minnesota blew out the Cowboys, but that’s because Tony Romo is a terrible pressure quarterback and Wade Phillips doesn’t know how to coach.  But Minnesota dominated the Cowboys and their defense looked unstoppable, but so do the Saints.  So what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object???  We shall see.

My prediction for the Saints and Vikings … New Orleans 27, Minnesota 24

I’m probably way off, but that’s how I see it!

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