From Buffalo to Beijing

Top amateur boxers from across Western New York take the first step toward the 2008 Beijing Olympics this weekend during the NIagara District Association tournament at McKinley High School on Elmwood Avenue.
The tournament features Buffalo's Lionell Thompson, who is ranked fourth in the nation at 178 pounds by USA Boxing and is one of the area's top Olympic hopefuls.
Heavyweight Excell Holmes, who trains with Thompson at the Northwest Community Center and is ranked No. 2 in New York State, is also on the card, along with Niagara Falls super heavyweight Johnny Davis and dozens of other fighters from throughout the upstate area.
Winners advance to USA Boxing's regional tournament in Lake Placid next spring.
Boxing starts at 3 p.m. today and Sunday. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $25 for ringside.

Help catch a cure for Cystic Fibrosis by taking part in this year's BassEye Celebrity Challenge. The two-day event, taking place tonight and tomorrow in the NFTA Boat Harbor, is sure to be a great time for all involved.
Even if you're not an angler, you can participate in the festivities. The event kicks off tonight with “Boats, Bait & Beer,” which is an evening event featuring fine cuisine and drinks. Prizes, ranging from gift baskets to trips all over North America, will …
This Independence Day marks the Seventh Annual Cobblestone Criterium Classic bike race! Each July 4th, cyclists come from all over our region, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Canada to participate. This year, they'll be competing for more than $2,000 in cash and prizes.
"In European races, there's always a cobblestone segment," said Jim Costello, owner of Handlebars Cycling Company, which sponsors the event. Seven years ago, he recognized something unique in the Cobblestone District. …
To be honest, I went out Wednesday night planning to chronicle the last night of this hockey season in Buffalo.
After the way Ottawa crushed the Sabres in Monday night’s third game of the Eastern Conference Finals, physically and spiritually, in perhaps the most one-sided 1-0 game ever played in any sport, the logical conclusion was that Buffalo’s seven-month run as the new glamour team of the National Hockey League was in its death throes.
Teams come back from 3-0 deficits …
Shows how much I know.
Last week’s preview of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators was rife with wisecracks about John Muckler, Ray Emery, Daniel Alfredsson and even the Roman Senate.
All wrong, as it turns out, with the possible exception of the bit about the machismo exhibited by ancient Rome’s legislative body.
I was not, however, the only one in these parts who badly underestimated Ottawa, judging from Buffalo’s performance … 



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Mr.E.
Best of luck to lionell, Sorry I nicknamed you "the train". Training is over for now, see you in Beijjing.
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