Peace Up and Deuces
It is a Spectrum tradition for outgoing seniors to write one last column to cap off their tenures. Usually, these banal pieces reiterate the cliché statements your mom has told you throughout the years.
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It is a Spectrum tradition for outgoing seniors to write one last column to cap off their tenures. Usually, these banal pieces reiterate the cliché statements your mom has told you throughout the years.
Canisius slapped Buffalo's midcourt after its come-from-behind win exactly a year ago, so Buffalo responded with a hard hand of its own in this year's edition of the rivalry.
Before the season began, Buffalo football fans penciled the team's game against Eastern Michigan as a definite win. The Eagles were coming off an 0-12 campaign in 2009 and had the potential to finish with a similar record in 2010.
Byron Mulkey is the forgotten man of the men's basketball team.
Two years ago, Americans surged to the polls angry and wanting a change. Barack Obama was elected as President, and the Democrats took supreme control over the House and Senate. Change was imminent, and liberals everywhere celebrated.
2010 Record: 6-3 (4-1 Mid-American Conference)
Last December, former Buffalo head coach Turner Gill took a flight to Lawrence, Kan. and marked the beginning of a rebuilding phase for UB football.
Movie: The Social Network
Carl Paladino thought he could hide his kids and hide his wife from the press.
With Buffalo and Connecticut tied at 14 during halftime, Jeff Quinn and Randy Edsall charged into their locker rooms with different ideologies. Quinn was happy to see his guys battle back from an early 14-point deficit, while Edsall contemplated making changes.
Show: "Boardwalk Empire"
The New York State primaries captured a lot of interest in Western New York on Tuesday night.
The Bulls knew exactly what they were getting for wide receivers last season: consistency and reliability. However, a year has passed and two of Buffalo's all-time receivers no longer don blue and white Buffalo uniforms.
For two months last summer, Lee Nickell made his case to become Buffalo's men's tennis head coach. Former coach Sherif Zaher resigned in April to return to Egypt, and Athletic Director Warde Manuel's search for a replacement went national. Manuel was determined to find the guy who would make Buffalo's tennis program relevant.
New head football coach Jeff Quinn is someone who doesn't hold anything back.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino was starting a movement. He stood at the Ellicott Square Building last Monday and announced his candidacy for New York governor in front of an emphatic Buffalo crowd waving orange and red banners. Paladino, a wealthy Buffalo businessman, talked about being the only conservative with true right wing views while voicing his disappointment with how Albany was running the state. "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore," Paladino said. But no amount of Network quotes will save the 63-year-old tea partier's campaign now. On Monday, WNYmedia.net gained access to a plethora of Paladino e-mails sent to his listserv of political buddies and business associates. The digital messages included racist messages and raunchy e-mails, including a bestiality video involving a female and a stallion. Talk about halting momentum. Despite possessing a large fortune that was going to fund his campaign, Paladino was viewed as an underdog to former congressman Rick Lazio, among others. A poll, released on Tuesday, that surveyed New York republicans showed Lazio as the overwhelming favorite. The Quinnipiac University poll, which questioned voters from April 6-11 (before the e-mails hit the Internet), showed that 34 percent of respondents favored Lazio, while 11 percent supported Paladino. Forty percent of respondents were undecided. And unless those in doubt are into e-mails containing a video of an African tribal dance with the caption "Obama inauguration rehearsal," many won't be electing Paladino in the Republican primary, much less in November's election. Those supporting the man who calls his own campaign a "crusade" say that New Yorkers shouldn't pay attention to private e-mails while the state hemorrhages money and jobs. I wonder how you can turn a blind eye to such blatant acts of racism, among other things. Personally, I won't ignore these actions by a man vying to lead my state. Ignore the controversial views for a moment. Obviously many are turned off by Paladino's anti-abortion, anti-same sex and pro-gun stances. This is more about irresponsibility and immaturity than anything else. Sure, we all sometimes share risqué videos and photos with each other, but we don't need a governor who is like all of us. There are important issues that need to be settled, and I don't want my governor sharing racist photos when he should be signing SUNY bills. Paladino is going to need the $10 million he plans to spend on his campaign if he wants to resurrect his chance in the race. Right now, Paladino and associates are already trying to spin this to show that he is the victim. "It figures that members of the party who brought us record taxes, record spending and a record debt would want to change the topic from reform to having sex with horses and S&M parlors," said Michael Caputo, Paladino's campaign manager. Maybe Paladino could have prevented the switch in discussion by possibly not sending bestiality videos and racist photos: most New Yorkers don't exactly trust a governor with these kinds of tendencies to lift the state out of a deep hole. E-mail: david.sanchirico@ubspectrum.com
As Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare to begin their Stanley Cup defense tonight against the Ottawa Senators, we take a look at the field of 16 vying to claim Lord Stanley as their own. From team previews to finals predictions, The Spectrum will get you set for the run at the cup. Eastern Conference 1. Washington Capitals (54-15-13, 121 pts.) It has been four years since the league has seen a team as dominant as the Capitals were this season. They are the first team since the 2005-2006 season to score more than 300 goals and clinched the Presidents' Trophy with more than a week remaining in the regular season. Led by Alex Ovechkin, the Caps boast the league's most dangerous offense that includes seven players with 20 or more goals. Ovechkin topped the 50-goal mark for the fourth time in his five-year career and Nicklas Backstrom quietly amassed 101 points. 2. New Jersey Devils (48-27-7, 103 pts.) The Devils edged Pittsburgh for the Atlantic crown in the final home stretch of the season thanks to a stingy defense and perpetually strong goaltending. Jacques Lemaire's offense finished 19th in the league with just 216 goals for after he failed to find cohesive line combinations. The team has star forwards Ilya Kovalchuck, Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner to carry the load, but all eyes will be on 17-year veteran Martin Brouder to backstop the team in between the pipes. Brouder led all goalies in wins this season with 45 as the Devils allowed league-low 186 goals. 3. Buffalo Sabres (45-27-10, 100 pts.) After a two-year hiatus, Buffalo is back in the postseason after winning the Northeast division thanks to arguably the best goalie in the world, Ryan Miller. The 29-year-old posted a 41-18-8 record with a 2.22 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in 69 games this year. Lindy Ruff's plan for the future has finally panned out as Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville stepped into the vacant skates left by Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to provide leadership and consistent production. Roy led the team in scoring for the third-straight season with 26 goals and 69 points while Vanek led the club in goals with 28. Pominville also netted 24 while veteran Jochen Hecht added 21. Defenseman Tyler Myers amassed 11 goals and 37 assists in his rookie year. The Calder Trophy candidate has quickly become the team's top blue-liner and has provided a physical force alongside veterans Henrik Tallinder, Steve Montador and Tony Lydman. 4. Pittsburgh Penguins (47 -28-7, 101 pts.) The defending champions enter the postseason as the fourth seed for the second straight year. After upsetting Detroit in game seven of last year's finals, the Penguins failed to produce the consistent play that they had hoped for entering the season. But last year's cup run has given the team plenty of playoff experience to emerge as contenders once again. Sidney Crosby hit the 50-goal plateau for the first time in his career after finishing with 51 scores. The Rocket Richard Trophy co-winner is accompanied by centers Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Stall, as well as Alex Ponikarovsky, Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko as the Penguins' leader's up-front. Marc-Andre Fleury will need to play consistent in net if Pittsburgh plans to repeat. 5. Ottawa Senators (44-32-6, 94 pts.) The Senators exceeded expectations this season after the emergence of strong goaltending from youngster Brian Elliot gave life to the team midway through the season. Cory Clouston took over the bench at the beginning of February and led the club to a 19-11-4 finish, including nine-straight home wins, in the last two months. Elliot will be making his NHL playoff debut after posting a 2.57 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and 29 wins in 55 appearances. The young netminder will have plenty of help from his defensive unit, which accumulated 721 blocked shots between five blue-liners. 6. Boston Bruins (39-30-13, 91 pts.) It was a letdown in "Beantown" this year as the Bruins failed to replicate their success from last season. After trading away star forward Phil Kessel, the team struggled to muster much offense and finished last in the league with just 196 goals. Marco Sturm was the team's only 20-goal scorer while Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci tied for the team lead in scoring with 52 points. Boston's hopes lye on the shoulders of rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask, who won the job over Olympian Tim Thomas halfway through the season. Appearing in 45 games, Rask posted a dazzling 1.97 goals-against average and .931 save percentage – both league bests. With a defensive unit decimated by injury, it'll be up to Rask to keep Boston off the golf course. 7. Philadelphia Flyers (41-35-6, 88 pts.) Philadelphia snuck into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season with a shootout win over the Rangers. Despite finishing just 4-5-1 in their last five games, the Flyers cemented a matchup with division rival New Jersey, who they were 5-1 against this season. The Flyers were a bit of a disappointment after many had pegged them as Stanley Cup favorites prior to the season. Mike Richards led the team in scoring with 62 points, while Jeff Carter led the orange and black with 33 goals. Goaltending was miserable for the Flyers as starter Brian Boucher posted a 9-18-3 record with a 2.76 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. Boucher's strong play at the end of the season will need to continue if the Flyers have any chance of advancing 8. Montreal Canadians (39-33-10, 88 pts.) The Habs finished 33 points behind first-round opponent Washington and have an uphill battle to climb if they want to hoist Lord Stanley. The club had an inconsistent season and finished the year winning just three of their final 11 games. Montreal will rely heavily on Jaroslav Halak to provide strong goaltending, but will be on a thin wire with Carey Price waiting in the wings. The Canadians enter the postseason as heavy underdogs and will likely be cleaning out their lockers in quick fashion. Western Conference 1. San Jose Sharks (51-20-11, 113 pts.) Spring has been unkind to the Sharks. San Jose made to the Western Conference semifinals three of the last four years but failed to win more than two games. At the top of the west for the second-straight season, the Sharks are looking to end their playoff futility behind the top offensive line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. The Sharks' offense is sure to generate goals as San Jose boasts a lineup with five 20-goal scorers. San Jose will need goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to improve on his 32-31 lifetime postseason record if the team has aspirations for a Stanley Cup birth. 2. Chicago Blackhawks (52-22-8, 112 pts.) The Original Six squad has Chicago excited about hockey again. Behind young stars Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, the Blackhawks have a core of exciting players who can score (eight players scored 17 or more goals in the regular season) and wear down opposing defenses. Like San Jose, the question remains on goaltending. Both Cristobal Huet and rookie Antti Niemi, who replaced Huet as the starter, are inconsistent. They have a solid defense protecting them, but who knows what'll happen when Chicago runs into an offensive powerhouse. 3. Vancouver Canucks (49-28-5, 103 pts.) Vancouver has a questionable defense behind a deep and talented offensive front. Art Ross Trophy winner Henrik Sedin will lead the strong offense, but defender Willie Mitchell sustained a concussion and Sami Salo suffered an injury before the Canucks' last game. Goaltender Roberto Luongo is one of the best in the league, but needs the blue-liners in front of him to prevent an all-out assault on his net. 4. Phoenix Coyotes (50-25-7, 107 pts.) Last summer, the question was where the Coyotes would end up. The least possible answer was the playoffs. Now, they have home-ice advantage in the first round. Phoenix will ride breakout goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, but the team drew Detroit, the hottest team in the NHL. In front of Bryzgalov is a defense that ranked third in goals against per game. But will Phoenix be able to score? The team ranked 24th in goals per game. Phoenix's Cinderella tale will continue if the Coyotes can find some offensive answers. 5. Detroit Red Wings (44-24-14, 102 pts.) Since the Olympic break, Detroit has been an NHL-best 16-3-2. Traditionally one of the best NHL teams is entering the playoffs as the hottest team. Rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard has played well this season and gave up only 2.26 goals a game. Coach Mike Babcock has his team winning games on special teams as the Red Wings placed in the top 10 in penalty killing and ranked ninth in power play. 6. Los Angeles Kings (46-27-9, 101 pts.) The Kings make their first playoff appearance since 2002. Despite the reputation of being a young inexperienced team, L.A. has a nucleus of experienced players who have playoff success. Ryan Smyth is a warrior who played in the 2006 Stanley Cup, Justin Williams won the '06 Cup with Carolina, Fredrick Modin helped Tampa Bay capture the '04 Stanley Cup, and Rob Scuderi was a key defender in Pittsburgh's run to the title last season. The Kings are prime for an upset if goaltender Jonathan Quick can step up: the 24-year-old goalie was winless in his last eight appearances. 7. Nashville Predators (47-29-6, 100 pts.) Nashville is far from being a hockey-driven town, but the Predators have its fan base excited. Led by a solid group of blue-liners and goaltender Pekka Rinne, the Predators will face a Chicago team expected to run to the Stanley Cup. Nashville doesn't hold many advantages against the Blackhawks, but has a young and energetic team with no pressure on its collective shoulders. Nashville will need to improve on special teams: the Predators finished the regular season 24th in power play and 28th in penalty kill. 8. Colorado Avalanche (43-30-9, 95 pts.) Like every other Western Conference underdog, Colorado was not expected to qualify for the postseason. Colorado was on a roll earlier in the season, but enters the playoffs with just three wins in its last 13 games. The Aves possess a core of young stars that is experiencing the playoffs for the first time. This is good news for the future, but Colorado goes up against a more-talented San Jose team in the first round. STANLEY CUP PREDICTIONS Paterno: Pittsburgh over San Jose (seven games) Sanchirico: Chicago over Pittsburgh (six games)
It felt like State of Play 2: Student Association Election. Not on the same level of politics as Washington, but with all the drama and hearsay. Student elections: where overdramatic lives. Bias. Relationships between overseers and candidates. Unequal punishments among parties. Possible bribery. Rumors galore. This SA election was characterized by everything an election shouldn't be about, and it further tainted my already negative view of student politics. In a competitive time where Latin honors and bulky résumés are most important, it seemed that personal gains were the biggest incentive for candidates, supporters and election officials. There were pure souls that did run ethically sound campaigns, while others made sure the integrity of the election was not compromised, but these participants were overshadowed by the "he said, she said" allegations of the election. An ugly and rough election at an inappropriate time. A slashed budget, cut classes and professors, and a dwindling student trust of campus leadership are affecting the University at Buffalo, and the ones that should be vowing to make UB a better place should put their actions behind their words. We need strong leaders in Albany and in 350 Student Union more than ever. I trust the officials elected to follow up on their promises. But this election, for the most part, wasn't about rehearsing platforms or answering the questions of the student body. Instead, attacks from each party flooded the Student Union, which was a sea that drowned every student brave enough to walk through it with purple and green flyers. There's nothing that'll get students more amped up about UB than corrupt student politics shoved down their throats. Elections bring the ugly out in people. The thought of a position of power can make a candidate forget the initial reasons he or she ran. This is especially true in such a popularity contest that we all try to believe is about the best candidates. I'm sure the people involved in this process had good hearts. They entered this election for a reason: they saw flaws at UB and wanted to fix them for future students. But politics can be a screwy thing. Paranoia infiltrated the minds of each party's candidates, and these students sometimes reacted without much thought. This election shouldn't have been about the allegations against each party, or the questionable expenditure reports. The Student-Wide Judiciary shouldn't have had the microscope zoomed in on its off-the-book punishment procedure. The trial-and-error use of punishments was viewed as screwy, but considering the circumstance (this was the first election SWJ was involved in), it did what it could to maintain an ethical election. In the end, although every candidate gave the rehearsed answer that working toward the betterment of UB was most important, there was a lot of crying, complaining and bickering done by every member of each party. The future of UB is looking bleak. UB 2020 is in the process of being pushed back, and we need strong delegates to advocate for our school in Albany. We need a strong president with a magna cum laude-worthy character to make sure ethics are preserved and the student body gets every opportunity to enjoy this school. We need a strong treasurer to make sure funds are used correctly. We need to forget this election and focus our attention on making UB better. E-mail: david.sanchirico@ubspectrum.com
Wale has dedicated his albums and mixtapes to both absolutely nothing (his mixtape is aptly titled "The Mixtape About Nothing") and every topic imaginable ("Attention Deficit"). He brought it all to Alumni Arena for the benefit of a good cause. The Washington, D.C. lyricist brought his go-go elements, his catalog of mixtapes and one album to Alumni Arena on Saturday for a Haiti benefit concert. Gaining hype with his acclaimed mixtapes – resulting in numerous proclamations of the rapper's potential to be the next great artist – Wale released his first album, "Attention Deficit," in Nov. 2009, putting him on the proverbial mainstream music map. Olubowale Folarin, outfitted in Billionaire Boys Club paraphernalia, hopped onstage 30 minutes late, but stayed there for longer than an hour and brought a deep show to the audience. The 25-year-old rapper's style and infectious lyrics kept those in attendance interested in the show with his mixtape hits and radio jams. Hands were waving during "Nike Boots," and the crowd was rehearsing in unison during Wale's exiting songs, which included the singles "Pretty Girls" and "Chillin'." Those two singles left a lasting impression on the crowd: after the set, Wale surveyed the crowd and signed autographs on everything from shoes to fitted hats for his waiting fans. This wasn't his only interaction with the fans in attendance. During a section in which Wale was covering throwback '90s jams, the rapper got the urge to get hyphy with the crowd and sparked some energy. He jumped during "Jump Around," and swayed with the dancing audience during "Hip Hop Hooray." This crowd participation was impressive, considering its small size. Wale wasn't deterred by the surprisingly small showing and partied with the gracious crowd when he had the chance. Despite Wale's effort, the show wasn't without its shortcomings. The rapper was sometimes drowned out by his loud band, which added a different feel to his music but also took away from the original beats of the album and mixtapes. At one point, Wale and his hype man broke out into a baby-making session. Though the smooth rhythms got people dancing, the session took away from the atmosphere that was built up by Wale's earlier songs. During this session, the hype man serenaded three women from the crowd and did his best to let his voice melt the females' unaffected hearts. While Wale took a break, the hype man brought a limited range and had most of the crowd snoozing and dreaming of the downtown and Main St. bars. Holding the benefit at Alumni Arena also took away from the show. A crowd of about 1,100 got into Wale's performance, but the floor and seats remained relatively empty. A different location would have resulted in a more club-like, intimate atmosphere. Wale's effort did triumph the downfalls and showed that he's more interested in the fans in attendance than the people who didn't show up. In his effort to gain more radio play while maintaining his underground fan base, Wale's mindset will result in more fanfare and success in the near future. Additional reporting by Lauren Nostro, Asst. City Editor. E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com