Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 25

DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2001 3D Push Up' faces critical ring test Nunes will start for Orangemen KT i WIRE SERVICES SYRACUSE Syracuse University quarterback Troy Nunes is slated to start Saturday when the lOllegeS Orangemen play host to Central Florida, despite injuring his left wrist last week. Nunes practiced Tuesday with his non-throwing wrist wrapped, after sitting out Monday. Coach Paul Pasqualoni made the announcement Tuesday night. In Saturday's 33-9 loss to Tennessee, the quarterback had the wrist tucked under him when he was sacked in the third quarter. X-rays later showed a bone chip, but Pasqualoni said it was from an old injury, which was aggravated Saturday.

Comeback story: The once bloated 16-team Western Athletic Conference was on the endangered species list when the top schools bolted to form the Mountain West. WAC Commissioner Karl Benson has fought desperately to keep the WAC together through an influx of change. This year, Texas Christian left to join Conference USA, but Benson filled the void by adding Boise State and Louisiana Tech, bringing membership to 10 schools. Wac-10. Has a nice ring to it.

"We survived two years of the unknown," Benson says. "I'm proud the league has stuck to- Week's best Jay Johnson, Brockport The senior linebacker from Niagara Falls forced a Cortland fumble at the Brockport 14 with 45 seconds left in regulation to protect Brockport's 17-14 victory. He added 13 tackles and three sacks. Christa Downey, Nazareth The junior from Livonia led the Golden Flyers to the Red Dragon Invitational championship at Cortland with 81 kills and 67 digs. Hot tickets Women's soccer: Nazareth at Brockport, 4 p.m.

today Brockport, which reached the ECAC Finals in 2000, opens its home season vs. defending Empire Eight Champion Nazareth, which is looking for its fifth straight NCAA appearance. Football: St. John Fisher at Rochester, 7 p.m. Saturday Last year's game drew more than 3,400 fans at Fisher and another large crowd is expected in the rematch.

UR finished 6-4 last year, its best record in eight seasons. gether, that it has solidified." The league's Mississippi Bulldogs cracked the AP poll this week at No. 19. No Mountain West school ranks among this week's top 25. Tlie Associated Pro New Orleans' Ricky Williams, left, who faces the Bills Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium, is one of six Saints ranked among the top 100 players in the NFL by The Sporting News.

BOB MATTHEWS Contact him at: 55 Exchange Rochester, NV 14614 258-2325 bob nutthewso DcmocratandChronidc.conl Robert "Push Up" Frazier's big opportunity has arrived. The 27-year-old Rochesterian will take on IBF junior middleweight champion Ronald "Winky" Wright in a title fight Oct. 12 at Fantasy Spring Casino in Indio, Calif. The fight will be carried by ESPN2. "Winky Wright is a tough fighter, but I think Push Up is ready to beat him," says Ralph Fratto of Geneva, who with his son, Rocky Fratto, co-manages Frazier.

Frazier is 23-4-2 (13 knockouts) and on a six-fight winning streak. Wright, 29, from St. Petersburg, is 41-3-0 (24 knockouts) and is the NABF and USBA junior middleweight champion. Former IBF light welterweight and NABF junior welterweight champion Charles "The Natural" Murray of Rochester hasn't fought since November. He says he hasn't officially retired, but that this will be his final year as an active fighter.

Murray, who lost a unanimous decision to Larry Marks Nov. 24, 2000, in Paterson, N.J., to drop his record to 43-6-0, had to cancel a recent fight because of injury. He says he might have "one or two fights" left in him before hanging up his gloves. Murray, who turned 33 in August, is working with young boxers at the Avenue Recreation Center. Some relief is on the way for the struggling Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

They'll play each other seven times this month and one team has to win: at Baltimore Sept. 14-16 and at Boston Sept. 24-27. When probable 2002 Red Wring infielder-outfielder Willie Harris was promoted from DoubleA Bowie to the Baltimore Orioles last week, he became the second major leaguer from his hometown of Cairo, Ga. The first was Jackie Robinson.

We're No. 30. It went down to the wire, but the Red Wings finished with the worst record in Triple-A this season. Rochester finished 60-84 (417). barely behind the Pawtucket Red Sox (60-82; .423) and Minnesota's Pacific Coast League affiliate, the Edmonton Trappers (60-83; Maybe Orioles boss Peter Angelos' displeasure with Rochester Community Baseball Chief Operating Officer Naomi Silver's right-on observations in a recent Democrat and Chronicle article is good news.

Considering his baseball history, if Angelos tries to make the 2002 Red Wings lousy there is an excellent chance they'll be very good. I'm all for Baltimore signing first baseman Luis Lopez for the Red Wings if he is a available as a six-year free agent this winter. He has a .322 career batting average in 1,402 at-bats with Syracuse and always seems to hit much higher than that against Duran featured at boxing dinner STAFF REPORT Roberto Duran might not have another ring victory left in him but the great former lightweight champion will hear the roar of a boxing crowd at least one more time Saturday night at the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame's nth awards banquet. A highlight of the festivities at the Mapledale Party House will be the presentation of "The World Boxing Council Lightweight Champion of the Century" and "The Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion of the Century" belts and the Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame Special Courage Award to Duran. "Roberto Duran is very deserving of our award because of the great courage, dedication and sacrifice he displayed throughout his brilliant ring career," says Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame President Tony Liccione, whose local boxing club has come a long way since the first meeting of 15 ring enthusiasts at Bathtub Billy's Sports Bar and Restaurant on June 24, 1990.

"Duran dominated his division, took on all comers and was a credit to the sport for a long time." Saturday night's banquet is expected to draw more than 600 friends of boxing who will pay $60 each to salute a list of special guests including Duran, The Ring Magazine editor-in-chief Nigel Collins, World Boxing Council Vice-President Tom Kaczmarek, Guillermo Ford, Panamanian ambassador to the U.S. and former champions Jimmy Ellis and Carmen Basilio. Duran, 50, has a 104-16 record with 69 knockouts and won world titles at lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight, middleweight and super middleweight. The Ring recently selected Duran over Benny Leonard as the all-time greatest lightweight, noting that "the lightweight Duran is the only true Duran that's ever existed. For more details and tickets phone Liccione at 964-3077.

Roller Hockey and Street Hockey Leagues Begin in September Call Peter 984-7506 or tt.amputeK'onneaion.netjoesjnJv the Rhinos was being the initial contact in negotiations leading to the naming rights to PaeTec Park, Rochester's proposed soccer stadium. The Rochester area is back in horse racing's dark ages with no simulcasts of other tracks being offered at OTB parlors or at Finger Lakes Race Track (FLRT) on live racing days at FLRT. The long overdue and much-anticipated deal opening the Finger Lakes Special Betting District to simulcasts on live racing days at FLRT was contingent upon Western Regional OTB being granted a license to conduct a live harness racing meet at Batavia Downs. Typical red tape has delayed the process and it appears that the earliest Batavia could offer live harness racing would be August 2002. There is a possibility that the Special Betting District could reopen long before then if WROTB and FLRT officials can hammer out a mutually satisfactory agreement.

Right now they're dickering over how to split up the profits from wagers made by frustrated patrons who don't understand why they continue to be shut out of the simulcasting that has become customary across America. Good news for Doug Kent and the other members of the Professional Bowlers Association Tour: The typical stop on the fall tour will have a total purse of $200,000 with $40,000 to the winner, considerable increases over recent years. The fall tour (minus Rochester) begins Sept. 15. Buffalo State tight end T.

J. Cottrell, son of former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, caught the winning 39-yard TD pass with 39 seconds remaining in last Saturday's 33-27 upset win over Division I-AA power Robert Morris. Recommended reading for true baseball fans: Storied Stadiums, the latest book by Rochester's Curt Smith. Its history of major-league stadiums is receiving good reviews from national baseball writers, A. instruction since 1981 Roland Stafford Golf Schools 1-800-447-8894 www slaflordgoll com BRISTOL HARBOUR RESORT.

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playoffs. Mobley was spared the need to issue the edict when Pickering was promoted to Cincinnati. According to Dan Pompei of The Sporting News, seven of the NFL's "Best 100 Players" will be playing Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Unfortunately for Buffalo, only one is a Bill (WR Eric Moulds No. 45).

The six others are New Orleans Saints (DE Joe Johnson No. 27, DT La'Roi Glover No. 35, OT Willie Roaf No. 62, DT Norman Hand No. 65, RB Ricky Williams No.

71 and LB Keith Mitchell No. 72). The list would be more credible if Buffalo MLB Sam Cowart were included and Washington DE Bruce Smith (No. 38) and San Diego QB Doug Flutie (No. 100) were not.

Adding vagabond quarterback Ryan Leaf is another sign of how far the Dallas Cowboys have plunged. Owner Jerry Jones' projection of 10 wins will be tough to top for dumbest forecast of the NFL season. Ten wins in the next three seasons would've been more on target. The October issue of Bowling Digest includes an excellent feature on Rochester's Millie Ignizio, with a teaser on the cover asking: "Millie Ignizio: The Best Women's Bowler of All Time?" The article by Brett Ballantini makes a strong case. Millie's brilliant pro career (1967 through 1972) ended because of a back injury but some of her records still stand.

She bowled the first 300 game on the women's tour and still is the only person to win the WIBC Queens title three times and she did it in a six-year span. The Rochester area's loss is Greenville, N.C.'s gain. Dan Carpenter, director of corporate sales for the Amerks, Rhinos, Knighthawks and Rattlers, and the enthusiastic radio voice for the Knighthawks, is leaving to become vice-presidentmarketing for the Greenville Grrowl of the East Coast Hockey League and Carolina Rhinos of af2. One of Carpenter's top credits with Plan your week ever)' Thursday with Weekend. Democrat an6(fhroniclc Clearly Rochester.

Cardinal Creek (iolf Club N2 is holes MT lit littles Liiaau- i-iiliU- "Hill ItillLM- H.M..I -I lll.l, Senior Weekdays '20 Weekdays '25 Weekends (After 3pm) '25 Requires 2 Riders Per Cart Coll nhead for tee time and onv other inrormnrion 2 Putters NFL's Top 10 Dan Pompei of The Sporting News ranks the Top 10 players in the NFL: 1. Randy Moss, WR, Vikings. 2. Brett Favre, QB, Packers. 3.

Kurt Warner, QB, Rams. 4. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts. 5. Marshall Faulk, RB, Rams.

6. Edgerrin James, RB, Colts. 7. Warren Sapp, DT, Bucs. 8.

Larry Allen, Cowboys. 9. Ray Lewis, MLB, Ravens. 10. Jevon Kearse, DE, Titans.

Rochester. But the last time Rochester obtained a "Red Wings killer" was a disaster. Outfielder Rick Bladt terrorized Rochester as a Syracuse Chiefs fixture from 1970 through 1976 but seemingly forgot how to play in his only season with the Red Wings in 1977 (.226, 6 HRs, 32 RBI in 120 games). Cheers to the Buffalo Bisons for an excellent year (featuring former Red Wings Tim Laker and Karim Garcia, who had 20 HRs in the final six weeks) no matter what the outcome of the meaningless Governors' Cup playoffs (featuring recent arrivals from Double-A and Single-A to replace IL stars promoted to the majors Sept. 1).

Putting Buffalo's 91-51 (.641) record in local perspective, the last time the Red Wings won at least 90 games was in 1953, when Harry Walker's team was 97-57 (.630) in a 154-game season. The two all-time greatest Red Wings teams had winning percentages of .629 (105-62) in 1930 and .614 (86-54) in 1971. International League President Randy Mobley says he was ready to declare slugger Calvin Pickering ineligible to play for Louisville in the Governors' Cup playoffs because he felt the deal sending the IL RBI champion from Rochester to the River Bats just days before the regular season ended might compromise the integrity of the He accused Shop at Home, of Antioch, and Goldin Sports, of West Berlin, N.J., of plotting in August 2000 to cash in on the Woods rookie card by selling a facsimile of the card, which by then had reportedly fetched as much as $20,000. In December, the cards were offered for $4,995.95 each. Messages left Wednesday for lawyers of Shop at Home and Goldin Sports were not immediately returned.

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