Stellar field set for $100,000 Wheeling stake

October 16, 2008

Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel's Flying Mancini tops all qualifiers for Saturday afternoon's final of the $100,000 Wheeling Invitational.Mancini was the only greyhound to make it through the three qualifying rounds unscathed. She accumulated a total of 45 points.In the semis, Mancini set a new 5/16 track record when she stopped the clock in 29.34. The old mark of 29.37 was held by Lewis And Wax since July 2005.Completing the championship field are Kiowa WW Brother (Wayne Ward Kennel), 40 points; Flying Westover (Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel), 36 points; Gable Twinkie (Gable Kennel) Pal WW ...

Nailers enter 17th season with another head coach

October 16, 2008

The 2008-09 ECHL season brings change, once again, to the Wheeling Nailers.Greg Puhalski will begin his first full season as the franchise's head coach and director of hockey operations. The 43-year-old native of Fort William, Ontario, Canada, took over control of the team on Jan. 2 of last season, relieving then-head coach Glenn Patrick of his duties.Puhalski has a promising resume that includes Coach of the Year honors twice in the United Hockey League - Chicago Hounds (2006-07) and Fort Wayne Komets (2002-03). He has posted the most game coached (680) and has recorded the most wins ...

Playoffs in the equation for many local teams

October 21, 2008

While it seemed like only yesterday that it was the middle of summer and everyone was wanting to know who teams' quarterbacks were going to be and how teams were going to be.Well, here it is the next to last week of October and most things are sorted out, but there's still a lot more work to do when it comes to sorting.We know that locally through eight weeks of the campaign, Martins Ferry, Union Local, River, Shadyside and Beallsville are already in the playoffs. Let's be honest, most of us expected those teams to be in the big dance, but you've still got plenty of work to do.In ...

Nailers have another new voice in booth

October 22, 2008

If you listened to the Wheeling Nailers two games last weekend, you heard another new voice behind the microphone.Ashley Scharge, a native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada who grew up in New York, is still getting acclimated to the Ohio Valley as he only arrived in the 'Friendly City' Thursday, less than 24 hours before the Nailers opened the 2008-09 ECHL season at WesBanco Arena.However, Scharge is not stranger to Nailers hockey, or Wheeling.It seems that he was in town during the 1992-93 season when good friend Joel Stern was broadcasting games."I was like his glorified intern,"?Scharge ...

Brother wins $100,000 Wheeling Invitational

October 23, 2008

Kiowa WW Brother turned it up a notch at just the right time.Back in early August, Wayne Ward Kennel operator Julia Ward called trainer Ron Otto and asked him if he thought they had a greyhound who could win the $100,000 Wheeling Invitational in October."At the time, I told Julia flat out I didn't think we had a dog who could win it," Otto recalled.A lot can change in 2 1/2 months.Last Saturday, Kiowa WW Brother made a strong statement when he romped to a 7-length victory against a talented field in the final of the Wheeling Invitational. It was the richest stake event at Wheeling Island ...

Mountaineers rediscover mojo

October 24, 2008

MORGANTOWN - As the opening kickoff approached, it was hard to determine which coach was feeling more heat - WVU's Bill Stewart or Auburn's Tommy Tuberville?Alumni and fans from both schools had been unable to locate their once, highly-touted, nationally-ranked football teams so deemed in pre-season polls.A couple months back, Thursday evening's late October encounter was projected among the nation's most intriguing non-conference matchups of the season.That, of course, was before the Mountaineers were no-shows at East Carolina. Soon after, they managed an overtime loss to a highly ...