Breaking News

Sports Columns

Littermates step up for C And C

With sprint star Van Do sidelined for most of May and early June, three youngsters have stepped up to the plate and delivered for the C And C Kennel at Wheeling Island. Although a month shy of being 2 years old, littermates Huge Lee, Spectacular Lee and Large Lee have each climbed the ladder to Grade AA. The trio has combined for 16 wins, 7 seconds, 4 thirds and 3 fourths in 41 starts — a 73 percent mark on the pay sheet. “They ran some pretty fast times in training, but we didn’t expect them to do this well right from the git-go,” C And C Kennel trainer Patrick Bever said. ...

Wuzinyurwallet tops qualifiers for stake final

Green-Maupin Kennel’s Wuzinyurwallet tops all qualifiers for Saturday afternoon’s final of the $65,000 West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association Derby at Wheeling Island. The Jim Grace-trained middle distance runner won all three of his qualifying races to accumulate a total of 45 points. He was the only greyhound to march through the early rounds unscathed. Also qualifying for the 3/8 championship final are CTR Diamond Lil (Steubenville Kennel) and Kicken Kalindi (Haber Kennel), 33 points each; Trust Fund Baby (Green-Maupin Kennel), 31 points; Bombshell ...

Two OV legends reminisce about their playing days

A couple of Ohio Valley legends recently took some time out of their busy schedules to compete in the Buckeyes’ Boosters Golf Scramble at Belmont Hills Country Club. Allan Hornyak, a former St. John Central and Ohio State University basketball standout, and Jim Bradshaw, a terror on the football field at St. Clairsville High and later the Pittsburgh Steelers, were among the celebrities who helped raise $10,000 during the golf outing. Although it’s been nearly 30 years since Hornyak donned a Green-and-White Irish jersey on Guernsey Street, his name is still etched atop a few ...

St. John grad ready for busy Sunday at MIS

A 1984 graduate of St. John Central High School in Bellaire has been a busy man this week. Dennis Bickmeier is the Vice President for Consumer Sales and marketing at Michigan International Speedway, which, of course, hosts the NASCAR LifeLock 400 today at its Brooklyn-based track. What does his title actually entail? Actually, a lot! “I oversee three departments at MIS,” he said in a telephone interview earlier this week from his office at the 132,000-seat venue. “The public relations/communications, corporate sales partnerships, and ticket sales operations.” The 19-year ...

Nailers coaching search coming to an end quickly

The deadline for ECHL teams to submit their season-ending rosters is rapidly approaching, and it’s a good thing that the names of head coaches are not included. Why, you ask? Because the Wheeling Nailers are nearing the end in their search for their 11th head coach in their 17 seasons in the “Friendly City.” As you may remember, the organization, with dual NHL affiliates in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, made a coaching change just after the first of the year last season when it replaced Glenn Patrick with Greg Puhalski. At the time, it wasn’t really announced, ...

Wuzinyurwallet wins WVGOBA Derby

Deja vu. The brother-sister act was at it again last Saturday at the Wheeling Island racetrack. Only this time, Wuzinyurwallet got the best of his littermate sister Trust Fund Baby by closing in the stretch to capture the $65,000 West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association Derby (3/8). Kicken Kalindi got up for second while Trust Fund Baby settled for third. Back in April, Trust Fund Baby rushed home to edge Flat Out Yardley to win the WVGOBA Juvenile while Wuzinyurwallet came from downtown to get third. “Running first and third in the Juvenile was special but to ...