Saint Nicholas Social Club president Michael Rimmer wrote a letter to the editor in The Daily News in early December saying that he planned on the club remaining open for another 65 years.

But, after many decades of being a meeting place for friends and a place for social groups to gather, St. Nick's will be closing its doors for good on Monday.

Rimmer expressed concern but said the club was trying its best to stay open in a June 5 story on The Batavian. He talked about how the poor economy has hurt many local businesses.

The rumors that have been passed around for many months are finally becoming true, adding yet another sad chapter that is the current state of Batavia.

St. Nick's will stay open for Monday night's Lions Club meeting and then will be shutting down. The Lions have been meeting at the club for many years and are searching for a new meeting place.

Batavia resident Ben Long - a Pittsburgh Steelers fan - is shown here holding the first legally sold copy of Madden 10 sold in the city.

He showed up at FYE at around 11:30 p.m. and waited for the midnight opening for the sale of the game. I have heard other residents obtained the game yesterday and during the day today as some local stores were illegally selling the game before EA Sports allowed the release.

The Batavia Lions Club gave away a pair of bicycles at Monday night's game between the Batavia Muckdogs and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Everybody was a winner at the game sponsored by the Lions Club as Batavia downed the Scrappers 2-0, with three pitchers combining for the shutout. But a pair of youngsters walked away with an extra prize.

Gunner Rapone of Batavia was the winner in the boy's bike raffle and Jessica Perry of Strykersville took home the girl's bike.

Lions Club president Steve Watson is also in the photo, presenting the prizes to the winners.

One of the main reasons for the recent success the Oakfield-Alabama football program has had is the work ethic coach John Dowd instilled in his players.

The weight room was a high priority.

Don't expect that to change as Dowd's replacement is an O-A grad that was known for his drive to be the best and time spent in the weight room during high school.

"I'm going to try my best to get the full potential out of these kids," said new coach Brian Palone, who graduated from Oakfield-Alabama in 1998. "I will work them hard and earn their respect, constantly telling them it's not about how big they are, but the amount of heart they put into it to get the job done."

Palone - who played football, basketball and baseball in high school - has some big shoes to fill and is ready for the challenge. Dowd led the Hornets to their first undefeated season since 1986 this past fall and the squad made the sectional finals, only to lose a great game against a powerhouse Le Roy squad.

He had a 50-12 record over the last six seasons and won a pair of sectional titles, all while stressing hard work and making the program one of the most respected in Section 5.

"There is a great tradition at Oakfield that I saw after graduating from there and seeing what (Dowd) did last year. He did a great job," Palone said. "I'm going to go in and try my best and see what happens. I told the guys that they need to give me 100 percent and I'll give them 100 percent and we'll do the best we can."

Palone will be returning to his alma matter as a first-time head coach.

He has been a teacher at Naples for the last six years and has been the varsity baseball coach for the last three seasons. But the school does not have a football program.

After playing all over the field in high school and as an outside linebacker for four seasons at Brockport, he was an assistant linebacker and wide receiver coach at Caledonia-Mumford for two seasons. He was on head coach Mike Monacelli's 2003 state title winning squad.

Palone then spent four years as a special teams coordinator and LB/RB coach at Wayland-Cohocton. While teaching at Naples, he gained more experience as a linebacker coach and assistant defensive coordinator with Marcus Whitman.

 "I've been wanting to get an opportunity to get back to Oakfield if a position ever opened," said Palone, who will also teach elementary physical education. "This is a dream come true to give back to the school that gave so much to me."

Dowd ran the Double Wing on offense and the Hornets simply wore teams down with size on the line, allowing multiple backs to go off at will. Palone expects to change things some, but will run a very similar offense.

"We are going to keep some of the same and blend in some other concepts this year," said Palone, who recently purchased a house in Farmington with his wife of seven months, Samantha. "I don't expect to change everything. I have lots of ideas, but some coaches make the mistake of going in and changing everything."

Former Attica standout Derek Wolfley received a Division I basketball scholarship to Iona College last season, and played in 25 games during his freshman season.

But now he's coming home.

The 6-foot-7 forward has decided to take his college basketball career to the University at Buffalo, where he expects to see more playing time next season.

Attica's all-time leading scorer with 1,474 points and 932 rebounds averaged 7.5 minutes per game for the Gaels, while scoring 1 point and 0.9 rebounds per contest.

He will be playing as a walk-on next year but will have an opportunity for a basketball scholarship because six seniors will graduate from next year's UB squad.

Ryan Gugel, the Gulf Coast League barely got to know you.

The Batavia high grad who signed a free agent deal with the Philadelphia Phillies organization after the Major League Baseball Draft didn't get to play in the GCL Phillies opener because he's been promoted from the short-season rookie league to long-season A ball.

The catcher will make his professional debut with the Lakewood BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League.

The club is 42-26 and leading the Northern Division.

Fellow BHS grad Chris Page was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds organization, but has yet to sign a contract. The Reds drafted four first baseman and is waiting to offer him a contract until a position opens up.

Ryan Gugel may have gone undrafted, but he is now a professional baseball player, becoming the second former Batavia baseball player to sign a deal this week after Chris Page was drafted in the 50th round of the Major League Baseball draft.

Gugel signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies - former parent club of the Batavia Muckdogs - this weekend.

The catcher had a .425 career batting average at Batavia with 22 doubles, seven triples, three home runs and 50 RBIs.

He then went to Genesee Community College where he hit .440 with 26 doubles, six triples, eight homers, 19 stolen bases and 82 RBIs for the Cougars in two years. He then continued his baseball career and education and the University of Albany.

At Albany, he started all 55 games as a junior and hit .297 with 12 doubles, a triple and four home runs. He also had an incredible .972 fielding percentage behind the plate.

He batted .303 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs as a senior. Gugel had a .953 fielding percentage as well as hitting 11 doubles and two triples.

Former Batavia baseball standout Chris Page is going to get his shot at pro ball.

The Genesee Community College pitcher/first baseman was drafted in the 50th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He was the 1499th overall player selected.

"I was supposed to be working but I was watching the draft," said Page, who was picked at about 3 p.m. today. "It was the 49th round and I decided to watch one more. When they called my name, I was speechless."

The Reds have been scouting Page since high school, where the big 6-foot-4 lefty set two Batavia records in his senior season with a .534 batting average and 11 doubles. He also had 31 hits, three triples, two home runs, 19 RBIs and 15 walks in his senior season.

He was also 5-2 on the mound, earning him a chance to play at GCC, where Cincinnati continued to monitor his progress.

The Cougars went 25-13-1 this spring with Page leading the squad at the plate. He had a .456 batting average with 18 doubles, five home runs, 34 RBIs, 52 hits and 33 walks.  He did not pitch due to elbow problems.

He is expected to start his professional career in the Florida Gulf Coast League.

"I am honored to have been followed and drafted by a great organization like the Reds," Page said.

 For those NFL fans out there that have been waiting for  the NFL Network to come to Time Warner Cable, it looks like you are going to be waiting for a while longer.

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today that the popular channel - which DirecTV customers have enjoyed for years - signed a 10 year deal with Comcast.

Goodell did leave the door open for a  possible deal with Time Warner in the future.

Goodell also said the NFL will work to resolve any differences it has with other major cable operators that don't carry the network -- including Time Warner Cable Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp. and Charter Communications Inc.

Albion grad Derek Kinder was just selected with the 251st overall selection in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears.

Kinder was a standout running back for the Purple Eagles and was switched to wide receiver at the University of Pittsburgh. He tore his ACL during his senior year and received an injury red shirt.

He bounced back this season to catch 36 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns.

It was reported that Kinder had worked out for Chicago and Cincinnati in the weeks prior to the NFL Draft.

4:04 p.m. - Here we go. No big surprise as the Detroit Lions select quarterback Tim Couch, err, Matthew Stafford. The team reached a contract with him last night. Updates will be coming through the day.

4:16 p.m. - Jason Smith just went to the Rams. My prediction is Kansas City trades down and probably the Jets come up and get Mark Sanchez.  (OK, I'm wrong and confused by the selection).

4:39 p.m. - Jets moved up for Sanchez. Great move. He's the best QB prospect in the draft.

4:59 p.m. - The Oakland Raiders are the worst franchise in the AFC and that was an absolutely stupid draft pick at No. 7. Darrius Heyward-Bey out of Maryland is the fourth ranked receiver in the pre-draft rankings. Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin are easily more likely to be stars. Mel Kiper gave this pick an F. I also do.

5:13 p.m. - San Francisco is the only team other than Buffalo and Michael Oher is still on the board. If San Fran takes him, expect possibly USC linebacker Brian Cushing or Texas defensive end Brian Arakpo to be the pick. If the 49ers take somebody else though, Oher is the pick.

5:27 p.m. - Aaron Maybin of Penn State is the pick. The defensive end is a pretty good pass rusher, but not a choice I think a lot of fans would have made. The Bills need to replace Jason Peters, who was traded to Philly, and Oher would have been perfect. I preferred Arakpo as well.

5:50 p.m. - Buffalo isn't up again for a bit, so I'll be taking a break unless something big happens. What do you all think about Maybin getting picked at 11?

6:06 p.m. - Oher is still out there. He is considered one of four offensive tackles coming into the draft. Why is he dropping?

6:20 p.m. - Detroit just took Brandon Pettigrew, the best tight end in the draft. I was hoping he'd fall to Buffalo at 28.

6:39 p.m. - Good for the Baltimore Ravens. Michael Oher is a great story and a great player. They definitely get an A+ for this pick, at 23 when he should have been top 10.

6:55 p.m. - Two big picks coming up. My Colts are on the board and I'm hoping for North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nicks to replace Marvin Harrison. Then the Bills will look at either tackle or linebacker. Rey Maualuga is still out there.

7 p.m. - Indy takes Donald Brown, running back from Connecticut. He's a good player, but I wanted a receiver. I guess replacing Dominic was important.

7:04 p.m. - Buffalo takes Eric Wood, a center from Louisville. He's a four-year starter and can play every position on the line. It will be interested to see what the Bills do with him.

7:33 p.m. - 3 1/2 hour first round ... not bad. Lots of fun and surprises. I'll keep giving the occasional update as the second round goes on. Buffalo has the 10th pick.

8:17 p.m. - The Bills take Jairus Byrd, CB out of Oregon, with the 10th pick in the second round. It looks like a bit of a reach and there has still only been one tight end selected. Also, does the team really need a cornerback?

9 p.m. - Dallas and Buffalo just made a trade. 

9:01 p.m. - Buffalo again helps the offensive line by getting the top guard, Andrew Levitre from Oregon St. A surprising move to see the trade and a solid pick by the Bills. Dallas got the 75th and 110th picks owned by Buffalo. Excellent move.

Notre Dame guard Kevin Francis had a tremendous senior season and because of that has earned first-team, all-state honors by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

Francis scored 20.9 points with 5.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 5.1 steals per game while leading the Fighting Irish to the top seed in the Section 5 Class D1 playoffs.

The Batavia basketball team that made the state semifinals had a pair of selections on state squads. Andrew Hoy was selected to the sixth team and Marcus Hoy was picked to the seventh team.

As Matt Novak, Matt McCracken and Brandon Brummert were driving back from the NCAA Basketball Tournament in Memphis, they started talking about a way to have some fun talking sports with their friends.

The trio of Oakfield-Alabama graduates decided that starting a blog was the best way to accomplish this. That was when GC Watercooler was born.

Novak created the site that night (March 30) and it went live on Friday of that week, with links being posted on Facebook and Section 5 Talksback. 

Novak currently attends Syracuse University and is a big basketball fan. He is also the top poster on Talksback. 

McCracken attends SUNY Geneseo and specializes in NFL and Brummert is a junior in college and writes about college football.

The site has more than just the three writers.

Steve Huber - who is a graphic designer that graduated from Attica - is a baseball analyst and fellow Attica grad Don Busch writes about college football.

O-A grad Travis Klotzbach writes about the NFL and current Oakfield-Alabama student Ben Cherry writes about soccer and wrestling. Casey Call - another O-A grad - writes about basketball.

Elba's Collin Stucko and Sonny Giuliano both write about college and NBA basketball while Notre Dame's Christian Bochicchio writes about college football and Shea O'Connor writes about the NFL.

These young writers are a talented group and the site offers a lot of humor to go along with news and opinions. You can check it out here.

Even though the New York Yankees couldn't get a victory to open up their new stadium Thursday, it was still a pretty big day for 1995 Notre Dame graduate Dave Pero.

Many of the former greats made an appearance, the weather was great for baseball and the local man made history.

 Pero - a high school teacher in Syracuse - was the first guy to ask his girlfriend to become his fiance at the new Yankee Stadium when he proposed to Heather DeCarolos.

"There's nothing better than to kick off this opening day and this stadium by making a commitment to my future wife," Pero told the New York Daily News.

Pero, 31, got down on one knee and popped the question while The Skycoasters - a band out of Rochester - was playing the Earth, Wind and Fire song "September" nearby. DeCarolos said yes.

"I'm stunned," DeCarolos, 23, told the Daily News. "I'm on top of the world. I can't think of a better place for this to happen."

Apparently, golf is just like riding a bike. 

I haven't been on a golf course in two years because of carpal tunnel in both wrists, so I've been missing the game that I've been playing since the age of 17. I had surgery over last summer and Dr. Hoy did a great job of getting my wrists in decent shape.

So I'm playing again this season and went out for my first time in a couple of years this afternoon, on a perfect day for golf.

I normally play at Terry Hills but didn't feel comfortable going out and getting my butt kicked on that course, so I headed out to Meadow Brook, and executive course on Woodland Drive in Batavia. It isn't very challenging and the greens definitely are not in good shape, but it was a good starting place for me.

I had about the most discouraging start imaginable as I blasted my 7-iron well right of the green on the 156-yard par-3 first hole. I hit a little runner up to the green and it came up just short. Luckily I two-putted for the bogey.

The third hole is the second longest on the course and the first chance I had to hit driver. I was expecting the worst and shocked myself, hitting a 240-250 yard drive right down the middle of the fairway. But, a three-putt gave me my third consecutive bogey.

I continued to hit my driver well and got my first par of the season on the 241-yard fifth hole. I was getting confidence and knew that a good drive would give me a shot at a par or even a birdie. 

A big swing led to a perfect drive, just over the bunker to the left of the green. The chip was a little long because the pin was right up on the left side of the green. A couple of putts later and I had a par.

I followed that up with another big drive and par on the sixth hole. Then things went to hell.

My drive on seven was pushed to the right, directly under a small tree. I couldn't get the next shot on the green and took a bogey.

At this point my left wrist was starting to get tender and starting to swell up a bit, but it was a mental mistake on the eighth hole. I was lined up wrong and pulled my 9-iron on the 122-yard par-3. I chipped onto the green and then three-putted for a double bogey.

A pitching wedge on the 103-yard ninth hole went long and I finished up with a bogey.

So after two years without a swing, I'm pretty pleased with an 8-over par 41 for nine holes. And best of all, it was a great day for golf.

 There is a rumor that has been circulating on the net and word of mouth that Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson died last night.

It is not true.

The 90-year old Hall of Famer is still alive and the Bills confirmed this with a Twitter post saying "There is absolutely no truth to the internet rumor referencing Ralph Wilson’s health."

If Wilson were to have passed away last night, it would leave the future of football in Buffalo in question. If Wilson cares about keeping football in Buffalo, it is time that he sells the team or sets something up where nobody can purchase the team from his family if they plan on moving the team out of Western New York.

Alexander's Anni Lehtola was recently named Genesee Region League Player of the Year by Birdseye Foods.

The 5-foot-9 senior averaged 16 points with five rebounds and two assists per game. The foreign exchange student from Finland led her team to a top seed in Class C and the sectional finals.

Notre Dame senior guard Kevin Francis received the honor for boys basketball, helping his team to a top seed in Class D1.

Francis scored 20.9 points with 5.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 5.1 steals per game. He set school records with 130 assists and 112 steals.

Both players are selected to play in the Ronald McDonald all-star game.

Here is a video feature on Lehtola from the season.

 The Batavia boys basketball team prides itself on its defense. And it is because of defense that the Blue Devils nearly shocked Jamesville-Dewitt Saturday morning in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A semifinals.

J-D has been the top ranked team in the state all season long and has a senior guard that is heading to Syracuse next year on a basketball scholarship, but Batavia's game plan was perfect and they forced the Red Rams to play at Batavia's pace.  Batavia only gave up 40 points, but lost the game 40-32.

The Blue Devils came out and surprised J-D with an early run, taking an early 8-3 lead. Batavia led 10-5 after one period of play, with Andrew Hoy hitting a pair of 3-pointers.

Batavia held J-D star Brandon Triche to just two points in the opening frame.

But the Red Rams went on a 14-0 run to open the second quarter and took a seven point lead. Batavia's defense kept them in the game though and the Blue Devils only trailed 20-13 at the break.

Andrew and Robert Hoy each had 3-pointers in the third quarter and J-D's lead was cut to 24-23.

The Red Rams went on a run after that and opened up a five point lead. Robert hit another 3-pointer and Batavia was only down 32-30 with just two minutes left in the game. Triche answered right back with a bucket and J-D hit some free throws down the stretch, ending an amazing season for the Batavia basketball team.

Triche ended up with 17 points but Batavia did a good job fighting the size disadvantage again. Coleman only scored two points in the contest.

Andrew Hoy led the Blue Devils with 15 points.

Batavia ends the season with a 22-4 record and has the honor of being just the second team in the program's history to make the state final four. Jamesville-Dewitt is now 25-1 and will be playing Peekskill in the finals tomorrow afternoon.

The Batavia basketball team is favored on the court more often than not. Saturday morning will be different.

The Blue Devils will be taking on a team that has been the top ranked team in the state all season long, has a player getting a full ride to Syracuse and is the defending state champion.

Senior Brandon Triche scored 28 points in Jamesville-DeWitt's 90-61 win over Scotia-Glenville in the regional game and is the biggest name on the roster because he will be playing for 'Cuse next season. But he isn't the only big-time player on the roster.

The biggest challenge Batavia faces is a youngster. Dajuan Coleman is a 6-foot-8 freshman that is going to cause serious matchup problems. The Blue Devils have been undersized all year and have done well against big players for the most part. But there have been times that players with this kind of height have dominated. 

Batavia forward Joe Schlossel has had a tremendous season and has played much bigger than his listed size of 6-2. But he's going to need a lot of help with Coleman.

Jamesville-DeWitt is extremely athletic and will attempt to run the floor. If Batavia can get rebounds, they should be able to slow things down. The Blue Devils need to get into a half court game to have a shot in this matchup.

Batavia has won games this season because of a strong perimeter game, led by sophomore Andrew Hoy. The Blue Devils will have to put up some impressive shooting numbers from beyond the arc to win this game.

The game is at 10:45 Saturday morning and the winner will battle either Peekskill or East Hampton at 1 p.m. Sunday.