December 30, 2021

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www.newbuffalotimes.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021

SPORTS

Ticket sales brisk for talent-laden basketball tournament

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BY STAN MADDUX

ickets are selling fast in LaPorte for an upcoming invitational featuring some of the best major college basketball recruits in the nation. La Lumiere is one of the eight teams in the U.S. Marines National Interscholastic Basketball Conference Invitational to be televised by ESPN. All of the games during the three-day invitational beginning Jan. 6 will be played at the nearly century old Civic Auditorium. Tickets are $20 for each day, with games scheduled Thursday at 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. Games Friday and Saturday are scheduled at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. LaPorte Civic Auditorium Director Brett Binversie said more tickets have been sold for the games on Jan. 8, which he expects to sell out by the end of the week. Ticket sales are not too far behind for games scheduled the first two days of the invitational. “Thursday and Saturday are going to be some great days as well as Friday,” he said. Tickets are available at www. civictix.eventbrite.com. or at the Civic Auditorium, the LaPorte Park and Recreation Office and the LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Civic Auditorium, which used to be home to the LaPorte High School boys’ basketball team until the 1970s, has more than 1,300 seats. Binversie said about 1,000 seats will be available for the

invitational to provide social distancing because of the latest COVID-19 surge at the request of the invitational committee. He said masks will be provided to people who want one but are not mandated. “We’re going to reduce the capacity by 25% just to help with things,” he said. He said extra glass backboards have also been brought in just in case any of the ones used during the games are shattered from a slam dunk by the high-quality athletes. “We’re trying to plan accordingly just in case,” he said. Binversie said the Paragon Marketing Group, which is putting on the event, along with crews from ESPN, have visited the Civic Auditorium several times in recent weeks to help prepare for the invitational and telecasts. “The behind the scenes work on this has been extensive,” he said. Binversie said he and other city employees have also invested extra time making sure the always well-maintained Civic Auditorium is as spotless and ready to go for the invitational as possible. “This is our chance to shine on a national spotlight as well, so, a lot of effort has been put into making sure everything is perfect,” he said. The NIBC is a new conference, which contains La Lumiere and seven other basketball teams from college prep schools from Maryland to Utah and as far south as Florida.

From the Bleachers COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

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et your party hats on people, it’s time to celebrate the New Year. The past couple of years have been doozies, and 2022 appears to be starting off the same way. The bad news is that the new Covid variant seems to be spreading like wildfire but the good news is that so far, people who have been vaccinated and boosted don’t seem to be getting as sick. I sure hope that trend continues and Covid becomes more like the common flu. People are growing weary of the pandemic and they’re letting their guards down, and the clinics that administer the tests that determine if you have Covid are getting longer and longer. This past week I heard that multiple clinics actually ran out of testing supplies and the at home tests are sold out everywhere you look. So be vigilant and hopefully we can finally put an end to this awful disease. The Bulls played the Indiana Pacers Sunday night and beat them rather handily, 113-105. The last time these two teams got together, the Pacers beat the Bulls by 32 points. Even though the Bulls coach and point guard were out ( Covid protocol ), the teams chemistry is improving and they are definitely one of the elite teams in the NBA. This basketball season is going to be a lot of fun, and when the playoffs roll around the Bulls will be participating instead of observing for the first time in what seems like forever. Speaking of the playoffs, the Bears are

officially eliminated, but that did not stop them from playing a really good game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Nick Foles, the teams third string quarterback led them to a 25-24 last minute victory. Foles, who played only because Fields and Dalton were unable to participate, looked good in his first, and probably last, activity of the season. Looking forward to next season, probably with a new coach and coordinator, the teams offense will look quite a bit different. Some of the offensive linemen are playing better, but getting another one or two will probably be added to the roster. In my opinion,the skill positions are in pretty good hands. Justin Fields should improve greatly because he got to play his rookie season. Montgomery and Herbert are both fine running backs and Tarik Cohen should probably return from his injuries as a change of pace back. Darnell Mooney continues to impress me as a wide receiver and Cole Kmet continues to improve at tight end. The team’s defense, always their strong point, should be good once again. After thinking and writing about this, I think the team will be much better next season, and a return to the playoffs is probably in the cards. William E. Vaughan said, “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” Refuse hate. Happy New Year. Talk to you next year. Peace, love, and happiness.

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