
Travis Erickson: Prep Roundup 5/4: Centerville wins 2 GWOC titles, more may be on the way
Centerville baseball and lacrosse teams secure GWOC titles!

The Montreal Canadiens will face the Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs without a crowd advantage. This marks a significant shift as Sabres fans fill KeyBank Center for the first time in years.
For the first time in a long time, the Montreal Canadiens will enter KeyBank Center without a crowd in their favor.
Thereâs likely to be a smattering of red in the crowd, but not the sea that became the norm over the Buffalo Sabresâ 14-year playoff drought. Season ticket-holders looking to make some extra cash while avoiding a dreadful team put their tickets on the market and Montreal fans were all too happy to scoop them up.
Not this time.
The Sabres are back and most of the roughly 20,000 fans inside â and a few thousand more outside â will be wearing Sabres colors when the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs begin Wednesday. Those expecting an old-school Adams Division clash are likely to be disappointed.
You can never go back to the way it was. But that doesnât mean it wonât be good.
There is also a unique opportunity to be had.
The old-fashioned, hate-filled rivalries that pushed professional sports to a greater societal importance than is probably healthy are largely gone. Michael Jordanâs 35-year disdain for Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons doesnât exist for current professional athletes.
While Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs fans love to barb each other, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes have a friendly relationship. Jim Kelly and Dan Marino did in the 1990s, but Bryan Cox is no longer walking down the tunnel with twin-fingered salute nor fighting Carwell Gardner on his way back.
The transiency of sports, starting with a youth landscape permeating with travel teams, all-star teams and showcases means most of the nationâs top athletes in their respective sports know each other before graduating high school. And free agency makes it difficult to build a long-standing roster that has time to develop a hatred of another team.
And few players are willing to commit to villainous roles anymore. Players donât want to jeopardize endorsements and teams are terrified of bulletin-board material being leaked into the media.
So while a blood feud between the Sabres and Canadiens is too much to ask for, prepare for a bit of rowdiness. Montreal and Buffalo may have the two most passionate fan bases remaining in the playoff field.
The Canadiens are the top franchise in Montreal â and Quebec, for that matter â and have a Bills-like following. And even though the Sabres play second fiddle to the Bills, they, along with the Minnesota Wild, might have the closest thing to Canadian passion for the sport among American NHL teams.
This matchup is notable as it marks the first time in years that the Sabres have a strong home crowd advantage against the Canadiens.
The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs begins on Wednesday.
Many season ticket-holders have sold their tickets, leading to a predominantly Sabres crowd at KeyBank Center.
The rivalry dates back to the old Adams Division, but the dynamics have changed significantly with the Sabres' recent playoff return.

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The six-hour drive between arenas is also advantageous for each fan base. Itâs a little easier to hop in a car than board a plane for a Wednesday game in Tampa.
And letâs be honest, even though the Lightning have a strong following, itâs not the No. 1 sport in the city and there's a little more to do this time of year. (This is where you can reference palm trees, Kevyn.)
Boston is also a passionate sports city, many of them diehards since 2001.
Just kidding. Sort of.
But in a year-round scope, the Bruins are the No. 4 franchise in the city. And even though some Sabres fans needed to knock 15 years worth of rust off following a Game 2 loss, they have figured out that losing one game isnât a dagger.
It should also be a more aesthetically pleasing series. Games that end 8-7 and are filled with scraps are fun, but eventually the series has to be about hockey. The Lightning would prefer the scraps and the Bruins wanted a slower pace.
Boston was content clogging the middle of the ice and goaltender Jeremy Swayman froze the puck whenever possible, creating a choppy style that was a departure from Buffaloâs free-flowing brand.
Montreal is similar to the Sabres. And despite their nine-shot Game 7 win over the Lightning, the Canadiens want to play a smoother style. The Sabres finished fourth in goals and the Canadiens were just five back.
The teams split their four-game regular-season series â with all games played before January ended â and it couldnât have been more even. Both teams tallied 13 goals, while the teams went 2-2 at home.
There still may be 2-1 games, but there should be more scoring. And if there is, we should get to see two of the gameâs top scorers in Buffaloâs Tage Thompson (40) and Montrealâs Cole Caufield (51) operate.
Yes, please.