Thoughts about Niagara Power

I admit I have never been to a collegiate baseball game before this season, or for that matter I have never seen one on TV either. Actually I only knew of two leagues, the Cape Cod League, the most famous, and the New York Collegiate Baseball League, just because it is sorta local. So this year at the start of the Buffalo Bisons seasons, Doug Smith comes up and starts mentioning a new baseball team playing at Sal Maglie Stadium. It turned out to be the Niagara Power, an expansion collegiate league team that Doug was going to be the PA announcer for (he was the PA announcer for the Niagara Falls Rapids, among other baseball related jobs). So a few weeks ago my buddy Kevin and I made the trip to the Falls to see a game. We realized this was going to be a low budget operation and the baseball would not be great. But I must admit, the team is ran well and the baseball is not that bad. Granted the playing field at Sal Maglie sucks, so it creates a lot of bad plays because of the bounces. Sal Maglie Stadium was pretty much torn down a few years ago and rebuilt as a High School Football Stadium for Niagara Falls High School. There was a press Box added for baseball as the Niagara Falls baseball team plays there too. So the field gets pretty beat up during the football games, and the high school runs the stadium so it does not get the care that Pro baseball stadiums get.

First you must know the team is partnered with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but unless it is faith night it is nothing over the top like I expected. Really all it is the Doug saying things are sponsored by the FCA. It is not like there is a pregame prayer most nights. They have a concession stand with $1.50 dogs and burgers, pop and other things. Don't expect to sit down with a cold beer, you won't find it here. They sell shirts, hats, and programs at another stand, so you can look cool in Power gear. Doug does a great job on the PA. It is a very light atmosphere, so in the middle of the game Doug will say something to someone in the crowd over the PA and the will yell the answer back up. He does all his own sound affects, so you get a laugh about some of them. But beware of the seventh inning stretch, Doug has no singing voice at all. It is like nails being dragged across a chalk board.

The baseball can be laughable at times. I really don't know why the outfielders play so shallow, because a lot of balls are hit over their heads. But don't expect to see a home run, the Power have one, yes combined the whole team has one home run. But you will see some nice plays too. Seve Alvarez seems to be the best player the Power have. He plays left field and is a speed little spark plug at the plate. But like in college baseball, he also comes in to pitch. While a lot of guys in this league play at colleges that nobody has heard of, Alvarez plays at South Carolina, so he is playing against better players in the spring.

I would recommend anyone to head out to Sal Maglie and check out a game. The season is coming to an end soon, and the Power is fighting for a playoff spot, so head out soon. If you go, guys you got to check out the men's room water. When you stick your hand under the faucet in the left sink, the water in the middle one comes on. Put your hands in the middle sink, and you guessed it, the water in the left sink comes on. It makes you look for a hidden camera.