Weekend News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on July 31, 2021
With the Delta Variant of COVID making headlines every day and worries of new masking guidelines Erie County has mandated that anyone, vaccinated or not, must wear a mask in county buildings. Erie county has nearly 100 new cases of COVID a day. New York has seen a spike in cases with nearly 27 hundred a day for the last few days and a 7 day average of 1700 cases a day. Nearly all new cases are in New York city or surrounding areas. In Genesee County there are 4 active cases. In Orleans county there are 6. Nearly 50 percent of people in Genesee and Orleans counties are vaccinated. The percentages of people vaccinated by county is within 10 percent for nearly all counties in New York State.
The Batavia Muckdogs finished their season 22 and 19. Just short of being able to get into the playoffs. But they are hopeful for next year and say that 2021 was a great first season for the new league and new team. Coach Jeoy Martinez has been offered two more years on his contract. Owner Robbie Nichols said that the community is why they are there, “You see people over there in line, talking, having a beer, people bringing their grandkids to the game, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s America’s game. It’s about bringing your family to the ballpark and Batavia answered the bell and this crowd is amazing.”
Speaking of baseball, Governor Cuomo announced Friday that he has declared Baseball as the official sport of New York State. This bill was proposed by a Cooperstown Elementary School 4th grade class. Cooperstown, NY is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and is believed to be the birthplace of the sport. As the state sport, baseball joins a list of New York State symbols which includes milk as the state beverage, apple as the state fruit, the snapping turtle as the state reptile and yogurt as the state snack.
Buffalo Sabres forward Ramus Asplund has been offered and agreed to a 2 year deal for 825 thousand dollars per season. Asplund was a restricted free agent. Asplund, 23, is coming off his best season in the NHL. In 28 games played, the Sabres forward scored seven goals and added four assists for 11 points. In his NHL career, Asplund has eight goals and 14 points in 57 games.
