The Niagara Pioneer Soccer League Blaze U12 girls team won the 2014 Winter B-Under 12 Girls Division at Sportsplex in Tonawanda. The players capped off an undefeated season by beating the Northtowns Reign in the championship game.

Mount St. Mary's Hospital will hold its 12th annual "River Run" Saturday, June 21. The USATF-sanctioned 5K run/2-mile walk starts at 9 a.m. The course starts and ends at the Red Brick Municipal Building in the Village of Lewiston, with a main portion of the course following Lower River Road in Lewiston.

One hundred sixty golfers journeyed to the Niagara Falls Country Club for the 23rd annual Niagara Cup Classic golf tournament. The event raised more than $45,000, which will support health care programming at the hospital - particularly cardiac and stroke services.

Presti Karate, celebrating 44 years in business, is hosting a variety of events this summer. To start off, the 14th annual Fantasy Island day for all its members is Saturday, June 7.

On Saturday, June 7, St. Peter's Lutheran Church and School of Sanborn will be sponsoring a "Faith Night at the Ballpark" at Sal Maglie Stadium in Niagara Falls, 1201 Hyde Park Blvd.

USA Hockey announced it would bring two major world championships to Buffalo in 2015, with both being staged at the soon-to-be-completed HARBORCENTER.

The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame will introduce its 12-member Class of 2014 Wednesday afternoon in the ballroom of the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in downtown Buffalo.

The Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York, and New York boat dealers and marina operators, are optimistic about the 2014 boating season and taking advantage of trends to attract buyers of all ages and lifestyles.

On Saturday, June 7, Buffalo Championship Wrestling and Entertainment Group are partnering with Relay For Life for a fundraiser at Niagara Active Hose, 6010 Lockport Road, Town of Niagara.

On Wednesday, May 13, the Lewiston-Porter boys tennis team defeated Kenmore East by a score of 5-0. With the win, the Lancers completed a near perfect season with a 13-1 record, and officially earned the Niagara Frontier League championship.

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 3-1 is offering "About Boating Safely" classes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Officers Club of Fort Niagara in Youngstown.

Niagara Cerebral Palsy is holding its 22nd annual "Matthew J. Murphy Jr. On the Tee fore NCP" golf tournament, June 13 at Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course, 4560 Creek Road, Lewiston. Registration and lunch are at noon, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Proceeds from the event benefit NCP's adult vocational program.

The event will celebrate the agency's 60th anniversary, in addition to unveiling a new award, "The Chairman's Award." This year's recipient is James Catanese.

Buffalo RiverWorks recently announced it would become home to the Queen City Roller Girls, an amateur Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association league next season.

The Queen City Roller Girls will compete on a 98-foot-by-66-foot derby track that will be built to accommodate some of the nation's best female athletes. The indoor track is a part of Buffalo RiverWorks eight-acre entertainment and event center that will officially open next fall on the shore of the Buffalo River. The derby track will be the first of its kind in the nation. Derby players provided input into its custom design.

As Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly returned home to continue his battle with mouth cancer, he took time Wednesday to meet with WBBZ-TV Vice President and General Manager Bob Koshinski for a television interview to update everyone in Western New York and across #BillsNation on his health, family and involvement with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on the sale of the Buffalo Bills.

New York Sea Grant shares clean and safe boating tips as the new "Discover Clean & Safe Boating" educational vessel travels to venues throughout upstate New York through the 2014 boating season. The top 10 list of tips from New York Sea Grant is designed to help boaters be safe, environmentally friendly and legal on New York's recreational waters:

Elizabeth Keefer, a senior at Wilson Central High School, has signed with Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester and will receive a scholarship to play women's lacrosse. Steven, her brother, is also on a lacrosse scholarship to Roberts Wesleyan College.

Elizabeth comes from a lacrosse-playing family and has played the past four years for the Newfane Panthers girls club lacrosse team (Wilson does not have a girls team). Prior to that, she played lacrosse in the N.W.A.A. youth program. Elizabeth will be first student from Wilson to play NCAA Division II women's lacrosse.

Penny Rodden of Niagara Falls took first-place honors recently at the RPS Spring Supremacy Powerlifting Championship held in Rochester.

The Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara Foundation's 30th annual Niagara Open Golf Tournament is taking place Monday, June 9, at the Niagara Frontier Country Club in Youngstown. All proceeds will benefit programs and services provided by Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Niagara County.

A heavy rainstorm moved in at 5 p.m. Friday, forcing Ransomville Speedway officials to cancel the racing program slated for the night.

The Buffalo Sabres announced the prices for season-ticket packages for the 2014-15 season. The prices for season tickets have increased by 4 percent from 2013-14, which amounts to roughly $1 to $4 more per game, depending on seat location, but will remain among the most affordable in the NHL, officials said.

"We are grateful to our fans for their incredible loyalty and patience through a challenging season," said Sabres president Ted Black. "It's important to us to balance the affordability of our tickets against the opportunity to qualify for league revenue sharing."

Accordingly, as an added benefit this year, season ticket holders can earn up to a 6.5 percent rebate, which is added to their SabreBucks card, if their account is renewed by June 23.

The sixth annual "Run with the Rapids" 5K race will be held Saturday, May 17, in downtown Niagara Falls. This USA Track & Field-sanctioned race benefits the Downtown Niagara Falls Business Association. Race registration and the post-race party will be held on Old Falls Street, USA.

The Lewiston Event Center (formerly Frontier Lanes) is a perfect example of before and after construction work.

The state fishing season for walleye, northern pike, pickerel and tiger muskellunge opens Saturday, May 3, marking the opening of most of New York's freshwater sportfish seasons, state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens announced.

Ransomville Speedway announced the cancellation of its season-opening program, which was scheduled for tonight, due to the heavy amounts of rain that fell through the middle of the week. Big R reported the speedway grounds are simply too saturated, forcing officials to cancel the 57th season opener.

The Buffalo Jr. Sabres have announced the first Buffalo Jr. Sabres Golf Tournament will take place Monday, July 7, at Westwood Country Club in Williamsville.

A new regulation that prohibits hunting or trapping of free-ranging Eurasian boars in New York State was formally adopted, state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens announced Monday. The regulation is designed to ensure maximum effectiveness of DEC's statewide eradication efforts.

The winners of the 19th annual Lewiston Kiwanis and Lewiston Service Guild Spring Fling "One Mile Race for Kids" are ...

An inspiring message runs across the Buffarun Distance Club's website which reads, "I run for others. I run for my family. I run for a challenge. I run for a cure. I run because I can."

Rivershore Inc. has announced a new and unique 5K running event to be held in the Village of Lewiston Saturday, May 3. The Rivershore 5K will be held annually on the first Saturday of May to coincide with the Lewiston Smelt Festival, and will be the first of 10 runs in the DiMino Lower Niagara Running Series.

The event, professionally managed by Race Management Solution, seeks to support Rivershore programs while promoting the historic Village of Lewiston.

This one-of-a-kind running experience will start and finish on Lewiston Landing in front of the Barton Hill Hotel (start time 11 a.m.). Runners will experience the most challenging incline in Lewiston.

The Buffalo Jr. Sabres have announced several management and coaching changes in the organization, including the hiring of former Buffalo Sabres player John Tucker as head coach of the Junior A team of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

There are a lot of people that don't know, or even realize this but there are many critters that can be hypnotized. It wouldn't actually put them in a hypnotic state, but more or less immobilize or relax them temporarily.

Chef Gerry Garvin, aka "G.," hits the road again for the third season of "Road Trip with G. Garvin," premiering Wednesday, May 21, at 9 p.m. on Cooking Channel.

Attention resident and nonresident anglers and hunters: The Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. is alerting outdoor enthusiasts New York has made several changes to its sporting licenses this year, including a reduction in fees.

HARBORCENTER President John R. Koelmel and Erie Community College President Jack Quinn Jr. have announced a partnership that will make HARBORCENTER the home of ECC Kats hockey, beginning with the 2014-15 season.

County and state officials will honor former Royalton Supervisor Dick Lang tonight, taking note of a lengthy public service career that spanned 34 years, as well as more than three decades spent as a wrestling coach.

Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Club was honored with two national customer service awards at the recent KemperSports national leadership conference.

As more moderate weather arrives across the state, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation welcomes boaters and anglers to take advantage of New York State's abundance of recreational waterways, while encouraging them to take common-sense precautions to stay safe.

For a safe and enjoyable boating season, State Parks recommends the following:

Technology giant Yahoo!, a worldwide provider of communication tools on the Internet and mobile devices, and one of Niagara County's fastest-growing employers, has teamed up with Niagara Hospice to sponsor The Mighty Niagara Half Marathon. Yahoo! will be the presenting sponsor for the annual event, which raises money for the programs and services provided by Niagara Hospice.

The Buffalo Sabres today announced the rosters for the 10th annual Scotty Bowman Showcase, which will take place Wednesday, April 9, at First Niagara Center.

Spring has officially arrived according to the Gregorian calendar. It was a really long winter for most of us, and the same goes for outdoor creatures too.