Friday, March 05th, 2010 •
Niagara Blog
Name: James Cameron
Date: August 16, 1954
Place of Birth: Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada
Claim to Fame: Academy Award winning director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor. His films Titanic and Avatar are the highest grossing films of all time ($5 billion).
James Cameron grew up in Chippawa Ontario, a municipality of Niagara Falls, and attended Stamford Collegiate Secondary School in Niagara Falls Canada.
His writing and directing work includes The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2 (1991), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009). He is also a co-developer of the digital 3-D Fusion Camera System, a precursor to his invention of the now popular Blu-ray Disc format. His most recent film Avatar is up for 9 Academy Award this Sunday March 7th 2010. more…
Friday, February 26th, 2010 •
Niagara Blog
Name: Steve Mesler
Birth Date: August 27, 1978
Place of Birth: Buffalo New York, USA
Claim to Fame: Member of the USA 2010 Olympics Four-Men Bobsled Team.
After graduating from the University of Florida in 2000, where the scholarship decathlete earned a degree in exercise and sport science, Mesler wasn’t ready to let go of his athletic career just yet. The Buffalo, N.Y. native reached out to the U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Federation (USBSF) and attended bobsled tryouts in San Diego in June 2001.”My guts hurt, but I had a huge smile on my face,” Mesler says of his first trip down the track.
Mesler made his national team debut during the 2001-02 season and was named as an alternate for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. But his proper Olympic debut came in Torino, where he finished seventh in Todd Hays’ four-man sled. Upon the conclusion of the 2006 Games and four seasons with Hays, Mesler moved on to Steve Holcomb’s four-man squad. more…
Friday, February 19th, 2010 •
Niagara Blog
Name: Matt DePeters
Birth Date: August 20, 1987
Place of Birth: Buffalo New York, USA
Claim to Fame: Freestyle Skier in the 2010 Olympics
Vancouver represents DePeters’ first time competing at a major international championship at the senior level. His qualification for the 2010 Olympic team was buoyed by a personal best 15th-place finish on Jan. 15, 2010, in just his third appearance at a World Cup. He finished third at the 2009 National Championships.
DePeters’ father, Mark, a former aerialist and now a coach, started the freestyle program at the Buffalo (NY) Ski Club when Matt was 9. The oldest of three brothers, DePeters has been on skis since age 2.
Buffalo Roots
DePeters’ hometown of Hamburg is located approximately 13 miles south of Buffalo, less than 10 miles from the Canadian border. Also hailing from Buffalo is Olympic bobsled push athlete Steve Mesler, who should contend for gold in the men’s four-man competition as part of Steve Holcomb’s Team Night Train.
more…
Friday, February 12th, 2010 •
Niagara Blog
Name: Jay Triano
Date: September 21, 1958
Place of Birth: Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Claim to Fame: head coach of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors
Born in Niagara Falls Ontario, Jay Triano became the first Canadian born and Canadian trained coach in the NBA when he served as an assistant coach to Lenny Wilkens during the 2002-03 season.
A native of Niagara Falls, Triano was the head coach of the Canadian men’s national team from 1998-2004 posting a 52-42 (.553) record. He led Canada to a semifinal berth in the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico and to a 5-2 record, second best to the United States, in the 2000 Olympics.
In addition to his duties with Canada Basketball, Triano worked six years as a radio analyst and director of community relations for the Vancouver Grizzlies. He moved to Toronto from Vancouver in 2001 to work as a basketball analyst for TSN.
more…
Friday, February 05th, 2010 •
Niagara Blog
Name: Rashad Anton Evans
Date: September 25, 1979
Place of Birth: Niagara Falls, New York, USA
Claim to Fame: Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Rashad (Sugar) Evans , is one of Niagara Fall`s most notable athletes. He has an impressive UFC record of 14 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, including victories over Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin.
Each Fridays we will be be profiling a notable Niagara Falls native. If you would like to suggest a person to be features in our Famous Friday post, please email us at niagarablog2010@gmail.com
