The National Lacrosse League today announced that Buffalo Bandits forward John Tavares has been named a Second Team All-Pro for the 2012 NLL season.
Tavares earned his league-record 18th All-Pro nod by finishing second in the NLL with 41 goals, including a league-leading 21 power play goals, while ranking seventh with 80 points (41+39) in 2012. The Mississauga, ON native led the Bandits in goals, assists and points this year and has now led the team in scoring in 17 of his 21 seasons. Tavares was named captain and starter for the East in the 2012 NLL All-Star Game, which was held on Feb. 25 at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
Tavares, the NLL’s all-time leading scorer, has recorded 1,627 points (765+862) in 268 career games played. The 43-year-old has scored 19.8% of the 3,861 goals in Bandits history and has registered a point on 42.1% of those goals. Tavares is currently on a 163-game regular season point streak, dating back to Jan. 26, 2002. He has been held without a point in a game just once in his career.
The All-Pro Team awards are voted on by the league’s board of governors, general managers and head coaches.
The Buffalo Bills have moved quickly to sign first-round draft pick Stephon Gilmore. The club announced the rookie cornerback has signed a contract with the team and according to NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the deal is for a fully guaranteed$12.1 million over four years with a club option on a fifth year.
A three-year starter at South Carolina, Gilmore is expected to start for the Bills almost immediately, which is part of the reason the club let Drayton Florence go earlier this month.
Gilmore is the second-highest draft pick to sign his rookie NFL contract. Ninth overall pick Luke Kuechly has already signed with Carolina.
Buffalo has now signed seven of their nine draft choices, with only second-rounder Cordy Glenn and third-round pick T.J. Graham remaining unsigned.
Courtesy of the Bills official website, see photo on right of Gilmore officially signing his deal.
The Bills as a team will next gather for the start of OTA’s on May 29th.
The Niagara Gazette reports that despite the cowardly, hideous attack on local professional boxer Nick Casal, the aspiring champion is not down for the count.
Leo Roth of the Rochester Democrat &Chronicle wonders if Bill Polian could once again be the general manager of the Bills someday. Hey, never say never.
For the first time in program history the University at Buffalo rowing team will have a representative at the national championships. UB’s lightweight four boat has been invited to compete in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta – the national championships for lightweight rowing.
The lightweight four boat, which won the title at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, is made up of Katherine Evely (coxswain), Cornelia Willis, Julia Hahn, Katie Coffin and Maggie Lawn.
“It will obviously be a very challenging task, but this group is the perfect group to take UB to the national stage.” lightweight coach Kerri Kanaley said.
The IRA Regatta takes place on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, NJ on June 1 & 2.
Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler announced the team will host the Buffalo Bandits Summer Lacrosse Experience again this year with two separate camps in the month of July at First Niagara Center and Nichols School.
The two locations will feature clinics for participants ages 8 to 18. Instructors for both camps will include former and current Bandits such as John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis, Darris and Rich Kilgour, Billy Dee Smith, Anthony Cosmo, Tracey Kelusky and other National Lacrosse League pros. Players are subject to change without notice.
The First Niagara Center camp, which focuses on indoor lacrosse, will take place from July 9-11. The clinic includes a Reebok Bandits replica jersey, camp pinnie and T-shirt, personalized locker room stall with nameplate, 2012 Bandits Yearbook and team photo, limited edition Bandits lithograph, four ticket vouchers redeemable for any 2013 Buffalo Bandits regular season home game, lunch, strength and conditioning session, daily guest speaker, contests, prizes and more. The camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, costs $350 per player. The clinic will be limited to 50 total participants, comprised of 25 players ages 8-12 and 25 players ages 13-18.
The Buffalo Bills held their rookie mini-camp, with four practices over three days and by all accounts, first-round draft pick Stephon Gilmore looked very impressive.
Via WGRZ-TV, here’s video of Gilmore commenting about his progress as well as words from head coach Chan Gailey, who said of Gilmore ” “He did a great job during the weekend. He is a big, long corner that can run and has a great feel for the game.”
This has been one of the most positively remembered offseasons in the history of the Buffalo Bills in terms of re-signing and extending core players and perhaps even more importantly, adding a pair of monster free agent acquisitions. Now, the Bills deserve a pat on the back for something they’ve done off the field as well.
Former general manager Bill Polian, who’s arguably more responsible than anyone for building the Buffalo squads that won four consecutive AFC championships, will finally gain entry to the team’s Wall of Fame this season.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am,” Polian told the Buffalo News this weekend. “I told Mr. Wilson I really couldn’t find words adequate to express my gratitude and happiness. It’s a milestone in my life and a milestone in the life of my family. … I have such a warm spot in my heart for Buffalo and all the friends we made there and all the wonderful times we had there. It’s just marvelous to come back and have this opportunity.”
Back in his day, major league pitchers would challenge batters who dug in at the plate. That’s all changed now, insists Buffalo native Ken Fremming, who knows a thing about pitching.
“In the 1940s and ’50s, pitchers would throw hard if they saw a batter digging in at the plate,” he said.
Fremming said in an exclusive interview. “You’d throw at his head and a batter could bail out. If you were really mad, you’d throw at his hip because he couldn’t get out of the way.”
A member of the Chautaugua Sports Hall of Fame, Fremming was a top Detroit Tigers prospect. He signed with Detroit in 1947 and won 32 games in back-to-backs years (17 in 1948 and 15 in 1949) before being drafted by the Army in 1951 to play for Uncle Sam. Fremming hurled a no-hitter for Jamestown while pitching in 1947 in the New York-Penn League.
The news was first hinted at via a tweet from Mario Williams that the Buffalo Bills have signed quarterback Vince Young. That became concrete a short time later when ESPN’s Chris Mortenson reports Young has signed a one-year deal worth an estimated $2 million, with another $1 million in playing incentives.
Young will challenge Tyler Thigpen to be the primary backup for starter Ryan Fitzpatrick. The team made clear to Young when he worked out for the team on May 1 that Fitzpatrick is the starter.
The former third overall pick of the 2006 draft is 31-19 for his career as a starter, including a 30-18 mark with the Tennessee Titans. Young has tossed 42 career touchdowns and the same number of interceptions at this point and has also rushed 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Whether the move works out or not, the Bills continue to be the buzz of the NFL offseason after signing Williams to a record deal, inking Mark Anderson and re-signing many of their key core veterans, including Stevie Johnson and Kirk Morrison. They also gave Fred Jackson a contract extension earlier this week.
One hundred percent of this report is credited to fantastic football blogger Brian Mcintyre of Mac’s Football Blog, who cited sources that show Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson’s contract extension was to put it mildly, extremely team-friendly to the organization. As you’ll see in the next few paragraphs, the Bills financial commitment to Jackson is not much at should things not work out well beyond this year.
Rather than try to break down something McIntyre perfectly stated, I’m going to directly quote his information for you. As a side note, if you’re a NFL fan you should really have this blog bookmarked on your computer.
“Earlier this week, the Buffalo Bills signed running back Fred Jackson to a two-year contract extension. Jackson had been scheduled to earn $1.955 million in base salary, with a $100,000 roster bonus and $50,000 workout bonus in the final year of his four-year, $7.75 million contract from 2009.
According to a league source, Jackson received $8.7 million in “new money”, a $4.35 million per year average that places him in between recent contracts signed by New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw ($4.5 million) and Chicago Bears running back Michael Bush and New Orleans Saints running back Darren Sproles ($3.5 million).
University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi today named Daniel J.“Danny” White the new director of UB’s Division of Athletics.
A rising star in intercollegiate athletics, the former Notre Dame basketball player and New Orleans native has quickly ascended the ranks of college athletics leadership.
His many accomplishments include notable success in raising funds for programs at major universities, including the University of Mississippi and California State University, Fresno, and coaching and serving as an administrator at Mid-American Conference members Ohio University and Northern Illinois University. At Ohio, he helped lead the men’s basketball team to a Mid-American Conference championship victory and an NCAA tournament berth.
The Buffalo Sabres announced the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association will host hockey clinics on May 8 and 9 for students at the Aloma D. Johnson Fruit Belt Community Charter School in the city of Buffalo.
Sabres Alumni member Darryl Shannon will conduct the May 8 clinic from 9:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., while Alumni President Rob Ray will host the May 9 session from 9:20 a.m. until 4:10 p.m. The team’s mascot, Sabretooth, will be on hand for both events.
An estimated 250 students, ranging from grades 1-4, will participate in the two-day event. Participants will learn basic floor hockey skills through hands-on drills conducted by the instructors. The clinics present an opportunity for children to use the street hockey equipment that was donated to the St. John Baptist Church by the Sabres earlier this year.
The Buffalo Bills continued what has turned into arguably it’s most memorable offseason in franchise history, inking running back Fred Jackson to a two-year extension that will keep him on the team through 2014. While the team didn’t reveal any financial details, several reports indicate Jackson will make $4.5-million per over the contract with an opportunity to reach up to $11 million in incentives.
By giving Jackson the incentive, the club avoided any potential holdout or ugly negotiation with Jackson over the summer. One of the more underrated players in the league, Jackson has been told repeatedly by Buddy Nix that the team would work out a better deal for him, and that’s exactly what Nix and the front office did.
Perhaps on some level the extra money was available after the team cut cornerback Drayton Florence last week. By doing so, the team saved around $4 million per season over the next two seasons, money that essentially will now go to Jackson.
The Bills have almost their entire core locked up for the next few years. Safety Jairus Byrd and guard Andy Levitre are entering the final season of their contracts, but at the rate the organization is going it would hardly be surprising to see one, if not both players get a new contract before the 2012 season begins.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that Buffalo Bills have released veteran cornerback Drayton Florence. This comes on the heel of a 2012 NFL draft that saw the Bills take a pair of cornerback prospects: Stephon Gilmore in the first round and Ron Brooks in the fourth.
A nine-year pro, Florence played in Buffalo for three seasons and had 45 total starts. During that time he picked of seven passes, but really struggled last year in pass coverage and was often targeted by opposing quarterbacks towards the end of the season.
Florence re-signed with the Bills last year for $15-million over three years after receiving interest from the New York Jets. His release will save the team around $4 million in base salary for 2012.
Byron Mulkey has always been working hard to get his shot. After walking on to the University at Buffalo men’s basketball team in 2006, the waterbug point guard earned his way into not just the program’s record books, but into the heart of Bulls fans everywhere with his performance on the court and his charisma off it.
Now almost a year after his playing career at Alumni Arena has ended, Byron has been given another shot to prove his tenacity and will to succeed thanks to an invitation to come and attend a training camp.
The one catch?
It isn’t with a basketball team.
The Wheatfield native has received a formal invitation to participate in the upcoming Buffalo Bills rookie camp. Though he has not played in an official football game since his outstanding high school career at Niagara-Wheatfield High School, Mulkey has been working out feverishly to transition his skills from the hardcourt to the gridiron.
According to a report by the Buffalo News citing a league source, free agent quarterback Vince Young is coming to Orchard Park on Wednesday to work out for the team.
Interesting…
The Bills signed undrafted free agent quarterback Aaron Corp of Richmond almost immediately following the draft last week, but clearly he is a developmental player. This potential maneuver makes it quite obvious the Bills aren’t satisfied with Tyler Thigpen as the backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick and depending on how well Young performs, could even eventually be a threat to Fitzpatrick’s starting job.
It may seem he’s been around forever, but Young is just 29 years old. It’s probably not good testament to what the Philadelphia Eagles thought of him, as they decided to not re-sign him this offseason and instead inked former Bills quarterback Trent Edwards as the backup to Michael Vick.
The former third overall pick of the 2006 draft is 31-19 for his career as a starter, including a 30-18 mark with the Tennessee Titans. Young has tossed 42 career touchdowns and the same number of interceptions at this point and has also rushed 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns.
While this may ultimately prove to mean little or nothing on the football field, Young coming to Buffalo to audition is sure to become big news around the league in the coming hours.
The Buffalo State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized its seniors and honor its MVPs and major award winners at its annual awards banquet last night at the Holiday Inn-Buffalo.
Top honors went to Barb Kiliszekand Xavier Mateenwho received the Ruth Houston and Hube Coyer Awards for outstanding career athletic accomplishments by female and male athletes, respectively.
Kiliszek was a four-year, two-sport standout with the Bengals. On the soccer field, she was a four-time All-SUNYAC selection and was the 2010 SUNYAC Player of the Year. She finished second on the school’s all-time scoring list with 89 career points with 33 goals and 23 assists. She was also a two-time All-SUNYAC honoree on the basketball court and finished her career eighth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,095 career points. She set a school record with 420 steals and finished ranked among the Division III top-10 leaders in steals in three different seasons. She helped lead the Bengals to a school-record 25 wins this past season and was named to the 2012 SUNYAC All-Tournament Team.
The NFL draft is over and while free agency is still an option for the Buffalo Bills, the meat and potatoes of roster additions have been added. Sure, Buddy Nix will keep an eye on the open market and waiver wire and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few new faces before training camp begins in July, but for the most part what you see now is what you get with this roster.
Given possible reinforcements before camp, not to mention unfortunate injuries that may occur, it’s ridiculous to try and project the Bills final roster before recreational softball season even begins.
But then again–what the hell else better is there to do? Therefore, here’s my initial look at how Buffalo’s opening week 53-man roster may look, at least if the season were starting now.
At the end of the day we’re all a fan of sports and the people that deliver the news and higlights. Sadly, one of the best reporters in Western New York over the past few decades is leaving the industry.
Channel 4 sports reporter Paul Peck has ended his 24-year run as a local broadcaster and is set to embark on a new career in the financial services industry at FXA Advisors.
One of the most distinct and recognizable voices on the air, Peck joined WIVB-TV in 1988 after graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and Political Sciences from Syracuse University.
One of the highlights of career is covering the Buffalo Bills in all four of their Super Bowl appearances.
During his time in the business Peck has also been a sports reporter for 97 Rock and had two separate stints as the field reporter for the Buffalo Bills radio network. He’s also been the radio voice of the UB Bulls from 1992-98 and 2008 to present and fortunately for UB fans, he’ll continue in that row.
As a sign of respect from the Bills organization, the team gave him a commemorative No. 4 jersey with his name sewn on the back. Don’t worry Tyler Thigpen, you’re job is safe for now—at least from Peck.
We here at Buffalo Sports Daily are thankful for the solid job Peck has done through the years and wish him nothing but the best in his new career venture.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson was hampered by a nagging groin injury for almost all of the 2011 season. In an effort to ensure last year doesn’t repeat itself, Johnson is having surgery to fix it.
WKBW reports that CJ Laboy, Johnson’s agent confirms his client is in Philadelphia for a procedure he deems as an “extremely minor surgery that won’t keep him out long at all. He will be at [the Bills'] facility for all activities.”
Johnson was re-signed this winter before free agency and is slated to earn $36.25 million over the next five years, including a signing bonus of just over $18 million. He caught 76 passes for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns last season despite the nagging groin injury and became the first Bills receiver in franchise history to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The Buffalo Bills have made nothing official yet, but tweets from players and reporters indicate the team has already signed at least seven undrafted free agents to the roster.
They include:
Aaron Corp, QB (Richmond): Originally reported by Adam Caplan of Fox Sports, Corp began his career at USC before transferring to Richmond. Far and away he’s the biggest name of the bunch. The 6′3″, 205-pounder was the eighth-ranked quarterback in this class by the National Football Post despite two average seasons at Richmond.
Chris Douglas, RB (Missouri State): Can’t see him having much potential and likely didn’t many other offers across the league, as evidence by him choosing Buffalo with the team already having Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller and Chris White in tow, not to mention Tashard Choice.
University at Buffalo wide receiver Marcus Rivers has signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers. The Lackawanna, NY native will be reunited with former UB teammate James Starks.
Rivers had 117 career catches over his four-year career, but really blossomed as a junior in 2010. He had 50 catches for 690 yards and five touchdowns his junior year.
As a senior, Rivers had a career-best 60 receptions for 615 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Buffalo Bills continued to stockpile talent and depth to the roster on the third and final day of the NFL draft. By all accounts I’ve read and certainly my own; this has been a successful three-day talent adding spree for the organization.
Their first pick of the fourth round (105 overall) saw Buffalo grab Florida State outside linebacker Nigel Bradham. The six-foot-two, 241-pounder is versatile enough to play on the weak or strong side and has down the road potential starter ability. The Bills also liked him because he’s an outstanding special teams performer. Expect him to make the team and be a contributor immediately on coverage units and possible sub-passing packages.
With their second fourth-rounder, the Bills opted with LSU cornerback Ron Brooks. A very under-the-radar type of prospect, Brooks wasn’t a starter for the Tigers, though a strong case could be made of Patrick Peterson, Morris Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu being there the past two seasons as a major reason why. Sticking with adding as much speed as possible, Buddy Nix was impressed with his 4.37 timed speed. It may be a longer transition into the league for Brooks compared to earlier picks, but he could definitely mean the end of at least one veteran cornerback, quite possibly Leodis McKelvin.
In the fifth round, Buffalo chose a right tackle project in Florida State’s Zebrie Sanders. There’s tremendous upside for the 6’6”, 320-pound big man, but he has a lot of work to do and will be brought along slowly. The team spoke following his selection and made quite clear he won’t be ready to challenge incumbent right tackle Erik Pears for a starting spot as a rookie. Sanders could be a candidate for the practice squad in 2012, which long-term may be the best thing for his growth. The Bills definitely project him as a right tackle.
Want to know what kind of player the Buffalo Bills got in the fourth-round in Nigel Bradham? Well for one, a ferocious hitter. Check out this video from the Florida State vs. Miami game when Bradham destroyed the Hurricanes receiver.
Bradham was not only issued a penalty, but also ejected from the game. Upon further review, you can see it was a horrible call. The hit was clean—chest to helmet and Bradham never left his feet. It was a just a good, old fashioned nasty football hit. By the way, he had 10 hits and a forced fumble in this game before the ejection.
The National Lacrosse League today announced that Buffalo Bandits forward John Tavares has been named a Second Team All-Pro for the 2012 NLL season.
The Buffalo Bills have moved quickly to sign first-round draft pick Stephon Gilmore. The club announced the rookie cornerback has signed a contract with the team and according to NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the deal is for a fully guaranteed$12.1 million over four years with a club option on a fifth year.
The Niagara Gazette reports that despite the cowardly, hideous attack on local professional boxer Nick Casal, the aspiring champion is 
For the first time in program history the University at Buffalo rowing team will have a representative at the national championships. UB’s lightweight four boat has been invited to compete in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta – the national championships for lightweight rowing.
Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler announced the team will host the Buffalo Bandits Summer Lacrosse Experience again this year with two separate camps in the month of July at First Niagara Center and Nichols School.
More on 
This has been one of the most positively remembered offseasons in the history of the Buffalo Bills in terms of re-signing and extending core players and perhaps even more importantly, adding a pair of monster free agent acquisitions. Now, the Bills deserve a pat on the back for something they’ve done off the field as well.
Back in his day, major league pitchers would challenge batters who dug in at the plate. That’s all changed now, insists Buffalo native Ken Fremming, who knows a thing about pitching.
The news was first hinted at via a tweet from Mario Williams that the Buffalo Bills have signed quarterback Vince Young. That became concrete a short time later when ESPN’s Chris Mortenson reports Young has signed a one-year deal worth an estimated $2 million, with another $1 million in playing incentives.
One hundred percent of this report is credited to fantastic football blogger Brian Mcintyre of 
University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi today named Daniel J.“Danny” White the new director of UB’s Division of Athletics.
The Buffalo Sabres announced the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association will host hockey clinics on May 8 and 9 for students at the Aloma D. Johnson Fruit Belt Community Charter School in the city of Buffalo.
The Buffalo Bills continued what has turned into arguably it’s most memorable offseason in franchise history, inking running back Fred Jackson to a two-year extension that will keep him on the team through 2014. While the team didn’t reveal any financial details, several reports indicate Jackson will make $4.5-million per over the contract with an opportunity to reach up to $11 million in incentives.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that Buffalo Bills have released veteran cornerback Drayton Florence. This comes on the heel of a 2012 NFL draft that saw the Bills take a pair of cornerback prospects: Stephon Gilmore in the first round and Ron Brooks in the fourth.
Byron Mulkey has always been working hard to get his shot. After walking on to the University at Buffalo men’s basketball team in 2006, the waterbug point guard earned his way into not just the program’s record books, but into the heart of Bulls fans everywhere with his performance on the court and his charisma off it.
According to a 
The Buffalo State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized its seniors and honor its MVPs and major award winners at its annual awards banquet last night at the Holiday Inn-Buffalo.
The NFL draft is over and while free agency is still an option for the Buffalo Bills, the meat and potatoes of roster additions have been added. Sure, Buddy Nix will keep an eye on the open market and waiver wire and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few new faces before training camp begins in July, but for the most part what you see now is what you get with this roster.
At the end of the day we’re all a fan of sports and the people that deliver the news and higlights. Sadly, one of the best reporters in Western New York over the past few decades is leaving the industry.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson was hampered by a nagging groin injury for almost all of the 2011 season. In an effort to ensure last year doesn’t repeat itself, Johnson is having surgery to fix it.
The Buffalo Bills have made nothing official yet, but tweets from players and reporters indicate the team has already signed at least seven undrafted free agents to the roster.
The Buffalo Bills continued to stockpile talent and depth to the roster on the third and final day of the NFL draft. By all accounts I’ve read and certainly my own; this has been a successful three-day talent adding spree for the organization.
