
J.P. Losman: He’s Baaaaack

Rumor: Probable Bills Inactives

Although McCargo and Nelson haven’t officially been ruled out, I’m told it’s highly unlikely either will play. Of the two, the Bills would much rather Nelson on the field. With him out they’ll only have two active tight ends (Derek Fine and Jonathan Stupar).
Josh Reed is “extremly questionable”. If he can’t go then Stevie Johnson will be activated for the first time this season. Otherwise Johnson will be press box bound for a third straight week. As of now, the team is not expecting Reed to be able to go.
This also means Chris Ellis and Drayton Florence will make their regular season on-field debuts.
Sabres sign Mancari; headed to Portland
The holdout is over for Mark Mancari as he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Buffalo Sabres reportedly worth $575,000.
Mancari, 24, was a restricted free agent, requested a trade this summer because he felt that his chances of making the NHL with the Sabres were limited. Sabres’ GM Darcy Regier attempted to trade the disgruntled forward, but there were no trading partners available for Mancari.
“We’ve worked on that, but to no success, and so we’ll continue,” Regier told the Buffalo News. “We’d love to have him as part of the organization and have him in training camp, but right now we don’t have a contract.”
College Football: UB Stumbles at Temple
The University at Buffalo football team rode a game-changing, and season-changing, play to beat Temple last year at UB Stadium in a Hail mary finish. In the rematch, the Owls used a similar game and momentum changing play to seize control and go on to a 37-13 victory in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams at Lincoln Financial Field.
Trailing 13-6 late in the first half, the Bulls embarked on a long drive that appeared might tie the game at halftime. Quarterback Zack Maynard completed six straight passes on the drive for 59 yards to move the Bulls to the Temple 21-yard line. However, on a second-down play, Maynard was intercepted by Elijah Joseph at the five-yard line, and the linebacker weaved his way down the sideline for a 95-yard touchdown with just :07 left in the half. The potential 14-point swing was too much for the Bulls to overcome.
Buffalo State Gets Win in Homecoming
Willie Hordge had 26 carries for 107 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Buffalo State (1-2/1-1) to a 37-26 homecoming victory over visiting Western Connecticut State (0-3/0-2) in an NJAC contest Saturday at Coyer Field.
Buffalo State outgained the Colonials 390-215. Kenny Murphy (Lancaster/Lancaster) was 13 of 29 for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Eddie Weiser (Grand Island/Grand Island) led the Bengals’ defense with 12 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. Jermaine Rose (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) had four tackles including three sacks for a loss of 27 yards.
James Williams (Wolcott/Wolcott) led West Conn’s offensive attack, going 14 of 25 for 122 yards and a touchdown, and also had nine rushes for 51 yards. Javaris Brown (Cromwell, CT/Cromwell) was the Colonials leading tackler with nine stops.
St. Bonaventure Sports Update
The St. Bonaventure women’s tennis team finished its first day at the Eastern Tennis Invitational on the campus of the United States Military Academy in West Poing, N.Y.
Junior Maria Barousse lost in the first round to Fairleigh Dickinson’s Elmine Botes, 6-0, 6-1. She competes in day two against Lauren Bates from Binghamton.
Freshman Kathryn Kvas dropped her match in the second singles position to West Virgina’s Emily Mathis, 6-4, 6-3. She moves to the consolation bracket to take on Fairfield’s Paulina Rys in the quarterfinal round.
Bills’ defensive ends face stiff challenge Sunday
The Buffalo Bills were bad at the defensive end position in 2008. Aaron Schobel was lost for most of the season with a foot injury, and reserves such as Chris Ellis (who saw very limited action) and the now-departed Copeland Bryan were not able to keep starters Ryan Denney and Chris Kelsay fresh. With that in mind, Buffalo used its first-round selection in this past April’s NFL Draft on Penn State end Aaron Maybin. With Schobel’s return to health, the Bills would once again have depth at the position.
Through two games, that depth has been apparent - Bills ends are staying fresh into the fourth quarter, and though their production has not yet hit a point where they’re revered league-wide (by any means), they are a far more active group than they were in 2008. That’s a start - but clearly, it’s not enough for a Bills defense that, based on the type of scheme they play, need as much pass rush from their front four as they can muster.
The “start” of the season is over. In case you hadn’t heard, Drew Brees and his high-scoring New Orleans Saints are coming to town, and if the Bills are to pick up a win, they’ll need to show at least a small degree of competency in slowing that offense down. These Bills defensive ends have a tall task ahead of them on Sunday, as Buffalo’s No. 28-ranked defense tries to slow down a team putting up 46 points per game.
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Bulls Capture 300th All-Time Victory in Win Over Robert Morris
The University at Buffalo men’s soccer team captured their 300th all-time victory Friday as they defeated Robert Morris, 2-0. Despite playing a man down for over 53 minutes due to a red-card infraction, sophomore Lucas Bassan (Carrollton, TX/Hebron) scored the game-breaking goal as Mike Unwin (Basingstoke, England/Iowa CC) sealed the game with a goal in the final minute of play.
The Bulls and Colonials played to a scoreless first half with the Bulls holding a 7-6 shot advantage. In the 37th minute, the Bulls lost a key element to their defense off a red-card infraction. This forced the Bulls to face the Colonials a man down in the remaining 53 minutes.
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Canisius Women’s Soccer Defeats Rider
The Canisius College women’s soccer team won its MAAC opener on Friday night, defeating visiting Rider, 3-1. With the win, the Griffs remain unbeaten and improve to 7-0-1 on the season, while the Broncs drop to 4-5-1.
“I thought we came and played a great first half,” said Canisius head coach Jim Wendling. “We came out and attacked from the start. I thought we played pretty well in the second half as well. We had some quality shots but I have to give credit to their goalie as she made some good stops. This was a good team effort tonight and it is a good way to start our league schedule.”
Senior Sylvia Kowalski (Hamilton, Ontario), junior Kasey Makowski (Marlton, N.J.) and sophomore Kelly Reinwald (Stafford, Va.) each tallied a goal to lead the Canisius attack, which controlled the pace of the game throughout the contest.
Morning Links For September 26
¶ Sean Payton and Drew Brees have the Saints offense on a roll in this Olean Times Herald report.
¶ Bills.com writes that Keith Ellison is tackling added responsibilities.
¶ Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News says Jabari Greer has fond memories of WNY.
¶ Sports Network provides this Buffalo Sabres season preview.
¶ Keith McShea of the Buffalo News was on hand for high school action as North Tonawanda pounded Lockport.
¶ Jamestown Post Journal reporter Jim Riggs writes about Jamestown knocking off Fredonia, 31-14
¶ In College football action, UB opens MAC play against Temple today.
College Football Preview: UB vs Temple
The Bulls open Mid-American Conference play in a highly anticipated game against the Temple Owls on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.
“We are excited about this upcoming game,” said head coach Turner Gill. “I feel very good about where we are at and where we are going with this football team.”
The Bulls are 1-2 on the year and are coming off a heartbreaking 23-17 loss to Central Florida.
The Bulls were in the lead at the half by a score of 17-7, but with costly turnovers and a lack of offensive momentum, the first half lead wasn’t enough.
“We need to be able finish the ball game,” said Gill. “We need to execute better and stay focused on what needs to get done.”
Western Michigan Defeats Canisius Men’s Soccer
Western Michigan scored four unanswered goals in the second half, rallying from a 3-1 halftime deficit to defeat the Canisius College men’s soccer team on Friday afternoon, 5-3.
The Broncos found the back of the net first, connecting during the 18th minute of play when Tyler Rosenhagen tallied his first goal of the season. However, the Griffs responded with three-consecutive scores to take the lead.
McGreal got the Griffs on the scoreboard in the 27th minute, scoring his third goal of the season. The senior fired a long shot toward the goal and the ball bounced over the Bronco goalkeeper to knot the game at one.
Western Michigan came out firing in the second half, hoping for a comeback. Joel Del Toro and Danny Mortemore both scored their first goals of the season in the 52nd and 59th minutes, respectively, to knot the game at three.
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