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for September 2009
* Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan says the Bills passing game needs a shot in the arm.
* Craig Harvey of the Dunkirk Observer writes Terrell Owens can’t shake his reputation no matter what he does.
* The Bills have taken lessons from their tough loss, says Sal Maiorana of the Rochester D&C.
* Ryan Miller’s big game lifted the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 victory at Detroit last night.
* In high school football action, Buffalo News reports Wilson & Eden have both moved to 3-0 on the season.
* The UB Bulls fell to 1-2 after blowing a halftime lead at Central Florida. Tony Puckhaber covered it here
 For the second time in three weeks UB traveled well outside the confines of the Mid-American Conference, but this time will return home losers at the hands of Central Florida.
Check out the blog below, as the game & other events of the evening unfolded in the eyes of UB blogger Tony Puckhaber.
End of First Quarter: UCF 7, UB 0 (8:15PM)
Almost missed kickoff waiting for my wife’s bowl of Zuppa Toscana to go. For the sizeable number of people out there who swear to only eating their own or a family member’s sauce, there sure are a whole lot of you waiting to be seated at Olive Garden on a Saturday night. I’m just sayin’.
* UB got the ball first— and no hesitation by Gill on a 4th & inches in UCF territory but the QB sneak fails. Still love the conviction on the call. Jauron uses a timeout all day in that scenario. Didn’t see the possible 4th & inches coming Dick?
* UCF gashing UB on the ground. Could be a season long theme. This team’s light in the booty.
Continue reading ‘UB Falls to Central Florida, 23-17′
 The Erie Community College football team dropped to 0-2 versus teams from North Carolina as they fell 7-6 to North Carolina Tech in front of 700 at Jim Ball Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Kats looked primed for a great offensive day as they won the coin toss, took the ball and drove 51 yards in five plays, ending with a Lawrence Coleman 12-yard touchdown catch from Justin Minor. They key play on the drive came on a 38-yard hookup from Minor to Dwayne Bennett.
The key play of the game came when North Carolina Tech blocked the ensuing Mike Lawandus extra point to give the Kats a 6-0 lead they would hold into the half.
The Erie defense played tough for the third-straight game, holding NC Tech to 10 total yards in the first half, including minus 10 yards rushing.
Continue reading ‘Erie drops 7-6 game to North Carolina Tech’
 Perfect running conditions paced the University at Buffalo men’s and women’s cross country teams to strong finishes at the 2009 UB Stampede Invitational held at Beaver Island State Park in Grand Island on Saturday. The UB men finished second, one point shy of first-place Akron with 59 total points. The UB women took third in their field with 88 total points to Cornell’s 20.
Temperatures in the mid-60s with clear skies and little wind enabled the runners to post some of the course’s best times. In the men’s race, Akron’s Joe McCoy broke the course record by finishing the 8K distance in 25:29, seven seconds ahead of Dan Giza, representing the UBXC Alumni. The previous record of 25:48 was set last season by Binghamton’s Erik Van Ingen.
Jacob Hagen (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) was UB’s top male finisher in 25:59. Ryan Bloom (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) finished 10th in 26:19 with Dylan Conway (Commack, NY/Hauppauge) taking 11th in 26:20. Also finishing in the top 20 for the Bulls were Mike Gillis (North Tonawanda, NY/Starpoint) in 26:33 for 16th and Ryan Zillmann (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) in 26:33 for 18th place. A total of 108 men’s runners competed.
Continue reading ‘Men Finish Second, Women Third at UB Stampede Invite’
 It turns out Friday was a particularly busy day at One Bills Drive.Besides the announcement of Terrence McGee’s contract extension, the team worked out several players looking for a job. Most of the names are recognizable to football fans.Per Adam Schefter, the Bills worked out running backs Lorenzo Booker and De De Dorsey as well as tight ends Leonard Pope, Tony Curtis and Joe Klopfenstein. Linebacker Marcus Freeman also tried out.
Booker most recently played for Philadelphia last year. The former third round pick of the Miami Dolphins (2007) has run for 178 yards in his two-year career. A 5’10’, 190 pounds Booker doesn’t have ideal NFL running back size.
Dorsey was just released this past Monday by Cincinnati. He went undrafted in 2007 out of Lindenwood college and has run for 191 yards on 26 career carries. He’s also a good special teams player, which may further interest the Bills. The stumbling block may be his inability to stay healthy.
Continue reading ‘Busy Day At One Bills Drive’
 I can’t begin to stress to all of you how sorry I am about last Monday’s game. If that finish made you throw up your clam chowaaahhh recipe we published for the game, I wouldn’t blame you (though it was good eats going down, wasn’t it? You’re welcome)
The good news is that Sunday is a new day. We’re playing Tampa Bay, and even this girl living in Staten Island knows the Buccaneers suck.
As a bonus it’s also the home opener and the forecast is great (like it matters for Buffalo fans anyway!). Many of you will be out tailgating hours before kickoff. Whether your in the parking lot or your own back yard pregaming, get ready to fire up that grill.
On the menu for opening day is Buffalo Hot Wings, on the grill.
I know, I know—Buffalo Wings are meant for the deep fryer. So WTF is this grilled crap? Am I actually trying to make Buffalo Wings healthy? That’s sacrilege!
Continue reading ‘“The Unemployed Chef”: Buffalo Hot Wings.. From the GRILL’
 This Saturday night the UB football team will be in The Sunshine State for a 7:30 kick-off with Conference-USA opponent Central Florida (Cable 13, Radio 1230) in a decidedly less hyped game than last week’s home clash with Big-East favorite Pittsburgh.
This “preview” is just a way for me reaching out to the BSD faithful to remind you they will in fact be keeping score and everything this week, just as they were against Pitt. Point is, when you’ve established your program as a bowl contender with a fan base that will indeed represent its team within traveling reason, you need to win enough games to be in the bowl game discussions. To further simplify…you want to win every football game… like this Saturday!
As watered down as the excessive number of bowl games out there may make the feat of playing in one for some schools, for the Bulls ANY bowl game is a huge step from where the program was B.T. (before Turner). This is a Central Florida team that will host two ranked opponents (Miami & Houston) and travel to powerhouse Texas later in the season. Make no mistake about it, this is another big game for the Bulls.
So be sure to check back late Saturday or early Sunday following the game for a recap blog as I attempt to bring you credible insight on a game I’ll be following, while slappin’ around 9-year olds from Manitoba in NHL ‘10 online.
Let’s wish Turner’s gang…and myself good luck tonight.
* Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester D&C says the Buffalo Bills know the deep game is the key against Tampa Bay.
* Terrell Owens wil be trouble for the Buccaneers defense, writes Rick Bown of the Lakeland Ledger.
* Terrence McGee got a contract extension, but he’ questionable for Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
* Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News writes that tonight, Sabres prospect Tim Kennedy returns to his college stomping grounds at Michigan State.
* Paul Hamilton of WGR-550 says that the Buffalo Sabres lines are already taking shape.
* In high school football, Keith McShea of the Buffalo News was on hand as Lancaster upended Frontier, 26-13
* Depew Tops Maryville in a 24-22 thriller in this WGR-550 report.
 Buffalo State (7-5) opened the Plattsburgh Classic tonight with a pair of victories, defeating the host Cardinals in four sets, before downing Hamilton in five.
Buffalo State topped host Plattsburgh in the opening match, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25 and 25-23. #Bree McMahon# (Tonawanda/Sweet Home) paced the Bengals with nine kills and seven aces. #Danielle Aurelio-Clark# (Lancaster/Lancaster) added 21 assists, and #Alyssa Ostrowski# (Batavia/Royalton-Hartland) had a team-high 20 digs.
The Bengals clawed their way back to complete the winning day, defeating Hamilton in the nightcap, 11-25, 25-14, 19-25, 25-22 and 15-11. #Allyson Pierce# (Olcott/Newfane) had a team-high nine kills. McMahon had 13 digs and three aces. #Katelyn Grew# (Lackawanna/Lackawanna) also had three aces, and Aurelio-Clark had 33 assists.
Buffalo State will play Elmira at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow in the first of two matches.
 The University at Buffalo men’s soccer team played their 2009 home opening contest with strong ball possession leading to a victory over Cleveland State, 1-0. Sophomore Nick Fetterman (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) tied his career record of six saves, capturing his third shutout of the season while Dan Bulley (Exeter, England/West Texas A&M) broke the scoreless contest with a header.
With the Bulls on a deep offensive attack, Ian McGimsey (Brighton, NY/Monroe CC) stormed towards the far left corner of the field with a Viking trailing him and the ball rolling towards the backline. McGimsey’s hustle kept the play alive as he sent an arching cross in front of the net to an aerial Bulley. who pounded the ball under the post to break the scorless contest in the 77th minute of play.
Continue reading ‘Bulley’s Header Leads Bulls to Home Opening Victory’
 The University at Buffalo volleyball team got off to a hot start at the Cornell Invitational, defeating St. John¹s, 3-0, Friday afternoon at Newman Arena.
The victory for UB was its seventh of the season, surpassing its win total from last year. It was UB’s first victory over a Big East team since 2007 when it defeated South Florida, 3-2. UB took the match 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 as the Bulls outhit St. John¹s .234 to .078.
The Bulls got off to a quick start against the Red Storm as UB scored 10 of the first 13 points in the set, forcing St. John¹s to take its first time out. The Bulls went on to complete an impressive opening set with a 25-16 victory. The Bulls increased their lead to two sets after fighting back from an early deficit in set two, taking it 25-20. The Bulls never trailed in the third set, but there were seven ties before the Bulls pulled away for the victory.
Continue reading ‘Volleyball: Bulls Storm Past St. Johns, 3-0′
 The Niagara men’s soccer team opened its home schedule with a resounding 5-1 victory over the Robert Morris Colonials on Friday night in front of 526 fans at Niagara Field. The Purple Eagles were powered by three goals in a six-minute span in the first half.
“We possessed the ball very well, the movement was good and had some quality finishes,” head coach Dermot McGrane said. “This was the first game we had everybody healthy. It was nice to put a good performance.”
Niagara (2-2-1) put on an offensive showcase in the first half and scored three classy goals in the process. Levi Tesch (Wolcott, N.Y.) had the first good scoring chance on the night, but his diving header smashed off of the post in the 15th minute. Two minutes later, Anthony DiBiase’s (Richmond Hill, Ont.) shot in the box went inches wide.
Continue reading ‘Men’s Soccer Opens Home Schedule With Win’
 Senior Andrea Doneth, East Lansing, Mich., native learned that she and the Bonnies will battle Big Ten foe Michigan State on the Big Ten Network, Monday, Dec. 21 at 6:00 p.m. from the Breslin Center.
“I’m really excited to play in my home town in front of my family and friends,” said Doneth. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to since I found out about the game. It’s even better now that the game will be on television.”
The Michigan State matchup is one of two Bonnies’ games to be on television. The Atlantic 10 announced that the St. Bonaventure/Dayton game will air nationally on CBS College Sports Network on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 4:00 p.m.
“We feel like we’re on the verge of becoming a national program and we feel it’s a great advantage to be able to play in front of a national audience,” said head coach Jim Crowley.
 Behind two second half goals from senior Sam Maheu, the St. Bonaventure men’s soccer team earned a 2-0 shutout win over Big 4 rival Canisius on a cool Friday evening at McGraw-Jennings Field.
The win snaps a two-game slide for the Bonnies and improves their record to 2-4 on the season, while the Griffs remaining winless at 0-4-1.
“It’s great to get a win at home. I think we made real good progress today,” said head coach Mel Mahler. “Canisius made it difficult for us in the first because they played a low pressure style, which made it difficult for us to attack.”
The Griffs limited the Brown and White to just two shots over the opening 45 minutes. The Griffs had just two shots of their own, but neither team found the back of the net for a 0-0 score at the break.
Continue reading ‘Men’s Soccer: Maheu’s Pair Paces Bona To Win’
Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News is reporting that Terrence McGee and the Buffalo Bills are very close to a contract extension. Wilson goes on to say a NFL source tells him a deal could be done before the weekend is over.
McGee has spent his entire seven year career with the Bills since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. He has 16 career interceptions in 90 games.
Locking up McGee now would be smart for the Bills, who have previously had trouble holding onto to corners (Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements, Jabari Greer) once they hit the free agent market. McGee is in the final year of his deal and is earning a little over $4.3-million this season.
McGee didn’t practice today and is questionable for Sunday with back spasms. Chris Kelsay did return to practice and is expected to start on Sunday. Aaron Schobel also practiced (back) (Source: AP)
**UPDATE** The Bills have announced that McGee has indeed agreed to an extension. More details coming soon.
 The Buffalo Bills aren’t stupid. They paid attention to the rumblings all last week. They were going to get pasted by the Patriots last Monday. New England simply owns the Bills and they had no business sharing the same field. ESPN went so far to give the Pats, and Jesus Tom Brady in particular, a pre-game coronation show in the two hours leading to kickoff. If you’re a Bills fan and anticipated anything less than the typical Foxboro disaster, you’re likely delusional or tipped a few too many beverages beforehand.
But a funny thing occurred on their way to walking out the tunnel and getting blown out. The Bills got angry. They heard all the things written and said about them for weeks, and they took it to the field with them. They played with emotion. They played with a combination of intelligence and passion. After three and a half quarters they found themselves in the improbable position to post one of the biggest regular season upsets in team history. Were it not for a critical mistake in the closing moments that needs no rehashing around these parts, the Bills would’ve done the unthinkable; beat the anointed ones on the road.
By the following morning, expectations changed faster than a Bret Favre retirement. The Bills don’t stink. The offense isn’t that rancid. The infantile and unproven offensive line can really play. Aaron Schobel is still breathing. They deserved to beat New England. Just like that, the Buffalo Bills are for real.
Continue reading ‘Preview: Five Reasons To Not Overlook The Bucs’
 When the Buffalo Bills take the field against Tampa Bay this Sunday, Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin may be able to breath a little easier. I spoke to a reporter out of Tampa this morning and he indicated star wide receiver Antonio Bryant is very likely to miss the game with an ailing left knee.
Bryant was only able to participate in practice Wednesday on an extremely limited basis and missed Thursday all together.
Bryant had arthroscopic surgery on the knee in early August. He missed only three weeks before coming back. Despite not playing a down in the preseason he started in the Bucs season opener against Dallas last week , catching two passes for 29 yards. But the knee slowed him down as the game progressed and rendered him useless down the stretch. He pulled himself from the game.
According to reports out of Tampa Bay, the pain in his knee isn’t an issue– but swelling is.
Continue reading ‘Report: Antonio Bryant “Very Likely” To Miss Bills Game’
 If last night were a regular season game, I’d be a lot more upset. In typical Sabres fashion they let another game slip away in the final minutes. The end result is nothing more than a pre-season overtime loss to Washington, so I’m not ready to jump off a bridge. It wasn’t all bad for the Sabres tonight. There were solid bright spots in the way they played, and many of the young kids stood out in the lineup.
After trailing 1-0 through two periods, the Sabres cranked up the offense and grabbed a 3-2 lead in the game’s final minutes. Jason Pominville, Clarke MacArthur and Tim Kennedy scored the Sabres goals. The Kennedy goal gave the Sabres the lead with less than three minutes left before managing to give the game away.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Fall in Preseason Opener’
* The Buffalo News reports Williamsville South high school quarter Joe Licata set a WNY all-time single game passing record last night, throwing for 522 yards in a win over Williamsville North.
* The Lakeland Ledger thinks that Terrell Owens will be trouble for the Bucs defense.
* On ESPN.com, this video clip of Bills hater analyst Mark Schlereth discusses the Terrell Owens “comments” about Trent Edwards.
* Tampa Tribune writer Ira Kaufman says offensive coordinator Greg Olsen has gotten the Bucs off to a running start.
* Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News writes that with the Olympics taken place during this NHL season, Patrick Lalime will have a more impactful role with the Sabres.
* NHL.com has a recap of the Sabres overtime loss to Washington last night.
* Former North Tonawanda soccer star Nick Fetterman has found success at the University of Buffalo.
 The 2009-10 St. Bonaventure women’s basketball schedule is complete following Thursday afternoon’s Atlantic 10 announcement of the conference portion of the calendar.
Eight teams from the A-10 advanced to postseason play in 2009 with a quartet of the clubs scheduled to visit Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center beginning in January. St. Bonaventure will meet each squad in the 14-team league once with the exception of home-and-home series with travel partner Duquesne.
Following a road contest to Virginia to conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bonnies begin A-10 action with consecutive home games against Saint Louis (January 9) and Duquesne (January 13). The two-game home stand to open league play is one of three of the club’s two-game home stretches on Bob Lanier Court during the conference slate. The St. Bonaventure-Saint Louis encounter is one of five A-10 games on opening night.
Continue reading ‘Bona Announces Women’s Hoops Schedule’
Leodis McKelvin has stated when it comes to returning that ill-fated kickoff Monday, he would do the same thing again. Everyone believes him.
But when it comes to making public statements regarding the teenage youths who vandalized his home property, he’s proving to be not as quite convincing.
Yesterday during the Buffalo Bills media day, McKelvin told reporters gathered that he “didn’t want anybody to be arrested.
But according to this WBEN report filed by Steve Chicon, Erie County District attorney Frank Sedita says he has a sworn affidavit from McKelvin which reads the second-year cornerback would like to press charges.
Chichon states Defense Attorney Terrence Connors told the radio station that if charges are brought up, they’d “likely be handled within the confines of family court, making it a confidential proceeding.”
According to the Hamburg police, in the hours following the Bills 25-24 loss to New England, two teenagers vandalized his front lawn, spray painting an obscenity and the final score of the game across his lawn. McKelvin fumbled a kickoff return in the game’s waning moments that led to New England recovering and taking its only lead of the game; a lead that held up in the final seconds for a heartbreaking Buffalo loss.
I’ve just learned former Buffalo Sabre Max Afinogenov is in training camp today trying out for the Atlanta Thrashers.
Afinnogenov was one of the more explosive, and frustrating players in recent Sabres memory. Despite physical skills on par with the best skaters in the league, Max only scored 134 goals in his 569 games with Buffalo, including only 16 over the past 104 games over the last two years.
At 569 games, Max was the longest tenured Sabre on the roster, but inconsistency and a failure to stay healthy led to Buffalo having no interest in resigning him once he became a free agent after last season. He hadn’t played more than 56 games in a season in three years and for all his talent never registered more than 23 goals or 71 points in a full season.
However, he does still maintain elite speed and privileged skillfulness so look for Atlanta to give him a legitimate chance to stick.
 Head coach Lindy Ruff said that for tonight’s Sabres preseason opener against Washington, Patrick Lalime and Jhonas Enroth will share goaltending duties, with Enroth likely geting the starting nod.
Only select veterans Ruff expects to be on the opening roster will play tonight. Veterans not playing this evening include Ryan Miller, Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman, Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad, Patrick Kaleta and captain Craig Rivet. Matt Ellis and Nathan Paetsch are also not in the lineup.
Both 2008 rookie first round picks, Tyler Myers and Tyler Ennis will be on the ice tonight.
The game tonight starts at 7PM and can heard live on WGR-550. Buffalo will play the Capitals when it counts on Wednesday November 25 in Washington.
The Capitals have yet to announce if reigning Hart Trophy winer Alex Ovechkin will play tonight.
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