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for February 2010
 As everyone knows by now, the bad news is Ryan Miller and his United States teammates fell just short of capturing the gold medal in an epic final showdown with Canada. If Sabres fans didn’t already despise Sidney Crosby before, they certainly will now. But lost in the immediate aftermath of obvious disappointment is that the city of Buffalo gained a sporting star on a worldwide level.
Miller already was popular in Buffalo but his performance in Vancouver over the past few weeks has him elevated to cult hero status. Everybody knows Miller now, which of course means everybody knows his girlfriend. Give it a few days and we’ll know his favorite television shows and what’s in his Ipod. That’s what happens when you become famous and wanted by the social media.
He may not have gone to the Olympics looking for personal stardom but he sure came away the sport’s version of a rock star.
Continue reading ‘Miller’s performance goes far beyond silver medal’
 “I’ve played in, maybe four championships in my life and I’ve never lost one.”
That’s what Canisius guard Blair Helton, MVP of last year’s Manhattan Cup told reporters in the days leading up to this year’s final between his second ranked Crusaders and top ranked Nichols.
Unfortunately for the talented senior guard, he learned Sunday night there’s a first time for everything.
Helton scored a team-high 21 points but it wasn’t nearly enough for Canisius to compete with a totally balanced Nichols team. The Vikings never trailed after the first two minutes of the game and were rarely threatened en route to easily defeating Canisius 73-50 to capture this year’s Manhattan Cup.
Continue reading ‘Nichols captures Manhattan Cup with win over Canisius’
 The Niagara men’s basketball team (17-14, 9-9 MAAC) dropped its regular season finale to the Fairfield Stags (20-9, 13-5 MAAC) in overtime on Sunday, 80-74. The Purple Eagles used a furious comeback to force overtime, but shot just 13-for-28 from the free throw line in the game.
“The good thing about (Sunday) was that it was almost a practice for what we are going to see next week,” Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We were playing a good team in a playoff setting, and we almost pulled it off not playing well. But we can’t shoot 13-for-28 from the foul line and win.”
Continue reading ‘Niagara loses regular season finale at Fairfield’
In one of the most anticipated games American fans have ever seen, the United States takes on North American rival Canada this afternoon with a gold medal at stake.
Join us and our friends over at WNYMedia.net for a live chat during the game beginning at 3pm. Share your thoughts and conments as the USA faces the daunting task of beating Canada for a second time on their home ice.
 The Buffalo Stampede played a much better road game Saturday, but it still wasn’t enough to get a victory. Rochester used strong first and third quarters to take big leads and the Razorsharks went on to beat the Stampede, 105-91.
Andy Robinson led Buffalo with 19 points despite going just 3-for-12 from the floor. Corey Herring added 18 points while Robert Shape and Mike Norwood each chipped in with 13.
The loss pushes Buffalo down to 3-9 on the season while Rochester improved to 8-3.
Buffalo next travels to Vermont for a game on March 6 before returning home six days later for a date with Puerto Rico.
 The Buffalo Bills have announced that the team has informed wide receivers Terrell Owens and Josh Reed, as well as defensive end Ryan Denney, that the team will not pursue re-signing them. All three players are unrestricted free agents, and will be seeking employment elsewhere come March 5.
For Owens, it’s the end of a one-year marriage gone wrong. One of the most decorated receivers in NFL history, Owens struggled in 2009 as a Bill, hauling in 55 passes for 829 yards, with five touchdowns. Owens’ biggest accomplishment in his one year in Buffalo was recording his 1,000th reception in a Week 16 loss to Atlanta. He’ll be one of the biggest names available via free agency this year.
Continue reading ‘Bills to move on from Owens, Reed, Denney’
 Chan Gailey’s first, and already his boldest, move as new head coach of the Buffalo Bills has been to install a 3-4 defense, led by defensive coordinator George Edwards. While no one’s sure exactly what that 3-4 system will look like, it’ll be a fairly dramatic change for a Bills team that has run the 4-3 as its base defense since Gregg Williams’ arrival as head coach in 2001.
While the majority of that overhaul will take place in the defensive front seven, perhaps Gailey’s smartest coaching hire came in the retention of defensive backs coach George Catavolos. Hired by Dick Jauron in 2006, Catavolos has decades of experience coaching in the secondary, and having spent four years in Buffalo already, he’ll be keenly aware of exactly what type of talent the team possesses in the defensive backfield.
Continue reading ‘Bills Roster Review: Safety’
 With no disrespect intended for Section VI and their exciting playoff season now in full swing, Sunday night is as good as it gets for boys high school basketball. The Koessler Center at Canisius College is the venue 6pm Sunday as the top two ranked large schools in Western New York square off.
Number one Nichols faces second ranked Canisius in a rubber match and this time it’s for all the marbles. The winner will be crowned 2009-10 Manhattan Cup champion.
The teams have met twice this season. Canisius held serve at home in a squeaker and Nichols won the rematch in a big way at their own gym to end the regular season. The Vikings lost while Ron Canestro was nursing a broken pinky but was back for the second meeting.
Continue reading ‘Manhattan Cup Title Preview: Canisius vs Nichols’
 The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team erased a 10-point deficit in the game’s final seven minutes to defeat Ohio, 72-69, at Alumni Arena on Saturday night. It was fitting that Saturday was senior night as the six Bulls’ seniors, who were honored prior to the game, played huge roles in the victory.
Ohio (16-13, 6-9 MAC) led by six at the half and built it’s lead to 63-53 with 7:48 remaining. Following a missed shot by Buffalo (17-10, 9-6 MAC), Ohio looked to build its lead to a dozen. However, Kenneth Van Kempen’s layup attempt was blocked from behind by Rodney Pierce and Max Boudreau drained a jumper at the other end to cut the lead to eight. The play seemed to spark the Bulls’ rally. Calvin Betts came up with a steal on Ohio’s next possession and Pierce capitalized with a layup to cut the lead to 63-57 with 6:35 left.
Continue reading ‘UB rallies to beat Ohio on senior night’
 Over the last two games, free throw shooting has nearly cost the Bonnies a pair of victories. Saturday at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure’s 21-of-23 performance at the charity stripe, including a perfect 14-for-14 performance in the second half, helped it survive a second half run by Rhode Island for an 81-74 Atlantic 10 win at the Reilly Center.
The win moves the Brown and White’s A-10 win streak to three games, it’s longest since the 2001-02 season. The Bonnies four victories in February improve their overall record to 13-14 overall and 6-8 in the A-10 heading into the final week of the regular season.
Continue reading ‘Bona scores huge upset over Rhode Island’
 It was a fight to the finish as the Buffalo Bandits lost to the Philadelphia Wings 15-11 tonight at the HSBC Arena.
The Wings came out strong early in the game with goals from Drew Westervelt, Josh Sims, Kyle Wailes and David Mitchell.
However the Bandits would work to close that gap late into the second quarter with strong showings from John Tavares and Billy Dee Smith to bring the game within two.
Continue reading ‘Bandits fall to 2-6 with loss to Wings’
 St. Bonaventure will attempt to complete a perfect three-game week on Saturday when it hosts Rhode Island at the Reilly Center. Fresh off road victories at La Salle and Fordham, the Bonnies will look to put together their first three-game A-10 win streak since the end of the 2001-02 campaign. A win would also give the Bonnies four wins in February for the first time since that same 2001-02 season and equal their A-10 win total from last season. Meanwhile, the Rams haven’t played since Feb. 20 and sit in sixth place in the A-10 at 8-5. Currently in a tie for ninth place, St. Bonaventure has out-rebounded five of its last eight opponents, grabbing 108 rebounds over that span.
Rhode Island has taken four straight and six of the last seven from the Bonnies in the series. The Rams have a 33-22 all-time edge against the Brown and White, including a 14-12 mark on the Bonnies’ home floor. Current URI head coach and former Bona player and coach Jim Baron has been a part of each of the last 29 meetings between the two schools. Baron is 9-3 vs. the Brown and White over his nine years as a Ram and went 8-9 against Rhode Island when guiding the Bonnies. Rhode Island owns the longest win streak in series history at 16 games, dating from 1986-93.
Continue reading ‘Bona goes for third straight win vs. Rhode Island’
 The Niagara men’s basketball team (17-13, 9-8 MAAC) improved to 5-1 in February with a 74-72 victory over Manhattan (10-18, 4-13 MAAC) on Friday night in Riverdale, N.Y. The victory guaranteed a top-6 finish and that coveted Friday bye in next week’s MAAC Championships for the Purple Eagles.
In the win, senior Tyrone Lewis became the first player in MAAC history to record 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals. He needed two rebounds to reach the special feat, and he pulled down his second carom early in the first half to achieve the milestone. The 5-foot-11 guard now has 1,793 points, 503 rebounds, 284 assists and 224 steals in his illustrious career.
Continue reading ‘Lewis makes history in NU win over Manhattan’
 Canisius junior forward Tomas Vazquez-Simmons scored a career-high 18 points, with 15 coming in the second half, and fellow junior Greg Logins chipped in 15 points off the bench as the Golden Griffins defeated Loyola 74-62 in Reitz Arena Friday night in MAAC action. The win improves Canisius to 14-15 overall and 8-9 in league play, while the Greyhounds dropped their fourth-straight overall to slip to 12-16 overall and 5-12 in conference action.
Vazquez-Simmons finished the night by going 6-for-12 from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 3-for-6 from the line while pulling down 10 rebounds for his sixth career double-double. Logins went 6-for-8 from the floor and was credited with three boards despite missing most of the first half with foul trouble. Elton Frazier and Frank Turner were good for 11 and 10 points respectively in the win, the Griffs’ fourth-straight victory over Loyola, dating back to last year.
Continue reading ‘Canisius overpowers Loyola 74-62′
 Free agency is under a week away. The Buffalo Bills aren’t overly concerned about retaining their own because unlike most teams, the Bills don’t have many worth resigning. On paper Terrell Owens is an exception.
But let’s be real here, folks. By all accounts I’ve heard Owens’ interest in playing for a new team is matched only by Buffalo’s desire to have him move on. Don’t get me wrong; there are no hard feelings. Owens did Buffalo a huge favor by signing with the organization. He generated buzz, helped move season tickets and times even helped on the field.
Continue reading ‘Where will Terrell Owens play in 2010?’
 Ryan Miller completely shut down Finland in net while the Americans lit them up for six goals in the first period. As a result, the United States cruised to a 6-1 victory and will play in the Gold Medal game on Sunday against either Canada or Slovakia.
Buffalo native Patrick Kane scored twice as the Americans chased Mikka Kiprusoff with four goals early and Niklas Backstrom replaced him and quickly let in a pair himself. By the end of the first the United States was up by six and the countdown to the final game was formally on.
Zack Parise, Paul Stastny, Erik Johnson and Ryan Malone also scored for the United States.
Continue reading ‘Miller perfect again as USA will play for Gold’
 The countdown begins for the third annual Labatt Blue Buffalo Pond Hockey Tournament! City crews and organizers will be working hard all day Friday to prepare for the expanded tournament taking place Feb. 27 and 28. Right now, tents are being erected on the shores of Lake Erie and eight man-made ice rinks are being cleared of snow. A true labor of love, these dedicated crews have braved the winter weather for the past two weeks to ensure perfect ice conditions for a real hockey experience.
Tonight, over 100 team captains will gather at Shanghai Red’s for a kick-off party before the 800 registered players take to the ice early Saturday morning through Sunday.
Let’s hope for a fun-filled winter weekend in the City of Buffalo!
 There isn’t a lot of talent available in this year’s NFL free agent pool. One of those strong talents that would fit in well with the Buffalo Bills is Houston Texans wide receiver Kevin Walter. We have been profiling potential free agents for Buffalo and already featured Walter.
Well, it now seems if Buffalo wants a shot at landing the solid number two possession receiver who also blocks like there’s no tomorrow, they will get their shot.
According to a report in Pro Football Talk, Walter’s agent doesn’t expect Houston to resign him before free agency begins on March 5.
Continue reading ‘Looks like Kevin Walter will test free agency’
 It’s fair to say that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch had a terrible 2009. That’s not 2009 season – it’s 2009 the full calendar year. He was arrested; he was suspended by the NFL for three games; most importantly to his future, he rushed for only 450 yards at 3.8 yards per carry, missed out on rushing for 1,000 yards for the first time in his NFL career, and lost his starting job to Fred Jackson.
Thanks to that down season, Jackson’s emergence, and the constant fear that Lynch is one off-field slip-up from both punching his ticket out of the NFL for a considerable amount of time and out of Buffalo, Lynch’s name is by far the most popular amongst Bills fans when discussing possible trade opportunities. Given the fickle state of the running back position league-wide – who ever thought we’d see LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook released on consecutive days? – there’s a very strong chance the Lynch trade predictions have a high degree of accuracy, even if a deal never materializes.
Continue reading ‘Bills don’t need to trade Marshawn Lynch’
 CANISIUS STARTS FINAL WEEKEND AT LOYOLA
- The Canisius College men’s basketball team kicks off the final weekend of the regular season at Loyola in Baltimore tonight.
- The Golden Griffins are 13-15 overall and 7-9 in the MAAC after beating James Madison 70-66 Feb. 20, as part of the ESPN BracketBuster Series.
- The Blue and Gold opened MAAC play this season with a 70-65 win over Loyola at home back on Dec. 4.
Continue reading ‘Canisius Starts Final Weekend at Loyola’
 Niagara travels to Manhattan for a Friday night showdown in the final regular season weekend. The Purple Eagles will be fighting for playoff positions, as the No. 5-7 seeds are up for grabs for next weekend’s MAAC Tournament.
The Purple Eagles have won seven-straight in the conference rivalry over the Jaspers, including a 24-point win in December. Senior Tyrone Lewis has set a career-high in points in each of the last two times he has played inside Draddy Gymnasium. Last year, Lewis scored 31 points on 10-for-22 shooting, including six 3-pointers.
NU fans can listen live to all the action this season from “The Voice of the Purple Eagles” Todd Callen. Friday’s matchup can be heard live on WGR 550 AM. Internet listeners can listen free through Yahoo! Sports live web-streaming by clicking here.
Continue reading ‘Niagara Takes on Manhattan in Friday Night Fight’
 Of all the major sports, the NFL is where you see the fewest amounts of trades. That’s largely due to a complicated salary cap and bonus structure and what happens to team’s caps when players change teams. For that reason among others, it’s not often you see players dealt and even less frequent where you see a player get traded straight up for another player.
Pretty much every football fan doubles as an armchair quarterback and a brief glance at any fan board has trade proposals you only see happen in a Madden video game. Simply put, fan proposed trades often make sense for the team that fan supports.
But yesterday a fan brought up a trade proposal that made alarmingly perfect sense. In fact it’s the most logical scenario I’ve heard to date. He said the Bills should trade Kyle Williams to the New Orleans Saints for Jammal Brown.
Continue reading ‘A trade that would make sense: Williams to New Orleans’
 Congratulations to former Nichols high school star Christian Laettner, who yesterday was elected into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
Laettner joined Sidney Wicks, Jerry West and David Thompson, Tex Winter, Davey Whitney, Tom Jernstedt and Wayne Duke as the eight members voted into this year’s class.
The ceremony will take place November 21 in Kansas City.
Laettner won two NCAA championships while at Duke, including hitting one of the most famous shots in college history to defeat Kentucky in 1992. Duke went to the Final Four every season Laettner was there, won the MVP of the tournament as a junior and was the National Player of the Year as a senior.
Continue reading ‘Congratulations to Christian Laettner’
 (We’re running a series profiling players that could fit into the Buffalo Bills’ plans leading up to the start of free agency on March 5. Today we look at New England linebacker Tully Banta-Cain)
There are two keys to any 3-4 defense being successful. One is having a run stuffing nose tackle. The Bills are in trouble in that department (more on that at another time). The other is dangerous pass rushers— an area the Bills need to address as well. Who knows what Aaron Maybin will do in his sophomore year after a woefully quiet rookie season, and who knows if Aaron Schobel is going to play at all going forward.
Pass rushing defensive ends? Marcus Stroud and Spencer Johnson won’t be doing many sack dances.
Continue reading ‘Free Agent Files: Tully Banta-Cain’
 A gutsy all-around effort by senior Jonathan Hall that included a game-high 24 points helped St. Bonaventure pick up its second straight Atlantic 10 road win with a 73-68 victory over Fordham on Wednesday night at Rose Hill Gymnasium.
The win marks just the third time in nine years that the Brown and White have won consecutive A-10 road games, as they improve to 12-14 overall and 5-8 in the league. Fordham drops its 19 straight contest to fall to 2-24 on the season. The season sweep is the Bonnies first over the Rams since 1998.
Hall’s 10-for-17 night from the field also included eight rebounds, a career-high four blocks and three assists over 32 minutes. The Miami, Fla. product scored 14 of the team’s first 20 points in the second half to help the Bonnies pull away after trailing by one, 35-34, at the half.
Continue reading ‘Hall leads Bonnies to second straight A-10 road win’
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