I spoke with a league source who told me the Buffalo Bills would like to sign restricted free agent George Wilson to a contract extension before NFL free agency starts on March 5.
According to the source, if the Bills are unable to reach an extension before the deadline they will apply a second-round tender on the fourth year safety. If the Bills tag Wilson with the tag at that level it would pay him $1.759 million for 2010 and force a team to give up a second round draft pick as compensation for signing him should the Bills not match an offer.
Wilson was valuable to the Bills in 2009, finishing second on the team with 91 tackles despite not starting full time. He also was second on the club with four interceptions and added a pair of sacks and a forced fumble.
Continue reading ‘Source: Bills want to extend Wilson’
The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team won its fourth straight game, 64-51, over Bowling Green at Alumni Arena on Wednesday night. The Bulls drained 10 three-pointers to helped break the Falcons’ aggressive zone defense.
Rodney Pierce and Sean Smiley each hit four three-pointers for the Bulls. Pierce finished with 18 points and added six assists. Smiley added 14 points in 27 minutes off the bench.
Bowling Green (13-12, 6-7 MAC) took a 13-12 lead midway through the first half before the Bulls made a run. Buffalo outscored the Falcons, 19-3 over the next seven minutes and a Smiley three gave the Bulls a 31-16 lead with 3:58 left in the half. The Bulls extended their lead to 17 on a three-pointer by Pierce before settling for a 35-20 lead at the break.
Continue reading ‘Streaking Bulls Strike Bowling Green’
A 20-6 run in the early stages of the second half helped #21/#20 Temple dismiss a feisty first half effort from St. Bonaventure and cruise to a 73-55 Atlantic 10 win on Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
The loss moves the Bonnies to 10-14 overall and 3-8 in the A-10. The Owls have now won 12 straight in the series, as they improve to 21-5 and 9-2
St. Bonaventure senior Jonathan Hall turned in a gutsy 35 minutes, finishing with his third double-double in the last four games. Hall posted game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. He was the only player in double figures for the Bonnies.
Continue reading ‘#21 Temple powers past St. Bonaventure in second half’
Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post cites a league source that says other than Derek Fine and Ashlee Palmer, the other five Buffalo players released yesterday was because they failed their physicals.
Defensive end Jermaine McGhee, defensive end Marcus Smith, defensive back John Wendling, wide receiver Justin Jenkins and center Marvin Philip were the other five Bills players released yesterday.
Wendling and Jenkins were regarded as the two best special teams performers on the roster. Their releases came as at least mild surprises, especially this early in the season with each making the league minimum salary. Now we have a better idea as to why.
Bowling Green did UB a huge favor by beating Miami this past weekend. The win puts Buffalo within one game of Miami for third place, meaning Buffalo is now in full control of whether or not they manage a first round bye. The game, like many Falcons’ games including the last meeting, was not decided until the last minute or so of play. In the last meeting both teams started off with hot shooting before it became more of a defensive struggle. In the end it took a Sean Smiley three pointer with 4.7 seconds left for UB to seal the win.
NCAA Basketball
Continue reading ‘College Hoops Preview: Bowling Green at UB’
Bryan Bulaga (OT)-Iowa
6’6, 312lbs
Strengths:
Bulaga is my number two offensive tackle in this draft, though following his sophomore year he was regarded by many to be tops in the nation. He’s a sound technical player who demonstrates consistent footwork, hand placement and use of leverage to neutralize some of the best pass rushers in this country.
Continue reading ‘NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Bryan Bulaga’
If you’re a fan of high school sports, it doesn’t get any better than tonight as the top two teams in Western New York face off when Canisius travels to Nichols in a boy’s high school basketball contest that will determine the regular season Monsignor Martin Association champion.
The situation is complicated. If Canisius wins they get the top seed when the Manhattan Cup postseason tournament commences on Sunday. If Nichols is victorious, there’ll be a coin flip following the game as the teams would have identical head to head, divisional and common opponent records.
Continue reading ‘BSD Briefs: February 17′
St. Bonaventure’s season-long three-game home stand comes to an end on Wednesday when it hosts nationally-ranked Temple at the Reilly Center. The Bonnies are hoping history will repeat itself on Wednesday, as it looks to pick up its first win over a ranked opponent since it defeated #20 Temple, 57-56, at the Reilly Center on Jan. 15, 2000. The Owls came in at #21 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. St. Bonaventure will look to rid itself of a 14-game losing streak against ranked opponents and an 11-game skid against Temple. The Bonnies will also look to avoid their first home losing streak of the season.
Continue reading ‘College Hoops Preview: Temple at St. Bona’
The Medaille College men’s volleyball continues to climb in the rankings as they made huge strides in both the AVCA and NECVA weekly polls.
The Mavs began last week ranked 14th in the national poll and tied for 7th in the conference rankings. A great week of play that included wins over three ranked teams (including two top ten squads) catapulted the Mavs into a tie for 7th in the national AVCA poll and the Mavs jumped from their seventh place perch in the NECVA rankings into second place behind Baruch College in those rankings.
The Mavs are currently (13-4) overall and sit atop the NECVA Western Division standings at (6-0). The Mavs will hit the hardwood again on Thursday (2/25) when they host Hilbert College for a 7:00pm divisional tilt.
UB Athletics was kind enough to make new head football coach Jeff Quinn available for an interview. Right now the coaching staff is busy getting ready for spring ball so I am very grateful for the time they have taken to answer these questions. 
