|
PAGES
BSD FAVS
|
You are currently browsing the archives
for February 2010
 There’s still roughly two and a half weeks before the start of the free agency and the Buffalo Bills coaching staff, particularly on the defensive side is still getting acclimated to each other. We know new coordinator George Edwards will implement a 3-4 switch, but other than that nothing should be taken for granted.
With so much time in the coaching search lost, the Bills staff alongside Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley is working around the clock evaluating the current roster and combing the forthcoming free agent and trade markets for others. At this early stage it’s impossible to predict where they’ll lean come March 5.
One thing we know is certain is the roster and particularly on the defensive side will have turnover—Plenty of it.
Continue reading ‘Will the Bills be players for another Edwards?’
 Niagara head volleyball coach Susan Clements was named 2009 National Coach of the Year by College Volleyball Update (CVU.com). The third-year head coach led Niagara to its first ever MAAC title this season.
Clements guided the Purple Eagles to the biggest turnaround in the NCAA this season. NU earned a 6-24 record last year with a 4-14 mark in conference play last year as the youngest team in the nation, but the third-year leader coached the squad to a 14-4 mark in MAAC play in 2009, and a 23-9 overall mark, both school records.
Playing in their first MAAC Tournament, the Purple Eagles knocked out the four-time defending champion Siena in five sets before sweeping Marist in the MAAC Championship. Niagara won its first ever conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, facing Michigan.
Continue reading ‘Niagara’s Clements Named National Coach of the Year’
 The Buffalo Bills undoubtedly are at least contemplating an upgrade at quarterback, and a significant signal caller may soon be hitting the open market. According to Howard Balzer of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger has cleaned out his locker in anticipation of being released.
As Balzer points out, the rebuilding Rams owe Bulger $8.5 million in salary in 2010, making it nearly impossible to acquire anything for him via trade.
Should the Bills choose to roll the dice, Bulger could be a high risk, high reward acquisition. He’s been injured plenty in recent years and hasn’t made it through a full 16-game schedule since 2006. In fact it’s the only time in his eight years in the league he’s played a full slate of games uninterrupted.
Continue reading ‘Could Marc Bulger be the solution at quarterback?’
 If you thought the 2009-10 boys’ high school basketball season has been a wild ride, you haven’t seen anything yet.
The final week of the regular season concludes over the next few days and to say there’s still plenty at stake in the Monsignor Martin Association and Yale Cup is an understatement.
Let’s start with the Catholic schools. Number-two Canisius travels to top-ranked Nichols Wednesday night in the game of the year that will decide the top seed for the Manhattan Cup playoffs. If Canisius, who defeated Nichols earlier this year is victorious they’ll earn the top seed. But if Nichols wins, then things really get interesting.
Continue reading ‘Wild Conclusions in store for Catholic, Yale Cup leagues’
 We ran a poll recently on Buffalo Sports Daily asking fans if they would be happy if the Buffalo Bills traded for Michael Vick. After 356 cans casted their ballot the results were a little closer than anticipated. By a small margin the answer was no.
56% of fans voted no as compared to 44% yes. Ultimately I don’t think it will matter. I do feel Vick will get traded when deals can commence on March 5, but I don’t think it will be to Buffalo.
Although former great Jim Kelly is hardly a decision maker at One Bills Drive, you have to figure he’s at least “friendly” with Ralph Wilson, and with his very public statements saying he doesn’t Vick here I find it hard to believe the team would make a move for him.
Continue reading ‘BSD Briefs: February 16′
 Tom Lemmon (2000), Kevin Paulsen (1992) and Tim Winn (2000) will make up the 33rd class that will enter St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall Of Fame when the trio is inducted on Friday, February 26.
Each of the four inductees not only had remarkable individual achievements, but also helped their respective programs achieve remarkable team success. The Hall of Fame will now have 113 members, including four from men’s soccer, nine from men’s swimming and diving, and 36 former men’s basketball players and coaches.
Continue reading ‘Winn among three in Bona 2010 HOF class’
 St. Bonaventure senior Dana Mitchell has helped the women’s basketball program reach new heights in her four seasons. On Wednesday, the spotlight will be on Mitchell as she becomes the first player in program history to have her jersey retired.
Mitchell’s No. 5 jersey will find its way to the Reilly Center rafters, right next to the 2009 WNIT banner that was raised earlier this season. The ceremony takes place during the halftime of the men’s basketball game that is scheduled for 7 p.m. after the women face Richmond at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday at the Reilly Center.
Continue reading ‘Mitchell becomes first Bona woman to have number retired’
 With the overage of reports that float around the internet daily, it’s natural to not put much, if any stock in what you hear and read these days. That holds particularly true when the source isn’t one of the industry big boys. Even as an editor for a website falling into that non big-boy category, I’m cynical of information from a Washington Redskins themed website titled “Hogs Haven” where the author insinuates hearing Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner will become a Redskin come March 5, when NFL teams can make trades.
I confess knowing entirely nothing about Hogs Haven or the story’s author (KevinE), and I’m not overly familiar with SB Nation, which runs the site and another for every team in the NFL. I can tell you with assurance the Bills site on SB Nation, Buffalo Rumblings is without question one of the best and anchored by a great writer (Brian Galliford). While I haven’t read enough Skins’ news on Haven to know the validity of what they write, if its anything like its Buffalo counterpart I’d take it a little more serious than other rumor mills.
Continue reading ‘A report floating around says Whitner will be traded to Skins’
 We’ve talked at length over the past week or so about the fact that the Buffalo Bills have a ton of work to do as they switch to a 3-4 defensive alignment under new defensive coordinator George Edwards. The team needs a nose tackle. They need better 5-technique fits at defensive end. They need more pass rushers. Unfortunately, they’re also lacking depth at linebacker.
Don’t get me wrong. As far as needs go in Buffalo’s front seven, inside linebacker probably ranks last, because the team does have two veteran players that they can pencil in as 2010 starters without having to worry too much. That doesn’t mean it’s a position that doesn’t need to be addressed heavily, however; Buffalo’s contenders at this position were brought in because of their schematic fit for Perry Fewell’s zone-based, speed-oriented scheme, and their skill sets, by and large, don’t translate to the scheme that Edwards will likely run.
Continue reading ‘Bills Roster Review: Inside Linebacker’
 Let’s just say the rematch was nothing like the first contest. Two weeks ago Canisius traveled to St. Joes in boy’s high school basketball and handed out an 89-52 in front of the stunned Marauders crowd. This Sunday the teams tangled again at Canisius and the result was much more indicative of their storied rivalry. A wild buzzer beater sent the game into overtime before a game-winning shot in the final seconds sealed a thrilling 69-67 Crusaders victory.
St. Joes was in control most of the contest, leading after each of the first three quarters before Canisius had finally seemingly seized the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Aaron Nevins with just nine seconds left and a three point lead. But Steve Moser took an inbounds pass, moved up court and launched a three that went through the net as the buzzer sounded to force overtime.
Continue reading ‘Crusaders edge St. Joes in high school classic’
 All four Purple Eagle seniors reached double figures propelling the Niagara men’s basketball team to a 70-51 Senior Day victory over Marist on Sunday. The victory was the fourth in five games for the Purple Eagles.
Bilal Benn, Rob Garrison, Tyrone Lewis and Demetrius Williamson combined for 53 points, two more than the entire Red Foxes team, in their final game inside the ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center.
“Today’s game really was the perfect storm, and we overcame it,” Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We played well and we played with character and it’s because of the seniors. They were the story today.”
Continue reading ‘NU romps Marist on senior day’
 Siena senior forward Alex Franklin scored a game-high 26 points, junior forward Ryan Rossiter posted 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds and guard Clarence Jackson chipped in 16 points as the visiting Saints defeated Canisius College 74-57 Sunday afternoon in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win improves Siena to 22-5 overall and 15-1 in the MAAC, while the Golden Griffins slipped to 12-15 overall and 7-9 in the league.
For Canisius, senior guard Bob Bevilacqua came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points after he went 6-for-12 from the field and 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Fellow senior Frank Turner scored 15 points and was credited with nine assists in the loss, as the team shot 37.1 percent from the field, 36 percent from behind the arc and a season-low 28.6 percent from the free-throw line after going 2-for-7 for the contest.
Continue reading ‘Siena rolls over Canisius, 74-57′
 With free agency looming in less than a month and the Buffalo Bills in need of defensive talent to accommodate their schematic switch, a lot of fans were hoping free agent Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby would be on the team’s short list of wishes. Perhaps he is, but according to a New York Post report, Dansby isn’t attracted in coming to play in Orchard Park next fall.
Dansby listed four teams he’d be interested in signing with when free agency starts and not surprisingly, Buffalo wasn’t among the potential suitors. Dansby reportedly would like to play for the New York Giants, San Diego, Washington or division rival Miami.
Continue reading ‘Report: Bills not among teams that interest Dansby’
 Can you call it the Tavares effect?
In his first game after missing six straight with a calve injury, John Tavares would lead the Buffalo Bandits to their second victory of their season, defeating the Philadelphia Wings 13-11.
In what could have been a repeat performance, the Bandits fell into a 5-0 hole halfway through the first period and had some battling back to do.
Continue reading ‘Tavares’ return sparks Bandits to win’
 The Buffalo Stampede hosted Vermont last night in PBL action in front of a vocal crowd at the Koessler Center. Buffalo took a 10 point lead into the locker room at halftime, but fell apart in the third quarter. As a result they dropped to 3-7 on the season with a 99-90 to the Frost Heaves.
Leading 44-34 at the half, Buffalo was outscored by an aggressive Vermont team 32-15 in the third and were unable to recover in time to avoid the loss.
Andy Robinson led the Stampede with 22 points, while former NBA player Damone Brown scored 20 to go with 14 rebounds and three steals. Mark Price was the only other Buffalo player in double figures with 11.
Jawan Bailey had a game-high 36 points for Vermont, who improved to 3-4.
The Stampede play their next three games on the road before returning home to face Puerto Rico on March 12.
 It’s always better to go out on a positive rather than a negative, which is what the Buffalo Sabres did on Saturday night after posting a 3-1 victory over the Western Conference’s best San Jose Sharks. The win ended a six-game winless streak and was their first and only win in February. Saturday’s game was the Sabres’ last before being off for two weeks for the Olympic break in Vancouver.
Right off the opening face-off, the Sabres played like team that had a lot of success up until recent times, while the Sharks looked sluggish.
Paul Gaustad opened a three goal second period for the Sabres after taking a nice pass from Henrik Tallinder. Gaustad was alone in front as three San Jose defenders drew their attention towards Tallinder in the left corner.
Continue reading ‘Sabres end February with big win vs. Sharks’
 The NFL Players Association Executive Director, DeMaurice Smith has asked retired players to join in with all the active players in our fight to get a Collective Bargaining Agreement that benefits all players. As part of his plan, he has decided that instead of calling us “retired” players, the NFLPA will now call us “former” players. That’s understandable when you consider that after leaving the NFL most retired players – from the early years of the NFL – had to go to work in the private sector to make ends meet. Heck, most of us had to take jobs in the offseason to pay the bills. We obviously couldn’t retire on the money we made in the NFL, so I guess it stands to reason you can’t call really us retired.
“D” as he likes to be called, wants us to be united with the active players and even started a program to have active players take us on a date a couple times a year so that we can share our stories and connect with them……because we have so much in common with today’s players. Do we go “Dutch Treat” or will they feel our pain and decide to be charitable and pick up the tab at the end of the meal?
Continue reading ‘NFLPA Needs Transparency for Retired Players’
 The UB men’s basketball team is at the Alumni Arena at noon taking on one of the hottest teams in the country in MAC rival Kent State.
Buffalo is 13-9 overall, 6-5 in the MAC and is coming off an 84-67 win over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night. Rodney Pierce led the way for the Bulls with 27 points. He is averaging 19 points per game – good for second in the MAC.
Kent State is 18-7 overall, and has the best record in the conference at 9-2. The Golden Flashes have won eight in a row and are coming off a 76-42 win over Ball State on Wednesday. Kent State is led by Justin Greene who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Stay friendly with that refresh button as we’ll be providing live updates throughout the game.
Continue reading ‘LIVE updates: UB knocks off MAC leader Kent State, 70-55′
 Russell Okung (OT)- Oklahoma State
6’5, 302lbs
Strengths:
Okung is gifted with picture perfect size for the left spot, has a good base yet is not over weight in his lower or upper body. The even distribution of weight and strength when combined with his incredible athleticism makes him an excellent left tackle prospect. Okung is also an experienced and durable leader on the offensive line. He’s been a starter since his freshman year in Stillwater and had 34 consecutive starts to his credit. For a mammoth tackle that’s impressive, considering men of that size tend to get nicked up when doing battle in the trenches.
Continue reading ‘NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Russell Okung’
 The Niagara University women’s lacrosse team was picked to finish in seventh place in the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Poll as voted on by the league coaches.
The Purple Eagles received 10 points, coming off of a 4-11season, where they finished 1-5 in the MAAC. Leading scorer Courtney Formato will be back this year for Niagara, after scoring 25 goals and seven assists for 32 points during the 2009 season.
Fairfield (48 points) was selected to win it all, with Canisius (39), Marist (34), Manhattan (28) Iona (21) and Siena (16) trailing them.
Niagara kicks off the 2010 season when they take on St. Francis (Pa.) on February 19, at 3 p.m.
 Junior Julius Coles scored a game-high 18 points to lead four Canisius players in double figures as the Golden Griffins defeated Marist 71-56 Friday night in MAAC action in the Koessler Athletic Center. The win snapped the Griffs’ three-game losing streak to improve the team to 12-14 overall and 7-8 in league play, while the Red Foxes fell to 1-24 overall and 1-14 in MAAC action.
Senior Frank Turner was good for his second-straight double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, while junior forward Tomas Vazquez-Simmons registered his fifth career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Greg Logins came off the bench to add 16 points to the Griffs winning effort, as the Blue and Gold ended the night with 17 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points.
Continue reading ‘Canisius easily handles Marist’
 The Purple Eagles have been saying for the past few games that all they needed was one big win to get back on track. On Friday night, in front of a packed house and on national television, Niagara got that one win. And, boy, was it a big one.
The Purple Eagles (14-13, 7-8 MAAC) ended the nation’s longest winning streak, mauling Siena (21-5, 14-1 MAAC) 87-74 inside a raucous ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center and on ESPN2. Niagara led by two at the break, and used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to pull away from the nation’s hottest team.
The loss for Siena ended a 15-game overall win streak for the Saints and an 18-game streak against conference opponents. The win for Niagara gave the Purple Eagles their swagger back.
Continue reading ‘Niagara ends Siena’s nation longest winning streak’
 Erie Community College has two top-ranked teams in the country for the first time in school history as the hockey team and men’s basketball team both are atop the NJCAA National rankings in polls released February 9, 2010.
The hockey team returned to the top ranking, a spot they had held earlier in the season but dropped after a decisive loss to Monroe Community College.
Continue reading ‘E.C.C. Ranked First in Country in Hoops and Hockey’
 Niagara welcomes the nation’s hottest team and the two-time defending conference champion Siena Saints to the Gallagher Center for a Friday evening tilt on ESPN2. The contest, which is the third home game in less than a year that will air on either ESPN or ESPN2, pits the last two conference champions against each other.
The Purple Eagles will look to end the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 on Friday. The last time Niagara and Siena squared off inside the legendary ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center, the Purple Eagles reached triple-digits, posting a 100-85 victory.
Friday night’s game will air live on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. Lou Canellis and Tim Welsh have the call from the Gallagher Center.
Continue reading ‘Niagara to host nation’s hottest team tonight’
 National Lacrosse League today announced that recently retired Buffalo Bandits defenseman Rich Kilgour is among six candidates for the 2010 NLL Hall of Fame. Voting by the member clubs, media and current Hall of Fame members will take place over the next ten days, with a planned announcement of the Class of 2010 on Monday, February 22nd.
Kilgour had an 18-year playing career (1992-2009), all with the Buffalo Bandits. At the time of his retirement, he had played in 18 of the league’s 23 seasons of history. His team’s made the playoffs 13 times and won four championships (1992, ‘93, ‘96 & 2008). The 1993 champion Bandits were the only team to go undefeated through the regular season and playoffs (10-0) in league history. Kilgour played in 200 career regular season games as a forward and faceoff man for the the Bandits, scoring 317 career points (94 goals, 223 assists). Kilgour was a leader, as he served as Bandits captain for twelve seasons from 1998 to 2009.
Continue reading ‘Former Bandit Kilgour nominated for Hall of Fame’
|
|
