The Section VI Class A and B overall champions were crowned in high school basketball at Buffalo State College Tuesday night. Williamsville South is the Class A champ after throttling East high school 65-46. Olean won the Class B crown for the fourth consecutive year with a $@@# victory over Akron.
The South vs. East game had all the makings of a classic but never materialized into a close game. Junior sharpshooter Joe Licata, who’s also the football star quarterback, drilled seven three pointers for a game-high 24 points as the Billies stormed out the gate and blew East away early.
Senior Chris Matthews equaled a career-high with 28 points and sophomore Andrew Nicholson turned in his third straight 20-point outing to lead St. Bonaventure to a 83-71 win over Duquesne Tuesday night in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship at the Reilly Center.
The win is the fifth in six games for the Bonnies, who improve to 15-15 on the season. The Brown and White’s A-10 postseason win is their first since 2002, when they also defeated Duquesne in the first round.
St. Bonaventure advances to Friday’s quarterfinal round of the A-10 Championship in Atlantic City and will take on top-seeded and two-time defending tournament champion Temple. Gametime at Boardwalk Hall is set for noon.
The Buffalo Sabres today announced the 6th annual Scotty Bowman Showcase will take place on Monday, March 29 at HSBC Arena. The Scotty Bowman Showcase consists of two all-star hockey games between high school aged players from Buffalo against their rivals from Rochester. The event will also feature a 20-minute Girls Showcase between games, featuring the top local high school girl’s players from the Buffalo-area club teams. Admission for the games is $5.
The first game will be at 6 p.m. with juniors from each city facing off against one another, followed by a game at 8:30 p.m. between seniors from each city. The winner of the second game will be awarded the Scotty Bowman Cup.
Junior Kourtney Brown became just the second UB player ever to be named first-team All-MAC as the Mid-American Conference announced their postseason honors on Tuesday morning. Brown was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Abby Dowd was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.
Brown becomes UB’s first All-MAC First Team selection since Tiffany Bell in the 2000-01 season. She is also just the second UB player to be named Defensive Player of The Year, following Sonia Ortega, who also picked up that honor in 2000-01. Dowd is the fourth UB player to be named to the All-Freshman team following Kim Kilpela (1999-00), Heather Turner (2004-05) and Jamie Schiebner (2005-06).
To the surprise of roughly no one, the first thing the Buffalo Bills did organizationally when free agency started was set out to upgrade their offensive line. The philosophy was astute as the Bills offensive line was anemic in 2009 and did themselves no favors with the rash of injuries the unit suffered.
Wade Smith was brought in on day two and although the team reported positive conversations the former Chief left the team last Saturday without a deal and has since visited Houston. He’s also reported to be headed to Arizona for a visit out west on Tuesday.
The Bills then quickly struck on Monday to land Oakland Raiders tackle Cornell Green. The team met with him in the morning and by the afternoon signed him to a three-year deal worth a reported $9 million.
The 12-year veteran said on a conference call Monday night that he had the chance to visit other teams, but the Bills presented him with the best opportunity.
A few quick notes from Buffalo Sabres practice today.
Thomas Vanek was held out of practice with what Lindy Ruff called a schedule “maintenance” day. Vanek has been banged up but hasn’t missed any games. Many think he’s been playing hurt the majority of the year, which may explain only having 19 goals after having 36 and 40 the past two years, respectively.
Paul Gaustad will not be in the lineup tomorrow night when the Sabres host the Dallas Stars. He’s been out with a shoulder injury since getting into a fight Mike Rupp off Pittsburgh last Monday.
Gaustad took part in non contact drills on Tuesday skating on a line with Tim Kennedy and Mike Greer.
Though the team never officially announced it and I’m befuddled as to why, I’m told that the Bills tendered Jonathan Stupar and Cary Harris as Exclusive Rights Free Agents before last week’s deadline.
Harris appeared in four games with Buffalo last year and had the game of his life in the season finale against Indianapolis, picking off a pair of passes, including one against Peyton Manning during the Colts opening drive.
Stupar appeared in 14 games last season, catching five passes for 39 yards.
After a strong rookie season, men’s hockey blueliner Jason Beattie has been named to the 2009-10 College Hockey America All-Rookie Team, as announced by the conference on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-3 product has scored two goals, three assists and five points in 28 games thus far for the Purple Eagles. Beattie also is a force to be dealt with in the defensive end, known for his physical play and crushing checks.
The No. 4 Niagara Purple Eagles open the 2010 CHA Tournament against the No. 1 Bemidji State Beavers at Dwyer Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday. Tickets are still available for Friday night’s game. The game will be broadcasted on the Niagara Sports Network.
The University at Buffalo’s Kristy Woods (Mercer, PA/Grove City) has earned a spot in this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Fayetteville, AR. The sophomore will compete in the women’s shot put event at the national championship meet.
Woods secured her spot in the national field at last Friday’s Columbia Last Chance Meet in New York City. She posted a throw of 53-9.50 (16.40m), breaking her UB school record for the third time this season and adding more than nine inches to her NCAA provisional qualification distance.
Woods is seeded 17th in a 19-thrower field. Seven throwers in the national field automatically earned their slots in the competition. The remainder of the field was filled with provisional qualifiers, based on their top throws, in descending order until the field was completed.
I’m told by a source I trust that Buddy Nix and the Buffalo Bills front office is “quietly and patiently” monitoring free agent wide receivers Antonio Bryant and Derrick Mason.
With a lot of holes to fill in the upcoming April NFL draft, the Bills are likely to address wide receiver at some point in free agency. But the team isn’t in any rush to find one and want to see what the market is going to be for the more productive receivers still out there.
“The Bills are quietly and patiently waiting to see what happens with them and a few other guys,” the source said. “They will find a receiver in this crop but don’t want to jump the gun and have to overpay for a number two like they did last year (with Terrell Owens). There should be one or more guys that don’t find the money they’re looking for out there and that could help Buffalo.”
In what could be best described as interesting, Pro Football Talk is reporting Tuesday morning that the Buffalo are lining up a visit with University of Clemson running back C.J. Spiller.
The Mike Florio report says a source with knowledge tells him the visit will take place sometime next week.
There are few running backs considered a first round prospect in this year’s NFL draft but Spiller is one of them. Some have him rated as high as a potential top ten pick.
Some Buffalo Bills related free agency notes you may or may not have already known for Tuesday morning.
♦♦ Terrell Owens will be in Cincinnati today. The Bengals are expected to sign a wide receiver as early as this afternoon and it could be Owens or fellow free agent wide receiver Antonio Bryant. As we all know, Bengals eccentric wide out Chad Ochocinco has been lobbying for Owens for the past few months so we’ll see what happens.
♦♦ After the Bills failed to tender offensive guard Richie Incognito it was widely rumored he’d be returning to the St. Louis Rams. According to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, that’s not going to happen.
University at Buffalo senior wrestler Dan Bishop is in serious condition at Saginaw St. Marys Hospital after suffering a spinal injury on Saturday afternoon while competing at the Mid-American Conference championships at Central Michigan University.
Bishop was taken to St. Marys Hospital Saturday afternoon after suffering the injury in the 125-pound semifinal match. Saturday night he underwent emergency surgery to relieve the inflammation on his spinal cord after it was determined that a fracture had occurred between his C5 and C6 vertebrae and that damage to one of his major arteries had also occurred. Doctors performed successful surgery that included fusing the two vertebrae back together and installing a metal plate and permanent screws to support the spine. At the time of the surgery, Bishop had lost feeling to all of his extremities.
The Buffalo Bills have signed Oakland Raiders free agent right tackle Cornell Green to a three-year contract worth $9 million.
The 10-year veteran has been with the Raiders the past three years, starting 38 games, mostly at right tackle.
During his career he’s also played for the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos. He was signed an undrafted free agent in 1999 after playing for Central Florida in college.
Green has had trouble with the law over the past year. In March of 2009 he was arrested and charged with domestic violence in Florida.
According to a USA Today report, the Tampa police said Green became violent during an argument at his home there with the mother of his two children. Police said Green slammed 30-year-old Teriyonal Ebony Flowers into a wall, then struck her right arm with an aluminum mop handle.
The police said he then fled the house and was later arrested at Tampa International Airport before a flight he had planned to take to Oakland.
The Bills have an obvious need to fill at right tackle following the unexpected retirement of Brad Butler last month.
But given his age and recent performance this particular signing is a mystery. According to Stats.com, in 12 starts last year Green committed 12 penalties including seven false starts (sound familiar, Bills fans?). He was also credited with being responsible for 6.5 sacks.
UPDATE: The NFL Network has just confirmed this report.
After leading the St. Bonaventure men’s soccer team to one of the best seasons in 10 years, senior defender Tyler Bellamy has signed to play professional soccer with the Rochester Rhinos, as announced by the team on Thursday.
“I am truly blessed and honored that God has afforded me this opportunity to play with the Rochester Rhinos. I know that I am young entering the next level of soccer, but I am confident that I have the ability to play at this level,” said Bellamy. “This is a dream come true from the time I started playing soccer at age three through traveling soccer and through my collegiate career, and now I actually get to embark on the next level. I am excited, nervous, looking forward to the challenge and very thankful.”
With the program’s first home postseason contest since 1995 just two days away, St. Bonaventure sophomore Andrew Nicholson was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference second team on Sunday afternoon, in voting conducted by the conference head coaches.
Nicholson lived up to his preseason All-Conference second team billing and is the first Bonnie since 2006 to be named to an A-10 All-Conference team. The 6-foot-9 forward’s stellar second season has come on the heels of being named the A-10 Rookie of the Year in 2009.
Nicholson is one two players in the A-10 that ranks in the top 10 in scoring (8th) and rebounding (10th), leading his team in both categories at 16.2 points and 7.1 boards, respectively. His 58 percent (185-320) shooting clip from the field leads the A-10 and is bolstered by a team-high 44 dunks. Nicholson has reached double figures 22 times this season, including a team-best eight 20-point performances. Continue reading ‘Nicholson named A-10 All-Conference Second Team’
According to a report from WIVB, Oakland Raiders free agent offensive tackle Cornell Green will visit with the Buffalo Bills today (Monday).
The 10-year veteran has been with the Raiders the past three years, starting 38 games, mostly at right tackle.
During his career he’s also played for the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos. He was signed an undrafted free agent in 1999 after playing for Central Florida in college.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter the Buffalo Bills have contacted free agent linebacker Joey Porter. But in the same report he implies if the Bills want to pursue him it they’ll have competition from at least one team.
The Arizona Cardinals are interested in him as well and according to Schefter, Porter is scheduled to visit with the team on Thursday.
No visit for Porter has been scheduled for Buffalo as of late Sunday night.
Porter was released by Miami last week, in part because of issues on the field and with head coach Tony Sparano.
While the rest of his teammates enjoy an off day on Monday, Ryan Miller will be busy in the morning. Among other media appearances Miller is slated to appear on the “Today” show at 8:30am on NBC. While there I’m certain host Matt Lauer will ask Miller about his Olympic experience and his out from the closet hottie girlfriend. That’s what happens when you become a real celebrity.
Unfortunately Lauer won’t ask him how it’s going to feel to be in possession of the Vezina trophy when the NHL season is over.
Or about that Patrick Kaleta guy.
Kaleta continues to win the hearts of Buffalo Sabres fans. The gritty but growingly skillful forward scored his ninth goal of the year 2:38 into overtime to give the Sabres a 2-1 win in New York over the Rangers.
The No. 6 Niagara men’s basketball team (18-15) fell in the 2010 MAAC Semifinal round on Sunday evening, losing 69-63 to the No. 2 Fairfield Stags (22-9). The loss brings an end to the careers of four student-athletes who were part of the winningest seasons in Niagara history.
“It’s tough to even break down the game when you have to say goodbye to an incredible group of seniors,” Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said.
The group was part of the 26-win campaign a season ago, the second-most wins in program history. Tyrone Lewis, the only graduating senior to play all four seasons at Niagara, will go down as the biggest winner in school history, collecting 90 wins since the 2006-07 season, including a MAAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament win.
Sophomore Desi Green captured the 149-pound title at the Mid-American Conference Championships on Sunday afternoon at the Rose Center on the campus of Central Michigan University. The Bulls finished in fourth-place with 60.5 points including eight wrestlers earning top-four finishes. Senior Dan Bishop (Whitehall, NY/Whitehall), junior Jimmy Hamel (Natick, MA/Natick) and sophomore Kevin Smith (Mexico, NY/Mexico) earned All-MAC honorable mention, finishing in second place at 125, 197 and 133, respectively.
In the 149-pound championship bout, Green defeated Seth Morton of Ohio, 3-2 to capture the conference crown and All-MAC First Team honors. In his victory, the sophomore earned an automatic bid to the NCAA National Tournament. The 19th nationally-ranked wrestler went 2-0 en route to capturing the Bulls’ first conference individual title since Mark Budd in 2007. Continue reading ‘UB’s Desi Green wins MAC wrestling title’
The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team cruised past Toledo, 72-54, in the opening round of the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls advance to Cleveland and will play Miami (OH) on Thursday night at 9:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena.
The fifth-seeded Bulls (18-11) jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back. A young Toledo squad, the 12th seed, hung tough early and a three-pointer by Jake Barnett cut the UB lead to 14-11 with 10:11 left in the first half. Mitchell Watt slammed home a missed jump shot and Rodney Pierce came up with a steal and a layup in the closing seconds of the first half to extend the Buffalo lead to 35-22 at the break.
A few days before the Olympic break I posted an overview of what the Buffalo Sabres could do around the deadline and where the holes in their lineup were. When 3pm eastern time had passed, Buffalo had made two moves; trading Nathan Paetsch and a second round pick to Columbus for Raffi Torres and shipping Clarke MacArthur to Atlanta for third and fourth round picks.
Looking at the needs presented in the preview article, the Torres trade fills several of them. He could prove to be both the physical presence the scoring forwards need as well as a spark to the rest of the team. Torres has playoff experience, and was a part of the Oilers’ underdog Cup run in 2006, where he scored eleven points in twenty-two games. He also laid this monster body check on Milan Michalek that was instrumental in the Oilers’ defeat of the Sharks; a hit that would have made Scott Stevens proud.
The Section VI Class A and B overall champions were crowned in high school basketball at Buffalo State College Tuesday night. Williamsville South is the Class A champ after throttling East high school 65-46. Olean won the Class B crown for the fourth consecutive year with a $@@# victory over Akron.
Senior Chris Matthews equaled a career-high with 28 points and sophomore Andrew Nicholson turned in his third straight 20-point outing to lead St. Bonaventure to a 83-71 win over Duquesne Tuesday night in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship at the Reilly Center.
The Buffalo Sabres today announced the 6th annual Scotty Bowman Showcase will take place on Monday, March 29 at HSBC Arena. The Scotty Bowman Showcase consists of two all-star hockey games between high school aged players from Buffalo against their rivals from Rochester. The event will also feature a 20-minute Girls Showcase between games, featuring the top local high school girl’s players from the Buffalo-area club teams. Admission for the games is $5.
Junior Kourtney Brown became just the second UB player ever to be named first-team All-MAC as the Mid-American Conference announced their postseason honors on Tuesday morning. Brown was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Abby Dowd was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.
To the surprise of roughly no one, the first thing the Buffalo Bills did organizationally when free agency started was set out to upgrade their offensive line. The philosophy was astute as the Bills offensive line was anemic in 2009 and did themselves no favors with the rash of injuries the unit suffered.
A few quick notes from Buffalo Sabres practice today.
After a strong rookie season, men’s hockey blueliner Jason Beattie has been named to the 2009-10 College Hockey America All-Rookie Team, as announced by the conference on Tuesday.
The University at Buffalo’s Kristy Woods (Mercer, PA/Grove City) has earned a spot in this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Fayetteville, AR. The sophomore will compete in the women’s shot put event at the national championship meet.
I’m told by a source I trust that Buddy Nix and the Buffalo Bills front office is “quietly and patiently” monitoring free agent wide receivers Antonio Bryant and Derrick Mason.
In what could be best described as interesting, 
Some Buffalo Bills related free agency notes you may or may not have already known for Tuesday morning.
University at Buffalo senior wrestler 
After leading the St. Bonaventure men’s soccer team to one of the best seasons in 10 years, senior defender Tyler Bellamy has signed to play professional soccer with the Rochester Rhinos, as announced by the team on Thursday.
With the program’s first home postseason contest since 1995 just two days away, St. Bonaventure sophomore Andrew Nicholson was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference second team on Sunday afternoon, in voting conducted by the conference head coaches.
According to a 
According to Adam Caplan of Scout.com, barring a trade it looks Chris Kelsay will be back with the Buffalo Bills in 2010.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter the
While the rest of his teammates enjoy an off day on Monday, Ryan Miller will be busy in the morning. Among other media appearances Miller is slated to appear on the “Today” show at 8:30am on NBC. While there I’m certain host Matt Lauer will ask Miller about his Olympic experience and his out from the closet hottie girlfriend. That’s what happens when you become a real celebrity.
The No. 6 Niagara men’s basketball team (18-15) fell in the 2010 MAAC Semifinal round on Sunday evening, losing 69-63 to the No. 2 Fairfield Stags (22-9). The loss brings an end to the careers of four student-athletes who were part of the winningest seasons in Niagara history.
Sophomore Desi Green captured the 149-pound title at the Mid-American Conference Championships on Sunday afternoon at the Rose Center on the campus of Central Michigan University. The Bulls finished in fourth-place with 60.5 points including eight wrestlers earning top-four finishes. Senior Dan Bishop (Whitehall, NY/Whitehall), junior Jimmy Hamel (Natick, MA/Natick) and sophomore Kevin Smith (Mexico, NY/Mexico) earned All-MAC honorable mention, finishing in second place at 125, 197 and 133, respectively.
The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team cruised past Toledo, 72-54, in the opening round of the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls advance to Cleveland and will play Miami (OH) on Thursday night at 9:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena.
