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for September 2010
 As well all know by now, the Buffalo Bills were awarded offensive guard Kraig Ubrik after he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reportedly, the Bills weren’t the only team that wanted him.
According to a tweet from Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, the Bills were one of five teams to put in a claim for Urbik. Cincinnati and Denver as well as division rivals Miami and New York were the other teams that tried to land Ubrik. He went to Buffalo because the Bills had the worse record in 2009 among the interested parties.
Urbik was the Steelers’ third-round draft pick in 2009, but was inactive for every game last season. He started 50 games while in college at Wisconsin, earning All-Big Ten Conference honors twice.
For better or worse, the Bills offensive line seems to be set. Howard and Urbik will be reserve guards behind starters Eric Wood and Andy Levitre while Jamon Meredith and rookie Ed Wang are behind Cornell Green and Demetrius Bell on the depth chart.
Offensive lineman Jason Watkins has already been added to the practice squad.
 Sunday was another busy day for the Buffalo Bills as the team signed two new players at the expense of another pair who survived Saturday’s cut-down day. Tight end J.P. Foschi and defensive back Dominque Harris were on the team when they went to bed Saturday night but woke up to the bad news they’d need to seek employment elsewhere.
Signed in their place were tight end David Martin and offensive guard Kraig Urbik.
Martin is an eight-year veteran who’s spent the past two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played for Green Bay during this first six years of his career. He’ll back up starter Jonathan Stupar. Shawn Nelson will miss the first four games of the season after being suspended last month.
Martin has 152 receptions for 1,519 yards and 14 touchdowns for his career. He had 31 catches with Miami last year.
Continue reading ‘Bills Sign Two, Release Two’
 The University at Buffalo football program was expected to be a quick-strike offense under new head coach Jeff Quinn’s wide-open fast-breaking attack.
In the final few minutes of the first half against visiting Rhode Island, that offense was on full display as the Bulls turned a close game into a comfortable halftime lead and went on to defeat the Rams, 31-0 before 16,273 fans on a perfect September evening.
Buffalo led just 10-0 late in the first half when the Bulls’ defense came up with the play that ignited the team and the UB Stadium faithful.
Sophomore defensive end Steven Means sacked and stripped the ball from Rhody quarterback Steve Probst with Terry Peden recovering at the Rams’ 38-yard line.
Continue reading ‘UB Bulls Roll Rams in Football Opener’
 The NFL preseason is over and come next week the real games begin. By 4:00pm Saturday the Buffalo Bills along with the rest of the league must get down to 53 active players on each respective roster.
Head coach Chan Gailey doesn’t have too many difficult decisions to make, at least concerning the front end of the roster. The toughest roster choices are likely to come down to whether he likes Brian Brohm or Ryan Fitzpatrick better as the backup to Trent Edwards, as well as who will fill the last two spots on the offensive line and who the Bills sixth wide receiver will be, assuming the team keeps six.
The following is my final projection of what the Bills roster will look like when you sit down to have your Saturday evening supper:
Continue reading ‘Final Projection On Bills 53 Man Roster’
 The Buffalo Bills played an excellent 28 minutes of football before deciding their preseason was basically over. The Bills scored the game’s first 16 points, before utter sloppiness took over and the Detroit Lions scored four unanswered touchdowns and eventually won, 28-23 in a game the Bills clearly didn’t care about winning.
If you think Chan Gailey put any real emphasis on the scoreboard, the Bills were down four points with 16 seconds left and didn’t attempt an onsides kick.
Here are some random notes I jotted down during the game, in no particular order.
Continue reading ‘Lions 28, Bills 23: Bullets And Bits’
 Thursday night wasn’t the way the Bisons had hoped to end the home portion of the 2010 season.
A great year on and off the field in downtown Buffalo concluded on a sour note in front of 15,539 at Coca-Cola Field. The Herd lost to the Yankees, 9-2, and saw their slight playoff chances officially come to and end.
The final game was in no way indicative of the previous 71 contests played in front of minor league baseball’s best fans. The Herd had 11 walk-off victories, including four via a home run. Maybe none was more memorable than Fernando Martinez’ grand slam winner on June 14 at Lehigh Valley.
Continue reading ‘Bisons Playoffs Hopes End in Final Home Loss’
 Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced the team’s 2011 National Lacrosse League schedule. Buffalo’s 16-game schedule features eight home games and eight on the road. Seven of the eight games will be played on Saturdays, with the other taking place on Friday February 4. All home games will start at 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo opens the 2011 season out west on Saturday, January 8 when they visit the Pengrowth Saddledome to face the Calgary Roughnecks in a 9:30 p.m. start. After another road game in Philadelphia on January 15, the Bandits will play their home opener against the Toronto Rock on Saturday, January 22 at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of the 2010 East Division Semifinal.
The Bandits will face 2010 NLL scoring leader Josh Sanderson and the Boston Blazers in consecutive games on Sunday, March 6 in Boston and Saturday, March 12 at home. The defending NLL Champion Washington Stealth will be in town on Saturday, April 2, when they visit HSBC Arena. The Bandits will then travel to Toronto and Rochester for back-to-back games on April 8 and 9 to close out their road schedule. Buffalo’s regular season wraps up on Saturday, April 23 at home against the Rochester Knighthawks.
Continue reading ‘Bandits Announce 2011 Schedule’
 Preseason games, particularly the finale are commonly pointless. If a head coach hasn’t been able to figure out who will start or at least be a key contributor by this point of the summer, odds are that team is in a world of trouble when the real games begin next weekend.
But every team in the league has a set of subplots worth following in the final dress rehearsal of the preseason, and the Buffalo Bills are certainly no exception. Spots at the back end of the roster are still up for grabs, as are roles of certain players on the team and what direction certain units may be headed.
As the Bills take to Ford Field to face the Detroit Lions Thursday night in this finale, here are ten items positively worth your attention as you attempt to stay glued to the television set for a game irrelevant in the standings.
Who Will Win The #2 Quarterback Spot?: According to the organization, the only thing we know is it won’t be Matt Leinart. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm have entered the home stretch of the competition behind Trent Edwards, and the race is likely to be decided based on the result of this game. At this time, it would appear Fitzpatrick has the advantage since Brohm has barely played in two of the first three games. Fitzpatrick also helped himself by looking impressive against the Bengals. But don’t count Brohm out quite yet. He more than held his own against the Colts and if Gailey stays true to his rotation, should get a lot of playing time against the Lions. It’s yet to be formally announced, but expect Brohm to enter early after Edwards departs. If he doesn’t, then that should tell you all you need to know about his future in Buffalo.
Continue reading ‘Bills vs. Lions: 10 Things Worth Watching For’
 The Buffalo Bills are set to take on the Detroit Lions Thursday night in what many deem a meaningless preseason finale. Generally speaking, starters and players with defined roles rarely see more than a brief cameo as their respective teams look forward to the regular season; rendering the contest to most observers as worthless.
While the finale may be insignificant to many, try passing that on to James Hardy and Naaman Roosevelt– as well as Donald Jones for that matter.
It’s not known whether Bills head coach Chan Gailey will elect to keep five or six wide receivers on the roster. For their sake, that number better be six and even then, one may have to shine against the Lions to have a chance of occupying that final spot.
It appears all-but-certain that Lee Evans, Steve Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Chad Jackson and David Nelson will take up the first five slots.
Continue reading ‘Do Or Die Time For Hardy, Roosevelt & Jones’
 Adam Schefter from ESPN reports this morning that the Buffalo Bills are one of three teams that have at least inquired about the possibility of trading for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who clearly has fallen out with the Cards.
According to his report, the other two teams that have expressed interest are the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders.
Leinart was expected to replace Kurt Warner in the Arizona starting lineup this season following Warner’s retirement. But head coach Ken Whisenhunt has already benched Leinart in favor of journeyman Derek Anderson. Reports by other national media members, including Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, says that the Cardinals have been trying to shop Leinart around the league to anyone interested.
Through this point, the only thing big-time about Leinart is his salary. The 10th overall pick in the 2006 draft still has two years remaining on his contract; with was for six years and $50.8-million. If the Bills or another team pulls the trigger on a Leinart deal, they’d owe him $2.49-million this season and $7.4-million in 2011. He’d also receive a $5.5-million roster bonus on March 1 of next season.
Continue reading ‘Report: Bills Inquire About Matt Leinart’
 Since Trent Edwards all but wrapped up the starting quarterback job for the Bills (Even though it wasn’t much of an open competition), the biggest question now on the QB depth chart is deciding who should be the back-up. From the looks of it, Ryan Fitzpatrick seems like the guy that is going to get the nod. Now, I’m sure Gailey is going to give a very long look at Brian Brohm on Thursday against the Lions. However, I think it makes sense to go with Fitzpatrick as the #2 quarterback when the season starts.
I know, all summer I’ve been hoping for Brohm to take the #2 job because he represents the unknown. However, I’m now changing my tune and it has to do with Trent Edwards. If the Bills are as confident in Edwards as they seem to be regarding his preseason performance, then the job should go to Fitzpatrick.
Statistically speaking, both quarterbacks have almost the same stats for the preseason (Brohm: 14 of 22 for 125 yards. Fitzpatrick: 15 of 23 for 138 yards). The only difference is that Fitzpatrick has guided the Bills to touchdowns (3), while Brohm has been getting Rian Lindell some kicking work (2 FGs).
However, the stats have nothing to do with why I’d go with Fitzpatrick.
Continue reading ‘Who Should Be The Bills #2 Quarterback?’
 Gone is the winningest class in the program’s history and the school’s all-time leading scorer, but the expectations have not changed for the Canisius College men’s soccer team. The Griffs return a talented squad in 2010 and with an even deeper team, this year’s unit has visions of outperforming its predecessor.
“We are a more balanced and a more well-rounded team,” said Canisius head coach Jim Hesch. “With the addition of a talented class, we have a lot of depth at key positions and because of that, we will be a better team as the season progresses. With the returners that we have and with our newcomers, we have a definite chance to achieve our goals, which includes a MAAC Championship.”
The seven-member senior class from last season totaled 26 wins during their careers and were led by the program’s all-time leading scorer Alan McGreal. While the goals and assists tallied by McGreal will be tough to replace by one single individual, Hesch envisions each member of the team filling the hole and leading the Griffs to victories.
Continue reading ‘Canisius 2010 Men’s Soccer Season Preview’
 The Niagara volleyball team opens its 2010 home schedule with a Big 4 match against the Buffalo Bulls on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Purple Eagles will have their 2009 NCAA Tournament banner ceremony prior to the start of the match. Niagara set a program record with 23 wins en route to claiming its first-ever MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
NU enters its home opener 2-1 on the season after beginning its campaign participating at the La Salle Invitational in Philadelphia last weekend. The Purple Eagles coasted to two-straight wins over Hartford (3-0) and La Salle (3-0) before falling versus Valparaiso 3-1 in the title match.
Continue reading ‘NU Volleyball to Unveil Banner Wednesday Night’
 The University at Buffalo softball team enters the 2010 fall looking to capitalize on a spring that saw UB head to the MAC Tournament for just the second time in school history. The Bulls used a solid final weekend of the regular season to clinch their spot in the eight-team tournament. That was just the start for a young team, who returns 12 players and has some newcomers who are sure to make an immediate impact.
The Bulls will have four seniors on this year’s squad, led by Alexandra Bejarano. Bejarano started in all 53 games she played in last year, finishing seventh on the team in batting. The junior class is sure to turn some heads this season, despite being just a three-person class. Leading the way is Kristin Waldron, Buffalo’s leading hitter last season with a .330 batting average and 34 runs batted in. The other two juniors are both transfers. Holly Johnson, an Amherst, NY native and transfer from Rutgers will see plenty of time in the circle for UB. Johnson pitched 108.1 innings for the Scarlet Knights last season as a sophomore, striking out 86 batters. The other transfer is junior Haylee Land, who is also a pitcher out of Indian River Community College.
Continue reading ‘UB Softball Looks To Capitalize On Last Season’
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