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for January 2011
   During the waning seconds of the first half with the East High School Panthers shooting atrociously and throwing more passes into the stands than teammate hands, head coach Starling Bryant was appalled with his team’s execution to the point he refused to allow the players on the floor near his bench during a timeout. Instead, he forced his unit to glare at each other to determine if they were going to toss away an opportunity to earn a huge win on the road against Riverside.
Maybe Bryant was playing an orchestrated mind game with his team. Perhaps he was so disgusted with what he was seeing, he genuinely couldn’t stomach speaking to them. Either way, it worked.
East went on a tear in the second half, outscoring Riverside by 23 points over the final two quarters en route to a 67-52 victory in a Yale Cup showdown between two of the top four teams in the league Monday night.
Continue reading ‘East Storms Back to Overtake Riverside in Yale Cup Action’
 The Buffalo Sabres will hold a press conference Thursday, where it will be announced that Tom Golisano has sold the team to Pennsylvania billionaire Terry Pegula.
At that conference Larry Quinn and Golisano will announce the sale of the team. Pegula will have his own press conference at a later date, according to David Shoalts, hockey columnist for the Globe and Mail.
The organization hasn’t sent out a media release announcing Thursday’s press conference yet, but is expected to within the next few hours.
Reports say Pegula signed a purchase agreement to buy the team Monday from Golisano and the price is expected to be around $189 million.
Continue reading ‘Report: Sabres Will Announce Sale to Pegula on Thursday’
 For Buffalo Bills season ticket holders that suffered through yet another losing season, there’s good news for you. In a letter sent out to all holders, Bills owner Ralph Wilson said there will be no increase in season ticket prices.
Wilson cites fan loyalty through difficult financial times and uncertainty regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement as the biggest reasons for an increase in 2011. Wilson also assured fans that Buddy Nix and his entire staff have already turned the page on 2010 and are working hard to bring a “championship caliber team” to the Buffalo region.
Here is Wilson’s letter in its entirety.
Continue reading ‘No Increase in Season Ticket Prices for Bills’
 SB Nation author Brian Galliford, who also runs Buffalo Rumblings, has his latest 2011 Mock Draft out to reflect some changes following the Senior Bowl.
Upon first glance, there’s three players positioned sure to get readers talking. First is the obvious, with Galliford having the Buffalo Bills currently tabbing LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson via the third overall pick (as do I in our Mock Draft last week). But to me, two things really stuck out: Robert Quinn going second overall and Cam Newton falling all the way down to Seattle at 25.
It needs to be said I find it completely idiotic for anyone to either criticize.. or praise anyone for their mock efforts in late January. Whether it’s Galliford, myself, Don Banks, Peter King, Rick Gosselin or the guy at the bar who’s had a few too many, it’s utterly impossible to have real insight into what a team is thinking this early in the process. The biggest reason is NFL general manager’s have little clue of their own at this point. Right now guys like Buddy Nix are still evaluating their own talent and figuring out what free agents they’ll take a shot at re-signing before the March 3 deadline. Sure, the scouting process is in full swing now and they’ve started preliminary draft boards, but there’s no way conclusions have been drawn without seeing workouts and getting a chance to interview prospects.
Continue reading ‘Mock Drafts Keep Fan Juices Flowing In Offseason’
 This subject has surely been covered before. Most of Buffalo has heard whisperings of the Queen City Roller Girls and their “spectacle” of a sport… Especially after they made it to the cover of Buffalo Spree in December of 2009.
However, everything I knew about them until now was focused mainly on…well, them.
I’ve read about how tight-knit these 120-plus women that make up the QCRG are before: how great it is to be a part of such an accepting and supportive network of people. The satisfaction of forming such close bonds with other women. Blah, blah, blah. Someone get me a tissue.
But why should I come see them skate? Why should I spend my hard-earned, recession-churned money and drive out to the boonies of North Tonawanda (to Oliver Street, no less) to see a bunch of ladies racing around on roller skates?
Continue reading ‘Queen City Roller Girls Heat Up the Track’
 There are only two high school basketball rivalries in WNY that annually sell out its games and even give the JV teams a packed gymnasium for a full four quarters. This year, Newfane visited Wilson and Canisius hosted St. Joe’s within a 24-hour period. Both games featured a battle between top ten teams in their respective polls. Both games had major implications on league championships. And both games ended as these two rivalry tilts usually do, with fans of the winning team pouring onto the court to swarm their victors. It’s the kind of drama that makes winter seem a little warmer around here.
The Lakemen avenged a 3-point loss at Newfane earlier this season and moved into a tie for first place with the Panthers in the Niagara-Orleans league with an exciting 49-44 win on Friday night. With the win, Wilson now has a five-year home win streak against the Panthers that now includes three upset victories, and have won eight of the last ten meetings between the two rivals. If the two clubs are able to win out in league from this point as they are expected to do, they would wind up as co-champions of the N-O.
Continue reading ‘Rivalry Weekend Wins For Wilson & St. Joe’s’
 Since their announcement that the South Buffalo Celtics have joined the semi-pro Elite Mid Continental Football League to begin play this summer, the team has signed a plethora of proven offensive talent. By no means, however, does that mean they’ve neglected the other side of the ball.
The Celtics were able to land one of the premier semi-pro football players in the country in Greg “Hollywood” Rogers (DE/LB). The former Buffalo Gladiators star was pursued by many teams but felt the Celtics gave him the best chance to win a semi-pro national championship. Rogers brings with him an impressive resume that started at Buffalo State College where he was an All-American before carrying that success to the semi-pro level. He was a four-time time league Defensive MVP, three- time All-American and six-time League All Star with the Gladiators and is looking to continue that level of play for the Celtics.
Terrance Ware is also now in the Celtics’ mix. At 6-foot-2 and 350 pounds, Ware is the prototypical nose tackle in the middle of a defense. The former Lackawanna Dynasty star is as good as they come against the run and he’s looking to shake off a knee injury season that limited him to six games for Lackawanna last season.
Continue reading ‘South Buffalo Celtics Announce Defensive Signings’
 Cheektowaga native Ryan Ciminelli joined the winner’s circle on the PBA Tour Sunday, becoming just the fourth bowler from Western New York to win an official PBA event. Ciminelli captured the Earl Anthony Memorial Classic in Dublin, California— defeating Patrick Allen, 237-215.
The 24-year old won $20,000 for winning the event, pushing his earnings this season to $40,500.
Ciminelli earned the top seed for the tournament with a 32-game, 7,668 pin total on Friday.
A former All-American at Erie Community College where he earned degrees in construction engineering and project management, Ciminelli joins Brad Angelo, Tom Baker and Jack Jurek as winners on the tour that have hailed from Western New York.
Continue reading ‘Ciminelli Earns First PBA Tour Victory’
 The Niagara men’s basketball team was denied a season sweep of Siena in the final seconds in a 61-59 loss on Sunday at the Times Union Center.
With less than 10 seconds left in the game, Anthony Nelson dashed to the rim, but his layup came up short. Siena (9-12, 6-5 MAAC) grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock to conclude an intense game between the rivals. Niagara (4-19, 1-10 MAAC) had a 10-point lead early in the second half, but the Saints rallied in the final minutes to deny the Purple Eagles’ their first win in Albany since 2005.
Niagara dictated the game’s tempo in the first half with its stingy defense. The Purple Eagles held Siena to 30 percent shooting and forced 10 turnovers in the half. Kashief Edwards scored two of his 14 first half points with a jumper with 8:35 remaining to give Niagara an 18-9 lead. The Saints responded with an 11-0 run, but the Purple Eagles withstood the momentum shift and scored the final five points in the half to take a 30-24 halftime lead.
Continue reading ‘Niagara Men’s Hoops Denied In Final Seconds At Siena’
 After a disastrous 2009-10 campaign that saw the Buffalo Stampede finish with a 3-17 record, the team continues to turn it around in the first season in the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL).
A pair of former local college stars help propel Buffalo to a 5-2 record following their 84-79 win over the Hudson Valley Kingz last night at Daemen College. Chris Gadley (Canisius) led the way with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Kevin Gamble (UB) contributed 11 key points.
The Stampede are now in a three-way tie for first place in the league.
Continue reading ‘Stampede Take Share Of First in ACPBL’
 The Buffalo Bandits and Toronto Rock combined for 29 goals and 50 penalty minutes last week in a 15-14 overtime thriller. In this week’s game, it was 13 goals and 156 penalty minutes in Buffalo’s 8-5 loss to the Rock.
It was announced before the game that Toronto’s top scorer Garrett Billings would be out of the lineup due to a high hit he took from Scott Self in last week’s game. The Rock team were out to show that the Bandits couldn’t take liberties with their players and did so with three fights that broke out in the first five minutes of the game. A total of 119 penalty minutes and five game misconducts were handed out and both teams appeared to be running out of players on the bench.
When the fighting stopped, the Toronto Rock had a 1-0 lead and would hold that lead until the 13:22 mark of the first quarter on a Tracey Kelusky goal. The Bandits would not score another goal until the 1:35 mark in the fourth quarter. The Rock went on a five goal run over two and a half quarters to give them their largest lead of the night, 6-1.
Continue reading ‘Bandits Lose Fight Fest in Toronto’
 Spots in the outwardly large parking lot at Canisius High School were at a premium Saturday afternoon; to the point a school official stood at the entry point of Delaware Avenue, directing incoming traffic elsewhere more a full hour before tipoff of Western New York’s biggest high school basketball rivalry.
St. Joes, with their fair share of fans inside the crowded Bernard J. Kenney Center, didn’t mind at all.
With an overflow of fanatics that forced some to watch from the outside windows after being turned away at the capacity-filled door, it was visitors from Kenmore that owned the court Saturday afternoon.
Continue reading ‘St. Joe’s Earns Huge Rivalry Win at Canisius’
 Andrew Nicholson notched his eighth double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds as St. Bonaventure (11-9, 3-4 A-10) held on to defeat Fordham, 69-60, Saturday at Rose Hill Gymnasium.
After trailing 36-20 at the half, the Rams (6-13, 0-7) took advantage of the Bonnies’ slow start in the second half. St. Bonaventure, which shot 48 percent (12-25) from the field in the first half, began the final stanza in a 2-for-13 slump with six missed free throws and two turnovers while Fordham went on a 22-6 run to knot the score at 42 with 10:50 left.
Demitrius Conger – who finished with 11 points – scored 10 straight in a 2:31 span to keep pace, before a Michael Davenport floater in the paint and a pair of baskets from Nicholson stretched a one-point lead to eight, 54-46, at the 6:00 minute mark.
Continue reading ‘Bonnies Hangs on For Win at Fordham’
 The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team used good old fashioned defense to defeat Northern Illinois at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls downed the Huskies, 63-52, to earn their fifth straight win.
Northern Illinois’ Xavier Silas entered the game as the nation’s second leading scorer. The Bulls were able to hold Silas to 4-of-15 shooting from the floor. He did finish with 20 points after making 12-of-13 free throws.
Buffalo (13-6, 5-2 MAC) held the Huskies to 35.7 percent shooting from the floor and forced 17 turnovers.
Continue reading ‘Bulls Clamp Down on Defense to Defeat Northern Illinois’
 Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News reported this morning that prospective Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula met with the NHL’s executive committee early Saturday morning in a continued effort to purchse the team from current owner Tom Golisano.
Gleason has been reporting the sale is going to happen and has worked diligently to bring fans every detail. He reported that Pegula was to present his outline to purchase the team to the committee as its heavily rumored he’ll buy the team for $175 million.
According to Pierre Lebrun of ESPN.com, the sale is coming is very soon.
“Sabres expected to announce by Thursday or Friday the purchase agreement by billionaire Terry Pegula. Great news for Sabres fans.” LeBrun wrote on his Twitter Saturday afternoon.
Continue reading ‘Report: Pegula to Buy Sabres For $189 Million’
 Due to the mystery surrounding the Collective Bargaining Agreement, no one knows when the 2011 NFL free agent period will commence. In years past the annual general manager shopping day began on April 1 (with the exception of Buddy Nix, who was sleeping last year). However, there will be no Christmas gifts for football fans of various teams until a new CBA is hammered out– whenever that happens.
For the first time since unrestricted free agency began, there’s a strong chance teams will be filling holes through the draft before turning their attention— and dollars to veterans in search of a bigger contract.
While the engagement date for free agency remains in ambiguity, there’s one thing we do know. Should the Buffalo Bills choose to be players during this period, they’re in strikingly great shape to do so, whether there’s a return of the salary cap or not.
Continue reading ‘Time For Wilson To Be a Player In Open Market’
 If you’re a fan of high school basketball, it doesn’ t get much better than this afternoon in one of Western New York’s biggest rivalries resume. St. Joes travels to face Canisius in a key Monsignor Martin Association match up.
Both team are perennial Manhattan Cup contenders and this year looks to be no different. Along with Bishop-Timon St. Jude, these teams figure to battle it out for another catholic championship with Nichols on a down year. This meeting will be for first place in the league as both Canisius (10-5 overall) and St. Joe’s (11-4) are both undefeated in league play.
Canisius swept both meetings last year; winning easily 89-52 in the first meeting on the road and pulling out a 69-67 overtime thriller in the return engagement at home.
Continue reading ‘Canisius/St. Joes Rivalry Resumes Today’
 With the Canisius’ offense struggling mightily and archrival Niagara tying it late in the second half, senior Julius Coles picked the best time to end his season-long shooting slump.
Coles completely took over with the game still in the balance and Canisius up just 51-47 with six minutes and change to play. He went on a personal 9-2 run, starting with a three, ending with a three, and an exclamation dunk in between that put the game away. The Griffs went on to win, 69-54.
Coles finished with 20 points, just the third time he’s cracked that mark all season.
“We just needed to pick it up a little more,” Coles said. “We finally able to break through down the stretch.”
Continue reading ‘Griffs Take Out Niagara in Big 4 Match Up’
 From time to time I get the opportunity to talk some football… and life with former Buffalo Bills great Darryl Talley. One of the topics that came up during our last chat, for obvious reasons, was his feelings towards how the media treated him when he played, and vice versa.
As I’ve come to expect with him, Talley was brutally straightforward. He recalled early in his career when he wasn’t playing his best football and neither was his team. In years two and three of his career, the Bills went 2-14 in consecutive seasons and his Buffalo career was close to being in limbo.
Talley remembered a year-end evaluation during that time when Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan pretty much ripped him a new one. He categorized Talley as a mediocre player. Talley divulged he was visibly stung by the unsympathetic label, but rather than take it out on the columnist that scorned him, he embedded Sullivan’s callous words into his mind as motivation.
Continue reading ‘Talley Calls Writer That Scorned Him The Greatest Motivator’
 February 6th, 2011 will mark Super Bowl XLV with a matchup of the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Green Bay Packers. Among the participants this year will be 15 former Mid American Conference players.
The Green Bay Packers alone represent nine MAC players, including former UB Bulls running back, James Starks. Starks ran for 3,140 yards and compiled 34 touchdowns during his time at UB from 2006 to 2008.
Many may not know that UB has hosted more than a few of these talented former MAC players in UB Stadium, such as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who played for Miami University from 2001-2003. Also a Steeler, James Harrison attended Kent State and competed in UB Stadium in 2000 and Cullen Jenkins of Central Michigan, battled at UB in 1999 and 2001 and is now a Green Bay Packer starter. The MAC is proud to be tied with the Big Ten who also has 15 attendees in this year’s Super Bowl, to rank second only to the Southeastern Conference with 18 former players in the game.
In total, 12 of the 15 former MAC players set to play in the Super Bowl saw action at UB Stadium in their careers.
 ♦ During high school basketball season, I become quite the connoisseur of pizza, because almost every concession stand has it. For my money, the best school to get good pizza at is Canisius, hands down. Not only is it from La Nova, but it is constantly delivered fresh throughout the games. Pay attention Buffalo State!
♦ Almost every dunk you see at a high school game happens when a player is alone on a breakaway. Everytime I-Prep’s Kadeem Hillman dunks, it’s over a defender.
♦ Niagara Wheatfield’s Jake Hughes has 12 double-doubles in 12 games this season. Against Kenmore East, Hughes scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds.
Continue reading ‘H.S. Hoops Weekly Smatterings’
 Mock drafts, especially this time of year, are about as reliable as Rafael Palmeiro’s testimony at a Congressional steroids hearing . Players will rise and fall at the combine, pro days and in interviews. I’ll bet anything at least one guy among my current top 34 falls into the third round while another not listed will go in the top 15.
Honestly, I’m predominantly attracted to this draft from Buffalo’s perspective far more than other years because of Cam Newton. It’s been long said the Bills need a franchise quarterback and if Buddy Nix concludes he’s that guy, he’ll be there with the third pick. The fact he’s a Heisman Trophy winner, would create a league wide buzz and put butts in the seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium will not be lost on management, or at least Mr. Wilson himself, even if Nix could care less.
From what we’ve seen, read and heard about Newton, he could be the next Ben Roethlisberger just as easily as transforming into JaMarcuss Russell version 2.0.
Continue reading ‘BSD 34-Pick NFL Mock Draft’
 In memory of Tom Stith ‘61, the first All-American in St. Bonaventure basketball history, the Bonnies team will wear commemorative “TS #42″ patches on their jerseys during this Saturday’s game at Fordham University in the Bronx.
Stith, a New York City native, died last June after a battle with cancer at a hospice near his home in Farmingville, N.Y. He was 71.
Stith was a two-time all-American forward who helped elevate the Bonnies into the national spotlight in the late 50’s and early 60’s. For three seasons, Tom played alongside his older brother Sam ‘60, who was the first African-American player ever at St. Bonaventure. Over Tom’s career, he led St. Bonaventure to a pair of NIT appearances and, in the 1960-61 season, the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Both Stith brothers went on to play professionally for the New York Knicks. They were inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1969.
Continue reading ‘Bonnies to honor Tom Stith on Saturday in New York’
 I received a call from Buffalo born and raised former heavyweight contender “Baby” Joe Mesi, who offered to train me so that when/if this charity boxing event Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner challenged me to ever happens, I can at least defend myself adequately.
If you’ve been to Buffalo Sports Daily in recent months, odds are you know that Whitner blocked me from his Twitter months ago after not appreciating something I wrote. Last Sunday he took it a step further following a column blasting his engaging of angry Bills fans about his playing elsewhere in 2011, followed by my (admittedly harsh) insinuation that the Chicago Bears secondary looked like it consisted of four Donte Whitner’s as Aaron Rodgers torched them early.
“I challenge u to a 3 round boxing match…$10.00 per tix I’ll match whatever money is made…to donate to a charity..chicke.” Whitner tweeted on his account.”
Obviously, Whitner isn’t a fan of mine.
The feeling is mutual.
Continue reading ‘Joe Mesi To Help Me Avoid Getting Killed By Whitner’
 It’s hardly construed as surprising, but during an interview with the Buffalo Bills official website Wednesday, general manager Buddy Nix said there needs to be additions to the inside linebacker position before next season.
“It has to be addressed,” Nix told Chris Brown. “We do have a good bunch of young guys. We feel good about outside linebacker and we need some good inside backers. Some bigger, stronger guys to help stop the run.”
A major reason the Bills finished dead-last in the NFL against the run in 2010 was the inability of their inside linebackers to fight off blocks and make stops near or behind the line of scrimmage.
Of the incumbents, Paul Posluszny could become a free agent but expectations mount that he’ll be re-signed. He’s been injured-prone throughout his four seasons in the league and hasn’t been much of an impact player, but the team could do much worse than keeping him in the starting lineup. Given the right situation and battery mate on the inside, he still has plenty of room to grow into the player Marv Levy hoped for when Buffalo traded up to grab him in 2007.
Continue reading ‘Nix Wants Additions at ILB… Here’s Five Candidates’
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