Buffalo’s dramatic 1-0 win over the New York Rangers last night continued the team’s push for a playoff position, and was also the most-watched Sabres game in more than two years on MSG. The game averaged a 10.3 rating and 15 share locally, surpassing this season’s previous high of 9.1/15 set last Saturday against New Jersey. Last night’s game actually peaked at 13.7/19 between 9:15-9:30 p.m.
This was the highest rated Sabres game on MSG since December 20, 2008 in Montreal. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the top rated game on MSG was 13.5 on December 22, 2007 in Philadelphia.
“In the five weeks since Terry bought the franchise, the fan support has been astounding,” said Sabres President Ted Black. “All of the games have been sold out, the ratings are through the roof and Sabres Nation has shared more than 10,000 ideas on ways we can improve the fan experience. Western New York is demonstrating to the entire league that Buffalo is indeed ‘Hockey Heaven.’”
For Semi-Pro football players, the Casino Bowl in Las Vegas is as good as it gets. Considered the longest running and most prestigious game for Semi Pro players across the nation, Casino Bowl XVI takes place this year on April 2.
Among the talented players participating is one tucked away right here in Buffalo.
James Henley, running back for the newly formed South Buffalo Celtics, will represent the organization in Vegas. In fact, he’s on a plane heading towards Sin City right now.
To say he’s excited is an understatement.
“I don’t know, I just can’t wait to get out there.” Henley said this week. “I’m so pumped, I’m just ready to get going and run somebody over.”
If nothing else, a Buffalo Bills fan knows a bust when they see one. Lord knows they’ve had more than their share of exposure to them. Aaron Maybin, John McCargo, J.P. Losman, Mike Williams, Erik Flowers, Tony Hunter, Perry Tuttle all the way down to Tom Cousineau. The list of Buffalo busts goes on and on.
Is Donte Whitner one of them?
Five years in the league is plenty of time to form an opinion on how a draft pick has panned out, but when it comes to Whitner, it probably depends on who you ask. Many consider him a solid starter minus the impact stats, a guy that’s been held back in a conservative Buffalo defense. Others regard him as another in a long line of so-what picks that never makes a play impactful on the game.
Arguments on his value can and often do get heated.
It looked like the Buffalo Sabres were in big trouble heading into their contest against the New York Rangers Wednesday evening at the HSBC Arena. The Sabres, coming off a 4-3 loss at Toronto the night before, were dealt bad news when it was revealed that star goaltender Ryan Miller would miss the game after suffering an upper-body injury in Toronto the night before.
For one night at least, perhaps it was the best thing for Buffalo.
Jhonas Enroth filled in for Miller between the pipes and was spectacular, turning aside all 23 shots the Rangers through at him and many were of the difficult variety. It’s a good thing Enroth played the best game of his career because the offense sputtered.
University at Buffalo senior forward Kourtney Brown was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press. Brown was the only player from the Mid-American Conference on the list and joins Tiffany Bell as the only two UB players ever honored as All-America selections.
The 2010-11 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, Brown finished her brilliant playing career by leading the MAC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. Brown is the only player in the country in the top 10 nationally in those categories as she finished the season eighth in scoring, fifth in rebounding and blocked shots and sixth in field goal percentage.
Cam Newton was in town Tuesday to visit with the Buffalo Bills, mainly Chan Gailey, and the long look at quarterbacks won’t end there. During a teleconference with season ticket holders Tuesday afternoon, Buddy Nix confirmed both Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder will also visit One Bills Drive this week.
Though Nix didn’t provide further details, we learned that much like Newton, both will spend time almost exclusively with Gailey talking football and more specifically, Buffalo’s playbook and philosophies. The organization already knows what all three can do physically.
Nix meanwhile, will be hitting the road for the next 48 hours. Wednesday he’ll be in North Carolina to watch defensive prospect Robert Quinn’s pro day. The following day he’ll be an engrossed observer at Clemson as Da’Quan Bower tries to show staffs his knee is fully healed and worthy of being a top pick.
Like Newton and Gabbert, both defensive linemen are very much in the mix for the Bills’ third overall draft pick when they’re on the clock April 28.
Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports that the Buffalo Bills are warning not to read too much into Cam Newton’s visit.
Buddy Nix said that he’s comfortable with the Bills’ offensive linemen and wide receivers. Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings examines why a little further.
Toronto is helping the Bills bottom line, according to the National Post.
Tim Graham, ESPN’s AFC East blogger, breaks down the division’s best tight ends. If you’re a fan of the Bills, all we can say is ewwwww.
The Buffalo Sabres blew an opportunity to put a stranglehold in their Eastern Conference playoff race Tuesday night against a team they’re used to dominating. Buffalo committed far too many turnovers and Ryan Miller let in a couple of goals he’d love to have back as the Sabres fell on the road to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3.
With the win, Toronto stayed alive in the Eastern Conference race by moving within five points of Buffalo in eight place. More importantly to Buffalo, Carolina defeated Washington on the road in a shootout (3-2) to pull within three points of the Sabres.
Both Buffalo and Carolina have six games remaining.
Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced that the Bandits will honor a legend of Bandits lacrosse when they retire Rich Kilgour’s jersey number 16 in a ceremony prior to their Apr. 16 game against the Boston Blazers at 7:30 p.m.
To celebrate the occasion, the Bandits have lowered all 300 level ticket prices to $16. All fans in attendance will also receive a commemorative Rich Kilgour lacrosse card.
Tickets for the game are still available and can be purchased in person at the HSBC Arena Box Office, by calling 1-888-467-2273 or online at www.bandits.com or www.tickets.com.
Kilgour will join brother Darris Kilgour as the second player to have his number retired by the franchise. Darris Kilgour’s number 43 was retired by the Bandits in March 2001. The Bandits also honored Thomas Gardner, a prominent figure in youth lacrosse in Western New York, by retiring his number 34 after his passing in 1998.
This is my fourth go at projecting a mock draft this year, which in reality is four times too many. I’ve said it before and will again, how can anyone, including myself project players with any sense of confidence when 32 NFL general managers don’t yet know which direction they are going. You find me a source that claims any GM in this league is locked into one guy and I’ll call you a liar.
Having said that, mocking is like an addiction and every couple of weeks— I need to get my fix.
Mock drafts are hard enough to not look like a fool when the actual event is over, and this year is even harder. A lack of free agency prevents teams from filling needs before April 28. If the Panthers were to make a play for Kevin Kolb via trade (another lack of CBA no-no), there’s not a chance in the world Blaine Gabbert is going off the board first overall.
To make matters worse, this is a draft unlike most others in there being so few consensus best players, even at their own position. Is Gabbert or Cam Newton the best quarterback available? Is Nick Fairley or Marcell Dareus better off roaming the middle of your defensive line? Is Da’Quan Bowers or Robert Quinn the best pass rusher? A.J. Green or Julio Jones? Who’s the best offensive tackle? Heck, we’re not even sure who the best prospect in the draft is who carries the first name of Cameron.
Here’s a solid video interview with NFL draft prospect Von Miller by Josina Anderson. It’s Denver-based but definitely worth a look since he’s a strong candidate to wind up in Buffalo with the third pick.
If you don’t think so, read Peter King’s Monday Quarterback column. In it, he says the Bills really like Miller as well as Patrick Peterson. King also thinks teams are cooling off on Marcell Dareus. I don’t buy it for a second.
Per Tim Graham, Stevie Johnson will not be appearing on the cover of Madden ‘12.
As Dave Davis of Kukla’s Korner writes, the Buffalo Sabres should be leery of a power outage.
While the “State of the Bills” party, held for premium ticket holders at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo that featured Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey had plenty of standard propaganda talk, there were a couple of nuggets of useful information to come out.
One is information you already knew. Cam Newton is now in town and will officially visit with the team on Tuesday. As we’ve previously reported, a substantial chunk of that visit will be meeting one on one with Gailey.
Nix also confirmed that the Bills will soon host quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder at the team’s facilities. Getting even more specific Nix said he’ll be in North Carolina Wednesday to check out Robert Quinn’s pro day and will be at Clemson for Da’Quan Bowers on Thursday.
The Portland Pirates have lost their top two scorers and may potentially be without their leading rookie when they hit the ice Tuesday night against the Providence Bruins.
The Buffalo Sabres recalled forward Mark Mancari and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani Monday as the Sabres continue their push for a playoff spot in the NHL.
Gragnani’s recall to Buffalo was prompted by the loss of defenseman Jordan Leopold to a broken hand and Tyler Myers dealing with rash-like symptoms from medication he was taking for the flu.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff addressed the media after this morning’s skate and talked about the reasons for bringing up Gragnani including his versatility on the blueline and ability to play forward.
We’re now at the one month mark before the NFL draft and things continue to get more interesting. Jason LaCanfora of NFL.com reported this morning that defensive tackle prospect Marcell Dareus will meet with at least seven teams picking in the top ten, and that the Bills are on that list.
LaCanfora tweeted that Dareus will be meeting with the Bills sometime this week.
Dareus is one of the elite prospects in the draft and going by what I’ve heard and read from fans, seems to be overwhelming consensus for who they’d like to see the Bills draft. He has the ability to play end in a 3-4 and inside in the 4-3 look and his versatility could give defensive coordinator George Edwards plenty of options his front seven looks.
We’re truly hitting the home stretch of the 2010-11 NHL regular season and right now, there’s no denying the Buffalo Sabres are peaking at the best possible time. Not long ago it seemed a question of where the Sabre would be drafting during the offseason. Seemingly overnight, the discussion now centers around how high the team could finish in the Eastern Conference.
A pair of home victories over the weekend has left the Sabres red-hot. With back-to-back wins over Florida and New Jersey, Buffalo is now 11-3-3 over their last 17 games and 4-0-1 over their last five. They’ve played so well in fact, they’ve now gone over 300 minutes without trailing during regulation.
As a result, the Sabres are close to cementing a spot in the postseason— a conclusion that seemed far-fetched not long ago. It also appears an eternity the team got off to a horrible 3-9-2 start after winning the Northeast Division last year.
In what has become an annual tradition, the Buffalo Bandits will be advancing to the postseason. The Bandits won their fourth straight game Sunday, a 12-9 victory over the Minnesota Storm (you can read Zack Zielonka’s live updates from the game right here) and in the process clinched a playoff spot.
They’ve been in the postseason every year since 2002.
The worst the Bandits can do is finish 8-8 this season and that’s only if they were to lose their last five games. Even in that scenario, the best the Philadelphia Wings could do is finish in a tie and even if that happened, Buffalo would win the tiebreaker.
The Bandits (8-3) are just one half game behind Toronto for first place in the NLL East Division. They are in action Saturday night at the HSBC Arena when they take on the Washington Stealth.
( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the fifth in a 10-part series about who the Bills are most likely to target with their second round draft pick. The Bills hold the second pick of round two, 34th overall)
Cameron Heyward, Ohio State (DE)
After helping anchor a defense that ranked fifth in the NCAA last year, Heyward enters the NFL draft hungry to chase down quarterbacks at the next level. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound defensive end leaves Ohio State after four years of steady production, which has set him up to be one of the better prospects available for selection next month.
Heyward also owns impressive bloodlines to go with his high-caliber talent. His father, the late Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, played tailback for five different NFL teams from 1988-1998. A fearsome figure in the backfield, the man was a bear-sized runner notorious for punishing defenders who got in his way.
Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings asks an interesting question and then explains. If the Bills didn’t draft Jimmy Clausen last year, why would they take Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert this year?
Over the weekend, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported that Nick Fairley will visit eight teams and one of those will be the Bills.
The Associated Press reports that the Bills are one of four teams that are altering their ticket plans.
Chan Gailey said “We look at everything. We’re not good enough that we can bypass any scenario.” Therefore, the Sports Xchange says the Bills are looking hard at quarterbacks.
Bo Marchionte of NFLDraftBible.com reports that the Buffalo Bills held a workout for a pair of UNLV offensive linemen: Matt Murphy and John Gianninoto.
Murphy was a four-year starter at UNLV at tackle and a team co-captain. He was voted All-Mountain West honorable mention. The 21-year old is 6-foot-4, 300 pounds.
Gianninoto, a center, was not among the invites for the NFL combine last month. He bench pressed 22 pounds 21 times and had a 32-inch vertical leap at UNLV’s recent pro day. Projected to go late in the NFL draft, Gianninoto is the 25th ranked center prospect by Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com.
The Bills still have several visits set up, including one by Auburn’s Cam Newton on Monday.
We here at Buffalo Sports Daily officially endorse Cameron Jordan as the third overall pick to the Buffalo Bills. Reach or not, he’s the right man for the job, especially if Marcell Dareus is off the board. Stout against the run and an effective pass rusher, Jordan can start in either scheme from day one with little difficulty. Plus, we already know the Bills are interested in him.
Check out this highlight reel we found of Jordan, and enjoy your Saturday morning folks.
Buffalo Rumblings continues it’s excellent Baker’s Dozen series with an in depth look at how Marcell Dareus would be a fit for the Buffalo Bills. Here’s a hint—he’s definitely a fit.
ESPN AFC East blogger Tim Graham spoke with Chan Gailey and he took readers inside the Bills draft room.
Rob Rang (CBS Sports) breaks down the second tier quarterbacks in the draft after Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert and lists which teams he hears are interested in each. Doesn’t sound like the Bills will look beyond the top two, if at all.
If you’re a fan of the NFL draft, you need to follow this Buffalo Rumbling series titled “Bakers Dozen Bills Scheme Fit.” Beyond the names we all know, Der Jaeger is also profiling precisely how select prospects fit with the Bills. Yesterday they featured Nick Fairley. Doesn’t sound like he’d be that great of a fit. See for yourself.
As Tim Graham of ESPN’s AFC East Blog points out, don’t expect Chan Gailey to be at your pro day.
Bob Matthews from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle feels the Bills should qualify for Hard Knocks.
Terry Long from The FanHub got the chance to interview Bills receiver Stevie Johnson.
Buffalo’s dramatic 1-0 win over the New York Rangers last night continued the team’s push for a playoff position, and was also the most-watched Sabres game in more than two years on MSG. The game averaged a 10.3 rating and 15 share locally, surpassing this season’s previous high of 9.1/15 set last Saturday against New Jersey. Last night’s game actually peaked at 13.7/19 between 9:15-9:30 p.m.
For Semi-Pro football players, the Casino Bowl in Las Vegas is as good as it gets. Considered the longest running and most prestigious game for Semi Pro players across the nation, Casino Bowl XVI takes place this year on April 2.
If nothing else, a Buffalo Bills fan knows a bust when they see one. Lord knows they’ve had more than their share of exposure to them. Aaron Maybin, John McCargo, J.P. Losman, Mike Williams, Erik Flowers, Tony Hunter, Perry Tuttle all the way down to Tom Cousineau. The list of Buffalo busts goes on and on.
Marcell Dareus and Ryan Kerrigan were the latest two draft prospects to 
It looked like the Buffalo Sabres were in big trouble heading into their contest against the New York Rangers Wednesday evening at the HSBC Arena. The Sabres, coming off a 4-3 loss at Toronto the night before, were dealt bad news when it was revealed that star goaltender Ryan Miller would miss the game after suffering an upper-body injury in Toronto the night before.
University at Buffalo senior forward Kourtney Brown was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press. Brown was the only player from the Mid-American Conference on the list and joins Tiffany Bell as the only two UB players ever honored as All-America selections.
Cam Newton was in town Tuesday to visit with the Buffalo Bills, mainly Chan Gailey, and the long look at quarterbacks won’t end there. During a teleconference with season ticket holders Tuesday afternoon, Buddy Nix confirmed both Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder will also visit One Bills Drive this week.
Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports that the 
The Buffalo Sabres blew an opportunity to put a stranglehold in their Eastern Conference playoff race Tuesday night against a team they’re used to dominating. Buffalo committed far too many turnovers and Ryan Miller let in a couple of goals he’d love to have back as the Sabres fell on the road to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3.
Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced that the Bandits will honor a legend of Bandits lacrosse when they retire Rich Kilgour’s jersey number 16 in a ceremony prior to their Apr. 16 game against the Boston Blazers at 7:30 p.m.
This is my fourth go at projecting a mock draft this year, which in reality is four times too many. I’ve said it before and will again, how can anyone, including myself project players with any sense of confidence when 32 NFL general managers don’t yet know which direction they are going. You find me a source that claims any GM in this league is locked into one guy and I’ll call you a liar.
Here’s a solid video interview with NFL 
While the “State of the Bills” party, held for premium ticket holders at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo that featured Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey had plenty of standard propaganda talk, there were a couple of nuggets of useful information to come out.
The Portland Pirates have lost their top two scorers and may potentially be without their leading rookie when they hit the ice Tuesday night against the Providence Bruins.
The NHL announced today that Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller has been named the league’s “First Star” of the week ending March 27.
We’re now at the one month mark before the NFL draft and things continue to get more interesting. Jason LaCanfora of NFL.com reported this morning that defensive tackle prospect Marcell Dareus will meet with at least seven teams picking in the top ten, and that the Bills are on that list.
We’re truly hitting the home stretch of the 2010-11 NHL regular season and right now, there’s no denying the Buffalo Sabres are peaking at the best possible time. Not long ago it seemed a question of where the Sabre would be drafting during the offseason. Seemingly overnight, the discussion now centers around how high the team could finish in the Eastern Conference.
In what has become an annual tradition, the Buffalo Bandits will be advancing to the postseason. The Bandits won their fourth straight game Sunday, a 12-9 victory over the Minnesota Storm (you can read Zack Zielonka’s live updates from the game 
( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the fifth in a 10-part series about who the Bills are most likely to target with their second round draft pick. The Bills hold the second pick of round two, 34th overall) 
Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings asks an interesting question and then explains. If the Bills didn’t draft Jimmy Clausen last year, 
Bo Marchionte of NFLDraftBible.com reports that the Buffalo Bills held a workout for a pair of UNLV offensive linemen: Matt Murphy and John Gianninoto.
Buffalo Rumblings continues it’s excellent Baker’s Dozen series with an in depth look at how Marcell Dareus would be a fit for the Buffalo Bills. 
If you’re a fan of the NFL draft, you need to follow this Buffalo Rumbling series titled “Bakers Dozen Bills Scheme Fit.” Beyond the names we all know, Der Jaeger is also profiling precisely how select prospects fit with the Bills. Yesterday they 
