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for March 2011
 Buffalo State’s Erica Johnson, Justin Allen and Xavier Mateen all raced to individual national titles today at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Capital Center Fieldhouse on the campus of Capital University.
Johnson became the first Buffalo State female to capture a national title, winning the 55-meter dash, breaking her own school record and running the fastest time in Division III this season at 6.97 seconds. Her time also set a new facility record. Allen also blazed his way to a national championship in the 400-meter dash, winning by less than one-hundredth of a second, clocking 48.27 seconds. Mateen also claimed a share of a national title in the men’s 55-meter dash with a DIII season best time of 6.37 seconds. Mateen tied Phillip Jones of Dubuque to the thousandth of a second.
Continue reading ‘Three Bengals Crowned National Champions at NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships’
 Let’s try and keep this as short as possible because nearly everyone has grown tired of hearing and reading about the NFL lockout. Sure, it’s a huge problem and as summer hits if it’s something not resolved, then you can hit the panic button. But right now, it’s early March and the only thing most fans care about is free agency.
That especially holds true in Buffalo, where the 4-12 Bills could certainly use some roster upgrades and with the team reportedly saving over $36 million over the last three years in regards to the salary cap, Ralph Wilson certainly has some cash to spend.
In what is definitely good news for football fans around the globe, reports are saying that free agency will still happen, even with the lockout, and it will happen soon.
Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports reports that free agency probably will start in two to four weeks. Or even less.
Continue reading ‘Looks Like There Will Be NFL Free Agency’
 After posting the program’s first winning season in nearly a decade, the St. Bonaventure University men’s basketball team (16-14) has accepted a bid into the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). The rest of the tournament field will be announced late Sunday evening.
The opponent, time and location for an opening round game on Tuesday or Wednesday will be released late Sunday evening after NCAA Championship and NIT selections have been announced.
“This is the next step in the development of our program,” said Bonnies fourth-year head coach Mark Schmidt. “It is an honor to be selected for postseason play – that was one of our goals coming into the year. It’s great for Ogo [Adegboye, the Bonnies' lone senior] and with such a young team we will have the opportunity to gain more experience.”
Continue reading ‘St. Bonaventure Men’s Basketball Accepts CBI Bid’
 Niagara men’s hockey senior Bryan Haczyk has become the latest Purple Eagle to enter the professional hockey ranks, signing a contract with the Trenton Devils of the East Coast Hockey League on Friday.
As part of the deal, Haczyk will attend the New Jersey Devils Summer Prospect Camp for the second year in a row, where he developed with many promising prospects, including Niagara teammate Scott Arnold.
“It’s been a dream for me to play professional hockey and now I’m realizing it,” Haczyk said. “The last four years at Niagara helped to not only make me a sound hockey player, but an even better person. I wouldn’t trade anything from the last four years for anything. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of the New Jersey Devils organization.”
Continue reading ‘Niagara Men’s Hockey Player Bryan Haczyk Signs With Trenton Devils’
 ( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the first 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)
Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame (TE)
At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, Kyle Rudolph has dominant tight end size. Some scouts are sure to worry about him missing the last six games of his 2010 Notre Dame season with a hamstring injury, and his stock wasn’t helped after being unable to participate in the NFL Combine last month.
Still, Rudolph is the consensus best tight end in this draft and if you’ve followed the Bills for several seasons running, you know they rarely get production from a position they’ve long treated as an afterthought.
Continue reading ‘Bills Second Round Prospects: Kyle Rudolph’
The top-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes got out to a 41-25 halftime lead and were able to overcome a furious Buffalo rally in the second half to defeat the Bulls, 73-62, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night. The loss ends Buffalo’s season at 18-13.
Despite the loss, the Bulls continued to see the emergence of its young players as MAC Freshman of the Year Javon McCrea had career highs of 28 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulls also got quality minutes out of Jarod Oldham, who had five points and a career-high five rebounds while playing a season-high 21 minutes.
Trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, UB had cut it to within four on a layup from Oldham with 7:51 left, but on the play Oldham was called for a charge, putting the Golden Flashes back at the line and pushing the lead back to five. The Bulls cut the lead to 59-54 on another Oldham basket with 5:25 left. However, five straight Kent State points put the Golden Flashes back up by 10 with just under two minutes remaining.
Continue reading ‘McCrea’s Career High Not Enough As UB Falls In MAC Tourney’
 In the stat sheet it will merely go down as an assist, but make no mistake about it— Nathan Gerbe’s hustle led to the Buffalo Sabres getting another pair of huge points on the road.
In the waning moments of overtime against the Boston Bruins, Gerbe took a loose puck and broke in on Boston goaltender Tim Thomas. Gerbe took a shot that Thomas kicked aside, but outhustled Thomas and defensemen Zdano Chara and Johnny Boychuck for the loose puck to feed a wide open Brad Boyes in front of the net for the easy tip in with 1:16 left in overtime to give the Sabres a 4-3 win.
With the win, Buffalo moved into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers and two points ahead of Carolina in eighth. The Sabres also have two games in hand over New York.
Continue reading ‘Gerbe’s Hustle Leads To Sabres OT Win’
 I’m not going to pretend to have enough insight to give you full knowledge of the ongoing NFL labor discussions from my perspective, so to keep you in the loop I’m relying on those with superior familiarity to keep you updated.
Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post is reporting this afternoon that among the $9 billion revenue split, by far the biggest divider between the two sides, the NFLPA is asking for a 50/50 split. Brandt tweeted that the owners are offering roughly 43%, which is a gap of approximately $600 million–and shrinking.
By and large that’s the most significant factor in getting a deal resolved before a lockout and/or decertification of the player’s union.
Continue reading ‘NFL Talks Update: About $600 Million Apart’
 The National Lacrosse League today announced that Buffalo Bandits goaltender Mike Thompson was named Overall Player of the Week for Week 6 of the 2011 NLL Season.
Thompson faced 83 shots in back-to-back games at home against Rochester and on the road against Boston, but he turned aside all but 16 to lead the Bandits to a 2-0 record for the weekend. He made 40 saves vs. Rochester in an 11-8 win and 27 at Boston, holding on for a 9-8 victory. The win against Boston vaulted Buffalo into second place in the Eastern Division.
Thompson improved to 6-1 on the season, with a career-best goals against average of 9.20. His six wins tie for second best in the league, and his goals against average and save percentage (.787) each rank fourth.
Continue reading ‘Bandits Goaltender Named NLL Overall Player Of Week’
 Three University at Buffalo men’s basketball players were named to the All-Mid-American Conference team on Wednesday. Byron Mulkey was named to the second team, while Zach Filzen and Javon McCrea earned honorable mention. It is the first time UB has had three players represented on the All-MAC team.
Mulkey has done it all for the Bulls this season. The senior point guard is averaging 13.6 points, four rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He leads the MAC and ranks 10th in the nation in steals with a school-record 79.
Filzen had a breakout season for the Bulls. He’s is Buffalo’s leading scorer – averaging 16 points per game. He has drained a school-record 105 three-pointers to rank third in the history of the conference. The junior guard’s 479 points scored this season are the third most ever by a junior at UB.
Continue reading ‘Three Bulls Named All-MAC’
 Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today that forwards Mark Mancari, Luke Adam and Mark Parrish have been returned to the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League.
Thomas Vanek was back on the ice for practice this morning following a bout with the flu that forced him to miss last night’s game against Pittsburgh. Jochen Hecht and Mike Grier are also back and will be in the lineup when the Sabres face the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
The Sabres wrap up their seven-game road trip this week with games in Boston (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Toronto (Saturday, 7 p.m.). Buffalo returns home to HSBC Arena on Sunday at 5 p.m. to host the Ottawa Senators.
 In what turned out to be arguably the most exciting high school basketball game of the season, East defeated Williamsville South Tuesday evening, 89-80 in double overtime to capture the Class-A overall title and earn a trip to the Far West Regional in Rochester this Saturday.
In a carbon copy of last year’s Class-A final, which was one by the Billies, East outscored South, 19-10 during the second session of an extra four minutes. Had it not been for Panthers’ senior leader Tremmell Fisher banking in a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, there wouldn’t have been overtime.
East won despite Fisher fouling out in the first overtime after scoring 24 points.
Continue reading ‘East Takes Class-A Over Will South In Double OT Thriller’
 Injuries, bad penalties and a lack of offense caught up to the Buffalo Sabres on stop five of their seven-game road trip in Pittsburgh Tuesday night, losing to the Penguins, 3-1.
If Buffalo does go on to make the playoffs, they are probably hoping it’s not against the Penguins. Pittsburgh played Buffalo six times this year and came out on top every game. The Penguins had been struggling with injuries of their own lately and hadn’t won a game in regulation since beating Buffalo more than a month ago.
Sudden scoring machine Rob Niedermayer tallied a goal for the second straight game to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead, but they were unable to put another puck past Marc-Andre Fluery, who made 29 saves.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Drop Road Contest At Pittsburgh’
 The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team defeated Central Michigan, 64-50, in the first round of the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night. The Bulls advance to Cleveland where they will face top-seed Kent State on Thursday night at 7:00 pm.
Zach Filzen led all scorers with 21 points, including five three-pointers. His first trey of the game gave the Bulls the lead for good at 5-3. He hit back-to-back three-pointers to increase the UB advantage to 15-4.
Central Michigan hung around for much of the first half and trailed 30-26 at the break. The Chippewas whittled the lead down to 36-34 with 16:11 left. Byron Mulkey drained a three-pointer to extend the UB advantage to 44-36.
Continue reading ‘Bulls Beat Central Michigan to Advance to Cleveland’
 La Salle’s Steve Weingarten made a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in double overtime to help the 10th-seeded Explorers (15-17) escape with a 75-73 victory over No. 7 seed St. Bonaventure (16-14) in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championship Tuesday night at the Reilly Center.
With the victory, La Salle advances to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall to face No. 2 seed Temple (24-6) in the quarterfinals, set to tip at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Weingarten’s 3 in 2OT turned a two-point St. Bonaventure lead into an advantage for the Explorers, who trailed by as many as seven with under a minute to go in the first overtime session.
Continue reading ‘Bona Bows Out In A-10 Opening Round’
 You can call it either a grandly display of defense, or surviving an evening of putrid offensive shooting. Regardless of what label you put on it, Cassadaga Valley is moving on in the postseason.
The Cougars used a stifling defense to overcome shooting deficiencies of their own, and got a couple of key plays down the stretch to defeat Lackawanna, 40-37 and capture the overall Class-B Section VI championship Tuesday evening.
Robert Glover hit a critical free throw with 7.5 seconds to play to give Cassadaga a three point lead and a desperation game-tying attempt by Dondre Alexander fell short to set off a wild celebration among the Cougars’ fans in attendance at Buffalo State College.
Continue reading ‘Cassadaga Valley Beats Lackawanna For Class-B Crown’
 According to a report by Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News, the three-year deal the Buffalo Bills gave safety George Wilson is worth a total of $7.05 million and includes $4.75 million in base salaries over the next three seasons.
While the organization may still seek safety help either through the draft of via free agency, the deal is clearly a sign the Bills anticipate him starting and have already moved on from pending free agent Donte Whitner.
Despite getting limited opportunities, the converted wide receiver has given the Bills excellent production at safety. Wilson has eight career interceptions ,including four as a part-time starter in 2009. He also racked up 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and is regarded as one of the team’s best special teams players.
Continue reading ‘Wilson’s Deal Worth Over $7 Million’
 University at Buffalo forward Javon McCrea was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year on Tuesday the conference office announced. The Newark, NY native is the first UB player to ever win the award.
McCrea is having one of the finest freshman campaigns in school history. The 6-6 forward is averaging 11.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His 330 points scored this season is the third-highest single-season total by a freshman in school history.
McCrea has been efficient around the basket as he leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage (.648). He ranks fourth in the conference in blocked shots with 50 – the second most ever by a UB freshman. His 38 steals are second on the team.
Continue reading ‘McCrea First UB Player To Win Conference Freshman Of Year’
 The Mid-American Conference announced on Tuesday morning that senior Kourtney Brown has been named the MAC Player of the Year, the first player in school history to win the honor. Brown also repeated for a second straight season as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and on the All-MAC First Team.
Brown becomes just the second UB basketball player, joining men’s standout Turner Battle, as MAC Player of the Year and just the second player in conference history to win both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. She is also just the third player in conference history to win Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Brown leads the conference and is in the top 10 in the nation in scoring (22.1), rebounding (11.7), field goal percentage (.595) and blocks (3.3). She is also just one of two players in the nation to average over 22.0 points and 11.0 rebounds this season.
Continue reading ‘Kourtney Brown Wins MAC Player of the Year’
 Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today that forwards Luke Adam and Mark Parrish have been recalled from the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League.
This is Adam’s (6’2”, 215 lbs., 6/18/1990) fourth recall of the season, and he has produced four points (3+1) in 18 combined games with the Sabres. Adam currently sits third on the Pirates in scoring with 42 points (21+21) in 40 games, along with a team-leading plus-20. Adam was selected by the Sabres in the second round (44th overall) of the 2008 Entry Draft.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Call Up Adam and Parrish’
 Welcome to Tuesday, which many football fans, those of the Buffalo Bills included may as well label Cam Newton Day.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or you’re really tired of NFL draft talk, you’re aware that today is the pro day for the University of Auburn, which of course will feature a pair of prospects the Bills could easily consider with the third pick; Newton and defensive lineman Nick Fairley.
Both players are highly touted blue-chippers, though many would argue the pair took a hit on their draft stock at last month’s NFL combine. While Newton was given plenty of credit for participating fully in every aspect of the Combine, including the throwing portion, reviews on his performance at best were mixed.
Continue reading ‘Bills Staff In Auburn For Pro Day’
 Not long ago, Buffalo Sabres defensemen Andrej Sekera was a healthy scratch and sitting in the press box. A short time later, he’s been honored by the NHL as the league’s “Second Star” of the week.
Sekera had a goal and seven assists for the Sabres over the past four games and was a plus-five as Buffalo has begun a seven-game road trip with a 3-0-1 record.
He has scored two points in five straight games, becoming the second defenseman in Sabres history to do so and the first since John Van Boxmeer in 1981.
In a nutshell, Sekera has scored 10 points over his last five games after amassing just 12 in his first 56 games.
In other Sabres news which is not as good, Patrick Kaleta will miss at least a few games after getting hit on the knee by a slap shot in the Minnesota game yesterday.
Continue reading ‘Andrej Sekera Earns NHL “Second Star” Of Week’
 To their credit, the Canisius High School boys’ basketball team put up one heck of a fight. Just days after their thrilling comeback win over St. Joe’s to win the Manhattan Cup, the Crusaders were on the floor at Canisius College taking on St. Mary’s (Long Island) in a Class-A NYS Catholic semifinal. This time, Canisius simply didn’t have the firepower to mount a second miracle comeback.
St. Mary’s is the number one ranked Class-A school in the state. Sunday they showed why, ending Canisius’ magical season, 71-58.
Playing in their final high school games, Aaron Nevins led Canisius with 16 points while Gordon Lyons, MVP of the Manhattan Cup, had 14 points. It was also the final game for two more seniors; Richard Walsh (three points) and Ring Henry.
Continue reading ‘Crusaders See Championship Season End With Loss’
 Jason Couch of Clermont, Fla., won his first Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association Tour title in four years and the 16th of his career by defeating Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III, 219-175, in the championship match to win the PBA Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship Sunday at AMF Thruway Lanes.
Couch’s last wins came in January 2007 when he won back-to-back tournaments in Las Vegas and Fountain Valley, Calif. At the conclusion of the 2006-07 season he had knee surgery which took him out for the entire 2007-08 season.
“It’s been a long road to get back to even close to where you need to be physically and mentally,” said Couch, who was the No. 1 seed for the tournament. “But I’ve been making good progress and bowling pretty well recently.
Continue reading ‘Jason Couch Wins PBA Title In Cheektowaga’
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