It hasn’t been the most explosive of offensive seasons for Buffalo Sabres forward Thomas Vanek, but boy did he ever come up big in a game the Sabres really wanted to have. Vanek netted his sixth career hat trick to key a gigantic 4-2 Sabres win over Tampa Bay in front of a frenzied HSBC Arena crowd.
The Sabres aren’t officially in the playoffs yet. But the fat lady has the vocals plenty warmed up.
Vanek now has 31 goals on the season and the first time in three seasons he’s netted at least 30. Tim Connolly scored the other Buffalo goal.
Jhonas Enroth was outstanding in goal for Buffalo once again in his fourth consecutive start in place of an injured Ryan Miller. He turned aside 23 of Tampa’s 25 shots and improved to 8-2-2 on the season. It can’t be stated how important his contributions have been toward the Sabres playoff push. If nothing else, he’s earning a strong case for extended playing time next season, even with a healthy Miller.
Immediately after the conclusion of the Buffalo Sabres game, tune in right here for Buffalo Bills Now!, the popular internet show hosted by Sal Cappacio on JustinTV.
Sal, often a pillar of solid Buffalo Bills news, says that he’s heard a lot of solid info lately from reliable sources as it pertains to the Bills draft and promises to share what he’s learned and hearing with viewers. Among other topics is a trade down option the organization may be hoping for, who they may target if they do trade, how some on the inside feel about Cam Newton and who the club may target if they keep the third overall pick.
Brian Galliford from Buffalo Rumblings is a scheduled guest. So when the Sabres end, make sure to tune in right here.
The American Hockey League announced today that Marc-Andre Gragnani of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman for the 2010-11 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities.
Gragnani leads all AHL defensemen in assists (48) and points (60) and ranks fourth among blueliners with a plus-22 rating – all career highs – in 63 games for Portland this season. On the Pirates’ roster, Gragnani is tops in assists and plus/minus and second in points to help lead his team’s bid for an Atlantic Division title. The 24-year-old native of Montreal has set Pirates franchise records for assists and points in a season by a defenseman, and he tied the club’s single-game mark with five assists vs. Worcester on Jan. 15. He also had a string of six consecutive multiple-point games from Mar. 1-12, part of a seven-game scoring streak overall, and ranked second in the entire AHL during March with 20 points (3-17-20) in 13 contests. Continue reading ‘Gragnani named AHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman’
The rosters are set for the PAL/ACE Boy’s High School Basketball All-Star game, being held Wednesday night at Niagara Falls High School.
The freshmen/sophomore game is up first at 6:15pm, followed by the junior/senior game immediately after.
Admission for the event is just $5 and proceeds go to the Niagara Police Athletic League. While the game lacks some star power, there will be plenty of talent on the floor to make for some compelling basketball. Plus, it’s the final All-Star game of the year.
Congratulations to Duane Cox, aka “Orange Crush 75″ for winning our Buffalo Sports Daily, NCAA Tournament bracket challenge.
Cox finished first out of 20 entries with 94 points and is the only participant who correctly tabbed Connecticut to win the national championship game. Cox ended up with 31-of-63 correct picks, but earned a lot of points in the late rounds for having UConn.
It should be noted that it was an embarrassing performance for Buffalo Sports Daily. We finished just 11th in the pool, had none of the Final Four teams correct and just three of the Elite Eight squads. We tabbed Texas to win it all— they were eliminated by Arizona in the second round.
The Buffalo Bills official team website confirmed this morning that defensive ends Cameron Jordan and Robert Quinn along with linebacker Quan Sturdivant are in Buffalo to visit with the team today.
If you’re a regular reader of Buffalo Sports Daily, you already know plenty about Jordan. Not only have we formally endorsed Jordan as the guy the Bills should tab with their first selection, we’ve also been reporting since February 15 that Buddy Nix is very interested in him.
Jordan could still very well be the guy the Bills ultimately target, especially if they receive a quality offer to trade down. While he’d be almost universally regarded as a reach with the third pick, the Bills could do much worse by drafting the talented defensive end. He’s not as explosive as some of the guys near the top of most draft boards, including Quinn, but he’s a solid player who has an equal ability to play in both the 34 and 43 defensive fronts.
At this point, every game is the most important one of the season and for the Buffalo Sabres, that certainly holds true tonight. After garnering three of a possible four points on their weekend road trip, the Sabres return to home HSBC Arena ice tonight in a huge matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning that carry enormous playoff consequences.
After defeating Carolina in overtime Sunday evening to move three points ahead of the Hurricanes, the Sabres magic number for clinching a playoff spot is four points. If the Sabres are able to get a win over the Lightning tonight, that number drops to one. They’ll also clinch a tiebreaker over both Carolina and the New York Rangers with a victory. If they lose in overtime or a shootout the number moves down to three.
Currently, Buffalo is in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 90 points and three games remaining. The Rangers are tied with Montreal in sixth place but only have two games left (Canadians have three). Carolina is at 87 points and in ninth place with three games left. The Hurricanes play again on Wednesday when they host Detroit.
( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the seventh 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)
Christian Ballard, Iowa (DE)
Of the second round Bills’ prospects we’ve profiled so far, Ballard is the least heralded of the bunch. His name doesn’t off the page, nor does his college statistics or performance at the NFL combine. But make no mistake about it— Ballard is a legit second round candidate and if the Bills don’t address defensive end with their first selection, Ballard could very well be in the mix the second time around.
At 6-foot-4 and 286 pounds, Ballard helped himself by having an excellent Pro Day workout. The University of Iowa product ran a 4.7/40 and notched a 34-inch vertical leap to demonstrate plenty of athleticism to go along with intriguing size.
We’ve already endorsed Cameron Jordan as the player the Buffalo Bills should draft. Buffalo Rumblings takes an excellent look at exactly why Jordan would be such a great fit.
Bills.com compiled a list of several mock drafts from some of the better known analysts in the business. Seems like Von Miller is gaining an awful lot of momentum, while Cam Newton and Patrick Peterson are very much in the mix as well. For the record, Bills.com writer Chris Brown has the Bills tabbing Miller.
Wes Bunting (National Football Post) takes a look at some late round quarterback prospects who could be worth a look. After drafting Levi Brown last year, it’s highly unlikely the Bills will take another quarterback in the late rounds.
Buddy Nix was encouraged by the play of his young offensive line near the end of last season (CBS Sportsline).
It hasn’t been the most explosive of offensive seasons for Buffalo Sabres forward Thomas Vanek, but boy did he ever come up big in a game the Sabres really wanted to have. Vanek netted his sixth career hat trick to key a gigantic 4-2 Sabres win over Tampa Bay in front of a frenzied HSBC Arena crowd.
The American Hockey League announced today that Marc-Andre Gragnani of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman for the 2010-11 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities.
The rosters are set for the PAL/ACE Boy’s High School Basketball All-Star game, being held Wednesday night at Niagara Falls High School.
The Buffalo Bills official team website 
At this point, every game is the most important one of the season and for the Buffalo Sabres, that certainly holds true tonight. After garnering three of a possible four points on their weekend road trip, the Sabres return to home HSBC Arena ice tonight in a huge matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning that carry enormous playoff consequences.
( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the seventh 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)
We’ve already endorsed Cameron Jordan as the player the Buffalo Bills should draft. Buffalo Rumblings takes an 
