We’ve known since late Friday that the Buffalo Sabres would be in the playoffs. We learned Saturday that their opponent would be the Philadelphia Flyers. Sunday evening, we now the entire schedule for the first round.
The Sabres will open their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup with Philadelphia on the road Thursday night at 7:30pm. Game two will be in Philadelphia Saturday at 5pm while the teams return to Buffalo for games the following Monday and Wednesday evenings.
If the series goes at least six games, the Sabres will have a third home game on April 24 at 3pm, which falls on Easter Sunday.
The Bisons took the second game of the series against Pawtucket on the strength of team pitching and timely doubleplays. After Boof Bonser left the game two thirds into the fourth inning due to an injury, Bisons relief pitching picked up where he left off to secure a 2-1 win.
The relief staff shut Pawtucket out for the next six innings with solid work from Jose De La Torre, Mike O’Conner, Manny Alvarez and finally Ryota Igarashi, who pitched one and a third innings for his first save of the season.
Igarashi retired the side in the ninth with ease, striking out Ryan Kalish, getting Daniel Nava to ground out and striking out Lars Anderson looking.
Canisius College forward Cory Conacherwas named to the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches, national media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in NCAA Division I men’s hockey. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Conacher won the fan voting for the award, garnering more than 26 percent among the 10 finalists. Jacques Lamoureux of Air Force was selected as the winner of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and was joined by Conacher, Carter Camper of Miami, Chay Genoway of North Dakota and Tanner House of Maine on the All-America First Team.
( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the eighth 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)
Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh (DE/LB)
After it was announced that University of Pittsburgh star pass-rusher Greg Romeus would miss the 2010 season with a knee injury, many thought the rest of the team’s defensive line would struggle mightily.
Not in the case of Jabaal Sheard.
The senior instead rose to the challenge with a breakout campaign; finishing with 52 tackles and nine sacks, a stat line that earned him the 2010 Big East Defensive Player of the Year award. Using his trademark swim move from the left defensive end position, he routinely beat up on opposing offensive tackles and wreaked havoc in the backfield.
When the Buffalo Bills make their third overall pick (assuming they keep it) at the NFL draft in New York City on April 28, Andre Reed will be the one to officially announce it.
Bills.com reports that the visits continued on Thursday as defensive end Christian Ballard and linebacker Bruce Carter both visited with the team.
A physical scouting report on Cam Newton, via Buffalo Rumblings’ Brian Galliford.
Keep your eye on Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph. He had a pretty impressive workout yesterday, and we hear that he’s a legit candidate for the Bills in the second round, if he’s even on the board.
The sun was shining almost as bright as the Bisons new 80ft HD scoreboard. The brand new field looked in mid-summer form and the new energy-efficient lights did not have to be used on this day.
It will go down as a memorable start to the 2011 season for the Bisons and the 11,709 in attendance at Coca-Cola Field on Thursday. The score, however, will be forgettable.
Syracuse third baseman Seth Bynum drove in five runs and helped Syracuse build an insurmountable lead in an 8-5 victory over Buffalo on Opening Day. Dillon Gee suffered the loss for the Herd as it fell to their Thruway rival.
Syracuse scored four runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth off Gee and reliever Jose De La Torre, with Bynum providing the biggest hit in each frame. His three-run homer to left capped the first Chiefs’ rally and a two-run double in the fifth gave Syracuse an 8-1 advantage.
The American Hockey League announced today that forward Luke Adam of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2010-11 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member cities.
Adam, a second-round draft choice by the Buffalo Sabres in 2008, ranks among the AHL’s rookie leaders with 28 goals (1st), 32 assists (tied for 3rd), 60 points (2nd) and a plus-22 rating (2nd) in 54 games for Portland this season. The 20-year-old native of St. John’s, N.L., began the season with two goals and two assists in an opening-night win over Manchester on Oct. 9, the first of his 16 multiple-point efforts on the year, and his 11-game scoring streak from Feb. 26 to Mar. 22 was the longest by an AHL rookie forward since 2005. Adam made his National Hockey League debut with Buffalo on Oct. 26 and has totaled three goals and one assist in 19 NHL games with the Sabres.
The ACE/PAL All-Star game at Niagara Falls high school was the last chance to see high school basketball in Western New York this season with a pair of quality games Wednesday night, and neither disappointed at all.
In the nightcap featuring many of the area’s best juniors and seniors, host school standout Marcus Feagin capped his high school career with 19 points for the East squad to earn team MVP honors as the East defeated the West, 86-73 in front of a few hundred entertained spectators. Senior Blair Estarfaa (Maryvale) scored 15 points to help ensure the East win.
Jordan Williams (Bishop Timon) scored 12 of his 14 points in the final eight minutes of the second to capture West team MVP honors. The junior hit three, three-pointers late, including two in less than a minute as the West clawed back to a 69-69 tie before the East pulled away. Devin Redden (St. Mary’s) scored 12 points for West.
The St. Joe’s boys’ basketball team will be getting a key junior transfer for the second straight year. Last season, big man Reggie Agbeko came from overseas and made a big impact on the Marauders program. Next season, a player with Monsignor Martin Association experience is simply swapping uniforms.
It’s been confirmed that O’Hara sophomore forward Mark Cerza will be attending school on Kenmore Avenue and will be eligible to play next season. He’ll join a formidable frontcourt that includes Agbeko and football standout Chad Kelly, who will both be seniors.
Cerza averaged 14.3 points and 10 rebounds per game last season for O’Hara. The team struggled as a small school in the Catholic league; posting a 4-21 record overall and just 1-12 in league play.
ESPN draft guru Todd McShay published his first three-round mock draft. He has the Buffalo Bills taking Von Miller in the first round, Christian Ponder second and tight end Lance Kendricks in round three. I could be wrong, but I don’t see the Bills going offense with two of their first three picks.
Bills.com reports on a pair of highly touted defensive end prospects visiting the Bills Wednesday in Da’Quan Bowers and J.J. Watt. Lead journalist Chris Brown spoke to Bowers after and compiled some quotes.
ESPN AFC East blogger Tim Graham writes that Bills coach Chan Gailey feels his team is equal right now to the Miami Dolphins.
The Buffalo News reports that the memorial service for Bills legendary running back Cookie Gilchrist has been set for Saturday April 16.
I spoke to a source close to the situation, and I’m reporting that Bishop-Timon High School has fired their entire football coaching staff, including head coach Al Monaco.
Monaco is a Timon graduate who had been a coach there for more than 25 years, including the past five as head coach. According to the source, the school decided they wanted to move in a different direction, though they never formally gave Monaco a reason why.
“There’s speculation he was let go because some people on the board wanted a different coach.” the source said. “He was called in to meet with the school principal, at which time he (Monaco) was asked if he wanted to take a different job in the school. When Monaco asked what’s going on, he was then told that he was out as football coach.”
Tuesday night, Sal Capaccio hosted his weekly edition of Buffalo Bills Now! on his JustinTV internet station. For those who may not happen to know Sal, he was the guy two years ago to first break the news that the Bills were in pursuit of Terrell Owens. He’s a friend to this site and carries plenty of credibility with us.
Anyway, after not having much going on over his past few shows, Capaccio cited Buffalo Bills’ sources with some noteworthy nuggets of information.
Among them… (and you could, and really should listen to the entire podcast by clicking here)
He hears Marcell Dareus and Blaine Gabbert are sitting atop the Bills draft board, in no particular order. Although they’re not married to either guy quite yet, Sal says if one is available and the Bills don’t trade down, those will be the top two candidates to be packing their bags for Orchard Park.
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).
If you aren’t convinced exactly how the Buffalo Sabres’ playoff push is being lead, look no further than the league’s weekly Three Stars of the Week award. Two weeks ago, Ryan Miller earned the first star. This time around, Jhonas Enroth has made the list.
Enroth earned the league’s “Third Star” for this past week. Pressed into service following an injury to starting goaltender Ryan Miller, Enroth bolstered the Sabres playoff drive by posting a 2-0-1 record, 1.94 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and one shutout in three appearances. Enroth began the week by stopping 23 shots for the first shutout of his NHL career in a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers March 30. He recorded 31 saves in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals April 2 and made 35 stops in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes April 3.
Buffalo Bisons manager Tim Teufel has named Dillon Gee his starting pitcher for Opening Day, Thursday, April 7 against the Syracuse Chiefs at Coca-Cola Field (3:05 p.m.).
Gee, 24, is coming off a record-breaking season with Buffalo in 2010. Last season, the Cleburne, TX-native struck out a Bisons’ Modern Era-record 165 batters, 23 more than any other pitcher at Triple-A and 28 more than the previous record that stood for two decades. Overall, Gee was 13-8 with a 4.96ERA with Buffalo last year.
Gee also led last year’s Bisons in starts (28), wins (13), innings pitched (161.1) and quality starts (14). The Bisons were 19-9 in the 28 games he pitched in. The righty was named the Bisons 2010 Comeback Player of the Year after missing the final 98 games of the 2009 season with a right shoulder strain.
In his career, Gee is 9-6 with a 4.28ERA and 120 strikeouts in 124.0 innings at Coca-Cola Field.
First, you need to be forewarned— the following report comes via a website most of never heard; a fan site titled “Buffalo Bills News”, which I believe is part of FanFeed.com. There’s no author listed and whoever penned it admitted the rumor is unsubstantiated. Through my digging I’ve certainly heard nothing to lend credibility to it. For now, let’s label it as a fantasy dream coming down from a serious Bills fan.
But since it’s a slow Monday morning news day….
There’s an article published early this morning on the site that says the Philadelphia Eagles are desperately trying to move up to near the top of the NFL draft board, and the author has “heard some whispers” that the Bills are a possible trade partner… and he (or she) claims of “some evidence to possibly back it up.”
We’ve known since late Friday that the Buffalo Sabres would be in the playoffs. We learned Saturday that their opponent would be the Philadelphia Flyers. Sunday evening, we now the entire schedule for the first round.
The Bisons took the second game of the series against Pawtucket on the strength of team pitching and timely doubleplays. After Boof Bonser left the game two thirds into the fourth inning due to an injury, Bisons relief pitching picked up where he left off to secure a 2-1 win.
Canisius College forward Cory Conacher was named to the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team.
( Since we’re growing tired of talking about who the Buffalo Bills may take with the third overall pick, this is the eighth 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) 
When the Buffalo Bills make their third overall pick (assuming they keep it) at the NFL draft in New York City on April 28, Andre Reed will be the one to 
The sun was shining almost as bright as the Bisons new 80ft HD scoreboard. The brand new field looked in mid-summer form and the new energy-efficient lights did not have to be used on this day.
The American Hockey League announced today that forward Luke Adam of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2010-11 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member cities.
The ACE/PAL All-Star game at Niagara Falls high school was the last chance to see high school basketball in Western New York this season with a pair of quality games Wednesday night, and neither disappointed at all.
The St. Joe’s boys’ basketball team will be getting a key junior transfer for the second straight year. Last season, big man Reggie Agbeko came from overseas and made a big impact on the Marauders program. Next season, a player with Monsignor Martin Association experience is simply swapping uniforms.
ESPN draft guru Todd McShay published his first 
I spoke to a source close to the situation, and I’m reporting that Bishop-Timon High School has fired their entire football coaching staff, including head coach Al Monaco.
Tuesday night, Sal Capaccio hosted his weekly edition of Buffalo Bills Now! on his JustinTV internet station. For those who may not happen to know Sal, he was the guy two years ago to first break the news that the Bills were in pursuit of Terrell Owens. He’s a friend to this site and carries plenty of credibility with us.
Brian Billick thinks the Buffalo Bills will be 
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 
If you aren’t convinced exactly how the Buffalo Sabres’ playoff push is being lead, look no further than the league’s weekly Three Stars of the Week award. Two weeks ago, Ryan Miller earned the first star. This time around, Jhonas Enroth has made the list.
Buffalo Bisons manager Tim Teufel has named Dillon Gee his starting pitcher for Opening Day, Thursday, April 7 against the Syracuse Chiefs at Coca-Cola Field (3:05 p.m.).
First, you need to be forewarned— the following report comes via a website most of never heard; a fan site titled “Buffalo Bills News”, which I believe is part of FanFeed.com. There’s no author listed and whoever penned it admitted the rumor is unsubstantiated. Through my digging I’ve certainly heard nothing to lend credibility to it. For now, let’s label it as a fantasy dream coming down from a serious Bills fan.
