Indianapolis did all the damage they needed in the second inning Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Field rolling to a, 13-4, win over the Bisons.
Eight of the 13 runs the Indians scored came in the second inning against starter Josh Stinson. John Bowker’s double down the right-field line got the inning started and he quickly moved to third on a ground ball from Matt Hague. Hague was safe on first due to an error by Valentino Pascucci. Andrew Lambo grounded to Pascucci who attempted to get Bowker at the plate. All runners reached safely and Bowker scored the Indians first run of the inning. Eric Fryer kept the hits coming with his second homerun of the season plating three-runs.
The second inning didn’t end there as the Tribe batted around filling the bases in the process. With one out Bowker came to the plate for the second time in the inning and hit his second double of the game clearing the bases and making it, 8-0.
I spoke to the father of former Nichols basketball star Will Regan, and he told me his son has committed to play basketball at the University at Buffalo next season after spending his freshmen year at the University of Virginia.
Regan will make things official later today.
Because he is transferring from Virginia, Regan will have to sit out the 2011-12 college basketball season and will still have three years of eligibility remaining. The two-time Buffalo News Player of the Year in high school, Regan played in 20 games for Virginia last season but scored a total of just 25 points to go with 18 rebounds as his playing time was nearly non-existent.
“It came down to a comfort level for Will,” his father said. ”He’s known the coaches since he started attending their camps in 6th grade or so. They’ve seen him play countless times and know what he does well, and they plan to take plan to take full advantage of his strengths.”
We haven’t been able to provide our readers with sufficient Buffalo Bisons updates this season because frankly, the organization hasn’t exactly been accommodating to us. Personally, I find it a tad befuddling that the Buffalo Bills and Sabres work with us on many projects and media requests while the minor league Bisons continue to stick their noses in the air at us— but it is what it is.
Anyway, we should at least give some periodic details on how the team is doing.
Right now.. it’s not so good. The Bisons are currently sitting with a 26-33 record; having lost three in a row and find themselves in fourth place in the International League North division — 11 games behind leading Lehigh Valley.
Now that the dust of the 2011 Draft has settled, it’s time to analyze the current state of Buffalo’s roster. We’ll be taking a look at one position at a time. Today: DL.
The Bills’ defensive line took its share of criticism last season – finishing last in the league in rush defense will have that effect. Buffalo brings back largely the same group in 2011 with two major changes – Marcus Stroud is out, and #3 overall draft pick Marcell Dareus is in. Will that change alone give the Bills improved production from the line? Will some other young players be able to step up? Will Kyle Williams be able to keep up his incredible level of play?
I was going to break this up into two articles: defensive ends and defensive tackles, but since Buffalo will most likely continue to use a hybrid 3-4/4-3 defense this season, some guys will be moving from tackle to end and back quite a bit. This will just be easier.
I’ve long considered myself a NHL apologist and a fan of old school hockey, but there’s simply no room in the sport for what happened in the opening minutes of last night’s Stanley Cup game three. Third line Vancouver defensemen Aaron Rome clearly attempted–and succeeded in injuring skilled Boston forward Nathan Horton with this open ice shoulder-to-face hit.
Surely Rome will be suspended for at least one or two games, but the Canucks will take the trade off. They’ll lose a bottom of the depth chart defensemen and meanwhile, Boston probably loses one of their best offensive players (26 regular season goals, eight in the playoffs) for the remainder of the series.
Jim Kelly, on the mend following back surgery three weeks ago, hosted a record turnout for his annual golf tournament Monday at Terry Hills in Batavia. Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News has a full report.
Brian Galliford (Buffalo Rumblings) continues reviewing film of the 2010 Buffalo Bills season. His latest installment was Buffalo’s week eight overtime loss at Kansas City, when Jamal Charles shredded the defense for over 230 total yards.
Bills.com lead journalist Chris Brown reports that rookie cornerback Aaron Williams has solid NFL influences.
For ten years former Buffalo Bills offensive tackle John Fina was one of the biggest faces in the organization, starting 131 of his 148 games on the offensive line. Now, Fina is trying to make a name for himself using another football vehicle—-broadcasting.
The NFL announced today that 16 former players will attend the fifth annual NFL Broadcast Boot Camp at the NFL Films studio in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey later this month. Fina will be among them.
A first-round draft pick out of the University of Arizona in 1992, Fina became a starter in his second season with the club and retained that role through the duration of his Buffalo career, which lasted until 2001. He would spend 10 seasons total in Buffalo before playing for Arizona for a half season to end his playing career.
The isn’t the first brush with television for the 42-year old Fina. Last April Fina was a judge on the Travel Channel’s reality show, Food Wars, serving as a guest judge.
The other participants in the broadcast boot camp are Tony Banks, Anthony Becht, LeCharles Bentley, Rocky Boiman, Barrett Brooks, Rob Davis, Nick Ferguson, Dustin Fox, Antonio Freeman, Drew Henson, Dan Klecko, Caleb Miller, Tony Stewart, Amani Toomer, and Maurice Williams, according to a league release.
University at Buffalo forward Javon McCrea has been invited to attend the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp. The sophomore-to-be is one of 21 of the nation’s best 19-and-under players invited to the training camp.
“It’s a great opportunity and an honor to be selected,” McCrea said. “I’m really excited to go.”
The training camp, which will be held June 17-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, will be used to select the 12-member team that will represent the United States at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.
Not long ago, the Buffalo State college football team earned a reputation for having a winning culture. The program has since fallen upon hard times within the last decade and finding wins has become a daunting challenge. Despite a porous record in recent year, the Bengals have always been a talented group. Some of those talent have now signed on to play semi-pro football with the South Buffalo Celtics.
The Celtics; who begin their inaugural season on June 18, are looking at these former Bengals to come in and make an impact immediately. On the offensive side of the ball, Khente Koram (6’4, 400 lbs) Tyrell Ford (6’8, 350) and Jake Button (6’2, 310) look to be the foundation of the offensive line.
Koram (Baltimore, Maryland) was a two year starter at Erie Community College before playing his final two years at Buffalo State. Koram then played one year of semi-pro football with the Lackawanna Dynasty and was named an All American, but took last year off due to a lingering back injury. Back a full strength now, Koram has a reputation of being one of the best guards in semi-pro football.
It seems like an eternity ago that the Buffalo Bills were consistently winning football games. Between 2000-09 the Bills won just 66 games while losing 94. Things didn’t get off to a promising start this decade either after winning just four games last season.
Did you know that in the 1990’s the Bills had one of the most dominating decades record-wise in NFL history? During that 10-year span the Bills won 103 games while losing just 57. The win total was the fifth-most over a decade the league has ever seen.
Ironically, Buffalo’s decade of dominance in the ’90’s wasn’t even the league’s best. The San Francisco 49ers won 113 games during the same decade, which remains a league-record.
Now that the dust of the 2011 Draft has settled, it’s time to analyze the current state of Buffalo’s roster. We’ll be taking a look at one position at a time. Today: Special Teams
On previous editions in this series we’ve broken down the current state of Buffalo’s offensive roster. Before we head into the defense, we’ll make a quick stop to check in on Buffalo’s specialists.
Players Under Contract (2): Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman
St. Bonaventure Associate Athletic Director Steve Campbell announced on Thursday the hiring of John Powers as the university’s new golf coach.
Powers – a four-year golf letterwinner at Bowling Green State University – played professionally on the Florida Professional Golf Tour for one year.
A 2010 BGSU graduate, Powers has overseen the daily operations of the golf shop at Stone Ridge Golf Club in Bowling Green, Ohio since March. He also helped instruct the junior golf program at the club, and organized member events and tournaments.
Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced the Sabres have agreed to terms on a multi-year deal with forward Drew Stafford, who was set to become a Restricted Free Agent on July 1.
“It was important for us to get Drew locked up,” said Regier. “What we saw from Drew this season is exactly what we envisioned when we drafted him. Drew will continue to be an important part of our team in the coming years.”
Stafford (10/30/1985, 6’2”, 214 lbs.) is coming off a 2010-11 season that saw him finish second on the team with a career-high 31 goals in 62 games, including a league-best four hat tricks. The 25-year-old also posted career-highs in both points (52) and power play goals (11). In five seasons with Buffalo, Stafford has 196 points (94+102) in 317 career games.
(Disclaimer: This is not a sports story. Occasionally you hear news that tugs the heartstrings and leaves yourself compelled to try and help. For me, this is one of those times.)
Roughly a year ago, then six-year old Stella Usiak found herself in a charitable mood. The pint-sized Girl Scout didn’t donate profits earned from selling cookies or contribute her modest allowance to any cause. Instead, Stella provided what many would regard as more meaningful. She gave the gift of her hair following one of her first visits to a salon to the “Locks Of Love” organization. It was an offering to other kids who’ve lost their own because of diseases.
Quite ironically and to be more direct, sadly, 12 months was at all it took for young Stella to lose her own hair— and this time it wasn’t of the voluntary nature.
On March 2, 2011 at the tender age of just seven, Stella was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.), which is the most common type of cancer among children between the ages of one to seven. A.L.L. is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood that severely affects white blood cells and the human immune system.
This past April the Buffalo Bills had four selections within the first 100 picks of the draft for the seventh time in franchise history. They used the picks on Marcell Dareus, Aaron Williams, Kelvin Sheppard and Da’Norris Searcy respectively.
Did you know that it was only two years ago in 2009 that Buffalo also had four picks within the top 100? Actually they got four of the first 51 guys off the board after taking Aaron Maybin, Eric Wood, Jarius Byrd and Andy Levitre. Despite Maybin looking like a colossal bust after two seasons, the other three selections from ‘09 have quickly transformed into reliable starters.
The other times the Bills found themselves with this many pick among the first 100 was 2002, 2001, 1995, 1994 and 1990. The 2001 draft actually saw them with five selections in the top 100 while ‘94 produced a team-record six among the top 100.
No one would blame Buffalo Bills linebacker Andra Davis if he were a tad reluctant to share his knowledge of professional football with a budding rookie who someday, perhaps sooner than later, will take his job. After 10 seasons in the NFL, including missing the final 10 games of last season with a shoulder injury in his first season in Buffalo, Davis is far closer to being out of the league than he is from being in his prime.
Fortunately for Kelvin Sheppard, the consummate team player paying it forward with his know-how and words of wisdom to the Bills third-round rookie linebacker — and he’s glad to do it.
Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News has a tremendous article about Davis and fellow veteran linebacker Reggie Torbor doing all they can to make the pro transition easier for Sheppard. Many Bills veterans convened last week in Elma for player organized workouts and Sheppard was one of three rookies in attendance for team bonding activities along with fellow draft picks Marcell Dareus and Da’Norris Searcy.
Folks of Western New York who enjoy ice skating, particularly those who play ice hockey, will consider this good news. In a report by Adam Benigni of WGRZ-TV, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced new management agreements for rinks owned by the city; which consist of Lafayette, Cazenovia and Riverside ice rinks.
Brown said in a press conference that the North Buffalo Bison Hockey Association and Hasek’s Heroes, with the support of the Buffalo Sabres, have been awarded the managerial rights. Bisons Hockey will manage Lafayette while Hasek’s Heroes will manage Riverside and Cazenovia. It was also announced that the Sabres Foundation will donate $100,000 for infrastructure upgrades at the Cazenovia and Riverside sites.
Benigni also reports that Mayor Brown said there will be an increase in public skating hours at each rink.
Here is the video of the announcement, courtesy of WGRZ-TV.
Adam Schein of Fox Sports labels the Buffalo Bills as the worst franchise in the NFL headed into the 2011 season. In his article, Schein says “I feel so terrible for the amazing and diehard Bills fans.” Ouch.
Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News is reporting that David Nelson is growing into his role as a receiver for the Buffalo Bills. Nelson has added between 10-15 pounds to his frame.
Speaking of Nelson, he spoke with Buffalo Rumblings about the rebuilding efforts going on in Joplin, Missouri following ravaging tornadoes.
Someone is going to pay dearly for free agent Brad Richards when the shopping season begins July 1. Could it be the Buffalo Sabres? Scott Michalak of SabresNation.com takes a look.
If you’ve been paying attention at all to sports news over the past few weeks, you’ve heard about the controversy surrounding the Ohio State football program these days: numerous NCAA violations, coach Jim Tressel being forced to resign, etc.
We won’t get into all the details surrounding Ohio State’s problems – not our role. But this could affect the Bills in one way: what if star quarterback Terrelle Pryor is completely ineligible after all this shakes out? Could he decide to apply for the supplemental draft?
Pryor, already suspended for the first five games of 2012 for violating NCAA rules, hasn’t shown much interest in following rules since then. Recently, he reportedly drove to a press conference in his car. No big deal, right? Except for the fact that Pryor arrived in the eighth new car he’s had since he arrived in Columbus. And this car’s no rust-bucket.
Front office continuity and success in the annual Entry Draft were just two of the reasons the Buffalo Sabres finished third overall in The Hockey News’ annual franchise rankings. The Sabres trailed only the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins in the rankings that were based on objective, statistical factors that take into account both past and present performance. (The article is attached as a PDF)
The complete rankings and story appear in the June 13 issue of The Hockey News that is on newsstands now.
All 30 NHL teams were graded in nine categories: Front Office, Regular Season, Future Watch, Playoffs, Draft Success, Franchise Value, Ownership, 2010-11 Standings and Attendance. Each category was assigned a maximum point value a team could earn, concentrating primarily on seasons spanning from 2006-07 through this year. Detroit led all teams with a final total of 131.7, followed by Pittsburgh (120.7), Buffalo (114.4), San Jose (113.8) and Anaheim (111.0).
News broke yesterday via the social media that NBA basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is retiring after a legendary 18-year career. Since then, a host of athletes and coaches have chimed in on O’Neal, including a former Buffalo Bills receiver that crossed paths with him before either went on to professional stardom— Eric Moulds.
Check out the picture (left) of a very young Moulds and O’Neal. According to Moulds, the story goes that while O’Neal was already a star on the LSU basketball team in 1991, Moulds was being recruited to the school for football and O’Neal was part of that recruiting team.
Moulds ended up going to Mississippi State, where he played for three seasons before joining the Bills in 1996.
Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today that defenseman Mark Pysyk has signed a three-year entry level contract. Pysyk (pronounced Pess-ick) was selected 23rd overall by Buffalo in the 2010 Entry Draft.
“Mark is a very intelligent hockey player who has played in all situations in junior,” said Regier. “He is a very strong skater with good puck moving abilities, and is developing into a very solid two-way defenseman.”
Pysyk (6’2”, 182 lbs., 1/11/1992) rebounded from a foot injury in his draft year to post career highs in games played (63), points (40), assists (34) and plus/minus (+29) this season with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. The right-handed shooting Pysyk was named team captain last season, and led all Edmonton defensemen in scoring. Entering the 2010 Entry Draft, Pysyk was ranked seventh among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Roughly a year ago, former Niagara Falls high school standout Jonny Flynn appeared well on his way toward NBA stardom. The Minnesota Timberwolves starting point guard averaged 13.5 points and 4.4 assists per game his first season in the league and bigger things seemed imminent with another year of experience. It was even plausable that it’d be just a matter of time before he joined Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo in the conversation among the league’s elite point guards.
A flip of the calendar later and Flynn is almost certain to be suiting up for a new team before he begins his third season next fall.
Sources have told Yahoo Sports that star prospect Ricky Rubio has committed to leaving Spain and joining the Timberwolves for the 2011-12 season. Combine Rubio’s arrival with Flynn’s decline this past season, in part due to injury and also head coach Kurt Rambis’ decline in confidence, and it’s a near certainty Flynn will be traded sometime this summer.
Brian Moorman will undoubtedly go down as the greatest punter in Buffalo Bills history. The undrafted free agent out of Pittsburg State has been mostly spectacular throughout his 10-year career; punting 975 times for 33,705 yards and drilling 221 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Did you know that the Bills have only drafted four punters in the history of the franchise? The first punter the team ever took was Brian Doherty from Notre Dame, who was selected in the ninth round of the 1974 draft.
The other three punters to be drafted by Buffalo were Greg Carter (1980), John Kidd (1984) and John Nies (1990). Kidd had a prolific NFL career (for a punter). The other two—not so much.
Indianapolis did all the damage they needed in the second inning Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Field rolling to a, 13-4, win over the Bisons.
I spoke to the father of former Nichols basketball star Will Regan, and he told me his son has committed to play basketball at the University at Buffalo next season after spending his freshmen year at the University of Virginia.
We haven’t been able to provide our readers with sufficient Buffalo Bisons updates this season because frankly, the organization hasn’t exactly been accommodating to us. Personally, I find it a tad befuddling that the Buffalo Bills and Sabres work with us on many projects and media requests while the minor league Bisons continue to stick their noses in the air at us— but it is what it is.
Now that the dust of the 2011 Draft has settled, it’s time to analyze the current state of Buffalo’s roster. We’ll be taking a look at one position at a time. Today: DL.
Jim Kelly, on the mend following back surgery three weeks ago, 
For ten years former Buffalo Bills offensive tackle John Fina was one of the biggest faces in the organization, starting 131 of his 148 games on the offensive line. Now, Fina is trying to make a name for himself using another football vehicle—-broadcasting.
University at Buffalo forward Javon McCrea has been invited to attend the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp. The sophomore-to-be is one of 21 of the nation’s best 19-and-under players invited to the training camp.
Not long ago, the Buffalo State college football team earned a reputation for having a winning culture. The program has since fallen upon hard times within the last decade and finding wins has become a daunting challenge. Despite a porous record in recent year, the Bengals have always been a talented group. Some of those talent have now signed on to play semi-pro football with the South Buffalo Celtics.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Danny Batten is hoping to take a 
It seems like an eternity ago that the Buffalo Bills were consistently winning football games. Between 2000-09 the Bills won just 66 games while losing 94. Things didn’t get off to a promising start this decade either after winning just four games last season.
Now that the dust of the 2011 Draft has settled, it’s time to analyze the current state of Buffalo’s roster. We’ll be taking a look at one position at a time. Today: Special Teams
St. Bonaventure Associate Athletic Director Steve Campbell announced on Thursday the hiring of John Powers as the university’s new golf coach.
Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced the Sabres have agreed to terms on a multi-year deal with forward Drew Stafford, who was set to become a Restricted Free Agent on July 1.
(Disclaimer: This is not a sports story. Occasionally you hear news that tugs the heartstrings and leaves yourself compelled to try and help. For me, this is one of those times.)
This past April the Buffalo Bills had four selections within the first 100 picks of the draft for the seventh time in franchise history. They used the picks on Marcell Dareus, Aaron Williams, Kelvin Sheppard and Da’Norris Searcy respectively.
No one would blame Buffalo Bills linebacker Andra Davis if he were a tad reluctant to share his knowledge of professional football with a budding rookie who someday, perhaps sooner than later, will take his job. After 10 seasons in the NFL, including missing the final 10 games of last season with a shoulder injury in his first season in Buffalo, Davis is far closer to being out of the league than he is from being in his prime.
Adam Schein of Fox Sports labels the Buffalo Bills as the 
If you’ve been paying attention at all to sports news over the past few weeks, you’ve heard about the controversy surrounding the Ohio State football program these days: numerous NCAA violations, coach Jim Tressel being forced to resign, etc.
Front office continuity and success in the annual Entry Draft were just two of the reasons the Buffalo Sabres finished third overall in The Hockey News’ annual franchise rankings. The Sabres trailed only the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins in the rankings that were based on objective, statistical factors that take into account both past and present performance. (The article is attached as a PDF)
News broke yesterday via the social media that NBA basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is retiring after a legendary 18-year career. Since then, a host of athletes and coaches have chimed in on O’Neal, including a former Buffalo Bills receiver that crossed paths with him before either went on to professional stardom— Eric Moulds.
Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today that defenseman Mark Pysyk has signed a three-year entry level contract. Pysyk (pronounced Pess-ick) was selected 23rd overall by Buffalo in the 2010 Entry Draft.
Roughly a year ago, former Niagara Falls high school standout Jonny Flynn appeared well on his way toward NBA stardom. The Minnesota Timberwolves starting point guard averaged 13.5 points and 4.4 assists per game his first season in the league and bigger things seemed imminent with another year of experience. It was even plausable that it’d be just a matter of time before he joined Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo in the conversation among the league’s elite point guards.
Brian Moorman will undoubtedly go down as the greatest punter in Buffalo Bills history. The undrafted free agent out of Pittsburg State has been mostly spectacular throughout his 10-year career; punting 975 times for 33,705 yards and drilling 221 punts inside the 20-yard line.
