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for October 2011
 Now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is signed to a long-term deal with the Buffalo Bills, many expect general manager Buddy Nix’s next major negotiation to be with wide receiver Stevie Johnson, whose in the final year of his contract and could become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
According to a report by Mike Florio or Pro Football Talk however, the sides aren’t currently negotiating. Florio cites a source that says the Bills have not renewed contract talks with the fourth-year receiver and that talks ended before the season when the sides exchanged offers and reached an impasse after failing to be close to agreeing.
Florio also writes the Bills are now likely to turn their focus towards working on extensions for kicker Rian Lindell and offensive tackle Erik Pears, both also in the final year of their deals.
Continue reading ‘Report Says Bills, Johnson Aren’t Talking Extension’
 Sophomore wide receiver Mike Doherty (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) was named the Buffalo State Athlete of the Week after helping the Bengals claim a 51-30 win over Brockport in Saturday’s I-90 Bowl.
Doherty accounted for more than half of the Bengals’ passing yards in the victory. He caught 10 passes for 159 yards, including a 53-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the first quarter. He also added a kick return for 37 yards that set up another score.
He leads Buffalo State with 41 catches for 584 yards on the season.
The Bengals (4-5/4-4) will wrap up the season this Saturday at Morrisville State at noon.
 The University at Buffalo’s Alumni Arena will be showcasing a new look and game-day atmosphere as the winter season of athletic and cultural events gets underway. Included in the enhancements are state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems as well the installation of a new video and scoring system. The project is a collaborative effort between UB Facilities, Planning & Design and the Division of Athletics with funding provided by the university’s critical maintenance fund and private dollars.
The result is a culmination of a multi-phase project that began in late-May. The first phase of the project included structural reinforcement of the arena, which was designed by DiDonato and Associates.
Continue reading ‘UB Athletics Announces Upgrades to Alumni Arena’
 The Buffalo Bills showed off a perfect combination of offensive firepower and defensive dominance in Toronto Sunday, shutting out the Washington Redskins at the Rogers Centre, 23-0 to improve their record to 5-2 on the season.
It was the first time in Washington coach Mike Shannahan’s 24-year coaching career one of his teams were shut out.
After recording a league-low four sacks through their first six games, the Bills went crazy with nine sacks on Washington quarterback John Beck. Rookie Marcell Dareus led the way with 2.5 sacks in his first start at defensive tackle in place of injured Kyle Williams. Dwan Edwards had 1.5 sacks while Chris Kelsay, Spencer Johnson, Jairus Byrd and Kirk Morrison each had a sack while Arthur Moats and Nick Barnett split another one. Byrd and George Wilson had interceptions.
Continue reading ‘Bills Dominate Skins In Toronto, 23-0′
 The Buffalo Sabres skated onto their home ice Saturday night in front of a sold-out First Niagara Center crowd to face the Florida Panthers, and 60 minutes later skated off getting exactly what they deserved.
A loss.
Buffalo led 2-1 in the third period, but an overall poor team effort and boneheaded double-minor penalty to Nathan Gerbe did them in as Thomas Fleichsmann and Jason Garrison scored 2:15 apart late in the third and the Sabres fell to Florida, 3-2.
Florida outshot Buffalo, 36-26, including 18-12 over the final 20 minutes.
Continue reading ‘Sluggish Sabres Lose To Florida, 3-2′
 Miami quarterback Zac Dysert helped the RedHawks claim a Mid-American Conference championship last season.
On a day when he moved into the Top 20 career MAC passers in yardage, he played like one of the MAC’s all-time best, riddling the UB defense by completing 20-of-25 passes for 313 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to lead Miami to a 41-13 Homecoming win over Buffalo.
Dysert started the game on fire, completing his first nine passes, and leading Miami on three scoring drives which set the tone for the game.
Continue reading ‘UB Pounded At Miami, 41-13′
 Chad Kelly will be playing football for Clemson University next year based largely on his ability to sling the football. However, it’s his legs that separate him from any other high school quarterback in Western New York.
Kelly ran for 140 yards, including 108 in the second half and had two rushing touchdowns to lead St. Joe’s to a 39-18 victory over Bishop-Timon St. Jude, giving the Marauders the regular season Monsignor Martin Association title for a second straight year.
Kelly hurt Timon plenty through the air as well; completing 17-of-29 passes for 285 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, and in the process surpassed Mike Radon’s (St. Francis) single-season MMA record of 2.408 passing yards set in 2001.
Continue reading ‘St. Joe’s Beats Timon, Earns Top Seed For MMA Playoffs’
 The Buffalo Sabres continue their home stand tonight with a clash against the Florida Panthers at the First Niagara Center. It’s the second meeting of the season between the clubs. Buffalo won the first meeting on Florida’s ice, 3-0 last Thursday.
The Sabres are off to a 6-3 start this season and in large part, it’s due to the outstanding play of the Luke Adam-Jason Pominville-Thomas Vanek top scoring line. Vanek (14 points) and Pominville (13) are both off to career-best starts through their first nine games while Adam (eight points) is second in the league among all NHL rookies in scoring. Vanek trails only Toronto’s Phil Kessel in points while Pominville is tied for third.
Other Sabres skaters off to fast starts include Nathan Gerbe, who has six points and a team-best plus five rating, and Brad Boyes, who’s scored in consecutive games.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Top Line Looks To Stay Hot Against Panthers’
 The Associated Press has reported that the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick have agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension that will far and away make Fitzpatrick the highest paid player in franchise history.
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson, it’s a six-year deal that will total a whopping sum of $59 million. The deal includes $24 million in guarantees and is to pay Fitzpatrick $33 million over the first three years of the deal.
Fitzpatrick has done a terrific job since taking over as the full-time starter for the Bills at quarterback. He’s 8-5 over his last 13 games as a starter and has helped the Bills create a buzz around the league. For the sake of the organization and its fans, let’s hope the good times continue. There’s no question Fitzpatrick is now the starting quarterback now and for the foreseeable future regardless of how he performs. This is a heavy investment, but one general manager Buddy Nix felt comfortable enough to ask Ralph Wilson to sign off on.
Naturally, this move will also determine Nix’s ultimate success… or failure as GM.
 Buffalo State’s men’s basketball team has been ranked 19th in the D3hoops.com preseason national poll after making an impressive run in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Bengals finished 23-7 a year ago, including winning the school’s 18th SUNYAC Championship with a 67-50 win over Brockport. Buffalo State went on to defeat both Gwynedd-Mercy and Johnson & Wales in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament to advance to the “Sweet 16″ for the first time since 1996. The Bengals 23 wins were the most in a season since 1991-92.
Leading the cast of returners are juniors Jake Simmons (Rochester/School of the Arts) and Justin Mitchell (Buffalo/Bishop Timon).
Continue reading ‘Buffalo State Ranked 19th in Preseason National Poll’
 Patrick Kaleta scored with under six minutes remaining in the third period and Jason Pominville added his second tally of the game minutes later as the Buffalo Sabres staved off Columbus’ comeback attempt to win their first game of the season at the First Niagara Center, 4-2 over the Blue Jackets Thursday evening.
Buffalo built a 2-0 lead on a power play goal by Brad Boyes and Pominville’s third of the season before Vinny Prospal cut the lead down to one.
Fedor Tyutin scored his first of the season for Columbus to tie the game at 2-2 with 9:09 remaining in the third before Kaleta put a backhand past goaltender Steve Mason for the game-winner as Buffalo improved to 6-3 on the season.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Earn First Win On Home Ice’
 The Buffalo Bandits announced the team has traded a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2013 NLL Entry Draft to the Minnesota Swarm in exchange for forward Mat Giles, pending league approval.
The pick is conditional on Giles being on the Bandits roster or practice squad at any time in 2011 or 2012. Should Giles not make the Bandits active or practice roster, Buffalo will instead send their sixth-round pick in the 2013 Entry Draft in place of the fourth-round selection.
Giles is a 15-year NLL veteran that has scored 463 points (209+254) in 176 career games. He registered 43 points (16+27) in 16 games with the Swarm last season. Giles scored a goal and an assist in both meetings against Buffalo in 2011.
 To use the roster spot vacated by Shawne Merriman being placed on Injured Reserve Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills brought back outside Antonio Coleman and signed him to the active roster. Coleman was signed off the New York Giants practice squad, which he joined following the Bills making him one of the last roster cuts in early September.
Coleman’s release from Buffalo prior to the season had been a mild surprise, given he had one of the best performances of any Bills defender during the preseason. The undrafted college free agent out of Auburn signed with Buffalo and in eight games last year, had 12 tackles. He’ll back up outside linebackers Chris Kelsay, Danny Batten and Arthur Moats.
Meanwhile Merriman announced he’ll undergo surgery to repair his Achilles. Merriman, who’s likely played his last game in Buffalo, has made just a shade under $7million from the club despite playing in just parts of five games over two seasons.
 Earlier today we talked about how the remainder of 2011 could be in jeopardy for Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams. There’s no speculation when it comes to linebacker Shawne Merriman— his season is now officially over.
Chris Brown of Bills.com reports that Merriman has been placed on Injured Reserve, effectively ending his 2011 campaign before it got a chance to get moving because his Achilles is bad again.
“Shawne has worked extremely hard, but unfortunately, his Achilles flared back up and it doesn’t appear that he will be able to return to the field anytime soon,” said Bills GM Buddy Nix to Brown. “So we felt it was in the best interest of our team and for Shawne to put him on I-R.”
Continue reading ‘Shawne Merriman Placed On Injured Reserve’
 The Niagara men’s basketball team was picked seventh in the 2011-12 MAAC Preseason Poll announced on Tuesday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Niagara will feature a young squad this season and will be looking for maturation of their sophomore class which features 2011 MAAC All-Rookie Team guard Marvin Jordan (11.8 ppg/2.3 apg) along with guards Malcolm Lemmons (5.9 ppg/3.5 rpg ) and Skylar Jones (5.2 ppg/2.6 rpg). Niagara also returns redshirt freshman guard Antoine Mason, who led the team in scoring after three games with 16.7 ppg before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury.
Niagara will be looking for low-post contribution from junior forwards Eric Williams (4.1 ppg/3.2 rpg) and Scooter Gillete (3.9 ppg/3.5 rpg) and redshirt freshman Joe Thomas. The Purple Eagles welcome highly touted freshmen in guards Juan’ya Green and Ameen Tankseley, both hailing from Philadelphia, and Josh Turner from Hamden, Conn. as well as junior college transfer forward Ali Langford.
Continue reading ‘Niagara Hoops Picked For Seventh In MAAC’
In a move that probably has Buffalo Bills fans thinking the Miami Dolphins are looking for some Andrew Luck sweepstakes should starting quarterback Matt Moore go down to injury, the winless and hapless Dolphins have signed former Buffalo signal caller J.P. Losman to replace Sage , who was placed on Injured Reserve.
Losman has thrown just one pass in the NFL since he lost his starting job to Trent Edwards with the Bills in 2008. Since that time he’s temporarily bounced around with Seattle and Oakland as well as spending time in the UFL and has been out of the league since the start of the 2011 season. As a starter in Buffalo, Losman compiled an unimpressive 10-23 record.
This means when the Bills face Miami upcoming on the schedule (twice), they could be just one hard hit of Moore away from seeing Losman line up against them. Something tells me Bills fans would enjoy seeing that.
 Earlier this month, the South Buffalo Celtics defeated the Michigan Gators, 55 –38 to claim the inaugural Elite MCFL League Championship at Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan. The Celtics, a first-year team, finished the season undefeated with an overall record of 14-0.
The Celtics were led by running back James Henley who finished the night with 5 touchdowns and 165-yards rushing on 18 carries. Henley was recognized as the game’s Overall Most Valuable Player. Celtics quarterback Justin Athans earned Offensive MVP honors for his 249 yards passing with 11 completions on 21 attempts, no interceptions and 2 touchdowns. Athans was also awarded the game’s Sportsmanship Award which honors the player who displays quality sportsmanship during the championship game. Michigan Gators defensive back J.R. Estell recorded 5 solo tackles and 2 assists, and he was named Defensive MVP.
The hometown Gators opened up the scoring 2:33 into the game on a 13-yard pass from regular season Western Conference MVP Torrence Webster to Mike Youngblood. A successful 2-point conversion gave Michigan the early 8-0 lead. Henley scored his first rushing touchdown on the night with 6:41 left in the first quarter. The Gators answered 3:29 later on an 11-yard pass from Webster to Donald Dotson followed by a Jimmy Allen extra point, putting them up 15-6. Mike Brunough brought the Celtics back within 2 in the last 0:39 of the 1st after a 25-yard reception from Justin Athans. Athans also kicked the extra point.
Continue reading ‘South Buffalo Captured Semi-Pro Championship’
 The Buffalo Bills return from their bye this week to face off in Toronto against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. If the Bills think they’ve got some injury problems, they got nothing on their upcoming opponent.
The Redskins were already a mess on the injury front and following their loss at Carolina on Sunday, are even in rougher shape. Starting running back Tim Hightower injured his knee and may be lost for the rest of the season. Hightower hurt the knee early in the third quarter after he already gained 88 yards on the ground. Washington also lost wide receiver Santana Moss to a fractured hand in the loss. Moss has 25 catches for 301 yards and two touchdowns this season. Lastly, Washington likely lost starting linebacker London Fletcher for the showdown in Toronto and probably beyond. Fletcher injured his hamstring Sunday.
Washington has already dealt with severe injury problems before the Carolina loss yesterday, their third loss over the last four games. Starting left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Chris Cooley are all injured and will not play against Buffalo.
Of course, Buffalo has little sympathy for Washington when it comes to injuries. Kyle Williams has already been ruled out of Sunday’s contest with a foot problem. Demetrius Bell is iffy to return at left tackle after missing the past one and a half games and his replacement, Chris Hairston injured his ankle against the New York Giants and will miss a couple of weeks. Linebackers Chris Kelsay and Shawne Merriman both missed the New York game but are hoping to return this week, and wide receiver Donald Jones is still a couple of weeks from returning.
Still, Buffalo appears to have a big advantage when it comes to healthy bodies going into this game. They need to take advantage, as this is a game they’re expected to win.
 There’s a lot for fans of the Buffalo Bills to feel good about after six games. The team sits at 4-2 and is the middle of what’s shaping up to be an exciting AFC playoff race. One thing, however, that has many riled up is the sudden emergence of Aaron Maybin as a playmaking force—with the New York Jets.
Maybin, the 11th overall pick of the Bills in 2009 that turned out to be one of the biggest busts in franchise history, was cut early in the preseason and has clearly found a productive home in New York. Maybin had a key first quarter sack in the Jets win over San Diego Sunday and now has three sacks and three forced fumbles in just four games with New York. The Bills as a team only have four sacks in six games.
It’s certainly hard to blame the Bills for throwing in the towel on Maybin after two seasons. The coaching staff didn’t consider him good enough to get on the field despite having one of the worst defenses in the league over the past two years. He failed to generate a sack or cause a turnover during his entire tenure in Buffalo. But with Maybin becoming a key role player for New York, it poses the question if Maybin was badly coached and misused during his time as a Bill, or was the pressure of being a high pick simply too much to handle?
Continue reading ‘Maybin Enjoying Turnaround In New York’
 Several alumni from the Bishop Timon Class of 1971 were on hand in West Seneca Saturday afternoon to celebrate their 40th year reunion and root on the Tigers as they clashed with Monsignor Martin Association rival Canisius High School.
They witnessed quite a show.
Timon lost star running back Adam DiMillo late in the first quarter to a fractured forearm, but senior wide receiver Jordan Williams picked up the slack, catching a season-high nine passes for 148 yards, including the game-winning touchdown as the defense made several critical plays in the second half to help the Tigers erase a halftime deficit and defeat Canisius, 42-28.
It was the first time Timon defeated Canisius in over eight years.
Continue reading ‘Williams, Defense Finally Gets Timon Past Canisius’
 We’re six games into the NHL season and three things have stuck out for the Buffalo Sabres: the team is very good, Ryan Miller is even better… and Thomas Vanek may finally become unstoppable.
Vanek struck twice in Florida Thursday night, giving him six goals and 10 points in the team’s first six games. Meanwhile Ryan Miller turned aside all 22 Panthers shots on goal for his 23rd career shutout as the Sabres remained hot, especially on the road with a 3-0 shutout.
Buffalo improved to 5-1 on the season and is a perfect 5-0 away from the First Niagara Center.
Following a scoreless first period, Vanek got the Sabres on the board and Jason Pominville, who also added an assist, scored later in the period. Vanek got his second of the game in the final period to dash any Florida comeback hopes.
Miller has allowed just one goal in his last two starts and has turned away 62 of 63 shots during the span.
Buffalo finishes off their road trip in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.
 To the surprise of nearly everyone, the Buffalo Bills are six weeks into the season and hit their bye week with a 4-2 record, sitting just a game behind New England in the AFC East and smack in the middle of a wild card playoff race. Compared to previous fruitless campaigns over the past decade, the Bills are letting the good times roll.
While the bye represents a relax and recover period for the players before they take the field in Toronto a week from Sunday, it’s a different story for general manager Buddy Nix. Buffalo has no shortage of players contributing significantly to the hot start that are in the final year of their deals, and Nix has the daunting challenge of locking up players beyond 2011 who can be a major part of the team’s turnaround beyond this season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Stevie Johnson, Demetrius Bell, Erik Pears and Scott Chandler are all in the final year of their respective deals. That alone represents five starters on offense, and that list doesn’t include wide receiver Roscoe Parrish and valuable kicker Rian Lindell, both also scheduled to become free agents during the offseason.
Continue reading ‘Buddy Nix Has Plenty Of Contract Extension Decisions’
 A slow NFL news day got a little more notable Wednesday afternoon when Drew Rosenhaus, agent for wide receiver Terrell Owens declared his client 100% healthy and ready to play for a team right now. That’s a big deal for the 37-year old, who underwent ACL knee surgery early this summer. Naturally, Buffalo Bills fans immediately began speculation… if not hope that the Bills would look into Owens returning with the team he played for in 2009, when he had 55 catches for 829 yards and five touchdowns.
From a purely strategic standpoint, it doesn’t seem like the dumbest idea ever, at least not on the surface. The Bills have shown over the past few weeks they could use a downfield threat and the wide receiving unit has been hit hard by injuries. They’ve already lost Marcus Easley and Roscoe Parrish for the season and Donald Jones for at least a few more weeks. Without question despite being past his prime, Owens is a player opposing defenses would have to account for.
However, an Owens return to Buffalo is highly unlikely as Owens at this stage of his career appears to be the polar opposite of the direction Buffalo is headed. Sure, Owens was well behaved during his time in Western New York, almost to the point of appearing robotic, but remember that despite him saying he’d be open to returning, Buddy Nix showed zero interest in re-signing him when he took over following the ‘09 season— and that was when Owens was almost two years younger.
I have little doubt Owens will soon find work somewhere in the league. Even on the decline he’s still a proven talent and surely some team will take a chance on him. However, despite the need for a deep threat so great Buffalo is toying with C.J. Spiller at wide receiver, Owens landing back in Buffalo is probably not a gamble Nix is willing to take.
But until then, I suppose you should never say never.
 The Buffalo Sabres traveled to Montreal Tuesday evening and essentially stunk up the ice over the first 30 minutes while the Canadians dominated. Buffalo regrouped to play a better second half and because Ryan Miller was so spectacular, it was enough to earn a win.
Miller stopped all but one of Montreal’s 41 shots thrown at him, including all 14 in the first period as Buffalo could only muster three but remained tied. The Sabres would go on to score a 3-1 victory.
After spotting Montreal the game’s first goal 2:08 into the second period, Jordan Leopold scored on a rebound from Drew Stafford’s shot to tie the game and with just three seconds left in the second, Thomas Vanek one-timed a beautiful pass from Jason Pominville past Carey Price for his fourth goal of the season to give Buffalo their first lead.
Continue reading ‘Miller Steals The Show As Sabres Win In Montreal’
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The Buffalo Bills were off practice Tuesday following their bye week, but potentially significant news is emergency on the injury front regarding Kyle Williams and his injured foot.
