Tyler Ennis scored twice as the Buffalo Sabres closed the book on their preseason schedule with a 8-3 win over the Adler Mannheim Eagles before a raucous crowd of 13,600 at SAP Arena.
Ennis opened the scoring at 7:18 of the first when he slid the puck between the pads of Eagles netminder Fred Brathwaite after being sprung free at the blueline on a pass from Mike Weber. He put the Sabres up by a pair just over four minutes later when he banged home a Ville Leino rebound from the side of the crease into the yawning cage.
The newly formed trio of Ennis, Leino and Brad Boyes each got on the scoreboard tonight, and at times moved the puck around like it was a weekend pickup game. Ennis said that having that little bit of extra ice to play with contributed to their success.
“With the big ice you don’t want to be too aggressive on a guy because if you get it by him you have a lot of room towards the net, so sometimes you just have to collapse a little and give up the outside.”
Continue reading ‘Sabres Steamroll Mannheim To End Preseason’
Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden has earned the top spot on Brand Affinity Technologies’ monthly ranking of Rising Sports Stars. This special NFL-only edition of the list identifies football players with the most significant leaps in popularity during the previous 30 days – a solid indicator of early-season buzz as standout players emerge. McFadden led the league with 393 rushing yards in September, and has turned heads with plays such as a 70-yard touchdown run in the Raiders’ victory against the Jets.
Buffalo Bills teammates Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson round out the top three with strong performances as leaders in the AFC East with [3] wins, including a stunning victory over the New England Patriots during week 3 of the season. The full list and additional details are available at: www.brandaffinity.net/RisingStars/October2011.
“Darren McFadden’s popularity has jumped 46 percent over the past month, and we expect marketers as well as fans will take notice,” said Ryan Steelberg, CEO of Brand Affinity Technologies. “Our ranking helps identify hot talent at a point where they hold tremendous respect and influence among sports fans, but before they appear on cereal boxes. The return on investment for companies partnering with athletes at this stage is consistently high.”
Continue reading ‘Fitzpatrick, Jackson secure #2 and #3 on Rising Sports Stars list’
Entering the 2011 season, the Buffalo Bills biggest question mark, of which there were many, surrounded the offensive line and perceived talent playing on it, especially the depth. Surely that will be put to the test as the pleasantly surprising 3-1 Bills play host to the equally (for the wrong reasons) surprising 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.
If the Bills are to earn their fourth victory in five tries they’ll have to do it without starting left tackle Demetrius Bell. After 20 straight starts, Bell injured his shoulder during Sunday’s loss at Cincinnati and head coach Chan Gailey has already ruled him out for this week.
Fourth-round rookie Chris Hairston will get his first start in Bell’s place. Sam Young will back up both tackle positions.
Continue reading ‘Bills OL Depth To Be Tested vs. Eagles’
St. Bonaventure senior forward Andrew Nicholson is one of 50 players named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List, as announced Monday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
The list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor.
The 6-foot-9 250-pound Mississauga, Ont. native led the Atlantic 10 and ranked 15th nationally in scoring last season at 20.8 points per game. He scored in double figures in all but one contest and racked 11 double-doubles while leading the Bonnies to their first winning record (16-15) and postseason appearance (CBI) since 2001-02.
These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the Midseason list and the official voting ballot released in March. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.
Continue reading ‘Bona’s Nicholson Named to Wooden Award Watch List’
Buffalo State junior linebacker Pasquale Vacchio was recognized by 
