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for November 2011
 The Mid-American Conference named its preseason All-Conference team on Wednesday and University at Buffalo forward Javon McCrea was one of the five players selected from the East Division.
A sophomore forward, McCrea was named the 2011 MAC Freshman of the Year after posting one of the finest first-year campaigns in school history. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while playing 22 minutes per game. The Newark, NY native shot 63.1 percent from the field, which would have led the nation if he had made four more field goals on the season.
Over the summer he was invited to the USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp. He was named a finalist for the team before being the final player cut.
The Bulls tip off the 2011-12 season November 11 when they host Saint Peter’s at Alumni Arena.
 The Buffalo Sabres will be trying to get back on track tonight on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers, on the heels of their lackluster home loss to Florida this past Saturday night.
The lineup will feature a couple of changes when it takes the ice. Huge free agent acquisition Villie Leino, who’s struggled mightily early this season, moves up to the top scoring line with the red-hot Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville to try and get him going. The former center of that top line, Luke Adam, moves over to wing with Drew Stafford and Derek Roy.
Defensemen Mike Weber is also expected to see his first action of the season tonight, with Marc-Andre Gragnani likely to sit this one out in the press box.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Try To Kickstart Leino Tonight Against Flyers’
 With a win over the New York Jets on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills would improve to 6-2 on the season. How significant would that be? Perhaps by early January it would mean nothing, but the last time the Bills started out a season this hot, they winded up playing in the final NFL game of the year.
A win over the rival Jets would give Buffalo their best record at the halfway point of their schedule since 1993, when the Bills won seven of their first eight. That year the Bills would finish the regular season at 12-4 and eventually go to their fourth (and final) consecutive Super Bowl, where they’d lose to the Dallas Cowboys, 30-13.
While we’re certainly not proclaiming or even suggesting Bills fans should be booking tickets for Indianapolis—- site of Super Bowl XLVI with a Buffalo triumph over the Jets, you can’t deny a victory going a long way towards remaining in the AFC playoff race for the duration of the season. A loss by New York would put them two games, plus a tiebreaker behind and put the Bills firmly in control of their own destiny moving forward.
It may also shut Rex Ryan up.
Moving to 6-2 would also further distance themselves from the 2008 Bills; the debacle of a team that started the season 4-0, was 5-1 after six games and promptly loss eight of their last 10 to finish dead last in their division.
 If you paid any mind to nearly every preseason prognosticator (this one included, sadly) you’d surely have been more inclined to think the Buffalo Bills would be closer to the Andrew Luck sweepstakes come next April than an AFC playoff spot in roughly two more months. But every season the NFL has Cinderella teams and low and behold, the Bills’ glass slipper has been as shiny as anyone.
In defense of all the armchair critics, it was excruciatingly easy to write off the Bills before the season even started. They weren’t very good last year—unless you consider four wins in 2010 an achievement, and general manager Buddy Nix didn’t exactly set the league on notice with marque free agent additions. To make matters worse, the Bills looked awful through most of training camp and even worse for a majority of the preseason. The offensive line depth was so bad the team cut three active reserves from last year following their preseason finale.
Fortunately for the organization, games are played on the field and not newspapers, websites and blogs. The Bills are 5-2 and quite frankly, a couple of plays away from being undefeated. In the process they got the colossal monkey off their back by finally beating New England, forced Tom Brady and Michael Vick into four interceptions apiece, and have one of the most explosive offenses in the league on the other side of the ball.
Continue reading ‘Buffalo Bills: Five Biggest Surprises’
 Sadly, no one is above falling victim to crime in this day and age— not even professional football players. Just ask former Buffalo Bills running back and local product Jehuu Caulcrick.
The 28-year old former high school star at Clymer had his truck burglarized Tuesday in broad daylight. According to Caulcrick via Twitter, his GPS and a diamond necklace were stolen.
Caulcrick led Clymer to four consecutive Section VI Class D division championships in high school and is Western New York’s all-time leading high school rusher with 6,559 yards. After high school he went on to star at Michigan State and was a team captain by his senior season.
Caulcrick went undrafted in 2008 and spent time on the practice squads of the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers before eventually signing with the hometown Bills last year. He had one rush for two yards in two games last season and was one of the team’s final cuts this past September.
Here is a photo of Caulcrick’s burglarized car, which appeared late Tuesday afternoon on his Twitter. We’re trying to reach Caulcrick for comment and reaction following this senseless crime and will bring more details as they become available.
**UPDATE** I got the chance to speak with Caulcrick. His truck was burglarized in the parking lot next to his place on Pearl Street, near the Pearl Street Grill. There is a parking lot attendant there and it’s a busy area, so this just reeks of dirty suspicions. Obviously, we’re hopeful the dirtbag(s) that did this are caught and brought to justice.
 The Buffalo Sabres today announced that tickets for the VIP All-Access Suite are now on sale for select Sabres home games during the 2011-12 season. The VIP tickets include seating in the 200 Level All-Access Suite for the game, access to the pre-game VIP All-Access Lounge and the opportunity to stand along the rope line outside of the Sabres locker room before the team hits the ice.
The All-Access Suite and Lounge will give fans a chance to see the team up-close and from a view few people get to see. The lounge is located right outside of the locker room hallway, where the VIPs can enjoy complimentary snacks and beverages. Right before the game, VIPs will be escorted to a special rope line outside of the team’s locker room to watch the team take the ice.
Continue reading ‘VIP All-Access Tickets On Sale For Select Sabres Games’
 Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced the team’s coaching staff for the 2012 National Lacrosse League season.
General Manager Darris Kilgour, the winningest coach in NLL history, is entering his tenth season as head coach of the Bandits. The Niagara Falls, NY native was a two-time All-American lacrosse player at Niagara Wheatfield High School and was Buffalo’s first draft pick in team history in 1991. A three-time All-Pro, Kilgour helped the Bandits win three championships in 1992, 1993 and 1996, and coached Buffalo to another title in 2008. He led Buffalo to an East Division regular season championship with a 10-6 record in 2011.
Continue reading ‘Bandits Announce 2012 Coaching Staff’
 When it comes to the Buffalo Bills, Fred Jackson is labeled “Mr. Versatility” for his ability to be a huge weapon in both the passing and running game. Perhaps it’s time for Jackson to share his much-deserved label with a teammate who’s also quietly doing it all— offensive lineman Andy Levitre.
Like many other players on the team, it was easy to worry about Levitre during training camp and the preseason. He got off to such a slow start in camp that he temporarily lost his starting left guard gig to Chad Reinhart. But since the season started Levitre’s not only been fine at guard, but performed at a Pro-Bowl level through five and a half games, being largely responsible for Jackson running wild early in the season.
Injuries to left tackles Demetrius Bell and rookie Chris Hairston forced Bills head coach Chan Gailey to move Levitre over to left tackle and his first start of the season there last Sunday against Washington, Levitre was outstanding. His play against Pro Bowler Brian Orakpo was a big reason the Bills offense was firing on all cylinders Sunday… and it didn’t go unnoticed by Gailey on Monday morning either.
Continue reading ‘Levitre Showing Off His Versatility’
The Buffalo Bills were off from practice on Tuesday, but several players spent the day entertaining children at Holland Elementary School as part of the NFL Play-60 Challenge program this morning.
A large contingent of notable players were on hand for the fun; a list that included Drayton Florence, Eric Wood, Andy Levitre, Dwan Edwards, George Wilson, Jairus Byrd, Arthur Moats, Bryan Scott and Fred Jackson among others.
Here is a picture of the players (top) along with some very happy school children, courtesy of Drayton Florence.
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