Mario Williams a Bill?

As most of Buffalo knows by now Mario Williams; 2x pro-bowl defensive end from the Houston Texans and #1 defensive FA on the market is in Buffalo meeting with the Bills front office. GM Buddy Nix, Russ Brandon, Chan Gailey, Dave Wannstedt and fellow DL Kyle Williams are meeting with the 6-6 lineman tonight.

Joining Mario Williams is another top free agent, Robert Meachem. The former Saints WR is a highly coveted option now that multiple soon-to-be FA's were signed or tagged. Meachem would be a great second option to Ryan Fitzpatrick and should improve the Bills WR core, starting over Donald Jones.

Mario Williams would not come cheap. Mark Gaughan has reported that the Bills are ready to make Williams the highest paid defensive player in the league. The highest paid defensive player in the league right now is Bears DE Julius Peppers. His contract is worth $91.5 Million over a 6 year span. This is a heafty price to pay for a DE who has only started 19 games over the past two seasons but I believe he is worth it. He started all 16 games his first 4 years in the league and only has had injury problems the past few years.

He missed the second half of the 2011 season with a torn pectoral muscle and is obviously 100% recovered from it. He should not be labeled as an injury risk and is well worth all the money that will be offered to him by the Bills or any other team.

There are sources out there saying that the deal could be done tonight, I doubt those reports but he will sign somewhere in the next few days.

As much as I am excited about the possibility of having one of the best DE's in the league with the Bills I am not getting my hopes up. We all remember last year when Tyson Klabo "used" Buffalo as a bargaining chip to drive up his contract he signed with the Falcons. The same goes for Meachem. I am optimistic yet tempering my hopes on this issue. If it happens I will be as estatic as any Bills fan but 22 years in Buffalo has taught me to not get too excited.

EDIT: WGR-550 is reporting that a league source says that the Bills expect to sign both Williams and Meachem in the next 24 hours.

Nicholson Carries Bonnies into NCAA Tournament

It took 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks from the A-10 player of the year but Andrew Nicholson and the rest of his Saint Bonaventure Bonnies are heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.

12 years ago, the Bonaventure basketball program was embarrassed after they were found using an illegal player and then allowing the remaining players to boycott the remainder of the season.

Head coach Mark Schmidt talked all week about rebuilding the program the right way. The school's first Atlantic 10 championship is a great way to show that they have done that.

Da'Quan Cook and Charlon Kloof added nine points a piece to go along with Nicholson's magnificent performance Sunday afternoon in Atlantic City.

"He's a poor man's Tim Duncan" said Xavier head coach Chris Mack after the game. Nicholson was spectacular on both ends of the floor for the Bonnies. He hit shots in the post area as well as beyond the arch. His 8 blocks were the most telling stat as he consistently kept Xavier's forwards ineffective for the majority of the game.

St. Bonaventure opened up a double digit lead multiple times in the first half before taking a 13 point lead into the break.

During the halftime coverage on CBS, analyst Charles Barkley said that the Bonnies should have been up by even more. "They clearly outplayed the Musketeers in the first half."

Xavier hung tough in the second half after the Bonnies hot shooting went south. They were able to close the gap to as few as four but Nicholson and the rest of the players made big shots when they were needed.

Saint Bonaventure will await their seeding and opponent tonight at 7:00 pm EST when the brackets are released.

Regardless of the outcome in the tournament, the Bonnies have brought a spark back to "big four" basketball and athletics here in the Western New York Area.

Third Time, Not the Charm for UB

A valiant effort from the UB Bulls Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena fell short as they lost to the Bobcats of Ohio for the third time in as many efforts this season.

This loss was the most painful of the season as the Bulls saw their chance at obtaining a bid to the NCAA tournament disappear.

A career night from the conference player of the year Mitchell Watt still wasn't enough to push the Bulls past the Bobcats. He ended with 32 points (career high) and 11 rebounds.

The Bulls had multiple looks at the end of the game. With 0:15 remaining, Watt missed on a long three but the rebound was corralled in by Zach Flizen. He then missed on a three of his own. After an Ohio miss at the free throw line, Jarod Oldham's half court heave, right on line, clanked off the back iron.

The Bulls entered the conference tournament with an overall record of 19-9 and 12-4 in conference. They clinched the number two seed by defeating Bowling Green in the regular season finale.

Ohio shot 12-25 from three point range in the game and that was the difference. Point guard D.J. Cooper hit 5 threes in the first half and ended with 18 points.

The Bulls were able to erase large deficits multiple times in the game but Ohio's 15 point lead in the second half was just too much to overcome.

Buffalo ends the year at 19-10 and will await to see if a bid to any other postseason tournaments awaits them.

Information for this post was obtained from www.ESPN.com

Bonnies Headed to A-10 Final

After being up by as many as 16 in the second half, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies staved off a furious University of Massachusetts comeback to reach it's first Atlantic 10 final since 2000.

The Bonnies lead by by seven, 48-41 at the break and were guided by junior guard Demitrius Conger who finished the game with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Conference player of the year Andrew Nicholson hit a three point shot with 7:33 left in the second half to give his Bonnies a 70-54 lead. After a UMass timeout, they slowly started to chip away at the lead and trailed by just one, 81-80 with 0:16 left.

After Charlon Kloof made one of two shots at the free throw line for Bonaventure, Raphiael Putney missed a deep three for Massachusetts and the rebound was secured by freshman Mathew Wright for the Bonnies who went on to ice the game with two free throws.

Conger said of his performance, "I felt like going with the flow of the game, you know, teammates was open, you know, they had open shots I passed the ball to them. I was open, they passed the ball to me. It was the flow of the game. Just so happened I scored 22 points."

Nicholson, who only played 25 minutes due to foul trouble had 19 points to go along with 6 rebounds.

When asked after the game what he thought of his team having the opportunity to go to the NCAA tournament, head coach Mark Schmidt said "It would be a great accomplishment for our team. You know, I said it yesterday, we said we were going to rebuild this program and we were going to rebuild it the right way, bringing in good guys, kids that are going to class, graduate, keep their nose clean socially, and we've done it."

Massachusetts was lead by Terrell Vinson who had 20 points. Freshman Maxie Esho came off the bench for Minutemen and contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Saint Bonaventure, the tournament's fourth seed, moves on to face the winner of the other semifinal game currently in progress between (2) St. Louis and (3) Xavier. The final will take place tomorrow at 1:00 pm EST on CBS Sports.

Quotes obtained from www.atlantic10.com
Statistics obtained from www.ESPN.com

Nicholson Wins A-10 POY

Saint Bonaventure senior forward Andrew Nicholson has been named the Atlantic-10 men's basketball player of the year.

Nicholson led the league in scoring with 17.9 points per game and was second in rebounds per game at 8.3. He has scored 25 points in four of his past five games and has eclipsed 30 points, four times this season.

Nicholson started off his career at Bonaventure making the all-freshman team. He followed that up the next year being named to the A-10 second team. The past two seasons, Nicholson has been selected to the all conference first team and this year, he can add player of the year to his accomplishments.

The Bonnies sit in fourth place in the A-10 heading into the conference tournament with an overall record of 17-11 and 10-6 in conference. They will receive an automatic bye into the second round. They will face the winner of Saint Joesph's and Charlotte.

Nicholson has been regarded as professional prospect for some years now and ESPN currently has Nicholson as a late first round pick in June's draft.

Information for this post obtained from www.atlantic10.com

Daemen Men & Women Heading West

Both the men's and women's basketball teams at Daemen College are heading to the National Tournament.

The men's team did it the easier way, winning the AMC conference last Saturday over Wilberforce. The women lost their conference final game at Point Park but were able to get an at large bid to make it two consecutive years in the tournament.

The brackets were announced last night as the men's tournament is in Point Lockout, Missouri and the girls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Wildcats finished the year with an overall record of 20-10 (10-2) and shared the regular season conference title with Walsh who was ineligible for post-season play. The Lady Wildcats finished 23-7 (12-2). As noted, they fell to Point Park in the conference finals but they too won a share of the regular season title. The Dave Skolen coached team had a strong season racking up yet another 20 win season which pushed them over top and into the field of 32.

The men were led by senior Dom Mazzochi who averaged 15.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg. Not far behind him was junior forward Jim Regan who averaged 12.8 ppg and an impressive 15.3 ppg in conference games. Junior guards Casey Sheehan and Mark Coppola were catalysts for the Wildcats as both were able to open up holes in defenses and create for their teammates. Coppola led the team in assists with over five per game. Freshman Gerald Beverly has a bright future ahead of him as he was key off the bench for the Wildcats. His size and strength will be a force for the next few years. Junior guard Devon Dawson, one year removed from an Achilles injury which sidelines him for the entirety of the 2010-2011 campaign came back strong and was a key contributor on coach Don Silveri's lethal bench.

Ellie Allen and Chelsea Andorka were big performers and stepped up in many key spots throughout the year for the Lady Wildcats. They averaged 14 and 12 points respectively. Both were named AMC player of the week numerous times. Alongside Allen and Andorka were key starters such as Courtney Donovan and Samantha Stanfield. Donovan, who showed she can play inside as well as step out and shoot from range had a great senior season. Stanfield, in her first year as a starter was a clutch shooter for the team all throughout the season.

The men will play their opening round game Thursday March 8th at 8:30 am CST against Bellevue (Neb.) who is ranked seventh in the latest coaches top 25 poll.

The women, a seven seed in the tournament will play the second seeded Morningside (Iowa) (25-8) at 7:30 pm CST on Wednesday

Sabres Ship Gaustad to Nashville

The Sabres up until 15 minutes before the trade deadline Monday were silent. It looked as if management was going to let the team be. They weren't going to be buyers or sellers.

That all changed when they announced the trading of Paul Gaustad along with a 4th round pick to Nashville for this year's first round pick.

The followed that up minutes later when they announced they had traded their young forward Zack Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani to Vancouver for 2008 tenth overall pick Cody Hodgson and defenseman Alexander Sulzer.

Hodgson, a highly regarded young center will look to bring a much needed void to the position of Buffalo's roster.

I recently spoke with Queen City Sports writer Michael Bundt about the Sabres' deadline deals. The interview in it's entirety is transcribed below.

Q: What were your thoughts with about 20 minutes to go until deadline and the Sabres were yet to have made a move?

A: With 20 minutes left, I was just wondering, are the Sabres going to do anything? There was so much hype entering the trade deadline about whether the Sabres were going to buy or sell but at that present moment, they weren’t doing anything. I was just anxious and hoping that something was going to happen soon.

Q: Do you feel shipping center Paul Gaustad will hurt or help in the long run?

A: Trading Gaustad wasn’t really that big of a move in my opinion. In the long run, it won’t help or hurt Buffalo that much. It’s what the Sabres do with the first round pick that they receive from Nashville that will determine if the trade was worth it. Short term, it’s a good trade for Buffalo. By trading Gaustad, the Sabres ensured themselves that they would get something back for Gaustad since he was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Q: Many people said getting a first for Gaustad was impossible, but it was able to happen. How much credit do you give Darcy Regeir for being able to pull the deal off?

A: I give Darcy a lot of credit. He knew what the market out there was and got exactly what he wanted. Obviously, in the minds of many, Gaustad wasn’t worth a 1^st round pick but I think you have to be happy as a Sabres fan that Darcy was patient and got the pick that he wanted all along.

Q: How much have you heard of Cody Hodgson and what can Sabres fans expect not only this season but for the future?

A: Before the trade, I heard a limited amount of Hodgson but after seeing some highlights and hearing what other analysts are saying about him, Sabres fans have got to be pleased with what they’re getting. Buffalo fans can expect to get a young talented center trying to get off to a fast start in his career. Hodgson is a good set up man who can also score. He’s only 22 year old and has a ton of talent and potential. Given more chances to produce in Buffalo, Hodgson has the potential to become a very good player down the road.

Q: Will the shedding of Zack Kassian doom the Sabres down the road??

A: I don’t think it will. I liked Kassian. He was a good, young talented player, played physical at times and showed some potential. However, with Kassian, there were always questions looming about whether he had the drive to become a star. Once he left juniors to play professionally in the AHL and NHL, Kassian stopped playing with the physical edge that fans had grown accustomed to. He’s still young though. He might turn into a good player but I don’t think Buffalo will be haunted by this trade just due to the fact that they got a good young talented player back in return for Kassian.

Q: Does this trade deadline help Darcy Regeir or Lindy Ruff keep their jobs this offseason?

A: The trade deadline will have no impact on whether or not Darcy and Lindy keep their jobs after this season. What will have an impact will be whether or not the Sabres make the playoffs. Even with that being said, it’s still possible that Darcy and Lindy could keep their jobs even if they miss the playoffs. The final decision ultimately comes down to Terry Pegula, and nobody knows what type of leash he has them on.

Q: Where will the Sabres finish come playoff time?

A: The Sabres will be on the outside looking in come playoff time. There’s just too many teams fighting with the Sabres for the final playoff spot for me to believe that they’ll make it. The Sabres are currently seven points back of Washington with only one game in hand. I just can’t see them beating out all of the teams ahead of them. Can they? Most definitely. Will they? I’m leaning towards no.

*You can check Michael out on www.queencitysports.net and can follow him on twitter @mbundt11

Niagara Falls' Flynn a Wanted Man

Houston Rockets point guard and former Niagara Falls high school standout Johnny Flynn is rumored to be wanted by both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Flynn who played his college basketball at Syracuse played alongside Paul Harris here in Niagara Falls. Flynn went on to be the sixth overall player taken in the 2009 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, was traded to Houston last summer.

In his rookie year, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game.

Since then, Flynn has seen his production as well as his minutes fall. He has only appeared in 7 games this year, averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 assists per game.

A fresh start in New York or Los Angeles is something that Flynn may need in order for his talents to be used to their best.

Sabres Light up Scoreboard Against Bruins

Game 53, Boston Bruins @ Buffalo Sabres, 2/8/2012

When I rolled into the First Niagara Center on Wednesday night I was hoping to see a very good effort out of a desperate hockey club. Well not only did I see a desperate hockey club give a lot of effort, I saw a machine. The Buffalo Sabres had their biggest win in recent memory in a 6-0 bashing of their rival Boston Bruins. It was ugly and it was on national television. Just what the doctor ordered in this season of craziness in Buffalo.

When the puck dropped it seemed like both hockey clubs came to play. Both teams were skating and moving the puck well. Then all hell broke loose. Cody McCormick fought Bruins “tough-guy” Shawn Thornton. Not too long after Christian Ehrhoff ripped a wrist shot from the point, which deflected off of Bruins forward Gregory Campbell, and then went right passed the Bruin net-minder Tuukka Rask. Not long after the Bruins scored a goal that looked like it would tie the game up. However, a ruling of “incidental contact” on the play cancelled out the goal causing the Bruins bench to get frustrated. The Sabres finally had something go their way. Hey the City of Buffalo had something go their way!

The first period action wasn’t over yet. Patrick Kaleta and hated Bruin Milan Lucic battled in a fight that really got the crowd going. As big a size advantage as Lucic has on Kaleta, Kaleta still held his own, and pumped up the crowd with his arms, much to the dismay of the Bruins. Also during the action, Bruins forward Brad Marchand was noticeably chirping at Sabres the entire game. He was really focusing in on forward Ville Leino. With just a few minutes left in the first, Ville Leino answered back with a very creative pass to Captain Jason Pominville putting the Sabres ahead by two.

The second period opened with another Sabres goal, this one by Tyler Ennis. Rask’s night was over. Tim Thomas was in. The Sabres had numerous chances on a power play to make it 4-0 but Thomas looked sharp. Another incident that happened during the second period was when Ville Leino “snowed” goaltender Tim Thomas after a save. That isn’t something the Bruins liked very much but it is those "little things" that will bring the Sabres together better as this season goes on. I liked what I was seeing. Just when the game couldn’t get any better for the Sabres, Pat Kaleta put a weird angled shot by Thomas.

The third period was more of the same; pure domination by Ryan Miller and the Sabres. Leino set up Pominville again. Drew Stafford made the game an even more laughable 6-0. The third period was the highlight of the game.

When Milan Lucic hit Ryan Miller the entire hockey world focused on the Sabres lack of response. Frankly it was embarrassing. This time it was the Sabres time to embarrass the Bruins. This time on national television. This time on the scoreboard and then it was a brawl. Lucic lost his mind during the brawl. Buffalo got in his head. He was tossed. As the referees were sorting things out, a “Boston Sucks” chant broke out. Then there was a little “Sweet Caroline.” Boston was pay-backed and the entire hockey world saw it. This time the embarrassment was on Boston.

Notes: The Sabres play a Friday home game against the Dallas Stars. Thomas Vanek will be back in the line-up. If you take the first period of the Islanders game away from Ryan Miller, he has let in 0 goals in 10 periods! Allowing just 2 in 14 periods and all together 5 in the last 5 games. He moved to 14-1-2 against Boston at home in his career. The Sabres haven’t lost in regulation at home since Dec. 13th, going 5-0-4 during that time. James Patrick will be behind the bench once again Friday night.

Keeping It Going

Game 52, Buffalo Sabres @ New York Islanders, 2/4/12

It looked as though the Buffalo Sabres would really put a damper on any revival of their season Saturday night when the New York Islanders took a 3-1 lead in the first period. The Sabres weren’t playing a bad game but they couldn’t bury their opportunities. Led by two goals from Frans Nielsen and one from Josh Bailey, it was the Islanders game to lose in the final two periods.

However, the lone goal in the first period by Nathan Gerbe was not the only goal the Sabres would score. The Sabres down 3-1 would need four goals in the game for the first time since they did so over a month ago at home against Edmonton. The second period helped the Sabres inch one goal closer as Derek Roy netted a big goal with just under two minutes to go, putting the team in good position to come back in the third.

With just over eight minutes left in the game, one of the best players in recent games for the Buffalo Sabres Paul Gaustad put the tying goal behind goaltender Al Montoya, and the game was tied up.

Overtime was about as crazy a five minutes as you could have asked for. A Sabres penalty for too-many men on the ice put the game in jeopardy. However, just as the Sabres killed off an over-time penalty against the Rangers last Wednesday, the Sabres killed off the Islanders power play blocking shot after shot, refusing to lose. Ryan Miller was very good as well making a few monster saves.

For the third time in the last four games the Sabres were going to a shootout. Ryan Miller stopped the first shooter, Brad Boyes scored, Miller made stopped the second shooter, and then the clutch captain of Buffalo Jason Pominville said goodnight to the Islanders as Buffalo won 4-3.
The team has life. They have hope. The team will have a huge game on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins at First Niagra. Expect the Sabres to play an intense game and expect the energy level to be very exciting in the building. It should be a dandy.

Notes: Thomas Vanek status for the game is looking shaky right now. The Sabres could use their forward as they race toward on a late playoff run.

Classic Miller, Lundqvist Battle Decided in SO

Game 51, New York Rangers @ Buffalo Sabres, 2/1/12

The Buffalo Sabres looked to keep their momentum going after winning back-to-back games for the first time since early November. The Sabres once again came out flying. Every line was working hard. Both goalies were sharp. It was a classic Lundqvist, Miller battle. The Sabres had many chances, including 5 power plays but without two of their most important scorers in Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford out of the line-up, the Sabres couldn’t bury one past Lundqvist.

The first two periods were entertaining; however the third period was incredible. The energy at the First Niagara Center was there and the Sabres fed off the energy. The Sabres killed off a Tyler Ennis penalty mid-way through the third period, where the puck was in the Rangers zone for the majority of the time. The team was refusing to back down. They didn’t care about any standings, it was just about this individual game. A late power play opportunity for the Sabres nearly put the game away. But the game was destined for overtime.

In overtime, the Sabres still had some time on the power play. They couldn’t bury the puck past Henrik Lundqvist though. A penalty mid-way through the overtime on Tyler Ennis for boarding put the game in jeopardy. The call was very, very questionable and Lindy Ruff wasn’t very happy about it from the bench. The Sabres showed that they weren’t going to lose the game on a bad call. Blocked shot after blocked shot, the Sabres were unbelievable. When Ryan Miller plays like he did, you just get the sense that the team in front of him has so much confidence and “will.” The Sabres killed off the penalty and after a brilliant chance for Derek Roy, the game was headed to a shootout.

In the shootout, All-Star MVP Marion Gaborik scored first to put the pressure on the Sabres. Brad Boyes got absolutely robbed by Lundqvist on his opportunity. My jaw literally dropped. What a great save. The Sabres captain, Jason Pominville was the last chance for the Sabres. He had to be clutch once again. Pominville came through again and gave Buffalo another chance. What a great job by the captain. In round five, Ryan Callahan ended the game, giving the Rangers the two points.

The Sabres played a very good game and they still haven’t lost in regulation at home since December 13th. A sign that every player played well once again… Every player had double-digit ice time numbers. Ennis had a 2 minute and 32 second shift in between. Paul Gaustad nearly played an entire penalty kill. If Vanek is healthy for this game, the Buffalo Sabres win, plain and simple, but all is not lost. The Sabres play the Islanders Saturday night. If they can keep up the effort from the last three games for the rest of the season, the playoffs will be possible.

Also: Zach Kassian and Luke Adam played well for the Sabres. Miller gets the shutout for the game. The shootout goal isn’t a goal against for Miller. Stafford should return Saturday. Vanek is hoping to return for the highly anticipated Bruins game next Wednesday.

Play-Action Sports: February 1st 2012

Men's Basketball:

Buffalo 73 Ball St. 57: Make it five in a row for the UB Bulls as they were able to pick up their sixth conference win and 13th overall on the year with a 73-57 win over Ball State in Alumni Arena. Mitchell Watt loaded up the stat sheet for the Bulls as he racked up 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists. Zach Filzen added 14 and Javon McCrea 10 as the Bulls were able to shoot 54% from the floor (52.6% from three). They also out-rebounded the Cardinals 35-20.

St Bonaventure 62 St Louis 86: The Bonnies suffered a setback Wednesday night as they suffered a 24 point loss at the hands of the Saint Louis Billikens. The team lost their grasp on first place in the conference and dropped to 12-8 (5-3). Andrew Nicholson was a non-factor in the game as he was constantly in foul trouble, playing only ten minutes and scoring just two points. Saint Louis had five players in double figures and were led by Kwamain Mitchell who had 22. Dwayne Evans added a double-double as well with 10 points and 11 rebounds.