What the Sabres Should do at the Deadline

By Steve

The Buffalo Sabres are a joke. They have so many problems it would be impossible to compile an all inclusive list. Obviously, what they need to do before Wedn. trade deadline is fire Regier. But that isnt happening so here is what they should do plan b:

Trade Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville. Miller is an over paid player at an overrated position. Pominville is no true captain and is no cornerstone top line player. I would not resign him after next year and his value is at its peak right now.

The only reason to not trade Miller is because someone in the West wont pony up enough for him. Im not trading him to a team in the East because he is still good, just not worth the cap hit.

Im not trading Tom Vanek yet. He scores he has another year on his contract and he will be tough to replace. He wont take a pay cut and may want more than 5 more years on a new deal which is problematic but that can wait til later.

Step two is trade anyone not named Kaleta, Ott, Vanek Myers, Enroth and Hodgeson. Anyone else should be shopped extensively. This team needs a complete drastic overhaul. Coach, gm managing partner scouts players everyone. Nothing has worked since 2007!

What will actually happen is a few defenseman will be shipped, Stafford will continue to suck here for years, Regier will make excuses and maybe someone like Tyler Ennis will be exchanged for someone else that doesn't live up to the hype.

At least it will be football season soon ? FML

NCAA Tourney day 1 Recap

by Steve

The Atlantic 10 balled (4-0) and the Mountain West was grossly overrated (1-3).  Marquette got lucky/Davidson choked and the PAC12 ain't bad.  Not a bad Thursday afternoon.

For all the flack the Big East gets they still went 3-1. Syracuse and Louisville looked legit in the process and I'm personally glad Pitt and loser Jamie Dixon are moving off to greener (pun!) pastures in the ACC next season.  Marquette/Butler will be a great game Saturday, Cuse has a soft Cal team and Lousville probably will win it all if they keep their focus.

Gonzaga proved that I was correct in thinking they were the worst 1 seed by far (they have no quality wins and lost to Illinois c'mon).  Missouri let me down big time, Akron looked like they didn't belong in any tournament and Shaka Smart continues to impress.

Don't sleep on the Big10, Michigan and Michigan St looked strong even if they were both playing in home games more or less.

How the hell was Oregon a freaking 12 seed?

Biggest loser of the day by far was Steve Alford, New Mexico's head coach.  He was on Rome last week crying cause he thought the Lobos should have been a 1 seed.  Well, clearly, a three seed was too high.  Thanks, I put your asses in my final 4.

FWIW I went 12-4 with that bad Lobos L.

Coming up today... more of the same #can'twait !!!

Buffalo Bills sign Manny Lawson

By Steve

I guess Bud Nix finally got over his embarrassing Tuesday and finally made a move signing 3-4 olb Manny Lawson.

At 6'5 240 the former Bengal and 49er has the size but not necesarily the stats. His highest sack total was 6.5 a few seasons agoin SF.

Whats with the Bills and late 2000's NC State players though?  John McCargo Mario Williams and now Lawson damn.

The 29 year old according to profootball focus wasn't a good fit in the Bengals defense. He ranked 37th out of 43 lbs in total snaps and only averaged 23 snaps per game.

4 years $12 mil w 7 guaranteed.  Less than i feared but it basically sounds like a two year deal.

The only other player I've read the Bills were even linked to was former Jets d lineman Mike Devito who got $12.6. From KC

Wide Receiver please?

The Buffalo Bills and Free Agency 2013

by Steve

Fifteen hours and counting (down) until the 2013 NFL Free Agency period begins and lucky for you I'm here to tell you not just what to think but what the Bills should actually do.

First, negotiate a buyout of Ryan Fitzpatrick and severely restructure his contract.  He and it are an albatross. $10 mil for maybe a back up? Ouch.  Next Cut Brad Smith, he does nothing.

Next identify the needs, QB (not possible via FA doubtful via trade), LB, WR, TE, G, CB, S, DE in that order.  The Bills (after that rather questionable Leodis McKelvin contract) have about $14 mil ish available to spend (not counting $5 mil for rookies).  So clearly they will not be big players.

Linebackers
Regards of who replaces the linebackers from the 2012 team it will be an upgrade.  Holy shit it is not possible this team gets worse.  So I'll take anyone.

Paul Kruger will be way to expensive so scratch that.

James Harrison is old but still seemingly a beast.  He may sacrifice winning for one last pay day so that is the only reason I give the Bills even a chance at keeping him.  It's not likely but the conversation is worth having.

Connor Barwin could be a value signing with such a bad 2012.  Do the Bills want another cast off from the Texans defense though?

Shaun Phillips is borderline old but I've always liked him.  Depending on the price I'm interested.

Manny Lawson anyone?  He has great size at 6-5 and will be 29 when the season starts.  Frankly, I'll take anyone from the Bengals defense (which is weird to say).

Keith Rivers has only played 26 games total the last two seasons and will be on his third team in three years before the age of 27.  He could be cheap for a former top 10 pick.

Quentin Groves, the former Raider and Cardinal and Jaguar has bounced all around the league.  Jim Rome loves him because he can rap and he will be affordable. Plus he's only 28.

As far as ILBs go, there isn't much. I like Ellerbe all season but only because he was cheap as an undrafted FA.  At this point he'll be looking for a huge pay day and won't be in the Bills budget. Rey Maualuga is still young and has pedigree but why aren't the Bengals keeping him?


Wide Receivers
Not interested in any of the "big" names but this team needs a legit #1 receiver.  Then again they need just about any receiver.

Ramses Barden 6-6 from the Giants.  True they have a great QB and a bunch of great WRs so that helps and hurts barden as far as touches and pass coverage.  He doesn't have great stats but his size is intriguing.   Probably will be cheap too.

Brandon Gibson is young and may get a little more than he deserves but I wouldn't hate the idea. 6-0 and killed the Bills season basically last year. I'm interested.

Jerome Simpson 6-2 190, I thought he was bigger but he is interesting.  The guy is a major pot head and had a down year in Minnesota albeit the QB play wasn't very impressive.  Could be a value signing.

Domenik Hixon is some what on my radar too but again only 6-2.  This team needs a big beast and the only option might be the draft, ugh.


Tight End
Jared Cook
The Bills should have drafted this dude a few years ago.  He sounds like a bit of a bitch and may want more money than he is worth.  The talent is there but is he worth the other shit?

Martellus Bennett
Probably out of the Bills price range but he is a play maker. 6-6 265 is also ideal.  Was he a product of the Giants offense though?

Brandon Myers is a one year wonder.  It will be interesting to see how much of a contract he gets but if he can be productive with Carson Palmer he has to have some talent.

Delanie Walker, jack of all trades, is not a good enough offensive threat for me.  Same goes for Anthony Fasano. Dante Rosario could be cheap.


In conclusion, try and sign James Harrison Jared Cook Shaun Phillips Dom Hixon and Jerome Simpson.  Find some guard on a practice squad again like last time and some other big WR.  Move bust Arron Williams to safety and sign Kyle Moore. Oh and fire Buddy Nix.

Buffalo Warriors, New Minor League Hoops Team

by Steve

Evidently there is a new minor league basketball team in Buffalo.  From the Buffalo Warriors official website:

The Buffalo Warriors professional basketball team made several announcements in the past week, including news about the 2013 season and plans to bring an NBA Development League team to Western New York.
The Warrior were set to begin play in the newly formed IBA-PBL basketball league this season, but scheduling delays caused the team to change focus and create a schedule consisting of international opponents beginning with the home opener on March 27 at the Event Center at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. Warriors players and management agreed that the international concept would provide the players with more opportunities to continue their careers with professional teams overseas.
According to team owner Edward Bednarz, the Warriors will play a total of 15 home games against international teams from destinations such as England, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Bermuda, Mexico, Canada and the Ivory Coast.
Season and individual game tickets — including a limited number of courtside seats — are now for sale on the team’s website at www.buffalowarriors.com and at the Event Center Box Office.
Following the successful completion of this season, the Warriors will aggressively pursue bringing an NBA D-League team to Buffalo, according to Bednarz. Founded in 2001, the D-League currently has teams in 16 cities across the U.S.
The Warriors are scheduled to open training camp on Feb. 25. After a week of closed practices, team practices will be opened up to the public.

The idea of a D-League team being in Buffalo is intriguing. The team playing at the Hamburg Fair Grounds is not.  And a review of the roster has players that are basically ungoogleable:
ANTHONY COX 6’9”
DELONTE GREY 6’6”
JAMAL NICHOLS 6’9”
TERENCE DILL 6’7
JOSHUA JONES 6’5”
MOUSSA SECK 7’4”
TREVONN CAMPBELL 6’1”
JOSH CRAWFORD 7’0”
ALI RAMADAN 6’4”
GLENROY CARR JR 6’6”
CHARLES JEFFERSON 6’0”
ZACH MOORE 6’3”
RON MALECKI 6’5”

Zack Moore played at St Bonaventure, Ron Malecki played somewhere called Pitt Greensburg and I couldn't find much else.  At least the logo sorta looks like the old Buffalo Braves logo:

Wait, is that a good thing?  I couldn't even find much about the owner Edward Bednarz.  According to his linkedin page he went to Buffalo State and is the owner of CLICKeTIX, albeit I have no idea what that is and the website has no information.

Yeah obviously the D-League isn't very glamorous and most of these minor league basketball leagues tend to fail miserably but it could be interesting if Buffalo were to get a team.  According to nba.com 116 current players have D-League experience.  Buffalo would be one of the biggest cities to have a team besides LA and where ever "Texas" plays.  Plus we could start a rivalry with Erie PA!  I won't hold my breath.

Farewell Lindy Ruff

by Steve

In my customary form I will write a farewell fill in your name here for who ever was fired from a Buffalo sports team.  This time it is Lindy Ruff. A day I seriously never thought would happen especially if Darcy Regier was still the general manager of the Sabres.  What the fuck took so long?

How did this guy survive through four different owners (assuming you count the NHL)?  It was between Lindy and cockroaches and my money was on Lindy.  The media loved him, the owner was just a fan boy and the fans want a statue of the guy on their own front lawn.  So why now, what changed?

I honestly don't know. But I do have a hunch. And that hunch is Ken Sawyer.  He is basically the new Larry Quinn as Terry Pegula's shadowy right hand man.  Presumably he saw the writing on the wall and told Pegs to tell Darc to ax Lindy.  What, sixteen years of losing wasn't enough of a track record to go on?  Does anyone truly believe it is only the players fault this team has regressed for half a decade, never won a cup and only won two division titles in 15 seasons?

Has anyone ever heard this Sawyer character talk?  I haven't even really heard his name ever mentioned until Regier's press conference Wednesday.  Does anyone really believe while fighting back tears that it was Regier's idea to ax the coach?  Of course not.  We'll probably never know.  But my guess is Sawyer.

Back to Ruff, sports is a cut throat game, players get cut, coaches get fired, so I shed no tears for this guy.  At the absolute worst Ruff should have been fired after the debacle in '07 when the team didn't even show up against the Senators in the ECF.  That was six freaking years ago! What was the point of bringing him back after that series?  He clearly demonstrated then that he was a loser.

Oh well, here's hoping the Sabres tank the rest of the season because at this point they aren't going any where any way. (plus a better draft pick although all 14 non qualifier teams get a shot at #1 overall) Also that means Regier will be fired and a new GM will hire a new coach from outside the organization.

At least we have Sawyer to believe in with a backbone.

What Are the Buffalo Bills Doing?

by Steve

The Buffalo Bills are in full on offseason mode.  Last week they cut some dead weight (albeit not enough) and resigned a quarterback (has he even been assigned a number?).  This team has needs throughout the roster and is no where near competing.

Doug Marrone said last week there will be an open competition at every position.  With little to no depth and very little talent those competitions are going to be ugly.  Ryan "$10.45 million" Fitzpatrick will allegedly be back to compete with Tarvaris Jackson and two or more rookies Bud Nix hopefully drafts.

Why is Fitzpatrick being brought back?  True his $10 mil counts against the cap so cutting him will save a paltry $.45 mil (although a ton of actual cash) but he sucks and we all know it. The Tar-Var signing was cheap ($1.75 mil) and is still an unknown since he didn't even dress for a game last year.  Thanks Chanwhick.

Cutting Nick Barnett and George Wilson were good moves.  Neither is very good and weren't worth their cap figure.  I could have survived with Barnett still on the roster but he did fail a physical so tough titties.  My question is why haven't Kelsay and Brad Smith been axed yet?  That is another $6-9 mil in savings.

The Bills allegedly have something like $20 mil in space although that doesn't count a potential Jarius Byrd $6.2 mil franchise tag (which has to happen) and $5 mil or so for drafted players.  Free agency starts March 12th. I'd say the Bills will be sitting out any big signings but who thought last year would have happened?

I'm just hoping the Bills don't go all out to sign has-beens from the Jets like Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard just because of the Mike Pettine  hire.  In reality I would be more worried about not signing the likes of Kyle Moore and Andy Levitre.  If Levitre in particular walks I blame the Bills brass for sitting on their hands and not signing him earlier.  Then again some comments made by Levitre after the season leads me to believe he is looking forward to a pay day and why would anyone wanna stay in a losing organization like this.

Biggest needs:
Quarterback
Linebacker
Wide Receiver
Safety
Guard

Once cuts and things begin to clear up I'll be back to preview free agents more thoroughly.