Bandits Spilt Season Opening Weekend.

Friday night Bandits fans could not have been any lower. Their team had just dropped a 12-9 game to the defending champion Rochester Knighthawks at the HSBC Arena, in a game that was not as close as the score showed. It looked like it could be a sweep for the Knighthawks as the Bandits have not had much success in the Blue Cross Arena including last season's overtime playoff lose. But something changed, as the Bandits defeated the Knighthawks on the night they raised three banners including the NLL championship banner.

So the weekend really showed nothing as to who will win the NLL East Division. If one team has swept the weekend they would basically had a three game lead with two games in the standings and the tie breaker. Now they must battle all season long including April 12 at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. Can another team such as Toronto, Philadelphia or Minnesota jump in the race for first. Yes, well I think Minnesota can, but I don't think they will. Don't get me wrong, they are a good team, but they are not as good as the Bandits or Knighthawks. The Wings are still rebuilding and will fight for the last playoff spot. The Rock are a shell of their former self. This could be the first time since 1998 that the franchise misses the playoffs. That was their first season and they were based in Hamilton and called the Ontario Raiders.

I bet no Bandits fan has ever been this happy to root for a .500 team.

Top Stories of 2007

Here are my top stories of 2007 for Buffalo sports in no special order

-Buffalo goes Sabres crazy. You could not go anyway without seeing people wearing Sabres gear. 10,000 people standing outside the HSBC Arena to watch the playoff games on large screens. It felt like the Bills of the early 90's.

-Sabres win President's Trophy. First time in franchise history they had the best record in the NHL.

-Sabres lose in Eastern Conference finals for second straight year.

-Briere and Drury leave as free agents on the first day of free agency.

-Bills have third straight losing season, still have not made the playoffs since 1999 season.

-Mary Levy steps down as Bills GM

-JP Losman loses starting job to rookie third round pick Trent Edwards.

-Willis McGahee shoots off mouth, and then is traded to Baltimore

-Bandits lose in Eastern Division finals in OT

-Bandits trade 2006 NLL MVP Chugger to Calgary for Sean Greenhalgh, who tears his ACL in a preseason game and will miss the 2007 season.

-NLL cancels season, then comes to an agreement with the PLPA and uncanceled the season.
Because arena dates were already released the schedule is goofy and Bandits get an extra home game.

-Bisons miss playoffs for second straight year, first time while affiliated with the Cleveland Indians.

-Bisons celebrate successful 20th season at Dunn Tire Park

-UB wins five games, which is good for second in the MAC Eastern Division. One win short of the six needed to make it to a bowl game.

-Niagara Purple Eagles win MAAC Championship but must play in the NCAA play in game, which they win.

-Queen City FC wins the Eastern Conference of the NPSL in their first season. They fall short in the championship game. They also won a game in the US Open Cup.

Looking forward to 2008 and the top stories. I can see a few already.

-NHL Winter Classic

-John Tavares passes Gary Gait for the NLL's all time leading goal scorer, giving JT the goals, assists and points records.

-New GM named for Bills.

And a few stories I would like to see in 2008

-Niagara wins back to back MAAC Championships

-Niagara hockey makes the NCAA Tournament

-Bandits break championship drought.

-Sabres win first Stanley Cup.

-Bisons make playoffs

-Cleveland Indians decided to pass on Columbus and sign agreement with Bisons.

-UB Football makes its first trip to a bowl game, making the International Bowl and thousands of UB fans follow the team to Toronto.

-Bills make the playoffs.

Buffalo Bills 17, Washington Redskins 16

It was an emotional game for the Washington Redskins after the death of Sean Taylor this week. It was an ugly game for both the Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills, but in the end the Bills came out with a 17-16 victory. It seemed like a normal Trent Edwards start to me. The Bills offense moves the ball well, but can't get the ball in the end zone. Five field goals and a safety was all the offense the Bills could get. While the 'skins got in the end zone, and their offense also moved the ball, it also had problems finishing the job.

The defense played a normal Bills defensive game. They bend but don't break. The 'skins moved up and down the field, but the Bills forced them into field goals once they got in the end zone. The Bills still had problems getting the Redskins off the field on third down. Why this team can't stop anyone on third down early in the game I don't know. But I was surprised to see the Bills hold Clinton Portis in check all day. He really went nowhere on the ground. Is this a turnaround for the defense or just a bad day for the 'skins running game?

I still don't know if I believe in Trent Edwards. First off he needs to release the ball higher. He has way too many passes tipped at the line. That will lead to INTs if it keeps happening. Second, he has to get the ball in the end zone. Yeah I realize that is not an earth shattering statement, but it is the truth. How many games can the Bills in without scoring a TD?

In the big picture, the Bills are still alive for a playoff spot with the 0-12 Dolphins coming to Orchard Park. The Fish got blown out today by the Jets. So it looks like the Dolphins may actually do the unthinkable, lose every game this season. The lose in the mud in Pittsburgh seems to have been the nail in the coffin for Miami. So if the Bills win next week, they would have a huge game three hours away in two weeks against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns lead the Bills by one game for the last playoff spot. I really don't know how I am talking about the playoffs. This Bills team has looked as bad as you can on more then one game this year, and yet they are still alive. I guess that shows how bad the NFL has became, with 6-6 teams in the playoff hunt, and not the most talented 6-6 teams. But I must give the Bills credit, they are still alive longer then most of us in Western New York thought they would be.

Buffalo Sabres 8, Carolina Whalercanes 1

Well, if you are a Hurricane fan, there was not much that went well. The Sabres scored early and scored often againts Canes backup goalie John Graham. The did not look anything like the team that got beat in North Carolina. Even Max had a great game, getting a goal and flying all over the ice. Of Course Ryan Miller gave up a goal with a couple minutes left to blow the shutout, but he does that pretty much every game that he has a shutout that late. So the Sabres are hot, but here comes the tough part. They have a west coast swing this week with games in Anahiem, LA and San Jose. It is hard enough for an east coast team to head to the west coast, but they have to play two pretty good teams. The Ducks have a bit of cup hangover, but they are still a very good team. The Sharks are one of the best teams in the NHL. Yeah the Kings are pretty bad, but it will still be a tough game and a very tough trip. If the Sabres can get 3 points I would call it a sucess.

And the best part, the Senators keep losing. Their lead over Montreal is down to three points and their lead over Buffalo is down to nine points. Yeah that is still pretty large, but it was seventeen points not too long ago.

Turner Gill MAC Coach of the Year

Today Turner Gill was named Mid-American Conference coach of the year. It is well deserved for Gil, who turned around a program that could not win more then 3 games to a 5 win team. Granted only at UB can you win 5 games and be named coach of the year. Now all the rumors have him leaving UB and taking the job at Nebraska. First off, if the job is offered to him, he would be nuts not to take it. But I still have my doubts that Nebraska will offer the job to Gil. Yeah he got UB one win away from a bowl game, and had them in a tie for first place in the MAC East, but he still had a losing record. They still lost to Syracuse, which they really had no business doing. They could not get the big win over Bowling Green, which would have given them a shot at the International Bowl. They still could not beat Miami of Ohio which would have given them a shot the MAC championship and a berth in the Motor City Bowl. Second it was only one season. Does Nebraska really want a coach who won five games once? Gil does have connections, both playing and then coaching at Nebraska. But don't the school want someone who has proven them self? I would worry that he got lucky once. If he can win next year, and take the next step, a bowl game and a MAC division championship, then he should get a head coaching job at a bigger school. I realize that UB is not the end all job of coach, actually it is one of the worst jobs in the country, but I want a guy who has proven themselves if I were Nebraska. But Turner deserves the coach of the year in the MAC, he has done something nobody else could do, that is have the football program pointed in the right direction, with hope for next season.

Jaguars 36 Bills 14

Another game, another lose. Another season, another season without the playoffs. The Buffalo Bills have not became the Arizona Cardinals, they are worse. They are the worst franchise in the NFL. The Bills have not made the playoffs since the 1999 season, back when Wade Philips was the head coach and Doug Flutie was the starting QB. Since then Tom Donahue ruined a franchise, and it is still costing the team. His big drafting of a QB has failed. I have believed that JP Losman was going to be the guy for the Bills, but I am wrong. JP is not that answer, and never will be. The problem is I don't really think Trent Edwards is the answer either. Edwards won games but lets be honest, it was not him doing the heavy lifting. Actually if he had done anything in the Dallas game the Bills would have won. Edwards did nothing but get the Bills 3 points.

So where do the Bills go from here? I don't know, they have lots of holes to fill. Do they bring Dick Jauron back? Is Edwards the guy at QB? Can they find a defense that can stop anyone before they get to the 10 yard line? There will be lots of questions to fill this off season for the Bills, but they will have a long off season to figure things out because they won't have the playoffs to plan for.

Welcome to Buffalo NY

This is my blog about all things in Buffalo. Mostly I will be posting about our sports teams, the Bills, Sabres, Bisons and Bandits along with the college teams at UB, Canisuis, Niagara and St. Bona. But I will also post about news of Western New York, or just things that happen in this area that make it such a great place.