The Pitt Panthers had their big contingent in the stands to watch their boys practice Wednesday night

Yep we did score one credential and parking pass, thanks to our affiliation with Sports and Leisure Magazine. Full press access at our disposal!

Coach Mike Krzyzewski spent the entire Duke practice time along the sidelines, talking to the fans and signing autographs

Man oh man Buffalo is hopping! It is buzzing! And you can feel it in the streets, at the arena, the excitement is all over the TV and the other media.

I got down to the arena late this afternoon to pick up my credential and check out the lay of the land. It is amazing how totally organized and well put together the entire function is. The bowels of the arena have been transformed into a small city… the media dining/work room is now just a giant “hospitality room” with food service going seemingly all the time. Then of course all four auxiliary locker rooms are in use for the teams; the afternoon teams will have to clear out so the evening guys can come in. That ground floor windowed open space fronting Main Street is the media center, with hundreds of tabled positions for writers. Immediately adjacent is the postgame interview room. CBS has their own “hospitality suite” and they get their own cool media credential, to separate them from us grunts I guess. Then there are lounge areas and dressing areas for the bands and the cheerleaders. Directional signage is posted all over the place. It is all very impressive.

I did chow down a bit (beef on weck and wings on the menu yummy!) and headed out onto the court, to find Duke doing their practice, and Coach K was nowhere near his players. Instead he was along the boards, signing autographs and greeting fans, and of course the throng of media was eating all that up. Very nice!

I caught up with Kevin Sylvester, who we all know as Sabres studio host but also handles marketing for the NCAA events, one of the many hats he wears. He was beaming from ear to ear… everything going good so far Kev! I also ran into Ron Bertovich, former Exec VP for the Sabres during the Adelphia years; he is now Deputy Commissioner for the Colonial Athletic Association. Ron was an integral part of the USRT success when we were at it at full throttle, so always props to him.

Also props to our good friend and colleague Mike Harrington, who is doing a great job blogging on the News’ College Hoopla site. Mike is with the Purple Eagles, went to Dayton and is now on his way to Chicago for the Friday subregional there and we have also been emailing with Mike back and forth to get the latest scoop on things. We will miss seeing him on the sidelines tomorrow… if Niagara loses, he’ll be here for Saturday’s sessions. So let’s say this right now… have fun in Chicago for Niagara’s Round 2 game Sunday Mike!

So it all starts tomorrow… the long awaited day long marathon of basketball; sharing with our group of good friends all the magical moments, feeling the energy of the students, the colorful pageantry, the electricity on the streets of downtown… it’s like Christmas, your birthday, the 4th of July and the feast at the end of Ramadan all rolled into one!

OK…..NOW they’re in the Big Dance!

And thanks in part to A+M’s inability to outdo your average hoops playing ten year old at the free throw line.

Niagara raced out to a 20-7 lead early, but the Rattlers hung around, even taking a 31-29 lead late in the first half, but NU quickly regained the lead to head to the break 35-31.

NU was able to keep some separation between themselves and A+M, their guard play was the key with their quickness that allowed them to penetrate to the hoop and their ability to knock down some 3’s.

But man oh man, A+M had chances late to close the gap….apparently these guys attended the prestigious free throw shooting school known as Chamberlain, O’Neal, and Dudley. At one point they were 2-12 from the charity stripe….all this while they were keeping the game within single digits.

So Niagara advances to take on mighty Kansas in the first(next???) round. Does Niagara have a shot? Not really, but as the late Jimmy V stated prior to the ‘83 NCAA Final:”We have a better chance than all the teams that aren’t here.” and frankly, Kansas does have this history of postseason “success”. We do remember Bucknell, don’t we??

Either way, it should be interesting.

Some thoughts on this whole “play-in” concept. Or, “If Peter was running the NCAA, this is how he’d do the opening round.”

Some say it should be eliminated and the field returned to 64, I say hogwash! First off, eliminate automatic bids from the play in game. They have earned the right to be in and experience the true tournament experience of the eight team subregional. Only at-large teams would be in the play in round.

Next, expand the play in round to two, or perhaps four games. A few years back, the NFL came up with the idea of opening the season on the Thursday prior to Sunday. The NCAA should do the same with an opening round double header featuring four bubble teams fighting to make the field. Since they are at large teams it’s highly likely that the clubs will be power conference schools with name recognition and produce better ratings for television.

Sure, it wouldn’t end the argument of who should be in and who doesn’t. But there is an added excitement to that opening night. Hey Jimmy B….and Bob Huggins you want in? Syracuse v Stanford followed by Kansas State v Illinois on ESPN’s Opening Night Doubleheader live from Dayton!

Sounds like a plan to me! Any thoughts?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are staying put; they will sign a short term lease to continue playing at Mellon Arena for two more seasons, before dropping the puck at their new venue for the 2009-10 season.

Demolition of buildings and land clearing will begin in a few weeks.

Yes there are Hockey Gods and today they are smiling.

A few factoids:

Cost: $290MM

Location: Centre Avenue, Washington Avenue and Fifth Place (parcel south of current arena)

Architects: HOK Sport

Outside the venue: The building’s two entrances - on the Centre and Fifth Avenue sides - stretch over a grade change of no less than 40 feet. Fans entering from Fifth Avenue will travel up to a main concourse, and all ticket holders then enter the building’s bowl area from a common concourse. Improved sight lines inside the arena were designed to enhance enjoyment of the game and other performances, and more open common spaces will be integrated to allow better views of the game while fans travel to their seats.

The future of Mellon Arena: Will be demo’d…Planners see mixed-use development in the parcel’s future, with residential, commercial and retail buildings integrated into the planning. A 265 room hotel, as well as 1,100 housing units for rent or sale, numerous stores, restaurants, office buildings, parking areas and open spaces are all possibilities.

12:20 Maryland/Davidson to be followed by Butler/Old Dominion

7:10 Duke/Virginia Commonwealth to be followed by Pittsburgh/Wright State

Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 3:20 pm.

In each case, the second game of each doubleheader will begin approximately thirty minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

We’ve had our first major shocker! Duke is slotted to play in prime time!!! That statement was dripping heavily with sarcasm.

Some alarming news coming out of Rochester this past week as Rochester Americans President/CEO Steve Donner has stated that his Amerks and the NLL Rochester Knighthawks will not play in Rochester next season unless they get more money, namely in the form of concession revenue. The city has offered a six-figure cash advance and a promise to delay for a year collection of that money and a past-due $500,000 loan given to the Amerks in 1995. The Amerks rank third in AHL attendance, with 7,603 per game.

Donner claims financial losses of $390,000 for the 2005-06 season.

Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy said there will be hockey next season at Blue Cross, but if the Amerks do indeed suspend operations, they would still maintain AHL territorial rights to the market, meaning that only a lower level league such as the UHL or ECHL would be available to Rochester hockey fans.

Rochester is one of the oldest franchises in the AHL, with its history going back to the 40s. Their working agreement with the Buffalo Sabres is the longest such arrangement of any of the NHL teams.

The discussion and debate for a new stadium for the Florida Marlins has more moving parts than you can imagine.

The focus now lies on two alternatives… a rebuild of the Orange Bowl, which would be contingent on the Miami Hurricanes moving to Dolphin Stadium. The second involves an expensive downtown location, on a parking lot north of the government center. If the ‘Canes stay at the Orange Bowl, they will want money to rehab that venue, funds which would be diverted from the ballpark. Then there are proponents of a plan to build a Children’s Courthouse on the downtown site, a plan which has the support of many civic boosters.

The Florida Marlins are surprisingly mum on the whole debate, except that they have stated that they will not play at Dolphin Stadium once their lease expires after the 2010 season.

More from the Miami Herald

French fries and gravy with melted cheese curds… gotta eat ‘em with a fork!

Available at concession stands throughout the Air Canada Centre.

Above - Shock and disappointment spread quickly in a packed Gallagher Center, and the crowd ended the party early.

After we dropped off the NYC guys at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto it was off to Niagara University to catch the revealing of the NCAA field of 65.

Unfortunately we were severely delayed at the Lewiston/Queenston border crossing (about an hour’s wait) and by the time we had reached the Gallagher Center it was already known that Niagara would be seeded in the dreaded “play-in” game against Florida A+M.

What a robbery, the Purple Eagles had won eleven games in a row to finish with a 22-11 record. And no reputable news source had these guys slotted in the play in game.

If they do survive, then they head to Chicago to take on Kansas. If Niagara really wants to show the world that they were disrespected, then a good game against Kansas would be needed.

Other thoughts about Selection Sunday:

Teams that were hosed - Syracuse….the only team to beat red hot Georgetown down the stretch. They also had a 10-6 conference record, which in the Big East should have gotten them a bit. Possibly playing their traditional weak early season schedule may have doomed them.

Drexel…a mid major school that follows the protocol to get in to a T and still do not get in. Drexel goes to Syracuse….walks out with a W, goes to Villanova….walks out with a W….goes to Creighton….walks out with a W. They won 23 games in a respectable Colonial Athletic Association and had some great road victories, but in the end the committee took a mediocre club from a power conference such as Arkansas.

The matchups are set for the Buffalo sub regional (times not yet set) with seedings:

#3 Pittsburgh v. #14 Wright State
#4 Maryland v. #13 Davidson
#6 Duke v. #11 Virginia Commonwealth
#5 Butler v. #12 Old Dominion

First thought, how the hell do five teams from south of the Mason Dixon line get sent to play in Buffalo when there are plenty of tournament teams in the northeast to choose from? Buffalo is the only site in the northeast, yet only one Big East team (Pitt) is coming here with no schools from smaller conferences in the region either. I thought the whole concept of “pods” was to make travel easier for the schools involved.

The inclusion of Duke gives me an automatic villain to cheer against, a close second being Maryland as both are member of the ACC…again, why the committee sent two ACC clubs and three mid major southern schools up north while plenty of other Big East schools and small conference champions such as Albany and Central Connecticut were available is beyond my comprehension.

Still can’t wait…..Thursday is just around the corner.

Up to TO we went today, along with our friends Gary and Mike (The King) from New York, to catch some NBA basketball action between the Toronto Raptors and the Seattle Supersonics. This one was a thriller, with Seattle getting a bucket at the buzzer to force overtime, before the Raptors put the game away, 120-119.

It was great hooking up with Mike and Gary, and this was their 59th NBA game of the season. These guys are SICK!

The other funny thing was Peter… his logic was simple: since Wellandfan and FortEriefan and StCatherinesfan comes to HSBC Arena at Sabres games to cheer for any Canadian based team, he felt it was his duty to go into the ACC and cheer for any American based teams against the Raptors. So on he went the chants of “Go Sonics” and “USA! USA!”. All that was missing was him wearing a Seattle jersey.

We dropped the NYC guys off at Ricoh Coliseum for part two of their doubleheader, an AHL Marlies game at Ricoh Coliseum, and then hightailed it down to Monteagle Ridge for the Niagara selection party…The line at customs at Lewiston? UGH! Peter will have more on that..

Posting a couple photos here… enjoy!

Below - another packed house for the Raptors, and yep, we are in the “Sprite Zone” cheapies!

Above and below - Development around the ACC and Rogers Centre is happening at a dizzying pace - high rise condos, retail and office buildings sprouting EVERYWHERE!

I will keep this post short as it is late, we have had a full day, and tomorrow (Sunday) we have a full plate on our schedule.

A week ago we were coming off of three huge wins… renewed visions of President’s Trophies, steamrolling into the playoffs, the scoring machine back.

One week later there is despair, and a feeling of dread. The Sabres have lost three straight at home, tonight to the second place New Jersey Devils, who are within one point of overtaking us for the conference lead, a position the Sabres have held all season long.

Furthermore, Ottawa loses tonight, but in OT so they pick up a point, and though letting the division crown slip away seems unimaginable, one has to watch the teams chasing Buffalo in the standings with a bit of trepidation.

Now comes a road trip… Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Florida and Atlanta, all fighting desperately for points, and save for Atlanta, all playing well.

A full day on tap for us awaits… we head up to Toronto with Gary and The King for a 1 PM Raptors tipoff, then afterwards down to the Gallagher center at Niagara University, where we will crash their Selection Sunday party. Should be a hoot!

Somber. Depressing.

That was the mood in the building, the pulse of the game and the thick air of defeat in the locker room after the Minnesota Wild made their tri-ennial visit to HSBC Arena and gave the Sabres a good old fashioned beatdown.

A beatdown? Buffalo did put 36 shots on net, but prospect goaltender Josh Harding made 35 saves, and only Mike Ryan’s late tally messed up what would have been Harding’s third shutout since his callup to the NHL.

The Sabres really didn’t play poorly… there just seems to be no zip or magic in their play the last two games.

Everyone thought Ty Conklin would get his first Sabres start tonight, but when the lineup sheets were handed out, it was Miller between the pipes. Conklin did get into the game when Miller was pulled after the Wild got their fourth goal. He made several saves in the unspectacular category, then got beat on a shorthanded breakaway as the game wound down.

I asked Ty if he expected the start tonight and also was he disappointed… he said no and not to believe the blogs and papers about his much heralded start, but as he spoke I was reading between the lines and thought he was indeed disappointed. Lindy Ruff did address this in his post game comments, sayng he has sat down with Conklin, gone over the game schedule and told the press that Conklin knows exactly when he is going to play and what is expected of him. That being said, it will be Ryan Miller in goal tomorrow vs New Jersey.

Miller was nowhere to be found after the game… me thinks the jeers he heard from the crowd didn’t sit too well with him.

And speaking of jeers, things are starting to get ugly with these so called fans at HSBC Arena… this team really needs the 7th man in the building, but the energy and the passion in the stands has really been lacking these last two nights. Next, now that Nicholas Picholas has been truncated to spot duty on the jumbotron, the derision is starting to turn towards lead national anthem singer Doug Allen.

So a couple takes here - First, having been to every NHL venue, I have experienced some God-awful anthem renditions in some of the yee-haw hockey markets, and all that does is make me appreciate that much more what a solid job Allen does with the two anthems.

Second, can’t Sabres fans save their jeers and heckling for the visiting teams and leave the home town people alone? What the hell is going on with some of these people in the stands they are behaving like morons!

So now we turn towards tomorrow night and it is New Jersey coming to town… win and our boys make a great statement for who should be number one in the East. Lose, and it means taking the stench of this dreary homestand onto what will be a difficult road trip.

The puck drops at 7PM… Pete will be covering tomorrow night. I will be in the stands wearing my Sabres jersey, enjoying a couple cold ones and cheering my ass off.

Remember the big flap last summer about the new nickname and logo for Buffalo’s ABA club? When the name Silverbacks was announced with a red gorilla as a logo, some community leaders hellbent on creating a crisis where there was none cried foul over the notion of a basketball team (read: predominantly African-American) having a gorilla for a logo.

Personally, I thought this to be quite silly. The logo and name was the idea of Modie Cox, player and assistant coach of the club. He liked the idea of an aggressive and powerful animal such as a gorilla for a logo. I’m darned well certain that his race wasn’t part of his decision making.

Shortly thereafter, the club caved in to pressure and changed the logo to a panther/hyena type animal with a silver back….yawn.

Well, while Andrew is off at the Sabres game, I went on a random search to see if any other teams had picked up on the Silverbacks original idea….let’s just say those community activists that had a bee in their bonnet over this could be busy for a while if they so chose…

Let’s start with hockey….the BCHL’S Salmon Arm Silverbacks

how ’bout arena football….the CIFL’s Miami Valley Silverbacks

and while we’re at it, how about soccer….the USL’s Atlanta Silverbacks

nope, not done yet! Minor league football! the NAFL’s London(Ont.) Silverbacks

Look at all of these nasty and racist logos…how dare they! heavy sarcasm here

Notice the racial diversity of the teams involved here is at all ends of the spectrum, some teams have little or no African Americans, some have many. In the end I’m certain that the teams saw the nickname and logo in the same light that Modie and his organization did, simply a really cool nickname and logo representing a physically intimidating, ferocious, and intelligent animal. Nothing more.

Too bad some folks here in Buffalo didn’t see it the same light….

Note: I’m very “pc” when it comes to offensive sports logos….but this was utterly ridiculous…

(Photo above - Peter and Yvette at Minute Maid Park in Houston, 2002)

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Yvette, but she is always just a phone call or an email away. Willis is the Promotions Director for the Houston Astros, and every time we made it to that city, she played a role in making our visit there truly extraordinary.

Back in 2001, we did our “official” visit to then Enron Field, and it was Yvette who took the time out of her busy schedule to give us the VIP tour of ballpark. She introduced us to Astro’s owner Drayton McLane down on the field, and we missed the Mother of all Photo Opps by 5 minutes when we vacated the playing surface, only to turn around and see Drayton chatting it up with none other than former Prez George H.W. Bush, who is a ballpark regular in Houston.

In 2002, we dropped by Yvette’s office just to say hi.. we were in town to see the Houston Rockets at the old Summit, er…. “Compaq Center”. Yvette picks up the phone, calls her counterparts at the Rockets, and BAM! Media passes and floor passes waiting for us at will call. And again in 2004, she invited us up to a party suite in the left field corner of Minute Maid Park, to enjoy a nice food spread and some warm conversation.

Yvette is just a down to earth Texas girl, yes she is a former cheerleader (check the photo… ya think?) and one of the nicest people we have ever met in our journeys.

Whenever we hear the song “Deep in the Heart of Texas”, the signature “add on” song to the Astro’s 7th inning stretch, we think of Houston, the ‘Stros and we think of Yvette. One of those USRT cities we will be happy to return to again and again.

Lots going on regarding the proposed relocation of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Here’s a quick rundown:

-Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle are meeting today in Philadelphia with the Governor and heads of city and county governments to reopen discussions on keeping the team in Pittsburgh. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is taking part.

-The Penguins talked yesterday with representatives of the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Rumor has it that KC has upped their offer which already includes free rent and half of the building’s revenues for the Penguins.

-The Penguins had a meeting with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. Most likely the discussion centered on the lack of a suitable facility for the team. The Thomas and Mack Center is not adequate and doesn’t even have an ice floor.

-Houston has pulled out of the Penguins derby. The NBA Houston Rockets are the major tenant at the Toyota Center, and it seems they are not anxious to break the bank for the privelege of having the NHL.

Online updates here at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

I came down to the arena tonight and felt strange.

At the end of one….felt strange.

End of two, same…game ends….the whole night just seemed a little off, I don’t know why.

The game started well with Paestch’s goal, and a couple more great chances that coulda, shoulda, woulda, didn’t….then the power play that resulted in a shorty by Colorado…..the peculiarity continued from there. Colorado evened the score…funny how the red light never went on.

Avs score right off the bat to start the second…..I didn’t even get back to my seat when that happened….Sabres even it on a goal off of a skate. Then Colorado scores the game winner in similar fashion. (Joe Sakic scored this one, regardless of what the scoresheet says.)

Not to blame officials for any call or such, but 25 minutes without a man in the box? Why are these people out there again? Seems like clutching and grabbing were back in vogue tonight.

Good news….Drury is back, with a big red blotch in his right eye and all….Peters may be soon to follow.

Stat of the night: Paul Stastny (yes, Peter’s son) scored a point in his seventeenth straight game. As the saying goes, the apple don’t fall far from the tree…

Minnesota Friday, if you thought this game was dull you haven’t seen anything yet.

And tell Leaf fan to quit chanting “Go Leafs Go” when their team is not in the building. As if Loser….errr… Leaf Fan wasn’t annoying enough!