The Buffalo News: Sports Columns

Undrafted rookies face long odds: Allen Wilson
Updated: 05/06/08 6:36 AM; University of Arkansas guard Robert Felton waited for a telephone call that never came during the NFL draft.

Dad Karl Malone a footnote in Demetrius Bell’s life: Allen Wilson
Updated: 04/29/08 3:54 PM; If you’re a fan of NBA great Karl Malone, you might change your mind when you start reading this column.

Kobe made changes to be league MVP: Allen Wilson
Updated: 04/19/08 6:43 AM; N ^owthat the NBA regular season is over and the playoffs are about to start, it’s time to resolve a season- long debate:

Bob Dicesare

Accountant makes Elias the source: Bob DiCesare
Updated: 05/09/08 6:33 AM; Everybody knows somebody who’s not only knowledgeable about sports, but insanely so. The kind who can spill the birth dates of all six Sutter brothers; the kind who can tell you how many passes Lee Evans snared. In high school. But no matter what you may think, Joe and Jane Sports Geek don’t have a handle on everything. That’s where Elias comes in.

Watson gains insight on success: Bob DiCesare
Updated: 05/07/08 6:40 AM; During the mid-1980s, Denis Watson was an emerging star on the PGA Tour. He won three times in 1985 and finished as runner-up in the ’86 U. S. Open. That he would one day capture a major was a foregone conclusion until his life turned upside down.

Braves’ Smith trades blocks for barbecue: Bob DiCesare
Updated: 05/05/08 6:37 AM; If you still have a soft spot in your heart for the Buffalo Braves this is for you. If names such as McAdoo and Randy and Ernie D make you wistful then some of the memories might come creeping back.

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Bills’ backers see better days on the horizon: Jerry Sullivan
Updated: 05/11/08 6:46 AM; What is it with you Buffalo people, anyway? The Bills haven’t made the playoffs since the 1999 season. They’ve teased you and tormented you. They’ve promised you the moon and lassoed misery instead. You have every reason to be wary and skeptical. So the question is, why?

Horse trainer defends sport from critics: Jerry Sullivan
Updated: 05/08/08 6:32 AM; When the phone rang in the barn Tuesday, Julie Luhr had just finished feeding her horses. Luhr, a trainer who grew up in Buffalo, was getting ready to move on from Tampa Bay Downs, which had closed for the season after Sunday’s racing.

Toronto windfall could go to a good cause — Evans: Jerry Sullivan
Updated: 05/04/08 6:46 AM; Ralph Wilson knows what you’re thinking: Last week, financial statements revealed that Rogers Communications will pay the Bills $78 million for the right to host eight games in Canada over the next five years. That averages out to a tidy $9.75 million a game, or roughly twice what the Bills collect in gross revenues for a typical home game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

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Ozzie’s verbal adventures start to wear thin: Mike Harrington
Updated: 05/11/08 9:48 AM; Dealing with Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen can be hysterical and it can be maddening. For one thing, the profanities come through loud and clear but his speedy broken English can be hard to pick up at times. For another, once you figure out what Guillen is saying, it can be downright outlandish.

Time to throw out the Joba Rules: He should start: Mike Harrington
Updated: 05/04/08 11:02 AM; CLEVELAND — We’re a month into the season and Hank Steinbrenner looks like he’s way ahead in the I-told-you-so department over Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. How different would the Yankees’ season look right now if they had pulled the trigger on the Johan Santana deal over the winter? How much better might the outlook be if Cashman, Joe Girardi and Co. would come to their senses and make Joba Chamberlain a starter like Hank wants them to?

Thomas won’t be missed by Jays: Mike Harrington
Updated: 04/27/08 8:54 AM; The Frank Thomas affair is certainly a sordid one in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays. Was it about the Jays getting out of his $10 million option for next year? Of course. Money is the root of just about every decision but Thomas was hitting .167 in the middle of a lineup that’s woefully underachieving. The far bigger issue is the Jays need to win now.

Sports on the Air: Talk shows accentuate the negative: By Alan Pergament
Updated: 05/10/08 9:13 AM; I got almost as much reaction from one line last week about WGR show host Mike Schopp as I do from many entire columns. To refresh your memories, I said I laugh out loud when I hear Schopp call someone arrogant and I doubted I had to explain why.

Sports on the Air: Answering back to the screen: By Alan Pergament
Updated: 05/03/08 5:05 PM; I can’t tell you how many times I hear something about sports on TV or radio and say “I wish I could respond to that silliness.” Then I realize I can in this column, which also tries to explain things to people bewildered by some TV decisions. That’s the mission here — to give opinions and explain things.

Sports on the Air: WNY pulls top ratings on Versus: By Alan Pergament
Updated: 04/26/08 12:36 PM; Not surprisingly, Buffalo was the top-rated market during Versus coverage of the first round of the National Hockey League playoffs.

Losman never got chance at success: Updated: 05/11/08 6:46 AM; Jerry Sullivan needs a wake-up call about what he wrote about J. P. Losman on May 1. Losman never really got a good start here in Buffalo with things like a broken leg in training camp, poor surrounding cast, etc.

Buffalo is home to big leaguers: Updated: 05/11/08 6:46 AM; I am no expert on how a pro team helps a city. I can only say that when I was offered a job in Buffalo in 1981, the fact that Buffalo had the Bills and Sabres was significant in the decision of my wife and me.

Sabres management outsourced success: Updated: 05/11/08 6:46 AM; Let’s recap the march to mediocrity that has been championed by B. Thomas Golisano.