New Year's Eve...

Celebrate the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 at Buffalo's 97 Rock Ball Drop and First Night Buffalo events downtown.

Wild Card Weekend...

Sports - Here is next weekends NFL schedule of the first round of the playoffs for football fans.

• Saturday, January 5th
  (NFC) Washington at Seattle, 4:30PM on NBC.
  (AFC) Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, Saturday, 8PM on NBC.
  
• Sunday, January 6th
  (NFC) NY Giants at Tampa Bay, 1PM on FOX.
  (AFC) Tennessee at San Diego, 4:30PM on CBS.
  
• BYE Week
  (NFC) Dallas and Green Bay.
  (AFC) New England and Indianapolis.

Seasons Over...

Bills Fan - After bad weather losses to the Browns and Giants the Buffalo Bills (7-9) finish their season on the road today in Philadelphia with a 17-9 loss. The Eagles (8-8) are not in the playoffs either but reach the 500 mark. After watching the Pats complete a perfect season last night and with Wild Card playoff games scheduled next weekend it is yet another dissapointment for local football fans. The surprise resignation announced today of Levy, and with Offensive Coordinator Fairchild gone, that leaves Jauron a long way from building a contender as this team is near bottom in most stats. All the team can do now is draft well, develop talent, sign free agents and hire new experienced coaches. Another long off season ahead.

Ice Bowl Cometh...

Sports - Preparations at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park for the NHL Winter Classic game on New Year's Day are progressing. The historic event and hockey game between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburg Penguins is sold out. It is the league's first regular season outdoor game in the USA. With four days to go before the puck drops at the Bills hockey rink, the generated revenues continue to benefit the region, especially hotels and restaurants. The rain from mother nature has actually helped make some ice too. The weather forecast calls for 20s at 1pm on Tuesday with light snow, perfect. If you are not one of the 74,000 at the game, at least you can watch it on NBC. Hockey, outdoors and family, for Buffalo it doesn't get much better!

Happy Holidays...

Merry Christmas !!!

First Day of Winter...

Travel - Its a great start to the winter season as it officially arrived early this morning. The weekend weather forecast calls for a warmup in the 40s and rain with high wind conditions on Sunday. It will change over to lake effect snow during the Bills game at The Ralph. It is also one of the busiest travel days of the year as many are taking flights home for the holidays. Check the BNIA web for flight info. No huge delays are expected at this point. The shopping frenzy will likely be wild with just a couple days left before Christmas too. The Sabres hit the road after last nights 3-2 win for Part II of the Flyers series. Tis the season to be jolly...

The Aud Auction...

Sports - Pieces of history from Buffalo's War Memorial Auditorium are planned to be auctioned next summer. Mayor Brown announced today that items salvaged from the old Aud and sold will finance a Canal Side monument to its past. Vacant since 1995, it is the future home of Bass Pro after demolition. The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation will oversee the project. It will end a great era of hockey, basketball and concert memories from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Many good times are remembered, like The French Connection, the Braves, The Who and alot more. The current Buffalo Sabres now play at HSBC Arena. The bidding will likely be furious!

Shutout...

Bills Fan - The season is over, at least for what faint playoff hopes there were. The Buffalo Bills (7-7) lost 8-0 at the Cleveland Browns (9-5) in what was probably the most meaningful game in a decade. The offense fell short in a snowy and windy game. Rookie QB Edwards could not muster any drives for points and the Bills running backs did not compare to the Browns RB Jamal Lewis effort. The Browns clinched the final wildcard playoff spot in the AFC. The Bills will play a meaningless home game next week against the NY Giants and finish on the road at the Eagles. Noone certainly expected the team to even be competitive after injuries, bad start and personnel issues. Had they won today, they likely would have been overmatched by the top of the AFC anyway. Coach Jauron needs to give players with potential some play time now and Marv Levy needs to continue drafting quality for next season. At least it was fun to watch at times this year, see you next season.

Candy Kane...

Sabres Fan - The Chicago Blackhawks visited HSBC Arena tonite for a game with the Buffalo Sabres. Hawks rookie sensation (1st overall in draft) and south Buffalo native Pat Kane scored the first goal. Vanek got Buffalo back in the game on the powerplay for the tie. Then Stafford got the next goal for the 2-1 lead, and the eventual game winner, in the 2nd period. Going into the third period Buffalo seemed to gain momentum, even after the tough 7 out of 11 night schedule. Miller made big saves and was solid in net. Pominville got an empty net goal to clinch the 3-1 victory. Thats two wins in a row. The Sabres next game is on the road, at the Islanders, on Wednesday the 19th at 7PM.

Weekend Storm...

Weather - A winter storm has arrived in the northeast. The highest accumulation today was 6" in Hamburg. Heavy snow is expected to move in for saturday night and into sunday morning. Anywhere from 8" to 16" is possible. StormTeam2 has Closing Central up to check for activity conditions. WNY ski resorts will certainly be happy. Here we go again!

14 Days til Christmas...

Shopping - Two weeks left until the holiday arrives. Today was a soaker for shoppers with an all day rain. The forecast calls for cooler temps moving in with a chance of some snow showers for the rest of the week. Lake Erie hit 39 degrees this week and the NYPA began installation of the Niagara River Ice Boom. The lines in stores and traffic on the road seems to be getting longer. Crunch time! Relax, be patient, and remember to keep the holiday spirit.

Battle of Lake Erie...

Bills Fan - Any day that the Fish get Squished is good! Seeing the Buffalo Bills (7-6) win 38-17 against the Miami Dolphins (0-13) on Sunday at The Ralph is what I call a great time. Surprisingly Coach Jauron has Buffalo in position for a possible wildcard playoff spot. A road win at the Cleveland Browns (8-5) next week with rookie QB Edwards, who is now 5-1 as starter, would qualify him for Coach of the Year consideration. After a tough start to the season, injuries, controversy, who would have thought it possible? I would not expect the team to go far, even if they made it in, but am happy the games are at least enjoyable to watch.

Pearl Harbor...

Veterans - If we learned anything from our veterans, it is expect the unexpected. There are fewer and fewer left each year to tell the story of the day that lives in infamy. Sixty six years after the Pearl Harbor attack we honor veterans on National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Twenty one ships were sunk or damaged and more than 2,400 Americans lost their lives. Today we still protect our freedom and defend liberty. The tribute to remember our World War II veterans should always be remembered. The public is invited to attend a Pearl Harbor memorial service at the West Seneca Post 735, American Legion (35 Legion Parkway next to West Seneca Town Hall), at noon today.

Corn Fuel...

Business - The first ethanol plant in the northeast is up and running in the Town of Shelby, Orleans County. WNY Energy LLC began producing the gasoline additive this week. Public demand for renewable fuel is on the rise. They expect to buy 20 million bushels of corn from state farmers annually. Check out their web for more project facts.

Skins Flub...

Bills Fan - The Buffalo Bills (6-6) defeat the Washington Redskins (5-7) on a last play of the game field goal for a 17-16 score. Coach Gibbs called two timeouts in a row, trying to freeze kicker Lindell, but that is a penalty and resulted in a 15 yard closer kick. It may have cost them the game. Both teams were emotionally charged after the death of Skins safety Taylor. The Bills won on five field goals and a safety. The offense red zone woes continue. Rookie QB Edwards (now 4-1 as starter) still looked better than Losman and RB Jackson (151 total yards) was a nice surprise. The winless Fish visit The Ralph next sunday.