By BV Sports Staff
Western New Yorkers love Buffalo sports. While other areas of the country may ignore this great city, many locals are infatuated with its regional teams. So here it is: The BV’s take on all things Buffalo sports.
Bills
Rex Ryan had his combine press conference this past week. Ryan had to answer a lot of questions about the defense that dropped from leading the league in sacks to having the least amount of sacks in franchise history during a 16 game season. Rex said he is prepared to give more control to his coordinators come next season. The Bills are also preparing for a season where running back LeSean McCoy is most likely going to miss part, if not all of the season. Whether that comes from a suspension or conviction remains to be seen. Some shocking news came out saying Mario Williams would consider taking a pay cut and return to Buffalo. Williams was cut by the team last month after a disappointing 2015-2016 season. Ryan is skeptical if Williams truly will return to the team but only time will tell.
Bandits
The Buffalo Bandits gave up late leads two nights in a row, dropping their game against the Toronto Rock last Friday 14-12. The next night, against the Georgia Swarm, the Bandits lost by a score of 19-15. With the loss to the Swarm, the Bandits have dropped to a .500 record on the season and fourth in the East Division out of the five teams.
Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres started off their weekend with a bang by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 in Robin Lehner’s first shutout as a Sabre. Lehner had to make an incredible 38 saves in order to keep the Blue Jackets off the scoreboard. The Sabres were a part of Hockey Day in America this past Sunday when they took on the Penguins in a 12:30 matinee at the First Niagara Center. The Sabres scored twice in the third, including a late goal from Zach Bogosion but ultimately came up short, losing the game 4-3. Sunday also turned out to be the final game as a Sabres for defenseman Mike Weber. Weber, who was a second round pick for the Sabres in 2006, was the longest tenured Sabre until Tuesday when he was traded in exchange for a third round pick in 2017 to the Washington Capitals. In other news, former Sabres owner John Rigas was released from prison on Monday at the age of 91. Rigas was freed after he was diagnosed with terminal stage IV bladder cancer.
