UB takes run game in new direction on August 11th, 2011

UB wants its running backs moving straight ahead instead of moving laterally as they did last season.

Actress Ellis has wise words for Upward Bound honorees on August 11th, 2011

Says such programs are vital for inner-city youngsters.

Sabres sign Gragnani for one year on August 11th, 2011

The Sabres agreed to terms with defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani, their final restricted free agent.

2 spared in shooting spree; cars, homes hit on August 11th, 2011

Two people narrowly missed, four others arrested as police scramble to handle calls of shots fired.

NFL Power Shankings: Pre-preseason on August 11th, 2011

While ESPN is certainly only one outlet and not the almighty, I find it ridiculous the Buffalo Bills find themselves at No. 31 on their preseason power rankings.

Certainly I’m a Bills fan, but even as a reporter I’d find a hard time sinking the Bills that low. Coming off a 4-12 campaign they haven’t clearly downgraded at any one position — unless you love Donte Whitner and hate George Wilson — and are better at several. While that may only be worth a couple of wins, take a look at the other teams that I would argue start the year in just as poor, if not worse, shape than Buffalo:

Seattle — Despite finishing in the league’s Bottom 10 in points scored and allowed, the Bottom 8 in yards gained and allowed, but don’t worry, they picked up Sidney Rice and Zach Miller and weapons always make any quarterback better, right JP Losman, Trent Edwards et. al? Oh, Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst are looking to be better than Matt Hasselbeck? I don’t care that they won a fraudulent home playoff game as a 7-9 seed.

Jacksonville — Sure the Jags are looking to bolster their Bottom Six defense (yards, sacks, points) with Paul Posluszny and Clint Session, but what about their offensive line? And if you’re for some reason liking David Garrard more than Fitz, well, their numbers were about the same. Same TDs and INTs, more yards for Fitz, better completion percentage for Garrard.

Miami — I’m not a Chad Henne-hater, but I don’t buy the idea of trading Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams for Reggie Bush was an even exchange, and I also don’t have much faith in their defense at all outside of single-minded pass rusher Cameron Wake and corner Vontae Davis.

Washington — The Redskins are banking on Mike Shanahan and their defense being the second-coming of Brian Billick’s run with the 2000 Ravens. I’m not buying it. They could be looking at Andrew Luck.

Cincinnati, Carolina and anyone else who decides to start a rookie quarterback —  Yep

On to the rankings…

1. Pittsburgh 

Say what you will about games being won on Day Three of the drat, but the Steelers have not missed NFL-wise on a first round pick in this decade: Plaxico Burress, Casey Hampton, Kendall Simmons, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, Santonio Holmes, Lawrence Timmons, Rashard Mendenhall, Ziggy Hood and Maurkice Pouncey. Now YOU want to bet against Ironhead’s kid, Cam Heyward? Not I, said the fly.

Compare that list to this one: Erik Flowers, Nate Clements, Mike Williams, Willis McGahee, Lee Evans/JP Losman, No pick, Donte Whitner/John McCargo, Marshawn Lynch, Leodis McKelvin, Aaron Maybin/Eric Wood, CJ Spiller.

2. Green Bay

I’m extremely tempted to place Atlanta above the Pack, but that whole Super Bowl thing gets in the way.

3. Atlanta

Matt Ryan and his “The Hills” clean-cut look would make me want to light things on fire if he was in the AFC East, but he’s my favorite active non-Bills quarterback in the league.

4. NY Jets

The Jets are my least favorite team in football, but it’s not because of their players and coach.

5. Baltimore

Wacko for Flacco.

6. New Orleans

Still good at football: Drew Brees

7. Chicago

I’m a Jay Cutler apologist and I expect a massive year out of ol’ Horseface.

8. Philadelphia

With all their new weapons, I think the Eagles are about go from “better because of Michael Vick” to “held back by Michael Vick.” Talent level is up a bunch of notches.

9. San Diego

If last year didn’t kick their early season doldrums in the marshmallows, nothing will.

10. New England

I’d never rule the Pats out, but their days as an empire are teetering.

11. NY Giants

I don’t bet against Eli, but I worry about their depth.

12. Houston

I’m not sure Gary Kubiak could get himself fired from Burger King. They’ll win their division this year.

13. Indianapolis

Peyton’s neck scares me.

14. Dallas

Their poor record is almost solely due to Tony Romo’s injury. They aren’t that far away.

15. Tampa Bay

Love their offense but think their defense may have dropped a little bit.

16. Arizona

They are super pumped to be in an awful sauce division.

17. Oakland

It’s about Hue Jackson and Jason Campbell. I think the latter is poised for a breakout year if the offensive line holds up.

18. Minnesota

Donovan McNabb is still alright, and Adrian Peterson is still great.

19. Detroit

Becoming as cursed as the Clippers.

20. St. Louis

Sam Bradford continues to improve.

21. Kansas City

The most overachieving team in the NFL last season.

22. Buffalo

The most over-looked team in the league this offseason.

23. Denver

There are worse things than having a solid starting quarterback, an exciting No. 2 and an above-average No. 3. Worse things, like Denver’s defense.

24. Miami

Zip-zero. It’s all on Henne. Defense, led by Karlos Dansby, super-overhyped.

25. Cleveland

Improving, but still a good draft away. Rooting for Colt McCoy here.

26. Tennessee

Can’t buy Hasselbeck holding up for a full year, nor Jake Locker getting it as a rookie.

27. San Francisco

Jim Harbaugh needs the stomach to stick with Alex Smith for an entire year. Don’t know that he will.

28. Seattle

I want Pete Carroll to succeed, but that playoff win cost them a pick spot they needed (and I hate that philosophy).

29. Jacksonville

Oh my, will they struggle.

30. Carolina

A haiku:

Quarterbacks compete

Cam, Clausen, Anderson, Pike

Ev’ryone loses

31. Washington

Mike Shanahan is going to wish he took the Bills job, or kept McNabb.

32. Cincinnati

I like you, Andy Dalton, but I’m sorry.

Email: nick@fcbuffalo.org

The Brewfest Report on August 11th, 2011

A hearty thanks to everyone who came to see us last Friday at the Buffalo Brewfest. I was a little worried about the reception we’d get: after all, it was an event where people came to drink beer, and we had only our smiles and a pile of t shirts.

Even so, people were incredibly friendly and interesting in learning more about us. That they were coming from the Flying Bison table and were drinking their excellent altbier from a handpull may have contributed to their good mood, of course. We talked to a few hundred people, most of whom hadn’t heard about us before.

Our mailing list got close to 150 new subscribers because of the Brewfest. You have signed up for our mailing list, right? The inaugural message will be going out tonight, and I don’t want you to miss out. Collect them all! It’s worth noting, of course, that when 150 people sign up for your mailing list, somebody must then enter their details into a spreadsheet. That’s how I’ll be spending my night, tonight. Sometimes you’re the rock star, sometimes you’re the roadie.

Miss out on us at the Brewfest? Did you actually want to see Rudy and leave disappointed when you were told he wasn’t there? Want another sweet-ass sticker? Good news! We’ll be at the Bidwell Farmer’s market again this Saturday. We’ll be brewing a batch of beer, as always, and we look forward to yet another day of talking with friendly people.

It’s worth noting that the people of Buffalo are awesome. Don’t ever forget that.

Finally, we got an email this week from the Brewer’s Association. You may be surprised to find out that we are not the only small brewery in the process of opening in the country! There are actually quite a lot of us. According to them, there are 725 breweries in the process of starting this year, up from 389 last year. That’s even better when you consider that these numbers are inherently low: they can only go on the number of breweries who have contacted them, and many aren’t yet at that phase. We got our start over a year ago, after all, but 2011 will be the year Community Beer Works will be considered to have been founded.

That nearly double the number of breweries are starting this year than last naturally leads to the question of whether or not their customers I’ll support them. “If you build it, they will come” is only guaranteed in movies starring James Earl Jones.

We think so, obviously. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Buffalo is a great beer town, and has the potential to be one of the best in the country. Luckily for everyone, the numbers support this growth: craft beer sales in 2010 were up 14% by volume in the first half of the year, as opposed to a 9% increase in the first half of 2010. This is a fantastic, but not surprising, trend: people want good beer, and more and more breweries are starting to quench that thirst.

That’s it for this week. Hopefully we’ll see you this Saturday!

Broadcasters Hall announces ’11 class on August 11th, 2011

Cosmic Cowboy Shane Gibson will be joining WIVB-TV Ch. 4 news anchor Jacquie Walker and late radio newsman Jim McLaughlin in the 2011 Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame

Constitutional Coda on August 11th, 2011

As a coda to the “fireworks” portion of this story, the Clarence Town Board voted last night to approve Dan Snyder’s request to shoot off fireworks from his property in 2012. Councimember Peter DiCostanzo, noting in an email to the Clarence Bee that he had no intention of violating the Bill of Rights, switched his vote to “yea”. Joseph Weiss, on the other hand, did not budge from his earlier no vote.

In an email to me, Snyder’s attorney, 1st Amendment specialist Joe Finnerty, noted that the town clerk had already fulfilled his FOIL requests, and went on to write:

I do not believe that, under the circumstances, Mr. Snyder will proceed with a suit, as the permit has been granted.  I note, however, that he has pending an application for next Fourth of July.  My understanding is that this application will be considered next February.

The Clarence Town Clerk notified me that my FOIL request for the audio tape of the July 21st IDA meeting has been fulfilled, and once I have it, I will examine it and post it here if, in fact, the story about its chairman, Dave Hartzell, threatening a supporter of political opponent and current Supervisor Scott Bylewski with a “backlash” is, in fact, true.

Spokesman says Perry running for president on August 11th, 2011

Texas governor will announce his intentions to run for the GOP nomination on Saturday, according to spokesman

Breaking Laces Set to Rock Rochester on August 11th, 2011

Breaking Laces Saturday, August 13 Three-piece acoustic rock band out of Brooklyn, Breaking Laces, is bringing their irreverently indelible tunes and power pop/rock sensibilities (with a dash of acoustic) to The Lovin’ Cup for a free show on Saturday (Aug 13) in support of their new album, When You Find Out (released May 17th).  More [...]

#BuffCashMob To Village Beer Merchant on August 11th, 2011

You voted, we listened and the winner of this week’s #BuffCashMob is The Village Beer Merchant! If you have no idea what the Buffalo Cash Mob is, click here to find out and then click here to see how the first Cash Mob went last week at City Wine Merchant. Or read the story in The Buffalo News.

 

Located at 547 Elmwood Avenue, Village Beer Merchant (VBM) is the most unique and complete gourmet food and specialty beer one stop-shopping store in the City of Buffalo.

You can buy the beer in bottles, make your own six-pack, or fill up a growler of beer from their wall of taps.

While VBM offers more than 1,200 craft and import beers, it is much more than just a beer store. VBM’s extensive selection of gourmet products and foods, from Stonewall kitchen products to Belgian chocolates, will help you liven up any meal and inspire new culinary ideas. At VBM you can also find fine cheeses, assorted imported meats and olives, along with toppings, spreads and crackers.

Join us this Friday between 5-7PM to show the love to a local business that made an investment in our community by spending a minimum of $10 on their products. Lets keep it local and support our entrepreneurs!

OVER 1200 CRAFT AND IMPORTS!!!   20 GROWLER FILLING STATIONS

Beers On Tap are always being replaced once a keg is finished. Please call ahead to insure availability of your favorite beer On Tap.
While we hope to have the below selections available when you arrive at The Village Beer Merchant, we cannot promise that a keg won’t run dry before you get here.  We rarely put the same beer on tap once a keg has kicked. We apologize if one of the listed beers is gone when you get here.  Be sure to call and double check for current listings!

Beers On Tap as of Saturday 08.06.11

01. Sierra Nevada Summerfest
02. 3 Heads Ontario Coast IPA
03. Flying Bison ESB
04. DeKoninck Belgian Amber
05. Ellicottville Black Hops
06. Flying Bison Buffalo Lager
07. Wolavers Wildflower Wheat
08. Abita Satsuma Wit
09. Original Sin Vermont Cider
10. Sam Adams Latitude 48 (Simcoe single-hop version)
11. Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
12. Otter Creek Summer Pale Ale
13. Victory Sunrise Weisse
14. Sam Adams Imperial White
15. Lake Placid Ubu Ale
16. Southern Tier Farmer’s Tan Imperial Lager
17. Southern Tier Hop Sun
18. Sam Adams East/West Kolsch
19. Flying Bison Aviator Red
20. Flying Bison Cascade Hop Lemonade (N/A)

The Village Beer Merchant on Beer Advocate

Village Beer Merchant on Yelp

Village Beer Merchant on BuffaloBarfly

Click here for directions to the Village Beer Merchant.

FRIDAY 5-7PM! SHOW THE LOVE!

Related articles

• #BuffCashMob To City Wine Merchant (wnymedia.net)
• #buffcashmob – City Wine Merchant (wnymedia.net)
• Announcing The #BuffCashMob (wnymedia.net)
• Before There Was #BuffCashMob (wnymedia.net)

Theological Thursdays: Buffalo’s Brothers McClurg on August 11th, 2011

Please forgive me for keeping it light this week; I'll give you something heavy to think about next Thursday.  Today, I want you to lend a helping hand to some great people from Buffalo that are on the verge of finding a much larger audience, Brothers McClurg (formerly Relevant Worship).  This past week, they released their new EP "Alive," and the Western New York CD release show is tomorrow night at Evangel Church in Clarence.

Honestly, I never thought I would be writing a post like this, because I hate Christian music.  I know I am not "supposed" to hate it, but too often "Christian" when used as an adjective, especially if it's modifying a product, has come to mean "cheap," "shallow," or "preachy," among other things I don't like.  I don't really like the commercialization of faith, even if I do accept a paycheck for my preaching.

Nonetheless, in spite of myself, I like these guys.  The music is honest and fresh. I know I'm hardly objective, as they've become friends of mine, but Brothers McClurg are doing it right.

Last week, they charted within the "Worship" genre on itunes, and a strong second weekend would help them gain an audience beyond Western New York.  This really isn't the city to launch a Christian music career from--most bands work their way through Nashville and the Bible belt, but these guys love Buffalo, and are doing everything they can locally.  If you listen to them on itunes, and maybe download a song or two, it will go a long way to launching what could be the next big band out of Buffalo.

While the event in Clarence is the big show, you can also hear Chris, one of the Brothers' singer/songwriters, at our Sunday evening church service every week.  This Sunday, we will meet at Lafayette Church at 6pm for a potluck dinner, and we'll also be hosting some guest musicians, Scott Troyer and Katie Nelson.

Green Team High School Students Build Teaching Garden on August 11th, 2011

By Thea Hassan:

The African American Cultural Center and Groundwork Buffalo have completed a community garden at 350 Masten Avenue.  

Groundwork Buffalo's Green Team repurposed the vacant lot into a teaching garden for the youth of the Cultural Center's Jumpin' Jambalaya Summer Program to learn and explore. The Green Team is composed of high school students from East High School, Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts (PS # 192), Grover Cleveland School,  and South Park High School. Groundwork Buffalo, is an affiliate of Groundwork USA, trains interested students in environmental jobs.

The fenced in 5' by 5' foot community garden is filled with vegetables, grasses, perennials, shrubs, and a tree. It also features two raised vegetable beds and two raised perennial beds with zebra grass, Tiger Eye sumac, butterfly bushes, viburnum, red twig dogwood shurbs, Russian sage, and blueberry bushes.

"The plants were selected for creating a habitat for birds and butterflies and for the Little Sprouts, a garden-, nature-, and health and wellness-based program for youth ages 6-8 participating in the Center's summer camp," according to a press release from Groundwork Buffalo.



"I think it is a really nice garden," Romni Randle, an 8-year-old Little Sprout said. "I like the vegetables that were planted and the butterflies that come into the garden."

While constructing the garden, the Green Team learned lessons in landscape design, horticulture, grounds maintenance, team building, and project management.

"It was a hard task to overcome. It required us to work hard, give lots of effort, have lots of patience and a lot of strength. We kept going until it was done," Michelle Rodgers a Green Team member said. "It was a great accomplish. It (the garden) was something I didn't think I could do. It makes me very proud."

With this project completed, the Green Team is now transforming Friends to the Elderly's back lot area at 118 Utica St. into a cleaner, greener, and healthier space for the seniors.

Groundwork USA, is a group of not-for-profit, environmental businesses called Groundwork Trusts working with communities in conjunction with the National Parks Service and the Environmental Protection Agency to improve their environment, economy and quality of life through local action by getting people, business, government and other organizations involved in practical projects.

All photos from Groundwork Buffalo

Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s As You Help Us Campaign on August 11th, 2011

Despite Erie County’s cuts, Shakespeare in Delaware Park (SDP) has kept on keeping on with their Shakespeare festival. In order to continue the presentation of the second largest outdoor Shakespeare Festival, they need your support. The As You Help Us Campaign was formed after a Family Foundation (that wishes to remain anonymous) authorized a challenge [...]

Irate over asbestos revelations on August 11th, 2011

Teachers, parents and community leaders are worried that asbestos removal effort at Kensington Heights may have put neighborhood at risk.