Over the past few days, rumors have surfaced that the Bills might be interested in trading WR Lee Evans. Not sure how much … [visit site to read more]

Leagues are won and lost in three places: 

-The draft

-Who to start and sit

-Free Agent Pickups

One of the most important parts of the draft comes in identifying the late round bench players who could fill in for your starters  during their bye-weeks or possibly have a break out season and blossom into one of your starters.  Think Arian Foster and Brandon Lloyd from last year.  Here are ten players who you need to target in this year’s draft that you can get late and have the potential to explode and help you win your match-ups.

… [visit site to read more]

Dave Harter Reporting for Green Options Buffalo:

Near - Shakespeare in Delaware Park

Shakespeare in Delaware Park has the crown for my favorite date spot in Buffalo. Riding up to the park with a blanket on my rack and panniers full of snacks still gets me way more pumped than most other potential date venues. I remember seeing Much Adu About Nothing on The Hill in my teens with a date who had not yet ventured to this Buffalo treasure. She thought it was about the coolest thing in the world and I (as most teenage boys on a date with a swooning girl might) felt like Zeus. "Thank you Shakespeare in the Park," I thought, while packing up the blanket and pondering the appropriate timing for the goodnight kiss I was now sure to maneuver.

This weekend marks the closing of Shakespeare in the Park's 2011 season with the final performances of As You Like It. Like Much Adu About Nothing, As You Like It is a rolling comedy filled with precarious romance, well-intentioned (though disastrous) errors and of course, weddings. This is a perfect date show and your bicycle is the perfect date vehicle. Shakespeare in the Park is even willing to reward you for choosing a healthy, community friendly transport option. If you ride your bike to the show with your Bicycle Benefits sticker slapped on your helmet you'll get %10 off at the merchandise table.

So take some of that money you save on gas, repairs, oil changes and parking from riding your bicycle all summer and take someone special out for some giggles at Shakespeare Hill. With gas hovering around $4/gallon you should be able to afford a generous donation to this (astonishingly) FREE production (employing lots of local actors and technicians!) and still have plenty left over to buy some neat merchandise with your Bicycle Benefits reward. Afterwards you might just be happy that you supported one of the world's largest outdoor Shakespeare festivals (right here in beautiful Buffalo, NY) or perhaps you'll also feel like throwing some lightning around.

Shows start at 7:30 on Shakespeare Hill in Delaware Park behind the Rose Garden. Coming early is recommended. Shows run through Sunday and are weather contingent.

Far - BEAT Fest!

To those who venture about with an eye for natural treasure, this region is boundless with offerings. BEAT Fest began 7 years ago with a goal to share and nurture a piece of that treasure by offering a weekend-long music holiday in Cattaraugus county. "BEAT Fest is a celebration of summer in Western New York," organizer Darren Kresge tells me. Really though, BEAT Fest is a celebration to benefit Western New York.

BEAT Fest, which stands for "Buffalo Environmental Action Team," began with the belief that celebrating the environment through camping, music and really, really good beer could also be used to benefit the environment. Since its creation seven years ago the non-corporate, grassroots BEAT Fest organizers, supporters and volunteers have succeeded in using the festival to launch clean-up campaigns in Broderick Park, Cattaraugus Creek and all over Gowanda.



While this festival is located in Cattaraugus County, its roots are in Buffalo. Fundraising for the event happens annually at Tudor Lounge, locally produced Flying Bison is the official brew, the musicians are Buffalo's own and ALL of the proceeds go to Buffalo's tireless, grassroots, healthy, sustainable and community friendly transport options visionaries at Green Options Buffalo.

Your ticket includes access to a sprawling piece of land (100 acres) for joyous meandering, facilities for tent camping, concessions including Flying Bison's famous Rusty Chain and a stage stocked with mad Buffalo talent. Gracing the line-up this year will be BloodThirsty Vegans, TheHeavenly Chillbillies, The Family Dinner, The Todd Eberwine Band and many more. Youth activities coordinated by professional educators are available during the day for family adventurers though the party is sure to go late into the night.

With a progressive history, BEAT Fest is continuing the tradition of forward thinking by offering a steep discount to attendees who ride their bicycles this year. Any attendee who rides their human powered vehicle with their Bicycle Benefits sticker to BEAT Fest will not only spend nothing on gas, but save $15 on their gate ticket ($20 instead of $35), the first 10 cyclists will also receive a FREE BEAT Fest t-shirt. Facilities to lock up your bicycle are available (though probably unnecessary at such a friendly event) along with facilities to wash up and refill all those water bottles on your frame. I'll be riding down myself and generally taking this route, leaving from city hall Friday around noon. I am absolutely open to route suggestion should some fellow cyclists care to join me.

If you need a Bicycle Benefits sticker you can get them here. Bicycle Benefits stickers come free with membership to Green Options Buffalo and you can sign-up right now, here. If you'd like to join me on my ride down to BEAT Fest and have questions I can be contacted by email - dave@greenoptionsbuffalo.org.

BEAT Fest is proudly a ZERO-Landfill event. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or here. Event organizers politely request: No pets, fireworks, bottles or glass, no under 18 unaccompanied by guardian, no driving after ANY drinking or after dark, no trace.

Happy adventuring this weekend.
 

The speedy Roscoe Parrish is being slowed with hamstring issues.

Two Bills got bad news Wednesday, learning that injuries will keep them out for Saturday’s preseason opener in Chicago.

WR Roscoe Parrish had missed the past few practices with a tweaked hamstring. He returned for Wednesday night’s practice…only to pull up lame after running a deep route. After practice head coach Chan Gailey told the media Parrish had re-injured the muscle and will be held out for a while.

“He tweaked the same thing he’s sat out with for a couple of days,” said Gailey. “He’s going to miss this (preseason game) we’ll hold him out and not take any chances and make sure we get him well.”

This stinks for Parrish, but does the give the Bills more opportunity to evaluate the rest of their hoard of young, talented receivers. Hopefully Roscoe recovers soon, but there’s so sense in rushing him back.

… [visit site to read more]

Two lawmakers were in town Wednesday, Rep. Hochul listening to concerns about the economy, while Sen. Schumer focused on fake IDS made in China.

Orchard Park, NY - The Buffalo Bills announced that away games against Washington (in Toronto), Miami, and San Diego have been selected as Official Bills Fan and Corporate Travel games for 2011 thr...

The Black Rock Canal Park Steering Committee has selected Nussbaumer & Clarke, Inc. for Phase 1 construction of Black Rock Canal Park.   The concept of Black Rock Canal Park is to remedy the many deficiencies in the current designs of the Ontario Street Boat Launch as well as the south end of the park.

Phase I work represents a collaboration of community, city, county, state and federal entities working together to improve the waterfront and create a regional asset.

The formal announcement and celebration will be held this Saturday, August 13 beginning at 10 AM at the Ontario Street Boat Launch.  The press conference will occur during the 2nd Annual Ride Along the Waterfront, a yearly event that encourages people to come out and enjoy the Niagara River with a bike ride, kayak paddle and Wellness Fair (see post below)

Black Rock Canal Park is envisioned to bridge the old and new in waterfront design. With a focus on highlighting the Erie Canal which ran through the park site, BRCP will tie in design elements also seen in the waterfront developments in Downtown Buffalo and a modern focus using waves as the focal point.

By moving automobile parking from the water's edge, new greenspace can be created continuously along the riverfront.  A major reconfiguration of the south end will allow for new amenities such as a dog park, playground, and the addition of picnic shelters.  A new multi-level mixed-use facility will provide for year-round concessions as well as meeting rooms and offices for Homeland Security Agencies. 

Year-round activities and amenities proposed:
Boating
Kayaking
Canoeing
Fishing
Dog Park
Playground
Picnic Shelters
Cycling
Winter Pond Hockey rinks
Cross-Country Skiing
Snow Shoeing

This Saturday, August 13th, will mark the second annual "Ride Along the Waterfront", a 14 mile bike ride and 3 mile canoe/kayak paddle brought to you by the Black Rock Canal Park Steering Committee and the Niagara River Greenway Commission.  The bike portion of the event will begin at 9 a.m. (with registration beginning at 8am) at Black Rock Canal Park (currently the Ontario Street Boat Launch).  It will be followed by the paddle event, also launching from Black Rock Canal Park, at 10:15 a.m. with registration beginning at 9 a.m.  There will also be a Wellness Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Proper riding and paddling attire required to take part in both events.

This is a free, family-friendly event. To register either go to www.blackrockcanalpark.com or sign up on the day of the event.

The Black Rock Canal Park Steering Committee is working to remedy the many deficiencies in the current design of the Ontario Street Boat Launch and adjacent parkland by uniting the two facilities and creating new greenspace.  Black Rock Canal Park will provide improved opportunities for recreational use of the Niagara River and Buffalo's waterfront.

visit site to read more]

Ok, so I couldn’t get our site’s comment page to work correctly, so I just wrote this as a new post altogether.

Read Brad Andrews’ post first.

You don’t think he meant pre-season games? Where they normally test out young unproven players?  I’m as excited as anyone to see the success that he has had.

On the other hand…how could Gailey give this kind of praise if he did not plan on putting him on the 53 man roster?  If he builds him up and builds him up and then cuts him, wouldn’t that mean that other teams would be more likely to pick him up off of waivers?  Teams like the Colts, Chiefs, Raiders, Jaguars?  There’s only 2 possible explanations.

… [visit site to read more]

Image via Wikipedia

Finally, here’s a reason to watch Channel 7 News again.
No, Irv, Tom and Rick aren’t coming back.
HD is arriving.
My spies tell me that Channel 7 has carried an on-air promo announcing that its newscasts will be in high definition. It is scheduled to start Saturday, which also is the day that Channel 7 should get a big audience for the Bills preseason opener against the Chicago Bears.
I needed spies because I don’t tend to watch Channel 7 that often in the summer unless ABC runs a “Modern Family” repeat.
According to sources, Channel 7 staffers have been rehearsing to do a newscast in high definition.
Channel 7’s move to HD would leave Channel 4 as the only local news station to rely on a standard definition picture (or SD) that doesn’t fill the picture of HD sets.
With the loss of Oprah as its lead-in in a few weeks, the Channel 4 News reign already is in jeopardy. LIN TV, which owns Channel 4, would be wise to quickly join the HD party or risk losing more viewers. Its crime-loaded format looks tired and the newscasts anchored by veterans Don Postles and Jacquie Walker look like they are from another century when the picture that HD viewers receive is reduced on the sides.
According to sources, Channel 7 is going to real HD. Channel 2 News began carrying its newscast in something called up-converted HD some time ago and has looked the sharpest ever since it began to fill the screen of HD sets. YNN, Time Warner Cable’s 24-hour news channel, does the same thing.
It doesn’t mean that Channel 7 is going to add any more reporters to its limited staff. But at least the ones they have and anchors Keith Radford and Joanna Pasceri will look sharper.
Well, at least in some ways.
* Speaking of HD, New York Yankee fans want to know why the games that WBBZ carries off of a New York channel aren’t in HD on the station’s HD channel.
Phil Arno, the general manager of WBBZ, said the station planned to carry the games in HD and followed the Yankees advice on what equipment to buy to do so before the season. Unfortunately, the Yankees gave the wrong advice and the equipment didn’t work, Arno said.
He’s trying to decide now whether to proceed with new equipment to carry the Yankee games in HD, but there’s a catch. Isn’t there always?
According to Arno, Time Warner subscribers who don’t have HD would lose some of the picture on the standard definition (Channel 5) feed and the noise WBBZ might receive from disgruntled fans could be louder than the praise it would get from HD viewers.
“It’s a judgment call,” said Arno.
As of Wednesday, he hadn’t decided what to do. I’d vote for carrying the games in HD.
If that is Arno’s final ruling and the equipment arrives, he said the remaining Yankee games on WBBZ’s schedule could air on HD in a few weeks.
*Channel 7 General Manager Bill Ransom recently told the Buffalo News that his station’s move to automation that will lead to the eventual dismissal of 10 people in the engineering department isn’t any different than what previously happened at Channel 2 and Channel 4.
“We’re doing what WGRZ and LIN (Channel 4’s owner) already have already done,” Ransom was quoted as telling the paper last Saturday. “LIN has outsourced its master control and traffic years ago and WGRZ has outsourced its master control and promotion years ago.”
Not exactly, protested Channel 2 General Manager Jim Toellner.
He said his station still does all of its own master control work during most of the week, with it being outsourced overnight and weekends. He added the station didn’t eliminate anywhere near the 10 jobs that Channel 7 will be eliminating after outsourcing master control to an Atlanta company, Encompass, that can transmit feeds in high definition.
Toellner also took issue with Ransom’s suggestion that Channel 2’s local promotions department is history.
“We have a full promotions department that I believe is the largest in town,” said Toellner.
It will be interesting to see how smoothly Channel 7’s transition from local master control to Encompass will be and whether enough issues arise to make viewers notice that things aren’t being done the same way they used to be done. Rarely do these things go off without a hitch.
* TBS announced Wednesday that it is canceling George Lopez’s midnight talk show. Lopez (see above in happier times) had moved this season from 11 p.m. to midnight to make room for Conan O’Brien’s new show at 11 p.m. Conan’s ratings aren’t great but his show was nominated for an Emmy so that should buy some time.
* Finally, Channel 4 sports anchor John Murphy gave Jacquie Walker an unusual shoutout during one of Wednesday’s newscasts. While showing footage of retired Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly at Bills training camp, Murphy noted that Kelly was a Hall of Famer like Walker.

If you joined the newscast just to see the sports, you night have been confused. Meteorologist Amelia Segal had previously introduced a story about Walker and Channel 4 senior producer Vic Baker being named to the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Walker was mentioned in a Buffalo News story after disc jockey Shane, who also was named to the Hall Wednesday.

That placement was more amusing than Murphy comparing Walker to Kelly.

pergament@msn.com

A series taken during yesterday’s rally at the Verizon building in downtown Buffalo, where the Communications Worker’s Union, (CWA) is on strike against Verizon.

Mayoral spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said today that Brown objects the Council specifying how the entire $200,000 sum will be spent.

NFTA reviving consideration of extending Metro Rail system