It was a major question mark entering training camp. With a pair of starters on Buffalo’s offensive line still recuperating from long rehabilitations following surgery, there was only a finite amou...

The state and the Senecas are arguing and sniping over taxing cigarettes and casino revenues.

Under the 2001 agreement with the state allowing the Senecas to operate class III casinos, a cut of the take from slot machines is to be paid to the state. If the state were to legalize gambling and allow non-Indians to operate class III gaming facilities, thus eliminating the Senecas’ exclusivity, the payment of a cut of the slot proceeds would stop. Last year, the Senecas paid $32 million to the state. A lot of money, but a drop in the bucket compared to the revenues the state could collect on a private casino on private property located within the state of New York.

In the wake of state’s efforts to tax the sale of cigarettes to non-Indians, the Senecas are claiming that the state has violated its slots-exclusivity deal and they will be withholding further payments. Part of those payments are supposed to go to the host communities, as well.

Casino gaming is not permitted under the New York State constitution, but video slots and other games have been networked to make them nominally “competitive”, and they are now installed in racinos throughout the state, including Batavia and Hamburg. It’s time that casino gaming was legalized throughout the state so that casinos not on Indian Reservations pay property, sales, income, and other taxes to the state. The carving out of sovereign Seneca exclaves in Buffalo and Niagara Falls have done nothing to directly benefit either city, or their immediate surroundings. Paying no state tax and not subject to most New York laws, these places poach bar and restaurant business from surrounding neighborhoods.

The state’s dalliances with gaming has proved a few things: 1. it’s lucrative; 2. the state is unfairly limiting itself and its take from the casinos by refusing to just acknowledge that people like casinos and legalizing the damn things.

Government and public spending has, can, and should play a role in moving Buffalo forward – out of its dead industrial past and into a knowledge-based future. Our excellent public university system molds and mentors the business leaders of tomorrow. They experiment and learn. They develop ideas, products, and services that may lay the foundation for future economic growth.

So, when the University at Buffalo finds its ambitious expansion plans stymied by a dysfunctional and downstate-heavy legislature, that doesn’t just adversely affect UB and SUNY. It harms Buffalo and WNY in general. Adding billions in local economic activity and tens of thousands of students, faculty, and researchers to our area would undoubtedly be a direct and immediate benefit, while the work and studying that they do could very well provide the region with benefits for years to come. UB was asking for autonomy, yes. But it was asking for autonomy in an order to expand, and to enter into cooperative agreements with private companies – freedoms that other states grant to their state universities, reflecting the fact that the worlds of business and academia advance when they work together.

UB2020 may or may not be the answer to all of Buffalo’s ills, but, typically, we’ll never know.

There is a certain buzz around the Buffalo Bills for the first time this offseason. While the Bills generally manage to do enough in the offseason to generate excitement among the most fiercely loyal of NFL fans, it has taken a while to set in for the 2010 season. This season, it took some good old-fashioned results on the field, not some big name signing, to create a buzz in Buffalo about their Bills. While it is nice to have something to get excited about, let’s try and maintain our realism, and see this team as it really is.

Gailey seems to have a handle on things so far, but hopefully that's not just by Dick Jauron's low standard.

For the offense, there has been more signs of life than at any time since perhaps 2002 (the last time they didn’t finish in the bottom quarter of the league). BUT…Trent Edwards is coming off an atrocious season in which he was 2-5 as a starter, throwing just six touchdowns and seven interceptions. I’m sure Dick Jauron’s philosophy was to stay conservative, but when Ryan Fitzpatrick was in last season, he seemed to think that some plays were designed to go for more than three yards. Edwards has exuded confidence we haven’t seen in a while, but opposing defenses are not yet throwing in their exotic blitz packages and coverages yet. Trent seems to have a particular difficulty against the 3-4 defense, which everyone in his division implements.

C.J. Spiller looks like an explosive runner out of the backfield, and we’ve all heard about his ability as a returner and receiver. BUT…he does make an awful lot of negative plays trying to make the big play. He has not yet had NFL defenses keying in on him and trying to take him out of the offense (though I know Cincinnati was stacking the box early). He only averaged 15 carries per game at Clemson, so the rookie wall will be a concern to watch out for as well.

Roscoe Parrish appears to be a member of the offense this year, as he was Edwards’ most effective target against the Bengals in his last outing. BUT…in five previous seasons with the Bills, Parrish’s catch totals were 15, 23, 35, 24 and 3. He has been in the league for quite a while without producing at a respectable rate as a receiver. While he may not have had a great coordinator at any time, he certainly has had a few, all of whom have been unsuccessful in making him a threat to opposing defenses.

The offensive line finally appears to be healthy. BUT…Demetrius Bell, Eric Wood and Andy Levitre are all still young inexperienced players with under a season’s worth of experience. Geoff Hangartner comes from Carolina, where he only started after they suffered injuries. I didn’t hear one Bills fan ever pine for the days when Cornell Green would be holding down the fort at RT until they signed him (and that still isn’t many). This unit will need to gel and continue to learn on the job.

The special teams has been a strength of the team for many years and has consistently ranked at the top of the league. BUT…boy do they miss Bobby April so far. The coverage units have been atrocious. There have been no real threats to break any big returns. I know Bruce DeHaven is a respected coordinator, but it seems his units were much better when he had Steve Tasker and Mark Pike running down kicks. While talent is obviously required for any coach to be successful, you also have to wonder how much of DeHaven’s success was due to Marv Levy’s due diligence during his time with Bills, as Marv was a former special teams coach himself. Hopefully DeHaven is just working out the kinks, but he has a lot of work to do.

The defense is switching back to the 3-4, which should help to create more confusion for opposing offenses. BUT…it is a transition year for the defense, and they probably do not yet have all the right pieces in place for this scheme just yet. If preseason is any indicator, they do not. The defensive backs will have to adjust to more man-to-man coverage, and one of the linebackers is going to have to show that they can generate a pass rush. I still need to see Maybin beat starting-caliber offensive tackles. The secondary is also licking their wounds after that Bengals aerial assault.

Luckily for the Bills, this is the NFL where unexpected teams (teams with no scheduled prime time games, good news) always seem to come from nowhere to make the playoffs. I also am enjoying watching an offense that isn’t lifeless and can stay on the field for more than three plays at a time. But let’s just remember that this is a 6-10 team that hasn’t signed any top-tier free agents. They’re a young team playing in perhaps the toughest division in the NFL. Let’s just hope they continue to improve upon the aforementioned areas of weakness, and remain competitive throughout the season. Hopefully, this will be the kind of young, talented team that lays the foundation for future success, even if they only win a handful of games this year.

Forget Bass Pro, IKEA, or whatever other nonsense will be mentioned for Buffalo’s Canalside project. Sometimes it’s just best to keep it simple:

Buffalo's Next Anchor Tenant

Come on now,  the internet and tacos? Under one roof?  Its a no brainer! I wonder what type of incentives our local officials can offer to lure them to WNY

Seneca Nation President Barry Snyder, Sr. issued this statement following Monday’s ruling:

“We are disappointed State Supreme Court Justice Siwek did not keep the tax impositions injunction in place, however, our legal efforts are far from over. We will be filing an expedited appeal motion with the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court and we remain hopeful Judge Arcara will grant our request a Temporary Restraining Order in the separate Federal case. We will return to federal court tomorrow afternoon to renew our motion for the TRO. It is our intention to block the New York State from ever collecting a penny of tax on sales of tobacco by the Seneca Nation or any other Native American nation under this ill-conceived taxing scheme.”

So you have been wanting to jam!!!

Now is your op to do so!!!

Learn two methods of canning and how to make peach jam, even take some home!

The Broadway Market is offering this class is free on 09/01/2010 in conjunction with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, please call the Market office to reserve your spot 893-0705.

Since he’s entered the National Football League, Aaron Maybin has been an easy target.  Unfair as it may be that he’s so harshly judged less than a game into his second NFL regular season, Maybin could be the poster child for all the erroneous moves the Buffalo Bills front office has made this decade.
There’s no [...]

The U.S. Secretary of Education was in Albany Monday as leaders discussed New York’s Race to the Top education grant. New York was among 9 states to win funding in the contest, securing as much as $700 million dollars.

Cargill Meat Solutions has recalled 8,500 pounds of ground beef due to a possible e coli contamination.

Bail has been set for the man facing four counts of murder for his involvement in the City Grill shooting. Judge Michael Pietruszka set bail at $500,000 Riccardo McCray, 23, on Monday.

It’s another setback for the Seneca Indian Nation and their crusade against New York State’s taxation of cigarettes sold on their reservations. A state judge refused to block the state from taxing reservation cigarette sales to non-native customers Monday.

Corey Buzard, 33, who pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide after his 8-year-old daughter was killed in the car he was riding in last September, was sentenced Monday to six months in jail and five years probation.

Day 3 of this journey took a few unexpected turns and twists, but it is days like this which make our road trip adventures especially exciting.

On this day’s schedule was a trip to Metro Bank Park, home of the AA Harrisburg Senators. In the middle of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg lies City Island, a splendid park with gorgeous waterfront vistas, nature trails, and views of the Harrisburg skyline, and in the midst of this park there has always been a ballpark and an accompanying football/soccer field.

We visited here bank in 2006, but since that time the venue has undergone extensive renovations, so this place was penciled in for a return USRT visit way back when.

So the Farrells were having a family party up north of Cortland, NY this very same day, and basically we had decided in advance to book about 4PM to catch the tail end of those festivities, about a 200 mile jaunt straight up the I-81. We departed at the 7th inning stretch, with Trenton up 3-2 (Harrisburg would pull this game out 6-5 in 10 innings).

This is where it got interesting… as we made our way northward, Pete gets the call from the relations, and then his dad, that ostensibly informs us that the party is now over, things are breaking up and everyone has gone home. Whaaattt?

So “Plan B” became a no brainer… we were driving up the I-81 and were just about 30 miles south of Wilkes-Barre, PA. Our Buffalo Bisons were playing against the SWB Yankees at PNC Field in Moosic, and in fact we had the game on the radio as it had just started. LET’S PLAY TWO!

We raced to the stadium, arriving just as the third inning was winding down. We grabbed our camera and our Bisons credentials, and it was just so awesome walking up to the main gate and having the ticket takers and security just wave us in as we announce ourselves as “Bisons Media.” We are soooooo cool!

The USRT had last visited in 2003, and back then we were disappointed in this brutalist concrete monstrosity of a stadium. Since the Yankees have come in, there have been numerous positive renovations, none more important than a real grass field. New outfield picnic pavilions, seats, tarping the upper rows of the second deck, colorful signage and splashes of concourse paint, not to mention some really great Yankees murals in the main concourses, have really given this ballpark a new life.

For our Bisons it was all bad news… they were being one hit until the 9th inning, down 5-0 going into the 9th, yet they managed to claw out one run and loaded the bases. With two outs and Mike Cervenak representing the tying run, his long fly ball wasn’t far enough, and just like that Scranton-Wilkes Barre had their fifth consecutive IL North Division title. I’m sure the locals were dancing in the streets and tipping over cars downtown well into the night. We booked for our car as soon as the final out was recorded.

So back to the B-lo we went, arriving about midnight. Four ballparks over the course of 60 hours, something we do these days without breaking a sweat. Any by the way… Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick on Friday night was the 120th separate and distinct professional baseball venue that we have set foot in since starting this craziness in 1998. Damn we’re good!

TOO MUCH LIPSTICK!! What were they thinking when they painted the bumpers red on this 1956 Oldsmobile Super 88 four-door sedan? Yikes! I spotted it a while back sitting in front of a collision shop in Yorkshire, N.Y., and it has since had a “for sale” sign attached to the window. I don’t know; to [...]