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Polian Shares Bills Memories
He is synonomous with what many feel was the “Golden Era of Buffalo Bills Football.” Bill Polian, who began with the Bills as Director of Pro Personnel and eventually became General Manager, was the architect of teams that won four consecutive AFC Championships.
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SIMON: Getting To Know "The Heimlich Guy"
Mark Asper hopes to someday be known as a starting NFL offensive lineman but for now the Bills rookie has to settle for being known as “The Heimlich Guy.”
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SIMON: Graham Wanted To Be A Bill
Based on his parents resume, it isn’t surprising T.J. Graham is involved in athletics. What is surprising is the sport he chose. Instead of following his parents path into track and field, Graham opted for football and will now attempt to make the Bills look smart for selecting him in the third round of last month’s draft.
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SIMON: Is Playing In The NFL Worth It?
As the NFL world deals with the death of Junior Seau, players are once again answering questions about the sport they love and whether or not it will bring an early end to their life. Read what George Wilson and Steve Tasker had to say on WGR.
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SIMON: Gushing Over Gilmore
Lorenzo Ward has coached a lot of players over his 20 plus years in the college ranks and one season in the NFL but very few have made an impression on him like Stephon Gilmore. Read what the South Carolina Defensive Coordinator told WGR about the Bills first round pick.
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SIMON: Playing Bills General Manager
I've been asked the same 2 questions by a lot of people the last few weeks. The answer to the first question is, I don't know. The answer to the second question is, a wide receiver. Come Thursday night we'll all get the answer to the first question and quite likely it won't match my answer to the second question.
What have people been asking me?
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SIMON: Polian Offers Draft Advice
If you want to know who the Bills should take with their first pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft, who better to talk to than the architect of some of the franchise’s best ever drafts? Former Bills General Manager Bill Polian is working for ESPN these days and he was a guest on the WGR morning show on Tuesday.
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VIDEO: Lundqvist cries conspiracy
While the Rangers picked up a 3-2 win to force Game 7, New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist came away fuming mad. Check out Ottawa's controversial goal that Lundqvist called a "joke".
*Bonus - Chris Neil gets hit in the head...without puck...late.
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SIMON: Tropp Not Satisfied
Corey Tropp had no time to feel sorry for himself or the Sabres when they were eliminated from playoff contention in the second to last game of the season. Tropp had to make his way to Rochester along with Marcus Foligno, Brayden McNabb and T.J. Brennan in an effort to help the Americans avoid the Sabres fate.
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SIMON: Draft Insight from Buddy Nix
As the NFL Draft draws near, both media and fans can’t get enough information from their favorite teams as we all try and decipher comments from General Manager’s and scouts in an effort to figure out who they’ll be selecting. Here's what I think Buddy Nix told WGR today. You can listen for yourself too.
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SIMON: Analyzing Bills Schedule
I doubt I’ve ever said “its perfect” when looking at a newly released Buffalo Bills schedule but I’m very happy with the one that came out on Tuesday night.
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Scouting Session 2 - Organizational Depth - Forward
Preparation for the NHL Draft has its own wrinkle...you have a pipeline. As the Sabres get set to revamp the roster in June, it’s vital to know just what they have waiting in the wings (pun intended). The team desperately needs scoring - Is help on the way?
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Labor Battle Looming?
In case you weren’t depressed enough with the Sabres missing the playoffs, how would you feel if the next NHL season didn’t start on time? What if there wasn’t a 2012-2013 season at all? From the league that scrapped an entire season due to a lockout, will we get Labor Armageddon Part Two?
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SIMON: Dirty Thoughts
I've always been a huge fan of the behind the scenes shows like Hard Knocks and 24/7 because we have access and see things we normally wouldn't know about. But I've also said there is one downside to the shows. It can change my perception of players, coaches, and franchises that I detest.
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SIMON: What If?
When a team misses the playoffs by as narrow a margin as is the case with the Buffalo Sabres, there is a tendency to do “what if” and find a game or two that will then make you crazy. In the minutes after the Sabres fate was sealed on Thursday night, there was 1 game that came to my mind.
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SIMON: Leopold A Steady Presence
With Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff still sidelined by injuries, expect Jordan Leopold to get plenty of ice time tonight. In fact, he’ll probably log the most minutes amongst the Sabres. He’s not Myers or Ehrhoff but Leopold has provided a steady presence along the blue line down the stretch.
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SIMON: Prospect Watching
A number of things were changed in the day to day operations of the Buffalo Sabres after Terry Pegula assumed ownership. One was their approach to the amateur player side of hockey operations.
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SIMON: Alexander Who?
The big news for the Buffalo Sabres on trade deadline day was the deal that sent Zack Kassian, power forward of the future to the Vancouver Canucks for Cody Hodgson, top two center of the future. But there was another part to that deal. In a swap of defensemen, Marc-Andre Gragnani was shipped west for some guy named Alexander Sulzer.
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SIMON: Corey On Tropp Of Things
Over the course of the Darcy Regier/Lindy Ruff era with the Buffalo Sabres, the team has a pretty good track record when it comes to successfully developing players with their American Hockey League affiliate and seeing them contribute when they get to the NHL.
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THN: High on Hodgson
Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News is thinking Cody Hodgson is set for a breakout season next year. Hodgson's commitment to his craft is at an elite level, and that's evident by his dedication to offseason conditioning. Click here to read the story!
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SIMON: What, Me Worry?
What was I freaking out for? That was EASY!! There I was, hunkered down in the basement of my house in full scale playoff mode(which means no one talks to me or even comes down to the basement while the game is on) and I could have been relaxing in the recliner in the family room enjoying the game with my wife and son.
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SIMON:I'm Freaking Out!!
It finally hit me last weekend. I finally reached the point where I couldn’t take the stress of the Sabres frantic pursuit of a playoff spot. Quite honestly I lasted longer than I thought I would but it did help that I spent a week in Mexico almost completely out of touch.
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SIMON: Remaining Schedules
Perhaps you have already researched this and committed it to memory but in the event you have not, here are the remaining schedules for the Sabres and the team’s around them in the playoff race. I’ve also listed each team’s record in the season series with the corresponding opponent.
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SIMON: Its In The Bloodlines
We shouldn’t be surprised with Marcus Foligno’s early success in the NHL, should we? He has the bloodlines going for him, right? The son of former Sabre Mike Foligno and younger brother of Nick Foligno who plays for Ottawa has looked extremely comfortable in his second stint with the Sabres this season and looks like a player who has seen the last of the minors.
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SIMON: Rangers Rundown
While the Sabres are locked in a day to day fight for a coveted playoff spot, their opponent tonight has no such concern. The New York Rangers became the 1st Eastern Conference team to clinch a playoff berth when they beat New Jersey this past Monday. It was the earliest a Rangers club locked up a post season spot in twenty years.
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SIMON: Electric Ennis
When all is said and done, if the Sabres miss out on the playoffs, injuries will be cited as one of the reasons. An injury to one of their smallest players could turn out to be one of the biggest in terms of the impact it had on the season.
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SIMON: Sweet Swede
The Colorado Avalanche are a tough team to figure out. They’ve been assembling a solid group of young, talented players but just can’t seem to get themselves into the Stanley Cup playoffs. The latest installment from the book of “he’s got a bright NHL future” is Gabriel Landeskog.
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SIMON: Sabres Hall Suggestions
Last week the Sabres wrapped up a 10 day stretch where they were accepting nominations from fans for the team’s Hall of Fame. I didn’t send one in so I’ll just use this forum for my suggestions.
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SIMON: Surprising Senators
The way the Sabres season has played out has been a surprise to many of us. We didn’t think they’d hit March scratching and clawing trying to beat out the rest of the pack for the 8th and final playoff spot. Tonight’s opponent has been a surprise as well but for good reasons, not bad.
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SIMON: Inside The Numbers
It seems appropriate on the night the Sabres make their first trip into Boston since the infamous Miller-Lucic incident that I focus on the Sabres number one goaltender because he’s been the single biggest factor in Buffalo’s sprint back into the playoff chase.
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SIMON: Reliving the Comeback Game
Last Sunday I was presented with a dilemma that perhaps many of you were dealing with as well.
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Simon:Scouting The Schedules
Now that the Sabres are legitimately in the race for 8th, I spent part of my weekend looking at the schedules for the other teams battling for that final playoff spot.
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SIMON: All In On Sabres
Okay, I'm all in with the chase for eighth. The Sabres win over San Jose was the moment that allowed me to flip the "I'm excited" switch back into the "on" position where it hasn't been since "B.L." or "Before Lucic."
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Simon:Breaking Down Sabres Schedule
One year ago at this time, I remember doing regular Inside The Numbers features on the Sabres remaining schedule and those of the teams around them as the fight for playoff spots went down the stretch. Believe it or not, it is back.
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Simon: A Good Day For Darcy
Grit goes out and skill comes in. In a nutshell that is how you can describe the moves made by the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
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Simon: The New Slap Shot?
Slap shot is one of my all time favorite movies. Not just all time favorite sports movies, I mean of all movies. There may finally be another hockey movie to rival that classic. Read Inside The Numbers for details.
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Simon:Despising Marchand
A visit from the Boston Bruins means a visit by a recent entry to my list of most hated players, Brad Marchand. He reminds me of a guy by the name of Ken Linesman who played from the late 1970's into the early 1990's and was nicknamed "The Rat."
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Owen Nolan: Prototypical Power Forward
For all intents and purposes, Owen Nolan's NHL career ended after the 2009-2010 season with the Minnesota Wild. But the 40 year old Nolan, who played in Zurich last season, held off on his official retirement announcement until last weekend.
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SIMON: Future of Fighting in NHL
Let me say first off that I like fighting in the NHL. As most if not all of you do, I will yell at the radio or TV when at home, cheering for whatever Sabre has dropped the gloves to pummel his fellow combatant. But is it time for the NHL to take fighting out of the game? Head inside for my thoughts.
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Inside The Dominator's Numbers
Last Saturday Ryan Miller passed Dominik Hasek fopr the top spot in Buffalo Sabres franchise history in wins by a goalie. That got me reflecting back on Hasek’s time here.
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Tasker:Build Up Offense
While many Bills fans believe the focus of the off season should be fixing the defense, Steve Tasker thinks the team should invest on the offensive side of the ball. The former Buffalo Bill was a guest on the WGR morning show on Tuesday and after watching some explosive passing numbers go up this past season, his mindset was all about “Air Gailey”.
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Ted Black: Sabres Could Buy Not Sell
Sabres President Ted Black joined the WGR Morning show for his weekly segment on Thursday and touched on a number of issues including the upcoming trade deadline, Buffalo’s hopes of landing an All Star Game in the not too distant future and an update on the dispute between Time Warner and MSG.
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Rangers Not Just Big Spenders
For a long time, especially in the pre-salary cap days, the New York Rangers were the poster child for the “money doesn’t necessarily buy you a championship” school of thought. But give credit where credit us due. Successful draft picks are one reason why the Rangers are atop the Eastern Conference.
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Simon:Inside The Numbers
Imagine if you worked long and hard to get your dream job and when you finally got it, people demanded you be fired before you even get a chance to show what you can do. Welcome to Randy Cunneyworth’s world.
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Bills/WGR Memories
When WGR was recently awarded the Bills radio rights we contacted members of the broadcast team the last time the Bills games were on WGR. Greg Brown currently works on Pittsburgh Pirates broadcasts for ROOT Sports but was the color commentator on the Bills games back then. Greg shared some of his memories:
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1/27 Darris Kilgour on The Howard Simon Show
The Bandits' coach stops by to talk about his team's 2-0 start.
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Roenick:Sabres Not Playing For Each Other
It’s been an extremely disappointing season for the Buffalo Sabres and everyone has their own ideas as to why it has fallen apart. Find out what former NHL star Jeremy Roenick thinks by heading inside.
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SIMON:Dear Mr. Pegula
Its time Mr. Pegula. I know you haven’t even hit a full year as owner of the Buffalo Sabres but its time to make your first big management change. That doesn’t mean the job of fixing your franchise will be complete. It’s the initial move that must be made in an effort to reach your stated goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
More often than not, when a team makes a coaching change there isn’t an immediate or dramatic turnaround that season. One of the exceptions to the rule is the man coaching against beleaguered Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff tonight.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
I always knew Paul Henderson was considered hockey royalty in Canada but until recently I couldn’t understand why. Find that answer and learn more about the Canada-Soviet Summit Series in 1972 in this edition of Inside The Numbers.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
You knew Patrick Kane was from Buffalo and grew up rooting for his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres. But did you know he used to like to wear the opposing team's sweater when he went to the games? Find out more about Kane in this edition of Inside The Numbers.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
Who's Hot and Who's Not? Howard Simon has the rundown for the Buffalo Sabres in today's edition of Inside The Numbers. That Who's Hot list....pretty short.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
Could it be the Americanization of Canada's game? The number of American born players in the NHL remains on the rise but that mirrors an explosion in youth participation across the country while in Canada those numbers are dropping at an alarming rate.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
As if you aren’t depressed enough this hockey season with the way the Sabres are playing, something happened last week between the League and the Players Association that gave me a sick feeling in my stomach.
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SIMON: Inside The Numbers
I’m not sure if you can quote Yogi Berra for a story about hockey but what why not give it a shot. “Its deja-vous all over again” for the Buffalo Sabres. Howard Simon has more in this edition of Inside The Numbers.
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SIMON: Nix On Target
At a time when fans of the Buffalo Sabres are wondering if the team's General Manager is seeing the same product they are, its as if the Bills G-M consulted wish lists from some of the team's faithful while laying out the plan for the upcoming off season.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
At a time when Buffalo Sabres management is asking you to have faith in the people in charge, a recent comment by Brian Burke might make you even more depressed about the short term future of the hockey club.
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SIMON: Inside The Numbers
The most recent edition of The Hockey News included their annual list of the 100 people of power and influence in the National Hockey League. As far as the Sabres are concerned, there are 2 names on the list, one to be expected and the other lucky to be there.
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SIMON: Bills Radio Memories
It’s an exciting day for everyone at WGR and all of the Entercom Buffalo radio stations with the news that WGR is once again the Home for Buffalo Bills Football. It worked out well the last time the Bills were on WGR.
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Bills 2012 Opponents
We know now the Bills opponents for the 2012 season:
Home: New York Jets, New England, Miami, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Arizona, St. Louis,
Kansas City
Road: New York Jets, New England, Miami, Indianapolis, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco,
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SIMON: Inside The Numbers
As the Sabres close out the December portion of the schedule tonight, the staff at Inside The Numbers(which is basically just me) has decided to once again give you a preview of the month that lies ahead. You won't see the Sabres wearing the blue uniforms much in January.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
As bad as the injury news has been for the Buffalo Sabres, the Washington Capitals have one player on the sideline who might trump a whole bunch of injured Sabres put together. Check out Inside The Numbers for details.
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Stevie vs WR's
wr stats 2010/2011 seasons
Receptions:
R. White 211
Welker 202
Wayne 178
B Marshall 162
C Johnson 162
Fitzgerald 161
Colston 157
STEVIE 154
Nicks 150
Bowe 147
G Jennings 143
B Lloyd 141
Garcon 135
M Wallace 131
S
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
We’re spending time on the show this week reviewing the top sports stories of the year both national and local. For me, one of the top local stories was one that had nothing to do with a Buffalo team.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
One of the NHL’s great villains will be in the building at the First Niagara Center tonight although he’ll be wearing a coat and tie and not a jersey and skates. Check out Inside The Numbers for details.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
We're going to take a step back in time for this edition of Inside the Numbers to re-visit an incident where the Sabres pulled a fast one on the National Hockey League. They drafted a player who never existed from a team whose name they made up.
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SIMON: QB Quandary
The future of Ryan Fitzpatrick is now front and center in discussions about the Buffalo Bills. Howard Simon knows what he would do. Head inside for details.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
When Andy Sutton was a free agent 2 years ago, I actually thought the Sabres should go after him. What in the world was I thinking? Find out more in this edition of Inside The Numbers.
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SIMON: Bills Leave Me Numb, Again
It could have been worse. JP Losman could’ve beaten them. Just trying to find some way to keep from shaking my head and wondering what has happened.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
For the second time this season, the Sabres will play the Pittsburgh Penguins without Sidney Crosby in the lineup.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
It looks like Brian Burke's work is finally paying off. Read more about the Leafs resurgence in this edition of Inside The Numbers.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
Okay hockey fans, set the DVR to record HBO on Wednesday night at 10 o’clock. It’s the return of “24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic.”
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
His spirit was willing but his body was telling him it had enough. With that, Mike Grier took the hint and announced his retirement from the National Hockey League after playing in 1,060 games over 14 seasons.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
This Florida Panthers team could go down in franchise history. Check out Inside The Numbers to find out why.
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SIMON: Bills Are Groundhog Day
The Buffalo Bills are the professional sports equivalent of the movie "Groundhog Day."
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
It seems the occasions are too few and far between when we can say the National Hockey League got something right but they did exactly that with realignment.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
With the calendar having flipped over to December, I decided to take a look at the schedule for the month and see what was coming up for the Sabres.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
Just past the quarter pole of the National Hockey League season, its time to take a look at some positives and negatives of the Buffalo Sabres.
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SIMON: Inside The Numbers
The call came much earlier than he had expected but Brayden McNabb found himself in Buffalo Sabres blue and gold for his NHL debut this past Saturday.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
His nickname is the Great 8 but one Washington newspaper columnist is now referring to Alexander Ovechkin as the Great Frustrate. Ovechkin has gone from franchise player to enigma.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. This season was going to be different for the Columbus Blue Jackets. But it hasn't been to this point.
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SIMON:Inside The Numbers
Tonight , Sabres fans will be looking for some “old time hockey, Toe Blake, Eddie Shore”, with the Boston Bruins and Milan Lucic in town. If only they could suit up Rob Ray and some of his buddies from the 1991-92 team.
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Simon: Inside The Numbers
Here’s an Inside the Numbers I never thought I would do. For those of you who were wondering exactly who is Drew MacIntyre, I am going to tell you all about him.
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Bills Offense Goes Missing
One of the NFL’s most explosive offenses in the first month of the season has gone missing. That in a nutshell is why the Buffalo Bills will drag a 2 game losing streak with them on their trip to South Florida.
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Vick's Side of Story, NFL Statement
Michael Vick and the NFL have both issued statements regarding his interview in GQ. Details released today have revealed that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "steered" him toward Philadelphia despite interest from the Bills and Bengals. Here's the latest from Vick and the league.
Vick:
“I felt it was necessary to put out a statement today clarifying the article
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Thurman: "A Slap In The Face"
Hall of Fame Running Back Thurman Thomas made an impromptu call to the WGR Morning Show today to talk about Roger Goodell "steering" Michael Vick to the Eagles. Not surprisingly, Thurman is fired up.
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7/25 Jerry Sullivan on The Howard Simon Show
Sully talks Bills with Howard and Brian.
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7/13 Lule Adam on The Howard Simon Show
Sabres prospect Luke Adam talks hockey and baseball with Howard and Jeremy.
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7/12 George Wilson on The Howard Simon Show
Bills player rep George Wilson talks about the lockout on The Howard Simon Show
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7/11 Whiner Line
Howard is back for Monday's whiner line!
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Full Nelson
Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver David Nelson will spend the week working with his teammates, and waiting to hear good news on the NFL labor front. Nelson says he hasn't heard too much about progress made on the lockout, but that the little he has heard is encouraging.
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6/7 TSN Analyst Scott Cullen on The Howard Simon Show
Scott discusses the Stanley Cup and the future of the Buffalo Sabres with Howard and Jeremy
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