Sabres sign Mair

According to WGR550, Adam Mair has signed with the Sabres for the next 3 years and had a slight raise from his previous salary of $675,000.

It's about time the Sabres signed someone this year. I was wondering if Golisano wanted a little extra cash this year so the Sabres had no money to sign players with.

I'm sure there will be much more action today and tomorrow before noon. Keep it locked.

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Mair Update

Adam Mair's new three year contract will net him 2.275-million dollars. Mair will make $750,000 in each of the first two years and $775,000 in the final year of the deal. The forward's cap hit will be $758,333.

Cap Raise, Briere's Deal, Free Agency Predictions

Busy day yesterday. Officially, not much happened. Under the table however, is another story. There was a lot of talk between Briere and Drury and the Sabres. Another thing that complicated matters is official release of the salary cap.

Rumors about Briere some Facts

Briere before chats about his contract claimed that he would take a lower salary amount to stay in Buffalo because he enjoys life here. I wonder how much lower he was thinking. The Sabres offered him a 5 year, $25 million contract, similar to the deal Danny offered to the Sabres last season.

Briere will be on his way to Southern California the next few days for a family vacation and a meeting with his agent, Brisson. He also sold his house in Buffalo, but I am told that he is purchasing another house, a bigger house, nearby.

Briere also noted that he will not sign with the Sabres right away on Sunday.

"It's exciting. You don't get the chance to be in this situation very often in your career," Briere told The Canadian Press on Friday. "So that's the mindset that we have going into Sunday. Just realizing that hopefully some teams or a team will be interested in my services."

He would like to test the waters of other markets where he could easily make near $7 million a year. The Montreal Canadians have said that they would have no problem giving him a contract for 7 years, $50 million and another interested team, Philly would give him about 5 year, $30 million.

Another interesting deal is for the LA Kings wanting to buy Briere and Drury as a package. Insane. Their plan may be possible with the NHL raising the salary cap to $50.3 million. Buffalo will have a tough time competing with the big markets like LA and Philly. Good news for free agents though because they can now make a hell of a lot more money.

Looking beyond Drury and Briere, the Sabres have other options with Vanek, and Roy and other players like Jason Blake and Aaron Miller and Todd White. For more Free Agency Predictions.

Briere Says Not Enough

It took Danny Briere less than 24 hours to decline the contract proposed by the Sabres. It is rumored that the deal was a $5 mil for five years similar to the deal Briere offered the Sabres last summer.

I'm sure Darcy will offer another offer because when you bargain, you don't start with the highest amount you are willing to pay. You in low and compromise. Lets hope other teams don't start high and go higher.

This news shows that Buffalo will have to dig deep if they want to keep both Drury and Briere.

Drury, Briere News even Zubrus

BRIERE

As of Wednesday night, the Sabres have offered a contract deal to Briere. The details of the offers are still unknown but he wants a minimum of a four year deal and at least $6 million a year. Briere finished 10th in the NHL with a career-high 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists).

DRURY

As for Drury, the Sabres are still trying to work out a deal with Co-Captain Chris Drury.

ZUBRUS

The mid-season free agent purchase Dainius Zubrus hopes to hit it big in the free agency this off season. He wants to look to other teams but would not be unhappy to come back to Buffalo in the fall.

Zubrus made $1.85 million in the final year of his contract last season. Buffalo acquired him in a deal with Washington at the trade deadline in February. A 10-year veteran, he had four goals and eight points in 19 games with the Sabres.

Zubrus added eight assists in 15 playoff games, but missed Buffalo’s final postseason game — a 3-2 overtime loss to Ottawa in Game Five of the Eastern Conference finals — because of a knee injury.

“He loved being with Buffalo and is still open to that possibility,” Colton said. “But we’re very confident that there will be a lot of interest in him out there.”

-Buffalo News

Although these are still unconfirmed reports, it is very likely that they are true. Still, don't be surprised if the Sabres sign both Drury and Briere, one of the two or neither. If we fail to sign either, don't count the Sabres out right away next year. We played with about half of a roster injured with the depth we have developed in Rochester. No Need to Worry.

Fantasy Football Sleepers

The quickest way to set yourself apart from the pack during Fantasy Season is to pick a sleeper that makes a huge impact on your team. Go back to last year and see how well people did who drafted or picked up off waivers these players.

Nate Burleson, WR Seahawks
Frank Gore, RB 49ers
Reggie Brown, WR Eagles
Philip Rivers, QB Chargers
John Carney, K Saints
Deuce McAlister, RB Saints
Deshaun Foster, RB Panthers
Jon Kitna, QB, Detroit Lions

A “sleeper” is a player that significantly outperforms their average draft position. In short, if you are fortunate enough to select a good “sleeper” pick, you were able to grab a player that yielded much higher production than otherwise anticipated prior to the NFL season (ref: Antonio Gates in 2004; Carson Palmer in 2005). Consequently, you want to select your “sleeper picks” a round or two earlier than you anticipate them being taken by your league mates. However, you do not want to select your “sleeper pick” too early as this gives you the opportunity to use those earlier picks on more reliable players.

One of the hardest things to do when drafting is to select a sleeper. It is simple to pick a player that is selected to well that season. The key to a championship team is picking that ONE player that will have a breakout season on your roster.

This seasons top picks for sleepers.

2007 Fantasy Football SLEEPERS

Quarterback
Jon Kitna, DET
Matt Leinart, ARZ

Running Back
Jerious Norwood, ATL
Jerome Harrison, CLE
Marion Barber, DAL
Chris Henry, TENN

Tight End
Leonard Pope, ARZ
Greg Olsen, CHI

Wide Receiver
Vincent Jackson, SD
Brandon Jones, TENN
Drew Bennett, STL
Matt Jones, JAX

Defense
Seattle Seahawks

Action in Buffalo with Sabres and Bills

Although it has been fairly quiet the past few days, there were a few things that happened yesterday in Buffalo.

Buffalo Bills
&
Donovin Darius #20

The Bills received a visit from Safety Donovin Darius. The veteran safety has been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the past 10 years after he was drafted in the first round by the Jags. He was a emotional player was a defensive leader for the Jacksonville D.

Although he has had many injuries the past two years he would be a great leader on the Bills squad. That being said personally I think his visit was only a friendly one not one to sign the new free agent. I'm sure that if there is in fact a deal you will hear about it shortly.

Fantasy Football Draft - 15 Things you Must Know

As Fantasy Football Season Nears, here are 15 Tips for Victory:


1.) Research - Take Time to Make your own list of draft choices

2.) Sleepers - Figure out about 5 under-rated players that you think will do well this season

3.) Know Your League - Make Sure that you know how many points everything is worth. Some Leagues, touchdowns are only 4 points instead of the usual 6 which decreases the value of a good QB

4.) Draft Strategy - Is Your Team going to have depth of 1 or 2 major point getters

5.) Stay Away from 1st round QB Picks - Most times it is smarter to get a decent RB than pick the best QB, RB will earn you more points during the season

6.) Running Backs - Pick a Solid Running Back that can be the anchor of your team, getting a majority of your points every week

7.) Wide Receivers - Grab the Best Possible and try to draft a fantasy stud




8.) Back Ups - Make Sure that you draft Safety Players at RB and WR, they may get less points that other receivers but are consistent so that you can bank on them getting the same amount of points each week

9.) Tight Ends - If you can't get Antonio Gates wait until a very later round to draft a TE

10.) Defense/Special Teams - Chicago or Baltimore will be solid picks or pick a moderate Defense and get a team each week who has a favorable match up each week and get points of other teams weaknesses

11.) Kickers - Do not draft a Kickers until the very end, they simple do not earn enough points to really make a high round pick

12.) Draft to Trade - Risky but if you can draft players that you do not need and other do, they will give you a lot to have the players they need

13.) What to Bring - Money, Pens/Pencil/Highlighter, Clipboard, Draft Papers

14.) Watch Bye Weeks - You can have the greatest team but if you lose most of your team one week, you will throw away that game

15.) End of Draft Picks - Don't pick old time players, pick new, young, rookie players who have the chance of exploding during the season.

BONUS TIP Bring Beer - Don't Drink it though, it will give you the edge on everyone else.

Sabres Free Agency 2007

There is only a few more days until a barrage of Free Agency Signings on July 1st. Many people are sitting at work or chatting around the water cooler and there is those few guys who would love to jump in on the conversations about who will go where and for how much but they fail to even understand the difference between and Unrestricted Free Agent(UFA) and a Restricted Free Agent(RFA). Lets see if we can clear up the confusion and get you guys chatting at the cooler.

Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA)

UFAs are basically a player without a team. They have no commitments to any team and can entertain any sort of deal with any team.

Restricted Free Agent (RFA)

RFAs are simply a player that still has ties with their team and cannot sever ties without compensation to the team with either draft choices or the right to match any deal presented to the players by another team.

Sabres Free Agents

UFA

Briere, Drury, Numminen, Zubrus, and Conklin

Ryan, and Lehtonen (Minors)

RFA
Vanek, Paille, Roy, Paestch, Peters

Berkhoel (Minors)

Big Deals

Briere and Drury have both said that they would miss life here in Buffalo. "I didn't hide my feelings all year," Briere said. "I'm hoping I'm still going to be here next year." The main thing on his mind in my eyes would have to be his family. He has three young sons that will be going to school soon and a good father would try to stay in one play the next few years so his boys can enjoy school. I will guarantee that whatever team offers him a decent amount of money ($5 mil) for a long term deal he will bite.

Drury also has said how much Buffalo means to him. He is such an asset to the Sabres because he has the intangible traits such as his leadership and ability to keep giving 110% all of the time. He has the ability to make a cool $7 mil next season and the Sabres would be stupid to not give him every penny of it.

One of the unspoken factors of the players salary is that a dollar in Buffalo will go much further than it would on the West Coast or any other city.

Where They Might Go if Not Buffalo
(Bold is my pick)

Briere - Montreal, Philadelphia, Edmonton

Drury - San Jose, Calgary, Washington, or Colorado

It all Begins on July 1st. Lets See What Happens.

Buffalo Sabres Big Hits and Fights

Due to the lack of sports news how about a little bit of Sabres action.

Tj Brennan Shoot Out Goal

The future of the Buffalo Sabres.

Sabres Draft TJ Brennan First in 2007

Brennan was Buffalo's first draft selection this year after trading away their first round draft pick with Novotny for Zubrus earlier this season.

TJ Brennan (1st pick 2nd Round, 31 overall) - Seems to be just what the Sabres were looking for in the future. Strong Defensemen with the ability to throw hard slap shots on net. In a way he reminds me of a Paestch or a Campbell with there ability to have the quick transition to forward.


Stats

T.J. Brennan
Defense
Born Apr 3 1989  -- Willingbord, NJ
Height 6.00 -- Weight 198 -- Shoots L


2006 -07 St. John's Fog Devils

       --- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
------------------------------------------------
QMJHL  68   16   25   41   79   4   1   1   2   4
--------------------------------------------------

A 6-1, 204-pound defenseman, he scored 16 goals and accumulated 41 points in his first season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, attracting the attention of scouts with a 97 mph slap shot and a propensity to pick things up quickly.

He is a Philly fan but was amazed last year with Brian Campbell's hit on Umberger.

“I remember standing up,” Brennan said, “and going, ‘Oh, my gosh. This guy is 220 pounds and knocked out on the ice.’ It was a big time for a big hit, and that’s what big players do. They make plays. It was inspiring.”

It will be about three years before we will see Brennan on the ice at HSBC during game nights that is. He was a solid pick for Buffalo who is not used to having the last picks in each round due to their President's Trophy win.

For In-Depth analysis on the rest of the Sabres 2007 Draft Choices [click here]

Hull leaves NBC

Only a year was how long Sabres fans had to listen to Brett Hull slam the Sabres during the NBC pregame shows. Hull took a job with the Dallas Stars Organization.

"He will definitely have an expanded role in hockey operations, but we're not sure what that role will be," Stars president Jim Lites told the Dallas News.

This is a relief for all Sabres fans watching the man that scored a goal that never should have counted back in 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. But, welcome to Buffalo and welcome to the Buffalo Sports Curse.

Patrick Kane Drafted First by Blackhawks

Buffalo native, Patrick Kane was the 2007 First Round Draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks.

On April 27, 2007, Kane was announced as the winner of the Emms Family Award for the OHL rookie of the year. He was also named runner-up to John Tavares for the Red Tilson Trophy as league MVP.

Kane scored 62 goals and added 83 assists for 145 with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League last season.

The Philadelphia Flyers took left wing James Van Riemsdyk with the second pick. It's the first time that American born players have been selected first and second overall.

-WGR550

Fantasy Football

Which players will be the stars this season.

Top Five Picks in Each Position for 2007 Season

Quarterback

Peyton Manning - Carson Palmer - Tom Brady - Marc Bulger - Drew Brees

Running Back

LaDainian Tomlimsom - Steven Jackson - Larry Johnson - Shaun Alexander - Frank Gore

Wide Receiver

Marvin Harrison - Chad Johnson - Torry Holt - Terrell Owens - Steve Smith

Tight Ends

Antonio Gates - Tony Gonzalez - Jeremy Shockey - Todd Heap - Chris Cooley

Kickers

Nate Kaeding - Jeff Wilkins - Shayne Graham - Jason Elam - Adam Vinatieri

Defense/Special Teams

Ravens - Bears - Chargers - Patriots - Eagles

My Websites for Fantasy Success.
CBS Sportsline
ESPN
Fox Sports

We're back! Lets hope its the same for the Bills!

After a short hiatus following the Sabres loss to the Sens, SportsBuffalo is back in business and ready to tackle the Free Agency and upcoming football season.

We better enjoy the Bills while they last or should I say as long as Ralph lasts. He announced that he is not leaving the Bills to his wife and the possibility of his daughters owning it are slim because of the massive estate taxes. I wouldn't be suprised if a local group of investors came along with people like Jim Kelly. Lets hope someone of the Golisano-type comes along to buy the Bills. This might motivate the Bills to have a decent season soon. You Never Know.

It was a pretty good investment considering that he only paid $25,000 for the franchise in 1959. It is now estimated at over 600 million dollars or about 637 million.

“Football keeps me going,” Wilson said. “At my stage in the game, you’ve got to have something.”

Personally I think that the Bills chances of staying in Buffalo are as about as good a chance that we can win a Superbowl.

Dispite that possibility that the Bills will be relocated soon, they continue to pour money into Ralph Wilson Stadium in the form of a huge 33.5 x 82.8 foot HD score board and a wrap around Ribbon Board similar to that at the HSBC Arena. This is a huge accomplishment for the Bills being second in the LEAGUE?

We will be only second to the Dolphins in the size of our scoreboard. Well its better than nothing I guess.