It looks like former Sabres goaltender Martin Biron is in his last few days, with the Philadelphia Flyers. Reports in Philly say the team is going to sign free agent Ray Emery, the former Ottawa Senator, and they will not make an offer to keep Biron when he enters free agency July 1st.

Here’s a link to the story in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/47186842.html

I have to say I’m sorry to see Biron’s tenure with the Flyers coming to an end.  I think he was a good fit with that team and I was hoping to see him lead the Flyers on a nice long playoff run one of these years.

Biron’s remains one of the most engaging, outgoing professional athletes in North America.   He seems like a good teammate and he’s a fan favorite wherever he goes.  But the Flyers seem to have concluded, as the Sabres did a few years ago, that Marty is not at the top level of NHL goaltenders.  And the Flyers want to get better.

I’m sure Biron will find a new home in the NHL and will be a key player on whatever team he winds up with.  What do you think of the Flyers move?

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Eric Moulds-The anti-Brett Favre (AP Photo)

Word on Sunday night is that Brett Favre did in fact have shoulder surgery, meaning a comeback is likely.  I’m so sick of hearing about/reporting on Favre and his inability to walk away from football.  It got me thinking about a conversation I recently had with former Bills receiver Eric Moulds.  He had no problem retiring, even turning down offers to play last season.  He told me he just couldn’t commit to working out all offseason.  He believes he can still play.  But he knows that football is a year-round committment, and it wouldn’t be fair to his team if he just strolled in for training camp.  Too bad Favre doesn’t think like that.  He’ll likely do the same thing to the Vikings that he did to the Jets.  Show up in camp, and alter the plans and chemistry developed through all those OTA’s.  Its selfish on his part.  Because he can’t walk away, but doesn’t really want to put in the time, he leaves his new team in a bad spot.  The Jets paid a price for that last year, and Minnesota likely will in 2009.  Maybe the teams should just stop saying yes, thinking that an over-the-hill superstar can still help.  That may be the only way that Favre will actually stay retired.

As we close out the weekend and head into a brand new week, an unsettled weather pattern will continue to unfold across WNY.  A stationary front Sunday evening will gradually move further south allowing spotty showers to end across the southern tier.  This same front will lift northward on Monday allowing for scattered showers and t-storms to develop in the afternoon and evening.   It’ll become increasingly humid Monday night into early Tuesday as a cold front tracks  toward WNY with scattered showers and t-storms,  but drier, more refreshing air returns later Tuesday and on Wednesday with partly sunny skies.  Another disturbance arrives on Thursday with more hit or miss showers and t-showers.  But early signs point to clearing skies as we push into next weekend along with seasonably warm temps in the 70s.

I never had the pleasure of covering Randy Smith of the Buffalo Braves, but I had the extreme pleasure of watching him play.  As a teenager in Buffalo in the early 1970s, the fact that a Buff State product had been drafted by the hometown NBA team was something that we all got excited about. But Randy did much more than that.

He worked his way into the starting lineup in arguably the NBA’s most exciting team of the mid 1970s.  With his blinding speed and quick hands, he was one of the league’s best defenders every year.  Although he wasn’t a great outside shooter, he was quick enough to find his shot, and his dunking ability was spectacular.  I will always remember the roar in the Aud when Randy got loose on a fast break and soared toward the basket on his way to a thunderous slam.

For those of us wh0 loved the Braves, Randy was the glue that held the team together. McAdoo was a point machine, Ernie D was a flashy ballhandler, and Jim McMillian was the veteran leader. Randy was the all-around performer who could be counted on for a consistent performance night after night.

By 1978, I was a senior at Syracuse University, and even though I still loved the Braves, it was obvious the team was not going to be around Buffalo much longer.  That’s what made Randy’s performance in the 1978 All Star game that much more gratifying.  His MVP performance was the last gasp of a beloved franchise that could have been so much more, if only ownership gave it a chance. 

I’ve been in a Braves frame of mind for the last week or so, ever since I interviewed my former college classmate Tim Wendel about his new book “Buffalo-Home of the Braves.”  I’m about halfway through the book now, and plan on finishing it off in the next few days.  Look for a story on News 4 at Six next week on Tim’s book, and get ready for the Braves memories to flow.

Any memories of Randy Smith or the Braves you’d like to share?  Drop us a line.

Just a reminder that if you are experiencing difficulty with your converter setup, you can get help locally. Free help is available for basic converter installation. That is a converter with an indoor antenna. For help with outside antennas, premium help is also available for an extra charge.

For help, call 1-800-582-4250.

Seven days to go and President Obama warned Americans that they need to be prepared.

This from Reuters:

President Barack Obama warned Americans on Thursday who have not prepared for the June 12 transition to digital television that their TVs could go dark if they do not get a converter box soon.

It’s crunch time. There is very little time left. Are you ready?

The news that the St. Louis Rams are for sale, and that the owners are willing to entertain offers from interests looking  to move the team, sounds very familiar to Bills fans.  The circumstances around the estate taxes faced by the Rosenbloom family, and the possibility of the team leaving town, amount to the nightmare scenario in the back of the minds of many Bills fans.

Already, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he’ll do everything he can to keep the Rams in St. Louis, and there’s no reason to doubt that.  But when serious economic forces line up involving close to 1-billion-dollars, you wonder how much authority the Commissioner would have to block a potential move.

What will be interesting is to discover where the suitors for the Rams come from.  Is there anyone in Los Angeles ready to bring NFL football back to that city, and are they willing to put up the money to bring the Rams back home?

One potential city you can cross off the list is Toronto.  When the Bills planted their flag in Canada’s largest city a year ago, they did it with the full approval of the NFL.  The rest of the league’s owners ceded North America’s 5th largest market to the Bills, which I still find amazing.  Without an expansion fee or any other consideration, the Bills annexed the huge market in Toronto and have made it their own.

The fact is, Toronto already has an NFL team, and it’s the Buffalo Bills.  What’s unknown is whether the Bills will play one, two, or more games there in the future.

What’s your take on the Rams situation and where they may wind up?

As the push for the final digital transition reaches its final days, the local FCC Field Office is once again holding two walk-in help centers this weekend. These clinics will be held at local K-Mart stores on Saturday and Sunday, June 6th and 7th. The purpose is to assist with online converter coupon applications and also to demonstrate converter hook ups as well as answer any questions you may have.

On Saturday, June 6th, they will be at the K-Mart at 1001 Hertel Avenue in Buffalo. On Sunday the clinic will be at the K-Mart at 2590 Military Road in Niagara Falls. Hours for both will be 10AM to 4PM.

Look for WIVB Engineering personnel to be there helping out with technical questions.