Secret Santa: To Turner Gill:

Happy Holidays, Coach.

Hope it fits, because it looks like you'll be wearing it for at least a few more years.

Just don't trade it in for one of these, ok?

From: The Goose's Roost

Turner Gill Watch

By Chris

It was revealed today that University at Buffalo Athletic Director Warde Manuel has granted head coach Turner Gill permission to interview with the Nebraska Cornhuskers for their head coaching position.

"I'm happy for Turner and his family about getting the opportunity to talk to Nebraska," Manuel said. "He's worked extremely hard and deserves this opportunity."

It also turns out that Nebraska big wigs interim AD Tom Osborne and chancellor Harvey Perlman took a flight to meet with LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pellini without LSU's knowledge.

Manuel believes an interview (with Gill) will take place "in the next day or so."

As the dominoes continue to fall, the Roost will provide coverage and links to all of the action.

The End of the Turner Gill Era?

By Chris

The Bills are in "must-win mode" if they want to keep their season alive. The Sabres are finally wheeling and dealing again. But it will be the college football scene that will have everyone in Buffalo talking.

The UB Bulls wrapped up their season this afternoon, a wild overtime win against Kent State, to cap off the most successful season in the school's D-I history.

One of the biggest reasons for the turn-around? Coaching.

And Turner Gill may have spent his last afternoon on the Bulls' sideline this afternoon. See, Gill got his chops at Nebraska as one of the greatest quarterbacks the school had ever seen. Then he got into coaching and was an assistant coach for three Cornhusker national championship seasons.

He signed a five-year deal with UB in December 2005 and has changed the attitude surrounding UB football significantly. He's got everyone believing that the program can be a winner and the team fell just one game short of bowl eligibility this season. The Bulls 5 wins this season equals their win total for the last three years combined. Quite the turn-around.

Gill's name has been in the loop for many coaching position's throughout the country. And now that Nebraska has fired coach Bill Callahan, it seems like just a matter of time before Tom Osborne offers Gill the job. Gill and Osborne are as close as close can be, and it would be a dream for Gill to be able to lead his alma mater back to glory.

As Gill said in his post-game press conference "Time will tell."

The Roost will continue to provide updates on the UB coaching carousel that may be set in motion soon.

Coaches vs. Cancer vs. UB Basketball

By Chris

Tonight, the Buffalo Bulls basketball team will take on UConn for the chance to play at Madison Square Garden. The game is the final game in the Storrs, CT regional bracket of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.

It'll be a tough feat for the Bulls, who barely got past Division-II opponent Ohio Valley last night.


A win would be the biggest in program history and put them in the national spotlight in NYC. So we in the Roost are pulling for the Bulls tonight.

With a few local faces on the Bulls roster including Niagara Falls native Greg Gamble and Byron Mulkey of Wheatfield, the team is very easy to get behind.

Tip off tonight is 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

B-U-(clap, clap)-F-F-(clap, clap)-A-L-(clap, clap)-O GO!

By Jon

I sent an utterly bizarre text message a few days ago.

The Roost's own Chris was on the receiving end of this doozie: "Are there any UB football games over Thanksgiving break?"

Strange, I know. The day has come where a University at Buffalo football game is worth attending. Not to say that I haven't attended one before (2006's home opener was absolutely unwatchable), but now I just might get my money's worth. A laughingstock since their Division I-A (or "Football Bowl Subdivision," for all of you new-schoolers) inception, UB now sits atop the MAC East standings, and people are taking notice.

Lot's of people deserve credit for the outstanding turnaround. Head coach Turner Gill seems to be getting the majority of the credit, and for the most part, it is well-deserved. Gill had the guts to take over one of the worst programs in the entire country and has them sitting pretty in just his second year. As past coaches Craig Cirbus and Jim Hofher will tell you, the UB head coaching job was regarded as career suicide. How can you recruit players to come to a place where there is virtually no college football history, cold weather, and a losing reputation? Gill seems to have found a way, with a large number of freshman and sophomore players starting on both sides of the ball. Athletic Director Warde Manual deserves some respect for the foresight to hire Gill, and has done a very good job of hyping a once-maligned program (nearly 30,000 in attendance for the aforementioned 2006 home opener is quite the accomplishment.) If Manual is smart, he will offer Gill a hefty raise to fight off those pesky Nebraska rumors.

Another bright spot for this year's incarnation of the Bulls is the amount of production from local kids. I'm sure most would argue that Niagara Falls High School product James Starks has been the MVP of the team, while Naaman Roosevelt (St. Francis) is the team's top wide receiver.

Do yourself a favor, and head on down to Amherst for a football game. UB basketball games have been a good bang for your buck for a few years now (although, they pale in comparison to their SUNY counterparts in the state capitol), and it seems like the football program has finally caught up.

Hell, when was the last time a football team from Buffalo had a legitimate shot at the post-season?

Morning Musings: Porn, Drugs and Portis

By Chris

Just some quick thoughts on a beautiful Wednesday morning:

-Steeler’s offensive line coach Larry Zierlein reportedly sent what the Steelers are calling an “inappropriate e-mail” from his Pittsburgh office to “unintended recipients” throughout the NFL last Friday. Zierlein, as Buffalo fans may recall, was an assistant line coach for the Bills last season. Mike Florio’s blog, ProFootballTalk.com broke the story and it was finally confirmed yesterday. Apparently, according to Sports Illustrated’s rumor site FanNation, the porn message made its way up the ranks from important Steelers officials all the way up to commissioner Roger Goodell himself. It’s nice to know that the players aren’t the only ones who don’t know how to handle themselves in the NFL.

-Jason Giambi failed a test for amphetamines within the last year, according to the New York Daily News. So I guess when he said he was wrong for doing “that stuff,” amphetamines weren’t included. There’s also a rumor that the Angels would like to trade for him. Owner Arte Moreno always likes to look for a big move and Giambi would be an upgrade offensively over any of the first baseman currently on the Halos roster. Unfortunately, with all of the trouble Giambi was now dug himself into, who knows if he’ll even be in the game much longer. With the positive amphetamine test, Giambi subjected himself to six additional tests for one year, making his statement to USA Today about being “tested more than anyone” all the more true. The Daily News couldn’t have picked a hotter time to leak those test results and they couldn’t have done it at a worse time for Giambi.

-The Ducks advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with a win over Detroit last night. Now I can have a rooting interest and I may be able to stomach watching this series. Ottawa has the ability to adapt to Anaheim’s defensive style from the blue line out, but it will ultimately be the goaltending that will keep Canada from its first championship since 1993. It’s very hard to see Ray Emery outplaying former Conn Smythe winner J.S. Giguere on the biggest stage of all. I see the Ducks taking advantage of all those juicy rebounds Emery will leave on the doorstep and taking the Cup in five.

-Clinton Portis makes me laugh. From his goofy disguises in post game interviews to his recent comments about Mike Vick and dog fighting not being a problem, I just can’t wait to see what he does next. I love how he couldn't even keep a straight face during that dog fighting interview. A reality show is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, such a series might jeopardize Goodell’s efforts to keep the image of the league clean. And those efforts are working out reeeeeeeeally well right now.

-The Spurs are up 2-0 against the Jazz already? Really? Does anyone even expect Utah to win a game? And notice that since Bill Simmons’ ESPN the Magazine column was published last week, everyone is now praising Tim Duncan as “the greatest player in the past decade.” Coinicdence? And also, is there is a reason as to why there needs to be a four day lay-off between games in that series? I blame Tom Bergeron.

-The University at Buffalo finally finished their new 12,000 square foot training facility last month. The old weight room inside Alumni was a joke for a Division I program and hopefully the new facility will help sway athletic recruits to the Bulls program. The Morris Sports Performance Center will actually be able to house whole teams! And it’s good to hear they’re not settling with just this new facility, as Rodney McKissic writes in The Buffalo News today: “The Morris Center is a precursor to a projected 200,000-square-foot indoor multipurpose field house that will include a 120-yard football field and an estimated 20,000-square-foot weight room, which would be one of the biggest in college athletics. The field house, nevertheless, is in the embryonic stages of planning.”