IMportant People

IMportant People 5/13/09: Buffalo Fan Awards

The Buffalo Fan Awards are coming up on Thursday, May 21 at Shea's Performing Arts Center, and the celebrity host, Ahmad Rashad, will join us for IMportant People on Wednesday at noon.  

The Buffalo Fan Awards are not just for the pros...even though several stars like Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, and Rob Ray (among many others) will be in attendance on this special night.  High school and college athletes and coaches from Western New York will also be in the spotlight at the prestigious event. Find out more about the awards and how you can vote for the winners when we chat with former Buffalo Bill and legendary TV personality Ahmad Rashad on Wednesday at noon at IMportant People on Buffalo.com.

IMportant People 3-4-09: Sabres Chat

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a part of the inner-workings of the Buffalo Sabres? Find out today, as the IMportant people live blog welcomes Paul Wieland, who served for 25 years as Director of Communications for the team.

Wieland, who hired legendary Sabres play-by-play broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, is the author of Then Perrault Said to Rico … The Best Buffalo Sabres Stories Ever Told. Wieland provides honest profiles of players, coaches and others that are synonymous with the history of the team.

So if you love the Sabres, be sure to join us on Wednesday, when we take a trip down memory lane and reflect on the rich tradition of the Buffalo Sabres, on IMportant People today at noon here on Buffalo.com.

IMportant People 2-25-09: Talking Baseball

We’re offering a ”doubleheader” in this week’s IMportant People chat: we will be talking to two authors Wednesday.  Both authors will be discussing their recently released books on baseball.  Our first guest is Mick Cochrane, author of The Girl Who Threw Butterflies and professor of English and Lowery Writer-in-Residence at Canisius College.  Our second guest is Kurtis Scaletta, author of Mudville.  Scaletta works at the University of Minnesota. Feel free to ask them questions about their books, writing, publishing and baseball in general.  That's IMportant People on Buffalo.com Wednesday at noon.

IMportant People 1-27-09: Rodney McKissic Talks About Super Bowl

Armchair quarterbacks, if you’re interested in talking Super Bowl, then join Buffalo.com this Wednesday at noon for IMportant People - about the biggest football game of the year.   This week is the debut of a new partnership.  St. Bonaventure's Journalism School’s Web Communications class has teamed up with The Buffalo News to produce this weekly live chat at Buffalo.com.  This week’s guest: Buffalo News sports writer Rodney McKissic (Check out his latest article on the NU/Canisius game). McKissic will talk football with you on IMportant People Wednesday at noon. 

IMportant People 1-14-09: Purple Eagles Take Center Court

The topic of conversation is Niagara University men's basketball on the next IMportant People.  Purple Eagles' junior forward Demetrius Williamson will join us for the lunchtime live chat Wednesday.  With a record of 13-4, Niagara is preparing to take on Iona at the Gallagher Center Thursday night.  Ask Demetrius about the hot start, the competition in the MAAC, NU's chances for an NCAA tourney bid, or anything else you want to know about NU hoops. Join us for IMportant People on Buffalo.com at noon Wednesday.

IMportant People: Recap 10/22/08: UB Bulls Football

On Saturday, an overtime thriller and amazing comeback gave fans at the UB Bulls/Army 27-24 win reason to cheer and explode onto the field. It's been a season of "awesome endings" for Bulls fans. UB's Athletic Communications Director Jon Fuller and Bulls' starting defensive tackle Dane Robinson chatted about the comeback against Army, the keys to a victory against Ohio in a nationally televised match-up on Tuesday night, and much more.  Check out a recap of the chat:

IMportant People Recap: 10/8/08: Psyched About The Sabres!

  Not only did we talk Sabres on this week's IMportant People, but we also "broke the news" about the team's new captain.  Craig Rivet was named as the Sabres new team captain during the IMportant People live chat.  WGR 550 Sportsradio's Howard Simon joined us to preview the Sabres season and chat about who to watch for on the ice. Here's a recap:

IMportant People Recap 9/3/08: Brad Riter Talks Bills

He's been a voice on Buffalo sports radio for over a decade, so like many of you Buffalo Bills fans, he's seen his share of wins and losses, and players who have come and gone.  As we all look forward to the Bills season that gets underway on Sunday, Brad Riter, WECK host and host of Buffalo's Main Event on Time Warner Sports Net talked "pigskin" with Evan Parker Pierce as the team prepares to open the season against the Seattle Seahawks. Here's a recap: 

IMportant People Recap 8/27/08: WGR's Nick Mendola & UB's Jon Fuller Talk Bulls

It was a lunchtime chat about college football Wednesday afternoon, as IMportant People welcomed WGR 550's Nick Mendola and UB's Athletic Communications Director Jon Fuller.  Nick and Jon chatted with host Evan Parker Pierce about the UB Bulls, as the team prepared for Thursday's season opener against the University of Texas-El Paso.  Here's a recap: