Author: Jackie Treehorn

You may find this surprising, but not everyone is familiar with Dyngus Day. And when people hear about Dyngus for the first time, they often laugh. Well, CNN’s Anderson Cooper did a segment on Buffalo’s Dyngus Day history last night during his recurring feature, The Ridiculist, and boy did he think Dyngus Day was funny. He made it through the first couple minutes of the segment without laughing but, once there was mention of girls hitting boys with pussy willows, Cooper lost it. And a minute-long gigglefest ensued. Now, this isn’t Cooper’s first hysterical breakdown. He’s had laughing fits before. But this…

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St. Bonaventure played Florida State tough all game. They jumped out to an early lead. They held the lead at halftime. They held the lead until just over 5 minutes left in the game when, after a 16-2 run, Florida State finally found a way to lead. The Bonnies, a #14 seed, were trying to win their first NCAA tournament game since 1970. But it didn’t happen. While trailing by 3 points with 10 seconds left, Da’Quan Cook made a strange – and fateful – decision to drive the lane and take a 2 point shot. It missed. He got the ball…

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Many people doubted it would happen. But the Bills proved the doubters wrong (this time). Today, the Bills announced they have signed Stevie Johnson to a 5 year contract, keeping the controversial wide out in a Bills uniform through 2017. Reportedly, Johnson will earn $7.25M per year in his new deal; not bad for a 7th round draft pick. Johnson, of course, is the Bills most prolific receiver with 170 receptions for 2,077 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past 2 years. Losing Johnson would have created yet another hole on the roster. Now, with #13 re-signed, the Bills can use the…

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Her career began at The Buffalo News in 1974. She “retired” in 2009 but it seems that retirement was figurative as she continued to write the restaurant reviews in addition to another weekly column. Now, after 38 years and hundreds of restaurant reviews, Okun has decided to “step down” according to a column by editor Margaret Sullivan. Now, this isn’t exactly a retirement either. Instead, Okun is stepping down from the restaurant review column. Okun will still have a byline at The News as she’ll continue with her column for the Wednesday Taste section of the paper. So, for those of you keeping score…

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We all remember the Memorial Auditorium. But before that Aud, there was another Aud. And it’s this other Aud which the New York Times declares the oldest extant building to have hosted professional hockey. It’s the former Broadway Auditorium. WNY Heritage Press has some amazing photos of what the Broadway Auditorium used to look like. Today, it looks much different because it’s used as a garage for city plows. But back in the day, it was home to the American Hockey Association Buffalo Majors. The Broadway Aud also housed conferences, bowling tournaments, bike races, boxing and the circus. Oh, and Tonto used to hang…

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Three years ago, Marcus Wise stepped into the space that now holds 464 Gallery not knowing the growth that would transpire there. It’s hard to imagine that the clean, welcoming creative space that exists there now was once a less-than-appealing site to behold. One room was comprised of bare walls with exposed studs, severely damaged flooring and rusted gray ceilings. “It was a little scary at first,” Wise said. “I thought, ‘Can we actually make this happen?'”Wise’s journey to 464 actually began well before he bought the space. It started with his website, MindWeb, where he showcased work from a…

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Have you ever heard of Joffrey Lupul? Probably not. Yes, he’s a professional hockey player but he plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs so he is, like his team, largely irrelevant. His career highlights include playing on the WHL East All-Star team in 2001-02. Yes, the WHL. Since then, he’s enjoyed what could generously be called an ‘almost average’ career though he’s peaking now as he was just named – get this – the NHL’s 3rd Star of the Month for November 2011. Impressive, huh? Anyway, Lupul is in Buffalo today as the Leafs are here to play the Sabres…

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The Food Network is holding a contest called The Great Food Truck Race where people from around the country vote for their favorite food truck. Well, Buffalonians love two things – Lloyd the taco truck and voting in online contests. So it should come as as no surprise that little lovable Lloyd is currently ranked #1 in the country. That’s right, just 13 months after first turning the key in the ignition, Lloyd is currently ranked America’s favorite food truck. They’ve overcome a blown engine. They’ve overcome a do-nothing Common Council that has refused to move forward on legislation giving food…

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A smashing day for the annual Dyngus Day parade, with April showers bringing a unique quality to a parade that some say will someday rival Buffalo’s St. Patty’s Day parades! Judging by some of the outfits, I wonder if a few of the fans were from Buffalo’s Inaugural Easter Bonnet Parade? During the parade I was bombarded with a variety of “gifts” launched from the 175-odd floats, including red and white beads, koozies, ping pong balls, golf balls and even a plastic-wrapped Polish sausage. While scrambling about for the items, firetrucks aimed hoses at the crowd – an action that…

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