The 2008 season has been (and still is) all about YOU, the Buffalo Bisons Fan.

The Bisons want to thank their fans for their record-breaking and unparalleled support over the past two-plus decades…So, how about giving away more FREE STUFF. This year, the prizes will be given out like never before. From the team’s Prize Patrol to in-stadium and radio contests, there are numerous ways you can WIN BIG…just for being a Bisons fan.

When is a home run GRAND?…When you can pocket $1,000! Just listen to a Bisons broadcast, home or on the road, on WWKB 1520 AM or on Bisons.com.

If your name is selected for the Big Slam Inning and the Bisons hit a grand slam over the wall, $1,000 is yours. Just call the phone number play-by-play announcer Ben Wagner reads over the air by the end of the 8th inning to claim your prize. To register send an email to the Bisons HERE and include your name, telephone number, the town you live in and your birth date.

Contestants will be chosen randomly and announced at the start of the inning. Just enter once, as multiple entries will not improve your chances of being selected. Only one entry per household and contestants must be 18 years or older.

More ways you can win as part of “The Year of the Bisons Fan”

This is just a partail list of ways to win while you’re at Dunn Tire Park. You never know what you could come home with just for going to watch the HERD!

See ya at the ballyard!

The Buffalo Bisons have partnered with Kate Wedge, wife of Cleveland Indians Manger Eric Wedge, to host a “Mystery Ball” Fundraiser, presented by WGRZ, at Dunn Tire Park on Friday, July 11 during the team’s game against the Louisville Bats (7:35 p.m.).

Kate talks about the Mystery Ball Night

For only $20, fans in attendance have the opportunity to purchase a gift-wrapped mystery ball (limit 10 baseballs per transaction). There are over 500 baseballs available and each has been autographed by a member of Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Indians, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills or select members of the sports world.

Get the entire list of autographs and silent auction items here!

Get a ticket to the game.

Looking back at last season (my first year with the team), one single even stands out versus any other. July 3.

A bevy of emotion surrounds you the entire night once the gates are open and a sea of people find there seats and stay in constant motion the entire night. Like most ballparks, the energy is created from the fans but you’d be hard pressed to find more than a handful that remember a single moment of game action. If you ask the majority at the yard that night, “who made the final play?” They’d reply, “The BPO.”

Each July 3 the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra provides a rousing tribute to the events that affect (and effect) our lives over the past year and remind us of the events in history that have helped shape our country. While recognizing them is important, the time that is dedicated to honor our service men and women is a moment in every Independence Eve celebration that raises the hair on the back of your neck. This year will be no exception.

Read more about the 2008 tribute here.

This season will also be a landmark of sorts with the overall attendance from this single event surpassing QUARTER OF A MILLION FANS! Remarkable.

A majority of our pre-game coverage will give you a tiny preview of the show ahead and in case you didn’t act quickly enough to get tickets, the show will be LIVE on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.

Once again a near capacity crowd gathered in the warm weather to enjoy the annual Kids Day at Dunn Tire Park. This annual event was a sea of constant commotion as nearly 300 hundred buses poured thousands of students into the game.

They sat, they cheered, ingested a few dogs then section by section they stood and filed out the gates. Funny watching each color coded section of kids rise and retreat when there chaperone instructed.

The running joke for days like today in the biz… “Thousands saw the game without even knowing the final score.” I beg to differ… the masses erupted both times the Bisons drove runs home early in the game. It was clear later when the Bisons turned a few double plays or rallies were snuffed out by the Clippers the majority of the nearly 16,000 watching the game was intent on the outcome.

For the Bisons, the end wasn’t as good as the start. But after a day like today when you saw nothing but smiling faces it reminds you how young kids become fans of the game.

Kids do the simple things that make the game the great. They come, they cheer and they go home. That kind of innocent enthusiasm can only be found nowadays in the game of baseball.

Thanks to our young Bisons fans for a fantastic atmosphere. The sun was out and the ballpark was alive again.

This trip feels incredibly different than the last the Bisons took. There’s a sense of confidence and character starting to show with this team that had it tucked away after a rough first month.

After finishing a Pawtucket/Scranton swing 2-5 the Bisons went home, won six of eight and picked up two of the three against Syracuse. I feel the Herd is on the brink of something big.

We’ve been sensing this team has that ability since the spring training reports. What a difference flipping the calendar can make. Back-to-back starting pitching performances from Sowers and Slocum set the table for wins against the Chiefs after they won the first five head-to-head match ups. Now the Bisons enter a series with Rochester, a team that has dropped their last six.

Make an impromptu decision, get in the car and watch the Herd on the road. Very few fans ever get to see their favorite team play wearing road grays. You do! It’s a short drive and you’ll get the opportunity to sit close to the Herd’s dugout. The players notice and appreciate the support when they glance in the stands and see Buffalo caps, jerseys and jackets.

Bring your radio – Duke is back on the air to open the series that wraps around the weekend. Hope to see you in the Flower City.