A Cold Slap for Bills

The Buffalo Bills (2-12) already are at the bottom of the AFC East standings. Now they’re struggling to get out from under more than six feet of snow.

With Buffalo’s airport closed indefinitely, and some travelers expected to be stranded through the weekend, the Bills’ plans include flying out of Niagara Falls or Rochester, which have not been hit as hard by the weather. They are scheduled to play the New York Jets on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

With the storm subsiding Friday afternoon, Bills’ players and coaches managed to get home after practice--some for the first time in two days. Special teams coach Danny Smith and equipment manager Randy Ribbeck were among the few who were forced to spend Thursday night at the team’s practice facility.

A five-day storm has dumped snow on Buffalo and its suburbs. A state of emergency was declared Friday.

Although the storm was due to shift south over the weekend, it could take days for the city to dig itself out from chest-high drifts and snow-clogged streets.

Conditions were too extreme for the University at Buffalo men’s basketball team. It couldn’t get out of town, forcing postponement of today’s game at No. 18 Syracuse.

The game was tentatively rescheduled for Sunday.

The NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, scheduled to play in Columbus, Ohio, today, used four-wheel-drive trucks to reach Niagara Falls International Airport for a hastily arranged charter flight.