In his four full seasons as the Buffalo Sabres starting goaltender, it's been Ryan Miller's job on the ice to keep the puck from going in his net.

Few teams have embodied their cities in the way the Bills did at that time in blue-collar Buffalo. And few players have embodied that hard-working mentality better than Bills Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas.

He may have been born in Pittsburgh and may have risen to football stardom in college with the Pitt Panthers, but the city of Buffalo has adopted former Bills quarterback Alex Van Pelt as its own.

Basketball Hall of Famer and St. Bonaventure grad Bob Lanier discusses growing up in Western New York, why Buffalo is such a sports-friendly town and what it is that he looks for in his favorite athletes today.