Categories
Sports

Free Hockey Tickets, Anyone?

Two nights ago we decided at the last moment to spend our evening celebrating Ian’s birthday (yes, he’s the Christmas boy…) at Chuck. E. Cheese. We have made a tradition of celebrating birthdays there (even mine!) and so though not actually on his birthday, we wanted to do the same for Ian. (As did he!) We planned a day in January, and invited our friends, the Vs. Problem was the day we picked was a super windy day… that knocked power out in some places, including the block where you find Chuck E. Cheese.

SO, about a month later, we packed up the van and headed out! Had a nice little dinner at Wendy’s first. Always a good time. (My favorite fast food place, I’d say…) and then we were ready for the real fun! We got to CEC and were grateful that they had power this time. A bit less grateful that there was a vacation week crowd (forgot about that…) but we figured out a good game plan (Dad took the girls, Mom went with the boys) and we headed out to have some fun!

After a little while of singing with Chuck E. in the other room, I decided to reunite with Mom and the boys. We made our way back and when we did, Jen had a surprise! An employee had approached her earlier and offered her FREE tickets to the Amerks game the next night! FREE??? Free. And not only that, they had a TON of them. So we could have as many as we wanted, and give them out to friends! We’re in!

We’d never actually gotten to go to an Amerks game. They are the local AHL team, affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres (at least for now they are) and for many years have been quite good. Most of the current Buffalo Sabres have come through Rochester. For whatever reason, we’ve tried, but never been successful at getting to a game. But now it looked like we were going to finally make it!

We left CEC with 18 tickets. There are only 6 of us that fill seats. And one of those doesn’t need a ticket. That means there were 13 available tickets!! We phoned a couple families we thought of first thing when we got home. (Yes… it was late.) The first were our friends, the Vs. It was Scott’s birthday that next day, so it seemed like a fun birthday thing to do! BUT, he was sick. As were a couple more in the V house. So, no go there. And in fact, no go with the other family I called that night. More sickness.

So the next morning we tried to think of some more people who might like to go. One friend was able to go. Steph was going to come with her three girls – not big time hockey fans, but Steph remembered going to games at her college. Next, we invited some friends from the other side of town who weren’t available, but they knew some people who were big Rochester sports fans… and perhaps we could give the tickets to them? Why not?! 🙂

Surprisingly, we have another friend whose birthday is February 20th, so I called him to see if he and his family would like to go. But, alas… they already had some family plans for the night… so no go there. Still had a few tickets to hand out… but running out of ideas for who could go.

Finally, I thought of my friend with whom I play basketball once a week. We haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time with their family, but I knew they sorta were into sports, and just might be able to go. They were! With our friend Steph bringing their 8-year-old neighbor, the tickets were now fully accounted for! 🙂

The adventure had only just begun however.

Just before we were to leave, Steph calls and says, “My van won’t start!” She said she’d keep trying and call us back. Well, she called back, but to tell us it just wouldn’t work. I said, “OK… no problem. But, just in case, I’ll bring the tickets with us, if you can get it started, and you’d still like to come!” She agreed, but it didn’t sound promising. So, that was too bad.

Add that to our lateness, and the night was not starting as I had hoped.

We got to my basketball friend’s house to begin our van caravan with them. They were just sitting in their driveway waiting for us… who were now at least 15 minutes late! Oh boy. They have been to the Blue Cross Arena before, so they led the way.

On our way, Steph calls and says, “I’m on my way! We got it started!” Ha! Perfect! Things were shaping up!

Just as we were getting to downtown Rochester, I remember that we were meeting our friends’ friends at the arena at 6:45 to get them their tickets. It’s well past seven at this point, so I checked our phone and sure enough there were two missed calls!

I called them back to reassure them that we were almost there. Left a message. I hoped they had stuck around.

We got to the parking garage and parked for four dollars! Great deal! Wasn’t expecting that cheap! Bonus! We quickly got out of our vehicles (the game had already started!) and briskly walked through the cold streets (around probably one big city block) to the place we were to meet our friends’ friends.

(Are you with me still?) 🙂

Finally got there and I recognized Shane from a previous meeting at Cross Creek a few months back. (That was a funny encounter. Not sure we had met before that. He saw our oldest son Ian wearing an Apple shirt, and some other distinguishing clothing that made him realize that Ian must be the son of Greg Campbell, whose blog he regularly reads.)

Yes, I’m famous. 🙂

So we all meet up there, and have a good laugh (at least I did!) at how little we all know each other. In fact, none of the others we invited had even heard the name of each other. They all had a connection with us, but to varying degrees. Pretty funny!

After hearing of this assortment of people who were joining us at the game, my basketball friend’s wife (who is not the most socially outgoing person you’ll ever meet) said of me, “They don’t come much friendlier than you, do they?” Guess she thought it was odd that I was giving tickets to a hockey game to people that I really didn’t know (Shane and his fam…) But I thought… why not? 🙂 Seemed like a fun plan to me!

And it was. We all finally got there, and watched a decent hockey game. There were plenty of snacks. Plenty of children! A little bit of hanging out with friends, meeting new friends, and watching some live hockey! Nothing like it! Love watching hockey in person. My boys were instant Amerks fans. Cheering and – as much as possible with many friends there – watching the game intently.

Sure hope we can go again!

The night ended with a pretty cool view of the lunar eclipse while we crossed over the rushing Genessee river which flows right by the side of the arena! Beautiful. Fun! Superb evening.

And all cause we went to Chuck E. Cheese at the last minute, on a whim!

Next whim that comes along will be taken more seriously… 🙂

Categories
Sports

Buffalo Bills Things

Toronto, CanadaFor those of you who do not regularly follow along at my Buffalo Bills podcast website… I posted a few things there this week and just thought I’d link to them here. First I wrote an article responding to all the speculation about the Bills moving to Toronto. Then we did a special edition of the BBR where we talked about that and more.

Check it out if you are so inclined…

Categories
Bills History News NFL Toronto

The Toronto Initiative

Toronto, CanadaEmotions are all over the map in Western New York these days. A few are excited by the five-year plan that will have the Buffalo Bills playing three pre-season and five regular season games in Toronto, Canada. More seem to be near paranoid that this signals the end of the nearly fifty years of Bills football in Western New York.

And who can blame them? The Buffalo Bills message boards are replete with frustrated fans following not only each move of the plan named the “Toronto Initiative”, but all of the comments made by the aging Bills’ owner, Ralph Wilson.

“I can’t speculate what’s going to happen in the future. But don’t worry. Don’t worry right now,” Wilson said at last week’s press conference in Toronto. This comment, among others, (including Wilson referring to this “Initiative” as a “trial basis”) has led many Bills fans and media pundits to speculate on the Bills future.

With the end of the current 15-year lease of Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY coinciding with the end of this “trial” in Toronto, there are many reasons to speculate that the team could well end up north of the Border by 2013. Or even sooner, if Wilson were to die before that time is up, as he has publicly stated that the team will be sold to the highest bidder following his death.

But a closer look at who is saying what reveals that there is much more to be hopeful about for Western New Yorkers. More positive than negative regarding this Toronto Initiative.

First there are comments from the Buffalo Bills themselves. Wilson has repeatedly said – including most of his comments from last week’s press conference – that his intention all along has been to keep this team in Buffalo. “We’ve always been on record saying we were going to try to regionalize our brand north of the border,” said Bills new Chief Operating Officer Russ Brandon. “We think this is another step in keeping our franchise financially viable in the Buffalo marketplace.”

The Bills have already begun to regionalize the team by moving their annual training camp to St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. This has been a big success according to the team. Toronto is merely the “next step” as Brandon says.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (a native Western New Yorker) was asked about the Toronto Initiative in a press conference and responded by saying the Bills “very thoughtfully” put this plan together, and carried it out. He has said the NFL is not looking to expand right now, and said the Bills would play a “limited number of games” in Toronto over the next five years. Granted, five years is a long way off, but his words have to be reassuring to Bills fans. (And it can’t hurt that he is a native of the area, and so, a Bills fan!)

Add to these voices the somewhat public rumors that former Bills Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly has designs on buying the Bills when they become available. Kelly is rumored to be building a team of people – including perhaps former Buffalo Bills Thurman Thomas and Steve Tasker, among others – to purchase the Bills following Wilson’s passing.

Western New York billionaire, and current Buffalo Sabres’ owner, Tom Golisano is one potential investor in Jim Kelly’s plan. This past week Golisano was interviewed during a Sabres’ game and said, “If the situation arises, I would do what I can to try to keep the team in the area.” This again buoyed Buffalo fans hopes that this talk of losing the Buffalo Bills was just that. Talk.

In the end, Wilson is right, we can not know what will happen in the future. But it’s also true that worrying about the future doesn’t change anything either. Bills fans can worry that the team will move (I think that has been a fear of Bills fans since I moved to Buffalo back in 1986!) or listen to the voices of the people who really matter. Sports writers can say what they want, and fearful fans can say what they want, but the people who make the decisions are saying the Bills are staying in Western New York.

And, for now, that’s who I’m going to listen to.


Related Article: 10/25/07 (BBR)

Categories
Sports

18-1*

Patriots' Coach Bill BelichickI’m a little late to the party here, but I wanted to get some of my thoughts on the “cheating” scandal(s) that surround the New England Patriots.

News has surfaced that the Patriots may have video taped the St. Louis Rams’ walk-through practice the day before the Super Bowl in 2002. That was the one where the Pats managed to somehow upset the heavily favored Rams. The Rams offense was just sensational that season, and somehow, the Pats had the answer – enough to have a 14-3 halftime lead! It ended with the Pats kicking a FG to win it, and stun the world. Of course, then they went on to win two Super Bowls in the next three seasons.

But all this talk – and hard evidence – of the Patriots finding unethical, against-the-rules ways to get these wins, made me notice a couple things.

First, the Pats were 11-5 in that first Super Bowl season, finishing 14-5 with the stunning Super Bowl victory. Then, for some reason, they didn’t even make the playoffs the next year. They finished 9-7, in a three-way tie with the Jets and Dolphins. (Poor Bills…) 🙁 By a tie-breaker, they were excluded from the playoffs.

Perhaps they were trying to do it “by the book”? Well, that didn’t work.

So here are the following seasons’ results. (I’ll include those first two as well.)

  • 2001: 14-5 (won Super Bowl)
  • 2002: 9-7 (no playoffs)
  • 2003: 17-2 (won Super Bowl)
  • 2004: 17-2 (won Super Bowl)
  • 2005: 11-7 (lost divisional round … and maybe got a conscience? or… just didn’t cheat as well?)
  • 2006: 14-5 (lost championship round)
  • 2007: 18-1 (LOST SUPER BOWL!) 🙂

Those are impressive win/loss totals. 100-29. Four Super Bowls. (But they did not win them all…) 😉 Could they all need to be followed with an asterisk? Should it read 100-29*?

Not sure yet. There is talk that a more thorough investigation could be coming. One run by the US and various state governments.

What will the NFL and the Patriots do then? The games have been played. Is an asterisk enough? Can they take the Lombardi Trophies away from the Pats? Can they give them to their unethically-beaten opponents? Do they want them? Then they would have a championship with an asterisk.

Not sure if fines, suspensions, or even jail time will befall the New England Patriots, but it could get pretty ugly over this off-season.

The last minute blemish to their perfect season (and the shenanigans that followed by Belichick, Brady, and Moss) might be only the very start of a long, dark off-season for the Patriots.

Categories
Sports

Why The Super Bowl Is Not A Big Deal

Vince Lombardi Trophy - Super Bowl
At least, not to me. And, I actually mean that more as a compliment than a slam. Let me explain.

When it comes to the playoffs, and especially the finals of most sports there is an intensity like no other time during the season. The players step it up, the fans step it up… the atmosphere and the play on the field, court, ice are electric. There’s a big difference for example between a regular season hockey game and a playoff hockey game of any level, let alone the Stanley Cup Finals or especially a Game Seven of the finals!

Other sports are the same way. Looks at the fantastic athletic event that is March Madness in college basketball. Play in the regular season may be exciting for die-hards, but come March, tiny schools who weren’t even on the national fan or media’s radar are suddenly playing like – and becoming? – champions.

There’s just a different level to the playoffs in most sports.

Except the NFL.

I don’t mean that as a knock on the NFL players, coaches, fans or anything. Again, it’s really more of a compliment. I don’t know if it’s because there are fewer games, or because of the sheer intensity of the sport, but I believe every NFL game offers the same level of competition, energy, atmosphere, and fun for the fan. Now, there are some that are a small step up. The Bills hosted their first Monday night game in over a decade this past season and their stadium was rockin’! Fans were totally pumped up. The team played out of their minds. But what for? Just a regular game.

This is my point. The NFL has the best overall product because every game can be – and usually is – as intense as if it were for the ultimate championship.

But then we have the Super (Hype) Bowl. Two weeks of incessant media hype, covering every story from every possible angle ad nauseam. We don’t watch much TV around here lately, so actually I haven’t been bombarded as much this year as past years. But it’s still there. I’ve caught the fringe stuff. And tonight there will be all the flashiness that the NFL wants to bring to their “showcase event”.

Does that make it better? Does that make it a more competitive game? Do we really need all that stuff?

In the end, I’ve already seen all the best games this season. (I could be surprised, but usually the Super Bowl does not live up to its hype…) The Patriots vs Dallas, Indy, and even Jacksonville in the playoffs. All the Bills games… 😉 And a handful of other very exciting competitions. Probably were better games than tonight’s game will be. At least they were better than some other Super Bowls I have seen.

So, I’ll stick with my vote for the NHL playoffs, March Madness, and maybe even a few others as being a bigger step up in the post season than the NFL offers. I’d rather watch most any NHL playoff series than the Super Bowl most year.

(Of course, it would help if my team was in the Super Bowl… then I might be saying, “This is going to be the best game EVER!!) 😉

Nah. Gimme some NHL playoffs and March Madness. I’m good to go.

Categories
Sports

Luck

Sabres vs Thrashers
Last night Jen and I played a new card game called Tunge. (Not sure how you pronounce it.) She discovered it on a blog she reads and wanted to play it with me. I’m always game for a new … game. 🙂

So, we figured it out pretty easily and had a good time playing. Mostly. That is until I noticed that this game – as with many card games – is almost entirely won by luck. You just have to get the right card. “By the luck of the draw.” Those aren’t my favorite kind of games. I like knowing that I won (and you lost) because of my skill and cunning and craftiness.

🙂

But what all that reminded me of was my Buffalo Sabres.

See, this year, the Sabres – who last year finished the season with the best overall record – are not doing as well. At a quick glance, you might even think they were bad. I don’t remember if they were ever officially last in their conference… but they were at least second to last. (That in itself is deceiving as they were still only 6 or 8 points or so out of a playoff spot.) Most people do assume that the Sabres are just a shell of their former selves, losing their two captains from last seaons, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.

It’s true that they miss the leadership and production of those two guys, but it’s not true that they are as bad as their record would indicate. Hockey is certainly a game of skill, on many levels. But it also involves a good bit of luck.

The bounces have not gone the Sabres’ way this year. They have outshot teams many a night, and come up losing by a goal. The goalie has made incredible save after incredible save, only to have a puck bounce off the boards behind him and either into the net, or right to the lucky opponent standing near the crease to cash in. Goal posts have rung, goals have been disallowed, injury after injury after injury have plagued this once-feared team.

We do not have cable this year, and so have only kept up with the team via radio (over the internet) and reading at sabres.com and NHL.com. We have also caught the occasional Sabres game on Versus.com. But from everything I have seen, this team is still very good. Very young, but very good.

I try and catch the post game interview with Lindy Ruff after every game. (Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes.) I like to hear what he’s got to say. He’s seen this team be the best, and now struggle through a year of seeming mediocrity. When things are bad, he says it. This year he has not said it. Almost every night he has nothing but positive things to say about the players and their effort and the chances they have created. He usually says something like, “It just didn’t bounce our way.” That has been my observation as well. The Sabres have just as much fight in them, just as much skill (though, more injuries to be sure) but they do not have as much “success”.

It will come. Luck works both ways. At least over the course of a whole season. The Sabres are coming out of a horrendous stretch of two wins in fourteen games. They have won three games in a row, looking for four tonight in Atlanta, where they play a Thrasher team that is tied with them in the conference standings.

Perhaps this small streak is the beginning of things starting to go our way. Maybe the Sabres will be on the more fortunate end of bounces, calls, injuries, etc.

If we’re lucky… 😉

Categories
Life With God Sports

This Day in (GregHead.net) History

An idea popped into my head today. (Yes, that would be GregsHead…) I thought, I wonder what things I have blogged about on this day in my four-plus years of blogging? So, I set out to discover what was in the archives for January 25th.

To my suprise, excluding entries from this January 25th (today) there was only one other entry. And it was about my Jen. 🙂

I did also discover that there were a few cool things from January 24th here at GregsHead.net. At the top of the list would have to be 1/24/04… that’s the birthday of the new blog with the oft-mentioned URL — GregsHead.net! January 24th is not the beginning of my blogging, but the birthday of GregsHead.net. Neat.

Besides that I found a couple interesting posts worth re-reading from that same year. Well, at least one is. One is just interesting in light of the Super Bowl match up coming up in a week and a couple days. (I wasn’t happy about it then, either…)

The one I’d love for you to re-read though is the one titled, “I Call You Friends.” Very neat reminder of our relationship with God.

So, take a trip with me… back in time…

I Call You Friends
A Winning Attitude?

Categories
Sports

Crazy New Yorker!

Today was the coldest day of the winter so far here in Western New York. How did we spend it? Well, in the morning, we toyed with the idea of playing outside under the beautiful, clear, sunny skies… but eventually thought better of it. But later in the day, following the pregnant urges of my wife, I put on the parka and fired up the grill on our deck for the first time in a couple months! I was grilling hamburgers at temps in the low double digits!

Only in upstate New York, folks.

Speaking of NY… it is a complete shock to me that the Giants are in the Super Bowl. Complete. I mean, with each game I thought, “You know… they have a chance to win!” but really, in the end, no one thought they would be in the Super Bowl this year! And, even though I really don’t like the Giants, I will be rooting for them to finish what they started in week 17 and put the perfect exclamation point on the year for the Patriots and for them. They will be 12-1 on the road this year (winning 11 straight) and the Pats will go 18-0 … only to LOSE THE SUPER BOWL.

Man that would be awesome. And I don’t even like the Giants! 🙂

So, from the Frozen North.. here’s hopin’ the Giants can pull off one more major upset in the Super Bowl.

(Did I just say that????!!)

Categories
Current Bills Games Players

Highlights From the 2007 Buffalo Bills Season

The 2007 Buffalo Bills season might very well be remembered for the many shortcomings and failures that seem to be plaguing the organization in the first decade of the two thousands. Whether it’s the laundry list of injuries – seventeen players on injured reserve by the end of the season? – including the life-threatening, paralyzing injury to TE Kevin Everett, or the many gaffes by the Bills coaching staff – there is plenty to forget from the Bills eighth straight season without a trip to the playoffs.

However, this season had it’s share of memorable moments as well.

Being the eternal optimist, and preferring to look at the sunny side of life, I thought it fitting to wrap up the third season of the Buffalo Bills Review with some favorite moments from the season that was. I can’t cover them all, but this is a pretty comprehensive list of the significant, the amazing, and the just plain fun plays and events from the season past for us Bills fans.

Trent Edwards
When the Bills selected Trent Edwards in the 2007 draft, I admit, I was perplexed. It was a good pick, and I did applaud the Bills for, if nothing else, landing a good backup that could benefit us (later) in a trade.

Boy was I wrong!

From the get go this guy was obviously better than we fans thought. He impressed in pre-season, but that’s just pre-season. He then got an early chance to show his stuff in maybe the worst situation imaginable – in New England, with very limited preparation going into the game.

This is where my list begins. Here are my Trent Edwards highlights from the 2007 season.

  1. On his first drive as an NFL QB – thrust into the game by an injury to the starter – Edwards moves a struggling offense efficiently and impressively against the vaunted New England Patriots. The Bills scored a TD on the drive and held what would become one of the only leads on the Patriots all year in their perfect 16-0 season.
  2. In Edwards first start in Week 4 at home against the NY Jets, he again moves the ball efficiently, and observers notice that there is something special about this kid. He just has “it”, people were saying. Apparently the coaches believed this as well as a normally conservative coaching staff elected to not only go for a TD on 4th down on the goal line, but to call a play-action, roll out pass to TE Michael Gaines. That play showed extreme confidence in the rookie, showed what Edwards is capable of, and showed that Losman was on his way out.
  3. In an emotionally charged game following the death of Washington Redskins’ safety Sean Taylor, the Bills were able to stay in the game against an obviously fired-up Redskins team. Very late in the game, with the Bills down only two points, Edwards needed to drive a good chunk of the field to even get his team in field goal range. Showing poise beyond his youth, Edwards moved the team, completing a perfect, laser pass to Josh Reed across the middle of the field, setting up a makeable 51-yard field goal attempt for his kicker, Rian Lindell. Clutch pass, perfect pass, Bills win.
  4. The hated Miami Dolphins were coming to Buffalo, in December… winless. It was a Bills fan’s dream. And Edwards did not disappoint. The rookie tossed up FOUR TD passes in the game, throwing three in the first half, and the fourth was a 70-yard bomb (in the snow!) to the speedy Lee Evans.

Marshawn Lynch
Aside from the surprise of our third round pick, Trent Edwards, there was the expected great play of our first round pick, Marshawn Lynch. He was the second running back taken in the draft – behind Adrian Peterson, in whom the Bills were also interested, and he did not at all disappoint!

Some Lynch highlights from the 2007 season include:

  1. In his very first game, on his very first NFL touchdown, fans in attendance at Ralph Wilson Stadium could tell that Lynch was something special. On a run off to the right side, Lynch showed his speed, his agility, his shiftiness, and most of all his POWER. He went into what he calls “Beast Mode” and literally carried three Denver Broncos several yards into the end zone. As Bills play-by-play voice, John Murphy exclaimed, “Marshawn Lynch would not be denied!” Great sign of things to come.
  2. In a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at The Ralph, Lynch not only dominated on the ground, posting the first 100 yard game of his career, he also passed for a touchdown! On a drive where he carried six straight plays to move the Bills into scoring range, the half-back option pass was the perfect call, and worked just like they drew it up! (Soon after throwing the TD pass, Lynch also ripped off a 50-plus yard TD run!
  3. Another GREAT example of “Beast Mode” was on the two-point conversion play following a hard-earned TD run against Miami which would tie the game up late in the fourth quarter, Lynch was hit hard by the Dolphins defender, and even knocked backwards. Always up for the challenge, Lynch twisted and turned and pushed and lunged forward into the end zone for the tying points. Lynch also drove the Bills into field goal range on the subsequent Bills possession – earning the final needed yards with a sprained ankle that would keep him out for the next three weeks. Pure Beast Mode!
  4. In his first game back after the injury, Lynch again faced the Dolphins and showed no sign of weakness in his ankle. Lynch rushed for 107 yards on his “bum” ankle. This was amazing enough by itself, but making the day even more fun was backup running back Fred Jackson rushing for 115 yards on the day! Two 100-yard rushers against the Dolphins. Nothing could be better!

Monday Night Football, October 8th – vs the 4-0 Dallas Cowboys
One of the more memorable games of the years was the Bills first Monday Night home game in something like thirteen years! The place was rockin’ like never before, and the Bills showed up to play against a team they seemed to be far outclassed by. And, in the end, Bills fans will remember the insanity of the final minutes that stole the victory from them, but the game did have its moments…

  1. On cocky young Dallas QB Tony Romo’s first pass, undrafted free agent WR-turned-FS, George Wilson, intercepts and returns the pass for a touchdown! That set the tone for one very wild evening at The Ralph, and was a career highlight for Mr. Wilson (that would be George…) as well I’m sure!
  2. Seeing Tony Romo so flustered as to throw FIVE picks and even fumble once – very Eli Manning… – was just simply a highlight of the year. I don’t care if the Bills lost the game, that was definitely a highlight. The Bills defense was opportunistic that night to say the least!

Random Memories
There were many more great memories from the 2007 season. They are a bit more random, so I’ll list them individually below in no particular order.

  • Willis McGahee’s much-anticipated return to Buffalo was probably not what he hoped it would be. The Bills did allow him one drive on which he scored a 46-yard TD, as well as racked up over 70 yards (finished with 130-something, I believe). I’m still convinced he had enough friends left on the team that they let him have that one drive, just to be nice. 🙂 The rest of the day the Bills defense pretty much shut him down, and the Bills won 19-14.
  • On his first punt return of the season, Roscoe Parrish took the ball 74 yards for the touchdown. The tiny return man would end up leading the league in punt-return average for the 2007 season!
  • Late in the year, the Bills had a chance to still make the playoffs, but needed to beat the Giants and the Eagles to do that. They had the Giants at home, and took an early 14-0 lead! The Giants came back to tie the score, and appeared to be going for more until the defense stiffened and forced the Giants to decide whether to go from the one yard line, or kick the easy field goal. They chose to go for it, and on 4th down, John McCargo knifed his way through the Giants offensive line and made a HUGE tackle for a loss. Great play, great stand.

Kevin Everett Returns
My final – maybe favorite? – memory from the 2007 Buffalo Bills season is probably the best because it is fairy tale ending of one of the worst moments of the year. Yes, there were some ugly football moments, but the ugliest life moment happened on the opening kickoff of the second half of the first game. Kevin Everett made a crushing tackle on the Denver Broncos return man, and he never got up. The stadium was silent, and there was a giant knot in my stomach as I had seen the whole thing, and knew exactly what was going on.

Days went by and the reports were not good. Fractured vertebrae and definitely won’t play football again. Might not walk again. Might not live. Hit this young team hard. Very hard. I’m pretty sure it affected their performance in at least the next game.

But then the weeks went by and the reports improved. A lot! Incredibly, what was once life-threatening was turning into a miraculously speedy recovery! Reports began to circulate late in the season that Everett would actually return to Buffalo and walk out on the field for the Bills’ final home game against the Giants!

Well, there was no public appearance by the quiet Bills tight end. But, he did return to Buffalo. Perhaps his walking into the Bills locker room inspired the fast start the Bills saw that day, but whether it affected the play on the field, it certainly affected the players personally. It was the storybook ending to a rough, unprecedented injury-riddled season for the Buffalo Bills.

Whether you will remember the losing record, or the injuries, or any or all of the fun moments listed above, the 2007 Buffalo Bills season was certainly memorable. And with some impressive play by rookies and other unknown players, as well as many players who didn’t even really get a chance to play in the 2007 season, 2008 is looking promising for the Bills. With a few off-season moves, and a new offensive play caller, this back-to-back 7-9 team could surprise some folks next year. Could be impressive.

Could even make the playoffs?

But we get ahead of ourselves. Another season is in the books, time for a short break, and then the Bills start building for next season. For now, let’s just take a moment and enjoy the memories!

Categories
Sports

NFL Playoffs Start With A Bang!

I have really just one favorite team in the NFL. It’s the Bills. Really I’m not even much of an NFL fan besides any game that directly impacts the Bills. However. I do have two other teams that I would say I almost always root for.

And one was playing tonight.

First are the Bills. Maybe #1-1000 are the Bills. But 1001 is the Bengals (with my roots being in Southern Ohio) and #1002 is the Jacksonville Jaguars… probably only due to some cool people we met down there who befriended our family on one of our tours who are HUGE Jags fans, and… well… I just like them.

Jacksonville has a great, balanced team. Probably the most complete team in the playoffs. No real superstars, but enough greatness to beat anyone. They were 11-5, but should have been 12-4. (Took the last game off.) And they can do it all. Stifling defense, solid, productive offense… even great special teams. And two fantastic running backs, along with the league’s 3rd rated QB this season.

And, it showed. Tonight they took a commanding 28-10 lead into the 4th quarter until on 4th down and 12 on the first play of the 4th quarter, the comeback began. Yes folks… an 18 point deficit was completely erased and the Jags were down 29-28 VERY late in the 4th.

But on 4th down and 2, with just about 2 minutes left in the game, Jags QB David Garrard calls his own number, and not only gets the first down… he gets THIRTY-TWO yards for a HUGE first down, and gets them WELL into FG range. Huge. HUGE.

This forced Pittsburgh to take their remaining time outs, and after getting the ball to the two yard line, Jacksonville set up for the go-ahead FG.

They made it!! Whoohooo!! Game ended with the defense forcing a Roethlisberger fumble, and the Jags move on… likely to face New England in round #2. Should be a much better game than you might imagine. Except that Belichek does just great with two weeks to prepare.

Anyway… fun start to the playoffs. I probably won’t see much if any of the other two games though. 🙂 Going to hang out with some friends tomorrow. Will probably have kid duty and just be catching up with them.

So… on to round two! Go Jags! 🙂