I’ve never seen the Colbert Report, but I came across this video on the web today and with the tournament getting started today… thought it was worth posting here. It’s hilarious! Not sure you can bank on these picks, but it’s worth the watch. 🙂
“If he can carry someone in the sand, he can lift someone up for the dunk…” 🙂
For those of you who may find an article about the Bills and/or Sabres interesting, or worth the read… I finally posted something to my BuffaloBills.com blog for the first time since the Bills’ season ended! 🙂 It’s called Are The Bills Following in the Sabres’ Footsteps? … and… well… that’s what it’s about. 🙂
Just thought I’d let you know. If you know what RSS is, here’s the feed for the blog I keep there.
Go Buffalo! 🙂
Well, we have 30 minutes of this year left, and I just wanted to write a quick post to the ol’ blog… for no particular reason. I hope to post a few more things once the family is in bed and the house is quiet. We’re just having a fairly “quiet” New Year’s celebration here at the Campbell home tonight (but you know how that goes with two boys ages 8 and 5…) 🙂
We got to watch FOOTBALL all day today. That was fun. Our Bills lost, which is never fun, but we’re already looking forward to next season! They should be a pretty fun team next year. And in the meantime, we’ve got the Sabres! Whoohooo!
It’s been an interesting year. Perhaps more interesting in this final month which saw a return to full-time singing (if only for a week), the loss of another baby (this time a little farther along, and quite unexpected), and some major pressure with an overload of business all at once (And somehow, a simultaneous bottom-dropping-out of the cashflow?) It’s been a rather long, hard month… which is a funny way to end a year.
Best thing about 2006? Has to be Julia Gayle. Born March 11, 2006… she’s just awesome. I love her a ton, and I feel like I barely know her. 🙂
I’ll see if I can put a little list of good (and bad?) things from 2006 up here in the next 24 hours or so. Seems the end-of-the-year sort of thing to do. 🙂
Hope you had a great 2006, and that you’re looking forward to 2007. It’s only 27 minutes away now… 🙂
I was really bothered by baseball getting WAY too much attention from the TV sports segments well into the football season this year, and was talking with Jen recently about how all the sports should get out of each other’s way. We know it won’t happen (thanks to the commercialization of all the pro sports) but wouldn’t it be grand if hockey didn’t go till JUNE, and baseball was actually played in THE SUMMER?
Indeed.
Well, here’s what I think we should see from the pro sports…
Baseball:
Being a summer sport, shouldn’t it be played in the summer time???? Right now, baseball is actually played during ALL FOUR SEASONS of the year. That’s just wrong. The schedule should be more like May-August… with playoffs ending in September. Maybe you even start the divisional rounds in August, and have the World Series around Labor Day weekend. More people could watch/attend, because they’re off work! And then, it’s actually a SUMMER sport!!!
Football:
The Super Bowl should not be played in February. Shorten the pre-season. Football should begin no sooner than August, and the regular season should be September through December. Playoffs are in January, with the Super Bowl being the last weekend of January.
Hockey:
Hockey is a winter sport. (Notice the surface is ICE.) So let’s actually start it in THE WINTER. The season could start in mid to late November… and playoffs could be in March, because it’s still cold in most hockey towns in March. Hockey has no business continuing into April, May and especially JUNE.
Basketball: (and everything else)
This one is weird because it is all played indoors. Could be played any time of the year… and… is. Let’s just shorten the season like everything else. I don’t even know when the official season is, but it’s at least Oct to June. WAY TO LONG.
So… the calendar would look like:
| Month | Football | Hockey | Basketball | Baseball | January: | Football playoffs | Hockey | Basketball |
| February: | Hockey | Basketball | ||
| March: | NHL Playoffs | Basketball March Madness |
||
| April: | Basketball | Baseball SPRING training | ||
| May: | NBA playoffs | Baseball | ||
| June: | Baseball | |||
| July: | Baseball | |||
| August: | Football pre-season | Baseball playoffs | ||
| September: | Football | World Series | ||
| October: | Football | |||
| November: | Football | Hockey | ||
| December: | Football | Hockey | Basketball |
Well, that’s how my ideal sports calendar would look at least. 🙂 Throw in the Olympics every couple of years and you’re set. Nothing clashes… nothing drags on. It’s perfect.
Now… who do I talk to to get this plan underway?
Most of you reading this probably know that I am a big enough Buffalo Bills fan to have my own Bills podcast, the Buffalo Bills Review. I even have a page on the Bills website where they let me post my various thoughts on our team. But so far this season, nothing can compare to the show the BUFFALO SABRES are putting on here in WNY!!!
Oh man… this team really looks like they might go 82-0! I know that’s not possible. Somewhere along the line you make enough mistakes that you lose a game, but seriously… this team is like nothing we’ve seen in Buffalo hockey before. And it’s been so long since the Bills were dominant that it’s hard to remember they were this good!
Last night the Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens to break the record for best start in franchise history of 8-0. During the course of that game, the announcers reminded us of what happened earlier in the season, when the two teams first met. Montreal had a 4-2 lead with only five minutes left!!! Buffalo came back and won in a shoot out (in overtime)!!! Wow.
So far this year the Sabres have an incredibly potent offense (like scoring 9 goals in one game, or two in the last five minutes as I mentioned before.) Beyond potent, it’s so incredibly spread out. There are 10-12 guys who can regularly put the puck in the net. There is no 1st line, or 2nd line on down, as with most hockey teams. We have FOUR first lines. Add to that the defensemen are relentless… amazing shot blockers, harrassing the opposition, good checking… but then the forwards all do that well, too! Add to that arguably the best goalie in the game, and our backup is great too! Wow. This team is scary.
So, if you’ve never watched hockey before… just catch a Sabres game next time they’re on national TV (which they are a bunch this year). You might become a hockey fan. Really. They’re that good!
Go Buffalo!
Right now, that’s a good thing. Yes, I know… our football team lost 40-7 in Chicago last week, but really, they’re a lot better than that – for the first time in a long time. They really could very easily be (by the way they have played) 4-1 right now. That’s perty good.
But even with as much promise as our Buffalo Bills are showing… right now the real team to watch in Buffalo is the Sabres!
Not sure what I think about the new logo and color scheme for the Sabes, but man are they an amazing team. So far this year they are 3-0 (yes I know there are 80 games left still) and they have beaten some great teams. The two games we got to see you could just tell that they were the better team on the ice.
We’ve never had “the best team in the league” in Buffalo, but perhaps this year we do?
The Bills that went to four straight Super Bowls might come close to that, but most would argue that since they never won the SB, they can’t be called “the best” team in the league.
Well, regardless… it’s a pretty fun time to be a Buffalo sports fan!
If you’re interested, check out my Bills Blog when you get a chance. It’s the page I keep on the BuffaloBills.com site.
In other news today…
As you are probably aware, I have a Buffalo Bills podcast. Perhaps you also know that I often will post Bills-related thought to that site (rather than here, as I used to do). Well, recently I was asked by the Buffalo Bills to do that on their website!!! (No, I could not believe it either!!) I was thrilled, and gladly accepted.
I finally got it set up and just began posting today. There will be a link from BuffaloBillsReview.com, but you can directly access the page on the Bills site here.
To comment there, (as well as many other things, like subscribe to the RSS feed, or have emails sent to you when I post something there) you’ll need to sign up for a Bills Backers account, but I believe you can read the articles there without signing up.
Anyway, just wanted to share 🙂
I’m not that old, so I don’t feel qualified to make such a list (at least, not by such a title.) But, after the game this past Friday night by the Sabres, and perhaps in anticipation of more to come in game two tonight, I began making a list with a friend of the best games I can recall. I said I would probably continue that thought on my blog page, so… here it goes.
Now, you’ll likely notice that the top games mostly involve my team winning. Yes, I’ll admit it right now, I’m a homer. I love my teams, and that’s part of what makes these the greatest games. BUT, the main part is that these were fantastic contests (for the most part)… back and forth, lots of action…. just phenomenal!
Enjoy!
TOP TEN SPORTING EVENTS I’VE WITNESSED
This one started out totally weird as coach Wade Phillips decided to start QB Rob Johnson, instead of Doug Flutie who had been brilliant all season, and was a definite fan favorite. Flutie played right up till the end of the season, and the coach decided to start Johnson. Crazy.
Well, Johnson did alright. The game was 12-0 Titans at half time, but the Bills came back to take a 13-12 lead. They would relinquish that momentarily, until Johnson led the team to what appeared to be a game-winning 51 yard field goal by Steve Christie. With only seconds left on the clock, the Bills lead the game 16-15 on the Titans’ home turf.
That’s when it got ugly.
Christie kicked to the Titans, TE Frank Wycheck got the ball, and threw a “lateral” to his team mate Kevin Dyson, who ran all the way for a score! They called it the Homerun Throwback. Problem was, from several angles, you could see that it was not a throwBACK, but in fact it was a forward pass. Replay after replay, review after review, the refs finally said, “Play stands as ruled.” Argh. Bad ending for the Bills, but I have to admit, it was a great game, and deserves to be on the list.
I remember Fred Smerlas blocked a Jets FG attempt with 25 seconds left in the 4th quarter. It was wet, it was certainly wild, and I have been a Bills fan ever since!
The crowd stormed the field after the winning field goal. They tore down the field goal posts on the tunnel end. The security guards could do nothing, and I’m not certain they wanted to. They were probably joining in the fun also. At least in their hearts. 🙂 The win sent the Bills to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, and signaled the start of a great era for the Bills. They would be one dropped pass away from going to SIX STRAIGHT AFC Championship games from 1988-1993. (In 1989, Ronnie Harmon dropped the potential game-winning TD pass from Jim Kelly in Cleveland, that would have sent the Bills to another AFC Championship game.)
A great day in Bills history, and the beginning of years of fun (and heart break?) for me. 🙂
Read A recap in Fred Smerlas’ own words at BuffaloBills.com.
The Spartans went to the final four in 2005, and this game almost kept them from that. It was back and forth till near the end when the Spartans took a decent lead to the final seconds of regulation. In the waning moments, Spartans now leading by only 3 points, the Wildcats get several attempts at a tying bucket, until with no time remaining, their 3-pt ace gets an open shot, fires, ball bounces about FIFTEEN times on the rim, and finally falls to tie the game!!
But wait… TV replays show that his foot was on the line!! Minutes and minutes of reviews finally end up being inconclusive, and they count the bucket. The teams battle again, going into double overtime, with the Spartans finally prevailing!!! What a game!!!
For a recap from the UK perspective, click here.
Denver controlled the game with a powerful rushing attack. The dominated for most of the contest, leading the Bills 21-9 with only 20 minutes to go in the game. Things were looking bleak. Until lightning struck — three times.
The Bills scored 3 times in 77 seconds. Nate Odomes started the scoring fest by blocking an easy field goal attempt, that Cornelius Bennett returned 80 yards for a score. Sixty seconds later, Leonard Smith returned an interception 39 yards for another TD. The Bills missed their second extra point of the game, so the lead was only 22-21. But they were not done. The Broncs started the next drive at their own 5 yard line, and the Bills recovered a John Elway fumble, which Kenny Davis turned into a TD one play later. 20 points in 77 seconds, Bills win 29-28 in the end. Incredible!!
There’s a nice recap here.
The Niners took a 14-3 lead, but the Bills kept coming. With the offense in high gear, the Bills end up winning the game with a late TD by Thurman Thomas (his second of the game), 34-31. Thomas had 179 total yards from scrimmage. After the go-ahead TD, the defense held Steve Young and the Niners on their final attempt to tie or win. I was smiling about this game afterwards for quite some time!!
It was really cold. I remember something close to 30 degrees BELOW ZERO wind chill. Bruce Smith (among others) played with bared arms, perhaps to intimidate the Los Angeles Raiders.
Maybe it worked.
For a Bills fan, this game was super, amazingly great. This one is not on the list because of the competitiveness of the game. It was far from that. Jay Schroeder completed a playoff record six passes – to the Buffalo defenders. The Bills offense was unstoppable. Kelly threw for over 300 yards. Thomas ran for over 100 yards. Kenny Davis scored a postseason record-tying 3 TDs. And the best part was, the win meant the Bills were going to the Super Bowl!!! What a great, great day!!!
It was 41-3 at half-time, but even with only 10 more points in the second half, all 80,000 plus people stayed very into the game, and partied for almost the entire second half!!! No one even noticed the cold!
There’s a nice recap of the day here.
Details of the game are sketchy. All I remember is that Moon and Kelly went back and forth, scoring points like crazy! Jim Kelly finished with 366 yds and FIVE TDs, including the winner in OT. He threw across the middle on a slant route to Andre Reed and Reed did the rest. It was close to a 70 yard TD, if I remember right. The Bills won 47-41 in overtime, and Bills fans everywhere rejoiced. Little did we know that there would be several games in the coming years that would be burned into Bills and Oilers fans memories. (See, The Comeback, and Music City Miracle).
You could tell it would be that way from the start. The Sabres scored about 30 seconds into the 1st period, on the road, to take a 1-0 lead. Nice start! But the Sens came back with 2 quick replies, taking a 2-1 lead. OK, you knew it was going to be a crazy game for sure!! Sabes tied it up, 2-2 end of 1st. Traded goals in the second, 4-4 end of two. Less than 30 seconds into the third, Ottawa scores, and takes a 5-4 lead that they would hold until the final 2 minutes of the game. Then it got crazy!
The Sabres scored – short-handed, no less – with 1:37 left to tie the game at 5-5. Even though it had been crazy, you figure we’re headed for OT. BUT, they were not done! The Sens were still on the power play. So, moments later, they score a PP goal and take a threatening 6-5 lead with only slightly over a minute left in the game! Ouch!! But the Sabes were up to the challenge. Skating 4-on-4, with only 10.7 seconds left in the game, Tim Connoly scores the tying goal to send the game to overtime! Yes!!
Finally, only 18 seconds into overtime, the Sabres finish it off by stealing a puck in the offensive zone and Chris Drury seals the deal with a quick wrist shot. 7-6 Buffalo. Amazing, amazing game.
Click here for the AP write up on the game.
Frank Reich has the honor of QB-ing the biggest comebacks in NFL (32 points) and NCAA (31 points) history. And he was the back-up in both cases! Awesome!
For a complete summary of the game, visit the Bills website.
That was fun! Reliving all those games… hope you enjoyed it too. If you have any to add, or a story to share about one of those events, please add your comment below!
For those who might be interested, the Buffalo Bills 2006 schedule was announced yesterday. I posted a couple articles on our Buffalo Bills site.
Here’s a link to one of them. (With a link to the Bills schedule in that article.)
Buffalo Bills Review: 2006 Schedule – Buffalo Bills
I haven’t mentioned this on here in a while, have I?
We’re having a blast doing this show each week. Crazy part is, so are a lot of other people who listen to it. Maybe even crazier, we are getting to talk at length with some guys who we cheered wildly through the Super Bowl years of the Bills.
Don Beebe… then Darryl Talley… and coming up this month…
Well, you’ll have to check out the Buffalo Bills Review site to find out who. 🙂
