The Braves... my favorite basketball team (12-27-11)

I don’t root passionately for any NBA team. I’m a Buffaloian and well, Buffalo doesn’t have a team… at least not anymore. For only 8 years in the 1970’s the Buffalo Braves dazzled and disappointed the crowds at Memorial Auditorium. In the 8 years spent here there was plenty of dazzle and unfortunately also plenty of disappointment. In a brief recap; the first three years were typical expansion team growing pains while the next 3 were fun, as the young team was finding its’ way and beginning to blossom with one of the best players in the NBA at the time, Bob McAdoo, leading the way. Unfortunately something ugly and horrible happened during the last few years robbing Buffalo of it’s basketball team and me of the team I would have unquestionably rooted for when I was old enough.

Without a team or rooting interest, basketball was the last major sport I cared about. I became a football fan as soon as I saw it on television. The game looked larger than life. My first memories as a football fan are of watching Bills fans tearing down the goalposts in 1980 after beating Miami for the first time since the 60’s. I remember Bill Simpson’s late interception sealing the first Bills playoff game I ever watched in 81. I can still close my eyes and see images of Gilbert Perreault and Phil Housley dashing up the ice for the Sabres in the early 80’s and the Yankees losing in the World Series to the Dodgers in 1981. Little did I know they wouldn’t be back for 15 years.  

When I did stumble into basketball in the mid 80’s I rooted for the Celtics. I think my first basketball memories might be seeing highlights from the 1984 finals between the Celtics and Lakers. Boston intrigued me. I liked that they won with a bunch of overachieving un-athletic players. Their best 3 guys; Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were not exceptionally fast, could not jump well and didn’t possess the kind of athletic ability you’d expect to see in star basketball players. But boy were they smart. They were technically sound and more than that they were savvy. McHale had the best post moves I’d ever seen, Parish would quietly produce game in and game out and Bird in his own way had some flair with his deft passing and ability to score with either hand. Their desire to win against more athletic and flashier teams impressed me and I rooted for them often but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t like they were MY team so while I’d want them to win it wasn’t so traumatic when they didn’t. I had what you might call a casual interest.  

As I got older I continued to root for the Celtics and even the Knicks during the 90’s because Knicks games were on television all the time and I got to know that team well. Now Celtics fans and Knicks fans aren’t exactly chums so to root for both illustrated how in search of a team I was and how emotionally invested I wasn’t. To give you a comparison that would be like rooting for the Sabres and the Leafs! Inconceivable!

All these years have passed and I still don’t really root for any one NBA team with the passion I do the Bills, Sabres and Yankees. I need a basketball team. About 5-6 years back when I started to research the Buffalo Braves I tried to become a Clippers fan… I mean, they ARE the Braves. I tried but it was too hard. Los Angeles is so far away from Buffalo, both literally and stylistically. Plus there are the circumstances of why the Braves left which make it hard for me to embrace the Clippers. Their existence is evil!

See you can’t really understand my feelings on the matter until you understand the history at work here, the history behind the Clippers Curse and the resentment. I want to like the Clippers but their existence, out on the west coast should not be and Buffalo and its’ innocent fans are/were the victims. How could I root for them? It makes me wonder if the Bills ever leave whether I could still root for the L.A. Bills or Toronto Bills. Now I don’t have the same deep, loyal allegiance to the Braves as I do the Bills, or the Sabres for that matter, built over a lifetime of being in a relationship with them and I was too young to know or remember what happened to the Braves exactly so research and several sources will help me tell the story.

The Braves began in 1970 as an NBA expansion team and for the first three years they stunk. This tends to happens when you start a team from scratch. You have to assemble the parts; good young players taken with high draft picks combined with useful veterans to help the team grow acquired through trades and free agent signings. Ideally you find a young cornerstone to build a team around and the Braves were lucky enough to get one in Bob McAdoo. The future NBA Hall of Famer was the Braves 1^st round pick in 1972 and immediately made an impact. In just his 2^nd year during the 1973-74 season he led the Braves to their 1^st ever playoff appearance and went to his 1^st All Star game while putting up averages of 30 points and 15 rebounds a game. No one has done that since. The next year he was even better, winning league MVP (the only one in Braves/Clippers history) and leading the Braves to the playoffs again. McAdoo was the best of a new breed. He was a big man who could run the floor and stroke the mid-range jumper. Centers normally did all their damage in the paint but McAdoo was a pure scorer who could hurt you all over the court. For those of you who need a contemporary comparison think Dirk Nowitzki, with a tiny bit less shooting range but more physical and a better rebounder. With an improving supporting cast the Braves gave the eventual Champion Boston Celtics all they could handle in the 2^nd round of the 1976 playoffs before losing out in 6 games. With one of the best players in all of basketball and 3 straight playoff appearances, the Braves looked ready to make the next step towards potentially winning the NBA championship but behind the scenes something terrible was happening.

It started with the Braves’ original owner Paul Snyder. Snyder was an area businessman who is responsible for Darien Lake among other things. He bought into the NBA the same time the Knoxes bought into the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. Both teams shared the Aud and there was room for both however their management styles were very different. While the Knox family embraced the young core of the Sabres along with the fanbase, Snyder’s impatience was well known. The Braves featured a carousel of coaches and supporting players around Bob McAdoo. Finally, Snyder wanted out of the basketball game and tried to sell the Braves right after their 3^rd straight playoff appearance in June 1976 to a rich couple that would move the team to Hollywood, Florida. Talk about taking the money and running!

Before it was finalized the city of Buffalo filed a damage suit and stopped the sale. After it fell through the team and city signed a new 15 year lease. Things seemed to be all better but there was a provision in the new lease which gave the team the right to break it if season ticket sales fell below 5,000. The team averaged 12,000 fans a game so this number didn’t seem likely to be a problem but Snyder still wanted out.

Later in the summer of 76 he sold 50% of the team to a man named John Y. Brown. Brown was from Kentucky and owned the ABA team The Kentucky Colonels before they folded during the NBA-ABA merger in the summer of 1976... around the same time Snyder’s previous sale fell through. The NBA absorbed 4 of the 6 remaining teams left in the ABA but the Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis were forcibly folded. Brown was paid 3 million by the league plus nearly 2 million more for the rights to his best players from NBA teams for his trouble. He used that money to buy the share in the Braves. Snyder included a provision in the sale. If Brown sold the rights to any players on the Braves it would count against the purchase price. Essentially, if he sold some of the players on the team and got a good financial return on them, his purchase of the Braves could be for very little or for next to nothing.   

Before the 1976-77 season was half over the team sold a 21-year old Moses Malone to Houston after a whopping 2 game career in Buffalo. Yep, they gave up on him after 2 games. By the way, Malone would go on to be a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest to ever play the game. Shortly after, the Braves biggest star Bob McAdoo was sold to the New York Knicks for 3 million and a journeyman player who was gone within a year. Can you imagine trading away a 25-year old NBA MVP just entering his prime and not because of ridiculous contract demands or because he demanded it, simply because you are trying to save some money. The trade was lopsided in the Knicks’ favor and reeked of something else going on. McAdoo’s presence alone brought people down to the Aud to watch the Braves so to sell him off seemed to hurt the franchise more than help the pocketbooks of an already rich new owner. There was indeed something else at work here, something evil.

One of the most famous sports movies of all time is the late 80’s baseball film Major League. In this film, the long-time owner of the hapless Cleveland Indians dies leaving the team to his gold-digging ex-showgirl wife who absolutely hates Cleveland. So she conspires to get rid of every good player and put together a team of stiffs that would play so badly that attendance would drop below a threshold allowing her to break her lease with the city of Cleveland and enabling her to move the team to Miami trading the history of the team and it’s relationship with Cleveland for better weather and selfish perks like free membership in prestigious social clubs. Does any of this sound familiar? Of course in the film it backfired but in Buffalo, New York in 1978 this very thing occurred. 

Sometime during the 1976-77 season John Y. Brown bought the other 50% of the team from Snyder and obtained full ownership. Being a rich Kentucky businessman did nothing to endear him to the lunch pail, blue collar Buffalo fans and the feeling was mutual. Brown almost immediately sought to move the team from the second he bought it. Brown’s real dream was to own the prestigious history-laden Boston Celtics franchise but unfortunately they weren’t for sale in 1976.

During the next season the then Celtics owner Irv Levin, a movie producer, wanted to move the Celtics to California. However he could not get league approval since the Celtics were one of the cornerstones and signature franchises of the league. With the attendance for what was left of the Braves falling below the threshold to break its lease with Buffalo, a compromise was offered by an NBA lawyer named David Stern. John Brown and Irv Levin could swap franchises. Brown could own the team he’s always wanted to own and Levin could take over the Braves and move them to San Diego, California. Everybody is happy! Unless of course you count Buffalo basketball fans.

Basically all the rich guys would get what they want and screw Buffalo. But wait there’s more! Along with the franchise swap, the two teams made a complicated 7 player trade with 3 players going to Boston and 4 going to Buffalo. Don’t worry, Buffalo or should I now say San Diego didn’t get anyone good. With the unbalanced swap of franchises (the Celtics being worth far more than the Braves) the Braves had their choice of Boston’s first round picks. They could demand their 6^th overall pick or the 8^th overall. Of course the Braves took the lesser pick, the 8^th who turned out to be Freeman Williams who lasted about 4 seasons in the league before departing to be the rapper and frontman for the C & C Music Factory. The other pick, the 6^th which Boston got to keep turned out to be a young player named Larry Bird. 

In the early 80’s when that same NBA lawyer David Stern became commissioner of the league (and is to this day) the NBA changed the rules on collusion so that no owners could ever conspire again to do the tank and swap they did in 1978. How convenient.

The new San Diego Clippers began the first of 33 mostly terrible years on the west coast where they’ve had barely more many playoff appearances (four) in those 33 seasons then they had in the 8 years in Buffalo (three). Some say that the franchise is cursed. The truth is weird things have happened there. Draft picks went bust; good players would go there and promptly blow out their knees or have down years. The Clippers would give away great players in foolish trades. They often made boneheaded decisions drafting forgettable players ahead of future Hall of Famers. They traded for guys who were past their primes and those younger promising players they did get either suffered awful injuries or simply departed the franchise for more money or the chance to be more competitive elsewhere. The Clippers could do little right. Moving from San Diego to Los Angeles would do nothing to reverse their fortunes. Even when Irv Levin sold the Clippers in 1981 to Donald Sterling, things did not improve as Sterling has earned the reputation as one of the league’s worst owners during these past 30 years, accused of being cheap, racist, sexist and last year he even sat in the stands and heckled some of his own players because they weren’t performing to his expectations.

When current can’t miss star Blake Griffin was drafted by the Clippers in 2009, he promptly blew out his knee before his first season even started and missed the whole year. When he came back last season to be every bit the star he was predicted to be, I wondered or more like worried when he’d be struck by lightening. I always liked Blake Griffin in college and love him in the pros and last year I flirted with the idea of trying to root for the Clippers again.

This year a friend of mine was talking with me about letting things go and not holding grudges… even the sports related kind. So with those new lessons in mind and using rational thinking maybe I am finally ready to embrace the Clippers. Honestly, no one who was part of the Braves debacle is still there from the previous owners Snyder, Brown and Levin on down and just about every player currently on the team wasn’t even born when it happened. I couldn’t blame anyone there for what happened long ago and it was time to move on, right? Although I was close I was still on the fence. I wanted to do it. I weighed the pros and cons but I still couldn’t make up my mind.

Now I mentioned how I like Blake Griffin. He’s a hard working, dynamic player. The kind of player I always hoped Shawn Kemp would have been back in the day. You know the type; awesome athletic ability but a good work ethic as well. Kemp was lazy, ate his way out of the league and squandered his gifts. Griffin is the opposite of Kemp in that regard. He’s probably one of my 5 favorite players in the league along with Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Steve Nash and Chris Paul. Oh, did I forget to mention Chris Paul now plays for the Clippers too? That might have tipped the scales for me.

When the whole Chris Paul thing went down a few weeks ago I was elated he went to the Clippers. Since New Orleans “had” to trade him and the Lakers were the first up and most aggressive trying to get him I thought along with a lot of people he’d end up there… one of my favorite players on one of my least favorite teams. But when the league stopped a perfectly fair deal between New Orleans, Houston and the Lakers I started to wonder what was going on. It wasn’t like Chris Paul was being traded for a journeyman and a few million bucks.

When the Clippers finally snuck in and stole Paul away from the Lakers with a comparable but not much better deal I wondered if something else really was at work here. Perhaps the basketball gods came to collect on Commissioner Stern. Or maybe Stern has had some Scrooge like holiday season epiphany and sees the errors of his ways after a night with the spirits of basketball past, present and basketball yet to come. While David Stern didn’t sell the Braves and move them out of town, he certainly had a whole lot to do with it and several thousand fans and the basketball gods have not forgotten.

While he has had a mostly solid run as NBA Commissioner the Clippers have been a wreck. Perhaps denying the Lakers more riches and giving Chris Paul to the Clippers is in some way Stern paying his penance. Maybe the curse will end. This summer if the Clippers are hoisting up the championship trophy we’ll know the gods are appeased and the curse has been lifted. If not, we’ll still understand that some good karma for Stern and the Clippers is a nice start to lifting the great Braves Curse. While it’s too early to know if the curse is over it isn’t too early to jump on the bandwagon of my rightful team. So I root for the Clippers now, except you’ll have to forgive me when I still call them the Braves.

Why So Serious? (12-1-11)

Yesterday the National Football League fined Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver Stevie Johnson $10,000 for his excessive celebration in the Bills 28-24 loss to the New Jersey Jets. If you haven’t seen the video of what he did, after scoring a touchdown late in the 2^nd quarter he pretended to pull out a couple of 6-shooters with his hands and did a bang, bang, bang thingy and then pretended to shoot himself in the leg ala Jets receiver Plaxico Burress, who shot himself in the leg at a New York city nightclub in 2008 and is finally back playing football again this year after nearly 2 spent in jail on the related charges. But wait, Stevie wasn’t done, then for his coup de grace he stuck his arms out and pretended he was a “Jet” like several Jets players do after they score touchdowns except Stevie didn’t have a happy landing. He sputtered out and crashed his fictional jet into the turf and was promptly penalized for excessive celebration, costing the Bills 15 yards and less than 2 minutes later Burress himself caught the game tying touchdown for the Jets as the game went into halftime tied instead of with the Bills ahead. Would the Jets have scored without the 15 yard penalty and the disaster of a kick by substitute kicker Dave Raymer that followed? We’ll never know but it certainly couldn’t have helped the Bills cause. That said; I am not one of these “fans” so upset about Stevie’s antics that I want him fined more, suspended or even off the team.    

I thought his biggest "crime" was trying to squeeze in 2 celebrations for 1 touchdown. The unwritten rule goes: 1 touchdown, 1 celebration/dance. As for Stevie’s celebrations, I laughed hysterically. One, he mocked the Jets TD dance and secondly he mocked a guy who brought a loaded gun into a nightclub because he thought he was above the law and shot himself in the leg. When you bring a loaded handgun into a nightclub stuffed into your pants and then accidently shoot yourself in the leg, I think you deserve the ridicule that comes in the aftermath. People were outraged with Burress when this happened. Now, he’s a sympathetic figure? I think people should lighten up a little. Stevie’s only mistake was overdoing it (with 2 dances) and picking up the penalty thus hurting his team.

Now his drop towards the end of the game, that's another story. Between last year’s wide-open drop of a potential game winning touchdown in the overtime of the Pittsburgh game and this, you can’t help but think he’s developing a reputation. People are starting to question whether the kid can come through when it matters most. The fact of the matter is that because of the high profile drops, there’s an issue with his focus. To be a number one receiver for a team, he has to improve his focus out there. That drop was a backbreaker which diminished an otherwise stellar performance. Penalty notwithstanding he was having a great game and instead of celebrating how he roasted the best cornerback in the game for 9 catches, 120+ yards and 2 TDs while leading the Bills to a HUGE win, we are talking about this. He's still very young and I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Will the rest of the fanbase forgive him? Some will.

Usually with a tone of contempt you often hear fans say that these guys are getting paid millions to play a kid’s game. That’s true but if we are willing to go that far let’s not be hypocritical. I think these overgrown, overpaid “kids” should be allowed to act like kids and feel that youthful enthusiasm the game generates both now and then. Part of that is acting like a fool when you score or do something large or impressive. Now before you oldschoolers dismiss what I am saying, I don’t condone the over-celebrating of first downs, 4 yard catches or making a basic tackle. That’s different. That’s just doing your job. Celebrations after basic, garden variety moments are the ones that should be penalized. That’s like a father patting himself on the back and feeling proud of himself because he takes care of his kids… Hello! You’re supposed to! But going above and beyond, like making an amazing play, scoring a touchdown or making a tackle, sack or interception that means the game, well I think you should be able to let out your joy and live in the moment. Those moments are few and far between (unless you’re the Packers). Besides, the pressure and scrutiny are intense out there. You gotta release some of it.

Can you imagine the stress and expectations a pro football player has to deal with, especially when they are a good player? Getting ready for a game all week long while you and your team’s every move is put under a microscope. Everywhere you turn someone is talking about what will happen and/or what has. It’s on television, in the paper, on the radio and all over the internet. Slip up and you temporarily become an even bigger celebrity for the wrong reasons. Can you imagine the pressure? Unlike other modern day celebrities who get judged less on their body of work but more on their latest offering, these guys are put under a similar microscope while sacrificing more than just a reputation. They are also putting their bodies on the line. We’re talking about people’s health here. Guys retire due to injury all the time and many ex-players have health problems later in life, some even have brain damage due to the constant collisions they endured for the life of their careers. Can Tom Cruise make a similar claim? Yeah they get millions to play a kid’s game and they get idolized as celebrities but you know what? They SHOULD! Football is HUGE business! Billions of dollars are generated through this “kids game” and even though football is big business, adult business, let us not take out the delightful roots of where it began… in the streets, parks and playgrounds of America. “You run to the Oldsmobile, turn around and I’ll throw it to you. The end zones will be this light post and the big oak.” Many boys played this game this way and when we scored, we danced! We danced like Michael Jackson then MC Hammer and now Chris Brown. We did the Electric Slide, the Tootsie Roll and the Dougie. Like it or not, it’s part of our culture. Now in the NFL or as they frequently get called the “No Fun League” power to the people would mean no limits so I’m not saying to let guys dance the whole game away at will… guys that don’t even get into the game would be dancing on the sidelines. I say let people dance and show the joy and emotion after big, important plays and then regulate the rest so that it’s not overdone. When you score touchdowns, especially dramatic ones I say let these kids be kids. Unfortuntely for Stevie, I'm not in charge of the NFL.

So by the league’s rule do I think he should have been penalized, yes... Fined? no... Criticized? Yes. Do I think he overdid it? Not at all… Stevie is just a big kid out there having fun and scoring a touchdown against the best cornerback in the league is something to be pretty excited about. Unfortunately the rules are what they are with that in mind, here's hoping Stevie learns and grows from this incident and here’s hoping fans lighten up and stop being hypocrites complaining about how the league won’t let the guys have fun out there and then jump all over Stevie for going too far. Why so serious indeed?  

Do you BILLieve it? (9-26-11)

Well how does it feel Buffalo? Over a day removed and I’m still somewhere between utter disbelief and incredible giddiness myself. The Bills finally slayed the Tom Brady dragon and won for the first time in 8 years against the New England Patriots. It was a span of 15 straight losses since an opening day 2003 beat down to the tune of 31-0 over Brady and Belichick in which Brady threw 4 interceptions (sound familiar?). Walking out onto Elmwood Avenue after the game felt wonderful as I found myself high-fiving strangers and feeling a sense of community I don’t feel that often except in times of great tragedy or rejoicing.

I rode my bike to work this morning wearing a Bills jersey with pride. I often wear a Bills jersey on a Friday before the weekend and on the Monday following it during the football season. It might have been a superstitious thing I used to do back in the day but I’ve been doing it so long I can’t remember the origin, so don’t ask me why. One thing was very different though. For the first time I was more expecting a person to beep “Let’s go Buffalo” at me as they passed rather than some idiot guy yelling “The Bills Suck” and almost startling me into a crash. Turns out neither happened but there’s still the ride home to look forward to (yes, I am writing this during the day today at work).

Something that began last season with this team was that despite the lousy 4-12 record, many of the games were quite exciting to watch. Ryan Fitzpatrick aka “Fitzy” had a wild arm but he wasn’t afraid. He trusted his playmakers to make plays for him, something many of his predecessors was unable to do. Combine that with top notch smarts to go with his moxie and he was starting to show signs that he could be a decent starter in this league. Coach Chan Gailey’s offense was designed to take advantage of Fitzy’s strengths while somewhat hiding his weaknesses. He’ll never have the big, strong arm and larger than life stature that football fans clamor for in their quarterbacks but he has all the intangibles the other guys who’ve been here since Jim Kelly have lacked and when the Bills did not draft a quarterback of the future this past April despite the fans’ rabid appetite for one, you had to think the organization and more importantly the coaching staff had the utmost confidence in the Harvard grad.

The team’s confidence in Fitzpatrick and many of the younger players on the team last season is being rewarded now as guys like Stevie Johnson are becoming stars and others like David Nelson, Eric Wood, Scott Chandler, Donald Jones and about a dozen more are becoming vital cogs in the core of this young team. It is one thing to be patient and Bills fans have had to be nothing but since the 90’s, but in this case it seems like the current regime are making much better personnel decisions which makes being patient last year as the team lost three quarters of its’ games worth it. That journey began only 19 games ago but unlike the last 4-5 rebuilding jobs Bills fans have had to suffer through, this one seems to be on the right track.

This young team took another step and a huge one at that yesterday vanquishing a hated rival who had dominated them for so long that you could count the number of Bills players who had seen the last Buffalo win over New England on one hand (2). They believe in themselves and more importantly they believe in each other and this rag tag bunch is learning how to win, how to finish games and how to compete with the league’s elite teams. When the team was 3-0 in 2008 under Dick Jauron, it felt more like dumb luck and wishful thinking while this time it feels like the ride is just beginning.  

Don’t believe me? Go to the stats. This was the first time a Brady quarterbacked team has lost a game when they’ve had a 21 point lead. It’s the 1st time EVER in NFL history a team has won back to back games when they’ve trailed by at least 18 points in each. The Bills are scoring an average of about 38 points in their first 3 games. You can’t “luck” into these things. It takes talent, determination, execution, heart and good coaching.

Take the jerseys off the teams and you’d be hard pressed to figure out which one was the Bills and which one was the battle tested, highly touted Patriots squad. In fact in the 2nd half, the roles looked completely reversed. The Patriots made the mistakes and let the Bills come back into the game and the Bills fought their guts out and stole it from the Patriots. How many times has that happened to the Bills… to us? We did it to them! How incredibly satisfying is that? The Patriots fans had their guts ripped out for a change as THEIR team blew it late.

As far as the game goes I’ll say this: I love Fred Jackson. I like the progress Donald Jones and David Nelson are making. I’m thinking about getting a Stevie Johnson jersey. I think Nick Barnett is a better LB for this defense than Poz would have been. I love how the offensive live didn’t allow any sacks of Fitzpatrick. It’s great to see the offensive playcalling be able to adjust as the game does, and think on the move unlike other coaching staffs we’ve had in Buffalo during the last decade. I love how the Bills players are doing the “Buffalo jump” into the stands after they score. I love how Fitzy shook off a rough start and came back to play beautifully in the 2^nd half (like Jim Kelly used to do) and I love how this team wasn’t afraid, wouldn’t give up and wouldn’t back down, even when New England fought back themselves and tied it.    

While I do feel giddy about what’s happening, deep inside me lies the natural skeptic and as someone who has witnessed regime after regime come in and promise big things and leave empty handed for 15 years that skeptic grew in power. I do wonder to myself, is this for real? Can the Bills make the playoffs? I’m actually fighting the urges and thoughts that this team isn’t quite ready yet for primetime because they are the ONLY undefeated team left in the AFC! They are a very entertaining team. They are well coached for the first time in well, seems like forever and parity has made this league so topsy-turvy that it is completely possible to be horrible one year and great the next. BUT let’s be honest, the Bills are not perfect. They gave up a ton of catches and yards to Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. For the second straight week they were unable to generate a single sack on defense. If this team can get a pass rush going, they might be even more dangerous. A good place to start getting this defense in gear is against a subpar opponent with an inexperienced quarterback, and what do you know, this week’s game features both!

This week for the first time in a few years I am seriously expecting a win. The Bungals of Cincinnati aren’t very good this year and they are starting a rookie quarterback who is learning on the fly. It should be party time for the Bills defense. For this team to take the next step, they need to beat down teams like this. Winning games you are supposed to win is a hallmark of the best teams. Considering how far we’ve come in such a short period I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually expect the Bills to win next week. I expect them to win big. I don’t know if I’ve had this level of expectation for a Bills team since the 90’s. It sure feels good. It feels good to BILLieve again.  

I BILLieve because the Bills have heart and guts. They play hard for their coach and for each other. I really get the sense that these guys are not a bunch of professionals thrown together but a tight knit group doing big things and growing together. Ryan Fitzpatrick recently stated that Fred Jackson is his favorite teammate of any he has ever had. That’s saying something when he’s been on 3 different teams and spent 6 years in the NFL. That also says something when you hear things like that and when you see Ralph Wilson Stadium looking like a Friday night high school game with the Bills jumping into the stands and partying with the crowd after the game the last few weeks. It looks genuine and heartfelt. Winning can do that for you. Winning can bring everyone closer together.

When the league locked out the players in the offseason there was certainly a disconnect between the fans and the league. Fans blamed the players AND the owners and watched in disbelief as the greed ran amok on both sides. Those days, while only a few months back, now seem like forever ago and it’s starting to feel more like these Bills are family rather than the highly paid mercenaries fans painted them to be. We’re rooting for the unheralded core of this team who are short on name recognition but big on heart. We root for guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson, Kyle Williams, and David Nelson and on and on. These aren’t 1^st round draft picks that came to the NFL amid big expectations and were signed to big dollars. These are late round draft picks and undrafted free agents, guys who were an afterthought, some well traveled and given up on in several places, who are finding a home here in Buffalo. These overachievers have come together to provide this town with as much hope and excitement as we’ve had in over a decade. A group of underdogs coming together to find success in the ultimate underdog city… now that’s the kind of story movies are made of. Hopefully this one will have a happy ending.      

   

Thoughts on Game 7 and the Sabres...

In their 40+ year history the Buffalo Sabres are 0 for 4 in Game 7s on the road. Will history repeat itself tonight or will these resilient kids continue to ride the Pegula Push to a franchise first? With all things being equal I’d like our chances but unfortunately all things are not equal heading into this game.

First I want to address the Mike Richards hit on Tim Connolly. Now we all know that a player’s condition in the NHL playoffs is a bigger mystery than who shot JFK, and probably just as well guarded, but it was easy to see that Connolly was not going to play in Game 7 after that hit, a fact confirmed by Sabres coach Lindy Ruff after game 6 who described Connolly as having “an upper body injury”. The hit was so vicious and dirty that I was enraged when the call was only for a 2-minute penalty. I thought the hit was worthy of a 5-minute penalty plus an ejection and apparently I’m not the only one as hockey media outlets all over are both appalled at the hit and outraged by the league’s subsequent decision not to suspend Richards for the pivotal 7th game.

Does anyone remember a few days back when Richards suggested that the Sabres were “getting away with murder” out there despite being the more penalized team to that point. Since making that statement the hypocritical Flyers captain has elbowed Patrick Kaleta square in the face in Game 5 (drawing a 5 minute penalty) and then for an encore drove Connolly’s face and head into the boards from behind, basically ending his series and perhaps his season. These were two careless and dangerous acts that could have seriously injured both players and might have done just that to one.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “an eye for an eye” and many of you may have also heard the response “makes the whole world blind”. In this case an eye for an eye would have been warranted. Since Connolly will be missing his team’s most important game of the year, so should Richards. He should have been suspended for a least one game. I don’t care if he’s an All Star, a captain on one of the most high profile teams in the league, or if this is a season deciding game, he should sit. If Patrick Kaleta did the same thing to any Flyer, they’d probably suspend him for the rest of the year and some of next year. Instead of evening the odds that the Flyers unfairly tipped in their favor the league would rather turn a blind eye and do what it often does in this situation… nothing.

In the offseason I’m sure we’ll hear more about the league’s efforts to curtail head injuries and reduce the number of concussions. Without seriously deterring these types of hits I can’t imagine how the NHL could ever make an impact in this regard. This was yet another chance for them to stand up and say that this type of play has no place in their league and again they’ve let the opportunity to make a difference slip through their fingers.

In Connolly’s place will be the returning Derek Roy who hasn’t played since two days before Christmas after suffering a serious quadriceps tear. At the time of the injury Roy led the Sabres in scoring and if there’s one thing I think the Sabres could use in this game 7 is more scoring punch. But will Roy be 100% and more importantly, will he be effective after so much time away? There’s no time for Roy to be rusty.

After Buffalo blew 3 and 2-goal leads in each of the last 2 games, the unfortunate incident with Connolly and the deciding game being in Philadelphia, I think the signs are pointing the Flyers’ way. They have the momentum and they’ve always had the deeper and better skilled team. On paper the only advantage I’d say we have is in goal. Just look at the goals that have been scored in this series. Sure, Miller has given up a few that he’d like back but for the most part the goals the Flyers have scored have been good looking goals. They’ve been one timers, cross ice passes, screen shots, wristers just under the crossbar and well placed put backs on rebounds and deflections. Now look at the Sabres goals. How many of them have gone in due to terrible goaltending? They’ve chased the Flyers starting goaltending how many times? If you are counting at home the answer is 3 times and yet the Sabres have won only 1 of those games. The Flyers are in this in SPITE of their goaltending. If they get anything close to NHL caliber goaltending tonight they should move on over the Sabres.

But hold on, how does Buffalo win game 7? It’s easy to spell it out here. Ryan Miller has to be dynamite in goal. Does he need to put up a shutout? I’d say no but he cannot give up 4 or 5 goals if Buffalo is to win. He might not be able to give up 3. The Sabres young defense has to answer the call and assist Miller in shutting down the Flyers attack. Miller’s aggressive style calls heavily on his defense to pick up guys around the net and as we saw in game 6, they let him down at bad times. Outside of Tyler Myers and godsend Marc-Andre Gragnani, the Sabres young defense is very shaky. Chris Butler and Mike Weber are great one game, off the next. That’s to be expected of young players in such a high pressure situation but veterans like Shaone Morrisson and Steve Montador were actually playing worse when they were in. We’ve seen that the kids and the rest of the defense can do the job in 2 Ryan Miller shutouts where the Sabres team defense was as strong as their goaltending. Can they reverse the trend of the last 2 games where it seemed the Flyers were getting better and better opportunities on Miller?

Another important component to a Sabres Game 7 victory is getting strong contributions from forwards big and small. By big I mean the guys who make the most money and have shown this most throughout this season. This means continued scoring from Thomas Vanek plus something, anything from Brad Boyes and Drew Stafford. Boyes has not even registered a single point in this playoff while the streaky Stafford has but one goal in the series. If one or both of these guys can get it going, that would go a long way towards getting Buffalo in round 2 of the playoffs.

Yes the Sabres need help from the big guns in a winner take all showdown but let us not forget the little people. Of course I’m talking about diminutive wingers Tyler Ennis and Nathan Gerbe. The Sabres wouldn’t be at game 7 without them. These two have been among the best players for the Sabres in this series and I don’t see why that won’t continue tonight. If those big guns can get it going, they’ll draw the Flyers attention and that just opens the door a little wider for players like Ennis and Gerbe to charge through.

The bottom line is that the Sabres barely got into the playoffs. They aren’t supposed to beat a Conference power like Philly. They aren’t expected to win tonight and they’ve treated us to more exciting playoff hockey than we thought we’d get back in December. That said, they are playing with house money and as the cliché of the underdog goes, they have nothing to lose. They should let it all hang out and play this game with emotion, aggressiveness and try to take it to the Flyers. The Sabres can do this. They can steal the series away from a team that many considered the best in the Eastern Conference this year and they can do it with lesser talent and far less experience. They need a lot to happen in their favor but 3 times out of 6 so far it has. With that kind of a coin flip chance, it can certainly happen again.


Prediction: In game 6, Philadelphia turned the tide and stole the momentum from the upstart Sabres humbling them in their own building after yet another poor goaltending performance from their own starter. In fact I’d say their goaltending is the only reason this series has gotten this far. Heart and grit matter lots this time of year and because of that and the inconsistency in the Flyers’ net you can’t count the Sabres out but I think that the Flyers’ overwhelming advantage of talent up front will prove too much for the Sabres young defense to bear and the Flyers will send the Sabres home for good, 4-2. I hope I’m wrong.

I’m proud of the team from the owner down because back in the winter BP (before Pegula) I didn’t think the Sabres would make the playoffs and I didn’t feel the optimism about this year, about next year that I feel now. There’s a very good thing going on here in Buffalo that is just getting started. Let’s hope that the next chapter starts this weekend against the Crapitals and not next Fall in the form of a new season.

Same old Sabres? (3-1-11)

The NHL trade deadline has come and gone and I find myself a little confused about the actions of my Buffalo Sabres. They did something they had not historically done under the old ownership but they also didn’t go after it as much or as diligently as I wanted them to. Were my expectations too high? After a week spent in Pegulaville you’ll understand if I and many of the other fans expected too much from the Sabres with the high we’ve been on but now as I come down I wonder how much is really different.

I’m on board with the Brad Boyes move. The Sabres gave up a 2nd rounder for him and did not make a companion deal to shed salary close to what they were bringing in nor did they make a companion deal to acquire a draft pick to replace the one that was shipped out. I applaud them for this and this validates what new owner Terry Pegula stated at his inaugural press conference about takes the shackles off financially. Boyes is signed through next season where the Sabres will pay him 4 million.

I think Boyes will help. He’s a good offensive player with the ability to score, get off a quick, potent shot and make his teammates around him better. He’s not a great offensive player by any stretch but he’s definitely above average and the Sabres lack even those kinds of players so he will certainly plug in as a top-6 forward and see considerable power play time as well. Statistically, if you count his point totals in St. Louis this year, his 41 points makes him our 2nd leading scorer behind Thomas Vanek. The word is that he will play on a line with Tim Connolly and Tyler Ennis in his first game as a Sabre tonight.

Speaking of Connolly, he was my biggest Sabres surprise of the deadline day. I can’t believe he’s still here. Connolly is the antithesis of the direction this team needs to move in. His soft, cutesy, ultra-talented disappearing act has grown beyond tired to many fans and I can’t stand the sight of him on the ice wearing a Sabres sweater any longer. Blocking a few shots last week won’t change how I feel Tim. I’m sorry, you lost me this year. For many years people said if only Tim could be healthy for a full season, who knows what his numbers would look like. I’ll tell you what they look like: Last year he played in 73 games and put in a paltry 17 goals. That’s kinda mediocre for such a dynamic player. This year he’s played in 47 games and has a meager 8 goals and 26 points to show for it with a plus/minus rating of -11. There’s your number one center folks! He has the same number of goals as Cody McCormick and trails such offensive goal scoring juggernauts as Paul Gaustad and Jochen Hecht. He’s still 2 goals behind Derek Roy, who hasn’t played a game since 2 days before Christmas. Maybe I’m laying it on thick but 4 and a half million a year for this kind of production is a bigger robbery than any great Ryan Miller save I can think of.

No Sabres fan can forget the playoffs in 2006. Often times Tim Connolly was the best player on the ice. He skated hard, attacked the defense and looked like an all star. I don’t know if it was the culmination of nearly a decades worth of injuries or some other reason he is not that player any more. Regardless, we as fans have no choice but to rally around him now and hope that he can turn it on for these last 21 games and the playoffs.

If we had traded him Jochen Hecht would be our #1 center! I cringe whenever someone mentions he’s our #2 center right now which he is. To have unloaded Connolly we would have had to acquire a quality scoring center which would have meant 2 separate deals but it is rare to trade one scoring center for another. Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier spoke publicly after the deadline and talked about trying to make other deals but not having any success after the Boyes trade. Considering that the entire NHL made half as many deals on deadline day then on the same day a year ago, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. In terms of buyers and sellers it seemed like teams were either asking for too much or not willing to pay. Unfortunately, I have to accept that we could not bring in a scoring center so Connolly couldn’t go anywhere.

What’s done or not done is done. The trade deadline is over and these guys are the team that’s left to root for and root for them I will. While I still hate Connolly’s game, I’ll have to deal with him on this team… at least for a few more months. Getting Brad Boyes for a 2nd round pick and having him for this year and next seems like a very good deal when you consider what the Los Angeles Kings gave up to get Dustin Penner who I wouldn’t say is much better if any better than Boyes. In that deal the Kings gave up a 1st round pick, a good prospect and an additional conditional 3rd round pick. Based on that and the Sabres need for help on the offensive end of the ice, I’d say the Sabres were winners on deadline day. Now let’s see if that translates to winning a playoff spot.

My Super Bowl Report (2-6-11)

My Super Bowl Report (2-6-11)

By Edwin R. Gomez

It’s 6pm and I have my dinner in front of me, a Pepsi and the remote control although I don’t expect to use it much as it’s time for the Super Bowl and that means great football action and 3 million dollar commercials. This will be my running blog. My sprained ankle is feeling well enough to let me sit at the computer for this one.

6:20- The game hasn’t started yet and I finished my dinner. It was a catch 22. I knew the game wouldn’t get started until 6:30ish but I also knew that with a bad ankle you need to make efficient trips around the house and if I went to the kitchen and got the food together around 6:20 I’d stand to miss valuable commercials and festivities. In hindsight I didn’t miss much as Lea Michelle’s version of God Bless America was kinda cheesy to me but hey, I’m not a Glee fan… that is the show she’s on right? Plus Christina Aguilera’s National Anthem didn’t have a good flow to it. We know you can sing Christina; you can tone it down with the American Idol embellishments at the end of every line. You’ve proven you have the chops years ago. It was a good effort on her part but I just found it boring and forced. My favorite part of the pregame stuff was Sam Elliott narrating the intros for each team before they ran on the field. That made me a little misty but I’m not sure if that was due to my love of football or my love of Road House.

6:35- After all the pregame buildup and excitement the Steelers go a quick 3 and out. In fact they didn’t even gain a yard on that series of plays but of course as I write this Green Bay muffs the punt and the excitement level increases even though Green Bay recovered it.

6:40- I was about to comment on how Green Bay gained only 1 yard on their first offensive series but then Aaron Rodgers throws a beautiful pass to Donald Driver for a big 1st First down of the game. It makes sense. If you need to get somewhere, go with a guy named Driver. I’ll be here all game.

6:42- Buffalo note. For those of you who aren’t big football fans but like local guys gone good stories, Green Bay running back James Starks is only 1 year removed from a wonderful career at the University at Buffalo. More than that, he’s from Niagara Falls, NY so he truly is a local guy all around. I’m rooting for him to do well while I root for the Steelers to win but more on than later.

6:46 – Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall wants it. He wants it so bad he’s running out of his shoes. I love Mendenhall because he was the best running back on my fantasy football team this season. It wasn’t enough to get me the title but I did take 2nd place due in large part to him and Michael Vick.

6:49- Most of the week I heard sports analysts and former players talking about the value of having Super Bowl experience. Big Ben has won it twice and Aaron Rodgers has never been to the big game but so far Big Ben looks more nervous and it shows in his throws as he’s been sailing many of them over his receivers. He may also be a little too pumped up and when that happens with a powerful quarterback, they’ll have a tendency to overthrow.

6:51- I will also comment on commercials throughout this running blog as I’m compiling a list of my favorites and least favorites.

7:00- As I was talking about a little while ago Aaron Rodgers is dialed in as he throws a laser to Jordy Nelson for the 1st touchdown of the game. Big Ben had better get it going and start throwing with more accuracy. You do not want to fall too far behind a team with Green Bay’s pass rush.

7:05 – I knew I’d have many holy crap moments during the game that were not related to the game and I’ve already had two. The first was that Doritos commercial where the guy sucks the Doritos residue off his co-workers’ finger and then off of another co-workers pants when he wipes his Doritos stained hands on them. That made me stop and blink many times. The 2nd was the trailer for Cowboys and Aliens. What the freak is that piece of garbage? It has Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde too, 2 actors I like but Cowboys and Aliens?

7:07 – Big Ben and the Steelers gamble by trying a bomb despite starting deep in their own territory. The ball was underthrown by 10 yards and it’s now 14-0 Packers after the pick six by Nick Collins. I think the Steelers need to run the ball more. Mendenhall looked good when they ran him earlier. They need to have a sustained drive that leads to points before this gets out of hand.

7:15 - How awesome was that last 2 minutes? Big Ben slips and hurts his knee and he's flexing it in the huddle and looks like he is having difficulty but then on the very next play runs for a huge first down gain which was probably the Steelers best offensive play yet. While he isn't always put in the same category with the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings and best in the game due to stats and his unconventional style, he ranks among the league's elite quarterbacks in toughness and guts which isn't something you'll find statistics on. Plus it endears him to the fanbase and makes him a well liked player despite his personal shortcomings and off the field indiscretions.

7:24 - Well it's not 7 points but 3 points and having that sustained drive that showed some life was just about what the doctor ordered. The long drive puts a halt to the growing momentum the Packers were generating and it gives the Steelers defense a chance to regroup on the sideline. Plus it gives the Steelers offense some confidence going forward which is very important. The next step is keeping the Packers in check on their drive and they could be right back in this game.

7:40 – For the record, I’ve never liked the Fox Robot graphic that they have on all their football broadcasts. What does a robot have to do with football?

7:45- After Big Ben's 2nd interception of the game, the Packers are in position to score right before the half and put Pittsburgh in quite the strangehold going into the lockerrooms. As I type this Rodgers throws another laser and it's 21-3. The only good thing about that score if you are rooting for the Steelers is that they scored so fast and left the Steelers a LOT of time to respond. Of course the Steelers haven't been able to find the end zone yet and another field goal just won't do it. Pittsburgh needs seven here!

7:56 – That’s what I’m talking about! Big Ben started to find his old buddy Hines Ward and right down the field they went. With 2 members of the Packers starting secondary injured, the Steelers passing game seemingly becomes very dangerous especially if those 2 guys are out for the duration of the game. With a 32 minute halftime instead of a 15 minute one, that’s plenty of time for sore or mildly injured players to shake it off, take some painkillers, get a shot and jump back into the fray. While I am rooting for the Steelers, I’m also rooting for a close game that goes down to the end. With Pittsburgh doing what they did a moment ago that becomes a little more likely.

8:01- I've heard that Katy Perry song 5 times now during the first 2 hours of the Super Bowl whether it's in commercials, highlight packages or on the stadium PA. That's 3 more times than I had ever heard it in my life prior to 6pm. I'm not thrilled about this.

8:20- Black Eyed Peas with a little help from Usher and Slash, not bad at all although I think the audio coming through could have been better, anyway it sure beats the hell out of watching a 60-something year old 110 pound man in tight jeans strutting and gyrating his pelvis for 15 minutes. I didn’t realize they had so many hits until I recognized every song they did in their Super Bowl medley.

8:30- This is probably a good time to explain why I’m rooting for the Steelers. As the big game approached I didn’t really care who won. On one hand I used to date a Bears fan and the Bears and Packers are bitter rivals so I began to hate the Packers because she did. I know, cute. Even though she’s gone that dislike for the Pack is still in the back of my mind. With Pittsburgh I love their coach, Troy Polamalu, Mendenhall and Pittsburgh is a rust belt city like Buffalo. Unfortunately what Big Ben did in the offseason when he was investigated for sexual assault irked me and although he was not charged, he still served a 4 game suspension from the league under their personal conduct policy which leads me to believe he was involved in a borderline situation at best, which can’t be good. So I didn’t want some near rapist winning either. Now, Ben apologized and promised changes in his life which he’s been good on delivering since then but still. So I couldn’t decide. Then yesterday happened and a beautiful Steelers fan (at least for today) brought me a lovely Steelers cake. Being a guy who loves food and beauty, if a foxy female brings me food I could probably be made to do anything they want. So hear I am rooting for the Black and Yellow. Now that I’ve revealed my weakness… moving on

8:42- I love how the Steelers have not panicked despite being down by 11. They ran the ball heavily like they have plenty of time to chip away at that lead and they do. Now it’s a 4 point game and for the first time since the 1st quarter I feel like it’s anybody’s game.

8:49- Whatever adjustments the Steelers made at halftime are working great as the Packers look overmatched at the moment. There's still a lot of game left so that could change in a blink but the fact of the matter is the Packers led 21-3 and now the Steelers could take the lead with another touchdown. The Steelers need to take advantage of this tidal wave of momentum they've generated and the Packers need a big play to turn the tide. Yeah I plan to use a few more nautical inspired metaphors before the night is through.

9:01- What I didn't like as much about this Steelers drive is that they didn't run the ball much. They went for the haymaker, the big one, instead of continuing what was wildly successful a drive earlier and it cost them as they had to try a very long field goal with a kicker who hasn't made a straight kick all night and nearly missed an extra point earlier in the quarter. The miss gives the Packers the ball back in great field postiion and serves them the opportunity to take back the game on a silver platter. I say if the other team can't stop something you are doing, keep doing it until they can. The Steelers kind of abandoned the run and I think it was a bad decision.

9:08- Okay the Packers didn't make the Steelers pay and had to punt it back to them. My advice: give the ball to Mendenhall!

9:15- Packers coach Mike McCarthy figures they have 3 timeouts and Pittsburgh only has 1 left so why not blow one on a useless challenge that won't go the Packers way. The next 2 minutes while the referee reviews this is potty time! I'll come back and Green Bay will still be punting to the Steelers.

9:24- My give the ball to Mendenhall advice is not looking so good right now after that fumble. In my defense, those 2 guys blew their blocks and allowed him to get destroyed by the defense there. But a man can admit when he is wrong and I was wrong. This is why I’m not an NFL coach… that and my exorbitant salary demands.

9:31- That’s championship football. A team messes up and the other team makes them pay. This drive is where the quality of Aaron Rodgers came through and he’s making his candidacy for the game MVP award. He looked as steady and comfortable as a top surgeon at the operating table. Now Big Ben has to answer or its curtains for the Steel curtain.

9:42- Hines Ward = Mr. Dependable.

9:46- You know how I was talking about championship football a moment ago. Well when one team messes up the other team makes them pay, we’ve covered that. Another aspect of championship football is answering when the other team beats you up and scores. You get right up and score in kind. Pittsburgh came right back and answered the Packers score with one of their own and closed the gap to 3. In the last 5 minutes each team has demonstrated a characteristic of a championship football team, that’s probably why these 2 teams are the champions of their respective conferences. Who will be the champion of the whole league though? This has been a great game so far and the ending is looking like it will be just as great.

10:06- If you are a football fan and the Super Bowl comes down to the last minute, that a great game and this game lived up to the hype. The teams were almost equal and until that last Pittsburgh drive I had no idea who’d win. The bottom line is that the Packers made one or more big plays than the Steelers did and in a closely contested affair, that usually makes the difference. Congrats to Packers fans and my condolences to Steelers fans. At least you’ve won 2 in the last 6 years already.

10:20- My last post will cover the Best and Worst commercials, or at least in my opinion:

The Best:

-Bridgestone: A man avoids hitting a beaver in the middle of the road and then some time later the beaver returns the favor by chopping down a tree in front of the same man’s car making him hit the brakes before running into certain disaster a little further down the road.

-Star Wars car commercial: A Kid dressed as Darth Vader tries to use the force

-House: In a parody of the old Coca Cola Mean Joe Greene commercial, House “canes” a kid.

-NFL commercial featuring classic sitcoms: Very creative spot featuring classic tv characters wearing NFL gear, although Kramer was the only person wearing Bills gear. So the Bills get the crazy racist guy.

-Coke and Pepsi: The cola giants put out entertaining spots where I couldn’t predict what would happen and after each spot I felt thirsty… especially after the Pepsi ones.

The Worst:

-AT & T: Not a new commercial but one I can’t stand where the guy has the most obnoxious laugh I’ve ever heard as he gets the funny video before any of his co-workers in the car.

-Doritos: When co-workers attack! A guy loves Doritos so much he sucks the orange residue off his colleague’s fingers and pants.

-Bud Light: Once again Bud and Bud Light put out the most money and the worst commercials for the worst beer.

-E-Trade: Enough with the E-trade baby. It was funny the first time and that was 8 commercials ago. That baby is played and when the commercials come on I find it’s an excellent time to test the batteries on my remote control.

-Movie Trailers: I saw trailers for some of the worst looking movies during the game. I can’t even remember them all but some were sequels, some were remakes, others adaptations and the few seemingly original ideas I saw looked beyond bad (Cowboys & Aliens).

So there you have it. The Super Bowl through my eyes.