Buftex

For the first time, since the early 70's, I am likely not going to be able to watch the Super Bowl, not live anyways. A co-worker of mine (the second since New Years Eve) passed away last weekend... he is a Canadian by birth, so his funeral is in Canada. For some odd reason (I am perplexed), they chose to have a memorial for him here, on Sunday, Feb. 5th, at 5:30pm. I'm really gonna miss the little Canuck. Luckily, for me, I am already taking the day after the Super Bowl off from work. Ever since the Bills were SB perennials, I have made the day after the "big" game a personal holiday. So I will be watching the game, late into the night...by myself. It will be odd...maybe I will cook up some wings, just for me!

I would absolutely love to see Ethan Albright come in to coach the long-snappers. That guy was all heart, he snapped like a warrior.

Just goes to show...crooks everywhere.

That was funny...Pomminville almost lost the puck, completely at the start of his run...nice shot though! I had to watch the New Jersey feed of the game, their announcers are insufferable Devil homers...when they showed the first 3 guys who would be taking the penalty shots, they gloated about how great the Devils lineup was for these things, and then, when they got to the Sabres, the announcer says "1-3 for Buffalo, not too bad...big drop off after that." I loved that Gerbe got the winner...

They don't pay the same tax rate, not the "same amount" in taxes. In my best Chef melodrama voice: "So you think it is funny to assault elderly women?"

You obviously don't hang out on the PPP very often!

Crazy as it sounds, I remember the 1993 Bills season, when the Bills were coming off their 3rd consecutive Super Bowl appearence...about halfway through the season, Bills were just racking up regular season wins, as I had grown accustomed to. Durig one of their beatdowns on another inferior oppenant, I remember saying to my buddy..."man, these blowouts are getting kind of dull...almost wish we could just skip the regular season and fast forward right to the Super Bowl"... god, I would love to feel that blase again, about the Bills success!

Or, it could be, as she said, she does know something. Don't forget she served on the ethics committee that investigated the Newt.

That is obviously a huge factor, but I think there might be a little something to the burnout factor as well. Remember, the Bills didn't sell out their wild-card playoff game, after the 1992 season. I hate all the Boston area teams, except the Celtics. But imagine, being a Boston area sports fan, like you are a Buffalo fan. Boston, I believe, has had an unprecedented 10 year stretch of pro sports success. Since 2001, look at the championship records of the 4 Boston/New England teams: 2002- Patriots win Super Bowl 2004- Patriots win Super Bowl, Red Sox win World Series 2005- Patriots win Super Bowl 2007- Red Sox win World Series 2008- Celtics win NBA title, Patriots lose Super Bowl 2010- Celtics lose in NBA finals 2011- Bruins win Stanley Cup 2012- Patriots in Super Bowl That is 7 out of 9 championship possibilities... a lot of time, and money commitment. As fleeting as success has been for our Bills, I would probably pay $2500 for a Super Bowl ticket, as much as I would hate having to. If I am a Boston fan, the novelty may not be so great.

They are amazingly consistent in this area.

Actually, Chef, I don't know if his opinion is different than mine. The OP claimed that he Thomas was taking a stand because he "hates Obama"...I was pointing out that he (Thomas) went out of his way to point out that his stance was non- partisan, but, rather, a stand on poltics as they stand right now. Then, the whack pack ran with it, and, as is typical, because he "spoke his mind", and they percieve that it is in line with their own opinion (ignoring Thomas's statement altogether) he is somehow now an exemplary American...simple as that. I don't have any problem with him, or anyone else, who doesn't want to visit the White House.

Nah...I am used to that...it is just one of those situations, you know, where you come to the realization of a truth, and you just have to shar it with everyone!

Ahh, yes Gary Hart...Donna Rice...Geraldine Ferraro (later on). I almost forgot about that. What made that one a little different, you knew, whoever got the nod was going to get slaughtered in the presidential election...nothing is so certain in 2012. I suspect, when the dust settles, Buddy Roemer will be the pachydermal presidential choice. Seriously...if I was voting for a Republican, I would seriously have to consider Rick Santorum, after this primary...I don't like the guy one bit, personally, but I think he is probably the one Republican candidate that you have a sense you know who you are votiing for. That isn't necessarily a bad thing.

That is some funny stuff! This is probably the most fascinating primary season, either party, than I can ever remember.

Exercising my right as an INDIVIDUAL to say that you guys are a bunch of !@#$s....sorry, DC Tom has already claimed the kinder "idiot". Do I smell a GOP run for Mr Thomas?

Yeah, I know, I know, I know...that has been said about 20 times. My point was, they change the replay rules inside 2 minutes, so, one would assume, there is no controversy about a game endig play, and coaches can't delay the games end for some sort of advantage. They are saying it wasn't reviewed, becasue it was incomplete. My point is, that is kind of silly, since, if the ruling on the field were reversed (the whole point of reviewing a play!!!) the result would have been a touchdown, which is a SCORING play! Not sure why that is so hard to comprehend. If this were a pass that would have resulted in a first down, or a gain of yards between the end zones, your logic would apply...

The Bruins wouldn't even make that trade!

It's a scoring play, if the call is overturned, after the review.

Funny, he went out of his way to point out that this was not a "statement" about the current occupant of the White House...but that is what you got out of it? Thomas is one of only 2 Americans on the Bruins team...politically, it has been said, he is more aligned with the Occupy Wall Street types...but you took out of it "he hates Obama"? If he had said the same thing, with a Republican in the house, I am sure many here would be telling him to "go back to Canada" "This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an individual. This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic.” That was funny, just at it would be funny if somebody threw a shoe at Obama. Also, that happened in another country... But, you are right...as a Bills fan, I loathe Nick Saban...but if you recall, he blew off GW while he was dining in the same resteraunt as the president, with his coaching staff, because they had to get back to "prepare for the Buffalo Bills".

I don't know, I don't buy that. They review every scoring play, allegedly. I don't recall it so much during the regular season (I watch the Bills games in a bar, so you get a bit more distracted), but I recall in pre-season games, even the most obvious, non-controversial touchdowns, they would review each one, and it would take forever to make it "official". It just seems really stupid (for lack of a better word) to review every play that is ruled a touchdown, but not to review plays that could be potential touchdowns, if they were reversed. And this particular play came in the final 2 minutes, a time-mark that the NFL places significance to, for other replay situations... I understand, it would be impractical to review every play, but the NFL claims it will review every scoring play. I think they got the call right yesterday (upon further review), but it wasn't that clear cut, without looking twice. It is just odd...they should review, or just get rid of instant replay altogether. We have seen much less ambiguous plays than this one, overturned.

I agree, and was saying so at the time...but now I hear, the reason that Cundiff had to rush on to the field: The rest of the kicking unit was out there, but Cundiff says (and verified by teammates) that the sticks on the sideline were indicating (incorrectly) that it was 3rd down...but the scoreboard said 4th...so, Cundiff is on the sideline "warming up" while the FG unit is waiting him for to take the field, time winding down... Cundiff thought there was one more play. It would seem that Harbaugh, or the special teams coach, or friggin' Cundiff himself, would have been screaming to call a timeout, when they realized he wasn't out there...what a monumental screw-up. All of the sudden, misplacing your helmet on the opening drive of the Super Bowl doesn't seem so stupid!

I hadn't really seen a replay until this morning...I think you are right. He catches the ball with one foot on the ground, but it is punched out of his hands before he gets the second foot down. I do think it should have been reviewed, however. The replay rules are fugged up. They only automatically review touchdown plays, but, since this "potential" touchdown play was not ruled a touchdown, they won't review it? That is just stupid. It's like the NFL saying "we want to make sure we get all the calls right, some of the time". Ultimately, they did get it right, I think. Also, haven't read this whole thread, so excuse me if it has been mentioned, but, why didn't Harbaugh call his last timeout on that final, potential, game tie field goal by Cundiff? Cundiff was rushing out there to line up for the field goal...the play clock was down to about 10 seconds when he finally got out there, and he really didn't seem to do the normal "self-check" you normally see kickers go through. I wonder if Harbaugh just didn't realize, or, if he didn't want to "ice" his own kicker, as has happened this season. I don't know, if I was him, I would have used that last time-out. That looked bad from the get-go. Too bad, it was an otherwise fine effort by the Ravens...

Yeah...I felt kind of bad for Evans...I wore my Bills, Lee Evans jersey during the game...I really wanted to see him and Whitner in the Super Bowl...I also thought it was odd that there wasn't any real discussion as to whether it was a catch or not. Anyways, two terrific football games. I have to say, I was really impressed with the 49ers and Giants defenses....it is great that defense is still a factor in some games...it has been a while. GO GIANTS!!!!!

Okie-doke!

Gleason is right. I am not normally one who rushes to the conclusion that coaches and/or GM's "need to be fired", but given the Sabres situation, a change is really needed at those levels...at the very least GM. Get rid of Darcy now, give your new GM time to evaluate the roster, and work the trade deadline. It is pretty obvious this team isn't going to the postseason this year. That gives the new GM time, too, to evaluate Lindy and his players working situation. What I like about what Gleason said (and something I have been saying for a while), is that the Sabres GM has always had this attitude that his methods shouldn't be questioned, he should be beyond reproach, because, after all, look at all the success the Sabres have had! Gleason mentions how Darcy, and other GM's would snicker at how little bang for their buck the Rangers have gotten over the years, overspending for talent...and here, Darcy, for the first time, maybe, has an open check-book, and puts together, perhaps (IMO) the worst "team" of his 15 year tenure in Buffalo. Forget the Briere and Drury debacles...what about the Tallinder and Lydman screw-ups? Those guys had their issues from time to time, but the Sabres have never looked worse, in my memory, in their own end. Last night, Miller played, maybe, his best game of the year, but, again, they just can't get goals when they need them. I will give them a little credit though, it is the first time in almost 2 months the Sabres didn't look like one of the very worst teams in the league. Not sure why that was. St Louis has been on fire this season...Sabres gave them a good effort...at least until they fell behind..at which point they started to wilt. Not sure if I should chalk the improved effort up to the Sabres having a pulse, however feint, or , maybe St Louis trying to coast a little bit early on, against an unfamiliar opponent.