Lori

Chuck Pollock, the only print reporter still on the beat who covered Saban, weighs in with some "inside stuff." POLLOCK: Lou’s death stirs up the memories

Duke Preston's Last Stand.

Don't think anyone here claimed any different. Have a nice night.

Lies, damn lies, and statistics ... Yes, the Bills outgained the Pats in last year's season finale. They also failed to get inside the 20 until the final minute of the first half, blew a chance to score in the two-minute drill through sheer incompetence in clock management, gained a total of 13 yards with the wind in the third quarter, and never got past the NE 34-yard line in the entire second half. Think about that level of ineptitude for a second. Sixty minutes of gametime, THREE PLAYS inside the New England 20:

Worst ever? Ever ?!? Vince Ferragamo says hi ...

True, when it's in Detroit. Think we get the pleasure of hosting the Thursday-night getaway again this year, though.

Not so sure that was entirely arm strength. For instance, Reed's TD was a spectacular display of broken-field running. (Of course, the score was 35-0 at the time, too.) The number of long TD passes -- and the almost complete nonexistence of red-zone scores -- tells me that the team was incapable of sustaining any sort of consistent offense. I'm not quite calling the 50-yarders "lucky," but ... hmm, on second thought, maybe I am.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. ...sigh...

Probably not going to happen. The Buffalo-Detroit commute makes for a short, easy trip before the Labor Day weekend.

And wasn't the first game 20-3 deep into the fourth quarter, with the Bills scoring a garbage-time TD following a long kickoff return by McKelvin? Here's a stat for you: did you know that the Bills have not scored more than one offensive TD in a game vs. New England since the 2003 season opener? The gory details, with all TDs listed: 2003, Week 17: NE 31, BUF 0 2004, Week 4: NE 31, BUF 17 -- 98-yd KO return, 41-yd Bledsoe-to-Moulds pass, 1 FG 2004, Week 10: NE 29, BUF 6 -- 70-yd punt return (xp missed) 2005, Week 8: NE 21, BUF 16 -- 55-yd Holcomb-to-Moulds pass, 3 FG 2005, Week 14: NE 35, BUF 7 -- 51-yd Losman-to-Reed pass 2006, Week 1: NE 19, BUF 17 -- 5-yd Fletcher fumble return, 18-yd Thomas run, 1 FG 2006, Week 7: NE 28, BUF 6 -- 2 FG 2007, Week 3: NE 38, BUF 7 -- 8-yd Lynch run 2007, Week : NE 56, BUF 10 -- 47-yd Losman-to-Parrish pass, 1 FG 2008, Week 10: NE 20, BUF 10 -- 14-yd Edwards-to-Hardy pass, 1 FG 2008, Week 17: NE 13, BUF 0

Polian did not leave by his own choice. Add: Polian didn't go directly to the Colts, either. He spent a year working for the league before joining the expansion franchise in Carolina.

No biggie. Apparently, so did AP. (Kidding, John. Just kidding.) And I do have to admit that they probably wouldn't have led a story on the NFL's primetime preseason schedule with the HOF game if "The Original 81" wasn't involved -- probably would have seen either the Super Bowl rematch or the Cowboys' new stadium (or both) mentioned first.

And nobody else ever confirmed the Bills' alleged interest in Waters? Just checking, since this appeared in a story by Kansas City Star Chiefs beat writer Adam Teicher last week:

Haven't heard anything yet. Still says "at later date" over at the HOF site.

So the same Pat Moran who used to write (don't know if he still does) for BillsZone created his own blog on FoxSports.com, eh? Good to know. (And yeah, I might not consider that "employment." But that's just my opinion ...)

That declaration may well earn you a permanent pass for Hammer's Lot. (I've been told by a reliable source that Hammer is also a Don Julio fan ... )

You realize this was announced the day before the Super Bowl, shortly after the Hall of Fame class was named (and a full moth before they signed Owens), correct? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=82101

Nice stats. But without knowing who compiled them, I have no reason to believe them. And I'm not exactly a great Jason Peters fan.

The official statement from the Bills:

So long, Louisville ... (shredding multiple brackets)

Polian isn't a player, so he doesn't need to retire to become eligible. In fact, I'd say it's between him and Bennett for the next spot, in 2010. Straight from someone on the committee, several years ago: "(Ralph) would never let their personal differences keep Bill off the wall." But this is the wrong thread to jack with that discussion ...

A couple more links: If The Hat Fits, Wear It -- SI feature about "Much Traveled Lou Saban" from 1983 Longtime NFL, college coach Lou Saban dies at 87 -- longer AP obit featuring comments from Booker Edgerson. Nice addition, Mr. Wawrow.

Actually, Saban put Gilchrist on waivers after Gilchrist -- mad that the Bills were trying to pass instead of giving him the ball -- refused to re-enter a game against the Patriots. Some of the players didn't want him back, but they knew they needed him to win the 1964 AFL Championship. Although Kemp agreed with Saban's move, saying, "There has to be some responsibility for your actions," he played peacemaker by going to Gilchrist's house and talking him into apologizing to Saban and his teammates. From Jeff Miller's excellent book, Rockin' the Rockpile: And I haven't looked at the cookiegilchrist.com site lately, but at one point he called Wilson a "slave owner," so their reconciliation probably isn't near. As for Saban, Wilson allegedly never forgave him for walking out on the team the Friday before a game against the Colts in 1976. And yes, I have heard that one vote on the Wall committee counts for more than the rest. You can guess who that vote belongs to. But to whoever mentioned Polian, those circumstances were different. I fully expect to see his name on the Wall someday.

To answer the last couple of questions, the thread here was started at 10:15 Friday evening. Sounds like it was elsewhere on the Web slightly before that, but I'm not sure by how much. Most people were of the "oh no, I hope this isn't true" mind, with more than a few shots at the thread starter. Tim Graham was told by the Bills front office that it was "totally false," posting the news here at 10:58 p.m., with John Wawrow confirming (and shredding the original poster) shortly thereafter. And if I ever cross paths with the guy who did this, we WILL need an R.I.P. thread. Think that about covers it.

Sad news, but the guy packed a lot of living into those years -- he was still coaching well into his 80s. We should all be fortunate enough to do something we love for that long. R.I.P., Lou.