Spun

I stand corrected. You might think that a blizzard would help the Bills.

The Bills have lost 9 of the last 10 against the Patriots... I realize the Pats have three Super Bowl championships in that time but this "rivalry" is starting to look reminiscent of the Bills vs. the Dolphins during the '70s. As for the NFC, this is the first time since the 1985 season that the Bills didn't record a win against an NFC opponent. This is the first season that the Bills have gone 0-4 against the NFC. The 1985 team went 0-2 against the NFC. The writing is on the wall. If you haven't read Nick from England's recent post about his visit to Orchard Park, he gave hints that the Bills are due for a major shakeup. Team MVPs: Brian Moorman and Lee Evans.

Knowing you guys, this has probably appeared before but for those who have never seen these helmets, well, prepare yourselves... http://hometown.aol.com/bkbubco/60-Buf.html

The Sabres have played 31 games, they are 10-5-1 at home and 10-5 on the road. 17 of the 31 Sabres games have been decided by one goal, with the Sabres winning 11 of those 17. The Sabres finished the 2003-2004 season with 37 wins (out of 82) and 85 points. After 31 games so far this season, the Sabres have 20 wins and 41 points. The Sabres finished the 2003-2004 season as the ninth place team in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres are currently in fourth place in the conference (playoff eligible !!!). The cold reality is that the Sabres have an Ottawa problem (until further notice). The Sabres next game against the Senators is February 4th in Buffalo. The Sabres have five more games against the Senators (3 home, 2 away). I like the quick skating style as opposed to the old dump and whatever style. Martin Biron, stand up and be recognized. And is that rookie Thomas Vanek creeping up to fourth in team scoring with 21 points? Ovechkin has 34 points (18 goals) and Crosby has 31 points (13 goals). Next up for the Sabres is a away and home series with the Penguins who just fired their head coach. An attendance of 16,575 is getting better but still needs work. Get in there people and make some noise. Oh and by the way whomever was holding that "No Goal" sign at the game last night, you were highlighted on TSN (Canada) coverage. Nice work!!!

Here is a merchandise link via the Sabres homepage: http://shop.nhl.com/sabres/ I don't know about the current merchandise catalog but in past years the offerings were much more extensive than what was advertised via this link. E-mail the team: http://www.sabres.com/contactus.cfm Or call them toll free and ask them to connect you with the Sabres store and then ask them to send you a catalog: 1-888-GO-SABRES I recently bought a hat from an old catalog so older merchandise still is available.

Two interesting facts about the Sabres: 1) The leading scorer for the Sabres is Tim Connolly with 7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points. Connolly is 75th in NHL scoring (as of 12/09/05 - am). 2) The Sabres are fourth in the conference standings (the first eight get in the playoffs). Note that the Sabres have played more games than some of the other teams. Regardless, the progress is very nice. If anybody remembers that far back, in 2003-04, the Sabres had a very strong finish just falling behind Montreal in the playoff chase.

Biron's Goals Against Average is at it's highest point and his Save Percentage at it's lowest since 1995-96. Blame some of this on the "new NHL" with better scoring opportunities. However, I was surprised to find these stats as in a few of these recent games (Montreal) Biron has come up with some big saves. The bottom line is that the Sabres with Biron are doing quite well. I say keep and play both Biron and Miller until the two goalie system washes out, another team loses their starting goalie and a trade is necessary. That shouldn't take too long especially when considering that Miller is considered the heir apparent and Biron can clearly start on another team.

Losing Flozell Adams really hurt the Cowboy offensive line. How would the Bills do with Flozell Adams?

No need to apologize about starting a Sabres thread. The Sabres haven't been this well-rounded since who knows when. The Ducks were aggressively forechecking most of the game which was preventing the Sabres from stringing passes together. The Sabres finally found their short passing, speed game in the 3rd period and OT. For a while, I thought the Sabres weren't going to solve Giguere especially, after the Ducks got their second goal. The Sabres power play is reminiscent of the multiple passing and deliberate style of the old Soviet teams. It is nice to see Kotalik score as he seems to spend a lot of time in the penalty box. The Sabres should stick with Biron for the short term and ease Miller back into the lineup. The Sabres aren't great (yet). The Sabres are playing very good. Ottawa is still a notch or two ahead of the Sabres (and the rest of the league?). The Sabres have won eight more games than they have lost but they have only scored two more goals than they have given up. Part of that is attributable to the 21 - 5 margin in the three Ottawa games. But who am I to complain? The Sabres are 10 - 1 - 1 in their last twelve games. Six of those wins were by one goal. If you are in the Buffalo area, show up and support the Sabres. I wish I could but I have to settle for the sports bar.

You, my friend, you are a walking history book. On the plus side, the coaches and the management are trying to turn the page. The NFL can be a painful, unfair business. If you see a bunch of young players screwing up over the next few games, consider it preseason. This is when some of these young players are getting that highly valued "experience". I am trying to be positive now. There are some positives out there. War and losing seasons are never nice.

RIP Bud. You do have to be very good just to get an NFL gig. I remember the 42-0 drubbing that was Bud's last game. Nothing more he could do with that team. I also remember tossing the phone across the room after Ronnie Harmon dropped that pass that was right in his hands, in the end zone, that would have won the game and potentially, could have gotten the Bills into their first SB. What was worse? Norwood's miss or Harmon's drop. I say Harmon's drop only because it was a catchable pass and winning that game could have led to so much more. As for magnitude of importance, clearly Norwood's kick which was no gimme.

The Bills should have run the ball last Sunday. Then again, the Bills should of had an offensive line that made running the ball possible when they needed to run the ball. Kind of like getting a necessary stop on third down?

An over the back body slam into a wrestlers bridge! Outstanding work!

Ohio State gets a BCS bid based on their being fourth in the BCS rankings. So the at large BCS selection goes to either Oregon or Notre Dame. Oregon is ranked fifth in the BCS and has a 10 - 1 record. Oregon played only one team ranked in the top 25 of the most recent BCS rankings. That game was in Oregon, against top ranked USC with the Trojans winning 45 - 13. Notre Dame is ranked sixth in the BCS and has a 9 - 2 record. Notre Dame played two teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 of the BCS standings, winning at #20 Michigan by 17 - 10 and losing at home to USC 34 - 31. Ohio State is ranked fourth in the BCS and also has a 9 - 2 record. Ohio State played four teams currently ranked in the BCS top 25. OSU won at #20 Michigan 25 - 21 and beat #25 Iowa 31 - 6 in Columbus. The Buckeyes lost to #2 Texas 25 -22 in Columbus and also lost at #3 Penn State 17 - 10. By ignoring the economics of what schools do a better job traveling to bowl games and potential TV ratings, Notre Dame still appears to be more qualified to go up against Ohio State. Oregon and Notre Dame only had one mutual opponent which was USC. Notre Dame did lose to Michigan State 44 - 41 in South Bend. Oregon shouldn't be happy. The Fiesta Bowl and the other BCS games pay out $14 - 17 million. The Holiday Bowl pays out $2 million. Guess which one Oregon gets? The Holiday Bowl against 7 - 4 Oklahoma.

Ouch: "Five years and the O-line is still a mess. Five years and the defensive line can't stop the run. Five years, and Donahoe has turned a proud Bills franchise into the AFC's version of Arizona". An offensive line that would help produce some points and take the pressure off of the defense by making the time of possession a little more in the Bills favor would certainly be helpful.

Hmmm... With the proper writing anything can (still) happen...

Quite possibly Kate will have a story that makes her criminal past more acceptable kind of like Ana's story in last week's episode made her a little more palatable. Back stories = dirt!!!

Don't you have a local sports bar that can set you up with Sabres games? If not, you can listen to games over the web via the Sabres web site. It is a great time for hockey. Biron has been terrific. His glove was the difference against the Habs. Crosby and Ovechkin have been fun to watch. The NHL has an Ottawa problem. At least it isn't the Red Wings and the "Nordiques". The sooner the rich teams tank the better it is for the rest of the league. Even The Senators backup (Emery) had a shutout last night. I hope the attendance numbers go up for the Sabres. This is an exciting, young team.

Exactly.

No rap and no country is an improvement for me. For the most part, the halftime show is just a stroke for the corporate potato chip purveyors and their families that fill the seats at Super Bowls but can care less about who wins much less about who is playing. Seriously, the NFL marketing people try to maximize viewership by presenting itself as "entertainment". If they just played the game and canned much of the hype more people might watch.

If they are season ticket holders it shouldn't be too hard to inform security of an ongoing "problem" at a specific seat location. I had a group of falling down SD drunks next to me at the recent Charger's game who identified themselves as season ticket holders. They mentioned that they had changed their seats to the last row in recent years because they were getting too much stuff thrown at them. Usually, the talk bothers me but this time I was more bothered by what was going on on the field. Chants of 48-10 were the better of the belligerent, incoherent remarks. These guys were so asinine that even Charger fans were bothered by their antics. I am still tempted to let Charger security know of the location of these individuals but I sense they will get some with this Sunday's home game against the Raiders. Maturity has a lot to do with how one acts at the games. Look around and use common sense. If there are kids around, park the smack and just watch the game. Other than the Bills being pretty bad in recent years and the smaller Buffalo TV market, hasn't the past record of RWS overintoxication been a factor in why the Bills haven't hosted Monday Night Football (or Sunday) in quite a while? The kooks seem to come out for such events (remember the guy who climbed out on the wire?). I went to one MNF game at RWS where this guy was so ripped he couldn't pull up his trousers while showing his pride out on a exit ramp.

John Fina? Whoa there my friend. You were doing well until the JF reference. He was a turnstile.

The Canadian fans have been supporting Buffalo hockey since the days of the Bisons! And they are there for the Bills also. In fact, I met a guy from Ft. Erie at the San Diego pre-debacle! I do hope the Sabres beat the Habs for a change, after losing two 3-2 games. Alouettes in the Grey Coupe is a surprise! As for Les Bills, dig deep.

I don't trust Tagliabue. He is money representing money at the expense of the players and fans. I hope they give New Orleans a chance. My gut feeling is this is the type of opportunity that the league office and L.A. can capitalize on to get there long desired team in L.A. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AsF7...ov=ap&type=lgns

Bravo Jimbo! The weekend was a lot of fun!!! Thanks to you and your assistants for the generous efforts!!!