Record Books

When it happened yesterday, I was fairly sure that the 98-yard touchdown connection from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Terrell Owens was a Buffalo Bills record. Turns out that I was right. The record for longest touchdown pass in Buffalo Bills history now belongs to a substitute QB and a player who will likely be a Buffalo Bill for only one season! 🙂

The best part was when I read the article today at BuffaloBills.com confirming that the play was indeed a record, they of course mentioned the previous record in the same sentence. Anyone want to take a guess?

Go ahead.

Kelly to Reed? Nope. Kelly to Lofton? Nope. Kelly to Beebe? Nope. How about Bledsoe to Peerless Price? Nope. Kemp to Dubenion? Nope. (Wow, you know your Bills history!)

The previous record for longest TD pass in franchise history was 95 yards and was accomplished by:

Todd Collins to Quinn Early.

So now, the top two longest plays read like this:

Longest Pass for a Touchdown:
98 – Ryan Fitzpatrick to Terrell Owens
95 – Todd Collins to Quinn Early

I’d almost guarantee you that in a few months (maybe even right now!) you could win some money with that trivia knowledge under your belt!

Breaking News: Dick Jauron is GONE!

Buffalo BillsI really can’t believe they did this! It should have been done long ago. That was obvious to most Bills fans. But I really can’t believe they actually pulled the trigger. Dick Jauron was “relieved of his coaching duties” today. Amazing.

Can’t wait to see what is next… it has to be better!!!

Short link to article here: http://tinyurl.com/nomorejauron

The Ultimate Showdown?

Could Super Bowl XLIV feature two undefeated teams??
It has been a dismal season for my favorite professional sports franchise. (It was actually kind of difficult to label them “professional” just now…) There are some reasons beyond likely their control (an insane amount of serious injuries to some of their best players) but overall they continue their bumbling ways. It will be surprising if they reach as high as 7 wins this year. (They have been 7-9 for the past three seasons in a row!)

So, I have mostly lost all interest in the NFL season due to their ineptitude. However, there is one potentially amazing story line that has my interest…

After coming from 17 points behind in their game Sunday night, the Colts remained undefeated at 9-0. It was a stunning turn of events (and the game featured two teams that are CLEARLY far superior to the team I watch every week…) culminating with Indianapolis preserving their so-far unblemished record.

A couple weeks ago, in the other conference, a similarly talented team posted their own incredible come-from-behind win as the New Orleans Saints defeated Miami 46-34, after being behind by 21 points! Incredible!!

Both teams do have a few tough games remaining, but so far it hasn’t seemed that anyone can actually finish 60 minutes with more points than them. Both have great QBs (with other fine supporting offensive players) and solid defenses that make big plays when needed.

And they are both in different conferences, which means they won’t play each other until a possible Super Bowl showdown.

Here are their remaining schedules:

Indianapolis
at Baltimore
at Houston
Tennessee
Denver
at Jacksonville
NY Jets
at Buffalo
New Orleans
at Tampa Bay
New England
at Washington
at Atlanta
Dallas
Tampa Bay
at Carolina

Obviously, going undefeated is always an almost impossible task, but New Orleans seems to have the tougher road to get there. Playing the Patriots, and playing four division games (against pretty tough opponents). Both teams finish on the road (but so far this season opposing teams are 3-1 in Buffalo, and that likely won’t improve much before their January 2nd contest there.)

It will be tough, but it’s definitely possible that this year’s Super Bowl could feature not just one but two undefeated teams playing for the Lombardi trophy, and the first 19-0 season!

That’s what I’m rooting for… Go Saints and Colts!

(Although, I’m pretty happy for my “other” home team, the Bengals. They’re having a pretty fun season, too. So, if either of those teams has already lost… I’m rooting for Cincinnati!) 🙂

UFL Football Begins With A … Bang?

JP Losman Las Vegas LocomotiveLast night I donned my JP Losman Buffalo Bills jersey (yes, I actually do have one thanks to my brother-in-law unloading it on me) in eager anticipation of the start of another football league. Certainly not expecting the same level of play as we see on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and the occasional Saturday in the NFL. However, the coaches of all four teams have quite recognizable names and many of the players do as well (to an avid NFL fan, I suppose).

As the game began, we were all excited to see if JP (a former player whom many Bills fans still root for, for some reason…) could have more success in this new “minor league” football league.

In short, I think the answer is no.

What we saw was the same JP. He gets spooked by the pass rush and leaves the pocket way too early (and quite chaotically) and he just missed throws. He was throwing high and/or behind for much of the night. He did throw two TD passes, and was an (on paper) mildly impressive 21-31 for 226 yards. But his receivers were definitely helping him out.

And what was the deal with everyone pronouncing his name “LOHS-min” (“los” like “close” as in, near by). Is he trying to get away from the “Loss”man baggage he acquired here? (Or, was it just minor league announcers? Although, it was fun that Doug Flutie, another former Bills fan favorite was doing the color commentary.)

In the end, thanks to sloppy play from the other team as well (dropped passes, poorly thrown balls, missed reads in the running game) the Las Vegas Locos (JP’s team) won 30-17. Not a bad debut. Catch the full recap from the AP here.

We’re still rooting for him… and glad for more football… but perhaps there is a reason that these guys aren’t playing in the NFL this year anywhere?

For more on the United Football League:
League Homepage: UFL-Football.com
Versus Coverage: versus.com

NHL Hockey is Back… with a QUADRUPLE-Header!

The 2009-2010 NHL season begins this Thursday, October 1st! We are looking forward to that here in the Campbell home. Our team (the Sabres) does not start until Saturday, but there will be plenty of hockey to watch before that!

I went to versus.com yesterday to see if they were carrying any opening night games, and was excited to see a double-header scheduled for Thursday night. Imagine my excitement when I kept reading!

Thursday
6:30 Capitals at Bruins
10:00 Sharks at Avalanche

Friday!
Noon Red Wings vs Blues (Helsinki, FIN)
3:00 Panthers vs Blackhawks (Stockholm, SWE)

Yes, folks, that’s right! A quadruple-header!! Awesome. Can’t wait.

Versus carries two or three NHL games per week during the season, but not usually four within 24 hours!

Enjoy!

Buffalo Bills Season Begins Tonight!

The Bills take on the Patriots in the first game of the Monday Night Football double-header tonight. The Bills had a lackluster preseason (that’s putting it nicely) and thus many Bills fans have given up on the team before they have even played a down!

I, of course, being a BIG Bills Fan have not, and spelled out some of the reasons why in an article I published today at my BleacherReport.com page. The title? Just Who Are The 2009 Buffalo Bills Anyway?

We’ll find out tonight, I think. I’m hoping they’re the really fun, high-scoring team they could be. I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic about that… mostly curious.

And excited that Bills football is here!

Go Bills!

(And if you’re a fellow Bills fan, or even just an NFL fan, do click the link to the Bleacher Report article. Don’t make me post it twice…) 😉

NFL Realignment?

This past week, the boys and I discovered a feature in Madden 08 that allows me to see my proposed divisional alignment for the NFL in “action”.

Using the “Franchise” feature, you can actually realign the divisions however you want to. I saw my golden opportunity to watch an NFL season unfold with rivalries like Buffalo-Cleveland, Buffalo-Pittsburgh, Baltimore-Washington, KC-St. Louis, and even Dallas-Houston.

Why wouldn’t divisions comprised of teams from cities that are actually in the same general region make more sense that a division where Miami and Buffalo are rivals, or the Dallas Cowboys play in the East, or St. Louis, Phoenix, and Seattle are all play each other twice?

I actually wrote a letter to Paul Tagliabue back when the league added Jacksonville and Carolina, suggesting to him that the old AFL and NFL allegiances were not as important as a division alignment that made geographical sense – and would create different (maybe better?) rivalries.

My favorite division is the Great Lakes division (or, I nick-named it the “Bus League”) which is home to Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Those cities are all really close to each other, meaning fans from every team could travel to all the away games! There is a sense of rivalry already on the rare occasions that Buffalo plays Cleveland… I’d imagine it would be the same if you throw Detroit in the mix, too.

Just for fun, here’s the list of what my NFL would look like with the current 32 teams in the league. Maybe some day we’ll get there…

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Northeast: Chicago, New England (Boston), NY Giants, NY Jets
Coastal: Baltimore, Carolina, Philadelphia, Washington
Southeast: Atlanta, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa Bay
Great Lakes (Midwest): Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Heartland (Midwest): Cincinnati, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Tennessee
South: Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis
North: Denver, Green Bay, Minnesota, Seattle
West Coast: Arizona, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco

Buffalo Bills Football is Almost Here!!

Serious, folks. It’s almost here. This Saturday, the Bills will begin their training camp practices, and two weeks from Sunday they will play their first pre-season game!! (We’re excited!)

They made the surprising move of retaining the popular-with-the-players, but mildly unsuccessful head coach Dick Jauron, but then followed that up with some very intriguing moves (and, I’d say popular with the fans) including dumping somewhat subversive LT Jason Peters (dude was trouble… even admitted to taking plays off because he wanted more money.) and two more offensive lineman that were underachieving. Then they brought in Terrell Owens, who, love him or hate him, he has certainly boosted local and national interest in our team. Plus, another pretty good group of rookies, a few key free agents…

On paper it looks like it will be a fun year. But, talk to me again in November 🙂

For now, I leave you with a series of articles leading up to the opening of training camp. The BuffaloBills.com lead journalist, Chris Brown, has been posting the top 25 questions going into 2009. (And a couple other contributers.) All good stuff, will help get you ready for BILLS FOOTBALL!!!

Go Bills!

(They have been releasing these in reverse numerical order, but I decided to switch them around. Will add links to the last three as they are posted.)

Top 25 Questions for Bills 2009 Season

1: Will O-line have enough time to jell?
2: Can Edwards handle added responsibility?
3: Do Bills have intimidation factor?
4: Will the Bills make the playoffs?
5: Who are the training camp sleepers?
6: Who will become a playmaker on special teams?
7: Can the Bills topple the Patriots?
8: Can Bills pass rush be reliable?
9: Will Lynch be fresher down the stretch?
10: Can Walker hold down LT?
11: Will Owens post double digit TDs?
12: Who will become a playmaker on offense?
13: Can Butler re-master right tackle?
14: How much will Sanders help the D-line?
15: Who will be the nickel CB?
16: Will Jackson see more touches?
17: How much will Owens help Evans?
18: Will Schobel return to form?
19: Who will be the strong side LB?
20: Can special teams still dominate?
21: Which rookies will start?
22: How often will no huddle be used?
23: Who becomes a playmaker on defense?
24: What will be the offensive pecking order?
25: Who will be the starting TE?

[See all BuffaloBills.com news articles]