Logo of an old National Hockey League franchise, the Brooklyn Americans. This franchise played as the Quebec Bulldogs and the Hamilton Tigers before locating in Brooklyn. The club played only one year in Brooklyn, however, finishing in last place. The team disbanded when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, as ownership expected its’ players to enlist in the service. There were plans to revive the franchise after World War II ended, but they never panned out.
What type of players do the Buffalo Sabres need to find to become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders? A look at this 1976 Opeechee hockey card of the Sabres’ season statistical leaders provides some hints. They could really use some guys who can score like the 2 of 3 members of the French Connection featured on the card, but how about a player like Danny Gare? How many players in the NHL today lead their team in goal-scoring (with 50 goals even) and also lead the team in penalty minutes? Here’s hoping they can keep the right “grinders” on the roster who are already there, and add some much-needed offense, preferably offensive players who play with a physical edge, as Gare did.
I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the NBA playoffs so far this year, but now they are starting to get interesting. The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were swept by Dallas in a shocking upset, and the Mavericks, who blew a 2-0 series lead in the Finals a few years ago and lost the title to Miami, now have put themselves front and center as a legitimate championship contender. The Mavs are now a more experienced team than when Miami stole the title from them, and they have been getting great contributions from their bench, which is always a plus in a long, physically draining series. Dallas will now face one of two up-and-coming young teams, either Oklahoma City or Memphis, in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the addition of big man Kendrick Perkins, were a chic pick to advance to the Finals, but Memphis’ upset of San Antonio in the opening round has propelled the Grizzlies into the picture as contenders, and they are giving Durant & Co. all they can handle. In the East, Chicago and Atlanta are battling in a pretty evenly-played series. The Bulls had the best record in the East in the regular season, but the Hawks seem determined to erase some of their past playoff shortcomings. The other Eastern series is one that I wish neither team would win, because I’m not a fan of either of them. The Miami Heat lead the series 2-1, but after LeBron James “took his talents to South Beach” and joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a Superstar Triumvirate, then proceeded to guarantee multiple championships, I joined the legions of fans who root against them. The problem is, in this series, their opponent is another team I’ve never been a fan of – the Boston Celtics. I should be a fan of them because they are one of the few teams in the NBA who play an old school style of game that emphazises team play and unselfishness, but I just roll my eyes at the antics of these guys. From Paul Pierce being carted off the court in a wheelchair a few years back, only to return to the court later in the game and lead them to a win, to Rajon Rondo dislocating his elbow on Sunday and returning to play with one arm and also helping them to a must win, these guys always seem to be writing these Hollywood ending scripts that seem to be just that – scripted and contrived. They are the Drama Queens of the NBA. My only hope for whoever wins this series is that they get buried by whoever wins the Chicago/Atlanta series.
Logo of the Florida Tuskers football team, which played in the United Football League for 2 seasons before moving to Virginia and becoming the Destroyers. The team was successful on the field, advancing to the UFL title game both years of their existence, but losing to the Las Vegas Locomotives both times. They were coached by Jim Haslett in their inaugural year, but he left to take an NFL defensive coordinator job and was replaced for the second season by Jay Gruden, brother of Jon Gruden. The team’s owner is former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann.
The details of this 1959 Topps football card of legendary NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden are right on the money. And, he was drafted by the Eagles and went to training camp with them, but a knee injury kept him from making the team, and he never actually had his own Topps card. This card is actually a fake, although it is a very impressive one, produced by a guy named Bob Lemke. Check out his blog for more details… http://boblemke.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-custom-creation-john-madden-football.html My only complaint with the card is that if Madden had really had a card, he certainly would’ve insisted on posing in the old “huckabuck” style of the day.
Shortly after the NFL draft every year, each team’s coach and/or general manager step in front of the cameras and pronounce “We got all the players we wanted”, or some version of this. In looking at the Buffalo Bills’ draft selections for 2011, it’s important to keep in mind that the process that began last season of rebuilding the club into a respectable NFL team was done in an unusual manner. The team’s “personality” at this point centers around players who aren’t superstars but worked their way to where they are the hard way – as low round draft picks and even undrafted free agents. Consider the key players on both offense and defense for the Bills – Ryan Fitzpatrick (low budget free agent signing from the Bengals), Fred Jackson (undrafted free agent), Stevie Johnson (7th round pick), Donald Jones and David Nelson (undrafted free agents), Kyle Williams (5th round pick), Arthur Moats (6th round pick), George Wilson and Bryan Scott (undrafted free agents). This being the case, we’ll evaluate the Bills’ picks with the idea that they all, regardless of which round they were picked in, have a legitimate opportunity to make the final roster.
1. Marcell Dareus – there was no question going into this draft that the Bills’ biggest need was adding youth, strength and speed to their front seven on defense, so this pick is a great one. As noted in a previous post, Dareus is capable of playing both tackle in a 4-3 scheme and end in a 3-4, so he’s a perfect fit for the Bills’ “hybrid” scheme. It’s encouraging that when he visited One Bills Drive after the draft to be introduced to the media, that he was really excited and wanted to go in and see the stadium.
2. Aaron Williams – cornerback from Texas who was rated by many as a first round talent. He’s a big, physical corner who tackles well (remember Antoine Winfield?). Incumbent starter Terrence McGee has had trouble staying on the field the last couple of years because of nagging injuries, Ashton Youboty and Drayton Florence likely won’t be back, so this was a need position.
3. Kelvin Sheppard – a hard-hitting linebacker from LSU, the Bills’ coaches fell in love with him when they coached him at the Senior Bowl. He’s an emotional player known at LSU for emotional speeches, learned the schemes quickly during Senior Bowl week practices and handled all the calls during the game. You have to love this post-draft comment from Sheppard: “I see we got big Marcell up in front of me now, so I’m going to try and get his big butt fired up so he can keep the linemen off of me.” That sounds like it could be another Darryl Talley/Bruce Smith type of relationship beginning.
4a. Da’Norris Searcy – defensive back from North Carolina who plays both safety spots and in his own words “plays with a linebacker mentality”. This choice may be a sign that Donte Whitner won’t be back. His strength is playing physical and supporting the run defense, but he has some ball skills too – he led his team with 4 interceptions last year despite missing 3 games.
4b. Chris Hairston – he was a 3 year starter at left tackle at Clemson, but the Bills will put him at right tackle. He blocked for C.J. Spiller during his career. He’s big and athletic and has long arms, which helps in pass blocking. He’ll have plenty of competition from the roster holdovers, but starting for 3 years at a major college against SEC competition will help him hold his own.
5. Johnny White – this pick was a head scratcher at first since he is a running back, which isn’t a need position for the Bills. But take a look at his history at North Carolina – he came in as a running back, was switched to cornerback, then back to running back, then, because of suspensions and injuries to other players, to wide receiver, then back to RB. Oh, and he was an outstanding special teams “gunner”, the position Steve Tasker basically invented during his time with the Bills. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay called him the most underrated running back in the draft. Because running back is an extremely injury-prone position in the NFL and because he can help on special teams, this could be a good pick, unless White turns out to be that annual guy who looks like a superstar in August, then gets cut. He does seem to fit in perfectly with the team’s “guys from nowhere” identity.
6. Chris White – from Mississippi State, another linebacker. He has a reputation for playing hard on every down. He also played for the South in the Senior Bowl, so the Bills’ coaches got a close-up look at him and must have liked him. He’ll likely have to make the team with special teams play.
7a. Justin Rogers – a cornerback from Richmond, not exactly a football powerhouse. One thing that stands out about his play in college is his great interception numbers. Hopefully that means he has good coverage skills and can catch the ball. He has NFL-caliber speed but lacks size. But, those numbers – 12 picks and 5 returned for touchdowns – jump out at you.
7b. Michael Jasper – Bills’ fans clamoring for more size on defense will love this pick. The guy weighed 440+ lbs. in college, but has “slimmed down” to 395 (see picture below). He played guard in college, at Bethel, but is projected as a nose tackle. At the combine, he ran a respectable 40 yard dash and showed great athletic ability for a man his size. You get the feeling this guy is going to be a fan favorite as he tries to make the team this summer. Another William “The Refrigerator” Perry maybe?
Some of the picks surely won’t make the team, and sometimes the ones who stick and the ones who get cut aren’t the expected ones. In any case, you have to give the Bills credit for trying to improve their defense in a big way.
Michael Jasper (69) had enough athletic ability to be a pulling guard at Bethel.
Logo of a team from the defunct American Basketball Association, the Miami Floridians. The franchise began as a charter member of the league in 1968 as the Minnesota Muskies, but relocated to Miami after one season. They played in Miami until 1972, making the ABA playoffs 3 of their 4 years of existence there, but never drew well at the box office. In the 1970 season, the team marketed itself as a “regional” franchise, playing home games in Tampa, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach as well as Miami, and were known as “The Floridians”. There weren’t many notable players in the team’s history, but they did have ball girls clad in bikinis and go-go boots, and at one time did what a lot of fans wish their home teams would do – they “fired” (traded or released) all of their players, and kept the coach.
1988 Fleer basketball card, from www.CheckOutMyCards.com , of former NBA point guard Kenny Smith. Smith played 11 seasons in the league with 6 different teams. Nicknamed “The Jet”, he helped the Houston Rockets win 2 NBA championships in the mid-1990s. Smith now works as an NBA analyst for TNT on the Emmy Award winning studio show Inside The NBA.
The annual NFL draft always amazes me. The league has become so popular now that their annual drafting session of college players is more of an event than other sports’ actual games. This year was a really intriguing one, as opinions of the potential draftees seemed to be all over the board. Auburn QB Cam Newton has been compared to JaMarcus Russell, the colossal bust of the Oakland Raiders, and been labeled a “one year wonder” as his overwhelmingly great national championship year at Auburn this year was his only one. Other scouting reports marvel at his size and athletic ability and call him a once in a lifetime talent. The Carolina Panthers sided with the latter reports and picked him #1 overall. As a supporter of the local team, the Buffalo Bills, I was hoping that they would add a playmaker to their defense, and felt that Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller would be that guy. But the Denver Broncos must have felt that way too, as they chose Miller with the second overall pick. That left Buffalo with Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus. My thoughts on him are this: There were 12 defensive linemen in total picked in Round One, so obviously this a draft deep in D-linemen. Basically all pre-draft scouting reports had Dareus rated as the top lineman, so the guy must be an honest-to-goodness player. Also, his scouting reports all call him “the most NFL-ready defensive lineman available”, so he should make an immediate impact with a defense that couldn’t stop the run last year. He is also considered a versatile player, equally comfortable playing inside at tackle in a 4-3 defense, where he provides run-stuffing ability and a terrific inside pass rush, or at end in a 3-4. Since the Bills have said their scheme on defense will likely be a “hybrid” of a 3-4 and 4-3 this year, Dareus looks like a great fit.
Some other thoughts about the first round: A couple of quarterbacks were surprise first round picks for different reasons. Jake Locker, who was considered to be the top pick of last year’s draft, but decided to stay in school, had a down year, and his draft stock fell considerably. He was thought to have fallen to the second round, then surprisingly was taken eighth overall by the Tennessee Titans. Christian Ponder of Florida State was thought to be a second or even third round pick, then had great pro day workouts, a terrific Senior Bowl and impressive team interviews, and jumped all the way to 12th, chosen by the Minnesota Vikings. The other thought is this – is there any doubt now that the NFL is a pass-happy and quarterback-driven league? Apparently the days of the O.J. Simpsons, Walter Paytons, Emmitt Smiths, Barry Sanders and Adrian Petersons is over. Only one running back, former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram of Alabama, was picked in Round One. Most teams use a running back by committee approach today, and being a copycat league, I’m sure a lot of teams watched Green Bay win the Super Bowl riding Aaron Rodgers’ arm and getting just enough running game contributions from an unknown like James Starks, to figure whatever RBs they have on their current rosters are good enough.
Logo of the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest pro league in that country. The Giants, one of Japan’s oldest franchises, are considered the “New York Yankees of Japan” as they are the most highly regarded and historic team. Former Mets’ manager Davey Johnson once managed the Giants, and Hideki Matsui played for them before signing with the Yankees. Their most famous player is Sadaharu Oh, the “Babe Ruth of Japan”, who hit an amazing 868 home runs in his 22 year career.
