1975 Topps basketball card of former NBA star Cazzie Russell. Russell played 12 seasons in the league and his most successful years were spent with the New York Knicks. He was chosen first overall in the NBA draft following a stellar college career at Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to the Final Four twice. Russell was with the Los Angeles Lakers at the time this card came out, but helped the Knicks beat the Lakers for the NBA title in 1970.
Over the course of New England’s 14 straight wins over the Bills there have been games when Tom Brady looked like he was involved in a non-contact 7-on-7 practice drill rather than a live game, and yesterday was one of those games. During the broadcast the announcers said that the Pats focused all week on themselves, and straightening out their own game after losing to the Jets last week, rather than worrying about the Bills. It’s unfortunate that Buffalo had to be scheduled to face Brady under those circumstances, because, like Peyton Manning, he is virtually unstoppable when he feels like his team is in a must-win scenario. One thing coach Chan Gailey and the Bills can feel good about is the decision to make a change at quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick clearly gave them the spark they needed, and the fact that he guided the offense to 23 points with the same exact players that Trent Edwards had is an indictment of Edwards. He is in his fourth NFL season now and is not a bonafide starting quarterback in the league. Fitzpatrick may not be the ultimate answer, and he did throw 2 costly interceptions that squelched any chance of a Bills’ comeback, but in the course of the game the Bills offense was alive. He distributed the ball well, as Lee Evans, Stevie Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Jonathan Stupar and C.J. Spiller all made plays in the passing game. Spiller returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and Marshawn Lynch ran well again, and the Bills, on offense, now have something they can build on. One thing that they need to work on is getting Fred Jackson a little more involved, but Fitzpatrick being the starter at least gives the fans hope that this team can start to string together a few wins and salvage this season.
The most disappointing thing about the loss to the Pats has to be the play of the defense. It was one of those games where they didn’t stop the run, got zero pressure on Brady and never seemed to have anybody covered in the secondary, although I still believe the team has some decent players back there, and the time Brady had to find his receivers was why the Pats offense made it look so easy. The switch to the 3-4 defensive scheme may have something to do with the Bills’ struggles on that side of the ball, but I think the team really just lacks playmakers. You would’ve thought that with the offense clicking like it did, that the defense would have risen to the occasion and at least slowed the Pats down enough to pull off the upset. But that’s why the Bills have been a losing operation for a decade. They find new and creative ways to lose every week. When a team is involved in a game like yesterday’s and needs the defense to make a play here and there to change the momentum, they turn to their studs that they drafted and invested in for just these types of situations. So, what high draft picks do the Bills have to turn to when they need a big play on defense? Mediocrities like Donte Whitner, Leodis McKelvin, John McCargo (who can’t even play his way onto the game-day active roster) and Aaron Maybin. These guys all have zero impact on the outcome of games. Even last year’s one defensive playmaker, safety Jairus Byrd, never seems to be in position to have a positive impact on the game. Granted, it’s a tough spot to be in when you’re still learning a new scheme and you have to face a highly-motivated Tom Brady, but so far, this new scheme has taken a defense that was one of the league’s best in creating turnovers last year, and produced one takeaway – a fumble recovery in yesterday’s game. They are just not an aggressive defense, and certainly not a physical one. The tackling was atrocious on Danny Woodhead’s touchdown run in the game, as they made Woodhead, a Jet reject and special teams player, look like Adrian Peterson.
All Bills’ fans can do now is focus on the positives – an offense that has a chance to score some points, and the play of Spiller – as they move on to the next challenge, a home contest against another tough division rival, the New York Jets.
This is the logo of one of minor league baseball’s more interestingly-named teams, the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Pacific Coast League. They are a AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The nickname is derived from an episode of The Simpsons where Homer goes on a hunger strike to try to keep the Springfield Isotopes, his local team, from moving to Albuquerque. When the team held a contest allowing fans to vote on the new team’s name, Isotopes got 67% of the votes, and won. The team is regularly one of baseball’s leaders in selling merchandise. Actually, the name has some relevance to its’ home, since New Mexico has a number of well-known scientific and military facilities dealing with nuclear technology, such as the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and the Waste Isolation Pilot Project in Carlsbad.
You just can’t beat good old 1970s baseball cards for a good laugh. This autographed 1975 Topps card of Oscar Gamble of the Cleveland Indians is a good example. Oscar’s baseball cap can barely contain his oversized Afro, which he was famous for during his playing career. That career lasted 17 seasons and he played for 7 different major league teams, including 2 different stints with the Yankees and White Sox. Gamble was nicknamed “The Big O” by broadcaster Phil Rizzuto during his time with the Yankees, and he once gave this famous quote when asked for advice about playing the game of baseball: “They don’t think it be like it is, but it do.”
Things were looking bad last week as the results from the 1 PM games came in and I had barely a plus-side rating with 5 games picked right and 4 wrong. But I wound up going 6-1 for the 4 PM, Sunday night and Monday night games and rebounded to go 11-5 for the week, bringing the two week tally to a respectable 21 right and 10 wrong. Here are the week 3 predictions:
Buffalo at New England – the unknown factor here is how much impact the QB change to Ryan Fitzpatrick will have on the impotent Bills’ offense. Probably not much, as the Patriots should be angry and focused after losing to the Jets. Add in the fact that they’ve won 13 in a row over the Bills and this game should be the easiest on the schedule to pick. Naturally, I’m going to pick the Bills to pull off a huge upset, basically on a hunch.
Tennessee at New York Giants – Chris Johnson should rebound from a poor performance last week to give the Titans a strong running game, but I like the Giants, also trying to rebound from an abysmal game, at home, in a low scoring game.
Cincinnati at Carolina – I’m still not sold on the Bengals, especially on the road, but it will take time for Jimmy Clausen to settle in and get comfortable in his new role as the Panthers’ starting QB, so I see a hard-fought Cincinnati win in this one.
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay – the Steelers are getting it done with defense and smoke and mirrors on offense so far, and I don’t see that changing this week, even though Tampa QB Josh Freeman has been impressive in the early going. Facing the Steeler defense will be a whole new experience for him, and not a pleasant one.
Cleveland at Baltimore – division rivalry game between the old Browns and the new Browns, and this should be a Baltimore victory as the Ravens focus to get back on track after losing in Cinci last week. If they are going to be serious Super Bowl contenders they can’t afford division losses 2 weeks in a row.
San Francisco at Kansas City – the 49ers are the better team in this matchup and should be confident after playing the defending champion Saints tough on Monday night, but I worry about their consistency. This is the perfect spot, a road game with a short preparation week, for a Niner letdown, but they are 0-2 and can’t afford too many more losses and should pull this game out.
Dallas at Houston – two teams going in opposite directions so far this season. This is going to be an epic struggle, as the Cowboys need this game badly but the Texans will be treating it like it’s a Super Bowl. Houston wins a shootout and Wade Phillips spends the week afterward answering questions about his job security.
Detroit at Minnesota – the Vikings have to win this game to keep from falling completely out of the NFC North race, so they will find a way to pull it out, although the Lions will keep it close.
Atlanta at New Orleans – the Falcons will be highly motivated to show that they can challenge New Orleans for supremacy in the NFC South, but the Saints have too much firepower on offense and started to get it together on Monday night, and will win this game.
Washington at St. Louis – the Redskins win a close game on the road as their defense schools Sam Bradford, and Donovan McNabb makes just enough plays to put this in the win column.
Philadelphia at Jacksonville – there’s no way Michael Vick stumbles now that he has the chance to keep the starting QB job. The Jaguars will show some pride after getting blasted in San Diego last week and keep it close, but Philly wins it with a big fourth quarter.
Indianapolis at Denver – Peyton Manning plays a methodical, move – the – chains style of game and the Colts win easily to stay close to the Texans in their division race.
Oakland at Arizona – the Raiders pull a mild surprise by winning a low scoring, hard fought game on the road. Darren McFadden continues to establish himself as a back to be taken seriously in the league, and Bruce Gradkowski plays his usual style, getting just enough done to get a win.
San Diego at Seattle – the Seahawks look like they are going to be inconsistent and unpredictable this year. They will play well in this game because they’re at home, but the Chargers will win.
New York Jets at Miami – Miami’s defense is impressive and will throttle Mark Sanchez and the Jet running game, while the Dolphin running game gets it done and keeps the team unbeaten and the surprise frontrunner in the AFC East.
Green Bay at Chicago – the NFL’s oldest rivalry, and the Bears opened some eyes by winning in Dallas last week, giving them lots of momentum going into this game. The Packers eventually need to figure out how they are going to replace Ryan Grant’s contributions in the running game. A lot of experts picked the Packers to reach the Super Bowl this year, and that talk will become louder as Aaron Rodgers leads them to a big win in this one, bringing the Bears back down to earth.
Logo of the Cincinnati Stingers hockey team, which played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 until 1979. The WHA, although most of their established teams were struggling financially, decided to expand in 1974 and the Stingers were one of the teams added. Their roster included several future NHL players, including Mark Messier, Robbie Ftorek, Mike Gartner, Paul Stewart and goaltender Mike Liut.
1972 Topps hockey card of former Montreal Canadien Guy Lafleur. In the 1970s the Canadiens, under coach Scott Bowman, enjoyed a return to their “Flying Frenchmen” glory years and won multiple Stanley Cups, and Lafleur was their poster boy. He was one of the last players to play without a helmet, and the sight of him flying down the ice with his long hair flowing behind him was a common one. He played on 5 Cup winners in Montreal, won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP twice, 3 Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer, and the 1977 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. “The Flower” was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
The Minnesota Twins became the first major league baseball team to clinch a berth in the post-season the other night when they came back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat Cleveland, 6-4, to wrap up the American League Central division crown. This is in sharp contrast to last year, when the Twins had to play an extra game, a one game playoff, with the Detroit Tigers, to sneak into the playoffs as the last team to make it. With their pitching staff depleted and no time to rest or regroup, the Twins went from the frying pan into the fire as they had to face the high-powered New York Yankees in the divisional round, and predictably, they were swept. This year manager Ron Gardenhire, who gets more more production from his low-key roster than any other manager in baseball, will have the luxury of setting up his pitching staff for the playoffs. Actually, it’s not like the Twins have a true ace, like a Roy Halladay or a C.C. Sabathia, at the top of their rotation. Their top starter this season is retread Carl Pavano, whose 17 wins are most on this club, which is the model franchise for any small market team that is looking to achieve success. The Twins have won the Central title 6 times in the last 9 years, despite not having big dollars to spend on free agents. The key is great scouting, an astute front office and Gardenhire. This club, once being considered for contraction by major league baseball, now has a new stadium, signed hometown hero Joe Mauer to a long term contract, and this season set a club record for attendance. Their roster is a good mix of young home grown players, good trade acquisitions and carefully-selected inexpensive free agents, like Pavano, Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson. The club lost one of their few high profile players, closer Joe Nathan, to injury but never missed a beat as Jon Rauch and Brian Fuentes, picked up from the Angels during the season, have combined for 45 saves. Amazingly, now that they have a post-season berth in hand, the Twins can finish with the best record in the American League and clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs, as the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays battle each other. No matter what, the road to the World Series this year for the Twins will likely again have to go through New York, but this time they’re better positioned for success.
Logo of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, one of the league’s most stable franchises during it’s 3 year existence. They consistently led or were near the top of the USFL in attendance, and their merchandise outsold that of the NFL’s Buccaneers. One of the Bandits’ minority owners was actor Burt Reynolds, and the team derived it’s nickname from Reynolds’ popular Smokey And The Bandit movies of that time. Steve Spurrier coached the Bandits for all 3 of their seasons, and their roster included Nate Newton and Gary Anderson, both of whom would later play in the NFL, and Larry Pfohl, better known as professional wrestler Lex Luger.
From www.CheckOutMyCards.com , a 1955 Bowman football card of Hall of Fame two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Landry. The card, obviously, is from his playing days as a defensive back with the New York Giants. Landry was a player-coach in his final 2 seasons, and became the chief defensive coach for the Giants after retiring. He introduced the now common 4-3 alignment during these years, and later during his 29 year career as Dallas Cowboys’ head coach, used the innovative “flex” defense, a variation of the 4-3 that gave the defensive players more freedom to track down ballcarriers. Landry was a war hero in World War II, completing 30 missions as a bomber co-pilot, including surviving a crash in Belgium when the plane ran out of fuel. His trademark as a coach was the fedora he wore on the sidelines and the many innovations, both on offense and defense, that he brought to the game. His playing career is often overlooked, but he was an all-pro in 1954 and finished with 32 interceptions in only 80 career games.