Author: lukiacostello

The Buffalo Bills are struggling in 2012.However, it’s not so much their 2-3 record that’s the problem, as that’s more or less what fans and pundits expected from Buffalo to this point.Though some thought (wrongly) that the Bills were capable of taking down the Jets in the opener, it wasn’t an assured victory by any stretch and losses to the Patriots and 49ers were just assumed.No, it’s not the games they’ve lost to this point, but the way those games have been lost.In those three losses, the Bills have just been terrible, completely overmatched and ending up looking like a…

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“Obviously, there’s something I’m not doing correctly with this football team in the second half.”The above words may have been spoken by Buffalo coach Chan Gailey, but they apply across the board for the Bills right now as they come off their 45-3 beating by the 49ers.When Buffalo went shopping for defense after such a poor showing in 2011, what they came up with was looked at early as potentially being one of the best in the NFL.The acquisition of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson was supposed to make the front four tops in getting at the quarterback, rookie Stephon…

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Coming into Week 5 of the NFL, Bills fans have quite a few questions about their franchise, but there seems to be none more pressing than, “Where’s Mario?”.Seen as a boon when he was signed to a $100 million contract in the offseason, Mario Williams has yet to perform up to expectations, those of both fans and the coaches.Although he has been defended by the Bills’ organization, including GM Buddy Nix, who said, “…the money he’s got he’s never going to live up to,” he also added, “Mario wants to play better and we expect him to.””Better” is an understatement.Granted,…

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Change is too often no more than a well-sold wish, a dream advertised as reality that quickly becomes unraveled in the light of day.In Buffalo right now, it is this idea, this false hope inherent in the basic notion of change that has Bills fan feeling so much less fanatical after their 52-28 spanking Sunday against the New England Patriots.The Bills sold the a fantastic product to Western New York this offseason, one that promised a 2012 season free from the fetters of a decade plus of failures and blunders. Ralph Wilson began handing out money like it was on…

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Batten down the hatches, Bills fans, ‘cuz it’s about to get stormy out there.After back-to-back wins, the Buffalo Bills now go into the painful part of their 2012, a stretch of six games that will really tell the tale of where the team is at in their progress towards relevancy.We’re talking four of the next six away from Western New York, including a two week West Coast trip to face the 49ers and Cardinals, both of whom look strong this season.There’s also a visit to the powerhouse Houston Texans to visit Mario’s old (and now hostile) stomping grounds, a home…

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After a string of disappointing games the last half of a decade, the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns actually put together a pretty solid game on Sunday.Though most will probably only hear that the NFL’s leading rusher, CJ Spiller, was temporary lost to a shoulder injury early in the game, there were several points of interest throughout. For two teams who have spent recent memory as ignored losers in the NFL (both Buffalo and Cleveland have each had only two winning seasons since 1999), this one turned out to be worthy of little more attention than normal.A potential blowout for…

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I know, it’s Cleveland hosting Buffalo; not exactly a recipe for excitement.Admit it, both these teams have been just terrible the last five years.Sure, in 2007 the 10-6 Browns were first in the AFC North, the same year Buffalo took second in the AFC East (though with a slightly less impressive 7-9 record), but conditions were near blizzard level when they met that year, resulting in a wretched 8-0 Cleveland victory.The following year, a season when both the Browns (4-12) and Bills (7-9) finished fourth in their respective divisions, the game turned out to be far more exciting than the…

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While the score of Buffalo’s opening day loss to the New York Jets was a resounding 48-28 against, at least the Bills can be content in knowing it was only one game.As for the loss of not one, but two offensive stars, well that could have a more lasting effect, one that will spill out of just this one game to become something more worrisome than the loss itself.As of Monday morning, the NFL injury report lists the names of both running back Fred Jackson and wide receiver David Nelson, both of them down with knee injuries that forced them…

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In the NFL, a hero saves the day for his team.And can single-handedly be the difference maker that pushes his team into the win column.On any given game day, a hero can come from either side of the ball, can surprise and shock even the most die-hard fans, making a game that is won by a team effort that much easier due to his individual performance.A zero, though, can usually find themselves being held accountable for losses, even the closest, most hard-fought of them (see Scott Norwood).Again, though success in football is a result of the work of the entire…

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Just like so many other people, I’m sure, I find public speaking excruciating. Generally speaking, I am neither shy nor nervous however, no matter how rational I maybe about the idea of public speaking, when set behind a podium, I become a complete mess. My breathing gets weird and my voice cracks; it’s terrible. I can only imagine what it takest to be a stand up comedian.Stand up comedy is akin to acting and other performing arts but, in many ways, it takes more guts. Actors don’t get heckled and they don’t typically play themselves. I dropped by Kristen Becker’s class…

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