In 2002, the New England Patriots, big underdogs to “The Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams, upset the since re(re)located franchise in Super Bowl XXXVI behind relatively unheralded Quarterback Tom Brady and relatively unknown Head Coach Bill Belichick, launching the team’s dominance over the rest of the NFL that still continues. Seventeen years later (to the day), they will face each other again in Super Bowl LIII, with both Belichick and Brady (the only player still on either team’s Roster, still going strong (whereas Jared Goff was seven years old in 2002). This year, both teams got here in…
Author: Mark Lattman
Much like my two winners from last week, the Rams and the Saints, I started slowly each day as well but came on strong, losing both afternoon games before winning both evening games. But the losses weren’t close, and I made one rookie mistake – not checking the weather in KC – and another that I specifically warned against in my analysis of the game – trying to time the end, or at least the beginning of the end, of the Patriots almost two decade run of dominance, especially for a home game after a bye week. The Rookie mistake…
Although it’s another year without the Bills, last week’s opening round of the NFL Playoffs has left local viewers with a strong set of highly compelling teams and to watch this weekend. With the decline, but not yet fall, of the Patriots, along with the rise of the Rams, Chiefs, Saints and hard luck (seeding wise) Chargers, plus the under the radar streaking Colts and the defending champion Philadelphia (“Hey, we’re not dead yet”) Eagles, a solid case could be made for (almost) anyone left eventually being crowned champ (sorry, Cowboy fans, but I think you’re in trouble). Here is…
Although it’s a year without the Bills, last week’s opening round of the NFL Playoffs has left local viewers with a strong set of highly compelling teams and games – including one with a couple of local angles – to watch this weekend. With the decline, but not yet fall, of the Patriots, along with the rise of the Rams, Chiefs, Saints and hard luck (seeding wise) Chargers, plus the under the radar streaking Colts and the defending champion Philadelphia (“Hey, we’re not dead yet”) Eagles, a solid case could be made for (almost) anyone left eventually being crowned champ…
As the 25th ranked Buffalo Men’s Basketball team heads into its home game against Dartmouth this Wednesday, take a second or two…heck, take all week, to try and remember where (who?) you were the last time the Bulls were ranked in the Top 25. No? Well, as many of you know, that was a trick question, since the Bulls have never in their entire history been ranked before this week’s Associated Press (i.e. sportswriters) poll came out. For those following along this and last season, it will not be the biggest surprise: The men’s team got 13 votes in their…
The local college basketball scene really heated up last week with two #11 seeds from Western New York – the Syracuse Men and the University of Buffalo’s Women – pulling back to back upsets and advancing to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. And the biggest surprise of them all came from a third team, the Buffalo men, who were inspirational opening round winners as a #13 seed against #4 Arizona Wildcats, before they fell two days later to very young but very talented Kentucky. That loss by the Wildcats furthered the humiliation of the Pac-12, which…
BUFFALO BILLS (9-7, Sixth Seed AFC) vs. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (10-6, Third Seed AFC): Buffalo: First, let’s focus on the positive: The regular season is over, and the Bills are still playing. In fact, they come into the playoffs on a bit of a hot streak, having won 3 of their last 4, including a victory over Atlanta in Atlanta and a very close loss to the Carolina Panthers, two playoff teams from the very strong NFC South. Buffalo has also won 5 of their last 7. But with LeSean McCoy a game time decision and clearly not at 100% even…
As I write this, the Bills are 100-1 shots to win the Super Bowl – tied with the Tennessee Titans for worst chance – and yet harsh as that may seem, the only reactions from a Buffalo fan that make sense to me range from “Yes!” to “Hell Yes!”, depending on their personal demeanor. When you were riding the longest streak of not making the playoffs by ANY franchise in ALL FOUR major American sports leagues, there is little room for complaint or hurt feelings. Seriously, think about it; seemingly All-Time perennial loser franchises like the San Diego Padres, the…
The last time we had a match-up of two 100 game winners in the World Series – 1970, Orioles (108-54) Vs. The Reds (102-60) – Richard Nixon was President, Viet Nam (but not Watergate) was in the Headlines, gas cost 36 Cents a gallon and MASH was a top box office movie that no one expected to become one of the longest running and most successful TV shows ever. It was the first World Series to have an African-American Umpire, the first to have a game on Artificial Turf, and all the games were played in the daytime. So, it’s…
Considering how classic an L.A. Dodgers/Chicago Cubs playoff matchup sounds, it’s surprising how few times it’s happened. Well, surprising until five seconds later, when you think about the Cubs history. But after last year’s World Series win, the idea of the Cubs as Loveable Losers truly is history, except for the loveable part. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are less loveable, despite their own now rather long run of playoff and World Series futility. This is mostly because their big stars are unknown, aloof or obnoxious, and their Manager (who is not one of their stars) has Media Issues.…