Archives for September 20, 2001

‘Citing their heroism, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson donated more than $130,000 worth of football tickets (3,300 tickets) to local police, fire and emergency medical technicians on Thursday.’

‘James has won the NFL rushing title in each of his two seasons in the NFL and is the second-best rushing-and-receiving threat in the league behind St. Louis’ Marshall Faulk. And he opened the 2001 season with a blast – gaining 135 yards in the Colts’ rout of the New York Jets.’

‘All game telecasts Sunday afternoon will open with a 60-second piece prepared by NFL Films recognizing the unprecedented events of the past week. The piece also will air in the stadiums. There also will be a moment of silence.’

‘And Buffalo.com, a Web portal operated by The Buffalo News, unplugged itself to avoid catching the virus and spreading it to users, officials said. The site was offline for most of Wednesday after being switched off Tuesday afternoon.’

‘"In our meeting (yesterday) we discussed, ‘If you were handed a hard hat, if you were handed a shovel, if you were handed a rope, would you take it?’ To a man, they said they would. We have been handed a football. That’s our job, that’s what we’re supposed to do."’

‘Bills coach Gregg Williams made it clear on Wednesday that it would behoove Johnson to pick up a few pointers from watching his counterpart Sunday afternoon. In fact, it won’t be the first time Manning will have served as a role model for Johnson. "We use as many examples as we can in our coaching and our teaching, and (Manning) is one of the examples that we’ve used with Rob," Williams said.’

‘"I have no concerns about it," Williams said. "It’s time to play, it’s time to travel, and Indianapolis is where we’re going."’

‘The Bills have worked free agent Kris Farris with the starting unit for some series in practice but Fina is still slated to start Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.’