***PetrinoInAlbany***

The reminiscing in an earlier post with Chandler#81 got me thinking ... What's your pick for the greatest catch you've ever seen by a Bills receiver? - For me it always comes down to these two ... - "The Catch" ... Bills - Lions, 1972, last game at the Rockpile, 21-21 tie in a game that had 6 TD passes ... Bob Chandler's TD catch ... there were quite a few years in Western New York where a Bills fan could say "the catch" and the other person knew which play you were talking about. The body rotation, body parallel to the ground, feet dragging the end line, three defenders on him TD catch on the bad throw by Dennis Shaw. It's been thirty-six years and "the catch" still ranks right up there ... If you're under forty, go ask your father. Chandler was the PAC-8 decathalon champ back when ... well, back when the PAC-10 was the PAC-8. His balance, body control, strength and speed all teamed up on that one play. - (RUNNER-UP) Bills - Raiders, AFC Championship, Bills win 51-3 ... James Lofton's ballerina-on-a-tightrope catch sprinting down the Bills sideline ... his feet were in bounds and his body was not, and somehow he did that for about seven strides ... The pass from Kelly looked overthrown and too far out of bounds to reach. Gravity caught up with James - eventually - and the play wasn't a scoring play, but it was a long gain on a third down pass. A lot of things went right for the Bills that afternoon, but Lofton's catch was a thing of beauty. You can have Swan; Lofton was the most graceful I ever saw.

Nope ... It was the starting OL for the final game at War Memorial Stadium. The greatest catch ever made by a Bills receiver also happened in that game. It was a TD catch where the Bills receiver did a 360-degree spin that ended with his body horizontal to the ground and his toes dragging the end line and, oh yeah, he had threeee guys on him. Three. Some ex-USC, long haired, PAC-8 decathalon champ ... guy named Chandler ... wore #81 ...

We need some fight on this team ... - - I'll be happy with Twelve Angry Men

You're a LONG time Bills fan if ... - --- I say "Foley, McKenzie, Freuhauff, Adams & Greene" and you know I'm not talking about a law firm. (BONUS TRIVIA QUESTION FOR THE OLD-TIMERS: That was the starting line for a significant game in Bills history. Which game and why was it significant?) - --- Someone asks you in a trivia challenge which team won the last game the Bills ever played at the Rockpile, and you smile and just let everyone else try to answer the trick question ... - --- You pull out the stub from the first Monday Night Game in Buffalo (V. KC, 1973) and you look at the price and realize "Wow, I pay TWICE that much today to PARK!" - --- You feel that even - perhaps even especially - in today's ESPN-on-your-phone-ten-live-feeds-on-your-dish world, it'd still be great to hear Rick Azar do the late sports ... - --- This one's personal but it carbon-dates me well ... You were the paper boy that would hand Tom Sestak his Courier Express as he was opening up Sestak & McGuires ... Yes, the Courier Express. - --- The first time you met O.J. was at a signing of his book The Education Of A Rich Rookie. - --- And, for God's sake, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the red standing buffalo! In fact, you think it's one of the coolest, most easily identifiable, classic icons in sports.

It goes back to the Bears - Eagles game and the snap that went through Griese's legs, and the "non-recovery" by the Eagles ... What is confusing so many people is that the phrase "direct snap" is often INCORRECTLY used to describe shotgun-formation snaps that go to a running back instead of to the QB ... In the NFL a "direct snap" occurs when the QB is UNDER CENTER. Understand that and you understand the rule change ... The OLD rule was that a direct snap NOT touched by the QB was a "false start". Under the new rule, if it happens, you have to protect the football. In the Bears-Eagles game, the Eagles wound up being 'penalized' (a fumble recovery taken away by the refs) for a Bears screw-up. Also, since it was a false start, the Eagles didn't have the option to decline it and keep the football. I like the change. The NFL rules have evolved so completely just in the 40 years I've been following it that there were very few incongruities left - and by that I mean situations where a team got penalized in a situation where they should be rewarded. This was one of the few remaining incongruities. I'm glad they fixed it ...

That was the worst call in Bills history. I am still upset, and it was thirty-five years ago. Bob James called for interference on the far side of the end zone, as far away from the play as a man could be. Take away the winning TD from the Bills AND give Miami a first-and-goal on the Bills 1 ... Nothing like letting the players decide the outcome, huh?

Heartbreak Ridge was a f'ing classic! "They didn't cheat. They adapted, overcame, and kicked ass!"

My favorite part was the blurb at the end about the drunk guy who accepted his buddies' challenge to go swimming in the croc-infested waters, then had to be saved by cops with rifles who shot the croc that inevitably went after him ... It happened in ... "Darwin National Park." Seems like this could be the first time someone wins a Darwin Award in their home park ...

Your signature reminded me ... Black 47 is playing the Bridgewater in Kingston ... April 5th ... tix are $20 at the box office. Doors open at five. I haven't seen 'em since the Killian's Fest at Altamont in 2006. I'll be there. Because, after all ... "I didn't come here to die ... but to fight for the rights of the working man!" Hope to see you there ...

Great, man! Moved down the Hudson for a promotion, and that's working out great. Tomorrow, I'm moving again, actually. But just two miles further down the Hudson to Beacon. Yeah, I know, you never heard of it. Across the Hudson from West Point. Renewed my season tix ... again. Now it's (yikes!) 800 miles round trip to HOME games. Maybe I AM crazy ... Great to see a familiar old Boarder in here, man! Hope life is treating you well ...

Best PLAYER? Definitely O.J. (four times) ... Best GUYS? Bobby Chandler (was nice as hell), Bob James (ditto), John Leypoldt (ditto), Butch Byrd (double-ditto), Mike Montler (neighbor), Jerry Butler (played hoops with us, humble, Christian, never acted like a guy who caught 4 TD passes in one NFL game), Dean "Superman" Cain (played touch football with us), Joe Dufek (same game of touch), Tom Sestak (neighbor, very nice man, I was his paper-boy as a kid), Ralph Wilson .... Yes, Ralph counts as a Bill! ... twice. Always stopped to talk, didn't act like he was rich. Ralph gets bonus points for being nice to Pop toward the end of his game-attending days when his health started to go. All that stuff you hear & read about him being a genuinely nice person isn't crap, it's true.

Petrino is Italian for Little Rock ... and Albany is a place I never thought I'd miss. But I do ...

If history had been written a little differently this spring ... If the Bills had selected Matt Leinart in the first round ... How many of us on that fateful afternoon would have yelled at the TV, "Morons!!! Idiots! They should've taken Whitner!!!" (*sigh*) It's gotten so bad that ESPN actually had a "news snippet" on SportCenter last night reporting that the Bills were NOT benching Losman. (*sigh*) You couldn't make this stuff up. It reminded me of the time a player held a press conference to declare that hew was NOT gay. If something not happening is "news," then there's something else going on... I am announcing in a televised news conference later today that I am NOT burning the remainder of my season tickets.

Were you referring to "The Mighty Quinn" by Manfred Mann and the Earth Band or Bobby Dylan? 815127[/snapback] Dylan, of course! How you doing, man? Haven't seen you since the opener. Since they lose every game I see this year (live OR TV) I want everyone to know that I am open to the idea of accepting cash renumerations in exchange for not watching/attending another game. Think about it, guys ... Eleven-and-five will probably get you a home playoff game. Start passing the hat!

Hope it isn't moved to prime time .... They can do that with critical match-ups with playoff implications, you know ... It's tough on people who travel in from out of town. If this gem of a match-up is deemed the 'game of the week' that week, it could be moved to Sunday night!!! Hey, I wonder if they'd ever do that for a game to decide who drafts Brady Quinn? ...

Glenn ... Oh, man ... I had no IDEA you were expecting the third ticket! Seriously ... the redhead & I had plans to attend this game together since August. When Harv got to the seats and told me the story I was shocked. (His way of telling it is funny ... HARV:"Glenn, I didn't know you were coming up..." GH: "What do you mean? I'm sitting with you guys!" HARV: "Um... I don't think so. Petrino's here with his girlfriend ... we drove out together..." When he got to the seats, I was totally blown away. I'm sorry abou the misunderstanding, man. Dude, I haven't heard from you in a while! For future trips, remember ... my M.O. is almost always to communicate with the person a few weeks before the game, then I almost ALWAYS mail them the ticket at least two weeks before the game. I always do that because then if I get sick/busted/die in a firey crash on the way to the game, whatever, then the other person isn't stuck waiting for me on game day without a ticket. Plus it prevents misunderstandings too... I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart if I was the cause of this misunderstanding in any way. I was VERY VERY happy to hear that Lori saved the day ... - Lori ... Thanks!!!!! Not only did he get in - thanks to you - but he got to sit next to a friend and someone who knows the game! Losman: 5 picks and 3 lost fumbles in the last THREE games. You aren't going anywhere with Elmer Fudd taking the snaps from center. Oh, well, at least Leinart finally had a game to show he's sometimes only human, so i can hold off the suicide for another week, I guess... - Bill from NYC ... Dude, when Harv said you were actually there I wanted to visit with you at 1/5. That was something I was looking forward to. But the Smurf seemed to be in need of a bathroom, so I took her to the Fieldhouse so she could use a decent one. We were later than usual to begin with. Once in there, with the lines and the crowds, all of a sudden it was time to start walking to Gate 9 ... I am sorry we didn't get to lament this season together. Hey, my season's worse than your this year. Reason, I have seen five games live, and we're 0-5 in those games. Family commitments (my Mom's 83, 'nuff said) made me miss the Miami and Vikings games. So the team I've seen this year hasn't won a damn game. (*sigh*) - All of you ... The best thing that can come of this season? Sing with me ... "Come on without ... Come on within ... You ain't seen nothin' like ... the Mighty Qinn!!!!!"

They do have ONE memorable line (with Walsh) ... I love it when the guy says "Coach, we have a twelve-pack and four ice-cold cans..." Walsh responds ... "Twelve and four is pretty good." It cracks me up because I remember the press conference from which they lifted the clip.

If I get a response and an apology, will you admit you're wrong? Just asking.

Hi, gorgeous! See you Sunday at the Ralph!

I can't top that one, man. Priceless. I hope you told as many people as you could about it. I think that customer service in most aspects of American industry has gone down the crapper in the last 10-15 years in general. But being told that they (a PHONE company) CAN'T make a long distance call?!?!? I would've burst a vein in my head on that one... You showed great restraint, my friend. Classic.

Classic.

Probably so. Hey, I just noticed your avatar and the quote underneath it. After dealing with cableVision, I can relate. What does the dish go for these days, anyway? My apartment apparently faces the right way, because all my neighbors on this side have them. I haven't checked in years, and I bet it's gone down some. Any recommendations on the best package/company to deal with?

So true. I didn't go ballistic until I was told that they'd be MAILING me the form to correct the address ... I was in a cranky mood to begin with because it wiped out a football weekend at home. (*sigh*) It's amazing what customer service has become these days, though ... you gotta' admit that.

Ever hear the story of "Yesterday" and it's original lyrics? McCartney claims the song came to him in a dream. So immediately he woke up and started playing it, but had no words for the vocal melody. So he went with - no joke ... "Ham and eggs... Baby, how I love your ham and eggs..."

I tried the adult approach and was rebuffed with incompetence. And the dish is definitely looking real good right now.