THIS is the Shea Stadium that I remember as a young lad.

With all due respect I have for that other New York baseball stadium. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Shea Stadium today.

For me personally, it is where I saw my first major league game as a wide eyed seven year old. The house was packed on that day(Jacket day promo, I believe) and I remember that because we were sitting in the very top row of Shea. I could turn around and see the parking lot through the wire fencing atop the facility.

I went a few more times(about ten or so) through the years as Shea went through changes. I still remember when that giant scoreboard ad was a giant message board. Remember the exterior with the old red and blue panels. When the “Big Apple” beyond the center field fence was a brand new cool thing. And that Jumbotron in left was once a breakthrough in technology as well. What? A videoboard at a stadium….in color….get out???

Yeah, I’m dating myself. I know. But while all the hype is going to that hyperbolic venue in the Bronx, it’s easy to forget that Shea too, was the home of some incredible memories. Even for us in Buffalo…..

Where did Buckner let the ball roll through his legs? Yep…

Where did OJ Simpson become the only NFL back to rush for two thousand yards in a fourteen game season? Uh-huh.

Where did the greatest underdog story in American (pro)sports history occur? You bet!

Who didn’t love Robin Ventura’s grand slam(single) in the fifteenth inning in deluge in ‘99.

For an offbeat moment….does anyone remember the guy that flew into a World Series game on a parachute with a “Let’s Go Mets” flag. I sure do. Hillarious!

Where a black cat may have assisted the Mets in their 1969 run to the playoffs.

Todd Pratt’s NLDS winning home run in 1999…..Mike Piazza’s home run in the first game after 9/11. The “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets of 1973….a mediocre team that nearly won the whole thing.

Ahhh, yes 1973…the year that that (alleged) double murderer slashed and dashed across a football field in a season like no other for a running back. And speaking of Bills players named Simpson. What about Bill Simpson’s game sealing interception at the goal line in a 1981 playoff game at Shea? The interception stalled an incredible Jets rally as they had come to within four points of the Bills after trailing 24-0 at one point.

And Endy Chavez’ catch in Game 7 of the ‘06 NLCS…..what should have gone on to become the greatest catch EVER(had the Mets won the game)

Could go on and on….It’s tough to say goodbye to an old friend.

Here’s to a Mets win today and a stay of execution for a couple of weeks.

-pjf

Sabres Red Carpet event 2008?? Nah, try Elmira Jackals(ECHL) Red Carpet event 2006!

No, there are no former Elmira Jackals on the Sabres roster this season, and there may never be any unless the ECHL Jackals ever affiliate with the Sabres.

But if you were outside HSBC Arena at about five o’clock or so you witnessed limos outside the arena filled with Sabres players dressed to the nines in formal wear and in Hollywood premiere style step out onto the red carpet to the arena.

A nice idea, a great concept to start the season I must say. And one that has been done for the past two years or so in Mark Twain Country prior to the Jackals home opener.

Should I be happy that they copied from The Greatestest Hockey Team EVER!, thinking that imitiation is the sincerest form of flattery? Or should I be disgusted that they stooped down to pull a minor league promo stunt, and hope that the Sabres won’t be painting the ice with a pink tint featuring heart shaped faceoff circles come February.

Hey, if the fans liked it. It must be good.

-pjf

Hockey is back.

The Buffalo Sabres opened their home preseason schedule at HSBC Arena, and wow what a finish. The Sabres netted two goals in the final two and a half minutes to force a tie, then Ales Kotalik netted the game winner in OT, sending many of the announced crowd of 14,629 happy, and for the Toronto fans, a dress rehearsal for the tried and true formula — “Welcome to Buffalo… Pack our restaurants, fill our hotels, spend your pretty multi colored money, paint your faces blue and white, wave your silly tin foil Stanley Cups, and at the end of the night? The long somber ride back up the QEW.” Heh heh.

It was Craig Rivet’s first game in a Sabres uniform, and he showed the flashes of leadership that this team expects of him, putting a beatdown on Ryan Hollweg in the first period, and making solid plays and hits all night. “I really hated to come here and play against these guys as an opposing player” said Rivet after the game. “It was always so intimidating to be in this building with these fans and these guys.” Rivet admitted that he was as surprised as anybody in the chain of events that led to his coming to Buffalo, as his mindset was that San Jose would be his home for a while. But he and his family have settled in nicely to WNY life.

And how about Max Afinogenov! Three assists, looking like the Max of two years ago, and he was showcased on the top line with Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek all night long.

Being back at HSBC Arena was all good, although Pete kept saying that he still wasn’t mentally ready for all this just yet. Our season creds were ready for pickup, which was nice because usually they aren’t available until opening night, and since October 10 might clash with our upcoming road trip to Indianapolis, nice to get these puppies in our hands.

Last night we parked ourselves in the clubs, and spent a lot of time just walking the arena to get a feel for the building, what’s new and stuff. Some random observations in no particular order…

-The 200 Harbour Club renovations are really nice. Basically they imploded the party suite in one corner, created a new walking area and bar stations, added standing room drink rails along the entire periphery, and created reserved tabletop viewing right along the rail. Traffic patterns and roominess is much improved, and the whole area has a fresh new look.

-We bumped into Mike Gilbert and asked him if the official attendance capacity will be raised from 18,690, since more seats were added in the 200s with the new table seating. He said no.

-Gotta love the Winter Classic murals in the pavilion. Speaking of which, they showed a great trailer twice on the video board promoting the Winter Classic DVD, on sale for $10. Just seeing all those great scenes and clips, done to a great musical backdrop, gave us chills. What an awesome events that was! Yeah gotta get me that DVD.

-New scoreboard and ribbon board graphics are uber cool. The classic Sabres logo, done to the darker blue hues, take up the entire center ice face off circle. Very nice.

-Military guys in desert wearing military khakis, brandishing rifles and waving Sabres flag drew the usual crowd orgasm during the Sabres fans pics segment. Yawn! … But one cool pic bears mentioning. A crowd of firemen displaying the Sabres colors, standing in front of a burning building, likely taken at the county’s Fire Training Academy. Also got the big cheer.

-Oops. Another photo segment on the video board showed fans outside the building earlier that evening, who took part in the Party In the Plaza and the team’s red carpet walk. One fan was holding a sign that read “Blow Leafs Blow”. Yeah we all saw it!

-Considering this game wasn’t part of the season ticket package, 14K plus was a great crowd!

-Changes to the Sabres staff - Brian Wheeler, former Bandits media guy and more recently the team’s Web Content Coordinator, has left the team for a position at New Era. Erin Molina, who worked with the intern crew and is very capable, takes Brian’s place. Best of luck to “Wheels” who is a really great guy. And best of luck to the Sabres with their new expanded web platform and “Sabres TV”. We spotted a good number of familiar faces who also man the Bisons events crew, and they were all over the place fllming and interviewing and doing their thing.

Sabres do another preseason game tonight at the arena against the Minnesota Wild. (We won’t be there). October 10 and the opener will be here sooner than you think!

We were both at Monday’s big press conference at Dunn Tire Park to usher in the New York Mets era.

This week, it’s “Meet The Mets!” for this edition of Play Ball.

Check it out!

Now it’s official.

The Buffalo Bisons have signed a two year affiliation agreement with the New York Mets to be their AAA affiliate. The announcement was made at a press conference this morning that turned out to be a star studded affair of political leaders, civic luminaries, officials from the Mets and the Bisons, ballplayers and representatives from city public schools and a full compliment of media people who packed Pettibone’s Grill to its seams.

On hand to herald the announcement was none other than New York State Governor David Paterson, who arrived with his entourage in a jet black limo and accompanying security vehicles, all under the watchful eye of state troopers guarding the entrance to the ballpark. Other luminaries included Mayor Byron Brown, County Executive Chris Collins, Erie County Legislature Chairman Lynn Marinelli and State Senator William Stachowski. School Superintendent James Williams accepted a $25,000 check from the New York Mets which will be earmarked towards the baseball program in Buffalo’s public schools.

Representing the Mets was Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon, General Manager Omar Minaya and Director of Minor League Operations Adam Wogan.

The arrival of the Mets to Buffalo capped a chaotic week where the Syracuse Chiefs ended up as the big loser in an attempt to lure the Mets to their city, following their breakup with the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal breaker, according to Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon, was the Chief’s refusal to cede control of the franchise to outside interests. “We’ve been looking to buy a AAA team for quite a while now” Wilpon explained. “We made an offer for controlling interest of the Chiefs, which they refused to listen to. Those conversations were then followed by an offer to sell a minority interest in their team to us, but we really were not interested in that, and by then it was too late anyway.”

Wilpon said that stable ownership in Buffalo is what made the difference in favor of the Bisons. “We recognize that Buffalo has such a strong ownership group and solid management team in place. By the middle of the day on Thursday (the first day that teams could negotiate affiliation agreements) we realized that this was a no brainer and that we would be coming to Buffalo.”

Governor Paterson drew a hearty laugh when we said “What scares me most right now is not the state budget, not AIG, not the Federal Reserve. It’s the Mets bullpen.” Paterson lauded the Mets efforts to position its minor league affiliates throughout New York State. The AA affiliate is located in Binghamton, while their short season A affiliate plays in Brooklyn.

Following the news conference, media representatives, dignitaries and team officials were invited down to the field for photo opportunities and one on one interviews. With a “Welcome New York Mets” message on the scoreboard, the snappy “Meet the Mets” jingle playing on the PA system and a crisp and beautiful WNY fall day, it all made for a perfect backdrop to usher in a new era in Bisons baseball.

Bisons PR Director Brad Bisbing was passing out press kits with a new blue masthead on the letterhead, and Bisons President Jon Dandes stated that the team would be reconfiguring the Bisons logo and colors, with a strong likelihood that the Mets blue and orange will play a part in the new look.

So just to recap the musical chairs in AAA - the New York Mets, of course, come to Buffalo. Cleveland goes to Columbus; Washington goes to Syracuse; Los Angeles goes to Albuquerque; Florida goes to New Orleans. The big loser here? TORONTO! They end up affiliated with the Las Vegas 51s. At least there are non stop flights from Toronto/Pearson for players going up and down, although that’s a far cry from the 90 minute drive to Buffalo had they been able to land the Bisons.

This will be the Bisons’s fourth AAA affiliation in the modern era, following stints with the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians.

I won’t rub it in to our European fans too much about the Ryder Cup….not much anyway.:)

So I get a text from our pal Chris Boyes from Wakefield, UK this week updating me on the progress of his beloved Wolves football club. Like the Bills, Wolves are also off to a undefeated start and sit atop the Championship table and are looking to return to the English Premier League for only the second time in nearly a quarter century. This past weekend featured a stern test for them as Wolves hit the road to face third place Preston…..

Wolves 3, Preston 1 and it wasn’t that close. Striker Chris Iwelumo recorded an unusual type of hat trick(yeah, they all are in soccer. There, beat you to it!) racking up three goals and a red card. Sounds like soccer’s version of a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Like over here, it’s early and there’s a long way to go. And maybe the reward of having the right to get hammered by the likes of belong in the same league as Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and such isn’t the same as being in the NFL Playoffs or going to the Super Bowl. But for longtime fans of Wolves who can recall the glory days of being a dominant Premier League club, a chance…any chance to get back to where they feel they rightfully belong is a huge plus.

As I have for the past few years….I’ll be watching!

-pjf

I love coming to the Ralph. What can I say?

For some reason, I look past the heavy intoxication of the fans, the crappy way that they treat opposing teams fans, the constant sight of security intervening in out of control affairs…everything. And I just watch the game as if no one was around me, realizing how fortunate I am to be able to live in one of thirty or so areas in this country which has the highest level of football on the planet. Pretty cool, eh?

Today I took Andrew along with me to the Ralph and met up with Peter Sharp and his friend Paul from Canada, we’ve met “Sharpie” through our occasional meetups with fellow road trip pal Sean McDonald Being gracious hosts that we were we introduced them to the world of roast beef on weck, and they responded in kind by providing authentic Canadian brews for our little shindig.

On to the game. I had some interesting conversations with the family(fellow Bills fans) in the days preceding, and they all came to the same conclusion about it.

” Classic trap game, they better be careful”. I winced, realized it had all the makings, and hoped they’d be wrong. They weren’t.

In the first half, the Bills were sloppy on O. Dropped passes, wasted opportunities for points, and Jason Peters doing his best imitation of a matador added up to a halftime deficit for the Bills. In the second half it was topped off by Roscoe Parrish’s absolutely boneheaded decision to field a punt at the goal line which set off a chain of events that led to a Raider TD that put the game in their control. Parrish was probably thinking of his press clippings about how awesome’s he’s been at that moment.

The Bills O finally seemed to come to life at this point, and a TD narrowed the gap. But a big play TD for Oakland shortly thereafter should have put the game away for the Raiders. And in past years it would have.

But not this year, it was all Bills from there on out. A touchdown, a defensive stop, and a field goal as time ran out gave the Bills a dramatic 24-23 win. The type of win that sooooo many other teams have hung on the Bills in past seasons.

Other stuff of note.

If Lane Kiffin hasn’t been fired for his lack of rapport with Al Davis, he should be gone for not making any attempt to stop the clock in the final minute. Force the Bills to run a couple more plays, maybe the Raider D holds and they get time for a last shot. Nah…

Nice to see the Greatest Bill of All Time(sez me!) finally get his name on the Wall. Don’t know what the rules are as far as eligibility, but the fact that his name didn’t up immediately after his NFL retirement is a damn travesty.

Jason Peters better get back in game shape, quickly. He was a disgrace early on.

I love Trent Edwards, but he has GOT to start performing in wet weather. Fortunately for him the next two games should be indoors(St. L, Ariz).

Go ahead, repeat to yourselves……Your AFC EAST LEADING Buffalo Bills!!! Sounds pretty damned good. Doesn’t it

Larry, Tom and Darcy talk to the media

Thousands, and I mean thousands, of hockey fans descended on HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo today for “Puck Drop”, a kick off event to mark the official start of training camp for the 2008-09 season.

There was just so much going on today it was just amazing — the streets outside were humming with activity. On the plaza a band was playing music, vendors were hawking their wares, food and drink was available, children’s activities and rides, and the streets were set up for street hockey, complete with bales of hay serving as the side boards.

Inside it was more of the same - a spirited scrimmage was going on between two Sabres squads (Mark Mancari claimed bragging rights with two goals) before a crowd of about 5000 noisy and boisterous fans. Following the scrimmage the team unveiled their new third jerseys to the delight of the crowd, and each player was introduced to the crowd complete with a smoke and light show. Fans cued up in lines in several locations throughout the arena to snag their favorite player’s autograph. At the Sabres store, they were doing a brisk business, as well as at the ticket windows, where single tickets went on sale to the general public.

Taking part in an event like this, how can one not feel excited about the start of the new season?

Down in the media room, Sabres owner Tom Golisano held his first news conference in about 10 years (or so it seems anyway). Flanked by Larry Quinn and GM Darcy Regier, here are some of the talking points:

-Darcy Regier has been given a two year contract extension, meaning he will be with the team for the next three seasons.

-Golisano announced that both Larry Quinn and Dan DiPofi have been given equity ownership in the team, but refused to divulge the specifics of their stake.

-Golisano unequivocally stated that he is not selling the team and is planning to keep things as is. When asked why he hasn’t been seen around very much, he stated that he is busy with his seven companies, including Paychex, where he serves as Chairman of the Board, but that he sees every game either in person or on TV, and communicates on a daily basis with Larry Quinn as to the going on with the team.

-Quinn announced some substantial physical changes to the club level, including elimination of a party suite, better traffic access in the Harbour Club, addition of 85 new seats and standing room viewing areas. “All told, we have made $11 million in capital improvements to the arena since taking over” said Quinn.

-One annoying reporter (I think he was from WBEN radio) was going on and on with his psychobabble about Responsible NY, Tom Golisano’s political action committee which has come under fire for the tone of some of its political ads. To his credit, Golisano took on all the politics related questions and held his ground. I was surprised that Mike Gilbert didn’t cut off this douchebag, who even had the gall to ask Golisano if his portfolio took a hit with the recent stock market meltdown. But give the Sabres front office credit — it was the first news conference like this in a long time and was pretty free wheeling.

I got my question in, and it regarded the Aud demolition. I asked Larry Quinn if there is any plan to salvage some Aud artifacts, including the old scoreboard, for future use or even display at the arena. Said Quinn, “Next year is the 40th anniversary of the Sabres, and one of the brief discussions I had with the Hockey Hall of Fame is what items we could remove from the Aud to install in both a permanent traveling collection that could be displayed here and at the Hall itself. We can talk about part of the scoreboard as well as the reliefs on the exterior of the building. That’s in a very preliminary stage and something we will be pursuing in the next year.”

All in all it was a great day for the Sabres and their fans - a high energy event that had everyone leaving with a buzz. Can this season start soon enough?!

The Army/Akron game was on our schedule for today, but we ended up canceling the trip. The Erie County Democratic Committee scheduled their reorg meeting for Saturday, and my presence there was required at first, but the expected challenge for the committee’s chairmanship didn’t come off, so no way in hell was I going to waste my time going to that shindig.

Pete headed down to NYC for his cousin’s wedding, and I went to Puck Drop at the arena. Tomorrow we’re doing the Bills/Raiders game at RWS… some friends are coming in from Ottawa so tailgating and some good Buffalo grub is on tap!

With music, children’s games, refreshments and street hockey, it was a festive scene on the plaza

Craig Rivet skates out onto the ice wearing the new third jersey

Remediation work on the old Aud is just about complete… building will be coming down soon

With about 5000 fans watching from the stands, the blue and gold teams skated in a scrimmage

Street hockey, with bales of hay serving as the boards, just added to the great scene on this sunny day in downtown Buffalo

Saw this cool pic hanging on the wall in the concourse at PNC Park in Pittsburgh… in the club level which is called the “Pittsburgh Baseball Club”.

Forbes Field was the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to their moving into Three Rivers Stadium in 1970. Located east of downtown where the University of Pittsburgh stands today, one can find remnants of the outfield wall on the grounds of the campus, and home plate is preserved in the tile floor of the university’s library.

One of the signature moments of this storied venue was back in 1960, when Bill Mazeroski hit a walk off home run in game 7 of the World Series to give the Pirates the championship over the New York Yankees.

MTSU’S Eldred King attempts to ward off a Kentucky defender on the game’s final play.

We got our first glimpse of Commonwealth Stadium on the way down to Knoxville on Friday evening. We meandered slowly through the parking lots surrounding the venue, noted the double decked sideline grandstands, the single deck endzones with suites on top, and the newer design and feel to the place as this certainly didn’t appear to be a grand old venue nor one that had been expanded a ton of times through the years.

And then it hit me….Holy crap!! This place looks just like the Ralph! Indeed, save for the fact that the field is much closer to surface level the similarities are quite striking. Once inside, any Buffalo fan will notice them right down to the small 200 level atop the lower level, with a pressbox tucked into one of the sideline 200’s. And just like the Ralph, Commonwealth opened in the year 1973(though there was no end zone seating until 1999) and has had a propensity for witnessing mediocre football and long losing streaks to a particular rival club. See: Alabama(75 years between victories).

One thing we know about Kentucky is that they are all about the horse racing, and pregame at Commonwealth in some ways isn’t much different than the moments leading up to the Kentucky Derby. You want to hear the “Call to the Post”….you’ll get it. You want to hear “My Old Kentucky Home”…here it comes. I was half wondering where the mint juleps and the ladies stylin’ hats were while they were at it.

The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State were brought in to be the sacrificial lambs for the Wildcats, and oddsmakers thought lowly enough of them to set the line at 17 point underdogs.

Well…as they say, that’s why they play the games as MTSU had a 14-10 lead heading into the final quarter before Kentucky rallied to take a 20-14 lead and the ‘Cats appeared to be wrapping things up as they lined up for a chip sot 32 yarder with 20 seconds to go.

And that’s where the fun began…..or as they say in Kentucky….and DOWN the stretch they come!!

MTSU blocked the attempt, picked up the ball and raced deep into Kentucky territory before being brought down with eight seconds to go. A flag for a block in the back against MTSU would put the ball back at their own 38 yard line for one final play.

With recievers stacked to the right, QB Joe Craddock fired a bomb that connected with Malcolm Beyah at about the twenty five….who deflected it into the hands of a wide open Eldred King a few yards behind him inside the twenty. Unfortunately King didn’t have enough speed to outrun the army of blue coming for him and was brought down at the 1 yard line…. just inches away from as wild of a finish as those back in Buffalo were able to witness just hours earlier.

Kentucky wins….by a nose….in a photo finish!

As we wandered off into the Kentucky evening, it was mission accomplished. Another college football doubleheader in the books and two more great venues knocked off the list. Next up for college football: Michie Stadium at West Point(maybe), can’t wait!

-pjf

An exterior shot of the marquee entrance

This venue opened in 1973, same year as Ralph Wilson Stadium

And we’re guessing it was the same architect. The upper decks, club level contours and pressbox looks exactly like our stadium in Orchard Park.

Lucky we swallowed hard and bought ourselves 8 gallons of gasoline at $4.499 a gallon before we hit the sack… by morning it was five bucks.

Anyways…

We got downtown early on this warm, muggy and sun drenched day in Knoxville, eagerly anticipating the big day ahead of us. And while we were looking forward to all the pageantry and tradition that goes with Tennessee football, one thing we were not anticipating was a competitive football game. As it turned out we were spot on in that assessment.

When we arrived outside the stadium, we saw the “Vol Walk” was well underway. What is the Vol Walk? It is sort of a parade of the players from the athletic center down a windy path, where Tennessee fans assemble along the path and cheer on their players. The parade is led by head coach Phillip Fullmer and their coonhound mascot, “Smokey”. The marching band is perched on a hilltop, playing the state’s unofficial anthem, “Rocky Top”. Yeah, we’re in for one special day.

From there we walked around the outside of the stadium, and despite my gimpy leg (I fell off a ladder a week ago, fractured fibula) we got all the way down to the shores of the Tennessee River, and checked out all the boaters decked out with their tailgate gear as they were parked in their slips. Absolutely awesome!

Neyland Stadium is one of those venues built decades ago and added on to again and again, and its current capacity is a tad over 102,000. But this is one intimate venue despite its size, the second deck pitch is steep, and you sit right on top of the action. Being a completely enclosed stadium, the place gets noisy (yes even when UAB is the opponent). Rocky Top is the signature sing along song, and everyone sings. The entire building is decked out in Tennessee orange.

Which, by the way, is not just any orange. Wanting to fit in, I wore the only orange shirt I had, a polo shirt for the Clemson Tigers. Unfortunately, Clemson orange has almost a reddish/purple hue to it, and I ended up getting called out on this more than a few times. Oops!

The game itself was a clunker - UAB managed to do something stupid each time it had the ball, Tennessee moved the ball with precision and efficiency, and by the time it was over Tennessee had itself their first win of the season by a 35-3 score and it could have been much worse.

As we headed out of the building to make our way to the car and begin the second part of the day’s adventure, we were hitting “refresh” on the mobile phone web browser to keep an eye on another game back home… Temple had just scored to take a late 28-24 lead against UB… one last chance…

Then we saw it - “Buffalo 30, Temple 28, F.” Holy crap, what did we miss back in Buffalo?!

One of America’s classic football stadiums, Neyland Stadium is located on the UT campus right in downtown Knoxville

How about tailgating by boat! This is one of only three major college venues that is situated along a waterway and can be accessed by water. Can you name the other two?

At over 100,000 seats, the steep pitches and close proximity to the field makes this an intimate venue and a loud one as well.