Perry Fewell, the running play and local sports radio

By now, you've watched the game. You've read the recaps. You've heard the callers on WGR. The Buffalo Bills finally broke free of their fourth quarter doldrums and poured on 24 points in the final frame to beat the Dolphins.

Ryan Fitzpatrick hooked up with Terrell Owens (remember him?) on another long TD pass. You've read all of that. You might have also come across one other thing in your postgame media breakdown that isn't as fun or exciting as those.

Yesterday, during the postgame show on local sports favorite WGR550, hosts Mike Schopp and the Bulldog (sources cannot confirm whether this host is an actual bulldog) discussed the Bills' last offensive play of the game. Buffalo had 1st-and-goal at the Miami seven yard line, with 1:25 remaining and leading by 10 points.

Fitzpatrick handed off to Fred Jackson and Jackson did the rest. He found the end zone. Seems pretty standard, right? You're that deep into the opponent's red zone, it's late in the game, so you hand the ball off hoping to get Jackson some more yards and the offensive line a chance to hit somebody. Not to mention to run time off the clock.

Apparently, according to the WGR hosts, there is some kind of sportsmanship rule that says that you have to fall on the ball three times in that situation. Never mind that you're only up by 10 at that point. Never mind that you're not calling a fade route to Owens or Evans. You can't even run the ball. You have to kneel on it, or you're showing poor sportsmanship. You're running up the score.

Now, I could see their point if, like the Patriots, they were leading 52-0 and dialed up a long throw to a wide receiver. I could even see it if they were leading by 17 points. I could see it if Fitzpatrick had thrown for 300+ yards and Jackson had 100. But they didn't. They were leading by 10. Running up the score doesn't even come into play until about three scores.

And that's not even the main reason why I disagree with their point. Why, then, do I think it was a good idea to run the ball in that situation?

It was the opposite of what Dick Jauron would've done.

The Bills Fire Another Guy, This Time It's the Right One

According to multiple sources, the Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Dick Jauron, two days after losing to the 2-6 Titans by a score of 41-17. It's not exactly a gutsy move by owner Ralph Wilson, but avid followers of the team will know that Wilson isn't really a gutsy owner. At least they finally got rid of him. Maybe the new coach will install an offense that is actually difficult for NFL players to defend against.

It's about time. Does anyone know if Wilson has Bill Cowher's cell number?

Much Ado About Marcus Jordan

College basketball is here! Meaning that Marcus Jordan just played in his first college game in a packed UCF Arena. Jordan drew quite the crowd. It was only the second time I had seen the student section in the lower bowl full, the first being against Memphis last year. Most of the news about him has been his refusal to wear the team sponsored Adidas shoes. Marcus Jordan, nerdy goggles and all, put up a disappointing performance for the packed house, scoring zero points and missing two free throws.

Every touch of the ball by Jordan excited the crowd. "That's a Jordan move." Was said by a fan after Marcus juked a defender. With all the attention on Marcus, Isaac Sosa put up 26 points and I can proudly proclaim that I shop at the same grocery store as him.

As for the other basketball games of the night Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke, Purdue, and Kansas beat teams that many people have never heard of. No wonder people don't care until March.

Content! It's a Podcast!

This week, I decided to add a podcast in an effort to actually start providing more content for Life on the Bandwagon. I know, it's shocking to some of you that we had no updates in the month of October. That is about to change! I present to you Volume 1 of a hopefully ongoing series of audio podcasts based on Life on the Bandwagon. It's hosted temporarily on Sendspace right now, just click the link to download, load into your favorite audio listening program or device and enjoy! This week's podcast is NFL commentary along with featured music by the band Conditions from Richmond, Va. Next week will be a more full-length feature involving sports, media, and possibly a special guest! Feedback is appreciated.

The NFL Network, or how I learned to stop worrying and not watch Thursday Night Football

So, imagine my surprise when I found out that Thursday Night Football started up last night with the 49ers of San Francisco against the Cutlers of Chicago. I listen to a lot of sports radio, read a lot of sports blogs and watch SportsCenter. I had NO idea this was happening until a friend happened to mention that Jay Cutler was sucking even more than usual. The reason I didn't know? Time Warner decided to make its customers pay for an extra tier of service in order to get the NFL Network. For 8 extra games, Time Warner wants me to pay more. When I can already see all the games I want to on Sunday and Monday. Sorry, guys. Not happening.

And what did I miss? I missed a riveting 10-6 defeat of the Chicago Bears at the hands of the mighty 4-5 San Francisco 49ers. I missed Jay Cutler throwing more passes to the Niners at one point. This is what Time Warner wants me to pay more for? Really?

I'll stick with my basic cable, thanks. Somehow Time Warner must survive without it.

Bengals, Want to be good? Read this.

In the past 18 years the Bengals have only been to the playoffs once and yesterday they did a remarkable job showing off their bad luck. I found myself watching the end of the game in hopes of a Brandon Marshall touchdown to help my fantasy team. Yes, I know it was a dumb pick but I just can't help but pick former UCF players and Buccaneers, except Matt Prater, bitch ruined Christmas in 2005. As you've probably seen, a pass to Brandon Marshall was tipped, caught by a Bronco and run in for a touchdown.

Now to get to my help for the Bengals. They need new uniforms. Dropping the creamsicle uniforms worked for the Bucs and could help the Bengals. Tiger print may have been cool during the coked up early 80s but now its primary purpose it as a background on high school girl's MySpace. Once the Bengals decide to look like a football team, instead of the leggings coming out of a plaid skirt in Hot Topic, the Bengals will have my pick as Super Bowl winner.

Nobody Circles The Wagons

Nobody circles the wagons at the hall of fame like the Buffalo Bills. Congratulations to Ralph C. Wilson, Jr, and Bruce "Bruuuuuuuuuuuce" Smith.

Dog Days of August

As we head into the Dog Days of Summer (aka Where Baseball Reigns), we look forward to NFL training camps. Let's try the popular list format:
-If anyone had August 1st as the day Tarvaris Jackson was injured please step forward and collect your winnings.
-This is a really good opportunity for Brett "the Retirer" Favre to un-retire again.
-Tom Brady says he feels ready to start the season, only that his arm is pretty sore. In his defense, Giselle has been out of the house a lot lately.
-Please, someone euthanize any team that decides that Mike Vick is a good idea. "Oh, but he can run the Wildcat!" No, he can't. He'd probably shoot it.
-Looking forward to Monday Night Football without that PTI douchebag.

Bring on the 2009 NFL season, already!

Who?

Mark Buehrle (I had to actually look up the spelling of his name) pitched a perfect game today, only the 16th modern perfect game in major league history. And, coming as it does off that no-hitter by the San Francisco Giants just before the break begs the question.

Is pitching back in baseball in the post-steroid era?

With Big Papi almost going 0 for April, home runs being down (except in the new Yankee Stadium) and now a perfect game, it seems like the league is returning to its small-ball roots. And I, for one, welcome this change. Bring on the goose eggs!

Double Homicide

Steve McNair was shot to death in Nashville today, along with a female victim. Someone find out where Plaxico Burress was celebrating July 4.

Most Excited About the UFL Award Goes to Me

Professional football is coming back to Orlando, and I'm talking real football. Not played in a basketball arena on a 50 yard field, no interceptions by fans, and no air conditioning to keep you cool. Thats right, at the games you'll get to sweat as much as the players. Last night was the secret draft, and Orlando did a pretty good job. Brooks Bollinger who played with the Cowboys last year will be quarterback. Brooks led a drive against the Giants last year for a touchdown. And if that doesn't get you excited injury prone Chris Perry was also selected by Orlando. Chris Perry was a first round pick for the Bengals in 2004 and has 2 more NFL touchdowns than I ever will.

Other teams in the UFL will be in Las Vegas, New York, and San Francisco. Lets hope that in the league of two worded cities the city with one word will be King.

Vacation?

Apparently all you need to do to get traded away from Denver these days is casually mention traveling somewhere to your GM. Here's an actual, unedited transcript of a conversation between Brandon Marshall and Brian Xanders:

Marshall: "Hey Brian, I'm thinking of going to Florida for a week before training camp. You know, check out the South Beach scene and relax on the beach a little."
Xanders: "You've just been traded to Miami for a box of cocoa puffs and a year's subscription to Us Weekly"
Marshall: "Hey all I wanted to do was go on vaca..."
Xanders: "Too late!"

Seriously, the whole Jay Cutler thing was kind of absurd and there will be personality clashes sometimes. But why even think about trading away your best up-and-coming receiver? Something's rotten in the city of Denver.

Drought Season is Upon Us

One of the best postseasons in recent memory is just behind us. Watching it, we found out that Kobe can win without Shaq. We learned that King James can't win without, well, anyone else. We were surprised that the Rockets could win games without Tracy McGrady OR Yao Ming, and that the Celtics could do the same without KG. We learned that if one overtime is exciting, two is a heart attack. We grew to really, really hate commercials featuring NBA players as muppets. But over the course of the last 40 or so days, we learned that the NBA can sometimes actually be exciting to watch. Now that it's over, only three questions remain: What do we do with our time now? What will we learn next postseason? And will we ever get that Kanye West "Amazin" theme out of our heads?

While you ponder that, I've got to go figure out what channel baseball is on these days.

I need a break from the weekend

What a beautiful thing this weekend was. Playoff hockey and basketball, and the NFL draft. I guess that car race also happened, and I think that was a big deal because theres that Will Ferrell movie about it. That race seems to be the talk of the sports world today, seeing as how it was like a summer blockbuster with the first couple hours being boring then finishing with a crash and fire.

The NFL draft was hours and hours of sports with out any actual sports being played. NFL fans where so hyped up on Friday and now everyone seems to be let down. We can all be happy to not be Raiders fans though. With a lack of Raiders fans at the bar, Darrius Heyward-Bey was able to give us all a much needed laugh. As for my beloved Bucs, I hope I'm wrong in my initial thought of "stupid, stupid, stupid." I guess they're hoping for another win in the most quarterbacks stat.

Somehow someone has time to watch baseball even though playoff hockey and basketball is going on. Luckily for me that someone is giving me updates on how the Mets can manage to blow what seems like every game. As for the playoffs, lots of excitement. The ugly play of both Boston and Chicago is making for some close games, and the Rangers are trying to give the Caps a trip to the second round.

I Don't Want This Series To End...And At This Rate It Won't

Once again, the Celtics and Bulls went into overtime. And then, just for fun, they decided to go into a second one. I don't think I've seen a more exciting NBA game in the last five years than the one I saw earlier today. I might just get back into watching basketball on a regular basis if this keeps up.

Oddly enough, the NFL draft didn't really interest me this year. I figure I'll find out who made what team when the season begins.

The Red Sox and Yankees play another game tonight. That rivalry is probably the most exciting to watch out of anything in baseball. The only thing that can take my attention off this game tonight will be if Joe Morgan is as terrible as he always is.

Puppy Bowl

They Play Hockey In April?!

The NHL playoffs start tonight. A few quick thoughts:

-NHL 09 did a simulation that has the Boston Bruins winning the whole thing. I say that's good enough for me! Saves a whole lot of unnecessary beard-growing.

-Please, hockey gods do not let Sidney Crosby past the first round. We can only stand so much unwarranted hero-worship.

-Congratulations to the Columbus Blue Jackets for making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. No, I don't know who they are either.

-The New Jersey Devils will probably prove to be the most boring team to ever advance past the first round. Someone mention to coach Dave Sutter that the point of hockey is to actually score goals.

All that said, I think the Red Wings will come out of the West, and the Montreal Canadiens will come out of the East, just because I want to hear NBC commentary in both French AND English.

The End of the March Madness...in April

I will never understand why March Madness ends in April. UNC won last night, obviously, proving that there really is no justice in the world. It's just so boring to watch the heavy favorite win by a 16 point margin. I'm willing to be the ratings from last night were terrible. It was so bad I turned it off after 10 minutes and played Guitar Hero. But that's really the gamble you take when watching sports. You could get Manning-to-Tyree-style incredible highlight plays or you could get the boring ho-hum never-close cakewalk. At least it's never the same thing twice.

Now to look forward to the Masters later this week. Can Tiger win it?

Why I am finally on the Gonzaga bandwagon

Alright, I'll say it. I'm finally on the Gonzaga bandwagon. Gonzaga is the perennial mid-major favorite of ESPN pundits and general bracketeers alike. Why? Because it's a fun name to say. Gonzaga. Sounds like some sort of cheese.

Now, I know nothing about Gonzaga such as who their point guard is, or who their top big man is, so why am I on the bandwagon?

Because, they are playing UNC tonight and as everyone knows, UNC is the most overly favored team in the tournament. What fun is it to pick the overdog? I'm rooting for the underdog.

I'm rooting for Gonzaga.

Americans don't care about baseball

I recently learned from my Korean pen pal that the World Baseball Classic has ended. "World Baseball Classic!? Another win for the US!" I yelled at the letter. I quickly printed my victory form letter, stamped my signature on it, and sent it away. After a quick google search of "what is world baseball classic" I went from jubilant to embarrassed. I had seen too many sitcoms of people trying to get back letters they didn't mean to send. So, instead of even trying, I found a new Korean pen pal.

Unfortunately, I really knew about the baseball classic and even watched the US in the semi-finals. On the rare occasion I would hear news about the "classic" I didn't care, until I found out about Evan Longoria being added to the team because of injuries. After reaching the World Series the Rays are finally getting the respect they deserve, by getting the chance to have one of their star players injured in a tournament no one cares about. World Baseball Classic, thanks for turning baseball into soccer, and making it impossible to find someone to go to a spring training game with.

What the hell is a Cleveland State?

Secretaries everywhere are bragging about how well they're doing in their bracket when they don't even pay attention to basketball and I'm sitting here with two games already wrong in the second round.  In the time it takes to drink a beer, my bracket went from "awesome, I have all the 12-5 games right so far" to "WHERE THE FUCK IS SIENA EVEN LOCATED?"  I guess that's what I get for saying they have the most pettable mascot. During that beer, the thought that anyone knows about college basketball was shattered, as Wake also lost. When I look at the top brackets on yahoo or espn I hate anyone that picked Cleveland State.

Day Two of the Madness

Day one of the tournament was kind of okay, a couple of minor upsets but nothing really exciting. That turned out to be the calm before the storm. Day Two, it turns out, was probably one of the better second days the tournament has had. Last night I stayed up late watching two really exciting games, both of which went into overtime. My attention stayed mostly on the Ohio St./Siena game, in which a Junior guard from Siena sent the game into the first overtime with a last-second three-pointer. The shot of the night, right? Wrong. Turns out at the end of the first overtime, Siena found itself down by three points AGAIN. No way it happens twice, right?

Of course, with less than a second to go, once again I was proven wrong. Ronald Moore again made a last-second three to tie it up and send it to the 2nd overtime. This NCAA Tournament is off to a great start, with all four 1 seeds making it through and the second round starting today. Will my prediction of Louisville making a run hold up? Stay glued to CBS and we'll find out!

March Madness Cliche Headline

The NCAA Men's basketball tournament is once again upon us. Once again, I will pick Duke to win it all, and once again, my bracket will be torn to shreds by about Friday. Ah, well. It's entertaining to say the least. Also, look out for Louisville.

August in March.

Okay, so I wrote last night that I was hoping for August to come quickly. It looks like it has, kind of. Earlier tonight, the Buffalo Bills announced that they have signed Terrell Owens to a one year contract.

This will mean one of two things:
Either the Bills will have an amazing season and Owens contributes to it or
The Bills will have a disastrous season and Owens will be the cause of it.

There really is no middle ground here.

Please Let It Be August, Already

It's the beginning of March, traditionally a great month for sports. Spring training is in full swing, hockey is making the push toward the playoffs, basketball is...existing.. and golf is just beginning.

Did I just include golf in a conversation about sports?

Training camp needs to be here, soon.