Heartbreak In Buffalo & The Bronx

Couple of random notes before I sit down to watch "Heroes"...

Few of us had any reason to tune in to the Cowboys-Bills game on Monday night. A 10.5 spread. 4-0 vs. 1-3. All the makings of a real yawner. Luckily for me, the game had fantasy implications so I tuned in.

Wow, what a game! Honestly, if you didn’t watch there is nothing I can write and no highlight package you can see that will do this game justice.

Believe it or not, the Bills dominated that game from start to finish. They intercepted Romo’s first two passes of the game, returning one for a TD.

They were able to do what four teams before them could not – make Tony Romo look very human. He threw 5 picks (should’ve been 6 if the DB holds onto the ball in the 4th) and fumbled once, prompting the irreverent Mr. Kornheiser to dub his performance a “Rex Grossman game.”

Thanks for getting a Bears mention in there TK.

But the Bills did what bad teams do – find a way to lose. There might not be a more basic play in football than to recover an opposing team’s onside kick. The Bills couldn’t do it. And soon Nick Folk (Go UA!!) was splitting the uprights from 53 to silence a raucous Buffalo crowd for good.

My heart goes out to Bills fans. They haven’t hosted a Monday Night game since 1994. And this is what happens. An absolutely heartbreaking loss. Honestly, I haven’t seen a game shift from complete domination to defeat so swiftly in some time.

Absolutely brutal.

Dallas only led for 2 seconds the entire night. Unfortunately for the Bills, it was the final 2 seconds of the game.

On the brightside, the Bills plus 10.5 was my lock of the week. I know what you’re thinking – let me say it for you: Yes, I’m a genius.

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I am absolutely shocked and equally impressed by the Cleveland Indians handling of the Yankees.

I didn’t watch a single at bat, so can’t offer too much insight. But all the highlights I saw was a whole lot of Tribe offense and some really lousy Yankee pitching.

Red Sox are gonna have their hands full. I envision a lot of offense coming very soon to the ALDS.

Beyond CC Sabathia, I’m not sold on Cleveland’s rotation (even 19 game winner Fausto Carmona doesn’t wow me), but I really like their lineup. They are young and fearless. Don’t expect them to be intimidated by the Fenway faithful. After all, as a group of young bucks, most of them have never been here before… and ignorance is bliss.

Tribe in 7.

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NLDS: Rockies in 6. That’s all I’m saying about this series.

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And with that, since I am not a man to skirt the issue, some final words on my Chicago Cubs in 2007.

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Game 1 was the first time I questioned Lou all year long. Seriously. And it happened twice in that game, beginning with the starting lineup.

How you bat the strikeout-prone Jacque Jones in the 2 hole and put Ryan Theriot eighth is completely beyond me. Made no sense and it was a bad call. Twice, the two spot came up with two outs and men on, and Jones couldn’t get it done.

Gotta think a guy like Theriot who is a contact machine fairs better in those spots.

And of course, pulling Zambrano after 85 pitches in the 6th inning was nothing but head scratching. Nice job saving the guy for a game we never made it to.

But I’m cautiously optimistic for 2008. We went from the NL’s worst record to division champs.

Considering Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and even Zambrano had essentially the worst years of their careers numbers-wise, I’m very excited to see what happens when we give it another go next year. And gotta figure a Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones or maybe, just maybe that 3B from the Bronx finds their way to Wrigley.

Spring can’t come soon enough.

But as far as the NLDS, we were Outhit. Outpitched. Outhustled. Outmuscled. Outcoached.

The team from the desert dominated us from the get go. And believe it or not, when Soriano flied out to right to end Game 3, it honestly didn’t hurt that much. The next day, there was no emotional hangover. It was just over and that was that.

Now, had we lost in Game 5 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs up by 3 and they hit a grand slam to move on, THAT would hurt.

Just ask the Buffalo Bills.