Author Archive

This Chicago Bulls Fan Says LeBron Stay Home

Posted: 3rd July 2010 by John Howell in NBA
Last I checked, none of the NBA teams play their home games in the Roman Coliseum. While the ancient Romans might have enjoyed the predictable spectacle of lion versus human, there's a reason why the Romans called it bread and circus. It was not a sporting event. It was a grotesque form of entertainment. Although the NBA is the least competitive of the major leagues in the U.S., I certainly ...
It's true: I'm shameless. Last year, around this time, I pimped an article by heading it "Bills Win Superbowl." This year, some word play with the names of people we would rather not be the ones upon whose shoulders our team and city's fate now rests, is my best shot at grabbing readers. No one would fall for the Superbowl tag again, and not because it would be the second year ...
Long-time sportswriter and commentator Frank Deford chose to speak of the Ten Commandments, New York City and a particular native son of Cleveland, Ohio in his weekly radio column on NPR yesterday (January 6th). Ford is one of my favorite sports pundits, mainly because he takes a counter- intuitive approach in his choice and treatment of topics. I was especially excited to hear the topic because I have been thinking ...
There's one phrase I'm sick to death of reading or hearing in the press, relative to the Buffalo Bills' coaching search: "The situation in Buffalo is too uncertain with the age of owner Ralph Wilson and the likelihood that the franchise will relocate after his death." I don't know why it is assumed that the Bills are only biding time until Granddady dies so they can finally run away from home. There ...

Give Me Ten Minutes With Bill Cowher and He’ll Come To Buffalo

Posted: 5th January 2010 by John Howell in NFL
That's right, give me 10 minutes with Coach Cowher. I don't care where, as long as I have a monopoly on his attention and he can't leaveáuntil I've had my say. Put me in the urinal next to him, on an elevator with him, in a shared cabùit doesn't matter. Just give me the opportunity for a brief intervention. That's right, I said intervention. That's what we call it when we ...

Another Opportunity For Jim Kelly to Bring Buffalo Bills a Lombardi

Posted: 27th December 2009 by John Howell in NFL
Remember when Head Coach Dick Jauron was fired and Bills owner Ralph Wilson pledged to spend $10 millionáper year to get an A-List coach and GM? Remember when Mr. Wilson interviewed Mike Shanahan andácontacted Bill Cowher? It appeared he was determined to doáwhatever it took to get good football minds in the top positionsáof the franchise. Do you remember, even barely? It was only a month ago, but seems like an ...
Bill Polian is responsible for assembling the best NFL teams of the past two decades. As General Manager of the Indianapolis Colts, Polian created the alchemy of team chemistry and individual talent involving players and coaches that resulted in the Colts two 10-0 starts in the 00's, and culminated in their '07 Superbowl victory. No doubt Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning had a lot to do with the team's overall ...
I would venture that a higher percentage of the population of Buffalo, NY actively follows their professional sports teams than any major league city in North America. This is especially true of BuffaloÆs women, who may be more knowledgeable and fanatical about football and hockey than any women in the world. Perhaps this is because Buffalo isnÆt just a place, itÆs a state of mind, a religion, a cultural overlay that ...
Are the Dallas Cowboys still America’s team, or are they America’s bad dream? I watched Jerry Jones show off the monument he has built to American excess, on the Today Show this morning. It struck me as hauntingly ironic that Dallas, one of the demographic icons of the excesses and extravagance of the recent bubble, is opening a billion dollar stadium, in the middle of the debris of the bubble burst, and ...