sa_butta
12-08-2005, 01:35 PM
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/SPORTS0101/512080367/1007/SPORTS
Bob Matthews ([email protected])
(December 8, 2005) — I understand why Buffalo Bills veteran Eric Moulds will be playing elsewhere next NFL season. He's still a very good player but no longer justifies being paid like a top-shelf wide receiver. The Bills prefer younger players to grow with quarterback J.P. Losman.
I also understand if Moulds was miffed by what seemed like an extremely limited or non-existent role in the offensive game plan in Miami last Sunday.
It was frustrating for all Buffalo fans to watch Sage Rosenfels and Chris Chambers play catch in Miami's fourth-quarter comeback while the most experienced Bills receiver was nowhere to be seen, for whatever reason.
Bills coach Mike Mularkey reportedly wants to discipline and possibly suspend Moulds for conduct detrimental to the team.
Unless owner Ralph Wilson Jr. already has decided to unload Mularkey and team president Tom Donohoe, he has no choice but to endorse any action against Moulds to preserve some semblance of order in the organization.
Moulds has been a durable and reliable player for a decade in Buffalo despite a regime change in the front office (John Butler to Donahoe) and a parade of four head coaches, six offensive coordinators and eight starting quarterbacks. He might have had a Hall of Fame career under more stable circumstances. He certainly deserved better than to go out like this.
Count me among those who will be rooting for Moulds with his next team. He might even have a chance to play in a Super Bowl. That wasn't going to happen with Buffalo anytime soon.
<LI>Mularkey might become a very good NFL coach, but after his team blew a 23-3 lead in the fourth quarter in the bitterly disappointing 24-23 loss at Miami, here are two stats to ponder: Tony Dungy is 55-0 in his NFL coaching career in games when his team had a 14-point lead, and Jeff Fisher is 40-1 when his team had a lead entering the fourth quarter. ... The two New York City (or New Jersey) teams are at the opposite ends of the point-spread standings. The Giants are an NFL-best 10-2 against the spread and the Jets are an NFL-worst 2-10. The Bills are 6-6.
<LI>The NFL's two longest current playoff streaks will end this season. Philadelphia was the only NFL team to reach the postseason in each of the past five years, and Green Bay was the only other team with a streak of four straight trips to the playoffs. Indianapolis will be the only team to make the playoffs in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. ... Here's more proof that the Colts are in a class by themselves this NFL season: Indianapolis is the only team ranked in the top 10 in both total offense and total defense (third-best in both).
<LI>The Rochester RazorSharks soared from 14th to 7th in this week's American Basketball Association Playoff Power Rankings and will play two higher-ranked teams in their next two games: at the No. 4 NE Penn Breakers (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) tonight and hosting the No. 5 Maryland Nighthawks (with Syracuse University all-time scorer Lawrence Moten scheduled to play) at 7:35 p.m. Saturday at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. ... The RazorSharks have signed recent Niagara DareDevils star Eric Walton and rebounder Alvin Jefferson. They'll make their debuts tonight. Guard Demond Stewart (pulled hamstring) didn't make the trip. ... This week's ABA oddity: The Hawaii Mega Force finally opened its season after a one-month delay. A crowd of "around 50" saw it lose 114-101 to the Beijing Aoshen Olympian. The game started 75 minutes late as the home team awaited arrival of its jerseys.
<LI>The lack of quality prospects, particularly pitchers, is hurting the New York Yankees on the trade market. Juan Pierre would have been the ideal lead-off hitter and center fielder the Yankees need, but the Chicago Cubs were able to give Florida the promising young pitchers the Yankees lack in their farm system.
Baltimore is interested in trading for Cincinnati slugger Adam Dunn, who could be good for 200 strikeouts and 50-plus HRs with cozy Camden Yards as his home park. ... Rumors of free-agent signings and trades are pouring out of the winter meetings in Dallas without a mention of disgraced sluggers Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro.
<LI>The Minnesota Twins are shopping for a third baseman but apparently won't get into a free-agent bidding war for switch-hitter and former Boston Red Sox AL batting champion Bill Mueller. ... Frank Thomas is quite likely to sign with Oakland, with Minnesota a lesser possibility. The DH rule was introduced for players like him. He no longer can run or field, but he still has power (12 HRs in 105 at-bats for the Chicago White Sox last season). ... Rochester Red Wings third baseman Glenn Williams will play for Australia in the World Baseball Classic.
<LI>Better late than never: Shortly after Eddie Guerrero's recent death (attributed to heart disease), WWE owner Vince McMahon Jr. announced a new random drug-testing policy. If McMahon is sincere and the latest of too many premature deaths of pro wrestlers was the inspiration, few people have made a greater contribution to the business than Guerrero. ... Pro wrestling newsletters are speculating that former Rochesterian and Playboy cover subject Joanie Lauer (Chyna)might be returning soon to the WWE. ... WWE plans to bring the "Saturday Night Main Event" back to NBC in March.
<LI>2005 Rochester Rhinos MVP and leading scorer Kirk Wilson (9 goals and 5 assists) officially signed Wednesday with the USL First Division Montreal Impact. ... At least two more 2005 Rhinos probably won't return. Midfielder Jonathan Bolanos expects to play in Sweden, and midfielder Pato Aguilera expects to play for Virginia Beach. ... The USL has decided that Canadians no longer will be counted as foreign players on U.S.-based teams and Americans won't be counted as foreigners on Canadian-based teams. That's good news for Wilson and new Rhino Charles Gbeke.
<LI>The Rose Bowl will seat about 92,000 for the Jan. 4 national college football championship game, and only 1,000 tickets were available to the general public. Those ducats went on sale Tuesday morning and were scooped up within minutes.
USC has 62,000 season ticketholders and an allotment of 24,000 tickets for the Rose Bowl game. The rest of the tickets were reserved long ago for Pac-10 schools, the University of Texas, sponsors, volunteer workers and other "friends" of the Rose Bowl committee. A team photograph of the 1927 New York Yankees, signed by every player, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, is being auctioned by www.americanmemorabilia.com (http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/). The bidding ends tonight at midnight. The high bid as of Wednesday morning was $54,000, and the final bid figures to top Ruth's 1927 salary of $70,000
Bob Matthews ([email protected])
(December 8, 2005) — I understand why Buffalo Bills veteran Eric Moulds will be playing elsewhere next NFL season. He's still a very good player but no longer justifies being paid like a top-shelf wide receiver. The Bills prefer younger players to grow with quarterback J.P. Losman.
I also understand if Moulds was miffed by what seemed like an extremely limited or non-existent role in the offensive game plan in Miami last Sunday.
It was frustrating for all Buffalo fans to watch Sage Rosenfels and Chris Chambers play catch in Miami's fourth-quarter comeback while the most experienced Bills receiver was nowhere to be seen, for whatever reason.
Bills coach Mike Mularkey reportedly wants to discipline and possibly suspend Moulds for conduct detrimental to the team.
Unless owner Ralph Wilson Jr. already has decided to unload Mularkey and team president Tom Donohoe, he has no choice but to endorse any action against Moulds to preserve some semblance of order in the organization.
Moulds has been a durable and reliable player for a decade in Buffalo despite a regime change in the front office (John Butler to Donahoe) and a parade of four head coaches, six offensive coordinators and eight starting quarterbacks. He might have had a Hall of Fame career under more stable circumstances. He certainly deserved better than to go out like this.
Count me among those who will be rooting for Moulds with his next team. He might even have a chance to play in a Super Bowl. That wasn't going to happen with Buffalo anytime soon.
<LI>Mularkey might become a very good NFL coach, but after his team blew a 23-3 lead in the fourth quarter in the bitterly disappointing 24-23 loss at Miami, here are two stats to ponder: Tony Dungy is 55-0 in his NFL coaching career in games when his team had a 14-point lead, and Jeff Fisher is 40-1 when his team had a lead entering the fourth quarter. ... The two New York City (or New Jersey) teams are at the opposite ends of the point-spread standings. The Giants are an NFL-best 10-2 against the spread and the Jets are an NFL-worst 2-10. The Bills are 6-6.
<LI>The NFL's two longest current playoff streaks will end this season. Philadelphia was the only NFL team to reach the postseason in each of the past five years, and Green Bay was the only other team with a streak of four straight trips to the playoffs. Indianapolis will be the only team to make the playoffs in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. ... Here's more proof that the Colts are in a class by themselves this NFL season: Indianapolis is the only team ranked in the top 10 in both total offense and total defense (third-best in both).
<LI>The Rochester RazorSharks soared from 14th to 7th in this week's American Basketball Association Playoff Power Rankings and will play two higher-ranked teams in their next two games: at the No. 4 NE Penn Breakers (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) tonight and hosting the No. 5 Maryland Nighthawks (with Syracuse University all-time scorer Lawrence Moten scheduled to play) at 7:35 p.m. Saturday at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. ... The RazorSharks have signed recent Niagara DareDevils star Eric Walton and rebounder Alvin Jefferson. They'll make their debuts tonight. Guard Demond Stewart (pulled hamstring) didn't make the trip. ... This week's ABA oddity: The Hawaii Mega Force finally opened its season after a one-month delay. A crowd of "around 50" saw it lose 114-101 to the Beijing Aoshen Olympian. The game started 75 minutes late as the home team awaited arrival of its jerseys.
<LI>The lack of quality prospects, particularly pitchers, is hurting the New York Yankees on the trade market. Juan Pierre would have been the ideal lead-off hitter and center fielder the Yankees need, but the Chicago Cubs were able to give Florida the promising young pitchers the Yankees lack in their farm system.
Baltimore is interested in trading for Cincinnati slugger Adam Dunn, who could be good for 200 strikeouts and 50-plus HRs with cozy Camden Yards as his home park. ... Rumors of free-agent signings and trades are pouring out of the winter meetings in Dallas without a mention of disgraced sluggers Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro.
<LI>The Minnesota Twins are shopping for a third baseman but apparently won't get into a free-agent bidding war for switch-hitter and former Boston Red Sox AL batting champion Bill Mueller. ... Frank Thomas is quite likely to sign with Oakland, with Minnesota a lesser possibility. The DH rule was introduced for players like him. He no longer can run or field, but he still has power (12 HRs in 105 at-bats for the Chicago White Sox last season). ... Rochester Red Wings third baseman Glenn Williams will play for Australia in the World Baseball Classic.
<LI>Better late than never: Shortly after Eddie Guerrero's recent death (attributed to heart disease), WWE owner Vince McMahon Jr. announced a new random drug-testing policy. If McMahon is sincere and the latest of too many premature deaths of pro wrestlers was the inspiration, few people have made a greater contribution to the business than Guerrero. ... Pro wrestling newsletters are speculating that former Rochesterian and Playboy cover subject Joanie Lauer (Chyna)might be returning soon to the WWE. ... WWE plans to bring the "Saturday Night Main Event" back to NBC in March.
<LI>2005 Rochester Rhinos MVP and leading scorer Kirk Wilson (9 goals and 5 assists) officially signed Wednesday with the USL First Division Montreal Impact. ... At least two more 2005 Rhinos probably won't return. Midfielder Jonathan Bolanos expects to play in Sweden, and midfielder Pato Aguilera expects to play for Virginia Beach. ... The USL has decided that Canadians no longer will be counted as foreign players on U.S.-based teams and Americans won't be counted as foreigners on Canadian-based teams. That's good news for Wilson and new Rhino Charles Gbeke.
<LI>The Rose Bowl will seat about 92,000 for the Jan. 4 national college football championship game, and only 1,000 tickets were available to the general public. Those ducats went on sale Tuesday morning and were scooped up within minutes.
USC has 62,000 season ticketholders and an allotment of 24,000 tickets for the Rose Bowl game. The rest of the tickets were reserved long ago for Pac-10 schools, the University of Texas, sponsors, volunteer workers and other "friends" of the Rose Bowl committee. A team photograph of the 1927 New York Yankees, signed by every player, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, is being auctioned by www.americanmemorabilia.com (http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/). The bidding ends tonight at midnight. The high bid as of Wednesday morning was $54,000, and the final bid figures to top Ruth's 1927 salary of $70,000