Month: October 2008

New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills, ESPN Radio, Halloween

Hello all 1,905 NYC Bills fans!

Ugh….we went to Florida to squish the fish and instead Buffalo got stampeded. However, always the optimist, let’s look at the bright side. We’re still in first place (although tied) and we really only played one quarter of bad football, and was about as bad of a quarter as you can play. Trent Edwards had his first poor game of the season but let’s face it, he’s only 25 (Happy Birthday today!) and has played in what, 17 games so far in his career? He’s going to have bad games, all players do.

The Bills can rebound this week when they take on the Brett Favre led NY Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium this Sunday at 1pm. The New Jersey Jets are 1 game behind Buffalo and New England* for the division lead, and Buffalo needs to pull this one out.

More exciting news, ESPN 1050 will be on hand at McFadden’s/Calico Jack’s this Sunday during the game doing giveaways and raffles. Want to catch the game with hundreds of your fellow fans and win some cool stuff? Be on 42nd and 2nd this Sunday!

Be sure to catch the latest news at www.BillsDaily.com.

Halloween Game This Sunday!

For the past six years we’ve encouraged members to get more money out of their Halloween costumes and wear them to the game on the closest Sunday to the holiday. Well, have fun and wear your costumes this Sunday! Ah…the memories of Halloween games…me meeting Tim Russert in my hula skirt, seeing Marilyn Monroe kiss Little Bo Peep (don’t ask)..have fun with it!

Game Tickets
Several of you have been emailing us saying you have tickets to sell. We get so many requests that we can’t include them all in our weekly emails. Please use our message board:
https://nycbbb.com/features/board.shtml

Or go through BuffaloBills.com or Stub Hub to sell your seats.

A View From Calico Jack’s
This week, Phil brings back Fan of the Week honors!
https://nycbbb.com/columns/102908.shtml

If you would like us to bring back Fan of the Week, please read the article and email Phil!

Pictures from Bills/Dolphins Game courtesy of Mike Coniaris:
https://nycbbb.com/pics/fins08a.shtml

Sabres
The Sabres are again one of the (if not THE) best teams in the NHL! Be sure to join our email list to find out about trips to games and where you can catch the games in the city. Please sign up on our homepage at nycbbb.com.

I hate the New Jersey Jets, Favre is going down!

B-U-F-F-A-L-O
B-U-F-F-A-L-O!!!
B-U-F-F-A-L-O!!!!!
LET’S GO BUFFALO!!!!

Matt “Talkin’ proud and love being in NYC when the Jets lose to the Bills” Kabel

A View from Calico Jack’s – 10/29/2008

This past week, the Bills became the last team in the entire NFL to play a divisional opponent.

We could have used an extra week.

No reason to dwell on it; if we split our divisional games, we still have an excellent playoff shot: we’ll get ‘em in Buffalo. I mean, Toronto. Whatever. Some place where it’s cold outside.

Enough of that. Rather than focus on a game we’d rather forget, let’s move on to an old NYCBBB standby – the Calico Jack’s Fan of the Week.

Allow me to introduce our first, and perhaps last, Fan of the Week for 2008: Tim Downey. Otherwise known (by me, anyway) as “The Guy Who Dances Like A Hillbilly – And I Mean That With Nothing But Respect And Fondness – After The Bills Score.”

You should know two things immediately: one, Tim dances only after touchdowns, never field goals (“I’m a little superstitious that way.”) And, he’s no hillbilly: Born and raised in Lancaster, he holds a graduate degree from Rutgers. Tim also works as a sales person and is a part-time actor (one day, he hopes to reverse that and make acting his full-time job. I smell Dancing with the Stars down the road.)

So, where’d the dance come from?

Let’s let Tim tell the story: “The dance came from a moment of pure joy last year. I don’t remember the game but I was so happy that we scored (a rarity last year) that I started to do a little hop and jig. It changes a little each game depending on the space available or how out of breath (see beer) I am in the middle of it.”

While we all enjoy Tim’s dance – the more he does it, the more points it means we’ve scored – he has an especially captive audience of more than a dozen friends who sit with him and cheer him on, many of whom he met through watching Bills and Sabres games. One of the group, Brian (aka, “The Guy In The Zubaz”) even maintains an Excel spreadsheet to determine who’ll be going to Calico Jack’s each week. The first good reason I’ve heard to actually learn Excel.

Like many if not all Bills fans, Tim has his favorite team memories. One is obvious: the Comeback Game. The other is far more personal, and once again let’s let Tim tell the story himself:

“My first favorite memory is watching the AFC East championship in 1988 when we won and fans rushed the field and tore down the goal posts. I watched the game from home and was struck by the pure joy and anarchy of the situation. A little later I heard on 97 Rock that on Monday, they were going to cut up the goal posts and sell the pieces. I begged my dad to try and get a piece. Lo and behold when I got home from school on Monday there was my Dad in the kitchen with three pieces of post. He still has them and I have a piece as well.”

Excellent. Let’s hope we’re cutting up some goal posts again this January.

E-mail feedback and comments to Phil Mann at
pjmann at nyc.rr.com

Squish the Fish!

Hello all 1,901 NYC Bills Fans

WOW! We topped 1,900 members! What an exciting season this has been, our Buffalo Bills are 5 and 1. Just stop what you’re doing right now and say it with me….BUFFALO….BILLS…ARE….FIVE….AND….ONE. I was sitting in Calico Jack’s on Sunday after most of the bar had cleared out and just yelled out in disbelief “WE’RE FIVE AND ONE!!!”….probably scaring most of the fans left there, but what are you going to do, I was enlightened.

The 5-1 (again) Bills take their show on the road this Sunday to Miami to take on the 2-4 Dolphins who are a dangerous team, beating both the Patriots and Chargers. Kickoff is at 1pm and there’s no better place to be than McFadden’s, Calico’s, or Turtle Bay! For more info check out our website at nycbbb.com. The next three divisional games are huge!

Adam the Bills Fan wrote another great and humorous email outlining the best 10 victories over the Dolphins in the last 25 years. Another awesome read that you can find here:
https://nycbbb.com/features/board.shtml

Care to know how the “Balloongate” game was at Calico’s last week? Check out Phil Mann’s column this week:
https://nycbbb.com/columns/101908.shtml

Kevin Smith, who was at the game, said beer sales were uninterrupted at Ralph Wilson Stadium throughout the blackouts. Gotta love Buffalo. I just hope Kevin got out of the pitch black bathrooms with dry pants unlike some others I heard about….but that’s a story for another time.

Random thought…anybody else get excited when you go to Ikea and they have all you can drink Loganberry juice? I had 3 cups when I was there today. You fellow Western New Yorkers know what I’m talking about here….

Just to let everybody know, there is a Bills fan selling T-Shirts with an image of the 42nd and 2nd Street signs and Little Buffalo, NYC. Cool shirts, only $10, and you can usually find him by the front door of McFadden’s.

Hey…want to see pictures of everybody at McFadden’s and Calico’s last week:
https://nycbbb.com/pics/chargers08.shtml

I know, I’m giving you a lot to read, but here’s another homework assignment, great article on Tim Russert this week:
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/russert-wouldve-enjoyed-political-football-053100743–nfl.html

I know many of you are out there saying “Matt, you’re all over the place in this email”…indeed I am, I’m so fired up for this Sunday that I’m just letting the words flow out. I mean, we’ve been doing NYCBBB for 6 years now and we’re finally in a true run for the playoffs, there’s no reason NOT to be fired up! After living in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for over 4 years and never seeing a Bills fan here I’ve met 4 in the last month. The playoffs are making us come out of the woodwork, and we’re an energized bunch.

Anybody else out there fired up?

SQUISH THE FISH
SQUISH THE FISH
SQUISH THE FISH!!!

HEY AY HEY AY!!!

LET’S GO BUFFALO!!!

Matt “Talkin proud and my wife denied me getting Zuba pants” Kabel

A View from Calico Jack’s – 10/19/2008

Now I’ve seen it all – precisely because I couldn’t see it all.

As was the case for anyone not actually attending Sunday’s Bills/Charge-less, I mean Bills/Chargers game, I missed lots of it because of “Balloon-Gate”. More on that in a moment.

What I could see was a wonderful sight. I’ll admit that I feared an Arizona-type of offensive explosion from San Diego, but it never happened. I also feared that the Chargers would take a late lead, but thanks to a play-of-the-game interception by Kawika Mitchell (followed soon after by his not-the-play-of-the-game-but-still-very-impressive forced fumble and recovery), the Bills once again won a game they might have lost last year. The Bills were also helped tremendously by the true play of the game in terms of actual merit – a near-miraculous Lee Evans TD reception that almost invoked memories of Mitchell’s former Giants teammate, David Tyree.

Back to the balloons. I’ve searched hard for the right words to sum up my feelings, and I think I’ve finally put them together: what the f**k? Seriously, what kind of stadium is brought to its knees by Mylar balloons? What’s going to happen next – a flood because of some kid with one of those wands that blows bubbles? Western NY has enough problems. We don’t need this.

Nonetheless, some good things came out of the truthfully comic situation. Those of us at Calico Jack’s maintained a generally good attitude, and found creative ways to stay connected to the game – mainly thanks to the Internet and frequent calls to friends actually in attendance. We sang and clapped (sort of) to Shout when word came of a Bills score. And we became quite excited by something we usually take for granted – the game reappearing on our TVs.

I do want to point out something I read in one of the post-game news accounts:

“With no power, though, the atmosphere was a little surreal. The crowd would cheer without prompting and there was none of the loud music being pumped in through the expensive sound system. Also missing were the commercials being broadcast during breaks in the action.”

Cheering without prompting, no commercials and the ability to actually talk to the person next to you? Sounds like an improvement to me.

Bring back the balloons! Just leave the satellite alone, please.

E-mail feedback and comments to Phil Mann at
pjmann at nyc.rr.com

Buffalo Bills vs. San Diego Chargers

Hello all 1,896 Buffalo Bills Fans!

I hope everybody’s wounds from our butt-whooping in Arizona have healed over the last two weeks. However, a member sent me the following email that asks “Haven’t we been here before?” that is a piece of brilliance (BRILLIANCE I say!) and I HIGHLY recommend checking it out, especially if you want to relive the Bills teams of the 90’s:
https://nycbbb.com/features/board.shtml

The Bills have an equally demanding task ahead of this this Sunday as they take on the red hot San Diego Chargers at 1pm. The Chargers are coming off a huge win over the Patriots and will look to build that momentum in Orchard Park before heading oversees for this year’s European game.

Again, the specials run from 12-5pm and the best place to catch the game is at McFadden’s or Calico Jack’s on 42nd and 2nd. Looks like there is a street fair on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 34th Streets this Sunday so plan accordingly. And again, please remember to respect the bar and your fellow fans this weekend.

Also, be sure to check out BuffaloBills.com, they revamped it and looks awesome.

Jon Corto
I’m sure by now you all know of the incredible story of Buffalo Bill Jon Corto who is a homeboy hero from my fellow hometown of Orchard Park. Jon actually watched one of the Bills games with you at McFadden’s last year and now we’re watching him this season! Jon has a new website where you can learn about his story and how you can help his work with the American Diabetes Association by buying a “CortoZone” t-shirt. Jon also has an ongoing blog with insider information about the Bills. Be sure and check it out!

Phil’s Column – A View From Calico Jack’s
https://nycbbb.com/columns/100508.shtml

Pictures from the Cardinals Game – Mike Coniaris (The first picture says it all)
https://nycbbb.com/pics/cards08.shtml

ZUBAZ
In case you missed my reference to ZUBAZ pants in a previous email, what better way to relive the glory days than by sporting a pair of these. If my wife is reading this, Christmas is coming up…..cough….
https://zubaz.com/.

Bills Daily
Be sure to check out www.BillsDaily.com for all the latest news!

I hate the bye week….I NEED BILLS FOOTBALL!!!

B-U-F-F-A-L-O!
B-U-F-F-A-L-O!!
B-U-F-F-A-L-O!!!

LET’S GO BUFFALO!!!!

Matt “Talkin’ Proud and ready to send the Bolts to Europe with a loss!” Kabel

A View from Calico Jack’s – 10/5/2008

OK, short column this week, so let’s get right to it. Here are five legitimately good things about today’s Arizona game:

1) We don’t have to suffer through another quarterback controversy

2) Next week’s our bye week, giving Edwards an extra week to recover (and an extra week for the authorities to track down the bus that hit him)

3) It was a non-conference loss. Sure, I prefer non-conference wins to non-conference losses, but as categories of loss go, this isn’t so bad

4) Pre-season, most of us would have signed up for 4-1 at the break. I’d predicted 3-2

5) Best of all…the game’s over

So, what does this all mean? The game exposed some of the Bills’ lingering weaknesses: vulnerability against truly diverse passing games; inconsistent O-Line performance; questionable first-half game planning; JP’s grooming habits. But the team’s young, and I would think that all but this last weakness are correctable.

Seriously, take this final point into consideration: as a result of beginning the season 4-0, the Bills need to play .500 ball over their last 12 games to go 10-6, which gives us a legitimate playoff shot. It’s going to be an interesting, exciting season.

E-mail feedback and comments to Phil Mann at
pjmann at nyc.rr.com

Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals

Hello all 1,881 NYC Buffalo Bills Fans!

HUUUGE game this week! The 4-0 Buffalo Bills travel to Arizona to take on the explosive 2-2 Cardinals this Sunday at 4PM. This will be the biggest test for the Bills yet, as the Cardinals are a very formidable team and its on their turf making them the favored team. McFadden’s will be open at 11am and the seats are on a first come first serve basis for the 4PM Bills game. Calico Jack’s will be opening its doors at 2:30pm. We received word that in McFadden’s after the win against the Rams that beer was thrown and fans were crowd surfing. Now, we know there is plenty of pent up emotions in all of us as Bills fans, but please respect the bar and your fellow fans and keep the rowdiness in check. If you cross the line you will be asked to leave.

In addition, we got awesome news that over 50 ROWDY Bills fans were at Turtle Bay for the inaugural NYCBBB game up there and was a great time. We are working to have the Shout Song and Labatt Blue up there for this weekend. Just a reminder that they offer domestic beers for $2, import for $4, and 50 cent wings. You can reserve seats by calling 212-223-4224 and asking for Sean or Jess.

Also, feel free to visit our list of other reliable and Bills friendly places to watch Bills games in the area:
https://nycbbb.com/features/satellites.shtml

Please visit our message board to offer feedback on the bars, the management and staff of the bars visit the board on a daily basis and would love your constructive comments:
https://nycbbb.com/features/board.shtml

Lots to cover here:

NYCBBB Interview on Shredd & Ragan
Here is a link to my 10 min interview with Buffalo Radio hosts Shredd and Ragan last week discussing how we got started, how we help Buffalo, and we even discuss Tim Russert. The interview will play automatically by clicking the link:
https://nycbbb.com/features/shredd_ragan.shtml

A View From Calico Jacks and Pictures From the Rams game:

Here is Phil Mann’s weekly column:
https://nycbbb.com/columns/092808.shtml

Pictures courtesy of Mike Coniaris (yeah that’s my blonde haired little boy in the pics!):
https://nycbbb.com/pics/rams08.shtml

PUSH Fundraiser
PUSH Buffalo will be holding another fundraiser as Buffalo-based recording artist Roger Bryan will be playing at the Bitter End this Friday, Oct. 3 at 11pm at 147 Bleecker Street. Admission is $10 and all proceeds will go to PUSH.

Buffalo Bills Missing Rings/Zubaz!
There is a documentary on tonight about the Buffalo Bills losing the 4 Super Bowls at 10pm on NFL Network. Is that what we really need right now? Feel free to watch, don’t think I can stomach it! If you want to relive the 90’s, order yourself some ZUBAZ!!!
https://zubaz.com/

Sabres
Don’t forget that hockey season is upon us and to sign up for the Sabres Backers emails on our home page.

HUUUUGE GAME THIS WEEK!!!

BUFFALO 5-0
BUFFALO 5-0
BUFFALO 5-0!!!!

GO BILLS!!!

Matt “Talkin’ proud and ready to roll over Kurt Warner” Kabel