We arrived outside the Rogers Centre at around 2.30pm so as to soak up the atmosphere and the "tailgate" party, check out Finger Eleven and, as it turned out, have a very brief conversation with Bills former great Thurman Thomas. The difference between the experience of attending a game at Ralph Wilson Stadium and trying to re-create it in downtown Toronto has been widely discussed and my only expectation was that there would be at least a bit of improvement over the first three years of this awkward experiment.
In terms of the tailgate party, we had a good look at the long security line-up to get into the area where beer is actually sold and where a view of the stage was possible. It didn't look very appealing so we walked around to an area behind the stage and saw two members of Finger Eleven pound out a couple of their songs which I don't know. Then, we continued our circumnavigation of the stadium and, as we walked up the stairs on the west side, Thurman Thomas was coming down the stairs toward us. He was walking quickly and reading his Blackberry and when I made contact with him and extended my hand, he very half-heartedly did the same but never stopped and never took his eyes off the Berry. I guess he was just trying to blend in to Toronto culture.
Once inside, it got more interesting, sort of. Toronto crowds are notoriously late arriving but I hoped that a 4pm Sunday start time might be more manageable for them. At kick-off, it still looked half empty and didn't "fill in" until the end of the first quarter (the game was, apparently, about 2,500 short of a sell out). The Bills scored two touchdowns and three field goals in the game which meant that the "shout" song was played five times. It was began and ended each time with the sound of a cannon which, with the roof closed, made us jump every time- eventhough we knew it was coming. Rogers Centre staff were throwing bundled up T-shirts into the crowd - something the Raptors have been doing for years. The Raptors do it during time-outs but yesterday it was done when the game was on. Anyone who watches football on TV knows that there are more than enough TV time-outs to allow as much T-shirt tossing as anyone would want - BUT NOT WHEN THE GAME IS ON.
Chan Gailey was complimentary of the crowd in his post-game press conference and he referred specifically to three false start penalties caused by the noise. In the 500 level, it seemed a bit louder than in previous years but still only a small fraction of what it is at the Ralph. Anyway, he (generously) attributed two Redskin false starts to the crowd noise but also mentioned that, with the Bills offence lining up on a third down and one, the crowd decided to do "the wave" and the Bills false started. He seemed mystified by this.
To the game itself: The Bills came in to this game with a league low four sacks on the season. They found a pass rush yesterday and earned nine sacks in total. The Redskins looked lost (maybe it was the intimidating crowd) and were never in the game at all. Apart from the newly found pass rush, Fred Jackson continues to roll, gaining 194 all purpose yards, Scott Chandler caught two more TD passes and now has six on the season, George Wilson had another strong game, as did Spencer Johnson and Dwan Edwards. The 5-2 Bills have a real home game next week against the Jets before going on the road for three straight.
Municipal politics note: As the Rob Ford/22 Minutes/911 call fiasco was playing out last week, I decided to write an email to my city councillor. She is well regarded in the ward and, with a right of centre orientation, is a member of Ford's Executive Committee and Chair of the TTC. To mark the unfortunate one year anniversary of his election last Tuesday, Ford and his team had a press conference where he speculated that they would all be re-elected if another election were held now. I said to my councillor that her continued association with this mayor causes me to question her judgment to the point that I can no longer support her (not that I ever did but how would she know that?) . I called on her to publicly dis-associate herself from him. I have had no response. She's probably still thinking about it.
Monday, 31 October 2011
Monday, 17 October 2011
Giants 27, Bills 24
Not that I'm particularly superstitious but I'm now 0-2 watching Bills games alone at the cottage this season. I'm 2-0 watching Bills games not alone at the cottage. I'm 1-0 paddling in a dragonboat event and not watching the game at all. And, finally, I'm 1-0 attending the game. Does it really matter? It matters if they win but if, where and with whom I watch probably doesn't matter but I'm still willing to do whatever I can to help. Next week is the bye week so I have every option available I guess. And the following week, I will be at the game at the Rogers Centre. Can the Bills win their first regular season Toronto Series game after losing the first three?
At no time during yesterday's loss to the Giants did I feel that the team couldn't win the game in the end. A couple of Ryan Fitzpatrick interceptions and a couple of Drayton Florence pass interference calls were the difference in the end but the lack of pressure on Ely Manning during the entire game is probably what the coaches will be focusing on. That and trying to get some players healthy. The Bills generated no turnovers in this game either - and their luck on that front had to run out some time. Playing without Kyle Williams is something which they hopefully will not have to do again. And with Hairston being injured yesterday, that's now 2 left offensive tackles on the shelf. They need Merriman back too.
This past weekend, rain returned to Muskoka. Our lake level a week ago was as low as anyone has ever seen it. Saturday was as miserable a day as we've had in a long time (but a good day to watch some college football) with steady rain and very high winds. I still got a wet bike ride in then I had a sauna around 6.30pm. I just love doing the sauna in those conditions. As I sat on the dock after a cold dunk in the lake, I heard what sounded like a large tree come down accross the bay. I walked over in the morning and our neighbours were very lucky indeed as a the top 10 metres of a large hemlock came down between their cottage and their wash house without doing any damage I could see. There is rain forecast every day until and including Thursday so the lake level should recover a bit. We will need weeks of rain to bring it up the 14 inches to normal fall levels.
Now to US politics: It's interesting to see the progressions of the Republican presidential nomination race as they weave and twist their way toward the likely nomination of Mitt Romney. Likely, that is, depending on the influence of the Tea Party. If they are somehow able to prevent the nomination of an electable candidate like Romney, then the Democrats will be the biggest benficiaries. The Tea Party's favoured candidate started as Michelle Bachman and, after she flamed out, moved on to Rick Perry. He seems not to have been properly prepared for the grilling which comes with being a front runner candidate for President and appears to be finished as well. Now, former Godfather's Pizza CEO, Herman Cain, is the new flavour of the month. He has proposed a tax plan he calls "999" which features a 9% flat tax on businesess, a 9% flat tax on individuals and a 9% sales tax. Obviously, the concept of a progressive tax system where the wealthy pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes isn't part of the Tea Party philosophy. It's hard to imagine that a marginal income tax rate of 9% for everyone will solve the American debt problem but Mr. Cain says it will create 6 million jobs and add $2 trillion to the GDP. And - this is the best part - if it's not there in 30 minutes, it's free.
At no time during yesterday's loss to the Giants did I feel that the team couldn't win the game in the end. A couple of Ryan Fitzpatrick interceptions and a couple of Drayton Florence pass interference calls were the difference in the end but the lack of pressure on Ely Manning during the entire game is probably what the coaches will be focusing on. That and trying to get some players healthy. The Bills generated no turnovers in this game either - and their luck on that front had to run out some time. Playing without Kyle Williams is something which they hopefully will not have to do again. And with Hairston being injured yesterday, that's now 2 left offensive tackles on the shelf. They need Merriman back too.
This past weekend, rain returned to Muskoka. Our lake level a week ago was as low as anyone has ever seen it. Saturday was as miserable a day as we've had in a long time (but a good day to watch some college football) with steady rain and very high winds. I still got a wet bike ride in then I had a sauna around 6.30pm. I just love doing the sauna in those conditions. As I sat on the dock after a cold dunk in the lake, I heard what sounded like a large tree come down accross the bay. I walked over in the morning and our neighbours were very lucky indeed as a the top 10 metres of a large hemlock came down between their cottage and their wash house without doing any damage I could see. There is rain forecast every day until and including Thursday so the lake level should recover a bit. We will need weeks of rain to bring it up the 14 inches to normal fall levels.
Now to US politics: It's interesting to see the progressions of the Republican presidential nomination race as they weave and twist their way toward the likely nomination of Mitt Romney. Likely, that is, depending on the influence of the Tea Party. If they are somehow able to prevent the nomination of an electable candidate like Romney, then the Democrats will be the biggest benficiaries. The Tea Party's favoured candidate started as Michelle Bachman and, after she flamed out, moved on to Rick Perry. He seems not to have been properly prepared for the grilling which comes with being a front runner candidate for President and appears to be finished as well. Now, former Godfather's Pizza CEO, Herman Cain, is the new flavour of the month. He has proposed a tax plan he calls "999" which features a 9% flat tax on businesess, a 9% flat tax on individuals and a 9% sales tax. Obviously, the concept of a progressive tax system where the wealthy pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes isn't part of the Tea Party philosophy. It's hard to imagine that a marginal income tax rate of 9% for everyone will solve the American debt problem but Mr. Cain says it will create 6 million jobs and add $2 trillion to the GDP. And - this is the best part - if it's not there in 30 minutes, it's free.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Bills 31, Eagles 24
After five games, the Buffalo Bills lead the NFL in interceptions with 12. Yesterday, against Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles, they posted another four interceptions (as well as another takeaway) on their way to their third consecutive home win. Each of these home wins featured spectacular autumn weather in Orchard Park, exciting high scoring football and close games which each game's outcome undetermined until the very end. The 34 point drubbing of the Chiefs in week one now seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?
Any NFL coach will tell you (and Chan Gailey and Andy Reid both mentioned this in their post game press conferences) that if a team wins the turnover battle 5-1, like the Bills did yesterday, they are not going to lose very often. Well, the Eagles still made a game of it and looked like they were going to tie it before the final Barnett interception. The Bills deserve credit for the pressure they were able to bring on Vick. It certainly helped create the turnovers and kept him off balance for parts of the game. The Eagles were able to expose the Bills run defence on the outside, and when Vick did have sufficient time, he was effective.
Arguably the most important play in the game took place with 1.30 remaining. Facing a 4th down and about 6 inches, the Bills lined up as if they were going to go for the first down. Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to draw the Eagles offside resulting in a first down. Game over. Gailey explained that they practice the "hard count" drill every Saturday. I would also think that defensive teams would practice the same drill with the goal of staying onside. Gailey was asked if he was actually going to run a play in that situation or if he was going to punt if the hard count did not work. "I'll never tell" was his answer. I think that he would have run a play rather than giving the ball back to Michael Vick.
Buffalo travels to New Jersey next week to face the Giants who loast at home yesterday to Seattle. They will not want to lose at home in consecutive weeks so this will be a challenge. Then, the Bills have their bye week before playing the Redskins at the Rogers Centre on October 30th.
Last Tuesday, I was able, despite considerable confusion on the part of the Elections Ontario staff at the polling station, to get on the voters list in Eglinton-Lawrence and cast my vote for long time MPP Mike Colle. I thought that he would find himself in a close race against "star" candidate Rocco Rossi. Well, it wasn't close. Rossi got smoked and I couldn't be happier about it. Apparently, one of the first things Rossi did as the campaign approached was to try to closely affiliate himself with Rob Ford. They appeared together at bar-b-ques and other events and I can only presume that once Rossi realized the liability that Ford represented, it was too late.
The PC's were shut out of the 416 area entirely and now find their base in rural areas only. This is a disturbing trend which also reflects the situation with the federal party. The most dissapointing statistic for me from this election was that the voter turnout was below 50%.
Any NFL coach will tell you (and Chan Gailey and Andy Reid both mentioned this in their post game press conferences) that if a team wins the turnover battle 5-1, like the Bills did yesterday, they are not going to lose very often. Well, the Eagles still made a game of it and looked like they were going to tie it before the final Barnett interception. The Bills deserve credit for the pressure they were able to bring on Vick. It certainly helped create the turnovers and kept him off balance for parts of the game. The Eagles were able to expose the Bills run defence on the outside, and when Vick did have sufficient time, he was effective.
Arguably the most important play in the game took place with 1.30 remaining. Facing a 4th down and about 6 inches, the Bills lined up as if they were going to go for the first down. Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to draw the Eagles offside resulting in a first down. Game over. Gailey explained that they practice the "hard count" drill every Saturday. I would also think that defensive teams would practice the same drill with the goal of staying onside. Gailey was asked if he was actually going to run a play in that situation or if he was going to punt if the hard count did not work. "I'll never tell" was his answer. I think that he would have run a play rather than giving the ball back to Michael Vick.
Buffalo travels to New Jersey next week to face the Giants who loast at home yesterday to Seattle. They will not want to lose at home in consecutive weeks so this will be a challenge. Then, the Bills have their bye week before playing the Redskins at the Rogers Centre on October 30th.
Last Tuesday, I was able, despite considerable confusion on the part of the Elections Ontario staff at the polling station, to get on the voters list in Eglinton-Lawrence and cast my vote for long time MPP Mike Colle. I thought that he would find himself in a close race against "star" candidate Rocco Rossi. Well, it wasn't close. Rossi got smoked and I couldn't be happier about it. Apparently, one of the first things Rossi did as the campaign approached was to try to closely affiliate himself with Rob Ford. They appeared together at bar-b-ques and other events and I can only presume that once Rossi realized the liability that Ford represented, it was too late.
The PC's were shut out of the 416 area entirely and now find their base in rural areas only. This is a disturbing trend which also reflects the situation with the federal party. The most dissapointing statistic for me from this election was that the voter turnout was below 50%.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Bengals 23, Bills 20
In my opinion, poor tackling cost the Bills this game. It made me wonder what causes a team to tackle poorly. Is it possible that what looks like poor tackling is really just effective tackle breaking by the opposing team? In baseball, hitters can have success at times and at other times, they fail miserably. Does good pitching cause poor hitting and vice versa? Same thing with basketball: players and teams shoot well at times and shoot poorly at other times. Good defence in basketball will limit the number of "open looks" shooters get during each game. So, the effectiveness of the opposing team surely plays a role in these situations but, when I watched this game, it seemed clear to me that the Bills just tackled poorly.
The officiating was questionable as well. In addition to a number of non holding calls on the Cincinnati offense, the review of the Steve Johnson catch in the 4th quarter was a critical play in the game. The ruling on the filed was that it was an incomplete pass and the replay, apparently, did not provide enough evidence for the referee to overturn the ruling on the filed. I was convinced, based on the replays I saw, that the catch was good. It would have resulted in a first down and at least allowed Buffalo to wind 2 or 3 more minutes off the clock even if they did not make another first down. None of that would have mattered if they had tackled better.
So, the Bills find themsleves out of the national media spotlight, although they were the last remaining undefeated team in the AFC. Next up is a very interesting and potentially dangerous game: The Philadelphia Eagles come to Orchard Park on this Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday. The Eagles signed a number of prominent free agents in the off season and were widely expected to be one the top teams in the NFC and challenge for the Superbowl. They sit at 1-3 and no doubt feel that slipping to 1-4 would seriously jeopardize their expectations for earning one of the top seeds in the NFC playoff draw. If the Bills lose, they would slip to 3-2 and then travel to New York to face the Giants. As the second quarter of the NFL season begins, this game is extremely important for both teams. Let's hope that the sold out home crowd can inspire the Bills.
Ok, on to the Ontario election. In every recent election, I seem to find myself hoping that a particular party does not win. As long as they don't win, I don't really care which of the other two does actually win. My dad has said for years that he would like to have the option of voting against a particular candidate, instead of only being able to vote for a candidate. Under this system, each candidate's vote total would be the net of votes for and against. This would essentially eliminate the need for strategic voting. But we don't have that option so I will, once gain, have to vote strategically.
I have just moved back to the riding of Eglinton-Lawrence, long held by Liberal Mike Colle. His main opponent is the turncoat Rocco Rossi. A long time Liberal Party executive, Rossi increased his public profile last year with a strong run for the mayoralty of Toronto. Based on the candidates debates I attended, he would have had my vote until he pulled out of the race a couple of weeks before the election. Maybe he was worried that Rob Ford might win. Then, somewhere along the way, he made a sharp right turn and is now running for Mr. Hudak's PC's. Yes,Mr. Rossi has joined forces with the party who supports prisoner chain gangs and seems to think that all taxes are bad. My theory is that he thought that the PC's had an excellent chance of winning the election and that was promised a prominent cabinet role in a Hudak government. Sadly for Mr. Rossi, it doesn't look like it's going to work out that way.
The Globe and Mail endorsed Dalton McGuinty's Liberals yesterday - although not anywhere close to a ringing endorsement. The editorial page was critical of Mr. Hudak for offering virtually nothing more that criticism of the governing party. He has also focused on a couple of what he hoped would be wedge issues - the "foreign worker" flap in the campaign's early days, the prisoner chain gangs and the usual "McGuinty is soft on crime" crap. Otherwise, he has offered nothing except the tiresome tax cuts with no service reductions mantra and no electricity rate increases. He says he will tear up the Feed-in Tarriff program and the Samsung renewable energy deal. These may well be bad deals for the province but in the process of promising to cancel them, Mr. Hudak has postioned himself as the leader who wants to turn away from the new economy and the (so far elusive) "green jobs" it will bring. His opponent talks about embracing the future and Mr. Hudak looks like he wants to wind the clock back. For those reasons, and the fact that, as a Toronto resident, I already have two right wing governments (and I most certainly do not want a third), I will be voting against Mr. Rossi and Mr. Hudak. I guess that means I'm voting Liberal - again - not because that's what I really want but because the alternative is what I really do not want.
The officiating was questionable as well. In addition to a number of non holding calls on the Cincinnati offense, the review of the Steve Johnson catch in the 4th quarter was a critical play in the game. The ruling on the filed was that it was an incomplete pass and the replay, apparently, did not provide enough evidence for the referee to overturn the ruling on the filed. I was convinced, based on the replays I saw, that the catch was good. It would have resulted in a first down and at least allowed Buffalo to wind 2 or 3 more minutes off the clock even if they did not make another first down. None of that would have mattered if they had tackled better.
So, the Bills find themsleves out of the national media spotlight, although they were the last remaining undefeated team in the AFC. Next up is a very interesting and potentially dangerous game: The Philadelphia Eagles come to Orchard Park on this Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday. The Eagles signed a number of prominent free agents in the off season and were widely expected to be one the top teams in the NFC and challenge for the Superbowl. They sit at 1-3 and no doubt feel that slipping to 1-4 would seriously jeopardize their expectations for earning one of the top seeds in the NFC playoff draw. If the Bills lose, they would slip to 3-2 and then travel to New York to face the Giants. As the second quarter of the NFL season begins, this game is extremely important for both teams. Let's hope that the sold out home crowd can inspire the Bills.
Ok, on to the Ontario election. In every recent election, I seem to find myself hoping that a particular party does not win. As long as they don't win, I don't really care which of the other two does actually win. My dad has said for years that he would like to have the option of voting against a particular candidate, instead of only being able to vote for a candidate. Under this system, each candidate's vote total would be the net of votes for and against. This would essentially eliminate the need for strategic voting. But we don't have that option so I will, once gain, have to vote strategically.
I have just moved back to the riding of Eglinton-Lawrence, long held by Liberal Mike Colle. His main opponent is the turncoat Rocco Rossi. A long time Liberal Party executive, Rossi increased his public profile last year with a strong run for the mayoralty of Toronto. Based on the candidates debates I attended, he would have had my vote until he pulled out of the race a couple of weeks before the election. Maybe he was worried that Rob Ford might win. Then, somewhere along the way, he made a sharp right turn and is now running for Mr. Hudak's PC's. Yes,Mr. Rossi has joined forces with the party who supports prisoner chain gangs and seems to think that all taxes are bad. My theory is that he thought that the PC's had an excellent chance of winning the election and that was promised a prominent cabinet role in a Hudak government. Sadly for Mr. Rossi, it doesn't look like it's going to work out that way.
The Globe and Mail endorsed Dalton McGuinty's Liberals yesterday - although not anywhere close to a ringing endorsement. The editorial page was critical of Mr. Hudak for offering virtually nothing more that criticism of the governing party. He has also focused on a couple of what he hoped would be wedge issues - the "foreign worker" flap in the campaign's early days, the prisoner chain gangs and the usual "McGuinty is soft on crime" crap. Otherwise, he has offered nothing except the tiresome tax cuts with no service reductions mantra and no electricity rate increases. He says he will tear up the Feed-in Tarriff program and the Samsung renewable energy deal. These may well be bad deals for the province but in the process of promising to cancel them, Mr. Hudak has postioned himself as the leader who wants to turn away from the new economy and the (so far elusive) "green jobs" it will bring. His opponent talks about embracing the future and Mr. Hudak looks like he wants to wind the clock back. For those reasons, and the fact that, as a Toronto resident, I already have two right wing governments (and I most certainly do not want a third), I will be voting against Mr. Rossi and Mr. Hudak. I guess that means I'm voting Liberal - again - not because that's what I really want but because the alternative is what I really do not want.
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