It does seem like a mystery that Rob Ford can still maintain considerable personal and political support in light of his recent disgraceful behaviour. Ford Nation iis an interesting, if not disturbing, group of mostly suburban voters who are drawn to a certain kind of simplistic populism similar to that which created and propelled the Tea Party in the United States. As Andrew Coyne recently wrote, Ford's support is based on "condescending populism, (an) aggressively dumb, harshly divisive message that has become the playbook for the right generally in this country, in all its contempt for learning, its disdain for facts, its disrespect of convention and debasing of standards".
First to Canadian football: I caught the end of the Eastern Final on the car radio after the Bills were in command of their game. A surprisingly (to me at least) big crowd of more than 35,000 at the dome saw the Tiger-Cats advance to their first Grey Cup since 1999. I was happy for them, for coach Austin, for the City of Hamilton and happy that, since the Argos season is now done, Rob Ford can not involve himself in any of the festivities in Regina this week. The Saskatchewan Rough Riders will try to become the third team in a row to win the Grey Cup in their home stadium. The Argos did so last year and the BC Lions did the year before.
This year's Vanier Cup will be won by either the Calgary Dinosaurs or the defending champs, the Laval Rouge et Or. My Western Mustangs were trounced by the Dinos in the Mitchell Bowl. The game will be played in Quebec City next Saturday.
I saw none of the Bills big win over the Jets yesterday. It was my mom's 75th birthday and the family gathered in St. Catharines to mark the occasion. The score was 17-0 when I turned on the car radio. The game was billed as as the battle between two AFC East rookie quarterbacks: Geno Smith, the West Virginia product taken by the Jets in the second round of this year's draft, and EJ Manuel of the Bills. Mirroring the Jets season so far, Smith has been either very good - he has beaten the Patriots and the Saints - or very bad. EJ Manuel, on the other hand, had not shown the same extremes in his play that Smith has. Manuel has also been erratic but yesterday's performance in the winds of Orchard Park certainly helped to reassure Bills fans who were deeply concerned after last week's ugly performance in Pittsburgh.
The Bills have only one more game at Ralph Wilson Stadium this season, 5 weeks from yesterday against the Dolphins. As of last week, there were about 20,000 tickets remaining so the game will surely be the first and only one of the seven games at the Ralph to be blacked out this season - thanks to Ralph Wilson "buying" the remaining tickets to yesterday's game (and the Cincinnati game in October). I wonder where he gets the money.
The bye week has finally come and then the Bills face the Atlanta Falcons at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. I might grab a cheap ticket at game time if I'm in town.
Monday, 18 November 2013
Monday, 11 November 2013
Steelers 23, Bills 10
Tabatha Southey is a good writer. Her weekly Globe and Mail column is a must-read for me and I follow her on Twitter too. Her column this past Saturday, entitled "Finally, the mayor he dreamed he'd be" drew an amusing connection between Sandro Lisi leaving plastic bags in the back seat of the mayor's Escalade and his "highly impassioned, successful crusade to end the five cent fee for plastic bags...". At this point in the exhausting Ford story, we're left with trying to find humour wherever it might lurk. It was easy enough at first but the story seems to have run out of funny chapters. But it's a new week and we can only hope.
The Fifth Estate piece on Friday night did a nice job of pulling all of the sordid elements of the story together. Ford's admission of crack use, his angry rant against someone in the latest video and Toronto City Council's continuing ostracization of him may be the least of his problems if more evidence comes to light about his connections to organized crime. The "broker" of the original video, a Dixon community organizer, claimed that unsavoury characters showed up in the days immediately following the original Toronto Star story offering (and showing people) large sums of cash in exchange for the video. Around this time, Ford was calling Lisi multiple times every day. Many of their clandestine meetings at gas stations and elsewhere were recorded as part of the ongoing police surveillance. He has not offered an explanation of any of this but, if he insists on remaining as mayor, the pressure to do so will be immense. Otherwise, we will draw our own conclusions. I wonder when we will get around to discussing the downtown relief line again.
If there is a silver lining to this very dark cloud stuck over the City of Toronto, it could be that the Ford saga has generated renewed interest in municipal politics which could translate into increased voter turnout next fall. High voter turnouts are the great fear of the right wing. Apathy and cynicism helped elect Stephen Harper but as voter turnout increases (if it does), his prospects diminish - and he knows it. Same goes for Ford Nation (which Adam Vaughan referred to as a failed state). Members of Ford Nation vote in large percentages and if others don't, Ford wins. If many citizens who have never voted in municipal elections do vote next October, very few of them are likely to vote for Ford. As long as the non-Ford vote isn't split too many ways, just think, we may be less than a year away from booting him out.
The most interesting thing I saw during yesterday's Bills game in Pittsburgh was some footage CBS dug up from the Bills one and only win in Pittsburgh which took place in 1975. The teams do not play each other all that often but their histories each go back more than 50 years. Many Bills fans were probably happy to see EJ Manuel under centre after missing 4 weeks with a knee injury from the Cleveland game in week 5. I was one of them. But even acknowledging that he had missed the previous 4 weeks and was making only his 6th NFL career start - in Pittsburgh - he had a bad day yesterday. Very bad. So bad that on the past-game call-in on WGR, The Bulldog wondered if the team should consider drafting another quarterback in next year's draft. The remaining 6 games in this season, while unimportant for Bills fans who have probably thrown in the towel on another lost season, are going to determine if the Bills will do that or stick with Manuel and fill another need in the draft. Let's hope he shows some of whatever they saw in him when they picked him. I predict that he will bounce back, play better and be the quarterback to lead the team back to the playoffs.
The Fifth Estate piece on Friday night did a nice job of pulling all of the sordid elements of the story together. Ford's admission of crack use, his angry rant against someone in the latest video and Toronto City Council's continuing ostracization of him may be the least of his problems if more evidence comes to light about his connections to organized crime. The "broker" of the original video, a Dixon community organizer, claimed that unsavoury characters showed up in the days immediately following the original Toronto Star story offering (and showing people) large sums of cash in exchange for the video. Around this time, Ford was calling Lisi multiple times every day. Many of their clandestine meetings at gas stations and elsewhere were recorded as part of the ongoing police surveillance. He has not offered an explanation of any of this but, if he insists on remaining as mayor, the pressure to do so will be immense. Otherwise, we will draw our own conclusions. I wonder when we will get around to discussing the downtown relief line again.
If there is a silver lining to this very dark cloud stuck over the City of Toronto, it could be that the Ford saga has generated renewed interest in municipal politics which could translate into increased voter turnout next fall. High voter turnouts are the great fear of the right wing. Apathy and cynicism helped elect Stephen Harper but as voter turnout increases (if it does), his prospects diminish - and he knows it. Same goes for Ford Nation (which Adam Vaughan referred to as a failed state). Members of Ford Nation vote in large percentages and if others don't, Ford wins. If many citizens who have never voted in municipal elections do vote next October, very few of them are likely to vote for Ford. As long as the non-Ford vote isn't split too many ways, just think, we may be less than a year away from booting him out.
The most interesting thing I saw during yesterday's Bills game in Pittsburgh was some footage CBS dug up from the Bills one and only win in Pittsburgh which took place in 1975. The teams do not play each other all that often but their histories each go back more than 50 years. Many Bills fans were probably happy to see EJ Manuel under centre after missing 4 weeks with a knee injury from the Cleveland game in week 5. I was one of them. But even acknowledging that he had missed the previous 4 weeks and was making only his 6th NFL career start - in Pittsburgh - he had a bad day yesterday. Very bad. So bad that on the past-game call-in on WGR, The Bulldog wondered if the team should consider drafting another quarterback in next year's draft. The remaining 6 games in this season, while unimportant for Bills fans who have probably thrown in the towel on another lost season, are going to determine if the Bills will do that or stick with Manuel and fill another need in the draft. Let's hope he shows some of whatever they saw in him when they picked him. I predict that he will bounce back, play better and be the quarterback to lead the team back to the playoffs.
Monday, 4 November 2013
Chiefs 23, Bills 13
Once again, I was asked a question I have never been asked before at the US Border at Lewiston, NY yesterday morning, There were a grand total of three questions actually: "Where are you going?", "When are you returning?" and, I guess because I was wearing only a base layer and a short-sleeved fake Mario Williams jersey over that, as he handed my passport back to me, the agent causally asked "Are you going to be warm enough?". After hesitating for a second, I decided to tell him the truth. I just wasn't sure. It turned out to be mostly sunny by kick-off so not too bad.
I met up with a few of my Buffalo peeps in a muddy parking lot just outside the stadium parking lot where I usually go. They had a big fire on the wet grass with logs from an ancient cherry tree which was cut down either by George Washington or a neighbour of theirs many many years ago. We stood around in the muck for an enjoyable couple of hours before Joe and I invested about half an hour lining up to get our "stadium blankets", another of the so-called "Season Ticket Holder Benefits" handed out this year. We got our blankets finally but missed the first 3 minutes of the game.
Fast forward to the first Bills drive of the 3rd quarter, leading the Chiefs 10-3. They moved the ball all the way down to the Chiefs one yard line, then ran it twice for nothing, setting up a key third down for the Bills offence. Before the snap, Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith is lined up opposite Stevie Johnson in the slot. TJ Graham is lined up to Johnson's right. At the snap, Johnson heads to the back of the endzone where he is wide open because Smith releases from him, pauses at the line of scrimmage and, as Jeff Tuel throws to his right looking for Graham, Smith is right at the goal line for the pick which he returns 100 yards to tie the game at 10. With the Bills poised to go up 17-3, it was a 14 point swing in one play - or at least 10 if the Bills had settled for a field goal - and, in a game which the Chiefs won by 10 points, it was obviously the key play.
Undrafted Jeff Tuel, pictured above, played remarkably well and the Bills were able to run the ball for 241 yards against a highly rated Chiefs defence. They outgained the Chiefs by 260 yards on the day but key turnovers sunk them.
With tomorrow being the first Tuesday of November, there are election signs along the main roads in Western New York. Sheriffs, State Senators, State Representatives, Judges, Controllers, County Administrators, Dog Catchers - Americans fill public positions by election significantly more than we do in Canada. While I do see the value in public officials having accountability directly to the citizens they serve, I wonder how informed voters can really be about the qualifications of candidates for some of these positions. Take Judges for example. Political advertising for these positions often involves arguing over various degrees of being extremely tough on crime. I guess, as the saying goes, we get the government - or the Judges or the Dog Catchers - we deserve.
Up next for the Bills: a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers who are having a down season. The Bills schedule does soften considerably over the last 7 games and a playoff run is not entirely out of the question as it does look the 6th seed in the AFC will probably be 9-7 or possibly even 8-8. Time to string together a few wins.
I met up with a few of my Buffalo peeps in a muddy parking lot just outside the stadium parking lot where I usually go. They had a big fire on the wet grass with logs from an ancient cherry tree which was cut down either by George Washington or a neighbour of theirs many many years ago. We stood around in the muck for an enjoyable couple of hours before Joe and I invested about half an hour lining up to get our "stadium blankets", another of the so-called "Season Ticket Holder Benefits" handed out this year. We got our blankets finally but missed the first 3 minutes of the game.
Fast forward to the first Bills drive of the 3rd quarter, leading the Chiefs 10-3. They moved the ball all the way down to the Chiefs one yard line, then ran it twice for nothing, setting up a key third down for the Bills offence. Before the snap, Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith is lined up opposite Stevie Johnson in the slot. TJ Graham is lined up to Johnson's right. At the snap, Johnson heads to the back of the endzone where he is wide open because Smith releases from him, pauses at the line of scrimmage and, as Jeff Tuel throws to his right looking for Graham, Smith is right at the goal line for the pick which he returns 100 yards to tie the game at 10. With the Bills poised to go up 17-3, it was a 14 point swing in one play - or at least 10 if the Bills had settled for a field goal - and, in a game which the Chiefs won by 10 points, it was obviously the key play.
Undrafted Jeff Tuel, pictured above, played remarkably well and the Bills were able to run the ball for 241 yards against a highly rated Chiefs defence. They outgained the Chiefs by 260 yards on the day but key turnovers sunk them.
With tomorrow being the first Tuesday of November, there are election signs along the main roads in Western New York. Sheriffs, State Senators, State Representatives, Judges, Controllers, County Administrators, Dog Catchers - Americans fill public positions by election significantly more than we do in Canada. While I do see the value in public officials having accountability directly to the citizens they serve, I wonder how informed voters can really be about the qualifications of candidates for some of these positions. Take Judges for example. Political advertising for these positions often involves arguing over various degrees of being extremely tough on crime. I guess, as the saying goes, we get the government - or the Judges or the Dog Catchers - we deserve.
Up next for the Bills: a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers who are having a down season. The Bills schedule does soften considerably over the last 7 games and a playoff run is not entirely out of the question as it does look the 6th seed in the AFC will probably be 9-7 or possibly even 8-8. Time to string together a few wins.
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