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This is from today's Toronto Sun

T.O. show officially on

Owens records first TD as a Bill

By ROB LONGLEY

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Before he brought them to their feet in a frenzy yesterday, Terrell Owens had tested the patience of the sellout crowd of Bills fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

They booed him for missing a bomb from Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards, a precision toss square in Owens' hands that, if caught, likely would have resulted in a touchdown.

And they booed Edwards when he went through cautious, extended periods of ignoring Owens and fellow deep threat, Lee Evans.

Little did the doubters recognize, however, that the mere threat of Owens is enough to make the once limp Bills offence one to be feared.

The celebrated off-season acquisition scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to statistically validate his presence in a rousing 33-20 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs before 70,318 at the Ralph.

The Bills were led by running back Fred Jackson and his career-high 163 rushing yards. But without Owens and Evans lurking dangerously on the outside, not nearly as many yards would have been available for such easy carving.

"If we can't run the ball (with Evans and Owens on the minds of the defence) we're not going to win many games," Bills offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said.

Jackson, who initially was looked at as a stop-gap until lead back Marshawn Lynch returns from a suspension in Week 4, was the first to agree that the way defences are playing Owens and Evans creates gaping opportunities in the middle of the field.

"Any team that's got two weapons like that on the outside, it's going to open up everything," Jackson said. "You have to account for those guys all the time."

Owens had just three receptions for a modest 52 yards, the crowd-pleaser being a 43-yard touchdown catch to give the Bills a 30-14 lead with 9:16 remaining.

He celebrated the 140th TD of his career by jumping into the arms of teammates while fans in the end zone showered him with popcorn.

What did T.O. think of his first real game in Buffalo and his first touchdown as a Bill?

You'll have to guess, since T.O. bolted from the dressing room following up on the silent treatment he gave after the opening-week loss to New England.

That act of petulance suggests trouble could be lurking any Sunday, but the Bills knew what they were getting into when they signed the flamboyant superstar in the off-season.

His mild calling-out of Edwards earlier this week was the first sign of trouble but tame by Owens outbursts in the past.

LONGER ATTEMPTS

While most of Edwards' 21 completions (on 31 attempts) were short efforts up the middle, there were more attempts to stretch the field than in Week 1.

Evans had just one reception, but it was a 32-yard touchdown catch, his first score in nearly 11 months, as the Bills snapped a five-game home losing streak.

"We want to get the ball in their hands as much as possible," Van Pelt said of his two superstar threats. "Sometimes, it's only going to be two or three times a game but sometimes that's going to be enough."

The Bills jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead, thanks in part to some sloppy play by Tampa Bay quarterback Byron Leftwich, who threw two interceptions leading directly to 10 Bills points.

Seven of those came on an electrifying 75-yard interception return by safety Donte Whitner.

The Bucs narrowed the lead to 20-14 by halftime but never got any closer as the Bills moved to 1-1, a nice recovery from the wrenching Monday night loss to the Patriots.

"I listen to the radio and I know everyone was concerned about the Monday night hangover," Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. "But we have a really passionate, fiery group of guys."

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Not any of the seven dwarfs, but a claymation character - guess no one got my reference to our old friend Cornelous?

I guess all those Buffalo Bill sports supporters are really happy now. They beat up on Tampa. Ol' Yuk only had to wait two games for a victory this year. How quickly will they start talking Sabres?

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Buffalo area police are still on the lookout for a vandal who spray painted "25-24, YOU DUMBASS MUTHAFUCKA!" on fumbling kick returner Leodis McKelvin's front yard, shortly after Monday night's loss. The perpetrater is described as a cherubic fellow with a twisted moustache and thick beard, and is considered possibly dangerous - as he was seen carrying a pickaxe.

yukon.jpg

Should of got it earleir, Sorry Jimmie Ray

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Kinda makes you shake your head.

Burress gets two years in gun case

By Karen Matthews, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Former Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison after accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a nightclub and later reaching a plea deal on weapons charges.

The former New York Giants star tearfully told his family goodbye as he surrendered to begin his prison stint for attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

Burress was indicted on two counts of weapon possession and one count of reckless endangerment and pleaded guilty Aug. 20. He had faced a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years on those charges if convicted at trial. He pleaded to the lesser charge and agreed to the two-year term.

With time off for good behaviour, Burress likely will serve 20 months. He will be monitored an additional two years after he is freed from prison, which could come as early as the spring of 2011.

The Giants released Burress in April, but the 32-year-old told ESPN he hopes to resume his NFL career when he completes his sentence.

Before the hearing began, Burress played with his preschool-age son, Elijah. Then he hugged and kissed his wife, child, father, grandmother and stepmother.

Burress was so soft-spoken during his apologetic courtroom address that onlookers could not understand him.

Defence lawyer Benjamin Brafton said, “This is a very real tragic case in many, many ways.” He called Burress “a fundamentally decent man.”

Burress, who caught the winning touchdown for the Giants over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl, and former teammate Antonio Pierce were at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan last November when a gun tucked into Burress’ waistband slipped down his leg and fired, wounding him.

The gun was not licensed in New York or in New Jersey, where Burress lived. His license to carry a concealed weapon in the Florida had expired in May 2008.

Pierce, who drove Burress to a hospital after the shooting, was not indicted.

Brafman previously said Burress was thinking of his family in taking the plea, but the lawyer questioned the recommended prison sentence.

“This was not an intentional criminal act,” Brafman said the day of the plea. “In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment.”

Gil Brandt, an analyst on NFL Sirius Radio and the former head of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, said Burress won’t be too old for a comeback when he’s released from prison.

“First of all, Plaxico is a guy who keeps himself in pretty good shape,” Brandt said. “Lots of times guys get heavy in the off-season. He is not a guy who has done that.”

But Brandt intimated it could be difficult for Burress to reacquire his football skills after so much time on the sidelines.

“It’s like a person who has gone to college or high school and drops out of school for two years,” he said. “It is hard to reacquire your study habits. I think it is hard to reacquire the work habits you need to be successful when you have been away from the game for two years or so.”

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Even as a Giants fan, who had to endure the obvious effects that the loss of Burress had on the team's performance in last season's playoffs, I'm glad to see he was not given special treatment. Perhaps he was given even a punishment of jail time, that on paper, looks excessive? Concealed guns in public is no joke, regardless of the supposed intent. His life is far from ruined - let him straighten himself out, and maybe make other wiseasses think twice about doing the same.

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Not a good start for the Bills, we have the same record as the Lions! Yikes.

Bills coach wants T.O. more involved

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills coach Dick Jauron remains confident in quarterback Trent Edwards and Buffalo's struggling offence even after T.O. was a no-show on the stat sheet for the first time in 14 seasons.

That doesn't mean Jauron would object to a few more passes being thrown in Terrell Owens' direction.

"We'll take more shots," Jauron said yesterday, a day after Owens had his 185-game reception streak in regular-season games -- the third-longest in NFL history -- snapped in a 27-7 loss to New Orleans. "We definitely have to get him more involved in the game."

Meanwhile, Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin will be out indefinitely with a broken leg while safety Donte Whitner has undergone surgery on an injured thumb

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  • 2 weeks later...

I saw this in today's Toronto Sun. I had forgotten about how big this trade was!

The trade that changed trading

It was 20 years ago that Jimmy Johnson revolutionized the art of the GM by landing 18 players and picks for Herschel Walker

By JAIME ARON, THE ASSCIATED PRESS

IRVING, Tex. -- Jimmy Johnson has a challenge for anyone who believes the Herschel Walker trade singlehandedly turned the Dallas Cowboys into the dominant team of the 1990s.

"Trace it," the former Cowboys coach said. "You can't do it."

Twenty years ago tomorrow, the Cowboys sent Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a bundle of players and draft picks in what is widely considered one of the biggest steals in NFL history, if not all of pro sports.

The legend has grown because Dallas went from 1-15 to three-time Super Bowl champions in just a few years. Sure, there was a lot more to the turnaround, but there's no doubt this deal was the catalyst.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," said Charley Casserly, then the general manager of the Redskins.

But this trade wasn't just a big-time swindle.

The strange truth is that the Cowboys didn't use a single one of the Vikings' picks -- except to parlay them into more or higher picks.

Johnson made 51 trades in his five years in Dallas, "more than the entire league put together," he proudly noted. That's how the Cowboys built the crux of their championship rosters. Emmitt Smith came on a pick from Pittsburgh, Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland on picks from New England, Dixon Edwards and Clayton Holmes on picks from Washington, Kevin Smith on a pick from Atlanta, and Godfrey Myles on a pick from San Diego.

See why tracing the trade is nearly impossible?

And it explains why so many teams now go into the draft looking to move up, down or both. The Cowboys didn't invent the concept, but they sure helped make it popular.

This trade changed a lot of things for a lot of people the past two decades, all because some NFL newcomers were willing to do things differently and they wound up doing it better than it had ever been done before.

- - -

October 1989 was a weird time for the Cowboys and Vikings.

In Dallas, Arkansas oil man Jerry Jones had bought the Cowboys that February, fired Tom Landry and hired Johnson, a successful college coach with no pro experience.

They took Troy Aikman with the first overall pick in the draft, then hedged their bets by using a supplemental pick on Steve Walsh, who'd helped Johnson win a championship at Miami. That move cost Dallas its first-round pick in 1990 and triggered a quarterback controversy.

The Vikings, meanwhile, were trying to regain the optimism they had at the start of the season -- before they lost two games, their quarterback broke a hand and their all-Pro safety accused GM Mike Lynn of being a racist.

Both teams needed to do something. Something drastic.

- - -

Johnson and Lynn had talked about a trade during training camp. For Walsh.

"I might be interested in that Herschel Walker guy," the Minnesota GM said.

"No," Johnson said. "That's the only Pro Bowl player that we've got."

But once Johnson realized how terrible his team was, he was ready to trade his only Pro Bowl player. Walker was 27, coming off his best season and still had a year left on his contract.

Johnson wanted three first-round picks, three second-rounders and three thirds. He almost had a deal with the Browns, but they lacked a first-rounder in '90, so the Cowboys kept shopping.

Lynn swooped in with an intriguing proposition: Five players, each with a first-, second- or third-round pick attached. The Cowboys could enjoy the talent upgrade for the rest of the season, then take either the player or the attached pick.

Johnson finagled an extra first-rounder. All along, he planned to keep both the players he liked and the picks.

"That's why at the press conference I said: 'This is a great train robbery,' " he said recently. "Everybody looked at me like I was a complete fool, including Jerry, because they weren't sure we could pull this thing off."

Johnson limited the playing time of the ex-Vikings to keep coaches and fans from getting too attached. After the season, he told Lynn the Cowboys wanted a few of the players, but was cutting them all anyway. Lynn hung up.

It took a certified letter sent to the league office, with a copy to the Vikings, for Lynn to call back and work things out. Johnson gave him some other picks, which is how the trade grew to 18 players and picks, still the largest in league history.

"When we heard about the Herschel Walker trade, we were like: 'Wait a minute? Are we sure this is right? Is it true?' " said Casserly, now an analyst for CBS Sports. "We knew right then it was a hell of a bonanza."

- - -

Walker didn't want to go, but didn't have a no-trade clause. Fearing that Walker could mess everything up, Jones gave him a $1.25-million US going-away gift, essentially paying his best player to leave.

Walker dazzled in his Minnesota debut. Lynn was happiest of all.

"We felt that the last piece of the puzzle, the last spoke on the wheel, was a running back -- and not just a running back, but a marquee running back," he said at the time. "If we don't get to the Super Bowl while Herschel Walker is a member of the Minnesota Vikings, then we have not made a good trade."

Uh, no, they didn't.

The Vikings made the playoffs in '89, lost right away, and didn't make it back in 1990 or '91. Walker was cut the following summer; by then, Lynn had resigned and coach Jerry Burns retired.

"Herschel was basically an I-back and we were a two-back, sweeping, trapping team," Burns said this week. "He made every accommodation. On at least two or three occasions, he told me he'd cover kickoffs or punts. Things just didn't work out real well. ... You know how it is in pro football, your team reaches a peak then levels off and goes down the tubes."

- - -

The Cowboys weren't the first to use draft-day manoeuvres to fortify their roster with young talent and lots of it. The model was right in front of everyone.

San Francisco was coming off a Super Bowl title in 1988 and was headed to another in '89. What put them over the top was their 1986 draft, when Bill Walsh kept trading down until he had 14 picks. He selected eight future starters, including Charles Haley, John Taylor and Tom Rathman.

Dallas dabbled with a similar strategy in 1989, then the Walker trade changed everything for years to come. Whatever move they made, they had the luxury of knowing that if it didn't pan out, they had the firepower to do something else.

"I've had times in my life when I wouldn't take risks because if I lost, I would've busted," Jones said. "When you have the dynamic of a pocket full of picks, you can gamble. ... As much as the picks themselves brought us players, that attitude of risk-taking made a big difference in how we built the team."

It also helped that they picked wisely.

- - -

Dallas went 1-15 in 1989, then soon launched the greatest four-year run in NFL history, winning the Super Bowl in 1992, '93 and '95, and reaching the NFC championship game in '94.

Earlier this year, Aikman asked Johnson whether the Cowboys would've won the Super Bowl without making that deal.

"Yeah," Johnson told him, "because if we hadn't made the Herschel Walker trade we'd have done something else. We might not have gotten good as fast as we did, but we would've eventually been there."

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Well the Bills Finally win again! Yukon must be happy (wherever he is)! This is from today's Toronto Sun

Ugly win soothes Bills

Lose QB Edwards to concussion; Jets' Sanchez picked off five times

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Rian Lindell made good on his second chance at giving the Buffalo Bills a stunning victory.

Lindell kicked a 47-yard field goal with 2:44 left in overtime, making up for a miss at the end of regulation in the Bills' 16-13 win over the New York Jets yesterday.

"I told them: 'Let's get inside the 30 and hammer away,' " Lindell said.

"I've got to make that "

The Bills (2-4) took advantage of rookie Mark Sanchez's fifth interception of the day to snap a three-game losing streak, and send the sputtering Jets (3-3) to their third straight loss.

"That sure was a great win for our football team," coach Dick Jauron said. "We certainly needed it. I can't say enough about that group of guys. They won't quit, no matter what happens."

Lindell was wide right on a 46-yard attempt into the wind as regulation time expired, sending it to overtime.

"We had to pick each other up," Lindell said. "We made more mistakes than we'd like to. It's nice to overcome that and battle back."

Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped in ably for an injured Trent Edwards, who left early in the second quarter with a concussion, helping the Bills overcome Thomas Jones' Jets franchise-record 210 yards rushing on 22 carries.

"We lost," said Jones, who broke Curtis Martin's team mark. "I could've had two yards. We lost the game."

And perhaps much more.

Nose tackle Kris Jenkins left late in the second quarter with what coach Rex Ryan called a "probably severe" left knee injury.

Ryan didn't want to speculate further on the future of Jenkins, one of the team's defensive stars, until he had an MRI exam. Jenkins' leg was heavily wrapped after the game, and he left the stadium on crutches.

"Unfortunately, I think it's probably severe,'' Ryan said.

That would be a devastating loss for a defence that has struggled to dominate during the Jets' losing streak.

Jay Feely had a shot at a winning 50-yard attempt early in overtime, but holder Steve Weatherford couldn't handle the snap. Weatherford, the punter, ran to his left and lofted the ball, but it was picked off by John Wendling and gave the Bills possession.

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Also from the Toronto Sun

Tom Terrific quiets critics

Tosses five TDs in just one quarter

Anyone still think there is something wrong with Tom Brady?

In one of the finest 15-minute performances in NFL history, the New England Patriots all-world quarterback stepped on to the snowy turf at Gillette Stadium and braved icy winds and driving flurries to finally shut up his legions of doubters yesterday afternoon.

Battling both the wintery elements and the critics who questioned his lukewarm 3-2 start to the season, Brady produced one of the greatest quarters ever enjoyed by an individual player.

Impervious to how his surgically repaired knee would hold up on the slick Foxborough track, Brady set a modern-day NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single quarter by tossing five in the second stanza of the Pats' 59-0 humiliation of the hapless Tennessee Titans. No quarterback had thrown that many scoring passes in a quarter since 1950, long before the NFL-AFL merger.

"When you first see the weather forecast (Friday), you're kind of pissed," Brady said. "But when you're out there warming up, you're saying: 'This is football weather.' "

Brady weather.

The questioning of Brady's performance through the first five weeks of the season was a bit silly. He still was playing above average, which obviously is not acceptable when your name is Tom Brady.

But yesterday, it was superstar Brady who was on display.

On a day when fellow quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger (417 yards), Drew Brees (four TDs), Matt Schaub (four TDs), Aaron Rodgers (358 yards) and Brett Favre (three TDs) were posting huge numbers, Brady outshone them all, throwing six touchdowns before finally being given the rest of the day off in the third quarter.

What's wrong with Tom Brady?

Nothing at all.

Extra points

How long before Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder fires coach Jim Zorn? A 14-6 loss to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs has the Skins just 2-4 and looking for answers. "It's my responsibility," said Zorn, who had his play-calling duties revoked after the game ... Favre for MVP? He's definitely an early candidate after leading the Vikings to the go-ahead field goal that put them up 33-31, then watching the Ravens miss a last-minute attempt. Never before has Favre led a team to a 6-0 record ... Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey gained revenge against his former team by scoring a touchdown in a 48-27 thrashing of the Giants, leaving New Orleans 5-0 and dropping New York to 5-1. "All week long he was pretty tame. But you knew inside he was ready to explode," Brees said.

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Does anyone know the reason why they are playing the Partiots/Tampa Bay game at Wembley? They showed the singing of the anthems and I thought "Oh cool, they are going to show us that game." But then we got switched to

Chargers/Kansas City. We like the Chargers but watching the Patriots would have been better. Hubby is orginally from Boston.

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Does anyone know the reason why they are playing the Partiots/Tampa Bay game at Wembley? They showed the singing of the anthems and I thought "Oh cool, they are going to show us that game." But then we got switched to

Chargers/Kansas City. We like the Chargers but watching the Patriots would have been better. Hubby is orginally from Boston.

The NFL does one game a year in London. Trying to expand the brand throughout the world. All boils down to $$$ really...

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The NFL does one game a year in London. Trying to expand the brand throughout the world. All boils down to $$$ really...

I knew they played pre-season across the pond and a season opener, but we are month and a half into the season now. I guess they changed that when I wasn't looking.

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My Browns are 1-6! :angry: Absolutely awful. I don't know what's going on but I wish something could change fast. I see us going about 4-12 this season once again. Ridiculous. :angry::angry: Well, I guess I can look forward to the Cavaliers season opener against the Celtics. Maybe one my three teams(the other the Indians)can pull off a championship.

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Wow Brett Favre looked great yesterday in Green Bay! It seems that the bigger the game the better he plays. Impressive. I am liking the Eagles as well, they seem to be putting it all together. My Bills look awful (poor Yukon). I still think the Saints are the class of the league. That offense looks unstoppable.

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