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Being tortured Buffalo football fans, we hear far too often about “Wide Right” and the “Music City Miracle.” That’s because there are few positive memories interspersed throughout the eternity of suffering. Chicago Cubs fans complain about being cursed, but they have the Bulls, Blackhawks, White Sox, and Bears to rely on. Here, we have next to nothing. So let’s revisit those few positive memories to make ourselves feel better for a short time, after which we will surely continue drinking away our collective pain.

5. The WinThough it wasn’t on television, Buffalo fans everywhere exhaled a huge sigh of relief yesterday when the Bills finally won their first game of the season, beating the Detroit Lions 14-12. It was head coach Chan Gailey’s first win in Buffalo. The victory didn’t come easy – Lions quarterback Shaun Hill led the Lions down the field late in the fourth quarter for a would-be game-winning drive, scoring a touchdown to make the score 14-12. However, the Lions failed to score the two-point conversion that they needed to tie the game, and the Bills escaped with the victory. How appropriate that the Bills ensured that they wouldn’t go 0-16 against the only team in history to ever complete the feat.

4. Flutie Bootleg LeftThurman Thomas admitted to alcoholism after retiring from the NFL, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he was drunk when he ran the wrong way on a crucial 1998 fourth-and-goal that decided the game between the Buf-falo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. This didn’t faze the great Doug Flutie, who took it upon himself to improvise, race left past the defense for a touchdown, and jump into Bruce Smith’s arms in celebration. Just thinking about it makes me hungry for Flutie Flakes.

3. UB Bulls Win MAC TitleIt was only two years ago, but it seems very far away now. Back in 2008, the football team had itself an amazing season, winning the Mid-American Conference’s East Division outright for the first time in school history. Still, nobody expected them to stand a chance against the MAC West champions, undefeated No. 12 Ball State. At the MAC Championship game at Ford Field in Detroit, the Bulls shocked the world by defeating the Cardinals, 42-24. The Buffalo defense led the way, forcing four turnovers, and the Bulls earned a trip to the International Bowl in Toronto.

2. Bills Go to Four Straight Super BowlsLaugh about it all you want because they lost them all, but no other team has ever been to four straight Super Bowls. Bills fans today would trade anything for the teams of the early 1990s, when Buffalo dominated the AFC and was a perennial Super Bowl favorite. Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Marv Levy, and Bruce Smith (along with Andre Reed, who belongs in the Hall of Fame, and a host of other phenomenal players) provided fans with one of the most exciting teams in NFL history.

1. The ComebackWhen the Bills were losing 35-3 just after halftime of an AFC Wild Card postseason matchup against the Houston Oilers, many fans were head-ing for the exits of Ralph Wilson Stadium because of the score, the cold weather, and the fact that backup quarterback Frank Reich was playing in place of the injured Kelly. By the end of the third quarter, those same fans were trying to climb over the walls to try to sneak back in, because the Bills were making an improbable comeback. Winning by a final score of 41-38 in overtime, the Bills had completed the 32-point comeback, which remains the biggest comeback in NFL history (regular season or playoffs) to this day.

E-mail: luke.hammill@ubspectrum.com

Top Five Buffalo Football Moments

LUKE HAMMILLManaging Editor

Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame

Honors Class of 2010

E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com

MEG LEACHStaff Writer

The football team scored its first points in the first quarter since the season opener against Rhode Island when senior kicker A.J. Principe converted a 49-yard field goal on Friday night. Unfortunately, they would be the only points that the Bulls would score all night. Ball State (4-7, 3-4 Mid-American Con-ference) avenged its loss in the 2008 MAC Championship game with a 20-3 win at UB Stadium, dominating the Bulls (2-8, 1-5 MAC) in every facet of the game. “Give Ball State credit. They outplayed us tonight,” said head coach Jeff Quinn. “[We’re] just not playing well enough to win a football game, and it obviously bothers me and our entire football program to be in this position.” Freshman quarterback Alex Zordich left the game in the first quarter after sustaining a rib injury. It was reported after the game that he will miss the remainder of the season due to the injury. The injury to Zordich forced sophomore quarterback Jerry Davis into the game for the first time in three weeks. He struggled through-out and helped remind Bulls fans why he was replaced earlier in the year. Davis finished the game completing five of his 16 pass attempts for 39 yards, two intercep-tions, and one big fumble at the beginning of the second half. Davis has now thrown 14 intercep-tions on the season, which is only two behind the NCAA leader. “It’s very frustrating,” Davis said. “It can’t get any worse. You run out of words, because you try your best after all the hard work in the summer… You lose and it’s like, all that hard work for what? It hurts a lot.” Before the last drive of the game for the Bulls, Ball State’s defensive backs caught three passes from Buffalo quarterbacks, which equaled the number caught by Bulls receivers.

After the Bulls went up 3-0 on the Principe field goal, the Cardinals quickly responded on the first play of the second quarter. Freshman quarterback Keith Wenning hit freshman wide receiver Otis Brown for a 32-yard touchdown strike. The touchdown pass gave Ball State a 7-3 lead; they would extend the lead to 10-3 before halftime. On the first play of the second half, Davis scrambled and was cleanly stripped by Cardinals junior safety Sean Baker. Baker ran the ball all the way back for a touchdown, giving the Car-dinals a 17-3 lead. Two long drives by the Cardinals ended all hope for the Bulls; one of the drives lasted seven-and-a-half minutes, and the other lasted eight minutes. The offense barely saw the field for the rest of the game. “It was tough, not being able to get off the field, not being able to get the offense the ball,” said senior safety Davonte Shannon. “We’ve got to make plays. That’s all it comes down to.” Shannon finished the game with 15 tackles, leaving him 17 shy of tying the school record of 455 in a career. When asked who would start at quarterback

next game, Quinn was unsure. “It’s hard to say [who will start]. I can’t answer that right now,” Quinn said. “I need a chance to really evaluate… I’m not going to say one way or another, but I’m going to take a minute to look at what gives us our best chance to be successful.” Senior cornerback Josh Thomas tallied 10 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and one and a half tackles for loss. Ball State’s Baker was a menace to the Bulls offense all game, recording two interceptions and a forced fumble. The Bulls have two more games remaining in what has been a disappointing season, and Quinn is focused on finishing the season on a high note. “I want to win a football game, and that’s what I want, and that’s what this team needs,” Quinn said. “I’m going to find whatever it takes to get this team to understand what it’s going to take.” Next up for the Bulls will be their final home game on Saturday against Eastern Michigan (1-8, 1-4 MAC) at 2 p.m. at UB Stadium.

Miserable Season

ContinuesCHRIS RAHNSports Editor

E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com

On Nov. 4, the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame honored 13 new inductees in the Class of 2010, each of whom contributed to the story of Buffalo sports. “This class was so special in many ways,” said Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame president Brian Cavanaugh. “If you take a look at each of the inductees, you’ll see something special in all of them.” The new Hall of Fame inductees come from a wide range of sports. This year’s inductees to the Hall of Fame are as follows:

A name recognizable to many Buffalo fans is Lindy Ruff. He is currently the lon-gest tenured coach in the NHL, and also a longtime player for the Sabres. Even though Ruff hails from Western Canada, Cavanaugh was certain he deserved a place in the Hall of Fame. “I knew [Ruff] as a player, and he was here 10 years as a player,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s been here for 13 or 14 years as a coach, and he just coached his 1,000th game as a coach with the same team. He is unique in those two statistics alone.” The way for athletes to get into the Hall was to be a significant sports figure in Western New York, even if the athlete is not from the area. Currently, the Hall only exists in a small exhibition space right in front of the Sabres Store in the pavilion of HSBC Arena. The space has memorabilia from some of the 228 members of the Hall of Fame, which is more than enough for Buffalo sports fans. “The current class’ memorabilia is in the primary center case,” Cavanaugh said. “After a year, it gets moved into the other cases. If you’re going now, and you’re just perusing, you probably have to visit more than once to look at stuff. You probably should just take your time, look at some of the pictures and see if you can associate who is involved with some of the memorabilia.” With ongoing talks of the waterfront construction, Cavanaugh hopes that the Hall can get a larger installation that allows it to display more of the history of Buffalo sports. Although Cavanaugh said that he did not have a favorite player currently in the Hall, he was very certain that there was one future inductee that he would be more than excited to vote into the Hall. “If there is one name that I think that someday will be an exciting person to enter into the Hall of Fame when he retires…[it’ll be] Rick Jeanneret, voice of the Sabres,” Cavanaugh said. Jeanneret was offered early admittance into the Hall; however he declined, prefer-ring to go in after retirement, as everyone else does. In his 39 years working with the Sabres, he has become iconic in Buffalo because of his creative play calls.

George Breen, Swimming Olympic Medalist

Steve Christie, Buffalo Bills Kicker

Charlie Dingboom, High School and Collegiate Football Coach

Jimmy Goodrich, Boxer

Darris and Rich Kilgour, Buffalo Bandits National Lacrosse League Franchise Players

Gail Maloney, Buffalo State College Women’s Basketball Coach and Athletic Administrator

Whitey Martin, St. Bonaventure Basketball

Carl Roesch, Sr., High School and Collegiate Track Coach and Official

Buddy Rosar, Major League Baseball All-Star

Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres Head Coach

Dr. Daniel P. Starr, Canisius Col-lege Long Tenured Athletic Director

George Vetter, High School and Collegiate Football Coach

Alexander Mccrossen / The Spectrum The Bulls continued their losing ways behind sophomore quarterback Jerry Davis (4) who relieved injured freshman quarterback Alex Zordich.

John BieverThe Comeback (No. 1)