ORLANDO -- The longest bowl trip in college football history closed Saturday night when Buffalo took the field.
The players ambled out to midfield. One of them needed a cane. The rest just needed hair dye to look like they did when the bowl bid arrived.
It was 1958, and the Bulls promptly rejected it. They could have come to Orlando, but their African-American players would not have been allowed on the field.
Fifty-one years later, they were given a standing ovation.
Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the International Bowl (Toronto, Canada), which pits Buffalo against Connecticut
Overview/Matchup: Buffalo registered a completely inexplicable win over Ball State in the MAC Championship to find itself in the school's first bowl game. Ever. Given that Connecticut is actually a decent squad -- with a strong rushing attack -- things could get awkward if the Buffs don't play like they did against Ball State on national television this time around.
Hotels: One of Toronto's newer hotels, the InterContinental Toronto Centre offers stylish design, luxurious guest rooms and great starting rates for the quality. The Metropolitan Hotel Toronto offers excellent service and surprisingly posh accommodation for the rates. If you're looking for a midrange room and you can't get booked at the InterContinental, The Metropolitan is a more than worthy alternative. Budget travelers should stay at the Alexandra Hotel. Although accommodations are meager, it has good proximity to the stadium and rooms for less than US$100.
Restaurants: When it comes to dining, downtown Toronto is packed. There are more than 150 restaurants, clubs and bars within three blocks of the InterContinental, so you'll have plenty of options if you stay anywhere downtown. For a delicious steak try the Harbour Sixty Steakhouse. This family-owned restaurant is putting Canada on the international beefeater's map. Mandarin is a great mid-priced Chinese buffet with honey-garlic ribs that are out of this world. If you need a late night snack look no further than Fran's. Depending on what time you go you may see blue-haired seniors or green-haired punks, but this Toronto institution serves a good bacon-and-eggs breakfast around the clock.
That crashing sound from Detroit tonight, actually had nothing to do with the American car industry. That was Ball State's perfect season, the MAC Championship and manufactured outrage at being excluded from the BCS bowls all getting the index card from David Letterman through a window sound effect. The Bulls of Buffalo took out Ball State 42-24.
From the beginning, Buffalo came right at Ball State on defense. They kept Ball State's offense off-balance and on the sidelines. Despite the low scoring game, the Cardinals held a 10-7 halftime lead.
Ball State, and there is no other way to put it, gave this game away in the third quarter. The two teams exchanged scores to start the second half and Ball State seemed to be getting the game under control. They had forced a Buffalo turnover and were poised to take a two score lead. Instead, QB Nate Davis got stood up at the 1-yard line and stripped of the ball. Buffalo DB Mike Newton picked it up at the 8 and took it all the way back for a touchdown.
Buffalo Bills strong safety Donte Whitner has one of the brightest futures of any NFL player. He's already started 29 games in his career, and he's only 22 years old. I like him a lot.
So that's why, while I'd consider this type of statement to be over the top coming from some players, I kind of like it from Whitner:
When asked if he expects the Bills to make the playoffs, Whitner makes it clear how serious he is. "Do I expect us to make the playoffs?" he says. "I'm guaranteeing it.
That's what Whitner said to Clifton Brown of The Sporting News in a story that portrays Whitner as one of the league's smartest and hardest-working young players, not to mention as a mentor to Bills rookie Leodis McKelvin, who is only a month younger than Whitner but is much less experienced.
I don't know if I'm ready to buy into Whitner's guarantee, but I do know that I like his confidence. It sure seems like a long time ago that people were criticizing the Bills for drafting him.
Many Canadians believe that the NFL's plans to play regular-season games in Canada -- and possibly move a team there permanently -- are a threat to the Canadian Football League's very existence. In response, the CFL has launched an ad campaign reminding Canadians, "This is our league":
The commercial itself is cool, but I really don't understand why so many Canadian football fans are freaking out, to the point where elected officials are trying to pass laws to keep the NFL out. Is the CFL really so weak that putting one NFL team in Canada would put the entire league out of business?
Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark announced today that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch has agreed to a deal that will resolve the investigation of his hit-and-run accident.
"This whole agreement is predicated on the fact that he was driving the car," Clark said. "Has he said that officially? The answer is no. But obviously, the reason we were here in these negotiations is all predicated on the fact that he was driving the vehicle."
Presumably, this means Lynch will plead guilty to some traffic offense related to leaving the scene of an accident, but Clark wouldn't get specific during his bizarre press conference, in which he got angry at reporters when they asked him what the agreement entailed. Clark did say there was one other person in the SUV when Lynch hit a pedestrian, but he would not say whether that passenger was a Buffalo Bills player.
Although those in the political arena can memorialize Russert far better than we can here, it's worth noting for our corner of the world Russert's love and affection for his native Buffalo, and especially for the Bills. Russert was well known for making it a point to be home from his Meet the Press tapings in time to watch the Bills on Sundays, and for ribbing politicians who came from states with teams the Bills beat.
Russert was 58. After the jump, watch Tom Brokaw discuss one of his favorite memories of Russert, which centered on his love of the Bills.
It's not clear what Wilson knows, but prosecutors could think that Wilson has asked Lynch point blank whether he was driving his SUV when it hit a pedestrian two weeks ago. Also likely to be subpoenaed are Bills rookie wide receivers James Hardy and Steve Johnson and second-year offensive lineman Christian Gaddis.
The Buffalo News also reports that although Lynch has never been arrested in New York State, local police were familiar with him -- and his propensity for getting kicked out of bars -- before the hit and run took place:
one law enforcement official was not surprised to hear about the latest incident involving Lynch's vehicle.
"God, no, I wasn't surprised at all," the source said. "It follows a pattern. It's the kind of stuff he's been doing. He's just so cavalier about everything. That was always my impression."
Lynch has still not said anything publicly, or to the police, about the incident.
Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch is still invoking his Fifth Amendment rights and refusing to cooperate with police in the investigation of a hit-and-run involving an SUV he owns, but it appears that authorities are close to charging him as the driver.
WGRZ in Buffalo reports that a source with knowledge of the investigation says four witnesses say Lynch was at the wheel of the vehicle at the time it hit a woman and sped off. The station also reports that police are investigating whether other Bills players were in the car at the time.
The woman who was hit was treated and released at a local hospital. Police took the SUV from Lynch's driveway and have impounded it; they say it will remain in police custody as long as the investigation is ongoing.
It appears that Marshawn Lynch's involvement with a hit-and-run in Buffalo has gone from suspected to confirmed. Police found the SUV that struck a woman in Lynch's driveway shortly after the accident early Saturday morning.
The Buffalo News reports that the vehicle had damage that linked it to the accident but when police knocked on Lynch's door there was no answer. The police aren't assuming that Lynch was behind the wheel but consider him a "key figure" in the case.
"I think it's fair to say that, if Mr. Lynch was not driving the vehicle, he probably has a pretty good idea who was," Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said Tuesday, following a news conference at Police Headquarters. "At no point has Mr. Lynch reported his vehicle had been stolen that police are aware of," he added.
DeGeorge also said that charges will be filed at some point but they need to figure out who was behind the wheel of the car at the time. Lynch's representatives have been cooperating with the investigation but, as of Wednesday morning, Lynch himself had not spoken with the police and it took three days before his attorney responded to police requests for information.
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Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the International Bowl (Toronto, Canada), which pits Buffalo against Connecticut
That crashing sound from Detroit tonight, actually had nothing to do with the American car industry. That was Ball State's perfect season, the MAC Championship and manufactured outrage at being excluded from the BCS bowls all getting the index card from David Letterman through a window sound effect. The Bulls of Buffalo took out Ball State 42-24.
Buffalo Bills strong safety Donte Whitner has one of the brightest futures of any NFL player. He's already started 29 games in his career, and he's only 22 years old. I like him a lot.
Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark announced today that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch has agreed to a deal that will resolve the investigation of his hit-and-run accident.
The hit-and-run investigation surrounding Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch has now roped in the team's owner, Ralph Wilson. The Buffalo News reports that Wilson is one of nine people affiliated with the Bills who prosecutors will subpoena in connection with the incident.
Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch is still invoking his Fifth Amendment rights and refusing to cooperate with police in the investigation of a hit-and-run involving an SUV he owns, but it appears that authorities are close to charging him as the driver.
It appears that Marshawn Lynch's involvement with a hit-and-run in Buffalo has gone from suspected to confirmed. Police found the SUV that struck a woman in Lynch's driveway shortly after the accident early Saturday morning. 
