The Buffalo News : Sports

Idon’t watch a lot of tennis, but Wimbledon always grabs my attention for two reasons: Roger Federer and the Williams sisters.

Toughness is defined by the ability to withstand great strain without tearing or breaking, to be strong and resilient, rugged and resolute.

Itook a great deal of pleasure writing this column. Having grown up a Los Angeles Lakers fan, it was with extreme joy that I watched them dispatch the Orlando Magic to capture another NBA championship.

Naaman Roosevelt played his final home game for the University at Buffalo Tuesday night and thankfully, fittingly, his grandest days were reprised.

Naaman Roosevelt played his final home game for the University at Buffalo Tuesday night and thankfully, fittingly, his grandest days were reprised.

They are 20 players from 14 countries, all of them familiar with poverty and upheaval, some having seen unspeakable horrors. Many spent time in refugee camps. Many are without a parent or two. Each of their stories is deserving of a chapter in a book, a tome that details Grover Cleveland's unfathomable ascent to the Section VI Class B boys soccer championship.

It remains puzzling to this day. What, exactly, led Justin Strzelczyk to drive 90 mph the wrong way down the Thruway before his truck slammed into a tanker in a fiery crash five years ago? For years, the mystery nibbled away at his mother's broken heart before she finally drew her own conclusion.

Lindy Ruff laughed when he was asked Wednesday whether there was a time he could have or should have been fired as coach of the Buffalo Sabres. He's among the most media-savvy coaches in the NHL, but it didn't take a degree in public relations to see where the line of questioning was going.

The paper showing payrolls across the NHL has yellowed from being tacked to my basement bulletin board for nine years, but today it helps tell the story. Early in the century, preseason predictions were easy so long as you followed two general rules.

When the first text message of the day arrived from the Bills on Wednesday morning, I figured, "This is it. They're finally going to bring in Russ Brandon to talk about Dick Jauron getting fired."

A couple of weeks ago, during his belated Hall of Fame ring ceremony in the stadium that bears his name, Ralph Wilson told Bills fans that he was still committed to bringing a Super Bowl winner to Buffalo.

Seeking to collect my thoughts after the debacle in Nashville, I stopped off at Cole's for a cold one late Monday afternoon. I found my old pal, Rex Carr, seated in his customary spot at the far end of the bar.

A no-name defense has helped make the Cincinnati Bengals the surprise team of the NFL through the first half of the season.

Question: Last Sunday Miami threw a pass that was ruled a fumble on field. New England returned it for a touchdown. After review it was ruled a forward pass, and therefore it was incomplete. The forward pass actually struck a Miami lineman before it hit anyone else, which would make it an illegal forward pass. But that's not the question. Can the officials review for whether it was an illegal pass or are they limited to answering only what the coach challenged — an incompletion versus a fumble? — Ray Orrange, Tonawanda

We Western New Yorkers like to poke fun at ourselves sometimes by saying that national trends tend to take 10 years to reach Buffalo.

NEW YORK — You can run down the list and see the difference. Start with Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon. Move to Ryan Franklin and Huston Street. Then came Brian Fuentes and Jonathon Broxton. Throw in a smidge of Brad Lidge.

PHILADELPHIA — Back in April, former Buffalo Bisons star Ben Francisco became the answer to a trivia question when he scored the first run in the new Yankee Stadium. He told me after that game he didn't realize the significance until his phone was flooded with text messages when he came into the clubhouse.

While the big games continue on the field, there's a huge one playing out off the field as well. You've probably never heard the name Aroldis Chapman but by this time next year, you may know all about him.

This is what I'm thinking:

It's an annual event in collegiate women's sports — the pink game.

One of the reasons that I've never been a big fan of Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck is that he rarely says anything memorable after the final out in a World Series.

History has been made. Incredibly, the Yankees have won their 27th major league championship. In this open free enterprise system, the Yankees' ignored the luxury tax like it never existed to buy a World Series ring.

Sometimes we get too caught up in all the football testosterone and forget what is really important in life. I am grateful I was reminded.

Mark Gaughan recently crunched some numbers to “prove” that American Football League players were not underrepresented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here are some numbers of my own: