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Bills Had Long Road Home

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The Associated Press

Published: December 18, 2007

Updated: 12/17/2007 11:46 pm

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Mother Nature sure had it in for the Buffalo Bills this weekend.

Bad enough that a blizzard contributed to Buffalo's loss at Cleveland on Sunday, ending the team's playoff chances. Then, following an unscheduled overnight stay because of bad weather, the Bills were forced to bus home Monday after their charter plane got stuck in mud off a runway in Cleveland.

"It seems like when it rains it pours. But in this case it's snow," defensive end Chris Kelsay told The Associated Press by phone as the Bills' five-bus caravan left Cleveland. "It's definitely been an odd weekend."

Sure, like something out of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."

Only the Bills found nothing funny from this script.

Buffalo (7-7) was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention following an 8-0 loss to the Browns. The game was played in conditions so horrendous it was nearly impossible to track a team's exact field position because of the snow that blanketed the Cleveland Browns Stadium turf.

At least they got home safely, the team arriving in Buffalo at around 12:30 p.m., some 14 hours later than expected.

Unable to fly out of Cleveland following the game, the Bills booked back into the hotel where they stayed Saturday night. The team was also treated to dinner courtesy of safety Donte Whitner and receiver Lee Evans, both Cleveland natives.
Whitner lined up the catering company, Taste of Faith, which provided a meal of soul food dishes at the team's hotel.

The Bills' travel luck turned against them again Monday morning. That's when the pilot of their charter plane took too wide a turn from one taxiway to another at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the front wheel of the plane got stuck, airport spokeswoman Pat Smith said. The team was not on board the plane.

"It wasn't snowing at the time. We don't know why he did this," Smith said.

Ticketmaster, NFL Ink Ticket Resale Deal

LOS ANGELES - Ticketmaster plans to launch a Web site next year where people can resell tickets to pro football games, the latest push by the event ticketing company into the lucrative secondary ticket market.

The company signed a multiyear deal with the National Football League that includes branding and promotion for the site, Ticketmaster said in a statement being released today. Financial terms were not disclosed.

West Hollywood-based Ticketmaster already operates separate, so-called ticket exchange sites for 18 NFL teams, which allow ticket holders to resell their game tickets online.

The latest deal moves those teams and adds four others to the new portal set for debut sometime next year, said Ticketmaster, which is owned by New York-based Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp.

Resales are a growing slice of the ticket market for sporting events, concerts and other events, but Ticketmaster lags other online ticket resale outlets such as StubHub, which is owned by eBay Inc., and auction sites such as eBay itself.
Ticketmaster plans to guarantee the resold tickets, which are sent to buyers electronically, just like it does with its regular primary ticket sales.

Ex-NFL Lineman Arrested In Gambling Bust

SOMERVILLE, N.J. - Former NFL player Todd Burger was one of five men arrested over the weekend in a bust of an alleged Internet gambling operation.

Burger, who played guard for the Chicago Bears the New York Jets, allegedly collected gambling debts for suspect Anthony "Cheese" Pecoraro.

Burger started all 16 regular-season games for the Jets in 1998. He played for the Chicago Bears from 1993 to 1997, starting a total of 24 games. He was signed by the Bears as a free agent after playing at Penn State.

BEARS: Put cornerback Nathan Vasher in the starting lineup for Monday night's game against Minnesota. Vasher had missed the previous 10 games with a groin injury.

COWBOYS: Safety Roy Williams was suspended without pay for one game by the NFL after his third illegal "horse collar" tackle of the season.

Williams, whose use of the tactic led to the league passing a rule making it a 15-yard penalty, did it against Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb in Sunday's 10-6 loss. He will miss Saturday night's game at Carolina, which will cost him $37,187.

DOLPHINS: Linebacker Channing Crowder will have his sore left knee scoped today and could miss the remainder of the season.

RAIDERS: An MRI confirmed that running back Justin Fargas sprained the MCL in his right knee in Sunday's 21-14 loss, shutting him down for the final two games of the season.

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