7. (tie) The Bills trade a 2003 first-rounder to New England for Drew Bledsoe -- April 21, 2002

The 2001 Buffalo Bills were awful, and first year head coach Gregg Williams had a mess on his hands that felt even worse than the 3-13 mark the team threw up on the field. Two of his top three tacklers were guys named Jay Foreman and Keith Newman. A career third-stringer played 12 games at quarterback, throwing 307 passes. Their second-round pick of a running back, Travis Henry, averaging 3.4 yards-per-carry during his first season with the job.

So you can imagine that ticker tape didn't appear on the menu when Bills fans addressed their offseason needs. This team was bad. It had more holes that a men's mesh tank top, and was just as appealing to the eye.

On April 21, 2002, in multiple pops of a flash-bulb, the story and mood changed in Buffalo. The Bills had a new quarterback, and things looked great. His middle named was McQueen and he threw bullets. Buffalo had dealt their 2003 first-round pick to divisional rival New England to acquire prolific passer Drew Bledsoe, the same Bledsoe who would finish his career by totalling 3,083 yards, 20 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in 14 games against the Bills.

The story almost seems like a joke now, but try to remember just being a handful of years removed from glory and imagining the next Hall of Fame quarterback of the Buffalo Bills was coming to town. The Howard Simon Show's co-host, Jeremy White, can.

"It was legit," White writes. "Don't let anyone talk you into thinking he was totally washed-up. The Patriots only dumped him because his replacment never lost. Bledsoe was good...that parade was warranted."

It's hard-to-argue. Three Bills had "helped" the Bills throw for 18 touchdowns in 2001's miserable campaign. Bledsoe had thrown for more five times in his career since being the first pick in 1993's NFL Draft. Heck, he tossed his 18th touchdown as a Bill by Week 11 of 2002.

In three years in Buffalo, Bledsoe would throw for 10,151 yards, 55 touchdowns and 43 interceptions while being sacked an almost-absurd 140 times. In a bizarre and sad case of "got 'til it's gone," Bledsoe was run out of town after averaging 3,383 yards passing per season. Since he left, the Bills as a team haven't come close to that figure, only twice throwing for more than 3,000 yards. Only one quarterback, J.P. Losman in 2006, threw for more than 3,000 yards on his own.

Forget the failures that would come. Bills fans threw Drew Bledsoe a coronation party that in some ways would be fitting by the time he left. In a sickening decade for Buffalo football, Bledsoe was -- by far -- Bills quarterback royalty.

Fun fact: The Pats turned the 2003 first-round draft pick into defensive end Ty Warren by trading picks with Chicago. Warren's first game for New England was.... a 31-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on September 7, 2003.

What event also registered at No. 7? Log on Tuesday morning to find out.

Email: nick@wgr550.com