For more international in-game thoughts, head to twitter.com/NicholasMendola.

I'm going to type this while watching Oregon State try to complete its "upset" of Oregon in the hopes of watching entertaining football.

Hey! Did you know this game was in another country?

-- This game tried so hard to make me hate the National Football League, and when it wasn't doing its best to make me hate that, it made me hate the fact the Bills have home games in Toronto. Wow. Thank goodness for the Saints, Colts, Vikings, Eagles, Chargers, Bengals and college ball. That's really about it.

-- So... at least the 71 people worldwide who think Ryan Fitzpatrick has a shot to be the future of the Bills now know better, and tell me that offense didn't look Dick Jauron-esque tonight. There will still be time to evaluate who the next coach should be, and if Perry Fewell deserves a look, but I promise you the Bills need better offense before anything else, and that starts with quarterback, not coach. In fact, if I could only select one, I'd rather have a new general manager than a new head coach.

-- He's a horrible off-the-field guy and has been a before the line of scrimmage mess all year long, but it was too easy to forget the talent of Marshawn Lynch.

-- A Twitter gentleman titled "douglasgoodman" Tweeted: "garbage soup." I couldn't agree more.

-- The real rub of this game is it proved -- like the Jacksonville game -- that the Bills aren't all that far from being a borderline playoff team. Quarterback, left tackle and two linebackers are the major changes next year. Seriously, when all under-contract players are healthy (Eric Wood, Leodis McKelvin, Terrence McGee, Brad Butler), this team could be alright with the right general manager calling shots. Maybe a safety beside Byrd is needed, but the pass rush was terrific and the injury-depleted secondary wasn't putrid.

-- If this isn't making sense to you, remember: you got to get drunk and go right to bed. I'm trying to make this game entertaining for you.

-- I know Fewell and Alex Van Pelt poo-pooed the notion earlier this week, but I'm ready to see Brian Brohm. Maybe he deserves an extra week or two to learn the system, but there's no excuse worth keeping him on the bench. I need to know if I need one quarterback or two next year (I still don't hate Fitz on the roster). I also don't need to see Trent Edwards the rest of the way. Each game with a remarkably average quarterback like Fitzpatrick, I'm realizing that Edwards is below even mediocre description.

-- Matt Millen and Bob Papa made Rich Gannon look more intelligent (but still not nearly as irritating). The more I do play-by-play without murdering broadcasts, the more I find the horrible analysts in pro football to be inconceivable. Hire someone good!

-- The bit on Darrelle Revis and how he picked out his cleats really completed the "boring documentary" feel of this game.

-- Another indictment of this linebacking corp: secondary members recorded three of the four top tackle numbers in this game (Wilson-10, Scott-9, Florence-7, Whitner-6). Lest we forget: Scott is a former safety.

-- I'd say Van Pelt should've run more. Fred Jackson was getting nothing done, but Lynch had his two best runs this year (Not of all-time, as a down-on-23 Twitter member remarked).

Stat line I enjoyed:
Aaron Schobel, seven tackles, one sack
-- Even though the Jets victimized him to the outside a time or two, he continues to prove that last year's foot injury is what made him appear washed up.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 9-of-23, 98 yards, three sacks, interception
-- His performance could be summed up in one word: Losmanesque.

Game ball:
The defensive line (Schobel,

Lastly...
I still hate that the Bills play any games in Toronto, and I felt like the folks shown on camera in Bills body paint were paid by Canadian Parliament. Canada's a solid place with solid people who would like their own team, but are fine with the CFL. I guess we can find solace in the fact that the Rogers Communications money from this robbery could go to the Bills coaching search.

Next Week:
Snooze fest: KC's defense was better before San Diego exploited them last week, but let's be honest: Ryan Fitzpatrick's accuracy will be the difference between a win and a loss. After last week, I would've deemed the Bills able to win at Arrowhead. After the Jets game... not-so-much. Chiefs 20, Bills 10.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Here types a very frustrated man pondering this question: What is celebrity really like? With high-profile secret prostitutes and the apparent kinship between those lucky enough to squeeze themselves in front of a television or movie camera, I have to wonder if Hollywood and professional sports aren't quite literally in another dimension, like "Lost." Where else can some waste who brings her boyfriend on a reality show to try and save their relationship end up shacking up -- allegedly -- with one of the world's most famous men?

Yes, Tiger Woods reportedly shared the same high-society "dating partner" as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Hey! It's the Boys Club. What a treat for a lady to be wanted by famous people!

Woods also has allegedly -- thanks, US Weekly! -- carried on a three-year relationship with a girl who appeared on "Tool Academy." Wait, does that mean the ruthless manchild she brought on VH-1 to save her relationship was all an act? Oh my! Scandalicious.

All of the sudden swearing after a bad shot seems like a four-year-old earing Play-doh. Whoops.

I wanted to type an article about the supposed death of fidelity, and how much it disgusts me that cheating has slipped down the moral reprehensibility pole, right near road rage and spanking your children (perish the thought). I've heard enough guys over the years drop that, "For every hot girl you see, there's a guy tired of her garbage" to know that I'll just be looked at as a "starry-eyed newlywed" for thinking a vow is something worth attempting to see through. It seems most folks are much more concerned with the fact that Woods could cheat on "such a hot broad" as opposed to the fact that he was cheating at all (Cause we all know if she was a Chubbs McGrubbs, it would be totally understandable).

Instead, I kinda want to use this space to thank Woods for another reminder: he's not Tiger, he's a human being. Maybe worse than that, he's a celebrity, which seems to lend itself more towards the dirtball side of being a dude than the Tim Tebow-side. And there's a huge flaw in my argument right there. Why should I assume that Tebow's example is worth even a sniff? What's worth believing? Isn't his crystal-meth confession and hate of all things holy sure to come? Forget if he can throw a football far enough for your professional liking.

I think the bigger issue here is people like to think there are those who are "larger than life," but Nelson Mandela doesn't do reality shows and Gandhi was assassinated. So we take guys like Woods and try to present them as Jimmy Stewart: classy gentlemen whose quirkly illegal moments involve smuggling a supposed yeti out of India in his wife's luggage. We like to think there's a gulf of difference between Woods and John Daly, but maybe it's all in presentation. It's Hooters versus Nike, 84 Lumber versus Buick. Which corporation is going to be better suited by a public persona, not the man underneath?

I've been around sports long enough to know that what's reported is often just an iota of the real story. Your favorite centerfielder in an 1-for-23 slump? Well, he maybe just got dumped by his wife because he thought the word "road trip" meant "bar room bordello," or maybe he's dropping his shoulder on contact (with the ball, during an at-bat. Sicko.

Maybe the way to take things is to just do what Dan Hager says: just watch the game and ignore whether or not these guys and gals are doing anything other than eating and sleeping off the court/field/box office. Maybe, or perhaps a better lesson is to realize these folks are all the same. Some of them just make a lot more money than us, and forget -- if they ever knew -- that we all live on the same Earth.

Who cares if Mr. Woods talks? Unless this is all proven wrong, he's lost significant standing with me. Like long-admired actors and short-admired running backs with cool nicknames, he's just another talented human being. Another person who simply can't be content with what he's been blessed -- a terrific life with a beautiful young family.

I don't think anyone should have to share their private life as long as they aren't doing anything wrong, but if Woods wants to start his reconciliation with society, as embarrasssing a necessity as that is for our society, he'd do well to come clean. At least come partly clean, and admit frailty. He's no longer the picture of the American Dream, but inasmuch, he can become more a human being. As The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie so eloquently sang in "Now the Struggle Has a Name":

"Now, the apology done
Applause can begin
Now, the apologies done
Applause begins

If it bleeds, it leads
If it cries, it flies
If it feeds, a need
If it dies, it dies...

Now the struggle has a name
We are the same, it hasn't changed
I still feel the same."

In my understanding, the more human we are, the more we connect. The more "above-it-all" we act, as in Mr. Woods' case, the more you just look like a jerk. It all comes clean in the wash, right? Mike Robitaille just asked Howard Simon why we weren't talking about the 30,000 soldiers slated to head to Afghanistan after President Obama's speech last night.

Why would we? Some guy we like might be a jerk to his wife.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Something hasn't struck me right about the "Don't overplay Ryan Miller, he's going to the Olympics" talk, and today I found a pretty good reason why.

It's knowledge out there for everyone to find, but in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals, the Carolina Hurricanes fell to the Detroit Red Wings, as former Sabre netminder Dominik Hasek outdueled Arturs Irbe to win a ring.

Well, it appears that in the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City, held just a few months before the Cup Finals, Irbe played for Latvia in preliminary round action in Utah, while Hasek manned the pipes for the Czech Republic. That tournament, too, was held in North America.

So, while backup goaltending is a major concern for the Sabres -- and we should see a No. 2 goaltender more often, as I pointed out last month -- there is precedence to keep you with as little worry as a Buffalo sports fan can have.

(To be clear, I prefer a Cup to a Gold. Not sure I made that as clear as I'd like on the air today).

Email: nick@wgr550.com

For in-game delirium, head over to Twitter.com/NicholasMendola. It's probably more fun this week than most.

I'm willing to bet there are a lot of folks out there mad at the Bills for winning today, and I'm sure they'll post there. I'm also willing to bet these are the same people making comments about Ryan Miller's performance against the Hurricanes not counting because Carolina doesn't score a lot.

To those of you, tough meat. The Bills and Sabres put three wins on the board this weekend, and I don't hate the idea of going to work tomorrow.

Oh, snap. Guess what I saw...

-- If our discussion this week is going to be about running up the score, as it was early on the postgame show, throw a rusty rake through my back a couple of times. Do you know how often the Bills have coughed up late leads, or played too conservative? I guess we can talk about the Fred Jackson score that made it 31-14, but not the 51-yard strike from Fitzpatrick to Owens. Not at all. Go somewhere else for that.

-- The time to discuss Fitzpatrick as full-time starter is never o'clock, but maybe we need to take our Perry Fewell for head coach timepiece and wind it to Probably-not p.m.

I want to ignore how I feel right now, because this game is probably very similar to never having shoes in life, and then getting a pair of used wooden clogs. You're thinking, "Hey! This is nice. I'm not stepping on nails anymore!" But you don't realize they make plenty of nice, comfortable sneakers and slippers, and you've got slivers of wood all over your toes.

The bottom line is this: The Bills are in better hands than they were with Dick Jauron, and they just played consecutive watchable football games for the first time since, when? Weeks One and Two? Even then you had some indescribable brain seizures. It's been two weeks under Fewell, and odds are you're better off hoping for Mike Shanahan or some other big name to get pumped about the opportunity.

But like it or not, Fewell has officially made a thesis statement worthy of a book. Whether he can write more than the first few paragraphs of one chapter is something that will play out over the next few weeks, and he deserves to have us read it.

-- There were a lot of gutty calls Fewell made that will have folks saying, "I know it worked, but I hated the call." I understand that sentiment, but I loved him showing faith in a kicker who'd missed from 44 yards earlier. Lindell's a very solid kicker, and it must've really said something to the team when he trotted out there to try that monster kick, and even more when he made it.

-- I'm honestly not trying to pile on, but Alex Van Pelt and Ryan Fitzpatrick are damning the in-season play of Trent Edwards. The plays seem more creative, and the time in the pocket seems longer -- even with six sacks and a load of linemen lost for the year. When Steve Tasker, a former Bill with connections to the organization, comes right out and says, "This is why Ryan Fitzpatrick is a better fit for the Bills right now," you have to listen. It could be a shame someone hadn't said it before the hapless Browns beat the Bills in the worst game in the history of football.

-- I love the play of Owens, and I love the two weeks he's had, but I don't like standing in the middle of the end zone, doing calisthenics with his initials. This isn't about you, pal, as well as you've played. (EDIT NOTE: I loved the Joey Porter part of it. Just not the "T - O" part. Team game).

See, this is the sort of "anti-T.O." conversation I expected to be having this year. Not inane banter about whether he should've leapt for the ball a quarterback threw at the scoreboard.

-- What on God's green Earth were the Dolphins doing having Ricky Williams throw a pass while they were shredding the Bills on the ground? After seeing the Lions and Raiders play on Thanksgiving, I know there's a ton of poor decision-making going on in the National Football League.

-- Good to see Fred Jackson have relative success, but this line is going to struggle for the rest of this year. There aren't too many running backs in the league who are going to post four-plus yards-per-carry behind it, and I'm not sure Jackson would've without those last two runs. The good news is the Bills have performed pretty decent when they've been able to suit up the same line for consecutive weeks (The Tampa win is one of the only times they've been able to do such a thing). Buffalo has used seven different starting line combinations in 11 games. Yikes.

-- I think Jackson's reputation with the fans and on-field production have punched Marshawn Lynch's ticket out-of-town. Lynch just hasn't gotten going this year, and while he became one of my favorite players to watch in the past couple years, he's taken more missteps than the Goonies playing the pirate organ. See ya, Beast Mode. It was fun while it lasted.

-- My goodness, did I get an alarming number of "So he does exist" tweets and messages about Aaron Maybin. I believe it takes defensive ends a while to develop, but he now has eight tackles through 11 games. It appeared he was on the field an awful lot more than usual this week. Stay tuned.

-- The honeymoon's not over or anything, but I'm not sure Jairus Byrd knows how to tackle. He can hit, that's for sure, but tackling... yeesh.

-- If you're struggling for the right way to feel about Fitzpatrick, I think this is how to feel: You have a decent back-up locked up into next year. For a while, I wanted three new quarterbacks signed for next year. Now, I might be content with a new No. 1 -- rookie or otherwise -- to go with Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm, which is why it will be imperative to toss Brohm out there at some point before the season is over. This upcoming Thursday game is more than a subtle reminder than we don't know how much time we have.

-- Another good message I got was from Steve B. : "Moorman was standing at the eight and he punted the ball to the Miami 10. That's 82 yards in the air." He's good.

-- There were a lot of feel good moments, but Corey Mace's last-minute interception was top of the pops. He's a very weird Canadian fella, but he's also been cut and re-signed an awful lot the past few seasons, and to make an actual play had to feel great.

-- Something also should be said about three accepted penalties for 20 yards, a marked improvement.

-- I would definitely wear the woolie Fewell rocked this afternoon.

-- So many times, my wife tells me, "Don't get excited yet," during Bills games, and she's usually right. Well, this week, I'm working on her birthday and she's at a benefit. I text her, "Go Bills" after Lindell hammers that 56-yarder. She says, "Not yet." For once, I was right.

Stat line I enjoyed:
Owens, five catches, 96 yards, TD
-- Owens now has 40 catches for 659 yards and 3 touchdowns, as well as that rushing touchdown.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Miami Dolphins, six sacks
-- I didn't enjoy it, but I get it. Hopefully Kendall Simmons looks a lot better with another week of work.

Game ball:
Fred Jackson
-- When you combine his rushes and catches, he had 20 touches for 116 yards and two scores. He's become much more than a check down option; he's a safety valve with some danger to him. The Bills have even run some screens that make sense (and some that haven't_.

Lastly...
I felt really, truly good for the Bills fans in attendance. That place was a-plus loud, and that's how it should be every single week if a good football team played there.

Next Thursday:
A loss would've honestly had me flipping back and forth with the Sabres game against Montreal, but now I'll DVR the Sabres game and watch it afterwards. As I said before last week, the Jets are a terrible team. The Fewell Experiment continues whole-heartedly, and another win would say something. Let's call it an ugly, ugly win: Buffalo 19, New York Jets 17. That's four field goals in there. Hey-a-a-a.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

A performer's very real talent comes in the ability to make you feel like a five-year-old again, and The E Street Band -- as well as its somewhat-notable frontman -- produces the sort of wild, unabashed glee found in tree forts and nickel pretzel rods at the corner store.

On Sunday night, I wasn't at Mergl's Meats on Brighton Road with my mom and a five-cent piece, but I might as well have been. Bruce Springsteen and his longtime support group may have chosen Buffalo to be their final resting place, and the jam-packed HSBC Arena faithful gave them some sort of Irish wake that will resonate with nearly everyone associated with it for a long, long time.

If at this point you're wondering why you're being tortured with another non-sports entry from me, you can thank my boss, Andy Roth, who wrote a spirited review/commentary that shows you don't have to be born here to understand what Buffalo wants to emote. Indeed, for one night our city's hotels were packed and restaurants tested by pilgrims who trekked to a venue that was undoubtedly the center of the music world one November evening.

In a city that's seen its fair share of memorable performances in theater, music and more, Sunday evening has more than a puncher's chance at going down as the most important entertainment night in Western New York history. On Little Steven's birthday with two band members hinting at retirement and a setlist straight out of its genesis, the E Street Band may have backed Bruce Springsteen for the final time, and that verb does the group no justice.

Almost 70-years-old, Clarence Clemons' saxophone poured through the venue with a smoothness I hadn't heard in my handful of times seeing the band. Roy Bittan and Nils Lofgren spent dueling times in the spotlight as Little Steven continued to dare his leather pants to explode.

In the end, however, it's all about Bruce. The 60-year-old put forth a performance that could shake a man half his age --a crowd-surfing, guitar-throwing, ear-splitting rockathon that teased four hours. Borderline-forgettable songs from recent records resonated with significance, and Christmas tributes worn thin by commercial radio -- "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", anyone -- kicked stodgy, jaded music fans like myself right in the face.

"Get up, man, this is what rock and roll is all about."

It was a night that touched upon the universal themes of our city. The ambition-with-no-place to go seething through "Dancing in the Dark." The downright defiance of "Born To Run." The remembrance and call-to-honor reaching through "The Rising." This man and his band understand what people want to be, and tugs at those strings as often and as hard as possible.

Standing to the left of the soundboard, I heard talk that Pat Riley and Artie Lange were 20 yards from me. My best friends watched the show five feet behind NBC's Brian Williams, and rumours throughout the joint were Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan were taking history all in.

That was all cool to hear -- and yes I tossed a searching glance or two around -- but my focus was uninhibited enjoyment of my favorite rock and roll troupe to ever walk God's green earth (and traipse up a mess of dirty, muddy music in the process).

For another -- likely the last -- time, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band delivered exactly what they promised: a return to the feeling of getting my first cassette tape from my parents, popping it in the deck and vowing "No Surrender", as if I had any idea what it meant.

(Here's where I realize I can make any number of corny puns about "Glory Days" or being "Born in the U.S.A." Must... resist... pull...)

And it all happened in "My Hometown."

Sorry.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

It's a hard day to type about the Bills. Are you excited because the team seemingly issued an indictment against Dick Jauron? Are you miserable because you think the team is now closer to the No. 14 pick instead of No. 4, and that's going to somehow make or break the 2010 campaign for your beloved Bills? Are you still trying to make either heads or tails out of what you just witnessed? Are you ready to pregame for Bruce Springsteen and what could be the last E-Street show ever, taking place right in your backyard?

Yes.

I'm not going to lie to you... there's going to be a lot of sarcasm happening in this space today...

-- Perry Fewell's modus operandi may just be to look as little like Dick Jauron as possible.

Bills PR: "Perry, would you like to wear sunglasses today?"

Perry: "No, thanks. I'm good."

Bills PR: "How about a nice pair of slacks?"

Perry: "Eh...."

Bills PR: "Safari hat?"

Perry: "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

-- Seems like the majority of Bills fans got exactly what they wanted. They learned that this team does have heart, Terrell Owens isn't all washed-up, a quarterback can function behind this line and the defense isn't miserable... all with a loss to move them close to the top of the draft. Being a Bills fan in 2009: INCREDIBLE!!!

-- After the late Mike Sims-Walker touchdown, the world of Buffalo Bills fans learned of a brand new face -- the Perry Fewell "How did that just happen?" face. It was amusing, but only because the Bills are already out of the playoffs.

-- Paul Posluszny had a boatload of tackles, but made a major read mistake on the successful two-point conversion. My dad was screaming for 10 seconds before the snap, "Garrard is going to run!"

-- Man, is that Terrell Owens guy washed up or what? Sure, it was against inexperience cornerbacks, but it appears he -- as well as the rest of the Bills receivers -- have the ability to get open.

-- You know who I blame for the defense wearing down? That 98-yard touchdown pass to Owens. If that was a long drive, the Jaguars would've never had the chance to ravage the Bills' exhausted defense. If I could take that touchdown back, I would! No big plays! They torture your defense!

-- If you were going to indict Trent Edwards for anything, it might be the fact that the 98-yard TD would've never happened under his control. Fitzpatrick used almost the entire play clock after he spotted the opportunity, and then threw the football as far as he could at the right moment. It's hard to imagine Edwards' brain wouldn't have been screaming "NO SAFETY! NO SAFETY!" the entire time.

-- Lee Evans, too! Washed-up City, Pop: No. 83. Did you see his circus catch in the end zone that was eventually called back on a Jonathan Scott being not-so-good at football penalty? Yeah, that dude really wimps out around physical contact!

-- On Fitzpatrick's flip to Josh Reed after escaping a pass rush, I screamed, "Flutie Magic!" I don't know why, but it was fun.

-- It looked like Trent Edwards didn't have anywhere to check down to, so he just tucked his hands in his shoulder pads. Man, Nick, that was unnecessary!

Stat line I enjoyed:
Owens, nine catches, 197 yards, TD
-- I wish he could've gotten three more yards, not just for his 200 mark, but Fitzpatrick was three yards away from 300, which has been a nasty number for Buffalo to top in recent seasons.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Jacksonville, 8-of-15 on third down
-- The Bills defense did play well enough in this contest, but all it would've taken was one more third-down stop, or a less than 50 percent failure rate, to put a "W" on the board.

Game ball:
Owens

Moment of the game:
Kyle Williams hit on David Garrard that disloged Garrard's helmet strap. Wow. I was worried we'd see Garrard's head rolling around somewhere. The beauty of the hit was that it wasn't helmet-to-helmet -- the force of the hit was enough to rock the Jacksonville signal caller's world.

Lastly...
I had fun watching the Bills this week.

Next week:
Home game. I feel like that should mean "win" for once... if the defense can again play the run alright. The "Wildcat" is going to be a real issue, and eventual spell dooms for the Bills. Miami 23, Buffalo 17.

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE: nick@wgr550.com

(WGR 550) -- What a difference a coach makes.

Whether or not, it's the same-old, same-old come Sunday in Jacksonville, Perry Fewell's practices are anything but similar to Dick Jauron's preparation sessions. Music blared during the portion of Friday's practice the media is allowed to watch, and it wasn't the same Offspring song Jauron's camp popularized during crowd noise drills.

No, Fewell had James Brown's "I Got You" moving through the Ralph Wilson Fieldhouse, and why wouldn't he feel good (so good, so good)? He's the head man of an NFL team, even if its expected to last just seven weeks.

The players looked more loose, and as the tunes slipped into a more hip-hop vein, players even bobbed their heads. For likely better or for possibly worse, this is no longer a Jauron-run ship.

I'm going to be honest -- this was exactly the tonic I needed after a sixth loss made the playoffs a veritable impossibility, and it stems from more than one thing. For instance, the cutting of Gibran Hamdan and signing of Brian Brohm had to send a shock of discomfort through the locker room. Hamdan was symbolic of Jauron's Bills -- an intelligent, likeable guy who wouldn't hold a spot on any other active NFL roster.

When the Bills take the field Sunday, it'll be interesting to see just how differently Fewell and Jauron viewed the players. Which inactives will remain inactive? Who will move up or down the depth chart? Will we see more aggression on both sides of the ball?

I hope so. Even if its just for four days, I'm happy to anticipate something different. I'm able to daydream about Brohm being the next super successful NFL cast-off quarterback. I can analyze Fewell and hope he brings something new to the head coach spot; something akin to the energetic personality I've learned to admire the past few seasons.

There's a very good chance this is just the jaded media member in me, and that the rest of the area's fans are still cringing at the thought of Sunday, though our web poll would suggest otherwise. Heck, I still want Bill Cowher in here at any cost. But for a few precious moments, life at One Bills Drive defined itself: alive, and with next week's holiday approaching, I'm quite thankful for the brief reprieve from a miserable 2009 campaign. Let's hope it extends to the playing field.

Cue the "I hope it doesn't extend to the field. I hope they lose every game to get the No. 1 pick" comments.