Buffalo Bills Ready For Training Camp 2012

Sal Maiorana - Kyle Williams has been doing this long enough, so the Buffalo Bills defensive tackle knows the drill.
You pull up to Keough Hall on the campus of St. John Fisher College, unpack your belongings, then put on a happy face and exude excitement about the coming season on the eve of the opening of training camp.
“First day here, there’s reason to be excited, everyone’s starting on the same foot,” Williams said Tuesday afternoon when he arrived for his eighth summer stint in Pittsford.
There’s a different vibe to that lip service this year, however. In past years the excitement of a new season has sometimes been quelled by the reality of the Bills’ impending situation; they just weren’t very good, and though they’d never publicly admit it, deep down they knew they were going to have a tough time competing in the rugged AFC in general, and in the Patriot-dominated AFC East in particular. That's not the case in 2012.
“I don't think anything has changed as far as the way we look at things and our attitude about things,” general manager Buddy Nix said. “But I do think we’re realistic enough to know that the first year or two we didn’t have enough depth and enough playmakers to make a difference and contend all the way through the year. The feeling is different now; I think we do.”
Year three of the Nix/Chan Gailey Era has gotten off to a tremendous start with the offseason acquisition of mega free agent Mario Williams, the re-signing of several key veteran players such as Stevie Johnson and Fred Jackson, and a draft class led by first-rounder Stephon Gilmore that appears to be very strong.
Further, the players who have been here since Nix and Gailey came to Buffalo — starters as well as reserves — have the experience of two years with basically the same coaching staff and playbook and the important familiarity and confidence that breeds.
“I feel like we’re a few steps ahead than in the past coming here, with guys that we’ve added, some experience that we have that’s been here, so that's a lot of the reason for the excitement,” Williams said. “We've just added some really good players who will obviously help to win football games.”But now the time has come to push toward becoming a relevant team in the NFL which they haven't been for quite some time, 12 years if your standard is playoff appearances.“The hype machine can only go so far,” said CEO Russ Brandon. “We’re excited about everything we were able to achieve in the offseason, but that’s in the past and the only thing that matters is tomorrow and Thursday when we start going.
“Buddy has a plan and his personnel staff has a plan and we feel very good about where we are today as we stand here right now.”
Nix went so far as to say that even if the Bills hadn't shocked the NFL by reeling in Williams, the biggest free agent not named Peyton Manning, the expectations for his team would be no different.
“It would have been time to start winning some games,” he said. “We've done some things right, we've made mistakes along the way, but it’s time to close it out and win some games and until we do it’s not complete. Winning solves all the evils, at least most of them, and fixes the flaws. There’s no question about it. I believe losing, and not being in contention throughout the year, will be a huge disappointment for all of us.”
It’s a refreshing attitude for the Bills who have not always been known for that.
“You want expectations to rise,” said Gailey. “When I came in here I said, ‘We want to expect to win, not hope to win.’ I want expectations to be high not only from the outside but from within and they are. I think that we understand it.
“I think we have a mature enough team to understand where we are. Yes there are expectations and yes everybody’s excited. But we haven’t proven anything yet and we’ve got to get out on the field and prove it then. We’ve got a long way until we get to that point.”
David Nelson sees the transformation happening. The third-year wide receiver played his college ball at Florida where Tim Tebow was the quarterback and Urban Meyer was the coach. Not only was winning expected, anything less than a national championship was a down year.
“When I was at Florida we had (pressure to win) every week and when you expect to win, you come in with confidence,” he said. “That's where we are here. There’s a difference between confidence and cocky. We have to make sure we stay humble and hungry and remember what it felt like to go 4-12 (in 2010), and 6-10 (2011) the past couple years. We have to use that to drive us.”

Will Shane Mosley Upset Manny Pacquiao?

Julie Jacobson (LAS VEGAS) — At 39, does Shane Mosley need a miracle against Manny Pacquiao?

Shane Mosley will need to pull out all of his tricks if he hopes to upset the heavily-favored Manny Pacquiao on Saturday.

Shane Mosley will need to pull out all of his tricks if he hopes to upset the heavily-favored Manny Pacquiao on Saturday.

Shane Mosley will need to pull out all of his tricks if he hopes to upset the heavily-favored Manny Pacquiao on Saturday.

Well, flinty-eyed oddsmakers don't think Mosley has much of a chance against the tiny ring master and Filipino congressman.
Mosley, a future Hall of Famer who has fought any and all comers during a remarkable 18-year-career, is a 6-1 underdog against the WBO welterweight champion — considered by numerous boxing observers to be the world's pre-eminent pound-for-pound fighter.

Saturday night's scheduled 12-rounder between two of the sport's finest ambassadors will be fought at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and televised live on pay-per-view (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET) in homes, select closed-circuit locations and on the Internet.

"It's going to get very interesting, very quick," Mosley said.

Of course, that reasoning suits Mosley, who is 5-9 and holds a seven-inch reach advantage. His best chance of dethroning the 5-6½ kingpin appears to be scoring an early-round knockout. Both fighters are known for setting down and whaling away, but most observers doubt whether the aging challenger can outslug and outlast Pacquiao.

Pacquiao, 32, has a decided advantage in hand speed, which he used last November in Dallas to pick apart Antonio Margarito, who outweighed him by 17 pounds by the time they entered the ring at Cowboys Stadium. While he can punch hard with both hands, it is the lefthander's prodigious output that makes him so devastating.

He has lost only three fights in 57 bouts and only one (Erik Morales in 2005) since he was stopped by knockout in 1999.

"I've never seen a fighter re-invent himself like Manny Pacquiao," said Showtime analyst Al Bernstein, referring to the fighter's rise as an eight-division champion after turning pro as a 106-pounder in 1995.

Mosley brings championship-fight pedigree (15-5, 12 KOs in title bouts), a sturdy chin (he never has been knocked out in 53 fights) and ring intelligence. A sensational combination puncher in his prime, he buckled undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May with a crushing right hand in the second round, but Mayweather survived and easily won a decision.

"What we fail to (remember) is that you're not talking about an ordinary guy getting older in the ring," said Nazim Richardson, Mosley's trainer. "You're talking about a special guy, a legend. Sugar Shane Mosley does not have to match Manny Pacquiao because Mosley is bringing his own set of weapons."

During his career, Mosley was most effective fighting at 135, where he was never beaten and won the IBF lightweight title. He fought to a highly debatable draw in his last fight, against former 154-pound champ Sergio Mora, in September.

"He's not old — he moves like 31, 32 years old," Pacquiao said of Mosley.

In the months leading to the fight, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said he believed a knockout of Mosley was feasible.

When the 147-pound champion fought one of his ring idols, Oscar De La Hoya, in 2008, Roach had to convince him to try and finish off the aging former great. De La Hoya's corner halted the bout after the eighth round with the fighter battered and beaten on his stool.

"He came back to the corner (at end of the seventh round) and I said, 'Manny, your job is to knock him out,' " Roach said. "I've never said that to another fighter in my life."

Will Floyd Mayweather Jr. Ever Fight Manny Pacquiao?

With their self-imposed “deadline” now expired for Mayweather to sign a contract, Manny Pacquiao and his Top Rank promotional team are considering other options. This does not mean that negotiations are off with Mayweather, as a deal can still be reached for the superfight. It merely means that Team Pacquiao will wait no more.

It’s a shame that this fight hasn’t been made. Both Pacquiao and Mayweather are poetry in motion inside the ring. Unfortunately, they create nothing more than tabloid fodder outside of it.

The details of the contract that Bob Arum said he offered to Mayweather are unknown. In fact, there is no confirmation from the Mayweather side that they even received a contract. Yet with all the major sports networks running stories on the “deadline,” the Mayweather camp hasn’t said a word. And we all know how much Mayweather loves to talk. There are two sides to every story and it’s time that Mayweather tells his. If he doesn’t want the fight, then he ought to explain why. If he does want the fight, then what’s stopping him from signing the contract?

If Mayweather continues to be mum on the fight, then speculation will begin to run rampant. Just as when Pacquiao balked at the drug testing caveat demanded by Mayweather, Pacquiao had some explaining to do. No one had proof that Pacquiao was doping yet the accusations came anyway. Why would he pass up the fight and the money if he’s clean?

Until Mayweather speaks up, it will be perceived that he is balking at the deal. For whatever reason, be it the upcoming trial of his trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather or his possible desire to get this payday in 2011 for tax purposes, now Floyd has some explaining to do.

Mayweather has never been shy. When it comes to self-promotion, he will be the first to tell you that he’s the best. He’s obsessed with his own legacy. Mayweather has always been careful about selecting his opponents so maybe he’s having second thoughts on a fight with Pacquiao. As Shakespeare penned, “Conscience makes cowards of us all.”

Mayweather may be overthinking his legacy, and in the process, losing an opportunity to enhance it. The winner of Mayweather-Pacquiao would not only gain pound-for-pound supremacy but also be considered the best boxer of the last decade. That’s quite a legacy being dangled in front of him.

So here we are. Two rounds of negotiating and still no fight. Each side has manipulated the media and the public into thinking that the other side doesn’t want to fight. The first negotiations last winter were borderline ridiculous. Remember $10 million per pound overweight? But what was once a comedy is now becoming a tragedy. Until we hear from Floyd as to why he isn’t giving his autograph, no progress can be made in the negotiations. No rhyme or reason exists, only speculation.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are both so stubborn that the negotiation process has been a fight in and of itself. Both are accustomed to getting everything they want during negotiations. Letting up now would be like conceding victory in the ring. That is not an attractive prospect for two egomaniacs.

Evander Holyfield Accused Of Domestic Abuse

Former heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield has been served a restraining order after his wife says he hit her in the face.

Candi Holyfield filed the complaint against Evander saying that he became angry with her about church payments and “urged her to put god first in her life.”

She says he demanded to see check stubs of her tithes to the church and when she refused, he hit her in the head, face and back.

She also says this is not the first time he's been violent and reports other incidents of choking and hitting, sometimes in front of their children.

Evander is expected to appear in court February 18.