Latest Sundby Cup may be most gratifying
By "Vic Carucci IV"

Playoffs 2232 (Orchard Park, NY) - The smoke was so thick, you almost couldn't make your way through the room. The only shape distinguishable was a cheshire-like grin of yellowed teeth. But the aroma of satisfaction was in the air. As GM Mark Ricotta puffed on his cigar, he spoke of this latest Sundby Cup victory as being his most gratifying.

'This one feels really good', said Ricotta. You see, this was one of the most difficult off-seasons for the GM as his unusually cavalier Free Agent spending over the last few seasons forced some tough roster decisions. 'We had a difficult time getting under the salary cap this year, so the reality of a losing season was looming. We had to let OL Geddes go in free agency and we cut WR Sargeant and DBs Duncan and Duffy, and that was hard. That's 4 starters, including half of our starting defensive backfield. So I wasn't sure how the season would play out.'

But that's only half of the story, really, as part of the reason for the cap crunch was bringing in heralded DL Anthony Wright in a trade and promising rookie DL Gary Coleman in the draft. So Ricotta had to part with the present to prepare for the future. Then the fun of the season began.

The Bills started out 1-4 this season, and the fan base was up in arms. Thing was, the stats didn't correlate to the record - perception did not match up with reality. The team was strong defensively and better than average on offense. It seems that there were some unlucky bounces during that time. But the Bills pulled it together and went 7-2 the rest of the way. They snuck in the playoffs, and the rest is history.

'The reality is, this one is very satisfying' said Ricotta. The fans surely agree.