2003 TFL Convention: Buffalo

Day 1

Lackawanna co-owner Michael Continelli was the first to arrive for the 2003 TFL convention, returning to the city where he spent the first 18 years of his life. With no Alaska owners making the trip this year -- the first time Alaska has not been represented at the convention -- Continelli had to come from the furthest away, leaving his Gilbert, Ariz. home. He took the red-eye and then spent most of the day with his father-in-law.

Narcoossee owner Wit Tuttell arrived at the airport and hopped aboard the shuttle to the hotel. Baltimore owner Steve Katz joined him, both surprised to see each other. They spent the afternoon together exploring downtown Buffalo and scouting out locations for future events.

Continelli picked up Dugway owner Ken Sain, who many experts consider is the greatest fantasy football mind in the galaxy, at the airport during mid-afternoon. After a quick trip to the hotel, they hooked up with Wit and Steve, who were just returning from their sight-seeing. Commissioner Scott Lacy had arrived 10 minutes earlier and was hiding in his room. He heard voiced in the hall -- we're all on the eighth floor -- and joined the group.

The first group project was dropping off the T. Rex at a local trophy shop to get it updated. The league's championship trophy has been in the possession of Sain, who had all year to get it updated.

"I just couldn't bring myself to do it," Sain said. "I mean, it's just too depressing for words to have to put the names of Alaska and Arctic on the trophy. In my view it diminishes it."

Continelli, being the native Buffalonian, decided to lead the way to the trophy shop. None argued. The city doesn't seem easy to navigate in. Five of us piled into his rental SUV with the T. Rex. After about 10 minutes, Continelli asked Sain to call the trophy shop and ask them to repeat directions. Turns out we were going in the wrong direction. We turned around. We finally found the street we needed, and then our native Buffalonian asked that we call the trophy shop. Again. He was about to make a left. The trophy shop said, no, take a right.

Good thing we had a local who knew the city well.

After calling the trophy shop four times, we finally found it. We brought it in and talked to the owner about updating it. He says he gets lots of fantasy football trophies.

"About two a day at this time of year," he said. "Seems most of them wait until right before their drafts ... just like you guys."

There is a problem with the T. Rex. There are only room for 12 champions on the original base. We now have 13 champions. So, we need to add a new base. The trophy shop owner doesn't work on Saturday, so he would have to have it done by Friday afternoon so we can present it to last year's winner (don't make me say it) on Saturday before the draft. The owner said he wasn't sure he can find a new base in the time we have. He would let us know Friday morning.

We left the trophy with him to at least add the 2001 winner (don't make me say it).

We returned to the hotel. Mike Continelli suggested a place for dinner, then left to go have dinner with his father-in-law. We all wondered if Continelli couldn't even drive around Buffalo what business does he have recommending restaurants?

After a bit of a rest, we gathered in Lacy's room. Mike Taylor had arrived. We were hoping for arrivals by Chris Reidy and Paul Ramey, but they were no where to be found. After watching a little of the EA Sports Channel (formerly known as ESPN), we got sick to our stomachs and left. (Messages for Reidy and Ramey were left). We decided to give our native Buffalonian guide a second chance and went to Chef's Restaurant, which was his recommendation. He said they have great Italian food.

Well, he was right. It was a great dining experience. The restaurant had a great feel to it. The food was excellent. And, it was unique. We felt like we enjoyed a Buffalo experience that you can't get anywhere else. The spaghetti is the specialty. They cover it with cheese. And, I mean cover it. The sauce is served on the side. Some of us thought it might be too much cheese, but all were happy with the choice of dining.

While Sain, Lacy, Tuttell, Taylor and Katz were dining, Ramey and Reidy arrived at the hotel. They received our messages and decided it was too late to join us for dinner, so they went to the sports bar we mentioned to watch the game. Mike Continelli also headed there. The three of them were there all at the same time, but much like Continelli driving on the streets of Buffalo, they were lost. They didn't recongize one another.

When the five diners got there, everyone greeted each other. Two members of the Buffalo Jills dance team were at the bar for promotional reasons. It didn't take long for Taylor and Katz to start circling them. The women seemed very friendly, but most of the straight men agreed they probably look better on the field than they do close up.

It appears Paul Ramey, despite his wife, was close to scoring when the diners entered. A woman asked the bartender for a toothpick. They didn't have any. Just small plastic swords. Paul said, "Here, I have a toothpick still in its plastic wrap." And he did. In his shirt pocket. We're not kidding. The woman was very appreciative, we're told.

Of course, the rest of us wanted to know why Paul Ramey had a toothpick wrapped in plastic in his pocket. Then again, maybe we don't want to know.

We watched the game, which we all thought was boring. There was a minor argument over the Thursday night game stats counting/not counting controversy. Ramey and Reidy both screamed at Sain for a few minutes.

Then, with the TV game boring all, the real games began. The art of disinformation was amazing to watch. People were talking draft strategies and almost no one was speaking the truth. Everyone was trying to mislead everyone else. But, many players were discussed and some people got insights based on what people were not saying.

After the game we returned to the hotel. Eight owners are here. We are expecting three more tomorrow (Bobby Continelli, Mark Dolan and Don Carlock). Niagra Falls is on the agenda. So is poker and pool. Lacy has to pick up the T. Rex and get the draft board ready. There may be a game off touch football in the afternoon if they get back from Niagra Falls early enough.

Day 2

You knew it was going to be a strange day when Scott Lacy was one of the first to wake up. That has to be a convention first. The group started gathering at 11 a.m. for the trip to Niagra Falls. Of course, maintaining a TFL tradition, they didn't actually leave until 12:15. The nine people at the convention so far piled into two cars. Ken Sain, Scott Lacy, Chris Reidy and Steve Katz in Lacy's car. Michael and Bobby Continelli, Mike Taylor, Wit Tuttell and Paul Ramey in MDC's rental Azteca.

It's about a 30 minute drive to Niagra Falls, including time waiting to get through Canadian customs. If you ever go, you definitely want to be on the Canadian side. The view is much better. We argued about getting something to eat before seeing the falls, but once we got close, hunger left the bodies. We walked out and examined the falls. All were very impressed. The photos on TV do not do them justice. After enjoying the view for a bit, many wanted to take the Maid of the Mist boat ride, where you practically go next to the falls. We walked down to the tour. Then, the first controversy of the convention began.

Sain and Lacy didn't want to take the boat ride. Both were concerned about time. They had to get back to Buffalo before 5 p.m. to pick up the T. Rex, or it would be locked up all weekend. No matter how much it would hurt -- and boy will it hurt -- we felt it was important to be able to hand Mark Dolan the T. Rex before the draft. Not knowing how long it would take to get through U.S. customs, we were worried we wouldn't make it in time. The problem was, if Sain and Lacy didn't go, two other people wouldn't either because seven wouldn't fit in the Azteca.

After 10 minutes of debate, it was agreed to risk it. We would all go on the tour and hope we can get back in time to rescue the T. Rex before the trophy store closed. We got on the 2:15 boat for the half-hour journey. It was a wonderful experience. Everyone got plenty of mist. The power of the water falling is amazing. The sanity of those who went over in barrells is dubious. There seems to be more rocks than water for them to land on.

We made it back to the dock at 2:45. We made our way back up to the top where the cars were parked. While some of us wolfed down bad hamburgers and hot dogs, Mike Continelli and Lacy made the 15-minute walk back to get the cars. With Continelli leading the way again, we got lost again on the Canadian side of the border. Eventually, the two groups made it back over the border and luckily the lines at customs were small.

Still, Fellowship of the T. Rex ran into some major traffic. It was after 4 p.m. and the Continellis were leading the way, which means we could have easily ended up in Pennsylvania as anywhere in Buffalo. Lacy gave up on their many U turns and grabbed his own map, then led the way himself. With Lacy leading the way we found the right road and were finally headed in the right direction. Still, traffic was awful. It was a two-lane, two direction road and traffic was backed up for a mile.

The clock was ticking. It was getting closer to 5, when the trophy shop would close and the T. Rex would have to wait until Monday to be freed by Chris Reidy. Well, traffic finally cleared and our travelers reached their destination in time to pick up the T. Rex. The trophy shop was able to find a new base and added it to the T. Rex. So, much like the Stanley Cup, layers are being added to the championship trophy of the league.

The group then headed off to a Kinkos to order a draft board. Then, went to Dicks Sporting Goods to get the new official football for the annual TFL Touch Classic. That's when the second controvery of the day happened. Some in the group decided the prices were too high at Dicks and wanted to go to Wal-Mart. I won't name names, but one member of the TFL has a long-standing boycott of Wal-Mart for their anti-customer, anti-worker, anti-community policies.

So, six of the group went to Wal-Mart, but checked with Ken Sain to make sure he would still talk to them after. Sain, Lacy and Tuttell headed back to hotel.

When they arrived back at the hotel there was no sign of Don Carlock, but Mark Dolan had arrived. Paul Ramey decided it would be a good idea to make Dolan think that we did not rescue the T. Rex in time and that he'd have to wait until Monday to get the trophy. So, if you see Dolan, don't clue him in.

Around 8 p.m. the group of ten owners now met down in the hotel lobby for a dinner outing. The conceirge agreed to take us all to the Anchor Bar, home of the first ever Buffalo Chicken Wing. We arrived and the place was packed. We were a little concerned about time because we wanted to stage the first-ever billiards tournament later that night. We had to wait an hour for a table, but decided this would be a one-time experience we couldn't miss.

We all ordered the wings, and let me tell you, they were fabulous. No wonder chicken wings became so popular. But no one does it as well as the original. The 10 owners tried to put away 100 wings, and failed. After dinner was over they headed back to the hotel. The Brothers Continelli decided to call it a night. The eight remaining owners all agreed to be part of the pool tournament.

We headed over to the Pearl Street Bar and Grill. The two pre-tournament favorites were Scott Lacy and Mark Dolan. They were the top seeds in their bracket. We decided to make it a double-elimination tournament so that it didn't go too fast.

First Round
Match 1 -- Mark Dolan vs. Paul Ramey. Ramey had described himself as a C player and was a little upset that he had to face Dolan in the first round. After a few shots, it was obvious Ramey was better than a C player. He gave Dolan a good challenge, but in the end Mark Dolan lived up to his pre-tournament billing and handed Ramey his first loss. Dolan advanced to the championship round semifinals.
Match 2 -- Ken Sain vs. Mike Taylor. Taylor had described himself as a F player. Sain said he was more a D player, maybe a C- on a good day. The two lived up to their grades. Most of this long match was the two going back and forth missing shot. A lot of balls moved around, but few went in. Finally, Sain made a couple of shots and opened up a little space. Taylor came back, but in the end, Sain won. He advanced to the championship round semifinals to face Dolan. Taylor had his first loss.
Match 3 -- Scott Lacy vs. Steve Katz. This one didn't last long. Scott was an obvious A player and Katz showed some progress, but was way out of his league. During the first round, it looked like Lacy would be the guy to beat. Katz suffered his first loss. Lacy advanced to the championship round semifinals.
Match 4 -- Wit Tuttell vs. Chris Reidy. The mirrored the Sain-Taylor matchup. Both players pushed a lot of balls around, but none were going in. This might have been the longest match of the night because both players were that bad. Finally, Reidy pulled away and won the match, handing Tuttell his first loss. Reidy was the biggest surprise advancing to the championship round semifinals after describing himself as a F player.

Second Round Consolation semifinals -- Paul Ramey vs. Wit Tuttell. Everyone thought Wit had more game than this. It didn't take Ramey long to make Iggy the first person eliminated from the billiards tournament. Ramey survived for another round.
Consolation semifinals -- Mike Taylor played up to his F-player billing. Katz made quite a few good shots. He was doing very well. He cleared all his balls and was going to work on the 8-ball. Taylor still had to get rid of four balls. Then, Katz scratched on the 8-ball to be the second owner eliminated. A very surprised Taylor advanced. Katz filed an immediate protest, claiming Taylor didn't call his shots. Sain, the tournament director, overruled the protest saying Taylor didn't make any shots.
Championship semifinals -- Scott Lacy vs. Chris Reidy. Here, Reidy looked like an F player and Lacy looked like he would sweep through the tournament. The match was over very quick. Reidy moves down to the consolation round and Lacy was the first to reach the championship round final.
Championship semifinals -- Mark Dolan vs. Ken Sain. It was all set up. the long awaited matchup between Lacy and Dolan was almost on. All they needed was for Dolan to get past Sain. A funny thing happened on the way to the pool hall. Sain played out of his mind and Dolan missed some key shot. It was a very close match, closer than anyone dreamed possible -- including Sain. Still, upsets do happen. Ken Sain defeated Mark Dolan.

Third Round
Consolation final -- Paul Ramey vs. Mike Taylor. Losing that first game might have been the best thing that happened to Ramey. His competition in this bracket was non-existent. Taylor played as well as he did vs. Katz, which is to say awful. However, this time his opponent did not scratch on the 8-ball to hand him an undeserved victory. Ramey cleaned the table and remained alive. Taylor was eliminated.
Championship final -- Scott Lacy vs. Ken Sain. For the first time Scott Lacy looked vulnerable. Sain took an early lead. He was on the verge of upsetting the top two seeds. The winner of this match would have to be beaten twice by the survior of the consolation games, so this was a big match. Sain knocked in all his balls and only had the 8-ball to go. Then, he struggled. Lacy rallied and it was down to who would knock in the 8-ball first. Sain faltered. Lacy didn't miss his opening. Sain had his first loss. Lacy advanced to championship game(s).

Fourth Round
Elmination game -- Paul Ramey vs. Mark Dolan. In this rematch everyone expected Dolan to clean the table, then beat Sain to get to the final everyone wanted to >see. Dolan vs. Lacy. It wouldn't happen. Ramey is a much better player than he claimed. It was another close match, but Paul Ramey won the rematch, elminating Dolan from the tournament.

Fifth Round
Elimination game -- Paul Ramey vs. Ken Sain. This is the first time these two played. Sain couldn't get any shots. He's not a very good player, but can make easy shot. Ramey played a very smart game and gave Sain nothing to shoot at. for the first 10 minutes, the two just exchanged pushing the cue ball around with nothing going in. Then, Ramey finally got it together. He ran out to a big lead, but his last stripe ball was next to the eight, kissing it actually, and the eight was only inches from a pocket. So, he didn't know what to do. While Ramey was trying to separate the two balls, Sain rallied. He knocked in all his solids. Finally, Ramey bit the bullet and made a shot just to separate the 8 and the 13. Then, he knocked in the 13. Ramey missed his first shot to knock in the 8 ball and win the match. Sain made a good shot on the side pocket, but missed. Then, Ramey didn't. He won to eliminate Sain and advance to the championship game.

Sixth Round
Dolan was favored, but bowed out early
Championship game -- Paul Ramey vs. Scott Lacy. Ramey had to defeat Lacy twice to win the tournament. Lacy only had to win once. Scott took early control, but Ramey played a smart game. He kept leaving Lacy no room to shoot. Lacy's game went a little south as he kept scratching. The game went back and forth. Lacy also had a chance to eliminate Ramey by making a side-pocket shot on the 8-ball, but missed. In the end, Paul Ramey won his fifth straight elimination game.
Seventh Round
Championship game -- Paul Ramey vs. Scott Lacy. This was it. The winner would be the first winner of the TFL billiards tournament. Both players showed flashes of good play. They were obviously the two best players in the tournament. But, Lacy did not play as well as he did in the first game. He scratched five straight times. Ramey claimed the win and the title, fighting off elmination in six straight games.

The group headed back to the hotel. Dolan intercepted a message from Mary Wilson. Friday was Chris Reidy's birthday. We forced him away, then surprised him with a cheesecake and everyone singing Happy Birthday.

Day 2 was over. The TFL Touch Classic is the first item on the schedule for Day 3.

Day 3

For the second straight day, the group was up early and ready to go. Shocking, yes. They gathered at 10:30 despite being up until 3 a.m. for the TFL Touch Classic. Just as the 10 owners were getting ready to leave for the park, Flint owner Don Carlock arrived. He was very jealous when he heard Mike Taylor had begun the day with the breakfast of champions, a Molson.

It was a perfect day. No clouds in the sky. So blue. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect day. The owners split up into two teams of five. Mark Dolan decided to shoot the game. His photos are the best. After a few more 3-11 seasons it will be nice to know that Dolan can return to photography and do well. The teams were set up as this:

Mike Taylor, Paul Ramey, Chris Reidy, Don Carlock and Bobby Continelli on one team.

Scott Lacy, Wit Tuttell, Ken Sain, Mike Continelli and Steve Katz on the other.

Lacy cried foul. He said the teams were not matched up fairly and demanded Katz and Ramey switch teams, hinting that Katz, Sain and Continelli all sucked and they needed help. The trade was made.

Katz answered that insult by scoring the game's first touchdown on a pass from Chris Reidy. Katz burned Ramey on the score, showing Lacy he didn't know shit.

Then, the other team took over. Mike Continelli threw touchdown passes to Paul Ramey and Ken Sain, and caught two touchdown passes. He also had an interception as his team took a 4-1 lead in the first to five scores game.

At this point, it was Sain, Katz and Continelli had four scores, Tuttell and Lacy none. Revenge is a bitter pill.

Continelli hit Tuttell for the final score to end the game.

The owners headed back to the hotel for showers. Sain, Lacy and Carlock went to set up for the draft. The others went to lunch. A waitress spilled a glass of water in Paul Ramey's lap.

Then, everyone made the trip over for the draft when we settled on the hotel. Before the draft began, Ken Sain (who is recognized by nearly everyone as the Greatest Fantasy Football Mind in the Galaxy) presented Mark Dolan with the T. Rex trophy. Dolan did a little dance with the trophy and did his best to rub his success in the nose of every owner present.

There was no poker game because we ran out of time. Everyone has to get up early to head for the Patriots-Bills game.

Day 4

Scott Lacy likes his sleep. Still, he had done very well in Buffalo. He was getting up every day about 10 a.m. and the group didn't have to wait on him once. Sunday almost proved the exception. Lacy bitched and moaned and wanted to know why they were going through all this trouble to see one game live, when they could sleep in and watch many games on TV with far less trouble.

Luckily, he was in the minority. Everyone was excited to go to Ralph Wilson Stadium to watch the Bills and Patriots open their seasons.

The Continelli Brothers arrived at the hotel around 9:30 and wanted to know why everyone wasn't ready to go. You would think after three days, they would know this group doesn't move that fast. But, by 10 a.m. they were ready to go. We loaded 10 people into two cars and headed for the stadium. We had to sweat out the first three miles because Lacy forgot to gas up the night before. His �NEED GAS' light had been on since Thursday and the gauge was definitely below the E line.

Still, they made it to a gas station in downtown Lackawanna. All were impressed with the Lancers' hometown. There is a giant basilica there. We also saw Ron Jaworski Stadium and the Brothers pointed out the street they grew up on, only a few miles from then Rich Stadium.

We parked in a lot across from the block where the stadium and its parking dwell. Mike Continelli began an interesting battle with the charcoal grill (the charcoal won). While the hot dogs were sort of getting warm, others tossed around a football.

After about an hour, the grill was hot enough to actually cook the dogs. Mike put down some of Buffalo's finest. Ted's Hot Dogs was my first introduction to Buffalo hot dogs. They are much more tasty and bigger than normal dogs. Everyone began eating, and couldn't get enough. All thought they were among the best hot dogs they've ever had.

At 12:15 we made our way to the stadium. We took our time to look around. Finally, we found our seats in the family section. We spotted Mark Dolan on the field, who was shooting the game for a newspaper. After much arm waving, Dolan spotted us and waved back.

The game was fun. The Continelli Brothers enjoyed it most, being that it was their team and the Bills defense scored 12 points (which they needed to pull out a victory over the Mighty, Mighty, Test Tubes. After the game, they headed back. Lacy was worried about traffic, but it seemed the Bills fans were more interested in tailgating and enjoying the victory, so the drive out was quick and pleasant.

The group went back to the hotel. After a bit of rest while watching the Cowboys-Falcons game on TV, they decided on one last outing. The group left a message for Dolan, then headed to Chippewaw Street for dinner. They stopped at an Irish Pub called Darcy McGee's. There, they watched the Sunday night ESPN game and had another excellent meal while watching the Raiders-Titans game on TV. At the end, they were the only customers remaining and they got a chance to do some heavy flirting with our waitress. Dolan didn't make it. He had transmitting problems and couldn't get away.

Our group went back to the hotel and started their goodbyes. Steve Katz would be leaving very early, and Wit Tuttell and Ken Sain right behind him. Lacy would pull out around noon for the drive home. Taylor had an afternoon flight. Chris Reidy and Paul Ramey had all day Monday to sightsee, then watched the Monday night game together.

Another convention had come to an end. Many felt Buffalo was among the best ever, if not the best. The people are friendly and helpful. None of the women slapped TFL owners faces, which could be a TFL Convention first. All the owners seemed to be in a good mood and enjoyed each other's company. The pool tournament is here to stay. There was some talk about a location for next year's event, and Wit said, �Let's do Buffalo again.' That's something, coming from a Dolphins' fan.

A lot of the credit for a successful weekend goes to Bobby and Mike Continelli. They took on the role of hosts, and did a lot to make sure everyone had a good time. They got the tickets to Bills game, supplied the grill and tailgate food, taxied us about, and gave us a great tour of Buffalo with all the U turns we made while they were trying to find their way around their hometown! Kudos to them. Thanks to all who made it. To those who didn't, you missed one really great weekend.

Day 5

Sain, Katz and Tuttell left in the morning. Lacy loaded up the draft board and the new TFL Classic Football and headed out shortly after noon, leaving Ramey, Reidy and Taylor in Buffalo.

The trio headed to the Galleria Mall to have lunch and pick up an inflating needle so Ramey could deflate the "autograph" ball and fit it into his luggage. Then it was back to the hotel, where Taylor was loaded into the Adam's Mark shuttle bus for his trip to the airport -- armed with two cans of beer for the trip ("Is that a Molson's in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?")

Reidy, whose head was about to explode from the cold he caught Sunday, and Ramey then headed back to the mall to search for the perfect Bills jersey for young Tyler Ramey -- a quest not unlike The Neverending Attempt To Mail The Postcard. Finally, however, the right jersey was found at Dick's, purchased from a woman who complained a) that it rained all week when she went to Florida, after saving up two years to make the trip; and b) that our group had "bought up all the Bills tickets" so she couldn't go to the game.

The Last Two Men Standing then headed to the Adam's Mark sports bar for the official closing ceremony, the Monday night game. After one final order of wings (not bad, but a poor cousin to those we had enjoyed previously), Reidy and Ramey settled in to watch the Bucs dominate the Eagles, 17-0.

Day 6

Ramey headed out at some ungodly hour, before the sun was up. Reidy, the last remaining TFL representative, packed up his car and headed back to Connecticut just after noon -- but not before calling Bobby Continelli to see if he wanted his cooler back. Since he didn't, the cooler -- and a half-dozen Coronas and two Molson's -- made the 430-mile trip to the Nutmeg State.

So now we'll have a head start on that 2004 convention in Hebron ...

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