Clan-Members » Sabres are now 17-3-2 in their last 22 home ga

While we werent jetting into the most glamorous city in the United States, you could argue that we were headed to the most glamorous match-up of the young NFL season.Even with Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out injured (Fantasy football fans weep), Pittsburgh Steelers still possessed more than enough talent to keep the famed New England Patriots - led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady - at bay.Pittsburgh is known as the Steel City thanks to its history of more than 300 steel-related businesses operating around the city. As we caught an Uber to lunch before the big game, I could see this was a blue-collar city with not a cent wasted on art or grand constructions like you see in New York, Los Angeles or Las Vegas, among others.Pittsburgh is a passionate and highly successful sporting town.The Steelers have a history and tradition of success that is as rich and honourable as any team in the NFL whilst the neighbouring Pittsburgh Pirates of the MLB have an enormous fan-base and play out of what has often been described as baseballs most picturesque stadium, PNC Park in downtown Pittsburgh.On the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins share a piece of the locals hearts, particularly after last seasons Stanley Cup victory. They have one of hockeys prime-time performers in Sidney Crosby and he is synonymous with success and stardom in the NHL. He was the number one overall selection to the Penguins in 2005 and is now the captain, having delivered the city two championships in that span. The Pens have called Pittsburgh home since 1967 and unlike some NHL franchises which battle for relevance up against the NFL, NBA and collegiate sports, Crosby and the Penguins are a driving force in the Steel City.Now - back to Belichick, Brady and the big game.Heinz Field rests on the banks of the Ohio River and is - like most pro stadiums across the NFL - a magnificent venue to watch sport. ESPN lists Heinz Fields capacity at 65,000 so you will believe me when I say the atmosphere was electric because more 66,009 people crammed into the arena to catch this game.Roethlisberger is a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback so his absence was going to be felt at some stage - that much was sure. But with All-Pro running back LeVeon Bell (who we will get to later!) and arguably the games premier wide receiver Antonio Brown, the Steelers had a real shot.But the Patriots werent 5-1 coming into the game for nothing and Brady, aided by former Steeler LeGarrette Blount and superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski, always managed to stay just out of reach of the Steelers defence whilst reserve QB Landry Jones just could not manage to keep up with TB12.In the end, a highly enjoyable game to watch ended with a New England road win, 27-16, which could have been much closer had a Darius Heyward-Bey touchdown not been called back for holding as well as two missed field goals from kicker Chris Boswell.So, as they always do, the Patriots made just enough plays to get the job done and jetted back to Foxborough with another win.For us, our day was just getting started thanks to Australian punter Jordan Berry who performed his role extremely well on the day.Jordan came through former Brisbane Bear and Collingwood player Nathan Chapmans punting academy, Pro Kick Australia, before becoming an elite college boomer at Eastern Kentucky University. Jordan was kind enough to have us at the game as well as have giving us an exclusive on-field experience after the game.I spoke to Chappy about what it meant for him to see Jordan live in the NFL;Jordan punted four times on the day including one booming 55-yard bomb that landed just in front of where Hannah and I were seated.Also in town to watch Berry were former Louisiana State University punter Jamie Keehn and Utah University star Tom Hackett who won the Ray Guy Award as the NCAAs best punter in 2014 and 2015. Tom tried out with the New York Jets this pre-season and looms likely as Australias next Aussie in the NFL.It was phenomenal for us fanatics to just let the boys talk American football and their experiences while we listened intently and threw in the odd question.Getting onto the turf at Heinz Field was magical. Enormous stands surrounded us that on Sundays, are filled with the most parochial, passionate fans sport can offer up.As we walked to the car park underneath the grandstands, a very familiar face strolled a few metres behind us.Superstar running back LeVeon Bell. (I told you we would get to him)Bell was casually making his way out of the arena so after some moments of trepidation, we decided to jump in and ask for a photo. Bell politely obliged and the rest is history!Like we had done for lunch, the Aussie crew of around 10 headed to The Cheesecake Factory near Jordans house for a great dinner and debrief of the days events.A huge thank you must go to Jordan for his willingness to host everyone during such an important game. He was open, friendly and more than happy to provide a few fans with a unique and memorable experience. He is sure to go far in the NFL.Next stop is Florida (namely Miami, Orlando and Tampa) so we have a small break in the travel diaries before we finish off the trip in style with Thursday Night Football in Tampa between the Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons then onto Baton Rouge for what will arguably be the biggest, most passionate game of NCAA football this season - LSU versus Alabama in Death Valley.Stay tuned to my social media platforms for on-going photos and fun from the holiday of a lifetime. Im glad I can share it with everyone!JJCheap Vapormax Flyknit China . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Nike VaporMax Plus Sunset Black+Total Orange+Yellow . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/nike-air-vapormax-plus-black-white-clearance-544.html . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Wholesale Vapormax 2 Flyknit .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Cheap Vapormax Flyknit 3 . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres knew they had a prime opportunity to bust out of their goal-scoring slump and did just that in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night.With the Flames playing their second game in two days, the Sabres reached three goals in a game for the first time in 11 chances, since a 3-1 win at Winnipeg on Oct. 30. Kyle Okposo, Johan Larsson, Matt Moulson and Marcus Foligno scored for Buffalo, which has won consecutive games for just the second time this season.I just think its huge getting four goals, Okposo said. Thats a team thats coming off a back-to-back and if we played well we thought that we could get those two points and we did that. We executed our gameplan and were able to get two big points. So hopefully we can take that confidence into Wednesday and roll with it.The Flames took a 1-0 lead into the second period, but the Sabres answered with three goals in a span of 101 seconds in the second.Penalties to Dougie Hamilton and Troy Brouwer at 10:02 gave the Sabres a 5-on-3 advantage, which they converted into a pair of goals. First, Okposo took a pass from Sam Reinhart and fired a wrist shot into the back of the net. On the Sabres next shot, Larsson redirected Evander Kanes wrist shot between the legs of Flames goalie Brian Elliott.Buffalo wasnt finished. Brouwer took another penalty with 7:04 remaining in the second, and Moulson cashed in with his sixth power-play goal of the season, giving him a share of the league lead in power-play goals.Its a lot of goals in a short amount of time for our team, Bylsma said.Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk scored 22 seconds into the third to cut the Sabres lead, but Buffalo answered two minutes later when Foligno slid an odd-angle backhand shot behind a sprawling Elliott.Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, which was coming off a 3-2 win at Detroit on Sunday night. Buffalo got two assists each from Reinhart and Taylor Fedun, who now hhas four assists in three games since being called up from the AHL.ddddddddddddobin Lehner had 29 saves for the Sabres, and Elliott turned away 28 shots. Elliott has now allowed 22 goals and is 0-6 in his last six starts for the Flames.Calgarys six penalties were its most in a game since it had eight penalties in a 4-2 loss to Carolina on Oct. 20.It was everything, Tkachuk said.?We did everything wrong tonight. We put ourselves in a bad position to kill too much tonight. Theres probably some wear and tear on some players that penalty kill a lot, so overall, just not a good game.?Buffalo had scored one goal or fewer in regulation seven times in its previous nine games, so the scoring output was overdue.Meanwhile, the Sabres are in line to finally get some reinforcements.Top-line center Ryan OReilly is scheduled to return by the end of the week. He missed his fifth straight game with an oblique injury.And Jack Eichel might not be far behind. Out since spraining his left ankle a day before the season opener, Eichel skated individually for a seventh consecutive day. The next step is for him to begin practicing with the team which, barring a setback,? could happen by the end of the week.Game notesThe Sabres are now 17-3-2 in their last 22 home games against the Flames, with the last regulation home loss coming on March 15, 1996. ... The Sabres three goals in a span of 1:41 in the second period were the teams quickest three goals since Buffalo scored three in 1:08 against Boston in 1998, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... Flames F Kris Versteeg (groin) missed his ninth straight game, but coach Greg Gulutzan said theres a good chance hell be ready to return on Wednesday, when Calgary plays at Columbus.NEXT UPFlames: Play at Columbus on Wednesday night.Sabres: Close a four-game homestand hosting Detroit on Wednesday night. ' ' '