Commentary
What a bust?! Wilson still not hall of famer
MATT KRUEGER Sports Reporter
What exactly will it take to see Ralph C. Wilson's likeness displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame among those of other worthy contributors?

I'm guessing an act of God.

The word came down from the Hall of Fame Selection Committee two weeks ago, amid the mass chaos that is the Super Bowl, that the Class of 2007 will include Thurman Thomas, Bruce Matthews, Michael Irvin, Gene Hickerson, Charlie Sanders and Roger Wehrli. I'm not going to debate the candidacy of any of those men. They all possess hall of fame qualifications. But Wilson's name didn't even make it to the list of finalists this year and that's hogwash.

Along with former Kansas City Chiefs owner, the late Lamar Hunt, Wilson was instrumental in the creation of the American Football League and has been a voice for the small-market teams in a league more and more favoring the big cities. Hunt is deservedly a Hall of Famer, but Wilson's name should sit side by side with Hunt's among the annals of football greats.

There is no denying Wilson's importance to Western New York - without the Bills, the economy of Western New York would be far worse that it already is - but it's his contributions to the game and NFLas a whole that make him Hall of Fame worthy. Hopefully, 2008 will be Wilson's year.

+ The Buffalo Sabres line of Derek Roy, Maxim Afinogenov and Thomas Vanek is once again proving to be the best in the league.

In the past three games, Vanek has scored four goals, while Afinogenov has one. The duo accounted for all three goals in last Wednesday's 3-2 win over Ottawa and has helped take the scoring pressure off of co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.

+ Let's all hope Brian Moorman doesn't ever have to run a fake punt during the Pro Bowl again.

Although the 6-foot, 175-pound punter can take a mean hit, like the one Redskins' safety Sean Taylor leveled on him Saturday, and bounce back up, Moorman is too valuable to the Bills to get injured in a meaningless exhibition. His leg gives the Bills' defense excellent field position in every game and the six-year veteran has been the most consistent performer over the past few years. If Buffalo loses him to injury, trouble is sure to follow.

+ Town of Tonawanda heavyweight boxer "Baby" Joe Mesi is one week away from taking a significant step in his comeback and here's to Mesi climbing back into the rankings by the end of the year.

Mesi faces his first 10-round fight since getting injured in a 2004 win over Vassiliy Jirov when he takes on George "Terminator" Linberger Feb. 22. The comeback from multiple brain bleeds has been slow for the former No. 1 contender, but a decisive win in a televised bout - the fight will air on Versus - can draw attention back to Buffalo's "third franchise."

+ The Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation playoffs are underway and that means some of the best high school hockey in the state happening all around us. With five-time defending state Catholic school champion St. Joe's, as well as defending NYS Division I champion Williamsville North in the mix, some of the best teams in New York are fighting it out for supremacy. So check out the games and watch the stars of tomorrow.

e-mail: mkrueger@beenews.com