From the Publisher - Happy Birthday To Us!

By Marian Giallombardo

Welcome to our five-year anniversary edition. It’s hard to believe that it has been five years. How time flies. Our first edition was November 1997. The Buffalo Bill’s Mark Pike was on our first cover.

This edition is our "look back" edition. We take a look back to the sports scene way back in 1997. A lot has changed since then. Check out our "look back" pieces on the Bills and Sabres and other local and national sports happenings. They sure brought back a lot of memories (some good, some not so good) for me and I hope it does the same for you. In addition to our look back pieces, you will also find most of our regular features.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to write. Initially, I was going to take a trip down memory lane and reflect upon all of the exciting times I’ve had and the high-profile athletes that I’ve met.

Then I came across a box that had many old papers in it. I started to look through the box. I kept looking and looking. I started to think back to what was happening back then… not only in sports, but also in my life and in the world.

November 1997: This was the first edition. I was surprised that we even got it out. I had a small staff, and most of us had some experience…but not much. This was our first real lesson when it came to deadlines. After about 60 straight hours of layout, we finally emerged with a paper. I was shocked when I saw how great the finished product looked and just how many papers we had printed.

January 1998: The Bills were done for the season and we were not sure what to put on the cover. We decided on wrestling as our main image. Initially I got a lot of flack for my choice, but it worked. People loved it! We also had a photo of a local boxer who was trying to make a name for himself. Our boxer, who had a small photo in the upper right corner, is up-and-coming Heavyweight Champ, "Baby" Joe Mesi. I am thrilled to have had an opportunity to be there in the early days and just as happy to be there as he fights his way to the top.

February 1998: Dominik Hasek was on the cover. He was starting to get really hot. Because of the controversy surrounding him at that time, many people thought that it wasn’t a good decision to have him on the cover. As it turned out, we designed the cover with "The Dominator" in flames. It was a memorable cover, and a few weeks later Hasek won Olympic Gold and as we called it, he was on fire!

October 1998: Michael Peca was on the cover in his street clothes. He was so well known that he was recognizable even without his uniform.

November 1998: Remember Doug Flutie? How about the quarterback controversy? Those were tough and sometimes exciting years for Bills fans. During the 1998-99 season Flutie was "the man." He was credited by many for helping to keep the Bills in Buffalo. That November cover looked very similar to the Flutie Flakes box.

May 1999: The "Great One" retires. Wayne Gretzky says goodbye. This was our first non-Buffalo sports cover. It was such an awesome photo that you could see the sweat on his face dripping down his chin.

June 1999: We were all full of hope and maybe, just maybe, this was Buffalo’s time. But…"No Goal" and no Stanley Cup! Game six was the most exciting and heart-breaking sports moment that I (and probably most of Buffalo) have ever experienced.

July 1999: Lindy Ruff and Gary Bettman appear on the cover, but in cartoon form. This was our first cover that wasn’t created from a photograph.

August 1999: "Baby" Joe Mesi appeared was preparing for another hometown bout. This was the first time that a professional athlete, other than a football, hockey or baseball player appeared on the cover as the main image.

September 1999: Quarterback controversy revisited!

January 2000: Three young Sabres posed for our cover. Goalie Martin Biron and Max Afinogenov are still part of the future of the Sabres; Cory Sarich was traded and the Bills were playoff bound.

March 2000: We featured "The end of an era…the Bills Big 3 depart." Jim Kelly was able to bow out gracefully and retire in a Bills uniform. In a 24-hour swoop, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas were no longer Buffalo Bills.

April 2000: Thanks to excellent graphical work, Chris Gratton and Doug Gilmour, who had just arrived in Buffalo, appear side by side on the cover. Neither lived up to expectations.

May 2000: Cal Ripkin, Jr. appears on our cover after joining the "3000 hits club." He was also known for his 2,632 streak of consecutive games played.

August 2000: Rob Johnson is on the cover (this time, not with Flutie). And the controversy continues as Rob is named starting QB.

February 2001: Martin Biron appears on the cover. This cover was hard to miss. It features Biron, but mostly his eyes. It was very striking because his piercing blue eyes were glaring through his goalie mask as if they were glaring right at you! Tom Donahoe is Ralph Wilson’s choice as the Bills new GM.

March 2001: Dominik Hakek lands the top spot on the cover again. I had a feeling that this might be his last season in Buffalo and I felt that we should take an in-depth look at his career while he was still on the team. It was a good choice.

August 2001: Rob Johnson has a "second chance to make a first impression." As it turned out, it was his second chance to make his last impression on Buffalo.

October 2001: This edition was a week late (the only time that had ever happened). I was trapped in NYC witnessing first-hand the 9-11 attack. Travis Henry was on the cover and this was the first time that we started to include the American Flag as a regular part of our cover.

January 2002: Vince Carter appears on the cover and "Vinsanity" takes over in Toronto. Alex Van Pelt spoke to S&L Magazine about his chances of starting as QB. Van Pelt’s name is hardly mentioned anymore since Drew Bledsoe has put the excitement back into Buffalo’s football. Dominik Hasek also spoke with us, but this time as a Red Wing.

April 2002: I had always wanted to do something different for April Fool Day. This was the year we did it. "Baby" Joe Mesi appears with giant sized gloves, Rob Johnson throws a pineapple drink and the Bills gamble on the NFL draft. We threw a "breakthrough medical discovery" on the cover to further enhance the April Fool’s joke.

June 2002: Drew Bledsoe makes his first appearance on the cover and the Bills get ready to unveil their new uniforms.

August 2002: Jim Kelly speaks with S&L Magazine and he is honored with an induction into the Football Hall of Fame.

September 2002: I wanted football to standout as the main theme in this edition. I think it did. Our graphically enhanced cover has a football ripping through the cover.

October 2002: Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady and "Baby" Joe are on the cover…but this cover looks like an old fight poster.

February 2004: We can’t decide who to put on the cover. The Bills win the Super Bowl with Bledsoe at the helm. "Baby" Joe Mesi wins the Heavyweight Title in HSBC Arena and the Sabres are at the top of their division and preparing for the finals…it’s okay to dream, isn’t it!

Sports & Leisure Magazine was good in 1997 and it is even better in 2002. I have a great staff and I hope they know how proud I am to work with them. I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of the last five years. I have too many people to pay homage to, and I hope they know how much I appreciate their efforts.

Thank you to all of our advertisers. Thank you to the athletes whose stories we enjoy writing about.

Thanks to all of our readers.