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what irks me is how the schedule changes every year. last season, the Bills were opening on Sept. 9. this season, they're opening on Sept. 8. same thing the following weekend, their second game is a day earlier. this is goofy, i don't know how anyone is expected to keep up. jw

no, as a matter of fact poster acknowledges that this has been covered in another thread, and then proceeds to start his/her own thread. ... i'm pretty sure this is ok. me, i'm thinking of starting a thread on Vick to Buffalo rumors for olde tyme's sake. jw

perhaps, you should start a thread. never too late. jw

yep. jw

i truly thought the Bills were a playoff team last year. they proved me wrong. i refuse to make any similar predictions any time soon. this team has to show me it's capable of winning. and i'm not entirely sure this will be the season in which that proof will show up in any pudding. best case scenario in my opinion is that the Bills will show signs of gelling as the season progresses giving them something to build toward next year. jw

have called 911 twice as far as i can remember, both times after witnessing a car accident. -- the first time was back in New Westminster, B.C., when i looked out my patio to see a car fly up the guard rail and, sparks flying, over turn on its roof some time after midnight. -- the second time was here in Buffalo when, in the middle of the day, i watched a car veer off the road and crash into a cement front porch. i do plan to call the authorities, or perhaps my attorneys in regards to a bottle of Jameson i'm owed by Beerball, but that is an altogether nother matter. jw

you can ship it by mail or courier, doesn't matter to me ... jw see what i did there?

you are now the 8th person to recommed Southeastern. obtaining is in the works. and i've got tickets to isbell's show in Buffalo on Aug. 1. can't wait. Hood just played in Ithaca last week, but it was too tight a timetable for me to get off work and then rush down there. as it turned out, last Friday proved to be a busy day with EJ signing and the whole Mario WIlliams "kill em" story. jw

no, i'm the contrarian. ... jw

reviewing the discussion, you are correct. my apologies for jumping out of the gate a little too quickly on that front. jw

that's a fair point. and yet i will make the case that the LeBron we saw for much of these playoffs was far superior to the one that played in the Finals against Dallas two years ago. he appeared transformed as someone playing with determination and having fully asserted himself as the leader of this team, as opposed to two years ago when he weakly seemed to want to placate Wade, and then dismiss critics who questioned his performance. a point can be made too, about his days in Cleveland, where management and ownership seemed far too intent to give LeBron carte blanche over the entire operation, from hiring coaches to adding players. that should've been the GM's job. the team LeBron carried to the finals, was to a certain degree a team he helped put together. jw

not entirely how i remembered it. you said you were essentially going to trash anyone considered a rock god. guess i musta misinterpreted that as being some type of lucid point. my mistake. jw the Stones in my opinion are rock and roll's best band. they produced the most important music in the 1960s and '70s, recorded two of the era's best albums, starting with "Exile ..." and have influenced just about everything that's good in music that's followed. i don't care if you disagree. that's my opinion. go ahead and trash away because that has been your stated intention.

here's a story about Michael Jordan. was covering the Grizzlies back when they were in Vancouver. the bulls were in town and down by something like 13 early in the 4th quarter when Vancouver's antonio daniels (a rookie, and a bad one at that out of Bowling Green, who eventually won an NBA title with the Spurs i believe) decided to say something to Mike about how Chicago was losing. game on. Jordan proceeded to score 10 of the Bulls next 13 points or something like that in sparking yet another victory that few will remember in what was and stands as a great career. Michael Jordan was the real deal just as LeBron James is starting to become, given what he did in the last two games of the NBA finals in willing the Heat to victory. i won't even make the excuse that the aging Spurs suddenly looked tired and in part unraveled because of some curious coaching decisions by Popovich. sitting Duncan in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 6 was a mistake. sitting Tony Parker in the final seconds of overtime in Game 6 was also a mistake. i've covered Kobe as well, was there at the All-Star Game in NYC in 1998 when Kobe deserved the MVP over Jordan, who won it on reputation. Lebron, as we speak, has proven he is the best player of his age. he's finally learned what it means to take a team on his back and gut out a victory. he's more talented, i think than Jordan, but he's yet to match Jordan when it comes to his willingness to win. that process has only begun. the jury is still out as to where LeBron will rank on the NBA list of great players. he's rising, but the story is unfinished. much like Jordan who had to learn how to play within himself and a team after being schooled several times by Joe Dumars and the Bad Boy Pistons, LeBron is finally learning what it means to be a champion. that said, he's still not Magic or Bird or Michael, some of his more recent contemporaries. it'll be interesting to see how LeBron does next season with Dwayne Wade one year older and Bosh exposed as a bit player who can't reliably hit an outside shot, and certainly can't play in the paint. (though i'll give Bosh credit for defending Tim Duncan in Game 7.) jw

a few notes as we close this out. -- this all was borne out over beers with my good friend Jerry Sullivan. we were having a discussion regarding over-rated bands, when it segued into under-rated bands. i stumbled home and penciled out a list that mostly held up through this. -- one casualty off the under-rated list was The Jam. i took them off when it seemed that side of the list was getting bogged down with too many 1970s British acts: T-Rex, English Beat and eventually Nick Lowe. i felt that era was well represented, especially with The Cramps also in the mix. went with P**ssy Riot in that spot. -- and yes, i had Rush on the over-rated list, but took it off out of respect to its hard-core fan-base. though i question whether Rush deserved to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ahead of what i felt were more deserving artists (Nick Lowe in particular), there's no begrudging the fact that Rush has maintained its relevance over the years, fairing much better than a lot of other acts over that span. and it's not that they're well-known throughout America, thus rendering them not over-rated, just some band that i once was a fan of and no longer. -- in updating the first post with the final addition, i noted that i have an album or have seen in concert at least every act on both over- and under-rated lists with the exception of Coldplay. -- i chose under- and over-rated rather than great or bad. few of the over-rated acts do i actually loathe. in fact, i was a big fan of Green Day until their foray into Broadway. and as a youngster i was a huge fan of Genesis before that interest waned. of the acts i truly have no time for are Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band and Radiohead, a band that truly makes me angry for its over-bearing pretention. in retrospect, shoulda put them first. -- essentially, though, envisioning some bizzarro world perhaps, i put out a list in which i felt the under-rated bands deserved to be regarded as highly as the over-rated ones. -- other under-rated honorable mentions: Mike Doughty. Alex Chilton (who bore a common bond with numerous acts, from The Cramps to the 'Mats, and could draw comparisons as to being America's T-Rex) and Ryan Adams. funny, i initially had Sly and The Family Stone on my under-rated list before realizing to my surprise they had in fact been inducted into the Hall of Fame. as much as i wanted to include them because i still felt they were under-rated, i couldn't in good conscience include them. -- at one point, i toyed with replacing Steve Earle at No. 4 with a bunch of under-rated members of popular bands. i had a list all made out that included Stewart Copeland (the heart and soul of the Police), Lindsay Buckingham (an under-rated guitar player in his own right proven by the solo he performs on "Go Your Own Way"), Mike Campbell (Petty) and Brian May (Queen). -- still not really sure what Chef Jim's agenda was here. if he wanted to make a list, have him have at it. as for Kevin, i thought he was more unctuous in playing the role of Chef's lapdog, while lacking the hint of a thought to call his own. yeah, i never really understood the falling and fawning over lanois' supposed brilliance. he's as over-rated as they come. as for Lynne, i can appreciate what he did in writing some exceptionally good pop songs with ELO that i've come to enjoy and appreciate more in my older years. and yet ... with the exception of giving Roy Orbison a nod, i was never sure of the traveling wilbury's, and thought it was one of several low points for Lynn and Petty, with whom i've had a love and hate relationship with. jw

i was a huge fan of his previous release. "Alabama Pines," was in my head for weeks after i put the CD down. and i've heard from numerous people about this release to convince me to buy ear unheard. jw

naw, that appears to have proven to be a joke. i was half-kidding in light of some of the hasbeens and nobody's they're parading through town for much of this summer, and hyping them as great. many are hardly relevant anymore, and too many are hasbeens, including axl. Isbell is at least current and talented. and he's playing a small club, which should add to the intimacy. too bad Patterson Hood didn't make Buffalo a stop. he played Ithaca last week, and i was unable to make it. to me, Isbell is more than a better consolation prize, given that i've seen Hood front the DBTs a few times already. and yes, Isbell's new album is on my get list. now i just got to get around to getting it. jw

that's fair, because as i was writing it, and as you can see, i take more umbrage with Jack than the actual band. too late to change it now, but your point is noted and well taken. jw ADD: the trouble is, White is the frontman to the Stripes and responsible for it's sound to a large degree, thus rendering them -- because of him -- as over-rated in my book. gotta run, as this took way too long than i anticipated this a.m.

let's get this over with Over-rated No. 1: The White Stripes hard as Jack White might try to save rock and roll and elicit a long-lost sound, he fails at nearly every step with an over-bearing ego and heavy touch that blots and smudges essentially everything he gets his hands on. this Zepplin wannabe, this self-ascribed "raconteur" has difficulty getting out of his own way with an all-to-smart and smug approach. yeah, i get it. you like, hard rock, Jack, but must you remind us with every wilty vocal and off-key bridge? you really, really want to root for him to succeed, and then you wind up wondering what all this muck is about and supposed to mean. sure, the Stripes have had their moments. "Icky Thump," rocks with a threatening desperation, as does "Screwdriver," and there's a soft beauty to "300 MPH ..." and then you have to slog through all the self-absorbed hoo-haw in which White proceeds to go on and on to show you how smart he is. from the first song off the Stripes first album, "Jimmy the Explorer" to "St. James Infirmary Blues." and you go on through the entire playlist to find as many duds -- "Conquest" and his off-key, cloying remake of "Jolene." must we continue to discover that Jack will attempt to amaze with his attempts to do it all, and then disappoint us in proving that he can't. and all the while you're listening, it's difficult to surpress the desire to pick up a Led Zeppelin album and wonder whether Jimmy and Co. didn't do it all better? prolific as he is, White''s agenda is overly ambitious to such an extent that it pokes holes in his talent. that was particularly and peculiarly apparent on White's over-bearing touch in producing and contributing to Loretta Lynn's album, "Van Lear Rose." the record succeeds because of Lynn, and despite White, who seems to consider himself Loretta's equal by attempting to infuse his sound throughout the record. that is so unlike what Rick Rubin did in staying mostly behind the scenes while nurturing Johnny Cash's final albums and forays into rock and roll. in Lynn's case, White seems to be pushing her down the path and nearly off the cliff. and must country music and Nashville, in specific, embarrass itself further in its want to be recognized as "important" and "hip" by awarding White the title of "Nashville Music City Ambassador." really? much of the same can be said regarding White's countless side projects. the Raconteurs come off as forced, a heavier Matchbox 20. The Dead Weather, as i've mentioned previously, pales in comparison to much of what the Kills have to offer. i get he's good, but too often too good for his own sake to the degree that whatever message he's trying to make gets muddled in his own self-absorbance. what White needs more is the occasional intervention than further accolades. Under-rated No. 1: The Drive-By Truckers no band over this past decade has done more in carrying the rock and roll torch of American-rooted music than the DBTs. period. and yet no band has been left in the shadowy fringes more than them either. they've hardly rated more than a mention in most traditional publications despite being critically acclaimed. it's a juxtaposition i have difficulty comprehending. having obtained their early influences from southern rock acts, including and especially Skynyrd, the Truckers have evolved into a complete band that produces its own sound, drawing also upon Memphis rhythm and blues and country. they're lineup has boasted as many as four top-notch song-writers at one time, a luxury few bands have rarely had. and it's why the Truckers have proven capable and comfortable in blowing your socks off with such sharp rockers as "Nine Bullets" or "Shut Up and Get on the Plane," to soft country ballads of "Box of Spiders" and Space City -- i dare you not to be moved by that song upon first to 20th listen -- to quirky, off-beat odes to degenerates, from "Dead Drunk and Naked," and "The Night GG Allin Came to Town." they're storytellers at heart, and fronted by the yin and yang duo of Patterson Hood and the very under-rated Mike Cooley. from their ranks, they've spawned Jason Isbell, an under-rated artist in his own right, and his former wife Shonna Tucker. it's Patterson and Cooley, though, who founded the band and have maintained its focus throughout. start with "Pizza Deliverance" and move on up to "Blessing and a Curse." and when you get to "Brighter Than Creation's Dark," give Ghost to Most a listen, because it's as perfect a song as you're going to hear. thing is, the Truckers have many of them. and yet few, from what i can gather, have ever heard of them. they, like many on this list of under-rated acts, deserve more. far more. jw

you're all dead to me. jw

my first and last post in this thread. i'm staying out of it. promise.* jw *unless someone -- like say, Beerball -- offers me a bottle of liquor.

yep, by that point, there may be so many clarifications presented that we won't, of course, be able to understand to leave us wondering whether we've wandered into dyslexia. jw

sorry, let's go back. who are these "several similar" safeties currently on the Bills roster you mentioned earlier? jw (because i hate it when someone answers a question with a question and the question is never answered.) actually, let me delve further in wondering ... what does that mean? are you suggesting we won't know the answer? but we won't know the answer until you answer it, no? and if we won't understand the answer even if you clarify it, is that on us or your clarification skills? i'm perplexed. jw

having pored over the Bills roster, i'm left with the same conclusion as No Saint in finding it difficult to find a safety currently on the roster with one Pro Bowl selection, another Pro Bowl appearance and having more than 2 NFL career interceptions. there are potential "replacements," but none that appear to be "similar." jw

it is a little harder in the bigger picture given the restrictions. Bills and Toronto prefer the Toronto game be played after CFL season. Bills prefer it be a non-division rival, and preferably NFC team, which narrows the list down to 2. Remember, this just isn't the Bills schedule, but the schedule has to work within the parameters of the visiting team. And, the Bills want as few home games at Ralph Wilson Stadium after Thanksgiving as possible. given those restrictions, suddenly there are a few more hoops the NFL schedule maker has to jump through. the money aspect is important. forget prime time games. The Bills make more money when they have more games schedule before Thanksgiving, which leads me back to my original point. here's a schedule in which the Bills stand to make more money by selling more tickets, and yet still has them complaining foul when last year's schedule was much less advantageous in the bigger picture based on home games after Thanksgiving and the number of opponents they faced coming off extended breaks. jw

yes, because the Bills are the only team in the history of the NFL ever -- since the days of Adam and Eve and they played football with lambskin because pigs were not considered kosher -- that have ever complained about the schedule as being unfair. it happens to just one team, and that team happens to always be in Buffalo. and it happens to this one team because the NFL has a long-standing agenda to screw Bills fans and its franchise and Roger Goodell himself monitors this board on an average 15.2 hours per day getting his kicks in seeing how one poster after another expresses their conniptions over how "unfair" the league is to the Bills. Goodell, in fact, has weekly gatherings in his office, during which guests wet themselves with unfiltered glee over the hand-wringing that takes place on this site. but, of course, i digress. to your point, the Bills are a business and have complained they have difficulty selling out games late in the season. the NFL has met that desire. now in terms of NFL parlance, money usually trumps winning, and the two don't always go hand in hand. the fans might see that differently, but they're not the ones negotiating with Jairus Byrd. ... ah, forget it. if you can't appreciate how difficult it must be for a schedule-maker to put together a schedule for 32 teams, taking into account travel, Toronto games, warm vs. cold-weather teams, division play and all that ... then well ... continue on ... i won't stop you. jw and i got work to do.