Metal Man

I second this. Coming back from commercial after a score to just see a quick kick-off before immediately going back to commercial is ridiculous.

Now that you mention it I have noticed this too. I didn't think about it until now but you're right, it is kind of embarrassing. I guess the best sign of the Bills being relevant again is when we beat someone well enough or often enough for them to hate us.

I have been out of the Buffalo are for almost 6 years now but until then grew up a Bills fan and have it deeply ingrained into who I am. Over that time I always would get a lot of grief from everyone about how crappy the team was and the typical 4 superbowl losses or wide right nonsense, but this year so far it seems to be getting a lot worse. I understand the team has hit a low it hasn't seen in a long time but now a lot of the usual 5hit talk is turning into pity and it is kind of annoying. I have had multiple people in the last three weeks ask me why I even bother anymore and that I should probably consider choosing a new team. I don't know how it works for most NFL fans but from what I know about growing up in the Buffalo area switching teams is not an option. I will admit a little bit of shame is creeping in and I don't like wearing my Bills stuff to work as much anymore, especially with tons of Jets and Giants fans around here, but there is no way I could ever have the same passion for another team. It isn't something you can just turn on and off and for some reason a lot of people don't seem to understand. My question for the community is what kind of experiences have any of the other out of town Bills fans had with fans of other NFL teams and how do you feel it is best to deal with them? Non-violent solutions only, a punch in the face to a junk talkin' Jets fan would feel great but just isn't practical.

What usually annoys me about that discussion too is that they never seem to mention how often the Bills do sell out despite being a team in a very small market that still has the 7th largest stadium capacity wise. Oakland is the second smallest. Jacksonville is 20th and I am not even sure if that 20th stat takes into consideration the seats they tarp over now. Again though, these things are usually not mentioned in such reports. I might be going out on a limb with this one but I am pretty certain that if you put a 63,000 seat stadium in Buffalo like the Raiders have we would not be seeing many if any black outs.

I haven't tried to go to a place with the NFL ticket in the Syracuse area. I did try one in Rome though for a Dolphins game that didn't sell out back in 2006 and it was blacked out there on DirectTV as well. I would assume the same holds true for Syracuse but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to call one of the places to see for sure. I would check out Wild Wings or Tullys this weekend and report back but I will be in Buffalo Sunday so I might actually venture out to the stadium and see if I can get a real cheap ticket.

The Syracuse market is blacked out for the Bills game but they can show another game. Immediately surrounding Buffalo is considered the primary market so based on NFL rules they cannot show any game at all in that time slot if the Bills don't sell out. As for bars with the NFL ticket in Syracuse, they won't be able to show the Bills game either. The rules are very stupid and need to be evaluated again though I don't see it happening anytime soon.

I have been out in the Syracuse area, and lived in the Rome/Utica, over the past 5 years and the black out does go that far. From what I understand the actual black out area goes to East Rochester but because the Syracuse TV broadcasts can reach into the black out area their CBS affiliate can't air the game either. Then because Rome and Utica get their CBS from Syracuse it is blacked out there too. My question is will the NFL ever change these antiquated rules as broadcasting technology improves. What happens when a station has the power to broadcast over the entire state? I realize it is not likely just asking rhetorical questions. The answer is obviously that the NFL will never change the rules and even if you live 200 miles away you still can't watch what could be one of the only Bills wins this season on Sunday. So much for trying to market the team regionally.

Hopefully someday someone writes a "tell-all" book about the inner workings at OBD over the last 10 years or so. I would love to know all the details behind all the head scratching decisions during that time.

This ^ And this. ^ Don't share this confidence though. I don't think the Yanks have the starting pitching to get it done this season. Philly is looking like the way to bet for the 2010 playoffs.

To me the issue of will Maybin eventually be good given the time to develop or not is secondary to the big WTF of why was he even picked at all. It should have been obvious to anyone, even someone who wasn't a scout, that he was a project pick for the NFL just based on his age and size alone. The problem is that the Bills could not afford to waste such a high pick on someone who might be good someday. The team doesn't have that luxury because they need immediate impact players now. Not sure who was responsible ultimately for this pick but whoever is was has to be the worst personnel evaluator in the entire NFL.

Are we sure that his contract was up this season? His Wikipedia page states that he signed a 6 year deal which would put him under contract through 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshawn_Lynch#Buffalo_Bills

OBD knows their stuff. Kelsay is a blue collar player with a high motor. They should give him 50 million.

+1 Dave Matthews Band would be so much better if Dave Matthews didn't ruin every song by opening his mouth to sing.

IIRC the Bills were supposedly interested in Willis that year but took Lynch instead when the 49ers grabbed him the pick immediately before. I was pretty disappointed when his name was called before Buffalo had the chance to draft Willis. You just knew he was going to be awesome in the NFL. Was kind of thinking the same thing about McClain in this year's draft though I seriously doubt the Bills would have taken him.

I don't think anyone really believes that Fitz is going to turn the whole thing around. The offense definitely is a mess. But I do think it is hard to argue against that Fitz at the very least will be more exciting to watch as he WILL try and pass the ball to the WRs. It is kind of sad but as Bills fans this year all we can realistically expect is for the team to be kind of competitive so there is always some enjoyment out of the games. With Edwards this obviously wasn't ever going to be the case.

I was confused about this too. Seems to me a GB third round pick would be more like an early 4th round one?

http://www.leftbankrestaurant.com/ Not a lot of people seem to know about it, but the place is very good.

Gus Johnson is pretty good. I just wish he wasn't paired up with Tasker. I really want to like him but just isn't that good. Definitely have to give a nod to Van Miller. His calls made some of the greatest Bills moments in history to date all that much better.

I suppose I can accept that logic. Something subtle like a hat or t-shirt makes a little more sense than being totally decked out for a team that isn't even playing, and a jersey does kind of fall into the "decked out" category. Now crossing sports... that is a completely different fashion foul.

I'm not sure I see why this is so terrible. Let's say you are visiting your friend in Charlotte and that he is a big Panthers fan. During your visit he drags you to a Panthers/49ers game of which neither team holds any interest for you at all but being an NFL fan you have no issue with going. By your rules are you saying it would be wrong to represent the Bills there anyway by throwing on a throwback Kelly? To me it seems that flying your colors at an NFL game would be a good thing whether the Bills were playing or not.

Agree with this ^ 100%. Isn't the entire point of watching your team each week to see them win? Worry about next year's draft position when the season is over.

Wizard and Glass was easily my favorite of the 7.

I'll assume you read the afterword despite King's warning of possibly leaving the story at that point. I can't imagine anyone actually doing that. In any case the end definitely left a lot up for interpretation and there were a lot of tales untold from Roland's past that might fill in a lot of the holes. Overall I was satisfied with the ending though. Without being too specific and spoiling anything I liked the whole circular idea of the quest with Roland learning something about himself and his humanity in each journey that could assist him on the subsequent quests.

I have read the series twice. I fear that hollywood will mess this up like they do with most things. That being said I will probably check it out and hope for the best or at least something better than the Sword of Truth tv show. That turned out terrible.

Is it just me or does anyone else think the local media should be trying to maybe drum up a little hype to help support the team instead of trying to convince people they shouldn't care?