rockpile

Ricky Nelson

I was at the December 23, 1994 game. The Bills and Jets were playing for home field playoff advantage, and were blacked out locally. We decided to go on game day morning and scored 40 yard line seats in the lower bowl. We froze to the bone. I am still glad I went, but never again when the wind chill is a negative number! I really like snow games though.

+10

Sumbitch. The only getting older than me around here is this sub-thread argument.

yup. +1 I clearly saw a hand with a yard of his face.

I watched Kenny and the "ketchup" routine (11:30) at Hammers, then me and my friend walked to stadium. Between us, we are 128 years old so we broke no land speed records. LOL I got buzzed walking through scanner at gate 3, so they found my cars keys with a wand (my bad). There was a long line of three of four people ahead of us. Beer stands were open. We strolled through in 5 minutes, hit the head, and climbed to the upper deck. He has had double hip replacement twice and I have MS. Slow freight fits. By the time we finally reached our seats, team warm ups were almost over. and they soon left the field. Gate one (the store) was jammed. BIG surprise!

I prefer to wait until Tyrod proves he is a starting QB before even thinking about his nickname.

No rain for the tailgate would be great. Rain during the game in warm weather is no big deal. I have been there for blizzards but never a thunderstorm.

This year it will be me and the youngest daughter at the Tailgate and game representing the Rockpile family. A lot of er family will be showing up like they did last year - 10 to 12 great people. Where are people going Saturday night besides Danny's? I will be in the same row.

+1 from the Rockpile !!

So it is all your fault!

TWO general, please!

1 XL please.

Nice report, John. It has been my experience that you have tried to communicate what is happening without having an editorial agenda, and cherry picking things to support your perspective. Hope to see you again on Saturday in OP. Are you covering the Bills game? Rockpile

I can't wait to see you and my favorite Psycho!

I was at camp last night, but could not stay for the whole practice, so there was a lot I missed in the last hour. I had two grandchildren with me and talked a lot about the practice and players with them. I have been making Bills fans for a while now. My oldest granddaughter is 19 and said she remembers camp when she was 4 or 5 years old. *-) Random observations: Fred Jackson is playing like he has been reborn. He would pick a hole and shoot through it like a cannon from backfield to daylight. I loved CJ, but too often he would run down the line looking for a whole until he ran out of field. Jackson's burst through the line reminded me of Thurman Thomas. Sammy Watkins is amazing. What else can I say. None of the QBs looked like a starter to me. Cassell overthrew receivers a few times, and often took 5 or 6 seconds to get rid of the ball. EJ looked the best, but that does not mean I am endorsing him. I would have a hard time choosing ANY of the four to be my leader. In the 7 on 7 drills, there would have been at least 5 sacks. Simms and Taylor made no impression on me. Sal Cappaccio with WGR 550 called the QB's :"inaccurate and inconsistent", and I agree. TE Matt Mulligan at 6'4" and 267 lbs looks like an OL. I hope he can play at a high level. When the starting DL walks out onto the field, they "swagger". They ooze confidence. I can't wait until September!!

I went to a 7/11 last night and was told they had no night practice tix for any dates in any Rochester locations. Manager said they sold out very quickly. I did not call or drive around to verify.

RIP

I agree and disagree. I had a three strike rule and F-bomb #3 was a disconnect if directed AT me. . I would advise them the call was being recorded, give them a "warning", and explain I could not help if all they were going to do is swear at me. On the flip side, some call center people might disconnect for multiple reasons. * Long call expected near end of shift * Close to lunch * Not trained to provide service requested * Did not feel like handling it and so on If a customer was being mishandled by the company/call center, I would spend an hour or two helping if necessary, and sometimes call them back after talking to supervisors or other departments, even if it was to explain what the solution or non-solution was about. Sometimes, after 7.5 hours I did not realize I was not speaking clearly!

I have learned from being on the call center side of the wall to be polite but firm when I deal with customers AND when I call because I need customer service. I used the same head set for 4.5 years even though we changed phone software multiple times. Sometimes when a person got through to me, they had been transferred a few times already, which compromises the quality of the sound you get. Where I worked, help desk 'customer service' personnel were paid by having a high sales/call ratio, length of call, availability, and number of calls taken. Actual service quality is only 10-15% of the quarterly review. This is not customer service. Also the customer's expectations range pretty evenly from polite but frustrated, to holier than thou, to ignorant/stupid. Some customer service agents DO suck, by the way.

Amway or Jesus? I am just teasing......

A successful season will be when I do not have to say "Well, Gomer, there's always next year!" I have been saying that since the Bills did not go to the first AFL/NFL championship. I am glad I did not know then that the first championship would be a loss - 25 years later! I look forward to each season, but have drastically lowered any expectations. If you have no expectations, you cannot be disappointed. ...rockpile

Even going in with low expectations, Mad Max was worse than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the updates, and continued prayers for Rick and his family. It is great you are doing this and I am sure he really appreciates visitors to talk about something besides his illness. Kudos to you all!

I remember him and miss him.