Lori

This per an e-mail from the team. Here's the official release:

$275? For a preseason game ?!?!?

You have a point; I wouldn't put them in the top half. At least not yet. But ... behind the stinkin' Fish? Really? Have they seen Miami play since Madison and Surtain left town?

Sounds like a plan.

... and there was much rejoicing ...

pwned. Yup, pretty much. Of course, Billy being Billy, he was incredibly gracious about the whole thing. Not so much when I mentioned Bruce Smith's new autographing habit to him last year, though. Did I tell you about that?

Billy Shaw. How could I have left him out? (Oh yeah ... it was late.) Fantastic guy, and an absolute gentleman. We run into him every time we go to Canton for enshrinement weekend, and it's always one of the highlights of my visit. In fact, that brings to mind a story from one of my earlier trips down there. As I walked toward the gift shop inside the Hall of Fame, I came up behind a man talking about a red Bills mini-helmet in one of the display cases to the person with him. I overheard him say, "This is their new helmet." Being the nitpicker that I am, of course, I couldn't help butting in and helpfully pointing out that it was actually the pre-2002 version, not the new one with 17 different-colored stripes. As he started to turn toward me, saying, "No, their 'old' helmet is white ..." I finally recognized him. Blushing, I stammered, "... and it has a standing buffalo on the side. I'm sorry, Mr. Shaw. How are you doing?" Only met Tippy Day once before he left us too soon, but he was also the epitome of class.

I started collecting football cards long before I became a Bills fan, so ... a binder with every major Bills team set printed from 1960-1990. (Some of the newer ones are in a different book, but I stopped buying all of them when they started printing thirty-leven new sets every year.)

Met any players? Yeah, a few. (For visual proof, you can click on my profile and check out the photo of the boys mugging for my camera at last November's WGR Whiney Awards dinner.) One guy I always enjoyed talking to was Ross Tucker. Saw him at training camp the day after he and Sam Adams got into a practice-field scuffle; when I asked what happened, he said with a straight face, "Oh, he likes Big Macs and I told him that Whoppers were better." Not the least bit surprised that Tucker went into the media when his playing career ended. Funny that "Burnt Toast" (Scott Berchtold) got a mention. When we did the meet-and-greet with Tom Donahoe in San Antonio, the GM was in fine form -- he started his comments with a promise that he wouldn't take too long, because he knew he was cutting into our Saturday night drinking time. But trying to shepherd TD out of the conference room afterward, Scott looked for all the world like a KGB "minder." He's been cool every other time I've met him, though, so I wonder if TD set that up with him beforehand. And now that he's in Kansas City, maybe I can finally talk about the night Tim Krumrie bought us a round in Cincinnati ... nah, better not. He threatened bodily harm, and that dude is flat-out scary.

If you're looking for Ralph, you might be better advised to do so in his home state... http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail...amp;first=Ralph

Sports Locker. It's a couple of years old, but if it's out of stock, I might be able to talk them into printing more. (They're the ones who embroidered the second-edition TBD hats.) Wintermantel has some classic stuff at S4E, too -- I have each of the "God likes St. Bonaventure better than ..." shirts: http://www.shirtheads.com/catalog/item/1791552/1218010.htm http://www.shirtheads.com/page/page/1791596.htm Oop, wait - they have a Bona football one (brown, not athletic gray like mine): http://www.shirtheads.com/catalog/item/5229540/5209432.htm

Surprise, surprise ... Favre seeks unconditional release from Packers, sources say

Valid point.

Before this morning's inanity goes any further, I believe the Cat has already received the answer he sought, and we're done here. Thanks for playing.

Yup, that was Vic. Of course, Relentless I and II occupy a place of honor here on my desk. Don't use them every day like I used to, but they're still a priceless source of information. And while I'm giving props to Sal Maiorana, I should also mention his Game of My Life: Memorable Stories of Buffalo Bills Football.

You do. Last year, the Giants game was on FOX; Cowboys game would have been if it wasn't scheduled for primetime instead.

He already explained it. The broadcasts are based on the conference of the visiting team. Always have been. Therefore, the Seattle and San Fran games will be carried by FOX whether they're 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. starts. The only exceptions are the "national" games on ESPN/NBC/NFL networks.

I don't recall either of us dancing a jig at the news. Just thought people might be interested in the information. Sue me.

Heh. I was just coming over here to post this ... Here's the message on the preseason-only page: Tickets are currently not available online for one of the following reasons. Please check back for availability.

noooooo ....

We'll expect regular programming alerts whenever they play "Dancing Queen" ...

Season-ticket holders buying extras, plus group sales. Single-game seats have always been the lowest priority.

Early '80s: the ORIGINAL 97 Rock t-shirt. Yeah, the one with the logo that glowed in the dark. Wore that thing to death. 1994: PSU football - under the jersey at every Bills home game for at least eight years. now: St. Bonaventure football (undefeated since 1951!). Honorable mention: tour tees from Midnight Oil (Blue Sky Mining), INXS (Kick), Stones (Steel Wheels), Fleetwood Mac (Say You Will).

Nope. Pretty sure single-game sales have always started in the middle of July, at least since I've had seasons.

Not there, it doesn't. Even after last year's playoff run, only 85% of season ticket holders renewed their seats. (And that's a RECORD for them.) In fact, they just started a ticket-sale campaign called "Believe In Now" earlier this week ...