Lori

"Personally, I could care less if TO talks the rest of the year. That's one less headache to deal with. But we all know he can't stay quiet."

I just checked, and he hasn't logged in since last Thursday. Think they were supposed to close on the house right around now; between that and the job, we're probably pretty far down his list of priorities. And honestly, he's getting far worse on his blog. The "douche" comment notwithstanding, I think everybody here has been reasonably civil in their disagreement.

Posted FWIW: Kicked the door open? Hadn't heard that yet.

I don't think we disagree.

Let's assume the Dolphins have a bulletin board somewhere in their complex. Think that comment would be reprinted in foot-high letters and posted on it? I do.

Of course, he can't go around saying, "We're absolutely going to beat the snot out of the Dolphins this week," but ... Hopefully. Argh. I got (politely) reamed by a coach last year for asking a question including that word; he replied, "We don't 'hope' to win, we EXPECT to win X number of games." They surpassed that number ... and I've learned to choose my words more carefully when talking to him.

The reporters weren't in his home, or intruding on his privacy. They were at the stadium covering a game, and postgame access to the players is covered in the league's media policy. One Bills player -- ONE -- refused to speak after the New England game. Ditto for Tampa Bay. Blame all around? I can agree with that, to an extent. Was T.O. unhappy to be standing at that podium, because of some of the over-the-top rants from guys like Bayless and Schlereth? Sure he was, and justifiably so -- and for what it's worth, most of the local writers' opinions I've seen agree with him that the TV guys were just trying to stir the pot. (I should also note here that I have NOT talked to either Tim or John about that, so don't assume I'm including them here. They can certainly speak on that topic themselves, if they choose ... but I gather that Tim's sort of busy over at his blog right now.) On the other hand ... yeah, I'm biased, because I've been on the other side of this equation (albeit at the small-town hack level), but IMO the local guys had every right to be annoyed with Owens when he walked in dragging that hatful of attitude. They weren't the ones taking him to task last week, but judging by his demeanor, he obviously blamed them for it anyway. The "hostile witness" analogy was brought up in the comments on Tim's blog, and it fits -- and faced with that amount of condescension, the level of tension in the room was sure to rise.

Interesting that Owens didn't seem to have a problem with the media when they were chronicling his every move during camp, when he invited JW along on his house-hunting expedition, etc. ... Buy the ticket, take the ride. Plenty of room for, umm, discussion on this one. By all means, feel free to disagree with the piece. All I'll ask is that you not create work for the moderators by descending to the "your a #### idiot" level -- for that, you can head over to Tim's blog -- and I appreciate the fact that the previous comments in this thread have not done so.

I've met both tater and Bauch. Not the same guy.

That's because he was coming back from an injury. Thomas was their leading rusher last season.

Yes, you have. Canton 2002. Can't believe you forgot the look of fear on the teenaged counterpeople's faces when we told them there was a busload of people right behind us ...

That would be incorrect. Sullivan covers every home game, and I'm pretty sure all the regular-season road games as well. And if the Bills tried that kind of petty crap, they'd be hearing from the league in short order. Funny thing is ... I haven't seen the video, but according to Mike Harrington, it was Maiorana and Hamilton pushing the issue, not Sully.

According to this list, FAN 590 carries the games in Toronto: http://www.buffalobills.com/media-lounge/r...rk-listing.html I include a link to the Bills Radio Network near the top of my previews, but I'll also put one in the opening post here. Thanks for pointing out the omission.

Steady rain and low 50s here in northern Pa. as I load the car. Deeee-lightful. Supposed to taper off and get up into the 60s later; weather.com's hour-by-hour shows the wind topping out at 13mph. Enough to stick a wrench into Brees' gears? Not sure ... but I wouldn't mind if it did. Can't remember where I read it, but someone brought up a stat that before they won in Philly last week, the Saints were 1-6 in their last seven outdoor games. Like to see that trend continue.

http://www.twobillsdrive.com/buffalo-bills/game-day/145/

Logged in a couple of days ago. Just hasn't posted much lately.

Yup, Herrera. Same guy. The writer you're talking about is Tim Kawakami.

The bus lot? The one across Abbott Rd. from the stadium, you mean?

Rules are different at the Masters -- not entirely sure, but I believe Augusta CC and its advertisers pay for the airtime themselves. The NFL has a contract with CBS, Gannon's employer. One suspects Mr. Goodell wouldn't think kindly of one of his franchises annoying a rightsholder which pays the league billions of dollars. And if I'm a higher-up at CBS, I want demonstrable proof that Gannon has been either biased or unprofessional before I even THINK about agreeing to their request. In absence of same, the Raiders have no case, because he's supposed to state his opinions.

Unreal. I wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't heard about some of the other BS -- a lot of it involving Herrera -- that goes on there. And if they wanted to make it a 100-percent certainty that Gannon will offer up some strong opinions tomorrow, they've succeeded. (After all, that's his JOB ...)

It has. Some decent discussion here: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?showtopic=96941

They weren't booing. They were chanting "Moooovers." [/peytonmanningcommercial]

Think that was just added this year, precisely because of the "we speak with one voice -- MINE!" dictators in the league.

Exactly. GREAT programming move to put games on Friday nights, where there would otherwise be "Best Of" repeats of that day's shows. Had an interesting chat with Howard Simon a few years back, regarding which sport used to draw the most interest/requests/etc. at Empire. Bills? Nope. Sabres? Nope. High school football. Don't believe me? Drop Buffalo News SE Steve Jones a line, and ask him which sports blogs get the most traffic. The first one to a million page views was Sabres Edge, which was also the first one they started. The second one to reach that number? Prep Talk, and preps guru Keith McShea gets absolutely overrun whenever he does a live chat on there. In fact, I'd consider listening to GR tonight, if I didn't have my own game to do. Speaking of which, catch y'all later ...

For the Wednesday teleconferences with the out-of-town media, it's coach, QB, and one other player. (Usually a star, although I believe those writers can also request someone with a local angle.) Otherwise, I believe EVERYONE is expected to make themselves available after a game ... but don't quote me on that. John and Tim are the ones in the room, not me. As Tim noted in the comments section of one of his blog posts, Owens was the only man in the room who didn't talk to reporters following the Pats game. Whitner wiped away tears as he spoke, McKelvin answered questions about the infamous fumble, and Poz had just found out his arm was broken ... but they all talked. All but one. Now, when a Bayless or Schlereth spouts off whenever he DOES say something, I can understand Owens' feelings and even sympathize a little. JW touched on that in the linked story; he's previously suggested the same here. Hopefully, 81 can understand that the guys out at One Bills Drive every day aren't the ones stirring the pot. In fact, quite a few of the locals were rolling their eyes just as much as we were about Schlereth's over-the-top performance ...