sullim4

Last place is ridiculous. I could definitely see us not winning the division, or potentially missing the playoffs if Allen either gets injured or regresses significantly. But last place seems like quite a stretch.

Chris Brown is OBD's public mouthpiece, and has been for years. He says exactly what he's told to say, and does exactly what he's told to do. He does not deviate from the script. He is the perfect company man. Now, that is not to say that he never says anything interesting. When coaches want to send a message to a player, or there is something the organization wants publicly known but they can't have McBeane go right out and say it, Brown will be the vehicle to deliver the news. All of that said, that makes him the perfect host of this show. One Bills Live is basically the team's 3 hour propaganda extravaganza.

That's exactly my point. Stuff like that always happens, and when it does, the client has little or no choice but to pay. Some less-than-ethical contractors will pitch a lower price, even though they are aware of existing conditions on the site. They then "discover" them and jack the price up. Clients can't bid out this work because the contractor is already part way through the job. This is a very common way that contractors bilk their clients for money and why so many people question the ethics of the industry.

This may not sit well with some on here... but contractors aren't exactly known for their ethics and wonderful customer service. This is particularly true in massive projects like a stadium - you likely have layers of subcontractors in there that all want to fatten their profit margin and so everybody gets their take. Flaws get exposed in designs, additional mitigation becomes required to get final approval on permits, etc. All that costs money and contractors can take advantage of the fact that you really have no choice but to pay them more. It's so hard to find good, ethical contractors. You have to find people that enjoy what they do and make profits because of the quality of their people and their work -- in today's times this is increasingly difficult to find.

That Raiders game is in the 4:25 CBS national window... so it's probably going to get broad exposure. Edit: Nope. It's going against KC/NE.

I am no fan of Tim Graham, but reading this is confirming some of the things I have suspected. Terry and Kim are good people that have no idea how to run an entertainment business. Terry made some smart decisions to invest in natural gas and it was sort of a foolproof situation that led to him getting really wealthy. I am happy for both of them and glad they kept the Bills and Sabres in Buffalo. I like both of them, but neither seem to have strong leadership or management skills. Their reaction to poor talent and hires at the top -- to bring in family under the guise of people they "trust" is cringe-worthy. I can't think of many instances where failing businesses were brought back to life by hiring family members. To be frank, I don't understand why they got into so many different businesses - restaurants, sports team ownership, marketing, etc. Hell, they own the Marriott Harborcenter, right? I don't generally think of oil and gas tycoons excelling at the hospitality business, but what do I know? I don't like Russ Brandon, he's a weasel, but that guy knew how to run a business. They need someone like that, but less weasel-y, operating the business. Terry and Kim need to get back to being the investors rather than the front-seat drivers. They should sell/cut loose the fringe businesses like the restaurants and hotel, and instead focus on the Sabres and Bills. More importantly, they need to get a President/COO in there that can cut the fat and focus the operation back on the teams.

ESPN is all about personalities rather than raw talent. They have no interest in hiring a "nobody" like Kevin Harlan or Spero Dedes that does a good job of play-by-play. Instead they want a personality that draws controversy and/or can fill programming hours outside of the actual football game. This is exactly why they hired Dennis Miller, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland, and the like. CBS, on the other hand, sees raw talent in Romo and picks him up right after retirement. Sean McManus actually cares about the quality of his broadcast so he sets him up to succeed - having him learn from and practice with Nantz before the season so that he doesn't look like a fool on opening weekend. A few years later, ESPN is so desperate to land Romo that they throw buckets of money at him, but Romo is smarter than that and stays at a network where he can call the Super Bowl, AFC championship game, and high-profile golf tournaments. This is a sign of desperation by ESPN. They already have these guys under contract and with the COVID outbreak, they cannot afford to hire a high-priced "personality" that can fill this role. The longer this goes on, the more people are learning that they can live without ESPN and that standalone streaming services are the way of the future. ESPN stands to lose $8 per person that cancels cable... that is a ton of money, even for Disney. I know people like to B word and moan about us getting the CBS D/E/F teams but I will take any of those combinations over what ESPN will likely offer. ESPN could learn a thing or two from CBS.

Growing up as a kid in the early 90s... there is nothing more I would like than to see a throwback combination like this:

From an HR perspective, it's all likely legal, but it's not how good employers deal with temporary layoffs like this. Withholding PTO is really bad (and illegal in some states) - this is usually counted as a liability on the balance sheet which now magically has disappeared, meaning the Pegulas essentially got a refund on that expense. They should just say, we're going to hire as many of our staff back at original pay as we can once this blows over, but we don't yet know how many people that will be. That clearly states their intention without telling them to to re-apply and re-interview for their positions.

The television networks are going to push to make this an event. They've lost all live sports for the foreseeable future - the draft is the only thing that could in theory be done in a smaller space with a bunch of webcams into team war rooms.

If I were him, I would sacrifice the overall dollar amount in exchange for a 100% guaranteed deal over many years. I have no doubt that KC will pay him whatever he wants, but why shackle your team's cap to such a degree that they can't sign guys that will put you in a position to win? This is the formula that Brady and the cheaters in Foxboro followed. He's going to have enough cash to dramatically change his life either way. He can shoot a few more State Farm commercials to make up the difference.

Should have been a delay of game. The DE was watching the play clock and went when it hit 00.

The coordinators always get too much of the blame when things go south. It's far more often the talent rather than the coaching. When was the last time this board was happy with a Bills offensive coordinator?

KC vs Green Bay... rematch of Super Bowl I/II for NFL100.

If only the Bills had won last week....

This is very true. I wish we could have a team that would friggin score points for once. Our defense has been solid several times since 2000, but we've never been able to put together an offense that could get into a shootout or at the very least score 20+ points consistently. They need to get Allen a decent TE and some WRs with size. Just look at Duke - he's no superstar but damn he makes Allen look better. I think doing this would have a major impact on the offense's ability to score points.

Tell that to Sonics fans...

That missed challenge was huge. They could have challenged that 2nd down play where Watson was along the sideline, but decided against it because even had they won it, they'd be out of challenges for the remainder of the game.

Years of tracking Ralph and Pegula jets during early January coaching searches pays off!

There are several things in this post that I take issue with. - "Only if the sports team is worth spending money on." Wrong audience, dude. You're talking to people who have sat through 20 years of horrid Bills football. Our loyalty is what we value and take pride in. Any fanbase that says they will only spend money on their team in "good" times isn't going to get respect around here. We ate a lot of crappy steak and that loyalty is finally paying off now that the football side of the organization seems to have their act together. If your fanbase starts to run away from the team once BB and Brady retire, well, it justifies a lot of the opinions we have about your fans and your organization. - "Competition" meant very little for the Red Sox. You think they failed to win a Series from 1918-2004 because there wasn't enough competition in Boston? I truly believe that nearly every team tries to put their team in the best possible position to win a title across the four major sports. There are some exceptions, like the Marlins, and there may be some meddling owners and incompetent executives that make it highly unlikely to win (Jerruh Jones, Ralph, Snyder, etc), but I really doubt that the motivating factor to win for any team is competition from a hometown team in a different sport. The Seahawks' success certainly hasn't motivated the Mariners, that's for sure. The Yankees haven't yet motivated the Mets, the Lions were never motivated by the Red Wings, and the Browns didn't seem motivated by the Cavs...

UA2532. It took off/lands at Buffalo-Niagara: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/ua2532

We were just on Maui in November and visit frequently. I get call outs for my Bills gear all the time, but have found no place to congregate with other fans. We typically stay on the south shore. Maui Brewing's new digs in Kihei is a good spot although expect it to be crowded. I liked Pint and Cork in Wailea as well which was less crowded and had decent happy hour specials (which run from 2-5pm every day). If you are on the west side, MBC also has a pub in Ka'anapali (despite the address, it's not in Lahaina), and Front St in Lahaina has a ton of bars that will undoubtedly be showing the game. These are all touristy spots though - if you want something where you'd find locals, your best area to look would be Kahului/Wailuku near the airport. Most tourists don't venture here aside from trips to the airport.

My ideal path... Bills beat HOU Bills beat KC Bills beat TEN This is the easiest path imo, but I doubt the Titans beat the Ravens. I'd much rather face KC in the divisional round than Baltimore so that means NE* has to go down in round 1.

Yes. It is a national simulcast on ABC - not just the Buffalo area. We have an OTA antenna and will be getting the game in Seattle :).

Wild Card Saturday: Tony Corrente All-Star Crew, complete with a young Walt Coleman: http://www.footballzebras.com/2019/12/corrente-hussey-cheffers-and-smith-are-wild-card-referees/ Yrs 2019 crew College Occupation R 99 Tony Corrente 25 Cal State-Fullerton former college officiating coordinator, retired educator U 102 Bruce Stritesky 14 Vinovich Embry Riddle airline pilot DJ 6 Jerod Phillips 4 Martin Northeastern State elementary school teacher LJ 65 Walt Coleman IV 5 Novak Southern Methodist financial advisor FJ 116 Mike Weatherford 18 Novak Oklahoma State energy trader SJ 86 Jimmy Buchanan 11 Blakeman South Carolina State insurance agent BJ 111 Terrence Miles 12 Novak Arizona State quality control manager Replay official: Mike Wimmer Replay assistant: Bill Ellis Alternates: Alex Kemp (R), Ramon George (U), Mark Steinkerchner (LJ), Gary Cavaletto (SJ)