The Avenger

I'm not so sure. I've been playing fantasy at CBS for about 15 years and get charged $159/year to keep my league site there. Despite this, and the fact that they know precisiely how many leagues and teams they have signed up, they screw up every single year and live scoring crashes because they somehow had much higher demand on the system than they anticipated. If CBS can do this year after year (I think we are moving to another site this year) and we are only talking about concurrent connections to a Java app I can easily see another company completely screw up a live video feed. It won't take too much for a football broadcast to become unwatchable - data loss and pixlization suck when you're waching a concert or a press conference - they'll downright kill a footbball game if you can't see the ball or whether someone's feet are in or out. In the end, even if you and I get stuck with a game we can't watch, the reports will say "depite a much larger than expected audience, only a few minor technical problems were reported" (like me going postal on my computer). I hope I am wrong, but seeing as this is a first I think we get screwed and it becomes "a learning experience" - there's a reason the first game is 2 small market teams playing in London at 9am EST/6am PST.

I give it until the opening kickoff before the number of viewing streams outstrips expectations and most of us get a screen that hickups, buffers, or otherwise degrades into something unwatchable. I put the chances of being able to successfully watch the entire game at less than 5%. I see this every year with fantasy football - it takes weeks for the various sites to understand they underestimated how many people would be hitting the systems and to correctly size the back end hardware to support it - I don't see TV as any different and we are the initial guinea pigs. I hope I'm wrong about this.

Neck tat - wow, he's the king of making excellent life decisions, huh?

I live in the Boston area and let me tell you, these people honestly think that in the end the leaugue and the world is going to see "the truth" and there will be no punishment - it'll all just go away and the organization may even get an apology. These people are crazy and the echo chamber/bubble in which they live where there is no other viewpoint makes me wonder if I've suddenly been transported to North Korea.....

If New England is going to argue the ideal gas law I say we get a scientist of our own to do all sorts of research showing Newton's laws of motion don't apply to Marcel and his car - lots of charts and graphs would be great.

So I guess they'll also win the Nobel Prize in Physics this year, too - book your tickets to Stockholm!

Simcoe is played fantastically by Samuel Roukin - I really expect him to win some awards. He plays that character so well that I bet people hate him when they see him even out of character because they can't separate the character from the actor - he just has that great villian look and voice......

I was reading a story about a little girl in Minnesota who was celebrating her 10th birthday and absolutely nobody she invited to her birthday party said they would come - heartbreaking. It seems that she has a genetic condition that causes her to grow faster than other kids, so she doesn't have many friends. Her mom put out an appeal on Facebook and boom - instant huge birthday party attend by some NFL players including our very own MarQueis Gray. I'm very impressed by the support this little girl received and very proud that a good guy like MarQueis could represent our team - good on Marqueis and everyone else who gave this girl a nice party! http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25161323/nfl-players-attend-birthday-party-for-girl-who-thought-no-one-was-coming

First thing my 10 year old son said after watching the trailer: "Looks like a grandpa wearing a Han Solo outfit" - ouch! I had to remind him the original was more than 35 years ago and that he, too, will get sold some day.....

These particular logos just came out yesterday - I think it was because the trailer was also released. The great thing about the Bantha logo is the red swoosh - I just don't picture Banthas as being lightning fast - more slow and lumbering.....

Don't know if anyone has seen these, but someone developed NFL helmets for all 32 NFL teams based on a Star Wars theme - let your inner geek rejoice! http://www.nfl.com/photos/0ap2000000323761 Interestingly, the Bills are now the Tatooine Banthas, so my guess is that Luke Skywalker grew up supporting his hometown (planet) team....

No matter how bad you think things are, somebody always has it worse than you. Cynical, but it helps put things in perspective.

Low B from me. There are many things to like about what he's done so far, but his biggest sin so far has been giving up a 4th for Bryce Brown who didn't contribute last year and likely won't be a factor this year - his 2015 is fully guaranteed so what do you do? The second strike against him in my mind is using a 2nd on Kujo, a guy who would have been cut had he not been drafted so high. If we don't see him play well enough to see good playing time this year we definitely wiffed on him - it happens, but it brings the grade down. Gotta shore up that line if you're steaking your entire offensive success on a power run game - it's one thing to preak it but another to do it and at this point we don't have all the pieces to do it.

Early April Fools Day functionality from Google Maps - the ability to call up a map and play Pac Man on it! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/31/pac-man-google-maps_n_6977096.html

Reports say that EJ and Taylor's salaries are fully guaranteed for next year, so cutting them doesn't make much sense. If you're going to pickup another QB you're either planning on carrying 4 QBs, cutting Cassel, or cutting a guy with a guaranteed salary - seems like some unattractive options unless the teams feels they have found someone who can contribute this year....

I'll gladly call for Whaley's public tarring and feathering if the team ends up spending money on guys who don't produce - as the football guy responsible for managing the talent that's his job. I hated Brandon as a football guy because he's not a football guy, but he's no longer making those types of decisions and he's good at the job he's got - selling the Bills and Bills tickets - amazing that they've had the ticket sales they've had considering the length and severity of the drought.

Robert Kraft has nothing to do with Kraft foods - his business empire is in paper and packaging.

What a croc. On the day we learn that there are no more blackouts, fans like me that live out of market and pay big bucks to see all of our teams games will have trouble seeing this one. Instead of watching on a HD 55" screen oh the comfort of my living room I'll be watching a crappy pixelized picture that stutters and stops every 30 seconds. No matter what "digital platform" they use, it won't be able to keep up with demand - it never does. If we're lucky, after the fiasco they might say they're sorry there were some minor technical issues. So glad they treat fans, especially those shelling out major money for Sunday Ticket, so well.

Jason La Canfora has a piece today saying that in the AFC arms race the Dolphins are in the best position to take down the Pats as the division champs (but still says NE is by far the class of the division). http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25114104/in-afc-east-arms-race-dolphins-look-most-ready-to-challenge-pats I'll admit I'm a homer with bias, but I don't see how Miami got much better than last season - they lost 4 of their top 6 receivers and gained a nice TE who has injury problems. Suh is nice to have, but he can't be your entire defense. I they do seem to have the best QB not named Brady, but who's he throwing to and who is running the ball? I think the Jets have made some decent moves and will have a solid defense - I see them ahead of Miami. Everyone points out the obvious - the Bills lack a QB - but we went 9-7 last year and have gotten better in the offseason - with a QB is capable, not spectatcular, I think we improve on that 9-7 and contend. Just really don't know how Miami is best positioned to challenge....

Yep - once - I played for Lew-Port. Guy was so much taller than anybody else there was no point in jumping for a jump ball against him. At Nichols he had the extra benefit of having a couple of twin brothers playing guard who were also very good players - the Torgowski brothers. With those guys on the outside making you play the perimiter and Laetner being a foot taller than anybody in the middle it was just a joke - painful.

I hear "Redskins" is or will soon be available.....

Under previous regimes I'm not so sure this would have been a good deal for the Bills, but if they get McCoy and use him like a fature back and do't just give him 10-12 carries a game, I think McCoy will produce. I think Spiller could have produced as well, but it's hard when they give a guy 8 carries in the first half then fall behind and abandon the run in favor of 40 passes in the second half - no back is going to put up good numbers like that. They say Rex and Roman want to pound the ball, so if they do and McCoy is truly a feature back I think this a good deal for Buffalo (oh, and the Bills have to get a pair of guards who are starting caliber NFL guys as well).

Fun fact about last night's episode: the walker under the debris pile who attacked Rick and Carl was played by Scott Ian, guitarist from Anthrax - huge fan who had been a walker on a webisode and got the chance to be on the show last night. His neck looks a little strange because the makeup had to cover is trademark long beard spike.

All through training camp we'll hear shaky things about EJ and Tuel and we'll see it in the preseason games. As that mounting sense of dread hits us the team will come out of nowhere and days before the start of the season we'll throw a bunch of money on a 1 year contract with an option to JaMarcus Rusell, a vet with game experience. Rinse, repeat.

South and east of Boston they may get up to 5" - north and west 1-3" - just a dusting this time but there are murmurs about another storm this weekend (I think they are holding off saying anything for fear people are just going to snap).