Thanks Leonidas

[BillsVet]

If this was an ESPN board you would be right . Since it is supposed to be a discussion / fan board for the Bills you are absolutely wrong. The board looks more and more like romper room here every day with infants throwing temper tantrums simply because they can type. Debate is a lost art .

 

I'm negative on the Bills, and I admit it. But TBD is becoming a home for internet juvenile delinquents that can't discuss anything simply to resort to name calling. I disagree with my share of posters, and vice-versa, but civility has become an endangered species.

 

To echo what SJB said earlier, I believe in the strongly in 1st Amendment, but it's increasingly clear that being on the board is a privilege and not a right.

[Lv-Bills]

I'm not going to belabor the situation because it's really pointless, but for my own peace of mind and so that people know where I'm coming from, I will respond to a few points being made here.

 

Some are saying it's because I'm thin-skinned, but the fact of the matter is I'm walking away not because of attacks made on me. I can handle those. As pointed out previously, I like to engage with readers who disagree with me in my chats or the comments section. But that's not the case here. This was an attack on a friend and a coworker, and by extension, my employer. And this wasn't the first time.

 

Chris Mortensen, for instance, is another friend -- a man who went out of his way at a time when my father was near death to call me regularly to see how he was doing. I remember one of the first times he called and asked what my father's name was. I didn't know why he wanted to know, but I told him. He said "OK, because I want to mention him in my prayers tonight." That's the kind of guy Mort is. You may disagree with what he writes or how he covers the team, but the venom I read on here about him being a piece of [insert expletive here] makes my blood boil. The same goes with Jerry Sullivan, another close friend. People here can't or won't separate the reporter from the person, coverage from character. It's juvenile and gets to be too much.

 

Would remain a member of an organization that trashes your friends? I wouldn't either.

 

I can handle myself, but I'm not going to implicitly approve of what goes on here by not only being a member, but also being active in it. If you see that as thin-skinned, then I can't help you. I see it as pretty logical.

 

Here's what I wrote on my "Ask Tim" thread a while back when people here were demanding I out a source and trashing my credentials:

 

The difference between what I face in my job and what I do here is that I don't get paid to come here. ESPN pays me to deal with the comments I receive at the bottom of my blogs and in my mailbag and wherever else.

 

When I come here it's because I enjoy it. When I stop enjoying it, then I will find something else to do.

 

If your wife nags you at home and you decide to go out with the boys to have some fun, do you feel compelled to walk up to a table full of women and ask them to yell at you because, after all, that is what's waiting for you at home?

 

 

Now, I'll address a few notes on here. But I think you'll notice I wouldn't be refuting opinions of my work or my role on this site. That's because those are your opinions, and you're entitled to them. I don't take offense if you don't like what I do.

For the record, I never called Mort a piece of ****. I just wanted to clear that up, because I just posted about getting on you once about Mort. I'm not the one who called him names. At least I don't think I was. I just don't like how he reports on the Bills. He is painfully biased. I wish he'd just come out and say why he dislikes this org so much from the TD era. Most of us would probably agree with him.

 

Come on Mort, say it. Tell us what a mess we are behind the scenes. Most of us are dying to know anyway. TG, please pass that on.

[BigBuff423]

When Tim stated the first time that he would no longer be coming back to the board I posted an immediate response and was slightly barbequed because I praised Tim's professional ethics and his contributions to this board....I stand by it. It is simply foolish for him to come to this board as a guest and get trite and juvenile responses to his answers and observations. The fact is that when you mistreat any guest, in any phase of life, they leave of their own free will and often will not return...Tim was treated poorly especailly since if he had posted under a pseudonym with no knowlege that he was "the" Tim Graham we could have grilled him and slapped him around with our words and we would have treated it as fun (although often juvenile) banter as we discuss the state and future of this franchise, but when he attaches his professional integrity to his posts on this board it is no longer treating him as just another rabid fan, but treating him as a professional, because he's coming to this board as a professional...no he doesn't get paid nor is this an obligation but the reason these threads attract so much attention is because he comes here with professional reputation and professional contacts and insight, so if he comes as a professional then we must treat him as such, if he comes as "one of the boys" then he gets treated as such....in the end, it is SAD that we, as an on-line community cannot respect a professional enough to allow him to freely post his thoughts and insights without driving him off due to our poor taste in discussion.....

 

thank you Tim for your time and I look forward to reading your material from ESPN or wherever I can get it....I'm not going to blow sunshine up your skirt and tell you that you're my "favorite" sports journalist, but I DO enjoy your contributions and regard your articles, comments, quips, etc....as professional, insightful, truthful (even when it hurts), and objective perspective...sorry to see you go, but don't blame you. Best wishes!

[MarkAF43]

I'm not going to belabor the situation because it's really pointless, but for my own peace of mind and so that people know where I'm coming from, I will respond to a few points being made here.

 

Some are saying it's because I'm thin-skinned, but the fact of the matter is I'm walking away not because of attacks made on me. I can handle those. As pointed out previously, I like to engage with readers who disagree with me in my chats or the comments section. But that's not the case here. This was an attack on a friend and a coworker, and by extension, my employer. And this wasn't the first time.

 

Chris Mortensen, for instance, is another friend -- a man who went out of his way at a time when my father was near death to call me regularly to see how he was doing. I remember one of the first times he called and asked what my father's name was. I didn't know why he wanted to know, but I told him. He said "OK, because I want to mention him in my prayers tonight." That's the kind of guy Mort is. You may disagree with what he writes or how he covers the team, but the venom I read on here about him being a piece of [insert expletive here] makes my blood boil. The same goes with Jerry Sullivan, another close friend. People here can't or won't separate the reporter from the person, coverage from character. It's juvenile and gets to be too much.

 

Would remain a member of an organization that trashes your friends? I wouldn't either.

 

I can handle myself, but I'm not going to implicitly approve of what goes on here by not only being a member, but also being active in it. If you see that as thin-skinned, then I can't help you. I see it as pretty logical.

 

Here's what I wrote on my "Ask Tim" thread a while back when people here were demanding I out a source and trashing my credentials:

 

The difference between what I face in my job and what I do here is that I don't get paid to come here. ESPN pays me to deal with the comments I receive at the bottom of my blogs and in my mailbag and wherever else.

 

When I come here it's because I enjoy it. When I stop enjoying it, then I will find something else to do.

 

If your wife nags you at home and you decide to go out with the boys to have some fun, do you feel compelled to walk up to a table full of women and ask them to yell at you because, after all, that is what's waiting for you at home?

 

 

Now, I'll address a few notes on here. But I think you'll notice I wouldn't be refuting opinions of my work or my role on this site. That's because those are your opinions, and you're entitled to them. I don't take offense if you don't like what I do.

 

 

Well said Tim, these were some of the same things I said earlier, I always found it awesome that a national writer would take time out of his day to chat with the fans of a team that frankly isn't on the national radar and you do it in your spare time.... I for one will miss reading you on here, but will keep following you on the ESPN

Best wishes to you and your family and good luck with everything!

[TimGraham]

I read the last couple pages of that thread. Boy did TG get his panties in a bunch. That seemed to be honest criticism about ESPN playing to a handful of markets and neglecting the rest of the sport cities. so what he said stfu, maybe not the most polite thing in the entire world, but this is also not the most formal setting, note the naked woman avatars, cartoon heads, and explitives. Leonidas was fine Tim needs to grow a pair.

 

He says anonymously ...

 

I'm not pointing that out as a challenge. But my reputation doesn't get put on a shelf when I log onto this site. Nor should it.

 

I've learned that it is pointless to engage with people who are anonymous because we're not playing by the same rules and I can't win. If I take exception, then I'm thin-skinned or a whiner or a baby or need to grow a pair. If I don't say anything, ignore the post and don't stick up for my friends/coworkers, then I lose respect for myself. On the other hand, you don't have to own up to anything you write.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I'm not going to belabor the situation because it's really pointless, but for my own peace of mind and so that people know where I'm coming from, I will respond to a few points being made here.

 

Some are saying it's because I'm thin-skinned, but the fact of the matter is I'm walking away not because of attacks made on me. I can handle those. As pointed out previously, I like to engage with readers who disagree with me in my chats or the comments section. But that's not the case here. This was an attack on a friend and a coworker, and by extension, my employer. And this wasn't the first time.

 

Chris Mortensen, for instance, is another friend -- a man who went out of his way at a time when my father was near death to call me regularly to see how he was doing. I remember one of the first times he called and asked what my father's name was. I didn't know why he wanted to know, but I told him. He said "OK, because I want to mention him in my prayers tonight." That's the kind of guy Mort is. You may disagree with what he writes or how he covers the team, but the venom I read on here about him being a piece of [insert expletive here] makes my blood boil. The same goes with Jerry Sullivan, another close friend. People here can't or won't separate the reporter from the person, coverage from character. It's juvenile and gets to be too much.

 

Would remain a member of an organization that trashes your friends? I wouldn't either.

 

I can handle myself, but I'm not going to implicitly approve of what goes on here by not only being a member, but also being active in it. If you see that as thin-skinned, then I can't help you. I see it as pretty logical.

 

Here's what I wrote on my "Ask Tim" thread a while back when people here were demanding I out a source and trashing my credentials:

 

The difference between what I face in my job and what I do here is that I don't get paid to come here. ESPN pays me to deal with the comments I receive at the bottom of my blogs and in my mailbag and wherever else.

 

When I come here it's because I enjoy it. When I stop enjoying it, then I will find something else to do.

 

If your wife nags you at home and you decide to go out with the boys to have some fun, do you feel compelled to walk up to a table full of women and ask them to yell at you because, after all, that is what's waiting for you at home?

 

 

Now, I'll address a few notes on here. But I think you'll notice I wouldn't be refuting opinions of my work or my role on this site. That's because those are your opinions, and you're entitled to them. I don't take offense if you don't like what I do.

Best wishes, Tim. Thanks for your contributions in the past. The signal to noise ratio here can become vanishingly small, and taking a break is well decided.

 

Seriously, thanks again.

[TimGraham]

I guess Leonidas might have gone a little overboard, but Tim seems more than a little on edge about it all. If anyone here has ever read / participated in one of his ESPN Insider chats on ESPN, they'd see it's riddled with people trashing him / fighting with him. He seems to enjoy the fight, or at least bring it out of people with his occasional wise*** statements. I don't know why he'd expect things to go that much different on TSW. To quote Rex Ryan, we're not here to kiss his rings.

 

As an aside, I found his defending of ESPN Boston based on comercial success to be ridiculous. I was born in Boston and am a Sox fan from the age of 5, and ESPN Boston is an abortion, to put it politely. It's a great site if you want to find out what happened a week ago, but it is horridly maintained and always out of date. "Scoops" or Insider / Local info usually runs on ESPN Boston about 2-3 days after the Globe (Boston.com) or the herald report on it, and often 1-2 days AFTER OTHER PAGES ON ESPN.COM report on it.

 

As proof: the headline RIGHT NOW on ESPN Boston is about Lackey pitching on Patriots' Day. (Which was April 19) The second lead is about the ramifications of the Garnett suspension and whether or not it will hurt the Celtics ability to move on. For those who don't know that series wrapped up LAST WEEK and KG had a pretty decent night last night as the Celts took game one of their series against the Cavs.

 

 

You might want to empty your cache and hit the refresh button. Looks like your computer is drawing an old page from a stuffed cache.

 

The headlines on ESPNBoston right now are Bruins-Flyers and Celtics-Cavs from last night's games and today's coverage, a Red Sox story from last night's game and a Patriots story from this afternoon.

 

http://espn.go.com/boston/

 

The stories you mention were archived long ago.

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

Chris Mortensen, for instance, is another friend -- a man who went out of his way at a time when my father was near death to call me regularly to see how he was doing. I remember one of the first times he called and asked what my father's name was. I didn't know why he wanted to know, but I told him. He said "OK, because I want to mention him in my prayers tonight." That's the kind of guy Mort is. You may disagree with what he writes or how he covers the team, but the venom I read on here about him being a piece of [insert expletive here] makes my blood boil. The same goes with Jerry Sullivan, another close friend. People here can't or won't separate the reporter from the person, coverage from character. It's juvenile and gets to be too much.

I want to send my condolences to you for losing your Father. I just lost mine a 2 years ago. I hope you have found peace within yourself to know he is in a better place. I am only 27, but I have been struggling since I lost my Dad.

 

 

Now...as far as Mort goes, I understand YOUR stance. However, what do you expect us to do, or how do you expect us to act, when ALL the guy does is bash our beloved, hometown NFL football team??? I have NEVER heard him say ONE good thing about the Buffalo Bills, the owner Ralph Wilson, the players, the city, and certainly the front office (well since they got rid of his little buddy Tommy D.)...he has NEVER said anything positive about us.

 

So, because you have an allegiance to him and he is so nice to you, and you come here to offer us your opinions and information...that means we have to be nice to Mort and love the guy?

 

 

I appreciate everything you do and I would love to have your job...but I just don't get this!?

[TimGraham]

TG was doing us a favor, but he was also doing personal advertising, by coming on here he keeps himself relevant in the Buffalo market, with his not so favorable NE point of view. His presence on here was just as self serving as it was a service to us.

 

Just for the record, Two Bills Drive hasn't linked my stories regularly for months. And I haven't shared a link to one of my own since Marshawn Lynch's plea bargain last year.

 

ESPN is able to track where traffic comes from. This site increased my traffic by an average of about 150 clicks a month. My total traffic is anywhere from 1.5 million to 3 million clicks a month, depending on the time of year.

[bills_fan]

Unfortunately,this whole situation is typical of this board. The general mood around here is one of negativity,bitching and sniping at one another. I don't know why that is. I'm a active participant on a college football discussion board and the atmosphere is so much different there. It seems everybody there feels a sort of brotherhood,for lack of a better term,that brings us to the board in the first place. We still have our differences,but we seem to handle it in a much friendlier way. Here it seems most want to tear the other guys throat out at the first chance. Sometimes it's hard to have a civilized discussion or debate here without being called an idiot,moron or told to STFU. There are some cool and funny people here and it's definitely a great source for Bills info,but some tighter moderation would probly be good for this place.

 

 

True. And agreed. I wish this place had tighter moderation (no offense mods) and we could have intelligent dicussions. Then, the media types like Tim, jw, the WGR guys etc. could have a place to interact with fans.

 

Look, I'm not saying its the perfect board, but Sons of Sam Horn gets it right. To post on the main board, you need to be a long-time poster and observe certain standards. The baseball discussion is fantastic...with little insights that you may not know or learn. Many media-types post under their own name and some post anonymously. There is also a second board, where new members can post. The discussions are less insightful, and more like this place, but particularly good new members are invited to post on the main board.

 

I only wish this board was like that.

 

EDIT: Tim, thanks for posting here. I will miss your insights in the thread, but will still read the blog.

[erynthered]

Tim,

 

When this thread is near its end, please print it out and show your friends, Mort and Jerry, to show what great DB fans roam this site. Though, in this thread there are some great responses to you to not go, and, to ignore the retards. Tough spot, IMO.

 

I liked reading you stuff, Tim. I really did. Though I had never heard of you prior to you coming here, so that says something, Right!!!!!

 

Good luck in your future.

 

You'll be tougher and smarter because of all this

 

< Jack Handy>

[PushthePile]

Just for the record, Two Bills Drive hasn't linked my stories regularly for months. And I haven't shared a link to one of my own since Marhsawn Lynch's plea bargain last year.

 

ESPN is able to track where traffic comes from. This site increased my traffic by an average of about 150 clicks a month. My total traffic is anywhere from 1.5 million to 3 million clicks a month, depending on the time of year.

You should get a new screen name and enjoy the freedom anonymity.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Hey Tim! Just wanted to thank you for being part of our community. Hope you can maybe agree to say "never say never."

 

As you know, you are always welcomed here and most of us are the kind of good people that played a large part in you deciding to move the family back to Western New York.

 

I hope you'll not let the small minority spoil the journey for all of the rest of us, including yourself.

 

Whatever happens, be assured that the great majority of us are happy to have gotten to know you a bit and would feel badly about your departure.

 

I am greatly flattered that you choose to live in my beloved hometown and wish you nothing but the very best.

[TimGraham]

I want to send my condolences to you for losing your Father. I just lost mine a 2 years ago. I hope you have found peace within yourself to know he is in a better place. I am only 27, but I have been struggling since I lost my Dad.

 

 

Now...as far as Mort goes, I understand YOUR stance. However, what do you expect us to do, or how do you expect us to act, when ALL the guy does is bash our beloved, hometown NFL football team??? I have NEVER heard him say ONE good thing about the Buffalo Bills, the owner Ralph Wilson, the players, the city, and certainly the front office (well since they got rid of his little buddy Tommy D.)...he has NEVER said anything positive about us.

 

So, because you have an allegiance to him and he is so nice to you, and you come here to offer us your opinions and information...that means we have to be nice to Mort and love the guy?

 

 

I appreciate everything you do and I would love to have your job...but I just don't get this!?

 

My father still is around. He pulled through, but still is in rough shape. Either way, I appreciate your regards.

 

I didn't say you have to love Mort or have warm and fuzzy thoughts about his coverage because he was nice to me. I wrote that he's a human being who doesn't deserve to have his personal character disparaged because of the way he covers your team.

 

You've totally misconstrued my point, which reinforces it. Some people can't separate the reporter from the human being.

 

And to say Mort "has NEVER said anything positive about us" shows you view him through blinders. You don't have to like him. Hate him all you want. But don't throw out lines you know aren't true to try to emphasize your point. It undermines

your message.

 

On Google, I typed in "Chris Mortensen" and "Buffalo Bills." The very first item:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp...&id=4400294

 

Sure looks like an optimistic story to me.

[cåblelady]

But that's not the case here. This was an attack on a friend and a coworker, and by extension, my employer. And this wasn't the first time.

People are always bashing my employer on here.

[Magox]

People are always bashing my employer on here.

You work for the government?

[Mike In Illinois]

You should get a new screen name and enjoy the freedom anonymity.

 

 

Maybe he has!

 

I'll miss you around here, Tim. I'll look forward to your content on other platforms.

[TimGraham]

Hey Tim! Just wanted to thank you for being part of our community. Hope you can maybe agree to say "never say never."

 

As you know, you are always welcomed here and most of us are the kind of good people that played a large part in you deciding to move the family back to Western New York.

 

I hope you'll not let the small minority spoil the journey for all of the rest of us, including yourself.

 

Whatever happens, be assured that the great majority of us are happy to have gotten to know you a bit and would feel badly about your departure.

 

I am greatly flattered that you choose to live in my beloved hometown and wish you nothing but the very best.

 

I want to thank everybody for the kind words on here. Most everyone was enjoyable to work with.

 

I'm glad I had the chance to meet several of you out at the stadium. Dozens of people on this site know how to get ahold of me. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything, and I hope to see you at the first tailgate.

 

Take care, and have a fun 2010 season.

[JoeF]

People are always bashing my employer on here.

 

NFL Network ---- come on CL......your company deserves it...we love you though.

 

Tim--thanks for your presence on this site--your informed opinion has been a huge draw for me. Besides you are an OAC guy. I have to support you. Go Marietta Pios...

 

When is polite disagreement going to re-enter society. Do personal attacks make an argument better? Nope....they make it immature.

[ajzepp]

People are always bashing my employer on here.

 

But we still love YOU, CL