May Day 10

Fox Sports App on the smartphone is excellent I have to say.

Bob Rich's worth also seems to have ballooned. I'm not sure how it would have gone... but I would currently be a season ticket holder. Talk about a good thing for downtown. A MLB draw for 81 dates would be huge. Its my dream. I'm hoping that someway, somehow we get 1 or 2 fortune 500 white whales through this re-imagining of downtown and Pegula/Rich/etc land a team. Pipe dream, I know. Its not well known, but Mindy and Bob Rich had dinner with the owner of the San Francisco Giants. The Giants' owner was complaining about working with the city, the weather/wind, and Candlestick Park. Mindy, off the cuff proposed him moving the team to Buffalo, the Riches becoming some sort of team/facility "managers", and changing the team name to "New York Giants". The idea was considered and there were a couple of serious meetings. Not sure how close it came to happening (probably not very close), but it was a thing.

Thanks. I try not to save spam though unless it's absolutely necessary

Regardless, this is sad. It is the end of an era. The Buffalo News is in its death throes. This Sports Section has always been a large piece of my sports fan experience, back to when one Sabres column in July would be like water in a desert and I would read it 3 times. The smell of the newspaper is burned in memory. Paper routes, etc. I also know various people who work there who are very worried about their own employment. I know its changed. I still read the columns in TBN when my attention was brought to it. Sometimes I agreed, sometimes I didn't. It was there though and we had coverage from a local media outlet. Yes, they have been negative, but its tough to argue that they haven't been reflective of the perpetual state of these teams. I recall many positive columns written in the Sabres' brief 'glory days' in the modern era October of '05 to May of '07. Graham would be tasked with digging deeper. Whether its his work with Darryl Talley, or his deep-dive into Josh Allen. I think he is an excellent writer and we are poorer if we lose him to a different city or national. His radio show was also a great breath of air from WGR. They would often have Bucky and Sully on and it wasnt a Sabres/Bills bash session. They were very fair. Also had Fairburn, Rodak, Wawrow, etc. These things were probably inevitable. The Buffalo News has had backwards management that failed to adapt effectively in a changing world.

You really think The Buffalo News is "building" anything? They are dropping employees like its going out of style. Not just the sports writers. Everywhere. I know people who work there and they are legitimately concerned if they are going to have a job to go to in a week or a month

I dont really participate in twitter, so I guess Im immune

I pre-ordered. What the heck? A new elder scrolls (blades) mobile was announced for the fall (to be ported to PC and Consoles) Elder Scrolls 6 in development (as a full game)

this is what we all wanted, right? No local sports reporting?

Maybe the overall pedigree of individual players is better in AAA (obviously).... but overall, the aspect of competition, which is the driving attraction of sports, is completely vacant. New York Penn League games are more fun to watch. Maybe its because prospects are more desperate to claw up? Maybe the roster is more fixed through the season? Or maybe its guys who know they arent going to make it and are just making the most of being a pro. AAA baseball (in the past 15 years) feels like 90% of the players don't want to be there.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! /sarcasm

The stadium shows its age a bit. Lots of 'rust' and a bit of degradation. They did replace a good amount of the "premium" red seats with new green seats a couple years ago. Its not bad though. Concourses are good. They have good food options and a stand for craft brews. The "bleachers" has turned full into a bar-type area. When there is a large crowd, like for Star Wars Night.... it is very uncomfortable. I believe it is the oldest ballpark in the International League now?

Civilization IV is the greatest strategy game of all time. As far as a CPU war game, try Hearts of Iron IV The new Elder Scrolls has been announced. A mobile game.... barf

I hope they aren't trying to set up a micropurchase flytrap

The AHL has also suffered, much like AAA baseball, but not quite as badly. AHL is really the only minor league game in town (not including young CHL players and unsigned NCAA and European players). So its an exclusive minor league. They also do not have September call-ups and have a full and meaningful playoff and trophy. However, the league has suffered from capitulating completely with the NHL. Before, up until maybe the mid 90s, teams were much more autonomous. We also had the IHL. You would see a lot of 'washed up' NHL players pepper IHL and AHL rosters which was great. Teams were rooted in tradition. Now, roster spots are the utmost importance. Everything is an investment. These teams are uprooted and moved, normally a handful every offseason. Its actually comical.

I agree with that In general, the game presentation from the introductions to the end hasnt changed in about 10-14 years. I guess Russ Brandon was busy doing other things

Its fantasy, but I think baseball would be saved if they somehow were able to scrap the entire minor league system (and the format of the draft). Make all teams independently owned and operated... and created a whole promotion/relegation system. MLB clubs with a lot of money could still own the rights to players, but loan or rent them to minor league clubs. It would take an entire framework of rules and collective bargaining, but it could be awesome. It would really place 'meaningful' and competitive baseball at all corners of the country (and Canada)... and you can probably work out teams in Latin American nations as they can field local talent at a lower level (and maybe work their way up a bit?). Imagine the Riches put some money into the Bisons and they were near the top of the International League, with a shot/chance at getting promoted to MLB. That would be intense and a huge draw. I think USA baseball also needs to create a development program for youth.... much like USA hockey (and all other major hockey playing nations do). Little League is very disorganized and crappy. Instruction is poor and the way events are organized at a young age.... a kid may swing a bat a couple times and throw a ball once over the course of a 1.5 hour "game" where they dont keep score and everyone just tries to get through it. Hockey is almost 90% skills based at the youngest ages. Its much more fun and inclusive. Kids will stick with hockey. At baseball, I look at the fields for older kids and there isnt much participation. All the bored 5-8 year olds move on to play soccer, hockey, or lacrosse.

to me, the difference between MLB and AAA is night and day. Just the range and fluidity of the infielders is noticeable to the naked eye. The pitching is also pretty obvious of an upgrade, as is the general speed of everyone. The AAA games themselves also mean zilch, and the players seem to act/play that way. This aspect seems to have eroded over the past 10-15 years.

Minor league baseball.... mainly AAA is the lowest form of North American pro sports. Bisons games are terrible. Most of the top rated prospects go through full seasons of A and AA as opposed to much AAA. Guys there, you can tell are mostly going through the motions. Competition is on the back burner. Pitch counts are paramount and never deviated from. If you have a team that goes to the "playoffs", September call-ups completely ravage your team and the lineup that plays in your "playoff" games does not have much in common with the lineup from the season. Going to a Bisons game now... baseball, I wouldnt even consider secondary. Its like 3rd or 4th priority-wise there. Its so secondary, they wont even tell you what the official scorer calls an error/hit (until its on the scoreboard and often changes once the scoreboard operator is informed later). My dad keeps score and totals up at the end. Every piece of baseball information is scrubbed from the scoreboard like .0005 seconds after the last out is recorded. Nobody cares, and hardly anyone would attend without the daily "gimmick". Back in War Memorial Stadium and earlier in Pilot Field's existence, it felt like much more of a baseball game. I think the players cared more and we had many more "career minor leaguers" who had their place in AAA and would compete. That is all gone now. MLB isnt even comparable at this point. I would say A and AA is slightly better because players are really scrapping for survival.... but it isnt better by much. They also change logos, uniforms, affiliations, and identities all the time. Tradition has been thrown in the waste basket. Everything has completely capitulated to their MLB overlords. I think the erosion of minor league and community baseball is as much to blame for the suffering and cloudy future of MLB interest than the "speed of play" nonsense. They have rooted decent baseball from small towns. The NY Penn League used to be great until the ripped everything out for "communities" that really needed it, such as Brooklyn, Staten Island, Lowell, Norwich, CT, and State College.

As far as I have heard (since the announcement).... its all online. I think the "go it alone" means you could team up with friends and explore together or just be a loner. I don't believe there will be an offline mode. And yes, its a bad trend in video games, IMO. Sports games have all geared themselves toward these "ultimate teams" things (and 'be a pro') where its kind of RPG meets sports and you upgrade your player or team by playing as much as possible... unlocking things and getting lucky to unearth 'rare' upgrades. This also opens the door to micropurchases. It seems more and more improvements and development are geared towards these modes as opposed to offline franchise mode. EA really bummed me out by making their World Cup game this round into a downloadable (free) pack into their current FIFA game.... but the add-on is a clipped and dulled-down version of the World Cup game they normally release (it includes every country, full qualifying rounds, nails the WC atmosphere, updates with current WC scenarios as the tournament is going on, etc). Another thing is how much storage space these games take up, as well as everyone moving towards digital. I can fit a limited number of games on my PS4. To pick up and play a game I might not have played in awhile.... I need to find a game(s) large enough to delete to create the space, and then install the game I want to play again, along with any updates, that also take up a lot of space (and sometimes take quite awhile to download).

This 100x its shameful. These aren't some distant celebrities or anonymous people from far away... these are members of our community, and further, a part of our niche here as Bills fans. Some of these people (more than likely) have been on (or participate on) TBD. Some of these harsh comments could take a fun and joyous event and turn it into negative feelings/a bad memory. There is nothing wrong with these people. it could be any one of us and our crew (and we would be lucky to be surrounded by friends such as these... and Josh Allen/Harrison).

I am pleased they are releasing another Fallout game... (even more pleased they acknowledged the next Elder Scrolls!) Online though..... we'll see. I am an offline gamer. I just do not have the time to put in anymore to hone skills to compete with anybody. I just want to be left alone and explore. I don't need some 12 year old who has played 250 hours and has earned/bought all sorts of upgrades head-shotting me 15 times before I even know whats going on. From the sounds of it, you enter the world as a relatively limited group, like 25 people.... in a world that is larger than any Fallouts past. I think that is do-able. I super-dig the idea of changing the timeline to an earlier date like this, altering the world and experience. I really liked the Fallout 3 add-on from Maryland/WV/ the sticks. I wonder if we will get anything like that.

This is kind of how I feel. I have a million suggestions with the Sabres... but I don't require much at Bills games. A real Buffalo would be cool to lead the team on the field (long shot/slim and non)... Or maybe even channel a "Buffalo Bill Cody" on a horse (much more reasonable).

My jp losman and mccargo wedding photos didnt age well

Gronkowski is critical to that offense and to Brady. It wouldnt be the end, yet (it would speed it up).... it would put perpetual home playoff games and AFC Championships in severe jeopardy

Donald Trump (and Pence) turned the volume up to 10 when they misdirected and manufactured outrage over the National Anthem thing.... and throw another log on the fire when its politically beneficial. Then it becomes an issue of 'taking the voice' away from black people (as well as calling NFL players "sons of bitches") for doing this. I want to say a different administration (Clinton, Obama, Bush, Rubio, etc) wouldnt try to weld "patriotism" as a weapon and maybe try to constructively address the issue instead of getting everyone to yell at one another. Most of this wouldn't exist with a different president in place. It would pop up... but it would be easy to ignore. Tim Thomas refusing to meet Obama? Curt Schilling campaigning for Bush? Rex opening the rally for Trump? That wasn't experience-ruining. It happens, but whatever. I dont mind/care. Hopefully it can get back to that again. An escape.