Metal Man

They wouldn't start CC on only two days rest. You might see him come out of the bullpen late in the game though if needed.

You picked a good team to switch to, I always thought they had one of the nicest ball parks in the MLB that I have ever been to. I used to live off of The Embarcadero almost right across the street from what was Pac Bell then. Loved being able to walk to games there and might have converted to a Giants fan myself if I didn't hate Barry Bonds so much.

I'm not your friend, buddy! I'm not your buddy, guy!

This has the same feeling as one of the weekly "I am done with the Bills forever" threads. Weak and whine filled. There is something to be said about the continuing pu55ification of the NFL though.

I didn't until now. Guess we lucked out getting to see Dream Theater on what could be his last tour with the band this year.

Definitely a second on Dream Theater. Just started getting into their stuff over the last few years and am liking them more and more. Especially after finally seeing them live in Toronto this past summer.

I suppose it goes without saying that I am going to have to come in here and say Iron Maiden because of my avatar. But I do think that argument can be made. Sure they have been around for a long time, sold tons of records and usually sell out all their shows, but this has all been done with almost no radio play until very recently. Also it seems like anytime I get someone to listen to Maiden for the very first time they come away saying that Maiden's sound was nothing like they expected it to be. Most people seem to prejudge them as being some crazy scream metal that is just random noise and not easy to listen too. Nothing could be farther from the truth. +1 to Clutch and Deftones.

I heard Howard Stern talking about this article from the most recent ESPN The Magazine the other day and I found it online this morning. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5651802 The topic is a little gross but I thought some of the stories from athletes this had happened too were pretty interesting and funny. *Sorry if this was already posted but I couldn't find it while searching.*

There are a couple Giants fans I know in the Syracuse area, but I work in Rome and that is where the majority of the people I am talking about are coming from. I know Syracuse is considered a Bills town, but the few times I have gone out to bars to watch games it seems like there are more fans of all sorts of other random teams. This could be because Bills fans can just watch the games at home but it is an observation worth noting because going out to watch the games in Buffalo bars is a lot different.

I second this. Coming back from commercial after a score to just see a quick kick-off before immediately going back to commercial is ridiculous.

Now that you mention it I have noticed this too. I didn't think about it until now but you're right, it is kind of embarrassing. I guess the best sign of the Bills being relevant again is when we beat someone well enough or often enough for them to hate us.

I have been out of the Buffalo are for almost 6 years now but until then grew up a Bills fan and have it deeply ingrained into who I am. Over that time I always would get a lot of grief from everyone about how crappy the team was and the typical 4 superbowl losses or wide right nonsense, but this year so far it seems to be getting a lot worse. I understand the team has hit a low it hasn't seen in a long time but now a lot of the usual 5hit talk is turning into pity and it is kind of annoying. I have had multiple people in the last three weeks ask me why I even bother anymore and that I should probably consider choosing a new team. I don't know how it works for most NFL fans but from what I know about growing up in the Buffalo area switching teams is not an option. I will admit a little bit of shame is creeping in and I don't like wearing my Bills stuff to work as much anymore, especially with tons of Jets and Giants fans around here, but there is no way I could ever have the same passion for another team. It isn't something you can just turn on and off and for some reason a lot of people don't seem to understand. My question for the community is what kind of experiences have any of the other out of town Bills fans had with fans of other NFL teams and how do you feel it is best to deal with them? Non-violent solutions only, a punch in the face to a junk talkin' Jets fan would feel great but just isn't practical.

What usually annoys me about that discussion too is that they never seem to mention how often the Bills do sell out despite being a team in a very small market that still has the 7th largest stadium capacity wise. Oakland is the second smallest. Jacksonville is 20th and I am not even sure if that 20th stat takes into consideration the seats they tarp over now. Again though, these things are usually not mentioned in such reports. I might be going out on a limb with this one but I am pretty certain that if you put a 63,000 seat stadium in Buffalo like the Raiders have we would not be seeing many if any black outs.

I haven't tried to go to a place with the NFL ticket in the Syracuse area. I did try one in Rome though for a Dolphins game that didn't sell out back in 2006 and it was blacked out there on DirectTV as well. I would assume the same holds true for Syracuse but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to call one of the places to see for sure. I would check out Wild Wings or Tullys this weekend and report back but I will be in Buffalo Sunday so I might actually venture out to the stadium and see if I can get a real cheap ticket.

The Syracuse market is blacked out for the Bills game but they can show another game. Immediately surrounding Buffalo is considered the primary market so based on NFL rules they cannot show any game at all in that time slot if the Bills don't sell out. As for bars with the NFL ticket in Syracuse, they won't be able to show the Bills game either. The rules are very stupid and need to be evaluated again though I don't see it happening anytime soon.

I have been out in the Syracuse area, and lived in the Rome/Utica, over the past 5 years and the black out does go that far. From what I understand the actual black out area goes to East Rochester but because the Syracuse TV broadcasts can reach into the black out area their CBS affiliate can't air the game either. Then because Rome and Utica get their CBS from Syracuse it is blacked out there too. My question is will the NFL ever change these antiquated rules as broadcasting technology improves. What happens when a station has the power to broadcast over the entire state? I realize it is not likely just asking rhetorical questions. The answer is obviously that the NFL will never change the rules and even if you live 200 miles away you still can't watch what could be one of the only Bills wins this season on Sunday. So much for trying to market the team regionally.

Hopefully someday someone writes a "tell-all" book about the inner workings at OBD over the last 10 years or so. I would love to know all the details behind all the head scratching decisions during that time.

This ^ And this. ^ Don't share this confidence though. I don't think the Yanks have the starting pitching to get it done this season. Philly is looking like the way to bet for the 2010 playoffs.

To me the issue of will Maybin eventually be good given the time to develop or not is secondary to the big WTF of why was he even picked at all. It should have been obvious to anyone, even someone who wasn't a scout, that he was a project pick for the NFL just based on his age and size alone. The problem is that the Bills could not afford to waste such a high pick on someone who might be good someday. The team doesn't have that luxury because they need immediate impact players now. Not sure who was responsible ultimately for this pick but whoever is was has to be the worst personnel evaluator in the entire NFL.

Are we sure that his contract was up this season? His Wikipedia page states that he signed a 6 year deal which would put him under contract through 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshawn_Lynch#Buffalo_Bills

OBD knows their stuff. Kelsay is a blue collar player with a high motor. They should give him 50 million.

+1 Dave Matthews Band would be so much better if Dave Matthews didn't ruin every song by opening his mouth to sing.

IIRC the Bills were supposedly interested in Willis that year but took Lynch instead when the 49ers grabbed him the pick immediately before. I was pretty disappointed when his name was called before Buffalo had the chance to draft Willis. You just knew he was going to be awesome in the NFL. Was kind of thinking the same thing about McClain in this year's draft though I seriously doubt the Bills would have taken him.

I don't think anyone really believes that Fitz is going to turn the whole thing around. The offense definitely is a mess. But I do think it is hard to argue against that Fitz at the very least will be more exciting to watch as he WILL try and pass the ball to the WRs. It is kind of sad but as Bills fans this year all we can realistically expect is for the team to be kind of competitive so there is always some enjoyment out of the games. With Edwards this obviously wasn't ever going to be the case.

I was confused about this too. Seems to me a GB third round pick would be more like an early 4th round one?