R. Rich

Yeah, Hammer's Lot is pretty close to where Big Tree is. You'll see it clearly. WGR is doing their show from the lot again, so they'll be set up there. Usually, TBD is right in the front of the lot; you'll see the tent. If you're going to be in town on the 10th, maybe you'd like to go to dinner with some of us? A few of us went to Duff's for dinner and drinks, and we plan to go again this year.

My advice would be to check eBay, the Ravens message board, the Baltimore Sun classifieds (available on sunspot.net), and/or the various ticket brokers. The game is sold out, so it will be tough to find good seats at a reasonable price.

The online draft is scheduled for this Sunday, August 29th, at 1:45pm EST. Just go to the league home page a few minutes before the draft starts and you can access the draft room from there. Those who can't be there online, make sure that you pre-rank your players to your specifications. If not, Yahoo! will make your picks for you using the default rankings. Good luck.

Somehow, we're down to 9 players. I thought we had 10, so someone must have dropped out. Anyway, here's the information for those who are interested: [This is a FREE league on Yahoo!] League ID#: 17356 League Name: R. Rich's Buffalo Bills League Password: BILZBALL072483 Draft Type: Live Draft Draft Time: Sun Sep 5 1:00pm EDT [ Add to My Calendar ] Max Teams: 10 Scoring Type: Head-to-Head Start Scoring on: Week 1 Can't Cut List Provider: Yahoo! Sports Max Moves: No maximum Max Trades: No maximum Trade Reject Time: 2 Trade End Date: November 19, 2004 Trade Review: League Votes Waiver Time: 2 days Post Draft Players: Follow Waiver Rules Playoffs: Week 15 and 16 (4 teams) Roster Positions: QB, WR, RB, TE, WR/RB, WR/RB, WR/RB, K, D, DB, DL, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN Stat Categories: Completions (1) Passing Yards (50 yards per point) Passing Touchdowns (6) Interceptions (-2) Rushing Yards (10 yards per point) Rushing Touchdowns (6) Receptions (1) Reception Yards (10 yards per point) Reception Touchdowns (6) Return Yards (25 yards per point) Return Touchdowns (6) 2-Point Conversions (2) Fumbles Lost (-2) Offensive Fumble Return TD (6) Field Goals 0-19 Yards (3) Field Goals 20-29 Yards (3) Field Goals 30-39 Yards (3) Field Goals 40-49 Yards (4) Field Goals 50+ Yards (5) Point After Attempt Made (1) Tackle Solo (1) Sack (3) Interception (2) Fumble Force (2) Fumble Recovery (2) Touchdown (6) Safety (2) Pass Defended (1) Block Kick (2) Fractional Points: No Negative Points: Yes

Actually, we're still working on the guest list. Thanks for helping me on one particular decision.

Haha!! You'll lose.

Same here, Bledsoe1. Look for me at Hammer's Lot at the opener. Oh, and thanks for the nice words over at BB.com too.

Only my friends can see ME.

It may be time to go to the 5 day a week plan then (Tuesday-Saturday).

Good question.

Why won't he graduate?

I hear ya. There's a good amount of people who have said they'll show up just for the tailgate and will watch the game at Sliders. I plan on getting tickets, but will probably have to go through a broker, as my attempts to get tickets from the season ticket holders I know was not successful.

Thanks for the nice words. So, how many can we expect to see from the VA Beach area this time? You guys were the life of the party last time. Once we get all the details ironed out, I'll post a message over in the Balt/DC forum, because I'll need to know how many people are coming and I'll need to begin collecting the party fees so that I can pay the deposit. That'll probably happen within the next 3-4 weeks.

For players other than Bills, the guy who really impressed me in tonight's preseason game was Eagles rookie G Shawn Andrews. He looked awesome! I'll be keeping tabs on him this year to see if he can continue to impress.

bump

I sure as heck hope so. I haven't spoken to Mark about it, but I am supposed to meet him within the next few weeks. Nothing against their sauce, but it just can't compare to Mark's.

The only ones I can think of that might have some kind of argument would be Takeo Spikes (Spikes or Arrington? Either way, you're good to go.) and Eric Moulds (I think he compares favorable to Owens). Other than that, I don't see who else would make it based on the players I see on the roster.

He did get busted for shooting at cars on the freeway years ago. At one point, he was working as a security guard somewhere and I also thought he was coaching for some high school or something. As for the nickname, I've heard him called "Fats" a heck of a lot more than I have heard of him called "Arrowhead". Most of the Pittsburgh fans and even his former teammates still call him Fats.

Fats

Only 17 more days until the opener and just 2 WEEKS before I start my vacation and head up to the Buffalo area!

You're not getting senile on me, are you Jan?

Psycho Ward 86 and I will be there, so that's 2.

Here's a link to a page that describes Sliders a bit. We were there last year before the Bills-Ravens preseason game and we had a good time.

Okay, I talked to the manager at Sliders yesterday and here's what we know so far: They will block off the street for the tailgate, so we'll have access to the upstairs, downstairs, and the outside area again. They will have a beer truck set up outside and there will be a 2 for 1 beer special (probably Yuengling and Miller Lite). There will be a live band; a local band called "Fat Tuesdays". I hear they're good, but I don't know that much about them. We'll have a buffet set up outside with different foods like wings, chicken tenders, BBQ sandwiches, chili, etc. available. Since we expect the turnout to be about twice what we had last time (originally, I thought about 300, but it should be more like 200), we need to have a buffet set up so that we don't overwhelm their kitchen staff. The cost for the buffet will be around $10 per person, which, for the amount of food that will be available and the fact that this is Baltimore, is DIRT CHEAP!! The beer special will end up being about $1.50 per beer ($3 beer-2 for 1 special). Not bad at all. What I'll need from those who plan to attend is some suggestions in regards to what types of food you'd like to see on the buffet. They told me that they can arrange it so that we can have just about anything we like on the buffet, but they do need to know in advance. Please post any suggestions you have, so that I can let them know what we'd like to have. I'd like to get the menu situated soon, so that we can start collecting the party fees (we'll need to make a deposit at least 2 weeks in advance) and get everything set up. I'm also open to any other suggestions you may have that will make this tailgate even greater.

Pizza might be doable. Beef on a weck isn't. I can check on the crabcakes, but they may be a bit too expensive for us. They'd probably have to drive the price up to do that, but I will check to make sure. We're covered as far as the wings go.