Buftex

Never have had Sunday Ticket, or Direct TV for that matter. This past NHL season, however, I decided not to get the NHL Center Ice package through Time Warner. I have subscribed to it every season since they started offering it...I think it was the 2001-2002 season, or somewhere there abouts. The first couple of weeks of the season they had a "free preview", so I tuned in. When the preview was over, I figured that was it. However, a week or two later, when they hired Ted Nolan back, I was flipping stations, and saw the hockey package was on. It was on the next week, the next week, and the week after that. I checked my cable bill, I wasn't being charged for it. I got the whole season, free of charge. I called Time Warner late in the season, and they told me that I was getting as a "loyalty reward". I have never heard of that, especially from Time Warner. Unfortunately, the Sabres (my team) were so hard to watch most of last season, it kind of dimmed my interest in hockey a bit this year... funny thing is, the only reason I realized I was getting it was that I was toying with the idea of signing back up for it, after they hired Nolan... as it turned out, glad I didn't pay for the season, and still got to see as much as I wanted...or moreover, as much as I could stand. As for the NFL package, since I can't get it, and prefer to go watch the Bills games with buddies at a bar anyways, I get the NFL Rewind package. I know, it is not quite the same, but I like being able to go back and watch any game, any time (except when it is being played live)....hook my laptop up to my 46" HD tv, and it works great. A lot cheaper too....

"My Sharona" is one of the truly awful (IMO) singles of the new wave era... but the girl on the 45 picture sleeve, with the power-nipples was a good distraction...

Well..it is kind of refreshing. For the last 5 months, nearly every football thread turned into an EJ dog-pile... so, somebody starts a thread, ostensibly a review of EJ's rookie season, and it turns into a Stevie Johnson B word-fest..that is so TBD! As to the original intent of this thread, I won't claim to be an expert...but I too went back and watched every one of EJ Manuels regular season starts. Like everyone I have my concerns, but I think, as a collective, we are a pretty negative lot. I was a little down on the guy too...but after re-watching, I think it is squarely a case where we tend to emphasize the negative and forget the positives. EJ was nowhere near as bad as some people here seem to think. Definitely needs some improvement, but I came away from my review more impressed than I thought I might be, and a lot more optimistic than I was at the end of the 2013 season. I don't know that EJ Manuel will have us forgetting about Jim Kelly any time soon...but I do believe the team can win more games than it loses, with EJ behind center. Obviously (!!) the biggest area of concern is erratic accuracy. If he can improve at all in this area (and by all accounts he is working his ass off to be a better QB), there is a lot to like about his game. btw- when reviewing the season, I was struck by how instrumental Stevie was to EJ's early success in the season...

I don't think he is wrong. Not sure how his comments could have been taken out of context. One would have to assuem, given Mr Wilson's age (and recent health) that his days were not long. My theory: Goodell has gone on record (after Mr Wilson passed away) that the Bills would need a new stadium to ensure their long-term future in WNY. We dont know if Goodell meant that as a threat, or was just passing along "conventional" wisdom amongst NFL owners. Was it a threat? Golisano makes some comments confirming that he is going to make a bid on the Bills. He is rumoured to be working in partnership with Scott Congel, whose family owns a substantial amount of land in West Seneca. Rumors of a West Seneca stadium start to float out there...as the story of a Golisano/Congel partnership marinades, a fair amount of the negative information comes out about Congel, making a Golisano/Congel ownership seem a little shakey. Golisano (remember, this is all my theory) is still wants to make a bid on the Bills, but knows now, Congel can't be part of his plan...so he won't be getting any free, or discoutned land to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills. But, he still wants ownership.... realizing the NFL very much wanting a new stadium, and being wise to the financial enviorment in WNY, Golisano realizes that a tax-payer funded, brand new stadium is not likely to fly... he looks at the Ralph, and asks the obvious question...if the area can't afford to build and support a brand new stadium, but the NFL is sincere in saying they want the team to stay, why are the requiring a new stadium? If the rennovations being done, currently, at the Ralph are not sufficient, why is the money being wasted on the project? Now, it seems to me, Golisano is trying to warm people (by "people" I mean NFL officials) up to the notion that a rennovated Ralph Wilson Stadium shoule be a sufficient home for the Buffalo Bills for years to come. The notion seems to be gaining some traction, at least on a local level. The governor has since, openly questioned whether a brand new, tax payer funded stadium is really in the best interest of WNY, when the team already has a stadium... who knows what the rennovations will actually translate to...but the PR coming from the Bills, and people covering them, sure make it seem like the conversation has shifted from "lets keep the Bills in Buffalo" to "lets keep the Bills in Orchard Park".

George Strait wouldn't want any of this...

Well said!

My balance iis always about 1.75! Would love to see Pegula be in on this... with or without Golisano.

That is hilarious. I saw some dvd "extra" or something like that, where David Chase and Steven Van Zandt were talking about the music for the show... Little Steven had a huge role in helping Chase find the music that would be so important to the show...when it came time for the final season, like The Dean, Van Zandt was "crestfallen" by having to use such an awful song as the shows swan song...Van Zandt wanted to have the show go out on a much hipper note than Steve Perry screeching "don't stop believing".... but Chase had to reel him in, on this one rare occasion, and remind him that Journey "Don't Stop Believing" would be the kind of song that Tony and Carmella would play on a juke-box... for me, that song owes a lot to the show... it gave it a certain amount of "street cred". If The Dean is still out there, I wish he would show his face....one of my favorite posters over the years...good guy. I used to enjoy giving him **** about his love of Steely Dan.

Eh....what made "The Sopranos" great was that they didn't feel the need to tie up every loose end... it was as real and as random as it could be... just like life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have closure on everything? It was a beautiful show... like a great, nuanced novel. There have been some great tv shows on since the Sopranos, but nothing comes as close, except, perhaps "Mad Men" for the first 5 seasons. Telling stories that haven't been told, with quiet endings, and shocking turns... " Yet in the end, all the stories are small...life goes on.

FYI: George Strait is a very straight-forward performer...no dancers, no suspending himself from the ceiling and "flying over the audience", no hydrolic lifting of the stage ...just a dude with a great voice, some pretty choice songs, and a really great band. Nothing fancy at all... IMO, far more talented than guys like Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks. He relies on the tried and true formula of good songs... he doesn't need anything else. I am with you...even 2,000 is big for me. I prefer a club... but sometimes you gotta go where the music is being played if you want to hear the music being played live... it is just a different aesthetic... I see a lot of live music (at least once a week...back in the day it was more like 2-4 times a week), and rarely go to shows like this. My ex liked a lot of really mainstream pop acts, and quite often, I could get great, free tickets for these shows....if they were hard tickets, I would just give them to her and one of her daughters...but if it was a guest list/will call thing, I had to go with her....I have seen some acts that I would never in a million years imagined seeing... but you know what..it wasn't so bad, say, sitting in an auditorium watching Gloria Estefan... won't have to do that anymore!

Sounds like me... a middle aged teenager!

Yes, I had that sense too...like he was a bit conscious of the fact that he was supposed to be some iconic great American sports-writer. I know it seems like I am bashing him ( I guess I am) but I can still like guys like Reilly, the fact that they exist, and write something as antiquated as a "sports column" is cool in my book...even if I don't always like what they have to say. It is why I always read Jerry Sullivan... Reilly was just terrible on ESPN, but I give him credit for trying.... I thought it was funny, a few months ago, when Reilly wrote a column defending the use of the name Redskins. He claimed, in the column, that his father in-law, a native American of some prestige and authority in one of the American Indian nations (sorry, can't remember which), said that the name was not offensive to him..and for Reilly, that was good enough for him...his father in-law flipped out, and wrote a letter that was published in a few places, admonishing his son in-law, claiming he was a poor listener. Here is a quote from the letter: "So you can imagine my dismay when I saw my name and words used to defend the racist Washington Redskins name. My son-in-law, ESPN’s Rick Reilly, completely misunderstood the conversation we had, quoting me as saying “the whole issue is so silly. The name just doesn't bother me much. It's an issue that shouldn't be an issue, not with all the problems we've got in this country." But that’s not what I said. What I actually said is that “it’s silly in this day and age that this should even be a battle — if the name offends someone, change it.” He failed to include my comments that the term “redskins” demeans Indians, and historically is insulting and offensive, and that I firmly believe the Washington Redskins should change their name. When Rick’s article came out, it upset me to be portrayed as an “Uncle Tom” in support of this racial slur. I asked him to correct the record. He has not, so I must do it myself." Here is the Deadspin article on the subject: http://deadspin.com/...illy-1443599450

So many great songs over the years...the Frank Sinatra of country music... one of my favorites: Normally I would completely agree with you. But, sometimes you gotta go where the music is. A big country show like this is a bit more of a controlled atmosphere than a rock n'roll show. For better or worse, country performers, especially the ones of the stature of George Strait, design their shows for these types of crowds. The sound is always top notch, musicians in Straits band are some of the best players in Texas...I have seen him 4 times, all in auditoriums...not the best setting. I have always had really good seats, though not front row center or anything like that. The shows feel way more intimate than, say, a Rolling Stones show in the same venue.

Oh...poor you! Such a great show wasted on the unwashed masses..

He is not my favorite either... but it is sad that it won't be much longer before there is no vestiges of "old school" media left. My dislike for Riley is based, by and large, for the fact that he has disparaged the 1990's Bills on a number of occaisions. In one of those NFL Films feautres he is on record as saying the 90's Bills Superbowl teams, and their accomplishiments were one of the most "overrated" things in the NFL history. But hell, he isn't a Bills fan...I see it all the time around here from actual "Bills fans"...

So, it looks like there may be a new Star Trek series coming to NetFlix...in partnership with CBS... http://www.geek.com/news/netflix-rumored-to-get-exclusive-new-star-trek-series-1596342/

Best show in modern television history...IMO. More than anything, responsible for the current "golden age" of boob tube drama excellence. A few weeks ago, Steven Colbert had Matthew Weiner as a guest. Weiner is the guy behind "Mad Men", and was one of the "big three" behind the Sopranos (David Chase the creator, Wiener, and Terrence Winter who now does "Boardwalk Empire"). They were talikng about how "Mad Men" would end, next year... referencing Weiners' connection to "The Sopranos" finale, Colbert suggested that in the "Mad Men" finale, Don Draper should turn to the camera, and explain "The Sopranos" finale! A favorite old article from The Onion, the week after "The Sopranos" finale...before James Gandolfini was actually dead... http://www.theonion....eking-fan,2230/

Also a fox in her day...still looking pretty good too!

Only 3 times?

Not sure if it is my "favorite" (too hard!), but I recently saw "Not Fade Away". It got pretty lukewarm reviews, but I thought it was a great rock-n'roll movie...

Nice! I have seen him 4 times...always puts on a great show... I think he is one of the few "mainstream" country acts that has managed to straddle the line between contempory country, and more traditional (or at least traditional Texas country) country successfully, for such a long time. Great band too..

I liked it quite a bit too...

I purchased tickets for this show months ago, for myself, my (now ex) girlfriend and her daughter..they are huge George Strait fans... we split up, I left her with the tickets...I wonder who, amongst that 105,000 got my ticket!

Not to be one of those "Star Trek snobs", but I think the way the movie industry is today (Hollywood anyways) there just isn't room for the Star Trek that Rodenberry dreamed of, and Berman, to an extent stayed true to. Star Trek, at its' best, had a higher intellectual content than other things that surplanted it. People want to be entertained with these types of films, more than they want to think. Maybe it just doesn't lend itself as easily to the big screen? I do agree wholeheartedly, they need to let go of the old characters, whatever they do. Zachary Quintero (sp?) made a pretty good Mr Spock, but then they had to bring Nimoy on to play Spock too...this need to hold onto the originals just kind of gets in the way of good storytelling. And, I aprreciate those old characters as much as anyone... I just think they should give it a rest, let people really miss it, and bring the Star Trek universe back, when somebody has a truly unique story to tell in that universe. The second re-boot movie could have been pretty much any sci-fi adventure flick.. I think, after the original series (always the best), Deep Space Nine was my favorite, because it added so much to that world, and told a unique story.

We have also heard Jacobs say that he will not sell the Boston Bruins, in order to become the owner of the Buffalo Bills. He also said that he would like to do whatever he can to make sure that the team didn't leave WNY. But he didn't comment on the possibility of one of his sons becoming the owner of the Buffalo Bills. There are a couple of guys (Terry Pegula specifically) who have been mentioned as likely candidates to bid on the team, yet we (or at least I) haven't heard a peep, yay or nay, from the Peguala camp.....is he interested? I would love to know...