Buftex

A claim you could make about almost every thread on the PPP, once it goes past the first page or so...

As an Austinite (what is Austins S.S.R?), while I certainly can understand Cheeseburger's rage, I can assure you Austin wants little-to-nothing to do with the rest of Texas! Cheese...good luck with Lee Leffingwell...

This!

Love Alice Cooper with Colonel Sanders... The Mick Jagger, Madonna & Tony Curtis pic is pretty funny too...Mick looks the third wheel...

If you are bored, just ignore? You seem confused.

I agree with everything you said, other than the highlighted part...if you watch national media types talk about the Bills, it is very clear, more often than not, that most know almost nothing about the current franchise, but base their conclusions and opinions on yesterdays newspapers. It's like when you pick up one of those "NFL preview" mags, and they talk about players that aren't even on the team anymore. We notice when they give inaccurate information about our team, just as I am sure that fans of about 2/3's of the teams in the NFL notice when their team is talked about. That is because, to the national media, there are really only about 8-10 teams that matter, the rest are irrelevant...which leads to the low "intangibles" rating. Many fans analyze the Bills with their hearts, not their heads...but they are fans, that is what they are prone to doing...but I would hazard to guess, there are at least a dozen or so people that post here, that could give a more informative, and honest evaluation of the Buffalo Bills. For me, jury is still out on Buddy Nix as a GM...but I like the coach.

We didn't choose to be Buffalo Bills fans, we were born into it...you get sick of people bagging on the owner, and honestly, I get just as sick of people trying to tell people how they should act if they are really fans...we love the Bills no matter who the owner is...we are from the area, we love the teams, not necessarily the owner. I definitely have major problems with things that Ralph has done over the 40 years I have been following the team, but, at this point, I feel more pity for him than angry. I think he wants to win, wants to leave a positive legacy, but just doesn't know how to do it. The odd "grand periods" of Bills football, in my lifetime (Knox-era, Super Bowl era, Flutie era to a degree) kind of happened in spite of Ralph, rather than because of him...good things just kind of fell into his lap. I keep my fingers crossed that we are on the precipice of another little mini-golden era...I like Gailey, and Nix is growing on me...

I am somewhere in between you and Crayonz on this topic...I do think there are questionable things in the NBA, but I don't think it is as scripted as Crayonz (rather convincingly) portrays...but if Dallas somehow beats Miami, Crayonz is golden as far as I am concerned...

Plus, it makes sense...Ralph is so cheap, he is probably like "we have all this red helmets...we aren't going to waste them..." Just wanted to beat Billsfreak to it! btw- Ralph is cheap! Just flash forward 20 years from now, you wonder if people on TSW will be waxing poetically about the 2002-2010 uniforms? I hope we are all around for that...and by that, I mean us, and the Buffalo Bills.

He meant to say, by inferring it, that Ralph is so cheap, he was hoping he would be able to just unveil the new uniforms, as a piggy back to the new Madden game...he didn't want to have to pay all those people to work extra hours at some "unveiling ceremony"...

It may be an age thing...my earliest memeories as a Bills fan, were the old (throwback) white helmets, with the standing still buffalo...I remember when they changed to the charging buffalo, white hlemet, the year after OJ set the record...people were outraged, but got used to it pretty fast...then, when the team was really bad, they changed to the red helmets, and I don't think anyone really liked them...until the Super Bowl years...I think the red helmets just kind of de-emphasize the buffalo...and they make the logo look like a t-bone steak...if the leaked pictures are accurate, this will be one of the few times, in recent years, IMO, the Bills got something right...lets hope it is the begining of a huge role!

White helmet with charging buffalo > white helmet with still buffalo > red helmet with any buffalo on it!

Cornell, isn't that the highest rank in the military? What has that got do with anything?

Yes, I can confirm...after the Celtics won in 2008, being a Celtics fan, I was predicting another title in 2009, but Crayonz assured me it wouldn't happen, because a prominent Celtic would be injured (Pierce/Allen/Garnett)...as it turned out, Garnett missed a significant portion of the season, as was not effective in the playoffs, as he was never healthy the second half of that season... but that is where I diverge...I just can't imagine a player, like Garnett, being in on some sort of leauge wide conspiracy. Also, the Celtics being an "old" Big Three, it wasn't completely out of the realm that one would be injured...but I have to admitt, the shear volume of correct "guesses" on Crayonz part was pretty impressive... Prior to last season, Crayonz said that the Celtics and Lakers would meet again, in the finals, and they did...not completely unpredictable (though I thought the Celtics wouldn't ever make it that far), but it was assured by Lebron's proverbial kneeling on the ball in the ECF that year, his final in Cleveland. Also, Crayonz said it would be a 7 game series, the final outcome wasn't predicted, just the assurance that it would be 7 games.

I think that doing the show would be more of a detriment to some teams, than it is others. I am putting my money on the Redskins being the subject of the next series (if there is one), and they would be the perfect example of a team that it would be detrimental to. Which is why I suspect they do it. I think it would be a positive for the Bills. Did you think the national attention that Steve Johnson got last year was detrimental to the team? I don't. I think it upped his game, and he has now emerged as a team leader. This team needs leaders, and guys who are proud to be Buffalo Bills. Bring it on HBO! There have been 6 seasons of the show... Baltimore Ravens (2001)- Won Super Bowl in 2000, (went 10-6 lost in Divisional round of playoffs) Dallas Cowboys (2002)- Finished 5-11 in 2001, 5-11 in 2002 Kansas City Chiefs (2007)- finished 9-7 in 2006, 4-12 in 2007 Dallas Cowboys (2008)- finished 13-3 in 2007, 9-7 in 2008 Cincinnati (2009)- finished 4-11-1 in 2008, 10-6 in 2009 (won division) NY Jets (2010)- finished 9-7 in 2009, 11-5 in 2011 (AFC Championship game) The results are pretty mixed...it seems that Dallas (twice) and the Chiefs didn't benefit at all, you could argue that the Ravens results are acceptable, while NY Jets and Bengals seemed to gain something...just sayin'

Like I said, Dayman, I am not sure I completely buy that there is some sort of plan in the NBA offices, about who wins...but I have been going back and forth with Crayons on this for 4 NBA playoff seasons now...and he has been right at pretty much every turn. If the Mavericks win this series, which I want to happen, but don't for a second believe will, I will be even more convinced. I am not sure it is wise to write of Donahgy either. Sure, he is a scum bag, but some of the stuff he alleges seemed pretty plausible. The biggest issue I have with the NBA, and I think it holds true for most, for decades now, is the officiating plays far too much of a factor in the outcomes of games. I find it very unlikely that Donaghy is the first/only NBA official who was paid off. Like you, the part of Crayons conspiracy theory that I have the most trouble with, is individual players being in on it. I don't for a second believe that Kevin Garnett faked an injury. But, I also don't have a problem believing that Lebron, independent of everything, simply tanked the Boston series. He was dominating Boston in that series, and then, inexplicably, just stopped trying...I think he already had his mind up he was out of Cleveland, knew there would be hard feelings, and thought, by losing, it would vindicate his decision, because he "can never win in Cleveland". I was always a big Lebron supporter before that...I always thought he got way too much crap, like, for instance in his "no-handshake" thing the year before. I have watched those Celtics/Cavs games more than once, and you just have to marvel at Lebrons' amazing apathy, after he had already established his will on the Celtics. That is why I can never root for the guy again.

Where is the outrage!!! He could at least be clearing brush somewhere....

I am not saying I buy it, necessarily...but I also find it absurd that you can dismiss the notion so easily. You really think Tim Donaghy is completely full of crap? He may be, but I have been watching this game a long time, and more than any other sport, there have been more than a time or two, when I found it hard to believe what I was seeing...just go back and watch that Cleveland/Boston series last year...I was pleased with the result, but I am not sure there wasn't something nefarious going on there...whether it was Lebron imposed, or leauge imposed, that wasn't right...and then there was the (now) infamous Lakers/Kings series back in 2002...Donaghy claimed it was rigged, and it sure looked that way to most viewers...just saying...there is a legit shadow of doubt out there.

Yes, I was very surprised. I don't really know what to make of him. I know that Buss was sort of publicaly apologizing for hiring Brown, without talking to Kobe first, but, from all reports I have heard, Kobe is happy with the pick. Bryant was on record as saying he wanted a defensive minded coach...so, you got that in Brown. I don't know how they come to the conclusions all of the time, but the trendy thing to say about him was that he was "outcoached" when he was in Cleveland. It will be very interesting to see what happens with the Lakers next year...the hire, and the long deal (I think Brown would only agree to a 5 year deal, cuz he didn't want to viewed as a stop-gap/lame duck guy)suggest that the Lakers are kind of re-signing themselves that this is a transitional period, rather than a re-tooling. I gotta say, Finals start tonight, and I am already sick to death of hearing about the Heat...I think they will win, pretty easily...but I am just not excited about this series at all...unless Dallas wins!

I think, despite their "good ol' boy, we are just football guys" personas, both Nix and Gailey love the camera, or, at least the microphone. Both guys have very charistmatic personalities, despite the lack of respect they get from the national sports guys, and even many of us. I love listening to Gailey speak...even if he is feeding us BS, he does it so convincingly, and is so blunt. I think, with the way this stuff goes over with younger guys, nowadays, "Hard Knocks" would give Gailey and Nix a chance to really put their stamp on this team...while I never considered this seriously, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea...I think it would be good for this young team. Now, realizing it isn't likely to happen for the Bills, I can see the Redskins being the featured team (I don't think they have declined yet), and, that would be exactly the kind of team a "Hard Knocks" appearence would be damaging to.

Correct...mostly. The Bills started out 2-0, looked great in their first two games (a Thursday night game against the Vikings IIRC)then, they missed 7 games, and came back looking bad...went 2-5 after the strike, to finish 4-5. It really was a sad way to end that great era of Bills football...

While I am not saying I want the Bills to volunteer to do "Hard Knocks", I think people who are viewing it as "too big a distarction" are kind of overstating it. As crazy as it sounds, and as much as I loathe the Jets, one thing I kind of admire about them, Fat Mouth Ryan just arrived in New York, and just kept insisting his team was better than it was...the "Hard Knocks" thing kind of raised the bar for them, and, I think, they kind of overacieved because of it. I think "Hard Knocks: Buffalo Bills" wouldn't be the worst thing for the franchise. This team is still trying to build an identity. There is more character, and more characters on this team, why not let the team devolpe a personality? Sometimes, guys get a litte pressure, they rise to the occaision. I honestly think, while the Bills are headed in the right direction, they are still, realistically, a few seasons from being a serious contender for the division. Part of Ralphs' job, at least under the old NFL agreement, is to maximize the amount of dollars his team throws into the legue pot...this might help a little...give a few players a higher profile, and sell a few more of those new jerseys. Honetly, I would be very excited if the Bills were to appear. And, I dobn't think it would hurt their progress one bit...might even help.