Logic

Agreed. Based on interviews with other band members from that summer and from Joel Selvin's book "Fare Thee Well", It seems clear to me that just about everyone in the band wanted to do east coast shows except Phil Lesh. Frankly, it seemed like most of the guys wanted to do a full 50th anniversary TOUR. Phil was the exception, apparently. It was like pulling teeth to even get him to be willing to to the Soldier Field shows, and then again to get him to agree to the Santa Clara "warm up" shows. He also apparently was very difficult during rehearsals. It put Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby in a weird spot, having to learn/rehearse a 100-song songbook but only getting to go through every song once. In general, there have been tensions and disagreements among the band -- primarily between Phil and the drummers, hence Dead and Co featuring everyone but Phil -- since Jerry passed. Sad, really. I went to the Fare Thee Well shows, and of all the post-Jerry iterations I've seen over the years (Ratdog, Phil and Friends, the Dead, Further, Dead and Co), they were my least favorite shows, musically speaking. The weekend was a great deal of fun and and a cool celebration, and I don't regret going. But the lack of rehearsal and the uneasy peace amongst the members was evident to me. Phil's stepping up to the mic on the last night and saying "now hopefully we can all move on and do something different with our lives" left a bad taste in my mouth. Not "Thank you", not "we love you", just "enough already. Let's all move on". I love Phil Lesh, but everything I've ever read on the subject suggests he's been a bit of a dictator since Jerry passed. I always think of Mickey Hart's comment on the subject: "When Phil received a liver transplant, he must have gotten the liver of a jerk".

Is that right? I guess I'm not surprised. The NYC area has been a Deadhead hotspot since at least 1970. Even though the Dead are a west coast band, they've always made most of their money and seem to have their most large and loyal legions of fans on the east coast. I'm gonna do my best to get tickets early, but I don't want to be roped in by the pumped up price hustle of the "verified fan pre-sale" if I can help it. I'm a bit scarred by the 2015 "Fare Thee Well" Soldier Field ticket buying experience, though, so my FOMO panic may get the better of me.

For what it’s worth, I DO think this tour will sell really well. I’m willing to bet that lots of people have pent up “want to hear live music” energy after this past year. Still, I don’t think Dead and Co typically sell out most venues.

Dan Campbell and Urban Meyer are both gonna be bad NFL head coaches.

Thanks for the link. **Not sure if it was an auto-correct situation or a simple error, but the Patriots do not have a "Max Jones" on the roster. It's Mac, which is short for McCorkle.

$136 a piece for LAWN SEATS!?!? There is no universe in which I will be willing to pay that cost to see this band. Maybe if they exhume Jerry Garcia and find a way to get him to play lead guitar. Other than that? Not a chance in hell. I'll just have to wait and see if they go on sale at a more reasonable, defensible price. Sheesh.

You can deal with "what ifs" and abstracts if you like. I'll stick with reality, with facts. The reality, the fact, is this: Kelvin Benjamin made plays that helped the Bills win an important football game. That happened.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Tre White is my favorite Buffalo Bill. Great player, great member of the community, great man, and the funniest dude I've ever seen lace up a pair of cleats. McDermott couldn't have chosen a better player to be the first draft choice of his Bills tenure, and I'm so thankful that Tre White is a Buffalo Bill.

Man... Choosing to constantly, repeatedly, obsessively harp on the handful of bad decisions made by the best front office/coaching staff the Bills have had in 25 years — one whose team has made the playoffs 3 out of 4 years and seem poised for a decade long run of success, and who have made far more good decisions than bad — sure is a strange way to spend one’s time. McDermott and Whaley needed only three seasons to take a dumpster fire of toxic ineptitude that was the laughingstock of the NFL and turn it into one of the best cultures and winningest programs in the league. The Bills went from being the absolute LAST team many wanted to play for to being a team that players take discounts to keep playing for. The turnaround has been nothing short of astounding, and yet BADOL will hop into a thread quicker than you can say “broken record” to list off all the bad decisions McBeane have made. I’m not even trying to deny that any of the decisions BADOL frequently brings up were, in fact, bad decisions. I’m simply saying that NO ONE gets it right 100% of the time, every GM and coach makes mistakes, but that choosing to rehash and re-litigate those mistakes over and over and over when the Bills got THIS good THIS fast just seems mind boggling. To each their own, but holy cow, what a strange hill to die on.

I just want to point out that I don’t think Woods or Gilmore can fairly be classified as players that McDermott “let go”. Both were free agents, and because of the Rex Ryan clown show, the Marrone ridiculousness, and the general dumpster fire atmosphere that preceded McDermott’s arrival, I don’t think any amount of money was going to get either guy to stay here. They both wanted out of Buffalo badly, and I don’t blame either one of them, and their departure had nothing to do with McDermott.

I’ll never hate on Kelvin Benjamin. He made two crucial catches in the Colts snow game that led to the Bills winning. Had the Bills lost that game, they would not have broken the drought and made the playoffs that year. Kelvin Benjamin directly contributed to a game outcome that allowed the Bills to make the playoffs. I’ll never say a negative thing about him. .....That said, it WAS pretty funny when Booger said he was one Popeye’s biscuit short of being a tight end.

At New Year’s Eve 2019 show at Chase Center, I had side stage seats close to the stage. I could see into the backstage hangout area. I watched at set break as Bill Walton, who was there to act as Father Time and do the countdown, pulled his weed out of a Fanny pack, packed a bowl, and smoked up with some band and crew members. It was a hoot. Side note: you do NOT want to stand behind Bill Walton at a concert. 😳

Yep. It's quite a racket these days. First they release VIP and "verified fan pre-sale" tickets, and they do so in a way that attempts to portray scarcity, pump up prices, and scare fans into buying quickly. Eventually, general admission (lawn) tickets go on sale and are more reasonable, though still expensive compared to "the olden days". It especially gets outrageous once you see all the convenience and processing fees they add on. I don't hate many things in life, but I really, really hate Ticketmaster. Evil with a capitol "E".

I love Thanksgiving. I love Bills games. I do not love having Bills games on Thanksgiving day. A Bills loss often makes me a grumpy Gus, and spending the whole day around my family has the potential to do the same. It's just...it's not a good combination for me.

If, like me, you've been (im)patiently waiting to see/hear/experience live music again, today's news should come as...um...music to your ears? Sheesh. Sorry about that. I live in Oregon these days, but I might have to fly east for that Darien, Bethel, SPAC run. Seeing shows at Bethel Woods (especially when they feature musicians that actually played at Woodstock) is a ball. Just, uh...maybe don't accept tokes off joints that get passed to you by strangers this Summer? See y'all out there. https://relix.com/news/detail/dead-company-announce-summer-fall-tour-2021/ Dead & Company 2021 Tour Dates: AUG 16, 2021 – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek – Raleigh, NC AUG 18, 2021 – Jiffy Lube Live – Bristow, VA AUG 20, 2021 – Citi Field – New York, NY AUG 21, 2021 – Citizen’s Bank Park – Philadelphia, PA AUG 23, 2021 – Bethel Woods Center For the Arts – Bethel, NY AUG 25, 2021 – Darien Lake Amphitheater – Darien Center, NY AUG 27, 2021 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY AUG 28, 2021 – Hersheypark Stadium – Hershey, PA SEP 2, 2021 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA SEP 3, 2021 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA SEP 5, 2021 – Xfinity Theatre – Hartford, CT SEP 7, 2021 – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH SEP 10, 2021 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI SEP 11, 2021 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH SEP 13, 2021 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis – Maryland Heights, MO SEP 15, 2021 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Noblesville, IN SEP 17, 2021 – Wrigley Field – Chicago SEP 18, 2021 – Wrigley Field – Chicago OCT 6, 2021 – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL OCT 7, 2021 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL OCT 11, 2021 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC OCT 12, 2021 – Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood – Atlanta OCT 14, 2021 – Dos Equis Pavilion – Dallas, TX OCT 15, 2021 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – The Woodlands, TX OCT 22, 2021 – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre – Englewood, CO OCT 23, 2021 – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre – Englewood, CO OCT 25, 2021 – Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix OCT 27, 2021 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA OCT 29, 2021 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA OCT 30, 2021 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA OCT 31, 2021 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA

The Bills have the same amount of prime time games as the Vikings, Colts, Bears, and Raiders. I'm looking at it again this morning, and I'm standing by my original statement: it's goofy. I understand the market size thing (though Green Bay has five prime time games), but it still feels a little bit like disrespect to me. Being lumped in with teams like the Bears and Vikings, while teams like the 49ers, Seahawks, and Saints get more prime time games....it just doesn't sit right. I'm not gonna storm Goodell's office with pitchforks or anything. I don't really care all that much. It's just interesting. 1pm games (10am for me) are still the best. This is undisputed. I can prefer early afternoon games and still think the league is being a doody-head. That's my right as a member of the fan base with the most legendary inferiority complex in all of sports.

Most other teams/players that I root for are still at least tangentially Bills related. I root for Fitzpatrick. He's the biggest one. Starting this year, I'll be rooting like hell for Sam Darnold, because I think the Jets did him wrong and because his becoming a star elsewhere would make them look like the fools they are. Both of those clearly relate back to the Bills. I guess the only non Bills related rooting I would do would be for the Raiders. The league is more fun when the Raiders are winning. And even though he's a goofy sonofabitch, I like Jon Gruden.

Thanks, but you buried the lede: Two writers also picked the Bills to make the Super Bowl!

To sum up this thread so far — Me: Everyone else:

The comments about “whining/complaining” are funny — as if I didn’t mention in my opening line that I prefer afternoon games any way. I suppose simply pointing out that Josh Allen is getting less prime time games than Jamies Winston is verboten. How silly of me to even bring it up.

I'm not typically one to complain about lack of prime time respect from the league. I much prefer Sunday afternoon games to prime time games, any way. That being said, I'm just curious what justification there is for the Bills -- coming off a 13-3 season, an AFC Championship game, and featuring an electric offense -- having less prime time appearances than the likes of the 49ers, Seahawks, Ravens, or Saints. The Saints especially are quite puzzling. Jamies Winston and Taysom Hill really move the national viewership needle? Ah well. It is what it is. Just thought it was a little bit strange that some pretty cruddy teams and/or teams who had poor seasons last year get more prime time exposure than one of the top four finishers of the 2020 NFL season. Source: https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/ "Ten teams each received five primetime games. The Packers, Saints, Cowboys, Seahawks, Steelers, Ravens, Rams, 49ers, Chiefs and Bucs are scheduled for five night games each. The Saints and Cowboys also have Thanksgiving Day games, and the Packers a Christmas Day game. The Bears, Vikings, Raiders, Colts and Bills each are scheduled for four primetime games."