GhostsOfTheRockpile

Ask and ye shall receive: "It's disappointing," said Spikes. "Knowing the guy had a hamstring, it's something similar to mine, I think we all know that IR, it doesn't take IR for it to heal up. If that's the case, then I need to be on IR, too." Spikes is listed as questionable for the game in Miami Sunday with a hamstring pull.

Spikes practiced and is close to returning? I've heard that before somewhere... And, yes, Spikes did make the comparison between his injury and TV's during that rant he gave in the practice facility after TV was put on Minor IR. Look, I'm not suggesting Spikes is faking injury or milking it in anyway, but enough is enough: either shut up and play, or shut up and rehab. I'm sick of all these interviews with him where he says he "felt great out there" and was "ready to go" but that we'd see come Sunday morning if he was REALLY ready to hit the field. Enough talking, TKO... you're one of my favorite Bills but this is getting tiresome.

I'm still waiting for someone to propose a site downtown where a stadium would fit. Read my post above... try the Google experiment... outside of the Outer Harbor (where the weather conditions would NECESSITATE A DOME), there is NOT ONE PARCEL large enough to build upon in the City of Buffalo. Unless, of course, you want to destroy entire city blocks and displace a few thousand residents... and if you do, good luck with that decade's worth of lawsuits Second, football stadiums do ZERO for economic development of the surrounding communtiy. At most they are used what... 20 times a year in a big city? Eight home games, two preseason games and a few concerts? In Buffalo, probably much less. They are a waste of space and money in an urban setting. If you built one with a roof so that the structure could double as a convention center, that would be a whole 'nother ballgame. But any open air stadium in downtown Buffalo is a complete waste of space (which, if you'll take ten seconds to check, there is none of to begin with), and both will and should never get done. The best place for a new stadium is between Pembroke and Batavia (which would give new meaning to the "Batavia Party Zone"). If not, somewhere in Lancaster close to the I-90. Last ditch, right next to The Ralph.

Which leads me to ask, where's Spikes? In his now famous "rant" after TV was put on Minor IR, he kept on and on about how the two of them had the same injury and that maybe he (Spikes) should be put on Minor IR as well. TV's apparently ready to go, TKO... are you?

Outside of the Outer Harbor, where in gods name do you "build it downtown" people want to put a football stadium and the THOUSANDS of parking spaces needed to accompany it? Here's a fun little exercise. Head over to Google Maps, and type in the name of any city that has built a new stadium recently. Cut out a little piece of paper that fits perfectly over the stadium and the lots surrounding it. Now take that piece of paper and click over to a map of Buffalo. Again, outside of the Outer Harbor, find me one plot of land that would even come close to holding a stadium without forcing massive infrastructure changes (i.e. Buffalo's own version of the Big Dig). There is NO room East of Pilot Field. Not to mention the infrastructure would be VERY thin (even if people would rather frequent local establishments over tailgating, they gotta park SOMEWHERE). On top of that, if you think it gets cold and windy in Orchard Park, try playing on the windward side of Lake Erie/the Outer Harbor/ LaSalle Park/downtown in December. Even diehards would skip a game or two due to the weather... and it would necessitate a dome. It isn't going to happen, nor should it. The success of the Bills as a franchise is dependent on being a regional team. As such, they should make it easier for those from Rochester and points East, as well as Ontario and points North, to make it to games. The ideal location for a new stadium (which is what they SHOULD build, rather than pump $20 million or so into the old one) is in Lancaster, closer to Rochester, right off the I-90... think Lancaster "Speedway" area. Not only does a LARGE portion of ticket holders already come from that area, you encourage those fans sitting on the fence who hate having to leave their homes at 9 am every Sunday, and who get home around 7 pm (not to mention those on the fence may very well include the kind who would buy suites or club level seats... which the Bills could always use more of). If not, build right next to the current stadium. The infrastructure already exists. And for those of you who think they can not only build downtown, but build a little village with malls and condos around it... what on god's green earth are you smoking?

My point was merely that THAT difference was brushed aside... "young QB"... and is a significant factor why this team in no way resembles '87. Watching Kelly play before '88 you KNEW he was headed for great things. I don't think anyone can say the same for JP. Don't get me wrong, I think he's improved immensely this season and he could very well turn out to be a solid NFL QB, but he's nowhere in the same league as Kelly was in '87. Time will tell.

While its a nice thought, there's one monstrous, glaring difference: JP Losman < Jim Kelly

Personally, I've always liked the jersey itself. The font on the letters and numbers is a big improvement, the colors are obviously better, the stripes and piping are unique... all in all, I think they are great. However, that logo is horrid.

No. Bears 34 - Bills 12

The show is a joke. I like what they've done in terms of tying into the game at 8pm, but sitting on the couches, yucking it up like a bunch of Fox morons, highlights at a breakneck speed with little to no analysis... waste of time. Never thought I'd say this, but I miss Berman and Jackson.

Screw ESPN and their hockey coverage or anything NHL related over there. They're dead to me. It all started with that "ESPNHL" they came up with before the lockout ended... a league in which no team existed in Buffalo. Then it continued with their piss poor coverage of the season, and their HORRENDOUS coverage of one of the most exciting playoffs (across the league) in years. Melrose and his mullett can suck a lemon, to borrow my grandfather's phrase.

Look at where those seats are - THE TOP OF A CORNER UPPER DECK SECTION. Those seats are generally reserved for opposing teams (coaches, fans, employees). I usually take a road trip or two a year to a Bills game and am guaranteed tickets no matter where they play because I am close with a Bills employee. WITHOUT FAIL, those tickets are always in a top corner of the stadium, as these seats are. My guess? Unused tickets by the Vikings/NFL, which IIRC don't count towards a home team's sell-out threshold (nor are any other "comp" tickets).

That's interesting, because all other reports have stated there are only single seats left and that a sell-out is a virtual certainty. It could very well be that group tickets have been returned or not claimed (i.e. Group Z orders 100 tickets, says they only need 50, returns the rest to the team), league/player /sponsor allotments have not been used, etc. Those tickets, under the blackout rules, may very well be considered "sold," IIRC.

SportsLine.com is reporting: "The Toronto Sun reports there are several parties trying to enter a bid to purchase the Boston Bruins." First off, let me say I find it hard to believe Jacobs is selling the Bruins. That team/arena is a cash cow for him. However... kinda makes you think, doesn't it? Just throwing that out there on an otherwise SLOOOOOOW day.

Here's another guy (along with Clayton) that has been so horribly wrong on the Bills this year, I question his football IQ. You may recall his "if you think the Bills are going to go into Miami and beat Nick Saban in the home opener, you're crazy" rant. Again, I'm not saying the Bills are the greatest team since sliced bread, but the way these so-called "experts" make these grandiose, all-or-nothing comments makes me yearn for the days when Van Miller was just getting started in the biz. Here's this week's "gem," which convinces me he doesn't watch most of the games (like most of these dopes) and goes by a snippet he sees on ESPN or a box score in the paper: "This week [Pennington will] have to overcome a resurgent Bills D, led by end Ryan Denney. LED? By a platooning d-end? Wow. Talk about horrible reporting.

I think its a legitimate discussion to have. First, he tells Schoop & The Bulldog before the Patriots game Buffalo had "no shot at all" at winning the game. Then he writes Saban & Co. were going to take advantage of all of Losman's mistakes and come out with an easy victory before telling Schoop & The Bulldog he didn't see any way the Bills could possibly win. Now he writes how the Bills have "a lot of holes and probably won't have a winning season." Time for the Bills to show him up... again.

Best wings I've ever had were the bbq ones served at La Hacienda-Brighton in Kenmore. Wow. Talk about a unique taste. Partially deep fried, but then tossed in this great bbq sauce then thrown on the grill to finish cooking. Try 'em. Soon. Its worth the trip (across from Kenmore EAST High School I think it was). Pizza - Bocce's. Or Bob & John's on Hertel as a close second. Sports bar - USED to be Damon's in Williamsville (decent menu, but tons of HUGE TV's, good prices)... but now who knows?

Nate C. is shown the door?

While I think there may still be single seats in the upper deck corners available, your best bet is to try eBay, craigslist, stubhub, etc. Prices, like BRH suggested, are going to be quite high at this point. If I were you, I'd head down to OP Sunday and start walking up and down Abbott Rd. until you find two tickets at a price you like.

I'm sticking with 8-8 for now. Everything boils down to JP. If he can start adding layers to his game, this team could be special. Maybe make a late season, "last-game-of-the-year-for-the-last-wild-card" kinda run. Wonder if Baltimore's 2nd and 3rd stringers are as good as Pittsburgh's were...

You're kidding, right? The guy was quite possibly the biggest headcase in the history of the NFL, clearly wasn't intelligent enough to grasp how the game is played at the highest level, and had no concpet of what it meant to be a winning football player, play within a team structure, or sacrifice for the team. The guy was a complete joke from day one.

If they are announcing the D first and TKO knows it - and you've got to believe he does - my guess is he is in uniform and starting Sunday. As much as a rush as the rookies and others are going to feel stepping out onto the field, TKO's is going to be that much bigger in his first home game back after that monster injury. Plus, you KNOW he's excited how well the D is playing despite being in a "rebuilding" mode, gotta think they can do great things, etc. That should be enough for him to grace us all with his warrior dance. Can't wait!

Ty Warren, Dewayne Robertson and a few other highly drafted, highly touted DT's took a couple of years to mature into the pros people thought they would become. No rookie at any position should be written off until given a couple of years to prove their worth. (With a few exceptions, of course - see: Leaf, Ryan; Clarett, Maurice)

Not to be a stickler, but I think these threads have to be renamed. My "least favorite rival" is easily the Jets. I've never cared about them, about beating them... just another team on the schedule. But my "favorite rival," the one I hate the most, is the 'Fins.

He redeemed himself by all but shutting the door on any hopes the 'Fins may have had at a comeback with that great deflection on the 2-point conversion (which, had he caught, he would have been able to return for 2 the other way).