John Gianelli

At the corner of Jefferson and Best in Buffalo. It was on higher ground, the site of an earlier reservoir for the city water system I believe. There was also an entrance along Dodge Street. It seems hard to believe that in four years, New Era/the Ralph/Rich Stadium will be as old as The Rockpile was when it was torn down!

Going there as a kid and sitting up high along the Dodge Street side, I remember on a frigid day the most creative pitch ever by a beer vendor: "Get your ice cold hot warm Genesee beer here!" Also, there was a guy named Old Sam, who in retrospect was probably only in his forties, who tried to slide down one of the handrails. He fell off, and I still remember the thud his head made against the concrete. His friends just laughed it off. Anyone else remember Old Sam? At the Bison games there was a vendor who was probably in his teens, and his voice would crack. Instead of "cold pop!" it sounded like "cold paaaaaaaaaaaap!" At the Bison games there were a lot fewer people, and a lot of lulls in the action so the vendors were more noticeable than at a Bills game. Pretty much every vendor had a distinct personality. The Earl of Bud and Conehead stand out. I think the Earl of Bud also had a brother who was a vendor, but he wasn't as flamboyant as the Earl. The photo is from an Old Timers Game in 1984. I pretty sure that was Willie Mays at bat. At the corner of Jefferson and Best in Buffalo. It was on higher ground, the site of an earlier reservoir for the city water system I believe. There was also an entrance along Dodge Street.

That's because there was (and still is) a pool adjacent to the stadium. The announcer (Norman Oklahoma, IIRC) would also say that at Bisons games at Hyde Park Stadium in the Falls where they played for a season or two. At the Bills last game, I was sitting in the bleachers in the end zone and the fans were trying to rip up the wooden slats to take as souvenirs. I got a small chunk of one, which was probably worth the splinters. I think it had moss growing on it, or maybe it was mold.

That was a great name. May he rest in peace. My condolences to you.

It might sound counterintuitive, but I have no objection to that. I'm not in the locker room or on the practice field, so I can't really judge if they have the competence to coach well. But as a sports fan who's listened to or watched countless hours of sports on the radio and tv for over 50 years, I feel I can judge if someone has what it takes to be a good broadcaster or reporter.

Admittedly I'm sexist when it comes to women doing sports reporting and broadcasting. But when a woman starts talking about men's professional sports I almost always change the channel. It reminds me of watching a game with my sister and wanting to tell her that she doesn't know what she's talking about. The Fabulous Sports Babe back in the day was about the only one I could tolerate, maybe because she was so out there. My disdain includes most sideline reporters, male or female. 99.9% of the time they ask inane questions, and get meaningless answers. "Josh, did you think you had a chance to win?" Just once I'd like to hear "No, we all thought we were going to lose, but we're getting paid so we had to play the game anyway." I'd rather have them just go to the commercial break and get it over with. Kevin Kiley, on TNT I believe, was the only sideline reporter I ever heard ask intelligent questions.

Touching story about him on Channel 7.

Do you mean Al Riveron, the head of officiating?

Did you say "Go Fund Me" page? Up to 98 donors and $1,428. Cody says he will donate it to charity.

Just hoping that we were holding something back for the rematch! Agreed. After a big win, it's cool. An area that's been down for so long benefits from celebrating valid reasons for civic pride. But don't these people have other things to do with their time that might be slightly more important?

Are we to assume they are literally off the chart?

https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/08/chiefs-equipment-mishap-patriots-forfeiture/ Okay, so the Chiefs' equipment "accidentally" arrived in Newark, and they were in danger of having to forfeit the game at New England? I'm sure there are no Patriots fans working as baggage handlers at Logan Airport.

Call the Freddie Coleman show when he asks for your 15-second comments and see what he says.

It wasn't my intent to make this a conversation about where we stand on racial and societal issues. I posted it because two of the five players mentioned were Bills at one time, and I'm old enough to remember when they played. I remember when Marlin Briscoe had a great game as the Bronco QB to beat the Bills (with a big assist from Floyd Little). That game was a heart breaker, in a season when the Bills were quite terrible. Thus I was thrilled when he joined the Bills.

I'm not a regular listener and I don't know if Freddie Coleman does this all the time, but last night he was letting listeners call in with 15-second takes, with suggestions for topics. A caller suggested he list his top 5 black quarterbacks, so he did. Almost immediately someone told him he left off Warren Moon, but he stuck by his list. He did say something about the historical significance of the quarterbacks he named. I probably wouldn't have paid much attention, but when he mentioned James Harris and Marlin Briscoe, as an elder Bills fan those names brought back vivid memories.

On ESPN radio just now, Freddie Coleman chose as his top 5 black quarterbacks 1) Doug Williams 2) Steve McNair 3) James Harris 4) Michael Vick 5) Marlin Briscoe Harris played quarterback for the Bills. Briscoe was a wide receiver with the Bills, but he did attempt 3 passes. I'm surprised he didn't have Russell Wilson or Randall Cunningham in his top 5.

Yes, I'd like to tell McDermott "Speak Correct!"

Haven't read all the posts, but in the RADIO.COM NFL Power Rankings the Bills are 15th, which puts them behind even the Panthers.

Does anyone know if Elias Sports Bureau has stats on when was the last time a 2-6 team was favored over a 6-2 team? I could see it in college, but not in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if this were the first time in NFL history. Sorry if someone already posted this question.

Maybe this puts it in a different perspective. I'm not looking at it from Beane's perspective. I'm looking at it from a Bills fan perspective. The previous decade, you get three quality players in the second round, Jairus Byrd, Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay. The previous decade to that, Peerless Price, Phil Hansen, and Carwell Gardner. You have to go back to the 80s before you hit Thurman, Odomes and Talley. Even in your best decade of drafting, you have only a 30% chance of getting a stellar player in the 2nd round. Only in the 70s do you have four top-quality 2nd round picks, Smerlas, Haslett, Devlin and McKenzie. And going back that far, remember there were fewer teams in the league, so you had a better chance of getting a good player in the 2nd round. For every Thurman Thomas picked, you get Glen Lott and Mark Trynowicz. For every Phil Hansen, you get Lonnie Johnson and Travares Tillman. Even if Beane ends up being as good as Bill Polian or John Butler, you have many more misses than hits in the second round.

I recognize the regime change factor, but let's ignore that for the moment and just go on our track record over the past ten years. With our second round picks, you have a 20% chance of landing a decent offensive lineman. You have an 80% chance of getting someone who marginally contributes, or gets shipped out.

Looking at our 2nd round draft choices over the last 10 years, why not trade a 2nd round pick for an established player? Dion Dawkins and Cody Ford are the only 2nd round picks still on the team drafted between 2010-2019.

I agree that week 5 of 1975 is not necessarily relevant to week 6 (7) of 2019. But if you've been following just about anything for 56 years (sports, stock market, politics) you should gain enough experience that you get a little shiver that says, "Not so fast. I've seen something like this before." We also tend to remember negative experiences more than positive ones. I don't remember anything about the wins in weeks 1, 2, 3 or 4 of 1975, but I sure remember the loss in week 5.

Am I the only person worried about this game? I have flashbacks to other times a Buffalo team looked so good, and came crashing down to a lesser team. Maybe most of you aren't old enough to remember 1975. The Bills were 4-0, and lost to the 1-3 Giants at Rich Stadium on a Monday night. I have flash-forwards to the local talk shows next week: "We should have known Rosen would have his best game ever against us." "The refs completely screwed us." "We should have known our defense couldn't keep up that pace for a whole season." "How can you expect to beat anyone when you throw four interceptions?" "Do you still think we'll make the playoffs?" Sorry, this is from someone who became a Bills fan in 1963. I've seen too much to take any game for granted.