Joey Balls

You'll be the first to know Tom.

You are right in your criticism Rkfast. Changing formats on my usual drive-time station with no forewarning left me slightly off-kilter. While my original post was from the heart...more so than the head...I offer apologies to those who were offended with my silly Ferris Bueller line. I'm sorry.

While I was on my commute to work this morning I tuned in WHLD 1270 like I do every morning to hear the hosts viewpoints regarding the potential demise of the Bass Pro deal and instead got moaning, wailing, licking your palms church music. It seems WHLD was the victim of not a hostile takeover but a "Gospel" takeover and that's a real shame for this community. While 1270 was the local Air America affiliate that wasn't the reason people I know, or myself, listened to it. They listened to it for unique and divergent viewpoints from the local programming, covering stories that the other so called "news-talk" station didn't feel warrented any attention. Whether it be environmental, concerns, labor and union news, or casting a cold eye on the city's Pie in the sky development schemes The Voice of Reason was needed to at least counteract much of the crap spewing forth from the middle of the dial at the other "news" station...and now it's gone. I have friends at the station, both on air personalities and behind the scenes, who aren't nearly as disappointed as I am. They seem to think the spirit of the station will pick up somewhere else. In what format they wouldn't reveal to me but I have every confidence in them. In the meantime I'll have to console myself with the fact Democracy Now is still on for an hour a day....for now. http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/citycide12.19.06.html

No you're right nobody really did. My sister and I struck up a conversation during that Monday Night game with two really diehard Browns fans (are there any other?) in front of us and they absolutely dismissed any talk of the Browns moving at the time.

You should only be shot for using the word "sophistry" on a football message board McBride. You and Leah have been good to me over the years so I'll let it slide this time but next time... As for the rest of your post c'mon Dave! I give you more credit than a doofus like gordio but some of your points don't mesh. I'm still trying to make heads or tails out of your Cleveland comment. Of course the three games were atypical....that's precisely because we didn't play the Browns that often. How could they be typical? I'm just saying the atmosphere was really great. I doubt very much they have atmosphere like that at Pro Player before a Fins/Bills game. As for remembering that embarassing string of defeats to Miami in the seventies I'm a little older than you and the only one I remember was in '79 when I attended the Dempsey miss game where Csonka plunged it into the endzone for the win. That's it....that's the only one. I don't think any of them were truly as memorable as you make them out to be. I think our only real "rival" in the division would be the Jets and that's basically because of the large amount of moronic Long Island fratboys that attend who make the game unbearable. Patriots? Who cares? How could we have another rival? We've only been playing the same three teams six times a year for what is decades now. As for your claim that most rivalries are not geographical by nature that's nonsense. Red Sox/Yankees, Chicago/Green Bay, Montreal/Toronto? You even failed to mention the Browns/Steelers rivalry, a rivalry between two cities a hundred miles apart that far outshines the rinky dink Miami/Bills supposed rivalry. Sabres/Leafs? Obviously of more interest to Buffalo sports fans that tomorrow's game against the Dolphins. So we're stuck in this boring division for the sole reason that Ralphie couldn't get use of the Orange Bowl back in '58 from the city of Miami so we all gotta pay for his grudge against the city of Miami.

Go Johnny Utah!

Does anybody remember the AFL for that matter? I might have been stretching it with the obscure AAFC reference but I doubt many fans 30 or younger would even know what the hell the AFL was and what it was all about so I think you can throw that aspect out the window. If you take the "uneven play of the team" aspect that still doesn't explain how the Bills were able to sell out nearly every game in the wretched Donahoe era. I think opponents do matter when it comes to a team like the Bills. You don't think the Bills would sell out with just their own fans going to a Steeler...or Browns game. Whenever the Steelers are in town and I try to get tickets I'm usually shut out. Managed to go in '04 and thought the atmosphere was electric. We need more of that. I'm sorry but the Pats and Fins don't cut it. I'll have to let Staba know about your compliment in regard to the Reporter. I'm the Senior wing analyst in his Bills stuff columns. I work in the Falls and I know it is bad but hey...they just opened their first Starbucks downtown!

You sound like The writers from the Niagara Falls Reporter when you criticize the Gazette. Sure I know the paper's lame (we call it the Weekly Reader) but that doesn't mean their case to get us out of the AFC Least isn't valid. Does anyone outside of Buffalo (and yes that includes Miami) think this is one of the great rivalries in sports? Usually when I see a Miami Bills game in Miami on the tube you can see the oceans and oceans of empty seats at Pro Player. Given what has happened this week with Buffalo unable to sell out against a supposed heated "rival" in a game with playoff implications should tell you this thing is as dead as the dodo. Time to put it out of its misery and shout to the powers that be to put us in the North with the rest of the lunch bucket teams. I'm sorry but seeing the Steelers Black and Gold and the Brownies classic orange and white does a lot more for me than watching Miami mince around in Aqua in 80 degree temps. Browns and Steelers are much more REAL football than Miami could ever hope to be. A think Buffalo fans, given an option, would much rather be a part of that. As for history uh yeah next time do a little research. The original Browns were in the old AAFC back in the forties with......you guessed it the Bills. When the Browns moved to the NFL after the demise of the AAFC they took a lot of the old Bills players with them. Additionally Rochester used to be considered much more of a Brown's town than a Bills town.

I swear by the ECC lot. It's only 10 bucks and it's the easiest lot to get the hell out of after the game.

I can't tell if this post is just based on ignorance (I've been to the last three Bills/ Browns games in Cleveland and it positively blows away in terms of atmosphere any rinky dink boring ass Miami Bills game) or more brain conditioning courtesy of Ralph and the local media in a lame attempt to prop up this non rivalry. If Miami and Buffalo is still such a great rivalry how come there are 5000 seats left?

And once again another post criticizing the messenger...but giving no reason why. Why? Because it is the Gazette? For over 40 years the Buffalo News and the local TV and radio stations have kissed Ralph's ass at every turn, saying he can do no wrong and starting a push for him to make the Hall of Fame for some reason so when he blows it big time by sticking us in a boring division with no natural rivals the fans are too conditioned by the media to B word about it.

I like the ultimate college hardass prick G.D. Spradlin in "One on One". "All the way up with a red hot poker"

Maybe there is a local push for common sense. http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local/local..._348200457.html Face it! Miami and Buffalo are no longer a rivalry...if they ever were.

I always liked Sammy Morris as a Bill and thought he got the shaft here so it doesn't surprise me one bit. Hey McBride you coming back for the Holidays? Let's get together and grab a brewski at the Hawk if you are.

Don't know much about the NY metro area trains but the only time I took an Amtrak was a couple years ago from Buffalo to Penn Station to protest the '04 Republican convention and I couldn't have survived it without the Jack Daniels they sold on board. What was supposed to be a seven and a half hour trip took close to 12 hours.

As McCain has proven over and over...and over...and um over again he'll go wichever the way the wind's blowing politically. Does anybody really expect him to hold on to the ridiculous notion that we need oh say a million more troops or whatever the hell it is he wants? If people are against the war now in pretty overwhelming numbers imagine what this nation's mindset will be two years from now. Like most wishy washy things McCain has done in the past look for him to flip flop...again.

Sorry, I'm from that seventies era (I attended the Dempsey flub in a full scale rainstorm in '79 and the goalpost game in the opener in '80) and the "rivalry" has lost a lot of its lustre to me. But you are like many fans who still hold the Miami game to be special time of year and that's fine. I call that conditioning.

I agree. My enthusiasm for the game has steadily waned over the years so why would I watch the NFL if there were no local team? I've just found the NFL product of late to be overly hyped and endlessly dull.

?

Nah it was the seventies when Miami won every game. Still, that's supposed to be what constitutes a "rivalry", one team kicking the other team's ass year in and year out?

And the Bils are 34-50-1 overall against Miami. ' What's your point? Do you still get excited about that barnburning Miami match-up? I know I certainly don't. Piitsburgh and Cleveland on the other hand generate a lot of excitement when they come to town. Anyone who was at the final 2004 game against the Steelers can attest to that.

So I forgot the word "enough" before I hit send. I also used "are" instead of "our" in my previous post. My point is what the frenchy chap failed to recognise that the Miami/Buffalo "rivalry" exists only in the minds of the decrepit Ralph and people like Ed Kilgore and Larry Felser.

I'm just asking you to do the research on how Miami became a supposed "rival", a completely manufactured event courtesy of Ralph and the local media. Instead you trumpet the party line about what an excellent rivalry it supposedly is without any validity or facts. A rivalry is supposed to be a matching of two teams of equal strength. Look at the record you buffoon before you start criticizing me. I believe Miami has pretty much kicked are ass on a consistent basis. So much for your "rivalry" pal.

Only someone ignorant to be a Red Sox fan would use the term "impressing". I've been going to games since I saw Brodie and the Niners at the old War Memorial. And I still live here. Try doing some research.

Didn't Detroit lower their seating capacity too? I'd go to the game but I have to work...and even then I'm not sure I'd enjoy myself. I've been a season ticket holder as recently as '04 and have been to a couple games this year but have found the experience to be completely lacking in anything remotely fun.