Bucky Gleason Leaving TBN After Requesting a Buyout - Jerry Sullivan and Now Tim Graham Out

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

Of course. But that is avoiding the discussion and seminal point of this specific debate. By saying, in a discussion of Jerry's negativism, that during the majority of Jerry's tenure the Bills and Sabres were poor teams and poorly run orgs, you are implying that those two facts were a large portion of the reason for his negativism. But if he was negative from the get-go, while the teams were not poor and not poorly run, that negates the poorness in your reasoning. 

I don't recall him being negative during the Polian era? He may have been but I don't remember it to be so. 

[IDBillzFan]

17 minutes ago, Peter said:

 

I never understood their disdain for the Pegulas as well. Harrington has displayed the same condescension toward them.

 

You will likely disagree with this, but disdain for the Pegulas comes down to two things: haves and don'ts.

 

Pegulas have a crapload of money and Sully don't. 

[BadLandsMeanie]

3 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Jerry, you don't get it, even on your way out the door.   "They felt my voice was becoming bad for business."   Yes, Jerry, "they" felt it because it was true, and you refused and refuse to recognize it.   From your point of view, it's always been that your voice was the voice of truth and therefore worthy of publication - just because it came from you.  

 

Well, guess what?   Gifted writer that you are, your voice nevertheless often was rude, insensitive, nasty, biased and downright uncivil.   Your voice offended many, and because nothing is more important to you than your voice, you just didn't care.   People don't like being around nasty people, but you never understood that, so you don't seem to understand why your voice was bad for business.  

 

It's too bad for you, too, because after all the years you invested in covering horrible Bills teams, you're now not going to have a platform from which you could enjoy what looks to be a team on the rise.   Of course, your voice might not have appreciated that, either.   

 

I hope you come at your new gig with a different perspective.  You're insightful and you can write, but if you're lacking basic human decency, you're going to be bad for business. 

Wow!!

 

You have your battles on here but basically you don't go off on people. 

So when you do, it gets my attention and carries more weight. Wow. 

 

 

[Punching Bag]

16 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I of course hope they find jobs; no reason to wish I'll for them.  But I doubt it will be writing; maybe for Bucky and less likely for Sullivan.  I imagine they'll be talking heads somewhere so they can scream all they want.

 

I DO without reservation and good reasons wish ill will for them.  I am hoping they can get jobs in Boston.  Maybe NE ESPN writer will quit, Rodakent will get NE and Sulky will get Rodakent's beat (and we will not notice difference).

[notwoz]

Sullivan was nothing more than a contrarian impersonating a disinterested observer. He's a pretty good writer, but his schtick had simply grown tiresome. 

To tell the truth, I can't remember anything Bucky wrote: good, bad or indifferent (which is probably not a good thing for a columnist). 

However, Harrington is simply a nobody who confuses snark with insight. I hope he completes the trifecta.

[Lurker]

26 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Sullivan covered two teams that were generationally bad. Of course he was more of a scathing critic than a giddy cheerleader.

 

Larry Felser and Jim Kelley covered just as many years of bad football and hockey and never "pulled a Sully."    Maybe the success of snarky ESPN shows like PTI and Internet bomb throwers changed the columnist playbook.   But both guys wrote themselves into a blind alley by pandering to the lowest common denomiinator of their readership, IMO...

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

1 minute ago, Limeaid said:

 

I DO without reservation and good reasons wish ill will for them.  I am hoping they can get jobs in Boston.  Maybe NE ESPN writer will quit, Rodakent will get NE and Sulky will get Rodakent's beat (and we will not notice difference).

 

...Jerry's calling may be writing obituaries....just sayin'................

[Nick the Greek]

I still refuse to pay $3 a month to read the BN.

 

I always hated Gleason tho so this a step in the right direction. 

[JohnC]

20 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

True in theory. But if he started out negative (i don't recall either way) then you cannot say that his negativity had anything to do with the performance of the teams.

I reread your response and what to clarify my response. I have never claimed that his negativity had anything to do with the performance of teams. What I have said is that the systemic failure of the pro teams certainly influenced his writing, as it should.  

[notwoz]

1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...Jerry's calling may be writing obituaries....just sayin'................

Actually, writing meaningful obituaries is a skill that most journalists never acquire. However, taking death notices from the local funeral parlors is something Sullivan might be able to handle. That or taking bowling scores on Friday nights. 

[Teddy KGB]

Sully was an embarrassment.   Good riddance 

[Kelly the Dog]

1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...Jerry's calling may be writing obituaries....just sayin'................

He will have a lot of opportunities. Like, for example, he could write for Breitbart News about all the good things the liberals do. He could cover MS-13 for the FBI. He could write about North Korea's humanitarian efforts. There are all kinds of places his unique skills may be coveted.

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, Lurker said:

 

Larry Felser and Jim Kelley covered just as many years of bad football and hockey and never "pulled a Sully."    Maybe the success of snarky ESPN shows like PTI and Internet bomb throwers changed the columnist playbook.   But both guys wrote themselves into a blind alley by pandering to the lowest common denomiinator of their readership, IMO...

Jerry lasted for 29 years with the BN. That is a pretty long run. His longevity was not based on his lack of competency. 

[Peter]

8 minutes ago, LABillzFan said:

 

You will likely disagree with this, but disdain for the Pegulas comes down to two things: haves and don'ts.

 

Pegulas have a crapload of money and Sully don't. 

 

You probably hit at one of the root causes for their disdain. 

 

Jealousy. 

 

They always thought they knew better than anyone else and could not understand why the Pegulas should have the opportunity to own the teams. 

[HansLanda]

Sully tweeted that TBN said his column wasn't good for business. Do you know what isn't good for business? The entire site layout, design and monetization strategy. 

[Kelly the Dog]

3 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I reread your response and what to clarify my response. I have never claimed that his negativity had anything to do with the performance of teams. What I have said is that the systemic failure of the pro teams certainly influenced his writing, as it should.  

I understood what you said. But how can you say the systemic failure influence his writing if his writing was the same before the systemic failure? I also said that I don't recall either way whether he was negative in the beginning. I was going off a specific memory of a poster whose memory and anecdote seemed to say he was always like that. So I said IF he was always like that, the crappiness of the team can't be a reason.

[Punching Bag]

9 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Jerry lasted for 29 years with the BN. That is a pretty long run. His longevity was not based on his lack of competency. 

No it was based on union rules.

[Kelly the Dog]

This was great. Darryl Talley saying that Sully's criticism of him after one season motivated Talley to play better and a reason he is up on the Wall, so Talley thanked Sully. ?

 

https://twitter.com/DarrylTalley/status/1001603851231940610

[Andrew in CA]

Never like to see someone (essentially) fired but I have avoided reading either of these guys for years.  

[Lurker]

26 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I don't recall him being negative during the Polian era? He may have been but I don't remember it to be so. 

 

Polian and Jerry had some epic battles...