Jerry Sullivan Strikes Back With A VENGEANCE, Slams The BN, The Pegulas, and some of the Buffalo fanbase

[Gigs]

Who the !@#$ clicks “ok” on pop ups? That’s internet 101

[Lurker]

35 minutes ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

This entire Millenium, aside from a small reprieve last year, has been an embarassing Titanic style disaster. Let's forget about all the buffoon HCs, the incompetent GMs, the clueless owners, the wasted draft picks and questionable trades, the bottom line is this little table.

 

Bills Millennium Record v.s. Playoff Teams

 

2000 = 1-6

2001 = 1-8

2002 = 0-3

2003 = 1-5

2004 = 3-4

2005 = 2-4

2006 = 1-6

2007 = 0-6

2008 = 1-3

2009 = 1-4

2010 = 0-8

2011 = 3-2

2012 = 0-5

2013 = 1-4

2014 = 2-3

2015 = 1-4

2016 = 1-3

2017 = 3-2

 

TOTAL = 22- 80 (20%) 

 

it is just the facts ma'am about the year over year, abject failure. Whenever the Bills faced a good, playoff bound team- they generally folded... badly... 4 times out of 5.

 

That's what Sully kept on about relentlessly and I for one, appreciated it!

 

 

 

Big whoop.   The Bills being bad is a cheap excuse for Sully being lazy and boring.  Other columnists (Felser, Ranallo, Kelley) covered bad teams for years and never phoned it in like Sully did over the past decade.  Columnists in other cities with bad teams (Will McDonough and the Pats in the 1970s and 80s) never did either.    

 

Sully was two faced and dishonest, as those with memories long enough to remember his columns can attest.  He slagged the Bills for not extending Fitzpatrick, then slagged them for locking him up.  He hailed hiring Tom Donahoe and later said it was the dumbest move ever.   He was all for signing Drew Bledsoe, then he wasn't.   Over and over, rinse and repeat.  And he knew he could get away with it because the average fan was just like "Rex," the fictional drinking buddy he used in many of his columns.

 

I get a sense that Jerry's defenders are part of the barstool crowd he was writing for.   If that's the case, I guess he did his job...

 

[BuffaloRush]

4 hours ago, Gigs said:

Who the !@#$ clicks “ok” on pop ups? That’s internet 101

 

It’s one of those pop-ups that you can’t close.  Your only option is to close the browser or click ok.  

5 hours ago, SDS said:

Firstly, please don’t turn into a walking advertisement for that website.

 

Secondly, this is a problem everywhere. Spammers take advantage of code in ads and insert these  malicious gift card ads. This is more of a hijacking then it is purposeful on their part. Presumably, it could happen here without my knowledge.

 

But how to spammers have access to the site’s code?  Do they add some sort of code in the comments section?

[bobblehead]

Although I always thought his work was repetitive and predictable. This episode with Cam Newton was what finally caused me to actively try not to read his articles.  Cam Newton , who probably didn't know squat about Jerry Sullivan, figured him out in 20 seconds when saying “it’s an issue to you”. 

 

This made the BN look bad, and It made me realize that he only catered to a minuscule fan base. 

 

[Bills Pimpin']

The problem Jerry Sullivan and many older reporters in many different media markets, is that it gets to the point where he thinks he is smarter than the people making real decisions. Because of that, no matter the outcome of any situation he wrote with a negative bias to the point if it being Fake News and more importantly he interacted with the Bills Brass with this same negativity. It was getting worse. Any New ownership, new General Manager and new Coach would take offense to his attitude. If McD thinks Sullivan or any media personnel is undermining the culture he is trying to instill he would do something about it. I am confident McD is a straight shooter, had some conversations surrounding the guy both within the organization and outside it (the BN) to get him to back off and he wouldn't. McD was and still is "draining the swamp" and media is part of it.

[Best Player Available]

7 hours ago, SDS said:

Firstly, please don’t turn into a walking advertisement for that website.

 

Secondly, this is a problem everywhere. Spammers take advantage of code in ads and insert these  malicious gift card ads. This is more of a hijacking then it is purposeful on their part. Presumably, it could happen here without my knowledge.

The gift card spam is getting worse. Are you saying they are all  malicious spam?  The only way out I know of is shut the site doen.

Then reopen. i never click yes/no. I even called my internet provider because the gift card junk pops up constantly. They never gave a straight answer if they were doing it. Lately Amazon gift cards have been popping up. 

[BobChalmers]

"Bucky & Sully's New Site Is Full of Spam and Pop-Ups"

 

And that's just the articles!   ?

[Heavy Kevi]

11 hours ago, BuffaloRush said:

As some people here new Bucky and Sully's new venture is the Buffalo Football Maven.  It's a website that follows a similar model of The Athletic.  The only difference is that it's only NFL football and it's free and supported through advertising.  You can check it out here:

https://footballmaven.io/bills/

 

I was on my phone and I saw a link on Twitter that the Jerry Sullivan mailbag was back so I clicked on it.  I read the article for about 10 second when all of a sudden an annoying dialogue box pops up.  I tapped on the button that said "ok" to close it, thinking it would take me back to the article.  Instead I was forced onto another site where it said my ISP was giving me a free $100 Wal-Mart gift card.  There was no way to get back to the article without closing the browser tab completely.   So I closed it and read the mailbag again, when the same exact thing happened.   This happened about 3 times before I said "forget this."

 

I do have to say, I didn't have these issues when I used my laptop.  Still the ads made the mobile experience horrendous.  I'm curious to know whether it's just my experience on my iPhone of it works like this for all mobile devices because I literally couldn't read the articles on the site without getting the gift card pop up

 

17 minutes ago, Best Player Available said:

The gift card spam is getting worse. Are you saying they are all  malicious spam?  The only way out I know of is shut the site doen.

Then reopen. i never click yes/no. I even called my internet provider because the gift card junk pops up constantly. They never gave a straight answer if they were doing it. Lately Amazon gift cards have been popping up. 

 

In a word: Chrome

 

Get chrome and turn on the ad blocker. Then even when the pop-ups make it through they open in a new tab and you can just close the new tab.

 

In the default browser (pixel 2, galaxy note 5/8) I have the same problems not being able to close windows and being redirected to spam (and no back button functionality), now with chrome as default browser, problem solved.

[BuffaloRush]

14 minutes ago, Shotgunner said:

 

 

In a word: Chrome

 

Get chrome and turn on the ad blocker. Then even when the pop-ups make it through they open in a new tab and you can just close the new tab.

 

In the default browser (pixel 2, galaxy note 5/8) I have the same problems not being able to close windows and being redirected to spam (and no back button functionality), now with chrome as default browser, problem solved.

 

Thank you but I do have the Chrome browser for iOS and I tried opening and got the same thing.  

 

It it looks like the Buffalo Maven may have fixed the problem.  

[GunnerBill]

Hmmm. Starting to smell a rat. 

[Heavy Kevi]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Thank you but I do have the Chrome browser for iOS and I tried opening and got the same thing.  

 

It it looks like the Buffalo Maven may have fixed the problem.  

 

Do you have the ad-blocker AND the popup/redirect blocker both turned on? (Under site settings)

[BuffaloRush]

1 hour ago, bobblehead said:

Although I always thought his work was repetitive and predictable. This episode with Cam Newton was what finally caused me to actively try not to read his articles.  Cam Newton , who probably didn't know squat about Jerry Sullivan, figured him out in 20 seconds when saying “it’s an issue to you”. 

 

This made the BN look bad, and It made me realize that he only catered to a minuscule fan base. 

 

 

This is a example of why Jerry was a great reporter.  There was a time when the press confronted people, and asked the “tough” questions and actually tried to get answers.  You couldn’t get away with a BS response or they would call you out on it.  This happened during the Whaley press conference too.  Whaley was given terrible answers which made no sense, so Bucky and Sully calmed him out on it.

 

You don’t really see this in journalism today.  A player or coach can just mumble an answer that makes no sense and other reporters are too timid to ask a follow up.

1 hour ago, Bills Pimpin' said:

The problem Jerry Sullivan and many older reporters in many different media markets, is that it gets to the point where he thinks he is smarter than the people making real decisions. Because of that, no matter the outcome of any situation he wrote with a negative bias to the point if it being Fake News and more importantly he interacted with the Bills Brass with this same negativity. It was getting worse. Any New ownership, new General Manager and new Coach would take offense to his attitude. If McD thinks Sullivan or any media personnel is undermining the culture he is trying to instill he would do something about it. I am confident McD is a straight shooter, had some conversations surrounding the guy both within the organization and outside it (the BN) to get him to back off and he wouldn't. McD was and still is "draining the swamp" and media is part of it.

 

I think it’s somewhat presumptuous to think McDermott was the one behind Sully’s removal.  

[Rico]

Just went there, 1st article I see is “The Beloved Sully Mailbag Returns For The Maven.” 

[Jpsredemption]

Read the Buffalo News if you don't want opinions.

 

I for one will be reading Sully after the Bills get pistol whipped today.

[Jpsredemption]

Don't forget we live in the everyone gets a trophy generation so people aren't equipped to handle criticism.

[Rico]

If Sully wasn’t around during the drought, the News would’ve run columns like:

”All EJ needs is more time.”

”Doug Whaley, football genius.”

Both written by Tyler Dunne.

[PromoTheRobot]

Well you know what? Jerry, Bucky and whoever are free to offer their takes online. If they get enough followers they can monetize it. The market can decide how popular they are.

[Ol Dirty B]

On 9/6/2018 at 10:24 PM, zonabb said:

Don't care what he says, won't read it. But these are the facts:

 

1. He dreamed of covering his hometown Boston teams, preferably the Celtics and he was so awful no paper would have him. 

2. His writing skills are subpar, which certainly forced him into staying in the bottom media market and not allowing him to rise as he thought he should.

3. His insight and analysis was subpar. He was no Felser or Kelly.

4. he had zero connection to players, coaches or fans, cutting his credibility and ability to be good.

5. Of those who resigned, were let go, or otherwise departed the news, this prick is the only one still unemployed.

5. He can cut us down as fans and as a city all he wants but the fact remains, he sucked at his job, grew to be a bitter reporter due to his own inadequacies and inabilities and inadequecies he took his misery and lack of success out on sports teams and fans. He tried covering sports like we need people covering politics. Teams owe us nothing and he and other entitled media types often miss this point (Schopp is one as well)... which is teams owe you zero. Zero access, zero answers, zero truth. 

6. And since he likes cutting us down, let's not forget that this miserable curmudgeon was a divorced by his wife and his skank of a daughter ended up on some reality TV and is a basically a pole dancer in Vegas. 

So stop feeding this troll. He's a stain on the media in this town, a self-loathing, miserable loser who's era of winning the fight because his employer bought ink by the barrel is long over since every other talentless ahole has a voice as miserable and useless as his.

 

Have fun in the dustbin of Buffalo media history. This city owes you nothing and we'd be happy if you departed, tail between you legs and weekly unemployment check dangling in your hand.

 

 

You know the guy still has a radio show and a column at another media entity I'm not familiar with. 

 

You'll still see what he has to say. I think some of you have cared too much about what he said about your football team. It's unhinged. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

3 hours ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

It’s one of those pop-ups that you can’t close.  Your only option is to close the browser or click ok.  

 

But how to spammers have access to the site’s code?  Do they add some sort of code in the comments section?

 

If interested, here's an article about it

Or at least one strategy for it.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Rico said:

If Sully wasn’t around during the drought, the News would’ve run columns like:

”All EJ needs is more time.”

”Doug Whaley, football genius.”

Both written by Tyler Dunne.

 

When did Dunne write any articles like that?

Edited September 9, 2018 by GunnerBill

[Hapless Bills Fan]

9 hours ago, SDS said:

Firstly, please don’t turn into a walking advertisement for that website.

 

Secondly, this is a problem everywhere. Spammers take advantage of code in ads and insert these  malicious gift card ads. This is more of a hijacking then it is purposeful on their part. Presumably, it could happen here without my knowledge.

 

Just a PSA to do what you can do beat down Spam: make sure your OS (esp. on smartphones) is up-to-date, run ad blocking software on your web browsers, and protect your Internet of Things by changing factory passwords if you allow them to connect.

[Rico]

16 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

When did Dunne write any articles like that?

Maybe a slight exaggeration. He certainly tended to defend the indefensible a lot during his time at the News, while trying to appear objective.

[Niagara]

On 9/6/2018 at 9:51 PM, Watkins90 said:

Lol at taking losing his column as a slap in the face. Bro, you work for someone. When you boss tells you to do something different, you do it. You don't whine like a little school girl, you just do it. 

As a journalist at a very small newspaper in northeast Iowa, what I wouldn't give to be the Bills or Sabres beat writer. People just don't understand how good they have it. 

As an employer myself, I relate to those who had to deal with a Sullivan and a Gleason. There comes a time when the convicts feel like they run the prison, and with their swagger,  they sometimes do.

 

[gomper]

I actually like Sully but it turn into shooting fish in a barrel situation. I can see how that became grating for some. If you ever hear him on a national show, he can be quite insightful. No matter how you feel about him, what the Pegula's did, if true, is pretty small minded. 

[GunnerBill]

17 minutes ago, Rico said:

Maybe a slight exaggeration. He certainly tended to defend the indefensible a lot during his time at the News, while trying to appear objective.

 

Hmm. That is not my recollection. I think Tyler is pretty balanced. 

32 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Just a PSA to do what you can do beat down Spam: make sure your OS (esp. on smartphones) is up-to-date, run ad blocking software on your web browsers, and protect your Internet of Things by changing factory passwords if you allow them to connect.

 

I have just left a job where I developed an industry code of practice for IoT manufacuters wanting to sell into the UK market and one of the elements of that was requiring them not to have "default" passwords on their devices.... which are often either 0000 or 1234. Initially it is a voluntary code but if there isn't a discernable improvement I think their is appetite in the UK to legislate. 

[BuffaloRush]

12 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Will not have to worry about my mobile experience or my computer experience with their site as I will never be going to it. 

 

Also can I ask what the topic of tomorrows Sully and Bucky thread is going to be OP so I can mentally prepare myself 

 

Dont worry - I actually don’t listen.  1270 is too jojo to have an on-demand section on their website.  Only way to listen is live and I can’t during that time

56 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Just a PSA to do what you can do beat down Spam: make sure your OS (esp. on smartphones) is up-to-date, run ad blocking software on your web browsers, and protect your Internet of Things by changing factory passwords if you allow them to connect.

 

Yeah I have iOS 11.4.1 which is the most updated version.  Didn’t make a difference

[bbb]

10 hours ago, bobobonators said:

 

Whats your obsession with this guy? Its one thing to post several similar threads about a bills player in less than 24hrs but doing so about a sports columnist? Nobody cares. 

 

I'm thinking he might be Patrick Moran, plugging the podcast.  He seems to have the same opinions.........I actually liked the podcast.  As much as I couldn't stand Sully's bitter writing, I did like him on the radio on GR. 

 

1 hour ago, Rico said:

Maybe a slight exaggeration. He certainly tended to defend the indefensible a lot during his time at the News, while trying to appear objective.

 

You liked Sully over Tyler Dunne? 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

56 minutes ago, gomper said:

I actually like Sully but it turn into shooting fish in a barrel situation. I can see how that became grating for some. If you ever hear him on a national show, he can be quite insightful. No matter how you feel about him, what the Pegula's did, if true, is pretty small minded. 

 

I don't think it's true

1 hour ago, Rico said:

Maybe a slight exaggeration. He certainly tended to defend the indefensible a lot during his time at the News, while trying to appear objective.

 

That is not my impression but de gustibus and all that

[dezertbill]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 6:43 PM, BuffaloRush said:

 

 

 

Folks, the first part of this podcast is probably the most compelling interview I've heard for quite a while.  It's from Pat Moran's Moranalytics podcasts and his guest is former Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan.  Say what you will about Sully, but he doesn't crawl up in a ball and pretend to be Mr. Nice Guy.  He also doesn't fabricate a fake phony picture of why he left either or share disingenuous positive words for the BN,   

 

Instead he gives his honest take about a number of subject - in particular his falling out with the Buffalo News.   I'll share some highlights but trust me, this is a surprisingly unfiltered interview from one of the most outspoken members of the Buffalo media.  IMO he comes off a passionate writer who loves sports and feels that fans deserve unbiased, honest sports coverage, even if it means reading views that they might not personally share.  

 

Of course, this is just Sully's opinion I am sure there are two sides to this story.  I would be interested to hear from @JoshBarnett as Jerry mentions him by name a few times.    I can paraphrase what he said.  It's from my memory earlier today so you will want to listen for yourself.  

 

On being "negative"

He said he has a reputation for being negative but reminded listeners the the covered the longest drought in sports history.  The Bills put consistently put out an  inferior product and he was holding them accountable for the fans.  He also said the role of a columnist, is to sometimes be an extremist in their views and amplify their thoughts to to generate conversation.  He'd later go on to saying that Jeremy White and Mike Schopp do this brilliant on radio.  While he says he always held the Bills accountable, there were many very positive articles during the 90's Super Bowl run.

 

Why Jerry left the Buffalo News:

Jerry says he accepted a buyout from the BN.  He was not fired and he did not retire.  He then shares exactly what happened, from his perspective anyway.   He said that he was told by management that they were taking away his column and to be a feature writer.  He said years ago the ideal job for any writer was a columnist position.  He held this job for years at the BN and taking it was an insult.  The same happened to Bucky Gleason who was asked to cover the Sabres beat.  Jerry considered staying, but once Bucky decided to leave he knew he had to leave to.  He felt too disrespected to work for a company that did that to him.   To him, taking away his column was essentially a giant slap in the face.  

 

The downfall of the BN and The Buffalo Blitz

Basically he says the BN has gone downhill fast and its disappointing.  They now feature front page articles from journalists right out of college, as opposed to featuring exceptional and experienced writers.   He also says that the role of a "columnist" is diminished in the modern print landscape. 

 

- He claims that editor Mike Connolly hired Josh Barnett to be the Executive Sports Editor over former Sports Editor Keith McShea who Sully feels was the better choice.   According to Sully, people were not on board with the Barnett hire and the Sports room became a less than desirable place.  He said that many people in sports were unhappy for a variety of reasons.

 

- Rather than trying to promote hard-hitting, in-depth, analysis of the Bills and Sabres, he feels that management wanted a watered-down, safe, sanitized product which he feels insults the intelligence sports fans.

 

- He cites The Buffalo Blitz  - which he refers to as a "fan site, "as one of the biggest flops that crippled the sports department and the paper.  Sully claims that Connolly promised advertisers that it would reach 100,000 readers.  The actual number was closer to around 3,000.  Sully believes that management did not want him or Bucky writing columns that were critical or controversial.  He claimed that they sent out a survey to a fans asking why didn't subscribe.  A small number said they didn't subscribe because of Sully and Bucky, so now they had the data to support their personal beliefs and essentially he was a scapegoat.  Sully feels that these moves  cater to the "lowest common denominator of fans."

 

He also talks about:

- The influence of The Pegulas may have made on his column getting taken away

- Tim Graham vs. Mike Harrington

- The Athletic vs. Buffalo News

- His new site Football Maven

- Buffalo news vs. WGR

 

 

- Why he has low expectations for the Bills

 

Listen and let me hear your thoughts!

One of the other papers did a piece with Sullivan a few months back that outlined a lot of this stuff.

 

As a Bills and Sabres fan, I am well aware of the losing our teams have been going through.  And yes, there were many years where we as fans were made to feel like we weren't intelligent enough to know what the front office was or wasn't doing.

 

But after a while it just got to a point where no matter the good or bad, he was always negative.  Something good would happen and he would always put a negative spin on it.  

 

Sports is sort of an escape for many fans.  It doesn't pay their bills (no pun), it doesn't raise a family, and it isn't something that is required in order to live.  We all have problems in life and face enough adversity from our day to day dealings, some more than others.   The last thing I want to do is read an article regarding a topic that should bring levity to my day and have it be dark and hopeless.  At that point, I would rather just stop and move onto something that is more uplifting.

 

He was always looking at the glass as half empty. Whenever good news came out, there was always a caveat of negativity that he needed to remind us fans of.  That gets old fast.  That's why I stopped reading him.  

 

This is 2018, not 2008.  He never got that.  

 

When I was in college I interviewed Jerry for a communications piece and he was one of the nicest guys I had ever met.  He complimented me on my preparation and took the time to be interviewed and never rushed.  So I know he is a good guy.

 

But when it comes to sports writing, I just feel his approach is outdated, and as much knowledge as he has of sports, his negativity has turned a majority of his viewers off.  I wish he would change, but as they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

 

I wish him all the best

[Rico]

11 minutes ago, bbb said:

 

I'm thinking he might be Patrick Moran, plugging the podcast.  He seems to have the same opinions.........I actually liked the podcast.  As much as I couldn't stand Sully's bitter writing, I did like him on the radio on GR. 

 

 

You liked Sully over Tyler Dunne? 

Absolutely! Sully is legendary, Dunne is just another hack.

[bbb]

4 minutes ago, Rico said:

Absolutely! Sully is legendary, Dunne is just another hack.

 

Wow.  Well, at least you like the Stones.

[aceman_16]

1 hour ago, gomper said:

If you ever hear him on a national show, he can be quite insightful.

 Do you have an example or a link to this insightfulness (in the last 7 years)?

[SDS]

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Just a PSA to do what you can do beat down Spam: make sure your OS (esp. on smartphones) is up-to-date, run ad blocking software on your web browsers, and protect your Internet of Things by changing factory passwords if you allow them to connect.

 

When you say run ad blocking software on your browser how is it that you expect me to pay a $2000 a year server bill? 

 

How does any publisher pay their bills if they don’t force a subscription? 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

21 minutes ago, SDS said:

 

When you say run ad blocking software on your browser how is it that you expect me to pay a $2000 a year server bill? 

 

How does any publisher pay their bills if they don’t force a subscription? 

 

Me personally?  I subscribe to pubs I value.   I whitelist selectively.  And I see ads that aren’t intrusive or contain blacklisted code.  

I also haven’t had to clean crap off my computer and restore it since I took these steps.

 

If you wanted subscriptions to pay your server bill, Scott, I know for a fact you’d get ‘em from many here.

 

 

[bobblehead]

I never buy pubs but I’d feel like I have to with this so I would.  Might even weed out the bad/bring back the good

Edited September 9, 2018 by bobblehead

[Helpmenow]

Gee more Sullivan hate, that’s a shock

[bbb]

I would definitely buy a subscription for this place. 

[gomper]

3 hours ago, aceman_16 said:

 Do you have an example or a link to this insightfulness (in the last 7 years)?

Link is unavailable but check out his spots on Fan590 in Toronto. 

[aceman_16]

1 minute ago, gomper said:

Link is unavailable but check out his spots on Fan590 in Toronto. 

Thanks but pass.  I would have clicked on a link that you thought was insightful.... I don't feel like dumpster diving looking for anything of substance.

[gomper]

Ok. I'm just trying to be fair.