Ned Beasely
September 27th, 2006, 5:29:51 AM
Ned Beasely: Welcome To Listen Up! A Range Service providing exclusive interviews with the Buffalo Range finest.
Today we bring you GilChristfan, aka "Gil". Welcome to the show Gil.
GilChristfan: Glad to be here Pete....errr...Ned.
Ned: What brought you to the Range? What do you like the most about it?
GilChristfan: It was a few years ago, and I didn't even know what an internet message board was. Living in Kansas, you don't exactly have a lot of Bills fans here, and its not like you can talk much about the Bills with Chiefs fans. (One asked the other day if Fergie retired, no joke). I looked at the messages posted on AOL, but 99 % had no more content than "Bills Rock!" or "Bills Suck". I found this place through a google search. Its amazing what you come up with when you type in "lesbian crossdressers"
Glad I'm here, I hope we don't ever go away.
Ned: The best AFC teams and NFC this year will be who? And why?
GilChristfan: Cinci looks really good, they could be the most well rounded team in the league. Watching a bit of the Chiefs game out of one eye at the bar I was in, their run D is leaps above last year. San Diego depends on how well Rivers does obviously, they have everything else. Pitt hasn't lost anything from last year, and I would never count NE out at this stage. SD depends mostly on how Phil Rivers will play. Through the first 2 games, their defense looks about as dominant as the Ravens of 2000 or the Bears of last year. And that's without the guy who was shot.
Philly and Seattle are the big dogs of the NFC. Philly's DL is scary good, and scary deep, and Seattle's D is very underrated.
Ned: You are an attorney. Ever have to defend a scumbag? LOL.
GilChristfan: Leave my family members out of this, please.
Ned: What was the case about?
GilChristfan: But I'll turn it around a little, because the guy wasn't a scumbag, but it proves how first impressions can be really, really wrong at times. It was a child custody case, and my client was a convicted rapist, who had spent 9 years in prison, and had been out for 4. His only mistake was taking up with this nutcase, and well, she got pregnant. She was actually gave birth in prison, serving for some parole violation. But because he had a prison record for rape, they weren't handing the baby to him any time soon.
At the start of the case, the judge, the social worker, the child's attorney and the mother's attorney were out to get him. The only one's he had on his side were me, the foster parents, and his extended family. I don't think I've ever went off on anyone in court like I did with the social worker, when she wasn't doing her job and was lying to the court. I might have actually screamed once or twice. It was kind of cool, since she was such a POS.
But after months of fighting, I got a new social worker, who actually looked at his records. In the end, he got custody, and the motherstole her attorney's van and sold it at a chop shop in Arizona. For all I know, she would have done that with the kid. She hasn't seen her for at least 5 years.
And SRS (the social welfare agency), asked my guy if he would be consider being a foster parent. All I know is that the last I've heard from him (about a year ago), his daughter is doing great, she's an honor student, and he's been a model citizen. Sometimes it takes some screaming to get through first impressions.
There was also a guy I did work for that turned out to be pretty notorious. He filed bankruptcy by himself, and the trustee couldn't make heads or tails of his Petition, so he asked me to help. This was in the mid 90's, when the freeman militia movement was pretty big. The guy ended up starting the "Kansas Common Law Government", claiming that the regular government wasn't legit, etc. etc. After they did their little deal of claiming to be the "new" Kansas government and placing a lien on all property in the state, he fled to Oregon and was eventually caught there. There's alot of internet rumors about him being "Mr. Big" in the Common law government movement, and there are even rumors of him being the supposed "guy no. 3" at Oklahoma City. Considering how squirrely he was, I doubt he was much of a Mr. Big anywhere.
Ned: How do you think JP will do this year going on what you have seen and your gut feeling?
GilChristfan: I didn't think he looked bad in week one. I expect the mistakes, but I also expect the plays to make up for them. He can't afford to go through strings of 3 and out's like last year. I don't believe the recent reports that his problems last year were due mostly to bad footwork. He had 2 very good QB coaches last year, and I find it a little hard to believe that both missed something so simple.
The long ball will be there, but if he can keep improving his short game, he'll be OK. It'd be stupid to get rid of Holcomb at this stage though. (and that's possibly the shortest post on JP from anyone on the Range in the last 2 years. Against the Jets, well, its bound to happen. He's still averaging only one turnover per game, which isn't bad.
Ned: What do you think of the Bills draft? Anyone you really like? Any wasted picks/reaches that you have seen?
GilChristfan: Oh, I've already vented enough on the draft. But if it were me, I would have taken Bunkley at 8 and eitherCharles Spencer or Winston Justice in the 2nd. (or, if the rumors about Denver offering an extra second, I would have jumped on it). Between Spencer and Justice, I would have probably taken Spencer, just because he would have played guard for us and we needed interior line help.
Its not so much that we reached for anyone, its how it all happened. Because we didn't take Bunkley or Ngata (did you see that fat pig's interception return Sunday? They guy just stopped and ran out of bounds after 50 yards!), we then needed a DT, so we had to trade one of our thirds for McCargo.
I think we could have had a stud DT and a stud OL. and I think the draft was deep in safeties, so we could have waited till the 2nd or third for one.
But its done, Marv never listens to me anyways.
Ned: The Bills defense. How do you think it will do? What are its major strengths? Weaknesses?
GilChristfan: I've said this before. I think alot of people go a little nuts extolling the virtues of the "Tampa 2". It can be a good defense, obviously, but if the personnel isn't there, it can really give up some chunks of yards. Its suseptible to traps, counters and other misdirection plays too. I think you saw a little of that against New England, alot of the big gains were cut backs or counter plays. They did great against the Jets in the run game, but the Jets can't run anyways. We'll see though. I like the speed.
Ned: The Bills offense. Do you think Willis will crack the 1200 mark? Does the OL still suck or suck as bad as last year?
GilChristfan: Getting rid of Bennie Anderson made it better by subtraction. Its still no more than average to below average. One of the big problems last year was the inability to pick up a blitz. Some of that is the Oline, but alot of that goes to the blocking back, and I don't think Shelton is that great of a pass blocking back. Good run blocking back, but not so good at picking up the edge guy, or even a guy coming through the middle. It hasn't been adressed.
As to Willis, I'd be happy if he picked up a few hundred more yards recieving than last year. Did you see the screen/swing pass when he reversed direction? Beautiful, and if he stayed outside, he would have gone to the house. But as much as everyone talks about how he needs to hit the hole better, (he does), he also needs a little more of the "screw it, I'm heading for the open field" attitude.
But if you want a prediction, 1300 yards, plus 400 recieving and about a dozen TDS. And at least 5 runs of over 40 yards.
Ned: How is the hottest woman on the planet, other than your wife which is the obligatory answer? LOL
GilChristfan: Watch the latest version of Catwoman, nuff said. Can I mention porn stars here? Tia Bella. A freakin' babe, great in 3 some scenes.
Ned: Which veteran from last year do you think has shown the most improvement from what you have seen in camp and preseason?
GilChristfan: Well, we don't have a lot of veterans left, apparently. And if you count Spikes, who went from not being able to walk, to causing a sack, fumble and defensive TD on his first play back, well, I don't know how you beat that. But maybe Ryan Denney, who's finally getting into the backfield for a change. (the bile is coming up in SweetLee's throat right now.)
Ned: What is wrong with Buffalo and its inability to grow economically and develop the region? What would you do?
GilChristfan: If I knew, I'd change it. Its such a combination of things. Attitude, business as usual, overgovernment, climate, competition from other cities, its tough to blame it on any one thing. They should have formed a metropolitan form of government 20 years ago, if nothing else, to get away from business as usual.
The last time I thought Buffalo would make an actual comeback was the mid-80's, when Jimmy Griffin was mayor. OK, he was a bit of a nutcase, but he didn't try to stand in the way of either public or private development. But when the federal government offered $300 million to build a subway, he didn't sit around arguing about a bunch of small strokes, he pushed it through. When the state offered to build a baseball stadium, he didn't do 10 years of studies. He DID take some advice from Steinbrenner, and not build a dome, and though few realize it, Dunn Park (then Pilot field), was a precursor for Camden Yards and the one in Cleveland. They realized how nice Pilot Field looked, and how it blended in with the surrounding architecture, and then took the idea and ran with it. Griffin was also one of the best cheerleaders for Buffalo that I'd ever seen.
But in the end analysis, if you can't get businesses to invest in Bufalo, it won't go anywhere. You can't expect to fund public projects with a shrinking tax base, not when you can't keep your county parks open. How they get the businesses is anyone's guess, but I question how actively they pursue them and what incentives they offer to come there. Plenty of other cities are doing it.
Ned: What are your opinions on the Patriot Act?
GilChristfan: One of the hottest contested provisions, the idea that the government can get your reading lists from the local library, or back trace the public computer terminal at the public library are 2 things I don't really have a problem with. I don't because I don't think someone has an expectation of privacy on a public computer terminal, and I don't think they should have an expectation of privacy in it. On the other hand, I have some problems with the "sneak and peek" searches, where you aren't notified for up to 90 days that the government has been rummaging through your house. If they want to intrude, they can tell you afterwards.
Ned: Who is the best addition to the Bills, in terms of value, via FA, waivers, and the draft? Why?
GilChristfan: In terms of value, Kyle Williams hands down. Coastal gets props for calling that one.
Ned: Which (starting) O-lineman scares you the most. That is, which one is going to get JP killed? Anyone on the wire that you would sign to replace him?
GilChristfan: My Adopt-a-Bill Terrance Pennington. From what I saw in preseason, he's not ready yet. The odds are, with injuries to Olineman as common as they are, that he takes the field at some time this season.
Ned: What do you think of Parish and Everett? Are the overrated? Underrated? What about the Lee Evans signing? Your thoughts?
Ned: Any final thoughts or comments?
GilChristfan: When do we get to see pics of Sukie's shrine to the Bills?
Today we bring you GilChristfan, aka "Gil". Welcome to the show Gil.
GilChristfan: Glad to be here Pete....errr...Ned.
Ned: What brought you to the Range? What do you like the most about it?
GilChristfan: It was a few years ago, and I didn't even know what an internet message board was. Living in Kansas, you don't exactly have a lot of Bills fans here, and its not like you can talk much about the Bills with Chiefs fans. (One asked the other day if Fergie retired, no joke). I looked at the messages posted on AOL, but 99 % had no more content than "Bills Rock!" or "Bills Suck". I found this place through a google search. Its amazing what you come up with when you type in "lesbian crossdressers"
Glad I'm here, I hope we don't ever go away.
Ned: The best AFC teams and NFC this year will be who? And why?
GilChristfan: Cinci looks really good, they could be the most well rounded team in the league. Watching a bit of the Chiefs game out of one eye at the bar I was in, their run D is leaps above last year. San Diego depends on how well Rivers does obviously, they have everything else. Pitt hasn't lost anything from last year, and I would never count NE out at this stage. SD depends mostly on how Phil Rivers will play. Through the first 2 games, their defense looks about as dominant as the Ravens of 2000 or the Bears of last year. And that's without the guy who was shot.
Philly and Seattle are the big dogs of the NFC. Philly's DL is scary good, and scary deep, and Seattle's D is very underrated.
Ned: You are an attorney. Ever have to defend a scumbag? LOL.
GilChristfan: Leave my family members out of this, please.
Ned: What was the case about?
GilChristfan: But I'll turn it around a little, because the guy wasn't a scumbag, but it proves how first impressions can be really, really wrong at times. It was a child custody case, and my client was a convicted rapist, who had spent 9 years in prison, and had been out for 4. His only mistake was taking up with this nutcase, and well, she got pregnant. She was actually gave birth in prison, serving for some parole violation. But because he had a prison record for rape, they weren't handing the baby to him any time soon.
At the start of the case, the judge, the social worker, the child's attorney and the mother's attorney were out to get him. The only one's he had on his side were me, the foster parents, and his extended family. I don't think I've ever went off on anyone in court like I did with the social worker, when she wasn't doing her job and was lying to the court. I might have actually screamed once or twice. It was kind of cool, since she was such a POS.
But after months of fighting, I got a new social worker, who actually looked at his records. In the end, he got custody, and the motherstole her attorney's van and sold it at a chop shop in Arizona. For all I know, she would have done that with the kid. She hasn't seen her for at least 5 years.
And SRS (the social welfare agency), asked my guy if he would be consider being a foster parent. All I know is that the last I've heard from him (about a year ago), his daughter is doing great, she's an honor student, and he's been a model citizen. Sometimes it takes some screaming to get through first impressions.
There was also a guy I did work for that turned out to be pretty notorious. He filed bankruptcy by himself, and the trustee couldn't make heads or tails of his Petition, so he asked me to help. This was in the mid 90's, when the freeman militia movement was pretty big. The guy ended up starting the "Kansas Common Law Government", claiming that the regular government wasn't legit, etc. etc. After they did their little deal of claiming to be the "new" Kansas government and placing a lien on all property in the state, he fled to Oregon and was eventually caught there. There's alot of internet rumors about him being "Mr. Big" in the Common law government movement, and there are even rumors of him being the supposed "guy no. 3" at Oklahoma City. Considering how squirrely he was, I doubt he was much of a Mr. Big anywhere.
Ned: How do you think JP will do this year going on what you have seen and your gut feeling?
GilChristfan: I didn't think he looked bad in week one. I expect the mistakes, but I also expect the plays to make up for them. He can't afford to go through strings of 3 and out's like last year. I don't believe the recent reports that his problems last year were due mostly to bad footwork. He had 2 very good QB coaches last year, and I find it a little hard to believe that both missed something so simple.
The long ball will be there, but if he can keep improving his short game, he'll be OK. It'd be stupid to get rid of Holcomb at this stage though. (and that's possibly the shortest post on JP from anyone on the Range in the last 2 years. Against the Jets, well, its bound to happen. He's still averaging only one turnover per game, which isn't bad.
Ned: What do you think of the Bills draft? Anyone you really like? Any wasted picks/reaches that you have seen?
GilChristfan: Oh, I've already vented enough on the draft. But if it were me, I would have taken Bunkley at 8 and eitherCharles Spencer or Winston Justice in the 2nd. (or, if the rumors about Denver offering an extra second, I would have jumped on it). Between Spencer and Justice, I would have probably taken Spencer, just because he would have played guard for us and we needed interior line help.
Its not so much that we reached for anyone, its how it all happened. Because we didn't take Bunkley or Ngata (did you see that fat pig's interception return Sunday? They guy just stopped and ran out of bounds after 50 yards!), we then needed a DT, so we had to trade one of our thirds for McCargo.
I think we could have had a stud DT and a stud OL. and I think the draft was deep in safeties, so we could have waited till the 2nd or third for one.
But its done, Marv never listens to me anyways.
Ned: The Bills defense. How do you think it will do? What are its major strengths? Weaknesses?
GilChristfan: I've said this before. I think alot of people go a little nuts extolling the virtues of the "Tampa 2". It can be a good defense, obviously, but if the personnel isn't there, it can really give up some chunks of yards. Its suseptible to traps, counters and other misdirection plays too. I think you saw a little of that against New England, alot of the big gains were cut backs or counter plays. They did great against the Jets in the run game, but the Jets can't run anyways. We'll see though. I like the speed.
Ned: The Bills offense. Do you think Willis will crack the 1200 mark? Does the OL still suck or suck as bad as last year?
GilChristfan: Getting rid of Bennie Anderson made it better by subtraction. Its still no more than average to below average. One of the big problems last year was the inability to pick up a blitz. Some of that is the Oline, but alot of that goes to the blocking back, and I don't think Shelton is that great of a pass blocking back. Good run blocking back, but not so good at picking up the edge guy, or even a guy coming through the middle. It hasn't been adressed.
As to Willis, I'd be happy if he picked up a few hundred more yards recieving than last year. Did you see the screen/swing pass when he reversed direction? Beautiful, and if he stayed outside, he would have gone to the house. But as much as everyone talks about how he needs to hit the hole better, (he does), he also needs a little more of the "screw it, I'm heading for the open field" attitude.
But if you want a prediction, 1300 yards, plus 400 recieving and about a dozen TDS. And at least 5 runs of over 40 yards.
Ned: How is the hottest woman on the planet, other than your wife which is the obligatory answer? LOL
GilChristfan: Watch the latest version of Catwoman, nuff said. Can I mention porn stars here? Tia Bella. A freakin' babe, great in 3 some scenes.
Ned: Which veteran from last year do you think has shown the most improvement from what you have seen in camp and preseason?
GilChristfan: Well, we don't have a lot of veterans left, apparently. And if you count Spikes, who went from not being able to walk, to causing a sack, fumble and defensive TD on his first play back, well, I don't know how you beat that. But maybe Ryan Denney, who's finally getting into the backfield for a change. (the bile is coming up in SweetLee's throat right now.)
Ned: What is wrong with Buffalo and its inability to grow economically and develop the region? What would you do?
GilChristfan: If I knew, I'd change it. Its such a combination of things. Attitude, business as usual, overgovernment, climate, competition from other cities, its tough to blame it on any one thing. They should have formed a metropolitan form of government 20 years ago, if nothing else, to get away from business as usual.
The last time I thought Buffalo would make an actual comeback was the mid-80's, when Jimmy Griffin was mayor. OK, he was a bit of a nutcase, but he didn't try to stand in the way of either public or private development. But when the federal government offered $300 million to build a subway, he didn't sit around arguing about a bunch of small strokes, he pushed it through. When the state offered to build a baseball stadium, he didn't do 10 years of studies. He DID take some advice from Steinbrenner, and not build a dome, and though few realize it, Dunn Park (then Pilot field), was a precursor for Camden Yards and the one in Cleveland. They realized how nice Pilot Field looked, and how it blended in with the surrounding architecture, and then took the idea and ran with it. Griffin was also one of the best cheerleaders for Buffalo that I'd ever seen.
But in the end analysis, if you can't get businesses to invest in Bufalo, it won't go anywhere. You can't expect to fund public projects with a shrinking tax base, not when you can't keep your county parks open. How they get the businesses is anyone's guess, but I question how actively they pursue them and what incentives they offer to come there. Plenty of other cities are doing it.
Ned: What are your opinions on the Patriot Act?
GilChristfan: One of the hottest contested provisions, the idea that the government can get your reading lists from the local library, or back trace the public computer terminal at the public library are 2 things I don't really have a problem with. I don't because I don't think someone has an expectation of privacy on a public computer terminal, and I don't think they should have an expectation of privacy in it. On the other hand, I have some problems with the "sneak and peek" searches, where you aren't notified for up to 90 days that the government has been rummaging through your house. If they want to intrude, they can tell you afterwards.
Ned: Who is the best addition to the Bills, in terms of value, via FA, waivers, and the draft? Why?
GilChristfan: In terms of value, Kyle Williams hands down. Coastal gets props for calling that one.
Ned: Which (starting) O-lineman scares you the most. That is, which one is going to get JP killed? Anyone on the wire that you would sign to replace him?
GilChristfan: My Adopt-a-Bill Terrance Pennington. From what I saw in preseason, he's not ready yet. The odds are, with injuries to Olineman as common as they are, that he takes the field at some time this season.
Ned: What do you think of Parish and Everett? Are the overrated? Underrated? What about the Lee Evans signing? Your thoughts?
Ned: Any final thoughts or comments?
GilChristfan: When do we get to see pics of Sukie's shrine to the Bills?