Because I have a dream, I work lots of extra hours every week as a freelance writer. Some would call it moonlighting. Freelance writing is supposed to be one of the gateways by which you can get a steady, healthy job somewhere as a writer and/or reporter. But there is a paradigm shift happening in the world of media, where no one -- literally no one -- seems to fully understand or is capable of accurately predicting what things like "journalism", "reporting", "media" and so on actually mean going forward. The things that a reporter learned in a School of Journalism in 1992 are hardly true today. The things I learned in Media Communications -- a field of study designed specifically to combine the tents of journalism with the future of "new media" are out dated now, even though I set out on that venture less than ten years ago.

Everybody is mostly just a stick in the wind. 

I was inspired to write this because of Heather B.'s excellent piece on this site about the quality of our discourse with the "legacy" media, because of an excellent piece on Salon about the convergence of old and new media at the Final Four, and because I've found that, when I count it all out, my favorite sportswriters in this country all come from different backgrounds with different beginnings. It's left me feeling like there was no-one-way to get to the place I want to be. 

Still, in some circles of the old media, people like myself and like others who choose to contribute to sites like this are looked down upon as uninformed wannabes, journalist troglodytes -- jealous and pithy and lacking credibility. 

Those feelings have brought out the worst in all of us. I'm disappointed in some or many of these things. Not in the central point of them (I do believe that the thesis of everything I've written stands up), but rather in how I'd chosen to communicate them. Somewhere along the line, I'd decided that in the 14th months or so I've spent on Twitter, I wasn't going to be better than the lowest common denominator of both the fans and media who choose to bicker with one another. I spent a few moments feeling bad about that, and then I decided I wanted to start changing it.

Man, it's safe to say I've been through some rough times lately when it comes to my sports life. And seeing as we all likely share the common fate of rooting for those damn Buffalo sports teams for all eternity, none of us can be feeling very good right about now.

We all know the stories.

When it comes to blogging and Tweeting, I'll shoot the sh#t about mostly anything. Movies, TV shows, jokes and snark. You name it, I'll tweet it.

However, when it comes to wrestling, I'm a tad shy about it. Alright, I'm embarrassed about it. I'm embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. It is the one TV series that if you admit you like, it means you are probably a dork. Maybe you're a cool dork. But you are without a shadow of a doubt a dork.

Bye weeks: what a terrible concept.

Weeks 5-11 are by far the toughest weeks a fantasy owner can endure.

One week you're playing with Aaron Rodgers, Matt Forte and Roddy White and the next thing you know, you're stuck filling the voids in your lineup left by the bye week with a bunch of scrubs you managed to scrape up out off the bottom of the waiver bin.

It's during these weeks that the true contenders are separated from the pretenders. Roster decisions and depth can make or break your season.

This week, I tried to focus on a bunch of guys I like most to fill in those slots to replace your starters and, hopefully, cure your bye-week blues.

(Editor's note: SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON ONE!  I MEAN, IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU BUT STILL, JUST IN CASE. There also appears to be a spoiler for the last season of Boardwalk Empire.  I don't care about that but hey, you might.  Yeah, YOU. -HB)

After the god awful season finale of Boardwalk Empire left me wanting to hang myself, I wanted to pick up a new series. I think a lot of it had to do with me being so down about Jimmy Dormody dying that I needed to take my mind off of my favorite character going to hell.

I'm weird when it comes to adapting to new shows. I'm always skeptical about it and whenever someone tells me, "This show is great! You gotta watch!" I'm usually unresponsive. Just a blank stare and maybe a nod followed by a "Really?"

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to start this week off by airing a little gripe I had about ESPN this week.

As you all know, the NFL decided not to fine Jim Harbaugh or Jim Schwartz this week for their little mishap over the weekend.

Which was the right call.

---A lot has been made about Ryan Miller's comments about being upset with the Sabres trading Paul Gaustad. As I wrote on Twitter, I didn't think it was that big of a deal as star players tend to voice their displeasure whenever a teammate leaves. It was done when Bruce Smith complained about Darryl Talley leaving and I'm sure multiple players and coaches weren't happy when Briere and Drury bounced. This is the same guy he's shared a locker room with for almost 10 years dating back to their days in Rochester. Yes, he's going to miss his little buddy. Is that wrong? I think the people who were displeased about his comments were either media members who have grown tired of dealing with Miller on a everyday basis (Hell, I think the only media guy who likes him is Bucky.) or fans who just don't like him. Sorry, but if Derek Roy said this, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Also, unless they trade the first round pick, the draft pick won't be up in Buffalo until probably 2015. By then, Miller will probably be gone.

They are who we thought they were.

Or so it appears, anyways, after the Bills' first loss of the season has left a sour taste in some fans' mouths.

I wonder what Dennis Green thinks of the Bills' 3-1 start.

They were the league's biggest surprise so far until they ran into the Bengals last week perhaps a little too over-confident.

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Everyone has a bucket list. I'm sure some or most of you have a sports bucket list like I do. Rose Bowl, Super Bowl, NBA Finals Game, World Series are on my list, and up until this past weekend the NBA All Star Saturday Night was on that list, and why not? It has pageantry, celebrities, famous athletes, and NBA Superstars doing ridiculous things. Growing up there was nothing I looked more forward to then the Three Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest. Jordan, Wilkins, Spud, Ceballos blindfolded, Dee Brown pumping up the Reeboks, Vince Carter, Larry Bird, Craig Hodges,

and.......... Jeremy Evans.

Who?

Exactly.

As a kid, I was good at a lot of sports. Not great -- not "this kid is a prodigy" -- but good. Passable at everything I did, at worst. One of my college buddies referred to me as a "natural athlete", you know, I could pick up a stick or a ball and just play. I liked that about myself. I came to terms with the fact that I was never going to be great at sports when I was pretty young, but being good -- just good enough -- was a great social achievement and I think a decent way to grow up for any American boy. I was never a "jock", as it were, or one of the rich kids with thousand dollar equipment and personal training sessions. I didn't wear a Letterman jacket and the pretty girls never hung out with me because I was a star this-or-that. But when it came time to play a pick-up game in the park, or for gym class, I could hold my own.

It's funny how that worked out and how that shaped me and, I think, lots of kids as they grow up. I initially fell in love with hockey for two reasons: 1) It is cold all the time in Buffalo, so everyone loves it. 2) Buffalo had a team that was good enough most of the time. Just like me. Football was sort of unique. I grew up around the time that the Buffalo Bills were really good. My very first memory of the Buffalo Bills is my family huddled around the television, most of them on things that weren't actually chairs, as Scott Norwood missed the field goal. I was sitting behind my family on a couch, a few feet back. They had crowded the TV so much that I didn't get to see most of the game and thus don't remember it. But I remember seeing the field goal. It was almost like a sea, parting. I'm sure in my head I've invented much of that now from what I've devised from replays. But there it is.