This is what I’m thinking:

* And the winner in Sunday’s head-to-head match-up between the Buffalo Bills on Channel 7 and the Emmy Awards on Channel 2 is…

 The Emmys.

 But not by much, especially when you consider the Emmys were live and the Bills’ 35-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Saturday night was on a one-day tape delay.

 The Emmys averaged an 11.3 rating on Channel 2, which was only slightly lower than the 12.5 rating last year’s award show had when it aired three weeks later when there were more potential viewers and it wasn’t competing with  Bills game.

The Bills’ win over the Bengals averaged a 9.8 rating, which was more than double the 4.1 rating a tape-delayed preseason game had a year ago on Channel 7.

 At 10:15,  just before the big awards were given out, the Emmys only held a slim edge with an 11.4 rating to the 11.3 rating for the Bills game.

The TV ratings this summer for the Bills have been so much higher than a year ago that the perception that interest in the team is down seems way off-base.

Of course, the Bills game with the Bengals benefited from the knowledge that the Bills had performed well and that first-round pick C.J. Spiller is living up to or exceeding expectations at running back.

* It was amusing to hear Channel 2 anchor John Beard say on “Daybreak” this morning that the station “had learned” that bail for Riccardo M. McCray, who is charged with murder in the Main Street shootings, had been set at $500,000.

 As many people undoubtedly learned, the bail story is on top of page 1 of this morning’s Buffalo News.

Sources tell me that there were no TV or radio stations at the bail hearing. I’m not saying this is the case, but stations routinely take information in the newspaper and claim it as their own without attributing it to the News or its reporters.

 * NBC used the Emmy Awards Sunday to showcase its talent and its new fall shows. I’m sure much of America was wondering “who the heck is Joel McHale” when the “Community” star appeared in the opening “Born to Run” number. I’m also guessing many Americans don’t know the low-rated “Community” even is on the air.

 * As far as the new shows, I’ve seen them all and wasn’t wowed by any of them. However, that is a subject for a later blog. The promos for the conspiracy series “The Event” with Jason Ritter (John’s son, see above) explained more things than were explained in the hour pilot. Unfortunately, they also give away some surprises, too. But NBC’s promo department is known for doing that.

 pergament@msn.com

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