THE SIDELINES : Buffalo’s No Joke to Residents

Buffalo-area viewers of Monday night’s NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets say a crack about the city during a halftime promotional spot was out of bounds.

The ABC television affiliate in Buffalo, WKBW-TV, today said it has received several calls complaining about a joke during a promotional spot for the ABC sitcom “Coach.”

In the spot, Jerry Van Dyke, the show’s co-star, comments to “Coach” star Craig T. Nelson that even if the Bills win, they have to go back to Buffalo.

“Even if you win, you lose,” Van Dyke said. “You still have to go home to Buffalo.”

“We have taken a significant number of calls from viewers, enough to tell you that people weren’t happy with it and didn’t feel that it was funny,” said John DiSciullo, WKBW’s promotional director.

Barry Kemp, chief writer and executive producer of the series, took responsibility for the remark and said it was “a thoughtless slip.”

“I will figure out some way of making it up to Buffalo,” Kemp said. “We’ll put something positive in the show to make it up.”