dpberr

...if the coaching staff has the courage and conviction to make adjustments at halftime to "the" plan.

This Russian story/narrative sounds like an episode of 24 where the Russians are set up as the bad guys but aren't and it is revealed around episode 8, that the bad guys are somebody else entirely. This It's the terrible Russians "story" has always smelled.

FEMA has had everyone with dams from the Corps to the state out to expensively test, probe and model the spillways because in their opinion, the spillways are the weak points because of flawed or outdated engineering, hydrology or the safety factors built into the spillways. It's like looking at the concrete and steel in a parking deck or a building - can you see the failure before it happens? Dam issues aren't new - it's a big problem in the US. However, this situation is dramatic and has drawn attention to the issue. In some cases, the engineering, hydrology and the safety factors considered for auxiliary and emergency spillways were flawed from the start or outdated. In the case of this Oroville dam, it appears that the state did none of the above or ever attempted even a minor flow test of the emergency spillway. Of course this begs another question - if they tested this primarily earth emergency spillway and it failed, and it led to catastrophe, would that actually have been worse situation? In a way, they have dangerously built something they have no evidence of knowing it'll work when it needs to.

"How can they use the emergency spillway if the elevation hasn't reach it yet. Just like your bathroom sink. Water won't go down the hole to the drain if it can't reach it." Interesting question. I suppose you'd have to look back at points since 1968 and see if there was the opportunity to test it. I'm surprised that the state never tested an emergency spillway on a flood control dam. The Army Corps routinely conducts emergency spillway and gates on their dams.

This dam,like many others was more than likely designed for flood protection primarily after some apocalyptic flooding in the 1950s where the flooding was the heaviest on record. I know that sounds bizarre considering the bad drought the state has been in, but it wasn't always that way. https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/1137f/report.pdf I understand your idea - they'd essentially need to pump it to above ground or below ground storage tanks.

Owens should be in the Hall of Fame. They blew it. I watched the Eagles/Patriots Super Bowl from 2004. Owens, essentially playing on one leg, kept the Eagles in that entire game. I've never understood the Terrell Owens hate, especially from Bills fans. He played hard when he was here and treated the fans and area well.

John Wick is the best role of his career. He fits that character. The Wick movies are interesting. The Russian mobsters are overdone villains at this point IMO, but the little plot devices and the "world" the movies have made from the hotel to the various outfitters is a neat touch. I applaud Reeves because he does a serious amount of weapons training to make it legit. He'd probably win a 3-gun competition with little problem.

There's probably some hubris at play there - they feel they control the entire area and everyone in it. What marveled me about the explosives is how complicated it looked. That was some real deal wiring know-how. All that was missing was it being run by a gold watch.

I have a problem with the state never using the emergency spillway - ever. The dam has been around since 1968 and doesn't it make sense to use it and test it at least once a decade or something?

Talented, yes. Talent is like energy, however. The IT is about turning potential to kinetic. That's where the separation exists.

I have no doubt there was a Buffalo-area fortune teller sitting alongside Brandon since he was told they are "determining" futures. #analytics

What's an example of an anti-sports guy? Is that a millennial generation thing? I know guys who aren't necessarily into professional sports but are avid fishermen, hunters, golfers, outdoorsmen, beer league softball MVPs, etc. Does that count?

I disagree that the Bills comeback is now #2 behind last night. The Bills not only had a bigger deficit to overcome but overcame it with a backup quarterback and not in the comfort and predictability of a domed stadium.

Makes you think doesn't it? I think some of the lack of historical awareness is due to the fact that reporters today were just kids in the 80s or hadn't even been born yet. Relations with Iran are awesome compared to the mid-1980s. The Israelis conducted a secret raid to take out a nuclear installation in Iraq that pissed a lot of people off. The Russians? Able Archer nearly started WWIII, the Berlin Wall, Russians boycotting Olympics, Star Wars - especially before Gorbachev, things were far more tense than they are today between Reagan and the USSR. Libya? Reagan sent jets to assassinate Qaddafi in retaliation for a bombing of a disco where two US servicemen died (Operation El Dorado Canyon) This occurred after a clash between the US and Libya in the Gulf of Sidra where the Libyans had high casualties. We didn't get overflight rights from Spain, Italy or France - our NATO allies - so the mission required a near record amount of mid-air refueling at that point. I guess my point is that folks freak out over some aggressive phone calling and press conferencing and forget how tense and bloody the 1980s were.

I learned when you misspell sailors, you get soldiers. And...if you don't go back and check...

Things with Iran used to be much worse. This is just talking in wrestler voice compared to the 1980s. In the 1980s Iranian revolution embassy siege in 1979 Hezbollah bombing of USMC barracks in Lebanon in 1983 Hostages held by Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah (all Iranian backed groups in Lebanon) Funding Iraq in the Iraq/Iran war Iran/Contra Operation Earnest Will (protection of tankers in the Gulf from Iranian mines and aggression) USS Samuel Roberts incident Operation Praying Mantis USS Stark incident (Iraqi jet fires two Exocet missles, 37 soldiers dead) Shooting down of Iran Air 655 by the USS Vincennes ...and that's just the public information.

I don't buy either part of this story. I don't think the Cowboys will release or trade Romo and I don't think the Bills are interested in him even if available. Romo is Jerry's successor as GM of the Cowboys. The guy is like an adopted son to Jones.

This is an awesome thread idea. Original Tastykake recipes for their entire line. Non-ethanol gasoline at every station

Johnson wasn't the backup, Flutie was. That's what made the choice to put RJ back into the lineup for the MCM perplexing to say the least after the season DF had in 1999.

Plenty of examples for this quiz but an obvious one if I understand it correctly. Doug Flutie, Buffalo Bills Perhaps the greatest example would be Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams.

Labrum and hernia injuries are wear and tear injuries. Much like MLB teams have to be wary about drafting pitchers with worn out arms that require almost immediate TJS, it looks like NFL teams have to pay more attention to these players who have played so much football in high school and college that by the time the pros roll around, they are already needing maintenance and repair surgeries before they take the field as a professional. There is a difference between the Hooker and Lawson surgeries IMO. Lawson chose not to get the surgery immediately whereas Hooker did. I think that's a smart move.

This is a great post. Great review. Since no good deed goes unpunished, could you do the same for a couple other positions that seem to interest the board - say Safety and WR?

I don't know why Rex did this interview. It did not serve him or his future interests well, IMO. The article makes Rex Ryan sound far more erratic and babbling than I thought he was as a person. The emotions and the thought process are all over the place.

It is laughable that there is this apparent worldwide feeling that "they" (as in the rest of the world) are entitled to enter the United States whenever, however they choose to do so. IMO, I think there is/was something brewing and Trump wasn't going to sit back and have his own 9/11 three months into his Presidency.

Why wouldn't Lorenzo Alexander fit the McDermott defense? Honest question - interested in that perspective.