jimmy10

What a whiny little b#tch. I can't believe he has "Globe Staff" next to his name in the byline and not "Guy From Internet Message Board."

We got to talking about best/worst acts ever during the halftime show last night, so I looked up the historical list of Super Bowl halftime shows on Wikipedia. What's funny is it seems XXV was the first time they went for some big-time pop act, New Kids on the Block. Up until then it was a lot of wholesome no-name acts like marching bands, Up With People, stuff like that. So that raises the question: Can we blame New Kids on the Block for filling the stadium with so much suck, it drew Norwood's kick wide right?

Exactly. And even the Patsies, who gave up a bazillion yards and points per game in the regular season, (while scoring a bazillion and a half themselves) clamped down in the post-season and gave up a lot less yards and points. Can't remember the stats, but they did reference it during the game yesterday. Like they say: Pitching wins championships. Defense wins championships. Improve the defense, and the offense starts to look a whole lot better. Is Fitzpatrick on his way to Canton? Certainly not. But sweet jebus, we can't upgrade every single unit to A+ talent instantly all at once. Fitzpatrick has demonstrated he is at least serviceable. Get a healthy offense around him, and a defense that can actually get off the field, and then let's see where we stand.

I lived in Boston for a while in the early 2000s. One reason they're the ultimate bandwagon sports town is there's about 50 colleges and universities within the immediate area of the city. So you have a population of 18-22 year old knuckleheads constantly turning over every 4 years. "Woo-hoo! None of us lived here four years ago, and none of us will live here four years from now! Pats 4 Life!" Loozahs.

What's been interesting is watching prices fall on Stubhub. Asking prices for nosebleeds the week after the conference championships were starting at $2,500. Now those same prices just went below $1,400 and have been dropping since this morning. it definitely moved the possibility of going to the Super Bowl from "no f'ing way" to "eh, maybe throw it on the credit card and pay it off over a few months," especially if it were a chance to see the Bills.

Well, my takeaway from this cracked rib business is, if true, I'm very much looking forward to next season. Fitz was lighting it up with the best QBs in the league before the injury in his first season as full-time starter WITH a holdout-shortened offseason. There was a glimmer of hope there for even the most jaded fans. Another decent draft, avoid the injury bug, and who knows what next season has in store? I know I'm looking forward to it! Let's Go Buffalo! (But first let's all enjoy watching Brady get whipped like a rented mule tonight. Hopefully.)

This makes sense to me. He went from Hero to Zero at the flip of a switch. Cool story time: I live in NC and I met a dude a few months ago who played football at Wake Forest, and then was in the NFL for a little while as a kick/punt returner. (can't remember his name, it's pissing me off.) Anyway, he said, and I swear I'm not making this up, he never got spooked by big hits until he he got laid out once by London Fletcher. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before, and it was at that moment he decided he didn't want to play in the NFL anymore. He was a borderline player anyway, so it's not like he had a big career ahead of him. So he said "f this, I'm done," and got into the business world.

That's a popular argument, but it's simply not true that all schools with D1-A programs are rolling in dough. In 2010, it was reported that only 22 of 120 of them turned a profit for their schools. I can't link because I'm on my phone right now, but just google "college athletics profit" and all the info is out there. I also happen to work in fundraising for one of those big time universities, and while it's an unpopular stand to take in my workplace, it's true. Very often, schools with related hospitals and health systems see much more money coming in from that side than from athletics.

He's gotta take a blustery stand, to keep all the pissed off boosters and alumni happy. It is ridiculous, though. Just speaks to what big time college athletics has become. A license to print money on the backs of "student athletes" (a ridiculous term in its own right, coined by the NCAA). They should nuke D1 college athletics as they currently are and create true minor leagues for the NFL and NBA. Then keep college athletics for true amateurs and funnel the cream of the crop (ie genuine pro prospects) into the development leagues and pay them. Keep big time money out of college athletics and the slimeball element is greatly reduced. It'll never happen, though. Can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.

I remember reading an article a few years ago with tips on getting Super Bowl tickets "cheaper." One way, if you didn't care who was playing, was to go to a Super Bowl that had repeat teams in it, the logic being just what's happening here: Tickets will be easier to come by if all the rich bandwagoners have had plenty of chances to go in recent years. Can you imagine the next Super Bowl the Bills are in? Tickets will be impossible to find at any price. A buddy of mine and I, we both grew up in ROC and live in different parts of the country now. We have a pact to both go to that game no matter what the cost. Along those lines, I've also known people who have gone to the Super Bowl and "saved" money by buying single seats.

Ha, a brand new coach having to hitch his wagon to an almost-40 QB working on his fourth neck surgery? Definitely wouldn't want to be that guy.

I think the point is the first half is when it's anyone's game, and you're going with your game plan, so statistically speaking, you're getting a better picture of what you have as a team. The second half will tend to show a lot more statistical anomalies because a team is usually either trying to catch up (pass more) or protect a lead (run more), and there's always garbage time in there too.

Good god, another Boston/NY blahblahblah. I'm rooting for a meteor.

Thanks guys. That's about what I figured, but wondered if it was in stone yet.

Do we know the exact dates of training camp yet? We're looking at a trip up to ROC at the end of July this year and would like to work in a visit to Fisher if possible.

Per this morning's news, and the front page of TBD, the portion of the $84 million Cuomo was talking about was a final $2.9M annual installment already committed like 15 years ago by Pataki. LOL politicians. This is why I don't vote anymore. They're all just completely full of ****.

Has free agency even begun? Chill the F out, we need depth.

Burn the rubble!

Welp, I'm done. It's a beautiful 65 degree day here in NC, so I'm going to go play with my son in the yard. See you all next year!

Spiller's a bust. Ralph is cheap.

LoL, of course the Colts are beating the Thumbtacks.

On the bright side, some of the kids are having good moments today. Loved some of those hits by Williams, Dareus. Rogers has some serious wheels.

I agree with most here. Hard to argue with the logic, but winning cures all.

Yeah, Golick was talking on Mike and Mike this morning about how many (including himself) are not happy with how "soft" the league is becoming in many ways. BUT, as he says, them's the rules, and if Harrison insists on continuing to play this way, he is hurting his team. Indeed, if I was a Steelers fan, after wiping the drool off my chin and adjusting my velcro sneakers, I'd be very upset with Harrison and the impact of his stubbornness.

Pretty much this. No doctor prestigious enough to have professional athletes as patients would risk it all by violating HIPAA and blabbing protected health information to your girlfriend's sister's neighbor's cousin. And if he did, the hammer could and should be brought down on him.