Stranded in Boston

Thanks a lot, Hapless; refreshing to see some real science here. I know you asked for no more Covid-19 posts, but your message is important, and I'd like to back you up. Politics and sports aside, Sars-CoV2 is very real and very deadly, especially to the elderly and others with weakened immune systems or serious pre-existing conditions. We all know someone with such a condition. I had an internist (and old friend) from Buffalo General Hospital present (remotely) to my medical school class a few weeks ago, and she was fairly shell-shocked with what she had seen and dealt with in clinic. Things have also been rough here in Boston-area hospitals. Sars-CoV2 is absolutely NOT a "common cold" virus. This is unambiguous: Hapless explained nicely how RNA viruses (including Covid variants) can be precisely "fingerprinted" using reverse transcriptase polymerase-chain reaction (RT-PCR; look up on Wikipedia if interested; actually quite a simple idea). So I want to echo Hapless' appeal to please not spread misinformation! If you think you have some hot take, then please share your peer-reviewed journal citation, and maybe also your scientific/medical credentials. (And yes, for what it's worth, I am a bona fide medical researcher -- and I expect Hapless is as well.)

Hey Kirby, I like Knox a lot, but that kid Gesicki for Miami is really tough. Hopefully Dawson catches up to him soon!

"Thanks" for the memories Chander#81! I forgot about that Playgirl gig, LOL. But what a great player. Folks might forget that there were a few *especially* grim years in Bills history (76-77) -- truly the dark ages -- when we found out, for example, why Gary Marangi was a *backup* QB. Bobby Chandler was practically the Bills entire offense those seasons. He could be double, tripled covered and come up with the ball. Such precise route running, and those incredible hands.

LOL ... right on. I remember one game when Ken Jones was a rookie (against Jets?) where he had three holding calls. The next day the Buffalo Evening News Sports Page had a little picture of Jones with the caption "the goat". But he ended up having a solid 10+ year career with the Bills. Also, did you also catch the Offside call on Fred Smerlas at the end of the first half? At least he jumped off on that play. Usually he'd get the "lined up in the neutral zone" call -- while lined up directly over the center! It used to drive me and my brothers crazy. And then he'd just stand there with that dumb look on his face, pointing that big ol' grizzly bear arm of his towards the offensive line, waiting for the refs to sort it out ... Good times, man. edit: Smerlas jumped Offside TWICE in that same drive! 😂

Yeah, Butler was just fantastic -- smooth, fast, strong, crafty and great hands. With him and Cribbs, we thought the Bills were set on offense for years to come. Then Butler blew out his knee, and Cribbs flew the coop. 😑

What a game ... But that Bobby Humphrey was a real mystery. The Bills had no answer for him . He looked like a future Hall of Famer his first couple seasons, but then maybe he held out(?), and after just sort of disappeared. But I also recall he was on the Bills preseason roster some seasons later.

I've read Shaughnessy's stuff for 35 years since I moved from Buffalo to Boston. He's a decent baseball writer, but doesn't know jack about football. I think he must have been drinking when he wrote that. For what it's worth, I've been wearing my Bills hat for my daily quarantine walks here -- along with my amazing new Bills Zubaz mask that an old friend from back home just sewed for me! -- and if the locals comment at all, they're saying, "Bills are looking good this year"; "Bills are going to win AFC East with Brady gone", etc. The tide is turning ...

Call me a homer, but my all-time favorite juke move was by Jerry Butler against the Colts back in 1981. Chandler#81 posted this video a few weeks ago (thanks Chief!), and I saw the play again for the first time since, well, 1981, I imagine! Check out around the 5:00 mark. Such a shame Butler blew out his knee so early in his career... what a receiver.