R. Rich

Recruiting woes had more to do w/ the uncertainty of JoePa's future than the future of the players. He couldn't guarantee he'd be there when the kids would graduate, so he lost quite a few to other schools. He has signed an extension that gives him some stability and makes it a bit easier to recruit good players. The last couple of years have been very good recruiting years for Penn State, and it will only get better.

Any TBDers in the area who are interested are welcome to come. I only ask that you bring an item w/ you, such as a side dish, chips, dessert, drinks, or something else we all can enjoy. If you do not wish to provide something, then please donate some cash which can be used to buy us all beer, food, or supplies. I will have some things (hot dogs, chicken, a few burgers), but I'm hoping everyone who shows up will contribute something. That will lessen the costs for me. We'll start around noon and finish up whenever. If you are interested in coming, please PM me to let me know what you will be bringing. That way, we won't have a bunch of folks bringing the same thing. See you on August 6th.

Dierdorf just got on my nerves w/ him saying everything was "the greatest ever..." when he was on MNF. Maguire is funny. I like him. I still love when he was busting Phil Simms' chops during one preseason game: Simms: "Detmer looks like he's been bulking up." Maguire: "Ahhh, he went from 184 to 185." I love that one!

Cool. My brother and I will be there. I hope we get a chance to meet you guys.

Congrats on the new job/house! I'm hoping to get a new job myself (applied for 4 jobs-each would be a promotion). If you decide to go to the Jets, Chiefs, or Broncos game, I'll see you there. Otherwise, we'll have to meet up like last season. BTW, did you ever get the pics I took of you and your family?

It isn't that JoePa won't play freshmen, as you saw last year w/ Dan Connor and as you'll see that this year w/ Derrick Williams and Justin King. He'll do it if he has one worth starting. Recruiting has been a problem in recent years, especially in the skill positions, but hopefully w/ the Williams signing, that will be a thing of the past.

I do like to have stability in my RBs, but, as I said before, I do NOT draft RBs just for the sake of drafting them. If I have the 7th pick in the draft and the top RBs are off the board, I will not take Domanick Davis over Peyton Manning or Moss or Marvin Harrison, as I use my top pick on the best scorer I can get. Now, if I can get a stable RB w/ my 2nd pick and there's no QB or WR that scores as well, I take him. It works for me, just as I'm sure your strategy works for you. I never worry that much about the RBs, as I can usually supplement my RBs well in free agency (as I did last year w/ Goings), since there's always going to be someone who comes out of nowhere to peform well, or someone who fills in and does a good job due to an injury. To each his own.

Greg Robinson is a very knowledgeable coach, especially on defense, where the Orange have a lot of talent returning. FS Anthony Smith looks to be a good one, and DE James Wyche could become a standout player for them on the line. Offensively, they do have some decent players returning in RB Damien Rhodes and QB Perry Patterson, but they're going to need a strong effort from their WR corps in order to succeed in the West Coast scheme they intend to use. I think they'll struggle in their first year under Robinson, but will lay the groundwork to once again become a force in college football.

To me, it's the best football game available. I'd take NCAA football any day over ESPN or Madden.

That's great, though I wonder why Mr Info isn't coming? I hope everything's okay. I met him and his family when I went down to RICHmond last season to watch a game.

You are nuts, JR.

Along the sidelines?

Yeah, maybe he's just a big baby like that other 'bellyacher', Korey Stringer, huh?

I agree, for the most part, on your take on McGahee. I was one of the critics of the drafting of McGahee, but he has shown that it wasn't a wasted pick. He definitely runs hard, is getting his quickness back (more so than his speed), and does not hesitate to do what is needed, whether it's a run to the outside, banging it in between the tackles, or picking up the blitz (needs work, but he's much better than Travis was @ this). He's a work in progress still, but you have to be enthusiastic @ how he performed last year, when all the pressure of coming back from the injury AND replacing Travis was on him.

Ty Cobb was great (as a player, certainly not as a human being), but Josh Gibson was just as great an athlete, and probably was better.

Shouldn't you explain what a book is? Tell 'em they can find out all about them on Google.

The Psycho already has one of those.

Good choice. Bubka was also pretty fast (ran in the 100 somewhere in the low to mid 10s, I think).

In order to win in the playoffs, Manning will need for his guys to show up. Every year, guys like Harrison disappear in the big games and every year, Manning is blamed. Maybe if they spend more time getting open rather than bitching about the way the defense is playing them, they'll get to a Super Bowl.

That's what I always love about fantasy drafts: people who go RB crazy. Last year, in one of my Yahoo! league, it allowed me to draft Randy Moss in the first (as I had the 7th pick and most of the top RBs were taken) and then take Manning in the 2nd round. I decided to go after top point scorers instead of just drafting RBs for the sake of drafting RBs. So what happened? I ended up getting some RBs late that weren't the best stat guys: Emmitt Smith, who contributed about 900 yards and 9 TDs for me, and some other broken down guy, Curtis Martin, who led the league in rushing. I also picked up Nick Goings during the season. By doing so, my team finished in 1st place. This was draft a mock draft; not one to stock a team. If it were, I'd love my chances w/ a team that has this many top scorers on it.

Offering your expert ANALysis, sir?

Chris, you will be in our prayers. I sure hope to see you this year @ the opener. If all goes well, maybe we both can get through this one w/out any medical care. No hernias, no sprained knees (damn fence!), and, most importantly, no cancer!! God bless you.

Well...........I guess we could throw Daley Thompson into the argument...

Great jersey though.

Wow gant. Is that list including athletes who performed before the 1980s? Just curious.