The Dean

Was there a tribute show today? I missed it. Never mind. Thanks, Jack,

No doubt. But it is what it is, and we know what we know. I can't imagine how many of the old school guys would have managed this new age of cameras everywhere and instant communication. Guys have to be extra cautious now. Maybe it isn't fair. Some might argue the insane salaries they now get isn't fair, either. But when you continue to engage in behavior that reflects poorly on your team, you put yourself in a position to be labeled as "selfish". Manziel got a lot of slack for his early indiscretions from the public and the NFL. "He's a kid, He'll learn." He also got almost no punishment for those indiscretions. On the one hand, I find it hard to believe he continued with the nonsense after being drafted and after the owner basically told him to knock it off. On the other hand, since he has never experienced any real consequences for his behavior, I guess is isn't that hard to believe after all.

There are a couple decent local places with reasonable prices, actually. Of the chains, I had a good steak recently at the Capital Grille. Last time I had a steak at Morton's I was disappointed, especially considering the price. It may seem crazy, but I find good Italian restaurants have consistently good steak. Maybe it's just the Italian restaurants I go to, but i don't think so. Plus if I can get a side of gnocchi, instead of fries or a baked potato, that's a real bonus. (Nothing against baked potatoes. Made one last night with a really nice pork chop.) But if beef is getting worse, it seems pork is on the upswing, IMO. And I love me some pork.

Comparing Kelly's cockiness to Johnny's arrogance is more than a stretch. Kelly was never a stone cold PUNK. But even if we accept that there was a small bit of Manziel in Kelly, his days of getting battered, and showing toughness, in the USFL seasoned him enough that by the time he got to Buffalo he had calmed down some. Perhaps the Bills were lucky he didn't come to the team straight out of college. Sure he was a bit rough in the bars (or so I'm told) but he managed to keep that stuff private for the most part, and never appeared to be above the team. If Manziel sits quietly for awhile longer, or if he gets his chance and performs well and keeps the public stupidity on the down low, then he might be worth a look, but not before. I'm never for taking a character risk as your face of the franchise QB. I think Manziel had "Character Risk" tattooed on his forehead in college. He is early in the process of removing it, IMO. Winston got the full body tattoo. I'm not sure than can be removed.

Love the Roger Ramjet avatar! Just WOW with regard to this story. Nothing more to say than, if it wasn't Winston, I'd dismiss it out of hand. I'm a bit of an FSU fan--that is, my nieces went there, and I live in Florida and despise the Gators--so by default I guess I'm a bit of an FSU fan. It's just that the kid has been involved with so many different moronic issues (some definately true, some speculative) it's hard to totally dismiss the possibility this may be true. I'll say the same thing I said with Johnny Football---PASS,. Let someone else draft him. Is it possible he will be good? Yes. But you simply don't bet the franchise on a character issue of that magnitude. i tell you what. If he's there in the 6th or 7th round, then fine, take a flyer.

I've seen the Applegate dogs, but have never tried them. In general though, the Appelgate stuff is pretty darn good. One of the things I should have mentioned is, I typically eat my hot dogs with no condiments at all. Just the dog in the bun. So, the flavor of the dog itself is very important to me. We have a local hot dog place here that make pretty bad dogs, to be honest. But with bacon and cheese sauce (we Niagara Falls folks know these as a Whistle Pig), they taste just fine. Another way I have found to enjoy a mediocre dog is to have it deep fried. I'd choose a charcoal grilled Sahlen, but deep fried is a way to make a bad dog taste OK, IMO. And yes, the quality of steaks in many restaurants has declined. Burgers, too, I've found. Makes me appreciate a good one all the more.

Can't say I'm a hot dog fanatic. But when I do have a hankering for a dog, I want a Sahlen cooked over charcoal the way Ted's does it. But they have to be the right Sahlen dog. I bought some down here in Florida and they weren't the natural casing. They were OK, but not what I was looking for. I see Hebrew National has a lot of fans here. I will say, for an all-beef hot dog, they are pretty good. But I like some pork in my hot dog. Nathan's are pretty bad. Probably should have had Sabrett's on the list. They aren't bad for a "dirty-water" hot dog.

It slays me to think 100 pasta meals is actually $1,500 worth of food. It simply isn't.

But Dr Oz said..... So, I shared my flu shot experience here, but I thought I'd add this little kicker. I saw my doctor again today and mentioned I got the flu several days after getting my shot. Now, keep in mind the shot was pretty much the default option ("You're getting a flu shot, right?") though I could have refused. Anyway, today my Dr. responds to my story of getting the post-shot flu. "That's why I never get one."

Still repackaging old shows as of this past Saturday. I listened on the drive to a client.

Seems like a reasonable and adequate deal, IMO. I do question the amount of time (and PR from both sides) it took to get to to this very reasonable decision.

Sad news. Funny guy, great show. RIP Tom.

Great stuff, Kelly. Thanks for sharing. I really like Whaley. BTW, are his eyes as buggy as they look in all the pictures? Maybe "buggy" isn't the word. He looks kind stoned most of the time.

I never trust the hotel clock, or the wake up call, to be truthful. Had too many blown wake up calls. I will request one, if it is vital, though. My cell phone serves as my alarm whether I'm home or on the road. So in a hotel, same thing.

Thanks, Nank. Great story. Some of the greatest talents are also the strangest. I don't know what it is about concert direction. This stuff is rehearsed well in advance and the shots should be plotted then, too. I can understand the bad decisions by fan-recorded concert video (though those also can drive me crazy, too) but not from professionals. With Pavarotti? That I got to see---or rather avoid if he is wearing them.

Everyone should check this out every year or two, IMO. James Brown. Pavarotti. Big ass orchestra. HUGE Italian crowd. Turn it up

Very nice. I love acoustic upright bass. But I also love the electric upright when Rob Wasserman plays it

Agreed. And if watching the body language of a player on the sidelines is any indication (it probably isn't) then EJ has a decent shot I think. He usually looks to be very involved in the game while on the sidelines. OTOH, Geno looked to be sulking and paying little attention. I understand that he just got pulled from the game, but it was an interesting juxtaposition. Yup. Just bizarre and confounding. Yup. Bitched a lot, yet had a lot of fun. Strange stuff.

I have to agree. I was plenty pissed at Watkins when it happened. But I immediately commented, "I think that's the last time Sammy will ever do that". Marrone said pretty much the same think in the post game presser. I have to admit, I was pissed off for much of the game by the Bills not simply putting this thing away early. It was as if the Jet's kept handing them the game, but the Bills were saying "no please, stay in this thing." The first two Jet's TD drives were mind numbing. The Bills had several turnover opportunities---then continued to let the Jets back into the game with missed tackles. And while Orton had a decent game, he took a couple sacks that I don't expect a QB with his experience to take. At least one put the Bills out of FG range. He definately had time to throw the ball away. But you know, I realized I was expecting too much from a career journeyman. And, finally, I decided to just enjoy the game and what was clear would be a win. And he did make the few plays that really counted in the end. And Bill, you know I respect you and find many (if not most) of your comments on the money. But do you REALLY think Williams was laughing about Woods being injured? Seriously? I can't possibly believe that was the case, even if he was in direct competition with Woods. With the exception of a few Jet's turnovers, this game played out completely different than I would have ever imagined. Had you told me the Bills would get two rushing first downs, nine total, and only 280 total offensive yards, yet score 43 points and win by 20, I'd have said you were crazy. But I have decided to just enjoy the win and be a happy idiot.

Just because you can't hear the broccoli scream...

Nice site. I was a big fan of Bramer's in Niagara Falls. I'm a bit surprised Pizza John's Knotted Bar (great food, too) or Anacone's (pool, jazz and a great hand-carved beef on weck) aren't mentioned on that site. As for "downtown" bars, I have to agree the Swannie is a nice spot. But probably not what the OP is thinking of.

I have to say, based on that article I think I really would like this guy.

Great news, if true. I will have to add a few to my vodka smoothies.

Exactly. PFF deals in analytic statistical analysis. Nothing more. It is what it is. They can provide insight and also mislead if used exclusively to make a judgement. I'm not sure why anyone would put complete trust in ANY statistic or, for that matter, choose to ignore all stat analyses because they sometimes seem to come to strange conclusions. For what it's worth, I believe PFF tweaks their formulas, from time to time, to try and get their stats to more closely resemble "objective" reality (if they don't, they should). The best advice I can give is, don't rely on any one source, or metric, to make decisions.

Great bass player with a great voice (at least when he was younger). RIP Jack.