In-A-Gadda-Levitre

Anyone interested in what went on behind the scenes regarding Iraq prior to the surge should read this series in the Washington Post excerpted from Bob Woodward's new book The War Within.

your Salma link was ng, so I am obligated to provide another

maybe it's me, but I don't understand your post after the Obama slam. Who is it that we can't talk to after they meet our preconditions? And please explain North Korea to me... I could be wrong, but it sure looked like we talked to them (with others of course) without any preconditions.

this link had all the preseason games, not sure if real games will be on or not

ok, I got you, that makes sense, even though the FO will laugh hysterically at what nice guys Peter Parker were in 2008.

I have to admit, O'Reilly acted pretty professional and didn't just cut him off like he usually does when someone doesn't say what he thinks they should. Both got good points in at times. I'm intrigued to see what the rest of the interview sounds like. There's nothing wrong with spreading it out over a period of nights, it's just good media business.

woot, touche' Tom

Ok, I was with you until the last paragraph. Sorry, there's no way to classify holding out through the entire preseason, refusing to communicate, and showing up just before the season opener so you don't lose $191K as nice guys. It was selfish, and not in the same country as "nice". You can argue that it didn't hurt him financially, that it helped him, all that... time will tell. Maybe he will have more fan and locker room support next season if he holds out again, but that also remains to be seen. My guess is that he plays really well, the Bills offer him something south of $9.5M per year, he balks, and we begin again.

this is what I think happened. AC isn't a bad guy, he's in pain and IMO another doctor thought he should have surgery as the best option or said words to that effect. It's unfortunate he came to know this and/or decided at such a late date, but he's realizing that his knee is not going to get better without surgery, or at least that's what he's being told by the 3rd party.

pretty sure he's signed thru 2010 and his base is $3M this year. The Bills reworked his contract when they acquired him, cutting it by about $2M and some incentives that let him get most or all of that back if he delivers big.

damn good points!

:lol:

when asked did "Dr. Marzo handle this or did Angelo go to his own doctor" Jauron said "to this point it's been Bud our trainer and Dr. Marzo", meaning who has been treating him, as Angelo had decided to have surgery, had it not had been performed yet. Of course he went to another doctor for at least another opinion, otherwise there would have been no surprise at OBD.

all year, I assume you mean all of preseason...

I usually enjoy your posts as you appear to know football quite well and you have good insight on the players, but I think you way off on this. It's pretty clear that: a) the Bills FO have been monitoring the situation thru their medical staff, the Trainer and Team Doctor b) they have been talking to Angelo throughout training camp and the preseason about the condition of his knee c) through a) and b), they totally believed he was doing ok and working through a tough injury d) Angelo surprised them with his decision to have surgery, since this was not the case until yesterday or maybe the day before. how do you possibly concur that the Bills misread the communication, or the quality thereof? Unless you're talking about hindsight 20/20, which I think you are... They believed what they had been told! Maybe they should have had a plan B for more backup on the LB corps, but if your staff and the player tell you he's ok and you have lots of other depth concerns, you do the best you can under the circumstances, and sometimes you get caught shorthanded.

well, it's pretty clear to most people that a player's final contract year is critical to getting to the big payday. Maybe you don't see it that way...

Don't you get tired of regurgitating the same ole stuff? Copy & Paste must be working well for you. Brandon has made, what, maybe 4 public statements about Peters when asked by reporters? And this is public hissy fits? According to you, he should say No Comment every time he is asked.

umm let's see... he's on the last season of his contract and will be a FA after 2008. So, he gets zero chance to make plays and this doesn't hurt him? Seems like this is a critical season for him to show the Bills and the rest of the league what he's worth.

Jauron (basically) said Bud Carpenter and Dr. Marzo were involved on a regular basis, so it's pretty obvious they weren't the ones saying he needed surgery. So it looks like he got at least another opinion, which is certainly reasonable.

yeah, Angelo threw the Bills FO and teammates a curve ball. You could tell he was biting his tongue. They didn't see it coming, and Jauron told us the real truth. Bleed Bills Blue, would you rather he lie or spin the crap out of it? IMO, it doesn't look at all like the coaching staff or FO aren't watching the road; more about Angelo decided that was the best thing for him, and didn't give any hints or warning that it might go that way. Even his teammates said he was practicing and were very surprised he decided to have surgery. The real issue is should they have IR'd him? I can't figure out if it's punishment or they simply can't afford to hold his roster spot, given that they only have 5 LBs and Poz had a short term ankle boo boo.

if we think that America can be successful in the 21st century by becoming even somewhat isolationist or protectionist, we will self-destruct. We cannot expect to return to the past where manufacturing is our strength, because we cannot compete with third world countries, and depending on you define them, places like China or India. We need to invest and innovate, and be willing to export the production and outsource some other functions as necessary. Computer software is a good example. Japan or China can put 100s or 1000s of developers to work, and still not be able to build world class products, because you have to innovate and create something, not just make it cheaper, faster, or smaller. Even countries like India are not leaders in software, we merely outsource certain activities that more cost effective to produce outside the US. We might not like it, but companies make decisions that improve their balance sheet, and the cost of development and production are a huge factor. Tariffs and protectionist policies simply don't work in the global economy.

I can't speak for others, but I would No, absolutely not give him what he wants today. You cannot let star athletes hold a professional sports team for ransom like that. Players sign contracts and fulfill their obligations by showing up and playing their butts off. If the player's current contract is not adequate, then have your agent negotiate a new one. Winning is key, but not at any cost, especially in a small market team.

by extensive search, I meant I checked the Washington Post and Google, using several variations of that query. I agree, I said it was my bad, I should have opened the article

the success of china has more to do with their ridiculously low labor rate, that allows an obscene amount of exports vs imports. I am not passing judgment here, just that the USA could never compete on that basis and American companies will continue to outsource manufacturing to countries like China because of the bottom line.

actually my query was obama immigration bill site:washingtonpost.com and I missed that result, my bad. was it necessary to hurl insults?