Buftex

Yes... Matthews, who I probably disagree with more than anyone on MSNBC on certain things, is probably my favorite too....and I think Maddow is pretty good, but as you imply, sometimes I find myself thinking, mid-stream "oh my god, is she still trying to make the same point she was 10 minutes ago...we get it! And, if we don't, we probably aren't going to". As for "Mr Ed", no doubt, O'Donnell is a hell of a lot smarter...but you remember, way back when Olberman (not a fan for many of the same reasons as OD) left the network, O'Donnell was supposed to be the "1A" to Maddows #1 on the network...Schultz, only a smarter than Rev Al, was outrating O'Donnell consistantly with viewers....so they swapped their time slots. I think that speaks a lot to the appeal of O'Donnells sort of smugness...it just doesn't play well for a lot of people. Oh yeah....love Alex Wagner....yowza... smart and gorgeous! That is pretty much the schtick on all of these shows... I have no problem with "lib" or "neocon" monlogues...it is when the person doing the monologue makes themself part of the issue that it ruins it... only Colbert can do that flawlessly!

Marshawn and Willis! Imagine those two guys in your backfield? Thunder and lightening!

When I am puttering around the house, I often put on MSNBC and FOX in the background....usually a little of both every night. So, I see/hear a fair amount of all of them, including O'Donnell... as you know, I lean left, and there are some people, such as O'Donnell, who are just so smug (I don't think he is stupid), they undermine their argument... his purpose seems to be to inflame, rather than educate, humiliate rather than try to come to some real understanding. O'Donnell just too often banters on and has an agenda beyond party, and ideology...he loves him some "me", I just don't care for his style at all, even when I essentially agree with him on many things. He is practically frothing at the mouth sometimes, working himself into a fury with how clever he is. It just doesn't work for me...if I want that kind of entertainment, I tune into Bill Maher, who is much better at it. btw- I have gained new (actually "some") for Morgan.

I wish the idiots who are obsessed with getting Piers Morgan booted from the US would find some place to have O'Donnell booted to... he is insufferable. Even when I agree with him on so many things (at least in overall substance) he is just about as bad as it gets... would love for him to get the interim senate seat...and off my friggin' tv!

I don't know, it could be me...but you get the sense that maybe Cowher just wants his ass kissed, like it was in 2010 when a few teams (Bills included) were trying to lure him? It seemed he was linked to every opening in 2010, not as many in 2011, and I haven't heard one rumor about a team sending out feelers for him this off-season. That doesn't mean to say that nobody wants him, just that nobody is wasting their time trying to get him, and he misses all the attention he was getting as "this years high profile coaching candidate"...he was usurped from that role by John Gruden.

Also not sure why the OP assumes that Tom Donohoe was on "thin ice" two years before he was fired. I get that people don't like Mularkey, but to just make **** up to hammer home a point is just silly. Honestly, I think the guy has just had very bad luck. As one who thinks Mularkey was likely the best coach this team has had since Wade Phillips (not saying much, I realize), he was likely wise to bail on the Bills when he did. The firing of Tom Donohoe and the transition to Russ Brandon and Marv Levy as GM's was, to me, the darkest hours in modern Bills history...Brandon was not a GM, and Marv, much as I love him, was a horrid GM...the team was as dysfunctional as a franchise could be. So, he resurfaces a few years later, in Jackonville (where he lives) as head coach of a really bad Jags team. The new owner, the guy who hired him, is, by all accounts charismatic, forward thinking and enthusiastic. As it turns out, he, like, say, Dan Snyder before him, is also impatient, and not used to seeing immediate results when he throws down a lot of money. So, he fires the GM, and, as a result, Mularkey is left dangling.

FYI: did everyone realize that the Islanders are moving to Brooklyn for the 2015 season? I realize, the Islanders have been pretty awful for years...but that just doesn't seem right.

Yes..I recall that too. I saw the Cleveland Browns thing on the NFLN a few months ago, and I admit, I got pretty choked up during it. Part of of it is just the insane/illogical/irrational bond we have with our teams....and then there always seems to be the specter of the same thing happening in Buffalo. I always feel a little affection for the Browns and Bengals.

I have reservations about Haslett...he has burned bridges nearly everywhere he has been. I am curious as to what his issues are with Shanahan. As a player in Buffalo, and some of his coaching stops, he had a history of being part of divisive locker rooms. Maybe he has grown up some over the years...not sure. Just not sure if that is the kind of guy you want as the DC for a first time head coach.

Looking at their lineup of programs, it is hard to get too excited...Amy Lawrence, Doug Gottleib, and Scott Ferrall are just terrible...and they seem to pop up on every sports talk radio station. Don't see a lot of local Buffalo programing listed...

Yeah...we finally get a championship, and it comes with an *asterik! Wouldn't that be fitting? Oh well...nobody ever really mentions that two of the Redskins championship seasons came in shortened seasons! As for the shortened season, I think it might actually be good... being an NBA fan, I enjoyed the intensity of the shortened regular season they had a few seasons ago...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-lockout-over-players-owners-reach-tentative-cba-102905515--nhl.html The shortened season will begin sometime between 1/15- 1/19!!! New 10 year deal signed! Bills get a new coach, and a shortened NHL season...big morning for a quiet Saturday night in Buffalo!

How dumb will you all feel if Whisenhunt signs elsewhere?

Jay Leno is a douche.

Not down on CJ Spiller at all (who could be?), but those so quick to write off Fred Jackson are nuts... reminds me of Thomas Jones a few years back...he was consistently under-appreciated by the teams he was on throughout his career, but particularly late in his career, he dominated most weeks...same with Willis McGahee...no reason that Fred and CJ can't co-exist with competent play calling. There is still a lot of tread on Jackson's tires.

While I haven't seen any advance reviews of "Gangster Squad", and it is normally the kind of movie I would look forward to, the trailers I have seen kind of scare me a little...too many good people involved for it to be a dog...right? I think Sean Penn is a terrific actor, but he looks ridiculous in the previews. Hope my reservations are unfounded...

This may sound weird, but I remember when Jackson came back from that early injury, and Spiller had been ripping it up, I was thinking that Jackson was trying too hard to run like Spiller...he was trying to run and cut at a speed that made him awkward...

http://www.theinspiredsport.com/2011/04/tom-brady-the-labor-leader/tom-brady-uggs/

I had forgotten about that...but I think the issue between Mr Wilson and Jim Haslett goes even further than that... Haslett and Smerlas, great on the field, were an embarassment to the franchise, before embarassing behavior was more accessable, and just accepted as it is now. Also, IIRC, during one of the recent Bills coaching searches (there have been so many...I think it was when they hired Jauron), Haslett, who was out of a head coaching job, was lobbying for the job...he had his buddy, Fred Smerlas lobbying for Haslett (and himself) on national radio (Smerlas had a weekend gig on Fox Sports Radio at the time)...Smerlas was extolling the virtues of Haslett as a coach, and himself as a Bills color analyst...he was pretty obnoxious, and is Freds' style, couldn't help but get a bunch of digs in at the Bills franchise...when Haslett didn't get an interview, Smerlas really unloaded on the franchise, the city, and the owner... I realize that Smerlas is not Haslett, but there is a guilt by association with these two...also, there have been some pretty unsavory rumors over the years about Hasletts' embarassing, and unsavory behavior off the field, during his tenure as the Saints head coach. Even before that, as I recall, Haslett, as a player, popped off to the media, specifically about Ralph Wilson, when Chuck Knox left town... we all know, Ralph Wilson can hold a grudge for a long time. My favorite Bills teams of all time were the 1980 and 1981 Bills, which Jim Haslett was a big part of. With that the case, I still think the Bills are better off stearing clear of this guy. On the one hand, he would bring a toughness to the sidelines which seems to have been lacking for the last decade...but on the other, as a fan, I would rather have somebody on the sideline who is tough, holds players accountable, and doesn't act like an ass.

Really just hate their coach...I like Marshawn and Russell...great city....I get the feeling they don't think they are more miserable than Buffalo!

My order of preference: 1- Bengals (I have empathy for this team/city and their butt ugly uniforms and "terrible" ownership) 2- Broncos (Have always kind of liked the Broncos, since the Reeves/Elway years) 3- Redskins (Another team I have liked since a kid...probably the coolest unis in the NFL most weeks...love RGIII) 4- Baltimore (I have always wanted them to win more than they have in the post season, because I like the way they traditionally have played football (dominant Defense, ground and pound offense)..but this years team is a far cry from what they were) 5- Atlanta (I have no strong feeling for this team, but they have never pissed me off!) 6- Green Bay (Kind of sick of them...but, nice story..isn't it?) 7- Indianapolis (A little too Lucky...but sometimes you have to create your own Luck!) 8- Houston (I live in Texas...people from Texas think it is their god given right to be winnners...shut up front runners!) 9- Minnesota (They play in a Dome...and they are the only team to be 0-4 in Super Bowls...lets keep it that way!) 10- San Francisco (Like most things about this team, but their head coach seems like kind of a douche..a successful one, but a douche nontheless!) 11- Seattle (see #10, and delete the word "seems") 12- New England (no explanation needed) So, I guess, when it shakes down, I am pulling for a Bengals/Redskins Super Bowl...

Nobody knows anything!

Was Mike Holmgren ever fired as a head coach? I don't think so...

As a big Rob Riddick fan, I agree Freddy is better...but Riddicks' situation was completely different than Jacksons'. Riddick never went into any season expected to be the #1 guy...and he had a lot of injury problems...he spent his first five years on the Bills roster as a special teamer, or injured...3rd or 4th on the RB depth chart when healthy..he even missed an entire season to injury...his one most productive season, 1986 he performed pretty well..averaged over 4 yards a carry with about 160 carries, and about 50 receptions for 400 yrds...he was pretty Freddy-like...but not for as long...also was a pretty key contributer in 1987 & 1988. Like Jackson, the guy was a really good short yardage and goal line back...love 'em both...have to keep Freddie.

I have serious doubts that the Bills are interested in Jim Haslett...but if they are interested, it would be a clear indication that Mr Wilson is serious about handing the team completely over to Russ Brandon. Mr Wilson is not very fond of Haslett.