AKC

The founding family once owned a thoroughbred named "Old 33", which was the original reverse name until some point in the last couple decades where it was shortened to "33". That's the story passed on by old family members from Renova who worked the rails and lived for beer legends.

There's something metallic in the SingHa flavor, I can't figure out exactly where it comes from. It's OK but that one hint is a little unpleasant. Hope you're drinking that with a great Larb Nuen.

DOH! Of course- I wonder if seeing it on 126,492 bottles has limited my memory?

I've been drinking Rock since the 60s. I like a hoppy Pilsner and the secret to that is always good water and hops, two ingredients that remain the staple of the product. Coors seems to have done just one thing and that's clean up the incidents of "bad" bottles that used to be like a Russian Roulette under the original management. BTW- I actually know what the 66 on the reverse of the bottle means- any takers?

Yeah, that's the locale. Big Bob is the Master at Arms for the action that weekend so if you plan to get in trouble wait until the later hours- On the date- I'm betting you're in good shape- I noticed your boy Al doing another round of venture capitalization overseas last week ;-)

Me and the missus are out with new friends on the Valley a few years back, in a hole right outside the Anheiser Busch brewery called I believe the Hideaway. As stories begin to flow Sheri mentions something about a recent wet fart and the couple we're sitting with begins to get visibly uncomfortable, which of course incites me to push the subject. I get the couple to make the claim that "niether of us has ever wet fart" and after assessing the crowd in the bar as workers from ABusch I offered to prove the couple were freaks- they foolishly accepted my challenge. As I stepped up to the bar I began a conversation with the bartender asking "can you believe these two claim to have never stojaned their pants after a round or two with Jack Daniels?- I swear EVERYONE in the bar came forward IMMEDIATELY with some story like "so I'm at an SC game wearing a trench coat, it's raining like hell and I clearly am not going to make the bathroom...." A simple case of knowing your surroundings ;-) I'll expect to see you at the draft party this year in Pine Mountain- the usual suspects and some "surprise" guests!

I stopped by my favorite chef's supply this afternoon Surfas and noticed 10 or 12 cases of Iron City piled up in an aisle. I went to the manager and asked him to fill me in on the joke- and tell me what they could possibly be selling it for. He looked it up in their computer and when he found no results we cracked a case of it- Iron City box and Iron City printed 6-pack cardboards. Luckily the actual bottles were some soda from Atlanta called "Moxie" instead of the railroad worker's favorite dirt cheap brew. I remember taking chugs off the bum's Iron City quarts while sneaking a smoke under the rail overpass growing up. Thank god my tastes have "matured" ;-)

From a buddy's email to me this morning: "I've been a Raider fan since 1976. Through good and bad, I've never been ashamed of my team, not even in 1990.....until now. Hiring back Art Shell??? He couldn't even hold down a line coach position since he was deservedly fired from the Raiders. I still have nightmares of his lifeless stare onto the field as everything is unraveling before him in an undisciplined "petulant food fight" manner. I finally have to heed to the press about Big Al. This was a stoop of momentous proportion. Maybe being a Clipper fan can ease my pain, but right now I'd "almost" take Donald Sterling over my beloved Al. Had to vent, and didn't want to send an Email to a fellow Raider who would try and put a positive spin on things. We will once again have one of the best teams on paper and tank!!! Here's hoping for 5 & 11." Misery loves company, no?

I had the feeling Theisman had become the "measure" in the string, and in that case I found it hard to imagine Collinsworth being brought up as a balanced comparative. On the other hand Randy Cross..........

Do I understand your preference to be Theisman over Collinsworth?

I've run into him a couple times here SpottedAl I think it's his weekday/offseason course. He's a decent and approachable guy but he definitely guards his football opinions. If I remember right he pulls up a Michelob at the 19th.

I've never heard a scintilla of evidence that suggests Losman has done anything but follow orders as a loyal soldier of those in charge of the Bill's organization. You've made the charge that he "talked his way" into the starting job; I'd greatly appreciate you providing the specific incidents upon which you base that charge for the rest of us to consider. Thanks.

You've got my vote as guest manager for the offseason. BTW- I am beginning to wonder if Chris V will ever play another full 16-game season?

You'd of course get the vast majority of Olinemen in the league to agree with you that they'd rather be run blocking all game long for those very reasons- you're on offense instead of defense and defense in most cases works harder. There's exceptions, Jonas Jennings for instance who barely tolerates run blocking but will give you all he can in Pass Pro. That said, one place where "less demanding to play offense" doesn't hold up is in pass blocking- even on "defense" while protecting a QB the Olineman still less exertion than the DLineman simply because the DLineman has to travel more distance to his goal and if the play is drawn up and executed correctly find a way around at least one body trying to stop him. So even when the D is pass rushing and playing "offense" they still require more stamina than their opponent. Proof of this is that you've never seen any fool coach by design running an offensive line rotation, and yet any coach not running a defensive line rotation would be a fool of equal stature. BTW- I'm jumping in the car for Mammoth in an hour- if you're in SF and get an itch to watch the big game with us give me a head's up, we've got extra rooms.

Among the limited body of "Truths" in the NFL game are these: If with regularity your defense gives up progressively more running yardage each quarter, you've underinvested in your DLine and specifically at DT. If with regularity your offensive production goes down each quarter, someone needs to have a come top Jesus with your OC (or whoever is developing strategy and calling plays).

Conditioning is far more crucial to the guys on the other side of the line, but it can play a part. Ask yourself this question when assessing how much emphasis to put on it regarding the '06 Bills: How much better is Benny Anderson in the first quarter than in the last?

On part one I agree completely- targeting Losman shows a lack of understanding of the game that's become far too frequent around here with the QB-QB-QB- crowd. On the second part though, our O Line was good enough to finish in the top of the league in first quarter offensive production, falling steadily after that as games wore on. That's far more indicative of poor sideline coaching. Look at it this way- how could some awful OLine unit open up games dominating their opponents, only to get measurably less effective as the game goes on? If you're bad athletes or bad players you never excel to begin with.

Pickett has surely made a strong statistical showing in the middle of that line, but do you have no concerns that over the course of his career the Rams have moved from a middle of the league rush D steadily down into the toilet? No doubt adding a starting quality vet playing a 1-technique and kicking Sam out to exploit the opposite A and B gaps could be the nucleus of a dangerous line if in fact, as you mentioned, we bring in a young turk like Ngata to give us a full rotation ( and the flexibility to shift to a 3, 2 or even 1 down line set situationally). Anderson would continue to contribute as the 4th guy and we could allow the narrowly skilled and far too often injured Edwards to "test the waters". I'll bet he sinks- head first.

Given the questionable cause of Mr. Besselo's early exit from Planet Beverly Hills, I'd have to argue that Toni Mannix proved to be the superior gridster on the Benedict Canyon squad. If I'm correct in recognizing an affinity for the famously macabre, I should point out that merely a stone's throw from the location above are the arguably higher profile incidents concerning Paul Bern and of course the Kingpin of the genre in which Steven Parent made a fatally poor choice in his hawking of a clock radio.

Since I haven't landed on a hard position regarding where we are, I'd be interested in having you entertain a slightly different position: Outside of Saban's 64 and 65 AFL campaigns Marv Levy has overseen all of our most successful seasons. He's stayed associated with the game and made no secret of his continued fondness for the game. He isn't taking the job of HC that requires 90 hours of work every week all year long, plus he's a proven delegator. Could his very good record with the Bills and continued focus on the NFL offer us any hope that he may still understand the game at a fundamental level better than generally assumed and that this could lead to the coaching staff he's assembled being much better as a unit than the sum of its individual parts suggests?

Indeed. Perhaps under the Smilie .gifs we can begin a new category called "Slappies"? Slap yourself, slap someone else- could start a whole Message Board movement..................

I matched your reaction to that point. In the answer may lie the explanation for many of the woes being bandied about. I'm guessing the hire wasn't done exclusively based upon the similarity in style to Marv he favors or his Coach of the Year in 2001. There's something in the equation that's not visible at this time..................

I caught a background story on Seattle Linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski yesterday. The story was the most compelling thing I've seen them do- about an Endicott, NY kid who's family was homeless at times and his desires to escape his upbringing through football. Great stuff if you get a chance to see it.

I've got a 5 lb. brick of Cuba Extra Sharp in the fridge- and you can ask Bob Lamb about the goodies in the Cuba Cheese "Entertainer" gift box! Relatives in Friendship, Bolivar and Richburg. I live now in "Wellsville, California", a mountain town of about 3000 north of LA by an hour. I actually just shoveled some snow (to get to the hot tub) and black bear raid the garbage cans with some frequency. Just like "home" ;-)

Didn't Mike Hennessey buy it a couple years ago from Ducket and his wife Lisa?