SoMAn

The NFL hype machine has made the draft, the schedule, the combine, etc. all 'must-see' events. Back in the day, before the web and 24/7 NFL network, these things were barely acknowledged in real time. If you get max enjoyment out of it, power to you. I'll get excited when there's actually men suited up and smashing into each other. I'll maybe toggle over to ESPN or NFL network or check in here occasionally, but I don't have much interest in making it 'an event'. More likely slip into my usual old man routine starting with Jeopardy, maybe the news commentary talking heads, Nat Geo, Seinfeld re-runs, and start dozing on the sofa around 9pm. Most importantly, I'll be keeping the remote from my wife so that the Hallmark channel doesn't appear on the main TV. I'll definitely be here Friday morning and probably see what Tasker and Brown have to say.🙂

There won’t be any WR with a 1st rd grade at 28, but maybe a DT or edge. Take that defender, then trade up for better position in 2nd to get WR who they still like, but who wasn’t worthy of # 28.

Y'all is actually a huge improvement over 'youse', 'yuns', or even the ambiguous 'you' in it's plural form. WNY has it's share of unusual colloquialisms. Nobody outside of Buffalo says the word 'mock', 'mocked', 'mocking' as a compound companion to 'out'. (with exaggerated Cheektowaga accent): I got 'mocked-out' for wearing my Zubaz sport coat to da prom. If I remember correctly, Vince Gallo used that local expression in Buffalo '66.

The 'could of', should of', would of' thing is up there on my nitpicking petty pet peeve list. I've seen writing by reasonably intelligent people who do this. Apparently, they're completely unaware that it's a contraction. Eventually, it will be acceptable and the OED and Websters will acknowledge it, just as they have with words like 'unique'. 'Unique' used to be defined only as 'one of a kind'. Now through misusage, the dictionaries accept it to mean uncommon. So wrong. Stupid wins again!

I'd want to be the IT guy. They know everything going on behind the scenes before anyone else. If you get to work Monday morning and are unable to login...uh-oh! Then you think back on it and realize upper management was forcing purse-lipped smiles and avoiding eye contact with you on Thursday and Friday. That should have been the clue that working on your résumé over the weekend could have been a good idea.🙂

No. Down year. Should still get 8 or 9 wins. Mediocre defense and a revamped O-line and no # 1 WR. It would be surprising if they’re a serious contender.

I heard this again yesterday and I realize that it’s petty but it’s just one of those things that bothers me. When we would go outside as kids and throw the football or baseball to each other, we’d ‘play catch’. I heard one of the female protesters at Columbia U who was on the news yesterday saying they had a football because they were going to “have a catch’. ??? I’m starting to hear this more and more. It just sounds wrong.. Let’s hear your opinion. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s divided by generation.

I still suspect the IR designation for Shorter was exaggerated and a means to 'stash' him in a safe place where he couldn't be poached off the practice squad. Naturally, the hamstring excuse was convenient. It could be their hopes for him and his development after 1 season were factored into the Diggs move. It would be a nice surprise if he turns out to be a viable option at WR.

I was in Buffalo several years ago, and I swear it was for a Bills season opener, but I’m having trouble trying to figure out exactly which game it was. I can’t remember if it was the following day or exactly when, but I had to catch a flight back to Atlanta and I saw several flight cases (used for music gear among other things) out on the curb at the airport drop off with the name Allman Brothers stenciled on all of them. I didn’t realize that the Allman Brothers had been playing at Darien Lake that weekend, otherwise I would’ve tried to catch them. I was standing in the security line, waiting to go through the metal detectors and so forth, and I look back and the guy standing directly behind me was Gregg Allman with some girl. One of my closest friends here in Atlanta is an Allman Brothers disciple and I was half tempted to call my friend Scott (with my Nokia cell) and ask Gregg if he would say hello. Gregg is pretty low-key so I didn’t want to bother him so I never did. I've got some other Gregg/Cher stories from the days when they'd come to Buffalo and hit Stage 1, a regular nightspot for us in Clarence. I’ve played with a couple of dudes who played with the Allman Brothers (not that I’m exactly in the same league). One of them, the guitar player who backed Gregg on his laid-back tour on 1974, just passed away a couple of months ago. Playing with him was a pleasure, but it also put things in perspective of how good some of these real pros are. I loaned him my slide and he show me how it’s done properly. The Allman Brothers, my estimation are probably one of the best or the best American band ever. Somewhere I have a bunch of pictures from the Rose Hill cemetery in Macon, where Elizabeth Reid, Little Martha, and now Duane, Gregg, and Berry are all buried. Long live the Allman Brothers Side notes, Buffalo connections: When Duane got hooked on H back in the early 70's, he did his rehab in Buffalo. That may be the same reason that Gregg was coming frequently in the late 70's. IDK. Also in the early days when they were just getting started, they played at a club in Buffalo and the a-hole owner wouldn't pay them after the gig. I'm not surprised. I had similar issues living there when I was young. Anyway, bassist Berry Oakley went to collect the $1000 from Angelo Aliotta, owner of Aliotta's, the gin joint where they played. Aliotta was only willing to part with $500. Road manger Twiggs Lyndon got in the middle of it, stabbed and killed Aliotta. I believe Twiggs got off using a 'temporary insanity' plea, stating that working for the Allman brothers made him crazy. It actually worked!

He was a drinker and would get in fights with band mates.

Funny. Yes, I’ve experienced that a few times with my wife.

He was fired

I know aisle seats are preferable for most, but since I don't get up and move a whole lot during the game, I'd rather be in the middle. Sitting in an aisle seat you have to keep getting up every time someone from the interior seats needs to get something to eat or drink, or hit the rest room. Sometimes it's not too bad, but if there are restless kids and people who need to pee more frequently (like my wife), you're up and down all afternoon with these short attention span fans if you're on the end. I can easily sit until halftime or after the half until game end without having to go anywhere. Give me the middle seats.

I never would have guessed. He's a man of few words, but when he does speak in English, I hardly detect any accent at all.

I can't imagine him playing into his 70's, 80's or beyond. We'll just have to wait and see.