UConn James

This seems to be Cruise back in the form where he does best. There's been a whole string of just plain bad movies, that seemed to start around the time he went psycho on Matt Lauer on the Today show. I'm not sure people hate TC so much as they think he should stop talking about Scientology, etc. and just make good movies. I think he's done this for the most part since that time, but then again, I watch/read less entertainment news than most hobos. My best friend from childhood into high school is in this, so to go along with the other stuff he's been in, it's nice to see that he hasn't been involved in movies that're absolute crap. Don't know how big a part it is, tho from the quickest of glances, it looked like him driving TC in that jeep. All the sh-- we pulled as kids, it just seems weird to see him in movies now.

To be fair, Overdorf handled/s contract negotiation and cap issues. Marv had nothing to do with that side of things. There's a sizable portion of the cap locked into the DL, and not much to show for it. The Stroud acquisition hasn't helped the DE situation wrt QB pressure. This should be one of the priorities in the coming offseason.

Grasping at straws.

Either my audio is tweaked, or Joaquin sounds like he's as high as a kite in that clip.

I would say, he's a gun enthusiast who pushed his son into sharing his hobby and it was way too much, way too soon. I'd also add that it was a pretty dipsh-- policy for the club/show to allow this. The DA is considering charges, which I think might be appropriate given the established facts. I'd agree that they can/should only legislate so far and that laws already on the books are probably applicable, tho new ones will be proposed b/c that's what happens. At least set an age-limit for using like weaponry. Perhaps requiring a safety course for anyone who's going to handle firearms --- CT has a mandatory hunter safety course before you can get a permit, and a pistol safety course required for pistol permit applicants, both with tests students must score at least 90(?) to pass --- taught by qualified, licensed instructors. Also think it'd be a good time to introduce more education resources in schools, ala the Eddie Eagle program of "Stop. Don't touch! Leave the area. Tell an adult." Tho, this wouldn't have helped in this case, and schools at least in this area have been downright hostile letting anything created/funded by the NRA into the classroom, even if they fully agree with the message. My father tried to give the very same school you're seeing on the news a full kit back in the early 90s (Jason Priestley was the host) and they wouldn't take it b/c it had small NRA logos on the back page. Nothing can make up for a rational estimation of danger on the part of a responsible adult, tho. Some people don't seem to get that life does not include an 'Edit-->Undo' option.

Yeah. If Obama gets elected and directs or even presides over a recovery, that'll be bad. Better that we should stay in recession until a Republican can take credit for a recovery. Then we won't have anything to fear. Credit for the recovery is what matters. Not the actual recovery.

"Too big a leap. Maybe next year." -- Mike Pereira

I didn't write that you had to cry, grieve, or feel pity. It's not technically my loss. Just, I'm an uncle to a little boy who lost one of his friends in an accident, and I live in a community that's going to be dealing with the effects (even tho it didn't happen here). I would ask that you and everyone at least show some human decency. Some of the comments here are truly sick, "coping mechanism" or not. My mother taught me if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. Guess all those rules of how to act in society don't apply when you have anonymity and it's 'cool' w/in the medium of the Internet to make jokes, heckle, "pwn," bully, etc. Maybe you have to be forced to see it from the other perspective before you can really understand it.

As I wrote in the Off the Wall thread last night: Being a life member of the NRA (tho I haven't done target-shooting or hunting for quite a while) it hurts all the more to know that on top of the personal tragedy and loss, this is going to be used by gun-banners as a political argument. Chris's father or an event allowing this is one of the all-time bonehead things I've heard of. But it's done and you can't take it back. First, I'd just say it reflects on a culture we now live in that children are being forced by adults into grown-up situations earlier and earlier --- this runs the gamut from suggestive clothing targeted to children and allowing 10-year-olds to dress like sluts on Halloween, children having so much influence on family purchasing, and here, using a !@#$ Uzi when even just 10 years ago, that was the age when you learned to safely handle and shoot a BB gun. Everything has to be more, faster, better, and bigger these days, and it needs to be pushed earlier --- that's the mindset. Someone said, "The most important question of our day is 'How much is enough?'" It's like a competition of who can push their kids to grow up fastest. And I think this stems from that oft-discussed break-down of the authoritative parenting style that would put a check on stupidity and providing guidance and smart family leadership, and its replacement to this thing of being your child's best buddy, as if you're still a child, only with car keys --- parents who grew older but didn't grow up. In some form, I think this is also connected in with the epidemic of child molestation. Diddlers thinking of themselves in a way as still being children, forming a connection and then taking advantage of that child-like situation and after it goes through some kind mental warp zone that I couldn't begin to describe, fulfill adult desires. Sorry if that paragraph might be a bit ambling, my thought process is working in tangents a little today. Certainly, there needs to be new rules instituted for the safe handling of guns. At the few shows I've been to, there've been no-ammo-on-premises policies openly stated --- if you're interested in buying but want to test-fire, it's something you'd have to arrange with the vendor off-site. As for age when handling firearms and a proper progression, I don't know, that's something that'll be discussed, but for sure, something needs to happen there --- you'd hope this could be self-regulated, but reworking of laws is probably on its way, and probably deservedly so. Laws that allow for an 8-year-old to use an Uzi.... Laws aren't a substitute for common sense, tho, and we're living in an age when common sense is not common.

Sometimes I think "LOST" is the only thing keeping me from saying, "Screw all these stupid people around me!" growing a beard and becoming a mountain man. Just have to wait about another year and a half.

When I first saw the story, I was a little stirred that it'd happened relatively close. And then, come to find out this afternoon that the child was actually from my town in northeast CT. My nephew was in the same class with him last year and played with him at recess on Friday. This is always the sort of thing that happens somewhere else... and then it hits closer to home than you could think. You have to wonder what this does to the kids to be exposed to death so early of someone they know. This is a nephew who refused to say goodbye to my dog (whom he played with a lot) when we had to put him down earlier this summer. This is going to be a difficult and tenuous next few weeks. I'm reading through some of the crap here and I'm just appalled at some of your comments. But I guess this lack of decency, black humor, and flip attitudes are the times we live in. Doesn't seem that way here in town today, tho. It feels a lot like just after 9/11 when people were nice to each other (which lasted for about 4 days), said hello and asked how you're doing and really meant it. I think the politics can wait.

This is not a politically correct exercise with panning and pawing about 'measured response.' In my purview, when it comes to any QB, but especially Chadwick, a hit is a hit. As stated, and as historically proven with CP, you need to hit him to get him off his game. I really don't care where it comes or who it comes from or if it's legal or not. They put him anywhere but behind an OL, they'd better be ready for any consequences that come. You may call hitting 'the p---y way', I call it football. It's called sending a message that the nancy sh-- stops NOW, and we're gonna roll right over you on the way to next week. We lack fire and grit; we try to do things with finesse and scheme rather than a punch to the mouth --- we haven't seen that kind of Buffalo spirit since Sam Gash and Spielman/Paup. We also haven't seen the playoffs since those days. Coincidence? We need to start knocking people on their asses and stop apologizing for making people's bodies hurt.

I will continue to preach that one of the main reasons for the loss was not putting any heat on a QB with a long history of getting rattled and folding when you hit him. Such a hit is not done for that play. It's done for every play that comes after it. I wouldn't mind taking a couple of 15-yarders when it means that Chadwick's va-jay-jay is hurting and he doesn't want to be out on the field the rest of the day. You mean like getting concussed or getting free shots like on that pass to Evans? Here's a news flash. Other teams already take liberties on our QB. Time we put notice that we'll do the same damn thing.

As I asked in the chat room... Who's saved by zero? The customer or Toyota?

If you think that's bad, you should see what we do to people with Syracuse University stickers! Whoever was stupid enough to park that thing on campus, and then, during basketball season, and then the week we were playing them.... well, I don't think they'll ever be doing that again. (Note: I was not party to the destruction of the vehicle, nor do I condone such activity --- just saw the results as I was walking to my car after a night class.) Politically, tho, up here in NE, it'd usually be the other way around if/when stuff like that does happen. Have heard from relatives around the state of cars with 'W' stickers being keyed, tires spiked or deflated, etc. That phenomena does seem to be confined to cities and large towns rather than suburbia and the sticks. Out here the most I've heard of is the taking down of lawn signs. Just isn't as fervent, at least in the Quiet Corner and even up into Mass. (Edited)

Is the answer to this supposed to be

Buffalo PD released an all-points bulletin. Missing person --- Marcus Stroud.

Bingo. By now, someone might've learned that you need to knock Pennington to the ground. Rattle his cage, and he folds. Didn't happen. Keeping McGee in there was maybe the stupidest thing I've seen PF do. Despite all that, they kept us in the game. 'Course, that was only half the problem. Offense was sloppy and starts at the top. As much praise as Edwards has gotten, he deserves a hearty today, most for the second half. Had some great looks and the 30-yarder to Lee where he got drilled made you hold your breath. Wasn't enough to overcome the slop. Better learn from this, Trent. I didn't have such a problem with the O play-calling. Execution was piss-poor. And to round it out, even ST was a disaster. Wild snap from Neill and he doesn't have weather to blame this time. KOs and punts are getting nothing with this supposed demon McKelvin who isn't seeing the holes or hitting them fast enough.

I think this is a situation like Bobby Shaw a few years ago. Guys need to know that the coaches ain't gonna put up with this sh--; produce or you're gone. This has been a historical problem with Royal. He's dropped TDs that cost us games in the clutch. He failed to get both feet in on a TD that cost us a game. I'm sick of this. See what Shouman and Fine have, b/c we know what Royal has. By far, he wasn't the only thing that sucked today, but let's start with the obvious.

We need to hit Pennington. I don't care if it's a 15-yard penalty hit. He needs to be hit. Then he turns into a little girl.

McGee is playing, evidently?

Ask me before what's gone on this year, and I would've had a wait-and-see approach to DJ and let the contract play out. Right now, I'm OK with giving him another 3 to see where this thing goes now that he's got some solid players. My only problem with him was his reticence to fire Fairchild when it was patently obvious that the dude was failing. He wasted most of a season to give Fairchild a sympathy f--- in the form of a college job. The change to Turk could have happened at the bye last year and we wouldn't've skipped a beat. On the Haslett situation, if he proves a good fit in STL and it's all but a given that they'll hire him, I'd be surprised if any minority coaches agree to interview, b/c they think it's a token sit-down & a waste of time. That happened on another team and they were fined (I forget how much, but it's considerable), even tho they invited just about every minority candidate they could. IMO, there should be a stipulation for a situation like that which penalizes a team b/c of collusion among candidates. The Rooney Rule was established so more minorities would have to be interviewed, but not that they'd have to be hired. Teams hire a guy based on a lot of factors wrt: fit in the system, rapport with existing staff, credentials / what they've done in the league, all leading to who can win them the most games. Skin color in this day and age has nothing to do with it. Sh--, we're about to elect a black president! Just b/c one guy, like Haslett might have a foot in the door doesn't mean that everyone else's odds are 0; like Gretzky said, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."

Paulson has gone on the record that no matter who wins, beyond anything to do with a smooth transition, he will not be staying on.

On I-90? If so, I never noticed it. Such a situation may need to be rectified. Tho, perhaps it's been attempted and the Mass DOT just pulls it off. How big is the sign and what color (so as to determine best size and visibility)?

That was a nice win last year, wudn't it? Now that they have Pennington, we've seen him enough by now to know that PF just has to knock Chadwick around a bit --- even if it's with a late hit, say, when they're deep in their own territory --- to get him distracted and start playing like a little girl. Hope Schoebel's absence doesn't make this harder, tho we've got a few other guys who can get in there. It's Miami Week! P.S. Lori, thank you for posting that "in-game moderating policy," I think coming on the heels of my post in Bill's Few Thoughts the other week. Seriously, I think most people just didn't know about it b/c it had never really been stated anywhere, officially. I hope it helps out Simon et al from having to delete threads and take a lot of bs. All the mods'/admins' work is much appreciated.