Tolstoy
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Posts posted by Tolstoy
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Time will tell of course, but for the first time since Jim Kelly we have a QB with both the necessary athletic ability (my apologies to D. Flutie and A. van Pelt) and the swagger (apologies to T. Collins and deer-in-the-headlights R. Johnson) to make it big.
The one unknown is game-composure. I don't think you can predict if and when a QB will reach that comfort level with the game such that he can begin to play effortlessly--i.e., enter the so-called "zone." Right now, JP is struggling mightily for all of his gains. My hope is that a patient GM and coaching staff, a decent O line, and a good offensive scheme (all of which seem to be possible this year) will enable JP to reach this Manning, Palmer, Brady level.
Until then, I don't think we could ask for more: a young QB with all the tools and a bit of seasoning entering his 3rd year.
I think that that at the end of the season we will have a budding star on our hands.
Am I unreasonably optimistic?
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I am helping my daughter with her math homework. We can figure them all out except one. Since the folks on this forum are the smartest people on the face of the earth, I thought you might be able to assist. Here it is.
If the height of a triangle with a base of 8 inches is tripled, it's area is increased by 96 square inches. Find the height of the triangle.
I know that the area of a triangle is, 1/2 base x height. It just doesn't seem like there is enough information there to get the answer. Maybe I am just having a brain fart.
My equation is slightly more crude than Jimbob's, but perhaps slightly more comprehensible:
Let H=original height of the triangle
1/2(8H)=3[1/2(8H)]-96
4H=12H-96
H=3H-24
-2H=-24
H=12
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There is more action in a football game than any baseball game. There is more action than any basketball game, or soccer game. There is as much action as in a hockey game, which has a lot less stops in action, and yet has two 20 minute breaks instead of one 15 minute break. Do you think perhaps there is a reason that players often do not feel completely healed from an NFL game until four days later? These guys, at least the starters, can't even play without the breaks in the game. Why do you think the Bills are using four DTs this year?
People have to make sacrifices for things. One of the reasons, for example, that there are more commercials and more stops in play in the NFL is because of Instant Replay. Well, IMO, Instant Replay is a great thing for the game. It's simply far too difficult for any human to get all these calls right with the speed off the game. I, for one, am very wlling to give up a little constant action to get the calls right. It's asking too much for the refs to do it right. That's a sacrifice as a fan I think we need to make. It's not that friggin' difficult to wait 60 seconds, get a beer or bag of peanuts or take a piss or talk to your buddy about the game. The games are great. The sport is great. Overall the TV coverage is great. Overall the NFL is the best run sports league in the history of the world. People seem to want all the innovations and all the advantages with none of the disadvantages.
Do you want to go back to the 60s or 70s when there was three or four games on a week with no Instant Replay, no scoreboard, no yellow line for first downs. Three cameras for replays instead of 6-7. But 2-3 less commercials?
Well, you are right about sacrifices. Everything, and I mean everything, does have its price. Football is a great game to watch, and the NFL owners know it. As some point, however, fans may start to think the price to pay is simply too high. that the commercials tax our patience and destroy the continuity of the game all too much. It hasn't happened yet, but it may (especially if they continue with these 30 second live action spots).
The one manifestation of the owners' greed that really bothers me is the fact that they make you pay to listen to the games over the net. What skin is it off the NFL's bones if some guy in some remote corner of the country wants to listen to his favorite team streaming over the net? It certainly doesn't stop people who can do so from attending or watching games. The answer is that the NFL loses nothing by letting people do this, but the greedy ones saw a chance to profit on people's loyalty to their teams. The NFL has even tried to put a price on the statistics for their players, in order to make all fantasy leagues pay for these stats (fortunately, they failed).
Finally, the NFL (and other major sports leagues) consititute an outright violation of our country's antitrust laws (as pointed out earlier by a poster in this thread). Congress has given them an exemption, but when they use this exemption to milk every penny out of their supporters, I start to see red.
It is greed, Kelly, sheer greed. I know it when I see it, and it is shameful.
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The timeouts havent changed that much over the last few decades, except they got a little shorter late in the games. There is a timeout after every score and then a timeout after the return until the minimum number has been reached. There is a timeout after every change of possession until the minimum for the period assures the network of the allotted number. After that has been reached they don't go to a commercial all the time. The games last a little over three hours on average like they always did. There are no 5 minute timeouts. What I am saying is that there is the same amount of action as always. The teams actually have to get plays off quicker than they used to, so there are more plays, and there are a couple more commercials. Those things even each other out as far as action goes. And the commericials allow cities like Buffalo to field teams. In fact, you should be cheering more commercials, the Bills wouldnt exist without them.
My complaint about your complaint is that we have it so made, pro football on TV is cheap and great, and IMO it's embarrassing how easily people get whiny these days when they don't get everything they want with no interruption exactly how they want it with no sacrifice whatsoever on their part.
I'm not sure that I buy your premise here. The NFL is an incredibly wealthy league. Are you telling me that they can't sacrifice some portion of their TV revenue to make the game more watchable (and keep small-market teams at the same time)? In fact, making the game more watchable might just make the game more watched, thus compensating for some of the lost revenue! Perhaps some of us might watch more than just the Bills game on Sunday, if the games had less commercials and were shorter!
Just curious, Kelly, at what point do you think enough is enough?
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I am wondering who agrees with me here:
As I get excited for the start of the regular season, I read something that tempered my enthusiasm. Apparently, the NFL is trying to squeeze more water from the stone. This from Zimmerman:
"Oh, this one makes me happy. The NFL is encouraging sponsors to pay for vignettes, or 30-second commercial spots, during the live action. This is so horrible I don't even want to think of the butchery that lies ahead. They've already got those miserable crawls that invade the bottom of the screen while the games are going on, and announcements and images that interfere with the action, and heaven knows what else.
I am not even mad anymore. I am whipped. I am pleading. Look, haven't you made enough money? Do you have to squeeze out every last penny? For God's sake, leave us alone. Let us enjoy our game, or what is left of it after all the commercials"
Zimmerman aside, I am sick and tired of watching a play or two, then five commercials, a play or two, then five commercials. Why can't we have some continuous action? If you have young children, half of the commercials are R rated, requiring turning off the TV every minute or two.
Say what you will about soccer, but 45 min of non-stop action for each half is a thing of beauty.
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I'm curious: what was the content of the inmate's letter? The contents might indicate what kind of intentions he had. For instance, was it religious? Solicitous? Romantic? Friendly?
In principle, it is kind of weird that he would write to you, but without further indication of his reasons for writing, it is difficult to comment intelligently on the matter.
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I don't know about the seafood, but I know a great Vietnamese restaurant: Po Pasteur, on Washington St. in Brighton.
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I like his music, and think he was a pretty darn good human being.
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The Italians will be very, very hard to beat today. If the USA wins, it will be our greatest World Cup victory yet, since it would be the first time we have beaten the Italians, ever, and the first victory over a European team on European soil. It would also be a first Italian loss since 2004 (something like 20 straight victories for Italy).
The US will have to be relentless on the attack, waiting for an Italian error that may never come.
Meanwhile, the Italians will play cautiously, since a draw will not hurt them too badly. But when the counterattack comes, the US better have men back on defense.
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So, World Cup fans, while we are waiting for Friday's games--what are your top three teams based on what you have seen so far?
My three:
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Germany
Except for a few minutes, I have not seen the Spanish team play. So they may look good, but I wouldn't know.
I was not impressed by Brazil. No intensity. They may pick it up in the next game or two. I want to see more of Argentina and Italy before making a call on them as well.
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My apologies to those of you who feel soccer is being rammed down your throat.
SI has a nice article on soccer in San Quentin. My favorite line comes when the visiting Irish players (not convicts) are informed of the prison's no-hostage policy:
"Let me tell you what that means," he said. "If an inmate has got a weapon, and he has got that weapon at your throat and is holding you in front of him, the guards will shoot through you to get to him. They will shoot through you like this."
And then he punched his index finger into his chest three times, each in a different spot, showing us exactly where the bullets would rip through our chests.
Here's the link:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...etin/index.html
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Hey fellas, don't mean to brag but I'm heading out the door and catching the next train to Gelsenkirchen from Dusseldorf. I've been here for two days and it is freaking amazing. I thought Stanley Cup Playoffs in Buffalo was nuts but in the end, nothing compares to the craziness of being at a World Cup.
It will convert any soccer-hater. I can't tell you how many Americans I ran into here that flat out stated he hated soccer, got dragged to a big game and fell in love. Now they travel around the world to watch the team play.
We're expecting a big US turnout, hopefully that's true. Also, I think the entire islands of Trindad and Tobago showed up. There's sooooo many Soca Warriors here it makes no sense. I still can't believe they tied Sweden.
Oh USA!!! USA! USA! USA!
You are one lucky bastard.
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30 billion viewers, eh? Aren't there only 6.5 billion people on earth?
Yeah, I'll watch and will be rooting for the US. But honestly, it's hard to get that excited for a team that will likely be facing a quick exit from the tournament.
And by the way, this should be in the off-topic board. Your LAMP attempt and shameless soccer plug did not amuse me this morning.
I am well aware of the population of the world. In fact, the numbers here refer to the combined audience of all the World Cup games.
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Today begins the biggest football tournament in the world. It also happens to be the biggest sporting event in the world. Last time around it netted close to 30 billion (yes billion) viewers. In the words of one writer:
"This is big, dude. Bigger than the Super Bowl. Bigger than the Beatles. Bigger than Brando's undergarments."
ESPN has transferred one of their top baseball men (Dave O'Brien) to cover the event (and he has been cramming for 6 months)
Who will watch the World Cup of Soccer?
I will.
Who is with me?
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I took a few semesters of Spanish in the late 90's, but I've really become rusty. I'm considering taking classes at a local college since I heard good things about the instructor, but I'm even more interested to know if anyone can recommend a good independent study program.
Can anyone recommend a REALLY good program that I can purchase and use on my own? I know that immersion is the best way to become fluent, but I'm hoping there is a program (or programs) out there that can take me a long way toward that goal.
Sadly enough, I think this would be somethign that Ghost of BiB could have helped me with
But if anyone else has any ideas, I'm all ears.Pimsleur is probably the best in the business, but very expensive. I have used their German series, and it is very good. A friend of mine has used their Chinese program, and he was very impressed.
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The US really needs to get its groove. I am hoping for a nice 3-0 win tonight.
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Make that 12 of us, and thanks for the reminder about the game tonight!
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For all the crap that C. Byrne has been taking for his realfootball365 editorials, he does have some good insights. How about this one:
Posey should be considered as DE
Byrne first proposed this on May 11. Here is the link:
http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/article...ills110506.html
Now today, we are reading that the Bills D Coordinator, Fewell, is actually giving the matter some thought:
http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=3783
Kudos to Conor. It must be his CHS roots that made him so smart. We CHS alums see things long before the unwashed masses.
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Sabres/Hurricanes Game 2
The Jumbotron at the Hurricane's Arena reads:
"The Carolina Hurricanes have won as many superbowls as the Buffalo Bills!"
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I just launched a new message board on the ACC Basketball Handbook site. If you get a moment and love ACC hoops - please sign up and post.
ACC Basketball Handbook boards
Thanks!
I just posted under the BC team. Thanks for doing this service. I'm sure things will heat up as fall approaches.
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Actually, he did, and he did a damn good job at that. What he failed at was building the offense. To some degree, he can't be blamed for Williams. But he can, perhaps, be blamed for Losman, McGahee, Parrish, Everett, and a few others. I happen to think the jury is still out on these players.
In fact, it would be a nice story if all of the above exploded into NFL stars, and Donahoe was recognized as the builder of that offense and given due credit.
Wishful thinking, of course, but stranger things have happened.
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If you had to choose between, on the one hand, a strong defense and a weak offense, and on the other, a weak defense and a strong offense, which would it be?
We all know what the answer should be--so no one should be complaining about the decision to go defense in this year's draft.
As I see it, we have a lot of young players on offense, some of whom might step up to the proverbial plate this year. Until we know what kind of players JP, Nall, Everett, Peters, Preston, Evans, McGahee, Parrish et al. are going to be, why start replacing them now with a Leinart or a Vernon Davis etc.?
Sure, we could use the OL help, but if I had to choose between a strong D and a strong O-line, I would always choose the former.
Hey, the O-line can't possibly get any worse this year, can they?
Umm, forget I said that, and knock on wood.
Captain Kirk boldly chickens out
in Off the Wall Archives
Posted
Picard rules.