BradRiter

The story from Elmira makes it sound like it's a different guy all together. Wrong spelling, wrong age. http://www.weny.com/News-Local.asp?ARTICLE3864=47160 It was supposed to be a family camping trip. Instead, five people are nursing injuries tonight after a man fell asleep at the wheel on route 17 near the Red Jacket Motel. Thirty-five year old Rubin Brown was traveling eastbound when his pickup truck veered off the road, through a guardrail and into a ditch. The Chemung County Sheriff’s Department had this to say about the accident, "The pick up truck is probably a good 40' over the embankment. The trailer is pretty well wedged into the tree line. It's going to take a little effort to get them out of there." All five family members were injured and taken to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. They've since been released.

Seriously? No.

Fair Hooker.

For the record, this is the best post I've ever read on this site.

Why is that sad? I'm not sad. I'm happy.

It mostly just says that I can handle it. I'm not worried.

Hey, it's Brad Riter from WGR. I just posted a new "mailbag" on our website and, since there are so many amusing posts here daily, I thought maybe you could help me with this. http://www.wgr550.com/column.php?id=0066 Here's the part of the article I want help with. Richard writes: I’m glad I don’t have to listen to your sarcastic, holier than thou attitude every morning. You think you are the be all, end all sports authority. HA!!!!!!!!!!! You are a spoiled punk and a jerk on top of it. The fact that you have to talk about super hero abilities on sports talk radio speaks volumes. All you have is an attitude. You were probably a nothing but a bully in your grade school days. Here’s an idea for your fan poll...let the listeners vote on who among you has a clue about sports. (PS Be sure not to include your name on the list.) I am sick of your smugness. The most casual of listeners has more to bring to the table than you will ever have. Your smug attitude of self importance makes me want to puke. I don’t know where to begin. It’s almost like this guy doesn’t enjoy my show. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll open this up to others. We’ll do a little role playing here. Often, I ask listeners to “put yourself in Tom Donahoe’s shoes.” Not this time. Put yourself in my shoes. Respond to this e-mail as if you were me, send it to brad@wgr550.com with the subject line “Dear Richard” and I’ll replace this reply with the best submission(s.) This will be fun. Ignore it if you'd like, but this could be fun. If you want to write in to rip me, go ahead. I can take it. Thanks for your time.

Seems like you walked out of his article early. He went on to mention that he went back and watched the whole thing from start to finish. This was a BAD film.

That Canadian Press article is absolute garbage. The facts: Bettman says "I'm still willing to listen" at his "cancellation" news conference. Bettman says the same thing AGAIN last night to Sporting News radio. Hockey players want to play hockey and want to get paid to do so. Rumors and speculation aside, there is NO reason to believe this thing is any more dead than it was before the announcement.

More... http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sport...10929381.htm?1c By TIM PANACCIO Philadelphia Inquirer PHILADELPHIA - There was considerable speculation on Thursday among players and general managers that a small group of players is attempting to formulate a new proposal that would be delivered to the National Hockey League Players Association's executive committee in hopes of reviving the 2004-05 season, which was canceled by commissioner Gary Bettman Wednesday. Several players and GMs said they heard discussions were taking place, but had no direct knowledge of who might be involved. "There's a deal there at $45 million if the union offers it," said one league management official. Bettman took the historic, ignominious step because he was unable to get a new collective bargaining agreement. The league's last offer was $42.5 million and the union countered at $49 million. Both the NHL and NHL Players Association on Thursday denied any new offer was coming from the union. Ted Saskin, the senior director of the union, said, "I suspect one person started an uninformed rumor and it spreads as most rumors do. I certainly do not suspect anyone broke any ranks or is negotiating on our side. All negotiations came to a crashing halt with (Bettman's) cancellation. "I'm hearing the owners want to continue negotiations. But we have had no contact with the league office. Will they accept $45 million? I don't know. It's not coming from the players' side. We made an offer and Gary canceled the season. Some of the owners recognize the strength of our offer and now they are questioning whether shutting down was the best course of action." Bill Daly, the league's chief legal counsel, said he had not received any offers from the union. "I'm not prepared to speculate on what the internal dynamics and reaction of the union and its membership might be following (Wednesday's) announcement," he said. "I consider that to be the union's business, not ours. We still need to negotiate a new CBA with the union, and we're prepared to return to the table to achieve that objective any time they are." Neither Bettman nor Daly has ruled out the possibility that they would revive the season if a deal were reached rather quickly. One management source said that Daly advised some players not to contact the league office directly until they had a deal to present through their own executive committee. "There's no chance we will present something to them," union president Trevor Linden said Thursday night from Vancouver. "If Gary wants to pick up the phone and call me, we'll talk. If Gary wants to engage us, he should. I'm hearing from ownership that some still want to find a deal. There are owners still trying to talk how a deal could get done. The players are comfortable with our position." Linden said that because Bettman canceled the season, he feels Bettman has to make the next move and reach out to the players. Asked if some faction of players was trying to get something done on the side, he said, "Absolutely untrue." There's considerable anger being expressed right on the union's secured Web site from players who first felt betrayed that the union agreed to a salary cap, then felt outraged that the league flatly turned them down on a $49 million cap when the two sides were just $6.5 million apart. The rumored players' group is not breaking from the union's ranks but trying to get executive director Bob Goodenow to make another offer at $45 million. "We'd have to vote on this," said Flyer captain Keith Primeau. "It would not fly unless this went through our executive committee. I've checked into these rumors myself. I have heard some names of who might be involved and those names don't surprise me." One NHL player said that he had been getting phone calls about the matter and that he believed there were owners, GMs and players who still hoped that a settlement could be reached. Detroit captain Steve Yzerman told the Hockey News on Thursday that he thinks there is still time to save the season. "I don't know if it's necessarily tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday night or Saturday," he said. "I know the season has been canceled, but it's not too late to un-cancel it." The Hockey News said that Phoenix owner Wayne Gretzky had been in contact with the union's executive committee, urging it to make another offer. Speaking on the CBC, Gretzky said, "It's absolutely not true." Some players believe that Phoenix GM Mike Barnett had offered advice to the group as well. "This does not involve me and nobody has come to me," Barnett said Thursday night. Barnett did say, however, he has heard rumors that some players have encouraged the union to make another offer. Flyers president Ron Ryan said he also heard the same rumors. Ryan said he placed a call to the league office on Thursday to find out if there were any truth to them. He said he had not received an answer. Flyers GM Bob Clarke said his peers have been asking themselves the same question. "The knowledge I have is the same as others," he said. "I heard from talking to other GMs that there were rumors of this going on. I don't have any confirmation that it is real, though." Tampa Bay GM Jay Feaster, whose Lightning won the Stanley Cup last year, added, "I've heard this myself today but I don't have any independent confirmation."

I'm the only person I know who thought "hey, this isn't over" when listening to Bettman the other day. Well, I guess I wasn't the ONLY one. So did the players.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/ny-sp...ports-headlines BY ALAN HAHN STAFF WRITER February 18, 2005 On the day after, there was quiet all around the NHL. No dueling faxes, no posturing and definitely no one talking -- publicly, anyway -- about the faction of players and agents working to put together a proposal to somehow save their sport, if not this season. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the group is forming an offer it hopes to soon present to the NHL. The proposal, the source said, involves a $46-million cap with a 100 percent luxury tax that starts at $42 million. There also is a provision that drops the cap to $42 million should more than eight teams hit the $46-million cap in the same season. "This is not being done with the union," the source said. It is not known whether the group will first approach NHL Players Association executive director Bob Goodenow to see if he will agree to present it to the league. If not, the group might circumvent Goodenow and offer it directly to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. A source familiar with labor negotiations said such a "back channel" communication violates labor law but is a generally accepted tactic. The motivation behind this stems from hints Bettman dropped during his news conference Wednesday, when he canceled the NHL season. The NHL's final proposal was a $42.5-million hard salary cap, while the NHLPA offered a $49- million soft cap. Bettman said if the union had brought a $44-million cap offer, the league would "have had to look at that very, very seriously." Bettman also said, "If they wanted 45 , they should have told us." The source said it was "crystal clear the league would be willing to entertain another offer." The NHLPA continually denied there were any proposals under consideration within the union. NHL chief counsel Bill Daly said he has not been in contact with anyone. The Hockey News, however, reported "veteran players are believed to be involved in a movement to resurrect the season." The publication quoted Detroit captain Steve Yzerman as saying there still is time to save the season. "I don't know if it's necessarily tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday night or Saturday," Yzerman said. "I know the season has been canceled, but it's not too late to un-cancel it." With the cancellation came a warning. ESPN executive vice president Mark Shapiro told the Chicago Tribune, "God forbid [for the league] we find something successful that takes the place of hockey." Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.

I didn't read every post or check the link but if what has been written is true... I hope he lives to be 150 years old, he wins the Powerball lottery for like $400 million, his kids grow up to cure cancer, and he never plays another down.

Also there... Josh Stamer, Jabari Greer, Justin Bannan, Jeremy White, and Bandettes in Santa suits. I liked that part. Alan Pigguns couldn't make it down from Toronto because of the weather, but when he does play in town, he's worth checking out. Thanks to all who attended.

Brian Wilson presents Smile.

Plenty more cowbell to come.

Latest report from Mort: ND and Weis are negotiating. Clements has been told he's no longer a candidate.

Does Antowain Smith's deathblow to Eric Turner count? Was that out of line? Sorry.

I found a NYS driver's license in my wallet and went with it.

I was referring only to REGULAR SEASON awards.

I'm glad he's not eligible for ROY. I'd prefer that the 2005 MVP be his first award.

Neither is happening anytime soon. Believe me, we'd love to be online again, but there's a company-wide policy preventing it due to legal crap that Entercom doesn't feel like dealing with. Sorry.

Hey all, I'm doing a new "mailbag" feature on wgr550.com. The volume of e-mail is pretty good, but I'd love it to be better. If you've got something to add, feel free to pass it along to brad@wgr550.com. If you'd like to be know as "Millbank from twobillsdrive.com" instead of "Grant from Millbank," I'd be more than happy to accomodate if I use it. (Sorry to make an example of you, Grant.) Anyway, there are a lot of creative people with a lot of strong opinions who come through here, and I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't mention it here on the board. Here's a link to the first mailbag. It would've been better had it not magically disappeared right before I posted it, but here's the re-worked version. http://www.wgr550.com/column.php?id=0010 Thanks, Brad Riter

I'd like to formally thank you for remembering the turf experiment with the borrowed mice. Honestly, I had forgotten, but that was fun. I'll hang up and listen.

This is the best news I've heard in months.