smokinandjokin

Last night I ran approximately 40 yards in 6.78 seconds trying to drop off a DHL overseas package before the driver left the pickup area. Mission accomplished. Please note that I was also wearing dress shoes and it was sleeting out. I think that speaks to my intangibles as well, coming through in the clutch like that. Also, I benched 225 lbs three times in 2004. Right now I'd probably max out on one rep at about 175, but cut me a break, it's the offseason! I am 5'11" and 190 lbs. I have zero children out of wedlock- I hope I don't slip in the draft because of this. I have been a Bills season ticket holder for many years, so I've got a good understanding of underperforming football teams. In college, I played QB and WR on the 2nd place intramural flag football squad. Much like the early-90's Bills, a lack of team curfew may have led to our demise, as the title game was at 10am on a Saturday morning. Two guys puked in the 1st quarter- true story...good times...We did win that elusive championship t-shirt in intramural hoops though... So where do you see me going? Late 1st round or early 2nd? And do I keep my signing bonus if I get cut before they break camp?

They play 8 times next year....I'm sure he'll get his... Drury's not too worried about it, and the team already responded once...I don't see them putting Happy Gilmore on the playoff roster so that he can stab Neil with his skate...

Or, they have to be coached by Jeff Tedford. Joey Harrington at Oregon, and Boller and Aaron Rodgers at Cal. Rogers is still unproven, but he was supposed to go top-5 at the draft, and slipped into the mid-20's. I think it's safe to say the other two are busts.

They be trippin!!! I agree with RTDB, the entire industry is a joke... MTV hasn't shown a video in three years. The only form of music on Music Television is in the background of shockingly horrible 'scripted reality' shows involving high schoolers driving Range Rovers to their $400,000 Sweet 16 party. Sadly, American teens are eating this schit up. The Real OC 2007- Sunshine, surfboards, no job, hot car, and hangin with the sexy cool kids in an ocean front mansion (the parents are always gone, apparently.) followed by drinks at the bonfire on the beach. Yeah, that's reality alright.... The Real Buffalo 1995- A 16-year old smokinandjokin gets home from school (on the bus,) takes the dog for an hour walk, shovels the driveway, asks dad to use his car to take the girlfriend to the movies, dad laughs, S'n'J rides bike to girlfriend's house, they walk to the movie theater, make out for two hours, walk home, try to sneak into her house quietly so I can play some sticky finger on the couch, her dad comes downstairs to chat and stare down S'n'J, S'n'J gets intimidated and gets on his bike to go home, hits a pothole and flattens the front tire, walks bike home, gets inside and sees a note from dad that says, "I'll wake you up at 6:30am- you're helping me remodel the bathroom tomorrow." S'n'J takes the dog for another walk and calls it a night. Why didn't I get a damn show???

Stroke and the Bullfrog suck! I listen EVERY SINGLE DAY just to make sure I catch their idiot ramblings! If you don't like it, change the station. If you want to listen to Sports Talk radio, turn the dial to 550- it's your only option in town. (Sometimes you can pickup 1000AM from Chicago or 660AM WFAN from NYC.) Be prepared for the fact that controversy and stirring the pot is the M.O. on these sports shows, and stooges who get worked up over it are the listeners they covet. Personally, I think about 90% of what they talk about on WGR is pretty good. When the other 10% strikes, guess what? I change the station and crank some tunes! Pretty easy! Bottom line- these radio hosts are paid professionals, but in the end, they are fans like the rest of us. Stick you and I in front of a microphone for four hours everyday, dealing with some moron callers, and I'm sure we'd say some idiotic things too.

She looked hot in Three's Company but she was so annoying in those Thigh Master commercials.

Why? Because a team that is 16-37-10 this season acquired another team's backup goalie? A team that desperately needs to get younger and faster gave up the 31st pick in the draft to get a goalie who still hasn't proven he can be an everyday starter in the NHL? OK...

I think it's safe to say that if the unthinkable happened and Miller was injured, Lindy is smart enough to tinker his system to make sure all five skaters are responsible in their own end. Conklin filling in on a Tuesday night in Boston during the regular season, I don't think they change anything...But if he had to play in the playoffs (gasp!) I'm sure Lindy makes some adjustments. Miller has provided Buffalo the luxury of allowing the team to fly up ice and play a dynamic style. It has shown in his stats. He is not really among the league leaders in any category, except wins. That is a function of the Sabres leaving him hanging in some tough situations occasionally. Buffalo didn't change their style with Biron in net, and for the most part, he played well enough for that to work. If Buffalo played the dry, responsible, "new NHL trap" that the Devils play, I have no doubt that Miller's stats would compare to Brodeur's. Thankfully, Lindy does not play that way. I'll be the first to admit that Miller has, at times, benefited from playing for the league's highest scoring team (see Game 1 in the Ottawa series last year) but he has also more than carried his share of the load when the forwards weren't hitting the net (see Game 2 in the Ottawa series last year.)

You dirty Commie! Be American Buy American! Conkler #3530

For those of you interested in being on the cutting edge of jersey sales, Conklin will be #35 and Zubrus will be #15.

Goaltending is key, and often times a hot goalie trumps all in the playoffs. Miller will be a huge part of any postseason success the Sabres have. That said, I don't think that dealing Marty suddenly puts the team on thin ice. Biron's NHL career: 300 games, 134-115-29 record, 2.53 GAA, .909 save % Conklin's NHL career: 71 games, 29-22-7 record, 2.60 GAA, .901 save % Marty was well-thought of by the fans here, and was an excellent teammate. But there were plenty of grumblings about him not being 'the answer' when he took over for Hasek as the full-time starter. Typically, you could count on one weak goal a night with Marty between the pipes. Couple that with the fact that Marty has played in the NHL for nearly a decade and has appeared in exactly 0 postseason games. A $2 million per year backup goalie is a luxury that the Sabres have enjoyed for the past two years, and it became a luxury they couldn't afford anymore. Overall, the situation was handled well by Darcy, as he got solid production out of Biron for two seasons, and then dealt him for cap space and a high draft pick.

Nasty injury...Very sad to see that happen to anyone...Livingston's season is over... However, Livingston is working on some serious unfulfilled potential. When he was a senior in high school, he was the #1 point guard in the nation, with Chris Paul #1A. Livingston accepted a Duke scholarship, but then instead entered the draft and was selected #4 overall by the Clippers. Paul went to Wake Forest, and entered the NBA after his freshman year. Now, with Livingston (6'7") in his 3rd season and Paul (6'0") in his 2nd, the comparison isn't even close. Paul is far and away the better player. Maybe it's the curse of the Clippers, maybe it's because Livingston has had to take a backup role behind Sam Cassell...Whatever the reason, the flashes of talent that had scouts calling him the 'next Magic Johnson' have been few and far between.

I guarantee he plays C until Drury and Connolly return. MacArthur and Mair are both pulled off of the wings to play center right now. And he's centered Ovechkin's line pretty much all year. The Caps play-by-play man said he's excelled defensively and played some of his best games this year against bigger centers like Sundin, Brind'amour, and Lecavalier. Once the team gets healthy, you're right, he has played plenty of RW. That was part of the attraction of the trade, he's definitely a flexible player.

I believe Bobby Knight was the General and David Robinson was one of the admirals. Captain Morgan also voiced his disapproval.

Yes I agree. Biron had to be dealt for financial reasons. Getting the first pick of the 2nd round for him was pretty good, considering the Flyers knew the Sabres had to deal, and considering Marty may not even sign with them (although I must assume Don Luce and the Flyers front office contacted Marty about contracts before completing the deal.) Zubrus is a heck of a player, 28 years old, centered Washington's #1 line with Ovechkin on the wing, and has erased some of the previous criticisms of not playing hard every night. He has also impressed defensively for a team who doesn't control a lot of the play. All in all, a solid pickup, and much better than the 4th line grinder I thought the Sabres would get. Plus, if all goes as planned (a.k.a. Stanley Cup,) the 1st rounder they gave up will be the last of the round, and they hold the 1st pick of the 2nd round from the Marty deal. No biggie. Plus two defensmen who have been pros (mainly in the minors) for 4-5 years...More experience than the 1st and 2nd-year pros we have on defense in Rochester. Marty will be missed, but it was a no brainer- he had to go. And I'm glad Novotny was shipped rather than Kotalik, or a young buck like Paille or Stafford. All things considered, Darcy did very well dealing from a weak position. Add Connolly to the mix as an additional 'pickup,' and you have to like the moves.

A new pickup line: My girlfriend is in Toronto for work this week, and she called me last night and said she was out for drinks with some co-workers, and some guy in the bar came up to her and said, "Your mom must've been retarded, 'cause baby you are special." That definitely cracked me up when she told me.

The genre of documentary filmaking is not one that has clear boundries, and it is consistently evolving. Is not the purpose of a documentary to present facts and events in such a way that it creates discussion and provokes thought? If you understand before watching that 'facts' can always be presented to serve many different purposes, then I would argue that those three docs you cited are EXACTLY what the genre is supposed to be. They all spurred thought, discussion, and challenged societal norms. They all spurred counter-arguments from disagreeing sides. Why do you cite those films as evidence that the genre has slipped? If you think filmmakers started using documentaries in the year 2003 to further a political cause while making assumptions of truths or taking some 'factual liberties,' and that's why the genre has 'fallen off lately' as you put it, then you are sorely mistaken. Check out Capra's Why We Fight from the 40's, which was actually commissioned by the US Government to convince the public that war in Europe and the Pacific was necessary. Check out pretty much every doc from the 60's or 70's, which most certainly were NOT commissioned by the US Government. All had their own interpretation of truth, facts, and necessary actions. The filmmaker is well within his rights to steer a film toward a cause of his choosing. The viewers are well within their right to agree or disagree with the film's presentation. If, minimally, the film spurs discussion, I would say it's a successful documentary.

Pominville just doesn't look like the same winger he was earlier this year. He only has 25 goals in 62 games. I still say start him, but be wary. There will be plenty of games where he doesn't score.

Oden is a supreme talent and will eventually be a dominant force in the NBA, especially defensively. But would you really want to rally around the guy??? Is he even alive??? I mean come on man, you are 18-years old, one of the best basketball players in the world, on the verge of being a mega-millionaire....And YOU ARE IN COLLEGE!!! Crack a smile, pump a fist, show some emotion. Anything! He looks like he's 38 and acts like he's 88.

Phil has been my favorite golfer since 1990. My grandfather is a longtime member of the Niagara Falls CC, where they play the prestigous amateur tournament the Porter Cup every year. I watched Phil shoot a 63 in the final round to win the 1990 Porter Cup and have followed him closely ever since. His Sunday collapses and boneheaded decisions that have cost him tournaments in the past only made me like him more. This story tops all.

How are we an hour away from the press conference and the Empty Podium has not made an appearance in this thread yet???

No Bingo for 36 months...

Par for the course for this team...Let's go Stafford and MacArthur and Ryan- Your turn for that hour drive west on I-90...Roy and Pominville and Gaustad and Paetsch have all been in that spot, and they've performed...I expect no drop off... As for the injuries, what can you say except it's much better on February 15th than on April 15th.... 13 pts on the Sens...6 pts on the Devils...Buffalo's 82 points is most in the NHL...IT IS NOT YET TIME TO BANG THE HEADS AGAINST THE WALL!!! I'm not sure who has tickets but I will be going to the next three home games...Sat vs. Boston, Tues vs. Philly, and Thurs vs. Ottawa...The guy face down in 1. Swannie 2. Malamute 3. Wobblestone....Please politely step over me instead of on me... Go Sabres!

Seems like you're on the right track, but it just doesn't FEEL right.... Gargantuan?

That's hilarious Billy Fucillo dropped $55K on Miller's goalie mask. If only I could think of a way to describe a generous offer of such a large sum of money with one word....Hmmmm....