LongLiveRalph

His previous NFC Championship Game in a dome, in 2002, he threw SIX picks against a weak St. Louis defense, two of which got returned for TDs. But yes, I would say the pick at Lambeau vs. the NYG was Favre's worst. His INT yesterday was brutal because it cost them an opportunity, but that was going to be a bomb of a kick. The INT in '07 was in his own end of the field on the second play of OT, which basically allowed the Giants to run two handoffs and kick the winner.

My buddy, a die hard Jets fan, sent me a text message at 4:26pm yesterday: "They are playing great" The Jets had just taken a 17-6 lead in the 1st half and kicked off to the Colts. Before I could respond with an agreement text, the Colts ran three plays and went 80 yards for a momentum swinging TD. I had to laugh, because it occurred to me that no Bills fan would ever send this message. Either for fear of the jinx, or fear of the impending doom that we all knew must be coming. In fact, I have evidence of this. I live in FL and was watching the Bills opener vs. the Pats on Monday Night. I was by myself at my house. When Freddy Jackson scored in the 4th qtr to give the Bills an 11-point lead, my phone blew up. Seriously, 6 or 7 text messages in 30 seconds. All of them saying "Wow Bills" or "They're gonna do it" or "Bills are legit" or something similar. And honest to God, not one of them was from a fellow Bills fan. It was all college friends or people from work who root for various teams. And I didn't respond to any of them. I knew it was too early to pop the champagne. Superstitions are silly, and obviously a text message doesn't cause an 80-yard drive. But why my friend would even allow those words to leave the silence of his own mind is beyond me. I wouldn't do it.

Chad Kroeger

All of Charlie Weis's top-5 recruiting classes got him fired.

Hopefully the talking heads will leave this issue alone in the future, and let coaches determine the best course of action for their team. The Saints and Colts clinched early, tanked a few games at the end of the season, and rested some key starters and other banged-up players. Meanwhile, the Patriots enter the playoffs without their best player, who was injured on a meaningless play in a meaningless game. This season, it worked out for the two best teams, who rested their players. Two years ago, it worked out for the Giants and Patriots, who played hard right thru week 17 and all the way to the Super Bowl. Can we simply determine that it's the organization's discretion, there is no "right answer", and we can all stop with the nonsense? Winning makes you smart. Losing makes you dumb. The end.

I like him to. I don't like the fact that the Bills will have to face that defense twice a year, but I like Rex Ryan. The NFL needs more guys like him. The Belichick/Jauron/Norv style press conferences are an absolute joke. Finally, a coach acting with some bravado and talking a little trash is welcome to me. He puts himself out there, and if they win he looks like a confident leader, and if they lose, he looks like a brash fool. Either way, I like his attitude and he doesn't seem to feel the need to fit into a mold.

And absolutely destroyed Houston on the road in Week 1. Houston was the first team left out. Call it luck or whatever, the Jets did enough to get in. And they validated their abilities with two big road wins in the playoffs. More luck?

When you have a goalie who is basically lights out, and the main reason a team is winning games, and he's difficult to score on, he's going to get run/bumped/crowded/slashed/pestered, and there's not really anything that anybody is going to do about it. When there's 30 games left in a season, points start to mean a LOT more to everyone. Miller is a league MVP candidate and the #1 reason for the Sabres success. You could have Rob Ray, Bob Probert, and Larry Playfair all on the ice together, and some goomba from the opponent is going to try to rattle the goalie. It's a part of the game, and short of a quick left cross in the Toronto game, Miller has composed himself very well. But at this point in the season, every team is playing for something. When Miller is in his zone, he's nearly unbeatable. Teams trying to get in his way and get him out of his comfort zone is inevitable. The Sabres have a handful of players who will step in without fail if somebody crosses the line. Sometimes, adding a "bruiser" has the opposite effect. If Kaleta buries Nicklas Lidstrom in the corner (and then shies away from the pending fight like he always does,) somebody from Detroit will likely say, "You hit our best player, we're going to hit yours." For the Sabres, that's Miller. I love Kaleta but the kid needs to fight. He doesn't need to be a brawler, but 8-9 fights a season would be about right. You can't run around lining people up like that and then skate away from the consequences. That was the one bright spot of Kassain's cheap shot...He knew what was coming, and at least he answered the bell.

That's right. He held out forever, correct? Basically washed his '07 season down the drain before it began.

They ride that run game no doubt. But Sanchez hasn't been horrendous. The INTs look bad, but if you consider that 15 out of the 20 came in four Jets losses, he has played fairly well in 13 of his 17 career games. And he graduated from his up-and-down regular season with two road playoff wins and crucial TD passes in each game. He's far from a field general and he's far from putting a team on his shoulders and winning. But he's proven to be capable of converting 3rd downs and making the necessary throws. 2500 yards for a season can be plenty, if they come in the right situations and you have that run support and defensive support. I hope the Colts smoke them by 30.

JaMarcus Russell, 2008, 23 years old: Started 15 games, 198-for-368, 53.8%, 2,423 yards, 13 TDs, 8 INTs. Mark Sanchez, 2009, 23 years old: Started 15 games, 196-for-364, 53.8%, 2,444 yards, 12 TDs, 20 INTs. I'm not one of the guys who takes the stats at face value. There's more to numbers than fantasy points, and I don't think Sanchez will be the incredible bust that Russell appears to be. However, there's no denying the eerie similarity of their rookie stats. Obviously, it can't be overstated that Sanchez is on a much better team, with a better coach, a better defense, a better run game, and a better OLine. Does that make his stats better or worse? I think there's some hidden data in those numbers which would suggest Sanchez is a better QB. For example (I have no facts to back this up )I have to believe that Sanchez is much better on 3rd down than Russell. In the few games I've watched, he's seemed to have a knack for converting passes and keeping drives alive. And a TD pass to put your team up 14-10 is much different from a TD pass when your team is down 24-0. Take it for what it's worth, I just found it interesting.

Yes born in canada, holds dual-citizenship...But Teen Wolf was based in Oregon I think?

A potential stumbling block for the new league is Michael J. Fox. He's 100% caucasian, but also can morph into Teen Wolf and turn games into a showtime dunk fest. Would he be allowed to play?

A "fundamentals-first" league is not the worst idea. But I think everyone can agree that this guy is going about it completely the wrong way. Setting up race restrictions is absurd, and his line "I don't hate people of color" is pretty comical, I fully expected the requisite follow up "My best friend is black." It doesn't take long to think of two reasons why the race-based restrictions are an absolute joke: Chris Paul is as fundamentally sound as any basketball player of the modern era, but he's black so I guess he's playing streetball. And Chris "Birdman" Anderson is 100% white, but can pretty much only run and jump, and even won the dunk contest. He is covered in tattoos and was suspended for two full seasons because of failing multiple drug tests for "drugs of abuse." But he's not a thug playing streetball. Like I said, a league that enforces basic rules and focuses on fundamentals isn't the worst idea. But it doesn't have to look like "Hoosiers" and players certainly shouldn't be predetermined by skin color. Not every black kid is Lebron James, and not every white kid is Jerry Sullivan.

With or without Big Pat and Winfield?

If you are 23-years old and have decent pay, WITHOUT A DOUBT rent a place in the Elmwood Ave area. Lots of nice spots for reasonable rent, and walking distance to all your local hotspots. Live a fun life for a few more years. The other places you mentioned living will still be there in 3-4 years if you're looking to upgrade your lodging, or "quiet down" a little bit.

A few quick thoughts on this mess of a thread: 1. The Bills have not been trying to lose games for the last 10 years. It just hasn't worked out. 2. ESPN cracks jokes about them. Ummmm, so what??? I gain nothing when they hype the Bills and I lose nothing when they trash them. 3. I enjoy watching the Bills on Sunday and feel good when they win and feel disappointed when they lose. Many Sundays during a season like 2009, I don't bother watching them. Nobody is forcing me to. 4. Ralph Wilson doesn't "owe" Bills fans anything, other than a place to watch NFL football. Same as Applebees owes you a place to eat. Not everyone agrees that it's good. 5. I understand how passionate fans can be. Trust me, Buffalove is fully ingrained in my soul. But anyone who uses their football team to validate their own worth is out of their mind. Enjoy the SPORT for what it is. Somebody from Pittsburgh is not 'better' than you. They just cheer for a different team. 6. Answer me this: Does Robert Kraft "care" about Patriots fans????

I agree, the list of douchebaggery you cited is a sad commentary on the masses. But regardless of our opinions, there is a talent in creating something that millions of people want. Steve Jobs created the iPod. Ed Hardy created fugly t-shirts. Nickelback makes crap rock. All have their place. We are all lying if we said that in our given profession, we wouldn't want to sell 30 million of something at the risk of being considered "uncool." Personally, I think the papparazzi is the most pathetic profession in the world. But what can you say? The profession would cease to exist if nobody was buying their pictures. It's hard to blame them for making money by giving the people what they want. This too shall pass. The 70's had disco, flower bellbottoms, and David Cassidy. Society did not implode. We just move on to the next style/celebrity/music that "sucks."

Ralph signed a deal with Flomax for the stadium naming rights. Announcement at 2pm.

This is where the Bills went completely wrong. They failed to step up to the plate and pay Peters like the proven LT that he was. By far the best lineman they had, Pro Bowler, who they wouldn't give $50 million to. Now they're going to take the best OL available with their 1st round pick and be FORCED to give HUGE CASH to an unproven 22-year old, probably after a lengthy hold out. Nice move fellahs.

I don't know why it matters. There are more avenues than ever to hear music, you can pretty much take any computer with Internet access and listen to exactly the bands and songs that you want to hear. It takes all kinds of people and bands and art and clothing and hair colors and on and on...Variety makes the world a great place!! I hate Nickelback but I don't think any band could possibly or should possibly qualify as the worst. Just because somebody doesn't like my tunes and I don't like theirs doesn't mean that either of us are right or wrong. Those who enjoy Nickelback and buy their albums are certainly entitled to do so. That person won't hear Nickelback in my car if I'm driving, but if I'm riding with them, who am I to tell them what they should like to listen to? Plastic Ono Band is godawful noise.

Listening to the show, I knew Artie has been out for a while and all that was mentioned was that he was in the hospital, it was being handled as a family matter, and that's pretty much all Howard said about it. I fully expected it was a drug relapse...I even assumed that Artie possibly intentionally overdosed as a suicide attempt. I can't say that I saw this news coming though...Stabbing yourself nine times is CRAZY!! The wounds were classified as six "hesitation" wounds and three deep plunges. He is very, very lucky to be alive. He lost an extreme amount of blood and surgeons worked like crazy to save him. He is definitely an addictive mess. But he always spoke lovingly of his mother. It seemed even in his worst moments that he would consider his mother's feelings. Well, she's the one who found him on his floor in a pool of blood, and made a frantic call to 911. She must be devastated. Artie to me is a funny guy, but far from irreplaceable. His stand-up is funny but not outstanding. He makes bank doing comedy because of his attachment with the Howard Stern Show. Narrow scope- He is a big part of a funny radio show, and when he's on, he can have your ribs hurting from laughter. Wide scope- He is a dime-a-dozen comedian who never appreciated the breaks that he got, and continued the destructive behavior that people continued to reward him for. Hollywood and the entertainment industry is littered with wash outs like Artie. The Stern Show should move on with a new sidekick. Read Arties book. This will not be the last tragic occurance in Artie's life. His rock bottom is death. All of the things in Artie's life (addiction, guilt over his father's death, etc. etc.) are all things that others have dealt with and overcome. Often without the support system of family, friends, employers, and financial stability that Artie was lucky enough to have. I wish him well, but it seems worthless because as they say, history is the best predictor of future events, and this is not the final tragedy in Artie's life. It's sad because he's always come off as a genuine guy who liked beer and sports, and had a giving heart. He helped out several "Stern show friends" who fell on hard times, and probably helped out many others outside of the radio show. He just couldn't get himself together.

Imagine a situation where two teams entered the last game of the season both at 1-14. They are without a doubt the #1 and #2 picks in the following draft, no other teams have fewer than three wins. Would a commissioner ever have the balls to declare that the winner is awarded the #1 pick, to avoid an attempted lay down by both teams? I think that would be great. I'd NBC flex-game it if I were the commish.

I like tall buildings too, but for their function more than their form. Scraping the sky out of necessity of the environment around the site. Making a bold statement with form and design, as driven by the need to build up. The country that has built their own man-made islands builds up 800 meters, just because they can? It feels unnecessary and over-zealous. However, from an engineering standpoint, the design of a building the size of two Empire State Buildings stacked one on the other is impressive, and I'm interested in reading more about those challenges. I'm sure, like the article mentioned, that much was learned which will be used and improved upon in the future. Lots of tenant space available...Talk 'em down if you're thinking of leasing, they're desperate!!!

When he makes a left, he is on the highway. As you make a right, you are on the on-ramp to get on the highway. You should always yield, as you are the one trying to merge, not him. If there was no on-ramp, and you were making a right onto the same street that he was trying to make a left onto, then in that situation, the right turn always has the ROW.