LongLiveRalph

I was almost positive Mitch was Canadian? Not sure though.

I think TO did a fine job with the game. It was a good crowd, solid support for the Bills and some noise for the Steelers too, whose fans always travel well. I don't blame any Canadian fan who wasn't fooled by the "shiney NFL" and refused to shell out big bucks for an exhibition game. I would've told Rogers to shove it up his ass. Charging $70 for preseason games, where the product is a shell of the actual regular season event, is criminal. I don't even have a word for what charging $250 is. I hope the Toronto experiment is a raging success, and the Bills become the team of choice in Canada. The Red Tory made a good point in his post that he's been a Bills fan his whole life, the team is not more "mine" than it is "his." We are in this together as Bills fans. Let's hope for another 50 years in Buffalo, an undefeated record in Toronto, and millions of fans in between.

Perfect. More money for the athletes.

Agreed...But Pennington could throw the 15-20 yard pass accurately, but he didn't have an arm. Losman throws a beautiful deep ball, but struggled with accuracy and timing of the in-between throws. I prefer Edwards' starting point over those two, certainly...If he can develop some stretch-the-field ability, he will be in good shape, you're right. Even if successful downfield plays don't always result, just attempting them sometimes works wonders for an offense.

I liked the plays, but obviously, execution is the key regardless of the play call. Tasker mentioned it, that Edwards' arm strength was on display on the 15-yard out patterns and the 20-yard curl routes. He had a lot of zip on the ball, they were on a line, and they were accurate. Trent would certainly lag behind Losman in a pure "arm strength" contest, or throwing the 65-yard bomb. But he showed he had plenty of jump in his arm on those crucial middle-long throws.

You're talking about 1% of the athletes who play a sport that you can make a living in, and are good enough to play professionally. I think Big Cat was talking more about field hockey, swimming, and other "minor" sports that don't garner much national interest or have clear paths to professional leagues.

Not only was Turk calling plays that resulted in TD's, but the TD's were caught by a tight end. This is not acceptable, and not conducive to Dickie J winning the 12-10 game that he so enjoys. I have a feeling there could be a press conference at the Ralph this afternoon to announce "fundamental differences" that have resulted in Schonert's departure. Funny text message I got early in the game last night from my friend, who lives in Chicago: "Game not on NFL Net until midnight, but I see on Internet that Bills are up 7-0. Who got the two safeties?"

I played a sport in college too. Hooray for us. You will never completely eliminate the seedy characters in any area where money is in the billions. But it might actually curb some of the illegal "under the table" handoffs and no-show "jobs" that boosters supply now, if athletes are paid a stipend that is regulated and monitored.

Exactly. I'm watching the game for the game. The announcers are just "there" as far as I'm concerned, and I don't notice if they are good or bad (the one exception is the Patrick/Maguire/Theismann 3-hour blowjob of Bruschi when he returned from the stroke a few years ago...That was unbearable.)

They are not idiots up there, they are NFL fans, plenty of whom have made trips to the Ralph. They understand what an "exhibition" game is, and they don't feel like paying $500 for a prime seat. Would you??? Or are you not a football fan? There's no question the crowd was pro-Bills. But Steelers fans have ALWAYS travelled well. It's not unheard of to have 20,000 Terrible Towels in the Ralph when Pittsburgh plays there.

I would like to see a list of preseason games where you said, "Man, this game is pretty average, but these announcers are making it GREAT!!!" Can't think of any? Me neither. So why let them ruin it for you??? I realize its en vogue to complain about [insert announcer here] and say they suck. But it seems that most of the complaints are from those who hang on their every word. If it's that unbearable, turn down the sound, crank some tunes, crack a beer, and enjoy the game!

First of all, is big time college sports NOT an arms race today? It wouldn't be up to the school how much they are allowed to pay. It would be a firmly regulated ceiling. Anything above that would subject to sanctions. Do you have any clue how much money football and basketball bring in? Do some research. You can start with the television contracts. You don't even have to get into the 90,000 seat stadiums, jersey sales, postseason tournaments, bowl games, ADVERTISING on websites and on campus, MILLIONAIRE BOOSTERS, additional application revenue thanks to national recognition, the NCAA Hall of Fame, etc etc.... These are 18-to-22 year old world class athletes. 99% of them will turn professional when they are 23, and IT WILL NOT BE IN ATHLETICS. They are going to get jobs, just like you and me. Is it so wrong to give them some cash every month for the FULL TIME JOB they have representing the university??? I will reiterate, nobody thinks these kids should be getting "pro-style" contracts. Just some spending cash for food, rent, family, etc. Hell, tie it to academics. Give athletes $250/month, or $500/month if GPA is above a 3.0, or $750/month if above a 3.7 Just as an example, let's take a 4-year class of players at USC. Let's say there's 80 players on the roster, so over 4 years, that's 320 players. They have made a BCS Bowl game each of their 4 years, resulting in $14 million per-game payout each season. That's $56M over 4 years. If you gave each player $500/month for the 9 month school year, that's $360,000 per year. That's $1.4M over 4 years. You think the school can cover it? And we're not even considering ticket revenue, jersey sales, and all the other items mentioned above. Of course there are other athletes, in other sports at the school. Maybe there's a discrepency in who receives what. It doesn't make it fair...The women's field hockey team is just as committed as the men's basketball team. But it just doesn't generate the revenue, and the stipend may have to reflect that. There are plenty of variables to work out, I'm just thinking out loud here. To just accept that the NCAA, the universities, and the presidents are allowed to roll in the dough, while the athletes they churn out like a factory are killing themselves to make this money, I think they should get a SMALL piece of the pie. You won't be able to convince me otherwise.

If 3rd & 6 is putting your QB in a bad position, then you have the wrong QB.

A QB can slide a bit in the pocket, but once they take those 2-3 steps forward, the ball has to come out or its trouble. I realize the rush collapsed on him pretty quickly, but watching JP make the same old mistakes is not shocking.

So, doing something which requires a MASSIVE outlay of personal time, that benefits ALL other aspects of the school, INCLUDING academic programs, faculty, non-revenue producing athletics, intramurals, dormitories, food service, new facilities, and on and on...As well as REPRESENTING the school by wearing their name and colors on national televison, earning prestige and spurring interest in the university...Those individuals don't deserve a stipend ON TOP of their academic scholarship? The university presidents and conference commissioners should take that extra dough and put in their own coiffers? When CBS starts paying $6 Billion to televise the NCAA science competition, then you may have an argument. Until then, give a little back to the student-athletes who are abusing their bodies for the good of their school. There's plenty of money to go around, and nobody is suggesting that these kids should be paid so that they can drive around campus in a Jaguar. Just enough to cover rent and maybe eat at Applebees a couple times a month.

What about the facilities, dorm rooms, and libraries that other students benefit from, because of athletics? What about national recognition for the school? "Getting paid" by getting a free education is not a valid point. A great chemistry student might also get a full ride, but he's not spending 5+ hours a day at practice, and traveling all over the country representing his university. He can use that extra time to get a job and pay for his apartment. A Division I athlete, who logs thousands of hours per year IN ADDITION to their schoolwork, has very little free time outside of school, sports, and sleep. I realize he's getting a free education. He's also bringing in HUGE revenue for the school, which allows the other students to enjoy first-rate facilities. It's likely he couldn't afford college without a full ride. But now he's supposed to quit the football team to pay for his apartment? I agree, the kid seems like a clown for even considering a $1000/month apartment in the first place...But when you see CBS give the NCAA $6 BILLION (yes, with a B) to televise the Final Four tournament, it makes you realize that maybe $1500/month to these athletes is not too ridiculous.

That's a big Steelers hangout...I figured they'd have the game.

Fuel is very cheap at marinas.

US is playing Greece right now, with some revenge on their minds...Greece schooled the USA in the semi-finals of the World Championships in '06 with a very efficient pick-and-roll offense. The USA is playing lights out defense, running the fast break, and passing well. They exploded in the 2nd quarter and take a 51-32 lead into halftime. You can tell they really want this game. They are fired up.

He sounds like a stroke.

I definitely think the athletes should get reimbursed for the boatloads of cash they bring the universities. However, I went to college from 1997-2001, and my rent was $260/month for a nearly-condemned apartment. It was a 7-bedroom house I shared with 6 other friends, and our TOTAL rent was $1800 per month. I don't feel bad for the kid if he just HAD to move into the pimped out, penthouse pad as a 20-year old and now suddenly realizes he can't afford it.

A penis says to his balls, "I'm takin' yall to a party." The balls say, "F that you liar!!! You always go inside and leave us outside knocking!"

I voted NO on #1, I want them to win. I also voted NO on #2, I don't think you are wrong for wanting them to flop, because I kinda wanted the 2004 team to flop. And they did. Badly. In 2004, playing for the national team was a burden. Players were turning down invitations to play. There was a bunch of young, entitled hotshots. They played the game the wrong way...And they were not only losing, they were losing big and looking like the 2nd-best team on the court. They were young, unprofessional, and pouted during games. Somehow they mustered enough pride to win the bronze, and pride wasn't much of an asset on that team. This year, you have a core group of players who have played together for 3 years. They put together a roster of players who committed to 36 months together, thru Beijing '08, which also included a third place finish in the World Championships in '06. Only Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett said "No thanks" to the three-year committment in '05, compared to 14 players who turned down Uncle Sam before the Athens Games, resulting in an average age of 23.6 on the roster in 2004. The good foreign teams spend a full four years together before the Olympics. They have played in international tournaments together since they were teenagers. Before the Athens games, the US team practiced 15 times and played 6 exhibitions. The current US team has worked out over 70 times together, and played 29 games before the opener against China. They are playing hard, they have accepted the rule differences rather than crying about them, they are playing as a team, and they are humbled. On offense, they may get a little "comfortable" at times, and try for the highlight reel. But if you have any doubts what it means to the players, watch the intensity on the defensive end. They are talking, trapping, challenging shots, and hitting the boards hard. I'm pulling for them.

How DARE YOU call tailgating meaningless!!!!!

Rick Jennarette Vin Scully Bill Raftery Gus Johnson I do like Tirico, very talented...Good at football, good at golf, I enjoy his afternoon radio show