Spun

If they could sit Stevie down at a table with T.O., MAYBE, he might learn something about not squandering one's career with poor decisions and lack of focus.

I believe a lot of players will end up looking better as Manuel develops. I am eager to see how Easley does as he seems to play with hunger.

I picked inability to convert on third downs, penalties and play calling. Stevie's drop was part of the third down failures and the play calling had a lot to do with Spiller not getting room. If I was an opposing coach I would have also keyed on Spiller. Maybe they should have used Spiller more as a decoy in the first half or until the pursuit of Spiller loosened up. Brady was going to score sooner or later. So many concerns! For a while, the defense uncharacteristically sent the Pats off after three downs. But by the time the last series came around, the defense was gassed and Brady simply punished. The time of possession: Pats: 37:43 and the Bills: 22:17. Blame part of that on the no-huddle. But just like "recent" years, the Bills offense couldn't stay on the field when they needed to and the defense couldn't exit when they needed to (third downs). Onward and better!!!

Leonard took the crown by winning the first four rounds and the last two. Hagler was off his game. Hagler could have had Leonard while Sugar was rope-a-doping but didn't or couldn't. Should have been a rematch but Hagler quit (?)... I saw Leonard / Hearns I via Closed Circuit (that is what they called it!) at the Aud. Leonard had a classic rally in the 14th round (?). Most championship fights used to be scheduled 15 rounders. Hearns won Leonard / Hearns II. It was ruled a draw. Hearns was robbed.

As if on cue, the LA Times Kevin Baxter has an article about the Braves: http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/la-sp-1225-buffalo-braves-20121225,0,7566494.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

Clip Smith and his tuba! RIP man! The weather outside, any time, any weather!!!

The Braves have been mentioned a couple of times this season. When Mike Brown was fired from the Lakers early this year, the name Dolph Schayes came up. Dolph Schayes was the Buffalo Braves first coach who was fired or resigned (depending on the source) after the first game of the 1971-72 season (season two of the Braves). Schayes' departure was the quickest on record in one season. Randy Smith. Wow!!! Three sport star from Buffalo State. Basketball, soccer and track! Fred Hilton!!! I used to listen to the games on WBEN with Van Miller calling the games. "Hilton from thirty feet!!!"... Two days ago I saw Bill Walton riding his bike along the San Diego shoreline. If the Braves had lasted a few more seasons, Walton COULD (!) have been a Buffalo Brave as he left Portland as a free agent to his hometown San Diego Clippers for the 1978-79 season. If you look at the names of those who played for the Braves it is impressive. Adrian Dantley was the third Braves draft choice to be Rookie of the Year (in the course of five seasons- also Bob McAdoo and Ernie Digregorio) . In 1976-77. Bob McAdoo, Randy Smith and Adrian Dantley all averaged more than twenty points per game. Moses Malone played for the Braves an entire two games (strange)! Tiny Archibald was traded to the Braves but he never played a game for them in his only season as a Brave because of a knee injury (unfortunate)... The NBA owners went along with John Y. Brown who sold off the Braves players for cash and very bad trades so as to make the Braves more attractive for sale and relocation. In roughly two years, the ownership dismantled a playoff caliber team and then demanded that Buffalo fans buy a certain amount of season tickets or the team would move. Sadly, the fans (justifiably) didn't buy the mandated level of season tickets and the team left for San Diego. This subject got me going and this is what I found on the Braves mostly through www.basketball-reference.com. Here are the Braves attendance ranks for the years of 1971-72 thru 1975-76: 1971-72 6th/17 teams, 1972-73 9th/17, 1973-74 4th/17 and 1974-75 5th/18. The Braves greatest attendance total was in the 1974-75 season, 467,267. The Braves worst attendance figure was 204,053 14th/17. The last year in Buffalo attendance had slid to 19th/21, a total of 252,457. In San Diego, the Clippers reached their highest league attendance rank and total in 1979-80 of 19th/22 and 325,012. The Clippers worst attendance was in 1982-83 when they ranked 23rd/ 23 with 158,887. To put things in perspective the now L. A. Clippers set their greatest attendance mark of 755, 261 in 2006-07 at Staples Center for a NBA rank of 11th. Currently, the Clippers are ranked 5th at 286,114. I am not sure of the record but for point of illustration, San Antonio had 913,175 in 2001-02. Interestingly, the Braves came into being the same year as the Sabres in 1970-71 along with two other NBA franchises, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Could the Braves have competed economically in today's NBA? I doubt it. My guess is the NBA may have to contract in the next few years (like the NHL). In any case, the Braves were part of a golden era of Buffalo sports. The Braves story is a classic story on how to run a sports franchise into the ground. After the Braves left, I never attended another NBA game. I skip that part of the sports report. I do follow college basketball. Basketball is a great sport to play and watch. Franchise shifts are demoralizing yet life moves on. My Braves pennant is still posted on the wall.

Nice start: http://worldjuniors.usahockey.com/news_article/show/204048?referrer_id=707994 Finland in a another tuneup tomorrow morning (December 22nd)... From what I read, Russia is loaded (again) and determined.

So sad and unnecessary. Let rational minds settle our differences peacefully, if possible.

Here is the CBC take on the issue: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/opinion/2012/12/bills-still-only-nfl-option-for-toronto.html

Very nice!!! As usual, Miss Venezuela was incredible: http://www.missvenezuela.com/Fotos/?idCategoria=&ImageSelect=9&idMultimedia=&idSeccion=2012&Titulo=resumen-irene-esser-la-noche-del-miss-universo-2012 I have no fuss for whatever she was saying...

I was intending to type in my password when I started typing libido instead. Runners have quite the energy. And more.

Mark my words, one of these days the Grey Cup / Coupe de Gris will be decided by a rouge. Then all hell will break lose. Take off!

I saw three films in the last couple of weeks: Lincoln, Life of Pi and Starlet. Lincoln was very well done with some Disney, Spielberg hokiness. Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Fields were very good. The vocabulary, yes, the vocabulary, was very good! They used an older style of English so it helps to listen closely! Set designs and costumes will probably get nominated. I do wonder how much of this film was true. The film is based on a book by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. As I stated in another thread Life of Pi was very good. Reading the book first is helpful. See the film in 3D! Starlet was a very engaging film with a storyline that some may find distasteful. Indie / Art House films can get a little racy and this film does just that. The film was well done with a very good ending.

I insisted on reading the book first. After a few starts and stops over the lastyear I finally finished the book last week. The first forty or so chapters are slow on action but offer valued background. J. R.: the early part of the book is uneventful. I had to keep coming back and I am glad that I did. Read the book first as it helps you understand some of the details. I got the book out of my public library. As for the film, I saw it in 3D. I don't usually care for CGI as it is usually coupled with a weak story. Life of Pi was different. They stayed with the book which pleased me. The animals were incredible. This movie is a sleeper. People are saying "C'mon a boy on a raft with a tiger?". Give it a chance. It is a great film for adults and kids but I would be careful about showing this one to very young kids. Go see this one and spill the extra cash for 3D.

Which part? The part about the cops or the part about me living like I was fifteen years ago? The me part gets worse! You don't want to know my dinosaur story! As for SDPD, I can't commend them enough! Above and beyond the call of duty! Southern Cal has had some serious car theft issues over the years. The "wild west" has a lot of truth to it even today... People stealing tanks, busses... The freedom is cool. Some are just too free...

I had my '95 Honda Accord stolen in San Diego this past summer. I was in a 24 coffee house for about three hours. San Diego streets are fairly dark as they try to accomodate a major telescope in the northern part of SD County (Mt. Palomar). It was a Sunday night around 2:30 am when I discovered my car was gone. Sunday nights are great for thieves because many streets are dark and quiet. Fortunately, the coffee shop is also popular with SDPD. Two things really had me worried. Firstly being around twenty miles from the U.S./ Mexican border I feared that my car was already disassembled in one of Tijuana's "chop shops. Secondly, there a lot of street racers around town who love to buy older car parts at reduced (stolen) prices. I had insurance but no alarm and no club. A cop was in the coffee shop when I left so I returned to report my loss. A couple of cruisers soon pulled up. The SDPD helicopters were down for the night. The cops asked if I had any security at all. I mentioned that I had Lojack installed when I bought the car in 1998 but I never renewed the service. The cops added that sometimes LoJack is still active regardless of whether the service was renewed or not. The cops recommended that I call the U.S. Border Patrol since they keep track of every car entering and exiting the U.S. Not having a cell phone, I took a taxi home to call the Border Patrol. I found their number in the phone book and was about to pick up the phone when I heard the voice of one of the cops speaking over my answering machine. I picked up to learn that the cops had found my car! The LoJack was still working! I was worried about the condition of the car. The cop on the phone asked if I had a way to my "new" parking spot. I did not. So what did the cops do? They sent a cruiser to pick me up at my home and drive me to my car about ten miles away. My car wasn't damaged. No busted locks nor busted glass. Nothing was stolen from the trunk. (In Southern California we learn not to leave anything in plain sight inside the car). The theory is that the thief used a "skeleton key" to enter the car and start the ignition. Some believe that they used my car as a ride home. I believe the theory that the thief staged the car for a later pickup. I was very lucky. I am amazed that I still own my car. As for the SDPD? They did more than I expected them to do. It is nice to have the cops on my side! They were incredible! I now have a club to deter the amateurs. I am concerned about the easy access. Hondas are great otherwise. I have somewhere around 225,000 miles on the car. The odometer is broken but the engine is still ripping. Good luck getting your car back. If you have LoJack, you have a good chance.

It is newsworthy when the Pats don't run up the score.

Years from now the Pats legacy should place it's front office above all else (including Brady). They pull parts out and put parts in and it works. It is frustrating. They have drafted well and they have picked up useful free agents over the years. They keep coming up with these "who the hell is this" players that do damage (especially to the Bills). What if the Bills had Gronk, or Welker? Gronk was the 42nd pick in the 2010 draft. The Bills picked Torell Troup with the 41st pick. Hopefully, one day Troup will emerge as a force? Welker was originally signed as a FA by the Chargers, then picked up be the Dolphins. The Pats have also had very good luck. It is very frustrating. I do like some of what Buddy Nix has done. It is too early to judge some of the guys who may end up being very useful down the road (T.J. Graham). I haven't given up on this season but I do feel the Bills are a monster linebacker and a game breaking wide receiver (Is Marquis Lee leaving USC?) away from being playoff material. I know "what if" is pointless but it's been what? 12 years since the last playoff appaearance?

Hilarious!!! Or, "down because he meant to be down after knowing how the play actually turned out or somethun'...!!!". I actually thought the Post response was tame. I thought it would be worse. The Seinfeld reference is classic! Based on their thumping of the Bills in Week 1 and recent rebuilding, I thought the Jets would be better. Some times everything seems to go wrong and that seems to be the story for the Jets last night. That fumble by McKnight was one of the better pitches I have seen all season. With the Jets losing, that clears one of the Bills playoff contender to the side for the moment. With the Pats being so far ahead in the division, I could understand some rooting against the Jets. I just cannot get myself to do root for the Pats. Somebody, anybody take them out. Ravens, Broncos, whoever.

The "translation" is incorrect. That is not what I wrote nor implied. People (not just 18-22 year olds) are frustrated and that is expressed in many ways and not necessarily having any thing to do with alcohol. Not going to games in December or at all. Cancelling season tickets. Not following the team any more. Not buying merchandise. Blackouts (the TV form not the alcohol one). It isn't an excuse. It is an observation. The 18-22 olds drink heavy whether it is at a football game or not. That is another observation expressed by many. I get the frustration and the anger. I do know what people are talking about. Like I wrote, heavy drinking (binge drinking) is a national problem that is getting worse. And yes,the abusive drunkenness is part of the perception people have of Buffalo. I live in San Diego. We used to be able to drink beer at the beach. Heavy drinking, violence and litter combined to end that "privilege". Every weekend there is a slew of DUI's and hit and runs reported on SD news. Traffic checkpoints and $20,000 "deterrents" are not enough to deter the DUi's and hit and runs. Shawn Merriman knows about that one. So does Vincent Jackson. At some point, individual teams like the Bills will have to get further involved in the situation. I don't know what they are waiting for. The national drinking issues are why teams are building stadiums with limited tailgate options.

I have a few different takes on this. Firstly a story. I haven't been to a Bills hame game in many years. One of the last games that I went to was memorable not because of what happened on the field. My friends and I had seats in the very last row of the stadium for MNF. We partied, had fun and coexisted with those around us. From where we sat we could see an exit walkway outside the stadium. Two guys were leaving while the game was going on. One guy was trying to help his drunken friend who for whatever reason couldn't walk and keep his pants up. They both kept falling down. It went on for about ten minutes. We'd watch a play and look over and sure enough, no progress. Staggering, falling down, pants still down. It was funny but probably PG. Before the game, my friends and I had a similar experience as the earlier poster with some tailgaters a few spots down from us but with some differences. We were buzzed but in control. Our neighbors offered us some burgers and hot dogs and we obliged. We appreciated the gesture. It was very cool. That was then and I guess that still goes on. Drinkers can be cool and sober people can be asses. But too often it is the other way around. However, I don't think sniping at all young people and young drinkers is accurate. I love their enthusiasm and passion. In fact, I prefer sitting near the younger people. I don't mind smart partying. I do mind rude, inconsiderate and overly drunk. And that isn't just the young. A lot of the young fans are cool and they are fun. And some of the young fans also prefer to avoid the drunkenness. I bartend for a living. I see all walks of life, professions, age groups, etc. I have served many, many, thousands of people. I have also partied with Buffalo expats at football and Sabres games and at various Bills bars nationally. A sizable number of Buffalo fans party hard. It is true at RWS, Chippewa, Elmwood and many places Buffalo fans and nonfans gather. Buffalo people drink hard. Sorry, the evidence is out there! No denials! Buffalo people drink hard! It is expected for a city with a 4 am bar closing time. Nationally, Buffalo football and hockey fans have a rep. Deny it if you will be that is a fact. And it isn't just football fans. Sabres fans (including my own peeps) go to games and get ripped. It happens. And happens. I am no innocent but I do try to take stock of my surroundings when attending games. Families, kids, opposing fans. It does matter Look around and park the f-bombs! At hockey games in places such as Carolina, Columbus, Washington, Anaheim and Florida, etc., Sabres fans come in with great enthusiasm and a great buzz. Fans in those cities don't come to games because of us! Part of that has nothing to do with drinking but some of it does! Comparing what happened and does happen at RWS with other stadiums doesn't make overly drunk behavior acceptable anywhere. Denial is typical of drinkers. But I repeat, it isn't just the younger fans. I was the same way. Getting buzzed is fun. But when buzzed and when trying to recollect what happened the previous day, usually it is the fun that sticks out. Why does my drinking have to ruin the experience for ANYBODY else? There is drinking and there is drinking to get hammered! Nationally, I think Americans like to let their steam fly too much when drinking. Drinking too much, too fast and too often is a national problem and it is routinely a problem for the newest drinkers. The DUI's and hit and runs are a national epidemic. Drinking leads to violence for too many. Especially, after Super Bowls. And as for the litter. Never excusable. Never. One last point. The idea that Bills fans have some pent up energy has some truth to it. We are tired off waiting for success on the field. And we also have this perception that we are jilted when scheduling MNF and prime time games. Success on the field could help that state of mind.

Indeed. That averages out to slightly less than five drinks per person over a four hour period. The bill could have been a lot worse. Hosted bars imply generosity. 34 of your closest friends and family appreciate hosted bars! Hosted bars turn drinkers into DRINKERS! Also, when it comes to the preparation of drinks (martinis) with hosted bars, there usually isn't a rigid pouring standard for drinks! It is typical and expected to get a little more than an exact $12 portion! People remember receptions with hosted bars for good reasons. Cash bars tend to perturb - especially at $12 a bang! Sometimes the resto or hotel sells what is known as a "package deal" with a set fee per person for a set period of time. So a heavy drinker and soda sipper are assessed the same amount. If you have a bunch of drinkys at your soiree it might make sense to have a "per head" deal. But if you have a bunch of soda-sippers (kids), never take the "per head" deal. Classy resto, good food, hosted bar! It sounds like you did okay!

I just happened to flip on the LA Times site and caught the landing at LAX! Very cool! I wish it made it's way over SD. It looks very hazy up in LA. I wonder how many people got to fly along. I hoped they got to eat better than us "regular" folks. I flew AA a few weeks ago and didn't get any edibles. AA is in deep. I recently read that the shuttle fleet has been retired way short of the expected mileage projections. I wonder if that decision was based on safety, money or new directions for NASA.

The show was great! Well written and hilarious! Including the token white guy was also funny. RIP Sherman!