Offside Number 76

Is TG a "beat reporter" now? I thought he was brought back to the News as an essayist / columnist.

Last figure I saw was ten and a half minutes. EDIT: Here's a WSJ article from 2010; 11 minutes: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html

200.

I agree with most of what is written above. If the league wants to improve the in-stadium experience, it has to do so at the expense of TV timeouts and in-stadium advertising. An NFL game, in-person, is so slow. The San Diego "no charger" game is the last I went to, and it was great. It was like being at an untelevised college game. The pace was good and we entertained ourselves just fine without the loudspeakers blaring ads at us in between every play. Actual conversations took place with fans two rows away! But the NFL, of course, is not going to cannibalize its TV revenues for the sake of improving the in-stadium feel. To the contrary, the movement of late games back to 4:25pm means that the in-stadium experience will be worse; it's obvious that they are going to add more TV timeouts and such. So the league is turning to technology? Does the NFL really think that I'm going to bring my iPad into a stadium so it can get beer-soaked and broken? Does the NFL really think that I want to fiddle with a smartphone to find a replay, seven minutes later over an overloaded wifi connection, of some missed call? If the Bills want to improve the live game experience: 1. Widen traffic routes and/or increase public transportation so it doesn't take two hours to leave. 2. Expedite the entry process, and it is a process, by adding gates (as long as they're renovating) and staff. 3. Cut the in-stadium noise through the loudspeakers so that we can hear ourselves talk and cheer. 4. Cut the TV timeouts. MAYBE no. 2 will happen; the rest will not.

I have to disagree. And I wonder, if they had better QBs, whether you would think differently.

1) I remember it being an "old man" look, too. 2) I was at New Era HQ earlier today. Possibly the only offices I've ever been in where hats are acceptable. And yeah, the employees leave the stickers on the hats. Oh, and (3) if any New Era employees are reading this, tell the girl in the Brooklyn Nets hat that she has a fan.

I wish New Era had more non-fitted choices. It makes it very difficult to buy a cap as a gift.

That's how I read it, too.

I wouldn't buy it either. I have expensive taste, but it runs to clean-lined minimalism and not all that flowery crap in that place. I'm jealous of McGee's condo in the Avant.

Look, not the most reliable source, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla_Glass I don't think it's strong enough for a football helmet.

The fact that it was part of a receivership helped drive that price down, too.

Yeah, and Rypien had a great year in 1991 (92 SB) but he still was mediocre at best. You didn't have to pay attention to it or respond to it.

Who the hell is Chad? Chan? He isn't a big ol' anything. He's just not big.

Agreed that it's incredible, but I completely fail to see how that's going to work on a football field. Unless someone needs to run an app off of an opponent's helmet. Gorilla Glass (Corning) is designed to be a relatively tough, yet incredibly electric-sensitive, surface for smart devices. It is nowhere near strong enough to withstand any impact in any sport. Just drop an iPhone without protection. You'll see what I mean.

If they can do it in hockey (some might remember Pat LaFontaine's full-face shield), they should be able to do it in football. No flying elbow is going to have the impact of a hockey puck.

Apparently three guys are, and they're getting in the way of seeing the chick in the black sundress and the other chick in the black bikini. Some photog had misplaced priorities.

Thanks for confirming that it wasn't fake deja vu. As for the people asking about Encore, it's an "it bar" for the 21-30 set from Thursday through Saturday. Wood is squarely in that age zone, and there is nothing wrong with him hanging there. It's a nice place, off Chip, but near enough that I (not in the 21-30 set anymore, unfortunately) don't go there unless it's dinner on a weeknight or for a planned event. Which it actually does really well. (I've been to a couple of planned "ends-in-zero" birthday parties on the patio.) As for weeknights, it's a fair dinner consideration in the mid price range. The food really is good.

Isn't eball's remark and a lot of what follows a reference to some thread from last year where he was drinking a daiquiri or something in Vegas? In any event; know what the most powerful man in the world drinks? Whatever he wants.

New Orleans's paper is going to publish only three days each week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18346130

Well, except the majority of News readers don't read it only for Bills coverage. I'm guessing that you read your local paper, but not because it covers the Wolverines and Lions, right?

Yep, that's what the article says, all right. Very smart, IMO.

This is unfortunate but inevitable and necessary. I don't subscribe, mostly because I don't want the newsprint piling up, so I've been reading for free for years. If the tablet version is truly a copy of the paper (as opposed to what a lot of magazines do), I'll subscribe that way; if not, I'll become a Sunday-only print edition subscriber.

Thanks for your opinion. Read the whole thread to see what's actually happening. Then get a new opinion. EDIT: While we're at it, ask some Chicago fans their opinions on their new, state of the art, "New Soldier." They miss the old one. The Ralph needs a major facelift; we don't need a new stadium in WNY. And we won't get one, anyway, and the Bills will stay, also anyway.

I'm aware of that position. Problem is, it's also one more thing the Bills have to prepare. It takes time away from the Bills practicing other offensive plays, too. Seems like a net gain of zero to me. If that happened a higher percentage of the time, I might reassess it.

I hate the wildcat. It was clever five years ago and is outdated now. Teams seldom pass out of it, so it's almost always a direct snap to a RB who is going to run. And yeah, even if that "RB" is a part-time QB, part-time WR (Smith), teams STILL know it's going to be a run. I realize Gailey might like it. I don't.