Offside Number 76

Moving the team 10 or 15 miles closer to Toronto, yet still across the border from that city, is tantamount to not moving it at all, as far as that market is concerned. Why bother, if that's the reason? If the reason is to tap into a regional WNY plan, cool; move the team. But you're not going to attract more Toronto fans by moving the team to the Falls.

1. The county shouldn't matter. DC and NYG/NYJ aren't even in the same state (or district) as the teams named after those cities. NF (US) is a suburb just like OP is, regardless of where the county lines are drawn. To some of us in Buffalo (and I mean the city of Buffalo), NF is closer than OP. From my West Side house, NF is about 20 mins, and OP, 30. It would hardly change the local character of the team, much less the name. 2. It would boost tourism. 3. There is not much to do in NF, but there is NOTHING to do in OP. 4. There is a lot of vacant land, because there are a lot of closed production facilities. Frankly, except for the fact that NF is more corrupt than any other area in the free world, it's a really good idea. Really good. What's the real downside?

"dissipate" is the word you're looking for, I think, and once the evacuees are back in their homes, we'll know.

it didn't smell good, either.

Where are you getting that from? Firms like Patton Boggs don't bring "bet the company" lawsuits; they defend them. The NFLPA is not a profit-oriented organization; I'm guessing you're talking about retirement benefits. How are you "sure" that he will continue the status quo with older retirees? And who cares about NFL background? The previous guy had it--but he didn't protect older retirees. Are you just trying to B word about something, and stumbled on this?

Indeed, it is a fake.

Shaw, Smerlas, and Haslett are the locks from this group. Especially Smerlas--absolutely no one has emerged at that position to take his spot. I like to make fun of the guy (as if my screenname didn't give that away), but we haven't had a better DT since he left. Sestak will probably stick around, too, unless they want 4 LBs (not a bad idea).

Johnson and Losman aren't even candidates. A few other posters have mentioned Defect Dufek, Mathison, and Ferragamo. Considering only folks who had shots to be starters (thus immunizing Matt Kofler and Bill Munson), these guys were the worst possible. Between 1983 and 1985, this troika of misery terrorized our community, and I really hope that you're too young to have seen the horrors that scar some of our memories to this day. Of the three, Ferragamo (who had started a Super Bowl for the Rams before coming here) came with the highest expectations. But I think Mathison was the worst of the three. Dan Darragh's stats aren't too good, either, but I'm not quite that old. Never saw him play. And I'm not sure he was intended to start--did he start games b/c of injuries?

Without commenting on your particular logo, I love where this topic is headed.

Not surprised at the stupidity...just surprised that these ideas came through the Buffalo News, and not on a certain message board somewhere.

Has it occurred to anyone that the reason the Culver City police didn't publicize this* was because someone there realized that there might not have been any good reason for the search to begin with? Has it occurred to anyone that the same PD may have charged everyone in the car with "possession" of the same weapon, which was in the trunk? More importantly, and I direct this to the Americans on this board, which should be the majority (non-Americans, you may well have a very different standard where you live), what the hell happened to the God-given right of reasonable freedom from police intrusion? Has anyone given any decent explanation for why this car was pulled over? What happened to the gun nuts (I did see a very well-articulated comment earlier in the thread about how gun freedom is protected if you're white) who should be screaming about Lynch's right to bear arms? What happened to the presumption of innocence? Some of the comments I've read suggest that there's a fair amount of self-examination due for some of our so-called "patriots" on this board. The absolute worst came from a poster who suggested that Lynch "was trouble" the moment he was drafted. The press on Lynch after the draft was all about how he bought a suburban WNY house for his mother and brother, to get them out of the rougher area in which he grew up, and to keep them close to him. He was lauded for his family commitment and his desire to see his little brother succeed. There was no mention of any trouble when Lynch was drafted, and of course, when I challenged said poster to come forward with something, anything, well, there was nothing. A lot of what I'm reading early this morning (on Presidents' Day, of course) is bigoted or ignorant at best, anti-American at worst, and completely not helpful at all. Despite what Lynch did last year on Chippewa Street (and I believe that he did what he is purported to have done), there's no reason to some of what I've read here. Even if the facts eventually prove those posters to be correct, there's no reason to those posts, at this point. * I saw Tim Graham's earlier comment on this board, and in this thread, about how the media wouldn't necessarily have picked up on this quickly, because they may not have known that the man arrested was an NFL player, because, in turn, the police may not have known. With due respect, I think that's unlikely. At the station, Question 2 should have been, "So, what do you do for a living, Mr. Lynch?" (Right after Question 1, "What brings you to Culver City?") I understand, but do not believe, that Lynch may not have answered the questions. It's become normal for PDs across the country to publicize celebrity arrests before any determination of whether prosecution is proper, unfortunately, and I think it's no accident that this arrest was buried. But it was nice of Mr. Graham to post.

Really? How so? Or are you just pissed that he has a better car?

There's an earlier thread on this site. That thread linked to a couple of other bills fansites, and one of those linked back to the Cal fansite I posted above.

By the way, for those curious to see where this "broke" first, here's a link to the Cal Bears message board that has been discussing this for a couple of days: http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10162 That discussion mentions LA station KABC; I searched the KABC website and turned up nothing.

Huh? Are you sure you're not confusing the "11" from the arrest date?

There is nothing illegal about looking at a public record, and there is nothing illegal about disseminating information contained in a public record. Like everyone else here, I'm curious as to whether this is true or a prank (maybe the sheriff's dept. was training a new employee on how to use the online system & the employee hates the Bears or something--this news did first "break" on a Cal Bears message board, right?); I'd be very surprised if it turned out to be a different individual with the same name.

Damn. I was just about to post my Mock Hair. Kiper was first.

I think that was his point. Everyone saw the 1999 Rams as a one-dimensional, offense-only team. Everyone was wrong.

Aren't you in Atlanta?

We get a bunch of folks who live away, in places like Texas, who expect us to subsidize a football team for them to watch on TV.

Are they kidding? A balloon hitting an electric tower before the Chargers game nearly resulted in fans being trampled at the gates.

That Arizona defense has looked good exactly three times, from what I've seen: two times in the playoffs, and, of course, once against the Bills. Damn, they can turn it on when they want to (apparently); the questions are, (1) why did they have to wait until now, and (2) why, in the regular season, did they have to do their N-Test against the Bills?! That D is for real. We might have to suffer a Balto-Zona Super Bowl. Sleepy.

--lots of new construction downtown in the last five years --people returning to the area, and people who've never lived here moving to the area, rather than people leaving --economic stability compared to the rest of the country There always will be something wrong in this city and in every other city. But for once, I really think we're doing okay. Never felt this way until about a year ago.

Buffalo, and the area around it, is doing better right now than at any other point in the last thirty years. It's going to be fine.

Are you a stripper? (ON EDIT: I'm sorry; I meant, "dancer.")