Offside Number 76

Just to clarify: my comments are in no way anti-Semitic. I just wonder why New York has to be treated with kid gloves. Philadelphia has a huge Jewish population--larger than that of Chicago--but I don't hear complaints there. I have no problem if they move a game to 1pm. But NYC already gets special handling from the NFL with respect to scheduling because two teams share a stadium (which wouldn't be allowed anywhere else, either, while we're at it).

You think there's any chance those games aren't sellouts? Want to wager on it? The Jets won't lose a dime. But they're based in New York, so they'll B word up a storm.

No kidding. Actually, Philadelphia, which has a considerable Jewish population, has home games on both days as well. So does San Diego. SO DOES BUFFALO, and there are more than a few Jewish season ticket holders here. Where's the outrage? The OUTRAAAAAAAGE! Look, New York, it really isn't just about you. The High Holidays fall during football season, and every year, fans of some teams are going to be faced with this. This year, one of those teams is the Jets. Chances are that it won't happen again for a while. Drop it. The real problem is that by week 4, the Jets may be out of playoff contention, so these fans might be missing the best part of their season.

There are Jewish fans in EVERY NFL city. Why is New York so special? Is it somehow more correct to have the Eagles play home on both of those dates instead?

The Bills haven't had a decent point guard in a long time, and as usual, all I see here is negativity. Why shouldn't point guard be a priority in this year's draft?

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking. Well, let's make the Jewish people in Boston or Philly or Tampa suffer the home game on the holiday. We don't want it in New York City. Very, very selfish, and frankly, typical NYC behavior. Look, there are Jewish fans of sixteen teams that have trouble on each of those weekends (and for the very religious, all 32). It's simply the Jets' fans' turn this time. Too bad.

That's a really good point. Every year, Jets fans are downtown and spending money. Except for years where the Steelers visit, it's probably the biggest Bills-related revenue generator of the season. Not this year.

1 Sep 14 BUF @ NE L 0-1 2 Sep 20 TB @ BUF W 1-1 (and this is very iffy, depending on who is the RB) 3 Sep 27 NO @ BUF L 1-2 4 Oct 04 BUF @ MIA L 1-3 5 Oct 11 CLE @ BUF W 2-3 6 Oct 18 BUF @ NYJ W 3-3 7 Oct 25 BUF @ CAR W 4-3 (you know, after the two feel-good games) 8 Nov 01 HOU @ BUF W 5-3 9 Bye 10 Nov 15 BUF @ TEN L 5-4 11 Nov 22 BUF @ JAC W 6-4 12 Nov 29 MIA @ BUF W 7-4 13 Dec 03 NYJ @ BUF W 8-4 (even in Toronto) 14 Dec 13 BUF @ KC W 9-4 (Yeah! They've got us hoping now, right? Right?) 15 Dec 20 NE @ BUF L 9-5 16 Dec 27 BUF @ ATL L 9-6 17 Jan 03 IND @ BUF L 9-7 (Indy still will need to play for position in the post-season) 9-7. Still no playoffs, and maybe 8-8, depending on who carries the ball in week 2 (see above).

Are you kidding with that point? LET IT NOT SELL OUT! Geez.

Bruschi won't get wet...the water will get Bruschi. (MORE tired humor.)

I do. And I'm almost there. I have about $120 saved up in my drawer, so if the Bills move, I'll buy the Lions and move them across the lake to Buffalo. I'll be overpaying, but hey, it'll be fun.

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.