Whites Bay

Northern Irish. Order of the Orange. I have the banner they left me. It meant something to my ancestors. Now I just enjoy Zweigle's.

Grilled Atlantic Salmon (on Kingsford charcoal with a touch of hickory thrown in), asparagus, Basmati rice and Gascon 2007 Malbec. Wind's coming in from the north tonight. Starting to have just a kiss of autumn in the air. "Carry On" - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

I fly United through Dulles all the time. I'm always glancing nervously to the West during this time of year. Dulles in August, O'Hare in February.... "Height of the Fighting" - Heaven 17

Okay. Sorry for being dick-ish.

To your credit, you're more succint than I am. Most apologetically, mine was a long-winded way of saying that I couldn't care less that the Vikings are better, or worse, or sideways, or dermatologically-compromised-or-enhanced with-or-without Brett "Fav-ruh". Get it? Go to "VikingsmusthaveFavre.com". I just did. There are already four pinned threads on the same topic. Post therein.

I'll make this as level-headed as I can. This is a Bills board. Brett Favre doesn't play for the Bills. Brett Favre plays for the Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings, and pulls a drama queen act every year. There are other sites - such as "www.dramaqueen.com" where you'll find endless chat related to Brett Favre. The Bills are playing on TV tomorrow night. You know...the, er, "Buffalo Bills". Ring a bell? Let's get excited! "Sailing Shoes" - Robert Palmer

Uhh.....YEAH!! The 13-year-old kid who tells his pimply pot-smoking buddies that he got his rocks off with Mrs. Smith at the end of the street! Guess what? There's a line at Mrs. Smiths' house! And 13-year-olds are so discreet, the little dickens.... By the way, I'm elbowing my way to the front of that line, and praying for pimples. She must like 'em.

My guess is that you'll see a front page article in the Buffalo News AND Rochester D&C tomorrow morning announcing the simultaneous resignation of both Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey. The joint press statement will read "Aaron Schatz called us on it. We have no clue, no plan, no hope. We're out of here." Yes, that was sarcasm. The worst part about it is that Aaron Schatz will never have to say "I was wrong". The second worst part is having to watch the Chicken Littles on this board have a collective meltdown over anything Aaron Schatz has to say about anything. No, I take that back. The latter point provides entertainment. Carry on. "Roll Plymouth Rock" - Brian Wilson's "Smile" CD

There still ARE boys who are fighting wars at 13. Cue...Darfur. Sage, respectfully, I'll come down on the side of those who say "Hoo-Ahh!!" Kids are resilient little dickens. You were, I was. They (and we) recover from the teenage years a lot better than the psychs might think. So some 13-year-old gets his rocks off with a hot neighbor...? Guess what? He'll probably reach 23 years old more well-adjusted than some pimply kid who winds up with blisters on his palm.

Imagine if he DOES do well. Won't that scramble a few predictions and outlooks on this forums? I'll tune in for the entertainment!

In response to the inevitable question, the answer is "Yes, of course, you idiot, and so would you". The next question, although perhaps not quite as inevitable, is simply "Why the %)$@ did it take five people to write this crap?" What kind of byline is that? Five trolls? Are you kidding me? "Ain't That A B word" - Johnny 'Guitar' Watson

Jesus. For the umpteenth time, the phrase was "Cranberry Sauce". It was not "I buried Paul". My kids even know that one! Can we just move on?

This is more difficult to answer than a question on wine preferences. Seriously! What's your palate? "How low will you go?" If you're adventurous, I'd recommend a goat cheese. Not a BIG piece, but it's the most distinctive flavor out there. My wife does a Brie melt with walnuts and brown sugar. Fantastic. The kids inhale it with lavash bread. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" - Sly and the Family Stone

Life imitates art. "Falling Down".

Hey Mike, First and foremost, thanks so much for the training camp reports. Far more detail than we get from the mainstream papers! I'd like to focus on the lines if I could. 1) How was Bell, and how was Wood? From what I've read, Wood's been getting a good amount of rest. 2) Is anyone aside from Troup and Williams playing NT? How's that kid Harvey? Again, many thanks.

Hello Lori. Although it's highly likely that you're not reading this material, I wanted to tell you - speaking as someone who takes the written word very seriously - I wanted to tell you that I miss your clear, but very rich, writing style. You're one of the few people on this board that I wanted to meet in person.

Certainly not as snarky as he could have been. Not a bad read at all. I'll pick nits with his nit-picking, however. I don't see how he can say that "Facing the Pats* aerial show might be a bit more difficult for these guys" in one breath, and then conclude with "[McKelvin] paired with Byrd, it looks like this deep, talented secondary could be in good hands for years to come". Logical asynchrony, methinks. Or homerism.

Actually, a major political stink in Canada at the moment is a $9 billion (U.S. or Canadian, it doesn't matter - it's a lot of salsa) proposed purchase of F-35 all-purpose Lockheed fighters. This purchase is being considered because their F-18s are getting a little long in the tooth. Don't discount the political impact of this "aerodynamic impact". This might be the clincher.

Speaking as one of the more optimistic posters on this board, I have to say that this season looks like it's going to be "Son-of-2001-Season". Not quite as many young, unproven players, not quite as many questions to be answered, but the only reason I'm feeling any optimism about this team is because it's ALL that I know how to do. Don't worry, I'll drink the Kool-Aid like I do every year, and I simply CAN'T WAIT until 1:00 P.M. on Sundays, but 2010 is only going to be a slightly more rosy version of 2001. Let's just hope the Bills don't whiff on another Mike Williams next year.

I, too, am growing more comfortable with Gailey as the HC (hate the accent, though). To paraphrase the Front Office, however,"Show me the baby". I'll start really believing in Gailey when he can not only go toe-to-toe with Beli-satan, but actually outcoach him. You want a measuring stick? Show me a coach that can actually devise an offensive scheme to put a TD on the board with short time on the clock after the Pats* have been playing 10 minutes of ball-control offense in the 4th quarter while protecting a field goal lead. Sounds simple? Well, the Bills haven't had a coach that can do that in 10 years. That, in my mind, is "Showing me the Baby".

And at the end of the game, the Bills have Jackson, Lynch and Bell. Most teams would kill for that backfield. Would I like to see C.J. Spiller? Absolutely! Will the Buffalo Bills move forward without C.J. Spiller? Absolutely! Will a potential holdout by C.J. Spiller change the 2010 Win-Loss record of the Buffalo Bills? Absolutely.....NOT. Too many other holes in too many other places. I'm one of the big optimists on this board, but trust me - C.J. Spiller's impact on Buffalo Bills football will NOT happen in 2010. Let's revisit this conversation in 2012. His holdout-induced absence only makes his potential room mate at St. John Fisher all the happier. Someone, after all, had to get the single room.

I haven't watched ESPN in years - so long now, in fact, that I can't imagine watching it. To that end, I couldn't give a rat's hairy @$$ what Chris Berman says about Spiller...or anything, for that matter.

I'm thinking "that trade idea" existed on this board, and on this board only. Like the old saying goes - "That, and $0.10, will get you uptown." "Uncle John's Band" - Oh, you know this one...

That's a fair statement, but I doubt that will happen. Parcells being at the top of that organization leads me to believe otherwise. This having been said, I'm starting to feel for the first time in a LONG time that this organization is assembling the FO/Coaching staff that can compete with those in the rest of the division. The players will come in time.

Hey WordByrd, a couple of players of note on the O-line, please. How looked Bell? How looked Wood? Thanks very much for the reporting. The news about Maybin is disturbing - not so much that he's either skinny or ripped. That's subjective. What's disturbing is hearing that he's getting tossed on his ass by the O-line. Getting tossed on your ass isn't subjective. That doesn't bode well.