Whites Bay

Keep in mind you're talking the Finger Lakes. This is cold-weather grape country. The strength of this area is the Riesling grape, which, as you can tell from the spelling, ain't exactly Irish. It's the signature grape from the Rhine River Valley in Germany - again, a cold-weather grape. I'm with the Chef. The Best of the Best is Dr. Konstantin Frank. Their Rieslings simply CRUSH THE CRAP out of ANYTHING from Germany in International blind tastings. This winery is a Gold-Medal factory for Rieslings. Truth in advertising - I've also had their Chardonnays and (believe it or not) Cabernet Sauvignons.....meh. But the Rieslings. Wow. And even better when aged a few years. At 21 years old, your palate isn't as developed as it will be in a few short years, but trust me, Sage, as an Upstate New Yorker, you're sitting on a gem here. Hammondsport kicks out the best Rieslings on the planet. Another winner would be Ravines (as mentioned in another post). The chief vintner (?? Maybe just a senior vintner) from Dr. Konstantin Frank left that winery and started his own gig. Their Riesling is quite good, but their Cabernet Franc, and PARTICULARLY their Pinot Noir, is an undiscovered masterpiece. Once again, a cold weather grape. The New Zealanders are starting to flex their muscles in the Pinot Noir category, but watch for Ravines. Happy Birthday, you little bastard. Take a hot chick with you.

What I thought was cute were the film clips shot from the International Space Station with the arrows and circles. Why bother? Just look for the biggest dude on the field. He doesn't "pancake" people. He "crepes" them. The culinary types on the board will understand where I'm going here.

I just - like - SO hope this guy makes the team. Wood Wang Levitre We just need a "Bohunka" and "Hung" at the tackle position. Oh, please-oh-please-oh-puh-leeze.....

But he's not a Bill. And he used performance-enhancing drugs. Which is wrong.

Take it from someone who travels more than George Clooney in "Up In The Air". Gut out the boredom and stay in the airport. Here's what you DON'T need - a 2-hour sightseeing trip in a place you don't know that turns into a gut-wrenching pit-sweated panic-stricken dash through Mexico City traffic (hah-hah-that's-a-joke-there-is-no-such-thing-as-DASH-in-Mexico-City-traffic) as you try desperately to get back to the airport only to THEN have to deal with the particle-physicists manning the security checkpoint, all of whom are looking for a Yanqui sucka like you... Find a quiet corner. Get a book. Buy an inflatable pillow and curl up on the floor. None of these options suck as bad as the scenario I've outlined above. Trust me - you'll get back to Mexico City someday.

The end of an era in many ways. So depressing. Goodbye, you beautiful woman.

Good to see you back out here again, Dean! Excuse me. It's time to get back to the Cabernet.

If you're going to barbecue that Strip, you have to do it fast. The WORST thing you can do with a Strip is get too far into a great bottle of Cabernet, and then you've cooked it. Shoe leather. I mean, Jesus, it's a real balancing act. I'm speaking from experience here.

I've said it a couple of times before, and I'll say it a few more times. Good friggin' luck at prying San Antonio loose from Jerry Jones. San Antonio is to Dallas as Rochester is to Buffalo. It's Jones' back yard, and I seriously doubt the NFL is going to take him on. It's not that I think he's omnipotent, but, man, I tell ya...come 4:00 and time to switch to the late game on Fox, let me give you a hint what team has the slot....

Exactly. The Jests have improved on paper, no doubt. I, for one, however, am not going to get my panties in a wad sitting here in early May! Just think about the effects of the Injury Bug on the Bills last year (and in 2007). Who is to say that won't hit the Jests? The entire complexion of the contest could change with a couple of blown ACLs. The odds are that someone WILL be sitting out during the Bills/Jets games. It's a fact of life in the NFL. I'll worry about it on game day.

BDW, some of your posts are fairly spot-on, so I guess I'm wondering why you're wasting the bandwidth to toss this thread out to the ether. Who gives a good goddamn about the Bills' first pick in next year's draft when they're STILL signing undrafted kids from THIS draft? Thinking...maybe...getting a life is a good thing? "Oh Darling" - The Beatles

Not meaning to pick nits, but I think Mike Williams was drafted to fill the RT spot. I'm happy to stand corrected, believe me. But I remember thinking "Whiskey-Tango-Lima-Foxtrot" on Draft Day 2002. What on earth did we need a RT for? But I gave Snow White the benefit of the doubt, and THAT ended about 4 months later. I'm clueless as to the mindset of the Brain Trust - just like everyone else on this board. But my $0.02 says that Buddy Nix is really enjoying the fact that he's finally made GM of an NFL team. He's put in his time. He's kissed the appropriate ass. He's twisted the appropriate arms. He's broken the appropriate knees. He's blackmailed the appropriate opponent. In the words of Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the King". It's not been an easy climb, but Buddy Nix is now the General Manager of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. One of Thirty Two such entities in the world. A rarified venue, a winning lottery ticket, a portal to another dimension that you and I will never, ever experience. He's not going to reach out with his left hand and push down on the flush lever, and watch his career smack repeatedly into the side of the toilet bowl by picking Tim Tebow with the #9 overall pick. Think about yourself in that situation - smack, smack, smack until the filty toilet water fills your nostrils and mouth, and the last thought in your oxygen-starved brain is along the lines of "Jesus, what was that guy eating.....?". But I digress. Let go your enthusiasm, and picture the collective looks on the faces of Bills Nation when THAT choice is announced. Set up a stand on your front yard to sell pitchforks and torches. You'll be able to retire on the proceeds. Not...going....to...happen...

I'd take the same talent for the league minimum.

And listen to this board B word about everything for the next couple of years. Include me out.

Good read, and a good pick up. I'd do this in a heart-fuggin'-beat. You shouldn't really post things like this. Many of the posts that show up here are sheer garbage, bereft of all reasoning, sentence structure, punctuation and syntax. THIS actually looks like something within the realm of possibility, and now it's the only thing on which I'll focus as we close in on Draft Day. Thanks for nothing. What a monstrous move this would be.

I think the problem was a permanent pause at Step 4. Not to throw rose petals at the foot of Bill in NYC, but how many goddamn DBs are you going to draft over three-four years? This is the critical factor. My guess - and I'm only blowing smoke up my own back door - is that we don't go anywhere NEAR defensive secondary in this draft. Hooray.

Ironically, that's the situation in which the Rams found themselves LAST time they were in Southern California. Anaheim Stadium hosted the Angels and Rams. I had season tickets from 1987-1990. Talk about a crap crowd experience. Everyone used to bail about 10 minutes after half time - winning or losing - just to beat the traffic. I just can't see the NFL ever EVER going back to Southern California. Just an awful, awful football experience.

You have FRIGGIN' nailed it. Good God, enough.

The world's a far more bereft place without him.

And that was the first person of whom I thought when I saw this thread title. Half the NFL gave him up for dead last year, but he turned out pretty damn good this past year, didn't he? By the way, how did Kelly do on the Wonderlic? Not a loaded question - just wondering if anyone knows. By the way #2 - Good to see you again, Dean. It must be off-season!

Off topic, as usual, but I'm reading "Genius", by James Gleick. Does this ring a bell with you, Feynman?

THAT, young lady, was a naughty, naughty thought. Banish that.

Bingo, Nanker, Bingo. This place has become a collective suicide watch. I'll check in after the draft...to listen to all the whiners talk about what a crappy job Nix et al did.

Those were, indeed, exceedingly cool. I second that emotion.

San Antonio?!? Good...friggin'...luck. Jerry "More for me, Screw you" Jones considers San Antonio to be a Cowboys market. Been there lately? You might see one, maybe two Cowboys jerseys. There's NO F-ING WAY Jones would roll over on that one - not having just plunked down a cool billion on a memorial to himself. He has a hell of a note to service. You'd have a better chance of putting a second team in New England.