Whites Bay

Thanks, Astro. This is a very good post. Thanks for putting it into perspective. I'm starting to feel a lot better about Rounds 4-7; I'd already felt pretty good about 1-3 (I knew - KNEW - they were going to go DE in Round 3).

Stop it. That's a load of crap, and I'm calling you on it. He's not "out there", he's in West Point. God love him for having the brains and initiative to bust his nuts through that program. And he did it concurrently with working his way through a sports program. THAT'S saying something as regards the character of the kid. Truth be told, he's my "feel-good" player on the Bills roster this year. Of course, I'm the guy that picked Kevin Everett last year during the off season, so take my picks with a grain of salt the size of Montana. This all having been said, Viti made a choice - a CHOICE - to step into a little-used program that allows talented athletes in military academies to take advantage of their God-given abilities on the the gridiron/court/rink to pursue a career in professional athletics with the proviso that they act as recruiters for the military. It's good strategy and policy by the Pentagon. It's not an accident. It's the reason people like Ronald Reagan made recruiting films showing wounds made of ketchup/catsup while Joe Lunch Pail was getting his ass shot off in places that people like you couldn't pronounce, much less find on a map. Symbolism sells, and this military needs all the help it can get in hitting its recruting goals. Let's just call it for what it is, and let it rest.

It's nice to get those kudos, and it's a wonderful dreamy ride down the stream at this point in the off season. Before I let myself get sucked into the whirlpool, however, I'll pick a couple of bones with that piece: 1) The Bills' Special Teams are not "incredibly strong". They have a great kicker, an all-world punter, and a couple of smokin' hot punt- and kick returners. But the loss of the "Aikens" of this world in the off season probably reduces the unit from "incredibly strong" to "strong". Sorry if I'm picking nits, but we've all become accustomed to starting on the 40- or 45-yard line, and having our opponents start on the 19. I'll reserve judgement until about Game 4. 2) Along the same line, I'll reserve judgement on the interior D-Line until about Game 4 as well. It all comes down to Stroud's ankle. If he gets back to even 85%, he'll be better than anything WE'VE had up front for years. If not, however, opponents are going to come up with ways to single-team him....and then we're right back to where we started, just without Tim Anderson. And would everyone try a little decaf as regards Hardy? Let's see, what can anyone here do about it......

I've looked through this thread, and, well....I hate them all. Refer to the ongoing thread regarding "Which teams to you hate?", or something to that effect. I'm struggling desperately to come to grips with my visceral hatred of the Pats*, but it's going to take some work. And I'll fail. Pats* suck. And we're going to take one from them this year. Note to Pats* trolls on the board - abuse me if you must. That's fine. But the game changes this year. The horrifying thing in your pygmy minds is that you know it.

THAT'S a name I haven't heard in a long time. "Mad Dog Maddox". I can never forget the tape clip of Darryl Talley leaping over the line in a "Spiderman" outfit...was he about to crush Esiason? A classic from NFL Films.

If you're talking about TEAMS against which I root, the list is pretty simple: Pats* Pats* Pats* Cowboys Raiders (easy target, but everyone likes to kick a man when he's down, and then urinate in his mouth) Georgetown in NCAA hoops (can't ever get over it, ever, ever, ever) If you're talking about PEOPLE against whom I'd root, the list is only marginally more complex: George "W." Bush (death's too good) Suze Orman Michael Jordan Oprah Winfrey Rush-the-Tush Limbaugh Shannon Sharpe (Speech lessons. Please.)

The young man has nailed it here, ladies and gentlemen. We've all become used to great returns and great tackles. Short fields for us and long fields for the opponent. That comes at a price, and that price has been a lot of people who are no longer here. Stop thinking "camp meat", and start thinking about reloading the gun.

You know what's really the MOST depressing thought about this thread? It's that it's a "double-banger". Not only am I never going to get back the 30 seconds that it took me to write this response, but I'll also never get back the 10 seconds that it took me to read the initial post. Who - in God's name - give's a rat's hairy ass about what this commentator thinks? I mean, you know, aside from the person who originally posted this? Jesus. Show up the Ralph on Sunday afternoon, and THEN talk to me about a bad sports town. Dope.

A million years ago, I had a wonderful female friend in college whom I'd always considered a FRIEND for YEARS. Period. It didn't stay that way, at least on my part - biology calls, and men answer. Things never went anywhere after I made a pass at her, and once we had our "meeting of the minds", we reverted to friends, and it stayed that way. It was, I'm proud to say, the single time I've been able to exert that level of self-control in an effort to preserve a beautiful relationship. I believe, however, that I'm an exception, either through good upbringing or cowardice. I never repeated the attempt, and things settled out. Until one night on mushrooms two years later in grad school. My point, young lady, is that it never stops. This guy had the hots for you, he has them now, and he'll have them in the future. A guy always carries the torch. Much of what you've read herein is fairly accurate. Keep the flirtation to a zero-minimum, watch the alcohol (or other mind-altering substance) intake, be cautious about putting yourself into not-so-accidentally-pleasantly intimate settings like walks on a beach, moonlight, close dancing. Because it never stops.

Shocked, stunned, amazed and thrilled to see the word "Jorma" on the board! The commencement recessional tune during my B.S. (no, not Bull Schit...the real deal in Biology) back a long, long, long time ago was "The Water Song". Its mild irreverance during such an austere occcasion still brings a smile to my face. I downloaded a few tunes a couple of years ago for a family reunion, and made sure it was included on one of the CDs. It came on somewhere after boating, prior to badminton, in the midst of "pre-barbecue warm up on a hot afternoon". You could watch the whole crew on the deck start groovin' in their chairs, and reaching for another beer.......

Well, I mean, you have to admit that she DOES clean up nicely. Just don't piss her off after the third glass of Chardonnay.

Hot damn! Am I the only one who gets this? Do you know who we have here?!? C'mon boys and girls....we have STABLER!!!! This is the second coming of the Mad Bomber! Turn on John Lennon, pop out the Tums, get ready for the bald spot and the high blood pressure............ ......and a Super Bowl ring. I'm thrilled beyond words. We have Stabler. Oh my God, we have Stabler.

My goodness, how times have changed! Three years ago you would have been shot, and your remains drawn and quartered, for having mentioned the Onion. Good on ya, mate! So it goes!

???? #1: I live over in the Mohawk Valley, so I'm kind of clueless on the local representation in Erie County. Louise Slaughter picked up part of the region when the Rochester districts were consolidated. True enough - she's a Democrat, and actually a pretty good legislator. But she's a Rochesterian, I believe (actually, I think she's a Southerner by birth - check out the accent), so she really isn't the heart-and-soul choice of Buffalonians - she was kind of "dumped" on Buffalo. But I thought the Big Cheese Congressman from Buffalo was Tom Reynolds, right? The Republican? The guy who had designs on House Majority Leader before it turned out that he was a lot more interested in raising money for the Republican National Committee than he was in protecting the safety of Congressional pages from another Republican, the sexual predator Mark Foley. I could be wrong on this, but I think this was how the lineage can be traced. ???? #2: Upstate New York has LONG been known as a "base" (if such a term can be used these days) of "MODERATE" Republicaninsm. Frank Horton, Amo Houghton...I mean, it's a pretty long list if I were to put some thought into it. And Pat Moynihan (yes, a Democrat, but work with me here) served as U.N. Ambassador under Nixon, didn't he? Correct me if I'm wrong on that one - I know that one's a reach, but I could take a couple of minutes to Google it if I had to. Anyway, he was from Oneonta, and was a great friend of Barry Goldwater, having reached across the aisle several times in the 1960s and 1970s (Goldwater was a little to the Right of the Death Squads, but had a lot of good ideas anyway). The point being that we have a long history of NOT being hardcore partisans on EITHER side of the aisle in this area. Frankly, the most partisan politician to come along in quite some time has been Reynolds, and he almost lost out this past time around. ???? #3: Fred Thompson? It won't happen, my friend. He's admitted he's "in remission" from cancer. So was Paul Tsongas. That, unfortunately, didn't last very long. The key/Achilles Heel to his candidacy (if he even decides to make a run for it) will be his choice of running mate. You'd better focus long and hard on that choice - you may need him sooner than you think. Anyway, go ahead and shoot back if you'd like. As for being a red-meat, red-neck conservative that blames all the limp-wristed nancy boy Liberals for all the ills of the world.....look, home dog, the problem is in YOUR mirror. It's been a Republican President, a Republican Congress, a Republican Senate and a conservative court for the better part of six (that's "6") years. How do you come off blaming anyone but yourself? Scream away if you must, but when I look in the mirror, I see a guy that says "I didn't vote for that idiot". And Olberman has a dry sense of humor that is probably lost on people like you who communicate in crayon.

"Not sure it matters much..." These are the precise words that I'd heard this afternoon in a conversation with a co-worker in New Hampshire - yes, a !@#$ing DIEHARD Patsie fan. We're actually able to maintain a level of civility....well, because I really can't shove it back in his face at this point in time. Urrggghh!!! Oh, if there is a higher being, we'll sweep these clowns, and there's a lot of humble pit to be eaten. This is total and utter ballwashing on the part of the NFL, and anyone who believes that this isn't manipulated REALLY needs to call 1-800-CHANGEMYMEDS. The day is coming. When I had season tickets for the then-L.A. Rams in the 1980s, I had to wait, and wait, and wait for that antichrist Joe Montana to retire or move on. Guess what? It happened. And his career ended on the cold turf of Rich Stadium when he was in a wheelchair for the Chiefs. So maybe there is a higher being. It just takes awhile for him to put his beer down and get around to doing what higher beings do.......

I had to dig for a minute to find this post from KensBills. Oh, wait a minute. Here it is: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHA. Yeppers. That pretty much sums it up.

You bastard! And now it's IMPOSSIBLE to get "Trying to Grow Me a Chin" out of my mind! "Get the picture"??!!

Question for you. At family reunions, do people look out upon the gathering and see the same three chromosomes?

Thank you. Forget "Can we all just get along". How about "Can we all just try a little decaf?"

I couldn't agree more. If there's truly justice in the universe, he'd end up in Canton while he's still around to sit in the sunshine on the stage at the ceremony.

You know, I try to be erudite in this forum. But, Jesus, this post made me laugh. Ken, you couldn't have possibly described my reaction better.

A small bay in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario, up in Jefferson County. Up where the skies are clear, the air is scented with pine and cedar.....and the blackout rule doesn't apply, like it does down in Utica. Funny - I didn't realize Utica was only 75 miles from the Ralph......

I agree - Door Number Two, Bob. The one aspect that worries me in this scenario is the last one. I'm probably more sold on Yabouty than McGee as our #1 corner. I know, I know - Yabouty has played for three snaps or so (?). But I have nightmares of watching McGee getting torched/run over/outmuscled/toyed with against DETROIT! Detroit, for God's sake. The upshot is that I hope we pick up the best CB available with one of the 3rd rounders. At this point, I'm pretty much sold on Willis. Carricker is pretty interesting as well, but don't know what to give up to get to him.

Apologies for not being more clued-in, but could someone give their best guess as to the exact date/hour/minute that Marv and Dick will be pulling the trigger for the #12 pick? It looks like I have to drive to Montreal that day, and want to know how long to postpone the start.

Yes, but the problem in today's financial world of the NFL is that a proven performer at a "skill" position is simply going to break the bank when the contract comes to an end. Couple this with the increasing probability that said skill player is going to have a catastrophic injury the longer he stays in the league, and there's a law of diminishing returns that leaves a team hovering like a fly waiting for the windshield on the freeway. In other words - unlike divorce, it's not "cheaper to keep her". DUMP HIM!! There are exceptions at key positions.....but really, I think, only at QB! It makes sense to keep a truly great QB on the roster, and to keep interchanging the parts around him. RBs, CBs, LBs come and go, but there are only so many Favres, Kellys, Mannings and (this one galls me) Bradys.