Peevo

Honestly, I rarely listen to the morning show. I get up so late that I'm flying out the door for work, so I get the 5 mins in the car every morning. I don't really have a problem with Jeremy. He was nice to me when I was on the air with him. I really hope this thread doesn't go 222222235355 pages long like the Mike Schopp thread did, but it probly will. I think radio needs a push/pull, its obvioulsy where WGR wants to go with their programming. If its not for you, don't listen. There are alternatives out there. WECK 1230 AM has Brad Riter/Allen Wilson/Bucky Gleason on in the afternoons. Satellite radio has a lot of sports talk stations. As it stands, we're in the terrible off-season duldrums. Tune on some music, maybe a little political talk, or find another voice. For those fans that want nothing but schemes/coach/x's and o's talk, you're gonna have to look elsewhere once the weather gets really nice. It is what it is. Our pro teams play in winter. The sabres rarely make it this deep into the playoffs. What are we left to talk about? Practice?

This article definitely has an unprofessional tone to it. To completely disregard a tremendous individual performance for the Eagles in the Super Bowl 6 weeks removed from a broken leg is pretty unprofessional, and that's being nice. It's not hard to type "Terrell Owens" in wikipedia these days. It read like that rant the columnist from the Dunkirk whatever wrote. I understand that these papers have low circulation, but man, is it hard to fact-check some stuff? In fact, I think I completely disagree with just about every point this guy makes. This whole "blue collar" Buffalo perception really needs to die. I'm sorry. GM is floundering. Bethlehem Steel closed literally a generation ago. If there's any workmanship identity, its white collar in this town. The biggest rising employer in this area? Debt collection services. Health/car insurance (Geiko, Univera) are employing a lot of people. This "lunch pale, clock in at 6, leave at 4, attitude died in the 1960's. Sure, there are some "worked on the line for 30 years" old-timers left, but coming from a 22 year old trying to get a job in literally one of the worst job markets in a generation, this "blue collar" ideal really is almost patronizing. There simply isn't that kind of work here, or just about anywhere in the United States anymore. China has a pretty large manufacturing base, maybe I should apply there? I just saw on world news tonight last night that the graduating college class of 2009, aka, my class, is entering literally the worst job market since the 1980's, when my parents were graduating college. Does Buffalo live and die with its teams? Yes. But do we strap up our jumpsuits, drink our coffee while chain smoking cigarettes in work boots, driving our Chevy Trucks to the plant every morning? A sad construction of our once-proud manufacturing past. Keep in mind, fans of the 1960's Bills that actually WOULD get off their shifts to go see games, DRESSED UP TO THEM. You can see pictures of fans in suits and ties (literally) at old games at the Rockpile. This is all ass backwards now. Sorry this was long, I'm out.

No, actually I was being serious. NFL's Spring Mobile app that I have links his posts right to their main page. Why would the League's own application link his website if he wasn't accurate? He cites EVERYTHING he gets from a source from a paper/blog/publication. I've seen Allen Wilson from the News (say what you want about the News) on his site MANY times. The Vick speculation is only that, speculation, but I trust Florio over just about any other Profootballcentral/365 whatever football bloggery trash out there. He ran Cappacio's story on T.O. 6 hours before any other site had it. I guess I'm posting here enough now to get "the business." Haha.

I agree with this as well. He's a convicted felon in the U.S. Federal Court system AND the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is tremendously uncommon to be convicted in 2 separate court systems for the same crime. Last person to be in the same situation? Timothy McVey, for the Oklahoma City bombings. Nice company, Michael. Not only is he a convicted felon, but he's not even that good at football in my opinion. He's a good athlete, but not a good football player. What position would he play anyway? The administration drafted their guy 2 years ago, for better or worse. They like Trent, and where would we fit the former 1st overall pick into the equation offensively with 3 very capable running backs? I don't see the fit. To Florio's point though, Brandon could sell this city air. He could hawk a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves. Seriously. And if he reports that we were aggressive in pursuing Taylor, I believe him. Florio will not report something that doesn't come from a legitimate source. So, I guess we'll see what happens. I have actual work to do now. I love posting on the stadium wall on the company dime!

I read Simmons from time to time. His article is really long so I don't spend the time everytime he's published. He's a good writer though. I like Banks, Rome, Easterbrook is hilarious, and a former Kenmore West Alum, such as myself, King is a great writer. I think I pretty much agree with your list. I think Berman is ok, but in fairness has almost become a cartoon parody of himself. He doesn't really make any points about anything anymore. Its like "and now to Boomer for those whacky and weird sounds he makes. "Whooat! Whoop! Booom!" "thanks, Boomer."

His trashing of the Rust Belt does get old from my perspective, a Rust Belt native. I purposefully rarely if ever have him on, why give him the ratings? I enjoy Rome, his show is hilarious and nothing like any other sports talk show. He has very regimented segments which add to his professionalism. If he ever goes off on a tangent it will be because of an email/call/text, not through his own stream of consciousness. Cowherd just stinks. I know I defended the WGR guys repetitively here, so I'm in a hard place criticisizing the Herd for some of the same reasons, but he has simply no respect or admiration for our hometown, and that doesn't and will never work for me. Hockey fans have some uncurable, yet livable disease, like Diabetes or bad allergies. Not, "oh my god, thats so sad, it must be hard to live that life," moreso "oh, how cute, what a trooper." It's totally pretentious. Jim Rome respects Buffalo, and will openly criticize us when necessary or valid. He'll talk just as much smack if we get "punked" on MNF or whatever. It's totally fair. But he takes out the TEAM, not the TOWN. Cowherd knows we as Buffalo fans take our town's reputation very personally, at least I do, and he purposefully denegrates it. At least some national guys know how to tow the line.

You're totally right. The Bills knew the risk and ramifications that signing a character like T.O. is. It does say Terrell Owens on his contract, but the persona is what you get with it. Colin Cowherd is totally unlistenable in my opinion. I mean, there was a 22 page long thread on Mike Schopp, but good lord, this guy is just awful. Wanna talk about condescending? He never even mentioned Manny Ramirez's scumbagery when he tests positive. Just about how people wanna hate on the guy for hating him. What? The guy is a confirmed scumbag, and we're not supposed to care? And saying so without even acknowledging the confirmed failure of a drug test? Completely ridiculous. The guy just espouses this pretentious smarter than everybody attitude I can't stand. "I can't explain, how much smarter, I am, than you. You could have, a PHDeee, an M.D., and I'd still know more about the human body than youuuu."

This is a great topic. Now that we have a few years of work under Levy/Jauron et al, we can objectively compare how much "better" we are from the dredges of the Donahoe years. Donahoe's 1st round picks, for the most part, were pretty awful. Bledsoe (traded a #1), Williams, McGahee, Losman. McGahee is still a player in this league, and has had some success since leaving, so in a player perspective, he still can play, but for Buffalo, obviously, this is nill. So I think on McGahee its a special case since Williams and Losman simply can't play in the league as it stands. There ARE believe it or not some Donahoe hits in the draft. The 2001 draft was really good, to be honest. Nate Clements, Aaron Schobel, Travis Henry, Jonas Jennings all in the first day. That's pretty impressive. 3 Pro Bowlers, and 4 starters in day 1? OK. Sure, Henry is a felon now, and Jennings is certainly up there, and making a ton of money on bad knees in SF w/Clements, but you can't deny, at the time, the efficacy of that draft. Jason Peters, "the best LT in football" was a Donahoe scrapheep find. As was Jabari Greer who is a starter in this league. Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish, Josh Reed are still here. How about those Bills Special Teams? Moorman, Lindell, McGee, and Parrish all Donahoe finds. Angelo Crowell is still a starter in this league. Takeo Spikes and Fletcher had a couple really good years here. Despite his many mistakes, and I do credit a lot of our problems to Donahoe's long term errors, but he DID actually get some talent in here, despite everyone's hatred for the man. Levy has his busts too, McCargo is glaring. Whitner is arguable suggestion, especially at 8th overall. You need Ed Reed at 8th overall, not a guy with I still think only 1 INT in his career. They have a good running back when he's not suspended or arrested. I like Edwards, lets just hope he stays healthy. All in all, the above poster with regards to average record put it best. We haven't really had much difference. Average record w/TD 6-10, avg w/Jauron/Levy/Brandon, 7-9. Donahoe DOES have a winning season on his record, and an 8-8. So that does count in his favor. But nonetheless, we're still almost 10 years removed from the postseason, and still a coupel BIG holes to fill if we really wanna compete next year. I actually have to do work now. Out.

I think Moulds was dead with regards to his comments. He still holds the playoff record for yards receiving in a single game I believe, with 240 in 1998 against Miami (per Wikipedia). He's totally entitled to his opinion, and quite frankly, it's a pretty valid one. He still lives here, despite his success, and could of moved out years ago. Instead he chose to raise his family here, and I respect that too. Any player from the deep south that CHOOSES to live in this awful weather gets a thumbs up in my book. Also, all this talk about leaving the country because he didn't like George Bush, isn't that his choice? I mean, come on, what is with this totally pretentious attitude that the United States is the "best" country in the world? By what calculus are you using to determine this? Have you traveled to every country on the planet? Our literacy rates and standardized test scores are among some of the worst for industrialized, modernized countries. We have the highest teen pregnancy rate among industrialized nations. We have a serious obesity problem in this country. A 60% divorce rate, a crumbling infrastructure built in the 1930's-1940's and billions if not trillions of dollars in unpaid credit card debt. We glorify beauty and self-importance through the likes of Facebook/Twitter/Myspace/Youtube-everyone wants to be a celebrity. It has never been cool to be intelligent, well-read, composed, compassionate or thoughtful in this country. Instead, vindictiveness, spiteful, cruelty wins the day, yet America stands alone as some beacon of democracy and equality. Remember, women couldn't vote in this country until about 80 years ago. Black people couldn't get a job, go to school, or vote in the South, defended by law, until 50 years ago. We need to get over ourselves.

Totally correct. It's May. Spring has sprung! Go out running. Throw a ball around, shoot some pucks, go to the park and play basketball for free. Go to the gym. Beach. Fish. Good bands are playing here, very soon on Thursdays also for free. There's tons of stuff to do. Football will be there in like 4 months when im depressed summer is over. How much can we get over the ins and outs of the Tampa 2 scheme and the efficacy of 3 down linemen versus 4 and the possibility of a Tackle to Guard transition and blah blah blah when its really nice out? Its sports-radio, yes, but that doesn't mean its good radio if its always about sports 24/7. That'd be dry as Hillary Clinton. Some of the best programming on S & B is when they do totally unsportsrelated stuff. The Presidential Mock draft around election time was AMAZING. This is coming from a political science major, but I love talking U.S. Presidents. The Ulta Mock draft was also hilarious. People gotta stop taking this stuff so seriously. And if you do, then go into the TREMENDOUSLY competitive broadcasting field and show Andy Roth just how much better a job on the radio you can do.

While the Ball State alums do bring up valid points, coming from someone who never really "got" college football, last year's UB football season was some of the most fun I had watching football in a looong time. Isn't that what its supposed to be, fun? The players genuinely enjoyed being on the field, playing for pride, and pretty much, nothing else. That's what its about folks, connecting oneself to the bigger picture. Thats what a good sports story is. Was Willy the best QB in college football? Of course not. There is something to be said about A LOT of people that are paid big money to do what we're doing right now, talk about football, that believe Willy to be a pretty talented player. He made some GREAT throws last year, and, actually uses the laces by the way. When Nate Davis got drafted, Jaws was going on and on about his flawed footwork and mechanics. Mechanics can be corrected, but retraining YEARS of muscle memory is going to be a challenge. I'm not an athlete, but I can tell you that much. Was it the best football you'll ever watch? Obviously not, its a mid major conference. But at least it was fun. You can feel that the coaches are in charge of the situation and wont make boneheaded, terrible game-day decisions like professional buffalo football coaches. Take it for what its worth. Tickets are free, or REALLY cheap. The band is good. Some of the cheerleaders are good looking. Oh, and there's not a crowd full of wasted idiots that cant stop shouting incessant nonsense the whole time. At a recent Sabres game, the guy right next to me could not go literally a minute without shouting "FIRE REGIERRRRRRR" Seriously, they heard you, and please just watch hockey and shut up. Ill tell ya what, for free, I'll go to as many UB games as possible.

7-9 is the ultimate in status-quo.

yeah, this post has gone completely off the handle. 15 pages? lets make it 16! I think the bottom line here is, if you don't like the product, dont listen. remember, they make money from advertising, its free to turn on a radio. Especially if its a crank radio, since you're literally using your own energy to provide power.

I think the above poster does have a point. Reproductive and gay rights are tremendously divisive issues, yet, to this poster, they all deal with self-regarding acts. How does a girl getting an abortion or marrying her lover of the same gender affect anyone not involved with those decisions? Seriously, why can't gay people be just as miserable as the rest of us? You wanna live with the same person for the rest of your life, more power to you. I am a child of a very ugly divorce, and can't help but look at a 60% divorce rate in our country. Who the hell are we to give of some sanctimonious false-superiority over people that don't share our same "values." The American nuclear family system is entirely broken, yet the people espousing the value of the family unit completely neglect the fact that single mothers can be GREAT parents, that there is absolutely no quantifiable data to support the belief that gay people can't be loving parents either. Sure, I'm a 22 year old "bleeding-heart" because I want everyone to be happy in their situation. The same people violently against gay marriage were those picketing schools in the '50's because racial segregation was "God's plan" and the "American way." One way or another, folks, there WILL be a landmark Supreme Court decision on this issue within the next 10 years. It'll go down as another Brown v Board. And quite frankly, I think its entirely necessary. This whole story is kinda ridiculous. This smoking hot chick is just getting exactly what she wants, attention. Is it fair for liberals to criticize her answering the question honestly? No. She was in a beauty pageant after all. If she really wanted to win, she could of given the safe, "pageant" answer. But she answered the question and I respect that. I think when it comes down to it, we all gotta chill out on these "culture war" issues. What worries me about America? 50 million people without health insurance. 60% divorce rate. Suburban sprawl and the unending fear of inner-city schooling and urban culture. (and yes, I was raised in the suburbs and am writing this thanks to a good education) Trillions of dollars in credit card debt. Massive obesity problem in this country. The illiteracy rate is rising. The sickening and disheartening celebrity/twitter/facebook/reality tv self-importance obsession. Yet, all the talking heads are dropping takes on gay marriage and abortion. Fix the problems and let people live their lives.

Lori, you're right, that was slightly condescending, I apologize. I didn't mean it in an insulting way, just in the sense that a lot of posters already have RIPPED the hosts of GR, without really ever experiencing what its like on the air, and it isn't easy. That is all. Sorry if I came off arrogant or whatnot. And if Nick/Brad/Jeremy read this, you guys do a great job. Sincerely, no insults or patronizing statements intended.

I listen to Schopp and Bulldog just about everyday, or at least when I am free on afternoons. If you really don't like the product, don't listen. It's free radio. Its not like XM or Sirius when you're actually paying to hear stuff you dont like. I'm an XM subscriber myself, but I tune to music for just about all of it. Channel 204 XM Home Ice is GREAT for hockey talk 24/7, but with the obvious lack of playoffs to talk about, whats the point? Also, bear in mind, he is a "personality" on the air. He has a persona that he channels to sound a certain way on the air. For better or worse, Schopp has made this post go 6 pages deep. Somebody is listening. If you REALLY think you can do better, do what I'm doing this summer and try for the Rookie contest. I made it 3 rounds deep last year, and 30 minutes of airtime on WGR is a lot more than any other posters they can say they've had. Seriously, talking to your friends about sports is A LOT different then being live, on the one of the top-rated sports talk stations in the nation. Talk radio is not easy, and we act like it is. I've gotten involved at WRUB Radio (wrub.buffalo.edu). Its UB's online radio station. Tune in on Thurs @ 7:30pm, and Sat @ 9pm, last broadcasts of the semester! Ive been on the air now collectively for about 5 hours, and you don't realize how time goes. You can think you're talking about something for 10 minutes, that was only really 3 minutes. Its a lot harder than everyone thinks. To the point about rudeness to callers: just have your stuff together. Come with your guns loaded and they will listen and respond fairly. If you don't know what you're talking about, or simply make a completely ridiculous point, they will say so. Common sense people. Some guy seriously called in during the NHL trade-deadline time and asked if we would go out and get "Jagr or Sakic." I mean, come on, of course they're not. Don't be ridiculous and they won't be. And that doesn't necessarily mean you HAVE to agree with them to have them be decent, just make a fair, honest assesment and speak confidently, and you'll do fine. It's calling a sports radio station, its not like you're interviewing for a job.

I don't even know if that point really holds water, Sully has lived here now for like 20 plus years, how long does it take before you can call yourself a "Buffalo-guy"? By the way, does "care about the Bills" mean "one that can never be critical, even when it's warranted." Its something a lot of people bring up on this board and then get flamed like crazy. A guy posts how he's embarrassed about how these over-paid jerks are behaving, and he gets repremanded for making a fair, honest criticism. This team hasn't been relavent in a decade. I mean, I love the Bills. But at some point, they gotta start loving us back. Sullivan echoes those sentiments as well, if people actualy read him. Look, I'm not all about the doom and gloom either, but seriously, the product this team has subjected Buffalo fans to is patronizing, and that's basically been Sully's M.O. for the past, like 10 years. The coach comes off like nobody can understand the sport unless you wear a headset. We HAVE to buy tons of outrageously expensive seats or the city can't support a team. This is all crap. Until the Red Wings stop being one of the most successful franchises in pro sports in a dying city, until Pittsburgh stops winning Super Bowls, until Cleveland can't support winners, this Rust Belt argument is a laughable one. And Sullivan challenges his readers to see that we DO deserve better, that pro sports CAN WORK in a town that doesn't have all the glitz and glamour of Broadway.

Man, I really don't understand the Sullivan hate on this board. The guy is a very talented writer with a laundry list of credentials I would venture no poster on this board has. Of course, a message board is a voice for fans that DON'T have a degree in journalism to voice one's opinion, but still, there is a reason why people go to college to learn how to formally construct a valid and lucid opinion in prose. Not just on sports, but simply in general. Sullivan is harsh, but it doesn't make him any less correct. Levy should be eating his words. He framed his whole campaign after Donahoe on "high character" and the first guy he drafts is tazed outside a nightclub at 3 am last weekend. Of course, we don't know all the facts, but a few Marv picks have now got in scuffles with the law (Whitner, Lynch, Hardy, Simpson, et al) some more than once in the span of 9 months, as Jerry pointed out. Everyone is so quick to criticize Sully, but there's no disputing his points here. The only thing I can find questionable in his argument is Stroud, being as he had his substance issues before he was acquired as a Bill, but still, it is on his record.

Well, it doesn't say either prospect would be top 5 pick category, this article definitely speculates Starks's 1st round potential. Seeing this kid run in person was a lot of fun this year. In fact, all 3 UB games I went to were really amazing. Temple v UB (amazing Hail Mary Play), Miami (OH) v UB, total blowout, and on election night, and UB v Akron, which we lost, but still was a good game. It was fun to actually enjoy some football without all the stress of, well, everything the NFL game brings with it. Sure, the MAC is a mid-major conference, but you're still talking about super competitive, D1 ball, with players that will be in the NFL. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/535902.html

Exactly. Its kinda hard to compare a modern sports columnist, especially in small market with a newspaper teetering on the edge of complete collapse in this economy, to a writer of Moby Dick, some would consider a staple of American literature, and the "great American novel" of the 19th century. I've never read it, and some that I've talked to who've read the uanbridged version is actually entirely unreadable, with literally hundreds of dry pages on whales. Seriously. In my opinion, Sullivan is the best sports writer in town. He's the best writer at that paper, and puts his opinions in a prose that is accesable yet actually, dare I say it, makes you think! I'd agree he is quick to sing praises and then raise pitchforks. That was well said. However, he is right very very often. Maybe, like all of us, he's just sick of reporting on a dysfunctional, hapless organization. Sullivan has said it on 'GR many times. "What am I gonna write about today? The quartaaback (Boston accent), the goalie, the coach?" His material gets old, because, quite simply, we've been all talking about the same stuff for literally 10 years. Can't blame the guy for rehashing the same problems, with both pro organizations, that seem to never get fixed. He's a basketball writer. That's what he's said he loves the most. It's interesting we have a decent college basketball season here. UB is still in the running for a higher MAC seed. Niagara is doing very well. Perhaps successful college teams can reinvigorate the culture here. We dont have to worry that UB is going anywhere in the next few years. Niagara isn't gonna close their doors from the bad economy. For what its worth, there is some security in following a decent college team.

I'm in a weird place on all this. I just really want this team to make the playoffs while im in still in my 20's and can actually have some fun. It's easy to bring up Santonio Holmes's pot issues, while making SuperBowl winning catches. Why? Because he's catching championship throws. The Bills are no where near that level. Partially I think people are being apologetic to this whole situation simply because the team isn't very good, and losing our starting running back will only make us thinner at a previous position of some depth, on a team with a litanny of other extremely important needs. We can't simply be so apologetic on his alleged actions though. Seriously. You HAVE to know better, as a UC-Berkeley (one of the most prestigious state colleges in the country) "graduate," a 22 year old man, to know that burning it down in a really nice vehicle, with shotty plates and a loaded piece in your car is a bad idea. YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT. I smoke weed. I do it considerably often. Have I EVER gotten caught? No. Privacy, care, and quite frankly, some paranoia when choosing to partake in recreational pharmaceutical use HAS to be taken. Bottom line. He made a stupid decision and now it puts this whole town at odds with one another. Why are we as fans "idiots," or "short-sighted" or "don't know anything about football, period" simply because we're upset that the talented football player on our favorite team made, quite simply, a really really stupid decision? We, as Americans, need to find some moral fiber. I'm honestly not that mad about the weed thing. As I said, I'm not in a position to judge him on that, but seriously, YOU HAVE TO KNOW BETTER. I'm sorry guys, this "blame someone else" culture in this country has to stop. The man needs to stand up and take responsibility for whatever wrongdoing he is responsible for. If the courts deem him not guilty, its only a function of his really overpriced attorneys doing their job. Lynch comes off like he's the victim. Some unfortunate guy in a stereotyped, or racist organizations' plot against black athletes. Why do all these writers, Jerry Sullivan, Allen Wilson, columnists for the Rochester D & C all think Lynch is intimidating and unapproachable? Maybe, just maybe, because he is?

As for Lynch, I hope he gets what he deserves. As far as everything I've read, he's only been charged with 3 misdemeanors relating to the gun possession/armament/concealment. California is notoriously lenient on marijuana, as far as I understand it is legally "decriminalized." It can become a Catch-22. It was described in my state politics class as it is illegal to "purchase" yet legal to be in "possession" of. How do you have one without the other? Regardless, he's a hard, pipe hittin' dude from Oakland. He happens to play football well. The sad thing about all this is the fact that most fans, myself included, are so starved for ANY relevency in the league, all we want is for him to be slapped on the wrist, shut up and hit the field hard in September. Is this not the problem? Shouldn't we as fans want some accountability? Am I simply naive to want athletes, like other human beings, to have a sense of true moral worth and know what is right and wrong, and act accordingly? The answer to this question, sadly, is no. The weed honestly doesn't bother me much. Cannabinoids are NOT performance enhancing drugs. There's no debate about that. We look at juicing baseball players as some unfortunate, stereotyped victims of profiling or institutionalized racism, which is completely infallable. I'm left frustrated because I think the entire situation is absolutely abhorrable. You can't tell me "it doesn't make you hit a baseball better." Quite simply, if that statement is true, then why do it? It MUST provide some advantage. The economy tanked due to a perfect storm of circumstances. An economist, truly, I am not, but at the turn of the new century, critical legislation was signed into law (Glass-Steagul Act revocation), Greenspan raising interest rates at the pinnacle of our economic growth late '99, and rampant speculation of our financial markets and lending institutions. Couple this with millions of Americans signing sub-prime mortages on houses they can never afford, live beyond our means, and spending TRILLIONS of dollars on credit we as Americans dont have, and the whole thing eventually is gonna burst. Sorry, fat ass, ignorant, indebted American populace, but yes, we are also to blame for this. Maybe we should pay with our debit cards and not our credit cards on things that have tangible value, like equity. But thats just me.

This is a helluva debate. Im definitely on the side of gov't supported research. NASA alone has a laundry list of stuff we literally use everyday that was developed to help astronauts in space. Velcro anyone? NASA has the patent on that. The problem with getting public funding, is it always is a state to state issue. If a budget measure passes funding for research, it'll usually be linked to a societal or economic issue relative to that state. However, sometimes you find the public just actually wants to see progress. Texas passed a considerable grant for cancer research a couple years ago, 06 i believe. Texas epitomizes conservative, low-spending philosophy. I think we should totally reallocate our funding into the space program again, stem cell research, and advance bio-informatics. Those guys are A LOT smarter than me, and a lot smarter than a lot of people in this country. We need to make thinking, researching, intelligence, etcetera, cool in this country. Sure, everyone wants to have their kid grow up and be the next Brady or Montana, but maybe you should push some books on him. Who knows, maybe he'll cure cancer. That's what overbearing sport parents should live vicariously through their children on. Pressure them on something can make a difference. Anyone agree?

If you guys haven't seen or heard about this really sad story, check a link here. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,481645,00.html It was apparently a really hot August day in Kentucky, and the coaches have been reported at this practice to be "running the kids till they drop." (that is not in the article, Howard Simon alleged this on the air in an interview yesterday) A student athlete on the team collapsed after reportedly requesting water and was repeatedly denied receiving it. His core temperature was 107 degrees. He died in the hospital 3 days later. The local town is all up in arms over the coaches arrest, and has shown, of course, an outpouring of support for this guy. Yeah, I know, its football in the south. They take it really, really, really seriously. Sure. But these are kids, students more importantly, first. In fact, any level before you receive a paycheck to practice, you are a student first. The school board and other governing bodies MUST have oversight on something like this. You can't just grind kids into the ground in sweltering heat in full pads and knowlingly deny them hydration. That's dangerous, irresponsible, and no one in their right mind can claim otherwise. The reckless homicide charges dictate responsibility, but not mailicious intent. Of course, this man is a coach, not a murderer, and wouldn't deliberately want to kill or physically endanger his athletes. But one MUST maintain responsibility in working these kids out to, quite literally, they drop dead. I understand football is a tough, tough sport. And requires every bit of mental toughness. But one can stress mental strength without punishment. I'm sure there'll be "football is a man's game" responses to this post. But that's missing the point. Ultimately, when dealing with non-professional student althetes, the authority figures and structures in place have to shoulder the blame in this kid's sad passing. Simple oversight and regulation stops this from happening and prevents another kid from working himself into the grave, just to spare insults from his teammates for "being a (insert 5 letter word that rhymes with wussy)."

Its truly a shame the economic realities of news print media hit home. Who actually subsribes to a newspaper anymore? I bet the average subscriber age is over 50. Its just like music. Why pay for it when you can get it for free? Doesn't make it right, but it makes sense. Personally, I truly don't understand why it seems so many Bills fans dislike Sullivan. He's a very talented writer who speaks with an intelligent prose thats readable and identifiable. I don't think I've ever found anything that I truly disagreed with that he's said. Even if I have, his points are well worded, and well defended. Gleason gets on my nerves sometimes. He's the Buffalo native of the two, and I always find a sense of self importance or pretention when I read Gleason. Inside the NHL is worth reading, I guess, but I sense this air of "I'm in the biz, so I know what really is right and wrong, and the fans couldn't possibly have a point" crap. Maybe that's just me, but in my opinion, Sullivan is a much more readable and enjoyable columnist. Can you really blame him for his cynicisms? He's had the "pleasure" of writing about quite possibly the most dysfunctional NFL franchise this decade. I'd start to lose it too, if that's all I had. He's a basketball writer in a town that has no team, and our college hoops following is lukewarm at best. The News has had its slew of very respected writers through its years. Carucci is now the senior editor of NFL.com, thats a very big deal. Jim Kelley is writing for Sports Illustrated. Felzer is old, but still has his wits. I'd read the News over the Times' sports section any day. The other stuff, well, the Times is decidely better, but it seems a lot of folks here are too lazy or stupid to look up some of the words you will inevitably run into when reading the Times. Embarrasing, somewhat, but it makes you a better reader, and writer, no question.