Mickey

Who is asking you to pay for anything? We are talking about this incident here about a "black girl" reference in the yearbook etc. Most posts in the thread are dismissive of the idea of anyone finding that to be offensive. I don't think the best judges of whether or not a person's hurt feelings are legitimate by a racial remark are those who have never been discriminated against. Maybe people who have had to deal with racism all their lives might know a little bit more about it than those who haven't. If one can take the position that only veterans can vote, as you have, maybe it would make sense that only victims of racism can weigh in on issues of racism.

Amen

I don't think anyone is advocating cutting Vincent or anything. All we are saying is that given his age and accumulated injuries, it makes sense to have a quality back up and I don't think that is what we have. Wire just hasn't worked out and Baker is a reach and at least for now, isn't ready to start. That makes us thin at safety so it just makes sense to pick one up if we can. Even if you think Vincent is invulnerable, the point still holds.

Don't you know that it is up to white people to decide what black people are allowed and not allowed to find offensive? Get with the program. Those never victimized by racism are quite obviously in a far better postion to determine what is and is not racist. As for the victims of racism, what could they possibly know about racism? Most white people in the US have decided that racism no longer exists therefore it doesn't. Simple, see?

So you think the idea of asking for a raise after a particulary well done job is some sort of unheard of ridiculous exercise? Holding out during training camp is about as unusual as a sunrise. That is when it makes sense to hold out because you don't really miss all that much and the pressure builds for the team to sign you. Agents know that and if they are advising their clients to hold out, that is when they do it. They actually get paid on a per game basis so they don't miss any paychecks holding out in camp. If they held out during the season, they start missing $. Willis is in a unique situation. But for the injury, he would be making huge dollars. We have him at a bargain because we took a chance on him and because he worked so hard to recover. I don't think you can compare a guy like Willis who has already had two devastating knee injuries to every other player. There are lots of reasons it would make a lot of sense for him to go for it now so I wouldn't be surprised, given his aggressive agent, if he did just that.

The players would respond that the NFL has a monopoly, a likely illegal one at that. Neither side ever wants that decided in court. That is why the league and the teams do not take these guys to court when they hold out and breach their contract. The breach of an illegal contract is not an actionable breach. You and I can quit our jobs and work for another company any time we want. These guys can't because the teams do not function as separate competetive businesses. The league functions as one big company and their labor practices are openly collusive. If such a clause as you suggested were actually used, players would not sign the contracts or would bring on litigation challenging the NFL's lack of free agency as monopolistic, anti-competetive and collusive. Hold outs are nothing new. They happen over and over and over and the reason the teams do nothing about is because at this point, they know that is how the game is played.

Loyalty shmoyalty. The instant he doesn't produce, we will drop him faster than you can say historeee. What did we do for him other than pick him before Oakland would have? Players are not just players. They are business men. So is TD. TD will try to get the most talent for the least amount of cash and the players will try to get as much money as they can before their usually short careers are over and done. That doesn't make either of them immoral or less likable in my book. It is their job.

You may hate him for it but if Drew R. is the agent he is supposed to be, he may very well have Willis hold out this year, not next. Willis, more than any other player, knows just how fleeting being on top of the football world can be. He surely knows that he is never more than an awkward move or ill-timed hit away from serious injury. For that reason, you strike while you can, when you can. If you wait, you might find yourself wondering how to pay your rehab bill rather than renegotiating a big deal come next year. Every game he plays puts at risk the money he could be making with a better contrat now that he has proved that he has recovered. Alot can happen in a year. The OL could be so bad he doesn't gain a yard half the time. He could have another serious injury. He could have trouble with the law, who knows? It happens. Right now his value to this team what with the OL changes, Travis leaving and a new QB, is at a premium. No one should be surprised if he decides, along with his agent, that he has to make a move now.

Vincent is old and already missed almost a whole season so as a starter, there has to be concerns as to his reliability. The Coy Wire experiment is over. Baker is a reach as a starter. He is an overachiever for sure but he is not a starting quality safety. He may be some day but he isn't there yet. Frankly, picking up a safety for insurance would be a smart move.

His miss in the J'ville game was critical, we lost by three and the miss in the Steeler game was a killer. He was dead last among starters in kickoff distance, 20th in touchbacks and 9th in return average. I think based on those numbers that the decent ranking in return average is largely due to good coverage given that his distance was lame in the extreme. In 2003 he was 29th in distance on kickoffs and 20th in touchbacks. He was 11th in return average, again, I think, due to solid coverage. He was 2-4 against Oakland and we lost by 2. He also missed one against Indy and we lost that game 17-14. Arguably, he has lost us 4 games in the last two years and hasn't won us a single game. Compare that with what Hollis did in only one year here. He needs replacing but the problem is that we don't really have anyone who looks like a legitimate replacement for Lindell. That's a problem.

Actually, we usually go into camp with three PK's with one getting cut in the first or second round of roster cuts. Further, if I read what you are saying right, we are going to end up with a kicker from the Bears who was not good enough to beat out Doug Brien. That doesn't fill me with confidence.

Shhhhhhh.....Don't you know that the only problem with this team was DB and just by getting rid of him we are a shoe-in for the Super Bowl this year? Hope its true but I'm thinking maybe there were other problems. Then again, I have a penchant for uttering blasphemies in public. Don't listen to me.

Couldn't the same be said about Willis?

My Mom had non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1996 and she is doing fine. She had to endure a pretty serious round of chemo and was in a bad way for about a year but all ended well. It was also not without its lighter moments like smoking weed with my Mom so she wouldn't feel like a "junkie" when she needed it to deal with the nausea. I still hear jokes around the office about "Momma's Medicine". I had kidney cancer myself in 1999 but surgery alone seemed to do the trick (knock on wood). You have all my support and prayers. My only advice: research the crap out of this so that you know everything that is going on and can intelligently direct your own treatment. Study after study shows that people who do that statistically have a better result than those who are passive witnesses to their treatment.

Slightly burnt pizza is definitely the Bocce specialty. I have actually developed a taste for burnt cheese over the years. I'm sick. I need help.

I'll take the 55 gallon recipe if you have it. Maybe I'll find myself cooking for a fundraiser or something. Thanks

Great, thanks. Can you take a stab at how much of each ingredient or brand of paste? My Mom's sauce, Sicillian, is pretty much that same recipe. She uses a pinch of baking soda to take out the bitterness from the paste. She does not use any stewed tomatoes, tomatoe puree or diced tomatoes or raw tomatoes etc.

I love Bocce's pizza, I am worse than a crack addict for that stuff. I buy loads of it whenever I am back in town. What makes it special, inmho, is the sauce. It has a weird, sweet, tart, thick sauce. Anyone know the secret?

Where is Red Top? I'd like to try them. The thing that got me about Ted's is I don't even like hot dogs and I like theirs, alot.

Wow, and I thought I was the only one who was still upset about that. I'm not alone *sniff*

I don't think "a major event" is the same thing as "a major announcement".

What is the source of the claim that the announcement is a "major" one?

Onion rings & burgers

What change in the team between last year and this year has you most worried and most excited? For me, the biggest change that really worries me is the loss of Pat Williams. On the field and in the locker room, I think he was invaluable. He is the kind of player you hope to get and hate to lose. The change that has me most excited is that Lee Evans is now a veteran and will be starting from day one. A close second would be Willis being totally healed and thoroughly familiar with the offense. Yeah, the JP thing is obviously huge but I think there is almost as much to worry about as to be excited about. Evans is a human torch, I think we may have a Mavin Harrison clone on our hands. Willis is going to be good but I find a streaking Lofton-like blur of a WR more exciting than a good stiff arm. Not by much though, not by much.

Same here. Moved from Buffalo to Syracuse in the late 1960's. My parents bought a house in Liverpool so all we ever heard about was Heid's. I couldn't believe it when we first had one of their dogs. Totally lame yet people were lined up out the door. Whenever we are back in Buffalo there are two mandatory stops: Bocce's Pizza and Teds. I wish I knew where I could buy some of the wood charcoal they use at Teds (its called Humphry's or Humphries or something like that). Anybody here know Bocce's sauce recipe? It is pretty unique, kind of tart.