Miyagi-Do Karate

Not sure what the difference is between Houston and Addison. Both guys should get you in that 6-8 sacks range.

As a parent of some big time Pokémon fans, This is awesome!

oh wow— I totally forgot about those commercials!

Bruce Smith has always been my favorite player. Consistent with your experience, I was talking to a former player on that Bills' defense a few years ago, and he said Bruce was the biggest jerk.

many of you are pretty rough on the Bills! I don't "hate" players for playing poorly. For example, I saw some people up thread saying they hate guys that were 7th round draft picks who didn't play well (Puccillo; Justin Rogers)-- not sure what you all are expecting out of 7th rounders?? I only "hate" guys that were bad actors-- i.e., didn't play hard; were bad teammates; or were bad guys on/off the field.

I seriously forgot he was ever even On the team. Wow.

I will say that I stand corrected in part. I didn’t realize it, but you are right that speed positions like CB, WR, and LB tend to have the highest concussions. but this study (summarized in the article below) shows that the types of concussions are much different between speed and non-speed players, such that the concussions that linemen get are much more likely to lead to CTE. https://www.inverse.com/article/37934-nfl-funded-study-brain-injury

I didn't see that he had those two concussions with the Raiders. I am not ruling out CTE. It just seems to affect certain positions more than others-- less likely to be a CB who didn't really play much. Your classic CTE players are o and d-linemen, who are smashing their heads into each other for years. Again, not saying he didn't have it or CB's don't get it-- just seems less likely.

I can't believe you would say something like this. Disintegration? Come on, man. Disintegration and knee replacement would allow him to be pain free. I would like to see the knee be over-stressed, leading to excruciating chronic pain, and then, of course, eventual amputation of the entire leg with lingering phantom pain.

thought crossed my mind too. But the timing seems weird. Why do that on your way to a morning meeting? I wonder if he was going too fast, lost control, and panicked and hit the accelerator. I have never accidentally hit the gas like that, but maybe he was in a panic by then.

when I used to be a Coke Zero addict, I would always be searching out some cookies to go with it. It sort of feeds your sugar rush. my wife went on a 40-day sugar fast, and really thought it was helpful. I have done “no desserts” for a week, and it really weans you off any cravings.

From a quick look at wikipedia, doesn't seem like he has a history of any concussions, though you never know what is reported or now. As a CB, you would think the risk of CTE would be less. He also didn't really ever play meaningful snaps in the NFL-- was a 7th round pick that bounced around on some PS's.

i remember thinking the whole thing was a little sketchy. Like they thought it was a heart attack, but there wasn’t any official report. Given that he died in Brazil too, I am not sure if they looked into it as thoroughly as if it had happened in the US. I would think that they would figure out the cause for sure given that you had a healthy 26-year old who died in his sleep.

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing this!

ha! That’s great. I remember that, as well. Al Leiter though was such the heart and soul of that team! Him and Johnny Franco for the few years before that. I will say that I was such a huge fan of Bobby V. Very underrated tactician. Just how he worked his bullpen was great. It didn’t hurt having Wendell and Cook. Those guys were just ridiculous middle relievers. the other fun part about those years was the hope springing eternal in the young guns, Isringhausen and Pulsipher. Those guys obviously never panned out as we all hoped they would— but there were moments.

I had a bad Coke Zero addiction. I didn’t drink a lot, but if I didn’t have an ice cold 20-ounce bottle at 3 pm every day, it would be trouble. I quit too, and now am instead addicted to sparkling water!

oh man— I totally forgot Fab Melo died. What a shock that was. I’m not sure they ever definitively figured out his cause of death too.

expected, but am still really bummed out by it. Would have loved to see him back.

I didn’t even know he was still playing.

As long as Duke is on there, I am good.

The lamp gifs just keep getting better and better in this thread!

I am glad I am not alone. I think it was right in that 2002 timeframe that MLB changed for me too, and I couldn't put my finger on it. But I think you are right-- that Giambi move was a real watershed moment. Then came the gutting of the small markets. I can't even believe teams like pittsburgh and cleveland can field teams. As a Bills' fan, I sort of had the realization too then-- do I want to be rooting for some big market team like the Mets? The whole league just seems poorly designed. But, man, I used to love those old mets. Remember how Turk would never touch the baseline? Gilkey would have those bugged-out eyes at the plate! Todd Hundley was a baller. Olerud always wore his hard hat. I even remember fondly Pat Mahomes Sr.'s stint with the Mets--real effective reliever.

agreed. People forget about Bazley too. That was just bad luck. If he had played his one year even, it would have boosted our recovery even more. The thing that stings now is that we look like we are losing an entire good class to the transfer portal (Richmond, Newton, and probably Anselem). But I think every team is losing guys, so it’s a bit of a wash.

I was a die hard Mets fan as a kid from the 1980s. Hit my peak in the late 90s and early 2000’s. When Bobby V was the manager, I would probably watch 90% of their games in a season. I knew that team so well that I knew every move Bobby V would make (when he would hit and run; how he would work his relief pitchers, etc.). Loved guys like Alfonzo, Ordonez, Gilkey, Olerud, Piazza, Ventura, Turk Wendell, etc. But when the Mets decided to just outspend people (Mo Vaughn, etc), and baseball became increasingly boring and boring, I lost interest. MLB now is so utterly and hopelessly boring and broken; I just can’t generate any interest in it.

Kinda interesting to see Syracuse ranked in the top 15 of a few “early ranking” articles I have read. I do think Swider is going to be an upgrade over Braswell, and Edwards and Guerrier will get a lot better. I also get the sense that Griffen may be back.