MattyT

"Is Phil Mickelson hiding something?" Yes. A sausage.

This is a Catch-22. If Law's injury has caused his value to drop enough for us to be able to afford him, then I have a bad feeling we don't want him. He was a BIG ticket item before he became broken. Either that, or I hope the doctor that is evaluating Law is the same that evaluated McGahee before we drafted him! Of course Law isn't a youngster either.

I too have heard that Alaskans, for the most part, welcome the drilling as a means to boost the economy of the area directly impacted. Wildlife considerations aside, it is foolish to think that drilling into the US reserves (ANWR or otherwise) will eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. The US holds only 3% of the world's reserves...not exactly enough to get us very far without reaching out. The demand for petroleum in the US for 2004 was 20.5 million barrels per day. This was an increase of appx. 2.5 percent from the previous year. The most generous estimates claim that ANWR contains 16 billion barrels of oil. That's enough to supply the US for a little over 2 years. Still want to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil? Truth is, to effectively reduce our dependence, Americans need to be more willing to embrace alternate sources of energy. That's what our politicians should be focusing on....not 2 years worth of oil sitting in a wildlife preservation. That said, I still drive a gas car and probably will until the prices of hybrids drop.

McKenzie should be the player the Bills go after, whether he ends up taking over LT or swapping with MW at RT. Smoot would be a real luxury. He's a high ticket shiny candy-like button. We might be better off putting our cash somewhere else and drafting a CB. I don't know much about Bell, but I don't feel entirely comfortable relying on what we have in the middle right now. With Sam Adams and Pat Williams, opponents BELIEVED that they wouldn't be able to run up the middle so they didn't bother to try it. That took several plays out of their book. Sometimes that belief is enough to throw a team's gameplan off. I don't think that they have that same belief anymore. We need a presence...hopefully Edwards steps up and performs. Another WR would be great, but I don't particularly like Terrell. I'm thinking of a possession-type guy that will run across the field. I'm OK with Lindell but am open minded about other options. Not sure I want a rookie though. Reed would work fine, but last I heard Pitt was well on its way to getting him back on board.

Personally, I like John 'Bluto' Blutarsky's speech: Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! Otter: Germans? Boon: Forget it, he's rolling. Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... [thinks hard] Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go! [runs out, alone; then returns] Bluto: What the !@#$ happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer... Otter: Dead!

Bills | Losman Looking for Support - from www.KFFL.com Thu, 3 Mar 2005 17:23:07 -0800 Gregg Pastore, of BuffaloBills.com, reports Buffalo Bills QB J.P. Losman continues to work on preparing himself mentally for his first season at as starting quarterback in the NFL. "It's about my mental preparation," said Losman. "When I go out there I've got to know exactly what to do all the time. Once I start doing those things and once the game starts and I transfer that over from practice it's going to be rolling. The guys are going to be supportive and this year is going to be the year where I'm going to need my teammates more than ever. I need them to support me in ways that they might not have to later down the road because I'll be older and much more mature." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bills | Losman Working at Team Facilities - from www.KFFL.com Thu, 3 Mar 2005 17:12:14 -0800 Gregg Pastore, of BuffaloBills.com, reports Buffalo Bills QB J.P. Losman continues to work out at the team's training facility in Orchard Park, New York. A typical day for Losman includes two to three hours of watching film along with some running and lifting. "He's not doing it because he's been told to do it but because he wants to do it and that's a good sign," said head coach Mike Mularkey.

Actually, the ferry will operate in the winter. Getting permission to transport cargo is going to be the key to making this project only a below profitable venture rather than a colossal mistake. The Video Lottery Terminals may also play an important part.

More info..... http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=19145

I kinda disagree about the weak field, but you're likely right about Ray's passing.

I also agree with this line of thinking. It also worked for Cate Blanchett for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn. "Imitating" an icon isn't always an easy task. You run the risk of being immediately dismissed if you don't convince the audience. IMO, Foxx was good. Just ask Robin Williams with his tired Jack Nicholson bit. Sigh. I still can't believe he tried to pull that one off last night.

Still depends where the most money is. If a guy pays $45k per year in taxes on a $2 mill. house in WNY, but makes $3 mill. more over the life of the contract then WNY is still going to be more attractive.

Batch, McMahon, Fiedler, Chandler, Frerotte, and Stewart I suppose. I guess I'm mainly concerned with the "bang for buck" factor. Some of the players that I listed are better at some aspects of the game than Johnson at this point in their careers and some are worse in many areas. However, with the exception of Fiedler (and maybe Frerotte), these QBs know their place and have few unrealistic ideas about being the go-to-guy. Therefore, they can be had for less cash.

Johnson has been sacked 1.65 times per game in his career, with a high of 44 in a single season. Compare that to Bledsoe's 2.34 with a high of 55. http://snap.stats.com/snap/pfw/nfl/players...=2160&Submit=Go

Comparable backups can be had for less money than he will likely command.

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=19110

As if on cue.... Packers | Salary Cap Troubles - from www.KFFL.com Thu, 24 Feb 2005 09:45:58 -0800 Tom Silverstein, of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, reports the Green Bay Packers are more than $6 million over the league's salary-cap limit after tagging TE Bubba Franks with a transition designation, according to NFL Players Association salary data. That number will inflate to at least $11 million once the team makes qualifying offers to some or all of their restricted free agents. The impending release of veteran G Mike Wahle, whose contract calls for $11.3 million cap number next season, would allow the Packers to recoup $11 million in cap space, but leaves the team with little available cap room to be active in free agency. Sounds like they're in deep poop...especially since thier defense still needs an appreciable amount of improvement.

I thought that I would do everyone a favor and sum up the new information from that article. So here goes...... *crickets*

Nobody is completely neutral...some just hide it better than others. Yes, I know they are British, but I think The Economist does a pretty good job relative to most. Of course they don't rely on soundbytes and bombastic headlines either. You actually have to read the articles. Difficult for many....I know.

Keep up the good work.

Yikes. The Lions AND the Cards don't want him for their crappy teams? That is bad. The kicker here is that it was mentioned that the top off-season priority for the Lions is getting a top-flight WR either through the draft or FA. Who's running the ship over there? They've already got Roy Williams and Charles Rogers. Wonder if we'll see one of those guys move.

KFFL reported that Vanderjadt will likely be asked to restructure. Also of note, the Lions are apparantly not interested in Bledsoe and are looking at Griese as a possibility. The fact that the Lions already know that they don't want Drew is very telling.

Probably tough to watch if you're unfamiliar with HST, but a rare glimpse at the man if you're already a fan. Breakfast With Hunter

Sh--!!! He was the kind of guy that made you feel like the world was a more interesting place just knowing that he was still doing his own thing. HST was a true throwback to a different time. It was just last week that I chose Thompson (in a thread on The Stadium Wall) as the person that I would most like to sit next to (and drink with) on a long plane ride. Many of us are born with our literary heroes pre-deceased...Hemingway, Toole, Kesey, Huxley, Kerouac. My literary hero died 02/21/05. RIP Hunter PS - Nodnarb, you introduced me to John Kennedy Toole and Fred Exley and for that I am thankful.

Exactly. That's why I was wondering if this writer was a particularly good source, or if they're just flinging crap at a wall to see if something sticks.

Good for you Darin. Most people aren't able to be so forthcoming about getting crabs.