buckeyemike

Willis' longest gain today? Nine yards. That just won't cut it. This is supposed to be a rushing team, built around McGahee. He's a quality back, in the Top 10 in the NFL, but quite a ways behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Mike

I only got to watch the first half today, but it sounds like the second half was a real abomination. The Bills simply got outplayed today by a desperate Oakland team at home, plain and simple. The OL couldn't open any holes for McGahee and the play on 4th and Goal I thought was a clever one. It was not executed well at all. Holcomb is playing fairly well, but he seems hamstrung. He has never been able to throw downfield very well, and that's why you didn't see it today. I saw guys like London Fletcher play their hearts out, but once again, it just wasn't enough. The Raider receivers seemed to have a step on the Bills in the first half. The defense really misses Takeo (that might be the understatement of the year). Lindell might well be the MVP on this team right now. Hey, they're 3-4, going up against a wounded Patriot team on national TV next week. One that gets Bruschi back, I know, but we have no idea how well he'll play. The guy did have a stroke, after all. They are still in contention for the division title, with the season not yet half over. If they lose badly next week, then it may be time to put JP in and ride it out the rest of the way. I will reevaluate next Monday. Mike

It's the Oakland Raiders...you were expecting sportsmanship?!? Mike

If that happened a permanent curse would be put on Buffalo and all of its sports teams... What? It's there already? In the words of Gilda Radner on SNL, Never mind... Mike

Racism is a real problem, alive and well, in this country. These two girls are simply spouting what they have been taught by their ugly white-supremacist parents. And this is coming from a conservative Republican with heavily libertarian leanings. This is symptomatic of a much larger problem in our society. Take the drug laws, for example. No one can tell me that severe penalties for lesser quantities of crack cocaine vs. powdered cocaine (at least in Ohio) is not racist, at least subliminally. No one will ever admit it today, but an argument can certainly be made that the drug laws as written are aimed toward prosecuting more blacks than whites. From these laws to "white flight" to being scared to walk down the street to Bob Jones University (and even to hip-hop music that denigrates whites), racism exists and is still being taught, even in 21st Century America. I'm not of the Rodney King "can't we just all get along" mentality, but we have our heads in the sand if we think all is well between races. We need to help each other and get over the differences between skin color. I subscribe to the P.J. O'Rourke theory on race, "Why hate someone based on the color of their skin, when you can get to know them, and find so many other things to hate about them." God created us, black and white, in His image. It's time to start acting like it. OK. I'll get down from the soapbox now. Mike

This post makes me wonder -- what's it gonna be like on December 17 with an 8:30 kickoff? Thank God it's the Broncos and not the Jets or Dolfelons. Mike

Reason number 2,008,415 why Steelers fans are idiots. Mike

I'm a fan of Simmons, plus Gregg Easterbrook's TMQ on NFL.com. They are polar opposites, but I find their writings entertaining. Mike

Congrats Ed. Unlike some of the Mensas on this board, marriage is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. Kim and I are happy together. There are more important things than sleeping with as many women as possible. I know I couldn't get Jennifer Aniston anyway. Mike P.S. How this thread isn't at least 15 pages by now, I have no idea...

Read the article...very enlightening. I don't know about anyone else, but I get those e-mails and faxes about six times a year. They all go into the same place: a shredder or the Trash bin. If they have so much money, they can get their own damn American bank account. Mike

There's a Minnesota Vikings punch line in here somewhere, I just know it. Mike

Mark Mulder always requests that the stadium's radar gun be turned off during his starts. Now we know why. Mike

It's several hours later...and Michigan still sucks!! BTW.. GO TECH!! GUNS UP!! Mike

Forgot to note the following: Right above the Georgia Dome was Oakland at #29 and Candlestick at #30. The Superdome WAS somewhere in the middle of the pack, but the article came out before Katrina...so I guess it was August, not September. I don't think the Ralph is so hard to get to...you can see the stadium from 219 and the exits are marked, at least on that highway. Lambeau in Green Bay is harder to get to. Mike

This was in a September issue of The Sporting News. The Ralph clocked in at #24. The blurb said it was cavernous and cold with all the concrete, even in high summer, and the stadium was difficult to get to. The top five were: 1) Qwest Field, Seattle 2) Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay 3) Reliant Stadium, Houston 4) Ford Field, Detroit 5) Cleveland Browns Stadium (I'm surprised it was that high...it's really pretty basic). But the Ralph did clock in ahead of the Metrodome, Dolphins Stadium (being a two-sport facility is what ruins it), Giants Stadium, and dead last, the Georgia Dome (also a surprise). I don't have a link to the article, sorry. Mike

"Souls Wanted. Inquire Within." Mike

The weird thing is, most people my age and younger see Tim Horton as the namesake for the coffee/donut chain, and not as a Hall-of-Fame hockey player. Unless you are Canadian, that is. Mike

It depends upon their taste in movies. Someone mentioned "Psycho" earlier, and that is the best example of a thriller/horror movie without being gory. The kids probably aren't familiar with Hitchcock's work, so this is a great chance to expose them to the Master. I think it's best to avoid the slasher movies, which all seem to have the same plot anyway. Kids who have sex get killed. Kids who don't have sex survive. Even the "Scream" movies parodied this. A really bad one would be "Manos: The Hands of Fate". According to imdb.com, it's the worst movie ever made. The MST3K edition is available on DVD. "Final Destination" scares the hell out of me, especially when I have to get onto an airplane. Mike

Duey, I was 21 before I ever went to a Browns game for that same exact reason. My father would not take me to Browns games because of the crap that went on at old Municipal. He'd take me to all the Tribe games I wanted, partly because not many would show up at Indians games in the 70's and 80's. I guess that's why I'm a bigger baseball fan today. I've been to three games (all preseason) at the new Browns stadium, and it's different, but there's still a bunch of drunks around yelling obscenities. I'm there to watch the game and be entertained, not offended. Mike

I thought the line was "And Michigan STILL sucks!" Never mind...BlueFire and I previously debated this. Mike

GO BUCKS!! Hoping for a great game tonight! Mike

Hmmm...as a Christian and someone who apparently is vastly differing in his belief system from you, I must totally agree. This is truly interesting. I read somewhere from a prominent critic of religion in politics that the whole Ten Commandments thing escalated from a tempest in a teapot to a full blown moneymaking scam for fundamentalist Christians, through fundraising letters decrying the ACLU (which has its purpose, but it is NOT to expel religion and religious people from the public forum), and telling everyone that if they don't donate to the Cause, then they don't love God. The problem is, the Ten Commandments are much more effective when written on men's hearts. To require a monument (to me) smacks of religious legalism. You don't think Roy Moore realized that he could ride the Bible from a county judgeship to the Chief Justice position in Alabama, did you? IMO, he is taking advantage of the fear of Christians that the world is going to hell...uh, it DOES say in Scripture that the world would hate those who follow Christ (see John 15:18-19). There is a great heresy at work here, equating political power with righteousness. A truly Godly person realizes where their real treasure is. Sure they are concerned for their fellow man, but rather than seek power, the Godly person tries to make the world a bit better than they found it, through their actions and activities. Billy Graham and his son Franklin have practically mastered this. I prefer to vote for those not totally based on religious belief, but on fundamental principles and their work history. Unfortunately, too many good and principled people opt not to get involved in politics, because of our "GOTCHA" media and the current mentality that we have to know EVERYTHING. Nobody wants the public at large, not to mention extended family, to find out that they smoked pot in college, or slept around, or whatever. To our detriment, because EVERYBODY has a skeleton in their closet. I think I'm the most boring person I know, and yet I have things I sure as heck wouldn't want any of you to know about. Mike

My two cents here, since I've seen Kelly Holcomb more than most of you. Good, smart veteran quarterback. A fine team player...you won't see the Flutie/RJ virus infect him. Not the long term answer at QB. That's JP, but he's obviously not ready now. So, he should sit back and learn from Holcomb...how he handles himself, how Kelly reads defenses, etc. The problem with Holcomb is that his best games have come in LOSSES for his team...ie, the playoff game against the Steelers and the 58-48 game against the Bengals last year. Butch Davis tried to make Holcomb the starter for the Browns in 2003...and it didn't work. The Browns collapsed and finished 5-11. Holcomb is not a long-term starting QB in the NFL; he's proven that. Holcomb is more like an Earl Morrall for you fans from the early 70s...a true professional and a nice relief pitcher. And I'm talking Morrall when he was with the Dolphins, not the Morrall who was the 1968 NFL MVP. Mike

It's even worse, BB...I used to be a huge Browns fan. The agony and...the agony. Mike

Thankfully, the Indians had a heck of a year, just barely missing the wildcard. And people around here are talking that the Browns may not be as bad as we all thought...they nearly upended the Colts last week. Da Bears come to Cleveland next Sunday. Mike