AKC

I'll slow down a little to let the short bus catch up- The.....man......has.......thrown.........for........more.........yardage........under....... the......pressure......of........NFL.......defenses...........than...........all......... but.........9.........others.........in...........HISTORY. I should share with you that it's no secret that the chatter on your bus is about how players listed among the top 10 in the most important statistical categories through over 80 years of NFL history "suck". And in fact that conclusion among the members of your community is actually the answer to the age old question of why all the passengers in those other vehicles passing you are pointing and snickering in your direction! Wheeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One thing there can be no doubt about is that he's 1000 times classier than any "fan" or media goat who for some reason can't allow a player, one who is among the top 10 in passing yardage among all quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, to simply move on respectfully to another stop in his career journey without continued harassment from jackasses among the media and fan base who wouldn't have the courage to take a second snap at the quarterback position in live NFL action. I'd ask no fan to appreciate a player simply because he was a positive member of the WNY community, a good teammate and he got pounded for our entertainment, but for those of us who DO respect those of our warriors who fall into the above categories I'd ask the rest of you to simply let go of it.

Were you responding to a rumor that he HAD been seen?

I think Hammer mentioned he'd been around at some point in the past couple weeks- it would be good news indeed if that wasn't simply a managment/player meeting. While there're guys on our roster who have more to gain by fully applying themselves right now, there might not be another player who can single-handedly have a bigger impact on our season by working his butt into excellent shape than Mr. Williams. He carries the potential of offering us "automatic" first downs on short yardage plays plus the threat on the goal line. That's something not even the best running backs can do. That right side of our OLine could be one of the best in the league next season with improvements in conditioning from Mike. That means you'll want to control your urge to buy him thewing special at the BT next time you run into him ;-)

I'll get excited when the names in attendance include Williams, Edwards, Anderson and any TE who's ready to work out full speed.

I haven't checked it against the NFLPA CBA but my understanding of IR is that a rostered player injured during a season must continue to be carried under the terms of their contract at the time of the injury until such time as the player can pass a physical for the injury that led to his being placed on the IR, or an injury settlement is reached. It's possible I'm confusing this with another provision- you have any idea?

Assuming the PS IR works the same way as the regular roster he'd have had to be given a clean bill of health before being released and consequently resigned as a FA by us this year.

Maybe the official team profile for him says everything you need to know: Buffalo Bills Player Profile: Ben Sobieski

And the shame is that his column appears in the spot that was at one time perhaps the greatest sports column in the country, "Notes On A Scorecard" by Alan Malamud. Alan lived and breathed local and national sports from the ponies to boxing and all the majors. He made the LA Times a non-contender when he was with the Herald Examiner, unfortunately only to be consumed by the Times where he landed writing the same column in the same spot- the sacred Page Two. It's not overstating it to say that Simers column is sacriligeous based upon the incredible work done in that section of the sports page just a decade ago.

Reading the linked article I'm reminded of a "writer" who pollutes the LA Times sports pages named T.J. Simers. Simers is a talentless jackass who chooses controversy over content and somehow holds a job down while giving no sign of grasping even the most minute understanding of the sports he reports on.

Yeah, Villarial's play put him among the top 15 OGs in the NFL last year by anyone who studies line play but he's one of Weiler's disasters in waiting. Let me guess that Weiler regularly obsesses about the QB position too. Yawn...

Not only can't they sell out a home game, they were ranked 31st in attendance last season, just ahead of the Cardinals. Long ago the vagaries of syphilis appear to have led Al Davis to trade a stong local following for the enticement of a move to LA. That forever lost him the full allegiance of his original market, which just so happened to be better then the one he ran to save for the ability to sell jerseys and flags. Now he's crawled back and still has awful attendance while selling lot's og gear to the both markets he's snubbed. Go figure. If that makes you popular I'd be happy for a quiet non-descript existence that includes some attention to loyalty.

You're betting the natural cycle against a guy who's beat if for a couple of seasons. IMO the strength of their team isn't in the players overwhelming opponents like some of the the dominant dynasties in league history but instead has been the ability of the strategy to teach and implement the strategy to players in many cases either very green or considered lesser talents by traditional methods of rating player ability. That indicates the smart money would not be on the Pats taking a dive due to the personell hits they're taking right now. On the other hand is the strategy either tied up to a significant degree in the performance of their coodinators or is it too reliant on keys that other teams might be breaking down now only to use to exploiut the Pats in coming years? Belichick sure seems to be in a good coaching rythym so I'd discount #2 there, so if you're relying on something hurting them I'd think the target of your confidence would probably be on the management side and the fact that good coordinators make Head Coahces into "geniuses". On the Raiders- they're a team with no soul and the wheels have been coming off for a little while. It's hard for me to imagine some miscreant like Randy Moss coming into their current situation and doing much more than gaining some bad behavior press while the team continues to struggle. The Moss problem with any adversity in a mild blue collar media area like the Twin Cities will only be exacerbated in the Bay Area climate. Hence my answer to your question would be that even a lot of the league gets better at competing against Belichick this season I wouldn't be betting any of my own money that the Raiders would be one of those teams.

Yeah, that extra win for adding Moss puts them at 6-10. I now see the wisdom of ABCs strategy ;-)

And just how is it that the pathetic 5-11 Raider franchise gains the priviledge of a Monday Night game? ABC apparently learned nothing from their ratings disaster of last season that offered two Fish and three Cowboy appearances.

OK, Mr. Henry- your audition for Buffalo Bills GM is complete. You can go home now and a representative of the Wilson family will review your credentials and call you back if the team is interested. Allright- who's next here- is Mr. Doody ready for his reading?

While I wouldn't argue against the proposed 15 yard non-flagrant PI call to replace the spot foul as an improvement to the current system, we once again find the league protecting the Zebras when the technology to make a quantaum leap in getting PI calls right goes unused. If we're going to keep Instant Replay it's shamefull that the league refuses to let it be used to review the most devastating bad calls every Sunday, calls that in many cases go against defenders making superb plays on the ball. If it's good enough to be used to determine nearly meaningless fumbles on 4th down plays, why the continued resistance to employ it on 70-yard outcome impacting plays with the game on the line in favor of the half-measures they're currently suggesting?

I'll avoid the merits of a Buff style menu out here in Loo Loo Land but I will tell you how to blow the doors off anyone's wings this side of the Mississippi. A) Buy the right oil- you want a commercial blend that incudes a good percentage of Beef Tallow. PM me and I'll provide you with a manufacturer who will ship it to you. B) Use wings that have been kept above 26 degrees, or the USDA designation "Fresh". Don't buy "frozen" or "previously frozen" chicken- it tends to almost always have a tougher density when deep fried. C) Sauce it with 1 part butter to 2 parts Lousiana Hot Sauce; Franks works but there are many others that you can substitute. I like Rooster, it's less expensive than Franks and IMO superior to it in flavor. The key to the sauce is to simply improve the heat index with something flavorful- for me a batch of sauce using a stick of butter and two of the regular bottles of hot sauce benefit from the addition of one chopped Serrano Chile and 4 or 5 chopped Thai Bird Chiles. One other thing that helps is to let the sauve sit on low heat for an hour or two- it thickens just a little and helps to stick to the wings. Then simply avoid oversaucing the chicken and let the games begin. If they're tossed right the empty bowl/plate should not have wet sauce left over. I'm a Bobby McGee's alum along with Kelly The Dog- I'm sure you'll see us both at your restaurant- good luck!

My money's on TK ;-)

McDougle is a physical specimen who has never played to his assumed potential. I remember John Butler commenting that he was the most cut big man he'd ever seen at the combine. One thing for sure, Mariucci would fight and claw over a solid player at LT, my guess is he's most likely to end up a career underachiever.

I wouldn't have picked him out for it, although I'd guess a pretty substantial percentage of NFL players do use banned products. My recollection of CB is that he was leaner than the model I think of when I assume someone's "getting some extra help".

I ran into John Salley at a winery in Santa Barbara Saturday and we talked about how drunk we got Jim Kelly last year in LA. He strikes me as a pretty gracious guy; he didn't even grimace when my little lady told him he "should play basketball". His taste in wine though is a little dicey ;-)

I used to go to a bar just off the campus there- I think it was called the Wheelhouse? Cool bar full of orally inclined female students.

I've been bringing meat to room temperature for a long time, one thing I notice about it is that there is a point where the meat, and especially red meat, reaches a degree of relaxation where it begins to give up some blood. There's a lot of variables that lead to that point but if you can get the meat on the grill just before that it's phenomenol how much more tender and juicy it ends up. And on Bistecca- I can't believe I never had the awesome combo of cold greens topped with hot steak until about 15 years ago. It's a regular now around our place now- we should hook up midway in downtown LA for a "Tagliata Florentine" some time, I'll bring the wine (A huge tannic Cab ;-)

Poojer- If you're interested in a meal to impress for Italians you should look at this Tuscan variation on Bistecca- very easy to make but one of the great dishes you'll ever put out- You need a New York strip steak for every diner, buy Choice or Prime NYs and they should each be around 8-10 ounces minimum. A portion of arugula, basically a handful for each plate. A teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice per plate with 2 teaspoons of good olive oil. Get a very hot barbeque going while pan searing some fingerling potatoes in 1/4 cup of olive oil, a little rock salt and a couple twigs worth of chopped fresh rosemary leaves. Do it at a high heat to crust the potatoes before putting that pan in a hot oven, about 400 degrees. As the potatoes get close (about 40 minutes) throw the steaks on thye grill at higyh heat- you want to really sear the stevestojan out of them and limit your flips to one time ideally. Side one should take almost three times as long as side two- the trick it to cook them not any longer than medium rare, rare is even closer to perfect. Toss the arugula with the lemon and olive oil at 2 parts OO to 1 part lemon, plate the tossed arugula with some fresh ground pepper and after allowing the steak to cool down for 5 minutes cut it in 1/4 inch strips against the grain. Fan the steak over the arugula, surround the whole thing with the spuds on the plate edge and serve it. Get ready for your guests to inquire as to the status of your beatification.