Tuco

My my, hey hey Rock and roll is here to stay It's better to burn out Than to fade away My my, hey hey

African or European?

New Year's Day, 1989. The first ever playoff game at Rich Stadium. The Bills beat the Houston Oilers 17-10. It was cold - in the 20s. And I had been at a house party the night before, so we were all low on sleep. After all, we were still in our 20s. But we recovered easier back then, and we won and went on to the conference championship that year, so it was a pretty good memory. I still have the commemorative red, white and blue pom pom they gave us when we entered the gate. And probably the ticket stub.

Think I'll roll another number for the road, I feel able to get under any load. Though my feet aren't on the ground, I been standin' on the sound, Of some open-hearted people goin' down.

Mostly meaningless. Next week's game with the Vikings is for the division either way. The only difference is, if the Lions lose tonight a tie next week goes to the Vikings. But if the Lions win tonight a tie next week goes to the Lions.

At Christmas I like to take the basic Alaskan Duck Fart (Crown Royal, Kahlua and Bailey's), replace the Bailey's with Candy Cane Rumchata, and call it a Santa's Little Helper.

I remember the Cowboys had a good opportunity to attempt one years ago but they didn't bother because the coach at the time (Switzer I think, but not positive) didn't know you could attempt it even if there's no time left on the clock. Also, the cynical nitpicker in me is going to rise up here. FYI everyone, it is a "fair catch kick," not a "free kick." It doesn't help that announcers and media usually refer to it as a free kick, or a fair catch free kick. But just so you all know, the NFL rule book even states that a fair catch kick is not a free kick. Now you know. It's also true that even though this play is seldom attempted, a big reason for that is coaches are all aware of it, and will tell their punters to punt it out of bounds for that very reason.

Gypsies danced around the campfire, shook their tambourines They were waiting for the ghost of an outlaw, Sundown was his name As the midnight hour grew closer and the sky began to fall You can see his shadow in the light of the moon They had heard the gypsies' call

No cop, no stop.

And the sons of Pullman porters, and the sons of engineers Ride their fathers' magic carpets, made of steel And mothers with their babes asleep, are rockin' to the gentle beat And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel

Very cool.

I'm tired of playing foolish games I'm tired of all of your lies making me insane I don't ask for much, the truth will do just fine Won't you lay it on the line

I hear some people been talkin' me down, Bring up my name, pass it 'round. They don't mention the happy times They do their thing, I'll do mine. Ooh baby, that's hard to change I can't tell them how to feel. Some get stoned, some get strange, Sooner or later it all gets real. Walk on

I been down around Houston,Texas Where the sun shines most of the time I been drivin' about six hours Tryin' to reach that Arkansas line But Texarkana's an hour ahead And I got to keep my wheels rolling But woman you're always on my mind Twenty-four hours at a time So my woman I'm hopin' you feel the Same way

I don't know about the AMA. I know the game day protocol, which includes an unaffiliated neurosomething consultant on each sideline as well as one in a booth with two trainers to assist him, was established after the league paid $765 million to former players because of concussions. It was enhanced after the first Tua debacle to what we have today. I know they take it seriously. The CBA contains the word concussion 182 times. The entire protocol and checklist were developed jointly by the NFL's head, neck and spinal committee and the NFLPAs similar committee. And that protocol and checklist are agreed to in the CBA by both parties. The part of the CBA just describing the game day protocols takes up 13 pages. Of course I don't know, but I think a little more has gone into it than just having it blessed by the AMA. Also, to the point of helmets adding to the instances of concussions, FWIW my father, who played his high school ball in the '50s, has been saying this for over 60 years that I'm aware of.