UConn James

Doubtless this rings into the farewell speech to NATO given by Sec'y Gates a couple of weeks ago, where he basically said that he doesn't know how much longer the U.S. is going to continue providing $ and lives to fight European problems. The hypocrisy on this is just oozing. The left is all for intervention against a dictator butchering his own people now that it's a DEM president. At least the Republicans are mostly arguing from the perspective of 'Hey, we sympathize and we want Qadaffi/Kaddafi/Qaddoffi/Kadaphi (one or all of those spellings may be right) sitting on a pole even more than the next guy, but we're !@#$ing broke and we're fighting two wars as it is....' But yeah, we've been providing them big brother protection since WW2 (and how much of it was uncompensated?). It's time for Europe to step up for themselves. DaveinNorfolk, they're probably taking it better than the release of Megrahi, he of the "terminal prostate cancer, with only months to live" by the Scots, pressured by / channeled through the Brits, and come to find out, in exchange for oil contracts. That was a corrupt rooster-up to the tune that it helped boot Brown and elect Cameron and the conservatives. At least we have a forgivable reason.

Moorman lost a lot of his touch last year, with balls kicked from a prime pin-down spot either skirting just inside the 20 or bouncing into the end zone. Frankly, looking at his numbers, especially the "Inside the 20" category, the Bell curve peaks ~30 in 2006-7. He had 17 last year. He rated 21st in the league. And while many of the stats for punters matter more on paper than on the field, being able to pin deep vs. getting touchbacks is crucial. He was swearing/yelling at himself far too much last year as he was walking off the field and that is what matters. At 35, he's not the oldest the league's seen in the kicking spots, but he's not exactly a spring chicken. As for UFA, look at Weatherford's (Jets) numbers last year --- 42 placed inside the 20! Even Maynard had 24. It's not the biggest issue, but as I wrote, it would be nice to have options rather than chaining ourselves to him because he's the 10-year incumbent. The NFL isn't a popularity- or Mr. Nice Guy contest.

We had two first-rounders in the MLB draft (19th and high 20s for two pitchers, iirc) from a team that's surprised a lot of people the last two years; they just lost in the College World Series playoffs to probable champ S. Carolina. Kemba Walker went #9 last night in the NBA draft. Perennial first-rounders. But UConn football, despite having their most successful season in the Fiesta Bowl vs. Oklahoma, didn't have a player selected this year until, I believe, the fifth round. But we've had a couple first-rounders in the program's 10 years in D-I. And, if you count the WNBA.... Fuhgeddaboudit. I actually sat with ~ half the women's team in a French gen-ed, and sat next to Sue Bird. She's pretty cool.

eball, you beat me to the punch (but only b/c I was still sleeping at 5:53 a.m.) that it was 2002. I'm not among those who think Moorman should be cut outright without a competent replacement for either punter or as Lindell's holder. But, owing to his declining productivity, the team should be bringing in someone who can seriously compete for the job, not just some scrub from a local U brought in as a courtesy. Way too often last year, Moorman walked off the field flinging his chinstrap against his helmet after a shank, a botched touchback (his numbers have simply eroded in this category), etc.

More appropriately titled, "Either you're for "wars of choice," and/or you're against them when it becomes politically expedient."

Traits that have been bred into a dog DO NOT "take a human to bring them out." That's like saying an infant with a congenital heart defect learned their condition from their parents. I would say, rather, it takes a human to control those traits. Many people can't control an average dog properly, nevermind the traditional fighting breeds. Whatever their threshold is for attacking, it doesn't make up for the fact that when they bite, they don't let go. Ditto.

Tell me that after you've had to fight for your life against one. I experienced the business end of a pit bull (and to a somewhat lesser degree, a boxer) just recently when I was walking in the road with my dog. It doesn't necessarily have to be taught or re-inforced. The same way my dog automatically points his tail and lifts his front paw when he sees a mallard duck, pit bulls and their derivatives are innately hard-wired that when they attack, they go for the throat and they go for a kill. Now, any individual one may never attack anyone, but make no mistake that the ability and instinct is just beneath the surface. Now, it's not right to beat a dog who's never done anything. But if there was any previous incident, that would be mitigation in my book. Still not right... but I could at least understand it.

"Funny 'ha-ha' or funny 'queer'?"

Were they planning on doing a live video stream, like they did for the throwback uni unveiling?

Have they tried frying the reconstituted poop?

Ralph has a raging case of Old Man Syndrome. Change is like pulling teeth.

Because there was no such thing as kiosks or ATMs before the **** hit the fan in 2008. Evil machinery... I doubt it ever liked us! I'm amazed that he didn't intimate soda vending machines that siphon American soda-jerk jobs. (But illegal immigrants? Hey, let's give 'em food stamps, SSDI, free education and then in-state tuition!) Jesus flipping Christ, this guy is grasping at vegetation on his way down the cliff.

Wait... he has a position? He said was OBL's dead, Pakistan works with the US and the government owns your property. Then there's the claim that this is intelligent. Where's the position? What is there to defend or refute?

Yeah, I mean, you set it down in a department store for a minute, and darned if you can ever find it again....

This is an intellectual thread? The original post has the intellectual depth of a teaspoon. What do you expect anyone to reply with based on that? Cities/towns have the right to access the first 5' of property for capital stuff, and in the West especially, with mining rights and such, you only own something like 10' down... and Daniel Plainview can come in with his straw and drink your milkshake from across the room. This kind of stuff isn't exactly news to anyone here.

Do we need to look up how many times wealthy campaigning pols from both sides have made this joke?! And if memory serves, Romney used this a lot in '08 primaries. Now they want to make something of it? Lame.

I get the fullest sense of it being a deja vu of 1980. A presidency where things are coming apart at the seams economically and a president who lacks the ability to do anything about it. I'm not saying Obama has Carter's... insecurity(?)/ineptness --- and in contrast to the Iran disaster, after a bad start the bin Laden raid ultimately went all right --- but there is a serious feeling of "Hey, I've seen this movie before" here.

That happened in 2007/8. Even PBS ran their "The Mormons" several times. I don't know. I hope that certain contingent has been able to see the light that someone's religion matters a whit when so many people don't have a job, the dollar's value is going down, and spending and taxes are going up. Maybe those people might vote with their pocketbook and tone down on whatever perceived notion they have regarding Romney's religion, whose moral value stances are not so very out of line. Also, Mike (Pardon Me, Mike! Pardon Me!) Huckabee is not running this time, which should probably cool down the tenor that took then. And then there's the whole thing that Massachusetts actually did NOT turn into a Mormon theocracy when Romney was elected governor....

Per polling released yesterday, Romney is tracking at -2 points in a general election against Obama (45%-47%, which is in the margin of +/-). Everyone else, including a hypothetical Palin candidacy, is minus-double-digits. Frankly, Romney is the strongest candidate in terms of being able to raise $, tenure of executive experience, taking over disasters and turning them around, and knowledge of the economy. If the economy is still in the tank and unemployment is still above at least 8% (and I don't see how anything near that can happen with current conditions and present tax/healthcare policy that scares the **** out of business owners), there is every chance that Romney will wipe the floor with Obama. Too many people/Independents who voted for someone without a record because he spoke well, wasn't 80 years old and didn't threaten to bomb Iran, now know exactly what Obama is. Add in a shift of ~10(?) electoral votes to "red states" in Census redistricting.... I don't know about Bachmann as a veep choice. At this point, if Romney were to win, I'm thinking Herman Cain. But it's a looooong road to that point, and you never know which bridges might get burned.

Just so. But it would be nice to be able to dump guys like Mike Williams and Maybin (unless by some miracle he comes in and impresses) without their signing bonus scorching the cap. I've heard nothing about a rookie cap, but if nothing changes, Dareus' contract might be the biggest in Bills history wrt "guaranteed $." I haven't followed the NHL's business side closely, but is that the deal with those wacky 15-year $100M contracts?

It may have some role in future manned space exploration. Trying to remember from NOVA, but it's something like for every pound of the space shuttle (and the payload), it took 20X that weight in rocket fuel for escape velocity. Now, for missions to Mars or further, it's going to take a lot of supplies b/c there are no rest stops or NAPA stores in space. If they can reduce the food payload by some method, yaknow.... The idea may not be the nicest, and it has next to no purpose here on earth, but there is a practical side to it. They actually already have a system onboard the ISS that recycles urine into water.

Signing bonuses absolutely count against the cap. Just, they can be amortized over the course of the contract. Unless, iirc, that player is traded, cut or retires; then, the balance/unpaid portion counts toward that year's cap. Ostensibly, that was Butler's choice when he released Andre, Thurman and Bruce in [ON EDIT] 2000 --- to put the Bills through a shorter-term "cap hell" in order to come out fresh the next year.

A civil right does not trump the freedom of religion wrt churches being able to define their own rites, rules, membership, etc. Most of the concerns about this are unfounded. There may be some navigating to do wrt to OC's example of parentage and alimony, but I'm sure there's case law that will help guide the way. Regardless, that's not a valid excuse for the government to continue to deny freedom and equal rights/protections. Like I've said before, I'm ashamed at how fellow Republicans continue to impose their moral orders on people who don't hold those moral orders.

That is so un-Canadian!

You realize of course, that this is just going to raise the average salary across the league? It doesn't mean that the Bills will be able to add an extra superstar or two.