Lori

Cool. Have to give that a listen. One can assume, then, that you'll be starting to get some more stuff online either on the blog or at the "Sports Bar"?

Taking after the old man, I see...

He was a college sophomore when Bell was born... so, maybe 19 at the oldest?

Okay, I'm behind the times. (Obviously, since that anecdote dates to the first part of the Clinton administration.) I can accept that. So what percentage of phones have this "spread spectrum"? I'm guessing both my handsets are old enough that they don't...

Beat guys don't typically draw the attention lavished on columnists, but Wilson's better than some people might think. He wrote an outstanding column when the Golf Channel stuff hit the fan over the winter, his Tuesday Replays are always worth reading, and he nailed the top of the Bills draft in the Sporting News a couple of weeks ago: "DRAFT BUZZ: The Bills want to add a big wide receiver but are skeptical there is one worth taking with the 11th pick. Even if they can't land a veteran wideout in a trade, they won't reach for one in the first round. "TARGETING: The Bills want a wide receiver big enough to win jump balls, make catches in traffic and be a presence in the red zone. They would at least consider taking Michigan State's Devin Thomas in the first round. Indiana's James Hardy might be available in the second round. There is a good chance Buffalo will take a cornerback in the first round. Troy's Leodis McKelvin or Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie would be hard to pass up... Up front, the team will look to add depth. The elite ends will go early, but USC's Lawrence Jackson or Virginia Tech's Chris Ellis could slip into the second or third round." He brought the fastball on this piece, too, even if his personal revelation stopped me cold. I'm about to turn 40, and I can't begin to imagine living this long without ever meeting my father. For those who haven't read the story yet, it's well worth a few minutes of your time. And yeah, <bleep> you, Karl Malone: Famous dad a footnote in Bell's life

Thirteen or fourteen years ago, our community theater decided to go "high-tech." (For us, that meant spending $150 on a couple sets of two-way radios from the local Radio Shack. You know the ones, a headset wired to a belt-pack receiver/transmitter.) Fine and dandy until the night of our tech rehearsal, the last runthrough before going into full dress rehearsals. And wouldn't you know, someone a couple streets over from the theater decides to call Aunt Martha and fill her in on the family vacation, and just happens to "find" our frequency with their cordless phone. I would normally have been amused. However, this show had a ton of lighting and SFX cues, and I was calling all of them from the front of the house. Or trying to, anyway. I still don't know how I kept from pounding that radio into dust that night. Moral of the story: if you're using a cordless phone, assume you CAN be heard, and adjust your lifestyle accordingly.

Scott was working on a redesign when the hard drive crashed. If you're volunteering to assist him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind the help. But if you're looking for banner signatures, neon flashing text, and the like, you may be waiting a while. Like, forever.

With Parker rehabbing a broken leg, it might not even take that long... if the Stiller line can block for him. They had more problems than usual with that last year. The other 19 teams didn't draft the kid who tied the NCAA Division I-A record for kick/punt-return TDs (held by Cliff Branch and Johnny Rodgers, among others.) Buffalo did.

Solid. Saved me some typing. That's the same point BADOL has been trying to make: if the front office didn't treat so many of their top draft picks as disposable products, they wouldn't have to keep filling the holes they create by doing so. Yeah, I was one of those who balked at Clements's $80-million pricetag -- heck, I said the same when the Colts offered Jeff Burris $20 million -- but at some point, they have to decide whether they want to be a playoff contender or a farm system.

Darian Barnes.

If Hardy is a bust? The Bills punt. Often. Again. I'm inclined to agree with the resident wino, though:

***sigh*** All righty then. Can the rest of us agree to argue without wishing death on the opposing party? Thanks in advance, the management

Ya think? I remember the name, but I was in college downstate when McClure (despite a three-INT performance) won his first and only game for the '87 Counterfeit Bills. Other #13 trivia: Sam Wyche and Chuck Nelson, Joe Danelo's replacement in 1984, were the only other Bills to wear the number.

First #13 since Brian McClure... What, no outrage that they're giving out Peerless's and Coy's numbers so soon?

From the BuffNews Billboard blog: "The most curious pick of the Bills draft -- although he's a great story -- was D-II running back Xavier Omon in the sixth round. The Bills have no depth issues at running back, and Omon isn't exactly the change-of-pace-type back that, say, Michigan's Mike Hart would have been. Tom Modrak offered no insight into why the Bills went that way, other than to point out Omon's an intriguing specimen with a history of production. What he's not -- or hasn't been -- is a special-teams player. We shall see. --- Bob DiCesare" Have to think that's the first time Hart has ever been described with those words...

Really?

Buffalo drafted Schobel (#2-01), Ron Edwards (#3-01), Denney (#2-02), and Kelsay (#2-03) before NY picked Umenyiora (#2-03), Tuck (#3-05), Cofield (#4-06), or Alford (#3-07). In fact, OU was still on the board when Donahoe traded up for Kelsay. (Yeah. Let that one burn for a while.) Toss in a Bannan here and a Tim Anderson there, and Donahoe didn't exactly ignore the DL. Again, was the Giants' draft strategy all that different, or were they just better at evaluating talent? While I'm here, the starting O-line from XLII: LT - Diehl (#5-2003) LG - Seubert (UDFA) C - O'Hara (UDFA CLE) RG - Snee (#2-2004) RT - McKenzie (#3-2001 NYJ) Edit: Waitaminute, AKC. Are you saying you're all right with this draft? Not sure I expected that answer.

Okay, now I'm fully in spinning-off-on-a-tangent mode... Giants defense in the Super Bowl (starters in bold): DE - Strahan (#2), Umenyiora (#2), Tuck (#3) DT - Cofield (#4), Robbins (#2 MIN), Alford (#3) LB - Pierce (UDFA Redskins), Mitchell (#2 KC), Torbor (#4), Blackburn (UDFA), Wilkinson (#3) CB - Ross (#1), Webster (#2), Madison (#2 MIA), Dockery (UDFA), McQuarters (#1 SF) S - Wilson (#5), Butler (UDFA), Johnson (#7) (NOTE: DE/OLB Matthias Kiwanuka, #1-2006, was on IR.) High picks at CB and DE, mid-rounders and free-agent signings at DT and LB (other than Kiwi), and basically ignoring S. So... when talking about teams that build through drafting linemen high (Pats* first and foremost), should the Giants really be part of the discussion? Is their draft strategy that much different than Buffalo's, or did they merely draft better players at the same position? To compare: DT - McCargo (#1-2005), Stroud (#1-2001 JAX), KWilliams (#5-2006), SJohnson (UDFA MIN) DE - Schobel (#2-2001), Denney (#2-2002), Kelsay (#2-2003), Ellis (#3-2008) LB - Crowell (#3-2003), Posluszny (#2-2007), Mitchell (#2 KC), Ellison (#6-2006), DiGiorgio (UDFA) CB - McKelvin (#1-2008), McGee (#4-2003), Greer (UDFA), James (#3-2001 NYG), Corner (#4-2008), Cox (#7-2008)

Didn't the Giants draft a CB in the first round last year? And didn't he start in the Super Bowl? ADD: Aaron Ross (#1-2007), Corey Webster (#2-2005), Sam Madison (#2-1997 MIA), Kevin Dockery (UDFA-2006), and R.W. McQuarters (#1-1998 SF) are currently listed as their top five corners.

Psst... might want to check page one of this thread...

Leonhard's no longer on the roster.

Eleven players started at least one game in the Bills defensive backfield last season, including four who are no longer on the roster... DB Jerametrius Butler CB Jabari Greer FS Jim Leonhard CB Terrence McGee S Bryan Scott FS Ko Simpson CB Kiwaukee Thomas CB Jason Webster SS Donte Whitner FS George Wilson CB Ashton Youboty ...and Greer was the only one on that list to play in all sixteen games. Before the draft started, Will James was the only offseason addition. Did the Bills need to select three CBs this weekend? Probably not... but I'd argue against any number fewer than two.

Thanks.

Link no work...

Thirteen TD catches last year? Bills WRs had 12. COMBINED. No, I'm sorry, that's wrong. The entire TEAM had 12, including five by the TEs and one by Anthony Thomas. That leaves SIX for the WRs -- Evans five, Roscoe one. No complaints about drafting WRs here.