RJ (not THAT RJ)

Mickey, as one of your critics, I have to say that your last para in this message is one of the most sensible things written on this whole mess. I think that is the most likely outcome as well, provided there are no hidden injury problems, and the summer drama will recede into memory.

Alas, I see they have all been taken down, probably copyright problems, but did anyone get a chance to visit YouTube to see the actual game videos that RJBuff (no relation) recently posted? He had the Bills-Raiders MNF game from 1974; the home Pats, Stillers, and Raiders games from 1980, and others, including OJ breaking 2,000 yards in 1973. Look like postings of his home videos, and they gave me chills. It reminded me how great it would be if the NFL actually made the complete videos of old games available for sale. I was about to view a few more when I see they had been taken down, and wanted to thank RJBuff if he happens to post here.

Not to mention that Kid's Day tickets were steeply discounted as well...

She is cute and all, but I have to say that I think the addition of sideline reporters to take up camera time is one of the worst developments in football broadcasting. Sure, it is good to have people ready to report on injuries and the like, but most of the time the sideline reporters are merely reading the same kind of talking points from the media guide that used to be given to the color commentator. The rest of the time they are running after the coach around halftime asking in-depth questions such as: "How do you expect to turn things around?" or "Does it feel good to be ahead at this point?" and they receive meaningless answers from distracted coaches in return... Just shut up and show the game. Add more shots of the cheerleaders if you need to show pretty girls. [/grumpy old man]

I believe it too.. but it all follows a really simple formula: If he is on the Bills OL, he sucks, as Gandy was the butt of many critical comments. When he is not, he is an upgrade over [fill in name of current OL whipping boy here]. The use of specific names of players make the analysis sound so much smarter.

Lori, that last comment made me laugh out loud... As the kids say (or used to say, I am falling behind on my slang), you totally rock!

Oh, you should not underestimate Mickey's myopia. He has focused every little bit of frustration with the Bills management onto this one single point. It is beautiful and maddening in its focused simplicity.

I remember the cup holders being a big source of complaints during the first season after renovations, since people claimed they lost legroom. One guy even tried to file suit, if I recall. Thus I am not surprised many have been removed.

It is terrible buck-passing on the part of the responsible parties, and reflects short-term thinking all the way around. I suspect it is a combination of Norv Turner's fear that if the team does not win it all this year he will lose another job, and a general feeling among the SD leadership that no one wants to force Merriman to sit then take the heat if the team does not do well. This way, they leave it up to Merriman, and if he cripples himself, the coach and team can shrug and say "Well, he made his choice..." and they can blame any team failures on the bad luck of injuries. All of which does not make it any less "retarted." (I know what you meant there, but that word that suggests what a hooker does when she puts on new lipstick and makeup...)

First of all, the word you seek is "marquee," referring to the advertising sign outside of a theater, which is a terrible word anyway. Nevertheless, I assume that is what you meant when you were calling Clements et al. "Marquises," since otherwise that would mean you were calling them female French aristocrats, which would be fightin' words.... Second, your panic is really out of place. Evans' deal is on the way, as both Evans and the Bills have said. Very different from the Sabres examples you mention. There has also been no indication from the Bills or anyone (not even from Mickey) that the Bills can't pay Peters more. They simply would rather not do it right now. A debatable point, to be sure, but hardly cause for new financial panic. All of which does not mean that Buffalo faces certain disadvantages in the marketplace of pro sports. Thanks to revenue sharing and salary caps, however, the Bills' disadvantages are not necessarily any more glaring than those facing other small- to medium-market teams. So, sit down, have a beer. Here, I poured one half-full for you.

Mickey, you are entitled to worship Jason Peters all you want, but your comment here is flat out wrong. How can Peters be "one of the most underpaid OTs in the league for the third year running" when two years ago he only played LT half the season, and he was granted a big raise/renegotiation BEFORE he made the Pro Bowl? Of course he has the right to hold out, just as the Bills have the right to say that they will not negotiate as long as he does. Your decision to turn everything into an attack on the front office is getting tiresome.

No worries... I suppose it does indicate the different worlds in which people live that my first impulse was to say "that's not a correct translation." Getting ready for the upcoming term does that to one.

Seriously? Fair enough. Do I have your permission to think it's silly anyway?

Thank you, Inkman! That was my first thought when I started reading this thread.... I guess that makes me another old white man who doesn't understand how wonderful Chad Johnson is....

Because slash players have had such good, consistent success in the NFL over the past 10 years, correct?

Maybe he is trying to impress them with his impersonation of Thurmal at Super Bowl XXVIII..

Sorry Doc. No promises, no guarantees... Well, except the guarantee that no matter what happens, someone on TBD will have something to complain about. Did love your link to the "Final Countdown" though.

Thanks Mrs. Tebow! Seriously, I have no idea who will be a successful pro, but exactly how many of these college "run around and take advantage of the majority of slow linebackers while they play in a gimmick offense in college" QBs have been successful pros? Vince Young is doing well, but there are weaknesses in his game. Who else? Michael Vick? Please. The worst thing is that this discussion will go on all this year, into the draft. And some team might just draft him high....

Indeed... it was falling on the point of the Ball in Indy, which separated rib cartilage, is what knocked him out in 1998 and opened the door for some magic midget....

Just for historical purposes: the Raiders traded Jim Lachey to Washington for Jay Schroeder in 1990. That doesn't make it less of an anomaly, but I figured it was good to know. Such research helps me warm up for the coming semeser.

Holding out means just that... one is not active, one is fined, one is not entitled to one's pay. That is the risk a holdout takes in hopes of a greater reward.

Very nicely argued, Kelly. It is reasonable to assume the Bills are not willing, but it is also reasonable to assume that such unwillingness is not categorical, or that it is hardened by a corresponding unwillingness on the other side. That is my complaint with much of the discussion on this board, which wants to claim one side or the other is being especially intransigent. I do not think, pace Mickey, that the Bills are especially dumb or evil or wrong, nor do I believe that Peters/Parker have done anything they do not have a right to do The very nature of a stalemate is that both sides have good reasons for what they do.

I must say I'm not sure what you want to argue, Kelly... In other threads you say that you do not think the Bills will give Peters everything he wants, and that you agree with that, and that you think it likely that the holdout will end and then talks will begin. I find that position to be eminently sensible, and that was the basis of my comments. Of course the Bills will not just give him that. There is no logic to defy. We both agree that there will need to be negotiations. We both know that there will be none if he does not come to camp. We also both know that once those negotiations get going there are many possible outcomes. Yet when I make that point, especially in response to those who want to place all blame solely on the Bills, you now imply that the only reason for this impasse is the Bills' refusal to give in. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but that opinion appears to shift depending on how close someone comes to agreeing with you. The closer they get, the more you run away, claiming distinctions invisible to the naked eye.

To be fair and balanced, Kelly, my point is that no one knows exactly what will happen if/when Peters shows up, no matter what anyone says, and even looking at what Graham has reported, one can just as easily see that negotiations could begin right away, perhaps aiming at starting the new money in 2009, but perhaps coming earlier if both sides agree. I am not shilling for either side here, but am amazed at how one line from Brandon is being taken as a fixed reality when we all know that everything is negotiable.

Exactly right! And, of course, we will all repress the thought that all of us, adults with real lives and actual concerns, in a world full of real problems that deserve our attention, are spending so much time obsessing about the whereabouts of a semi-literate young man who happens to be genetically blessed enough to make millions knocking the snot out of other similarly intellectually and physically endowed young men....