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My son's are 1/4 italian, so a few years ago for xmas Eve, we made this: We pretty followed how he did it, except I did the meatballs a lil different (I braised some shortribs and pork), and definitely didn't make rigatoni/penne/hollow pasta by hand. A two day affair, since I made the sauce and meatballs the day before. He's right, at the end of the video, when he says, its more than a glorified lasagna. It is pretty cool to make. Actually, we made it 2 years in a row. PS, If you never saw it, Big Night is a very good movie. Written, directed and starring Stanley Tucci, with an excellent role from Tony Schalaub (sp.)...the guy from Monk. As far as the game goes, I'd make baked beans, but I plan on using the leftover hambone for Red Beans and Rice after Christmas.

I just remember they tried to trade up with Pittsburgh, but it really wasn't going to happen. Dan Rooney wanted Ben, because he always regretted passing on Marino in '83. Cowher and Colbert wanted an OL, but Rooney convinced them otherwise. Donahoe might not have known Rooney wanted Ben, as it wasn't a consensus in the Steelers draft room until the end. I don't know if the Bills tried to trade up with Jax or Houston, who drafted at 9 and 10 that year. But Pitt wasn't trading down. https://steelersdepot.com/2017/04/friendly-reminder-dan-rooney-reason-pittsburgh-drafted-roethlisberger/

yeah, this one has been posted already, but I couldn't quote Pasta Joe's and delete the other vids. It was my late wife's favorite, so it has some sentimental attachment for me. Last Friday was the 5th year anniversary of learning she had cancer. I wasn't in the best of moods anyway (lots of flashbacks from that day), but I had to run to the store in the afternoon. On the way home, I was becoming really annoyed with drivers going 20 in a 35. I might have flipped a bird or 2 as I was driving. But this song came on just as I was getting home, and ended as I pulled in my driveway. I raised my eyes up and said "you did that on purpose!" But a second later I added, "but thank you". She's still looking out for me at times. I still don't know how Nat King Cole could smoke 3 packs of cigs a day and still have a voice like that.

Red Green was always better.

I like what the Lions did in building their team. Many of the moves and draft choices were off beat, and were criticized, but also solid for what they were looking to do. And it worked for them. While some teams brought in coaches for their teams who look like they were dragged out of the analytic dept. somewhere, McDaniel, Sayleh, and Nathaniel Hackett, (who really is an analytic nerd, and not very good at it.) The Lions went with a coach with very little coaching/coordinator experience, but looked like a player, (ofc, he was) who really promised very little besides biting kneecaps and giving blood, sweat and tears. So Churchillian. But he also surrounded himself with a couple of very gifted coordinators. In drafting...they have been outstanding, again, being offbeat but solid in their picks. In 2021, they traded away their franchise QB for some high draft picks and the Rams castoff QB. IT almost looked like they were conceding defeat and wanted to give Stafford a chance at a SB. They used the 7th pick on a guy who was looked at as a right tackle for them. "you don't take a right tackle that high". It worked. That year they also nabbed a WR in the 4th, who was like the 15th WR taken, who has become one of the best in the league. In 2022, they used one of the draft picks in the Stafford trade to move UP to take a WR who wasn't going to play that year. But they wanted a deep threat in the future and to a large extent, it worked. They also nabbed Kerby Joseph in the 3rd who has become one of the best safeties in the league. Hutch wasn't really an offbeat pick, he was pretty much a consensus. In 2023, they def. went offbeat. They had the 6th pick from the Rams, traded down to 12 and got an early 2nd in the deal. And they used the 12th pick on...a RB. Yeah, that got some howls from the draft people, and the "you don't draft a RB in the 1st round" calls from many of those people. But their reasoning made sense. They knew they were going to be a running team. They had already built one of the best OL in the league. They signed David Montgomery, a very good back who will grind out yards for them. But they wanted a dual threat back who gave the opportunity to turn a 4 yard gain into a 40 yard gain. So with Gibbs, they got a guy who, in splitting carries, has 1300 yards from scrimmage, 12 tds, and is averaging 5.7 ypc. It worked, for them, because they knew what they wanted to do and how to get there. At 18, they drafted a MLB, another pick that many called a reach, or something you don't don't do in the 1st. But again, their reasoning was solid. In 2022, they were 29th against the run. They have been top 5 in the past 2 years. With their 34th pick that they got from trading down ,they picked up Sam LaPorta, a reasonably athletic TE who had the ability to become a better blocker. He's fit in well in what they wanted to do. And they used their own 2nd round pick on S Brian Branch, they have one of the better Safety combos in the league now. They used their 1st 2 picks in 2024 on CB's who will remain to be seen. They definitely went against convention in a number of ways. But it worked...for them.

Yeah, there was a run on LB' towards the end of the 3rd in that draft. Henley and Simpson went right after each other, and then Overshown and Williams a few picks later, right after each other. As soon as they said The Pick is In, I was pretty sure the Bills picked Dorian, basically by process of elimination. Overshown was a former safety, tall and rangy, but everyone said he would need time to figure out the position. Now this. I feel for the guy.

I do look forward to the Brother Bill gameday videos:

That was a good article, almost a eulogy. Kentucky Fried Movie came out when I was in Jr. High. For teen/preteen boys, Kentucky Fried Movie was the most talked about movie of the year. If there was a genius to Airplane!, it was the use of serious actors for 4 separate roles, as the article points out. Their delivery was beautiful. Ofc, the June Cleaver cameo didn't hurt.

Only an older generation will get this. But greatest way yet to end a sitcom.

I can still remember in 2010, when Ralph named Buddy Nix the new GM. He sat at the podium and said something like: "The NFL sent us a list of possible candidates, and I didn't know anyone on the list, and Russ didn't know anyone on the list, so we went with someone we knew" Ironically, I never hated the Nix pick. He had a good track record as an asst GM. But after drafting CJ Spiller pick with the 8th (?) pick in the draft, he went about the rest of his tenure trying to rebuild the Chargers 3-4 defense in Buffalo. It didn't work.

I've got some sourdough starter in the house, so maybe time to make some sourdough bread, or pancakes, or eat it right from the jar to give me a quick pick me up. Or if Im lazy, Ill just buy a loaf of Goldminer bread. I don't eat crab any more. They are disappearing and I'm not going to contribute to their demise.

Yeah, that one was floating around last August we went to Buffalo for a wedding. Enterprise gave away our reservation, after refusing to pick us up...GREAT SLOGAN ENTERPRISE!! Ended walking from their office on Genesee to the Airport terminal, and 4 hours later, got a rental from Budget/Avis. Spent some time talking to a guy swearing up a storm, going between the Hertz and Avis counters, after Avis gave away his car. The next night, my brother flew in and spent about 3 hours waiting for a car from Hertz. He spent time talking to Pete Metzelars, who had been waiting for hours himself. What a mess it was. This video made it around the family texting circle.

In the "what the hell is it doing in the middle of a prairie" category: The Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson Kansas. Let the cute and bubbly Space Vixen give you a tour. Some are mock ups, most are real. A Gemini Era Module, A SR-71 Blackbird the original Liberty Bell module after it was salvaged, (they restored it)...before it went on tour a ton of a Apollo artifacts and the original Apollo 13 Command Module. They were the museum who built the Mission Control set for the Apollo 13 movie. A nice detour if you are traveling on I-70 or I-35 through Kansas. I beat the worlds 2nd largest ball of twine.

It was one of those lowlights as a Bills fan, of which there were many over the years. Living in Chiefs country, my son and I watched the game in a sports bar, filled with Chiefs fans priming for their 3 pm game and people in for the other early games. Watching the beat down, the looks we got from around the bar were more of pity than anything. By half time, Peterman had thrown 2 ints and the Bills O had something like 20 yards and O 1st downs. When they trotted Allen out to start the 2nd half, a guy at the next table leaned over to me and said "I can't believe they are putting him this early." I just said, "they don't have a choice, they can't go on without a 1st down for the entire game". He just gave me a "yeah, you're right look" added by another look of pity. Later that day, Mahomes started his first game as a full time starter. He threw for 250+ yards and 4 tds. Not a good day. It wasn't just Peterman though. It was one of the worst offenses possible. The Oline, absent a 2nd year Dion Dawkins, was bottom of the barrel. Wood was forced to retire. They dumped Incognito who was replaced with Vlad. Miller was a low end starter. Jordan Mills was ..Jordan Mills. The WRs they brought in were Kelvin Benjamin and Andre Holmes. Outside of a raw rookie in Josh Allen, Shady and a young Dion, it was pretty pathetic (half credit for Zay Jones). after 2018, I doubt half of those guys started 10 games for other teams. My big fear was something we saw in Buffalo forever during the drought years. Bring in a defensive head coach. Make the priority of getting talent for the D to "fit the scheme of the coach" Make the offense an afterthought. Fortunately, they learned something from 2018. Not totally, but at least they made an effort to get some protection and some weapons for their young QB.

McGovern surprised me in his run blocking. He was always known more of a pass protector, of which he was pretty good..in Dallas. Cybo fell into their laps. He was the best IOL in the draft that year and did great during the Senior Bowl practices. There's no way he should have fallen to the bottom of the 2nd. Based on what the OL was like the year before, Josh might have pummeled Brandon if he wasn't drafted. Brown was a tough one going into last year. I always liked the pick, based on his athleticism. But a year long back problem, at his young age and the way he played the year prior...it was a risk. But it has been working. Keep in mind that in OTAs before the 2023 season, Dawkins was up to around 370. He could have easily eaten his way out of the league. Instead, he went on the Chipotle diet and dropped 40lbs before the season began. Its paid dividends. Edwards- meh. He might not be a huge hole, but he's the weak link. But its easier to cover up one weak link as opposed to 3, like they had to do in 2022.