RuntheDamnBall

The man in me will do nearly any task, and as for compensation there's little he would ask.

The week is over Tailgating begins tonight Fish are going down

I have heard the war and worry of the gospel // ferry fast across the void.

Once Pegula has sold the Sabres to Bon Jovi.

Here's the way I see this. Goodell would be in far less deep sh--, if he had simply held to his original suspension and said "I saw the video, this was the policy, we're revisiting it, but we're not going to try past offenses under a new policy." If he went further and said that based on what he saw, he felt law enforcement could and should have given Rice a stiffer penalty, this would be a clear and definitive response to all of this, and to the NFL's role in it. He could cite past suspensions and consistency, and then also point to counseling that the NFL offers to try to help players with their domestic and family lives. He could characterize this as a work in progress, and say that the NFL is likely to increase the penalty because it wants to show that there is zero tolerance going forward. He could even mention his twin daughters, and how seeing the tape disgusted him when he thought about the fact that Janay Rice is someone's daughter. Changing the policy, and then the penalties, assessed to Rice based on mounting public pressure was simply going to backfire. As was using trusted NFL mouthpieces like Peter King -- who had to then look like complete idiots -- to share the news that the NFL saw all of the tapes. You've got to get out in front of a story, even if you don't make all the right moves or satisfy all comers. If your entire strategy is reactionary, people are going to call you out on it. It's the reality of PR as it exists today. The NFL can't have things both ways either. If they want to base their brand heavily on image (toughness, intense fan support, families and friends bonding together over the game), then they have to respect the power of image when a negative one arrives.

And the market -- i.e. us -- decides what is acceptable and unacceptable via our decisions about purchases as well as the ways in which we spend our time. If a lot of people threaten to spend their Sundays with someone other than the NFL, the NFL has to listen.

Nice Waits choice, Dean. Here's mine: They hung a sign up in out town "if you live it up, you won't live it down" So, she left Monte Rio, son Just like a bullet leaves a gun

You know, you think a thread is hot garbage, and then in comes someone with a post that starts "The liberals *yadda yadda yadda*..." New depths in deep thought here.

Let it go, this thread is 400 lbs. of stupid.

Don't get me wrong, I don't at all think he should be fired. I just understand why an employer acts the way they do in this situation. And I would hope they don't suspend him without pay (I can't imagine they would; then they are setting themselves up for a lawsuit). It's just kind of the reality of sports being one interest that cuts across political lines... hence you have to be prepared for some audiences to be pissed off if you're bringing ideas outside of sports into the conversation. But yes, the need for "someone to pay" all the time gets really tiresome, as if anyone has ever not made a mistake. Valid outrage here can be directed at two parties: Rice, and the DA. That's really about it. What Goodell has done is just to take a massive, steaming PR dump, that he made worse by mixing up his message.

Just, y'know, try not to slide down it, mmmkay?

I was thinking more of an X-men comic with the world's dumbest, most boring, unsexy version of Mystique.

No one is going to give you money for being a dumbass.

This, particularly the second graf. If announcers at my workplace weighed in with an opinion that had nothing to do with the job they were supposed to do, and that opinion were likely to offend our sponsors or underwriters (and audience), they would be suspended, too. Robinson's job is to do play-by-play. Now, if he was brought on as a commentator for a program and made this statement, then the Niners are in the wrong.

Two posters with a total of 84 posts between them agreeing with one another on a ridiculous concept? Nah.

I know, right? Ridiculous. It's hard to believe that a successful billionaire didn't heed the professional advice of a troll with zero management experience. I'll agree on setting a new low bar. I couldn't believe how misogynist it was. As if 1) he has a clue how involved KP has been in any of the businesses prior (it sounds like the answer is very, including for the sports management firm), and 2) you have to have a penis to understand people management in sports, or to understand sports in general. No one is suggesting she is going to tell the coaches whom to start. But if she has good ideas about how to run the team, any innovative concepts brought to Buffalo can help. You take any edge you can get. A forward-thinking front office that values female input could go a long way when we are looking at players who want to bring their families to Buffalo.

One problem with this is that Lee Smith is our best blocking TE, and he's recovering from injury.

Brett Favre was on drugs.

You know what's worse than rebuilding? NOT HAVING A TEAM, SUCKERS. ENJOY YOUR ARGOS AND SEVERAL FLAVORS OF ROUGH RIDERS.

Or if his net worth is tied up in stuff that isn't actually worth that on the market...

You mean the 8 YPA in the 4th quarter, if we're gonna be all cherry-picky?

Wow, is this tone deaf or what? Natural gas is a cleaner-burning fuel and much better for the environment, and hence as a greenhouse gas it's secondary for environmentalists; the much larger concern is the compounds used in the tracking water, and the potential that they'll make it into the water that we all drink, and that ecosystems depend upon. These are proprietary and the knowledge of what's in them is not available to the public. In any case, many people are not specifically anti-fracking but pro-transparency when it comes to the resources we all need. That includes outdoorsmen like hunters and fishermen who aren't necessarily under the "green" tent. It ain't as black and white as anyone who would use the phrase "tree-hugger" would like to believe. Regardless, I am glad to see that money be put back into WNY, and I can divorce my environmental interests from the on the political / regulatory front. On that latter front, I simply hope that we all make very careful decisions about where we go in looking for a sustainable and diverse array of fuels to propel our growth as a nation, and the public should be fully informed. PS - Go Bills, and let's keep talk on this board about the Bills, mmkay?

Would y'all have made the same trade to get Andre Reed, knowing that he would have the career that he had?

AJ Green and Larry Fitzerald are in that mix, too. And these are in fact guys that Watkins was getting compared to in terms of what he can do for an offense.

Is it Sunday yet?