MichFan

Another news flash ... the O-line hasn't been improved enough to make an immobile pocket QB successful. And, BTW, Kelly Holcomb is no slouch and can come off the bench to salvage a game if JP starts stinking things up. And, BTW, our defense is still going to be pretty good and will erase some JP mistakes as they did with DB.

From the little bit I've seen of Vick, he seems to take less risk when he decides to throw the ball than Bledsoe. Perhaps Price flourished with the Bills not only because he was 2nd, but also because he may be more of a "throw it out there and let me catch it" type receiver (which DB did frequently). If that's the case, maybe he'd get back on track with Favre in Green Bay or Ben R. in Pittsburgh. Not sure how J.P. is going to be -- if he's going to be a gunslinger, then I'd take PP back at the right price. Braylon Edwards is going to make a lot of money being essentially the same type of receiver but just a little bigger. PP could offer great value in the right system. Besides, wouldn't it be interesting to see McGahee and Price lining up together?

Jeez, having a bad day? He just offered his opinion as many others have in the topic -- don't see why you think he was dictating. Personally I like both players. But I agree with LABillz that both put themselves before the team and thus need/needed to be gotten rid of.

The game developers say the Killzone video is rendered and that it depicts what they are hoping to create in the real game. Sony says it was real in-game footage, which is an ignorant falsehood on their behalf.

Which is why the Dems last gasp argument of protecting the minority party is landing with a collective thud. It may not matter in another 18 months. The Democratic party has not changed one iota from the last 2 elections. 60 Republicans in the Senate is looking more and more possible.

Why would you ever bother quoting stevestojan like this, UConn?

This is sure to help African-American/Hispanic-American relations . http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050514/...ICO-USA-DC.html This pretty much solidifies my feeling that the border needs to be controlled much better. Mexico will never find it's way if they keep relying on the U.S. for illegal immigration. Time for those who are "more desparate than blacks" to focus their energy on making their own country a better place, not illegally entering ours.

We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Let us know when you get an official diagnosis.

MVP Baseball is a perfect example of EA's approach to gaming. Triple Play was their baseball franchise until last year. After getting such a bad name for being the same game year after year, they finally had to put forward a decent effort to save face. MLB 2K just blew them away with 2K4. So they changed the franchise name to MVP and gave it a significant facelift. But being typical EA, if it weren't for the MLB exclusivity agreement with 2KGames, MVP three years from now would be bascally the same game. Madden won't have a 2K competitor to push them. Cripes, just look at the comparison between Madden and NBA2K6 from last nights show. Madden was a linear progression to the next generation, NBA2K6 was jaw dropping.

Because most gamers = blind sheep. It's all about marketing with EA. When they put their marketing muscle behind a game it sells like hotcakes regardless of quality. The best game EA has published this year is Oddworld Stranger for the XBox. Arguably it is one of the top 2-3 XBox titles so far this year. (Note that EA only published this game, I'm convinced it turned out so well because they had nothing to do with the development.) Anyway, they gave this game zero marketing effort and so it sold like crap. When they released an absolutely pitiful spinoff on GoldenEye, they marketed and sold the heck out of it. So again, with EA sales have little to do with quality and much to do with marketing because they know as well as I do that most gamers = blind sheep.

Reids in Lockport is the best hot dog in Niagara County. Every time I get back home I have to stop by for a red hot. I also stop by Tops on the way out to stock up on LaFrois sauce (Reids puts this on their red hots) and Sahlens.

I'm an NFL2K fanboy. Got sick and tired of Madden in the late 90's. Bought a Dreamcast and played NFL2K and was blown away. Have been ever since with the possible exception of 2K4. Playing 2K5 is sooooo fun when you have "Shout" playing every time the Bills score. I don't blame EA for doing it, but I do despise them for it.

I'm helping with my son's T-Ball team that has 5-7 year olds. It is my first experience with the whole thing. I'll back up what everyone has said about keeping it fun and also add to keep it simple. Here are some observations to help you prepare for your practice if you are dealing with the same age group: - Most if not all of the kids cannot catch. (If you have any who can, put them at first base.) - Most if not all of the kids cannot throw far or accurately. - Kids would rather swing bats than field balls. - Rugby was probably invented watching a T-Ball team react when a ball is hit. (Once your kids learn to hit and throw, you'll need to work on getting them to stay in position.) - Chasing bugs is much more interesting than running from 1st base to 2nd base. (We ended up using a second base coach when we are at bat to keep the kids more alert.) - 5 year olds cannot comprehend situation-centered decisionmaking in the field. 6 year olds occasionally can with help from coaches. Simply instruct these kids to throw the ball to 1st (infielders) or 2nd (outfielders) base if they get the ball. 7 year olds can be coached prior to the play to possibly tag a runner or step on 2nd/3rd base. I say step on because if you have a 5 or 6 year old at these bases, they won't comprehend covering the base let alone be able to catch a throw from a 7 yr old. Our league limits the number of at-bats per inning because it is very rare that a team sides-out by making 3 outs. - Kids need to eat dinner before practice. Otherwise they'll complain through the whole practice that they are hungry. - As much as you want kids to practice at home, they probably already have more activities than their parents can keep up with or would rather watch SpongeBob when they are home. I try to get my boy to practice every night and his attention span is about 10-15 minutes before he runs off to some other activity. I keep reminding myself he's only 5 and that I didn't play baseball to any level of competency until I was 9.

Funny ... I just completed an anti-EA rant in the XBox/Madden topic and then I read this. Only an EA sports game could simulate the Sabres on the verge of going into the finals this year. If I were their Vancouver development studio, I'd start paying this source off to stop the simulation before we actually win the Cup.

Regarding the "think Madden" comment -- Madden has a .000001% chance of ever finding itself playing inside my XBox360. EA is a crap company that mostly makes crap games. I had to buy Tiger Woods PGA to have a golf game for the PSP and the ridiculously poor optimization by EA means 5 minutes of golfing is accompanied by 30 minutes of loading time to play 9 holes against a computer opponent. EA generally believes in making a subpar product and convincing consumers through a marketing blitz that they are cutting edge. The NFL exclusivity agreement will bring a dearth of innovation in football computer gaming for the next 5 years. That is unless you think being able to select the vendors and menus for your stadium in Madden 2010 will be a major breakthrough.

That Van Halen "Dreams" video was awesome. I was so pissed when I bought their Greatest Hits Video DVD collection and the Dreams video on it was a crappy live performance at the Whiskey.

"Tonight Tonight" by Smashing Pumpkins "Imitation of Life" by REM "Buddy Holly" by Weezer "Right Now" by Van Halen Honorable mention: "Underneath It All" by No Doubt (guys appreciate this one) "Toy Soldiers" by Eminem (for some reason I'm riveted to the lyrics of this song and the video -- probably the most personal effort ever by an artist) If you include a category for concert videos -- Goo Goo Dolls Live DVD is the best concert DVD in my collection and it came for free when I bought the CD.

Dolphins. I respect New England for how they have achieved their success, and they will be our measuring stick over the next few years. Miami beat us down for a decade in the 70's. Miami is a low class organization. Miami is the classic warm-weather/cold-weather confrontation. A true rivalry is one that exists regardless of how good either team is. One where you laugh at the other team's down moments and don't feel the slightest bit of pity. The Dolphins/Bills rivalry is the only one which meets these criteria.

If it's Hodgkins then there is a very good chance he'll beat it even at a Stage IV. My wife was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkins this January and is already in remission as of this past week. If it's non-Hodgkins, then things could be dicier.

Bring us the A-Train! He was a beast at Michigan. Chicago was a dead-end street for him, so I'd love to see what he can do in a decent system.

Headline article in the sports section of the Dayton Daily News this morning was about Mike Munoz' decision to leave football. Apparently Cincy was very interested in signing him as a free agent. As I read it, I couldn't help but get the feeling that Mike was living his father's dream and not his own. Anthony seemed very bitter, but from Mike's brief statement he seemed at peace with the decision. All the negative, whiny comments I saw were from Anthony. Mike's sister played basketball for Ohio St. and decided not to play her senior year coming up because she has had ankle injuiries each of her first three years. They have a quote from Anthony saying that with his daughter leaving sports recently and now his son, it's a very difficult time. For who? Both kids are smart and have done well in school. They will have great non-sports careers ahead of them.

Shazor can really lay the lumber on guys. If I recall right, he's the one who made the hit against Purdue that forced a fumble in the final two minutes and set up Michigan for a game-winning drive. Problem is he was fairly susceptible to getting burned on the deep pass.

It will take EA 3-4 years to make a game that looks as good as the commercial. Chances are they were showing opening movie/cut-scene animations which always look better than in-game. Did anyone notice at the end of the commercial when the receiver lays out to catch the ball in the endzone, he traps the ball on the ground? Then the official comes in and calls it a touchdown. Typical EA!!! I laughed my arse of.

Maybe there should be a special certification for female teachers that are hotties. Only they are allowed to legally have sex with their underage students. Van Halen's visionary video "Hot For Teacher" would become reality. What a great time for post-adolescents with a woody!

It's frustrating as a Bills fan to see Pat and JJ go. But my gosh, for the amount of money those guys signed for and the shortcomings of each, it's better we don't have them around. Obviously they are not driven to win championships -- rather to earn money. The 49'ers are nowhere near being a respectable team. The Vikings are on the way down. Both of their careers are transitioning to endless Sundays of irrelevancy. If they had stayed in Buffalo, at least they would have had a shot at something bigger. As far as the Bills go, this is why you put together the best front office you can. It is now time for TD to work some magic, the scouts to find some diamonds in the rough, and the coaches to get to work with the younger players.