bartshan-83

What is this revisionist history rampant in this thread? TBD might be lacking some of the quality, in-depth discussions it once had, but that's a result of growth. There are thousands and thousands of members. Of course quality will be watered down. And of course the close-knit feel will eventually give way. "The good old days?" Like when there were meltdown threads every month? When BF would take some ridiculous stance and then have a 30 page bitchfest with Tom, Darin, Thailog, etc.? All that was great entertainment...but some golden land of civility and tranquility? Ha! "Retatta" marked a turning point for this place. I'll agree that it has become a lot more ADHD and, on the whole, good discussion is washed away in the face of spastic postings. But TBD is not some crater of what was once Bills Utopia. If this thread is what constitutes drama nowadays, I think my point is made.

:P The "THANK YOU" card from TBD must have gotten lost in the mail. Wow. You did something stupid (at best inappropriate given the venue), it caused a bigger problem than you could have anticipated, and it hurt a lot of people on this site in the process. A small "mea culpa" is the right move. But continue to dig your heels in...

[The lawsuit] also claims that the boys received "medium size gifts" from Dwyane Wade for Christmas last year, while Union got "the biggest gift of all." That sentence is just loaded with funny.

Yup...and it doesn't look like current order will change anytime soon. Sad thing is, the Sixers are tailor-made for a superstar (yeah, yeah I know...who isn't? ). Iguodala can definitely be the 2nd best player on a contender, Thad has 20-5 potential, Lou and Speights play good ball, Sammy is a top 5 defensive center and Jrue Holiday just might be the answer at PG. It's a team full of young, quality, 2nd-tier players. Just no leader...no alpha-dog. You bring in Wade and I could coach them to 55 wins. Of course there is the small issue of Elton Brand and his 79 million reasons why this team will probably go nowhere. At least they took a swing I guess...

The chosen few. Literally. I had a 10-game pack this season...to say that the arena was half-full on average is generous. They even kept 30-40% of the vendor windows closed on most nights. Before AI's little visit, it was like a ghost town. But hey, things are looking up...we've contacted Doug Collins about being our next coach! Apparently our coaching search plan is to re-hire every coach the Wizards have fired in reverse order. The best part is Jim Lynam is already an assistant....I'm sure he'll get the nod after Bernie Bickerstaff and Leonard Hamilton get their shot....

I don't think he needed to be tased, but I have no problem that he was. (if that makes any sense at all) Now the guy last night who almost cost us a win....yeah, put a few rubber bullets on him for sure.

Okay, I'll say it....you really think he was being serious?

Good, someone more negative than me went first! Week 1 Buffalo vs. Miami - L Week 2 Buffalo vs. Green Bay - L Week 3 Buffalo vs. New England Patriots* - W Week 4 Buffalo vs. NY Jets - L Week 5 Buffalo vs. Jacksonville Jaguars - W Week 6 BYE Week 7 Buffalo vs. Baltimore Ravens - W Week 8 Buffalo vs. Kansas City Chiefs - W Week 9 Buffalo vs. Chicago Bears - L Week 10 Buffalo vs. Detroit Lions - W Week 11 Buffalo vs. Cincinnati Bengals - L Week 12 Buffalo vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - L Week 13 Buffalo vs. Minnesota Vikings - L Week 14 Buffalo vs. Cleveland Browns - W Week 15 Buffalo vs. Miami Dolphins - L Week 16 Buffalo vs. New England Patriots* - L Week 17 Buffalo vs. NY Jets - L 6-10...at least we'll get those !@#$ing Patriots* this year!

This. TG could have done without the indignant farewell speech to what was basically a stupid post followed by babble. If that was really the final straw, then he wasn't long for this place anyway. But TG had already "warned" people of his boundaries before. Leonidas chose to ignore that. So whether this was an overreaction or not, that's the risk you run when you act like an idiot.

Rajon has been the best/2nd best player on that team for over a year now. billscursed got it right above...'Sheed is the barometer. Since he refuses to guard anyone or enter the paint for a rebound, it's going to take a few more 70% shooting nights. Shaq can body him and Raggedy Andy can flail himself all around, but anytime he gets Hickson on him, he should immediately jog his pudgy ass to the block and dominate. But he won't. Unless LeBron is seriously injured....Cavs in 6.

I thought about tasing Howard after he swung at that Ball 4 next to his face in the 9th...

What's that? Steve Nash just made another lay-up.

Good...now maybe ND can pull it's head out of its ass with our ridiculous 7-4-1 scheduling model and do a home and home. Hell, a 1-1-1 with a third game neutral site would be great as well.

I'm pretty laid back about all of it. Unless I'm at a top-dollar establishment, I'm basically there to have someone cook me a meal and clean up afterward. If the server can get it to the table in a reasonable fashion and not piss me off in some legitimate way before I leave, I'm pretty happy. Waiters are human...they're gonna screw up. As long as they make an effort to explain/apologize when they do...no harm no foul. The only thing that used to really give me the red ass when I was younger (high school/college age) was the server who thought my age/appearance was a reason to give me substandard service. There were two types: 1. The guy who was about my age so he figured he was too cool to treat me like a paying customer. 2. The "veteran" waiter in a nice restaurant who figured some kid like me wasn't going to give a big tip anyway so he could ignore me. I remember taking my then-girlfriend out to a very nice restaurant for our anniversary when we were about 19-20. Well, we got some mid-50s head waiter who was obviously very impressed with himself. He barely acknowledged us, acted coldly, breezed though our orders and then disappeared for long stretches. It wasn't very busy and he was roaming around the whole time...he just didn't pay us any mind. He even had the balls to give me the "1 minute" finger when I finally got his attention after we waited for our entrees for 30 minutes. Then he took his sweet time to come over...stopping and talking with 4-5 other tables. No "I'm sorry your order took so long", no explanation...he just didn't care. Then after our dishes were cleared, he immediately showed up and dropped the bill on the table without a word. No dessert? No coffee? I guess not. I signed that check and and wrote "Act like you give a ****" in the Tip line. The only time I've ever zero-tipped. Told the manager on the way out that the dinner was good but the waiter was terrible. Never gone back. I guess the guy thought a couple of teenagers weren't going to tip him well enough to make it worth his while. Congratulations, douche! You were right!

Just terrible. To borrow a line from another site I saw that I'm sure may have already come true: "Oh really? You're considering playing football at ND? Good idea...solid program. But first, why don't you check out this video the University just put out...showcasing how hip, relevant and full of soul they are." ~Any coach anywhere that wants to hang us with our own rope

Looking for a new way to make fun of us? No worries...we've taken care of that for you. Here's a gun...and a clip...and a scope. Fire when ready. We Are ND! Seriously? Seriously?

Evan Williams Single Barrel or a nice rum (Pyrat XO or Zaya Gran Reserve)

MacKenzies Legit spot...especially when the weather is nice.

I almost didn't even post it. I'd say Mizzou is still going though...

Russell made his name by being huge, throwing the ball a mile and looking good against ND's JV defense in the Sugar Bowl. He was a very good college QB, but he was barely "college accurate" let alone "NFL accurate." He never really had much of a chance in Oakland, but why anyone had high expectations for this guy is beyond me...

Take with a grain of salt Then there is a twitter post by a Rivals writer: Tom Dienhart He basically says there is now strong buzz of Nebraska, Pitt, Rutgers and Syracuse following Mizzou, thus making a 16-team conference that would be divided into 4 groups. 1. Syra, Pitt, Rut., Penn St. 2. Mich., Wisc., Mich. St., Mnn. 3. Ohio St., Pur., IU, Ill./NW. 4. MU, Iowa, Neb., Ill./NU. This seems stupid though. 16 teams is a mess. How would 4 divisions work anyway for champ game? A mini-playoff?? Plus too many teams to keep consistent rivalries scheduled. And would this really add to per-share revenue? However, I'd bet strongly on the expansion going beyond 12 teams...maybe to 14. But if they stop at 12, do they get to call themselves the Big 12 now? And would the Big 12 then call itself the Big 10 since that's what the Big 10 did with 11 teams?

They've made ONE very big mistake IMO...they've made the "caricature" characters more real. They took Andy from an unstable, obnoxious "that guy" to a quirky, but likable loser. They took Dwight from the clear-cut hilarious disaster/lackey and blurred his role. I always thought he was so good because Dwight was the one character that Michael had control over and could be a boss to as well as be his ally. Their interplay kept it from being just a show about a bunch of relatively normal people and their stupid boss. These mockumentary shows tread a fine line between "funny because it's true" and "boring because it's true." In order to keep it funny, you need a few outrageous characters to keep things moving. Otherwise the show is just a string of mildly funny anecdotes...which is kind of what is happening now. Spot on. Getting Jim and Pam together basically ended the show as it had been. They removed that source of ongoing tension that usually keeps these shows alive. They gave it another shot with Dunder-Mifflin shutting down, but....eh.

I've had the same seat for the past 15 years...center seat on dad's yellow couch with the cushion that has a burn mark from when the halogen lamp fell on it. About 4 years back, I switched to the side couch with the nice pillows, but I couldn't see the TV as well. I've since moved back and don't see myself moving again. It's just too convenient having the coffee table so close and since my wife rarely uses the ticket I buy for her every year, I get to stretch out and take a little nap when the Bills hit that magical moment somewhere in the 3rd quarter when you know it's just a lost cause. I've put in requests for upgrades every few years (to a La-Z-boy or nice recliner), but management has yet to make this happen.

I love The Office...watched it from the beginning. I've heard people say for awhile that it has jumped the shark and while I dismissed that for as long as I could, I'm starting to turn as well. It just doesn't pack the humor it once did. I find myself forcing out a few laughs now when 2-3 years ago I would be in tears cracking up (Mose running along side of the car, Michael "following" the GPS into the lake... ). This whole Sabre thing has basically gone nowhere and unless some fireworks are in store the next few weeks, it will have been a pretty bland season. I still watch it every week, but I don't really look forward to Thursday nights like I had been. And it surely can't survive without Carell. If he is indeed serious about leaving, they should do it right and end the show in a prepared way. Nothing worse than a star leaving and then having to suffer through the last season before it is put out of its misery.

As a follow-up to what Lori, Kelly, et al have said re: Tarik Glenn, Jeff Saturday, talent vs. position, etc.. I completely agree. There are lots of factors the go into why teams do what they do on the 3rd week in April. And for the record, while I do believe the cliche that "games are won in the trenches" I surely don't think there is an answer key for drafting successfully. Like Kelly said, it's all about talent...not position. My comparisons were meant to be more casual...not really to make a point. I think with Colts, not only did having Glenn play a big role in ignoring OTs for a decade, but also Peyton Manning. I don't pretend to understand how to fully evaluate an individual offensive lineman's ability. The Colts and Patriots have been said to have among the best OLs for the past decade. But surely having the two QBs with the best ability to read and deliver has played a huge role in that. I imagine Polian sitting down at a certain point and realizing that with Manning back there, he only needed an OL that performed adequately. He could turn his sights elsewhere. Without looking at the stats, I would think this theory is further supported by his use of multiple 1st rounders on RBs to replace James. One would think that when you have the most feared QB in the game and an OL that has been lauded for years, you wouldn't need to turn in your blue chips for RB talent. One final observation about Polian...the man doesn't waste resources in areas he has talent. We already touched his OL aversion. Now, obviously he hit a grand slam with Manning. Even so...since the day he was drafted, the Colts have picked only 2 QBs...both 6 rounders. Since the day Tom Brady won his 1st Super Bowl, the Pats have picked six...including a 3rd and 4th. From the day Polian drafted Edgerrin James until he left for AZ in 2006, the Colts picked only 2 RBs...a 6th and 7th. And this despite Edge's ACL in 2001 and subsequent struggles for over a year. When Polian arrived in 1998, he had 1 good WR...Harrison. He immediately spent a 2nd & 3rd to get his new QB another weapon. When it became clear that those two picks (Green and Pathon) weren't cutting it, he immediately burned a 1st on Wayne in 2001. From that moment, the Colts didn't touch a single WR until 2007, when Harrison was turning 35. Now having Manning/Edge/Harrison/Wayne and therefore ignoring those positions might seem obvious, but it's not what everyone does. Polian seems to be a champion of the "Need" strategy as opposed to BPA. Like Lori said, when Glenn unexpectedly retired in 2007, Polian immediately burned a high resource to get Ugoh. He didn't "let the draft come to him" and he didn't pick a position of lesser need. He said "LT is crucial, we don't have one, so we are going to get a good one RIGHT NOW, price-tag be damned." And it's one thing to avoid spending high picks on positions where you have talent, but Polian seems to ignore the position completely. Compare to Buffalo: Since 1997 we've spent FOUR 1st round picks trying to replace Thurman Thomas. You can make the argument that all of them from Antowain to Marshawn had warts and weren't the "answer." But break it down a little further: When Antowain was at least serviceable...we drafted 3 more RBs When Travis Henry was playing well...we drafted 2 more RBs When McGahee was doing his thing...we drafted 3 more RBs (not including Lynch) Since Marshawn and Freddy have taken over...we used our highest pick on a RB So...long post I know. And again, I'm not really trying to make a strong point one way or the other. I'm excited for Spiller and the rest of our picks. I think OL and DL is always smart, but I don't think it is only way to go. I don't care what position we pick in the Top 5 (except K or P) because IMO, talent is talent. I'd rather have a FS or RB at #4 that turns into a probowler, than a LT or DE that becomes adequate. But overall, it's not really about what you pick or when you pick, but who you pick. And if you are good at that last part, hopefully you have the sense to check it off your list of needs and move on to the next one. And I believe that is where Polian makes his money.