Fan in Chicago

She dismantled Halep the reigning French Open champion today and her March upward continues. I don't follow women's tennis nearly as closely as I do the men's due mostly to the fragmented competition and no strong US players. But AA may change that.

My prediction is that Amanda Anisimova is the next big thing. Excellent range of shots, mature attitude and good temperament. If she doesn't go Capriati on us, expect great things from her. Now if only the men's side produces a prospect like her, the US will be good in tennis again.

So this is now in full swing and so far, we have learned .... that teams can be hot or cold depending on the day. England started off well by beating South Africa, then proceeded to lose to Pakistan who were slapped around by West Indies in the first game Sri Lanka has started shakily by first losing handily to New Zealand and sweating before beating a previously bottom runger Afghanistan Bangladesh added to South Africa's woes by beating them via surprisingly good batting and tight bowling under pressure. Bangladesh could well be the surprise (positive) of the tournament. In a few hours, India play South Africa in what amounts to a must-win game for SA as they have started with 2 losses. They get back ace batsman Amla but lost seamer Steyn. They needed all the bowling they can muster against a powerful Indian batting line-up. Pre-tournament favorites were: England, India, Australia (cos they are the Patriots of cricket) and NZ as a dark horse. So far, none has emerged as clear favorite. Stay tuned

At no point did I say I am not optimistic. But the NFL world is a lot different than 30 years back. Teams have turned it around in less than 3 years and gone on to become contenders. The chain of command is fairly clear with the current bunch and are presumed to be in lock step. They have done what needed to be done earlier but there is a limited time allowed to show success in terms of W-L. I am unwilling to excuse another season where we arent competitive on the field, cannot beat the Pats* at least once and also miss the playoffs. These are minimums going into their third season.

At the end of three years, are you going to be happy with a 9-7 record ? Sure it follows a 6-10 record but that in itself followed a 9-7 season. If fans are truly going to say "we are trending in the right direction" after 3 years, when exactly should a new regime with full power expect to be competitive in the playoffs ? I am giving them this third season, but there should be no excuses at the end of this one. None.

Do you also get February to June off ? If you did, would you watch TV and play video games each and every day ? Or would you otherwise engage in activities which will keep you good at your craft ? Your analogy is not even remotely similar. Taking advantage of opportunities to play is not the same as avoiding hard hits in a preseason game or for a QB to avoid a huge hit in a regular game. I absolutely approve of the latter to protect player in the larger picture. I am okay with OBJ not going full bore in these OTAs to avoid injuries but he needs to be there. While OBJ may not need to practice to hone his own craft, he does need to think about Mayfield who is entering a critical second year. I wont debate this point much more as we are both inflexible in this debate.

The question about how much his attendance can contribute to the wins is a nebulous one which had no answer. You cannot answer the reverse either. But, directionally, it is tough to argue against more playing time in a new offense, different QB, different coaches and team will help more than hurt. Also, a player can break something at any point of the off season. That also is not a strong enough argument in favor of him skipping. I know you always favor the player side of an issue but OBJ should be out there with his team mates building camaraderie. And that is not drinking any Kool aid. It's just a fact of team sports

There are two points of view to every discussion and debate. He was pointing out the team's view while still agreeing with you. Did you miss that ?

So, $5000 in US dollars ? ? Saw bits of the video and its pretty good. So you didnt bet any money that Jones wont be on the day 1 roster ?

The shorter formats influence the longer ones. Just as the one-day version caused more runs to be scored in the 5-day games, so too did the T20 influence this one. Did to time commitment and time zones, I don't follow cricket on a regular basis. Just the world cup. Makes it exciting for me as I have little feel for the favorites and the "dogs". Like the Patriots***, Australia is somehow always a contender.

Lock him up ! He stabilizes a key position. I bet somewhere Colts fans still rue the day he was traded to the Bills.

Tough to support a pro league here in the US unless the money is there to maybe support bringing in second tier players from traditional cricket playing nations. The audience is likely small also because the fans follow teams and players they supported before coming to the US. I think money will be better spent providing mainstream options to watch the games played internationally. Leagues such as IPL in India have a huge following elsewhere in the world. While watching options are far better now than, say, 10 years back, there is still scope for larger organizations like espn to expand coverage. Which is what I plan to do as well as games will start at 10 am Eastern time and last 8-9 hours which are prime working hours country-wide.

Will be underway on May 30th with the finals being played at The Lord's on July 14th. Is there enough interest here to sustain a tournament thread?

RIP! I remember the poster, though not her posts. 59 is very young. Thanks for sharing, SDS.

While we are still in the realm of speculation, the Bills should offer McCoy and a draft pick in exchange for Bell. While he does sound like somewhat of a drama queen (ahem... king), he is a game breaker and just the sort of dual threat weapon the Bills need to round out their offense. Bell and Singletary can be a deadly combination.

RIP.

Given what passes off as "news" websites these days, that may still be true

Trades are tricky and not much information gets out unless it goes through or they are for a high profile player. Some may argue that "the trade opportunities were not there" but McBeane (sorry Kirby) have conveniently been able to trade when they have wanted to. Which leads me to believe that they just didnt like the top listed WRs this year. While I disagree with BADOL that our WRs are the bottom 1/3rd (time will tell), I do agree with him that we need to err on the side of too much talent on the receiving side. Like everyone, I am happy that at least there is lot of competition on the OL and Allen should have plenty of protection. But, the Bills should still be in the market for a WR and DE. Worst case, jump on the cuts which are coming in case a one-year rental is available at these positions. A player-for-player trade for one of these positions should also be on the table.

I am partial t McBeane ?

oh good !! I was confused about the lineup and this now makes sense.

Which means they probably made him an offer and sticking to it.

?Actually I found it funny, when I probably shouldnt be laughing at a Bills player looking as foolish as that.

That would be Denial Jones

Why yes, they absolutely were talking about Moulds being a bust. Those were the days when the internet was in its infancy so I can't quantify how many people felt this way. But there was definite discussions about him amounting to nothing more than a #3 WR. Before you draw comparables with Zay, the Moulds story is a rarity. A turnaround can happen but you can't expect it just because one highly drafted Bills WR was able to do it 20 years back. The onus is firmly on Jones right now.

Kinda like getting Lofton in 1988 (?) Now or next year, if the choice is between Clowney and Jones, I would pick Jones without a second thought.