The Avenger

ESPN is showing all 4 Bills Super Bowl losses this afternoon (and I'm watching it with my father-in-law who's a Cowboys fan) - shoot me now. Man, those were some great teams - it's painful to see them come up short time and time again and losing by bigger and bigger margins. Watching the Giants Super Bowl you can't help but wonder what could have been if the Bills had been able to make a stop on any one of a huge number of Giants 3rd down conversions. Multiple missed tackles keeping the Giants drive alive. It makes you want to jump into your TV and bring Dave Megget/OJ Anderson down!

VBD is key to a successful draft and season. You have to get VALUE for your picks. You have to understand that it may be better to go for a TE who produces 30% more than the next guy than it is to get a RB who will score only marginally more than your other options. That said, in order to get VBD to work you MUST understand your league's scoring and which positions put up points. Most leagues have scoring systems that result in a premium being placed on RBs, so they go fast. However, some leagues have scoring systems that put value on QBs - you have to know how your system works to evaluate where to assign value. The strategy I've always used (and has worked well for me) is to take guys who are solid at a position rather than a superstar and take a few of them - chances are one will do better than expected and you also aren't so dependent on a guy who could get injured and ruin your season. Young guys (rookies) often fit that bill - a risk, but with upside. Also, when drafting pay attention to who is likely to get the ball - you can't score if your guys isn't getting the carries or the catches. Finally, I'd advocate an aution draft - hands down, the best way to draft. Lots of strategy on draft day and the ability to play it so that you find plenty of value and make sure others overpay for their players.

Rich - don't sweat it - we have plenty of time. I just saw the messages about the yahoo leagues and how they were filled up and got concerned that somehow the keeper league was filled by newcomers. As for moving to a new site, I'm cool with that - I've never been a big fan of the free yahoo leagues. I've run mine on CBS Sportlines for 8 years and they let you do just about anything, but the cost would likely be $13-$15 per team just for the site. If you are considering CBS let me know - I have a good scoring system and some tips on how to setup waivers so people trolling the wires on Sunday afternoon don't get all the good backups while others are at the game or otherwise not in front of a computer.

Any info on what we are doing with the keeper league - are we still going to be on Yahoo? Is there any info on how to join the league (I already paid my entry fee). Let me know.

EXACTLY - each site is different and they work well in partnership. Not all sites could have all things, so each has found its own areas of expertise.

And where do you find a power line that can hold the weight of a car without breaking? Even if it could hold the weight it would probably only be able to do so if the car was placed there carefully/gently - not sure how that could happen in any sort of accident scenario. I just saw the Mythbusters episode where they tried to pull the rear axel off a police car a la "American Graffiti". They used a 5/8" steel cable capable of supporting 15,000 pounds and that thing snapped like a rubber band when attached to a moving car. Somehow I doubt that a power line has the same strength as a 5/8" steel cable. I also vote for Photoshop...

There are tons of Bills fans here - on any given gameday all you need to do is pop your head into The Harp where the Bills Backers Boston chapter meets and you'll see at least 100 fans (maybe 3 times as many for a big game not on local TV). I was there for a game a few years back when there was a major snowstorm and we still had 75 people (granted, it does take more than 18" of snow to keep a Bills fan away from a game). Boston is a pretty nice place to live - I've been here since 1998 and don't plan on moving. Like any other place, there are plenty of homers and people who are only "big fans" because the Pats are doing well. It's funny to see how many "big fans" can only name guys like Brady, Dillon or Branch - ask them who plays RT, who is a reserve OG or who the long snapper is and they have no clue.

Are we still using Yahoo this year? Will they allow our beloved Commish to put keepers on teams correctly?

This is exactly how TSW came to be - message boards run by an organization (in our case, the Rochester D&C) that can not invest the time and effort to moderate them effectively. Scott stepped in and we have this place. Makes you appreciate all the time and effort people like SDS and the moderators spend ensuring we have a home!

That's what I'm saying - there has to be an audit. If there is no provision for an audit it can't work. I contend that it will be difficult for some owners to agree to an audit - they simply won't want someone else going through the books with a magnifying glass.

I think revenues are pretty easy to judge without a thorough audit, but expenses are a different story - infinite accounting games you can play on that side of the ledger. I still see it as a huge problem to this approach. Kraft or Snyder might not let Jones get away with anything (although they probably wouldn't have the info to know), or maybe they would in a tit-for-tat situation. You could still have big problems with big market vs. small market teams. There would have to be some sort of independent audit to prove "profit" and I doubt that Jones, Snyder and Kraft will let anyone go through their books to that degree and share that information with other teams.

This would seem simple, but when you talk about "profits" rather than revenues you have to define "profit". Unless there is an open audit of the books, teams can claim little to no profit by claiming that their huge debts offset their revenues. This is what happens in Hollywood all the time - creative Hollywood accounting leaves many people wondering why a hit movie that grossed $400 million somehow made no "profit" and those who were owed a percentage of "profits" got nothing.

Slayer actually did a version of the song that was pretty heavy - good stuff if you're into Slayer.

Anyone know if they ever repeat an episode of 24 (like on FX or something)? 6 minutes into the show last night and the power goes out until after 10pm! I read the synopsis of the show on the website, but it's not the same. I would love to Tivo the episode if it's on again - anyone know?

How does Arizona get a new stadium when over the past 4 seasons they've averaged between 36,000-38,000 fans per game? Are they building some sort of intimate 40,000 seat stadium?

Playing TE for the Bills is like playing the drums for Spinal Tap! My suggestions would be: Joe "Mama" Besser, Peter "James" Bond Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs John "Stumpy" Pepys Viv Savage Mick Shrimpton

My hat's off to them as well - they work well together and she's proven she's tough as nails ater that cave fall. Unfortunately, the show will probably have some detours/roadblocks that need strength and that will put them at a big disadvantage against teams of twentysomethings. It happens every year - the senior couple does well and at some point they have to climb a 300 foot rock wall and they get eliminated. They should have a seniors version of the show - every season they have a really neat older couple who exits due to the nature of the challenge more than anything else.

[insert joke about "Beef Lovers Package" here]

Thanks for all the responses! Good question, aussie - the baptism will be a part of a normal church service. It looks like the right thing to do is to indeed offer a donation for services performed - I don't think the church would turn away any funds. It's funny - there are all sorts of places (websites, books, etc.) that tell you what is expected when you get married but I wasn't able to find anything on baptisms. Again - thanks for helping me out!

WAY Off Topic here, but a nice diverse group of people here so I figured I'd ask. My twins are being Christened this weekend (Lutheran). I know when I got married it was customary to give the pastor an envelope with some money for performing the service - is it also customary to give some money for performing a Christening/Baptism? Is there a difference in etiquette between Catholics and Protestants on this matter? Many of you have been through this with your kids - what did you do? Thanks for your answers!

There's usually not much you can do to get out of jury duty, contrary to what most people think. Financial hardship is generally not a reason for excuse unless it is extreme. Must judges will tell you that they are not willing to even discuss excuses for financial hardship. Here's the way it goes. You meet in a big jury pool room and wait for your name or number to be called. They call 30 or so names/numbers and send you to a courtroom where they then put 12 people in the jury box. The judge comes out and asks some very specific questions to those in the jury box - mostly abouth whether you know any of the parties in the case, if you have a specific past experience or job, etc. The lawyers may get to ask a few questions. The judge then asks the jurors if they had an afirmative answer to any of the questions they had been asked and if you you do he'll ask you which one. In open court, under oath, you have to explain why you answered the way you did. If the judge feels this might be embarassing he'll take you to chambers to have you explain your answer. A few jurors may be excused and replaced and this continues until you have enough jurors and alternates to start the trial. At no point do you really have a chance to stand up and start spinning a tale about how you hate blacks, how you love or hate guns, or say something radical to get thrown out. If you try and do this the judge is usually all over you (hey - they're not stupid) and forcefully reminds you that you are in court under oath - all of a sudden it's not so easy to take some sort of fake wacko position. The last time I served I was self employed and didn't make any money for a week because I had to serve - I just had to suck it up and deal with it. It really comes down to the luck of the draw for the most part. The good thing is that most cases are short - there's not an O.J. trial every day. The price we pay for living in a democracy.

I worked at ABC News with Peter more than 10 years ago and he was not a smoker then - unless he started after I left and then gave it up he hasn't been a smoker in a very long time. I guess these things catch up with you. Nice guy, but he has his demons - I wish him all the best in his upcoming battle.

That's exactly correct - nobody here wants to do tough and/or menial labor for minimum or less than minimum wages. The fact of the matter is that crops have to be picked, hotel rooms have to be cleaned and somebody's got to clean public restrooms. You can hire an illegal and keep costs down or you can find a citizen to do it for enough money (the latter option will raise the price of the produce/hotel room/bus ticket). It's amazing how many people rail against the illegal immigrant but would be the first to scream bloody murder if tomatoes were $5/pound or a stay at the 2 star Holiday Inn cost $200/night. Like it or night, we depend on illegals to do lots of work nobody else will do for what we pay...

Congrats! Our twins were born in December right across the street at Beth Israel. You're in for quite a ride with two at the same time! Do yourself a favor and join up with MMOTA (Mass Mothers of Twins Association) - it a group for people who have multiples. PM me if you want to talk twins...

Ah, the WoF - I remember the induction ceremony as if it were yesterday - all my fans, my adoring family, the bronze bust and that swanky yellow jacket I wore when I gave my speech...... Although I'm a lurker these days (funny how having a family cuts down on the number of posts you make), I'd recommend selecting someone who helps moderate and run this place. There are certainly many worth candidates based on participation in the conversations here, but those who help moderate and keep order to this place deserve special recognition. Remember - this place exists because there was no moderation/order elsewhere - our stability through those dedicated to this place is what keeps us here today.