LongLiveRalph

So why do you care, if you know any interview he gives will essentially be company line quotes? That makes somebody professional??? Losman never once dodged the media after a poor performance. He stood there after some of his worst games, and answered difficult questions until the reporters didn't have any more to ask. Now he's not the starter. But here, since you seem to have missed his compelling statements, here's the vault of the missing JP Losman summer '08 interviews: "I'm preparing as if I'll be the starter." "You're only one play away in this league." "Trent and I are close and I hope he does well." "I have to accept the coach's decision and try to improve." Feel better?

Hahaha get over yourself. What's he going to say? We've seen QB controversies here in the past where both QBs spoke their mind. It doesn't help anything. JP wasn't thrilled with being the backup, but why step on Trent's toes? What does that accomplish? Keeping quiet, going about his business, and allowing Trent to be the face and voice of the offense is MORE PROFESSIONAL than giving some b.s. interview where he basically lies and says he's thrilled to be a Buffalo Bills backup. It's not written in his contract to appease you with an interview.

"Only" winning the bronze in '04 was certainly a wake-up call, but that also wasn't the top US National team. The Olympics became a burden, not an honor to play. Before the Athens games, 14 players turned down invitations to compete. You had a bunch of young guys who practiced together about a dozen times, and then tried to beat international professionals who had been playing together for 5+ years. It was clearly obvious that the USA couldn't bring 3rd and 4th-tier players and waltz through the competition. It was going to take our best, playing our best. This year, you have the best players (only Duncan and Garnett turned down invites) and they are playing inspired and motivated ball. The only way they lose is if they somehow decide to shoot only 3-pointers and make about 5% of them. If they continue to play defense and rebound with intensity like they have been, their fast break game alone should lead them to a fairly easy gold medal.

This is a MAJOR difference in this USA team also. The nature of the international game allows a lot of physical play on the perimeter. The stars don't get the "hand check" call that the NBA refs baby them with. In previous competitions, they would get visably disrupted by this, argue with the refs, and get thrown off their game. This year, they are simply accepting the rule differences, rather than fighting them.

yes, I hear you...You will get no argument from me that the NBA from 1998-2006 saw a major letdown in style of play, and attitude of player. However, this past season, you had the champion Celtics playing some of the best team ball in a decade, with 3 bonafide superstars all taking "lesser" stats for the good of the team. The team they beat in the finals, the Lakers, traded for Spaniard Pau Gasol and ran their triangle offense to perfection. The ball movement, the off-the-ball motion, were all beautiful things. And if a play breaks down with 8 seconds on the shot clock, you always have Kobe Bryant. The Spurs and the Pistons are fixtures in their respective conference finals, and they are known for playing some of the best "team" basketball in the league. The Hornets were a revelation this past season, with Chris Paul scoring 18 points and 15 assists every game. He was incredible to watch. Overall, just because Sportscenter shows some 19-year old dunking and thumping his chest, doesn't mean that's all the league is about. LeBron James is basically a one-man show in Cleveland, and he still averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, playing a fantastic all-around game. The 1-year college rule should help the NBA...At a minimum, it forces kids out of mom's house for a year and allows them to mature, while teaching them some fundamental basketball skills. It's good for the NBA. There were 6 or 7 years where the top-15 draft picks were high schoolers and foreign players who nobody had ever heard of. There was nothing to relate to. Add to that the "highlight reel" mentality, and the Pistons-Pacers crowd fight, and it just turned a lot of people off. If you haven't watched in a while, tune back in to the NBA. The teams playing the "right way" are the teams that are winning.

USA's defense and running game has been inspired and a joy to watch. However, every game they win, they're supposed to win. I think this team realizes that they have achieved nothing thus far, other than winning their group. But I don't see them losing. Hell, if they continue to play on the defensive end like they have, I don't see any team in the world that can stay within 15-20 points of them. It's been great to see some of the NBA pros dealing with the fawning Chinese crowds to attend some of the other events, and really take in the Olympic experience. It has to be helpful to realize they are all a part of a "bigger" Team USA. Also, your stance on not watching the NBA if the USA doesn't have the gold is pretty retarded. Where do you think the best players on the foreign teams play????

When you're losing at the end of games, you tend to go for it on 4th down. It a strange issue...I can easily see what his detractors don't like about him, and I can easily see the qualities his supporters like. Coming out of the previous two disaster hires, with a gutted young roster, I think Jauron was the right guy for the job. 14-16 over the past two years, with this roster and all the injuries and the young QBs, is certainly more than respectable. However, when you have a team that is SUPPOSED to be 11-5 and make some noise, can Jauron be that guy to elevate them into the discussion with the Pats and Colts and Chargers? Personally, I don't think he can. Players make the plays, I fully realize that. But a team often takes on the identity of their coach. If the Bills take on the identity of Jauron, I see them curling up with a good book at halftime and then taking a nap.

His demeanor alone makes you wonder if he is the guy who can inspire a bunch of individuals to play and succeed as a team, and believe that they have what it takes to be a successful team. I'm not looking for the "rah rah" coach necessarily...It just seems when the Bills are clearly an underdog, they come out and play like they expect to be the 2nd-best team on the field. I can only imagine Dick's pregame speech, monotone, talking about punting it deep and sticking close till the end.... So far, I have had occasional disagreements with some of Dickie J's in-game management, but overall, I can't really complain. His Bills teams have overcome some difficult times, and they haven't given up on a season like they did under some recent regimes. The locker room appears solid and players usually say the right things behind their coach. He's had two seasons where the talent pool was being developed, and I believe Dick and his staff have done a pretty good job as coaches. This year it's time to step up into the next level in the conference...Win a few tough games...Make a "legit" playoff push, not the "not yet mathematically eliminated" playoff pushes of the past two years...In the Ralph vs. Seattle on 9/7 will be a good place to start...Maybe a ballsy 4th down pickup ordered by Dickie J to seal the game!!!

How do you know what the Saudi women look like under their burkas?

Yeah, what the world needs is more people spending 5 hours a day commenting on pointless garbage on a sports team message board. I'm sure that's exactly what Darwin would've hoped we'd evolve into.

All good reasons to choose private schooling. I'm wasn't trying to provide commentary on public vs. private...I think, in general, it is undebateable that a motivated student can get more out of a private education and engage in opportunities that wouldn't be available in public school. My general stance is more geared toward those who do not have the resources to send a child to a private school...It shouldn't be an excuse for their child to not explore all that their public education has to offer. Just saying "The school system sucks" and allowing your child to buy into that mentality is a failure from the start. Again, the public school system has plenty of faults, and bold thinking can be rare. All the more reason to push the students to think for themselves (which I realize can be tough when the goal of many schools is to teach enough so that students get a 70% on a mulitple-choice state exam.) Bottom line: A kid can "F off" their education just as easily in a private school as they can in a public school.

This is just another example of people laying blame elsewhere. There are MORE than enough solid public schools and public school teachers. "Public schools are horrible" are just another excuse for parents and children to blame the "system" rather than looking inward. Certainly some students want to achieve, and feel they are able to achieve more in a private school setting...But the opportunities for learning and growing as a person exist in most public schools out there. It's up to the students to engage those opportunities. There is a safety issue in some public schools, and in that regard, you feel for the students and hope that they can afford a safer setting for school. However, for the most part, if a student wishes to challenge himself or herself, they will more often than not find the teachers and resources to accomodate them in the public school system. A public school shouldn't be an excuse for a student's poor performance. Without a doubt, private schools CAN offer a better education, but it all comes down to the student in the end. Floating thru private school is the same as floating thru public school.

I do recall the play Brady is talking about.... George Wilson in coverage looked like one of those inflatable giant bodies that flap in the wind outside of car dealerships. And didn't Brady throw one more TD pass to Moss that game??? I don't recall them taking him out after that play??? Maybe I'm wrong? Or he misremembers?

Get the mute button ready -OR- Hang on to the announcers' every word for 3.5 hours, and then come to The Stadium Wall and B word about how bad they sucked

a.k.a. Load up the storm bunker with beers and beef jerky.

Tropical Storm Fay gained strength this morning as it plowed over Cuba and headed to Florida. The 8 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center forecast Fay to be a hurricane as it approaches Florida and a potential landfall in the Southwest Florida region. Winds were approximately 60 mph at 8 a.m. as the storm was 100 miles south-southeast of Key West. Fay is forecast to make landfall north of Fort Myers at hurricane strength on Tuesday afternoon.

The storm is forecast to strengthen over the 89-degree Gulf water tomorrow, build into a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, and make landfall in southwest Florida, somewhere between the ~100 miles separating Naples, FL south to Sarasota, FL north. The Keys are already feeling some of the outer bands of the storm, and visitors/non-residents are being told to evacuate if possible.

Full article link Excerpt: Go F yourself

Which is different from any other season how??? After 12 games, if your team is 6-6, you're sitting there with about 10 other teams who are in the 5-7, 6-6, 7-5 range, who all still feel at that point that they can make the playoffs. I won't be any different this year. The Jets may or may not be in that mix. Either way, signing Favre is already a success for the Jets, namely because Chad Pennington will not be their starting QB this year, or any of the next 2 or 3 years that he had left on their contract. He's a smart, capable player, and he can win that grind 'em out 16-13 game....But he is noticeably deficient when the Jets would play a team that had a good QB, that was going to require 24+ points to win. If they were ever down, he wasn't going to throw them back into the game. But Chad could even sneak out 10 wins and get his team to the playoffs, but you NEVER got the feeling that the Jets were championship caliber. Even if Favre only plays this year, or two years, it gives Kellen Clemens a chance to learn from one of the best, and buys them a draft or two to look for their next guy. Also, it was a bonus not only getting rid of the Pennington situation, but the Jets are relevant again. They have some major buzz as they prepare to move into a new stadium (complete with seat licenses in the thousands of $$$) and they needed to make a splash, seeing as they are a distant 4th-place right now in the NY market, compared to their Super Bowl champ big brother NYG, the NYY, and the NYM (all of whom are moving to new stadiums and will compete for that seat license money.) The Jets have made the major move of the offseason, sold a bunch of #4 jerseys, and made themselves relevant again. And it worked out for the Dolphins too, who got a savvy veteran QB with extensive starting experience, which gives them a chance to develop Chad Henne while not having to watch Josh McCown. The Bills have a playoff-caliber team, IMO. That doesn't mean they will make the playoffs. But either way, its not supposed to be easy. I would've loved four cakewalk games in the division, but you can't expect that a 1-15 team and a 4-12 team aren't going to do everything they can to improve their rosters. And let's be real....Those of us who were chalking up four easy wins BEFORE these teams made their moves are crazy, seeing as the Bills could've EASILY lost 3 of the 4 games to the Jets and Fins last year.

I keep hoping my mom is going to tell me about a little fling back in the late-70's with Ralph that resulted in me as the lovechild, so that I can take over the team when he dies. She continues to deny it, though.

I recall in 2005, the Packers came to the Ralph to play a preseason game. Their first drive they looked very crisp, Favre was incredibly sharp, they converted a few 3rd downs and took the opening drive down the field, culminating with a Favre touchdown pass. They were up 7-0 and that was it for their starting offense. They proceeded to go 6-10 and Favre had his worst season of his career with 20 TDs and 29 INTs. I'm just saying. I think we'd all prefer to see Pennington or Clemens under center for the Jets, but Favre it is. I know there was some extra interest in his first performance outside of a Green Bay uniform in 16 years, but preseason play has little to do with anything. If I recall correctly, Losman looked pretty good in that '05 game too...

ALEX TREBECK: "Ted Rogers, Charles Schumer, Ralph Wilson." CLIFF CLAVEN: "Who are, Three people who have never been in my kitchen?"

Talking about strokes and Tedy Bruschi...It works on so many levels....

We bought them to throw in the urinals for people to piss on. Did you honestly think this was years of collecting in the making? I think the guy at the card store gave them to us for $0.20 each, for an even $20 bucks.

I've yelled plenty and I'm sure some of the language has not been the best at all times. However, my three buddies and I who have season tickets try to do some "creative" things occasionally. Two of my favorites: -At the Falcons game a few years ago, we brought a bunch of empty brown pill bottles that you would use to fill a prescription. On the computer, we printed up fake labels for them, saying they were Valtrex for Ron Mexico. We were tossing them all over our section and people would read them, laugh, and pass them on. We were also wearing sombreros. -At one of the recent Jets games, we brought about 100 Chad Pennington football cards and sprinkled them into the urinals. I'm sure it wasn't good for the stadium plumbing, but people REALLY seemed to enjoy pissing on Chad's face.