Offside Number 76

Not to mention, it's difficult to read. Which is the reason it frustrates most of us, and is the reason that it makes him/her look like a douche. (He/she may actually be a douche. A giant talking, writing douche. In which case, the appearance is difficult to help.)

Genny Cream isn't the most powerful muse.

The price of beer isn't out of line with what they charge for beer in WNY luxury boxes--it's cheaper in Dallas, in fact ($36 for a six-pack at Coca-Cola Field, and that's minor league ball!). The $90 pizza is surprising, but I'll bet a large pie at HSBC is $40.

Definitely. Maybe a split backfield with Jackson during some plays in the first couple of games?

That's what it sounded like to me, too.

Not an NBA fan, but this year's Eastern Conference final was incredibly entertaining. As for the last legit Boston championship team besides the 2008 Celtics, I think it's probably the 1986 Celtics. Unless we include college sports--then I think BU's hockey team has it.

The Sam, Will, Mike names are familiar to me from an era that predates Singletary, so I'm pretty sure it's strong, weak, middle.

Nate.

He didn't start for the Bills that year--he didn't start again until 1971--but thanks for the reply. I didn't know that the records had merged. (Do we get to brag about our team's 2 NFL titles now?)

Thrower never started, right? Agreed on McNabb, although Warren Moon could make a strong case for himself.

So Tim, we've got an interesting discussion regarding the first modern-era (i.e. not the 1920s Detroit Lions) black QB to start in the NFL. Not the AFL--we're aware of Briscoe and Harris--but the actual NFL, modern-era. Here's the link; any chance you can shed some light on the topic? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=92186

I'm still finding nothing; I really hope Tim Graham spots this thread and gets this far. Maybe he can enlist ESPN's stat wonks and get us an answer.

Cool site! It doesn't answer the question--I'm seeing a lot of references on the internet to Briscoe's AFL start and Harris's 1969 AFL season start (I knew about these & I also knew that many of Harris's passes were to Briscoe), but nothing on the actual first NFL start. It's as if the separation of the two leagues was some sort of fiction. I can't think of any other black QBs, besides Harris and Briscoe, at or around the time of the merger, so I'm going to have to conclude for now that Harris's 1971 NFL start is either an overlooked milestone or a "non-milestone" (because the merger is overlooked). EDIT: i forgot to conclude--looks to me like Harris's 1971 start would have to be the first NFL start by a black QB.

That's right, but as above, that 1969 start was not in the NFL; it was in the AFL. Was the Nov. 1971 start the first NFL start by a black QB?

Harris didn't start a game at QB in 1970: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HarrJa01.htm His first post-merger start at QB appears to be Nov. 7, 1971, for the Bills and against Miami: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play...rJa01_games.htm Was that the first NFL start by a black QB?

Why, was he hurt or waived or something? Someone should start a thread about it. /kidding.

I've been in luxury boxes and club areas in various arenas and stadiums a hundred times or so. It isn't about fun in those situations, which is what I wrote about. It may be (but I don't think so--see below) preferable for business, but it is no fun. If I'm taking a client who is not a fan somewhere just to socialize, I take them to a restaurant. If I'm taking a client who is a fan of the sport, I take the client to a restaurant and then to some good seats. The client has a better time, better food, and it's all less costly. If I'm taking a GROUP of clients, a box becomes somewhat handy, but no one enjoys the game as much. I'm part of a business that ended up wasting its box seats at RWS--and that currently wastes its M&T Club seats--because clients don't want to go. If they like football, they usually have seats of their own, or otherwise would rather be in the crowd, so we use our personal seats and take them. If they don't like football, they don't want to be bothered trucking out to Orchard Park for five hours. We usually end up giving the tickets to employees for personal use about 4 or 5 games per year. Which is nice & builds morale and all, but it's not the reason we're spending ten grand on football tickets.

The two in Maryland. There's absolutely nothing in either of them that makes a football game any more enjoyable to watch than it is at an older stadium.

I've been to two "state of the art" football stadiums, and the cigar bars and club-level amenities add absolutely nothing to the experience. In fact, they distract and detract--because there's always someone who wants to spend 20 minutes checking out this feature or that one, and that's time away from the game. Luxury boxes and semi-private areas (such as the M&T club) are no fun no matter whether the stadium is old or new.

Both your response and wildrabbit's response present some decent reasons to reconsider what I wrote. (Corp, I know you from SS, so I'm hardly shocked.) I did. I'm sticking with my opinion. But damn, you each really put forth some compelling arguments, and against TBD convention, you did it without being dicks. I'll tell my kids about Montana, Jordan, and Gretzky. They'll still be bored.

I've never quite understood it. He won a super bowl. ONE. Did we hear this much about Simms or McMahon or Williams? No freaking way. Good QB. Not great. More interceptions than anyone, ever. Played behind a very agile and able line, but yeah, GB won that SB because of him (not being sarcastic; he was the reason). One hell of a nice guy, too, from all reports. That doesn't hurt. And I have nothing at all against Favre or the Packers. (They're both too, well, NICE. How could you really dislike them?) But let's evaluate him on the facts, and not on whether he's folksy enough or easy to identify with. Kelly with a better plan, Marino with a better RB, Esiason with better luck, all would have won more than one. Elway won two, Aikman three, but we didn't really hear the praise (normally reserved for religious figures) for them that we have heard for Favre. Favre will make the HOF, mostly because he brought a title back to Green Bay, but come on. He was a very good, not great, quarterback. He hardly was legendary. That said, good for him that he's got a job opportunity, and good for the rest of the NFCN to play him twice. Looks like the Lions might have a shot to win one this year.

I don't know what they're for--I just know that they're out there. Mostly because a coworker got his hands on a site with a Napoleon Dynamite soundboard a couple of years ago and wouldn't let go. Said coworker is in his 40s, too. Sad.

That's correct. It's ok if you didn't listen to the calls (I want those three minutes of my life back, the calls were so stupid), but if you do listen, it's pretty obvious that it's someone using a soundboard. All it takes is an Internet connection (soundboards are easy to find; here's one for Homer Simpson: www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/homer), a telephone, and a complete lack of a life. Sincerely, Rome fan who completely understands why not everyone is a Rome fan.

No no no no...it's just some idiot with a soundboard. It isn't actually Rome making the calls. But they aren't very funny, either.