Whites Bay

"Witless Assbrain". You know, I have a reasonable lexicon, but I've never heard that one. Can I use that? Because that was goddamn funny. "Rough Boys" - Pete Townsend

A reasonable response. My return volley is even simpler. Your solution would be.................................(you can fill in the blank when you're ready)............................................................ Bitching's easy. Solving problems...ugh, that part sucks. "My Baby's Got a Secret" - Madonna

Jesus. Randy, you only have a finite number of heartbeats in this life. You've lost about 4 since you started reading this response. Trust me. No snarky reply escapes that reality. Now it's 9 heartbeats. Maybe more. If watching the Bills is such a goddamn painful enterprise for you, do us both a favor... Go...the F...away. "Lay Around the Shanty" - Jonathan Edwards

Understand there IS a god when it comes to sports writers having to eat crow-the-size-of-a-buzzard. I remember when John Feinstein had to suck up to Jim Boeheim after the 2003 NCAA Championship. Really sucks when those feathers go down the wrong way. Don't sweat Clayton's comments about the Bills. He MIGHT be able to find Buffalo on a map. That's about it. Focus on training camp.

We drafted Ed Wang. He's going to be the next LT of the Buffalo Bills. He'll do better than Gaither, another fifth-rounder for whom the Bills will not trade. Get over it. Move on. Enjoy and root for the home team. Enough. "Uncle Remus" - Frank Zappa

That's a heck of a strong statement to be making on 20 May 2010. You're basing this on...the training camp performance? The roster line up following three rounds of cuts? I just see this as overboard pessimism with no facts to back it up.

This thread made me look at the front three in light of reading all the pre-season fizz. So much has been written about putting Williams at NT. Unless he completely washes out in camp, however, Troup is going to be starting at NT on opening day. The wild card that now has me scratching my head is that guy Harvey (and forgive me, I should have done my research first). He's the kid from Morgan State who checks in at about 330-340. I'm not expecting Canton out of the kid, but IF he blossoms, and IF he makes the roster, the Bills would have two legitimate NTs on the roster. NT is certainly a position that will require rotation, so both Troup and Harvey would get plenty of playing time. Let me get back to the point - and that's about Williams. I just don't see Kyle Williams as a classic NT. Great guy, gives his all, blah blah blah, but he's a square peg in a round hole. If, however, Harvey shows that he has what it takes, what do you think about Williams at DE? I personally think it plays much more to his strength, which is getting after the passer (as opposed to being a woolly mammoth plugging up the middle). If THIS were to transpire, I'd be relatively happy with a slimmed down Stroud at DE. Stroud Troup/Harvey Williams Thoughts?

I've spent a lot of my career in product development on the marketing side of things, and we get ga-jillionz of requests like these. The litmus test we use is simple - "Is it going to change your behavior if I implement this change/feature/request?". The other side of that sabre is "Will your behavior change if I DON'T implement this request"? The argument posited is "The Sound System at the Ralph Sucks". Okay. Fair enough. The sound system at the Ralph sucks. If I'm the big dogs at OBD, I'll listen to your request, and ask you two questions: 1) If I upgrade the existing sound system, it's going to cost me about $2.8 million. Maybe more. But goddamit, your feedback is important to me, so I'm going to do it. But since there's a potential lockout on the way, I'm probably not going to get any ROI in 2011, am I? Boy, THAT sucks! I certainly don't like THAT! And, last time I checked, I call the shots. So here's what I'm going to do, homeslice...I'm going to jack your ticket prices to pay for it in a single year. $2.8 million divided by 70,000 is...whew...about $40 per person! Boy, THAT sucks, but, hey, you're paying the lowest price per ticket in the NFL, so you can probably cough up the greenbacks, right? 2) Oh, goodness! I didn't realize that adding an extra $40 to your seasonal package would be such a hairball! So let me ask you this...if I DON'T upgrade the system, will you keep coming to the game? Oh, just checking... I don't mean to be a dick here, but consider this a splash of cold, cruel reality on a message board. This is the decision tree that these guys are going to implement when choosing an outcome that will affect THEIR bottom line. Don't like it? Become an owner. The sound system at the Ralph sucks? Really? Siddown, shaddap, drink your $8 Labatts, and WATCH the game. Because if you're IN THE STADIUM, and you're WATCHING THE GAME, you don't need to listen to some yahoo in the press box telling you what you just paid the lowest ticket prices in the NFL to WATCH!

While I agree with the OP's statement that hard decisions will have to be made this August, well...it's May. There has been one rookie camp in shorts, not pads. The vets are either on vacation, or in the weight room. Hard to get too worked up over roster cuts, when we haven't seen (a) who's going to excel in Spring/Summer camps, and (b) who's going to get busted for steroids, controlled substances, gun possession, paternity suits, or have the requisite fluke lawnmower-or-softball accident that these yahoos seem to get every summer. Let's get to Labor Day, shall we?

Two comments: 1) Watching that highlight reel REALLY made me miss Australia. It's been about 4 years since I've been down under. I came within a gnat's eyelash of getting an expatriate assignment therein in 1996, and I guess I'm still bitter. It would have probably ended my marriage, but...such an adventure. 2) I remember watching highlight videos of Marshawn Lynch as he came into the league as a rookie from UC Berkeley in 2007. This guy was the Second Coming. Care to replay the video?

I hate to engage in counterfactualization ("If", "Coulda", "Shoulda", "Woulda"), but I'll toss a bone that direction with your post. That 1999 team - I believe - COULD have done some damage. It COULD have been the Baltimore 2000 team, just one year earlier. Quarterback? Meh. Defense? Pick your adjective. Bone-breaking. Stout. Marginally legal. Oglethorpe. You're right. One hell of a team that year, but for one bad (yes, I'll say illegal) play.

Really. I logged on WAY to late to nail the easy one-liners. "Behoven". Jesus Christ. "Behoven". The best I can do is something nautical. "Heaving to" is to put your bow into the waves merely to hang on in a storm. "Hove to" is past tense. I guess that would mean that "Behoven" means "Hurling over the side", or something like that.

Yes, well, all right, fair enough. This scenario is indeed the likely outcome. Not the hot chick on the winery tour in the Finger Lakes for our friend Sage. More likely the padding and hand grips on the bowl, the fleeting worry about that on which he's resting his chin as he gasps for breath through his own spittle, his one-man vomitus-fast-lane accompanied by the dreaded corn-chunks-and-rice-in-the-nostrils. SIC is right, Sage. But remember, when you recover from your luge run into hell, the two wineries I've suggested will impress the chick more than, well, you know, what you're about to offer her. Might want to make it a different chick tonight.

I have a wild imagination. But even I couldn't come up with a better post to trump.

Keep in mind you're talking the Finger Lakes. This is cold-weather grape country. The strength of this area is the Riesling grape, which, as you can tell from the spelling, ain't exactly Irish. It's the signature grape from the Rhine River Valley in Germany - again, a cold-weather grape. I'm with the Chef. The Best of the Best is Dr. Konstantin Frank. Their Rieslings simply CRUSH THE CRAP out of ANYTHING from Germany in International blind tastings. This winery is a Gold-Medal factory for Rieslings. Truth in advertising - I've also had their Chardonnays and (believe it or not) Cabernet Sauvignons.....meh. But the Rieslings. Wow. And even better when aged a few years. At 21 years old, your palate isn't as developed as it will be in a few short years, but trust me, Sage, as an Upstate New Yorker, you're sitting on a gem here. Hammondsport kicks out the best Rieslings on the planet. Another winner would be Ravines (as mentioned in another post). The chief vintner (?? Maybe just a senior vintner) from Dr. Konstantin Frank left that winery and started his own gig. Their Riesling is quite good, but their Cabernet Franc, and PARTICULARLY their Pinot Noir, is an undiscovered masterpiece. Once again, a cold weather grape. The New Zealanders are starting to flex their muscles in the Pinot Noir category, but watch for Ravines. Happy Birthday, you little bastard. Take a hot chick with you.

What I thought was cute were the film clips shot from the International Space Station with the arrows and circles. Why bother? Just look for the biggest dude on the field. He doesn't "pancake" people. He "crepes" them. The culinary types on the board will understand where I'm going here.

I just - like - SO hope this guy makes the team. Wood Wang Levitre We just need a "Bohunka" and "Hung" at the tackle position. Oh, please-oh-please-oh-puh-leeze.....

But he's not a Bill. And he used performance-enhancing drugs. Which is wrong.

Take it from someone who travels more than George Clooney in "Up In The Air". Gut out the boredom and stay in the airport. Here's what you DON'T need - a 2-hour sightseeing trip in a place you don't know that turns into a gut-wrenching pit-sweated panic-stricken dash through Mexico City traffic (hah-hah-that's-a-joke-there-is-no-such-thing-as-DASH-in-Mexico-City-traffic) as you try desperately to get back to the airport only to THEN have to deal with the particle-physicists manning the security checkpoint, all of whom are looking for a Yanqui sucka like you... Find a quiet corner. Get a book. Buy an inflatable pillow and curl up on the floor. None of these options suck as bad as the scenario I've outlined above. Trust me - you'll get back to Mexico City someday.

The end of an era in many ways. So depressing. Goodbye, you beautiful woman.

Good to see you back out here again, Dean! Excuse me. It's time to get back to the Cabernet.

If you're going to barbecue that Strip, you have to do it fast. The WORST thing you can do with a Strip is get too far into a great bottle of Cabernet, and then you've cooked it. Shoe leather. I mean, Jesus, it's a real balancing act. I'm speaking from experience here.

I've said it a couple of times before, and I'll say it a few more times. Good friggin' luck at prying San Antonio loose from Jerry Jones. San Antonio is to Dallas as Rochester is to Buffalo. It's Jones' back yard, and I seriously doubt the NFL is going to take him on. It's not that I think he's omnipotent, but, man, I tell ya...come 4:00 and time to switch to the late game on Fox, let me give you a hint what team has the slot....

Exactly. The Jests have improved on paper, no doubt. I, for one, however, am not going to get my panties in a wad sitting here in early May! Just think about the effects of the Injury Bug on the Bills last year (and in 2007). Who is to say that won't hit the Jests? The entire complexion of the contest could change with a couple of blown ACLs. The odds are that someone WILL be sitting out during the Bills/Jets games. It's a fact of life in the NFL. I'll worry about it on game day.

BDW, some of your posts are fairly spot-on, so I guess I'm wondering why you're wasting the bandwidth to toss this thread out to the ether. Who gives a good goddamn about the Bills' first pick in next year's draft when they're STILL signing undrafted kids from THIS draft? Thinking...maybe...getting a life is a good thing? "Oh Darling" - The Beatles