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Where's Pgh? Just wanted to know... I happen to think that with the exception of Jerry Sullivan, the columnists in WNY seem pretty fair. Sometimes a little too homer - but compared to NYC or Pittsburgh or Texas, the Bills have it easy... Charles

I think it's a good opinion piece... DiCesare Column?

I can't help thinking what markedly different fortunes the Bills and Steelers have had since the end of the Butler/Levy/Phillips era and the start of the Donahoe/Williams/Mularkey era. I know a lot of Stillers fans were crying in their beer when Donahoe left the Steel City...I know I was rejoicing when we got Donahoe. Now I can't help thinking we should have got the other guy - not that there would have been a chance in hell... At some point, he *has* to be accountable...I think Mularkey is going to be a great coach - but we need linemen...and we need to pay to get/keep them - unless we draft flawlessly and smartly...I like Evans and McGahee - but now I can't help thinking we should have drafted or traded for a money OL and got Willie Parker... Anybody know how well or how badly OJ Shelton is playing in Cleveland... Charles

But, but - we like *our* young guys....

I feel bad for Losman - the truth is our O-line blows chunks. Especially, in pass protection. Until management gets their heads out of their collective a**holes,no QB is safe. So this whole let the young guy get his on the job training now, is just insane. All we're gonna do is get him killed and destroy his confidence. In one series yesterday the opposing D-lineman was on him in 1.9 seconds. 1.9 seconds!! The combination of having no O-line, no TE who we want to throw to or a back who can pick up the blitz worth a damn, is gonna just s***f*** us. I say let's put Holcomb in there until we have an O-line worth a damn. To try to A/B the Bills against the Steelers or Patriots is just weird. Those teams have O-lines that can actually hold their blocks for longer than 3 secs. But, the way our other units have been playing - maybe we should just be resigned to "rebuilding" another year. Jeez... Charles

If Martz doesn't get fired in St Louis - there must be something else in the beer up there... Charles

Not to mention we handed him the keys after putting a vet QB (albeit a poorly performing one) out on the curb. If that doesn't tell him the coaches trust him - nothing will... Charles

I think this is an excellent book. Bass Bible As for video instruction, I would recommend the HomeSpun Tapes bass video: HomeSpun Bass I'm a straight ahead guitar player, so take it for what it's worth... ;-) Good luck, Charles ps. You might want to find out who is fave band/bass player/music act is and then find out if they have some kind of instructional book/video.

Arruhaahhaa - that should be a sig file... "Internally, I thought "Roscoe is more like an Ewok...But a damn fast Ewok with amazing pass-catching skills."

Shh...dang it - don't tell everybody...Oh, goddammit...Asheville rocks! Charles

We moved from Rochester to Nashville a few years back and have not regretted the move. We moved here for (in order): 1) We already had some family here. 2) The music business. 3) Weather. 4) The real/day job. 5) Cost of living & No income tax. I think Nashville offers some of the big city amenities with a mid size city feel. Plus Southwest Airlines uses it as a hub. You can fly almost anywhere in the lower 48 for reasonable cost. Where it falls short are the state's political climate (depending on your leanings), city schools and trout fishing... But still worth checking out IMHO. Charles

Freddie Mercury in a Queen reunion concert - ala Live Aid. That would rock so bad... Charles

Darryl Talley - intense, intense, intense - how could you quit if you were his team mate? Jim Kelly - for obvious reasons Honorable mention - two of my fave Bills of all time: * Doug Flutie - say what you want about him, the games were always interesting with him in it. Plus the opposition always was terrified of him getting outta the pocket. * James Lofton - there have been better receivers in the game - But in my relatively short time watching American football, no one (except Rice & Moss) was more graceful and played the position more intelligently than Lofton. Plus he was really, really smart and articulate. Charles

Yeah, and by then it will be too late...I thought Dom Capers quote about putting the best five out there was interesting. Think they know LT is an important position? nah...TD and our front office must surely know what the heck they are doing... Charles

Apart from the waste of resources, the thing that bothers me about this is the social tolerance...you know if the guy did this - it would just be how evil men are and the poor thing left at the altar etc. etc. But because it's the bride, it's she just couldn't take the pressure... Friggin, double standard... C

The Roscoe pick blows - not because he isn't a fair player - but 2nd round? We could have had a vet 3rd/slot WR from friggin anywhere. There were a bazillion more values for that pick. I like the TE, CB and Gelsinger pick. Don't know enough about the other picks to have an opinion. Our ass is out on the wind until a LT and a DT step up or step in. Charles

If some QB needy team doesn't pick up McPherson...they're blind...He's a big time value pick at this point. Guy already has some pro ball experience.

Though I don't think TD is a moron. I think he out thinks himself. I think he got schooled by Green(AZ), TB and the Eagles. He overplayed is I have TH for a pick hand. He doesn't have to trade TH this is true. But I can just see this being a big time locker room distraction. But my biggest concern is that we don't have a bona fide LT yet - Gandy or Teague won't cut it. Though I think Teague may be an adequate stop gap. This draft makes no sense. Some of their moves just don't seem strategically sound. Even if Parrish and Everett end up being Pro Bowlers - we could have probably had them later. Weird. Charles

I was just thinking that we needed a #3 WR with Aiken, Reed and a whole bunch of others in our stable. PLus with some June 1st cuts looming... And I was thinking we should pick one that was rated 20-something in terms of depth of receiver talent in the draft... Brilliant... ( What I really mean - arrogance, arrogance, arrogance - TD true to form.) C

Yeah, it's just that all the reports have him as a high character guy - coachable. Questionable arm. Maybe the Tedford jinx is true. I think the big knock was shotgun passer.

Man, what did Rodgers do in a previous life? He sure is falling...

That was funny... Ratzinger is a borderline fascist...These are dark times in the Catholic Church. We're gonna lose even more faithful Catholics. Sigh - at least JP II had a social justice conscience. Mended old wounds across the world. Even Muslims loved him. Rat has a his own "ultra conservative" agenda. He's gonna reopen some old wounds. I really, really hope I'm wrong about all of this. I see liberal priests being made to "toe the line." Charles

Uh? I think the jury is still out - Gandy is currently pencilled in at LT. Now, Gandy is a gamer - but I just don't see him at LT. He's knees have been problematic at least this year if not the past two years. I think it depends on your perspective, if you believe we'll get a 2nd rounder (or a 3rd at this point) with the RB depth in this years draft *AND* a reliable, starting quality LT to protect JP's blind side(and I include anybody else in our present roster) then I say TD is a genius for anticipating that would happen. If we trade, Henry for a 2nd or 3rd rounder or better, and JP is lying in training room rehabbing something during the season because his LT whiffed, then I say it was a daft(dumb ass) move/draft... All I know is LJ Shelton is a quality LT and Henry is a quality RB, if we get to swap picks in the 2nd round and still get Shelton, great. If we get a 2nd rounder from TB or Philly in the upper half of the 2nd round - great - but that still leaves me nervous for JP. I know the kid is mobile, but that's just ridiculous...So, given this concern, I'd take a Shelton/Henry swap - because it fills a need. N'es pas?

Wow, your MIL sounds like a piece of work. We have great days and down right nasty days with her. But she is bipolar and not very well managed. But I also think women from that generation(I'm assuming she's over 60 yrs of age - or at least close to it) have got manipulative behavior down to a scientific art. So she uses what she knows to get what she wants. Which is control over your life and indirectly control over her environment - which she feels is spiralling out of *her* control. I think that scares her. The first step in that process was probably your wedding. I don't know for sure. But that's what I think. So I think the way to collectively "put your foot down" is for you and your wife to sit down together with her and tell her how much you love her, blah, blah, etc. etc. and how much you want her to be part of your lives. But also tell her how the things she does (be very specific about the kinds of behavior) makes the *both* of you feel uncomfortable - it might help if your wife says that particular statement. Keep in mind that all of us live for our parents approval - regardless of how unbearable they may be. So be sensitive to your wife's perspective as well. Also keep in mind that what you're doing is basically using the "technique" your MIL is using. But hopefully what you're doing is spinning a negative into a positive. However, in my personal experience, that's the "language" that seems to be best understood, at least by my MIL. Most of all - it works! In small increments at first, but then it progressively gets better. There'll never be a total cure but what you're hoping for is a livable situation when you're all together. Trust me when I say the motivation behind her behaviour is fear. Fear that she'll lose everything she's come love and knows to be familiar. Ultimatums just reinforce the fear. So plan and rehearse this with your wife and then execute. Family therapy might be an alternative but IMHO folks from that generation run when they hear that word. Cause it implies there's a dysfunction that needs to be fixed and that it couldn't possibly be something that involves *their* family, only others. Of course, she could just want to make your life a living hell - in which case ignore everything I just said ;-) Charles

Nashville is pretty fun. If you give it a chance. Right, BRH? ;-) Charles