JohnC

What WEO is doing is playing the distracting game. When your position is weak and difficult to defend introduce the "tangent" strategy of occupying the opposition with irrelevant sidebar issues that have little to do with the substance of the discussion i.e. judgment of a judge. It comes down to WEO being WEO. His approach is to concede nothing, and move forward.

Little is accomplished in responding to the symantical issue you raise regarding who the judge represents. But I will continue to try to offer a reasonable response to the non-issue you are enamored with. Representing a fair opportunity to make a claim or respond to a claim is a bedrock principle of our judicial system and in the interest of the public. To be honest with you I don't understand your quibbling with me over what the justice's role is. The mind-set you are ascribing to the Judge was in place when she made her initial ruling regarding CJ's sentence of extendng his parole and releasing him. If she wanted to be more severe with him by incarcerating him she should have done it with her initial sentencing. The fact of the matter is that she changed her ruling to a 30 day incarceration period because she overreacted to a a discreet and innocuous backside tap. It is not surprising that the near universal response of the legal community and anyone who is knowledgeable with the judicial system believes that this judge exercised poor judgment in this matter. CJ is a dope and often acts in an immature way. But that doesn't mean that a dope and an immature fool shouldn't be treated fairly in a court of law. I strongly believe that this jackass wrongly had his liberty taken away by an intemperate judge.

Seth Jones is the son of a former NBA player, Popeye Jones, who is now coaching in the league. There is a strong probability that he will be the first person taken in thiis year's draft.

I also suspect his version of the story is true. Robert Kraft does business in Russia, with an office in Moscow. I'm wouldn't be surprised that he thought it wouldn't be wise to antagonize Putin if he wants to continue doing business in Russia. http://www.thekraftgroup.com/paper_packaging/

Excellent analysis of the Donahoe draft era. As you noted after his first exceptional draft he fizzled. He maneuvered in in his inaugural draft for us like a master. After that he drafted to demonstrate to others how smart and unconventional he was. His insufferable arrogant and autocratic attitude caused his exit in Pittsburg. I have read accounts where Cowhrer gave the ultimatum of him or me. They smartly kept Cowhrer. When you review the Bills' draft record over the past dozen years or so it becomes very clear why this franchise has been mired in the muck of mediocrity for so long. There is a lot to be learned from the Steeler approach to running a franchise.The Steelers are not a glitzy drafting team. They take more of a meat and potatatoes approach to drafting. It has served them well. I have high hopes for the Whaley era. It seems that the successful Pittsburgh way has been instilled in him. Let's just hope that he can follow and execute that example.

I agree with you that I believe Kraft's version over Putin's version. Usually when a gift is going to be offered to a head of state or high ranking representative of a country the arrangement is going to be made in advance. Apparently that wasn't done here. Maybe this conflicting interpretation of the situation can be attributed to poor communication and language interpretation? Or maybe it was just Putin's thug attitude on display? From what I understand Kraft has some business interests in Russia. So I'm sure he is reluctant to get entangled with the Russian strongman. To put it mildly it is a tough environment to be involved in.

You have me baffled. But that is alright. I frequently get baffled.

No one is admonishing anyone for their feelings toward an another team, divisional opponent or not. Your attitude towards any team is whatever you want it to be But as it currently stands the Pats don't consider the Bills their rivals. For them the Jets are much more of a real rival. Their record against us over the past 20 games is 18-2. The Bills are far from being a marquise game for the Patriots and their fans. There is such an imbalance in the competition that it has lost much meaning from a rivalry standpoint. A Buffalo win against them is a cause for celebration. A Patriot win against us is expected and quickly forgotten. The only way to restore this long lost rivalry is for us to get better and become a serious playoff team. We might be on the right track now that this franchise's front office has been bolstered but we still have a long way to go.

While the Pats have been one of the most successful franchises in the NFL over the past 15 yrs or so the Bills have been one of the worst performing franchises during that same period. Losers shouldn't be criticizing winners, they should be emulating them. Do you think that Kraft would have been moronic enough to hire incompetents such as Levy and Buddy to run his billiion dollar asset as the weird owner of the Bills did? Do you think that the forward thinking owner from New England would have hired such mediocre and uninspiring HCs such as Jauron and Gailey for his franchise? What the incompetent owner for the Bills never understood is that investing in the organization with top shelf talent gives you a greater return than if you have a chicken shiiiit attitude toward staffing the organization with incompetent fools who are making multi-million dollar decisions on your behalf. The Bills' record over the past generation speaks to their own ineptness. When you can't compete in a system designed for parity that is a testament to the caliber of its ownership and to the mind-set he brings to the organization. . Optimism is on the rise for the Bills not because the owner in involved in his franchise but because he is no longer involved in the operation. Again, optimism is on the rise for the Bills not because his hire, Nix, is the GM but because he is no longer the GM. Robert Kraft is the gold standard as an owner for any professional franchise in any sport. Ralph Wilson is the standard for how not to run a professional franchise. Any fan of the Bills who has been subjected to the zany ownership of Ralph Wilson has a lot of audacity criticizing Robert Kraft or any other owner in sports.

If Berman ever gets fired we will credit you for your amazing prescient scoop!

I'm not saying you are wrong on the Berman departure because I simply don't know. Yesterday on the Dan Patrick Show on a DirectV production Patrick talked about the release of the Schwab, a long time employee of ESPN. I thought Patrick was going to cry. He was very upset with the ESPN business "cuts". He stated that this an ill-timed firiing for him because he is currently taking care of his partially paralyzed wife. In regards to Berman he made the comment that Berman is an ESPN icon and that he was a major contributor to the success of ESPN. He stated that the cost cutting company owes a lot of loyalty to people who were the bedrock of that network's success. And he put Berman in that special category.

If she wanted to sentence him more severely for his domestic behavior she should have sentenced him accordingly in her original ruling. She agreed to a plea deal that included an extended period of probation. She changed the plea deal that she signed off on because she was irritated by his innocuous tap. The issue has little to do with a judge being a male or female. The issue is whether the judge, male or female, has good judgment and temperment for the job.

On this issue you are haphazardly driving all over the place. The judge is part of the judicial branch----a branch of government. Of course she shouldn't favor either the defendant/complaintant side of a dispute. When she is making a ruling whether to imprison or allow bail or any other type of appearance arrangement she is considering the interests of the public. You previously stated that she represented the government/people. Now you are backtracking into the netherland of unpredictability. This judge had the authority to make any ruling she wanted within the confines of the law. That doesn't mean that she exhibited good judgment in this case. There is no doubt that the overwhelming sentiment coming from the legal and judicial community is that this judge acted imprudently. I despise what Chad Johnson represents on and off the field. That doesn't mean that he should be treated unfairly in court. That is exactly what happened in court. That isn't right.

One of the best and startling sensations I have ever had is waking up and for the first time in a long time be able to make out the time from the alarm clock without sticking my face into the clock.

I had the LASIK procedure done around 20 yrs ago. The technology now is even better. I was asked if I wanted a procedure that would improve both my distance and reading ability. I preferred keepinng it simple and went with the procedure that improved distance, For reading I still require glasses. When deciding who you want to do the procedure don't be overly influenced by the "deals" and special "sales." Find out who is the best doctor who specialize in that technique. One way to determine who is the best doctor is to find out who the eye doctors went to to have it done on them.

Of course the judge represents the government/people. That is obvious to everyone. She, acting within her authority, had signed the plea deal. That is how it is done. The paperwork is worked out prior to the court session. She either signed it at the proceeding or before it. What is indisputable is that the paperwork was already signed by her. She then rescinded the deal she already signed because she petulantly reacted to an innocuous backside tap She erroneously interpreted his discreet backslap as an act of disrespect toward her and the court when it wasn't meant to be that. This tempermental judge overreacted and demonstrated that she lacks good judgment and a judicial temperment. It is not surprising that the prevailing view from the legal community is that this diva judge exhibited poor judgment in this case.

Whaley had responsibility for putting the draft board together. Where Marrone had a major say is in assessing the roster he inherited. It's obvious that he wasn't too impressed with what he saw on tape of the roster he was inheriting. There was no doubt that prior to the draft Nix and the upper tier brass were determined to come out of this draft with a legitimate franchise qb prospect. I'm sure that Marrone and Hackett had a major say in the ranking of the qbs. What is now being done is to a large extent undoing the work of the prior GM.

I'm not sure that the California penal system situation is similar to the Florida penal system situation. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't the California penal system under a court order (not sure if it is state or federal) in regards to the prison crowding problem?

Did you watch the clip? If that is showboating then deep breathing is a criminal offense.

I don't disagree with you that she interpreted CJ's slap and resulting laughter as a sign of disrespect toward her and the court. I don't disagree with you that she interpreted his behavior as a lack of seriousness on the defendant's part. However, after watching the clip I am convinced that he didn't act or intend to act in a frivolous way. When the judge told him that he should be thankful that his attorney worked out a deal very favorable to him he then responded with his discreet backslap.He intended to show his attorney that he appreciated his efforts. In his way he was acknowledging the point that the judge made in stating that his attorney did a good job on his behalf. Chad is a fool. No one is disputing that. He wouldn't be appearing in this court if that wasn't the case. But in my view the judge overreacted and over-interpreted a gesture that he in no way intended to be disrespectful and frivolous. In my view she should have admonished the bailiff and those in the courtroom for their lack of decorum instead of acting out of irritation. As I stated in prior posts if the judge decided to send CJ to jail I would not question her judgment. But to send him to jail after she agreed to a plea deal because of his backside slap was in my opinion unfair. Chad Johnson is an unsophisticated dope. He and his attorney went to court with an expectation that the prearranged plea deal would be enacted. Although his dress was not very formal (suit and tie) he wasn't dressed inappropriately. He was in a lower Florida court where his neat and casual attire is considered to be very acceptable. This was supposed to be a very quick and routine proceeding. Much to his surprise he got entagled with a tempermental judge.

This case was not a typical low level case that wasn't going to draw public attention. This was a high profile case of a well publicized buffoon football player appearing in her very busy lower level court. You better believe that she was very aware that the cameras were running and that this court session was going to be shown on TV. You can also be very certain that she gave a little more thought to this particular plea deal because of the publicity associated with this will-known defendant.

In reality it doesn't matter what the offer is on the table between the DA and the defense. The judge doesn't have to agree to a deal if she doesn't believe it is a fair deal. In this case she agreed with a plea deal. We really don't know what the DA's position was. Most likely the DA negotiated a deal with the defense and brought it to the judge. They had to convince the judge that the deal was reasonable and justice was served. The judge changed her position on the spot because of the backside slap and the resulting laughter in the court. As SJBF pointed out if you go back and watch the clip there is no way that he intended to show disrespect to the judge and the court. I'm sure you know very well that I am usually unsympathetic to football knuckleheads. But in this case the knucklehead didn't get a fair shake in this court from this intemperate judge. In my mind she exhibited very poor judgment.

No deal between the DA and the defense is consumated unless the judge agrees to it. No one else but the judge is the sentencing authority. CJ's attorney convinced the DA and her that no jail time was in the best interest of the court.

Who would be pressuring her to give this loser a break? No one. CJ's attorney convinced her that it wasn't in anyone's interest to send him to jail. She agreed to it. She misinterpreted Johnson's slap as disrespect toward her and the court. If you watch the clip without any preconceived notions it was obvious that he wasn't demonstrating any disrespect to her and the court. In my opinion she overreacted and responded excessively to an innocuous act.

You missed the point. If she made a ruling calling for him to go to jail I would have had no problem with her decision. The problem I have is that she on the spot changed her position on the plea deal because of the butt slap and crowd laughter.She thought he wasn't taking the proceeding seriously. From what I witnessed from the clip I didn't see him acting in a disrespectful manner toward her and the court. The bailiff is an officer of the court. He has a job to do relating to security and maintaining order. He set the tone of frivolity that signaled to those in the courtroom that their laughing response was acceptable. The punishment was agreed to prior to the court session. The judge overreacted to the court crowd's laughter. She should have admonished them instead of changing her deal on the spot for behavior that she wrongly perceived he was involved in. I'm not a Chad Johnson fan. Never have been. I find his antics on and off the field to be stupid. But in this case I strongly believe that this jackass was treated unfairly by an overly reactive judge who exercised poor judgment.