Dick Jauron is staying in Buffalo for another year, and much to the dismay of common sense he is signed until 2011 even though he is the sole reason that the Bills are not in the playoffs. This team has the young talent to make the playoffs, but seem to be missing one integral piece of the ever changing puzzle. This piece has become easily identifiable over the past 10 games, with things like game management, the easiest training camp in the NFL, and an attitude that seems more grandparent like then head coach like. For nine years the Bills have been no better then the Detroit Lions, I’m serious. It shows me that to Ralph Wilson, 7-9 is good enough, and that’s what separates the Bills from other, playoff bound, organizations. Eric Mangini was fired from the Jets after going 9-7, but if Dick Jauron went 9-7 Ralph would most likely make him coach for life, speaking of which, former Denver Broncos “coach for life” Mike Shanahan was given the axe after finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs for three straight years. Imagine how much trouble very Bills coach would be in if Ralph Wilson followed the same standards.
So what is the answer? The Bills play dead men football with an uninspired coach and a bunch of people who don’t care about winning unless they get paid. Who could possibly be the Buffalo savior if not Jauron? Well if I could just steal Cleveland’s thunder for a second [and who hasn’t been doing that in the last 40 or so years] and make a call to one Bill Cowher , and officially declare it Cowher time in Buffalo. It makes perfect sense , Cowher wants to go to a team with a young base already built. Enter the three headed monster of Edwards, Evans, and Lynch who are all three not yet in their primes. He has a team with a playoff caliber core, and if Ralph Wilson has any brains left in his 90 year old head he will give full personal duties to Cowher. Who would you rather have picking your players, Russ Brandon or Bill Cowher? I would pick the ladder. Cowher also expressed an interest in going to a city that he likes, and while I don’t know his personal feelings on Buffalo as a city, if you can live in Pittsburgh you come to appreciate a city like Buffalo. A tough, grind it out, cold city. If you like Pittsburgh then you will probably find Buffalo just as charming. While Cowher has not expressed interest in coaching in 2009 we have seen sparks of intrigue at mentions of the Browns and Jets, but the Bills are a more perfect fit. The Jets are too old, the Browns to bad, the Bills are a piece away. Bill Cowher will put these guys through a real training camp, you know, one with two a days and stuff. If you notice the Bills last three 7-9 seasons they have all shown bursts of unbridled potential, the first two years it came after the half way point when the Bills would play flawless after a disastrous start, and then this year they started 5-1 before going 2-8 in the last 10. God looking at that makes me just want to throw up in my hand and throw it at someone. The Loins weren’t much worse in the last ten, and if your compared to the Lions twice in the same post you know something is wrong. The Bills haven’t had the strength to play a full season in the last three years. It does not take a genius to realize that the Bills have one of the easiest training camps in the NFL while I bet there are war stories not as gruesome as some of the stuff that comes out of a Cowher camp. That would be what the Bills need, someone to remind them that it has been nine god damn years since they made the playoffs.
Mike Shanahan would also be a nice fit, he’s a guy who will yell when you need to yell, and act professional when the time dictates, he is another guy that Ralph is going to want to give full responsibilities to. There is a reoccurring theme that I’ve noticed in this post, the fact that Russ Brandon is NOT the right guy to give control of an NFL franchise. That’s all I’ll say about that, other then GET HIS ASS OUT OF THERE FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! Now I’m done. When I herd that a decision would be made on Wednesday I was almost excited, but then they made an announcement 24 hours before they where supposed to, what eats at me is that I thought the Bills would take after the model of our president elect and focus on change. What has happened in the last nine years that would make Ralph think his football model is working? Why on God’s green earth would you not change things up? It has been nine long years, change should have happened a while ago.
Just a thought.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Tex For Christmas
The reports where sure fired guarantees, at any moment the off season’s jewel slugger was about to call the city of Boston his new home and jack the Red Sox to the preseason throne of the A.L East. It was bound to happen, sure to happen! It didn’t happen, but the fact that it didn’t happen does not eat away at Red Sox fans but the team that did sign him sure does. Tex is going to be wearing pinstripes this spring instead of an old English B on his forehead and the difference was $12 Million. That’s $12 Million that says to the people of Boston, sure we want to win, but not really THAT much. Let’s face it, Yankees management cares, if that’s a problem then sports is really going down the tube. The Mets play in the same market but don’t really feel like spending enough, the Red Sox have developed a national following the is beginning to rival the Yankee’s , but always seem to come up $12 Million short. [A-rod in ‘04 and now this]The Royals owner [David Glass] owns Wall Mart for Christ’s sake! He bathes in thousand dollar bills, he’s practically as rich as Jesus and he can’t afford to thrown 2% of his fortune at making the Royals competitive? Because he pockets every dime he makes and doesn’t feel like throwing the team a bone, and that, believe it or not, is not the fault of the Yankees. Stu Sternberg [ Ray’s owner] made a fortune and a half in the stock market but Tampa, although they won the American League, can’t afford to spend more money then the Yankees do on the left side of the infield. Sports richest owner resides in Minneapolis [yes poor, small market Minnesota] as Carl Pohlad keeps a closed wallet and just pockets the cash he makes from running the Twins. He is said to be worth $1.8 Billion, more then enough to go out and try to get Tex.
The Yankees go out and spend more money then any other team, but don’t actually say that out loud because your missing the point by a huge margin. The Yankees in reality have no more money then any other team, the Steinbrenner family is probably not even in the top half of richest owners in baseball, because for every dollar that they make of owning the Yankees 100 cents goes back into making the franchise a well oiled winning machine. People who say the Yankees spend too much money are looserist, people who apparently think that there is a problem with wanting to win. The Yankees want to win and fans who have balls-less owners always cry and complain about it. If David Glass wanted to go out and offer Mark Teixeira $200 Million he easily could, and then he could turn around and offer C.C Sabathia another $200 Million and still not dive into half his fortune, but I guess he doesn’t think that Kansas City deserves a winner.
In a previous post I said that after signing C.C Sabathia and A.J Burnett the Yankees need to win the world series or some people should be fired. The Yankees possible pitching rotation looks like this:
C.C. Sabathia
A.J Burnett
Chein-Ming Wang
Joba Chamberlin
Andy Pettite [ possibly]
And the lineup:
1.Johnny Damon
2. Derek Jeter
3. Mark Teixeira
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Hideki Matsui
6. Jorge Posada
7.Robinson Cano
8.Nick Swisher
9. Melky Cabrera
I’m sorry but if your Joe Girardi and you do not win it all with that lineup then find a job somewhere else. Tex is good for 7 years of hitting over .315 and has 5 more gold gloves in him, C.C has won a Cy Young in the A.L and Burnett has ace stuff when healthy, Girardi has to understand that this is his chance to show us that he deserves to be a Yankee. I love how the Red Sox had to take almost a month to get Teixeira to almost sign with them but the Yankees submitted an offer at noon today and had the deal done in four hours. It’s the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox I guess, the Red Sox try to poke and prod at clients while the Yankees do whatever they can to sign them.
So it turns out that Sabathia and Burnett where the opening act, and Tex the main attraction, all I know is this, there is a new favorite in the A.L, and the pre season throne is back where it belongs, in the Bronx.
Just a thought.
The Yankees go out and spend more money then any other team, but don’t actually say that out loud because your missing the point by a huge margin. The Yankees in reality have no more money then any other team, the Steinbrenner family is probably not even in the top half of richest owners in baseball, because for every dollar that they make of owning the Yankees 100 cents goes back into making the franchise a well oiled winning machine. People who say the Yankees spend too much money are looserist, people who apparently think that there is a problem with wanting to win. The Yankees want to win and fans who have balls-less owners always cry and complain about it. If David Glass wanted to go out and offer Mark Teixeira $200 Million he easily could, and then he could turn around and offer C.C Sabathia another $200 Million and still not dive into half his fortune, but I guess he doesn’t think that Kansas City deserves a winner.
In a previous post I said that after signing C.C Sabathia and A.J Burnett the Yankees need to win the world series or some people should be fired. The Yankees possible pitching rotation looks like this:
C.C. Sabathia
A.J Burnett
Chein-Ming Wang
Joba Chamberlin
Andy Pettite [ possibly]
And the lineup:
1.Johnny Damon
2. Derek Jeter
3. Mark Teixeira
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Hideki Matsui
6. Jorge Posada
7.Robinson Cano
8.Nick Swisher
9. Melky Cabrera
I’m sorry but if your Joe Girardi and you do not win it all with that lineup then find a job somewhere else. Tex is good for 7 years of hitting over .315 and has 5 more gold gloves in him, C.C has won a Cy Young in the A.L and Burnett has ace stuff when healthy, Girardi has to understand that this is his chance to show us that he deserves to be a Yankee. I love how the Red Sox had to take almost a month to get Teixeira to almost sign with them but the Yankees submitted an offer at noon today and had the deal done in four hours. It’s the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox I guess, the Red Sox try to poke and prod at clients while the Yankees do whatever they can to sign them.
So it turns out that Sabathia and Burnett where the opening act, and Tex the main attraction, all I know is this, there is a new favorite in the A.L, and the pre season throne is back where it belongs, in the Bronx.
Just a thought.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The 'Blueprint"
The Cashman, Steinbrenner doctrine is back in full swing as both C.C Sabathia [$161 Million] and A.J Burnett [$85 Million] got introduced in the “old” Yankee Stadium and so the bar has been set, if you are going to spend $246 Million on two pitchers then you better be delivering a world series. Now I know that you have to add in the New York spotlight, but the Yankees went against the wisdom of their own yesteryears that included one or two modest free agent signings and minor league development to win. Then the storm known as Brian Cashman came along, spending all the money in his wake, and while he won three world titles with Bob Watson’s leftovers he also wrecked what could have been the greatest dynasty known to man, one that reminded us of the 40’s or 50’s, but instead he pursued [in part due to orders by George Steinbrenner] high priced aging veterans that had never won a thing. Look how Jason Giambi ended up, Hideki Matsui has never won a world series, the Randy Johnson disaster is on my list of the top ten blunders of all time, you get where I’m going?
What I’m getting at is that New York is a place of extremes. Jason Giambi got off to a hot start and was referred to casually as the “Giambino” which is kind of a heft tag for someone who has STILL never won a ring. Fast forward to the end of this disaster and he was getting booed out of town. People confuse New York as a town that will never except superstars when this is quite the contrary, sometimes this place excepts stars that other cities might not if they had the batch to choose from that we do. We choose to worship Derek Jeter and resent Alex Rodriguez, even though A-Rod hits three or four times the amount of home runs and rakes a ton more RBI, their contracts are pretty close but there is a difference, Jeter doesn’t feel like an intruder. He won four rings, and was drafted by the Yankees. Notice a trend? Who do Yankee fans hold above all others? Jorge Posada, a former farmhand, Mariano Rivera was signed in 1990 by a Yankee scout to the Yankees farm system. We support Yankees who have always been Yankees.
Now does that mean it is impossible for CC and Burnett to gain acceptance in New York? No, many have thrived in the spotlight after leaving their farm towns. Paul O’Neill is one of my favorite Yankees of all time and he left Cincinnati after winning a world title and playing for 8 years. David Cone was successful with the cross town rival Mets and he was an all time favorite in the pinstripes. Tino Martinez was taken out of Seattle a couple of months after beating the Yankees in the 1995 playoffs. What was the difference with these guys and Giambi and A-Rod is one fundamental thing, besides the fact that they played as hard as humanly possible whenever they where call upon they all won FOUR rings. Want to know how to survive as a free agent with tons of pressure? WIN WIN WIN and WIN! New Yorkers love winners of world series, our definition of winning is different then Milwaukee’s. A world series is the end all be all, and with all the money thrown at CC and Burnett they better win it all, or I want people [ plural] fired. So to recap, go against what worked for years if you must, but win or find your ass a new job.
Just a thought.
What I’m getting at is that New York is a place of extremes. Jason Giambi got off to a hot start and was referred to casually as the “Giambino” which is kind of a heft tag for someone who has STILL never won a ring. Fast forward to the end of this disaster and he was getting booed out of town. People confuse New York as a town that will never except superstars when this is quite the contrary, sometimes this place excepts stars that other cities might not if they had the batch to choose from that we do. We choose to worship Derek Jeter and resent Alex Rodriguez, even though A-Rod hits three or four times the amount of home runs and rakes a ton more RBI, their contracts are pretty close but there is a difference, Jeter doesn’t feel like an intruder. He won four rings, and was drafted by the Yankees. Notice a trend? Who do Yankee fans hold above all others? Jorge Posada, a former farmhand, Mariano Rivera was signed in 1990 by a Yankee scout to the Yankees farm system. We support Yankees who have always been Yankees.
Now does that mean it is impossible for CC and Burnett to gain acceptance in New York? No, many have thrived in the spotlight after leaving their farm towns. Paul O’Neill is one of my favorite Yankees of all time and he left Cincinnati after winning a world title and playing for 8 years. David Cone was successful with the cross town rival Mets and he was an all time favorite in the pinstripes. Tino Martinez was taken out of Seattle a couple of months after beating the Yankees in the 1995 playoffs. What was the difference with these guys and Giambi and A-Rod is one fundamental thing, besides the fact that they played as hard as humanly possible whenever they where call upon they all won FOUR rings. Want to know how to survive as a free agent with tons of pressure? WIN WIN WIN and WIN! New Yorkers love winners of world series, our definition of winning is different then Milwaukee’s. A world series is the end all be all, and with all the money thrown at CC and Burnett they better win it all, or I want people [ plural] fired. So to recap, go against what worked for years if you must, but win or find your ass a new job.
Just a thought.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Orange Empire
Syracuse has been in the news more then the usual, especially on ESPN. A scandal involving your best basketball player and getting a new coach will do that to you, and while I would rather ESPN talk about the ‘Cuse being ranked 13th in the country as opposed to their best player NOT hitting a young female, press is press.
That would be a good place to start, the fact that the JRB is a joke organization. Can anyone bring forth evidence that Devendorf actually struck this female? Well three eye witnesses can say that he did NOT hit her, what does this girl have to back up her ridiculous claims? I hope at least a sign that she actually got hit, but no serious damage visible. Well I hope she called the police right away, but that never happened either. Ok but she had to except medical treatment, I mean this thug who is only good for dribbling a ball hit her for Christ’s sake! Wait, no she didn’t do that either because she was too wasted. I know Devendorf is supposed to be a pampered athlete and this case is supposed to send a message, but no one has a shred of evidence to support this “poor victim”. Would it have been smart too just walk away from the conflict? [which according to eyewitness accounts was started by her, not Devendorf] Yes it would have, and Devendorf might want to consider anger management as suggested by coach Boheim but should not be suspended for getting into a yelling match. If we all lost our jobs for getting into a verbal tussle with someone then the economy would really be in the shoots because all our jobs would be lost. Yelling at a drunk girl is not grounds for being suspended for a basketball season. Boeheim sure does have a situation on his hands, but in watching him talk to the media it is refreshing to see him back Devendorf in full, Jimmy B. sees Devendorf as more then a thug.
It baffles me how people view the justice system, I have had people tell me that just because he is a pampered athlete that he should be suspended, damn the facts. I’ve had people admit to me that the evidence does not come close to lining up, but because the justice system favors “men who bring home the money” that he should be suspended. I go back to the Duke case to explain a motive for this girl to set up Devendorf, some people will do anything for attention. The Duke case ended with the girl being exposed and hopefully this happens in this instance.
The other reason that we have seen more of the Hill in the news is that a new coach has graced us with his presence. Now at first glance Doug Marrone looks like a Greg Robinson part two, a coordinator who has never been a head coach before, and yes Turner Gill looks like a better choice right now but I feel cautious optimism about this guy because he doesn’t seem like a guy who is filled with quirky clichés that every coach uses. He is not only an alum but also grew up in Syracuse and genuinely seems like he wants nothing more then success for the program. When introduced he could not stop gushing about how this was the greatest day of his career, and anyone who will leave warm and high octane New Orleans for cold and dismal Syracuse has to be committed. I stand by my comment that Turner Gill would be a much better candidate but I think Marrone can lay a solid groundwork for a possible program revival.
Just a thought
Syracuse has been in the news more then the usual, especially on ESPN. A scandal involving your best basketball player and getting a new coach will do that to you, and while I would rather ESPN talk about the ‘Cuse being ranked 13th in the country as opposed to their best player NOT hitting a young female, press is press.
That would be a good place to start, the fact that the JRB is a joke organization. Can anyone bring forth evidence that Devendorf actually struck this female? Well three eye witnesses can say that he did NOT hit her, what does this girl have to back up her ridiculous claims? I hope at least a sign that she actually got hit, but no serious damage visible. Well I hope she called the police right away, but that never happened either. Ok but she had to except medical treatment, I mean this thug who is only good for dribbling a ball hit her for Christ’s sake! Wait, no she didn’t do that either because she was too wasted. I know Devendorf is supposed to be a pampered athlete and this case is supposed to send a message, but no one has a shred of evidence to support this “poor victim”. Would it have been smart too just walk away from the conflict? [which according to eyewitness accounts was started by her, not Devendorf] Yes it would have, and Devendorf might want to consider anger management as suggested by coach Boheim but should not be suspended for getting into a yelling match. If we all lost our jobs for getting into a verbal tussle with someone then the economy would really be in the shoots because all our jobs would be lost. Yelling at a drunk girl is not grounds for being suspended for a basketball season. Boeheim sure does have a situation on his hands, but in watching him talk to the media it is refreshing to see him back Devendorf in full, Jimmy B. sees Devendorf as more then a thug.
It baffles me how people view the justice system, I have had people tell me that just because he is a pampered athlete that he should be suspended, damn the facts. I’ve had people admit to me that the evidence does not come close to lining up, but because the justice system favors “men who bring home the money” that he should be suspended. I go back to the Duke case to explain a motive for this girl to set up Devendorf, some people will do anything for attention. The Duke case ended with the girl being exposed and hopefully this happens in this instance.
The other reason that we have seen more of the Hill in the news is that a new coach has graced us with his presence. Now at first glance Doug Marrone looks like a Greg Robinson part two, a coordinator who has never been a head coach before, and yes Turner Gill looks like a better choice right now but I feel cautious optimism about this guy because he doesn’t seem like a guy who is filled with quirky clichés that every coach uses. He is not only an alum but also grew up in Syracuse and genuinely seems like he wants nothing more then success for the program. When introduced he could not stop gushing about how this was the greatest day of his career, and anyone who will leave warm and high octane New Orleans for cold and dismal Syracuse has to be committed. I stand by my comment that Turner Gill would be a much better candidate but I think Marrone can lay a solid groundwork for a possible program revival.
Just a thought
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