Last year, when Bills owner Ralph Wilson started -- as the Irish would say -- 'putting on the poor mouth', the mayor of Buffalo Byron Brown said that while he loves the Bills and hopes to take his grandchildren to their games someday, Buffalo is not building them a stadium. The city has other priorities and the ownership can threaten all they want. In fact, they can leave if they have to to. He reminded the people of Buffalo that the city will survive.

While this hardly would seem to be "We have nothing to fear but fear itself", it is remarkable how few elected officials will stand up and say it.

Of course, we're a delapidated, rustbelt city with a declining population. All we do is sell out every Bills game, but those nice folks in Albuquerqe or Las Vegas or Oklahoma City or. as ever, LA are just waiting to build a new stadium with lots of luxury boxes.

If the team has to move -- and everyone tells us they will eventually -- I'd like to see the team move to Toronto. Everyone who is not Joe Thiesman knows the Argonauts are a joke and the Canadians would snap up the team. And really, does the "Toronto Bills" sound any stupider than the Utah Jazz or the LA Lakers?

My mom called last night to ask if I had watched Katie's debut. She thought the freespeech part was excellent. She's 61.

I told her that I hadn't watched it because although I watch a good bit of TV, as a rule I never watch TV news with the exception of a major tsunami or 9/11. As I've said a million times before to her, I don't see what I get from a TV news half hour that I can't find more quickly in scanning the AP headlines, which is what ALL network news has become.

Maybe there was depth and investigative journalism back in the day, but if it was so bad they were satirzing it with Network 30 years ago, then I suspect that the days of Murrow didn't even last until the end of Cronkite.

Network news should treated like Anne Coulter, ie, be ignored. Not because it is slanted or represents corporate America or a liberal bias or whatever, but because it is pointless, inane and beneath individuals who imagine themselves to be sentient.

We don't bother to critique messages on cereal boxes. We inderstand that they are there to make money, not inform or educate or perform a public service. TV news is the same; it is not there to inform or educate or perform a public service. It is there to make money. So let 'em at it. God bless 'em. Just don't bother me discussing it.

Just FYI for northern hemisphere-centric folks. NZ is "nearby" to Australia the way Sioux Falls, SD is "near" New York City or Los Angeles is "near" Vancouver, BC.

It's 1300 miles at the closest point.

Geesh.

Boy King, you are going to feel PRETTY DARN FOOLISH when Dick Jauron turns out to be the next Bill Belichick. When the Patriots hired him, did you conclude that he was also "a guy who's proved over the years that his ceiling is defensive coordinator"?

Jauron was 35- 45 in Chicago. Belichick was 36-44 in Cleveland.

In Buffalo, the conventional wisdom was that Mike Sherman was the smart pick and that the Bill blew it by hiring Jauron, but every single national expert (John Clayton, Peter King) and former Bears who played for him swore up and down that Jauron was much better than his record.

C'mon, we're at least going to be better than the Jets.

I still think the best brother story this year is Jeff Weaver being released by the Angels to make way for his young brother Jered on the roster. What a kick in the face that was! I love my brother dearly, but if I was in Jeff's position, I may (just may) consider poisoning him come Thanksgiving.

We shoot horses because they break their legs. If people want to eat horses, let them eat the damn horses. Short of criminalizing all meat eating (and Lord knows there are a few people reading this who would back that insanity) there is no rational reason to prevent the eating of one kind of animal over another just because some people have them as pets.

Cows are pretty and intelligent too. Are we outlawing hamburgers next.

That we can waste time on this crap when the world faces, real human problems is sad. In protest, I am going to make a point of ordering la viande de cheval when I am next in Quebec, Paris or Liege. I hope you horse lovers are happy, now you have converted me into a horse-eater.

Now, about that baby seal liver pate...