Kaspers Korner

     Recently reports is that outside lineback of the Miami Dolphins Joey Porter and Cincinatti Bengals left tackle Levi Brown was in an a fight.  Which leaves me to believe that enough is enough.  Someone needs to come up with something to stop this police blotter.

    Ever since the free agent market started the league has never been the same.  No we are not talking about for bettter either.   As free agency grew so has the number of arrest. Why? A lot of money, a lot of time on hands leads to trouble.

    Free agency does nothing but destory teams, and feed the ego of these somtime monster.  Look at contract negotiations themselves.  The whole job of the agent is to pump up his guy so much that his player gets a boat load of  money.  There in lies the problem in a league where machoism runs rampad the agents feed them even more.

    How to solve the problem, well it is simple a system like the one that is place for drug use will get it done.  Not for conviction of plea bagains, but for every arrest.  That will get players thinking. 

    Hopefully though something will get done before someone gets hurt.  Afterall it should not come down to that.  We all are someones baby.  How about a little compasion for the inncoent and none for those who break the law.

     Much to the dismay of people in WGR, specifically the morning show, Colin Cowherd points could actually be right on when it comes to the NCAA tourney.  That point being taking the favorite in brackets and you will not go wrong.

    The NCAA college basketball tournament is one that always have head scratchers when it comes to final games.  Also, sometimes it is not pretty to be around a guy with a bracket.  When people check out scores for the tournament by the end of the sports report you can hear papers tearing, people sweaking, and throwing things on the ground.  Might even be yourself doing that.

     I love the tournament and there is one thing I can say about bracket pools.  Stay away I tried one for the first time through Yahoo.com, and you know what forget it.  What a pain in the ass, but looking back at Cowerd’s prediction he was right so far.  Only one or two upsets, and most of the games have been won by favorites.

     So, when next year comes around, and that bracket sheet pops up on your desk.  Take my advice rip it up and throw it away. Do not do it. Of course a lot of you will do it.  If you do may I suggest something.  Get a wig or hairclub for men, becuase you will eventually need it.

     Since the beginning of the year fans in Buffalo are scratching their heads over tickets.  Fans of the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills saw tickets prices risen by both teams.  For many people it is troubling to them considering a lot of outside factors.

     The Buffalo Bills is a team that has not been in a playoff game for more than six years.  However, the Bills hiked up ticket prices for the 2007 season.  Mr. Wilson has been saying for several months now that the team cannot keep up with fastly rising salary cap.  Which, has people torn here in Buffalo.

     The Sabres have a different reason for raising tickets.  The team is dependent on ticket sales.  Which is not like football, which has a lot of other sources of revenue.  With the team consistently winning; people have been wanting Sabre tickets.  With the Sabres being in high demand it makes sense to raise tickets. 

     I have heard constantly on media outlets that teams in the NFL have a lot of corporations, and other businesses buy tickets and give them to employees.  The Buffalo market does not have enough of those right now.

     Recently I have become a franchisee of a business.  From this that I have learned a hard lesson.  Decisions must be made, and to keep those dreams alive you must do things sometimes you might not like.  Recently I had to make a decision that invovled not keeping an employee from another account.  The reason I would of made no money to pay my own bills. 

     If the cap keeps rising the way it is in both leagues then any sport team in Buffalo moght be in doubt.  After all when people go in to business it i to make money.  That is one of the realities of life. Sport teams want to make money, and now the average fan cannot afford them.  At least we have Direct TV.

     The one thing that I hate more than anything else in the media world is taking credit for someone else’s work.  ESPN Television Network has a major problem of that.  The thing is it is getting obvious, and it has been caught.

     Sirus satellite radio is the official radio of the National Football League.  Twice this week Sirus radio show host have noticed the plagerism after they made live announcements on their shows.  First wide receiver Kevin Curtis was signed and the general manager of the Eagles made the official annoucement in an interview on a show on Sirus radio.  Also, when Ruben Droughns was traded they announced on air, told Droughns about the tade, and then found out ESPN plagerised them again.

     You know it is one thing to plagerise someone and not get caught.  However, when you are caught not once, but twice someone at ESPN needs to get a hold of this and tell someone in charge of news to put a stop to the crap.  This is what I was talking about yesterday when I said Mike Florio is more reliable as a source of news than ESPN. 

     Why, just look above, and it is pretty obvious.  Mike Florio has not once ripped off someone.  Everytime that I have read profootballtalk.com, and see a story that is not of his own he gives credit to the person.  Constantly you see it, and you believe it. 

     ESPN needs to take a good hard look in the mirror.   As of late they cannot run anything right.  Their Monday Night Football announcers are horrendous.  How much more crap are they going to throw at us and think we are going to believe them.  Keep it up ESPN sooner or later you are going to regret your actions when your ratings drop.

     Quickly, within five years Mike Florio, and Profootballtalk.com, have become a household name in the National Football League media world. However, as many times Florio hits news on the mark he gets no respect for his work from peers.

     Its funny to read Peter King a national sports writer to keep refuting Mike Florio’s conclusion on quarterbacK Jake PLummer’s situation.  Which would be how much he has to pay back.  The thing is Mike Florio’s day job is a lawyer.  King is exclusively a writer.  Now let sit here and think who to believe.  Well lets break it down. 

     Here is how it goes by each person conclusion.  Peter King believes that Plummer signed three individual contracts, which added over seven million dollars.  Florio used Ashley Lelie’s case where it was ruled that the only thing recoverable by a team are signing bonuses.

     Okay, now here is what I learned from my government classes.  There are two types of people when it comes to decisions in the courtroom.  They are conservative and proactive.  Proactive cases weigh not only the evidence but other outside factors, and think out of the box.  Conservative judges go by precedent, or in other words cases already decided, i.e. the Ashley Lelie case. 

     My conclusion as much as I respect King he is wrong.  Florio has proved time, and time again that he is the man when it comes to inside new.  For instance the Chad Johnson halftime incident when the Cincinati Bengals played the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs over a year ago. 

    Also, Florio has been saying a Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers deal is immenent.  Newspaper, radio, and television outlets have totally ignored this rumour.  You can probably excluded WGR’s Brad Riter, who just like me believes in Florio.  Oh by the way it was Brad Riter’s interview with Mike Florio on WGR, that got me interested in him.    

     In other words do not believe the national outlets. Just go to Profootballtalk.com.  Trust me you will not go wrong making him your source of NFL news.  Especially when you see news on there two three days before the T.V.

     Everyone has a weakness when it comes to their profession.  Finally, this Buffalo Sabres fan has realized head coach Lindy Ruff’s weakness.  Ruff’s management of the goalie position has been horendous, eventhough he vowed earlier this season to handle goaltenders Ryan Miller, and Martin Biron better.

    It goes all the way back to the Dominick Hasek days when the Sabres went to the Stanley Cup finals.  Hasek went to the Olympic games and won a gold medal.  Of course Hasek was ridden hard all the way to the finals.  Unfortunately by then the Dominator ran out of gas.  Now, it loks the same all over again.

    You think Ruff would learn his lesson, especially after last year when Miller started to look tired in the playoffs.  After thirteen starts it is time to rest Miller.  How many times are we going to see Miller in back to back games.  Especially when there is a game the following night.  I bet a lot of you were sitting there this year when you saw Miller two nights in a row starting, even with Biron on the bench.

     The dissapointing thing is that Ruff stated this earlier in the season he was going to manage the goalies better.  I hope that we see Conklin tomorrow, becasue if we do not. Well I do not want to say it, but they are not going to win a Stanley Cup.  As good as they are there are going to be rough production nights, and they need Miller playing great throughout the playoffs.  So, please Lindy please we are all begging you start sitting Miller more.

     Speculation is that eventually the Buffalo Bills will move to Toronto, Canada.  However, the thing that most people do not realize is that the NFL needs Buffalo in the long run.

    Rivalries are not what they use to be thanks to free agency.  However, there are still some that exist today that makes things very interesting.  Like, the Browns against the Steelers, Raiders against the Broncos, or Redskins against the Cowboys.

    If the National Football League were to move expand or move a team it should not be Buffalo.  Having Toronto and Buffalo in the league, and in the same division, will create instantly the most heated rivalry.   There is nothing more better than a good border war.

   We Buffalonians see it all the time at Bills, and Sabres versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Leaf games are not just intense for action on the ice, but also in the crowds.   People from Toronto purposly buy Sabres season tickets just to be able to see thier beloved Maple Leafs a couple times a year.  This is due to businesses buying up all the tickets.  What do you think will happen when the NFL comes to town and becomes more popular than hockey there.  Thats right people will buy BIlls season tickets.

     While most outsiders believe that the Bills will leave town.  The one thing that they underestimate is the size of our heart.  We are not called the city of good neighbors for a reason.  Just like a blizzard, or the October Surprise, people will ban together in the end to make sure that the Bills will stay here.  Even if they have to empty their own pockets. 

    Why, they are our sole, and spirit.  They have shown us what it means to believe.  What it means that until the final second runs off anything is possible.  All it takes is one game to make a city billieve.  That game was the comeback against the Houston Oilers.  Billieve in each other people, rise up when duty calls and we will get it done once more.

     Today Buffalo Bills fans got what a lot of them wanted.  that was for Anthony Thomas to be ther starting runnning back in Buffalo.

     Now, it is early and details of the contract are still not known, but considering the possibilities of free agents at running back Anthony Thomas is just as good as the rest.  There is now Edgerin James or another stud back, and the cool thing in the National Football League is to build your offensive line and go with two okay backs.

     The thing is amongst national media people is that the Bills will be the big losers this year in the free agent market.  Peter King even remarked in todays Monday Morning QB that history shows that spending big money in free agency does not guaranteed wining.  King made these remarks today “And don’t think the Bills have solved all their offensive line woes by throwing $74 million at Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker. If history is a good judge, winning free agency might just be the same as losing.  AMEN Peter!!!

     Blowing money on offensive linemen does not guarantee anything.  It takes eleven people to do their job to get a play to work.  Time after time, when I tried to walk on to Buffalo State College’s football team,  I sat there and saw one player mess up his block or get beat by his guy and kill the play.  Football is a team sport if a tightend slips, or a fullback misses his block then the play is done, or even if a running back himself misreads the movement of blocks by linemen that can also do them in.  

     Getting to listen to Peter King’s interviews before his contract was renewed, which SI bought his radio interview rights, I learned that he is a listener.  He is full of knowledge amd can recite examples time after time.

     Do not get to excited people about the Bills chances.  The Patriots still have most of the same starters as last year, and are now building on weka spots.  If the Bills are going to get anywhere they first have to over come the New England Patriots.

     In real life not to many people get a second chance.  They usually make a major mistake, and their life is never the same.  However, in the National Football League players are getting way more than that especially Tennessee Titan Adam Pacman Jones.

     The number of incidents that Jones has been involved in is starting to get past the tenth finger.  The ridiculous part is that the Titans are unable to do anything about him except suspend him for four games for conduct detrimental to the team.  If they cut Jones then his bonus money will be accelerated and it will be a good chunck of change. 

     There is no provision or clause in the current NFL collective bargaining agreement that allows teams options for players who have run ins with the law.  Jones even did not mention another arrest that was made over a year ago.  All players are to report incidents to their clubs.  Jones did not due to him thinking it would reflect badly on him.

     How many chances is this Jackass going to get.  Obviously he should be banned for life from the NFL.  The league has a serious problem on their hands and still nothing relevant to this matter has happened. 

     I know that this idea is probably going to raise a lot of eyebrows. However, teams need to start putting in language into players contracts not only about arrests, but also banning players from clubs.  If they are caught at one then a severe punishment should come down.

     Everywhere you turn there is someone getting arrested at a club.  Hell we even had an incident last years with some Niagara Purple Eagles last year.  Darrnet Williams was killed outside of one.  Also, last year a Miami Hurricane defensive lineman was killed outside of his home.  Supposively from incidents that he had at clubs.  The Ray Lewis incident was outside of a club.  Do I need to name more.

     How long is this going to go on.  People that are in the spotlight are going to get trouble in clubs, and bars.  The thing is that they are too macho to step away.  Well since they cannot control their own actions then someone needs to do something.  Time to stepup Roger Goodell and show us what you are made of.  

     accounting can be confusing even to a person who has taken accounting themselves.  One thing that people need to realize is that all numbers out there are estimates, and not actual numbers.  This I found out straight from the community relations department within the Buffalo Bills.

    The one mistake that I made in particular when looking at cap figures was that I needed to take off old signing bonuses that were given in the past.  Yes, they are following their cash to cap system, which still could cost them after this year.

    There are some key players contract that are coming up and with contracts rising significantly this year it will be hard to keep them.  Arron Schobel, Lee Evans, and J.P. Losman contracts should be expiring within the next year or two, and that could spell trouble.  That depends on how Jim Overdorff structured the contracts of Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, and Chris Kelsay. 

     Even though the they will get back twenty-one million dollars to spend next year it still will only be enough to restructure Evans or Losmans contract.  Most Likely they will let Schobel walk after giving Kelsay the kind of money they did and with Ryan Denny still under contract.  However, they would still need to come up with another 20 probably to keep the other. 

     They will get some help in the cap going up, but that is like seven million.  Spikes contract is done after this year which would be five million.  Also, letting Schobel walk after his contract is done will bring it close.   However, if Losman was to have a stellar year ti could cost over twenty million for a signing bonus easily.  Also, you need to save room for base salaries which is at least another ten million for two people.

     The contracts could cost either one Losman or Evans and that is a shame.  They are both good character guys and they have grown on the people of Buffalo.  If one of them is gone you can look back at these signings as the reason. 

    There are alternatives to the line problem.  Moving Terance Pennington to right guard, and starting Duke Preston.  Then taking a tackle in the draft.  which would of saved you significant money down the line.  There are quality line out there for cheap.  Why do you think the Patriots are succesful.  They went out found quality character guys, with good coaching, and with a hall of fame quarterback have made the line better.  Along with a good running game. 

    That is the problem folks to much hand raising giving up and taking the easy way out, and not enough rolling up the sleeves and getting down to business.