caddyman

That's how I felt in 2010 and then he killed me. That QB siuation is a mess. While I love Larry, It could be a long year for him and that team.

That's great for you, Det, me and some others. But I am sure the percentage of people that count on that money far outweighs the prepared ones. Some people have no choice but to count on that money. What will happen when it is not there for those people?

Does it change the fact that something must be done about it? Or is it OK to just continue to use it as a way to get votes? Great...it WAS a succesful program. Now it is not. It must be addressed.

Totally agree. However, he is still one of the best QBs in the league. Terry Bradshaw was a dramatic SOB as well. He will be fine and so will this team. They will not finish third in the division. Evryone thinks it is automatic that the Bengals are better than last year and that the Ravens won't take a step back. Wait and see. We will be there in the end.

Not really....compare the penalties to the ones of USC...They will be fine. Let's compare USC's punishment for improper benefits to the one handed to Penn State for the concealment of child sex abuse: $60 million fine for Penn State(THEY MAKE THIS IN ONE YEAR BUT GET TO PAY IT BACK IN FIVE) Two year postseason ban for USC, four years for Penn State USC loses 30 scholarships over 3 years, Penn State loses 40 over 4 years A national championship and two conference titles won by USC are vacated, Penn State loses all wins from 1998 to 2011 Four year probation for USC, five years for Penn State Players can transfer without penalty in both cases Surprisingly, not a huge difference, considering the crimes. I keep hearing about the unprecedented penalties PSU is saddled with. Well, no other school did anything nearly as heinous to warrant that kind of punishment. If covering up multiple instances of child molestation/rape doesn't give a school the death penalty, I don't know what does. This basically says that Penn State needs to play football no matter what, which is BS. The State College economy is dependent on the University, not the football team. If the Penn State football loyalists are going to cry as if they're the real victims, the NCAA should have gone all the way with a four-year death penalty.

Now let's see how Franco comes out and apologizes for all of his comments. Teh sad thing is that you were not close to this situation so I could understand your hope that all of the things said about Joe were not true. But Franco knew damn well Joe was heavily responsible for this situation and he still went around the state crying about Joe.

Don't give up yet on Megehee(sp) or Garret Jones. We may not 1st base or RF yet. Now shortstop is another story. Forget about Lowrie. I am hearing the asking price is too high. It's been fun so far. I agree they won't collapse like last year. They do need someone to step up as a third SP. Karstens needs to get healthy(I think he is still hurting), or maybe get someone to eat some innings. Enjoy the ride. It's been a long time. By the way, the most fun Pirate to watch in the 70s was Dave Parker. He was incredible. He was a big man that could run, hit, and had a great arm. I still hold him as my favorite of all time.

Yep...he could have blown the whole thing up. But nooooo...there were more important issues. Football and Joe's legacy. They came before doing the right thing.

Ouch...that's gonna leave a mark.

Please tell me how in this case our system is stupid. His wife quite her job with coverage and he was not in a rush to get new coverage. Now when he knows he needs it, he wants coverage. He is a guaranteed loss for any insurer for a number of years based on what he will pay vs. what they will cover if he got the coverage now. This is one of the very scenarios that many people said would kill obamercare if it went into effect full force. Don't carry insurance until you need it. There are a lot of people that choose not to get coverage. You hear about the 45 million uninsured all the time. The number of people that can't get insurance is not anywhere near that. When I was in my twenties, the last thing I wanted to spend money on was health ins. premiums. There are a lot of people that feel that way. Then something happens and they want coverage. The OP does not seem like one of those people though. I think he knows he kind of screwed up. He definitely got the COBRA notices and I am sure he ignored them because the premiums were too steep. I still don't see where any of this is the fault of our system.

This sentence below from the article kind of contradicts that... Americans continue to guzzle more bottled water, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, sports drinks and energy drinks, rather than sip on soda and fruit juices, according to beverage statistics released Tuesday. Tea, sport and energy drinks are way more expensive than soda.

See below info from an article on Yahoo....my Pepsi buddy has been telling me that they are having serious issues with sales. They are feverishly working on drinks that are healthy. This decline was not due to a ban, it was mostly due to awareness. Same as smoking. Smoking was the norm 75 years ago. Now I know very few smokers. Again due to awareness. Let this take it's course... Article...(not written by me!) Soda sales have been declining for the past seven years, but the pace of the decline quickened in 2011 despite growth in the overall beverage market. Americans continue to guzzle more bottled water, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, sports drinks and energy drinks, rather than sip on soda and fruit juices, according to beverage statistics released Tuesday. The U.S. beverage market grew by 0.9 percent in 2011, according to preliminary data from Beverage Marketing, a research, consulting, and financial-services firm that tracks the beverage industry. Although this marked the second year of growth for the beverage industry, after two consecutive declines in 2008 and 2009, the pace of growth slowed from 2010. Beverage Marketing said sales were hurt by higher prices, which made the drinks more difficult for struggling lower-income consumers to afford. Beverage Digest, an industry newsletter that also issued industry sales data Tuesday, estimates carbonated soft drink prices were up about 3 percent last year, as companies passed on the higher cost of sweeteners, such as corn syrup and other raw materials, to consumers. All of the big three beverage companies - Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO - News), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP - News), and Dr Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS - News) - sold lower volumes in the U.S., as sales of leading brands such as Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi-Cola, and Mt. Dew fell, according to Beverage Digest. Both Coke and Pepsi saw their market shares shrink, while Dr Pepper's share was flat, the newsletter said. Sales of Dr Pepper's flagship brand rose 0.5 percent last year, a good showing, but not nearly as good as Fanta, the ninth largest soda brand, which saw sales volume climb 3 percent. Fanta's growth was enough to unseat Diet Dr Pepper from the top 10. While Fanta's growth was impressive, the fastest-growing beverage brand was Dasani, a bottled water sold by Coca-Cola. Dasani's volume rose 11 percent, according to Beverage Digest. It was followed by Arizona iced tea, which grew 9.3 percent, and Pepsi's Gatorade, which rose 8 percent. To put this in perspective, carbonated soft drink sales grew about 3 percent annually in the U.S. for much of the '90s. The category has been declining since 2005, however, as increasingly health-conscious consumers turn to other beverages perceived to be more healthful. In the carbonated soft drink category, six of the top 10 brands lost volume, and only four grew. Overall, sales of carbonated soft drinks fell 1 percent in 2011, faster than the 0.5 percent decline in 2010, Beverage Digest said. Beverage Digest includes fast-growing energy drinks within the category. Without energy drinks, sales of carbonated soft drinks would have fallen 1.5 percent. Beverage Marketing estimates energy drink sales grew 14.4 percent by volume in 2011. This means it was the fastest-growing segment with the beverage industry. But it remains a relatively small share of the total beverage industry volume. In fact, only the read-to-drink coffee category is smaller, Beverage Marketing said. Not surprisingly, no energy drink or ready-to-drink coffee brand ranks among the leading trademarks. Sports drinks are another matter. Gatorade has been growing at a fast clip and topped the one-billion-gallon mark for the first time last year. Gatorade, coupled with G2 and other brand variations, is the fifth-largest beverage trademark, according to Beverage Marketing. As for bottled water, its growth continues to accelerate. In 2008 and 2009, tough economic times led to a decline in bottled water sales, but the category recovered in 2010, and its growth rate accelerated in 2011. Bottled water sales volume was up 4.1 percent in 2011, faster than the 3.5 percent growth in 2010. "The strong showing by high-end and functional products shows that consumers - at least the more affluent ones - are not concerned exclusively with economic consideration when making their beverage selections," said Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO of Beverage Marketing.

Exactly. What a silly comparison.

Exactly...just talked to a friend of mine that played for Pitt and the Steelers in the 1980s. Told him that my 12 year old just signed up for 7th grade football. He said to watch him for any signs of concussion and once he gets one to shut him down. He said not to tell my son because he would try and hide the fact that he had a concussion. He said that he had at least 15 concussions in his career between high school and his pro days. I questioned him because I was very close to him and saw nearly every game he played. He said he always told people he was ok and went back in as soon as he could.

Their schedule is pretty tough.They have six division games against teams that most think could win the division. If they go 2-4 in the division I think that is a success. Their remaining ten games are against, Philly(at home), The Giants, Cowboys, Denver, Oakland, all on the road, and then home games against Buffalo, San Diego, Kansas City, Washington, and the Colts. I do not see three wins out of the division. Assumming they win two division games(no guarantee), then 4-12 is about right. It actually could be worse than that. Even though I think they will have a better QB and RB than last year. I just don't see two many games where they are favored to win.