:: ESPN has given Joe Theismann the boot from Monday Night Football, and damn, it's about time. Longtime readers know I can't stand the guy, with his continual need to fill silences with idiotic comments such as when the Bills played New England, and Theismann fell over himself praising Tom Brady's management of the game tempo during New England's opening drive, about four minutes into the game. Ugh.
Somewhat gratuitously, here's Theismann's famous leg injury. The guy won a Super Bowl, but this is what he'll always be famous for on the field. Crappy announcer, but that has to suck.
:: The Buffalo News's Allen Wilson gives a partial defense of Willis McGahee's recent attacks on the city of Buffalo, here. The gist of it:
There have been a number of things said and written about former Bills running back Willis McGahee following his comments about the city in last Sunday’s Baltimore Sun. But there is some truth in part of what he said.
I’ve talked to a number of other single young men of McGahee’s age and background who have complained about a lack of things to do in our town. Some defenders of Buffalo's night life will point to Chippewa Street, but not everybody likes to go bar-hopping. Some people have different tastes, like hanging out in more urban settings. But inner-city nightclubs for young adults are in short supply in Buffalo.
It should be noted that McGahee grew up in Miami, so compared to that city, Atlanta or Philadelphia, Buffalo does come up short in terms of diverse places for young adults to hang out.
I can see the point here, but really, I don't much care. With the money McGahee made while here -- even if he didn't get his Really Big Contract until he got traded to Baltimore -- he probably could have opened his own nightclub, right? But that would have required an actual desire to do something.
When you enter the NFL draft, you take your chances. Some guys get picked by the Giants and get to live in the country's largest city. Some guys go to smaller, but still vibrant, cities. Some go to small markets that are trying to do the best they can. But all of them get paid a huge amount of money to do it.
Willis McGahee found Buffalo boring. Well, I watched the guy on the field, and aside from that first year he was here and the games against the Jets the rest of the time, I have to say that it was pretty mutual.
:: The Bills also traded linebacker Takeo Spikes to Philadelphia. I wish Spikes well; I hope he recovers from his injury enough to play close to his former level and that he finally gets to play for a playoff team. He left the Bengals for the Bills when it seemed like the Bills were getting better while the Bengals weren't going anywhere, but it played out pretty much in reverse. And for his trouble, Spikes suffered a bad lag injury two years ago. Last year he wasn't very productive at all, since he'd been in injury trouble all year.
I can see why the Bills traded him. The historical record for guys injured as Spikes was rebounding to one hundred percent is not encouraging. He may have a few good years left in him, but it's highly unlikely that Spikes will ever again be the physical force he was before the injury; that being the case, the Bills would have been crazy to pay him the continued big money he was due.
Spikes was a terrific player here, and I hope that he gets back to that in Philly. I really do. He deserves better than what he's received in his NFL career; he deserves better than to become the Archie Manning of linebackers.
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