Another gem from the book of Hankology. Hank Steinbrenner is at it again after his latest rant in a recent interview.

It appears Hank is a bit upset about the Yankees missing out on the Playoffs this season. Bitter Hank ranted about how the current system is flawed, allowing teams with worse records from other divisions into the playoffs, like Joe Torre and the Dodgers for example. Hank just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, and this time he takes a cheap shot at former manager Joe Torre. This is just the latest from a long list of Hankisms we've heard this past season. Is it just me or does Hank Steinbrenner make Homer Simpson look intellectual?

I just thought of a great marketing idea, the Hank Steinbrenner doll. You pull the string and he says something stupid, just like the real thing. Oh wait, that probably wouldn't be a good idea, in just a few months those quotes would be outdated and people would want the new material.

Yankees fans, I don't know how you put up with it. FIrst your organization boots Joe Torre to the curb mainly due to financial issues, while you are blowing $220 million on players like Pavano ($11 million), Giambi ($23 million), and Andy Pettitte ($16 million). Pavano was paid $11 million for just over 30 innings pitched this season, and even if he were healthy, is he worth anywhere near $11 million? Giambi made $23 million this season, and although he has good numbers, his batting average is around .250. $23 million? Pettitte made $16 million, and is currently 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA. I'm not saying these players are good, but they are drastically overpaid compared to other players at their position. $50 million dollars on Pavano, Pettite, and Giambi is not a good investment.

The Yankees really need to start working on their farm system and spending their money more wisely. I do hope when some of these monster contracts run out, the money is spent more wisely. Then again, I'm not a Yankees fan, so let them blow their money.

Perhaps I've been a little harsh in this article, but seriously, how do you Yankees fans put up with how your organization is run? I figured out why you guys didn't make the playoffs, it's a simple math equation.

Yankees Playoff Team

- Joe Torre

+ Hank Steinbrenner

- Jorge Posada / Injuries

+ Poor Financial Management

+ Aging Players

+ Underdeveloped Farm System

---------------------------------------

= Failure

I should start out by saying that I have been a lifelong Bills fan. I live just a couple minutes from the stadium, and perhaps this makes my opinion somewhat biased. Since the early 90s, with Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, and other stars, it's been a rough go in Buffalo. Over the last decade plus, I've watched our team set the standard for mediocrity. Doug Flutie, Drew Bledsoe, Rob Johnson and J.P. Losman have all failed. We never could get going on all cylinders, we could never rise up to the occasion in late game situations. This year, the Bills are a different team. I'm going to make a bold prediction for the Bills overall record this season. How bold you ask? 11-5 bold. I am going to run down the list of how I came to this 11-5 prediction. Maybe by the end of this article, a few of you will have changed your mind on how you view the Buffalo Bills.

1. Schedule: WIth Tom Brady out for the Patriots, I am confident we can split and go 1-1, winning at home against the Patriots. I will say the same for the Jets. I believe Brett Favre makes the Jets better, but I'm not buying into the Jets. I think Favre will become the old Favre, slinging the ball around and trying to do too much. Although it's hard to say, since the Jets haven't let him off the leash yet. His style really doesn't match up well with the Bills defense (which I will mention later). With that said, let's say the Bills go a combined 2-2 against the Patriots and Jets. Our other conference rival, that's right, the previous 1-15 Miami Dolphins. In our conference I am predicting 4-2. Add that to our 2-0 start, and that would be 6-2. I believe we will beat the Raiders, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, and Chiefs. That would make our record 11-2. That leaves three games on the schedule, the Broncos, Browns and Chargers. The Browns were overhyped, and although are a good team, are not as good as people thought they would be. This is a very winnable game. The Chargers and Broncos will both be tough games, but the defense on both teams is questionable. Also, who knows if LaDanian Tomlinson will even be healthy. Granted, Darren Sproles is no joke, he has the ability to hit a home run every time he touches the ball. So let's just say the Bills lose all of these three games. That would put them at 11-5 on the season. No game is a given, but the Bills schedule is very favorable. Seriously, how would you feel if your favorite team was 2-0, and your schedule had the Dolphins twice, the Raiders, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers and Chiefs? Not to mention two games against a Patriots team without Brady and two against the Jets who have yet to prove anything. Pre-season, I thought the Bills would go 9-7, possibly 10-6. Now I am confident that they will go around 11-5.

2. Defense/Special Teams: It is said that special teams makes up 1/3 of the game. The Bills bring one of the top special teams every season, and our defense is healthy (unlike last season). With the additions of Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell, along with the return of Paul Posluszny and Ko Simpson, the Bills defense is going to be a tough challenge for any team. When it comes to special teams, we have a great mind behind the operation in Bobby April. Our special teams has a great duo in Brian Moorman and Rian Lindell, along with two dangerous return men, Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish. Leodis McKelvin will see increasing time as the season goes on, which will help greatly with his amount of talent. The Bills defense and special teams will help win the battle of field position, as well as cause turnovers and add score some points. Our turnover ratio will be much better than last season.

3. Marshawn Lynch: Lynch has many qualities that make a running back successful. To begin with, he doesn't turn the ball over. As a rookie last season he fumbled only once, while carrying the ball 280 times. Along with this season, he has 317 carries in his career, and still only one fumble. Second, he is both fast and powerful. His stiff arm is more effective than playing Madden in rookie mode. He will wear down a defense in something he likes to call "Beast Mode". He may not put up huge numbers every game, but he is consistent, and still very young. He gives the Bills a balanced offense, giving more oppurtunity for passing game. Fred Jackson is also a solid back. Both Lynch and Jackson can catch passes out of the backfield, an added plus.

4. Trent Edwards: The number one thing about Edwards that makes him successful is his decision making. He makes quick, smart, sound decisions, something J.P. Losman lacked, even after years of being a starter. Edwards may not put up 300+ yard games with 4 TDs right now, but he is consistent and will continue to improve. Edwards also has a stronger arm than most realize, and with the addition of James Hardy, Edwards has a new option to go to. Hardy will be eased into playing, but will have a great impact throughout the season. Hardy's height gives the Bills something they have lacked for years. His good hands and ability to go up for the ball over shorter defensive backs makes him a Randy Moss type threat. Expect him to show his skill in red zone situations, something the Bills have struggled with lately. Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish will also help Edwards spread the ball out. They may not be flashy, but once again, they are consistent. Robert Royal will round out the majority of the receiving game. He is a solid tight end, and quite under rated in my opinion.

5. Turk Schonert: The Bills have a new offensive coordinator, and it's noticeable. Expect the Bills to stretch the field a bit more this season. Schonert seems to be mixing up and calling the right plays, unlike previous seasons. A new offensive coordinator equals a new offense. As the Bills adjust to Schonert, expect some major points up on the board.

6. Jason Peters: I have to say, holding out that early in a contract is weak sauce. Peters finally came around and joined the team, but it will take a few more weeks for him to get into shape. Having him back is a huge plus, allowing Langston Walker to move back to the right side of the line. The Bills offensive line is solid, and will give Edwards and Lynch something to smile about.

7. The Fans: You can feel it in the air already. The general feeling amongst Bills fans is different from years past. Bills fans are among the best fans in the NFL, and they were born to tailgate. We make freezing temperatures in December look like vacation in Cancun. The 12th man will help the Bills throughout the season. In Donte Whitner's yardbarker.com blog, he attributes much of the success in Week 1 to the fans.

So, did I convince you yet? Perhaps the soft schedule may leave the Bills questionable, but 11-5 is a realistic goal. I'm not sold on the Jets, and I'm not sold on Matt Cassel either. Let's face it, without Brady the Patriots are like night and day. Welker will be the number one receiver this season for the Patriots, running short patterns and underneath routes. Randy Moss has got to be unhappy about the situation, as his fantasy value and taken a 180 degree turn. Last weeks Patriots/Jets game was pretty awful to watch, but not nearly as bad as the Browns/Steelers game. The theme of the game should have been, "Get your pillow ready!" So are the Buffalo Bills playoff bound? I say yes. Although until later in the season, the Bills will be untested. Even if things don't pan out this season, the Bills have a bright future ahead of them.

I was sitting at work the other day listening to ESPN radio, and the topic of Manny Ramirez came up. The debate was about what kind of contract he should get, and how his attitude and play at this moment, will not be consistent throughout his next contract. Conversation turned to the way he quit his way out of Boston, not raising his bat off his shoulders, not hustling down first base, and claiming to be injured to avoid play. I am not taking a stance on Manny in this article, I'm just presenting the discussion as I heard it.

This discussion got me thinking about how fans treat players, and I realized throughout all the booing that goes on in sports, certain situations deserve boos, while others don't at all. So, when should we boo? Fans are cruel, and we boo at every chance. Missed field goal? Boooooo! Dropped pass? Boooooo! E6? Boooooo! Missed free throw? Boooooo! Struck out again? Boooooo! Okay, you get the point. We all do it, but maybe that doesn't make it right. Booing because a wide receiver dropped a pass, or the QB overthrew him... do these deserve boos?

I say, don't boo a baseball player for striking out, boo him for not hustling down the line to break up that double play. Don't boo a basketball player for missing two free throws, boo him for not hustling back down the court to help his team out on defense. Don't boo a wide receiver for dropping a pass, boo him for cutting his route short due to lazyness. Errors, missed shots, dropped passes, all of these are part of the game and they are going to occur every day in sports. This is why I don't think they warrant booing, it's part of the game. Not hustling, lazyness, lack of effort, and poor attitude is what we should be booing about. Many times when this happens, we do not boo. When is the last time you booed because a wide receiver didn't run his route out and gave up on the play, resulting in your QB getting sacked for a 10 yard loss? Maybe you booed, but you probably booed because of the sack, and weren't even paying attention to the wide receiver.

So the next time you are at a sporting event and you are about to boo, think about what it is you are booing about.

The last few weeks in the sports world have brought us a plethora of things to think about. So much so, I decided to compile a list of my thoughts for your reading pleasure. The order is completely random.

1. Monday Night Football: Donovan McNabb is back... he must have gave up Campbell's Chunky Soup, and switched to Wheaties. It's just too bad he forgot to get his popcorn ready.

2. How do you spell Deja Vu? Easy... M-E-T-S.

3. Hurrican Ike: When is a home game not a home game?

4. The #1 Song in Ohio right now is the "Beanie Blues"...

5. DId Greenberg just say he is the "Kelly Ripa of sports radio"?

6. What's going on with Ryan Howard? I say, who needs the All-Star game?

7. Derek Jeter is now the all time leader for hits at Yankee Stadium. That's impressive, especially with the long list of Yankee greats.

8. Ed Hochuli... the man made a mistake, admitted it, and apologized. Let it go. He's still one of the best referees in the NFL.

9. Was it just me, or was the Pats/Jets game and the Steelers/Browns game both snooze fests? The tagline should have been..."Get your pillow ready."

10. Aaron Rodgers... before Favre was traded, the Packers management must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

MLB Instant Replay was a hot debate this season. Personally, I was in favor of implementing instant replay. Every argument I heard against it didn't make much sense to me.

First, people complained it would slow down the game. Wrong, simply wrong. What truly slows down the game is when the manager comes storming out onto the field, kicking and throwing things, only to be ejected 5 minutes later after a pointless argument. Now you have a potentially wrong call, an unnecessary argument that usually takes a few minutes, and player/coach ejections. All this can be avoided with instant replay, if used correctly. If fans are so worried about slowing down the game, shouldn't we be more strict about managers coming out onto the field to argue calls? Or perhaps we need to crack down on the countless time wasted while players step out of the box after every pitch and re-fasten their batting gloves, shin guards, elbow braces, helmets, and then tap their feet 16 times for good luck.

Second, many people argued that human error has been part of the game and should be left that way. Nearly everything else in life is corrected when possible, even in other sports. History and tradition do not always make something right, soemtimes it just makes it a really long mistake.

Third, people complain that we will still get calls wrong. Of course, but if 9 out of every 10 questionable home runs can be called correctly, then it would be absurd not to get them correct based on that 1 instance that may not be definitive. Instant replay is like a seat belt. A seat belt will not save every life in every car accident, but it saves a lot of lives, and just because they don't always guarantee safety 100% of the time doesn't mean we shouldn't still wear them.

The last argument is that instant replay will get out of hand, where do we draw the line on what can or can't be reviewed? They have already drawn the line, and I agree with it. Home run calls are different from balls and strikes or safe and out calls not because they are more important, but because of the distance from the umpires at which they occur. Also, the design of many newer ballparks make it increasingly difficult to determine whether or not a ball has left the field of play or is fair or foul.

Bottom line, all these arguments are extremely flawed. Instant replay in baseball is a positive thing. It is here to stay, so do me a favor and get used to it.