FireMillen.com

There is a saying we must learn from history or we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. In some cases, looking back at history to see what was successful is another way to learn, to repeat what worked. Nothing could be truer in the case of the Detroit Lions.

I offer hope to all Detroit Lions fans. Take care in the fact that the Lions 24.2% winning percentage over the past eight years is not the worst that has occurred in NFL history. The resurgent Arizona Cardinals, who I doubt will get past the Carolina Panthers next week, actually had a worse eight year stretch, from 1939 to 1946 which included 2 0-10 seasons to culminate a 19.9% winning percentage.

The point to all this? Where is the hope I promised? Despite the dismal eight year stretch, the then Chicago Cardinals won the 1947 NFL Championship, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-21.

Some of you may not know that these Arizona Cardinals are one of the original teams when the NFL was formed in 1920. They began as the Chicago Cardinals in 1898.

How did they get there? Charles Bidwell went out and got himself a backfield containing quarterback Paul Christman, Fullback Pat Harder, halfback Elmer Angsman and running back Charley Trippi. Nicknamed the “Million Dollar Backfield”, earned when owner Charles Bidwell, stated that he wouldn’t give up the backfield for million dollars.

In recent articles, I have been, and still am, a strong proponent the Lions need to draft an elite left tackle. I have seen many arguments stating in order to get a team to a Super Bowl, it must start with an elite quarterback. Sorry, but the shape of the Detroit Lions offensive line has been in sorry shape for the past three years.

Regardless of the talent of the quarterback, if he is sacked 169 times in three years, there is no way that he can be successful. Jeff Backus, a decent player, does not have the talent to take on the faster and stronger defensive ends. He needs to be moved to left guard or put him over at right tackle. He has heart, he has desire and I love his tenacity but lacks the talent to play left tackle in the NFL.

Is it fair to blame Backus for the 169 sacks over three years? Of course not. There isn’t one offensive lineman that shouldn’t be worrying about having a job in 2009. But an elite left tackle can make a mediocre line good and a good line exceptional.

The Cardinals built the “Million Dollar Backfield” in 1947. The Lions could do the same with the offensive line. Dan Orlvosky, who finished with a 72.6% passer rating, can improve in 2009. I will concede that he isn’t the QB that will get the Lions to the Super Bowl. And with the uncertainty with Drew Stanton, perhaps taking a QB with the first pick of the draft wouldn’t be a bad move. But I have to go back to the number of sacks the rookie QB would have to take. Would it be wise to put a young gun on his back over 50 times?

To bring it back to hope for the Lions, William Clay Ford, Sr. must look to history to see what worked. Charles Bidwell made a concerted effort to spend the money to build a winner. In 45 years that Ford has owned the team, he has never made any commitment to build a winning team.
If the people he hires to run the front office can upgrade the offensive line, the Lions can even take a QB with the #20 pick in the first round…especially if USC’s Mark Sanchez declares for the 2009 draft.

However, it wouldn’t break my heart if they do go after a stud QB in the first round such as Matt Stafford, Sam Bradford or even Colt McCoy…of course, a lot depends on if any of these quarterbacks will declare for the 2009 draft. Chase McDaniel is perhaps the best senior QB but I feel he can be had at #20.

But if any of the top 3 junior QB’s declare, I can live with taking any one of them #1 and settle on LSU’s left tackle Ciron Black.

The one unaccounted variable is who is going to be the head coach. How the Lions draft will determine how risky the team is willing to be with the first pick. Drafting a QB is a higher risk than left tackle….but that left tackle is very important to a QB’s success.

A Catch-22….one I hope the Lions can figure out.

All this talk about how to improve the Lions, what players the Lions need to take in the draft and do they draft a QB or Left Tackle. To tell the truth, none of that matters until a head coach is decided upon.

Ah yes, who will be the coach to follow the ill-fated, Matt Millen chosen Rod Marinelli? I provide a list of possible and realistic choices. I base these facts on a coach’s desire to actually coach in the NFL. So no Bill Parcells, Mike Holmgren, or Bill Cowher…these guys are a pipe dream so lets get them out of our collective heads right now.

Mike Shanahan – Would be perhaps the most popular choice among Lion fans. He has been in the league for 16 years, 14 of them with the Broncos. An overall record of 146-98, two Super Bowl victories and a penchant for improving a running game, he would be the big name the Lions may be looking for. However, he did have a lot of control at Denver and William Clay Ford, Jr. is reluctant to allow head coaches such control. But little is known if Shanahan wants to coach again. He’s got nothing to prove and is set for life financially. It would only be a strong desire to bring him back to the game…and I’m not sure the situation in Detroit would feed that desire properly.

Eric Mangini – A Belichick protégé, Mangini never matched the success he had as an assistant. Three years as head coach of the Jets, his most successful was his first when the Jets went 10-6 and lost to Belichick in the 2006 Wild Card game. Still, he his a defensive-minded coach and a change of scenery might be what is needed.

Steve Spagnuolo – The type of coach I think is needed to turn the Lions around. The defensive coordinator for the defending Super Bowl champions, Spagnuolo’s defensive scheme attacked the New England Patriots straight on to get them the win in Super Bowl XLII. His development of the Giants defensive front four could be critical for the Lions success. They are similar to the Giants in being undersized but that’s about it. Talent would need to be increased on the Lions front before they can even think about reaching the Giant’s level. Still, Spagnuolo brings the game plan which is where they need to start.

Jason Garrett – The darling of offensive coordinators of 2007, when the Cowboys went 13-3, Garrett’s shine lost some its luster in 2008. But he did develop Tony Romo into the QB he is today. Could he do the same for Drew Stanton or Dan Orlovsky? Garrett knows the QB spot, he was in the league as a QB for 13 years. At $3 million per year, he is the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league. My feeling is he will stay with Dallas and become the eventual replacement for Wade Phillips. But the Lions should make a run at him to breathe some new life into a predicable and stagnant offense.

Leslie Frazier – Currently the defensive coordinator of the Vikings, most of his coaching career involved working with the secondary. And if there is one element of the Lions that is desperate for improvement, it’s the secondary. In 2005, the Colts Tony Dungy hired Frazier as Special Assistant to the Head Coach and Defensive Backs Coach. During his stint with the Colts, the secondary went from 15th ranked in 2005 to second ranked in 2006.

Todd Bowles– Another secondary specialist, Bowles had success with the Cowboys before joining Miami in 2008. For three years, Cowboy defensive backs were chosen to a combined five Pro Bowls including three by safety Roy Williams. During that time, the Cowboys came up with 52 interceptions, something the Lions are desperate to improve on.

Rex Ryan – Son of famed defensive guru Buddy Ryan, Rex is the only remaining assistant coach from the Ravens 2000 season’s record-setting defense. He interviewed for the head coaching job after Brian Billick was fired but lost out to John Harbaugh who kept him on as defensive coordinator and also gave him the title of assistant head coach. The Ravens have had some great defenses over the years and the attacking style of Ryan’s defense would be a welcome change from the wimpy cover-two.

My personal pick would be either Steve Spagnuolo or Rex Ryan. Defense needs a drastic overhaul but I don’t think either one of them would ignore the offense.

Well, the site ain’t down yet…and I’ll keep writing until I can’t anymore!

The last couple of articles I’ve written, I was very critical of the Lions owner William Clay ford. Sr. This isn’t going to be a retraction of any statements that I made. I still believe that in order for the Lions to succeed in any way, shape or form, Mr. Ford needs to no longer be part of the equation.

But we Lions fans need to collectively take a breath and step back for a moment. Now that Rod Marinelli is gone, I think it’s safe to say the Millen Era is over. Cue the dramatic music, raise the curtain and put Martin Mayhew into the spotlight.

Yeah, OK, I know…Martin Mayhew is a letdown. No Scott Pioli, no Bill Cowher, and more than likely, no Bill Parcells. Once again, Mr. Ford has made the decision to promote from within. But Mayhew is the guy and we need to give him the same chance we gave Millen when he first arrived.

Please, before you want to throw me under the bus, let’s remember that many NFL pundits and fans actually approved the hiring of Millen. At the time, I wasn’t sure simply because he had no experience at any level. He did baffle a lot people with bull-pucky though, didn’t he? He was hired on his analysis of players from the broadcast booth. You, me, the guy at the bar, anyone of us can analyze top-players, playing in a game, chosen by somebody else, from a broadcast booth. How tough was it to analyze Barry Sanders? Joe Montana? Jerry Rice? Nice job on Millen’s part for selling himself as an expert. It got him a huge contract as well as an extension.

But Mayhew is saying all the right things as well. And he is pointing to the Millen era and recognizing it for what it is: The one way not to run an NFL franchise. Mayhew is in a difficult spot. He has to follow the most spectacular failure ever to run an NFL franchise. I actually think he’s going to do well compared to Millen. He’s way more cautious and has already made a great trade with the Dallas Cowboy’s for draft picks.

The 2009 NFL Draft is going to be the most important than any other draft in Lions recent history. There is all kinds of speculation of what Mayhew will do. Will he draft a QB? Will it be a left tackle? Will he go for defense? Will he trade the #1 pick for more draft picks? Will he go after Matt Cassel if he declares free agency?

Most important, who will he hire as head coach? I feel this is actually more important than the draft? Bill Cowher is out of the picture so forget him. But Mike Shanahan is available; will he go after a legend in the making with a proven record? Shanahan has a 146-98 record in 16 years, 138-86 in his 14 years with the Broncos along with 2 Super Bowl wins in 1997 & 1998. But his last 3 seasons have been mediocre with a 24-24 record in that time. What of Eric Mangini, who really didn’t set the world on fire while with the Jets but is an Andy Reid protégé?

Or does Mayhew go, as many teams have done lately, with someone that would bring a fresh approach? Steve Spagnuolo, New York Giants defensive coordinator comes to mind. Or Jason Garret, the darling of the NFL during the Dallas Cowboys 13-3 2007 season?

We’ll know more in a couple of weeks. Right now, Mayhew, Lewand and the rest of the Lions brain trust are meeting and will be interviewing a lot of coaches. I hope, whoever they pick, will get rid of the ineffective Cover-2 defense and change it to more of an aggressive one such as the Giants and Ravens employ.

Until then, I am taking a breath and wait to see what shakes out.

I haven’t heard from Bear on turning over FireMillen.com over to me yet so this may be my last column for this great site. That being said, I have a few questions for one Mr. William Clay Ford, Sr.

Congratulations on making history by being the first ever National Football Team to go 0-16. In your history of mediocrity, this has to be the pinnacle of the 45 years since you purchased the team on November 22, 1963.

Mr. Ford, there are a million questions that I’m sure thousands of faithful Detroit Lions fans want to ask you if ever given the chance. At the top of my list is: Why?

Why does it appear to even the most casual fan, that you equate a .500 season a successful one? In business, which you have done fairly well, breaking even is all that one can hope to obtain. Anything more than that is gravy. Breaking even in the NFL does not make the Lions a successful team. It makes them mediocre.

Why do you consistently choose ineffective general managers? The two most famous, Russ Thomas and Matt Millen, will never be considered as stellar choices. Thomas was GM from 1967 to 1989. His record in those years was 145-184 for a winning percentage of about 44%. Just about where you like your team to be, just kind of sniffing, but not ever getting to .500. No need to go into Millen’s record, it’s been pretty well documented.

Some of your coaching choices are suspect as well. 14 head coaches during your 45 years as owner. On average, a coach of the Lions lasts about 3 years. Most of them are good men and could even be called decent coaches. Guys like Joe Schmidt, Monte Clark, Wayne Fontes and Bobby Ross wanted to make the Lions winners.

But you hamstrung them by drafting and signing second and third-rate players and calling them stars. Yes, you can point to legitimate stars such as Greg Landry, Billy Simms, Charlie Sanders, Lem Barney, Alex Karras, Herman Moore and Barry Sanders. The problem comes up is that while these guys are legitimate stars, they couldn’t do it alone.

This year’s example is Calvin Johnson. Despite five different starting quarterbacks this year, CJ has managed 1,331 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. But he can’t play defense which has been, for want of a better word, abysmal.

I take a quote from PGA golfer Rory Sabbatini: “Lick the lollipop of mediocrity once, and you’ll suck forever.”

Which leads me to my last question: Isn’t about time to change flavors? Try a flavor called winning. You just might like it.

After the Lions inspiring 42-7 loss against the Saints, I was down. The loss guarantees the #1 pick of the draft and virtually guarantees an 0-16 season. The Lions head north next week to Lambeau Field, a place they have not seen a victory in 17 years. True, they won’t be facing Favre but they lost their last best chance for a win.

But this isn’t going to be yet another column about an ineffective Joe Barry defense or a boring Jim Colletto offense. This isn’t even going to be about Rod Marinelli, a head coach who has no right to be one. How can I say that? Lets see, since 2006 the Lions are 10-37. HE”S HAD THREE YEARS MR, FORD! IT”S NOT WORKING!

And speaking of Mr. Ford, I was taken aback when I read that he is considering keeping Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand in their current capacity as GM and Chief Operating Officer respectively. Since Millen was fired 3 games into the season, they made one, albeit a good one, move: They traded Roy Williams to the Cowboys for a 1st, 3rd and 5th round picks.

But can we trust these two? Both were part of the Millen era and both have been part of the several rebuilding projects that Millen has tried. Millen was the fire and I look at these two and see smoke…and where there is smoke there is fire.

Mr. Ford, the many fans of the Detroit Lions and across the nation are begging you to do the right thing. Gut the front office, part ways with anyone associated with Matt Millen…make it a clean slate.

I’m going to say this as plain as possible: DON’T BE AN IDIOT! You say you want to win but your actions belay your words.

Look, you’ve done some remarkable things for the City of Detroit. You built Ford Field and the practice facility in Allen Park without asking for a dime from anyone. A rare feat indeed considering how most owners hold cities and states hostage for new stadiums. Washington State paid for Qwest Field and Safeco Field for the Seahawks and Mariners respectively. And let me tell you, the folks on the east side of the state were none to happy about it either. But they drew the line on building a new facility for the Sonics and off they went to Oklahoma.

What I don’t understand is why you don’t put the same kind of effort in building a first class team to go along with the state-of-the-art Ford Field and the practice facility in Allen Park? Do you think these facilities have some sort of magic power that will transform third-rate players and coaches into first-rate players and coaches?

Hire Scott Pioli away from New England. Or hire Floyd Reese since he practically auditioned for the job a day after Millen was fired. Heck, I’d even take a look at the Kansas City Chiefs Carl Petersen who is resigning after the 2008 season. Yeah, Kansas City has fallen on hard times over the past 3 years. But consider this: In his 20 year term as GM for Kansas City, he has a 176-141 record, a winning percentage of 55.52%. The Lions in that same time frame? 130-205 with a winning percentage of 38.81%.

Lewand is quoted as saying “There’s nobody who wants it to be right more than Mr. Ford does, and I think he will do everything in his power to get it right. This city deserves a winner on the field and off the field and I think we’ve produced at times off the field. We clearly haven’t produced it on the field. But this city deserves that and I think Mr. Ford is committed to giving them that.”

Based on your past 45 years of ownership, I say bull-pucky to that. You haven’t lifted a finger, especially these last ten years, to do anything that resembles forward progress in regard to improving this team. You let one of the best running backs ever to play the game to walk away because he felt you were doing nothing to keep the Lions competitive. Barry Sanders retirement is your fault regardless of how people feel about how he left. You destroyed his will to compete because you never put a team together that ever had a chance. Oh sure, there were some winning seasons (barely) and division titles. But once the playoffs came around, the team never had a chance.

This team needs to be gutted from top to bottom. At least 75% of the players should be released. The coaching staff should be dismissed at the two minute warning of the Green Bay game. I like Rod Marinelli as a person but he’s in over his head. His defensive coordinator, his son-in-law is supposed to be the Cover-2 guru. Tell me, how does a guy keep his job with this defense, designed to limit big plays, keep his job? Opposing teams are putting up ridiculous scores and winning by, on average, 16 points per game.

As for the offense, Colletto has no business being an offensive coordinator. He doesn’t use his best weapons, Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith, to the best of their abilities. How Calvin Johnson got to 1,000 yards receiving with five different quarterbacks is a testament to his talent. He should have at least 1,200 if Colletto put in some short crossing routes and take those 5-7 yard hitches for 75 yards.

Do you want to drive the fans away? Do you want that nice state-of-the-art Ford Field to be empty on Sundays? Do you want to be known as the most inept owner in the NFL? If so, you are taking the right steps to do so.

We aren’t asking for a knee-jerk reaction but I believe that’s what needed. Cut deep, cut far and start all over. Get the best talent money can buy for the front office. Take a chance on a young offensive or defensive coordinator as your coach such as Steve Spagnuolo of the New York Giants or Jason Garrett of the Cowboys.

Get the men to do the job and then keep your hands off!

There have been some heated discussions over this. Should the Lions take a left tackle to shore up the line and provide better protection for whoever the Lion quarterback will be for 2009?

Or should we take a chance on a quarterback who is the most visible player in the field and one of the most important?

There are strong cases to be made for both.

Taking a left tackle

Over the past 3 seasons, the offensive line has allowed 166 sacks and we still have 2 games left in the 2008 season. In 46 games, that’s an average of 3.6 sacks allowed per game.

2006 – Kitna played every down and was sacked 63 times
2007 – Kitna was the main QB, getting sacked 51 times and O’Sullivan 3 times
2008 – Lions threw out 5 different quarterbacks in a season of futility. 49 sacks, broken out by quarterback:

Kitna sacked 15 times
Culpepper sacked 14 times
Orlovsky sacked 12 times
Stanton sacked 8 times
Henson sacked 3 times

Now, I’m not the world’s smartest guy but I think I see a disturbing pattern here. True, none of these quarterbacks would be considered marquee players. But Kitna threw for over 4,000 yards in 2006 & 2007, Culpepper is a former pro-bowler and Orlo has proven himself capable. The jury is out on Stanton, he hasn’t played enough and the verdict for Henson is in, he’s terrible.

So can a left tackle make that much of a difference? Let’s take look at recent top 10 left tackle picks:

Joe Thomas was drafted #3 by the Cleveland Browns in 2007. The Browns had their own issues in 2006 with sacks with a total of 53. Since Thomas was made the starting left tackle, Browns quarterbacks have been sacked a total of 32 time for both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The results were evident in 2007 as the Browns went 10-6 and narrowly missed the playoffs. Injuries at the QB spot plagued them this year but sacks are only at 18 as compared to 49 for Detroit.

Jake Long was taken last year by the Miami Dolphins, a team that went 1-15 in 2007, a team that allowed multitude of quarterbacks to get sacked for a total of 42 times. In fact, the Dolphins situation in 2007 is not all that different than this years Lions. Dolphins had 4 different quarterbacks in 2007 and this year, the Lions have trotted out 5.

Dolphins installed Long at left tackle, sacks have dropped to 24 and Miami has a 9-5 record and currently in first place in the AFC East. Granted, Chad Pennington is a bit better than Cleo Lemon and John Beck is still learning. In fact, he’s listed as the 3rd string QB behind Chad Henne.

Taking a quarterback

The quarterback, the most important position on the team, the leader, the field general, the engine to the offense. Without someone with the technical and leadership skills, a team can and will flounder. And for most of the Lions history, this most critical position has been one that has had the least success either through free agency or the draft.

But there has been an influx of quarterbacks this year that have done better than anyone has suspected.

Matt Ryan transformed a 2007 3-13 Atlanta Falcons team to a contending 9-5 2008 team. He has made Atlanta forget about Michael Vick and has them in the playoff hunt. Granted, the addition of Michael Turner has helped a lot. But that 2007 team had everybody’s favorite whipping boy, Joey Harrington who was sacked 32 times of the total 50 times all Falcon QB’s were sacked.

But Harrington was no leader and the GM knew that. But rather than make a panic free agent signing (re: Dante Culpepper), he rode out the season and focused on the future. After the 2007 coaching mess, where Bobby Petrino left after 13 games and interim coach Emmit Thomas did the best he could, Mike Smith was hired…new game plan, new QB and new RB.

Joe Flacco has been a pleasant surprise for the Baltimore Ravens. Taken number 18 in last years draft, Flacco has managed the game well, improving the Ravens from 2007 5-11 season to an 8-4 and a possible playoff appearance. He hasn’t actually lit up the field but with head coach John Harbaugh’s game plan, that’s not his job.

So there you have it, two sides of the coin on which way the Lions should go for the 2009 draft. Both have pros and cons.

Taking a left tackle isn’t the splashy pick but could be the safest one for the Lions. Reducing the number of sacks needs to be a priority. Allowing an average of over 50 sacks a year is having the quarterback in the ground way to much.

The other side of the coin, taking a top flight college QB such as Sam Bradford, Matt Stafford or Colt McCoy could do more for the team’s image which needs a lot of repair. Ticket sales would more than likely increase and with the recent success of Ryan and Flacco, perhaps the stigma of starting a rookie QB won’t be an issue. Granted, the last rookie QB the Lions had as a starter was Harrington. But he wasn’t ready and then head coach Steve Mariucci knew it. But Matt Millen forced Mariucci to play him and we all know how well that turned out.

All of this is pure conjecture on my part. We don’t know what the GM situation will be in 2009 or if Rod Marinelli and company will be around next year. As always, us Lions fans will have to take a wait and see approach.

I will give the 2008 Detroit Lions one thing: Despite being 0-14, there is little dissension on a team that one would think would have a ton of it.

But these guys are holding it together and are united in a common goal, to get a win and avoid being known forever as the worst team ever in NFL history.

Any one who has played organized sports, from high school football, basketball or baseball to a competitive softball league to even a co-ed softball team, one thing is constant: No one likes to be the patsy.

I have played a lot of softball in my life, mostly Class A and B. I’ve been on both sides, being on a team that has little chance to win and being the team beating the crap out of the team that has little chance to win. Playing those games are tough from a competitive level. I relished games that were decided by one or two runs and grew bored in games where my team was winning or losing by 15 or more.

I remember one team I played for called the Ball Hawks (not my idea of a team name). We didn’t win a game in two seasons but took pride in the fact that we didn’t succumb to the mercy rule in those two seasons. I know it doesn’t mean much but we did hang together as a team and in the third year, a funny thing started to happen: We started winning some games. Very little change in personnel and we played the same teams each year.

We played 5 years and while the first two seasons were awful and hard to get through, the last 2 were much more enjoyable. No, we didn’t win any championships but we did give the elite teams a run for the money.

I’m sure that each Lion player is going to do whatever he can to get that one win. They are down to two chances, at home against the Saints and on the road against the Packers. My feeling is their best chance is going to be against the Saints. New Orleans is out of the playoffs and are just going to be playing out the string. Their secondary is weak and they haven’t done well on the road this year.

So I have a request to the Detroit Lion fans. Go out there and cheer for your team for that one win to avoid being called the worst. Why? Because it reflects on Detroit the city not just Detroit the team. Even if this present team is sold and moved, history will show it was the DETROIT LIONS that went 0-16 in 2008. We won’t lose the first pick in the draft since the next worst record is 2-12 by the Rams, Chiefs and Bengals.

Millen is gone. Ford, hopefully, will appoint a knowledgeable GM in time for the 2009 draft. Marinelli, again hopefully, will be replaced because the new GM will know that Rod has been over his head the past 3 years. The new GM will draft smart and make the Lions at least competitive in 2009.

So again, I ask the Lion fans, go out and support this team for the final home game. We’ve gotten our pound of flesh from Millen. We’ve gotten about all were going to get out of William Clay Ford, Sr. which, as has been the case for 45 years, no reaction at all. We can’t go down in history as being the worst. While it may be deserved, it isn’t right…not now, not with all that’s going on with the economy, not with the thousands of auto workers not knowing if they will even be employed next year. Detroit is in dire straits and one win gives the city the one thing it needs: Hope.

To start winning, you have to get the first win. Let the final home game be the possible start of a new era.

Mike McCune, aka the Bear, has decided to shut down FireMillen.com.

When the day Millen was fired, perhaps the best thing that has happened in Detroit Lion history, Bear had announced the site would stay up but under a new name. The members of Fire Millen were happy since most of us think this has been perhaps one of the best sports forum around. There have been many but Bear set the “gold” standard.

I’ve been in discussions with Bear on taking the site over. I’ve sent a mass email to the current membership asking if they would like to see the site stay up. I wouldn’t have done it if there would have been more participation in the forums. But since Millen has been fired, traffic in the forum and this blog has dropped off dramatically.

I would like to keep this site up. It’s where I connected with my hometown and where I’ve had many great discussions with very knowledgable football fans. But if membership declines, there would be no reason too.

If you are a member but haven’t visited the forum in a while, come back and vote for a new site name. If you are just a reader, join up and show your support.

If the site does go down, I want to thank each and every person, most notably Char, Devil Dog, Beemo, LionLessinFLA and my nemises (just kidding) ITA_CRX.

And a huge thank you for Bear…this has been a great site…but all good things must end.

Thank you for reading this.