So, I'm home, thank you, and glad to be after a splendid holiday in Italy. It's amazing how your venacular can change after a tour abroad. I've never had, "Did you mean football or soccer?", asked more to me in my entire life.

I'm going to throw up some Italy photos a little later, but I wanted to share some thoughts from the preseason game and the sports stories while I was away. So here's some quick hitters:

A) It took all of an hour for reality to slap me in the face for the 2008 Bills. Can anyone not see the fan base absolutely flipping on the coaching staff if things don't go well? Marcus Stroud, Spencer Johnson and Kawika Mitchell are the key to Dick Jauron's future, which is a bit of a shame, because the defense's success seems sure to be tied into how the secondary performs.

It's also clear that Trent Edwards feels very comfortable in his job - a good thing - laughing on the sideline after a miserable series, but how quickly will the fans turn on him as well, especially if J.P. Losman continues to provide glimpses of what a veteran quarterback should look like. Losman was still erratic even in his completions, but the touchdown to James Hardy was legit, and his patience on the screen play was something we haven't seen. Also, how about his roll-out on the 2-point conversion? Who knew he was mobile? Well, besides all of us? Anyway, remember all, it's one game, and Edwards is definitely your starter. Check in with me after the Pittsburgh game for at least an hour on not only the game, but how Toronto looked on TV. I think we'll all be sick on WGR, right? Tune in.

2) You're absolutely nuts if you don't think the New York Jets are immediately a better football team with Brett Favre, but you're also a little loopy if you think the Dolphins got worse by adding Chad Pennington. Pennington isn't going to win you a Super Bowl, but even his spaghetti arm got the Jets to several playoffs, and the guy is one of the era's more accurate passers in term of completion percentage. Granted so is Kelly Holcomb, but both New York and Miami likely increased their 2008 win total by two last week.

D) Speaking of New York, cute story out yesterday how Brett Favre is "one of the guys" at Jets camp, having to run a lap after a practice mishap. Right. Brett Favre is "one of the Jets" like Michael is one of the Jacksons (For those further interested in the metaphor, Nick Mangold is Jermaine).

5) The Teppo Numminen signing is a good one for the Sabres. Clearly, there's an understanding between the two sides. If No. 27 is still legit, he plays as often as he can and steadies and teaches for either Andrej Sekera or Mike Weber. If he's not-so-hot, he slides in for about half the games. Either way, $1.1 million is totally reasonable for a veteran of his caliber, and as long as the wheels didn't rust and his heart's in order, you could do a lot worse for the money. Another Sabres note, I'm glad they re-signed Portland Pirates captain Tyler Bouck, and not because he's played with three NHL teams. It's good to see the Sabres show respect for the Pirates franchise history.

Brussel sprouts) One of the coolest things about being in Europre is CNN International's 20-minute sports show, because it's a true glimpse into the world sports scene. In Italy, the Brett Favre story was mentioned just once in the eight days I was there. Feel free to envy me. Also, I didn't have to roll with rampant speculation about American roster moves. One day, Manny Ramirez was just wearing Dodger blue in the highlight package. It was a nice separation from the Sportscenter saturation, though I was glad to be back Stateside, with the Internet, for the Bills preseason game and UB Bulls football updates. "Fight, fight for Buffalo...Be proud to fight for your dear Blue and White...So hit 'em high, hit 'em low, throw 'em high, throw 'em low... Fight for your dear old Bulls..."

Aug. 28th at UB Stadium against UTEP can't come quickly enough.

51) Very happy for Padraig Harrington's back-to-back majors after this week. Seems like a classy lad, and I shall visit his country because of his accomplishments (Not really, but we are looking to plan a tour of Great Britain, particularly after a visit by our Manchester friend Ged for a good friend's wedding).

NUFC) Premiership soccer kicks off next weekend in England, and I'm so excited for Newcastle's fresh season of fixtures, even if their opener Sunday is against mighty Manchester United. I read Ged Clarke's remarkable book "Fifty Years of Hurt" about Newcastle, and I learned something about my "football team" of choice (For the record, I chose Newcastle years ago because I thought their beer was delicious).

Anyway, as it turns out, the team I selected is the Chicago Cubs/Buffalo Bills of English football. Always the bridesmaid, it turns out for me as a sports fan. Check out the book (I read it on the plane ride... it's a breeze), and check out the team. You can learn to enjoy the beautiful game at pubs with me all year long.

BDSL) A slap on the back to the Buffalo & District Soccer League for a brilliant set-up Sunday at Nichols school for the 1a and 1b championship games. The school's artificial turf field is exactly what a high-cost prep school should have. My team (Buffalo City Football Club) finished at the bottom of 1b, but being at the side-by-side championship games was a great time, and very well-attended. Hope to be on the championship pitch after the Fall season. www.bdsl.org

Welcome me back or tell me I'm nuts already: nick@wgr550.com