QUOTE/STORY OF THE WEEK...

“You can’t have a clean floor with a dirty mop bucket. To be successful, you have to take care of the basics of your business -- and that means making sure you do not overlook the little details.” -- Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s

Happy 40th birthday to Wendy’s, which opened its first store in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 15, 1969. The idea for Wendy's "old-fashioned" hamburgers was actually inspired by Dave Thomas' trips to Kewpee Hamburgers in his hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich. Kewpee sold square hamburgers and thick malt shakes, much like the famous restaurant that Thomas eventually founded in 1969.

Dave Thomas was born in Atlantic City on July 2, 1932. Rex and Auleva Thomas adopted him at six weeks old. When Dave was five, Auleva died, and his early years were spent moving from state to state while his adoptive father sought work. Dave’s fondest memories of his childhood included summers spent with his grandma, Minnie Sinclair, in Michigan. She taught him about doing the right things, treating people well and lessons about quality and service – all things he later used in his business life.

“The days I spend with Grandmother Minnie Sinclair were the best times of my childhood, and she was the greatest influence in my young life. She knew what she wanted and went after it. She always had time for me, and when I did something right, she made me feel 10 feet tall and very, very special. The greatest lesson she taught me: Don’t cut corners on quality.” -- Dave Thomas

Dave believed that everyone has a responsibility to give something back to the community. The cause closest to his heart was adoption. Adopted as an infant, he felt a strong personal tie to those children who were waiting to be adopted. He said he was lucky to have been adopted and wanted every waiting child to have a permanent home and loving family.

In 1990, President Bush asked Dave to head the White House Initiative on Adoption. With his background as an adoptee and his stature in the business community, he accepted the challenge of raising awareness for the cause. Dave found that there were several obstacles to adoption: the red tape and paperwork were usually overwhelming, and the process too expensive for prospective parents.

There were families in America that wanted to adopt, but the obstacles were often too great. With this focus, Dave set his course. He devoted time and energy to special adoption programs, including a letter-writing campaign to Fortune 1000 CEOs asking them to make adoption benefits available to their employees. He also met with U.S. governors and asked them to offer adoption benefits to state employees.

In 1992, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a not-for-profit organization that provides grants to national and regional adoption organizations for programs that raise awareness and make adoption easier and more affordable.

“Adoption is not about finding children for families, it's about finding families for children.” -- Joyce Maguire Pavao

AROUND THE NFL...

“You can work hard as you want. You can work all day, seven days a week all the way up to Sunday in practice. But at the same time, if you're going to work like that, then maybe on Sunday you're probably not going to get what you want out of your players.” -- Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns

1. All the Browns players have supported Jamal Lewis’ comments above. He and Eric “The Secret” Mangini have met to basically agree to disagree. No matter what Mangini might say, the next football czar in Cleveland will have full say over whether he stays on as head coach.

2. Whether the Bears decide to make a move on head coach Lovie Smith, who has two years remaining on his deal at $5.5 million per year, remains to be seen. But there will be a major shake-up within the staff at the end of the year if the losing continues.

3. Everyone knows Mike Shanahan will be a hot commodity this offseason, but so will his son Kyle, who has done a very nice job handling the play-calling in Houston.

4. My sense about Joey Porter sitting today is that it has more to do with his performance on the field than anything that might have happened off it. The Dolphins are very physical, but like the Giants, they’re too slow at linebacker.

5. Speaking of performance, Larry Johnson’s return to the NFL will probably be the result of an injury to a current player. The film doesn’t lie, and L.J. hasn’t been the same back all year. In fact, his declining talent heading into the season made it a surprise that he was on the Chiefs roster in the first place.

MY VIEW OF THE GAMES, PLUS NOTES AND WEATHER...

“That’s not why I’m the quarterback of the New England Patriots. It’s not a hobby. I love my job. I love that I can get up every day and enjoy it. When I was younger and saw guys like Lawyer (Milloy) and Ty (Law) and Deion (Branch) leave, I thought, ‘Why aren’t these guys playing for us?’ Now I realize Joe Montana was traded. Jerry Rice was released. Randy Moss was traded. Bill Belichick got fired. This is borrowed time for us. Enjoy the time you have because one day it’ll be you.” -- Tom Brady

2009 Remaining Strength of Schedule
(Based on Opponents’ 2009 Records)

Redskins .662 (43-22)
Buccaneers .609 (39-25)
Giants .607 (34-22)
Panthers .600 (39-26)
Patriots .585 (38-27)
Jets .563 (36-28)
Eagles .554 (36-29)
Chiefs .547 (35-29)
Rams .538 (35-30)
Lions .531 (34-30)
Colts .523 (34-31)
Bills .516 (33-31)
Cowboys .508 (33-32)
Titans .508 (33-32)
Jaguars .508 (33-32)
Bears .500 (32-32)
Packers .500 (32-32)
Raiders .500 (32-32)
Ravens .500 (32-32)
Texans .482 (27-29)
Vikings .477 (31-34)
Falcons .462 (30-35)
Dolphins .462 (30-35)
Browns .453 (29-35)
Chargers .453 (29-35)
Broncos .446 (29-36)
Seahawks .431 (28-37)
Bengals .422 (27-37)
49ers .422 (27-37)
Saints .391 (25-39)
Steelers .391 (25-39)
Cardinals .344 (22-42)

Atlanta Falcons (5-3) at Carolina Panthers (3-5)

Clear, 74 degrees.

Michael Turner is seventh in the NFL with 720 rush yards and second with 10 rushing TDs. He has 222 rushing yards and five TDs in his last two games against the Panthers. Turner has 38 rushes, 317 yards, 3 TD, 8.3 yards per rush in the last two games and has at least one rushing TD in seven straight games (10 rush TDs during span).

The Falcons are 10-1 when Turner has 100-plus rushing yards. Roddy White has five TDs in his last five games.

Tony Gonzalez had seven reception s, 71 yards, one TD in Week 2 vs. Panthers (seven receptions are his season high).

The Falcons are 31st in the NFL in third-down defense (48.2 percent). They can’t get off the field unless John Abraham makes a play.

Jonathan Babineaux has 3