"We call Stekala the Polish Nightmare," Kacyvenski says. "He speaks fluent Polish and has been drinking vodka since he was 2."

However, their common ancestry and common interest--stopping the run--has helped the two form a relationship on and off the field.

"We work in tandem anyway," Nowinski says. "We're a symbiotic relationship. We feed off each other."

"He's always in front of me, he's taking double teams so I can make the tackle, and hopefully I can do the same for him," Kacyvenski says.

The two were bunkmates this past summer in DeWolfe and said their experiences brought them even closer.

"We'd always been pretty good friends, but we were immediate roommates when we lived together with Chris Eitzmann, Mike Clare, Brandan Kramer and Spencer Knibbe. We even shaved our heads together," Kacyvenski says.

As for the inevitable question--when 550 pounds are distributed over two people in a bunk bed…

"I got big-timed into sleeping on the top," Kacyvenski says.

"I was about 300 this summer, it was unsafe," says Nowinski in defense.

"He was actually 302 one time."

"That's hearsay."

Summer life was more than breaking the bunk bed, which happened at least once. The Polish Connection has plenty of stories, several of which are printable.

For instance, Kacyvenski is admittedly not one of America's great chefs and claims Nowinski is pretty good. The most ringing endorsement was, "He uses spices and stuff."

"Yes, I do use spices--this magical potion, spices," says Nowinski, rolling his eyes. "I marinated my chicken once or twice--that was huge. This guy would bank like a baby bird, he'd sit on the couch with his mouth open, and Eitzmann would throw him food while he was cooking."

"I'd never been on my own before, and my dad always cooks for me back home, so I had a little trouble picking up everything," says Kacyvenski, suddenly on the defense himself. "I mean, I had chicken and pasta every night."