Jeff Lipton

@Alex Barry I agree that it is insensitive at best, but I can kind of squint and see how someone who is DELIBERATELY missing during action can be AWOL. But it's a horrid clue/answer pair.

@J Burt Lahr is pretty common crosswordese. You should put it in your lexicon for future use.

@Jeanne in American football (the NFL), I think there are an uneven number of teams, so one team each week gets a “bye” and doesn’t play.

@Barry Ancona And USB