Taro T

Am expecting it'll actually go in the opposite direction. Granato loves him some Jokiharju. That's the hope. Really expect that he should be Power's primary partner as he should let the kid do his thing without forcing him to cover for his partner's D miscues too often. Expecting Granato will prefer the additional offensive upside of Henri's game on that pairing but really don't expect that it'll be as necessary as Lyubushkin's D-prowess will be there. We shall see.

App State just beat the Aggies. Michigan fans everywhere rejoice at no longer being the only ones.

Not disagreeing with anything you're saying, but the combination of people like Butler and Donahoe liking the guy combined with his perpetual looking out for himself & selling himself 1st before anything else ###### the Bills ROYALLY and the Sabres as well. We, the fans paid for it. He came along at a time when Wilson's capacities were diminishing. Expect that he wouldn't have been able to ingratiate himself so far into the organization had Wilson been younger. Fortunately, the Pegulas saw through him before we went through an additional decade of incompetence. EVERY ####### move that happened under Brandon was selling sizzle rather than steak &/or selling us out. Brandon's a snake oil salesman. He & Whalley are perfect fits for the XFL.

If they had more legit D prospects expect they might give Power a pass too. But with not really having much of a prospects level D-bench, expect you have it called and he plays this week. Of course, they might be fully content w/ him getting 82 RS games (& a little extra later?).

Not Allen, he's a centaur - a horse that has a great arm. 😉

He was a marketer and hanging around Bulter or Donahoe never made him a football man. And like most marketers, the thing he marketed more than any other was himself. And it reads like you had personal encounters with him, and that you along w/ Wilson & the Pegulas bought what he was selling. SOB should never have become effectively the team president after Donahoe was fired. Way outside his wheelhouse. That he had the chutzpah to allow himself to become the GM after Levy left is absolutely ridiculous. Notice how the timing of the Bills & Sabres turning to #### coincides with his gaining ownership's ear? Pretty sure neither was a coincidence. He helped bring back a way past his expiration date Levy, brought us the Toronto Bills, through the 3 headed GM monster that was him, Nix, & Jauron brought us Aaron Maybin, directly brought us Rex Ryan, & brought us Botterill. Heck of a job there, Brandon. Not sure where you're getting that things were bad under Butler, they weren't. (Definitely not when he cared, although he did pretty much set them up into cap he'll before leaving.) And until Butler decided he was going to leave Buffalo because he would never get a fair contract, he did a very good job. He mysteriously (ya, right) turned into a drafting moron his last draft w/ the Bills, but other than that he was solid & the Bills were very good. Probably should've won the SB in '99 if not for 1 tragic failed kickoff coverage. Donahoe was very successful before Buffalo and probably would've gotten the Bills to the playoffs given more time. Seeing how things went for Black, have to wonder how much, if any, influence Brandon had in that canning. Their being excellent football men didn't make their "buddy" one via osmosis.

They did. But it was Pegula who elevated Brandon to be the president of not just the Bills but also the Sabres. THAT was a HUGE mistake. Brandon is a marketer and a huge self-promoter. Don't care that he had ties in the various league offices. He doesn't know #### about finding guys that actually know personnel. Getting rid of him is nearly as good a decision as hiring McDermott & subsequently Beane.

Sure seemed that way. Shocked he's still alive, but good for him.

Remember the 26 year old overly made up woman screeching gibberish that they showed for about 15 seconds at the beginning of 1/2 time? THAT'S what happened to him.

Really depends on what they actually want to do. Back when they were doing the preliminary studies on renovations they were looking at major changes to the seating bowl. Up to and including options like replacing the theater style seating in the 100's between the blue lines with tables and chairs similar to those in the 200s near the bar except they'd be sold as seasons. That could & would be completed in a single off-season. Stuff like widening concourses (where feasible, it isn't apparently in many spots) would likely take longer. Upgrades to the climate control systems could likely be done in 1 off-season but could be delayed by other work.

And Brandon Beane is a M'F'n genius. Even that '91 team wasn't this stacked.

Last year ESPN+ had several weekly exclusive games (those 8 mentioned above should be in that category) and was the on-line equivalent of CI and showed all out of market games except those that were TNT. They didn't show in-market non-ESPN+ games live, but IIRC they would add them to their library a couple days later. The ESPN+ exclusive games were removed from the reply library pretty quickly - there was something like a 4 week shelf life. CI was really cheap over DTv / cable, but they only had about 1/2 the regular season games and no post-season games because they didn't get both TNT exclusive games nor ESPN+ exclusive. Expecting as it's still the same contract that things will still work the same this year in the US.

Pretty sure every member of the Bills Mafia feels the same. He & Hyde have been rocks back there.

W/ Kromer coaching the O-line he very likely doesn't need to be. Kromer & Rusty Jones are the 2 guys the Bills let go that always should've been on their radar to bring back. Glad they got him back.

Does he have both deals 1 year longer than they actually are because neither kicks in until next season?

Agree to a degree. This year is way more important as this is the widest the door has been opened for them this century. But as long as they have Allen, next year matters too because their window doesn't close until he retires. Haven't seen whether this deal helps free up money this year or not, but it can't free up much - last year of his rookie deal. This move wasn't about this year, but the next 3-4 and as such, how it affects next year does matter. Especially if Poyer weren't the leader he is. Have no doubt Poyer will put it all out on the field. A lesser man might not be able to do so and that could hurt this year.

Thought Milano got locked up last year. Poyer is likely a given & if he doesn't start finding ways to fill the proper hole rather than run into a DL you're probably onto something with Edmunds.

His comparables (not necessarily skills wise, but more overall talent level) are the Ruhwedels of the league. He's a 7/8 and if we're lucky a 6 because injuries will get him into ~20 games.

Guess he knew something was in the works back in December when he bought a new house.

Wonder what Poyer thinks of that. Am glad Knox will be here LT. Just wondering who they'll have to start losing next year when all these deals start kicking in.

Done. You pick every game each week straight up. You have IIRC until 5 minutes prior to game time to make a pick. (So, if you forget about the Thursday game, as if, you still can pick the rest of the scheduled games until 12:55 eastern on Sunday & the late games until ~3:55 or 4:10 on Sunday depending upon who has the doubleheader.) Your worst week gets dropped. Pretty sure you can't pick the following week until all of that week's games are done. (Selection grid didn't open until Tuesday this week. Expect that'll be the case all season, but not positive.) Good luck.

No, he can't. His current contract is valid for TWO years, not 1. He needs to wait 2 years to go arbitration. You honestly believe he can't get a deal worked out this next off-season?

The damage is done. Have to try to look at the remaining bright sides of this course. And it isn't Reinhart all over again unless the Pegulas are fearing being extremely cash poor. Expect both Reinhart & Ullmark would've been offered LT deals in '20 except for the fact that nobody had any idea if there would be any hockey nor what the world would look like in a few months. This ONLY begins to be a Sammy redux if they don't negotiate in good faith this coming summer. Can't see any realistic possibility of that happening.

Bump. The Pick 'Em league is now allowing picks for week 1. Survivor also open. Lots of space left in both leagues. Mods, any chance this can be pinned until sometime on Sunday?

Would actually be surprised if sending him down ISN'T a tough decision.