tom webster
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Posts posted by tom webster
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Murray all but said we are going for a high pick next year. He said there are was to manipulate your standings at the trade deadline to insure a higher draft pick. And also that next year holds the elite talent and that they are looking to get said talent. Embrace the tank next year. It is happening. Which imo means miller is gone. This has been stated. Keep calm and carry on. Mcdavid 2014
He did not say that! He said that if you were in the right position you could manipulate the standings by dumping at the deadline but never said they were tanking next year.
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Statsny is an FA this year, no? If I am Roy, Statsny is the one that walks, not O'Reilly.
I agree with you except a few problems for them.
1) O'Reilly is a RFA who has shown a willingness to sign an offer sheet
2) They will have to qualify him at $6.5 million
3) They do not want to pay him more then Duchene
4) While capable their owner does not want to spend to the cap
5) They desperately need top end defensemen
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How much merit is there to the "miller wants to be closer to his wife" line of thinking..... Would this impact his decision and anyone know why he doesn't want to go to a Canadian team?
I don't know, about 5 or 6 out of 7 days I wish my wife lived on the west coast. Seriously, I am not sure the present arrangement doesn't work for him. He might like being alone during the season and with their income I'm sure they can see each other almost as much as they want
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Welcome to life outside of "Oh, Miller, what a save!" New York.
I knew a lot of exec's and writers from the world of hockey lived in and around Western New York but I had no idea that guys like Brian Burke, David Poille and the rest of those that sing Miller's praises also lived in WNY.
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All Pro. Not pro bowl. (But you did name the two teams that are tied with them for the most all-pro players at 5)
Sorry. Funny that I missed that since its another of my pet peeves when announcers call pro bowl players all-pro.
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Don't know if this was covered anywhere else but do any other teams besides Anaheim and Buffalo have anyone else' first pick for either this year or next?
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Firing Chud after one year was both stupid and wrong... But the Browns had the most all-pro players this year (five). I think there's some appeal there.
The Browns do indeed have 5 pro bowl players but that is not the most. At least the 49ers and Chiefs have more but I don't feel like looking it up.
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The look at me generation of athletes started with Bruce Smith and his sack dance.
I think Gastineau beat him by a lot. At least Bruce really was that good.
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I get the impression that Tim Murray's strength is in player evaluation. Oster looks like a contract/CBA-oriented guy. Could be a good fit, and one that doesn't necessarily replace the functionality of Kevin Devine. There's no convenient list I was able to find, but I think a few teams have two AGM's, notably Boston (Jim Benning [player eval, trades, FAs] and Don Sweeney [player development]).
I think in keeping with the model of dumping money into the front office, there's no reason to drop Devine, unless it's a bad fit or an insurmountable personality or philosophy conflict.
A few teams have 3 or 4 assistant GM's.
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No. Nor should you ask anyone who's not excited about the moves to be excited. There are good arguments on both sides. I am reasonably confident that a very solid management team is in place and that things will be looking up, especially if Terry takes a big step back. On the other hand, Pat and Tim are learning on the job, and the team is historically bad.
To me the biggest problem is that some insist on there being TWO sides. Things are rarely that black and white. While I don't agree with a lot of what certain posters believe, I found a lot of value in the opinions of people like yourself, Deluca, Drane et al.
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It's certainly quite possible that I misinterpreted the OP. I guess I just don't see what incentive the NHL would have to rig the lottery to benefit the WNY market, since (i) it already gets great TV ratings in WNY and (ii) adding a great player to the Sabres is unlikely to juice NHL TV ratings in non-WNY markets (unlike, say, rigging the lottery to benefit, say, the Rangers -- where presumably both NYC and national ratings would benefit).
Anyway, I think we've beaten this horse to death at this point.
For the record, I don't think there is anything to suggest that the NHL would have any incentive to fix anything either. Just pointing out that the OP was correct about the TV ratings . Carry on .
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I just want to point out that over at TBD, there is an 1100+ post thread about Da'Rick Rogers.
Only at TBD would this be possible.
Isn't that the truth. Almost as ridiculous as the Mike Jasper thread
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I think Pegula and his "flat" management structure may actually prove itself worthy with this crew.
There is now almost a perfect set of checks and balances with all the key players. The key is, I think everyone just hired, commands respect. Patty, Nolan, Patrick, Murray. When you throw in the supporting group of Black, Battista, and Pegula himself...there is the right experience, personality combo, and available workload to make the entire structure work. I was concerned about too many chefs at first, but it is almost as if every single member of management lacks at least one key component to form the perfect head guy, yet the new guys each have many positive qualities. Everyone can have some overlapping, and as long as there is mutual respect, which I feel there is, this could be a great thing. The only person on the bubble is Devine. I have a feeling Murray will lean on him early, but eventually want his own guy in that ro
I think Pegula and his "flat" management structure may actually prove itself worthy with this crew.
There is now almost a perfect set of checks and balances with all the key players. The key is, I think everyone just hired, commands respect. Patty, Nolan, Patrick, Murray. When you throw in the supporting group of Black, Battista, and Pegula himself...there is the right experience, personality combo, and available workload to make the entire structure work. I was concerned about too many chefs at first, but it is almost as if every single member of management lacks at least one key component to form the perfect head guy, yet the new guys each have many positive qualities. Everyone can have some overlapping, and as long as there is mutual respect, which I feel there is, this could be a great thing. The only person on the bubble is Devine. I have a feeling Murray will lean on him early, but eventually want his own guy in that role. I like Devine though and I hope he fits in if he can handle a support role.
The biggest friction point can be Nolan and Murray. There is going to be a feeling out process. I see Nolan as a guy who values paying your dues and hustle over pure talent. Murray seems like he knows what goes into a balanced team, but may be more forgiving of pure talent than Nolan. The roster decisions will be interesting going forward if they stick together. It could be a strongsuit, or a problem.
Pegula and his potential "meddling" has now been checked. Battista coming in was indeed the signal changes were imminent. Battista has been able to go along with Patty and be a nice liaison to report to Pegula without Patty getting bothered. I don't think Murray will have much patience for meddling. That's where Patty's charm can step in between Murray and Pegula and keep things cordial. With Battista learning from/with Patty, he can help with just a few.."It's all good boss"'s.
Patty has rendered Black to a bit of a back seat in the public face, but this can let him concentrate on more of the game experience and some of the Harborcentre stuff instead of having to tapdance all the time.
I see Patrick as more of an observer. More like a tenured university professor who lets his grad students do most of the work but can prevent them from stepping on landmines. He can also maybe slow down a manic process when you have decisive guys wanting to make moves. I don't see Murray as a loose cannon, but it's good to have a respected guy to maybe say, "hang on a second", to at least allow everyone to breathe.
I think the team that is built will also be a checks and balance for the fans. I can't see a total bonecrushing team fielded, or a soft team fielded. The talent vs. grit debate will probably be soothed down the middle...but I am encouraged that the first things out of Nolan's Patty's and Murray's mouths were about knowing the person, and character, and makeup. That is what has me trusting this group right now and will allow for the proper timeframe and patience as they improve.
In reality, you are still picking top 3 this year. Next year...if the culture change has really taken hold, you could be a fringe playoff team. I think the UFA's will probably be moved. A guy like Ott will get overvalued at the deadline. I can then see them trading for a RFA aged forward or 2 over the offseason with some of their assets....adding a couple $2-4 million vets in FA to help guide....ease the young kids in over the next 2 years....then make a go for it in FA in '15-'16 with a fairly young but high quality talented team that can hopefully be a contender for the next 3+ years.
I also think that nothing is set in stone, and this group at the top is fluid enough to change moves accordingly if progress is faster than expected or hindered.
Nothing new here...just sorting it out ine my head and stamping my approval....
And you did it without throwing any stones at the past. I can say that we are almost in complete agreement as well for whatever that's worth.
I do think Devine is gone after the draft and Teddy coaches another year. After that, who knows .
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The Panthers asked for public assistance, claiming they lose $20 mill a season. If that's true then there's even more reason to move them. A lot of these pro franchises fabricate these numbers for that very reason, though: to get public assistance.
In most situations I would refuse to believe it, but when you look at their attendance then you don't doubt it. Move them to Seattle, the end.
If you read the article, the Panthers are making more on the arena through other event revenue then they are losing on the team so they aren't going anywhere. Its a classic corporate maneuver playing shell games with business revenues.
When the Rigases owned the Sabres they had almost 50 separate entities actually running the team and the arena. My suite charges would go to Crossroads, LLC and that LLC would pay the team a small percentage for the tickets used so the team would be losing money but Crossroads was making up for it. In Florida's case, the team is the only entitiy showing a loss and they have their hand out to the State.
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OK -- so you mean TV ratings in WNY for hockey, right? My point was that TV ratings in the rest of the country for games involving the Sabres are nothing special -- i.e. there isn't a big nation-wide interest in the Sabres. So if we were really entertaining the possibility that the NHL would fix the lottery for the Sabres, which of course we are not, we'd need to keep in mind that there is no reason for the NHL to do so because the rest of the country doesn't give a crap about the Sabres.
For the first time that I can remember, you and I are have a "disconnect." The original poster's point was that when it comes to TV ratings for nationally televised games, the WNY market share is usually in the top 5 and always in the top 10 whether Buffalo is playing or not. He deduced that the NHL would have a financial reason to take care of a market that was watching their games as much as WNY. The point I was making that was backed up by AUD was that while this is true as far as market share goes, most advertisers would rather have a smaller share in a bigger, more affluent market then have a 50% share in WNY.
The attached link is an indication of WNY's love of hockey
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Good stuff. Thanks.
I found his comments on Miller interesting. To paraphrase, he said that if Miller came to him and asked for a 5-year extension, he'd be open to it, but OTOH, if a bunch of goalies got hurt and drove up Miller's trade value, he'd be open to trading him -- overall, the expected return in trade will be a major factor in the decision.
Have I missed them being in the playoffs consistently?
(Sorry -- couldn't resist).
Worth noting that their last 2 playoff series were vs huge-market opponents in Boston and Philly.
I meant playoffs that they were not participating, an even better gauge of their ratings superiority
I'm pretty sure he was talking about the 3rd and 4th rounds, not picks.
Definitely talking about 3rd and 4th round.
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I'm calling an immediate NFW on this.
And I'll point out that while the Sabres have great ratings in the WNY market, I don't think that's the case nationally -- so I don't think there is an incentive for the NHL to rig it.
Actually they do well nationally in the ratings as well. I think they were second behind only Detroit in the last Winter Classic and they are consistently in the top 10 for the playoff ratings.. However, what some don't understand is that a high rating in Buffalo doesn't necessarily mean more people watched in Buffalo, just that a higher percentage did. The actual demographics and results are open to more analysis.
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Man up B-lo. I can only rub one out two maybe three times looking at boobies on the Internets. I need entertainment!
I'm with you. I'm hoping they play to an empty house just so I have something to watch tonite
Man up B-lo. I can only rub one out two maybe three times looking at boobies on the Internets. I need entertainment!
I'm with you. I'm hoping they play to an empty house just so I have something to watch tonite
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Oh what I would give for John Gibson. The lucky Ducks have three (Fasth, Hiller, Andersen) studs that are NHL goalies right now and Gibson who will likely be ready soon. If they really do want Miller like rumors always suggest then I'd give them Miller, one of Ott/Moulson, a prospect and a 2nd rounder for Gibson.
I'm sorry I just saw this. Toronto gets Bernier for Scrivens, Frattin and a 2nd and you are going to give up all that for Gibson?
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Outside of his 4qtr play against Carolina, he showed very little skill and leadership. As the season went on, his performance degraded. He was outplayed by a practice squad QB. Sure it is rough to judge him this way in his rookie season. But last time I checked, he is cashing the checks of a starting QB but playing like a 3rd stringer. I've seen enough, or really, not enough, to convince me he is a bust. Draft another QB. EJ should get a second season, but to think he will improve is only based on hopeful thinking and not by what he has demonstrated this year. Geno Smith had an equally tough year, but there he was in the last game against Miami knocking them out of the playoffs. I just don't see the qualities it takes to win in EJ.
Save for a couple of ill timed fumbles, EJ leads them back over Atlanta and who knows from there. Since the probability for all players is skewed toward failure, how can one argue that you might be right, but for anyone to know absolutely, its just not possible.
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Who are the QBs in the NFL that came out of college, made an impact their first year, and continued to make an impact year after year after that? They are few and far between. The pressure and expectations we put on newly drafted QBs is a little unreasonable in my mind. All the great QBs in the game today spent several years either being terrible or as a backup before they took over: Eli, Rodgers, Payton, Brady, Brees…
All the young guys that are hot this year are still a question mark for the future, and even if they win now, they might end up being average overall. To make a judgment/judgement on EJ after this year is a little silly in my mind.
I agree with your point, but as much as it pains me, I'm not sure Brady ever struggled till maybe this year.
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My thoughts on EJ are that he isn't the answer, and if he doesn't improve significantly in year three then we would be stupid not to make a strong push for Winston or Mariota (barring either having a terrible year or have injuries to thrn next year). I get that one year isn't fair to make a complete assessment, but his complete lack of accuracy and failure to show any real positive signs is alarming. Future NFL starters or franchise QBs generally show signs of something in their rookie season.
To say he showed nothing is to show your bias. I get that its hard to move on from your initial thoughts but to say he showed nothing is an exaggeration. Like I have said before, I have no idea how he will progress but he showed enough in the leadership and poise department to go along with his obvious athletic skills to give me some hope for the future.
On a side note, reading some clippings from Tampa and I may revise my bet offer, Glennon might not even make it through training camp.
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My middle child, Ollie, has recently been assessed as Autistic. We haven't been up to Strong for the official full medical diagnosis, apparently this takes months, but we've recently been approved by the County for 4 extended sessions of in-home therapy per week. Ollie is 2 years, 4 months, and was identified by the Early Intervention folks as having severe cognitive and communication delays, and moderate physical delays. I know some of you here in Sabre Space have special needs kids of your own, so I'm throwing this out there asking for any advice. Either with Autism, or dealing with the various programs designed to help kids with special needs.
Ollie is an awesome kid. I just want as much information as I can get, so I can help him out as much as possible. I'm scared, as any parent would be, I think, but I'm also excited to be able to help him adapt to a world designed for people who interact with it a little differently than he does.
Thanks.
Good luck to you. We have a friend with an autistic child who has become heavily involved in local support groups and in fighting with the school system to get her son what he needs. She has been as devoted to her son and the cause as anyone I know. I would be happy to put you in touch if you think it would be beneficial.
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How'd I miss that?.....
PLF sucks!
I meant to post something to you when I saw the Rangers waived him.
Mr Ryan Miller....
in The Aud Club
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And that is the biggest problem with the Internet. People mis interpret, mis understand or just plain fabricate what they read or hear and then repeat it as fact so often that other people start believing it as well.