K-9

Earving "Magic" Johnson and Irvin Berlin say hello.

Top of 1st round (Grigorenko) vs. middle of first round talent are two entirely different animals. I don't recall saying anyone thought Girgensons was a "top of the first round" talent. I simply don't buy that Girgensons wasn't on their radar when he was clearly projected to go before pick 20 in the first round. The lowest I saw him rated was the number 22 skater. The scouting reports I've seen mention his grit but they also say he can skate, shoot, and play different styles depending on what he's asked to do in any given system. I have no problem keeping him up if he proves to make the team. None at all. I also think your comparison to Kesler is apt. GO SABRES!!!

This doesn't ring entirely true as Girgensons was rated by scouts to go in the upper half of the first round in pre-draft publications. Are you really suggesting that Devine and Regier were clueless of these scouting reports? That they really had little idea of who this player was when he was on everybody's radar? GO SABRES!!!

Pretty sure you're referring to 'The Groove Tube' which had Chevy Chase and Richard Belzer in it as well.

I thought you had that vibrational stagnation thing all worked out. GO SABRES!!!

Whether they appreciate it or not, the Sabres have to do what they have to do to attract FAs in the absence of other attractions. Paying a premium is part of that equation. There's the open market and then there's the Sabres' market. GO SABRES!!!

If TPegs and Co. think he's worht it, he's worth it. What's the mystery? But to those decrying the fact he's not gonna bring you twenty goals or whatever on the ice himself, his presence on the ice is gonna bring more goals for whomever his linemates are. Vanek on a line with Doan? I like it. That's in addition to the intangibles off the ice. You simply can't put a number on that value. Suffice to say, it's valueable. Especially to a team with few visible signs of the kind of leadership he brings. GO SABRES!!!

The NCAA still DOES have the power to ban TV appearances but that has been frowned upon BECAUSE of those major broadcast deals between the major conferences and/or independent schools. The idea being that the TV ban unfairly punishes opposing teams of the one that was banned. In the PSU case, in addition to the bowl game banishment imposed by the NCAA, the Big 10 has already fined Penn State $13m, which will come out of their share of Big 10 broadcast revenues.

Major rights fees paid to the Big 10, which the NCAA has no say in at all. The major networks aren't under any obligation TO televise Penn State, however. PSU does have it's own deal with local broadcasters in and around State College so they'll be on TV every weekend regardless. Not being able to go to a bowl, let alone a major bowl, is a significant hit, though. Even the least of the bowls will net several million dollars for the schools participating. I heard at least one of PSU's TV sponsors has already pulled their ads (State Farm or some other insurance company I think) so I look for that to have a ripple effect.

Beaver Stadium will be packed for every home game with people festooned in blue shirts. TV ratings won't matter because the Big 10 has already been paid by the networks and that revenue divided by the schools in the conference. Less, of course, the $13m the Big 10 penalized PSU. I am impressed with O'Brien and his players so far as they've reacted to the sanctions. Nobody on that team seems to be feeling sorry for themselves from what I've seen.

True. We will all need to be patient with Gringorbeo. That was for d4rk. GO SABRES!!!

If by "top shelf" you mean the press box for long stretches you may be right. I guess that might be a happy medium. He's with the club working on his game every day, getting stronger, and LIndy picking spots to play him. Of course, if he comes into camp and takes ownership of the C position right away, so much the better. I'm just gonna lower my expectations and be pleasantly surprised if he surpasses them. Now pass the cookies, Miss Spending Cheese. GO SABRES!!!

Gerry Meehan actually has the key to the map on Gorby's head. That was some real cloak and dagger stuff getting Mogs out of there, wasn't it? GO SABRES!!! Au contraire pretty lady. I'm fine with Oreo. Just throwing stuff out there. Although I'll be impressed if he sticks with the big club. I haven't seen much of him at all. My guess is that, even if he isn't quite ready, we keep him on the squad simply because it doesn't serve his development to send him back to juniors and he can't play in the AHL. GO SABRES!!!

Got anything better than "Girgs?" Hey, although 'ol Ronnie Boy gets all the credit for tearing down the Iron Curtain, he couldn't have done it without Gorby. The man set his people free. Maybe not by design, certainly by circumstance. He wasn't just another Ruskie. Heard he liked oreos though. Or was it hydrox? GO SABRES!!!

Perhaps they need to make those long journeys at lower altitudes. GO SABRES!!!

Well, seeing as how everybody is just coming up with a nickname for him, that's what I went with. It's a tip of the hat to another famous Mikhail from Russia: Gorbachev. AKA: Gorby. GO SABRES!!! That birthmark is actually a treasure map. GO SABRES!!!

I think most of us know that and would agree. But the buzz around Gorby is that the TEAM expects him to make it. Knowing how reluctant the organization has been in the past when it comes to young guys jumping right in, it's a bit of a departure. I think the Sabres have created this expectation in the fans. I fully expect him not to be on the big club until next season and I don't see Girgs anywhere but Rochester until circumstances dictate a call up. GO SABRES!!!

Buzzkill! GO SABRES!!!

Regarding centers, anybody else have the feeling it's gonna be a major disappointment if Gorby (Grigorenko) does NOT make the opening day lineup? Or if he can't stick longer than his 9 game look-see? GO SABRES!!!

It's obvious that I very much see this as a culture problem. One specifically created by the need to protect a program that has and will continue to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the school. Regardless of the costs. I have no problem at all that Pegula chose not to say anything. I have no problem with him being loyal to his school and showering it with a hundred million dollar donation. And I fully understand that he needs to buy political influence in the state where that influence directly relates to his ability to conduct oil/gas drilling operations. I DO have a problem with the mentality adopted by so many of the alumni that they are being persecuted. I have a problem with token gestures meant to do nothing more than deflect that perceived persecution. I have a problem with alumni that purposely INCREASED it's donations simply BECAUSE of this perceived persecution. Terry Pegula initially called for PSU to bring everything to light last November. I applauded him for this. I had hoped other alumni, especially those in similar powerful positions, would adopt a similar tone. Instead we get a record amount of alumni donations as a result of this scandal. Not out of any philanthropic philosophy but out of the need to circle the wagons. What does it say that it took this type of situation to bring that kind of support from its alumni? At the very least it says the culture needs to change. And that takes a helluva lot more than just replacing the individuals in charge. While I fully understand his motivation and have respect for the man and am grateful that he owns my favorite hockey team, I expected more out of Terry Pegula with regards to this situation.

Scott plays 6 games against the Bruins, minimum. GO SABRES!!!

I'm at a crossroads here. In terms of what motivates them, I don't see much of a difference between an alum that donates $100 vs. one that gives a million times that amount. They are within that insular bubble that literally prevents them from being able to accept the truth that their donations aid and abet a culture so corrupt that it led to this entire mess. But, depending on what sanctions PSU is subjected to by the NCAA or imposes upon itself, I won't be able to spend one more dime on anything Sabres related that generates revenue for Terry Pegula. Gnat on the elephant's ass to be sure, but it's all I can do at the moment.

Indeed. But I don't think PSU has the integrity. When you have two newly elected bozos on the Board of Trustees saying the most urgent item on the agenda is for the university to make a public apology to the Paterno family for the shoddy way JoePa was treated because "that's the elephant in the room", I don't expect much more than repainted murals, renamed tent cities, and reallocated lunch money of the football team.

I think that's funny. It's no secret the Sabres don't think too highly of the Snooze's scribes and it's gotta irk Bucky and Sully when the Sabres grant more access to a high school year book editor. GO SABRES!!!

Like Emmert said on the Smiley show Monday night, there is no precedent here. When he said he wasn't taking any penalty off the table he was being politically expedient. It's easy not to take something off the table when it was never on it to begin with. While there's never been a more glaring example of institutional lack of control, the NCAA has never cited that outside of how it relates to "specific" rules violations. In short, PSU didn't violate anything currently in the NCAA rule book. I think a case COULD be made to say that JoePa et al engaged in the coverup to MAINTAIN a competitive advantage simply because they perceived very real DISADVANTAGES to the program by acting the way they did. I doubt they'll do this though. In a few days, PSU will sit down with the NCAA and they'll come to an arrangement. I seriously doubt the program will be suspended just because of the rhetoric coming out of PSU. The new president is already touting how they've punished the athletic program by taking $2.6m out of their budget to start a child abuse research and treatment center, etc. And while that is shallow and rings hollow outside of State College, the NCAA looks favorably on that sort of thing. Anyway, I've decided that all I can do it mete out my own punishment in the form of never supporting anything that school does in the future. Oh, I know that $2.6m dollars will hurt the football program for a day or two and the artist removed the halo above JoePa's head in the mural. Heck, the artist even painted a blue ribbon on JoePa's lapel to show support for child abuse victims. And even though they've changed the name "Paternoville" to "Nittanyville" somehow I just can't convince myself it's anything more than a token gestures.