Neo

I'm glad Peterman's a white, Christian, man. That way, it's easy to be condescending without evidence or personal risk. I mean, it's much easier than the tiresome concepts tolerance, respect, graciousness and critical thinking. Hell, the stuff practically writes itself! The low hanging fruit of anonymous internet vitriol. Speaking thereof, anyone seen Flag?

Join me on Doohickie’s “Ignore” island. From time to time he’ll reply to your post in an “ooops” moment. You’re not really ignored, not that you’d give a postage stamp.

I remember Patrick Roy in 1986 ... and the evolution / revolution that followed. Good point.

If McKinnon is Jack’s upside, I’m happy. This team is so much more fun to watch than the stretch pass, center ice chip in, team of just a few seasons ago. It’s also a long way from a playoff team.

The eighties, baby! The decade was more than MTV. And, if you’ll suffer my synthesized musings, I turn to video. Just like MTV with the Ruggles and Video Killed the Radio Star, we have the NHL with Roger Neilson and Captain Video Killed the NHL Star. There are successful refinements toward desired outcomes that make the product less joyful. Here’s to formica laminate, rayon, and the neutral zone trap.

First five ...Lawton, Sylvain Turgen, LaFontain, Yzerman and Barrasso ... Later, Neely, Gagne and others. The Sabres had three firsts. Barrasso, Norm Lacombe and Adam Creighton. 1983 ... not just quarterbacks. edit to add, after GoogleoOOogling. Puppa, Ruuttu and Krupp ... quite a draft. Saw Puppa last weekend, by the way. He’s hard to miss!

.... and a Red Wings LW ... but not bad company!

Now you’ve done it. You’ve touched a memory! I took a New Jersey Path train into Manhattan years ago to attend a Kaplan LSAT preparation class. Young men and women arrived at class clutching text prep workbooks under their arms. Those already in the room had the books open and were working through questions as we waited for the instructor to arrive. They were earnest and focused. I arrived with The Hockey News rolled up under my arm. Barrasso was on the cover. I’d read an article on Tom while on the train into the city. I suspect many of my fellow students are practicing, today. The closest I got to Law School was watching LA Law on television. Priorities, aptitudes, talents and self selection. The market clears itself ...

I hear Lehner hangs out with Auston Matthews ....

I will always remember Hank for two things. He broke an arm in the deus ex machina 2006 ECF and he paired with Tyler Myers during Myers’ Calder year. Teppo, Dmitri, and Jay went down. Then Hank. I was looking through the attic for my old Bauers believing I would be signed if one more defenseman was injured. Myers had what I call the greatest rookie year any Sabre’d ever had, even considering Perreault and Barrasso, and Hank was no small part of it.

You’re smoking, tonight ...

I trust you’re not replying to Ho-Chi-Sock.

There are many things we can all say. I’ll limit “me” to three .. 1). If there’s a trade I could have back .... 2). His shootout save percentage is going to approach 70 ... 3). Twitter is a sign of the coming apocalypse...

Bucket list ... I’m ready.

My memory was incomplete. Denis Hamel. Congrats to Sabres79. I don’t know if Fasching was first shift. First game, for sure. There’s a reasonably long list of first game with Buffalo players.

For reasons I do not understand, I cannot post in Flagg’s First Goal thread, so here ... Dahlin, first shift, joining Gare, Mogilny and ..... Rob Ray! Historians, check my math.

I am enjoying this thread. First, a nod to PA recalling the draft aftermath discussion around exuberance, rational or not. I see PA sticking to his guns while pointing to evidence that the other argument exists. Fair and balanced! Second, I enjoy the general comments about excellent journalism, open ended questions and leading questions. My ears are sensitive to the distinction when others practice the craft. Lastly, Sabre Dance transported me to my youth. I was in the Aud as a 13 year old with my family. It was playoff time, and we went to watch a practice. My memory says we were playing Montreal. I believe it’s the day we’d met Brian Spencer in the parking lot and he invited us in to watch. I’ve mentioned that here, before, I believe. It was a time before security and “We’re Gonna Win That Cup” was a vibe. We wandered the hallways near the dressing room before the team took the ice and heard someone belting out “Only You” by the Platters. The singer appeared around a corner. It was Gil Perreault and he was with Larry Mickey and a third player whose name I don’t recall. Perreault saw us, stopped singing, and froze. We froze, too, eyes like saucers. The players laughed and continued walking to the dressing room. Not moving our feet, we systematically turned our heads to follow them as they walked by, laughing and singing. They were smoking cigarettes. Nothing was said. No autographs were procured. My family and I sat in the empty Aud and watched the practice. What a spectacle. Essentially alone and private, the team had a personality you don’t see when the lights are on. Jocelyn Guevremont’s family was there, too. He’d stop at the glass during breaks and talk to them. He flipped a puck to a boy, perhaps his son or nephew. Many players teased Gary Bromley throughout the warm up skate, poking him, hooking him, and lifting his legs with sticks. Korab wrestled a reluctant Bromley and pulled his sweater up over his head. Korab also continuously snarled at Perreault, taunting him during drills and scrimmages. “You’re a superstar, right? They tell me you’re a superstar. Come on, superstar. I’m here, superstar”. Years later, Larry Mickey killed himself. Brian Spencer was acquitted following a trial for murder and kidnapping. He was later killed committing a robbery. We knew little, back then, of the physical and emotional toll associated with the sport, particularly for those players on the fringe where grinding violence and toughness is the value proposition.

Give me a muse and I’m serviceable. Genius inspires itself.

Oh, man ... All that and Harvard, too. The guy killed it. I want to see him in the Stay Thirsty commercials. I now know who I want to be when I grow up.

Ok, now I have reason to believe it won’t be. There’s still nachos with seven or eight little cups of jalapeños!

I just watched the trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody. I absolutely cannot wait. November. If done right, and I have no reason to believe it won’t be, this will be a joyful and emotionally powerful two hours.

Thank you, Wild ... What a thoughtful and pleasant surprise. You see, there is no political divide or level of cynicism that prevents me from giving pause and remembering the innocents killed. Kids lost moms and dads to lunatics. I'm happy to see pause and reverence in others. September 11 was the evil act of cowardly fanatics. A country found its soul, if only briefly. The stern stuff of resolve and moral clarity has atrophied or gone limp, a consequence of prosperous generations. As I look around today, I am afraid more than innocent people died that day. I do think and pray, unashamedly, because that's my choice. My apologies to the offended, to sneering cynics and to others similarly hollowed. Well, sans sincerity, I acknowledge. You'll have to look to someone else for equivocation. And yet, Mr. Wild, you posted! Hope, eternal and eternally grateful. I'll add that I also regularly remember and honor the tens, the hundreds, of thousands of equally innocent who've died and suffered since that day. Mr. Marions ... thank you for your service. "Let's roll ..." We need more Todd Beamers.

Should this come true, it would make me very, very, happy for 15 years. I saw Howerchuk in WJC Sam. My untrained eye speaks ...

You are a man of some capacity. Keep sharing. I believe that’s why you were put here. You’re already making impressions. You will leave a legacy. Now, on to me. I came here to announce that I turned a canoe into a jet ski. Today’s mail brought me 4GB of RAM. My eight year old Apple desktop is now an eight gig machine. YouTube, $67 worth of memory and tools, and 15 minutes of my time allowed the accomplishment. This was no small feat for me. I feel like the ape in 2001: A Space Odyssey who picked up a bone and smashed a skull. I am relevant, still, and have a future. It’s not quite a PhD, but it is one of those small victories that fuel me for the next struggle. My grandmother raised me. She was orphaned during the depression. The greatest generation, and all that. She’d know exactly how I feel.

No ... um, am I going to change my opinion?!