ska-T Chitown

I've mused on it before - has GMKA's plan (right or wrong - I am not endorsing anything, just speculating on what it might be) been to actually establish a position of strength? What was it, like 3 yrs ago at rookie/development people were all hard over some agitator guy as "the best prospect" and I am not even sure that dude is still playing hockey ... point is, the cupboard was bare AF not that long ago, it is not like KA has been stashing away prospects for years and years. BTW, not directed at you Marvin, just a good post to which I could reply to further my personal agenda 🙂

If everyone would just ignore those two clown shoes mf'ers, they would get bored and leave ... but NOOOO - everyone keeps thinking they can out troll the trolls.

i was thinking more along the lines of self harm, but I like your answer better.

Why can't I make myself stop watching? 😞

WTF did I just watch?

These announcers ... ugh. And the "fancy" graphics ESPN keeps throwing up are so distracting. Their board overlays seem off - or maybe just cuz the Sabres are in white? Also, dang kids should get off my lawn!

I am usually super confused when I read a post from JohninMinn b/c my feeble brain thinks JohnC and those two are pretty close to polar opposites. I agree that questioning the heart of a person you have never met, let alone interacted with in sustained and meaningful ways is pretty silly. It is obviously everyone's "internet warrior" right to do so ... but not all rights need to be used at all times.

Tomorrow Me is going to really resent Tonight Me after I somehow stay up and watch this ... I am central time, so it probably ends today for me.

As a former D3 student-athlete myself, you are GD right I would have lost my shizz if I found out the only reason I went 1-8 in my 'career' against that one dude in my conference at my weight class was because he was a dirty doping cheater! If it was because genetically I was gifted with only the faintest hint of athletic ability, so be it and thanks Mom and Dad.

I look at it from another perspective. I am generalizing here, but don't most PED's have known or suspected heath-issue side effects? "But they are choosing to do it" is kinda total BS ... if a few "bad actors" choose to violate rules - or worse they are allowed to do it by the sport, then others are forced to make the choice between their long-term health and the sport they love and are naturally good at. A sports governing body, by allowing athletes to take PEDs is essentially forcing others to do it in order to remain competitive, thus removing the actual choice for all practical purposes. I am aware that this is a gross over-simplification of the issue but I have neither the time, nor the actual intellectual capacity to write a full PhD dissertation on the matter. I am pretty confident some internet research (ie - first page of google results) would lend credence to my assertions.

I did think of that after I hit submit ... it is hard to explain, but I just sorta lost interest in baseball in the early 2000's. Can't honestly say why. So, while I was happy for the team, I did not partake in any reveling on their behalf.

I guess I do (I think?)? Somehow, all the years of losing from my favorite teams; the Bills and Sabres need to introduction, but thanks to TBS being the only reliable source of baseball (other than the gross Cubs on WGN) on TV in western NY when I grew up ... I am also a Braves fan. Sure, they won a WS in the 90's - but lost a whole bunch of them too ... I digress - somehow, after all of that, each goal is the start of the comeback, each win is the start of The Streak. I get angry and frustrated when they lose and especially when there appears to be a lack of effort, but in the end I am a fool and a sucker for Buffalo Sports ... to quote Adrian Monk "It's a blessing and a curse ... but mostly a curse."

I would like to amend my ballot and add @TageMVP for starting this thread. Things have been pretty glum in the Sabres' world and all that orbits it lately, but this thread brought a smile to my dry cracked lips. Good to remind ourselves that we are not the ones responsible for what we endure, merely those brought together by the love of the game and team ... and the misery both can cause! 🍻

Fair point, but I think the parallel is a little bit of a stretch - as it is hard to define an "incident" in this line of employment. One would reasonably think management (Meatballs and GMKA) have had conversations that we, as the public, are not privy to. Only they would be responsible for defining "incident". An interesting, but not quite as stark of a comparison - Jason Robertson is on pace to only put up 78.8% of the points he did last year (109 vs 84, both 82 games) - and I had to sully myself by visiting the Stars' page to find the stats - shudder. Tage (I used P/G due to variations in games played) will only score 62.2% as many points at his current pace. Granted Tage's drop is far more dramatic - but who (other than the team itself) is to say 21% fewer points is not also a massive drop. *and also: "Huberdeau's point production during the 2022–23 season took a significant dip from his previous season with the Florida Panthers, setting an NHL record for the biggest point drop off in NHL history between seasons; falling from 115 points in 2021–22, to 55 points the next season." (from Wikipedia) In only one fewer games. sidenote - did anyone know that Jonny Hubs was this handsome??? Just saying that large point drop-offs are not as crazy as one might think at first glance.

<Disclaimer - I do not share even one tiny shred of the suspicion or hunch or whatever that Tage did what was mentioned above, I merely had a thought and since this is the internet, posted it> I am not defending the putrid take that perhaps Tage was doing something that was not above board ... however, a more real-world example shows the logic is not as far-fetched as what is stated above (I refuse to even retype it): Say you work at a warehouse and Tom has recently started missing days and showing up late. It kinda reminds you of when Bill was doing the same and it turns out he was struggling with a substance abuse problem. This is a somewhat logical association. However, to go around the warehouse and start saying you think Tom has a substance abuse problem without the slightest shred of evidence is a despicable, foul, and reprehensible to the utmost degree thing to do. There is an entire world of things other than what happened to that one guy who, on the surface, seemed to maybe be in a similar situation. Attacking someone's character and moral fiber - even on the internet - is not something that should be done flippantly and on a whim. I don't just disagree with the premise, but disagree with the entire situation we have all been subjected to. 🤮

Too many upthread comments to read, but I am probably not the first person to express a level of admiration for what the Bills defense was able to do after being decimated with injuries. That gives me hope that this team will remain a competitive force in the AFC East, eventually giving rise to the anti-Buffalo luck where all the stars align and we Chicago White Sox our way to a Super Bowl Championship.

Agreed with all of the above - I found SS when I was just looking to get more insight on the team and probably come here more than is healthy for my fragile psyche. @dudacek always gets my attention when posting. Thoughtful, insightful, generally grammatically correct. 🙃

Do you go to the cuh-rib-ee-uhn or the care-uh-bee-ann?

<angry typing noises> oh wait ... that pretty much makes sense. The one counter-point I would have is that Mitts has clearly gotten better - he has obviously been able to put in the work and still host some bangin' COD parties (I started to type LAN party because I am not young, but remembered that is no longer a thing.) As long as the anger are ire would be equally strong if they were wiling away the hours playing Magic the Gathering (like my stupid roommate in college), watching Real Housewives of Somewhere, or MTV's Real World vs. Road Rules reruns, then I have no further issues, your Honor.

I am amazed at everyone's obsession with 20-something year old dudes playing video games. WTF else you think 20-something year old dudes do in their spare time?! I swear to some sort of deity, if someone says "practicing hockey" - I am going to pound the keys on my keyboard even harder next time! No athlete, at any level, can practice 24-7 ... I would wager that Josh Allen, Connor McJesus, (some good at hitty stick guy), and (whomever the best bouncy ball guy currently is) also play video games if they are not an older, stick in the mud, head up their butt, "in my day, we went outside and played" type. For the record, in my day, we did go outside and play ... but that is not the world any more. 🤷‍♀️ End rant - we now return you to your regularly scheduled screaming into the void ...

I was at that dreadful Sabres @ Hawks game last year when the Sabres choked in the third period to a team that was clearly tanking. A friend of mine works for a company that has a box. Me, in my Sabres jersey actively ignoring people trying to get work from me - lol - and watching that implosion.

What if we have two two-game winning streaks back-to-back ... since they only like winning two in a row (not three and four is RIGHT OUT!), let's just talk about streaks in terms of how many two-game winning streaks they have?

I can pretty much feel your frustration through the screen. I hear ya, too. I want nothing more than to cheer for this team; Buffalo Sabres hockey is one of my earliest memories, on TV in our living room. I am a schmuck and still cheer every goal I see, just like I cheered for every touchdown those drought-years Bills scored. Probably fools' gold, but hoping there is some sort of real plan other than "get guys that want to be here" is sorta the only thread I have left to grasp. 😕

Has anyone suggested that perhaps (like, tiny chance) GMKA had a multi-phased plan? Phase 1 was "wanna be here" and "stockpile". I am guessing KA is quite pleased with the potential he has achieved via his draft and stockpile approach. Perhaps now that he knows he has an actual abundance of prospects of a certain ilk at mostly the same positions, he will initiate Phase 2 ... turn prospects back into viable and meaningful pros? I am grasping at straws here ... I know. I am glad we have a solid pipeline of prospects that are not in the NHL, but something about a bird in the hand being worth more that two in the bush and probably a few other proverbs about appreciating the here and now vs pining for a future that may or may not materialize. Thanks for listening to my TedTalk, off to Target and then to drink some bourbon.

For all the angry words thrown around when Li'l J is in the press box - is it possible that DG is actually trying to load manage him as he goes from NCAA to NHL? Benson got more games in WHL so maybe they are thinking he can handle it?