TheAud

I'm not making that argument at all. I don't think NHL players are being exploited. No coercion, no exploitation. My point was that even if you think they are being exploited for whatever reason, the level of angst should be just about nil. And we are agreeing on the silliness of calling it slavery or some similar term. I was imagining a level of angst similar to that of the baggage retrieval system at Heathrow. (A brilliant ironic statement by Monty Python that apparently only I find amusing based on my post earlier in this thread).

If Hank is extreme here, it's because he's extremely correct. Here's another group of people (like, maybe a million people) who actually deserve our concern, as opposed to well paid Western athletes voluntarily participating in their chosen profession: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_reeducation_camp The key here is coercion. No one is coercing players to sign contracts with NHL teams or come from Russia and Europe to play in North America. Whereas the Filipino women in Hank's example and the Uyghur's in mine are in fact slaves or prisoners. To refer to an NHL player's circumstances with the same language is offensive.

Proper spelling from Ringo:

Trade his ass now

I 100% felt this way when I got divorced. Maybe Jack and Sam were secretly married? If so, at least there are no kids in the picture to complicate things, not counting Dahlin.

This past weekend in Corning saw David Grisman Dawg Trio at the Museum Auditorium. Danny Barnes on guitar and banjo and Sam Grisman on bass. If Bluegrass with some folk and a little jazz thrown in is your thing, they’re a great act to catch. Grisman remains stellar on the mandolin of course. i shook his hand after the show and his hands are tiny! Makes sense the way he plays that instrument.

I think that's somewhat reflective of the era...in 2005-2006 teams were not as focused on skill and speed - there was a lot more interest in a heavy line up. A guy like Thorburn (who in looking back looks a lot like Bailey if you threw in about 100 penalty minutes or so, and he scored a bit more at the AHL level than Bailey) attracted people whereas I seem to recall Pominville was waived and sent down prior to the lock-out season when the speed aspect of team building was at a low and I think he was viewed as sort of a softie. Nonetheless, the point is well taken.

I just spent a lot of time looking over prospects across the NHL...my takeaway is that every other team is in the same position the Sabres are in relative to vets and prospects of all ages. And people tend to be enamored with "their guys" as it justifies past decisions to draft, sign, and retain them. Hence the bar for claiming someone from waivers is not to be just a little better than the guy they will demote/release, they have to be viewed as noticeably better. I don't think Bailey has shown he's noticeably better or imbued with more potential than the marginal forwards on other team's rosters. So while Bailey certainly could get claimed on waivers, I would be a little surprised. I think he's a career AHL / occasional injury call-up sort of guy.

Ullmark is #11 goalie as well

Went to Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival in Hershey this past weekend. Didn't see Particle Kid who went first, although I learned later that is the band for WIllie's younger son (not Lukas). I was in the 8th row center stage so got a pretty good view of what was going on in terms of facial expressions, what was happening just off stage, etc. Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real were quite good. Better than I expected. They were having fun and showed a lot of range in song selection. Nelson knows how to communicate with the crowd both singing and talking. Sturgill Simpson was good, but quite different than I expected. I knew he had an edge for country music but in concert it wasn't really country at all. No steel guitar, just straight ahead, quite loud, rock. With the keyboard player cranking away on every song they almost sounded a bit like late 1970's Boston playing "Smokin" or" Rock and Roll Band" except they were a jam band as well, going onto riffs for 10-12 minutes. Not at all what I expected from listening to his albums.!But they were very good too. No dialogue with the crowd other than to say thank you to applause occasionally - they were playing for themselves and we were just listening. Still, they worked hard and clearly had fun. Tedeschi Trucks Band just killed it. Really on their game - a band in their prime, a 13 piece music machine, whatever you want to call them. Saw them 3 times this summer, which wasn't enough for me. :-) Van Morrison - very interesting show. I was glad I got to see The Man. His accompanying 8 piece band were clearly employees. Excellent musicians who had to be ready at a moment's notice for changes called by Van (via his band leader, the key board player or directly) including deciding which song to play and then launching into it two seconds later. You could see the tension on their faces as they watched and waited for direction as they played. Van can't sing like he used to of course (he's 73) but can still get it done and play a mean Sax, harmonica, and guitar. He didn't address the crowd except to say "Let's hear it for the band" twice at the end of the show. Played most of the big hits and some deeper cuts too. Willie - into his 80's the voice is weakening and the guitar playing isn't as crisp as it once was, but his personality and songs are as great as ever. His sister Bobbie played piano quite well even though she had to be helped to it. Drummer Paul English looks like he might have had a stroke at some point or just the signs of age but in fact Willie's younger son played drums and Paul just hand clapped. I got the sense he's there as long as he's vertical based on Willie's loyalty. Lukas Nelson does a nice job of playing electric guitar and singing a song or two and harmonies. Mickey Raphael can still play the harmonica just fine. A fine ending had Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks join the band for "Will the Circle Be Unbroken / I'll Fly Away". Catch Willie live while you still can. A Living Legend.

I didn't analyze it in detail but one difference I believe is that mini-pack buyers have access to tickets sooner than individual game buyers, so therefore access to better seats.

Also in Williamsville across the street from North High School. Same owner, pies are identical tasting. My Mom and Dad went to Bocce's on Bailey when they were dating in the early 60's and there were still bocce ball courts next to it. My Dad went there so much the owner had him behind the counter to have a beer on more than one occasion. Now he goes to the Williamsville branch so often the owner knows him. He's the son of the original owner. When my Dad told him he knew his Dad and mentioned he had been behind the counter to have a beer with him the son's eye's widened and said "I remember the old man used to do that sometimes!" Although I love Bocce's, their consistency has suffered a bit in recent years. Occasional over-cooking. You gotta try Imperial Pizza on Abbot Road (near Patrick Kane's home as I understand it) sometime if Bocce's is your favorite. It's different, but just as good in the same ways.

I used to have the Pizza Junction sheet pizza from time to time. Agree it was heavy on the cheese and also it had a distinctively sweet sauce. as you say, novel, but it worked. I never viewed it as a "staple" pizza but rather something to enjoy at a party or a change of pace. My understanding is that the original owner got into some unrelated (to pizza) financial/legal problems and it folded. Then someone opened up a place that attempted to copy the recipe, but that may have folded too.

For me, Bocce's pizza is an almost spiritual experience. A couple years ago I was made aware of Imperial Pizza in South Buffalo. I sought it out. It's righteous. Now we figure out how to make stops there in or out of travels from the Southern Tier to Niagara County. For me, it's now up there with Bocce's in the 'heavenly' echelon of pizza pies. I haven't found any pizza quite that good in all my travels in various states and countries. But I'll keep looking.

Hate to see movement of Pu. He might not be a 1st liner but I thought he was a solid #2. Sorry...I just needed to let one more of those fly as he heads South. Gonna miss ya buddy.

This is hockey

I really thought Crosby was dead. Glad to hear he's not! Working on my wife to convince her we should go to Newport Folk next summer (or Tedeschi Trucks at Red Rocks where I have always wanted to see a show, which occurs at about the same time every year...)

I believe he needs to do 3 push-ups, in a row, as well to be on the 2nd line. And I mean deep, nose touching the ground push-ups. Not fake ones.

Just this week my eldest daughter is studying for the GRE's and was complaining to me about the vocabulary section. She said "Did you know that the word 'albatross' is not just a bird?" I know that Washington Capitals fans will know the secondary meaning of that word in 2-3 years.

Speaking of which, concerts at the New York State Fair are free with admission to the Fair that day. The line-up: https://nysfair.ny.gov/venue/chevy-court/ So, I am going with my two college age daughters on 8/23, 4 days before school starts for them, to see Dave Mason & Steve Cropper at 2PM and Tedeschi Trucks Band at 8PM...for $3 admission. I told the girls they have to pay for my ticket this time ?

I remember the whole "if it's too loud you're too old" mantra of my youth being more metaphorical than physiological, at least in my mind. Much to my surprise I have learned that, no sh*t, when you get old the loudness becomes physically intolerable well below a level that was great at 21. At a Lowest of the Low show this year in Ithaca I thought I might keel over with vertigo as the noise was literally throwing my balance off. Just pathetic. (awesome going to a show with your son though...I am enjoying some concerts with my college and HS age daughters this summer and it's the best)

Yes, I noted my missing on the birthdate in subsequent posts. Casey may or may not put up 55 pts this year. He may or may not score 29 goals...in 62 games. I'll take the under on all those for this season. I said he MIGHT have the upside of Eichel. Of course no one agrees with me as this is a Sabres board. I am not saying I'd take him over Eichel. Heck, maybe one of these seasons Eichel will score 29 goals too.

Our 2nd pairing RD:

I think they're upsides are in the same ballpark, albeit Jack's is higher for sure. I was just reacting to the idea that Boeser's wasn't even as high as Middlestadt's which I don't think is true.