Drunkard

So much winning. It's like a cross between Charlie Sheen and DJT in these parts.

For now.

It's a quantity vs quality argument though and unfortunately for Botterill, he can't stick his 15 defenseman into a blender and extract all the amassed talent then inject it into just 6 guys and a spare. He can't do that with his 17 3rd liners to just create a legitimate second line either, but I guess he could get lucky and a few of them will separate themselves from the pack. Unfortunately he's also up against the cap now so it will be tougher to make moves and if nobody separates themselves from the pack we'll be back to one good line and a bunch of mediocrity that fallows.

I agree completely but they still talk about getting the government off our backs when they campaign. They usually only bring it up for stuff like school lunches (I remember Sarah Palin encouraging parents to bring cupcakes as a middle finger to Michelle Obama's fit campaign) or when Bloomberg tried to get rid of big gulps in NYC. They definitely seem to favor the police state when it suits them (like the examples you posted) and then rail against it when it suits them (like regulating businesses).

It seems to be Trump's Attorney General who is pushing for it though. When you say you don't see Trump supporting this do you just mean in theory or do you think if Barr gets any traction with it that Trump would actually put a stop to it?

Yeah, it's definitely possible. I know it drives me nuts seeing apps like google maps asking me to rate the restaurants I've frequented, especially when I didn't even use their app to get there in the first place. It really wouldn't surprise me to find out that Samsung, Apple, Nokia, etc. is selling our data to 3rd parties in exchange for lower prices. I read somewhere a while back that smart TV's are already doing this. That kind of stuff is ok if people are willing to share their data in exchange for lower prices, but it should be disclosed before hand so people know what they are getting and have the choice to opt for the more expensive model that protects their privacy if they prefer.

If Berglund hadn't quit I wonder if he would have cracked the top 10 or just been an honorable mention.

Yeah, I'm not a tech expert by any means. I hope the companies that make all the gadgets we use continue to fight against it. That's probably the best thing about the fact that most electronics are being made outside the U.S. Even if they passed a law to require it, it's not like China, South Korea, or South Vietnam are required to follow US laws. But if they are unsuccessful at the manufacturing level they'll probably just put some type of worm/virus that gives them access into the software next though and a lot of that stuff is created/developed in the US.

I'm guessing it's because he still thinks Sobotka has value which should make everyone question his ability to evaluate talent. We're lucky Berglund quit otherwise it would be even worse.

I guess it's better than raising ticket prices or parking.

Fair enough. It's still a money grab though. I understand celebrating a 50th year anniversary, but if they change the uniforms again after that it's kind of ridiculous.

I'd rather dump Sobotka or somebody worse and more expensive than Rodriguez to come up with the money. I'd keep McCabe and Ullmark as well but there are plenty of other places to trim the fat on this team (Scandella, Bogosian, Sobotka, Okposo, Hunwick, etc.).

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/07/23/us_encryption_backdoor/ This article popped up in the google feed on my phone the other day so I thought I'd share it. At first I thought it couldn't really be serious but it seems like the Register (United Kingdom) is a legit, middle of the political road news source. This seems exactly like the kind of deep state thing that the GOP typically rails against. It seems like they just want back door access to all electronic communication which doesn't really fit with the get government out of our lives mantra they tend to spout to the public. I never thought I'd say I miss Jeff Sessions or the Exxon CEO but I guess this is the down side to Trump going through appointees like Kleenex. Eventually guys like this are put into positions of power for no other reason than loyalty to the President. Does anyone really trust them to only perform surveillance when they have a valid warrant?

Copy that. Crazy that they may come out with new stuff this year and then go ahead a replace it a year later but I guess that's Pegula's new version of drilling another gas well now.

Didn't you have some source with the team that promised us they weren't going to ***** the bed again with these designs?

If that happened who is gonna play center for this team this season? Are you bumping one of Girgensons or Larsson up to the 3rd line? Would you put Sobotka up there? Rush Asplund into the NHL when he may or may not be ready yet?

I find it hilarious that people equate the O'Reilly trade with the attempt of switching to a winning culture. Can someone explain to me how that quitter Patrik Berglund and that horrible no talent bum Vladimir Sobotka represent a winning culture more than O'Reilly? Because I'd love to hear that one.

If they weren't then you keep the great all around center who is under a great contract. You don't settle for the shiniest turd you can get at that moment. Culture this and that but the way this team packed it in after the winning streak was over shows that the culture here is still pretty much ***** despite Botterill moving out Murray's problem children in Kane, Lehner, and O'Reilly.

Precisely because it's July. There are no games to watch or talk about and I'd rather discuss Botterill than read the gun thread, the fishing thread, or discuss which shade of blue the Sabres will ultimately decide on for their anniversary jerseys. You equated it to poker earlier but it's nothing like that because there's no financial stakes for posting your opinion on here, unless you play poker without gambling. There's no reason to be super conservative or hedge your bets on a Jason Botterill opinion. In the end, what does it matter if you're right or wrong? We're all pretty much spitballing for now and we'll find out either way as actual games get played. Our opinions don't have any impact on what ultimately happens anyway.

Not at all, but kudos on the snark. I think even a jerk like me would be more caring and understanding to a family member whom I care about than some guy the hockey team I happen to root for hired as general manager, but if you to raise Jason Botterill to same status that you'd have for your family have at it. I don't equate the two at all. I still think he should be fired for the O'Reilly trade though. Destroying our center depth with no replacement was a grave enough sin for me to give him his walking papers, but I don't have that power (which I'm sure most of you are thrilled about). I didn't like his approach in the way he traded Kane or the return he got for him either but I've explained why on many occasions so I'll leave it at that. My response to Dark had more to do with sitting on the fence with regards to the question in the OP though. I think 2 years is enough time to at least start leaning heavily in either direction at this point and he is still on the wait and see approach. The fact that it's a hockey board and the middle of July is precisely why fence sitting is boring. There's no games to watch or talk about so speculating about the upcoming season and the future of the team in general is basically the only thing to talk about this time of the year, so if we all took his ultra measured, wait and see approach and nobody got worked up over anything I'd have to find something else to read on my downtime at work and on my phone.

You're right. We should probably wait another 2 years before anyone decides if we like the direction that Botterill has the team heading in. Maybe by that point he'll have already been fired for a year and we won't have to discuss it at all.

Where's the fun in that? If everyone was calm and rational and we waited until the dust settled on everything to make a judgement call there'd be no need to even have a discussion at that point. Although I'm sure the conversation would be absolutely riveting as we all calmly and rational discussed the decisions of the 2013 draft six seasons and two GM's later because it's just too soon to discuss anything more recent than that. That 6th round draft pick might actually be ready to contribute now so we'd have to re-evaluate all the metrics.

You sound like one of those undecided voters who still can't make up his mind in October despite watching a half dozen debates and being exposed to umpteen hours of political ads.

Ah, the good old days when televisions weighed a ton and it costs multiple paychecks to buy one.

I'd welcome the Sabres actually winning games even though I think he sucks. There would certainly be no less backtracking needed than the scores of schadenfreuders who declared Botterill as some genius when the Sabres had their winning streak and the O'Reilly led Blues were at the bottom of the standings.