TrueBlueGED
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Posts posted by TrueBlueGED
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The Sabres should be a better team having Ott and Hodgson, instead of Roy and Kassian. Why aren't we better.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record.....because Roy, for all his faults, could handle the top matchups defensively allowing our other lines to start more in the offensive end and play easier competition. With Roy gone, and no real replacement, we're left with defensively inept centers needing to play in their own zone way too much.
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Have you listened to the new station, the Fan 1270 and the Rich Gaenzler show? If so, what do you think?
Haven't tried it yet. Maybe I'll give it a shot this week.
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WGR is way better than most of the local sports talk I've heard around the country.
That's terrifying to think about. The only ones I can even listen to is the morning show. Hate everything else on the station.
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Yes it is. Complain away
Fine. I spilled an entire cup of coffee on my desk, effectively destroying a bunch of notes, attendance sheets, and scantrons (luckily, already graded) which I now need to completely copy to new paper. I love spending half the day re-doing things I've already done. Oh, and a few exam copy textbooks for the summer course I'll be teaching, and my laptop bag now reeks of old coffee. Not to mention, I really wanted that F'n coffee. I guess I should take this as a lesson to clean off my desk more frequently.
Fine, my complaint is that Bio and her cohorts can come up w/ a flu vaccine each year but have yet to come up w/ a rhinovirus vaccine. :censored:
After suffering through my 2nd major sinus infection of the new year I realize I've lost the equivalent of about 1 full week of productivity to having ###### headcolds. Yeah, a sinus infection won't kill you, but it has cost me a LOT this season. :censored: And when you're coughing crud out of your throat for ~1 hour you lose a lot of productivity. (And that was on the 'good' day.) :censored:
I completely sympathize with the sinus infections. I've only had one bad one so far, but yes, it basically grinds my productivity to a halt and costs valuable gym time.
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My complaint is that my planned complaint is no longer worthy of this thread. Condolences to those who have lost, or will be losing, loved ones.
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The problem is that Kevin doesn't think anything needs to be done. Everyone is doing a great job, they just aren't winning. He offers nothing either. His solution is "they just need to start winning. That's deep.
I'd take it in another direction: the problem is we don't know what Kevin actually thinks ;)
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Did I just enter the echo chamber?
My post is so good it deserves to be read twice!
If I were confined to my home, I'd have about enough food for two days right now. Without power, one day.
I need to go shopping. I am nearly out of tofu jerky.
Yea, I certainly wouldn't be eating gourmet or anything. But I always let things like cereal and bread overlap shopping so I'm not totally out. Plus I keep some canned veggies and soup on hand (gas stove ftw).
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You're assuming your power doesn't go out.
What I hate is when the forecasters call for such a storm and the grocery stores are MOBBED the day & night before...as if it's the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas. Almost every store in this area runs out of bread, milk, and beer the day before a predicted big storm. At least one meteorologist had the sense to tell everyone to relax and only go to the store if you're almost out of the essentials. Don't stock up just because a storm is coming.
This should only ever be a problem for people who literally live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to have extra food. I'm not exactly loaded, and I always have enough food for 2-3 days if there's an emergency and I can't get out.
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Internet Explorer. It's happened using Firefox as well.
As I'm typing it has done it again.
I'm running Chrome and have never had this happen. Give it a shot.
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There have been dozens if not hundreds of "high end" centers the past 3 decades if you want to count Hodgson or Ennis as that. Heck....who have the Sabres had? Bert, Turgeon, LaFontaine, Hawerchuk, Gilmore (whoops...nevermind!...Lindy made him a winger).....
How many rugged forwards who could score? Gare? And he was a pound for pound guy...not a true physical find.
Kassian is a Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka's factory. Hodgson is a case of Wonka Bars 3 months after the contest expired....
I'm bringing these analogies until you figure it out!!!
I get it. And I still don't buy that rarity=necessity/importance. Hasek was even more rare than Kassian-types, that doesn't mean I'm about to advocate we pick up every 5-11 goaltender until we get the next Hasek. You need high-end centers to win a championship, they're unarguably necessary (note I didn't say they were sufficient). You don't need Neely or Bertuzzi types (that's not to say they aren't valuable).
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Neely, Gillies, Shannahan, Bertuzzi.....think again.....
Might want to check how many Cups Neely and Bertuzzi have won.
Guys like that can of course be very important contributors on championship teams and contenders, but they're far from necessary. Try finding championship teams that have won without high-end centers.
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You also can't say that Drury and Briere would have had the same careers since leaving Buffalo that they had if they stayed. Drury might still be playing, and maybe Briere would have worked as a #1 centre here. The Flyers have had plenty of other options that he wasn't needed in that role there, and drury is out because of injuries.
And as i was corrected before here, Black Sunday wasn't Regiers fault, that was Quinn and Golisano who take the blame.
Drury was forced into retirement by a degenerative knee condition. He'd be done regardless of what team he was on.
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I think both guys could be point/game players, or at least 70 points/82 games. Not sure how much more than that they could be, but these hot starts aren't dramatically better than what I think their potential is (at least in terms of points per game).
I'd agree with those projections. Not sure they're there in their second pro seasons though. Plus looking at their percentages, their volume will have to go up significantly to maintain the production levels, and I'm not sure I can make a strong case that happens, particularly in a condensed year with tired legs.
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And the reason I am so quick to point out Kassian's success is 2-fold.
The majority here were happy with the trade at the time....many dismissed Kassian as a failure....and many dismissed the idea that Ruff was the problem as to why someone like Kassian couldn't play his game here. As much as I like Foligno, many here also felt he was better than Kassian and made him expendable.
You had the anti-venom in your hand.....the one thing that has been missing for pretty much decades.....and you let it go. If Cody Hodgson and Zack Kassian both reach their ceilings.....I can name you 100 guys over the past 30 years that are as good as Hodgson.....I can name you maybe 5-10 as good as Kassian. THAT....is the problem with what happened, and why those who don't trust the GM and Coach to evaluate and nurture his skillset properly, will point this out as the Sabres seem to continue to float in their own cespool.
On the side, if there has only been 5-10 Kassians ever, they must not be particularly integral to winning a championship.
You could ask the same questions about Hodgson. And we probabaly will be. Hodgson and Kassian are going to be compared to one another for the rest of their careers as a result of this trade. Hoepfully it's a "race to the top" type of competition.
My answer for both players is an unequivocal no. Doesn't mean they totally tank, but they're both on unsustainable paces. Which is why it's even more important the Sabres start getting some secondary scoring.
Edit: for clarity, I'm not saying it's impossible he production continues (shooting percentage rates will surely decline though), just that it's bloody unlikely.
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Sorry....I guess I'm bad at counting.....sort of like Lindy in the last 10 seconds of a game in the nation's capital...... :P
One word: strategery.
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Maybe if this was 2009, but in 2012 I disagree...
Drury is out of the game and had maybe one decent year after 2007? Briere was never the top center on the Flyers from Day 1. He's a different animal over there and does not and has not carried #1 center duties. So, the point being even if we signed both of those guys - one would be gone and one would long ago would have been identified as no longer having #1 center ability.
I don't believe the point was about losing them, but rather, the failure to replace them in subsequent years.
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Could you not have traded Stafford and Sekera?
Again....the fatal flaw of this team was made even worse with this trade. People gave up on Kassiapn after a few dozen games. They wanted to dismiss the Ruff factor and seem to believe the need for another monotone, skilled, slight of build fella was what this team needed. Hodgson looks good this year. But it's like bartering in the Wild West.......you were low on water to begin with, and you just traded away the rest of your water for a new cover to your wagon. Great.....now it will take you 10 days instead of 5 to dehydrate to death because the cover will protect you from the sun. A smart person would see that you needed more water...and hence who cares how hot it gets....you will always survive.
Darcy's driving the covered wagon of skeletons.......
Given what the Canucks reportedly wanted for Hodgson (not to mention salary cap issues), no, I don't think Stafford and Sekera gets it done. Gotta remember, the reports were that Kassian was one of only a handful of players the Canucks were willing to give up Hodgson for.
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All of Regier's half-measures have resulted in a team that is never contending and never rebuilding. Are we trying to get younger? Are we trying to win now? Are we trying to just win enough that you can't justify firing anyone?
I've said it before, you can't rebuild with the same GM you've had since 1997 because that would require him to admit that he failed and that it's time to start over. So we never have a plan. We're just hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with a little bit of roster turnover every year.
Whether they explicitly say it or not (they won't), I think it's pretty clear the rebuild has begun. They're trying to do it gradually rather than with a stick of dynamite, but looking at the roster its pretty clear to me that it's happening. Stay competitive enough to compete for a playoff spot while turning the roster over to younger players and let those players get experience with vets around so we don't ice a bottom-3 roster of 22 year olds. Maybe a fire sale and tanking would be better (good argument for this IMO), but I see a rebuild already underway.
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Or worse....Roy....
Most likely. It really comes down to Roy and Kassian or Hodgson and Ott. Foligno was going to be here either way, and I have no idea why Drane listed all those other players, other than to make the loss of Kassian look more dramatic (seriously, who the F expects Ellis, McCormick, or Scott to produce any discernible offense?)
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Kassian: 9 games 5 goals
Foligno, Ennis, Stafford, Hecht, Ott, Grigorenko, Kaleta, Gerbe, Scott, McCormick, Ellis 82 games....5 goals
Aside from possibly Foligno, the rest have...what to do with this trade?
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How do you figure? We needed centers so badly that we gave up our best forward prospect (at the time), a supposed can't miss blue chipper with uncommon size and aggression, to get one. Had we dealt with the center situation even 2 seasons ago we'd have the centers we needed AND we'd have the best power forward prospect this franchise has ever drafted. It all comes back around to losing 2 centers in one day and never replacing the loss.
If you differ, I'd like to hear your thoughts.
The only quibble I have is calling Kassian a blue chip can't miss prospect. He was as likely to hit as to flop. I do agree with the rest though.
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That is complete BS. Vanek and Pominville carried this team from Game 1 in Europe. Vanek's production actually dropped at the end of last season scoring 4 goals over the final 20 games. If anything, Marcus Foligno had a far greater impact on the Sabres in his 14 games at the end of last season than Hodgson had at the end last season in 20 games where he was mostly invisible except for a five game stretch.
Selective stats are fun. Vanek was in the toilet and then produced a point per game over 10 after being paired with Hodgson. Nobody is saying Hodgson is carrying Vanek, only that he's contributing to his success. His play away from the puck really helps create offense, it's obvious watching it.
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The Stafford comparison was in my head watching last night's game. From what I saw last night (which was only two periods), Kassian looks like a bigger and much more effective version of Stafford.
Haven't seen much of Kassian this year, but from what I have I'd agree with this.
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stafford doesn't even have a goal this season......
stafford is getting worse....
I realize Stafford isn't showing up on the score sheet and he's paid to put the puck in the net, but his play away from the puck in all zones is so much better than in the past. He's not getting worse.
Kassian to Vancouver for Hodgson
in The Aud Club
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That fight was awesome.