DarthEbriate

In my experience there's no such thing as luck. Just change the justification line-by-line. Full, left, right. Whatever.

5 in the top 10, yes. But the highest after Cozens is #6, and Ruotsalainen was in Dev Camp last year and he was ... forgettable? Agreed: Mitts has potential. By golly, I'm gonna play my Downtown auf Deutsch when he scores in a Sabres playoff game some day, darngummet. Unknown: Thompson, injuries will determine his future. Weissbach, maybe, but he had the opportunity to lead/carry a young Badgers squad and was good but not great.

Oh, the asides! Oh, the ranges! As I learned from Parliament, not REO Speedwagon, you can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish. Of course, in trying to research who quoted whom just now, both tracks were released in 1978. I'm not doing further research. Parliament always wins.

The trouble with publishing is inconsistency. One space or two spaces, you get to choose, but you don't get to change. Not three. Five is right out.

Favre carried it through to the end of his career. Back in the day, Favre was fun, and simultaneously scary, to watch. Especially with the 4:3 aspect ratio he'd whip the ball off the screen before the camera could pan.... But often those big picks were effectively punts. 3rd and long, chuck it 40 yards downfield and hope there isn't much of a return.

Do you pronounce it A-T-M or at-M? Asking for my friend (Veers). Ah yes, the rules of word processor kerning! Apparently schools started teaching kids one space but then reverted back to two spaces? I can neither confirm nor deny the schooling, but it certainly causes me to use Find and Replace functions more frequently.

Sabres pick 8th again. // In a "2020 Redraft" article in 2026 their selection is a late 3rd-rounder // Rinse in Horsey Sauce and repeat. // Eat at Arby's

That was a great game. I have a memory of one of those super late summer nights, with about 20 kids of the block all running about in near darkness. I'm sure it was past everyone's time to come home, but the parents were like "Darkness schmarkness? Leave 'em out there." and went back to... watching 20/20 or something innocuous I'm sure.

Where's Artoo Senator Amidala when we need her? I think we would all agree that if the Sabres were in the playoffs we'd want them to win the Cup, asterisked or not. The things I don't like are changing the parameters of the playoffs or draft after playing the bulk of the season and completing the trade deadline. It's like moving a target at an archery tourney after the arrow is in flight. But before the shot is made, by all means, let everyone agree to whatever wild placement you want -- that's what makes sports sports. Let's look at Montreal. The Sabres and Habs were tied with 66 points at the trade deadline. If the Habs had known all they had to do to get a playoff round vs. (most likely) Toronto and all that revenue and coverage, was to beat Buffalo down the stretch, would they have moved Kovalchuk and Scandella? It was good asset management to move them. But Buffalo had been stagnant for months and a better choice may have been to add pieces to beat out the Sabres. Likewise, a BUF-TOR series? JBot would have had to go after more than Kahun and Simmonds if he knows he doesn't have to catch Toronto (because of wildcards), he just has to stay ahead of a middling Montreal squad.

Darth's sipping whiskey of choice for camp firesides, book readings, and Con-people-watching. Edit: Whoops -- replied rather than posted. We had signed up for a cooking lesson as an xmas gift, but it was canceled. The place is now selling their meal lessons (with the recipes). So we got a right-tasty "to go" box of pork ribs with rhubarb black pepper sauce, smoked potato salad, buttermilk coleslaw, fresh sweet rolls, and a strawberry cobbler.

I won't say happy. Rather, it would make me feel better because it's somewhat more consistent with the regular playoffs. For the record: I think they should follow the planned playoff qualification rules (16 teams, wildcards, and non-qualifiers get a lottery percentage). I don't like "altering the deal" once the season has started. If they go to 24 teams, and use a wild card layout -- then absolutely the Rangers should be in over the Sabres, just like if both teams were currently in 4th in their divisions and going after the wildcard. But, if the league wants 24 teams in, then only 7 teams should have a lottery percentage and they all should be available for #1. You either get playoffs (and revenue) or you get a lottery chance, not both.

You must do what you feel is right, of course.

That Sanderson goal. Still as pretty today.

That 98-99 team (emphasis on team, not roster) was a fantastic sum of its parts. Edit: I'm a few days behind because I have to watch these through NHL, so I'm wrapping the Boston series today. But these games were all pretty wild and fun. Very engaging.

Acrostic cheatery! Analytics are only Numbers if that's what you believe. Analytics are true Love if you wish them investigated. Your mileage may vary. Those numbers scream out "Improvement!" if only the team Could find some Secondary scoring. I thought of that one. But if I always took the easy path, I would become an agent of evil.

But just think if that chimp with a nail gun was also a skilled roofer! ?

Always two there are. A master and a denominator. And a numerator.

Excellent film. Bure and that 93-94 Canucks team first got me into hockey when I got cable. So he’s my guy and I wish he’d never caught that skate under the boards that shredded his knee. He could have been more than amazing. The best though... no. For that I have to go with Ovie on all around game and attitude. Fedorov is a close second because he was whatever Scotty needed him to be.

If the Sabres are added to a playoff field I'd laugh. I'd also root for them to win the Cup and if they did I'd gladly say "asterisk" any time. But the key would be that their names would be engraved and they'd have won it. The best team doesn't always win. The bounces (and injuries) need to go your way, and that one other team that matched up badly for you needed to get upset, and on and on. But! This team does not deserve to even be "considered" for the playoffs based on this season's performance. They have not earned that ticket. What would irk me most if they make the playoffs is that then the team's leadership and ownership could say "we made the playoffs in 2020" and "we snapped that drought!". And they do not deserve to be able to say that or to rest their laurels on that. They deserve credit for the playoff drought continuing yet another season. They deserve to watch other teams play for the Cup and to be pleased that they're probably going to draft 8th once again.

One of the positives of no current sports is watching these old games (twitter Buffalo Archives, NHL.com Sabres Classics if you can drill down far enough to find them). There are fewer graphics, less information on the screen... and it's glorious. I mean, the numbers on the 98-99 Sabres had to be gross. They could barely complete a pass, zone entries and breakout passes? pshaw. People are being mugged and tackled all over the place. But watching them is pure joy. Out of nowhere they have a perfect breakout, perfect tic-tac-toe, and everyone is in the right place. It's the beautiful chaos of hockey. What I'm also seeing (boo -- eye-test!) is that the '99 team would obliterate our current roster with 99 rules, and would still win if they had to adapt to modern rules. And... the 05-06 team would crush that '99 team. I also watched the 1991 World Series and it's beautiful, wild, baseball. And there's nothing on the screen, and the game moves with pace, and it takes thought and paying attention to watch the game. I wouldn't want to go back and do a GDT during that, I'd want to just live it solely for the sport. Is that nostalgia or how much culture and myself have changed?

A communications disruption can mean only one thing...

Yikes, these are some high-side estimates on the contracts. The statement is accurate, there won't be as much money left for that handy 2C (free agent or trade acquisition) because we've got to spend a bunch just to keep our RFAs. The odd/concerning thing is see so much of the roster on expired contracts at the same time.

I guess Pilut and Bryson get most of Rochester's PP point work going forward -- if Pilut can't make the jump to hyperspace Buffalo. Can Laaksonen hit the AHL this coming season and start bulking up on whatever that local cuisine is called? Trash compactor plate? Or does he need to stay in the Liiga another full year (20-21)?

Not being a local, I really hope they have this available on NHL.com or Sabres youtube. I'm itching for some 1999. Good days, spring of 1999. Never his mind on where he was... hm, what he was doing. Hm!

I still like acquiring Fasching and Deslauriers. But then reading the trade. It's like --- oh, Fasching and D-Lo. Cool, middle six and a 4th grinder. Who'd we give up? McNabb? Oh. Well, I guess they like some of the vets more. It seems early to move a young defenseman. But we've got McCabe and Ristolainen and Zadorov. We've got young D in the top rounds. We've got this. I like this trade! We got a steal. Suck it, LA! Oh? We gave up another player? Parker? Jonathan Parker? Of ECHL/AHL --- yeah, sure. Sweet. And we moved a contract we had no interest in. ZFGMTM BEST GM EVER! Oh -- there's more? We also sent a 2nd. Ok -- yeah, that balances it out. I guess we had to give a little more because McNabb was expendable from all those D picks. Hey, you know, maybe he won't pan out at all. Sure seems like a 2nd would get an established rental or a NHL starter though. Maybe we overpaid just a touch. What? Another pick? Another 2nd? What the hell? Bad GMTM! Two 2nds, a D ready to make the NHL jump, (and, no ZF Parker!), and we got a 4th-round pick prospect and a 3rd-round pick 4W agitator? What in the ... All this and I still liked Fasching. He drove to the net, he wasn't super fast but he skated hard and fast enough, he was good along the boards. I was hoping he'd pan out into that tough to play against 3/4 winger who maybe moves up to 2 for injuries but otherwise was really reliable and maybe would have one of those really good playoffs that someone totally overpays for the following offseason. But man... what a trade.