Kruppstahl
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Posts posted by Kruppstahl
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That's great! But what is going on in Price's mind?
Nothing?
That's what I thought.
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The civil war and the Mongol conquest are my "specialties" if even that. It's been a few years since I've taken a history course.
Well you are in luck. One of the series done by Dan Carlin is on the Mongol conquest, said to be some of his best stuff.
That is on my "to listen to next" list.
:w00t:
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This is one thing that bothers me in sports. I remember Jim Kelly had naysayers and detractors. Every year, this portion of the population hated him and frankly, thought he sucked. Even through the Super Bowl years. And maybe even into Canton. Some people get that mindset and there is nothing that can overturn it. Maybe there is too much pride for people to admit when they're wrong.
I would rather take the opposite approach -- give someone the benefit of the doubt until they are verified hopeless. Not that my approach is right, but is a little more optimistic way to go through life.
And I can admit when I am wrong -- I used my approach when Leino came to Buffalo. When I finally turned on him, I was very vocal and critical of his lack of performance. But at the end of the day, does the skeptic who hated from Leino from day one a better or smarter person?
You can wake up every day and say it's going to rain and eventually you'll be right. I would rather wake up thinking it's going to be a beautiful sunny day today. As long as I don't live in a tropical rain forest, that's my perspective.
Not sure what you are on about in this post. No offense but you write a lot of off-topic stuff that is not relevant to the topic at hand.
As noted, until Grigorenko shows me that he is special or even above average, I don't see a big role for him in the Sabres franchise. Maybe I am wrong.
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I know Stahl means steel, but I don't actually have a working knowledge of any war that happened after about 1870. I'm going to check out Hardcore History on my dishwashing shift tonight. Thanks for the recommendation.
You're welcome. Check out his website, but only the current podcast is free. You can pay a few bucks to listen to all the past ones.
However, you can find a number of them available on youtube for free, where I am listening to "Blueprint for Armageddon" Part III now.
I believe the entire "Armageddon" series is on youtube. Some of these are over 4 hours long each. It's great stuff, especially as I am not well versed in WWI.
WWII is my speciality along with all things ancient Roman.
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Yes.
Well you might understand my username more than most then.
Not to go off topic, but are you familiar with Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" podcasts?
I am listening to "Blueprint for Armageddon" Part III right now. It's about WWI.
This guy's podcasts are remarkable. I just learned of them a few days ago.
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Like the direction they are going with Sansa. Not sure if it's because of the story line or the fact that she just turned 19 but they have been turning up the sex appeal on our woe begotten princess.
It looks like she's got a couple of big secrets.
http://38.media.tumblr.com/a22ab9071e61aeaae93d39bcde5e6500/tumblr_n7eunyK0XA1qjzda3o1_500.png
I see you are not the only one who has noted this.
I'm right with you bud.
"At least show Barristan looked badass for the first time ever." I definitely think he looked badass.
Hey Qwksndmonster!
Based on your spoiler comments about the fight scenes it sounds like you are interested in military history. Yes?
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That COHO interview with the kid is great!
I'm not a COHO fan but his stock just went up a bit in my mind.
Regarding the piece over at WGR-550.com...
I just posted in the World Championship thread about this, but watch in all those video snippets how Eichel uses his body.
He totally understands how to use his body to control territory, shield the puck, and neutralize an opponent, as though he has been playing in the NHL for 10 years. He also already has the body size/strength to pull it off.
McDavid (at the moment) is like a child in comparison.
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I think the "Murray wants a big, heavy team" idea gets too much play. He drafted Reinhart over Draisaitl (who is bigger) and Bennett (who is more physical). He signed Ennis to a long-term contract rather than seeking a trade, and at least publicly, he praised the season he had. It's certainly a factor in the decision making, but I see too many people assuming Grigorenko is going to be traded seemingly only because he doesn't look/play like David Backes.
In short, Grigorenko needs to bring more to the table than he actually does.
When asked about Reinhart, Tim Murray said: "Let's put it this way. Every single time I have seen him play, he is the smartest player on the ice by far."
Reinhart is also the more or less universally accepted best forward in his draft class.
Grigorenko will have to prove to me that he is anything more than "meh".
Until he does, I remain bored with him as a Sabre prospect.
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I'd like to thank BRAWNDO and others for providing the very useful information in this thread.
I'll be watching the game tomorrow at 10:00 am.
These games have given me the first real chance to see Eichel in action.
What impresses me most is his instinctive ability to use his body as a shield to protect the puck, and his instinctive ability to just use his body in general.
He understands when 2 guys are going for a puck along the end wall, for example, that the most important thing to do first is to block out the other guy. Never mind the puck for now. Get position on the other guy, block him out, dominate that little piece of ice...then get the puck.
I've seen a lot of NHL players who don't seem to understand that.
This kid is beyond NHL ready and I just can't wait to see him in a Sabres uniform.
It's going to be pretty exciting.
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What I like about Ovi is that he is not afraid to shoot the puck like crazy.
He has a great shot and he uses it.
I always wanted Vanek to go into every game thinking he had to have 10 shots! Why not! When you're Vanek, you need to shoot the puck.
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Help me understand what you mean by Grigo isn't "his type of guy." What is GMTM's type of guy, and why doesn't Grigo fit into that? The only part I thought was lacking was the "hockey sense" and he seemed to make good strides toward the end of the year.
This is subject to debate obviously, but Murray has made it clear that he wants a big, "heavy" team. He likes Foligno, as an example, for this reason, despite the fact that Foligno is a marginal NHL talent at best.
Grigorenko is tall, but he is not a "big body" and he most certainly does not play a heavy game, and never will. That's not who he is.
His skating is horrible (it has improved a lot I concede) and he is slow.
I don't see him being a part of this team, long term, once we transition to the "real team".
I may be wrong.
He was picked by Darcy, duh! Never mind that he's a big scoring forward.
Tall and lanky doesn't mean "big".
He doesn't play a big game. He is soft and a poor skater.
He is more Derek Roy than Gordie Howe. He is kind of a miniature version of Tyler Myers in my mind...a huge guy who played small.
As you point out, he wasn't Murray's guy, which will make it even easier to move him, along with the likes of Armia, who was equally inappropriately highly rated by a certain contingent of the Sabres fan base IMO.
I think Grigrenko is finally rounding in to pro form. It's a shame that we don't have the flexibility to stash him in Roch next year, because I have a really hard time finding a good spot for him on our roster. This is why I'm okay with using him in a trade. But as Blue said he probably doesn't have great trade value, so it's tough.
As far as what my heart desires, I want Grigorenko to stay with the Sabres and be a part of our eventual cup run(s). I also don't want Liger to have gotten a #25 Quebec jersey for nothing.
Where would you stick him on those Cup run teams?
Would you move him to wing?
He isn't going to be the 1C, that's Eichel's job.
He isn't going to be the 2C, that's Samson's job.
He isn't going to e the 3C/shutdown C, that's going to be Zemgod's job.
So then you want him centering the 4th line? I want more muscle on that line than Grigro provides.
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My guess: most likely outcome is that Griggy is traded over the summer, probably as part of a package for a good player, but also possibly in a straight-up trade for a prospect or a pick that looks more like a cut-your-losses move (which will have many here up in arms). I don't think GMTM is interested in being forced to keep him here because he won't clear waivers. That's a Darcy move.
2nd-most-likely outcome is that Reinhart starts the season in Rochester and Griggy starts in Buffalo as the #2 or #3 center. Of course, this leaves open the possibility that Griggy looks crappy and becomes a frequent healthy scratch. I don't think GMTM wants to find himself in this situation, which is why I think he'll be traded.
This! Grigo is not Tim Murray's guy and not his type of guy.
He won't be a part of the "good team" around here, once we get good.
It's time to start putting everyone in the keeper and "not keeper" camp.
Grigo isn't a keeper. Neither is COHO by the way. He'll be gone soon too.
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Here's to a good show tonight and one a bit better than we have seen so far this season.
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I blame the ice for obscuring Umberger's number!
:w00t:
That hit was probably the best (and clean) hit in the entire NHL that season, and it surely must remain one of the top 5 hits in Sabre history.
Campbell is a good skater with great balance and he is the type of player who is very solid on his skates. He converted himself into telephone pole for a moment and let Umberger's own energy do all the damage.
It was like watching a car drive into a brick wall.
Coming home from a southern baseball tournament, it was the first Sabres playoff game I'd ever experienced and my mom had one of those mini-vans with the headphones you could plug into the back radio so that's how I listened to the game. That call is my best memory of the Sabres; we eventually came home just in time to hear "Danny Brier! Danny Brier!"
Hey, cool!
:beer:
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I remember hearing a story about a call like that -- from RJ himself (in an interview). As memory serves, he got a memo from one of the Knox brothers asking him to keep things more family-friendly. I recall him dating it to his very early years, though.
On that special DVD they released some years ago, RJ mentioned that the commissioner once told him to "calm down" during fight calls. Like he got too excited and it promoted violence in the game that the league was trying to eliminate. Or something like that.
RJ's response was like "Hey, I don't tell the guys to fight! If they are going to throw 'em I'm going to call the action!" Or something like that.
On a related note, I used to love how Harry Neale would always point out, during fights on HNIC, that the entire building was standing and going nuts. As if to suggest "Who are these people who want to remove fighting from the game exactly? They aren't hockey fans."
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Changing my vote to this
The excitement in RJ's voice during the Campbell/RJ Umberger incident is what defines RJ as great in my mind.
If you were only listening to that call on the radio, you would have thought all hell was breaking loose and there was a riot going on. The anticipation, the sense of urgency, the excitement he painted in your mind....
RJ actually made the incident better than it really was. If you recall, after the hit, the crowd ended up in the corner at the opposite end of the ice, but nothing much really developed.
RJ made it sound like a war was breaking out! Just fantastic!
Also of note: for such a great call, RJ kind of blew it. You can tell he didn't catch who got drilled (Umberger) so RJ just kept referring to him as "his check"...which shows what a pro he is. He pulled it off seamlessly and he never stammered around to find the player's name.
Good lesson for budding play by play guys there. It doesn't necessarily matter if you can't identify a name quickly, if you handle it the right way. Identifying the player as a "check" rather than a name worked fine. We all knew what he was talking about, and exactly who got knocked into next week wasn't the critical aspect of the play in any event.
John Murphy doing Bills games could learn quite a few lessons from RJ.
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Here's one we've heard RJ say about 10 trillion times, and it doesn't get old:
"The SHAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWT...................RIGHT AWWWN."
All of them.
Loved the way he called OH-MO-GILNY! when he scored. The fight calls from the May Ray Barnaby era were fantastic. Do they still run the call of Ray and Laus on game days at 4pm on WGR before Ray comes on? That one was a beaut.
"And Ray delivers the coups de grace!"
:w00t:
Unfortunately they replaced that not too long ago with Ray telling RJ during a recent game "It's my partners Schopp and the Bulldog. Their geniuses."
To which RJ incredulously responds: "REALLY?"
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5-0.
What do you think about the Sabres going after Matt Beleskey?
Make that 6-0. Wow; Flames are officially flamed!
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"Now here's Galley mixing it up with one of the Flyers. They're all the way over at the penalty box! I can't even tell who that is. It's either Lacroix, Daniels, or Kordic. Whoever it is has his shirt right up around his neck."
"Woah what a hit by Campbell! Holy Mackerel! Campbell stepped into his check at the blue line, now they're all chasing after Campbell!"
"Now do you believe? NOW DO YOU BELIEVE? These guys are good! Scary good!"
I remember the moment that was uttered live. Great Sabres moment.
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We all know "May Day!", "La la la La Fontaine" or "Top shelf where momma hides the cookies" and lots of other standard (and great) RJ fare.
But who can come up with some really good ones the rest of us may not know or have forgotten about?
I mention this because I recently was reminded of one of RJ's greatest lines ever, which many Sabres fans may not recall.
Rob Ray was fighting Steve Webb of the NY Islanders.
RJ: (Speaking of Webb) "He got a few in at the start, but boy oh boy did he pay for them at the end."
For me, this remains one of RJ's all time great lines.
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Now this might just be me, but I think this is the worst draft I've ever seen.
I don't think any of the players are any good(hyperbole) and the bills don't have a pick for me to care about.
I did zero draft homework for the first time in about ten years because I don't care about any players in this draft.
If it's just me being jaded feel free to say so. That has been known to happen.
You're just jaded.
Just kidding.
This is said to be a rather weak NFL draft class and the Bills having no first round pick doesn't help as you say.
I watched the first 3 picks tonight just to see what happened. When it all went down as the pundits said it would, I switched to my recording of Caps/Rangers. Still watching it now. Currently 1:0 Washington, 13:35 left in 2nd period . For me.
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It's in the job description of a gm to hire and fire coaches. It is not in the job description of a coach to scout and draft players, set the roster sure, but not acquire and manage personnel. He has stepped up. Are you suggesting that we replace our gm with Babcock? If so then as gm he can make player decisions. As a coach His focus should be managing the roster.
I like juju bees.
As a point of clarification, I would like to mention that I ADORE Jujubees as well!
I would not have the guts to eat them now though, as they are tough on teeth.
Anyway, you have your jujyfruits, your jujubees, and your "dots" not to mention your gummy bears and Swedish Fish.
Jujubees are the best.
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Why should personnel decisions be given to someone who has no experience in personnel decisions. Babcock is a coach with no experience in scouting or personnel development. The Wings model is Holland's doing not Babcock.
I wouldn't give Babcock "Emperor" power in Buffalo, but he won't come to Buffalo.
And shouldn't you come from the land of "X, Y, and "jujus" and not "jujubees"? I assume you are referencing Tim Murray.
Not surprising at all. Edmonton really is a great landing spot now that Lowe isn't in charge of hockey operations.
It's still in central Alberta mind you! Roughly on the same parallel as Moscow and southern Sweden.
Not sure that's a great landing spot for anyone, including eskimos.
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The current trend in hockey is indeed a concern, at least for me.
Wondering who will get lucky when a shot bounces off someone's shin guard in a scrum in front of and into the net is not really very interesting. At least for me. And most of N. America by the way.
Rather than make fun of a goalie's size or fitness level in the 1980s, look at the EQUIPMENT worn by these guys now. It's absurd.
So are these modern composite sticks. They should be made illegal. It's Mickey Mouse to allow high tech sticks; ML baseball was smart enough NOT to allow that crap with a bat a long time ago. The same thing has ruined men's tennis.
Go back to wood, go back to modest goalie equipment, and make the nets a few inches larger to allow for huge goalies in the modern era. All these things are needed post haste. Unless the NHL wants to continue to be out-viewed by PBA bowling.
I guess that's their call.
2015 IIHF Championship Prague May 1-17
in The Aud Club
Posted
It's cliche, but in the case of Eichel, it's just TRUE.
He will make everyone on the ice around him better.
Yes it could!