Claude_Verret

Another Stanley Cup / Super Bowl/ World Series parade in Pittsburgh, Boston or New York? meh,,,. it used to matter to me, but zero fukcs given these days. A Stanley Cup parade in places like Vancouver or St. Louis with long suffering fan bases like ours? I wouldn't like to see it, but at least I can relate to those fans on a certain level. A cup parade in somewhere Columbus, Nashville or San Jose with their still wet behind the ears fan bases? No f-ing way man! Call it petty sports fan douchebaggery, but following sports is an escape from real life where petty douchebaggery is not only allowed, but encouraged. Now should the Sabres win even one Cup, this all changes for me and I'll be actively rooting for teams like Vancouver and St. Louis to get their first if the Sabres are out of contention.

No approach guarantees anything, including tanking. Once they went all in on the tank, which I'll arbitrarily mark as the Vanek trade, there was no turning back. If TM comes in and tries to reverse course I'd argue that sets back the timeline to contention even farther. Be completely honest with yourself...how many times as a Sabres fan going into a season can you say that you really thought they had a legit shot at the Cup? I'd say no more than 5 or 6 seasons for me and those are spread out over a long time period. I'm done with that. I want to be like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago (recently) etc. and go into nearly every season knowing that my team really has a legit shot at a Cup. I truly believe that tanking gives us the best chance to become that type of franchise. I fully realize that we could end up like Edmonton, but I'll still have no regrets about taking an honest shot at long term greatness through tanking. I still say the thread title says it all. The worst is behind us. After the 2015 draft, regardless of whether or not we land McEichel, the tank talk is pretty much done, at least from me.

If you're moving to NC, then you're going to need to familiarize yourself with Chapel Hill rock legends Southern Culture on The Skids. Weird Al pays homage to their style on his new album with the song "Lame Claim To Fame" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yazr8JkazmE From what I can tell Weird Al is mainly aping the SCOTS classic "Camel Walk" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUP5rwVNJko

Absolutely. Sports fandom is petty.

I do. I'm looking forward to impromptu Eleven Sabres musings as you wander about.

Let's get it straight on the tank.. McEichel is/are the holy grail. Yes odds are the Sabres get neither, but our chances of landing one or the other are way higher than our chances of making the playoffs this year. These guys are generational talents, so its only natural that media and talk radio focus on them. Again, discussing these players in blue and gold is far closer to reality than discussing a potential 2015 Sabres playoff run. I think most fans recognize the lottery odds. A top five pick in this draft still improves this team and our long term cup prospects dramatically. And a Sabres bottom five finish is a pretty damn solid bet.

Or you and a few others need to accept that the Sabres along with a handful of other teams will have the best shot at landing him, and move on.

Nobody ever claimed that tanking is the only way to build a contender, but it is undeniably an approach that this franchise has never tried. "All we are saying is give tanking a chance."

Long, long, long overdue. I hate losing as much as the next fan, but this approach provides me with hope. Doing what we had always done, with a new GM or not, would have been duping fans more than an honest effort at tanking ever could.

Right. Its not McDavid/Eichel or bust. A top five pick in this draft still improves the organization dramatically.

Because what's even worse than tanking? Missing the playoffs anyway while finishing 17th to 20th. As Sabres fans especially we should all be keenly aware of this.

To me the only thing worse than a cup-less lifetime as I enter my 70's would be if every other team had at least one to their credit while the Sabres were still cup-less. Who is Sal Cappacio?

This is why every Buffalo fan should follow the misery loves company doctrine of rooting for other teams. Never, ever root for a team to win their first championship before Buffalo does.

It's based on current logo. The rankings are derived from the opinions of seven staffers at THN. Once they announce a team they open up for fan submissions of redesigned logos for that team. When the countdown is done they will release their favorite fan redesigns for each team.

Number 26: Tampa Bay Lightning

Congrats. Put away the Genny and crack open the good stuff!

Number 27: Vancouver Canucks Carolina Colorado Capitals Canucks It's gotta be Calgary, Columbus or Chicago next I guess.

I worked with an Indian woman years ago, she was a very nice lady and competent scientist. But there was a cultural/religious custom that she engaged in where she fasted for a week. No food and maybe a few sips of water for an entire week! She didn't shower either and maybe changed her clothes twice. By day 3 or 4 she was completely useless at work, not to mention quite ripe. Her desk was next to mine and she would sit there with her head down nearly comatose for 3/4 of the day. Her boss / HR never said anything about the lack of productivity though, I guess they were afraid of religious intolerance claims. The most ridiculous part of this fasting tradition? Only the women were called to do it, men were exempt.

What area are you looking for apartments in? I know some people who work in apartment management locally. And I wouldn't worry too much about neighbors in apartments around here. I rented for a year when I first moved down here and you couldn't a response to a "good morning" much less have people pry into your business.

Number 28: Washington Capitals

Nice. My wife and I were there last month. I didn't try the pizza but they looked awesome.

It's a miracle we were up 2-1 at the end of the second in game 7 with that blue line. Yet to this day nearly every canes fan and a select few posters here will argue those injuries mattered not in the outcome.

I've always thought the Sens logo was pretty brutal.

A perfect thread for the summer doldrums. The Hockey News has started a countdown from worst to first NHL logos. The Canes organization liked to rib the Sabres during the slug days, and that was all fine and good because who doesn't agree that the slug was one of the all time worst sports logos? At the time I used to remind my Canes fan friends about people living in glass houses, pot kettle black etc.. To a man they always insisted that their logo was among the best in the NHL. Well THN doesn't agree my Caniac friends.... Woooo Woo woo!! Number 30: Carolina Hurricanes Of course we all know the original six teams will populate the top 10, but I'd be surprised if the Sabres aren't in the mix as well. edit: Number 29 released today, Colorado

When the Isles 1st next year turns into one half of McEichel, then I'm prepared to erect the DR statue downtown. At this point I'm prepared to give DR credit for a few deep playoff runs and many, many years of running on the treadmill of mediocrity.