That Aud Smell

In the hunt for a (new) POHO? Yah, mah boy.

Bro. The Sabres under Pegula is the context.

Yeah. I do hold out hope that there’d be something … new. What’s the definition of insanity?

He won’t? He has? Terry is the Sabres’ POHO. I’d like to hear from him.

It appears that Terry’s involvement with the Sabres is far (far) more significant than it is with the Bills. And yes: The Bills are great, so fans don’t need to hear from the owner. The Sabres suck. And have sucked for a long time. Terry’s running the show with the Sabres. I very much want to know what he thinks and what his plans are.

Except that, while we don’t see him, we don’t hear from him, he does a great deal “BTS” with regard to the team’s hockey operations. That results in an utter failure of accountability.

from today’s Sabres mailbag (Lance as the writer?): ”Pegula watches video of draft-eligible prospects and poses questions to the scouting staff during meetings. He signs the checks, so a significant free-agent signing like the one involving Taylor Hall in 2020 doesn't happen without Pegula's approval.” Yeesh.

I heard that quote from Kraft late last night, and thought of you @Stoner. Also: Nice pull on the quote from Terry on the day of his opening press conference. (What a weird brag that was, at the time. "I can tell you one thing, I'm a fan. You won't find a bigger fan than me because I just bought a hockey team. That's a pretty big commitment as a fan. There's only 29 other fans in the country that can pull that off." [Jeebus - fu*k off, dude.]) I took up a contrary position to you when you first (?) argued that the Sabres were, effectively, a public asset -- something akin to the BPO, the Buffalo Zoo, etc. A cultural institution of sorts that the supporting public essentially owns. Technically (and only technically) speaking, I had and still have a solid argument to make. Morally, emotionally, ethically, and probably some other important adverbs I can't summon right now, though, you had it right. Dead nuts. Kraft copping to the Patriots as a public asset points to what high-minded pro sports franchise ownership must look and sound like. Any owner who doesn't make the same acknowledgment and behave accordingly is occupying some lesser tier of ownership than Kraft does. Now. Mind you. Kraft is still a doooosh bag billionaire. On so many levels: Eff that guy and his bloated family. But! As billionaire pro sports franchise owners go? He's the gold standard.

Eesh. It's hard to be sure. It certainly feels like it. But the omnipresence of teh interwebs and mobile phone messaging (lo, my several Sabre group chats) make it an apples:oranges comparison to compare now to low times of the past. There's so much more opportunity to socialize the misery. Plus, we have the matter of recency bias with which to contend. OTOH, the current drought is historic and the team's futility is without precedent for the franchise. Plus, the future is so bleak and gloomy, given how Terry is choosing to (mis)manage the franchise. So, yeah -- this is the lowest point in franchise history. And they ain't done yet.

I mean -- they get down there -- way the f**k down there -- and then somehow manage to procure a bunch of jackhammers and go even farther down.

The Sabres have never been a bigger bummer than they are this season. It's not even close.

I'm not even sure you stand corrected. Or that I'm correct. The whole thing is bizarre. I listened again this morning. Is his big series of coughs - right before he gets into the Deonte stuff - a "tell" that he's about to go through the looking glass? Was Deonte actually yelling "palm trees, coach!" in early December 2017 before the Colts mega snow game? Perhaps the only part that's a dig or jab is when McDermott takes that little side step -- says he's not sure whether the media sees the local palm trees, but that they're everywhere -- but everything else he said is true? Perhaps, as @Stoner noted, it was McDermott who planted a palm tree seed in GM KA?! I wish someone would unpack this with McDermott.

Possibly? Seems like you’re making a series of jumps there, though. It’s simpler to listen to what McDermott said. He says Deonte was shouting “palm trees, coach!” in reference to the palm trees that grow around here — then McDermott says to the media “maybe you guys don’t see” the palm trees “but they’re all over the place” here in WNY. How can that be anything but a jab at an affiliated team exec who recently and pathetically bemoaned Buffalo’s lack of palm trees?

That is very, very interesting. Great pull! Even so, McDermott's comment yesterday to the reporters -- words to the effect of "we have palm trees that grow around here, not sure people are aware of that" -- seemed trained on GM KA's recent remark. I listened several times. I encourage you to listen again. McDermott starts talking about Deonte and the away Miami game when he was evaluating Deonte early in the day to see if he could go, but then veers back into the Colts snow game, then again back to the Miami away game, but then clearly says that Deonte was clamouring about "palm trees" prior to the Colts snow game in OP. Which ... maybe he was? But then listen to McDermott as he riffs off that. He says Deonte is "yelling to me, 'palm trees, coach,' -- this is before the Colts game -- because we had talked about the palm trees that grow around here -- maybe you guys don't see 'em, but they're all over the place." When he says "around here," he's talking about Buffalo. And again: "Maybe you guys [the media] don't see 'em, but they're all over the place."

Good takes, all. I've listened to substantially all of McDermott's post-game press conferences this season. Of late, he's gotten pretty emotional at times about how much he believes in the people of WNY, how much he identifies with them, how proud he is to represent them, how much he appreciates them, how much he thinks they're under-appreciated and misunderstood across the country. And so on. At times, I've been like, "buddy, take it easy. you're laying it on sorta thick." But I think he really believes all that stuff. I think it's a big piece of how he motivates and centers himself. And so, by extension, I think that, when McDermott heard GM KA's "woe is me" routine about having Buffalo (I mean, blechk) as an undesirable franchise destination, McDermott was sorta pissed off. And strange as it is to say, he wanted to stand up for Buffalo.

I think that first statement above is absolutely true. The Bills have two complementary alphas leading the organization -- the so-called McBeane team. As a result, Terry's largely a supportive observer when it comes to football ops. As for Adams' failure or refusal to use the Bills' rebuild as guidance, I think he's just incapable of charting and following a similar path.

I think it helps to recall that McDermott is a strange guy. Remember the reports regarding his 9/11 precision metaphor? I think there's a way that he meant this palm tree yarn to be funny, encouraging, and a little bit of tough love? But, like I said: He's a strange guy.

Give it a few listens. I had to listen to it 4 or 5 times to understand, as best I can. I think he's making up a story - cracking wise? Because there's no way that Deonte Thompson was actually shouting about WNY's "palm trees" before the Colts snow game in 2017. But McDermott spins a yarn about Thompson saying that -- apparently so that McDermott can then talk about how there are in fact many (resilient!) palm trees all across WNY and can then link that "observation" to the end of an historic playoff drought.

speaking of deep fakes -- that are somehow NOT deep fakes -- here's mcdermott making some bizarre half-baked playoff drought joke that is intended to ... well, i'm not sure ... be a poke in the ribs of kevyn adams?

Then there are cultural factors at play. And they tend to illuminate @Stoner’s point. Those euro dudes who travel to go nuts for UPL? They’re getting “it.” In England, people aren’t “fans” of a soccer club; they’re “supporters.” Words matter. There’s a material difference there.

Is that tribalism? I’m not sure. Tribalism provides a sense of belonging, acceptance, and place. But I think what we seek through our team’s victories is more benign than tribalism.

This is the correct answer, imo. My general theory is that pro sports victories are a proxy/gateway for feelings of human connection, belonging. What’s the point of your team’s victory if you’ve nobody to share it with? “I see friends shaking hands, saying ‘how do you do?’ / They’re really saying ‘I love you.’” Saying ”Go Bills” to strangers (or loved ones) is in a similar vein.