That Aud Smell

No one will deny that he has good hair. A "good guy," he mos def is not. Unless your definition of that term is warped. Good to know a family member and/or crony of Larry's is still prowling this little ol' message board. Edit: May need to expand the above beyond family members and cronies. Although, I'm honestly unsure what other varietal of Buffalo-booster would extol Quinn in this way. The logorrhea aside, the rant above is bizarre.

Rodgers being in the AFC East is something that worries me, as a Bills fan. That said ... there is a glorious opportunity here for some good ol' fashioned Big Apple dysfunction and acrimony.

Getting an aged future HOF quarterback worked out quite nicely for the Bucs and the Broncos. Rodgers to the Jets is poised to be a big problem for the Bills. As for OL, I've read several times that it's viewed as a poor draft for that area. But keeping #17 in better shape must be a priority. This perspective is baffling to me. I've seen it a fair amount among the Bills' faithful. More baffling still. If last year's Jets had received slightly better than average quarterback play, they would have been a dark horse contender for the AFC title. Not the AFC East title. The AFC title. Trade for D Hop now.

Future first ballot hall of famers tend to have well-known names.

I don’t put much stock in last season. He had no talent around him and was essentially checked out. If his head’s right, he will be a huge upgrade at QB for the Jets.

Welp. The AFC is frickin’ stacked with QB play. Can we get a transfer to the NFC maybe? Swap us out with the Lions or something.

I keep waiting for his quotes to be in the paper surrounding the bizarre psychodrama going on at Nardin Academy. (He serves on the board there.)

Also, shoutout to OSP for making his way into the news in connection with Steve Pigeon's having violated the terms of his supervised release from his federal and state convictions for making an illegal campaign contribution. Golisano reportedly told Pidgeon's current attorney that Pigeon is providing key consultancy services in support of the launch of a business school that Golisano has created and endowed. Pigeon's current attorney is representing Pidgeon in a criminal case involving allegations that Pidgeon sexually assaulted a girl younger than 11 years old. 😬

This sounds right. If it's not the precise number, it's close. Also, I'll quibble with the term "gift." It was a form of compensation, I reckon.

Oof. And that list excludes arguably the greatest Sabre team ever. Last team to do it was the Toews/Kane/Keith Blackhawks. Not sure which year.

When there was that other kicking goal allowed at the end of the season (can't recall who did it (for some reason, I want to say Giroux?)), I had to at least credit the league for being consistent. A puck directed into the goal by a kicking motion is allowable if the kick is not deemed to have been an intentional effort to direct the puck on net (i.e., if the kick is seen as an effort to control the puck to the stick). Of course, that's not how the rules are written. But that's how they're being applied, it seems.

In watching it again, I noticed that, far from leaving his skates and launching himself, Dumba ends up off balance and falls over because of the impact.

Any appetite for a discussion on whether Dumba's hit was late? High? To my surprise, I find myself sort of agnostic on the topic. Sorta late. But not overly. Maybe kinda high. But not really. Violent, for sure.

That is substantially correct, regardless of who’s saying it. Or at least it was last season. Having a legit WR2 is (was) a huge issue for this team. That said, I’d prefer to see them wait on that position until Round 2. It feels like they’re gonna go defense in Round 1 — LB, safety, maybe even corner.

I watched some of that game last night. Until I was no longer interested in watching it. And this thought occurred to me: I'd rather have a non-playoff team that plays an engaging brand of hockey (the Sabres) than have a marginal playoff team (most likely an out in round 1 ) that plays an excruciating brand of hockey (the Islanders). Otoh, it also occurred to me: These matters exist on a continuum. I had no problem going all in on the Hasek-led Sabres. So, I guess a dull and ugly (and lights-out-goalie-dependent) brand of hockey is okay, so long as you're a Cup contender. Thirdly, every time I took note of a goalie for a playoff team, I Googled him to see how tall he is. I reckon I need to relax on that. (I did comfort myself with knowledge that Shesterkin is on the smaller side (6'1"), as are Raanta and Saros.)

Quite so! Dorsey running out of answers also seems like it'd have been more of factor than any off-field issues. Still. The stuff that's out there - if even some of it's true - is the sort of stuff you'd very much like to see resolved in order for your team's leader to be well-positioned to succeed.

There's also the possibility that some of those assets that are on their way would be the assets that get moved for the pieces that are needed.

Rumours about Josh Allen and Brittany Williams are starting to percolate again. Evidently, Williams unfollowed Allen on Instagram. I know, I know. That sounds so middle school, to many of us anyway. But, it's true, and it's a clear indicator of a relationship that's over or in distress. There's some other salacious stuff out there in the rumour mill that I won't repeat here. My main concern - and it is admittedly a selfish one - is that the Bills QB1 gets his head right and has a bounce-back season in 2023. His play fairly fell off a cliff last season. And if that fall had something to do with his personal life (possible?), then I hope he's in a better head space in the coming weeks and months. Go, Bills!

Smelling burnt toast is a bad sign, to be sure.

I'd like to see the guy flourish. Saddling him with 2 right wingers is probably not the best idea.

It's not for nothing, imo, that Krebs gets this sort of shine on the team's sosh.

Wowza. From your keyboard to God's ears. That is an absolute best case scenario. May it come to pass!

I get the sense that the FO really likes Krebs and has plans for him as part of their “home grown” plan (even allowing that he was drafted elsewhere and did some growing there). It’s another case of a guy with some high end pedigree playing in your bottom 6. That tends to portend good things - especially in May and June. He’s embraced the role too. He just needs to take a few steps forward in 2023-2024.

Sabres are using quants people, for sure.

Anyone have aggregate statistics showing the predictive quality of goaltending that the team faced this season? E.g., how much did they move past seeing their opponent’s lesser netminders? Or, maybe more accurately, did opposing goalies have positive, negative, or neutral values for goals against expected?