That Aud Smell

Hmm. Interesting. I may need to experiment a bit.

This is it. It's all I want. It's all I need. I know Schopp gets dragged a lot, but I clearly recall him riffing in April or May 2006 about how -- just having seen and interviewed Lindy (who, Schopp related, was sporting sunglasses, a Sabres polo, no jacket, and a Cheshire Cat smile) -- there is no better feeling in all of sports fandom than big stakes hockey in the spring. I agreed then. I agree now.

Fwiw, I have Nord VPN and ESPN+. I live in the blackout area. When I try to access Sabre games on my iPad (I haven't tried loading my VPN onto my TV (?)), ESPN+ tells me I'm using a VPN and implies that that's naughty (and blocks my access)

Let's Go, Buffalo! Calendar says April 4 and there's a Sabres game that matters. I'm almost reluctant to hope for more. Almost. Welcome back, Tage!

He was absolutely brilliant. And so charming. RIP.

They’re commonly referred to as a super group by an adoring media. So I’m happy to accept that as true. Phoebe (Fu*king) Bridgers is a big deal - that much I know. The other members of the band have established careers and catalogs of their own, evidently. In an “alt” space of some kind. The music industry is quite different now, too. I tried to capture all of that with “a different proposition.” The song linked is excellent. 🤘

That was fun. I was struck by Levi’s size (seemingly smaller than his listed 6’) and his athleticism (insane).

When I was young, my favorite "super group" was Asia. (Still killer.) Fast forward a few years (a few), my college frosh daughter's favorite super group is boygenius. Quite a different proposition. But still excellent. This song is fantastic. And the DIY / grrl power / sisterly love vibe of the accompanying music video makes me happy.

Yo - this is some funking knowledge.

Puck luck is essentially PDO (which is a team's 5v5 SV% + SH%). Last season, as best I can tell, the Sabres PDO was .985. This season it's .997. So it's a full point (1%) higher this season, but it's still below average (1.00 is the mean). They're shooting it better this season (SH%) - like a full 1.5% better than last season (8.5 v. 10), based on what I see at Natural Stat Trick. Also, that 10% SH% is about average for the league. Their SV% at 5v5 is about the same over the past 2 seasons - and it is effing awful (.899 and .896). (That said, I see a different 5v5 SV% value at hockeyreference.com - this stuff gets confusing for me.) They need better team defense, without sacrificing much of their explosiveness. And they need better goaltending, for sure.

I wish I had the time, technical skill, and hockey IQ to get screenshots of how the Sabres position themselves when they're not in possession of the puck versus how more balanced (better) teams do it. My sense is that - wherever the Sabres are playing defense (i.e., when they are not possessing the puck) - they are in a Boom/Bust mode. They're defending, but in a super optimistic way that contemplates that, the moment they win the puck, BOOM, they're gone and getting a scoring chance. Something akin to Juergen Klopp's "gen gen press" in international footy. I don't think it's working. Or ... if it's going to work, we need an elite goalie to help make it work.

I’m thinking back to when the Sabres picked up Doug Gilmour and Joey Juneau in the late 90s. I have no idea now whether those players were effective for the Sabres. I remember them, though! This season - when the Sabres were getting sh1t pumped by the Hurricanes - I was jealous that they had Burns and Stastny.

Yep. And I generally agree with @Randall Flagg's disappointment with the apparent tone of GMKA's remarks. It may be that GMKA's plan is, in fact, substantially in-line with what Flagg is (and others are also) hoping for. But the messaging is off, if that's the case. And I'm not even sure it is the case.

Ugh. That's too bad.

I'm late to #anthemgate. What happened? The BGMC is generally excellent. Were there technical issues?

I enjoy the high-scoring version of the Buffalo Sabres. And I wonder if - maybe doubt that - such a model is sustainable. Relatedly, I'm ready to see a Sabres team that doesn't look like they're about to have emergency diarrhea when they're defending in their own zone. Sure, I see intensity and urgency. But they frequently end up in a mess.

I couldn't find the right gif. That story was funking wild, man.

I think they are specifically and exclusively targeting people who live in the blackout area.

I think seltzermom contributes to Die By the Blade. seltzermom is a terrific Sabres Twitter resource - very much on the pulse. And then - out of the blue - she will post something like this and (1) I feel super old and (2) I'm left wondering why she'd be surprised that there are horny people out there.

Is she on Twitter as seltzer mom, or some such formulation?

Sabres Twitter made me consider the possibility that Tage isn't returning from his day-to-day UBI because he (1) didn't want to participate in the Pride-themed warmup (for reasons like those of James Reimer) and (2) didn't want to deal with the fallout from declining to participate. I hate the internet sometimes.

who's your provider? it has been years since i had cable - but it was at least ~$150/month when i dropped it. i'd imagine the same package is $200/month now.

fwiw - i tried to do this a few weeks back. my espn+ app said "looks like you have a VPN. access denied." what am i doing wrong?

I checked out for the last 2 games. Then I looked at the wild card standings on Sunday.