That Aud Smell

A jewel of a man. Rest in Peace.

We sit in row 5 of the 300 deck at the stadium. And that vantage point is pretty great. But we’re basically lined up on a goal line — so, for certain parts of the field, we can struggle to know what’s happening. As for hockey, I very much prefer being above the 100-level.

I would never. I just won’t understand it. And I’ll be annoyed.

Well-stated. There are things you get from the football stadium experience -- many fun things, for sure. But, in terms of comprehending what's actually happening in the game, it can be tough sledding. That said, with football at the stadium, there are times when you can see a play develop in a way that you can't appreciate on TV. That's when it's akin to watching hockey at the arena. But, many times, you're just left guessing what the down and distance are, whether a player caught the ball, whether a player crossed the goal line, and so on. I've gotten better at it over time. There's part of me that would prefer to watch at home -- especially when it's 35 degrees, windy and snowy/rainy.

Got out of the Alan Doyle show (he of Great Big Sea) and checked the score: 0-2. Nice! Checked while brushing my teeth before bed: 3-2. Sh1t! Checked upon waking this morning. Phew! I'd love for the team to sneak into the playoffs. I would love it. That said, I'm keeping my hopes pinned to their finishing at or above @deluca67 .500. Maybe that's the same thing? Maybe not. And they will have their work cut out for them to finish at that level.

I hope so. Sneaky Joe is excellent. Hear, hear. I just like Howard. Feckin' really good at that job, btw. Which isn't easy. And not for nothing: Howard had some chops to him. There was an interview he did -- was it with Ted Black? Darcy? Maybe it was both of them at different times and I am combining them in my memory? -- where he asked tough questions and did not let the guest wriggle out without providing a responsive answer.

Let's go, Buffalo!

They're still quite young, as a group. It's a tale as old as time -- that a young core can grow, develop, mature (in some cases, like literally, grow -- get stronger), and learn how to win over a long season. There's no guarantee that will be the story told here. But it seems like there's a good chance.

eschew obfuscation, soothsayer. make plain your prophesy! also: i believe your forecast on saturday was for a 7-4 final.

Are the numbers a prediction of the team's record over the next 8 games?

I understand and even share some of the more dire concerns with the future of the Bills, as expressed upthread. That said, most Las Vegas books have the Bills as trailing only the Chiefs and 49ers as favourites to win the Super Bowl in 2024. Those kinds of assessments are far from arbitrary. The Bills are still really good, apparently.

Let's go, Buffalo! Are the Kings still good?

The Chiefs had 2 TD's where the player was wide open inside the opponent's 10 yards line. Huge advantage. Huge.

I hear this a lot. I'm not entirely clear on whether and to what extent it's actually true. I presume that they're gonna convert a big chunk of Allen's money to a bonus and create room that way? I'm with you. I enjoyed his wrestling promo after the Cincy game - especially because the mayor invited it. But that stuff last night was just annoying (and dumb). Outside of the fumble, he played like the 2nd best QB in the league. He was fantastic. This is true. He also benefits from having an absolute evil mastermind scheming up open players. Also, I want a sample pack of whatever they gave him at halftime. Some sort of Toradol cocktail?

I blame @PASabreFan

Unsay it

Let’s Go, Buffalo!!

I am definitely familiar with this dynamic. I will add, though: These things exist on a continuum. And I think the extremes often get viewed as the norm. My wife works in a high school setting in a job that involves interfacing with, and requiring things of, every single kid in the building. The percentage of parents who really, truly helicopter that dynamic is fairly low. There are, I dunno, 400 kids in the school give or take. It's roughly 5% of the parents who exhibit strong helicopter tendencies. So, call it 20 kids' parents. The overwhelming majority do not helicopter, at least insofar as my wife's job would make her aware (and, I will add, if the parents are helicopter types, my wife would generally find out). I don't think that's describing a helicopter parent. It's describing something else. I'm not exactly sure what. Bad parenting comes to mind, generally. Same here. Just awful. Holy infantilization, Batman. And we had a junior person in our office a while back whose dad would do the same thing for them and their friends. Not surprisingly, that person did not last -- they could not hack it. Just immature. Could not disagree more.

I understand all of that, or at least did in general terms when I asked my question. MacKinnon's current deal was signed - what, 6 years ago? 7 years ago? I know the cap hasn't gone up much since then, but the passage of time erodes its relevance to an analysis of the Cozens deal.

I'm glad I hung in there for this. I get where Bull's coming from now. And it's a fairly interesting take. I mean, it's also a funking bummer of a take that skews quite (unduly?) pessimistic. But it's coherent - mostly. What's the reference to MacKinnon about?