That Aud Smell

I am a recovered Bills fan. The breaking point was fairly arbitrary. The Bills were good-ish with Fitzmagic, and had a road game against the Bengals in like Week 5 or 6. They laid a stinker. I had a house filled with young kids, and I became borderline nonfunctional, I was so angry. My wife definitely said something - whatever it was, it was nicer than I deserved. But I just had the proverbial thunderbolt moment of -- "What the hell am I doing?" For the most part, since then, I'm in it for the upside. If things go south, I disengage and move on to something else, something useful and productive. Choose your adventure, if you will. It's a damnable myth that you must suffer personal torment in order to enjoy your team's achievements. Stated perhaps more metaphysically: I pick and choose the thoughts and feelings that serve my core values. Those that thusly serve and work for me, I engage with. Those that don't, I try instead to observe from a safe(r) distance.

He was having a rough go of it. I started out with radio, and thought they had someone filling in - didn't even recognize his voice. I do wonder about the long-term future. He's a nice man, and a capable broadcaster. He's just not what I want for the voice of the team. I mean - we're already enduring John "Milquetoast" Murphy for the Bills. Can't we get someone dynamic for the Sabres?

I don't quite follow.

Pysyk's defusion of that mini break away - by Stamkos? - was a thing of beauty.

I haven't been this entertained by a Sabres team since the Pegulas bought the team. Okay - maybe the spring of 2011 when they made the playoffs and, at some point towards the end of the season in a key game, Gerbe had that sick spinorama goal. But, really. They're fun to watch - regardless of what the score is. They keep coming, they keep going.

I listened to Granato for the first time this morning on WGR. I liked what I heard, a lot. Granted, if the team weren't taking points in most games, I'd probably feel differently. But that's not the case. They're playing in a way that correlates directly with the things he is saying. Full marks to HCDG. Also, I only recently came to appreciate the fact that HCDG comes from a hockey family - a damn good one too. That sort of stuff matters. Or at least, it can. And I think it does here.

Hey listen - there’s something to this.

Anderson sorta stole that one for us? Whatever. I’ll take it, in any case.

This team is really something.

This is a tough opponent to deal with when trying to hold the line on @deluca67 .500.

Malingering Walruses! Let's go, Buffalo! I watched decent stretches of it - including when and after they went down 3-1. I kept watching after that point because they were playing pretty well. The score notwithstanding, they were very watchable. Which is a stark departure from years past, when I would just stop watching if they got down by a couple because they just weren't much fun to watch.

Oh, no - for sure there's arbitration regarding things over which the players are aggrieved. I do wonder whether the arbitrator assesses the medical issue "de novo" (basically, with a fresh set of eyes) or whether deference is given to the team's physician. I haven't dug into the CBA that deep to find out. My point is that the majority of cases will probably exist in grey areas, where reasonable minds can differ. And, in those circumstances, what the team doc says goes. And that is some sh1t. Edited to add: A player could elect arbitration in a situation where reasonable minds can differ. But, in such a circumstance, I tend to doubt he would prevail in an arbitration.

It's not so cut and dried, as I read the provisions in the CBA. Eichel's situation seems like a peculiar one (as if we didn't already know that). And the absurd example that you provide is just that. The paradigm is set up such that the team's physician makes the diagnosis and sets the course of treatment. The player can then bring his own expert to the table to discuss the plan with the team's physician. The player can then ask that a third expert be consulted. But, at the end of the day, the team's physician doesn't have to listen to either the player's expert or the third physician - there's some process there, but not a lot of substance. In many diagnosis/treatment scenarios, reasonable minds can and will differ. For NHL players, there's only one reasonable mind who controls what happens to them. It's pretty remarkable, to me. Now, as you say: This is about the owners bearing risk. But this sort of system tends to drive the point home to me that these athletes are effectively treated like livestock in a lot of ways -- exceedingly valued, prized, and cherished livestock. But livestock. Actually ... maybe it's more like that they're treated like thoroughbred race horses.

Just FYI - you misspelled "a collectively bargained for allocation of rights." Jokes aside: It blew me away when I learned just how much control the NHLPA has allowed the owners to have over the healthcare of its members. And I'm unaware of how other leagues deal with it.

Is that true? Wow. Interesting.

I'm not sure. I probably need to look at a better overview of what's alleged. I read one summary of the civil lawsuits, and I didn't infer that acts constituting rape were being alleged.

Looking back at the substance of the allegations, I tend to agree with what you're saying. (I'm not condoning that that's how it is - I'm just agreeing that's how it is.) Food for thought: Star NFL players get more latitude than star comics. What Watson is alleged to have done is worse than what Louis CK did (and ironically similar in terms of the many victims involved). Louie got canceled, and now works with a much lower profile and performs only for his ride-or-dies.

There's no team I enjoy seeing the Sabres beat more than the Bruins. And that includes the Red Army. Let's Go, Buffalo!

I agree that this is a big factor in all of this. Maybe among the very biggest. Eichel fiercely wants to play in the Olympics.

for that lightning game, anyway, he got roughly 2 out of 3 starts in his own zone, and yet had a raw corsi of nearly 2/3 (67%). neat trick that, flipping the ice.

The assist he had on his rookie center's goal was a thing of absolute beauty.

Not segg-zee ... but this strikes me as a big fookin' deal. More and more, I think that the Sabres are headed in a good direction.