That Aud Smell

I'd wager dollars to donuts that he is essentially broke. I heard the interview with the guy who picked him up at Newark Airport yesterday -- Brown could just be a class-A arsehole ... but it sounds to me like he might actually suffer from some sort of manic mental disorder -- bipolar or the like. Really good post, especially this last piece. It worries me that the Bills rely on Allen as much as they do. There were plenty of "MVP" chants in the stadium yesterday after his second rushing TD, which of course is not happening with that passing stat line. But it's true, IMO. No player is more valuable to a playoff team than Allen is to the Bills. They need to get him a little more help, both in terms of personnel and play calling.

Hear, hear. At the stadium, I sort of lost sight of the fact that his passing stats were subpar. (Quick aside: I specifically recall 3 or 4 early-ish drops, although without the benefit of replays, I lost track of them.) He was the heart and soul of the offence, for sure. He found a way to win, and led his teammates in doing so.

With early variants, there was data to show that the vaccines inhibited transmission. With Delta, that effect started to wane pretty significantly (and pretty quickly following the second shot). I have no idea what effect Omicron is having, but I presume that vaccines (and their boosters) remain highly effective at reducing severe illness, hospitalization, and death from the novel coronavirus's variants ... but are probably not effective (or, if effective, very minimally) in preventing transmission.

That throw to Davis was bonkers. Beat the Patriots!

I'm talking like within a matter of days ... or hours. Also, it strikes me that the professional leagues' COVID protocols are an ill fit for the Omicron wave. They're going to have to revamp their rules because, under their current rules, they just won't be able to play. It'll be impossible.

NHL's gonna pause play, aren't they? It seems inevitable at this point.

Maraschino Welts.

Maybe I haven't listened long enough, but what I just heard is that, when he's watching the games, he's "99%" focused on watching the game and is almost entirely not looking at his laptop or peripheral monitors. His discussion of how the data and the eye test work together is very smart, balanced, reasonable. One big takeaway: The data is a tool - it's not a religion.

HC DG would never.

Alternatively:

I watched most of this one. They were good early, got absolutely sh1t pumped there for a while, and then somehow turned it around. Even when they were struggling, I didn't hate watching them. As has been said, they make their mistakes while falling forward. Something that occurred to me this morning: Days gone by, when the W/L results were similar but the style of play was quite different, the team would be criticized for a lack of effort. I think maybe what fans and writers were seeing was not a lack of effort, but a concerted kind of effort that was mistake-avoidant, reactive, passive ... the result often looked limp and lame (i.e., lacking effort). With the current approach, the team generally looks frantic and disorganized when they're struggling, but they at least they look like they're working towards getting on a front foot. And then sometimes it snaps into place, and they get rolling. I'll keep tuning in.

^^ YOU PLAY. TO WIN. THE GAME.

Watched some of the Friday game and most of the Saturday game. I liked how they played in both. And I think they actually deserved a better outcome in the Saturday game, at least. I can recall fans (myself?) saying things like: "I could tolerate the team losing tons of games, so long as they were enjoyable to watch." Or something to that effect. That's what's going on right now. I see a lot of honest effort and pretty good hockey. The results just aren't there -- yet.

There may be some confusion here between hernia and groin? Those athlete hernias (they have a shorthand name - can't recall it) - like the one Briere had - are in the abdominal region, I believe, and that would be upper body (above the waist).

So strange. I've tried to remain open to the guy, but that sort of stuff is just so indicative of him being a thin-skinned doofus. Also:

Sure. But it's a smell that Hamilton presumably loves (boiled hot dogs, roasted peanuts, popcorn oil, tobacco tar, and such).

I am still confused about the re-injury to the wrist and a limp down the tunnel. Also, Hamilton apparently reported on this, but he's blocked me on Twitter. No idea why.

Looks to me like Florida misunderestimated Buffalo. Maybe too much talk from Reinhart.

boy I’ll say. that one was egregious. imagine rick in good form there? Like - that was a *moment*.

The word is score, Dan. SCORES.

Mountain Wetness.* *A nod to our visitors from a coast made rainy by the Cascades.

I tuned in intermittently. Yeah - that was gross. Onward!

Hmmm. I dunno. Different players. I'll say this for Gerbe: The guy carved out a very respectable professional career.

Mischievous Wrens. Let's go, Buffalo!