That Aud Smell

@Eleven: To your original point, stick tap for having it more right than I appreciated: “The Sabres' strong television ratings – first in the league in three of the past four years – earned them a better local broadcasting deal than half the league's 30 other teams.” (from an article in today’s online TBN.)

Market share doesn’t make a market big.

Fair point. Otoh, it is a tres modern move to diversify one’s fandom. Most kids these days, for example, are fans of all kinds of teams, at varying levels. I think something akin to that happened to Terry when he became wealthy and started hobnobbing with the Pittsburgh gliterrati.

I agree with just about everything here. My one quibble is that I think he was a (somewhat lapsed) fan who bought his favourite team. Speaking as someone who has had spells of lapsing in my fandom (especially pre-internet and nationwide coverage), I can understand how things wound up as they did.

Sorta reminiscent of the last time this team was excellent?

^ The cash flow and liquidity of an NFL franchise just isn’t comparable to that of an NHL franchise. I’m not overly worried about what PSE is doing with the Sabres right now. The NHL is almost certainly done with the current (past) season. Meanwhile, the NFL is trying to figure out how to have an upcoming season. I do wonder: Will the NFL go with Fauci’s model of having a few central locations for competition and practice, no fans, teams (with families?) housed in hotels, etc.?

Fwiw:

Happy trails, Rick. And a stick tap to @darksabre for real love and RJ’s voice being a part of his soul. Same.

Fair point to be made here about stereotypes and such. But Fat Karlos seems like a bad case with which to make it. Samesies with Travis Henry.

I would love to see the Bills grab Dillon. He's not as physically freakish as Henry, of course, but he is a frickin' truck in his own right. He's also a high-character guy, from what I've read and heard. He may end up have surprising success as a pro because, in college, he constantly ran against 8- and 9-man boxes. I like the idea of him getting just a little more time and space to get a head of steam.

It is an interesting question, for reasons already referenced upthread. Eichel has established himself as a great/elite 1C. Dahlin is still making his way and has a longer road to travel as a 1D. On balance, I think it's more important to have your stud centre than it is to have your stud d-man. But I suppose that can vary by system and style of play.

I know (or at least am pretty sure) that this isn't how you meant it, but, in my eyes, there's going to be a ton of pressure on Allen next season - no way around it. There's already a significant narrative out there that the Bills have assembled a Super Bowl caliber roster around him. The guy is going to have to take a (big) step forward. To your point, having a robust running game will enable Allen to put his very best foot forward. Perhaps we can think of the Seattle model: Run the ball a sh1t ton, and have an athletic QB who can make enough big plays when called on to do so.

Ay Chihuahua. Good stuff, both.

I'm not ready to say he's largely a finished product. He struggled with mid-range accuracy in year 1, and then came back in year 2 and improved markedly with it. So, the desire and ability to work and improve are there. What scares me more than anything is what you reference above -- the tendency for insanely poor decision making in critical moments. Even if he improves on his deep throws, etc., he will never get the Bills over the hump if he can't control his natural impulse to play hero-ball.

Maybe more than any professional league in North America, the NHL is desperate to have games, generate some gate revenues.

^ I see it the same way. There’s a lot to like about the guy. But to act as though he’s not a flawed QB with Trubisky-esque downside is foolish. There’s big upside there, too. Here’s hoping he reaches it, or at least gets close to it.

Also, after Game 1 (?) of the 2006-2007 season, I was calling for an over-under on how many more game we'd have to see Peters play for the team. Much to my amazement, that number was to be well in excess of an additional 100 games (~130).

I was agreeing with @Doohickie re Notovny's value. The post was made at the start of the 2006 season (October).

Hmmm. That *is* interesting. *Super* hypothetical of course. But interesting. Would you?

Don’t parse my words, holmes. I guess I meant obviously to modify deadly? I dunno. It’s just my take: That he’s in the top 5%~ when it comes to the mental drive to improve. YMMV, as the saying goes, when it comes to the desire, drive, know-how to improve. An NHL player has already accomplished so much. I don’t blame them for stalling out a bit.

I just got through it, in several sittings. It started off incredibly strong - like, holy sh1t balls - and then, maybe inevitably, started to trail off as it moved toward its ... inevitable (?) conclusion. It is remarkable for presenting a cast of principal characters who are all repugnant and riveting in their own peculiar ways. Full marks to the director, and his creative team. (Among other matters, I found the sound and music editing to be so effective - there were so many transitions that helped develop the story in really effective ways.) Of the secondary characters, I found Saff (sp?) and the long-time manager (the double amputee - Reinke?) to be the most sympathetic. Saff is pretty clearly the most redeeming human in the show. Reinke the manager is more of a mixed bag, but I felt I could sense the goodness there (albeit in a very, very broken vessel). Those bologna sandwiches he was living off at the end were heart-breaking to me.

The first piece is where I'm at with the question. The second piece seems, to me, to be less likely now than it did at the very start of his NHL career. But that's bound to change too. One thing that portends well for him is how obviously, deadly serious he is about becoming a better player.

Oh, hells yes. Problem being: This is a case of a bird in the hand, etc. We know the team has an elite young defenseman ... prospect (?!). Wait. Do we know that? What were we talking about? Working from home makes my brain weird.

I'm only through episode 4. What an amazing ride so far.