That Aud Smell

On seeing Overchkin's and Wilson's (Wilson's!) "response," I don't think I ever need to hear again about how the Sabres fail to respond to goonery.

Great post - the above excerpted stuff especially. I did appreciate the shoutout to "walking the mall" -- it's nice to consider that another dying form of consumer entertainment might nonetheless be drawing eyes and butts away from the local NHL hockey game.

Disagree. It gets to a point where something is so bad ... that it crosses over into awesomeness.

The team being bad for a long, long time is going to have a downward effect on attendance. That seems natural and inevitable. I am curious, though, about whether and to what extent larger societal/cultural forces could begin to ding attendance at Sabres games. I can't put my finger on it, of course. It's just a general sense that rabid fandom among the hometown faithful is on the wane, and that young people get their sports-tainment content from all kinds of sources nowadays. If the Sabres are, say, 5 games over DeLuca .500 at the turn of the new year, I would expect most games to be sold out. But that's at the start of 2020. What about 2025? I dunno. Just thinking.

Sorry if I'm late to this: Was that Jean Knox in the pre-game ceremony? I used to see a lot of her comments on certain Facebook posts (I'm not even sure who our mutual connections were/are). Her posts were often a little loony-sounding, but also quite delightful.

Cropped up on the sides and back -- a little flourished mop up top. Solid look. Fairly spectacular given how unruly his hair is.

It’s the Leafs. Their games tend to be like that. I found it eminently enjoyable.

Let's go, Buffalo!

He's a remarkable talent. Sometimes I wonder about his hockey IQ ... in certain situations. I stopped keeping track, but I do wonder: How's his line faring against the line(s) that they're matched up against? Are they getting better than they give in terms of chances, etc.?

He looked pretty good against a pretty good D. Mostly a game manager, with a bit of upside for some chunk, plus plays.

I said it recently: I’d love to find a link to the French Connection’s Chef’s commercial where they sing That’s Amore. Probably a few times a month, I still find occasion to say in an awful Quebecois accent: “We didn’t have our Chef’s pasta sauce!”

Oh, Kristin Peca (nee Herzog). You minx, you.

I saw those too. Fair point.

Nothing he's quoted as saying surprises me. I don't disagree with any of it. I'm just about signed off on this season. The franchise's inability to get the ship righted is nothing short of astonishing.

I thought so.

In my own way, I am praying that he retires. Enough. Christ. I also want to acknowledge that he’s been one of the Sabres best skaters this season. Yes, yes — the contract. But he's been good.

I find this chart fascinating. as the poster indicated on twitter: what the heck, florida.

I tend to agree that these takes are weirdly over-stated. Oh, there's just no doubt about it. Sure, fair. He's an evolution of sorts. But to act as though he's somehow unprecedented is a bad take -- one that many dumb-pits seem to be offering. There's a lot to unpack there; I think I get it. I feel sort of similarly about Mahomes. If the Bills had drafted him, he would not be who he is now.

I watched some of the game. From what I could tell, they seemed a bit unfortunate last night. The game was fairly even. I'd felt like this squad would be a bubble team when the season started. They're charting toward being an ~85 point team. The problem for me: I'm just not sure where the improvement is coming from in the next 1-3 years.

^ I saw that play live (at the arena), and let out a legit “WHAT THE FFFFFF——“ ... (there were kids sitting nearby). Bizarre.

I haven’t watched them, but, man, their #fancystats are miles beyond where the Sabres are. It looks like they have a sustainable model for success. In North America, if you’re just using “vs.”, then it’s home team listed second. Always. In Europe (or just in the euro soccer I follow), it’s the precise opposite. The use of “at” or @ is confusing and should be abandoned.

I have little to no optimism regarding this team right now. Hope for the best. Probably more than any team in the league, the Canes frustrate me relative to the Sabres' fortunes. Both clubs had been non-playoff teams since the Sabres last made the post-season. And yet here we are, with the Canes being the picture of a good, modern team on the rise, and the Sabres being ... well, I'm not sure what they are. Also: Great job, @jsb.

An old family friend of a friend - the late John Putnam (RIP) - used to do spot substitute duty for Joe Byron. But he was never a regular.

I guess he was a good singer. He immediately came off to me as so damn smarmy - I never cared for him.