That Aud Smell

Fair enough. Likely a blend, depending on the distance of the away team's city.

Do Ravens fans travel much? I'm asking. I think of traveling fan bases, I think of the Steelers, Jets, Eagles ... the Pats (I guess).

And, in fairness, that was a bad mofo who did the bad thing. Even so. Tom Wilson was out there.

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.