That Aud Smell

There's so much I love and enjoy about Pancho. The look, the vibe, the swagger, the Central American flavour of his fandom. There's also stuff about super-fans - of any team, in any league - that I'm ambivalent about. Then add in the fact that this guy's dying (but still fighting? (while in hospice?)), and making appearances for/with the team ... I dunno. I know we're all supposed to just love it, and be moved. I find it a bit tawdry.

Agreed on the personality. Was he singing a hymn at one point? I just loved the energy.

Or take a bad contract back? *COUGHCOUGHokposoCOUGH* Nix that. Their salary issue with Nylander would likely preclude that as an option.

^ Saw Twittering to the effect that the Leafs may have buyer's remorse with William Nylander. If memory serves, his deal was reasonable. Would they trade within the division?

Query: How should we, as fans, be more like the Bruins? Anyhoo, those things are far from exclusive. There's not a thing wrong with harbouring hate for your favourite team's traditional rivals. I probably hate the Bruins more than any other NHL team -- probably any another team, period, in fact. Do I envy and admire their success? Sure. But it's up to the Sabres to be more like the Bruins. For my part, I just carry on with the hate.

If nothing else, Ed Oliver comes off as a fun human being.

Oliver is clearly the most fun pick so far.

The walkout songs are fun.

If the Bills trade up for DL in a reportedly super deep DL draft .... well. They’ll have Watkins’d themselves again.

Kyler Murray is pink AF.

Watching the NFL Network run-up. And I’m thinking yet again: Nashville is bumping.

i'll start with a personal GIPHY favorite.

^ Damn. Bugs 'bout to go to prison for that shaken baby stuff.

I don't think he's so much talking down to you as he is somewhat angrily talking at you.

They are great. All 6,429 of them. I think they're all part of the same Facebook group. Didn't Buffalo fans manage to score tickets to Game 7 of the ECF in 2006 on a fairly last minute basis? Having said those things: I do tire of this line of conversation. In North America, anyway, if a pro team is good, lots of fans will turn out and turn up. No matter the region. The Buffalo region has very good hockey fans and a lot of them. They've been beaten down and had the life sucked out of them, lo, these past 8 years or so. If the local pro team suddenly became a 98-point-paced squad that played with obvious heart? This town would be upside down bonkers for them. And the arena would be noisy. Except on those Tuesday games against Florida. No one gives a sh1t about those games.

Given how much, in what manner, and how intensively an elite-level young goalie is apt to have trained nowadays, it surprises me not at all when they need repairs to their hips at a young age.

I’m still pretty equivocal on the matter. I’d rather have Eichel and Dahlin than not. If you don’t build a proper team around them, though, you’ll be nowhere fast.

Not a validation of tanking for a few elite players.

Holtby letting in a couple of brutal goals is helping, a lot.

I think that's about how it played out. And, if so, it's a total shemozzle. This is a logical thought process. I still don't think it can justify the decision that was made.

Right, right. I just think the explanation that the refs offered made a bad call somehow worse.

This doesn't wash, though, with regard to the ref on that side of the ice who had a clear view of the draw. If he thought he saw a cross check to the chops - why did his hand not go up?

I don't know enough about this guy to join in the crying.

To make matters worse, Knights coach Gerard Gallant said the refs explained to him on the ice that Eakin had checked Pavelski in the face, “and as we all saw, that didn’t happen.”