That Aud Smell

As do we. Thing is, there’s all kinds of stuff from that country’s tradition. Barbecue is a big piece of it. But hardly all of it.

It's a fair question/point. A couple of quick examples. From a music standpoint, there are probably ~6 shows a year that I would love to attend, but can't/don't because the artist or band has a show in Toronto on a Tuesday night, or whatever. From a food standpoint, my wife and I love Korean food. Silly for it. Kicking around in Koreatown in Toronto is something we enjoy doing together. There are some Korean food options here in Buffalo, but it's not the same in quantity or quality.

I'm not here to debate that. I know both towns quite well. The GTA is about 7 million people. Greater Buffalo's probably more like 1 million. They're just different places, with different vibes. As a city of its size and complexity, Toronto has more hustle and bustle (and money (and glamour)) than Buffalo. And if you're a young pro athlete who's looking for some bright lights, Toronto will do the trick. Buffalo won't.

Agreed on both of these points. Milwaukee is, for sure, a less sleepy mid-western Great Lakes town than Buffalo is, but they're more alike than they are different. And, yeah: Toronto. So, Green Bay has a decent city, by city standards, that's 90 minutes away. Buffalo has a city of international class and repute that's 90 minutes away.

Sometimes a malaprop reveals a new and interesting meaning. I liked this one. God bless those wing-bearing dudes. Seriously. That's doing sports (life) right. Fun. I don't know what's to be done about Schopp. He's a smart guy. He's also keenly aware that he's a smart guy. He cannot suffer fools, and there are many of them among any team's fan base. He seems burned out. The only time I hear him sound truly engaged is when he's talking about things other than sports. His radio partner, OTOH, remains steady and salt of the earth. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea -- but Bulldog is my sort of guy and reliably a good listen.

I saw the headline of the Harrington article, echoing this thread's title. (Didn't read it, of course, on principle.) It's inescapable: They have to fire HCPH. They have to.

It's tough to argue the point when they just so clearly lack a true #1. But there's some reason for optimism as well.

It is a curious situation at RB. But Ivory is presumably gone. They will not carry 3 tailbacks with none of them able to play on ST. (Ivory doesn't, does he?) Marcus Murphy might yet factor into their mix as well.

Nah. That's just an expression for "lady luck," etc. I haven't been watching much of late, but it is mystifying to me to hear/read HCPH saying that the Sabres have been getting the better of play over the course of a recent game.

he's a good kid, that's for sure.

The kid from Niagara Falls? He's not in the league yet, is he?

I find myself utterly numb to this team's fortunes. It's a feeling that took hold over the past couple of months as the team returned a basement-dwelling form. Come Labor Day, I'm sure I'll be excited for a new season. Right now, though -- I'm just done.

More than any I can recall, this season -- its arc -- broke me.

Many PSE-related people donated to her campaign, including Botterill. That list included people from Brandon to Popko to Playfair to Rivet. FWIW.

God awful.

Change of plans. I just got an updated guest list for my group. I'll stick around after all, God willing. Let's go, Buffalo!

Ha! No, no. The "Irish goodbye" with which I am familiar refers to a guest who just mysteriously and suddenly disappears, without a word of warning or farewell. Without bothering to Google it, my guess is that it has roots in the proverbial Irish guest who gets fall-down drunk, ends up stumbling through a door and into the night, and, with the grace of God, staggers home to bed.

Haha. Nah - I've quite embraced the use of old as a noun.

I am an old.

Obliged to attend tonight for something sorta work-related. It's a Monday night. I will likely try to find an excuse to leave early. Or maybe just pull an Irish goodbye.

Heard a follow up tidbit today at lunch: Of late, one or both of the Pegulas refers to the upcoming Frozen Four by adding an f-bomb prefix to it.

Query whether and to what extent tickets are being comp'd or moved at discounted prices as part of some larger business development move. Also, that's just the promotional side of things. From what I'd heard, there were structural problems with the bid itself -- in terms of the money that the Pegulas guaranteed to the NCAA and how PSE's budgeted revenues were built out. Not for nothing, that's why some bigger acts have been coming to town of late (such as really big headliners who've popped into the stadium): The Pegulas are willing to stick their necks out there and say "yeah, we're good for $X,XXX,XXX" or whatever. So, credit to them for that. But there may be some hubris there -- the insistence that they can make larger market events work in a small market like this one. Right - I had the same thought. But I think this goes deeper than the mere question of whether the house will be mostly full.

Fair feckin' point. My take: The Pegulas maintain unrealistic expectations and goals re Buffalo being both destination and hearth for a Hockey Heaven. The afterglow of the 2011 World Juniors may have exacerbated that. The people who work for them in c-level capacities are perhaps motivated to give the bosses what they want. And then when reality doesn't match up with what was dreamt -- heads roll. But these kinds of problems start at the top.

Bad business, all around. Sorry you took a hit on those tickets -- the love for the hockey is admirable, anyway.

I'm not sure whether the two are connected, but there's a word on the street that the Pegulas are poised to lose a sizable chunk of change on the Frozen Four. The timing of the bids and awards on that sort of thing would mean that Russ Brandon would have been responsible for PSE's numbers, projections. So maybe there's no connection between the Frozen Four financials and the recent shakeup. But the timing does seem somewhat conspicuous.