That Aud Smell

McDermott cannot fairly be blamed. He is only following the model dictated by other cold weather teams like Green Bay and New England.

I lol'd, but I think I lack the requisite background for really getting the joke. Not a fan?

Can the Sabres offer him 8 years? I'm not sure if there's any traction to be had there in terms of how the deal is structured.

Thanks to @TrueBlueGED for doing the work on this one. It struck me as a bold statement when I read it. (Hey - seen what I did there?) They're both very nice players, in their primes. Different skill sets, so it is an interesting comparison, I guess. Not for nothing: Vanek never had someone in the pivot like Eichel with whom to play.

I mean this with love: The malaprops in this post are delicious. #barefruit

I'm not really arguing anything. I thumbs-upped the comment above about Skinner being a streaky scorer. And I'm not sure if the Sabres can offer him 8 years. I'm saying that there are other teams in the league that would be prepared to give him 7 years and ~$50M.

I think process begets culture? I'm not sure, actually.

Also: It's just not realistic to think about getting Skinner for 5 years, IMO. He's getting a max term deal, and he knows it. I mean - it's possible that he'd be persuaded to sign on here for another 5 years so he could play with Eichel, but I'd be stunned if he were to agree to that. I wouldn't, were I in his position.

Agreed, and agreed. I'm not sure what Casey's #fancystats say, but, man, he's passing the eye test more and more. I trust that Thompson will go to Roch when one of the high-performing Amerks are recalled.

More and more, though, I think that McDermott and his side kick GM are really just symptoms of what actually plagues the Bills as a franchise. I have no confidence in McDermott's ability to orchestrate the adoption of a modern NFL offense.

Huh. Within the past year, I was reminded of the stories about how Eazy didn't write his own rhymes -- mainly Ice Cube did. Then, a few weeks later, I had NWA streaming and heard Eazy say as much in a rapped lyric. There are plenty of famous singers who were not songwriters (in fact, that used to be the norm); I hadn't really thought of it in terms of rap, though. Eazy's a great example, though. Terrific and fun rapper with a great sound (let's forget and just bury the misogynistic stuff, though) -- but he mostly didn't write his own stuff.

Laverne and Shirley agree. Man. There’s nothing like a classic 70s sitcom opening segment to get me all nostalgic.

What a delightful game.

C’mon, boys!! Let’s go, Buffalo!

@His Terbness Welcome!! Really: No need to be intimidated. I have no training or expertise, other than being a fan. I have only a novice’s understanding of fancy stats. I just post based on what I see, think, and feel — and then I try to keep an open mind. Post away!! As for the music clip: I can’t play it right now. Is this guy the Americana roots performer? The guy who — confession time — I thought was an actor who famously depicted mobsters in movies. It must be a mashup of Ray Liotta and some other similar name (can’t think of what it’d be).

F'real. The known universe is lousy with apt metaphors. Let's do away with those that are sexist or misogynistic. Besides which: Those metaphors are so far off-base that they should do nothing but create confusion. I've seen my wife give birth several times. There are grizzly, unnerving details associated with those events. I'll never get over some of the sh1t she had to endure. Oh, and this is to say nothing of the fact that she trudged around with walking pneumonia for half a winter before giving any outward indication that she might need to treat with a doctor -- running the household and working a job outside the home like a boss all the while. There is a term that was once commonly used to reference a domestic cat. That one's another case in point. This comic does a credible job with the theme, although I don't think this is the stand-up bit that I seem to recall on the subject:

quite so.

Francis's love-letter to Cardinal Wuerl, upon the latter's resignation, hit me like a gut punch.

I could do without this.

I watched part of the first. That guy just chases shadows out there. Constantly out of position. He must be infuriating to play with. So long as he's getting big minutes, this team will be bad.

Perused the last few pages. sabrespace after dark is a strange place.

I think I saw Sheary fall down 3 times on one shift.