That Aud Smell

more and more, I feel like this would represent a genuinely successful rookie season for a somewhat slight 19 (yes, turning 20) year-old.

I think this is right. For the life of me, I don't know why sportswriters have a role in the process, let alone the role.

Can we tweak the thread title so that it's in re 2018-2019? :P

I'm not sure where the "in game experience" thread has gotten off to. So I'll use this one. Get a load of this: The woman who does the voice-overs for the Vegas Knight pre-game productions is a local (Buffalo) actress -- Eileen Dugan. https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/wnyer-makes-her-stanley-cup-debut/71-559249341

He was a true creative talent. A fascinating guy. A terrific storyteller. I read an interview of his within the last year or so in which the interviewer was discussing (or maybe alluding to) the fact that Bourdain had demons of depression that he could never quite shake. Bourdain said something about how he has the best life in the world, and that if he's not happy, it's really a failure of his imagination. I really, really wish he didn't believe that. Depression is a fukking motherfukker, and it does not care a fig about your life situation, station, etc. Rest in peace, sir.

Here's to better days. (That's right. I invoked the Goo Goo Dolls and the 2007 playoff anthem.)

a phenomenal talent. and a total diva.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team as happy for one player — the captain to boot — as the Capitals were for Ovechkin.

Also, true story: JUST figured out that the Big Cat looking awkward meme is NOT Jonah Hill. What is that from?

^^ haha - perfect. Sure you are. The only product of theirs that I recommend is Pardon My Take. It's fun and smart. PFT Commenter has done for sports what Stephen Colbert did for political discourse.

Da fuk?

I'm pretty sure they turned it into a week's worth of content on the show. There's a lot about Barstool -- and specifically the unabashed douche who runs the show there (is his name Portnoy?) -- that I know is not to my taste. But they're well on their way to surpassing ESPN, or at least being part of the wave that will crash over ESPN like a tsunami. It's how these things tend to work.

The name of the show is a meta-joke that, yes, riffs off the names of two shows that are/were on the W.W.L. Have you listened to the show? They're not ripping off ESPN -- they are burying it and delivering a eulogy at its funeral.

I enjoy Pardon My Take. And I dabble in Spittin' Chiclets (sp). But I get the sense there's a lot of content there that I would not like.

I see you. I see you.

We keed, we keed, of course. But I am wondering whether -- come January -- there will be some hand wringing and head scratching about Mittelstadt around here and elsewhere. I'll say preemptively: There needn't be. I predict that the guy is going to struggle somewhat next season, and that he will also have some stretches of play that are spectacular. I'll stand by a prediction of 30 points.

JBOT does love him some NCAA players. With each passing day, I get more and more nervous about the team potentially trading ROR. Not for any rational reason. Just because.

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1jMJgqRrZEMKL conversation is at the ~16:45 mark. based on comments made prior in the segment, my sense is that Gates has hopes of crafting a comedy/sports content career a la Big Kat and PFT Commenter. further along the same line: leaving WGR could be a combination of pursuing a personal preference, leaving a job with no real opportunity to advance yourself, and pulling a bit of a stunt intended to launch your next creative venture.

Quite randomly, saw a live stream on Twitter last night from an upstart DIY sports content maker — called Trainwreck Sports, iirc — in which Gates appeared. He stated there that the reason he looked for other work, and then the reason he left, was because the Bills selected Allen. He didn’t seem to be kidding atall. The hosts of the show, such as it was, were heartily amused. At one point, one of them said “that is the most millennial thing ever.”

This is a really good point. A really good one. And I'm gonna say: Brandon not being around seems like the most logical reason that there's less ... OTA scuttlebutt out there. I did catch something on the Twitter about how Josh Allen is totally wow'ing everyone with his attitude, preparation, etc. It was published by Upstate News or something, and it turned out to be a report on something Chris Simms (?) said on a podcast. Simms, IIRC, is one of Allen's mentors/personal coaches, so, the guy's biased (he admitted as much) and, as a result, the report didn't mean much to me.

There is no question about this. There's not even a competition.

As in: You think he should? Or, as in: You think he will? I would not disagree with the former. I do disagree with the latter.

Most translation/prediction factors assign about a .33 value to players from the Big 10. Middlestadt's 30 points in 34 games at Minnesota would have translated to 72 points over 82 games. If you factor 72 by .33, you'd be looking at about 23 points. While I am sure power play usage could up his numbers a bit, I am skeptical about the calls for him to post ~35-40 points (or more). He's likely going to struggle for good chunks of time next year. He'll probably be a healthy scratch for ~7 games or so. I'd say if he gets 30 points, that would be a very good rookie campaign.