That Aud Smell

I'm willing to have some patience with Dorsey's ability to feature Kincaid in ways that play to the young player's strengths and allow him to get on the field regularly as a young player. Some patience. I heard over and over in the preseason that TE's have a unique challenge as rookies -- they need to learn two distinct areas of pro play -- receiving and O-line -- and that the learning curve is therefore steep. The solution, I heard, was to ask Kincaid to do less than everything. Have him line up in the slot. Don't ask him to do the in-line stuff. So far, I've been underwhelmed by Dorsey's plan for the player. *Sigh* But there's still time. I am confident that they have a terrific and unusual talent. I am concerned that Dorsey's fahking it up.

It’s starting to seem that way with 9.

Because history teaches that 18 year olds tend not to hold up well in a modern NHL regular season? That’d be the thinking anyway.

Maaaaaan, @dudacek. I trusted you on that Clayton Keller thing. I TRUSTED YOU.

😁 🤔

I'd like to be encouraged by this news. However, I recall hearing/reading that the injured shoulder is the same one that he had injured a while back. This has the feel of a situation where the player's trying to stave off surgery in order to make the team. Colour me concerned.

i just caught the team's PR video about the young man. worth a watch. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxqzMT5OqnA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and it's starting to dawn on me: they have given him #9. it is clearly his. none of that nascar number b.s. from ripper, eh, @PASabreFan? and you hear the story about his very adaptable, hard scrabble upbringing. dude was a carny, basically. have we discussed that here? it rings a bell now that i type it. it seems like something might be afoot here.

Oy - sorry to hear that Edwards isn't well. I know he was popular to hate because of his over the top homerist approach. But I quite enjoyed him when he was at the peak of his powers. Yikes.

My point is that the team will not - cannot - just look at how Benson's performed during camp and, based solely on that data, decide whether to make him part of the team's plan for the entire season. His age, strength, and such have to play a huge part in the decision. This is why I like the idea of penciling him in for 50 games or something. Watching that 3-minute compilation of his play last night (against a lot of AHL guys, sure), I get the sense that Benson might be "built different" as the kids (used to) say. This is to @LGR4GM's original point. This guy may be special.

I take @...'s point: He's uncomfortable with posters here clamoring for Benson to be rostered to the Sabres for the entire season without any (or at least more) regard for whether and to what extent it could unduly risk the player's health (physical, mental, emotional). It's a fair point. And it's getting sort of caught up in the wash.

The greatest on-ice post-game interview of a Sabre that I ever saw was when a HNIC guy (I can picture him - don't recall his name (glasses, straight shooter, nice voice)) got Pominville after the series OT clincher against Ottawa, and brought up the fact that he'd effectively been waived earlier that year. And Pominville just reeled back in a sort of elated joy before answering.

The reasoning here seems a bit bizarre. I think people advocating for Benson to get a hard look as a rostered player this season are doing so because they think that gives the team the best chance to win. Which would be entertaining. And I don't think people are discounting concerns for the player's well-being either. I don't think those leagues are development tools at all. If anything, they inhibit development. That's why NHL teams want those players in the A, if possible. That's why NHL teams will tell a prized prospect to go back to juniors, and concentrate on strength and conditioning even to the detriment of their on-ice numbers.

I don't feel obtuse.

Feast your eyes.

This is the only concern holding me back. The kid is showing that he belongs. But there's a long, grueling season ahead. Could he possibly be ready for that? Maybe they'd roster him all season and load-manage his ice time? I don't think it's quite that simple, though. Because he is clearly deserving of a roster spot based on his present play. And yet ... how does he project over a full season? It's a huge consideration. The fooking WHO now? I'm showing my arse as someone who doesn't follow the league generally. There's recent precedent for a player like Benson being on an NHL team as an 18 year old? Um, what?

Is MSG+ not available through your Roku?

This link clears up that confusion https://support.msgplus.tv/Answer/Detail/000001489 The idea here is two-fold: (1) If you have MSG through your cable provider, you can use MSG+ as well as a sort of added bonus (watching on your iPad when you're on the road, etc.). (2) If you do not have MSG through a cable provider, then you're paying the separate subscription fee ($30/month).

That can't be right. 😬 fwiw, from that same reddit thread:

Yeah - you should be able to load MSG+ onto your Roku's apps as you would any other streaming app. Waaaaaaiiit a second. Hmm. I'm going to have to look into this, turns out.

What is referred to as "it" here?

Sam Darnold definitely went negative in his infamous "seeing ghosts" game in 2019.

That is to say: There's no sign up to see the Sabres, per se. There's a sign up to get access to MSG+. And back when I did have MSG via cable, I got all the Knick games as well. I think that'd still be the case (?) with MSG+ (although I am not sure how that works for single game purchases (?)).

I recall reading/hearing that a streaming subscription would entitle you to watch all games that you would see in your area if you had MSG via cable. Otherwise, the price disparity with Las Vegas is really odd.

Is MSG more expensive because you have to pay for other team’s games? (Is it the Knicks?)

Miami's going to get its yards. And they will probably score a bunch of points. The key will be the D's (and ST's) ability to make a few big plays in key moments - big third/fourth down stops, a turnover or 2. And then our offense needs to TCB.