That Aud Smell

Things are slow in the sports world. Lance has re-tooled his article from last month into a piece posted today. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/which-sabres-prospect-will-earn-the-roster-spot-created-by-jack-quinns-injury/article_c7d32092-3613-11ee-aecd-03ec2a23bcc9.html I appreciate that they're being more careful with their language this time around:

Rick gets all the accolades and deservedly so. Lorentz was spectacular in his own right. There was real artistry to his ability to see what was important, distill it into bite-sized pieces, and then fit it into the limited windows of time he had as the colour commentator. I miss him dearly. I still think about Lorentz's breakdown of Pominville's series clincher against Ottawa in 2006. Noting that Pominville was attacking the forward (Alfredsson (sp?)). And then when it came to beating Ray Emery -- words to the effect of " ... look at him. He doesn't move. He doesn't get across. This has been an issue all series long."

Or they just never knew and only learned that today. (Like me.) RIP Carmen Perreault.

Good point. And we may add to the inferences above: He might just be a private guy and/or an introvert who doesn't like serving in the role of local celebrity.

There definitely was some disaffection following his retirement. I thought maybe some fences were mended when the Pegulas bought the team and Terry delivered his maudlin "where's Perreault ... you're my hero" line at the opening press conference. I also think -- and this is really just a guess -- that Perreault has a deep, strong preference for the Quebecois culture. Being a regular ambassador for the Sabres** was just never going to be a fit for him. **Pronounce it like Stan Filpowski would pronounce it at the Corpus Christi fish fry. Real nasal like. Very, very non-French.

Tricky sculpture to make. I’d want him shown in one of those moments where his face is contorted from making some memorable call (meanwhile his hands are folded daintily on the table top).

And here's what I do not get. At. All. McDermott's defense is predicated on DBs who are excellent at playing in space. Coming out of Florida, Elam was tapped as a guy who excelled at press man but would not be a (natural) fit in a complex zone heavy scheme. Ronald Darby, anyone? I still don't get why Beane took Elam. My pet theory: Beane's admitted fondness for defenders who get described as "long" (and otherwise get talked about for their remarkable physical attributes) got the better of him. Think Edmunds and Rousseau (sp?). But this guy was a bad fit out of the gate, and he remains a bad fit more than a year later. Seems like bad drafting.

The following is a quote from the Bills DBs' coach during training camp: “I think one of the things with Kaiir that we all have to understand, and me specifically as a coach, is you’re always trying to figure out what that player does best. If you compare him to Dane and to Christian, they all have different skill sets. And the thing that Kaiir really does best is play at the line of scrimmage. His ability, his length, his size, his strength, and the more he’s able to get his hands on a wideout, the higher level of success that he has. So [we want to] put[] him in positions on our defense where he can do that and then emphasizing that while trying to develop some of his play in space but realizing that OK, this is what he does best. And all those plays that he’s made so far in this camp, whether it be in one-on-one situations, which he’s done a nice job of in our individual one on ones or in team, have been when he starts at the line of scrimmage, can contest the wide out, he can minimize the space.”

Absolutely horrendous.

Allen’s first completion was an easy 8 yard pitch and catch to Kincaid. He had a nice timing route to Diggs on that second drive for ~15. He had an easy slant to Diggs in that last drive (which should have given them 2nd and 2, but of course there had been a pre-snap penalty). He was 7/10 despite numerous bad penalties. The Bills need to do better than what Dorsey did last season. They can’t always rely on Allen wearing the Superman cape. I just don’t think yesterday’s game is a harbinger of what they have planned.

Knox? Taron?

No scheming. No opponent specific game planning. No showing anything you plan to showcase in Weeks 1-4. I’m no fan of Dorsey, but a preseason game isn’t the place to watch for an OC to shine.

Milano? Torrence is showing well. Kincaid too?

I acknowledged that one person took a shot at unions. I said that the overall tenor of the conversation was very different. I’m not sure I’m any smarter than I’ve shown here. I don’t really keep score around on this board. I routinely forget what certain posters are known for saying. Probably the worst I’ve ever seen a McDermott team play. Entirely possible. I’m really not a fan of McDermott being HC/DC.

We must study his brain.

It is? I’m asking.

Reputedly. I rarely saw it out of him. I am a little surprised over how much concern there is here regarding the move. I’ve read that he wanted to be somewhere where he’d play more. So the team appears to have done right by the player. As for the concern about depth: He apparently didn’t want to be a 7/8 dman on an aspiring playoff team. He wants to be a 4/5/6 on a rebuilding team (?).

Happy trails, fella. I hope I always remember your OT winner in Florida (Tampa? Idk) that made Ray lol. Also, I know his calling card was playing a physical game. I didn’t see much of that from him. Maybe injuries played a role.

Who? I’ve been as active as anyone in discussing this here. I don’t recall more than a single shot being taken at unions, and that one came very recently. The angles I’ve been taking are that (1) these overruns cost the PSE lead negotiator his job and (2) PSE is gonna want to change the deal and socialize its losses.

It’s .20 or 20%, not .03 or 3%.

I don’t follow this math. Original project cost was budgeted at 1.4B. Overruns are already at 300M. That’s 20%, give or take. For a $300,000 house, that’d be over $60K.

Interesting insight. Thanks. Not sure who you're calling "idiots," though. I could probably do without that.

I hadn’t cried in connection with this sad news until I read this. Thanks for stopping in @X. Benedict. 👊

Let the church say "amen." Of course, we remember and celebrate the over the top calls, which, as has been discussed here, became more over the top over the years (and wonderfully so). But it was his essential skills as a PBP man that made him a HOFer. Without that artistry and technique regarding the mundane, his loony tunes calls would not have had the import that they did.

Dan Dunleavy’s RJ story this morning on WGR was a classic. As a college student, Dan made friends with this guy named Chris. He was just “Chris.” Great guy. The sort of guy who went out of his way to help Dan out with rides to campus, as Dan lived sort of far away from campus and had no car. They became good buds. One day, Chris asked if Dan wanted to join him for lunch with Chris’s dad. Sure says Dan. On the ride there, it occurs to Dan to ask Chris something about Chris’s dad. I appreciate how Dan’s first impression of Rick was how *quiet* and easygoing he was.