IKnowPhysics

Heh. One tidbit from the article: Garret Kramer's website: http://garretkramer.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY9raEX1AJg

Nick name voting is now open to the floor. According to Wikipedia, he'll be the first Jake/Jacob to play for the Sabres. My ballot: Jake the Snake

I think his personal journey helped him evolve beyond the fire-and-brimstone analysis into the old wise man role. And he's doing a great job with it.

Yes. Hesitation to say "we've hit rock bottom" or "we're at a turning point" or "now we start to improve" is entirely warranted. Until we have bodies on the ice that are developed and capable of playing in this league, we're not going anywhere. There's no bottom, there's no turning, there's no improving. Not yet. And seeing as how some of the kids in the system that are supposed to help save us haven't really even begun to play and develop their pro game, it could be quite a while until we start taking real, measurable steps forward in the performance of this team. On top of that, because we're already looking forward to maximizing our 2015 1st rounder, it could easily be a long, dark winter in Sabre Nation. So embrace it. Enjoy watching the kids grow up. Know every loss could net us better players. Or don't. Stew about the team. Get really miserable.

I think we're in a similar place as other folks: Nolan's got some upside, but no one expects to see it realized until the roster at least starts to get squared away. The down side is: there is no downside. As long as we don't botch the kids' development, the worst thing we could do with Nolan at the helm is lose games, which is something we're very much prepared to do next season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIyixC9NsLI

Yeah, the narrator needs work. Also, the Batman music almost made me spit take with laughter. Related: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdb2w1Yu97E All that said, I agree with the core message.

One more bad year of being good at being bad. Then we get bad at being good, and end up bad, which is expected. And although we'll be worse than better that second year, we'll be better than worse. Which isn't good, but it's not bad. Then from there, I expect better and better not worse and worse, or else it'll be really really bad and no good at all.

Intriguing. Generally I like using a high pick to take the guy you want, even if it's reaching a couple of picks. BUT, if trading down a couple of picks still gets us a great player AND another spin at the Connor McDavid roulette wheel next year or another pick in that "better" draft, that doesn't immediately sound like a bad opportunity. Ah, but who leverages a first in next year's draft to move up a couple of spots in this year's draft? Who does that?

Which I'm not even sure is allowed by the CBA- buyouts may not be allowed to sign with the same team.

I would enjoy listening to that. A link from someone when WGR posts the audio would be much appreciated.

With that, I figured that they may try to do this:

That's kind of nice.

Sure they could. For reference, chances of winning lottery: 4th last 10.7%, 5th last 8.1%, 6th last 6.2%.

Oh, but two top five picks next year are supposed to be even better!

Etc.

It's ladies' night tonight at the Palace Hotel Ballroom.

Looks familiar. I took a good one off the outside of my right ankle (on the skate) that almost kept me out of hockey camp about two years ago. I was mainlining ibuprofen (~2000mg/day, as ordered) just to keep the swelling down so I cut put my skate on without tearing up. That healed up fine. Then I took a better one off the inside of my left ankle (snuck in between my shins and skate) that sidelined me for a month. I probably should've stayed out longer and had it x-rayed because 16 months later, it still feels like there's some lumpy scar tissue under the surface there and some very subtle discoloration. The second ankle was a pain in the dick a little bit, but still not what I considered to be my worst injury, although it may turn out to be the longest-lasting. I've got pictures of some of those, but I don't really want to start a pissing match with gross-out injury photos.

Some GMs would "fluff it." Either by blowing smoke up yer ace at the trade deadline: Or, with delusions of being a team that can sign big names and trying to reinforce that delusion in fans, by making extremely poor personnel decisions: It's true, we're playing a ###### hand, but there are still some that would try to bluff. There's a level of straightforwardness and simplicity from Murray and Nolan, along with the acknowledgement that straightforwardness is well received by fans, that is intriguing.

Soundbites from the presser: "In trying times, I've liked a lot of what I've seen. ... In a losing situation, I have liked what I've seen." -Tim Murray on his confidence in Ted Nolan "We need better players. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out." -Tim Murray on his vision about the roster. "You know, when you have good players, it just makes the game so much easier. You look at some of the teams we play, and their hockey intelligence is what gets them out of a lot of trouble. Certainly, good players are [hockey intelligent]. But in order to have good players where we are, we have to develop those players. So I'm looking forward to that. And through Tim's experience finding that talent, it'll make my job a lot easier. The only thing I have to worry about is coaching and knowing that I'll be receiving some really good players." -Ted Nolan on the vision for the roster "What makes the job so exciting is looking down the road. What we have now is what we have now. You see some chunks of coal here, and you polish 'em up, and they're gonna be some pretty good diamonds down the road. We got some really good young players." -Ted Nolan on what makes this opportunity exciting "You know, I come from the same type of background. Nothing was given to myself, you had to work for things. This city, it's a blue collar town. They love to work, and if you give them an honest effort, and if you're honest with them, I think that's a key. You can't lie. And you can't fluff things that are not there. I think if you're truthful and if you're straightforward, they appreciate it that much more. I try to be as straightforward as I possibly can with them and with the players- I'll tell 'em if they had a bad game, and I'll also tell them that they played a good game. You don't fluff it up. So, I don't know, the night when I first got here a number of years ago, there was a big Native American population welcoming me to the city, and right from that I just really fell in love with the area." -Ted Nolan on why he connects so well to the city and fanbase "The bottom line is building something for the city that this city will really love and appreciate when we do it." -Ted Nolan Is it me, or are these two guys just really ###### reasonable.

Huh. Nolan's extension is earning just about universal praise from other teams' fans, many happy to see him in the league long term, think he's a good coach that's got a hard job ahead of him. I don't see anyone shitting on this one.

Sometimes I doubt this, and I understand when others do too. And then I recall the story of Mogilny's defection, when he risked his life with the help of Don Luce to live free and be a Buffalo Sabre... The 25th anniversary of his defection, the first Soviet to defect to the NHL, is coming up in May.

At what'll be the league's smallest venue, including view-obstructed seats? There couldn't be anything tying them down... ...except we're talking about on the league's worst owner and his oafish GM.

I believe you, and when I wrote this, I figured that sales negotiations was going to extend a while, perhaps keeping Snow around until the beginning of next season (enough time for him to ensure his maximum dookie stain on the roster and team record). But according to TSN, there's a $75M loan repayment Wang might be trying to get out of at the end of the season, which could accelerate the sale and possibly Snow's departure:

Defacto voice of the fan.