SabresFanInRochester

That's pretty cool. We all did weird stuff in school. I remember hating Spanish class -- just bored out of my mind. So for one of the assignments when we had to "sell something," I wanted to make it interesting. I translated Eddie Murpy's SNL "I Wanna Be A Ho" bit into Spanish -- Yo quiero ser una puta by Velvet Jones. It was hilarious. One of the girls in the class at at the end of my presentation said -- I don't get it. I understand the part about making money, and being able to work from your bedroom, but what is a "puta." My teacher was devestated. I parallel her to DD and the current Sabres -- lost control. BTW - I did not get my name on a plaque in the Spanish classroom after that shenanigan.

That's impressive. Was it an assigned task or just some weird fixation you had? How far along can you go now?

Now you see how easy you have it. Back in the day, when I had to walk uphill, both ways... I have never heard of such a thing. Interesting. Three random words that mean nothing to me might be a little confusing, but maybe with my old age, I would get confused by my system and wonder if Kelly threw to Reed (1283) or Tasker (1289.)

Does anyone else remember phone numbers by athlete's names? It was always impressive when you didn't have to write it down, and now, dial it into your phone. It's a little dated for technology so maybe you used to but don't anymore -- you'll see what I mean from the names: When a girl would tell you her phone number was 585-244-1288, it was Horton-Zhitnik and Kelly to Metzelaars. The 585 was local and a no-brainer. Anyone else do this?

There is no right answer. From coaches at the highest level, there are even different theories. If you believe you don't need to motivate certain players because they are self-motivated, you will fail to get the most out of your team. Even though they are pros, they still need something to drive them. Being the good guy is going to work for some players. And being the drill sergeant is going to work for some players. Just as each of you responded you wouldn't like that approach, it works that way at the pro level. I know I would run through a wall for some of my coaches, and then certain coaches just didn't do it for me. It is up to the coach to figure out what drives an athlete and pull the most out of them, and that driving force will likely be unique to each player. Optimal solution (or easiest for a coach) is to compose a team of similar personalities and let the coach use the appropriate style on the entire team. Hard to do when you take someone for their word in a recruiting/interview/scouting time period, and then you see their work ethic and personality daily over the life of a contract. :thumbsup:

Where did you get that from? That has been my biggest beef with DD -- forcing players into a system that they do not have the skillset to play. I hope you're right.

I listened to the conference and then popped on here to read through comments. My thoughts: People are definitely reading into GMTM's comments with personal biases: If you think DD stays, you heard it that way. If you think he's getting fired, you heard it that way. However, I do think there were a couple of things that bothered GMTM about DD: He doesn't like all the prep work that the coaches do regarding other teams and wants them to focus on this team. The comments about everything being black and white: I think this reflects that GMTM had to get involved because the players were expressing confusion. I think there is evidence of inconsistent punishment, and making everything black and white removes all the grey. I think some of that black and white is players not buying into the system because they don't know what they're supposed to do when a player like Jack isn't held to the same standard -- he gets a pass on mistakes and turnovers, IMO. Regarding Jack being captain. I don't think Murray meant he will make the decision of who's captain. I think his response was referred to it is up to him in regards to whether they bring Gionta back. Three or four questions were lumped into one... IIRC -- REPORTER: Gionta had a good year -- would you want to bring him back and would he be captain again. Or maybe that's not your decision. GMTM RESPONSE: (As I recall it) It is my decision. He did play well and we'd love to have him back for a one year contract if the terms are right. Players not being happy. Maybe I missed something but it sounded like he was referring to players being unhappy because they missed the playoffs. He said whether you're a playoff team or not, you'll always have people unhappy. He made a specific comment about the players, and said I don't see them away from here, and so if they're unhappy, I don't see it. Kinda of weird: He seemed to dismiss the general negative attitude some people have, and summed it up by saying he wasn't away of any "cancers" in the room. On a different line of question, he said if people are more accountable, you can ask more of them. Sounds like that's why they were making it black and white. It does sound like Peterson is not going to sign here. He said he talks to him everyday. Hmmm, wouldn't you know more than? And what do you say to someone everyday? Antipin response was strange: "I think he is still playing." Wouldn't you know with certainty when he season is over if you were looking to get him under contract?

This is actually the true answer

WGR550 is streaming it online, or you can listen if you're in the area

Wonder if there will be an update on Okposo...

Is he gone yet?

Is he gone yet?

55 is too timid? I see 90 as that way off the ice, and maybe that is why PHam has softened on him. Do you need to be the loud-mouth to be captain? Is 55 quiet because of a language barrier? I want the captain to be a guy that leads by example. To me, that is 55. He plays with an edge, is top-tier, in my opinion, and is looked up to, from what I can tell. Looking at other captains in the NHL, I don't know that many of them are outspoken.

But, you have a horrendous offensive line, and a quarterback who lacks accuracy. Yet you still rely on it... because that is the system. Nevermind the strengths of the players.

When playing even scored, and definitely protecting a lead, it is like Dan wants the team to "punt" to clear their zone instead of generate offense with transition. How many times are you going to punt it away before someone comes down and scores. It is a strategy, but I don't like it. Because, instead of punting, you clear the zone and score? Now a bigger lead to overcome AND exciting to watch. It was said earlier (not sure by who) that two-lines would consist of defensive forwards and two lines would be offensive-minded. That is so old-school. And how do you effectively run that when you are the away team? And when the other team is able to shut down your top offense, you are in for a boring game. I just hate that approach, and cannot stand that Dan is trying to find the personnel on this team to run that kind of team. Use the talent you have to the best of their ability. What a waste of development and talent.

I would love for it to be as simple as a reporter inadvertently disrespecting the shield. That's some serious passion coming from a player, if that's the case, and although I didn't see it on the ice, how could you help but not be excited if that is the mindset of the players. Winning will come with time if they are that passionate about the team. But, as someone else pointed out, it likely was Enroth screaming at Lehner to stop giving him a wedgie.

I agree with you. Dan is pushing a system instead of playing to players individual strengths. Do you remember when Lindy Ruff said he was going to make Vanek one of the best two-way players in the league? To the best of my knowledge, he didn't punish Vanek for not excelling in that role -- he finally realized that putting him on the PK and relying on him defensively wasn't going to work. Dan doesn't make that adjustment.

I agree that this is overblown. I understand that you need rules and that you are building a culture. Remember the first time you were pulled over for speeding? Did you get off with a warning, or did the police officer follow the rules? A you a deviant and deserving of being deported if you break the rules? I am reading into this that DD has lost control of the team. To have to pull the GMTM in to put a policy in place tells me that the coach is not handling things. Eichel said he was benched for a PP for being late to a meeting. So, this apparently has happened with inconsistent repercussions. I do not have evidence to say that players being late for meetings is a rampant occurrence, but if there are inconsistent punishments, then you inadvertently show favoritism. And if your players think they can get away with it, I don't think it reflects they don't care about their team, but it does reflect they think they can get away with it. I put that on the coach's discipline. And, this very well could have been an honest mistake. If someone is going to be late because of traffic, a snowstorm, or an accident -- what do you consider viable excuses and which offenses do you discipline. Maybe the players thought they could simply sneak into meetings late while DD's head was buried on the whiteboard drafting up his masterful system. And, I wonder what the punishment is for sleeping through one of DD's high-emotion speeches would be. zzz zzz zzz (I do not like DD.) That fact that one of his teammates called him and told him there was a team stretch, and he was only 5-6 minutes late tells me he was ready to go, and in his room waiting it out. How early would you show up for a team stretch? And since McCabe called him, I see that as a tight team... was McCabe penalized for being on his phone during the team stretch? You want black and white with no exceptions, and just like officiating, you cannot have that. There is too much gray area. I mentioned in my above post -- where do you draw the line between legit and a poor excuse. You say no to traffic being a reason. Is there any legit reason to being late? And Sam strikes me as being a mature young man. I would see him as being the guy that would call to say he's running late. I think he really just screwed up on the time. (I will see it's hard to confuse 10:30 and 11:00 -- they don't really look the same, but as stated earlier, who arranges the team schedule via text messages???)

Favorite? It is definitely one of my favorites, but how can it surpass this one? (It is the one of a fan heckling Sullivan because he took a high stick to the face and is bleeding... and later in the game, the SAME fan gets hit with a puck that came over the boards and is bleeding from his forehead. I would never believe something like this if I didn't see it.)

Why is moving someone else's stick out of the way a penalty. Yet, you can pick up the opposing player's stick, even if it has the wrong curve, score a goal with it, and that is allowed? (I am thinking this was probably just missed by the refs, but I love this clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F77GCeH0t1Q.)

Hitchcock doesn't have a good enough track record for you? I was wondering about Kevin Dineen. I liked him when he was with our Portland affiliate. At this point, I would take the winner of a raffle during fan appreciation as our next coach.

I have noticed that when GMTM makes something happen -- drafting a player, trading a player, pursuing a UFA -- it is pretty quiet until after the move. I am being optimistic in that I have not heard any rumblings about DD being fired. :P Maybe, just maybe...

What other players don't want to be here? Is it because of the losing? Is it because they don't feel they fit with DB's system? Is it that they don't like Buffalo? Lot's of questions but the boys sure played uninspired last few games. Gives me the impression more than just Kuli gives a rat's ass.

Was Lehner's comment simply calling out Eichel's curl of the puck at the goal-line extended right into the middle of the ice -- the one that was knocked off his stick and quickly put into the back of the net? I didn't see who the player was at first that did that, but I immediately thought 'who is carrying the puck up the middle???' When I saw it was Eichel, I shook my head. I think he gets an easy pass. He turns the puck over a ton. Exciting to watch, yes, but frustrating.

No ice? How deep is your water? I range from 2" to 6." I do not have solid ice, but enough to hold a 200lb skater. :thumbsup: