PASabreFan Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 This is year two of the transition. Dan was supposed to get 35 games, after 25 last season, with half of the games next season. I don't have any source to check this, but I don't think Dan will end up doing 35 games. Rick doing a lot of road games, like last night in Colorado, has raised my suspicion that something has changed in the plan. I am now wondering if: 1. Beating cancer, which no one could have predicted when the succession plan was announced + 2. The Sabres bottoming out + 3. The Sabres getting Connor McDavid + 4. The Sabres 50th anniversary coming in five years Might equal the Sabres and Rick coming to a new understanding. Wishful thinking? Sure. Rick's lost a step and his voice hasn't fully recovered, so the time seems right after next season. It's hard to let go and very hard to imagine Sabres hockey without him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 This is year two of the transition. Dan was supposed to get 35 games, after 25 last season, with half of the games next season. I don't have any source to check this, but I don't think Dan will end up doing 35 games. Rick doing a lot of road games, like last night in Colorado, has raised my suspicion that something has changed in the plan. I am now wondering if: 1. Beating cancer, which no one could have predicted when the succession plan was announced + 2. The Sabres bottoming out + 3. The Sabres getting Connor McDavid + 4. The Sabres 50th anniversary coming in five years Might equal the Sabres and Rick coming to a new understanding. Wishful thinking? Sure. Rick's lost a step and his voice hasn't fully recovered, so the time seems right after next season. It's hard to let go and very hard to imagine Sabres hockey without him. It would be nice, but the man is almost 73 years old. I'd let him go as long as he wants to and is able, but how long will he want to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 It would be nice, but the man is almost 73 years old. I'd let him go as long as he wants to and is able, but how long will he want to? And, how long will he be able? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Buffalo being the new medical center it is, should be able to use experimental stem cell gene therapy to keep Rick going until he's 100, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 I'd give him about 10 home games a year up to the 50th anniversary season (assuming he's able) so he can keep his edge and be part of the celebration but I don't think he's really up to the task of being a fulltime broadcaster anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Not to throw water on this, but I just contacted a source who says that there is absolutely no change and that next year is still his final year. He will do less games next year before leaving entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 I hope when the time comes for him to step down, he does. I expect he will, as he scaled back recently tremendously due to the cancer. When he steps down, it will be a tremendously sad day. But it would be even sadder to see him stick around too long like Van Milller did or to have him go out as Ted Darling did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 I hope when the time comes for him to step down, he does. I expect he will, as he scaled back recently tremendously due to the cancer. When he steps down, it will be a tremendously sad day. But it would be even sadder to see him stick around too long like Van Milller did or to have him go out as Ted Darling did. He will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Buffalo being the new medical center it is, should be able to use experimental stem cell gene therapy to keep Rick going until he's 100, right? I think we should clone him now so he can grow up and become the Sabres broadcaster again at age 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Given the matter raised in the GDT of last night: <Bump> Good ear, pA. Not to throw water on this, but I just contacted a source who says that there is absolutely no change and that next year is still his final year. He will do less games next year before leaving entirely. Same source who dislikes 'Yeicehl', I'd wager. Edited November 11, 2015 by That Aud Smell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 To be fair to Hoss, that might very well have been the best available information at the time. We don't know when Rick made his decision, but it almost certainly was after the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 To be fair to Hoss, that might very well have been the best available information at the time. We don't know when Rick made his decision, but it almost certainly was after the season. Oh, I credit the source and amn't throwing shade at Hoss. I think that was good intell at the time. I'm saying that the source who, in the spring of 2015, definitively said "RJ's scaling back in 2015-16 and is done after the upcoming season" seems like the same source who more recently said that everyone in the organization knows that "Yeichel" is terrible but no one has the guts to break it to RJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 They should really have open auditions. I would make a great RJ replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Last night Rick and Rob mentioned that Marty Biron will join the broadcast on Thursday. Rob said to Rick that he already has two people angling for his job, and now Marty joins the mix. A joke, but sometimes there's truth in a joke. So Brian Duff is now in the mix along with Dan? We never did get a good reason for Duff's call of recent game in Florida. A tryout? (If it was, it should be his last tryout. He was awful.) I'd love to know if Hoss' information is that Duff is the one who said he was ready to go to Rick about the Yeichel abomination. And on top of this, while joking about the misspelling of Niemi on his jersey — NIEME — Rob said there's no I in team, or something to that effect, and Rick came back with a crack about how people who work in the broadcasting business are often all about themselves, but of course not in Buffalo. The laugh that followed was quite sarcastic, IMHO. You just get this feeling that with the arrival of Russ Brandon, there's all this intrigue bubbling below the surface in the broadcast situation. Intrigue! Patricide! Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I think we should clone him now so he can grow up and become the Sabres broadcaster again at age 20. Robert Heinlin's book "Time Enough For Love". Start calling Rick... Lazarus Long... I have heard Biron on Ranger broadcasts, not bad... more color commentator imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I am not a fan of Marty Biron's pie hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I am not a fan of Marty Biron's pie hole. Like the way his mouth is shaped, insert deliverance joke here, or the stuff that comes out of it? I've always found him quite charming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Last night Rick and Rob mentioned that Marty Biron will join the broadcast on Thursday. Rob said to Rick that he already has two people angling for his job, and now Marty joins the mix. A joke, but sometimes there's truth in a joke. So Brian Duff is now in the mix along with Dan? We never did get a good reason for Duff's call of recent game in Florida. A tryout? (If it was, it should be his last tryout. He was awful.) I'd love to know if Hoss' information is that Duff is the one who said he was ready to go to Rick about the Yeichel abomination. And on top of this, while joking about the misspelling of Niemi on his jersey — NIEME — Rob said there's no I in team, or something to that effect, and Rick came back with a crack about how people who work in the broadcasting business are often all about themselves, but of course not in Buffalo. The laugh that followed was quite sarcastic, IMHO. You just get this feeling that with the arrival of Russ Brandon, there's all this intrigue bubbling below the surface in the broadcast situation. Intrigue! Patricide! Cool! Good stuff. I missed the Nieme/Niemi thing, even though I was watching. Kids were talking, I suppose. I am sure Rob is concerned about his job security. He (jokingly) said as much to me and a group of dads who were having beers following a youth soccer event a while back. Fwiw, I had inferred that Hoss's source was Dunleavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Watched the broadcast late last night. I get the sense RJ is trying to set up Rob Ray for more insight. Maybe some moves are under-foot. What is the weak side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I know he's an imperfect colour guy, but I'd hate to see Rob get shown the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I am not a fan of Marty Biron's pie hole.Hey, Lindy? Hey, Lindy? What, Marty? Nothing. Good stuff. I missed the Nieme/Niemi thing, even though I was watching. Kids were talking, I suppose. I am sure Rob is concerned about his job security. He (jokingly) said as much to me and a group of dads who were having beers following a youth soccer event a while back. Fwiw, I had inferred that Hoss's source was Dunleavy. There's always money in the hot dog stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I know he's an imperfect colour guy, but I'd hate to see Rob get shown the door. I don't think he's a color guy. But sure, he's got a place. Somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 I know he's an imperfect colour guy, but I'd hate to see Rob get shown the door. Holy understatement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Watched the broadcast late last night. I get the sense RJ is trying to set up Rob Ray for more insight. Maybe some moves are under-foot. What is the weak side? It was also more real time statty last night. At one point Rob said O'Reilly was struggling on the dot, going 3 for 9, or 27%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BagBoy Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Hey, Lindy? Hey, Lindy? What, Marty? Nothing. I totally forgot about this. Hilarious stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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