Samson's Flow

Cool story JJ. Reminds me of a family friend that used to race up here (WNY) that did the racing scene as a way to stay connected with his dad and enjoyed the hell out of it. Never got any better than mediocre, but it was more about the people and the experience. When my prior career had me traveling every week, I found I really enjoyed the traveling part and being in new places and finding new experiences. It's amazing how much you learn about yourself and others when you travel by yourself surrounded by strangers.

Bold move Cotton - let's see it pays off

Luck be a lady! $2,095 + Buffalo win of $170 = $2,265

As long as it isn't this kind of "Pony"

Yes I did mean in the running for 1st overall pick. I see that was worded poorly. In retrospect I was just in a really low place with this team after the losses against Philly and Minnesota, and was expecting a more competitive team this season compared to the last few. I realize that every team goes through streaks throughout the year, but it wasn't looking too optimistic last week. Amazing what a difference a week can make.

Multiple threads about this but most of them are from 2+ years ago (I know cause I started one). The general consensus from the people around here were what Derrico said: and they wanted to preserve the historical point totals reference. If they awarded 3 points for every game instead of the traditional 2, then 1st place teams would end up with 180 points, which would far surpass historically great teams like the Gretzky Oilers and the cup champion Habs that got ~130. There would be two totally different statistical eras. But I agree - it makes no sense to have an arbitrary point value for each game depending on the outcome. The total points available league wide could be anywhere from a min of 4,920 (30 teams x 82 games x 2 pt/gm) to a max of 7,380 (30 teams x 82 games x 3 pt/gm for all OT/SO games). That's nutty.

At $2,095 (2nd place :w00t:) I'll put $100 (1 unit) on the Sabres tonight.

Much appreciated for all the legwork on setting this up!

Oh no doubt. Outside of the first line, none of the wingers have done a good job of creating space and getting open.

As I mentioned in the "the System" thread, I think this has more to do with there is no options to pass the puck to. The breakout strategy is such that once we get the puck to the forwards they don't appear to have any choices for passes to teammates, which allows the opponent to pressure and force the chip/dump to nobody. We spend the majority of the time attempting to retrieve the puck back as a result of this (IMO) poor strategy.

the report I read was that Gillislee was held out of practice because he had a cut on his heel as the result of breaking in new cleats. Because he had to get treatment from the medical staff (i.e. a band aid) he had to be listed on the medical report as questionable. He's fine.

You're making my point for me. The team we saw in the second half of the season looked like a legitimate hockey team and one that I could watch and cheer for this year. I don't think losing Eichel and Kane suddenly should make that team that was above .500 in the second half into a team in the running for #1 overall. Our team trajectory was on the upswing, and these first handful of games this year have turned that trajectory decidedly downhill.

When does it stop? I know this team is built for future success, but eventually you need to show me the baby. This was the year we were supposed to start looking like a real team and not a tank disaster. The names have changed but the play is equally poor if you ask me. We can't keep saying "next year will be better". We already do that with the Bills. :doh:

Since it's also a fast way for the puck to be retrieved and then subsequently cleared by the opponent. It's certainly end to end but it's why we get killed in the possession metrics.

:cry: This thread makes me said. I know it is a necessary evil, but the timing of this one really stings.

I had a pretty lengthy discussion with my teammates last night at the bar, and they echoed similar complaints with healthcare and insurance premiums. I think this country is getting closer and closer to becoming single issue voters or demanding a healthcare revolution.

I really wanted to bet the house on the Wild last night, but I refrained from doing so since I didn't want to root for my wife's unhappiness. Really kicking myself this morning. Current balance is $2,095

So looking forward to sleeping tonight. I've not got much the last two days due to the dog illin' (Does that make me old and lame looking forward to sleep on a Friday night?)

Well I didn't do any of that crazy trapeze stuff, but I did play volleyball again tonight after two weeks off from my cruise. Holy jeebers did it feel like my entire body forgot what to do in this sport. Two weeks at sea and its like my legs have atrophied and my vertical went from great to non-existent. :(

the season is never over when it is still October. That said, the way they are playing now does not give a lot of confidence for a turnaround. The only time they have looked good in the last few games is on the Power Play and the flurry in the 2nd period last night (which didn't even result in a goal)

From my observations the problem with the zone entries is that the forwards get too far up in the neutral zone (almost to the opponents blue line) when we get possession. So the defenseman with the puck is at our faceoff circle/our blue line and has to make a long pass to our stationary forwards. The only play the forwards have is to deflect it into the zone, which is then easily cleared because we have no momentum to put pressure on the puck retriever. This strategy is especially problematic since I think our defense is one of the poorest outlet passing groups in the league - they just don't have that skillset. I'd much rather see us employ a "Barcelona Soccer" style passing game and transition where we use a lot of high %age short passes to create different angles and have all players coming into the opponents zone with speed as a unit. IMO we would be far more effective utilizing triangle passing concepts and wall passes (give and go) to maintain possession and force the opposing D to back off the blue line. Right now they can stand us up at the blue line without fear because we have no momentum (or team speed) to blow past them. When we do gain possession in the offensive zone, we seem to do a lot of cycling below the opponents goal line and then go low to high and pass to the point men. There doesn't appear to be a concerted effort or set plays to get movement and chances in the high percentage scoring areas.

I'm not betting this one as my wife will be at the game. Hoping she has a good time.

Yes we should definitely round. Nobody needs that math problem. :thumbsup:

Pretty sure you wrote it backwards. I looked it up and it is Sabres +122 and Wild -142 that makes more sense to me

Really? As i'm not familiar with real hockey gambling, is there usually a default favorite for the home team (like the ~3 points given to home teams in NFL)? Because the 4-2-1 Wild are a much better team than the 1-2-2 Sabres.