Stoner

I missed that.

It finally dawned me that the only explanation for Dan Dunleavy as voice of the Sabres is that the organization decided, perhaps going back to the start of the Pegula Era, that it would never again let its voice be so integral. You want to know what's happening? You want to be excited? Buy a ticket. It also calculated, IMHO, that not having a Rick would not hurt broadcast ratings.

Four in a row. Interesting.

Kathy Bates vs. Kathy Griffin.

My beloved cat, Gus, died yesterday. He was 18 years and eight months old. That's hardly awesome, but part of the terrible experience of trying to shepherd him to Kitty Heaven was quite awesome. Because a man I don't know and probably will never see again gave me the greatest gift. And like the giving of some great gifts, he didn't even know he did it. I had an appointment to take Gus to be put to sleep. It was time, but I didn't think death was imminent. I didn't foresee that even the short drive to the vet, although always stressful, would be so hard it would be a tipping point. Gus died on my front passenger seat, on a favorite fleece jacket he knew as a blanket, in the parking lot, after a few minutes of suffering. I wanted to keep him in the car as long as possible and had been going erratically in and out of the lobby, not sure if I should wait for the vet to call us or take Gus directly to the euthanasia room. I was in full denial, still thinking it wouldn't hurt to get one last opinion from the vet, still thinking Gus wasn't going to die, at least not right then. But he did, and I wasn't there for his last breath. That bothered me, and so did his last-minute suffering, which I was doing everything to prevent. I went back in and told the clerk what happened. A man in the corner with his dog surely overheard me. I got a phone number for the local animal crematory and held it together just long enough to get to the door before falling apart. I got in my car and wept. Stupid social conditioning, but of course I was looking around to make sure no one saw. The man came out and walked in front of me — and he saw. He put his dog in his car, which was parked next to mine, and got in. I glanced over. He was crying, too. He shared my pain, he eased my burden and he made me feel not so alone in that terrible moment. Unlike our pets, our hearts are far from perfect. In that moment, though, I believe the human species was at its very best.

<insert veteran Sabre defenseman joke here>

MW has gotten us nowhere.

Lemon pepper seasoning?

Chicken.

Is he dumb?

Friedman: Young man, do you think a firm's sole responsibility is to its shareholders? Jack: Do ya like apples?

Why? Are dumb people offended?

This is generally not a place where there's pressure to present the team and its players in a positive light. If there's a place like that on the Internet, I'd like to see it. As Mike Harrington has told Terry to his face, all the players have to do to be supported by the media and the fans is to win. Your titles fall a little short for me. Mine is more specific, although admittedly sharp in its wording.

Your last sentence suggests we cannot live in a world where public figures are ever criticized, because we never know what they have going on. If you believe that, you really shouldn't be here. As for your problem with "dumb," would you really prefer, "depressed ice hockey cognitive ability"?

Critical thinking will get you nowhere here — except on approved ***** lists.

I'll say it again. The NHL should bring back the bench clearing celebration. So awesome.

Sad trumpet sound. There's no data there. And the conclusion seems to be it's good to bet on the home team.

Link?

Interesting choice of music.

He doesn't read.

First Game Back is a good hockey cliche. I did some research a while back that somewhat discounted the notion. Still no Rick.

Including Hull's, as it turns out.

How would you like to be paired with Dahlin?

To discuss his hockey IQ. Does he come off as smart? I see you are also not a dad.

More hockey IQ than anything else, but his demeanor and speech make me wonder. And, no, it's not about his command of English. There are many dumb European kids who learn English.