Stoner

Unless the Pegulas step away and there's a real hockey department here next fall, (insert name of next coach) will soon be the new WOAT, replacing Nolan, Bylsma, Housley and Ralph. This is getting old. Are we still not waiting for Rutherford and Karmanos?

No. Just no.

Nice touch by NJ to announce their goal at the start of the second. Remind the Sabres what happened. #millionlittlethings

Another Mike Ramsey goal! He scored a lot! This is from the Wally Harris game above, against Quebec. The Sabres didn't score on the power play following Harris' call; in fact they fell behind 6-4 before this Ramsey goal. What you'll hear is the Sabres' home goal celebration in 1983. The organ burst functioned as a horn, which sounds really cool in retrospect. Then a jazzy version of Sabre Dance, a thumping beat and... Talking Proud, of course! Right on cue, at the ensuing faceoff, Uncle Miltie announced the goal, exquisite timing.

We'll all remember where we were when this happened.

I think you're sniffing up the right tree. I've always wondered how anyone can look at a player the Sabres passed up who ended up in a good hockey place and say — "hey! look! he's good, we screwed up!" Bring Braden Point to Buffalo. What does he become? The problem is soooo much deeper than drafting. I still don't know what's wrong with dad, but he's been walking around the house in some really white, really big sneakers lately.

A lesser Linus?

Are you behind coffin-kicking Jay Moran? He seriously sounds like a funeral director. Would you please rise and proceed single file past your loved one?

In the This Isn't How You Think You Might Die department... While I was worrying about the Big C, the Big One and/or getting shot by an elderly deer hunter in the woods, this almost happened. My gas dryer was struggling to dry clothes on Friday and Saturday. I'd been waiting for this day. It's 32 years old. What was I going to do, write a stern letter to General Electric? The funny thing is, water started dripping out of the front of the dryer. I took a cover off the front and watched the burner do its thing. It flamed up, then went off in exactly four seconds, only to turn back on about 30 seconds later, and so on. I tried to dry clothes this way for over an hour. There was some heat in the dryer, but no real drying was taking place. On Sunday, I took off the flexible plastic vent that directs hot air and fumes outside and saw quite a bit of damp lint inside. I cleaned out inside the vent on the back of the dryer and inside the vent on the wall. I was thinking it was just time for new venting. First, I decided to check one more thing, the vent on the outside of the house. To my shock and then near-horror, some neighborhood kids who'd been playing in the empty lot next to mine shoved two plastic Easter eggs into the vent cover, jamming shut the flapper (for lack of a better word) that opens up and releases the air to the outside when the dryer is running. I mean, they couldn't have done a better job sealing it off. (I assume it was the kids I saw playing out there. But I can't rule out The Easter Egg Asphyxiator.) I can't say I was close to death or anything. I didn't have any symptoms, although I took a long nap after a late breakfast on Saturday, which is rare for me. I'm wondering why my carbon monoxide detector didn't go off. My only theory is that the flame turning off after four seconds was a safety feature that kicks in when the vent is blocked. After I got everything straightened out, I watched the flame and now it stays lit. Shouldn't some carbon monoxide have been circulating inside? You almost lost the GPOAT.

Let's put a stake in those vampires.

During your absence, commonly attributed to Lent, but some of us suspect you were doing time — I proposed a complete overhaul of the sounds and sights these guys have gotten so used to during season after season of losing. Custom goal songs would be a great start. You could have save/big hit songs too. I also proposed a new horn (I'd go with whatever might be historically appropriate for local maritime history.) Or getting rid of it altogether. Dougie's gone as well. Sorry. A while back, I listened to Sabre Dance and realized there are parts of it you could play when the team is rolling and the other team ices it or something. During the break, you keep that thumping part going from whistle to puck drop. Zero confidence Kim and the college interns she mentors can pull it off.

I wasn't suggesting government prohibition or anything. Jeez. Couldn't/wouldn't... same difference.

Is that the one they couldn't play on the radio after Sandy Hook?

It's you.

That was tin-eared tweeting by Dreger. But what should we expect?

Ron went 15-11-5 with several winning streaks. Not to go all @Randall Flagg here but the only value in what happens the rest of the way is to "see what works." Thank you for your service, Don.

That's ridiculous. It's just a bad title. Because Risto would some day come back to haunt us?!

This one seems to star referee Wally Harris, but it's more about the mood at the Aud created by the crowd, organist and public address announcer. 2021 game presentation could learn a lot. (I'll have a goal "song" and subsequent celebration from this game soon; suck it, LMCMT.) So it's late in the 1982-1983 season, March 27, 1983, to be exact, and Quebec's in town. The Sabres are a few years into Bowman's regime and having a nice season on their way to a thrilling playoff year. It's late in the third, and the Sabres are trailing by a goal and have been fighting to come back all night long. FTR, Harris called 19 minors, four fighting majors and one misconduct in this game. Rick throws some serious shade on Harris, who apparently had the reputation of not calling a lot. I'd love to hear memories of Harris. I feel like I should dislike the guy for some reason, or maybe I'm thinking of Bruce Hood.

As usual, the NHL rulebook is near useless, as it's too vague and open to interpretation. How does one read the following (Rule 64 Diving/Embellishment)? Any player or goalkeeper who blatantly dives, embellishes a fall or a reaction, or who feigns an injury shall be penalized with a minor penalty under this rule. Is the embellishment of a reaction limited to the act of diving? You'd think Skinner in this case, if he was faking, should get a penalty under this rule.

This season should be tried in the Hague as a crime against humanity.

One (or several) of the variants might be hitting younger people harder than before. (Of course, the definition of "young" is pretty bizarre sometimes: under 50. Really?!)