Stoner

@New Scotland (NS) do you know the raccoon whisperer?

That's about as good a sequence of camera work, directing, play by play and commentary as you'll see. Faceoffs matter.

That crust be flaky. What fat did you use?

Danny Gare, in the corner, with a slide, in 1975 — why? I'm pretty sure it's because my mom liked Irv, Rick and Tom and the Sabres were on Channel 7 then. Film at 11, smoke-eating SabreSpacers.

I can't resist anymore. I prefer the old CBA Tidbits with all the preservatives and artificial colors.

Randy Ireland played the third period of an 8-1 loss in Montreal on December 2, 1978. The Sabres were already down 7-1 to start the third, so my suggestion above that Ireland played a big role in Inglis becoming coach was off. To explain: the Sabres were 8-9-6 after the loss in Munreal, and they lost again to the Habs the next day, a Sunday, in Buffalo. Gilbert Perreault had asked to be traded earlier in the season, and the lockerroom was reported to be an interpersonal mess. So that was it for GM Punch Imlach and coach Marcel Pronovost, who got canned the next morning in the so-called Monday Morning Massacre. (Paul Wieland claims in his book that the real reason for the firing was that Imlach had booked Memorial Auditorium on a certain day, paying out of his own pocket, so the Sabres couldn't host another Soviet team, against Seymour Knox's explicit wishes.) Inglis, a scout and original Sabre who helped out with practices as a quasi-assistant coach, got the job. Inglis told the press after his debut that he wore a brown suit so no one would notice if he crapped himself. The Sabres briefly picked up the pace, going 5-0-2 in Inglis' first seven games before cooling off, removing "interim" from his business card. On February 4, 1979 the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHL traded Rick Dudley to whence he came (another report says the Sabres signed Dudley as a free agent with Cincy "selling off assets" due to their not being included in the upcoming WHA-NHL merger). The Sabres beat St. Louis that night at the Aud, and I think I remember that Dudley played in that game (he didn't; he debuted after the break and scored in a 2-1 win on Long Island). I recall the excitement on the postgame show on GR as the Sabres put together a winning streak for the first time since Inglis' hot start. That brought the All Star break, and two days later new director of player personnel John Andersen, acting as interim GM, traded Gary McAdam to Pittsburgh for Dave Schultz! It was an interesting time to be a fan as the 70s powerhouse team tried to keep itself going and stay relevant with the fans, who were suffering from core-itis and playoff frustration long before 2008-2020 (apparently there might also have been a notion that the Sabres were too soft). They went 14-9-5 to end the season, and Budd Bailey wrote in his 20th anniversary book that Buffalo had the third-best record in the league after the Massacre. Three times in the final 15 games they put up nine goals — including twice on the dastardly Bruins. But in the first round of the playoffs, in a dreaded best of three series, the Sabres, as was their wont, choked in the postseason. In a series-deciding overtime at the Aud in Game 3, Pittsburgh's George Ferguson did his best Darius Kasparaitis impression and did in a season and an era. April 14, 1979 was a momentous day for a young generation of Sabres fans. Everything was about to change. And did change that summer as the first decade of Sabres' hockey started winding down. In the end, Ireland also played a small role in bringing Scotty Bowman to Buffalo. In return, he never played another game in the National Hockey League. Now you know... the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: I didn't read the report. Why are you discounting the period before visitors were restricted (March 13) and staff was ordered to be tested twice a week (May 10)?

NYS Health Department has issued a report that concludes most disease entered NYS nursing homes through staff and visitors, not patients brought back into the facility.

Serenity now.

Wonderful.

Beaver hats too despite his denials in the age of PETA.

The eyes probably get too much credit for being expressive. What can they do other than constrict/dilate their pupils? The poor, unappreciated eyelids and muscles around the eyes... (Prison optometrist 1955-58)

Kim went to the manager's office and Terry went to the back room to watch security footage of how the coffee was brewed.

Dunno. I just know I'm not telling the assistant assistant manager at Tops I have herpes.

They have HIPAA on their side.

I'm envious. In PA, what I've heard is that the mask mandate is impossible to enforce. People can claim they have medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask, right down to mental illness, which could be something as common as anxiety about covering your mouth. And no documentation is needed. I'll say this. The mask wearing has picked up a lot as cases have spiked in the south and west. It's weird how we tie ourselves to what's happening in distant places, rather than maintaining a position of, "We don't have a lot of cases here, let's keep it that way."

Great point. It's not like it's either a turdburger or the grave.

It's not ice cream.

Food for thought: who is the president of hockey operations?

It'll be interesting to watch the number of deaths later this week. Reporting from Saturday, Sunday is always lower, and today probably will be, too, given the holiday weekend. If we can get through the next little while without an uptick, it'll be a very good and interesting development.

Based on antibody studies and some of the testing they've done on groups of people who aren't sick, there's an estimate of 20 million Americans having been infected (CDC, Dr. Redfield). That would make the death rate around .65 percent. Better, but still 6.5 times more deadly than the flu. However, the number of deaths is also thought to be undercounted. We're never gonna know for sure.

Yep, pretty much.

It's great unless it's close to your house, violating state law, and it's 12:30 a.m. and pets are freaking out. The lack of care and consideration for one's countrymen and countrywomen is enormous this Independence Day weekend.

Correct. Anybody got the connection between Randy Ireland and Billy Inglis? I can vividly remember the shock of Inglis as coach wearing off with the apparent return of good times. Someone else also appeared to bring back the good old days that season. That man? (Prepare Paul Harvey voice.)

Actually, no. This question just got a lot more interesting. Ireland did not play for the coach whose last name starts with I (and who played for the Sabres). But Ireland did play a large role in getting the I dude his job.