Ghost of Dwight Drane

You really do need to work on your reading comprehension. You are a top notch overall poster, but please.....read what I said. I even clarified it. If you have already made your decision and turned down $5 million a year versus $3 million because of family reasons and such, a HUGE difference, and you then take $6 million, it doesn't add up. You are obviously taking the job for strictly money. If all the yadda yadda about a new challenge was true, and he really has the family in mind, the first gap is too big that anything else should be a difference. I don't want to be crass Ghost here, but it is fitting. If you are a fella that fancies the ladies, and the age old question is presented to you...."Would you #### a #### for $5 million?".......you say no.....and then you change your mind at $6 million....that doesn't add up in the Freudian handbook. If he comes to Buffalo, it was a money play all along. If he stays in Detroit, I will actually have 100% respect for him.

Well....LaFontaine HIRED Murray, and he got shitcanned. All these leaks pretty much put questions in everyones' heads. All we have heard for a year was murray loves Richardson. I know Babcock fielding offers wasn't a given, but you have to see the writing on the wall. Murray would be Babcock's boss and making 25% the salary. His heart is in Ottawa. I still think Babcock's heart is in Detroit. Worst case...Babcock stays in Detroit, Murray knows Pegula would throw him under the bus like an AV Club prom date when a cheerleader is willing to give you a handy in the balcony.....and it is a whole bowl of wrong. Does anyone here really think Doug Whaley is calling the shots in OP?

Murray to Ottawa?

The offer isn't dirty.....if you are Babcock though, your heart already made the decision for you, and that extra million should only pound that fact home, not turn you. That's all i'm saying.

Babcock turned down the Sabres $5 million a year. He plans on staying in Detroit. McKenzie threw out those tweets because the Sabres added $1 million a year. Babcock's agent of course is going to present this. If Babcock doesn't care about money, he's in Detroit. If he is an honorable guy, which he seems like, that last counter is almost dirty feeling and will probably clinch Detroit. I still have no idea what the interview was all about on TSN.

19) We have the World's Largest.....DISCO!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AyZ6DJaHNM

27) You get to watch and listen to Mary Alice Demler say, "Babcock" the next 5 years on lead-ins from her 45 degree angle strategic desk positioning 26) Cup holders over the urinals

42) Broadway Market Horseradish instead of smelling salts on the bench 42a) Pierogi Farts 40) Getting a selfie on Joe Battista's Twitter within 24 hours of the press conference 39) Hasek played here too 38) When you wake up to pee 5 times a night, there's a pretty good place to check your prostate 2 miles up the road

51) Your office smells like Cheerios if you open the window 50) You can get a "lapdance" from a McGill girl at The Downer, because a 6 in Montreal is a 9 in Niagara Falls 49) You will finally answer the question, "How many Polacks does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

You can have an LLC, and that is how a lot of mass partnerships form. There is a managing partner and everyone else goes for the ride. The premium you pay as a partner is 100% in some of the more popular ones. They usually afford you the rights of any owner....but a 5-10K buy-in is the low end norm. A person or persons can own a horse. Usually most states don't make you register as an individual unless you have a 5%-10% stake. Then you just run it as a business on a schedule C for tax purposes. The LLC helps for liability, but the barns all have workman's comp, and some states take a huge hunk out every time you race....so an individual is fine. Yeah.....Funny Cide. A group of guys threw in a few thousand each and hit the jackpot. The bus was "friends" and such...but I think it was only 5 or 6 actual owners.

His daddy is one of the top handful of influences on the breed. Bold Ruler does a lot through the female scope too. A key aspect to breeding is lining up similar family traits. It can be bad....like in dog breeding where you get inbred puppies and more health issues. You get that in horses too. Bold Ruler however is one of the prefered exceptions. If I see a horse that has Bold Ruler 3x3 or 5x5 (don't ask me why the odd years seem to work better), I feel good about it. So sadly, it would be like having 2 cousins mating....but for some reason, it works out well for Bold Ruler's family. I'm pulling up other video and bawling. Japan has a setup where they let 100 people own a tiny bit of a horse. I truly think for the sport to fly again here, there needs to be someone to step up and let that happen. It's a pain in the butt to think about dealing with everyone, but just look how cooky Sabres season ticket holders are. If you feel you have a vested interest in something, no matter how small, you do irrational things. Imagine how giddy those ticket holders would be if they could make money by going to the games? The problem is, the coach and players don't benefit by having 16,000 at practice every day, and I'm sure Tim Murray doesn't want to take 16,000 phone calls. To me though, anyone that meets the horses and gets to understand them is a vested fan.

That is special, and as famous a call as the Miracle on Ice in my opinion. That's the thing too when you look at at Triple Crown threats after that. If American Pharoah were to win the Belmont, he would deserve to be called the best of his generation and it would be an amazing feat. But you look at Secretariat....he was a true freak of nature. He was a handsome and pretty horse. His heart was actually confirmed to be almost twice the size you would expect, and he inspired a whole group of people to chase down heart and oxygen function on horses going forward. The "moving like a tremendous machine".....when you watch him run away from Sham heading towards the final turn, if you notice, Sham is actually moving his legs faster....maybe even 15 strides for every 10 of Secretariat.....but Secretariat is reaching, and his back legs are getting all the way to the front of his body as he pushes, and he is relaxed.....it really is a dream horse. I am a firm believer that the best horses are freaks of nature, and you always have to keep your eyes open. Secretariat was a horrible daddy of boys, but he did have a lot of girls that went on to be good mamas. The gene pool really is female driven with horses...and that's about the only infuence Secretariat had on the future. To watch that race though, and look at pictures or video of him in the field even as he was older.....he was just a blessing of a freak. I've been around one horse like that and I think I learned 99% about life from the experience. That's why people are willing to wake up at 4am every day....or spend more money than is wise....because everyone knows it's possible. You get just a taste of it and it is the greatest high in the world. You don't need millions or billions. It helps, but you are reduced to being a 5 year old kid on Christmas Eve anyway. They call it the "Great Equalizer". It truly is. Money, faith, gender, age....doesn't matter......that's why the game is so great.

Yes...he got a 2 minute penalty, or else he would have had 10 goals. He then turned to the camera and said, "My satellites see you Razor".......

Brad May LOVES popcorn. Terry should have let him drive Babcock around. Now I have to disclose a conflict of interest. At one time, I actually served Delaware North popcorn. It was all prepopped in those giant bags, and we'd just throw them into the machine to be under the heat lamp. But.....the key was the butter. I always asked, and if someone wanted it, I didn't half ass it and squirt a little on top like a lot of bozos at the theatre. I had a 4 level process of scoop and squirt.....scoop and squirt....scoop and squirt...scoop and squirt..... To all my fellow posters who attended a Buffalo sporting event circa the early 1990's.......enjoy that visual, and have a good night's sleep.......

We'd let you change your screen name. It would be 3 months after the fad....but perfect.

No problem. If you are looking for stats, there is a number called the Tomlinson Number that predicts wet track performance off of pedigree. They show it in The Racing Form for each horse. The higher the better. A lot of times you just have to use your eyes and experience....which is what makes the betting game go round. Plnz likes my turf picks and I am much better at turf and 2 yo picks because when you look at the big picture, a horse will stand out to the eyes for that specific race as opposed to their history or what is expected by the public. A lot of handicappers look at just numbers and speed, or watch video to see if a horse got into trouble and would have a better chance next time.....but that's a lot of hard work and usually gets built into the odds because it is a common route to go. I used to be all about numbers until I got into the game at a personal level. The more you hang around the actual athletes, and learn their mannerisms and who likes what and why.....and when they are feeling good and how that shows in their ears, eyes, coat, gait, etc.....I am more about the horse and pedigree than the numbers now. I think that is why I am tough on the hockey analytics guys......even if the numbers actually work, there is no value in them because everyone is looking at the same possible advantage.

What are the odds of any last round pick playing 100 NHL games? The smart financial move would be to draft him. You'd probably sell 100,000 Sabres jerseys. The Sabres would be all over the media circuit. Putin might actually even make a visit. Baseball teams have drafted people that are ill and obviously would never play. Plus...you can talk gas and oil deals with him! It's a no-brainer Ted. Pitch Terry the idea over your Memorial Day hot dogs on the deck!

It's the way they are built. American Pharoah is not your typical build for a triple crown horse. He's not a big, rangey horse that looks like he wants to go two turns. If you just saw him out in the field, he looks like a 7 furlong horse or a mile type...and not an over muscled type at that. What makes him so good is his efficiency in stride. He runs straight with little wasted motion, which in turn leads to a bigger stride length than he should get for his size, less of a chance to get even minor injuries, and the ability to go longer, which in turn helps not getting injured. The fastest horses are usually the easiest to get hurt. He's running 47-48 second half miles....top sprinters are going 44-45 seconds. Feet are very important though. When Big Brown went for the Triple Crown, I didn't think he would make the Derby let alone have a shot near the end. He was a mess and they were literally just praying to get him to the Derby. When you get a buld and a fairly light horse like AP, a lot of times they have small feet. This is good for a dirt horse, and especially in the slop a lot of times. Think of it in a physics way....pounds per square inch cutting through the surface. You can cause someone more pain by pushing into them with one finger than you can by using your whole hand. A lot of horses do better on turf because they a bigger, rangier, and a lot of the best ones have a big, flat foot. Turf is more about propelling over the surface than digging in and pushing through the dirt or slop. A small, cuppy foot in a sense helps a horse to glide over the slop when many will sink. American Pharoah was the best horse for sure, but the ease he did it with and the visual impressiveness had a lot to do with the slop. Even his owners will be the first to admit it. Doesn't take anything away for him as even now I'm a fan.

In all honesty, for a 62 year old that has been in charge of one of the 3 strongest world powers...he has some skill...... I'd draft him over PA, X, and Josie......

Hextall...Hakstol......Let's Call the Whole Thing Off.......

http://tosh.cc.com/video-collections/zszxqv/in-this-week-s-episode/y8p0t5 Haha! Tosh turned it into a Buffalo bash party.....not groundbreaking stuff, but football funny.

I can't blame Babcock. He's just Maximizing His Potential.....

I'm not talking about numbers, I'm talking what you are talking. The two best players I have seen are Jagr and Forsberg. Along the wall at times they looked like the 30 year old drunken uncle flicking his nephews away during the 4th of July family football game. Vision is a different thing. I have a hard time knowing what goes into it. Back in the day, a lot of guys could anticipate where someone would be, or a defender not be, and feed the puck there without looking, or sneak in waiting for an opportunity. These days defenses are so tight that you don't see that. I would define vision as a different animal now. Girgensons has it. He takes shots that 99% wouldn't, and gets results. Today, vision is almost being a contrarian on the ice. Steve Ott has vision these days. To me, Gilmour was my favorite of the old guard that had true vision.....but Lindy didn't agree. :)

There's a difference from 25 years ago though. Eichel has overtrained, and although he is very strong for his age and size, back in the day guys came into their own. on their own for the most part. Forsberg was the best player in the league for a good 2 year stretch much like Jagr was with the same skillset for a few year, even playing at the same time as Mario. We just don't know what Eichel's body will develop into. I'm a little nervous that he may dominate this level as an 18 year old, and be a good player at the NHL level. I don't want Forsberg even mentioned in the ballpark right now. Do we not remember the Cody Hodgson works out with Gary Roberts and is captain of Team Canada? I have much higher hopes for Eichel, but he has to earn being the next Mike Ricci let alone the next Pete Forsberg.