Skibum

The GWG was a classic Buffalo groin punch. In the most anticipated head-to-head contest of the year, our less-touted rookie sensation goes for broke and whiffs, their rookie sensation grabs the ensuing rebound, goes coast-to-coast, and scores the winner. On our pond. CLASSIC BUFFALO!!!

Dickel #12 is my go-to house whiskey, and so far I haven't found much reason to spend any more on a bottle unless it's a special occasion. THe same price as Jack Daniels and orders of magnitude better. Evan Williams makes it onto a lot of lists like this one, but I tried it and thought it was awful - that nasty petroleum burn in the back of your throat. It is truly cheap whiskey. I have never had the Old Grandad 114, but I have tried the original and Bonded versions, both of which are often cited as great bargain whiskeys, and I don't find them to be anything special. As for Wild Turkey, there's no reason to shell out for Rare Breed when the 101 is excellent bourbon and much cheaper. Often I can't find any Dickel around (for some reason it is weakly distributed in the North), so the dirty bird is usually plan B. High West is really nice stuff if you are splurging. Buffalo Trace is also excellent and very reasonably priced. For my money, of which there is not a lot, the best bargains I have found are Dickel #12, Old Forester (maybe the best value in whiskey), Wild Turkey 101, and Jim Beam Black. If you are going really cheap, I swear that Jim Beam white label is really not a bad bet - just put it on the rocks; it has great flavor if you cut the harshness a little. For good whiskey deals outside the bourbon vein, I like Canadian Club (unbelievably cheap for how smooth it is) and Bushmills (like a very light scotch, smooth and mild). I don't drink much scotch, because you really have to spend some bucks to get good quality. But I do like Oban and Glenlivet if your mom is buying.

I think the biggest problem is just general fan apathy. When you have an overwhelming majority of the arena seats accounted for by season ticket holders, you have a lot of people for whom game night is just another night. Someone mentioned that the Bills' games are much more raucus. A big part of that is that there are 8 Bills home games per year (sometimes only 7). There are 41 Sabres games. The lack of enthusiasm is especially pronounced in a small market city not known to attract a lot of tourists, people who might consider a Sabres game a special experience. It doesn't help that we haven't had a really entertaining, playoff caliber team for almost a decade. 41 games is a lot of mediocre hockey. I live pretty far from an NHL arena, but I try to get to a couple of games every year. When I go, I'm really pumped up for the game because it's something I don't get to do very often. But lately, when I do go to First Niagara, I am amazed at how dead it is in there. I want to make some noise, but it seems inappropriate in that kind of atmosphere. It's as if everyone is subconsciously watching the game at home on their couches. I feel embarrassed for the players. I went to a game in Vancouver a few years back and it was completely different. Even though they were hosting a lousy Sabres team with a bunch of warm bodies they had probably never heard of, the crowd was still hyped from the intros to the final horn.

I never understood why everyone was so in love with Ennis. I think he's a good guy and I love his effort, but I don't see him ever breaking the 50 point barrier. For a guy who doesn't have the size to win battles, he needs to be putting up 65+ to justify a spot on the top scoring lines. I just see a lot of dangling leading to turnovers. In a perfect world, he would be the guy that makes someone like Matt Moulson a star, with slick passes leading to easy finishes. It just hasn't been the case.

Not one penalty called on either team the entire game. Nice win, but it was kind of a snoozer to watch.

The price would be insane, but if any team has the assets to do it, it's the Sabres. I'm betting the Lightning would want two firsts and two young players who have already proven that they are likely to meet their potential, such as Ristolainen and Girgensons. I think Reinhart and Pysyk are still a little too questionable in that regard, but maybe Stevie Y could get talked down. The 'Ning are good enough now to continue winning with that trade, and they should still be winners for a few years - they are in a great position to start stocking the cupbards for 3-4 years down the road. All that said, I still think the price would be too high for just about anyone. I think the more fun question is, would you trade Eichel for Stamkos, straight up, right now?

Can someone please explain to me how this guy is worth $7.5 per year? When I look at the list of guys making that kind of money, he just isn't in the same category: Ryan Suter, Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Kris Letang, Steven Freaking Stamkos, Tuukka Rask, both Sedins, and the list goes on. These are full-blown stars, scoring machines, and even some centerpiece players. I understand it's a new year and contract values go up with the higher salary cap, but any more than $6.25 million per for this guy is going to be a massive albatross, especially when it comes time to sign all of this blue-chip talent Murray has drafted. 60 points and some leadership and grit is great, but in what universe does a guy like this command $7.5 million long term??? He's only had two good seasons, and they were GOOD, not GREAT. This is a classic Kool-Aid situation!

I could be wrong, but after watching all the highlights I feel like Eichel's style of play will translate better to the NHL than McDavid's, and I also think he's a better fit for the Sabres right now. He appears to be a much more aggressive player, stronger on the puck, and supremely confident. I'm sure McDavid will be a star, but I am not convinced that there is enough open ice in today's NHL for him to be as dominant as he has been in juniors. My gut tells me that this is the better scenario for Buffalo. I'm only bummed that of all teams, Edmonton had to win the lottery. With all the blue chip talent they have drafted in recent years, they still stink. What a waste! Columbus would have been nice. But oh well.

I love me a rye Manhattan, and I have been looking around for a good one at a decent price. Thanks for the tip - I'll be on the lookout for it. I recently tried George Dickel rye ($23 / fifth) and was really impressed. As perfect a Manhattan - maker as I've ever tried. I liked it a lot better than Bulleit, which is a few bucks more and is the only rye I can find in my home town. I have been a devotee of Dickel No. 12 sour mash for a while, but sadly no Dickel products are distributed in my immediate area.

I would trade Vanek or Miller before Pommer. Both have higher trade value. A Vanek trade would be hard to pull the trigger on because he's our only world-class talent at forward, but it seems like every year he wears down throughout the season until he's a non-factor. Miller could net a big return from the right buyer, and there are a lot of goalies who can provide a marginal drop-off for a significant savings. Pommer is just so consistent and durable year in and year out. He's like the government bonds of hockey. In diversifying your portfolio, you have to have a little Pominville to hedge your bets.

Pretty decent trade. I know it's in vogue to bash Leopold, but I thought he was a pretty good player until this catastrophe of a season started. I wish Leo luck and a return to form in St. Louis. At least he's going to sniff the playoffs this season!

It seems that the consunsus among NHL players is that Miller is one of the best. I'm inclined to believe them over anyone in this chat.

"Seasons in the Abyss" might be more appropriate...

I don't know about this one. Yes, Kaleta was in the wrong to check Richards when he was in a somewhat defenseless position, but the amount of force applied (very little) is not consistent with the velocity of Richards' plunge into the boards. After watching it several times, I don't even understand how a world-class skater could be knocked off his feet by such a slight push. Nor do I see how you could determine intent to inure. It looked like a little nudge gone wrong. And I hate to accuse a player of embellishing, but Richards was writhing like he was being attacked by starved piranhas, and he doesn't even miss a shift? Really? I am not a big Kaleta fan - I think that while he has gotten better, he has been an ebarrassment at times. But in this case I think 1 or 2 games would suffice. I think he'll get a lot more, though.

Ya think so, professor?

I haven't tried lagering yet, but I would love to give it a go some time. How do you do the cold fermenting? A friend of mine does small batches with a 2.5 gallon carboy and a mini-fridge set at 52 degrees. I would just as soon get a full-size fridge. I can't stand the thought of small batches!

I've been drinking homebrew almost exclusively. For the holidays, I made two porter variations - one with vanilla and the other with Sailor Jerry rum. I dubbed the latter "Porter Rican". The vanilla porter is amazing. Porter Rican has great flavor but a weak head due to the alcohol boost. Up next is a brown ale, to be bottled tomorrow, with an oatmeal stout to be brewed right on top of the brown ale's yeast cake. That should take me through the winter, and then I'll start tinkering with some lighter stuff. I'm thinking ESB. I don't buy a lot of micros anymore because they are soooo expensive and I make pretty decent facsimiles of them at home. Gotta say, though, when I'm in the mood for a session beer I'm with the OP: Genny Cream Ale all the way! There's absolutely nothing smoother in that price range. I love that Rochester mass-produces a beer that is genuinely unique and still dirt cheap. I also discovered Ballantine Ale recently, which packs a pretty distinctive flavor for a nice price. I don't get all the hype about Yuengling. I think people just want something different. My stepmother tells me that back in the day, people used to go crazy over Coors because it was this exotic beer you could only get out west. Yet, Coors is among the worst tasting beers ever made. It's one of the only beers I will refuse if offered to me. The other is Keystone, which is made by Coors. Anybody else here brew their own?

And if I recall, only one of Hodgson's goals actually went in off the blade of his stick. Now, the other two were certaily the result of some good hard work in front of the net, but I think we were all hoping to see some genuine scoring touch and playmaking skills (read: assists) from this guy. It really is telling that he's on a line with two proven veteran goal producers and hasn't managed one assist yet.

Was that really necessary?

Mostly I hope they can trade for a bigger body in the top six, if one is available. I wouldn't mind if they brought Goose back, even if it's for a minor overpayment. I think we're stuck with Stafford and Leino's contracts, so maybe it's Ennis or Gerbe that gets moved along with a pick or two. And unlike seemingly everybody else in Sabreland, I am hoping they keep Roy around. He's too good of a value and I think he rebounds next season. From a management standpoint, I can't see a rational reason to trade him. Remember, we haven't even seen how Hodgson fits in Buffalo. That will tell us a lot about what needs to happen this summer.

We got the best player in this deal, and if you're worried about replacing the toughness, Darcy now has four picks in the first two rounds with which to trade for that this summer. He might even be able to keep the picks and bring Gaustad back UFA style. It was a bold move and this team isn't winning a cup this year anyway. Thumbs up.

I just drove from Montana to Maine and heard that sad Adele song probably 500 times. Now, I'll give her credit; that chick has got some serious chops, but please Mr. DJ give it a rest. Now I'm stuck with a melancholy break up song in my head and I really don't need that this time of year.

2005 Dodge Caravan, SXT package, bucket seats all around, 3.3L V-6 with a throaty growl. Short wheelbase version for increased off-road capabilities. Stop acting like you're not jealous.

My favorite mid-priced whiskeys are: Bourbon: Maker's Mark, Bulleit, Knob Creek Canadian: Pendelton by a mile. Very unique vanilla flavor. Yum. Scotch: Not a big fan. You have to spend a pretty penny to get something that doesn't taste like tree bark. Bushmills is a great compromise. It's similar in flavor to good Scotch but much milder and very smooth at a great price point. IMHO, the best bargain in cheap whiskey is Old Forester. This will help you stay under budget when you become a raging whiskey addict. It's similar in flavor to Maker's but marginally less smooth. Another tip is to try a Manhattan. Pretty simple recipe: 1 part sweet vermouth to 3 or 4 parts whiskey. Garnish with a cherry and/or a dash of bitters. If you order one at a bar they will serve it like a martini (shaken, in a foo-foo glass). It's not bad this way but you will look like a tool with the martini glass and will probably spill half of it as well. I like to order mine on the rocks so there's some ice to smooth things out and a rocks glass to keep things contained and looking masculine. Manhattans are also a great way to improve the flavor of cheaper bourbons.