nfreeman

Be well @spndnchz. We’ll keep a good thought for you.

Separately, does anyone know the difference between microfilm and microfiche?

But what kind of average would be relevant here? i.e. if the question is how many people have been vaccinated in a given place, what average would matter? No -- it's pretty close and I'm glad that NYC has closed the gap relative to a couple of weeks ago. My point was just that I was surprised that mask compliance on the subway was essentially 100% since NYC isn't especially high in vaccination rate.

National total — 60.8%of adults have received at least 1 dose — https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations NYC — 60% — https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data-vaccines.page

And how does one reconcile these reasonable statements with calling them "rich scumbags who rape the earth?" Well, he was 9-19 as a HC -- so he won less than 1/3 of his games. That's not the kinda record that has teams knocking on your door.

So, now that I'm vaccinated, I've started going back in to my office, which I'm very happy about, as I do not particularly enjoy working from home. This means taking the NYC subway again, which I didn't do at all for about 14 months. I can report that just about 100% of everyone on the subway trains I've been on has been wearing a mask. Moreover, I've only seen one person not wearing it correctly (i.e. below the nose) -- everyone else is fully mask-compliant. I find this pretty interesting, as vaccination rates in NYC are below the national average. I'll be curious to see whether it lasts. Separately, the Nets are selling some of the nosebleed seats for next week's playoff games at 50% off for those with proof of vaccination.

Now that is an interesting and positive development. Interviewing BB and Tocchet indicates that they are going to do a professional and thorough search.

Correct and thanks. @Eleven -- did you check out nbc sports (or peacock, or whatever big media company includes nbc) streaming options?

The baked mac and cheese is a fantastic side dish with any kind of meat. We like it with ribs or pork shoulder from the smoker but it's also really good with steak, burgers, etc. One important point is to bake until it's nice and brown on top (but not black, of course). 30 min is about right, but you should check the coloring and leave it in until it browns. You need those crispy edges.

Me too. BTW, I just learned last night that his brother is the GM of the Miami Dolphins

Baked Mac and cheese. cook one box of macaroni, penne or whatever pasta you like and drain. Melt a stick of butter in a medium pot. Once melted, stir in a half cup of flour. In a separate pot, heat up 3 cups of whole milk, or 2 cups of 1% plus 1 cup of cream, on medium-high heat, stirring periodically until it foams up. Once that happens, stir it into the butter/flour mixture on medium-low heat. Then, stir in 2 bags of shredded cheese. Salt to taste. It should be a melted cheesy lava at this point. grease a baking dish with a little butter or cooking spray. Put a thin layer of the cheese lava on the bottom of the baking dish, then combine the cooked pasta with the rest of the lava in the baking dish and stir until everything is evenly distributed. sprinkle a thick layer of grated Parmesan on top. Make sure you get the edges with a lot of Parmesan. bake at 325 for 30 min.

I think there is a distinct possibility that Dolan, owner of the Rangers, continues his recent Svengali behavior and orders Drury to pay whatever it takes to get Eichel. That might be the best path to a bountiful return for the Sabres if they decide to trade him.

I agree that it shouldn't be needed, but it will probably be pretty effective.

@dudacek— what a great OP. I can absolutely see this scenario playing out. Certainly it’s true that: - Jack has been superhuman at hockey his entire life. - Jack is well familiar with hockey injuries and overcoming them. - Jack was unable to do so this year for the 1st time in his life. - Jack knows spinal injuries are a scary and uncertain thing. - Jack loved RK but saw him unable to right the ship. - This was a difficult, lonely and sad year for everyone, and much worse than that for many people. That’s a pretty combustible brew of ingredients. It wouldn’t be at all surprising for a hard-charging maniac in that situation to grab onto something like a cutting-edge new surgical procedure and convince himself that it’s the key to his return to form, and to be PO’d at someone who got in his way. Maybe cooler heads will prevail.

Barry Sanders was one of the most exciting players I’ve seen in any sport.

I think this is what it comes down to -- Jack wants the surgery, and the question is who bears the $50MM risk of a bad outcome. It's pretty reasonable IMHO for the Sabres not to want to bear that risk if 2 doctors, including the Colorado specialist who isn't affiliated with the Sabres, are advising against it.

As a related point, I've been kinda wondering whether Jack's primary goal was to force the Sabres to consent to the surgery, not to force a trade -- i.e. maybe he's OK with staying here (although he'd doubtless be fine with a trade to a good team), but no matter what he wants to quit screwing around, have the surgery and get in shape for next season.

He was asked this in the presser he called a couple of weeks before firing RK.

I found it kinda interesting that Reino wore a Bills hat during his presser and Eichel wore a plain black hat -- i.e. neither wore a Sabres hat. They both want out.

Well, I just watched the full 24-minute presser. There is no doubt in my mind that Eichel wants out (no kidding!) and is completely sideways with KA. I also think it's not impossible that after a cooling-off period, if the Sabres take positive steps (credible coach and FO moves, goaltending, extension for Reino, etc.), the relationship could be repaired and he could stay. But I think it's more likely that KA has decided -- as many GMs have done and will do so again -- that if Eichel doesn't want to be here, it will be better for the team to move him out. So I think it's more likely that he is traded. And with that, the Hindenburg-level debacle that was the tank will reach its final chapter.

Probably true, but these jobs are few and far between. I think they could bring in quality people if they are determined to do so. And doing so might just help them convince some of these players to stick around.

If there was ever a time to bring in an experienced HC and an experienced senior hockey czar, each with a successful track record, with the goal of restoring some credibility to the franchise, I think it’s now.

I have been saying for a while now that Sam’s demeanor is consistent with that of a guy who is counting the days until he can GTFO of here. As others have noted upthread, who can blame him? He might be waiting to see what moves the Sabres make this summer, and what kind of offer they give him, which would be the prudent move, but he might have made up his mind already.

I would like them to bring both guys back, but I think there is less than a 50% likelihood that both are back, and over 50% that both are gone. If Linus gets a respectable offer from a contending team like the Leafs to be their #1, he is gone unless the Sabres give him a fat long-term contract. OTOH, it's possible that no one is willing to give him more than a 2-year deal, and the Sabres might get him to stay with a 5-year deal. As for McCabe, he's not expected back from his injury until a couple of months into the season, innit? So anything could happen there. I agree with almost all of this, but I have a hard time seeing Seattle taking Zemgus, who is a decent player but very replaceable, overpaid and coming off a major injury. I think it will be Borgen or Asplund.

I thought both ROR and Kane were good players, the best players involved in their respective trades and good players to add, although poor leaders. The price was too high for Kane IMHO but fairly reasonable for ROR. The McNabb trade was terrible. It's also fair to hold TM accountable for not knowing Lehner better -- this is consistent with @dudacek's horse trader theory. I generally agree that TM gave away good draft picks like a drunken sailor and this was partially responsible for the cupboard being bare in Rochester. Overall, between lousy on-ice accomplishments and some unstable and unprofessional incidents (from TM and the players) it was fair IMHO to can TM, if a bit precipitous. As for DDB, he didn't seem like he added much, but I don't think he was a net negative like RK, either.