Sabel79

Yaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!

Ennis has been impressive tonight.

Hurling expletives in the correct direction... you Marchand!!!!

That was not good goaltending. I will gladly state other obvious things as they occur...

Decent period. There seems to be an ugly undercurrent to this game on both sides. Haven't seen that in forever. One side or another scores a few goals, this thing might get ugly. I like it.

Be nice to Rayzor. For a man who spent roughly 20 years getting punched in the head for a living he's reasonably perspicacious. Jack Edwards is just the worst. I've ranted on it before, but anyone who can be fired from announcing US soccer games solely for an American audience because his homerism knows no bounds needs his microphone taken away.

Oh sweet Zombie Jeebus, no. Jack Edwards makes my hair hurt. I just don't understand how Chara doesn't get called for the exact same hit as Josh 15 seconds earlier. Who am I kidding? I totally understand why...

Remember kids, in Boston, it's only boarding when the not-Bruins do it.

I am not a religious person. Ten years ago I'd have railed angrily about how dumb I find Christmas and all that's associated with it to be (and it likely would have gone on from there). A few years ago a strange thing happened, though. I watched my daughter open her presents on Christmas morning, the first Christmas she was really aware of what was going on. Watching her joy, feeling the magic she was sure was responsible for everything under that tree, and in spite of myself getting into it with her was amazing. Since then, I've loved every second of it, as I'm watching it through her eyes. In a world with so much crazy surrounding us the last vestiges of the innocence of childhood are something to be protected at all costs. This morning was rough. I'm working a day shift, had to be in at 7. Fortunately the Kiddo's a trooper and was up at five and away we went. Hurt a bit to have to leave them, but grateful as heck for the time I had and how fortunate we truly are. Hopefully everyone takes every and all opportunity at this time, and every time, to spread a bit of love however we choose to do it, and to appreciate the love we all are shown. Merry Christmas, everyone.

A lot of this may be tied into a misunderstanding (or misrepresentation) of just who, exactly is the "average fan." The Sabres and several other franchises will point you to the season ticket rolls and argue that everything's fine, but surely they're not dumb enough to actually believe that every fan is rabid and wealthy enough to sit there 41 times a year. They have to know that a large portion of these tickets are hitting the market in one way or another. If the secondary market tanks, then season ticket sales will likely follow. Then they'll have to pull their thumbs out. The single best experience I've ever had at a regular season NHL game was a Saturday night in Montreal. In-game production was, I can assure you, not elaborate. Fan enthusiasm and general craziness was. For a team that, as I recall (it was 15 years ago), was awful at the time and got pumped by Carolina. Who were also awful.

Homey don't play that...

I keep repeating this (not here) and nobody wants to listen but here it goes again: if anyone identifying as Republican loves Ron Reagan as much as they spout off that the they do they'll vote Hillary. Her platform his his. This is what the Democratic party has reduced itself to. Hillary will be the nominee, and she will win. This is largely because this is the best we can do. Godwin's law alert: Trump can channel Hitler all he wants, and a sizable portion of the populace will fall for it. The Republican Party, founded as the opposite of what it's become, will burn to the ground for it. But I firmly believe that humanity has taken at least half a step ahead of where we were 80 years ago. This can not happen a second time.

It also may depend on the platform you're working with. I used to have a Roku, and blacked out games would always pop up as soon as the replays were made available. Apple TV and iOS, not so much. Haven't used the actual website in ages, so unsure about that one. Weird.

It's still being listed at the full-year price. They drop it down towards the end of the year, as I recall. The blackouts are 48 hours after the game ends. So you wouldn't be able to watch it until Monday at 3:30 or so.

Gamecenter. The joys of living well out of market...

Will be watching (at least attempting to) this one on the ipad at work. Hopefully this afternoon is slow. Interested to see what kind of performance we get against a legit team at a weird time. Wouldn't mind seeing Eichel bounce a few more in off of Evander. Also curious to see the reception a certain hometown boy gets.

I don't understand the NHL's 48 hour blackouts though. MLB makes all games, local blackout or national TV, available 90 minutes after they end. Far more reasonable. I mean, I get why Comcast wants it that long, but still, MLB makes it happen with multiple media partners and far more money at stake.

Back in the saddle after a much-needed and appreciated vacation. Turning the world off for two weeks is something I've never done before as an adult. I'd highly recommend it to any and everyone. I'm actually happy to be back at work (okay, so at least back at work and not angry about it, and I love my job at the worst of times), and excited to watch a hockey game tonight. The Sabres have turned it around and are playing lights-out right? RIGHT?

If I recall correctly, the roll out of the new platform and apps was scheduled to be the first of the year. Waiting anxiously for it; as I've stated before, MLB's product makes Gamecenter look like teletype.

Hilariously enough I had this exact same thought. "Wait, Brad Richards? Is still playing and not retired? And evidently has been playing in this game?" Ugh. Can we have ties again? I hate shootouts more than everyone else on this board hates Gionta. Why don't we just have the captains play rock, scissors, paper at center ice after overtime for the extra point? It'll be about as exciting. Sometimes nobody deserves to win/lose. I get that it's never going back because all the fake points in the standings make bad teams look better, but still. I'd gladly sit through 40 0-0 games a year if none of them then went to a shootout. I might be in the minority on this one though...

OH MY GOD THOSE JERSEYS. Quick son, fetch me the eye bleach. Going to be a fun one tonight, Sabres win. This is a metaphysical certainty.

Bought tickets to see The Cure for the 1700th and likely the last ever time over the weekend. Maryland in June. To this day, the show I caught in Toronto in 2000 was one of the best nights of my life. Hopefully Bob and the gang (interested to see how Reeves Gabriels changes the dynamic in person) have one more great show left in them. That I'll be there for, that is.

I swing between three shifts. 7am - 5pm, 3pm -1am, 9pm- 7am. First and third shifts are fine. I've always hated second with a passion. It's life-destroying and Inconvienent in the extreme. Unfortunately, we never close. Somebody's got to. Ugh. My only real problem with nights is that by the time my body clock is used to it and I'm feeling good I'm back on days. Gets old.

It was awful. And now Lucic scores a goal. I'm torn. I want him to never be happy, but I want the Oilers to be bad forever.

HNIC feature on Lucic tonight, Miller hit prominently featured. Jack Edwards called upon to comment, and opines that the Sabres drafting Eichel was traceable to that moment. Not that he's in any way wrong, but oh my dear Cthulhu is he a douche. I hate Jack Edwards. Anyone who can be fired by ESPN from calling US National team soccer games for an American audience because he was irrationally homerish does not need to be giving opinions on anything ever for any reason. I realize this is my second anti Jack post of the day. But seriously, that guy. In the ear.