Weave

On the other hand, if Sam is a key figure on a great Sabres team that makes our hearts flutter and our emotions run wild, I won't begrudge the team for offering him a contract at 28 that makes him overpaid at 35 to keep that run alive.

Legit questions on D. Legit questions in goal. Legit concerns re: coaching. No way I can predict what this team will do.

I suspect this is most likely accurate. Legit concern...... our last two coaches have complained about the team being unwilling to play the game as coached. Skinner could be more of that on this roster. I hope not. I'm willing to play wait and see.

If you look the list of oldest NHL players you'll find it dominated by guys who were way better skaters than their peers. The Andrechuck's and Claude Lemieux's are not in large numbers. And that list includes the dead puck, clutch and grab era. Again, I'm not referring to raw speed. Grtetzky was never among the league's fastest players, but his skating was sublime. He drifted off to above average as his career wound down. Longevity needs legs. Especially today. I'm just not sure that Sam has the kind of skating that carries him into his mid 30's.

IMO the guys that play well into their 30's are the exceptional skaters, not the very good ones. When they slow, they are still above average. Think Teppo, Patrick, Recchi, Chelios, Jagr, etc. Of course, those were also the very heady, intelligent players too, so maybe it requires both.....

I'm inclined to believe Rod the Bod over Steve Smith's, only because Smith has a vested interest in not publicly embarrassing the guy. We know Skinner has a rep as not a reliable guy in the defensive zone. But I can also see Rod using the trade to send a message when the trade wasn't really about any message. Posturing. We'll see soon enough.....

I think much closer to average than slow is right. He doesn't strike me as someone who can't keep up with plays. However, as the kids that are drafted and stay in the league are better and better skaters, he'll slide off average. I do think Sam's skating is going to mean he is one of those players whose performance drops like a rock at some point around 30. Hopefully he's capable of adapting his game when that happens.

Well, that's just it. Virtually every team makes those deals, because those deals will get made by some team, so if you want to retain your top players at some point you will be overpaying them. I can't wait for the day we are overpaying guys because we are going for it.

4 degrees of separation to any nickname.

Only one for me, Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin, and only because the nah, nah, nah at the end is an obvious raspberry to whoever she is.

Y'all are missing Rage Against the Machine. WTF?

Dude. No.

I think if you highlighted the text and copy:paste you'd get readable text here. The "trade" is between CBus and FL. Use your cursor to highlight the text and it becomes readable. Not that it is worth reading......

Oh gawd, I hope we don't have a rookie that lives up to the name Flounder.

I used to watch F1 when I could catch a broadcast. Back then virtually any form of racing caught my attention. But we're talking the days of Senna, Mansell, and Prost. I almost never watch racing in any form any more, but the rare exception I do, it is F1. Still appealing, but I don't have cable or satellite and haven't been motivated enough to seek it out online yet.

I say let him try, and let Risto light him up when he's crossing the blue line with his head down.

Jame's Gang was awesome.

My vote is Zach is relatively healthy all season and misses a few games once or twice during the season to a minor injury, just like nearly every other player in the league.

Headed out to the local brew pub in 20 minutes. Buying the kid his first legal beer with dinner. Then we;re off to my regular watering hole. Not sure what the bartender has in store for him, but she knows he's coming. It's funny hearing him tell people he's going out drinking with his dad for his 21st.

Mine turns 21 today. I think that means I can officially abdicate any responsibility now.

Mu question in the form of a letter was apparently an aborted attempt at what was posted the second time. No idea how that happened. I blame Apple. Noone should have a home without brats in storage.

I could see Smith being the first call up.

Y You spell "brats" funny. I mean, if you are going to douse a tube of meat in mustard, make it something really tasty.

Spent the morning fishing in my kayak. Hit up a lake about 20 minutes south of me. Had a helluva morning. Drifted a mud flat in 14-18 feet of water. Early in the AM the bluegills wouldn't leave my bait alone. They were some of the biggest bluegills I've ever caught. Couldn't stretch my hand to get a grip from back to belly on some of them. Pigs. Then the gills stopped hitting and the perch showed up. All told I probably boated 30 fish this morning. Really wish I had brought a cooler with me. Would have made a helluva fish fry. About 11 the rain moved in and a steady breeze picked up. Of course, I was traveling into that breeze to get back to the launch. By the time I made the dock my shoulders and triceps were burning. I'm hoping I'll be able to do it again tomorrow before the holiday crowds get on the lake.