LTS

I'm still amazed how anyone thought that inhaling smoke into your lungs was a good thing regardless of what tobacco companies knew. As far the chemicals in cigarettes I treat that a lot like the foods today that have all kinds of things in them that people don't want to know about. I think at this point we know enough for people to make an educated decision. We know that concussions have a long-term damaging impact to the brain and that the effects of multiple concussions are more than just cumulative and lead to potential brain damage and other health concerns. Knowing this... each player involved in the sport needs to ask themselves whether or not it's worth it. I'm pretty much convinced that you can't change the rules of the game any more without destroying it. You can work towards better equipment and changes there that might reduce the chances but there is an inherent amount of risk that comes along with the job. We are having this conversation while at the same time people compete in MMA competitions and beat the living crap out of each other. What a grand society we live in. The rules are there, don't hit people in the head. But the game moves fast and it's going to happen and there's nothing you can do about it. I think it's important to understand as much as possible. Elimination of fighting is fine, but the concussions from hitting are worse and that can't be removed. Every step gets you closer to the All-Star game... which no one likes.

These lawsuits are all ridiculous in my opinion. No one made the guy do anything he didn't choose to do and then once injured CONTINUED to choose to do. Hockey players can accept that they are not going to make it on anything other than their ability to punch and walk away from the game. If they decide they want to do it for a $1.6m salary then it's on them. The NHL and NFL have no responsibilities when the violent contact that occurs as part of sport leads to these injuries. They can make rules but you can't take it out of the game without seriously altering the game. If you get hit then a head injury is bound to occur. If you choose to fight you only increase the risk. This article, while certainly informative about his past and what happens to hockey players of his type is certainly not relevant to the lawsuit unless someone wants the feel good story. What was his Plan B? Didn't have one. That's not how you live a life.. that's how you allow life to control you.

Buffalo has drawbacks and it's not Los Angeles, New York, or Boston but who cares? It's not supposed to be. Buffalo has a lot going for it as well. 24 year old single millionaire guys generally don't get to select where they live. They get drafted and signed to their EL and three years later are RFAs. it take a bit longer to escape the clutches of doom that is small market Buffalo unless you get traded. At age 27 players are perhaps less concerned about some of the aspects. What's the draw of a bigger city? Nightlife? Okay. I'm not sure how much nightlife the players enjoy during the season. I'm sure it's there to some extent. However, a $2.5m salary goes a lot further in Buffalo than it does in NYC. Players can afford to live it up even more. They can still fly to NYC in 45 minutes for almost nothing and travel in the off-season. Is that a big deal for them? Who knows.. it's been said time and again that players, once they are here really like the place. That has to count for something. The city is, however, married to hockey. I'm not sure why you argue against it. You may get the same number of viewers in Buffalo as you do in Boston but when the percentages are different it translates into a different atmosphere. The same was true with the Bills when they were winning. The city was nuts for it. In most cities, when you are failing for so many years you tend to become forgotten. In Buffalo you can fail for years and still be the most important topic of conversation. That means that win or lose... people still care. The same isn't true in many other cities, in those cities the teams become afterthoughts.

The Islanders are a joke of a franchise and no one wants to play there. Why? It's because the arena sucks, no one shows up to the games, no one even cares that they exist. Regardless of the quality of the team on the ice Buffalo is an incredible hockey market. The people of Buffalo have proven time and again to be some of the most avid (or easily entertained) fans in the league. They are routinely ranking in the top of the television viewing markets for national games that don't even involve their team. I don't think you are getting that on Long Island. The owner has a proven track record of making completely insane decisions (DiPietro!). The one thing I would PASabre"Fan" would do is leave the anti-fracking hatred at the door. It's become increasingly clear that you have major issues with the concept of fracking and that you are bringing those here to spew hatred against the owner. I'm not going to touch on the ethics and impact of fracking here because this is SabreSpace not FrackingSpace. By the way, nice job insulting the city of Buffalo and the people who live there. We don't necessarily buy what is being sold but we are at least willing to listen to it.

I liked having Sabres games more often but as long as A game is on any given night I'll be just fine with a full season. I only worry when there are no more hockey games to watch. But usually that's summer and I can enjoy the weather!

I don't even care anymore. I've given up judging the past and will simply judge him based upon the actions he takes. I can't change his role with the organization or anything else. If he's the GM so be it, if he's not, so be it. I'd like to see someone else in charge because his record does reflect no Stanley Cups, but I'm not going to waste time worrying if he remains.

I remember thinking that I didn't want him to risk his health by coming back. I was glad they brought him back this year at the contract he had it was a solid signing to help the team. He always played his best and did whatever was asked of him. Making it through the year with no issues was great. He's a class act and all the best to him and his family.

Just because there is nothing posted doesn't mean there aren't opportunities. Your painting is the best possible resume and if it does nothing more than open a path of communication you should go down that road. You never know where it may lead. I'm pretty sure that my mentioning it to one of the equipment managers won't help much, but if I happen to see him I will ask.

It shows him that the team keeps its word and that they believe in him. He learns what players do when there is nothing to play for.. because there is always something to play for. Just because it's not what you want doesn't mean they have given up what they are doing.

I'll still watch what I can because I like hockey and I don't waste time worrying about what the Sabres are going to do tomorrow. I don't hate on the owner, the GM, the team president, or the players. Far too many things in this world are more important than what the Sabres do tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. It's entertainment, even if the other team is the one that is entertaining. I can't begin to comprehend why anyone sticks around here to torture themselves if they are that upset with the team.

Absolutely amazing work... blown away by it.. no doubt.

Yep. They'll still be rookies next year. That says a lot to me. RIght now, other than a few moments of getting caught in their own zone the Sabres D does not bug me anywhere near what it did earlier in the year. I think some of it is from a change in style but more of it is the willingness to quickly transition the puck up to a forward. Earlier in the year the D would wait for the forechecker to get on them and then try and flip it by with little success. There was a comment by NBCSN when Pysyk flew up into a play to create an odd man chance. He's quick when he needs to be and it stood out there. I've seen it a few times from him.

I think putting McNabb in the AHL this year was less a question of his ability and more a question of going into camp with 9 D on the active roster. Granted McNabb struggled at the outset of the season but he steadily improved until his injury. The other aspects to take into account regarding player development is that there is a new person developing these players. All of the D have shown improvement since the change at coach. Right now I like Ruhwedel and Pysyk.

It's intriguing. I wouldn't be surprised if Enroth plays the majority of games the rest of the way. Perhaps Miller has had enough of the locker room? I've sometimes wondered if players just don't WANT to do a little bit extra for him. I like Enroth, always have. Even when he was slumping I didn't think it was horrible.

I told my son that if Scott scored the world would end immediately as the draw on the electric grid would be too great from systems around the world attempting to calculate the impossible. Good period.. and the refs have missed a lot this game.

I'll be watching.. because it's hockey.

It's a number... I liked what I saw from a kid who had had no practice and just jumped from NCAA. He certainly seemed very fluid on his skates. As for Pysyk, every time I watch I'm impressed how he simply just moves the puck to the forwards as though it's no effort at all. His ability to turn the puck up ice is really impressive. Also, if Ruhwedel turns out to be a find does that say something about the Sabres hockey operations? To have an eye on the kid all season and then steal him from other teams who also wanted to sign him? Granted, the Sabres are in a good position to give a kid immediate playing time.

This is great. Let's see how out of place the guy looks.. if you are going down hard you might as well go all the way!

I'm not sure I'd call it a cheap marketing stunt but it's certainly calculated. The NHL could have supported this movement at any time up until now. The fact they are doing it is great. It takes true pioneers to stand in the face of overwhelming public opinion to make a change where ignorance has dominated. I welcome the openly gay athletes just so we can get it through our system and move on. Being gay, being black, being white, being female.. whatever. It really depends on the intent of the joke. If you really believe all gay men are effeminate then you are an idiot. I've been out with a gay guy before who commented on an effeminate heterosexual male. Told him to stop being a bitch and toughen up. I wouldn't mess with that guy, he'd certainly kick my butt. Personally I've no problem with jokes. I'm confident in who I am and am realistic about my appearance, attitudes, etc. So, I've been called all kinds of things before and it doesn't bother me in the least. The biggest problem anyone can have is to give credence to the ignorant person who believes that you are deficient just because of a certain trait. I mean, facts are still facts, and a 450lb person is not going to have a 48" vertical. I realize that in some cases there is physical harm that can come along with having certain traits and that is very real. However, the physical harm piece isn't going to happen here and I'm pretty sure if someone on this board made a comment that threatened a person physically they'd be torn down by the community and booted from the board. I would hope anyway. I know I'd block them.

Of course it doesn't but ignorant people don't know that. Sports isn't devoid of politics nor human/civil rights. Perhaps in the US it's a bit less understated but there are plenty of articles from across the pond where racism still occurs. Point is, an intelligent person knows that the entire point is irrelevant and struggles to understand why any of it matters but the world is plagued by ignorance and so this kind of stuff is needed. He;;, it's only a few years back where black players and those of Inuit heritage faced ignorant remarks from their own. It seems that politically the "gay/lesbian" thing has finally achieved enough traction in the public that organizations, politicians, etc. now feel it's okay to support it. In a way it makes me sad because it signifies not so much an understanding as it does a calculated decision. The right decision should be made always, even in the face of overwhelming pressure, but most don't have that kind of courage. Still, in the end, the march towards the right decision does continue, even if people are doing it for political/marketing reasons more than enlightenment.

I have a lot of the players who are near the top of the league in scoring. I'm not concerned what position they play. Although I guess that tells us where our money would be better spent. Really.. over half of them?

Vanek is an enigma. If you could pick one of the following players or Vanek, would you choose Vanek? Seguin, Kovalchuk, Parise, Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin, E. Staal, Ovechkin, Giroux, Nash, Alfredsson, Kopitar, Sedins, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, J. Thornton, Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, B. Richards, Landeskog, Duchesne, Benn, Kane, Toews, Hall, Tavares? There might be 1 or 2 in there but I'm not sure how many more. He's a solid player, when he's productive. He does disappear for games and it's usually around an injury that he tried to play through. I've always been torn on Vanek. I still think they should have let him go for 4 1st rounders. I've never felt that he could carry this team and I think that's the problem I have. He's a little bit of every kind of superstar but none of it in one area. He plays in front of the net like Andreychuk and Ciccarelli did, but he doesn't dominate it like he could. He's an "open area" shooter like Hull but he's never had a guy that could reliably feed him pucks. He's creative like Crosby but he doesn't consistently breakdown defenses. He's a lot of everything and not a lot of one thing.

I like turtles. I saw him try and hit someone... I mean really try!

Why not? It's not like coaches and GM's haven't been fired the same season they sign a contract extension. Why not? If he was being consulted and making moves with approval you let him negotiate the deal. He's shown he's capable of doing it and he has no reason to do a crappy job. If he's going to be let go then he wants every other owner out there to know that he gets good return on his trades and that he makes moves in the interests of the team, not himself. With the Sabres shedding payroll it's not exactly inconceivable for the Sabres to absorb $1.5-$2m of that contract for next season just to get some talent in return. Remember, whomever trades for Vanek is getting 1 season out of him unless he signs an extension. Same with Miller. As for whether Darcy is here or not? I think he's gone. If you listen to his comments on trading Pominville you hear him correct himself mid-sentence when talking about the option to shoot for the 8th place spot or just miss versus build for the Stanley Cup. The quote is being played over and over again on WGR.. sorry I don't have it handy. His words change to what sounds very much like approved Sabres speak.

That's funny.. I know Kathleen. Sounds about right for her..