That Aud Smell

Funk yeah. Well deserved. Long overdue!

i wish one of us had thought to create a separate thread for that press conference. the board's feedback is sprinkled in a few different threads.

Guelli is the Bills' COO. I infer that he's also COO of every sports franchise that the Pegulas own. Nah?

They have to figure out how to extend him - that is, assuming he's willing to do so.

Thanks. My questions are more basic, I guess. Who or what Pegula interest owned or is selling the Nighthawks? Who’s Pete’s “we?”

PSE was dissolved several years ago. Who’s the “we” in Pete’s statement? Weird.

haha - nice. well, this was the first i saw from ye. 🤘

i asked the gif generator for a Sabres celebration. that was the best option i saw (other than the one of benson banging the door by the bench (and i'd already used that one in recent memory)). ... i was celebrating what, to me, was your return to the board.

I am uninterested in your preferred style of debate.

This is way too trusting and way too sanguine, given the team's history over the past 14+ years. And it's more than a little patronizing.

I hear this. They are just so admirable in so many ways. That's a team, man.

thx @spndnchz

Let's get this thread unpinned!

Let's get this thread pinned!

It's a terrible cycle we're stuck in: KA: "We want players who want to be here." KA: [Does a dozen things that make players not want to be here.]

D'oh! I glossed over "Brand New" -- thought it was a descriptor phrase that was mistakenly capitalized.

Yo - what’s the band’s name??

I understand what you're saying. Nothing could be further removed from my experience. Whether it's the delirium brought on by an OT winner (Briere in 2006, for example) or the delirium brought on by a beloved favourite being played as a surprise encore (remember when that blind guy got on stage with U2 to play guitar and Bono sang "All I Want Is You" to the guy's wife?), the fundamental point of supporting teams or artists is communion.

absolutely true. Bills games are a commitment, man. It always feels like an all-day or late-night event. And I don't even do much in the way of tailgating!

I think the same truth applies substantially in other sports as well. Jordan without Pippen (and without Horace Grant, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoc, etc.) is not a 6-time (?) NBA champion. It seems more pronounced in hockey. The Pardon My Take guys (a podcast) have a running bit about how McDavid can't be that good because he has to come off the ice after 60-90 seconds.

This is an interesting topic, and I'm glad to give it a bump. It's a delicate balance that these pro sports leagues are trying to strike. The leagues and teams want and need their hardcore fans. To varying degrees, they need those fans to ensure gate revenues are solid. Moreover, they need the hardcore fans for the value they add to the brand. Think about how important the fans are to a televised sporting event -- the noise they make, the hijinx they get into, and so on. But increasingly, most people can't and/or don't care to attend live pro sporting events. With the advent of high definition mega screens, it is so much easier to watch the game from the comfort of one's own home. So the leagues and teams must respond by doing more to attract a wider segment of the population to the stadium or arena. Gamblers, sure. Kids Day promotions. And on and on. For my money, there is nothing, nothing, like the feeling you can get when you're joining in the frenzy of thousands (even 10s of thousands) in support of the home team. But I think a lot of people view the live sports experience as something they can do without, or at least something that's not worth all the expense, trouble, and time associated with going to a game. Sorry for the long but inchoate post. This is a big question.

Put some respect on Drew Stafford's name. Dude jumped right in and ate a few from Chris Neil. I still respect him for it.

it's a big lol from me at the take that McDavid is a playoff no-show, choke artist. (his dunderheaded whiff of a back check last night notwithstanding.) otoh, he's been bumping up against some kind of ceiling -- encountering the limitations that a single other-worldly hockey player will encounter when trying to win a Stanley Cup. ice hockey is the ultimate team game. and the panthers are -- quite obviously -- the best team in the world.