That Aud Smell

The ol’ momentum killing power play. Five-minute edition!

Good to see a roaring return of prescriptive PAngloss. Unblock him @LGR4GM!

Move those goalposts, Pops!! I don’t think the culturals inspire quite the same kind of inside baseball activities that you see in pro sports. That said, rest assured that Tony and Linda (Shea’s sth’s since 1992) write lengthy emails to Shea’s president about restoration projects, shows that get booked (and not booked), the choice of junior development officers, and such. And then they kibitz about those same things at the Friday fish fry with Ed and Rene.

Chips are a product, not a sort of quasi public trust. You taught me that distinction.

Jeeeebus, is this ever true. There are two prime examples of this: (1) Commentators awkwardly drop in some angle/theory that doesn't fit with the flow of the game. (2) Commentators awkwardly rush to introduce some angle/theory that hadn't been fitting the flow of the game but perhaps very suddenly is fitting that flow given a momentum shift or a huge play. The commentators wear headsets. I infer that they have varying levels of chatter in their ears as they're calling the game -- from producers, spotters (football), statisticians, etc. This of course depends on the size of the production crew -- which, not for nothing, is negligible when it comes to ESPN+ -- that's a 3-person crew on site and the lone producer is in Bristol, CT! Anyhoo. The producers are the ones pushing the narratives.

It's almost as though there is a multiplicity of ways in which people consume, enjoy, and follow sports.

They're selling stories (narratives!) as much as (more than?) they're selling the on-ice activity. We see this marketing philosophy writ large for things like the Super Bowl -- with hours of pre-game coverage and dozens of stories. Not just sports. Sports entertainment. I've said it here a dozen times, so I apologize for repeating myself: Vince McMahon (gross as he is) understood this better and far earlier than any pro sports league commissioner.

That said, "widespread praise" is a weird conclusion to draw. And the one area where he must improve is calling goals. We cannot have a 50-word narrative start when the puck crosses the goal line that ends with words like "... and Tage Thompson has put the Sabres in the lead, 1-0!"

Dan's a solid pro and a good guy. That's fine for me, for now anyway. As others have noted upthread and elsewhere: I just want the team to be good.

Eh. I love chicken wings. I love my wife. I hate Tom Brady. I hate when children suffer.

Two men who have never been in my kitchen, Cliffy?

Lol - bro, what.

Old school Chef’s commercial!!

The who now? Oh. As you were.

Might just be this photo’s wonky composition (focusing on the helmets), but dude bears a striking resemblance to The Dark Lord (he who shall not be named).

Who manufactures New Era’s stuff? Presumably, there’s no way of knowing. But they’re not as poor quality as Fanatics are they?

Learning he’s Canadian has changed everything for me. (Well … not *everything.* I mean “everything” insofar as my view of Chase Claypool is concerned.)

Take a spin around Google News or Twitter -- search Claypool Bills (and maybe add the term Parrino and/or consistent). Dozens -- likely soon to exceed a hundred -- writers, accounts, AI-based aggregators are out there lulz'ing it up that the Bills "best" WR is an NFL castoff. I mean, whatever. But, still. Probably. But I'm talking about ostensibly legitimate accounts, outlets, etc.

Further on Claypool: TIL he's Canadian! The proof is here:

The internet is having an absolute field day with this observation from Matt Parino (whom I generally find to be a good Bills beat reporter): "Claypool has been the Bills’ most consistent receiver during OTAs and is setting the stage for what should be a run at the 53-man roster. He made the most explosive play of the day, catching a deep bomb from backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky during 11-on-11. Once he gets past his defender, it’s hard for the safeties to catch up and rookie Cole Bishop learned that lesson on the play, which would have gone for a touchdown in a game." https://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/2024/06/buffalo-bills-otas-week-3-observations-von-miller-flashing-keon-coleman-gets-physical.html

No idea. I hope not.

Labatt USA is looking to sublease its space at Perry Street. Looks like a death spiral. https://buffalonews.com/news/local/business/development/labatt-usa-perry-street-offices-brewery-sublease/article_e04dc06a-2356-11ef-b936-bb11a24a09c1.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

I need a deep-dive Ringer article or something on how Fanatics came to be as dominant (?) as it is because that company -- and substantially everything it does -- is absolute garbage. I've had 3 or 4 experiences with them -- every one of them was, at best, a retail failure. At worst? The experience was utterly maddening. People talk about the quality of their goods being poor, which is true! All I can say is that their customer service is somehow worse -- way worse.

yeah - i did not like the Bills catching a stray there.

I may cry a little cry if Quinn were traded -- my favourite player on the team. I just love watching the guy work.