May Day 10

Other than the other upstate places like Syracuse and Rochester, Id say Hartford is reminded me a bit of Buffalo. Just the look and size. Cleveland is a good comparison. I always describe Cleveland as "Buffalo on steroids". I have lived a few different places, and Id say South Jersey was the most at home I felt other than Buffalo.

Nagasaki

I have a good feeling about the troy kid from what I hear. However it could be Xavier omon/Michael jasper vibes

There was also an article not too long ago that there were talks to bring in Doug McLean, but it was snuffed out. IMO it is much easier to build a good NFL team. You need a good CEO/coach, a savvy GM in synergy with the coach, and need to hit at a good QB. You can turn over a roster and cap situation in 2 years time. The NHL has extensive scouting, drafting, and development that requires several aspects of the organization being run well. Building an NHL team is also a lot more involved and intricate than an NFL team. Bad decisions with the cap can doom the NHL squad for many years. The President/GM is the CEO of the team in the NHL, while the head coach typically is in the NFL. The Sabres have had a general power vacuum dating back to John Muckler. They have not had a strong GM/president since then. They hit on McDermott. He is a good and thorough manager. I think he has a strong enough personality to hear what Pegula has to say, but do what he things is right anyways. Beane is cut from the same cloth. They have earned plenty of trust with Pegula.

Off topic, but Sahlen Field/Pilot Field is vastly overrated at this point. It was ground-breaking in 1988. However, it is not a good design with today's standards. It needs to be about 5-6K seats smaller, needs to have open concourses and a better standing/socialization scene. It also has a terrible backdrop. The concourses are like a concrete tomb. If you are there with a large crowd on a hot day, the concession lines clog up the concourse every 40 feet or so, and it is about 25 degrees hotter in there than anywhere else. The sitelines are also gunked up there as you go down foul territory. The seats face the outfield much more than current designs and in the case of a full/large crowd, you need to look across a lot of people sideways to see the infield. All the newer AAA and AA ballparks have passed it by. The Jays' renovations during covid put a decent coat of paint on the insides, and improved the lighting, but without that, the ballpark would be in much worse decay. People locally still talk about it like it is the Minor League's crown jewel. It is now the 2nd oldest park in AAA, oldest in the International league, and it is dusted by places like Columbus, Indianapolis, Nashville, Charlotte, etc.

Tee Higgins next March

Things could click for sure and they could contend, which would be terrific. I do believe though that behind closed doors, they are prepared for a lean(er) season. It could be difficult to make the playoffs with a pretty loaded AFC: Chiefs, Texans, Baltimore, Cincy, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Jets, Dolphins, Jags... along with whoever else may join the party. IMO it is possible for them to miss and I suspect that management/ownership realizes that they are more vulnerable in 2024 than the past 4 seasons or so. Even with that said, Vegas odds still have them at #4-#7 to win the super bowl. No playoffs will not result in a house cleaning. The only way would be if the bottom fell out and some pretty embarrassing lockerroom/off field issues came to light. 2025 is the make-or-break year to get back to a top-4 NFL contender again. If the Bills stumble 2025 I could see pegula consider major changes to complement the back half of Allen's career. IMO management has done a terrific job of this 1-year rebuild. Made a lot of difficult cold-hearted decisions. Showed a lot of discipline. They are going to reap the rewards next offseason, flush with cap space (and even more flexibility) along with some good draft assets. This draft gave the football team a lot of depth, and we will see who emerges as contributors. Hopefully they enjoy a decent hit-rate.

It is not. The expectation is to take a step back. Hopefully contend for the division or the wild card. Everything is setting up for another 4-5 year window starting in 2025. They needed to purge salary and age a bit. This past build failed to get a superbowl. I blame a few bad contracts, mainly Von Miller, as well as the inability to get a WR 1B or WR 2 for the past 2 seasons. Diggs' act also hurt.

My guess is the next 3 picks are a C/interior, another WR, and either another DB or linebacker

I like it. This is a mini-1-year-rebuild for all intents and purposes, and it was 100% necessary. They held onto the quantity of picks, improved the position of some picks, and we can only assume they did not lose out on anything they wanted moving from 28-33 (so far). They need to replace Diggs and Davis... but also they needed more on top of that. Some 6th or 7th WR in the draft isn't going to make that up. They are in a bind, have other holes, and all these picks and a glut of cap money should get this team ready to gun for the Super Bowl again starting in 2025. For now, they are going to try to duct tape the offense together and hope Allen and the McDermott defense can snake a wild card spot

I was really happy worthy made it to the bills' pick. To see them trade it, to kc nonetheless, then them take worthy was bitter to swallow. With that said. Top end speed does not = tyreek hill. The raiders have notoriously taken the fastest wr for decades and it hasn't worked out. Mahomes did not make hill either. He established himself under Alex Smith, and look what he is doing with Tua. The Bills clearly had no interest in worthy, moving down. They were confident enough to give the pick to kc. It appears worthy would have fallen to the chiefs anyway if the Bills picked whoever they are targeting. Lastly, Andy Reid is a fatso

The game presentation/sound sucks the life out of the place as well. Music is turned up way too loud and pushes me into my seat. Players' individual goal songs are also very lame and suck the energy out of a crowd after a goal and pushes everyone back into their seats.

yeah, very 2002. That late 90s, early 00s was dismal. Broncos, Patriots, Bills, Titans, and a few others put out some horrible stuff. They win with this.

My first choice is Quenneville. Then Berube. They check all the boxes, especially Quenneville. The Sabres have done a lot of good faith things for the NHL over the years. Time to cash that in and ask for Coach Q to be reinstated. My guess is it will be Seth Appert, who will be Granato 2.0.

Didn't marrone want whaley and Brandon out? Tried to leverage a decent Bills season and his contract clause... and lost.