May Day 10

My dream scenario is a complete destruction of the minor league affiliation system and MLB salary structure. (Mind you, I realize there are 100 holes that can be poked in it and it would require a lot of planning and re-structure). Full-on Promotion-Relegation system, but with financial benefits for minor league clubs to house younger prospects from MLB. It would be great if games all across the country, everywhere meant something... meant a lot.

IMO, the reaction and body language at these things can tell you a lot about a player. Gilmore, though, I think is just a generally low key guy who keeps things internal. Things like Geno Smith's behavior rang bells that he wasnt mentally strong. Lamar Jackson last year, as he was slipping was making obvious attempts to look "happy" and carefree. Haskins last night with headphones and buried in electronic devices made me think he was childish, as well as his reactions to the Giants and Redskins picks. I feel like Oliver set out before the night began, planning on looking pumped and ready to go no matter who selected him. It gives a great first impression to the fans and media, and I am sure the Bills' management appreciates the good PR that creates. Starts on the right foot and it tells me, he is likely to carry a positive attitude which is great.

Im very excited about this, even though I wanted Hockenson. Early in the season when it looked like the Bills were a candidate to be a top 2 or 3 pick, I saw Oliver's name pop up everywhere. Seems like the real deal. No character issues or injury history pushing him down. Just some GMs who seemed to reach and some QBs mixed in. In the past, when faced with a consensus pick falling into their lap, it seems the Bills would out-think themselves and get creative. They took they guy they should have and needed. IMO he is going to thrive under McDermott and Fraser.

Next they are probably going to let him run back the opening kickoff at the home opener.

Its really cool that he has become such a well known and liked figure throughout the bills universe, where we see the gm, coach, players, alumni, etc all wishing him well on draft day.

Allen, oliver, or hockenson will be there at 9!

Thank you raiders!!!

The NFL Draft will crush the game as if it didnt exist.

Brock McGinn scored Jamie McGinn is the ex-Sabres and is currently with Florida I think (or Detroit?) I forget. Someone in our conference and not in the playoffs

wrong McGinn

The idea of a mandatory (and perpetual) 5 year rebuild plan has been ingrained into the brains of the fans of this franchise. I was there too and snapped out of it this season when being told by the gm that this 2nd consecutive disaster of a season has been progress because "they are in a position to be in games"... and their vet-laden AHL team is in 2nd place. Would lou lamoriello or brian burke ever let their teams off the hook like that? In the nhl, you do not need a long rebuild. Just look at the islanders, carolina, and vegas. 3 Years ago, calgary, winnipeg, columbus, and toronto all finished behind the sabres. This isnt a U9 team. They are millionaire pros who have played and won at all levels in the past.... playing for a billionaire owner who claims to desire to win. Little signs of progress and development are not worth a thing. Wasting years of eichels prime now and dahlens elc.

I have always played baseball. At roughly the age of 33, i started to tear muscles every season to some degree, the worst of which a complete acl/mcl tear. This is amateur baseball at the tune of maybe 30-40 games in a season. The game is absolutely brutal on the joints. So much stopping/starting. Rest, action, change direction, etc. Playing 162 has got to be tough. Im 40 now, and for the most part stopped playing. I play hockey now more often and its a breeze as far as muscle/joint injuries. It definitely gets the heart pumping more, but im yet to suffer a non-skeletal injury playing hockey.

the guy to move on was Trotz last Summer.

Where are you located? In WNY, the season is way too short. It stinks. I have a friend on FB in NC with a 9yo and they seem to be able to play like 3/4 of the year. Here, its May and June, then that is it. Even a FB on Long Island seems to get a lot more time than we get. We are in a little league. I have looked around for more "magnet" type teams/organizations, but cant find any... at least for kids this young. I played in the same org as a kid, and I felt we had much better coaches and we had some really good teams and players (on the WNY scale). Oddly enough, despite my grumpiness, my kid really likes playing baseball

I'm just talking about the ability (or willingness) to compete every year, or most years, with limited down-time. Not just looking at payroll. Houston had to go through like 6 or 7 years below .500 including some awful seasons (some worse than 110 losses I think?). It is about being able to keep the talent and your best players. I'm an Indians fan. They got a quick compete-window in 2008-ish and immediately had to sell off players Sabathia, V Martinez, etc. Now, i am going to have to see it again (it has already been happening) as Bauer will be gone soon, and Lindor and Ramirez wont be too far behind. Then hopefully they reload within the next 8 years or so. IMO there needs to be a better salary structure in MLB to allow teams to maintain and afford their best players... if not force some of the stingy owners to spend toward a cap floor. As far as participation. My experience is (being involved in U7 baseball and other sports presently), all kids seem to play teeball and younger age groups, as it is a very convenient thing right there in every town. We have a very large enrollment for the little kids... however, I gaze to the older age group's diamonds and they are often not active (when I played in the 80s and early 90s, the fields would be mobbed every day). The way USA Baseball is, whether its the Little League Organization, Babe Ruth, etc is light years behind USA Hockey and USA Soccer. USA Hockey and Soccer have certified coaches and programs. You attend one of those practices, even for little kids, there are lesson plans and qualified coaches running skills clinics for basic skills development. The kids are always moving and have fun. Baseball is fractured into various independent entities. Coaches are normally volunteer dads who arent necessarily qualified. They think practice is throwing the kids out into the field to pick dandelions and throw batting practice for an hour. "Games" consist of kids each getting like 2 at bats and the kids who arent the 1 or 2 most aggressive on the team may get to handle the ball 1 or 2 times in the infield per "game". Im noticing by the time they are about 8 or 9, many kids seem to be moving on to other sports.

if that's the case, put it on these players to find it within themselves to make it happen here. That needs to happen at some point. OReilly, Lehner, Kane, etc all have gotten placed into great situations. Ship Risto out because he "is sick of losing".... how long before Reinhart, Eichel, Dahlen follow suit? Sick of losing? that's great. Do something about it. The team straight up quit on themselves, the franchise, and the fans 3 straight seasons.

It has always kind of been that way. The cross-check was flagrant enough and the aftermath was bad enough where the call wasn't all too shocking to me. In a 3-0 game, it should have been manageable. I have seen 5 minute major powerplays just melt off time if the PK gets the upper hand.

Letting up 4 goals on the powerplay is a pretty massive, preventable step from the call. Regardless, it was a penalty on an unnecessary reckless play by eakin. It dislodged the fans and pissed off and woke up the sharks. They would have likely come back without the major powerplay. Major powerplays, you see a goal against. Sometimes 2... but 4 is a different level rarely seen They also had a chance to win it in ot and couldnt. Not to mention a 3-1 series lead

Either way... it awoke the sharks and the crowd. All vegas had to do was not let up 4 goals on the powerplay

San jose game is crazy

Frankly, Botterill has stunk. He is going to get another year, but his list of acquisitions is looking pathetic, and the returns for Kane and OReilly are/were underwhelming. Not to mention they gave up assets on an upcoming UFA who may walk. This will be his 3rd offseason and 3rd season, and if the team remains below where they were under Murray/Bylsma, Botterill needs to be kicked to the curb. NHL Players acquired: Scandella Beaulieau Pominville Wilson Sobotka Berglund Thompson Sheary Hunwick Elie Hutton Pouliot Josefson Tenneyson Jury is out on Montour. Was panned by the analytics crowd and cost a 1st and Guhle.

There was that... and the real cheesy non-subtle "Avengers" brand of humor during the trek past the wall. Also, the way they were just able to fend off like 100K wights in a terrible defensive position, and likely exhausted/cold. Wights stormed the fist of the first men, one of the most optimal defensive strongholds and devastated/slaughtered 200 fully armed and prepared men of the night's watch. Then, in S7, E6, they are each crushing wights 5 at a time, exploding with a flick off the wrist with a regular sword. Luckily, I think it recovered the past 3 episodes. I hope the books do not use that plot, and if they do, make it more plausible. It was the weakest the show ever got.

To me, the degradation of the "competition" of minor league baseball is a big problem and an existential threat to baseball being as prominent as it is 50 years from now. Minor league baseball is solely trying to lure groups of people to the ballpark with Star Wars, Game of thrones, 1-hit wonder trivia, BPO, etc. Baseball is such a secondary thing now, if not, it is like 4th or 5th in importance. They have ripped teams from small-town America and put them in places like Brooklyn, Staten Island, etc. Even being a fan of MLB is frustrating if your team isnt the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, or Dodgers.