May Day 10

was flying back into Buffalo last night and saw a bunch of Packers fans getting their luggage. People were jabbing at them in good fun, but also extremely friendly. I was proud. If there is a group of fans Id like to impress its Packer fans

to me, this team isnt improved. The AFC is strange due to the fact that you have the 4 worst teams in football residing in the Conference... and NFC teams who were supposed to be very good (CAR, NO, SF, CHI) are mediocre to poor... Skews the records toward .500 or better. The fact remains that the Bills are in the bottom 3rd of the Conference and each and every time they play a team at or above them in the standings they get knocked down. They beat Cleveland, but they are also in the same boat as the Bills propped up by weak schedule IMO. The fact that they lost the KC game, should have lost to Minnesota at home, and blew the Miami game like they did would make me furious if with the coaching staff if I were a GM. Especially a GM "auditioning" for a new owner. These squirrelly comments by Marrone also do indicate something is up... especially taking into account the pre-season "drama" As a fan base (me included) we have been lulled into submission with the "ultimate" goal of "just a playoff game before I die" mentality. I dont doubt the current coaching and management can get us there. Maybe even a puncher's chance of winning a playoff game someday. Pegula will have bigger visions IMO. He will want a well oiled championship football program here that is sustainable. We will see if he/we gets there. He will almost certainly be bringing someone in to evaluate and no doubt major changes will be made so get used to the idea.

Thanks Ralph. I said a lot of things over the years, but I was wrong on a lot of things

Very happy they accepted the gift.

Yup. Im there too. Its kind of miserable. I have been there for longer than most, before they even traded Gaustad/Pominville. They needed to do it sooner, but as a bonus we may get Eichel/McDavid anyways and have 3 pix in a ridiculous 1st round. Its going to work out and all be worth it. They are doing it correctly. There is an embarrassment of riches. Not many teams have fans that let them get away with/accept/cheer for the full scale selling of assets like they have done. Doing it over a longer period of time maximized the returns. I dont watch the games. Its just not fun hoping they lose. 20 years ago+ at least we would have a lot of entertaining fights to get us through. The NHL this day and age is just so boring if your team really isnt playing for anything.

I dont think I have had a bite of McDonalds in over 10 years

I dont remember Regier always pointing out the Oilers as the model. I do remember Ted Black always using the Blackhawks and Penguins as examples. The Oilers have been run very, very poorly. They drafted bad overall and completely whiffed outside the 1st round, where it looks like they whiffed on some of their high picks. They have a severe lack of top end defensive prospects or NHL ready d-men, have had the worst goaltending in the league, and the forwards they did get with the high picks are wasting away in their ELCs. They insist on installing ex oilers and keeping them. MacTavish and Lowe are going to get run out of town with pitchforks and torches soon. Katz is a clown as an owner of Charles Wang proportions. Also, the "tank" portion is nearly over. For the Sabres. 56 more games and we can start watching again and hoping for and demanding better results. Once they make their draft picks this season, then the "build" portion is on. Most prospects will be playing here (Armia, Grig, Eichel/McDavid, Pysyk, McCabe, Reinhart, etc) and they are really going to start to cultivate a winner. This Summer could also be very interesting. The Sabres have a ton of cap room, a ton of assets for trade, and it is expected due to the Canadian Dollar the Salary Cap could remain stagnant or even drop next year. So 56 more garbage games.

Pretty much this. I actally felt bad for them. The dances at the ends of quarters and halftime were awful and pointless. Now it is even worse knowing the gory details of it all.

yeah, pretty much. Time of the day and all that stuff is not important as long as you meet that premise. You can streamline it a bit with some exercise and protein-carb rations, but its really about the calories.

We are in a similar stage IMO to the 49ers under Singletary. Maybe bring Harbough in. Hopefully a QB he likes becomes available... and ride it until his act gets old. Ill take it.

its not just CC though. Thinking of long term future, thinking short term with the 6 months emergency fund, different vehicles for savings and advantages and disadvantages with long term and short term, interest rates, ways to shield you money and earnings from taxes, how to buy a car, a house/property, insurance, how never ever use a company like Rent-A-Center, etc. This is the way our world goes around and most Americans just aren't taught these things. It is the most important and useful knowledge we can have... much moreso than The Boxer Rebellion. I was required to take Choir in High School for 2 years and this isn't available? I know in my case, If I was properly instructed on these things I would be much better off now (doing fine, but I mean even better with a nice head start). I cant imagine how many people dont get things in order and educate themselves and keep messing up and going bankrupt, defaulting, etc. I think in a typical High School curriculum, a year or 2 of personal finance class should be a no-brainer. Maybe even plant some seeds younger This is off-topic though. Not sure it would make a difference with Talley or a number of other entertainers/athletes who run out of money and earning potential. I just mean in general.

I think you are incorrect, or at least speaking too broadly. Personal Finance isn't mentioned in curriculum at any age, which is very strange to me. This is the most important premise of our society. Bad financial habits and/or ignorance is passed down from parents, who are often ignorant themselves as they were never taught. Personally, I grew up lower-middle class. Didnt have nice things, but finances were never taught to me, and I was just "forbidden" from having credit in any way. Whether it was BMG, Columbia House, etc. Parents didnt own any Credit Cards... Then once I went away to college and in my mid-20s, I was on my own and able to acquire Credit Cards. I remember my first one was a Sabres one I signed up for to get a free towel or something. I did some damage for sure with a series of bad decisions and learning as I go... touching hot stoves a few times. I had to spend a decent portion of my late 20s digging out. Im lucky though. I didnt even do a fraction of the damage that could be easily done. Mid 20s I did some reading on the topic to figure it out and I would say I am pretty to very good with money now. I just wished I would have been taught in High School. I would have really liked to have been able to save properly when I was 20-25 and also not pay any interest to a CC or a Car Loan... I know once you have it figured out it SEEMS like common sense... but not a lot of people are there.

IMO there is something there that isnt/hasnt been disclosed. Pegulas werent the owners yet. Apparently Wilson did not have any say... I wonder sometimes if it was partially or in large part Rogers' and/or the NFL's call to put it on hold. The media picked up on how dismal that game was and really took a hatchet to the whole thing.

I was being sarcastic... these guys absolutely deserve to get paid what they do. Such a small earning window and in a blink they can have car-crash severity injuries. Plus, someone has got to get that money and Ill side toward these guys who have all the risk, especially in the shadow of the Darryl Talley story.

Im still not worried, other than the wheels completely falling off Edmonton. Sabres are getting bounces and unsustainable goaltending. It'll even out.

He signed a 5 year deal in late May after 6 bad years of this and just over 6 months later decided it needed to go?

its all good. The albatross is gone.

You have to think clearly here. Pegula is obviously interested in creating a "district" there Canal-Side. He will likely be footing a sizeable portion of the bill for this. I imagine that he will want the versatility of a closed or a closeable facility. Just East of the Arena, at the Perry Projects seems like the most likely location. I guess the question is... what can take place only in an enclosed facility that cant be held in the arena? What is the Delta between that and the increased cost of the roofed facility? I truly believe that tickets will have no issue being sold at a higher rate for a modest outdoor facility with a somewhat reduced capacity.

you were one of the biggest fans of/defenders of that stupid Toronto thing

Wah. These guys make too much money

I have a PS4. I am very satisfied with it. Last round I had both. Started with a 360 and went through 1. Got RROD < 1 month out of warranty and they wouldnt replace it. I was mad but had so much content, I got another 360. I eventually got a ps3 when shopping for a blu ray player and it collected dust for awhile. Once I broke it out though, I never looked back. A much sleeker machine, quieter, cooler, a much better UI (it seemed 360 changed the whole layout frequently). Ultimately PS4 and One are pretty similar, its just personal preference at this point. If you dig baseball though, PS4 is the obvious choice as The Show is a great game every year. Sony also has the handheld that syncs up to the ps4 for some pretty outstanding features. Uncharted is also a very good exclusive series and The Last of Us was very well received too (although those 2 games are a bit linear for my tastes) I dont know if MS does this, but PS Plus is also a great thing. I bought the subscription codes off amazon last year at a discount for like 4 years so Im not sure of price, but you get free games to download every month. PS3 brought a lot of good titles. PS4 has been a bit disappointing, but I do acknowledge that there is such a limited pool of games comparatively to PS3 gen.

Your 1st statement is true. Thats where Peterson took Boise State over the top. He attacked California and did it successfully. At this point now though, UB is going up against the other MAC schools, Conference USA, and somewhat the Sunbelt. Lots of room to improve there as I think at some point in 2013 UB was rated the very bottom of FBS recruiting class. Probably wont be going head to head too much with the Big 10s of the world, and if they are, it would likely be a fringe player/project who would instantly be red-shirted and/or not get any attention/playing time at the Big 10 schools, so they would be offering a completely different package. Down the road, maybe. If they were to somehow become a dominant MAC program they will go head to head with some Big 10 schools, maybe even some Big 12.

I heard him interviewed this morning.... Man oh man. I try to listen to those interviews with the standpoint of a prospective recruit. This guy has it. he is real, gets into some strategy talk. Has a positive attitude but not over the top. Very professional and well spoken. Quinn disgusted me. He was like a cartoon character football coach. Everything opposite of what is described above. Gave me major douche chills and came across as completely full of BS. If I were a recruit I would only play for Quinn as a last resort or if I absolutely needed/wanted to stay in WNY.

The fund has mushroomed out of control. This is great

Blasted past 100k