Peter

I can dig it. Can you dig it?

Wow. Shocking. RIP

I see you could not find a quote where I supposedly wrote what you accused me of posting. Thanks.

Please quote where I said that we should "all sacrifice college football players." Thanks.

The athletic departments are really hurting. They already took a big hit with the loss of the NCAA basketball tournament money. As others have mentioned, college football essentially supports everything else. Without that income, everything else (except men's basketball) will suffer. As an aside, when the US women won the World Cup last summer, I realized that was because of the tremendous support the US gives to women's college athletics. In large measure, that is because of Title IX and Title IX would not be nearly as impactful without the college football revenue that supports all of the other sports (both men and women) other than men's basketball. P.S. I noticed that others have mentioned that college football players do not get paid. I get that. Nevertheless, tell that to those students and parents who have to pay (in some cases) $80,000 +/- in after tax dollars per year or $320,000 for four years. For the vast majority of college football athletes, getting a free education is a pretty darn good deal - especially given that the value of what they receive also is not taxable. There also will be additional opportunities for college athletes to make money with the laws that have been passed in Florida and California.

The kid is in a difficult position. He texted a very stupid thing. There is no getting around that. I cannot say what is in his heart. How he treats people probably is more indicative. Nevertheless, with everything that is going on, I suspect that no matter how he responded, someone would take offense.

For some maybe . . . . The punch line to one of my favorite Richard Pryor jokes: ". . . and it is deep too." ?

Brooks Brothers has the best shirts . . . especially the non-iron shirts. If you need a dress shirt, I thoroughly recommend them. They periodically throughout the year have them for sale. They currently have a sale on the shirts: https://www.brooksbrothers.com/Dress-Shirts/men-shirt-clearance,default,sc.html?lid=topnav-menu

This is an excellent point. Given Covid-19, this way over budget stadium either will be empty or have a lot fewer spectators. Until we solve this virus, I would be very, very careful and hesitant to spend any money on a new stadium or arena if I owned a team or were in charge of local government. We really need to have an effective vaccine and effective therapeutics before many of us (e.g., me) will feel comfortable being in a large, enclosed, packed, space with thousands of people.

You are correct. I have no respect for Silent Stan Kroenke. He screwed over St. Louis and he is from Missouri. He has no loyalty to where he is from. [Side note: St. Louis stole the Rams from LA so I have very little sympathy for it]. I am an Arsenal fan. Kroenke owns Arsenal as well. The silver lining may be that he may be forced to sell Arsenal to someone who actually will invest in the team the way the owners of the other elite teams do.

. . . except that each of the hockey people that they hired was well respected and considered a good hire at the time. They then gave those hockey people the resources to succeed. They have done their bit. P.S. Buffalo is a big hockey town . . . in terms of fan interest but not necessarily in terms of dollars.

1. I am glad we agree. 2. Unless one wants to sell the team, an increase in valuation is besides the point. I hope they never sell given that I question just who is out there who would be willing buy the Sabres for that amount - much less keep them in Buffalo given the finances. I consider the Pegulas to be great owners. First, they are committed to keeping both teams in Buffalo. Second, they have given both teams the resources that they need - not to mention much more than any prior owner. Third, they hired people who were respected or had been successful. Some of those did not work out, but that is true for many teams. I continue to give the Pegulas the benefit of the doubt and am grateful that they appeared out of freaking nowhere and bought the Sabres and Bills. Prior to their purchasing the Bills, I always had worried about the team moving elsewhere. I no longer have to worry about that . . . unless their detractors who scream they should sell the teams have their way.

Are the Sabres allowed to make tough decisions like the Athletic? Are the Sabres making money? Were the Sabres making money before the pandemic? Some people (certain fans and media) seem to castigate the Pegulas (I am not referring to you), but don't seem to understand just how much we owe them. They made sure to overpay for the Bills to keep them in Buffalo and have been supporting the Sabres.

Why did you say that PSE is profitable in a thread that was discussing the Athletic firings and the recent Sabres firings?

You did. My question was about the Sabres. As I recall, no one on the Bills side was fired. The persons who were fired worked for the Sabres. Some people (including some at the Athletic) went nuts that the Sabres actually fired some employees as we are going through what seems like the apocalypse. Very tough decisions were made. Just like tough decisions were made at the Athletic. So again, given that those who were fired were on the Sabres side, I presume that you are not suggesting that the Sabres are not allowed to make tough decisions - just like the Athletic did.

Just how "profitable" have the Sabres been according to you?

I will try to stay off of your lawn.

I was at the Wembley game as well (and the Arsenal/Everton game the day before).

I am an Arsenal supporter and have been since the mid 1990's. I try to go to Arsenal games at the Emirates when I can. I happened to be in England in August this past summer, and Arsenal played Newcastle in the first game of the season at Newcastle. As a result, after spending some time in London, I travelled from London to Edinburgh (great city by the way) for a few days and then to Newcastle. I loved Newcastle. The city and the people remind me of Buffalo. The people could not be more friendly and their love of their team reminded me of Buffalo sports fans. Like Buffalo, Newcastle is a northern city with hard working people who like to go out and have some fun. The atmosphere at the game was great, and I happened to get a very good seat. I also took a tour of the stadium (the day before the game), which was a lot of fun. Also, for all of you single guys, Newcastle is a place where many in England go to for bachelor/bachelorette parties (or as they call them, stag and hen). In other words, people love to go out and party. I am an Arsenal fan through and through, but I now also hope that Newcastle do well because their fans are great. P.S. I watched the Sunderland documentary and enjoyed it as well. For years, I have never understood why some take the time to write posts like this. If one is really bothered by the topic, why "waste" your time . . . just move on while the rest of us enjoy the discussion.

RIP Ben. May your memory be eternal.

I have thought so for years. She also is very good at what she does. If I recall correctly, she even likes hockey. Her husband won the lottery.

I agree. I thought it was very well done. I could not wait to watch it each week.

I must have forgotten . . . which team was winning when RJ was last on the field in that game?!?

Thank you for sharing. So true!

Some of you may know that I have lived down here in Miami since law school. I used to work with one of Don Shula's daughters and became good friends with her. Because I grew up in Buffalo and am a lifelong Bills fan, she always knew that our friendship was genuine and had nothing to do with who her father was or the Dolphins. In short, Don was a great guy and was extremely nice to me. I remember having a great conversation in his office, which was filled with an amazing amount of trophies, cool photos, and other memorabilia. We talked about the Bills-Dolphins rivalry, how they beat us 20 games in a row, and that no matter how much us Bills fans disliked the Dolphins (as we now dislike the Pats), we always respected Coach Shula. He told me how impressed he was with us Bills fans and how much he respected us. Coach Shula is a legend. May his memory be eternal.