Buftex

I agree...I wish Pegula would do whatever he could to get Rick Dudley to return to Buffalo...pry him away from the Canadians....a GM with some cache, who just happens to be an ex-Sabre player and coach....

Funny you mention Kurt Warner. I had to work the night of the first round (stupid NFL and their Thursday BS), I was only half following on-line while it was happening. When I got home, watching the after analysis, and Warner seemed to really like the Manuel pick. However, when I was watching the "post-game" analysis of the draft overall, on Saturday, there was Warner, just repeating what all the other bone-heads had to say..."Bills blew it! Overreach for Manuel..he's a "project", etc etc Grrrr....

Right... he has pulled off some good trades...getting a do-over, essentially, for underachieving guys he picked to begin with. I realize, it isn't that simple...of course. I don't want to judge too harshly, but this, to me, could be the first clear mis-step by Pegula, IMO. Other things haven't gone well during his short tenure as owner, but I could sort of justify most of the decisions made up til now. But you just fired the longest tenured coach in franchise history (probably a necessary move), your team failed, again, to qualify for a playoff that should not be so elusive year after year...this was a chance for a true new start.... I realize Darcy has had some extenuationg circumstances throughout his tenure (changing ownerships and owner philosophys' etc etc), but this just feels like more of the same. Just gotta wonder though, if Roy wouldn't wait for a more attractive opportunity than Buffalo offers right now. If the Sabres are truly in Oiler-esque re-build mode (look how well that is going!), would a guy who is a hot coaching candidate want to take his first HC job in the big leagues, knowing he is likely to post losing seasons for his first couple of seasons? His old team, the Colorado Avalanche have the first pick in the draft, and are currently without a coach...

Funny...I keep seeing the "experts" give the Bills low marks for their draft, overall, and in their analysis the criticize the Manuel pick at #16. But then, you read the same guys breaking down each pick, and they have mostly positive things to say about him. USA Today Sports Weekly comes to mind. I haven't purchased that thing in a few years, but grabbed it this moring at 7-11 when I was getting coffee...EJ was on the cover of their post-draft issue, holding up his Bills jersey...inside they give the Bills draft their lowest grade (a D, no other team lower than C-),saying that the EJ pick was a reach for a "project", and also mentioned Marquise Goodwin and Jonathan Meeks as weak picks. (Also say that Kiko Alonso is fast side to side, but not very strong, and weak against the run...high risk pick they dub him). Yet, underneath, where they break down each pick individually, they gush about EJ's "cannon arm", size, great mobility and leadership skills! Uh..what do they want? They loved the Robert Woods pick (as well as Duke Williams incidentally), so why is it I get the feeling they would all be cool if Robert Woods went to the Bills at #16, and EJ at #41? WTF is the difference? To me, it all just continues to reek of the Bills going outside the conventional QB rankings in the draft, and making them all wrong in their upteenth million mock drafts. I think this is the first draft in a lwhile that I feel pretty happy about. I love that they added a ton of speed, and agressiveness...things that have been lacking, outside of Spiller.

Hard to tell when you hear him talk...he sounds very amiable to staying...I guess his stipulation is "long re-build" or "re-tooling". Sell Vanek on the fact that he could really bring his play to the next level with a youth infusion. To me, he looked like he was actually relishing his role on the ice, with the youngsters, after Pomminville was dealt. Besides,I don't know why the Sabres can't do both re-tool and re-load. Other teams do it all the time...Philly has built themselves, collapsed, re-built and then collapsed again, in the time since the Briere/Drury fiasco in Buffalo...the Sabres still seem to be trying to recover from it. I don't hate Darcy, but I am really wondering about the wisdom behind bringing him back for another re-build. I want a GM who maked Vanek want to stay... Also, since we are talking Sabres, does anyone else find it a little odd that they haven't made a decision on Rolston yet? The longer they wait, should they keep him, it seems to weaken his footing with his team...not exactly a ringing endorsement form management. Maybe they are waiting to see if they can lure Lindy Ruff back?

I would try to keep Vanek...

Bowing out of this thread..if you don't go to PPP, they will come to you... Dante, I am sorry to make it personal...my bad. Your take on this whole thing was incredibly shallow. Like a lot of folks here, if something isn't important to you, or out of your realm of experience, you minimize it as if it shouldn't be important to anyone, and then have no trouble going on and on about how insignificant it is. Bowing out of this thread..if you don't go to PPP, they will come to you...

Not because he just died, but my Mt Rusmore has to include George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie and Hank Sr...gonna need more heads!

One of the greatest tirbute songs, ever...happy birthday Willie! "He loves all the people, the rank and the randy...if you don't belive it, take a look at The Family" "He loves all the people, no matter their races, hell he even made a country song with Julio Iglesias..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INEqXMFfcxQ

Random thoughts: RK I see your point, and mostly agree. But most athletes are heckled for under-performance, or, possibly some off the field transgression..not for simply existing. On the occasion where heckling goes over the line (I can't recall, but I seem to remember some rather tacky/tasteless heckling being flung at a college basketball coach, for something to do with his wife), there is usually some sort of "calling out" or "shaming" of it by somebody. What I witnessed (granted 20 years ago or so) with Martina Navritilova I think would embarass anyone today...but it didn't seem to bother anyone back then...or at least anyone with any sort of voice. This was about 6 or 7 years after Navritolova had "come out". People yelling things like "Man against woman", or "Martina we can see your bulge". The local morning yokels here (Texas) are taking the angle that Collins is a "scumbag" because he led a woman on for 7 years, that he was straight...the one guy is a former college running back (short stint with the NY Giants) from Boston College, and was also a RB coach with the Longhorns during the Ricky Williams era...he seems to be the most offended by this whole thing...funny thing is, after listening to him for about 15 minutes almost every morning, for years, I have always had my suspicions that he isn't what he portrays himself to be. On the flip side of the coin, I also see, today, where ESPN apologized for Chris Broussards comments...which I think is absolutely ludicrous.They employ Chris Broussard to be Chris Broussard. The nature of about 66% of ESPN's programming seems to be to argue, have strong opinons...but don't come down on the "wrong side" of the argument. I am sure Broussard will be suspended (if he hasn't been already) or fired. If we need to make room for homosexulity in our society, than we need to make room for people with opposing views as well.

Yeah, I understand, when intellectual resources are so limited, it is good to save them up... But, by all means, type idiotic things as much as you can, just to keep the machinery working. Yup...just look at this thread... be dismayed, but so many of the luminaries here who claim they don't give a **** seem to actually give a ****.

I really love this show as well...but I have to admit, I have been a little underwhelmed thus far this season. This past episode was the first one that I thought was really good. But, as I always have to remind myself. best to judge the show as a whole, rather than an episode by episode pace.

Well, nobody every accused you of being a deep thinker.

Yeah, I always feel the same way...always a lot more optimistic about the team that is in their off-season as opposed the team that is action...April through July are just killer! Best time to be a Buffalo sports fan!

I don't know what to think any more, about Darcy. Mike Schoop braught up a great point though (I know the disdain for Schoop)...but Darcy has been on the job for 17 years now...he is coming back for what appears to be a "rebuild". So, one would presume, he will be GM for the Sabres for 20 years, give or take...they have very little to show for it...and when they did strike lightening in a bottle, Darcy (though I realize there were other factors) blew it with the whole Briere/Drury fiasco. Seventeen years is a long time, and only one finals apperance and a Presidents...8 playoff teams in 17 seasons. That isn't great.

Yeah, I wasn't agreeig with it, just answering the question that was posed.."what did Broussard say?"

Ah... his opinion was based completely on his interpritation of Christianity and what defines a good Christian...his was a "faith based" voice of opposition.

In the late 80's and early 90's I used to follow tennis pretty closely. I remember once getting free tickets to see the Virgina Slims tournament at Madison Square Garden. All the big name female players were slated. Everyone was there to see Chrissy, me included. However, Martina Navratilova, that day, became one of the people I admire most... not only was schooling younger players late in her career, but she put up with some of the nastiest, foul, insults from the crowd. She heard them, and discarded them, with such dignity and grace. The thing that struck me then, was how it seemed to be completely acceptable to throw slurs her way, even in a liberal city like New York. I can't imagine that happening now...and that is a good thing. I have heard Martina speak about those days a few times...talking about having to be robotic, and pretend she didn't hear things, or have any feelings.

Seems like everyone on the NBA has been very supportive of Collins so far...Chris Broussard of ESPN (a good NBA analyst) has been the lone voice of criticism... http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-espn-chris-broussard-sparks-uproar-after-jason-collins-remarks-20130429,0,1157118.story No offense Joe, but you always have the strangest "concerns". Did you ever stop to think that an NBA owner might want to sign him just for the publicity? What do you want to bet Mark Cuban signs him? Who is boxing who into a corner? There are plenty of journeymen NBA centers in the leauge who are every bit as useless as Collins is, on the court. Centers, no matter how limited their talents are, are not easy to come by. Don't concern yourself so much... He's a large bodied center. Watch the playoffs, every team has one (some even two) guys just like Collins to play in junk time, or to spell a starter who is gassed, or in foul trouble. They are simply there to take up space on the defensive end, and maybe grab a rebound here or there...not much else. Collins barely played in Boston (the team I follow) while he was there...it is kind of hard to judge someone as the worst, if they never really play.

I feel kind of bad for Nassib. Not because the Bills didn't pick him, so much as the fact that the lazy sports media types who did all their pre-draft analysis just made the easy (lazy?) assumption that the Bills would take Nassib, simply because they had a real need at QB, and that their new coach had a relationship with him. I only follow college football on a surface level (watch big bowl games) and probably pay more attention to it in March and early April than I do in the fall. I can honestly say that I rarely (if ever) heard of Nassib being one of the more elite QB's going into the draft, until they put two and two together and figured the Bills would do the most obvious of things. Take Doug Marrone out of the NFL head coaching ranks, and I seriously doubt any of the "experts" would have ranked Nassib as highly as he was in just the last few weeks. The McShays, Grudens, etc etc really built him up to be a much more attractive prospect than he really was to people who make a living evaluating these kids. So, IMO, the notion that he was a top prospect who slipped in the draft was false. He was probably drafted, by the Giants, exactly where he should have been.

Your a lot of help...how can we "look at you" if we don't know who you is?

Which one is you?

I may have mischaracterized it...he is not retired, and, according to the article, wants to play next season. Even without the possible "stigma" of coming out, it is possible he might not be signed by anyone anyways. He played for the Celtics (my team) for the first part of this season, but was part of a trade deadline deal..a throw in. He wasn't horrible, but nothing special on the court...but every NBA team needs depth at center, at some point during the season.

Journeymen center (currently with the Wizards) Jason Collins has "come out" to Sports Illustrated. Granted, at his age, and the fact that he has bumped around the league, he is likely going to retire (he doesn't want to)...but interesting development. Unless I am forgetting, I think this is a first for one of the 4 major American pro sports leagues... http://sportsillustr...gay-nba-player/