You get a gold star.
- sippyd

My PPR league, where 1 reception is worth 2 points:


Aaron Rodgers GB - QB
Calvin Johnson Det - WR
Pierre Garcon Was - WR
Giovani Bernard Cin - RB
Andre Ellington Ari - RB
Jordan Cameron Cle - TE
Shane Vereen NE - RB
Michael Crabtree SF - WR
Doug Martin TB - RB (picked in the 9th round btw)
Jeremy Maclin Phi - WR
Pierre Thomas NO - RB
Emmanuel Sanders Den - WR
Marques Colston NO - WR
Joique Bell Det - RB
Carolina - DST
Steven Hauschka - K

Ravaging, Ravishing line up imo.
- TheSabresTaco

Jordan Cameron should do you well, probably the best pickup I made last season.

1) Big if
2) No I don't think they will because they didn't when Pittsburgh drafted Crosby. They became the place to be after they made their first playoff appearance
3) 2 which is irrelevant as im basing my point off what I've seen in the NHL not based off the pro athletes i may or may not know.
4) Brian Gionta is not the same as getting Rick Nash. Gionta is at the end of his career and lets not kid ourselves, we probably offered him the best contract as well. Nash will still be a very good player with plenty of options
5) And I'm pretty sure Toronto is closer to Brampton than Buffalo.
- Sabresfan-365

If any playoff caliber team offered Gionta what the Sabres are paying him, they'd be ripped to shreds by the media, and rightfully so. It was a good move for the Sabres because they are nowhere near a playoff caliber team, and they needed to take on salary.

When has Nash even been offered a contract by Toronto ? . Was Toronto in the position to even make him a decent offer . They are now in Salary cap hell for years to come . Who wants Nash anyways . He does not fit in here at this point .

A 10% differences in taxes is a big deal when you are making over 7 million a year . All those accounting courses I took tell me $700,000 is still a lot of money

That fact is you are guessing on the Pittsburgh situation unless Mario has confided in you. If everything sucks so bad here why even bother following Buffalo . Like I said I would prefer to see the glass as half full . Life is too short to think everything is against us.

Maybe this is all different across the pond .
- Maximum Signal

You do know that all professional athletes file and pay income taxes in every income tax state and province (and city if applicable) they play in, right? The savings aren't as much as you think. Plus, if that was the primary motivation, players would be flocking to Sunrise, because the Panthers have around the same caliber type of prospect pool as Buffalo does, better weather, and an even better tax situation. Buffalo becomes a destination when it starts contending for a Cup, plain and simple.

If any playoff caliber team offered Gionta what the Sabres are paying him, they'd be ripped to shreds by the media, and rightfully so. It was a good move for the Sabres because they are nowhere near a playoff caliber team, and they needed to take on salary.
- buffalofan19

You're right, I don't know what Gionta was offered. But here's what i can make an educated guess on. I can guess that we were the highest offer in terms of dollars because we a had a ton of cap space and quite frankly if he were paid this much by any other team he'd be labeled the worst signing of the off-season tied with Bolland.

I can guess that we offered him the longest term for those very same reasons. Is there a chance im wrong? Of course but it's much more likely that im right then there being a 2nd team that offered Gionta 4 years at 4.5 mil and Gionta turned it down.

Way ahead of you

3 years is a bit much for me but like you said, they needed to take on the salary.

I named my Russian blue cat after max
- homiedclown

"He left a vapor trail!"

You do know that all professional athletes file and pay income taxes in every income tax state and province (and city if applicable) they play in, right? The savings aren't as much as you think. Plus, if that was the primary motivation, players would be flocking to Sunrise, because the Panthers have around the same caliber type of prospect pool as Buffalo does, better weather, and an even better tax situation. Buffalo becomes a destination when it starts contending for a Cup, plain and simple.
- buffalofan19

I am well aware of tax ramifications . Remember I was a tour manager/ accountant in the entertainment industry for over 20 years . I dealt with tax officials in every state. But you still play 50% of your games in the one location that your main tax burden is accrued in . The comparison was made with Toronto not Florida . . I have stated in the past the tax advantages of states with no state income tax .

But that was not part of this conversation. . The main part of the discussion was not even about taxes . It was about at some point with all that is being done here Buffalo might just become a destination for players . Not right now but perhaps in the near future.

Sorry I did not dwell on all the negative possibilities. Life is just too short.

You got to look on the bright side of life - Monty Python - Life of Brian

"Yeah, here's what I think. While it's unlikely any of us has a clue about what's inside Darcy's head, and things like the salary cap, NTCs/NMCs, and the declining economy's impact on future revenues make it nearly impossible to trade anyone of any significance, it's not inconceivable that the Sabres could make a mid-season move.

Vanek, Roy, Miller, Pommer are probably not on the block since they represent the young core of this team and are all locked up long-term. We all know Vanek's contract is insane, but given the length and amount of the others, it seems unlikely to me there's a better deal out there. Remember Larry Quinn is a numbers guy, and 5 mil 6 years from now will be looking pretty good. Roy's deal is an especially favorable one for the club. You might even be able to throw Goose into this category b/c his value to the Sabres is high given his hustle and toughness.

Max, Kotalik, and Connolly are popular choices for a change of venue, but their UFA status would mean they'd need to go to a contender for the receiving team to be willing to assume the risk. That said, what's the likelihood of a contender sending the Sabres something worthy of a blockbuster? That's not even taking into account Max sucking for the last 2 years, Kotalik getting a reputation of being lazy, and (Tin) Connolly being more fragile than the leg lamp in A Christmas Story. This, coming from the guy who actually owns a Connolly jersey.

As far as young talent at forward goes, Stafford, MacArthur, Paille are the only roster players in that category. They're all tradable, but not enough to bring in an impact player. To me, the Sabres would need to include one of Mancari, Gerbe, or Kennedy to get another team interested. Possible, though Gerbe seems like he's got a future here.

Lastly, if they're really trying to fix the recent injury problem at defense, they're not going to trade any defensemen. Even still, it's more likely they'll do what they did last year and bring in a veteran like Nolan Pratt to temporarily fill the gap until Weber and Sekera are healthy again (a few weeks?). I haven't looked to see who like that is available, but they found someone last year and could probably do it again.

We Sabres fans have gotten used to the fact that Darcy rarely makes any moves. In fact, who really does anymore? I'd love to be wrong, but not at the expense of 26 / 9 / 30 / 29. You can have Peters. Twice. "
- homiedclown

epic

I am well aware of tax ramifications . Remember I was a tour manager/ accountant in the entertainment industry for over 20 years . I dealt with tax officials in every state. But you still play 50% of your games in the one location that your main tax burden is accrued in . The comparison was made with Toronto not Florida . . I have stated in the past the tax advantages of states with no state income tax .

But that was not part of this conversation. . The main part of the discussion was not even about taxes . It was about at some point with all that is being done here Buffalo might just become a destination for players . Not right now but perhaps in the near future.

Sorry I did not dwell on all the negative possibilities. Life is just too short.

You got to look on the bright side of life - Monty Python - Life of Brian


- Maximum Signal

And my point was that if tax ramifications were the primary concern of a player, Buffalo wouldn't be anywhere near the top of anyone's list, because New York State is ranked the 50th worst tax state in the nation (it and New Jersey flip-flop between 49 and 50 every year).


It's not being negative. It's being realistic. I want Buffalo to become a destination as much as anyone, but I also know that simply building a new facility with a couple of ice rinks, a restaurant, and a hotel doesn't get that done, and neither does making the surrounding waterfront area look pretty. What Buffalo is doing with its waterfront right now, is what other cities have done years ago, and Buffalo should have done a long time ago. It's not setting itself apart from other cities. Don't get me wrong. It's good, but it's not unprecedented.

If Buffalo is to become a destination for NHL hockey players, it needs to set itself apart from every other city. It doesn't have the amenities, so that leaves one option: winning and lots of it, which won't happen in earnest for another 3 years at least.

And my point was that if tax ramifications were the primary concern of a player, Buffalo wouldn't be anywhere near the top of anyone's list, because New York State is ranked the 50th worst tax state in the nation (it and New Jersey flip-flop between 49 and 50 every year).


It's not being negative. It's being realistic. I want Buffalo to become a destination as much as anyone, but I also know that simply building a new facility with a couple of ice rinks, a restaurant, and a hotel doesn't get that done, and neither does making the surrounding waterfront area look pretty. What Buffalo is doing with its waterfront right now, is what other cities have done years ago, and Buffalo should have done a long time ago. It's not setting itself apart from other cities. Don't get me wrong. It's good, but it's not unprecedented.

If Buffalo is to become a destination for NHL hockey players, it needs to set itself apart from every other city. It doesn't have the amenities, so that leaves one option: winning and lots of it, which won't happen in earnest for another 3 years at least.
- buffalofan19

Things are improving here rapidly . Your sense of being realistic wreaks of negativity . But that is nothing new. There are other factors that make this destination attractive . They have been discussed . But you will find the negative in those as well . As you always seem to do .

Have a great day !

Can anyone clear this up for me? Does the draft lottery in 2015 include the stipulation that a team that wins the lottery can only move a maximum of four positions up in the draft?

That is how the lottery was before the changes. Where if the tenth worse team won the lottery they would only move up to 6. And if the 6th place team won, they would move to 2nd. But it seems the philosophy has changed and in 2016, I think I read that all non playoff teams will have a chance at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd lottery spots.

So, are all non playoff teams eligible to move up to 1st pick in 2015, or did the percentages for the lottery only change, and the old rule of moving up 4 max still applies until 2016?

With the increased odds that someone outside the bottom five teams win the lottery, the stipulation that they can only move up 4, could be huge for the last place team. It would give them a better chance at keeping the top pick. Does anyone know?

Can anyone clear this up for me? Does the draft lottery in 2015 include the stipulation that a team that wins the lottery can only move a maximum of four positions up in the draft?

That is how the lottery was before the changes. Where if the tenth worse team won the lottery they would only move up to 6. And if the 6th place team won, they would move to 2nd. But it seems the philosophy has changed and in 2016, I think I read that all non playoff teams will have a chance at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd lottery spots.

So, are all non playoff teams eligible to move up to 1st pick in 2015, or did the percentages for the lottery only change, and the old rule of moving up 4 max still applies until 2016?

With the increased odds that someone outside the bottom five teams win the lottery, the stipulation that they can only move up 4, could be huge for the last place team. It would give them a better chance at keeping the top pick. Does anyone know?
- SabresPanacea

Any team 30-17 in the standings can move up to #1 if they win the lottery

Any team 30-16 in the standings can move up to #1
- theblueandgold

That's not the answer I wanted to hear. Thanks BG

SURE THEN ADD TO THAT LATE 1ST YOU IDIOT.

SURE THEN ADD TO THAT LATE 1ST YOU IDIOT.
- CaptainRivet

Things are improving here rapidly . Your sense of being realistic wreaks of negativity . But that is nothing new. There are other factors that make this destination attractive . They have been discussed . But you will find the negative in those as well . As you always seem to do .

Have a great day !





- Maximum Signal

To the average person maybe, but for good nhl players winning has way more importance than the improvements down by the waterfront

To the average person maybe, but for good nhl players winning has way more importance than the improvements down by the waterfront
- Sabresfan-365

BVB 2 - 0 Bayern

SUPERCUP! TROPHIES ALREADY! 2 YEARS IN A ROW!

To the average person maybe, but for good nhl players winning has way more importance than the improvements down by the waterfront
- Sabresfan-365

I know being positive is not accepted here . But I see winning coming soon as well . Maybe not right away . But I like what is being built here.

Hardly the waterfront I was referring to . Cost of living . Cost of housing.

Friend of mine works for the Bills . He was tasked in helping Drew Bledsoe settle in Buffalo . Bledsoe was shocked at Real Estate . The house he bought here for 1.5 million blew away the place in Boston he owned that cost him 9 million.

BVB 2 - 0 Bayern

SUPERCUP! TROPHIES ALREADY! 2 YEARS IN A ROW!
- theblueandgold

Aww that's cute..

I know being positive is not accepted here . But I see winning coming soon as well . Maybe not right away . But I like what is being built here.




- Maximum Signal

So do the rest of us...

So do the rest of us...
- Sabresfan-365

It reminds me of the typical response in political discussions: "Why do you hate America?"

Not negative. Just demanding something even greater.

Yes very negative . You simply cannot accept any positives . And acknowledge all the improvements being made and the other positive attributes . This area has to offer. I toured the world the extensively for over 20 years and I have learned to appreciate what Buffalo has to offer.

I know being positive is not accepted here . But I see winning coming soon as well . Maybe not right away . But I like what is being built here.

Hardly the waterfront I was referring to . Cost of living . Cost of housing.

Friend of mine works for the Bills . He was tasked in helping Drew Bledsoe settle in Buffalo . Bledsoe was shocked at Real Estate . The house he bought here for 1.5 million blown away the place in Boston he owned that cost him 9 million.



- Maximum Signal

That's nothing new. There are numerous athletes that have come through here and remarked at the same thing. It's great. It's what allowed me to buy a house at age 24.

However, the low real estate costs and costs of living in general are usually signs of poor economic conditions in the region. If this city's economy ever does really pick up to the point that it's noticed on a national scale, those real estate costs will increase, and it won't be so cheap to live here anymore.

Not negative. Just demanding something even greater.

Yes very negative . You simply cannot accept any positives . And acknowledge all the improvements being made and the other positive attributes . This area has to offer. I toured the world the extensively for over 20 years and I have learned to appreciate what Buffalo has to offer.




- Maximum Signal

That's all well and good. I've done my fair share of traveling as well, not to that extent, and I've come to the conclusion that I want Buffalo to be great, not just "better", but great.

Not negative. Just demanding something even greater.

Yes very negative . You simply cannot accept any positives . And acknowledge all the improvements being made and the other positive attributes . This area has to offer. I toured the world the extensively for over 20 years and I have learned to appreciate what Buffalo has to offer.




- Maximum Signal

I'm pretty sure his exact words were "it's good"