[SDS]

Bill is at the rink every day and he makes it to about 25% of the road games. He talks to Ruff and the players every day. He's a low key guy doing his thing on the Sabres and he enjoys the fact that we get all his pieces out to the fans, not just a few.

Bill has said he would be willing to participate here in the forums fielding questions from us. I presume this could be anything from asking about the "mood" inside the locker room to "hey, can you ask about X, Y, or Z".

Is this something you think you would utilize? Have you been reading his pieces on the front page?

[nfreeman]

SDS, on 17 October 2009 - 09:09 AM, said:

Bill is at the rink every day and he makes it to about 25% of the road games. He talks to Ruff and the players every day. He's a low key guy doing his thing on the Sabres and he enjoys the fact that we get all his pieces out to the fans, not just a few.

Bill has said he would be willing to participate here in the forums fielding questions from us. I presume this could be anything from asking about the "mood" inside the locker room to "hey, can you ask about X, Y, or Z".

Is this something you think you would utilize? Have you been reading his pieces on the front page?

If he talks to the coaches and the players every day, I think it would be great to have a pinned "Ask Bill" thread.

I haven't been reading his pieces but I'll give them a whirl.

[SDS]

nfreeman, on 17 October 2009 - 09:11 AM, said:

If he talks to the coaches and the players every day, I think it would be great to have a pinned "Ask Bill" thread.

I haven't been reading his pieces but I'll give them a whirl.

ok, you are an avid hockey reader... Why weren't you reading his pieces if you don't mind me asking?

[PASabreFan]

I think the fact that his stuff is posted online in the afternoon (Olean being an afternoon paper) hurts a bit. His articles usually read like the typical postgame fare you'd read after the game or in the morning at the latest. Having said that, I see this morning that his piece on Marty is already posted. I don't know what his deadline is, but if it's after noon, I'd rather see more analysis and commentary.

But, yeah, SDS, this would be a very cool feature. Not just that, but seeing his stuff earlier than normal, when it's still more relevant... excellent.

[SDS]

PASabreFan, on 17 October 2009 - 09:23 AM, said:

I think the fact that his stuff is posted online in the afternoon (Olean being an afternoon paper) hurts a bit. His articles usually read like the typical postgame fare you'd read after the game or in the morning at the latest. Having said that, I see this morning that his piece on Marty is already posted. I don't know what his deadline is, but if it's after noon, I'd rather see more analysis and commentary.

But, yeah, SDS, this would be a very cool feature. Not just that, but seeing his stuff earlier than normal, when it's still more relevant... excellent.

Are you reading it here or on the Olean?

His stuff gets posted here pretty quickly. Usually within the hour of being completed, or if after midnight - early the next morning.

[Mbossy]

I like it. It's good to read another writer. I get bored reading the same ol' Bucky, Harrington stuff. I usually come right to the board and miss the front page articles, but I'll start looking.

[nfreeman]

SDS, on 17 October 2009 - 09:14 AM, said:

ok, you are an avid hockey reader... Why weren't you reading his pieces if you don't mind me asking?

Well, I hate to say it, but I saw "Olean Times Herald" and didn't really take it seriously. But that's not fair -- the right thing to do is to read his stuff and evaluate it on its own.

[PASabreFan]

SDS, on 17 October 2009 - 09:26 AM, said:

Are you reading it here or on the Olean?

His stuff gets posted here pretty quickly. Usually within the hour of being completed, or if after midnight - early the next morning.

His articles have always been linked in the late afternoon. I don't think I've ever gone to the OTH web site to see if they're available earlier. GoBillsinDallas spoils me so much, I just assumed the articles weren't available before that.

I wasn't referring to the current arrangement.

[nucci]

Good idea. I read the articles daily.

[Eleven]

I had been wondering why the Olean Times Herald was getting special treatment "above the fold" on the main page. (Don't have a problem with it; just was wondering.) I think it would be great if a sportswriter who regularly covers the Sabres wants to interact with us. Isn't there another poster here who is a sportswriter (but not a Sabres writer)--someone from Ohio maybe?

[d4rksabre]

I read most of the articles on the front page, so I think it'd definitely be cool to have a little contact here with an inside media guy, so long as it gets taken seriously.

[SDS]

Mbossy, on 17 October 2009 - 09:35 AM, said:

I like it. It's good to read another writer. I get bored reading the same ol' Bucky, Harrington stuff. I usually come right to the board and miss the front page articles, but I'll start looking.

That's bad. That means we aren't providing a valuable enough service to you.

What do we need to do better?

[tom webster]

Like Freeman, I have wrongfully not read the articles because of the Olean heading. However, I did read the Biron article and it did provide some insight, most notably that Biron did have serious discussions about returning to Buffalo.
I will continue to read him and as far as I'm concerned, anybody with that kind of access and work ethic would be a welcome addition to the forum.

[SDS]

tom webster, on 17 October 2009 - 03:03 PM, said:

Like Freeman, I have wrongfully not read the articles because of the Olean heading. However, I did read the Biron article and it did provide some insight, most notably that Biron did have serious discussions about returning to Buffalo.
I will continue to read him and as far as I'm concerned, anybody with that kind of access and work ethic would be a welcome addition to the forum.

With regards to it being "only" in the Times-Herald - Bill wanted to emphasize that they cover the Sabres, Bills, and Bonnies basketball. They all travel and their in-depth coverage is quite extensive for a paper their size. Bill lives in Tonawanda too, so he's as close to the action as anyone else. He sends me his stuff from the press box...

I'll have to find out whether he wants to field questions here or via email. I know he likes email, but I think something a little more interactive here would be beneficial for all if that is something he is open to doing.

[Knightrider]

nfreeman, on 17 October 2009 - 09:43 AM, said:

Well, I hate to say it, but I saw "Olean Times Herald" and didn't really take it seriously. But that's not fair -- the right thing to do is to read his stuff and evaluate it on its own.

Personally, I think the Olean Times Herald to have a sports page mush more like the older Buffalo News.

Chuck Pollock is my favorite Bills writer (other than Lori ;) )


Scott, you're on a roll!

[red]

nucci, on 17 October 2009 - 10:33 AM, said:

Good idea. I read the articles daily.

"Biron, who was traded to the Flyers in 2007 after parts of nine seasons with the Sabres, had options, however. One of them included a return to Buffalo, where the 32-year-old would’ve backed up Ryan Miller. Even though the Sabres have a No. 2 in Patrick Lalime, Biron said the negotiations were “fairly serious.”

“Was I excited about possibly, maybe even thinking about coming back?” he said. “Definitely. I keep looking in the paper. I watch TV. I want to see what’s going on with (the Sabres). I know 95 percent of the guys very personally.”

But Biron likely would’ve played only about 20-25 games here. To become a starter again, he believes he needs to play regularly. So he signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the Islanders in late July, a move he said wasn’t about money."

Wow!

That would have been pretty cool.

The Sabres, thus far, seem to be the legitimate team in Buffalo right now.

But how cool would that be to have Marty back behind Miller?

I just gained some respect for Regier knowing that he was trying to get Biron back.

[BillHoppe]

If anyone would like to chat, we can do it here or via e-mail at billhoppesabres@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Never hesitate to ask anything.

Bill

[Vanek-Man]

That's sweet. I actually never knew we had a reporter. I check the front page often, usually on game days and usually only clicked on the links to bigger media sources. I also wondered why the Olean times. I usually read a bunch of stuff already in my bookmark but still see the front page for anything i missed. Had no clue this guy had an affiliation with our web site and i will start reading more and more of his stuff.

[PASabreFan]

SDS, on 17 October 2009 - 12:16 PM, said:

That's bad. That means we aren't providing a valuable enough service to you.

What do we need to do better?

If someone had the Aud Club bookmarked, how would they know about the news links? I bet a lot of people are unaware of them.

[Vanek-Man]

PASabreFan, on 17 October 2009 - 04:48 PM, said:

If someone had the Aud Club bookmarked, how would they know about the news links? I bet a lot of people are unaware of them.

Yeah, that's how i come here. Direct link and once in a while when i have time i scroll up and click on the SabreSpace link.