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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

Thank you NYS politics and politicians.

What else could the difference maker be?
If I were starting a business or in need to relocate a business, NY would be near the very bottom of my list and that certainly plays out in the economic numbers.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

...State Taxes might have to do with it.

Look at the cost-differential for typical commodities as well as state income-taxes. If you ass-rape your citizenry to support bloated social-programs, it diminishes their buying-power and disposable income.

Compare typical middle-class purchases for cigarettes, gasoline, beer and liquor, entertainment and dining out...it all adds up.

Look at mill-taxes in Erie county...sky-high.

Allegheny county, where pittsburgh is located in, has one of the highest sales taxes in the state, in at 7%

i believe, and i may be wrong, erie couty is 9.50%(?)

clothing tax, none

also, a fiar fact you neglected to mention tho

Pirates havent won the world series since the 70s, and havent had a winning season since I was born(1992 season was their last)

Buffalo, thanks to Cleveland, has never had a MLB baseball team

besides, if it wasnt for the parties, we would have super bowls

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PSA: I am an overly sarcastic person. If you take me at my word, then i will most likely anger and offend you.

No, if it wasn't for the dome not being built in Lancaster, we'd have Super Bowls.

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mechaphil

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

I really like your post, but are you calling us losers(in general). I mean, our representatives are supposed to represent us, so what's the deal? I guess if you're searching for an answer, then fine. I hope you weren't supporting the notion we are just inferior. Maybe I missed the WHOLE point of this thread. It's possible as me and the old lady are arguing, and I'm "compensating".

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

Sweet man. I've made the parallel to this myself a few times. I have no idea why though, and have heard few good explanations. I'd have to assume it's based on good business sense. You're going to have experts in any field, and they will only be as good as the presodint's ability to spot said talent(or even hire people who are talent spotters for that matter). I guess they've just had better ownership, period?

/remember though, even the losing owner is still purdy fat though, right?

I think luck plays more of a role in sports, particularly hockey, than many people give credit for. Take a "gimme" goal and replay it 500 times and you might see some of the following:

Puck bounces over the stick
Puck gets up on end and sails over the net
Shooter shoots the puck right into the diving goalie's glove
Shooter shoots the puck into the crossbar, deflecting high
Shooter shoots the puck into the crossbar, deflecting into the net
Shooter shoots the puck into the crossbar, deflecting onto the goalie's back (or a defenseman's) and it sits in the crease
Shooter shoots the puck into the crossbar, deflecting onto the goalie's back (or a defenseman's) and it bounces into the net
Shooter snaps his stick, puck goes in anyway
Shooter snaps his stick, puck goes wide

I think when a player has a great scoring chance, often a "great save" is simply the player shooting the puck into the goaltender. The goalie got himself into position to have a chance to make the save. Sometimes it's great reaction, sometimes the puck just hits him. Sometimes they score. The former two, and it's a great save. The latter and it's a great shot or the goalie had "no chance".

Think about all the scoring chances throughout a game and how things could have been different. If the puck had bounced a little different. If the ref or linesman hadn't gotten in the way. If the puck had settled down. If it deflected in instead of out.

Great players aren't great players because on this play they're going to score, make the pass or make the save. There are so many variables on any given play, that it's almost more of a butterfly effect kind of thing. What makes the great players great is that they put themselves in position to have better and more frequent chances. They can still have the puck roll on them, or snap their stick, just like anyone else. They will still sometimes shoot the puck right into the goalie's chest. They just don't do these things as often.

Why do you think they say make it to the playoffs and anything can happen? Because anything can, and will, happen. The best teams put themselves in the most advantageous positions frequently. The worst teams vice versa. Yet the worst team can still come out and beat the best. Buffalo had their chances for championships. One field goal changes the story. One foot in the crease might have breathed new life into a hockey team. 2/3 of a starting defense not going down to injury may have given Buffalo its best shot. I'm sure there were bounces and things in the finals against Philly (before my time) that might have changed things around.

I think I've formed this opinion after playing poker. The best players put themselves in position to win more often. Yet they can still be victimized by the cards on any given hand. Play one hand of poker and you likely won't be able to tell the amateur from the professional from the world class player. Play 1,000 hands and the skill comes to the front.

Look at Paille's promising season with Buffalo last year. Yet how many of his goals were shots that went in off his skate/leg/chest? Lots of luck went into those goals. Yet a player's achievement will tend to reflect their actual skill level over the course of a career.

I guess all I'm saying is that luck plays a major factor in sports. Projected out an infinite amount of times, you could determine the best player/team/franchise. But it's a statistically inadequate sample size. Have the '99 Sabres play the '99 Stars and infinite number of times and how does it turn out? If just a few things here or there bounced one way or another. I think it could alter the outcome. It's like flipping a coin once, it comes up heads, so you say heads is better than tails at coin flipping. There's no way to know for sure how luck relates to performance and results in sports.

Sorry for being long-winded. Guess I just don't want to go to bed yet.

Ham

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Do you believe yet?