Say it ain't so, Jim!

Well, it's a sad day for Sabres fans. News broke today that no one really saw coming: Sabres color analyst Jim Lorentz is retiring.

During the final three preseason games, the team will use three different former Sabres players as the color commentator during the radio broadcasts -- Matthew Barnaby (Wednesday vs. Toronto), John Tucker (Friday at Pittsburgh) and Mike Robitaille (Saturday vs. Pittsburgh).

Lorentz has been a staple of Sabres television broadcasts since 1992. He spent 7 years as a player in the organization.

This is pretty much the beginning of the end of Rick Jeanneret as well. I can't imagine that he'll stick around for much longer, especially with the way the team seems to be regressing.

So, from all of us, thanks Jim, for years of blatantly obvious observations and witty comments.

Here's a selection from YouTube, part of the broadcast for the last game in the Aud.