Birthday Shenanigans

Good news, everyone! The Sabres West Coast trip is going to be televised! The Sabres and MSG put their thinking caps on miraclously figured out a way to broadcast these games to one of the biggest hockey markets in the USA. I believe this is a sign of the second coming. Even though we'll still be without Rick Jeanneret, we'll at least be able to watch our Sabres on TV...I know, I know. It's crazy to think that in the year 2009 we have the privilege of being able to watch hockey games on TELEVISION. Technology these days never ceases to amaze me.

Well yesterday was my birthday! I celebrated it pretty low-key. My family took me out to Mother's, a really nice bar/restaurant in the Allentown area. I love Mother's. Usually after hockey games I'll be starving (sorry but Arena food does not equal a meal...unless you're in the 200 suites) and I'll pick up some food from there. Their kitchen is always open late, so if you're ever in the area in the late hours and you're hungry and you could kick back a few, I'd suggest going to Mother's...but it will probably be very crowded. But it's always a good crowd, sometimes a Sabre or two will be in the mix (or...Alex Ovechkin when the Caps are in town. Just sayin'). Today is my mom's birthday so it's pretty cool that our birthdays are only a day apart.

Anyways, I had a real nice dinner last night and tonight I'm going downtown to celebrate with my friends. So that will be fun. I start school on Monday so I guess tonight will be a combination of celebrating my birthday and also saying farewell to my several weeks off...which I enjoyed so much. It feels weird that I'll be going back to school again, but I know May is going to roll around before I know it so it's not too bad. I'm also taking less classes this semester so hopefully it won't be as stressful and as crazy as it was last semester for me.

I'm most likely going to watch the All-Star Games Skills Competition tonight before I go out. That's always the most fun for me when it comes to the All-Star Games. The players are just loose and messing around and having fun with each other. The game itself is just...eh. I don't really watch it in its entirety. I think it's cool when they mic up the goalies when they're on the ice. I remember one year Marty Turco was mic'd up and he was talking to the announcers and he was like, "Hold on...I have to make a save." Good times.

I heard that the NHL is going to suspend a player for one game if they decline an invitation to the All-Star Game without being injured. I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous. The NHL treats the voting process like a joke (Vote For Rory or cheating Habs fans, anyone?) yet they're going to suspend a player if they decide not to participate? Ridiculous. If they want to take a break and relax during one of the only breaks they get during the 82-game schedule then let them. Some players have wives and children that they don't get to see much during the season and they also just want to rest up so they can prepare for the second half of the season. I mean, I'm sure the All-Star Games is very exciting for a lot of players and they love attending, but for those who would just rather stay home and relax, then they should be allowed to without any consequence.

Alright, enough of me ranting... I mainly wanted to make a post so I can show you my creation! Regardless of your political standings or who you voted for/who you support, I thought Barack Obama's HOPE poster that was used throughout the campaign was pretty cool. I just like pop art and I thought the poster was really neat. So, I went along and I created THIS:



Isn't it fabulous?! Now I think sports and politcs go together like oil and water, but I made this just for fun. Not a political statement or anything like that. Although, if Ryan Miller ever announced that he was running for President I would TOTALLY vote for him. Just kidding but not really. Man, I see everyone walking around with that Obama HOPE picture as a t-shirt...I want to screenprint my creation on a t-shirt and rock that shit around. It would probably sell more than the Obama shirts...in Buffalo at least.

All-Star Break

Well last night was a disappointment. After I made a nice little post praising the team's play and how well Ryan Miller has been playing lately and they go and play like a bunch of doofuses the next game. I guess it was bound to happen at some point. The Sabres have like a 54-0-0 record when they play in Tampa Bay and I think Miller has a career record of 573-0-0 against them with a 0 GAA. Sooo you know, these things happen. In all seriousness, I thought the team played much better in the 2nd and 3rd period, but they just couldn't tie it up. I'm not going to get too hung up over the game. They've had a hell of a stretch this month and they've been very impressive. You can't win them all. Let's just hope that they enjoy this break and rest up and get straight back to business.

Unfortunately we are very, very thin at the blueline. Hank Tallinder is now out with a shoulder injury and Lindy wasn't too reassuring when talking about his status. It seems as if we'll be without his services for some time. Although he did say that Sekera may be ready by the end of the break, which is good. I guess the good thing is that this happened right around the All-Star break which gives the Sabres more time to figure out what they're going to do, whether it be calling someone up or making a trade. With the injury problems looming in Portland, it may be time to make a trade and bring someone new in. Who, I don't know... (Max for Pronger or Bouwmeester, totally!!) but maybe Darcy has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The dreaded West coast trip is approaching us. The Sabres have shown that they don't really do the whole different time zone thing. To make matters worse, not only will these four games not be televised, but we are going to be without Rick Jeanneret since he has decided to take his vacation now. Bummer. I'll most likely use an online feed to watch the game, but still it won't be the same without our dear RJ calling the game. Hopefully the Sabres make up for this blasphemy by winning a few for us.

Well since it's going to be quiet in Sabreland and around the rest of the NHL due to the All-Star break, it will be pretty quiet around these parts as well. Perhaps I'll find some shenanigans to write about regarding the All-Star Games. My birthday is also tomorrow! So that's exciting for me. Classes also start up again for me on Monday. So with the All-Star break and my birthday tomorrow along with me getting ready for school again, I might not be posting as frequenty as I usually do.

Take care my fellow Sabres fans and try not to miss our boys (and me, of course) too much while they take this little breather.

Disappointment in Chi-Town

Ehhhh. What a friggn let down. I was all excited for this game, WHY? Beats me. The Sabres started off well and scored the first goal, but then we give up two and the momentum swings the other way. We gave the 'Hawks and their fans life. Especially after that pathetic 6 minute power play. I think the 'Hawks had more shots and chances during that time. How nice. Lalime could have been better, that's for sure...but the loss is not all on him. He's not the reason that the skaters in front of him couldn't bury their chances or score on the aforementioned 6 minute power play. I just hope that Ruff does not lose his faith in Lalime, because we cannot ride Miller for the rest of the season and expect him to continue to play like he has. He needs to be rested if we want him to perform like he's capable of. I hope Lalime plays in one of the games in Florida. So what about Stafford's hit on Duncan Keith? Yay or nay? Dirty or clean? A lot of people think it looks a lot like the Drury hit from Neil back in 06-07. Ben Eager thinks it's a dirty hit. The difference between Stafford's hit and Neil's is that Drury's hit was late and there was a high elbow involved. I don't think Drew's elbow was high.

Sekera is out with a lower body injury and Lindy said that he might be out for awhile. I guess the positive to come out of that is it means that Butler will be able to remain in the lineup without being scratched or having to be sent down to Portland. I really hope that the Sabres haven't become too complacent with winning on the road, because then they're going to start to coast and think that they can take nights off.

So tonight the team is facing the Dallas Stars. They've struggled and have faced some adversity this season, between the disaster that is Sean Avery and Marty Turco having a hard time finding his groove. But after the Stars cut things off with Avery, they've seem to be a better team...go figure. But Turco is still having a hard time so hopefully the Sabres can exploit that and capitalize on that. Maybe then we won't have to sit and listen to another post-game interview where various members of the team say, "We have to bury our chances." or "We have to be better."

I had a nightmare last night that the Sabres lost to the Stars 9-4. But since it was a dream it was a little more bizarre than a normal hockey game. We were playing at home and we were down 9-0 but we "rallied" to score 4 goals. It was terrible. I was so relieved to wake up and realize that I just had a bad dream. I wonder what the Sabres dream about after a bad loss? Or do they even sleep at all?

Well, what most females do after they're bummed over something is go shopping! I'm going to the Galleria in a little bit to do some ~serious~ shopping. And by serious I mean I am looking for a dress for Catwalk for Charity. I've seen a few that I've liked online, but I figured I'd take a look around some stores at the mall before I go ahead and buy one online. Ladies (and gents), you have no idea how excited I am to dress up for this event. 1920s glamour is so fabulous. I am going to try my best to pay homage to my favorite lady, Marilyn Monroe. She played the loveable Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot. One of my favorite movies. It's a classic. It's considered one of the best comedies of all time. It's about two musicians who witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 and they flee town because they're being chased by the mob. They join an all-female band and they disguise themselves as women. That's where they meet the beautiful singer Sugar Kane and they both fall for her. They try to earn her affection all the while trying to maintain their cover as being two women. It's a very cute and hilarious movie. Marilyn as always looks beautiful and her 20s get ups are beautiful and glamorous. Now if only I could have an Oscar winning costume designer make me an outfit for Catwalk, but that just isn't in the cards now is it, baby? I'll still try my best to represent my homegirl...I have a few tricks up my sleeve.


Beautiful :')

Oh, and it appears that Carey Price will be unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to a nagging ankle injury (take that, you whacky ballot stuffers Habs fans). That means there's a third spot open for a goalie (Tim Thomas and Henrik Lundqvist are the two reserves). Could Ryan Miller get the invite?

Ranger Danger

So our favorite Austrian has been chosen to represent the Sabres at the 2009 All-Star games in Montreal. Good for him. I think it was obvious that he was a lock to go. I don't know if I'll watch the actual game, but I'll probably tune in for the skills competition. Pretty funny that only four teams in the NHL will be representing the starting lineup. But with all of the glorious tools that the internet provides us, computer nerds and crazy hockey fans can team up and find ways to overflow the ballots with players that aren't so deserving to be there with cheat codes and whatnot. How special. It doesn't really matter in the longrun...I mean, it's the All-Star games. The only thing I remember from last year's All-Star game is Alex Ovechkin showing off in the shootout skills competition.

I'm sure everyone is aware by now that Tim Connolly is returning to the lineup. We'll see how this goes. At this point I was just convinced that a healthy Tim Connolly was some sort of urban legend, passed down from Sabres fan to Sabres fan. All kidding aside, we can only hope that he'll be an asset. I hope the players don't try to get too fancy with him in the lineup, and I hope his return doesn't mess with any team chemistry. There's always a fear that will happen whenever a player is returning from a long injury. I'm pulling for you, Timmy. But I won't pull too hard, because I know you're pretty fragile. It might cause a groin pull or something.

So tonight's matchup is the New York Rangers. Hmmm. Do we all still hate Chris Drury? Are we going to laugh when Dmitri Kalinin is burned by our offense? Will the Rangers give up 12 short-handed goals tonight? I guess we'll find out. Ryan Miller is in net tonight. I guess it's safe to assume that he'll be in tomorrow night as well, considering they'll be in Michigan. Plus, I think we'll want our #1 goalie in against the big, bad Red Wings.

Ryan Miller's dad e-mailed me the other day. Crazy stuff. "They even bother my poor father cuz he's down with me!" I had to throw in a Run DMC reference in there some how. Tr-tr-tr-trickyyyyyyy.

I've got the Blues

Can I start off by saying that right now I'm pretty stressed out. I have a paper due tomorrow that I haven't begun, and I know I won't write it because I'm not prepared to answer the question. So it's stressing me out knowing that I'm going to turn it in late. I'm also bothered because my right knee is acting all wonky and busted. I don't know what I did but I pulled a muscle behind my knee and around my groin. I am walking so wonky right now you wouldn't believe! I didn't go to class today because of all the walking I would have to endure and I thought giving the knee a day off wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I should give old Timmy Connolly a call and ask him how to cope with these injuries. Oh, he's too busy nursing his bruised chest back to health? Rats...

Onto happier things...it only took thirteen years, but the Sabres have finally beaten the St. Louis Blues on home ice! Atta boys! Oh, and Hank's goal celebration was so awesome, that Sabres TV decided to post it and everything for your viewing pleasure. And this little tid bit from Sabres.com is just priceless:

The Sabres enjoyed a laugh at the expense of defenseman Henrik Tallinder following practice.

As players entered the locker room, a video of the blueliner’s goal looped to Chubby Checker’s version of “The Twist.”

Hahaha. Thumbs up to whoever made that video. Awesome.


Go ahead, Hank!

Kudos to Andrew Peters last night. Two fights in one period? Excellent. Overall, it was great seeing the Sabres score three goals in a row like that (Sorry, Manny), but then they sort of sat back on their early lead and kept letting the Blues creep in instead of closing the door altogether. But then I thought they settled down and earned two points. Great. Not too much to complain about when your team earns two points.

Oh and what's going on in voting land, Sabres fans? Are you all voted out after that crazy election we had a few weeks ago? Maybe that explains why the Canadiens are owning in every category in the East. No, that's probably because Habs fans can be a little batshit crazy sometimes. But what's up with poor Ryan Miller being the only Sabre representing us right now. No Vanek? No Teppo? No...er, Roy? Okay, maybe that's a given. Ryan is only hanging in there as it is, vote his skinny ass into the All-Star game! In all honesty, I don't really care about the All-Star game. It's a little....how do I put it? Boring Lackluster. But it's still fun seeing our boys there. I won't cry myself to sleep if Ryan Miller or Teppo Numminen aren't voted into the All-Star game but hey, it would be fun seeing them there proudly representing the blue and gold. So stop being lazy and get on that annoying, lagging voting website and DO THE RIGHT THING.