Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Hello strangers! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been very busy working and going back to school, but the truth is that I just haven't been real inspired to write about the Sabres. But now that the Sabres are right in the thick of things in the playoff race coupled with the new revelations about the change in ownership, it's made me want to throw in my two cents.

It's exciting that the Sabres are only 6 points out of 8th place with 3 games in hand. It was so frustrating watching them play solid hockey and get the 2 points, but seeing them just treading in 12-11th place. I was actually pretty surprised to see how well their record has been lately, because it felt like every loss was just another nail in the coffin. But here they are, after the All-Star break and they have a chance to make a real run. In the past few seasons where the Sabres missed the playoffs, they put themselves in a position where they needed other teams to help them out by winning/losing certain games in order for them to make the playoffs. I hate that, I'm sure everyone does. It's not exactly an ideal position to be in. But as of now, the Sabres don't need any team's help as long as they can play good hockey and win their games.

I never realized how appropriate Michael Jackon's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was for the Sabres victory song. I'm sure everyone has heard it playing in the background of post-game interviews after a win. At first I thought it was just an amusing, goofy song to play because Michael Jackson isn't exactly the first musician you would expect to be playing in a professional sports team's locker room. But that's what the Sabres have been doing, they've been keeping on with the force even when things were pretty grim, and they have put themselves in a decent position. But there is still a lot of work to be done and it's going to be a hard-fought battle for the remainder of the season to make the playoffs. By the way, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is one of my favorite songs to dance to in the Michael Jackson: The Experience video game for the Wii. My birthday was last week and it was my birthday present...that game is ridiculously fun!



"Keep on with the force, don't stop. Don't stop 'til you get enough!" MJ speaks the truth, Sabres.

Moving on, today was quite the fun day for Sabres fans and the media, wasn't it? The Sabres have finally announced the sale of the team to Terry Pegula. It's always exciting when something new happens to a sports team, especially when it's something as big as new ownership. It gives plenty of things for fans and the media to speculate and fantasize about. Pegula seems like a man who loves hockey and who has wanted to own the Sabres for quite some time, so it's going to be fun to see what happens when he is officially handed the reigns.

Although I was disappointed to read The Buffalo News article on Pegula's gas drilling violations. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, a billionaire who made his profits on natural gas drilling is bound to have some dirty laundry. While I'm no expert on how to become a billionaire (too bad), I'd imagine that ethics, morals, and honesty are sometimes put on the back burner when you're making your profits. But I love the Sabres and I always will, so I can only hope that Pegula will bring nothing but success to the team. I couldn't help but think of Paul Gaustad spitting out his Kick Save Krunch when was reading that article in the Sunday paper, though.

Sabres fans also found out about Darcy Regier's ~super secret~ contract extension he received last fall, which created quite a stir. Honestly, when I read the article I basically just shrugged to myself and said, "Oh, okay." I really didn't expect Pegula to come in and immediately fire Darcy, and even if that was his intention, he could still do so regardless of this extension. What did intrigue me though was the revelation that Lindy Ruff was offered an extension as well but rejected it. Which explains why the Sabres didn't publicize Darcy's extension, because questions would have been asked regarding Lindy's status had they announced Regier's extension. But why didn't Lindy take the extension? I love Lindy, and I'm attached to him. I'm not afraid to admit it either. I feel like sometimes fans are afraid to admit that they get attached to certain players or coaches because you're not "supposed to", like it makes you look unprofessional or something. Well guess what? I'm a fan and I get attached to players and I'm also attached to the head coach who has coached my beloved Sabres since 1997. My heart melted when I was watching his interview on the news and he smiled while he said, "Yeah, I want to be here." when he was asked. So why didn't you sign, Lindy?! The world may never know. I hope he sticks around though. I like that guy.

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