No One On The Corner Has Swagger Like Us

That lyric was what first popped into my mind when Miller repeatedly used one of my favorite words, "swagger". The lyrics are from M.I.A.'s most popular song, Paper Planes, incase you didn't know. Great song, great musician. She's one of my favorites. You should check her out if you haven't. I digress. After listening to some of the player's interviews from the locker room cleanout and reading articles and write-ups about it, Ryan Miller's words were the most insightful and I understand the message he is trying to put out. Maybe this team needs to go see a sports psychologist. The most frustrating thing for me is that I really think this team is capable of being contenders. Yet here we are, on the outside looking in, just like last year. I know a lot of people just say, "Face it...this team just isn't that good." but I don't buy that. I'm not saying that the organization shouldn't try and maybe look for help from outside the organization, but I also don't believe that this team isn't talented enough to get the job done. I just think that the team has showed numerous times over the season that they can compete with top teams, but for some reason they lose focus and that's what kills them. As a fan I can only speculate, and to be honest I don't really have any theories which is probably because I can't fully undertand, as I am not apart of the team. But Miller's theories are very compelling.

I don't see how this team can move forward if people are going to keep harping on Drury and Briere. I'm sick and tired of having everything always going back to them, but maybe the Sabres put that on themselves as they have not had a playoff berth since those two left the team, so it makes it easier for the media and the fans to go back to Drury and Briere. I just want fans to forget about them...it's fun to look back and reflect on the better times, but I just can't stand it when people go into "What if?" scenarios and discuss where this team would be if they somehow managed to keep one or both on the team. I even hear some people refer to Martin Biron after we've lost a game with our backup goalie in net. Nevermind the fact that Marty made it clear he was unhappy being a backup goalie... unless fans would rather have Martin Biron instead of Ryan Miller as our number 1 goalie. So I don't understand when fans bring that up.

I guess it's obvious that this team is still searching for their own identity, as a few players and Lindy have mentioned that. Miller referred to it as growing pains. Unfortunately while the team is going through their growing pains they are also missing the playoffs, which is an experience that some of the young players on the team don't have yet.

In other news that came from locker room clean out day, it seems as though Pominville has an undisclosed injury and he was pretty vague about it, but he did say that he might have a procedure done over the summer which might prevent him from participating in the World Championships. Miller also said that he declined an invitation so he can have an entire offseason to rest his ankle. Not really surprising. Maxim Afinogenov also implied that he will not be here next year. I know most fans knew that already, but still...I cannot help but feel a sense of attachment towards Max since he's been with the Sabres for so long. I'm not advocating that the team keeps him, but it's still a little sad to see him go. All in all, he was a very exciting player to watch but he also could be very frustrating. I think a change of scenery will do him well and I wish him success wherever he ends up. You could never question Max's effort, and that's something that I've always appreciated from him.

So unfortunately the Sabres season is over, but the playoffs are right around the corner. I'm not one to make predictions, but I do have certain teams that I'll be keeping a closer eye on than others, and hoping that certain teams have more success than others. As the East goes, the Capitals are an exciting young team, and maybe they have what it takes to go all the way this year. I really hope they take out the Rangers. And that's not just because of the whole Gomez-Miller incident, or the fact that they essentially knocked us out of a playoff spot...but for as long as I've followed hockey I have always had a dislike for the Rangers. A dislike that has developed over the years. So I really hope they get knocked out in the first round by the Caps. The Devils-Hurricanes match-up will most likely be an exciting, hard fought series...I am hoping the Devils prevail as a Sabres fan it's pretty hard to root for the Hurricanes. Plus I like Brodeur. I know a lot of fans don't like the trap, but whatever. I'll still root for the Devils over the Hurricanes any day. Montreal and Boston have a lot of history with one another, which could make for an exciting series, but I'm not sure how evenly matched the series will be as Montreal has had their fair share of struggles and Boston has really been on a tear for essentially the entire season. But it's a whole new season once the playoffs roll around.

Onto the West, it's time for the Sharks to prove their critics wrong by not making another early exit in the postseason. They are a tricky team for me because they always seem to have a strong regular season, but then seem to struggle and disappoint in the offseason. Anaheim is a tough team with recent playoff success, so I can see them making it hard for the Sharks. I think I'd like the see the Blues prevail over Vancouver, just because they were bottom dwellers in the league and they worked hard to earn a playoff spot. You have to admire that, and what can I say, I am a sucker for the underdog. Must have something to do with me being a Buffalo sports fan. I guess I should root for Chicago since there are Buffalo ties there with Pat Kane (and Brian Campbell I suppose), but I've also always admired the Calgary Flames and I think Jarome Iginla is one of the best players in the league. So either way, I wouldn't mind who comes out on top...I just hope to see some good hockey.

For the teams I didn't mention, it's just because I couldn't care less what the outcome is. Or I can't decide. Like the Flyers-Penguins match-up, I pretty much dislike both teams...so I don't really care who wins. I guess I could chose the Flyers because of our good pal, Marty...but honestly I don't care.

I also promised that I'd keep people up to date if I happened to see any Sabres out and about during the offseason. But now I am sort of regretting that I said anything. I don't want the players to feel as though their entire lives will be documented whenever they take a step outside their front door. But at the same time, there's no harm in discussing an innocent encounter. As long as there's no vicious gossip involved because that's never any fun. Okay, maybe it's fun sometimes. All I'll say is that there may or may not have been an encounter late Saturday night/early Sunday morning around 4:30 AM and a certain sassy goalie may or may not have been spotted by a certain someone. Alcohol may or may not have been involved. But hilarity was definitely ensued. That's all I'm sayin'.

The weather is going to be really nice this week, go out and enjoy it!

Creepin' On Up

Firstly, I feel as though I should mention the awful tragedy that has hit Taylor Pyatt, as his fiancée was killed in a car accident yesterday while on vacation. My condolences go out to Taylor and his family, and my thoughts will be with them. Hopefully he's given the strength and support he needs during this difficult time in his life.

On a lighter note...with tonight's victory coupled with Florida's loss, the Sabres are still finding ways to make this final stretch pretty interesting. I've said all I want out of this stretch is a playoff berth honest and hard work that hopefully results in wins. Well, tonight we got that.

It was a very fast paced game and I didn't feel as though the team was out of it despite the numerous dumb penalties they took and letting Washington score right after we tied it up. A lot of times you just know a loss is coming, and it's just inevitable that they're going to let the opposing team have their way with them or they're just not going to be able to get it done and score the equalizer. But tonight they kept pressing and I was confident that they were going to net a goal to tie the game. Even after Max scored that goal that was waived off. Which was bogus. I never like it when a player gets penalized for goaltender interference when the goalie's own teammate is the one to push the opposing player into the goalie. So I didn't like it when his goal was waived off after he was pushed into the goalie and didn't go in on his own accord. But I was glad to see Max score another one despite that. Max has looked really good ever since he's been inserted back into the lineup and I was disappointed to see him scratched the past two games. Hopefully he'll stay in the lineup for the remaining 5 games because I really like how he's playing. I thought Derek Roy looked good at times but then he also looked pretty bad. He took some pretty undisciplined penalties and inopportune moments. It was very frustrating to see the team take penalties one after another like that, giving Washington multiple 5-on-3's when they were already up a man. Especially since the Sabres have gotten into trouble with that before. I thought the team really helped eachother out tonight which is what lead them to their victory. Miller let in a few bad and untimely goals, but his teammates didn't give up and they battled back to get to overtime and eventually win the game. And on the other hand, when the team took penalty after penalty, Miller held his ground and came up big to kill off a lot of those penalties.

The best moment of the game for me (aside from Pominville's OT winner) was seeing Miller get all sassy after Ovechkin blew right into him. I don't like seeing any player crash into our goalie like that (especially since Ryan is just coming off an injury), but I got a kick out of seeing Ryan shove Ovechkin afterwords. It was also funny seeing AO's reaction to it...he seemed kind of taken aback. Ovechkin has always amused me (it probably has something to do with him having the enthusiasm of an 8-year-old coupled with the fact that he looks like a caveman) so it was just amusing to see Ryan all pissed off and shoving him while Ovechkin is laying in the crease with a look of shock on his face. Ryan's post-game comments on it were pretty funny too. He said something along the lines of how he wasn't planning on beating Ovechkin up, it was just his way of saying, "What the hell?" to him. Sums it up pretty nicely haha.

So tomorrow will be another interesting night. The Sabres take on the Devils who have been struggling as of late (although they did win tonight in overtime against Tampa) and the Rangers face the Bruins in the afternoon. The Sabres have a game in hand on Florida and a Rangers loss tomorrow coupled with a Sabres win would put the Sabres 2 points back on the Rangers with a game in hand...again, all I'm asking for is an honest, hard working effort and hopefully the good results will follow. I might miss some or all of the game tomorrow due to the fact that I have a date with some shisha and a hookah. I normally don't go out during game nights, but I haven't gotten together with my friends in awhile and I haven't smoked hookah in quite some time. So we'll see when that all happens. Either way I'll record the game on DVR so I'll eventually watch it.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Playoffs?! You Kiddin' Me?

Obligatory Jim Mora quote. Don't you love this new-age technology and its offerings? Blogging is such a good way for us to vent whatever we feel the need to vent about. And anyone else who feels the same way can put in their two cents or simply just say, "Fuck yeah!". Blogging is a perfect outlet for angry sports fans alike. Now onto the venting...

Up 3-1 and they still found a way to lose against a shitty team. Those final 3 seconds of that period will haunt that team (and me) while they're teeing off at the golf course in April. Okay, so we didn't lose any ground tonight...but we didn't gain any. Tonight would have been a perfect night to snag 2 points considering many of the teams we are chasing lost tonight or only got a point. Unbelievable. And the fact that we were only three seconds away from walking away victorious...what a punch to the stomach. What was a real fun game to watch turned into a real heartbreak real fast.

...but I did see Ryan Miller wearing a chef's hat today. Try not to be too jealous.

More about the goalie/chef later. The team dominated the game after they scored those 3 unanswered goals. I thought Max had a great game. I was real proud of him. Too bad his great effort tonight is overshadowed by such a disappointing loss. That shorthanded goal was killer...as they usually are. Just terrible. I thought the officiating tonight was pretty slanted, but it really didn't affect the outcome of the game. Yeah, Atlanta scored a power play goal in the first period...but it wasn't the ref's fault that we got scored on shorthanded. It wasn't the ref's fault that we couldn't clear our zone with 3 seconds left in regulation to end the game. Brutal. The mental lapse that resulted in the shorthanded goal and the mental lapse at the very end of the game cost the team the game. I cringed when I saw Pominville fan on his clear attempt...but the worst part was seeing how Lalime was this close to covering up the puck while it was sitting idle in the crease before it was tapped in.

Pominville had many great chances tonight that he missed on...he certainly has a big, black cloud looming over him. I don't understand why the guy gets so much praise from people because he answers to the media after a tough loss...it's not like he's saying anything of substance. Just a bunch of empty clichés and "Definitely's". Not impressed. I don't mean to be harsh on Jason because I really like him as a player and he is very talented, and I really do believe that he'll come around. Whether it will be this season remains to be seen. Every player has an off year and it does not define them as what kind of player they can be. Now I really don't want to knock against Lalime, because I really think he's been doing a good job ever since Miller went down...but sheesh, his rebound control is pretty bad. It's been pretty poor the entire season and I have not seen any improvements. He had problems handling the puck tonight and it resulted in the first goal...but shit happens. I'm not blaming him at all for tonight's loss and I thought he was solid in the shootout, but I would like to see better rebound control from him.

Don't really know what to think about this team. What an enigma. To put any positive spin on them is that they're only two points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand...but the season is winding down. And they are not seizing the moment and grabbing real important points. Come on Sabres, I know you can do it. Throw a sister a bone here. Alright, I'm sure some of you are probably reading this and still thinking, "Did she say she saw Ryan Miller wearing a chef's hat today? Whaaa?"

Well, today my friend Scott and I took a lovely stroll down Elmwood because the weather was so nice and we took some pictures. Elmwood was pretty lively today which I'm sure can be attributed to it being Saturday and the weather being so nice. We stopped into Delish!, a bakery, and I see some stylish skinny dude wearing a chef's hat. I was like, "Is that who I think it is..." And of course, it was. Ryan was helping out Carly's Club and he was preparing a meal for the kids who are apart of Carly's Club and their families. How awesome. Let me tell you, he knows how to rock a chef's hat. And I'm sure he looks just as fierce in his board shorts and goggles as he does in his chef's hat. I know everyone's well aware of all the charity work Ryan does, but I still have to give him props for it whenever I can. It's just really cool to see. I'm sure he knows how special it is for the kids to be able to spend time with him and it's just really nice to see how much fun the kids have with him. And hello, when's the next time I'm going to be able to see Ryan Miller wearing a chef's hat?

So despite the utterly frustrating game tonight, my weekend has certainly been very interesting and fun. Last night my school was holding a special night due to it being Friday the 13th. So I drove on over to the Buff State campus and I was treated to a fabulous drag show, tarot card & palm readings, and I had some delicious love potion (come and get me, boys). Let me just say that the drag queens were fierce as hell. They were awesome and sassy. And then today on Elmwood I got to see Ryan Miller cooking up a storm and I met a puppy bulldog named George. I pretty much love my life. I'm not complaining...but it certainly would be better if my beloved hockey team could stop messing with my heart and win some games. At least the St. Patrick's Day parade is tomorrow. I'll drown all my hockey sorrows with green beer.

Eventful Day

Today certainly was a busy day for the Sabres. With the trade deadline today and then a game directly following, it was pretty eventful. I guess I should touch on the trades this team made before I talk about the game...

I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the moves Darcy made today, and I think a lot of people were surprised in how active he was. Firstly we signed Connolly to an extension. I've said before that a 2-year contract is ideal for Timmy's situation, so that was nice to see. The Sabres will be able to evaluate whether or not Timmy will be able to remain healthy for an entire season and then they can go from there. We've got ourselves another goalie, Mikael Tellqvist, which provides us with some insurance. A lot of fans are worried by this move because it might indicate that Miller is going to be out longer than anticipated. I don't think this is necessarily the case. Ruff has said that Ryan is progressing well, but setbacks can happen so Tellqvist provides this team insurance. It also helps out Portland because they heavily relied on Enroth until he got called up, so now he can be back between the pipes for them and it will also benefit him in the long run because he'll be playing instead of riding the bench. I am very glad that we got Dominic Moore. He's been having a pretty good season in Toronto and he's a good faceoff man. I've heard he's good on the special teams so that's another nice incentive. Fans say that he's a guy who plays with a lot of heart and effort so that's always a good thing. I'm excited to see what he can do for us. We had one departure, and that was Ales Kotalik. I have to say I've never been a big fan of Ales. He often played as though he was very uninspired and he took lazy penalties. He was money in the shootout though. It's a little sad to see him go just because he's been with the organization for so long, and I wish him success in Edmonton. A good thing is he'll be out West so we won't have to worry about facing him in the shootout too often.

Now onto the game...a very satisfying win for the team. Lalime finally got the offensive support that he needed and he was very strong for us making 38 saves. He really deserved that shutout, but oh well. In the first half of the first period he played very strong and he made key saves for the team until the Sabres found their scoring touch...very similiar to what Miller has done for this team night in and night out. It was real nice to see Vanek out there again. He's been so missed and I'm excited to have him back in the lineup. Gaustad also came up huge tonight, scoring both a power play goal and a shorthanded goal. Very nice.

I have to say that I really enjoyed seeing Max out there again. I admit that I have a soft spot for him, so it made me happy to see him back out there and he looked pretty good. I'm sure it felt real good for him to get back onto the ice after being scratched for several weeks straight and to go out there and have a nice game. Hopefully he can build on that and he can contribute to the team while he's here.

All in all it was a very entertaining game and it's nice to see this team finally get a much-needed victory amidst a tight playoff race. We're still right in the thick of things, and we've got a game or two in hand with the teams currently keeping us out of a playoff spot. Of course, games in hand only matter if you win them...so here's hoping.

I can't believe that I am almost halfway done with this semester already. It seems like I have nothing to show for it, but I've got a few assignments coming up so maybe this is the calm before the storm. Actually it isn't, as this is a very busy week for me school-wise. I am glad that I am halfway through the week. I've got three papers that I have to do and I am going to try and get a leg up on it and work on some of them in my downtime tomorrow between classes. I have a bad habit if procrastinating, but I also work good under pressure, so to speak. The night before I have a big assignment due, I usually crack down and get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. Of course leading up to the night before I am usually stressing over the assignment so it would be nice to actually do the work earlier so I don't have to worry.

I'm so glad that this weekend is going to be nice. My friends and I plan on spending time in the city and taking some pictures. I feel like I haven't taken as many pictures as I should and it makes me feel a little guilty, being a photo student and all. I found an unopened package of Polaroid film the other day and it got me real excited. I thought I had some film lying around, but when I coudn't find it I thought I was mistaken. I'll definitely have to use it conservatively and hopefully I find something neat to photograph with it. Over the summer I took some Polaroids at the Erie County Fair and the pictures turned out real neat with the carnival-esq look to it. My friends and I also plan on smoking some hookah too. Have you guys ever done it? A hookah is a device for smoking, and you can smoke shisha with it, which is flavored tobacco. It's very common in Middle Eastern countries and it's pretty relaxing. There's a hookah bar on Hertel that we like to go to, so hopefully we get to do that too. I've also been wanting to try out Falafel Bar's new location on Allen.

So the win tonight and our new acquisitions have me feeling pretty optimistic. Between the nice weekend that I have planned and the upcoming games, it's helping me get through this hectic week at school. I'll have to get some studying and work done between my plans and the games, but that's alright. Another really cool thing is that my dad is interviewing Wayne Gretzky on Friday. How cool is that? He isn't actually the interviewer, per se, but my dad is a freelance producer and he has done a lot of work with the Sabres in the past. I'd really love to be there, but it's probably a little unprofessional to tag along with my dad just to get a glimpse of The Great One.

Progress!

So, it still isn't much of an update, but it's something! Ryan Miller and his wonky eyebrow ankle are feeling better. Ruff said there's still no time-frame, but hey, at least it's something positive, right? Hopefully it gets better and heals quickly like Thomas Vanek's jaw seemed to. Thomas was being such a tease when he was all, "LOL @ me getting better in 4 weeks, it's more like 5-6 weeks lol so sry." on his blog. Ryan also updated his blog and he talks about what he's doing to get his ankle to heal and to stay in shape. He also discusses that he's going to have a new mask when he returns and that he's too afraid to get tattoos. Thanks for your blog Ryan, it truly is a gem.

So tomorrow is the TRADE DEADLINE...dun dun dun. Or as Anne would call it, the BEST DAY EVER. What's going to go down? Last year the hot story around Buffalo was Brian Campbell and we all know how that ended. But there really hasn't been all that much around here...except for Tim Connolly. Will he be traded? I doubt it. We really need him around if this team is serious about making the playoffs. So does that mean we're going to lose him to free agency? Who knows. As much as we want to know the inside scoop, we really don't know what happens behind closed doors and we don't know what direction both the Sabres and Tim Connolly want to head. I'd like to think that the Sabres and Timmy can get a deal done before he becomes an UFA come this July, but I really have no idea what's going to happen and I'm not going to sit here and speculate. Other players on the team that have been discussed about being moved are Henrik Tallinder and Maxim Afinogenov. Everyone's been disappointed with Hank ever since his arm injuries because he hasn't been the same defenseman since. Then there's Max. Max, Max, Max. I think the Sabres have been trying to move him for some time now, but they just haven't gotten any takers. Honestly at this point, I don't see how he'd hurt the lineup. Not with the way some players have been playing lately. Players like Hecht have been really disappointing night in and night out so how about we see how Max does for a game. Apparently he might be ready to go tomorrow night (if he isn't traded) so it'll be interesting if he does get to play.

So will Darcy make a move? I can't see how he wouldn't. He's not been known to do anything drastic, but I'm sure he'll acquire something to try and improve the squad. I know he gets a lot of shit, but I wish people would stop acting as if they could run a sports franchise with ease. There's just so much that goes on behind the scenes that we don't know about, so people shouldn't act as if they could do a better job than Darcy. People sit there and wonder why he hasn't acquired or signed a superstar defenseman yet, as if it's so easy to go out there and pick one up. If only it was as simple as calling up a GM from another team and say, "Gimme this guy, thanks." I'm not saying that Regier is the best GM in all of hockey and that he doesn't make mistakes, I just wish people would stop acting like they could do a better job when they really have no business talking about running a sports franchise because they haven't got a clue to what goes on.

Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. So with the trade deadline tomorrow and hearing some reassuring news about Miller, I guess it's been an OK day in Sabreland. Not great, considering we're now in 9th place and we're on a 3-game losing streak, yadda yadda yadda. But now that Vanek is back maybe this team's morale (and offense) will be given a boost and they can turn the tides a bit. And hopefully that 3 1/2 hour meeting that went down yesterday did some good. We can only hope.

Oh and has Blogger been acting wonky for anyone else lately? It has been for me for the past week or so. Just wondering if it's just me.

Well...

I think it's safe to say that this team is in trouble. Losing to the Islanders? Not even losing, but being shutout? Terrible. Look, I know on any given night any team can beat any other team, despite their records, but...this is the Islanders. We are better than them, aren't we? It's not like they dominated us, far from it...but good god. I said before this game that if they lose then I am going to be very concerned. As Tim Gunn would say, this worries me. Um...at least Florida and Carolina lost? Yay? For some reason that does not comfort me in the least. Not when your team just got shutout by the ISLANDERS. Shit, if coaches always get canned after their team loses to the Maple Leafs, then where does that leave us?

Oh and can we please buy this guy a win? What the hell is he going to have to do to get another W in his record? Score a hat-trick? Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Look Sabres, if you don't give a shit about remaining in the top-8, the least you could do is win for your backup goalie whose been playing great.


Look at that face, tell me you don't want to see him skate off the ice victorious at least a few more times this season?

In other news, Maxim Afinogenov is claiming that he's been ready to go since the middle of February, but he's just been a healthy scratch since then. Surprised? It seems as though he's been on the trading block for quite some time now, there have just been no takers. Poor Max. I really wish him success, whether he's on the Sabres or not. I've always liked Max and it's a shame that it's never really worked out for him here.

And in MORE news...Ryan Miller's left ankle...oh wait. There hasn't been any news :(. I am really anxiously awaiting to hear ANY update. I don't even need a time-table, just something. You should see me when I get any wiff of an "update". Paul Hamilton yesterday said on the radio that he saw Ryan running around in the locker room wearing sweats which might imply that he's doing off-ice workouts. I was all,
"RUNNING?! Where you using that figuratively or was he for real running? DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING PAUL, TELL ME." Of course, running around in sweats is a lot different than playing goal in the NHL, so even if we was running that doesn't imply that he's ready to return soon...but still. I need to know these things. I propose that they launch a website called www.ryanmillersleftankle.com and they update us hourly daily on what's going on. I mean, we all know that Thomas Vanek's jaw was wired shut and he had a diet consisting of only SOUP, yet we can't find any more news on Ryan's sprained ankle? Blasphemy.

On a lighter note...I just bought tickets to see No Doubt this summer at Darien Lake. You guys have no idea how excited I am. They've been my favorite band since I was a kid and I've never seen them live. I've seen Gwen Stefani live twice but of course that's not the same. I wasn't expecting No Doubt to come to Buffalo/Darien Lake, but I was pretty sure they'd come to Toronto (which they are) so I was banking on that. But I was very thrilled to see that they are coming here! And tickets here are cheaper than the Toronto show so that's a nice incentive. I used to go to shows all the time but for some reason I haven't been to many at all this past year. The last one I went to was Lollapalooza (an awesome music festival) this past August in Chicago. Which was awesome and I plan on attending this summer as well.

Brand New is headlining UB's Spring Fest this year and I am very excited for that. I've seen Brand New twice and they're pretty good live. Albeit, they kind of come off as jerks, but I like them for their music and not for their personalities so I guess it doesn't matter. I've seen them at the Town Ballroom a few years ago and they played a very long set so that was nice. I then saw them at Lollapalooza last summer and they were being a little pissy because they knew that half of the audience were Rage Against The Machine fans just getting to the stage early to ensure they got a good spot once RATM took the stage. But I do have to say that I think RATM was the best show I've ever seen. They were great. Partly because I've loved them for so long and I never thought I'd get to see them live, so I really cherished the fact that I was watching them perform live. Live music is the best. I wanted to see Kings Of Leon in Toronto this April, but I think the tickets have sold out. My cousin told me that they always sell out fast. They seem like they'd be a great band to see live though. Maybe they'll be at Lollapalooza this summer, who knows.

Midnight Ramblings

So it's a little after midnight and I'm writing this blog in an attempt to make me more tired. I've been having an awful time sleeping lately. I didn't fall asleep until a little after 4 am last night. I was very exhausted around 9 tonight and I drank some tea that's supposed to help you fall asleep. We'll see how that works...

Anyways, I just thought I'd weigh in on the recent Sabres news. I'm sure everyone's aware by now that our Captain, Craig Rivet is back. This is great news. He was so impressive in the preseason and in the beginning of the season and I was very excited to have him on our team. Then he had his surgery and it seemed that he toned it down after that. Then he had his problem with his shoulder. I'm betting it's been his injuries that have been keeping him from playing the physical style that he likes to play. Let's hope that he's ready to return to that physical form against Ottawa. The Sabres are 7-3-1 at home with Rivet in the lineup, and they are 3-6-1 at home without him. Very interesting. Maybe having him back will improve our home record, but we really won't know that for sure for a little bit considering the Sabres only have 3 home games this month. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow against Ottawa.

Rivet back also brings up the issue of what to do with Chris Butler. Honestly, I really want to see him stay up with us. Sure he's young and most of the times when you're young you have to wait your turn to stay in the NHL for good, but I believe we are a better team with him in the lineup. You do whatever you have to do to win, and if that means keeping Butler up here with us and scratching and/or waiving certain players in order to do that, then so be it. Some people have suggested that we waive Paetsch and make Numminen our 7th D-man. With Numminen's age, it might serve him well to have him sit out for a few games to take a breather. He'd also be there to help mentor Butler, as Chris has already stated that Numminen has been great in that department for him. It's a tad convenient that Numminen is "sick" right now so the Sabres don't have to send Butler down, don't you think?

Now moving onto the "problem children" on the team. As far as Connolly goes, I don't really know what to say. I want him to be healthy. I want him in the lineup. But we've been dealing with his injuries for what, 3 years now? I guess I'll believe that Connolly is healthy when I see it. Then there's Afinogenov. Max, Max, Max. I feel for this guy, I really do. He's already had enough problems in his game and now he's dealing with a groin injury that Ruff said is probably a long term thing. I just feel sorry for him because he really tries hard. The effort is there, but he can't seem to catch a break. I can only imagine how frustrating it is for him.

So, answer me this...which fight is more embarrassing? Sid's or Semin's? It's a tough call. One can say Crosby's is because of how he initiated it. A guy's head is down, and he's in a vulnerable position and he just pulls his jersey over his head and starts throwing "punches". Nice. Now I know Sidney isn't a fighter, but shit, even I know "The Code" well enough. You let the player drop the gloves and square off first, ya fool. Oh, and take your visor off. But on the other hand, one can say that Semin's is more embarrassing because....well, just watch the video. I think I saw a toddler in Toys R Us do the same exact thing when his mommy wouldn't let him get a toy. Actually, come to think of it...at the Buffalo Zoo the other day a chimp went crazy and did the same exact thing when another monkey took his banana. Hmmm. Maybe Semin was just practicing his bongo technique? Move over, Jack Costanzo.

I know my last post was full of funny search queries, but today I came across this gem when I was pursuing Google Analytics:

"recent photos of sabres goaltender ryan miller with facial hair"

Gotta love it. It just warms my heart knowing there's people out there who appreciate Ryan Miller's facial hair as much as I do. :')

Pregaming

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to head downtown to the arena this morning to watch the boys practice. I haven't been to a morning skate in a long, long time and it was pretty chill. Going on weekdays is best because not that many people are there. It can be a little crazy on weekends because the people in attendence can be a little whacky. It was pretty quiet so you could hear everything on the ice. I wanted to shout, "HIT THE FREAKIN' NET" when they were doing shooting drills. Also, when Lindy gathered the team at center ice I couldn't hear anything so I wanted to shout, "HEY LINDY...SPEAK UP....I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" But no. I didn't want to be that person.

It's fun being there when the guys are just taking it easy and messing around with each other. The players were practicing their breakaways on Miller and he kept letting them in and they were giving him a hard time and he was like, "I stopped the second one!!" and then he stopped the next shot and he was like, "Woooohoooo!!!!" It was the first time I've ever heard emotion in his voice. Just kiddinggg. Max was messing around with Lalime but it was hard to understand what Max was saying.

Something interesting I noticed was that Peters was practicing with the defensemen for most of the time. And then when most of the players left the ice, he stayed on the ice with James Patrick and Rivet. It looked like Rivet was showing him how to skate backwards and giving him pointers. I wonder how Petey would be as a defenseman...food for thought.

After watching them practice I moseyed around the Sabres Store. Everything is 20% off until Christmas Eve, for those who are interested. I was browsing through the Sabres yearbook where it has all of that fun stuff; favorite food, favorite movie, etc. I found it amusing that Miller wrote that if he wasn't a hockey player he'd want to be an architect. The only thing I could think of was George Costanza's dreams of being an architect ("You're an architect?" "I'm not?"). Ahh gotta love it. I also saw most of the players afterwords eating their pregame meals. I'd say most of them were there, every so often another player would come in a little late and join a table. Good times.

My iTunes is acting all wonky and saying that it can't locate my songs, when CLEARLY all of my songs are in my iTunes folder. So I don't know what its deal is and why it can't find any of my songs when they're there. It's driving me crazy and it's really, really frustrating. I'm trying everything... Oh well. Go Sabres.

What a Night it Was, it really was Such a Night...

This was me at the Sabres-Preds game last night:



So when chosing my games for my mini-pack before the season, I saw that Nashville was going to pay us a little visit. I thought back to the last time we played them. It was an 8-4 decision and it would have been an entertaining game to be at for fans. They are also a Western Conference team that we don't see at all so I thought it would have been nice to watch the team take on an opponent that we don't really get a chance to see very often. Plus our good friend JP Dumont was going to be in town too. Cool. All good reasons to pick Nashville as one of my games. Someone help me see the light because I surely was misguided...

I usually describe a Sabres loss as a "shit show", but that doesn't even justify exactly what that game really was. That was the most boring and worst hockey game I've ever attended, and probably will ever attend. What both teams lacked in chances they made up for in turnovers. I knew that Nashville was going to get an unfortunate goal and that's all they would need. Of course. We gave a no-name goalie a 30-save shutout. Of course. A former Sabre scored on us. Typical. Really, should we be surprised? I would have liked to see Max in the lineup. Granted, I'm sure Lindy expected more from the offense, but in hindsight, I don't think Max would have made matters worse if he was playing. He would have at least made things exciting. I'm not the type of fan who's all, "MORE GOALS, MORE GOALS!!! FLASHY PLAYS, YAY!!!" I actually would rather see my team play a tight, responsible defensive game and go from there. That game had none of that. I understand that Max was scratched so Peters could be inserted into the lineup because of Nashville's lineup. Except...there were no fights. Not even when Tootoo ran into Miller. Instead I saw Paetsch take a glance at Tootoo and then just skated away.

A Paetsch-Tootoo match up would have been ridiculously uneven, but that's your goalie out there. You can't let any player, especially a player like Tootoo take runs at him without any worry of retaliation. Every goalie deals with contact, but how many times is Miller going to get interfered with and ran into without any consequence? What kind of message is that sending? What kind of message is that sending to the other teams? "Feel free to run into him all you want, he's just our goaltender after all." Is Ryan Miller going to have to smack a bitch?

A few highlights of the game were:
- A little boy, probably around 4 years old, turns to his dad towards the end of the second period and says, "Dad, why is the score still 0-0?" His father responded by saying, "Yes, it's still 0-0. I don't know what to tell you, buddy." I just got such a kick out of the exchange because firstly, the kid was cute and I love seeing fathers taking their young sons to sporting events. So wholesome. And also, because really, that's what was going through everyone's heads at the game. They couldn't have said it any better.

- The fan who got tackled and arrested in front of the doors that lead into the player's hallway after the game. Why was he arrested? I don't know, I missed the altercation. Either he and another fan were going at it, or he was trying to get past security so he could burst into the dressing room and give the player's a piece of his mind. I prefer the latter scenario, don't you?

- I got some nice shots of Ryan Miller doing his meditation routine or whatever the hell you want to call it, but I still need to upload them but that probably won't be for a little bit (reasons below after my lovely analysis of such a beautiful display of hockey).

The lowlight of the game (besides, you know, the game):
- There were two idiot fans behind me. I couldn't believe how dumb they were. Grown men too. They were from Detroit and they kept taking jabs at Buffalo. Ahem. That's right, they were from Detroit and they were taking jabs at Buffalo. They proceeded to say that Ryan Miller is a mediocre goalie because of his "long hair and photography". Or something like that. They had an exchange that went something like, "Why does everyone like Max, he sucks, blah blah blah. The same can be said about Ryan Miller. He's such a mediocre goalie, he only had one good season. He's got his long hair and he likes photography, and he thinks he's such a good goalie. I just want to shout to him, 'HEY RYAN, YOU'RE MEDIOCRE AT BEST!' " How special. They also thought that Numminen was our enforcer on the team. Makes sense.

So the semester is winding down and I have so many things to do before it ends. Between studying for final exams, taking final exams, writing final papers, registering for classes for next semester, putting together a portfolio, and doing some presentations, I'm very busy and I'm very stressed. I'm trying to remain positive and I keep telling myself that in a week or so it will all be over and then I'll be a free woman until January 26th, when the second semester begins. Right now I'm just trying to tough it out. So this will probably be my last update for a few days until I finish some things. I have to do a presentation on Elvis tomorrow. I'm still trying to figure out how to sum up Elvis Presley's career in five minutes...

Ready, Set, GOOOSEEEEE!

Well, that was a great game to be at. I'm telling you, it's those jerseys. The Sabres feel so sexy when they wear them that they are on top of the world.

I was so glad to see Gaustad get his first two tonight. I love it when he scores! It's just so much fun. And it was also good to see Stafford net two after he's been criticized this season. One thing I have to say is how terrible the officiating was, yet again. That boarding call on Kaleta was bullshit. That was a clean check. And the non-call when the Pens had too many men on the ice was terrible. Refs, you have to make those calls.

I was very impressed with the Sabres killing off the long 5-on-3 in the start of the third. After Crosby scored that late second period goal I thought to myself, "Here we go...". I thought that if the Pens scored on their two man advantage that it would have been hard to come back after that. It would have been another one of those frustrating losses where we played good the entire game but ended up losing. But, alas. The Sabres killed off the 5-on-3 and killed off any momentum that the Pens had. They really poured it on after that and GOOOSEEEE put us up late in the period to seal the win. Max looked good too. I was watching him during the play that lead up to Stafford's first and I was just thinking, "Come on Max! Don't turn it over, pleaseeeee." and his play directly resulted in Stafford's goal. Atta boy, Max!

Miller made some good saves, especially the one at the end of the game on Crosby I think. It was also funny seeing Crosby lose his temper after the net came loose. Poor baby. It was funny watching the team all bombard Miller after the win that poor little Ryan lost his balance a few times and slipped. But he had his buddies there supporting him so he didn't do a face plant on the ice.

Oh and I have added The Program to my blogroll. I've exchanged e-mails with one of the bloggers, Rick, and he's a big Sabres fan. It's a cool blog with a lot of news going on around the league. Rick also co-hosts a blog radio show where various hockey bloggers come on and just talk hockey. So check it out!

Nice win for us Sabres fans. And I just love the fact that they play Sweet Caroline (my song!) after a Sabres victory. It's fun for me. Bring on the Habs!

Something HAD to Give

The Sabres looked sexy in their new jerseys and it reflected in their play.

So the past few games the Sabres have looked much better and played more responsible, yet they still came out on the losing end. There were chances that we didn't capitalize on, and a few lucky bounces for the opposing team made for frustrating losses. Something had to give, right? Well tonight was our night.

Not only did our boys look very sharp in their third jerseys, but they played just the type of game they needed to win. The physicality was there. It was great seeing Roy getting two goals like that, especially since he's been criticized this season for his lack of production. Kaleta played his game, and I thought those two calls against him were very questionable. Especially the goalie interference one. Yeah, you can't bump the goalie but sometimes you can't prevent it. Especially when Miller was getting a lot of contact the entire game with no calls. It was great seeing Hecht score. It's always exciting for the fans to see your team score a shorthanded goal, and it sure puts a damper on the team who's up a man. I thought our defense was responsible for the most part, although I thought there was some dicking around in our zone during our two goals against. It looked like a whole lot of standing around and not a lot of playing the man and trying to clear the crease. Miller looked solid and had a few nice, timely saves. I thought Max and Tallinder both responded well for being benched the past two games.

I thought the officiating was bad. Inconsistent, as always. I guess we can say they are consistently inconsistent. Chara should have been penalized for tripping up Roy, but I'm sure they didn't call it a trip because Roy has a reputation for diving. So even though the officiating wasn't on our side tonight, our boys still stuck to their game plan and pulled out a much-needed win. It's good for them to finally get a win, because the last few games were extremely frustrating so it's nice for a team's confidence to have things finally go their way. When the Sabres play like this it's very reassuring to me because I think when they play this type of game they can really go into any game and they have a chance to beat any team.

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving for us Americans. Thanksgiving is pretty low-key for me. It's just at my house with my immediate family. We have a lot of good food, watch some football, and just relax. We save seeing the entire family for Christmas. I could go on and say all the things I'm thankful for; my health, my wonderful friends and family, yadda yadda yadda. You know. Well I am also thankful for this picture:



So presh! Look how cute that picture is, seriously. That baby is awesome. She's posing and everything. She's awesome and she wants you to know it. Plus look at how cute Ryan is holding a baby. What's better than a man knowing how to be around kids? Total turn on. Am I right ladies, am I right?! All together now, ladies....awwww. Loves it. I am also thankful for a friendship pairing as cool and as attractive as THIS. Total BFFs.

After enjoying my Thanksgiving I'll be going to the game on Friday against the Penguins. The Sabres will be sporting their sassy third jerseys and I can't wait to see how hot they all look in them in person. Hopefully I'll have some nice photos to share with you all. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and happy Sabres victory!