I know that guy!

He played! He was in the starting lineup even. Though the stats people were not on top of their game, they announced #89- Tyler Sloan as a scratch, then 2 seconds later announced him as a starter. LOL I knew that he was playing because we got there later than I wanted, but still at the end of warmups so I saw him out there. I got as close as I could to the ice, but not enough to yell at him and get his attention. I was a bit sad about that but it was still killer to see my guy playing in the show! :) I wore his Syrcause Crunch game worn jersey which got me some weird looks LOL and a comment from a Caps fan which was amusing. Underneath it I had on my Roy Sabres jersey LOL just in case Sloaner wasn't playing.

Oh and here's another fun picture for you- when I busted out my Christmas ornaments a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of this one that I have from a few years back:


yes, that is an ornament decorated BY Tyler Sloan! I won it in a raffle done by the Dayton Bombers back in 2002. Pretty sweet, eh? I was the first hockey fan he met in the Dayton area- I drove him and another guy to pick up their rental car when they got sent down to Dayton from Syracuse on the first game of the season. That's right kids, a guy who is currently playing in the NHL has been in my car! And he knows my name. Sweet, eh?

So the Sabres sucked out loud tonight. They were terrible. The passing was horrid, they weren't being physical (except Goose, and even he took a while to get going) and they played like they were asleep for the first period. It was awful.

I listened to the rants on the post-game show about how this team has no depth- that's not the problem. They have NO HEART. All those games they won a few years ago were not so much talent as EFFORT and WILL and HEART. They need to find that and then I think they will be winning and playing a lot better. I watched "Miracle" last night and it is a great movie.. I think some of Herb Brooks' lines could be applicable here: "You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don't HAVE enough talent to win on talent alone." Or "I know there's more to you, a whole other level that for some reason you don't want to go to."

What happened to those guys? They are the same people.. they just don't want to work hard right now. Like Lindy said, it has to come from them. I just hope they find it, and soon because this is painful and embarassing to watch.

I'm going to the Winter Classic II on Thursday and leaving for Chicago early tomorrow so I may be out of touch for a few. I'll post back when I can and I'm sure I'll have a full review and pics of the GAME for y'all to see. Hope everybody has a safe, fun and Happy New Year! :)