finallllly

I haven't done a SAB since November 17, but I finally have a new one! I'm so excited about that. So without further ado, I present you with



Patrik Berglund of the Blues

AND



Actor James Van Der Beek.

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge!

And tonight will be the Blackhawks/Devils game. Expect a squee/spaz post soon about Sharpie and lots of lovely pictures. :) YAY!

Happy New Year!

that was interesting

Boy Howdy, the Sabres took a while to show up tonight but when they finally did, it was pretty sweet, eh?

I turned the game on right as Miller was leaving in favor of Lalime. I was kind of amazed because Lindy almost NEVER pulls a goalie but I guess it worked!

I'm glad Staffy finally woke up and realized he's a goal-scorer. His penalty shot goal was just crazy! McFlurry barely even moved.. and then that 2nd goal was a beauty, not to mention that sick pass to Goose for the 3rd goal. Staffy had a great night.

I want to know when Royzie will return! I hate it when they don't say what's wrong with a player.. :(

But all that must be put aside for a while because tomorrow we leave for Chicago and the Blackhawks/Devils game which will happen on Thursday! WOOOOOO! Most excellent.

Busyness

I drove a long time today but I am now home. Woo.

The Sabres lost (again, go figure) to the Senators of DOOOM. GRR. At least they beat the Blues tonight. I heard the last few minutes.. all I was able to manage on the drive since WGR doesn't like to broadcast out too far. (Riddle me this: I was able to pick up the signal from OTTAWA a couple of years ago, but I can't get it in Bradford, PA? Nonsense!)

In a few days, I'm going to Chicago for a New Year's Eve Blackhawks/Devils game. It shall be most excellent and I'm super excited. Trying to think of some clever signage to catch Sharpie's eye.. hmmmm...

Speaking of my BlackhawksBoyfriend, today is his Birthday. Welcome to being 28, Sharpie! It's been good to me so far, hopefully 28 is a good year for you too. :)

Merry Christmas!

Hello Friends.. I have been a bit absent this week and I apologize for that.. I'm sure ya'll have missed my scintillating game recaps. ;)

In truth, I have been in the Outer Banks of North Carolina since Sunday evening, spending the week with my family at an amazing beach house. It's been interesting but great times, as always with my fam.

Thanks to Versus, I got to see the game against the Leafs, which was good (at least the end result was) but didn't see the absurdity of the Caps game. Oh well, c'est la vie.

In any case, MERRY CHRISTMAS from your intrepid crew here at Face First Into the Boards.

I hope you have a great day/holiday(s) with your friends and fam. I got some cool hockey themed presents and other great stuff, and will be going to Chicago for New Year's again this year for a Blackhawks/Devils game on New Year's Eve so there will certainly be hockey in my future.

Right now, my only Christmas wish, Sabres-wise, is for a WIN against those damnfool Senators.

a good read

For those of you who don't get The Hockey News' daily newsletter, Here is a sweet article about Ryan Miller. It's got some nice things to say about our #1 guy, all of it well-earned.(and nothing we didn't know already, as Sabres fans!) :)

Just wanted to share!

My turn

Okay I missed Wednesday's game so I couldn't comment too much on the goings-on, save that they were terrible by all accounts. I did hear the hit on Kaleta on the radio, and have since seen the replay and man, that is SICK!

We all know the facts- Ruutu is a cheapshot, finger-chomping, classless player who gets away with too much. Kaleta is an extreme agitator who occasionally hovers on the line between frustrating and cheap but let's face it- they are both human beings, and no one wants to see a human being get smashed head first into the glass, especially when it looks intentional!

We all know how the league has mad double standards and NO consistency whatsoever. This is hardly news, but what really bugs me about this whole debacle is no only the fact that there was no suspension, but what Bob MacKenzie and others on TSN had to say about it.

I know that others have already commented on this, but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
-I don't care who he is, no one deserves to be smashed like that.
-Kaleta is clearly hurt and DID NOT PLAY the rest of the game.
-Yes, Kaleta is an agitator, he's very good at goading other players into stupid penalties. Does he turtle on occasion? Yes, but it gets his team the power play. That's not chicken, that's smart. He's a hard-nosed player who will step up when need be, and he is NOT a faker! Show me one time he's faked an injury?

But here's the kicker- when they start comparing Ruutu/Kaleta to Koci/Green. Both hits are nasty and with Kaleta they are like.. "well he has a reputation.. blah blah blah." With Green, it's all "He's a star player, Koci should be kicked out of the league! 5 games minimum!!"

HOLY DOUBLE STANDARD BATMAN!

I get that Green is a great player, he is. But you could argue that Kaleta's 6 goals and physical presence are just as valuable to the Sabres as Green's (lack of) defence and 32 points are to the Caps.

And I hate to go here, but I do have to wonder.. this debate was on TSN. I know it wasn't Don Cherry, with his Canada-centric ways, but if you take note of the fact that Kaleta is American and Green is Canadian.. might that come into play, even if not spoken? Just wondering if Kaleta had been some bread-and-butter kid from 100 Mile House, BC, instead of Angola, NY- would they be treating him differently? Would they be all-- "hard-nosed, take no crap Canadian kid deserves better treatment from the League, even if he isn't s superstar?"

Dunno, but it's worth a thought.

**Please note that I am in no way stating as fact that the bias is there, merely suggesting that it could be part of the discussion. I have nothing against Canada-- I think it's a wonderful place and I have many friends who live there. I'm just speculating on a very strange discussion that should have been totally clear but somehow got all muddled, and I'm wondering at all the angles of why it's not just an open and shut-he should be suspended, no questions asked case.

Thoughts?

Ditto that

Yikes. I think I will just reiterate what I said a few weeks ago in this post.

DAMN Sens.

WHY are they the boogeymen for the Sabres? I don't get it.

Guys, I've been to ScotiaBank Place, and it's a really neat place to watch hockey. There doesn't seem to be any sort of black cloud hovering over the place, it's not in a shady part of town, it's not old and decrepit with the ghosts of hockey past.. it's just a rink.

Full of Senators and their icky voodoo that makes the Sabres forget how to play hockey when they're there.

I DON'T GET IT!

GRRR. Stoooooopid Sens.

what a move

Wow, this semi-ignoring the Sabres thing is working for me. I watched parts of the game last night while I was helping my sis make some gumbo (mmmm..) but I did see Kaleta's goal and WHOA NELLY that kid has some skills. He showed great hustle to get in position to score, then some brilliant (and patient) stickwork to put it past Halak and WOW.. another goal. Well done.

And the Sabres managed to win... again. I think they mean it.. at least right now they do. It's fun!

I would offer more commentary, but I was barely watching the game so that's all I've got. Maybe I'll more after Ottawa tomorrow but probably night because I think I'm having a girls night with my friend. :)

what do you know?

Wow.. what a week for the Sabres.

Monday-- they forgot to show up and played like they were skating throgh sludge all night to allow Marty his 103rd career shutout.

Wednesday- the 'good' Sabres showed up against a red-hot Capitals team and shadowed Ovie like a second skin (good job, Yo-Yo) AND kept the rest of those snipers from hitting the net to earn a sick, solid, 3-0 win of their own.

Friday- Lalime steps in against a streaking Blackhawks team and calmly turns aside 3498765 shots (okay, it was 38 but still!) to keep the fellas in a game that they thought started at 8:00 instead of 7:30. And boy, were those last few minutes tense or what? GREAT GAME!

Saturday- (I missed this whole game except for a few minutes of the 2nd which I listened to in the car) Patrick Kaleta has 2 goals.

Wait... come again? Yes, you heard that correctly, Patrick Kaleta has 2 goals and the Sabres beat the grossBadGuyRangers for their 3rd win in a row.

I LIKE THESESabres! Can we keep them? Please, mom, can we???

:)

Oh yes, and PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! (and your other favorite Sabres blogs) over at The Arena! :)

Thanks, and have a great day.

umm...

WOW it's snowy at my house! We didn't get anything yesterday when Buffalo itself and the Southtowns were getting hammered all day.. but last night around 9;30 or so, all that Lake Effect settled in.. and it's still here. We have probably at least a foot of snow on the ground and it is still coming. Good thing I'm not going to the game tonight, I'd have a tough time getting out of here. I do plan to watch it though! wooooo Sabres!

I'm assuming the Blackhawks managed to get a flight into Buffalo as we haven't heard otherwise. Maybe it was a late or long delayed flight and they're all tired! We can hope, eh?

I plan to spend my day reading my new book: Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Liferby Bruce Boudreau. It should be very entertaining! :)

And really.. who writes these things? The game notes for today say that Lalime will be the starter, then proceed to talk about Miller the rest of the way. Say what? I'm not a professional writer or anything, but that just doesn't make sense. How can Miller be the 'game changer' when is isn't scheduled to play? Hmm..

That's about it. Maybe I'll do a semi-live blog tonight but no guarantees.. ;)

Be safe, everyone who is going to the game!!

what a game!

WOWZERS.

As terribly as the Sabres played on Monday, they were that good tonight. I know the grammar in that sentence is atrocious, but you know what I mean, right?

That was some kickin stuff. A few highlights because I'm too tired to string together anything coherent:

-Ryan Miller was brilliant tonight. He made some sick saves to keep the Sabres in it.
-'Call him Hank, Call him Henrick, Call him Tallinder' absolutely OWNED everybody on his goal! (and I LOVED RJ's call of it which I heard on the post-game) It's too bad you can't get an assist on your own goal, because he would have had one. He's really been great over the last few months. ;)
-WOOOO Nathan Gerbe! He played with tons of energy and was very involved in the play all night. A little sparkplug.
-I thought Hecht did a great job of shadowing Ovie (and Semin and Backstrom too) tonight. It seemed that every time Ovie got near the pick, YoYO was all over him. It worked!
-I am still more than a little enamored of Steve Montador. His post-game interview was cute when he talked about how Gerbe was a huge body in front of the net. LOL
-I wore my Tyler Sloan jersey but totally cheered for the Sabres! Sloaner didn't have the best night. He was on the ice for 2 of the Sabres goals. Whoops! And he still thinks he's a defenceman though he's playing on the wing. Oh well, he's still an amazing skater.
-Speaking of Sloaner, I made him a sign, but didn't get there in time to show it during warmups. I am always running late... maybe next time! IT was still sweet to get to see him play.
-All around, it was a fantastic group effort, something I wish we'd see more of from the Sabres. If they can play like this every night they would really be somewhere.

-AND PLEASE, someone tell me that you saw Lalime 'dancing' after the game as he was passing out head nuzzles and high-fives? It was totally awesome and I wish I had it on video. I think it's cute how he is always so happy for Miller when he gets a shutout or a big win. Lalime is a good team player!!

And that's about all I have for now. Stay safe and don't get snowed in! ;0

Marty's BETTER

I do love my Sabres, but they were pretty bad tonight. They looked like they were skating through sludge. Timmy Connolly in particular looked like shit.

Miller did not have a stellar night in net. He let in at least 2 goals that he probably really shouldn't have but it happens. TO the jerk behind me who kept talking about how Miller isn't an 'elite goalie', you can SHOVE IT! Miller has been playing extremely well this season, and is allowed to have an off night. (please remember, when you (a "Sabres fan")are shouting this crap about how the only elite goalie is Marty- that Marty let in 5 goals on 26 shots just last week. Does that make him any less of an 'elite goaltender'? I should think not. Shut up until you know what you're talking about.

The people behind me were ignorant, obnoxious, loud assholes and that kinda really added to the suckitude of the overall experience, but...

MARTY tied the shutout record RIGHT in front of me!!! I got to see history being (tied?) made!

That was pretty badass. The Sabres didn't challenge him too much, but there were a few shots that had a little 'mustard on them' and he had to work a bit for them so it wasn't just cakewalk.

Here is some video of Marty talking about it. <3

words fail me

So, we all know that Lindy is the longest-tenured coach in the NHL.. did you know that #2 (in the east), Claude Julien, was hired on June 21, 2007.. while Lindy Ruff was hired on July 21, 1997?

That is nearly (minus one measly month) a 10 year difference!

The rest of the list can be found here, if you're curious

I'm flabbergasted. I mean, I know that Mr. Ruff has been with the Sabres for a very long time, but what I didn't realize was just how short of a run the rest of the Eastern Conf. coaches have had. I wonder who is the longest in the West?

Wooohooooo

4 in a row!! :) Good job, Sabres. I only watched a bit of the game though. I missed the first because I was auditioning for a play.. came back to my car and it was 3-0 Sabres at the end of the 1st. Not too shabby. They scored the 4th goal while I was driving home.

Came home, turned the game on about halfway through the 2nd, and of course that nasty icky loser traitor bum Gomez scored while I was watching (and my boy Monty was on the ice too) in the 2nd. Gross. I folded laundry during intermission/the start of the 3rd and was sorta still checkin the game while visiting with my sis when the Habs scored goal #2. It was then that I turned the game off (as I told myself I would do when I got home if the boys started falling apart.) So I went off to check e-mail and such and then peeked at the score a few mins ago when there were 25 seconds on the clock and it was 5-2, then it was magically 6-2 and WOOO the Sabres won! :)

So I can't comment on the game itself but I like the score. Royzie scored again and added an assist and Pominville woke up!

C'est tout. :)

I don't know how I missed this..

This came out last week, when I was super busy with work and Thanksgiving prep, but it really must be shared. What an awesome story:
Sherry Ross calls play-by-play for Devils game

This lady is total my professional idol. AH-Mazing. I wish I could be like that.. maybe one of these days I'll get my break to do some color/analyst work for a minor-league team. The Grizz promised that IF IF IF I got to my 80 (or whatever the number was) new season tickets for the year, I could sit in with our broadcaster and do some on-air stuff in addition to the intermission interviews I was already doing. It was a great idea, but I couldn't make it that long.

Maybe one day...

Doings around the league

Well.. what an interesting night in the NHL. Ovie (I do like him but I can't condone this) got what was coming to him- dude you don't hit someone knee on knee- it just isn't cool my man.

Bad form.

And Keith Ballard- W.T. F.??? I don't even know what to say about that.. I can get being mad when a guy misses on a breakaway but still has time to score.. but WATCH YOUR STICK! Don't hit your own goalie. Yeeeeesh.

In other news, the Sabres won and Ryan Miller got another shutout. Way to be! :) He looked so relaxed and collected after the game. He looked pretty well rested, for a guy who just played out of his mind 3 nights in the last 4. Impressive. :)

I mostly listened to the game tonight but I caught glimpses of the action as well. The radio feed and VS were not in sync, so it was like I was living in the future- I would hear things before I saw them.. weird.. so mostly I just listened and sneaked a view every so often for a replay or some such.

I did spot Monty's fight, such as it was. And I will say that kinda really dig him. I think he's hot, not gonna lie. I like me a man who isn't afraid to be scrappy. Just sayin.

Oooh shiny- Blackhawks and Blue Jackets tomorrow night. I think I'll try to watch that! :)

Whoa, the Blue Jackets scored 2 empty net goals? WOW. And tooo R. J. Umberger, good job with the hat trick, buddy.

Oooh, Drew Miller plays for the Red Wings now? That's cool.

And that's about all I have for tonight, faithful readers. Stay tuned...

A little self-love

Hello out there, all my adoring fans (or those of you bored enough or crazy enough to like this silly blog! ;) )

The fun folks over at The Arena are running a Sabres blog-off.. and somehow I got nominated! I feel so special.

If you are of a mind, feel free to vote for me (and your 9 other favorite Sabres blogs, many of which I also read.) And while you're at it, check the place out, it's pretty neat.

THanks!!!

something strange is going on

I'm attempting a live blog for the first time in a long time, we'll see how it goes.

This is a really bizarre game time. A lot of the games today are at odd times. I know it's the day after Thanksgiving and all but it's a Friday. Weird.

I know I've said this before but I really dislike the Flyers' uniforms. The colors are just garish and the way that the names look pasted on.. it is old and strugglin lookin. Not a fan of them at the best of times, and this throwback look makes me want to hurl- and possibly gouge my eyeballs out.

I am a little cranky today so if the Sabres start playing like crap, it's going to get ugly. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with my fam- my parents, brother and one of my sisters made the trek and I have tons of things to be very thankful for. However, I am currently having hideous menstrual cramps and still suffering from what I call the 'food hangover' of Thanksgiving, this feeling huge and hurting, bad combo.

But if the Sabres decide to play well (for once) and actually WIN while I'm watching, that will make me feel better! *hint, hint*

So far I haven't commented on the game at all. That's not a good sign. Even though I've got the game on, I've been typing this and answering endless questions from the nephew (not that I mind too much, I think it's adorable that he likes hockey so much) but it's a bit distracting. I need to focus.

GOOD EFFORT, STAFFY! A nice end to end rush with Timmy and some hustle by Drew results in the Sabres first goal. :) THAT is what we need to see, hustle, initiative, and a good heads-up play. Please, sir, may I have some more?

I missed the whole Kaleta/Ross incident (was folding laundry) but I would appreciate some input about the whole deal if anybody wants to enlighten me.

I'm bothered by the fact that for some reason either my TV or the feed is declining to show me the score and time and all that. Oh wow, it just came back.

WHOAAAAA wait a minute. HOW was that a 2 minute roughing call when Richards (even if it was unintentional ) got his STICK up in Myers' face? Yeesh. And now Laperriere got whacked in the face with the puck. Man oh man.

It still feels weird to be watching hockey in the middle of the day.

Roy, when you try to run through 3 guys with the puck, it's usually not going to work. Just a note. What kind of messed up power play is this, Sabres? YOU have an extra man... did you fail to notice this? Oh, look- power play is over. Not like it mattered too much to the Sabres.

WHAT THE? Helloooo Sabres, how did you let Richards be alone in front of your net? I only could see 1 d-man on that play, and it was Montador, he was covering Carter.. who was (supposed to be) on Richards? Hmm I think it should have been Butler. Oops.

OH NO OH NO OH NO WHAT?????? How did the Flyers just score again? EWWWWWWW NO! (oh and btw, RJ, it bounced off Timmy Connolly, not Tallinder or Myers) That was a knuclepuck if I've ever seen one!

---intermission---

Awwwww Goose loooked so uncomfortable while his Dad was talking..
Royzie, what is up with that hat? LOL
Lindy also looks awkward to have his Dad talking about him.
Montador looked a bit like Royzie there, not sure what was up with that.. I've never though that before. I love his hair though, just gotta say. /fangirl
The boys are cute, they seem like they must be modest young men.
YAY thank you Sabres for FINALLY giving us a little something of the boys off the ice. I like seeing all of their dads- I hope they post that video online.. so I can re-watch it and analyze it. Hahaha

It's snowing. Like raining snow. This happens often where I live, but this is only the 2nd time it's snowed this year. I'm not one of those people who hates snow- I like it! So, it's about time. :)
---back to the game--

And, we're back! Rivet and Carcillo do a little dance (make a little love, get down tonight) and that wasn't terribly exciting. I'm a little scared of Carcillo- he's kind of a beast so I'm glad Rivet was able to live through it.

Gee guys, really? Way to negate a power play. (not like we can do anything with it anyway) Holding the Stick is just one of many hockey phrases that sound dirty. (yes, I'm 10 years old)

WOOOOOT The Sabres finally remembered that power plays mean they have ONE MORE GUY on the ice than the other team does.. and used it! Good job Goose! I mean HONK HONK HONK!

Wow, Butler is one of 2 players in the NHL born in Missouri? What an interesting stat.

Oh my, what a commotion- Rivet and Carcillo pt. 2. That was a bit more spirited... and I love how Carcillo flew over for the fight. It was a little wild.

I missed the end of the 2nd period because the little guy and I went outside to catch snowflakes for a while. But the score is still 2-2 so that's good.

---- Intermission Part 2-------
More chatting with the Papas. :) WOW Ryan Miller looks like his Dad in a serious way. I think I've noticed that before but man.. that is bustin.

I find it interesting that the Supercuts commercials only show men. Do they really think that men are the only people watching hockey? C'mon.

Goose has 6 goals for the season? Good for him. Some people (Derek Roy, I'm looking at YOU!) need to step it up..

----3rd period----
What is with the officiating today? That was obviously a high stick on Kennedy and yet no call? The Flyers guy (didn't get his name) WENT TO THE BOX. he knows he did it.. yet they can't call it? LAME.

Wow Laperriere is a hard core dude. I remember him from when I first started watching hockey. I mean, really- take a puck the mouth, go away for a while, come back with however many stitches and less 4 teeth.. and keep playing? WOW.

WOOOO Connolly- "Top Shelf where mama hides the cookies!" GOOOOOD JOB! And WOW, that was s siiiick pass by MacArthur-- 3-2 Sabres! (now, please remember how to play hockey for a while, guys.)

Harry Neal- must you always talk about how the Sabres haven't allowed a PP goal- IN THE MIDDLE of a power play? That is asking for the Flyers to score! C'mon dude, don't you understand the power of hockey superstitions? Yeesh, man!

How unnatural is Derek Roy in that stupid Celino and Barnes commercial? I mean, it's awesome that he's donating money (if he ever scores another goal) but he is a terrible actor and he can't even say 'hello I'm Derek Roy' and sound like he means it. Pathetic.. but at least it makes me laugh.

WOOOOOO Wait a second- now it's 4-2.. that line of Connolly, Stafford and MacArthur is just ON FIRE today! I like it I like it!

Um, really? The tripping call on Butler was WEAK. He was going for the puck- had the puck ON his stick, and the Flyer just ran into his stick. Once again, that is a weak call. It ended up not being a big deal as the Sabres killed that penalty, but I am not impressed.

I know why I don't do this more often.. these get long because I always find that I have more to say than I thought I did.

What happened to Goose? Why is he broken?

oooh RJ, you made my day by saying 'A little too much mustard on that one'. I love that phrase so much! :)

Oh no! Poor Rivet.. he's been so solid this game and now he goes down awkwardly into the boards. It looks like he jammed his leg/knee/something. Whatever it is, it's NOT GOOD. :(

ANd those bastards in Philadelphia frickin BOOED him! I've heard that they do that.. but I've never noticed firsthand. What a lack of class. I mean seriously that is just disgusting. Regardless of your team affiliation, they are HUMAN beings and when you see someone get hurt, you shouldn't boo him as he leaves the ice. That is just Low. I am sickened.

C'mon Ryan Miller! He has been pretty ON today, just a little over a minute left, baby.

Dude, when they showed the guys on the bench during the timeout, Mairsy looked like he was gonna kill someone with his eyes. And, just for the record, Scott Hartnell has HIDEOUS hair!

Alrighty, the Sabres won! AND (more importantly) they played a good game. Great job, guys!

where y'all at?

Stoooopid Sabres.
Stoooopid Senators.

I HATE the Sens soooo much! WHY is it so dang hard for the Sabres to play well against them? Why is impossible to beat them? WHY?!

Argh. Ottawa, your city is lovely, the Rideau Canal rocks my socks right off, and I really want to visit in the spring to see the tulips, but by golly I DESPISE your hockey team..

YICK.

And nobody commented about my buddy 'Tim Connolly'? I thought I'd get at least one.

I've been savin it

I met Tim Connolly!


I wanted this to be its own post.. but check it, guys and gals:

Pretty cool, eh?

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Now it looks like one of those stupid chain letter e-mails. Haha. No peeking!

In all seriousness, I did not meet THE Tim Connolly, or even someone of that name, though the fella in the pic, whose name is Mike, btw, looks an awful lot like our buddy Timmy. (refresher pic)

Mike is friends with my friend Bryan and was at our church's dinner dance on Saturday night. I couldn't help but notice he looked like Tim, and I pointed it out.. He said he gets that a lot. Once, he was at a bar and was upstairs (I take it there was sort of a balcony thing going on, you could see the 2nd floor from the ground floor) Ryan Miller and some other Sabres- he can't remember all of them, thinks Pommer was one, walked in. Mike was there with his friends. The next thing he knew the bartender was giving him a drink. Mike says- 'who is this from?' the guy responds that it's from 'your friends..' Mike looks at his buddies, no one did it. Bartender says- 'Your friends the Sabres, downstairs.' So Mike goes down and walks up to Miller, says "thanks for the drink, buddy." Ryan is like.. uh do I know you? Mike tells him that Miller bought him a drink, and he was upstairs. To which Ryan Miller replies "We thought you were Tim!" Hahaha great story and I could totally see it.

So that's an amusing Sabres bit for today, as well as this week's hockey SAB- my new friend Mike, and Timmay Connolly. (this is Tim's 3rd appearance as a hockey SAB, and I don't even like the guy all that much. Wow.)

quite a few

Wow, it's been some days since the last post I made. Sorry for being a hockey-slacker! I'll try to get back into it. it's not that I don't care, it's just that I've been busy this week. I haven't seen a Sabres game since the terrible effort against the Flyers. I missed that pathetic show in Boston, as I was taking in the much more entertaining "Guys & Dolls" in Springville, was having a girls night (much-needed) with my friends on Wednesday, took my nephews to see the NU Purple Eagles (lose) on Friday and at a dinner dance for church last night.

However, it seems that the Sabres are back on track, at least for the moment. I heard the end of Friday's game, and I liked what I heard. :) I've read about the other 2 and it's good stuff. I am happy that the boys are playing with an edge and standing up for each other. Royzie finally seems to have remembered how to score goals, which is great, Miller owns everyone, and we are still getting scoring from all 4 lines. There is much to be thankful for, and I just hope the boys keep pushing and don't let up just because they got a couple of wins.

I watched the first part of practice on Thursday, as the boys were at the Pepsi Center, and I was there with my nephew, as we usually are on Thursdays. He is so into hockey.. it's just super cute. And he asks me to identify all of the boys as we see them.. it's pretty funny.

Some random observations from practice:
-before hitting the ice, the Sabres usually go to the upper level of the facility to lift weights or some other manner of off-ice warmup sort of exercise. It's ONE flight of stairs, BEFORE they do any work. Yet half the guys take the elevator. Seriously, dudes? The ELEVATOR? I think they crammed 10 guys into it on Thursday for one trip. It was a bit silly. All of you Gaustad fans will be happy to know that Goose is saving energy by taking the stairs. ;)

-James Patrick is extemely foxy. I have not really, properly noticed this before but it is so true. He is just suave and very good looking. I felt that I should share this since I was really struck by it on Thursday.

-You can tell that Patrick Lalime has children by the way he notices little ones. I had my nephew with me, and we were sitting in the rink near where the Sabres took the ice. Lalime was the first player out and he looked over and smiled and waved his glove at my nephew. It was really cute. Matt Ellis also noticed and waved. This is not to take anything away from the other guys, because I understand that they are there to work and they are focused, but those small gestures really meant a lot to me and the little guy.

-I hinted at it in my previous post, but it's time to come out with it. I AM TOTALLY INTO STEVE MONTADOR. I know next to nothing about the guy, and he's not even the sort of hockey player I typically notice/go for, but there is something about him that has captured me. I've been puzzling through it in my mind for days now and I can't quite explain it, but I can no longer deny it. Maybe it's the fact that he played right defence, and because our seats are 2nd row just inside the blue line, I see him up close and personal when I go to Sabres games, maybe it's the hair (I do like a man with good looking, long, hockey hair), maybe it's the hawk-eyed gaze and how focused he is on the ice- man lemme tell ya, that dude is SUPER tuned in to the game when he's out there and concentration is HOTTT-, maybe it's his crazy gap-toothed smile, but whatever "it" is, he's got it. And I'm in. I need to research him more, and I may post about him again soon but there it is. Y'all heard it here first.

That's all for tonight, but hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a fantasy hockey recap *I ignored my teams all week but actually had a decent showing* and then a very special announcement and possibly a hockey SAB. No guarantees, since this is the final week of rehearsal for a play that I'm in.. but I will try!

oh me oh my

Dear Sabres,

That was pretty pathetic. Can we please just forget tonight happened? Well, except for Royzie's goal. I'll keep that.

Love,

Sam

P.S. Hank was pretty badass tonight- with the end-to-end rush and all. Well played, my lad.

P.P.S. I think I might have a teensy, tiny little thing for Steve Montador. Don't ask me why, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. I'll get back to you when I know more.

WOOOOT

DEREK ROY SCORED A GOAL! YAY!

Also, Tyler Sloan scored a goal for the Caps tonight. He's been randomly playing on the left wing. Good for him! :)

Yay hockey! More to come- I was AT the game tonight and I have some thoughts but I'm really tired.

I figured it out

Guys, I know why Derek Roy isn't scoring goals:

it's MY fault!

See, when I got my Roy jersey for Christmas, almost 2 years ago, the Sabres had that pathetic 10 game winless streak, and Royzie didn't score a single goal in that stretch. Before that, he was the team's leading scorer- pts AND goals.

Then he finally broke out of that slump (and the injury that happened during it) and scored a hat trick in that bust-up of Atlanta and actually did very well for the rest of the season. That was the time when Royzie and Pommer were in the Top 5 goal scorers for the 2nd half of the year. Ah, memories.

Flash forward to this summer. I met Derek Roy in August and had him autograph my jersey. He hasn't scored a goal since.

I think I even joked that I hoped it didn't curse him, and here we are, 10 games into the season and Roy has 8 assists and ZERO goals.

I blame myself. Apparently my fandom is dooming my boy. I shall have to renounce all Derek Roy love until such time as he finds his scoring touch again.

I'm quite sorry to have deprived the Sabres of a top scoring threat, but I am quite happy that the rest of the boys have stepped up. So, from now until he gets his act together, I shall try to treat Derek as "just one of the boys" and give him no more notice than I would.. say, Steve Montador.

Derek, you're on notice.

this kid is too cute

So.. i was at the Pepsi center on Thursday, as per usual, to take my 3-yr old nephew skating.

And who should we see when we exited the rink but Tyler Myers, Mike Grier and Tim Kennedy!

Benjamin (my nephew) was fascinated- he LOVES any sort of "hockey guys", and just stared at them. It was cute. He said "Sam, who are those hockey guys?" and I told him they were Sabres. He just kept looking. Hahaha. Then we took off our skates, and I saw Royzie wander by. We had some time, so I told Benj that we could stay and watch the Sabres skate for a few mins.

So we go into the rink where they were skating, and they wander out.. I point out who is who and he is wide-eyed and loving every minute of it. I noticed that Goose wasn't on the ice, and I mentioned it to Benjamin. He loves Gaustad- probably has to do with the Goose name- he always calls him "Paul Gaustad Goose" like it's all part of his name, LOL.

So he wants to know where Goose is.. and I say that I don't know. I tell him that maybe Goose wasn't feeling well- he can relate, having just had a bout with the flu himself and telling us that he "wasn't feeling very well" for a few days. Then Benj tells me that that wasn't it, but rather Paul Gaustad Goose wasn't playing hockey
"Because he didn't do his schoolwork."

That cracked me up all day.. I'm pretty sure that wasn't why Goose was absent, but it was way too cute for me. The kid knows- hockey is fun, and you can't have fun if you didn't get your work done. LOL
Of course we know that Goosie IS sick. :( Hope he's up and at 'em soon!

I didn't see or hear tonight's game (I'm in Ohio) and it seems that I didn't miss much. All I have to say is OUCH!

Oh wait, I do have something to say- HOW DOES ROYZIE STILLLLLL not HAVE ANY GOALS? Get on it, my man!

I need to catch up

I haven't posted in a week and a day.. EEK! In that time, I have been a game (Friday) and watched 2 others. I should get on with the writing. I also managed to catch a cold along the way, so I've been feeling a bit blah and haven't been internetting as much as usual. SO instead of some long-winded (me? long-winded? surely ye jest!) post, I think I'll throw some bullet points out there and do it the easy way.

Friday:
-The game was fun.
-I really liked the tribute to Marty Biron. It almost brought a tear to my eye. Well done, Buffalo. :)
-I think the applause when they announced Myers' goal was the loudest it was at any point the game. We love this kid!
-Myers is the real deal. He will make some rookie mistakes (see: his mis-read on Max's goal Saturday) but he has such skills that we have to keep him! I might say more on him later.
-woohoo for 6 goals! :) I like it when that happens.
-Sitting next to me for the game were 2 fellas from Los Angeles, who were on a hockey road trip. They were really neat to chat with and are blogging about it, so check 'em out! :)

Saturday:
-I missed most of the game and most of the goals BUT..
-DON'T LET KOVIE HAVE THE PUCK IN YOUR ZONE. HE WILL SCORE!
-Poor Max. It was clear that his time in Buffalo was up, and it's not like he skipped town to spite us, but he was very popular here so it was a bit rough for him to get such a reception. Of course scoring against us didn't help his case!
-Say what you will, but if you watched closely, Myers kinda misplayed Max on his goal. Not saying that he could have stopped it (Max can be super dangerous when he's ON), but Myers stayed with him, then kinda backed off. I don't think he was prepared for the speed that Max is capable of. Not a black mark on the Wunderkid's record or anything, but something that I noticed that a more seasoned d-man (or someone who had played with Afinogenov before may have done differently)
-The Sabres looked tired.
-WHY do we always play Lalime against Atlanta? This never ends well. I am always defending Lalime because he often gets thrown into difficult situations.. maybe next time can we play him on game 1 of a back-to-back when the boys have fresh legs? Dunno.. just a thought.

Wednesday:
-DUDE. 5-1 after the first? Sign me up for these Sabres! :)
-Darth Vader and storm troopers dropping the puck? 'Nuff Said. :)

I may scratch up a SAB for ya soon to make up for missing it yesterday but no promises..

And one other thing, to close:

Mike Grier: 2 GOALS
Tyler Myers: 2 GOALS
Patrick Kaleta: 2 GOALS

Derek Roy: 0 GOALS. Yes, you read that right.. ZERO GOALS.

What?

Fantasy Hockey Roundup Week 2

Here it is for Week 2:

Trick Nashties (IPB AmazingLeague)
Record: 5-5
MVP: Bryzgalov was a super stud for the 2nd week in a row (who knew?) with 3W 0.95 GAA, a .959 Save% AND 1SO
Honorable Mention: Henrik Zetterberg 1G 3A 1PPG and 13SOG
Most Useless Team Member: Martin Havlat- 0G 0A -2, 1SOG LAME!
----
Into The Boards: (Cincinnati Cyclones League)
Record: 0-12-3. Yeah, you read that right.. I won ZERO categories. My team needs some serious maintenance. GRRRR I seriously got owned in faceoffs and shots on goal!
MVP: Sharpie led the team in points again, he really is a stud.
Honorable Mention: Marty Brodeur. 2W 1.96GAA, .923 Save% and a shutout
Most Useless Team Member: Marc-Edouard Vlasic- 0G 0A 0everything but a -2 and 5 SOG. STRUGGLIN.
----
RedRogues (Z is for Zamboni)
Record: 4-8-3
MVP: Sharpie owned again with 2G 2A 4Pts +2 and 12SOG
Honorable Mention: Steven Stamkos again with 2G 2A 2PPG and 23 Faceoffs but his -5 Sucked!!
Most Useless Team Member: Danny Cleary. NO points whatsoever. Not even any PIMs but he did get 4 SOG. Oh and he also hooked me up with a -1.


So.. I need to pay closer attention to these guys and do some tinkering, but I have been busy and not very internet-y for a while.. so I'll get there eventually. Good thing there's no money on this or anything.. hahahaha

Eventually I'll come back with some thoughts about the Sabres.. if I can ever sit down long enough to write them all up.

Sabre Sightings!

Today I took my 3-yr old nephew skating at the Pepsi Center. We do this often on Thursdays, since he is learning to skate, and they have a preschool skate in the mornings on Thursday, which are not too busy for us otherwise. He did very well. It was only his 3rd time with his new hockey skates. (I bought them a few weeks ago and when we tried them on he said 'They're cozy!' You may all ooh and aww now. LOL)

So anyway, there we were. I had a vague thought that the Sabres might be at the Pepsi Ctr today because of the Lady Gaga? concert at HSBC.. so I was not surprised when one of the ppl working commented on my nephew's Sabres shirt and said we could watch the Sabres later.

Well, we finished skating around the time when the fellas were wandering in and warming up before hitting the ice. We couldn't actually stay to watch them skate- we were meeting my sis for lunch- but we did see some of the guys. Butler, Tallinder (WOW he has skinny legs!?), Lydman, Mair ( I think), Lalime, Grier, and 2 guys I didn't know on sight (they had hats on) walked by and kinda glanced over as we were taking our skates off and putting shoes on (there was no one else there) but that was about it. Though when we first came out from the rink we were on, there was one guy down the way, with shorts and a Sabres sweatshirt on. He was just kind of chillin, walking around a little. When he passed us, he looked over and smiled. It was Ryan Miller. :) (He also has stick skinny legs, but I already knew he was a beanpole LOL) It was a nice little smile though. I wish we could have stayed to watch them skate, but they weren't on the ice and we had things to get to. it was still cool.

Oh and I LOL'd when I saw a van out in the parking lot, replacing the glass on one of the Sabres' windshields. I mean, I know that the glass places say they can "come to your workplace" to do the work, but it struck me as amusing, none-the-less. It was a fancy sporty car too.

This is freaky

I promised to get back on track with the Hockey SABs so I found a really good one for today. It hit me completely randomly.. I just grabbed on the first name I came up with, which was for some reason (I was looking at my fantasy stats right before this) Ethan Moreau. I couldn't picture his face in my mind, though I had a vague recollection that he was a nice lookin fella. Little did I know just how nice.

So I called up some google images and what to my surprise did I behold but? Moreau looks quite like one of our beloved Sabres. But don't let me tell you, look for yourself:


-Ethan Moreau of the Oilers

AND



-Paul 'Goose' Gaustad of the Sabres.

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge. It might all be in my head, but that is kind of uncanny. They could be brothers.

C'est tout!

Holy Goal Scoring, Batman!

I actually missed most of the game tonight- I was in and out of the room and missed all of the 2nd period.. but caught the highlights and all I can say is..

HELLO Buffalo! We DISMANTLED the Red Wings tonight. Just out and out owned them up one side and down the other. I can't comment much on individual play but anytime the Sabres want to score 6 goals and only allow 2 I will take it. :) Also, superb work on the Penalty Shot, Mr. Miller.

And I forgot to set my fantasy team (again), whoops. Good thing for me I left Osgood on the bench so I didn't have to absorb his 9.16 GAA! WTF Ossie? Where you at, my man? I mean, I'm glad it happened against the Sabres but whoaa..

That's about it for the moment. I think I'll even have a hockey SAB for us tomorrow. :)

Fantasy Hockey roundup Week 1

Y'all probably don't care too much, but here is how my fantasy teams' first week went:

Trick Nashties (IPB AmazingLeague) *and, much to my dismay, and a late drafting order, Rick Nash (the inspiration for that brilliant moniker) is NOT on my team. How rude!*
Record: 5-4-2
MVP:Patrick Sharp: Not only does he up the hotness factor of my team by like a zillion points, but he also had 3G, 3A was a +3, all 3G were PPG and he lead the team with 15 shots on goal. Well done.

Runner-up: Ilya Brrzgalov with 2 W, a Shutout and 1.34GAA (to balance out Osgood's 4+GAA)
Most Useless Team Member: Chris Osgood. 0 Wins and 4.06 GAA and .826 Save% OUCH!
--
Into the Boards (cincinnati cyclones league)
Record: 4-10-1 (got my butt kicked by my best friend!)
MVP: Sharpie owned that team too, but I'll give it to Teemu Selanne with 4 G (2PPG) and 13 shots. He also had 2 PIM for me
Runner-up: Rod (the Bod) Brind'Amour. His 25 Faceoff wins is almost half of the entire team's output. DAMN.
Most Useless Team Member:Nathan Horton. 0Pts and -4. Way to go, champ!
--
RedRogues (Z is for Zamboni League)
Record: 5-8-2
MVP: Sharpie is also in this league, but Patrick Marleau outplayed him just a bit. Marleau owned with 5G, 1A, +1, 1PPG, 1SHGoal, 1Game winner, AND 25 faceoffs. IMpressive!
Runner-up:Steven Stamkos is doing well so far in his sophomore season with 2G, 2A +3, 1PPG, 20 shots and 31(!) faceoffs. :)
Most Useless Team Member:Filip Kuba- he is currently injured and has missed a few games, but not before earning a -2 rating in a game first! BOOO!
--

I will try to do this every week then at the end of the season we'll see who has earned the most MVPS, Runner-ups and MUTM Awards and have a ceremony! (and yes, you can be sure I'll write some speeches. HAHAHA)

:)

Red Wings and Sabres tomorrow. It should be a good matchup. The Sabres usually play pretty decently against the Wings (and almost always end up losing in the end) so we'll see. I hope they can at least score some frickin goals!!! And Osgood is the starter, and he's been a bit swiss cheezy lately so maybe that will continue!

let's go Buffalo!

Welcome all welcome all welcome all my friends

Yippie, I went to my first (reg season) Sabres game tonight! :) It was grand.... oh how I love hockeytime!

Some thoughts on the game:

-I really liked Myers. He played pretty solidly- but he does occasionally get caught too deep in the zone- however, he was not bad for only his 2nd game. :) And his heads-up play to keep the puck in the zone for that first goal was REALLY GREAT. (and right in front of me) Good job!!

-The dudes behind me were raggin on Butler all night.. I didn't think he was that bad, but seriously, I was not happy with Hank. (sorry Heather!) He seemed lazy tonight, or slow. He shied away from contact and wasn't playing with much hustle. It was disappointing and I have no idea what is up with him but I want old Hank back.

-Royzie was decent. He made some really slick plays a few times and had some great chances.

-I really LOVED the pressure the Sabres managed to keep FOR THE WHOLE GAME. They really didn't let up the pace at all and it FINALLY paid off for them. That was really great to see because that is something they have certainly struggled with.

-Miller played very well tonight. He came up with some SICK saves and the right time to keep the boys in it. That is the Ryan Miller we all know and love and that's who we need to see night in and night out. I think his stellar play really kept the boys going.

-I liked Montador. He was good on the point during those power plays especially.

-Speaking of the power play, they have to got to get that in gear. They finally put one away after 29038098654 minutes of PP time. (which is not to say they didn't have chances galore, but it was grand for one to finally go in!) Gotta work on taking advantage of that opportunity.

-Go MacArthur. He had a rough pre-season but looked pretty great tonight with the goal (a really smart play to hold on to the puck like he did.) and an assist on Vanek's goal. Good on ya, Clarke.

-Kaleta was fantastic tonight- super feisty: fighting, hitting and drawing penalties left and right, just like he's supposed to. He's fun to watch. Goose was ready to go with Upshall too, but I think Scottie was afraid. Haha.

-Jason Labarbera. WHOA. This dude is not amazing (career stats-wise), but he sure played a good game tonight. I was somewhat surprised to see him in net after Bryz had the shutout against the Pens last night, but it worked out pretty well. The Sabres had 39 shots on goal, and he stopped all but 37. That is not too bad of a night, if I do say so. He should feel pretty okay about it, all things considered.

-I had so much fun being AT a Sabres game again.. ahhh hockey. :) I started a few "Let's Go Buffalo" cheers. (if you heard some from 116, that was me, and the dudes around me LOL) I love love love that!

-The guys next to me were hilarious. The guys behind me were fun too, and one of them was super hot. He plays hockey too, and spent all game pointing out little things the players were doing to the kids he was with. It was really neat to listen in.

-I took a few pics tonight, and they are on facebook, along with some other random ones from the day.. Link is HERE, and hey, add me as a fb friend if you haven't already! :)

-Ran into Clare, Frostee, Kim and Kelsi (who I was meeting for the first time) in the concourse. That was cool- great to see you ladies! :)

And I think that's about all I have. A great Sabres win tonight. Hopefully more to come! :)

CPR

Time to revive the ole standby of Hockey Separated at Birth! (I will try to have a new one every Wednesday of the Season.. and as always if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to send 'em in!)

So I bring you the first one of the 2009-2010 season:



-Mike Modano of the Stars

AND



-Kevin Costner- circa 1991- a la "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge!
I think the resemblance is most striking in the Robin Hood days, from the obvious standpoint of the mullet, etc but there is definitely some correlation between the two, non?

:)

I think that eventually I'll revive my hockey songs-- I have a few I still need to share with y'all, and maybe one day I'll write some new ones. I need to get this blog back into shape, since the season is underway! :)

There is some more hockey on my tv

YAY I'm watching the Devils and Rangers. It's a decent game.. I do love the Devils so it's nice to see them on tv, even though the Rangers are winning at the moment. It's almost the end of the 2nd period.

So, while I take in this scene, I'll post some randomness.

I hope y'all don't think that since I've been gushing over Sloaner so much during the preseason, I have forgotten about my Sabres. I still love them of course and I'm super happy that hockey is back, but I am just excited about my boy. I mean, I saw his first pro game, ya know? So now that he's in the big leagues, I just can't help but get all excited for him! (and maybe next time he'll LOOK at me during warmups LOL)

Can I just say that the commercials for the powermat wireless charger are *bleeping* obnoxious? I mean, if you can't promote your product without (implied) profanity, it can't really be that bleeping good then, can it? Whatever.

So anyway, back to the Sabres. I watched Saturday's game while reading everyone's opinions of Saturday's game.. on Sunday. So I dunno.. I think the game was decent. I liked the feistiness the boys were showing, and the willingness to step up for each other and lay down some smack, though there were no actual fights. I did LOL when Pommer was grabbing Hal Gill. Good effort! ;)

They clearly need some more goals, (duh) and where was Vanek?, but overall, I think it was a decent start to the year. Remember that hockey is 82 games, and yes, each game and each point counts, and there is much to improve on, but I was good with what I saw.

I'm going to Thursday's game, so hopefully I'll have some comments with a little more depth to them.

I could do without the Celino and Barnes commericals with Derek Roy. EWW. I mean, great on ya, Derek, for donating money to the Diabetes Foundation or whatever exactly it is, but why them? Yick.

Side note, (one of) my dream job is an NHL analyst.

Side note #2-Why is Engblom not wearing any socks? I'm scared.

Oh and may I please just say that Michael Del Zotto is really good looking? Because he IS. He's about a zillion years too young for me (cuz I'm an ancient old hag at 28, LOL) but I can look, eh?

EWW remind me that I don't like Chris Pronger cuz he's a punk and he plays nasty and mean. (but dammit, he's got that gap-toothed smile that makes me melt anywhere else.) I'm just not allowed to see him off the ice because then I forget that I.DON'T.LIKE.HIM and think.. "Ooh he's cute...WAIT EWW That's Pronger!! GROSSSSSSS!"

Sorry, feeling a bit on the girly side. I don't try to hide that I look at players beyond their hockey stats. It is just a way of life. Doesn't mean I know anything less about hockey, but some things just need to be discussed. LOL

I want pizza! But we have no pizza at my home so I guess that's not going to happen.

I slightly love the NHL2K10 commercial with Ryan Kesler. :) He's awesome. Speaking of commercials, I think the dude from the freeCreditreport.com ones is totally cute. LOL does that make me lame? Probably but there.. I said it. Haha

Whoa Rangers Asst Coach Mike Sullivan is kinda scary. He was reaming his boys a new one after that boarding penalty in the 3rd.

C'mon Devils!! Y'all have a power play, do something with it!

Is it me, or is it totally weird to see Rob Neidermayer playing for the Devils?

Really, even on VS, we have to point out that the Hobey Baker is the 'Heisman of Hockey'? WE KNOW THAT! Speaking of Hobey, I really need to read some more books about him.. the guy was pretty fascinating!

UUUUGHH the Devils lost. :(

C'est tout.

Bring it on

WoooO! There is hockey on my tv, for the first time since June. YAY! Some observations from tonight's matchup between Washington and Boston.

-Glad to see Engblom still has the mullet. Keep it going strong, brother. ;)

-Sloaner make the cut, but he's not playing tonight. He's the spare 'D' man.

-YAY it wasn't Christine Simpson doing the intermission interview.. I can't stand that girl. Of course, now I have an exclusive interview with Sid to look forward to.. think I'll pass.

-Is it me or are car commercials getting weirder and weirder? You have the people who look like "flowers' in the.. I think it's a Prius commercial.. then I just saw that weird one for a Honda Insight. It's a CAR.

-EWWWWW we were just treated to a show of Sid's perve-stache from last year's playoffs.. GROSS. I did not need to be reminded of that. LOL

-I need to find the "Top 10 THings You'll Never Hear a Hockey Player Say" from Letterman last night. It may have been the Rangers (puke) but that is bound to be funny! And even funnier is how wooden Drury is when he presented his line. Could you make an effort, dude?

-I'm not going to lie- I absolutely adore hockey. You guys know this. I'm not a Sabres fan, I'm a hockey fan who likes the Sabres. (and other teams) That being said, I am ecstatic to see hockey on tv again.. but I don't know if I'll sit through this whole game. It's not a bad game, and wooo!hockey! but I am in the middle of a fantastic book right now and I'd really rather read.. so I think I'm going to do that and check up on hockey later. Maybe I'll catch a bit of the Canucks/Flames game on CBC tonight. And I will most certainly check the Sabres on Saturday! (I'm GOING to the game next Thursday.... wooo!)

Can you smell that smell?

YAY hockey starts for really for reals tomorrow! :)

I'm ready. It's been a really long offseason without even the gift of a team that I enjoy winning the Cup this year. Blah blah.. but on Saturday, the Sabres get to start all over again!

I've got all sorts of frippery floating around in my head, like some start-of-season rituals I used to have such as wearing a jersey to school on opening day (no matter how hot it was outside, and we had some really warm days LOL) or poring over schedules and opening night rosters until I had them memorized.. but this year is much calmer. I may wear my Devils shirt tomorrow for the heck of it, and I did read some predictions in The Hockey News from a few weeks ago (I've got 2 back issues I need to catch up on) but it will be low key. I may be at Saturday's game, and if I'm not actually there, then you know I'll be watching. WOOOHOO! Real, live hockey is (almost) back!

Let us rejoice!

Making the Cut

HE MADE IT! Tyler Sloan is on the opening night roster for the Capitals!
Article Here

I particularly liked this quote from Boudreau:
On Sloan over Alzner:
"Tyler Sloan was our best defenseman in camp, so what kind of reward or justice would that have been to send him down today. We had nine, and it was really hard to send Karl down, because he played really well, too. At this stage, he was the easiest guy to send down. As reasonings go, and this is what I told Karl, sometimes the salary cap hurts you, sometimes it helps you. And in this case, it hurt us."

Wheeeeee! :) Now I just hope he can stay.

bits and bites

a few quick items..

*The Sabres closed out their pre-season with a 7-6 win over the Leafs. So far scoring has not been a problem in the preseason and we've seen some cool stuff. I hope they take the "complete game" thing to heart. We'll see on FRIDAY! It's almost here..

*He's at it again:
"Road" trippin with Patrick Sharp . He's so silly.

*Sloaner is still with the Caps. They have 7 d-men from last year and he and Alzner are the 2 new guys trying to crack the lineup. He had an assist today and was a +2 for the game.. not too shabby. He's been playing really well and he would have to clear waivers to be sent back to the AHL so that is actually something in his favor, because they don't want to lose him.. so he could actually start with the Caps. WOOOO! :)

That's all for now. I'll probably do some more get ready for hockey posts soon. :)

I know a few of you read this..

URGENT URGENT URGENT::::

What are you waiting for?

Come play fantasy hockey with meeeee...
it's free and fun to play. No experience necessary. http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/
League ID is 167605 and the password is steviey to join. :)

Even if you're already in another league (or 2, like me) you can still be part of the fun.

I need more teams.. please come play!

woooot!

Sloaner scored a goal last night! :)

And Coach Boudreau had this to say about him:
*Tyler Sloan also received some praise from Boudreau. The defenseman was solid all night and blocked four shots. "He certainly played good," Boudreau said. "I thought he was as good as we had."

Not too shabby, eh? My boy is making a case to stay with the big club this year. :) Awwwwwww

while we're at it

Who wants to play fantasy hockey?

I made a league of my own this year.. (in addition to the 2 I played in last year.. LOL)
if you want to join, here is the link:
http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/register/joinleague

Select the join custom league button:
The league ID is 167605 and the password is steviey. There are 12 spots available, so jump on it! :)

(it's free to play and it's super fun!)

YAY Sabres/Caps tonight and Derek Roy AND Tyler Sloan are playing. SUPER!!! :):)

The end of the beginning

Farewell to Bret Hedican, one of the last guys from the old 93-94 Canucks (my first favorite hockey team) to call it quits. He was also the last guy (along with Pavel Bure) to be traded from that team. (Linden came back, but that doesn't count) I always liked Hedican, he was a solid, underrated, stay at home defenceman who just got the job done. :)

He was about the only reason I was happy to see the 'Canes win the Cup in 06 after they beat the Sabres. It was good for him, one of those guys who never got a lot of attention, but was solid and steady, to get a moment to shine. :)

I met him briefly once, during a Panthers/Blue Jackets exhibiton in Cincinnati. He and several other big name Panthers were sitting out (Ray Whitney, Scott Mellanby, Trevor Kidd and Vicktor Kozlov were the others) and I found them up in the stands and asked for autographs. They were all quite kind and hooked me up. :) Hedican was friendly, even.

He will be missed from hockey, but I'm sure he'll be happy whatever he does.

Almost but not quite

So... I acutally watched most of the Bills game tonight. I still don't really care about football, but occasionally it can be decent. My sis is visiting and she likes football so it was on and I was being social. (and really, I should be a football fan by default. My parents and sibs (minus Quin, who doesnt really care about sports at all) love football, as does most of my extended fam.) But I just haven't felt the draw to football that I have towards hockey.

However, I found myself actually caring about what happened to the Bills tonight. It was somewhat interesting. Painful, as the Bills are wont to be, but interesting. They seemed to be making such a huge deal about how heartbreaking it was, but let's be honest with ourselves- it's THE BILLS. This is how they roll. They make you think that this time they'll really do it. They have a few great drives, make a statement, then forget how to play football for 3 minutes and then it's over. Just like our beloved Sabres. It is BUFFALO. It happens. We should be used to it now. It's really probably more of a surprise when they manage to win.

So with that in mind, it was still sad that they couldn't get it done. There were some very good things about tonight, but I won't pretend to know enough about football to talk about them. I have a basic understanding of the game, and can usually tell if something is good or bad, but the nuances are somewhat lost on me because I don't care enough to learn.

So, I will say some things of a completely superficial nature:
-I liked the Patriots throwback uniforms a lot better than their usual ones.
- The referee uniforms are a bit much though. LOL
-Could the announcers please let go of Tom Brady's junk? They were up in his piece all damn night and I was so grossed out of it. Please NOTE: Tom Brady is NOT the only athlete to ever have major knee surgery. Get. Over. It.
-Moving on.. Trent Edwards is cute and so clean-cut looking. I have no idea if he's a decent person, or if he even has any personality, but I'm okay with him being a "face" of my city.
-Ditto that for Paul Pozluszny- he's just awesome. But he seriously needs a haircut.
-I hate the "crunch" of football players colliding. For some reason, the sound of hockey players crashing into one another doesn't bother me. It's similar but not the same and the football sound is so much more cringe-inducing for some reason.

That's all of the non-hockey observations I have for now.

Hockey in 3 days!!! perhaps I shall write a happy it's almost hockey time post soon but it's not ready yet. My brother in law has season tickets and he got them today. WOOO! :) They look really cool. I was excited to see that the Devils, Caps and Blackhawks all come to visit on the same week in December. That will be an interesting week for teams that I like other than the Sabres. Maybe I'll get to see a few- probably the Devs at least. I'd really like to see the Patrick Sharp- er I mean Blackhawks.. but we'll see what happens.

I know that I missed it but this is too good

I've been massively slacking on the Hockey SABs lately (and it's Thursday, not Wednesday) , but with no actual hockey to watch, it becomes difficult to find them sometimes. However, yesterday when Anne listed her Western Conference Boyfriends for the year, I was struck by one photo in particular.

You can tell me what you think- it may just be the superficial "crusty old man" look that they have going on, but there is a definite resemblance here.

Without further ado, I give you..



-Everyone's favorite "Is he retired or not?" Contestant, Brett (I-cant-say-my-name-right: it should be Fah-Vray, not Farrrrve, but I digress) Favre

AND



-The crustiest of the old crusties still in the NHL (minus, perhaps Rod the Bod Brind'Amour, if he's still kickin) Owen Nolan

I'm feelin it. Separated at Birth? You be the judge.

I may write up a preview or something soonish, or I may not. I won't be at PuckDrop oon Saturday as I have callbacks for a play I just auditioned for but it is all good because ONE WEEK from now I will have seen the first Sabres hockey of the year. (and Tyler Sloan too, if I'm lucky)

HUZZAH! :)

GET READY

I have tickets to the Sabres/Caps game in 2 weeks! :)

And I expect that my boy Sloaner will be playing for the Caps- they signed him to a 1 year, 2-way deal last year. I just read they re-signed him-- and since he played 26 games in the reg season last year(and 2 playoffs!), (and was pretty decentI imagine they'll give him a good look in the preseason.

So that being said, I need to think up a sign to make for that game, so I can catch his attention! I will wear his jersey of course- but I want him to notice me. (and then I can freak him out because the last time he saw me I was in Salt Lake City, LOL) I may try to go to practice that day- dunno if the pre-season practices are open to the public or not, esp. when it's the other team, but it's worth investigating non? And I really do know him, I'm not making that up. ;)

I found some great articles about his NHL playoff debut- which can be viewed here and here if you are interested.

I AM SO READY FOR HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!!!

slacker slacker

I'm missing a hockey SAB (even though today was MY birthday- well technically it was yesterday by the calender- the 26th) BUT I have a survey for your viewing pleasure- it's about hockey!

What is the first jersey you ever owned?
Vancouver Canucks road (dark) jersey- circa 1994. As I was quoted as saying when I got it on my 13th birthday- "It's not ugly, it's beauuuutiful!" LOL

Keep your ticket stubs or throw them away?
I keep 'em!

What current rule or penalty would you remove from the game and why?
touch-up icing. I HATE that bullshit. Just call it.

What one rule or penalty would you add?
mandatory visors at the NHL level. Everyone else does!

Forget predictions and rankings and who finished where last year – all logic aside, what two teams (one East, one West) would you love to see compete for the Cup this year?
Sabres v. Blue Jackets ;)

Which team has the best mascot?
San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. T-Bone is badasssss

Whose press conference would you rather listen to – John Tortorella, Bruce Boudreau or Ron Wilson?
Bruce Boudreau

Who is the most underrated player in the league? The most overrated?
Underrated: Paul Gaustad.. LOL I dunno?
Overrated: Joe Thornton? I hate that guy

Who is your favorite all-time player? Who is your favorite active player?
PAVEL BURE!!!!!!!!!!!! And Derek Roy/Martin Brodeur

Give us your favorite hockey saying that doubles as a dirty euphemism.
He was gripping his stick too tight

What game(s) on your team’s schedule are you most looking forward to this season?
WASHINGTON because I might get to see T-Sloan play again!

Do you read team-specific blogs about teams other than your own? Which ones and why?
more of my blogs are Sabres, though Dannie writes about the Blue Jackets and Kena writes about the Stars and Pens but she's cool.. same with Frostee and the Caps.

Do you think the NHL will ever put a team in Hamilton, Kansas City and/or Las Vegas?
please not Hamilton, it will kill the Sabres. Go for KC.. there used to be a team there and ick=Vegas

What team has improved the most this summer?
not the Sabres. LOL

Everyone’s got a guilty pleasure – what player and/or team do you like that you really shouldn’t?
Ovie hahaha and I don't hate the Stars, which is anathema in Buffalo

What is your favorite hockey memory?
Oh dear- so many. Probably my first NHL game. I was 13- March 17, 1995- Joe Louis Arena- Red Wings vs. Canucks. I was cheering for the Canucks. (quite loudly, i might add) I stared right at Pavel Bure during warmups and he stared back. I nearly died- but made it through and our seats were in the 2nd to last row but we had so much fun. One of the best birthday presents EVER!

Which team has the worst jersey? How about the worst third/specialty jersey?
I don't like the Wild's Christmas jerseys.. and I hate everything about the Rangers. The Stars 3rd jerseys were ugly but I dunno if they have them anymore..

Roll out your favorite homemade player nickname(s).
Joe SUckic (even though I respect him as a player, he spent his whole career with Colorado and that's just GROSS) and Claude LeMUCUS- I hate that frickin guy.

If you could move any uprooted team (e.g. Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers, etc.) back to their original home, which one would you move?
Quebec

What will Jeremy Roenick’s next career move be?
I see him as an analyst on VS. I wish he and Barry Melrose would get together- that'd be hilarious!

Have you ever stopped rooting for one hockey team and started rooting for another? If so, what made you switch?
I stopped cheering for the 'Nucks when they traded Bure in 1999- but he and Bret Hedican were the last of my first team from 1994 to be traded so it just made sense to change allegiances. Similarly, when Bure left the Panthers, I didn't watch them as much. (but I will NEVER cheer for the Rangers, I don't care that my man played some games with them.) I've added the Devils and Sabres to my teams, but the Red Wings have been there all along.

Do you follow other sports besides hockey or are you a one-sport fan?
pretty much just hockey. I'll go to a baseball game here or there but it holds no allure for me.

Which free agent acquisition do you think will have the biggest impact on his new team?
Havlat could do some things in Minnesota.

Of the five lottery teams last season (Tampa, Atlanta, NY Islanders, Phoenix, Colorado) which one(s) will make the playoffs this year?
Colorado

What is your favorite hockey reference in a non-hockey movie/TV episode?
"Wayne Gretzky? On steroids?"- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

What player from the other 29 teams would you love to have on your team?
Patrick Sharp

I have a post!

I was perusing the lovely team USA camp photo shoot today- some of which were decidely silly, and found a gem. WHO KNEW that Ron Hainsey was quite a lovely gent? Not I, that is for certain. But he really is.. and more importantly, he looks like someone. Oh... who is it?

And then I knew:


-Actor Eric Bana

AND


-I think he's a Thrasher (and former Blue Jacket)? Ron Hainsey

What do you think? Separated at Birth?

Works for me. :)

In other sports news..

Wow I'm wandering from hockey a bit today, aren't I?

I just read another article saying how Softball, Baseball, karate, squash and "roller sports"- (say what?) are gone from the Olympic games, while Women's Boxing is in, and Rugby 7s and Golf are on the slate for 2016.

I'm cool with adding women's boxing.\, (I think you have to be nuts to want to box at all, but more power to them) and rugby is crazy and a very international sport- but to peace out softball and baseball seems kind of insane to me.

If they want to take the "too many professionals allowed" approach about baseball, I could almost go there, but ditching softball? That just seems rude to all the girls out there who dream of getting to some huge level. What is there for them after college? Before, there was the chance to represent their country at the Olympics, but not anymore. I never played softball in my life- I find it too hard to throw the ball, because it's huge- but I have respect for anyone who played an organized sport, especially at higher levels.

I guess the boxing and possibly rugby and golf are strides forward, but to get there, they have to take backwards steps.. trampoline jumping was an olympic sport and table tennis IS an Olympic sport, so... maybe Softball and Baseball will make a comeback one day?

Oh and did you know that tug-of-war was an Olympic sport from 1900-1920? Awesome.

I've got brains too- and more than just half of one

I read an interesting article in the Hockey News today about visor use.. it was just a commentary -(I do love Adam Proteau) but it certainly provided some interesting points about just how stupid professional athletes can be. This is the hockey article and it's not too bad, but it also links to an article about Major League Baseball players and the fact that they don't want to wear this new, safer helmet because it looks "dorky". Are you kidding me? That's so typical. So these guys are willing to risk their lives- AND Livelihood- because they don't want to look dorky wearing something that will protect their brains from a 100 mph fastball from 24 inches away? Nice.

It's like the hockey players who whine about wearing protective visors on their helmets. Dudes, get this- if you break your arm or your leg or pull a muscle or some such, all of that can heal with (usually) minimal complications. Eyes don't just grow back. It seems so obvious, yet many players refuse to don the visor, even with all sorts of horriffic stories about eye injuries that could have been prevented.

I love the fact that the minor leagues adopted a mandatory visor policy a few years ago, and I think that partially because of that, more players are sticking with it when they get the NHL. Because, remember that EVERY level of hockey until the NHL requires full or half- face protection. Oh yeah, that.

And you might have the people who say that wearing a helmet with a visor makes you a wuss- well look at Pat Kaleta. He's a tough kid, not afraid to mix it up with just about anyone-and oh wait, he protects his eyes! Smart, tough kid. :) Just do what the kids in the juniors do- toss the gloves, toss the helmet, square off and start fighting.

I've witnessed first hand (literally I was about 3 feet away) what it looks like when a player takes a puck to the eye. It was the grossest thing I've probably ever seen. That player never laced up his skates again, at least not competitively. Luckily for him, he had a fallback plan- he had a degree in Education and was planning to be a teacher anyway when he was done with hockey. I don't know that all players are so prepared.

Just my rambling commentary on an issue that should be common-sense simple. But somehow, it's not. What do you think?

Helloooooo Mr. Roy

Guys I got a picture taken WITH Derek Roy today! This made me very excited and I almost embarassed myself by squeeeee-ing like a fangirl. But I managed to keep it all inside, at least until I walked away and called my sis.

Seriously, he was at Great Skate signing autographs. It was cool- well no actually it was HOT because it was outside, and someone decided it would actually be summer today. (I hate summer weather.) But I managed to not melt (or get sunburned- thank you SPF 50!) and got an autograph on my jersey and a picture with Derek.

I did not enter the store of Great Skate, nor did I peruse the merchandise at their tent sale because I do not need or really want anything from there. I'm sure there is tons of lovely hockey-ness inside/outside but I dearly love and am very attached to my 12 year old pair of hockey skates (Bauer Supreme 76s- my 16th birtday present) which are perfectly molded to my feet through years of skating in them. Similarly I love my old, used Easton wood 95 something or other Steve Yzerman model stick that I bought about 7 years ago from a used sporting goods store that has a wicked sweet (probably illegal) curve on it. My scraggly hockey gloves could possibly use replacing, but I use them so rarely that it doesn't really matter.

So the point of all that rambling is that while there is lovely merchandise at Great Skate, I did not need (nor could really afford) it so I stayed away. Wise of me, eh? But they were kind enough to hold the signing outside so I was still able to "meet" my favorite Sabre and get his autograph and picture.

For those who are wondering- Derek looked pretty good. (and I don't mean (just) his face LOL) Maybe he's been working out this summer so he can be ready for camp and not some fat lazy slob like he was at the start of last season. I hope he comes out on fire and we can get some of the old, feisty, scrappy Derek back. He was fun. He was very pleasant and polite, chatting it up with all the little kids, which was cute. he didn't quite smile for my pic, but it's still pretty good. I'm not complaining. :)

So without further ado (and no more babbling, I'm sure y'all are sick of me already) here is the pic of Derek Roy and I! :)

pathetic

WOW- The "Buffaslug" came in at #30- LAST place in The Hockey News Jersey Rankings.

I know it's bad, but it can't be THAT bad, can it? I know that there are jerseys that I find uglier than ours- like the Stars (BORING as hell), or the Ducks- UGLY- and don't even get me started on 3rd jerseys (but this is primaries- our 3rd jerseys is awesome). Yeesh. I think there is some voting, if anyone wants to help raise us off the floor.. lol just thought I would share!

i like it

So Mike Grier is a Sabre again? I'm okay with it. He may not be the most skilled dude, but he is tough and he works hard-both things that the Sabres were rather lacking in last year. Not only is he tough and a hard worker, but he will beat that into the rest of those slackers or die trying. That is even better.

Welcome back dude! :) We need less pretty boys and more blue collar fellas around here.

Speaking of Pretty Boys, Derek Roy will be signing autographs at Great Skate on Saturday.. and I am planning to be there! :) YAY!

That is all, thank you.

what the?

Gee Pat Kane, way to be a classy kid.

Thanks for reppin for the B-lo. I mean, I know it's your city and all, but weren't you supposed to make us look BETTER?

gross.

my poor lonely blog

Today is Sidney Crosby's Birthday!

I hope you all celebrate by watching the Winter Classic (complete with commentary every time Sid took a breath on the bench) and the Stanley Cup Finals from last year and this year.

I don't know what I'm doing, but there is pizza tonight with my friends (a few of whom watched the Winter Classic with me when we learned about just how Sid invented hockey, et al) so there may be some silliness involved.

Happy 8/7 Sidney Crosby Day!

Pre-seasonings

Oooh the Caps are coming to town in pre-season! September 17. I think I can probably be there for that, especially if T-Sloan is playing! (which he quite likely could be. He's still got the 2-way contract, and he spent a good chunk of time with the Caps last year so they'll probably give him a good look in pre-season.) YAY!

If he is playing and I do go (planning on both) then I should make a sign or something so I can get his attention and say hi! :) I miss him..

A clue!

The Sabres have agreed to terms with Sekera (multi-year) and MacArthur (one year). That's good but what about Staffy?

Something tells me he's on the block and the Sabres are just waiting for someone to bite. I hope they get a good deal for him, because I hate letting good (and potentially good) players walk.

I got it!

Okay it's technically Thursday (at least in my time zone LOL) but here's a hockey SAB for the week anyway.

I will weigh in on the schedule later, but I needed to share this while it was fresh in my mind.

So without further ado, I present you:



-Drew Cribley, guitarist for the (totally awesome and playing in Rochester next wednesday if anyone wants to go with me) band Thriving Ivory

AND



-Our beloved goalie Ryan Miller.

Separated at Birth? You be the judge. I never noticed it before, but I was watching one of their videos and it was like... whoa Drew looks like Millsy. He's even got the super tall/skinny thing going on. :)

THis is rather amusing

Wow peeps, I finally have a hockey SAB. I know I've been slacking the last few weeks, but it's hard when I don't have hockey to watch to gain inspiration from.. but the draft helped a bit in that regard.

(even though it's still Tuesday, I doubt I'll be at the computer much tomorrow since I'm working all day, so here ya go- a bit early)



-New Sabres Draftee Zach Kaissan

AND



-My cousin JP (who has probably never been to a hockey game in his life, and certainly has never played hockey LOL)

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge. I wish I could get a pic of Zach smiling cuz then we'd really see, but the first thing I thought when I saw the dude was that he looks like JP. (which I suppose means he looks a bit like me since JP and I could practically be siblings, we look so much alike LOL) Maybe Zach is some random distant relative I never knew I had? We did have some family come to Canada on my mom's side back in the 1600s and we know almost nothing about my Dad's side so maybe some of them went to Canada and stayed instead of joining the rest of the peeps in Louisiana. It could happen. LOL

I suppose I should weigh in on free agency etc

First of all- Happy Canada Day to any of my Canadian readers! :)

In reference to my last post- I did not join the Sabres for the draft day party. (but I didn't hear any reports about Royzie being there, so I don't think i missed much and I was super dead tired after 4,000 Subs! so it all worked out for the best.)

I like what the Sabres did in the draft, as much as you can like anything so uncertain. Zach Kassian looks a bit like my cousin. He may surface as a Hockey SAB if I can find a good pic of Jean-Paul (cousin) to compare him to..

(Hockey SAB is on temporary hiatus until I can be inspired again..)

Moving on- we signed someone on Free Agency day! I like the looks of Steve Montador (and I don't mean his mug, though that's not too bad either). He appears to be a tough, stay at home kind of d-man who will put up some points from time to time and basically take no prisoners. I like that in a defenceman. The offence can come, and it may, but toughness is vital.

I will miss Spacek a bit, but my heart's not breaking. That was more money than I think he is worth, and while it will suck to face him 3489754 times a year with Montreal, I will make it through, somehow.

Speaking of other free agent signings- Hossa to Chicago for 12 years SERIOUSLY? That is the kind of contract you offer a franchise player, not a rental. That is so weird and not matching of anything about the 'Hawks (except that stupid Soupy deal of last summer LOL) and it just floors me. But whatev, I'm not a GM. I feel for the Wings- they lost Hossa to Chicago (division rival), Kopecky to Chicago (division) and Conklin to St. Louis (division). Don't they have any gifts for Nashville or Columbus, to round it out? LOL

In other news, I am deeply saddened by the defection of 2 of my favorite Devils to other teams- Gionta to Montreal (seriously, what is WiTH the Habs?) and Madden to Chicago (at least I like them). I will miss them dearly. :(

And now we will see what the next few days hold. July 1 is always the biggest, but there are still some deals that will trickle down over the next few days, weeks and months. Is it October yet?

draft party usa

The Sabres are having a draft party on Friday. Unfortunately, I have to work ALL day on this insanely huge (we're talking 4000 subs) order for Subway. BUt we will be out of there (there being the Rich products building downtown) by 6pm I guess so I may head over to the Albright-Knox (if I'm not dead tired/Subway-ed out from the madness of the day) and check what's going down with the fellas. I need some hockey-love in my life!

I am leaving you without a Hockey SAB again! Sorry dear readers, but my mind is blank and not having hockey to watch is not helping that. I did greatly enjoy Goose's interview on the Sabres lunch today. He manages to pull off boyish and dead smokin sexy all at the same time. It's pretty amazing but I love it. Haha

That's about what I have for the moment. Is it October yet?