Happy Birthday Pavel Bure!

Broken Boys

Good news is all around for my broken boys:

Sharpie may begin skating this weekend and is hoping for an end-of-season return from a knee injury.

AND

Royzie skated today and said he could be back for the 2nd round (if the Sabres get there)..

WOOOOOHOOOO!

thanks!

I am going through Derek Roy withdrawal... yeah, I'm pathetic like that. And since it's been said that he will not be re-joining the team in the playoffs, I decided to google search and see what I could find.

And I found this beautiful page of happiness from a recent signing at Dave and Adam's (sports memoribilia place, for those of you not familiar with Buffalo) and it just made my day.

I've missed that face. :) I'd prefer to see it on the ice at HSBC but I'm not gonna lie, I just enjoy seeing Derek Roy in general. Haha.

I told you I'm pathetic. I'm just not afraid to admit it.

what the what

I was joined at tonight's Sabres game by the one and only Heather B. and we had a great time.

The Sabres decided to show up tonight and played some solid defence-- and Ryan Miller was ON the money as well. Gerbe had a sweet goal that he worked hard for (seems to be a common refrain these days) and Vanek took advantage of a loose puck in front of Brodeur for the easy tap-in to make it 2-0. And there it stood for the rest of the game. (Vanek was all smiles after his goal- as well he should be- those are usually the ones that inexplicably get away!)

it was an excellent night. Heather and I had some quality conversation about the state of the Sabres and hockey and whatnot. :) We also got to get up close and personal with the Sabres and Devils (and Henrik Tallinder and Adam Mair- who I keep forgetting is a Devil. Amusingly enough, I found myself thinking Brad Boyes was Mair a few times tonight.. that's going to take some getting used to.) All in all, a wonderful game. Fitting for my last (regular season at least) game in our seats. We are not renewing the season tickets for next year, so it'll be back to scrapping up a few games a year in the 300 level. Bye 2nd row, it's been nice knowing you!

In other news, I am going to marry Nathan Gerbe and have his little fun-sized babies. (don't tell Derek Roy!) :) I love that man right now-- he is really turning it on and he works SO hard.

back

Well after the last serious post (I rarely get comments anymore- is anyone still reading this?) I'm back to my usual.

I was reading the Sabres Edge blog and they did an "around the league" deal- and linked this article saying that Sharpie is broken. NOOOOO!

The 'Hawks will probably make an announcement tomorrow about the serverity of the injury (or well that he has a "lower-body injury" and a possible timetable. Oooooh I hope it's not bad and he's only out for a few. He's had SUCH a great season! I want to see my man in the playoffs (I love playoffs, because I get to see players I barely see in the reg. season.)

C'mon, I've already been deprived of Royzie since Christmas (I can hardly remember what he looks like..) don't take Sharpie away too!!

hockey history

I have been thinking about this post for several days now.. not wanting to write it until it "felt right" and I could say the words that have been tumbling around in head and get them across in the way that means what I want them to mean. I don't know if now is the time, but I'm going to try.

I've been pondering the term "hockey history" and what that means to different people. With the sudden passing of Rick Martin, hockey fans in Buffalo (and elsewhere I'm sure) seemed to be not only saddened, but wounded by his death. I say "wounded" because the feelings and emotions being talked about were very personal- not just public recognition of his worth as a hockey player, but personal attachment of his value as a human being and a member of society. You don't always find that personal attachment when it comes to a "public figure". But Rick Martin must have been different. Buffalo is different.

For a lot of people (I might even venture to say a majority of people), they are born, grow up, and then move out of their parents' house-- but often not too far from "home". They get a job in a neighboring town, or a few hours away in the same state and keep up familial relations with parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, etc. They have large, local family gatherings and everyone knows what's going on with everyone else and people regularly visit their cousins. I would say this is reasonably regular behavior.

But for some people it's different. You move around a few times before settling 2,000 miles from any extended family. It's okay because the nuclear family is a big one so there's no shortage of companionship. But there is something missing- a bigger picture of grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. Sure, those people exist, but they are seen in 3-to-5 year intervals and not known well at all. There is no resentment for this, it's normal. But then you realize it's actually not the "norm" and that many people do have personal relationships with family outside of parents and siblings. It's a little depressing but life goes on. Then you move away even further-- 400 miles from the place that YOU grew up and the cycle continues.

You wonder sometimes about your parents- when they die (hopefully MANY MANY years from now), will they be buried in Ohio, the place where they spent their adult lives, or in Louisiana- the place they came from and where the family still lives? You wonder about yourself- will you stay in Western NY or go back to Ohio- where you "came from" or somewhere else entirely? There's a sense of missing "history" and you wonder what kind of attachment your children (if you ever have any) will feel to a place. You don't really feel any attachment to one place so you sometimes find it hard to see how people can.

Then you meet Buffalo. You meet the folks who were born and raised in Buffalo and Western NY. They are proud of where they come from (most people are) and they stayed here and worked hard, just like their parents did. And they grew up watching the Buffalo Sabres and sharing the heartbreak of being a Sabres fan. They remember games at the Aud and the "French Connection" Line and all of the good ole days. They feel a love for their city and their TEAM and a sense of belonging to both of those entities- for they are tied together very strongly. Hockey is a part of Buffalo's history and if they were lucky enough to grow up in a household that cared about hockey (which is quite a few folks around these parts) then hockey is a part of their history as well.

But hockey was not a part of your history. It's not a part of your family's history. You had to come to it on your own. As a result, you don't have a history of attachment to any particular team. You move in and out of teams and players based on geography and favorites. You create your own hockey history, and as circumstances would have it, this history only goes back to 1994. That's when it all began. And you were never lucky enough to live in the same town as your favorites- not in Vancouver to see Trevor Linden or Pavel Bure, not in Detroit for Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan or Newark for Marty Brodeur. You've never met any of these men, and likely never will. But they are a part of your hockey history- you remember seeing them play and the emotion of that will stay with you forever. They made an impact on your life and you will never be quite the same as you were before your hockey odyssey.

And that is what I think that Rick Martin meant to the people of Buffalo. He came here to play hockey-- and he did that very well, from all accounts (I wasn't around to see it but the tape and the numbers don't lie.) He stayed around to make a life, but never forgot his hockey roots. Everyone spoke of him as very friendly and funny and a good person to have in Buffalo. A great ambassador for the city and the sport. A true part of Buffalo's hockey history. A shared history for anyone who was around to see it and know it and live it. And that shared history made the shared sorrow so profound. It was like losing a member of the family. Someone they all knew and loved and they will never be the same having known him (even if only on the ice) and lost him.

Rest in Peace, Rick Martin. You are not a part of my hockey history, but you are a part of where I live, and what I love about Buffalo. You will always be a part of Buffalo.

Thank you for being a part of Buffalo's Hockey History.

it sort of worked

I ignored the Sabres totally on Saturday and they gave it away to the Leafs. The LEAFS? Wow. That was embarrassing. (why can't I spell that right on the first try? Always forget the double R)

I also ignored them on Sunday. They came out and a sweet win over the Senateurs of DOOM! Good job.

I have a serious, thoughtful ramble post about "hockey history" and fandom and Rick Martin.. but that needs more time than I currently have to write it out. Stay tuned for that.. and in the meantime.

GO SABRES! *you really need to win tonight*

And

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER SLOAN! :)

I wonder as I wander

So the Sabres seem to be on quite a roll these days. I saw the end of last night's game- and that smokin OT goal by the new guy. What spunk, what drive-- who are these Sabres and where have they been all my life?

Good on them. :) I will continue my practice of sort of ignoring them, because they seem to play better when I do. I can take one for the team.. for a while at least. Doesn't mean I don't care, just means I know when to not care. Or something of the sort.

In other news... anyone heard or seen anything about Derek Roy lately? I miss my boy- haven't heard a peep about his rehab since January. I wonder how he's doing. Maybe I'll send a note to the Sabres suggestion box that they give him a shout..

I'm back

I have returned from my sojourn to New Zealand and Australia. It's so strange to have summer in February. Does that mean they play hockey on my birthday in August? That might be worth checking out.. hehehe It was a cool trip, and you can soon see pics and whatnot on my facebook page (add me if you haven't yet!)

Looks like the addition of Boyes was a good one for the Sabres thusfar. I'm a bit sad that Connolly is still on the roster (coughcoughwasteofspacecough) and that we didn't try to ditch Staffy but it was a slow market and looks like Darcy actually made a decent investment. Good job!

The fellas did pretty well in my absence- good on them! Niedermayer scored 2 goals.. in 2 games---say whaaaatttttt? Maybe I should head south more often? (though I could totally do without the 13 hour plane rides.. and the 15 hour time difference jet lag catching up to me the last 2 days- those are brutal)

So let's talk about Zdeno Chara. I don't like the dude, never have. I think he's not a dirty player, but he doesn't always watch himself. As for his hit on Pacioretty- that was pretty nasty. First off- yes, they were going for the puck. But the puck was LONG gone when Chara smashed Max's head WITH HIS ELBOW into the turnbuckle. WOW. the tape doesn't lie
Chara says he didn't mean it- fine- BUT he knew where he was, and it was a little extra shove that just wasn't necessary. And if he was truly remorseful, he would have shown that a little more after he realized Max was down. He didn't. He continued to jaw with Gomez and didn't even look over to see what was up with Max. I've seen instances where someone gets hurt on similar plays- had his head down or such, and the offending player is over there is a second- checking on the guy. Not here. Now, I know they're not all angels, but they are human beings.

I'm in no way comparing this to the Bertuzzi incident (which still sickens me). It was a heat of the moment thing, rather than a pre-mediated attack. But it was still nasty and unnecessary and I feel terribly bad for Pacioretty and the Canadiens. (And I don't even like the Habs.) But he's a young player just making his mark and it's a pretty rough injury.

Do I think it should be a suspension? Absolutely. I'd give it one, two games. But the League needs to send a message. They claim they're all about protecting players and then they let this go- why? Because it's Chara. He's a "premier player". I would bet any amount of money that had this been Patrick Kaleta, or a player like him, he'd be suspended, no questions asked. But it wasn't and he isn't. Terrible terrible double standard there, NHL. Bad on you.