WOW THAT WAS BAD AND MY NEW PROJECT

Okay so we all know how bad last night's game was well until the third period at least which is why I'm grateful that my mom and I were in Rochester for the Bandits' game. Who by the way lost in overtime, hey sound familiar? Now not to rag on Buffalo sports, but seriously it's like they don't want me to be happy. On a side note: MAXXX you make me happy and Paul and Pie and that's about it at this point.

Because I was at the Bandit's game last night Cari and S(h)ara were texting me updates the whole night to the never ending glee of the guy sitting next to me, who also happened to be a rabid Sabres fan. At one point, when Max scored, I got so excited that my phone flew out of my hands and into his lap where he saw the text I was sending S(h)ara something like "Max my heart my soul thrives only for you" or something equally ridiculous. Needless to say he made fun of me the rest of the night for obsessively checking my cell phone asking me if "my heart" had scored anymore goals. Max score two goals in one night? Perish the thought.

Now I'm not sure how many of you have any idea how much of a rivalry there is between the Bandits and the Rochester Knighthawks, lets just say that it pretty much equals the rivalry between Ottawa and the Sabres. Unfortunately, and much to my disappointment, Brandon Francis our new go to fighter got scratched so things weren't getting nearly as interesting as usual. The Bandits' lost mainly because we couldn't seem to keep the ball out of our end and the Knighthawks defense kept shutting down the Bandits' best goal scorer, and Cari's Bandits sweetie, Mark (Whose House?) Steenhuis. It was a heartbreaking loss especially against a team who we had no problem beating the last time we played them, it ended up being 23 to 6 in favor of the Bandits. I do however have a new shirt idea for the next time we play Rochester a guy walking up the stairs had a Fuck The Knighthawks t-shirt on. Well in an effort to keep everything PG I figure I'll make a T-Shirt that says Pluck the Hawks, it both gets the point across and won't offend anyone, well except maybe Knighthawks fans.

Oh and thanks to the lovely Clare from All Hawks Hockey I have my new summer project. I try to undertake at least one large project over the summer, last year it was scrapbooking all my pictures from my family's trip to California. This year it'll be to create a wall of pictures mounted on plaks (and as Clare pointed out no this isn't spelled wrong) to hang on my bedroom wall at home. These pictures are going to be hockey related and I'm going to need some help because, if you don't know it already, I have dial up at home so therefore to search for pictures takes an unbelievably long time. I'm asking any of our readers to send me their favorite pictures of hockey players regardless of the team the player might come from, I'm trying to broaden my horizons, and I'll pick the best ones to put on my wall. The pictures can be anything action shots, stylized, posed, ones you've personally taken, 'borrowed' from other people, gotten off google whatever the point is that I'd appreciate any help you guys could give me in the picture department. My email address is km.sabrechaser@gmail.com. Thanks guys (in the generic sense).

I need a few days to recover from the two losses so I'm going to go watch the first two periods of last nights game that we DVRed basically forgetting that hockey has a third period and that the Sabres used it to fall apart.

T-MINUS 2 DAYS...

The trade deadline is Wednesday and for now it all comes down to who stays and who goes. Now I'm not going to get into any great theories about who we should get and who should go because, let's face it, I'm not managment for the Sabres and they probably know a whole hell of a lot more than I can ever hope to about what they're looking for.

However, there is one thing that I do know for certain, Max needs to go. Now I love Max don't get me wrong but the man has been nothing but a waste of roster space for the last two seasons, performing well below average. In an interview Max claimed that he has been ready to play since the middle of February but Ruff hasn't put him in the line up, well needless to say it's the beginning of March and Max hasn't set foot out on the ice in a playing capacity. I'll be sad to see Max go, he was my first Sabres love and you never forget your first love, but it's time that he was put out to greener pastures or at least given to another team for a bag of pucks or maybe a pretty new pair of gloves or some skates.

It would have killed me a few years ago to admit that Max needs to go but right now he's using up valuble roster space that could go to a player who's actually going to play and who's going to play well. Instead of trading for another player how about we get some draft picks and we bring up one of the guys from Portland to fill Max's skates?

I get the text updates from the Sabres and if you do too you know the sinking feeling you get when a new text pops up on the screen. The texts can mean just about anything ranging from someone's hurt, someone's been called up from the minors, that the new mini pucks are on sale and come tomorrow or Wednesday who's been put up on the chopping block.

Now yesterday, because the new mini pucks go on sale on Sundays, I saw I had a text message as I was sitting in the upper room in my church. Now let's just say that I forgot about the whole mini puck thing and I was ready to scream when I saw the text because I thought for sure it was going to bring me bad news that I was not prepared to handle, such as the trading of beloved Pie or Staffy or someone equally as precious to my heart.

Now I'm in school all day tomorrow and I have a feeling if something's going to happen it's going to go down tomorrow and I will inevitably be sitting in class when the news of a trade breaks. Let's just put it this way there are going to be a lot of inquisitive stares directed my way if I'm in class when it happens. They're going to be wondering why all of a sudden I have a death grip on my phone, why I'm making high keening noises and I'm screaming why, why, over and over again. I'm sure they're going to suspect that I've experienced some kind of psychotic breakdown.

Whatever happens in the next two days it's inevitable that someone's going to go. However, how many people get traded is still up in the air and who we're going to get for said tradees remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain things are going to change but whether it's for the better or for the worse I guess we'll figure that out Wednesday night.

I'M CONVINCED

Seriously. Maria Genero has totally won my heart over...

...for Henrik Tallinder. (Don't even get me started on Genero. I've said it before, I want her job, and I'd stop at nothing short of lumping her up to get it. That is, if I weren't afraid of the ensuing arrest.)

Really, though, I've always liked Hank and thought he was a decent enough defenseman. And it didn't hurt that during practices or whatever he always, always is smiling, and you can often her him shouting in celebration or just because they're having fun. And that's what I want from the Sabres. I want them to play well, but I want them to have fun.

Everyone knows that when you're having fun and you're getting satisfaction from your job or task at hand, than you'll perform better while doing it. So if the Sabres are having fun, then they'll most likely be playing a hell of a lot better than we've seen out of them this season.

Anyways, I just thought it was adorable during the Sabres Show, when Henrik was talking about sledding with this wife Ann(e) and their children Nathan and Amelie. He smiled and went all cute and sentimental on us when he said he loves to hear the kids giggle.


Come on, now. Big collective AWWW. =]

But that's only the first part of my conviction.

The rest has to do with the long-term injuries suffered by Teppo Numminen (fractured jaw) and Andrej Sekera (ankle).

I've been saying it for weeks: The Sabres somehow needed to devise a defensemen rotation of sorts. Yes, before you even say it, I know it would screw up the pairings and the chemistry, blah blah blah, but we all know that our defense corps tend to break down and fall apart (i.e. every single one gets hurt) from the middle of the season, down through the stretch, and into the playoffs.

(I honestly believe that, had Jay McKee not contracted a ridiculous staph infection in his leg, due to a laceration from his pads, we would have a Stanley Cup banner in the rafters at the HSBC Arena.)

But now Chris Butler is really going to know what it's like to be a regular NHL player. Teppo Numminen is not going to be there to show him the ropes now, and he's going to have to step up even more than he has already to carry this team. Yes, I said carry this team. Out of the six defensemen that are going to be dressing now, I believe that Butler is the most consistent and most reliable. At least he has been since he was called up before Christmas.

And Nathan Paetsch?

I've been saying all along that Lindy Ruff needs to change the ways he deals with his seventh defenseman and his back-up goalies. If they have one bad game, they never again see playing time. You can't expect a guy who sits about 10 games or more to come back to the lineup and play better than your starter(s). It just won't happen. They either have to be played more often, or given a string of two, maybe three, games, depending on who it is (i.e. position).

Lindy did it last year with Thibault, and he's doing it this year with Lalime.

The sad thing is, this thinking and method has seeped it's way up to the press box, which has become much like a prison for Paetsch, I'm sure.

No matter how many bag skates this guy does, no matter how many extra minutes he logs with James Patrick, no matter how many times he hits the stationary bikes, he is not going to be used to game-play. It just won't happen.

I can only hope that Nathan has a good game tonight. Well, actually, whether he does or not is slightly irrelevant, because no one is going to be getting a flight from Portland to Buffalo any time soon. Not a defenseman, at least. Mike Weber has been injured for some time now, and Mike Funk is recuperating in his hometown of Abbotsford, BC while he recovers from his second concussion since training camp of this year. (The first was suffered during camp, I believe the opening day. He returned from that on November 7, 2008, which just so happened to be the night I was there. The second concussion was suffered from a vicious hit from behind into the boards (which I still can't find video of), mid-December. Funk has only played in 13 of Portland's 37 games.) Out of the other d-men there, only two have seen any time up in Buffalo (Mike Card and Marc-Andre Gragnani, the latter used to play as a winger).

So like I said, hopefully Paetsch will have been worked in practice hard enough to be near game speed. I really hope he does well, because I'd hate to see him go. And the likely scenario is that he will if he doesn't play well.

Die By The Blade has already furthered the trade rumor that could be bringing in veteran Mathieu Schneider to bolster the blue line in exchange for the mostly unwanted Maxim Afinogenov.

Could something along these lines happen? It will be interesting to see which rumors turn out to be actual moves once the trade deadline passes. But if this one does go through, the Sabres will be in a rut as far as bodies go. We've got too many defensemen, but most of them are very young. I'm anxious to see what Darcy and the management will do, come February and March.

Anyways, Go Sabres! (And Derek? Remember what I said about no friends on the ice. You shouldn't even be friends with Greg Campbell off the ice, so definitely no niceties on the ice.)

Oh, and I just feel the need to tell you that Thomas Vanek giggles like a girl, and he and Drew Stafford stuck Butler with the bill at Chef's on Saturday. He laughed it off when asked about it, but still. Way to treat the rookies like that.

THE WEATHER CAN STAY COLD AS LONG AS THE SABRES STAY HOT

I admit that I forgot I was going to the game tonight and because of the first two periods I wasn't so sure I was glad I remembered. They were just awful, but the complete hideousness of the game was broken up by Derek Roy's goal with 3:53 left in the second and everyone in the arena at that point was thinking the same thing "It's about time". Through the first two periods it seemed as if the team couldn't do anything right. Their passing was horrible and they couldn't seem to get the puck out of our end with Rangers outshooting us 14 to 7 in the first period. The second period was even worse with first shot on goal coming with 10 minutes already gone in the period. The fans were getting frustrated with good reason because that shot was met with derisive cheering and clapping. The Sabres stepped it up in the third because I'm pretty sure I could hear Ruff yelling, from the dressing room up in the 300s, to get their asses in gear something they seemed to have a problem with in the first and second. The only player who showed up for all three periods was Miller and I'll even forgive him that goal because he was screened and it came from a wrist shot almost out at the blue line.

Overtime was back and forth between zones which was really frustrating because at that point you know that it's going to a shootout. I hate shootouts, I hate them on principle usually because we're always on the losing end but tonight the Sabres pulled it off. Ales Kotalik had the lone goal in the shootout for the Sabres but it turned out to be just enough with Miller stone walling the three New York shots.

It's horrible to say but the Sabres deserved to lose that game because of their play in the first two periods. The Rangers were the superior team for most of the game both out shooting, out skating and overall out playing the Sabres but once again the Sabres managed to pull a goal out of their butts and sneak away with a win in the shootout.

The scariest part of the game came with 16 minutes left in the first period when, after colliding with Paul Gaustad, Michal Rosival fell face into the open doorway at the Sabres bench hitting his face on the corner of the boards. He skated across the ice to the Ranger bench and sat down next to Henrik Lundquist who sat out the game allowing Steve Valiquette to get the start. After being examined by the trainer Rosival was escorted to the Ranger locker room and didn't return to the game. On the post game show it was reported that Rosival had recieved a gash that stretched the length of his cheek. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he also suffered a neck injury after the way he hit those boards with his neck snapping back so quickly it looked like his head was replaced with a bouncy ball.

Speaking of neck injuries from the seats where my mom and I sit for the games we can see the part of the press box that the injured players sit in during the national anthem I turned around to see Pat Kaleta sporting a neck brace and managed to snap a picture of it with the phone on my camera, which is why it's really fuzzy, during one of the stoppages in play. He looked really bored which I would be if I had to sit and watch my teammates play without me. Max Afinogenov put in an appearance leaning over the edge to look out at the crowd during the first intermission. Jeanerette showed up during the second intermission talking to Kaleta all the while chowing down on a cookie.

That's him on the left.

Today marked the halfway point in the Sabres season and before tonights game they were dead even in wins and losses with 20 each counting shootout and overtime losses. Tonight's game was also the 4th win in a row for the Sabres putting them at 4-0 since the New Year if this streak continues the Sabres can say hello to a playoff spot (let's hope) because as it stands right now they are tied with Carolina for 7th place in the Eastern conference.

As the guy in the booth at the parking ramp said tonight it was an important win for the Sabres tonight because tomorrow we play (shudder, cringe) Detroit who we haven't played at all this season and who I'm not looking forward to playing at all for obvious reasons mainly Henrik Zetterberg and Ty Conklin (why is it that we get rid of a player and they do fantastically on another team it's got to be part of the Buffalo curse I tell you).

Well I'm attending the blogger get together tomorrow so for those of you who are going it'll be nice to put a blog with a face I look forward to meeting you.

NECESSARY NOTES

I'm going to take the time this gloomy, windy Sunday afternoon in "wild Western New York" to write thank you notes while watching the Bills game, as well as write a few needed letters to deserving ones across the NHL.



Dear Derek,

I don't know what has gotten into you, but it has got to stop. I mean, it's bad enough that you didn't score on Monday for my birthday, but then you completely forgot to get me a present either for my 20th or Christmas, you don't make up for it against Washington, and then you play as terribly as you did last night to top it off? Puh-lease. Derek, I don't know what to do about you. I figured when Kim saw you across the street from the mall on Tuesday that you were, for sure, going shopping for me, but I guess you were just indulging yourself. But just let me say this: If I find out that you were eating lots and lots of Christmas cookies and turkey, instead of tofu brownies and tofurkey, you're in trouble Mister. And truly, if you refuse to shoot the puck--especially on a two-on-one--on Tuesday, I'm breaking up with you again. And believe me, I'll do it.

Love, Cari

*****

Dear Tommy,

So I see you're now on the third line... That upsets me. Not because you're on the third line due to injury, but because you're hurt. And it's obvious. You weren't taking strides if it wasn't necessary, and you don't seem to have that burst of intensity that you had a couple weeks ago. I'll make you some cookies and leave them on your doorstep. Maybe that will help. But, on second thought, Ashley might not appreciate some random girl baking cookies for her man. I'll leave that up to her, then. But seriously, though, get well soon, Tommy. The Sabres need Atlas.

xoxo, Cari

*****

To Paul and Patty K:

I saw you two last night. Paul, you looked positively smashing in your black suit. Very nice. But Pat? What was with the beanie? I mean, I know that it's cold in the arena, and yeah, you looked cute, but still... It kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a suit and tie if you're going to put a winter hat on indoors. Whatever, though. I still enjoyed knowing that you were sitting directly behind me.

Hoping for you speedy return, Cari

*****

Dear Portland Pirates,

I apologize that the Sabres' injury woes have hurt your position in the standings. Because once we took Mark Mancari from you, I believe in his absence, you only won two games. Sorry. And to make it worse, we now have Nate and Tim, which is only making a difficult situation worse.

Again, sorry. <3 Cari

*****

Dear Timmykins,

To Timmy C, I love and miss you. What's happening? Are you still hurt? Are you dead? Have you taken up residence in Childrens' Hospital, drawing with the children? Because that would be cute. But you could also have taken up residence at the bar at SoHo, drowning your sorrows in bottles of Skyy Vodka or Southern Comfort, and then going home with a different girl each night to disguise the pain... But I'd like to think of you as a really good human being, so I'm going to believe the former. Yeah.

To Timmy K, YAYYY!! I was so excited to read, as Kim pulled into my driveway last night, that you had been called up! And then you were in the starting lineup? Ahhhhh-mazing! I'm so proud of you, Shirley Temple! You played well last night, so we'll see how the rest of your stay with the Sabes goes.

Fondly, Cari

*****

Dear Sidney,

You're an asshole.

Love, Cari

*****

Dear Jay McKee,

I hope your finger can be saved. I don't like to think of amputations, in general, but especially not when they jeopardize the career of one of my all-time favorite hockey players, let alone Sabres. I just can't imagine a McKee-less NHL. And I don't want to see it anytime soon.

Best wishes, Cari

*****

Taylor Pyatt,

Maybe breaking your foot will teach you to not block shots from your teammates. I'll miss you, Bedroom Eyes.

--Cari

*****

To all hockey players,

You'd think you'd learned from Maxim Afinogenov's mishaps... HOCKEY PLAYERS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO WARMUP BY PLAYING SOCCER. It should be banned.

Regards, Cari



I had other letters to write, but I just can't remember them at the moment. I keep getting distracted by the sounds of tree branches snapping and the Bills game. So I'm going to go watch the game, and I'll come back, possibly with a few more letters, tomorrow. Love...

ATLAS SHRUGGED?

AHHHHHH THOMAS VANEK PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD TO ME!!!! Can he please just be alright? I don't think I could take it if Atlas has finally shrugged. (Ahahah, I'm soooo funny. That was sarcastic, by the way.) But even though he came back, scored a goal, and finished out the game, I don't want to be overly optimistic with him, because if you noticed, he was never really putting any unnecessary pressure on his right leg. He hopped up onto the bench, not stepped, and he glided along the ice whenever he could get away with it. That worries me.

But really...

I feel like I've neglected my blog as of late, but then I look back, and realize I've only really missed one day (yesterday). And seriously, I really had intended on posting yesterday, but seeing as I didn't get home from work of Christmas until midnight, then showered, and didn't get to bed until 1. Then I work up at 5 to be at Brittany's by 6, to be at Target by 7. Sheesh. But we had fun. Target --> Pier 1 Imports --> Galleria Mall --> Outlet Mall --> Chili's --> home at 3:45. Then I took a nap for about half an hour, and my parents, aunt, and grandmother dragged me out for a fish fry, when they all know that I don't eat fish. Then by the time I got home, the game was on.

I seriously should have slept through the game. It would've been more worth my time. Actually, the only things that made it worth watching were the following: my aunt and grandmother agreeing that I definitely need to marry Derek, Max's goal (he's now on pace for 5!!!!), and Ovie's goal.

Since there's really nothing new going on on the Sabre scene... I'm just going to ramble about my life.

MY FAMILY IS DRIVING ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. I now remember why I cannot stand it when my family stays at my house. They're loud and obnoxious and talk over the Sabres games and my other TV shows, and I just cannot stand it.

Anyways...

I have to go clean up again, because my friend Parker is in town from school/home in Pittsburgh/Baltimore, and we're getting brunch, and then I'm either going out with her for a while or heading over to another friend's house, and eventually the game tonight with Kim.

I will most definitely post after the game tonight, but I just didn't want you all to think that I had forgotten you.

OMG kajhgkhaigfhkj IT'S PAUL GAUSTAD

Okay, so remember how I said that Kim and I were going to go by the Ritz to see if we saw any Sabres??

Well...  I'm going to be brutally honest with you.  I did not expect to see any.

BUT.

When we got off the T at Park Street, in the middle of the Boston Commons, I look down the road and see a man with wavy, shaggy, caramel-colored hair, walking further down the block, in a suit, towards the Ritz.

Who was that, you ask?  MAXIM AFINOGENOV, Kim's future ex-husband.

Oh, but wait.  It gets better.

So then we walk down Avery, the street the hotel is physically on.  And then we see Paully getting out of a cab.  Now, Kim didn't want to go up to him, and we were on the opposite side of the street to begin with, so we kind of just followed him, down that block, down three more, and then up one.

Now, he had his earbuds in, so I didn't know the polite way to say, "HEY!  YOU'RE PAUL GAUSTAD!" without freaking him out, so we didn't interrupt his "me time."  But then we were stopped at a crosswalk, RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, and me, still not knowing how to say "hey," I blurt out, "Kim, where's my phone" in a panicked frenzy.  I then pull my Sabres jersey half way out of my purse, thinking it might get his attention, but no.

EPIC FAIL.

So we let him go, and he begins to wander through the park, and we head back to the Ritz, again, totally not expecting to see anybody.

At this point, we were ridiculously warm from keeping up with Paul and his ridiculously long legs, so we took a breather at the corner.

All of a sudden, a gigantic yellow coach bus that looked like a giant caterpillar pulls up, and out steps Coaches McCutcheon and Patrick, as well as Lalime, Paille, Kotalik, Tallinder, Lydman, and Stafford.

kajhgkajhrgoiah.kghao;ihftlak

I drag Kim across the street, only after I called my mother, for her to yell at me to get my ass in gear.

I go up to Drew, subway ticket and pen in hand, because that was all I had, and state,  and I quote, "Drew, I know it's lame, but can you sign my subway ticket?"

HE LAUGHED.  I DIED.

Then he took a picture of all the fans that were standing there (which was quite a few, actually) with his iPhone, because he "likes to take pictures of fans in other cities."

lkghlo;shgl;ahgaljg LOVE.

More later.  =]

I'M SO PROUD OF MY AMERICAN SABRE..

...and it's not who you think it is.

I'm not talking about Paul Gaustad, Tim Connolly, Ryan Miller, Drew Stafford, Pat Kaleta, or even Jason Pominville.

Now, you might be wondering, "Has Cari really gone off the deep end this time? Because, and even Jason's a stretch, but those are all the Americans on the team..."

NO, MY FRIENDS. THERE IS ANOTHER.

My dear friend Katie has been maintaining her duties to keep me updated on sightings in Buffalo while I'm away, and she sent me this awesome tidbit this morning:

Hi, hope your trip is fabulous. :-) Wanted to tell you I saw Maxim at City Hall yesterday. He became a citizen.

kjhakjfhalkhlfkjahg How freaking cute is that??!?!? And I wasn't even there to see it!

He just looks so excited!!

But I, of course, had to share this with you, my lovelies, because I can't be the only person in the blogosphere to know it. You all have to know it, and it's my duty to share!

But there's no chance of seeing Max suit up in red, white, and blue because he's already played for Russia. Oh well. But I guess that means he's planning on sticking around...

We're up to Portland in a couple hours, so we'll be getting minimal exposure to the Sabres. Hopefully they'll win, and hopefully the video updates I get at the end of each period will feature some awesome blue and gold goals.

Go Pirates and Go Sabres!!

WHY DO YOU BUILD ME UP, BUFFALO SABRES, JUST TO LET ME DOWN?

By Cari and Kim

Why do you build us up, Buffalo Sabres, just to let us down, and mess us around?  And then worst of all, you never score, baby, when you say you will, but we love you still.  We need you more than anyone darlings, you know that we have from the start.  So build us up, buttercups, and don't break our hearts.

Anyways, back to real blogging; THAT GAME BLEW.

(1)  We couldn't listen to Rick and Harry because they were delayed about ten seconds and I have ADD, so I made Kim suffer through the FSN Detroit guys.

(2)  Derek Roy totally scored and because THAY DON'T USE VIDEO REPLAY IN THE PRESEASON they couldn't review it.  What the hell kind of policy is that?

(3)  The FNS Detroit guys are idiots:  (a) they claimed that one of the Detroit players was "humping that a guy a little bit," (b) they couldn't pronounce Rivet correctly, and (c) they couldn't pronounce Sekera either.

(4)  Ty Conklin sucks.  End of story.

(5)  Our power play sucks.  10 man-advantages and no conversions.  Pathetic.

(6)  Andrew Peters didn't fight.  Oh, wait, that was good because he drew a penalty.  But then again, our power play sucked, so that didn't matter.

(7)  Derek Roy got elbowed in the face and I almost died.

(8)  Ryan Miller almost died when his mask came off, and the refs almost didn't notice.

(9)  We lost.

And to top it all off, the Bills got KILLED, and Trent Edwards should shack up with Tim Connolly.

Let's take a look at what went right tonight:

(1)  Maxim Afinogenov laid someone out--INTENTIONALLY--and didn't hurt himself in the process.

(2)  Lindy Ruff swore.  That's always good for entertainment.

(3)  Derek Roy somehow managed to get the Third Star.  Probably something to do with that goal he didn't score.

(4)  No one got seriously hurt.

(5)  Oh, wait, that's it.

So we're really glad the Sabres ended up with a preseason record of 1-3-1.  That's pretty spectacular.  And by that, I mean spectacularly atrocious.

Hopefully, this won't be a sign of things to come, and that there will be good news in the next few days.

Oh, and by the way, we're now watching Ryan Miller's favorite movie, the classic Super Troopers.

POOR PAUL, and Some Write Believes in the Sabres!!! Sort of...

The Sabres just texted me and told me that Paully, after fighting for Danny's honor, had to have surjury on his thumb and will now be out for about a month.  You know, Paul, I love you, but sometimes, you just need to take out your anger on the country's energy consumption and lack of recycling skills by scoring, not beating this shit out of people, because then you hurt yourself.

Oh, and more cuts have been made.  Read about it all here.

So I've spent the last hour scouring my favorite hockey sites for some decent information to write about, seeing as I probably won't be entering anything until either tomorrow night around 11:45 when I get home from work, or Thursday morning.

I stumbled upon the column of Mr. Adam Porteau over at The Hockey News, where SOMEONE FINALLY THINKS THE SABRES WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!!!  Granted, he puts us at 8th in the East, BUT STILL.

Always-Look-On-The-Bright-Side Adam Says:  The Sabres finished four points out of the 2008 playoffs, thanks in part to a lukewarm showing by goalie Ryan Miller, as well as off-years from Maxim Afinogenov and Tim Connolly, both of whom are playing in the final year of their contracts.  All it should take is a better performance from one or more of those three, plus tighter play from their blueliners, and Buffalo should be back on the playoff scene.

Well, I'm not so sure about his comments about Miller (Adam, I'd like to see you play 72 NHL games, 60 minutes EACH game, and do half as good), but about Max and Tim?  Could not agree more.  Connolly just needs to get his ass off of the bar floor.  More on that later.

Always-Assume-The-Worst Adam Says:  About that defense--not quite the second coming of the 1978-79 Montreal Canadiens, are they?  Also troubling, considering some of the Sabres' more recent salary-related departures, is the prospect of losing another top talent to the annual summer bidding wars.  For that reason, Afinogenov or Connolly could be dealt midway through the year, adding another potentially sorry chapter to a book Buffalonians have grown weary with.

Nothing new here.  I've been saying all this for three years now.  In our two recent deep playoff pushes, our defense has come up lacking purely due to injuries (i.e. Jay McKee in 2006).  But whatever.  Let's just hope Teppo doesn't drop dead on the ice, and Rivet doesn't shoot the puck over the glass to give whoever the go-ahead goal.

And Mr. Sam McCaig of THN predicts this 2008 Sabres' MVP:

Two seasons ago, Maxim Afinogenov burst out of the gates and had people making Pavel Bure comparisons.  Last year... not so much, after he scored just 10 goals in 56 games.  He's no Bure, but Afinogenov is much better than last season's debacle.

Well, Adam, I think you and Sam need to have a little chat, eh?

Now, on the subject of the gross human being, Tim Connolly.  Lovely reader GG informed me this morning of Timmy's bar-hopping-with-a-"sore-back" adventures.  She said he was seen Sunday at the Snooty Fox on Delaware Avenue, slamming shots until 4 am, and at one point, being sprawled out on the bar floor.  Now Tim, if one has a sore back, I've heard it could be helped by sleeping on a dining room table, or on a board, or, in fact, on the floor.  NEVER DID I HEAR THIS RECOMMENDED TO BE ON A BARROOM FLOOR.  Honestly, I don't think Tim has any respect for himself.  I mean, otherwise, how could be do that, and wear shiny shirts out in public if he's not an Elvis impersonator?

Right now I feel like I have to share with all of you one of Tim's flaws in my eyes.  He for some reason, reminds me of an actor that I really cannot stand.  Now, I love Will Farrel's movies, but for some reason, every single character he portrays reminds me of TC.  I don't get it, but I honestly feel like Tim is a party-hard, couldn't give a damn about anything else, frat boy, who has no interest in getting a job, no interest in taking care of himself, and no interest in developing a true relationship.  If someone can say they feel that I am wrong, please, by all means, tell me.  I love to argue, so bring it on.  And even then, he'll still be the typical life-long bachelor.  The guy says the person he admires and would like to meet most is Hugh Hefner.  I mean, can anyone see Timmy getting married?  I can't, that is, not unless it's to one of Hugh's girls.

This topic is just depressing me.  On to much nicer guys, MJ's been informed, so I feel it's okay to pass the news on to you; Mr. Wonderful Mike Ryan is doing quite well, it seems, in Nashville's camp.

And there was a nice article about Sparky-Clarkey in the TBN today.  He's so cute.  Like I said, if he doesn't clear waivers, I'll pretty much die.

Alright, I'm off to school for an anatomy exam which I did not study for.  I'll be okay, though.  In high school, I took Honors Biology, Advanced Placement Biology, and the Anatomy and Physiology elective.  I'm good.  And then it's off to work.  So enjoy your day, as I obviously won't, and oh wait!  To top it off, it's raining.  And there isn't even a Sabres game tonight.  Damn.  At least House is on.  I'll post something tomorrow, maybe...

Counting Down...Hours...Minutes...Seconds

So there are under 6 hours left until the start of real hockey's return to Buffalo. So it only made the day about 100 times better when I opened my mailbox this afternoon to find the newest issue of The Hockey News waiting for me.

As usual THN has ranked the top twenty players in terms of position based on their projected performance in the coming season and I have to say it's about time that Buffalo players made the grade. Yay Sabres someone finally appreciates you, not that I don't but oh you know what I mean...no it's okay Danny sorry I made you cry I know how sensitive you are...

None of our defensemen made the list but Ryan Miller was ranked number 8 in goalies, so some good news there. It should come as no surprise as to who was ranked first in left wingers, Alex Ovechkin, but the real surprise came futher down at number 8 who is this? Thomas Vanek? okay so here I am thinking this is good news at least two of our players made the list. Number 1 in centers was none other than Sidney Crosby (seriously I was stunned), but much to my apparently unending surpise Derek Roy was number 16th on that list. Could my eyes be deceiving me THREE of our players? It couldn't be four could it? But there it was in black and white Jason Pominville ranked 8th in right wingers. FOUR PLAYERS finally getting the respect they deserve, hell the SABRES getting the respect they deserve.

I thought my happiness was never ending but there THN goes ruining it. They didn't even predict us to make the playoffs giving us the 11th position in the East, they rank 4 of our players in the top twenty in their positions and they don't even have the decency to give us a playoff spot. What kind of messed up crap is that? I don't know but they are going to get a strongly worded letter detailing my displeasure with them, or I'm just going to think very hard about how much I loathe and despise them (I'm not good with confrontation).

In a special section key departures were listed which included, for Buffalo, DMITRI KALININ, seriously, someone actually misses him, I didn't even realize he was gone. If you miss Kalinin raise your hand, anyone, anyone, Bueller, Bueller, yeah that's what I thought. Please, if you miss him let me know so that Cari and I can point and laugh at you, you'll be our entertainment for the week. I admit I'll miss Steve Bernier but Kalinin now there was a one man train wreck.

And this line in the team report sums up the game of hockey:

Ryan Miller realizes in the grand scheme of things, he and his teammates are just a bunch of big kids playing a little kid's game.

Or in the case of some of our players (Tim Kennedy anyone) little kid's playing a little kids game.

The report included more of the same old same old on Miller, the whole team rests on his shoulders, he has to do better if the team hopes to make the playoffs this year, he played too many games last season, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. Thank you Hockey News for telling us here in Buffalo what we already know.

Also in the team report:

...bounce back seasons by Tim Connolly and Maxim Afinogenov will have the Sabres in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Okay first off this was written before Timmy went MIA so this just made me giggle a little because as Cari has previously reported Timmy is either dead or buried under some blond he's screwing and can't seem to manage getting out from under her in time to go to practice. As for Max as much as I love the man, I can't see this being a bounce back season for him, we've heard for so long that he hasn't reached his potential I'm starting to wonder if he even had it to begin with. I think we should finally realize that the guy is a one trick pony who should be taken out behind the barn and shot or in the best case scenario traded.

I guess we'll see what this season has to offer and it all begins tonight.