TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE SHARKS

(Anne, that title is for you, by the way.)

So I had this whole big spiel I was going to go through about how much a Sabres' win would mean to this city, but right now, I'm ecstatic.

My emotions have been running on low for the past 24 hours, and to be honest, I didn't think I could feel much worse after learning about the crash of Flight 3407.

But, wow. Just, wow.

This game was absolutely fantastic!!!

I don't really have a ton of coherant thoughts for the game, but, rather, just some quips:

- Derek Roy is incredibly attractive when he's being all feisty and starting trouble with the other players and mouthing off. idk why, but he is.

- Derek also scored his 100th career goal, on the same goal that Drew Stafford notched his 100th career point. Who gets to keep the puck? I think Roy should get it... Goals are cooler than points.

- It's about time Jason Pominville nets a goal! I really think this is where he'll turn it around... And that shootout goal he had was mighty fine.

- Nathan Gerbe's play has been nothing short of foxy since he stepped foot on the ice at HSBC Arena, the Portland game included. I'm so glad he's in the blue and gold. I can't tell you how many times tonight I was wowed by his effort, his determination, and his heart. And when he had that knee-on-knee scare in overtime, I think I almost died a bit.

- Craig Rivet is my new hero. I don't care what Derek says, and I don't care about the age difference; I love him. He was just way too cute when he and the other guys were jumping around after Pommer's goal. I just love him.

- Roy had an adorable little fist pump... thing... after his shootout goal.

- I honestly thought Danny Paille scored Spacek's goal, and I really wish that he had. He did play very well, though, in his first game back, in my opinion at least.

- Did I mention that we beat the San Jose Sharks, arguably the best team in the league?

- Did I also mention that we, who are in 8th place in the East, are 2 points behind the Rangers, who are in 4th place in the East? Oh, and also that we've played them twice thus far this season, and we won both of those games?

- Looks like Lindy's method of working the power play all practice long yesterday payed off, as we went 3-for-6? As in 50%?? Let's do that more often, okay boys?

- I seem to like to refer to the Sabres as "we." Like I'm part of the team. Sweet.

- I saw Caroline (of Hockey Night in Buffalo) on TV after Pominville's game-tying goal!!

- I'm really, really, really happy about this win.

Okay. I'm going to watch Friday Night Lights (don't judge me), and go to bed, as I'm working alllll day tomorrow, 7 am to 11:30 pm. Woo. Exciting stuff.

Happy Valentine's Day friends, and same to the Sabres. =]

xoxo

RETURN OF THE GOOSE AND THE DERBY, AND WHY I LOVE DREW STAFFORD

So, is Paul really coming back tonight?? I'm not entirely sure. Yes, I'd like to think so, but since I didn't get to morning skate like I had hoped (Kim, it's not your fault), I have no idea if he was even skating, because no reports have come back yet.

Sad.

Whatever, though. I'm sure we're going to have a difficult enough time with Ovie and the Caps tonight anyways, with or without Goose. Not that I don't want him to come back tonight or anything, because I do. I really, really do. But I'm not sure throwing him into the lineup instead of Matt Ellis is really going to make that much of a difference tonight.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! WHYYYYYYYY!!!!???!?!?!??! I mean, I'm super duper excited that Paul and Gerbe Derby! are going to be back, BUT PATTY K???? SERIOUSLY??? WAAAAAA. Totally ruins my somewhat-decent mood.

And as I'm sure you've all noticed, I've really, really, REALLY gotten away from constructive, objective, and even smart hockey blogging. I'm hoping I can change that tonight, as I will be home with my mother, watching the game, with absolutely NO DISTRACTIONS, except for my cat, meowing for more food, which she will not get. So I'd like to liveblog tonight, but we'll see how that goes, since I have this tendency lately to not do what I set out to do...

But let me get to the point that I've been meaning to for days. (See what I mean?)

DREW STAFFORD. (But really, when is my point something other than he or Derek Roy? BTW, has anyone noticed that there has not been one inkling of juicy Sabres news since those pictures surfaced? Boooooooo!!)


So remember when I was explaining my love for Drew, and how he almost beat out Derek to be my favorite? Yeah, well this explains it all:

As I stated yesterday, I purchased the 2008-2009 Buffalo Sabres Yearbook. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed reading most of the players "Off The Ice" profiles, but some of them were just plain boring and useless.

Drew's, on the other hand, was a masterpiece. A masterpiece which Monet, Picasso, van Gogh, da Vinci, and Michelangelo would become teary-eyed in front of, and would worship for the rest of their now meaningless lives.

Let's read:

Nickname: Staff

What did you do this summer? Took power skating class

Favorite vacation spot: Minnesota

Ehh, nothing too, too interesting, but it says that he's a responsible, home-town boy. I can respect that.

Let's continue:

Pet's name: Dog (Gonzo), frog (Butters)

Ummmmmm... WHAT? Okay, Gonzo is cute and all, but why? And BUTTERS? I don't even want to know the story behind that one... But I think it's cute that he has a frog. I remember when I was little, my mom's friend Penny and her husband Al (who everyone calls Jake... weird) lived out in Arcade, and we used to go out there for bonfires and stuff, and I used to run around and fill these gigantic buckets with frogs and toads. And now that I think about that, that's kind of gross, and I'm sorry, I'm rambling again, and I'll get back to the point. Those names are just.... odd.

Favorite athlete: Brett Farve before his attempt at a comeback

YES!! Cynicism and witt!! My favorites!

Favorite food: Chipotle

Favorite band: Invisible Children

Okay, cocky, conceited, and self-centered? Sure, but at least he's consistent.

Favorite actor/actress: Brad Pitt, Mila Kunis

Favorite TV show: Tim and Eric

AHHHHHHH Adult Swim. Drew, ily.

Favorite movie: Gladiator

First car: 1999 Ford Explorer

Hobbies: Shredding, cooking, calculating breakdowns, hunting and gathering

Um, Drew? Have I ever told you that I love very strange and obscure senses of humor? Oh, I didn't? Well I do. And did I mention that I find those senses of humor to be extremely attractive? NO? Oh... Well...

If I wasn't a hockey player I'd be: an orthopedic surgeon

Okay, as much as I adore you--which is a lot, I don't think I'd be very comfortable with you operating on me... Yeah, no.

Best friend in the NHL: Zach Parise

Favorite book: James Patterson novels

Pet peeves: Toadies, weasels, gremlins, and bad drivers

Oh, Drew... What are we going to do with you?

Most influential person in your life: Myself

Alright, that's either super existential, or you're extremely cocky and arrogant. I'm going to believe the former, because I think that's definitely more interesting and becoming of you.

Best way to describe me: Normal

Yeah.... Right.

Drew, Drew, Drew... Can I dump Derek and marry you instead? Please? You know where to find me...

Anyways... Go Sabres!! xoxo

FAIR WARNING

Somebody please make sure that there is defibrillator on hand if Paul plays tonight because I'm pretty sure that my heart's going to stop beating as soon as I see him in the good old blue and yellow. Word came down that Paul would be evaluated today, after skating on an actual line in practice yesterday, to determine if he would play tonight so everyone please cross your fingers because I could do with a little good news.

Why may you ask am I literally dying for some good news? One we play Washington tonight which means Ovie which is never a good thing (sorry Frostee). Two I'm getting sick which stinks by itself but add to the fact that tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I'm going to start off the New Year sick doesn't make me very happy. Three I just got my book list for next semester and because I have to buy a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and a whole ton of books for my nursing and regular classes the grand total comes out to be around 700 dollars not really something I'm looking forward to. But enough about my stinky life back to hockey:

To Jay McKee's finger: Hi finger Jay needs you and probably wishes that you would stay attached to his body so please do because we love Jay and want him to continue to be able to play hockey.

To Paul Gaustad's upper-body injury/face injury: Hi injury you know by now that I love Paul and your being around has caused me to not see him play for the last 5 games and therefore undeniable pain. So while I can appreciate that Paul got you while in practice and therefore doing his joby I and mostly everyone else that I know would really like it if you would go away so that Paul could play tonight. Oh and if you have messed up Paul's face in anyway know that I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. (although it may seem impossible there are ways and just let me have my delusions its usually better this way because if not there are all kinds of medications and maybe some institutionalization in my future)

To Patrick Kaleta's eyes: Hi eyes I know that you took a hit from stupid Denis Gauthier and I know your causing Patrick some problems and while I know none of it is your fault because we all blame that overgrown nancy boy Gauthier it would be really nice if you would allow Patty to see again so that he could play.

To Nathan Gerbe's shoulder? upper body? whatever?: Gerbe Derby I miss you terribly and I want you BAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK. *goes to cry in the corner and curse out injuries*

To Craig Rivet's shoulder: Hi shoulder you suck that's all I have to say. You took away our captain and if how we've been playing lately is any indication we would really like him back so that he can use his amazing captain's powers (which I'm sure he has) to make our guys play well again. These powers include the ability to write inspirational speeches powererful enough to make the manliest man cry, Jaro I'm sure would be blubbering like a baby all the while saying "Jaro sad" over and over and then because no other player wants to see another player cry or they're just embarrassed for him they go out and play the best game of their lives....SEE, see what you have taken from us injury, damn you.

To Tim Connolly's broken rib: Well it seems that you have been but one injury in a long line of injuries and when I heard about you all I could do was sit back and laugh because let's face it you weren't unexpected. Actually I had a countdown on my wall as to how long after Timmy came back it would take for an injury to appear well congratulations you're the winner. I think that because of this latest injury Timmy needs to start being wrapped in bubble wrap before he goes out to play hockey and while this may not seem like the best solution who doesn't love bubble wrap? Seriously I'm sure Man Child I and II (Danny and Clarke) would get the biggest kick out of poking Timmy just to hear the bubbles pop at least it would give them something to do while sitting on the bench. Anyways injury I don't blame you at all Timmy is just very fragile and I believe that we should steal a bunch of those FRAGILE stickers that people but on boxes when they're moving and stick them all over his jersey so that people will have warning that before they hit him they are most likely to cause serious injury.

New Year's Resolution:

To stop swearing so much everyday, but during Sabres game make an exception.

I swear like a trucker most of the time and I really want to stop relying so much on curse words and start expressing myself using my big girl words. I can't hold to that during the Sabres' games though because it's almost impossible not to swear at them repeatedly throughout a game.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that you spend it with the people you love.

SEE YOU IN 2009!!!!!

BIRTHDAYS, BICEPS, AND NATHAN GERBE IS NOT A FAN OF SANTA

So if any of you are friends with me on Facebook, you may have noticed that my status as of last night after the game read like such: "Carianne is really sick of Sidney Crosby, the biased referees, and the anti-Buffalo NHL. But thanks for the birthday wishes!"

I think that pretty much sums up my day.

No, really. It does. I had a fairly decent birthday, if you look past the fact that while I was driving home from work (my Monday shift) around midnight, my windshield cracked. And then Kim and I didn't go to the Sabres' practice or Chef's yesterday, because we figured the streets would have been horrendously snow-bogged. So I missed the possibility of having the guys serenade me with the birthday song over some delicious chicken parmesan. Sad.

Instead, we went to visit our friend Karina (who is home from school in Pittsburgh) and her sister Andrea (who is home from school in Chicago) and we played some Guitar Hero, and they're both terrible, but Andrea's singing made it all worthwhile.

Then we sat in the waiting room at the glass place for almost 2 hours, and then it was game time.

Psh. Bullshit. There is no way in hell that the height of Crosby's stick was less than that of the crossbar. No way. Thanks, Sid. You ruined a perfect pretty good birthday.

I was happy with the play of the Sabres (excluding some glaring mishaps by Numminen, Afinogenov, and some other turnovers and such), but the officiating just blew.

And I'm too angry at the refs and the War Zone operators to say anything else.

I'm just glad Patty K doesn't have a concussion.

But since my birthday was pretty shitty hockey-wise, I hope Ales Kotalik's 30th birthday is 1000 times better than my 20th.

SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG AL!!


Aww, shucks. We're nine years and 364 days apart. Ain't that sweet? No, not really.

But, while I'm in the mood to post pictures, here's a beauty for the Christmas lovers in all of us:


That's right, kids. The toddler-version of Nathan Gerbe is tearfully afraid of Santa Claus. Now that is sweet.

And do you know what else is sweet? Tim Connolly's biceps.


To steal a phrase from Caroline, ZANG BABY BOY!!! Hot damn... I knew there was a reason I found you attractive! (Oh, and I stole this picture from the wonderful Shelby Rose's Facebook.)

Hmm... I suppose I should get to cleaning, since I have a ton of it to do, and it has to be done by 2 pm tomorrow when my Aunt's flight lands. If it lands. I hate it when relatives stay at my house, because the houses in my area of Kenmore are not that big, and we have a three bedroom house. I live with my parents and my brother, so obviously all three bedrooms are occupied. But who gets the boot every time someone visits? This girl. Fair? Hardly. So I'm going to take up residence on the futon in my game room until Sunday. I hate futons. This is going to be a really uncomfortable week.

So I probably won't be back until Friday after shopping(!!!), so I hope you, my dear lovelies, have a beautiful holiday season, and if you go out to snow blow your driveway, don't pull a Joe Sakic and stick your hand in the blades, please!! xoxo

RANDOM RAMBLINGS

The Sabres haven't played since Saturday and because of this there are some pretty slim pickings when it comes to news to report to the masses. Or in reality the twenty or so people who read this blog on a regular basis. So because of this I had to scour the sports news sites for even the smallest entertaining and/or new information about the Sabres or other teams that I actually care about.


For those of you who have ever set foot in the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport you're aware of what a happy, fun-filled place it is especially the lost luggage counter. Well tell that to Zenon Konopka the AHL player who got called up by Tampa for Wednesday's game. He arrived in Buffalo 30 minutes before the game started to discover that the bag containing his pads and skates didn't arrive with him. So what's a hockey player to do when his skates and pads don't arrive? He has to borrow these essential items. So he borrowed shoulder pads from Ryan Malone, shin guards from Gary Roberts and a pair of skates from Jeff Halpern. But trying to wear someone else's skates proved to be too uncomfortable so after 47 seconds of ice time and a fight Zenon, after the day he had, sat out the rest of the game. Let's hope he at least wore his own jock strap.


I was babysitting yesterday when Cari called me with news about my poor Paul's beautiful face. I almost cried even though scars serve to make a man, in my opinion, more rugged and handsome. But still this was Paul and I don't want my Paul with scars. Paul is my own personal David with the fig leaf for modesty's sake.

My David

Now I'm hearing the Derby Gerbe is hurt and is out for 10 days to 2 weeks with an upper body injury stemming from him being hit by Jamie Langenbrunner in Saturday night's game agains the Devils, my poor Speedy. But on an upbeat note, it looks as if everyone's favorite Boom Boy is going to be back for Wednesday's game, Kaleta's been cleared to play after missing the last few weeks with a neck injury.



So now we have Rivet out for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury, Gerbe out for 10 days to 2 weeks with an upper body injury, Timmy out for who knows how long, Paetsch with a missing tooth after being hit with a puck in the mouth and poor Paul being hit in the chin with a puck at the same practice. Ugh...and the injuries start piling up.

"WAY TO HIT THE GLASS"

Ugh, so my perfect evening was ruined because of some dumb waitress at Chili's. She took forever to bring us TWO APPETIZERS. Two orders of boneless wings should not take half an hour.

MISS WAITRESS LADY?? I FORGET YOUR NAME, BUT YOU DIDN'T DESERVE YOUR $3 TIP. WE SAW YOU ONCE, AND WHAT'S WORSE, YOU MADE ME MISS WARMUPS. I CAN NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT.

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system...

So I must say, sitting in the front row--in the corner--is very, very exciting, especially when the Sabres win.

Brittany and I weren't prepared for just how nerve-wracking it can be to see two 200-pound men skating quickly towards you, with only a piece of glass to stop them. It's actually downright scary.

Quick hits from the game:

- Pommers got hit right in front of us. WHY JASON? Why couldn't someone flatten Lecavalier right there, or something?

- The delay-of-game call on Miller was COMPLETE bull shit. I was sitting ten feet away from Miller and could clearly see him catch the puck, then proceed to wave his closed glove in the air for the refs to see. I don't care what anyone says, Miller is on the shit list of the refs, along with Roy and Kaleta. Hell, throw everyone wearing blue and gold up on there, as well.

- Ditto for the "boarding" call.

- The guy behind us called Jaro "Space Station." That was pretty good.

- Thomas Vanek is a sexy beast. Enough said.

- Nathan Gerbe is extremely impressive. I've said it before (I think): It's one thing to watch him on TV and say, "Yeah, he's good," or "Yeah, he's really fast," but you have no idea until you've seen him play in person. He's fantastic. I will say this, though: He looked good last night, but this is nothing like what he can play. When I saw him up in Portland, I was completely blown away. And that doesn't happen much...

- Goose and Mair are also sexy beasts. I love the picture of Paul on the front of TBN's Sports section today. Hahaa.... Sauce from the Goose. I love it.

- What's with the no-call when Derek got his lip cut open??

(I love how this is all ADD-ish, and not in order of anything that really happened in the game...)

- Britt's boyfriend texted us at one point and told us that we weren't hitting the glass enough. Mostly because she braced herself every time the players skated towards us, and I guess maybe he watched us, and saw her sit all the way back.

- He then texted us and said that the guy sitting next to us looked like a snowman. Our response? "It's Frosty, duhhhhhh." He did on TV, though. White hat and a white long sleeve T on a big man? Yep.

(Derek is late calling up Kiss again... He's so unreliable...)

- Back to Miller's penalty, I'm really proud of the guys for killing off that two-minute two-man. Kudos.

- Steven Stamkos looks like Luke's friend Nick, so we proceeded to call him that for the rest of the night.

- There was a guy sitting right behind us that looked like he could be our friend Tom's twin.

Ohhhh, well I can't really remember much else. I'm blogging, listening to the radio, and reading the newspaper at the same time right now. Multi-tasking is something I can usually do well, but it's not really working for me this morning. I have to do it, though, because in about an hour, I have to head out for Canada, as I have an interview for my Nexus pass at 11 am.

This was the best picture I found from the night:


I <3 THE GERBE DERBY!!

Oh, and Britt and I were in a couple pictures from Getty, as well:


AHHHH he scored on that one. And then my hand hurt really bad. I usually can take a lot of pain, but I didn't think that hitting plexiglass repeatedly would hurt that much...


I don't like this picture. (A), because I look stupid, and (B) because Pommer had just been smooshed right in front of me, and (C) you don't mess with my Pommer.

Alright, well I don't think Derek's woken up yet. So I'm going to go get ready, and if Derek ever decides to call, I'll update you on his ridiculousness.

THERE'S A HOCKEY GAME ON AND I CAN ACTUALLY WATCH IT

So for the first time in a long time I can actually sit down and watch a game with no interuptions because I'm done with school...well at least until January. I don't have to study or read or look at notes or anything and suddenly because I don't have anything to do I feel empty, it's not a nice feeling. But anyways back to hockey news...

Joe Sakic is out for three months and you want to know why? Because the moron stuck his hand in a SNOWBLOWER, now the powers that be aren't saying that's exactly what he did but when they come out with "He had his hand where he shouldn't have" it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. To Joe Sakic: Hello!!!! The light's on but nobody's home, he's a few sandwiches short of a picnic, not the sharpest tool in the shed, a few beers short of a six pack...I got a million of those. Now granted I know that people make mistakes but seriously, you think he said to himself, "oh look I'm going to stick my valuable hockey player hands near the spinning blade of death?" He's lucky he just broke three fingers and had some tendon damage, because it could have been a lot worse, as in amputation of fingers worse, and then he could just say goodbye to what's left of his hockey career. And POOF it's gone.

My mom called Gerbe, Herbe today by accident of course but still I think we should plant Gerbe in the garden and see if he grows any taller. And when he grows up he's going to be a REAL hockey player. Just kidding, I love Gerbe because he's so damn tiny he disappears and he's so damn quick that no one can catch him. He's like Speedy Gonzalez on crack or speed if that's more appropriate, "¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!"

Well off to watch the game, hopefully they win because both Cari and my friend Lynda are there.

Let's Go Buffalo

I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT.

So I've figured out that the Sabres tend to post the night's playlist the day of the game...

I usually like to make fun of the player who's iPod gets shuffled for the game, so I checked it out a few minutes ago. And just for the record, I expected it to be that of Gerbe Derby.

But his taste in music, I didn't expect.


ALL THAT COUNTRY??

Now, I don't have a problem with country at all. I like a good amount of it; I just have to be in the right mood to listen to it.

But really Nate? Taylor Swift?

Well, I suppose I should've expected that much, at least, due to your status on Facebook:


Ahhh, being friends with Sabres on Facebook has it's perks. Like stealing pictures from you and Drew, which is evident from my post earlier today.

Anyways, good luck tonight, Gerbe Derby. I'll be seeing you!

OH, LIFE.

So Saturday night was pretty much awesome.. That is, until about 2 am, at which point Lucas and Jay decided to argue about which anatomical area on the male body fosters more bacteria: The groin, or the hands. And then they were arguing about when they should wash their hands--before or after they use the bathroom. WAY TO KILL A FABULOUS MOOD. They pretty much ruined the party. Oh well.

And then, I was planning on driving home, but since, in that particular area of Amherst we were in, you couldn't see out the front window of their house, I spent the night at Britt's, since she lives two minutes from there, and myself 15.

So yesterday morning, I found myself comfy in B's bed, trying to post from my phone. Alas, since Verizon has what I am sure is the worst mobile internet around, I had written my entire post, and THEN IT WOULDN'T LET ME. And I was too frustrated and tired and hung-over to write it again once I had come home.

But anyways, it mostly consisted of something like this (I'm going purely from memory, here, kids. Bear with me.):

WTF, SABRES. WTF.

See, now, I'm think I'm an extremely devoted person, when I want to be. So when I take the time to be devoted to a flailing hockey team, YOU TAKE IT.

I almost abandoned you, though. See, my 16-year-old cousin Trevor plays hockey for his high school. I almost took up cheering for his team full time instead of you, Sabres. Because his team is actually good. And he's my cousin, so I have to like his hockey team. But Sabres? You're making me want to like his team.

THAT IS, UNTIL I DECIDED TO BREAK UP WITH PRINCESS D, AND NOT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO YOUR GAME, AND INSTEAD GET DRUNK. THEN YOU DECIDE TO WIN.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

But I'm glad you won. And I'm glad Derek scored. We're broken up until further notice. But just so you know, D, I want you back.

Just to prove that we do, in fact, belong together: At the party we were playing Fuck the Dealer. Now, the first deck of cards that Tom grabbed from somewhere in the house was a deck Luke had received when he went to Aces and Blades a couple years ago. I had never played this game before, so when my turn came around, I had no strategy, or anything. I just picked a number--8--and who was on that card, a winning card, mind you? DEREK ROY. FATE-TASTIC, FOR REALS.

But anyways, I don't really have much to say in the way of hockey. Nothing's really happened.

Oh... Wait. My Pirates.

So I'm sad that Marky Mark's stay in Buffalo has ended. Lindy really didn't utilize him correctly, but whatever. Moving on. GERBE DERBY!!! AHHHHHHHH. Enough said.

And my poor Mikey Funk... Remember how he had a concussion during camp, that he suffered on, like, the first day? Yeah, well when Kim and I were up in Portland for a game, it just so happened to be my love's first game back from the head injury. So Saturday night, who gets absolutely obliterated from behind into the boards? MIKE FUNK. Who has another concussion as a result? MIKE FUNK.


I'M SERIOUSLY GOING TO KILL ANSSI SALMELA IF I EVER SEE HIM ON THE STREETS. UGH.

I swear to God, if he becomes the next Tim Connolly/Brett Lindros/Pat LaFontaine in regards to bruised brains, I'LL SERIOUSLY CRY, because I love him.

Okay then. Now that I got that out of my system... I baked cookies last night for a friend, and then I made some special ones for Kim and myself, for our little soiree this evening.

If I could send cookies (the edible kind) through the internet, I'd have a big platter full of them for you all. But, since I can't do that, here's something sweet instead:

BACKGROUND INFO IS NECESSARY, THOUGH. Remember that picture that caused quite a ruckus in these parts recently?? Well, remember how we thought that it was one Clarke MacArthur that was grabbing the junk of one Derek Roy??

WELL IT WASN'T THE GENERAL, AND I HAVE THE PROOF.

Here's a snipet of the picture in question:


Notice the man on the left--supposedly Clarke MacArthur. Notice the writing on D's shirt. Also, notice the man to the right's striped green shirt.

Now take a look at this picture, which I got off of another Facebook account:


HMMM... RECOGNIZE ANYONE??

The guy in the green Fox track jacket and the green Von Dutch hat would be D's younger brother, Scott. Hmm, that other green shirt looks awfully familiar, doesn't it? And the guy next to Derek--supposedly Sparky--doesn't appear to look like Sparky at all, actually.

So there you have it, folks. Derek's sexuality status is still in limbo, but as far as I'm concerned, the second coming of the Man-Child is straight, and as innocent as can be.

LET'S GO BUFFALO!!!

I'M CALLING YOU OUT

Okay, Sabres. You've had your fun. And by fun, I mean toying with the hearts of countless people throughout Western New York, Southern Ontario, and across the country.

AND WE DON'T APPRECIATE IT.

In fact, it's downright despicable. I really don't care for how you've been playing, at all. Goaltending? Needs to be better. Consistent, but yet, needs to be better. Defense? Don't even get me started. Offense? Ditto.

First of all, DEREK ROY I TOLD YOU THAT YOU CAN'T BE FRIENDS WITH ANYONE. Not the coach who led you to the Memorial Cup, no one. Know why? Because he coaches Gregory Campbell. YOU CAN'T BE FRIENDS WITH HIM. Wanna know why? Because he could have single-handedly beat you last night. That's why.

Anyways...

I mean, something is obviously wrong in the locker room. I, for one, don't think it's Lindy Ruff's fault. The guys don't have it in them. I don't know why, but they just don't. Somehow, though, I honestly feel like management might call for Lindy's head. But I don't think Regier would allow Ruff to be axed; they've been together too long, and they were together when this team didn't make the playoffs, what, three seasons in a row? Regier, as we are all too well aware, is not one to jump the gun, so I really believe that Ruff's job is safe, and that's fine by me, because he is an elite coach.

That being said, I'll refer to my comment about the guys just not showing up. What's my solution to that? Make some phone calls to Portland. Get Nathan Gerbe on a plane ASAP. If I were Lindy, I'd stick with the plan of benching guys. I'm still on the Bench Derek Roy Bandwagon. He most definitely needs to play better (and obviously my theory of embarrassing him didn't work as well as I had hoped). But seriously. Rotate Gerbe in for the guys we are very much underachieving this year. Oh, wait... That's pretty much everyone except for Vanek, and I'll throw MacArthur in there (strictly because of his numbers) and Mancari (because he's played pretty well). And like I said, don't even get me started on the D. Seriously, bench them all. Play Paetsch and Weber in Lydman and Tallinder's spots for a few games, and then in Sekera and Spacek's, and then Numminen's. I won't throw Rivet in there because he's been battling injuries all season, but still.

SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE.

We obviously have to find what's wrong with this team, and we have to find it now. Because as it stands, playoff-wise, we're already on the outside. And I'm not so sure I can take another Sabre-less late spring.

Like I said to Anne today, I seriously want to jump a plane to Tampa when I drop my brother off at the airport this morning. I really want to go down there, smack every single Buffalo Sabre across the face, and then proceed to bawl my eyes out and throw a hissy fit to make them see just how much their sucking affects me.



Oh, my God. If I talk about them any more I think I actually might start crying. Either that, or my couch pillows and other household objects may suddenly be able to fly...



So, I think, instead of talking about those men who shall not be named (Sounds like Harry Potter, eh? I think I might use Kim's method: ******.), I think I'm just going to post ridiculous pictures of them, and talk about my boyfriends from the other teams.

Here goes.

So, in last night's game, my Florida boyfriend, the beautiful David Booth did what? Nothing. Oh, that's right, because he didn't play, because he has some shoulder injury.

WHY IS IT THAT THE ONES I LIKE ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS GET HURT????

But Marcus Naslund scored for the Rangers, neither of my goalie BF's played in the Islanders/Caps game, both Staal brothers let me down in their matchup, Shea Weber netted a goal, Todd Fedoruk did as well, and that's it. Well I guess I pretty much got stood up across the board. But thank you, Marcus, Shea, and Todd, for trying to cheer me up. But, alas, it didn't work.

At least Tampa lost... But, wait, I don't think that will matter since they absolutely steamrolled us when they were up here last.

Umm, so a picture...

So I lied. I can't look at my pictures of the ****** without getting all kinds of upset. Well, I'll put up a picture of one of my guys who didn't let me down last night:

The Pirates couldn't possibly let me down last night because they didn't play.



In fact, they only made me love them more.

While the Sabres are out making millions by playing terribly and galavanting on the beach and Chippewa, the most adorable hockey players every (coughTHEPIRATEScough) are doing charity work. Yeah, that's right, and making the days of countless children, grown men, and adoring women.

Three of the four Mikey-Poo's in Portland (Card, Funk, and Kostka), along with Derek Whitmore unveiled the newly remodeled Dorothy Elizabeth room at Gary's House, a Ronald McDonald-esque house, in Portland. They also decorated for Christmas.

And then Tim Kennedy (who looks like a child himself) and Jimmy Bonneau did a signing.

The Pirates are my new hockey loves.

Take that, Sabres. Oh, and Derek Roy? I'm breaking up with you.

That was AWESOME.

And I'm not talking about the Sabres game, because that was terrible.

And I felt terrible, because it was Jason's first Sabres game, and the only exciting thing that happened was Peters' fight, which wasn't even that good to begin with.

I mean, it was obvious that they were trying, because things worked pretty well, at times. But there is absolutely no excuse that we get shut out when we miss at least four wide-open nets. It's just not right.

There are only a few guys that I think played decently enough: Mark Mancari (who got the third star YAYYYYY), Nathan Paetsch, and Paul Gaustad. You can argue others, and I'd probably agree and apologize for omitting them in hindsight, but that's what I've got.

I seriously think that the only way to get through to these guys would be to place Timmy and Al on IR, and call up Gerbe and Kennedy, and let some guys who have something to fight for play. If the regular guys' jobs are in limbo, they'll show up. They will. Nobody likes being benched so a guy from the minors can show them up. That's like you being at your job for five years, and you're being told by your boss that the guy who just got promoted from the mail room is more efficient than you.

Another couple things about them: Craig, as much as I love him, hasn't been the same since he sat out with his knee injury, and we need a game from Ryan that's a win from the goalie. And there are others, as well. Drew needs to stop gripping the stick so tightly, and get angry for being benched. He just seems to go with the flow, and it kills me. I'm too angry to go on.

On another note, I saw dear Timmy at the game last night. He was sitting up in the press box. And funny story... I never usually look in that area of the press box, because I didn't think the players sat there, but for some reason my eyes sort of gravitated to him. AND I STILL DON'T GET IT. HE'S NOT THAT ATTRACTIVE. idk. He just has a really powerful aura, I guess.

Shannon and I were going to flash him, but we couldn't really see him, mostly because he was sitting down, so we decided that possibly getting his attention wasn't worth her boyfriend Mark and my friend Jason getting all sorts of angry and the most-likely public indecency charge. But, in hindsight, I'm sure Timmy's got a sensor for that sort of thing, and he probably would have noticed... Yet again, another missed opportunity.


BUT I HAVE SOMETHING AMAZING TO SHARE.

Are you ready???

Are you sure? Because I'm not so sure that you are.

Well, alright. So, remember how last year, Derek was playing fantastic, and this year, he kinda sucks? And remember how we've been saying it's because he's a chunky monkey???

WELL I WANT THIS DEREK BACK:



Thanks much to awesome reader Katie for this gem. She's my new best friend (Sorry, Kim).

And I think MJ put it best, by saying, "UM BRB clawing my eyes out because I never want to see another pic again because this one is the winner. We as a society can stop taking pictures now."

Amen, sister. Amen.

If only that picture could help the Sabres play better...

Adventures in Portland

So, as we sit in the comfy queen bed in my aunt's second master bedroom, looking into the dreary, wet nature preserve that is her backyard, we are going to tell you every ridiculous story we have from the Pirates game last night.

(1) I freaked out because Mike Funk took to the ice for the first time this season.

(2) We swear some of the players (coughcough Mark Mancari) recognized us.  Not a stretch because we did go to, like, five Amerks games last year, and we did go to a bunch of preseason practices, and of course sat right behind the bench for all of them.  So he was probably thinking, "Oh, God, not those girls again."  Whatever, though.

(3) Colton Fretter literally had to dive into the Pirates bench to avoid being assessed a too many men penalty.  He landed face down on the floor, but I think the heart attack he gave Tim Kennedy, who was sitting right there, was worse than any bumps he may have sustained.  Kim laughed about this all night.  No lie.

(4) Speaking of Tim Kennedy, we decided to come up with a new nickname for him.  Since using "The Little One" could be interchangeable between he and Nathan Gerbe, I somehow, for some reason, came up with "Shirley Temple."  So, from now on, in SC, TK will be Shirley Temple.  And since e did score the game winner in the shoot out, props to dear Shirley.

(5) At first, I was going to title this post "The Gerbe Derby got rained out," because, as you probably know, he was held pointless, thus ending his streak.  Sad.  But watching that little maniac one the ice is insane!  He's so darn fast and smart, it's incredible.  When they say he'll be in Buffalo in no time, they're not far off the mark at all.  He did almost die at one time when two Falcons players sandwiched him, and he fell to the ice, and one of them almost stepped on him.  Yikes...  But we did get some interesting pictures of him...

Apparently Mancari has Mair's job in Porland.

He's protecting the Gerbe Derby.

But look how ridiculous they look next to each other...  =]

Can you see Gerbe?  Because I can't...

Actually, look just above the trainer's head and you'll see Nate's.

(6) Mark Mancari scored a nifty little power play goal, deking around the net and putting a Nathan Gerbe pass above the goalie's shoulder.

(7) I love going to games in Portland so much more than games in Rochester for the following reasons:  they pack the house (as opposed to a peppering of fans); despite being 556 miles away from Buffalo, there was a smattering of Sabres apparel in the crowd, including a Drew Stafford jersey (which I thought was a little ironic, because it was the only jersey worn that I saw); their fans know that a goal for the home team means they stand up and scream and act like idiots (in Rochester, they just sat and clapped, and failed to inform us of this, and when we stood up and cheered we got weird looks); THE TEAM ACTUALLY WINS GAMES; the players seem almost jovial at times at the bench, other than downright depressing in Rochester; the crowd cheers when they show the Sabres' score on the Jumbotron and we're winning.  There are more, I just can't think of them.

(8) Speaking of actually winning games, which Rochester didn't really know much about, when we would go there, the Amerks never won.  So, at some point, before the commencement of overtime last night, I said something along the lines of "we better win because I don't want to have driven this far to see them lose."  At that point, I realized what I had just said, so I needed some wood to knock on.  Well, seeing as the floor is concrete, and the seats are plastic, the closet thing to wood I could find would have been Kim's head.  So I knocked on that.  (Oh, it's detrimental to the story to know that we were sitting a couple rows behind Springfield's bench.)  Well, apparently #4 for the Falcons, Taylor Chorney (whom we affectionately renamed Corny), saw, and laughed.  I love amusing the hockey players.  It makes it all worth while to know that they think we're funny.

(9) Along those lines, more laughing by the Falcons at us ensued when the person in charge of the music decided to play Sweet Caroline.  Anyone who's anyone knows you have to sing along to this song, and, apparently it's funny, because this time #18, Colin McDonald, had a laugh.  But he was laughing because Kim decided to reach out, and put her hand on my shoulder as Neil Diamond instructed her to, and somehow that was funny.  I don't know...

(10) And, yet again, they had another laugh, when that song they always play at sporting events came on.  You know the one I'm talking about ("Twilight Zone," by Underground Spell, if you really don't know).  But anyways, we "woo"-ed when you're supposed to, and apparently #25 Derek Bekar and their equipment guy thought this was cute because they laughed too.  Apparently we're just cute, funny girls.  But you'd think they'd take the hint from the Pirates shirts we were wearing.

(11) There was an older guy sitting right behind us, and his friend, or someone he talks too often enough, was sitting in the row in front of us across the aisle, and they were talking about the Sabres at one point.  The old guy said, "I don't know them well enough to talk about them yet, really."  And if they had kept talking about the Sabres, I would've turned around and said, "I'm from Buffalo.  What do you want to know?" just because I could have.

(12) There was a scrum in front of the Springfield bench during the second period, I believe, and someone went after Funk.  BAD IDEA.  Wanna know why?  Because you'll have 215 pounds of this on your ass.  And you did.  Idiot.  And, while skating away, Mark flipped you off.  Yeah, that's right.  He doesn't have to use words.  He's just too damn intimidating.

(13) Jimmy Bonneau also got in a scuff in the Pirates' corner at one point, and we kind of told Jimmy what to do.  Although, I'm not quite sure "use your words, and your inside voice, remember your manners, and say hello to his mother" were quite what he wanted to hear.

There were more ridiculous stories and happenings, but I think that's enough for now.  There's a few more pictures from last night, and there will be plenty more from the Sabres/Bruins game!!!!!!!

So, we're off to shop some more, and maybe (probably) go by the Ritz to see if Paul, Derek, Ryan, or Craig are hanging around.  But don't worry, I'll link up all the pictures Monday morning.  I don't have the time, the patience, or the battery life to do that now.  Sorry!!

But Go Sabres!!

I've got nothing.

I have nothing to say about the pitiful loss to the Lightning. Nothing at all. Except this: Drew, maybe I really did need to bake you a cake. Maybe you would've had more incentive to play. But I don't know about the rest of the team... Maybe they expected cupcakes, or something. I guess I'll have to try again with Jason's birthday...

Anyways, I have to say that MJ's post today is fantastic! You should all go read today's installment of My Safety is Harvard. Now. But then come back, because I have some pictures to show you:

Thomas Vanek. Wow. He does pull Dumb and Dumber off well, though.


I think Paul took my flapper idea too far... Though, the balloons are a nice touch.


Pat looks like he's trying to be... Well, I don't know exactly.


Clarke is going as the winner of Pretty, Pretty Princess.


Mark's friend makes a nice, cute fairy princess, and Mark is Pippy Longstockings.


Stefan is a very sexy hula dancer. The hair is incredible.


Nathan wears that headdress nicely.


Jason's dressed as a very flamboyant member of Buffalo's Fire Department.

That's all I've got. And those are all stretches (except for Vanek's) because they're actually from the Amerks at Your Service Dinners, but whatever. They serve my purpose. And since you've all seen this picture, I couldn't very well use it:


I do like Vanek's, um, stance as he impersonates Lance Armstrong, and Paul's exposure of his legs as John McEnroe. Very nice, boys... Very nice.


And really, if you haven't read MJ's post yet like I told you do, do it now. You won't regret it.

Happy Halloween!!

Wow. Just, wow.

I'm not going to say "I told you so," but, wait, yes I am--I told you so. I just knew that the Sabres would waltz back into HSBC Arena and not take the Sens seriously enough. Okay, maybe they did take them seriously, and yes, I realize their travel schedule was nuts (I figured it out that they probably didn't get in to Buffalo until 6am-ish Monday morning. No thank you.), but excuses are excuses. And I don't want to hear them.

And yes, I know we had to lose in regulation sometime, BUT DID IT HAVE TO BE YESTERDAY, LIKE THAT, TO OTTAWA??!!?? You killing me, Sabres. Plain killing me.

I'm not even going to comment on anything about the game except this:

MAX GOT HOSED. What the hell was that? Sure, maybe his shot was a bit late, but in his defense, the initial whistle sounded a he began to wind-up for the slap shot, and it was short and faint. As he connected with the puck, the second, more obvious whistle went. Even if he had taken a late shot, that doesn't warrant THREE Senators jumping him. FROM BEHIND. Kudos to Mair, Kotalik, and Weber for jumping in there immediately. Mair's reaction reminded me of those nature shows were the lions are feeding on carcasses. Obvs Adam was the lion and the Senator smothering Max was the carcass.

I don't even know if I can come up with three Sabres stars... Let's see...

First Star : Maxim Afinogenov

He had two assists on the night, and he actually was all over the ice trying to make things happen, so, Max, I'm throwing you a bone for Kim's sake.

Second Star : Clarke MacArthur

Breaking the goose egg is huge in my book. I never like to see my boys go scoreless.

Third Star : Teppo Numminen

I was toying with giving you the second star, Tepps, but you stole Derek's goal, so I can't bring myself to do it. But you did get a goal, so there ya go.

And Kim and I were discussing who would get the pigeon last night... I voted for Miller. He didn't do anything right because he didn't play, but, by default, he didn't do anything wrong, either. See where I'm going with this??? Do you understand my logic? Ahhhh it works sometimes!

That being said, do you realize how many of our players were negative last night??? Yuck. (And I just realized that I'm rambling on about the game even though I said I wasn't going to. Oh well.) Not one guy in blue and gold was in the black, and only six broke even (Kotalik, Numminen, Ellis, Paetsch, Afinogenov, Peters). Nine players were -1, and three were -2. (Derek, I'm extremely disappointed in you.)

And despite how terrible and excruciating that game was to watch, I'm not sure if I've ever laughed more at a game. Kim ended up coming over to my house, and we ordered food from Mike's Subs, and I had already stocked up on Dr. Pepper for myself, Sunkist for her, and chips and Bison French Onion dip. I'm telling you, unless I'm watching by myself, I get the good stuff. But anyways, combine the caffeine and sugar from Sunkist with Kim's pent-up energy (she has pretty much been a hermit as of late, due to an obscenely large microbiology test looming over her Wednesday)... And I can't even tell you what was said or done, but I could not stop laughing. At one point, and I believe this was after Pominville missed the wide-open net, she did something, and I was doubled-over in tears. It was fantastic.

The only thing that makes last night salvageable is a picture I found. The other day, in my search for Nathan Paetsch pictures, I actually found quite the variety of guys (that's how I found that ridiculous picture of Reggie). I was showing her this picture I found of Paul, and a picture of hockey players lined up in their jocks popped up. So that prompted us to recall this post of MJ's, in which we're treated to a shirtless Antoine Vermette. I then decided it would be fab-u-lous to see the Sabres like that. Any of them. I'd even see Teppo or Pigeon like that.

But then we recalled our days of Rochester Americans-stalking... Ever since the first game we went to down the 90, we've been sitting right behind their bench. I mean, it's $25, why the hell not? Back to the story... Something happened while we were standing there for the anthem, and Kim and I were laughing about something, so I turned around to say something to her and caught Stefan Meyer staring at me. I was done for when he got that frightened "Omigosh she just saw me" look on his face and do the not-so-subtle-quick-look-away move. Anyways, we had gone to some go kart race thing that the Amerks had last year. We noticed that Stefan had some ink on his arm, and that made me wonder about the Sabres. Do they have ink? But back to Stefan... I was aimlessly looking through the most prominent of Sabres albums on Webshots (dmb2218's albums) and found this beautiful picture:

He's mine. My Florida Panthers prospect.

Wait. What?? Did I just say that? Did I just admit that I'm in love with a... with a Panther? Even after my ginormous rant yesterday? Well, friends, yes I did. But in my defense he was an Amerk. He played with Sparky, and with Mark, and with the rest of them... But at the end of the day, he also has played with Gregory Campbell. Alas, Stefan is my guilty pleasure of the AHL. But come on... Just look at him!! Oh, and Kim would enjoy this one:

Drew Larman is a bad-ass mofo.

Drew is Kim's AHL guilty pleasure, as he too is a Panthers prospect. He, however, has a redeeming factor because he's from Buffalo. Or at least that's where he was born... I don't know.

But see what happens to me when the Sabres are off?? I go on tangents and I stray away. Now I have to go stick my head in the oven or something because I feel guilty. I told you. I have reverse commitment issues. In my relationship with the Sabres, my stance is that they can do whatever, even whoever, they want, as long as they come back to me at the end of the day. And by that I mean as long as they're Sabres, I'll love them unconditionally. That is, unless they're really ridiculous. I used to dislike Petey, but he's won me back. But I can't be unfaithful to the Sabres, which is why I feel tremendously guilty. Does that make sense? I doubt it. Whatever though. I'm still going to like him, I just could never be with him because he's not a Sabre. I'm cheating on the Sabres. And it is oh-so-thrilling, just because they lost last night. =]

And as far as the World Juniors go, I'm a little bit disappointed in the ticket prices. They're high to begin with, and you know that it'll sell out immediately, and as soon as they're up on eBay and StubHub, they'll be jacked up like crazy. Kim and I decided that we'd just go to the bars downtown and see all the cute youngins, but then I remembered that it's an under-20 tournament, and they can't get in the bars... Well, there is a TGIFriday's on Chippewa.... They serve alcohol...

Oh, and I'm sure you've already heard, but some genius (literally, a genius) who I believe is Chris Butler, put a little kid's pair of hockey skates in the little one's locker stall up in Portland.

And I'm sorry that you read this. I'm not even sure what I just wrote because I'm freezing, half asleep, there's something in my eye, and I'm watching Kathy Lee and Hoda talk to three attractive men and another who looks like a bum about sex. I have no attention span this morning...

I'm a bit behind, I know...

Okay, so I got a little bit caught up in shopping, being girly, eating at Chef's, watching lots of hockey, and also Slap Shot, so I haven't posted in the past 48 hours like I said that I would.  So here goes a small recap of this weekend's activities and findings:

Vancouver @ Buffalo, Friday 10.17.08

First off, Kim and I had spectacular seats!  (We were in the 19th row, dead center behind the net where we shot twice.)  I'm proud to say that I took her to her first Sabres game in the HSBC Arena outside of the 300 level.  Awwww.

The game was fantastic.  Kotalik's 2 goals, power play keeping it hot, penalty kill still perfect, Kaleta causing a raucous, Vanek sort of tackling Kotalik, and Derek Roy's playlist...  What more could I ask for?  Not much.  And God forbid I forget to mention that I got to see two of my Western Conference Loves, Taylor "Bedroom Eyes" Pyatt (thanks, Grandma!) and Steve "Big Bear" Bernier.  Love!  And Steve got a goal...  Not sure how I feel about that, but I guess it's okay since his goal was pretty much nebulous.

Buffalo @ Atlanta, Saturday 10.18.08

Definitely not overly pleased with this game.  Roy's performance was far from perfect, yet again, and the effort from the entire team for an entire 60 minutes wasn't there.  Something new and different!  But really, though, we're lucky to have come away from that with a point in hand.  Lalime was awesome; I can't fault him at all.  And yet again, our special teams were outstanding!  Vanek, too, was fabulous, continuing his hot ways; he's now on pace for 114.8 goals, and 147.6 points for the season.  Roy?  Not nearly as good; 0 goals and 32.8 points.  Kind of lack-luster numbers for the defending scoring champion...

Does anybody else think it's a bit coincidental that our streak came to a screeching halt against the Thrashers last night, when our 10-game winning streak was ended by the same team in 2006-07??  Anybody?  Because I do.

And I have to say that I paid extra special attention to the crowd in Atlanta, because I have family there.  Two of my favorite cousins live there with their husbands and children, as do my aunt and uncle.  Funny thing is, though, my cousin Jen's husband is from Connecticut, but he's a huge Sabres fan.  One day, two years ago, he surprised my uncle with a Sabres jersey and tickets to one of their games there.  So I was hoping that I'd see them in their Sabres jerseys, but since Jen was supposed to have a baby last week (I don't know if she had the baby, yet...  I should get on that.), I didn't totally expect them to be there.

10 Questions

I have to say, I LOVE PATRICK KALETA MORE THAN DEREK ROY...  For a moment, at least.  When posed the question "Mary Ann or Ginger?", Pat chose the redhead!  Now I'm forever endeared to him.  Everyone else (Derek, Miller, Lalime, and Mair) chose Mary Ann.  I don't have anything against Mary Ann, or blondes in general, for that matter, but when a really cute hockey player says he likes redheads, I love him.  Pretty much the same thing as when I started liking Brian Campbell because he had curly red hair.  Redheads are not that common, so we have to band together when we get the opportunity.  =]

Anyone know when that's supposed/going to be posted online?  Because I'm dying to see it.

hockeysockpuppettheatre, by Charlie Teljeur

Speaking of Brian Campbell, he was the focus of this cute little comic strip, run regularly in The Hockey News.  This is the banter between Soupy and, I presume, an interviewer:

Guy:  Brian Campbell, you signed for mega-bucks over the summer.  I suppose money can really change a young guy's life...

Brian:  For some, maybe.  I'm still the same old guy, putting on one skate at a time...

Guy:  ...and those would be rabbit fur-lined skates...

Brian:  Chinchilla, actually.

Oh, Brian.  You're so fancy.

Jersey Hound

Also in this week's issue of THN, was a small feature on the Sabres' new third jersey.  This piece runs weekly, as well, but focuses on different jerseys in hockey, throughout history, throughout the world, in any league, anywhere.  This is what Ryan Kennedy writes:

"Sometimes justice does come for those who need it most.  In this case, fans of the Buffalo Sabres can once again wear a current sweater of which they can be proud of both the design and the team it represents.  The much-maligned 'Buffa-slug' is still the primary symbol of Western New York's finest, but the Sabres have blessed the hockey world with a reworking of their classic sweater, which will now serve as the team's third jersey.  The blue is darker than the original and the graphics are more defined, but oh, how it feels so right again."

I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER FOR MY JERSEY!!!!  Can I please tell you all how much I want my new jersey?  I ordered a Roy jersey for myself, and a blank for my friend who is stuck in NYC until January--order numbers 155 and 156--but they won't be in at the Sabres Store until at least Thanksgiving.  I WANT MY NEW JERSEY!!!  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind the slug too much, and I still love Tim Connolly, but I'd rather wear the jersey of someone who can actually play, and doesn't just sit in the press box, night-in, night-out.  I guess I'll have to wait...  But did I mention I'm not the most patient of people?  In fact, I'm downright impatient...

Portland Pirates

Nathan Gerbe had two goals to lead the Pirates to a 3-2 victory Friday night against the Springfield Falcons.  Colton Fretter also scored in the win.  The guys are playing again tonight in Portland against the Providence Bruins.

Speaking of the Pirates, the Sabres Store is now carrying a few pieces of Portland merch.  They have some blank jerseys, a hat, and player jersey t's, featuring Nathan Gerbe, Tim Kennedy, and Mike Weber.  I would've bought one (or two, or three) if they had one for Mancari, Funk, and/or Card...

And their game is going to be shown on the internet today (as they all are), so since I can only listen to the Bills and their power outage, I'm planning on watching them.

I'll post again tomorrow, as I'm sure I can find something to write about.

I don't necessarily want to go there, but...

Quickly, before I run out the door to go to my Anatomy/Physiology Lab (which, by the way, is 2.5 hours, and the labs literally takes me less than 1; ridiculous), I just want to say a few things that I feel need to be said, some of which could be a bit controversial (I said a bit; that could be a stretch):

JOCHEN HECHT

There is absolutely nothing controversial about this gorgeous German.  Anyways, the Sabres really need to stop giving me bad news while driving at high speeds.  Last night, Kim and I drove up to the outlet mall in Niagara Falls, but then decided to go on a little adventure.  So, whilst driving down the 219 to Boston, I hear my phone vibrate in my door, so I grab it, and seeing "722737" on my screen, I say, "Oh God, what did the Sabres do now?".  Then, while holding the wheel, at about 70 mph, I read:

"BREAKING NEWS--Buffalo Sabres GM Dary Regier announced that Jochen Hecht underwent surgery today on his finger and will miss a couple of weeks.  Txt End 2 quit."

Wow.  Enough said, pretty much.  No, really, though, I'm extremely upset.  Then Kim goes, "Well, just think:  This could mean a call-up for Gerbe!"  And then I thought rationally (why do I always have to do that?), "No, because we have Ellis, and besides, Ruff always calls up whoever had been hot down there, and that's MARK MANCARI!!!"  Which is kinda funny because Ruff said he would be the guy if they do, indeed, decide a filler guy is in order.  But then he'd have to clear waivers again, and I'd be a basketcase for the entire 24-hour waiver period.  

Jochen, ich liebe dich.  That's "I love you" in German, if you can't remember my story about him hearing me say that to him during practice one day.  He literally turned around and looked at me.  Who was mortified?  This girl.

MICHAEL PECA

I'll be the first to admit that when this guy was a free agent, I wanted the Sabres to pick him up again.  I love Mike Peca.

True, his game is a fine line between gritty and dirty, but the guy's smart.  He didn't win the Selke purely by chance, and there was a reason for his being named Captain during his tenure here.  And the guy's just not stupid.

That being said, I don't think whatever happened here (WARNING:  Really bad fan video) is worth a 10-game suspension.  He admittedly grabbed the ref's arm, but there is no way in hell you can convince me that he hit a linesman with his stick, as was perceived.

Now I realize that there's this thing in the NHL where you're not supposed to touch the sacred officials, but (1) they often ignore player's pleas, especially if the person they're coming from has a negative reputation of any sort, and (2) how were they supposed to hear anything remotely sounding like a voice when, HELLO! Dallas just scored and 18,532 people are screaming their heads off because, HEY! the Stars just scored on a 2-man advantage!  So he grabbed your arm.  Big deal.  Give him the three games mandated by the automatic contact clause or whatever it's called and be done with it.  Peca is not so stupid as to use excessive force with an official.

There was something else I had to say too, but I can't remember what it was, and I really need to get going to lab...

Anyways, since I can't provide you with anything good to read, go read THN's article about Nathan Gerbe that appears in the issue my household received yesterday.  Actually, I can't find it, so I'll post about it later, or tomorrow, or something.  But I love it, because the Sabres list him as 5'6", as do the Pirates, by they (THN) say he's 5'5".  WHICH MEANS I AM TALLER THAN HIM!  That's exciting shit right there!

And speaking of the Pirates, they do Bobblehead Nights, so go vote for the guy to have his very own Bobblehead.

Okay, 'til later.  Have a nice day, everyone!  And, oh yeah, Go Sabes!

The Pirates Won, But The Sabres Can't.

Does anybody else think this is a bit ironic?  I mean, I know the Pirates play in the AHL, and the AHL isn't nearly as difficult as the NHL, but come on.

I mean, ALL of these guys were HERE, and the guys that ARE here can't do it, but the guys that are THERE can???  Now I'm not saying we would've won last night if Jhonas Enroth was in net and if we had Marek Zagrapan centering the second line (notice I left Derek his rightful place on the first).**  Whatever though.  I'm still pissed that they took Derek's goal away from him.

Lindy Ruff pretty much sums it up in the TBN:

"It's tough.  Ty Conklin has been tough on us, we get one and it doesn't count."

It just drives me nuts because every time we've played him since he took off the blue and gold, we've lost.  Ice Bowl?  Lost.  The game Kim and I drove down to Pittsburgh for?  Lost.  Last night?  Lost.  Sound familiar?

I've worked myself up enough about a preseason game, so I'm not going to talk about it anymore.

In other news, neither Kim or I mentioned that MARK MANCARI CLEARED WAIVERS!!  I guess it was pretty obvious because neither of us have stopped paying attention to the world, and if he had, trust me, YOU'D KNOW.

**Stats for the Portland Pirates/Albany River Rats preseason game:

Marek Zagrapan:  2 goals, 1 assist

Nathan Gerbe:  1 assist

Jhonas Enroth:  30 minutes (approx.), 1 goal against

Adam Dennis:  30 minutes (approx.), 2 goals against

Will The Real Tim Connolly Please Stand Up??

So Kim and I ventured down to the Sabres' open practice this morning, which I had thought started at 10, but it was really 9, so we unfortunately missed the beginning.

Oh well.

First funny story:  We were talking about all the guys, and saying stupid things like girls do, such as "Ohmygod, he's hot," but we were also constructively talking.  We decided, though, to keep our dignity a little bit intact, we should speak in German, since both of us studied it in school.  Me, being the genius I am, spotted Jochen Hecht about to step off the bench right in front of us (we were sitting in the front row) and said, "Ich liebe dich," which translates to I love you, and HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME.  How embarrassing.

Paul Gaustad appeared to be anything but himself when he first hit the ice; he looked tired and possibly ill, and carried a bright green drink onto the rink and set it on the boards in front of us.  If anything, it was probably the beverage making him sick, because as soon as he got rid of it, he seemed much more perky and lively.

Ryan Miller was caught yawning.  Sorry practice is so boring for you, Mr. I'm Not A Rock Star.  We'll let you get your beauty sleep now; sorry for keeping you awake.

We had to giggle when Nathan Gerbe skated out because he looked just like an Oompa Loompa in his green practice jersey.  And it was pure genius that he happened to be out there at the same time as 6'7" Tyler Myers.  When they had a little pow-wow with Ruff, Tyler took a knee, and Nate stood, but they were practically the same height.  I swear, if you put Derek Roy out there with him, Derek would look like a giant.

And guess who was conspicuously missing from practice today!!!  Perhaps, the only Sabre to not put on skates today?  Mr. Timothy Connolly.  Now, this just fits into my theory that Timmy is not a real person, because no one ever sees him, so I've come to the conclusion that he is a figment of Buffalo's imagination.  Anyways, has anyone heard if this person, who happened to be the captain Tuesday night, is hurt? or otherwise maligned? or is healthy and is just a bum?  Because if you know, you'd best share that information with me, because I'm dying to know.  Just dying.  And I love Tim, so I need to have knowledge of his safety.  Because if he's hurt (which actually wouldn't surprise me), I'd cry.

Anyways, we're going to the practice again tomorrow, but for now, enjoy the sights from today.  And we've got the Red Carpet ceremony on Saturday covered as well.  =]