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.

INTERUPPTUS INTERUPTI

Okay so today I expected to come home from school and be able to work on some homework. I have 3 papers to write this weekend and even though I have Monday and Tuesday off I want to actually have the days to veg and not think about anything. I have a busy weekend planned, Sabres game tonight, Bandit's tomorrow, Mamma Mia on Sunday and then the Sabres game on Sunday, so needless to say I had today and tomorrow to work on my papers. Well I figure since today has already gone awry I might as well post because it's pretty much been guaranteed that I'm not going to be getting much done before the game.

I usually get home from school on Fridays by 12:30 but today I had a practice for a redemonstration of nursing skills that I have to complete by the end of next week so I didn't end up getting home until 2. I was home for approximately 20 minutes when my grandma called and said she couldn't get her car started and she needed a ride over to my uncle's who lives in Amherst, my grandma lives in Kenmore and I live in Tonawanda. Then before we went to my uncle's house she had to stop at the funeral home because a woman from our church died. So I spent an hour of my time not working on homework, I wasn't mad that she called because she's done so much for me but at the same time I just wanted to work on homework. Okay well back to hockey talk.

The Sabres are having a surprise autographed picture sale tonight for $20 bucks you pick a number and that number corresponds to an autographed picture of the player. Am I hoping in vain that I can get Paul's? Because I'm totally willing to shell out the $20 bucks if I can have something that he actually touched that he may have breathed on. Ooo my heart's all full of butterflies and sunshine just thinking about it.

We play San Jose tonight, let me tell you my joy is just overflowing please someone get another bucket to contain it, why does the NHL like to kick us when we're down? Not that it's their fault that Vanek got hurt and that we can't seem to beat Ottawa, but I need someone to blame so it's split between whoever the hell it was that hit Vanek with that puck and the NHL. The Sharks are 37-7-5-3 and stand 2nd in points in the NHL. The Sabres on the other hand are 8th in the Eastern Conference and are struggling to stay in the playoff run.

This is the only meeting between the Sharks and the Sabres this season and the first time that Craig Rivet comes face to face with his old teammates since donning the blue and gold when the Sabres picked him up as a UFA in the off season. As we've seen for the last few games that old feistyness that we've come to expect from Rivet has once again appeared. What will happen when Rivet comes face to face with his old teammates? Only the hockey gods know but if nothing else it should get interesting.

SHOULD I LOOK ON THE SPORTS PAGE? OR IN THE OBITUARIES?

Wow. What a Buffalo sports weekend Thursday and Friday (You can't tell me yesterday didn't feel like a Saturday. No? Well it did to me, but then again, I'm used to four-day weekends.).

Let me first touch on the Sabres/Stars game.

I kid you not, I was seriously going to turn the game off when it became 3-0, Dallas. I mean, my brother had already vacated the room, my father had fallen asleep in his recliner, and my mother had picked up her Stephen King novel. At that point, what's a girl to do? Her family has "abandoned" her, and the only love(s) in her life weren't measuring up.

And don't even get me started on how angry I was with Drew Stafford. Seriously? How do you get in the box twice in one period and then how do the Sabres allow them to score twice?? Honestly, I didn't think there would be a doghouse big enough to fit Drew in at that moment. And I really did not envy the ensuing brunt of Lindy's anger, either.

But then Paul Gaustad came along.

Kim, I know that Paul is your favorite and all, but I love him. I've definitely fallen for him (at least until tonight's game).

So it was all good during our little comeback. We came within one goal, thanks to Jochen Hecht, but then we allowed the Stars to pull ahead a bit more, which was extremely disconcerting to my feeble heart.

But, then again, cue Paul Gaustad!! Seriously, this guy knows how to make a girl's heart flutter.

And I could barely contain myself when I thought Jaro Spacek had scored, but then was even more excited to find out that it was, in fact, Clarke MacArthur! There we had it, folks. A tie game, headed to overtime.

But you all know how much I hate overtime. And I hate the shootout even more. Don't get me wrong; it's entertaining as hell. I just don't have the patience/strength to endure it.

I really thought Tim Connolly would help a girl out and win the game for us, but no. Anyways, what can I expect from a guy who had all but concluded his 10th game of the season? And can I just say that when Jere Lehtinen beat Ryan Miller in the shootout, I feared all hope was lost? But then Derek Roy rescued me from the depths of despair (yes, I'm being dramatic), and Jason Pominville (who I've taken to calling JPom for some reason...) put the nail in the coffin.

I have a flair for the dramatic. That's why I love games like these. And wasn't it just adorable to see the guys pushing, shoving, and punching each other at the end? They were just so happy!

Note to the Sabres: See how happy you are when you win? And when you're happy, your body produces more serotonin. And when you're producing more serotonin, you'll probably play better. Which means you'll win more. See where I'm going with this??

Oh, and congratulations goes to Craig Rivet, who put up his 200th career point with his assist on Gaustad's first goal of the game.

So guys, let's keep the serotonin flowing tonight, eh?

But on to the Bandits game, where there was an overabundance of serotonin.

23 goals??? Seriously???

For those of you who don't know, last night was my first Bandits game. I'm a big lacrosse fan, and when they used to show the games on Empire back in the day, I'd watch them. But now they're not televised (that I know of), so I never get to see them.

But the Bandits sure know how to instill false expectations in a girl.

So we all know that Derek Roy is my favorite Sabre, and that Trent Edwards is my favorite Bill (sort of by default). But I needed a favorite Bandit. So, who do I choose? Mark Steenhuis. The reason, you may ask? Well, there's a few. He has ridiculously hair, which is basically the reason I fell for Tim Connolly during his Sabres introductory press conference. He also was born in Niagara Falls (Ontario), so he's basically a hometown boy. And he has bright orange sneakers, which is just fabulous. It doesn't hurt that his adorable son has his hair.

Little did I know that I'd walk away with my adopted favorite Bandit scoring 13 points. Eight goals and five assists. Um... What??

Yeah. Pretty much the best first Bandits game. Ever. Maureen (Kim's mom) probably hates me now, because whenever she can't go to a sporting event, I take her ticket. And whenever I take her ticket, they (usually the Sabres) win. And in spectacular fashion. So last night fit the mold perfectly.

Kim just looked up some factoids on her phone as I was writing this:

That game (in which the final score was 23-6) now holds the Rochester Knighthawk's records for most goals against and most lopsided loss. Pretty sweet, right?

But at one point during the game, the guy who sits next to Kim just looked at us, dumbfounded, and said, "So, tomorrow, when I want to read about this game, should I look on the sports page, or in the obituaries?"

Damn good question, Aaron. I think the latter would be more appropriate.

Well anyways, Kim and I are finally getting to a game-day skate today, barring any unforeseen occurrences in the next half hour. I'll put up some pictures before I go fulfill my duties to the work-world.

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.

It's Been Awhile...

(Oh gees, now I have that Staind song stuck in my head...)

Well, anyways, I haven't been around since Friday. And I must apologize for that. I was going to post Saturday morning, around 6 am, and tell you that I was going to be up in Toronto for the weekend, but I woke up late, and seeing that I woke up at 6, had to be out of the house by 6:45, pick up Brittany and be over at the guys' house by 7:15, yeah, a post was nowhere to be found.

So I was up in Toronto for the UB Bulls International Bowl. Yes, I'm sure you all know how that went. But the rest of my weekend was fabulous, because we spent the night up in TO, and let me tell you, this club up there--Circa--is my favorite club now. It's awesome. And we met some super creepy people up there. All in all, tough, a great weekend because while we were eating at Hoops on Saturday (it's kinda like a Buffalo Wild Wings, fyi), they were showing the highlights from the Sabres game, and we all started cheering (there were eight of us, so it was kinda loud). I can't even tell you how many dirty looks we got, especially from our waitress, who was wearing a Leafs shirt.

But whatever, because I'm back now. And I must say that I missed you and this little blog terribly in my three day absence.

I had this really killer idea for a post today, but today I can't remember the one line I wanted to throw in it, and it happened to be the punch-line, so I'm not quite sure I want to post that anymore.

Really, though, the only things I'm concerned about are Craigory and Timmykins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have a whole lot of time now, so I'm going to go now, but I plan on liveblogging the game tonight with Kim, as she is going to be watching with me at my house.

But I'll leave you now with this gem:


Yeah, I'd like to see plenty of this tonight.

And does anyone else remember what happened the last time we played Ottawa?

Really Jarkko? Is that what happened? Well, Adam remembers it a little more clearly, I think.

Hey Jarkko, it's after the holidays...

In the least, it should be a damn good game. See you later.

THERE'S ONLY FOUR SABRES I'M NOT UPSET WITH

Okay, well, actually there are only (wait, let me count on my fingers...) ten Sabres I'm not upset with.

(Oh, and just so you all know, I'm back on the bandwagon. The Bench-Derek-Roy-Bandwagon. I actually never left. I never thought that he was truly himself, even though he did have that hot-streak through the beginning of the month...)

You may ask how I come up with a number like ten, when the whole team played absolutely atrociously yesterday. Well, I reply, only four of those Sabres actually took to the ice last night. The other six are Lalime (who obviously had no control over the game), and the other five had a nice view from the press box: Rivet, Kaleta, Connolly, Peters, and Paetsch.

Now, I'm a little worried about Nate, but honestly, I feel that if he gets in there a couple games, he'll be alright. It's just his first game back that's always terrible, because he's not in game-form; he's in practice-form, and I think Lindy forgets that PRACTICE DOES NOT EQUAL GAME PLAY. Whatever. But you will notice that Maxim Afinogenov (sorry, Kim) is not on my list of forgiven Sabres. Yeah. No explanation necessary there.

But my point today is that Adam Mair, Clarke MacArthur, Matt Ellis, and Paul Gaustad are getting all the love in the world from me today. I just adore them.

Adam's goal was fabulous, and Clarke has just been tearing it up on the stats sheet since he was given a night off, Matty is just working his ass off, and Paul, fresh off a shoulder injury, was hitting everything in sight.

This will be the last thing I'll say today, as I'm trying to be upbeat as I possibly can about last night's debacle, and this is surely going to bring down my mood: And while I'm in a Paul Gaustad loving mood right now, this is why I truly believe that Goose should have been named captain:

(And that's not to bash Craig Rivet; he's been removed from the dressing room for much of the season, so he really didn't have much of a chance to have an effect of this team and their attitude. I love Craig, but this team needs some [gosh-darned] leadership, and they need it fast. And I think that leadership lies in the heart of Paul Gaustad.)



So, Loves, Happy New Year!! Don't do anything too stupid tonight, and be safe! See you all tomorrow after the Winter Classic II!! AHHHHH Brian Campbell time!! =] (I still love him.)

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!!!!!

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...

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.

THIS IS A RECORD FOR US (IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE)

So for the second time in a row, Cari and I watched a game together and the Sabres won, the first record to be mentioned. Previously, if my memory serves me correctly, we watched many games together on Cari's couch and the Sabres won exactly none of them. Now I believe the Sabres winning probably has something to do with the fact that Cari, the first night, made cookies with all the players nicknames on them for us to enjoy during the game. Tonight we made cookies when I got to her house that had their first names on them. SO I believe that the Sabres winning has something to do with the fact that both Cari and I were extremely sugar high during the games so there is extra shouting and jumping around especially tonight. Even though they're in New Jersey, and while Cari and I have extremely large mouths, there is no way in hell they could hear us, although, we like to believe that they can.

Now you have to understand that earlier today Cari and I went to the Cheesecake Factory where we ate lunch and then brought home two pieces of cheesecake to eat, which we consumed during the game along with the cookies, therefore adding to the sugar high that ensued which we used to annoy Cari's brother who happened to be home for the game. Wow that was a long run on sentence, which I know Cari despises but at this moment I really don't care, but I'm too lazy to fix it so whatever. 

So the Sabres won and by doing so reached a very big milestone, scoring their 10,000th goal in franchise history. I believe it to be very appropriate that the player who is considered, by me at least, to be the face of the franchise was the one to score. T-Van I love you with all of my heart and you deserve cookies so come on over and eat some of the ones that we have left because believe Cari and I don't need anymore, just don't tell Paul I said that I don't want him to be jealous and think that I don't love him anymore. Because, while I love you and every other player on the team, I love Paul more.

While Cari and I were frosting even more cookies for the rest of her family to enjoy we started singing Love Lockdown by Kanye West and getting to the part of the song that says 'system overload', we readily replaced that with 'sugar overload singing oh oh oh oh oh' in a pained voice. I believe it to be very appropriate for the state that we are in right now which includes me writing this while Cari is washing dishes which I should be helping her with but am not so now I feel bad and waiting to play Guitar Hero as soon as her brother gets off the phone with his girlfriend. So faithful readers I leave you with the thoughts of someone who has consumed way to much sugar and is waiting for her heart to stop beating as all the sugar finally overrides her system.

Love Life, Play (Watch) Hockey, Eat Sugar  

I AM THE VENGEANCE IN THE NIGHT; I... AM... GAUSTAD.

We all know that my dear Kim is just smitten with one Paul Gaustad.

So this morning, when I saw that spectacular picture of Goose, I texted her immediately.

This is what communication has transpired between us throughout the day:


Cari, 08:31: Have you seen the Sports section today, dear?

Kim, 08:37: No, I'm out with my momma.

Cari, 08:38: Ohhhh dear. Well... You'll love it.

Cari, 08:39: [Picture message sent, containing the image of Paul and the headline "Sauce from the Goose"]

Kim, 09:12: The picture you sent me didn't come through.

Cari, 09:12: Ughh I'll try it again.

Cari, 12:26: TIM CONNOLLY LOOK-A-LIKE AT BURGER KING!!

Kim, 12:27: Haha Are you sure it wasn't him? Maybe he was eating away his pain...

Cari, 12:38: I'm sure. He had hair and was smoking.

Kim, 12:38: Well, it would've been a great scenario.

Cari, 12:39: I know, right?

Cari, 13:37: Did you ever get that picture?

Kim, 15:01: No, it never came.

Cari, 15:02: Ughh Well, did you see the newspaper?

Kim, 15:02: No, I'm babysitting and they don't get the paper.

Cari, 15:03: Ohhhh I'll try it again because it is vital that you see it stat.

Kim, 15:03: Okay.

Cari, 15:03: [Second attempt to send said picture of Paul]

Kim, 18:52: I saw the picture in the paper. Oh, hot damn, he looks hot!

Cari, 20:58: OMGAH doesn't he??? Ughhh I'd love it if I saw him pummeling someone like that on the street...

Kim, 21:20: Haha Well, see, then he'd probably get arrested for battery.

Cari, 21:21: Yeah, but so what? It'd be hot. And he'd probably just be beating a criminal or defending our honor.

Kim, 21:22: Or saving the world from polluters.

Cari, 21:23: Exactly... So who could throw him in jail for that?

Kim, 21:23: Good point. He'd probably end up with a key to the city.

Cari, 21:34: Oh, most definitely. He's seriously like Batman.


So, basically, I think that's how things should work in Buffalo. Can the BPD get a big searchlight atop 74 Franklin Street, and emblazon a large 28, or maybe a flying goose, or something of the like, upon the dark, winter sky?? I think it would work out quite well.

OH! And I'm pretty much fed up that my picture message didn't send. And since, being the genius that I am, I didn't try to send a picture to anyone else, I don't know if Verizon is to blame, or if it's Kim's phone's fault, and AT&T is to blame. They both suck at the moment, then...

And if you're wondering, we normally text about four times as much as that throughout the day. I was in Canada for part of the day and wasn't texting (I JUST LOVE BEING DETAINED AT THE BORDER), and then I was driving around for a while, and not texting while driving for a change... But yeah, this was a slow day for us...

"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.

SHORT, LIKE NATHAN GERBE

Okay, so I don't have a ton of time, mostly because I have to leave in about an hour for class, and I just rolled out of bed. But I wanted to post today, and since, after class, I'm crashing on the couch for a couple hours, and then leaving, this is my only opportunity.

Anyways...

I have one thing, and one thing only to say about the whole Ryan Miller getting cussed out by the ref situation: If a player can't say shit to a ref without getting the book thrown at them, no way in hell should a ref be able to say boo to a player. That's like, say, I felt like calling a teacher of mine an effing [w]itch to her face, which prompts her to give me detention, and then she proceeds to call me the same. Nuh uh. I don't think so.

But Jay, on Caroline's last post, brought out something interesting:

(This comes straight from the NHL rule book, mind you.)

If, through misadventure or sickness, the Referees and Linesmen appointed are prevented from appearing, the League will make every attempt to find suitable replacement officials, otherwise,the Managers or Coaches of the two Clubs shall agree on Referee(s) and Linesman(men). If they are unable to agree, they shall appoint a player from each side who shall act as Referee and Linesman; the player of the home Club acting as Referee and the player of the visiting Club as Linesman.

Gee, I think I'd want someone awesome to be ref for us. At first, I was thinking Patty K could be ref. But then I decided against that, as if he weren't ref, he could run whoever he wanted on the ice...

So I'm not really too sure... Probably Stafford... He's kinda deviant and seems like he'd be a huge rule-breaker... So I think he'd be a good "slanted" ref, don't you?

I'd pay to ever see that happen. But seriously, what would it take to off the refs minutes before puckdrop?

Alright. That's about all of the hockey commentary you're going to get out of me at 7:45 in the morning.

So here's a beautiful picture, instead:


Drew, just promise me that if you were made ref for a game, you either would call a game your mother would be proud of, or you'll force her not to watch as you'll be completely one-sided and unsportsmanlike throughout. And I'm sure she didn't bring you up like that, so I'm going to prefer the later.

BUT HEY LOOK!!! YOU'RE ACTUALLY SMILING!!

And I'll be smiling tonight, as Britt and I will be sitting here:


We're going to be right behind the Buffalo portion of "Buffalo General Hospital" on the boards behind Paul.

I would've circled it and written all over it, but I don't have Paint on my computer, and I don't have time to figure out which program allows me to do that. Sorry, but you get the gist.

So we'll be behind Miller twice, and then behind, I'm assuming, Mike Smith for the second.

We'd better see some hits in front of us like the one Gaustad threw the other night, and we'd better see some awesome saves and some beautiful goals (I know, I'm asking for a lot). Actually, I just hope they play well and win for the home crowd.

And that you look for us.

Go Sabres!!

Housekeeping.

The Sabres need to learn how to do it, so they should take a lesson from me.


(1) As I'm sure you've noticed, I got bored with our layout/template/thing, so I freshened it up. And can I please tell you how obnoxious it is to mess around with Blogger's templates? They're all kinda ugly, or already being used, and since I like to be all cutesy with my stuff, and I don't like to copy people, I get really annoyed when you're only given a handful of options. Whatever, though.


(2) MARK MANCARI SCORED HIS FIRST NHL GOAL LAST NIGHT!!!!! I was soooo proud. We (the nurse I work with and myself) were watching the game at work, and she was laughing her ass off when he scored because I was awing, and saying "Aw, Mark, I love you! I'm so proud of you!" She said I looked like a doting mother watching her only daughter get married. BEST ANALOGY EVER.


I LOVE YOU.


(3) Derek scored again, finally. And he couldn't have done it at a better time, as far as I'm concerned, because, while I was driving to work yesterday, a guy from the Sabres Store called me, and left a message saying that my NEW THIRD JERSEY CAN BE PICKED UP ON WEDNESDAY. YAYYYYYY!! So now I take back saying that I wasn't too sure if I wanted his jersey anymore, because Princess D is starting to play better.


(4) When D scored yesterday, Kim texted me and said "he doesn't skinny dip, he chunky dunks." This is why I love her.


(5) Awesome reader Katie told me that she saw D eating spaghetti at Chef's yesterday, and that he eats like a pig. Now, I don't know about you, but I tend to view all the Sabres as perfect people, kinda like every girl's expectations of Mr. Right. So I never expect any one of them to shovel pasta into their mouth and let the mozzarella cheese that was melted all over it to stick to the plate as they chew a mouthful. So, Katie, as fantastic as that was, I'm going to forget you ever told me that, and go on living in my blissful, delusional world. No offense though. I still love you.


(6) I decided that I'm not going to comment on actual game-play until the Sabres start winning again.


(7) If the playoffs were to start today, we'd be out. That's depressing, considering the start we had.


(8) I totally called Timmy C's injury--BROKEN RIB. Called it. And I'm not one to say I told you so... Actually, who the hell am I kidding. I TOLD YOU SO!! =]


(9) I never commented on Paul's fish story. A-FREAKING-DORABLE. I hate worms too, but that's mostly because when I was little, my friend Kevin used to (AND I'M NOT KIDDING YOU. I SWEAR.) squirt chocolate syrup on them and eat them like spaghetti. At least Derek doesn't do that... But I don't like fish, either. My friend Kristle's dad used to fish all the time and he'd gut them in the backyard while we were laying out in the sun. Gross.


I leave you with my last comment of this Sunday, as I'm currently watching the Bills, leading the Chiefs. *crossing fingers* ...maybe??


(10) My dad made these up last night and sent them to me; they're absolutely hilarious, and you really should take the time to watch them all: Dance 1, Dance 2, Dance 3, Dance 4

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...

What to say, what to say?

Well, I know I'm not going to say anything about that catastrophic kick that almost made me commit suicide during the Bills game.

Besides, why should I talk about that when there is a new Sabres injury to discuss? What injury is that, might you ask?

OH, ONLY DEREK ROY'S GROIN PULL.

Or his yeast infection, as my father said. I think that's pushing the envelope, myself. We say he's gay, or metro-sexual... Not transsexual. He's so harsh to my guys...

But anyways, I suggested to my mother that I make him some cookies, and this time I was deadly serious. I have an excuse to be in the area of his townhouse, since two of my good friends works in the office building about 500 feet away from his doorstep, and another friend is working on the construction of an apartment building going up across the street. SO IT'S ENTIRELY PLAUSIBLE THAT I REALLY AM "JUST IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD." Alas, my mother, since she had seen the infamous picture, reasoned that, because D's getting chunky, or was chunky, maybe some tofu brownies would be a better idea.

I don't like tofu, though, so unless Derek misses any games, he's not getting anything from me.

MJ gave me a good laugh, yesterday, though. When I found out that Derek was hurt, or at least missed practice, I texted her about it, and this was her response:

Oh no not princess d!! They are all falling apart on me!!

Okay, first of all, it rhymes. But she called him Princess D!! I love it!!! MJ, you're my heroine.


On another note, I found that car dealerships in Western New York are allowing people like me crazy fan-girls to find the Sabres a little bit more easily, these days...

Take, for example, DeLacy Ford:



And, for Exhibit B, I present, from Autoplace Nissan, via an internet dealer:



(That car that Paul now drives is an Infiniti FX35. Nice cars...)

I found the one of Paul when I was searching for a commercial that Kim saw, in which Paul was doing a Jason Pominville-esque promotion. That was the only thing returned to me. So then I ventured over to DeLacy's website to find some stuff about Jason, and I found some wonderful pictures....


Oh, and Ryan Miller is going to do the ceremonial lighting of the Christmas tree at Rotary Rink on Sunday at 5 pm. I saw something somewhere (maybe in the paper this morning?) that it's $100 per ticket... That's a bit steep, if you ask me, to watch a good looking guy throw a switch. Whatever, though, because I don't get to see it because I'll be at work. What a shame...


But that's about all the Sabres stuff I could dig up for today. Enjoy the snow!!

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.  =]

Ummm...Holy Crap?!?!?!

So let me just say that I have never been more proud of the Sabres then I am at this moment, if I was a mother hen, I'm pretty sure my chest feathers would be all puffed out in pride. The Sabres were absolutely amazing they skated so fast that first period I think I was getting whiplash just from watching them. I could have sworn that the entire Devils team was standing still for 30 of those 60 minutes. Twenty shots and they had to wait until the dying seconds to get a goal in the first period but hey it was still a goal who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

And of course tonight was the return of Craig Rivet to the line up, completely ahead of schedule which surprised everyone including me, but once again, gift horse and mouth equals me not looking.

Did anyone else giggle every time the announcers said Johnny Oduya, because I did, it's just so hard to take him seriously with that last name. Maybe it was just me I have a twisted sense of humor.

I was very disappointed to find out when I got home that the game was on Versus because we all know that the announcers on that channel are a bunch of morons, a bunch of very dumb, very stupid morons who don't have a clue as to what the hell they're talking about. However, watching a game on Versus is entertaining if nothing else. Seriously, I only listen to them to see what kind of stupid ass analogies they can come up with during the games. We all know the usual ones such as:

• The cage is actually the net, luckily they only said it a handful of times which is down from the usual hundred.
• The paint is the crease.
• A drive is a shot.

Tonight the morons came up with some spectacularly bad sayings that completely bear repeating.

When Gaustad got into that small scuffle near the beginning of the game they called him "a large human" well no duh.

When Vanek got the call for hooking one of the announcers claimed that it was "fondling with the stick" which can be taken in so many ways most of them nasty.

When Gaustad was screening Weekes they said "try looking through that humanity."

Buffalo had 20 shots against the Devils in the first period and "It's been a mastadonic performance" were the words of choice to describe this phenomenon.

"He was gased" when one of the Devils players looked tired.

"He got that one off the drive by" as in Kaleta when he tipped the puck into the net for the goal from 20 feet out.

"He almost got that one in the grill" when they were describing why most guys don't like to be positioned in front of the net.

And they kept talking about yardage, uh, hello, we're not playing football here.

Those are about all that I caught, but seriously where do they get these guys? I'm sure if you handed Cari and I a microphone we could do a much better job. Hell, I'm sure a trained monkey could do a better job, maybe even an untrained monkey.

Timmy Connolly was skating to the net without a helmet on and I thought "this is it the next thing I'm going to see is him being taken off the ice on a stretcher because all the bones in his body are now broken."

We took 6 penalties in a row, are you kidding me? But then again we managed to kill all of them off, yay for special teams, you all deserve big cookies.

Plus how cool was it that Miller got two consecutive shutouts the first of his career and the first time that has happened in Buffalo since Marty had 3 in a row in the 02-03 season.

Goals tonight went to Pominville (which now has another resident) who got his 4th and Patty K. who got his 1st.

My Three Stars:

3. Pominville for obvious reasons.

2. Kaleta because not only can the guy draw penalties but he can score as well, on the drive by of course.

1. And tah-dah, Miller as my first star because the man is just a beast and let's face it without him we'd probably be behind the Islanders in the standings.

We'll that's about it, next time you hear from me will probably be when I'm in Boston but if not talk to you all on the flip side.

Oh and did anyone happen to see the cute little happy dance that Lalime did while congratulating Miller out on the ice after the win? Adorable, enough said.

Length of Game: 60 minutes
Goals Scored Against The Devils: 2
Goals Scored Against The Sabres: 0
Watching Patrick Lalime Dance Like A Little Girl: Priceless

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!!