Merry Christmas!

So it's been awhile since either of us posted on here, so I figured as a Christmas present to you all I would start off what remains of the holiday season on the right foot.

First off the game last night blew like gale force winds, it was just awful. I was trying to finish a Christmas present for my brother, so I was mercifully spared the pain of focusing completely on that train wreck of a game.

Sabres this was you last night, the train looks like it's lying down and playing dead, kind of like you. Now if only the horse was a valiant white stead complete with a knight in shining armor come to save us from the drudgery of a poorly played game.

Now that Christmas Eve is here it's time to tell you what I want (just in case you're looking for any last minute gifts).

• Paul Gaustad with a big ribbon on his head. (or I'll settle for him making the USA Olympic Team)
• Ryan Miller to shut out every team for the rest of the year (or for him to stay healthy)
• Jarkko Ruutu to have his ass handed to him by Kaleta or Gaustad on Saturday. (Or I'll just settle for Kaleta playing in the game).
• Some fantastic trade that will rid us of all the dead weight that's been dragging down our team all season. (coughSekeracough, coughConnollycough, coughHechtcough, coughRoycough)
• World Peace (or for those who can't be with their families this holiday season to know that they are loved and missed and always thought of).

And finally to all you readers I hope that you have a great holiday season filled with the love and happiness that you and your families deserve.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

OH, HEY...

So, I'm a little slow this season...

Did I comment on training camp at all? NO. Did I attend just about every single training camp practice? YES.

Did I have anything to say about the preseason? NO. Did I go to both preseason games that took place in HSBC Arena? YES.

Did I critique the clothing choices of our boys on the Red Carpet? NO. Did I attend said event, camera in hand, firmly planted at the edge of the carpet? YES.

Have I said anything at all about the season thus far? NO. Have I seen every single Sabres game thus far? YES.

Basically, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Since I've already missed so much, as far as SC is concerned, I'm just going to jump right in and pretend that I've been blogging all along. Is that okay with you? Well, it had better be. I have a list of things to address.

First of all, Daniel Paille.

(Insert a rant from yours truly, because I had a few long, strongly worded yet deeply emotional paragraphs written, and then Safari decided to quit on me without Blogger having saved said writing.)

My dear friend Kelsey and I were in Pittsburgh for the Pens/Blues game when we got the news. And let me tell you, I FREAKED. We were eating dinner at a pizza place downtown when he heard about Stafford's tweet, and I was frantically trying to find out who was no longer a Sabre for TWO HOURS until we were sitting in our seats in the Igloo when Kim had the decency to call me and enlighten me.

My initial reaction? "NO! They can't trade Pie! He just got married! Now I can't run into Dan and Dana at Wegmans." :(

But really, I'm happy for Danny. He deserved to play night in and night out, and that wasn't happening here. So for that reason, I approve of the trade. Otherwise, I'm pissed that he went to a division rival, and livid that we received next to nothing for him. I don't know how to feel about this, Darcy...

Moving on.

Next up, Derek Roy.

Do I really have to dust off the wheels of the Bench-Derek-Roy-Bandwagon already? WE HAVEN'T BEEN PLAYING FOR A MONTH YET, D. I shouldn't be this mad at you already. I mean, 8 assists in 11 games isn't much to sneeze at, but really? NO GOALS?!?!? Come on, Princess. Kyle expects better from you.

And I will bring back the bandwagon if you don't have a goal before Game 15. In full-force. Yes, Derek... That's a promise AND a threat.

Thirdly, Patrick Kaleta.

Who lit a fire under his ass?! I mean, seriously! For a hot minute there, the kid was at the top of our score sheet! Don't get me wrong; I love every bit of it! But Patty K! I didn't make a ridiculous trade to get you on my fantasy team for you to stop hitting people so much. Your numbers in that column are so pedestrian. Step it up a little bit, babe. Please. Otherwise, keep up the fabulous work!

Oh boy, oh boy... Who's next? OH! Tyler Freaking Myers!

This "mammoth" never ceases to bring a smile to my face! Whether it's his spectacular manners (momma raised the boy right!) , or how impressed I am with his play, I'm beyond glad that the Sabres decided to keep him.

Timmy needs to be taught some manners, you know?

Now, Mike Grier.

I honestly believe that Mike Grier was the majority of the spark behind the teams that almost went all the way back in 2006 and 2007. The visible heart in the Sabres' game is so much different that anything we have seen the past two years, and it all came as soon as Grier was back in the locker room.

Look at the way Briere exploded when he came to Buffalo. Notice how Clarke MacArthur is coming around? Maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe it's not. I'm thinking the latter.

Imagine how we could be if we had Chris Drury still... But! I'm not going there...

Lastly, Jason Pominville.

Yes, yes, I'm glad his game appears to be returning to what it was the season before last, when he played well, but that's not what I want to talk about at all.

BABY POMMER!!! So the baby was born over the weekend, and that's all we know. Believe me, I fully intend on using my connections at the different area hospitals and cashing in favors to have my friends sneak up to the nurseries and look for Pommer and Kim's adorable spawn. (Not really, of course, but I'm tempted.)

Seriously though, I would probably have to kill myself if they ever dress that baby in a little sailor outfit, because the kid is most likely just too cute naked. That would just be overkill.


I think that's about all I had wanted to discuss... You know, the finer points of the first month of the season that normally I'd have rambled on and on about.

All we can do is hope that the Sabres can roll with the punches and stay atop the division. The way they bounce back Wednesday will show a lot, especially since we play the same Islanders team that threw us out of the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday. Hopefully, since Kaleta and Gaustad should be back, there'll be a little more attitude on the Sabres' bench.

I'VE MISSED MAKING FUN OF DEREK ROY

So, as you can tell, I (meaning we, of course) moved back. Well, technically *I* never moved, I just moved SC. But you get the gist.

This summer has been pretty crummy by Buffalo standards thus far, hasn't it? I mean, weather-wise. Well, my summer hasn't been exactly crummy, just laid-back. Which is alright. A couple concerts here and there, some fireworks, some shopping, a lot of lunch dates, and the usual work. Throw in the wedding of one of my very good friends, a few barbecues and a couple parties, and you've got my summer.

Anyways, I feel like I'm at the point in the season where my missing hockey has hit its peak. Don't get me wrong; I've missed it a lot all along, but I think I'm starting to miss it most right now. Probably, in large part, because I'm starting to integrate the schedules into my life, map them out, and decide what home games of the Sabres I absolutely must go to, what ones I would like to go to, what road games are potentially on the radar, and, of course, I want to make a trip to Chicago this year as well. (I started drafting this post almost a month ago, and since then have planned my trip to Chicago! I'm spending my 21st Birthday with the Blackhawks! Anyways...) It doesn't hurt that all I talk about (still) is hockey, and I've seen enough of Patrick Kane to (almost) get my hockey player (in the Blackhawks sense, at least) fix this summer. Although, I still haven't seen any Sabres of particular interest.

Wait, that's a lie.

As I mentioned, my friend got married in June. I did see Derek on my drive to the wedding. His car isn't hard to miss, even if we were driving in opposite directions on the 190 along the Niagara River.

That's about it, though, besides a Craigory sighting here and there. Pat Kaleta did follow Clare and I around the parking lot at the Galleria the other day, and I almost ran over Adam Mair while Patty was following me. I've never seen anyone walk more slowly across a parking lot before. No others, unfortunately.

But while I'm telling you about my summer, and how I saw our favorite chunky monkey, let's take a look at what he has been up to this summer, shall we?

Oh! We shall! (I should tell you that some crazy, crazy girl sent these lovely pictures to me, claiming to be Derek's girlfriend. She also asked me to ask him why it is that he never returns his calls... Could it be because you steal private(?) pictures of himself and his friends and family off of their Facebook accounts? Hahaa... Actually, a lovely, lovely friend did the detective work, and I owe her my life! But, as usual, I don't reveal my sources, like any good reporter.)

First, a while back, Derek did one of those Q&A's on the Sabres website, and in it said that he spends a good part of his summer at his new lake house, up in Muskoka. (Don't mind me: Dearest Derek, Honey, please, just let me marry you, if only to act as your beard. Your house is beautiful. I don't even need to live in the "cottage;" just give me the keys to the boat house and I'll be just fine. Love always, Cari.)

And so, without further ado (and I'll let the pictures speak for themselves)...

(Oh, and I wasn't lying when I referred to him as my favorite chunky monkey...)













So these are mostly of Derek, his brother, and Kyle... Actually, I can't remember if Kyle is in these pictures... I can't look at them while I'm writing, and I'm too lazy to go to my desktop and figure out which had them in them. Oh, wait, he is in at least one of them...

Anyways, now that school starts for me on Wednesday, and my schedule is comprised completely of internet courses this semester, I'm going to be spending A LOT of time on my MacBook, so I think it would be safe to assume that SC will be updated quite frequently, if nothing else but to serve as a distraction and means of procrastination. Yesss, my favorite things!!

Now I will bid you adieu, and hope that either your last couple days of Summer Vacation or one of your first few days back to school are just peachy.



Oh, Derek says "bye" too! xoxo

WE'VE MOVED

As I mentioned, we've headed over to WordPress!


Read our latest posts here: http://sabrechaser.wordpress.com

PLEASE EXCUSE OUR MESS

I've been considering moving the blog over to WordPress for a while now, but I just never said anything to Kim, because I figured she was comfortable on Blogger and wouldn't want to move.

I should've mentioned it earlier.

WordPress is just so much cuter, with their variety of fancy layouts and all.

So while I'm in the process of getting that whole mess straightened out, I'm not going to be posting. Kim may, but I won't. It's really frustrating me to no end trying to get the whole blog situated the way I like it, because WP isn't nearly as simple as Blogger, and I appreciate simplicity.

Whatever, though. It'll be a match made in Heaven, me thinks, kinda like myself and Kris Versteeg.

Yeah, that's right, I didn't say Derek Roy. We're fighting. And in the meantime, I've found solace in the goal scoring of my Western Conference Boyfriend, none other than the Chicago Blackhawk's candidate for Rookie of the Year.

Clare and I agree that Derek's jealous. He'll just have to deal, I suppose.

See you again soon!!

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.

THAT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED

So last night, Kim and I attended the game with the lovely S(h)ara from Sabretooth's House.

And it was bad. No, it was really, really fun, but it was bad. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. We must do it again.

You all know how the game went, and let me tell you how excited I was! Except, I never stood up when we scored, even when we won, because we were in the first row of the 300-level, and I don't do well with heights. Anywhere else in the 300's and I'm fine, but in the first row? Eehhhhh, not really my thing to have about two feet of concrete and ten inches of glass separating me and the space between myself and the people in the 100-level.

BUT! I seriously think I had a good omen yesterday morning. Whilst driving to school down Elmwood, I was flipping through the radio (which I don't normally do; I usually listen to a CD), still upset that the Sabres have been sucking so badly. But then Star was playing a good song, so I left it on. Then the DJ was talking about the weather and traffic, and I almost turned it off, but then he said something about the 33 and I paid attention.

Good thing, because the next song was "Don't Stop Believin'."

How's that for fate?

(What's also fate, is that at the arena, they played "Glamorous," which didn't help my cause for not cheating on Derek Roy at all. Damn you, Kris Versteeg! Why must you be so Fergalicious? Also, this video of Toews, Burish, and Wiz is pretty great as well. They're so funny. I love those Blackhawks. NO. I need to stop. Clare, look what you've done to me!)

So the game was really, really successful at making me happy. The guys played great, but the company makes it even better. Especially the commentary:

- Me, on Thomas Vanek (?) missing a wide-open net in the first: "If Tim Connolly were there, that would've been a goal!" S(h)ara's response: "Tim Connolly is good at putting things in holes." (That was bad. I'm sorry.)

- Throughout the night, we kept shouting "troglodyte," "Greg Campbell, you suck," "hit him with your purse," and "Princess D."

- The guys behind us were getting very upset with people screaming "shoot" on the power play. Well sorry, sir, but if the Sabres would shoot a little more on the power play, we wouldn't have to tell them how to do their jobs.

- Kim said that we needed to "euthanize the Panthers." I said she was being too kind.

(Now I got a bit lost because I kept watching Kris Versteeg videos. Those Blackhawks are killing me.)

- Every time we saw Anne, S(h)ara and I screamed "foxy lady!" She never heard us.

- When Tallinder took a penalty (and this is really bad guys; I apologize), I said quietly to the girls, "Tallinder's not a hooker; he's a rapist." It was hysterical at the time, and I even tweeted it, but I feel kinda bad about it now because the charges were dropped.

- Kim said Derek Roy needed to go after the puck like it was a Hostess cupcake. She tweeted it too. Which prompted Jill to respond about Ho Ho's, and Jay to suggest ding dongs. That's just wrong, on all accounts. I need to make him a batch of tofu brownies now.

S(h)ara said a whole bunch of funnier things too, but I don't remember them.

Anyways, after the game we met up with Anne at Cobblestone, hoping some of the Sabres would show up, but by 11 o'clock we were all getting pretty tired, and booked. None of them came. We even sat by the back entrance, hoping that they might, but no. Oh well. Anyways, that was pretty much Brian Campbell's place to go, and he's with the Blackhawks now, obviously. (I just can't get away from them, can I?)

Also, Mary tweeted about Lalime singing "Poker Face," (two things: I seem to be obsessed with Twitter, and Patty didn't sing it [to my knowledge, at least]), and now every time I hear that song and/or Lady Gaga, I totally think of him. Especially when they played "Just Dance" during the game.

The only thing that would've made that night better is if MJ could've made it up in time, but her job didn't allow for us to have that much fun. Another time, I suppose.

And my signal that I should stop writing now is the fact that I have no idea if this post is even coherent.

I'll be back later, possibly, as I have absolutely NO PLANS today, which is so, so strange and new to me.

WELL THIS JUST FITS PERFECTLY

Let's not talk about last night's game, because it will just upset me some more.

I think I've pretty much come to the point in the Sabres season where I have realized that they're toast, finished, finito, done. You name it.

Usually, I don't like to give up any shred of hope until the fat lady has sung and Elvis has left the building. I'm the one girl who will walk around town, the day after the Sabres are done playing, in her Sabres shirt, telling everyone off for being pessimistic about the season that just ended and the one beginning in a few months.

What should people call me? A diehard optimistic Sabres fan. We're pretty much a rare breed. In fact, I think we're on the top of the endangered species list, which makes the odds terrible for me since I have red hair. (My friend Andy likes to remind me all the time that redheads are dying out. This is also why he said I need to marry Brian Campbell and procreate with him, just so that we can repopulate the planet with little freckled, redheads with ringlets. I'm down.)

So when Thomas Vanek broke his jaw, I'll admit that I overreacted even by my standards. Miller and the rest of the guys were playing good hockey at that point in time, so I figured we'd be alright.

But then Miller got hurt, and my optimism took another shot.

And then Lalime's kids brought the flu home from daycare.

Score.

And now who has the flu?

TIM CONNOLLY.

Yes, the same Tim Connolly who just played 27 games in a row, which just so happens to be a really long string comparable to the past few seasons. So of course he would be one of the three guys sitting out of practice today (the other two were Hecht and Afinogenov). I'm just oh, so thrilled.

Whatever though, because I'm going to the game with Kim and S(h)ara tomorrow night!! And M.J. is coming to town tomorrow!!!!!!!!! Weeee so excited!!

I can't wait. =]