Whatever Pops Into My Brain (Pretty Boys Ahead!)

I just realized it's been a pretty quiet month here at Top Shelf. Summer malaise is setting in, I think. The last couple weeks of summer school are chaos and trying to balance the two jobs with some terrible allergy attacks has sucked me of all energy. I've been spending most of my time at home sleeping. I'm now on vacation from the day job however for two weeks and will soon have a week off from both jobs while my mom and one of my brothers come up to visit from Alabama. So maybe I'll get a much needed energy boost. For now, here's a hodge-podge of things:

Much of Buffalo is currently talking about the price increases for the upcoming Sabres season. I'm not really sure what the big deal is. First of all, we all knew a price hike was coming. It's not like the team has been hiding that fact. And while there are certainly a number of bronze games that could be value games, silver games that could be bronze etc. I just can't get that up in arms about this. A seat at a Sabres game is still much more affordable than a seat at many - if not most - pro sporting events. Mark and I spent a nice little chunk more on our mini-pack than we did last season, but what we spent on five games would still barely get us into a couple of games in Toronto. I'm the first to forget this sometimes or whine about it when it doesn't suit me, but this is a business. There are people involved who would like to make some profit. If you're going to complain that management isn't throwing enough money at players to keep them around, I don't know if you can complain about them picking up some money in an area that, let's face it, they've probably been underpricing the last few seasons. It's all about supply and demand. The Sabres are hot right now and if you want to see them in person, you're going to have to compete with fans who are willing to pay more money. That's the way it works. Of course Drury and Briere's returns are going to be be gold games - lots of people want to see them. The truth is, management could've raised prices much more than they did. Pony up and go to the games or don't. But take a look at what other fans are paying to see lesser quality teams play before you complain too loudly.

These new jerseys are largely frightening. Columbus's new design is much improved and the Bruins did a great job of making their classic look fit the new streamlined look, but everyone else? Ugh. What is up with all the weird piping and color blocking on these designs? And a lot of them suffer from the same thing the Sabres re-design does - very plain chests with an explosion of color and design under the arms. Why would you put that much of the design in the most useless place on the jersey? I can appreciate the new jerseys being made of better material and providing improved performance, but I don't understand why it's proving so hard for teams to make something decent of them. And if the Bruins can design the jersey they did, why exactly was it impossible for the Sabres to use the vintage logo on their re-design? The shapes of the logo and the striping are almost exactly the same.

My husband Mark (check out his new blog, SabresDance) has spent his summer trying to select a new favorite player so he can purchase a jersey replacement for his now useless Drury jersey (although we did decided that we can tape LYNCH over DRURY, making it somewhat wearable). Right now it seems Drew Stafford is in the lead with Ryan Miller trailing in second.

My buddy Kate recently started up a new blog called The Willful Caboose which everyone should, of course, check out. Kate is also in the process of selecting a new favorite player - darn you, Chris Drury! - but unlike Mark, she is factoring physical appearance into the equation. This led to us turning a comment thread on the otherwise respectable Bfloblog into a debate on whether or not Teppo Numminen is hot (yes, he is). I'm genuinely gob smacked at the idea of someone not finding Teppo attractive, slicked back hair and all, so just so everyone knows where I stand, here's Heather B's list of the three best looking Sabres, in order of preference. Aw, heck... Let's just call this next section:

Why I Love Hockey #21 - Good-Looking Boys
1. Henrik Tallinder - Hair the color of burnished gold, bright blue eyes, sweet smile, and dimples. The long, lean frame seals the deal. Very pointy chin but that can be avoided by not looking at him in profile too much.


2. Paul Gaustad - Really hot especially when he's throwing punches at people.


3. Jochen Hecht - He's got the whole shy boy vibe working for him. I don't know that I'd say he's hot, but he's totally adorable. Especially cute when you can get a little bit of a smile out of him.


Honorable mention to Teppo Numminen. Eternal favorite status to Jay McKee and Marty Biron.

As for the puck bunny favorites...

Ryan Miller is not cute. He's interesting looking - I have a lot of affection for his perpetually cocked eyebrow - and he seems like a cool guy, but he's not good-looking at all. Plus he's so darn scrawny. I am not a small woman. I have a hard time being attracted to a guy who I'm mostly convinced I could break in half with my bare hands.

Jason Pominville is not cute. He looks like a puppy dog (thus the nickname "Pommerdoodle") and I want to pat him on the head and say, "Good boy" when I see him with that frizz of hair.

Derek Roy is very cute so I'll give the puck bunnies that one. He's so tiny though. Not really his fault but I have a hard time getting past it.

All right, I'm done. Maybe I'll be more organized and coherent tomorrow.