This and That

- The draft lottery might very well be the dumbest thing I've ever watched on TV. Where were the balls? Where was the ball spinner mcdoohickey? Where was Gary Bettman cranking the handle with that ridiculous smile? And what's with the whole "One team can win the lottery but not win the first pick" thing? No! I get what they're saying but if you don't win the first pick you did not win the lottery. Winning the right to move from fourteen to ten is not winning the lottery. And worst of all, nothing changed! The teams ended up in exactly the same order they would've been in if they'd been lined up by record. Why don't we just do it that way every year, NHL? Because once upon a time Ottawa really wanted Alexandre Daigle? I'm officially not a fan of the NHL draft lottery.

- Mark emailed me a couple days ago to tell me about a Larry Felser column that he thought I'd enjoy. When I went to pull it up on my laptop it came up as blocked. That's right. In my desperation to avoid certain Buffalo News sports columnists, I actually blocked the URL. Porn? That'll come through just fine. Bucky Gleason? BLOCKED! (Yes, I am pathetic.) (Oh, and for the record, Sabres Edge technically has a different URL than TBN so I've been able to access that. I do sometimes wish there was a way to block out the comments because there's where I usually get into trouble. Although I've been better lately. Really.)

- Another day, another article full of annoying quotes from Brian Campbell. I won't go into a lot of detail now because I ranted and raved about Kate and I discussed one of the quotes in an upcoming episode of SabreCast. But I will say that Brian Campbell is officially dead to me which is really bumming me out. I know I spent most of the season here disparaging his play and contract demands but it wasn't anything personal. And while I think he's probably just talking and talking without really thinking about what he's saying or how it might come across to other people, he's really getting on my nerves and it's really genuinely upsetting me. Kate also reminded me that I said not that long ago, "If Brian Campbell isn't a True Sabre, no one is." Which is sad in many different ways.

- If you haven't watched the interviews up on Sabres.com from locker clean out day, I highly recommend them. The boys all look depressed and down in the mouth - as well they should - and Ryan Miller even says, "We're embarrassed." It totally stinks that they're not in the playoffs but I think maybe it really will be a good thing in the long-run for them to miss out after playing so badly for a lot of the season. I've been saying that for a while but I have to admit, I wasn't entirely sure I believed it. It was more of a comfort thing. But all of them said some variation of, "We've always made the playoffs even in Rochester. I don't like the feeling of not being in the playoffs and I don't ever want it to happen again." They looked and sounded disappointed.

But! They all also sounded really determined to make next season a better one and they were a little defiant to even the slightest implication that the team is lacking in talent and they were even a little defensive of management. Pommers praised Brian Campbell's abilities and said there weren't many d-men in the league like him but said he felt the team made the right choice in trading him. Paul Gaustad said he liked the direction of the team and felt like the organization had the right idea. Ryan said, "I like talking to Larry Quinn," which you know made some of those reporters gasp and jump back in horror. I realize that most players are not going to stand at their locker on the last day of a disappointing season and lambaste their teammates or management but I also don't think they're going to go out of their way to say such positive things if they don't mean them and feel them on some level. I'm really glad to see that the Sabres, as a group, sounded disappointed but determined and even a little chippy. That's what I was hoping to see out of them this season but maybe they needed a year to flounder first. Guess we'll find out next season.

- Teppo Numminen's interview was a breath of fresh air. He looks great - the haircut is perfect, Teppo - and he was smiling and laughing throughout. And he wants to come back to the Sabres which totally tickled me because one, I so want him to come back and two, everyone seemed pretty determined that he be too upset to come back.
Are you done here, Teppo?
No, I really love Buffalo. Coming back here would be my first choice.
Are you bitter about the suspension?
Nah. Business is business. The team was supportive of my case and situation. No hard feelings on my part.
Yay, Teppo!

- Last night I had to think all the way through the playoffs for another playoff pool I'm in - an old-fashioned fill out the brackets pool - so for the record, here are my official picks. I have Minnesota and Detroit in the WCF and Montreal and Pittsburgh in the ECF with Detroit beating Montreal in the SCF. And then the Red Wings will celebrate their Stanley Cup by wooing Ryan Miller to Detroit. (Just kidding. Ryan Miller is not going to be a Red Wing.) (For the record, you should not be placing money on my picks. In case you were tempted.)