Sunday, September 7, 2008

Playing Catch-Up

All right, now that I finally finished my mammoth vacation recap, let's go over all the Sabres news that developed while I was out-of-town.

Where should we start?

Let's see...

Hmmmm...

Well...

Gosh. Not much happened while I was away, did it?

The only real story I recall seeing is the tidbit about Larry Quinn getting a minority piece of the Sabres franchise but come on, what a snooze of a story. One, I'm assuming it's a little tiny piece, Tom Golisano's way of rewarding Quinn, maybe pushing the idea that you take better care of something you have a personal stake in. Two, even if this is some dastardly plan to pass ownership on to Quinn, I don't really care. He just does not rankle me the way he does most people. I wouldn't say I harbor any affection for him, certainly not the way I do for Darcy Regier, but I can't get a good hate-on for him either.

I was a little disappointed that Jason Pominville wasn't signed at some point during the week. Every time I had an internet connection I scrolled through all my favorite Sabres sites, hoping that the previous one just hadn't heard the news yet. I'm assuming that if a deal doesn't get done before the season starts it'll just be put on pause - negotiating during the season last year was a huge distraction for everyone and it's not a necessity in this case since Pominville is still just a RFA - but it would be nice to have it wrapped up sooner rather than later. I don't think Jason Pominville is going to be under the radar much longer if he still is.

Ooh, look! I start to write something last night, get too lazy to finish it and something of some interest is posted on Sabres Edge: a leaked photo of the new third jersey. Check it out:



Some thoughts:

I miss the bright blue but I don't hate this blue as much as I thought I might. The sweet logo and the gold stripes go a long way toward making up for the "new and improved" dark blue.

I really like the laces.

I hate the silver panel at the neck where the Reebok logo is and I hate the silver piping under the sleeves. I'm not a big fan of that look anyway but I think it looks especially stupid with the gold and white stripes around the sleeves and waist. You don't need both.

In a nutshell, if this is step one toward getting rid of the slug altogether which I've heard rumors of (from really legitimate sources like message boards and talk radio), then I'm all for it. I was ready to hate it but I don't know, I kind of like it. I don't know if I'll rush right out and buy one but I wouldn't be opposed to getting one eventually as long as they don't look don't look dog ugly in person.

Oh, and this is all assuming this is a legitimate photo. Which it may not be. But hey, it gave me something to write about for a few minutes.

(The Brian Urlacher honor du-al commercial? Genius. It actually gets funnier every time I see it.)

13 comments:

Katebits said...

I don't hate it! I love the stripes, I'm "meh" about the laces. I will be disappointed if the slug goes away, and this jersey replaces it though. I mean, this jersey is tolerable, but the old, brighter jersey is way better. If we're going back we should go back for real.

Anonymous said...

I must say, I really like the dark blue. Maybe I'm just partial to that color. I like deep blue in real life, so I guess I like it on jerseys as well.

The silver...eh...I can live with it. I love the laces.

Overall it's a nice jersey.

Heather B. said...

Kate, you know my motto: Death to the slug. By any means necessary.

JK, I do favor dark blue in real-life. I think the vintage blue is more distinctive in sports since so many teams wear dark colors now. But like I said, I like it at least as it looks in the picture.

Katebits said...

I'm a lot more sympathetic to the slug then you. It's true.

Schnookie said...

That honor du-el commercial is, perhaps, television's finest hour.

Eleanor said...

It's always funny to see which players don't mind the laces and which ones tie them as tight as possible and then hide them inside their collars as if they're ashamed.

TheSharpie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TheSharpie said...

I'd take that as a 3rd (and eventually primary) jersey, but I have to say it with the brighter colors of the logo on the subdued colors on the background of the jersey kind of does make me think it's photoshopped, as well as the fact that the logo is a bit out of focus whereas the piping and stripes on the bottom of the jersey are in focus. At any rate it's not the Slug. Like you I refuse to buy anything with the slug on it, except for tickets to a game.

Jennifer said...

I love the laces, but hate the white/silver piping. If they are going to use piping, at least use gold. And I also dislike the panel at the neck with the Reebok logo. If that is the new jersey and it's not just the lighting for the picture, I hate that the jersey and the background of the crest are different colors of blue. That looks crappy. Pick dark blue or vintage blue, but not both on the same jersey.

And sorry Heather. I know you hate the slug and maybe it's because I'm a baby fan and have only been following the Sabres for 1 1/2 seasons, but I don't hate the slug. I really have no feelings about him one way or the other. They can keep him or weed him out, I really don't care.

Mike said...

I like the jersey. Of course I am a merchandising sucker and buy new things in my team colors every year.

It is exactly one month to the date from the home opener.

Jennifer said...

It is exactly one month to the date from the home opener.

YEA!!!!!!! :-)

Mike said...

OK so one month and one day. My bad for living all of today thinking it was the 10th. But come on, we will all be mailing it in Friday October 10th at work so who are we kidding?

Anonymous said...

None of you have ever seen a Sabres jersey on eBay apparently. This looks like a picture that someone snapped with a shoddy camera. You would see this sort of photo from a guy with 15 positive feedback and you are trying to get a bargain. I'm willing to bet those are the new jerseys and that the "crest" blue is pretty darn close to the "jersey" blue.

Laces? Meh .....

Silver piping? Another tie of the "new" and "old" style coming together. They have used vertical lines on the underarms for both the Red/Black and Slug jerseys (not used on either 3rd jerseys).

Overall I agree. Time to squish the slug for good. Time to tell Trump to lose the toupee. Make these permanent so your fans in other cities can wear their jerseys with pride instead of shame.