Odds and Ends

Odds and ends while waiting for 2:00:

- One of the coolest things to come out of the Heather and Kate story in TBN last week is that I've gotten a couple of emails from Buffalo fans currently living in Alabama. And that's in addition to the Buffalo fan I already knew of living in Alabama. I don't know why but knowing you guys are out there totally tickles me. So which one of you is having me and Mark over on game nights between 12/22 and 12/27 when we're visiting the family for Christmas? :P

- I just want to give a little shout-out to Mike Harrington because I know he's responsible for my name being passed along to the right people for last week's story. In a recent post on Sabres Edge he officially came out as a blog reader and I can tell you from conversations with him over the past year or so that, unlike a lot of sportswriters, he totally gets and appreciates fan blogs. In addition to that, I think he clearly loves what he does and genuinely appreciates and respects the people who read what he writes. I've been very critical of a lot of TBN's coverage and writers in the past but Mike's a good egg.

- A quick baseball aside: During Game Three of the Boston-Tampa Bay series, the announcers shared that Red Sox manager Terry Francona has a bucket of Dubble Bubble in the dugout and he goes through an absurd amount in a game. I'm fully cheering for the Rays but I can't even tell you how much this tidbit of info made me love Francona. My mom used to buy the same bucket back in my softball days and I blew through those things. The announcers marveled at how many pieces Francona chewed an inning but it makes sense. While it tastes really good at first, Dubble Bubble loses its taste in about 45 seconds. It also gets really hard really fast. The best way to combat both of those issues is to keep adding new pieces. The only thing that could've made me love Francona more is if he'd pulled a pack of Big League Chew out of his back pocket.

- While being interviewed by a real reporter was weird enough, being photographed for the newspaper was totally bizarre. Kate and I spent a good half hour or so debating what exactly one wears for a blogging photo shoot. Should we wear Sabres gear or go logo-less? Was a t-shirt adequate or should I go whole hog and wear the jersey? Should we stay casual since that's how we usually blog or get a little more dressed up since a lot of people were going to see this? We had finally decided Kate would wear her prom dress and I would wear my wedding dress and then we remembered that Kate didn't actually go to her prom and my wedding dress is in Alabama. Alas. John Hickey, the TBN photographer, was very good-natured and extremely patient with us while we struggled not to crack up. He even let Kate's friend Robin document the moment for us.

Kate and I do our best Stephen Colbert fake typing.

- There's a car commercial out now that uses a couple of lines from David Bowie's Space Oddity and while the lines they use are harmless ("Ground control to Major Tom...") it really bothers me that they used this song. Major Tom floats off into space never to return! That is not a positive connotation, car company I can't remember!

- It'd be really nice to score a power play goal today.

Top Shelf Programming Note and Other Things

A word of warning: Things might be fairly quiet around here for the next few weeks. I'm sure I'll pop in here and there - I'm pretty incapable of not getting on the internet unless someone kills our connection and even then I have my ways - but I suspect it'll be irregular at best.

This coming week is the last week of summer school and while that is definitely a good thing, there's a reason some of us refer to it as Hell Week. The kids are totally off the wall. They're partly excited about getting out of school. Most of their friends and siblings haven't been in school all summer so they're not very happy about those six weeks of summer school. But they're also partly nervous about being at home for two weeks. It's unfortunate but many of them will go home and get no attention - or very negative attention - until school starts back up. And then at this point of the year there are a number of kids who are moving to new classes in September or changing programs altogether and both of these things cause a lot of stress for our kids. Take a bunch of kids who have a hard time recognizing and identifying their emotions and don't always cope with them in the best way and pour a ton of conflicting emotions on them and you have a lot of acting out. A lot of acting out equals tired staff. A lot of acting out with five days till break equals VERY tired staff. We're going to be walking around all week, hands raised and fingers wiggling, yelling, "SERENITY NOW!" Survival is the name of the game.

The following week we'll hopefully be moving into the house. We had a bit of a snafu that made it look for a while like the deal was going to fall apart but we got it all straightened out (and actually ended up paying less so we're not complaining) but it's slowed everything down. Mark called our realtor this week to remind me him that hey, you know, we have NO PLACE TO LIVE once August is over so we're still hoping that everything will pull together so we can move some time over the course of that week. We'll be moving at least all of the small stuff ourselves so I'm going to be making quite a few car trips from the Southtowns to the Northtowns.

The week after that I'll be driving around Pennsylvania with the family. My mom and two of my brothers are flying into Buffalo and we'll then drive to Pittsburgh and pick up my grandmother and my other brother and his family who are coming in from Florida before heading out to Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Hershey and back to Pittsburgh. And maybe Lancaster. I forget if that got dropped or not. I'm totally stoked because it'll be the first time in almost two years that all of my family has been together. My mom, Grandma, and I have done some variation of this trip for quite a few years now but Lee and Chris, the two who still live in Birmingham, have taken turns coming up and John and Sarah haven't joined us since before they got married. And that was before Luke, the world's cutest nephew, joined the team. However, since we'll be on the road for a lot of the trip, I don't know how often I'll have a wireless signal although I will have the laptop with me.

So all that to say, if it's quiet around here for a while, don't forget me. I'll be back. And that's if I actually go away in the first place.

A few quick thoughts before I call it a night:

- I'm super happy that Teppo Numminen has officially re-signed and I think $1.1 million is a great deal for him even if he does end up being a 7th man who takes a night off every few games. (Though I'm totally fine with him being in the top six too.) I'm not sure how that means the rest of the defense shakes out. I'm guessing Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman, Jaroslav Spacek, Craig Rivet, Teppo and Andrej Sekera start the season in the top six with Nathan Paetsch acting as the 7th. I'd really, really like to see Mike Weber playing up with Sekera since I think Sekera played his best hockey last season when Weber was up with him, but I'm just not sure there's room and Weber is definitely better off playing every night in Portland than sitting in the press box in Buffalo. Plus I think Teppo will be a wonderful partner for Sekera on and off the ice. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Sabres missed Teppo desperately last season and his loss might have been the death knell of the season. The kids came into camp girded for the season without Chris Drury and Daniel Briere but they fully expected Teppo to be with them. Losing him so unexpectedly, right before the season, for such serious reasons had to have an effect. I love Teppo.

- All that said, I think Hank and Toni are the key to the defense. If they struggle the way they did last season, the whole group is going to struggle. If they return to previous form, the defense should be very solid if unspectacular. Hopefully Teppo can soothe their nerves and frustration when they don't play well. And hopefully the don't need that very often.

- Another reason Mike Harrington is the best guy at the Buffalo News? Check out that headline on his post about Teppo's return. I have a soft spot for punny/jokey headlines to begin with but a headline that's also a Seinfeld shout-out? Awesome.

- Speaking of Sabres Edge, on Thursday Bucky Gleason writes about how he thinks it's a terrible idea to re-sign Teppo. On Friday the Sabres announce that they've re-signed Teppo. I'm pretty sure Darcy Regier and co. held out all these weeks, waiting for Bucky to go on the record about this. Of course, in my world, everyone does everything to spite Bucky.

- While we're on the subject of TBN, the one sports blog I never, ever read unless someone points me there is Jerry Sullivan's blog. I don't think Jerry Sullivan likes blogs. I don't think he likes people who write blogs. I don't think he likes people who read blogs. I don't think he understands blogs at all. How he ended up with a blog of his very own is a mystery to me. I'd rather read the opinion of pretty much everyone else in the sports department. But I knew he was going to Beijing to cover the Olympics and I was pretty curious to see how often he would blog from there so I've been keeping one eye on things and you know, he's done a pretty good job so far. He's updated often and he's shared some really interesting things. And kudos to him for coming out in support of softball which, despite what anyone says about the lack of competition, got voted out of the Games because of an unfair association with baseball and its steroid scandal. It's a shame because the Olympics are pretty much the height of a softball career. Little boys who grow up playing baseball dream of playing in the Majors. Little girls who grow up playing softball dream of playing for Team USA. Hopefully the push for reinstatement is successful. Anyway, if you're a fan of the Olympics I'd check out Sullivan's blog. I'd get out as soon as they're over though.

- I was all geared up to watch the Cubs on Fox this afternoon so I was pretty disappointed to find the friggin' Yankees. I understand that I'm in the minority in the Buffalo market but just once I would like to get a national game that doesn't involve the Yankees or the Red Sox. Is that too much to ask? Really? It was shortly after that that I discovered the Ultimate Sports Road Trip's tribute to Yankee Stadium. Beautiful. In this case, a picture really does say a thousand words.

- So I have a steel plate on the outside bone of my ankle, I don't know, 3 or so inches long. When I first went back to work, people asked me if I could feel it when it rains. The last time we got a lot of rain it was hard to tell because my ankle was still hurting a lot, especially at the end of the work day. Well, now I can tell you definitely, yes, I can feel it in my ankle when it rains. Sometimes it really hurts, sometimes it doesn't hurt so much as I'm just really, really conscious of the plate's presence. I feel like a robot.

Bucky Gleason Has Been Abducted By Aliens

(This is my second post in the last 12 or so hours so make sure you read both of them. Please?)

Ummm, Bucky? Is that you? That's your name above the column and that's your deceivingly cheery head shot next to the opening paragraph, but this column sounds... happy? Dare I say, optimistic? Do we need to locate Mulder and Scully?

I do have a few tiny nitpicks to get out of the way. Come on, this is Bucky and me. This is what we do. (Mark, this morning, The Dark Knight still on his mind: "Bucky's your Joker and you're his Batman. You complete each other.")

1. I still think it's a mistake to lump Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and Brian Campbell into one pile. The Sabres totally screwed up the Drury negotiations, but they made a decision to let Briere walk and they never agreed with Campbell and his agent on what Campbell's worth was. Every single one of the above situations is different.

2. "Jason Pominville is more likely to remain on board rather than join the others who were forced to jump ship." Forced to jump ship? Really, Bucky? Maybe you could make that argument for Briere who definitely got a "Thanks for your time here" offer, but the Sabres wanted to match every offer Drury got including the one he signed with the Rangers and the team negotiated with Campbell all season. FREE agents are FREE to go wherever they want. That's why they're called FREE agents. No one put a gun to anyone's head and forced them to sign elsewhere. Was Drury turned off by the negotiations? I don't know, maybe. That's not the same thing as being chased out of town with torches and pitchforks.

3. "Pommer the Bomber" has to stop. Has there ever been a worse nickname thrown around than that one? It doesn't even make sense for the kind of player Pominville is. Seeing that in print drives me bonkers.

4. The things that Bucky is suddenly excited about - New AHL affiliation! Young core of talent! Long-term contracts! Really good drafting and promising prospects! - are all things that existed a month ago. This is pretty close to the same team we had at the end of the season. A few columns ago the whole organization was happy with mediocrity and now they've suddenly figured out the best way to build a team?

But, even with the above complaints, I do get it. I get that Ryan Miller has become the face of the franchise and is therefore considered a little more important. I get that it was important to get a guy who's come up through the system and gone out of his way to ingrain himself in the community into the fold for a long while. I get that people think the Sabres were forced into signing Thomas Vanek long-term and that Jochen Hecht, as much as I love him, is a (great) complementary piece. I get that it was important for the Sabres to sit down with a player that the national media and national fan base see as a star player and come away with a long-term contract. I get that as important as Vanek and Derek Roy are to the future of the team, it's Ryan Miller's signing who really finally puts some distance between this team and the Drury/Briere team. I get people feeling like Ryan Miller is the big piece in the middle that connects all the preexisting pieces to each other. I really do.

For months, people have been complaining on Sabres Edge that Ryan Miller didn't want to be here and saying they'd believe management was serious about winning when they convinced him to stay. I couldn't believe it when I wandered over there yesterday and found people complaining: it's too many years, it's too much money, he had a terrible season, he never steals games, he's not as good as Lundqvist, he's too old to get better. I should no longer be surprised at people's capacity to move immediately from one complaint to another, but come on. How hard is it to be happy about the one thing you've been demanding for months now even for a few moments? I just don't understand fans who never seem to find any joy in the teams they watch. I usually enjoy a good debate over there - I know, I'm demented - but I had to walk away. I just wanted to be happy.

So I do give Bucky huge props for saying, "This is what will make me happy," and then actually being happy when it happened. If it took signing Ryan Miller to clear the clouds blocking Bucky from seeing all that other good stuff he talked about, hey, whatever. I wasn't sure the ol' Buckster had it in him.

See how easy it can work, Bucky?

Bucky and Heather B. in a moment of uneasy agreement.

Did I Say I Don't Like the Buffalo News?

Check it out, yo! I'm famous!

I knew saying nice things about Mike Harrington would pay off eventually!

(I'm going to try to take the rest of the weekend off from hockey talk so I'll see you guys in a few days. Or tomorrow if I crack.)

ETA: Mark's harassing me because I haven't said anything about Craig Rivet yet. ("The biggest trade the Sabres have made in years and you haven't written anything! This is your job!") So for the record, Craig Rivet = good. Experienced, supposedly a good team guy, plays the PP and kills penalties (two things a certain other UFA d-man doesn't do very often), and doesn't hesitate to throw down with people who pick on his teammates. I'll take that. My favorite thing about the signing is all the people who shifted from, "THIS TEAM NEEDS A VETERAN!" to "THIS GUY IS SO OLD!" with no hesitation.

Why I Have Hope: Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera

Very nice article about Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera by John Vogl in the Buffalo News today so I figure this is as good a day as any to bust out Why I Have Hope. I'm planning on this being the first in an ongoing off-season series so we'll see if it sticks.

Reason #1 Why I Have Hope for the Buffalo Sabres - Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera

Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera were one of the few highlights of the end of the season. Sekera had popped up in Buffalo a few times by then and while he did get a little stronger with every appearance, he suddenly looked like a guy who belonged in the NHL. And Weber was, for me, a total revelation. I haven't been watching hockey as long as some of you out there, but I don't think I've ever seen a defensive pairing, especially one so young, move to the NHL level and look so good.

I was especially impressed with Weber and Sekera because they were playing in important games - I mean, yes, the Sabres were pretty much out of the playoffs but they were theoretically fighting until the very end - and they were not playing soft minutes. Lindy Ruff didn't seem to be going out of his way to hide them from top lines, regular minutes, or special teams duty. In the twelve games they were both up, I know there were at least two games that went into overtime and Weber and Sekera were on the ice when both OTs started. Maybe I'm reading into things but I think that showed that Lindy had a lot of confidence in how they would handle themselves. (It was also maybe a message to Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman to get their garbage together fast.)

If they stay together - and I don't really see any reason to split them up unless they start to look overwhelmed although I am a little intrigued by the idea of mixing Tallinder-Lydman and Weber-Sekera - Weber and Sekera will also be exactly the kind of balanced pairing that the Sabres have had a tough time putting together over the last couple of seasons. Sekera seems to be a solid skating, puck-moving defenseman while Weber is a little bigger and a little more physical. If he grows into a Jay McKee like d-man, I think there will be a lot of happy Sabres fans out there.

I know, I know. Twelve games is a small sample size. With Drew Stafford we've seen that a great stint at the NHL level doesn't necessarily mean the transition to full-time NHLer is going to be smooth. I fully expect that there will be times when Weber and Sekera look overwhelmed or confused or just tired. But I'm optimistic. I'm encouraged by how well they've already looked and by the attitude they've expressed at prospect camp (we haven't made the team yet, nothing's set in stone, that's our only goal right now) and I am hopeful for their future, this coming year and in years to follow. Sekera will be Brian Campbell, Weber will be Jay McKee and all will be right with the world.

Just keep doing this, Mike, and you'll be fine. (Adrian Wyld/AP Photos)

On an unrelated note, if you click on TBN link above, you'll find a video stuck in the middle of the story. I've come across these videos on the website before but this is the first time I've ever seen one so obviously planted. (Apologies if I'm behind the times on this. I usually flip through the paper version of TBN at work. Remember those?) I love it. I hardly ever watch the news on TV and if I do it's only to see some video/interviews during the sports - hey, there's a reason I write a hockey blog and not a political blog - and now I'll probably skip the news altogether. I was just starting to realize that I've already seen most of the interviews I see on the news on Sabres.com and now this? Bah. Forget you nightly news.

I noticed TBN videos starting to pop up toward the end of the Sabres season and there were definitely some people who seemed more comfortable than others. The first one I saw with John Vogl made me giggle a little. He wasn't awful by any means but he was clearly a print journalist trying to attempt another form of media. He acquits himself pretty well here though. I actually prefer his more natural delivery to the robotic talking heads of the local news. He seems very likable. (If he's a jackass please don't tell me. I want to live with my illusions.)

Jochen Hecht, Still Underrated

So I know I'm not supposed to be reading The Buffalo News right now but someone mentioned a chart that was in the paper today and I really had to check it out. What can I say, I'm weak. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here it is:


This chart is completely ridiculous for three reasons I can think of off the top of my head:

1. It compares sixty-four games to three. That's... not really a very good comparison.

2. I've seen Brian Campbell play defense. I'm not buying that his presence would've made a huge difference against three playoff teams and two of the top four powerplays in the league. His absence hurts because now Paetsch is in the line-up? Maybe. His absence hurts because he was a defensive dynamo? No.

3. Jochen Hecht was also missing for all of those games. He's the best defensive forward on the team and on the first penalty killing unit. Let's just rename this the "Sabres Without Hecht" chart because that would actually make sense.

And for all you distraught about Campbell's spin-o-rama goal in San Jose last night, come on! When was the last time he made that move work for a goal in Buffalo? Did he ever? When was the last time he scored a goal in Buffalo that wasn't from the point? How soon before he spin-o-ramas in front of his own goalie and gives up the puck? Three games, people. Three games. That's all it is.

I have some thoughts on tonight's scratches (I don't love Paille's and I hate Kalinin's) but I'm going to save them for after the game. Even if the game is a disaster, I will be here later.

The End of the Road

Starting tomorrow, Top Shelf is a Buffalo News-free zone, excluding Sabres Edge as long as I can read it while avoiding Bucky Gleason and Jerry Sullivan. I did this once before and it was so nice that I'm not sure why I went back to reading TBN in the first place. I've completely had my fill. But let's go out with a bang, shall we?

Today we were treated to the Chris Drury column that was so effin' predictable that Kevin at Bfloblog called it last night. I'm going to do this the Fire Joe Morgan way because there's a whole lot of stupid in this column.

Drury received a mix between cheers and jeers when he was introduced before the Rangers’ 4-3 victory, confirming certain fans comprehended the impact Drury had in Buffalo while many others didn’t have a clue. Then again, the same divide exists between the dressing room and the owner’s suite.

One group gets it, and the other never will.

First of all, enough with the "fans who boo don't understand what Chris Drury meant" garbage. We get it, Bucky, and you are such a condescending little prick to suggest that we, the fans of Buffalo, do not get or appreciate Chris Drury. We cheered for him every single night he wore a Buffalo uniform. We loved him and embraced him and wanted desperately for him to be the guy to bring a Stanley Cup to Buffalo. We made his jersey one of the best-selling jerseys in the NHL. We appreciated all the little things he did on the ice to contribute to wins. We understand how he influenced the players who are still here. We know he's a nice guy. But we also understand that he was here for three years and that he now plays for another team. Fans are not obligated to cheer for players on the other side. Fans are not obligated to think logically and objectively. Fans can cheer or boo as they see fit and for many, many fans it really only comes down to, "What jersey is he wearing? Oh, right, not ours."

Second of all, enough with the "managment doesn't get it" garbage. Larry Quinn said it was a mistake to let Chris Drury go. Darcy Regier said it was a mistake to let Chris Drury go, looked devastated when it happened, and admitted that the team wouldn't be as competitive without him. Management signed Jochen Hecht to a long-term deal during the season. Management started negotiating with Brian Campbell when they could and did so right up until he brought a halt to talks and have since started negotiating with him again. I'm not even going to touch how stupid it is to put Brian Campbell's ridiculous contract demands in the same grouping as Drury and Daniel Briere.

But because he didn’t bow to management after they mishandled his contract last season, a good many fans roasted him every time he touched the puck.

That is probably why some people booed him. And you know what? That's their right as a fan. That is not however why everyone booed him. Some people booed him because he's not a Sabre. Some people booed him because he's a Ranger. Some people booed him because he's overpaid and - whether you like it or not - underachieving. Some people booed him because they think he didn't appreciate how much his teammates in Buffalo contributed to his game. Some people booed because they felt like he didn't love us the way we loved him. Some people booed him because they like to boo. I feel pretty safe in suggesting that most people's booing did not have anything to do with player vs. management.

To review, again, Drury agreed to a four-year contract worth $21.5 million, splitting the difference between the Sabres’ offer and his proposal. He grew tired of waiting for management to finalize the deal, the market changed and he decided to hit the road. Basically, the Sabres could have had him at a discount and let him get away.

To review, we don't really need the review because you haven't let us forget this yet. To review, everyone agrees that it was a mistake to let Chris Drury go. What's your point?

If fans wanted to boo someone, they should have started with owner Tom Golisano and managing partner Larry Quinn. They created the Drury mess, and they spent months manipulating the truth. It’w amazing how people continue swallowing the company line.

It's not swallowing the company line. It's moving on. It's realizing that no matter how many times you write this article, Chris Drury is not going to magically reappear in a Sabres uniform. It's choosing to cheer for the team on the ice in front of us even though it lost important pieces. It's waiting to see if management handles the next important piece - that would be Ryan Miller, not Brian Campbell - differently.

Golisano confirmed his ignorance on the radio recently when he referenced Drury’s plus-minus rating this season, a subtle hint the center was struggling. If he had a shred of hockey knowledge, he have known Drury spent half the year shuffling between lines, switching positions and trying to appease high-maintenance winger Jaromir Jagr.

I cannot believe this. I cannot believe that the columnist who has refused to make any excuses for the Sabres - age, new roles, different responsibilities, line changes, injuries - is making excuses for a guy who is not even on the team anymore. Are you fucking kidding me? Bucky, let me break this down for you. CHRIS DRURY HAS STRUGGLED! CHRIS DRURY HAS NOT LIVED UP TO A 7 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT! Jaromir Jagr being high-maintenance is not exactly news. This is not a surprise. I'm pretty sure Drury should have factored this into his decision to play for the Rangers. I'm pretty sure that's not a good excuse. If Derek Roy said, "It's tough to play with Max because he's hard to predict and all over the place," what would you say?

I also cannot believe that Bucky Gleason - who last year said that Derek Roy had maxed out at age 23 and wouldn't be worth his contract and had him being re-signed for under a million dollars in his "How I Would Handle the Team" article (real good understanding of the NHL market, Buckster) - is calling into question the hockey knowledge of someone who has admitted time and time again that he doesn't really know that much about hockey. I don't know about you guys, but I'm reeeeally impressed.

Drury is a minus-9. Funny, it never bothered Golisano when he was minus-11 two years ago while leading the Sabres into the conference finals and filling the owner’s pockets.

Right. Because then he was a Sabre. Now he's not. Owner likes player better when he's making him money! Whoa, somebody alert the media because that is some breaking news right there!

Drury and Campbell had dinner Friday night at Tempo, an upscale restaurant in Allentown. They didn’t discuss how Campbell’s persistent contract problems, but you can bet Campbell learned a thing or two while watching Drury’s situation unfold last season.

Hopefully he learned that it's really hard to live up to an insane contract. That sometimes your teammates make you as much as you make them. That the love of a city is fickle and not based on things like logic and objectivity. That big market teams with lots of big names are not necessarily more competitive than smaller market teams with a bunch of complementary pieces. That there is some value in playing with guys you know inside and out on the ice and off.

Probably he just learned that MANAGEMENT IS EVIL FOR NOT MEETING HIS DEMANDS.

We’ll see what happens. Don’t be surprised if you see Campbell follow his former captain one more time, right out the door.

Great. Because Campbell is not worth a penny over five million dollars and the Sabres defense will probably be okay without him in the end. We could use that money to insure that Miller, Jason Pominville, and Paul Gaustad stick around for a while. What? That wasn't your point? Oh, right. THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID!

P.S. to Bucky: Jay Pandolfo, Selke nominee and one of the most important interchangeable parts of the New Jersey Devils, is a UFA at the end of this season and currently unsigned - along with three other guys - so maybe you should do a quick internet search before you make loud declarations like THE DEVILS HAVE SIGNED EVERYONE EVER.

I Tried to Ignore This, I Swear

Here, in a nutshell, is the difference between what I consider to be the good writers and the bad writers at the Buffalo News.

Yesterday John Vogl posted a short entry at Sabres Edge about whether Chris Drury should be booed or cheered upon his return to Buffalo. In it he said, "For the record, I hope it's overwhelming applause."

Yesterday Jerry Sullivan posted a short entry about whether Chris Drury should be booed or cheered upon his return to Buffalo. In it he said, "It's more convenient for fans to turn on a guy once he's out of town. It's easier than having to grapple with the reality of the situation. Just keep one thing in mind. If you boo Drury, you're cheering for Tom Golisano."

Vogl: This is what I think, how about you?

Sullivan: This is what I think and you're an ignorant idiot if you think otherwise.

Seriously, Jerry, could you be any more condescending? The reality of the situation is that Chris Drury no longer plays for the Sabres. If you read the comments on Vogl's blog, you'd see that while some of them do mention Drury misleading management, a fair amount of them say, "Drury's on the other team, why should I cheer for him and why shouldn't I boo him?" which is, to me, a pretty fair point. For a lot of people this is simply a former Sabre going to play for the Rangers, a conference rival. Can we please stop trying to turn how these guys are greeted into a commentary on truth, justice, and the American way?

The idea that booing Drury is supporting management is ludicrous. Why can't people be upset with Drury for leaving AND be upset with management for mishandling things? Why can't people boo against an opposing player AND dislike Larry Quinn and Tom Golisano? Why the insistence that this is a black and white, good and bad issue that requires taking one side or the other? Golisano screwed up. We get it. He won't answer your phone calls. We get it. I wouldn't answer your phone calls either.

I know that Jerry Sullivan is a columnist and that that means his writing is going to include his opinion. If he thinks Drury shouldn't be booed that's just fine by me. I'm old enough and mature enough to understand that everyone is not going to agree with me. But I really resent how clearly he thinks everyone who doesn't agree with him is not only wrong but stupid. John Vogl may very well think I'm an idiot but at least he's capable of making his opinion clear without calling into question the intelligence of everyone on the other side of the fence.

In closing, Jerry also said this: "If you think Bucky Gleason goes overboard on Drury, think back to his days in Buffalo, when fans gushed about his competitive character at every turn. At least Bucky is consistent and objective about the situation."

Consistent in the sense that he's been writing the same article for the last eight months ("Drury! Briere! 25/5! Sabres suck! Except when they don't and in that case I'll just ignore them and write about something else until they lose again! Or point out all the ways they will lose in the future!"), yes. But objective?


When this season is over, we'll stop hearing about how the Sabres screwed up Drury and Briere, right? Right? Please tell me I'm right.

A Little Levity

When I pulled up the Buffalo News website this morning, I was intrigued by Bucky Gleason's headline, Sabres have the chips to retool. That seemed somewhat promising since "retool" suggests that the team has some talent and just needs a little tweaking which is much better than the usual, "This team blows without Chris and Danny!" chatter. And then I got to this:

The Sabres would like to keep Campbell. He’s their best player.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

:::deep breaths, wiping tears streaming from my eyes:::

I don't even know what to say other than that might be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read in the paper. And I've read quite a few ridiculous things there. I can think of three guys off the top of my head who should be offended by that statement.

Oh, Bucky... I needed a good laugh this morning. Thanks, man.

Hockey Players Are Not Smart

Today I was put in the very uncomfortable position of agreeing with Jerry Sullivan. On his blog, Jerry informed us that one of the players approached John Vogl, one of the Sabres beat writers, and requested some positive, morale-building stories. (Thanks to Amy over at Shots Off the Crossbar for the link because I might have missed it otherwise. Hey, Amy, did you know shots off the crossbar were going to be a theme this season when you named your blog?)

First of all, why are you guys even looking at the media for encouragement? Are you crazy? Have you read the Buffalo News? I know this is my bias showing, but I haven't found them to be particularly positive even in the best of times. You really expect that to change now?

Second of all, are you kidding me? John Vogl is a REPORTER. He REPORTS what's happening in front of him. You're not really giving him a lot of good stuff to work with. If you want some positive press maybe you should try winning more than one game in a row. Maybe you could start by atleast looking like you care that you're not winning. Maybe you could try playing really, really hard for an entire sixty minutes. I'm a fan who desperately wants to be positive and I can't think of anything nice to say about you as a group. Not a single, solitary thing.

Third of all (watch out, I'm on a roll!), the Buffalo News has been pretty damn generous considering how crappy you're playing. They're (rightfully) criticizing Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn and letting you guys slide on a ton o' crap. They're harping on how much the losses of Chris Drury and Danny Briere have hurt you. They're giving the Sabres grief for getting backed into a corner on Thomas Vanek's contract and not completely ripping Vanek for signing a contract he clearly wasn't ready to handle mentally much less hockey-wise. They seem to just be getting around to you guys and you turning into whiny little boys is not very becoming.

Seriously, you guys are professional athletes. This is your job, it's what you're paid to do. (And quite well I might add. I'd love to see any of you do my job for my pay.) You're supposed to play for pride and your teammates and yourself and all that rah-rah crap. If you really need the local media to boost your morale, well, you're just not very good at this professional athlete thing. Time to grow up, boys. You said you could handle new roles and expectations. Stop talking and do it.

Gah! Do you guys have any idea how painful it is for me to side with THE BUFFALO NEWS?! It burns!

All that said, I'm dying to know who it was that approached Vogl because even if you are pissed off at negative attention, that just seems completely stupid. Even I know better. I've discussed this with quite a few people today and heard a few different opinions, but my money is on Brian Campbell. I don't know, he just strikes me as the type for some reason.

Jerry Sullivan is also running a Most Overrated Sabre poll. The five choices he gives us are Tim Connolly, Maxim Afinogenov, Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, and A Defenseman That Heather Is Choosing to Eliminate From Said Poll. When I voted at 2:12 a.m. Wednesday night/Thursday morning, Ryan Miller was leading with 30.5% of the vote which is harsh, man. I have to agree with Jerry (AGAIN!) that some of that is just the nature of his position. I know a lot of people who pretty much blame the goalie for everything. Ryan and Thomas have had rough seasons but I think they'll both be fine so I wouldn't call them overrated - underachieving maybe is a better word. Max drives me crazy but I think he does bring some positives, even when he's not scoring. There's no doubt that his speed does scare a lot of teams into backing off. He probably came into this season with a little too much hype considering that last year was the first year he's consistently finished. But no, I have to go with Tim Connolly. I like Timmy as a player. I really, really wanted him to be great this year. I believe that somewhere on this blog I made a prediction for his points output that would be pretty darn embarrassing now but at the time, I really believed it. I still think he has a lot of talent but it's looking more and more like the 2005-2006 season where he was both productive and reasonably healthy (until the playoffs) was an anomaly. Too bad.

My most disappointing Sabre of this season though is Derek Roy, but I'll save that for another because it's late and I'm tired. How about you guys? Who's your most overrated and/or disappointing Sabre?

Uncluttering My Mind (Keep Reading, There is Hockey Eventually)

A few non-hockey complaints:

- I cannot believe how much Christmas cards cost. I found these awesome Where the Wild Things Are cards but it was $16.95 for ten cards! That's highway robbery! I bought some dinkier cards and they still cost me $17 but atleast I got a lot more of them for my money. Also, they were a pain in the butt to open! What's wrong with a regular ol' box, card manufacturing people?

- I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the lowest denomination gift card McKinley Mall offers is $20. I'm only supposed to spend $10 on my Secret Santa! I'm a fabulous Secret Santa because I ended up just spending the $20. I was too lazy to even think of somewhere else to go much less actually get in my car and go there. (Enjoy, Ralph!)

- Hollywood, can we please get on with this whole strike thing? Pay the writers already. YOU NEED THEM and I'm not going to be happy if Lost gets pushed back for your crap. I'm enjoying the plethora of pro-writer websites and videos out there. Let's face it, in a P.R. battle between producers and writers, writers definitely have the advantage. Here's my favorite video, "A World Without Writers," which takes a look at how some of our best movies might have fared without real writers. The lines from Gone With the Wind and Citizen Kane are my favorites. Although the Blade Runner one is good too.



- Not shocked about Roger Clemens and not buying his denials, disappointed that Andy Pettitte didn't come clean when his name first came up a year or so ago, relieved that Jeff Bagwell is still clean as far as we know. His name is the only one that would really devastate me. Also, someone please make John Kruk shut up.

And now a little hockey:

- I'm not down with this whole Scott Niedermayer thing. I think Scott is a great player and he's wonderful to watch and I understand that Brian Burke told him to take his time and think about what he wanted to do... but just because Burke gave him that option, it didn't mean Niedermayer had to use it. If he wanted to retire, he should have said, "Thanks, but I really want to move on." If he didn't want to retire, he should have been ready to go when the season started. No one player - no matter how talented he is - should be more important than the other guys on the roster. I suppose his teammates might all be fine with him only playing part of the season and with the team having to shuffle everything around and move players to make room for Niedermayer's return, but I don't know, it strikes me as unfair in a pretty severe way. I hope this doesn't lead to older players regularly playing partial seasons.

Oh, who am I kidding? I drafted Scott Niedermayer in my fantasy draft and he totally screwed me. Unlike his real-life management, I'm not forgiving him any time soon.

- I'm going to the Flyers game Friday night. I have very mixed feelings about this. At first I totally wanted to go because I wanted to be there for Marty Biron's first game back but then Daniel Briere went and muddied everything up by signing with Philly. The family is going though so I got roped into it. I'm not entirely sure how Danny will be greeted and I'm not entirely sure how I want him to be greeted. I don't think I want him to be cheered like a conquering hero. He left and really he wasn't even here that long. I kind of want to feel like everyone's (finally!) moved on. But he did give us a couple of really special years and he was, by all accounts, wonderful in the community so I'm not sure I want him to be booed mercilessly either. If you see a confused looking woman in the 300s who looks like she can't quite decide whether to boo or cheer, that'd be me. I am clear on one thing though: No video tributes. Seriously, can we just stop talking about that?

- Mike Harrington totally stole my Patrick Kane headline! Okay, he beat me by 15 minutes or so. But still! Speaking of Mike Harrington...

- ...Since I'm usually complaining about the Buffalo News, I will throw them a little praise and say that I've been really enjoying Mike Harrington's work. He comes across as both knowledgeable and fair which is a nice change of pace. His Sabres Edge blog is good stuff and he seems to really get blogging more than some old school journalists do. The quality of the conversation in the comments is touch and go since it sometimes brings out the crazies (although it's calmed down considerably since the free agency days), but the writing itself is top-notch and he often includes some interesting links to other sites and papers. I found his link to a recent Rochester Democrat and Chronicle bit about an AHL team ganging up on Patrick Kaleta cool since we don't hear much about the Rochester guys. I may be the only person in Buffalo who doesn't really want to see Kaleta in Buffalo any time soon so I thought it was a particularly good read. (ETA: It was actually John Vogl who linked to the Kaleta piece. My bad! The spirit of the above remains the same however.)

- Thanks to everyone who played along with me on the last post. While I hope it goes without saying, I'll state for the record that I love when fans of other teams pop up over here. I think one of the coolest things about the blogging world is getting to know other fans and teams more. I like knowing how other people are feeling about their teams and I like occasionally seeing that hockey exists beyond the Sabres.

I also love how loyal WNY transplants are to their hometown despite where life may take them. All the stuff I said about Buffalo being the kind of city that grabs you by the heart and never lets go was absolutely sincere. It's not a perfect city and it's certainly a place with its share of problems, but it's my home and I love it. Here's a glove tap to all you Sabres fans spread across the country. Wear that blue and gold with pride! LET'S GO BUFF-A-LO!

Why I Love Hockey Part 23 (Hint: It's Not Jerry Sullivan)

Regular readers will remember that a while back, around the beginning of the summer, I placed a ban on the Buffalo News and certain message boards. I just couldn't handle all the manic obsession with the loss of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. People have the right to feel the way they feel but I really felt like it was a situation where people were making it worse by gathering together and pissing and moaning about it endlessly. I got over it relatively quickly and reading that stuff was still totally bringing me down. I also understand that part of the local newspaper's job is holding the team responsible for its actions but I also think there's a point where it's time to move on and focus on the team as it is with the players who are still here.

Well, yesterday I was looking at the stack of newspapers that had been delivered to my classroom and I decided to check out the sports section. I found this gem from Jerry Sullivan:

Hard to believe, but the Sabres play their opening exhibition two weeks from Friday. Something tells me Buffalo fans aren’t close to being ready. To borrow a time-honored players’ cliche, losing Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to free agency hasn’t quite sunk in yet.

It hasn't sunk in yet? It hasn't sunk in yet because you won't leave it alone! Maybe if we didn't have to read all summer that our GM is an idiot who never does anything right, it would sink in. Maybe if we didn't have to read interviews with Briere and Drury's freakin' agents weeks after free agency ended, it would sink in. Maybe if the news wasn't running stupid stories tracking Briere's movements all summer (Briere's house on the market! Briere buys a house in Philly! Briere has Belgian waffles smothered in whipped cream with a slight drizzle of chocolate syrup for breakfast!), it would sink in.

Why is everyone so intent that Sabres fans be depressed and pessimistic? Am I alone in not feeling that way? Because me? I'm excited. I can't wait. I can't wait to see how Afinogenov and Vanek respond to the higher expectations and pressures. I can't wait to see if Miller's confident postseason performance carries over into the regular season. I can't wait to see the young leaders like Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy and Brian Campbell step it up to the next level. I can't wait to see Tim Connolly for a full season after an off-season of hardcore training. I can't wait to see Henrik Tallinder playing, broken arms and sprained ankles completely behind him. I can't wait to see what Drew Stafford does in a full season in the starting line-up. I can't wait for hockey. And if you don't feel the same way, well quite frankly, that's your loss. And that goes double for you, Jerry Sullivan.

Why I Love Hockey #23 - Penalty Kills
I'm a defensive minded girl. Always have been, always will be. I think a diving catch or a throw from the outfield to nail a runner at the plate is more exciting than a homerun. I think a blocked shot or steal is more exciting than a slam dunk. I think an interception or blocked kick is more exciting than a completed pass.

Defensive defensemen and defensive forwards in the NHL are vastly underrated, sometimes even by fans of the team they play for. I think there's a lot of truth in the old adage that a defenseman had a good game if you didn't notice him but that kind of stinks for them. Penalty kills are one of the few times in a game that those guys get the chance to shine and it's one of the few times the crowd audibly appreciates them. I love when Derek Roy swipes the puck from someone and then skates around and around and around with it and I love that when he finally dumps it, the crowd gives him a hearty round of applause. I love when Toni Lydman backhands a puck down the ice and the crowd cheers, especially if the penalty is winding down. I love watching guys like Tallinder and Lydman, each seeming to know what the other is going to do and where he's going to be. I love watching them dash from side to side, follwing the puck. I love that move where they put their sticks flat on the ice and swing them back and forth. I love Miller coming up with that one awesome save that seems to happen in every penalty kill. I love Teppo swooping in to save the day by clearing a puck out of the crease or protecting the net when Miller is down or out of position for the shot. I love the desperation, the frantic pace, the edge of the seat-ness of it all. I love fans appreciating anew players that usually get taken for granted because generally when they do their job well, they don't stand out.

Grammatical Note

Someone brought this column from today's Buffalo News to my attention. It's full of mostly calm, reasonable points about Darcy Regier, Michael Peca's potential return to Buffalo, and next year's team. I'm not sure how to respond to this. My world is spinning off its axis! Well played, Bob. You don't want to be one of the cool kids anyway.

Note to writers, bloggers, and message board dwellers: "Resign" is not an acceptable replacement for the word "re-sign." You can't drop the hyphen in this case because it makes a totally different word. In fact, it makes a word that means pretty much the opposite of what you're trying to say. This really, really bothers me so please stop.

Tomorrow I only have to work one job (wheeeeee!) so maybe I'll get a real post up.

Breaking News: Sabres Might be Okay!

Step away from the ledge, Buffalo! NHL.com thinks the Sabres are going to be pretty okay next season. (Normally, I make fun of NHL.com because I think it's funny that they're always the last website to update NHL-related stories and happenings. But right now I'm just happy to read something from someone who doesn't think the Sabres are going to be in Hamilton this time next year.)

Also! I heard a clip of Lindy Ruff on WGR this afternoon and he did say, regarding Drury and Briere, "Those are big holes to fill." But! He went on to say, "We still have Timmy Connolly who wasn't healthy all of last season. We still have Drew Stafford who's excited and eager to take on more responsibility. We have a pipeline of young talent that we think is pretty good." And there was more of that Ruff, I don't really give a rip if you agree with me or not attitude in his voice. So either the Buffalo News caught him in a particularly bad moment or they didn't tell the whole story. (Perish the thought.)

Annnnd, the local news just led the sports segment with a story about Daniel Briere buying a house in Philadelphia. Why, local news? Why? I cannot miss them if they do not go way.

Moving On (Please!)

This just in: Daniel Briere's agent says things didn't go down the way Larry Quinn said they did. What happened? Who's telling the truth? Who's not?

Who cares? Do you hear me, Buffalo? WHOOOOOOOOOO CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARES?! Those of us not directly involved in the negotiatons and talks are NEVER. GOING. TO KNOW. THE TRUTH especially since our local newspaper seems to be fine with reporting one side of the story without bothering to get even a "no comment" from the other side. No one wants to look like the bad guy, okay? Quinn and Regier have a team to run. Pat Brisson has clients to appease and, I'm sure, would like to get new clients in the future. Chris Drury and Daniel Briere want to protect their reputations. No one is going to stand up and say, "I am solely responsible for this screw up" which is fine because I doubt any one person is solely responsible so can we please stop trying to figure out who exactly is to blame? Are we going to rehash this over and over and over for the next 80 odd days until training camp starts? Because it's really starting to get on my nerves. Buffalo News make your point about management screwing up already and move on. Larry and Darcy, quit defending yourselves because clearly some of us love you and some of us hate you and nothing is going to change anyone's stance on that. Chris and Danny, I love you, I appreciate what you did while you were in Buffalo, go away and let us forget you for a while and please take your agents with you. Fans, deal with the fact that Chris and Danny are on other teams because NOTHING IS CHANGING THAT and see what you can do about enjoying the players who are still here. And please decide whether you're going to complain if management refuses to spend a lot of money on a player OR complain if management agrees to spend a lot of money on a player because you really can't do both. And Lindy, would it KILL you to sound a LITTLE excited about next year's team? Because it's not like you've been given crap all to work with. And Blogger, what the heck is your problem with titles lately?

Ryan, Adam, Soupy... Carry on. I'm fine with you and God bless you.

There Ain't No Good Guy, There Ain't No Bad Guy

I've posted every day this month, twice yesterday! I'm on a roll!

Since this is a Sabres blog I suppose I'm obligated to comment on this story in today's Buffalo News. I find this... hard to believe to say the least. I can understand why people feel like management bungled negoitaions with Briere and Drury and yes, both situations probably could've been handled better regardless of the team's intentions with each guys. But Darcy Regier and Larry Quinn are, if nothing else, great businessmen. They reached an agreement with their top priority free agent and somehow overlooked making that contract formal? Sorry, I'm going to need more than an anonymous source on that one, guys. I'll believe elements of the story are true, but I'm not going to believe it's quite as straight-forward as it's being presented here.

It would help if this weren't the Buffalo News. They beat the "management is stupid!" drum so loudly and so repeatedly that I'm at the point where I disregard pretty much everything they say about Regier and Quinn. Regier has put together a stretch of quality hockey, consisting of some of the best talent in the league, and the News has never given him any credit for that. Everything he does is criticized from one angle or another - heck, the guy was criticized for being too honest to use Connolly and Afinogenov's IR status to his advantage even though what was being suggested was technically against league rules. The Buffalo News hasn't shown itself to be exactly unbiased when it comes to Sabres management so I'm not going to automatically buy what they're selling in this case. And for the record, journalistically speaking, there are a couple of things that bother me about the story. One, even I learned in a year and a half of journalism school that reporters really should get a source and then another source to back that one up before running with a story. And two, the story uses quotes from Chris Drury that are clearly about the situation in June and spins them to appear as if he's talking about last fall. That's cheap and irresponsible.

Here's the bottom line as I see it. This thing has totally spiraled. Everyone wants to find someone to blame, someone to turn into the bad guy and I'm just not sure there really is a bad guy here. Everyone was right, everyone was wrong. Everyone wanted something and didn't get it. Drury and Briere are gone, they're not coming back, let's move on and focus on the guys who are still here because one thing Darcy isn't wrong about is that there's still an excellent group of young talent in Buffalo. And honestly, part of me can't believe we're this upset about missing out on the chance to pay a guy who has averaged 23 goals and 58 points over the course of his career 7 million dollars. I understand that there are other things Drury brings to the ice and the lockerroom but that's a lot of dough.

To quote Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."