Ryan Miller Sucks! (Not)

Buffalo, are we seriously going to have a "We should have kept Marty Biron over Ryan Miller" debate? Seriously? Because I seem to remember Marty having plenty of time to establish himself as the number one guy in Buffalo and not being able to do it. I seem to remember Marty getting eaten alive some nights in the run and gun system that the Sabres played the last few years. I seem to remember Marty making a habit of getting really hot and reeling off a lot of wins - kind of like right now - but then giving up a softy that lets the other team back in or suddenly going cold and reeling off a lot of losses. Is he playing very well right now? Yes, he is. Is he one of the best players in his series? Yes, he is. Is he a good man who deserves every good thing that comes his way? As far as I know, yes, he absolutely is. But there's a reason he played in the first playoff series of his career this season. Ryan Miller helped get the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals in two of his first three years as a starter and I think came pretty close to doing it single-handedly in last season's playoffs. Does it suck that Ryan's doing intermission interviews in street clothes during the playoffs while Marty is still playing? Absolutely it does. Does it mean that Marty Biron is a better goalie than Ryan Miller and will be a better goalie than Ryan Miller for the next five to six years? No, it does not. Even great goalies have bad seasons. Even great goalies miss the playoffs. One great postseason does not a great goalie make. I love Marty but for the sake of my sanity I really hope the Flyers either collapse against Montreal or get destroyed by Pittsburgh so this conversation can go to the grave where it belongs.

Other things:

- On a similar note, yes, I see that Daniel Briere is having a good postseason. Believe it or not, this doesn't shock me. He's a good hockey player. I didn't expect him to cease to be a good hockey player once he left Buffalo. It is possible for him to be a good hockey player in one city and still not be the answer to all of a team's problems in another city. Consider this your gentle reminder, Buffalo, that he was actually on the team that choked in the playoffs last season. "Briere is having a good postseason in Philly" does not automatically equal "Briere would have gotten the Sabres to the same point" especially since he had a fairly pedestrian regular season.

- I've had a mad crush on Guy Carbonneau this postseason. His little bowl cut is a bit extreme but he always looks very dashing, I love his accent, I like the way he huddles in the tunnel during the introductions and anthems, and I fully appreciate how he can get across total disgust with a call with a half-smirk and slight roll of his eyes. I thought his comment on the sucker punch on Kimo Timonen was hilarious. ("I think he deserved it. They should have been happy to score and just gone back to the bench.") But Guy. Seriously. How could you not put Carey Price back on the horse tonight? I'm totally second-guessing him on that one.

(Please note: I didn't realize until a few days ago that Guy was on the '99 Dallas team. I'm cheering for Dallas in the West but as long as I don't think about Brett Hull I'm personally okay with that. (Mark is more conflicted. He found himself celebrating a Stars goal in Game 2 and then immediately said, "I just cheered a Dallas goal. I think I can actually feel my soul leaving my body.") Ultimately, the blame for No Goal belongs with the league. But I don't know, discovering Guy was on that team bummed me out a little.)

- My least favorite commercial of the postseason so far is the Acuvue ad with the flag football players. "I can catch, I swear! I just can't see through these friggin' glasses!" Whatever, dude. I think you just stink.

- My favorite commercials of the off-season are the Bud Light (I think) sports show spots. I don't like the "Are sports shows too commercialized?" ad quite as much (although I do love the guy holding the neon sign at the end) but the other two I've seen crack me up every time. I hate the way the talking heads laugh hysterically at everything everyone says - this is especially a problem on the various NFL panels - so the "Is there too much forced laughter?" ad really gets me. There's one guy - I think it's the neon sign guy - who ha ha ha ha ha ha's and then ends with just a couple of ho ho's and for some reason that absolutely kills us at our house. We wait for it every time and then totally crack up and have even started laughing that way ourselves. The "Do commentators disagree for entertainment purposes?" one is good too, especially the end. "It looks like we're going to have to agree to disagree." "I couldn't possibly agree to that." Although I also like, "Well, I disagree with your mild disagreement."

Bucky Gleason? Still Pretty Stupid.

I've been living a happy, Bucky Gleason-free life but Gambler went and blew that out of the water by commenting on his weekend column over at Desperation Hockey. There were many, many things to be annoyed about: Is Jochen Hecht someone who commands respect in the dressing room? I don't know, why don't we ask the teammates who voted him captain? The defense sucks but Brian Campbell should be re-signed right away? The Rangers' slow start isn't indicative of trouble but our slow start means disaster? Dmitri Kalinin has been mediocre? Bucky, do you even watch hockey?

Here's the part that really got me though:

The Oilers gave Ryan Smyth a video tribute when he returned last week with Colorado in his first game back since Edmonton traded him. They did the same for Jason Smith when he returned with Philadelphia. It was a classy move in both cases. Just wondering if the Sabres have anything similar planned for Drury and Briere.

Now I already mentioned in my last post that I thought what the Oilers did was stupid. If you want to give Smyth a tribute when he retires, fine, great, have at it. But while he's still an active player and he's on the other team, treat him like every other opposing player. If the fans want to give him a standing ovation or acknowledge him in some way, let them do it. Otherwise let it be.

But atleast Smyth and Smith played in Edmonton for a long time, eleven and seven years respectively, I believe. Chris Drury and Daniel Briere played in Buffalo for seven years combined and both chose to play somewhere else. Why should they get a video tribute that other players didn't receive? Jay McKee played here for almost a decade and was as valuable - I'd argue he was even more valuable - as Briere or Drury. No video tribute for him? Everybody loves Marty Biron and he also played here for close to ten years. Not worthy? Heck, Stu Barnes played here longer than Briere and Drury, wore the C, and played in a Stanley Cup Final. Dominik Hasek was the team for many, many years and while he was a prick at times he was also arguably the best hockey player to ever put on a Sabres uniform. How was he welcomed back to Buffalo? We booed his ass. Which is exactly how it should be. Let the fans welcome back returning players in the way they see fit. The organization needs to stay out of it. How are Tim Connolly and Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville supposed to feel, sitting on the bench before a game, watching a tribute to a player who left Buffalo of his own free will and is about to step out on the ice in a different colored jersey, especially after an entire off-season of hearing, "Geez, this team is really going to suck without that guy!" No, I don't think so. Let it go. Move on. I enjoyed watching Drury and Briere and I wish there had been some way to keep them and everyone else around. But if there's a video tribute welcoming them back, I'm throwing stuff at the jumbotron. Let it go, Bucky. Good lord.