I had a long day today and will surely have another long day tomorrow so I'm just throwing a couple of quick thoughts up. Sorry to rob you of my sparkling wit and amazing insight. (That's code for "lame jokes" and "long-windedness.")
- Not the prettiest game but one that was hard fought. And you know what? I'll take hard fought over pretty any day of the week since that'll get you more than your share of wins.
- How happy am I that after all the endless "Evgeni Malkin is soooooooo good but Thomas Vanek is trying waaaaaaay too hard" it was Vanek that scored the game-winner? Very.
- Seriously, usually I can just roll my eyes at Versus and move on but they were bad tonight even for them. Sidney Crosby brings the puck down the ice, shoots and misses because of a great stop by Ryan Miller and the announcer is flipping out about THE CROSBY SHOW!!!! even though hello, he didn't score. He didn't because the goalie - you know, that guy on the other team, made a really nice play. It was stupid for Vanek to take a penalty that put his team down two men but when Malkin did it it was a sign of leadership? Versus, I'm not impressed that Malkin skated by Paul Gaustad and went after Clarke MacArthur. Roy is a better player when he just focuses on playing hockey (true) but it's okay for Crosby to flop like a fish when 5'6" Roy-Z bumps his leg with one skate? Just. awful. Does Versus think we're incapable of watching the game and recognizing for ourselves that yes, Malkin is crazy talented?
- I like how Nathan Gerbe, two games into his NHL career, has already grown an inch from where he was listed last season. I knew that would happen.
- Our PK is unreal. The penalty killers kept us in the game tonight and they all deserve a very generous round of applause.
- All hail Thomas Vanek, first 20 goal scorer in the NHL. Last season he didn't get his 1oth goal until December 15th and he didn't get his 20th goal until February 12th. I like this season better. (Stat courtesy of John Vogl.)
- Toni Lydman on Malkin and Crosby: "As long as we win, they can have all the highlights they want. We'll take the two points." Word. Like I said, hard-working over pretty any day of the week. (Also courtesy of John Vogl at the above link.)
P.S. Even if Tom Golisano does sell the team, the NHL is not going to move the Sabres from Buffalo. We're one of the few genuine hockey markets in the States. Relocating Nashville or Atlanta is one thing, relocating Buffalo is another. If nothing else, the league would miss our crazy TV ratings. But I do love how most of Buffalo is all, "WE HATE GOLISANO! HE'S A CHEAP, STUPID JACKASS! GET US A REAL OWNER WHO WANTS TO WIN NOW!" until there are rumors that he's looking to sell the team and then Buffalo is suddenly all, "I HATE GOLISANO! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT JACKASS WOULD EVEN THINK ABOUT SELLING OUR TEAM!" Buffalo, you crazy.
Showing posts with label toni lydman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toni lydman. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
PK! PK! PK!
As I've mentioned here a time or two, I'm a huge fan of good penalty killing. Heck, it was in the newspaper so you know it must be true. I've said it before and I'll say it again: In my very simple mind, the power play seems like it should be easy. You have MORE people on the ice than the other team! And don't even talk to me about 5-on-3s! I will never fathom how you fail to score on a 5-on-3.
But penalty killing, that's the good stuff. You have FEWER men on the ice so it's harder. (I know, you NEVER understood that before now, did you?) Real men kill penalties. Penalty killers have to be smart and in the right position at all times, they have to be quick, ready to strike at a moment's notice and they have to be really, really handsome. Okay, they don't have to be really, really handsome but it certainly can't hurt.
Seriously, I'm a fan of good defense - always have been in every sport - and I think the reason I love penalty killing so much is because it's the only time during a game when defense is the center of attention. It's the only time during a game when good defense - an intercepted pass, a blocked shot, a poke check, a cleared puck - gets applauded, sometimes very enthusiastically. I think it's really interesting to see who the coaching staff wants on the ice killing penalties and I think it's interesting to see how that changes - if it changes - depending on the situation. I don't think it's any coincidence that almost all of my favorite players over the years have been regular penalty killers and I won't deny that I always think a little more of a player who's out on the ice when his team is short-handed and a little less of a player who isn't. That's just my style.
So as you can probably imagine, one of my very favorite things about the Sabres' strong start to the season is their perfect penalty killing. Every night I check the stats at NHL.com to see who else is still at 100% and I've enjoyed watching teams drop off. We're the last perfect PK in the Eastern Conference - we get a banner for that, right? - but there are still two Western Conference teams sitting at 100% - the Los Angeles Kings (what?!) and the Minnesota Wild. My dream scenario is this: Someone scores on LA's PK in the next couple of nights so when we faceoff against the Wild on Thursday, it's the battle of the last perfect PK units in the NHL. Our power play scores on them and the cheese stands alone, the final enemy going down at our hands. That'd be cool. I'm very, very attached to our perfect PK. I'm going to be very sad when it ends so I think we should just not let it end. Easy enough, right? What's 77 more games?
Okay, this photo is one of the very first results for a Google image search of "penalty killing."
The People's Elbow a.k.a One of the Dumbest Finishing/Signature Moves Ever. Seriously now. I could do that move.
I'm pretty sure it would be called a penalty but how funny would it be to see Toni Lydman drop an elbow on Zdeno Chara against Boston? That'd be a penalty worth killing and it would add some excitement to what is sure to be a deathly dull game. The only good thing about playing Boston is that it's one less time we have to play them the rest of the season.
But penalty killing, that's the good stuff. You have FEWER men on the ice so it's harder. (I know, you NEVER understood that before now, did you?) Real men kill penalties. Penalty killers have to be smart and in the right position at all times, they have to be quick, ready to strike at a moment's notice and they have to be really, really handsome. Okay, they don't have to be really, really handsome but it certainly can't hurt.
Seriously, I'm a fan of good defense - always have been in every sport - and I think the reason I love penalty killing so much is because it's the only time during a game when defense is the center of attention. It's the only time during a game when good defense - an intercepted pass, a blocked shot, a poke check, a cleared puck - gets applauded, sometimes very enthusiastically. I think it's really interesting to see who the coaching staff wants on the ice killing penalties and I think it's interesting to see how that changes - if it changes - depending on the situation. I don't think it's any coincidence that almost all of my favorite players over the years have been regular penalty killers and I won't deny that I always think a little more of a player who's out on the ice when his team is short-handed and a little less of a player who isn't. That's just my style.
So as you can probably imagine, one of my very favorite things about the Sabres' strong start to the season is their perfect penalty killing. Every night I check the stats at NHL.com to see who else is still at 100% and I've enjoyed watching teams drop off. We're the last perfect PK in the Eastern Conference - we get a banner for that, right? - but there are still two Western Conference teams sitting at 100% - the Los Angeles Kings (what?!) and the Minnesota Wild. My dream scenario is this: Someone scores on LA's PK in the next couple of nights so when we faceoff against the Wild on Thursday, it's the battle of the last perfect PK units in the NHL. Our power play scores on them and the cheese stands alone, the final enemy going down at our hands. That'd be cool. I'm very, very attached to our perfect PK. I'm going to be very sad when it ends so I think we should just not let it end. Easy enough, right? What's 77 more games?
Okay, this photo is one of the very first results for a Google image search of "penalty killing."
The People's Elbow a.k.a One of the Dumbest Finishing/Signature Moves Ever. Seriously now. I could do that move.I'm pretty sure it would be called a penalty but how funny would it be to see Toni Lydman drop an elbow on Zdeno Chara against Boston? That'd be a penalty worth killing and it would add some excitement to what is sure to be a deathly dull game. The only good thing about playing Boston is that it's one less time we have to play them the rest of the season.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I've Got Vision and the Rest of the World is Wearing Bifocals
Some thoughts while half listening to Sabres-Leafs on the radio:
- As someone who was raised on older movies, I was pretty bummed to hear about Paul Newman's death. He's one of my favorites. Thanks to my iPod I don't listen to WGR very often but on occasions when I accidentally leave it behind I sometimes tune in for a few minutes because my car radio suddenly quit picking up FM stations about a year ago. A few months ago they did a Paul Newman version of the obituary game in which they attempt to pick what movie or TV show will be mentioned in the first sentence of a celebrity's obituary. I figured Color of Money would come up first since it's his Oscar winning performance but for me there's no question what Paul Newman's best movie is. If you've never seen this movie, get thee to a video store immediately. Or just go buy it. It's one of my favorites and it's totally worth the money you'll spend. Here are a couple of other great scenes.
- When Steve Bernier was traded I went back and read the post I wrote after his first game in Buffalo and the thing that really caught my attention was not how physical he was in that game but how much his physicality trickled down to the rest of the team. Derek Roy was hanging off people's backs, Tim Connolly was jumping into scrums and in one of my favorite moments of the season, Dmitri Kalinin got sent to the box with Patrick Kaleta where they shared an adorably triumphant fist-bump.
I'm really curious to see if Craig Rivet will have that kind of effect on the Sabres (but on a more consistent basis). I'm especially curious to see what kind of influence he has on Toni Lydman if he and Toni do end up playing together. I love Henrik Tallinder but he's just not an overly physical guy and probably never will be. And while Toni will never be throwing his gloves around the ice, I think he is capable of playing with a little more of an edge than he usually does. It'd be nice to have one defensive pairing that's willing to knock the opposition around some. I'm sure Ryan Miller would appreciate that as well.
- See, this is the problem with trying to write about games I can't see. Mike Weber got tossed out of the game for cross-checking Matt Stajan in the neck. Harry Neale said on the radio broadcast that he didn't think it looked like that big of a deal. Mike Harrington said on Sabres Edge that it was deserved. I'm inclined to believe Harrington over the guy who even after six months continued to mix up Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville (different numbers, totally different sizes, completely different styles of play) but it would be nice to be able to form my own opinion. I can't wait until television coverage starts.
- Again, it's hard to say for sure but it certainly sounded like Maxim Afinogenov played pretty well. Coincidence that I wrote here yesterday that I'd like to see Max with Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek and tonight that's what happened? I'm not so sure. Lindy, if you're reading this, wear a striped tie Sunday night.
- The Sabres play really well but fall behind, tie it up with 2:30 left in the game and then win in overtime. I have two thoughts: One, ha ha to the Leafs. Two, do we really need to break out the exciting but frustrating games already? Can't we ease into this, guys?
- While it's really too bad Henrik Tallinder and Jochen Hecht didn't play on Red Carpet night, there were some decent highlights anyway.
Ales Kotalik looking like he's about to sell those children something illegal:
Watch out, kids!
Derek Roy rocking a suit that only Derek Roy would wear:
You gotta admire the kid's gumption.
And finally, Teppo Numminen showing all the little boys how it's done:
Smoking. What can I say? I like my men older.
- Totally unrelated to tonight's game but something I thought about while walking around the mall today. Fellow people of Buffalo, it's time to let go of the Drury/Briere jerseys and jersey tees. I understand being attached to players and how hard it is to say goodbye to those you love. I even kind of understand continuing to wear them last season as a defiant message to ownership that you did not approve of their dealings. But it's the dawning of a new day here in Buffalo. It's a new era and a new team. It's time to move on. Personally I'd toss those suckers right in the garbage but if you need to perform a ceremony, maybe lovingly place the jersey in a boat, a hockey stick laid carefully across it, and send it out on Lake Erie a la Boromir being sent down the Anduin toward the Falls of Rauros that's fine too. But whatever you gotta do, let's do it already.
- I'm going to Sunday's game! Yay!
- As someone who was raised on older movies, I was pretty bummed to hear about Paul Newman's death. He's one of my favorites. Thanks to my iPod I don't listen to WGR very often but on occasions when I accidentally leave it behind I sometimes tune in for a few minutes because my car radio suddenly quit picking up FM stations about a year ago. A few months ago they did a Paul Newman version of the obituary game in which they attempt to pick what movie or TV show will be mentioned in the first sentence of a celebrity's obituary. I figured Color of Money would come up first since it's his Oscar winning performance but for me there's no question what Paul Newman's best movie is. If you've never seen this movie, get thee to a video store immediately. Or just go buy it. It's one of my favorites and it's totally worth the money you'll spend. Here are a couple of other great scenes.
- When Steve Bernier was traded I went back and read the post I wrote after his first game in Buffalo and the thing that really caught my attention was not how physical he was in that game but how much his physicality trickled down to the rest of the team. Derek Roy was hanging off people's backs, Tim Connolly was jumping into scrums and in one of my favorite moments of the season, Dmitri Kalinin got sent to the box with Patrick Kaleta where they shared an adorably triumphant fist-bump.
I'm really curious to see if Craig Rivet will have that kind of effect on the Sabres (but on a more consistent basis). I'm especially curious to see what kind of influence he has on Toni Lydman if he and Toni do end up playing together. I love Henrik Tallinder but he's just not an overly physical guy and probably never will be. And while Toni will never be throwing his gloves around the ice, I think he is capable of playing with a little more of an edge than he usually does. It'd be nice to have one defensive pairing that's willing to knock the opposition around some. I'm sure Ryan Miller would appreciate that as well.
- See, this is the problem with trying to write about games I can't see. Mike Weber got tossed out of the game for cross-checking Matt Stajan in the neck. Harry Neale said on the radio broadcast that he didn't think it looked like that big of a deal. Mike Harrington said on Sabres Edge that it was deserved. I'm inclined to believe Harrington over the guy who even after six months continued to mix up Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville (different numbers, totally different sizes, completely different styles of play) but it would be nice to be able to form my own opinion. I can't wait until television coverage starts.
- Again, it's hard to say for sure but it certainly sounded like Maxim Afinogenov played pretty well. Coincidence that I wrote here yesterday that I'd like to see Max with Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek and tonight that's what happened? I'm not so sure. Lindy, if you're reading this, wear a striped tie Sunday night.
- The Sabres play really well but fall behind, tie it up with 2:30 left in the game and then win in overtime. I have two thoughts: One, ha ha to the Leafs. Two, do we really need to break out the exciting but frustrating games already? Can't we ease into this, guys?
- While it's really too bad Henrik Tallinder and Jochen Hecht didn't play on Red Carpet night, there were some decent highlights anyway.
Ales Kotalik looking like he's about to sell those children something illegal:
Watch out, kids!Derek Roy rocking a suit that only Derek Roy would wear:
You gotta admire the kid's gumption.And finally, Teppo Numminen showing all the little boys how it's done:
Smoking. What can I say? I like my men older.(All photos taken by Bill Wippert and found on Sabres.com.)
- I'm going to Sunday's game! Yay!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
PreseasZzzzzzz
Just in case you're looking for some deep thoughts on the preseason games I should let you know that I really don't care. I care in the sense that preseason means the real season is right around the corner but that's about it. I like to pretend I'm all knowledgeable about the prospects and I am casually interested in how they're playing in the AHL - before that they're not even on my radar outside of the few days they're in camp - but really they don't mean anything to me until they're in Sabres jerseys. I can't get attached before then.
I also have a really hard time commenting on games I can't see. I love Rick Jeanneret and it was HEAVENLY to hear his voice again last night but when you're just listening to a game I think you're definitely influenced by how the announcer is presenting it and let's be honest, ol' RJ can make anything sound good. On the flip side, I'm never quite sure how seriously to take people's criticism because well, people see things different ways, you know? In two places TBN's John Vogl mentioned Henrik Tallinder making the first bad decision of the season but I didn't actually see it with my own eyes so I think it's really best to pretend it didn't happen. You see what I'm saying?
Still, I am trying to get back into the blogging routine so here are a few random thoughts from the last few days:
- I'm totally bummed that Lindy Ruff hasn't openly and publicly cast off the rotating captaincy. I hated the co-captaincy. I hate the rotating captaincy. I want one captain like everyone else in the world! Why can't I have that? I don't care if the players like it! Tell them to suck it up! It's a hard world out there, Sabres, and teams only have one captain! And for the record, I do not enjoy the sight of Tim Connolly with the C.
- How do you do a story about Henrik Tallinder and not run a photo with it? Not even on the website! I'm outraged. Isn't the web all about graphics and stuff? Work with me here, TBN.
- On the flip side (and slightly off-topic) kudos to Mark Mulville of TBN for this awesome photo taken right before the game-winning field goal of Sunday's Bills game.
- Back to hockey, I tend to get a lot of sympathy every time Hank and Toni Lydman are broken up and while it does bum me out some - I like having one consistent pairing/line on the team - I am kind of intrigued to see how the whole thing shakes out. With Teppo back, Craig Rivet in and Andrej Sekera up, that is a lot of new faces. May as well try some things out. But what the heck is with telling the whole world they're going to be split up and then playing them together during the Montreal game last night? You can't play around with their hearts like that, Lindy! I know it's early and I know they have practices too but you'd think maybe new pairings would actually play together during the preseason. Anyway, we'll see if this sticks. It never has before.
I wrote that last paragraph while at work. Unlike some of you slackers I don't really have computer access during the day most of the time so I feel so daring!
I also have a really hard time commenting on games I can't see. I love Rick Jeanneret and it was HEAVENLY to hear his voice again last night but when you're just listening to a game I think you're definitely influenced by how the announcer is presenting it and let's be honest, ol' RJ can make anything sound good. On the flip side, I'm never quite sure how seriously to take people's criticism because well, people see things different ways, you know? In two places TBN's John Vogl mentioned Henrik Tallinder making the first bad decision of the season but I didn't actually see it with my own eyes so I think it's really best to pretend it didn't happen. You see what I'm saying?
Still, I am trying to get back into the blogging routine so here are a few random thoughts from the last few days:
- I'm totally bummed that Lindy Ruff hasn't openly and publicly cast off the rotating captaincy. I hated the co-captaincy. I hate the rotating captaincy. I want one captain like everyone else in the world! Why can't I have that? I don't care if the players like it! Tell them to suck it up! It's a hard world out there, Sabres, and teams only have one captain! And for the record, I do not enjoy the sight of Tim Connolly with the C.
- How do you do a story about Henrik Tallinder and not run a photo with it? Not even on the website! I'm outraged. Isn't the web all about graphics and stuff? Work with me here, TBN.
- On the flip side (and slightly off-topic) kudos to Mark Mulville of TBN for this awesome photo taken right before the game-winning field goal of Sunday's Bills game.
- Back to hockey, I tend to get a lot of sympathy every time Hank and Toni Lydman are broken up and while it does bum me out some - I like having one consistent pairing/line on the team - I am kind of intrigued to see how the whole thing shakes out. With Teppo back, Craig Rivet in and Andrej Sekera up, that is a lot of new faces. May as well try some things out. But what the heck is with telling the whole world they're going to be split up and then playing them together during the Montreal game last night? You can't play around with their hearts like that, Lindy! I know it's early and I know they have practices too but you'd think maybe new pairings would actually play together during the preseason. Anyway, we'll see if this sticks. It never has before.
I wrote that last paragraph while at work. Unlike some of you slackers I don't really have computer access during the day most of the time so I feel so daring!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Odds and Ends
- In honor of Danny Paille's new contract, I sound a barbaric "Yippe Paille, Mother@#!$@&!" (Link includes language that might not be safe for work.)
I was a little surprised that the deal was only for two years, but I'm not sure it isn't a good idea. Paille's only played one full season in the NHL and while it was a pretty impressive one at times, I think teams need to be careful about the trend of investing a lot of time and money into young players based on potential. You can probably get away with doing that for a couple of people, but if you do it with too many you run a risk of really screwing yourself if someone doesn't pan out. If I'm understanding things correctly, Paille will still be a RFA at the end of this deal and at that point I think the Sabres will have a better idea what kind of player they have on their hands. Maybe it costs them a little more money in the long run, but it'll be based on a much larger sample. I'm definitely curious to see what Paille develops into. I did not expect 19 goals from him - I'm not sure he expected 19 goals from himself based on some interviews - so it'll be interesting to see if that keeps up or if he settles into being more of a mucker and grinder. One thing's for sure, the money is very good. I was surprised he's getting less than a million in his first year. That's a very good cap hit.
- I'm not a puck bunny, I think we've made that clear. I'm married, I'm increasingly older than a lot of the players, and quite frankly, considering some of the stories I've heard about some of the Sabres, I'm not entirely convinced bagging a hockey player is all that hard much less something to be proud of. If I ever dump my husband it's not going to be for a skanky-ass pro athlete. I am, however, a female and I do occasionally notice if a hockey player happens to be good-looking. In response to a fan video posted on Puck Daddy (you can't see me but I'm rolling my eyes at the stupid name of that otherwise fine blog), Margee of Sportsquee fame is taking a poll on who fans think are the best-looking players in the NHL. For the curious, here's my list in no particular order.
1. Henrik Tallinder, BUF (Unless this is your first day, this should be obvious.)
2. Jochen Hecht, BUF (I get why he isn't a big puck bunny target - he's a little older, he's married, he has young children, he seems terribly shy - but it doesn't change the fact that Jochen is Smokin'.)
3. Travis Zajac, NJ
4. Mike Fisher, OTT (Yeah, even if he is a Senator.)
5. Sammy Pahlsson, ANA
6. Mike Komisarek, MON
7. Jay McKee, STL (Forever and ever, amen.)
8. Saku Koivu, MON (Also owner of the best name in hockey.)
9. Marty Turco, DAL (Dependably good-looking. He's like the neighborhood dad you had a crush on when you were a kid.)
10. Nicklas Lidstrom, DET
Guys, feel free to chime in with your own list of dreamy players! If you want to know even more about my Squee history and you missed it the first time around, check out my full interview with Margee. And for pete's sake, read her blog.
- Speaking of Sportsquee, today Life_As_A_Redhead dropped this amazing link on me in the comment section over there. It's a website for a cattle breeder but check this out (click on the picture to see a larger image because you really need to see the print):
This might be the best thing I've seen all week. I'm always amused when hockey shows up in unexpected places like this.
- In roughly 48 hours from this typing, I'll be leaving The Dark Knight. I'm super stoked. Tickets have already been purchased for an IMAX showing and it better be good because I can't remember the last time Mark and I have both been looking forward to a movie so much.
- Still not enough Heather B. for ya? Then check out this post, co-written by Katebits and me. (You should be reading the Willful Caboose every day anyway.) Kate and I have longed dreamed of being the only two people in Buffalo to buy season tickets and once again, we got a little lost in the fantasy.
I was a little surprised that the deal was only for two years, but I'm not sure it isn't a good idea. Paille's only played one full season in the NHL and while it was a pretty impressive one at times, I think teams need to be careful about the trend of investing a lot of time and money into young players based on potential. You can probably get away with doing that for a couple of people, but if you do it with too many you run a risk of really screwing yourself if someone doesn't pan out. If I'm understanding things correctly, Paille will still be a RFA at the end of this deal and at that point I think the Sabres will have a better idea what kind of player they have on their hands. Maybe it costs them a little more money in the long run, but it'll be based on a much larger sample. I'm definitely curious to see what Paille develops into. I did not expect 19 goals from him - I'm not sure he expected 19 goals from himself based on some interviews - so it'll be interesting to see if that keeps up or if he settles into being more of a mucker and grinder. One thing's for sure, the money is very good. I was surprised he's getting less than a million in his first year. That's a very good cap hit.
- I'm not a puck bunny, I think we've made that clear. I'm married, I'm increasingly older than a lot of the players, and quite frankly, considering some of the stories I've heard about some of the Sabres, I'm not entirely convinced bagging a hockey player is all that hard much less something to be proud of. If I ever dump my husband it's not going to be for a skanky-ass pro athlete. I am, however, a female and I do occasionally notice if a hockey player happens to be good-looking. In response to a fan video posted on Puck Daddy (you can't see me but I'm rolling my eyes at the stupid name of that otherwise fine blog), Margee of Sportsquee fame is taking a poll on who fans think are the best-looking players in the NHL. For the curious, here's my list in no particular order.
1. Henrik Tallinder, BUF (Unless this is your first day, this should be obvious.)
2. Jochen Hecht, BUF (I get why he isn't a big puck bunny target - he's a little older, he's married, he has young children, he seems terribly shy - but it doesn't change the fact that Jochen is Smokin'.)
3. Travis Zajac, NJ
4. Mike Fisher, OTT (Yeah, even if he is a Senator.)
5. Sammy Pahlsson, ANA
6. Mike Komisarek, MON
7. Jay McKee, STL (Forever and ever, amen.)
8. Saku Koivu, MON (Also owner of the best name in hockey.)
9. Marty Turco, DAL (Dependably good-looking. He's like the neighborhood dad you had a crush on when you were a kid.)
10. Nicklas Lidstrom, DET
Guys, feel free to chime in with your own list of dreamy players! If you want to know even more about my Squee history and you missed it the first time around, check out my full interview with Margee. And for pete's sake, read her blog.
- Speaking of Sportsquee, today Life_As_A_Redhead dropped this amazing link on me in the comment section over there. It's a website for a cattle breeder but check this out (click on the picture to see a larger image because you really need to see the print):
This might be the best thing I've seen all week. I'm always amused when hockey shows up in unexpected places like this.
- In roughly 48 hours from this typing, I'll be leaving The Dark Knight. I'm super stoked. Tickets have already been purchased for an IMAX showing and it better be good because I can't remember the last time Mark and I have both been looking forward to a movie so much.
- Still not enough Heather B. for ya? Then check out this post, co-written by Katebits and me. (You should be reading the Willful Caboose every day anyway.) Kate and I have longed dreamed of being the only two people in Buffalo to buy season tickets and once again, we got a little lost in the fantasy.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
We're Number 8! We're Number 8!
I feel very strongly that Sabres fans got to see something really amazing and special tonight. Something that is far too awesome for words. Something we may never see again:
That old Mike Robitaille Hockey Night in Canada feature.
Seriously, that thing was incredible. I wanted to change the channel but Mark wouldn't let me and I'm so glad he didn't. That house? Those clothes? That hair-do? And my personal favorite, that kickin' reel-to-reel stereo? Totally sweet. I hope somebody YouTube's that baby. Anybody who watched the game outside of the Buffalo feed really missed out.
Okay, okay, the game...
- How about Thomas Vanek, eh? He's been so strong over the past few games that I wasn't the least bit surprised to see him explode like that. The way he's slowly moved toward this makes me feel like he really is finally starting to get his head on straight, starting to get more comfortable in his role on the team this year. It's probably too soon to say, "I told you so," but it's ridiculous that so many people have been so ready to declare him a bust at just-turned 24, in year one of a seven year contract. In the past few season there have been a fair number of very young players who have come in and made a difference immediately - Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews - but most stars need time to figure things out. Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, and Daniel Alfredsson, just to name a few, took a few seasons to pull it all together. I know Vanek's contract puts him in a tough spot but let's not forget how young he is and how much talent we've already seen from him. Anyone who can watch him and Derek Roy over the past couple of weeks and say it was a mistake to keep them is crazy.
- One of the little things about hockey that bothers me: Why doesn't a shot that hits the crossbar count as a shot on goal? It hits the goal! It's an inch from being in the goal! I don't get it.
- Ottawa was definitely a little flat but I think this was also what Ottawa looks like without their top line clicking - a good but not great hockey team. Rob and Roby said all this in the postgame show so I know I'm repeating them but you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that I said the same things to Mark during the game. (I did!) If Ottawa runs into a team that can contain their top line OR if their top line goes cold, they're going to struggle. They're capable of rolling over every team in the conference but I certainly don't see it as a given especially with their unpredictable goaltending.
- Ottawa's flatness has to be credited at least a little bit to the Sabres because they played a very good defensive game. The Senators scare me and while I was definitely nervous about going into the third period with just a one goal lead, there weren't a lot of scoring chances that really made me groan. Big glove taps to Henrik Tallinder (yay!) and Toni Lydman in particular.
- What the heck is Tim Connolly doing with his facial hair? I told him last year that the fu manchu was a bad idea. Seriously, do you think that looks good, Tim?
- My list of Sabres who are better than Brian Campbell:
Ryan Miller (this one seems obvious)
Derek Roy (this one too)
Thomas Vanek (even while struggling Vanek has put up some points and been much improved in the defensive end)
Jason Pominville (developing into a very good two-way player)
Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who are more valuable to the Sabres:
Jochen Hecht (good defensive forward, always works hard, so consistent)
Henrik Tallinder (the best defensive d-man on the team and for me, that will always be more valuable than offense in a d-man)
Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who have been more valuable to the Sabres recently:
Daniel Paille
Patrick Kaleta
Brian Campbell is fine but the more people blow him up, the more I find myself disliking him and picking apart his game. Please, please let's settle this one way or the other as soon as possible so we can stop talking about him.
- Is it completely naive of me to think we could move up at least two or three more sports in the standings? Too optimistic?
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)
That old Mike Robitaille Hockey Night in Canada feature.
Seriously, that thing was incredible. I wanted to change the channel but Mark wouldn't let me and I'm so glad he didn't. That house? Those clothes? That hair-do? And my personal favorite, that kickin' reel-to-reel stereo? Totally sweet. I hope somebody YouTube's that baby. Anybody who watched the game outside of the Buffalo feed really missed out.
Okay, okay, the game...
- How about Thomas Vanek, eh? He's been so strong over the past few games that I wasn't the least bit surprised to see him explode like that. The way he's slowly moved toward this makes me feel like he really is finally starting to get his head on straight, starting to get more comfortable in his role on the team this year. It's probably too soon to say, "I told you so," but it's ridiculous that so many people have been so ready to declare him a bust at just-turned 24, in year one of a seven year contract. In the past few season there have been a fair number of very young players who have come in and made a difference immediately - Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews - but most stars need time to figure things out. Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, and Daniel Alfredsson, just to name a few, took a few seasons to pull it all together. I know Vanek's contract puts him in a tough spot but let's not forget how young he is and how much talent we've already seen from him. Anyone who can watch him and Derek Roy over the past couple of weeks and say it was a mistake to keep them is crazy.
- One of the little things about hockey that bothers me: Why doesn't a shot that hits the crossbar count as a shot on goal? It hits the goal! It's an inch from being in the goal! I don't get it.
- Ottawa was definitely a little flat but I think this was also what Ottawa looks like without their top line clicking - a good but not great hockey team. Rob and Roby said all this in the postgame show so I know I'm repeating them but you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that I said the same things to Mark during the game. (I did!) If Ottawa runs into a team that can contain their top line OR if their top line goes cold, they're going to struggle. They're capable of rolling over every team in the conference but I certainly don't see it as a given especially with their unpredictable goaltending.
- Ottawa's flatness has to be credited at least a little bit to the Sabres because they played a very good defensive game. The Senators scare me and while I was definitely nervous about going into the third period with just a one goal lead, there weren't a lot of scoring chances that really made me groan. Big glove taps to Henrik Tallinder (yay!) and Toni Lydman in particular.
- What the heck is Tim Connolly doing with his facial hair? I told him last year that the fu manchu was a bad idea. Seriously, do you think that looks good, Tim?
- My list of Sabres who are better than Brian Campbell:
Ryan Miller (this one seems obvious)
Derek Roy (this one too)
Thomas Vanek (even while struggling Vanek has put up some points and been much improved in the defensive end)
Jason Pominville (developing into a very good two-way player)
Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who are more valuable to the Sabres:
Jochen Hecht (good defensive forward, always works hard, so consistent)
Henrik Tallinder (the best defensive d-man on the team and for me, that will always be more valuable than offense in a d-man)
Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who have been more valuable to the Sabres recently:
Daniel Paille
Patrick Kaleta
Brian Campbell is fine but the more people blow him up, the more I find myself disliking him and picking apart his game. Please, please let's settle this one way or the other as soon as possible so we can stop talking about him.
- Is it completely naive of me to think we could move up at least two or three more sports in the standings? Too optimistic?
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Santa's Little Helpers
I have to say, I'm feeling much better about the Sabres after doing this to them. Really most of these guys have been okay (or injured - come back, Hank) but they were the ones who I found to be the funniest. This is so stupid, but what can I say, I'm totally cracking up here. Watch and enjoy!
ETA: I take it back. This one's pretty funny too.
(Would it shock you to learn that it's 3:08 a.m. right now?)
ETA: I take it back. This one's pretty funny too.
(Would it shock you to learn that it's 3:08 a.m. right now?)
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Sabres FTW!
In honor of NaBloPoMO, I'll be attempting to post something every day in November. If you're not checking in every day, make sure you're catching all the posts! Tonight we talk about actual hockey! Again! I know!
I missed the game tonight because of work - the grocery store was a zoo in case you're wondering - so I can't make any real commentary. I would like to apologize to Kate, Toni Lydman, and Henrik Tallinder however. I was riding Kate pretty hard yesterday about Toni's terrible turnover right in front of the net during the last Montreal game and I think it's probably because of that that Hank made pretty much the exact same turnover tonight. Somebody up there didn't like my trash-talk. Sorry, Hank!
And how nice of Timmy Connolly to come back and put Derek Roy at ease about missing the net. "See Derek, it ain't no thang." I caught part of the post-game recap on the radio during my break so I knew Timmy missed an empty net but I couldn't believe it when I actually saw the video. Atleast Derek was dealing with d-men and/or goalies on most of his missed shots. Timmy had the entire net and no one between him and it and he still hit the goalpost. Unbelievable. He'd be kicking himself if we'd lost the game by a goal but as it is, hey, he'll get it next time. I loved Lindy poking fun at Timmy and Derek in his post-game conference.
A win is a win at this point but a win against Ottawa is especially nice. Since I didn't see the game I can't really comment on whether we won it or they lost it (or a little of both) but you know what? I don't care that much.
Sorry to make this so short but I have to be back at work in seven hours so some sleep might be good. But tune in later tonight for What Heather's Thankful For.
(For the females in the crowd: There's a video interview with Henrik Tallinder up on the Sabres website right now. The last 30 seconds or so are a perfect demonstration of why I love Hank... in addition to his strong skating and sound defensive play of course.)
I missed the game tonight because of work - the grocery store was a zoo in case you're wondering - so I can't make any real commentary. I would like to apologize to Kate, Toni Lydman, and Henrik Tallinder however. I was riding Kate pretty hard yesterday about Toni's terrible turnover right in front of the net during the last Montreal game and I think it's probably because of that that Hank made pretty much the exact same turnover tonight. Somebody up there didn't like my trash-talk. Sorry, Hank!
And how nice of Timmy Connolly to come back and put Derek Roy at ease about missing the net. "See Derek, it ain't no thang." I caught part of the post-game recap on the radio during my break so I knew Timmy missed an empty net but I couldn't believe it when I actually saw the video. Atleast Derek was dealing with d-men and/or goalies on most of his missed shots. Timmy had the entire net and no one between him and it and he still hit the goalpost. Unbelievable. He'd be kicking himself if we'd lost the game by a goal but as it is, hey, he'll get it next time. I loved Lindy poking fun at Timmy and Derek in his post-game conference.
A win is a win at this point but a win against Ottawa is especially nice. Since I didn't see the game I can't really comment on whether we won it or they lost it (or a little of both) but you know what? I don't care that much.
Sorry to make this so short but I have to be back at work in seven hours so some sleep might be good. But tune in later tonight for What Heather's Thankful For.
(For the females in the crowd: There's a video interview with Henrik Tallinder up on the Sabres website right now. The last 30 seconds or so are a perfect demonstration of why I love Hank... in addition to his strong skating and sound defensive play of course.)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
For Those About to Rock...
In honor of NaBloPoMO, I'll be attempting to post something every day in November. If you're not checking in every day, make sure you're catching all the posts! I'm short on time today so nothing of real importance here...
Seriously, I love this whole Player Playlist thing. Toni Lydman's list is pretty much exactly what I expected and somehow, I'm still amused. I will never get over the fact that Toni, who always sounds completely sedated, listens to music like this, much to the chagrin of his non-Drew Stafford teammates. It cracks me right the heck up. I'm sure between the offensive outburst and these tunes, HSBC was rocking hard Friday night.
Captain Toni Lydman salutes you.
Toni Lydman's Playlist
Angel of Death, Slayer
Colony of Birchmen, Mastodon
I'll Cast a Shadow, Pantera
In Your Face, Children of Bodom
No Compromise, The Haunted
Refuse to Be Denied, Anthrax
(The language in some of the links isn't safe for little ears or sensitive big ears.)
Seriously, I love this whole Player Playlist thing. Toni Lydman's list is pretty much exactly what I expected and somehow, I'm still amused. I will never get over the fact that Toni, who always sounds completely sedated, listens to music like this, much to the chagrin of his non-Drew Stafford teammates. It cracks me right the heck up. I'm sure between the offensive outburst and these tunes, HSBC was rocking hard Friday night.
Captain Toni Lydman salutes you.Toni Lydman's Playlist
Angel of Death, Slayer
Colony of Birchmen, Mastodon
I'll Cast a Shadow, Pantera
In Your Face, Children of Bodom
No Compromise, The Haunted
Refuse to Be Denied, Anthrax
(The language in some of the links isn't safe for little ears or sensitive big ears.)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Shipping Up to Boston
I hate games like the one tonight. The Sabres didn't really play that terribly - some things were much improved actually - but they just couldn't pull it together. A few notes, some about the game, some about other things:
- Ryan Miller was not good tonight. I think Buffalo fans are sometimes too hard on him, but Boston's second goal was terrible and a shot that has to be stopped if we're going to win. It's just as well that we lost in overtime because I wasn't feeling very confident that Ryan was going to shut down anyone in a shoot-out tonight. Hopefully he looks better tomorrow night. Last season I always felt great about his chances on breakaways and in shoot-outs and I'm kind of missing that feeling, Ryan. It'd be nice to see him and the defense play well at the same time.
- Three cheers for Toni Lydman taking a puck off the face and then coming back in the game. That was the best save by anyone in a Buffalo jersey tonight and Toni had a great game overall. I thought he was an oddball choice as November's captain since he got off to such a slow start but it's that kind of play that Lindy probably had in mind when he chose Toni. Perhaps a subtle message that talking don't mean nothing if your play ain't backing it up? I'll take a bunch of quiet guys who play tough like that over a bunch of talkers any day of the week and I imagine Lindy would too.
- Speaking of Toni (Tony Tone), there's a great interview with him up on Sabres TV right now but once again the local media missed an obvious question: Toni, are you going to abuse your position and commandeer the dressing room CD player for the month? Or maybe force the teammates who aren't playing well to listen to your favorite thrash metal albums at full volume all night? Paul Hamilton, these are the things I want to know!
- Toni had this to say in the Buffalo News today: Me and Jochen are kind of the same when it comes to being vocal in the room,” Lydman said. “We’re quiet. It’s more Hank and Millsie doing the talking, and Spacho the yelling. First of all, it's nice to get confirmation that Hank is indeed one of the more vocal leaders on the team. Paul Hamilton seemed really surprised when he found out that Hank was one of the players who spoke in the closed meeting the team had last week and quite frankly, I was too. I'm shocked to learn that the media and fans might not know everything about the inner workings of the team. Shocked, I tell you! Second of all, another obvious follow-up question missed: Just how hilarious is a screaming Spacek? Amy brought this up over at Shots Off the Crossbar and it's so true. I can barely understand Spacek when he's carefully speaking during plain ol' interviews. Does anyone on the team really get what he's saying when he starts yelling because I'm imagining a lot of loud, fast, booming gibberish. Seriously, Toni, do you all just sit around and giggle while Spacho goes off? And what do I need to do to get him to yell at me?
- For the record, I really thought Tim Connolly should have gotten a letter this month. He showed up almost every night, he's playing at a point per game pace, his line has been the most consistent and the hardest working, and his power play unit is looking very strong even when it's not scoring. But one little note to Timmy: You can shoot the puck, you know. It's okay!
- Jason Pominville also put together a very good first month, in my opinion. I was really hard on him during the playoffs last year, but he's busted his butt almost every night so far and he's one of the few forwards who's played well at both ends of the ice. He gummed up a defensive play a bit tonight and I found myself completely startled. Evidently Mark shared my feelings because he said, "Wow, you don't see that from Jason very often" and while I'd never thought about it, you really don't. Some games he, Timmy, and Jochen were the only signs of life out there. Also, I think we can officially put the "Pominville is nothing without Briere" argument to rest, people. Does he need a strong center? I don't know, maybe. (And seriously, a winger needs a good center? Whoa, hit me with some more earth shattering knowledge!) Was Briere the only good center on the team? Evidently not.
- This schedule is a travesty. We play what feels like five games in three days and then have a week off. We play nine straight division games with three or four different teams. I usually enjoy the Montreal and Ottawa games but having six of them in one month is overkill. I understand that scheduling thirty teams is probably a complicated process but I'm pretty confident I could do a better job. Are everybody's schedules this screwy?
- I'm not a big fan of Independent Health calling their workers "Red Shirts." First of all, it's stupid. I wear a red shirt to the grocery store. I'd really like to think the person answering my health related questions is a little more educated than the average grocery store cashier. Second of all, doesn't anyone at the company watch Star Trek? I don't really like my health insurance conjuring up thoughts of pointless death.
- After contributing nothing for far too long, I recently posted something at HLog regarding my one hockey related superstition. Want to know what it is? Ha! You'll have to read it there.
- Ryan Miller was not good tonight. I think Buffalo fans are sometimes too hard on him, but Boston's second goal was terrible and a shot that has to be stopped if we're going to win. It's just as well that we lost in overtime because I wasn't feeling very confident that Ryan was going to shut down anyone in a shoot-out tonight. Hopefully he looks better tomorrow night. Last season I always felt great about his chances on breakaways and in shoot-outs and I'm kind of missing that feeling, Ryan. It'd be nice to see him and the defense play well at the same time.
- Three cheers for Toni Lydman taking a puck off the face and then coming back in the game. That was the best save by anyone in a Buffalo jersey tonight and Toni had a great game overall. I thought he was an oddball choice as November's captain since he got off to such a slow start but it's that kind of play that Lindy probably had in mind when he chose Toni. Perhaps a subtle message that talking don't mean nothing if your play ain't backing it up? I'll take a bunch of quiet guys who play tough like that over a bunch of talkers any day of the week and I imagine Lindy would too.
- Speaking of Toni (Tony Tone), there's a great interview with him up on Sabres TV right now but once again the local media missed an obvious question: Toni, are you going to abuse your position and commandeer the dressing room CD player for the month? Or maybe force the teammates who aren't playing well to listen to your favorite thrash metal albums at full volume all night? Paul Hamilton, these are the things I want to know!
- Toni had this to say in the Buffalo News today: Me and Jochen are kind of the same when it comes to being vocal in the room,” Lydman said. “We’re quiet. It’s more Hank and Millsie doing the talking, and Spacho the yelling. First of all, it's nice to get confirmation that Hank is indeed one of the more vocal leaders on the team. Paul Hamilton seemed really surprised when he found out that Hank was one of the players who spoke in the closed meeting the team had last week and quite frankly, I was too. I'm shocked to learn that the media and fans might not know everything about the inner workings of the team. Shocked, I tell you! Second of all, another obvious follow-up question missed: Just how hilarious is a screaming Spacek? Amy brought this up over at Shots Off the Crossbar and it's so true. I can barely understand Spacek when he's carefully speaking during plain ol' interviews. Does anyone on the team really get what he's saying when he starts yelling because I'm imagining a lot of loud, fast, booming gibberish. Seriously, Toni, do you all just sit around and giggle while Spacho goes off? And what do I need to do to get him to yell at me?
- For the record, I really thought Tim Connolly should have gotten a letter this month. He showed up almost every night, he's playing at a point per game pace, his line has been the most consistent and the hardest working, and his power play unit is looking very strong even when it's not scoring. But one little note to Timmy: You can shoot the puck, you know. It's okay!
- Jason Pominville also put together a very good first month, in my opinion. I was really hard on him during the playoffs last year, but he's busted his butt almost every night so far and he's one of the few forwards who's played well at both ends of the ice. He gummed up a defensive play a bit tonight and I found myself completely startled. Evidently Mark shared my feelings because he said, "Wow, you don't see that from Jason very often" and while I'd never thought about it, you really don't. Some games he, Timmy, and Jochen were the only signs of life out there. Also, I think we can officially put the "Pominville is nothing without Briere" argument to rest, people. Does he need a strong center? I don't know, maybe. (And seriously, a winger needs a good center? Whoa, hit me with some more earth shattering knowledge!) Was Briere the only good center on the team? Evidently not.
- This schedule is a travesty. We play what feels like five games in three days and then have a week off. We play nine straight division games with three or four different teams. I usually enjoy the Montreal and Ottawa games but having six of them in one month is overkill. I understand that scheduling thirty teams is probably a complicated process but I'm pretty confident I could do a better job. Are everybody's schedules this screwy?
- I'm not a big fan of Independent Health calling their workers "Red Shirts." First of all, it's stupid. I wear a red shirt to the grocery store. I'd really like to think the person answering my health related questions is a little more educated than the average grocery store cashier. Second of all, doesn't anyone at the company watch Star Trek? I don't really like my health insurance conjuring up thoughts of pointless death.
- After contributing nothing for far too long, I recently posted something at HLog regarding my one hockey related superstition. Want to know what it is? Ha! You'll have to read it there.
Friday, September 21, 2007
A Top Shelf Birthday!
But first a few words about tonight's game. It was... not that good. There were clearly a lot of kids in the line-up and everyone seemed to have a bit of preseason rust. The overall play was pretty sloppy - lots of little turnovers and sloppy passes. But it was a blast anyway. Walking in the arena just as the boys came out for warm-ups, U2's City of Blinding Lights blaring over the PA, Doug Allen singing the anthems, the fancy video on the ice, the first spontaneous "Let's Go Buff-a-lo!" cheer... Hockey is really, really back and I'm pretty darn excited about that.
The other big plus for the night is that I thought Thomas Vanek looked really good despite not showing up on the score sheet. He was hustling all over the ice, he was throwing his body around, and he was back-checking like crazy, coming up with a couple of really solid defensive plays including the one pictured below. I admit, I was more than a little surprised when I realized it was Vanek who had just laid out on the ice. It was good to see him playing a more well-rounded game.
And now the real reason for this post. Today is, according to my Sabres calendar, Toni Lydman's 30th birthday. It would appear that this is incorrect since everything on the internet lists his birthday as September 25th but hey, whatever. I'm pretending it's today and as a gift, I'm giving him his very own blog entry.
Way back in March, when I first started this blog, I told you all that my favorite Sabres were Henrik Tallinder, Tim Connolly, Brian Campbell, Derek Roy, and someone who no longer plays for the team. One of the best things about open practice is getting to see those guys up close. I think it's a great way to find out who your favorite players really are because while I love seeing everyone up close, I definitely get a certain buzz when certain guys are around and find myself keeping a closer eye on them. Some of the players who got my undivided attention were not surprises - Hank and Timmy absolutely and Soupy mostly. But there were a couple who did surprise me a little - Jochen Hecht and the birthday boy, Toni Lydman.
Now don't get me wrong. I like Toni and always have. But I never would've thought of saying he was one of my favorites. I suppose I'm guilty of doing to him what most people do to Hank - I take him for granted. As players, he and Hank are very similar: big, strong skating guys who play very good positional defense. He's easy to overlook because aside from the occasional WHAT THE HELL! turnover (usually a clearing attempt that perfectly sets up the opposing point man for a shot on goal), he's always where he needs to be, doing what he's supposed to be doing. I'm excited about this year's team but there are a lot of question marks. Are the younger guys going to step up? Is the defense going to hold together, especially with Teppo out? Seeing Toni out there in the middle of practices was very soothing. On the ice it's nice to have a few guys from whom you pretty much know what you're going to get. You can watch them without being TOO nervous about what's going to happen while they're out there and I think Toni's one of those guys. Off the ice he seems loose enough to play around with and have fun with the guys but he also seems very steady and even-keeled. I could definitely see him bringing some maturity to the team if needed and I don't see why he can't provide the same kind of calm, professional leadership Drury did, atleast on some level.
So happy birthday, Toni! And congratulations because it would seem that you are now officially one of my favorite Sabres! I hope the boys let you have control of the CD player for the day so you can rock out to your heart's content.
The other big plus for the night is that I thought Thomas Vanek looked really good despite not showing up on the score sheet. He was hustling all over the ice, he was throwing his body around, and he was back-checking like crazy, coming up with a couple of really solid defensive plays including the one pictured below. I admit, I was more than a little surprised when I realized it was Vanek who had just laid out on the ice. It was good to see him playing a more well-rounded game.
And now the real reason for this post. Today is, according to my Sabres calendar, Toni Lydman's 30th birthday. It would appear that this is incorrect since everything on the internet lists his birthday as September 25th but hey, whatever. I'm pretending it's today and as a gift, I'm giving him his very own blog entry.
Way back in March, when I first started this blog, I told you all that my favorite Sabres were Henrik Tallinder, Tim Connolly, Brian Campbell, Derek Roy, and someone who no longer plays for the team. One of the best things about open practice is getting to see those guys up close. I think it's a great way to find out who your favorite players really are because while I love seeing everyone up close, I definitely get a certain buzz when certain guys are around and find myself keeping a closer eye on them. Some of the players who got my undivided attention were not surprises - Hank and Timmy absolutely and Soupy mostly. But there were a couple who did surprise me a little - Jochen Hecht and the birthday boy, Toni Lydman.
Now don't get me wrong. I like Toni and always have. But I never would've thought of saying he was one of my favorites. I suppose I'm guilty of doing to him what most people do to Hank - I take him for granted. As players, he and Hank are very similar: big, strong skating guys who play very good positional defense. He's easy to overlook because aside from the occasional WHAT THE HELL! turnover (usually a clearing attempt that perfectly sets up the opposing point man for a shot on goal), he's always where he needs to be, doing what he's supposed to be doing. I'm excited about this year's team but there are a lot of question marks. Are the younger guys going to step up? Is the defense going to hold together, especially with Teppo out? Seeing Toni out there in the middle of practices was very soothing. On the ice it's nice to have a few guys from whom you pretty much know what you're going to get. You can watch them without being TOO nervous about what's going to happen while they're out there and I think Toni's one of those guys. Off the ice he seems loose enough to play around with and have fun with the guys but he also seems very steady and even-keeled. I could definitely see him bringing some maturity to the team if needed and I don't see why he can't provide the same kind of calm, professional leadership Drury did, atleast on some level.
So happy birthday, Toni! And congratulations because it would seem that you are now officially one of my favorite Sabres! I hope the boys let you have control of the CD player for the day so you can rock out to your heart's content.
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