by Rich
Various sources are reporting that the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a deal to send forward Kevin Garnett to Boston in exchange for a package of players and draft picks including forward Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and depending on which report you read, possibly Ryan Gomes. Additionally, the T-Wolves get the Celtics' first-round pick in 2008, as well as another 2008 first-rounder that was originally theirs but was traded to Boston in the Ricky Davis deal (got it?).
My, how things have changed since the Draft Lottery. Remember that day, and the footage of Celtics fans who looked like someone had just run over their puppy? It was footage of a fanbase whose main debate was not how many games they'd win this season, but whether it'd be easier to jump off the Prudential building or simply hurl themselves onto the Mass Pike.
Then there was the draft, when Danny Ainge swung a deal for Ray Allen by sending Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the draft rights to the fifth overall pick, Jeff Green to Seattle. The move reeked of desperation at the time; it seemed like Ainge, after not getting the top-2 pick he hoped for and failing to land KG because he didn't want to play in Boston, had simply thrown up his hands and said "Well, screw it. We've got to do something." A lot of people, myself included, questioned the move because it seemed like exactly the kind of half-measure that teams seem so happy to make. He wasn't selling off their young players to bring in a core of veterans who could contend immediately, but he wasn't quite blowing it up and moving veterans for draft picks and young guys who would develop as part of a rebuilding project. It looked for all intents and purposes like the Celtics' front office had built an extremely mediocre team that might back into the playoffs for a few years, and by the time their young guys had peaked, Allen and Pierce would be on the downside of their careers.
Enter Garnett.
Just take a second to think about what this Celtics team will field: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. In the Eastern Conference. I could be the sixth man and this team would still get to the conference finals.
Kevin Garnett has never played with anyone as good as either Paul Pierce or Ray Allen. Ponder that one for a minute; he is now placed in a situation where he is playing with not one, but two guys who are both better than anyone he has ever had around him. Of course, there are other considerations, like the fact that one of the best passing big men the game has ever seen will now be on the court with two prime-time perimeter players. Hell, KG might average 30/12/10 this year. Wouldn't surprise me.
That's the other thing, though. Nothing he can do on the court would surprise me, because Kevin Garnett is an absolute warrior. He goes all out, all the time, every game. Anyone who has ever seen a Wolves highlight has seen The Look, the one KG gets when he yanks an offensive rebound away from 3 defenders and puts it back with a dunk and a foul, or when he comes over to help on defense and sends a jumper into the club level. The Look where he tightens the muscles in his jaw and simply stares through some unfortunate guy on the other team, like he's trying to set him on fire with pure mental intensity. Something tells me that will play well in a town like Boston.
Personally, I'm looking forward to this season. I'm sort of an adopted Celtics fan, in the sense that I didn't really watch the NBA growing up because of the lack of a local team, and the fact that I spent all winter every year watching college ball. My dad never really talks about his sports preferences outside of the Bills and Sabres, (which is why I never found out he was a Mets fan until I was 17, but that's an entirely different story) but once in a while he'd mention the great Celts/Lakers throwdowns of the 80s. And Bird. I won't go into the full details of just how much status the man from French Lick holds in my parents' home, but suffice it to say that my mom makes certain she puts the Larry Bird ornament on the Christmas tree every year. So gradually, as I got older and started watching the NBA, I drifted towards the Celtics. And right now? It's looking like a fun season.
The bottom line: Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. But Kevin McHale might be, 'cause he's dropping off KG to go play with The Truth and Jesus Shuttlesworth.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The gang's all here
By Chris
According to this report
A month after Black Sunday, the Canada Day Massacre, whatever you want to call it, a lot of fans, myself included, feel a lot better about this team and the future of the franchise. Paetsch being around for three more years, even if next year might be "wasted" barring any trades, is good news, no matter how you want to spin it.
According to this report
A month after Black Sunday, the Canada Day Massacre, whatever you want to call it, a lot of fans, myself included, feel a lot better about this team and the future of the franchise. Paetsch being around for three more years, even if next year might be "wasted" barring any trades, is good news, no matter how you want to spin it.
Coming soon to a ring near you....
By Jon
In the red corner, representing West Virginia and all that is wrong with professional football: Adam "Pacman" Jones.
That's right ladies and gentlemen, Pacman Jones is coming to a wrestling ring near you.
It's a ridiculous publicity stunt for two parties that absolutely crave said publicity. Both are immersed in controversy. Both have very little public support. Both are absolutely idiotic. I guess you could say it's a match made in heaven.
Pro wrestling is probably the only sport where showering strippers with thousands of one dollar bills is an approved off-the-field activity, if not an encouraged one.
Congrats Pacman, you may have found your niche. Hell, with the "sport" ravaged by Chris Benoit, 'roid rage, and other deaths (I'm aware that he's acting, errrrr, competing in the TNA, but it's still the same "sport"), you may come off as the model citizen in comparison.
In the red corner, representing West Virginia and all that is wrong with professional football: Adam "Pacman" Jones.
That's right ladies and gentlemen, Pacman Jones is coming to a wrestling ring near you.
It's a ridiculous publicity stunt for two parties that absolutely crave said publicity. Both are immersed in controversy. Both have very little public support. Both are absolutely idiotic. I guess you could say it's a match made in heaven.
Pro wrestling is probably the only sport where showering strippers with thousands of one dollar bills is an approved off-the-field activity, if not an encouraged one.
Congrats Pacman, you may have found your niche. Hell, with the "sport" ravaged by Chris Benoit, 'roid rage, and other deaths (I'm aware that he's acting, errrrr, competing in the TNA, but it's still the same "sport"), you may come off as the model citizen in comparison.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Darwin, we hardly knew you
By Chris
He never put on a uniform for us. He never played a down for us. He never even practiced for us. He didn't want anything to do with us; he just wanted his money and that's why Darwin Walker has been added to the Buffalo Sports List of Public Enemies. Without even taking a snap for the Bills, Walker has joined the likes of McGahee, Mularkey, Rob Johnson, Slava Kozlov, Doug Gilmour and Dominik Hasek as former Buffalo sports figures that have their own line of voodoo dolls for fans to play with.
Walker never wanted to be a Bill, at least not for what he was being paid. He wanted a raise for not proving anything and was willing to hold out until he got what he wanted. And now he's the Chicago Bears' problem
st half of the season. The Bills would have been compensated with a 6th round pick from the Eagles, who would also get him back, if Walker didn't report to camp by August 5th. It didn't look like he was going to, so the Bills flipped him to Chicago for a 5th rounder.
It's still not a fantastic trade by any means, essentially a 5th for Takeo Spikes and Kelly Holcomb, but what can we do but continue to trust Marv and the front office? This may be the first "bad" deal they have made, but then again, they moved two players out who they didn't have in their plans, neither right now nor in the future. The Bills are bringing in who they want and who they feel will succeed here, and while we still don't know if it'll work, getting a likeable, competitive team to root for is better than the sad, mentally weak Bills we've had to deal with over the last 6 years.
With Walker gone, it opens the door for John McCargo, last year's second first round pick, to play a much larger role. Allen Wilson's piece in The Buffalo News
So what are we looking at? Quite simply, the Bills traded a guy who wanted nothing to do with the team in the first place and got a higher draft pick for him than they would have if they had done nothing at all. In that regard, maybe this isn't that "bad" of a trade after all. In Marv we trust....
He never put on a uniform for us. He never played a down for us. He never even practiced for us. He didn't want anything to do with us; he just wanted his money and that's why Darwin Walker has been added to the Buffalo Sports List of Public Enemies. Without even taking a snap for the Bills, Walker has joined the likes of McGahee, Mularkey, Rob Johnson, Slava Kozlov, Doug Gilmour and Dominik Hasek as former Buffalo sports figures that have their own line of voodoo dolls for fans to play with.
Walker never wanted to be a Bill, at least not for what he was being paid. He wanted a raise for not proving anything and was willing to hold out until he got what he wanted. And now he's the Chicago Bears' problem
st half of the season. The Bills would have been compensated with a 6th round pick from the Eagles, who would also get him back, if Walker didn't report to camp by August 5th. It didn't look like he was going to, so the Bills flipped him to Chicago for a 5th rounder.It's still not a fantastic trade by any means, essentially a 5th for Takeo Spikes and Kelly Holcomb, but what can we do but continue to trust Marv and the front office? This may be the first "bad" deal they have made, but then again, they moved two players out who they didn't have in their plans, neither right now nor in the future. The Bills are bringing in who they want and who they feel will succeed here, and while we still don't know if it'll work, getting a likeable, competitive team to root for is better than the sad, mentally weak Bills we've had to deal with over the last 6 years.
With Walker gone, it opens the door for John McCargo, last year's second first round pick, to play a much larger role. Allen Wilson's piece in The Buffalo News
So what are we looking at? Quite simply, the Bills traded a guy who wanted nothing to do with the team in the first place and got a higher draft pick for him than they would have if they had done nothing at all. In that regard, maybe this isn't that "bad" of a trade after all. In Marv we trust....
Friday, July 27, 2007
Take a Seat and Stay Awhile
By Chris
My phone woke me up just after midnight this morning. It was a text message from the Buffalo Bills
Several hours later, I checked some sites to see what Sabres center Derek Roy was awarded in his arbitration. It turns out he never went because he and the team were able to agree upon a six-year, $24 million deal. Yippee.
The Sabres may have overpaid for Roy right now ($3 million in 2007, $3.5 in 2008 and 2009), but in three years ($4 million in 2010, $4.5 in 2011 and $5.5 in 2012), it could be considered a value signing. Now, that line of thinking may not bode well for the financial stability and "cost certainty" of the "new" NHL, but it may very well become a reality. Roy was the captain of his team in Kitchener, so the leadership skills are there and he'll have to put them display now that he's the man on the Sabres top line. More money equals more responsibility and Roy needs to be up to the task.
How he'll truly pan out, however, is yet to be seen. It's just crazy to think that a guy who didn't even make the team out of training camp two years ago is now making $4 million. But what other choice did the Sabres have? They wanted to keep him and if he had gone to arbitration, then chances are he'd be gone after that two year contract he would've been awarded expires. So the Sabres did what they had to do and hopefully it'll pan out.
With Lynch, the Bills have a running back that will be able to effectively catch the ball out of the backfield for the first time in years (since Thurman, perhaps?). Willis McGahee had just 18 catches last year. Even Anthony Thomas had more. Lynch is already an upgrade over McGahee...after all, as a starting running back, you can't get much worse than 11 touchdowns over the last two years. Lynch will provide speed on the outside with the ability to break the long run. Scouting reports say he's a decent pass blocker, and those are all characteristics the Bills desperately need.
Lynch may be able to provide the occasional goal line carry, but for now, it seems that the A-Train will shoulder some of that burden. Even though they may share many of the carries this year (think of how the Patriots used Kool-Aid Maroney and Corey Dillon last season), there is no doubt that Lynch is the future.
So it looks like I'm ready to go out and order my new Lynch jersey. It's just too bad I can't get a Michael Vick jersey at the same time. For Vick, that is.
My phone woke me up just after midnight this morning. It was a text message from the Buffalo Bills
Several hours later, I checked some sites to see what Sabres center Derek Roy was awarded in his arbitration. It turns out he never went because he and the team were able to agree upon a six-year, $24 million deal. Yippee.
For the most part, both signings are great news. The Bills get their new franchise running back and the Sabres get their new top centerman. Each shows that the respective organizations are willing to dish out competitive contracts for players they feel will have a positive impact on their teams.
The Sabres may have overpaid for Roy right now ($3 million in 2007, $3.5 in 2008 and 2009), but in three years ($4 million in 2010, $4.5 in 2011 and $5.5 in 2012), it could be considered a value signing. Now, that line of thinking may not bode well for the financial stability and "cost certainty" of the "new" NHL, but it may very well become a reality. Roy was the captain of his team in Kitchener, so the leadership skills are there and he'll have to put them display now that he's the man on the Sabres top line. More money equals more responsibility and Roy needs to be up to the task.
How he'll truly pan out, however, is yet to be seen. It's just crazy to think that a guy who didn't even make the team out of training camp two years ago is now making $4 million. But what other choice did the Sabres have? They wanted to keep him and if he had gone to arbitration, then chances are he'd be gone after that two year contract he would've been awarded expires. So the Sabres did what they had to do and hopefully it'll pan out.
With Lynch, the Bills have a running back that will be able to effectively catch the ball out of the backfield for the first time in years (since Thurman, perhaps?). Willis McGahee had just 18 catches last year. Even Anthony Thomas had more. Lynch is already an upgrade over McGahee...after all, as a starting running back, you can't get much worse than 11 touchdowns over the last two years. Lynch will provide speed on the outside with the ability to break the long run. Scouting reports say he's a decent pass blocker, and those are all characteristics the Bills desperately need.
Lynch may be able to provide the occasional goal line carry, but for now, it seems that the A-Train will shoulder some of that burden. Even though they may share many of the carries this year (think of how the Patriots used Kool-Aid Maroney and Corey Dillon last season), there is no doubt that Lynch is the future.
So it looks like I'm ready to go out and order my new Lynch jersey. It's just too bad I can't get a Michael Vick jersey at the same time. For Vick, that is.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wow That's A Lot Of Money, Take Two
by Ryan
Five years, 21.25 million. That's how Kevin Lowe rolls. That's how Dustin Penner now rolls as well. Whether Penner and his 45 points will be accepting that large sack of cash in Anaheim or Edmonton is yet to be determined.
The numbers are, of course, huge for a player like Penner. My personal rule is that a player barely on most fantasy teams shouldn't be making over 4 million a season. Then again, Eric Brewer is making that money for the next three years, so maybe I'm just naive.
Granted, the 24 year old Penner is a rising star and may eventually grow into contract numbers that large, especially on a good team like Anahiem. The offer sheet does put the Defending Champs in an interesting position, however. Signing Penner would put them over the cap, which would force them to make roster adjustments by October 1st. With 20 players under contract and Teemu Selanne a UFA, the Ducks may have to walk away from young Dustin and take the three compensatory picks.
Regardless of what Anahiem decides, you have to hand it to Kevin Lowe at this point. He is really making strides in this "New NHL" offseason setup, taking swipes at anyone and anything he pleases. I tend to imagine Lowe donning a cowboy hat as he works the phones in his GM Place office. Later he tips his waitress at Denny's a dozen toonies, then moves on to "make it rain" at various Dollarama locations until heading home to check in on his ebay auctions.
It's a tough life, being a rebel.
Five years, 21.25 million. That's how Kevin Lowe rolls. That's how Dustin Penner now rolls as well. Whether Penner and his 45 points will be accepting that large sack of cash in Anaheim or Edmonton is yet to be determined.
The numbers are, of course, huge for a player like Penner. My personal rule is that a player barely on most fantasy teams shouldn't be making over 4 million a season. Then again, Eric Brewer is making that money for the next three years, so maybe I'm just naive.
Granted, the 24 year old Penner is a rising star and may eventually grow into contract numbers that large, especially on a good team like Anahiem. The offer sheet does put the Defending Champs in an interesting position, however. Signing Penner would put them over the cap, which would force them to make roster adjustments by October 1st. With 20 players under contract and Teemu Selanne a UFA, the Ducks may have to walk away from young Dustin and take the three compensatory picks.
Regardless of what Anahiem decides, you have to hand it to Kevin Lowe at this point. He is really making strides in this "New NHL" offseason setup, taking swipes at anyone and anything he pleases. I tend to imagine Lowe donning a cowboy hat as he works the phones in his GM Place office. Later he tips his waitress at Denny's a dozen toonies, then moves on to "make it rain" at various Dollarama locations until heading home to check in on his ebay auctions.
It's a tough life, being a rebel.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Ain't no party like a bachelor party
By Jon
This just in from the "had to be there" department: 14 were arrested, including Eric Staal of the Hurricanes and Jordan Staal of the Penguins, for being crazed, presumably drunken, idiots at Eric's bachelor party.
Eric spent the night in jail, and the brothers, along with the other twelve that were arrested, were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. Jordan had an underage drinking charge, to boot.
I'm trying to get inside of their heads, and I just can't. I will never understand an athlete that takes their situation for granted to the extent that they get in trouble with the law. Professional athletes are held to a higher standard, and they all know that the media will cover them like hawks, especially two of the games brightest young players.
There's no way that they could have thought that they would get off based on their "celebrity status". They were in Minnesota, and the NHL is far too obscure to have their players recognized by your run-of-the-mill law enforcement official. Besides, even if they were in Raleigh, cops have to keep track of far too many NASCAR drivers to recognize a simple hockey player. In fact, the NHL benefits greatly from the aforementioned obscurity in this case. This is the hockey equivalent to Carson Palmer and Laurence Maroney getting arrested after a night on the town. Palmer and Maroney would be a national headline, the Staal brothers incident is nothing but a blurb on an inside page.
This line, from the Staal brother's agent courtesy of the TSN report, actually had me belch out a loud, bellowing laugh:
''Not to take anything away from the seriousness of it, it's what can happen when you get any group of 15 to 20 people together and there's loud noise.''
As a college student and avid sports fan, you can be sure that I have been in many a crowd of 15-20 people with loud noise. Do you know how many of them ended with me getting kicked out of an establishment and heckling passing motorists?.................
(Thinking........)
NONE!
**********
On a different note, it looks like the sport of cycling now has less credibility than baseball. Ouch.
It's a sad era in the sporting world when the only two sports with little or no controversy are Arena Football and Major League Soccer.
I blame Bucky Gleason.
This just in from the "had to be there" department: 14 were arrested, including Eric Staal of the Hurricanes and Jordan Staal of the Penguins, for being crazed, presumably drunken, idiots at Eric's bachelor party.
Eric spent the night in jail, and the brothers, along with the other twelve that were arrested, were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. Jordan had an underage drinking charge, to boot.
I'm trying to get inside of their heads, and I just can't. I will never understand an athlete that takes their situation for granted to the extent that they get in trouble with the law. Professional athletes are held to a higher standard, and they all know that the media will cover them like hawks, especially two of the games brightest young players.
There's no way that they could have thought that they would get off based on their "celebrity status". They were in Minnesota, and the NHL is far too obscure to have their players recognized by your run-of-the-mill law enforcement official. Besides, even if they were in Raleigh, cops have to keep track of far too many NASCAR drivers to recognize a simple hockey player. In fact, the NHL benefits greatly from the aforementioned obscurity in this case. This is the hockey equivalent to Carson Palmer and Laurence Maroney getting arrested after a night on the town. Palmer and Maroney would be a national headline, the Staal brothers incident is nothing but a blurb on an inside page.
This line, from the Staal brother's agent courtesy of the TSN report, actually had me belch out a loud, bellowing laugh:
''Not to take anything away from the seriousness of it, it's what can happen when you get any group of 15 to 20 people together and there's loud noise.''
As a college student and avid sports fan, you can be sure that I have been in many a crowd of 15-20 people with loud noise. Do you know how many of them ended with me getting kicked out of an establishment and heckling passing motorists?.................
(Thinking........)
NONE!
**********
On a different note, it looks like the sport of cycling now has less credibility than baseball. Ouch.
It's a sad era in the sporting world when the only two sports with little or no controversy are Arena Football and Major League Soccer.
I blame Bucky Gleason.
Fantasy Football and some more Bucky Bashing
by Rich
Training camp is about to start, and that can only mean one thing: fantasy football drafts! This year I'm looking to defend my league title, and more importantly, win the coveted "Best Name In The League" award. The problem with this, of course, is that you can only name your team once; this leads to an overflow of ideas that for whatever reason just didn't make the final cut. We're here to serve you the reader, so without further ado, the Goose's Roost presents our first annual:
Top 10 Things I Should Have Named My Fantasy Team
1) Vick's Veterinarians
2) Brady's Other Babies
3) The Virginia Killing Fields
4) Larry Johnson's Torn Meniscus
5) Ookie in Orange
6) Poles For Posluszny
7) Bad Newz Bears
8) The Overrated White Guys
9) Sex Cannons*
10) Construda Crusaders
*The term "Sex Cannon" is the work of the guys over at Kissing Suzy Kolber, a blog we at the Roost take great enjoyment in.
Also, while I'm pimping blogs, check out my solo effort at The Buffalo 'Cane. I figured one take on Bucky per site is about the limit, so I aired my thoughts over there. I started this blog just before joining the Roost, and haven't really had much to add there in the meantime. Look for things to pick up soon however, as I'm going to be covering college football as well as some Marlins/Heat/Fins over there.
Thanks for bearing with me through some shameless self-promotion, folks. Don't worry, it's not going to become a habit.
Training camp is about to start, and that can only mean one thing: fantasy football drafts! This year I'm looking to defend my league title, and more importantly, win the coveted "Best Name In The League" award. The problem with this, of course, is that you can only name your team once; this leads to an overflow of ideas that for whatever reason just didn't make the final cut. We're here to serve you the reader, so without further ado, the Goose's Roost presents our first annual:
Top 10 Things I Should Have Named My Fantasy Team
1) Vick's Veterinarians
2) Brady's Other Babies
3) The Virginia Killing Fields
4) Larry Johnson's Torn Meniscus
5) Ookie in Orange
6) Poles For Posluszny
7) Bad Newz Bears
8) The Overrated White Guys
9) Sex Cannons*
10) Construda Crusaders
*The term "Sex Cannon" is the work of the guys over at Kissing Suzy Kolber, a blog we at the Roost take great enjoyment in.
Also, while I'm pimping blogs, check out my solo effort at The Buffalo 'Cane. I figured one take on Bucky per site is about the limit, so I aired my thoughts over there. I started this blog just before joining the Roost, and haven't really had much to add there in the meantime. Look for things to pick up soon however, as I'm going to be covering college football as well as some Marlins/Heat/Fins over there.
Thanks for bearing with me through some shameless self-promotion, folks. Don't worry, it's not going to become a habit.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Dear Bucky Gleason,
by Ryan
It's July. To say nothing is going on in the sporting world would be ridiculous. Sports news this July can be summed up with three names: Mike Vick, Tim Donaghy, and Barry Bonds.
It's a depressing collection of trash to say the least, but don't let that get you down, Bucky Gleason is here to make everything better. Wow, glad you put that all into perspective for us. Thank you Bucky, you nearsighted moron.
Listen, buddy, I know it's July and there is nothing going on of interest in Buffalo, but that load of garbage you just made the news print is irreconcilable. I may go and plant a tree or two right now just to make up for your utter waste of printable newspaper. I'm still shocked that somehow you made 590 consecutive words morph into a huge, heaping pile of badger feces.
Just to be clear, let's recap. Bucky blamed us for tampering with the NBA, dogfighting, Rae Carruth, rape, steriods, ticket prices, and Tonya Harding. Wow, I'm not even mad; that's amazing.
But I guess we do owe Bucky an apology. It is our fault that we all don't follow his vendetta against Sabres management. Of course many of us are upset with how the offseason has worked out, but none of us have been banging the war drums and insisting we knew things they didn't. Now we are the true reason this offseason hasn't worked out, and why ticket prices are going up eight percent, prompting him to lash out with this:
"Funny, but every time you hold people accountable in sports, you’re certain to hear from people who want to know why you’re picking on their favorite teams. Gee, I don’t know. My guess is that some of us are more interested in facts over self-serving fantasy. "
Ah, there it is again, our ignorant, uneducated ways clashing with his valliant effort to unearth the truth down at Sabres HQ.
Bucky Gleason has no right to tell us how to be fans. There is no need for lecture or scolding, no compulsatory retraining on his behalf. Telling a sports fan they are the cause of everything going wrong in sports is not only shortsighted, but utterly stupid. Just because we make the industry move doesn't mean we are to blame for every misdeed found within. No Falcons fan wants Oookie doing God knows what in his home. No basketball fan wants the sancity of their game tampered with. No Sabres fan wants management to drop the ball on July 1st.
We, Bucky Gleason, are not enablers. We are fans. Fans of a pure, beautiful thing called "the game." When the realted stories become more important then "the game," we all bow our heads in shame.
Don't you dare tell us otherwise.
It's July. To say nothing is going on in the sporting world would be ridiculous. Sports news this July can be summed up with three names: Mike Vick, Tim Donaghy, and Barry Bonds.
It's a depressing collection of trash to say the least, but don't let that get you down, Bucky Gleason is here to make everything better. Wow, glad you put that all into perspective for us. Thank you Bucky, you nearsighted moron.
Listen, buddy, I know it's July and there is nothing going on of interest in Buffalo, but that load of garbage you just made the news print is irreconcilable. I may go and plant a tree or two right now just to make up for your utter waste of printable newspaper. I'm still shocked that somehow you made 590 consecutive words morph into a huge, heaping pile of badger feces.
Just to be clear, let's recap. Bucky blamed us for tampering with the NBA, dogfighting, Rae Carruth, rape, steriods, ticket prices, and Tonya Harding. Wow, I'm not even mad; that's amazing.
But I guess we do owe Bucky an apology. It is our fault that we all don't follow his vendetta against Sabres management. Of course many of us are upset with how the offseason has worked out, but none of us have been banging the war drums and insisting we knew things they didn't. Now we are the true reason this offseason hasn't worked out, and why ticket prices are going up eight percent, prompting him to lash out with this:
"Funny, but every time you hold people accountable in sports, you’re certain to hear from people who want to know why you’re picking on their favorite teams. Gee, I don’t know. My guess is that some of us are more interested in facts over self-serving fantasy. "
Ah, there it is again, our ignorant, uneducated ways clashing with his valliant effort to unearth the truth down at Sabres HQ.
Bucky Gleason has no right to tell us how to be fans. There is no need for lecture or scolding, no compulsatory retraining on his behalf. Telling a sports fan they are the cause of everything going wrong in sports is not only shortsighted, but utterly stupid. Just because we make the industry move doesn't mean we are to blame for every misdeed found within. No Falcons fan wants Oookie doing God knows what in his home. No basketball fan wants the sancity of their game tampered with. No Sabres fan wants management to drop the ball on July 1st.
We, Bucky Gleason, are not enablers. We are fans. Fans of a pure, beautiful thing called "the game." When the realted stories become more important then "the game," we all bow our heads in shame.
Don't you dare tell us otherwise.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Forget the Past
By Chris
Think back to the time when the Buffalo Sabres relied on solid goaltending, a smothering defense, and a timely offense headlined by a flashy European winger. Aside from that lock down defense, which will have yet another chance to prove itself this coming season, it seems that the goal the front office is to take us all back to the year 2000. The captain of those blue collar teams was Michael Peca and now he tells The Buffalo News
And I'm pretty much ready to welcome Peca back with open arms. If he's healthy, that is. There is a crater now in the Sabres locker room where leadership used to be and Peca can help to fill that hole. Forget the ugly divorce he had with the Sabres and the Rigas regime. Forget that he played for Toronto. Peca is still a really good two-way player and helped the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals just two years ago.
It's not like the Sabres are buying completely damaged goods either. Sure his hard hitting style has added an extra level of wear and tear that may make possible suitors weary, but that's why he earned the nickname Captain Crunch. Not counting last season, in which he only played 35 games and the 2000-01 season which he held out due to a breakdown in contract negotiations with the Sabres, Peca has played in at least 60 games every season since 1995. Peca is also a superb face off man, and if the stat pages
So a two-way center capable of playing 15 minutes a game who can kill penalties, win draws, and is capable of leading a team sounds just like what the Sabres need after losing Briere and Drury, right? Right? Someone please try to convince Darcy Regier of that. Both Regier and Peca's agent have both said that there have been no talks between the two regarding Peca specifically.
More than anything though, Peca wants to be here. Forget the ill will of the past, the guy wants to play for us...but maybe that's the problem. As fans, we see a player who we loved to watch play years ago. We see a void in the locker room and we want it filled with something familiar. A guy we know was capable seven years ago. If Peca is still so great, wouldn't some team have already made an offer he'd accept? Does he want to play for the Sabres so bad that he's been waiting a month for an offer that might not come?
Regardless, I think the Sabres are better off with Peca than without him. Broken or not, he's an extra piece to the puzzle that could teach the younger players something while contributing on a team that's not quite rebuilding, but not quite a powerhouse. But for right now, Peca wants to be a Sabre again, and that's enough for me.
Think back to the time when the Buffalo Sabres relied on solid goaltending, a smothering defense, and a timely offense headlined by a flashy European winger. Aside from that lock down defense, which will have yet another chance to prove itself this coming season, it seems that the goal the front office is to take us all back to the year 2000. The captain of those blue collar teams was Michael Peca and now he tells The Buffalo News
And I'm pretty much ready to welcome Peca back with open arms. If he's healthy, that is. There is a crater now in the Sabres locker room where leadership used to be and Peca can help to fill that hole. Forget the ugly divorce he had with the Sabres and the Rigas regime. Forget that he played for Toronto. Peca is still a really good two-way player and helped the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals just two years ago.
It's not like the Sabres are buying completely damaged goods either. Sure his hard hitting style has added an extra level of wear and tear that may make possible suitors weary, but that's why he earned the nickname Captain Crunch. Not counting last season, in which he only played 35 games and the 2000-01 season which he held out due to a breakdown in contract negotiations with the Sabres, Peca has played in at least 60 games every season since 1995. Peca is also a superb face off man, and if the stat pages
So a two-way center capable of playing 15 minutes a game who can kill penalties, win draws, and is capable of leading a team sounds just like what the Sabres need after losing Briere and Drury, right? Right? Someone please try to convince Darcy Regier of that. Both Regier and Peca's agent have both said that there have been no talks between the two regarding Peca specifically.
More than anything though, Peca wants to be here. Forget the ill will of the past, the guy wants to play for us...but maybe that's the problem. As fans, we see a player who we loved to watch play years ago. We see a void in the locker room and we want it filled with something familiar. A guy we know was capable seven years ago. If Peca is still so great, wouldn't some team have already made an offer he'd accept? Does he want to play for the Sabres so bad that he's been waiting a month for an offer that might not come?
Regardless, I think the Sabres are better off with Peca than without him. Broken or not, he's an extra piece to the puzzle that could teach the younger players something while contributing on a team that's not quite rebuilding, but not quite a powerhouse. But for right now, Peca wants to be a Sabre again, and that's enough for me.
Speaking of the Islanders...
by Ryan
Sometimes you have to wonder what's in the water downstate, or at least what's in Garth Snow's coffee cup. Here, let me try to lay this on your gently: Al Arbour is the newest coach of the New York Islanders. So is Ted Nolan.
In the only move that can top DiPietro's signing, 75 year old Al Arbour will go back behind the Islanders bench for one game, November 3rd against Sidney Crosby and the Pens.
Now before you go any further, let's get something clear. This is about publicity, and nothing more. Sure, everyone loves even numbers, and basic math states that 1,500 is indeed greater than 1,499. However, no one seemed to care much about that difference, not even Arbour himself.
This move is to get press, to get people talking about the Islanders and the NHL. Of course it will work, but is that really a good thing? To me, this move reeks of a Minor League Baseball promotion, something a Single A team in Iowa would pull to get a few thousand more tickets sold.
My problem is not with the self promotion of the issue, but how it is going to effect the game on November 3rd. Regardless of how good a coach Al Arbour is, there are still two points up for grabs that night, and losing that game will make a difference in the standings in the end. And while Al Arbour may be one of the greatest hockey coaches in league history, I'm not sure how I would feel about giving him a different team to toy with for one game.
What happens if it is a disaster and somehow the Isles lost out on a playoff spot by two points? Which two points will everyone look back at? Certainly not the mid October game, but that one Arbour screwed up will be a popular choice.
Think about if Scotty Bowman wanted to do the same thing with the Sabres. Would you enjoy the prospect of Bowman coaching a team completely foreign to him in a game that counted?
Honestly, if the Islanders want to turn their games into an ice circus they should have gone all the way. Ask the NHL to extend the regular season a few weeks so you could have held the game on Arbour Day. Give everyone in attendance a sapling to plant in their yard. Force all the players to use Sherwood sticks for that night. (They picked the right team for that) Make Smokey the Bear a honorary captain for the night.
C'mon guys, you just aren't trying hard enough. Make me pay attention to you.
Sometimes you have to wonder what's in the water downstate, or at least what's in Garth Snow's coffee cup. Here, let me try to lay this on your gently: Al Arbour is the newest coach of the New York Islanders. So is Ted Nolan.
In the only move that can top DiPietro's signing, 75 year old Al Arbour will go back behind the Islanders bench for one game, November 3rd against Sidney Crosby and the Pens.
Now before you go any further, let's get something clear. This is about publicity, and nothing more. Sure, everyone loves even numbers, and basic math states that 1,500 is indeed greater than 1,499. However, no one seemed to care much about that difference, not even Arbour himself.
This move is to get press, to get people talking about the Islanders and the NHL. Of course it will work, but is that really a good thing? To me, this move reeks of a Minor League Baseball promotion, something a Single A team in Iowa would pull to get a few thousand more tickets sold.
My problem is not with the self promotion of the issue, but how it is going to effect the game on November 3rd. Regardless of how good a coach Al Arbour is, there are still two points up for grabs that night, and losing that game will make a difference in the standings in the end. And while Al Arbour may be one of the greatest hockey coaches in league history, I'm not sure how I would feel about giving him a different team to toy with for one game.
What happens if it is a disaster and somehow the Isles lost out on a playoff spot by two points? Which two points will everyone look back at? Certainly not the mid October game, but that one Arbour screwed up will be a popular choice.
Think about if Scotty Bowman wanted to do the same thing with the Sabres. Would you enjoy the prospect of Bowman coaching a team completely foreign to him in a game that counted?
Honestly, if the Islanders want to turn their games into an ice circus they should have gone all the way. Ask the NHL to extend the regular season a few weeks so you could have held the game on Arbour Day. Give everyone in attendance a sapling to plant in their yard. Force all the players to use Sherwood sticks for that night. (They picked the right team for that) Make Smokey the Bear a honorary captain for the night.
C'mon guys, you just aren't trying hard enough. Make me pay attention to you.
Like a Locomotiv, Free Agency Rolls Along...
by Ryan
Breaking news from behind the Iron Curtain, as Alexi Yashin is bringing his lackadaisical skating and poor work ethic back home to Russia.
There is so much to like about this story, so let's break it down a bit here.
"The Canadian Press can confirm the deal does not include an out clause to return to the NHL next season."
Ah yes, because the NHL will want him back when he fails miserably in the Super League.
"Right now the city is electric, everyone is excited, the arena will be packed and Alexei will play hard."
Hey, 2 out of 3 isn't bad, right?
And now for the paragraph designed to depress some Senators fans:
"His departure means Ottawa's first two first-round picks in franchise history are no longer in the NHL, Yashin going second overall in the 1992 NHL entry draft and Alexandre Daigle - now playing in Davos, Switzerland - chosen first overall in 1993 by the Senators."
And the one designed to make Islanders fans throw up:
"The Islanders signed Yashin to a US$87.5 million, 10-year deal in 2001 after acquiring from Ottawa in exchange for top defenceman Zdeno Chara, a first-round pick the Senators used to draft top-line centre Jason Spezza, and winger Bill Muckalt."
Man, I sure am going to miss the good old days of Yashin not living up to his enormous contract. Now who can the world turn to when they need an overpaid European player to direct scorn towards? Wait, what did you say about Thomas Vanek and his albatross of a contract?
Hush yo mouf, foo.
Breaking news from behind the Iron Curtain, as Alexi Yashin is bringing his lackadaisical skating and poor work ethic back home to Russia.
There is so much to like about this story, so let's break it down a bit here.
"The Canadian Press can confirm the deal does not include an out clause to return to the NHL next season."
Ah yes, because the NHL will want him back when he fails miserably in the Super League.
"Right now the city is electric, everyone is excited, the arena will be packed and Alexei will play hard."
Hey, 2 out of 3 isn't bad, right?
And now for the paragraph designed to depress some Senators fans:
"His departure means Ottawa's first two first-round picks in franchise history are no longer in the NHL, Yashin going second overall in the 1992 NHL entry draft and Alexandre Daigle - now playing in Davos, Switzerland - chosen first overall in 1993 by the Senators."
And the one designed to make Islanders fans throw up:
"The Islanders signed Yashin to a US$87.5 million, 10-year deal in 2001 after acquiring from Ottawa in exchange for top defenceman Zdeno Chara, a first-round pick the Senators used to draft top-line centre Jason Spezza, and winger Bill Muckalt."
Man, I sure am going to miss the good old days of Yashin not living up to his enormous contract. Now who can the world turn to when they need an overpaid European player to direct scorn towards? Wait, what did you say about Thomas Vanek and his albatross of a contract?
Hush yo mouf, foo.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
All Dogs Go To Heaven
By Chris
So the Feds finally got to Mike Vick. I guess it was only really a matter of time. The rumors of dog fighting have been circulating for months and Vick is a huge fish to catch in that pool. So one has to wonder what the NFL and Atlanta Falcons are going to do next.
Roger Goodell has been trying very hard to clean up the image of the league, highlighted by the Pacman Jones and Tank Williams suspensions. But will he finally be able to pull the trigger on Vick? It's not like he's got a spotless record, from the Water Bottle Incident back to the Ron Mexico lawsuit. And it's not like he comes from a picture perfect family--his brother Marcus' career was never able to take off because of character issues both on and off the field. Is the dog fighting indictment the final straw?
Goodell must take a stand here and let players know that any sort of legal problems will not be tolerated. And Vick is a high enough on the food chain that if Goodell makes an example of him, it will certainly grab the attention of the players. But Goodell also must keep the financial interests of his league in mind and the media buzz following animal activists who are planning to protest at NFL games is potentially very bad business. So Goodell has to take charge and do whatever is necessary to eliminate any negative publicity stemming from these incidents. And it starts with suspending Mike Vick.
As for the Atlanta Falcons, they need Vick to play. He's a big draw and is one of the few athletes that can get casual fans excited to watch a football game. If Vick's playing, it will be entertaining. So if Vick's sitting out, that means less people probably in the stadium and less money coming in. Financially, the Falcons need Vick and for those reasons will do everything in their power to sway Goodell's opinion into letting him dress.
But if the Falcons put team first, then maybe they'd support a Vick suspension and show their players what is expected of them off the field. Maybe they wouldn't win as many games, but it would be building character through adversity, in this case without your best player.
And would the Falcons trust Joey Harrington enough to start the 2007 season under center? He's been nothing more than awful since he came into the league in 2002 and hasn't shown he's capable of leading an NFL franchise.
So would the Falcons be interested in Daunte Culpepper? He was terrible last season coming off that major knee surgery, prompting the Dolphins to go with the aforementioned Joey Harrington. A year later, the knee has to be stronger, right? Would the Falcons try the same experiment of a Culpepper-Harrington one-two punch if Vick's unable to suit up? Either way, I would like to think Atlanta would be looking for an upgrade at the quaterback position.
But if the Falcons show no interest in Culpepper, the only teams off the top of my head that he'd legitimately have a shot of starting with are Detroit, Carolina and Minnesota. Would they take the chance on him?
So the Feds finally got to Mike Vick. I guess it was only really a matter of time. The rumors of dog fighting have been circulating for months and Vick is a huge fish to catch in that pool. So one has to wonder what the NFL and Atlanta Falcons are going to do next.
Roger Goodell has been trying very hard to clean up the image of the league, highlighted by the Pacman Jones and Tank Williams suspensions. But will he finally be able to pull the trigger on Vick? It's not like he's got a spotless record, from the Water Bottle Incident back to the Ron Mexico lawsuit. And it's not like he comes from a picture perfect family--his brother Marcus' career was never able to take off because of character issues both on and off the field. Is the dog fighting indictment the final straw?
Goodell must take a stand here and let players know that any sort of legal problems will not be tolerated. And Vick is a high enough on the food chain that if Goodell makes an example of him, it will certainly grab the attention of the players. But Goodell also must keep the financial interests of his league in mind and the media buzz following animal activists who are planning to protest at NFL games is potentially very bad business. So Goodell has to take charge and do whatever is necessary to eliminate any negative publicity stemming from these incidents. And it starts with suspending Mike Vick.
As for the Atlanta Falcons, they need Vick to play. He's a big draw and is one of the few athletes that can get casual fans excited to watch a football game. If Vick's playing, it will be entertaining. So if Vick's sitting out, that means less people probably in the stadium and less money coming in. Financially, the Falcons need Vick and for those reasons will do everything in their power to sway Goodell's opinion into letting him dress.
But if the Falcons put team first, then maybe they'd support a Vick suspension and show their players what is expected of them off the field. Maybe they wouldn't win as many games, but it would be building character through adversity, in this case without your best player.
And would the Falcons trust Joey Harrington enough to start the 2007 season under center? He's been nothing more than awful since he came into the league in 2002 and hasn't shown he's capable of leading an NFL franchise.
So would the Falcons be interested in Daunte Culpepper? He was terrible last season coming off that major knee surgery, prompting the Dolphins to go with the aforementioned Joey Harrington. A year later, the knee has to be stronger, right? Would the Falcons try the same experiment of a Culpepper-Harrington one-two punch if Vick's unable to suit up? Either way, I would like to think Atlanta would be looking for an upgrade at the quaterback position.
But if the Falcons show no interest in Culpepper, the only teams off the top of my head that he'd legitimately have a shot of starting with are Detroit, Carolina and Minnesota. Would they take the chance on him?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Happy Birthday, Ryan Miller
by Ryan
There are were not many perks to attending the Sabres/Isles New Year's Day game. Aside from the 1pm start and the bubonic plague I acquired from the festivities, the game was also a sloppy display of hangover hockey. One positive that came from the day? The Sabres Team Calender I received by walking through the door.
That brings me to today, which I know for a fact is Ryan Miller's birthday.
It must be an interesting time for our young goaltender to say the least. Here he sits, two full years into his NHL career, with his brother a Stanley Cup Champion and his own team picking up the pieces of a disastrous offseason.
There is no way we can possibly get into his head and understand what he is feeling, but as a Sabres fan you cannot help but feel for the situation he finds himself in. Like it or not, he is now the most recognizable face on this hockey team. Gone are the days of Briere or Drury running the show, in tandem or otherwise. I know he can't wear the "C" according to NHL rules, but it is as good as his with regards to play. No one has stepped up more since the lockout than Ryan Miller.
But as I look back on his brief career here, it surprises me to realize what moment stands out for me the most. No, it's not the Paul Mara save. Or the Miro Satan save. Or this one. Or any of these.
When I think Ryan Miller, I think of this. Watch the whole video, it's one of the most entertaining Sabres games you will ever see.
Just think about that game for a moment. February 22nd, 2007. Ryan Miller started that game on the bench. Two hours later he is thrust into a game that suddenly means more than any other game so far that season. Yet fast forward another two hours and there he is batting that puck into the stands in celebration. That is the most emotion I have ever seen Ryan Miller show. Just what Miller did alone shows you how much that game mattered.
Now I know that I keep coming back to this game in my posts, but I really do think it showed us a lot about our team. And personally, if anyone passed the litmus test that night it was Ryan Miller. Sure, Drew Stafford made "the leap" before our eyes, but Miller was tossed into the game of the year with no warning and still came through when it mattered.
I'm not saying he has always been there, nor that I have a steadfast belief in his eternal fallibility; but it is good to think back on games like that and know he can pull through. I need that after the July we've had. So if Ryan Miller is going to be the face of this hockey team, well, I think things will be okay after all.
Happy Birthday, Ryan Miller. You get the keys to a hockey team.
Don't scratch the paint.
There are were not many perks to attending the Sabres/Isles New Year's Day game. Aside from the 1pm start and the bubonic plague I acquired from the festivities, the game was also a sloppy display of hangover hockey. One positive that came from the day? The Sabres Team Calender I received by walking through the door.
That brings me to today, which I know for a fact is Ryan Miller's birthday.
It must be an interesting time for our young goaltender to say the least. Here he sits, two full years into his NHL career, with his brother a Stanley Cup Champion and his own team picking up the pieces of a disastrous offseason.
There is no way we can possibly get into his head and understand what he is feeling, but as a Sabres fan you cannot help but feel for the situation he finds himself in. Like it or not, he is now the most recognizable face on this hockey team. Gone are the days of Briere or Drury running the show, in tandem or otherwise. I know he can't wear the "C" according to NHL rules, but it is as good as his with regards to play. No one has stepped up more since the lockout than Ryan Miller.
But as I look back on his brief career here, it surprises me to realize what moment stands out for me the most. No, it's not the Paul Mara save. Or the Miro Satan save. Or this one. Or any of these.
When I think Ryan Miller, I think of this. Watch the whole video, it's one of the most entertaining Sabres games you will ever see.
Just think about that game for a moment. February 22nd, 2007. Ryan Miller started that game on the bench. Two hours later he is thrust into a game that suddenly means more than any other game so far that season. Yet fast forward another two hours and there he is batting that puck into the stands in celebration. That is the most emotion I have ever seen Ryan Miller show. Just what Miller did alone shows you how much that game mattered.
Now I know that I keep coming back to this game in my posts, but I really do think it showed us a lot about our team. And personally, if anyone passed the litmus test that night it was Ryan Miller. Sure, Drew Stafford made "the leap" before our eyes, but Miller was tossed into the game of the year with no warning and still came through when it mattered.
I'm not saying he has always been there, nor that I have a steadfast belief in his eternal fallibility; but it is good to think back on games like that and know he can pull through. I need that after the July we've had. So if Ryan Miller is going to be the face of this hockey team, well, I think things will be okay after all.
Happy Birthday, Ryan Miller. You get the keys to a hockey team.
Don't scratch the paint.
Citizen's Artest
Memo to Ron Artest: you have too much of a bad side for anyone to care about your good side.
One day after being suspended for pleading no contest to domestic violence charges, Artest and his agent want you to know how great of a guy he is.
Here are his comments e-mailed to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein. Let me save you the time: Artest basically says, "I travel to Kenya and work with wheelchair charities to offset the beating of my wife and Piston fans."
I don't think there's a person in the world that doesn't get annoyed by this. An athlete in somewhat poor standing using charity work to improve his image. If Ron Artest was a clean-cut player with no history, do you really thing he would be "holding HIV babies" in Kenya? Me neither.
If Stern and Co. lower Artest's (or Stephen Jackson's, for that matter) suspension, it will be a huge PR gaffe. Both of these players are repeated offenders, and should not be cut any slack. Take a lesson from Roger Goodell and the NFL brass and put your foot down.
And besides, who doesn't like their charity spokesman in a rap video smoking cigars at a strip club?
One day after being suspended for pleading no contest to domestic violence charges, Artest and his agent want you to know how great of a guy he is.
Here are his comments e-mailed to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein. Let me save you the time: Artest basically says, "I travel to Kenya and work with wheelchair charities to offset the beating of my wife and Piston fans."
I don't think there's a person in the world that doesn't get annoyed by this. An athlete in somewhat poor standing using charity work to improve his image. If Ron Artest was a clean-cut player with no history, do you really thing he would be "holding HIV babies" in Kenya? Me neither.
If Stern and Co. lower Artest's (or Stephen Jackson's, for that matter) suspension, it will be a huge PR gaffe. Both of these players are repeated offenders, and should not be cut any slack. Take a lesson from Roger Goodell and the NFL brass and put your foot down.
And besides, who doesn't like their charity spokesman in a rap video smoking cigars at a strip club?
Saturday, July 14, 2007
BIlls Fans Are Applauding Slowly, Drafting Accordingly
By Ryan
There are some that say Fantasy Football is slowly becoming more important than the games themselves. To some die-hards, the final score on the computer screen takes precedent over the one inside the stadium. Well, at least Yahoo Sports would like to make you think so. To them, even the most mundane of football news is important in your quest for Imaginary Pigskin Glory.
Take some recent Chris Chambers news, for example. The segment after the story ends clearly tells you to use your new found knowledge of the NFL to beat everyone else you know at Fantasy Football, sponsored by Chad Johnson.
Of course it's obviously a form letter, so every article related to football has that statement attached. Even so, it can make for some interesting assumptions, especially with the way the NFL has been going recently.
I'm sure an article about a "KKK devil who hates all colored people" will help me decide if I should take a chance on Maurice Jones-Drew and his O-line. Yep, just as much as "Bucko" Kilroy's Passing will make me think twice about Kool Aid Maroney at running back.
Thank God for Yahoo Fantasy Sports, otherwise I may have drafted Kenneth McAfee. Or Bill Maas.
Hey, at least I know there is some corrolation between Tony Dungy's memoir and crushing my opponents' souls come fall. In fact, "Quiet Strength" would make an excellent Christian Fundamentalist team name. My first pick, Kurt Warner.
There are some that say Fantasy Football is slowly becoming more important than the games themselves. To some die-hards, the final score on the computer screen takes precedent over the one inside the stadium. Well, at least Yahoo Sports would like to make you think so. To them, even the most mundane of football news is important in your quest for Imaginary Pigskin Glory.
Take some recent Chris Chambers news, for example. The segment after the story ends clearly tells you to use your new found knowledge of the NFL to beat everyone else you know at Fantasy Football, sponsored by Chad Johnson.
Of course it's obviously a form letter, so every article related to football has that statement attached. Even so, it can make for some interesting assumptions, especially with the way the NFL has been going recently.
I'm sure an article about a "KKK devil who hates all colored people" will help me decide if I should take a chance on Maurice Jones-Drew and his O-line. Yep, just as much as "Bucko" Kilroy's Passing will make me think twice about Kool Aid Maroney at running back.
Thank God for Yahoo Fantasy Sports, otherwise I may have drafted Kenneth McAfee. Or Bill Maas.
Hey, at least I know there is some corrolation between Tony Dungy's memoir and crushing my opponents' souls come fall. In fact, "Quiet Strength" would make an excellent Christian Fundamentalist team name. My first pick, Kurt Warner.
Use what you learned in this article to dominate at Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football '07
Got Yourself a Sword
By Chris
Our friends at SabresNation.com have made this clever video featuring Tony Soprano's ride home from HSBC Arena. Props for getting Mighty Taco and the Anchor Bar in there.
Check out the video and their site at SabresNation.com.
Our friends at SabresNation.com have made this clever video featuring Tony Soprano's ride home from HSBC Arena. Props for getting Mighty Taco and the Anchor Bar in there.
Check out the video and their site at SabresNation.com.
Friday, July 13, 2007
"Is that a... OH MAN!"
by Ryan
Just when you thought Simo Hayha was the most dangerous Fin ever, along comes Tero Pitkamaki and his javelin.
Now I don't know about you, but I know that is exactly how my face would look if I was suddenly impaled by a large throwing spear.
Because Sdiri is okay, it is safe to look at this and go "wow, that actually is pretty cool." Someone with a bit of creativity could attempt to recreate the effect with toothpicks and whipped cream Frenchmen, but to each their own. A personal favorite would be to guess the most likely thought going through his head as a pointy stick is rammed into his side.
The Top 5:
5) "Man, these quad stretches really do burn!"
4) "Wait till I get Zidane on the phone..."
3) "This is still better than it "raining men" like last year..."
2) "Man, if I'd known her brother throws javelins for a living..."
1) "Maybe this will make me more "NOW" than Posh Spice!"
Just when you thought Simo Hayha was the most dangerous Fin ever, along comes Tero Pitkamaki and his javelin.
Now I don't know about you, but I know that is exactly how my face would look if I was suddenly impaled by a large throwing spear.
Because Sdiri is okay, it is safe to look at this and go "wow, that actually is pretty cool." Someone with a bit of creativity could attempt to recreate the effect with toothpicks and whipped cream Frenchmen, but to each their own. A personal favorite would be to guess the most likely thought going through his head as a pointy stick is rammed into his side.
The Top 5:
5) "Man, these quad stretches really do burn!"
4) "Wait till I get Zidane on the phone..."
3) "This is still better than it "raining men" like last year..."
2) "Man, if I'd known her brother throws javelins for a living..."
1) "Maybe this will make me more "NOW" than Posh Spice!"
Welcome to America
By Jon
It's the day the media and the MLS brass have been waiting for: David Beckham has arrived.
I'll be honest.... I couldn't care less.
The man has the ability to earn almost twice as much as A-Rod (a reported $250 million over five years). He just lead Real Madrid to a dramatic championship. Now, he's expected to inject life into a sport that has a smaller following in the U.S. than ice hockey, all while staving off the tabloids and the L.A. media, anxious for his first misstep (if you don't count him nearly saying "football").
There's no possible way he can live up to the hype. I don't care how well he played the last two months for Real Madrid, just six months to one year ago he was left for dead, with everyone saying he was washed up after being stripped of England's captaincy. I mean, this guy was royalty across the pond at one point, he had to have done some pretty awful things to be stripped of his captaincy.
I, for one, will be no more interested in the MLS. Besides, if you support anything having to do with David Beckham, you are indirectly supporting the Spice Girls and their upcoming reunion.
And any supporter of the Spice Girls is an enemy of mine.
It's the day the media and the MLS brass have been waiting for: David Beckham has arrived.
I'll be honest.... I couldn't care less.
The man has the ability to earn almost twice as much as A-Rod (a reported $250 million over five years). He just lead Real Madrid to a dramatic championship. Now, he's expected to inject life into a sport that has a smaller following in the U.S. than ice hockey, all while staving off the tabloids and the L.A. media, anxious for his first misstep (if you don't count him nearly saying "football").
There's no possible way he can live up to the hype. I don't care how well he played the last two months for Real Madrid, just six months to one year ago he was left for dead, with everyone saying he was washed up after being stripped of England's captaincy. I mean, this guy was royalty across the pond at one point, he had to have done some pretty awful things to be stripped of his captaincy.
I, for one, will be no more interested in the MLS. Besides, if you support anything having to do with David Beckham, you are indirectly supporting the Spice Girls and their upcoming reunion.
And any supporter of the Spice Girls is an enemy of mine.
A Bouncing Baby Souray
by Ryan
Ryan Miller breathed a sign of relief yesterday, as Sheldon Souray inked a five year contract with the Oilers yesterday. This means Sheldon and his rising slap shot will only be seen far less around these parts, and those parents who named their child "Sheldon" up north will have a lot of explaining to do.
This brings two things to mind. First off, is it just me or does it seem like Edmonton settled for Souray? Kevin Lowe sure made it look like he threw the kitchen sink at quite a few people in the UFA market before he gave Sheldon a ring. Sure, now that they have Souray under contract it's quite okay to say you were after him all along, but stories like this and this don't just suddenly disappear.
In no way am I mocking the move, I think it is good for both parties, but it is interesting to see how some GMs flip the free agent game. Kevin Lowe, whether for better or worse, was determined to "make a splash" this offseason. He did, it just so happened that his splash was Plan C. It's an interesting contrast with Darcy and the Sabres, who seemed dead set on landing one select player (Chris Drury) and not having much public interest elsewhere.
The other important, if not life altering question that comes out of Souray's departure is this: is it safe to name your child after a favorite player anymore?
Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's been done before. Heck, if there are a few dozen babies named "ESPN" floating around out there, then anything is possible. But even with ESPN, it's a stable television network that will leave a history behind it, no matter what happens in the future. The same cannot be said for a star player in a salary cap era. It's barely safe to buy a lettered jersey these days, let alone put a name on legal papers. (How many Bledsoe or Flutie jerseys do you see even today?)
Now, I know it's stupid and outlandish, but people have been known to do stupid things. Children have been named after mayonnaise, failed birth control, and record labels; so why not after a defensemen with a heavy shot? Sure, there's a risk involved, but if Souray leads your Habs to a Cup win, suddenly your kid is the coolest one in preschool, even cooler than the one with the mini Hummer.
I can think of at least a half dozen people I would risk naming my kid after, but can't because of free agency. I'll name one, and if you come up with any, feel free to leave it in the comments.
Wily Mo Pena
Ryan Miller breathed a sign of relief yesterday, as Sheldon Souray inked a five year contract with the Oilers yesterday. This means Sheldon and his rising slap shot will only be seen far less around these parts, and those parents who named their child "Sheldon" up north will have a lot of explaining to do.
This brings two things to mind. First off, is it just me or does it seem like Edmonton settled for Souray? Kevin Lowe sure made it look like he threw the kitchen sink at quite a few people in the UFA market before he gave Sheldon a ring. Sure, now that they have Souray under contract it's quite okay to say you were after him all along, but stories like this and this don't just suddenly disappear.
In no way am I mocking the move, I think it is good for both parties, but it is interesting to see how some GMs flip the free agent game. Kevin Lowe, whether for better or worse, was determined to "make a splash" this offseason. He did, it just so happened that his splash was Plan C. It's an interesting contrast with Darcy and the Sabres, who seemed dead set on landing one select player (Chris Drury) and not having much public interest elsewhere.
The other important, if not life altering question that comes out of Souray's departure is this: is it safe to name your child after a favorite player anymore?
Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's been done before. Heck, if there are a few dozen babies named "ESPN" floating around out there, then anything is possible. But even with ESPN, it's a stable television network that will leave a history behind it, no matter what happens in the future. The same cannot be said for a star player in a salary cap era. It's barely safe to buy a lettered jersey these days, let alone put a name on legal papers. (How many Bledsoe or Flutie jerseys do you see even today?)
Now, I know it's stupid and outlandish, but people have been known to do stupid things. Children have been named after mayonnaise, failed birth control, and record labels; so why not after a defensemen with a heavy shot? Sure, there's a risk involved, but if Souray leads your Habs to a Cup win, suddenly your kid is the coolest one in preschool, even cooler than the one with the mini Hummer.
I can think of at least a half dozen people I would risk naming my kid after, but can't because of free agency. I'll name one, and if you come up with any, feel free to leave it in the comments.
Wily Mo Pena
Thursday, July 12, 2007
An Experiment in Adjectives
by Ryan
Balls.
It's been a week and a half and that's the best I can come up with. Since the Canada Day Massacre I've been searching for something that sums up the general mood surrounding this offseason. It's been difficult at best. "Shenanigans" sounds too comical. "Garbage" sounds too domestic. "Crappy", "stupid", and "jerk-a-ma-face" far too juvenile, and "wrong" is just too ordinary.
It all goes back to balls for me. It's just a statement, and a valid one at that. Let's face it, things went wrong this offseason. Many teams went out and added talent, fixed needs, while we just created more uncertainty and complained about it.
It was bad enough having to read this disgusting article, but that wasn't the only news the Rangers made this offseason. Petr Prucha, Brendan Shanahan, and Henrik Lundqvist all are under contract now as well. Heck, they even got stronger when Kevin Weekes signed with New Jersey. (They are better off with Juan Pablo Montoya as their backup, let alone Al Montoya)
It is just frustrating. While the two newest Rangers fight over which one gets to wear Jordan's number, the only numeral quarrel we've had is Paul Byron wearing 21 at Sabres Rookie Camp while Drew Stafford wore 9. (Seeing the two of them side by side was like watching Yao Ming slow dance with Verne Troyer...)
The point is this: so far this offseason has been balls. Can it get better? Yes. In fact, every day that passes I grow more excited about the coming season. Still, with the schedule released yesterday I am reminded of the realities of this offseason. Both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere are coming back to Buffalo this season wearing another team's sweater. That hurts. That's balls.
We will also open up the season raising the President's Trophy banner against our "longtime rival" the Islanders. I've written before about the prospect of raising that banner without a captain. It will be an interesting night to say the least, and I will approach it with both excitement and apprehension.
Still, this entire offseason has been depressing to say the least. Many people claim it to be the worst two weeks in Sabres history, but I feel it is the simple effect of reality setting in. In this New NHL, or any NHL for that matter, the world is not our oyster. These past two years have been magical and probably saved this franchise, but now is the time reality takes over and makes us just a hockey team.
Yes, it sucks. No, it's not fair. But since when has anything been fair?
Balls.
Balls.
It's been a week and a half and that's the best I can come up with. Since the Canada Day Massacre I've been searching for something that sums up the general mood surrounding this offseason. It's been difficult at best. "Shenanigans" sounds too comical. "Garbage" sounds too domestic. "Crappy", "stupid", and "jerk-a-ma-face" far too juvenile, and "wrong" is just too ordinary.
It all goes back to balls for me. It's just a statement, and a valid one at that. Let's face it, things went wrong this offseason. Many teams went out and added talent, fixed needs, while we just created more uncertainty and complained about it.
It was bad enough having to read this disgusting article, but that wasn't the only news the Rangers made this offseason. Petr Prucha, Brendan Shanahan, and Henrik Lundqvist all are under contract now as well. Heck, they even got stronger when Kevin Weekes signed with New Jersey. (They are better off with Juan Pablo Montoya as their backup, let alone Al Montoya)
It is just frustrating. While the two newest Rangers fight over which one gets to wear Jordan's number, the only numeral quarrel we've had is Paul Byron wearing 21 at Sabres Rookie Camp while Drew Stafford wore 9. (Seeing the two of them side by side was like watching Yao Ming slow dance with Verne Troyer...)
The point is this: so far this offseason has been balls. Can it get better? Yes. In fact, every day that passes I grow more excited about the coming season. Still, with the schedule released yesterday I am reminded of the realities of this offseason. Both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere are coming back to Buffalo this season wearing another team's sweater. That hurts. That's balls.
We will also open up the season raising the President's Trophy banner against our "longtime rival" the Islanders. I've written before about the prospect of raising that banner without a captain. It will be an interesting night to say the least, and I will approach it with both excitement and apprehension.
Still, this entire offseason has been depressing to say the least. Many people claim it to be the worst two weeks in Sabres history, but I feel it is the simple effect of reality setting in. In this New NHL, or any NHL for that matter, the world is not our oyster. These past two years have been magical and probably saved this franchise, but now is the time reality takes over and makes us just a hockey team.
Yes, it sucks. No, it's not fair. But since when has anything been fair?
Balls.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
New Year's Celebration
By Chris
NBC is planning on throwing a New Year's Day Party outside this year. They're calling it The Ice Bowl, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are coming. But it's still up in the air as to whether Buffalo or Detroit will be hosting.
Potentially, it could be the biggest game in Buffalo Sabres history--both in crowd size and in the magnitude of media attention. I have no doubt that the game would sell out, possibly even minutes after tickets to the general public go on sale.
After the events of last week, if there's anything to look forward to during the 07-08 season, this would be it. Anyone who watched the Heritage Classic in Edmonton a few years ago knows that it was something special to see. A big time game outside in the cold. It's perfect.
And if it snows? All the better.
NBC is planning on throwing a New Year's Day Party outside this year. They're calling it The Ice Bowl, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are coming. But it's still up in the air as to whether Buffalo or Detroit will be hosting.
Potentially, it could be the biggest game in Buffalo Sabres history--both in crowd size and in the magnitude of media attention. I have no doubt that the game would sell out, possibly even minutes after tickets to the general public go on sale.
After the events of last week, if there's anything to look forward to during the 07-08 season, this would be it. Anyone who watched the Heritage Classic in Edmonton a few years ago knows that it was something special to see. A big time game outside in the cold. It's perfect.
And if it snows? All the better.
Monday, July 9, 2007
A Journey to Mecca
by Ryan
After getting refused at the Cask and Flagon (it's a long story), spending three paychecks at the team store, and a few laps around the park, it was time to open the gates. Batting practice brought a few near misses and a fingertip grazing from a D-Ray hitter, but nothing very shocking. I refused to relegate myself to diving for batting practice balls, so there was not much to pre-game but soaking in a sunset at Fenway.
To Red Sox fans Fenway Park is baseball Mecca. Sure the park is 95 years old, with weird angles, cramped seating, and very little foul territory; but that is exactly how most fans want their baseball: classic, a bit odd at times, and as close as possible.
To be a Sox fan and not have visited Fenway Park is difficult, but not hard to imagine. Being a long distance fan is part of it, but with Fenway seating just over 37,000 even some Bostonians haven't been able to sit inside those brick walls. To get inside, even for a tour, is something some Red Sox fans can only dream about.
Finally, after years of such dreams, I made the trek to Fenway. Of course there are hundreds of ways it could have been better: we could have played someone other than the D-Rays, I could have actually had a seat, David Ortiz could have adopted me, and so on. Still, this was my Mecca. And it was perfect.
The walk to the stadium was enough of a rush. My hotel was a few blocks from Fenway, but as we walked closer to the stadium, the lights disappeared under cover of some smaller buildings along the way. That element of surprise stayed with me throughout the entire walk. In my mind there was an image of Fenway Park borrowed from pictures and FOX broadcasts, but it is nothing like the real thing.
Walking through the Fens, the Olmsted park that Fenway was named after, was unexpectedly moving. It was like walking through another part of the world. Right in the middle of this bustling city is a murky, dank smelling pool of water surrounded by foliage. Walking through the Fens with that humid, stagnant smell lingering made me realize that Fenway Park is unlike any place I've been to watch a sporting event.
After navigating a bit of winding sidewalk, I finally turned a corner, and there it was.
"Holy crap that's Fenway Park"
The brick facade, the championship banners, the famous players. Before you know it I'm in front 
of Ted Williams and that lucky little kid, forever captured in bronze. I walked down the first base side, studying the brick walls like a textbook. The old entrances are closed off but still visible; one can only wonder where they lead. So much of the old park is still there: the ancient windows, wooden seats, it really is a wonder everything still works in there.
of Ted Williams and that lucky little kid, forever captured in bronze. I walked down the first base side, studying the brick walls like a textbook. The old entrances are closed off but still visible; one can only wonder where they lead. So much of the old park is still there: the ancient windows, wooden seats, it really is a wonder everything still works in there.The Fenway Park tour is worth every penny. Even though we had tickets to the game, I wanted to spend as much time inside as humanly possible, and that included paying $12 to see it empty. But sitting in those old seats, hearing the stories about fire, Ted Williams' red seat, the Green Monster being built; those are things you just can't get from pictures or books. You just can't feel the ghosts until you are sitting in their seats.
While on the Green Monster I didn't get the chance to look down onto the field. I was distracted by a man proposing to his girlfriend. He didn't make a spectacle out of it, no big announcement, no round of applause. There they were, a row below me, and he slid an engagement ring across the table to her. It struck me that he would pick now, inside a baseball stadium on a $12 tour to do something as life altering as that. In hindsight it was probably the perfect way to do it: inside a stadium they both love. No going on one knee, no speeches, just two people looking out at a beautiful field, thinking the same thoughts.
After getting refused at the Cask and Flagon (it's a long story), spending three paychecks at the team store, and a few laps around the park, it was time to open the gates. Batting practice brought a few near misses and a fingertip grazing from a D-Ray hitter, but nothing very shocking. I refused to relegate myself to diving for batting practice balls, so there was not much to pre-game but soaking in a sunset at Fenway.The game itself was laughable at best. The Devil Rays went through 4 pitchers in 4 innings, Coco Crisp hit a grand slam (he was up facing bases loaded four times that night), and Josh Beckett plowed through the D-Rays for a 15-4 win. Hideki Okajima was announced as an All-Star, which was very cool, and it started to pour after the 6th inning.
Of course, I gave my "Samuel Jackson in "Deep Blue Sea"" speech about not leaving the park till the game was over. My standing room only tickets soon turned into right field roof deck table seats as businessmen decided a blowout was worth less then their nice ties. A few innings later, Timlin induced a double play, and "Dirty Water" plays on the Fenway speakers.
Still, that meant I had to leave now, and so we lingered around taking some pictures, soaking in the view of the Green Monster one last time. It was a very, very good day, and no amount of rain could change my mind.
As we walked home in the mist, I couldn't help but think about the other places I'd watched baseball. Jacobs Field, Great American Ballpark, Skydome, Dunn Tire Park. Even all the little league and high school baseball diamonds. Sure, they all have their charms, and most are certianly more comfortable then Fenway. But there is something intangible about that place that just can't be beat.
There is a reason that Red Sox fans fought so fiercely to keep it alive: it is the history that makes it so special. There are ghosts within that simply cannot be torn down. Carlton Fisk will always be waiving that ball fair, and Dave Roberts will always be stealing second base. So while the Yankees get a replica stadium built next door, there is just one Fenway. Personally, that's all I need.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
I Didn't Rob a Bank Because You Made Up the Law...
by Ryan
You know it's going to be a fun vacation when you are literally terrified of your cell phone the entire time.
Yes, while I traveled down to Boston to visit baseball Mecca, news of the Sabres offseason slowly trickled in through my phone. And as blown away as I was by Fenway Park, (a full post will follow shortly) I simply could not escape the sad reality of this past week.
Coming with me on the trip was the Tuesday morning edition of the Buffalo News. That awful front page, I simply couldn't get away from it. Who would have thought Chris Drury would be a Ranger a week ago? I can't even imagine him in red, white, and blue. The thought itself is enough to make my stomach turn.
The final straw for me was yesterday morning when I learned the Oilers tried to sign Vanek, forcing us to match that ridiculous contract to save face. Blame who you want, but Thomas Vanek is now over payed, plain and simple.
Here's the deal: everyone is wrong. Any Sabres fan who thinks this team is through is absolutely out of their minds. As I've said before, losing Briere and Drury is not losing your team, but losing the face of your team. It's an emotional connection, yes, but in no way are we not a playoff team. Anyone who is ready to write this team off here and now, well, I'm glad to see you go. Take the next couple plays off, and get ready to bail on the Bills in Week 2. So glad you could make it.
Looking at what the Buffalo News has been writing while I've been away, I have to completely agree with the notion that they are going way, way overboard. My red flag went up when Bucky Gleason insinuated that he knew more than Darcy Regier on Monday, and it only got worse while in Beantown. Alan Pergament's article accusing TV broadcasters being too soft is the perfect example of making something out of nothing. I'm not sure if the sports department got together and someone made the "Let's go out there and run 'em" speech, but it sure seems like a team effort over there.
However, the Sabres brass is not off the hook in my book. In my opinion, the entire off season game plan has been utter garbage. Throwing Danny Briere under the bus while not knowing for sure Drury wanted to come back was just plain stupid. Not having another big name free agent on the sign able list was also a big mistake, one that still has no explanation. So to alleviate the pressure of that failure, management promised to bring back Thomas Vanek.
Enter the Edmonton Oilers.
The contract itself is simply disgusting. Not once did I ever hear mention of a signing bonus to lure anybody to Buffalo. How many times did you hear someone call Danny Briere "The Five Million Dollar Man" when things went awry? Thomas Vanek just made that for waking up on Friday morning.
It didn't have to be this way, though. Larry and Darcy will have you believe there was no way to know how the market was going to work. Well why do they seem to be the only ones that have no sense of foresight in these matters? If Chris Drury is your "guy", wouldn't you do everything you possibly could to keep him in Buffalo? Including front loading a contract, or taking a hit with a signing bonus?
You can't take the effect and make it the cause, either. It's simply wrong to say that letting Danny and Dru walk with money to give on the table was necessary because signing Vanek would be so imperative. In fact, the opposite is the real truth. I know I wasn't the only one that was more than okay with losing Vanek to a big contract if I had a captain on the roster. Take a look at the Group Two comp sheet and tell me you wouldn't feel better about losing Vanek to that contract in exchange for Chris Drury signed at $7 million and four first round draft picks.
To sum it up, I'm not happy. No one is.
It's good to be home.
You know it's going to be a fun vacation when you are literally terrified of your cell phone the entire time.
Yes, while I traveled down to Boston to visit baseball Mecca, news of the Sabres offseason slowly trickled in through my phone. And as blown away as I was by Fenway Park, (a full post will follow shortly) I simply could not escape the sad reality of this past week.
Coming with me on the trip was the Tuesday morning edition of the Buffalo News. That awful front page, I simply couldn't get away from it. Who would have thought Chris Drury would be a Ranger a week ago? I can't even imagine him in red, white, and blue. The thought itself is enough to make my stomach turn.
The final straw for me was yesterday morning when I learned the Oilers tried to sign Vanek, forcing us to match that ridiculous contract to save face. Blame who you want, but Thomas Vanek is now over payed, plain and simple.
Here's the deal: everyone is wrong. Any Sabres fan who thinks this team is through is absolutely out of their minds. As I've said before, losing Briere and Drury is not losing your team, but losing the face of your team. It's an emotional connection, yes, but in no way are we not a playoff team. Anyone who is ready to write this team off here and now, well, I'm glad to see you go. Take the next couple plays off, and get ready to bail on the Bills in Week 2. So glad you could make it.
Looking at what the Buffalo News has been writing while I've been away, I have to completely agree with the notion that they are going way, way overboard. My red flag went up when Bucky Gleason insinuated that he knew more than Darcy Regier on Monday, and it only got worse while in Beantown. Alan Pergament's article accusing TV broadcasters being too soft is the perfect example of making something out of nothing. I'm not sure if the sports department got together and someone made the "Let's go out there and run 'em" speech, but it sure seems like a team effort over there.
However, the Sabres brass is not off the hook in my book. In my opinion, the entire off season game plan has been utter garbage. Throwing Danny Briere under the bus while not knowing for sure Drury wanted to come back was just plain stupid. Not having another big name free agent on the sign able list was also a big mistake, one that still has no explanation. So to alleviate the pressure of that failure, management promised to bring back Thomas Vanek.
Enter the Edmonton Oilers.
The contract itself is simply disgusting. Not once did I ever hear mention of a signing bonus to lure anybody to Buffalo. How many times did you hear someone call Danny Briere "The Five Million Dollar Man" when things went awry? Thomas Vanek just made that for waking up on Friday morning.
It didn't have to be this way, though. Larry and Darcy will have you believe there was no way to know how the market was going to work. Well why do they seem to be the only ones that have no sense of foresight in these matters? If Chris Drury is your "guy", wouldn't you do everything you possibly could to keep him in Buffalo? Including front loading a contract, or taking a hit with a signing bonus?
You can't take the effect and make it the cause, either. It's simply wrong to say that letting Danny and Dru walk with money to give on the table was necessary because signing Vanek would be so imperative. In fact, the opposite is the real truth. I know I wasn't the only one that was more than okay with losing Vanek to a big contract if I had a captain on the roster. Take a look at the Group Two comp sheet and tell me you wouldn't feel better about losing Vanek to that contract in exchange for Chris Drury signed at $7 million and four first round draft picks.
To sum it up, I'm not happy. No one is.
It's good to be home.
Friday, July 6, 2007
A lesson in economics...
Nothing quite says "panic button" like having to give a third-year player with a sketchy playoff history $50 million dollars after watching your two best players walk for less money.
They had to sign him. The contract is astronomical. Vanek is certainly not worth $50 million at this point in his career, but after parting ways with Drury and Briere, Darcy and the boys had to pull the trigger. There's no way in the world that they could have explained losing three of their best players in the same offseason without replacing them.
In the press conference, Darcy seemed a bit peeved with Oilers GM Kevin Lowe, deeming his offer to Vanek "a move of futility." Sorry Darcy, not buying it. Lowe acted within his rights. He tried to offer Vanek something that you couldn't match. I'm sure his thinking was something like, "Hey, it's worth a shot." Honestly, I've always been puzzled by the fact that RFA's don't get more offers, especially from their conference and division. Couldn't this be a great tactical move to hike up the price? For example, Sidney Crosby becomes a RFA after next season. Why wouldn't the Flyers offer him an insane contract that would push Pittsburgh to the cap? If Pittsburgh matches, they are at the cap. If they don't, you gain an all-world player and have a new face for your franchise. Granted, I didn't do any number crunching and I am basically ignoring the cap situation Philly (just the first Atlantic Division team that came to my head), but it seems as if this could happen.
Basically, Vanek's insane contract just adds to the nightmare that is the 2007 offseason. The Sabres were forced to choose between becoming a rebuilding team (those four first-rounders would look awful nice if we were rebuilding) or continuing to believe they are a contender. Let's hope they made the right choice, because Thomas Vanek at over $7 million per doesn't do us any good if we are the number 9 seed.
They had to sign him. The contract is astronomical. Vanek is certainly not worth $50 million at this point in his career, but after parting ways with Drury and Briere, Darcy and the boys had to pull the trigger. There's no way in the world that they could have explained losing three of their best players in the same offseason without replacing them.
In the press conference, Darcy seemed a bit peeved with Oilers GM Kevin Lowe, deeming his offer to Vanek "a move of futility." Sorry Darcy, not buying it. Lowe acted within his rights. He tried to offer Vanek something that you couldn't match. I'm sure his thinking was something like, "Hey, it's worth a shot." Honestly, I've always been puzzled by the fact that RFA's don't get more offers, especially from their conference and division. Couldn't this be a great tactical move to hike up the price? For example, Sidney Crosby becomes a RFA after next season. Why wouldn't the Flyers offer him an insane contract that would push Pittsburgh to the cap? If Pittsburgh matches, they are at the cap. If they don't, you gain an all-world player and have a new face for your franchise. Granted, I didn't do any number crunching and I am basically ignoring the cap situation Philly (just the first Atlantic Division team that came to my head), but it seems as if this could happen.
Basically, Vanek's insane contract just adds to the nightmare that is the 2007 offseason. The Sabres were forced to choose between becoming a rebuilding team (those four first-rounders would look awful nice if we were rebuilding) or continuing to believe they are a contender. Let's hope they made the right choice, because Thomas Vanek at over $7 million per doesn't do us any good if we are the number 9 seed.
Mark your calendars
By Chris
Some important preseason events for the Bills and Sabres have been announced in the past few days. Here they are for future reference:
July 6-11:
Sabres Rookie Camp. Off-Ice Morning Sessions at HSBC Arena
On-Ice Workouts at the Amherst Pepsi Center from 5-7 p.m.
July 26-August 22:
Bills Training Camp at St. John Fischer College
July 31, August 2, 6, 8, 13, 15 and 20:
Bills Training Camp Night Practices (7 p.m.)
Ticket information for the 7/31, 8/6, 8/8 and 8/13 sesssions can be found here.
September 24:
Sabres v Minnesota Wild Preseason Game in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Some important preseason events for the Bills and Sabres have been announced in the past few days. Here they are for future reference:
July 6-11:
Sabres Rookie Camp. Off-Ice Morning Sessions at HSBC Arena
On-Ice Workouts at the Amherst Pepsi Center from 5-7 p.m.
July 26-August 22:
Bills Training Camp at St. John Fischer College
July 31, August 2, 6, 8, 13, 15 and 20:
Bills Training Camp Night Practices (7 p.m.)
Ticket information for the 7/31, 8/6, 8/8 and 8/13 sesssions can be found here.
September 24:
Sabres v Minnesota Wild Preseason Game in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Finally....
Finally, we have some movement on the home-front. Apparently, Jocelyn Thibault was the veteran that Darcy mentioned in his press conference.
Also in the news, we have signed a key part of our two-time Eastern Conference runner up teams in Andrew Peters, and made sure that 26-year-old "prospect" Michael Ryan doesn't get away.
Stanley Cup, here we come!
(If you can't tell that this was dripping with sarcasm, please jump off of the bandwagon)
Also in the news, we have signed a key part of our two-time Eastern Conference runner up teams in Andrew Peters, and made sure that 26-year-old "prospect" Michael Ryan doesn't get away.
Stanley Cup, here we come!
(If you can't tell that this was dripping with sarcasm, please jump off of the bandwagon)
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Vanek Update
By Jon
Highlights from an interview taken from Thomas Vanek's official site (Thanks to Erika for the heads-up).....
Excuse the broken English, the post was originally in German....
"For at the telephone, Vanek in the AUSTRIA-interview tells entirely other: "Of the Sabres still has no with me spoken", so the gate hunter. He worries therefore to be sure no, for: "That is hold the Sabres-politics. In my first contract was negotiated have also the entire summer over and first in September we lower letter.""
"Plan B nevertheless Vanek go and its agent on number Sicher. "My agent negotiates presently also because of 'offer sheets' with other societies", tells Vanek, "however I may not say, which societies that are". Should, put for example, the Montreal Canadiens an offer at Vanek, would have to accept this, still would have would have to accept after that Buffalo 48 hours time to make it the same offer and Vanek."
""Would like to remain, but ..." Earnestly Vanek with a club change does not busy itself to be sure, nevertheless the 23-year-old makes herself so its thoughts: "Most dearly I would have the contract with the Sabres already in the hand and if everything fits, will come I very gladly back, but the entire is simply also a business. I will give everywhere my best, equal where I spiele.""
What do I take from this? First of all, broken English is fun to try and translate. For some reason, it cracks me up. Maybe I'm a bit ethnocentric, but it sounds so prehistoric.
Anyways, after reading this, I fear that the Sabres management will either lose or overpay Vanek, completing the worst off-season in Buffalo history. It seems as if Thomas has received a few offer sheets, and those are sure to be more than the Sabres could have signed him for prior to July 1st. That being said, even if the Sabres do decide to match (which I fully expect will happen. How would you be able to explain losing three of your top five forwards without replacing them?), they will have to fork over the dough. Another smooth move by Tom, Larry, Darcy and the gang.
***
Head over to our friend's at Bfloblog.com to read about the great reporting going on about the Drury situation in our hometown newspaper. After days of A1 Paris Hilton headlines and now this, I'm losing faith in the paper that I have grown to love.
Highlights from an interview taken from Thomas Vanek's official site (Thanks to Erika for the heads-up).....
Excuse the broken English, the post was originally in German....
"For at the telephone, Vanek in the AUSTRIA-interview tells entirely other: "Of the Sabres still has no with me spoken", so the gate hunter. He worries therefore to be sure no, for: "That is hold the Sabres-politics. In my first contract was negotiated have also the entire summer over and first in September we lower letter.""
"Plan B nevertheless Vanek go and its agent on number Sicher. "My agent negotiates presently also because of 'offer sheets' with other societies", tells Vanek, "however I may not say, which societies that are". Should, put for example, the Montreal Canadiens an offer at Vanek, would have to accept this, still would have would have to accept after that Buffalo 48 hours time to make it the same offer and Vanek."
""Would like to remain, but ..." Earnestly Vanek with a club change does not busy itself to be sure, nevertheless the 23-year-old makes herself so its thoughts: "Most dearly I would have the contract with the Sabres already in the hand and if everything fits, will come I very gladly back, but the entire is simply also a business. I will give everywhere my best, equal where I spiele.""
What do I take from this? First of all, broken English is fun to try and translate. For some reason, it cracks me up. Maybe I'm a bit ethnocentric, but it sounds so prehistoric.
Anyways, after reading this, I fear that the Sabres management will either lose or overpay Vanek, completing the worst off-season in Buffalo history. It seems as if Thomas has received a few offer sheets, and those are sure to be more than the Sabres could have signed him for prior to July 1st. That being said, even if the Sabres do decide to match (which I fully expect will happen. How would you be able to explain losing three of your top five forwards without replacing them?), they will have to fork over the dough. Another smooth move by Tom, Larry, Darcy and the gang.
***
Head over to our friend's at Bfloblog.com to read about the great reporting going on about the Drury situation in our hometown newspaper. After days of A1 Paris Hilton headlines and now this, I'm losing faith in the paper that I have grown to love.
Sabres get their man in Drury
By Chris
See that headline? That was on the top of the sports section of the Buffalo News four years ago today. In a rare case of optimism, Jerry Sullivan's column lauded the move. It "could be the best deal Darcy Regier has made since becoming the GM, and it might wind up saving his job." It probably was, and it did.
I was hoping that this anniversary would be a happy one, but unfortunately, we all know what has happend since Black Sunday. I'm ready to move on and as Ryan Miller put it, "keep (Drury and Briere) in our rear-view mirror."
So we look to the future now. There are many important dates ahead, including tomorrow's 5 p.m. arbitration deadlines for Derek Roy, Nathan Paetsch, and Andrew Peters, and the actual arbitration hearings that we all dread begin on July 20.
And oh yeah, Bills training camp opens in 22 days. Only better days can come, right? Right?
See that headline? That was on the top of the sports section of the Buffalo News four years ago today. In a rare case of optimism, Jerry Sullivan's column lauded the move. It "could be the best deal Darcy Regier has made since becoming the GM, and it might wind up saving his job." It probably was, and it did.
I was hoping that this anniversary would be a happy one, but unfortunately, we all know what has happend since Black Sunday. I'm ready to move on and as Ryan Miller put it, "keep (Drury and Briere) in our rear-view mirror."
So we look to the future now. There are many important dates ahead, including tomorrow's 5 p.m. arbitration deadlines for Derek Roy, Nathan Paetsch, and Andrew Peters, and the actual arbitration hearings that we all dread begin on July 20.
And oh yeah, Bills training camp opens in 22 days. Only better days can come, right? Right?
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Oh now WHO do you believe?
By Chris
Well this is certainly shocking.
From the Buffalo News this morning:
The Buffalo Sabres had co-captain Chris Drury locked up for four more years. Then they drove him away with their inaction.
Bucky Gleason's statement at the press conference yesterday of " With all due respect, is it possible I know something that you don't?" now rings pretty clear.
For a complete transcript of yesterday's Press Conference with Darcy Regier, Larry Quinn, and the media, click here.
Well this is certainly shocking.
From the Buffalo News this morning:
Chris Drury, now a Ranger, says he had agreed to a Sabres pact last fall, Team management failed to follow up
The Buffalo Sabres had co-captain Chris Drury locked up for four more years. Then they drove him away with their inaction.
Drury and the Sabres agreed on terms of a new contract last fall, but the team suddenly went silent and never formally presented the offer. The co-captain, after weeks of uncertainty, had his agent withdraw the deal and started thinking about a new organization, an industry source with knowledge of the negotiations has told The Buffalo News.
The result of the incomplete talks was Drury signing with the New York Rangers and Sabres fans bemoaning what has become of their team.
Drury and the Sabres decided early last season to meet in Boston, where Drury’s agent, Mark Witkin, is based. They discussed an extension for the pending free agent, the source said. The Sabres started the talks with a four-year, $20 million offer. Drury’s camp countered with $23 million over four years. The parties agreed to meet in the middle, the source said, on a four-year deal worth $21.5 million.
Then nothing happened.
Drury waited for the Sabres to present the contract, but they didn’t bring it up again. Drury withdrew the deal after a couple of weeks, the source said, because it was “bad business” not to officially finish the talks.
The Sabres on Monday, at their post-mortem news conference to address Sunday’s loss of Drury and fellow co-captain Daniel Briere, acknowledged having contract talks with Drury
in the fall.
Bucky Gleason's statement at the press conference yesterday of " With all due respect, is it possible I know something that you don't?" now rings pretty clear.
For a complete transcript of yesterday's Press Conference with Darcy Regier, Larry Quinn, and the media, click here.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Green Walls and Greener Pastures
by Ryan
I'm going to be honest with you: it's not all that hard to leave.
As difficult as skipping town right in the middle of free agency should be, I really am not concerned. Besides, from what I heard today we will be tinkering at best, so what's left to stick around for?
As Soup mentioned some time ago, I will be making my first trip to Fenway Park this week. Tomorrow morning I will hurl myself towards Boston with nothing but a half ton SUV and an iPod worth of songs keeping me from death. Hopefully the songs keep, and I won't get a text saying the Flyers traded a few picks to God for Moses and a Saint to be Named Later.
Oh man. You know you need a vacation when you make a free agency joke about God.
The good news is that ahead of me lies four glorious days of Red Sox pride, capped off by a trip to Mecca, aka Fenway Park. I've heard many things about Fenway, but the one that resonated the most is that you simply must see it with your own eyes. I plan on doing that, capturing it on film, writing it, and more.
Yet as I prepare to leave Buffalo, I cannot help but wonder what it will look like as I return. Once again I fear for this town. We simply cannot take much more heartache. Eventually, and finally, something will have to give.
Heck, it happened in Boston. Just think how different the atmosphere would be if I visited just a decade ago? The Patriots would have zero rings, the Bruins would still be mediocre, the Celts would be longing for their glory days, and the Red Sox would have still been the Red Sox.
It really is a Brave New World in Boston. Maybe, just maybe, we can do it too.
Until then, I'll see you down by that River Charles.
I'm going to be honest with you: it's not all that hard to leave.
As difficult as skipping town right in the middle of free agency should be, I really am not concerned. Besides, from what I heard today we will be tinkering at best, so what's left to stick around for?
As Soup mentioned some time ago, I will be making my first trip to Fenway Park this week. Tomorrow morning I will hurl myself towards Boston with nothing but a half ton SUV and an iPod worth of songs keeping me from death. Hopefully the songs keep, and I won't get a text saying the Flyers traded a few picks to God for Moses and a Saint to be Named Later.
Oh man. You know you need a vacation when you make a free agency joke about God.
The good news is that ahead of me lies four glorious days of Red Sox pride, capped off by a trip to Mecca, aka Fenway Park. I've heard many things about Fenway, but the one that resonated the most is that you simply must see it with your own eyes. I plan on doing that, capturing it on film, writing it, and more.
Yet as I prepare to leave Buffalo, I cannot help but wonder what it will look like as I return. Once again I fear for this town. We simply cannot take much more heartache. Eventually, and finally, something will have to give.
Heck, it happened in Boston. Just think how different the atmosphere would be if I visited just a decade ago? The Patriots would have zero rings, the Bruins would still be mediocre, the Celts would be longing for their glory days, and the Red Sox would have still been the Red Sox.
It really is a Brave New World in Boston. Maybe, just maybe, we can do it too.
Until then, I'll see you down by that River Charles.
Football news, because the hockey news makes me sick
By Jon
Two athletes familiar with the Buffalo area were rewarded with contracts today.
No, not those two.
First off, the Bills gave Brian Moorman a three-year extension to his current deal, along with reworking the three years that were left. Moorman will make 10 million dollars from 2010-2012, nearly guaranteeing that he will finish his career with the Bills. My opinion? A small price to pay for the toughest and one of the best punters in the NFL.
For a team that values special teams, the Bills locked up their best special teamer before he hit the open market. What a novel idea, eh? Perhaps that other Buffalo team should take notice....
In a more bizarre move, the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL have signed former Bill Steve Christie to their practice team. Christie hasn't been a Bill since 2000, and has been out of the NFL since 2004.
On a related note, if you are ever walking the streets of downtown Buffalo and need a good chuckle, head over to Church and Main street and look up at the buildings overhead. There you will find an ad for Artvoice Magazine with a skinny, gangly man pictured with a paint brush. Your painter: Steve Christie. Why do I find this so funny? I don't know. But man, do I laugh every time i see it, and now you will too.
And uhhhhh, best of luck Steve.
Two athletes familiar with the Buffalo area were rewarded with contracts today.
No, not those two.
First off, the Bills gave Brian Moorman a three-year extension to his current deal, along with reworking the three years that were left. Moorman will make 10 million dollars from 2010-2012, nearly guaranteeing that he will finish his career with the Bills. My opinion? A small price to pay for the toughest and one of the best punters in the NFL.
For a team that values special teams, the Bills locked up their best special teamer before he hit the open market. What a novel idea, eh? Perhaps that other Buffalo team should take notice....
In a more bizarre move, the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL have signed former Bill Steve Christie to their practice team. Christie hasn't been a Bill since 2000, and has been out of the NFL since 2004.
On a related note, if you are ever walking the streets of downtown Buffalo and need a good chuckle, head over to Church and Main street and look up at the buildings overhead. There you will find an ad for Artvoice Magazine with a skinny, gangly man pictured with a paint brush. Your painter: Steve Christie. Why do I find this so funny? I don't know. But man, do I laugh every time i see it, and now you will too.
And uhhhhh, best of luck Steve.
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
By Ryan
Some of my favorite quotes from the 2pm news conference:
"The sky is not falling"
"it was more a personal choice" (refering to Drury's departure to New York)
"we were very competitive"
Buuuuuuuuuuut. Then we see this.
In short, Darcy and company openly said they wanted to sign Drury, and pursued him to the end. Fine, good for you. I'm glad you admitted to completely burning the Danny Briere bridge and went after just one player. But here's where you screwed up, and why we want answers: it didn't work.
If Drury didn't want to come back, you better know what he's thinking before you cut ties with Daniel Briere. You didn't, and now they are both gone.
So now what? Where's the Plan B? Did you even have one?
It's not just about the players we lost, either. Look what other teams did, the ones we will have to play 4 or more times a year. Philledelphia will be good. Right now. Briere, Hartnell, Timonen, Gagne, Upshall. That is not a rebuilding year, that's a rebuilt team.
Toronto got better. The Rangers, unquestionably, got much better. Even the Penguins got better. And we lost both captains and get a deadpanned "Sorry" from the boys who let it happen.
Thanks Larry, you always put us down gently.
At 4pm Chris Drury is going to be introduced by the Rangers on MSG NY. Later on tonight, the same channel will show Chris Drury scoring his first career hat trick against the Rangers on October 14th, that magical night when hockey changed the mood of the entire region. While the sky was falling, a hockey team made it all okay, if only for a few hours.
Sure, Darcy, the sky may not be falling today. But our hopes sure are.
Some of my favorite quotes from the 2pm news conference:
"The sky is not falling"
"it was more a personal choice" (refering to Drury's departure to New York)
"we were very competitive"
Buuuuuuuuuuut. Then we see this.
In short, Darcy and company openly said they wanted to sign Drury, and pursued him to the end. Fine, good for you. I'm glad you admitted to completely burning the Danny Briere bridge and went after just one player. But here's where you screwed up, and why we want answers: it didn't work.
If Drury didn't want to come back, you better know what he's thinking before you cut ties with Daniel Briere. You didn't, and now they are both gone.
So now what? Where's the Plan B? Did you even have one?
It's not just about the players we lost, either. Look what other teams did, the ones we will have to play 4 or more times a year. Philledelphia will be good. Right now. Briere, Hartnell, Timonen, Gagne, Upshall. That is not a rebuilding year, that's a rebuilt team.
Toronto got better. The Rangers, unquestionably, got much better. Even the Penguins got better. And we lost both captains and get a deadpanned "Sorry" from the boys who let it happen.
Thanks Larry, you always put us down gently.
At 4pm Chris Drury is going to be introduced by the Rangers on MSG NY. Later on tonight, the same channel will show Chris Drury scoring his first career hat trick against the Rangers on October 14th, that magical night when hockey changed the mood of the entire region. While the sky was falling, a hockey team made it all okay, if only for a few hours.
Sure, Darcy, the sky may not be falling today. But our hopes sure are.
Oh NOW do you believe?
By Chris
NEWS UPDATE:
SABRES PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR 2 pm TODAY
Four years ago I bought an old car. The old owner abused it but I was able to buy it dirt cheap and make it run again. I kept the previous owner's mechanic and even the driver. The car just had some new tires put on and seemed like it was heading in the right direction. But I still went out and had my mechanic put a new engine in, and it put a new drive in my car, a new sense of determination.
Yesterday at noon, the warranty on my engine and tires ran out. I had a chance to have my mechanic renew those contracts before the warranty ended, but it's against our philopsophy. Why should the engine and tires get special treatment over the brakes or the interior? No part is greater than the whole, not even the most important parts that make the car work.
Now it turns out that my warranty has expired and now I can't afford the parts I could have had for a lesser sum of money a year ago. So I have to say good bye to my motor, Chris Drury, the heart and soul of my team, and Daniel Briere, the wheels that made my offense go.
I'm Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano, and I'm looking to make a profit above all else.
***
So what did the lockout and the new CBA solve? Pretty much nothing. The way the salary cap is structured to grow, the big market teams are favored once again and there seems to be nothing impeding that trend. The Rangers and Maple Leafs got better by spending money on big name free agents. The Sabres and Predators got worse by being forced to let those players go because they couldn't afford to pay them. Go figure.
Thank you, Mr. Bettman, for instituting a system that was supposed to help keep our team financially competitive. But you screwed that up too. Who would've thunk it?
***
Right now, this is what we're looking at:
Vanek-Connolly-Afinogenov
Hecht-Roy-Pominville
Kotalik-Gaustad-Stafford
Peters-Mair-Paille
MacArthur
It's a playoff team for sure in my opinion, a 6th seed in the worst scenario. But on paper, there's no way I see that team winning a Stanley Cup. Which is a huge step backward from back-to-back apperances in the Eastern Conference Finals...and the blame for that falls on the shoulders of Golisano, Larry Quinn, and Darcy Regier. It's going to be a long summer...
NEWS UPDATE:
SABRES PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR 2 pm TODAY
Four years ago I bought an old car. The old owner abused it but I was able to buy it dirt cheap and make it run again. I kept the previous owner's mechanic and even the driver. The car just had some new tires put on and seemed like it was heading in the right direction. But I still went out and had my mechanic put a new engine in, and it put a new drive in my car, a new sense of determination.
Yesterday at noon, the warranty on my engine and tires ran out. I had a chance to have my mechanic renew those contracts before the warranty ended, but it's against our philopsophy. Why should the engine and tires get special treatment over the brakes or the interior? No part is greater than the whole, not even the most important parts that make the car work.
Now it turns out that my warranty has expired and now I can't afford the parts I could have had for a lesser sum of money a year ago. So I have to say good bye to my motor, Chris Drury, the heart and soul of my team, and Daniel Briere, the wheels that made my offense go.
I'm Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano, and I'm looking to make a profit above all else.
***
So what did the lockout and the new CBA solve? Pretty much nothing. The way the salary cap is structured to grow, the big market teams are favored once again and there seems to be nothing impeding that trend. The Rangers and Maple Leafs got better by spending money on big name free agents. The Sabres and Predators got worse by being forced to let those players go because they couldn't afford to pay them. Go figure.
Thank you, Mr. Bettman, for instituting a system that was supposed to help keep our team financially competitive. But you screwed that up too. Who would've thunk it?
***
Right now, this is what we're looking at:
Vanek-Connolly-Afinogenov
Hecht-Roy-Pominville
Kotalik-Gaustad-Stafford
Peters-Mair-Paille
MacArthur
It's a playoff team for sure in my opinion, a 6th seed in the worst scenario. But on paper, there's no way I see that team winning a Stanley Cup. Which is a huge step backward from back-to-back apperances in the Eastern Conference Finals...and the blame for that falls on the shoulders of Golisano, Larry Quinn, and Darcy Regier. It's going to be a long summer...
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Here Lies the Wreckage
By Ryan
It spread like a plague today. Slowly it crept along from mouth to mouth like a disease, everyone within earshot hearing the news come like a hurricane. Then television picked it up. Then radio. Soon phones were ringing, and text messages were exchanging the stories like carrier pigeons.
I don't know who to blame. Most people think Darcy screwed the pooch today. Some blame the players and the Almighty Dollar. I, however, blame myself mostly.
Actually, I blame us all.
We all deserve the burden of guilt for thinking it could be any different. To live that terrible sham, thinking this "New NHL" will help keep us in the game. How many people championed the lockout as necessary to help smaller franchises stay competitive with rising player salaries?
And yet, here we sit, captainless once again.
In reality it's not fair. But who questions the system but the ones deprived because of it? Say what you will in hindsight, but we were the ones stamping our feet for a salary cap because of the Red Wings and Rangers of the world. It doesn't surprise me one bit that two years later we blame those same teams for our misfortune once again.
I think it is time we as Sabres fans face the reality of the situation: we may never compete on July 1st with anyone. The system just isn't put in place to work for us, no matter what the intention is.
A salary cap is intended to keep a limit on team payrolls, yes, but who was to guess that it would increase dramatically in consecutive years? What GM would know that signing Daniel Briere at arbitration rate last year for 3 years would be a brilliant move?
So when the salary cap is raised due mostly to revenue from increased ticket costs, who has the money to go after players? Can Buffalo get away with raising ticket prices to sign anyone? No, but the Rangers would fill the Garden if they only accepted gold bricks at the gate. Buffalo cannot and will not spend to the cap this year, and won't be able to next year either. It is a cold, hard fact; and no calculator work on any fan's part will change that.
So what's a boy to do? As a fan, there is nothing to do but watch. It will be interesting to see how many fans react to losing a few major pieces to the puzzle. This area has been so transfixed by the Sabres the last two years, and Danny and Dru were a major reason for that. There will be some fans that fade away, some in disgust, some in protest, and many in despair.
Today being Canada Day, I went to downtown Niagara Falls to watch the fireworks display. I wasn't sure what we were celebrating, but sitting in the darkness watching someone else's party summed up everything that happened today. While "the other half" celebrated and lit up the night sky, we sat in despair, only catching the reflections of another's happiness.
This is not an aberration, this is our first day of reality. We are not special here in Buffalo, no matter how quaint our love of hockey is. Any one city can create a hockey atmosphere when winning is involved, and when dollar signs and weather patterns come into play, we sure do drop down the list quick. It's a hard truth to take, but nothing comes easy in a city like this.
Just another day in Buffalo.
Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.
It's a sentence alright, but not always a good one.
It spread like a plague today. Slowly it crept along from mouth to mouth like a disease, everyone within earshot hearing the news come like a hurricane. Then television picked it up. Then radio. Soon phones were ringing, and text messages were exchanging the stories like carrier pigeons.
I don't know who to blame. Most people think Darcy screwed the pooch today. Some blame the players and the Almighty Dollar. I, however, blame myself mostly.
Actually, I blame us all.
We all deserve the burden of guilt for thinking it could be any different. To live that terrible sham, thinking this "New NHL" will help keep us in the game. How many people championed the lockout as necessary to help smaller franchises stay competitive with rising player salaries?
And yet, here we sit, captainless once again.
In reality it's not fair. But who questions the system but the ones deprived because of it? Say what you will in hindsight, but we were the ones stamping our feet for a salary cap because of the Red Wings and Rangers of the world. It doesn't surprise me one bit that two years later we blame those same teams for our misfortune once again.
I think it is time we as Sabres fans face the reality of the situation: we may never compete on July 1st with anyone. The system just isn't put in place to work for us, no matter what the intention is.
A salary cap is intended to keep a limit on team payrolls, yes, but who was to guess that it would increase dramatically in consecutive years? What GM would know that signing Daniel Briere at arbitration rate last year for 3 years would be a brilliant move?
So when the salary cap is raised due mostly to revenue from increased ticket costs, who has the money to go after players? Can Buffalo get away with raising ticket prices to sign anyone? No, but the Rangers would fill the Garden if they only accepted gold bricks at the gate. Buffalo cannot and will not spend to the cap this year, and won't be able to next year either. It is a cold, hard fact; and no calculator work on any fan's part will change that.
So what's a boy to do? As a fan, there is nothing to do but watch. It will be interesting to see how many fans react to losing a few major pieces to the puzzle. This area has been so transfixed by the Sabres the last two years, and Danny and Dru were a major reason for that. There will be some fans that fade away, some in disgust, some in protest, and many in despair.
Today being Canada Day, I went to downtown Niagara Falls to watch the fireworks display. I wasn't sure what we were celebrating, but sitting in the darkness watching someone else's party summed up everything that happened today. While "the other half" celebrated and lit up the night sky, we sat in despair, only catching the reflections of another's happiness.
This is not an aberration, this is our first day of reality. We are not special here in Buffalo, no matter how quaint our love of hockey is. Any one city can create a hockey atmosphere when winning is involved, and when dollar signs and weather patterns come into play, we sure do drop down the list quick. It's a hard truth to take, but nothing comes easy in a city like this.
Just another day in Buffalo.
Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.
It's a sentence alright, but not always a good one.
Free Agency Insomnia
By Ryan
Things I do while not sleeping before Free Agency:
Make a Mii that looks like Chris Drury.
Talk myself into Adam Mair as a second line centerman.
Refresh TSN.ca every 16 seconds.
Read articles such as this, this, and this.
Study the salary cap like lines of code from "The Matrix."
Ponder the emptiness of a President's Trophy banner raising without a captain.
Wish evil on whomever decided Free Agency should start on Canada Day.
Pray that Darcy isn't sleeping, either.
Pray that lowballing Danny was intentional.
Pray.
Realize that by noon tomorrow, nothing will ever be the same.
Oh, wonder. Oh, brave new world.
Things I do while not sleeping before Free Agency:
Make a Mii that looks like Chris Drury.
Talk myself into Adam Mair as a second line centerman.
Refresh TSN.ca every 16 seconds.
Read articles such as this, this, and this.
Study the salary cap like lines of code from "The Matrix."
Ponder the emptiness of a President's Trophy banner raising without a captain.
Wish evil on whomever decided Free Agency should start on Canada Day.
Pray that Darcy isn't sleeping, either.
Pray that lowballing Danny was intentional.
Pray.
Realize that by noon tomorrow, nothing will ever be the same.
Oh, wonder. Oh, brave new world.
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