...and dance down the sheet to the tune of "Hurry! Hurry hard!"

by Ryan

Why, Why can't I draw right up to what I want to say?
Why can't I ever stop when I want to stay?
We roll right through our years
We rip right through our months
We slide through our days
I'm always throwing hack weight.
-"Tournament of Hearts"-The Weakerthans

Sometimes you just have to appreciate a band that can write a love song about curling.

It is hard to be in a good mood after a game like last night. Such a reversal of performances after a 10-1 final makes it hard to consider this team anything but bi-polar. I mean what I said yesterday, if you don't build off it and win again, that final means nothing.

We are running out of time and running out of points. The Sabres look like a team with a switch they can't seem to collectively find; with players taking games off at will while some play with fire every night. What will fix this team is not something I have the answer for, but on days like this it is trying to look at upcoming games with anything but apprehension.

But, I think what you have to do is just take your mind away from hockey and remember what this is all about.

Everyone wants to win a Stanley Cup, but at the end of every season 29 teams and their fans are going to fall short. Of course you want to be good, but being good is not what sports is about. If it were, I would never lace up skates to play pickup hockey, and I certainly would never lob a football down a gravel parking lot while tailgating.

Watching sports is about having fun, and while a losing team doesn't bring the fun to the forefront, you have to find it where it lies. Maybe it is in watching Dan Paile develop into the quality player I never thought he would, maybe it is in Paul Gaustad becoming the leader I've always wanted him to be; or maybe it is watching Pat Kaleta make a case for being a true professional hockey player.

It will be different for all of us, but I know where my interests lie. We all have reasons to watch sports, and living in Buffalo I'd guess winning championships isn't the primary draw.

So take today to relax. Watch some football, listen to The Weakerthans or whatever else relaxes you, and think back to what you love about sports. For me, it is the chance to be great, and if that can't happen this year, we are more than welcome to have some fun with the ride.

Hey, if this wasn't fun, we wouldn't be writing about it.