Do it, you won't!

Seriously, I finished my work in my night class tonight but instead of working on homework, I played around in Photoshop. The text doesn't match, but whatevs. Good way to spend my time, right? I really miss having the program on my laptop.

Vote for Teppo and Ryan and Thomas and Derek!

Anyway... I heard the game was 3-0, then 3-1 at the end of the 1st, now it's 3-2. Hey Sabres! I like the things you do Stop letting in the goals to let teams come back. And now I have pit rehearsal, so I get to see a total of 3 minutes of the game.
Let's just hope when I check about the game tonight, it's a positive, not a negative. No keeping the Blues' 6-0-2 record at HSBC alive, boys!

Tonight should be fun...

...'cause Atlanta's in for a good thrashing! ZING!

Ridiculous puns aside, it's a game night again after what feels like a month. And looking at the statbits, it should be an interesting one. Atlanta, who is 4-7-2, has yet to win a game on the road. And while the last game we've played against them this season we lost in OT, the last 3 times that they've been at HSBC, we've been the winners.
The one game last season that I specifically remember is the 6-0 shutout after the death of Ryan's cousin Matt. Actually being at that game was such a thrill, and the emotion after was just so intense. I'll never forget it.

Anyway, it should be a fun game. Plus Yo-Yo is coming back tonight! Lindy is all secretive about it, so we'll find out at game time the changes. I have the same thought with most people: Drew Stafford probably will be the one out. Drew, Halloween/your birthday is now over. Maybe you were distracted with the planning or whatevs, but your game needs a little more attention then partying with Canish peeps. Tough love is the best medicine dude! Because seriously, who can hate you and those eyebrows?

Then after this game we'll see how tomorrow works out, because our schedule is ridicilous! Don't understand, watch this. The schedulers have a sick sense of humor... leaving 3 days between the Saturday games and the Wednesday games with 3 weeks in a row is not nice to the fans or the guys.

On another hockey note, my relationship with the New York Islanders has now changed. During the summer, the Isles posted a video about their young players to the tune of Trevor Jackson's "Bus Song". Trevor Jackson is a side project of Boots Factor, the drummer for Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, and Kyle Riabko, a super awesome Canadian singer/guitarist.
I go and check the Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers website today, and I see a link to this.



Um, what the heck? Now they're using SK6ERS in their videos? I could care less about the Islanders, their last season recap (though the Sabres clips brought back bad memories), but when they use my favorite band's music, I have to pay attention. Awesome that it brings more attention to the guys, but blah to the Islanders. Which means I'm putting the Sabres on notice, Stephen Colbert style.
Play some kind of SK6ERS or Trevor Jackson music at a game, on a video, and seriously you will gain even more of my money. Stephen, Kit/Goose, and Boots have got a good following here, and in ROC City too. So just do itttt! (oh, if only they really would, hahaha.)

Now I'm off to pit band rehearsal. Who schedules a rehearsal from 5-7 on a Friday night? Crazy people, that's who. Thank god I'll be out for the game. Go Sabres!

Adam doesn't think you're a joke, he hearts you.

Back into the old grind... now that I actually have time and something to blog about! Woooot.

So, according to The Buffalo News, Paul Gaustad is fully practicing on a line with Peters and Kaleta. This is definitely a great sign, seeing that means Goose is getting even closer to coming back Thursday. Besides the positive of having another center/more options/more PK power and toughness, it means a higher winning percentage on faceoffs! (I seriously just typed Facebook. Sad.) I know the Ottawa game is a different story, but it was rough. So with Goose almost back, I'm pretty happy. I'll also confuse people less when I wear my Goose jersey and try and tell people who know nothing about the Sabres who he is... when he's not playing.

Also, Adam Mair has been fined $2,500 for the Ottawa locker room incident. My view on this whole thing was that I understand Mairsy was upset, and he has strong dislike for Neil, but it wasn't a great move. I was hoping that the NHL if anything was even needed, would give a fine and that's what happened. Even though I say the fine is still out there, I guess they had to do something as the commissioner was there, and the like to "uphold their image"... whatever.

Despite that, the reports of a suspension were completely ridiculous. If that'd happened, the NHL definitely would have needed to get their priorities straight. There wasn't a fight or a huge brawl or anything, just a little altercation... not something that warrants a suspension. It just makes me wonder how suspensions and other things are passed out, what they are based on, etc. Different is all I can say.

But speaking of the event, it seems like it was based on feelings towards Neil, but also dealing with Kaleta. Getting Caught From Behind says it well, that if anyone interferes with Kaleta, Mair is like the Hulk and goes off. Another clip on GCFB shows Mair going for Neil after he and Kaleta had a little mixup. And from the 10 Stupid Questions video on The Sabres Show, you can tell how close Adam and Patty are. I think the combination of standing up for a teammate along with the hatred from past seasons created the whole situation. The community of the team and other things are interesting to see as they fit in with this situation. No matter what, Neil is one hated player and can be dirty. Things should have been settled on the ice... but now I'm excited for the next Sens game even though it's January, ha.

Basically, what we all need to learn from this story is never piss Adam Mair off. It's much better to have a bromance then be on the recieving end of the fists of fury. And once you're on his good side, you're pretty much set for life.

No one's a joke here.

Oh, and welcome to all the new blogs popping up! I added a bunch to my now super long blogroll, but it's all good. I'm looking forward to new stuff from Caroline, Rachael and Lucinda, etc. Good times!

I'm back!

Moral of the story from the past two weeks: Don't go to a Matt Nathanson concert and have tons of fun working merch and the like, then catch some nasty cold/strep throat for the next week and a half, while at the same time you have midterms, a pit band rehearsal schedule that keeps getting crazier as the show gets closer, SAB e-board/Spring Event applications due along with meetings right after night classes, the School of Education application due, observation hours at a middle school, and family weekend where I was not in my room except to sleep.
Life: 1, Mary: 0.

Needless to say, I haven't seen more than 15 minutes of a Sabres game since last FRIDAY against the Canucks (which I have to say was awesome. Roy under the Canucks, bench, the man hug goal celebration, Peters actually fighting, Vanek being a crazy man...). Yeah, I watched the whole game then, but after that? Forget it.

I have tried to catch up though, as there is a lot I've missed. We're still unbeaten in regulation, we have more injuries with phalanges (seriously, do you need to do finger exercises?) and then Rivet out with his knee surgery...
I have to say, I'm not a fan of the whole not playing a full game and then coming back in the cardiac kids style. But we did get at least a point of out of the last few games (and all so far for that matter) so that's good.

Also, I would just like to say that I love the pigeon. And apparently Patrick Lalime really loves him/her/it.

no, he does not have a twitch.

That video will never get old, because you understand one more word of what Spacek is saying each time. And the 10 Stupid Questions thing, could Adam Mair and Pat Kaleta become even more like 13 year old kids laughing at "naughty" words? Sometimes they're ridiculous but it's still funny.

So tomorrow is at Ottawa. The Sens are 2-5-1, but that's basically all I know. Like I said, I haven't been keeping up with many things lately. But it should be an interesting time. We'll see what happens with Tallinder and his laceration, who's in goal, if Vanek can keep up his streak (The luck of having him on my fantasy hockey team), and the effort factor/playing a whole game. Who knows. I'm just glad I can watch!!

Oh, and the World Juniors basically being held here? SO AWESOME. I would LOVE to go to a game, but I'm sure tickets will be expensive and definitely hard to come by. It's such a great thing for this city to show off our love for the sport and all that comes with it. I keep thinking about it, and it's really an even bigger deal then most people even think of. The best 20 and under players from around the world. Just even right there is huge. But there's one happy camper right here. :)

I don't like matinee games...

...But this is fun. I wasn't happy walking to class at 2:30, but coming back to the end of the 2nd with a 5-0 lead is awesome. Maybe not having Columbus Day off after all isn't so bad.

Even though I missed most of the game, it seemed like the Islanders just completely fell apart. There was no defense in front of Joey MacDonald, and can you even name scorers or highly offensive members of the team? (the closest is Mike Comrie and he doesn't count since he's the only on people know.)

The last parts of the game that I caught were interesting, to say the least. First of all, let's hope that Jochen is okay. But I had to catch up on what had happened, including the fights. (It's on YouTube of course...) I did see Adam Mair coming back on the ice, then back on the bench, then into the penalty box, then back to the dressing room and knew I had missed something spectacular!



There's just something about a fight and teammates standing up for each other that I really love. The high scoring and players contributing is great, no doubt, but that close knit factor is something that doesn't happen everywhere, especially with a new player. It's a great sign of things to come.

Oh, and has anyone watched hockey on Versus yet? I did though I'm not the biggest fan of the announcing, but there's a commercial for a sports style The Soup show... called Sports Soup. Anyway, I don't know if I'll check it out or not, but one of the commercials talks about what's going on in sports. A number of sports have a person represented, including hockey. What hockey says is, "I've got a line brawl in Buffalo, two Finns jumped on a Swede." I laughed, because immediately I thought Swede = Henrik Tallinder. Then Finns = Teppo Numminen and Toni Lydman. It doesn't really work in that case because they wouldn't fight each other, but it was amusing nonetheless.

I am in shock that Alexei Cherepanov died of cardiac arrest. According to TSN, he collapsed at what is said to be the end of a KHL game, and no portable defibrillator was available before the ambulance arrived.
More information'll become available, but that is just so sad. He was 19, I'm 19, and I can't grasp that fact. He had so much talent and so young. Just a horrible situation, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family and teammates.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Oh my god I thought my iPod just died because it wouldn't start. Leaving it alone for 5 minutes evidently does the trick. Thank goodness because I don't have any money to spend on a new one, and I am attached to my iPod like no other.

I'm pretty sure it was the same for everyone, but there was just something so awesome about yesterday. I was so excited the whole week, and Friday my mind was just "hockeyhockeyhockey!" But once game time came around, there was just so much more. It was our hockey back after a long offseason, it was the city back together supporting their team and in some cases, their life... this opener just seemed to be different than others. And look how it turned out...

- Did anyone else LOL when RJ announced Toni-Bon Jovi, he didn't come out right away, and everyone was like, "Um, where is he?" I guess everything can't go perfectly.

- Speaking of, when the power play clock didn't show up, I thought they had eliminated it or something. Way to freak me out, guys. Turns out it was just a technical issue... they had quite a few of them. Especially when it stopped playing the game and went black, then when it came back on Vanek was in the box. My TV, Dish Network, or MSG? We'll never know.

- Can I just say I love Teppo? I'm so happy that he's back, and the little interview that was played/is online was great. I even went and found his TBN poster from way back in the day (yeah, I pretty much have every one in my "Sabres box". This thing is filled with the posters and some other articles, autographed stuff, the ticket stubs from games I've been to, pom poms and posters... it's heavy!)

I'm so excited I can't even take a picture the right way! (It was a strategic placement though, no one wants to see the zit on my chin.)

- RJ had some good lines last night: "A little lovin' going on around the boards." "He dropped faster than the Dow!" "Toni on the spot"... This is what I've missed.

- I think my new shirt is a good sign of the season to come. I couldn't pass up a $5 shirt at the Sabres store, and now it may just be lucky.

What I remember as not so good: the failure of a power play (o-6, really?), the fact that Tim Connolly needs to be put in a bubble/leave (because we know he won't stop partying, though the whole back thing might explain him laying on bar floors), and commercials that I already hate (HSBC logging commercial?)

What I remember as good: Miller and Vanek back to their old selves, winning a shootout!, keeping the Montreal to 3 shots on 4 power plays (6 minutes total), Toni's save, seeing players step up and really playing hard (Paille, Clarkie), pretty solid D (besides the Montreal goal) and just a pretty awesome game in general!

It was a great game to watch and great for an opener, even with the low score. The team looked like they were ready for hockey again, and it showed through the hard work and the effort that they put out. Love it.

Now... about Monday. What kind of school/college doesn't give Columbus Day off? I know we didn't have it last year, but I have my only class of the day at 2:30. Until 4. Basically I'm missing a good chunk of the game once I get out. I'm glad I'm already missing a game... but now that I think about it, might be missing a game ;)

Good weekend though. Great opener for the season, awesome weather at home, and I'm already making money selling the first Jonas Brothers CD on eBay. Yeah, I actually bought it back then, and at the moment it's at about $26 with 8 days left. Others were going for about $100 at the end of the auction! Plus, Ray LaMontagne's new CD is awesome, and I'm also not dead last with my fantasy hockey teams like I was with my one team last year! I'm on a roll.

Oh captain, my captain: 08-09 remix.

I love Sabres Insider texts. Breaking news is: Craig Rivet is the captain for this season, with Jochen Hecht, Jaroslav Spacek, Jason Pominville and Teppo Numminen as assistants... 2 home and 2 away.

I'm pretty happy with this, because I was never a fan of the rotating C. I did assume that Pommers would get the C, but this is definitely a good decision. From what I saw of him at the games and what I've heard, it's a great choice. Wooo for deciding a captain!

I'm sure he's actually more excited that that.

And additionally, Goose is now on the IR, so it's looking more like a longer time out that was originally said. No 82 games this season I guess! Poor guy and all his injuries. I'm still hoping that one day he could get a letter, because it seems like he's starting to get into more of a leadership role. He might not be the most outspoken guy though, so who knows. With the injury and the less of a veteran status, it might happen in the future.

But more importantly... THE SEASON OPENER IS FRIDAY. Friday guys. It deserves caps. I feel like this offseason/preseason has dragged on FOREVER. Like I'm 10 years older. Kinda. But I really can't wait for it all. I'm going home for my long weekend and doing the Party in the Plaza and the like, so it's going to be a fun time for all. FRIDAY!

EDIT: Mike Weber has now been assigned to Portland... too many defensman so Sekera says. Weber and Reggie were the only ones who didn't have to clear waivers, so there you go!