Sabre Dance

Every time I watch NCAA hockey, I'm always impressed with the effort the youngsters put in. I know that the players in the NHL are bigger and the pace of play is faster, but the way these kids compete puts many NHL matchups to shame. Not all, mind you, but some. Would have liked to see one of the WNY teams advance, but having two local teams in the tourney speaks well for the quality of this area as a hockey hotbed. Let's see if we can get the "big club" headed in that direction soon.... :clapping:

You know, that seems to be the issue with everyone associated with the Sabre organization. No one is "playing to win". They are all just trying to save their own a$$es. They don't seem to realize that if you go balls out you might just succeed, Yeah, you might also fall on your face, but at least you're trying. Nobody in the organization seems to be trying anymore.

Pegula doesn't have to talk to the media, especially in this case. You don't respond to some radio talking head "calling you out". That being said, Pegula set the bar at the presser when he officially took over the team. If he was able to stand in front of a microphone, make Stanley Cup promises and then weep over some alumni players, he should at least be able to release a statement (through Ted Black if necessary) about the current situation. (Personally, I would have preferred that from the beginning, he just kept quiet and did all of his talking through actions. But, that ship has sailed...)

We used thin clients a few years back for users at our semi-annual meetings. In theory, they looked like they were just the ticket. If one became infested with a virus or malware, we could wipe the memory and push out a new image in just a few minutes. In reality, they turned out to be a nightmare. People were reading email with documents attached and couldn't save them as the clinets have no hard drives (just a user "folder" on the central server). We actually had to print up an instruction sheet just so users could save and print documents. (Plus, the company that made them came out with "updates" that always seemed to screw up the images we had in place, so those had to be redone every time an update came along). We scrapped them for laptops which were lighter, smaller and had full function. Cloud computing sounds like a wonderful idea, but I don't think we're quite there yet.I never liked the idea of having all of our vital data stored someplace where the envirionmental and technical conditions were out of our control... Just make sure you back up everything. Often.

It's still frickin' snowing..... :angry:

Yeah, this inconsistency got me in trouble in grade school. When the teacher asked what the plural of "leaf" was, I said "leafs". She corrected me and I said,"Then why is the hockey team in Toronto called the Maple Leafs?" She was not happy....

In keeping with the theme, my complaint is also the weather. While it hasn't been a horrible winter by Buffalo standards (well, unless you live south of the city - they're still getting lake-effect snow dumped on them right now), we've only had a few days with comfortable temps since last fall. I mean, it is the first full day of Spring and the current temp is 20 degrees F. And even though the sun is brightly shining, there are a few snowflakes floating by my office window. No wonder I've been glued to the Golf Channel the past few weekends - it's nice to see green grass and people in shirtsleeves.....sigh.

The fan support sword (sabre?) cuts both ways. Yes, the fans should be more supportive. Yes, the team should play with more intensity. It's just that over the last four or five seasons, the HSBC/FNC crowd knows pretty much what they are going to see out on the ice. They've become as disinterested with the team as the team has with playing hard. A team with a work ethic and some scoring will turn the crowd around. (That's not to say that the crowd shouldn't increase their involvement, either.) Hey, no team likes to play in Philly - their crowds are intense to the point of rudeness. Sabre fans don't need to go quite that far, but being a little more vocal would be good. Ever see a playoff game in one of the Western Canadian teams' arenas? They go NUTS! If we could get Buffalo crowds to be half that crazy, we'd be OK.

Sadly true - I saw a bit of the Tampa-Philly game last night. The Tampa crowd was louder and more into the game than any FNC crowd so far this season (which is embarassing beyond belief). I noticed that during the Ottawa game Saturday that many times during breaks in play there was no music being played (either recorded or live organ music). The silence was deafening. I realize there's not much to cheer for with this team, but the organization needs to do a better job of jazzing up the in-game experience. It seems they were doing this for a while after TPegs took over the team, but now.... Maybe they are really letting everything bottom out.

Patience. I got an email from an online golf equipment vendor last week saying I could save $100 on any order over $500. As I am shopping for a new set of irons, I tried to order them from the vendor.....nope, that particular set of irons was not eligible for the discount. Since the weather still sucks, I thought I'd wait for a bit before taking the plunge. Got an email today from a different vendor with the same deal + free shipping. Went ahead with the order....ka-ching! The discount went through!. With the free shipping, I probably saved about $115 total just by waiting a week. Now, if we could just get the friggin' weather to cooperate..... :angry:

Much has been made of winning and losing faceoffs lately. There have been some discussion on WGR in the past couple of weeks as to how important that stat really is (which you can take with a grain of salt, if you wish). If you compare a player who wins 47% of his draws and one who wins 60%, that translates to an additional 1.3 wins out of every 10 draws (or 13 out of 100 if you prefer).Now, if you had a player that won 80 or 85 percent of his draws, then you'd have something.... Yes, I know we've all seen the opposition win a draw in the Buffalo end and score a quick goal. But, how many times have the Sabres won a draw in their own end and then lost the puck trying to move it out of their zone? Playing good defense is probably more important than winning those extra few draws...

But then why sign Regier to an extension before the season starts? That would indicate TPegs thought Regier was doing a fine job and that the idea of firing him wasn't even a remote possibility. Has Pegula's opinion of Regier changed so much since January that he would consider eating a sizeable contract to get rid of his GM? To quote the Magic 8 Ball, "All indications point to No."

I agree with this 95%. But, I think Vanek has finally found a center he can mesh with in Hodgson. He is the youngest of the three "core" guys and he has put up lots of goals and points before. I think his game suffered under Ruff's "system" (whatever that was). He can be a valuable asset still. Pominville is not my idea of a leader - send him off with thanks for his time here and then don't look back. Miller has never had the team in front of him that he deserves. I think he was a great goaltender whose resolve has been eroded by lousy teams that won't support him. When he becomes a free agent, I feel sure that he will end up back in his home state playing with his brother in Detroit. He has some good years left and with the Wings' track record, they could be in contention for a Cup at that point. If we move Miller now, we could get back some good younger players plus draft picks or maybe a seasoned vet to shake up the locker room. I like Miller, but the $6 million + he gets per season could be put to better use.

I don't think I can watch the game tonight. It's bad enough watching this team when they're on the road. When they are at home, the long stretches of silence from the crowd punctuated by boos every so often is disconcerting. I'd rather watch "ALF" re-runs....

The Blackhawks were my favorite team before the Sabres came into the league (yes, I'm that old). So, I've been watching them with interest since Bill Wirtz passed and the team had a "rebirth". Plus, they've got that South Buffalo boy on the team. I'll be pulling for them this season... Although I still don't want the Canucks to win a Cup before the Sabres, that ship sailed when the Islanders won their first Cup in 1980. They were the first team to come into the league after the Sabres to win one, and unfortunately there have been many more (Which irks me to no end. I mean a team called the Anaheim Ducks has their name on the Cup? Really? That's just wrong....)

As life moves along, sports in general have begun to mean less and less in my life. I no longer follow MLB until game 4 of the World Series, the NBA has completely fallen off my radar screen and only about half of the NFL teams garner any interest at all outside of the Bills. Hockey and the Sabres are the last bastion of avid team sports interest on my part. Now that the Sabres have gone from mediocre to atrocious, even that is being taken away from me. I still want the Sabres to win a Cup (and the Bills a Super Bowl), but if it doesn't happen my life will still continue. (Working in the cancer research field for over 15 years kind of puts things in perspective).

I've seen every season the Sabres have ever played - this team is the worst. The early teams (1970-1972) did not have a lot of talent, but played hard. The late '80s - early '90s teams were not overly blessed with talent, but they put in an effort. This team is aimless. They are out of playoff contention already (maybe not mathematically, but for all intents and purposes). There are more than a few that know they won't be wearing a Sabres' sweater next season. No matter how bad previous teams have been, this is the first time I've ever really disliked a Sabres team. It's also the first time I've ever given up on one.

Exactly. My mom is 90 years old and is as much a Sabres fan (if not more) than I am. We both would like nothing more than to see the Sabres win the Cup. She may never get that chance. I'm only 56, but I may be retired and living in Florida before this team has any chance of reaching the Finals again. I also do feel for the (very few) players on this Sabres' team that have some level of pride in playing well no matter what. We all know who they are, so I won't elaborate.

Let's not forget, only the head coach changed. You still have the rest of Lindy's staff in place. Old habits die hard. The Canes have had the Sabres' number for a while now and last night was another example of that. Carolina mostly kept all five guys in the Sabres' zone because they know that they won't body check, won't get to a loose puck first and are easily taken off the puck when they do have it. Rather than the Sabres pushing the puck up the ice when they did get posession, they always want to curl back into their own end and set up first. (OK, things got a bit better as the game went on, but still...) Here's a thought... Myers looks like he is having much more fun on the ice when he can join the rush and doesn't have to worry about being a D-man. Since the Sabres have a surplus of defensemen, how about trying Myers as a winger (maybe on the PP first)? He's got a nice touch around the net. As the season is not going so well anyway, why not try it and see what happens?

Actually, the fact that Enroth has been lousy in every game he's played in this year (and that Rolston hasn't played him yet) makes one wonder why Darcy hasn't been out there shopping for a decent replacement. Not having a reliable backup has not hurt us yet BUT we shouldn't be tempting fate.

They can wear any color but pink as long as they keep winning..... :thumbsup:

The Rangers are in town next Tuesday - if Richards is on the ice, he'll hear it from the crowd AND the Sabres. Look for any number of fans holding up signs that say "9.7" or "10.0".

I wonder if the league should look at something from the auto racing world. Some years back, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway installed something called the SAFER barrier around the track (I think other US raceways have done so as well). The guard rail is still made of steel, but the mounts behind it are made of foam or crushable material, so that when a car hits it, the mounts absorb much of the impact of the collision. How about doing the same with the boards in hockey? Instead of bolting the boards directly to the steel supports, stick a layer or two of closed-cell foam in between. The puck will still bounce true, but if a player hits it, the impact will be partially absorbed. It would not only work for hits from behind but any hit up against the boards. Cost to implement would be minimal. Although it wouldn't completely eliminate injuries, it would reduce the severity and maybe save a concussion or two in the process. What do you say, NHL?

Before Miller can go anywhere, the Sabres would need to bring in a goalie first. Enroth is not the team's future in net. If the Sabres could trade a defenseman or two (or a D-man and a prospect) for a backup who wants to be a #1, then things might change. I could see sending Miller to a contender this year before the deadline, because I think after next season he's gone anyway. (I'm guessing he winds up in Detroit with his brother playing in his home state). But, with Darcy in charge none of this will happen. Miller will finish the season as a Sabre. If Darcy is shown the door at the end of the season, things could change by next fall, though.

No question, this was an unecessary hit by Kaleta - you're down a man already. No need to even touch Richards at that point. However, I think Richards definitley embellished, but when he did he did it awkwardly enough that he did stun himself a bit. If it had been Hodgson doing the hitting instead of Kaleta, it would have been two minutes. Sh*t like this really boils my blood. Play like a man, for cryin' in the sink. I think if I was a Sabre on the ice after Richards came back, I'd be telling him every time he came near me to keep his head up, 'cause next time he's going headfirst into the boards for real. Friggin' p*ssy. :angry: