Fare thee well (for now)...

These last few days have been busy for me. I've been packing and trying to get rid of my van (I'm about to call the volunteer fire department where I live to see if they want to use the jaws of life on it and burn it), and tie up a few other loose ends. In just about 25 hours and 45 minutes I report for duty. I will probably not be on for the rest of this week, and perhaps not the week after, but once I am I should be able to comment regularly on games and videos that are posted online with the new exclusive Sabres webcast content.

Oh, and I hope to buy tickets to a game or two soon (only two dates will really work for me though)

So I suck at updating

At least 4 times in the past week or so I had this window open to post a new entry, but I just didn't have it in me. I plan on finishing my "100 things about me" soon, but not today. Turns out getting ready to leave all your friends and family for a year to go someplace hot and sandy just kind of pushes other things to the back burner. As I've mentioned before I'm in the army (National Guard), and I'm deploying soon. I report for my mobilization training late next week, and right now I'm trying to visit family and friends and get my stuff cleaned up and organized so if my roommate needs to move us while I'm gone he can be sure he has all my stuff. And to ward of all the questions no, I'm not nervous or anything like that yet (I have a really laid back "whatever happens will happen, my God is in control" attitude that comes from my faith.)

As for Sabres related stuff, well, most things have been said. My very quick analysis of the team this year is as follows:

• Last year we were something like 4th (I think I read it, but I'm not positive at the moment), so offense isn't too much of a problem. Defense is.
  
• We needed to get some solid defensemen.
  
• We needed to stock our now empty AHL team since we don't share that job with another team anymore
  
• We traded away a forward for a solid veteran D-man with grit -- good move.
  
• We locked in our goalie and got him some relief that (hopefully) won't be a carboard cut-out in goal.
  
• We extended our veteran D-Man for another year, which will bring more experience and other "intangibles" to the defense. This also quelled rumors about how no one wants to play for Buffalo and how much Buffalo management suck, etc.
  
• We now have a team with a strong offense and a defense that's stronger than last year. This SHOULD lead to a play-off run.
  
• What ever happened to Tim Connolly? Does anyone really care if he just leaves?

Yes, I am very hopeful for this season, though I will have to watch most of it from afar. But I plan on getting in at least one game during my Christmas leave (Maybe 2 or 3!)

Well, I'm around for now with regular internet access! That means you get to read my ramblings on a more regular basis. I knew when I started this blog that I wouldn't have great access during the summer. But I figured if I could post relatively regularly through the summer then the season shouldn't be any problem at all. My summer plans did get changed, but I did an almost decent job.

Now onto some hockey related ramblings. As of right now both Teppo Numinem and Nolan Pratt are unsigned UFAs. Earlier this summer there was talk that Teppo was still interested in another season with the Sabres. I'd love to see him play as I think his veteran leadership will help the defense out quite a bit. Of course the is a bit of a question as to whether or not he'll be able to keep up since he missed all of the last season recovering from open heart surgery, but there are still the intangibles he brings -- after years of play he's got great instincts. As for Pratt I'm more ambivalent since I didn't actually get to watch a lot of games last season. (Although I did listen to many of them thanks to WGR's webfeed).

One of the many things I love about hockey are the goalies. Here in Buffalo we have been spoiled with great goalies for almost as long as I can remember. When I was in upper elementary and middle school, and even my freshman year of college one name was synonymous with the the Sabres -- Dominick Hasek. Even those of us who sucked at sports still would go outside in the winter and pretend to copy his moves. Although I have since learned that his style is not the norm, for those of us who grew up as Sabres fans the Dominator's style was the only style.

After he left Buffalo, causing many of us to hate him in process, Buffalo wondered who could replace his big skates. Marty Biron stepped up, though we still sucked. Yet not every year with Hasek was a play-off year as many of us remembered. After the lockout a young star decided to buck the trend, and we got to see the stylings of on Ryan Miller. For a while we even enjoyed two co-starters sharing the goal. Now we have pinned our hopes for the next 6 seasons on Miller.

So here's to Buffalo's goalies, past and present. I have omitted other great Buffalo goalies since they were really before my time.

Here's a little something else about me. I enjoy running sound. It's become a hobby of mine. I started my freshman year of college helping another guy run sound for a youth ministry, and eventually took over that position and I ran sound for my church in Scranton for a couple years. I'm even running sound for a friend's wedding later this month. (no pressure there, haha) I'm starting to buy my own sound equipment now, though I only have a mixer and some odd cables. I'd like to eventually own my a small sound system.

This post may offend some sports fans...

WGR's current web poll asks i you would trade our Sabres for a MLB or NBA franchise. As of about 9:30 on 13 May 08, 83% say no and 17% of the people who responded are complete morons. Personally I find baseball dull and boring.

IF some good friends are going to a baseball game then I might go more to hang out than anything else. People say that hockey is boring, but I find that far from true. Even in a very low scoring game each shift players are constantly sprinting up and down the ice and getting slammed around. In baseball I see players standing around for at least half the time they're on the field. Then they might make a short sprint, only to stand around again. When was the last time you saw a runner get leveled? Furthermore, baseball has no right to complain about low scoring games. 22 innings for a final score of 2-1? Please, I don't know how people managed to stay awake through that snore-fest. Remember '99 or '94? Triple sudden-death OT, yet at the same we saw some very intense displays of athleticism. Sure, one of those games ended with a horrible call, but at the same time it was a great game.

Basketball is a sport that I cant' seem to get into. Basketball has the problem of over-inflated scores. A basket just isn't much when you have scores in the 90s to 100s. A game where a team wins 70 to 50 is low scoring? That being said I'd MUCH rather watch a basketball game than a baseball game.

Buffalo has a baseball team, so if that's your thing then go to a Bison's game. Buffalo had an NBA team, and it failed and moved out of town. Besides, I'd rather watch a college hoops game than an NBA game, and Buffalo is privileged with several college teams. Didn't the Arena play host to early rounds of March Madness a few years ago? (Ok, so maybe it was 6 or 7 because I think I was in high school at the time)

All this to say that I wouldn't trade the Sabres for any other sports franchise. I'd rather they be re-named and give an even more hideous logo and be filled with players like Ray Emery and Sean Avery than have the Sabres move away in exchange for a MLB or NBA team. (But please don't ever let it come to that! Fortunately Golisano seems committed to keeping the Sabres in Buffalo, and Buffalo continues to have some of the highest ratings in the country for hockey even without our team in the playoffs.

On an unrelated note (and to make the this entry a bit longer and more useless) I'll relate a story to you. But first I'm going to give you a little something about me. I'm in the Pa National Guard. Currently I am going through a readiness processing program. Last night we had to do a long boring medical briefing with paperwork. Right now we have a soldiers from all over the state here. During the briefing the sergeant in charge (NCOIC) asked if there were any Flyers fans. After a few people cheered he asked "What's the series at now? 2-0? Funny how the Flyers said they'd sweep the Pens." I just started laughing. Throughout the briefing he made fun of the Flyers fans, who tried to make fun of him back (kind of hard to do when your team is losing the series). It made an otherwise excruciatingly long and boring briefing bearable.

I've got (almost) nothing

So things are shaping up for the conference semi-finals. I'm kind of bummed that I haven't been able to watch any of the games. Perhaps I'll cough up the money for Center Ice next season.

I'm not sure who I want to win the Habs/Bruins series anymore. Out west the only series I feel strongly about is San Jose. I really want to see them lose. I'll be honest about the only reason for this is Brian Campbell's attitude towards the Sabres.  I hear he's melting down again during the playoffs showing how inconsistent he can be.

I suppose I'll say a bit about myself just to stretch this out some. In high school I used to love to ride my bike. I would just get up in the mornings and ride during the summer. I would ride around and get some ice cream while I was out, just having a bit of fun. This week I've read on some blogs about summer in Buffalo -- things like Mississippi Mudd's across from Niawanda Park and the numerous festivals in Buffalo. (there's pretty much a different festival every weekend in WNY during the summer) Combined with the very nice weather we've been having I really can't wait for the summer.

Well, that's about all I have right now.

-- Sharpie

My first post.

Well, I have decided to start a Sabres blog. I decided to try this a few months ago but decided to wait until I got a catchy name. (I've given up on the catch name. I'm just not creative enough). My goal here is just to spew "vomitous mass" as one of English teachers used to say, about the Sabres. I don't live in WNY anymore, nor do I have NHL Center Ice, and I am often busy during the actual games, so that rules out meaningful commentary. Instead I will share my thoughts and opinions, no matter how wacked-out and/or wrong, from my limited perspective.

Now for a bit about me, mostly from a hockey perspective. I grew up in WNY, but never really got attached to the Bills. I find hockey to be a much more entertaining game. I grew up near Sabreland (now hockey outlet or whatever), and I remember my dad taking me to watch the Sabres practice when I was 4 or 5 years old. I think I was in Middle school when I went to my first Sabres game. I remember the playoffs in '98, rushing home to watch the finals in '99 after being out with my brother. We were re-finishing the living room floor at the time, but we made sure the TV was still on. Oh, the heartbreak of "No Goal."

I remember when Hasek left the ice after the Penguins game, knowing he was done with the Sabres, then being angry when he signed with Detroit. (But he wanted one more year, "just one Cup" before going back to the Czech Republic to raise his son  there. How many years ago was that?) I remember the Regis years, the collapse, and in '05 saying that the Sabres wouldn't be as bad as everyone said. They were even better than I though they'd be.

I was in Carolina for game 5 of the ECF in '06 -- I flew down for the game after church, then rode back with my brother and my cousin. Last year I remember watching part of the Rangers series at my buddy's house. (he was a Rangers fan) I remember when they won the last game how I walked across campus to find the 2 or 3 other Sabres fans to let them know. And I remember after they lost saying (and even saying on facebook) that they'd win the cup in '09. (claim to which I still hold) And thanks to my brother, I was at the Ice Bowl when the NHL's script played out to make their marketing golden boy (Sidney Crosby) the hero.

On a more personal note I grew up in WNY, the 3rd of 5 kids. My family is pretty close, though not geographically, so expect to hear about them once in a while on here. I went to college in PA, originally to become a Youth Pastor, then ran out of money and joined the Army, which in turn caused me to change my major to pre-chapliancy. I'm working to become a chaplain (still a few years off). 

Perhaps in a couple days I'll post some thoughts on the season. Oh, and my goal is to post a couple times a week, which may or may not happen.

-- Sharpie