As I prepare my ritual sacrifices to the Internet Gods in the hopes that they will bless me with uninterrupted access to tonight's game, I have a few thoughts running through my head:
--Am I the only one who sees Sekera's fortuitous injury as suspicious? He just happens to get injured pretty much the moment Lydman seems ready to come back, so that no one has to make tough decisions about what to do with Myers or anybody else? I'm not buying it. I might be mistaken, but wasn't he not even hit? He just came out after intermission and "felt pain in his side"? I suspect foul play. Either he took one for the team, or someone discreetly pummeled him in the ribs while he was napping between periods. Someone's lying, and consider it being looked into.
--Yowza, I knew the Sabres were having trouble scoring even though they were getting plenty of chances, but I didn't know they were literally first in the league in shots and last in the league in goals. Maybe they should do something about that, huh? And before you say anything, Sabres, the something you should do is not taking fewer shots. So don't even try it.
--I'm not sure what to make of Lindy's reaction to the Sabres' lack of finish. On the one hand, I think he should be more concerned, but on the other hand, we're still winning. So, I guess if it's not broke yet, don't fix it. Yet. One thing he said stuck out to me, though: "We've missed empty nets, had pucks go off feet by empty nets, pucks slide through sets of legs going through creases that the goalie isn't there." Wow, I was so busy rejoicing about Hecht returning to old Yo-Yo form that I didn't notice that apparently everyone has returned to old Yo-Yo form. A team full of Yo-Yos is... not so great, as it turns out.
--Speaking of Yo-Yo, though, I'm going to be paying extra attention to his line tonight. I'm inclined to be outraged that Lindy broke up what seemed to be a pretty fantastic (not to mention attractive) line, but I'm going to restrain my outrage until I actually see what they can do. Kennedy might not be a Goose in the looks department (he's made me realize that the phrase "less attractive version of Soupy" can actually be uttered truthfully), but I guess he deserves to be given half a chance.
--Tonight will be, for me, the first real measuring pole of the season. The Habs have made so many roster changes since I last saw them that they were a bit of an unknown quantity, and I have vague conceptions but no hard evidence of the Coyotes and Predators being weak teams, but the Red Wings I do know a thing or two about. I could list a lot of things about them that everyone already knows, but long story short I know they're good. I know watching them play in the Winter Classic last season made me want to curl up into a ball and cry. And I suspect the way the Sabres play against them tonight will tell me a lot about where they are and how much they've grown. Here's hoping they can measure up.
--Now, everyone knows I don't write this thing to be read, but four posts in just over a week with nary a comment in sight makes Gambler a self-conscious blogger. Anyone out there? Hello? Echo?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Family- and Sports-Filled Weekend
This was a big weekend of celebration for the extended Gambler clan that included my grandmother's birthday and an early Thanksgiving. (There's always room for another Thanksgiving in the year, is what I always say.) As is always the way with my family--which charts a vast map of sport- and team-allegiances--sports was the backdrop against which our family gathering was held. We went from college football (Go Cocks!), to hockey, to football, to baseball, ensuring that no one had to miss out on the game that they wanted just because they loved their family.
Unless you were a Sabres fan, of course. The Sabres game had the distinct misfortune of not only playing in fuzzy standard definition opposite the invitingly crisp HD of the Florida/LSU game, but also of playing on the evening of my grandmother's birthday celebration, when the TV eventually became occupied by a family portrait tribute slideshow, which watched like a Titanic-length presentation of Awkward Family Photos: The Movie. I'm not saying that it wasn't more interesting than watching the game would have been, but it was just about as long, and we tuned back in just in time to see the Grier goal and the mad scramble to the finish. I can't say I was encouraged by the raw panic I saw, or the apparent lack of scoring that I didn't get to see, but I'm not in a place to analyse the game any more than that. I'm going to accept the win as a win and move on.
The next afternoon was fully occupied by the NFL. As is tradition, my family had a football pool, but the day's real competition seemed to be a quest to prove whose favorite team was sucking the hardest, with the grand prize being a perverse kind of bragging rights that we all know so well. In a group that includes fans of the Redskins, Raiders, and Titans, there seemed to be room for argument, but after the Bills showed up the Browns in what looked like a 60-minute head-to-head Keystone Kops audition, no one else really had a leg to stand on. For my part, I was entertained by the antics. I feel a great amount of sympathy for die-hard Bills fans, but it was hard for me not to laugh like an idiot while watching the Bills fight to gain the line of scrimmage the way most teams fight to gain the first down line. I had no idea it was possible to be so pathetic at football. My advice to Bills fans is to laugh, a) because it's better than crying, and b) because, come on, it's funny.
All in all, it was a fun weekend packed with family and other, less awesome sports. It was a faint reminder that hockey might end up being a gateway sport after all, and that my potential to turn into a football fan is present. If the Bills ever get a bandwagon again--if their bandwagon ever stops being a wheel-less pile of two-by-fours perpetually parked in the dump--I expect I will be there to jump on it.
Tomorrow night, finally, hopefully, back to hockey.
Unless you were a Sabres fan, of course. The Sabres game had the distinct misfortune of not only playing in fuzzy standard definition opposite the invitingly crisp HD of the Florida/LSU game, but also of playing on the evening of my grandmother's birthday celebration, when the TV eventually became occupied by a family portrait tribute slideshow, which watched like a Titanic-length presentation of Awkward Family Photos: The Movie. I'm not saying that it wasn't more interesting than watching the game would have been, but it was just about as long, and we tuned back in just in time to see the Grier goal and the mad scramble to the finish. I can't say I was encouraged by the raw panic I saw, or the apparent lack of scoring that I didn't get to see, but I'm not in a place to analyse the game any more than that. I'm going to accept the win as a win and move on.
The next afternoon was fully occupied by the NFL. As is tradition, my family had a football pool, but the day's real competition seemed to be a quest to prove whose favorite team was sucking the hardest, with the grand prize being a perverse kind of bragging rights that we all know so well. In a group that includes fans of the Redskins, Raiders, and Titans, there seemed to be room for argument, but after the Bills showed up the Browns in what looked like a 60-minute head-to-head Keystone Kops audition, no one else really had a leg to stand on. For my part, I was entertained by the antics. I feel a great amount of sympathy for die-hard Bills fans, but it was hard for me not to laugh like an idiot while watching the Bills fight to gain the line of scrimmage the way most teams fight to gain the first down line. I had no idea it was possible to be so pathetic at football. My advice to Bills fans is to laugh, a) because it's better than crying, and b) because, come on, it's funny.
All in all, it was a fun weekend packed with family and other, less awesome sports. It was a faint reminder that hockey might end up being a gateway sport after all, and that my potential to turn into a football fan is present. If the Bills ever get a bandwagon again--if their bandwagon ever stops being a wheel-less pile of two-by-fours perpetually parked in the dump--I expect I will be there to jump on it.
Tomorrow night, finally, hopefully, back to hockey.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Let's Try This Again, Shall We?
That'll show me for getting excited about watching hockey. Instead of getting in to Buffalo at 6:55 on Thursday, just in time to catch up to the game on DVR, I got in at midnight after being stranded in Chicago for 5 hours. I suppose I should have known better; the trip between Saint Paul and Buffalo has always been cursed.
As it was, I did get to see the game on a big screen, in its entirety, and in HD (thanks to my parents finally abandoning their TiFaux for a real DVR), just like I wanted, but it just wasn't the same. Call me crazy, but I think it's kind of anti-climactic to watch a game that's already ended, even if I don't know how it ends. It's markedly unsatisfying to yell at Miller to get the hell back in his net when I know that, even if he could hear me, he can't go back in time and obey me. It didn't keep me from yelling, anyway, but still. Moreover, I didn't get to watch the game with my family, which is what I'd been most looking forward to. In my humble opinion, watching hockey with the Gamblers is the absolute funnest way to watch hockey ever. My brother was sweet enough (or just lazy enough, I'm not sure) to watch the game again so I didn't have to be yelling at the screen all by myself. It was a refreshing change of pace.
All things considered, I'm glad I watched and didn't just take the easy way out of checking the score. It was a fun game that avoided being a repeat of one of the most maddening types of games from last season, where the Sabres dominated but still lost. It's way too soon to start declaring bad habits broken, but it was encouraging to see the Sabres neither scramble nor deflate after being scored on early in the third period. I don't know about anybody else, but I've been conditioned to react to this team getting a lot of chances and not scoring with panic, but somehow this game was different. Maybe it's just because my brother had told me it was a game worth watching, but I had faith in them coming back. And maybe I'm just projecting, but it seemed like the Sabres, for the first time in what seems like a long time, had faith in themselves, too. Instead of panicking or giving up, they just kept playing the way they had been playing, trusting in the fact that chances would turn to goals. And, lo and behold, they did. And once again, I find myself excited to see what the next game holds.
So maybe tonight I'll get the real season opener that I've been waiting for.
As it was, I did get to see the game on a big screen, in its entirety, and in HD (thanks to my parents finally abandoning their TiFaux for a real DVR), just like I wanted, but it just wasn't the same. Call me crazy, but I think it's kind of anti-climactic to watch a game that's already ended, even if I don't know how it ends. It's markedly unsatisfying to yell at Miller to get the hell back in his net when I know that, even if he could hear me, he can't go back in time and obey me. It didn't keep me from yelling, anyway, but still. Moreover, I didn't get to watch the game with my family, which is what I'd been most looking forward to. In my humble opinion, watching hockey with the Gamblers is the absolute funnest way to watch hockey ever. My brother was sweet enough (or just lazy enough, I'm not sure) to watch the game again so I didn't have to be yelling at the screen all by myself. It was a refreshing change of pace.
All things considered, I'm glad I watched and didn't just take the easy way out of checking the score. It was a fun game that avoided being a repeat of one of the most maddening types of games from last season, where the Sabres dominated but still lost. It's way too soon to start declaring bad habits broken, but it was encouraging to see the Sabres neither scramble nor deflate after being scored on early in the third period. I don't know about anybody else, but I've been conditioned to react to this team getting a lot of chances and not scoring with panic, but somehow this game was different. Maybe it's just because my brother had told me it was a game worth watching, but I had faith in them coming back. And maybe I'm just projecting, but it seemed like the Sabres, for the first time in what seems like a long time, had faith in themselves, too. Instead of panicking or giving up, they just kept playing the way they had been playing, trusting in the fact that chances would turn to goals. And, lo and behold, they did. And once again, I find myself excited to see what the next game holds.
So maybe tonight I'll get the real season opener that I've been waiting for.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Cliff's Notes
Thanks to my internet connection, I got the severely abridged version of Saturday night's game, which meant off-and-on coverage of the first half of the game, and then just continuously off coverage. Of course, at the moment when the Sabres scored, the coverage happened to be off. Sigh. How am I supposed to try to establish my image as a legitimate hockey blogger, when the fickle finger of fate gives me so little material to work with? One day my prince will come in the form of a Center Ice package, but until then, I'm going to have to make do with what I can get. So here's my in-depth analysis of what I saw of the game:
The Sabres looked good.
Okay, for the sake of filling up this post, I guess I can get a little more specific than that.
I know I should probably take a number by this point, but I think I'm falling in love with Tyler Myers. I'm loving the comparison to Chara, and not just because Chara is a talented player who plays the type of game the Sabres could use right now. I'm also hoping that Myers turns out to be a freak-of-nature BFG like Chara, because I think the Sabres could use one of those, too. In fact, I'm deliberately avoiding any Myers interviews for fear of disillusioning myself, so passionate am I about this idea.
On a slightly more relevant note, I thought he looked remarkably calm and composed for a rookie in his first NHL game. He skated well for his size, moved the puck efficiently, and really worked along the boards. On top of all that, he seemed to grasp the concept of clearing the crease and protecting your goaltender in a way that made my heart sing. The words "calm" and "composed" (along with another c-word, "consistent") haven't been used to describe the Sabres' defensive corps (or really any Sabres' anything) for the last couple of years, so Myers' performance was very encouraging. That's not to say I think he's here to lead us into the light; he's still young, and his greenness is bound to show sometime, either before or after his 9-game deadline. But if this is the way he plays in the biggest game of his career to date, then I think we have every reason to expect plenty of good with the inevitable bad.
There were a few other stand-outs. Yo-Yo looked like his old self again, making a few smart moves to break up an oncoming attack or keep the puck in the zone, and generally not looking just completely useless. I can't deny that it made me a little bit giddy to see him back to his solid ways. I'll admit that the majority of my joy at the Grier signing was caused by the hope that, with the return of the original Stone Hands, Yo-Yo's hands wouldn't look quite so stoney. Not so sure about that yet, but if Grier was the magic ingredient needed to snap Hecht out of his slump, then I consider it a signing well signed. It seems clear already that the Hecht-Gaustad-Grier line is destined to bring me much joy this season, although I confess that my heart broke a little at seeing Pommers and Yo-Yo split up. Still, if my heart's only options are breaking at them being apart or puking at them being together, then I think the choice is clear.
Actually, the only real let down I saw was the Canadiens' new roster:
Click to enlarge, if you dare.
Wha happened?! Man, the Habs used to have a roster full of the awesomest last names in hockey, a roster that read like a rollercoaster for the tongue, a roster on which a name like "Price" stood out as odd. This new roster makes me almost want to cry. A couple of my favorites (Chipchura, Latendresse) are still around, and they added at least one fun one in the off-season (Pacioretty), but Brisebois is gone, the Kostitsyn content has been cut in half, and the list is now packed with names that anybody could spell correctly on the first try. Gionta? Gomez? Gill? I think I'm dozing off. And those are just the Gs! By the time I got down to Stewart, I was convinced that Montreal is letting just any old regular-named Joe play for them these days. Clearly their standards are slipping.
Overall, though, the most positive impression I got out of the half of the game I saw was cohesion. The Sabres just seemed to be working together in a way that we haven't seen from them in a long time, and the result was that they were in complete control. That may have changed as the game went on (the final score would suggest so, though the goal highlights I watched looked pretty flukey), but I'm pretty optimistic after seeing what they're capable of.
Of course, the season is just a newborn, consistency is still a question, and we all know that this team is a big fan of showing us what they can do just to madden us to full capacity when they insist on not doing it.
With that cynical disclaimer in place, I'm really looking forward to Thursday's game. Mostly because I'm going home for a long weekend, and will be able to watch the game a) on a big screen, b) in its entirety and c) in HD. But also because the teaser trailer that was Saturday night gives me reason to expect good things from the game that will feel, to me, like the real season opener.
The Sabres looked good.
Okay, for the sake of filling up this post, I guess I can get a little more specific than that.
I know I should probably take a number by this point, but I think I'm falling in love with Tyler Myers. I'm loving the comparison to Chara, and not just because Chara is a talented player who plays the type of game the Sabres could use right now. I'm also hoping that Myers turns out to be a freak-of-nature BFG like Chara, because I think the Sabres could use one of those, too. In fact, I'm deliberately avoiding any Myers interviews for fear of disillusioning myself, so passionate am I about this idea.
On a slightly more relevant note, I thought he looked remarkably calm and composed for a rookie in his first NHL game. He skated well for his size, moved the puck efficiently, and really worked along the boards. On top of all that, he seemed to grasp the concept of clearing the crease and protecting your goaltender in a way that made my heart sing. The words "calm" and "composed" (along with another c-word, "consistent") haven't been used to describe the Sabres' defensive corps (or really any Sabres' anything) for the last couple of years, so Myers' performance was very encouraging. That's not to say I think he's here to lead us into the light; he's still young, and his greenness is bound to show sometime, either before or after his 9-game deadline. But if this is the way he plays in the biggest game of his career to date, then I think we have every reason to expect plenty of good with the inevitable bad.
There were a few other stand-outs. Yo-Yo looked like his old self again, making a few smart moves to break up an oncoming attack or keep the puck in the zone, and generally not looking just completely useless. I can't deny that it made me a little bit giddy to see him back to his solid ways. I'll admit that the majority of my joy at the Grier signing was caused by the hope that, with the return of the original Stone Hands, Yo-Yo's hands wouldn't look quite so stoney. Not so sure about that yet, but if Grier was the magic ingredient needed to snap Hecht out of his slump, then I consider it a signing well signed. It seems clear already that the Hecht-Gaustad-Grier line is destined to bring me much joy this season, although I confess that my heart broke a little at seeing Pommers and Yo-Yo split up. Still, if my heart's only options are breaking at them being apart or puking at them being together, then I think the choice is clear.
Actually, the only real let down I saw was the Canadiens' new roster:
Click to enlarge, if you dare.Wha happened?! Man, the Habs used to have a roster full of the awesomest last names in hockey, a roster that read like a rollercoaster for the tongue, a roster on which a name like "Price" stood out as odd. This new roster makes me almost want to cry. A couple of my favorites (Chipchura, Latendresse) are still around, and they added at least one fun one in the off-season (Pacioretty), but Brisebois is gone, the Kostitsyn content has been cut in half, and the list is now packed with names that anybody could spell correctly on the first try. Gionta? Gomez? Gill? I think I'm dozing off. And those are just the Gs! By the time I got down to Stewart, I was convinced that Montreal is letting just any old regular-named Joe play for them these days. Clearly their standards are slipping.
Of course, the season is just a newborn, consistency is still a question, and we all know that this team is a big fan of showing us what they can do just to madden us to full capacity when they insist on not doing it.
With that cynical disclaimer in place, I'm really looking forward to Thursday's game. Mostly because I'm going home for a long weekend, and will be able to watch the game a) on a big screen, b) in its entirety and c) in HD. But also because the teaser trailer that was Saturday night gives me reason to expect good things from the game that will feel, to me, like the real season opener.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Tabula Rasa
A new season. Let's start fresh, shall we?
In the interest in starting fresh, I probably shouldn't open by discussing the R-word, but let's just say that it's a good thing I didn't resolve to lose 20 pounds, because I would probably weigh over 500 by now. This new year I will resolve to have more resolve, but that's still a few months off.
I have no excuse for my long, long absence, except: Who knew it was so hard to graduate from college? Finals were practically nothing compared with the organizational hassle that preceded me actually getting my hands on a diploma, and even the all celebrating was draining. It left me with no time for hockey, let alone hockey blogging. And even once all that rigmarole died down, it was hard to get back into the once-a-week rhythm, especially since it was suddenly the off-season. So I decided to take a break when the Sabres did.
But, if I'm being perfectly honest, blogging wasn't the only thing I took a break from this summer. I also took a bit of a break from being a hockey fan. I can't recall watching a single playoff game, though I'm sure I had the opportunity, and off-season roster moves (even those involving the Sabres) passed mostly under my radar. My daily blog rounds slipped to a weekly, and eventually to a monthly rotation. I stayed informed, but only long enough to file the facts of a trade or a signing away without analyzing, judging, or critiquing possible repercussions. After the last two summers spent fairly agonizing over every bit of team and league news, I found this to be a refreshing approach.
That's not to say I shed my fandom completely. It was a bit like having a long-distance boyfriend who texted me from time to time, reminding me that I was interested in him and letting me know that he picked up that Mike Grier that I always liked. The Sabres were the old flame that I kept meaning to call, but never actually got around to calling, because I knew that when the time was right we would just pick up where we left off. As unideally as things ended between us last time, there are no hard feelings. Some distance was just in order so that my heart could grow fond again.
And my heart is so fond right now.
I am so ready for hockey. Sure, the Sabres didn't make all of the improvements that I would have liked, but then who am I to judge? I'm showing up on opening night under-informed, out of practice, and metaphorically 350 pounds overweight, so it's not like I've dedicated the off-season to self-betterment, either. And, as a new season begins, my dissapointment in the things that haven't changed pales in comparison to my joy at the one big thing that has stayed the same: I love hockey. Right now that's all that matters, and the other factors - Will Myers stay? Will Tallinder be traded? Will Hecht get his mojo back? Will we be good enough? - are just little surprises waiting to happen along the way.
So, here's to a new season and a fresh start. Hopefully, now that I've transitioned from the life of an over-scheduled, over-stressed student into the bright, new, post-grad world of semi-employment, I will now have the time and energy to enjoy and blog to my heart's content. I sure have missed it. In fact, so eager am I to get back into this blogging deal, that if I had my way I would be attempting an all-out game diary tonight to celebrate my grand re-openning, but since the bright, new, post-grad world of semi-employment hasn't yet yeilded things like a TV or cable or Center Ice, the machine I would be doing the typing on is unfortunately the same machine I'll be watching the game on, and I just don't think I have that kind of coordination. Maybe another time.
As for the Sabres holding up their end of the deal, they'll be able to win me over easily enough tonight, as my excitement is high and my standards low. After working on my feet for 27 hours in the past two days, the only way the Sabres could ruin my day-off good mood would be by forcing me to stand up. As long as there is hockey and I get to stay sitting I should be happy. (Of course with those words I have undoubtedly sealed my fate of being miserable with the outcome of tonight's game. The Sabres I remember aren't ones to let that sort of challenge lie.)
Let's Go, Buffalo!
In the interest in starting fresh, I probably shouldn't open by discussing the R-word, but let's just say that it's a good thing I didn't resolve to lose 20 pounds, because I would probably weigh over 500 by now. This new year I will resolve to have more resolve, but that's still a few months off.
I have no excuse for my long, long absence, except: Who knew it was so hard to graduate from college? Finals were practically nothing compared with the organizational hassle that preceded me actually getting my hands on a diploma, and even the all celebrating was draining. It left me with no time for hockey, let alone hockey blogging. And even once all that rigmarole died down, it was hard to get back into the once-a-week rhythm, especially since it was suddenly the off-season. So I decided to take a break when the Sabres did.
But, if I'm being perfectly honest, blogging wasn't the only thing I took a break from this summer. I also took a bit of a break from being a hockey fan. I can't recall watching a single playoff game, though I'm sure I had the opportunity, and off-season roster moves (even those involving the Sabres) passed mostly under my radar. My daily blog rounds slipped to a weekly, and eventually to a monthly rotation. I stayed informed, but only long enough to file the facts of a trade or a signing away without analyzing, judging, or critiquing possible repercussions. After the last two summers spent fairly agonizing over every bit of team and league news, I found this to be a refreshing approach.
That's not to say I shed my fandom completely. It was a bit like having a long-distance boyfriend who texted me from time to time, reminding me that I was interested in him and letting me know that he picked up that Mike Grier that I always liked. The Sabres were the old flame that I kept meaning to call, but never actually got around to calling, because I knew that when the time was right we would just pick up where we left off. As unideally as things ended between us last time, there are no hard feelings. Some distance was just in order so that my heart could grow fond again.
And my heart is so fond right now.
I am so ready for hockey. Sure, the Sabres didn't make all of the improvements that I would have liked, but then who am I to judge? I'm showing up on opening night under-informed, out of practice, and metaphorically 350 pounds overweight, so it's not like I've dedicated the off-season to self-betterment, either. And, as a new season begins, my dissapointment in the things that haven't changed pales in comparison to my joy at the one big thing that has stayed the same: I love hockey. Right now that's all that matters, and the other factors - Will Myers stay? Will Tallinder be traded? Will Hecht get his mojo back? Will we be good enough? - are just little surprises waiting to happen along the way.
So, here's to a new season and a fresh start. Hopefully, now that I've transitioned from the life of an over-scheduled, over-stressed student into the bright, new, post-grad world of semi-employment, I will now have the time and energy to enjoy and blog to my heart's content. I sure have missed it. In fact, so eager am I to get back into this blogging deal, that if I had my way I would be attempting an all-out game diary tonight to celebrate my grand re-openning, but since the bright, new, post-grad world of semi-employment hasn't yet yeilded things like a TV or cable or Center Ice, the machine I would be doing the typing on is unfortunately the same machine I'll be watching the game on, and I just don't think I have that kind of coordination. Maybe another time.
As for the Sabres holding up their end of the deal, they'll be able to win me over easily enough tonight, as my excitement is high and my standards low. After working on my feet for 27 hours in the past two days, the only way the Sabres could ruin my day-off good mood would be by forcing me to stand up. As long as there is hockey and I get to stay sitting I should be happy. (Of course with those words I have undoubtedly sealed my fate of being miserable with the outcome of tonight's game. The Sabres I remember aren't ones to let that sort of challenge lie.)
Let's Go, Buffalo!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
If The Season Ends...
... and you weren't around to see it, did it really happen? Isn't this like a tree falling in the woods kind of a thing?
You'd think, given that rehearsals are weekday evening types of occurrences, that a Saturday afternoon game would be one of those very rare instances when I would get to watch. Well, not when the game coincides with work weekend, when I have to spend all afternoon hanging lights for our impending performance. If there's one thing four years of college education has taught me, it's that the theatre department always gets the upper hand.
To be honest, though, I'm not sure I really would have been grasp the game even if I had been able to watch. It's been months since I saw a full Sabres game (to be fair, only mostly because I haven't been trying: last week's Capitals match-up was cut short by a technical failure). Even though it's finally, finally warming up around this place, it seems impossible that the season is over. Now, I'm no dummy. I have the internet, and my regular daily blog rounds, so when all reasonable hope was gone, I knew it, and when all mathematical hope was gone, I certainly knew it. So it's not like I didn't know that this was their last game, but I think it's going to take a while for that to really sink in. I've grown so accustomed to the thought that, even though I can't see them, the Sabres are still playing hockey, that it's hard for me to comprehend a world in which, even though I can't see them, they are done playing hockey. It's sad to see it phrased this way, but I've gotten so used to being hockey-less that the end of the season doesn't really phase me. Not that it should be some big dramatic event, but other than the content of the blogs I read, nothing in my life is going to change. Just like all last month and more, I still won't be watching hockey.
It's hard to remember at this point, but I'm pretty sure last season was different. The two seasons were superficially pretty similar: they both ended with the Sabres just barely on the outside looking in, and they both contained month-long stretches of me not being able to watch. But somehow, last season, even though I was six whole time zones away, I felt something. Maybe it was just my residual affection and expectations for the 2006-2007 squad ultimately ending to disappointment, or maybe it was just my favorite player having one of the best years of his career and getting nothing to show for it from his team, but there was definitely a feeling of loss and lament. This time around, I got the text message telling me the Sabres had won their final and meaningless game 6-1 and all I could do was stare at it blankly, wondering what it could possibly mean.
Only one bit of information in the text solicited any kind of response in me: Thomas Vanek made it to 40 goals. Initially, I took this as a very small victory in a mostly painfully unremarkable season. Last season, even though it saw Sabres hockey and Sabres fans come crashing back to earth, there were still a number of positives to take away. I think back to my upgrade/downgrade ratings of last spring, and how I gushed about Pominville, Hecht and Spacek, and it seems all so foreign. Now, either I've grown bitter or the team has grown insufferable, but either way, I'm sure if (maybe when?) I replicate that exercise for this season there won't be half as many upgrade labels. And as I pondered the text message further, even Thomas Vanek, who was one of the brightest spots from the very beginning of the season, getting 40 goals isn't that great. Sure, he probably would have made more if he hadn't been injured, but as it stands that's only four more than his total last year, when he was downright brutal until the All-Star Game. Not meaning that I'm at all unhappy with his performance this season (hell, I didn't even see half of it), but I think it really puts this season into perspective that these are the types of positives that we have to hang on to.
By the way, as I'm typing this, it's 11:53 PM, so I totally made my resolution this week.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Waiting By The Phone
I got a call from the Minnesota Wild today.
Well, to be more specific, I got a prerecorded message from Wild owner Craig Leipold and Wild left winger (and certified cutie) Andrew Brunette, thanking me for being such a loyal fan, such a dedicated member of the Team of 18,000, and for making Xcel Energy Center the best arena in the NHL.
As you may have guessed from this blog, I am not, in fact, a loyal fan of the Wild. (You may have also guessed from this blog that I'm not a very loyal fan of the Sabres, either, and, well, I guess I can't blame you.) In fact, I'm guessing the only reason the Wild even have my phone number is because I bought tickets earlier this season to cheer their opponents (some guys in blue and gold...? It's been so long, I can't really remember) on to victory, much to the disappointment of their Team of 18,000. But Craig and Andrew didn't seem to care. Even though I'm pretty sure they were ultimately trying to sell me something (there was a mention of some Fan Week activity or another), they were practically falling all over themselves to tell me how great I was. And, even though I don't consider myself a member of their Team of 18,000, I really appreciated the thought.
But it makes me wonder when the call from B. Tom and our very own (newly) certified cutie left winger, Thomas Vanek, is coming. Surely they know what a loyal and dedicated fan I am, even if I haven't bought a ticket to HSBC this season, right?
(By the way, it's come to my attention that the Sabres are playing the Caps tonight. I had been waiting for this matchup for a long time, planning to finally let loose with the reasons I can't stand Alex Ovechkin, but it's been a long week, and I really don't have the spare energy neccessary to get my blood boiling. Once again, however, I find myself blessed with a Friday night free from rehearsal, so maybe watching the game will be enough to reinvigorate my loathing. If not, I'm sure my Caps-fan friend will be able to get the job done with some good old-fashioned trashtalk. In the meantime, rest assured that I have reasons, and that they are good ones.)
Well, to be more specific, I got a prerecorded message from Wild owner Craig Leipold and Wild left winger (and certified cutie) Andrew Brunette, thanking me for being such a loyal fan, such a dedicated member of the Team of 18,000, and for making Xcel Energy Center the best arena in the NHL.
As you may have guessed from this blog, I am not, in fact, a loyal fan of the Wild. (You may have also guessed from this blog that I'm not a very loyal fan of the Sabres, either, and, well, I guess I can't blame you.) In fact, I'm guessing the only reason the Wild even have my phone number is because I bought tickets earlier this season to cheer their opponents (some guys in blue and gold...? It's been so long, I can't really remember) on to victory, much to the disappointment of their Team of 18,000. But Craig and Andrew didn't seem to care. Even though I'm pretty sure they were ultimately trying to sell me something (there was a mention of some Fan Week activity or another), they were practically falling all over themselves to tell me how great I was. And, even though I don't consider myself a member of their Team of 18,000, I really appreciated the thought.
But it makes me wonder when the call from B. Tom and our very own (newly) certified cutie left winger, Thomas Vanek, is coming. Surely they know what a loyal and dedicated fan I am, even if I haven't bought a ticket to HSBC this season, right?
(By the way, it's come to my attention that the Sabres are playing the Caps tonight. I had been waiting for this matchup for a long time, planning to finally let loose with the reasons I can't stand Alex Ovechkin, but it's been a long week, and I really don't have the spare energy neccessary to get my blood boiling. Once again, however, I find myself blessed with a Friday night free from rehearsal, so maybe watching the game will be enough to reinvigorate my loathing. If not, I'm sure my Caps-fan friend will be able to get the job done with some good old-fashioned trashtalk. In the meantime, rest assured that I have reasons, and that they are good ones.)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Don't Screw This Up
Once again, it's Friday. Per the theatre department's promise I've had rehearsal all week, and was counting on having it tonight, too, until my directors informed me last night that I wasn't among the people called. That was a huge delight. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying myself at rehearsal - this show is nothing like the soul-sucking curse of an affair that was the last one - but fun or no, three hours a night is draining, especially on a Friday. So what am I doing with my unexpected evening of freedom?
Well, I think it's about time I gave the Sabres a chance again.
Now, it's not like I actually think they deserve my attention again, and I'm fully expecting to not enjoy what I see tonight, but strangely enough... I've missed them. Once upon a time (or at least what feels like once upon a time) I loved hockey, and maybe the Sabres can prove to me that that's a sport they can still play. In any case, I can't very well be disappointed in them for being bad if I don't make the effort to see just how bad they are, can I? Seems like tonight's the night. They're coming off a cathartic, albeit likely meaningless, win against the Panthers, Ryan Miller is back, and they're playing one of the few teams left in the conference that's actually below them in the standings. Realistically, I know this team has consistently found new and creative ways to turn expectations into disaster, but tonight I feel like betting against the odds.
I'm giving you my precious, precious free time tonight, Sabres. Don't screw this up.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Blowing It
It's Friday. I haven't posted in almost exactly two weeks. Less than three months in, and there goes my resolution. Well, I can't say I didn't make it longer than I thought I would.
But here's the thing: I'm not the only one who's blowing it. Three weeks removed from Miller's injury, the Sabres are five points removed from a playoff spot, and the outlook is suffocatingly bleak. All across Buffalo, fans are reacting accordingly. Even the most levelheaded are begging for the team to be blown up. Even the most steadfast are either prematurely switching off the games, or preemptively not tuning in in the first place. I don't mean this to be insulting to Buffalonians, but we've put up with some pretty crappy sports teams in our day, so if we're whining this much, it has to be bad. Hell, it's been bad enough to finally erode the teflon coating of Lindy Ruff's job security. That's bad.
To be honest, when I first made this resolution, I wasn't really being realistic about what this year had in store for me. Sure, I knew I'd be in rehearsal most nights, especially in the second half of the semester. I knew I was going to want to spend time with my friends, and that watching hockey wasn't really their idea of a good time. I knew that illegally obtaining out-of-market games through the internet is unreliable and unpredictable. So I expected that it was going to be challenging to keep up with the Sabres. What I didn't expect, was that I wouldn't even want to make the effort to try to keep up with the Sabres. If you'll notice, the above discussion of how bad the Sabres are is shaped exclusively by internet hearsay. The fact is I haven't seen a game in I can't remember how long, so I have no idea exactly how bad they've been. I just know it's bad.
Don't get me wrong, I still love hockey. I still keep up with my daily blog rounds; I still use every opportunity to bitch about Alex Ovechkin with my Caps-fan friend that I get; I still fill at least some part of every call home with hockey talk. I'm just not that interested in watching the Sabres anymore, and that isn't always because of time issues. Right now, for instance, I'm on spring break, which means no rehearsal. I have plans with friends, but not until later. I could totally be watching the Sabres play the Flyers right now. But instead I'm writing this blog post and doing some homework. (Homework! On spring break!) I'm not in a place to analyze this at the moment, but for whatever reason, I'm perfectly content to get all my Sabres knowledge second hand right now. And with the way the team has (reportedly) been playing, I don't see a need for that to be changing anytime soon.
Still, I'm not going to give up that easily. I may be totally out of the loop, I may be totally disinterested in getting back in the loop, but I'll still be here every week, churning out some sort of blather, pertinent or (more likely) not. I may be blowing it, but there's time to turn it around. If only I could say the same for the Sabres.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Uh oh. It's Saturday, isn't it?
End of the week! Quick, post something!
Uh... the last time I got to watch a full Sabres game (stupid theatre), Tim Connolly was still injured. So when I heard the news that he'd re-signed for 2 years $9 mil, I almost spewed Kix all over my keyboard. But apparently he's worth this money? Go figure.
Well. I'm pretty sure that's all I got.
Until next week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
