Taking It To The Streets

Attention Sabres Fans:

Larry, Darcy and Lindy are taking it to the public (and the public will take it to them) tomorrow at 5 on WGR.

I just hope they screen the calls a little bit... so we can all have our dignity when it's all over. It could be interesting, and maybe even a sign-post to what's to come.



Go Sabres.

Ah Well

Yes, the Sabres season is over, and yes it has to go down as a total failure and a bitter disappointment for the fans. Ah, but that just that means the the countdown has begun till next season, and in the end I'm not completely bummed out yet. That will come if the ownership doesn't step up to the plate and say "THIS IS A BLIP ON THE RADAR" and "STEPS WILL BE TAKEN," words I deem to be essential to reassuring the "new" Hockeytown that the jig isn't up.*



We shall see. Go Sabres.




* Of course by jig I mean dance, or Irish dance in particular. Some people actually think I'm referring to something else, believe it or not.

A Brush With Fate

That was like watching England futily taking their penalty kicks in a World Cup match up until Max snagged us a win in the shootout. A tremendous game. And Miller redeemed himself somewhat in the shootout tonight. A Herculean effort of redemption and triumph.


And we get another meaningful game Thursday night. Let's go Sabres.

Sunday Morning Tidbits

Briefly:

• Kudos to Reliable Sources' Harvey Kurtz for his salvo at MSNBC and Keith Olbermann in the ongoing CNN/MSNBC donneybrook over Maria Milito's crack about "pimps not sharing hoes" the other night on Countdown. Very classy and sharpHowie. And for my part though I hope that Keith doesn't pull a Samantha Power on Maria because I think her weekly American Idol updates are great for water cooler talking points.
• I am probably a bad person for not talking about the war more on this blog. God knows I've blogged about the war, but the war makes me angry, and depressed, and I guess I didn't want to share that here. The reality? I've given up. I follow the war in the alternative media, but the reality is it ain't ending until this guy is out of office, and that's that. We had our shot in 2004, and we blew it.
• This week's Frank Rich is right on the number.
• But it's not all serious. I shoehorned in last night's Torchwood and yikes. Freaky. Circuses and freaks always freak me out, and last night's evil soul stealing circus.... yeeaaarrggghh. 3 new episodes left... until new Doctor Who and Sarah Jane Adventures at the end of April.
• Is hope alive for the Sabres? I don't even know anymore at this point. But I will be watching the last HD broadcast of the year, and who knows, maybe my mother will win a player jersey at Fan Appreciate Night. The Sabres should at least do her that courtesy.

Go Sabres.

Ales Kotalik is a Bum

I posted this on BFLO Blog in a right state this morning. It pretty much sums up my feelings about the game last night.

I was at the game Tuesday and even I can’t hang last night on Ryan Miller.
My blame goes to Kotalik for taking that lazy and stupid penalty with 3.5
minutes left against the #1 power play in the league. That 3-1 lead was
precarious as hell, and taking a needless and pisspoor like that teed up
Montreal for that pivotal second goal that swung the game back the other way
right in time for the Habs to pull their goalie for the last few minutes. A
month or so ago it would have been Lydman taking the killer third period
penalty, but last night it was Kotalik the lazy, Kotalik the heartless and
gutless. It’s all Kotalik folks. Fucking Kotalik.

That said however, Miller does hit his knees faster than Monica
Lewinsky, almost as a reflex, and that’s ain’t helping either.

In my opinion a true hockey fan can't hate on the Sabres for last night's game. They played a solid game, they kept the pressure up the entire third period and didn't let up, and they got the game down to the 2.5 minute mark before it all went sour because of a lameass Ales Kotalik penalty. That second goal was the swinger, and with a pulled goalie they had us right where they wanted us for those last few minutes. The Sabres were doomed.

But hope is apparently still alive.

It was 100% Roy in the shootout and lo, hope is once again alive. We get the highs and the lows with these Sabres, and tonight we had plenty of both. In the end however, we got the two points and yes, we've got a reason to really play tomorrow night against Montreal.

Another die hard Sabres fan asked me sincerely "do you still love them" and the answer was an unflinching "absolutely." No doubt about it. I've been a fan for as long as I can remember, and that's the way it's gonna stay. I'm watching the game tonight, I've got my jersey on (the 90's black evil goat instead of the vintage with the C Lafontaine 16), I've got my Jim's Steak out/Sabres hockey agita, and of course, there's still that mathematical hope.


Let's go Sabres.

That game tonight was pathetic. I haven't left a game early in ages, but I left early tonight. Pathetic. A disgrace.



The playoff dream is dead.

OK, hope is alive for the Sabres. Last night's game was indeed convincing enough that I believe they can actually get into the playoffs. They might be backing their way into the playoffs, and or stepping over the carasses of other teams, but it can be done. I believe. For now.

Special kudos have to go out to the fans at the game last night. From the fans with the big PLEASE DON'T QUIT ON US sign tapped to the wall to the fans who clapped and chanted and urged the team to keep scoring goals (to gaurantee their win and help our mental health)... we did our part, and the team did their's. It was all good folks, all good. I just wish I had Eliot Spitzer's money because I'd love to head north up to the TO with the gang and score some tickets off of some scalpers because tonight's game is titanic, another must win game....


LET'S GO BUFFALO.

Yeah the Sabres totally sucked tonight, and yeah our playoff dreams are effectively dead in the water, but man... the NHL totally blows. Guastad's goal was totally a goal, and that whistle was hilariously quick. Sure it doesn't mean much at this point but pride is pride. I just wish the Sabres thought about that tonight.

Booyah! Sid the Kid is out! There is a chance!

We are fast approaching the point of no return. Tonight is a must win game. There can be no one point, there can be no zero points, there can only be two. Against Sid the Kid and The Great Malkin. Oy vey.

2 points on two games when we needed 4? Yeah... I think the Sabres are finished. And what exactly was Lindy Ruff thinking about when he put out Stafford and Kotalik for the shootout? "Hey... here's two guys who didn't do dick all game... these are exactly the guys who should shoulder our playoff hopes!" Jebus.

The Sabres playoff chances are more or less on life support. That first period last night against Carolina killed them, and now we're stuck running out of time while running smack dab into a bunch of division games that will more than likely chew the Sabres up and spit them out. I guess it's gut check time for everybody, including us fans.

Update to the Update

• The Sabres won in a genuine "show of guts" and thus kept their/our playoff hopes alive. The open thread live blog of the game over at was a lot of fun tonight. Let's go Sabres!
• In a bizarre twist Ain't It Cool News has a Super Tuesday II post and thread. I feel less bad about inflicting politics on you (actually I don't feel bad at all). Kudos to all of you fine Americans!
• And now I am done for the night. The Real World beckons, and I am tuckered out from all of these exertions. And now let us pray...

This Is It

Tonight's Sabe's game against the hated Flyers is titanic. Huge. If we can't win tonight our playoff dreams are realistically over. Kaput.

It's come to this. We got the wrath of God outside. The Democratic Party hangs in the balance. And the Sabres are confronted with a must win situation. This is it.



Let's go Sabres.

That's two nights in a row that the Sabres have looked like total ass, and I ain't amused in the least. In the end the Sabres took stock of the job at hand and decided that they just don't want it enough, and this is what you get. There is nothing like seeing stale, purposeless hockey at the point in the season when every game counts, and it's disgusting. The only upside is you can't really blame Lindy when it's a matter of commitment, and the sad fact is that these guys aren't showing any at all.

At least my mother will save some money on playoff tickets this spring.

That game last night wasn't shit... it was shite. The less said about it the better.

Bienvenidos!

Welcome to BFLO Scott Bernier! 2 goals in your first game. Very nice... very nice indeed.

I liked this trade from the get go but I gotta tell you-I'm liking this trade more and more.

The House of Pain

• The Campbell saga is over at last. Do I like the deal? Dude got too big for his britches and he had to go- and that's that. We got another big garbageman (in hockey garbageman = good) to park his ass in front of the net and snag goals and a first round pick so it's all good. At least we can't get on with the rest of the season, which is totally hanging in the balance.
• "Hanging in the balance" is right. These playoff quests can be a total bitch, with every game a must win game. Believe you men, I've totally stocked up on Tums and Prilosec.
• Tonight we shall have some primo political theater when Zeppelin Hillary crashes into the field in NJ that is Barack Obama. Will we get AAAANGRY Hillary? Junkyard Dog Hillary? Or Hillary the Great Concilliator? It will be interesting.
• Speaking of interesting, how cool was it that the Oscars were a total TV ratings dud? Not even celebs joyously gussied up for the first time in ages could save the old boy without the full on Hollywood hype machine running in front of it. Oh well.