Rock Bottom

James McCoy

Yesterday was Rock Bottom for me. I've been to the point where I don't care about the Bills in a season. Usually it means I'm doing something else and don't care, but yesterday I just didn't plain care and I was home for the majority of the game. I wasn't thrilled to turn on the tv at 4pm. Actually turned it on later, since me and the fiancee were taping off a couch we bought and found out it ain't gonna work. The entertainment center will but we'll have to go with something smaller. But finally got to the game. And really I didn't get upset or excited at any plays. Didn't throw something when JP threw that interception. There's a symbolic play of JP Losman in Buffalo. And just kinda lost interest threw the game.

The Toronto experiment, yes highly profitable, but as a Bills experiment failed totally. Can't sell it out naturally. The "home" team is actually outnumbered by the other teams fans. And the atmosphere was dead. How about these quotes

“It was crazy because we heard cheering for Buffalo and then we heard a lot of cheering for us,” said Dolphins cornerback Will Allen, whose end-zone interception of J. P. Losman in the third quarter was one of the game’s key plays. “I didn’t really know what the fans were doing. I would definitely play here over Buffalo any day.”

Of course you would. People like getting cheered for. Plus people from the South hate the cold. But I guess Toronto would look good for Free agents!

“It was cool and it was fun, but Buffalo fans are a lot more rowdy,” tackle Marcus Stroud said. “We could have used that rowdiness today.”

Well you could have used some offense too, but rowdiness might have helped.

“Obviously, the NFL is about making money,” said Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell, clad in a No. 59 Toronto Raptors jersey after the game. “If that is what they are doing, that’s what they are doing.”

Ooo that had some truth to it. Its like a typical employee doing what the boss needs him to do, makes a good employee. I like Kawika.

Then theres Jason Peters who may have just got himself on the Bills fan side with these quotes. (Minus his play of late)

"I don't like it at all," he said. "I wish we were playing in Orchard Park."

"When you've got a home game and the crowd is supposed to cheer, they were cheering more for the Dolphins," he said. "I wasn't here in the preseason, so I don't know how it was then. But that stunned me. They're not even cheering on third down. They're not cheering when we do get a first down. They're just sitting there like they don't know what's going on. I hate the idea of us playing here. It's crazy.

"That's why you play at home. It's home-field advantage. You feed off the crowd. We had no energy whatsoever."

The players know its a big deal. They know they love the extra energy. They were dead out there yesterday. They didn't like how things were. In the end it doesn't matter where you play its how where you play reacts to you. If you are loved and cheered, you'll love playing there. Because its real energy thats tough to capture. But of course thats an excuse, you should go out there and win no matter what.

"We just got to get better," he said. "If a play's called we've got to execute it, run or pass."

Exactly.

But I don't know about this team. I thought things were turning around, but evertyhing has just fallen apart. They just seem like they don't care or don't want to be out there sometimes. Its just a mixture of bad play, bad coaching and just bad everything. Its not fun, its unwatchable. It makes me not care. If they tried and lost, it would be one thing. But its no effort losing. It makes you go, just stay in Toronto, I don't care. Some players might like it better there. Right Marcus Stroud?

“I guarantee you won’t find any guys in our locker room that’s complaining about going to play in a dome,” the Bills’ defensive tackle said the other day. “So it’ll work both ways. It [playing inside] is going to benefit everybody.”

I can't believe that he said that, does he not know where he is playing? Basically saying hey this might be better then what we normally do, doesn't endear yourself to the team Marcus. We want you to say hey, lets open that roof, see what happens.

I hate to say it but Jerry Sullivan has been right on the money with the Bills this month or so. I think blogging has made him better and really get to what the fan is thinking. Jerry, give Bucky some tips, he still doesn't get it.

Come January, this team needs a overhaul. The Dolphins did it, and see what happened there. There needs to be a change in culture. Change in attitude. And you can't go cheap on a coach, you get what you pay for. There is talent here, the Bills just need the attitude to match it.

Otherwise, I don't want to take it anymore and its time for me to look for a new team.

Rare Saturday ramblings.

Well how about that. UB won the MAC Championship. Thats nice. Its good for the program. It shows what happens when you hire the right guys. Unfortuntly for the Bulls hiring the right guys, means those right guys will get paid by someone else. Nature of the Beast. UB is just a stepping stone for Turner Gill. Hopefully it doesn't make UB go back to what they were before. But for me, its nice but I don't care, I didn't go to UB. Not my school, so its hard to really get pumped up about it. They beat Ball St. They weren't close to Missouri who is average.


The Sabres called up Nathan Gerbe. Thats pretty desperate. Sent Mancari down. But things are going to change at HSBC arena pretty soon. I have a feeling some drastic moves need to be made. Hey are they going to wear their new 3rd's? No? Okay they will lose. Those were the only 2 games they've won in the last 11. Coincidence?


The Bills are playing in Toronto tomorrow and people aren't caring. I think Christmas shopping is more important to people right now. The Toronto people don't seem that enthused about it. With the ticket giveaway they had. But JP Losman is starting, so we'll see if they quit or not. They lay flat tomorrow, its a 6-10 season. Dick Jauron is gone and the team is in transition again. Wasn't October nice, lets go back there. December can't be as bad as November right? Wait? What. Corey Mace is on the squad?

Look out Dolphins you about to be MACED!

Wait he's Canadian? Oh I see what they did. Good PR Bills.



And on a random note. I made myself a Peanut Butter and M&M sandwich. It was delicious.

Thats all. Enjoy the weekend.

Things need to change now, not later.

Well the Sabres new start of the season, didn't start to well, with a 2-1 loss in Miami last night. Sure they had a lot of shots on net. But they were the easy to stop ones. Florida contained them well. They scored when they needed to, and the Sabres lone goal was on a 5 on 3. So not impressive at all.

Lindy may have lost these guys. They had a couple days to come together, and had nothing to show for it. I saw the first period, there was no extra emotion out there. They tried, sure. But it didn't look like things were different. Its been almost 1 year and a half from the Presidents Trophy year. And for the most part this is the Sabres team we are stuck with. The UFA's up coming really are pointless. Max is useless, Timmy is always out and Kotalik is Kotalik.

People are saying get rid of them early, bring up the young kids. Thats not going to solve anything. There needs to be something drastic. Something that would get everyone talking. Trading Max isn't the answer anymore.

Its time for Lindy to go.

I'm never its the coach's fault guy. I'm more its the players, stupid, kinda guy. But with the amount of guys under longer term deals. You really can't get rid of most of the guys. Now you have Lindy calling out Ryan Miller for a bad goal. This after last year, riding him into the ground. If your franchise goalie and face of the franchise quits on you, then the Sabres are really up the creek with no paddle. Their goalie isn't the issue. Its the offense. The lines aren't working, there is no gel. There doesn't seem to be a fire in them. Mancari had fire when he came up, and it was obvious, which is probably a bad thing. It showed how much he wanted it versus the other guys. Something is needed to get the whole team going.

I think there is talent here. Darcy Regier has an eye for talent. But Lindy is the only coach he has had as GM. He might be a little to loyal to him and to players. They don't bring in many new guys. The one new guy that came in, was named Captain. I've been thinking about that lately. At first it was a good story. But now it seems to me that they were that desperate for leadership last year, or they actually saw some leadership in Rivet and stumbled over each other to put the "C" on him. Or they hated the dreaded rotation that much. They just gave it to the new guy.

And with how Darcy Regier is, he won't fire Lindy. I don't think he can nor wants to. He would have before the lockout, and no one would have batted and eye at it. But its a duopoly with the Buffalo Sabres. And that leaves it with Larry Quinn. The much despised, minority owner, who has a financial stake in the team now. He knows if the Sabres miss the playoffs this year, ticket sales will drop and they will run through the waiting list. And with a bad economy, season tickets will be down. The attendance is already off. He will have to force Darcy's hand, or he'll can the both of them and start over.

Well now Ryan Miller is upset at the comments Lindy made about his first goal.

The coach said the first goal "was an easy play for Ryan to read," and Miller used the slight to close his chat.

Told that he may face more odd-man rushes because the coach wants his defensemen to join the play more, Miller … clearly taken aback by the earlier words and getting more emotional by the second … uttered, "Well, I guess I'm going to have to read better," and took off toward the team bus.

I don't know if I have heard Ryan snarky like that before at Lindy. Which is probably a sign, the team might be quitting on Ruff. And now he's going with the "we are going to work all the time card" is not going to help.

This will only get worse, and things have to be handled now. If this goes any longer, the season will be permanently lost. Its too early for the Sabres to close up shop. In my eternal optimism I always think they could get better and I like Lindy Ruff. But I think its just time. Familiarity has bred contempt and its time to shake that all up.

Sabres Panthers preview

Oh boy a trip down to Miami in December. But there will be no relaxation on South Beach for this club. After Monday's performance, they need to focus and treat it as a business trip and like they headed to Bismarck South Dakota for this game.

The Sabres are on a 2 game losing streak, and winners of just 2 of their last 9 games. The Panthers on the other hand, injury depleted, 3-0-2, in their last 5 games. So they are pretty hot and playing well. And I love this line in the Yahoo preview.

The Panthers are playing a strong team game; they are buying into Pete DeBoer’s system of aggressive forechecking and doing anything to keep the puck out of the net. Backup goalie Craig Anderson has been terrific and will continue to keep playing as long as he keeps winning.
Mmm, strong team game, tell me more about this "System" you have. Can the Sabres borrow it for a little bit and see if its better?

The Panthers have lost their biggest scorer David Booth to injury, Nathan Horton is out. Along with Richard Zednick and Cory Stillman. But they still continue to win with this starting forward lineup. With his week off David Booth can go hunt some more bears.

First Line: Rostislav Olesz-Stephen Weiss-Michael Frolik

Second Line: Ville Peltonen-Gregory Campbell-Radek Dvorak

Third Line: Brett McLean-Shawn Matthias-Kamil Kreps

Fourth Line: Nick Tarnasky-Kenndal McArdel-Anthony Stewart

Um who are those guys?

The second line is who is doing all the scoring. So the Sabres better watch out. I really wouldn't worry about the last 2 lines.

Well the Sabres are kinda banged up. Connolly is obviously out, its more shocking when he's playing. Rivet probably won't play, but Lydman will. Making the move to call up Weber a waste of Air Fare. But I doubt the kid minds. Plus Pat Kaleta is out with neck, back, or upper body injury.

I honestly don't know what the Sabres will do tonight. They could come out hard and win by 3 goals. But they haven't showed that quick strike ability in a while. They put a lot of shots on the net but not many go in. Unless they are Thomas Vanek.

Well the lines tonight according to one John Vogl.

Thomas Vanek-Derek Roy-Drew Stafford

Paul Gaustad-Jochen Hecht-Jason Pominville

Maxim Afinogenov-Adam Mair-Ales Kotalik

Daniel Paille-Clarke MacArthur-Mark Mancari.

Goose is up with the second line, an idea I like. But that 3rd line is like they but names in a bowl and drew three and called it a line. I have no idea how it will work. Probably not well. And the 4th line I kinda like. There is some scoring touch and effort on that line. Could be the line to watch tonight for some scoring.

I may watch some of this one, but games usually in Florida are terrible so don't mark this one as a must watch.

Fire Bucky Gleason

Oh my god have you seen the latest pile of crap from Bucky Gleason this morning?

Usually I ignore Bucky, because he's a hack, and everyone knows it, why do you think you don't see him that much. I swear, bad earnings and his butt is canned. He's first on the chopping block. He does nothing else but editorials and in this age are completely useless. But this one got me going to the point I had to FJM style this one. In honor of the beloved former website.

In case you didn’t hear, J. P. Losman is down to his final month with the Buffalo Bills. In the old days, saying goodbye to a former first-round pick would be grounds for intense scrutiny of the scouting department. These days, it’s viewed as another welcome step removed from the Tom Donahoe era.

Yes I knew that, and its no big deal, hes a terrible QB.

Not that anybody cares, either, considering their other issues. Less than a month after the playoffs looked like a gimme, the Bills are in utter disarray. The passing game is a mess, the play calling atrocious, game management laughable, leadership invisible. The proverbial firing squad has assembled along One Bills Drive, waiting for Dick Jauron.

Ok, and? Just filling space?

Five losses in six games can do a number on a team, making Sunday’s game against Miami in Toronto less a celebration and more a resuscitation. Regardless of whether Jauron has a contract extension, bringing him back will be the toughest of sells unless the Bills survive four weeks without CPR.

It would be if they finish 7-9 again, but 10-6 and 9-7 is an improvement, and no one had them in the playoffs anyway. Winning 4 games in a row isn't out of the question, they did it before.

And that’s where Losman, strange as it sounds, is capable of making a difference. It would mean Jauron coming to his senses and shortening the leash on Trent Edwards with the idea Losman deserves another chance. Hold off on your “Subject: stick to hockey” e-mails because it’s no crazier than maintaining status quo.

Uh-oh, don't go there Bucky.

A change was in order weeks ago, when it became apparent that Edwards was shaky after being knocked for a loop. Nobody knows for sure if he was suffering from concussion-related problems, but the guy wasn’t the same. He wasn’t seeing the field. He wasn’t making simple throws. He wasn’t doing anything Losman couldn’t do.

Well against San Diego and Kansas City he was fine, otherwise, the whole team was terrible in most of the others games, so do they all have Concussions? And in Cleveland he got the team in scoring position and game back from a terrible start. His kicker blew that one.

And the Bills were losing. While it became chic for fans and media to hail Edwards as a winner who excelled at game management and rip Losman as a bust and loose cannon, they never grasped marginal differences. Each is 7-9 in his last 16 starts. Edwards is just as capable of managing losses as Losman is of managing wins.

Uh?

Losman has completed 59.5 percent of his passes in his career and thrown 32 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions. Edwards has completed 61.6 percent while throwing 17 TDs and 18 INTs.

Well one is a more experienced QB with terrible competition rate, the other is still learning and will take to next year to fully judge him. The book is in on JP, he's not that good and has one throw.

Let’s be honest, Jauron has little to lose with a change at this point, other than four games and his job. Who knows, maybe Losman would beat Miami this week and gain momentum. At the very least, Losman would inject emotion into a passionless Bills team and give the Dolphins an unexpected twist.

Um sure, he has little to lose other then being unemployed in a recession. He's not going to get another head coaching job, and maybe never another coaching job at any level. He has his future to lose. MaybeJP would or maybe he'd throw a horrible interception and cost his team a sure win. Um did he inject any emotion into the team last week? Or in Arizona? When I think JP Losman, I don't think of him injecting passion into a team. You know why? Because they don't believe in him. You can tell. That may have been the worst paragraph Bucky has ever written.

The fact Jauron acknowledged the other day that he never considered switching quarterbacks this year should be an insult to every sucker who believed that they were serious about the playoffs.

I believed they were serious about the playoffs, they ran into injuries and didn't play well. It happens. And why would they switch, Trent is their guy.

Former third pick overall Vince Young is sitting on the bench while Tennessee rides Kerry Collins to an 11-1 record. Donovan McNabb was benched this season. Brett Favre was run out of Green Bay. Derek Anderson was benched after signing a big contract. Yet Trent Edwards is an untouchable?

Ok, how is this a demonstration of who's untouchable. Vince Young got hurt and was never really good. Plus they were UNDEFEATED with Kerry Collins. Donovon McNabb has a young up an coming QB behind him, and is nearing the end of his career. Brett Favre RETIRED and then decided to come back after Green Bay moved on. Not run out. Completely false statement. Derek Anderson was a 1 year wonder, plus there was an expensive rookie behind him. Who is hurt now. None of these examples proves that that Trent Edwards is untouchable. You failed in proving an argument.

This is nothing against Edwards, who has potential to be a good one. He’s a terrific person, someone you want dating your sister. He’s intelligent, polite, accountable, says all the right things. Unfortunately, he’s been better standing at the podium than he’s been standing in the pocket for the better part of a month.

Wait, uh? He has potential to be a good one, but you want him on the sidelines? How does that make any sense whatsoever. If he has great potential, don't you want him playing? To see if thats true, rather then the known that is JP Losman. We know that JP Losman ISN'T good enough. Do we forget Jacksonville last year, or the other games. He has had one decent moment with the comeback against Houston. Thats it. Maybe the long bomb to Evans to beat the Jets last year. But guess what THATS THE ONLY PASS HE'S GOOD AT! Otherwise he fails in a West coast type system. He doesn't fit it. Trent Edwards does. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Remember, it was Jauron who told Losman that life wasn’t fair upon handing the offense to Edwards. He doesn’t need to be fair. He needs to win.

Of course every head coach does, but hes stuck with the players he has, they don't care about winning so he's pretty much stuck. Yeah well Losman sealed his own fate.

How ironic it would be if Jauron failed to adhere to his own philosophy, wound up losing the last four games and was escorted out the door with the quarterback who could have saved his job.

Nope, that is the worst paragraph Bucky Gleason has ever written. JP Losman is not going to save Dick Jauron's job. Benching JP Losman, probably saved it last year. JP Losman isn't that good, he will not bring the Bills back. Have you ever seen him against a Patriots team and be good? Well neither has Edwards, so that doesn't say much. But come on, how could you possibly write that statement. Its ridiculous. We all know JP isn't good enough, he's a good guy, but he isn't a NFL starter. We all know that.

Write about bad play calling, or terrible time management or the lack of passion that the Bills have. But to use any of that to justify to put JP Losman in the lineup. This isn't hockey where you put the backup goalie in to fire up the guys. The QB is the show. You can't protect the net, he plays well or not, you win because of him. Putting in the backup QB does absolutely nothing a majority of the time. The guys have to trust him, and I doubt, these guys trust JP.

Seriously get rid of Bucky Gleason already Buffalo News. It may save your paper.

Enthusiasm Recession

James McCoy

Well hasn't fan enthusiasm hit lows lately?

In October Bills and Sabres fans were riding high, things were good. Playoffs were planned. Championship runs were estimated. Now its to the level of not caring. Both teams have just had their bubbles popped. All the enthusiasm was built on a false foundation, and when one part slipped everything else collapsed around it. Unlike Wall Street, there's no bailout for the Sabres or the Bills. They will only have to improve the situation themselves.

The Bills

The worse of the two teams, since the San Diego has completely come off the tracks and now looks like the Lions. Well probably couldn't beat the Lions right now. They have gone 1-5 since the San Diego game. Minus the Cleveland and Kansas City game, they couldn't score more then 20 points, and only scored 3 points against the lowly 49ers. Uninspired and sloppy play has been the order for the Bills for the past 6 games. Kansas City they looked like an actual decent team. But the lack of interest in this team is frightening. The New England game was brutal to watch. And they just look they can't win. Against Cleveland I thought they would come out and dominate, but that didn't happen. And Rian Lindell probably ruined his season from which I doubt he'll recover. I guess we don't have to worry about his stupid streak anymore.

The fan enthusiasm is way down. Its angry, its apathy, its the "same old Bills" mentality. People want to someone to take the blame for this horrendous falloff. Fire Jauron, get rid of coaches, get rid of players. But its not a one person blame job Mr. Sullivan, this is a players issue. How can one team go from the right decisions to bad decisions. Sometimes the players don't look they don't care. And most people know you can't motiviate players who don't want to be motivated. Its internal, maybe these guys don't care, or given up, even they might not want to be in this city past January, to who knows. You can tell, theres no fire in some of these guys. Sure its up the coaches to game plan and get their players ready. But these guys are paid lots of money for a reason. And not wanting to come out and win every single Sunday is totally unexceptable.

Myself, I don't care anymore, didn't catch a single minute of the 49er game. Whats the point? If they don't care, neither should I. The bad part it dimishes my enthusiasm to watch Football at all, and I love Football. Thanks Bills for ruining Football for me.

Now we have the Toronto game, which brings up the Bills future in Buffalo. Which only depresses Bills fans even more. And the fact the crowd maybe 50/50 or even lean Miami, is terrible. But with the Bills recent performances at home, maybe a road game is better.

We maybe entering the Great Depression for Bills fans.

Sabres

Well after a great start, 6-0-2, they have gone 5-10-1. Thats right 5-10-1! Where they only have scored 2.2 goals a game and given up 3.5 goals a game. Um thats a serious issue. The crowds are still there, but they are silent. Last night was just horrible. I feel bad for people who paid for that performance. But a low point maybe on December 12th. The Leafs are coming to town, its a Platinum game, and with recent performances no one is going to pay those prices. But with the Leafs optimism high, their fans will. And ticket resellers will make christmas money. It could be thousands of Leaf fans, and might make HSBC look Blue and White. But hey its good for the Buffalo economy. But not for enthusiasm level.

They suffer the same problem as the Bills, just plain lack of effort. Lazy is a good word to describe them. They don't feel insecure about their job. That young, happy to be in the NHL isn't there anymore, especially for #9. Thomas Vanek, is a proud man and is playing like a house on fire. Only if other Sabres would join him. How many times have you seem just drive to net or at least attempt too. He cares, he wants to win. Ales Kotalik came back last night, did it make a difference? Jochen Hecht is playing, so the lineup says.

I feel bad for Lindy there is nothing he can do, benching players doesn't work. They know they'll be back on the ice, because their are 6 to 8 players who can take their place. Max is unhappy, Stafford is in a year and half slump, since Drury left. Connolly is a injury disaster. The defense have turned into turnover machines. Dan Paille is Dan Paille. Paul Gaustad tries, but is hands of stone.

The only solution is a massive stimulus package. They are going to have to ship guys out. Bring in fresh blood. New blood, to get rid of the bad blood that is circulating through the locker room. Its only a minor recession, it can be changed if the right direction is taken.

Ted Rogers dead at 75

The man behind the Bills In Toronto, has passed away at 75. The 2nd richest man in Canada who had that widely hated press conference in the Summer detailing the new venture between him and the Bills.

Who knows where the future of this venture lies. This always seemed like Ted Rogers baby. He had the cash to pull if off. Now that cash is spread around and the new leadership will head Rogers Communications, who maybe aren't in the same boat as Ted. Ralph Wilson got his money for the games. He is the one that comes out great in this.

From what I read about Ted Rogers, he loved taking chances, didn't mind debt if he knew he'd make money in the end. But with the current Recession, who knows if anyone will share the same mindset. Plus the fact the Bills aren't a attractive looking team and the credit market is in the hole, and no doubt new owners would need lots of credit. But of course the moving or selling of the Bills would be years away, and the economy and credit markets would probably improve by then. But its most likely purchaser, has just gone away.

From the Globe and Mail article:

Mr. Rogers defied expectations to the end. As Canadian provider of the iPhone, he bucked the bad economic news by delivering solidly higher sales and profits in recent quarterly results. And even as his health was failing, he was making his patented folksy sign-off, “The best is yet to come.”

For the Bills in Toronto, which starts this week, only the unknown is yet to come.

While I was out......

Yeah you were bad yesterday

Well I was out in Cortland visiting the future in law's and shopping. So I missed a bunch of stuff in Buffalo sports. Caught some College Football. And if JP Losman is the QB for the rest of the year, they might want to borrow Georgia Tech's option offense, because that works with a terrible passer. And he has the Athletic skills to pull it off.

But the Bills are pretty much done this year. After a 4-0 start, they've gone 2-6. Which is pretty bad. Everyone is on the hook for that one. Well the defense held a team to 10 points. The offense is pretty bad without Edwards. Looking at the stats I have zero clue how they only got 3 points.

They were 46% on 3rd downs thats pretty average

They had 1 turnover

Had 3 sacks.

Rushed for 156 yards

Held the other offense below 200 yards

I have no idea how they lost that game, I didn't watch it so, if someone could tell me why, that would be great.

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The Sabres on the other hand, went 2-1 while I was gone. That's a major improvement over the 5 straight losses I witnessed before leaving.

Well they beat Boston and Pittsburgh, before losing a lead and losing to Montreal on Saturday. With Thomas Vanek the only scorer in that one. And he scored 3 goals of the 9 scored on the weekend. Which is typical since he is the only one that can put the puck in the net. He now has 18 goals on the year. Of the 63 the team has scored on the year. Almost 1/3 of the goals on the team. Um thats not good. Derek Roy has seemed to get his game back, Drew Stafford had 1 good game

But beating some good teams is a good confidence boost with the Predators coming into town. Hopefully they wear the new third jerseys, because they are 2-0 in them.

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But where the real good news lies is with the local High School Football. WNY swept the state championships. Excluding class B, but 4 for 5 ain't bad. Including my Sweet Home Panthers and their first state title.

Its good to see WNY football is at its highest right now. Or the rest of the state is just bad. Either way, the power lies on the west coast of the state.

I never thought Sweet Home would win a state title. In my day, they couldn't even win at the Ralph. Always were good, but never good enough. But I guess Faller is that good of a coach or the players today are so much better. The kids playing pee wee football were raised up together, and created a strong team, that beat everyone they faced this year going 13-0.

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And the Griffs beat Bona on a last second 3 to win the game. NICE! I don't care how bad Bona is, beating them is always good.

Looks like they got a good player in Chris Gadley, who with the improvement of the young guys, the Griffs could start to become a real team. Or be totally disappointing with a decent young player and no talent around them.

They are 2-3 with a road game at Howard today. Lets make a move to .500 guys.

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Anyway I had a great weekend and not that sad I missed a lot of Buffalo Sports. Its theraputic. Not watching Buffalo Sports teams, decreases the Stress level. You can enjoy other games.

The Morgue that is HSBC Arena

Its a cold, quiet place

I was at the Sabres Islanders game on Saturday night. Thank god they were free tickets, otherwise I would have been terribly upset. A silver priced game for the Islanders. No wonder there were sections of blue on Saturday. This team is not fun to watch at the moment. They don't score that much. They breakdown on defense way too much. They seem disinterested most of the time. When players playing hard are obvious, that's a bad sign. It means that actual effort is noticeable. Mancari, is really going hard out there. And guess what he scored, because he drove to the net and put in a rebound. What a crazy idea.

But the atmosphere in the arena, was quiet and subdued. Defeated if you will. There was no hope among the faithful, especially with that 3rd goal. When Roy scored, it woke the place up. Then when Vanek got that terrible call, it was lights out. Game Over. There is no excitement with the Sabres. The little kids are always happy. That's nice. But the real noise comes from the adults. Soon other options will seem more attractive to parents. And other people and attendance will dwindle. Forget making money on resales. No one will buy them except below face value.

The bottom line is the team that started the season, seems to have disappeared. Will it come back? I don't know. Should they wait to see? I wouldn't its time to make moves. Not a move. Trading max ain't waking up the team. Benching Tallinder didn't work. Calling Mancari didn't work, except bringing up a player that wants to play. Line shifts don't work. Connolly helped, but he is brittle and can't be trusted. What is there left to do?

Fire Lindy Ruff?

Some may say that's stupid, but this team hasn't showed effort or consistent play in "the system" last year and now again this year. Last year it was a pass for the loss of Drury and Briere, but others have lost superstars and continued on. This team took a nosedive. No matter what Lindy does, doesn't seem to work this year. Would this wake the players up, and you can't promote James Patrick either. Its someone new outside the organization. Guys lose favorite status and have to win over the new coach leading to improved play.

Make a Trade

This seems like the more obvious answer. But who, for what, or multiple players for a big name. Getting rid of Max isn't going to do anything and no one will be scared. But you trade a Hank Tallinder or a Derek Roy. People will notice. This team is infected with a lazy, sloppy play virus. Hecht almost seems immune to it. Pominville is up and down, but looks to straighten his game out. But Roy, Stafford, Kotalik, Gaustad all seem nonexistent for the most part. MacArthur was straight awful on Saturday and is 3rd line player none higher. The fourth line guys play hard, but you can't expect much from them. Sekera is struggling, bringing down Spacek. Lydman is terrible. Rivet isn't much better. Paetsch is a 7th defenseman. Numminen is probably a guy you'd rather have as the 7th, then the everyday guy he is.

Roy has a nice low value contract, and could pull in some nice player, especially if you package a Stafford with him. There needs to be another stud on the backend, to spell Numminen, then you could put Tallinder back in. Who I bet is pissed. I hope he is. The problem is, what do you get for who. You can't make a trade to just make a trade. You have to make sure it makes sense. The Rivet trade made sense. There is poison on this team and you gotta get rid of it now.
Do Nothing

The usual Regier position. Which sometimes seems to work out. Well this is the corp he wanted and this is what he is going to get. Hard play, then nights off. All through the year. Lucky to get hard effort in 50% of the games. The good effort in marketing the past few years, will wane. Ticket sales will drop and the building will be half empty again, or when the Leafs come to town, 60% leaf fans. That's not a good thing. Its embarrassing. Good for the local economy, bad for image.

Regier can't just stand pat. Its not a 7 game phenomenon, this happened last year, and even in the President's cup year. There are players on this team, you can't expect to play hard every night. He can't except that and move along. They will not make the Cup finals with that attitude. Maybe not even the Playoffs. They are in a hard division. Boston and Montreal are very good. Toronto is playing hard. Ottawa is Ottawa, but the Sabres always struggle with them.

Final Opinion

I'm leaning with the make a trade option. Usually I'm a stand pat, win with the guys you have. But its been a year and a quarter. And its not working. Time to move some pieces around. I'm not sure who, but Roy looks like a good candidate to me, him and/or Stafford.

If this was a medical issue, the Sabres need some preventive medicine, before waiting till something more serious sets in. The longer the slide, the smaller the crowds. The smaller the crowds, the smaller the revenue. Which will lead to shipping guys out because they make too much. Then we go into Golisano looking to sell the team. And there's the big bad Ballsilie just lurking across the border.

I'm not an alarmist, but the product on the ice is what matters most in this town. When that starts slipping, everything falls apart around it. Call it the performance bubble.

Well that helped a little

James McCoy

I guess after last week and the bottom of the barrel feeling I had as a Bills fan, was lifted a little yesterday. Finally went out and beat a bad team, handily. Like I said I wasn't going to be all ready for this one. Me and the Fiancee, went out and scouted for Black Friday, had lunch and went home a little early. So I got home, put on the tv. And Leodis McKelvin just returned a TD. I was like thats good, but are they down by 13 at this point? Oh no they are leading. Mmmm. Ok lets see how this one goes.

Then McKelvin picks off another one. Then the offense starts rolling. Edwards goes all crazy and does it the old screw it I'll do it myself routine. That Thomas Vanek loves to do. I'm sure every one was screaming.

RUN OUT OF BOUNDS!!!! NOOOOO!!!!! WOOOOO!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

That sealed the game for me. Edwards was back, and if he is on, the Bills are going to win. Tyler Thigpen contracted what Trent had over the past 4 games and turned into a turnover machine. Seriously he fumbled when he fell to the ground. Hopefully Brett Favre can't catch it next or Matt Cassel.

The defense still wasn't that great, the only difference was they got turnovers. McKelvin is developing into a decent corner, the bust label can be put away for a few weeks. Hardy on the other hand is invisible. Derek Fine is a better pick at this point.

The offense seemed mixed. Pass and run. Edwards was hitting guys. That roll out to Reed for 20 some yards may have been his best throw of the season. He's hitting tight ends, backs and recievers. Its also that that Josh Reed is back.

But still it was a nice vacation from what has been happening. But I'll probably miss next weeks game and I don't really care. Its the Dolphin game in two weeks that concerns me. If they win that one in Toronto. Who knows if they can win the next 3.

I don't want to get my hopes up again.

Sabres Bruins Preview

I know I called the Bruins "boring" and "that it was great the Sabres don't play them 8 times this year" because they are terrible horrible boring games. Well some Bruins fans took that to heart, and I "didn't watch them this year" Well of course I didn't watch them. I assumed they were boring. Why would I watch that?

But now the Bruins have some talent, and they are leading the Northeast, not due to high scoring for sure, but still are a much improved team. They are defense first (nice way to say sit back), though do give up 30 shots a game. But they score 3 goals a game and are 2nd in the league in Goals against. So they are a good team and it was wrong for me to slam them. Plus they are a hard hitting team, with 3 guys in the top 20 in hits. Milan Lucic is number 2 in the league. I guess it maybe the way Lindy Ruff would like his team to play. Maybe.

The Bruins are 11-3-4, and 3-1 in their last 4. They are coming in playing well and their leader on the stat sheet is Marc Savard with 21 points. He always seems to play better against the Sabres. Young gun Phil Kessel leads in goals with 8, and hard banger Milan Lucic has 11 points. Other offensive guys are Michael Ryder, Patrice Bergeron and young Blake Wheeler. Chara only has 7 points on the year, which seems disappointing for the big guy. I don't think the defense gets to jump in plays as much anymore.

But the real star of this show is Tim Thomas. Who is leading the league in GAA and Sv%. I always thought he was a real good player who never got the credit for keeping a bad team competitve. Now they have some talent and they can win some games. If they stay healthy of course. Marco Sturm and Andrew Ference won't play, that hurts a little. The defense isn't deep so any vet out, hurts the team.

The Sabres on the other hand are struggling. Can't keep the puck of the net, and can't score. Minus the St Louis game and 6 minutes of offense, they aren't very good right now. Derek Roy is banged up and taken away from Vanek. Tim Connolly is a disaster and Lindy is shaking everything up. This team is so up and down its frustrating.

Maybe a road game, where they don't have to be flashy, is what the Doctor ordered. If not its probably another loss to a good team.

Things Tim Connolly is softer then.

Separated Shoulder Celebrating

I'm a Tim Connolly supporter, I think he's very talented. But this last injury, on a solid hit, but nothing major, he gets hurt on. What did he hurt?

The Buffalo Sabres announced that centerman Tim Connolly has an upper body musculoskeletal injury and will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.


A Upper Body Musculoskeletal injury? Musculosketetal is underlined as a spelling error, because its not a word. He has hurt something that is not recognized by spell check. Its so vague that its not recognized.

So lets make a list of things that Tim Connolly is softer then.

Me

Ice Cream

Pillows

Snow

Stay Puff Marshmallow man

a pile of leaves

Jason Spezza

Ken Hitchcock

Cream Cheese

Ok you get it, Tim Connolly is prone to injury. And this will not make him a favorite to stick with the team and the end of the year or before it. He won't be a Sabre anymore. You can't put this much money into a guy that never plays. Though Andrew Peters is still a Sabre, so you never know.

I'm done

I can't do it anymore. Last night was it. I wasn't pumped up, but got into the game and heartbreak city again. Just can't, just don't want to. For what? They aren't going to the playoffs again. They'll finish 9-7 with a terrible schedule. And nothing will change next year. They'll came it was a "growing" year. More like a complete waste of ideal situations to make the playoffs. Brady is back next year, the Dolphins will be better and the Jets, I don't know. But I don't care anymore. I have so many better options to spend my sundays. Enough with football and on to living life, organizing the basement, planning a wedding or just going to Niagara Falls to enjoy it during the Winter. Maybe a movie. But I'm tired of wasting 3 hours of my life for these millionaires.

Trent Edwards is scared to throw. Brett Favre is never scared, he's like screw it, maybe something good will happen, maybe something bad will happen, whatever. I like that attitude.

The defense just can't take the ball away. Leodis Mckelvin dropped the game winning INT.

Rian Lindell and his inside 40 streak is a waste of a stat, because thats easy for Kickers these days.

The Defensive ends are worthless. Denney and Kelsey should be let go. They get no pressure. The only one who pressured was Mitchell and Stroud.

They have receivers who can't get open or aren't making themselves open. Where was James Hardy. He got outplayed by Stevie Johnson.

Whatever. They should have won by 14 points. The Browns aren't good. Brady Quinn is ok. But of course the Bills give them every opportunity possible to succeed. And its enough.

I don't want to care. I don't want to watch. I'm done with them this year.

I'm going to spend time with my Fiancee and enjoy life. Its time well spent, and I'll never be disappointed.

Thanks for nothing Bills.

Bills Brown Preview

Well here we go a Monday night game, with two struggling teams, and just like last year, snow could be a factor. I should be excited, but I'm really not. The last few weeks have sucked the joy from me about this team. Just everything you hate. No passion, no heart, just going out there. You hear the press conferences and its like oh well, we gotta cut out the mistakes, blah blah blah. How about showing up first. That would be nice.

But I guess I should make up a preview, since I didn't last week. I hate writing about the Patriots I really do. Its terrible.

The 3-6 Browns are coming into town losers of two straight and 2-3 in their last 5. Both teams are struggling. But unlike the Bills, they can score some points. Thought their season Stats are rather unimpressive they have scored 57 points in their last two games. And Brady Quinn has entered the picture playing pretty well last week, though the Broncos, are hardly a defensive juggernaut. He had a nice 65% completion rate and 6.8 per pass. I guess that Contract to Derek Anderson was a mistake.

Offense

Jamal Lewis is the leading rusher for the Browns, but is just averaging 3.6 yards per carry, like the Bills the line is struggling to block. Who basically after the one game said the team quit. Thats never good to call out your teammates in public. In the locker room is where something like that belongs.

Kellen Winslow II is the leading receiver on the team, the Tight end leading the team is probably bad. Braylon Edwards only has 26 catches and 3 tds on the season. And there really isn't any other receiving threats on the team. But the Bills make a habit of nobodies making an impression. So Steve Heiden os Syndric Steptoe could make some noise tonight.

Joshua Cribbs is their return man ace. So the Bills have to cover well tonight or they could get hurt. Of course they would have to score some points to worry about kickoff returns. But Punting could be another issue.

Defense

The Browns aren't very good defensively. They rank 26th overall and they give up 3rd downs 44% of the team. You think the Bills are bad, the Browns are worse. They don't have a ton of sacks so they aren't getting to the qb, as much as you like and have 10 total picks which isn't bad.

They are struggling to stop offenses and this game being on the road won't help them.

Outlook.

Well this is the season for the Bills tonight. I know thats a statement, but if they lose, its over. Kiss it goodbye and the fire Jauron talk gets going. Of course with the resigning of him, that won't likely happen, a new coaching staff won't make the team better. They need a same system to master, before moving on again.

I don't care who is hurt and who is not. Just go out there and play. You gotta win, now show some emotion and get through this. The schedule isn't hard. You can make a run and 11-5, 10-6 isn't out of the question. It starts tonight. But don't color me excited. This team has taken that feeling away from me, with the last 3 performances. But tonight could restore it all with a nice big win.

The other Blue and Gold Team

Well things sure have been shaky lately in Sabre land.

They were healthy, but now banged up again. They played better hurt. Maybe injuries will help. Well except for that last 10 minutes versus Pittsburgh. Oh my god that was terrible. And their goal horn isn't much better. How annoying is that thing. Ok they scored I get it.

In the last 10 games the Sabres have gone 3-5-2. After going 6-0-1 in the first 7. And have given up 30 goals in those 10 games, that's 3 goals a game, versus 12 goals in the first 7. Thats 1.7 goals a game. Since their 6-0-1 start, they have given up almost a goal and half more a game, in the last 10. If they don't see that as a problem I do. Its the same issue as last year.

With the talent on the team, and the experience in the system, they should know better. But yet game after game, lazy back checking and uninspired play lead them to lose. Its not just one guys, its almost everybody. Connolly and Hecht, are almost the most consistent two way guys. But guys like Roy and Vanek and especially Max, are just brutal at times. If they can just ship him out or maybe someone else. Just for picks, they can bring up a Mancari or a Gerbe, who are lighting things on fire down in Portland. Thats really encouraging is what is happening in Portland.

Lalime has morphed into Thibault. Which means Lindy will trust him less, and overuse Miller. Which is another problem. In his last two games his sv % was .739 and .821. 11 goals on 51 shots. Thats pretty much 1 in 5 shot of the puck going in the net. Thats horrendous. Why would anyone put him net, especially with lazy defense.

In the last 5 games

Rivet -6
Tallinder -5
Spacek -5
Sekera -4
Numminen -2
Lydman 0

On the Forward side

Max -5
Roy -7
Vanek -6
Kotalik -6
MacArthur -4
Gaustad -3

We have a problem. Lucky for them, its only November and there is plenty of time to fix things. But they are in a very competitive division and conference. So they can't take time to fix things. It needs to be done by the 1st of December. I was never under the impression they wouldn't struggle. All teams have a down stretch. But this is a bad down stretch losing to Columbus 6-1? No. That can't happen.

Its time for them to play the did in the first part of the year. Lock it down. Turn turnovers into goals. Don't be flashy or lazy. This must be driving Lindy Ruff insane. Benching isn't working. Because your benching Kaleta, who isn't the problem. Bench Roy. That will send the message. He is struggling this year. Sit him down. And if he quits, trade his ass. Gerbe is Roy, but maybe better. You have a replacement. Trade him for something juicy. I'm sure someone needs scoring for a quality player.

Tightening up defensively will improve everything. Goaltending will be better, and offense will capitalize on lazy play from opponents.

Blue and Gold Sports Roundup

Totally fumbled that ball

Well it was a busy week in Buffalo area sports, or the ones I care about, and really that's all that matters.

First off the Sweet Home Panthers, totally whipped on last years Champ Aquinas. As a proud '99 grad of Sweet Home High School, its nice to see them succeed. They were always good when I went there, but never could beat Niagara Wheatfield. I guess John Faller wasn't the problem, it was not talented enough players. Plus I thought the QB spot was weak, but Casey Kacz, is a very smart QB. He knows how to play football. He's not probably college material but, still a good leader.

Now its on to Rochester to play Corning West, then on to the Dome for the State Title.

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The Griffs didn't start the season well, losing to Akron 56-46. Really the Zips? Well Frank Turner played decent, along with a new transfer Chris Gadley, but the same result as last year. Shooting 35% isn't going to get it done, plus it looked like a poor game all around. But Coach Parrotta comes up with another gem.

"We talked in the offseason how we wanted to out rebound our opponents, get to the foul line more and take care of the basketball," Canisius head coach Tom Parrotta said. "I don't think we're going to win many games when we throw the ball around that much."

You think Coach Parrotta? Really just being careless with the ball isn't going to win you games. If these kids know that, why don't they play that way? You know like the Sabres should play the system yet don't.

Anyway its back home Tuesday vs the UB Bulls. Theres the first win of the season

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The Men's hockey team beat Connecticutt, after being embarrassed by giving up 3 short handed goals in a power play. They are 4-1-1 in the conference and 5-3-2 overall. And yes they get a automatic bid to the tourney if they win their conference unlike another team (cough Niagara cough)

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The womens basketball team knows how to get it done, more leadership, but open with a win over UB. The men should watch the women play. They shot 48%, gave up only 5 free throw opportunties and have good shooters. Marie Warner had 22 points. And Amanda Cavo had 10 points.

I have much higher hopes for, then the Men's team. This team could push for a tournament bid, especially if Marie Warner is that good. A clutch scorer around good players, with a good coach in Terry Zeh. Look out come March.

They Massacre St Bonaventure this Wednesday.

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I'm sure other people did other things, but I don't care about them. UB, Niagara and other High Schools are worthless, if they don't wear Blue and Gold, they ain't nothing.

Sabres Blue Jackets

Well here come the Blue Jackets, which continues the parade of irrelevant hockey teams into HSBC Arena. Atlanta, Saint Louis now Columbus. Philadelphia finally ends that streak only to restart again with the Islanders. Good thing its easy to sell Sabre tickets, otherwise there would be some empty houses the first couple weeks of November.

The Jackets are average at best. 7-7-2 on the year and 3rd in the central divison. They came off a bad 5-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. So they probably are looking for a good game tonight against a flip floppy team in the Buffalo Sabres. Who can look great, bad and indifferent, all in the same period sometimes. The "system" that Lindy preaches sometimes doesn't get into their heads. Its like Lindy is Mr Kotter, and the Sabres are a bunch of sweathogs. Good guys but sometimes just stupid and lazy.

You look over the Columbus lineup and its a lot of who, and Unh? Like Derick Brassard is their leading scorer with 15 points, also leads in goals with 7. Rick Nash is 3 on the team in points, Jason Chimera is just in front. Jakub Vorchek has 11 points and Kristen Huselius has 10 points. Their one big acquistion RJ Umberger only has 8 points which isn't a shocker since hes no better then a 3rd line player. Mike Commodore is also playing alright. And Freddy Modin is struggling with a -8 in 10 games.

The Columbus goaltending is pretty shaky. Last year a strength, LeClaire who got a big deal is just getting off the IR but his numbers are terrible. Freddy Norena isn't much better, the only one playing alright is Steve Mason. But I think they stick LeClaire out there tonight to get him some action, since he's costing them some money.

The Sabres are once again switching up lines, due to the injury to Sir Breaks-a-lot, Tim Connolly, they should look like this according to John Vogl.

Thomas Vanek-Derek Roy-Ales Kotalik (same)

Jochen Hecht-Clarke MacArthur-Jason Pominville (new)

Daniel Paille-Adam Mair-Drew Stafford (new)

Andrew Peters-Paul Gaustad-Maxim Afinogenov

Pat Kaleta is out again and Patty Lalime is in the crease tonight.

I'm sure you can get some cheap scalped tickets to this one tonight. The Blue Jackets don't pack the house. But its Friday and its getting colder, so why not head down to the Arena and have some fun.

Sabres Blues Quickie preview

Well first off I just won some tickets on EBAY for this game, these games you can get em low. Mine went for 56 for 2. So me and the Fiancee are heading for the HSBC arena for some hockey action. I'm pretty excited for this one, I love seeing the odd teams, like the Blues. I saw Columbus last year and it was a terrible game, but its different. Northeast teams are boring. Western Conference teams are exciting.

Well here are the probable lines tonight, thanks to John Vogl

Thomas Vanek-Derek Roy-Ales Kotalik

Jochen Hecht-Tim Connolly-Jason Pominville

Daniel Paille-Clarke MacArthur-Maxim Afinogenov

Andrew Peters-Paul Gaustad-Adam Mair

No Kaleta or Stafford, which is fine, Peters wasn't horrible the first few games. Actually looked like a hockey player, and Kaleta is progressing as well. Stafford is just, ugh. He needs a wake up call.

For the Blues, Kariya is iffy with a foot, but the guys to look out for on the Blues are...

Andy McDonald with 16 points

Paul Kariya with 15 points

Brad Boyes with 14 Points and 8 goals

Keith Tkachuk with 11 points 9 goals

The Blues are bad in goal and bad at defense. They give up more then they score which makes sense, since they are last in the Central division. And haven't won in 3 weeks. Oh no.

Well hopefully they don't find their game tonight, because the Sabres have looked bad in the last two, especially on defense. I would look the team to be back in position, or fear their job. Because Lindy can bench guys now for lazy play. I like that option for Lindy. Also, probably Lalime tonight, which is good because my Fiancee things Miller is crap. Though I will miss her bagging on him if he let in a crappy goal.

See you at the Arena.

The Effect of Bad Football part 2

Chris McGrath

I got so angry I totally forgot the other part of my last post.

The other effect of bad Bills football is the fact I lose total interest in the rest of the league. The fact that the Titans are 9-0. The fact that the Giants are pretty damn good and might repeat as Champions. The Falcons are 6-3 and their rookie QB looks pretty good. Another rookie is leading the Ravens to a 6-3 record. The fact everyone in the AFC East is above .500.

Bad Bills football, makes me not want to watch football in general. I don't want to see teams playing well, because it makes me even angrier.

WHY CAN'T THE BILLS DO THAT?

A SACK? WHATS THAT?

3 AND OUT? TEAMS DO THAT?

It makes you watch Cold Case or go outside and do chores, because its something to get your mind off your awful football team. Its not like the Lions who are pathetic bad. And you expect them to lose. Expecting your team to win, and they come out and play terrible is way worse.

I did not expect that yesterday I really didn't, and it made things worse. Before a Steelers vs Colts matchup would make me go, oooo I want to watch that. After it was like I don't care. Turn the channel. In fact me and the Fiancee watched a Veggietales movie. Actually it totally got my mind off everything.

If the Bills won, I'd go to Football sites and read everything, now I just look at political stuff, or god forbid do actual work. Maybe the Bills are trying to be productive.

So the bottom line is, BILLS STOP SUCKING SO I CAN ENJOY FOOTBALL AGAIN.

The effect of bad football

This is a tough post, there is no way I want to talk about yesterday. It was brutal. The Bills were just crap on both sides of the ball. The defense just couldn't get off the field. The offense couldn't stay on it. Just looked like they are completely off page, everywhere. It was nice to get the TD late to make it look better. That play worked. Why didn't it work earlier. But really the story is the struggle of Trent Edwards. Bad throws, just not in rhythm with anyone.

In the last 3 games he has thrown 2 td's and 5 ints.

His rating has been a 67.2, 79.3 and a 49.2.

Yesterday his average pass completion was a 5.2. Thats pathetic.

Its like he completely regressed. In the course of 3 weeks. Along with the entire team.

The 3rd down defense is whats killing the team. The Patriots converted 3rd down 61% of the time! Thats unacceptable. Which is the same percentage the Jets had the previous week. Miami only had a 27%, but thats because they aren't very good.

The worse part is that this team got the fanbase all excited and in 3 weeks have ripped the heart of the Bills fan. Their lack of passion, lack of effort at times. They seem lazy, they look like they don't care. No one is angry, no one is frustrated. Its the same old lines every week. I want Jauron to out someone in public. Tell how terrible the defensive line is, fire them up. That 4th quarter drive by the Patriots was terrible. No pressure, just dink and dunk all the way down the field. The defense didn't do a thing.

This monday they have a home game on national tv. This will tell who they are and what they are. If they are flat and play like crap, the season is over I don't care if they play another game. Its a game to reclaim the season. And if they do play flat, Jauron should be fired on the spot. There is no excuse to come out flat 3 weeks in a row. THEY WERE ALL IMPORTANT GAMES AND THEY SUCKED IN EVERYONE OF THEM.

The season is going down the toilet, and I'm rooting for a team that doesn't seem to care. It would be different if they did everything they could and lost. But they are giving half effort, and losing. That is unacceptable. There are 7 games left. They go 5-2, they are probably going to the Playoffs.

The season isn't over, and its just 3 games. Injuries aren't an excuse. They have a favorable schedule down the line, Cleveland, Kansas City, San Francisco, Miami, Jets, Denver and New England. They can win all 7 of those games.

I'm just angry, I hate being set up like this. Its not fair. It ruins sundays. Thank god for the Fiancee or things would be really bad.

Sabres Thrashers Preview

Today is a special day for me, since its the 1st anniversary of me and my Fiancee's first date. So we'll be downtown at a local establishment. There was a Sabre game that night too. A OT win over the Boston Bruins. (had to look that up) So I probably won't watch much of this one either, the only thing I have to worry about is the pre hockey crowd. Which wasn't bad the last time, but its Friday, not Wednesday, so i got two factors. Anyhow, onto the game.

The Thrashers

The Thrashers are a good scoring team, they are also a bad defensive team. Which leads to scoring 34 goals on the year and letting in 49 on the year, which is bad. Letting in a lot of goals also leads to a 4-7-2 record, but are on a 2 game win streak. And the fact they played last night in Atlanta and had to come back against the Islanders, means they are probably a bit tired. Oh and the Sabres are rested. Plus Jochen is back. Predicting a shooting gallery tonight, would be like predicting Obama would win, pretty easy by looking at the facts.

Ondrej Pavalec has won the last two games, but it looks like Lehtonen is healthy. So he might get a start, a change from the parade of backups the Sabres usually see. Lehtonen's numbers are a tad shaky for the season, 2-5-2 3.44 GAA and a .903 Sv%. On that hand why not start the hot hand. Wait, Lehtonen is starting since being out with the Flu and back issues. GET HIM AWAY FROM TIM CONNOLLY!!!!!!

You would think Kovalchuk is the leading scorer or at least the top goal scorer on the Thrashers. But you would be wrong. 4th in points (10) and 3rd in goals (5). So he hasn't got going this year, and if I were him looking to get shipped out. Todd White has the most points (14) and Slava Kozlov leads with 8 goals. Bryan Little who I never heard of, until this year is having quite the start of the year with 6 goals and 11 points and a +5, on a team full of minus players. Ron Hainsey is looking like a nice pickup, for the points hes putting up on the team, but he'll be playing lots of minutes with the injuries to Schneider and Bogosian. The team looks to be two lines, then not much else.

Outlook

I'm guessing Miller gets the start tonight and then Lalime tomorrow in Boston. I guess to keep the shutout string going. Jochen finally comes back tonight and haven't seen what they have done with the excess spot. I agree with Vogl to send Stafford to the minors. He has been downright invisible most nights. He's great in the shootout, since he copied Kotalik. Maybe it will wake him up, or it just sets up him getting shipped out. I bet you could get a nice vet, for Staffy and Max. Or just get picks and pull up a Mancari or Gerbe. Well the Sabres are just dealing with a Surplus right now. And with Hecht back, I'll look for Pominville and Roy to get better. Well my outlook is a nice night out with the Fiancee. For the Sabres a high scoring affair thats entertaining for the fans.

Bad Defense+healthy team= Obama like blowout

12 Game review

Well 12 games into the season, which is a good taste. The Sabres have to be pretty happy with their play for most of it. Last week was a bit of a bad stretch, but those weeks will happen, and its how you pull yourself out, is what matters most. Shutting out two opponents is a good sign.

They are standing 1st in the Northeast and 2nd in the Eastern Conference. Thats higher then most would have said about the Sabres, and have done that with missing key players for a lot of the season. Hecht, Connolly, Gaustad and Rivet. They have the best goals against in the league, giving up only 25 goals in 12 games. Defense was not what the Sabres were good at last year, and having two straight shutouts is a sign of that after giving up 10 goals in two games. 10 goals in 4 games looks much better. And is a better reflection of the season.

Ryan Miller is showing he's worth every penny of his new contract, and proves me wrong based on old numbers. I guess using old numbers to predict future earnings, is just as bad as political polling. Well his GAA is 1.62 and his Sv% is a high .942. Thats 1st in the league in GAA and 2nd in the league in Sv%. Not usual terroritory for Ryan Miller. (Who my fiance still thinks is crap) Its funny every time she says it. She doesn't like his form. But Ryan is playing much better then last year, and Lalime minus the Ottawa game is also much better at the backup position.

The offense is pretty much the same. Except for Vanek deciding to put the team on his back. He has been impressive and his 11 goals in 12 games shows that. Roy is struggling thats evident, and theres no reason for that, with Vanek on his line. Pominville is getting back, he misses Hecht and he's back so look for Jason to bump up his nice numbers. 3 players have 9 points, Spacek, Pominville and Kotalik. MacArthur and Sekera have 8 points and Max has 7 points. Scoring is being spread out, though Vanek has almost a third of the teams goals and that has to change. But the offense has not doubt suffered from the injuries to the centers early on the season. But with all them healthy again, well Connolly is Connolly so, I'll look for offense to get better.

The reason for the good start, 8-2-2, is they are playing for most of the season, a team concept. They play good defense and can buzz in the offensive zone. The first period of the Devils game is a good example, if Weekes was shaky, they would have 5 goals in that period. This is the team I think Lindy always wanted to have, but had young players and players that weren't good on the defensive side. They have that tough captain, and a team that is a team. Really look up and down the lineup, these guys have been together for years. Its how you make a team and it takes years. Finally this is the team that they wanted to build and the fact theres more brewing in Portland makes me excited for the Future.

Kevin Lowe might have done the Sabres a favor, we can look at that statement 3 years from now.

I'll talk it about now

Well its Thursday and its taken that long to want to talk about the Bills, last Sundays game took a lot out of me. Its one of those oh no, are they going into a free fall that they wind up 6-10 seasons, that pretty much destroys all fun about the Bills and the beginning of the season. Thanks to the Sabres recent shutdown, its not all gloom and doom, that and Obama. But the Bills always rear their head. I think last Sundays game took a lot out of me and Bills fans. They have lost 3 of their last 4. And their wins over "quality opponents" diminish by the week. Jacksonville, isn't that good, San Diego is bad and the Rams, Seahawks and Raiders aren't very good either.

The only positive I take from the three losses. Is that they are making critical mistakes to lose games. Its not like they are playing well and losing. They are making lots of turnovers, and bad plays and mental mistakes and losing. It shows they do have talent and when they play well, they win. Even when they struggle a little and not turning the ball over, they pull games out.

Yes there are injuries, and other issues, like the run game, there is only one real fact. The team goes as far as Trent Edwards. How he plays, determines where this team goes. If he plays real well this week in New England, they will win. I guarantee it. But he is a 2nd year player and he will struggle. We just haven't seen it. The more they open things up, the more mistakes happen. Though his line could help him out a bit, with pass protection and running the ball.

But thank god for the Fiance, or last Sunday would have led to full blown sports depression. But just seeing her, makes that go away. This Sunday if things go badly, and its the Patriots, I'll try to look at her and think of the future and all the misery from watching bad Bills Football will go away.

Sabres Devils preview

Well the Sabres snapped their 2 game skid, with a good 5-0 win against the Capitals. Now they head on the road to play in Newark against the Devils. The big news is that Martin Brodeur is hurt and will not play tonight. So no Miller Brodeur duel tonight, instead the Sabres get Kevin Weekes. Oh and Paul Martin is also out tonight. Nice, time for Vanek to get ahead of that Goal game average.

Lets talk Devils

The Devils are off to a good start, 6-2-2, and are in 2nd in the Atlantic. They have scored 30 goals this year, while only allowing 22. But of course of the year Weekes has only played 33 minutes on the season. Their defensive corp is young, for the most part, with the exceptions of Salvador and White. But guys raised in the system. Oduya, Greene and Mottau. A bunch of guys you've never heard of for the most part, but keep things locked down.

On the offensive side of things, Zach Parise is the leader on the Devils. He has 9 goals and 14 points on the year, and a +7. He is followed by Rochester Native Brian Gionta with 8 points, and Elias and Zajac with 7 points each. They aren't a high scoring team, but can get goals when they need to. And don't forget Zubaz is still on the Devils. Though their special teams aren't so hot. The Sabres have an adequate power play and with the return of Connelly, will be even better the more time he gets.

Outlook

The Sabres look back on track and are playing one of the better teams in the East, so a good win on the road would be a great way to get even more confidence back. I hope the Sabres don't just expect to win with Brodeur out, because the Devils will lock things down and take advantage of mistakes and the Sabres can make some mistakes. Its time to get back to the hockey they played in the beginning of the season and forget what happened a week ago. They need all the points they can get.