.:Gotta Drop a Blog in The Corner:.

i had to post this... cause i'm mad that even with the majority of people saying they hate the logo, they decided to roll it out anyways, even after ample time to get feedback.

new logo on our coach lindy ruff's cap, and center ice face off circle.

new logo by itself with workmark.

i really hope no one buys into the merchandise, so they change the buffalo donald's, hairpiece looking logo.

this was forwarded to me by a friend.

the efforts of sabres fans to change the logo have paid off. the hairy slug has been killed, and there's an actual sabre in the logo now!

hope you all enjoy your weekends.

so i know some people, especially season ticket holders in buffalo who wait around the arena and sell their sabres-leafs tix to leafs fans from toronto before a toronto-buffalo game. why do they do this? well... the reason is that they can make a killing off leafs fans who can't otherwise have a chance to get tix into the ACC. now most people would be hesitant to promote filling our own hsbc arena with our hated rivals fans... but i think most sabres fans know that when the leafs come into town... they will most likely lose (toronto's only won 5 of the last 24 in buffalo)... so why not recoup some money from the season tix, or mini packs, or just make some money. i think there's an intensity to buffalo-toronto games, but there isn't a real nastiness to them... which i think is a cool thing since we're so close to each other, but can still enjoy a competitive yet friendly game with our guests. this is in contrast to the buffalo-philly games... which there is definitely a nastiness to them (which i think is also great, cause i frickin hate philly).

here's a blurb from today's news.

Leafs fans were back sharing command of the arena, taking of advantage of ticket scalpers and season-ticket holders who sold their ducats. The dueling chants of "Go, Leafs, Go" and "Let's Go Buffalo" started about six minutes before the opening faceoff.

Leafs coach Paul Maurice, in his first year with Toronto, has already taken a shine to the atmosphere when the teams meet here.

"Everybody in the building is excited," he said. "Is it fair to say it's like a college football game sometimes, where you've got half the stadium cheering for one and half for the other?"

Maurice compared the rivalry favorably to the one the Leafs have with Montreal, two longtime rivals who have some respect for each other. He said it's nothing like the bitter Toronto-Ottawa series.

"Ottawa is just different," Maurice said. "Everybody is just unhappy in that game. . . . But here, I don't know if festive is the right word, but it was like Montreal and Toronto to me."

eat lots of turkey!

what's up with the sabres? seriously! i don't think they've played a complete game this entire postseason except for the 5-2 drubbing of the rangers that started off this 2nd round. we are seriously in trouble if we don't start to dominate like we've been able to do all season. the passes are off the mark, the skating's been lazy, we haven't finished checks, wtf? the power play has been atrocious. forget about getting the puck in and keeping control of it as we enter the offensive zone. last year's team had far more desire even with our defensive corps shredded by injury. we need people like mckee and grier back to get in the face of some of these players... call them out or something. it's just absolutely shameful that this has been what they've put together for the cup. i'll even say that we should be down 3-1 in this series... we stole game 2.

it's raining again.

i'm psyched for spider-man 3. it's going to be cool to see venom in a movie. the comic book geek in me will be out in full force this weekend.

ok... these games can't be good for my heart. i'm gonna go into cardiac arrest one of these days from a game.

rangers score in last 5 min of the 3rd of a scoreless game?

sabres with goalie pulled get a face-off in ranger's zone on an icing call with 16 seconds left?

drury scores the tying goal with 7 seconds left?

SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME?!

max scores and we WIN?

JEEEEEEEEEZUS! you've GOT to be KIDDING ME!

we're up 3-2... finally a complete game.

let's hope we shut this down on sunday.

so the sabres downed the pesky rangers this afternoon, and are the best team in new york this year (suck it downstate new york, you're our bitch). i was worried about this series, but we came out and played well today. the penalty kill wasn't particularly good, we let in 3 shorthanded goals, after shutting out the rangers powerplay last game. however, there was good effort for most of the game, we skated well, and didn't have many turn-overs.

we'll be facing ottawa... it should be an intense series. we've met a lot in the playoffs in recent years. 2006 conf semis, 1999 conf quarters, 1997 conf quarters. we've only played philly more in the playoffs (thus the healthy hatred for philadelphia most buffalonians have). on top of that, there was the all out brawl here in buffalo during the regular season where even the goalies came to center ice to throw down. this should be an evenly matched series. ottawa has loads of offensive skill, as do we. our team is built around skating, and so are the sens. we both roll 4 lines, and all lines are dangerous for both teams. maybe the one advantage we have is that ottawa has a tendency to choke in the playoffs. i'm hoping this year will be no different.

i've been replaying this clip over and over since friday night. it puts me in a good mood. i love it when buffalo goes a little crazy. this team is really bringing people together... and it feels good. chris drury is the frickin man.

it was a beautiful day AGAIN today... so naturally i went out and got ice cream with a friend. mmmmm vanilla custard.

i'm gonna cry.

i just can't figure out why this team can't play in a consistent manner. passes get sloppy, the power play is still absolutely horrendous... i mean come on! we've had more than a couple of those with NO SHOTS on goal?! this team just doesn't have the heart and will to get it done like last year's team. this late into the playoffs we are sorely missing mckee and grier who we decided not to resign during the offseason. last year we were down 2/3 of our defensive regulars and still made the eastern conference finals. this year we have a completely healthy squad. this was supposed to be the year! i hate to say it... but two down on ottawa going into scotiabank place is a little too much to handle i think. i was hoping that with briere's goal with 5 seconds left in regulation would secure a win in OT... but the senators won battles and weren't as sloppy. they did a good job of pressuring our zone in the 2nd OT. this team is turning out just like this city... so much potential... but that thing that brings you over the hump is always a little too far away.

there's always hope i guess.............. but the past has taught me never to get my hopes up when anything associated with buffalo is concerned cause disappointment usually awaits. so... i hope that i'm wrong and we take the next 2 at least. otherwise... chalk it up to being buffalo... the heartbreak capital of the world.

so we're still alive! have to work on that killer instinct. should not have let up and let the sens back with 2 goals in the 2nd on a 3-0 lead. played just well enough to escape out and come back home. another win on saturday should put some doubt back into ottawa. have to keep on believing... otherwise next loss end the season and hope for a cup the next couple years. buffalo will look quite different next year with key players moving on in free agency.

we're still turning the puck over at inopportune times (especially in our zone). a few players have been quiet. spacek and kalinin are messes. roy finally did something. kotalik had some chances tonight, but hasn't been heard from in a long long time. power play still is crap. at least our penalty kill is still doing well, and we avoided an embarrassing sweep.

off to new york for a couple days tomorrow.

extended office tomorrow too!

it's been awhile since i've watched such an exciting hockey game, seeing as how buffalo has barely missed the playoffs the last couple seasons. it must have been amazing to be at the arena for the start, i was all charged up from seeing the crowd just on the tv. i chose to go with canadian ctv coverage over msnbc (one of the benefits of living close to the border). had some good shots of different groups of people watching from toronto to vancouver. i have to admit, i was undecided on who i should throw my support behind in the beginning. on the one hand i've always been partial to canada in most things especially when it comes to music, government, and social responsibility. i also have this love for a sport i feel is above all others in hockey. however well... i'm still an american, though one who's been influenced quite a bit by our neighbor to the north having spent much of my life in the buffalo-niagara metro area. the US roster has sabres goalie ryan miller as its starter, ex-sabre chris drury who still might be one of my all around favorite sabres, and two buffalo area natives in brooks orpik (currently with the pens), and patrick kane (currently with the blackhawks). it was quite a conundrum for me... who to root for. in the end, the buffalo ties won.

miller was fantastic tonight as the US took about half as many shots as the canadians making 42 out of 45 saves. he'll be the reason the sabres go deep into the cup playoffs this year. playing against the elite teams in the olympics could really boost his confidence going into the last couple months of the nhl season. for sure, canada has a very talented team. they totally dominated the americans for much of the game in all aspects of it. however, the US hung tough and found a way to win. for this reason, though canada now has a longer road to get to the gold medal game, i feel like they're still better equipped than the americans to do it. this could set up an interesting final if the US and canada both make it.

i also got around to thinking about the make up of the US team, and how many people were upset with some of the selections including that of chris drury. jeremy roenick spoke out in public against drury's selection. i've always despised roenick and his big fat useless mouth, especially when he was playing with philly. that guy should just shut his pie hole. tonight drury again had a clutch goal as he usually comes through in times when his teams really need him to. additionally, drury's fearless in blocking shots and is one of the most effective penalty killers out there, both of which were on display tonight. he might not be a power forward who score pretty goals, but he's a great role player, leader, and is responsible at both ends of the ice.

so those were pretty much the things going through my head as the game moved from the first to second period. the game itself was great though, constant back and forth, canada always coming back to tie until the americans took a two goal lead later in the game. canada's goal to pull within one made it a lot more tense, and it seemed like the americans would never get the puck out of their zone in the last couple minutes. kesler's empty net diving goal to put out the canadians allowed me to exhale. the effort he made to tap it in with his stick was brilliant.

so... with that, i'll congratulate the canadian team for playing a hard game... and give them some good vibes to get past germany and russia. hopefully both teams will be able to survive to the gold medal round, and we'll have a very intense and interesting rematch. i'm still uncertain about who i'd root for if that game does indeed happen. i think it would be amazing to see canadians win their first gold on home ice, and just to be happy for all the canadians out there. however seeing as how the canadian team denied the US team their own celebration on home ice in the gold medal game in the slc olympics... i might decide it's time for payback. at the end of the day though, this game was so good for the sport of hockey all around.