Sabres vs. Flyers 11/06/09

Pregame

Mood: I am super tired, and super happy.  I got an unexpected evening off tonight.   While my colleagues in the BPO are playing a concert at Hilbert College, I find myself “rotated off” the concert (That’s BPO-speak for “the stage is too small to hold all of us, so the string sections have to be reduced”), and plopped in the comfy chair, SUPER pumped to watch a Sabres game.
Favorite Sabre: CRUN-CHY!  CRUN-CHY!  CRUN-CHY!  If you don’t love Crunchy right now, you are not my friend.
Least Favorite Sabre: It’s difficult to choose a favorite Sabre when they are chugging along like this, so I’m going to pick on Toni Tone Tony Lydman.  Dude, I’m sorry your groin hurts, but you should ask Adam Mair what happens to guys when they are injured and the team is winning.  Lindy scratches your ass even when you’re healthy, that’s what.  Godspeed, Toni Lydman’s Groin.  Godspeed.
Prediction: Let’s face it, the Sabres have been playing the dregs of the NHL for the last month.  Tonight feels like “Sabres Part 2: Electric Boogaloo.  This Time It’s Personal”.  Unlike everyone else the Sabres have played recently, the Flyers are supposedly good at hockey.  I’m nervous, excited, and eager to see how the Sabres look.  I think this game will be feisty and fun.  I feel like Mike Richards scored at will against the Sabres last season, so I’m hoping someone punches him square in the face tonight.
Home improvement project representing this game: My downstairs half bath.

The plan for today’s post was to run around, taking pictures of all the unseemly nooks and crannies in my house so that I could use them for this post, but unfortch, that didn’t happen.  I have NO idea where the cord that connects my camera to my computer is right now.  It’s packed up in a box, and frankly, that’s all deterrent I needed to scrap the plan.  I’m sorry that it didn’t work out though because it was going to be cute.

All I do lately is paint, scrap, drill stuff, open boxes, and stand back and wonder how in the hell I’m supposed to fix THAT.  It feels like it’s never going to be acceptable in this house.  Ever.  Right now my house is not a very conducive environment for living, but it IS ripe for comedy.  You’re just going to have to imagine the hilarity though, because I don’t have any pictures.

Except this one….

This is what my downstairs bathroom looked like on the day of the house inspection. The previous owner packed up all his knick knacks and took them away, but unfortunately he left a LOT of wood paneling behind.  The bathroom no longer looks like this.  I’ve painted everything and changed all the fixtures.  Now it’s just a bland little bathroom.  It’s a bit sad, actually.  Truth be told, while I don’t want to have this bathroom in my house, I LOVE this picture.  I plan to frame this picture and hang it in the bathroom as decoration.  Heh.

After the 1st (1-0, Flyers)
Mood: Grossed out.  Carcillo is just completely disgusting in every way.
Favorite Sabre: Crunchy is just on fire.  Such a pleasure to watch.  His legs look extra frog-like to me, and that’s just how I like him.  Extra froggy.
Least Favorite Sabre: Roy-Z is tucking his sweater into the back of his pants tonight.  I don’t like it.  I don’t like it a bit.
Summary of events: Well, I’ve seen worse periods, but I’ve also seen MUCH better.  I’m getting the sense that the Sabres are still trying to decide if they want to to be brats all, “HEY!  You guys aren’t letting us win like the Islanders do!” or, if they want to be men.  Ryan Miller had a few nice saves- the kind we are just taking for granted at this point.  And Tim Kennedy did some REAL foxy back checking on a Mike Richards breakaway.  Then, the ugliest man I have EVER SEEN scored a goal on Crunchy, and I added “Carcillo” to the list of people I irrationally hate.  At the start of the intermission report, while I was rattling around in the kitchen, I heard Roby say, “knit one, purl one” for some reason, and then I added “MIKE ROBITAILLE TOTALLY KNITS” to the list of things that are so awesome that I couldn’t care less if they are true.
Home improvement project representing this game so far: wallpaper in the stairwell

This wallpaper is not in my house, but I DO have striped yellow wallpaper IN THE STAIRWELL.  How the hell am I going to get THAT off?  I can’t reach it all, and I can’t use a ladder on the stairs.  Stupid, Flyers.

After the 2nd (3-1, Flyers)

Mood: Oof.  Remember that whole “rotated off” thing?  Well, I wasn’t rotated off, off.  I was an alternate player in case someone called in sick.  As it turns out, someone DID call in sick, and at 5:30 I got a call telling me I was supposed to go to work tonight.  Trouble is, I didn’t realize my phone was out of juice.  I didn’t get the message until 8:30ish, otherwise known as “30 minutes after the concert started”.  Basically, I didn’t show up for work tonight.  This is VERY bad behavior.  I feel awful.  I’m completely horrified that I screwed up like this. This game?  Isn’t helping.  :(
Favorite Sabre: :(
Least Favorite Sabre: :(
Summary of FUTURE events: I am TOTALLY going to hear about this at work tomorrow.  I am going to be accused of purposefully not picking up the phone so that I could watch this game.  (Um, it doesn’t help that I was making jokes about doing EXACTLY that at rehearsal this morning.  I SWEAR THIS WAS AN ACCIDENT.)  My only saving grace in this debacle is that I didn’t actually GO to the game.  Thank GOD I didn’t actually go.
Home improvement project representing this evening so far: mold in the basement

This is not my basement, but it is how I feel right now.

At the end (5-2, Flyers)
Mood: VERY GRIM
Favorite Sabre: Stupid Sabres, stupid phone, stupid everything.
Least Favorite Sabre: Meh.
Summary of events: I definitely got what I deserved with this game tonight.  Also, this has nothing to do with anything, but crockpots are miraculous.  I put a bunch of raw vegetables and meat in there this afternoon, and somehow it’s stew now.  I think crockpots must use witchcraft and black magiks.  Delicious witchcraftery.
Plan for the future: Let’s just pretend this entire night didn’t happen.  Tomorrow is Friday again.  Sigh.

Sabres @ Hurricanes 4/9/09

Pregame

Mood: Surprisingly chipper.  For reasons beyond my comprehension, I have been looking forward to this game all day.  I have no idea why, because this game will almost certainly lead to heartbreak, anger, and tears, but I dunno….it’s nice outside.  I’m in a good mood.  Go hockey!  I hear the Hurricanes have been downright juggernaut-y which is making me kind of curious to see how the Sabres look against them.  If the Hurricanes are anything like the Red Wings the Sabres will look “like poo” against them, but I don’t care how good the Hurricanes have been lately, they’re no Red Wings.  They have to lose eventually, right?
Favorite Sabre: HONK!  Also, hey Nathan Paetshcatshchatshch!  I guess I kind of missed you!
Least Favorite Sabre: When I think about the coming off season, and the Sabres ability (or non-ability) to make drastic changes to the roster, I resent the hell out of Tim Connolly.
Prediction: Hurricanes win 187-3
Peeps representing my hopes for this game: Kentucky Fried Peeps

We’re in this together, like a bunch of peeps in a bucket…..or something.

After the 1st (1-0, Sabres)

Mood: I’m now surprisingly bummed to see that the Rangers are winning 2-0 after the first.  I can’t buh-LIEVE that I apparently had a little bit of hope for the playoffs remaining.  Sports make people crazy, yo.
Favorite Sabre: Hey!  When exactly did Pommerdoodle remember how to play hockey?  Is it just me, or does he look like a professional hockey player again?  Good timing, P-Doods.  *eye roll*
Least Favorite Sabre: I can’t believe that in his morning skate interview Lindy Ruff used BRIAN CAMPBELL as an example of why we should be patient with our players.  WE SHOULD BE PATIENT LONG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO GO SIGN A HUGE CONTRACT WITH ANOTHER TEAM?  IS THAT THE PLAN, LINDY?  BECAUSE THAT PLAN SUCKS.  I know, I know, we have our currently sucky players under lifetime contracts.  We can afford have no choice but to be patient with them.  BUT STILL.  Honestly, Lindy.
Summary of events: Spacek, Connolly, and P-Doods worked together to score a goal so pretty that even I, the crankiest Sabres fan in the WORLD, was tempted to be all, “Aw, fuck it.  Let’s keep the gang together!  These guys have still got it!”
Peep representing this game thus far: Smoking Peep

We’ve all got to die somehow.  If our death is going to be because the Flyers lose to the Rangers, I say we just throw caution to the wind and have a smoke.

After the 2nd (4-0, Sabres)

Mood: Well, the surprising moods just keep on coming.  In this period (which saw the Sabres score three goals), I moved into “blind rage”.  I….can’t believe that Sabres are serving up an organized, hard fought, dominant performance against the hottest team in the league.  Sabres, WE COULD HAVE USED THIS KIND OF EFFORT TWO WEEKS AGO AGAINST THE THRASHERS. AAAAAAAARGH I HATE THEM SO MUCH.  I can’t believe these little a-holes have reduced me to rooting desperately FOR THE FLYER.
Favorite Sabre: Danny Briere
Least Favorite Sabre: Chris Drury
Summary of events: I can just HEAR Darcy Regier on WGR next week, “Well, it was a disappointing season, but we really feel we have a good team in place.  We had a lot of bad luck this season.  The injuries to Thomas and Ryan really hurt us in February, but I think the game against Carolina is indicative of the kind of potential that we have in this locker room. We have a lot of confidence that we’re on the right track for next season and for many seasons to come.”
Peep representing my hopes for this game: Peep show

It’s just hard to have any respect for this, you know?

At the End (5-1, Sabres)

Mood: I’ve come full circle, and I’m calm again.  (Boy this game was a roller coaster of emotion, huh?)  At least they died with dignity (if by “dignity” you mean “standing around in the locker room praying that the Flyers mount a miracle comeback against the Rangers).  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- it’s amazing how sports test our capacity for hope.  I’m sad.
Favorite Sabre: Ryan Miller, you are a star and a class act.  If there is one thing we’ve learned this season it’s that the Sabres are nothing without you.  Please take your ankle steroids this summer.
Least Favorite Sabre: Oh, hell.  I don’t know.
Peeps representing how it feels to sit around hoping the Flyers win:

It’s rather disconcerting.

It’s Time

Well, at least they’re not half-assing it.  They’re not just bad, they’re horrifying.

If I were the GM of the Sabres, I would fire Lindy Ruff.  Not because I think he’s a bad coach, but because he’s obviously a bad coach for this particular team, and this is the team we have signed for the next four years.

Hey, The Sabres Won That Game.

I suppose I should comment on the “SABRES = SOFT” issue, but you know what?  I’ve been pondering this all day, and frankly, I don’t know what to think about the Sabres and their smoooshy, soft ways.

Part of me is all, “Yeah!  The Sabres are SOFT!  They avoid hits and they never defend Crunchy!”  I mean, let’s face it, the Sabres are pretty cuddly as far as hockey teams go. The opposition spends WAY too much time pestering Miller in his crease.

But then another part of me is all, “Oh, please. Everyone just calm the eff down.  Fighting and brawling is theater, designed to romanticize the game.  Nothing more.  Fans love retaliation, but that doesn’t make it a necessary part of winning, and it CERTAINLY couldn’t have prevented Miller’s injury.”

I’m glad the Sabres didn’t put themselves on a 5-on-3 penalty kill right after Miller was injured, and I’m glad that no one got themselves suspended last night.  On the other hand, on a purely emotional level, it would have been awfully nice to see Gomez take a punch square to the face.

So basically, I don’t know how I feel about this issue. I do think the Sabres are “soft” but I’m not convinced it really matters.

I’m just still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Patrick Lalime is our new goaltender.  Absorbing the situation is really all I can handle today as far as hockey goes.  I’m not mad that the Sabres are soft.   I’m mostly just bummed out.

Sabres vs Hurricanes 2/15/09

Pregame

Mood: I work a lot of Sundays, so I very rarely get to sit around and enjoy a day of wall-to-wall hockey.  Today I got up, and puttered around for a few hours making to-do lists, and preparing for a day of errands, and blah blah blah….how annoying.  In a sudden and brilliant change of plans, I decided I was going to spend the ENTIRE day watching hockey.  No practicing, no laundry, no cooking (I went to Weggies and bought a rotisserie chicken this morning, so I’ve been munching on that guy), and no feeling even the slightest bit guilty about “wasting” a day. This will be my third hockey game of the day from the comfy chair.  I’m feeling downright blissed out.  (Oddly, during the Devils game, in the middle of my lethargy, I managed to do my taxes.  So, technically I haven’t done nothing today.  Taxes aren’t nothing.)
Favorite Sabre: I love how Pommerdoodle busted out of his slump on Friday, but it was Craig Rivet who busted into my heart.
Least Favorite Sabre: Vanek’s jaw.
Prediction: This game has some very serious “emotional letdown” potential from the Sabres, and after back-to-back humiliating losses the Hurricanes have GOT to be desperate for a win.  Hm…… Sabres win, 63-1.
Chore I should have done this afternoon representing my hopes for this game: Dishes

I don’t actually mind doing dishes, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at my kitchen. (That’s my gentleman caller, Dudley, in the back there.  He comes by to do my dishes from time to time.  He did not come by today.)

After the 1st (2-0, Hurricanes)

Mood: I wish I hadn’t already done my taxes.  I’d do them again if I could.
Favorite Sabre:  They all look the same.  (Okay, wait.  Mike Robitaille is cracking me up by pointing angrily at the Robistrator with his middle finger.  Robi is such a crotchety old crankpot.  He’s my favorite Sabre.)
Least Favorite Sabre: They all look the same.

Summary of events: The Sabres were batting their eyelashes all, “We’ve been lifting the hearts and minds of Western New Yorkers this week!”  And then the Hurricanes were all, “Yeah, we’re unimpressed.”
Chore I should have done this afternoon representing this game so far: Cleaned out the car.

I’ve got a lot of junk in my trunk.

After the 2nd (2-0, Hurricanes)

Mood: Totally shocked.  This game should be 1,000,000-0.
Favorite Sabre: Aw, Patrick Lalime.  You don’t deserve to have to be in this game.
Least Favorite Sabre: Derek Roy is on my nerves, but it’s probably not fair to single him out.  They’re all totally lifeless.
Summary of Events: Well, first I ate some rotisserie chicken, and now I’m eating some Wegmans Green Apple Sorbet, which I can highly recommend.  As for the Sabres, they skated around listlessly, totally lodged in their own ends.
Chore I should have done this afternoon representing this game so far:  High level diplomacy

Instead of watching this game I should have at least tried to broker peace in the Middle East.  I’m so incredibly lazy and lame.

At the end (3-0, Hurricanes)

Damn it.  I wish I had done my laundry.  I want clean sheets.

I’m Scared

Someone needs to kidnap Tim Connolly and wrap him up in bubble wrap.  No more leaving the house for Timmy unless it’s to play hockey.  We can’t risk it.  Vanek’s jaw is all effed up, and apparently he needs his jaw to play hockey.  So, Timmy is officially “our guy”.

Yikes.

Lifeless

The Good News

It’s always fun to sit around ragging on the Sabres with Heather B.  I bought green cotton candy from Anne, and after the game, we met the fabulous S.A.M. I can’t believe I lived in Buffalo for six years before I ever went to a hockey game.  Redonk!

The Bad News

Are we sure the Sabres aren’t undead?

The Sabres had one of their zombie games.  They were not totally horrible (well, Crunchy kind of was), but they didn’t seem to have any usable life force.  Next time I go to a game I’m going to hold a mirror underneath Ales Kotalik’s nose, just to make sure he’s actually breathing.  I suspect that at least HALF the team has a body temperature of 68 degrees (that’s a normal zombie temperature, FYI) and I’m concerned that if nothing is done, they will infect the living.  Soon, Goose and the rest of the grinders will be infected, and then it will spread across the city, and Buffalo will have to be quarantined.

I don’t want to be a zombie.

The Incredibly Bad News

Once we’re all zombies, the Sabres are going to finish in tenth place again.

Sorrow

It might have to be Lindy.

Oh, Sweetpea

Bills fans, treat yourselves gently this week.  Take a bubble bath, write in your journals, make sure you get enough sleep.  May I suggest a nice warm cup of hot chocolate?  It’s important that you remember that there is still a lot of joy in the world.

See?

I’m not going to try to make you feel better about the football situation.  While there is still a lot of football left to be played, the Bills have been stinky.  It’s true.  It’s true that the Bills have been horrendous, and you know what?  You deserve better.  You are a strong, fun, awesome person, and you shouldn’t let the Bills get you down.

It’s going to be okay.  Call me if you need anything.  I’m here for you.

10 Questions That Arose At My House Tonight:

1. Is Craig Rivet really the difference between complete awesomeness and complete suckiness?

2. Why didn’t my Mulligatawny soup freeze well?  Why is it so gross now?

3. Am I going to have to go all “tough love” on Ryan Miller this season?  Cause this shit won’t do….

4. When exactly did I shift from skeptical of the city-wide Lindy Ruff adoration to a full blown member of the “I Heart Lindy” cult?

5. Is this the stage of the season where everyone misses about 45 open nets a night?  Already?

6. Is it time to start dying my hair to hide the grays?  I don’t have a ton of gray hairs, but they are there and they are getting on my nervies.

7. Two games in a row like this?  Really, Sabres?  Really?

8. Can you believe tomorrow is Halloween?  Where did October go?

9. Did Derek Roy eat some lead paint chips this summer or something?

10. Aren’t I glad I didn’t go to that game?