Normally, I leave the sports talk to WNYM sports bloggers at BfloBlog, USRT, and BuffaloBaseballBlog, but I have to discuss the current state of the Sabres as we approach the All Star Break.

The Sabres have won only one of their previous thirteen games and they are spiraling down the standings with a determination to go from first to worst in one year. Their seeming indifferent approach to contract negotiations with All Star Defenseman Brian Campbell has left a bad taste in the mouths of Sabres Nation and the bandwagon seems to be emptying.

A few random thoughts as I channel my inner Bucky Gleason:

• I am tired of reading blog commentary and radio discussion about this team having better talent than their record indicates. This is a mediocre team of role players looking for a franchise player or two. The players the Sabres have deigned to re-sign are all second and third line players who provide the depth for a sustained charge for the Stanley Cup, not lead it. One of the few players on the roster who approaches franchise status has recently decided to end negotiations with the team.

• Brian Campbell needs to be re-signed and not just for the comic relief of his continued starring role in television commercials for the The Center For Excessive Sweating, because he is a top notch defenseman with the ability to become elite. Campbell at $6MM per for the next 5/6 years sounds like a damn good deal. That would slot him as the 10th or 11th highest paid defenseman in the league for 07/08 and the contract will only get more friendly as salaries escalate. I’d rather have Campbell locked in than sign a mid-level goalie like Miller to a 7 year deal.If the argument is “Campbell isn’t worth it”, who is?  Who are the Sabres willing to commit to as a franchise player? Are they only willing to pay value deals to midrange players like Roy, Pominville, and Gaustad?  If so, welcome to Mediocrityville, population:  Sabres
• The league is trending towards longer term contracts of higher value for younger players who are still developing. Campbell is still maturing and defensemen peak later than forwards. Locking him up now is wise, even if it costs $6MM per to do it. Within two years, that contract will be a value.

  It seems as if Golisano didn’t want to pay market rate for Briere or Drury, and then had his hand forced on Thomas Vanek.

  Vanek hasn’t come close to returning the investment so far and it appears they are going to be stingy in future dealings.

•  I hate to tell ya, but I just don’t think Ryan Miller is a franchise goaltender. As much as we all wish he was, the numbers do not back up a longterm investment in Miller as a franchise cornerstone. His inability to pitch a shutout, the up and down mechanics, and his reliance on a talented defense are not the makings of a franchise goalie along the lines of a Luongo or Brodeur. He is above average, but his Save Percentage ranks him 18th in the league this year, 16th last year, and 10th in 2005. Numbers that are regressing each year and certainly not the caliber to place him amongst the league’s elite. Can the Sabres win a Stanley Cup with Ryan Miller as the chief backstop? Perhaps, but his contract demands will certainly be based more on his perceived value than his real value. Of course, this will mean the Sabres will be priced out of the market for him when his contract expires at the end of next season.
• Dave Staba of The Niagara Falls Reporter hit the nail on the head with his assessment of the Sabres and Managing General Partner, Larry Quinn.
• After the end of the NHL lockout, the Sabres were hailed as leaders in the “New NHL” which put a premium on speed and skill players rather than toughness and hitting.  Unfortunately, in the third season after the lockout, the league is trending back towards a defensive mindset with a focus on hitting and toughness.  The Sabres seem to have been caught flatfooted in this new league paradigm.

With all of that said, where do the Sabres go from here?  Any realistic chance of a sustained playoff run is pretty much written off at this point and they are on the verge of seeing yet another top flight free agent walk out the door without compensation.  Do they begin tearing the team apart and rebuilding?  Do they make some minor tweaks to the roster and bring in a high end offensive weapon in the offseason?  Package Brian Campbell and a few complimentary pieces on the roster for prospects and draft picks?

Whatever they decide to do, they have certainly spent much of the goodwill they earned during the last two years.

Over the weekend, an “anonymous contributor” embarked upon an urban exploration of Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. He went with camera and light kit in tow and brought back some fantastic images.

It’s hard to believe its been over a decade since the Sabres beat the Hartford Whalers in the final game at the arena and Memorial Auditorium closed up shop for good.

The building celebrates the 67th anniversary of its grand opening this month and with rumors of demolition plans and magic city-saving fishing stores swirling around it, the Aud’s future is cloudier than a Sabres/Flyers cup game.

Knowing we might never get another chance to say goodbye, an accomplice of mine and I deemed it necessary to get back inside the Aud one last time to see what was left of this once proud arena and pass along our findings in photos for the world to see.

Click here to read the full story and see all of the pictures.

New Era Cap Company, together with some of Kevin Everett’s teammates including Brian Moorman, J.P. Losman, Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish, have designed a cap honoring, remembering and supporting the injured player. The caps went on sale today and there are limited supplies.

On September 9th, Everett suffered a potentially fatal injury to his spine during a game against Denver. Since then, Everett, at home in Houston, TX, has been making great strides towards his recovery.

To show Kevin his spirit and determination will never be forgotten, his teammates made sure that his initials, “K.E.” and his number, #85, were front and center on the cap. On the back, they chose a phrase that everyone, at one point or another in their lives, can relate to: “Adversity Introduces Us To Ourselves.”

The caps will sell for $15-$20 depending on the style, with all proceeds going directly to Kevin’s charity. They are available at New Era’s Buffalo Flagship Store at 160 Delaware Avenue.

New Era Designs New Cap Honoring Kevin Everett from WNYMedia Video on Vimeo.

So, I’m all revved up to watch the Bills play their first Monday Night football game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 13 years and what do I get for the pleasure of watching the pre-game show? One solid hour of “Tony Romo is God” and “Terrell Owens has turned it around”. In the course of sixty minutes, there was maybe 60 seconds of discussion about the Bills and thirty seconds of that was an update on Kevin Everett’s condition. Pretty disrespectful.

After the obligatory Hank Williams, Jr theme song (sponsored by GMC), I am confronted with Tony Kornheiser doing his low rent impression of the great and controversial Howard Cosell. He spent the better part of two solid minutes slagging not only the Bills, but the entire City of Buffalo.

The gist of his rant? What’s the only way the Bills can win? A snowstorm, Wade Phillips thinking he’s still the Coach of the Bills, Tony Romo going over the Falls in a barrel, etc.. After that, he goes on to insult my city by saying that there is no reason the Cowboys should even be interested in Buffalo. After all, who cares about Buffalo? He attended SUNY Binghamton which is 200 miles from Buffalo and he didn’t even give a rat’s ass about Buffalo when he was there.

Seriously, why is it still so cool to rant on Buffalo? If you’re going to do it, at least come at us with something fresh and new instead of the same old tired rehashed jokes about snow and chicken wings. Don’t come at me with your lame and uninspired curmudgeon act.

I’m also a little upset that Ron Jaworski, Lackawanna native, didn’t step up and represent a little. What kind of guy sits idly by and lets some hack trashtalk his hometown?

As if the Bills had the MNF pregame show on in the locker room, they came out and smacked the Cowboys in the mouth in the first half.

Good times.

EDIT: Alright, so the Bills ended up losing a nailbiter in horrific fashion. However, I am inclined to take away the positives from tonight’s game.

- Trent Edwards clearly established that he is the QB of the future for this franchise. He has the skills that Losman does not; ability to make quick reads, poise and awareness in the pocket, accurate on the underneath routes, and leadership. He’ll make some mistakes, but he has the critical skillset necessary to mature into a quality NFL QB.

- Jabari Greer is a stud

- The defense, down six starters, played their asses off tonight. The Bills had no business winning this game and they played with heart and passion. This team came up big but ultimately feel short of victory in the face of a much more talented team. Losses like this build character.

The Buffalo Sabres and the NHL have called a press conference for Monday to announce the details of an outdoor New Years Day game at Ralph Wilson Stadium between the Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Details have been kept secret, but WNYMedia.net’s own Andrew Kulyk obtained some advance information on ticket prices and game details.

WNYMedia has learned exclusively that ticket prices for the big event have been set from $10 for the first few rows of the 100 level seating bowl, which are labeled as obstructed view, to $203 for those heated club seats under the overhang.

We obtained a copy of the pricing chart through an unnamed contact, but were unable to reach Sabres PR spokesman Mike Gilbert this afternoon for verification or further comment.

The game in Buffalo, dubbed the “Ice Bowl” will be the second outdoor NHL game. The first was played at Edmonton’s 57,000 seat Commonwealth Stadium in 2003 when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. Ralph Wilson Stadium is home to the Buffalo Bills and has a capacity of 73,967 seats for football games. Final details on the number of seats were not available, but it is possible that 75,000 fans could be in the house to watch the Penguins/Sabres tilt which will be televised nationally on NBC.

The Buffalo News is reporting that Buffalo Sabres avoided a salary arbitration hearing with Derek Roy by signing him to a long term contract valued at $4MM per season.

The Buffalo Sabres avoided Derek Roy’s salary arbitration hearing today by signing the center to a six-year contract worth $24 million.

Roy recorded 21 goals, 63 points and a plus-37 rating last season. He finished fifth in points for the NHL’s highest-scoring team. His 42 assists tied him with Brian Campbell for second behind leading scorer Daniel Briere, who had 63.

This was a solid move by Regier as Roy is a player on the come and it was wise to lock him in to a long term deal to assure salary certainty. Although, I’m pretty sure that Bucky Gleason and the rest of the writers at The Buffalo News will find something wrong with deal.

ROy’s skillset is similar to Danny Briere’s and locking him in for six years is a coup.

Kevin from Bfloblog has invited all to a hockey party. Monday June 4th at JJ’s on Elmwood (next to Casa di Pizza) Come and cheer on the Ducks as they sweep the Sens, and enjoy a tasty beverage with other diehard fans. Game starts at 8, so get there early for a good seat.
pd

The day that Rick Jeanerette decides to hang up his microphone and retire will be a sad one for Sabres fans everywhere. Those of us who didn’t have a ticket to one of the greatest playoff games in Buffalo Sabres history were lucky enough to have the best play by play man in the NHL calling the game.

Thank God we weren’t tortured with the clowns from Versus. Rick makes every game special and his calls on the Drury and Afinogenov goals allow for them to live in our collective memory just a little bit longer.

Thanks to Chris Byrd, the calls are saved for prosperity…

This headline just puts a hop in my step…

If you’re not listening to The Cockfight with Kevin and Mark from BFLOBlog.com, well, you’re no friend of mine. These guys talk Sabres Hockey, Bills Football, and Pop Culture while knocking back a few adult beverages in the WNYM Radio Studios.

This week, they hosted Sam Weinman, a New York Rangers beat reporter from The Journal News.

Enjoy

Does this video epitomize where the collective heart of the city is at this point in time, or what?

Here’s the full version:

Here’s the TV version:

Our inherent sports pessimism is a symptom of our forty year old inferiority complex as a city and region.

That’s why I keep being told that the Islanders stand a chance in their first round matchup with our beloved Sabres. Hell, even I’ve been kicking around the thought of an Islanders upset…

- If the Islanders can get off to a hot start in Game 1 and keep the Sabres on their heels…they might eke out a win.
- What if their third string goalie turns into JS Giguere, circa 2003?
- If Satan and Yashin man up and play to their talent level?

All of the above? Complete and utter bullshit.

Why?

We’ve got Chris Drury leading our march towards history.

“I don’t know anybody like him,” says Sabres general manager Darcy Regier. Mike Eruzione, the 1980 Olympic hockey star who as an assistant at BU coached Drury, says, “He’s not superskilled. He just wins.”

Drury is, in fact, one of the greatest clutch players in sports.

That’s right…we’re sweeping the Islanders in this series.

Drury, bitches.

It’s about friggin’ time that someone stepped up with a new Sabres anthem. After all, we have been tortured for years with various reincarnations of the “We’re Gonna Win That Cup” song each time the Sabres geared up to make a deep playoff run.

Local Hip Hop artist Eddie Haskill has created the first Sabres Anthem that does not suck. It’s been stuck in m head all day and now I share it with you…

Why? Because it’s a hip hop song and it will never see the light of day on any radio station in Buffalo aside from Kiss 98.5, home of the most irritating DJ alive, Nicholas Picholas. Lord knows, none of my readers listen to that dreck.

I felt the need to shake it up after 15 straight Tom Reynolds posts…

Tonight, the Buffalo Sabres open the 2006-2007 season with a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

For years, Sabres fans have made Toronto Maple Leaf fans their number one enemy.

While I can’t disagree with the idea of ginning up the sports hate machine for a bunch of toque wearing Canadian jackasses who descend upon our city several times each year, the idea is a bit misguided. Why? Because Leaf fans don’t care about the Sabres, or our perceived rivalry with them. Leaf fans are primarily focused on their rivalry with Les Habitants of Montreal and with a blossoming hatred for the Ottawa Senators.

So, without the Leafs, who does that leave for us to hate? The Bruins? The Senators? The Canadiens? The Penguins? The Rangers? I say the answer is none of the above as all of those teams already have natural rivalries based on geographic location and playoff battles over the years.

Public Enemy #1 for the Sabres Fan? Meet the Carolina Hurricanes, the embodiment of all that is evil and wrong in the sports world.

They meet all the requirements as a team that Sabres fans can love to hate. Let’s start with their smug douchebag of a coach, Peter LaViolette.

A Captain who cheats like Dexter Manley on a spelling test, Rod “Shovelface” Brind’Amour.

And a generally undesirable fanbase.

On top of all that, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham are where all the people from Amherst are moving to. They’re stealing our people for chrissakes!

I want to see some hostility towards these hockey world interlopers who stole our Stanley Cup. I want to see Kevin from BFLOBlog dress up his kid like this one at the next Sabres/Canes game in Buffalo.

I want a win tonight and I want it bad.

I’ve been back in Buffalo for two years and it has never even crossed my mind that attending a UB football game might be a fun thing to do. Let’s be honest, the team has sucked for the better part of a decade.

Being the eternal optimist that I am, I’m going to throw some support behind new UB Head Football coach Turner Gill and support the team.

By “support”, I mean going to watch them play Temple University tomorrow, the only team that scored fewer points than they did last year. If they don’t win this game, against the universally described “worst team in college football”, well, I dunno what to say.

I’ll have a few beers with the BFLOBlog boys before the game. If you want to stop by our tailgate on the way in, give me a call. If you don’t have my number or email address, I probably wouldn’t want you to stop by anyhow.

Cheers.