Don't Shoot the Hockey Player

by Anne

So Amy at Shots Off the Crossbar who is always on top of Buffalo News articles and other media relating to the Buffalo Sabres brought to our attention good ol' Bucky's latest article about newest Buffalo Sabre: Anthony Craig Rivet.

Now, Craig has completely honestly voiced his dissatisfaction and disappointment at being traded to Buffalo. He also quickly adds that his displeasure stems from the fact that he loved San Jose so much. I can understand that. It wasn't so much about Buffalo, it was about leaving San Jose. I'm sure that the members of the Rivet family had a few choice negative ideas to bandy about when discussing their new move to Buffalo.

I'm sure most people on here won't do this, but bear with me. Listen to WGR, you'll hear 'em.

Before people go ripping Craig Rivet a new one for saying bad things about our beloved hometown, let's pause and reflect.

Downtown Buffalo is gross. Its a dump. Trust me, I work in it. I'm in downtown Buffalo as I'm typing this. Come down to Court Street at like 7:00 p.m. in Februrary and see the desolate wasteland the heart of downtown becomes after working hours. There are way too many boarded up stores and buildings that need inhabitants and it's gross. That's what hockey players see when they come to Buffalo. That is ALL they see. They probably (I really have no idea) stay at like the Hyatt downtown or some hotel off of the 290 in Amherst, hop on the Kensington and head to the arena and that's their entire impression of Buffalo. If you asked me the worst view of our fair city, that probably wouldn't be #1 but it'd be top 5, easily.

However, what makes Buffalo so great is the people in it. I know this has been said before, but its really true. People in Buffalo who embrace our sad little city know that our home is a dump. We know how terrible we look to the outside world. We're poor, we're dirty and sometimes it feels like we have more politicians than constituents. It's not an ideal situation. That perception reflected in our attitude, but not the dark side of it. Most Buffalonians act on the flip side of the coin. We're not called the City of Good Neighbors for no reason. We people of Western New York compensate for the sad state of our city by making the people of Buffalo its most popular attraction.

Craig Rivet couldn't believe how cheap housing is in Buffalo. A 5,000 sq foot home for $2 million?!?! CRAIG, YOU COULD BUY A HOUSE TWICE THAT SIZE FOR HALF AS MUCH IN BUFFALO, ISN'T THAT AWESOME?!

That's another reason I like Buffalo so much, salaries are lower than the national average in Buffalo but cost of living is lower too, so you can live a wealthier lifestyle in Buffalo for less than it would cost elsewhere. Take a notice of how many BMWs you see driving around town and you'll see what I mean.

I love Buffalo and I never want to live anywhere else for very long. I'd try living somewhere else just to see what its like, but I would always come back. Buffalo will always be my home and I could never replace it. I love Chicago and Pittsburgh but I couldn't live there because I don't think I could ever feel as happy living so anonymously. Almost every time we go out on the weekends, I see someone I went to high school with and that, while kind of annoying, gives me a feeling of belonging that I enjoy. "Buffalo" is really fun to say too.

Anyway, I hope Craig Rivet learns to like it here. There are some lovely newer houses in Clarence and Williamsville and that general area I think you'd enjoy, Mr. Rivet. Those are excellent school districts for your wee youngin's (I actually don't know howmany kids he has, but if he's building a 5,000 foot home, I'm gonna go ahead and assume its more than 1).

It isn't surprising that Soupy, Mike Grier or Doug Gilmour say nice things about Buffalo. They didn't like the way the organization handled things, but Larry Quinn is not Buffalo. Elmwood Avenue, Hertel Avenue, Tim Horton's, Niagara Falls, Delaware Park, Bison dip, Thursday at the Square, Kissing Bridge, Chestnut Ridge, the Albright Knox, Bills games, Ralph Wilson, Van Miller, Sabres games, Rick Jeanneret, NLL Champion Bandits games, the REAL John Tavares, sports in general, chicken wings, Rob Ray, random protests being staged on Bidwell, Bisons games, the Earl of Bud, the Conehead, Anchor Bar v. Duffs, Jim Kelly, snowstorms, snow days, Don Paul, Rich Foods, Tops v. Wegmans, "Wide Right", "No Goal", The Taste of Buffalo, Lake Erie, Chippewa, Jim's Steak Out, Mighty Taco, Allentown, beef on weck, our odd looking City Hall, putting "the" in front of route numbers, Labatt Blue, Garden Walk, Spot Coffee, that crazy lady who wears all white and walks around by Allen St., loyalty and hard work. THAT's Buffalo, not a man in an office making decisions about a hockey team.

This has been my pro-Buffalo rant of the day. We now return you to your regularly scheduled foolishness and trickery.

The Goose is on the Loose

by Anne

Boo Wings, Boo Flyers.

Whatever.

Ok, now that that's over with:

Ok, so post-hockey and post a MAJOR day of cleaning around my parents house and my own, I opted for the Saturday night tradition of hitting up some bars in Buffalo with some girlfriends. We went down to Elmwood, we being me, S(h)ara, our friend Allison and our friend Jenn. While at a bar, S(h)ara was attempting to mack it with the bartender, Jenn was talking to some random boys, and Allison and I were chatting over drinks when I, who was facing the wall of windows saw some REALLY cute boys walk by. Like, boys that were definitely worthy of watching them as they passed when all of a sudden I realized that one of them had a face I'd seen before. It took me, oh, .6 seconds to realize whose face it was.

Now, I've been pretty sure that Paul Gaustad has jogged by me or been 6 lines down from me at Wegman's before, but never in my life was I so sure that Goose had just walked by that window. I immediately put down my drink, whispered to Allison my suspicions and without breaking stride we peaced outside to see that he had disappeared. Were we thwarted? Hells no. There's a classy bar next door, so we decided to stop in and lo and behold, there was Goose with his boys, none of whom were Sabres. So we grabbed our stuff and Jenn and S(h)ara who had no clue where we had disappeared to and hung out for a time at the classier bar that Goose deemed worthy of his patronage. Did we talk to him? No. Did we talk to one of his buddies who was also pretty hot? Yes. Is Goose even hotter and taller in person than we could have possibly comprehended? HELLS YES.

He did not appear to be recovering from recent surgery, so I'm guessing that sports hernia surgery didn't happen this past week. Either that or he was most definitely ignoring doctor's orders by consuming alcohol. What did he drink? I have no idea but he left a good tip. Aw, good boy, Goosie!

In the bar we were in there were tons of Sabres B&W portraits up, including one of Goose, did that make him uncomfortable? I don't think so, he's probably used to it.

His boys were totally creating a Fortress of Solitude around him and there was no female interference. So, Goose was not trolling for tail last night or he would've talked to one of us. We 4 ladies are pretty varied; one of us has got to be at least close enough to his type to be worthy of some innocent flirtation if he were in the market.

It proved to me that, even if I didn't know anything about him, yes, I would still think Goose is incredibly good looking.

Was it totally awesome? OMG YES.

S(h)ara and I determined that even though I love Goose immensely, I was fully able to restrain myself, probably because he's uncomfortably attractive to the point where I wouldn't expect to talk to him because he's totally beyond my grasp, lol. However, as S(h)ara pointed out, if it were Big Bear I could not be held responsible for my actions.

I love Buffalo.

EDIT: I'm not sure how I forgot to mention this, but at one point Goose got up to go to the bathroom and on his way by bumped into S(h)ara's purse and said "excuse me". Awww, he's so polite. I think she'll have that purse bronzed.

Big Bear's Big Bite

by Anne

Ok, so Big Bear's favorite food, as widely reported by KSylv and MSG, is steak. This means he will fit in well with the Buffalo Sabres as, when asked, almost every single Sabre names steak as their favorite food. I hope the Chophouse is prepared. Big Bear likes his steaks rare, he clearly has the taste for blood. RAR!

Also one of Big Bear's favorite foods is this:

Um, ew?

Ok, true true, I cannot judge, I've never tried "poutine" but it does not look remotely appetizing to me. It really looks like french fries with marshmallows and orange marmalade. It's what? I'm hearing that French fries, cheese curds and gravy is what it really is.

It is quite popular in Quebec as comfort food. However, being that Pommerdoodle, Big Bear, Gragnani and perhaps a few other randoms in the region bring the French Canadian population of Western New York up to roughly 12, (14 when Marty Biron and Danny Briere come to visit) there isn't much of a demand for Quebecois' comfort food.

However! Never fret, Big Bear! Should you continue to be SWEET, and stay in Buffalo, I promise you that, before long, there will be at least one restaurant who will serve this pile of whatnot and name it after you.

Lest we forget:

The Dominator spiced up our lives


Little Dougie Flutie wanted to be a part of this complete breakfast

and:


Yo, even when I was like 12, I thought this was weird

S(h)ara reports that Staffy, my Staffy has his own dish at Chef's restaurant, which is a Buffalo institution and extremely popular amongst we Buffalonians.

So, there ya go, Big Bear, it won't be long until you've brought poutine and all its freaky glory to Buffalo.