So I got laid off from my job two weeks ago and raking in those interviews has been slowwwwww business.
It makes it tough to do a lot of things when you're preoccupied by finding a job. This blog has become a casualty of that because it hasn't been a scheduled part of my routine for at least 6-7 months at this point.
I have an interview on Friday for a totally lame job but it'll pay decently well and has the hours that I'm looking for so DO IT UP.
Speaking of "DO IT UP," the Kings are doing just that and sometimes, but far less frequently, the Sabres are too.
I'm sure once the world no longer feels like it's dropping blocks on my head, I'll be back in regular game form.
This Sabres/Devils game just has me shaking my head. WTF is with Kovalchuk? All that fanfare for THIS? He just missed the net completely on a breakaway. I love JhoBro but Ilya MFing Kovalchuk should be able to beat him if he can just hit the freakin' net.
Would he have had these struggles as a King with Terry Murray coaching him?
Also, congratulations on game number 1,000 for Lindy Ruff! Let's hope these bozos can find a way to win it for you!
I'm a Realtor by trade, and as part of the job of a Realtor, we do comparative market anaylses for homes we list. This determines what dollar amount a house is likely to sell for in today's market. In different market conditions that dollar amount would be different but we're only looking at the here and now.
I saw a headline debating the market value of Ilya Kovalchuk and it got the wheels turning. Here now is my CMA for Ilya Kovalchuk's annual cap hit.
When doing a CMA, you must find comparable houses (or players in this case). Therefore my criteria shall be this:
Objective Criteria:
Born between 1977 - 1985
Top-six forward
Signed a multi-year UFA contract or contract extension within the last 2 seasons (July 1, 2009 - day of writing September 1, 2010)
Here are our comparables:
Marian Hossa
Rick Nash
Marc Savard
Ryan Kesler
Mikko Koivu
We're basing these stats on the 60+GP seasons they played BEFORE they signed these contracts/extensions.
We're using cost per goal and cost per point to determine where Kovalchuk fits.
Now here's how Kovalchuk fits into this chart:
Based on the cost per goal, Kovalchuk's cap hit should be $10,587,153.00
Based on the cost per point, Kovalchuk's cap hit should be $7,809,064.90
So, based on the CMA, my recommended cap hit for Ilya Kovalchuk should fall between those two numbers. There is subjective criteria such as Nash and Koivu being the Captains of their teams and lifelong membership with their young organizations, Kesler's potential to captain the Canucks and whether or not he's always been a true top-six player, Savard's injury history, and Hossa's potential circumvention of the salary cap rules. Therefore I leave it to your discretion as the GM to choose the potential cap hit you feel the subject player should have. The length of the listing period contract is your decision to make. I recommend several years as this player has shown great consistency and is highly desirable to many.
These are my recommendations as a professional Realtor, the final decision is ultimately yours. Should we disagree strongly in the value of the subject player, we will have the opportunity to walk away from the deal. This must be a mutual decision moving forward.
Lou Lamoriello and Ilya Kovalchuk and Kovalchuk's agent have created a lot of headaches for people.
Mark Mancari is coming back to Portland. Woo.
Someone effed up the Prince of Wales trophy (Eastern Conference Champs) and wrote the Washington Capitals instead of the Flyers. The running excuse is that the engraver is a moron and wrote the Caps because they won the President's trophy. I mean, they both start with P after all.
Ummm, let's see. This guy standing next to my desk has an incredibly deep voice. It's almost hot. I don't know what he looks like though. Maybe I shouldn't look, it might kill the image. Although it's hard to sound sexy with a Great Lakes accent no matter how hot you might appear to be. Oh, he just said "I seen." That's a real mood killer. Even if it was Greener, I'd be grossed out by someone saying "I seen." Proper grammar is wicked sexy.
Exactly how many defensemen do the Sabres have these days? It seems like a lot but it probably isn't.
I'm taking a kickboxing lesson tonight. It's one-on-one with a personal trainer. I've gained a lot of weight over the last year (effing school stress being de-motivating) and I want to be at least somewhat presentable for my sister's wedding next July. I'm pumped to learn how to kick some butt.
I'm typing this on a Gateway Netbook. It is LAME. I want my Macbook back. I'm not an Apple Fangirl by anymeans (I use a Blackberry and have ZERO interest in an iPad) but it cannot be disputed that my Macbook>>>>>>>>>>>>my Netbook.
Anyone in the Western New York area thinking about selling their home in the next few months? I know just the girl to help you out. :)
Watching Kovygate from a distance is awesome. As long as the Kings don't get back into it, I'm enjoying this thoroughly from the comfort of my own home.
Watching people do a happy dance and then suddenly being punched in the face by news of the contract's rejection has been hilaaaaarious. I loved re-reading Dmitri Chesnokov's tweets about Kovalchuk's party and how happy he is AFTER reading about his contract being rejected.
Why Lou Lamoriello would accept such ridiculous terms is beyond me. Why the NHL chose THIS particular ridiculous contract to reject is beyond me as well. However, I'm glad it was rejected because of it's completely blatant circumvention of the rules.
I read a tweet yesterday in which someone said the NBA's collective bargaining agreement has a clause that allows for the rejection of contracts that circumvent the spirit of the cap rules, why doesn't the NHL have this? If it did, Pronger and Hossa's contracts would've been rejected immediately as it takes them both to 42 with a SERIOUS drop off in salary in the last few years of the contract. Lame.
Darcy Regier might be maddeningly cautious but at least he never gets the team into situations like this one. It's not Kovalchuk's fault the team agreed to this ridiculous contract, it's LL's fault for signing off on it.
There's been so much going on in the greater world of sports lately that I feel as though there must be something concrete to say about hockey...
......
......
Ummmm, I've got two things: The Blackhawks continue to be effed and Kovalchuk is still playing wishywashy with the Kings
As I'm sure you all know the Sharks signed Niklas Hjalmarsson:
:D
To an offer sheet, four years/ $14 million. The Blackhawks matched and now have 15 players under contract with less than $150,000 in cap space. Now when I say, LOL I really mean it this time. It's SO RIDICULOUS. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?! I mean, even if they get rid of Huet, that'll give them like $5.5 million in cap but they'll only have 14 players under contract. That isn't even enough to dress a full roster for a game. Seriously: hahahahahaha.
There have been rumblings about trading Sharp. I can think of more than a few teams that would like to take him off the Blackhawks hands, the Sabres included. :D
Also, in news that's not really news, Ilya Kovalchuk is hanging out in LA college-recruitment style, it appears he will most likely be working out a contract while he's there, face to face with Dean-o. Everyone's plan is to come up with a contract that won't screw over keeping Dewey, Simmer, and (maybe) Quickie in the coming years. And as long as Matt Greene isn't traded, AMIRITE?
Matt Greene and his tongue thank you for your time:
With everyone running around trying to find things to prop up the cap ceiling so they can fit in more stuff and trading away all the UFAs, it seems as though the 2nd best day of the year is going to be hella lame.
Although there is serious potential for Nabokov to totally dick over the Flyers, and that I can't wait to see if I'm reading the reports on his trade/not trade/signing/not a signing. Any time the Flyers suffer I count that in my personal "W" column.
The Predators who no one really pays attention to most of the time, have shipped away several of their biggest names and aren't bringing back Dan Ellis meaning the team is one big ol' question mark for next season. But fortunately, it's the Predators so no one is really all that concerned about how they do. I'm not, especially now that Dan Ellis is gone as he is my favorite NHL player to follow on Twitter. Well, I suppose the Preds also have Shea Weber. Yummy, yummy Shea Weber.
Everyone is basically writing it off as a foregone conclusion that Kovalchuk will be a King on Thursday. I mean, I'd be okay with it, so long as he isn't the locker room cancer he's been rumored to be. Do you think Greener can keep him in line?
I'm also pretty tired of all this "BRIAN BURKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW?" Nothing has happened of any significance since that "okay, maybe if we switch out our entire rosters, no one will notice. Aaaaaand GO!" with the Flames a few months ago. I mean, where's this Kaberle deal? Where's the big shake-ups we've been promised. I hope they come soon.
A little sad to see Cheechoo and Kotalik on waivers. Well, Cheech more than Big Czech Al. Cheech was once a 50 goal scorer and now he'll be in the minors? Unreal. Big Czech Al is mostly deadweight. He'll enjoy playing in the KHL, I'm sure.
In all the draft hubbub, I forgot to show my EXTREME DISPLEASURE that Big Bear has been dealt to the Florida Panthers. EW EW EW EW NO. I mean, he'll be closer to me and we'll play him more often but :( :( :(. I'm running out of ties to the Canucks, people. Kes and SOB are about all I've got left.
I miss the Sabres. When will they be coming back to us?
My #2 team is hosting the NHL entry draft on Friday. I hope to see Dustin Brown there when the Kings announce their pick and the trade that sends Kovalchuk's rights to Dean Lombardi for the negotiatin' of a new contract. Even the NHL schedule is planning on this happening. The Kings' home opener is against the Atlanta Thrashers. Fan crisis moment: Can I really cheer for Ilya Kovalchuk? Once he starts scoring like crazy, I'll have no problem, I'm sure.
While I'm not terribly excited for this year's draft class, it would still be exciting to see the players drafted and be there while some crazy trades are going down on the floor of the Staples Center. Maybe after I get a real job (I have an interview on Monday, fingers crossed) I'll start saving to go to LA for a game this coming season or the season after. There's always the possibility of seeing them play when they head East for a road trip. Maybe back to Nashville? Columbus? We shall see, but I really want to see the Kings in their natural habitat.
Everyone has November 19th circle on their calendars, RIGHT?! :) That's the day that the Kings come to play the Sabres in HSBC Arena :) I'm not sure if I'm going to wear any Kings' gear; I don't want it to look like I'm cheering against the Sabres. What will probably happen is that I'll just wear plain black and cheer all of the goals.
Speaking of trades and such: YO, CHICAGO, CHILL. We all knew that the Blackhawks would be cleaning house, but not necessarily this soon after and not necessarily this many trades at once. Byfuglien, Eager, Sopel and prospect Aliu (whom I have a soft spot for because he served as a Russian translator during the NHL combine interviews) to Atlanta for Marty Reasoner, two picks, and prospect Jeremy Morin. I love Marty Reasoner because he had Greener were BFFs when they played in Edmonton.
In addition, the Blackhawks sent poor adorable little Collin Fraser up to Edmonton for a 6th round pick. Yikes.
I mostly don't care about these trades because they will have limited or no impact on my teams. However, do the Thrashers really need another enforcer with only limited talent in Ben Eager? It'll up the opportunities for Kaleta and Eager to renew their old rivalry, but still, really Thrashers? Really?
Also on the UFA front: I'm glad the Sharks re-signed Patrick Marleau. I was getting a little tired of hearing Sabres fans drool over him, but am sad that Joe Pavelski wasn't dealt to the Sabres. I loves me some Pavelski.
Looking forward to the Draft Party tomorrow night! Who all is going to be there?
I'm in the midst of chapter 3 of my psychology book and it's just downright zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Anyway, as school makes me sleep a normal person's hours, I did not make it through the entire Kings game last night. I dozed off when it was 4-3 Kings and woke up to find the final score was 6-4 Kings. Yikes.
My love/hate relationship with Jack Johnson continues. Last night he and Kopi each had four points, JJ3 with one goal and three assists, Kopi with a pair of each. However, While Kopi was a +3, JJ3 managed to be a -1. Will wonders never cease? It's because he pretty much only scores on the powerplay, but whatevs. My fantasy team thanks them both for their contributions.
The Kings are now 22-0-0 when leading after two. Woooooo!
Tonight the Sabres take on the 'Canes. Cam Ward is out and Ray Whitney is going through an existential crisis now that Kovalchuk is off the market. He's all but guaranteed to be traded, but to where? Meh. It's the friggin' Hurricanes. They're turrrrrrible, please beat them? Pleeeeeease?
I realized that I mention my abundance of 8am classes in like every other post. But, for the record: 8AM CLASSES STINK. 8am classes on Saturday are surely the work of the Devil. Oh yeah and speaking of the Devil(s):
Like, Ilya Kovalchuk was traded to the Devils and junk. From a Kings perspective, this is fine with me. Dean Lombardi was not about to give away the future for a rental player. No, Don Waddell, you canNOT have Wayne Simmonds.
To summarize: Jack Johnson torments me, the Hurricanes are terrible and I still think Ilya Kovalchuk is a punk and I don't like his anti-backchecking ways. Also, Greener, don't move:
Sabres v. Canes tonight, puck drops at 7:30! Wheee!
Grad school blows. I read constantly. Except, this time it isn't novels and fun stuff and, oh yeah, I'm not even technically in grad school yet.
There's really not much to say except the Kings have more wins and both teams have 71 points. Grated, the Sabres have to games in hand over the Kings but STILL.
The bloggers get togethers are now 0-3 after many of us convened on Casa di Pizza in Buffalo to witness the mayhem that was the Pittsburgh game. Maybe we should reconsider these get togethers...? haha. They're lots of fun but the Sabres just can't handle the pressure of us all together at one bar. Although, for the record, Casa di Pizza has delicious barbecue wings. Delicious. That was the highlight of my evening (well, #2 after having fun in-person blogger conversations that is).
I only made it through the first two periods of last night's Kings' game (which they won 2-1, btw). They're now a perfect 21-0-0 when leading after two. That stat is no joke. No Sabres 08-09 patented Epic Third Period Collapses for the Los Angeles Kings.... yet. (think I just undid the jinx?)
There have been countless rumors swirling around about Kovalchuck going to the Kings. It could happen, but I don't see Dean Lombardi giving up the future for one player that may or may not be a rental. Although I did salivate a little at the thought of Kopi centering a line with Kovalchuk as a winger. That could be badass.
Whatchu got up your sleeve, Dean-o?
You think I'm going to trade for Kovalchuk?
Maybe, we'll see.
Tonight the Sabres take on the Senators at home. Fortunately I have class until 10:00pm on Wednesday nights so I will be spared the devastation of watching the Sabres lose to the Senators on home ice once again. Aw shucks.
For the record, you all know that their logo is actually a Roman gladiator and not a Roman senator, right? Just making sure. Of course, out logo is a slug turd with a buffalo head, so we can't really complain about theirs, now can we?
I don't have much time to write because I have about 150 pages left to read before I head to this class which I might not go to because I feel like garbage.
I want to throttle Thomas Vanek for that turnover that gave Kovalchuk a breakaway. I want to wring Lindy's neck for having Teppo out there during OT.
However. I must pause and reflect.
Thomas Vanek may have handed out the biggest turnover of the season in OT, but he was also the only player that scored for the Sabres yesterday. Thomas Vanek's two goals gave us one point and his turnover cost us the other. Never has one player been so directly involved in the earning and losing of standings points.
Moving on:
The Sabres signed Matt Generous and I read some really inaccurate article about him yesterday and Cari, Kim and S(h)ara had to set me straight last night at Tully's. People need to check their facts before they start righting blurbs for accredited news sites. That's all I'm sayin' about that.
I should probably welcome Matt Generous aboard the FailShip as I do all incoming players but my lunch is ready and I have reading to do and an essay to type so that shall have to wait.
Also, I organized the tags yesterday so they are a little more user friendly. I left the tags up there people are most likely to be searching for. If we only had one post tagged with something, that tag probably did not make it onto the list. It makes the the list much much shorter and, if nothing else, it irritates me a lot less.
I also fail because we were going to do an April Fool's post last night but I forgot to write it so I'll have to save it for next year.
The Kings are releasing new wallpaper for a different player every month, this month is Matt Greene. Hooray! It is not currently my background because I can't bring myself to take Dan Paille's open-mouthed, curiously wide-eyed look of wonder picture down as my wallpaper.
Tonight the Canucks host the Ducks and the Kings are on the road in Phoenix, both at 10:00 p.m. Booo.
I can't wait for the total freakout over new Facebook. As per usual, don't invite me to any "Anti-Facebook's New Layout" groups. I will decline your invitation because I feel there might be a few more issues in the world.
If everyone put half the effort into fighting world issues that they do into fighting Facebook's re-designs, the world would probably be a better place.
You're not going to delete your profile, calm the hell down.
Right, sports. Hockey and the like.
The Canucks beat the Kings last night. I only watched the 2nd half of the third period. Just enough time to watch the Canucks win 4-2. I hear it was a tad bit one sided in the first. And by that I mean the Canucks outshot the Kings 20-3. I'm kind of glad I missed most of this one. If its two teams I enjoy, I'd enjoy a close game.
Apparently Steven has a fractured bone in his face (cheekbone I heard? confirm/deny?). This must've happened during the Anaheim game which I did not watch. He was wearing a full face shield last night:
He did not figure into any of the Canucks scoring last night :(
Henrik Sedin had two goals close together that broke a short lived tie and gave the Canucks their eighth win in a row on home ice. Yay!!! Henrik's 1st goal was the game winner and also the 100th goal of his career. Hooray!
Happy Sean O'Donnell Day!
Today Sean O'Donnell plays in his 1,000th NHL game. If you give a hoot, here's a link to the Kings' stuff about him.
He was part of the Ducks team that won the Cup in 2007 when they were my favorite Western Conference team, so he's made the journey from Anaheim to LA. That must be one of the easiest moves in the NHL. Except for maybe between the Islanders and Rangers.
He also happens to be rookie Drew Doughty's defensive partner (most of the time).
Congratulations Sean!
Sabres take on the Thrashers tonight without Cap'n Kovalchuk. No time for resting on our laurels, boys. Just because they don't have Kovy doesn't mean they don't have players who can score like... uhhhhh... Colby Armstrong? Ok, Bryan Little does have 29 goals this season, so look out for him.
I'm not thrilled about tonight's game. It spells disaster. A crappy team we should easily beat at home on a Saturday night usually spells disaster.
Also, I was looking at my list of top moments from this season and at this writing I only have six and some of them aren't even that great. I'm expecting some heroics down the stretch here. When is Petey going to score his annual goal?! Can Tallinder be in a shootout again this season? Thomas, score four hat tricks again please?
This season has been boring. At least last season there was drama. Soupy's contract, the Winter Classic, Thomas Vanek's rebirth, Jochen Hecht and Dan Paille each scoring in the neighborhood of 20 goals each, it was way more fun last season. Even when they lost, there was more to talk about. If we miss the playoffs again, we'll just be one of those mediocre teams again with one great goal scorer, a great agitator and a great goaltender, just like most of my youth.
If they miss the playoffs again, can someone please be fired?
We've all heard about Kovalchuck potentially being moved from Atlanta. He's an offensive superstar wasting away on a team that's ranked 28th in the league. However, in a move that most expected to come at the beginning of the season, the Thrashers have just NOW named Kovy their captain. Hard to believe he's only the fifth Russian born and trained player in history to be named captain of an NHL team. Does this quash the trade rumors? Does this mean Kovalchuk is happy in Hotlanta? Does this mean Don Waddell trades away the team's only legitimate star? Soupy was an alternate captain the month he was traded and captain only two months before that. I still say Kovy is moved.
Then there's his South East Division goal scoring hombre, Vinny Lecavalier. He's the team captain and just signed a DiPietro-esque 11 year contract extension that goes into effect this July 1. For the last few crappy Bolts seasons, there have been rumors that Marty St. Louis or Vinny were on the trade market, but for some reason this season the rumors are hotter than ever. The ever popular Vinny-to-the-Habs trade has come up yet again. Why in God's name would they trade him? I'm not saying that they won't trade him, because that genius parade running shop down in Tampa has done some pretty bone-headed things this past few months, but Vinny is their only superstar. If I lived in Tampa and there was no Vinny Lecavalier, who else would I go to watch? Marty "Don't Call Me Shortstack" St. Louis? He's good, but he's not the franchise player that Vinny is. Stamkos is floundering and probably should be back in Sarnia where he can gain some confidence, why wasn't he allowed to be in the World Juniors? That's beyond me. Basically, I don't want Vinny in Montreal because that just ups Montreal into serious contender status and that's bad for the Sabres. Bad bad bad.
What's the latest in trades for the Sabres? Darcy doesn't make splashy trades. Well, he gives away splashy but doesn't bring IN splashy. We could use Vinny up here! Tampa needs defense, right? I say Tallinder, Paetsch and a first rounder for Vinny. Who's with me?!
Another center that might be on the move is Jason Spezza. As much as I want a solid top line center for the Sabres, I feel like Spezza in Buffalo would be like that scene in Mighty Ducks when that kid who never appeared in any of the other movies called Adam Banks a "cake-eater" when he was forced to play for them when the divisional lines were redrawn and something about a lake being a cutoff point. I'm putting money on Royzie being the one to dish out that kind of smack talk.
Stafford for Kesler? As part of something bigger? That's the rumor from the unreliable Hockeybuzz.com. I love Kesler so if we were to lose Staffy it'd have to be for someone like Kes to avoid the onslaught of sadness. However, what would this "bigger" be, I wonder? If we got Kes, I'd want to keep him. What's with the Sabres trading with the Canucks all of a sudden? 1970 represent.
If Staffy gets traded, I have to say I TOTALLY CALLED IT. A month after that post, things are a little different and Staffy is producing more, meaning we'd get more a in a trade involving him than we would in a trade involving Pie.
Whatevs, I really love the trade deadline. It's my favorite hockey day of the year, followed closely by free agent day, opening day and the draft.
The weather outside is absolutely disgusting. So disgusting that I find it difficult to go to work today. But, here was my train of thought as I lay in bed, staring at the clock:
"Ok, I could call in, I still have sick days left...but I have to finish entering time...eh, someone else could do that for me, no big deal...if I call in I won't have to hear the girl who sits next to me screaming on her phone about how Precious took her job at the bar....but if I call in, and then go to Pearl Street to watch the game and someone I work with sees me, that could be bad."
And in what has turned out to be a defining moment for me, I chose comfortably watching the Sabres play a road game in Atlanta at a bar when the weather is gross over missing work. Thus proving that I love the Sabres more than I hate my job. Wow. Who have I become?
Any tick, congrats to Ovie for pulling ahead in the NHL scoring records. I wonder how Ovie celebrates this stuff? Does he care? Do you think he'll celebrate by investing in a new tooth? I originally thought he had lost the tooth long ago and didn't wear his fake veneer at the All-Star Game, only to realize that when he was interviewed on the red carpet, he was still sans tooth, leading me to believe that this has been a recent dental tragedy. Poor Ovie he's lost withou- wait, he's the NHL scoring leader and is making $9.5 million on average for the next 13 years, I don't feel bad.
Sabres have slipped to 11th place, but it is through no fault of our own - we didn't lose, the Caps just won. So, I'm not worried.
Kovie might be back in the lineup tonight, I haven't heard the results of his MRI yet after he and Ruutu had a battle of the knees the other night. UPDATE: Kovie is not playing tonight.
Atlanta is planning on getting payback for our last meeting which, lest we all forget, was a 10-1 Sabres victory featuring hat tricks from the 2 Sabres who are most beloved by the residents of Sabretooth's House. You know what, Atlanta, bite me. Even if you win tonight- in both games we played against you in Buffalo you managed to score 1 goal. We scored 16. Yeah, that's right 16-1. Chew on that, Kovie, how does it taste? Bitter? That's what I thought.
Ok, so we did lose against Atlanta in Atlanta on January 6. But the Sabres couldn't buy a win then, so I don't really hold that against my boys.
And, you know what? The Southeast division sucks. The Southeast is like the "No Child Left Behind Policy" of the NHL. We have to keep the slower kids in with the regular kids, just to keep them progressing, well I say phooey! Go hangout in the sunny part of the Eastern Conference and leave those of us who barely made it into work today because of the freezing rain in peace.
Coming later will be a post from S(h)ara on her thoughts on February's captain. As I am severely divided amongst myself on the issue, it is best that she tackles it. My post would be mere half, incomplete sentences where I second guess any decision I make on who our next captain should be.
I will leave you now with this, try not to swoon too much:
And this. If the video didn't make you swoon, just be sure you're sitting down now:
Last night, with no Sabres, Pens, Football or Lacrosse to watch, I decided to take in the North East division "ORIGINAL SIX MATCH UP!" (thank you FSN) between the Bruins and the Habs.
Well, I tuned in literally 16 seconds late and it was already 1-0 Habs. Good thing Alex Auld wasn't my goaltender for last night in my Mr. Zero team. Tonight I picked Luongo (fingers crossed). Anyway, I watched as the Habs just completely ran (ok, well, skated) all over the Bruins. It wasn't a game, it was a beating. Auld was pulled after 1 and then Tim Tom still let in 4 more. (Looking forward to the All-Star Game Tim Tom? Heh? Heh?) When all the fighting broke out, it looked very much like the Sabres / Thrashers game. Clearly the losing team is embarrassed and decides they have to show that they're still tough, so they decide that if they can't score goals, they'll at least attempt to beat the living crap out of someone.
After a while, I found myself wandering onto my computer and listening to the game instead of actually watching it. What I soon realized is that you don't even have to be looking at the screen to know when Zdeno Chara is touching the puck, the crowd's booing will tell the story. I also knew when a big hit had been laid on him by the crowd's cheers. Why does everyone in Montreal hate Zdeno Chara so much? I mean, I only like the guy because he's a total freak of nature and he looks like a 17 year old in a peewee game, but did he do something personal to the Habs? I must investigate, I know staggeringly little about Zdeno Chara other than he has the active player record for hardest shot (100.4 mph), he's 6'9" and they had to make an exception to the stick length restrictions for him to be able to play. His hockey stick is probably taller than I am.
Investigation (good old Wikipedia) confirms suspicions that he has never played for the Habs, so perhaps it is because he used to be a Senator? I recall the lad in the '06 playoffs being effing terrifying.
I'm happy (?) to report that Ottawa lost yet again. This news would be more exciting to those of us who inhabit SabreNation if the Sabres were anywhere near catching up to Ottawa in the standings. Sadly, the Habs and Bruins are firmly wedged in between and don't appear to be budging anytime soon. Oh yeah, and the Sabres can't seem to win to save their ever loving minds.
Ilya Kovalchuk was all over intermission reports last night with his nasty hit on some Ranger. The Ranger wasn't the focus of the story, I'll look his name up later. Oh yeah, it was Rozsival.
Side note: In my search to find out which player Kovalchuk leveled, I came across this photo. I don't know if it actually is Ilya Kovalchuk but I really want it to be, so I'm posting it.
Sexy, no?
Dear Ilya, the Thrashers are having a tough enough time scoring goals even with you on the ice (cough 5 game goal-less streak cough), so perhaps earning a game misconduct and being evicted is not the best maneuver. Think about it the next time you're about to hit a Ranger from behind. Love, Anne.
Even though, yes, Chris Osgood is an excellent goal tender, should a shut out of the Kings really have earned him a star of the night? It's the KINGS. Detroit #1, Los Angeles #30. It hardly seems fair.
Sabres.com did their usual "who's hot in the last (insert # of games here)" yesterday. Happily, my beloved Staffy was mentioned more than once on this sheet. Not as being #1, but being the closest Sabre to having anything to smile about it in the last 7 games. Oh Drew, well done.
Does anyone have the feeling that TimmyHo and the Soviet Bomber have been traded but they don't want to tell us? I keep feeling that they're just going to turn up at Atlanta in Thrashers jerseys on the 1st and act like nothing happened. I haven't heard a word about them other than the nightly scratch list in days. Anyone know anything about Mikey Ryan and his eye? Maybe now the boy will wear a visor, or does he already? Yes, according to photos I've found, he does. Damn that must've been some angle that stick was on to hit him that hard. Mikey may be inconsistent but the boy is fast and he at least shoots the puck on net.
You know you must not be in a good way when you're scractched and a defensemen is switched to your position, Andrew Peters. He was probably confusing the hell out of the Coyotes: "What position do you play, exactly?" They were probably expecting him to turn up in net in the 3rd. Now no one would've seen that one comin' Lind-o. Here's a sign that a game did not go well: the only players with a + are Kalinin and Pratt. Ouch.
In cause you weren't sure, the biggest story in the history of recorded time is that Our Savior, Sid the Kid is out for the next 6-8 weeks, basically most of the rest of the regular season. Ouch. He can't even keep up his conditioning, as he'll be hobbling in a boot for the time being. Funny how Tom Brady gets a high ankle sprain and bounces back seemingly instantly and Sid the Kid gets one and is laid up for 2 months.
Poor Sidney. He's sure to be incredibly bored these days, having no interests outside of hockey and the Penguins. So, I've decided to help him out by offering a few suggestions of things to keep him occupied in his convalesence:
Plan your next vacation. Let's not lie to ourselves, Sid, you don't go anywhere where there isn't hockey...we'll call Sweden and tell them you're coming. Mid-June sound good? Great.
Pamper yourself. Take long bubble baths, listen to soothing music. Be sure to take good care of your left foot - plenty of pedicures and pumice scrubs. We don't want Lefty to rebel as Righty did and stick to the boards, treat him well.
Work on improving your bubble hockey game. We all know you have one of them at home, you said so yourself:
Also in that interview, you revealed your affinity, nay your necessity, for custom made jeans. Work on designing your own line of denim for large-tushed hockey players, young and old.
Keep up morale by playing NHL 2K8 as the Penguins v. Which ever team you happen to be playing next. Take notes on individual player performance to mention at the next practice.
Catch up on your Oprah. A word of caution: Stock up on kleenex before you make this endeavor. Trust me, Sid, it may take time to understand everything she says, as she doesn't generally talk about hockey but, eventually, with her obscene and excessive giving, she will worm your way into your hockey heart. Yes, Sid, she really is buying that family a house and putting all 9 children through college and buying everyone in the audience a Lexus. Oprah's a giver, she gives.
Catch up on your hockey blogs. Chuckle at the witty banter of fans around the NHL. Start with Pens Blogs and move out throughout the division into the rest of the Eastern Conference. Hey Sid! Thanks for stopping by!
Take up an instrument but one that allows you to sit slumped on a couch. Start with learning "My Heart Will Go On" on the tin whistle and work your way up from there.
Perfect the art of one legged skating. Market the idea to Reebok, make millions.
Work on your Sid the Kid magazine cover scrapbooks. Index them by most to least amount of hockey gear worn in each photo.
Organize your interview DVDs by date order and level of awkward cuteness exuded (see above)
Crank call Alexander Ovechkin at 3:48 a.m. Every day. Ask Malkin for some Russian phrases to toss at him.
Learn all the words to "End of the World" by REM.
Take up knitting and start knitting "sockey hats" for Ryan Miller's Steadfast Foundation.
Once you accept your OprahLove, read her entire bookclub list from start to finish. Remember to hang onto the aforementioned tissues. You'll be needing them. "Yes Marquez! I could wait 50 years for love!"
So, Sidney, we at Sabretooth's house wish you a speedy recovery and hope you don't try to go at it too soon. Remember, you can always call me to chat if you're bored. I spend most of my day at work staring at a computer screen pretending to work anyway, so the interruption might actually make me look like I was doing more work.
Almost all pictures are borrowed from other sources. If they're yours and you don't want me to use them, just shoot me an email and I'll take them down.
The Los Angeles Kings logo and Buffalo Sabres logo used in the title bar are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League; no copyright infringement is intended. If anyone is offended by anything I've written, get over it, it's a personal blog, not an accredited news source.
anniebeeswax [at] gmail [dot] com
Glossary... Sort of
"Ryan Miller Shutout" - A 58 minute, multi-goal shutout lead that is blown when Miller allows one meaningless goal
Britney or SabreBritney - Thomas Vanek
Butter Snaps - Carolina Hurricanes. Because Butter Snap pretzels, like the Carolina Hurricanes, are disgusting
Greener - MATT Greene (LAK)
JBG - Jolly Blonde Giant - Tyler Myers
Little Foot - Drew Stafford
MK - Anne's sister; often leaves nonsensical comments under her Twitter name Mmmkizzle
