Bye Bye, Dmitri

by Anne

Today, the New York Rangers signed Dmitri Kalinin to a one year contract. Awwww, bye bye, Dmitri!

The Rangers also signed Markus Naslund, most likely to replace the leadership role vacated by Jagr. Eep. That was surprising. I can't imagine Canucks fans are going to be too happy about that one. Hmmmm, losing an important leader on the team to the New York Rangers via free agency... a tune that Sabres fans know all too well.

I'm done with screaming for my defenseman. I'm spent.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Sometimes I post like 10 times a day

by Anne

Top things that are annoying as all get out:

1. Pink Sabres Jerseys that are NOT in support of Breast Cancer research

Ew.

2. Jaromir Jagr's landing strip facial hair WITHOUT the mullet. Separately they're gross, but TOGETHER?!?! I'd still hate Jagsie but I'd LOVE to see that combo. BTW, did you know that he's currently the wealthiest player (in terms of career earnings, not including endorsements) playing in the NHL right now? He's got over $90 million in career earnings at this point.

HOTTNESS.

3. When you screw up your coffee order and accidentally say "2 cream 1 sugar" when you really mean "1 cream, 2 sugar" (write that down, when this blog makes it BIG and one of you is my personal assistant... I prefer french roast).

I want one.

4. When you can't remember a password to an account you rarely check and you try every conceivable password and username combination you've ever used since 1996 and STILL can't remember it so they email it to you, but you have 3 email addresses and you don't know which one you registered with, and then sometimes those systems kick you off for a day if you try an incorrect password 5 times and then 10 minutes later you remember your password.

Clearly, not me, I'm not that calm when I forget a password

5. When people will NOT SHUT UP about calling Sidney Crosby a diver (yo, dude had PLENTY of nasty hits that were NOT called and he didn't whine about it, leave him alone)

Awww, look how cute he is!
And kind of doable as well.

6. When you save something in the wrong folder in a directory and your computer doesn't have that "recently edited documents" section on the file menu because you use software that doesn't use Microsoft Word's storage space and you have to go searching through the computer to realize that you inverted the file number and it goes in "07-1066" not "06-1077" and you spend serious time contemplating your potential dyslexia.

Not my actual computer screen

7. When Darcy makes apparently good draft choices and smart off-season moves and Bills tickets are selling like hotcakes and people in Buffalo STILL can find something to complain about. I, for one, would like to see Max go and TimmyHO stay. I don't know what it is about TimmyTims but I'd really like to give him another chance. Then, if he doesn't produce, dump him like a scummy blind date who doesn't even OFFER to pay and you even wore your expensive push up bra for this guy... which, ironically, might actually be what its like to go on a date with Tim Connolly.

Oh yes, that IS Darcy Regier

This dude has HIS tickets, DO YOU?!?!

8. Barry Melrose being the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. I'm not sure why this irritates me so much, but it just reeks of a wacky publicity stunt by the Bolts new owners. They have Stamkos, and now they have Melrose. I know he had a good run with the Kings in the early 1990s and, as a commentator, he's still aware of the pulse of the new NHL, but it just seems like if Barry was still interested in coaching, he'd BE coaching somewhere, not sitting in a studio. That's probably an unfair judgment seeing as how I don' t know the man. Maybe its just because I'm used to the studio version of Barry Melrose, but I can't see this being a great idea. It just feels like a bad idea, it'll bring more press to the Bolts next season, that's for sure. But, as a team looking to regroup and rebuild, is bringing in someone like Melrose really a good idea? I hope for the new owners' sakes that Vinny and Louie like him. Because, Jokinen and Voukun did NOT like Jacques Martin, but there were tight with the Panthers' owner, and look who lost his job? Ironically, look who is now traded to Phoenix. Bye, Olli! I seriously doubt that the Bolts will trade Vinny, I don't care HOW good Stamkos is, he's not Vinny Lecavalier.

How can you trust a man whose hair looks like that?
I wouldn't trust Brian Engblom as far as I could throw him.
Or Donald Trump.

Does one really need a REASON to post this picture?

9. Ryan Miller. Why? For some reason my love for Ryan Miller has tempered and in the clear light of the off-season, I'm seeing Millsey from a new perspective. Is he that good? Is he worth a 5+ year contract? Is he worth Lundqvist money? Only time will tell, I guess. He was OUTSTANDING for 2 seasons and then, not so much this season. But, how much of that was really his fault? Don't get me wrong, I want Miller to stay and sign an extension this summer (OMG MILLSEY, DON'T LEAVE ME HERE WITH THEM!) but I just wonder how this upcoming season will turn out for him. Some strong defense would go a long way to helping him out. TEPPO?!?! I think my fear for Millsey is more concern about his back-up situation than it is actual concern about him. When Miller is on (which was about 90% of the time in 05-06 and 06-07) he's amazing, but without a reliable backup, will he push himself to play more than he should, for the sake of the team? Will he ignore the urge inside him to sit this one out, because his backup is a wild card? The situation, and not really Ryan Miller is what annoys me.

Don't worry, Millsey, we'll find you a backup!!

10. Limewire. It ruined my laptop DON'T USE IT. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT DOWNLOAD LIMEWIRE. IT KILLS COMPUTERS. DON'T DO IT!!!

THE DEVIL NOT THE NEW JERSEY ONES, LIKE THE BAD ONE WITH THE FORKED TAIL.... BRIAN GIONTA?

Monday Mondaaaaay

By Anne

So, while anyone who is in public school under the college level or anyone who works in a government office is nestled snugly in their nice warm beds and homes on this freeeeeezing cold day, S(h)ara and I are at work. Enjoying every moment of it, I can assure you.

The one good thing about working today is that there are very very few people also driving into downtown Buffalo to get in my way, and many many open parking spaces to choose from. So, at least I always know on these mornings that my commute will be easy.

Enough about us, onto the sports.

I am sad to report that my favorite NFC team, the Green Bay Packers lost to the NY Giants last night in overtime. This saddens me greatly. Brett Favre has long been a favorite of mine, since he first started playing for Green Bay and received national recognition as AP MVP in '95. He's started EVERY GAME as a Green Bay Packer since he started there IN 1992. And his middle name is Lorenzo, can you really get much cooler than that? I watched every second of the career game he played right after his father passed away, and cried at the end of it, not gonna lie. I watched him take the sack from Michael Strahan so Strahan could earn the NFL's record for most sacks in a season. He's never publicly admitted that he took the dive, but if you watch it, it's pretty obvious that he did. I didn't agree that he should've done it as it, to many, cheapened the accomplishment. But let's be honest, how many quarterbacks would lower their pride enough to take the sack, lower their own numbers and those of their offensive line, to let someone on another team set an NFL record?

Basically, to be totally honest, the first reason I took notice of him at the tender age of 10 is because my aunt, who is irritatingly obsessed with pronouncing things correctly (including saying almost all Italian food names with an Italian accent, in spite of the fact that we're 100% Irish) was OBSESSED with the fact that Favre was being pronounced Farve. Ok, this is clearly not how his name should be pronounced, but who really cares?

Bretters might retire this season (NOOOOO!!!!) and all I wanted was for him to get one more NFC championship and maybe, just maybe, upset Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. The greatest upset EVER. The old man and the superstar going toe to toe.

I wanted to see this:

Not this:

I don't really care much about Eli Manning. I enjoy his brother much more. So do his parents probably, so that makes me feel bad for little Eli, but I don't think the poor boy and his Giants stand a chance against Tommy B. and his Patriots.

Anyway, on to the hockey:

I watched as much of yesterday's Bruins v. Rangers match up as I could take, as I kept nearly nodding off, I changed the station frequently. I can't imagine a game that's 1-0 for the first 40 minutes is exactly what the NHL wanted when the decided to highlight this "Original 6 Match up!!!". Does anyone else want to acknowledge the fact that anyone who doesn't follow hockey regularly will have no idea what that means? I was under the impression that the goal was to attract new fans, not confuse them.

The NHL on NBC game of the weeks seems to be "the NHL game of whoever the Rangers are playing on Sunday" game of the week. Next week its Rangers v. Habs. "ANOTHER Original 6 Match up". Hardly the marketing strategy I would employ.

I love looking at commercials and seeing how ridiculously focused they are on putting out ads created for a very specific audience. Yesterday it was middle aged men, their sons in their 20s and the girlfriends and wives that were forced to watch the games too. We had FloMax, Cialis, that Verizon commercial with the new dad banging on the nursery window (ok, I have to admit I laugh every time at that one) and the figure skating championships that will soon be on NBC.

Let's watch it, shall we?

I think I laugh because I fully anticipate one day marrying and having children with a man who will do just that when seeing our baby in the nursery window.

I also enjoyed Mike Millbury and his lower leg skeleton model he had to show the world just exactly where Sid the Kid has injured himself. Thank you, Mike "High Ankle Sprain" was such an ambiguous descriptor.

Also, Kobasew, another of my top favorite NHL player names scored a short hander, so it was an entertaining game. I was pissed that Tim Thomas, whom I enjoy as a person and a hockey player (I know I'm not supposed to as he's a NE division rival, but whatev) was denied his shut out with 44 seconds left. Booooo!!!!

There was hinting that Jagr isn't happy in New York anymore as they showed footage of him looking decidedly unenthusiastic about scoring a goal in a previous game. Sundin? Jagsie? Who's next?

If Jagr leaves the Rangers, my friend Scott will need some serious consoling. He's a huge Jagr fan. He'd walk around class during last season's playoffs in his Jagr jersey, very sure that his team would prevail. I couldn't help but rub it in a lot when they did not. Sadly, Scott-o and I were not in the same city when the Drury debacle went down, so he never got to have his revenge by bragging that his team got our captain.

In other news, the Sens dropped yet another one, losing 6-1 to Philly. Too bad Marty wasn't in net for that one. As I said, its hard to be too excited as Alfie and The Piece of Trash weren't in the line-up for the Sens. It'll all be different in a month or so when they're back and the Sens rebound. Same for Sid the Kid and the Pens. Yes, he'll be out for a while, but assuming the Pens can hang on to their playoff spot without him, they'll be a different team when he comes back.

K-Sylv is givin' the play-by-play this afternoon in Phoenix with Harry Neale. This should be interesting (read: painful and confusing for us all, like when Mommy has a new boyfriend). While I support the choice to use K-Sylv instead of...actually I don't know who else they'd use, I still would rather hear Slick Ricky than anyone else. There's been an argument made for Roby, but I prefer to hear Roby giving the tough love than the more neutral play-by-play position. Slick Ricky is certainly not neutral in his love for the Sabres, but he tends to not openly criticise the team...too often, and only when they really deserve it, like at anytime in the last 3 weeks.

I can't wait to see Rayzor and Roby alone with no K-Sylv to mediate them. They both like to play bad cop, so if the Sabres are playing badly, this could be a Dodge Intermission report bloodbath.