Happy Opening Night!

by Anne

Holy crap! We're a mere 20 minutes away from the puck drop to kick off the 2012-2013 season, or as I like to call it, the Season of Nothing To Complain About!

Enjoy! We're all ready:

Well it's true, we won't have anything new to complain about.

Hello Friends

by Anne

I've picked a fine time to post in my blog. How's about that lockout stuff going on? Yeah...

Anyway, I'm 27 years old. I started this blog when I was 22 and for years it was a really big part of my life. I posted in it daily, sometimes multiple times a day. While I don't love hockey any less, I guess I just got over blogging. I always regret that I stopped writing in here. It was so much fun being a part of the Sabres/Kings bloggosphere. I'm not going to write some grand statement about starting this up again because I know I won't stick to it. Ah well, we'll see what happens.

Speaking of being 27, I'll be 30 in 2.5 years, so I decided to make a 30 before 30 list. It's a list of 30 things I've never done or want to do again before I turn 30. My sister made one but she's 29.5 so she has a lot less time to do the things on her list. Mine can be a little more complex.

I wanted a place to put this list, and since Facebook isn't helping me out, I thought blogspot could do me a solid and let me post something not hockey related in my dormant hockey blog. Sounds good? Yeah? Right? Sweet? Ok, thanks.

Here's my list:

1. Run a 5K

2. Go Cross Country Skiing

3. Get engaged (this was added with the permission of the gent who likes it and will more than likely be putting a ring on it before I'm 30)

4. Climb a mountain in the Adirondacks

5. Take a yoga class

6. Get back to my lowest adult weight

7. Improve my Spanish skills

8. Get a massage from the massage therapist my mom and sister love named Jen

9. Take a Zumba class

10. Watch all of AFI's top 100 films (Using this list as reference, I've only seen 26)

11. Completea project 365 (To be started Winter/Spring 2012/2013)

12. Get a facial

13. Learn to play poker

13. Dye my hair blonde

14. Learn how to shoot a gun

15. Learn how to make pasta

16. Learn all the words to It's the End of the World As We Know it

17. Learn how to say hello in 25 languages (I'm up to six)

18. Go Snowshoeing

19. Get my ears re-pierced

20. Register for the bone marrow list

21. Get a spray tan (I'm thinking sometime in mid January, just to make it extra jarring)

22. Eat at the Chophouse/Oliver's

23. Leave a 100% tip for a server (Not at the Chophouse or Oliver's)

24. Do a pub crawl

25. See a movie by myself

26. Rent a nice car I would never buy for myself

27. Take a cooking class

28. Learn a new type of dance

29. See a Kings game in LA (this is the one most likely not to happen for $$ reasons and if this friggin' lockout never ends)

30. Learn to french braid my own hair

I'd better get cracking. I'll have plenty of time in between work and trying to track down all my favorite players as they've been spread out haphazardly around the globe.

Where to Begin?

by Anne

I made myself pretty clear on Twitter last night in regards to the biggoted and offensive tweets put out by Uptown Sports, an agency that represents players like the Buffalo Sabres' Cody McCormick, as well as Los Angeles Kings Kyle Clifford and Jonathan Bernier, among others.

I sent a strongly-worded e-mail to the main contact account of Uptown Sports and I don't expect to hear a personal response.

We would all be foolish if we anticipated each and every player represented by this agency to abandon ship because of their antequated and, quite frankly, uncalled for public stance on same-sex marriage. It would be nice to think that the players we support and cheer for share our beliefs and feel as outraged as we do about this lapse in judgment. However, that is more than likely not the case for our beloved NHLers. Paul Bissonette, Sean Avery, and Brent Sopel are more than likely in the minority on this one. The majority of Americans may support same-sex marriage, but I doubt the ratio is the same amongst male professional athletes. To be fair, I'm not sure if Sopel is pro-gay marriage, but his appearance with his family in 2010's Chicago Gay Pride Parade leads me to believe he is probably not strongly opposed to same-sex marriage rights.

I am not a gay-rights activist. The rights of one group should not supersede the rights of others. I believe in equality for everyone. Regardless of my personal opinion on many divisive topics, I believe first and foremost in equality, fairness, and the first amendment of the United States Constitution.

As I tweeted last night: Opinions are allowed, but bigotry and hatred should never be ignored or accepted.

(If you don't follow me on twitter, click the "Follow Me" button on the front page of this blog to hop on the bandwaggon.)

Who'd Have Thought?

by Anne

I can't access Twitter or Facebook on my work computer but I can update my much-neglected little bloggaroo.

So it seems I've started a new job. Six months of unemployment was plenty, thankyouverymuch. We're fresh into week two right now and no end in sight. I'm temping in downtown Buffalo and it is LAUGH A MINUTE FUN. While this job might be wicked boring, at least it gives me time to update this. AND, if Iwork down here, which is right around the corner from the office I was working in when I started this precious little blog's predecessor, I will be a mere hop, skip, and a jump from HSBC Arena come fall. As it's not likely I'll still be working here then, I won't get my hopes up too high.

It's amazing how my playoff frenzied fervor immediately disappears when each and every team I have actual emotional attachment to is eliminated. First we said good-bye to the Los Angeles Kings, who lost in un-ceremonious overtime fashion at the hands of one Cap'n Joe Thornton. Then we bid adieu to the Buffalo Sabres who, it seems, could not recover from their back-breaking game 6 loss to Danny Briere and Pseudo-Pronger. Then the Penguins, who made it farther than anyone would've predicted without their two-headed scoring monster, were ousted by the bandwaggonable Tampa Bay Lightning.

The second round has almost entirely passed me by. Whoops. During the Bruins/Flyers series, I wasn't so much rooting for the Bruins as I was cheering against the Flyers... and a little bit for TimTom. Because, COME ON. It's Tim Thomas. How can you not love Tim Thomas? He CRAZY. And to think the Bruins almost parted ways with the crochety old net-minder last off-season.

It's hard for me to give a hoot about the Western Conference. The only team I actually WANT to win, is the Predators. However, if the Canucks defeat them, I won't exactly weep into my bowl of Special K the next morning.

The truth is, the reason I don't want the Canucks to win it all has nothing to do with the team or their fans or their city. The real reason is because I hate for the list of  "never won"s to get even shorter and my precious little Sabres and Kings are still sitting there, waiting for their turn to eat Special K out of Lord Stanley's cereal bowl.

Alas, if the Canucks win it all, I shall be happy for them and their fans. Totally jealous of course, but happy none the less.

Behbeh Alex Burrows thanks you for your time.