Making Beds...

It's still the eve of game 2, and I really have no idea what to expect from the Rangers tomorrow night. Part of me feels worried that Buffalo will pull another dud, like they did last round, but when I look at this series from a logical perspective, I can't see that happening. Last round the Isles got an enormous lift in game 2 with DiPietro coming back, and the Rangers simply don't have that type of motivation for tomorrow night.
In about 72 hours, the Rangers press clippings have gone from cocksure and overtly confident to sounding sort of shocked and searching for answers. Now I realize that this is the NHL playoffs and anything can happen, but I'm sorry...game 1 exposed the Rangers for what they are... a solid team that got a very hot goalie and a very easy stretch schedule, then lucked out and got a weak division winner with no playoff experience in round 1.
Much has been made of the Rangers record since they got Mark Messier version 2.0, ahem...I mean Sean Avery but who did they play? In the Rangers final 29 games of the Season, all with Avery in the lineup, they went 23-6. Sounds pretty impressive right?
However...15 of their final 29 games came against non-playoff teams, including 9 against the real dregs of the league (BOS, PHI, WAS, STL, CBL).They also picked up 8pts by getting games to shootouts.Of the remaining 14 games the Rangers played vs playoff opponents, the Rangers only had 4 regulation wins. 4. They beat TB once, PIT once and the Islanders twice (once in OT). Still impressed by this mighty team and their inspirational leader?
Look, it's great that the Rangers are in the playoffs, and it's great that they beat up Atlanta, and it's great that there has been so much media coverage of the league because of that.
For all I know the Rangers could come out and play a much stronger game 2 and head back downstate with a split. But they aren't going to get faster overnight. They aren't going to convince Jagr to actually play hard every shift overnight. They aren't going to find a capable replacement for Rozsival overnight, which means the Rangers defense, which already looked outmanned in Game 1, now will have to play more minutes.
There seems to be a sense coming from the Rangers that they had control of game 1, and let it get away. Head coach Tom Renney (who I have to admit I like) stated that the Rangers "made their own bed" in game 1. If that's what they need to convince themselves of, that's fine. But the Sabres skated Wednesday night like they hadn't skated all series against the Islanders, and Western New York breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was what we were waiting for since opening night in Carolina.
We all knew we had a team that could dominate at times, and we had been waiting for them to show it when it counted most. Round 1 came and went...5 games, 15 periods, and not once did the Sabres skate the Isles out of the building. It finally happened Wednesday night. You could tell from the drop of the puck that this was a different team from a week ago. Everyone has talked about how different and more impressive the Rangers are since they last played the Sabres...ever think that the same could be said about Buffalo? All 6 of their D are healthy, Tim Connolly is back, Ryan Miller is in postseason mode and the team FINALLY appears to be sufficiently motivated.
The Rangers absolutely could surprise me tomorrow night and win, but it will take Buffalo relapsing back into their form from round one as well as a remarkable game from NY. I really don't see either happening

Oh my god, the NFL DRAFT IS NEXT WEEKEND...

...and I have no idea what the Bills will be doing.
To be honest, nor does anyone else. Some people think the Bills will draft Florida St LB Patrick Willis at #12. Some people think they'll get Michigan CB Leon Hall. Some people think they'll trade up with Houston and draft Adrian Peterson at 10. Some people think they'll draft Paul Posluszny. Some people think they'll draft Darrelle Revis (who?).
I think one of the most interesting times of the year for aimlessly surfing sports related internet sites, has to be the month or so leading up to the NFL draft. It's really the only time that you can head to 17 different websites, some apparently created by 4th graders in Mr. Herdline's Tuesday-Thursday Computer class, and get at least 17 different versions of Mock Drafts. Some sites even give you predictions on 2nd round picks, which seems a bit like predicting who will win a NASCAR race, but then attempting to predict who will round out the top 5.
Still, I find myself completely engrossed in these ridiculous sites. I eagerly look to see if the site has each team's logo next to their corresponding draft position (which I think lends legitimacy to the site), and then why exactly this expert feels the Buffalo Bills will be taking Darrelle Revis at #12 because of a "Glaring hole at cornerback following Nate Clements’ departure, Revis brings the size and toughness to immediately compete and brings added value where Clements did not, in the return game." Yes folks. The return game. True, Nate Clements did return 1 punt for a touchdown in 2005, but was not used in the return game at all in 2006, because the Bills have a midget named Roscoe Parrish, who not only is the dumbest player in the NFL (by Wonderlic standards at least), also averaged 11.3 yds/return last season with 1 TD. Is Parrish Devin Hester? No. Is anyone that good? No. Is he a very good punt returner? Yes.
What is fun about the weeks leading up to the draft, is that at least you get some different opinions being tossed around on the Internet. Too often the same AP story is posted on a team's website, 4 fan sites, espn.com, si.com, msnbc.com, etc(.com) and passed off as "new news". Even Power Rankings tend to look awfully similar 1 month into any season of any sport on any website.
So here's to you, Mr. Mock Draft Football Guy.

By the way...the Bills could get Adrian Peterson!!!! hehe

But this one goes to eleven...

I don't think many people in Buffalo were breathing very steadily Thursday night, at least until Brian Campbell lasered a slap shot behind Wade Dubielwicchjksaiz just past the halfway point of period 1. The Islanders had managed to withstand a furious opening 10 minutes of play, and had come out shot less, but unscathed. In all honesty, it was the worst type of opening the Sabres could hope for, and why the Stanley Cup playoffs are so special.

After having shift after consecutive shift maintain puck possession, cycle, win battles and pepper a rookie goalie, the Sabres essentially had nothing to show for it, other than some "momentum" and an even more anxious and overstressed crowd. All the Islanders needed was a goal. Actually, first the Islanders needed a shot, then they needed a goal.

While most of Buffalo has been in a tizzy over the Sabres 4-1 victory Thursday night in Game 1, there is some reason for caution. How dare such thoughts escape my fingers and enter the fleeting reality of cyberspace? Well...truthfully, the Islanders came to Buffalo's long awaited party, showed up on time, allowed everyone to make fun of them, and quietly put themselves in position to steal a game. The Isles were tied with Buffalo 1-1, and only trailed by 1 goal after 2 periods. A solid 20 minutes was all that was needed in order to force overtime.

In the end, what I liked most about the Sabres' performance in Game 1 wasn't so much that they let the Isles hang around, but rather that the boys in blue and gold were able to turn their intensity up, ever so slightly, come the 3rd period. It was as if the team decided to turn the volume on their amp from a 10...to an 11. The difference between #1 seeds that get upset in the playoffs, and those who advance may come down to a teams' ability to recognize that the effort that they are giving, while good, is not enough. To make adjustments and come out skating even harder, despite having a 1 goal, 2 goal and 3 goal lead, is what separates teams from April tee times.

There was a sort of calm floating around Western New York today, as if people were finally satisfied. After waiting since last June for the feeling of a playoff victory, everyone was able to get a nice long drink of satisfaction thanks to a solid, unspectacular effort by Buffalo. It's probably better that the Sabres didn't shock and awe and storm their way to a 8-1 victory. I'm not sure WNY could have handled turning the power on and having the volume already turned up to an 11.

"Keeping the Faith"

I went to see Billy Joel in concert tonight at HSBC Arena. It was, by all accounts, a fantastic show. Joel really is a great showman. However, what was really cool was what happened after the game.
As a packed arena filed out down the escalators and into the concourse a small "Let's Go Sabres" chant began to be heard. By the time I reached the bottom of the escalator heading down from the 300's, it was clear as day...and LOUD. By the time we got to the parking lot and were waiting to exit, the car horns started in as well.... beeeep beeeep beep beep beep!
For those of you who are living elsewhere, or even for those of you who haven't headed downtown this week I'm not sure how to describe the feeling in the city. There is a type of excitement, mixed with passion and nervousness and anxiety and anticipation and confidence all rolled into an intangible sense of SOMETHING that is everywhere.
Stated simply...this city is ready to erupt.
It's a look that strangers exchange when they notice the other is wearing blue and gold. It's seeing storefronts, gas stations, business offices and hot dog vendors all touting Go Sabres signs. It's seeing a sudden explosion of Sabre car flags everywhere in WNY. It's flipping on Channel 2 news Monday night, three nights before Game 1 and having footage from an optional skate and a re-call of a rookie forward be the second story featured on the telecast.
Combined with the excitement of the playoffs you add the hopefulness of spring, and the promise of warm weather finally returning to take up permanent residence, rather than simply visiting for an extended vacation, and it's a good time to be here in Buffalo.
Our city is in the beginning stages of a true renaissance. You see it in new buildings being erected and old buildings being rehabilitated. You can sense it with each new story about a new batch of apartments and condos becoming available downtown. It's as if the city itself is waking from a long winter hibernation, and is readying itself to stretch its legs and run alongside whatever path this Sabre team will take us on.
Get ready.
It's almost time to start.

Why Buffalo Can Get Annoying...

I love my city. I love that it has character, that my neighbors generally love hockey almost as much as I do and that if you're willing to put a little bit of effort into finding something to do, Buffalo will never fail to entertain.

However, every once or twice a year I get a little down on Buffalo. It's really not even Buffalo's fault. I can't help it. It's just this thing that happens. Every year.

At some point, all the snow from November, December, January and February melts away during the course of a wonderful 3-5 day tease. Out of nowhere Buffalonians go from wearing thermal undies and gloves, to suddenly sporting sandals and polo shirts. Within a matter of 24 hours, it seems to make sense as to why department stores are selling lightweight jackets, golf apparel and pastels.

A newcomer to the City of Good Neighbors might get a little too caught up in this initial thaw and mistakenly pack away their parka, but hold on there missy. You're about to get a case of Buffalo blue balls... quite literally.

Last week I got out my nice spring jacket, and alternated wearing it to work in the morning with a lightweight fleece. Twice, by the time I walked back to my car at the end of the day, I didn't even bother with a jacket, and drove home with my windows wide open.

Fast forward to this morning. Before I opened my curtains this morning, it seemed a bit brighter out. That was simply the albedo effect of a completely white football field across the street. It was snowing sideways.

On April 5th. Opening Day for the AAA Buffalo Bisons. Sigh.

I still love my city. It just get's a little...ya know...

C'mon...it freakin snowed today. And it snowed Wednesday. And it's supposed to snow Friday. And Saturday.

Easter Sunday? 35 degree rain. YAY!!!!!!

Random thoughts not suitable to stand on their own

Some quick thoughts before I head off to work this morning:

• I can't really say that I'm happy that Florida won the National Championship last night, although I think it is somewhat cool that their 5 starters all decided to return and attempt a repeat. The NBA's goofy "1 year after high school rule" is pretty lame in my opinion, but at least it increases the number of skilled players in NCAA basketball. The National Championship was only the 3rd time during the tourney that I actually made a conscious effort to watch any games. One of the other times, I was actually AT the tourney, watching Round 2 action in Buffalo - Butler beating Maryland and Pitt pulling out an OT win over VCU.
• Congrats to my cousin Katie, who is in 8th grade, is an excellent dancer and gets a kick out of watching the Disney Channel and ABC Family. Katie won our family's pool by picking Florida because... "that's where Disneyworld is!" I was eliminated after picking 19 of the first 32 games correctly, then watching Wisconsin bow out in the Regional Semis. Congrats Kate!
• I'm glad the Braves won their home opener.
• I'm glad for Royals fans that Gil Meche had a very nice opening day performance vs the Red Sox. I'm sure some of my friends are even more excited that Curt Schilling didn't, but I don't really hate the guy like they do. Still, it was fun to come home from work yesterday afternoon and see a full Kauffman Stadium, with a guy pitching like he deserves the free agent contract he was awarded this winter. Alright...maybe he wasn't quite that deserving, he didn't throw a perfect game or anything, but the Royals took a lot of heat this winter, and I'm glad for them, that for at least their home opener, they looked like a real baseball team.
• Yesterday was Jersey Day at my place of employment. I wore my Chipper Jones jersey, and was not surprised at the number of Yankees jerseys floating around. I don't get though, why Yanks fans buy jerseys with players' last names on them. The Yankees have NEVER had player names on their jerseys, but yet, every single jersey I saw yesterday had, in small crappy block font, JETER or POSADA. Get it together Yanks fans...if you're such great fans, then you should know who #2 is that plays for the pinstripes.
• I've heard two different media personalities state "watch out for the Brewers" over the course of the past week. Apparently they have good pitching...
• I think Jake Peavy is going to learn an awful lot about pitching playing with Gregg Maddux for a full season.
• I absolutely hate the Mets, but I love Tom Glavine. I was happy to see him get off to a good start. The Mets biggest problem this year will be starting pitching, though I think it will be possible for their lineup to score 8 runs every game.
• The Sabres can clinch the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference title tonight vs Pittsburgh. I fully expect the Sabres to come out firing...Drew Stafford (NHL Rookie of the Month for March) hinted in an interview that his teammates didn't want another game to pass without wrapping up the division and conference. The Sabres haven't won their division since 1997, and haven't finished 1st in their Conference in the regular season since 1980.

Wrapping Up in Buffalo

The Buffalo Sabres, arguably the best team in the NHL this season, are 1 point away from clinching their 5th Division championship and 3rd regular season Conference title in their Franchise history.

What a ride it's been. The Sabres, if they clinch tonight, with a win, tie or overtime loss vs a desperate Montreal club will have accomplished something truly rare. While the Sabres haven't pulled a dramatic "worst to first" turnaround, they have accomplished perhaps the more difficult and improbable feat of leading their division and conference from game 1 through game 82. From the regular season opener in Carolina on October 4th, a game the Sabres won in a dramatic shootout, to tonight's game in Montreal, no team in the Eastern Conference has ever had more points than the Sabres. October, November, December, January, February, March and now on the eve of April, the Sabres are primed to wrap up the Conference.
I have absolutely no idea how many teams have accomplished this. I suppose in the NFL it's been achieved a few times, but in such a short season, it feels a little less impressive. It's more rare in baseball, where a team can have a wonderful initial 15-20 games then suddenly falter and be playing .400 ball by the trade deadline.
In the long run, experiencing a franchise lead their division and league the entire season doesn't truly mean anything other than bragging rights. If the Sabres bow out in the 2nd round of the postseason, no one in Buffalo is really going to care that they went 82 games leading the conference. BUT, if the Sabres are able to pull out 16 magical victories this spring, once the city has stopped collapsing into Lake Erie and once Hades has crystallized into frozen fountains of fire and the river Styxx can be skated upon Buffalo Sabres fans across North America will be able to unequivocally claim that they were the best team in the NHL for 2006-2007.

To watch the city come alive last season during the playoff run was so exhilarating that the feeling is almost intoxicating. Anyone that has experienced a championship or deep playoff run in any sport understands the feeling of a city wrapping its entire consciousness around a sports team for a period of 2 months or so. I witnessed it occur in Chicago with the Cubs 2003 run to the NLCS, and experienced it to a lesser degree when the Bills made the playoffs for 7 consecutive years in the late 80's and early 90's.
Waiting, anticipating that feeling return to Western New York is like being in 5th grade and waiting for summer vacation to finally get here. You know it's coming, you know when it's coming and you just hope when it gets here everything is as much as fun as last year.

Tonight the Sabres can take yet another step in their journey to bring the 1st major sports championship to the city of Buffalo since the Bills triumphed in the 1964 AFL title game (ironically the last year before the AFL and NFL agreed to play a game called the Super Bowl). To be honest, the two AFL championships the Bills won in the 1960's don't really count. It'd be like the Cincinnati Red's claiming they won a baseball Wold Championship back in 1889.

The snow is gone, it's staying light out longer and longer each day and is now possible to do a bar crawl along Allentown or the Elmwood Strip without catching hypothermia. The Sabres just were named the best franchise in pro sports (thanks ESPN) and came off a dominating performance vs the Islanders last night, in which the team scored 5 goals in the first 15 minutes of the 1st period. Bass Pro has finally inked a deal for a downtown waterfront store, the Aud is getting razed and there couldn't be a better time to live here in the Nickel City.

To borrow a quote from some other Buffalo sports figure...
"Where else would you rather be, than right here...right now?"

Nowhere Marv...nowhere.