Mind-numbing Sabres fans

I love hockey.  I REALLY love hockey.  No other sport provides what hockey does.

First off, hockey is the only sport which requires a human being to come completely out of their element.  Artificial hands - a stick.  Artificial feet - skates.  Artificial surface - ice.

Watching top notch hockey talent is a spectacle.  Who doesn't remember watching Dominik Hasek contort his body to make saves that no one else in the world could make?  There was a feeling of honor when you watched him play. ( I might listen to someone argue that same thing for Ryan Miller in his prime.)

Hockey also offers a sound that no other sport can.  The ice reflects every sound from the rink.  In what other sport can you hear player chatter?  Lindy Ruff whistle for a line change?  A goalie slap his stick on the ice to signal the end of a penalty?  A linesman scream "no" to signal the play is onside?  The puck hitting the boards or the post?  The skates gliding along the ice and scraping as a player stops?

Enough sentiment.

Let's talk about our beloved Buffalo Sabres.

This team has been bad for a long time.  Even in years (post Drury/Briere) when they were sniffing at the playoffs and we had high hopes for Stanley Cups, they were a bad team.  Many years of finishing in 9th place still ring in the chasms of my brain.

Something is different now.

This team is losing differently.  They aren't vying for 9th place, they're vying for last.  They have a legitimate shot at a generational player in Connor McDavid.

McDavid would absolutely turn this team (and this city) around.  Look at flipping Sidney Crosby.  That guy may just be leading the resurgence of hockey in the United States.  I can't stand him, especially since the Ice Bowl...and the Olympics...and every time Pittsburgh plays Buffalo.  But none of that can change the fact that he's an amazing talent.

For those of you who say that draft picks don't guarantee cups, you're right.  But don't forget about Chicago and Pittsburgh.  Toews?  Kane? Crosby?  Malkin?  Fleury?  (Fleury isn't great, but has been a winner!)

The sheer quantity of draft picks that the Sabres own should guarantee a winning team.  Between prospects that are already in the system like Armia, Grigorenko, Girgensons, Pysyk, Ristolainen and Zadorov (DON'T FORGET ABOUT JUSTIN BAILEY!) and the 3 first rounds picks they have this offseason should help...and help a lot.  Even if half of these prospects pan out, they'll have a handful of stars on this team.  Stars win games and attract free agents.

For those of you who say "losing doesn't guarantee McDavid," kindly shut your trap.  This team is not going to win a Stanley Cup.  This team won't sniff a playoff spot.  Then stop rooting against them losing and having a great chance and drafting McDavid.  What are you going to say if they are the worst team and lose the lottery?  "Haha, I told you so?"  That would be stupid.  EVERYONE IN THIS CITY SHOULD WANT CONNOR MCDAVID.

One of my twitter followers gets it.  Derek (@dkask716) realizes that even if they don't get McDavid, they'll get Eichel, and that's a very good thing.  Absolutely right, Derek.

I read on a Facebook comment from some bump-on-a-log Sabres fan "I hope McDavid and Eichel both get career ending injuries so people will stop rooting for the Sabres to lose."

Shut up.

No one is rooting for the Sabres to lose.  We're all rooting for them to win.  In fact, we're rooting for them to win a Stanley Cup.

Steve
@SteveBermel
pjfan201@gmail.com

Thoughts on the steroid era.

While driving around today, I heard Jim Rome give some insight into the steroid issue of baseball.  I'm pretty much stealing what he said because I agree with it, so these thoughts aren't entirely my own.

Those who used steroids should not be permitted into the Hall of Fame.  They cheated.  Plain and simple.

A lot of people have told me things like "you still have to hit the ball."  Okay, I agree.  And hitting a 92 mph slider might be the toughest thing to do in any sport.  That being said, you are giving yourself an unfair advantage over the competition around you by pumping roids.

What about the kids in AAA who are hoping for their chance to go up to the Bigs who didn't pump up?  How is it fair for them to get trumped by the guy that they watch next to them juicing?  What if they have more talent but get beat out for that spot by a roider?

How about the guys who didn't juice?  They're watching all of their records get watered down by those who cheated.  Jackie Robinson?  Hank Aaron?  Mr. October?  How should they feel?

Now, if baseball were, for some reason, to make steroids legal, maybe my attitude would change.  But for the time being, I can't stand behind McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, Bagwell, A-Rod etc...

I do love baseball, but I don't love cheating.  The beauty of sport is competition, and I feel it should be a level playing field for all competitors.

Quick post-lockout thoughts.

My wife has told me several times already, "Don't buy us hockey tickets, I don't want to go."

She's pretty upset with the whole situation.  She also gets upset about how much athletes get paid.  Hence, she supports the NLL where most players have to work another "real" job to get by and playing a sport doesn't make them rich.

I don't have an issue with how much athletes get paid.  I understand the supply and demand economics of it all, but watching billionaires argue with millionaires was really frustrating to me.  Especially because the real losers in these situations are the little guys.

The ushers at the arena making $50 a night.

The street food cart owners.

The parking lot attendants.

The local businesses and hotels.

THE FANS.

When you're a fan of something, it's not just a sport.  Last night we went over to our friends' house for the BCS Championship game.  My buddy is a HUGE Notre Dame fan, the biggest fan I know.  He was upset.  I understand his pain.  Last night wasn't just a game with a team.  It was a CHAMPIONSHIP game featuring HIS team.

There are emotional ties to a team if you're a true fan.

I definitely have an emotional tie or two to the Buffalo Sabres.

My wife bought us Sabres tickets for Valentine's Day a few years ago.  Little did we know at the time of the purchase that it would be "Pegula Night."  Seeing the French Connection skate out to center ice and seeing Terry in tears with his arms around them gave me goosebumps.  My eyes welled up.

Before the puck drops at a Sabres game or before an opening faceoff at the Bandits' games, I get butterflies.  My palms get sweaty.  Am I silly?  I don't think so.  I'm a sports fan.

With all that being said, I am not upset with Mr. Terry Pegula, nor am I upset with the Buffalo Sabres organization.  I am upset with the NHL and a few owners and players, but not enough to deter me from the sport that I love.

Let's drop the puck, let's go Buffalo, and oh yeah..."The Sabres are gonna win that cup, ya know they're gonna win that Stanley Cup."

So, This Marrone Guy...

My thoughts on the hire of Doug Marrone?  Well, I'm trying my hardest not to have any yet.

Why?  We've been down this road before.  Many times.  We've heard the same thing put so many different ways over the years.  All of the incoming coaches at One Bills Drive have had some sort of success somewhere with some ideas that make us excited as fans.

I've devised a solution.  I'm not going to make any evaluations of him as a coach until I see something from him.

I always liked Chan.  I liked his mentality at first.  I remember a reporter asking him "What did you say to Ryan Fitzpatrick after he threw that interception?"  Gailey's answer was "Go out there and get us a touchdown on this next drive.  That's a same thing I tell him after he throws a touchdown pass, too."

I liked that idea.  He was even keel.  He was football smart - or so it seemed.

Boy did this last season prove all of those things wrong!  He outcoached himself.  He tried so hard to be smart, he ended up being dumb.  He constantly tried to do things to trick the other teams' defenses versus bringing our best plays and players to the field every down.

How is someone like Rian Lindell supposed to feel?  I know he's "just the kicker," but you put him out there to try a 52 yarder, and then what?  You pull him back to the sideline of course.  No faith in him.  Chan said after the game he had faith in the defense to make a stop after the punt.  If you really trusted your defense, Chan, you'd trust them to make a stop if Rian misses the field goal, right?

Sorry, this turned into a rant about Chan.  I still have so many thoughts about him time here in Buffalo.

Marrone, on the other hand, I'm going to wait to have thoughts about...