DANGER Will Robinson!

DISCLAIMER:
This posted by Teka, who is an admitted liberal pro-choice feminist. Views in this post do not necessarily speak for the entirety of the Hloggers. However, as this blog is generally read by females and pro-female types, it's important that word on this get out.

For any Sens fan contemplating entering the Ottawa Senators "Better Halves" Christmas tree raffle this year, take a good hard look at where the money it raises is going. The First Place Pregnancy Center lists numerous pro-life sites on their links page, and turns out to be a "Crisis Pregnancy Center", which, according to Wikipedia, "are non-profit organizations established by pro-life supporters that work to persuade pregnant women to give birth rather than have abortions, with a focus on women facing unplanned or "crisis" pregnancies. "

Planned Parenthood Ottawa has released a statement here, in which they encourage fans to recognize the aims of the First Place Pregnancy Center before giving money to support it.

More information assembled from Birth Pangs here and here
Another view here from Unrepentant Old Hippie.
Feministing.com's take is here

Please be a conscientious consumer-money speaks!

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Summer redesigning in the offseason.

So according to HF29, I am an intense bigamist, and what I do best is constantly show my disloyalty whenever I start cheering for the other. Considering the Habs are being constantly neglected (Huet wants to know what he did wrong), I want to reassure you all that I as the Habs representative will not neglect my duty.

I know I know, that is intensely uninteresting, I even had to take off my hockey sketches to make space for this. However, this was probably merely the easiest part of the Summer hockey redecoration of Jordi's room.

20 fucking printed pages, with a bit of fudged ink but it turned out alright. I spent close to an hour sticking these onto the wall, whereas the second one wasn't as bad but still was a bitch to stick together.

I seem to fail horribly in trying to communicate the awesomeness of all this. It's a little pet project I jumped on as soon as I saw other examples. You might have heard of the Rasterbator, a nifty program which helps make little dotty images on multiple pages for you to re-arrange on your own wall. You can make it as huge as possible and decorate your bedroom wall in which I've done. If anyone has some spare paper, a free wall and want to try out some hockey decorating, I'd encourage you to try it out.

As a final note, I put some high-res examples of mine on a flickr account and this is how my room now looks (yes that's a hand-me-down bed. And ignore the bed mess).

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A Ridiculously Good Looking Idea

Us Hloggers start...

...get this....

... an online HOCKEY LIBRARY.


It'd be sort of a big online hockey book swap, so that not everyone has to buy EVERY hockey book they want to read (says the girl who doesn't want to show her face buying "The Rookie" but wants to read it anyway.)

I think, in essence, what it'd need was a list of what books people had to swap (with the understanding that they may not see it again for.... at least a while), a list of postal addresses (media mail! hooray!) and a list of "want to read this".

Anyone else want in? (on the organization OR the actual swapping?) Or, does anyone ELSE have a good idea on how to put this together?

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My First Hockey Love (Kinda Sorta)

(originally posted on Top Shelf)

I mentioned a few posts ago that I grew up a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates because of a family connection to the city. (I was born there and even though I was an infant when we moved to Birmingham, my parents both had family there so it was THE vacation destination of my childhood.) There was a point when I realized that I was cheering for the Pirates, who were very, very bad at the time - this was before the 4 year period between the 80s and the current 15 season losing streak when they were actually competitive - and ignoring the Penguins who were, at the time, developing into a very good team. So I started claiming to be a Penguins fan.

Now I wasn't REALLY a Penguins fan since we came back to the same old problem of not having much hockey coverage in Birmingham, Alabama, but I did watch a few games and my grandmother - God bless her - started throwing Penguins articles and tapes in with all the Pirates clippings she sent. From the beginning, I was drawn to Ron Francis. I don't know why it was him and not Mario or Jagr who were clearly The Stars of The Team although I've never been drawn to the marquee players so maybe that's part of the reason. And yes, the fact that I thought he was extremely handsome with his salt and pepper hair and his slightly askew nose probably also contributed. But I just liked him. He very quietly worked hard, accomplished a lot, and was cleary liked and respected by those around him. He was well-known for doing all kinds of charity work in the Pittsburgh area. He just seemed like a remarkably good guy which always wins points with me. In fact, the first hockey jersey I ever owned was a Ron Francis #10 that I bought with my very own money.

When I finally got to the point where I could honestly call myself a hockey fan, Ron was in Carolina and that early love for him had clearly stuck with me because I cheered really hard for him to win one final Stanley Cup. So congratulations to Ronnie for being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame today. (Technically it's Friday but in my head it's still Thursday, okay?) I've been fretting for weeks that he was going to be the odd man out since this year was so loaded with worthy nominees so I'm more than relieved right now. Since everyone else's coverage involves a picture of Mark Messier - even now you're being underappreciated, man! - I'll illustrate this post with an image of the dashing Ron.



(Do you know it was impossible to find a picture of Ron Francis with the Stanley Cup? You have failed me for the last time, interwebs!)

Oh, congratulations to these other guys too:
Scott Stevens
Al MacInnis
Mark Messier

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Monday Fifteen - The Long-Winded Version

I'm just going to turn the Monday 15 into a post. I'm way too long-winded to respond to that many questions in a comment of a reasonable length. Sorry to bore everyone. (Not really.) Here we go!

Five songs which described your pain and emotion throughout the last season!
1. Better Days - Goo Goo Dolls
This was the official anthem of the playoffs this year and while things didn't quite end as planned, it's still a lovely little song made all the more fitting because the Goos are from Buffalo.
2. Street Fighting Man - The Rolling Stones
The Sabres entrance music this past season. The anticipation and excitement for every game came to a head when that song kicked in.
3. Beatiful Day - U2
The regular season.
4. Song for the Dumped - Ben Folds Five
The postseason. (I didn't actually dump the Sabres but any time I'm cranky about anything I listen to this song and somehow it makes me happy again. It's a happy angry song!)
5. We Can Work It Out - The Beatles
The off-season.

How are you getting your hockey fix?
Quite frankly, I'm trying to forget about hockey for a little bit. I was really bummed when the season ended but I'm so, so tired of hearing about Chris Drury, Danny Briere, Thomas Vanek, and Darcy Regier.

Your owner decides that your team will relocate, however one player will be voted to stay to head a new expansion team to replace yours. Who will you pick?

Ryan Miller. He's developing into a darn good little goalie and if you have a good goalie, you have a chance. While he would probably hate losing as much as most expansion teams do at first, his competitive nature would also be important for a new, young team.

Name a hockey item you bought/received that you wish you could refund.
The teacher I worked with this past year gave me a pink Sabres hat that she saw at a garage sale. I was thinking, "It's pink! You don't know me at all, do you?" while saying, "Oh, thank you, that's so sweet of you." One of my students, less tactful than me, piped up with, "Betsy*! Heather's not going to wear a PINK hat! She HATES pink!"
*Name changed.

What's the last book/movie you read/saw? Was it good?

The last movie I saw was Spider-Man 3. I liked it but I didn't love it. It definitely wasn't as good as the second one. Without going into too many spoiliers, I think there was just too much going on. Next up: The Bridge to Terabithia.

The last book I read was Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night, and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother by Peggy Orenstein. It was lovely. My husband and I have been going through infertility treatments for the last couple of years and while we recently decided to jump of the medical treatment train on onto the adoption train, I've read a ton of this kind of book and most of them aren't that great, especially the ones that are Christian oriented. (I love God but I'll pissed at Him if I want, thank you very much.) This one was very good though - sweet, funny, heart-breaking, and most importantly, painfully honest.

I've also been plugging through U2 by U2. It's excellent but it's coffee book sized so it's huge and stuffed to the gills with things to look at and read. I've been going at it in spurts since I received it for Christmas. I prefer to read lying down so the size of the book is problematic as well. Anyway, I highly recommend it to any U2 fans. I'm a bit of a fangirl so I figured there wasn't much I didn't know at this point, but the book is taken from hours and hours of interviews with all four bandmembers so it's loaded with all these amazing, interesting, funny little details.

The last fan you saw who made you go grr? (any sport)
The girl sitting next to me during the first game of the playoffs who kept screaming, "I LOVE YOU, RYAN!" no matter who had the puck while hitting me in the face repeatedly with her pom-pom. She clearly had no understanding of what she was watching and it drove me batty.

Desert island movies (5?). Name them.
The Great Escape - Action, humor, friendship, and Steve McQueen
Singin' in the Rain - Makes me wish I could tapdance.
The Shawshank Redemption - Beautiful. Makes me cry every time I see it.
The Empire Strikes Back - Best of the Star Wars movies. Han Solo rules.
Mary Poppins - Best Disney soundtrack ever. Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent is AWFUL but his performance is absolutely charming. I was totally in love with Bert when I was a kid.

You just hit the player you hated the most with a car! Do you stop and help them? Or move on and claim he barely touched you?

I'd have to stop. My mama raised me better than to leave some poor injured guy at the side of the road, even if I did hate him.

Baseball is on, who would you root for - even if you don't follow the game?

I grew up a Pirates fan so I'll still cheer for them even if they do suck more than any pro team has sucked over the last 15 years. Childhood devotion to Jeff Bagwell also turned me into an Astros fan. Even though he's retired now I love Lance Berkman (my baseball husband) and Roy Oswalt so I still follow them. Over in the American League I pull for the Tigers just because Andy Van Slyke, former Pirate and my favorite pro athlete of all time, is their outfield/firstbase coach. Yes, I do watch the Tigers on TV just to catch glimpses of Andy and yes, when they finally show him I do clap my hands and shout with glee.

Speaking of baseball, what hockey players would you put on your team?
Chris Drury. I hear he was a pretty decent baseball player in his day. Something about some kind of tournament...?
Ryan Miller. I have no idea if he can actually play baseball or not - I lean toward no for some reason - but if he were on the team I'm sure he'd make it his goal to be the best professional baseball player he can be. Every team needs that earnest intensity.
Marty Biron. His personality was built for baseball. Put him at first base, mic him up, and enjoy all the ridiculous conversations he has with various baserunners. Or better yet, let him catch and drive all the opposing hitters crazy with his non-stop chatter.

Do you say soccer or football? Do you even care?
I say soccer, but no, I don't really care. I will watch a few minutes of soccer because I do think the participants are pretty amazing athletes but nothing exciting ever seems to happen so I always end up changing the channel after a few minutes.

Talk about your work... Or why you can't/wont find work. Or alternatively, talk about the subjects you just took recently in class.

I'm a classroom aide at a day treatment program for emotionally disturbed kids. All of our students are referred to us by their home school district when the district doesn't know what the hell else to do with them. It is a school per se - we do academics, they take tests, etc. - but the emphasis is really more on behaviors and helping the kids learn to deal with stressful situations and other people in a more appropriate way. The majority of our kids are in terrible home situations. In five years I've had kids who have been victims or witnesses of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. They've had parents who've had problems with drugs and alcohol and have gone through numerous romantic partners, divorces and remarriages and the occasional incarceration. They're more or less all victims of good old-fashioned neglect. They come to us pretty beat-up - they've most likely never had a positive school experience and they have little reason to believe anything an adult says to them. But if you can hang in there with them and dig through that surface a little, they can be the most loving, generous, funny little devils. It's like they're just aching for the chance to show that part of themselves. Most of them are probably going to end up beat up by life or screwed by the system (I'm not even going there right now), but it's nice to feel like maybe they're getting a tiny bit of the love and security they're lacking in other places when they're with us. There are days I swear I'm done with the whole thing because it can be exhausting and the adults in charge of my program blow and have no appreciation for the work the classroom staff does, but I know I'm way in too love with those sad, funny, heart-breaking, gut-bustingly funny kids to give it up that easily.

You're approached to write a book on anything you want by a publisher. Tell us about it.

It would definitely be about my experiences at my current job - the joys and frustrations, the kids who make it, the kids who don't, the co-workers I loved, the co-workers I'd push off a cliff I could, and it would contain a couple of well-placed rants about the foster care system.

The Leafs want your goalie! What do you do!?

Laugh uproariously in their collective face while giving them a double middle finger.

What's another hobby you have? Do you secretly have an obsession over something NOT hockey?

Other hobbies: reading, writing, scrapbooking, photography, occasionally comic books although that comes and goes.
Other obssessions: U2. (Generally I'll say Edge is my favorite but I have a huge soft spot for Larry.) At one time I would've said Harrison Ford but the last few movies he made knocked that out of me. (Really, Harrison... Random Hearts?) I have mixed feelings about the new Indiana Jones movie but I did see a photo of him from set the other day and damn... I guess there's just something about that fedora.

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Affiliation news

For the second time, the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL announce an affiliation with the New York Islanders

The Grizz and the Islanders teamed up way back in 1994-1998... The Grizz were pretty successful back then.

I can't say this doesn't come as a surprise to me. The Grizz sucked this year. Granted, I only saw two games, but their passing was sloppy, their D was non-existant and because they were plagued with injuries, G Rob McVicar had played something crazy like 17 games straight - with no one to relieve him unless he was injured. The weekend we went to Idaho to watch them play the Steelheads, they got beat, collectively, a nutterhausen 15-3. It was painful to watch, it really was (but we did get 2 free Sonic burgers out of the deal).

Hopefully the Islanders fill the team with some top prospects. (read my blog for why that's italicized...) The Grizz had all the talent, drive and ambition there to be a competitor, but with the injuries and frustration, lacked in the 'getting-it-done' department.

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So I've realized...

That many of you can no longer read my blog.

If reading my gossip filled blog is of interest to you, email me your email (and you will need to be a blogger member for the record) to theyjustwannapuckme@hotmail.com

Again, due to the fact that people like to put me into some kind of puckbunny bubble - the email was and is a joke, I created so I could blog without using my real email. Might give away who I really am.

Anyway, I could talk about the playoffs, but without the Habs what's the point?

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Playoff Heartbreak

I like Roberto Luongo and I picked Vancouver in my playoff pool so I was technically cheering for them... but damn if I don't feel horrible for Marty Turco right now. Three shut-outs in the series? Allowing only 2 goals in a game where his team took eleventy billion penalties? And he still loses? I can't remember the last time I felt so badly for a guy who wasn't on my team. Marty, we know you're not a choker, okay?

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True Confessions

One of my favorite things about the playoffs is the ability to watch teams I don't get to see regularly during the season. Throw in the extra heat and passion of post-season play and you're almost always seeing them at their best. (Sorry, Calgary and Atlanta.) It's during this time that I end up forming attachments to players who don't play for the Sabres. It's when I first took notice of Jarome Iginla. It's when I fell in love with Scott Niedermayer. It's just so fun to see other players in a new and different light. Well, the same thing has happened this year and the new love is... Sidney Crosby.

Yeah, I said Sidney Crosby.

First of all, it's made a HUGE difference watching the Ottawa/Pittsburgh series on CBC instead of NBC or Versus. On the latter two networks, they never stop talking about Crosby. Never, ever, ever, no matter how well or not well he's playing. At the end of the season a Pittsburgh/Buffalo game was on Versus and even though Crosby had no points, a -1, and got suckered into a really bad, poorly timed penalty, he was the center of every conversation. The Sabres played a very good game, their best in a while at that point, almost completely shutting down the Pens' vaunted offense, and won the game 4-1. About all they got from the broadcasters was, "Whoa, Henrik Tallinder saw Sidney Crosby coming and fell right over! Hahahahahhahah!" Gimme a break, dudes. I've always had the sneaking suspicion that I would enjoy watching Crosby more if people would shut up and let me watch him and lo and behold, it was true. On CBC they point him out when he's involved in the play and of course comment on how talented he is but if he's not on the ice they do a pretty good job of leaving him out of things. And they don't go on incessantly about Sid and Mario having pancakes and eggs together every morning. Thank you for that, CBC.

And you know what? Having the chance to watch him without having him shoved down my throat has really allowed me to see that he's pretty damn good. He's skilled, he's strong, he has the ability to take over the ice no matter who's on the ice with him. I have to keep reminding myself that he's 19 years old. Nineteen! I'm also super impressed with his maturity level. He's so young (19!) and he came into the league with so many expectations: He was expected to be great right away, he was expected to give the league a marquee star, someone who could compete with LeBron James and Tom Brady and Albert Pujols on the pro sports scene. For the most part, he's done it and done it with a semblance of grace not found in a lot of young athletes. He seems to patiently and happily answer question after question from reporter after reporter. Yeah, there's usually a hint of media training in his answers which tends to stop him from saying anything overly interesting but he's more than accepted his part in putting the NHL out there. I mean, I could only handle situations like the below so many times before I started grumping at people to just leave me the heck alone.

Does he sometimes embellish? Yeah, maybe. But let's be honest, people, we all have that guy on our team. Even if we don't like it, have you ever been upset when it drew a penalty that led to a powerplay goal? Is he whiny? Yeah, sometimes. But I'm willing to cut him a little slack for a couple of reasons. One, he's young (1!9!) and I think he'll learn to deal with officials better with experience and maturity. Two, he is getting the stuffing pounded out of him. I never really understood what Pittsburgh fans were complaining about in this regard but now that I've watched their playoff series, I'm starting to get it. Don't get me wrong... The opposing team should absolutely be targeting Crosby, especially if it's going to put him off his game. But the "new NHL" (how long before we can quit calling it that?) is supposed to be protecting quick, skilled players and the maddeningly inconsistent officiating must be extremely frustrating. It ticks me off and I'm only watching. Crosby's getting grabbed, hooked, and tripped all over the place. While I was writing this, number 5 for Ottawa practically latched on to Sid's back and Sid carried him halfway around the rink, keeping possession of the puck the whole time I might add. Are you kidding me? That's not a penalty? I might whine too.

My very favorite thing about Sidney Crosby though is that he plays with a very clear fervor and love for the game of hockey. Considering that he's been the next great one since he was 8, it would've been really easy for hockey to become a job, something he merely worked at. It would've been really easy for him to lose touch with the little boy who started playing hockey because he loved it. But he hasn't. And I hope he never does.

So yeah... I love Sidney Crosby! Wanna make something of it?!

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A Brief Message From the Post Season Insanity

So... hope you guys don't mind that I'm taking a break from the post-season insanity to post about something that I'd like everybody to know about. If you read my blog, you've probably read about the story I posted about a young Senators fan named Elgin-Alexander Fraser. Elgin was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. He's been through all sorts of treatment and the cancer went into remission but a year later, doctors discovered a tumor in his spinal cord.

Despite all the buzz surrounding the team making the post season, the boys still took some time to skate him. A few fans read about their story and have decided to put together a donation in Elgin's name. I've talked to the young lady who organized this. Her name is Lydia and she is thrilled by all the support and attention it's been getting. So if you'd like to get involved, you can e-mail her, or if you have Facebook there's also a group you can join for more info. Anyways, sorry for the brief detour we took but I said I would help get the word out and figured there might be some ladies here that would be interested in helping out.

Back to your regular scheduled programming! i.e. GO SENS GO!

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There is a God!

Not only did Timmy Connolly FINALLY play today (scoring a goal and looking pretty darn comfortable for a guy who hasn't played in 11 months), it appears that he came to his senses and shaved that ridiculous fu manchu he was sporting earlier in the season. Talk about your Easter miracles! I'm just so darn happy right now it hurts.

(x-posted to my blog)

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We're ALL Winners!

I figured I'd respond to the slight dig at Buffalo in the post below this one by making sure everyone's seen the results of ESPN's annual rankings of the franchises in the Big Four sports. In other words, WE'RE NUMBER ONE, BABY!


Okay, seriously, I read this article every year so I was pretty excited to see my guys ranked at the top. I know I've said this before, but it was a mere three years ago that our owner was being carted off in handcuffs. The team declared bankruptcy and fell under the ownership of the league. Players were getting checks from different banks every month - and not getting checks at all a few times - and everyone was wondering where the team was going to be the next season because it sure didn't look like it was going to be in Buffalo. To go from there to here in that short amount of time is amazing and as a Sabres fan I can attest that the new ownership has shown an amazing understanding of and appreciation for its fans.

I will put aside my personal pride for a moment and point out that three other NHL franchises finished in the top ten - Anaheim, Nashville, and Carolina. Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Dallas all finished in the top twenty. The criteria used were bang for the buck (revenues directly from fans divided by wins in the past three years), affordability (including ticket prices, parking and concessions), coaching, fan relations (access to players, coaches and management), ownership (honesty and loyalty to the city and players), players (effort and likability), stadium experience (friendliness of environment, quality of game-day promotions), and title track (prospects for winning a championship). If you want to check out the complete rankings, go here. If you want to see how your franchise ranks in the NHL, check it out here. (Sorry Bruins and Blackhawks fans - if you're out there. Better luck next year!)

All in all, a very solid showing by the NHL which is really no surprise to those of us who are fans of the game and its players. We'll discuss the irony of a sport ESPN barely covers doing so well in one of its major annual polls another day...

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Top Shelf

In a fit of jealousy and desire to be like all the other ladies here, I've started my own personal hockey blog. You can check it out, if you so desire, here: Top Shelf. I haven't really done anything with it as far as appearances go so if you stop by, don't judge too harshly please! Atleast not yet.

Can the admin monkeys add me to the blog roll?

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SIGH

From the Battle of Ontario. Meet Reason #2,305 why Rogers is really reaching these days:

We have a lot of work to do, ladies. This at least makes me feel better that if I really tried, I too, can be a Sportscaster. At least Rogers did the right thing and disqualified her.

Have at it, ladies

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Hockey is Love

Awwwww...



Also, WGR tries to deal with Marty's loss: Mic'd Up With... Ty Conklin?!

Poor Ty. The guy has no idea what's he walked into...

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Dear NHL...

Dear NHL,

I would really appreciate it if you would start throwing the freakin' book at players guilty of late hits and/or elbows OR shoulders to the head. I love a good physical game as much as anyone, but I have no desire to see someone paralyzed or killed on the ice.

Thanks,
Heather B.

Seriously, Cam Janssen's hit on Tomas Kaberle? Ridiculous. I watched it once at regular speed and once in slow motion and then couldn't watch it again because it was stomach turning. In my original HLOG questionnaire, I named Darcy Tucker as the member of the NHL I would most like to punch but I think I would've stood on my couch and applauded if he had climbed over the glass and punched Janssen about the head for a while. Colin Campbell, please keep spinning your Wheel of Justice until it lands on "Suspension - 5 Games or More" and spare me any bull about finishing checks and keeping your head up.

Video for anyone who didn't see the hit here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Mx_x8g7y0

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Isn't it Amazing?

What I think is amazing is this: the Buffalo Sabres have to have the best fans out there. I'm sorry, but it's true! As you recall, there was a "unfair" hit against Chris Drury from Chris Neil. Many did not believe it was dirty, but the way Neil acted last night I think made it significant that he had the intention of hurt Chris Drury. He instigated (Is that a word? Maybe he was the 'instigator.') many fights last night, but only one was started between himself and Adam Mair (along with an anticipated fight between Andrew Peters and Brian McGratton). He also barged in after McGratton got in Danny Briere's face during the game warm-up, Adam Mair also showed up to make sure nothing happened.

ANYWAYS... Lindy Ruff was fined $10,000 because he put the Peters, Mair, Kaleta line up verses the Spezza line on Thursday. Now, every player agrees, he did not tell them to do anything, only to get on the ice. Now, that right there made Buffalo mad, so some people decided to make a statement and help out. For instance, Pesci's Pizza, a Buffalo pizzeria, decided to donate 10% of their proceeds to Lindy Ruff to pay his fine. Also, in some towns farther to the south, a school is suggesting students who are Sabres fans donate a dollar, also for Ruff's charge. As a result, the Sabres organization released this statement-

STATEMENT FROM THE BUFFALO SABRES ON FANS WANTING TO DONATE MONEY TO THE BUFFALO SABRES TO HELP PAY FOR LINDY RUFF'S $10,000 FINE:
"The Buffalo Sabres organization is aware of some fans wanting to donate money to help pay for the fine that was levied on Lindy Ruff by the NHL on Saturday. It certainly is a wonderful gesture by our fans to want to assist Lindy through various fundraisers, but the team will pay the fine. We do not want fans to donate any money to Lindy or the organization as a result of the fine."

Although, many people were expecting this, so Chris Phillips, co-owner of Pesci's Pizza specified "If Lindy wants to donate it to a charity of his choice or the Sabres Foundation, that would be fine with us." I mean, how many cities would do that for their team. It reminds me of last year in March, when the fans were very supporting of the Ruff family because his daughter, Madeleine, was discovered to have a brain tumor.


By the way, I change my answer to number 5 on the questionnaire.

5. If you had to punch one hockey player or member of the NHL Organization, who and why?

Chris Neil, because I hate him for what he got away with.

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I LOVE MY TEAM!

I love my team. I love them. I love that even with 8 starters out - including one of our best offensive players and the captain who does everything - we made Ottawa earn their win. I love that a roster consisting of 5 kids fresh from Rochester and a rookie battled hard and took a team that had much more talent and experience on the ice to the edge. I love that we didn't give up when down 4-1. I love that no matter who is on the ice, I know he's going to play his heart out, he's going to battle, he's never going to say die. I love it, I love the Buffalo Sabres, I love hockey.

(Also... I love that the postgame interview was the beautiful Henrik Tallinder. And I really love getting through a game with NO INJURIES! Yaaaay!)

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Keep Falling for the Joke, Rook

Not as funny as some of the other things WGR has done, but for Marty
fans it's worth listening to for the "Hey, Lindy" bit stuck in the
middle. Warning: This is clearly coming from the
Buffalo point of view.

The Ottawa Song: Brawling Remix

Also, Marty with the Rookies (of whom there are MANY right now...:::sigh:::)

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Madness

Six games, seven injured players. Chris Drury taking a blow to the head worries me big time. He looked coherent and left the ice on his own power so hopefully that's a good sign.

Crazy ass game between Buffalo and Ottawa tonight. Peters went a little overboard at the end of the brawl I think - he had no business going after Emery - but hey, mess with the bull (Drury) and you get the horns (Peters and Mair). The team has been listening to opponents call them soft for the past few months and good for them for standing up for Dru, the one guy on the team they should absolutely be willing to go through a wall for. (Not that they wouldn't or shouldn't do so for anyone else... But Chris is the heart and soul of the team, in my opinion.) And my beloved Marty was in a goalie fight! He got his ass handed to him by Emery but who didn't see that coming? (Marty after the game: "I hung on for dear life and tried not to get hit in the face.") Throw in the coaches standing on the benches to scream at each other, an overtime and a shootout and that was the most awesome game I've ever seen in person. Bizarre, hilarious, entertaining and totally awesome.

Here's video for the curious. It's worth watching if you haven't seen any footage or heck, even if you have:


(Please be okay Chris.)

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