Darcy Regier: "Tell Me How My *** Tastes"

This year’s NHL trade deadline had quite the series of ups and downs.  There was a good deal of anticipation and intrigue leading in, particularly for people who follow the Buffalo Sabres.  Sabres GM Darcy Regier (who has drawn the ire of many fans and media types in Western New York for being the architect that built this highly disappointing team) figured to be in a position to really make a mark on this year’s deadline, and atone for previous sins.  With this year being the disappointment that it has been on the ice, and Buffalo’s roster showing some glaring flaws, Regier seemed to have a real opportunity to be a seller and shake things up to improve his team in the long term.  With playoff races exceptionally tight, very few teams appeared to be looking to trade away pieces, so it truly was a seller’s market.

RG3: Can He Catch, Block, Tackle, and Coach Too?

News from the NFL combine this week suggests that the St. Louis Rams are open to trading the 2^nd pick in the draft, and that there are a few teams that could be interested.  The Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, and Seattle Seahawks are the top teams that appear to be in the market for a new quarterback.  It is widely assumed that the Indianapolis Colts are taking Stanford’s Andrew Luck 1^st overall, so the next best prize appears to be Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III out of Baylor.

What Should I Want As A Fan?

I have always been of the mind as a sports fan that A) as long as there is a game or games to be played that I always want to win as much as possible and am willing to accept any and all things required to make that happen, and B) it is better to be in the playoffs than not in the playoffs.  As of this morning the Buffalo Sabres are tied for last place in the eastern conference.  However, they are just 7 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs who sit in the final playoff spot with 23 games remaining.  Both teams play tonight.  Buffalo is home to the New York Islanders, which is a game that is very winnable.  The Leafs play the New Jersey Devils, which is a very losable game for them.  It is conceivable that by tonight’s end the Sabres could be just 5 points out of a playoff spot with 22 games to go, and just 6 days away from the trade deadline.  Now, the Sabres have been pretty bad for most of the past 2 seasons, and it appears that the way for them to fix their problems and become a viable contender in the future is to make some drastic changes, particularly with their roster.  There is legitimate cause for concern that by getting hopes up about making the playoffs could in fact have a negative effect on how the team handles its business, and in fact prevent them from doing what is in the long term best interest of the franchise.  My question is – as a fan, what should I be rooting for?

It is a dream of mine to one day see the Sabres win the Stanley Cup.  I  was as excited as anyone last year when Terry Pegula came in and started talking like it is an inevitability (which was a year ago this Wednesday).  I loved the fact that it almost immediately injected new life in to the team, and they were able to make that heroic run to the playoffs.  It ultimately did not end all that well.  Not that I realistically expected a deep run in the playoffs, but I hated seeing them appear to not even show up in the deciding game against the Flyers.  I don’t know that I buy that by squeaking in to the playoffs and getting bounced in the first round it hurt them.  They still made some flashy moves in the offseason.  It was downright drastic as compared to what Sabres fans had grown accustomed to.  Quite simply, there have just been some blatant swings and misses (I’m looking at you Ville Leino).

I will agree that there are some players on this team that need to move out, and that they have needs they need to fill.  I believe that if it had been possible for them to have moved Derek Roy or Drew Stafford before now it would have happened.  I don’t think it was any coincidence that their turnaround a year ago happened concurrently with Roy getting hurt and being out of the lineup.  I believe the situation with him is much like Tim Connolly, where there just isn’t a deal to be made for him that is helpful to the Sabres.  As I previously mentioned, Leino has been something of a disaster.  They are on the hook for a lot of dollars and years, but they are pretty stuck with him regardless of where they finish this year.  Get used to him Sabres fans, it’s going to be a while before they can realistically do anything with him.

I have been reading and hearing from various outlets that cover the team as well as the fans that they believe that them losing and falling out of playoff contention would somehow be beneficial to them as it will make it somehow easier for them to make moves and “blow the thing up”.  Outside of the chances that they could make a deal for Ryan Miller, there doesn’t seem to be much that logic would apply to.  That would be the only move that would at all indicate a “give up” move.  Paul Gaustad or Jordan Leopold being traded is hardly something that should depend on whether or not they are making a playoff push, nor should they have that much of an effect.  Gaustad is likely to be gone either way, as he should command a higher salary in free agency than the Sabres could offer.  Sure they are lean at center, but outside of winning faceoffs he offers little value.  Leopold is a nice player, but defense is one area where they actually have some depth.  It doesn’t seem likely that the GM is getting fired either way, so based on his track record I don’t realistically see much in the way of potential moves that are going to be that earth shattering.  They aren’t getting Rick Nash, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr or anyone even remotely that cool any time soon.

For years now the magic number that seems to be the target that teams should be shooting for to get in to the playoffs is somewhere between 90 and 95 points.  This looks very much like a year where the eighth place team in the east will fall short of that number.  Thus a team with only 57 points through 59 games seems very much in it when the current eighth place team only has 64, and they still play them again this year.  Toronto hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire.  None of the 5 teams between them and Buffalo have been either.  It seems pretty wide open.  If any of these teams could go on a little run the spot could be theirs, so why not Buffalo?  I can’t stand the idea of actually wanting my team to lose.  It makes even less sense in a sport like hockey where the draft process is nothing like it is in a sport like football or basketball where the players selected are instantly available and can make a difference.  Hockey drafts kids so early and it seems to require more development, so the instant difference makers are quite rare.

I for one will continue to hold on to hope as long as it’s even remotely realistic.  Based on what appear to be the most realistic/likely moves that can be made, it doesn’t appear that what will happen come deadline time has much to do with them winning going forward.  The fact is they have very few outstanding players (Vanek, Pominville, Myers) and they won’t be selling any of them.  The goalie will be tough to move if they decide they even want to.  It’s mind blowing to me that people who follow the team as closely as many do have these delusions that Rome can be built in a day.  I hope they win, and win a lot going forward.  I would rather get invited to the dance and have to leave early than not be included at all.

Don't F*** With New York Sports (At Least When They're Good)

Well, the MSG Network - Time Warner Cable feud is over.  Details are still forthcoming, but one would think the Jeremy Lin frenzy (I can't stand the constant puns with his name thus I refuse to acknowledge the phenomenon as "Linsanity") had some impact on this deal getting done.  Elected officials in New York City were threatening action if progress was not made, even going so far as to mention the current excitement surrounding the Knicks point guard specifically, in addition to the solid season the Rangers are having.

Sabres fans on a large scale benefit from this.  Sadly, regardless of what happened for them on the ice, without the influence from those maniacs from downstate it's doubtful a resolution would've been reached so quickly.  There are many reasons why the big city and those of us who reside north by northwest quarrel, but many were put in a similar place, and the volume and power of NYC certainly helped.

It could even be argued that Sabres fans were done a bit of a favor, as much of this standoff has coincided with the Sabres sinking to all kinds of new lows.  Outside of a nice little 5 game stretch around the All Star Game they've been pretty putrid.  Last night was especially awful with them getting smoked in Philly 7-2.

Ultimately it's good news for the Sabres.  Had the blackout lasted for a prolonged period there may have been legitimate concern over fan interest declining due to lack of access.

Life After Football

Wow, I for one am definitely suffering from a case of post football blues.  There are still stories in sports worth noting, but it may take a while to really get in to "life after football" mode.  This is the time when I, like many, really start to focus on hockey and basketball.  They've been there for a couple months and I've had an eye there, but I have much more interest to devote to them.

This particular NBA season has been quite intriguing due to how compact it is.  To the casual fan it's exciting that there are interesting games pretty much daily.  Jeremy Lin is sure making it interesting right now.  I still tend to think the sample size is far too small to really know what he is.  He's tremendously likeable, so I'm rooting for him.

The NHL is there, but overall the sport is lacking in widespread interest.  The absence of the most recognizable "superstar" (Sidney Crosby) may or may not be affecting interest.  As an American fan of a team that's not the Penguins it's been somewhat refreshing that he has been out for so long.  The recent hot hand has been Edmonton's Sam Gagner, a Canadian player who plays on a Canadian team that has the second worst record in the league.

Golf fans were treated to the top two players of the last generation paired together in the final round of a tournament at one of the most iconic venues in the sport, with the winner coming from that group.  Tiger Woods has looked good the last 5 times he's teed it up, but has had some issues putting four rounds together and getting it done on Sundays.  Phil Mickelson continues to add to his legacy of being an all time great while being tremendously under appreciated because he has played the bulk of his career in Tiger's shadow.

The conference tournaments are in a few weeks, which is about all the college basketball season most people need.  I have watch more regular season college basketball this year than usual only because Syracuse has been so highly ranked.  This year has really lacked for reasons to be overly compelling.  It's a lot of the usual suspects on top.  Murray State got people worked up by going unbeaten so long, but does anyone really think Murray State is a real threat to win the title?

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching.  That's when we'll get a real idea of what teams are going to make a push.  There are races in the making all over the standings, so the final sprint to the finish should be exciting.

March Madness is about a month away, and it rarely fails to disappoint.  I suppose if you include entirely too many teams it greatly improves the chances of something interesting happening.  That's a rant I'll save for that time.

While the compact NBA season has been interesting, there doesn't appear to be a lot of teams that will make legitimate title contenders.  There are some good teams in the west like the Clippers and Thunder, and it's hard to overlook Kobe and the Lakers, but I don't see a real elite team.  The Lakers are old and falling apart, and the Clippers and Thunder probably need more time.  This really puts the "heat" on LeBron James (he plays for the Miami Heat, get it?).  They match up well with the Bulls, and nobody else in the east is close.  This year is as good as any for Miami to win it all, and it would be as devastating to LeBron's image as anything prior if they fall short again.

I will always have at least part of one eye on the NFL.  We're less than a month from the big decision from the Colts' big decision on Peyton Manning.  I'm sure that story has a lot of chapters left.  I've said previously that it is this year's Brett Favre.

These Guys Might Be On To Something

I was in attendance at a Buffalo Sabres game for the first time in almost two years last night when they took on the hated Boston Bruins last night.  What a treat I got too.  The Sabres' season is on life support.  They have put themselves in a hole that they are unlikely to get out of, and allows for almost no mistakes if they are going to.  They were without their best skater, injured winger Thomas Vanek, and their head coach was absent from behind the bench due to the injury he suffered in practice two days prior.  Their opponent was the defending champs, current division leader, and general bully and thorn in the side of late.  I honestly expected a loss.  My hope was that they might find a way to keep it tight and squeeze one point out of the game so they weren't giving up too much ground in the standings.

What happened greatly exceeded what I had anticipated.   The win was great, but there was so much more to it.  They have been playing good defense recently, and that continued.  Ryan Miller earned his second shutout in a week and made some very clutch saves to do it. Their offense has struggled lately, and they exploded for a season high 6 goals (all at even strength).  The most encouraging part of last night's win however was the energy and emotion with which they played.

There were three fights in the game.  I don't recall seeing a game with that many fights very often recently.  If someone had told me ahead of time there would be that much fighting I would probably think advantage Bruins.   They have the reputation as the more physical team.  If you were scoring the fights then it would appear Boston did win.  In actuality that wasn't the case.

The most impactful player last night for Buffalo was Patrick Kaleta.  I think he played his best game as Sabre.  What made him so good last night was that he managed to get under Boston's skin.  As the game progressed the Bruins looked less and less composed.  The Sabres were able to dictate the way the game was played and Boston lost their composure.  Kaleta was the physical and emotional leader.

They played as close to a perfect game as one could imagine.  They have been on a mini tear for the last couple of weeks.  They have won games and picked up points in a variety of ways lately.  They have 7 of their next 8 games at home where they haven't lost in regulation since December 10th.  The next two weeks mean a lot in terms of what this team will look like going forward.  They have shown that they have a game like last night in them.  I was ready to write them off for dead, but now I'm cautiously optimistic that Sabres fans could be in for an exciting spring.

Just getting to the playoffs would be a good achievement at this point.  Expectations were higher at the start, but based on where they fell to the goals have to adjust.  Even if they get bounced from there, I have to believe that being in the playoffs is better than not.

Sports: The Lucy to WNY's Charlie Brown

As a lifelong Western New Yorker and sports junkie I have learned nothing if not this much: Western New York LOVES sports - however sports seldom seem to return that love.  You'll find fans as passionate and devoted to their favorite teams here as you would anywhere.  The unfortunate reality is that sports continue to find ways to kick this area in the pants in return.

The most recent installment happened yesterday when Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff broke 3 ribs after being upended by one of his own players at practice.  Ruff was not at practice today and is reportedly "day-to-day".  Come on, man!  The COACH is uncertain for the next game because of injury?  This doesn't seem to happen to other places like it does here.  Sure Saints coach Sean Payton had his knee tore up in a sideline collision during a game, but that seems a bit different than a freak accident during practice involving people only on the same team.

It seems symbolic of how there always seems there's forces at work to make certain that sports remain a source of misery for many in this area.  Tom Brady had some not so nice things to say about Buffalo last week that got some attention.  The majority of Sabres fans can't watch their team's games on television because of a dispute between the network and the top (in many cases ONLY) cable provider.  The Bills have the longest playoff drought going in the NFL.  The Bills are widely known for their terrible failures when they did get on the big stage.  The Sabres have had their share of postseason letdowns too, highlighted by some questionable calls by officials.  Can this area get a break ever?

There's an inferiority complex/jealousy factor that is a big aspect of the rivalry that exists with other regions.  Boston is tops on my list of sports cities to I currently loathe.  Just in the last decade Boston fans have been treated to 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 World Series wins, an NBA championship, and a Stanley Cup.  There's 12 year old kids in Boston who have been to 7 parades.

Fans here are resilient though.  They keep coming back for more.  I'm typing this while watching coverage of the Giants' Super Bowl celebration and I am imagining how great it'll be when this area gets its day in the sun.  Times like these will make it that much sweeter.