smokinandjokin

The storyline for game 7: The Sabres have never won a game 7 of a playoff series on the road in their history. Doesn't it seem fitting that THIS team, the team that has overcome so much all year, the team that watched their goalie, top forwards, and top defensemen all miss time to injuries, the team that has shown the heart, will, and desire to win every night, the team that set a franchise record for victories and boasts 63 total wins this year, the team that has taught Buffalo fans to believe it CAN be done rather than we are doomed...Doesn't it seem fitting that THIS team will be the first Sabres team to win a game 7 on the road? You get the feeling the Canes are feeling the heat, just like you get the feeling everyone in the Sabres locker room knows they are going to pull it off.

I have seasons, but I just went to the Ralph during lunch today to pick up some extra tix to the opener. I have a few friends from college who come into town for the Jets game every year (btw, these guys all grew up in the NYC area, and they are HUGE fans of Buffalo as a city. They love partying here and love the games here.) Anyways, the guy at the ticket office told me it was a good thing I came in , he said there's a chance there will be only single seats left by the time the games go on sale to the general public. I wanted to get the additional tix in the same section as my seasons, but there was nothing available in the lower bowl. The best place to get tix was section 316 (end of the upper deck) in the 12th row. If I wanted to move over one section to 315, it would've been row 36. FYI, I was buying five tickets. If you need extras for the opener, get 'em quick!

Two classics: Lou Brown: [at a team meeting] Can I have your attention, please? [picks up a bat and leans on it like a walking stick] Lou Brown: I have something I think you all ought to know about.It seems that Mrs. Phelps doesn't think too highly of our worth. She put this team together because she thought we'd be bad enough to finish dead last, knocking attendance down to the point where she could move the team to Miami... and get rid of all of us for better personnel. Roger Dorn: Even me? Lou Brown: Even you, Dorn. Eddie Harris: What if we DON'T finish last? Lou Brown: She'll REPLACE you with somebody who WILL. After this season, you'll be sent back to the minors or given your outright release. Jake Taylor: [Jake stands up] Well then I guess there's only one thing left to do. Roger Dorn: What's that? Jake Taylor: Win the whole !@#$ing thing. [long pause] Willie Mays Hayes: [Willie stands up] Yeah. Pedro Cerrano: [Pedro pounds his hand] YES! AND: Roger Dorn: Let's cut through the crap, Vaughn. I only got one thing to say to you: "Strike this mother !@#$er out."

That's solid. As for me, I gotta go with Jesse the Body in Predator. One of my favorite movie quotes of all time: Poncho: "You're bleeding, man." Blain: "I ain't got time to bleed."

Nope. I thought it was a good pickup in 2002. The first half of that '02 season, the Flutie vs. Johnson arguments of previous years seemed absolutely moronic because we finally had a 'real' QB in Buffalo. But he showed his true colors in the 2nd half of the year. And in 2003, he was fully exposed. The front office made some moves to bolster the D, and Bledsoe proceeded to play absolutely horrible. From week 3 and beyond, the Bills went 4 and 10 and failed to score an offensive TD in half of those games. In 2004, they began slowly, went on a winning streak, and then lost the one game that should have been automatic. In the end, I thought Bledsoe did enough in '04 to earn the right to return in '05. I thought it would be nice to see what he could do with a full season of Willis in the backfield, and another year with Evans, who he seemed to have some chemistry with. I agree, he would've faired better than the JP/Holcomb experiment. That said, I also wasn't disappointed with his release. The Pittsburgh game, while it was a loss across the board for the whole team, magnified Bledsoe's shortcomings. You have the right to expect your 10-year vet 'HOF caliber' QB to put the team on his shoulders to win a home game against some backups. That was apparently too much to ask. And what would've happened had the Bills won? They would've had a road playoff game and Bledsoe would've looked like he always did on the road against a good team- pathetic. Another poster mentioned earlier that Bledsoe was a known commodity. He was most likely a 7-9 or 8-8 QB. JP was the unknown, the potential...and still is.

It was unreasonable for us to expect him to be better than average against Pittsburgh's 3rd string? It was unreasonable for us to expect a 10-year veteran to be able to lift the team to victory with the playoffs on the line? It was unreasonable to expect that a QB who only won three games against playoff teams in his three-year career (Pats in 2003, Rams and Seahawks in 2004) would have to compete for a starting job? He was 23-25 in his three years in Buffalo, and is 95-96 in his reg season career, and 3-4 in the playoffs. Oh yeah, and in 2001, a 6th round QB took a team that Bledsoe went 5-11 with the year before, and 0-2 in his first two games of '01, to the Super Bowl title. He's a .500 QB. He'll beat the Browns at home, but send him on the road against a decent team, and you just wait for the meltdown to happen.

I'm not real keen on Venus, she looks like a praying mantis. But something about Serena's big 'ole ass and titties makes me think her nomination to this list is not right. There are many uglier tennis players. For example, Navratalova was cited above, and I will point out: Kim Clijsters

If you had told me the Sabres would be in the conference finals, there's a slight chance I would've believed you. Before the year, I pictured them in their normal spot- 7th or 8th in the conference- but Lindy has been known to push the right playoff buttons. I suppose with some hot goaltending it would not have been out of the question. However, if you had told me in September that our chances of winning the Stanley Cup took a crushing blow when Tim Connolly and Teppo Numminen went out of the lineup, I would've thought you were high. I will be the first to say I did not expect much out of either one. Now they are two of the irreplacables. Good post, SnR.

Carolina's 3rd goal, Jillson did a commendable job keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Max fired a pass at him about two feet off the ground from about eight feet away. Jillson was backed up against the blue line with a guy on him tight. I was impressed he was even able to keep the puck in. However, as Carolina broke out, there was no excuse for not taking the body as the goal scorer cruised right past him and hammered in a juicy rebound. All told, even with our full defensive corps, if Buffalo puts forth an effort like that, they still lose 3-0. That was horrendous to watch.

Ramius, I thought about mentioning something similar. I didn't want to insult you bro, but your quote was a tad bit strange. Ramius (six beers deep): "Wow, Lindy's tie really brings out his eyes. That's a great color on him! And that suit complements his broad shoulders. But damn, that Brind'amour is an ugly bastard!"

4-2 Sabres, late empty-netter seals it. Miller the 1st star with 34 saves, several of them spectacular. With Fitzy, Jillson, and Janik/Paetsch all in the lineup, Lindy looks pretty damn smart hanging in Rochester during the lockout year installing his system to the minor league squad. At least these guys have experience playing within Lindy's system, even though they are lacking NHL game experience. I suppose it's better than coming in blind.

Rod Brind'amour Mike Ricci Tyrone Hill Otis Nixon Chris Kaman Darryl Talley Randy Johnson- with the mullet- cause you know he'd have it if Steinbrenner would let him

That's the stuff! Same thing the grocery store provides to grab donuts with! So many uses, it was probably invented in the Research Triangle.

And don't forget to put the paper sanitary guard on the toilet seat before you rock a deuce!

Relax folks, relax. Just selling papers, that's all. What's the point of getting sucked into a moronic argument about two moronic writers, who are simply doing what they get paid to do?

You didn't know? They do research there. Apparently a lot of the research involves triangles. Right triangles, equilateral triangles, isoceles triangles...Hell, sometimes they just get crazy and research scalene triangles. The research is fully funded by the returns of of empties from racetrack parking lots, as well as from public urination fines levied against the Duke lacrosse team.

2006 Pominville Smooth, nice accelleration, can really corner.

Did the dog lay down in the hallway to Kotalik his balls?

Oh yeah, I also hate when you are watching a women's tennis match, and there is some Euro hottie waiting to return serve, and she is bending over, staring intently at her opponent, and the camera man zooms in on her face instead of keeping the lens wide enough to see a little cleavage as she is bending forward. ZOOM OUT!!! PAN DOWN!!! DO SOMETHING!!! And they always tease you with it because it's so close. Man I hate that. I would be a great cameraman/director for women's tennis.

Chasing the Babe- That was the most rediculous thing I ever saw. I also hate when they are scrolling through baseball scores and they have to show every pitcher who appeared in the game, as well as every guy who went 1-5 or better with an RBI in an 8-7 game. You just want to catch a particular score, but with all the scrolling stats, they only get through two games before they go to a commercial. So you wait through the commercial, and they come back and the bottom line reads: LA SPARKS 29 PHOENIX MERCURY 23 FINAL Swoopes 16pts, 7reb

D'oh! Not good, definitely not good....but they must overcome....NO EXCUSES!!!

You were never wrong with Babe of the Day! What happened to her???

You're a mess dude. They entered the playoffs with Fitzpatrick (who played in 56 games this year) in the press box. Darcy was supposed to trade a solid goaltending prospect (and former 1st round pick) for some free agent-to-be, overpaid journeyman defender, just so we could have depth??? There was not a defensman out there who could've cracked our top-6, and with the time Fitzpatrick logged this year, they probably felt fine with him as a #7. Please check out any team's #8 or #9 defensemen and get back to me. You can't account for three freak injuries at one position! I'll take the 44th pick overall, instead of another team's garbage who would've spent most of his time as a Sabre wearing a suit.

Miller Briere Dumont Hecht Pyatt Connolly Mair Kalinin Numminen All missed significant time this season. So now we're supposed to get in a tizzy over Talinder? Not me man, not me. The Sabres just won their 62nd game of the year last night. They have to win six more. What's the problem? One out, one in- All year long Briere lays it down:

Bro, nobody's saying it's ideal. Numminen, Kalinin, and Talinder sounds MUCH better to everyone, trust me. But what are we going to do, look back to the Olympic break and say Darcy should've dumped Noronen for any has-been defender that was out there? You're a Luc Richardson fan? They're up 2-1 in the conference finals, while missing their top 3 defensmen and probably their best all around player. At what point during this season were they ever stopped by injuries? NO EXCUSES