I've been morose about how the Sabres have been playing, and I'm thinking I jumped the gun a little bit. They're moving up in the power rankings with every passing week, and more than one of us have duly noted that the Senators came out of the gate this season very much like the Sabres did last year. We all remember how that turned out.

Eleven years after the old Jumbotron came crashing down after a Buffalo-Boston pre-game practice, the new high-definition unit is unbelievable. Every play is crystal clear, and it the replays are that much better with that kind of resolution. When I was home a couple weeks ago, my best Buffalo pal, Jason, and I watched the Habs get beat while drinking Blue on tap. It doesn't get better than that.

It was a near shutout last week against the Hurricanes, and unfortunately I was at the Panthers-Capitals game instead of at home watching the Sabres massacre the former Stanley Cup champions 8-1. The only thing keeping me awake at the Panthers game was the freezing temperature in the BankAtlantic Center and Alexander Ovechkin's penalties. But I'm not too upset about missing the near-shutout: The current Stanley Cup champs are on deck tomorrow night, and the tides are turning...

Habs been?

Rounding out the bottom of the Northeast division are my beloved Sabres, who now have the league's third worst record in the standings. When I made plans back in September to make this week's trip to Buffalo, I thought for sure I would be paying out the nose for Sabres-Habs tickets. Now I think I'll just take my chances and talk to the scalpers at HSBC. With the Bills playing the Patriots on Sunday in Orchard Park, there's sure to be extra seats for Friday night's matchup against the 9-4-3 Canadiens. Fair weather fans they aren't, but coming down from last year's magic season is more than just a little disheartening.

But the Panthers, despite losing last night to Carolina (in a good, close game), are actually looking as if they're coming together as a team. Vokoun was a great replacement for the belligerent Belfour. We can all do without chicken dances and the other antics Eddie was constantly up to.

Vacation's all I ever wanted...

And what a trip! We had so much fun and had a great time cruising the Mexican Riviera and hanging out in San Diego.

But I think the Sabres took a vacation also, as I'm watching the Bruins rack up the points against them right now. Lydman sacrificed his face to protect Miller, and they still lost. Admittedly, the game picked up in the last period, and definitely in OT. But they seem lethargic. Hmmm.

Hats off to WCI/ADT/AvMed/your corp. here club!

My favorite quote from club level is now "They'd sell their mother for a nickel." But you should also only pay a nickel for that hat. HELLLLLLO, dolly!

Oh for Two!

The Sabres, so far this season, suck. I don't need statistics to tell me that it's not a great sign when Spacek seems to be the only one getting pucks in the net. I am loathe to even speak the words, but Drury and Briere were both an aberration in their own right. They are now leading their respective teams, despite the lack of a 'C' on either's sweater.

There's a lot of yakking from the 'fans,' calling any criticism a sign of bandwagoning or fair-weather friendliness. I have been a Sabres fan since I was old enough to stand in line and wait for Alexander Mogilny's autograph at a sports shop in Lockport back in the day, and I sat in an empty HSBC arena the year before the Lockout watching Miro Satan and Max Afinogenov lose to mediocre teams.

But thinking that this is going to be as strong a team without either Drury or Briere (And, uh, folks? We're missing both) is wishful thinking, of which I'd love to be a part of if I could muster a false sense of enthusiasm. I, as much as anyone, want to see them do well this year -- but if this past weekene is any indication of how the season will go, then let's not hold our breath. We need our $50 million dollar man to step up, and the blue-liners to wake up already. I hope Ryan gave them a good ass-kicking after the game. All IMHO. Let's go, Buffalo...

A "Bloated" start to the season

Oh yeah!!! It was a bloated start to the season as Tick 1 and Tick 2 hit the club and enjoyed ALL its luxuries!!! :-)

I have to say it was a CRAZY night!! Pantherland was chaos!! We took the plunge and each purchased new blue jerseys and had Tick 1 and 2 put on them respectively. Of course, Tick took the role of Captain while Tick 2 took the assistant. Bottomline...WE LOOK AWESOME!

Crazy night of giveaway stuff, running up and down to the store, checking out the arena, etc... What a place!! I think I might actually purchase a thread on the floor and put a link to our blog spot on it.. Figure the arena can use more advertising dollars. Uh right...

ok, so the Stanley area of Lexus level is gone and AVMed is in. Hmm... wonder who's making money these days.. maybe healthcare huh? WOW... well I see Dunkin Donuts as a sponser on the side of the rink, maybe we can get dunkin in the arena! That would be SWEET.

Highlight of the game had to be the fight with Horton. At least he earned a bit of his money on the fight, but not on much else... these guys need to get themselves together.

Another highlight of the night was getting an autographed puck of Mike Van Ryn from my buddy Ryan. Need to score him some tickets to the club for that one! Keeping it on my desk - love it!!

ok, so I'll mention the obnoxious couple in front of us. even if its just for tick 1's benefit... this couple "looked" to have money. seemed like they were there with the "pediatric anesthesiologist". they first sat 2 rows in front of us, then RIGHT in front of us. I just have a feeling they are NOT season ticket holders, but that they are mooching of Dr. Kildare. We'll see if they're there next game. ALSO, I should add that I HOPE they're not there ever again, as they were totally out of control AND the husband caught MY Panera bread shirt.

ok, I think I've cleared my chest on all this. :-) keep ya posted on the details of the next game.

WAIT I cant forget the regular coke I got instead of diet... happened from 2 bartenders so maybe they screwed up what was plugged into what on the gun aparatus. who knows...

ok, I'm done NOW.
Peace
Tick 2

Buffalo - Philly rivalry heating up?

It would be no surprise if Buffalo fans take to loathing the Flyers even more than the Leafs, thanks to the loss of former (wow -- I still have to take a deep breath when saying that) Captain Daniel Briere to Philadelphia for big bucks. (That it was a bad business move by Buffalo's front office won't be forgotten anytime soon, but that's another story.)

Buffalo has always been a hockey city -- it's the thing to do in the winter -- and truly re-embraced its team after the Lockout. So to call any Buffalonian a 'bandwagoner' is asking to pick a fight (and we're nice people, ok, so don't do that). But we can be witty and clever also, as was seen in the YouTube response by a guy named Brian to this video of Buffalo fans taking over a Philadelphia bar:



"Bandwagon fans i do agree we have. they buy a teeshirt watch half of a period out of the whole game,and cant name more then the top 10 players. But let me tell you my friend. People that were spending 100$'s of dollars to travel to your city,take over your bars and then try to fill your arena because your own fans cant are far from bandwagon fans."

Ouch. But like I always say: It's not mean if it's true.

The Ice Bowl

So, it's true! Allegedly the press conference will be at 2 p.m. on the 17th. Guess where I'm spending New Year's?
This is so going to rock.

Raising Kane?

With just a few days to go until the first puck drop for the preseason, I'm still wondering where on television I'm going to watch the first game. The CBC is showing a few of the games, but unfortunately I don't live in Canada so that's not really an option. iN DEMAND hasn't even posted any information on the regular season Center Ice package yet, so I'm waiting with bated breath to figure all these games into my schedule.

The Panthers are playing their first game at noon on the 25th against Chicago, which means I will have to skip class to see it and that hardly seems like a good idea. But then again, it is hockey, and, it is my first shot to see first round draft pick and Buffalo native Patrick Kane play.

Best NHL City: Buffalo

Here's how good the hockey fans are in Buffalo: While TV ratings in the rest of the U.S. pushed to reach numbers posted by drunken drivers, the citizens of this mid-market media area were watching the Stanley Cup finals at five times the national rating.

And the Sabres weren't even in the finals.

Such is the passion for pucks in greater Buffalo. These fans even surpassed the Game 5 rating in the L.A. market, where the Ducks were winning the Cup.

There's no Disney Land in Buffalo; Niagara, Ontario, is nice but you can only see Ripley's so many time. There's no surf in Buffalo; the closest thing is where the Niagara River goes downhill real fast. Goat Island will never be confused with Long Beach.

So, OK, there aren't the distractions in Buffalo there are in Anaheim, where the Cup landed. Other than hockey, the only thing these cities have in common is James Cameron. The Titanic man is from an Ontario burg on the north shore of the Niagara.

And although both cities have hockey, Buffalo's passion for it is unsurpassed. Anywhere.

America's Best Sports City, NHL category, even loves its team when it loses. Example: Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, won by the Senators to eliminate the Sabres, drew a 28.4 rating for NBC. And games 1-4, all on Versus, drew ratings between 21.9 and 27.6.

Now chew on this: NBC's three games in the finals had a rating of ... 1.6. Repeat: 1.6.

Anomaly? Not considering Buffalo's rating for the All-Star Game was 7.1, while the next-best market number was Pittsburgh's 2.8.

If the NHL posted numbers one-tenth as good across the U.S. as it does in Buffalo it would be giddy. Gary Bettman would Riverdance from Erie to Ontario.

And these folks aren't staying home, either. Every Sabres home game last season was a sellout. That's 18,690 for 41 nights at HSBC Center. And of course, with Cup hopes sky-high, every playoff game was a sellout, too.

There was such demand for the playoffs, Time Warner Cable added Versus HD to its lineup.

'Nuff said. Buffalo, you rule.

The Sporting News

August 2, 2007

Beezer

Vanbiesbrouck To Enter U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame

Florida Panthers

Aug 15, 2007, 5:04 PM EDT

By Dave Joseph for floridapanthers.com

Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, who helped lead the Panthers to the 1996 Stanley Cup finals, was one of four players announced Wednesday who will be enshrined come October into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.

Vanbiesbrouck, a native of Detroit, Mich., will be inducted Oct. 12 along with Bobby Carpenter, Aaron Broten and the late John MacInnis as a member of the Class of 2007 during a dinner ceremony at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, ND.

“It’s a truly a humbling time,” Vanbiesbrouck said Wednesday during a conference call.

Vanbiesbrouck’s 20-year, NHL career (1982-2002) represents the longest tenure for an American-developed goaltender in NHL history. In total, he played in 882 games and recorded 374 wins, the most by any American-born goalie.

During his five seasons with the Panthers, Vanbiesbrouck, selected in the Expansion Draft, played in 268 games, winning 106. During the 1995-96 season, Vanbiesbrouck was 26-20-7 with a 2.68 goals against average. He was 12-10 in the playoffs with a 2.25 goals against average.

It was early during the 1995-96 season that Vanbiesbrouck used the term ‘Rat Trick’ to describe teammate Scott Mellanby scoring two goals in a game after killing a rat in the Panther dressing room. It officially kicked off the Panthers’ ‘Year of the Rat.’

>>OK, I've got to say that "the Beezer" is one of my all time favorites. Seems to be a "heck" of a nice guy and by far the best goaltender the Panthers have ever had. Wish we had a guy like this back in the net this season.

I'm still hoping for the best this season. At least we'll have "good eats" and a the club lifestyle as we enjoy the half season of games.

Go Panthers!!! (I hate the new "go cats")

-Tick2

Rat Reunion Game

Ok here's the info...

Vanbiesbrouck, Laus, Scott Mellanby, Billy Lindsay, Ray Sheppard, Gord Murphy, Ed Jovanovski, Terry Carkner and Geoff Smith are just some of the former Panthers who will attend the ’96 Panthers Reunion scheduled for July 26-29.Presented by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the reunion will include an Alumni Hockey Game July 28 at BankAtlantic Center. The game will be part of an Open House that will include family activities, games, autograph sessions, and a scrimmage between the ’96 Panthers and other Panther alumni from the past 13 seasons.

Can I BE any sicker that I am missing this game???? It's SO not fair!!! I guess I have to draw the hockey fanatic line somewhere, getting club seats, not changing jobs to support the club seats is one thing, but rescheduling or shortening my vacation for hockey is another!!!

I suppose as long as its taking Tick1 to get over black sunday, it'll take ME Tick2 to get over this game. I've been a fan a long time and I remember those glory days. Sure would be nice to see a season even close to that. I have no idea if our new goalie can even hold a candle to the Beezer, but sure would be nice to secure something like that. Of course we learned that having a decent goalie (like Luongo) isn't everything. If we can't play as a true TEAM, passing making plays rather than dumping it in the end zone, we don't really have a shot at the payoffs none the less, the cup.

Ah, but as a bloated tick I'll enjoy my favorite sport to the feast and festivities of the club, hopefully making the season a softer blow. It's gotta be a step up from the 5 yr old bouncing off me from last season.

Tick2 out!

Seven years, $50 million.

'We're not happy with Edmonton?' That's the best these nitwits can come up with? We let Chris Drury go to New York for $35.25 million for five years when we could have had him last fall for $21.5 million for four years? Now we're paying a guy two seasons out of Rochester $50 million dollars?

But really, what choice did Buffalo have? Let the entire offensive line walk and start rebuilding off of Edmonton's notoriously bad first-round picks? It will be interesting to see the Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov line against even one of the Rangers' lines: Drury or Gomez or Jagr. Shit. This kind of nonsense has Sabre fans saying things like, "let's just burn this mother f-er down" (a la Harold & Kumar) and "What's everybody worried about? Once Vanek and Roy bolt, we still have our #1 line in place: Peters-Ryan-Mair. They should be good for about a total of 5 goals, 6 assists, and 425 PIM next season. Oh, and when they fail to get back on defense, we'll have my grandpa Teppo back there to prevent a goal on my other grandpa Thibault."

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the Panthers' cookout on Monday. Even Florida's Luongo debacle doesn't come close to Buffalo's Black Sunday.

:-(

If I could eat -- if I weren't so sad, along with the rest of Buffalo -- I might lose my lunch at this photo. I'd love to see Quinn and Regier's plan B. Really. What now, guys?

The players speak.

Buffalo ranks #1 on the list of teams players would like least to be traded to. Sixteen percent of the league would rather play somewhere, anywhere, else than Buffalo, according to The Hockey News' March 27 player poll results. But of 80,000 fans polled by ESPN, "the Buffalo Sabres rank No. 1 among 122 pro sports teams based on what they give back to fans who invest their time and money in the organization." So what we actually have is a beloved team that no one wants to play for?
Check out the poll, though. It's great insight into the psyches of our beloved hockey hooligans.

Tick, tick, tick...

We are fast approaching July 1st, and there's no news from Buffalo's management about the fates of unrestricted free agents, and co-captains, Chris Drury and Danny Briere. The Hockey News is reporting that "most people in and around hockey" think that one of them will be walking. And season ticket holders are commenting in the Buffalo News' Sabres Edge that they are disappointed at having these contracts still up in the air less than a week from one or both of the Sabres' captains heading to another club. Drury and Briere both expressed a lot of interest in staying in Buffalo, as they have made homes there and love the city. What is the holdup? Offer these guys something reasonable for all the hard work they did at getting Buffalo to the Eastern Conference Final. No, we didn't win the Cup this year; but we got close. Some will say that close only counts with the proverbial horseshoes and hand grenades, but I say keep the team together. These guys are, still, scary good.

RW Nathan Horton Inks 6-Year Deal With Panthers

Nathan Horton made his feeling obvious just after 1 p.m., Thursday afternoon after signing a franchise-record six year contract with the Florida Panthers. “I couldn’t be happier,” said the 22-year-old right winger. “I want to stay and play for this team.” Horton, who scored 31 goals last season and has become known for his quick, wicked shots, becomes the second player to sign a longterm deal with the Panthers in the past 10 days. Defenseman Bryan Allen signed a five-year contract last week. The signing of Horton and Allen show the Panthers commitment to signing their young stars well into the future and keeping the nucleus of the team together.“This is where I wanted to be,” Horton said Thursday afternoon. “This is an unbelievable place to play. The guys, the franchise…it’s a great organization. Obviously, I wanted to stay here and be part of this team.” Panther GM and coach Jacques Martin said: “Nathan compiled a career best season last year, proving to be one of our club’s top offensive threats. He is a very skilled and talented player who is a key part of our nucleus of offensive talent. “By signing Nathan to a long-term deal we hope that this serves as further proof about our organization’s dedication and commitment to bringing continued stability and success to the Panthers.” The Panthers’ first pick (third overall) in the 2003 Entry Draft, Horton posted career-highs in 2006-07 in goals (31), assists (31) points (62), power-play goals (7), game-winning goals (3) and plus/minus (Plus-15). Since he works out every morning in South Florida, Horton said he wouldn’t be doing any celebrating Thursday evening. But he said he was looking forward to attending Friday’s Draft Party at the Park Sports Bar & Grill at the Seminole Paradise in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “I’m just excited right now about the team,” Horton said. “We just have to play better in the early months. We all want to be in the playoffs and this team will get there.” Not only was Horton’s the team’s second leading scorer, but he had five multiple-goal games and proved his durability by being one of six Panthers to play all 82 games. He also made history in Philadelphia on Jan. 8 of 2004 when, at the age of 19, he became the youngest NHL player to score on a penalty shot. "Nathan has taken significant steps in his growth process and we strongly believe that he possess all the essential qualities that we strive for in our players,” Martin added. “He joins a growing list of players who have signed multi-year deals with the team that includes Olli Jokinen, Ville Peltonen, Ruslan Salei, Mike Van Ryn and Bryan Allen.”

Horton, a native of Welland, Ontario, has 131 points in 208 NHL games, all played in a Panther uniform. He’s scored 73 goals, 16 on the power play, and 58 assists and has a Plus-18 rating.

Just say no...

to ice dancers.

Thanks, Pierre.

Pierre Turgeon has decided to retire from the NHL. He was the Buffalo Sabres round 1 #1 overall pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, and he stayed there through the 1991-1992 season. He's leaving the Avalanche after scoring 515 goals and 1327 points in an outstanding NHL career. He currently stands tied for 27th all-time in points in the NHL.

And speaking of #1 picks...where do you think Buffalo native Patrick Kane's going to be skating next?

Still grieving.

Would Anaheim have wiped the floor with Buffalo in the Stanley Cup Finals? The Hockey News thought the Ducks would come out on top, and they were right. No one will ever be able to say, of course, what would have happened if Buffalo hadn't choked against Ottawa. But this 'no goal' has been bugging me since that Rangers overtime win on May first.



When will Buffalo's sports team curse be broken?

The Buffalo News let us know on Thursday that Sabres GM Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff had signed contract extensions, and managing partner Larry Quinn said the Sabres "would spend MORE than they did last season, when they were closer to the salary cap than peanut butter gets to jelly."

Will they keep co-captains Drury and Briere? The city is on, ahem, ice waiting for contract negotiations to start (or at least go public). I like the News' take on it: "The Sabres need to take their policy against negotiating in-season, encase it in concrete and dump it in Lake Erie."

I'm getting over this loss, albeit slowly. I am truly grateful for your kind support in these dark days. Having season tickets that will allow me to have my nose pressed up against the glass to watch the boys in blue when they come to Florida helps ease my worried mind. And unlimited food and booze. Yeah...it's all part of being a Bloated Tick.

Unlimited food + VIP parking = two Bloated Ticks

We are extraordinarily excited to be the proud owners of Panthers season hockey tickets at the BankAtlantic Center here in Sunrise, Florida. I signed the contract on Thursday, and it's been nothing but partying since.

Carol and I will be keeping you up to date on heffa ticket availability, the latest prophecies from The Oracle, and perhaps even some hockey news.