Of Pigeons and Punches

I knew the Sabres were going to lose Jaro Spacek. Any time a player gets close to free agency, fans of this team have to know by now that the player will more than likely be gone. It's a sad fact, but one I think we've all come to live with.

Did the Canadiens overpay for Jaro? Time will tell, but, sometimes I get sick of Darcy saying we got someone for "a bargain." To me, that doesn't imply great management as much as it does a low league interest in a player that we picked up.

Jaro Spacek was one of my favorite Sabres, but it took him a long time to get there. I absolutely hated him after the 2006-2007 season (as many fans seemed to). But things changed, and Spacho grew into a leader for our boys - both by example with his hitting and in the locker room. At every open skate I've gone to, he was teaching things to the younger defensemen and joking around with all the guys to get them loose. I'll miss being entertained by his antics on those mornings at HSBC.

Anyone who knows me, though, knows what I will miss most about Jaroslav Spacek. I will miss that garbled, booming, broken English coming through my speakers during hockey season. Whether we won or lost, an interview with Spacek always made me smile because it was like hearing the Cookie Monster tell me about how to "shoot puck, score goals."

I'll miss the texts from my friends letting me know that he was on TV, and I'm sad that I never got to hear him in person. I hope Canadiens fans appreciate his voice for the gift that it is.

I guess I shouldn't be so sad about losing a player if the best thing about him was his vocal resemblance to a character on Sesame Street...

In appreciation for his years as a Sabre, I present my favorite Spacho interview. Get ready, pigeons!

Now that my "Farewell Spacho Time" is over, I suppose I should welcome the newest Sabre, Steve Montador. He may not be as offensively gifted as Spacho (I hope Darcy addresses this), but he does add some more toughness to a pretty soft blueline.

Anyone who punches Chris Neil in the face is ok with me!

My Version of Draft Analysis

If you have ever read this blog before (or even glanced at its name), you know what kind of hockey players I like - big, tough, gritty players who win by physical punishment and force of will rather than fancy feats of skating prowess. It's been that way ever since I can remember watching hockey; I've always gravitated towards the worker bees and tough guys.

Therefore, it should be no surprise to anyone that all who know me and my hockey preferences have been coming up to me in the last couple of days saying the same thing:

"You must be really happy with the draft this year."

Let's see: The Sabres used their first-round pick on Zack Kassian, labelled the toughest player in the draft. They drafted no player under 6'1, 187 lbs. They took the son of a former captain, a young player that has been compared to my favorite player.

Yeah, I'd say "happy" pretty much covers it.

I know that there's a chance that some of these kids will never see the NHL. Even the best probably won't be on the team right away. Still, though, the team at least acted like they know what they are sorely lacking right now. They addressed their needs, which is all you can really evaluate in the NHL draft.

With all that being said, I now present "Katie's Completely Unnecessary Guide to the Sabres 2009 Draft Picks":

1. Zack Kassian

• States that his shootout move is a "shot" - I love a guy who doesn't over-think things.
• Favorite restaurant is Applebee's - This boy needs to be introduced to the Buffalo culinary scene. Now.
• Calls himself "the guy that just sits at home and plays video games" - Is there any way we can keep him away from Tim Connolly at training camp every year? He needs to stay this innocent boy and not be introduced to the debauchery of Chippewa.

3. Brayden McNabb

• Hails from the beautiful town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. You know who else calls Saskatoon home?

Colby Armstrong. This automatically makes him fantastic just by proximity to my favorite non-Sabre NHL player.

• Likes Harry Potter books - he would have earned even more points with me if he would have specifically said Prisoner of Azkaban.
• Patterns his game after Calgary's Robin Regehr. I love Regehr's ability to stay relatively unnoticed, which is a good thing for a defensive defenseman. I became a big fan of his two years ago, so it's nice to see him mentioned by one of our prospects.

4. Marcus Foligno

• Was born August 10, 1991 - We share a birthday! But he's three years younger than I am and getting more press than I will ever receive. Oh well, I'll look past the bitterness and enjoy the fact that I now actually know someone with my birthday.
• Was compared to Paul Gaustad, which automatically makes him my new favorite prospect. However, this comparison was about how he needs to work on his skating just like Goose did. Still, though, if he has the work ethic of his dad, I think he'll succeed just like Goose did.

5. Mark Adams

• Smallest Sabres draft pick this year
• Still in high school - God, I feel so old!

6. Connor Knapp

• Undecided major at Miami (Ohio) University
• As a goalie at 6'5, 215 lbs., he makes Ryan Miller (6'2, 166 lbs.) seem like even more of a twig than we already thought he was.

7. Maxime Legault

• Plays for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL, the same team Jason Pomiville played for.
• Is only about a year younger than I am (5/28/89), which makes me feel somewhat better about myself.

Question for all of you Facebook users out there - now that these boys are so much younger than I am, is it creepy to request to be their friend? I'd appreciate any and all opinions on this very important matter (because I know how much this matters to all of my readers...or not...).

And the winner is...

...those who watched the NHL Awards with low expectations.

Don't get me wrong; I love a good awards ceremony, but this was pretty predictable in every way. The only thing that really surprised me was Richard Zednik getting snubbed for the Masterton, and that was a disappointing surprise.

However, eternal optimist that I am (today), there were some things that I absolutely loved about the ceremony:

* Seeing Max Talbot and Evgeni Malkin as unofficial "Keepers of the Cup" never fails to make me smile. I love that a grinder like Talbot is getting his time in the spotlight.

I love that Geno has keep a hand on the Cup like it might run away.

* Patty La sighting! He was one of my first "favorites," so I still light up every time I see him.

* Timmy Thomas was phenomenal with both of his speeches. He got me choked up to hear him thank his wife for following him wherever he had to play. He also got me snickering with his comment to Manny Fernandez when they accepted the Jennings Trophy:

I think that wins the title of "Best Unintentionally Comedic Moment at a Boring Awards Show"

* Jarome Iginla and his pearly whites made an appearance to accept the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

When I heard him talk about their "core" of players and how long they've waited to win the Cup; it actually made me kind of sad. Not that I don't love Craig Rivet, but I wish our captain was part of our "core," grew up with the nucleus of our team. Who am I kidding, I just wish Goose was our captain, and I'm starting to get bitter about it.

Someday...

I know that there are reasons to be mad about last night if you're a Sabres fan:

* Miro Satan won a Stanley Cup...I'll give you all a second to swallow the bile back down.

* Sidney Crosby won a Stanley Cup - and proceeded to reenact his Winter Classic screech on an even more ear-piercing level.

*Pittsburgh changed their coach and won a Cup, and the Sabres...like Lindy Ruff more than I do (which is saying something...and not necessarily a good thing)

*A team won the Stanley Cup last night, and that team was not the Buffalo Sabres...again

But there are also reasons to be happy.

No matter how bitter and jaded I can get as a hockey fan, I still get goosebumps whenever I watch a Stanley Cup celebration. I'm a human-interest story nerd at heart, and those moments always know how to tug at the heartstrings. It's pure emotion on display - tears and laughter and blissful exhaustion - with no veneer of professionalism to separate the fans from their champions.

I know some may think that watching another team lift the Cup would make a hockey fan whose team didn't make the playoffs feel even more hopeless.

Not so for me.

Last night, I didn't go to my usual unhappy place filled with thoughts of how that will never be my team. Instead, I let myself think about what would happen if that ever was my team. I thought of how I would feel if Craig Rivetwas in Sidney Crosby's place or if it was Goose scoring those goals instead of Max Talbot. What would it feel like if Ryan Miller got to wrap his skinny arms around all that silver...if Lindy got doused in champagne?

Right now, I have no idea how that would feel. I've never watched a team I really cared about win a major championship. Yesterday may have been the closest I came just because my favorite non-Sabre's best friend got to be the first to lift the Cup (yes, I am pathetic). I can only hope that we here in Buffalo can someday soon feel what they're feeling in Pittsburgh today - the pride of knowing that it's our boys - the ones we yell at, laugh at, obsess over, wear the jersey of - that came out on top.

Until then, at least the Cup should be coming back to Buffalo again:

Congrats, Brooks Orpik - you did us proud!

As Easy as it Looks?

I was really starting to get bored with hockey.

Until tonight.

Don't get me wrong, the playoffs have been full of great hockey games, but in all honesty these Finals were nothing short of a snooze-fest for me during the first two games.

I'm sick of the Red Wings.

I know that dominance like theirs comes along rarely, but it's really getting on my nerves. They make winning look easy, and this is a double-edged sword. It's nice to hear that you make things so difficult look so effortless. However, there is the chance that your ability to do this makes things boring. That's how the Wings often look when I watch them - like a well-oiled machine that just does its job to perfection (and what's exciting about that?).

They'll probably still win this series (I think in 7 games this time), but it's nice to see them deal with adversity in doing so.

That's what makes tonight's win by the Penguins so great - it really did make this a series. It proved that Pittsburgh can hang with Detroit (at least for a little while). Mainly, though, it made the Wings look human. It reminded me that winning isn't really all that easy - no matter what the Wings usually look like. Winning is hard - and exhilarating, and suspenseful, and full of desperation, and it's nice to see that with the hardest trophy in sports to win on the line.

I, for one, can't wait until Thursday.

Long Time No Blog

I'm back!

Not that I really went anywhere...I've just had the busiest non-college-related week of my life. Dance competitions, rehearsals...and my sister's softball team made it to the state championships which start tomorrow in NYC - Congrats Lady Lancers of St. Mary's!

With all that's been going on, I really haven't had much time to even watch the conference finals. It's not too hard to guess who I'm rooting for (if it is...Chicago and Pittsburgh), so I'm happy with one series and sad (but not unexpectedly so) about the other.

As a way of summing up the great amount of hockey that I've missed out on, I present the "Top 5 Revelations I've Had (So Far) During the Conference Finals ":

5.) I really don't hate Sidney Crosby as much as I let on this year. I spent the whole regular season telling myself that Sid was a whiner that I must have been crazy to follow like I did during the 2008 playoffs. Well, absence must make the heart grow fonder because my love for Sid is back in full force. I just like how he has really stepped up in these playoffs, proving that this really is his team. For all the crap he gets about being immature, I think he truly does handle himself well for being put on a pedestal as a role model so young.

Colby would be so happy to read this!

4.) I hate the Carolina Hurricanes more than I let on this year. Really. I hate them. I have such a visceral reaction every time they show footage of Brind'Amour lifting the Stanley Cup that should have been ours - it's like I want to cry and throw up at the same time. Or maybe that's just from his face...Whatever it is, I don't think it's a reaction that's going away any time soon. I'm Polish; I hold grudges like it's my job.

3.) The Chicago Blackhawks have the best mixture of playoff beards ever. From Toews's mutton chops and Kane's peach fuzz to Sharp's mountain man look and Soupy's bright red beard, the Hawks run the gamut in terms of ritual facial hair. Whether it's ruggedly handsome that you're going for or boyishly pathetic, they have something for every taste. In addition, they also have this hilarious video playing up the beard-growing prowess (or lack thereof) of their two biggest stars:

2.) I am still not really over losing Brian Campbell. I say this not because I sit there and wish he was still playing for us with the nostalgia that I save for Briere, Biron and McKee but because I like to pick on him a little too much. It's like that significant other who dumps you and then you try to pick out everything they do wrong and get a kick out doing so...Until it's over a year later and you look more than a little pathetic in your inability to move on. He's playing for the team I want in the West, but I'll be damned if a little part of me doesn't smile inside when he makes some major mistake. I don't want him back, but I don't want him to be a star for anyone else, either. I sound way more than "a little pathetic" now...

1.) I miss Sabres hockey more than last year. Last year, it seemed easier for some reason. Maybe it's because we knew from early on in the season that it wasn't going to be a good year. Maybe it's because we thought missing the postseason was a one-time deal. Whatever the case may be, I was able to transition into playoff hockey a lot easier last year than this year. This year, I find it really hard to keep up a rooting interest in a team or even in the game itself without some level of bitterness towards the Sabres. It's hard to watch other teams progress when I felt for the longest time this season that my team would be in the mix right along with these others. They're not, through no one's fault but their own, and it's difficult to feel no resentment to cities that get to experience the beauty that is hockey in May.

That doesn't mean, though, that I'll stop watching. I have my teams, and I'm starting to get out of my "playoff funk." Expect more posts in the coming days; I really do feel bad for how I've been neglecting my writing and my readers.

Birthday Recap Part II

Three posts in less than 24 hours - I must say that I am very proud of myself!

To conclude the Muckers and Grinders birthday festivities, I bring you a collection of some of the "bests" of the past year of blogging:

Most Hopeful Post: "The Bills Make Me Wanna..." (Nothing like the start of a season to remind you of what it means to be a Buffalo fan)

Best Title: "Paul Gaustad has Given Me Unrealistic Expectations About Men" (Need I say more?)

Most Emotional Posts: "At a Loss" and "Everything We Needed" (The swing in emotions from despair after the crash of Flight 3407 to that euphoric Sabres statement game against the Sharks still gives me goosebumps to think about)

The Best of "Overreaction Central": "In Denial" (Ryan Miller's injury and the team's response to it still gives me this same reaction)

The Best of "Emo Blogging Time": "Waking Up" (Langston Hughes gets Buffalo sports fans like no other poet)

And now, the moment I know you've all been waiting for:

The Best of Google Analytics:
People have found this blog searching for some pretty amusing things. Sure there's the obligatory "jason pominville paul gaustad," "pat kaleta girlfriend," and "paul gaustad shirtless" searches, but there have been some downright fantastic ones as well:

"sports writing locker naked"
"alex ovechkin cannibal bit ear"
"craig rivet's dad"
"jarome iginla good deed"
"jason pominville's favorite color"
"stupid birthday comments"
"their just really good at hockey" (great grammar here as well!)
"when can jason pominville leave the sabres?" (NEVER!!)
"cheap muckers"

Hope you enjoyed those as much as I did!

As a final birthday treat for myself, I started a Twitter: twitter.com/kak01. Feel free to follow even more of my random thoughts!