Happy Thoughts for a Friday

There is no better way to start a weekend:

*The Sabres just stole another two points yesterday after that improbable comeback in Minnesota. I will admit that I was ready to call it a loss after Miller scored on himself, but, once again, these boys have taught me never to count them out. Not that I like seeing them fall into holes to begin with, but it is nice to feel that they can always find a way out of them. The cardiac kids are back, and, besides the frayed nerves and racing heart, I have never felt better about that.

Royzie proves that white boys can jump; he actually looks like a normal-sized hockey player here.

By the way, my Unsung Hero of the Game goes to the Sabres Defensemen for playing another sound game and chipping in offensively to help us secure the win (especially Sekera, Paetsch, and Tallinder).

*The Bills are headed to Miami for what I think will be a good test of how we're handling our success. The Dolphins have already given the Pats fits, but I think we'll be ready for the "Wildcat" offense. By the way, does anyone else think of High School Musical whenever they hear "Wildcat offense"? I laugh every time picturing Chad Pennington bursting into song and dance while calling plays.

*All signs are pointing to Buffalo being host to the 2010-2011 World Junior Championship. This is such a huge honor for this city, and I can't wait for it to happen. It's about time the entire world saw what a true hockey city Buffalo really is.

*The latest sabres.com interview with Ryan Miller is pretty hilarious. I love that he's able to laugh about what happened yesterday. I especially love when he discusses exactly how he is going to repay his teammates for bailing him out. Somehow, the image of these guys walking through Disney World never fails to make me smile. I especially like that Ryan mentioned EPCOT, which is my personal favorite park:

Am I seeing things, or is that the Pigeon behind Ryan? If so, that means he's pulling ahead in the race to take him home for the summer.

*Speaking of the Pigeon, this week's episode of The Sabres Show contains the intermission feature on the newest member of the team. I love listening to Spacek all the time, but there's something special about how he says "pigeon":

Other things I love about this video include:
The random outbursts and cooing noises while Spacho is talking (I'm putting money on Petey and Mair being the guilty parties)
The bird "flying" by Spacek during the interview
Petey saying that Spacho is a pigeon but he "doesn't really know what that means"
Patty Lalime being generally adorable and snuggling his invisible pigeon

All this adds up to probably one of the dorkiest locker rooms in the NHL, but that's what we all love about them. They can laugh together, joke together, take care of stuffed animals together. They are closer in October than most teams are in April, and that has to account for something. Chemistry matters on a team, and ours is stronger than ever. The proof is in the standings.

Here's to hoping these happy thoughts carry over into a very productive and happy Buffalo sports weekend!