by Ryan
Rich and I are going to be incognito tomorrow at HSBC Arena, but our friends at Gobbler Country are doing an NCAA Tourney liveblog that we’ll be stopping in on periodically. If you’re watching the games drop by and have some fun. We’ll talk some hockey later.
by Ryan
I was really hoping the Sabres would grace us with a game that was easy to watch and even easier to talk about.
Silly me for thinking wishfully.
I really have no idea where to start with this team. Yet again they come up short by a goal after starting off like garbage. They played with a lack of urgency on both ends of the ice and in front of both goaltenders. They were both outplayed by the opponent yet played better than said opponent for extended periods of time. They were good, bad and ugly, and Ryan Miller played 5 minutes and 40 seconds of hockey last night.
They were a conundrum.
That’s it. That’s the word to describe the Sabres right now, and that’s probably not a good thing. This team is a hodgepodge of awkward hockey interrupted by momentary brilliance, and Derek Roy flopping around like a fool. It’s a weird time, and I’m glad you’re hanging in with us while it’s going on.
This road trip seems so very important, but so far the last week or so of hockey has been a daze to me. The games are happening, sure, but I’m not really sure what they mean or where this team is headed.
Forget the start by Miller, that wasn’t all his fault. Like on Friday night against Minnesota, the goaltending performance was two parts defense and one part goaltender mistake; and the guy between the pipes always comes away with the most blame. Patrick Lalime played well in relief, partially because he isn’t as bad as most assume and mostly because the team decided to start backchecking.
I could keep going with the blame game, but it’s a mix of both sides, isn’t it? The offense wasn’t where you’d like but the goaltending was strong. The power play registered a goal but it was a softie. Tim Kennedy looked both good and awful.
It was a lot of things and not a lot of other things, and I’m tired of writing like Willy Wonka. All we know is that in a stretch run you want questions answered. So far all we have are more questions.
by Ryan
All that talking aside, I think the most important Ovechkin YouTube clip of the last fortnight is this:
Yeah, I don’t think that’s ever going to get old.
by Ryan
I have something about Ovechkinpalooza coming shortly, but I thought this was too good to pass up. Via twoeightnine’s Twitter:
The Greatest Toaster in the History of Mankind
I am not currently in the market for a toaster, but when I am I’ll be giving this bad boy a hard look. Ignore the fact that it most likely toasts with the same quality as the $3 toaster you can buy at WalMart on Black Friday. You try looking at that crest on your slice of toast and not smile.
It’s a toaster that never toasts evenly, and it’s wonderful.
Episode 4 of RoostCast is available for download here, or you can listen to it below. In this episode, we discuss the Sabres’ recent struggles against the Wild and Red Wings, give some first impressions on the NCAA Tournament brackets, try to figure out whether Twitter sucks or not, and even talk some NBA ball. (horrors!)
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In addition to Rich and Ryan’s snark and miscellanea, Episode 4 of RoostCast features the following music:
“Show Me How To Live” – Audioslave
“Clint Eastwood” – Gorillaz
“Level” – The Raconteurs
“Back On My Grizzy” – Lil Wayne
“Vibrate” – Ghostland Observatory
by Ryan
What a goal by Jason Spezza, but thank God that was the only goal the Senators scored. Ugh, Ottawa’s going to be there for the rest of the season, aren’t they?
At least I think that’s him. We’ve been really slow on posts this week, but I’m heading to the game tonight and will have something up about it for sure. Other things have been getting in the way, but is that really an excuse?
by Ryan
Oh hey there. We haven’t talked much since the trade deadline, have we? I’d love to catch up, but right now I’m having a hard time stringing thoughts together for extended periods of time. We have plenty to talk about, but let’s start with this:
- I spent the majority of this past weekend in Albany for the MAAC Championship. I spent most of that weekend sitting right here:
Of course I was sitting a bit to the left of that so I could actually see. I’m not going to lie, sitting on press row was a lot of fun. The food was good and you can’t argue with four basketball games in one day. I didn’t get around to writing about the weekend here, but I did talk about it for a bit during the last podcast if you’re interested.
- Speaking of that podcast, we’ve done three episodes to date and we’re looking for some feedback, both good and bad. Give it a listen and let us know what you think. Should we talk about something different? Should we never do another one again? Does the music suck? We’re wondering what you think, so feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email. It would be greatly appreciated if you do.
- We haven’t said a whole lot about Ryan Miller’s media tour, but it did generate our best Caption Contest yet. That may have something to do with the fact that we haven’t written anything since then, but whatever. Good turnout everyone, keep it up.
In all seriousness, Miller’s media blitz is exactly what I hoped would happen to him post-Vancouver. I said so in the first podcast we ran (synergy!) and I still mean it: Miller should be carted around as much as possible over the next few weeks.
Forget all the “good of the game” crap and the potential post-Olympic boost the NHL’s Q Rating may get, Ryan Miller deserves to be recognized for just how good he was in Vancouver and how good he has been for the last few seasons.
A few trips under the hot studio lights aren’t going to hurt his concentration one bit. I’m not saying he should host Saturday Night Live anytime soon (unless he gets to play an emo photographer for 90 minutes…) but an Oprah appearance or two isn’t going to ruin the guy.
- Speaking of media blitzes, this only goes to show you how much Sidney Crosby is the anti-Ryan Miller. We discussed this in Episode 2 of RoostCast (Bam!) and I really think there is something to it. Also, Ray Shero defending him is absolutely adorable. What a wuss.
As little as Bill Simmons knows about hockey, he got this right: Sidney Crosby is a lifeless corpse when it comes to dealing with the public. Maybe it’s better he said no after all.
- The new NFL logos suck. All of them.
- Being five hours away this weekend meant I missed the Pirates game at HSBC Arena on Sunday. If you missed it as well, Roll the Highlight Film has a good recap of the day’s events. I’d check it out.
- Speaking of the Pirates, head coach Kevin Dineen was suspended indefinitely after something that happened in their Saturday night game against Syracuse. I spoke to someone in the crowd that night who said the game’s conclusion was downright bizarre.
The goal that was in dispute was never actually replayed in house, which probably caused a lot of the post-game conclusion. Either way it will be interesting to see how things are sorted out.
- If you’re curious to see how big musical instruments are transported across country, you should go read this blog as well. I have no idea who is writing it, but she seems nice.
- If you’re looking for someone awesome to follow on Twitter, go with Roger Ebert. He doesn’t sleep and links to awesome YouTube clips at all hours of the night. Sound familiar?
Some more structured writing is on the way, I promise. The Sabres have a big game coming tonight and another big weekend coming up. After the Olympic break and the deadline chaos it will be nice to get back into the swing of things. For now, bear with us.
by Ryan
Episode 3 of RoostCast is available for download here, or you can listen to it below.
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In addition to Rich and Ryan’s snarky musings, Episode 3 of RoostCast features the following music:
“Time is Running Out” – Muse
“L’Via L’Viaquez” – The Mars Volta
“9x’s Outta 10″ – DJ Quik and Kurupt
“Malibu” – Jaguar
Anyone up for a caption contest?
We haven’t written much here since the trade deadline, but when we’ve wanted to write it’s about Pat Kaleta. Look for a podcast and a lot more content this week. For now, learn to do that celebration for your pickup hockey games.
By Chris
Mark Mancari is in the lineup tonight as the Sabres take on the Rangers. With Drew Stafford out with an injury (this seems to happen a lot), it looks like Mancari will see some time on one of the top two lines and on the poweplay.
He’s torn it up in the AHL over the last two seasons, but has been less than impressive whenever he’s thrown on a Sabres uniform — with the exception of the new uniform unveiling scrimmage game in 2006 (too bad that game never counted for anything). If Mancari fails to impress this time around, it’s unlikely he’ll ever get another shot with the team.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. in a rare Sunday night start. If the game becomes unwatchable, you can always flip to Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosting the Oscars. To put it bluntly, they’re funny.