State of Flux: Why So Serious?

As my vacation from Fredonia wears down to its last few days, I have begun packing. Of course, packing means procrastinating, and what better way to procrastinate than to go on Twitter. While trolling the Twitters today, I read a very interesting tweet from Ryan Kraus (@TheKrausHouse (OF WHOM YOU SHOULD ALL FOLLOW)). The tweet was as follows:This got me thinking about our position as Buffalo sports fans, and inspired this post. Today, I’m going to try to dissect this question and hopefully provide a solid answer. Hit the jump to continue on the journey.

What Else is Left to Do?

Hi all. Happy 2012. My New Years Resolution: to give all of you a post per week. Whether or not I’ll follow through remains to be seen given however much homework I get assigned. But, that’s neither here nor there at this point. Tonight, I write in my first hockey tee shirt: a Born In Buffalo shirt which says “Brett Hull is a Cheater,” with the skate in the crease, a pair of Nike Fredonia navy blue shorts, and my traditional black Nike calf socks. You might be thinking to yourself, “why should I continue, and is he going to ask me to share what I’M wearing?” Well, no, I’m not going to ask you that, because that’s creepy. Instead, I want you to bear with me while I try for the first time ever to write without a plan about our beloved Sabres.

A Cure For Your Sabres Woes

We can all admit that right now the Sabres are making it really difficult to watch them play. They have not had a winning streak since they won four straight games from November 4-11 and are currently 3-5-2 over their last ten games. The latter statistic is good enough for 24th in the league over that stretch. I think it is safe to say at this point that the embarrassing performance (complete with lack of retribution for running Ryan Miller) in a 6-2 loss to the Bruins on November 12 was the turning point of the season. The team simply has not been the same since that moment, although injuries have been a contributing factor as well. I will not elaborate more on this topic as it has already been beat to death enough as it is. Instead, I intend to offer a cure for your Sabres woes that involves watchable hockey.

What Would Einstein Call This?

What would Albert Einstein say about the Sabres this season? He would likely being by asking who they were and why we brought him back from the dead, but shortly thereafter he would would say that their season is his definition of insanity. For it was Einstein who said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that is the best way to describe the way things have been going for the Sabres for the past few months. Sabres’ fans are left wondering what it will take to break the insanity. Will it be tonight’s 4-2 loss to the bottom feeding Hurricanes (currently 14th place  in the Eastern Conference pending the Islanders game) that finally prompts change?

Amerks Christmas Gifts

Whether you choose to celebrate Christmas in a religious, secular (even with the addition of religion), or not at all, I think we can all agree that we enjoy reading pieces where writers give imaginary gifts to different people. Since today is Christmas, I thought I would give a few presents to the Amerks that even atheists such as myself can appreciate. After the jump I will give presents to both the current Amerks and those currently playing in Buffalo.

Don’t Blame Lindy For This ‘Ruff’ Stretch

I know I know Buffalo, this season hasn’t gone quite the way we wanted it to go. What I once thought was a slow star,t has now started to linger almost half way into the year. To make matters worse the injury bug has infested the Sabres new locker room and players can’t walk anywhere without stubbing their toe and landing themselves on the shelf for weeks at a time.

With 35 points and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, people around the city have been starting to call for people’s heads. Don’t be mad or upset at Lindy Ruff, this recent period of tough losses has less to do with Ruff then people think.

I’ve heard all the talk that Ruff’s time has run its course. I’ve heard people say that the team has stop responding to him and that his 13 year tenure as a coach in Buffalo should be over. The skeptics and doubters of Ruff look at his time with the Sabres and don’t see much. A few playoff appearances here and there but the big elephant in the room is that there is no Stanley Cup title in the resume.

I agree with some of the points that are floating around. I can’t dispute that he hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in 13 years but who has he actually had to coach in his career? When, before this year, has he been given the pieces by the front office to go after that holy grail. Besides the year with Briere and Drury who else have  we given Ruff to work with? Mike Grier? The other Niedermayer? Oh I’m sorry I’m forgetting about the stand out studs of Tim Connolly, and Ales Kotalik? All the elite defense we have given him like Craig Rivet, Toni Lydman and Jaroslav Spacek. Every year the Sabres NEVER go out after top of the line NHL talent and instead give Ruff, and the coaching staff, washed up players who have enough trouble tying their skates, let alone scoring. But what has Ruff still been able to do more years than not… still make the playoffs. With all the nobody players that have gotten dressed in Buffalo over the years, Ruff has continued to put out a competitive team. Do you think teams were mad or worried when Chris Gratton, Curtis Brown or Andrew Peters resigned with Buffalo?

But even the rag-tag bunch of hockey players, Lindy Ruff has kept his head above water somehow and made runs in the playoffs year after year. Also, you could make a case that Ruff would have a Stanley Cup in Buffalo if it wasn’t for a staph infection breaking out in the locker room during the Eastern Conference finals in 2006. But I digress

The point is, for the first time Terry Pegula rewarded Ruff with top of the line NHL talent. The Sabres went out and improved the team in a big way and even gave Ruff and extension to boot. Think about it, if Ruff can win with garbage he is going to be able to win with the new improvements. All of a sudden the Stanley Cup is a real possibility. But what happens… EVERYONE GETS HURT. Ruff isn’t coaching the new acquisitions he’s coaching the Rochester Amerks! How are you suppose to beat NHL talent with a minor league hockey team?

The Sabres injury report looks like a phone book: Myers, Boyes, Gerbe, Ennis, Miller, Leopold, Leino, Hecht, McCormick and Kaleta. Are you kidding me? And your going to blame the coach for why they are losing? Besides Kassian and Foligno had any Sabres fans heard of: Paul Szczechura, Brayden McCnab, TJ Brennan, Corey Tropp, Joe Finley or Derek Whitmore? Come on…

You have to let Ruff coach with a full, healthy line up for more than three weeks to see if he can get the job done! He’s won 500 games with Buffalo and he will win plenty more.

In Ruff I Trust…

{PS.. sorry for not posting for a while. I have been working on a new blog at: facetofetes.wordpress.com}

Circling the Drain: Goaltending

Things are looking bleak for the Sabres and their fans at this point in the season. After Saturday’s pathetic performance against an even more depleted Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sabres have again lost three more players to injuries. One of those players, Colin Stuart, was a call up to replace Ville Leino, who was injured in last Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. Tyler Ennis also re-injured his ankle and Thomas Vanek is listed as probable for Tuesday’s game against the Senators in Ottawa. Needless to say, the team is in dire straits as far as keeping their heads above water. But no matter how hard the Sabres have it, it is the Rochester Americans are in even more trouble with their depleted roster (3-5-2-0 in their last 10). Perhaps it is time for some changes in the players on the ice, but perhaps it is time for changes in the coaching staff.

Festivus Comes Early This Year For Sabres Fans

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, or Festivus if you happen to be Drew Stafford. And with the coming of Festivus comes the traditional  Airing of Grievances. Of course we should also anticipate Feats of Strength, but we can save that for another day. Today I intend to get the ball rolling on the Airing of Grievances by airing yours as well as mine. Some will be serious, and others will be on the lighter side. I hope you enjoy this early beginning to Festivus.

Andrej Sekera Week

A little over a week ago I wrote about fan hatred European players on the Sabres. As I wrote in that piece, I am tired of the hate directed at Andrej Sekera by many Sabres fans. Especially considering that he has been one of the more consistent defensemen on the team this season. Since I wrote that piece I have been pleased to see that there are Sabres fans who also do not like the hatred directed at Sekera. I therefore declare the week of November 27 to December 3 to be “Andrej Sekera Appreciation Week.”

One Night In Columbus-Game Reaction

Hi everyone. I missed you dearly. I hope you missed me too. Let be among the last to wish you Happy Thanksgiving, and first to wish you Happy Holidays. Please follow this motley crew on Twitter at our respective handles (mine is @DaveTRW).

Friday night, our beloved blue and gold played a roadie in Columbus, Ohio, a state where most people go to watch the Browns…er, I mean the Bengals…um, I meant the Cavaliers…oh, and the Blue Jackets are there as well. Hockey isn’t big in Ohio, and the Blue Jackets haven’t done much to improve that line of thinking. But then, one night in November, the Sabres came to town.