Buftex

I remember having to work late the night of that game, so I watched it after the fact, having no idea of the outcome. Avoiding hockey scores, even playoff games, is pretty easy in Texas. That was a long game...I woke up the whole house, around 2am screaming...it was, for me (a Celtics fan) right up there with Larry Bird stealing Isiah Thomas' inbound pass, to steal a playoff game, by 1 point, in the final 4 seconds of the 1987 NBA playoffs. I have seen a lot of great moments over the years, but those two, so sudden, and unexpected, really stand out for me. Moments where I litterally sprang to my feet, without any thought... Unfortunately, for me, from about 1991-1998 I wasn't really able to folow the Sabres all that well. They were fun years, I am sure...but before the days of Center Ice, it was nearly impossible to follow NHL hockey down where I am. So, while I remember the May-Day goal, and the Hannan goal, they didn't quite have the impact, though great moments I am sure.

Yeah, you are right. When I first heard about the trade (when I posted) there was no mention of the picks. The Sabres have accumualted a lot of 1st and 2nd round picks for the next two seasons. That is a good thing, although, for some reason, NHL draft picks don't seem to have the same impact as NFL draft picks. Or, moreover, not the immediate impact you might like to see. I really do like some of the young guys we have on this team. Hodgson, Ennis, Foligno, IMO, are all good building pieces. I just hope we all have enough patience for another re-build.

Mean Mary!

I would keep Lleno..the Sabres may have something in him. He just has to stay healthy...the guy is good with the puck, and was really the only forward, this season (in the breif time in the lineup) who was able to move the puck smoothly into the oppositions end. He is still pretty young...even though he had a rough first season, overall, the last 20-25 games last season, he played pretty well...all the others I would say can go. Unless Hecht gets traded today (not looking like it will happen) he isn't going anywhere. If somebody doesn't want him for a playoff run this year, as vetran depth, he is pretty useless. Stafford is definitely a guy who needs a change, and Sekera is just way too inconsistant...more bad than good this year. But, I suppose you can say that about pretty much everyone. Don't give up on Lleno just yet...

And Twitter, I have descerned, is just a little bit further beyond this lame.

Yeah...not happy about the trade...but I really don't know a lot about the guys they got in return...Larsson and Hackett. A back-up goaltender...has to make you wonder if anyone else is headed out in the next hour or two. This, for me, is one of the top two or three most exhilerating moments in Buffalo sports history...good luck Pommers.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEpr8moQBPs

Buddy..that sly old codger...trying to pull a fast one on the city-slicker!

I could see any of those teams (except maybe Oakland or KC) taking Geno Smith in the first round, if they have a chance.

I checked...no "big news" yet...

Oh...that is a whole new level of awful.

Will be interesting if that was Millers' last game as a Sabre...one more start than Dom! If so, a great way to go out.

Thigpen isn't a Bill any more, so I guess I don't really care....but the legend of his suckiness seems way disproportionate to anything the guy actually did or didn't do, in his time in Buffalo. I am under no illusion that he is a great QB, but there aren't a lot of #2 oe #3 guys available who have as much experience. You people are nuts!

No, I didn't say Vanek was a soft player...but Lindy Ruff, IMO, made him tougher. He had soft tendancies early on. As recently as last season, Ruff and Vanek still seemed to be butting heads. I think a coach (Lindy in this instance) is wise to make somebody a captain who buys into whatever he is preaching. Though we don't get a ton of insider info on the inner-workings of the Sabres, most accounts I hear are that Pomminville is a vocal leader in the locker room. And, he was one of Lindy's guys, so the choice to make him captain was obvious. Vanek, on the other hand (and this isn't a slam, I like Vanek a lot) was known to roll his eyes at Ruff and "tune him out". It would be a bad message to send the team to make him a captain. Not sure, but I get the sense that Vanek is kind of a moody guy. I also hear he is incredibly hard on himself...he may have outgrown this stuff, but at the time Ruff plugged Pomminville into that role, to me, it made complete sense. It appears that Pomminville or Vanek are on their way out (maybe both), so the point is moot. But I can understand why Ruff would have been hesitant to pull the "C" from a good soldier, and I can understand why Rolston would be hesitant to step in and make that change. It probably is not as big a deal in the locker room as it is to us fans. Keeping that in mind, Vanek would be alright as captain, but Ott, to me, has already established himself as a true leader...the fact that he is a new guy might even be a positive.

Yeah...I am not saying Pomminville is a HOFer, but the abuse he takes from fans is rediculous. They look at Plus/Minus ratings and think that tells the story...but you know what, when you are on a team that always seems to struggle to score goals consistantly, is perennially outshot, most guys are going to have poor P/M ratings.

Branch is listed as a #2 on a list of 'Big Men Bargains" on something I read a week or so ago.

Right! Part of what makes them such a monumental disappointment. I mean who would have imagined that you could add one of the upper tier defensive linemen in an off-season, and have your offense be worse than the year before?

Not sure if I agree with that. It is pretty well known, particularly early on, that Ruff and Vanek had a pretty contentious relationship. It might have improved some the last season or two (might have), but Ruff wouldn't have had much credibiltiy if he annointed a guy as "C"aptain, if they were constantly butting heads. I happen to think Pomminville is a really good hockey player, but I will agree, he may not have the "fire in the belly" that you normally associate with an NHL team captain. When I think captain, Ott seems the obvious guy right now, like Mike Foligno and Mike Peca beofore them. But, I remember a time, way back, when HOFer Gilbert Perreault was the Sabres team captain, and many Sabres fans had issues with that too. Like Pomminville, Perreault was considered too mild mannered by some, to be wearing a "C" as absurd as that sounds.

He has been a very solid interior lineman in the NFL, if not spectacular. I know some Seahawks fans will be disappointed to see him sign elsewhere. What I like best about his stat line, in 7 years in the NFL, he has played in 15 or 16 games each season....except his second, in Arizona where he only saw action in 4 games. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/10477/alan-branch

Okay...they are "blowing it up" so to speak. Darcy did a nice job of getting something for "nothing" in the Leopold and Regher trades...I have a feeling Pomminville will be gone before the trade deadline. I know, he obviously has his detractors, but I think some of you are underestimating his trade value. Check out the comments in this article...Pomminville may seem like a soft, underachiever to some Sabres fans, but others (fans) around the league see him as a player to covet. I am not opposed to trading him at all, but Darcy needs to get something tangible for him. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=419629

This article gives me a tiny bit of hope for Buffalo Bill Kevin Kolb...good read from Bucky Brooks: http://www.nfl.com/n...s-buffalo-bills Yeah, not a bad consolation prize, in retrospect. Unfortunately, the show was at the Aud...but a good time was still had. The only rock shows I have ever been to, at Kleinhans was the Dylan "holy roller" tour (people walked out as he preached, and yelled things...I still thought he was great!) and Blondie (Debbie Harry was the ****, for me, at 14!)...great sound...I remember my older sister going to see the Kinks at Kleinhans a few years earlier.

Bills...by a mile. I love both teams, and while neither have had true success (in my lifetime), this is, honestly, the first year I can remember losing all hope in the Sabres pretty early on (yeah, I am dumb and gullable when it comes to my teams), but true hope rode out of town on a bus for me, as far as the Bills are concerned, about 4 years ago...I went from being a polly-ana to a sour puss...Bills by a mile. Given the Sabres ownership, I can still fathom a scenario where they can be an elite team next year...with the Bills, I feel like I am just biding my time, flying my fan flag, waiting for new ownership to take over..that is a sad place to be. Sadly, as I have gotten older, my love of sports has actually gotten a bit stronger, more like it was when I was younger...I rely on them to get me through long days, broke weeks...I will watch every Bills game, nearly every Sabres game....but right now, I am numb to the results, unless they win. Fortunately for me, I am a Celtics fan too....they aren't winning a ring this year, or next...but I am always proud of their effort in big games...I like that feeling. So, the Celtics are getting me through these dark times....

I am not sure about that...Fitz could hit guys who were wide open, about 66% of the time...he just didn't have guys with breakaway speed that Kolb had in Philly and, to a degree, Arizona.

My Sr prom date stiffed me, and went with somebody else who asked her after me....I went to see the Kinks instead!

Trying to get excited! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9sOAz_MVg

"He had a rifle...oh what a riffle..." Very subtle!