Sabres Fan Sues Team, Gets No Sympathy From Blogger

by Jes

When you go to a hockey game, you know there is a small risk that you *might* get injured. We have netting at arenas, but the puck can still find its way into the stands once in awhile.

Also, we know that the glass can shatter or break from time to time. So, why is it that people feel like they can go to an NHL arena and fell 100% assured that everything will be OK. Hell, the teams go to good lengths to warn the fans that shit happens once in awhile.

Thus, this douchebag gets no sympathy from me. Just more human greed.

A prominent local English professor and arts critic is suing the Buffalo Sabres over injuries he suffered during a playoff game last year when a collision between two players sent a section of Plexiglas crashing on top on him.

Bruce Jackson, a longtime professor at the University at Buffalo and denizen of the local arts scene, filed suit against the professional hockey team Wednesday in State Supreme Court.

He is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages for pain and suffering because he contends the May 2007 incident caused severe neck injuries that continue to limit his mobility.

"The Plexiglas there, I thought it was there to protect me, not to injure me," Jackson told The News today

boo hoo frickin hoo!!

Has glass of ANY kind ever been failproof? No.

When you sit behind the glass of any NHL arena, you must know there is a slight risk that something bad will happen. That comes with the territory.

The fact that this idiot seems oblivious to that fact just speaks to his own stupidity. Then again, English professors are stuck up snobs with little common sense to guide them through the day.

No, I'm not happy that he was injured, but he should have known better than to sit behind the glass if he wanted to live a life free of 'any' danger.

Of course, the US law system is so fux0red that this moron will probably rake the team for a few hundred G's... *sigh*

Perhaps he'll get hit by a milk truck.

Sabres Thrash Thrashers 10-1

by Jes

So, I'm checking out the boxscores from last night, as I was out and didn't see any NHL action last night.

Pretty standard stuff until I hit the Buffalo-Atlanta game

Buffalo 10
Atlanta 1

Is that right? Now, this was 6:30am and my eyes were a bit fuzzy. I figure I had a spare eye crusty blocking my vision and this wasn't right. Well, eye crusty was quickly wiped away, the Pet Shop boys were singing away in my headphones, and the 10 remained. Yoikes!

So, I loaded up the boxscore in anticipation and just imagined how Thrashers fans felt this morning after their team was pwned by a Sabres squad that hadn't won a game in its past 10. Since Greg is probably drowning himself in a case of Budvar, I had to look to Ben Wright over at The Blueland Blog.

There's nothing you can do to explain, justify or rationalize a debacle like last night's 10-1 loss in Buffalo. The Sabres played well and the Thrashers played about as badly as I've ever seen them play. Everyone that was on or behind the bench has to take some responsibility, with the possible exceptions of Nic Havelid, Tobias Enstrom and Colin Stuart. Stuart scored the lone goal for the Thrashers (short-handed) and finished the night even. Havelid and Enstrom, by some minor miracle, weren't on the ice for a any of Buffalo's seven even strength goals and they both finished +1. They were out there for Buffalo's first power play goal though- the one that came 19 seconds in the penalty.

It was about as ugly as a loss could be, but thankfully nobody got hurt and you can only give up two points in the standings. A loss is a loss and the bad ones don't count any differently than the close ones IF you can find a way to move on.

Exactly, IF the Thrashers can move on. It's just one game of 82 in the standings, but getting smoked so badly can either crush a team or motivate them not to suck like that ever again.

The South(l)East Division still remains tighter than a ... err... I can't think of anything NOT dirty ... moving on, then *ahem*

Carolina 50GP 50 PTS -10 Goal differential
Atlanta 49GP 49PTS -27(!) GD
Florida 48GP 46PTS -16GD
Washington 46GP 45PTS -12GD
Tampa Bay 47GP 41PTS -22GD

With Nylander out for about a month, the Caps will likely lose the momentum they were gaining. The smart money is still on the Hurricanes, as they have the most talent and don't seem as fragile as the boom/bost Thrashers.

It'll be close ...

The NHL's Winter Classic is a Grand Success!

by Jes

It's nice to see the NHL get some good news for a change, and the NHL's Winter Classic provided some much needed positive buzz with the American audience. For once, it wasn't some random incident of violence that got the screeching ravens off of their usual beer coolers and ranting about how Hockey is simply a bloodbath played by toothless goons.

No, the Winter Classic was treated with respect by NBC, and now the ratings are in ...

The NHL Winter Classic, broadcast New Year's Day on NBC, earned a 2.6 overnight rating and a 5 share (1-4:45 p.m. ET), the best overnight NHL regular season rating in more than a decade (Feb. 3, 1996 on Fox, six-game regional, 3.0/7). The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in the first U.S. outdoor game in NHL history. Twenty-year-old Sidney Crosby, the NHL's reigning MVP, scored the game-winning goal in a shootout.

The overnight rating also surpasses Wayne Gretzky's last game, which was broadcast on Fox (April 18, 1999, 2.5/6).

Top Ten Metered Markets:
1. Buffalo 38.2/58
2. Pittsburgh 17.7/30
3. Minneapolis 5.1/11
4. Denver 3.7/7
T5. Providence 3.5/7
T5. Las Vegas 3.5/6
7. St. Louis 3.3/5
8. Boston 3.2/6
9. Sacramento 2.9/6
T10. Richmond 2.8/5
T10. Hartford 2.8/5

Even up against college football games, the NHL still did well. As they say in Kazakhstan, "Niiice!"

Also, I order you to go and check out the photo gallery I cobbled together over at The NHL FanHouse, or you will be execute!

Jodie over at The Sidney Crosby Show will have her thoughts over the next 24-48 hours.

Slava Kozlov Reaches #1000, Makes Blogger Feel Old

by Jes

There are many things that make me feel older, such as seeing Salt N Pepa with their own reality show and realizing how long its been since they put out anything good, looking over the Vancouver Giants roster and seeing that I'm over a decade older than most of those kids, and certain NHL milestones.

You can add Slava "Biatch-a-slap" Kozlov reaching 1000 NHL games, which he achieved vs. his old buddy Sergei Fedorov and the Columbus Dinner Jackets.

I think it's very special. One thousand games, not everybody can make it, and I'm really happy I'm playing my 1,000th game against my old teammate Sergei Fedorov," Kozlov said. "We played a lot of years in Detroit together."

The stats:
1000 Games Played
315 Goals
416 Assists
731 Points
+129

Now, I know Kozzy has been in the league for ages, but when a player reaches 1000 games (over 12 full seasons worth of matches), it pretty much hits like you a lead hammer that "Damn, this guy has been around a long time.". When it's a guy like Kozlov, who kinda sneaks up on you, it makes you feel even older than you already do.

Now, I'll acknowledge Kozlov's skill and the playmaking abilities he brings to the Thrashers, but I'm not still not a big fan of Slava and his wonky evil eye.

I'll forever remember the trade to Buffalo, and the sulking Slava took to afterwards. Instead of utilizing the chance to break free of Fedorov's shadow, Kozlov simply sulked about being traded to a team that wasn't l33t.

Well, I don't hate him as much as some Sabres fans (the below yanked from a message board), but I'm not pleased with him for making me feel older.

Enjoy This rant

But let's face some facts: (1) Hasek allowed you to be traded here because you were useless to the Wings. (He was right.) (2) You completely cowered out. Instead of "manning up" and helping to turn the Sabres into something, you wanted to get away. (3) As a result, you play for a freaking hockey team IN ATLANTA. I don't care if they pull off the next seven Cups, you're still behind college football, baseball, pro football, college basketball, NASCAR, pro basketball, Democrat bashing, women's pro basketball, tennis, golf, water polo, tobacco spitting, Walmart shopping, rodeo, women's rodeo, Kozlov rodeo, frisbee golf, hacky-sack, and about every other sport or somewhat-organized activity down there in East Alabama. Here, if you had shown some sack, you'd be the toast of the town.

You could have stayed here and have become something. Instead, you pulled up your skirt and took what looked at the time to be the easy way out. And damn, you demanded it, didn't you? A trip to that hockey hotbed, Atlanta, Georgia. (Did they tell you then that this is their second team? Or were they too sick of your whining to care?) How were the playoffs last year? Oh, I forgot--you and the rest of the Atlanta squad "flamed out"--pun intended--and didn't make it. Hey, at least you were on the team, right? Not like that Russian Olympic team that you somehow didn't make for about the fourth try.

Derek Roy is Rich, Biatch!

by Jes

It's usually in a team's best interests to avoid salary arbitration. Not only do the players seem to win a majority of the cases, but the bitterness tends to linger with the player as they listen to their employer belittle and rip apart their game.

The Sabres paid big to ensure Derek Roy would not have his contract determined by a 3rd party, and signed the midget to a huge deal.

Derek Roy avoided salary arbitration Friday by agreeing to a US$24-million, six-year, contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

It's a hefty deal for a third-line centre coming off a career season in which he finished fifth on the Sabres with 63 points (21-42) in 75 games. He was also a plus-37, fifth-best among all NHL skaters.

The deal will pay him $4 million on average per season, a significant raise for Roy, who made $627,000 last year.

"Derek is a solid young player who will only continue to improve,'' general manager Darcy Regier said in a statement. ''He will play an increased role for our club, and we look forward to having such a quality player in our organization for many years to come."

I'm quite surprised on a couple of levels.

The length and width of the contract surprised me. I had never pictured Derek Roy as a $4mil/season player, nor did I expect the Sabres to tie themselves down so much in the wake of having to shell out for Vanek. Then, I realized that the Sabres must be tired of losing players, and want to lock down some of their young guns as long as possible

I had also never realized that Derek Roy was so effective last season. I had always known him a great 2-way 'role-player' type ever since his junior days, but he was so much more than that for the Sabres, and still has room to grow as a player. Sure, he'll have far less talent to work with this season, but Roy has a pretty good track record during his pro career.

Given all that has happened in the marketplace and to the Sabres, I think this is a deal that is good for them. The dollar amount is a tad high, but they might easily come out ahead if Roy continues to play as well as he did last season. They also ensure that they won't lose the guy any time in the near future, which is probably a large part in why they were willing to agree to $4mil/season.

.....