The New Jersey Devils’ new Prudential Center is set to open this fall, and all eyes are on Pittsburgh and what will become of the franchise’s fate as they grapple with a replacement for Mellon Arena. But it is Edmonton that might be the next NHL affiliate to unveil plans for a new building.

A couple days ago a consultant’s report was released indicating that A renovation of the 33 year old Rexall Place would cost between $225-$250 million.

But a day after the release of that report, Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel said he wants a bold new arena to be built downtown, as reported in this article in the Edmonton Journal. And today, the Edmonton Journal also reports that the Edmonton Northlands Corporation wants to be involved in the process.

Our USRT visit to Edmonton in 2001 was an extraordinary one - it was the site of our first radio interview ever, which we did as part of the Oilers’ post game show. The Oilers front office gave us a warm greeting during our stay, and we really enjoyed the entire Alberta experience. Is a return visit to Edmonton and Calgary in the cards for us? Let’s hope!

We first got to know Brian Wheeler back in 2003 when he came over to the Buffalo Sabres after an internship stint at One Bills Drive. Brian was then assigned as the Buffalo Bandits Media Relations guy (The National Lacrosse League Buffalo Bandits are owned by the Sabres). Of course, we were still in media diapers shlepping around for Sportsblast.

For Brian, this was his coming out party too, and handling the Bandits’ media duties, did a very capable job. Most importantly, he accommodated us with anything we ever needed, and gave us the same level of respect as he would to national sportswriters for SI or ESPN. Our involvement with the Bandits back then gave us invaluable experience in gathering a sports story, interviewing players and coaches, and conducting ourselves in a media environment.

Gratefully, Brian survived the staffing cuts at the Sabres during the NHL lockout, and after the Sabres came back on the ice he was given broad new duties as Web Content Coordinator, where he also serves as sort of an “in house” reporter for the teams’ websites. Check out the Sabres and the Bandits websites. They are polished and professional sites and Brian Wheeler’s imprints are all over them.

We see Brian at the morning skates and the games all the time. For us, it is a friendship and a professional association which we hold highly.

Kevin at bfloblog is right. Considering Mesi’s precarious health situation, we can breathe a sigh of relief that he emerged healthy.Baby Joe Mesi won his fight tonight against the latest homeless person or day laborer. This best analogy I could make about his undefeated streak would be like moving the Buffalo Sabres to the UHL and then winning the Colonial Cup year in and year out.At the Sabres game tonight, the PA guy announced Mesi’s win to the crowd… the reaction was just some scattered applause, and interestingly, a smattering of boos. Clearly, this circus has run its course here in WNY.We’ve hammered Mesi in the past in our columns. We wish Mesi well… he could do so much for this region as a community activist. He could have a bright career as a boxing commentator on ESPN or some other national media outlet. But until I see Mesi take on an equally qualified opponent, he will continue to earn my scorn and ridicule.

Did someone say that this game was gonna be a snore?

Does anybody out there still believe that the Sabres aren’t a physical club?

Plenty of pucks in the net and the latest edition of “Goalies Gone Wild” all taking place down at the arena tonight. The action was fast from the get go, but the tempers reached a boiling point to say the least when Chris Neil blindsided Chris Drury on the way to the net. The hit took Drury out of the game with a vicious cut to the head and following the whistle a free for all took place with multiple players in throwdowns….the main event being Biron v. Emery.

Heck, for a moment we were gonna see Ruff v. Murray….now that would’ve been a hoot.

Yes, I was thinking Shields v. Snow as well at that moment. Chalk up a W to Emery in that one, and pat on the back for him holding his own against Peters.

Vanek got two in 36 seconds…..if you’re wondering, the Sabres record is 10 seconds shared by Derek Plante and Danny Gare.

Sabres got to the shootout by holding off Ottawa on a power play(which had no business happening considering what the officials let go earlier in the OT)

Other key moments…Ryan Miller killing off a 5 on 3 fresh off of the bench after the scrums had Biron ejected……

Kaleta’s first game is in the books…dude looked a bit nervous and maybe a bit intimidated by his surroundings that night….

Ruff not divulging about Drury’s availability…sigh….another home game…another injury???

45 hours until faceoff in Ottawa Saturday, not that anyone is counting….I’m sure you’re not…..

The buzz at today’s morning skate at HSBC Arena all had to do with Patrick Kaleta, the newest callup to the big team. Kaleta will make his NHL debut tonight when the Sabres face the Ottawa Senators.

Kaleta has undoubtedly never been such a center of attention and has had to face the crush of media that he did today. For he is a WNY born and bred player, grew up cheering for his beloved Buffalo Sabres, and now gets to live every player’s dream -to suit up for his very own team.

Other than handling all the questions and not becoming awestruck, Kaleta’s other big task is coming up with enough tickets for all his family, friends and neighbors. “Most of my family already has season tickets, but I need about 60-75 more tickets. The team has some seats set aside for players, but it’s going to be a big bill for me.”

Coach Lindy Ruff has no qualms putting Kaleta out there against the likes of a Heatley or Spezza. “I have complete confidence in him” says Ruff. “Let’s see what he is made of.”

Kaleta’s debut should make for a big night at the arena tonight!

This was supposed to be the week that we were going to get our first glimpse of the schematics and exciting new drawings of the Minnesota Twins new ballpark. The stadium will be located in the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis, behind the Target Center, and is set to open for the 2010 season.

Only problem is, the owners of the land want more money. Lots more.

The Twins and their architects, HOK Sport, have postponed the unveiling show. No new date has been announced.

Off sports for a bit… I attended my first WNY Coalition for Progress meeting last night, which meant passing on all the Artvoice Mardi Gras doings downtown and a chance to tip a few. Peter was at the arena covering the Sabres game - yeah HE gets to see the Campbell/Umberger fight and Peters’ first goal of the season. I’m going Thursday and with my luck the game will be a snooze.

Anyways, I wanted to go for two reasons - first of all this group seems to be involving itself in all the right things for Buffalo; second, it gave me a chance to finally meet some people who I have only known via the internet so far.

So yeah, I finally met Alan Bedenko, aka Buffalo Pundit, who is one of the most amazing and energetic community activists and a growing media force in Buffalo. Alan won Artvoice’s “Best Blog” category in the 2006 Best Of competition and surely will be in the race for a back-to-back championship in ‘07.

Marc Odien of WNY Media Net was there as well filming the event, dots of paint on his jacket as he is working hard on his new headquarters opening soon in Allentown. EC Comptroller Mark Poloncarz and I chatted some, and I invited him to come to a future meeting of the Cheektowaga Democratic Committee (I’m the town party’s Vice Chair woo-hoo!) to address our group. EC Legislature Chairman Lynn Marinelli was the featured speaker, and has an amazing way of exuding boundless optimism about the County’s future. Deep down I look at her as a protector of the old guard, but it’s hard not to like her.

Making new friends with some extraordinary people… building the information network… cementing new contacts in the community… man oh man this blogging is fun!

Typical Sabres game….or maybe not.

A Philly team tries to bring back the “Broad Street Bullies” ethic to the new NHL…same ol’ result. A Sabres win.

Umberger tried to do some retribution on Campbell, the fisticuffs was a draw….wonder why it took until the third meeting for this to happen????

Andrew…freaking…Peters lit the lamp tonight. Let that one sink in. Adam Mair scored as well, let’s see if that combination strikes again in the same game….ever.

And oh yes, ANOTHER Sabre lost to long term injury as Daniel Paille is lost to a busted finger.

The optimist in me says: Good to see we are getting the injuries out of the way now before the postseason.

The pessimist says: at this rate come April there won’t be a lineup to put on the ice…anyone left in Rochester….Elmira….hello???

Still atop the East with 85 points, 5 over the Devils.

Leaves skunked by Bruins 3-0, Toronto is in the ninth spot in the East. Toronto: feel free to stay there or drop lower.

B-rate actress Bridget Moynahan is pregnant, and Tom Brady is the dad. Only problem is, the two have split up.Yet some corners of the media, fueled no doubt by the Feminazis and Harradins among them, are castigating Brady… that bad, bad evil athlete, just going around and getting women pregnant.So does anyone wish to question dear sweet Bridget and her morals and her scruples? After all, it does take two to tango.Meantime, Brady has moved on to a new interest, a gal named Gisele Bundchen. Gisele is a great gardener and housekeeper, enjoys poetry and mixes a delicious strawberry daiquiri. Oh, she models lingerie too? Betcha Brady never even noticed!

The New Jersey Devils plan to move into their new digs in downtown Newark in time for the 2007-08 season. But with seven months to go until the first puck drops, the building has yet to be fully enclosed. An article in today’s New York Post speculates that the arena might not be ready in time. Not to worry, replies Devil’s GM Lou Lamoriello, but then he goes on to admit that contingency plans are in place.

He is the in game host during Sabres games at HSBC Arena. During media breaks, he does the contests, kiss cams, welcomes special guests, all that kind of stuff.

And lately, the Sabres fans have been raining down “boos” on him.

What has triggered all this scorn is a mystery - it’s not like he went out and robbed a bank or murdered puppies or anything like that. He does a solid, if unspectacular job as the game host and his love for the Sabres comes across well. He is just a regular Buffalo guy. Would we really rather have some hot blond babe or some underwear model doing this job who is impassionate about the team?

Picholas’ appearances on the Jumbotron have become shorter and snappier to try and deflect the boos. C’mon Buffalo fans, Nicholas is one of US - let’s show the guy some love!

About a year ago in Artvoice we did a column called “Making Over HSBC Arena”, where we outlined a number of ideas for improving and upgrading our hockey venue.

An excerpt:
“Concession signage: The food items are pretty good, but those concession canopies are really hideous. New marquees, designed with bright colors, perhaps neon, would brighten up the food stands and add much to the concourses.”

And another:
“The “Adelphia” kiosk: Fess up! Were you one of the morons who stood in line to swipe your Adelphia Advantage Card to earn points for free merchandise? Yep, thought so. Time to pack up the screens, the monitors, dismantle the equipment and come up with a creative new use for this space.”

So weren’t we surprised to see all the new marquees and canopies on the concession stands…not the snazziest things you’ve ever laid your eyes on, but a marked improvement nonetheless. And a deli sandwich station has supplanted the old Adelphia kiosk space.

Hey Sabres front office - feel free to use any more of our suggestions as you see fit.

Surprise, surprise! Another player goes down….this time Ales Kotalik with a lower body injury….looks like Dr. Aquino is going to have his hands full over the next couple of weeks with the endless stream of Sabres headed into his office….what next….Lindy Ruff gets taken out by fallout from a check into the players bench?

Jochen Hecht drops the gloves! I haven’t been this surprised to see someone in a brawl since, well…..I got tackled from behind in the middle of a kickball game during recess in elementary school and started throwing haymakers.

Danny Briere lights the lamp….though the red light didn’t go on until after the period ended….his can’t miss shot of a wide open net seemingly missed with under a minute to go. But it was reviewed following the end of the period and was found to have crossed the goal line before Tim Thomas could get a stick on it. They were able to go back and count the goal because there hadn’t been another whistle after that until the period ended….still wondering why they couldn’t tack on the remaining fifty seconds or so onto the next period like they did earlier this season during a game when a glass panel needed to be repaired…..

The shoot out was a dandy, a true goaltenders duel as no one scored on either side until Petr Tenkrat slid one under Ryan Miller in the eighth go around….

Drew Stafford scores…..the kids are pitching in.

Hey….Andrew Ference!!! Didn’t I just see you here a week ago in a different jersey….thought so.

The Sabres have WiFied their pressbox, an amenity available to the press at all 30 NHL arenas.

And unlike its 29 peer venues, the Sabres have instituted a charge. Get this… a whopping $30 per each usage!!!

After a hue and cry from a lot of media outlets, and involvement from the higher ups at the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the team has now back pedaled. Yes, the WiFi will still be encrypted, but if you are on deadline and ask real nice they will give you a 24 hour password for free.

Says Sabres PR Director Mike Gilbert in a memo to the media : “Such usage may not be for improper purposes such, for example, internet gambling, illegal, adult-themed or other offensive materials, etc. Any violations of the foregoing policy will result in revocation of all WiFi Internet access privileges.”

DAMN! You mean I can’t play online poker and watch porn??? I mean, why ELSE would I want to attend Sabres games!

Huntington Park is the name of Columbus’ snazzy new ballpark, which will open in time for the 2009 season. Located right on Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District, the Columbus Clippers will be departing Cooper Stadium, the oldest ballpark in the International League.

That would then make Buffalo’s Dunn Tire Park the second oldest IL venue!

What bears watching here is that the New York Yankees have vacated Columbus after a long affiliation here. The Clippers have signed with the Washington Nationals for the next two seasons, and Buffalo is partnered up with Cleveland through 2008 as well.

That means that 2009 would bring a perfect storm for the City of Columbus… a new ballpark, and a possible Major League affiliation with the Cleveland Indians, who they probably covet.

Cleveland’s affiliation with the Buffalo Bisons has heralded an unprecedented run of success for our team. How hard will the Bisons work to keep them here? Sure will be interesting!