These Leafs fans sitting below my pressbox perch were chanting “over-ra-ted” early in the 3rd period, but they could only watch in stunned disbelief as Stafford scores to give the Sabres the lead, and bedlam ensues in the arena.

In a year of electric and great moments, this game will rank right up there among the all time best Buffalo games of the regular season.

The Sabres fell behind 4-1 early in the 3rd period, the 4000 or so Leafs fans in the building were savoring the moment, drowning out the stunned Sabres faithful with chants of “Go Leafs Go”, “over-ra-ted” and taunting Ryan Miller.

But then the comeback… Thomas Vanek, scoring his second of the night to bring it within two, then drew a penalty which resulted in a Buffalo power play goal to bring it to 4-3. Soon after Jason Pominville broke in on the Toronto goal, burying a wrist shot to tie the game, and before the delirious crowd could even settle down, Drew Stafford scored 20 seconds later, and just like that, Buffalo led 5-4, with 6 minutes left in the game.

Incredibly, as lethargically as the Sabres played early on, being outshot at one point 27-9, they continued to pour it on once they got the lead, and could easily have made it 7 or even 8-4. Toronto pulled the goalie, but Buffalo made enough defensive plays to thwart the Leafs, and Sundin’s one timer with 13 seconds left misfired. In a blink of an eye, the game was over, and the Sabres had stolen themselves 2 points, and in doing so, recaptured the “never say die” mojo which was their hallmark in the first month of the season.

Best of all, the Sabres fans got their mojo back… the atmosphere in the arena was electric, and when the comeback was on, it was as loud as I have heard it all season. And just in time to get the fans in playoff mode.

The walk up Washington, on a balmy clear early spring Buffalo night, was great. Horns were honking, people were chanting and cheering. And devastated Leafs fans out on the street could only ponder their team and their crumbling season.

The rematch is on at the ACC in Toronto tomorrow at 7… a Sabres win will, in my opinion, put the final dagger in Toronto’s heart for the 2006-07 season. How sweet would that be!

Appearing in today’s Newsday is this report that has the proposed new stadium in the Meadowlands now estimated at costing$1.6 billion, and that number is seemingly climbing by the day.

Now the NFL owners will have to vote on whether to expand the borrowing capacity for the project. If owners nix the deal, both the Jets and the Giants might have to return to the drawing board on their stadium plans.

So it’s the Sabres and the Leafs tonight, and just in time to put a jump in the stands. The crowds were dead on that last homestand, and getting arrogant Leafsfan into the building might be just the tonic we need to get Buffalo fans into playoff mode.

The team had a great morning skate, both Connolly and Paille were on the ice, with Paille wearing the red “no contact jersey”. Lindy Ruff said that the next step was to get Connolly on the ice for back to back practices. At this point the concussion really isn’t the issue - it’s recovering from his recent injury and getting into top shape.

For Toronto, it is clearly desperation time - last night the worst possible outcome of all games happened to them, with Montreal, New York Islanders, Carolina and Tampa Bay all getting wins. Come this morning they are back in 11th place. Time is running out and they are looking up at a lot of teams. “I know the feeling” said Lindy. “When I was an assistant in Florida we twice missed the playoffs by one point and then you think of that one bad bounce or that one poor night and how it cost you.”

On the way out the door I ran into Leafs forward Michael Peca (I do service at the Peca residence in my full time business so that’s how I know him). A big grin and “Hi Andrew!” from Michael, and he was walking normally and seemingly no ill effects from his broken leg. “Ready to be out there in time for the playoffs?” I asked. “Knock on wood” was the reply.

One more odd story - I think Leafs coach Paul Maurice is losing it. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweats during the Sabres ice time, popped out to sit in the stands for a bit, then I spotted him just going up and down the hall, peering into rooms and broom closets and stuff. It didn’t seem like he was looking for anything in particular, just exploring.

Faceoff at 8:05PM. I am covering tonight. Can’t wait!

Back in late 2005, we were saddened to hear of this story regarding James Dungy, the 18 year old son of NFL coach Tony Dungy. Why would such a fine young man abruptly kill himself? It was sad, it was tragic, and there seemingly were no answers.

But knowing Coach Dungy and his constant religious pontificating, my gut told me that his son was hiding a deep secret. My instinct told me James was gay, and if you understand the parallel universe that Christians operate in, sometimes death might be preferable to the *insert shriek here* horror of being gay.

Now my instincts are being reconfimed as I read this report in the Indianapolis Star, as Dungy was the keynote speaker at a banquet the other night for some nut group called the “Indiana Family Institute”. This organization is apparently fighting to adopt legislation to ban same-sex marriage in Indiana and also rescind hard won equal rights initiatives in the state.

“IFI is saying what the Lord says,” Dungy said. “You can take that and make your decision on which way you want to be. I’m on the Lord’s side.”

So tell us, Coach Dungy, when exactly did you and God have this conversation?

I used to admire and respect Tony Dungy. Suffice to say that is over.

So why do we care?

Well, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals are currently known as the Wichita Wranglers, and are one of the three minor league baseball teams owned by Buffalo based Rich Baseball, also owners of the Buffalo Bisons.

Rich Baseball announced last year that they were breaking their lease at Lawrence Dumont Stadium and leaving Wichita, and news from that region indicates that things are just dandy - fans are buying tickets and they are racing to have their new ballpark in Springdale ready in time for the 2008 season.

News out of Minneapolis today is that plans for their new ballpark are back on track. According to this article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, team officials feel confident enough that condemnation proceedings will proceed positively in the downtown Warehouse District behind the Target Center.

The Twins plan to formally unveil ballpark renderings on April 5. The stadium is scheduled to open in time for the 2010 season.

Making front page news in today’s Buffalo News confirms what has long been expected - Sabres playoff tickets are sold out and there will be NO single ticket sale to the general public for rounds one and two.

Some of the more salient points of the article:

*90% of this year’s season ticket holders have renewed their seats for next season.

*98.5% of season ticket holders have exercised their option to purchase playoff tickets.

*The team might drop the mini pack product next year in favor of full season tickets. The cap will be set at 14,800 tickets. Current mini pack holders would have the option to upgrade to full season tickets, then current season ticket holders could buy additional season tickets. After that, the team will turn to their waiting list, reportedly containing 2000 names.

*Only 10% of season ticket holders requesting additional playoff tickets were successful in getting tickets.

I have mixed thoughts about all of this.

First of all, I am thrilled that the Sabres have developed this demand for their product. Nothing is better than sellouts and packed houses to showcase the health of a franchise. We have been season ticket holders since the early 90s - first in sec 14 in the Upper Blues at the Aud, and now in sec 113 at HSBC Arena. We have numerous shareholders in our group, and have fully taken advantage of the perks and discounts and superior customer attention that the Sabres have given to their season ticket holders.

Something is fishy though, regarding filling requests for playoff additionals on a “first come first served basis”. Curiously, my brother Taras got his “sorry” letter from the Sabres today, saying he would not be able to purchase additionals. The day the 2007-08 renewal and playoff order form hit the mailbox, we filled out all the paperwork and HAND DELIVERED all the forms to HSBC Arena later that afternoon. I personally handed our renewals over to Andrea Keane at account services.

I find it hard to believe that orders for 1500 additional playoff tickets were accepted and time stamped before my order hit their desk.

That being said, I am in no way mad at the Sabres about being shut out for additionals. I answer to our shareholders, and we will just have to make do with fewer tickets. Furthermore, while as a season ticket holder it was nice having the perk of first dibs on additionals for so long, I believe it is a policy that should now be eliminated.

Totally shutting out the single ticket buyer for a chance to buy playoff tickets is patently unfair. Since only 10% of additionals orders could be filled, then there should now be NO ADDITIONALS. The season ticket holder already gets a HUGE bargain pricewise (our tickets in 113 run $29 and $40 for the first two rounds - face is $150)

My idea - Put those 1500 tickets onsale to the public - but not via phone or the internet or satellite locations. Have a public sale only at HSBC Arena, limit to 2-4 per customer, pass out wristbands, let the REAL Sabres fans cue up to buy seats, shutting out the opportunists and scalpers. There is something cool and special about getting everyone together at one location to have a chance to buy tickets… almost a community party. At Duke University, they set up a neighborhood called “Krzyzewskiville” outside Cameron Indoor Stadium, and students actually pitch tents there waiting for basketball tickets to go onsale.

I am also sympathetic, because in our USRT travels we have come up against the same dilemma - wanting a chance to get into a building and finding there were NO single ticket sales — Green Bay Packers, Ohio State Buckeyes, New York Giants to name a few. We had to get in via back door channels each time.

For this Sabres front office, these are heady times and they are sailing in uncharted territories… hopefully their policies will be tweaked and adjusted to reflect public opinion and demand as they move forward. And as a long time season ticket holder of the Sabres, I tip my hat to them. They have always treated me as a cherished and valued customer, and it is a relationship which I value highly.

More on this story from Mark at Bfloblog.

Here’s a name that will become better known in Buffalo real soon… the Bisons today announced that Ben Wagner has been named the new “Voice of the Bisons” for the 2007 season. He is the third person to hold that post in the Bisons modern era, replacing Jim Rosenhaus and before that Pete Weber.

Wagner most recently was the play-by-play announcer with the single-A Lakewood Blue Claws, where he also was in charge of public relations.

With all the excitement and activities surrounding the NCAA tournament, we haven’t posted an update on the Buffalo Sabres. Last we wrote, the Sabres had concluded a disastrous homsetand, going 0-3 with no points.

Turns out the time on the road was just what the team needed, but it could have been a completely different outcome had the team not roared back against Pittsburgh last Tuesday.

Down 4-2 and time running out, the Sabres got two late goals, including the tying goal by Chris Drury with mere seconds remianing. Buffalo eventually lost in a shootout, but considering the emotion in the buidling, where earlier in the day it was learned that the Penguins were staying put, it was a huge point.

From there, down to Florida, and the Sabres beat both the Panthers and the Lightning, with Ty Conklin and Ryan Miller both playing stellar games in goal. It was great watching the wide open style of play between Buffalo and Tampa Bay, the type of game that’s fun to watch and where Buffalo excels.

Buffalo never led today in Atlanta, and as the game wore on the team seemed to run out of gas. Three games in three cities in 66 hours would tend to do that to any team. But an OT loss still means a point, and 6 out of 8 points makes for a good road trip.

The team has mathematically clinched a playoff spot, and are within striking distance of mathemetically finishing no worse than 5th. Now we need to cheer against New Jersey and Pittsburgh, and especially Ottawa in the points standings. Shag these three off and first seed in the conference is ours!

The team comes home Wednesday vs the all of a sudden hot Washington Capitals, and then Friday Leafsnation comes to Buffalo to cheer on Toronto. Pete’s covering Wed; I’ll be there Friday.

Left- Mike Casiano, Right - Gary Herman

OK, maybe Gary Herman and Mike Casiano aren’t technically “media folk”, but they are good friends and integral parts of the USRT lore, and since they made it to Buffalo last weekend for the Sabres/Devils game, we are pleased to showcase these two guys this week.

When the USRT hit the finish line in late 2002, we were feted with a great deal of media attention on the national stage. Gary and Mike caught the news somewhere, and quickly emailed us… “Not so fast!” they said. “We too have traveled the same path. We have been to every sporting venue as well.”

We met up, compared notes, and indeed they have made the sacrifice and pain and joy to go all across the country. But they take it a step further… both of these guys live in New York City, and in close proximity to major league and minor league teams of all sorts. So they go to games every day… yes every day they are at a sporting event, even major holidays. Last year The King tallied up over 400 games attended. Do the math that’s more than one a day!

Our travel plans sometime overlap, so it’s always good reconnecting with the guys, updating what’s going on in the sports travel and sports venue departments, and assisting each other in our mutual roadtripping efforts.

They’re good guys… a little crazy maybe. But when it comes to sports road trips and attending games, yeah we might call ourselves “Ultimate”, but Mike is the only one truly worthy of the title, “The King”. We bow in deference!

Sigh…..

The anticipation of an NCAA Subregional coming to your town builds for weeks, months, even years. Then the time comes, fans have a blast, wild times ensue on and off the court…then it’s all over before you know it and fans are left thinking along the lines of “three years til the next one….”. Count me in with that line of thinking.

Saturday’s doubleheader was another classic day of hoops with game one featuring ACC power Maryland versus midmajor darling Butler. Butler’s slow paced style of play was a throwback to another era from the days before the existence of a shot clock.

How many times did Butler toss the ball around spending a minimum of 25 seconds before calmly, and I do stress that word, putting up a good shot. Many teams constantly panic when faced with taking a shot in the dying seconds of the shot clock. Not these guys…I could almost see Butler coach Lickliter playing the role of Norman Dale in “Hoosiers” telling his players: “I want FOUR passes before any shot!!! FOUR PASSES!!”

I don’t know what it was about Maryland that I didn’t like. Were they the anti-Butler because Butler’s skills were that good, or was it just that the Terps were’nt that sound in general and only had the advantage in talent. Either way, Butler managed to hold off the Terps to go to their second sweet 16 in five seasons.

Game two featured Cinderella VCU against Big East powerhouse Pitt….Pitt’s inside game v. VCU’s guardplay. For the first thirty minutes it was all Pitt as they held a commanding double digit lead….then VCU put on the full court press….and god did things change….

Pitt was incapable of handling the pressure committing turnover after turnover while the Rams closed the gap, and with it the gap narrowed and the crowd began to buzz.
By the time the game was knotted, HSBC Arena had become Richmond North..booing lustily over the lame foul call in the dying seconds of regulation(justice was served when Pitt missed both free throws).

But like Ohio St./Xavier, the extra frame gave the favorite new life and Pitt would go on to win and reach the sweet 16.

For fans in the building that night and on Thursday, it was money well spent and a time well spent. Thanks to the eight clubs and their fans for livening up our city for a weekend…

1093 days(give or take a couple) till it happens again here…yes I’m counting.

History would not be made on this night.

There would be no upset, not even a scare.

The eyes of a nation would not be focused on the United Center late in the second half.

In truth, it was just your basic 1 v. 16 (mis)matchup as the (much)taller and (far more)talented Kansas Jayhawks steamrolled the Purple Eagles in a game that was no longer in doubt after about the midway point of the first half. Kansas was not only the better club, but it looked and played the part of a power conference club that had been eliminated in the first round the past two years running by a 13 and a 14 seed and sure as hell wasn’t gonna have that happen again.

The score was tied at 12 then the Jayhawks opened that up to a ten point, then twenty point lead prior to halftime and the urge to switch to another game was on.

I caught a glimpse of Danny Manning on the bench for the Jayhawks. Apparently he’s serving in an assistant coach’s role or something. Perhaps that’s an omen for Kansas as he led, no wait, carried the Jayhawks on his back to the NCAA title in 1988. You just may see them do it this spring in Atlanta.

Niagara has nothing to bow their heads about regardless as they’ve come a long way from the difficulties of the early season with all of the suspensions to come back and play in the Big Dance. They’ve become the premier Big 4 program in recent years and well deserved.

Other notes….

For being such a knowledgeable hoops analyst, did Billy Packer spend more than thirty seconds looking at the scouting report for Niagara? Packer constantly harped on the notion that the Purple Eagles should play a slowdown game to beat Kansas. Maybe so, but Billy was probably clueless to the fact that the up tempo style of play is how Niagara does things. That’s inexcusable for being CBS’s top analyst and shows a lack of preparation that I’d expect from a Billy Jo Hobert before Packer.
Heh, heh, another reason not to like Packer….

Yep, an NCAA Subregional is about the best sporting event one can attend in their lifetime. I mean where else can one spend a day witnessing four games in one day spanning a twelve hour period of time and still leave the venue feeling as if they didn’t get enough?

This is my fourth subregional attended and third one in Buffalo and the action of yesterday may have been the best first round I’ve ever attended. You had your “mid major scares power club before fading” game (DAV/MAR), your “dull and boring yet competitive” game (BUT/OLD), your “complete mismatch high seed v low seed” game (PIT/WRI), and your “memorable upset” game (DUK/VIR).

It was a memorable outing, and cheers to Buffalo as they seemed to correct the crying need to feed its patrons during the between sessions break with food stands just across the street, at Dunn Tire Park and with the help of an army of local volunteers to aid out of town fans in finding refreshments and such to cure their hunger pangs. And props go to the cops for coming to their senses and putting off the sniffles for another day.

And by the way are you puzzled by the acroynms above identifying the teams? Yep, such is what it’s like to attempt to read the out of town scoreboard at the HSBC Arena. Unlike other difficulties from past NCAA events that have been tweaked and solved, this anomaly remains. The acronyms were difficult in ‘04, downright impossible during the ‘05 MAAC tournament(those who attended had to chuckle at the sight of scores of games featuring TEX against TEX and SOU vs. SOU). And this season fans were treated to the sight of EAS v. NOR…isn’t it obvious to anyone that that is the acronyms for Eastern Kentucky v. North Carolina? That BYU is actually BRI? UNC is really NOR?

Heck, headlines across America this morning tooted the horn of giant killer VCU, yet if that game was in any other building but ours that scoreboard would have said “VIR”. Can’t you hear those students now….V! I! R!! V! I! R!!

This really shouldn’t bug me, except that it has been an ongoing situation at the arena with no real attempt to fix despite numerous comments from media in the past. Perhaps with a brand new videoboard over center court/ice we’ll get some new out of town boards with acroynms that are universally understood(outside of said venue).

In other news, had we been the type to actually gamble on this type of thing then I would have collected quite a pile in going four for four in picking Thursday’s games. But since we’re playing “for entertainment purposes only”…snicker, snicker.

Little over an hour until the greatest upset in tournament history commences, and roughly 21 hours until tipoff downtown.

Check out this billboard along the Kensington Expressway, which was along the travel route for the Wright State Raiders from their headquarters hotel at the Holiday Inn-Airport.

Some very buxom revelers greeted our group at the door to Fat Bob’s as we made our way inside for barbecue and libations between the two sessions.

Check out the packed house of almost 19,000 fans. Many were on their feet cheering as the VCU celebration unfolds down on the court.

I had the time of my life.

What can be better than getting together with a group of good friends, a bunch of true sports guys, and sharing a full day of NCAA basketball? That was the case yesterday at HSBC Arena, as the sub-regionals came back to Buffalo for the first time since 2004.

Participating in our gang was myself and Peter; Peter’s brother and dad John Sr and John Jr; Our buddies Bill Zilliox and Chris Mach; and the Toronto group - Alan Bossin, Ephraim Fiksel and Harold Cares. We managed to organize some great club seats, got ourselves a dinner reservation at Fab Bob’s in Allentown for between sessions, Pete organized the pools. It was all good.

The highlight of the four games we saw, and making national headlines, was Duke’s upset loss at the hands of Virginia Commonwealth. Now granted, the Blue Devils aren’t the force they were when guys like Boozer, Duhon, Battier and Redick held sway. But they are still a force, and when you play them, you’re playing against a mystique.

It all came down to the final minute, and a sophomore guard for VCU named Eric Maynor was absolutely filthy, taking the ball down the court himself and nailing clutch buckets. When Duke tied it with 8 seconds left, Maynor waved off any thoughts of a time out, running down the court and hitting a 17 foot jumper with 1.8 seconds to go. The crowd went wild! And this time, Kryzooski didn’t have any horseshoes left up his ass. Final score VCU 79, Duke 77.

Off the court - Much of the problem from 2004 centered around the difficulty fans had finding restaurants, eateries, bars or other places to hang out between sessions. Well this time Buffalo was ready! Metro rail and shuttle busses were lined up outside the front door to ferry people throughout downtown. Many restauranteurs were promoting their establishments, and Organizing Committee volunteers were passing out maps and offering directions. We ended up taking the Metro rail to Allentown and enjoying dinner at Fat Bob’s on Virginia Place. Reservation for 11 and our table was waiting! And after dinner we just walked back to the arena… yeah it’s almost 2 miles but it was a nice day and we had the stamina and a chance to walk off some the big meal we had just enjoyed.

It was great seeing all the people on the streets of downtown Buffalo. Great but also sad. For a shining few days, we get to feel and experience what a bustling and electric city should feel like. Come Monday it will be back to silent echoes down the vehicle-less Main street, and tumbleweeds bouncing down the light rail tracks.

As the night wore on and the finale of the evening became more and more of a laugher (Pitt v Wright State), one by one the group bailed - first the Toronto guys, then John and John Jr (all had long rides to their comfy beds), then Billy Z. But Peter, Chris and I made it to the bitter end.

As we left the already much empty arena, we bid the security guy at the door a good night and said “see you tomorrow”. He replied “you mean Saturday”. Yes… but tomorrow is Saturday… the clock read 12:20 AM and it was Friday morning; we had been at the arena and around downtown for 13 hours.

And best of all, we do it all again Saturday - two games starting at 3:20PM; we should be out by 8PM and an evening of St. Patty’s Day revelry then awaits.

Yes, the time of my life!

“Why Not Winnipeg?”

This week’s Puck Stop. Check it out!