“The OHL in Niagara”

This week’s Puck Stop comes to you from St. Catharines, where we profile the Ontario Hockey League’s newest team, the Niagara Ice Dogs.

Check it out!

Let me be amongst the many to congratulate the Boston Red Sox on winning their second World Series title in four years. A big transformation its been going from “woe is us” to “Evil Empire Jr.” in the span of thirty six months.

But if there’s going to be one theme of the 2007 MLB postseason it was the lack of competition. I mean, your basic Bills/Cowboys or Bills/Redskins Super Bowl was a game of nail biting and mind blowing suspense compared to the show these teams put on this season.

Consider the results of the post season series:

Divisional Round:

Colorado 3, Philadelphia 0
Arizona 3, Chicago 0
Boston 3, California 0(I don’t care, they’ll always be California to me.)
Cleveland 3, New York 1

Unforgettable, wasn’t it? Quick, name a single moment from that round that sears into memory.

League Championships:

Colorado 4, Arizona 0…Maybe the Mets could have done better, couldn’t have done worse right?
Boston 4, Cleveland 3….By total default the only series worth holding anyone’s interest. Total score of games Five through Seven: Boston 30, Cleveland 5. Yep, suspenseful.

World Series…Boston 4, Colorado 0….seven series, five of them sweeps. I can’t wait to rush to the store to buy my commemorative “Major League Baseball postseason 2007″ DVD. I’d hate to be the writers/narrators for that one.

Readers of this space remember Chris Boyes from Wakefield, England, who just a few weeks ago visited Buffalo and saw his first Bills game in person.

Chris was in the building yesterday when the first NFL regular season game ever played outside of North America in history was staged in London’s spectacular new Wembley Stadium. Chris files this report and also sent along a few photos. We’d like to share his experience with our readers…

We left Wakefield at 9am yesterday and headed straight down the M1 Motorway towards London. Traffic was good and we parked a few miles north of London, on a housing estate, free of charge and right next to Stanmore tube station. This station is only 4 stops from Wembley so for anyone travelling down from the north to Wembley this makes for a good option.

The tube ride is only 10 minutes and the station at Wembley is only a couple of hundred yards away from the stadium. We arrived outside about 1PM.

To be honest the weather spoiled the day somewhat, especially outside the stadium before the game as most people were just trying to shelter under the stadium over hang and keep dry. The atmosphere was friendly though and everyone seemed upbeat and excited about a real NFL game coming to England. We spotted fans of every NFL team bar two, the guilty parties were Arizona and Jacksonville (well we didn’t see any).

Unlike America there was no tailgating going on although there was a large indoor tailgate party going on across the way in Wembley Arena for all those not able to get tickets for the actual game.

Once inside the stadium didn’t dissapoint, although i did think it looked a bit grey and dreary and could benefit from the sort of decor that i saw inside HSBC.

All the facilities (rest rooms, beer and food stalls were plentiful) and the prices whilst high weren’t as bad as i had been led to believe. The quailty of the food though was typical English football ground rubbish, warm but tasteless.

One thing i thought good was the time line photo boards which encircle the concourse high above the crowd, they show moments from classic games at Wembley in years gone by. I even saw Wolves on one of them from the 1974 league cup final victory against Manchester City (2-1).

Inside the seating bowl the scale of the stadium hits home, it’s far bigger and grander than the old Wembley and fans are a lot closer to the pitch now as well.

One thing i thought they should have done was close the roof, late in the game when the rain came down quite heavy it was somehow getting under neath the stand roof and showering the front section of seats where we were sitting. I have been to the millenium stadium in Cardiff and they can close that thing up in about 15 minutes, i’m not sure if Wembley is the same or not.

Overall though i was very impressed and hopefully so were the NFL, enough to want to come back, WITH THE BILLS I HOPE! (not a home game though, i’ll leave those for the real Buffalo fans and where they should be played, IN BUFFALO!).

Wembley’s main entrance from a distance with the signature arch atop the sparkling facility.

We love historical stuff at venues, and for English sports history not much can top winning the World Cup in ‘66 at Wembley. Here is a statue of ‘66 team captain Bobby Moore at a monument dedicated to that victory.

Lastly, a view of Wembley’s interior from the seat where Chris was in for yesterday’s game.

Buffalo’s HSBC Arena and Tampa’s St. Pete Times Forum have several big things in common… Both venues opened at the start of the 1996-97 hockey season; both were built on the edge of the downtown core; both were built close to the water; and both were built in the middle of challenged development areas screaming with potential.

But 11 years later, while Buffalo still fiddles with getting sites development ready, deciding what to do with the skyway, signing final agreements with Bass Pro and recruiting other retail outlets, here in Tampa it is a very different story.

In the past few years, “Channelside”, the neighborhood around the St. Pete Times Forum, has exploded into a burgeoening 24/7 live/work/play community. Two luxury hotels, a Marriott and Embassy Suites, tower right next to the arena. Bars and restaurants are occupying what used to be vacant space. Down the street “The Shops at Channelside” straddles the water with retail, restaurants and bistros. High rise and mid rise condominiums dot the skyline, either open or under construction. The signature Florida Aquarium glows in the night air. Beautiful streetscapes and a nice park lines the channel directly behind the rink.

As I walk out of HSBC Arena, onto the empty and windswept streets, look at the empty hulks of the Aud and Donovan, and reflect on the stupidity, the incompetence and the failure of what is collectively Western New York, it just makes me want to weep.

Here are some photos of the excitement that is Channelside in Tampa… Get a gander of how to develop a vibrant and exciting sports venue district…As you look at the pictures, be mindful that none of this existed ten years ago.

The Marriott right behind the arena

The Shops at Channelside, with cinemas, patio bars, restaurants, bistros, all densely packed in quaint narrow streets and hugging the channel.

The Teco trolley connects Channelside with the Ybor City Historic District, 2 miles to the northeast

Embassy Suites, just east of the arena

Another shot of the Shops at Channelside, looking towards the downtown skyline

Straight ahead is the Florida Aquarium. And check out the art deco parking ramp on the left. Yes Tim Tielman and Donny Osmonde, an above ground ramp in a historic district. Oh the horror, the horror!

The cool new scoreboard at the St. Pete Times Forum (I like ours better)

I drove through about 50 miles of pounding rain down I-4 from Orlando to Tampa, but I got here in one piece, and now getting ready to watch the Sabres try to make it two in a row against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

My first glimpse of the seating bowl here gave me a “wow factor” moment. The Lightning have replaced their dingy old scoreboard, and with a four sided big screened high tech model to boot. LED boards crown the top of the board, and in addition, they have finally extended the ribbon boards on the club level rim to a full 360 degrees, also adding side ribbon boards on the upper balcony rim. I don’t have my flash card reader with me, but will post pics tomorrow.

Also a “brush with greatness” moment. I am sitting in the dining room having my dinner and who sits down at the same table with me but none other than Scotty Bowman (along with a couple of his friends). He was very friendly and engaging and included me in their conversations about hockey and new arenas. It’s moments like these that make this media experience so amazingly extraordinary.

Pregame: OK first “pissed off” moment as Weatherchick from Bay News Nine is on the big screen, showing off the spectacular Sunday forecast in store for the Tampans (did I say Tampans??? HAH!)…. “and meanwhile in Buffalo, the high will struggle to get to 50 tomorrow, with low temperatures close to freezing…..brrrrrrrrrrr’ she cackles.

What’s your point honey? Yes it gets cold in Buffalo. But unlike you people, never in my life have I taped and plywooded my windows, or stored jugs of potable water and flashlights, or spent a night on the floor of some fire hall or evacuation center, or listened to the howl of winds and rain peeling my gutters and my roof away.

Anyways…

I ran into Jaro Spacek on the way in the door and he was in street clothes and on his cell phone. I made eye contact and tapped my shoulder. He looked towards me and said “Better”. But obviously he will be a scratch tonight. Michael Ryan is also a scratch so we will see Andrew Peters. Starting in goal will be Ryan Miller.

First Period

7:39 — Except for a Sabres power play, much of the play has been in the Buffalo end, with the Lightning controlling the tempo of the play. Still scoreless.

9:15 — Buffalo’s Andrew Peters and Tampa’s Andre Roy just dropped the gloves and had it out. The two Andrews pretty much dueled to a draw except Peters ended up on top. 5 minutes each for fighting.

20:00 — End one and we have ourselves a scoreless game. Buffalo has managed just 5 shots on goal and Tampa is playing the trap to near perfection. I’m about ready for a nap.

Got your text Chris Boyes, glad you’re tuning in here from the U.K….Scotty Bowman is the winningest coach in NHL history, pretty much one of the Gods of the sport. Check the link.

Second period

3:25 - Tampa Bay has just taken a 1-0 lead on a perfect feed pass from Vinnie Lecavalier to Vaclav Prospal who had the entire open net to shoot at.

4:45 — And just like that it’s 2-0 Tampa Bay. This time a giveaway leads to a goal by Michel Ouellet. The house is a rockin.

8:04 — TV timeout and just in time. The Sabres are a mess, stumbling all over each other and stupid giveaways. They are clearly not into this tonight.

9:30 — Sabres score!!! Maxim Afinogenov on a dandy tip in. It’s 2-1 Tampa and the Sabres have new life. My guess is 2500-3000 Sabres fans in the arena.

14:28 — the Sabres have just tied the score at 2 on a pretty shot from the point that was redirected and tipped in by Paul Gaustad. A power play goal.

20:00 — We’re through two here and it’s tied at 2. Much more entertaining period to watch. Shots on goal… TB 21, Buf 12.

Third period

Internet wifi has been kaput here but it seems to be working again. On a 5 on 3 power play Tampa has retaken the lead, a goal by Lecavalier and its 3-2 Bolts…under 11 to go.

13:13 — Narthan Paetsch of all people has just tied the game at 3!!! The guys are starting to put some shots up… a good sign. 6:47 to go.

14:35 — TV timeout. Attendance tonight 19,804. They can wedge in almost 21K into this place. Awesome and energetic crowd what a contrast from the tea and crumpets audience last night in Sunrise.

16:20 — Tampa Bay is about to go on the power play at this critical juncture. Buffalo has been playing with much more determination these past few shifts. Let’s see what happens.

17:04 — Tampa has just scored the go ahead goal on a one timer from the point but the goal has been disallowed because of a St. Louis bump on Miller… still tied at 3.

20:00 — A wild finish with Buffalo playing for the point. We’re heading to OH - VER - TIME!

Overtime

We’re halfway through and it’s been end to end. Pretty even play by both teams.

4:20 Buffalo WINS 4-3!!! Vanek to Paetsch its over!

Last night after the game I got the chance to talk a bit with Mike Weber, the Sabres’ newest defenseman who got called from Rochester after the dual injuries to Jaroslav Spacek and Dmitri Kalinin.

As it turns out, Spacek was unable to go last night and that meant that Weber got pressed into service, and played in his first NHL game against the Florida Panthers. “I didn’t know until warmups that I’d be skating. I was so excited” said Weber.

Weber is just 19 years old, and until recently was playing junior hockey in Windsor in the OHL. So what is it like getting the first taste of NHL action? “It is absolutely indescribable, the bigger arena, all the people. I thought I’d be nervous but actually I felt like I have been here forever.” Weber is a Pittsburgh native and admitted that his friends and family back home were already on alert, just in case he would be playing. “I didn’t have time to make calls but they are all watching.”

Coach Lindy Ruff gave praise to Weber in his postgame remarks. “He played well. We need some of his size and toughness in the lineup. We’ll see where it goes” said Ruff. Weber logged over ten minutes of ice time last night.

Should Spacek not be ready tonight, Weber will be in the lineup again tonight against Tampa Bay.

Greetings from warm and drizzly South Florida!

I’ve never live blogged during a game but thought tonight is as good a night as any to give it a try.

I drove 206 miles from I-drive in Orlando straight to the arena; I made the same journey last December and rolled into town into the teeth of rush hour traffic and the last 40 miles from West Palm Beach to Sunrise was murder. So this time I left an hour earlier, and there were no delays at all, and I got to the venue two hours beforehand. Credentials check in was no probs, grabbed the media chow, and now I got plenty of time to kill to the 7:35PM faceoff.

Pregame: The Sabres are reeling after three straight losses on the road, and the Panthers are riding a three game winning streak at home, so righting the ship is going to take some doing. While the event crew was doing the PA practice run, they announced that Thibault was getting the start in net tonight, but that is probably not right and Ryan Miller is expected to start. The other bit of news is that Jaroslav Spacek will not dress tonight, and that means that 19 year old prospect, 6-2, 205 lb Mike Weber will get his first NHL start tonight. He will wear #34. Dimitri Kalinin and Mike Ryan are the other scratches, so look for Andrew Peters on the ice.

First period: Josef Stumpel goes 5 hole on Ryan Miller and just like that it’s 1-0 Panthers. In case you didn’t hear too much cheering it’s because this building is half empty on a Friday night. Disgraceful.

7:53 - Ales Kotalik’s one timer on a two man advantage just tied the score 1-1. Judging from crowd noise I’d say about 500 Buffalo partisans in the house.

12:00 - During the media timeout the “Panther Girl” cheerleaders gathered in each end zone along with the mascots do do this jump dance routine. How come you never see cheerleaders clad in skimpy outfits in Montreal?

end 1 - Buffalo has had a tough time clearing the zone for the most of this period and this time it cost them as Florida gets the late goal. 2-1 Florida end 1st.

Second Period

The pressbox up here is dead and empty, and I asked one of the regulars up here if it is always like this. Apparently the local pubs have their “B” team here tonight… most of the writers away with the Dolphins..something about some football game at Wembley Stadium on Sunday?

13:07 - Ugh.. Vaneks gets stoned on a breakaway

End 2nd - no scoring this period. Mike Weber is getting a lot of ice time out there.

Third Period

First minute and Buffalo gets a penalty. Not a good way to start. Gotta kill this one off!

5:57— They just did a video review of a stop Miller made where he got shoved in the net.. No Goal! Didn’t look even close.
Official attendance 15842… the Bisons’ Mike Baloney must be in the building counting.

8:25— The Sabres tie it! A nifty pass to Jochen Hecht just to the left of the net and he buries it. Can the Sabres keep the momentum going?

11:12— The puck went into the Florida net off the goalies back… Video review time. Looks like Stafford batted the puck down with his stick… IT COUNTS!!!! Sab 3 Fla 2

12:36— Media time out, kiss cam time, and Buf gies on the power play… An insurance goal here would be sweet.

12:36 pt 2 — Kiss cam just showed two dudes in the stands wearing Sabres jerseys. Guys did not oblige, audience laughs. Memo to South Florida: without homos your entire society down here would collapse.

17:00 — Danny Paille just gave the Sabres a 4-2 lead shorthanded and looked like a philthy maniac..Great hustle! 4-2 and the crowd is heading for the exits.

19:00 and change… Down to the final seconds. Great third period effort and a great win. See you tomorrow night from Tampa!

OK OK it’s not exactly a sports story, but from time to time I chime in on downtown Buffalo development news, especially when it involves the neighborhoods around our sports venues.

Yesterday Savarino Construction announced that they were no longer planning to rehab the old Benlin Building on Perry and Mississippi into 36 loft condominiums. Instead they are going to go “mixed use”, still planning restaurant space on the ground floor, and office space on floors 3 through 5, and I hear Empire State Development Corporation will be the tenant for two of those floors. The second floor will remain saved for 9 residences, but they will now be apartments.

Of course, the Buffalo Rising crowd is cheering this on as some wonderful bold stroke for the city. Check the comment board in another day or two, and the nonsense there will devolve into arguments how the doors should not be painted eggshell white and how we need an IKEA. But my opinion is very simple - while I am glad to see rehab work at long last start on this magnificent structure, the final use of thie building is not a win for the neighborhood.

Office suites are fine and dandy, but at 5PM everyone shuts the lights off and books for the suburbs. Second, this is not some influx of new jobs into the city, just a shuffling of downtown tenants, leaving vacant space for lease elsewhere. Third, the dwarfed residential component again serves renters and transients, and not investors who want to buy into city living. The original plans for the building had a ground floor workout room and a rooftop patio and garden. Now it’s just nine apartments wedged in among offices. Blech!

I’ve been eyeballing downtown real estate for almost five years now, with the idea of moving back to the city core someday. Yes I’m knee deep into Cheektowaga politics, and it would be soooooooooo hard to walk away from all that (sarcasm intended). The fact of the matter is, downtown housing today caters to three markets - the luxury buyer (think Waterfront Village 350K and up way up), the luxury renter (think Bellesario), and the low income renter (think Holling). There is nothing to cater to the middle class buyer, who wants to spend 100-225K on cool digs in the center city. Cobblestone Lofts would have been the first project to cater to that niche. I am convinced they would have sold out in a week.

These plans were first unveiled and approved in 2005. My guess is that the developers re-crunched the numbers and found that they just weren’t viable. There has to be a reason that guys like Obletz and Termini rehab all these structures like the Webb, 210 Ellicott etc. and turn them into rentals. That’s where the money is.

*Sigh* So I sit here check in hand for the new place I want to buy, that cool and funky and trendy space that I am chomping at the bit to find. And my thoughts turn back to Cheektowaga, where I am in town government and now knee deep into an overhaul of the Town’s Master Plan. And I have been putting forth this idea - imagine the creation of a downtown Cheektowaga centered by the Galleria Mall and its new lifestyles center. Mid rise condos, office parks, trails, greenspace and micro parks, all densely packed and creating a vibrant and exciting “live work shop play” environment.

I’ve shared the concept with my partner Pete. His reply? “Ya think your good ideas are ever going to fly in Cheektowaga? Bwa-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!”

Did anybody really expect that this wouldn’t be resolved eventually?

TSN is reporting that the League and the Professional Lacrosse Players Association have struck a seven year labor deal.

For those of you sick and tired of ridiculous player salaries in sports these days, here are some eye popping numbers:

The $21,294 capped veteran salary and the $25,552 capped franchise player salary - each team can have a maximum of two franchise players - will increase five per cent next season, while the $6,880 rookie and $9,282 second-year maximum will increase by six per cent.

Interestingly the previously announced schedule is now out the window as some teams have released reserved arena dates after the season cancellation had been imposed. A new schedule should be released shortly.

Let’s go back to that one game playoff between San Diego and Colorado. Had the Padres hung on for those last three outs in the bottom of the 12th to beat the Rockies, and then followed their path, would games 3-4-5 be in jeopardy at Petco Park, given what is going on in California?

Anyways, here are our prognostications for the World Series which begins tonight, starting with Andrew’s takes and then mine.

ANDREW:
Starters - Beckett is the big game pitcher on the field. Adv: BOS
Offense - Entire lineup firing on all cylinders. Adv: BOS
Defense - Rockies get the edge. Adv: COL
Manager - Francona has the seasoning and playoff experience. Adv: BOS
Extra points - 21 out of 22 ain’t no fluke. Adv: COL

Prediction — Boston Red Sox in 6

PETER:

Starters - Sox have Beckett….and?? Rockies have Jeff Francis….and? No Wakefield…hmmm.
Relief- Sox need to avoid a major extra inning game so as not to use Gagne.
Offense - Sox have name players with numbers. Lemme introduce you to the Rockies and their very impressive numbers: Matt Halliday, Todd Hawpe, and Geoff Atkins all have at least 25 HRs and 110 RBIs, not to mention Troy Tulowitzki’s much ballyhooed rookie season…24-99-.291
Defense - c’mon….are you kidding? Not much gets by the Tulowitzki/Matsui anchored infield.
Extra points - 21 of 22……repeat, 21 of 22. And that doesn’t include winning two of three @ Fenway that included a beatdown of Beckett.

Prediction — Colorado in 6. The Sox can wait another eighty three years or so….

Some are calling it the “Pru Center”. Others “The Rock”. Nonetheless, the sparkling new home of the NHL New Jersey Devils raises the curtain this Saturday when the Devils play the Ottawa Senators.

The arena is located two blocks from Penn Station in downtown Newark, and TV will be the motif of the building. The building offers a panoramic picture window as its facade, flanked on either side by 72-foot-diameter glass cylinders ‘based on a building in Greece,’ according to tour guides. But the effect of the huge (three stories tall) arched window is somewhat offset by the 4,800-square-foot LED monitor hung in front of it, conveniently sliced into thin columns so folks inside aren’t entirely reduced to looking at the back of a TV set. And inside, as you walk through wide and often low-ceilinged spaces divvied up into ’sales points’ (like restaurants, a City Grill, the NJ Devils Team Store, bars — including a Belvedere Vodka Ice Lounge equipped with a bar made of real ice — and many other concessions, up to 150 in all), you see plasma flat-screen TVs everywhere.

This awesome article in the New Jersey Star-Ledger shows everything you need to know about the Pru Center, including maps and virtual scale models of the building.

The Ultimate Sports Road Trip will make the “official visit” to the Pru on Tuesday January 8 when the Buffalo Sabres play the Devils.

Dust off the plans and blueprints for the defunct New York Sports and Convention Center, proposed a few years back by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and build this sucker right here in Buffalo.

Imagine a world class retractable roof facility, located just east of the Cobblestone District towards the Larkin or the First Ward… a destination venue for Bills football, and doubling as a mid sized convention facility, theatre, and housing marquee restaurants and a sports muesum.

This is the answer… build it and our beloved team stays here forever. The time to begin the debate, discussion and funding options should be NOW, not when The Old Geezer dies.

Recent reports have stated that the Bills wish to play one preseason game and one regular season game at Toronto’s Rogers Centre beginning next season in 2008 running up through 2012.

Not coincidentally, the Bills lease with the county expires at the end of the 2012 season. With that in mind, I believe that the Bills time in Buffalo will expire at that moment. With the recent annoucement the Bills have finally come the conclusion that they will not be able to survive in the Buffalo/upstate NY region for the long term.

My thoughts on that: No kidding,(heavy sarcasm).

Harsh reality here folks, our region is dying, growing smaller while other metro areas continue to grow and surpass Buffalo in population and economic power. If past history is any indication this trend will continue.

So the Bills have followed the money by going up north, and maybe they should. They’ll be able to charge higher ticket prices to Joe Fan and make Giant Multinational Corporation shell out plenty more for the comfortable suites than they can at the Ralph.

You can also thank the mentality of the new guard of NFL owner for this as well. The gap between the large(New York, Dallas, Washington, New England, etc) and small markets(Buffalo, Jacksonville, Indianapolis) is getting larger concerning abilities to bring in revenue. Any big market owner who is seeing some of their money disappear through league wide revenue sharing is going to want to see to it that the smaller clubs do everything they can to bring in new revenue streams to help lighten their load.

So for them the idea of the Bills playing in forty year old stadium in a depressed economic area in which fortunes are only bound to get worse isn’t one they’re too fond of, to be certain.

Which is why I can only see one following options occuring:

1. Bills head north to Toronto for good. Although Rogers Centre cannot be a permanent home for them as the 50k or so capacity is way too small for NFL standards. However, considering the corporate base up North, and also reports that have Argo ownership already contemplating avenues to build an NFL venue I think something will be in place for such a possibilty by 2012.

Personally, of course this would stink. But I believe I could handle the loss of the team there. It only makes my attempt to see a Bills game:

a. A helluva lot more expensive.
b. A drive not unlike a Bills fan living in Rochester’s eastern suburbs already makes.

The name Toronto Bills would be hard to swallow, but in time nowhere near as devastating as…..

2. Bills answer the siren that is Los Angeles. The NFL wants a team in LA, maybe two. Maybe after close to twenty years after the Raiders/Rams left town the good folks out there will FINALLY get a stadium plan in place and the Bills will be the franchise to be the tenant.

Honestly, I still don’t see this as being very likely, take a look around all of California and notice that all three(SF, Oak, SD) venues were built in the sixties. Despite the Niners and Chargers longtime struggle for new venues there are no shovels in the ground for replacements coming anytime soon.

3. Buffalo builds new venue. Sorry, but I agree with Andrew that this is the only way that a long term solution for the Bills to remain here is viable. Retractable roof needed to draw fans in cold weather especially.

Who would pay for it? Who knows? A new place would probably cost over a half billion dollars and who in the private sector or what branch of government is going to shell that kind of dough for a venue only to be used ten times a season. Your guess is as good as mine.

Yes, I omitted the whole thing about “what happens when Ralph dies?/who will be the new owner?” because quite frankly that doesn’t look promising either. Any new owner is going to have to shell out close to 1 Billion $ for the Bills and if they have to build a new yard on their own will have to shell out hundreds of millions more. Any new owner(of local ties or otherwise) is going to have to think about how the hell this market with the lowest ticket prices in the NFL and reasonably priced premium seating is going to get them the return on their investment necessary so that they don’t take a financial bloodbath.

Hmmm….a place like Toronto or Los Angeles would certainly soften the blow of the purchase price/potential stadium costs, wouldn’t it? And of course then there would also be the Jerry Jones’ and Daniel Snyders of the NFL quietly persuading them to go where the money is for the sake of the league’s coffers.

I’m sorry but as much as I(as well as everyone else out there) don’t want it to happen, the endgame has begun. We have five more seasons of NFL football here in Buffalo, so go out and buy your tickets to the Ralph and cheer on the Bills.

While you still can.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

The Buffalo Sabres turned in one of their most listless and uninspired performances of the season, sleepwalking through three periods against the Columbus Blue Jackets and getting shutout for the first time since April of 2006.

Former Sabre Michael Peca scored the first Columbus goal, a pretty one timer in the slot on the backhand which came off a rebound, and then added an assist on Rick Nash’s goal several minutes later. About the biggest moment of the evening for the hometown faithful happened a few minutes earlier, when goalie Ryan Miller stopped Nash on a penalty shot.

Buffalo spent a good chunk of the third period in the penalty box, and got only 5 shots on net, unable to muster any kind of spark.

About the best news for me was that the PR department was distributing a full set of team media guides to any reporter who wanted them. Sweet! They come with this cool looking black cardboard cabinet like holder. The thing weighed a ton but gratefully Matthew Ondesko from Metro was parked right by the arena and he gave me a ride to my car after the game.

The Sabres now hit the road for five games over the next two weeks. Yours truly will be in Florida next week and I will be covering the games from Sunrise and Tampa next weekend. Who knows maybe I’ll even do some liveblogging.

We got an email a couple of weeks ago from our friend and fellow road tripper Kevin Jordan from London, Ontario. Kevin is a junior hockey enthusiast and hosts a site called the OHL Arena Guide which is an awesome online resource to all the venues in the Ontario Hockey League. And now he is expanding the site into the QMJHL.

Kevin notified us that he and his buddy Chris were going to see the Niagara Ice Dogs, the newest team in the OHL, and would we like to meet up with him. So why not! We circled the date on the calendar and made plans.

So here’s the poop on the Niagara Ice Dogs - the team was based in Mississauga until the Toronto St. Mike’s Majors decided to relocate out of Toronto and into the Hershey Centre in Missisauga. This left the Ice Dogs without a home venue and an owner, until the Burke family stepped in to buy the team and bring it to the Niagara Region. The team has taken up residence at the Gatorade Garden City Complex, more commonly known as Jack Gatecliff Arena.

With all the gleaming and spectacular arenas going up around the OHL, a visit to this arena is definitely an old school experience. They can shoe horn a bit over 3100 fans into the place, wood bench seating, a very narrow concourse above the seating bowl and a low roof makes this the most intimate of places. Most concessions and a nice team store are located surrounding the main lobby and staircase at one end zone. And keep in mind that the arena shares space with a junior B team and a second practice arena.

We spoke a bit with Denise Burke, the team President and she spoke very proudly of the organizational accomplishments. “We got a franchise moved, a venue set up and an organization established in a roughly three month period. So we like to pat ourselves on the back.” We got mixed answers from her on the team’s plans for a new arena, except an acknowledgement that something will have to be done evenutally.

Last night it was a packed house, and we mean packed… 3145 attendance, and the building was rocking, but the streaking Ice Dogs fell apart in the third period, succumbing to the London Knights 6-3.

Props to Jon Kursikowski of the Ice Dogs for arranging for the interview and the press creds. We will have a more thorough story on the team in a future Puck Stop column.

And all the best to Kevin and Chris…after this game they were heading up to Val D’or and Rouyn-Noranda in Quebec, about a 600 mile drive straight north then east, to catch a pair of games this weekend in the Q. We bid them farewell with a twinge of envy. Val D’or… Rouyn-Noranda… now that would be a “WTF are we doing here?” moment!