From what I see, they don’t have a web site, or a front office, or a marketing plan, or a press release, and this latest incarnation of minor league basketball in Buffalo looks like yet another train wreck waiting to happen.

But the Premier Basketball League has released their 2009 schedule, and the Buffalo Sharks, err… Dragons, ummm…. Stampede. Yeah, yeah that’s it, the Buffalo Stampede, will debut on January 3, 2009 at 8:00 PM, when they host the Wilmington Sea Dogs, presumably at Canisius College’s Koessler Center.

The entire PBL league schedule can be accessed here.

If there was a better way to sum this night up I have yet to think of one.

The inevitable loss came tonight at the arena as the hated Sens snapped a four game losing streak by putting a vicious 5-2 beatdown on the Sabres and really it wasn’t that close.

Coach seemed to have a hunch that this would be the day in practice between this and the recent Colorado game stating that “there was no pep” and realized that “we’d be getting in pretty tough”. All the while not making excuses for the loss.

Oh, yea….the game. The Sens blew this one open with three second period goals, all of them featuring at least one of playered in the feared first line of Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredsson and all three were on the scoresheet for two of them.

Buffalo had early opportunities to make of game of it, but a pair of power play opportunities went by the wayside, most notably Jason Pominville missing an open net. The breaks needed to fall for the Sabres on this night, and the opposite happened as Ottawa converted twice on the man advantage, one coming off a controversial unsportsmanlike conduct call against Maxim Afinogenov towards the end of the first stanza.

Lalime was in net and played like a backup should, making some good saves and letting in some softies, in particular the second goal. A decent effort, but overall the team was sluggish for chunks of the game.

Things to ponder….Didn’t this loss seem somewhat similar to the Bills loss at Arizona. You knew it was comng, but had no idea how bad it was going to be.

Antoine Vermette….quite possibly the only athlete in the major pro sports named Antoine and happens to be Caucasian. There was no deep research into that, just a hunch. Anyone else out there who knows of another feel free to hit us up on the blog.

Even with the loss, the Sabres are still on pace to get 127 points this season. How down can we be. On another note, the Sabres were the last team to lose a game in a non shootout fashion.

Hey, we’ve joined the Facebook craze and have a blog page of our own….hit us up sometime as we’ve just gotten underway with it.
-pjf

OK — I’m not going to bore everyone on the sports blogs network with excruciating minutiae about Cheektowaga politics.

In a nutshell, here it is — we had our biennial reorg last week, and our slate kicked some major ass. Our Chairman Frank Max won re-election with over 65% of the committee’s backing, and I was re-elected as Executive Vice Chair.

If I get too detailed, our Highway Superintendent will go whining to his stepmother and anyone else who will listen to him about how I am posting bad things about him on the internet. And Mary Holtz’ driver will be running around Town Hall like Paul Revere dissecting and ridiculing my latest post. So keep it short and keep it real.

Just as I predicted before the vote went down, I knew the al-Qaida forces would be carping and complaining that they lost their challenge only because committeepeople weren’t allowed to vote in secret. In today’s Buffalo News article, the insurgents embarrassed themselves yet again.

So that’s it… just wanted to share my news with my friends and associates across the network.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano on the dais with local elected leaders and representatives from USA Hockey.

The announcement that everyone knew was coming was made this afternoon at a packed news conference in the atrium of HSBC Arena - Buffalo will host the 2011 World Junior Championships right here. The dates of the tournament are December 26, 2010 through January 5, 2011. With the NCAA men’s basketball subregionals coming to Buffalo in March of 2010, the eyes of the sports world will be right here on our city that year, making 2010 a year to get excited about in Western New York.

Here are the particulars: Ten nations will participate in the event, showcasing the best under 20 players in the game. Of the 31 games that will be played, 14 of them will take place at the Dwyer Arena on the Niagara University campus, with the other 17 staged at HSBC Arena. A web site has been launched at www.buffaloworldjuniors.com with information on the event, including an online ticket order form for all session passes, which are priced from $493 - $1240 for all 31 events. Buffalo Sabres season ticket holders and those holding Blue and Gold Club membership will get priority ticket ordering status for their purchase.

Dave Ogrean, Executive Director for USA Hockey, praised Buffalo as a perfect host for an event of this magnitude, referring to the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, the 2003 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, and last New Year’s Winter Classic. “This is a city that has a great hockey tradition and a great sports tradition” said Ogrean.

Buffalo vied with Fargo, North Dakota and Minneapolis/St. Paul as the finalists to host the event. With North Dakota having held the event just three years ago, one would think that this was really between Buffalo and MSP all along. The host committee paid a visit to Buffalo in September to tour the area and visit the facilities.

So what tipped it in Buffalo’s favor? “It was a combination of factors.” was Orgeans reply. Ogrean along with other speakers repeatedly referred to the close proximity to Canada and the marketing potential so close to the border as strong selling points for Buffalo. One has to think that the Canada thing was huge in their thinking.

Both Sabres Managing Partner Larry Quinn and Congressman Brian Higgins offered up some tantalizing stats: an overall $20-million economic impact for our area; the equivalent of 3200 hotel rooms booked for the event; 300,000 fans from locally and across the world passing through the turnstiles.

I asked Quinn about the progress of redevelopment of the Inner Harbor. Will visitors coming for the NCAA’s in March and then this event in December see meaningful progress and construction on the vacant and soon to be vacant sites downtown, or will it be more of just empty lots and “coming soon” billboards? Quinn replied that the ECHDC has an aggressive timetable for redevelopment of the Aud and Donovan sites. “These buildings will be down by early part of next year, and we hope to begin construction of Bass Pro by later in 2009, with a target opening in time for the Christmas shopping season of 2010. This will tie right in to this event and this time frame.”

While not divulging figures, the Sabres admitted that they made significant financial guarantees to USA Hockey to lure the event here, while adding that no taxpayer funds at all are involved and that this commitment is solely born by Tom Golisano and the Sabres.

So another showcase event for Western New York and another home run hat trick for Larry Quinn and his crew. What a great two weeks it will be in downtown Buffalo when this events comes!

It won’t be the biggest in Major League Baseball.But the new scoreboard at Target Field in Minneapolis, set to open in 2010, will have all the bells and whistles of cutting edge HD technology, as the Twins announced this week.

My cool addition to this set up would have been a large Target logo, always an enticement for hitters in the batters box. Just a thought.

Media alert — just hit 10 minutes ago from Mike Gilbert at the Sabres

A press conference will take place this Monday at 2 PM in the HSBC Arena atrium.

Speakers will include Dave Ogrean and Jim Johannson from USA Hockey, NHL Commish Gary Bettman, and Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn from the Sabres.

World Championships - Coming to Buffalo!!! How cool is that?!

“D-Fence!”

This week’s Puck Stop. Check it out!

Sabres show up for half the game, give up their first power play goal all year and still win

Once again the Sabres found themselves in a game featuring a rested team versus a club that was playing its second game in consecutive nights. And like Saturday’s game in Atlanta, the team that seemed fresher and sharper raced out to a 2-0 lead.

Except the team that was fresher was the team on the back end of two games in two nights(Boston), and the sluggish group would be the guys in blue and gold. And just like Patrick Lalime efforts early in the Atlanta game it would take a stellar early effort from Ryan Miller to keep the Sabres from being run out of the arena early. The Sabres were outshot 14-2 at one point in the first. Even Jason Pominville admitted in the postgame that ”maybe we thought it would be a little easier” in reference to Boston’s schedule.

Dennis Wideman led off the Boston scoring with an unassisted goal in the first, and then Phil Kessel did what no other opposing player had done to the Sabres as he lit the lamp while on the power play. The Sabres still didn’t have much life in them at that point and wouldn’t until they got a goal with the man advantage as Clarke McArthur tipped in a shot from Craig Rivet. At that point the engines revved up as the Sabres and the venue came to life. Buffalo began to get their fair share of opportunities and were rewarded when Drew Stafford did his own imitation of Jason Pominvillle’s ’06 Ottawa series winning goal dekeing a defenseman and flying to the front of the net to deposit the game tying goal past Manny Fernandez with about fourteen minutes to go.

Miller continued to be stellar in net for Buffalo and the scoring would remain the same through the rest of regulation and overtime. And that’s where the NHL’s first star for the past week would step in Thomas Vanek would score the winning shootout goal in the fifth round and Miller would seal the deal in stopping Marc Savard.

The Sabres hit the road to places like Colorado and Minnesota before heading back home on Monday for a division game with the hated Senators.

The Boston Bruins are in town.

And who was on the ice this morning participating in the team skate? None other than Tim Connolly. Coach Lindy Ruff refused to put any time frame for Connolly’s possible return, however. “Good to get him back out. I’m not going to put any time frame on it. We’ll see how he reacts to skating and the skates will get tougher each day. Once we get him back in there it won’t be this play scenario or have him play a game here and a game there. We’ll get him healthy and get him back.”

Ruff gave the Bruins every bit of props. “I said yesterday they’re a tough team to play against. Good team speed. The play tough defensively they don’t give you a lot. With Bergeron back in the lineup they’ve added a superstar.”

Jaroslav Spacek was just one of the players using the word “pride”, especially in regards to the penalty scoreless streak which has now gone five games. “Confidence is growing with every game. Every shift.” said Spacek. Nobody wants to go out there to kill a penalty and they be the one that allowed the first goal. It will be a tough test against Boston.”

Seats are still available for this bronze priced game, both on the main level and in the 300s.

Pete will be in the building tonight for the 7:05PM start and will have the AV chair in the pressbox. I, meanwhile, will be at the Hearthstone Manor for the Cheektowaga Democratic Committee reorg, hopefully fending off the insurgency from al-Qaeda of Cheektowaga.

Does this run have 2006-07 written all over it? You remember, the magical run to start that year, when the Sabres went 10-0 to start the season and won every game in the month of October?

“It’s only four games, we’ve got a ways to go so let’s not get ahead of ourselves” laughed Jason Pominville.

The team came out smoking early and played a nearly flawless first period, with power play goals by Jaroslav Spacek and Clarke MacArthur. Ales Kotalik scored his first of two goals on the night on a pretty pass from Maxim Afinogenov, and by the end of one it was 3-0 Sabres.

Patrick Kaleta is quickly becoming the most hated player by the opposition, and tonight he did it again, going into turtle mode against Shane O’Brien and drawing a 4 minute power play. In the third period his luck ran out, as he was called on a dive which negated what should have been a power play. So was it a dive Patrick? “All I know is I was sprawled on the ice and next thing you know I’m getting the call. Some nights it happens others it doesn’t.” After the game Coach Lindy Ruff commented on Kaleta’s play… “Pat’s energy and hitting… I think our fourth line did very well today.”

Buffalo looked a bit ragged in the second period, trading goals with the Canucks and escaping with a 4-1 lead. Vancouver cut the lead to 4-2 in the third on a goal by (you remember him) Steve Bernier, who drew a huge chorus of boos when his name was announced. But then Ales Kotalik was fed a pass from Thomas Vanek in the corner and was left all alone on front of the Vancouver goal. His wrist shot into the net closed out the scoring at 5-2.

Speaking of fourth line, Andrew Peters and the Canuck’s Darcy Hordichuk had a heck of a fight on the first period, with Peters landing most of the blows and getting the “W”.

Here’s a great stat… the Sabres have yet to allow a power play goal this season, and are perfect on the PK. “We take a lot of pride in that” said Ruff. “It’s great for that unit and great for their confidence.”

Now the Sabres have to travel to Atlanta and play their own back to back set. What does the team need to do to maintain their focus and energy? Ruff replied, “We tried to balance the ice time tonight. We tried not to overextend anybody. We give a good amount of time to every line. We’ll have to talk about tomorrow to make sure we play smart. They (Atlanta) will have a lot of energy. It may take us a while, but it may not. I’ve seen games where we come right out of the chute just like that. But we definitely have to be smart. The one thing that gives the other team a big advantage is when you’re undisciplined and your legs aren’t moving and you’re starting to take penalties. That really fatigues a team.”

So the team heads to Phillips Arena for tomorrow night’s 7PM start against the Thrashers, and Atlanta has oft times been a house of horrors for the Sabres. “But the confidence is building in this room” said Jason Pominville. “We feel that we can beat anybody in this league, and tomorrow there is no reason we can’t keep this going. This is a different team than last year. We can all feel it.”

-The silver priced game was about 200 or so short of a sellout, with small yawning gaps of empty blue seats in the upper rows of sections 300 and 325.

-I got to meet national sportswriter Erik Brady from USA Today, who is a fellow Canisius High alum, graduating a few years ahead of me. My seatmate George Kuhn from Sports and Leisure set me up… I was sharing some Canisius stories early on in the evening and got to mention my former classmate Phil McConkey, who went on to play football in the NFL, then later unsuccessfully ran for Congress. So I am just standing up in the open space behind the pressbox during the first intermission, and Erik walks up to me and says “so how much money did you donate to the McConkey for Congress campaign?” I laughed my ass off.

-Speaking of press, it was great seeing everyone and reconnecting with the fellow media corps, many of who I haven’t seen since the last season ended. It’s really like a clubhouse up there, with some truly extraordinary people and some great friends I have made over the years. Matt Pearl and I hung out for two periods, and we got caught up on life, current events and politics. That lucky bastard got to attend the Democratic National Convention as a reporter, and I was riveted by all the stories he shared with me tonight of his adventures there.

-Lastly, got my copy of all the NHL media guides, which are all on CD-Rom this year. I went directly to the NHL Media Directory, and yes - for the first time Artvoice is listed among the Buffalo media corps with our names, emails and phone numbers. Yes, we have arrived!

The Vancouver Canucks are in town for one of their rare appearances at HSBC Arena, and the talk around practice and in the locker room afterwards was the great play of the defense. The team is off to a hot 3-0 start this season, and much of the credit goes to the blueliners, who have shut down the opposition scoring attacks. The Sabres have allowed only three goals so far in three games.

I talked with Toni Lydman, and he gave much of the credit to the addition of Craig Rivet and the return of Teppo Numminen to the lineup. “I get so much from Teppo just watching him play. You can learn so much from him.” Lydman said the quick start is still nothing to get too high about. “It’s only three games but it’s sure better than being 0 and 3″ Lydman replied. “We really played well down the stretch last season, and it’s better being where you want to be than climbing out.”

Both Lydman and Craig Rivet expect a fast up tempo game against the Canucks tonight. “We know that they are a good skating team and they work hard so we have to just work harder” said Lydman. Rivet added “This team has been on a roll and playing some solid hockey. We will be playing two of the best and smartest players in the Sedins. This team matches up real well against us and it should be a great game tonight.”

Coach Lindy Ruff was beaming about the performance of his special teams thus far, especially with Paul Gaustad, Jochen Hecht and sidelined by injuries. “we’ve got to give the players the nod for the desperation they’ve used. It’s been tough with injuries and the six and seven guys we’ve used have been good. But they’re feeding off each other. It’s fun when special teams get on a roll.”

Buffalo is 0-5-3 against Vancouver in their last eight games.

Puck drops at 7:30 PM tonight, and I will have the AV chair in the pressbox. My eyeballs have yet to see a minute of hockey this regular season, as we were on the road to Indy for the first two games, and I had a long Zoning Board meeting Wed and didn’t catch a minute of the Rangers game. So for me, this is Opening Night. Yeah… I’m psyched!

-aak

Ch. 2’s Kevin O’Neill stopped by last week to film an interview about the Ultimate Sports Road Trip - checking out all the tchochkes and memorabilia collected from the trip, looking at ticket stubs and the story behind each of them. Kevin did a story on the USRT a few years back over at that other station… the one that nobody can watch anymore without rabbit ears and tin foil. He’s been a big fan of ours ever since.

The piece aired this morning on Daybreak and we think it might run again on their newscast this evening. So tune in at 5PM and check it out!

UPDATE — The story aired again tonight and it was a doozy, a piece over two and half minutes long and smack dab in the middle of their 6PM newscast. And they used footage from some of our previous appearances on their station.

We have to give HUGE props to Kevin O’Neill, and also to Channel 2, who have always been great supporters of the USRT. Back in 2000, we did our first media appearance ever on Sunday Sports Extra, when our main man Stu Boyar interviewed us at Dunn Tire Park. In January 2003, Mary Alice Demler had us in studio as a prequel to our big national appearance on The Today Show on NBC. And now this followup in 2008. Throw in the mix — Matt Pearl. No not because he ever covered a USRT story, but he’s such a cool guy we have to mention him. Besides, chicks dig him.

We are humbled by the attention. Thanks to all for your interest in the Ultimate Sports Road Trip!

Our snazzy embossed game tickets to the CFL Grey Cup game in Montreal arrived in the mail yesterday, and then it hit me… this trip is going to come up fast!

This is one roadie that Pete and I are really looking forward to. And check out the official Grey Cup web site. Looks like tons of events, parties, street celebrations and stuff going on all weekend around Montreal. It should be a kickass time!

-aak

Forbes Magazine has just published an article speculating on the 10 most likely franchises to move to greener pastures. And not to my surprise, the Buffalo Bills are on that list. In fact, the article ranks them third, behind the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Why am I not shocked? Because the dirty little secret here is not how rabid and passionate the fan base is, or how many tickets they sell, or how steeped in tradition the franchise is. It all has to do with how much revenue the team can generate via its stadium and the amenities a stadium has to offer.

Let’s face it - RWS falls woefully short in today’s day and age. And having just returned from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and having a chance to experience that magnificent facility, our ranking just continues to plummet.

This community needs to begin confronting the concept of a new stadium to replace RWS, and it needs to start doing this NOW.

Standing in the way of this? The Old Geezer himself that’s who. Perhaps he doesn’t want to deal with his own mortality, or in his la-la world he things that the stadium that bears his name is just fine for now, but the fact of the matter is it is not. RWS is an aging facility with few fan comforts, it’s premium facilities are 3 star at best, even with the upgrades the scoreboard and electronics are just adequate. The culture of alcoholism, violence, and an unfriendly place to bring families is ingrained into the venue. Basically RWS is a place to organize a tailgate event or picnic, party all day, sit in an uncomfortable stadium, even more so when the elements conspire against you, and then return home in the darkness of night. That’s OK in and of itself, but when you’re competing with peers who offer day long entertainment experiences, shopping options, premium seating and dining destinations which are five star, and superb stadium locations which make the football game just component of a total experience, then how the heck do the Bills compete?

Buffalo’s new stadium belongs on the fringes of downtown, with ample parking to keep the tailgating experience intact, yet access to downtown business. The building needs to be multi-purpose. Why not a combo convention center? Why not design the building to be able to partition it into smaller size configurations, for everything from amphitheatre seating to Arena Football to convention and exhibit space to minor league basketball? Add museums, meeting space, restaurants, retail, perhaps even an adjoining “Stadium District” with condos, rowhouses and other housing options. Who would not want to live in a dynamic live/work/play environment with the Bills as its centerpiece?

One of the takes in the article sort of amused me though, and indicated how out of touch the writer is in terms of what is going on here in Buffalo…

The team’s fortunes are growing at a slower pace than the rest of the league. Playing in outdated Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Bills are already hosting a handful of home games across Lake Ontario in Toronto. The spiffier Rogers Centre brings in more revenue; if Toronto comes dangling more goodies to lure the Bills full-time, Buffalo will have a hard time trying to win a money war.

“The “spiffier” Rogers Centre”??? Hardly! This baseball venue is not really suited all that well for NFL football, and throw out the preseason game in terms of evaluating the experience. Come December 7 when the place is full and it’s a real game, you’ll be hearing complaints on how the sightlines are substandard in the 100 level seating bowl, and that the 500s actually offer the best viewing perspective. Fans will lament about the lack of tailgating and the sterile corporate experience.

Should NFL football ever come to Toronto full time, they will have to deal with the same issues that Buffalo has to confront… where to build a replacement stadium, at what cost, and what infrastructure will be required to make it work. In this regard, Buffalo has it all over Toronto. Cheaper land costs. Less density. More empty spots to place a stadium. If we start dreaming and planning NOW, Buffalo could erect a facility which would be the toast of the NFL, it would be a big piece of the emerging revitalization of downtown, and it would keep our team here in Buffalo for all time.

Forbes’ 10 most like to move list:
1 Florida Marlins
2 Tampa Bay Rays
3 Buffalo Bills
4 Minnesota Vikings
5 San Francisco 49ers
6 New York Islanders
7 Phoenix Coyotes
8 Nashville Predators
9 New Orleans Hornets
10 Charlotte Bobcats

We almost never made it here.Crossing over into Canada via the Ambassador Bridge, Pete and I were pulled over for special inspection. No it did not involve a more thorough search of the vehicle, but a lengthy interview of our purpose for coming into Canada… questions asked repeatedly like “Have you ever entered via this border crossing before?” “How much currency are you carrying?” “How do the two of you know each other?” The normally candy striper happy faces of Canadian border officials were replaced with the stern, dour looks of people more in tune with the East Germans at Checkpoint Charlie or George Bush’s Homeland Security apparatchiks.

At one point the lady taking care of us said she had to make a determination whether she would allow us to enter Canada or not, as they were doing a “background check”. It is amazing how we take our free movement to Canada and back for granted, but in reality, this is an international crossing and once you enter the system, you are in their hands and powerless to do anything but to let them do their jobs. Even though the clock was ticking, we remained calm, sat and waited… at 2:45PM (after a 35 minute delay), they released us without explanation, and we raced to Windsor Arena to make the 3:05PM faceoff.

Windsor Arena was actually once an NHL arena … home to the Detroit Red Wings for a while back in the 20s, and that in part is what makes it a hallowed venue. Since the place will be shuttered soon, we expected to find a totally creaky and tumbledown building, but was surprised to find a clean and well maintained exterior facade and roof, and a bright seating bowl inside.

The place seats about 4000 for hockey, with a steep seating pitch, and in one end zone, bench seats which end at the top of the glass and put viewers right on the shoulders of the goaltender. It is a noisy building - these fans are loud, passionate, and augment their cheers with loud horns and cowbells. With few sound baffles and plenty of steel supports, it makes for a loud cacophony of noise which has to be intimidating for the visiting team and its fans.

The down part about this arena is how incredibly cramped it is - seats and leg room very tight. The one single concourse is little more than a two lane hallway, and that is shared by the players and officials as they come off of the ice. There is literally no public space at all, and puffers and people looking to stretch actually go outside during the breaks.

One more footnote - on the dasher boards and on a banner hanging from the ceiling is a tribute to Mickey Renaud, a member of the team who just this past February collapsed and died of a heart condition at age 19. What an incredible tragedy.

It’s a shame that venues like this have to go. One wonders if there could have been a way to just knock out walls and raise the roof and stuff. The location of this arena, just steps from the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, is ideal, and the building is so nicely suited for the game. But truth be told, this building is just so cramped, so congested, and we would also guess lacks the player facilities and team offices and stuff like that which is so vital to run a team at this level in this day and age.

Props to Steve Horne and Rob Gagnon from the Spitfires for providing us media tickets via Sports and Leisure Magazine. Thanks guys and we will see you again when we come visit the new WFCU Centre sometime down the road!

Following the game, we made the long long trek north of Windsor to check out the new arena (see separate post) and then pointed the car back to Buffalo. 1140 miles total to Bloomington, Indianapolis, Windsor and back.

Next on tap for the USRT? The CFL Grey Cup game in Montreal in late November, one of our absolute favorite cities.

Uh oh. Does that mean another border crossing into Canada??? Ihre papieren, schnell, schnell!