IIHF Championships - where enemies become friends once again.

I'm pretty sure Thomas is speaking to Andreas Nödl is this photograph. Helping out the young Austrians, I love it. Well, besides Thomas still having to wear that dastardly face mask.

I think if Austria loses to Latvia (I'm pretty sure this is the relegation round, but correct me if I'm wrong), I might cry. I know Austria is obviously not a frequent country that pumps out hockey players left and right but I would love to see them stay in this and not go back to their previous division. Not only because I think it would be cool for them to get a little recognition somewhat, but you can imagine Sir Vanek is going to be emo again that he didn't help the team enough. Seriously dude, I love you, but get a grip.

This is me; posting.

I haven't posted in over a week! With playoff hockey going on, I have no excuse to not post. Shame on me.

The irony of it all is I come back...and I'm not talking about playoff hockey. Flyers draft pick charged with killing ref, burying body.

I read this article after I saw it on my Twitter feed. Really creepy story, indeed. It's too bad because people have said that he was a good kid and he's not bad looking, either. It'll be interesting to see what happens to him.
Also, 20 years is a little...lenient, don't you think?

Ryan Kesler, where have you been all my life?

Seriously, I don't know what to say about this picture. Wow.

I'm not going to do playoff predictions because I'm not that bold. Anything can happen at any time. The eighth seed could clobber the first seed, regardless of what happened during the regular season. I will not look into the future and predict.

Though my teams for this playoff season are Anaheim, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver. Woooo!

Okay I've been paying particular attention to Ryan Kesler these past few days. The commentators on Versus said that he's an overall good hockey player and I would have to agree. He hits, he gets points, he'll fight if he needs to. He's the type of player everyone needs on the team. Besides, I decided that I love a European and I love a Canadian, but I don't give an American as much attention as I need to. Hellllo Ryan Kesler.

Ironically, I looked up his entry on Wikipedia yesterday and learned that the guy is 205 lbs and 6'2". Three pounds off and the same height as Thomas Vanek. Oh, coincidences. I like big men, as you can tell.

...Get your head out of the gutter!

The Ways of a Sports Journalist, Part III.

This is the final part about my busy day on Saturday. This includes the Sabres game and how that all went with press passes in mine and my brother's possession.

We headed down towards the arena and I noticed how many people came from the ballpark and were heading in the same direction. It was a good day to do that. Go see a baseball game, and then go to the arena to watch the Sabres. Very smart idea to have venues close like that.

Corey and I didn't enter the front of the arena, but headed around towards the back. We walked underneath the walkway (as I took a quick glance up at Vanek's smiling face and smiled myself), and went towards the security entrance. Right when you walk in there's what looks like a control room to the right. More than likely to make sure no one tries to break into the arena. Or it was the security room...same thing, yes?

Corey told the guard there that we had press passes inside, and he let us go in. We met up with Pat once again because he was going to be up there with us. The press passes are cool because they are partially laminated on the front and they had our names filled out on them already. We took the Bisons passes off of our lanyards, and slipped on the Sabres ones. We walked past the gate, and Corey said that he would show me the things down the tunnel once the game was over with.

The press elevator is MASSIVE. If I'm not mistaken, I think it said 10,000 lbs it could hold? Impressive. You can imagine why it's so big since there are a lot of people in the media who have to use it after the game. They need to get right down to the locker room to get interviews from players. They even have a television set located in one of the corners of the elevator, so that was nice.

We got in there, and this guy that specifically worked for the NHL (I think) said that Donte Whitner had been tasered. Apparently WGR had reported it a little earlier in the day, and my brother was getting a kick out of it. He was hoping the information was true. Corey even mentioned 'What is it with Buffalo safetys?' while he had his morning show.

When we got out of the elevator, there were game notes located on the table. They have thick packets regarding current stats in the league, and then stats on the two teams playing that night. They also had the starting lineup and after every period they handed us a sheet of paper that showed the current stats. I wanted to kick myself after the game because I didn't take anything with me. Stupidstupidstupid. At least I recycled it.

Corey said that when you have a press pass for a Sabres game there is a pregame meal, but you have to pay for it. They had tons of popcorn though, and drinks. Plus, after every period they had cookies for people to grab! I figured I could indulge a little though I don't really like chocolate chip cookies specifically.

I met other members of WGR when we arrived at our seats. John Koziol was first, then Paul Hamilton sat next to Corey and we said hello briefly. Two people who work on the internet for the radio station were also there, and then Brian Koziol came a little later to say hello. Everyone was really nice and funny. So the experience was definitely enjoyable.

Corey took me over to the little WGR booth located right next to Harry and Rick's area. They have a curtain located in the box which I thought was the right thing to do. I wouldn't want to be distracted by anything going on the sides of my box. The WGR booth is where Brian Koziol does the post game shows from. I thought for sure that he might do them directly from the station, but again, I was learning things as the day went on.

Now for some shenanigans that happened during the game: First, it really was amusing to watch the various media people get up after the period ending to go get the cookies. I think everyone got up at the exact same time and raced over towards the plate. I snagged two. It took me awhile to eat them because, like I said, I don't like chocolate chip cookies all too much.

Secondly, this guy in section 317 was yelling 'FIRE REGIER!' before every faceoff, it seemed. After every goal, the same thing. By the third period there was a whole 'Darcy' chant going through a few sections in the upper bowl.

Note to dude who was yelling that the entire game:

Listen, he is sitting in the pressbox over to the right of you. If you had the balls enough, you would go right up to the top row and yell at him from there while staring straight at him. It would've been funny to see security lead you out.
Oh, and you're welcome,
Shelby.

Inbetween the first and second period I think, I turned around in my seat and saw Zdeno Chara, PJ Axelsson and Phil Kessel (maybe?) walk past behind us. I was astounded by the height of Chara. Guy really IS tall and person! I tapped Corey on the shoulder and murmured "I didn't realize how tall Zdeno Chara was." He looked at me, and went "Chara? Where did you see him?" Funny thing was, my brother was looking in the same direction as me. Pat said to Corey too, "How could you miss him?" Corey used the excuse of he has glasses while I retorted back "I have them too."

When you sit up along with the rest of the media, you can't be a fan. There's no cheering up there going on when a goal is scored, and there are no high fives going around with people you don't know. I felt quite out of place at first, but then I got better at not having any sort of reaction when the Sabres scored. My heart bled a little, especially when Vanek not only scored one but two goals and got his 40th. Damn him! Did it on purpose so I couldn't celebrate.

Now, during the game, Corey turned to me and asked if I would like to go down to the locker room afterwards. I nodded my head and said yes, little butterflies entering my stomach. I knew we were going for media things but I didn't know how I would handle it. Remember, I'm an eighteen year old female who loves hockey players.

After the game was over, everyone scrambled into the elevator to head down to the locker rooms. The guy working the elevator wanted us to still move in but we were about to be on the otherside if we moved anymore. Let's just say, don't be a part of the press if you're extremely claustophobic. That elevator was not fun in the slightest.

We all walked in a group towards the locker rooms and waited outside until we were allowed in there. I met another person down there and he asked Corey if he had changed my mind to be a journalist. I kept getting the same reaction to that. Basically I shouldn't get married and feed off my mother for the rest of my life if I want to get into this job. Oh, the excitement.

Corey asked a friend of his if he wanted him to work the microphone, because he was in a wheelchair. He happily said yes, and we walked in.

I'm really surprised I didn't just drop dead right there.

The first thing you notice is the smell of hockey sweat. Ohhhh yeah, that was nice. I didn't really notice it because I'm used to it when my sister played hockey. I have to get used to it anyways if I'm going to play next year. Only a few guys were in the room; changing before going into the showers. Corey's one friend first interviewed Craig Rivet (which I may note that his jock was hanging out. Nice.) I listened to him and watching his face made me sad. Poor guy...I really wanted to give a hug, but you have to act professional down there.

Next, Corey got to hold the microphone for a Jason Pominville interview. I was five feet away from big nose himself. I didn't really hear any of the interview since he is super quiet in person. During this time, Drew Stafford decided to walk right behind me and my inner female fan was like 'YAY!'

I was maybe in there for ten minutes, and then Corey and I headed out of the locker room BUT not before I saw Paul Gaustad walk out of the showers with tiny shorts and a towel wrapped around his arms. I stopped a little and then continued to walk out into the hallway. I just turned to Corey and went 'I am an eighteen year old, female.' He laughed and went 'Sometimes I forget you're a girl, Shelb.'

The only last thing worth noting is that Corey got me a poster. When we were leaving the arena through the security entrance, I looked in the security room and saw all these posters in a box. What were they going to do with them? I mentioned it to Corey and he asked if I wanted one but I said I didn't know if we could get one. We walked back in, he asked, and voila! In my possession. It's on my wall now...but I'm going to have to take it down when I move anyways. Smart.

So that was my day Saturday. (: if you read all of my posts, then thank you for bearing with me. I know it was a lot to read.

The Ways of a Sports Journalist, Part II.

A continuation of Part I, which was my last post.

After Corey and I left the station, we headed right on over to Coca-Cola field to watch the Buffalo Bisons take on the Pawtucket Red Sox. We parked in a building two blocks away (which I didn't mind because I need the exercise anyways), and walked into the entrance of the restaurant they have at the field. The name escapes me at the moment. We received our media passes and we both had to sign a contract permitting us to be allowed up in the pressbox. According to the pass, we were allowed in the clubhouse, on the field, and obviously the pressbox. We took the elevator up to the third level, and waited by the pressbox doors since they were locked. One of the guards came and opened it for us, and now my brother knows the passcode. It's really easy by the way, but I won't say it here.

The first room we walked into was the Media Lounge Area. There was some food left there but most of it was gone because we got into the ballpark when the second inning began. I had a roast beef sandwich with lettuce and mayo. I also had a Coke. Corey was stoked because since the field had been renamed, they now had Cherry Coke stashed in the drink dispensers. I was never one for the cherry stuff.

As we sat and ate in the lounge, Corey began discussing with me how very little female journalists there were in the sporting world. He believes that they do need more female journalists who know what the hell they're talking about. He also mentioned that most of the journalists around the country come out of Syracuse, and they're awful at their job. Most of them, anyways. I took note of this and decided that I was truly determined to try and get a shot at being a sports journalist.

Eventually, we made our way into the actual pressbox. We took a seat next to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News who was on his handy laptop. Everyone in there has a laptop or a desktop to work on. They're constantly checking other scores and updating blogs that they run. There was also a staff room for the big shots but we weren't sllowed to go in there. Not surprised.

My brother made sure to explain plays to me while the game was going on because I know little about baseball. There were a lot of double plays going on during the game that we made note of. I also learned that the umpire and catcher aren't the same guy! Oh baseball, you trick me so.

Everytime teams changed in an inning, there was always something going on in the crowd. It is just the minors, but I thought it was cool that even if nothing exciting was going on in the game, the crowd could continue to be entertained by something. Believe me, they needed it during the game.

Corey said that my future would lie in copy editting because of something I noticed on the scoreboard. They were changing teams and this thing called 'Little League Heroes' popped up on the scoreboard. Instead of Heroes, it said 'Hereos'. I turn to Corey and go 'Hereos? What?' He asked me what I was talking about, then looked up to see what I was looking at. He couldn't believe how fast I had picked that up. I guess I'm just on the ball with those types of things.

I think my experience at the ballpark was incredibly boring, mainly because the Bisons didn't get any runs in and Pawtucket got a run in off of a home run. The final score was 1-0. I still don't think the Bisons have won a game yet.

It was very warm in the pressbox, but as soon as we walked out, it was freezing cold again. I put on my jacket as we walked down the stairs and he headed out towards the arena for the Sabres game.

I will have the final part of this up tomorrow, probably. There you'll read about my experience at the Sabres game.

The Ways of a Sports Journalist, Part I.

This would have been posted sometime last night if college hadn't been nagging me. I have a course scheduling on the phone later today so I had to look up some courses I was interested in taking (at least, my general requirement courses). I sure hope I don't lose my reception today since I will be speaking on my cellphone. I'm moving up in the world!

So Saturday - I was over at my brother Corey's house a little after ten o' clock, and we drove on over to the WGR 550 station where they do their shows and everything. It's in a secluded spot in Amherst and when we pulled up I couldn't believe that it was located in there. All nice corporate buildings but I just didn't think that various radio stations would be located in there to do their magic. You walk in and the elevator music blares over the loudspeaker. This was how I remembered it was a corporate office building.

You walk through a few doors and go down a few hallways, and you see cubicles and the radio stations production room and broadcasting room. I got to meet Pat Malacaro, who usually produces Corey's show when he's on. He was extremely nice and showed me the ropes during one of the breaks. As Corey was working on his show, I did watch Pat every now and then work the controls on the board. All you really need to know is which button does what action. Going to school for broadcasting specificially might have something to do with how good he is at it, too.

It was funny to see how Corey actually looked as he did his radio show. My mom told me I had to take note of that as I watched him, and I wasn't disappointed. Then again, he just acts like he normally does. You have the ability to do that if you're on the radio - you can show up in anything you want and no one is going to care because they can't see you!

Before the show had began, Corey showed me quickly how they get sound bites into their computer to use for the show. They have hundreds of folders that they put them in, and it transfers over to the computer in the producing room. That way whoever is producing the show can fire it up to put over the air. Tons of complicated things go on behind the scenes. I even heard that they have had multiple fires at the station before. My brother said that it's always a good time when those happen.

Corey also showed me some pages he typed up for his show, or his notes. He had it all planned out what he was going to say. I actually thought that he just spoke about what was on his mind at that moment, so that was interesting to find out that he has a specific lineup of what he's going to talk about. Nevertheless, when we first walked into the producing room, Pat had told Corey about Donte Whitner's arrest in Cleveland outside the House of Blues.

Another thing I learned was that you always have to find out your information. You can't trust the local news website to have the information right (even if they did plagirize from a Cleveland newspaper on what happened), so it's best to find out for yourself. Pat actually tried to give the Cleveland police a call to find out from their records, but I have no idea if he ever managed to get through.

I told Corey I would never be able to be on a radio show because of some of the calls they receive from people. This one guy told Corey that the Sabres should go out and get Ilya Kovalchuk; lord knows why. Corey disconnected the call so that the guy wouldn't embarass himself any further, and let people know that - hey - we all ready have a guy making tons of money to score goals. We don't need another one. Even listening to the show in the car, I want to hurt some people who sound ridiculously stupid. Obviously not my job of choice, as you can tell.

I also met Dave Buchanan near the end of Corey's show, and he was really nice as well. Him and Corey had a quick discussion about the Bandits and how they have done this year, but I don't think they they clinched the top of their division...I know they lost to the New York Titans on Saturday, and Dave said that New York would win the tiebreaker I believe if they lost to them that night.

The show ended a little earlier than it was supposed to because Corey and I had to head out to Coca-Cola Field to watch the Bisons game. That part of my day will come up in my next post - The Ways of a Sports Journalist, Part II.

Lindy Ruff named head coach of Canadian team at World Championships.

From Yahoo! Sports:

CALGARY, Alberta (AP)—Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will lead the Canadian team at the world championships.

Ruff just completed his 11th season with the Sabres. This is his first time to coach the Canadian national team.

Nashville coach Barry Trotz and Dallas’ Dave Tippett will serve as assistants.

Canada opens the world championships against Belarus on April 24 in Switzerland.

The team’s initial roster is expected to be announced Monday.

I obviously wish he were instead coaching the Sabres through the playoffs, but this will have to do. Congratulations to him for getting the honor!

Also, happy Easter to my blog friends and those who bother to stop by here every now and then. I should have Part One up later of what I learned yesterday from my brother about wanting to be a journalist.

Bittersweet Symphony.

No thanks to the Rangers and the Flyers (the Rangers for winning and the Flyers deciding they weren't going to score any goals). Watching Kevin Sylvester counting down the time on the clock for that game was bad enough. I was sitting on the couch; a blanket near my face, and tears quickly forming in my eyes. I knew that this day would come but I had the slightest hope that, maybe, a miracle would happen and the Rangers would lose so the Sabres could survive another day. I guess the hockey gods really don't like us.

I sat there afterwards; thoughts buzzing in my brain of what could have been. The Sabres didn't make the playoffs this season because players didn't show up until the last quarter of it. They didn't make the playoffs because they were consistantly terrible against bad teams. The Thrashers and Senators come to mind. They didn't make the playoffs because they gave up a bunch of leads to bad teams, too.

They need to change things up in the summer, most of us know this. Tom Golisano is really going to eat his microphone and I would lie if I had said I wouldn't enjoy watching that. After Saturday, some both will be off for Switzerland to play for their respective countries while some go home and wonder if they're going to be calling another city their home for eight months of a year.

I might be there on Saturday, I don't know yet. My brother Corey (of WGR 550 fame, by the way) might get press passes for the both of us tomorrow so I get to dress up all spiffy. I'm hoping I can watch the boys go out with a blaze of glory, no matter how this season did turn out. I will still root for them and look back at the arena as I walk out of it to say a final goodbye until September.

We're still in this.

Now the Sabres get to roll into Carolina tonight with a team that's on a hot streak at home. Great.
Let's pray the hockey gods decide to be good to us and make other teams lose, while we win.
Let's go, Buff-a-lo!

I've been thinking...

I'd like to move the blog over to WordPress, but I have no idea when I might go through with that commitment. I have a paper to write over spring break, and I always tend to have ADD when it comes to the computer. I can't stick with doing one thing for too long or else I get bored and move on to another task. For those who have their blogs on WordPress, how hard was moving everything there? I want to know so that I can set how much time I will need to do it...

I want to say something positive about the Sabres right now, but I can't find anything positive to say. I'm not looking forward to Saturday because I'm pretty sure that will be the last time we see the boys until Training Camp. At least, the guys not participating in the World Championships. Five to six months is too long.

At least I will still have the Pens, 'Nuckies and Ducks to keep up to date with during the playoffs.

*sigh* ):

Funny how things work out.

That game tonight? Yeah, I guess I'm not going. My parents are a bunch of hypocrites.

Go Sabres.

I have no words.

Whenever I go to games with my oldest brother, the Sabres tend to lose more than win. It was no different last night as they fell to the Devils. I'm so glad that they woke up in the last period to try and tie it up, but it was too little, too late. I think my brother said it best to me after the game ended that they need to stop with this 'not showing up for forty minutes' bullshit. It might have worked two years ago. This team isn't good enough. People have got to leave.

I think he rub off some of his pessimism on me, uh oh.

I found out I'm also going to the game tomorrow with my sister. It will be nice to see another western conference team this season at HSBC, but at the same time, I'm expecting the Sabres to get smacked around by a very good Red Wings team. I'm sure Conklin will be in net too.

At least make it entertaining?

Rest In Peace, Carly Bragnaio.

Taken from Yahoo!.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)—Canucks forward Taylor Pyatt left the team after his fiancee was killed in a car accident.

Pyatt returned to his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, after Carly Bragnalo was killed Thursday in a crash while vacationing in Jamaica. The couple, both 27, planned to marry this summer.

“Today the Canucks lost a member of our family,” Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement released Friday confirming the death. “Carly was a lovely and generous young woman who shared her spirit for life with our players, their spouses and their extended families. We will support the Bragnalo family, Taylor and his entire family in any way we can during this very difficult time.

In a statement, Pyatt’s family said it was “deeply saddened by this tragic loss.

“At this difficult period, the family would request to be given the time to grieve in private. We are focused on our son and the Bragnalo family. We thank you for your support and understanding.”

Pyatt had an assist in Vancouver’s 6-5 shootout loss to Anaheim on Thursday, giving the soft-spoken 6-foot-4 forward 10 goals and 19 points in 69 games this season.

Bragnalo’s death is the second tragedy to hit the Canucks in the past year. Defenseman Luc Bourdon died on May 29, 2008, in a motorcycle crash near his New Brunswick home. He was 21.

Don't beat a dead horse when it's already down.

I can't hate him, and I never will.
That video basically sums up my feelings about last night. He probably hates himself now and I'm sure there are those out in the blogosphere who are ripping him apart piece by piece. We all make mistakes - big ones.
I'm just not going to be the one who continues to beat him down when he's already pretty low to the ground.

Google Analytics - April 2009 Edition.

You know how much I love these things, and I'm sure you do too!

"puck over the glass"
I'm still amazed that I have really never had to talk about this yet.

"puck over glass"
I bet that narrows your search down a whole lot more.

"adam mair girlfriend"
What the heck is it with this search?! I'm sorry, but I am not Adam Mair's girlfriend. Though, I wouldn't mind it really...

"i think i broke my back"
You too? I feel that way a lot after I march for band.

"ub lady ice bulls"
I hope that I can join them next year!

"dominic moore
Is smart because he went to Harvard.

"kari ottawa mom
I don't even understand this. A combination of Kari Lethonen, Ottawa, and his mom.

"3 glasses puck building new york"
Most discombobulated search ever.

"adam mair"
I don't even mention Mairsy all that much here.

"adam mair poster"
I do indeed have one. It's the Kids Escaping Drugs poster they sold at the AT&T store last year, that has Goose on it, too.