The NHL and it's sex appeal.

Oh hello, I'm back again. The Stanley Cup Finals hasn't interested me much at all thanks to me being bitter towards Chicago, and I just dislike Philadelphia. Thus equals me not watching very much hockey lately but Twitter has managed to keep me up to date on everything - including a very disturbing article I just read on how the NHL has 'a lot of sex appeal' and that's why a ton of women are beginning to watch it as of late.

Being a woman myself, I can't disagree with the fact that there are many good looking hockey players out there. There's a lot more attractive guys if you happen to love bumps and bruises on a person. The scars, the scraps, are in my opinion sort of sexy. However, I know very many intelligent female hockey fans who enjoy the sport for THE sport, not for the guys. You may have your favorite players, but you tend to love them for their skills instead of how they look with their equipment off.

Now yesterday, the NHL's Twitter retweeted the article I mentioned above which...I don't exactly know how that's supposed to make me feel. The NHL should know that not all of the women who watch the sport are like some of these people who were quoted in the article. For example:

“I watch the games with my husband and I have no idea who anyone is,” says Sue Loeb, a mother of two from Clifton, New Jersey, whose husband, Dan, is a rabid New York Rangers fan. “But then I see pictures of these guys in magazines and online without their equipment on, and you see how good-looking they really are.”

Perhaps, but you could at least try to understand the game and get to know who the players are. Everyone starts out not knowing who anyone is, I mean, that's how I was. Then after a few games I could name all the players and understood most of what was going on.

Also, the article talks about how various celebrities are now finding love with hockey players such as Carrie Underwood and Hilary Duff. Oh, so I guess we have them to thank for getting their fans to see their sexy boyfriends which causes a mass amount of females to start watching the sport? No thanks. How about growing up in a family that just happened to love hockey or live in a hockey town? It's more than just celebrities and looks that attracts fans to sport - at least the ones that actually give a damn. For shame on the NHL for even retweeting that article in the first place. I felt embarrassed reading through the entire thing. I just think that all female fans shouldn't be placed into one group because a lot of us have different reasons as to why we watch the game.

Here's the entire article for those who wish to read up on it: Hockey's Hottest Men and Hollywood Wives.

My band teacher talks too much.

I had a Christmas concert earlier in the day and it went pretty well. Nothing happened that should be considered 'Epic fail!' so I guess that's a good thing. Afterwards, the parents and kids had to stay to get info on our band trip to Florida coming up in two weeks. This thing took a whole hour. He had said it would be a short meeting. YEAH RIGHT.
Then again, if I think this is bad, the spring concert is going to be so much worse. He tells all the parents what each senior is going to do with their life and what college they're going to go to. It takes about an hour and a half, it feels like.

SO, hockey stuff. I've missed five periods of Sabres hockey in a row and I feel very deprived. My girlfriend and I opted to play hockey instead of watch it in her basement, so we had a good time. I even said 'Ah, we don't have to watch this game. I mean, they're playing the Devils. How exciting could it get?'
It only figures that Thomas would get the 10,000th goal in Sabres history, and the boys would come back in the game to win it, 4-2. Thanks a lot boys, you really know how to give me a great mood. Of course, I'm being sincere. I'm happy they could win after falling to the Leafs.

I can't believe there isn't a game on until Wednesday. AGAINST THE DEVILS. Again. Oh fantastic, I can't wait.

Today was a good day.

Attica won their football game against Holley, 50-15.
Thomas Vanek scored the lone goal in regulation for the Sabres.
Ales and Drew score in the shootout to make it a 2-1 win for the Sabres, and watching the boys embrace like that after the first game made my heart soar.
Basically, today was fantastic.

Since I'm not going to be here for most of the evening.

GO SABRES!
Oh, and I guess go Attica as well (for our Homecoming game tonight). :P

Have I mentioned I am (sort of) in love with Thomas Vanek?

In The Buffalo News today, they had an article on Thomas Vanek and how he wants to perform well for the entire season; not just half of one.

The numbers on his contract say Thomas Vanek is an elite player. The numbers on the stat sheet say the Sabres’ winger is still getting there.

Vanek had 36 goals last season, not bad for a 24-year-old. But it was a step down from his 43-goal campaign the year before.

And it was a big drop when you consider the $10 million salary he raked in for the first year of his seven-year, $50-million deal gift-wrapped by the offer sheet presented him by Edmonton General Manager Kevin Lowe in July 2007.

The bloated contract obviously wasn’t the Sabres’ idea. But it followed Vanek everywhere and Buffalo fans expected more. After all, no one in the entire league had a bigger paycheck.

Fans expected more than four goals in Vanek’s first 19 games. More than just 13 goals over his first 49. More than a player who routinely averaged only 16-17 minutes per game and played more than 20 minutes only nine times all season.

I had no idea that Thomas' ice time had been that low. I know forwards don't have much ice time to begin with, but I would've thought that he would be out there for more than 20 minutes for a lot more games. Goes to show how frustrating of a season he had.

“The contract never really bugged me,” Vanek said during training camp. “I always said I put more pressure on myself than anyone else. I never thought about money and that’s not the reason I’m here. Now I’m back looking to just get off on the right foot, play the first half like I did in the second half.”

I'm amazed at how much pressure he exerts on himself. Which is why I always get pissed off when people tell me that he sucks, because they don't understand what's going on in his head. He's the only one who knows and can fix it, and he did in the second half of last year.

Ah, the second half of last season. For parts of it, there was a that’s-more-like-it feeling around Vanek.

He led the NHL with 13 goals in February and was third with 20 points for the month. He had 23 goals over his final 33 games. He burned Ottawa’s Ray Emery with a superstar-like slap shot in one February win. He struck like a bolt from the sky for a pair of natural hat tricks to spark two comebacks against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But those were moments that only briefly provided solace for a playoff-less season.

Over the summer on his personal Web site, Vanek revealed he had a hard-core chat with coach Lindy Ruff about getting benched for long stretches of three games in the second half. Because of that, he said he’s reached a sort of personal detente with his coach.

Haha, 'hard-core chat' makes me laugh. (Oh, and I am lame because I DVRed all of the games where Van scored a hat trick. I have yet to copy those games to a tape, so...they're still on my TV for almost a year.)

“Every year you learn something about what he wants us to do and I’m sure he learns something about what we’re all about too,” Vanek said. “You always need to have that mutual respect. He’s the boss. It’s his way or you’ll be in the stands.

“I don’t mind coaches being tough on me. I don’t mind taking blame for a bad game. I won’t take it personally.”

I love his non-selfishness. One of my favorite attributes of the guy. I still remember during one of the intermissions for the last game of the season last year, and he told Kevin, Rob and Mike that he mostly blamed himself for the fact they weren't getting into the playoffs.

Ruff can be tough on players, especially if he feels they’re shirking defensive responsibilities. Vanek found out by spending time on the bench.

“A lot of times you want to see how a guy handles the tough times,” Ruff said. “The guys who sometimes struggle with it are the ones who haven’t gone through it much. I don’t know if he had too many tough times in college.

“Teams got to know him and I think got to know his habits. That makes it even tougher on you. You have to battle through that because the book is out on you. Guys don’t realize that other coaches put a target on you."

Thankfully, it looks like Thomas' defensive capabilities are getting a lot better. I'm super excited to see him on the PK.

The long offseason gave Vanek plenty of soul-searching time. He went home to his native Austria to play in the World Championships. He got married in July and then took his wife, Ashley, 13-month-old son Blake and his in-laws to Austria for a look at his homeland.

“It was great to show my family all where I came from, great to be able to take the little guy there,” Vanek said. “I won’t forget where I came from, where I grew up. I took a lot of pride to go over there, help my country go up [Austria moved up from Division I to the Championship Division] and it was great.”

Vanek said he worked hard in the offseason in Minnesota, his wife’s home state, putting on a few pounds and working to improve his foot speed. He had time to get over a nagging hip problem that quietly dogged him last season, and now he’s ready to start the quest toward a 40-or 50-goal season.

Awww, at 'little guy'. Blake looks so much like his daddy, it's crazy! Plus, it was great to watch Thomas play in the Division Championships over in Austria (thank you, Sopcast).

No Vanek article is complete without a word from his BFF:

“He scored 36 goals and I know that even if he scored 56, he wouldn’t be happy and that’s what’s great about him,” said Derek Roy, his center for virtually all of his three seasons in Buffalo. “He’s always trying to get better. He’s great to have on the ice to get the puck to because he can do so much.”

Derek giving the Austrian some love, I like it. MAY YOU TWO ALWAYS SKATE TOGETHER AND BE EPICALLY AMAZING.

Ruff agrees. He’s even giving some thought to using Vanek and Roy together in penalty-killing situations.

“If you want to get the elite ice time that the top players in this league get, those guys typically kill penalties,” Ruff said. “You go stretches in a game where there’s maybe eight minutes in penalties. You’re sitting in that and you’re probably losing out on four minutes of ice time. That would take him from some nights of 15-16 to 19-20. But he has to earn it too.”

What does Ruff want to see?

“A more concerted effort away from the puck, that dogged pursuit when you don’t have it,” the coach said. “As much as the other team has it, let’s see how hard you work to get it back. The best offensive players in this league are great competitors. Others are just average away from the puck and I put Thomas in that category right now. I want him to become an elite player away from the puck.

“That leads to more goals. He can score the same numbers, but kill penalties, work better away from the puck and be a more valuable player for us.”

And a more valuable player I think he shall be.

Vanek said the definition of an elite player can have many meanings and he intends to try to live up to them this season and put up some big numbers.

As for the other number, his salary drops to $8 million this year and he’s only fifth on the NHL payroll list. No more talk of a $10 million man.

“An elite player is taking your team on your back, bringing them to the playoffs and deep into the playoffs,” he said. “It’s not necessarily points, assists and goals. If we got deep into the playoffs and I have just 40 goals but play better, that’s a good year, I think everyone will be happy with.”

I think if everyone plays better - not just Thomas - then the Sabres will surely get into the playoffs. These boys are going to do great things this year, I can just feel it.

Sabres fail on the power play, same old, same old.

It's a good thing that this game was only the last preseason game, otherwise we would've been in some serious trouble. Ten power play chances, and nothing. You know if this were a regular season game I would've been tearing my hair right out!

Tim Connolly is laughing at us right now, while nursing his sore back. Damn you Timmy, damn you.

I give Thomas Vanek an award for not getting in the penalty box this evening, and for being the guy who had the most shots on goal tonight (along with Jason Pominville). More so for the not getting into the penalty box thing since this is the first preseason game where he hasn't had to go there yet. That's my boy.

Now the Sabres have a week left to sort out all of their kinks and kick this season off for real. I'm already itching for Friday to come along, and it seems way too far away. With a (hopefully) healthy lineup (excluding Goose, aww), and a better defensive sound game, maybe the Sabres can start off the season with a big ol' W on the board against the Habs? I'll be optimistic. I mean, it's been too long since real hockey has been around...I'll wallow in my optimism as long as I can. :D

In other sports news, I heard about Trent Edwards getting injured in the Bills-Cardinals game earlier and later reading that the Bills were manhandled for the rest of the night when JP Losman strolled in.
...Oh crap.
Now, I'm not exactly an avid fan of football, but this is not good. The Bills having a great start to their season is an awesome thing for the community. All we need is for our starting quarterback to go down, and have JP Losman come in when he hasn't done well. I mean, maybe he can step in and be clutch, but after the game today? Aiiiiii.

Back to the hockey front; I did not enjoy listening to the Detroit commentators the entire evening. Rick and Harry would've been loads better but the delay kills me on the radio. Oh yeah, and MSG in HD decided to carry Rangers stuff instead of the Sabres in the area?! I pray that is only for the preseason, or they put on the special Sabres channel in HD, otherwise I will be pissed. I have been waiting for the Sabres in HD all summer long and all I need is MSG HD to be only exclusive to Rangers games. That'll throw me off the edge. Okay, not literally, but you understand what I'm saying.

Now I'm just going to try and go to sleep and dream of some pretty goals or whatnot during the week before Friday rolls around...

I've hopped on the awesome blogwagon, woo!

Edit: (Afterthought...disregard the awful grammar/sentences used in this post.)

*gives self a pat on the back to start*

Woo, alrighty then.

If you happen to end up here, then you have stumbled onto the blog of a 17-year old girl who knows most of her facts on the game of hockey, but at the same time, can have her fangirliness unleash at any given moment in time. Don't let that fool you. I would much rather puke on those fug pink jerseys than wear them. Even if my entire life depended on wearing that pink jersey. Hang me, tar and feather me, whatever you please but I'm not putting that damn thing on.

Speaking of pink jerseys, I came upon this gem yesterday while looking through the NHL Shop online:What in the Sam hill is this?!

No lie, that was my exact reaction to that...thing. That object colored in pink and gray. Nice to know that the logo was incorporated into the item, I could barely see it! *squints eyes*

Anyways, I'm totally getting off track here. I've been a Sabres fan ever since I was little; I've been born one practically. I never had the chance to see them play in the Aud, but I did go there once for one of my older brother's hockey games. All I can say is that my young ears did not appreciate the sound of the horn blaring through the arena, and I burst out crying. My poor grandfather had to walk me around the building.
I still remember good ol' '99. My stepfather actually taped all of the games, so if I ever wanted to watch the heartbreak over and over again I could.
I wasn't resurged into a Sabres fan until about two years ago. I was really glad to have found my love for the sport again, and plus, I've learned plenty in these past few years. I've been reading up on the history of the game, checking up on most of the teams, and keeping tabs on what's been going on for the past two summers.

If I may so kindly direct you to the side of my blog (This way ---->), you may notice that I have an infatuation with a certain player who wears the number 26 for the Sabres. I might go back from time to time and mention how 'OMG, I TTLY GOTZ A PIKTURE WIT THOMAS VANEK!!!1111' or say how nervous I was to get my jersey signed by him that my sister-in-law had to say 'Uh, she's really starstruck and speechless right now.' and he laughed. A cute laugh, by the way. So uh...sorry in advance if I go a little overboard with the fangirling, I'm sorry. IT'S HARD WHEN YOU GO TO SCHOOL WITH PEOPLE WHO DO NOT VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE LISPY AUSTRIAN ON THE SABRES.

Look at him! With Roysie! How can you not love a man who so dependently puts his arm around his favorite teammate/linemate's shoulder?! (You know Derek is his favorite. And vice versa. Right Derek? Right?)

I think I may have rambled on too much for my first post on this thing. I NEED CRITERIA FOR TOMORROW...AND THE NEXT DAY...and you know how it goes.
Since it's pretty late and I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow, I will talk about how mad I am at the NHL for refusing to show the first two games of the NHL season on Versus, my thoughts on the upcoming Red Wings/Sabres game tomorrow and why I'm looking forward to spirit week at my school.

I leave you with a video of Thomas...training. With one of his coaches/trainers talking about the training method during the thing. I actually think the videos are highly amusing, if not for the fact that Thomas is wearing a hat during all of this and that he is wearing Under Armour under his shorts.

...I lied, one more video. Simply because Thomas saying that the birth of his son is his most memorable thing is too cute.