blocker

Did you ever hear the shaving story from Red Fisher? Pretty funny.

I think Briere could help some team. Dunno which team, but he's a pretty good hockey player. Gotta be a fit somewhere.

Montreal is not trading away Pacioretty. Nor Suban.

I think Don Cherry goes in first. He was (and still is) a participant in hockey. Red, on the other hand, was a reporter. Having said that, I have respect for Red Fisher. One reason is that he never cited rookies, either good or bad, in his column. One of the other reasons is personal. One of my kids considered sports writing as a career when he was a teenager. He asked my advice, and one of my suggestions was to ask Red Fisher. So, he as a 15 year-old kid wrote to Red Fisher at the Montreal Gazette. To my surprise, Fisher responded to his letter within a few days. It was a thoughtful, helpful, kind answer. He didn't have to write back, but he made the effort to help. Despite his kinda crabby exterior. He's one of the good guys.

I think Neal should get at least as much as Thornton. Thornton went out of character because of rage. Neal's offense was a calculated attempt to injure. Polaris is right when he stresses the injury suffered by Orpik. We should be punished more if we hurt someone else by our actions. But, part of punishment should be to deter potential infractions. While the NHL can't control the anger players feel, it can control deliberate, cold behaviour such as Neal's.

Amen. If you're winning, don't take your foot off the gas. Why pass momentum to the other team? Many, many years ago, I was a 14 year-old high school football player. Our coach, (who was my girlfriend's father) ordered us into a prevent defense against a team that we'd dominated. I knew that it was a stupid move then, and 64 years later, I haven't changed my mind. If you've outscored a team through a couple periods, don't change your game plan. Dumb, dumb, dumb

Good points. Sad thing is that few of their vets have much value in the trade market. I hope Sabres stick with a sensible plan of replacing vets with eager youngsters, and not resort to a selloff of the future.

Ted Nolan is an ideal choice for the coach of the Sabres. This collection of third-rate veterans and promising youngsters need the support of an advocate coach. Pat LaFontaine picked the right guy.

She has wit.

Ain't it funny how stick and dick rhyme.

Samifan---That is really funny. I must have missed it first time around.

Yup. Doesn't it make you mad when Gary Bettman refers to hockey as "our game"? His "game" is to fatten the bank accounts of the owners. Sometimes that helps the players, but it usually screws those of us who buy tickets.

I think so too. And, I also think his name will help him. It's memorable, and that doesn't hurt when you're an athlete. When he first came here, he told us to call him "Z". He didn't think north Americans could pronounce his name correctly. He's probably right. I notice his teammates call him "Z".

Amen. I dunno why some are so critical of Subban. All you have to do is watch him play. He's a pistol.

That's my boy. He came all the way from Latvia to Burlington, Vermont when he was just 15 years old. Within a few days, he fit right in, which can be hard for a kid that young. He's an absolutely great kid. My children went up to see him play against Canadiens Saturday night. I had a ticket, but couldn't attend. I'll watch him and my grandchildren no matter if they're good or not. But, it sure is a hell of a lot more fun when they shine.

Me either. And, I think his next contract will show that Montreal is pretty happy with him. He's not going anywhere.

I live in the states, but only an hour or so south of Montreal. Fans here are generally divided between Bruins and Canadiens. Lots of French-Canadien heritage. Funny thing is that most of the French named people are Bruins fans. Still haven't figured that one out.

Yeah, and also because it was Marchand.

Orpik's check was clean. I think Neal deliberately kneed Marchand. If I'd have been Neal, I probably would have done the same thing. But, he needs to pay. I like Thornton, but he did an awful thing. You don't punch the defenseless.

I think that sometime down the road, he'll be an NHLer. But, he's nowhere the player Buffalo expected.

That was a bad trade. I don't think LaFontaine will repeat mistakes such as that. Watched the Montreal game last night. Same old story, Buffalo has too many guys who are agonizingly slow to react. I admit that I'm biased toward Z, but, if everyone on the Sabres worked as hard as he does, they'd have more than 7 wins. Plus, how did you like that dangle through Subban and the subsequent goal?

My kids are all at the Montreal-Sabre game tonight. I'm watching it on TV. Z just scored a helluva goal. Big night. Lots of fun.

Probably a good thing. It'll be fun for him and it might give him a chance to regain his jump. I think down the road he'll be a pretty good NHLer.

Never heard that one before. Hilarious.

It's called "graduation" at UVM. It's called "GED" at Bucknell.