Comments for Shots off the Crossbar

Comment on Some of This, Some of That by Sabres in Seven

Sabres in Seven — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:36:10 +0000

I was happy to see how many Sabres fans tweeted Biznasty with congrats. And it was really amusing to read, “I’m probably the only Sabres fan that’ll say this, but…” for every tweet and imagine him laughing “Sabre fan 1, Sabre fan 2, Sabre fan 3…” Good for him.

Sully’s comment still pisses me off. Sully pisses me off, actually, so that didn’t help. I didn’t see anything come of it though, but now I’m curious.

And I think the sweetest revenge would be the Sabres putting a fair and square end to the Bruin’s win streak. It’d also make me feel like I didn’t waste a weekend in Boston watching Miller get a concussion.

Comment on Lassie! Go Quick! Timmy Fell Down the Well and Landed in Toronto by AJC

AJC — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:58:24 +0000

I’m a Sabres fan and I think I can add some perspective. Injuries aside, Connolly was a dependable center who played hard every night. I don’t think he ever reached his offensive potential in Buffalo (much due to injuries) – and this has led to a very vocal minority of the fan base to come down hard on him. In fact, Tim has developed himself into a very solid two-way player,as good in his own end as in the offensive zone. This wasn’t natural to him – as he was total offensively minded when he arrived in Buffalo.

As for the “Difficult. Loner. Spoiled brat. Silver spoon kid. Entitled.” labels, I could not disagree more. I have never heard a bad word of Tim’s conduct on or off the ice. I have met him on two different occassions, and he was respectful and polite to me and my family.

I hope for Tim that things go well in Toronto. Not everyone in HSBC Arena hated him – just a few very loud individuals.

Comment on Lassie! Go Quick! Timmy Fell Down the Well and Landed in Toronto by Bill

Bill — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:43:19 +0000

i’ve always liked him. he never lived up to peoples expectations but i always stuck up for him when people talked bad. especially this past season, he played real hard. everyone is capable of getting hurt, just because he got hurt often doesn’t mean he is soft. each one of those injuries would have injured tons of people in the same situation. IMO, we are weaker at center with leino than with connolly in the lineup. we would not have made the playoffs last year after roy goes down and if connolly did not play as well as he did. yeah, he didnt get the stats one would expect, but he most certainly played strong for us.

Comment on Lassie! Go Quick! Timmy Fell Down the Well and Landed in Toronto by S. Tooth

S. Tooth — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:13:48 +0000

I’ve never gotten all the Tim Connolly hate, ever. He hasn’t been a reliable top 2 line center in years, but he’s not terrible either. He’s better than the average NHLer, even if he isn’t elite. I think we saw him sacrifice his body last year. He’s injury-prone, but I don’t think I’d ever call him soft. Everything else in the article seems weirdly ad-hominem. Part of me thinks that Timmy is just bad at making people like him. With the possible exception of puck bunnies, but that’s an easy one.

Comment on Lassie! Go Quick! Timmy Fell Down the Well and Landed in Toronto by G

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:45:37 +0000

Tim Connolly might have the best hands in the NHL. However, when a prominent Buffalo sportscaster recently tagged him as “not an NHL player anymore” you have to start questioning why. Buffalo is a small city. Bad news seems to travel fast. Substance abuse and frequent trips to local casinos are common stories. Throw in his playoff goal scoring drought, an inability to stay healthy, a salary not wothy of his production and the story of Derek Roy punching him in the face during an off ice party and you can see why his time in Buffalo was up. Fans would have accepted him back at a reduced price, instead the Leafs gave him a raise and a promotion to the first line. Good luck with that. It’s not that we hated Tim Connolly, we simply wanted more from him. He is an OLD 29-30 year old player. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good. I just would not have spent $4.75 million to find out.

G in Buffalo

Comment on Marketing to Women Sports Fans by Meg

Meg — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:55:48 +0000

I think that the people in charge should worry less about marketing to women and more about not alienating women.

As for the Olympics…it’s not that I dislike the human interest stories it’s just that I dislike how much time is given to them. Between human interest stuff and commercials Olympics broadcasts often spend very little time actually showing the sports. Cut down the number of special features and make them shorter so we can actually see these great feats of athletics. Because honestly, that’s the only reason the public cares about these people. That might sound harsh, but it’s true.

Comment on Marketing to Women Sports Fans by Mike

Mike — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 06:37:58 +0000

It’s funny. I feel the opposite as you do. I love the Olympics FOR the human interest stories. For me, that’s part of what the Olympics are all about. When I’m watching the Sabres play, I’d rather see Kaleta punch Lucic right in his fat kisser and call his mom a whore.

Comment on You Know… by Mike

Mike — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:49:26 +0000

I have to say, I think the Drew Stafford and Chris Butler twitter accounts were pretty well executed trolls carried out by @smallmarketteam and @revoldarcymd, hitting Sabres fans when they’re most vulnerable; about a sore point (no Sabres on twitter and a fan base desperate for interaction). Those guys have been at it for a long time, and a lot of Sabres fans just aren’t reacting well to trolls. Of course what they post is going to be way over the line. That’s the nature of trolling. Going back after them just makes it worse.

Comment on Laying Down the Law by Sharpie

Sharpie — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:05:41 +0000

It’s a mental thing when you put a logo on the floor. Many military units put the unit crest on the floor in their headquarters. By putting a crest on the floor then making the area a no-walk zone the organization is sending a message that they own the area and absolutely no one will disrespect the organization or any of the organization’s property.

The Sabres are saying that not only is the locker room their property but that anyone who sets foot in that room(and by extension the ice and the rest o the arena) will take the team seriously. It’s also a reminder to each individual player (and trainers, equipment manager, coaches, etc.) is expected to give their all for the team. It may seem simple but the change in mindset will exhibit itself on the ice. There’s a reason our boys are playing with more intensity lately, and it starts with a renewed sense of dedication.

Comment on Laying Down the Law by Kathleen

Kathleen — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:24:01 +0000

Heh, win-win! I wonder if a lot of other teams have a carpet fine/charity bucket?