Armando Benitez Gags Again

I just saw one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in a baseball game. Bottom of the 12th inning, 4-3 San Francisco Giants over the host New York Mets, Giants "closer" Armando Benitez in to try to seal the deal. However, the Mets had the top of their lineup due up in the 12th. Lead-off hitter Jose Reyes drew a walk (always a bad omen for a team trying to hold a lead) to start the inning. But then, things got interesting.

Reyes, a noted threat to steal bases, distracted Benitez enough to draw...a BALK! When the hell was the last time you've seen that?! A nice sacrifice bunt put Reyes - the tying run - on third base with one out. Carlos Beltran screwed up a contact-type play, holding Reyes at third while being rung up for the second out. But then, with Carlos Delgado at bat...Benitez balked again! TWO balks by the same pitcher in the same inning! Not only that, but the second balk sent Reyes home, tying the game and tacking another blown save into Benitez' career statistics. But wait! Carlos Delgado was still at the plate! AND, on a 2-2 pitch...BOOM. Home run to right-center, Mets win 5-4. That was awesome.


Aaron Hill of the Toronto Blue Jays stole home against the Yankees. How cool is that?

Ducks won Game One last night. Sorry, Ottawa, but when you leave ANYBODY wide open in the slot in your defensive zone, it doesn't matter who has the puck - it's more than likely gonna end up in the back of your net. That's exactly what happened when Travis Moen scored the game winning goal with 2:51 left in the third. That and if you wanna win a road game in the Stanley Cup Finals, then find a way to score a goal when you have a two-man advantage for a minute and 35 seconds in the second period. For the Ducks, that was a very solid game overall. They didn't allow an even-strength goal and even their fourth line had some great scoring chances. When Brad May gets quality scoring chances, things are going right for your team.

This band rules.

Home, Home Again... I Like To Be Here When I Can...

Hey all. I JUST got back from a long weekend in Boston, and since the Red Sox were out of town, I didn't have to deal with any of THAT craziness. But the trip was awesome, and I saw Porcupine Tree this past Friday night. I gotta tell ya, if you get the chance to see them play live... take it. There isn't anything really truly fancy about their shows, but they just smoke their material on the stage. During their set, they played every song off the new album, Fear of a Blank Planet (Just as I hoped, the middle section to "Anesthetize" RULED in the live setting), but they also touched on older material in between the new songs, such as "Blackest Eyes" and "Trains" from In Absentia and "Mellotron Scratch", "Open Car", and "Halo" (the last song of the night including encores) off of Deadwing. All in all, an extremely well played show from a band that kicks ass live even the second time around.


Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight. GO DUCKS!

More Fun From The Pond of Frozenness And Other Places

Game Six of the Western Conference Finals was everything I could've hoped for...and then some. BOTH teams getting called for too many men on the ice, Lotsa goals, chaos with one net empty for the last minute and a half... It just doesn't get better than this. The third period, in particular, was worth the price of admission alone. The Red Wings started the period trailing 3-0 and outshot 26-13 (a 2:1 ratio, for you math nerds out there). Naturally, Detroit did everything they could to take the lead (or at least force overtime) and almost succeeded. Sometimes, outscoring your opponent 3-1 and outshooting them 16-3 in one period just isn't enough. Anaheim won the game 4-3 and the series 4-2. For the record, Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek had a .667 save percentage in the third period tonight...

Right before the game started, I was able to catch the NBA Draft Lottery. A rather mundane event, but still oddly captivating. What probably helped was the fact that the draft order was announced pretty quickly, with the deputy commissioner rattling off picks 14 through 4 in the span of two or three minutes. Naturally, they cut to commercial to manufacture some "drama" before revealing the top three picks in the draft. Did it work? Well...no, not really, because every friggin' countdown/list show in the universe does that. But hey, thanks for playing, ESPN and NBA. Incidentally, the number one pick in the draft went to the Portland Trail Blazers, which means that the Boston Celtics' little tanking strategy DIDN'T WORK!

And the Yankees lost to the Red Sox. Whoopty crap. But hey, the Twins won! Woo hoo!

Altanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones went 0 for 5 at the plate with 5 strikeouts Sunday afternoon in Boston. Now THAT takes talent.

Words really can't describe this.

"Let a man do what he wants..."

Clinton Portis was officially removed from the I’m Smarter than Paris Hilton Society (ISTPHS) earlier today after thoughtless comments regarding the innocence of Michael Vick. For those of you unaware of the membership criteria, ISTPHS maintains that all “individuals with an IQ over 60” are considered full fledged affiliates…

Let me bring you up to speed. As you probably already know, Michael Vick has been linked with an apparent dog fighting syndicate located in Virginia. And by linked, I mean complete ownership of the house where the dog fighting took place. Vick supporters are still skeptical whether or not there is enough evidence to sustain such accusations, as scarred pit bulls and sixty plus on site kennels are evidently not ample testimony.

Vick has since sold the house, asserting that his cousin (who had been occupying the property) was responsible for set dog fighting ring. He is also renouncing his old college nick-name of “Mike ‘I have an up and coming dog fighting syndicate in Virginia’ Vick”. Adding to Vick's troubles is an alleged law suit by the Versus network for "interfering" with their "Virginia Dog Fighting Weekly" late night programming. Scary Stuff.

All this slandering of Vick has gotten long time friend and current Time Man of the Year candidate Clinton Portis very upset. He came to Vick’s defense in an ESPN televised interview despite his agent’s warning against speaking on camera. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it went something along the lines of “Let a man do what he wants, it’s his business”.

The reporter then reminded Mr. Portis that dog fighting was a felony.

But Mr. Portis didn’t stop there. He solidified his ejection from ISTPHS by adding “I know plenty of roads in Virginia where you can find dog fighting”. This was the part where all the Redskins lawyers who were watching went “AAAAUUGGHHH” collectively. It’s really just unbelievable.

Since then Mr. Portis has retracted his sentiments on the Washington Redskins’ Website, stating “I do not condone dog fighting in any way”. He then asked the guy typing what “condone” meant. Currently there has been no appeal on his ejection from the ISTPHS.

Tuesday At The Couch

Game Six! I'm not sure if I need to say anything more than that. Game friggin' Six, where Anaheim can win The Other Trophy Nobody Touches Out Of Severe Superstition and their place - and home ice - in the Stanley Cup Finals with a win tonight. Considering how well Giguere is playing, I'd be a little worried if I was a Red Wings fan. For the record, I'm technically a Red Wings fan, but not a fan of this team. My Red Wings allegiance goes to the Rochester AAA baseball team.

GO HOCKEY! I'll definitely be watching this one tonight. Better that than another dull-ass Red Sox / Yankees game...

Theft of a Hockey Game, Waterfowl Style

The Anaheim Ducks just stole Game Five on the road in overtime. Shots on goal, scoring chances, and face-off wins all favored the Detroit Red Wings, but the Ducks simply took advantage of the opportunities given to them late in the game and they're going home with the chance to close this series out Tuesday night. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was PHENOMENAL in a game Anaheim didn't deserve to win. HOWEVER, overtime games are decided on mistakes. The Red Wings coughed up the puck deep in their zone...which is bad enough, but what made matters worse is the puck ended up on Teemu Selanne's stick with only Dominik Hasek to beat...and Selanne made no mistake. He got Hasek to bite on the forehand fake, then knocked the water bottle off the net (I love that) on his backhand. Game over.

And oh yeah - Anaheim tied the game with 45 seconds left on the power play and with their net empty. Hockey is a better experience when seen live, but team down by one with their net empty and on the power play makes for some darn good television. Needless to say, I'm gonna be watching Game Six of this series.

The End Of A Season, The Start Of A New One

Well, there we have it. Sabres lost in overtime today. The Senators won The Prince Of Wales Trophy That Nobody Touches Out Of Severe Superstition and the right to play for the Stanley Cup. Tough loss for the Sabres, perhaps poetic justice for Ottawa. Last season, fourth seeded Buffalo eliminated top seeded Ottawa in five games, winning all three contests in ScotiaBank Place. This season, the exact opposite happened - fourth seeded Ottawa eliminated top seeded Buffalo in five games, winning all three contests in HSBC Arena. But it's not like this Sabres team was worse than last year. The problem this year was the fact that the Senators were a much tougher defensive team than I ever remember. In my opinion (and I know I share this one), Ryan Miller is still a better goaltender than Ray Emery, but Emery played well enough to win and his defensemen frustrated Buffalo every night.

Now, with that out of the way: I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Buffalo Sabres this season. This team was fast, aggressive, lethal with the puck, and a LOT of fun to watch. When a team finishes a regular season with six 30 goal scorers, you know they're good. This team fully captivated the Western New York region from October 'til May and certainly made many new hockey fans in this area. I'm a little concerned about the pending free agencies of both Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, I must admit. But otherwise, I'm looking forward to seeing how well this team rebounds next season.
BUT since the Sabres are done...it's baseball season! As I was typing this, I saw the conclusion of today's Yankees / Mets game. Mets won. I saw two errors. I was happy. Unfortunately, Tim McCarver was in the broadcast booth. He sucks.

"But what team does Berger follow?", you might be asking. Well, I follow two: the Minnesota Twins and the Milwaukee Brewers. I have my reasons, but that's another post.

And no, I have no idea who's gonna win the Red Wings / Ducks series. But I'll keep watching it. Go sports!

My band made a music video. It's completely ridiculous, but that's the point.

Baseball. Beautiful, Beautiful Baseball...

I’ve felt so dejected from baseball the last couple of weeks. The Yankee’s suck, as it’s finally sunk in that the rebuilding years are upon us. I mean, I know Clemens is going to win 22 games and yet another Cy Young, but still… Boston is doing well, probably going to win another championship, making that two in one decade. By the way that’s “Sign of the Apocalypse # 47”. It’s in Revelations, I swear. For the record, # 46 was Rosie O’Donnell getting back on television. Sadly, the only enjoyment I have been able to muster thus far this season has been following the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yet neither the Hypocritical Red Sox, nor the AARP Yankees are what truly make me feel disconsolate this year. I have become absolutely LIVID at ESPN’s coverage of “Chasing Aaron”, as Barry “I obviously did steroids “Bonds closes in on the record. It actually makes me nauseous. What’s worse is there are actually people who still believe that Bonds was entirely clean. Bonds’ defense is the baseball equivalent to OJ “finding the real killers”. Actually that might be next. “No, I did not do steroids. But I will not rest until I out every doper in MLB”. It’s just unbelievable. The only thing that could make this situation worse is if Aaron were not African-American. Nothing infuriates me more than race issues in sports.

As for the solution to the steroid problem? I say give it to them all. Let everybody do it, no, MAKE everybody do it. I mean everybody. Players, Managers (Lou Pinnella anyone?), Umpires, General Managers, Owners, Ball Boys, even the Announcers. Can you imagine John Sterling on steroids?

Wait, I think I just have. Ok, here is a hypothetical Steroid John Sterling commentary-

Susan- Well John, I think the Yankee fans are somewhat justified in booing Alex Rodriguez. He makes an awful lot of money to not produce and-

John- LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING SUSAN! If I ever caught a Yankee fan booing A-Rod, I’d crack them across the mouth. I’m telling you, he’s gonna do something here, he’s gonna fu****** nail one.

Susan- We’ll see John, he’s down 0-2 in the count, and 0 for the century against this guy, I-

John- You watch Susan. High fastball and swing- THAT BALL IS HIGH! IT IS FAR! IT IS…GONE! GONE BI***. AND IT’S A GODDAMN A-BOMB… FROM GODDAMN A-ROD!!! I FU***** TOLD YOU SUSAN!!!!!

Oh my god this needs to happen…

Meanwhile, enjoy this....

What?! You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

I can't believe it. There's no NHL hockey tonight! There's an AHL game going on (Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Chicago Wolves), but good luck finding it outside of those two cities. So, we're probably stuck watching baseball. Talk about a serious threat of hockey withdrawl! If my band didn't have a show tonight, I wouldn't know what to do with myself...

It's a Smock show.
We're playing here.
Best. Beer Commercial. EVER.

BergerReview: Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

As McNally would know, I've been a fan of British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree for a few years now. My acquaintance with the band started with In Absentia, their American major label debut. That was an album I kinda dug at first, then turned into one of my Top 20 Favorite Albums after it grew on me. Deadwing followed in 2005, another grower album. Though it didn't vault into my favorite albums list, I still thoroughly enjoyed the disc. Great songs ("Blackest Eyes", "Trains", and "Gravity Eyelids" from In Absentia, The first four tracks and "Open Car" from Deadwing), fantastic production values, and solid playing (Drummer Gavin Harrison, in particular, has made his way into my Top 10 Drummers list through these recordings) are found on both albums. Still, the odd thing to me was the fact that neither of them hit me immediately and made me think "This is awesome!" on first listen.

Earlier this year, Porcupine Tree released a brand new album, Fear of a Blank Planet. With this album, that odd thing has been remedied. Ironically enough, Porcupine Tree succeeded at making an album with a more immediate impact while writing a somewhat veiled (you'll only notice this by reading the lyrics) concept record and reducing the track count to a mere 6 this time around. The centerpiece of this dichotomy is "Anesthetize", a sprawling epic broken up into 3 sections and clocking in at nearly 18 minutes in length. For those without the patience to sit through the full near-18 minutes on first listen, I encourage you to skim to the 11:00 mark of the track. At this point, you'll find a "Holy shit!" moment - an absolute musical freakout guaranteed to send your jaw to the floor the first time you hear it. Elsewhere, the title track (and opening cut) is a solid rock tune that summarizes the band quite well and is good enough to use as a single to boot (A music video for it does indeed exist). "Sleep Together" and "Way Out of Here" flat-out rock as well. The other two tracks are more atmospheric, but fit in with the rest of the album very smoothly.

Overall, the album's mood is incredibly dark (The lyrics are focused on unnamed teenagers over-prescribed on antidepressants and completely indifferent to the world around them) with atmospheric elements/samples providing a nice backdrop until the band starts to play at full volume. The musicianship is superb, the vocals are brilliant (I must admit I really like bandleader Steven Wilson's voice), and the production is nothing short of fantastic. Fear of a Blank Planet is, simply put, an incredible effort which exceeded my expectations from an already amazing band. Awesome, awesome stuff.

Pocupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (Atlantic, 2007)
Highlights: "Fear of a Blank Planet", "Anesthetize" (especially the middle part), "Way Out of Here"
Berger Rating: Two iPods up

The fun part for me? I'm gonna see Porcupine Tree live in Boston next Friday. I'll review the show as well.

"BergerMcNally"

We're kind of like the guys from PTI. Only with a more extensive knowledge of sports. And less perverted. And way more hair. Ok maybe we're nothing like the guys from PTI.

Catching Up...

Over the past few days, I’ve started approximately 4.6 blogs (Berger will appreciate that number), but never really developed the initiative to finish. Time constraint was a bit of a contributing factor, but realistically my problem is an inherent attention span of a seven year old newly diagnosed with ADD. Hmm, I wonder if atheists are still obligated to swear on the bible in court… Anyway, these 4.6 semi-complete blogs have now morphed into one super-blog, destined to unite all other blogs in a war against… wow too much caffeine. On that admission, here’s a collection of thoughts from the last couple of days…

Hockey- I hate to admit it, but I’ve been somewhat disappointed in the conference finals this year. The Anaheim-Detroit series started off rather enthrallingly, but I found game three to be disappointing. Playoff blowouts are only exciting if your preferential team is the one doing the… you thought I was going to say blowing, didn’t you? Seriously though, I do have a soft spot for the Ducks, if for no other reason than I have a penchant for randomly starting “quack…quack” chants at the most inopportune times.

As for the hit and suspension… one word: ouch. Soft spot or no, I don’t think Anaheim fans have an ethical leg to stand on here. That was undoubtedly a vicious hit. Add Scott Neidermayer for the exclamation point and you’ve got a Hanson Brothers highlight. I’m all for physical, “Eddie Shore old-time hockey” play and all, but you can’t go after a guy like that. Unless it’s a Devil, as I’m sure Colin Campbell would agree. As for boarding calls being subjective? The 15 stitches on Holstrom’s forehead make this a pretty objective call. Still, I must admit that a certain…exhilaration did take place the moment of the tag team check. I remember thinking, “Well about time, it’s four-nothing”.

The suspension was a little rough, but I really think this was the proper course of action. First, the game was 4-0 at that point, so throwing Pronger and R. Neidermayer out would have been the equivalent to a very effeminate slap on the wrist. This sends a much more dynamic message. Even so, the absence of Pronger does not cripple Anaheim’s defense. They still have Neidermayer with Giguere at the backstop, and maybe Giguere will get hot if he faces more shots. He really hasn’t show up yet for this series.
As for Buffalo-Ottawa, utterly disappointed. I knew Ottawa would make this a series, but I didn’t expect this. This feels worse than the Creed/Drago fight from Rocky IV. Although Buffalo has regained some life (that goal 9 seconds in was downright spectacular), 3 straight against a team who’s already given ample evidence that they can beat you seems a little improbable I mean, just what the hell happened? Only a cataclysmic event can explain Buffalo’s implosion. It’s a completely different team out there. Watching them play the Rangers (as hurtful as it was) was simply incredible. They’ve had flashes of that brilliance sporadically throughout the series, but have yet to grasp it long enough to have any effect. Game 4 was the longest they’ve been able to sustain their President Trophy stature, and that was still a bit too close. Still, there is hope. Games 5 and 7 are slated for Buffalo; all they need is one in Ottawa.

Basketball- Ok… admittedly so, I’m not much of a basketball fan. I mostly pay attention to post season hoops, and that more or less fills my quota for the year. I was however, a devout Knicks fan at one point and time. Sadly, the 1-2 punch of Spike Lee and Isaiah Thomas sort of disfigured that attachment. Yet imagine my surprise to discover that my connection had not been completely severed, as I found myself oddly indignant during the “Robert Horry hip checks Steve Nash” story. Clearly Horry feels that Nash should be playing the sport that Canadians are bred for. What bothers me most about this story is how incensed the commentators have been towards Stoudemier’s suspension for leaving the bench, yet not one mention of the Knicks-Heat debacle 10 years ago. My friend Scott pointed out that the Suns-Spurs incident was 10 years TO THE DAY of the Knicks-Heat fight. I’m sorry, but not only did that cost the Knick’s the series, it cost them a potential championship. They definitely could have beaten the Bulls that year. And yet again we have the “leaving the bench issue”, with no remembrance of the occurrence that originated the debate. And you know what? Because I am co-founder/contributor of this blog, I get to say this. Robert Horry, you’re a dick. You’re a tumbling, tumbling dickweed, and I hope Steve Nash gets those brothers from the Molson commercials to give you a Canadian Beat-down… whatever that entails.

Spider-Man 3- Ok, I’ve gotten this question from like 30 people so far, so I’ve decided to write about it here. No, 30 is not an exaggeration. See, I’m something of a Spider-Man fan (huge, haahuuge understatement) so people tend to be curious about my impression of the movie. Or course, this is probably to make fun of me for taking something so sophomoric, so seriously. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to formulate two perspectives. The first is that of the super-geek, namely the Spider-Man purist who believes the movies should follow the comics stringently. The second, is the objective movie viewer who judges the film on nothing more than entertainment value. Of course, this is how I saw the movie, but nobody believes that. I swear, I didn’t see it opening night, I’m not going to see it again in theaters, and I have grown up the past couple of years. Moving on…

My first complaint, which is intrinsic to both perspectives, is the over loaded, and often overworked plot. Way too much going on. The seven different sub-plots were at times detrimental to the movie, although it did help maintain a consistent pace. I could have done without the Mary-Jane jealousy, the majority of the Jazz Club scene, etc.. Honestly the Sand-man/Harry villains should have been a separate movie. The black costume/Venom plot is such a huge part of the Spider-Man mythos, it really deserved it’s own storyline.

Next observation. They NAILED the Venom costume, from both perspectives. But… but. Here comes the super-geek. TOPHER GRACE?!? The dorky whiny kid from “That 70’s Show”? Eddie Brock was the size of the governator in the steroid days, not some retro emo kid. Weak. Very, very weak. They didn’t even change his voice when the suit took over. I kept hearing the clueless poker player from Ocean’s 11 behind the toothy snarl.

have a question. When they make the toys from this movie, are they going to have “Emo Peter Parker”? With “Real Crying and Tears Action” and “Masochistic Damage”? I understand that what makes Spider-Man/Peter Parker so compelling is the very human angst of a theoretical super-human. That doesn’t mean he listens to Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie. I liked the dichotomy theme they were going for, but they never seemed to perfect it.

This all being said, I did enjoy the movie. It’s still Spider-Man, it’s still Sam Raimi, and no matter how unpolished the movie seemed, the Bruce Campbell scene made the movie completely worth it. Still worth seeing, for both the geek and the movie watcher.

Hooray Staying Alive!

I missed last night's game, but I was hoping the Sabres wouldn't get swept...and they didn't! WOO HOO! When I first checked on a computer to see how the game was going, I saw a headline to a blurb pointing out the fact that Derek Roy scored nine seconds into the game. How awesome is that (well, for everyone except Senators fans)?

Sadly, I'm going to miss tonight's game as well. The news that Chris Pronger was suspended for tonight's game didn't surprise me that much. My guess is if the penalty was called on Pronger, then Niedermeyer would've been suspended. For a vicious hit like that - which made Daniel Alfredsson's hit on Henrik Tallinder look like a love tap - they both deserved some sort of discipline. Either way, things are looking pretty good for Detroit right now.

Go hockey! I'll post a real CD review pretty soon.

Almost Like A Cooking Show, But In Hockey Form

Last night's game was probably bound to happen. The Anaheim Ducks received the beating of a lifetime, losing 5-0 at home to Detroit. Anaheim outshot the Red Wings in the first period, but still went to the dressing room down 2-0. Frustration seemed to take over the host Ducks in period 2 after Detroit chased Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Ducks were already starting a march to the penalty box in the first period, but The Dumb Parade just continued throughout the whole game for them. Surprisingly, Detroit only scored once on the power play, but they had 9 chances last night, including a full five-minute opportunity after Chris Pronger and Rob Niedermeyer drilled Thomas Holmstrom into the glass from behind, giving him two cuts on his forehead (Holstrom had scored twice before this incident in the second period. He missed the rest of the second, but was stitched up and back on the ice for period three). Niedermeyer received the boarding major and game misconduct, though it could've gone to either of them.

Lesson learned: When Todd Bertuzzi scores in a game, things are going right for the Red Wings.

Go Sabres! I'm gonna miss tonight's game due to the Wednesday post-work open mic a couple of guys in my band and I attend. So chant it with me now: DON'T GET SWEPT! DON'T GET SWEPT! DON'T GET SWEPT! DON'T GET SWEPT!

No Duh. (starring two guys from Smock)

Aaarrrrgh... and Explaining Berger's Rating System

So, uh... last night's game. Ryan Miller was friggin' awesome, only coughing up one fluky-ass goal in the second period. Sabres, as a whole, were also much better killing penalties. But other than that, the better team clearly won. When a team only fires 15, 16 shots on goal for an entire game, they kinda deserve to lose it...

I'd never thought I'd hear (see?) myself say (type?) this, but the Senators have been playing fantastic defense this series. When Dany Heatley backchecks, you know they really mean business on the defensive end. So now the Sabres must do the near-impossible to snag the Prince of Wales Trophy that nobody even touches anymore out of superstition and reach the Stanley Cup Final. If they don't, well...it's been a fun season. When this Sabres team was on its game, they made for some real good television.


On a completely different subject: Berger's Rating System! I'm a hopeless music nerd (some of the links I've posted will attest to that) who owns way too many CDs for his own good. So, while I'm here, I'll review albums and shows. Let's face it - music and movie reviews aren't definitive - they're just opinions. So, why not stage dive into the Music Critic Mosh Pit myself?

So here's how Berger's Rating System works: It's based on the Siskel/Ebert/Roeper thumb system, but the "thumbs" will be replaced with a different thing that I feel is appropriate for whatever music / band I'm reviewing (i.e. "metal horns" for the Strapping Young Lad album in my last post). Here's the scale:
Two (thumbs) up - AwesomeOne (thumb) up - Solid
One (thumb) down - Okay
Two (thumbs) down - Coaster

Happy listening!

My cousin in all his stop motion glory

Oddly Conflicted...

I hate the New Jersey Devils. To an extent, though common sensical to some (mostly other NY Rangers fans) often considered somewhat… unhinged. Though my reasons for such loathing are defensible, they are also numerous, so I will spare you the details of my admittedly maniacal disposition. My point? Imagine my surprise last night, when I leapt from my couch in joy after Scott Niedermayer scored the Duck’s overtime goal, bringing their series against Detroit to one apiece. I immediately sat back down, and questioned out loud, “Did I just applaud for Scott Niedermayer?”

That’s Scott Niedermayer…

Former Defenseman for the New Jersey Devils.

This brought about a few interesting inquiries, the most relevant of which is “How much significance does a player’s former team association have, specifically in your decision to root for a player once he has left set team?”

Needless to say, I felt slightly uncomfortable with the realization that I had just cheered a former Devil’s defenseman. This prompted me to consider how I felt about other former Devils once they left the leagues most droning and monotonous team since the NHL’s inception.

Bill Guerin- Traded to Edmonton for Jason Arnot in the 97-98 season. For me, Bill Guerin was the Devil you hated to hate. A smart player who wasn’t noticeably dirty, he also played for a few USA Hockey teams. Part of the reason I had been rooting for the Sharks this playoffs was because I had spotted Guerin on the roster.

Claude Lemieux- Total expletive. Dirty as he was efficient, the only blemish on a fantastically stacked Colorado Avalanche cup team. I enthusiastically rooted for the Av’s in 96, but a serious and potential career ending injury to Lemieux would have been well received.

Bobby Holik- Former Devil, eventual Ranger, current Thrasher. Following that same vein, my feelings on Holik went something like “detestation, indifference, and disgust”. Obvious disdain for when he wore the red and black, although he certainly wasn’t one of the most odious. When Johnny Damon game over from the Red Sox, I felt the familiar déjà vu of the Holik signing; contented to snub the rival, but realistic as to expectations. Bobby helped, but never really got comfortable. Watching him against the Rangers in this year’s playoffs, I saw an intensity which had only been duplicated while he played for New Jersey. This same intensity was inexplicably absent during his stint with the Rangers, hence the lack of a New York contract.

That brings us back to Niedermayer. Can I root for a Ducks team that proudly employ’s a former intricate piece of the New York Rangers’ bane? The answer is a resounding yes. My contempt is ultimately for the Devils organization, not for its former players. There are plenty of a-holes on the current roster to be the objects of my disparagement. Besides, Niedermayer is certainly no Scott Stevens, current front runner for Biggest Douche in the Universe Award. If he couldn’t beat the ever loving crap out of me, I’d totally kick his ass.

As for the game, no complaints here. A split two games in is always indicative of a great series, and there is still plenty of hockey left. Meanwhile, Buffalo has quite the task ahead of them in Ottawa. Will someone put out an APB on Buffalo Power Play?

“Goals are like insults, they don’t count unless they cross the line…”- Don Taylor

Friggin' Metal

When I got home from work, I immediately turned on the TV to check on the Sabres game... and saw a glut of commercials. Must be intermission... which is sad, 'cause I was friggin' PUMPED when I got back here. But then again, I was also listening to Strapping Young Lad in the car. If you can't get pumped up on adrenaline after listening to an over-the-top Canadian speed metal band, then I don't know what to tell you.

Strapping Young Lad - "The New Black" (Century Media, 2006)
Highlights: "You Suck", "Monument", "Wrong Side"
Berger Rating: Two metal horns up


Go Sabres! Time to get that power play clicking again...

The Ecstasy, The Agony, The Ecstasy Again, The Agony Again

Wow. So much to talk about from last night's game...

Congratulations to the Senators for making some team history. I still can't believe they've never held a 2-0 series lead before. Needless to say, the Sabres are in a rough spot right now, but this series isn't over yet. However, if their power play knew which way was up, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Thomas Vanek was awesome last night. If he keeps that up, his line will take the series over. Hell, if he had just been able to control the puck when Emery decided to go on an adventure outside his crease (apparently, Emery graduated from the Dominik Hasek School of Puckhandling), this series would be 1-1. Briere also played much better than he did in Game One and has probably never scored an easier big goal in his life than his game-tying tally with 5 seconds left in regulation. I bet his eyes were like friggin' dinner plates when that puck got to him with Emery that far out of position...

On the other side of Lake Ontario, Chris Neil took the dumbest penalty I've ever seen in a playoff game. He pinned Derek Roy against the boards until he drew the Sabres offsides. How could he possibly think he could've gotten away with that? What a moron. Anyway, the Heatley / Alfredsson / Spezza line was amazing again. Normally, it's detrimental to a playoff team to have a one line offense. But, when that one line is clicking as well as these guys are, they can get away with it. An Ottawa / Anaheim final could be interesting - I'd kinda like to see how this line would fare against Chris Pronger and Rob Neidermeyer.

Normally, I'm not one to complain about officiating, but how the hell did Daniel Alfredsson NOT get called for boarding Henrik Tallinder in the first overtime period? That hit was a textbook boarding penalty. I know Don VanMassenhoven was out of position when that happened, but what was the other referee doing? Napping? I know full well that the refs can't catch everything, and I'm fine with that. But completely missing what could have been a major and game misconduct call is completely inexcusable.

Western Conference Final Game Two tonight. I'd watch - and I want to, believe me - but my guitar player is throwing a "housecooling" party tonight, so I should probably go to that and drink some beer. Darn. And, of course, Happy Mother's Day!

It's on.

Well, That Was Awesome: Getting Reacquainted With A Sport I Kinda Liked In The First Place

Damn, that was cool. I gotta watch this stuff more often... This afternoon on Versus, I caught the National Lacrosse League* Championship game between my hometown Rochester Knighthawks and the Arizona Sting (?). The game was well played and extremely exciting throughout, helped along by the really good crowd in Phoenix's poorly named hockey arena (Jobing.com Arena?! You gotta be friggin' kidding me!). The Sting played hard and tightened up on defense in the second half, but the Knighthawks were just too strong and just always had the answering goal whenever Arizona got close. Knighthawks won, 13-11. WOO HOO!!!! I'm DEFINITELY checking this team out live next season...

And now, from one playoff to another. Heard an interesting factoid on ESPNEWS a few days ago (ESPNEWS: SportsCenter For Those Who Can't Stomach A Full Hour Of Shameless Self-Promotion). Interestingly enough, four out of the last five teams who won Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals have gone on to lose the series. That includes the '03 Senators and last year's Sabres. So hmmm... and, of course, it's Game Two tonight. GO SABRES!


*For those not in the know, the NLL is an indoor lacrosse league that's played 5-on-5 (not counting goalies) and feels a lot more like hockey than the 11-on-11 outdoor game played on school campuses this time of year (professionals play outdoors in the summer, too).

LINKS: NLL
Major League Lacrosse (summer outdoor league)
Rochester Knighthawks (cue the Queen song)

Indeed

LOL. Eat babies, that's great. Berger's right, if you can watch the end of that game, and not walk away a full fledged hockey fan, then you should have your brain checked. Wild, wild stuff *Dana Carvey doing Johnny Carson voice*. I was a little surprised at the outcome however. Anaheim were getting their shots, but Hasek was a little too... well, Hasek. I didn't care for the Wings' goals either. One was a shot off of Giguere that trickled in, and the other was a deflection off a Duck (You know, this sounds pretty inhumane if you take it out of context). Garbage goals if you ask me, but don't worry, no one will. Detroit had less that twenty shots, and only five in the first period. The funny thing is, goal number 1 was scored in the first period, leaving Giguere with a save percentage of 80 percent. Ouch.

With the loss in Buffalo, and the Ducks formerly known as Mighty dropping game one, that makes me a stellar 0-2 in my game one predictions. But I'm not worried. Buffalo will have woken up by game two and the Ducks will have had that inspirational talk by Coach Bombay.

Now There's An Ending For You

Holy crap. I missed about half of last night's Anaheim / Detroit game, but I did catch the last 10 minutes or so. I gotta tell ya - the last 17 seconds of that game were nothing short of SPECTACULAR (Anaheim had their goalie pulled and Detroit was shorthanded). If you saw the end of that game and didn't like hockey afterwards, then you have no soul and probably eat babies.

I wonder how Henrik Zetterberg felt watching those 17 seconds from the penalty box after being called for delay of game...


DIE.

I'm So Glad I Got to This First...

NFL sources have reported that Miami Dolphins and High Times Man of the Year running back Ricky Williams has tested positive for marijuana.

Wait for it...


Wait for it...

SURPRISE!!!!

Seriously, this is my surprise face. I mean, fucking duh. The only thing funnier about this situation is the fact that his Achilles heal is just pot. Not Coke. Not Heroin. Not Crunk Juice. Ricky Williams is addicted to weed.

This couldn't come at a better time for the Dolphins. They had a stellar draft day, what with the passing of Brady Quinn and all (although to be fair, they did pick up a decent quarterback in 2nd rounder John Beck. It's just that, well Beck is not Quinn). Dante Culpepper is set to have a tremendous season, all 6 games of it before he gets injured. Oh yeah, Nick Sabin just sent a "Thanks for all the Memories" post card from Alabama. Yep, things are great in Dolphin Country. Like my good friends in Buffalo say, "Squish the Fish". And yes I am aware that dolphins are not fish.

More Blowouts, Please

Maybe I'm sick, but I like to see blowouts. If I tune to a baseball game where one team is down by 10 runs, I tend to stick around 'cause I wanna see how bad it gets. Hell, I stuck around in the stands for the whole game where a local minor league team lost 16-3. So, imagine my joy when I saw "Texas 14, NY Yankees 2" and "Oakland 17, Kansas City 3" from yesterday's action. Too bad I wasn't able to actually watch either of those games...

Oh yeah - Sabres lost last night. Bummer. Sabres just weren't together - especially on the power play - and the Senators took advantage of that. But if Toni Lydman's goal is any indication - they just let him walk into the front of the net! - I'm not too worried. At least not for now...

In the meantime, enjoy THIS.

Start Spreading the News...

You have to feel real good if you are a Yankee fan right now. 200 million plus payroll definitely buys you a solid product as we have seen thus far this season. They proudly boast a 16-17 record, just shy of that coveted .500 mark. Their bullpen needs a rehab session from being over worked. Which really isn't a problem, especially since the starters are barely making it to the 6th inning. And speaking of starters, how about the signing of Roger Clemens? 45 years old and still going strong. He's been pitching the last two seasons in a league with inferior hitting, and one less batter in the lineup, so his return should definitely help the Yankees' starters total ERA. Which is i think 27th in the league. Great, great numbers. And while the front office is still hot, lets trade away Phillip Hughes to make way for a Randy Johnson homecoming. I mean the Yankee's have a chance for something historic here. When is the last time a teams entire starting rotation were official members of AARP?

I loathe myself...

Yep... This is gonna be an interesting game

When I got home from work, I immediately turned on the TV... 2-0 Senators, about halfway through the first period. Dammit! Slightly dejected, I wandered back out to my car to grab my bass and drum sticks. I wandered back into my apartment to find the Sabres had scored while I was gone. Woo hoo! This game is gonna get interesting...

Welcome my friends to the show that...um just started

See what happens when two former college roommates and avid hockey fans stop blogging, and start being real. Mad Real. Could not have picked a better start date; Game one of the Senators/Sabres series is just hours away. What the hell's a senator anyway? I actually know the answer to that question, I just couldn't think of a better insult. Though hockey will undoubtedly be the preferred topic of discussion for a while (hockey fans to an admittedly psychotic extent, and it's the playoffs) this blog will eventually include Life, the Universe, and Everything. Just from our point of view...

Go Sabres!

Brought to you by BergerMcNally Enterprises

IT'S ALIVE! ALIIIIVE!!!

Hello there, all you happy people. Welcome to yet another blog. But THIS is just the start of something. I'd talk about what this blog is going to be about, but I'll get back to you on that as soon as we figure out what the hell we're doing here. But for now: Hi. Welcome. And GO SABRES!

(Sorry. Couldn't resist that last one.)