Category:

Extremely Lame & Incredibly Short

3/2/2012

The Scizz

Those of us at DGWU Sports have been ridiculously busy lately, hence not a whole lot of content. The Yachtsman has been juggling his time between organizing some potentially awesome possibilities at his real job and his obsession for Jeremy Lin and the New York Knickerbockers, all the while hedging his bets on a Sabres comeback and blowing them off almost entirely. The Barrister has spent this week preparing for, and taking the Massachuesetts Bar exam, with intermittent periods of heavy drinking and tweeting while intoxicated. His passion for the Sabres is a continuing fluctuation. The Apologist has promised us a post about Dracy's trade deadline moves all week, but last I heard he was kidnapped by a Columbian named Caesar, who is none too thrilled with Aps moving in on his territory, selling knock off Linsanity t-shirts in Stuyvesant Town. Me? Work has been brutal and I'll be tied up all weekend with my engagement party, but I felt the need to make a few quick comments about the Buffalo Sabres as of late. So you know what that means....IT'S MAIL IT IN TIME!!!!

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"Gotta Support The Team" - My First Sabres Game of the Year

12/29/2011

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Not surprisingly, I saw none of this last night.

The Scizz

Living in the tri-state area, I don't get many chances to see my "beloved" Sabres play live, so when the opportunity arises, I usually jump on it. When I lived among the five boroughs of NYC, it was usually just for Ranger games at the Garden, and occasionally a road trip out to Nassau or the Meadowlands. However, since becoming the only member of the Deeg to move over the water to Hoboken, NJ, the trip to Newark for Devils games has become much easier. So on Wednesday night, accompanied by the Scizzette's father (a Devils fan), I ventured out to see the Sabres play live for the first time this season.

These are my observations from the game. I have not looked at any stat lines, read any recaps, watched highlights, or even discussed the game with any members of the blogopolis. This is what I saw and the thoughts that followed. You forget how different it is watching live when you don't get many opportunities to do so. Also, I had a lot to drink last night, so some of my recollections are a bit fuzzy. Actually, I remember very little of the so-called "important hockey details". That's what happens when you have a Peroni, Sixpoint Smoked Baltic Porter, Sixpoint Diesel, Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner, two large Stella's, a Ramstein wheat beer, and finally an Elmer T. Lee bourbon as a nightcap. Thank God for Barcade's meat and cheese plate, otherwise I might not be standing right now. Blogger row credentials, here I come!

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Matt Ellis, 'Melo, a Miracle at the Ralph, and other Holiday Ramblings

12/27/2011

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The Scizz

Happy Holidays everybody. I hope your days have been fun and fulfilling this week. Maybe time with your family gave you the rejuvenation you needed, or perhaps Santa, Hanukah Harry or Krampus the Christmas demon got you everything you wanted. Either way, it's nice to unwind after the busy days of December and look forward to basketball, hockey, and of course, to the Bills not playing and thus ripping our collective hearts out for nine months. (Ed. Note from Barrister: Don't forget about the draft! That'll be killer!)

With that, I felt the need to share some thoughts I've had over the last few days, and wanted to start out with one of the most awesome, yet unexpected gifts that I've ever received. That would be....

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His Name Is Matt Ellis....And He Is All That Is Man.

10/25/2011

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The Scizz
If you read this blog, then it is no mystery to you that I have a giant man-crush on Matt Ellis.

For the past seven games I have sat quietly, waiting for the hardest working man in hockey to crack the line-up. Tonight is the night. After proving many wrong by earning another contract from the Sabres, and then proving more people wrong by making the team to start the season, he will emerge from the darkness tonight to lead this team to the promise land. Tyler Ennis is hurt? Bullshit. Lindy needs an excuse to unleash the true captain of this team.

Matt Ellis is here. There is no more need to worry about underachieving. There is no more need to worry about disappointment. There is no more need to occupy anywhere but the First Niagara Center. A hero rises from the ashes, and these "men" from Tampa Bay shall be warned.

Matt Ellis has arrived and you shall bow before him

Why have you even read this far?

Go Sabres!

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Diamonds In The Rough - Matt Ellis

7/21/2011

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Matt Ellis = Kevin Martin? No, not the guy who plays basketball, dummy.

The Scizz

If the current Pegula Sabres were compared to 1990's alternative bands, then Matt Ellis might be considered Better Than Ezra or Candlebox. You might remember him/them for a few moments and even enjoy what he/they brought to the scene, but in the long run you forget they were ever there. This is why the Matt Ellis story is a tad different than what I wrote about Cody McCormick last week. He hasn't earned a long term contract, a full-time roster spot, or in some cases, the respect of the casual fan. I say eff that. Over the past three seasons, this kid has probably worked harder than any other player on the Buffalo roster (sweeping generalization). Yes, he may have incredibly miniscule talent when compared to your average NHL athlete, but when have you not seen Matty Ellis busting his ass 112% and making the most out of every moment he gets in a Sabres uniform.

This is why Matty just got his new deal. Although not long-term and only a two-way deal this upcoming season, it displays the organization's knowledge that he is a hardworking, solid fourth liner that when called upon will do his damndest to get the job done. I'm not sure exactly how the deal works, but my guess is that he will spend most of this season as the captain in Rochester and will be one of the top forward call-ups. As for next season when it is a one-way deal, maybe this is Darcy's way of putting Ellis to the test for one more season and possibly giving him the opportunity to prove he can be a full-time fourth liner. If not, he at least will earn a full year of an NHL salary in 2012-13, whether it is with the Sabres, Rochester, or possibly another NHL franchise (if he gets traded or claimed off of waivers).

This all makes me extremely happy. I LOVE Matt Ellis, and the rest of the DGWU crew often makes fun of me for it. I have a soft spot for hardworking athletes who may not have the skill of others, but have the heart to do whatever it takes. This is why I have always pulled for athletes like Grady Sizemore, Steve Wojciechowski, Dustin Brown, Tayshaun Prince, and Jim Leonhard. These guys push themselves nonstop. Granted, maybe a couple of them are skill players who don't get noticed so it is hard to compare them to Ellis (Dustin Brown), but I think you get my point. It might be because this was always the type of athlete I was. I was a pretty solid track and cross-country runner, but of course those athletes never get much love or the spotlight, so I also played basketball. By the time I was in eighth grade I had the realization that "oh, I'm not very good. I better work my ass off if I ever want to play Varsity". So that is what I did. I hustled for every rebound I could, I sprinted up and down the court, and dove for every loose-ball. Just don't ask me to hit a 10 foot jump shot or drive the lane. I guess I identify with Matt Ellis (although he was probably a stud in high school sports back in Welland, Ontario), and thus why I pull for the guy so much.

If only I had game like Woody....

I still remember the day Matt Ellis signed with the club. October 1st, 2008 I believe. I was dying for the season to begin and would check every Sabres site I could for any news that I missed. Then I saw "Buffalo claims forward Matt Ellis off waivers", to which I responded, "huh?". I had NO CLUE who Matt Ellis was. I checked his NHL profile and saw that he had played most of his career in the AHL, and in the NHL for two teams in two seasons. This claim would make him 3 for 3. Not a strong background. His numbers:

GP: 70 Goals: 3 Assists: 5 Points: 8 Average Time On Ice : 7:40 Plus/Minus: +2

Nothing to get excited about, but when news is slow, anything becomes interesting. However as he was given his new opportunity, Ellis scored seven goals and 12 points in 45 games with a +4 and earned a full-time position with the team in 2009-10. He even scored his first playoff goal, but will unfortunately will only be remembered in that series for a video I refuse to put up. You can read about it here as it was covered by the Yachtsman back in the olden days of this blog.

Following his full-time run, he only earned a two-way deal last season and spent most of the time in Portland. Much of this was due to the emergence of Cody McCormick in the 09-10 playoffs and the following camp. But last year was still enough to get a deal done again for the upcoming season. In fact, I recently learned from Phil of BBG that the Sabres actually do quite well when he is in the lineup. Therefore I believe that Darcy found another unwanted talent that has proven his worth. Matty Ellis is back!

I wonder how much a half Amerks, half Sabres Ellis Jersey would cost?

In honor of the aforementioned Candlebox, I had to drop this youtube gem. Still one of my favorite songs, which is why the Matt Ellis comparison works so well for me.

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Well The Sky Is Falling And It Just Douched On Matt Ellis' Head

4/20/2010

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The Yachtsman

Yes, they lost last night. You could point the finger at a number of causes. The “core” forwards are playing like they’d rather be out on Chippewa than in an NHL Playoff game. The young guns are looking more and more overmatched. Tony Lydman doesn’t understand the concept of NHL Hockey. Deep down, as fans, we all knew these issues would rear their ugly head at some point this postseason. Of course, it would be nicer if they'd lie dormant until the second or third round (or never). These and several other points may eventually add up to a sum equaling a loss, but that’s not the issue we have over here at DGWU sports. The issue I have is how the FUCK is this guy still walking around with a smile on his face?!?

Bruins ROOKIE Defenseman Jonny Fucking Boychuk. This guy has laid the hammer down all series on several skilled and not so skilled Sabre forwards. That’s fine. It’s his job. The problem is, he’s allowed to do a fantastic job. I can understand the Sabres being a skill/finesse team, as much as they don’t ever live up to that moniker (skill teams score), but you would at least expect a modicum of revenge for the Vanek hit. But then to come out and lay the lumber down AGAIN, this time on Matt Ellis…..it’s too much. Yes, it was a tight game. Yes it was a tight PLAYOFF game. Yes, the Sabres needed every advantage they could get. But COME THE FUCK ON, LINDY. Let somebody loose out there on him!! It’s not like you don’t have at least one weapon on the bench who can put in that kind of work.

On the long train ride back from the bar, The Apologist (as he tends to do) made excuses for not unleashing some sort of beast on the Bruins. They included no unnecessary power plays, the need for 5 on 5 hockey, can’t take key players out of the game. I understand, but here’s my counterpoint: THESE GUYS NEED TO WAKE THE FUCK UP. A well timed douching of Marco Sturm or Patrice Bergeron would have been nice from Kaleta. Yes, they had that boomtown hit on a Bruin who I couldn’t see by a Sabre I couldn’t see (it was on Versus in a bar, so you can imagine how easy it is to see who did what…..I think Jaffe was talking about his love of haircuts at that point), and that’s an awesome start! Three or four more like that and maybe we start focusing a little bit better. Instead, we got the NHL version of a Screech vs. Unnamed Bayside Nerd fight.

I understand we’re never going to be the Flyers….but Jesus, can we at least be the Sabres?? Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad, even (gasp!) Tyler Myers……USE YOUR SIZE. We won game 1 because the Sabres decided to hit….and hit hard. You can’t just do that for one game and sit on your laurels. It’s a long post-season, and the teams that play golf in April and May are the ones who fall back to January hockey the quickest. They played out of character for exactly one game. They need to do that again if they have any shot of coming out of Boston with some hope. Playing out of character….I’m pretty sure that’s what this was:

Prediction: if they don’t come out swinging next game, Bruins in Five. Ugly. Celebrating on Home Ice. And we all remember how that feels.

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NHL Hot Stove: Sabres Sign Ellis / Kotalik Returns to the Eastern Conference

7/10/2009

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The Apologist

The ink is dry on another new Sabres contract, albeit not a very exciting one. The Sabres signed winger Matt Ellis to a one-year deal. The value of the deal has not been disclosed yet. The 27-year-old forward was picked up off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings just before the start of last season. Over the course of the season, Ellis contributed 12 points in 45 games and was a rare physical presence (6'1", 210 lbs.) on the ice for the Sabres. Well ... physical by the Sabres' standards.

[DGWUS Super Special Fun Fact: Matt Ellis would go on to become the biggest man-crush in the Scizz's sports world!]

The one-year deal seems to be the only kind that Regier is interested in writing these days. Earlier this off-season he signed new defenseman Steve "The Matador" Montador (It's too easy, I know, but it has to be done) for one year after Jaro Spacek rejected a one-year deal.

Meanwhile, former Sabre Ales Kotalik (seen right firing a puck directly into the goalie's chest) has returned to the Eastern Conference after a brief stint in Edmonton. Kotalik signed a 3-year deal worth $9 million to rejoin fellow former Sabre Chris Drury with the New York Rangers. Kotalik, you'll remember, was traded to the Oilers at the deadline last season for a second-round draft pick that Regier then turned and traded to Toronto for forward Dominic Moore. Moore is no longer employed by the Sabres, but that may only be temporary. Supposedly Moore is hoping for a deal in the $2 million range (he made $900,000 last season) which is why the Leafs were looking to deal him. If Regier had no intention of signing Kotalik for 3-mil, I can't imagine he plans on signing Moore for 2. But I bet we'd pick him back up if he'll take a one-year deal in the $1 million range, like Montador. Otherwise, he'll join Steve Bernier and Dainius Zubrus in the Hall of "Guys We Traded Former Cornerstones For Only To Let Them Walk Out The Door Too".

I almost feel like I liked it more when they let guys finish out the season as Sabres and then sent them packing...

Almost.

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Extremely Lame & Incredibly Short

"Gotta Support The Team" - My First Sabres Game of the Year

Matt Ellis, 'Melo, a Miracle at the Ralph, and other Holiday Ramblings

His Name Is Matt Ellis....And He Is All That Is Man.

Diamonds In The Rough - Matt Ellis

Well The Sky Is Falling And It Just Douched On Matt Ellis' Head

NHL Hot Stove: Sabres Sign Ellis / Kotalik Returns to the Eastern Conference

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