Sports on television.  Amazing.

Color.  Wow; it looks like real life.

Digital Cable.  Less fuzzy.

HDTV – wow that looks awesome.  Is that the grass growing?

With technology pushing the envelope we are now entering the world of 3D Sports.  Can it work?  It has already seen some success – but it will all depend on how it is presented.

I talked with Sue from DucksDailyBlog, Frank from TheRatTrick, and Nathan from Predlines.  All had differing views on it.

Frank attributed the gimmick to the FoxTrax glowing puck.  Needless to say he didn’t like my idea.  I am beginning to think that Frank just doesn’t like me period.

Remember the FoxTrax? Source: bluejayhunter.com

Sue pointed out that it is in all how it is presented.  If its shot in 2D or with standard lenses and then turned into 3D – it presents a less than realistic appeal.

I will have to take her word for it, the world of 3D is lost to me when I put those glasses on.

Nathan agreed with me, in some respect.  Nathan suggested using the large video boards in every arena – and showing a 3D image on one side, and a standard image on the other; and allow fans to generate revenue for the team by drastically reduced ticket prices and open concession stands.

My idea is this.  Most teams have played with projection systems that display video images on the ice.   Why not develop 3D technology that will display a 3D image onto the ice. Now I know that not every arena has the same ice surface, but its all relatively the same size, and a little tweaking is in order; but couldn’t you just fathom the day when you could head to HSBC arena and watch Thomas Vanek skate blue line to blue line – except he was actually doing it in Boston?

One could easily make the argument of who would head downtown to watch an away game at the arena?  Well we have proven that we can and will, fill large areas to watch a game on television.  Remember ‘99 when the Sabres met the Stars for the Stanley Cup?  I remember watching a very full Dunn Tire Park (now Coca-Cola Field)  rock just as hard as the Arena that night.  Party in the Plaza sans tent?  We filled it.  There’s a market for it, the NHL just has to find the right gimmick.

I know it sounds a little futuristic and star trekky, but honestly, how far are we away from seeing this?

The arbitrator decided Kennedy’s numbers and play was worth one million dollars.  Evidently since that price is lower than $1,611,180 the Buffalo Sabres are not able to walk away from the deal and must accept it.  Tim Kennedy had 26 points last season, and played essentially on every line at some point during the year. He had flashes of brilliance, and showed his age sometimes as well. This year though he knows what to expect and how to prepare for it, I expect to see Kennedy’s numbers increase  which means he will be asking for more money the same time next year!

When most players hear they are headed towards arbitration, its because either the team or the player feel they deserve more of a bargain, or more of a payout.

This summer, arbitration will decide whether or not the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuck attempted to circumvent the current CBA and compromising the league with the seventeen year, $102 Million contract.

Shortly after Bill Daly, NHL Deputy Commissioner, rejected the terms of the contract, all parties involved voiced a brief opinion on the contract, and then said they had no further comment until the issue was resolved.  Typical legal mumbo jumbo.

Heading into the hearing however, history may be on the side of Ilya Kovalchuck, and it may not be to the liking of the New Jersey Devils.  This is not the first ridiculously long contract to be signed, nor is it the first contract over 100 million dollars.  There has been plenty of talk about what contracts the league should have shot down, and for that matter, what teams are secretly wishing the league had shot down.

Not to beat a dead horse, but Robert Luongo, Rick Dipietro are two names that come to mind.

Oh sure, we could sit back and point fingers at who is to blame for the start of these ridiculous contracts.  My money is on Kevin Lowe and his poaching attempts – teams want players locked up longer.  Kovalchuck is beyond the days of being an RFA; but the principle is still there.  (Yes Kevin Lowe, I still hate you for the Vanek contract and attempted poach.  They say time heals all wounds, which in my book successfully puts you above Brett Hull and No Goal.)

Kovalchuck wins either way in this arbitration hearing.  If the Devils win their case, he gets his major deal.  If the league wins, Kovalchuck becomes a free agent once again, and the media circus still surrounds him (its getting old but it’s still better than hearing about Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, or how terrible the New York Islanders or any team from Florida continue to be).

My money is on the Devils winning the hearing.  History is just on their side.  I would not be surprised if the arbitrator rules in favor of the NHL.  The argument could be made that the precedence is there to honor such contracts, because no rejection has ever been made – but the precedence of rejecting contracts has to start somewhere.

If the NHL is smart, they won’t close door this thing, with fans learning about it after the fact from team, league, player, and union reactions.  Nah, you want hockey ratings to soar through the roofs in late July?  Put that shit on Versus and cover it like the Lebron special on ESPN.  I mean shit, what will normal Versus viewers miss out on – an hour or two of fishing or bull riding?  I’d almost like to watch both sides sit there and sweat it out in front of a lawyer or two.

Having said that, I think we have officially spent way to much time on Ilya Kovalchuck this summer.

You know those random thoughts that one gets while reading things on the Internet.  Yep, just had one.  And this time I thought about how much alike the Sabres and Spam are.

Pause for dramatic effect…….Now that I have you wondering whether I am talking about the precooked meat product (its not even real meat, but a meat product?) or the electronic type?

SPAM from Hormell Food. Source: myranourmand.com

Both actually.

Take the precooked meat product made by The Hormel Food Corporation.

The Sabres are like SPAM because both organizations sell a product that no one is certain just what it’s made of?

The Sabres are like SPAM because more people like them than will admit too?

Over the years the wrapper on the outside has changed but it’s the same old garbage inside?

How about the electronic kind of Spam?

It looks appealing at first but is a dangerous disappointment afterwords?

The Sabres are to Buffalo as Spam is to the Internet?  Its always there, at the best of times, at the worst of times.  The best of times  Hey about them Sabres (Knock on would, no spam in a while).  The worst of times – Man the Sabres Suck (I get more spam than regular mail).

If you had to pick one SPAM (spam) and compare it to the Sabres, would you find it more like the meat [product] or the annoying electronic version?

Other than trying to be funny, this post proves another point about the Sabres.  Is anyone else bored this time of the year when we should be talking trades and free agency?

One of the topics of discussion on many sports talk shows around the nation, is if the fact that Kovie-gate went on for as long as it did.

We finally got word that he signed in New Jersey, so I thought, great, now that he has a home, other teams are going to make a move or two now, and we can get on with the business of getting ready for training camp.

The the league stepped in and said, wait a minute, Ilya Kovalchuck is still an unrestricted free agent, as the deal brokered violated the CBA.  Tough move by the league, one that is very appropriate.

But it’s not as easy as putting the UFA tag back on him and letting the bidding wars continue between Los Angeles, New York (Islanders) and New Jersey.

The Devil’s President and General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, has publically stated he disagrees with the leagues decision – but other than that they are keeping a tight lip on the situation while it moves through the appeals process.  The Devils are certainly not going to try and offer a different contract for different terms – because they feel they have done nothing wrong.

Kovie’s agent on the other hand – is not going to encourage his client to go looking for another deal, unless they can get one that is going to pad both of their bank accounts even more than the 102 million dollar deal coming out of New Jersey.

So the rest of us have to sit idly by and watch this three ring circus play out – is it just synonymous with the New Jersey Devils that they have to kill this sport every so many years?  The Trap in the 90s and now Kovie-gate in 2010?

Patrick Kaleta will be a Buffalo Sabre for another two years.  If his career keeps progressing the way it has been, I am quite content continuing to bring back one of the biggest pests in the league.

The smartest thing the Sabres have done in the past few years was part ways with Peters, I think Kaleta provides much more in the ways of grit and definitely scoring.  I am also glad to see one of the Sabres RFAs avoid arbitration.

Kaleta spoke about this process on WGR before reports of the deal became available, and he said that from what he heard from guys is that arbitration leaves a bad taste in guys mouths because the teams they are up against have to air all the dirty laundry about a guy as reason why they shouldn’t have to pay him.  Kaleta’s arbitration date was scheduled for the 29th, Kennedy still has time left on his clock, as he isn’t scheduled to appear before arbitration until the 27th.

Kovie is a free agent again, and in some respects Ithink this is a good thing and in some respects I think it is just delaying the inevitable.  There are plenty of other similar contracts that the Devils and the NHLPA can reference that are similar to Koalchuck’s and have been allowed to pass.  Somewhere the league needs to put its foot down and eliminate these practices that will bury small market teams once again.

So all of these thoughts poured into my head on my drive home today, and I had a better post for them all planned out- and then I heard Darcy Regier speak on the Kaleta signing, free agency, and the Kovie situation.

I want to focus on his comments on the free agency.

We all know at the end of last season, angry Darcy Regier was available to the press and he explicitly mentioned “changes”.  Now we have been hearing that word alot around this team lately, and so far its been all talk and not a lot of action.

What I am impressed with, is Darcy Regier did not fall back on the “well we have made changes” comments that he also has; citing Jordan Leopold and Rob Nediermayer.  He could have easily done that.  What he did say was that the Sabres did try and go after two players that would have helped changed this team, and were either at the number the players wanted, or above it; but one decided to move closer to home, and the other stayed put.

What I don’t think will make this team better, is the notion that as a coaching staff they have spent more time with their current players.  Wrong answer to my ears Darcy!  How much more time should we give Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Tim Connolly?

Ok, I am in.  I’ll give you one more year.  I might have to go on an exodus next year and find a new team though if I get the same old same old.  But then again, I’ve been there before too, and come September, something always keeps me Blue and Gold.

Tim Kennedy and Patrick Kaleta will go before the arbitration judge later in July. According to WGR550.com Kennedy’s will be on July 27th and Kaleta’s will be held on July 29th. Hopefully Kaleta’s ten goals do not inflate his salary too much. Both should be relatively cheap and both will most likely be resigned by the Sabres.

***Update 7/21/10 3:38*** Patrick Kaleta has agreed to a two year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. The details of the contract have yet to be made public. We can however speculate, given past contracts and Kaleta’s injuries as of late, I think it could be 1.2-1.5 per year. But we will have to wait and see.

***Update 7/21/10 9:24pm*** Well I was dead wrong on the Kaleta contract… according to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News his contract is 1.815 million,  $860,000 for the first year, and $955,000 the second. So essentially we got him for nothing, and if I were Kaleta I would have gone to arbitration.

This really doesn’t have anything to do with the Sabres, however I will attempt to bring them in as I go along.

Twitter has in many ways taken the internet world by storm. Since its launch in 2006 there are more than 190 million people tweeting. Everyone from the family doctor to Lee Evans of the Buffalo Bills have joined in on the phenomenon.

This is great news for the NHL as more and more players are slowing coming around to joining their colleagues, agents, and fans on Twitter.

Many current and since retired hockey stars are popping up all over Twitter. US Olympian Ryan Kesler and ex-NHL great Brendan Shanahan are just a couple.  They often hold question and answer sessions, have giveaways and promote different charitable events, all in the name of connecting with their fans.

Sadly though, to my knowledge, not a single Sabre has come around to joining Twitter*.We can only speculate as to the lack of Sabres on Twitter, perhaps they are not interested, or it’s club policy which is stopping them from logging on. Hopefully in the near future Sabres fans will have a chance to interact with their favorite players.

For those of you reading interested in other athletes on Twitter, Twitter-athletes.com has legitimate twitter accounts of all of your favorite athletes from a variety of different sports.

So start following and start interacting with your favorite players!

*Evidently Drew Stafford had an active Twitter but has since vanished, according to @PhilBBG of Black & Blue & Gold .

Free agency is only a couple of weeks old.  For the most part, Darcy Regier has settled in for an off season of fun, sun, and relaxation hitting the proverbial snooze button on making the team better.

The free agent deals the Buffalo Sabres have completed so far, with the exception of Jordan Leopold and Rob Niedermayer – have done nothing to help the Sabres, but everything to help the Portland Pirates.  I just have to sit and wonder if Darcy is more interested in winning a Calder Cup as opposed to the Stanley Cup.

It seems pretty consistent, that the Buffalo Sabres are only going to sign a second tier free agent, or an older free agent who is willing to take a one year deal.  What about winning a Stanley Cup?

The Buffalo Sabres have become a boring, safe playoff contender.  There is no urgency for this organization to win anything.  While other teams trade draft picks and lock players into risky contracts for long periods of time – the Sabres stock draft picks and won’t budge on two or three year deals.  What you’ll sign for one; even better!

The idea was mentioned the other day on Sports Radio WGR 550 in Buffalo.  The window is closing.  You have the Calder Memorial Trophy winner, who is on your roster for cheap, and going to command big money when he hits free agency (should we start to wonder where Tyler Myers will be playing after his free agency period begins?).  You have a world class goaltender in his prime ready to make a run.  You have plenty of good young players ready in Portland to round out your roster.

Now is the time to make the run and take a shot at winning it all.  The organization has said they want to win multiple Stanley Cups.  Bulldog said it the best, in order to win multiple, you have to start at one.

The current Sabres roster is no where near close enough to contending for a Stanley Cup.  Hell, the current roster is no closer to winning a playoff series than they were the past three years.

I could take a hiatus from hockey until late September and not miss anything.

I guess I’ll hit the snooze button one more time……

According to capgeek.com the Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Tim Conboy.  Conboy, born Farmington Minnesota, played 12 games with Carolina last season, and 37 with the Albany River Rats, now the Charlotte Checkers.  He had three points with Albany and 87 penalty minutes in those 37 games. Conboy will no doubt add size, coming in at 6′2” and 210 pounds, and nastiness to the Portland lineup.

Tim Conboy vs. Cam Janssen

Tim Conboy vs. Ryan Callahan

Conboy v. Gerbe