Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick or Treat?? I'm a LAWYER!

Yesterday, Sabres Executive Producer Matt Gould had me update one of our sponsor reads. Have a listen and see if you can tell which one is the "real deal" and which is Halloween hijinks. Matt writes my openers on MSG-TV for the Buffalo Sabres. My partner in crime for the Buffalo Bills is Senior Producer Kevin McCabe. The scripts for my Game Recaps for the "Thurman Thomas Show" have had some cool themes the last two weeks. This weekend it's a "Sopranos"/mafia theme while last weekend it was an electricity theme. We will get some footage up in the near future...stay tuned!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Big and Orange?

That might describe a Halloween pumpkin at your place...we don't have ours out yet. Or the Syracuse Orange - just like the movie photo in my last post. Our local junior football team (the Okanagan Sun) is big and orange - just like our provincial pro team: the BC Lions. The NFL team that resembles Syracuse are the Cleveland Browns. They will be in the national spotlight on Monday Night Football on November 17 when they will lose in Buffalo! The Bills are currently 5-1 while the hockey Sabres are just as good with six wins and one shootout loss to start the season. Last night, the Sabres beat the previously unbeaten Minnesota Wild 4-3 in a shootout. My prediction was 4-2 and was included with my opening voice file on MSG-TV to the guys behind the scenes:

THE PIGEON HAS FOUND A NEW COOP (click here for the story)...
BUT IT'S OWNER IS STILL A GUY BETWEEN THE PIPES!
RYAN MILLER KEPT THE BOYS IN BLUE IN THE GAME...
AS BUFFALO PULLED OUT ANOTHER DRAMATIC WIN AT HOME.
TONIGHT...THE FIRST OF TWO IN THE WILD, WILD WEST...
WHERE MINNESOTA IS A PERFECT 4-AND-O.
A BATTLE OF TWO OF THE LEAGUE'S BEST...NEXT ON MSG!

I have also predicted the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The series is currently tied at one. The hockey teams from those cities are off to very slow starts. The Philly Flyers are not big and orange right now. They are ranked 15th out of 15 Eastern Conference teams with only three points after six games. And Sabres fans will be happy to know that Danny Briere has an injury that could keep him out of the lineup for at least three weeks.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is ranked 13th with five points.

Big and orange at football stadiums? Gatorade!

My wife, Darlene, and I were part of a great team of volunteers - NOT at a Buffalo Bills tailgate party - but at the Okanagan International Marathon on October 12th. We handed out water and Gatorade. The guy with the Canucks hat (some nerve!) is Al Gillespie. He ran the half marathon.
Good job Al! Hope to see more of your blog too...

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Hockey Hibernation is over!

H2O for short:) Yes, water has turned to ICE as the Buffalo Sabres got the second short-handed goal of the season from Thomas Vanek tonight as they beat the previously unbeaten New York Rangers 3-1. Buffalo now has a perfect 3-0 record while the Rangers fall to 5 wins and 1 loss. Congratulations to coach Lindy Ruff who became the 23rd bench
boss to reach 400 career victories!

Next up for the Sabres in two days is my second favorite team - the Vancouver Canucks. My second-ever blog post mentioned how both these teams entered the NHL at the same time in 1970. I also talked
about a client in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in that post - and I just noticed Thomas Vanek played some of his early hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League.

I am disappointed the Sabres are NOT in Vancouver to play on Friday.
That would have been a real possibility to attend. Instead, the game is
in Buffalo, where the Sabres won early last year (January 19/07) in a shootout, 4-3. Here is my opener from that game on MSG-TV. Bit of a blooper if you ask me...watch to the end to see what I mean. The Hockey News Yearbook predicted both Buffalo and Vancouver to finish 11th out of 15 teams in the Eastern and Western conferences respectively. Based on what I have seen so far this season (and an undefeated pre-season for the Canucks), I am betting both these teams will finish top 8. That means playoff spots - just like the Buffalo Bills are aspiring to. They are currently
4-1. A great football movie has hit theatres now. Go see this: