2017 X Games Preview

Just going to run through a few of my favorite events and what the expectations are for this year.

Snowboard Big Air
2016 Champion: Max Parrot (CDN)

 Max Parrot is an absolute maniac. But all of these guys competing in Big Air are. This is as wide open a competition as they have and it is defintely worth the 20 minutes to watch it. It is a 20 minute countdown and the riders go as many times as they can in the time limit. Max and Mark McMorris are always favorites as they always seem to lead the charge when it comes to progression. But there is always a dark horse out of nowhere that is landing everything. An awesome competition.

 Snowboard Slopestyle
2016 Champion: Mark McMorris (CDN)

 Mark is as consistent as they come and always smooth. Look for him to repeat this year. This was always my favorite competition to watch. The riders make it look so easy, but the technicality involved is incredible. Anyone who has ever tried to snowboard will have a respect for what these guys are doing. And 90% of the time they are riding switch. Just unreal.

Snowboard Superpipe
2016 Champion: Matt Ladley (USA)

Men's Halfpipe used to be the last event the X Games would run every year and Shaun White would smoke everyone. Since he has hit the last few years of his career the halfpipe has kind of lost its luster. Danny Davis is an awesome dude - look for him to be near the top of the results if he can put down a clean run.

Ski Big Air
2016 Champion: Fabian Boesch (SUI)

Last year's competiton was in the middle of a driving snow storm. Conditions... not ideal. Some of the things these guys did given the circumstances was incredible. I have no idea what to expect this year. But Bobby Brown will be in the mix as always.

Ski Slopestyle
2016 Champion: Jossi Wells (NZL)

Jossi Wells ran away with it last year - standing in first and improved his score with his final run to increase his lead he won his first ever gold. I have a feeling it won't be his last.

Bills Hire Sean McDermott

The Bills have finally made their move and hired Sean McDermott. There was speculation from the beginning that Anthony Lynn would be an automatic hire, but thank God that the team has decided to start from scratch in their coaching search. Nothing against Anthony Lynn but the team needed a fresh start.

Sticking with Doug Whaley after giving one of the most inept, embarrassing and all around failure of a press conference is a bold move. Whaley has proved next to nothing when it comes to scouting and being able to build through the draft. He has found some diamonds in the rough in Zach Brown and Lorenzo Alexander but that is not what wins championships.

McDermott comes in boasting a track record where he has built Carolina into a  perennial top 10 team defense. Last year he lost one of the best CB's and arguably the best LB in the league and still had the 6th best run defense. There is no doubt about the shitstorm that he is about to walk into and if you had to bet if Seanny Boy will be coaching linebackers in Jacksonville in 3 years or still in Buffalo, better odds are elsewhere. McDermott showed he can build a defense and that is what the Bills need.

#BringTyrodBack

Sabres open week at home, end with a road trip south

Following an impressive week in which the Sabres picked up 5 of 6 points against NYR, Chicago and Winnipeg; the Sabres continue with a very challenging stretch of the schedule. The Sabres open the week with the Flyers at home, followed by Tampa and Carolina back to back on Thursday and Friday.

The Sabres trail the Flyers for the final spot in the Wildcard race by 9 points - however the Flyers have played 3 extra games. This team is by no means eliminated from contention. The Lighting have lost 4 straight and don't look like the Stanley Cup team that they have been the past couple of years but when you lose a player like Stamkos that will happen. They are still dangerous but these are the games that the Sabres should expect to win if they want to make the playoffs this year. 

What to watch for:

The team which finally looked like they were breaking out of their slow starting habits fell right back into it against Winnipeg. Look for the team to try to get out to a quick start against the Flyers - a team with a very similar make up.

Goaltender woes:

If I read one more god damn tweet condemning the Sabres goalie play I'm going to lose my damn mind. I would understand if either Lehner or Nilsson was having a bad year either statistically or even failing the all important and never correct "eye test". But they pass both. Yea - Lehner isn't good in a shootout but he is very very good for 65 minutes before that. Both Nilsson and Lehner have save percentages above .920. 

Jake McCabe killed a man:

McCabe lined up Patrick Laine after a pass sent Laine on a suicide mission across the middle of the ice and absolutely unloaded on him. 

Patrick Laine woke up thinking he was back at the NHL Draft after this HUGE open ice hit by Jake McCabe ☠️😡... #RIP pic.twitter.com/eBKpr1RDWZ

— Bar South N Celly™ (@BarSouthNCelly) January 7, 2017

Laine is out indefinitely with a concussion. McCabe went to the locker room to get stitches after his head hit Laines helmet and then finished the game like this: 

Man's game. (No offense)

Let's go get 6 points. 

Sabres unveil video game opener... Nostalgia boner

It moved...

Classic Sabres highlights + @EASPORTSNHL 🎮

Sound up & enjoy! pic.twitter.com/AEl3eVnvDg

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 7, 2017

The definitive list of the top 5 wing spots in WNY

Yeah, real original. Whatever. But this is a list that has been done and absolutely mangled thousands times. There is a correct answer to this question and it is as follows:

5. Duffs

Yeah - Duffs might seem cliche and what everyone who comes to Buffalo for a weekend will say when they ask where the best wings are. But there is no denying that you can sit down and eat 20 of these fuckin things for dinner. The sauce is straight out of the textbook of what Buffalo sauce should taste like. It's more of an experience that everyone coming to Buffalo needs to have. When people from Buffalo think of chicken wings - this is it.

4. Bar Bill

Bar Bill is the new hot chick that moved to town and is getting all of the attention. And for good reason. There are tons of different sauces and most of them are A+. Bar Bill is an awesome meal - theres no doubt about it, but I just couldn't put them at the top of my list. When you go be prepared to wait 30 minutes to an hour and if you go on a Friday/Saturday night forget about it. But what they lack in space they make up for in wings that will blow your dick off. (note: Ladies, you have dicks in this analogy.)

3. Randys Up The River

The dark horse! Now if you have never ventured past the south towns to Olean, NY, you probably won't have had these. Randy's has the best wing sauce - and the best variety in WNY. Not even close. But Randy's is a solid hour and a half drive from downtown Buffalo. The bar looks like the Hells Angels will be hanging out there - but thats just that lovely ambiance of a small town bar that no one has maintained in 20 years will have.

2. Wellington Pub

Wellington could be number one on this list very easily. The wings are always fresh and crispy. The only thing holding it back in my opinion is sometimes they take way too long to come out. Hertel is a great spot in the summer to hang out so it's usually no problem. But you can only spend so much time in a narrow bar in the winter with 60 year old men. Love the wings. The crowd is meh.

1. Gabriels Gate

The reigning champ. Hulk Hogan. Shawn Michaels. The Rock. Gabriels Gate. Gabriels is 5 minutes from downtown and has some of the best chicken wings in the world. The sauce is great and the wings are never soggy - a rookie mistake you run into so often in places that aren't Buffalo. Figure it the fuck out.


Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Guy Fierri.

Buffalo gets smashed by snow in January... shocker

As is tradition in Buffalo schools and jobs across the city let out early to try to be the impending wall of snow that was due to hit around 2pm. Fast forward 6 hours and 24 inches of snow later and we have cars and school buses stranded on roads across the city.

I know a lot of people hear about the weather in Buffalo and how it's a real dick some (most) of the time, but it's hard to get an understanding of how shitty the conditions get in a short period of time. Check out the time lapse below:

Check out this cool snow timelapse video from @AndisJack23 in West Seneca! pic.twitter.com/AQ6LaAnqrL

— News 4, WIVB-TV (@news4buffalo) January 6, 2017

It was fuckin 50 degrees on Tuesday man. 

I'm sure you're wondering how bad of a driver do you have to be to get "stuck in the snow"? Well... 

Guy in traffic tells me he's been wiping his car off every 10 minutes. Very slow moving traffic in Lackawanna @news4buffalo pic.twitter.com/RLEz87dLR6

— Rachele Mongiovi (@4RacheleM) January 5, 2017

Fucking Buffalo... and they wonder why people jump through tables

Sabres open week against NYR, Chicago – Have lost 6 of last 7

In a trend that has become all too familiar to Sabres fans the team has fallen flat on its face midway through the season. The team has lost 6 of their last 7 games – including two huge games against East rival Boston. And things don’t get easier from here. The team plays two perennial cup contenders in the next 2 games and dropping these two could more or less the team’s season in January.

It’s no secret the team needs a spark and that needs to come from Jack. Since coming back in late November he has 12 points in 15 games. In the same breath with Eichel you can throw in Evander Kane who has been on fire recently as well. In every game you watch Kane jumps out on the screen as an explosive forward who can in disrupt all 5 players on the opposing team in one shift and score to finish it off. He has cemented his place on this team in scoring 12 points in the last 16 games and I’m glad the muttering of him being a possible trade candidate have died out.

With Ryan O'Reilly out for the foreseeable future after he had an appendectomy the team needs to fill his production through a committee. Reinhart, Okposo and Foligno are more than capable of stepping up and scoring when the opportunity presents itself. What they need to do is create opportunities on their own now that ROR is out. ROR is one of the best passers in the league and without him in the lineup shots need to increase.

Young guns:

Justin Bailey got the call up with Johan Larsson breaking his wrist in a collision with the boards in Boston. Bailey is an explosive and talented forward who has 20+ points with the Amerks already this year. Look for him to make the most of his second stint with the Sabres this year and score his first career goal.