Sabres v. Sens 2013

The Homeland home marathon continues. In under two weeks we have blown through all of season one and are now half way through season two. Claire Danes is quite impressive in her role. There have been a few unexpected twists in the plot. We are both really enjoying the series.

This weekend I went to Buffalo to see the Sabres/ Sens afternoon game with a few buddies. Since it was a 3PM game start, I got going early Saturday and was on the road by 11AM with Nivek. We met up with JJ and Captain at my parents. I got a very short visit with them then we were on our way toward the U.S.. The border was pretty slow, as usual, but we didn’t have any issues getting in. Phew. You never know. JJ got a room at the Hyatt for a decent corporate rate. It was a decent hotel, we found the staff to be helpful pointing out places to go. The Hyatt was about a 15m walk to First Niagara Center. It was deceivingly cold in Buffalo. We eventually lucked into catching a train for part of the route to the arena.

Ha. I had no idea where the seats were. I knew they were in the 300s but I didn’t know they were the at the very top – last row in the arena. The sight-lines were still very good despite the nosebleeds. I’ve always through the best seat are the middle rows just above the glass. The Sabres started well leading 2-0 after one. But predictably fell apart in the second allowing three goals. They luckily tied the game late in third to get a point, only to lose in OT with the Sens getting a powerplay goal. No complaints. The Sabres had a powerplay late in the 3rd and did nothing with it. Overall a pretty disheartening effort. I don’t get to see many games and watching shit like that won’t make me rush to go again. Final Score.

Sigh. The Sabres lost again last night against Washington with another embarrassing second period effort. I can’t believe no trades have been made. The players are taking shots at each other in interviews with the media. It seems like Mt.Sabre is gunna blow. Sigh.

Anyway, back to Buffalo. The first order of business after the game was dinner. We thought of Pearl St. but there was already a line-up out the door so we went back to the hotel and googled some options. Eventually we settled on the Bada Bing. I’ve been craving Buffalo wings for weeks and the Hyatt staff recommended them as an option. Well, ultimately that was a bad decision for me. We ordered wings and pizza. Nivek had a burger. It was good until about 90m after dinner when I got the shakes, sweating, very upset stomach and finally vomited. Lovely, food poisoning? It seemed very odd. The other guys also had wings and pizza and no issues… Perhaps there was just one uncooked wing that I got somehow? I don’t know. I just know it was a horrible hour and only wings came up. Regardless it will my last visit to the Bada Bing.

Prior to the sickness we wandered around downtown Buffalo. The boys wanted to pick up booze and we had an address for a store a few blocks away. Buffalo at night is a curious place. We ran into numerous homeless people trying to bum smokes, get money or booze. One fellow told Captain his sounds like a Western song sad story of his fall to homelessness. We named him drunk Pete because he admittedly was. Captain got him a happy St.Patrick’s day mickey. Hopefully it can dull his pain for an evening. Another dude suggested how much he’d enjoy one of Nivek’s Heineken. None of the guys were aggressive or hostile, just seemed down on their luck. I picked up a bottle of Jack Honey but by the time we got back to the hotel… I didn’t feel like cracking it open.

I felt better after tossing the wings and my stomach calmed down for the rest of the evening. The boys had some pops and watched the Wings/Canucks game. We left early the next morning as everyone had obligations to get to. We stopped for breakfast in Niagara Falls, Ontario at the Blue Line. I enjoyed breakfast and the hockey themed restaurant. Despite the sickness, it was a fun weekend with the boys.

Bloody hell. When I got home and turned on my new receiver I smelt smoke it wouldn’t start. Fracking brilliant. I hope it doesn’t turn into a circus getting it repaired. So far I’ve heard nothing from Yamaha. Sigh.

Sunday evening was Homeland, sucky Sabres, Walking Dead, Vikings and laundry.

Sounding like one of sister’s cats is not doing well. Hopefully EvilChew pulls through. Last I heard it was not sounding good. 😦