who's your nanny?

Fight or Flight?

I think most people are willing to fight the state to obtain freedoms that are most important to them. (Unfortunately, the reason the state is able to usurp liberties across the board is because most people are likewise unwilling to fight for freedoms that are most important to those other than themselves.) However, when the state makes it clear you're fighting a losing battle, most sensible people choose to secede.

Such is the case for Buffalo Sabres majority owner B. Thomas Golisano, who has fled the Empire State and relocated to Florida because of its lower tax rates.

Golisano said this year's state budget — which increased income taxes on upper wage earners from 6.85 percent to 8.97 percent — was the final straw. His moving to Florida will save him $5 million in state income taxes. The billionaire founder of Paychex, a payroll processing company, has already registered to vote and gotten his driver's license in Florida, and signed the homestead exemption paperwork that will cap his annual property tax increases to 3 percent a year there.

When interviewed by the Buffalo News Golisano said, "I wish there were 100,000 people [in New York] standing behind me feeling the same way and acting the same way, but they're not."

Preaching to the choir, B. Tom. Preaching to the choir.

(Thanks to Lisa D. for the link.)

When Hockey and Life Intersect

I was watching the Sabres-Panthers game last night when Florida's Richard Zednik inadvertantly severed the carotid artery in his neck after being struck by the skate of teammate Olli Jokinen as Jokinen was tumbling to the ice. Here's a fairly tame version of the injury, but fair warning, there's blood involved.

This incident was gruesomly reminiscent of a night back in 1989, when Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk had his exterior jugular vein slashed when an opposing player was upended in front of him, and it was this event that saw goaltenders take to neck protection from that point forward.

I was playing high school hockey back in '89, and my league consequently forced every player on the ice to wear a protective collar as a result of the Malarchuk incident. I don't know about anyone else, but I hated those neck guards. Your range of neck motion is completely hindered with these things (at least when you're forced to wear one after years of going without). You retain heat around your head, which takes the focus off your play, and which can lead to getting creamed by another player if you're more preoccupied with your equipment than you are with skating.

At the time, I considered the decision to mandate these neck guards for all players a silly overreaction, just as I do today now that the Zednik incident has elicited the same type of response from some fans. If players want to wear these collars, they're perfectly within their right to do so, but it is sheer folly to believe that pro hockey players -- adults -- should not be able to decide for themselves whether or not the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs.

We can never totally eliminate risk, and if there's one lesson to be learned from this accident and the ensuing hyperventilation over the need to mandate neck guards, it’s that people should be free of suffocating regulations, not pigeon-holed into even more compliance. In fact, it is freedom -- freedom to profit from work, in particular -- that has enabled the private sector to attract the smartest people to practice medicine; that allowed for the very best physicians to be on hand at the rink in Buffalo last night, where immensely talented trainers and doctors from both teams joined forces to treat this all too potentially fatal injury as routine.

At the time of this writing, Richard Zednik is resting comfortably in a Buffalo hospital and, amazingly, may even take a flight back to Florida at some point today. Regardless, he's going to live. So to those of you who advocate "universal health care": think about this the next time you argue that the government should intervene in the medical profession even further. In no uncertain terms, more socialism means more deaths.

UPDATE (2/12): It looks like Richard Zednik will spend a couple more days in the hospital for monitoring, but all signs point to a full recovery, which is obviously good to hear.

Sabres Go for Two in a Row

The Buffalo Sabres will try to make it two wins in a row tonight against the Washington Capitals, who, like the Sabres last season, have unveiled new uniforms this year. As a Sabres fan living in Maryland, this is one of those tilts the Sabres basically have to win so I don't take shit from every Caps fan I run across next week. Of course, this is probably the first year most Caps fans even have the balls to identify themselves given that their team's sucked so hard for the last half-decade.

But about those unis. I'm no fan of the new Sabres slug logo, but who the hell was in charge of designing the Caps' sweater this year, the ghost of Heinrich Himmler? Is it just me, or is the new Caps' shoulder logo just a little too emblematic of the Nazi SS eagle patch?

Just sayin'.

Win One for the Jakester

I did it. I can't believe it, no, but I did it. I pimped out my 6-day-old son in Sabres gear for their game tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers. The Washington Capitals are 3-0; the Buffalo Sabres are 0-2. Something is disturbingly wrong in Sabrebia and extra measures had to be taken.

I know it's only the third game of the season so I wouldn't quite construe this as desperation just yet. But if the Sabres can't convincingly knock off the 0-3 Thrash tonight, I might start to worry. Problem is, Buffalo didn't drop its first two games for lack of talent. Yeah, Drury and Briere are gone, but believe it or not, they weren't depleted that much because of it. Their season-opening loss was due to plain old lack of intensity and an indifference toward winning, period. Well, and a fired up Islanders team, but it's inexcusable to lose to them twice in a row.

So let's go, boys! Win one for the Jakester! Time to get your shit together and bring back some of that chemistry that disappeared around January last season. You don't want to disappoint America's youngest Sabres fan, do you? I mean, come on, he put on Sabres socks and everything!

Little Gems That Make Me Smile

Teppo Numminen, a Finnish defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres who was born with a heart condition, is undergoing open-heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic today to repair a heart valve. Numminen found out he needed the surgery immediately when he failed his physical last week and couldn't report to training camp with the Sabres, a surgery that he knew was in his future but hoped could wait another 10 to 20 years.

I know I speak for all Sabres fans when I say we hope Teppo's procedure is successful and that he gets well soon. But there's something Teppo said himself this morning that gives you the feeling he's glad he's having surgery in the U.S., where the medical industry still operates within a relatively free market. Despite all the government regulations and claims to the contrary, the quality of health care in America is still the envy of the world.

“There’s fear, that’s for sure,” the Buffalo Sabres defenseman said Wednesday from his Cleveland hotel room. He was to report to the internationally renowned cardiac hospital at 5 this morning to have a valve repaired.

“[The need for surgery] happened fast. It feels like I was here yesterday, and now I’m on an operating table,” he said. “But I’m glad I got in right away so I don’t have to wait longer.”

My emphasis. Makes you wonder how long Numminen would have had to wait for this procedure if he still lived in Europe, where socialized medicine and long wait lists are the norm. No open-heart surgery is without risk, but one can only imagine how much more risky it is when patients are forced to wait in line for three, six, maybe even twelve months before having surgery for a potentially life-threatening condition -- if they even make it to surgery at all.

If some of our Democratic candidates for president -- Hillary, in particular -- have their way, health care in the U.S. will only get worse before it gets better. One might hope they could put politics behind them long enough to consider someone like Teppo Numminen, who's experienced universal health care and made it quite clear that he'd rather put his life in the hands of doctors in Cleveland instead of those in Helsinki.

UPDATE (2:48 pm): Numminen's surgery goes well.

One Down, One To Go

(Ex-)Buffalo Sabres co-captain Daniel (pronounced Danielle) Briere has signed an 8-year deal with the Philthadelphia Flyers for $52 million. Now I'm just waiting to see where last-remaining-but-soon-to-be-ex-Sabres-co-captain Chris Drury ends up. I was hoping we could hang on to Dru, but, unfortunately, sometimes stuff just ain't meant to be. He's already rejected Buffalo's offer of $30 mil over five years. Look for his deal to be even sweeter than Briere's.

As far as Briere goes, I was ecstatic when we traded for this diamond in the rough four years ago. But even though he'll probably be worth every bit of $6.5 million a year for the next few seasons, the Flyers will still be locked into this salary when Danny's 38 (his salary is weighted differently each year, but still..). Just in case you're not the biggest NHL fan, that's getting to be pretty friggin' old for a hockey player.

I'll let my good buddy Keller at Buffalo Love explain what this signing means for the newest Flyer:

The pressure is on Danny---you better win every night down there. Those crazies are ready to boo your kids' soccer games if they get a chance. Good luck with that.

And that's no bullshit.

Despite the loss of Briere and the impending departure of Drury, I've already had a good weekend. The Sabres signed Adam Mair for the next three years, which means they're guaranteed at least one player who'll show up and bust ass every single night.

I guess it's time to say au revoir and bid adieu to Sneaky B. Thanks for the memories, but I think we'll be just fine without you. After all, we know you're vulnerable on line changes. 

Life Without Danny

If you need a break from the political stuff, go check out my article on Sabre Rattling that analyzes how the Buffalo Sabres can win the Cup next year as long as they retain the services of Chris Drury and fine-tune their lineup to include a couple big hitters.

And as my good buddy Keller notes over at Buffalo Love, they need to keep Dainius Zubrus too. You'll note that I agree.

The NHL So Needed the Sabres In the Stanley Cup Finals

You can browse the Internet for the rest of the day and you're not going to find anything funnier than this: Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night was watched in a whopping -- are you ready for this? -- 446,000 homes in the U.S.

That was good for a .6 cable rating. In 2006, there were roughly 115 million television households in the U.S., so if my understanding of Nielsen ratings is accurate and my 4th grade math is correct, that means that .003, or one-third of one percent, of all homes in the U.S. watched the game. Way to go, Versus!

Actually, this is more sad than funny. I realize hockey isn't the most popular sport in America, and one of the teams in the finals (Ottawa) is Canadian, but come on. As populated as California is? Heck, Anaheim (the other team) even has over 345,000 people itself! I have no idea how many households they all occupy, but it has to be between 50 and 100 thousand.

Where am I going with this? I'm not really sure, but one thing I know is that the NHL would have loved to see the Buffalo Sabres in the finals. The population of Buffalo is only around 279,000, but if I remember correctly, about 55 percent of all households in the city tuned in to the Sabres/Rangers second-round series, and I'm sure the percentage was at least that high during the conference finals against Ottawa.

And that isn't taking into account the hordes of New Yorkers outside Buffalo who are Sabres fans, the many bandwagon fans the Sabres have generated across the country this year as a result of their relative success, and transplants like me who have left Buffalo but have remained true to the blue and gold. Given that over 19 million people live in New York, I'm pretty sure the Sabres would have drawn well over 446,000 households in their home state alone.

UPDATE: My good buddy Tom Luongo, who blogs at the outstanding Sabres Report, has been kind enough to point out that Nielsen puts the TV market of Buffalo at 640,000 households (the Buffalo viewing area isn't limited merely to the city limits, as I mistakenly assumed), and therefore gets to use the punchline I wish I had when commenting on the paltry 446,000 homes that watched game two of the finals:

"The NHL would have gotten that many in Buffalo alone."

Indeed.

May Day!

I've been busy working on a book proposal today and haven't had the time to even think about the blog. But here's something for ya.

Happy May Day!

Sabres at Rangers tonight. Let's go up 3-1, boys.

UPDATE: Or, play like shit and lose control of the series.

SICK!

Courtesy of my buddy Keller at Buffalo Love, check out this sweet move by the Sabres' Tim Connolly during Game One of the Sabres/Rangers series.

He actually scored using the same move during the second round of the playoffs against the Ottawa Senators last year (before he was knocked out the following game by a Peter Schaefer elbow).

The fact that Connolly can pull this off after every team has no doubt watched his tapes is simply amazing. Good to have you back, Timmy!

I'm Back

Okay, I've been back from vacation since early Friday morning, but I figured I'd better get something written here before I lose the six loyal readers I have.

First things first, the Buffalo Sabres eliminated the New York Islanders last night from the first round of the NHL playoffs. Twelve more wins to go! Go here for coverage.

Yesterday also was Tiki Bar opening down here in Solomons, Maryland, which basically symbolizes the beginning of summer down here. I don't know how many thousands of people packed around the tiny bar last night, but there was a lot because it was a beautiful, sunny day. Finally. It always seems like it's cold and rainy on opening day.

The great weather made it a little easier to forget about all the harassment the bar's owners have been taking from Calvert County bureaucrats, simply for trying to make their property more appealing to customers. I blogged about it here before, but the owners still haven't gotten the county to grant them "permission" to use a street they own as a "patron area." It sure looked like a patron area yesterday as I weaved my way through a sea of drunken maniacs, but by failing to call the area what it so obviously is allows the county to restrict the owners from adding sand to the area to make it look like a beach.

It was also impossible to miss the vast array of police officers that manned the event all day. Now, if you're going to have public roads, it stands to reason that state and county police should control traffic and patrol the crowd to monitor unruliness. And for the most part, the cops traditionally are pretty cool and understanding on Tiki opening, given the level of intoxication of many (most?) of the people in attendance.

What I don't understand, though, is why it was so important to have the county SWAT team on hand. I don't have pictures just yet, but I noticed at least a couple SWAT Humvees and jackbooted officers at several locations throughout the island. Are you kidding me? If you hang around long enough at Tiki opening, I'm pretty sure you're going to see a few people pissing behind trees, next to cars, and off the pier, and you might even catch a few boob shots. But I'm fairly confident you're not going to have to worry about hostage situations or fugitives mingling amongst the crowd.

Even more ridiculous was the Coast Guard's hassling of a group of people on a boat across from the one I was hanging out on. As you can see from the photo I snapped on my cell phone, one guardsman had little problem jumping onto the side of the boat to poke around inside, and from what I could tell it was because two chicks were arguing in plain view.

Admittedly, there may have been more to this story than I'm aware of at the moment, but this really makes you wonder what the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard is. Apparently there are few limits, but it would seem that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources would be responsible for handling any incidents that take place on state waters (in this case, we were on a creek off the Patuxent River), much less on a boat on a state waterway that's docked at a private establishment.

In any event, this little episode lasted less than 20 minutes, but it did give the Coast Guard a nice opportunity to act important and boot everyone off the pier while they strutted around. A buddy of mine somehow managed to stand ten feet from the action and take pictures, so I'll put them up as soon as he sends some to me.

The point in all this is that while the local and state government have a vested (and legitimate) interest in keeping such an event under control, you can just about guarantee that if there are no major incidents that warrant police involvement in the first place, they'll usually be sure to hassle a handful of peaceful, happy patrons just to make their presence felt. And when the feds are on the scene, it seems especially difficult to argue this assertion.

New Buffalo Sabres Anthem

Fo' shizzle..

Hey, it's been one of those days where I haven't even been able to read the news. Finding out your french doors leak rain water into your living room and warp your new wood floors will do that to you. So in a pinch, turn to the Sabres, yo.

[HT: BfloBlog]

Great Hockey Minds

Two of the best hockey minds in the country -- yes, country (and maybe even Canada) -- are Kevin from BfloBlog and my man Jonathan Keller from Buffalo Love, a great new blog on everything-sports Buffalo.

You can spend your time reading the likes of Barry Melrose, John Buccigross, and Linda Cohn if you want -- certainly they provide some interesting analysis from time to time -- but there's nothing quite like getting hockey commentary from a couple guys who've followed the sport since they were about two. And if you're looking for expertise on the Buffalo Sabres, well, there's just about no one else better.

I met Kevin back in January when I went to Buffalo for a game, but Keller and I go way back. To college, in fact, where if I wasn't trying to convince him what a moron Ralph Nader was, we were either playing or talking about hockey.

Well, I've obviously decided to focus on nanny-state issues here on this blog, so I'll try not to burden you with my own hockey-related commentary anymore like I did the other day. From now on, Keller will be publishing exclusive analysis from one of the not-quite-as-great hockey minds, yours truly.

So if you're interested in what I had to say about the Sabres and the trade deadline, my latest piece is up here.

Sabres Blogging (Or What I Like To Call "Zen and Jerry Sullivan")

I've always thought Buffalo News sports columnist Jerry Sullivan was a prick in print, and nowhere near a quality hockey analyst. But I just listened to his latest interview on WGR today, and he's even more of a pompous imbecile than I thought.

I respect the idea that the Sabres should make a trade to bolster the team for the playoffs –- for example, I wouldn't mind adding a local (and affordable) guy like Kevyn Adams to compensate for the loss of Paul Gaustad -- but Sullivan actually thinks a team that has led the East all year and has been on top of the entire league at certain points this season, just isn't good enough to win the Stanley Cup.

Sullivan tries to support this argument by claiming that the Sabres were just good enough to get to game seven of the conference finals last year, even though they clearly faltered due to a quirky spate of injuries.

Even dumber was Sullivan's simple-minded accusation that Buffalo fans are somehow misguided because they're impressed that the team retaliated after Ottawa Senator Chris Neil's cheap shot on Chris Drury last Thursday. I think his delivery went something like this: "Wah, wah. You imbeciles think your team's tough because some punk kids did what players on any other team woulda done in the same situation! Wah, waaah!"

Sullivan also claims that Buffalo's style of play is under attack -- apparently the Sabres are nothing more than a goon squad because players stood up for their captain -- even though he thinks the NHL wants more of the style of play exhibited by Neil.

Earth to Jerry Sullivan: In any universe, Neil's play begets responses like Buffalo's, so it's a little contradictory to downplay the importance of the Sabres' refusal to brush aside dirty hits while simultaneously claiming the cheap shots are going to continue, especially if you believe they’re being condoned or even encouraged by the league. Even sillier was Sullivan's claim that Sabres general manager Darcy Regier needs to step up for his team like his players did for each other, by making a move by the trade deadline.

Hey, Jerry, what would that prove? Didn't you just suggest that the players' actions were really nothing to commend, noting that Sabres fans have their heads in the sand if we think a bunch of kids getting in a fight will be enough to win us a Cup?

Talk about someone who has his head buried somewhere. Trades are called trades precisely because they signify a trade-off. You always give up something in order to get something. It's basic economics. People engage in these transactions every day, and it's folly to pretend that any trade would automatically hold benefits for the Sabres at little cost, or that the benefits would necessarily outweigh the costs. In retrospect, how smart would it have been to give up quality prospects or current roster players if the guy you get in return gets injured the first time he suits up for us? Think Jay McKee in St. Louis this season. Or just think about the Sabres' current injury situation. It ain't like we're not magnets for 'em.

Trading backup goaltender Marty Biron may be a good idea if we get a suitable forward or defenseman and backup goalie in return. But what happens if there are no deals available, or only those that hold more costs than benefits going forward? What happens if we trade Biron and get a quality second-stringer, but Ryan Miller tears his knee up in April and we're forced to contend with playoff teams with a backup as our starter, as opposed to someone who is widely considered to be a starter who just happens to find himself backing up a superstar?

To believe Regier is not weighing all of these scenarios, and to criticize him for not (yet) making a move by tomorrow's deadline (just for the sake of making a move, Sullivan seems to suggest), displays ignorance on stilts given the facts that everyone but Gaustad is expected to return for the playoffs, we'll likely get Tim Connolly back, and Regier has already assembled one of the finest teams in the NHL to date.

I can't say unequivocally that not making a move is better than making one, because I don't have the benefit of clairvoyance. But neither does Sullivan, though to ask him he's pretty much the only one who knows anything about such matters.

Hell, the only thing Jerry Sullivan couldn't explain in his interview was why he's still writing for The Buffalo News and not managing the Buffalo Sabres.

Play It Loud, Play It Proud

Here's an early Christmas gift to Buffalo Sabres fans everywhere: The 12 Days of Jeanneret, a fine tribute to the best hockey announcer of all time. It might be the best song I've ever heard. Take it away, RJ. [HT:BfloBlog]

Coupled with one of the best gifts I've ever gotten from my mom (below), this is a pretty good day.

A Good Day

I thought today was a good day because my wife and I are getting ready to head off to North Carolina's Outer Banks with 10 of our best friends. Then I saw this.

I know it's only hockey-related, but this is huge news. The Sabres have signed second-year goalie Ryan Miller to a three-year deal, accomplishing the near-impossible in re-signing almost an entire team of free agents that had either elected for arbitration or negotiated with the team for a new contract.

Well done, Buffalo.

It's on now.

I Love YouTube

This is for my boys at BfloBlog. Check (check-check-check-check-check) it out.

My New Favorite Blog

One of the most interesting things to me is that virtually every decision we make has economic implications. And there's nothing cooler than analyzing the workings of good ol' supply and demand through the lens of professional sports.

Well, maybe there are some cooler things out there, but I really just want to take a moment to direct everyone to my new favorite blog: BfloBlog.com. Yes, it's a sports blog that focuses on the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. But aside from the excellent sports analysis of bloggers Kevin and Mark, you'll also get a smooth undercurrent of economic and philosophical analysis, as well, which often transcends what's going on on the field or ice.

I discovered and was drawn to BfloBlog during the Sabres' Stanley Cup playoff run this summer, which culminated in a game seven loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference championship. Now, full disclosure mandates that I state that I'm from Buffalo (well, Olean, home of Cutco knives and nothing much else, but I've spent many a summer tending bar in good ol' Buff). Therefore, it goes without saying that I've been a rabid Sabres fan since I was old enough to walk to the TV and change the channel from Dallas or Falcon Crest, or whatever the hell my mom used to watch back in the day on game night. However, that makes little difference when I say that the Cup was ours this year if it weren't for the fact that a handful of key players were out of the lineup for much of the playoffs, with five missing the final game. Sorry sports fans, but team bias does not override common sense -- Buffalo would have worked Carolina in six if the 'Canes were without, say, Mike Commodore and Rod Brind'Amour alone.

But I digress. I suspect nothing will heal the wound of another oh-so-close season in what to Buffalonians has become all too commonplace over the years. But one thing I do find solace in is BfloBlog -- humorous and witty, I have taken to visiting it every day. Now maybe I feel drawn to it because I can relate, not to mention that I found out Kevin graduated from SUNY Geneseo, my alma mater, three years before I did. But Kevin has some great commentary today as he explains how a stellar hockey season this past year will bring heavy implications next season, replete with increased expectations and ticket and beer prices.

Gotta love the free market. Go Sabres. And be sure to bookmark BfloBlog.