Sorry and the sad thing known as Buffalo sports

First I would like to apologize to my loyal readers for not writing a blog post on ECW last night. Holy Diver did not get much sleep the night before and needed to catch up. I may have to scratch the idea of ECW blog posts because I work every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until 9:00 pm and I may not have access to a television. You know, SOME people have work for a living.
Anyway I wanted to do this a while back, but I never was able too. I wanted to write a blog on my predictions for this years Buffalo sports teams. First I will start with a team who hasn't, sadly, made the playoffs in 8 years now, and if you haven't guessed who this team is you're just plain stupid. The Buffalo Bills begin this season going into it with, yes again, extremely low expectations. Willis McGahee, London Flechter, TKO, and Nate Clemens have all left. To fill in these holes the Bills have drafted Paul Ploznuzzaey (I still can't say or spell his name), Marshwan Lynch, and have signed Jason Webster. Marv Levy signed a couple of offensive linemen as well to help out with our quarterback JP Losmen. I hope the offensive line's problems are fixed, but if preseason is any indication, it isn't. The Bills defense is pretty much in shambles, if it wasn't already last year. Cornerback, defensive end, linebackers and defensive tackle are all problems on the defense, giving the Bills their only strong point at safety. One word can only describe this defense currently: "Pitiful." My 2007 prediction for the Buffalo Bills- 5-11 record finishing fourth in the AFC East. The AFC East will go as follows: New England Patriots with a 14-2 record, New York Jets with an 8-8 record, Miami Dolphins with a 6-10 record and the Bills like I said with a 5-11 record. I think the Patriots prediction is pretty obvious; they have much better receivers, a good running back, an amazing qb, and a great, proven, veteran defense. The Jets are a question mark. They had a great run last year, but their new running back has already been hurt this year, Thomas Jones, their qb has had problems with his shoulder in the past and can't throw the ball far, Chad Pennington, and their defense can't stop the run. The Dolphins, so the experts say, have a good defense which will make them one game better than the Bills.
SUPERBOWL PREDICTION: Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints with the Colts repeating!
As for the Sabres, I can't see this team finishing any higher than 6th place in the Eastern Conference. Like I said, Miller is going to have to play amazing if they are even are going to contend for a playoff spot. The Sabres every year also seem to go through this period were half the roster gets injured. They cannot do this this year, and if they do, Buffalo may be looking towards next year very early. The biggest problem on the Sabres isn't their players, but their front office. I have never seen a more stubborn front office in sports history. They continue to lose important players to free agency because they refuse to offer contracts to players who have one year left on their contracts. The front office has done it again this year, so expect to lose Brain Campbell, Ryan Miller, and Drew Stafford if it continues to play out the way it has forever. Speaking of Drew Stafford, who says he's going to be anywhere as good as he was last year? He had one good half a year, and Lindy very rarely played him in the playoffs last year, so he might not be as good as we think. And finally the defense. Oh my gosh, why is Spacek and Kalinin still on this team? I thought Kalinin was supposed to be our stud defensemen right after the lockout, and I thought Spacek was supposed to help out last year on our powerplay and maybe hit a guy once in a while. I guess our GM messed up. Oh well, we are just Buffaloians. This team could very well be a joke this year. Don't have high expectations because Sabre fans, you may extremely disappointed come November/ December. My prediction this year for the Sabres is a year of injury, again, and one were you will see winning/ losing streaks. They will be very streaky and just beat out teams like the Flyers, Canadiens, and Thrashers for the final couple of playoff spots in the conference. Here is how I see it playing out this year:

Northeast:

Ottawa
Toronto
Boston
Buffalo
Montreal

Atlantic:

New York Rangers
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
New York Islanders
New Jersey

Southeast:

Tampa Bay
Florida
Atlanta
Washington
Carolina


Eastern Conference

1.) New York Rangers
2.) Ottawa Senators
3.) Tampa Bay Lightning
4.) Pittsburgh Penguins
5.) Toronto Maple Leafs
6.) Boston Bruins
7.) Florida Panthers
8.) Buffalo Sabres


I would like to note that for the Western Conference the same teams will be competing this year like the Red Wings, Ducks, Sharks, Flames and Canucks so I don't see the point. My Finals prediction will be the New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks with the Canucks taking it in 6 to bring the Cup back to Canada!
I also would like to let my loyal readers know that I will have write-ups this year on Don Cherry's Coach's Corner this year. I am a big fan of Don Cherry; the guy just knows what he's talking about when it comes to hockey and politics.
Please let me know how you think this year will turn out for our Buffalo sports teams this year. Like I said, 2007-08 doesn't sound like it's going to be the Bills or Sabres year. Then again, when has it ever?
Peace,
John aka Ronnie James Dio aka Holy Diver