By Mike Haim

Two nights after pouring in five goals, the Buffalo Sabres followed it up by making Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding look like an all-star.

Harding, playing for a second straight night in place of injured starter Niklas Backstrom, stopped 43 shots as the Wild posted a 3-2 win over the Sabres, ending Buffalo’s three-game winning streak.

The game really wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The sellout crowd of 18,690 consistently targeted Buffalo goalie Patrick Lalime with boos after he allowed a couple of quick goals in the first period, but the blame should hardly be placed solely at Lalime’s door.

The Sabres once again coughed up too many pucks, committing 19 turnovers compared to Minnesota’s seven. Buffalo also failed to take command against an opponent who lost 5-1 the previous night in Detroit.

On the positive side, the Buffalo power play finally came through, ending a seven-game stretch without a tally. But Thomas Vanek’s one-timer early in the third period only made it 3-1 and only masked the Sabres’ lingering ineptitude with the man-advantage.

After going 1-for-6 against Minnesota, the team is still only two for its last 39.

“Shots and chances aren’t going to win games,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We liked the number of shots we got, but some of the situations definitely have to turn into goals.”

“It’s not good enough,” said Vanek, who scored both Buffalo goals. “We showed up for the last 20, and that’s disappointing.”

Vanek drew the Sabres back to within one goal when he scored an extra-attacker goal with 1:58 to play. Buffalo again pulled Lalime in the final minute, but had a 15-second spell where they once again couldn’t get the puck out of their own end.

“Sometimes when you play from behind like this, you’re going to get burned,” said Lalime, who finished with 30 saves but failed in his fifth bid for a 200th career win.

Lalime got torched twice on Minnesota’s first 10 shots. Andrew Ebbett scored on the power play at the 3:02 mark, keeping a wrist shot along the ice and getting it past Lalime’s pad. Then Guillaume Latendresse, an offensive marvel for the Wild since coming over in a November trade from Montreal, netted his 24th of the season about seven minutes later. He intercepted a Lalime pass behind the net and easily flipped the puck into the net as the Buffalo netminder was late getting back.

From that point, boos and sarcastic cheers cascaded from the bowl every time Lalime came close to the puck.

“It felt like I was on the road,” Lalime observed. “You just want to shake it off. You make mistakes, but there’s nothing you can do except turning it on. The rest was better, but not enough.”

“When you give up the first two, it makes it extremely tough,” Ruff said. “The energy is sucked right out of your building. We didn’t do anything to get it back. Our answer should have been go get a goal before the end of the first period, get it back, and we didn’t. We created that problem ourselves.”

Minnesota scored its third goal on a pinball-type goal late in the second period. Andrew Brunette and Lalime each went after a puck in mid-air, but Brunette got a better piece on the puck and it sailed into the net.

………

The Sabres fell to 10-5-2 in games against the Western Conference. Buffalo will round out the inter-conference part of their schedule Saturday at Detroit, the first stop of a five-game road trip.
………

Vanek’s multi-goal game was only his second of the season. His other came on October 13 in a 6-2 win against Detroit.

He now has 29 such games in his career, and the fewest he’s ever had in one season was four in both 2005-06 (his rookie season) and 2007-08.

………

Harding also picked up an assist on Ebbett’s goal, the second of his NHL career. He also notched a helper during the 2007-08 season, on January 13 in a 4-1 win against Phoenix.

………

www.twitter.com/mikehaim

By:Robert Laszewski President of Health Policy and Strategy Associates

Away from Washington people I talk to are just amazed at what the Democrats are in the process of doing on health care reform.

What I think the Democratic leadership is missing is that this is no longer about passing a health care bill in the minds of lots of these voters—a majority of voters from what the polls say.

To these people, this is about Democratic arrogance. What the polls don't measure is the anger I hear from people who can't believe what is going on. After the last few recent state elections and all of the polls that overwhelmingly say, “stop” or “start over” they just keep plowing along anyway. To defend themselves, the Dems point to the many times the Republicans have used the legislative tactic of reconciliation before—the Bush tax cuts, Part D, welfare reform.

They are right. But those were popular bills.

The Dems may be scoring debating points but instead what the voters I talk to see is a demonstration of political arrogance—not a health care legislative process.

The Democratic logic is that they have already voted for it so they might as well put a finished product on the table for people to appreciate on Election Day.

But the problem with that logic is that the the bill’s real benefits—eliminating pre-existing conditions and medical underwriting as well as the subsidies to buy insurance—don’t start until 2014.

What voters, particularly the swing independent voters, now see is not a health care bill but political arrogance—and that is really the issue Democrats are going to have to deal with.

What I think this is finally going to come down to is a few House Democrats putting their finger in the air to see which direction the political wind is blowing from. It's pretty clear to me there will be a gale force wind blowing from the direction of "no."

Read more of Robert Laszewski at healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com

This blog does not reflect the views of Metro Group Inc, and are solely the opinion of the author

I've written on previous articles that I wouldn't be harsh on the Buffalo Bills for not being active during free agency. Now, there are some free agents that I wouldn't have minded the Bills going after. However, like I've said all along, you have to build your team from within the draft.

Besides the draft, my biggest goal for the Buffalo Bills off-season was to see what they would do with some of their current veterans. I've made no bones about wanting this team to do a complete makeover. I'm not trying to be negative. I'm only asking for the Bills to do what other franchises have done after hiring a new GM and coach.

It's common knowledge that whenever you have a new regime take over a franchise, they are going to cut the team inside and out. Bill Parcells did it when he took over the Dolphins. Mike Holmgren is in the process of doing that in Cleveland as we speak. Jimmy Johnson did that with the Cowboys and Dolphins. You always hear media members say, "A new GM or coach wants to choose their own players." Well, I haven't exactly seen that yet.

Now, getting rid of veterans isn't about just killing off the team because I'm being irrational about the Bills failure to make the playoffs for the last 10 years. It's about knowing that change is on the horizon and that the organization realizes that they've been doing it wrong for years. That's all I've been asking from the Bills.

Core guys like Aaron Schobel, Marcus Stroud, Marshawn Lynch and Donte Whitner (to name a few) have failed to get the Bills over the hump. The Bills are acting as if their the Indianapolis Colts and are on the cusp of accomplishing something special. Sorry, but that ship sank two years ago.

Now, I haven't been asking for Julius Peppers or Anquan Bolden. All you have to do is go back and read my GM series to see what I wanted the team to do. I know that Rome wasn't built in a day, but the Romans sure as hell started building a pillar or two after Julius Caesar took over.

There are a number of vets on this team that make too much money, who haven't been able to give an adequate return on the investment. I know free agency isn't even a week old and things can change. Unfortunately, all of my gripes have been manifested by the recent news about a Bills player who looks to be staying put.

Does anyone want to tell me why Chris Kelsay is returning to the Bills? In case you didn't know, on March 5th, the Bills paid a roster bonus of $500,000 that was due to Kelsay. Why in the world are the Bills interested in a player whose never played a down as an outside linebacker and is going to be 31 in October? Makes absolutely no sense. I don't want to hear how guys like Kelsay are bridge-gaps to younger talent.

The problem with that assertion is that Kelsay's bridge has collapsed. You want veterans who can teach a young player what it takes to be a pro at their position. What's Kelsay going to teach Aaron Maybin? How not to jump up and down when you make a tackle? Hell, they are both going to learn how to be outside linebackers this offseason. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Bills need to blow up their roster.

There's only two reasons I can think of for why Kelsay is coming back.

1) He's only going to cost the Bills 3.7 million dollars this season.
2) The Bills are still being run by the same people.

As for reason one, everyone knows that even though there isn't a cap anymore, the Bills are still operating with their cash to the cap philosophy. Kelsay was never worth the 6 million dollars a year that the Bills paid him in 2007, but luckily for the Bills, his salary goes down this year.

As for reason two, I said it when the Bills went in house to hire their GM. The move reeked of damage control in showing the general public that change was happening. It was obvious to me that the Bills just rearranged a couple of office titles and just gave Buddy Nix a sexy secretary and a key to the executive bathroom. I know fans and media members were even naive to think that Brandon and Wilson wouldn't have a big say in the team's personnel because they weren't at Chan Gailey's introduction press conference. Please...

Like I said earlier, when you have a new regime in charge they normally rip the roster apart. Something tells me that guys like Brandon and Modrak are putting in their two cents that Aaron Schobel and Kelsay can still play. Maybe their trying to justify giving those players their long term deals by keeping them around. The same can be said for a number of other players on the Bills roster.

I know it has only been two months into the Nix/Gailey partnership, and maybe I should give them more time to operate. I assure you, I'm looking for any sort of reason to think that the Bills are changing. Hell, it could be something as minuet as the Bills changing uniforms or flying in a free agent that hasn't played for the Chiefs. Instead, the only news the Bills are making is signing retread offensive lineman from the Oakland Raiders.

Besides wanting change, I wanted the Bills to stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by making players play out of position or bringing in players that don't fit the new scheme.

Kelsay and Schobel at OLB? Kyle Williams at NT? I haven't even gotten to Trent Edwards possibly starting next year. Again, wouldn't a new GM/Coach combo want a new quarterback? New regimes should bring in change; not follow the game plan of their predecessors.

The more things change the more they say the same with the Buffalo Bills. All I have to say is the Bills draft better be as good as the early Bill Polian years or this isn't going to change. Better yet, maybe we should start Googling mock drafts for top 5 picks for 2011 through 2014.

Read more of Joe at Joe in NYC

By: Nicole Gawel

American Idol Elimination

I’m not happy with America at the moment. Apparently individuals who delve themselves into American Idol suffer from hearing problems and are absent of any taste whatsoever, which would explain a lot as to why “artists” of late have been so successful when in actuality they lack talent.

For one, more citizens in America voted during the American Idol elimination rounds than for president, which already speaks volumes that these people who watch American Idol have no concept of what is going on around them and what directly effects them. I’ve got a news flash, Dear people of America, there are more important things to look at and think about than who gets eliminated and who stays on American Idol. There are issues like the health care bill for one, that needs Americans to take an interest in, but that will never happen as we are all for entertainment and nothing else. A small miniscule amount of people are only interested in real world issues, not to mention that pretty much all other countries are better educated than us, which must explain why jobs are constantly being sent overseas and America is now in a recession.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox now.

Individuals who vote in American Idol don’t know talent when they see it, it’s a wonder they even know which end to stuff their body with food with. Examples of not knowing talent is, let’s see there are so many that one can’t really decide now can they?, Pants on the Floor Guy. He’s the perfect example.

Americans don’t remember things, I am guilty of this, but voters need to look at the entire picture. Why am I on my soapbox? Do I even have to tell you? You people voted off Lily Scott! What is wrong with you? She wasn’t cookie-cutter; she was out of the box. She could have been the next American Idol that was actually good and didn’t need voice enhancements in the studio.

This was a big fail for the American people just like voting Obama into office.

Moving on…

Katelyn Epperly, Toddrick Hall and Alex Lambert were voted off as well.

Epperly I predicted to be voted off. She did not give a great, no not even good, performance.

Hall had an elimination coming for quite some time and I’m surprised that America waited this long to ditch him. Wait a second, I'm not surprised, New York State still has Paterson as governor.

And Lambert, he only had one great performance and that was this past week’s performance. At least America proved that you can’t be redeemed after one good performance, you need several to be accepted into the American culture, look at Britney Spears, she is still getting naked on camera and dancing seductively to earn her good graces back, as the wholesome girl with talent rather than the tramp who can’t take care of her kids properly.

The top 12 that made it:

Didi Benami
Siobhan Magnus
Paige Miles
Casey James
Tim Urban
Lee Dewyze
Crystal Bowersox
Michael Lynche aka Big Mike
Lacey Brown
Aaron Kelly
Andrew Garcia
Katie Stevens

Good luck America. I hope you can find your “idol” through that pile of rubbish.

Merlin Olsen, 69, died Thursday morning from complications early related to mesothelioma, which erodes the protective lining around the lungs.

Olsen, along with Rosey Grier, Deacon Jones and Lamar Lundy, was part of the Los Angeles Rams' famous Fearsome Foursome in the 1960s, together they were considered one of the best defensive fronts in all of NFL history.

After football, Olsen began a career as a football commentator for NBC and TV star. He co-starred with Michael Landon on the series Little House on the Prairie.

Rodger Goodell said today that "Merlin was a larger-than-life person, literally and figuratively, and leaves an enormously positive legacy."

Olsen is survived by his wife, Susan; their children Nathan, Jill and Kelly; his brothers Phil, Orrin and Clark; his sisters Colleen, Lorraine, Gwen, Winona and Ramona; and several grandchildren.

By:Robert Laszewski President of Health Policy and Strategy Associates

Any big health care bill will be full of compromises—political or otherwise. But this bill doesn’t even come close to deserving to be called “health care reform.”

As the Democrats make their final push to pass their health care bill many of them, and most notably the President, are arguing that it should be passed because it is the “right thing to do whatever the polls say.”

Their argument is powerful: We will never get the perfect bill. If this fails who knows how long it will be before we have another big proposal up for a vote. There are millions of uninsured unable to get coverage because of preexisting conditions or the inability to pay the big premiums and this bill would help them.

But as an unavoidable moral imperative, enacting this bill would fall way short:

It is unsustainable. Promises are being made that cannot be kept. As President Obama has said many times, we need fundamental health care system reform or the promises we have already made—the Medicare and Medicaid entitlements, for example—will bankrupt us. What few cost containment elements the Democrats seriously considered are now either gone from their final bill or hopelessly watered down—most notably the “Cadillac” tax on high cost benefits and the Medicare cost containment commission.

It is paying off the people already profiting the most from the status quo. Many of the big special interests, that will have to change their ways if we are really going to improve the system, are simply being paid off for their support. The drug deal, the hospital deal, promises not to cut or change the way physicians are paid, all add up to more guaranteeing the status quo rather than doing anything that will bring about the systemic change everyone knows is needed.

Nothing in these bills will fundamentally change our current fiscal course. As the CBO, and every other expert has said, if this bill becomes law we will continue on the same cost trajectory we are already on. Yes, the CBO says the Democratic plan will reduce costs during the next ten years by about $100 billion—but that only means they would be $100 billion less than the $35 trillion they would have been anyway! That is merely a rounding error on the track we are already on.

There is nothing here that will stop unaffordable health insurance rate increases. Lately supporters have said this bill is the solution to the recent big individual health insurance rate increases we have been reading about in the press. But there is little in this bill that will mitigate or control any such increases because so little would be done to impact underlying health care costs.

We often hear the argument, “Let’s get this entitlement expansion bill passed and it will force us to deal with costs later.” If we don’t now have the political courage to face daunting health care costs in the face of exploding deficits how will we have that courage later?

I will suggest that adding 30 million more people to an unsustainable system expecting it will create an even bigger crisis and thereby force real reform is tantamount to reboarding the Titanic in the hopes it will sink faster. It is also hard to see how doing such a thing is the politically courageous thing to do.

Just where is the moral imperative in ramming a trillion dollar entitlement expansion through knowing full well it will make our long-term deficit nightmare even worse—for those now uninsured and for everyone else?

The Democratic health care bill makes little if any systemic changes to the health care system—certainly not at the level we need.

The Democratic health care bill makes promises we cannot keep.

Proponents of the Democratic health care bill make the claim that it will make health insurance affordable, improve our deficit outlook, and make our health insurance system sustainable. None of those claims are even close to being true and everyone who knows anything about this debate knows that.

Heck of a foundation for doing the “right thing.”

Read more of Robert Laszewski at healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com

This blog does not reflect the views of Metro Group Inc, and are solely the opinion of the author

“Addicted to True Blood”

By: Sarah Reynolds

While the temperature is getting warmer and the days are getting longer many people would tell you that it’s a sure sign that spring is on its way.

For my husband and I, we would tell you that means there is only a few more months before the third season premiere of HBO’s hit show, True Blood. While much of the country is addicted to the latest vampire craze, my husband Matthew and I fell into the genre by accident.

I have been raiding the Internet trying to find any spoilers for the approaching season three, which stars Anna Paquin, Steven Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard.

Those who read the Sookie Stackhouse series books could tell you what will happen in the future, but the show’s creator Alan Ball is steering the show in another direction.

The only hints that can be found are by observing any casting the show is doing. So far the show has stayed true the books story line by recently casting the character from the book series Alcide Herveaux as a potential love interest. Joe Manganiello will portray the werewolf.

It is also rumored that we will be hearing more about Sam Merlottes mysterious past.

Many question still have to be answer from a season two cliffhanger. What happened to Sookie’s love Bill Compton. Moments after he proposed to Sookie, a mysterious person appeared and kidnapped him while Sookie was in the bathroom. Will Sookie think he skipped town because of her startled reaction from his proposal?

Could this be the season where a brokenhearted Sookie turns to Eric to mend her broken heart?

As the months wind down and we wait for the June season premiere it is clear that Ball has his viewers attention.

By: Sarah Reynolds

“And the Oscar goes to.”

While the Academy Awards have come and gone, it got me thinking.

While the stars get all glitzed up in various designer gowns and suits, it seems many of the stars lack the sense of grace that Hollywood had back in the 1950s.

One actress though stood out from the rest. She embodies that old Hollywood glamour and has a personality to match. That actress recently won for her performance in “The Blind Side.”

I grew up watching Sandra Bullocks films and adoring her romantic comedies. When I heard that she would be starring in a film about football player Michael Oher, I thought it would be worth seeing.

She portrayed Leigh Anne Tuohy without a flaw, for two hours I even forgot I was watching Sandra Bullock, a movie star. To forget you are watching one of the most recognized faces in the world is a true testament that the actor did their job.

She deserved that Academy Award. Her performance was hearfelt. We often hear about stars and their “personalities,” and Bullock has had a reputation for being the one of the nicest individuals in Hollywood. Talk about icing on the cake. Her speech was humble, thanking the individuals whose lives she portrayed. When time winded down she said a thank you to, “the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those moms and parents never get thanked.”

She paused for moment, tears welling up in her eyes and thanked her late mother, Helga for giving her the proper upbringing, and not allowing her to ride in cars with boys and encouraging her to practice her art.

For a down to earth person like Bullock, she makes the young girls in the world, who give their Oscar speeches in their bedrooms with the hair brushes a sense of hope, that one day they may follow in the foot steps of a good role model.

By Mike Haim

It had been over two months since the Sabres scored more than three goals in a home game. It had also been that long since the club won three straight games.

Both spells ended Wednesday night in a 5-3 win against the Dallas Stars, even if the Sabres did revert to old ways and had to protect a slim lead in the final half of the game.

Buffalo wowed the sellout crowd at HSBC Arena with a three-goal first period, but concerned them too, as that was the same number they allowed.

Thomas Vanek came through to break the tie midway through the second period, and Buffalo clinged to that edge until Derek Roy’s empty-net goal with 17.7 seconds remaining.

The win extended the Sabres’ winning streak to three games, something they had not done since a six-game stretch between December 27 and January 8. The three-goal first period was the club’s first since they netted three in the first 2:11 of a 5-3 win against Tampa Bay on January 6.

Wednesday’s offensive hero was defenseman Tyler Myers, who bolstered his bid for the league rookie of the year award. He netted the game’s first goal and followed that with three assists for his first career four-point game.

“I was feeling good,” Myers said. “I was able to see a lot of opportunities to jump in, and luckily was able to capitalize a little bit.”

The Sabres could have had a lot more, if not for the stellar play of Dallas goalie Marty Turco, who made 38 saves overall and 25 in the last two periods.

“If there’s a four-by-eight piece of plywood and you get that many shots on it, I wonder if five will go through eventually,” quipped Dallas forward Steve Ott. “He let in four goals, he’s human. He’s playing his heart out for us.”

The teams furiously lit the scoreboard in the first period, with Myers and Mark Mancari giving Buffalo short-lived one-goal leads. Jamie Benn put Dallas up 3-2 with 2:04 left, but Jason Pominville got it back 67 seconds later.

“We’re not used to getting five goals in a game,” Myers said. “It felt good, especially to go in after the first tied 3-3. We came out in the second and third and made sure we played a full 60 and were able to get the win.”

“The game was there,” lamented Stars coach Marc Crawford. “We were guilty of turning over a few too many pucks and making the game a little bit more complicated than it needed to be, especially on attack.”

Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller wasn’t severely tested and made 17 saves in the win. He stopped all five Dallas shots in the second period and turned aside six in the final stanza.

………

Mancari gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead on a one-timer from the slot after being fed by Craig Rivet from behind the goal line. The goal, scored four seconds after a power play concluded, was the second of Mancari’s NHL career; the first came in his second career game last season against the New York Islanders.

The rookie also assisted on Vanek’s game-winner, delivering a crisp pass from behind the net. It gave Mancari his first NHL multi-point game.

“He’s played really well for us,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “He played well (Sunday) in New York and I didn’t want to mess with Roy and Vanek and him. They were our best line. They could have had even more. He did a lot of nice things. He made some nice plays.”

………

Dallas was making its first visit to Buffalo since December 2005. The Stars have not won a regular season game at HSBC Arena since October 7, 1997 and are now 0-7-1 in their last eight regular season road games in the series.

In that time, however, the Stars did record a win in Game Six of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, the triple-overtime game clinched when Brett Hull scored his controversial “skate in the crease” goal. Mercifully, there were no “No Goal” signs in the crowd, indicating that maybe Buffalo fans have let time heal that festering wound.

………

The win prevented Crawford from earning his 500th career win. The Dallas coach is 499-386-168 in his NHL career, which has seen stops in Quebec/Colorado, Vancouver, and Los Angeles before landing in Dallas before this current season.

………

www.twitter.com/mikehaim

By Mike Haim

In years to come, I’m sure this current NHL season will not be known as the “year of the headshot,” but the topic has been at the front of conversations this week.

The latest exhibit came Sunday, when Boston’s Marc Savard received a blind-side shoulder check to his head from Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke. Savard, removed from the ice on a stretcher, hadn’t improved in the two days following the hit and could potentially miss the remainder of the season.

Cooke was not penalized on the play and will not be suspended, as he was earlier for a similar hit on the New York Rangers’ Artem Anisimov.

Cooke’s headshot, the latest in a season seemingly full of them, thus falls under the category of “unsafe but legal.” League general managers, meeting in Florida this week, decided to propose a rules clarification which would make blind-side shoulder hits to the head subject to penalty and suspension.

It’s easy now for general managers to come up with a way to punish players for their misdeeds, but the trouble emanates from that same group. GMs look for players who have that extra snarl to make opponents think twice before taking a run at a star player.

Funny, we saw Alex Ovechkin deliver a solid check to Sidney Crosby in the Olympics and didn’t see some joker try to get equal. Good hard physical play is an accepted part of the game, but in a 30-team league there’s bound to be a good population of yahoos who know they’ll earn their keep by being stupid and not respecting their opponent. The proof: GMs keep giving these guys jobs.

Teams can talk about wanting to play with four quality lines, but the reality is that many fourth-line players aren’t really NHL caliber. Yet we know who they are when they deliver a cheap shot and receive their suspension.

On balance, I’d rather see players like Marc Savard every night over ones like Matt Cooke. It’s too bad the NHL, as currently constituted, treats them as equals. The rule change can’t come quickly enough.

………

Steven Stamkos might not have made a huge impact as a rookie in 2008-09, but he’s sure making up for lost time this season.

Stamkos, who posted all of 46 points last year, already has 41 goals and could possibly become the second member of the Tampa Bay Lightning to record a 50-goal season. Vincent Lecavalier netted 52 to lead the league in 2006-07.

But more impressive of late is Stamkos’ points streak. Tuesday, he recorded a goal and an assist to extend his streak to 17 games, the second-longest in the league this season. He’s also the youngest player in NHL history with a streak of at least 16 games – Stamkos reached that level on Saturday against Atlanta, when he was 20 years and 25 days old.

Crosby, during his 19-game streak in November 2007, reached the 16-game milestone at the tender age of 20 years and 95 days.

By the way, Stamkos has also already set the Lightning single-season record with 17 power play goals.

………

Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki also notched a neat achievement Saturday night in the win against the Thrashers.

Niittymaki improved to 17-0-0 in his career against Atlanta, an impressive feat to say the least.

But the Tampa Bay goalie is actually only tied for the NHL’s longest current winning streak against one team. Detroit’s Chris Osgood has also won his last 17 outings against, ironically enough, the Lightning.

Niittymaki, as well as Osgood, will have to wait to extend their respective streaks – Tampa Bay has concluded their season series against both Atlanta and Detroit.

………

My vote for “dumb broadcasting comment of the week” goes to the Washington radio announcer – sorry, I didn’t get his name – who made this statement during the Capitals-Stars shootout on Monday night:

“Here comes (Dallas forward) Brad Richards. He knows Washington, since he played against them quite a bit when he was with Tampa Bay.”

The statement may have made sense during the course of the game, but not during the shootout. Richards was facing Semyon Varlamov, a matchup which had never occurred before. The announcer was prophetic, though: Richards scored.

………

www.twitter.com/mikehaim

By Charles Roberts, Sports Reporter

-Credit free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens with living up to his promise to be a model citizen while he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. He did almost everything possible to fly under the radar in hopes of landing one last big contract, ideally on a winning organization. The one thing he didn’t do however was catch the football. Although many attribute Owens’ lousy production in 2009 to a lack of stable quarterback on the Bills, plain and simple, the highly glamorized receiver was dreadful and at times, painful to watch. His mechanics – which have never been anything to write home about – seemed to have regressed even further last year and on plays that didn’t involve him – his body language let the defense know just that. It’s a pretty obvious point to make, but if the Buffalo Bills, one of the league’s most abysmal franchises over the last decade don’t see room for you on their roster, who really should?

-LaDainian Tomlinson’s recent visit to Minnesota should be the only such sit down he participates in. The Vikings were a legitimate Super Bowl contender last season and all signs point to them returning to that form in 2010, assuming their gray-haired, stubble-faced quarterback returns.

-After releasing quarterback Derek Anderson, the latest rumor out of Cleveland is that they are shopping Brady Quinn to a handful of teams. No specific teams were listed, but I would have to assume Buffalo, St. Louis, Oakland, Seattle and Washington were among those the Browns reached out to. It would seem as though new team general manager Mike Holmgren wants to clean house and bring in his own crew, which makes perfect sense. The one thing that has me scratching my head however is why former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme is the first guy Holmgren reached out to for the possibly soon-to-be-available spot in Cleveland. It would seem like you already had a stationary guy with more upside in Anderson. I can see releasing Anderson to avoid that gaudy contract, but why not resign him for less? Drafting Quinn was the public relations move the team had to make a couple seasons ago, being the hometown kid, but now that it looks like they are going to dump him anyway, what’s the difference? And what value does the unproven Quinn really have? A third, perhaps fourth round pick?

-Little Ben gets Big Ben in trouble again. I wish these athletes would smarten up and stop putting themselves in compromising situations, like hanging out in college bars or scantily strip clubs, but it just doesn’t seem like that will ever happen. The saga continues.

By: Nicole Gawel

American Idol Recap of both the men and the women performers and elimination predictions for this week.

American Idol Women:

Katie Stevens “Breakaway”: From the start the song was a trainwreck. I couldn’t stop listening, but I wanted to. I was a fan of Stevens at the beginning, but I’m not sure after this week. She’s young and needs to hone in on her skills. Simon says she needs to figure out what kind of an artist she is and that she sucked the energy out of it, but still gives her a 10 out of 10 for trying, which is generous of him. If I were him I wouldn’t have given her that much credit, but then again that is why Ryan Secrest hasn’t called me to be a judge on the show yet.

Siobhan Magnus “House of the Rising Sun”: It started out slow. I didn’t mind it. In the past I was never really a fan of Magnus, but after this performance I like her. I’m not sure if she is American Idol caliber, but she has potential. A record company will be knocking on her door, either if she wins or not. Simon wasn’t a fan of it.

Lacey Brown “The Story”: I don’t think I’ve ever heard this song before, maybe I have, but I don’t remember. I liked it. For the past few weeks I am becoming more and more of a fan of her. The first week I didn’t like her and was certain she’d be voted off, but not this week.

Kaitlyn Epperly “I Feel the Earth Move”: I like her she is a musician, not just a singer. I have liked her performances thus far. This performance was ok, not one of her better ones, but it was still really good. She is not one of my favorites, but she doesn’t deserve to go home this week. I like the ending of the song. Simon said he’d start with the positive and said he liked her hair. He compared her to request night on a Friday night in a restaurant. True, her song was simple, but maybe that showed her voice and talent off the best. Sometimes simple is just right.

DiDi Benami “Rhiannon”: I hate this song to begin with. I’m not a fan of Benami. She deserved to go home last week, however, I didn’t mind her rendition. I liked how she changed the chorus to a slower pace.

Paige Miles “Smile”: Her voice was shaky. It was not strong enough. Her performance was lacking. Simon remarked that it was a horrible choice, the arrangement was awful and something you would hear in a Holiday Inn in 1974 with bar patrons eating peanuts and not paying much attention to the lounge singer.

Crystal Bowersox “Give Me One Reason”: As a general rule I never liked her, but this performance has redeemed her. It was electric, powerful and enchanting. I give her a lot of credit. She has immense talent.

Lily Scott “I Fall To Pieces”: She’s my favorite, but I’m not sure if this was the right song for her to choose. I like her in past performances and am still rooting for her, but I did not like her rendition or song choice. It could cost her a spot in the elite 12 of the competition.

Elimination prediction: Katie Stevens and Kaitlyn Epperly.

American Idol Men:

Lee Dewyze “Fireflies”: I like Owl City’s version. Dewyze did put his own rocker feel to it, but I was not impressed.

Alex Lambert “Trouble”: I loved Lambert’s rendition. It was passionate and soulful at the same time. In my opinion, this was one of my favorite performances a male has given this season of American Idol. Simon said that he has to stop concentrating so much and needs to loosen up and relax like by imagining Randy in a bikini or something. Kara imagines it.

Tim Urban “Hallelujah”: It was a haunting performance. For weeks I have not been a fan of Urban at all, actually I have been hoping he would be leaving the show for good, but this performance made me change my perspective. It was beautiful.

Andrew Garcia “Genie in a Bottle”: It was interesting. I had never heard the song sung by a male. It was weird, but alright, I would not say phenomenal though. There was no wow factor.

Casey James “You’ll Think of Me”: I love Keith Urban’s rendition, but this wasn’t half bad. I liked it. He could have put more of himself in the song, but I definitely liked it. It had star quality.

Aaron Kelly “I’m Already There”: He wavered in some points and was shaky here and there. It was not a good song choice. I think he needs to develop more. Simon said it was the right type of song for him to do, but it wasn’t a great vocal, but it did have emotion.

Toddrick Hall “Somebody to Love”: I didn’t want to hear this song. I hate when others try to sing Queen’s songs. Not cool in my book. You can’t and shouldn’t mess with Freddie and the crew. He took a risk in my book, but I must admit it wasn’t that bad. Simon commented that with this performance Hall would be perfect for musicals, not as a recording artist.

Big Mike “This Woman’s Work”: I absolutely hated it. I’ve never heard it before, but I’m sure the original is 10 times better. I guess his performance was good, but I did not care for it. Kara cried. Kara said he is amazing and that the song choice was relevant for him and the time he is going through.

Elimination prediction: This week is a tough one, but I’ll have to go with Lee Dewyze and Andrew Garcia.

By Nicole Gawel

Three times must be a charm. The Piano and Rocket men delivered in Tuesday’s performance of Billy Joel and Elton John’s Face 2 Face tour at the HSBC Arena.

After rescheduling three times, as the original show was slated for July 24, 2009, with the first reschedule in early December 2009 and finally, the actual show March 9, 2010, was it worth the wait? The resounding answer would be yes, because isn’t anticipation part of the fun?

The two were electric on stage, facing each other in a piano duel and also serving as the opening act.

Having them each sing alternating verses of each of their songs proved to be powerful. The whole arena could feel the energy and stigma the two star powers brought to Buffalo.

Joel bid adieu to the audience after a few songs each and John took the stage solo. I would have loved to see John in his heyday of platform shoes and a loud wardrobe. His outfits and shoes were not all that disappointing, just extremely muted from what they once were.

The one song I could not stand was Rocketman. Normally, it’s a good song, but John lamented on it too much making it into an opus. My mom even commented a third of the way into the song that this was the two-disc extended version.

I was fascinated by his shoes though.

Although John is a great performer and incredible pianist, Joel stole the show from him. Joel is truly “The Entertainer.” John hardly spoke on stage to the audience, but made gestures to interact, but Joel commented, made it into a comedy routine at some points, spoke of fond memories with touring in Buffalo in the earlier years of his career and had the audience in the palm of his hand all night.

Joel twirled the mic stand and tried to dance and move like he could way back when. He didn’t stay behind the piano the entire night like John did, which maybe is a difference with performers from England and the United States.

The two songs Joel could have left out were “Zanzibar” and “Angry Young Man.” There were other songs that are better he could have chosen.

My favorite was John’s “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road.” My favorite Joel song was “Movin’ Out.”

At the end of the two solo acts the two collaborated again and that’s when the concert seemed to hold the most magical moments. The songs that were mesmerizing included “Candle In The Wind,” “Uptown Girl,” and the final song of the night and the most looked forward to, “Piano Man.”

Between the two performers, although amazingly incredible and with immense influence in the music industry on their own, you could tell that the two came from opposite sides of the Atlantic. While Joel entertained, John performed.

Corey Feldman on Larry King Live told viewers to "stop jumping the gun" and spreading rumors that Corey Haim died from an drug overdose. He said until all the information is out there, "nobody knows" what really lead to the death of his friend.

On Larry King Live Feldman said Haim had a "long and detailed drug history and battled addiction for many, many years". Feldman did add though that Haim had been "in the best frame of mind that he's ever been in" up untill the time of his death.

Feldman and Haim were known as the "Two Coreys" during the height of their fame in the late '80's. They starred together in the film "The Lost Boys".

Haim died early Wednesday morning from an apparent overdose of prescription drugs.

Actor Corey Haim died today of an apparent overdose of prescription pills according to the LAPD. Haim was 38.

Police were called around 4 AM PT Wednesday morning to investigate the apparent overdose.

Haim starred or co-starred in a number of films such as Lucas, Murphy's Romance, and in The Lost Boys with Corey Feldman.

Haim, according to reports, suffered a drug-induced stroke in 2001. Haim also had been in and out of rehab over a dozen times throughout his life.