COMMENTARY
Ruff sends wrong message
Lindy Ruff is one of the best coaches in the NHL, but he sent the wrong message on several fronts during rookie camp last week when he suggested the Sabres would be fine with their current lineup.
Ruff apparently underestimated how tired fans have become watching the Sabres do little or nothing to improve their product. No matter how close the Sabres were to making the playoffs, the fact is they've finished in 10th place in consecutive years and last year needed a strong finish just to keep things interesting.
He expected Jason Pominville to be more productive, hoped Tim Connolly and Ryan Miller would remain healthy and was banking on production from his young players. That would help, but on every team in every sport there are players who overachieve while others struggle in any given year.
Buffalo simply doesn't have enough talent to join the heavy hitters in the Eastern Conference. That's the goal . . . their goal . . . not just making the playoffs. They have too many players whom they view as first-line guys that would be playing on the second and third line on better teams.
The bigger problem with Ruff's show of confidence is that too many players already have grown too comfortable with this team. It was an opportunity for Ruff to say nobody should feel safe given the results, but he did the opposite. How the Sabres can continue getting away with selling status quo in this town is a mystery.
Yeah, I know, I'm beating a dead horse. I would much rather be writing about the buzz across town in anticipation of hockey season. Instead, with every day that passes, I get the impression that the organization has become a boys club that's taking a passive approach toward winning.
* LPGA members can blame Commissioner Carolyn Bivens all they want for revenue problems and the tour taking a dive, but they're missing the point. OK, so the economy is hurting and sponsors are no longer lining up the way they once did. That's one thing.
The deeper concern is that American golf fans have a difficult time identifying with foreign players who either lack personality or the language skills required to sell the game where it's played. The LPGA is less recognizable than the PBA.
Seriously, how many of you were hanging on every word from Eun Hee Ji's interpreter after she sank a 20-footer to win the U.S. Open?
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. has changed teams, changed cars and once again fired his cousin as crew chief. Is it me or has he blamed everyone but the driver for not winning?
* Roger Federer winning Wimbledon for his 15th career grand slam, the most in history, has raised questions about whether he's the best ever. I'm still going with Bjorn Borg, who retired before his time. Federer is evidence that men should be allowed only one serve, not two, in the professional ranks.
* Jay McKee wasn't worth the $4 million a year he was being paid in St. Louis, but he is definitely worth the $850,000 he'll pocket next season in Pittsburgh. The guy has had his share of injuries, definitely, but it wasn't as if the Penguins handed him a $1 million raise after he missed two-thirds of the games.
* I'm not sure what would be the greater accomplishment, Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France for the eighth time or quieting critics who continue to accuse him of cheating. Even the biggest cynics have to be convinced he's legitimate at this point.
Why would he return, knowing darned well he would face intense scrutiny, if he thought there was a chance he would test positive and ruin his reputation? It's not the actions of someone trying to beat the system.
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