COMMENTARY
Sabres face quandary on blue line
For anyone still wondering, 19 years later, how Ronnie Harmon dropped that pass. . . .
• It will be interesting to see how the Buffalo Sabres resolve their overcrowded blue line now that eight healthy defensemen are available. Lindy Ruff can’t justify taking the easy way out, which would be sending rookie Chris Butler back to Portland without worrying about him needing to clear waivers.
Butler playing well as a rookie is impressive enough, but he’s been one of their best defensemen, period, during his 10 games with Buffalo. He’s calm, plays within himself, rarely gets caught out of position and makes very few mistakes. And he’s only going to get better.
Teppo Numminen appears headed for the press box in a move long overdue, but it provides only short-term relief. The Sabres could try sneaking Nathan Paetsch to Portland to regain his confidence, but there’s a good chance he would be claimed.
One alternative is shopping Henrik Tallinder, who last weekend was scratched for the third time this season. Trading him would be a bold move, but he has shown telltale signs of a player who needs a change in scenery. He has been in Buffalo for six-plus seasons, his play has fallen off in recent years, he’s been scratched for poor play and has one full season worth $3.25 million remaining on his contract.
The Sabres have a history of keeping players for too long (see: Afinogenov, Maxim) and need to get something for Tallinder while they can. He’s still valuable enough to get the Sabres a decent return, perhaps a young forward or second- round draft pick.
• Tony Dungy’s graceful retirement Monday wasn’t just a loss for the Colts but also for the NFL. He was one of classiest people in sports. Only George Seifert with the 49ers and John Madden with the Raiders had higher winning percentages with one team than Dungy did during his seven seasons in Indianapolis. The Colts reached the playoffs all seven years, won a Super Bowl and won the right way. We’ll see how long he sits around before President-elect Barack Obama puts him to work.
• Funny how Jim Rice was elected into the Hall of Fame on the same day the feds considered whether Roger Clemens should be indicted for lying under oath when he testified before Congress about steroids. Rice waited 15 years, partly because his stats were minimized by those from the steroid era.
• Tim Tebow deserves credit for returning to Florida for his senior year, but I’m not buying the suggestion that his decision was based solely on loyalty. Many scouts aren’t convinced he can play quarterback in the NFL. He could be a pro tight end.
• It didn’t take long before a few people wondered if I was referring specifically to them Sunday in a column about wacky youth-hockey parents. No need to ask me. That’s a question for you.
• St. BonaventurefreshmanAndrew Nicholson has established himself as a force, but the 6-foot-9 forward will get a big test Wednesday against Saint Joseph’s star Ahmad Nivins, 20 pounds heavier and averaging nearly 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.
• I could have sworn new Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was collecting shopping carts at Wegmans last week.
• Tim Connolly has played only 58 of 206 games since signing a three-year contract worth $8.7 million. If he returned for the NHL minimum salary of $475,000, turning his deal into four years for $9.175 million, he could be worth keeping.
• Eric Mangini is expected to hire St. Francis High grad Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator in Cleveland. It’s another step in the meteoric rise for Daboll, 33, known as one of the great young minds in the NFL.
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