did you think Richards head snapped back?

if your head snapped back, would you fear for at least a moment that you broke your neck?

how would you react?
- jimbro83

I am going to say this once, and only once.
Kaleta made a huge mistake, and he is paying for it with a 5 game suspention.
Now, keep in mind, in a shortened season that equates to 10 games!
Punishment is justified, and done!!
NOW, GO SABRES!!!!!

The media outside of Buffalo is a group of mindless zombies that just follow or piggyback one another and each others thoughts.
One says Patty is gutless or scum , the rest say it.
Journalists don't even do their jobs anymore. They use tiny bits of information from other media and pass it off as their own.
I was born in a world overloaded with followers. Makes me wanna puke!
Keep doing your thing Patty please.
You are excellent at your job and at least you are not a follower like the tools that have it out for you. Screw the whiners and Richards for his acting job.

- BuffaloHardHat

the national coverage of this is just plain lazy and im not sure why its just accepted. i cant imagine what would happen if a writer for a newspaper or magazine wrote in this type of irresponsible and inaccurate way. they would probably lose their job. why tv analysts are not held more responsible is mind bottling!!!

if you guys continue to say stupid crap about this incident, I'm gonna stick around

stop talking about it
- jimbro83

stupid crap

Dude, everyone can sit here and play neurologist all day, myself included. I saw what I saw. He was grabbing every part of his body, and skated off the ice like he was barely conscious. Then he's right back on the ice. Doesn't seem like the training staff was too worried about his head being snapped back eh?
- sbroads24

the trainer came out there and obviously told him to stop moving around, because he stopped moving around so much and listened to the trainers questions after he started talking to him.

I really cannot believe how insane you wackos are over this.

You better hope no Sabre gets seriously hurt because you've opened up this blog to a lot of HAHAHAHAing if something serious happens.

did you think Richards head snapped back?

if your head snapped back, would you fear for at least a moment that you broke your neck?

how would you react?
- jimbro83

i would throw my gloves reach for my back then hold my wrist then flop around on the ice for awhile.. so he did what he should have

I am going to say this once, and only once.
Kaleta made a huge mistake, and he is paying for it with a 5 game suspention.
Now, keep in mind, in a shortened season that equates to 10 games!
Punishment is justified, and done!!
NOW, GO SABRES!!!!!
- Sabresfan88

People are acting as if we are defending the hit. We are defending what is being said in the media which is completely false. Kaleta does fight, he does have a role in the NHL, he is valuable, and he has changed his game quite a bit. I will also defend the fact that he did not mean for Richards to go head first into the boards. It was a bad hit but not intent to injure, which contrary to what Bradley would have had you believe, he was not injured

Wait. There's actually Blues fans??
- Gmcc24

Not many. I was in St. Louis near the arena last season and a scalper offered me tickets for $5 each. Even when the Blues are good nobody seems to care.

the trainer came out there and obviously told him to stop moving around, because he stopped moving around so much and listened to the trainers questions after he started talking to him.

I really cannot believe how insane you wackos are over this.

You better hope no Sabre gets seriously hurt because you've opened up this blog to a lot of HAHAHAHAing if something serious happens.
- jimbro83

i know because a player getting seriously injured is HILARIOUS..

the trainer came out there and obviously told him to stop moving around, because he stopped moving around so much and listened to the trainers questions after he started talking to him.

I really cannot believe how insane you wackos are over this.

You better hope no Sabre gets seriously hurt because you've opened up this blog to a lot of HAHAHAHAing if something serious happens.
- jimbro83

Do you mean like Lucic/Miller?

Or Bowman on Gerbe? Or Brown on Kaleta? All three of those, dirty hits, our players miss time, no suspensions. Trust me, it's annoying when it happens, but we don't get the game changing majors

i personally dont think he dove and the more i watch- i dont think he was faking either.


it was a stupid play in a super dangerous area and those plays need to be removed from the game.

my issue is with the vilifying of pat kaleta, the inaccurate assessment of his style of play, and the lack of consistency by which similar plays are punished...

Do you mean like Lucic/Miller?

Or Bowman on Gerbe? Or Brown on Kaleta? All three of those, dirty hits, our players miss time, no suspensions. Trust me, it's annoying when it happens, but we don't get the game changing majors
- sbroads24

or bourdon on gerbe which fractured his spine??? but yea, were touchy...

i personally dont think he dove and the more i watch- i dont think he was faking either.


it was a stupid play in a super dangerous area and those plays need to be removed from the game.

my issue is with the vilifying of pat kaleta, the inaccurate assessment of his style of play, and the lack of consistency by which similar plays are punished...
- battelmt

that will always be around unless they adopt a strict formula for determining the fine/suspension... IMO it should be determined prior to the season how these go down.. hit from behind - 1st offense 2 days, 2nd offense 4 games, 3rd offense 8 games. and continue with all offenses, just spell it out so everyonen knows what the consequences are.

did you think Richards head snapped back?

if your head snapped back, would you fear for at least a moment that you broke your neck?

how would you react?
- jimbro83

Honestly I can agree with this.....I was tripped from behind once while chasing an icing within close proximity to the boards and went in feet first. Was sure that I was gonna break my ankle or leg or something and definitely overreacted initially. Not mike Ribiero overreacting but I don't think Richards acted like Ribiero either. It happens in that moment directly after you fully believe you are gonna be hurt.

or bourdon on gerbe which fractured his spine??? but yea, were touchy...
- battelmt

we almost saw a player die on the ice about 20 years ago

that will always be around unless they adopt a strict formula for determining the fine/suspension... IMO it should be determined prior to the season how these go down.. hit from behind - 1st offense 2 days, 2nd offense 4 games, 3rd offense 8 games. and continue with all offenses, just spell it out so everyonen knows what the consequences are.
- SabresFaninIndiana

agreed. its so subjective.

the play by backstrom on marchand that someone posted yesterday is scary in how identical it was to the kaleta hit. no reputation, no penalty, no fine...

Honestly I can agree with this.....I was tripped from behind once while chasing an icing within close proximity to the boards and went in feet first. Was sure that I was gonna break my ankle or leg or something and definitely overreacted initially. Not mike Ribiero overreacting but I don't think Richards acted like Ribiero either.
- twistedwrister9

Watch him skate off the ice. He acts like he is barely awake. At one point he has his eyes closed. He embellished to get a major, and played it up all the way off the ice. Lost respect for Richards.

You better hope no Sabre gets seriously hurt because you've opened up this blog to a lot of HAHAHAHAing if something serious happens.
- jimbro83

Trust me, we had our fill of it when Lucic ran over Milller last year.

Kaleta made a bad decision on this play no doubt. It wasn't the dirtiest play ever, as Torts suggested. Just a dangerous play at a bad time for the Sabres. I get that they're trying to take this play out of the game, but the league is so inconsistent with what and who they punish. If he wasn't a repeat offender, I'd say he probably would have gotten 2-3 games. What's disappointing is the media coverage of the hit. Kaleta has changed his game in the past year. He doesn't hit recklessly anymore, is one of the best skaters on the team and is the best shot blocking forward on the roster. He's come a long way as a player and it's just lazy and irresponsible to hear how he's being portrayed.

Do you mean like Lucic/Miller?

Or Bowman on Gerbe? Or Brown on Kaleta? All three of those, dirty hits, our players miss time, no suspensions. Trust me, it's annoying when it happens, but we don't get the game changing majors
- sbroads24

if it was a minor. it was still a 5 on 3, and the Rangers still score twice.

do we understand this? I think this was explained about 30 times yesterday

Trust me, we had our fill of it when Lucic ran over Milller last year.

Kaleta made a bad decision on this play no doubt. It wasn't the dirtiest play ever, as Torts suggested. Just a dangerous play at a bad time for the Sabres. I get that they're trying to take this play out of the game, but the league is so inconsistent with what and who they punish. If he wasn't a repeat offender, I'd say he probably would have gotten 2-3 games. What's disappointing is the media coverage of the hit. Kaleta has changed his game in the past year. He doesn't hit recklessly anymore, is one of the best skaters on the team and is the best shot blocking forward on the roster. He's come a long way as a player and it's just lazy and irresponsible to hear how he's being portrayed.
- The_Inkwell

And I was here, and on the Bruins blog DEFENDING the Sabres and you guys, something I'll never do again.

Watch him skate off the ice. He acts like he is barely awake. At one point he has his eyes closed. He embellished to get a major, and played it up all the way off the ice. Lost respect for Richards.
- sbroads24

Yea....didn't catch it that far after I was switching back n forth between the game and walking dead. Didn't see it happen initially, only the replay. so your saying he continued to sell it even after he realized most likely he was ok

Yea....didn't catch it that far after I was switching back n forth between the game and walking dead. Didn't see it happen initially, only the replay. so your saying he continued to sell it even after he realized most likely he was ok
- twistedwrister9

He looked like he had a seperated shoulder and was barely conscious coming off the ice

one good thing that can be taken away from all this hatred of 36- its apparent he is very good at his job. all this can only add to the legend of pat kaleta!!

And I was here, and on the Bruins blog DEFENDING the Sabres and you guys, something I'll never do again.
- jimbro83

Somehow I think we'll be ok without you defending us....thanks anyways captain America

if it was a minor. it was still a 5 on 3, and the Rangers still score twice.

do we understand this? I think this was explained about 30 times yesterday
- jimbro83

Not necessarily. Teams set up for majors differently than they do minors (shorter or longer shifts for certain players, etc.), then there's the whole mental aspect. There is absolutely no guarantee that the Rangers score twice if that's a minor. You could be right, and that the Rangers still take the lead, but to make it sound like it's still a guarantee is intellectually dishonest.

That being said, Richards reaction, be it "faking" or not, was nothing more than entertaining (personally, I thought he looked like someone shot him in the ass with a sniper rifle) and should have had zero bearing on how that penalty was called. It was a hit from behind, and should have been a major. However, the "injury equals automatic five" rule that's in place is always going to stir some controversy.

I am just wondering what would have happened if Ennis started writhing in pain on the ice when he was boarded by Girardi.

All of this seems a bit inconsistent, as if a player needs to appear hurt in order to receive attention. Even when that is the case, it seems to depend on what player it is that is injured. Was Mike Brown suspended when he boarded Kaleta, causing a neck injury?

Any hit from behind or boarding penalty should receive a review and possible suspension in order to provide a consistent message to the players that these type of hits are unacceptable.

And this repeat offender nonsense has to be mitigated. The last time Kaleta was suspended was November 2011 for head-butting. The reason was suspension was completely different, and Kaleta has no history of this type of incident. Again, let's be consistent in how things are handled.