-“The Sabres are playing well right now. But they are going to lose a game, and it’s going to be on Monday.” — Canadiens defenseman Janne Niinimaa

So said Niinimaa before his team became the latest victim at Bell Centre falling to 9-0 Buffalo 4-1. Maybe next time, the defenseman who’s been with Montreal three weeks will keep his mouth shut. So who is Buffalo’s next game against with history on the line? You guessed it. Against former Jack Adams winner a decade prior in Ted Nolan’s Islanders. If Buffalo wins, they’ll match the 1993-94 Maple Leafs for the best start in NHL history. So who thinks Nolan’s overachieving Isles will spoil the party at Nassau Coliseum this Thursday?

-Watching this Giants-Cowboys MNF game on ESPN is unbearable. Between the moronic Giants offense intro from media savvy ‘retiring’ Tiki Barber and the ridiculous Michael “Big Mouth” Strahan nicknames of his defensive teammates, I could tell early how annoying this idiotic ESPN telecast would be. Between that dopy Texas hat that goofball Joe Theismann wore during their celebrity interview with talented musician Hank Williams and all the ridiculous camera shots of the NFL’s fave media-ho Terrell Owens, it was just exactly the nightmare I envisioned when they landed the Monday Night Football package. Out of curiosity as the Giants lead 18-7 in a game they should’ve put away already. But if TO doesn’t get a couple of calls including one ridiculous gift interference when he was the one who pushed off on the replay which kept their only scoring drive alive, what does that say about Bill Parcells‘ Cowboys?

-Update: So it turns out this game is damaging to Big Blue as the fragile LaVarr Arrington left the game with a ruptured Achilles which basically means he’s done for the year. That’s a big blow in a game in which Osi Umenyiora also left banged up.

-Does anyone else find it comical that Parcells has already pulled an ineffective Drew Bledsoe and his replacement Tony Romo seems to be running a much smoother offense as evidenced by their second drive before TO turned into the goat by dropping an easy pass on 4th and 2? P.S. That was his fifth dropped pass this season according to the stat researchers at ESPN. More than he had the last couple of seasons.

-Just when you thought this telecast couldn’t get any worse, it does. While the Giants are moving the ball up 12 into Dallas territory, lead play-by-play man Mike Tirico is preoccupied interviewing former Dallas Cowboy star running back Emmit Smith. Look. I have a lot of respect for what Smith accomplished on the gridiron but when he’s being asked questions about his silly dancing career which has nothing to do with football, that’s out of bounds. It’s bad enough they’re conducting this during the game as Brandon Jacobs just overpowered a couple of Cowboys inside the 15. It’s disrespectful to viewers. Whatever happened to just broadcasting the game?
-If you haven’t checked out the talented Weird Al Yankovic’s new hilarious music video “White and Nerdy,” it’s a must:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=c860df3ccf66c83fb61bb2ffd934330b.1028187&cache=1

-The hot topic of the day is whether or not Kenny Rogers cheated during this postseason? After last night’s first inning, Cards’ skipper Tony LaRussa pointed out to the umpires a dark substance on Rogers’ pitching hand. Was it pinetar? Did he scuff the ball? Who knows? But after the umpires asked the revitalized 41 year-old southpaw to wash it off, he proceeded to shutdown St. Louis to the tune of 1 hit over the next seven innings before giving way to closer Todd Jones. Consider that in that Cards’ first he allowed a hit and a walk with this substance but afterwards, got even better. Too weird for words. You’d have thought the opposite would happen after a Fox camera picked up the dark smudge. But if Rogers doctored up the ball in that opening frame, he didn’t pitch as well as he did the final seven. Are the Cards’ hitters that bad or were they that thrown off by this controversy? Or maybe Rogers knew he had to pitch extremely well or there would be a lot more raised eyebrows. It was also captured on ESPN’s SportsCenter that this wasn’t the only instance that the crafty lefty had this substance on that throwing hand. Supposedly, it was also noticeable during his ALDS win over the Yankees and ALCS victory over Oakland in which he pitched at least seven in baffling both opponents. So, is Rogers a cheater? Hard to say. The evidence doesn’t look promising for his credibility. But if he had done something really illegal, according to MLB umpire supervisor Steve Palermo, he would’ve been kicked out right away and subject to a 10-game suspension. So essentially, he’d have been done for the rest of the World Series. This is what Palermo had to say about the bizarre situation:

“Dirt is not a foreign substance. That’s what we play on. That’s the playing surface.“

Fair enough. Of course, the ball definitely can pickup dirt during the course of a game. It still looks very unusual. Here’s what Rogers had to say about this controversy:

“It was a big clump of dirt, and I wiped it off. I didn’t know it was there, and they told me and I took it off, and it wasn’t a big deal...With any athlete I think the longer you fail at something, the harder it is to turn that corner. Without a doubt I believe going out there and having success against that Yankee team was huge for me, huge for my confidence.“

Okay. So what would you expect him to say here? It’s not like he’s going to come out and confess. There’s a lot riding on the line here. This was a very serious accusation last night. Who knows? I’ll say this. Regardless whether or not he indeed used some substance to get a better grip on the ball, I’ve never seen Kenny Rogers so fired up during his starts. It’s almost like an entirely different person. Where did this intensity come from? I’ll bet that’s what all his former clubs are thinking at this moment.

The Cards Aaron Miles added:

“Somebody said they thought they saw pine tar on him. That’s about it. Whether he got rid of it, or he never had it in the first place, we don’t know. His stuff was good all game.“

And there you have it. Whatever Rogers did or didn’t do, the Cardinal hitters couldn’t figure him out. So now the Series is all even at one with a pivotal Game Three match-up set for tomorrow night in St. Louis between Chris Carpenter and Nate Robertson. Hopefully, this controversy won’t overshadow what now has the potential to be a very good series. But I’ll bet everyone is counting down in anticipation of Game 6 when The Gambler is next slated to pitch. Not to be overlooked as well is the fact that manager Jim Leyland wisely has started him at home for all three starts. Keeping him in Comerica Park and away from any distractions where he could implode on the road was the best decision the brilliant skipper could’ve made. Especially with someone as thin skinned as Rogers. You got to hand it to Leyland.

-So Montreal’s Janne Niinimaa has guaranteed a Canadiens victory over undefeated Buffalo tonight. The Sabres enter a perfect 8-0 having obliterated most of their recent competition. And as I type this, Michael Ryder almost got the first goal of this game on Versus which is a rematch of an entertaining tilt two weeks ago in which Buffalo rallied for a 5-4 shootout win in Game 2 of their new season. They cameback from 4-2 down with about 6:00 left. So maybe Niinimaa has a point. Montreal should’ve won that one. And they’re 4-1-2 and on home ice tonight. We’ll see if Niinimaa’s prediction rings true.

-How soon will we get sick of the TO closeups during tonight’s big Monday Night Showdown between the Giants and Cowboys? He might have some competition from the “retiring” Tiki Barber. It is ESPN after all.

-As I sit here and watch Kenny Rogers continue his magical postseason without allowing a run in three starts and erasing all past playoff failures, it is utterly amazing to see the 41 year-old southpaw who was best known for his awful treatment of a cameraman last year while with Texas morph into suddenly the most dominant starter in this wild October. Is this the same pitcher who imploded while with both the Yanks and Mets when the pressure was on? The most stunning aspect is the difference in Rogers’ on-mound persona. Before, he never was known for showing any emotion win or lose. Now, The Gambler is animated and seems almost like a different pitcher. It’s almost as if he has something to prove. Whatever it is, all you can do is tip your cap. He’s given the Tigers a big time performance when they needed it after dropping Game 1 of this World Series to the cardiac Cards 7-2. I wondered how he’d respond. Well, we’ve certainly gotten an overwhelming answer as he’s outpitched another ex-Yankee postseason failure Jeff Weaver in this 3-0 game that Detroit must have as the Series shifts to St. Louis.

-So who had the Eric Mangini Jets with four wins already in the equally unpredictable NFL? You got to give them credit. Chad Pennington has played well after returning from a second reconstructive shoulder surgery. Laveranues Coles has been brilliant as Chad’s primary target and now it looks like they’ve even discovered a brand new number one running back in rookie Leon Washington, who rushed for 129 yards and his first two career touchdowns in their 31-24 win over the Lions. Washington was Gang Green’s fourth round pick out of Florida State this past April. Sure, you could say they haven’t really beaten anyone great with the four wins coming against Detroit, Miami, Buffalo and Tennessee. But also, they nearly pulled off a huge upset against the undefeated Colts a few weeks ago and cameback before falling to the Patriots 24-17 in Week 2. If you really look closely, Mangini’s Jets have been in every game outside that awful 41-0 blowout loss suffered at Jacksonville three weeks ago which was their second straight loss and made them 2-3. Look at how they responded. By taking care of business to get to 4-3 and actually have a shot at the postseason. Unbelievable. What we like most about these new Jets is they’re not satisfied. Just ask Coles after Sunday’s win before heading to Cleveland next week:

“We weren’t expected to win but four games this year if you let the so-called experts tell it. Again, we’ve got four wins, but we can’t rest our hats upon that.“

If you’re a Gang Green supporter, there’s plenty to like about that statement. Here’s something else which will make fans smile:

Jets under Mangini: 4-3

Chiefs under Herm Edwards: 3-3

Ah. Somebody’s having the last laugh.

-So the predictable took place today in the NHL with the Flyers canning head coach Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke resigning as GM with assistant coach John Stevens taking over behind the bench and assistant GM Paul Holmgren calling the shots. All this was a direct result to the Flyers getting off to an atrocious 1-6-1 start in which they’ve been outscored 33-15. Yes, they were in fact the league’s worst team. A far cry from the team that’s finished 1 or 2 in the Atlantic since getting back to the postseason in 1994-95. The truth is Clarke never adjusted after watching the more talented Sabres skate circles around his team and embarrass the Flyers out of the playoffs in the first round last Spring. The same team also fittingly enough destroyed them last week 9-1 in a game seen on Versus which basically signaled the end for Hitchcock and Clarke even though it didn’t come till two losses later. Clarke not only didn’t find a replacement for mobile D-man Kim Johnsson but also swapped imposing center Michal Handzus to Chicago for the softer Kyle Calder and let team enforcer Donald Brashear sign with Washington. This made the Flyers a much softer team for opponents and easier to play. With teams taking runs at new captain Peter Forsberg, something was bound to happen. So will the changes work? Hard to say. The Flyers’ blueline still lacks enough speed and is the weakest link which makes life even more difficult for either goalie Antero Niittymaki or Robert Esche. If they are to turn it around, second-year forwards Jeff Carter (1-1-2, -3), R.J. Umberger (1 goal, -5) and Mike Richards (0 points, -3) must come through. They’ve been dreadful thus far and must support 2/3 of the top line of Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble without an injured Forsberg. It will be interesting to see how they respond over the next couple of weeks.

-So Detroit closer Todd Jones made it a little too close for comfort in that ninth for Rogers (23 scoreless innings encounting to go with 3 wins) but not one ball the Cards hit in that inning was scorched. And if Jones doesn’t stumble and boot Juan Encarnacion’s comebacker, he never runs into trouble and Detroit shuts out St. Louis. Nevertheless, even though he loaded the bases, no harm was done when he induced Mets’ killer Yadier Molina into a game-ending 6-4 forceout to level the series. Now it will get interesting as Cards’ ace and former 2005 NL Cy Young Chris Carpenter opposes Detroit lefty Nate Robertson in a pivotal Game 3 at St. Louis Tuesday night. Fasten your seatbelts.

-Is there a more overlooked young slugger than Detroit’s Craig Monroe? I said it to my brother and best friend when the Yanks were facing them in the ALDS. Monroe was the one guy I feared. A couple of weeks later, he’s got five postseason home runs and has the Tigers three wins away from their first World Series championship since 1984.

-Still can’t believe ex-Giant kicker Matt Bryant helped his former team out by kicking a 62 -yard field goal with no time to shock the Eagles 23-21 and give Tampa its second straight win. His unreal kick was the second longest in NFL history to the Colts’ Tom Dempsey and Denver’s Jason Elam, who each share the record connecting from 63. This sets up a huge first place Monday Night showdown in Big D between the Giants and Cowboys with the winner vaulting to 4-2 in the NFC East. The key is simple: If Big Blue’s D gets pressure on the statuesque Drew Bledsoe, they’ll win.

-So what happened to that NFL genius Nick Saban and his Dolphins who some were even picking to make the Super Bowl? Just asking.

-Most unusual game in Week 7 had to be the Falcons edging the Steelers 41-38 in OT. Yes, you read right. 41-38 between two teams with supposed good defenses. In this unforeseen shootout, Atlanta QB Michael Vick never looked so good by tossing for four TDs and finishing with 272 total yards (40 rush). Meanwhile, Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger was 16-of-22 for 238 yards with three TDs before being knocked out. His replacement Charlie Batch tossed two TDs of his own to rally the Steelers and force sudden death before Vick broke their back with a key conversion of a 3rd and 9 by scrambling away from Pitt’s Troy Polamalu and completing a 26-yard pass to tight end Alge Crumpler which helped setup the ageless Morten Andersen’s 32-yard winning kick to improve the Falcons to 4-2. While it solidified them as an early NFC contender, this defeat was damaging to the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers. They’re now 2-4 and trail both the Bengals and Ravens by two games. They really need to take care of business next week at doormat Oakland before facing two tough teams at home in Denver and New Orleans in the weeks to follow.

-Message to Ravens’ coach Brian Billick: It’s not the offensive coordinator that’s to blame!

-Final thought of the day: Is there a bigger phony than Daily News columnist and Mets shill Mike Lupica? Nah. Not even WFAN’s Mike Francesa compares.

-A couple of final NHL thoughts on this busy night:

-These Sharks ‘casters are quite the funny duo. Their team is down 4-1 to Minnesota late in the third but it didn’t stop one from thanking a sushi place for “sending up an icecream sundae with lots of whip cream.” Only out in the Pacific. And after Sharks’ captain Patrick Marleau scored during 4-on-4 to break up the shutout with 6:46 left, the announcer used the Jim Carrey line from Dumb and Dumber at the end where he says, “So you’re telling me there’s still a chance?” Good stuff. I got to give the Sharks credit though. Almost as if they heard them, they’re still competing extremely hard here and drew a penalty with 3:41 left down three. Most teams would just toss in the towel. But not this San Jose team with so much firepower.

-So can anyone beat Buffalo? They did what they usually do this time by a 6-2 count over an overmatched Bruins team. Backup goalie Martin Biron made his second start of the season and first since October 7 but was good enough and had plenty of offensive support from the NHL’s best team who remained perfect (8-0-0) on the season. You really have to wonder if anyone can stop them. We’ve covered their offense, D and netminding and team speed plenty already. So here’s a couple of quotes via the AP story on what they’ve accomplished thus far:

Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff: “When you’ve got a group that’s playing well it’s fun to watch. I think we’re definitely enjoying this. You enjoy it for a period of time when you can reflect after a game, saying ‘Boy we made some nice plays and scored some nice goals.‘”

Leading scorer Maxim Afinogenov: “Everybody’s having fun right now. We know we have a good streak.”

Winning goalie Biron: “I don’t think anybody here thinks its easy because it’s not. We’re working extremely hard.”

Boston coach Dave “Hitler” Lewis: “They have a lot of talent, they have a lot of speed and they’re clicking. They’re the best team in the NHL for a reason.“

There’s no question, these Sabres have excellent team chemistry and are doing all the things needed to be successful. When you think about how close they were last year despite injuries to the blueline and concussed Tim Connolly, it’s not really a surprise that they have come out of the gate so well and with so much fire. Ruff also is one of the best coaches in the league which definitely helps. His guys know what’s expected now and they’re doing their best to try to deliver it. A championship. I liken their start to Rocky. Yes, I realize this is a corny analogy. But the Sabres are similar to the Philly movie icon (if you ever heard of such a thing). They’re that hardnosed prize fighter that came close to winning and now they’re hungry and have that edge. They got that eye of the tiger. As corny as it sounds, it’s true. Just watch the way they play. Find me another better team.

-In the much anticipated return of Jose Theodore to Montreal after his trade to Colorado for David Aebischer, the ex-Habs netminder who once took home a Vezina and Hart in the same season (yes this really happened I had him on my championship fantasy hockey team) decided to remind his former team why they traded him by blowing leads of 3-0 and 4-1 to lose 8-5 in a wild game which saw the Canadiens outscore the Avs 5-1 in the third. Theodore turned aside 28 of 36 shots while Aebischer stopped 33 of 38 to “outduel him.” That trade hasn’t exactly turned out great for either team. Maybe they’d like to swap their better backups too while they’re at it in Peter Budaj and Crisobal Huet. At least Theodore isn’t with Paris Hilton anymore or involved in another scandal.

Official Caps’ goalscoring race:

Alexander Semin- 8

Alexander Ovechkin- 4

-Thoughts on the local three hockey teams on this busy Saturday night:

The Rangers were lucky to walk away with two points in a 5-4 shootout win at Toronto. Though they played a solid two periods to take a 4-3 lead to the locker room, they were way too tenative in the third and eventually paid for it when Jeff O’Neill tied the game with a few minutes left to force OT. Even in the 4-on-4 OT, they let the Leafs dictate and had problems just getting out of their own zone. Credit some strong defensive work from Sandis Ozolinsh (yes he didn’t look like a traffic cone) in his first game back and Blair Betts for getting it to a shootout where Henrik Lundqvist shined by stopping all three Leafs cold and Brendan Shanahan was clutch as usual by beating Andrew Raycroft with a quick wrister five-hole to give the Blueshirts a much needed win to even their record at 4-4-0. The pluses: Rookie Nigel Dawes made the most of his new line by notching his first career NHL goal. The 21 year-old Manitoban got rewarded finally for working hard and meshed well with Michael Nylander and Jason Ward. They also were on for the fourth goal which Ward cashed in front with his usual grunt work. The negatives: As the “real captain” Shanahan pointed out afterwards in a postgame interview with MSG’s John Giannone and Glenn Anderson, they played a nice game but lacked confidence which explained their passive finish. That has to change. Karel Rachunek had a tough game. If it’s not Marek “Big Bird” Malik who had a root canal (how convenient), it’s always someone. Lundqvist still is giving up at least one bad goal a game. He’s still having concentration issues.Though not in shootouts where he’s now 16-for-16.

-As for the Devils, they had a nightmare of a time of it up in Kanata where they somehow managed to give up eight goals to the ice cold Senators and fall in embarrassing un-Devil like fashion 8-1. This wasn’t a game we were able to find due to the crazy channels on the Time Warner Digital Cable system. It was on something called FSNY2. God forbid they actually list where it was. Usually when these two teams hook up, it’s usually a competitive game. But maybe because they were on an odd channel or maybe because they saw that Ottawa came in only 2-4-0, the Devils didn’t take them as seriously. Who knows? Whatever the case, they went from being down 2-1 after a period to giving up five goals in the second and six unanswered in this ugly defeat. Of course, Brian Gionta scored. All he has to do is plant himself in front of the net because the Mighty Mite knows no one would dare touch him in this newer softer gentler NHL. Despite missing all of training camp and preseason, the Devils’ season record holder who notched 48 goals to break Pat Verbeek’s club record already has seven this season. Not taking anything away from Gionta. He goes to the areas he needs to to score and is very gritty and extremely tough for someone 5-7 (more like 5-5). He’s a gamer. I guess he was the only one that showed in a game Martin Brodeur gave up six before being pulled for Scott Clemmensen, who actually got into his second straight game. More work than he’s seen in his entire career. Well, we’re kidding there but man. No vacation time for the former BC standout yet.

-Meanwhile in Nassau, the Islanders pulled out a comeback 4-3 OT win over the Hurricanes. In a bit of a seesaw contest in which they led by two but then suddenly found themselves down a goal after three unanswered Canes’ tallies, a Mike Sillinger tally and Tom Poti (remember him) OT winner gave them their third win and seventh and eighth points. Poti btw already has two goals and four assists after a three point night as somewhere Ranger fans are cursing at the top of their lungs wondering where this was in his time spent at MSG. Also, Isles’ captain Alexei Yashin assisted on all four goals. What’s going on here? You mean Yashin actually cares now that he has a real coach behind the bench? All this supported that 15-year company man in net Rick DiPietro, who cameback from injury to make 37 saves and pickup his first win. Much needed too since Mike Dunham (formerly Doneham) was making a push for a 20-year deal! You got to hand it to Ted Nolan. After how awful his team looked the first three games, they’ve turned it around. I guess even after a decade since running an NHL bench, he still can get his players to play for him.

-So, with those former 83 win NL Central champion Cards already taking care of the 95 win Tigers in Game 1 with Anthony Reyes going eight strong (no Mets fans this isn’t a misprint), do you think they might be cocky enough to win this whole damn thing? At the moment this is read by my Cubs buddy, there’s probably a lot of four letter words being screamed. Who could blame him? Oh. And this just in…With his home run and two RBI’s tonight, Albert Pujols has already done more than he did in seven games against the Mets (as more curses fly). The one thing the Tigers had to know and be very concerned about was that Pujols wasn’t going to have a repeat of what he didn’t do in the NLCS. Alarm sounded. How do you think Kenny Rogers will do in a must win postseason game against Jeff Weaver tomorrow night? Better not get roasted and toasted like his chicken.

-Two unforeseen college football events that would’ve had you on the floor not too long ago: Perennial powerhouse Miami Hurricanes hold on for a 20-18 victory over winless Duke. Laughingstock Rutgers Scarlet Knights improve to 7-0 after defeating Pittsburgh 20-10. Welcome to Hell!

-So the unlikely World Series between the Tigers and Cardinals gets underway later tonight. In an interesting column by the outstanding Daily News baseball writer Bill Madden, he points out why this has been one of the most unpredictable Octobers in a while. Most of the so-called experts including Madden were anticipating a Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees. Both New York teams finished tied for the major league lead with 97 wins. But their top heavy lineups and having home field wasn’t enough to setup a rematch six years later. Madden makes some solid points about how unlikely it is that ex-Yankee starters Kenny Rogers and Jeff Weaver, who were postseason failures have been superb in helping get their teams to the World Series. And isn’t it ironic that they’ll be facing off in Game 2 tomorrow? Here’s an excerpt from Madden’s article on the amazing turnarounds of both World Series participants after limping to the finish line:

These Cardinals, went the argument, are no less flawed. Their lineup, other than Albert Pujols, features no one who scares you. What? Did somebody say Yadier Molina? Yadier Molina? The catcher who hit .216 during the regular season? That’s just what we’re talking about here. How in the name of Al Weis do the Mets get beaten out of the National League pennant by Yadier Bleepin’ Molina?

About the only thing more illogical about that is Carlos Beltran, the highest-paid player in the National League, averaging $17 million per year, watching the Mets’ season go by on three pitches from a rookie closer, Adam Wainwright, making the major-league minimum, $327,000. Wainwright, who had just loaded the bases, has been a closer barely five weeks after being forced into emergency duty due to a season-ending hip injury to Jason Isringhausen.

But as Brian Cashman could have told Omar Minaya a week earlier, money doesn’t necessarily buy pennants. And if there is one thing we’re learning from this postseason, it’s that heroics are far more likely to come from the guys barely making the minimum. Even Minaya would have to agree that the Mets would not have been in Game 7 were it not for gutsy pitching of John Maine.

It is interesting to note that Adam Wainwright made the league minimum and still calmly said good morning, good afternoon and good night to Carlos Beltran in perhaps the most pressure packed situation a rookie could be up against. Sometimes, young players have no fear and aren’t overwhelmed by the moment. That’s what happened here. Ditto for how Josh Beckett dominated the Yankees to help Florida win its second World Series at Yankee Stadium three years prior. To read the column in its entirety, here’s the link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/463749p-390239c.html

Madden concluded that the Tigers with their stronger pitching should sweep the Cards. But he also joked that if logic doesn’t prevail and it hasn’t this Fall, it might be more wise to take the Cards in seven. We like Detroit too not due just to their solid starters and lights out bullpen but also a very underrated scrappy lineup which can take advantage of mistakes and take the extra base on you. Just ask Joe Torre. That said, the Cards will have Chris Carpenter and Jeff Suppan going in Games 3 and 4 when the series shifts back to St. Louis for the next three. I think they’re good enough to win a couple of games but am taking the Tigers to prevail in six and exact revenge for 1968 and 1934.

-Was anyone really shocked when Notre Dame cameback to pull out a last second 20-17 victory over UCLA in South Bend? The Bruins had their chance to put the Fighting Irish away but the playcalling was way too conservative. On 3rd and 7 with over 2:00 left, you can’t run a draw there. It gave the ball back to the desperate Irish with over a minute to go. Plenty of time for QB Brady Quinn to organize a gamewinning TD drive, needing just three completions including a 45-yard toss to Jeff Samardzija for the winning score with 27 seconds to spare. Just wondering. But where was the tackling by UCLA on that play?

-In our last entry, we noted how well things have been going for Buffalo’s Maxim Afinogenov. The budding Russian is leading the 7-0 Sabres in scoring with 12 points as they take on Boston tonight. He also is dating tennis star Elena Dementieva. Not bad:

-Some more NHL thoughts as I watch the end of a one-goal game between two of the West’s best Minnesota and Anaheim:

-The Sabres are just relentless. Not long after I posted my last entry, the improved Thomas Vanek cashed in his fourth on a power play and not long after a Jaroslav Spacek point blast which deflected off the Canes’ Tim Gleason to give Buffalo a 5-3 lead. Believe it or not, even after a determined Vanek (how improved is this guy) drew two penalties for a 5-on-3 with 2:00 left, somehow the Canes’ Mike Commodore was able to tally shorthanded to cut it to one. And even more amazingly, the Canes’ Justin Williams and Erik Cole came close to tying it before the buzzer sounded to end the contest and improve Buffalo to a perfect 7-0-0 on the season and 2-0 against the defending champs. The Sabres were just a little better. But make no mistake about it, the Canes were one of the few teams who could go end-to-end with this lightning fast Buffalo team. Right now, they look awfully tough. Afinogenov is red hot. He also has a hot girl friend in Russian star Elena Dementieva. So it’s all good for Max. Captain Daniel Briere and Chris Drury continue to lead the team up front and fly up and down the ice wreaking havoc. Vanek looks about as improved as the Devils’ Zach Parise in year two. Derek Roy and Jason Pominville look even better. And that’s without Ales Kotalik getting out to a quick start. What’s more? Henrik Tallinder is Buffalo’s best defenseman and is now starting to contribute offensively. With Spacek fitting in, Brian Campbell proving last year was no fluke and Dmitri Kalinin off to a good start after a relatively quiet ‘05-06, this team is clicking on all cylinders. With Finn tandem Teppo Numminen and Toni Lydman rounding out the blueline, there are absolutely no weaknesses right now. Not with Miller continuing to make crucial stops in net. And there’s always reliable backup Martin Biron if the super soph needs a night off.

-The Hawks had a big chance to improve to a surprising 5-2 but blew a two-goal lead and a one-goal lead in a wild third which saw Dallas rally twice to pull out a 5-4 comeback victory in Big D. Leading 3-1, they allowed the Stars to quickly tie it when Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen tallied less than a minute apart. But only 1:05 later, Martin Lapointe converted a breakaway to put the Hawks back up with 4:29 left. So, no problem, right? Wrong. Mike Ribeiro tied it with 1:14 to go and Philippe Boucher connected with 40 seconds remaining to give the Stars a wild win. Maybe that’s what Chicago gets for having Brian Boucher as a backup. The ex-Flyer is more washed up than Jeremy Roenick.

-In another unpredictable finish, the Canucks rallied to beat the Blues in St. Louis 3-2. Now it’s no secret the Blues aren’t that good. And just to prove a point, Ryan Johnson’s boarding penalty of Mattias Ohlund allowed Vancouver to tie it. Taking advantage of a 6-on-3 due to pulling the goalie, Markus Naslund knotted it with 26 seconds left. So it went to OT. How did the Blues lose you ask? By losing the final draw before a shootout and watching Sami Salo’s last second point shot beat the buzzer. Well, the good news is that lost point could be the difference between winning the draft lottery next summer!

-Update: There’s only one undefeated team left now that the Ducks held on for a 2-1 win over the Wild. Scott Niedermayer and Sean O’Donnell tallied for Anaheim while Pierre-Marc Bouchard got the only Minnesota goal. Regarding Niedermayer, he’s the most exciting defenseman in the game. The former Devil and three-time Cup winner seems to have gotten even better in Anaheim if that’s possible. He’s maybe the most fluid skater in the game. Always jumping into the rush, he’s also very quick at recovering and rock solid in his end. When he left such an established franchise as New Jersey for Anaheim to be closer to family and play with his younger brother Rob, many criticized the move. But watching how he helped get them to last year’s Western Conference Finals before falling to Edmonton and seeing how well he’s played this season with new teammate Chris Pronger joining the blueline makes me a believer. His talents are on full display with a young and upcoming Ducks team that boasts some of the best talent in the league. If everything comes together, they could be hoisting the Cup next June. So far, so good.

-A day later after a heartbreaking loss, some Mets fans were second guessing manager Willie Randolph in their last licks when he opted to pinchhit Cliff Floyd with the first two runners on down two runs instead of sending up a Chris Woodward to bunt. Of course, the argument could be understood because it moves the runners over into scoring position and just a basehit would’ve been needed to tie it from either Jose Reyes or Paul LoDuca. Personally, I understood why Randolph opted to give his hobbled veteran outfielder a chance to come up with the big hit. Floyd had been there through the losing and will probably not be back at Shea next year. He deserved that last shot to drive his teammates in. Imagine if he had come through instead of taking a nasty breaking pitch for a called strike three for the inning’s first out. He’d have been compared to the Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson, who delivered a clutch walkoff Game 1 World Series home run off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley back in 1988. It was enough to propel them to a four-game sweep. Now picture Floyd pulling a Roy Hobbs in the falling rain, driving an Adam Wainwright pitch off the light beam as the Amazin’s celebrate a pennant. All you would have needed is some lightning. Unfortunately for them, that didn’t happen. But still, I have to side with Randolph for giving Floyd that chance to be the hero. So maybe he didn’t come through. But the Mets still had a golden shot to tie or win it. But even St. Louis killer Carlos Beltran couldn’t deliver.

-Credit must also go out to Wainwright for having the guts to throw that curve. He did it to get all three outs, including the ultratough Beltran. That was about as difficult a pressure situation for a rookie closer to get out of. When you combine what was on the line along with the electric capacity Shea Stadium crowd, it had all the elements for a Calvin Shiraldi-esque meltdown from 20 years ago. While Wainwright was able to make the pitches needed, one thing that got overlooked was the heroic backstop Yadier Molina having the presence of mind to settle down his pitcher after Jose Valentin and Endy Chavez singled and fell behind Floyd. Everyone will point to Molina’s big blast off Aaron Heilman as the camel that broke the Mets’ back and compare it to the Dodgers’ Mike Scioscia back in ‘88 off Doc Gooden. But the catcher also had the important responsibility of having to get his closer refocused because pitching coach Dave Duncan had already visited him. Molina was able to make the right calls behind the plate and help guide Wainwright through en route to a 1968 World Series rematch against the Tigers which begins tomorrow in MoTown. Molina might have been the unlikely hitting star in the NLCS but also was instrumental in the Cards’ staff’s ability to shutdown an explosive Mets offense. Even more amazing is that you had a 25 year-old closer and a 24 year-old catcher finishing such a talented team which was the NL’s best the whole summer off.

-All this Tiki Barber retirement talk is not surprising. It’s no secret that the Giants’ all-time leading rusher has hinted before that he would like to call it a career and move on to a broadcasting career. But still, with the 31 year-old leading the league in rushing with 533 yards in his 10th season as Big Blue enters a vital divisional game at rival Dallas Monday night, don’t you think he should have held off on these comments? His teammates of course said all the right things and that it wouldn’t be a team distraction. But how could it not? The Giants have worked hard to get back to 3-2 and are built to win now. Who knows? Maybe they can draw inspiration from this news. The good news is Barber wouldn’t fully commit to saying he’s 100 percent certain he’s calling it a career. Hopefully for Giant fans, he changes his mind and sticks around another year or two. The thought of Brandon Jacobs as a number one back is not the most pleasant. Nothing against the second-year big man. But could you really see Jacobs being an every week back? That’s a discussion for another day.

-Just from watching Pens’ rookie Evgeni Malkin in his second game against the Islanders last night, it’s evident that he’s the real deal. The dynamic Russian scored for the second straight game and teamed up with Sidney Crosby to help Pittsburgh defeat the Isles 4-3 at Nassau Coliseum. They even took some shifts together in the third period. If you’re an opposing defenseman, double yikes.

-Watching this Canes-Sabres game, it’s evident how dangerous each team’s transition game is. After a slow start, the Canes have won three straight and are currently knotted three apiece with undefeated Buffalo late in the third in a very entertaining game. It definitely looks like both should be back in the postseason next Spring. But we’re giving the edge to the Sabres, who are playing with an edge after coming so close last year against the eventual Cup champs. They can come at you in waves with four fast lines and a just as aggressive D which knows when to pinch. And Ryan Miller looks superb thus far in net. It could be a special year for those Sabres, ugly slug logo aside.

-With the Flyers losing once again this time 3-2 at Florida to fall to an NHL worst 1-6-1, is there any doubt that Ken Hitchcock is going to be axed? The shame is he just was given an extension by GM Bobby Clarke, who is even more to blame for his club’s putrid start. Maybe if he had addressed their immobile D which got run into the ground literally by Buffalo in last year’s first round embarrassment, his team wouldn’t be so bad. It’s going to take a lot for them to turn this sinking ship around. What would they have done if they hadn’t gotten those three points against the Rangers?

-So who here had Yadier Molina in their Game 7 NLCS pool? We didn’t think so. I still can’t get over how the 24 year-old catcher’s clutch two-run ninth inning home run off reliever Aaron Heilman wound up being the difference in the Cards’ 3-1 win over the Mets to advance to the World Series against Detroit. Molina had been St. Louis’ best hitter in this series. Not Albert Pujols. So was it a stroke of genius or just luck that much maligned skipper Tony LaRussa moved Molina up a spot to seventh and that he’d deliver the crushing blow? We’ll let you decide.

-Even more stunning was how the Mets lost. As they had all year, they battled back and loaded the bases with two out for NL MVP candidate Carlos Beltran. So it came down to the Cardinal killer against a nervous 25 year-old rookie closer Adam Wainwright. The first-year fireballer showed nerves of steel by throwing three straight strikes, including a gutsy curve which froze Beltran to clinch the pennant and leave the bases packed. If you’re an Amazin’s fan, you probably are thinking what other way can your team lose? Especially on your own home field. History was on their side. Before Thursday night, the last 11 home teams who won Game 6 in the postseason went on to take Game 7. The last to fail were those 1975 Red Sox after Carlton Fisk’s dramatic walkoff extra inning dinger wasn’t enough to prevent them from falling at Fenway to the Big Red Machine. I’ll bet a lot of Mets fans are on another drink by now. Hopefully, they’ll get home safe.

-So where was this game lost? Was it after Chavez made that unbelievable catch to rob Scott Rolen of a two-run dinger and double up Edmonds and then they somehow stranded the bases loaded with one out in the home sixth? Btw…that catch by Chavez is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen. He went full extended with the glove to the wall and brought it back. Amazing. At that point, you had to be thinking this was not only the Mets’ night but that maybe the baseball Gods were aligning for them to deliver that third championship 20 years after winning number two in as dramatic an October as ever seen. A half inning later, after Rolen committed a two-base error to put Mets on second and third, brilliant starter Jeff Suppan was forced to intentionally walk Shawn Green. With the series hanging in the balance, the eventual NLCS MVP delivered by striking out Jose Valentin swinging on a nasty bender and flying Chavez out to center to end the threat.

-Or was it lost when the Mets got a two out RBI single by David Wright in the first but failed to score more runs and wouldn’t get another hit until that fatal ninth? You decide. Either way, the better team lost. But the more determined one who nobody gave a chance setup a 1968 World Series rematch.

-I know some Mets fans will probably point the finger at manager Willie Randolph for leaving in Heilman to pitch his second inning in the ninth. But if you’re Randolph there and your closer Billy Wagner had already imploded twice in this series, you got to go with your best reliever. Heilman was his best and throwing well before Rolen singled and Molina exited stage left. And Randolph also probably wanted to preserve the closer for extra innings because this game had a similar feel to the ALCS Game 7 between Boston and the Yankees from three years ago. I really can’t fault the second-year skipper here. Unfortunately, Heilman picked a tough time to hang a pitch.

-Credit must go out to the Cards for overcoming a 1 HR, 1 RBI performance from Pujols. If I’m a Met fan and I know that and then see this stat, I might be thinking about a vacation:

The Cardinals lost their previous two Game 7s on the road by a combined score of 26-0 (the 1996 NLCS in Atlanta and the 1985 World Series at Kansas City).

As a classic Weezer song would say, “Say It Ain’t So.”

Closing thought on this game: When you leave 11 runners on base and only score once and go eight innings without a hit, it’s kind of hard to win. Kind of reminds me of the Yankees.

On the series, good pitching will always beat good hitting. A lot of Mets fans will point to having no Pedro or El Duque but could they really say their starters didn’t do the job here? Oliver Perez was brilliant and will prove to be a steal for Mets GM Omar Minaya down the road. This guy once was electric. He’s only 25 and should rediscover what made him a potential frontline starter. Tom Glavine was equally as effective and if Minaya’s smart, he’ll pickup his option. And what John Maine did last night to force Game 7 was unreal. Who would you rather have? A 25 year-old Maine and El Duque (if he’s back) or Kris Benson plus his annoying wife Anna. Easy choice. Mets fans can take solace knowing that they have a couple of young starters who should be part of their staff. Toss in Mike Pelfrey and they’ll be fine. Maybe even former 2004 third overall selection Philip Humber makes the roster.
The best news for the Mets is that they have a solid core in place and should be back in October next year. Would you rather be a Yankee fan with all the overpaid corporate stars with little chemistry, aging staff and A-Rod circus? We think not.

-Random Devils thought. Is there any other NHL team who could pull a magic rabit out of the hat and squeeze out a point in a game they trailed by two goals with 2:15 left? They also play in perhaps the weakest division. The Flyers flat out suck after losing yet again to Tampa to fall to 1-5-1. Yes, they have the worst record in the NHL. The Rangers look very mediocre so far. The Penguins are young and show potential but are probably a year away. And the Islanders are the Islanders. Enough said. You may as well just hand the Devils their seventh Atlantic crown because none of those four teams are better.

-Speaking of the Devils, do you think the Islanders and Rangers regret passing on Zach Parise in that 2003 first round?

-Watching these west coast games, it becomes apparent how much better the Sharks, Ducks and Stars are than most of their conference. And the scary part is they all play in the same division. Somehow, I don’t think it’s fair to Phoenix and Los Angeles that they have to play those teams eight times. Good luck!

-Speaking of the Ducks, that move rookie Ryan Shannon tried unsuccessfully against Marty Turco in a shootout loss last Sunday night is one of the sickest I’ve ever seen. I’m still not sure how Turco had the presence of mind to lay his stick in the right place and get it. If you haven’t seen it, please check it out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jlKkt5HVcuE

-Break up the Blackhawks! Did I just say that? It is early.

-Got back a little while ago from the Ranger game. What a waste. It’s painfully obvious that this is not the same team as last year. Does Coach Renney see it yet? They were shutout 3-0 by the Predators. Don’t get me wrong. The Preds are a fine team and have finally got their act together after an 0-3 start. But if your opponent gives you two 5-on-3’s for over a minute and you can’t even come close to scoring, there’s something wrong. It would help if the same European forwards didn’t overpass the puck and pass up clear shooting lanes. Tonight, even Brendan Shanahan picked up this disease. In one word, unwatchable. Aside from the awful power plays which drove fans nuts, there was the abysmal defensive play (if you can actually call it that) of Marek “Big Bird” Malik. Last year, he was the Blueshirts’ best defenseman. This season, he’s their worst nightmare. Never the most fluid skater, the 6-5 oaf relies on positional play while almost never using his body. Last year, he was in shape and teamed well with Michael Rozsival. This year, Malik is almost never in the right spot and frequently caught out of position. He’s an odd-man rush and hooking call waiting to happen. Oh btw he had a couple tonight. And also was abused by Scott Nichol on the Preds’ second goal. It doesn’t look like he’s in shape. If that’s the case, that makes Rozsival’s job almost impossible as he’s had to overcompensate for Malik’s lackluster play. So here’s my question. At what point does Renney finally bench Big Bird?

-So you’re Tony LaRussa. A self-proclaimed genius. Your team trails a desperate Mets team by two runs in the seventh. So it’s not over, right? So what do you do when you’re trying to wrap up the series in six instead of going to a winner take all Game 7 in front of a frantic Shea? You bring in former Amazin’s reject Braden Looper and watch him predictably give up two additional runs with two outs in the seventh. Oh btw the Cards wound up getting two off Billy Wagner in the ninth to lose by that two-run margin. If they lose the series, you can look back at LaRussa’s moronic decision to not go with his best.

-Just wondering. But do you think Mets’ fans will be praying if Wagner comes in with a one-run lead later tonight?