Spiders at Wrigley Field, Chicago

Last month my father-in-law, Rick McClure, had the chance to go to historic Wrigley Field and partake in a Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers game.


So, one could not resist asking if he would represent the Spiders colors in the windy city.

Considering Rick, like most of us, is up for anything crazy and fun, he said yes!





In fact, he even had someone in the crowd ask where he got the jersey... cause he (the guy) had one just like it! Crazy.





Kudos to Rick!

How they fixed my Eyeball!

Well, its been a week since the surgery and things are slowly starting to get better. I am glad they did not tell me everything. The end result will be wonderful, but the process so far has been pretty much hell. They say "no pain, no gain." I say, "NO SHIT!"

The idea that someones life, and thus their eyeball, will allow for me to see again is very surreal. Yea, it is not a heart or liver or even a lung, but a gift nevertheless that would not be possible in any other form. For that I am eternally grateful. Thank You.

Anyway, much thanks go out to my loving wife Kelly and my parents for putting up with my sorry ass... and for all who have called, texted, emailed and sent over gifts. Nice to know that when you "go off the grid" people actually care.

Now, seriously. Ali Gage, model and actress was 28 when diagnosed with Keratonconus. A corneal transplant was done. The below link is a slide-show of her surgery from 2001. Some things are little different now, but it's very similar.

Go to: http://www.fyeye.com/power-point/agcornea-transplant/Ali-Transplant/sld002.htm

Spider's 2nd Annual Family Picnic

Sorry to say that due to problems coordinating the Spider's 2nd Annual Family Picnic, where everyone is available to attend, the party will be cancelled for 2007. We can't find a date that will work for everyone.

We will try again next year.

As soon as Harry is better I will have him change the Spider's Social Events Calendar to include the cancellation.

Trail Pictures!!!!!!!

Rebuilding #77 - Harry's right eyeball

WHAT IS KERATOCONUS
About 1/ 2000 people will develop keratoconus. Most people will have a mild or moderate form of the disease. Less than 10% of keratoconics will develop the most severe form. It typically is diagnosed in the late teens or twenties. However, many people have been diagnosed in their mid to late thirties; this is usually a more mild form of the disease. It is common for one eye to precede faster than the other and the eyes may go for long periods of time without any change and then change dramatically over a period of months.

A corneal transplant may be needed when vision cannot be corrected satisfactorily using other procedures such as contact lenses and glasses, or if painful swelling cannot be relieved by medications. When the cornea becomes "opaque" or gray/white (see uper photo) from disease or injury or painful from swelling or blisters, it no longer functions as the "clear window" of the eye. It then acts more like a "soapy" window which you cannot clearly see through. Even if the rest of the eye is healthy, a cloudy cornea will obstruct clear vision. Of all the transplant surgery done today (hearts, lungs, kidneys, etc.) corneal transplants are by far the most common and successful.

A corneal transplant, also known as a corneal graft, or as a penetrating keratoplasty, involves the removal of the central portion called a button (see right photo) of the diseased cornea and replacing it with clear healthy donor button. The donor cornea button is sewed into the defect created by removal of the diseased cornea. Tiny hair-thin sutures or stitches are used to anchor the graft to the host tissue.

The postoperative recovery is a long one, but in most cases, resumption of normal activities may occur soon after surgery with some reasonable limitations. For example, lifting heavy objects or strenuous exercise must be avoided until directed otherwise by the physician. Until the eye has healed, glasses or an eye shield must be worn to protect the eye. The sutures used to sew the donor cornea in place are barely visible and do not cause pain. It is normal for the eye to feel scratchy or irritated for the first few days following surgery. As the cornea heals, some of the stitches used to sew the donor tissue into place are removed. This can be done quite easily in the doctor's office. The final improvement in vision is gradual and occurs six to twelve months post-operatively.

ZawadaBowl 2007 is a success!

Yep. That is right. Jeff Zawada actually has an official sanctioned BEER PONG TABLE!

Word has it on the street that it will be at the 3rd Annual Wahl Labor Day Party on Sunday, September 2!

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(pictured LtoR) Norm looks on as Mike Stayoch tosses and Joe Zawada conteplates his next shot.

Another Future Spider: Christopher John Farr

Name: Christopher John Farr
Age: 1 day
Weight: 7 pounds, 7 ounces
Height: 19 inches
Position: Goalie Coach

Future Spider: Trent Grundtisch

Hey guys

I tried to wear my jersey into the operating room, but was denied....had to wear scrubs. So I had to wait until we got home to take a picture. So, what position do you think he'll play? I was thinking D because we need a little more speed back there!

-Tim

Here's his stats:
Name: Trent Timothy Grundtisch
Age: 6 days
Weight: 5 pounds, 8 ounces
Height: 19.5 inches
Shoots: unknown (already has a harder shot than his dad!)

Spiders in Little Egg Harbor, NJ

This is from my trip to Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey on the 4th of July.

This is Steve Gasowski's parents place. Awesome view. You can see Atlantic City across the bay at night and during the day before the haze rolls in. They are right at the main and only boat inlet to Great Bay

Not a bad place to call home, except for those damn "Green Heads!"

http://www.google.com/maps?q=Little+Egg+Harbor,+NJ,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title

Fun

Going into last night (using records as of today), we had a string of 6 opponents whose combined record was 14-54-4. Let's not get complacent....

Marchant, Lord Stanley & SPIDERS!

TODD MARCHANT: ‘There was a lot of time, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of things that were put into it. It’s all paid off.’

BUFFALO NEWS COMMENTARY
Gleason: Lord Stanley pays a visit

Every summer, each player from the Stanley Cup-winning team can spend 24 hours with the greatest trophy in professional sports. Accompanying the names etched into the Cup are the stories that helped produce its folklore, tales that grow taller with every year but are entertaining just the same.

Mario Lemieux once chucked it into his swimming pool. Martin Brodeur took it to the movies with his kids and filled it with popcorn. Ed Olczyk allowed Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin to eat from it. Sylvain Lefebvre had his daughter baptized in it.

Clarence-raised Kevyn Adams paraded the Cup around Lake Chautauqua in his boat last year and chugged beer from it with his neighbors. Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman several times had the Cup in his backyard, adjacent to Transit Valley Country Club, on display for his golf-playing hockey buddies and fellow members. Associate coach Barry Smith partied with the Cup along the beaches of Lake Erie in Angola.

On Wednesday, Todd Marchant celebrated the Stanley Cup with his family. He and his wife, Caroline, watched as their three children — Lilli, 9; Ashley, 7; and Timmy, 5z — ate Cheerios from it in a Fourth of July breakfast to remember.

The Anaheim Ducks forward and Williamsville native also spent a few hours with several hundred friends who lined up for pictures in the Amherst Pepsi Center before a party at his home. It must have felt good to be him Wednesday, hanging around for a day with his new best buddy, Lord Stanley.

“It hasn’t really sunk in,” Marchant said. “There was a lot of time, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of things that were put into it. It’s all paid off. There are only two of us from the Buffalo area to ever bring it home as players. Kevyn will tell you the same thing. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs.”

Marchant’s parents and two brothers were there, basking in the glow of the Cup on the very spot the boys played youth hockey while growing up in Williamsville, back when the rink was called Audubon. His father, Peter, himself a longtime coach, was still trying to grasp the fact his kid won it all. He was just a few feet from his son when a teammate dumped a Cupfull of beer — no, not Genny Pounders — over his head in the Ducks’ euphoric dressing room. The past three weeks have seemed so surreal.

“This was the equivalent of the Lombardi Trophy. This is the equivalent of the World Series,” Peter Marchant said. “Even being involved in hockey most of my life it was like, ‘Wow, you really did this.’ I heard from people I hadn’t heard from in 10 or 15 years. You don’t realize what a large shadow you cast.”

Good for Marchant, a class act and tireless worker throughout his career. His father and coaches wouldn’t have predicted years ago he would have a 14-year career in the National Hockey League, let alone a Stanley Cup, but he never gave up. He carved himself a role as a terrific two-way forward who can play any position, a leader who helped his team because he was willing to do the little things.

He deserved a day where he could kick back and soak up the glory with his family. His day with the Cup was a refreshing diversion for everybody else in town, something positive after watching Sabres management attempt to worm their way from their recent blunderfest involving Daniel Briere and Chris Drury. Still, you couldn’t help but wonder Wednesday if the only way the Stanley Cup ever visits these parts is when a Buffalo kid moves away, wins one with another team and hauls it home.

Adams won it last year in Carolina after the Hurricanes made key additions at the trade deadline while the Sabres did nothing. Marchant’s title with Anaheim was in direct contrast to how the Buffoons do business.
General Manager Brian Burke put the Ducks over the top when he traded for Chris Pronger, adding to a defense corps that already had Scott Niedermayer. You think Burke sat around slurping champagne after winning it all? He worried that Niedermayer might retire after winning the Cup, so he quickly signed Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi.

Apparently, it takes Sabres management an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes. They pushed three key players in Jay McKee, Mike Grier and J.P. Dumont out the door last summer. You know what happened Sunday, when Drury and Briere left. Buffalo still hasn’t done anything of significance since free agency started, unless you count embarrassing itself while pleading for patience. Again.

The Sabres jumped at the opportunity to sign 39-year-old defenseman Teppo Numminen to a one-year contract Wednesday, likely leaving prospect Andrej Sekera in Rochester. This blockbuster move came two days after General Manager Darcy Regier said, “Even if we can afford them on the short term, we can’t afford to lock out younger players to keep older players here.”

This while Sheldon Souray remains available. Souray, who turns 31 next week, is 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, perfect for a team well below the salary cap such as the Sabres. He led NHL defensemen with 26 goals and had 64 points and 135 penalty minutes for Montreal last season. But who needs Souray when the Sabres can easily get Numminen?

“Every organization runs their operation differently,” Peter Marchant said. “The one thing I’ve noticed so far in the time (Todd) has been in Anaheim is that Brian Burke is a very proactive general manager. Who knows what’s going to happen with next year’s team, but he’s already taken steps. . . . Proactive is the way to be.”

All together now: Peter Marchant For General Manager.

Reality should hit home quite literally today for Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, when the Stanley Cup arrives in East Lansing, Mich. It’s when his kid brother Drew, a rookie with the Ducks, gets his 24 hours of heaven.
Ryan can look at the greatest trophy in professional sports, knowing it’s so close but so very far away. Something tells me it’s not quite the Stanley Cup story Ryan had in mind.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/113245.html

Gleason: Blame rests solely with team brass

COMMENTARY
Bucky Gleason: Blame rests solely with team brass

Right when you thought the news couldn’t get much worse coming from HSBC Arena, we come to find out that Chris Drury actually accepted a contract offer from the Buffalo Sabres that would have kept him around for a tad more than $5 million a year. And what did the Sabres do? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Drury agreed to a four-year deal worth $21.5 million last fall. He waited and waited . . . and waited . . . for the Sabres to send the contract to his agent so he could sign the bottom line. Days passed without hearing from the Sabres. Then it was weeks. Still, nothing. Finally, he started having second thoughts.


Captain Clutch is one of the all-time professionals in sports history, so he couldn’t have been too thrilled upon realizing he was dealing with the direct opposite. Sources said he was troubled by their lack of professionalism but was willing to ignore their tactics because he wanted to stay in Buffalo. He never whispered a word about the aforementioned facts behind the scenes. His teammates had no clue.

See, Drury never operated that way because it’s unsavory. Presumably, he didn’t want to disrupt the Sabres while they headed for the Presidents’ Trophy. It was their responsibility to make sure it was completed. They arrogantly thought they had him locked up. They snickered at suggestions they could lose him, never knowing unrestricted free agency sounded better by the day.

Now you know that the Sabres could have kept Drury and co-captain Daniel Briere for just more than $10 million per season in combined salary, which was about $3.5 million less per year than they received from their new teams. Buffalo would have easily had enough dough left over to address other needs, such as winger Thomas Vanek.

Why didn’t it happen? Good question, but the Sabres made one gaffe after another until the possibility of keeping Drury or Briere collapsed.

Managing partner Larry Quinn and General Manager Darcy Regier claimed the two sides spoke, but no offer was made. They also maintained that Drury wanted to leave, but that clearly was false. It was a weak attempt to take pressure off of them and throw some responsibility on Drury, who wanted to stay but split town because he felt that he had exhausted his options in Buffalo.

Judging by the looks of Quinn and Regier on Monday, they were still in shock after losing their two star players. Heck, I almost wanted to get them a blanket. Almost.

Quinn and Regier added up Drury and Briere’s new contracts and came up with $87 million, which was misleading at best. The truth was it could have been $46.5 million had the Sabres made a stronger effort to keep them starting last summer. But what’s a $40.5 million difference among friends, right?

Let me make this perfectly clear, in case you might be thinking otherwise: Drury is not the bad guy here. Neither is Briere. This one is on the Sabres and nobody else.

Drury’s professionalism and the Sabres’ lack thereof, including their treatment of Briere, is what led him to finally test the open market. Even after the season, Drury would have accepted a contract that would have paid him between $6 million and $7 million, which is less than he signed for with the New York Rangers, but only if it meant keeping Briere.

The Sabres gambled, lost and will suffer whatever consequences. Quinn and Regier were right about one thing Monday. The sky isn’t falling. The Sabres still have a good team. But had management possessed a little foresight concerning their co-captains and tweaked the roster to add toughness, the sky was the limit. The fact Drury and Briere departed with the Sabres getting nothing in return reeks of incompetence.

Owner Tom Golisano, who was noticeably absent from Monday’s proceedings, has said numerous times that he wished everybody had one-day contracts. Well, it might be fine in the private sector, but it doesn’t work that way in professional sports if you want to keep quality people and maintain a decent reputation.

The Sabres can expect to have a recruiting problem on their hands unless they get back into contention, a difficult chore without their two best players. In case you didn’t notice, free agents haven’t exactly been lining up to play here. Jason Blake, a 40-goal scorer last season with the Islanders, once was interested in Buffalo solely because he wanted to play with Drury. Instead, you’ll see him eight times a year with Toronto.

Jaromir Jagr will understand in short order what all the fuss over Drury is about. He’ll see how Drury approaches the game, how he shows up every day for work, how he never takes a shift off, how he proves heart and grit can go a long way, how he treats the people around him and never takes anything for granted.

And that was always Drury’s greatest strength. He’s a humble superstar, a rarity in sports. It’s something fans should remember next season when the Rangers visit town. We’ll see if management calls a news conference to suggest fans are booing. Everybody else will understand they’re actually Druuu-ing.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/111929.html

Bucky Gleason: Sabres get a lesson in business

COMMENTARY
Gleason: Sabres get a lesson in business
By Bucky Gleason

In case you hadn’t heard, Joe Thornton signed a three-year contract extension worth $21.6 million with the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. The former Hart Trophy winner had one year remaining on his contract, but the Sharks didn’t want to risk the possibility of losing their best player.

It made such good sense that the Calgary Flames decided to follow suit. They’re working on a long-term contract extension with winger Jarome Iginla, making sure a year in advance their best player doesn’t skate freely into unrestricted free agency.

Thornton will receive a $600,000-perseason bump in pay, which isn’t all that much considering how much he would have pocketed had he shopped himself in the open market. He’ll make $7.2 million per season over the final three years, terrific for the Sharks because he could have received $8 million, maybe $9 million.

Iginla? He figured he was already getting a fair shake, so he was prepared to take little or no raise to stick around. He’s giving the Flames a break, really, because they’ve treated him properly by simply addressing his situation. It was a show of faith. Iginla returned the favor with a show of loyalty. See how it works?

For some reason, such as arrogance, the Buffalo Sabres figured they could get away with trying to muscle co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere when, in fact, General Manager Darcy Regier and owner Tom Golisano didn’t have an ounce of leverage. Apparently, they thought they were smarter than legions of people who have wailed all season to get something done. Boy, they really taught Drury and Briere a lesson, didn’t they?

Briere signed an eye-popping eight-year deal worth $52 million with Philadelphia. It’s exactly three years and $27 million more than he would have accepted from the Sabres, had they tended to their business back in January. Yep, the cerebral Sabres could have had him for $25 million over five years.

Drury landed a five-year deal worth $35.25 million with the New York Rangers, who realized they would have beaten the Sabres last season with Captain Clutch in their lineup. So when you break it down, Briere will average $6.5 million per season while Drury will get just more than $7 million per year.

Add it up, $13.5 million per year, give or take a few bucks. It’s about what the Sabres should have expected.

One more time: Drury and Briere would have stayed in Buffalo for less money than their market value had the Sabres shown genuine interest. The Sabres’ gross miscalculation concerning this situation will cost them plenty of fans, which translates to plenty of money. It’s bad business.

It doesn’t matter that Philly overpaid for Briere. What matters is the Sabres could have kept their leading scorer without overpaying him. Instead, they did next to nothing, which was simply mindboggling.

The Rangers are legitimate contenders with Drury and Scott Gomez being added to a good lineup that already had Jaromir Jagr. The Rangers found a way to give three players more than $22 million next season. We’ll see if it works, but at least they made the effort to get better.

Buffalo is left with trying to clean up its own mess, which likely will mean spending more than necessary on other players. Trust me, the price for Thomas Vanek just increased because he’s more valuable to the Sabres than ever. We’ll see if another team, such as the Montreal Canadiens, throws a pile of money on Vanek’s lap and forces Buffalo to match.

It’s safe to assume a proud hockey town feels like it was kicked in the stomach by the very team it supported, not the leaders who departed. Good thing the Sabres kept coach Lindy Ruff, at least for now.

Let’s just call the Sabres’ situation what it is, the biggest personnel blunder in the history of the franchise. The Ottawa Senators fired John Muckler after he helped them reach the Stanley Cup finals because he didn’t do enough at the trade deadline. The Sabres gave Regier a contract extension for doing nothing since the deadline.

Here I was last summer praising Regier for locking up his younger players. It actually looked like the guy finally understood the importance of keeping good people. Come to find out, his real genius is keeping his job. How it has continued for a decade and counting is one of the true sports mysteries. He should have been fired years ago. What, Bob Clarke wasn’t available?

Regier has alienated scouts, players, front-office types and fans for years and still came away relatively unscathed. Golisano deserves his share of criticism for Drury and Briere cruising into free agency. So does managing partner Larry Quinn, who should have been astute enough to comprehend the situation and strong enough to fix it.

A little lesson in NHL economics, boys, without trying to insult your intelligence: The money flows from the ticket-buying public to the owner to the players, not from the owner to the players to the fans. You would think Golisano would know more than anyone, but apparently the man who founded Paychex doesn’t like signing them.

His conversation with Regier last summer should have lasted about five seconds.

Golisano: Darcy, it’s Tom, your boss. Yeah, get Chris and Danny signed to contract extensions before they slip away.

Regier: Well, Tom, our policy is that we don’t usually sign players in the last year of . . .

Golisano: Darcy, you’re fired. Click.

The message San Jose and Calgary sent to their players and fans was they were committed to keeping them. The message Thornton and Iginla sent to management was they wouldn’t demand the last dollar. The message all involved sent to other players was San Jose and Calgary are quality organizations.

The Flyers and Rangers sent the message they’re playing for keeps. And the message the Sabres have sent since last summer was confirmed over the weekend. They’re not serious about winning the Stanley Cup. Just look at the way they do business and the players they have pushed away.

Now that Drury and Briere are gone, perhaps Regier and Golisano will get the message, too.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/111227.html

Peeks Foot

As it was said on Thursday, the Karma of the team is a bit different without Peek...it was grave news to hear Peeker was gone for some time. Rick is always good for his quick wit, his unending hustle, a goal or two now & then (especially against Mary-Jo) and he sometimes brings the beer. Heal up, Rick see you soon, and remember your older now... take it easy.

CONTRACT HONORED, BOTH SIDES PLEASED

(West Seneca, NY) Last Monday evening, Christopher J. Duquin, owner of Stevens Driving School, officially presented Spiders forward Denny Schlegel with an Easton Synergy Elite Grip, Right/100 Flex/Lidstrom Style hockey stick.

"We at Stevens, 'Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk'," remarked Duquin. "Even though Harry is the one that talked and I'm the one who had to do the walking."

Duquin stated that he was not a part of negotiations brokered by Spiders GM Harry V. Wahl with the young and highly talented Schlegel, however he supports the outcome.

"Denny is one of the most talented players I have ever seen," added Duquin. "We really should be reading about him being drafted 1st overall in the NHL - not to take anything away from that Kane kid. Denny is really that special."