BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan
12-07-2007, 09:28 PM
Here are a few things to remember:
(1) 3 hours jet lag is rough. If you are a baseball player shagging flies in right field, you can deal with it. If you are a hockey player breathing hard and dealing with tight and tired muscles, it is significant. Just go out at one in the morning and try running a set of wind sprints. It's a tough thing, and it's harder going east to west because you have to play hockey at midnight or 1 AM.
(2) The Sabres as we know them have never played on these ice surfaces in California. They are out there getting used to the ice during the first few periods of the game, and probably getting more tired than they need to while they are figuring out the ice.
(3) The Sabres are not used to airplane rides longer than 1 hour. Maybe Atlanta or Florida are the only ones I can think of, and sometimes they stop at Carolina or Nashville on their way down there. Long airplane rides take some adjusting. You can get dehydration and fatigue from breathing poorly ventilated air for several hours. This is no joke, I experience this first hand on many cross country trips.
My point is to go easy on these guys. They are doing something that is not so easy. What they come away with will not be a true measure of their skill. And if they have to play one of these teams in the Stanley Cup Finals, both teams will have to do the same traveling.
(1) 3 hours jet lag is rough. If you are a baseball player shagging flies in right field, you can deal with it. If you are a hockey player breathing hard and dealing with tight and tired muscles, it is significant. Just go out at one in the morning and try running a set of wind sprints. It's a tough thing, and it's harder going east to west because you have to play hockey at midnight or 1 AM.
(2) The Sabres as we know them have never played on these ice surfaces in California. They are out there getting used to the ice during the first few periods of the game, and probably getting more tired than they need to while they are figuring out the ice.
(3) The Sabres are not used to airplane rides longer than 1 hour. Maybe Atlanta or Florida are the only ones I can think of, and sometimes they stop at Carolina or Nashville on their way down there. Long airplane rides take some adjusting. You can get dehydration and fatigue from breathing poorly ventilated air for several hours. This is no joke, I experience this first hand on many cross country trips.
My point is to go easy on these guys. They are doing something that is not so easy. What they come away with will not be a true measure of their skill. And if they have to play one of these teams in the Stanley Cup Finals, both teams will have to do the same traveling.