Two for two for the thirds!

The Sabres followed up a strong win over the Bruins in the third debut with another strong - maybe even "stronger" - win in the thirds against the Penguins tonight, 4-3.





















Come on Larry, what more do you need to pull the trigger?!

Third jerseys, take two.

What better way could there be to followup a third-jersey debut win than to follow it up two days later with another. Do it boys!

This just looks right:












I must say, though, after two straight home games without the slug, it will be particularly painful to see it skate out against Montreal on Saturday. At least it won't be in our house (well, not until Monday.)

New thirds bring big win!

Oh yeah!!! Winning feels good and when you're wearing such a nice sweater, it looks good, too!

The five game losing streak is over and, hopefully, we just saw the future Sabres' uniform in its first victory!! Get 'er done, Larry!

Edit: I forgot to mention it, but Kevin Sylvester introduced the new jersey tonight by saying that we're getting "a sneak peek at the future ..." The hints keep mounting!

Winning never looked so good!

Am I right or am I right?

New thirds FT M'FN W!!!!

Classic Audio...

This was from back in 2006 and conducted by our friend Josh Brewster from Hockeytalk.biz. This was captured shortly after the Buffaslug was leaked out to the world and right around the 22,000 mark of angry Sabres petitioners...Drew made a good account here and speculation actually proved correct about the potential loss of Daniel Breire and/or Chris Drury.

Keep this in mind. Think back to your initial reaction to the leaked logo back in 2006 and then compare it to tomorrow night, Wednesday, November 26 2008 when the new updated third jerseys make their triumphant debut. Be honest with yourself and see if you actually have an emotional connection to the long standing identity of the Buffalo Sabres.

DREW CELESTINO VS. THE SLUG

JUST CLICK TO LISTEN!

Reminder: Thirds to Premier Wednesday!!

Didn't want anyone to forget and decide to do the dishes rather than watch another potential Sabres' loss. Our new, throwback thirds will make their season premier this Wednesday, November 26th at home against Boston. Maybe it will be just the spark that this team needs to get things back on track!

*** FULL THIRD JERSEY SCHEDULE ***

DATE OPPONENT
Nov. 26 Boston Bruins
Nov. 28 Pittsburgh Penguins
Dec. 12 Toronto Maple Leafs
Dec. 19 Los Angeles Kings
Jan. 1* Toronto Maple Leafs*
Jan. 9 New York Rangers
Feb. 4 Toronto Maple Leafs
Feb. 6 Montreal Canadiens
Feb. 11 Ottawa Senators
Feb. 21 New York Rangers
Mar. 4 Montreal Canadiens
Mar. 12 Florida Panthers
Mar. 20 Philadelphia Flyers
Mar. 27 Toronto Maple Leafs
Apr. 6 Detroit Red Wings
Apr. 11 Boston Bruins

*Jan 1 is away game.

Visit SickJerseyBro.com

How can people laugh at themselves if they first can't laugh at someone else in a lame hockey sweater?

Check out a lunch room full of lunch boxes...

Sick Jersey Bro

Potential White New Third Jersey ideas...

Alright, now that the Notre Dame alumni, collar popping, real estate developing, Bass Pro shopping, and Buffalo Sabres minority owning Larry Quinn has hinted to WGR radio at the possibility of a full time return and use of the new Third Logo for the team's 40th anniversary, there are a couple things to be aware of so we don't all jump off the cliff like mindless lemmings:

1. How convienient that WGR lost the audio archive of the interview.

2. Quinn only mentioned a switch surrounding the team's 40th anniversary.

3. Would the change go beyond that?

4. That means we need a new white jersey too!

5. Yes, we are now voting with our wallets and making the team more money.

So these comments on the radio was his subtle acknowledgement that this logo even with it's retail success DOES NOT HAVE iconic staying power and brand loyalty with its fans. We'll he has initiated a guerilla marketing campaign all over again.

Dave (Drtuka) and our own Chris (Carpandean) each have come up with very worthy ideas for a Sabres white jersey featuring the new updated third logo. I think if people get a look at these white concepts, they would be even more receptive to the return to the true blue and gold.

Carpandean:


Drutka:

Third Jersey Has Arrived!!!

Well folks, Charlie and I scored us some Reebok Replica (also known as Premier) jerseys. To the folks on Icethetics who have questioned the authenticity of the seller from whom we got them, let me assure you - they're the real deal. Not counterfeits. Not forgeries. Real Premier jerseys. Same quality as my CCM vintage replica jerseys. So, if you're thinking of getting one from the seller in question, rest easy, his goods are the real thing. And he ships fast.

Anyhow, back to the review. Now, I personally dislike the Reebok Premier jerseys for their silk-screen shoulder logos. That was something that really turned me off to them last year, considering my old CCM replicas were priced the same, yet had fully embroidered shoulder markers. But, since the new Sabres third jersey has no shoulder markers to speak of, that's not an issue for me with this baby.

So call me a satisfied customer! If the talks are true and there's a matching white coming for 2010, count me in! This is what we've all been waiting for! And I couldn't be happier! Killer jersey!

On to the pics!!!

Breaking news: Quinn says slug may die on 40th!!

I didn't catch the actual interview, but reports are popping up all over the place that before last night's game Larry Quinn stated that they are looking into making the original logo their primary again to correspond with their 40th!!

See, for example:
http://www.talkbuffalosports.com/showthread.php?t=3797

Quinn was on WGR today and Bulldog asked him about the new 3rd jerseys, and what could happen if they sell well, well received, etc..

Quinn confirmed that the team is in talks to potentially make the 3rds our PRIMARY jersey for 2010-11, which will be the 40th anniversary year.

he said the current slug jersey may be a 3rd jersey.

and:
http://forums.letsgosabres.com/index.php?showtopic=8905

Larry Quinn made some interesting statements before tonight's Sabres game regarding the franchise's jerseys.

Quinn said that the team is talking about returning to the traditional jerseys and logo permanently. This would likely happen in 2010-11, the franchise's 40th season.

He said the current slugs may be related into third jerseys if that happens. Quinn stated that it depends on how well the third jerseys sell.

Could the day that we have been hoping for (well, second behind that day where a certain cup is lifted by our players) be coming soon?!

Watching here to see if they post the interview.

Sabres concept jersey ... with Sabres, not Slugs!

I meant to post this a while back, but real life has been a little demanding lately. Shortly before the new third came out, I started looking closely at the current jerseys. There is no denying that the current jerseys look good in spite of the slug. However, even with the abomination removed from the front, it's not perfect. So, I started making a list of what I like and do not like about them.

Likes:
Navy, gold, silver and white - a little more modern color scheme than just royal and gold, though I do like the traditional aspect of the royal.
Underarm "horns" - a unique, team-related detail that was subtly added into the jersey. If nothing else, I appreciate that detail.

Dislikes:
Missing key aspects of a hockey sweater - in particular, no waist or arm striping.
Rounded text - I'm a fan of the boxy, sharp-cornered text.
Slug - 'nough said. That's why we are here.

With that in mind, I started working on a design that I called "something old, something new." With the help of the folks over at SabreSpace, I ended up with the following:










Note: I did update the striping to match the new third jerseys after they came out and would use that same updated logo.

Edit per Drew's suggestion:

Congratulations to John Slabyk!

There are several people out there who don't know this but for over a year and a half talented freelance designer John Slabyk has been the Art Director for the Barack Obama campaign. I've known since July of 2007 when he first was mulling over taking the job as I was getting ready to launch SabresNotSlugs.com. Most people also know that ever since Fix the logo/Sabres Not Slugs began that both Drew and I strongly supported his well known creative efforts regarding the Buffalo Sabres and the New Blue and Gold project.

Now he is the Art Director for the President-elect of the United States of America. Not too bad!

Obviously this project was far more atmospheric than developing logo and uniform concepts! His visualization of the Obama campaign has been highly praised by peer designers and for good reason. The web design and layout no doubt played a subtle yet highly vital role in the campaign's success. In my opinion the overall Obama web experience was far more appealing, user friendly, focused, and easier to navigate compared to that of John McCain's web page. I know that web design certainly is not an indicator on how competent a president Obama may or may not be, but this design led for a far more effective platform to aid in the dissemination of Obama's message and other information to the American voters. It certainly was an underestimated difference maker in the campaign and election.

Nicely done! John you are a true talent! The sky is the limit now for you in your professional field. John has now forged a solid brand equity and can write his own ticket.

To relate this to the Buffalo Sabres, remember that this is the same guy who in 2003 received an audience with Larry Quinn and passionately inteviewed to be a part of "Change" in the Buffalo Sabres organization as they looked to rebrand with the return to the blue and gold. His ideas for the identity change were promptly dismissed by the team and was never given and feedback or follow up and they went forward(backwards) to release the ass-clownish slug logo as the new identity of the organization.