Nick Veronica
@nickveronica
Hoping bluer skies make greener grasses. Sports and news and food and stuff. 📍Buffalo
Argentina players had a banner about the Falkland Islands on the pitch after beating England that says "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" 👀 📷 Getty Images / Shaun Botterill, Paul Ellis, Thomas Coex
🇦🇷 Cardiac Argentina! The defending champs scored LATE in every knockout game at the 2026 World Cup. Cape Verde: Needed AET, goals in 92', 111' Egypt: Trailed by 2, goals in 79', 83', 90+2' Switzerland: Needed AET, goals in 112', 120+1' England: Trailed by 1, goals in 85', 90+2'
If you've always wanted to design an NHL jersey, this is your chance. The Islanders are launching a jersey design contest – and they'll actually wear the winning entry. I got a sneak peek at the jersey builder. Details here: www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/202...
Also asked the NHL’s president of content and events, Steve Mayer, about future events in Buffalo. Obviously, the 20th anniversary of the Winter Classic is ahead. Others think a Stadium Series might be better for the Sabres to avoid complications with the Bills. His answer:
The Bills added a really unique touch at Highmark Stadium: The name of every worker who helped build the stadium — 5,369 and counting! — is listed on the wall. Owner Terry Pegula said he wanted to honor them in a way that “their offspring and friends can come and look and see their name.”
The itty-bitty shin guard trend has been noticeable at the #WorldCup. Some soccer players have always tried to wear as small of shin guards as possible. Did FIFA stop caring? Have they always been this little, and now they just have socks to match? Someone help me out here 🤔💭
Cape Verde! One of the smallest nations ever to play in the #WorldCup just stole a point from Spain. Cape Verde goalie Vozinha, who is 40, stopped all 7 shots on target. Spain is ranked 3rd in the world and a tournament favorite. Cape Verde has a population of 491,000.
#USMNT scored 3 goals in the first half of their 2026 World Cup opening match. That’s the same number of goals USA scored at the entire World Cup four years ago in Qatar.
Most of this Sabres team returns next year. - Find someone for the top line - Figure out goaltending - Improve the third pair - Let the kids loose The future looks bright for the first time in a long time.
Buffalo lost, but #Sabres hockey is back. - This team ended the drought. Can’t overstate how important that is. - Playoff experience matters. The Sabs had enough talent to overcome many mistakes, but they’ll build on this run next year. - Extend Lindy & get a playmaker for Tage.
Final: Sabres 8, Canadiens 3. Game 7 Monday. - What an onslaught. Sabres scored 7 straight after trailing 3-1. - Stars have to be stars. Dahlin 1G, 4A. Tage 1G, 3A. Huge. - Sabres PP coming to life? 4/6 tonight. - Gotta go same lineup in G7. Keep Tuch moved down; Metsa, UPL in.
Alex Lyon’s final line: 0 saves, 3 goals allowed. Not sure I’ve seen that before.
Bills schedule thoughts: Holidays and primetime make great talking points ... but what really matters is rest😴 Here's a look at days of rest for the Bills and their opponent in every game. Is it a "good" schedule? By net rest, absolutely. But some big negatives even it out. #billsmafia
Final: #Canadiens 6, #Sabres 3. MTL up 3-2. - Up against it now. Desperation time. - Sabres inexperience showing through in frustrating ways. - Stars need to be your stars. Shake up the top line? - Lyon the rest of the way. - Just get it back to Buf. Anything can happen in Game 7.
Final: Sabres 3, Canadiens 2. Series 2-2. - What a ridiculous game. - Sabres nearly beat themselves. Discipline was a huge red flag. - UPL settled in. Lindy’s changes worked. - Top line gonna end up on milk cartons. Tuch? Hello? - In the end: Got a split on the road. The rest doesn’t matter.
🚨 The Buffalo #Sabres have a chance to make history. If they come back to win the series against Montreal, it will be the first time in the club's 50+ year history that the team rallied from a 2-1 series deficit. It doesn't sound real, but it is. They've trailed 2-1 17 times.
Final: Canadiens 6, #Sabres 2. Series 2-1 MTL. I fear the double headlock was simply too cool to lose. - Habs dominated. Lyon kept them in it. - No juice again. Time for a shake. Helenius? Kesselring? - Young Sabs trail in a series for the first time. Adversity is how you grow.
The #Sabres have the worst faceoff percentage in the playoffs: 43%. They're especially bad on the power play (34.5%), which exacerbates their break-in problem. 📈Norris, Krebs 📉McLeod, Kozak, Thompson Carrick, their best in the regular season (57.3%), could return today.
Final: Canadiens 5, Sabres 1. - Lousy showing. The Sabres had one good player and he can’t buy a beer until next week. - The power play cannot continue like this. It’s a crisis. - The Gronk interview was insane. - Looking for an upshot: 2 goals against after guys with the puck blew a tire. Unlucky.
Final: #Sabres 4, Canadiens 2. We stan for low-stress playoff wins. - 2-goal win, 2 PP goals. Huge. - Sabs were buzzing, but game could’ve easily gone in MTL’s favor. Should’ve scored more. Couple posts. - What a different series than R1. No dirty stuff after every whistle, just talent on display.
WNY’s Joe Mack is set to make his MLB debut with the Marlins. He was drafted 31st overall out of Williamsville East in 2021. Mack was Fangraphs’ #56 prospect heading into the season (50 FV). Defense is his top trait but should have enough thump in his bat – 24, 21 HR last 2 yrs.
The Sabres host Games 1 and 2 on Wednesday and Friday this week. They will face the winner of Canadiens-Lightning Game 7, which is tonight at 6 p.m.
#Bills go EDGE T.J. Parker at 35. Jim Leonhard's defense gets a new toy to pair with Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb. 11 sacks and 19.5 TFLs in 2024, but only 5 sacks last year. Measured 6-3 5/8, 263. Didn't jump off the charts athletically. The Ringer's profile compared him to his new teammate.
The Bills traded back three times in Round 1. Here's the end result. - Moved back from 26 to 35 - Moved from the back of Rd. 3 to the front - Added the first pick of Rd. 4 and a late 4th - Went from 7 total picks to 9 #billsmafia
Still can’t believe a 40-game scorer didn’t shoot this. Bruins really were this close to stealing a game.
Good Sabres-Bruins preview from The Athletic www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...