So after a very nice start to the season our team is in a little bit of a rut... Confidence is a very fragile thing in team sport sometimes, especially when there have been very few rewards for hard work and solid play showing up on the scoreboard. I really believe that we have been playing good hockey and probably deserved much better in some of our recent losses... But that is how things work in sports sometimes, not everything goes your way and the team has to find ways to push through frustration.

A hockey season is a mental challenge more than anything. Sure we need to have good conditioning and skill, but it is usually the teams that can work as a unit in the toughest stretches that rise above. I would like to say there is an easy way to gain back the form and confidence we were able to play with early in the season, but I can't. It is not easy and it is not a light switch to flick back to "on"... It is very difficult. The effort has been there so I believe once we clean up some areas of our game we will be
fine.

For me personally, in the past these kind of stretches usually leave a greater sense of urgency and respect for the details in the game... Things that motivate me to work as hard as I can in practice and carry it over to my play in games.

On to other subjects. I am going to play around with something a little different here since Sabres.com seems to have posted songs to my Player's Tunes page from last season. I was holding out for a few albums to be released to make my list for the season but I guess they just couldn't wait. They even threw in some songs that are pretty good but I wouldn't have put on my list.

I think I will start putting down a few songs on this site when the mood strikes me, maybe even some movies or online viral video campaigns. Speaking of which I have tried bribing my brother into doing a lip sync video for our clothing store... hopefully every week or 2. I love music. I am not an audiophile or anything but I think I could go a few days listening to my ipod without listening to a song that I would have to hear on the radio 20 times a day... Well at least until the band gets popular.

I like to get ahead of the radio. I really like finding a band or musician before the song is forced down my throat... I want to make an opinion on the music or the lyrics without MTV or KISS FM telling me it is cool or the next big thing... I am not talking crazy indie underground, I'm just talking about appreciating it before the radio exploits it.

Here are a few albums and some songs I am listening to and I realize the radio has already grabbed them... But I had them first (with a lot of help from my buddy Brad Fast).

Kings of Leon - Only By the Night (album)
    These guys are awesome... Just look up their bio and you will love them even if you haven't heard their music. Three brothers and a first cousin make up the band. When they hit my radar they all had long hair, mustaches and a garage sound so I immediately thought they were great. They are a little more refined now and Caleb Followill's voice is unreal, especially on "Sex on Fire."

Bon Iver - Skinny Love
    Haunting voice and steel guitar tuned to "C" or something like that...Very different sound.

Against Me! - Thrash Unreal
    Just a cool song... This band has some great stuff.

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely (album)
    Being from Michigan, Jack White ranks pretty highly with me. I got to see these guys over the summer in downtown Detroit and it was a great show. They aren't as risky and progressive as Jack's band The White Stripes... But they are definitely different and they are talented. This album has some great songs with White and Brendan Benson sharing the vocals. Songs that stand out are "Salute Your Solution" and "Carolina Drama."

That is a good start... Will have to post again when I find some more good stuff. I have actually been revisiting some bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Counting Crows lately. High School flashbacks, yup... I am getting old.
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Just trying to solve the filtering process.