Dan Hinote knows how to plan a wedding

If that headline doesn’t grab you to say “What the hell is this about?”, I don’t know what will.

I was perusing through Deadspin, and came across this nice little article from the Rocky Mountain News about St. Louis Blues forward Dan Hinote’s recent wedding.

Fidel Castro, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Groucho Marx all gathered at Keystone Ranch on Friday to witness the nuptials between former Avalanche- turned-St.-Louis-Blues player Dan Hinote and the ga-ga-gorgeous Amy McCarthy…

The wedding party of 10 groomsmen and 10 bridesmaids wore traditional garb for the ceremony, but the guests were asked to show up in their favorite ’50s costumes, which would explain the dead celebs who attended the wedding.

A costume party. Unbelievable. What do you think the reaction was when the relatives got that invitation in the mail. Did they think it was a joke?

There were several fellow NHLers in attendance, and apparently all participated. Some, more than others, as detailed in the article.

During the dinner, the groom addressed his friends, family and fans. “It’s been a wonderful day for my beautiful bride and me,” he said. “You must be a bunch of screwed up people to dress up like the ’50s, right? I have a teammate dressed as a woman.”

And, of course, your first reaction is, who could this possibly be?

Monday Morning… Catch-Up?

So, a lot has happened over the past few days. Let’s recap:

Bills – Three draft picks, including James Hardy, signed on Thursday. Camp opened at St. John Fisher, and now their first pick, CB Leodis McKelvin, signed a five year contract on Sunday.

Sabres – Former Amerks head coach Randy Cunneyworth took a job as an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers. The list of candidates to lead the Portland Pirates is thinning.

Bandits – Lost defenseman Kyle Laverty in the NLL Expansion Draft. Laverty had been with the Bandits since 2004.

Oh, and there was a little thing called “Fann Cup” that happened this weekend. Post about that most likely coming your way on Tuesday.

To start getting you pumped for football season, here’s a nice little video to help you remember that there was a time when the Patriots could be beaten:

2008 Fann Cup in Rochester

There’s a special event going on in Rochester this weekend.

The 7th annual Fann Cup is this Saturday at Rochester Sports Garden.

“Win or lose, we drink the booze.” Hard to go wrong with that philosophy, no matter what the game is. Tongue-in-cheek as that motto may be, the Fann Cup that’s descending on Rochester this weekend is all about the fun.

The seventh edition of this non-contact, co-ed indoor lacrosse tournament, featuring fan clubs of various National Lacrosse League teams, is also all about the charity. The event has raised more than $50,000 for designated charities and this year is raising funds for the Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association and the RocE6 Inner City Youth Lacrosse Camp. On Saturday, the tournament kicks off at 8 a.m. and includes teams from Rochester, Toronto, Chicago, Philadelphia and Buffalo.

It’s something really unique that doesn’t happen with other pro sports. You don’t see Sabres and Leafs fans getting together for some street hockey, or Bills fans playing some Dolphins fans in flag football.

Yours truly will be participating for the second year in a row, and I’m sure it’ll be as much fun as last year’s was.

• Fann Cup [Official Website]

Sabres Announce Pre-Season Schedule

The preseason schedule is now out.

The Buffalo Sabres today announced their 2008 pre-season schedule. The team will play seven games in 14 days, including two games at HSBC Arena and a road game in “Hockeyville.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs will visit HSBC Arena on Saturday, September 27, followed by another game the next night at the arena against the Minnesota Wild. Both games will start at 7 p.m.

Getting to Know Your Newest Buffalo Sabre: Mathieu Darche

So, the Sabres have a new player. Here’s what you might want to know:

Mathieu Darche
Left Wing
6′1″/217
Shoots: Left
Born: November 26, 1976 / Montreal, Quebec
Drafted: Signed with Columbus Blue Jackets as undrafted free agent
NHL Seasons: 6
Former Teams: Columbus, Nashville, San Jose, Tampa Bay
Contract: One year, two way contract, expires 2009

3RD MAN IN – 3 BIG POINTS

• Played 4 years at McGill University in Canada, the same McGill University credited with having the first organized hockey club, producing basketball inventor James Naismith, and playing Harvard in the first ever game of american football.
• Younger brother of Kansas City Chiefs long snapper J.P. Darche
• Darche’s NHL debut in 2000 made him the first McGill player in the NHL in almost 50 years

So what kind of player is he? Let’s turn it over to the one who broke the signing, Lindsay Kramer of the Syracuse Post-Standard:

“The first word that comes to mind when I think of Darche is “rugged.”

Sabres sign Mathieu Darche

Darcy Regier stated that they would bring in some veterans to fill out the Portland roster, and for a while it looked like they might want to get started on that. But, it looks like we have our first signing.

According the Crunch Hockey Blog on Syracuse.com, the Sabres have signed Mathieu Darche.

Darche, who played for Tampa Bay last season, was deciding between offers from Buffalo and Ottawa. He said Columbus did not enter the bidding.

“I figured that’s where I’ll have a good chance,” he said of the Sabres. “Lindy Ruff is a lot like (ex-Tampa Bay coach) John Tortorella. You get what you deserve. I decided the fit was good in Buffalo, and I liked the talk I had with (Sabres GM) Darcy Regier.”

Darche, 31, has played 101 NHL games over the course of six seasons, appearing with Columbus, Nashville, San Jose, and Tampa Bay. The Montreal-native set career highs last season with 7 goals and 15 assists over the course of 73 games with the Lightning. His previous career high in points was two.

More info to come tomorrow on the newest Sabre.

• Mathieu Darche [Tampa Bay Lightning]

A good read for any sports fan

Thanks to Deadspin for finding this blog post written by Luke Russert, son of the late Buffalo-native Tim Russert.

Luke talks about what sports meant to his relationship with his dad, and of course, the Bills are prominent.

My Dad loved college and pro football so the weekends always centered around that. Nothing was better for him then going home and watching the Bills after a long and tough “Meet The Press.” My Dad got the Sunday Ticket the first year it came out in 1994. I’ll never forget a guy had to drive down from Baltimore to install it because no one knew how to install yet. As soon as a satellite package was available to show the Bills games, he got it. He would go to sports bars to watch the Bills games before DSF came around. I’ll never forget spending time on the couch watching the Bills with him.

Peters plugs Carly’s Club fundraiser

Event Details: The event will include unique silent and basket-raffle auction items followed by an exceptional live auction including a trip to the Delano Hotel!Sample signature dishes from local restaurants such as: Black and Blue, Fiamma, Lebros, Sole, Dessert Deli and many more!

Giving the evening a truly South Beach style and flare are the top-rated entertainment acts including Caribbean Extravaganza, Jeremy Hoyle & Strictly Hip, and an expert DJ spinning the latest hits.

More info here. If you have the funds, check it out. It’s for a good cause.

Leafs making it look like they’re struggling

You never see me have sympathy for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ever.

But I saw this little tidbit in the news, that might not seem like anything major to anyone else, sticks out to me.

Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour will have banners raised at the Air Canada Centre in separate pregame ceremonies this season to honor their achievements with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Clark’s No. 17 banner will go up on Nov. 22 before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, and Gilmour’s No. 93 will be raised Jan. 31 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It’s nice that they’re honoring former players, but as we in Buffalo know, that could be done just to sell tickets (see: retiring Danny Gare and Pat LaFontaine’s numbers in ‘05-’06). The Sabres weren’t quite sure they’d be selling out every game, so they went ahead and retired 16 and 18, and in my opinion, really lowered the standards for judging which Sabres are legends. But they sacrificed that honor to fill the building.

Summer is basically over

That’s right. Fall is right around the corner. Why? Bills training camp opens soon.

Like, this week.

Lee Evans and his teammates report to St. John Fisher on Friday.

If you’re planning on heading out to Rochester for practice, the Buffalo News has a nice feature on what you need to know. Check it out.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend, because your summer vacation is about over. You’ll blink and it’ll be November any day now.