Biron Mask

[FlyersHockey1967]

Pic just says "IPB Image".

Coach wears gloves because it's right before a practice (ice looks fresh).

Down Under Husker, the reason they wear alternates is because they're ORANGE, which is their main color. Which, of course, leads to the question "Why couldn't they have kept their old 80's-90's orange jerseys and have those be the home so they wouldn't be wearing such ugly looking alternates?"

Well, I don't know why.

[Geoff]

Is it just me or before RBK bought The Hockey Company, there was a large amount of Koho and even a few CCM pads that made up the majority of pads out there but since RBK took over, a lot of players are switiching to Vaughn, a few with Sherwood, and a few with TPS.

[BBTV]

Biron won't be wearing his new pads / helmet this season. He says he's an equipment freak, and wants the summer to work them out (so since he's not wearing them this season, he probably wouldn't have gotten new custom ones if he wasn't intent on re-signing.)

[FlyersHockey1967]

One more thing on his mask which the segment I took pics of did not show. He also shipped back his black pads for some white ones (hopefully, they're not the same kind Frank has).

Biron had yet to wear his new face mask in game action. It's orange and black and has the Liberty Bell on the crown, the Art Museum and Rocky statue on the left side, and the Center City skyline on the right. The back has a pair of animal claws with the names Oscar and Emmy under them.

"I want to keep that to myself," Biron said when asked who Oscar and Emmy were.

The mask still needed adjustments. Biron was playing around with the straps that hold the throat protector up, as well as the straps in the back.

"I have to drill some holes in the plastic throat protector," Biron said. "When it feels right, I'll wear it in a game."

Biron uses the same skates he had in junior hockey, but wraps them with mounds of tape. There's a science to the wrapping, he said.

As for his pads, the new black ones were sent back. The next set, which should come next week while the team is in Toronto, are mostly white with accented colors.

Everybody said the black pads looked small, Biron said. When you get negative feedback right away, "that is not a good sign."

Biron, who has been wearing his all-white helmet and yellow-and-white pads, had a pair of leg pads made and delivered last week. He liked them. No one else did.

"I had the new gear come in and I wore it for the team picture and everybody was saying they look small, they're skinny, they're dark," Biron said. "I didn't like the feedback I got on them, so I put them back in the box and had them shipped out. When you get bad feedback right away, it's not a good sign."

Most players are particular about the equipment they get used to and Biron is no different. He is still using the same pair of skates he had since his second year of juniors - about 11 years ago.

"They just feel good," Biron said. "There's no reason to change."

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers...r_contract.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers...-year_deal.html

[Geoff]

Might he be using V2'a to avoid being like Niittymaki?

[FlyersHockey1967]

Maybe he'll use the same design Nitty used last season and half of this season? I think that one was black on top and orange at the bottom.

[FlyersHockey1967]

Big newsflash! Biron is wearing his mask tonight!

Apparently, he wasn't going to wear it until he got signed. I'm not sure whether it was something the team told him or something he decided himself.

[js °]

wow guys ... thanks for all the compliments and comments on my work and as well as on birons mask ... just to point out .. heres a pic with him wearing the new mask. I rather like the concept of the liberty bell, and the buildings, however I think they came out looking a bit too 'painterly' and not photo realistic enough .. would have been much cooler that way i think. I don't really care for the FLYERS up top, could've done something a little cooler with the type treatment i think ... but overall not a bad mask.

I also think Ty Conklins new mask does an AMAZING job at making the slug actually look pretty damn decent. Too bad that is the best it will ever look, seriously ... how long do fans have to suffer with this joke.

I heard this great anecdote recently about this guy and his girlfriend back in Buffalo. Apparently him and his lady were at a bar watching a game when the Sabres were wearing their regular "slug" home blue jerseys. 2 nights later they are at his house with some friends watching the game, and the girl was with her friends not watching ... she drifts into the room and asks whos playing (the Sabres are now wearing their original home throwbacks), and he says Buffalo. She responds, "They're much better looking than that other Buffalo team". Really says alot in a funny way.

[sigma716]

wow guys ... thanks for all the compliments and comments on my work and as well as on birons mask ... just to point out .. heres a pic with him wearing the new mask. I rather like the concept of the liberty bell, and the buildings, however I think they came out looking a bit too 'painterly' and not photo realistic enough .. would have been much cooler that way i think. I don't really care for the FLYERS up top, could've done something a little cooler with the type treatment i think ... but overall not a bad mask.

I also think Ty Conklins new mask does an AMAZING job at making the slug actually look pretty damn decent. Too bad that is the best it will ever look, seriously ... how long do fans have to suffer with this joke.

I heard this great anecdote recently about this guy and his girlfriend back in Buffalo. Apparently him and his lady were at a bar watching a game when the Sabres were wearing their regular "slug" home blue jerseys. 2 nights later they are at his house with some friends watching the game, and the girl was with her friends not watching ... she drifts into the room and asks whos playing (the Sabres are now wearing their original home throwbacks), and he says Buffalo. She responds, "They're much better looking than that other Buffalo team". Really says alot in a funny way.

dude, let it go, seriously, this is the 4th site now.

we arent suffering, only you "designers" are, and hate to say it, but you dont matter.

the people who made the "slug" the number one nhl apparel item purchased this year dont seem to be suffering. nor does almost EVERY car in buffalo with the flags, bumper stickers, window clings etc. oh and dont forget the stores that cant keep that "horrible" logoed jersey in stock.

[VitaminD]

the people who made the "slug" the number one nhl apparel item purchased this year dont seem to be suffering. nor does almost EVERY car in buffalo with the flags, bumper stickers, window clings etc. oh and dont forget the stores that cant keep that "horrible" logoed jersey in stock.

Yeah, I'm sure it's all because of the slug. It's got NOTHING to do with the team's on-ice success, and the fact that people are eagerly supporting their team. Or the simple return of the team's traditional blue/gold after fans were stuck worshiping the Goat Head in black/red/silver for lo these many years. You're right... it's ALL because of the Slug.

[speedy]

dude, let it go, seriously, this is the 4th site now.

we arent suffering, only you "designers" are, and hate to say it, but you dont matter.

And you do?

Who are you to speak for the entire city of Buffalo, have you gone door to door and asked people their personal opinion on the logo? I don't think so. It's exactly like VitaminD said, merchandise is selling because the Sabres are battling for the best record in the league. Now if they were playing more like the Flyers (sorry Philly) are this season, would you still have the same admiration for the new logo, and would merchandise sales still be threw the roof? I don't think so.

Personally, I know it's your opinion and you're free to say whatever you feel, but I'd pay more attention to something js says than something you say.

I also find it funny that since you're such an avid supporter of the logo, you still refer to it as a Slug in your signature. Just throwing that out there.

[FlyersHockey1967]

dude, let it go, seriously, this is the 4th site now.

we arent suffering, only you "designers" are, and hate to say it, but you dont matter.

the people who made the "slug" the number one nhl apparel item purchased this year dont seem to be suffering. nor does almost EVERY car in buffalo with the flags, bumper stickers, window clings etc. oh and dont forget the stores that cant keep that "horrible" logoed jersey in stock.

coughBANDWAGONcough

speedy raises a good point. People realize the team does well, they want to support them. What's the best way to support a hockey team? Buying a jersey. What happens to be the jersey the Sabres wear right now? That's right, the Sluggos!

[StPatty33]

dude, let it go, seriously, who needs something that looks good.

we (by "we" I mean "me") arent suffering, only you "people with taste" are, and hate to admit it, but we (again, "me") are all jealous.

^^^^

FIXED

[gbasalmon]

the people who made the "slug" the number one nhl apparel item purchased this year dont seem to be suffering. nor does almost EVERY car in buffalo with the flags, bumper stickers, window clings etc. oh and dont forget the stores that cant keep that "horrible" logoed jersey in stock.

Yeah, I'm sure it's all because of the slug. It's got NOTHING to do with the team's on-ice success, and the fact that people are eagerly supporting their team. Or the simple return of the team's traditional blue/gold after fans were stuck worshiping the Goat Head in black/red/silver for lo these many years. You're right... it's ALL because of the Slug.

This is the nail on the head right here. The way the city is crazy about the Sabres right now, if the logo was Sabretooth wearing a pink tutu, people would be lining up for jerseys just the same. Their play on the ice has created the frenzy, not clamoring for a superior logo. I have a Sabres flag hanging outside my house and also rock a few Sabres shirts with the new design, but that doesn't necessarily mean I like the logo. It's all about the Kool-Aid, and we Sabres fans are drinking it with zest...

[js °]

dude, let it go, seriously, this is the 4th site now.

we arent suffering, only you "designers" are, and hate to say it, but you dont matter.

the people who made the "slug" the number one nhl apparel item purchased this year dont seem to be suffering. nor does almost EVERY car in buffalo with the flags, bumper stickers, window clings etc. oh and dont forget the stores that cant keep that "horrible" logoed jersey in stock.

Wow, well I never meant to be the one 'dragging this out again' ... but I got a few problems with this. First of all, every conversation I've had with every random fan I've meant in any given bar in Buffalo when I'm in town is ALWAYS with displeasure towards the logo. It varies from a deep disdain to the depths of their soul (sometimes while wearing the slug and shrugging their shoulders when asked 'why'd you buy it then') to just thinking its not as good as the original. And no, they don't I'm the New Blue and Gold guy when talking to me. Plus I can't ignore the fact that I get literally at least 2-3 emails a DAY asking me about when I will sell my jerseys ... and how these people are so sad the slug is in existence instead of my stuff.

Plus, add to the fact that anytime I catch a game on TV in Chicago ... the announcers always manage to mention either the ridiculousness of the Sabres logo ... or the beauty of the old uniforms compared to the new ones. I've assumed its just common knowledge by now that this logo is a joke of a symbol ... especially for a team named the Sabres.

I've also got a HUGE problem with this ridiculous notion that the Slug is the top selling thing in the world. Lets get specific to what was reported quite awhile ago now ... it was a ranking of merchandise sold on NHL.com. Now you could say thats like basing your book success on an Amazon.com ranking ... but if you did, you'd be wrong. See Amazon.com has a controllable amount of the internet book dealing business wrapped up .. so their numbers matter. However, NHL jersey sales are spread fairly evenly through a great number of venues ... from real world stores (clearly amounting for the bulk of sales ... also important because every jersey sold at the arena, or at laux, or dicks ... were not included in that ranking), to ebay.com, to icejerseys.com ... NHL.com has no reason to think its numbers are relevant to anything ... especially not when the products they were PUSHING were the Sabres and the Ducks.

Claiming these numbers are relevant at all ... is like saying that a brand new Dairy Queen that just opened around the corner started selling Cotton Candy Blizzards ... commercials, promos, in store signs ... then saying that Cotton Candy is outselling OREOs now .. because the Blizzard sales at this one store these past 3 months of Cotton Candy Blizzards outsold OREO Blizzards. Well no ... it doesn't mean that ... all it means is that for people shopping at this Dairy Queen getting the experience they had ... decided on cotton candy over oreo.

And everyone pretty much said all there is to say on the team's success contributing to the sales ... I'm in complete agreement with everything already said on that.

[cward]

i completely agree with John. it IS a horrible symbol of the franchise. Weak, trendy, uncreative, and just plain sloppy. I'm still in astonishment that this logo somehow made it to the big stage. unbelievable.

[FlyersHockey1967]

This just in from an intrepid reporter in Buffalo, who saw our story on the names "Oscar" and "Emmy" painted on the back of Martin Biron's mask, complete with cutouts of claw marks beside the names.

Seems they are indeed the names of two dogs Biron had (he may still have one). When asked last week about the names, he declined to talk about it.

http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?ne...18170&rfi=6

Just in case anyone was wondering.

btw, I know a guy who actually likes the slug, and this is a guy who decided to cheer for the Wild last season only because he liked their logo and jersey!

Seriously, he has no taste and I don't think he deserves to be a fan if he only chooses a team soley for the way it looks.

Remember, this is a guy who LIKES the slug and calls simple, traditional, and classy jerseys like Chicago boring and ugly compared to the Sabres' jerseys.