A True Ruffalonian

It's too bad about Lindy Ruff.

This writer has never been a passport-carrying member of the French Connection, nor does he own a Molson-dried hard hat from Mad Hatters. But a Sabres win has always been a good thing. And since the Sabres haven't done as much winning as expected in the Terry Pegula Era, the longest-tenured head coach in North American pro sports (before Wednesday afternoon) has been replaced. And in this region, this firing hurts the most.

Lindy Ruff was probably the second most-memorable head coach in Western New York sports history behind only Marv Levy.

He'd get angry. Behind the bench. Behind the locker room doors. Behind the microphones. And he knew each time which buttons to push to try to get his team and it's fans to circle the Zambonis.

He'd call-out opposing coaches during and after games. He'd note cheapshots in public record. He'd played the game and knew when his fans needed a boost from their team, rather than the other-way-around. He alerted his lines after the unexpected October blizzard of 2006 demanding that their customers "deserved better" before a comeback win on a Friday night when thousands listened through battery-operated radios waiting for NYSEG to fix the power, Meanwhile, in Orchard Park--at Ruff's juxtaposition--sat a stoic football coach in Dick Jauron, who looked like he needed a Matt Foley speech more than the Sabres.

Any coach in pro sports--and his team for that matter--could be due for a change, or perhaps a break after 16 years. Rare are the days of Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, and Tony LaRussa. Heck, even Joe Torre and Phil Jackson were politely shown the exits after a combined 15 championships. And we all saw what happened with Andy Reid this past NFL season.

Ruff won't be gone long. And no matter where he goes, he'll always be a Sabre. More importantly, he'll always be a Buffalonian. People should feel worse about his departure than Chan Gailey's from the Bills, whose last vision pulling out of the offices of One Bills Drive was a "THANK YOU CHAN" sign.

For Lindy's sake, let's hope he gets his taste from the Stanley Cup soon. As far as this blogger goes, if he gets his sip before Terry Pegula or Ryan Miller, that's good enough.

Cheers, Lindy! When that day comes, this guy will call for an impromptu "Miller Time" in your honor.

As a head coach, you're the truest Buffalonian we've ever had.