Sabres game felt like a win to me

BUFFALO -- I know the final score said 4-3, Boston. But Monday night's Prospects Challenge game felt like a win to me.

This is the second year that the Buffalo Sabres hosted a pre-pre-season tournament-style event featuring prospects from the Sabres, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils at Harborcenter. And judging by how it went, I can only imagine it won't be the last.

Harborcenter is a great facility. I've had the opportunity to catch a few events there, but I was usually in and out quickly; Grab a couple photos, maybe a quote and out the door to the next thing. Monday was the first chance I actually got to take it all in.

Apart from the limited seating and fewer concession stands, you would barely know you weren't at an NHL rink. But the seating itself if professional standard. And the concessions themselves are quite ample.

The action on the ice Monday night was a little grittier than I expected. Play was very physical given the pre-pre-season nature of it, which surprised me. But it shouldn't have. The prospects playing on the ice are trying to prove their worth, so, of course they were going to go all out.

Can I just say it was nice to watch hockey? And it was really nice to watch hockey players wearing Sabres uniforms ... even if they weren't exactly the Sabres.

For me, though, the nicest thing about Monday night was seeing all the kids watching hockey -- or not watching hockey as many were off doing their own things, or staring off into space as their parents watched the game. There were a lot of kids at the sixth-floor hockey rink, likely due to the $10 tickets.

The Sabres also had a pretty nice sale on hats, t-shirts and baubles. ONE BUFFALO hats went for just $5. Velcro hats were $10 and flex-fit hats were $12. There was a considerable selection of Evander Kane t-shirts for $5 ... for some reason.

Sabretooth was there wandering around the rink for pretty much the whole game. He stopped and sat with just about anyone that would let him. He posed for photos, signed autographs and even played some bubble hockey for a bit.

In my dealings with them (through three different ownerships), the Buffalo Sabres organization has always been a class act. That showed through again on Monday. I look forward to more hockey.

+Scott Leffler is editor of All WNY News and a fan of hockey. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler.

RELATED: Photo album from Monday night's game.

This column was originally published on All WNY News.

Pokemon Is The Game America Needed

I'm don't want to say that a video game could save America ... but a video game could save America.

OK, maybe I exaggerate, but only slightly. Bear with me here.

Unless you're hiding under a rock with no access to media -- social or otherwise -- you're aware of the fact that almost everyone under the age of 30 -- and several of us over 30 -- are playing Pokemon Go.

The new mobile game came out last week and has quickly vaulted to the top of the charts on Android and iOS devices. On its day of release, it was on more phones than Tinder. And since Wednesday, the average Android user is spending nearly 60 minutes a day playing the game -- more time than they spend on Twitter.

I'm not entirely sure why, but it caught me by surprise. I noticed on Wednesday that three of my Facebook friends mentioned Pokemon. I thought it an odd coincidence. By Friday, it seemed like everyone I connect with on Facebook was talking about it in some way or another. Well, that and #BlueLivesMatter. But by Saturday morning, the seemingly never ending race war on my Facebook wall was replaced by Pokemon. Rather than a Hillary bashing or Trump bashing, it was Pikachu and Team Yellow.

Sitting on the bus en route to the Taste of Buffalo Saturday afternoon, I struck up a conversation with the stranger sitting next to me as he played the game. He said a friend got him hooked on it and he was enjoying catching the imaginary beasts. At the Taste of Buffalo, I overheard more than a few people talking about the Pokemon they had caught there. And at a friend's house afterwards, it seemed to be the primary topic of discussion.

Sunday, I couldn't take it any more. I had to play for myself. So I downloaded it and installed it and immediately caught a Charmander. I texted my daughters to ask if they were playing. One is. One isn't. The one who is explained why it's so great to live where she lives with water and woods and open areas -- allowing her to catch all kinds of Pokemon.

But today's Pokemon experience is what really excites me. Walking down Hyde Park Boulevard in Niagara Falls, I ran into a pair of kids -- probably 13 or 14. I overheard one of them say he was looking for a Pikachu, which excited me, frankly. I said, "Where? The church back there is a gym." We chatted for a bit. Two kids. And a 41-year-old. Talking about imaginary creatures while holding their cell phones. A short while later, I ran into a couple guys -- Joe and Tito -- who told me they were "hunting an Eevee." We walked together for a bit and talked about the game. And a few minutes after that, I ran into three more kids, who quickly hid their phones when they saw me. I asked what they were hunting, and they said they weren't sure. I then mentioned that there was a Pikachu in the area and one of them said, "I know! We're trying to find him."

That's eight complete strangers that I talked to in the past three days who I would have normally walked by without a word. Just the typical male head-nod. Eight conversations about Pokemon. No conversations about Trump. To me, that's a definite upgrade, even if I didn't find the Pikachu.

And I've read similar stories on social media about strangers meeting and discussing the game. One particularly amusing one about three guys in a park who were almost arrested until they explained they were just catching 'em all -- and convincing the officer to download the game.

Even if this Pokemon craze is temporary, it's a reprieve that a very stressed America needs so badly. Rather than black or white, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat, it's all about teams Yellow, Blue and Red right now.

People are creating events to catch Pokemon. And at least three businesses that I know of -- The Transit Drive-In, The Old Pink, and Grand Island Fun Center -- .have taken to social media to invite the public to come play there.

And on top of all that, it's getting people to go outside and exercise -- or at least walk.

So Pokemon Go might not be the game that America deserves, but it is clearly the game America needed.

Scott Leffler is editor of All WNY News and proud member of Team Yellow. He writes columns when he feels like it. See, Pokemon Go even inspired this column. It's taking over the world. 

This column was originally published on All WNY News.