Sully on Sports

Myers Is Ready

It's clear from reading Tyler Myers' comments in today's News that he feels he's ready to play in the NHL. In fact, it sounds as if Myers believes he could have played with the Sabres last year. As John Vogl points out in the story, eight players who were drafted in 2008 played at least half the season in the league a year ago. Myers, who turned 19 in February, could have contributed on a suspect Buffalo defense and gained a valuable year of experience, as those other kids did last season.

Myers, who is 6-8, was a force in the Western Hockey League. He has played in the WHL for four seasons. He looked good in Sabres' camp a year ago. Myers doesn't need to play another year in juniors to prepare himself for the big-time. It would be a waste of his time. He should be with the Sabres, learning from his mistakes at the highest level. It's not as if the Sabres are some Stanley Cup threat. If other teams can throw their kids out there and let them learn on the fly, there's no reason the Sabres can't do the same thing.

Live Chat With Sully

No moves yet by Darcy Regier. Shocker. Let's get going.

Thanks for being here for the weekly chat. Talk to you next week.

Sully Chat

Don't forget. I'll be chatting at 1 p.m. today. I'm in the office, sitting next to John Vogl. So I'm sure Jonny will be able to contribute his thoughts on the first day of NHL free agency, filling in the periodic gaps in my own hockey knowledge. And of course, John will be feverishly updating our immensely popular Sabres Edge blog as developments occur. I have agree to fall off my chair if Darcy Regier makes any moves of consequence today.

Sabres Draft

So the Sabres drafted a bunch of big, tough kids. I'm resisting the urge to climb up on my office chair -- arthritic hip and all -- and dance in celebration. Gee, does this mean they finally figured out what it takes to compete seriously for a Stanley Cup? It's a little surprising, though. Didn't Larry Quinn point out that the Red Wings won the Cup a year ago with a small roster?

Maybe the new kids will be ready to create havoc in the corners two years from now. What exactly has management done to win right now? Is there some huge free-agent signing in the works, a gesture to the fans to show they mean business? Of course, there hasn't been any real reaction from ticket-buying fans to the last two seasons -- mulligans, if you will. So it's understandable if Tom Golisano and Co. are content with business as usual.

Henrik Tallinder and Jochen Hecht are still on the team. What does that tell you? Once again, Regier held onto diminishing assets until they lost worth in the trade market. And hey, what is Max Afinogenov up to lately?

One other item: Fans seem up in arms about the Sabres not re-signing Jaro Spacek to a new contract. Reading the Sabres blog, you'd think Spacek was some Mark Messier type leader in the dressing room. He's a stand-up guy, but come on. If Spacek represents the leadership on that team, you know they're hurting. Plus, Spacek is a free agent. UFAs almost always go out on the free market and find out what they're worth. It's very rare when a team outbids the free-agent market before a player even gets to test the waters -- as they did when they overpaid Tim Connolly on trade deadline day.

Live Chat With Sully

Welcome to this week's chat. Let's do it.

Thanks for visiting this week's chat. See you next time.

Chat Today

A reminder to all of you who wait eagerly from week to week for my next chat: I'll be going at 1 p.m. today (Thursday). I'll be happy to talk about tonight's NBA draft, the U.S. soccer team, Terrell Owens, the NHL draft, and of course, John Smoltz's long-awaited debut with the Red Sox tonight.

Big news of the day, at least in towns that care about the NBA, is the Cavs trading for Shaquille O'Neal. Hard to criticize the move, though Shaq is 37 and past his prime. He will give them a legitimate inside presence and a big body to lean on Dwight Howard in playoff series.

My question is, why didn't they do it earlier? Yes, Cleveland won 66 games. But they clearly lacked the inside presence required to make a serious playoff run. When I saw Lamar Odom dominate them in the paint at mid-season -- in the Cavs' first home loss of the year -- I said they weren't winning the title, or coming close, if they didn't trade for in inside defensive force. They didn't.

Now Shaq is a year older and I really doubt that he'll be good enough to push them over the top. The move smacks of desperation. The Cavs were a big disappointment in the playoffs and need to get back to the Finals with LeBron James soon. There's no guarantees he'll re-sign with the Cavs after next season.

The Suns thought Shaq would be the answer and they got worse with him. He wasn't much of a force in the playoffs with Phoenix in 2008. He'll be 38 when the next playoffs begin. He put up decent numbers last year, and he has held his own against Howard in recent years, but I'm not sure this puts the Cavs over the top. They need a younger solution to their inside problems.

Glover Wins It

FARMINGDALE -- Give Lucas Glover credit. He didn't have a great day Monday. He and Ricky Barnes came back to the field, as a lot of people expected. But after falling back into a tie for the lead, Glover made the shots he needed to make, and he won the U.S. Open by two shots.

Glover didn't make a birdie all day until he really needed it. Then he birdied the par-4 16th hole to reclaim the lead at 4-under par. Phil Mickelson and David Duval, who had briefly been tied for the lead, each bogeyed the 17th -- and Glover had a two-shot lead.

Glover then parred the last two holes for the win. Mickelson had a great chance, but did one of his typical U.S. Open fades. Duval had a chance, too. But Glover finished the job. He shot 73 and none of his closest pursuers was able to break par and catch him. He's a deserving champion.

""All I know is he shot 4-under par on a very difficult golf course and held on to win,'' said Mickelson who finished second in a U.S. Open for the fifth time. He has never won it.

Mickelson was the clear sentimental favorite here. He's the darling of the New York crowds, and their affection was intensified by the knowledge that Mickelson's wife, Amy, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Still, it was the same old Phil in the end. He had an ugly three-put bogey on the 15th hole. He had to make a 6-footer to par 16. He drove into the bunker on 17 and bogeyed. On 18, he bombed his drive to about 25 yards from the green, but hit his approach 30 feet past the flag.

Three years ago at Winged Foot, Mickelson took a lead to the final hole and lost.

""I feel different this time,'' he said. "I don't know where to go with this. I want to win this tournament so badly.''

He'll be 40 next year. Time is running out for Lefty. Yes, Glover won the tournament. But it was there for Mickelson. Many of the game's top players didn't play well here. But he came up just short, again.

Six-Shooter to the Good

FARMINGDALE -- The last group has reached the halfway point of the third round, and Ricky Barnes is threatening to turn the 109th U.S. Open into a runaway.

Barnes, who had a record score of 132 through two rounds, was 2-under through eight holes today and stands at 10-under for the tournament, six shots ahead of Mike Weir and Lucas Glover.

Clearly, the course is playing harder after Saturday night's rains. Lucas Glover, who reached 8-under par after five holes, went bogey-double bogey-bogey on the next three holes and tumbled back to 4-under.

Mike Weir, who began the day at 6-under, got to minus-7 after the fifth, then promptly bogeyed Nos. 6, 7 and 8 and slipped to 4-under. David Duval, Hunter Mahan, Todd Hamilton and Ross Fisher are tied at 3-under.

Tiger Woods is even par for the third round and 3-over for the Open. Phil Mickelson is 2-over, 1-over for the tourney.

See ya, Lefty

FARMINGDALE -- Phil Mickelson is having a real roller coaster of a third round. He birdied 3, bogeyed 5, double bogeyed 6 and birdied 7,  leaving him1-over for the day and even-par for the Open, nine shots off the lead. Looks like it's not going to happen for The People's Choice.

Back at the Open

FARMINGDALE -- The U.S. Open resumed at noon today and while there's no sign of the sun, it's not raining and the players are back out in the third round. The leaders just went off. Ricky Barnes (132), Lucas Glover (133) and Mike Weir (134) all parred the first hole.

Lee Westwood, who finished a shot behind Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate last year, birdied the second and fourth to take sole possession of fourth place at 4-under par. Hunter Mahan is 3-under through seven holes and 3-under for the tournament, tied with David Duval and Ross Fisher.

Tiger Woods parred his first four holes and is still at 3-over. He needs to make a move soon. Phil Mickelson birdied No. 3, then bogeyed No. 5. He's still at 1-under. Typical Lefty.

Obviously, there's no way this is ending today. The USGA's most optimistic scenario is to finish the third round, re-pair the players and begin the fourth round this evening. But more rain might blow through Long Island, where it has rained 18 of 21 days this month.

Happy Fathers Day! I'm just hoping there won't have to be a playoff that runs into Tuesday.