THE BUFFALO SABRES: FEBRUARY'S STAMPEDE TO THE INJURED RESERVE
Peter Andrew Sacco, Ph.D.
February 18, 2007
Is this the 2006 season all over again? First it was during the season the likes of Daniel Briere, J.P. Dumont, Tim Connolly, Taylor Pyatt, Adam Mair, Jochen Hecht, Ryan Miller, Dmitri Kalinin and even Chris Drury all took stints in the MASH ward. Then emerged the ultimate injury bug enigma in the playoff run toward the Stanley Cup which ultimately did them in…Connolly plus 4 regular defensemen. Can you say “wow”? To this day I still believe Connolly was the key to all the rash of injuries that hurt the Sabres. The Rochester version of the Sabres defence actually stood their ground in game 7 against Carolina. It was the Sabres woeful power play which killed them most. In fact, if you have Connolly quarterbacking that power play, there is no game 7 as the Sabres have the series wrapped in a nice former red and black ribbon.
Enter the born again blue and gold version of the Sabres who are dropping like flies in 2007. The aforementioned Connolly is still on the shelves, but recent interviews would suggest he is gradually being dusted off and an imminent return transpiring. Let’s see as of Sunday, February 18th 12 noon, joining Connolly on the sidelines are Paul Gaustad, Jaroslav Spacek, Max Afinogenov, Jiri Novotny and the freshly injured Ales Kotalik. Once again, can you say “wow”? Is the injury bug visiting western New York like a cannibalistic mite with an appetite for destruction? Some would think!
I will be the first to say I bleed blue and gold! Yes, I am a huge Sabres fan. I started when Gilbert Perreault was the centerpiece and my hero until now. I have never jumped off the bandwagon. At this point I am old enough to worry about falling down and joining the Sabres on the injured reserve!
I have covered the Sabres and hockey for sports magazines over the years. Being a psychotherapist has also allowed me to keep my foot in the door as I too once played hockey and baseball and had my own dreams about making it in the big leagues. My consolation prize was a Ph.D. in psychology, a front row seat in several press boxes over the years, writing for some cool sports magazines and being on TV shows to discuss sports psychology and of course working with athletes as a therapist. Most of my work with athletes has included motivation, self-esteem training, anger management and of course guided imagery and hypnosis.
Recently, I have published a series of articles on the power of expectation and The Secret which is one of the fastest growing best selling books. I have been asked repeatedly, does it work? And my answer is a very assertive yes!
My partner recently picked up The Secret and read it. She is a huge Sabres fan. I knew where this was going. She asked, “Are the Sabres willing these injuries on themselves because they and the media focus too much on injury?” I looked at her and though to myself, “Someone is watching too much of the X-Files in syndication!” However, upon further review, I thought she might be onto something. According to the principles of the universe and attraction, you attract what you most think about. Son of a gun! You get key injuries, and you start to dwell on them. Are the Sabres perpetuating these injuries? Could be!
What were the chances of a team having almost their entire defence core depleted in just under two weeks? If you were taking the Vegas or Pro Line on this, you sure as heck would bet against this happening. Low and behold…It happened! What the heck are the chances? To this day, this clings to many minds, mostly Sabres fans in Western New York and Southern Ontario. Whether it is real or imagined that’s up to you to decide.
I will say this much as a professional and a therapist, the law of attraction definitely works! When I was doing my education, I took studies in psychosomatics and studied the great work of Dr. Carl Simonton who is one of the world’s leading cancer specialists who teaches overcoming disease through imagery and visualization. I was lucky enough to study under Dr. Alan Krasnor, one of the world’s leading hypnotherapists before he retired and he taught me how hypnosis can heal, treat and even prevent sickness and injury. I have seen these principles work. I have been very fortunate to learn from speaking with Dr. Bernie Siegel, perhaps one of the world’s most well respected medical doctors seen on almost every news show you can imagine. He also preaches the imagery process. And if that wasn’t enough, both Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen who created the greatest selling book series of all time Chicken Soup For The Soul both told me it works! Who can argue with that kind of success, right?
I am sure if I am an injured athlete, or Sabre for that matter I am looking to reduce my injury/rehab time. As a Sabre fan and journalist, I am hoping someone within the organization is teaching these guys these principles to help them influence their recovery time. Something tells me they are. Heck both Briere and Dumont came back from their sport’s related hernia operations rather quickly last year. Maybe someone is already applying The Secret principles in the training room? If not, at the coaxing of my girlfriend, someone please start teaching it so the Sabres will win the Cup this year. As a professional I do know guided imagery and hypnosis works very well in speeding up the healing process. I have always asked, “What do you have to lose?” Well, I take that back after further thought…The Stanley Cup! With that said, I have worked with some of the most difficult situations in the past regarding clients and seen great results. Some of these clients were politicians and entertainers. Need I say more?
All I can say is go Sabres…Get healthy and stay healthy. Think positive and believe it!
Enter the born again blue and gold version of the Sabres who are dropping like flies in 2007. The aforementioned Connolly is still on the shelves, but recent interviews would suggest he is gradually being dusted off and an imminent return transpiring. Let’s see as of Sunday, February 18th 12 noon, joining Connolly on the sidelines are Paul Gaustad, Jaroslav Spacek, Max Afinogenov, Jiri Novotny and the freshly injured Ales Kotalik. Once again, can you say “wow”? Is the injury bug visiting western New York like a cannibalistic mite with an appetite for destruction? Some would think!
I will be the first to say I bleed blue and gold! Yes, I am a huge Sabres fan. I started when Gilbert Perreault was the centerpiece and my hero until now. I have never jumped off the bandwagon. At this point I am old enough to worry about falling down and joining the Sabres on the injured reserve!
I have covered the Sabres and hockey for sports magazines over the years. Being a psychotherapist has also allowed me to keep my foot in the door as I too once played hockey and baseball and had my own dreams about making it in the big leagues. My consolation prize was a Ph.D. in psychology, a front row seat in several press boxes over the years, writing for some cool sports magazines and being on TV shows to discuss sports psychology and of course working with athletes as a therapist. Most of my work with athletes has included motivation, self-esteem training, anger management and of course guided imagery and hypnosis.
Recently, I have published a series of articles on the power of expectation and The Secret which is one of the fastest growing best selling books. I have been asked repeatedly, does it work? And my answer is a very assertive yes!
My partner recently picked up The Secret and read it. She is a huge Sabres fan. I knew where this was going. She asked, “Are the Sabres willing these injuries on themselves because they and the media focus too much on injury?” I looked at her and though to myself, “Someone is watching too much of the X-Files in syndication!” However, upon further review, I thought she might be onto something. According to the principles of the universe and attraction, you attract what you most think about. Son of a gun! You get key injuries, and you start to dwell on them. Are the Sabres perpetuating these injuries? Could be!
What were the chances of a team having almost their entire defence core depleted in just under two weeks? If you were taking the Vegas or Pro Line on this, you sure as heck would bet against this happening. Low and behold…It happened! What the heck are the chances? To this day, this clings to many minds, mostly Sabres fans in Western New York and Southern Ontario. Whether it is real or imagined that’s up to you to decide.
I will say this much as a professional and a therapist, the law of attraction definitely works! When I was doing my education, I took studies in psychosomatics and studied the great work of Dr. Carl Simonton who is one of the world’s leading cancer specialists who teaches overcoming disease through imagery and visualization. I was lucky enough to study under Dr. Alan Krasnor, one of the world’s leading hypnotherapists before he retired and he taught me how hypnosis can heal, treat and even prevent sickness and injury. I have seen these principles work. I have been very fortunate to learn from speaking with Dr. Bernie Siegel, perhaps one of the world’s most well respected medical doctors seen on almost every news show you can imagine. He also preaches the imagery process. And if that wasn’t enough, both Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen who created the greatest selling book series of all time Chicken Soup For The Soul both told me it works! Who can argue with that kind of success, right?
I am sure if I am an injured athlete, or Sabre for that matter I am looking to reduce my injury/rehab time. As a Sabre fan and journalist, I am hoping someone within the organization is teaching these guys these principles to help them influence their recovery time. Something tells me they are. Heck both Briere and Dumont came back from their sport’s related hernia operations rather quickly last year. Maybe someone is already applying The Secret principles in the training room? If not, at the coaxing of my girlfriend, someone please start teaching it so the Sabres will win the Cup this year. As a professional I do know guided imagery and hypnosis works very well in speeding up the healing process. I have always asked, “What do you have to lose?” Well, I take that back after further thought…The Stanley Cup! With that said, I have worked with some of the most difficult situations in the past regarding clients and seen great results. Some of these clients were politicians and entertainers. Need I say more?
All I can say is go Sabres…Get healthy and stay healthy. Think positive and believe it!
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