STATE OF THE BLOG ADDRESS
Hit stats, ideas, comments and one big thank you
Now I know there isn’t a website around that doesn’t brag about having a gazillion hits, but I thought you should know this: Since October 6 - at the end of just our second week doing this thing - Point Blank has been averaging well over 100,000 hits a day.
On some days - like October 14 when Blake Comeau was sent down, the Times sports editor wrote us a note and I kidded about the Islanders listing David Crosby as being very day-to-day - we blow past the 200,000 mark.
Of course, hit stats are misleading sometimes. They could just be my mom checking on me or Greg Logan seeing what I got wrong next several times a day. But the amount of unique daily users is about ten times what I thought it would be this early, and twice what I thought maybe the site would ever do.
The numbers are astounding to me, but from my old gig you’d think I’d learn to never underestimate Islanders fans. So please let me say thank you, thank you, thank you.
We’re only just getting started. No seriously, Point Blank has been around for all of five weeks. That’s why I’d like you to utilize the Comments space under this entry for ideas, criticism, whatever you got. Just NO CAPS!
Actually, that reminds me. I love the Comments area, the discussion, the eye-opening quantity and quality of posts. You know how rewarding it is to fire up the laptop before taking the kids to school and seeing dozens of Comments on my overnight articles? Sure, occasionally, it’s two or three fans giving each other the business, but not all the time…LOL.
Let’s try whenever possible to keep the discussion at a fairly high level. I understand after losses games it can get really rough in there, but still - be respectful of each other. I don’t care if you go off on me, but try to remember that 99% of the people who’ve bookmarked Point Blank are major Islanders fans. You may have nothing else in common with each other, but you have that. Be passionate, even be a little crazy, but try to be kind. Thanks.
I know what you want that I have yet to deliver: news on the Lighthouse Project. I’m trying. As I mentioned in the Comments space recently, I was told by a pretty good source that groundbreaking is still on target for next summer. But I know that’s not enough.
Trade rumors…I think you know where I stand there. It’s not an easy business. Teams are rumored to make 30 trades within a season, and often make only 2 or 3. And those are the trades not rumored. My last few years at the Islanders, solid scoops well in advance of deals were rare. Shoot, Boston icon Peter Gammons stood there this summer and said the Red Sox weren’t trading Manny - 10 minutes before he was traded. Now that I lamely tried to cover my own butt, I pledge that if I ever have anything solid it will always lead the site.
I’ll probably plug this Point Blank Night event at Gabrielle’s in RVC next Thursday almost as much as the NYI are pushing that Third Jersey. I think it’s going to be a fun night and it will be nice to meet some of you. One thing you won’t have to worry about once you get there is being sold anything.
I understand it’s logistically impossible for so many of you to get there. Our top ten hits by country after the USA: Canada, Switzerland (thanks, Mr. Streit!), Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (you too, Frans), Japan (!), the Netherlands, China and Great Britain. If you can’t be there, raise a glass and think of us.
Again, thank you…CB
52 Responses to “STATE OF THE BLOG ADDRESS
Hit stats, ideas, comments and one big thank you”
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I appreciate the honestly of this blog, Chris, its not something you normally see in other blogs that tend to sugar coat, what is looking to be a disaster of a season. Im sure thats definitely something others appreciate also. Keep up the good work.
Well said Joe! Couldnt say it better myself….CB for President..well maybe coach!
This site is addicting. My wife hates you CB…
Thank you Chris for the unbelievable coverage of our team that many other fans don’t get, it’s really great to get an honest opinion of this team and have a space to share our thoughts.
Hey CB:
Great job, insightful comments, witty writing, and a passion unparalleled
Now that I live in Chicago, I get even less Islanders coverage (if that is at all possible), but this site has managed to keep me informed better than ever. Keep up the great work!
This blog is great, I check it out at least 5 times a day just to stay on top of everything. Coming to this site makes it a lot easier for me to get all my info in one spot, and also allows me to skip visiting that MSG site.
Good Job CB!. It’s gonna be a long year and I look forward to seeing what you have to say during the season.
Chris Botta, you are the man!!! I am a Newfie from Canada, living in Alberta, never knew many fellow Islander fans all my life. You give a great inside perspective of all the happenings of the team, and usually without trolls causing trouble. I am a New Yorker at heart, and i hope you keep doing what you are doing at the moment, its great!!! I alos am a fan of how the season is going, loved the last draft, thought Snow did great, maybe a rare person who does. Kepp it up CB!!!
Have the Islanders led by Gordon stopped taking bows for losing to the Flyers in OT?
The entire city, including the Flyers was sleeping last night due to the Phillies. The Islanders should have won the game.
I told you so.
There is great success in your future Chris Botta. No one is better.
I used to hit 2 or 3 sites for Islanders news. Now I just come here. You write unique stories from every possible angle. There’s always a new post and I enjoy reading reactions in the comments. Thank you, Chris, for giving us a beyond respectable blog.
You are new to websites, you should not even brag about the number of hits your site receives, it is all about page views.
Hits are really misleading.
Congrats!! that’s really awesome! I think you do a great job, I enjoy reading it very much.
Great to have an insider, but still independent, and brutally honest blog about the Islanders. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for all you do, CB. There is one angle of the Lighthouse Project that we could actually really benefit from hearing. It’s plausible that groundbreaking could occur next summer because the Coliseum renovation itself isn’t new construction and therefore isn’t included in the environmental review process. Are Messrs. Wang and Rechler willing to break ground on the new Coliseum with just assurances of approval for the project at large (a big risk, as we know), or will they wait for the SEQRA process to finish before a shovel goes anywhere near the ground? People I’ve spoken to have next June as the earliest possible time the environmental review could finish, and since you need to line up a crew and materials you would need to start working with only whispers of assurance.
I remain optimistic we’ll keep our Islanders here and watch them grow into a solid team. Thoughts?
CB,
I absolutely love the site. An Isles fan since ‘74 and a season ticket holder since ‘93. Yes I know im hooked for life, and thats what this site is all about, us crazy Isles fans. I wish I could meet you next Thurs, but I’m lucky enough to actually go to the atlanta game. I have firends down there who have a suite, and go every year - Its a blast. Hopefully, you will have another get together soon. Keep up the great work!!
BTW - If any Islander fans actually are going to Atlanta, or is from Atlanta, lets meet for before game brewski’s.
I’m waiting for someone to step up and be a scorer. Its like the year the Isles traded Ziggy, Czerkawski and Isbister both had great years and were our scorers on a horrendous team. I haven’t seen that yet on this team.
CB, great job so far. i check this site a few times a day. honestly, i’d never expect to find an isles blog that posted more than a couple times a week. it’s great to have such comprehensive coverage.
you should think of expanding on the membership part of the site. with all the isles fans in here it’d be cool to log in and check out other folks’ isles-related profiles, i.e. all-time favorite players, first game, etc.
also i’d really like to know if anyone has Pride of the Island on VHS. my copy got lost in a move and like I did with the 86 Mets video I’d like to transfer it to DVD. if you haven’t ever seen Pride of the Island it is indisputably the greatest sports team documentary ever produced and I recommend tracking down a copy immediately.
thank you for your hard work chris. you’re providing isles fans with something we weren’t getting (but were craving) from anybody else (except for logan). you’re picking up the slack from all of the papers that should be covering us but aren’t. i really enjoy this site.
Blog is great, CB, and I love the comments section as well - not all doom and gloom, but not all apologists, either. It’s a good mix of fans on here.
Great job and thank you for being honest. The Isles are much better then I expected so far and its a shame no DP/Witt/Mart to lock things down to really see the “over-drive” really get into gear. Its not over yet but I still think the Isles will create havoc in the Eastern Conferance maybe miss the playoffs ( really depending if DP gets back soon & I mean the real DP not that shadow of himself we saw ) and who knows, there may be more then one diamond in the ruff here…
the blog is great chris..i just wish the coach had as much passion as you do..
i absolutely love this blog. i check it 5x a day at work. it is the most honest, informative, up-to-date, well put together hockey blog I have ever read. I count on Point Blank to give me what i’m looking for… the best Islanders coverage, period.
As a few posters have also noted, I too drop by here more than a few times a day and can usually find a fresh post by you. Keep up the good work. It’s always a pleasure to read your perspective.
CB, I’ve been enjoying your sense of humor, interesting perspectives and writing skills since you started those “ramblings” on the Isles site. Thank you and keep up the good work! Best of luck to you always.
CB, If I come here 20 times or more a day, does that count as 20 or more hits? Because I’m sure most, if like me, come here dozens of times for updates each day.
chris i know that you worked for the isles a long time and have seen a ton of things..but chris last night at 7 15 i was on the southern stae in nassau county and COULD NOT find the game on the radio . the rangers were on espn1050 there was some weird minor league hockey game on in the low #S i think??? i could hardly hear it .but no islander game ..wus up with that bro
I’m writing to you Mr. Botta to express my appreciation for this blog, which I only discovered a couple weeks ago…I live in Central NJ and there’s absloutely no coverage of the Islanders. They aren’t even treated as a local team in any news publication around here. So to discover this and get up to the date news on the team is just awesome to me. You do excellent work and I mean this, YOUR blog is more informative and better written than Newsday and The Post combined. You mentioned that you are receiving alot of site hits, congrats, and keep up the great work you do! You will continue to get daily hits from me!
Chris,
Great blog! There isn’t enough Islander information out there and your blog is a breath of fresh air. With each newspaper cutting back on hockey coverage that negatively effects the limited coverage the Islanders already receive. If it wasn’t for this blog, we would have almost zero information other than Newsday which is hit or miss.
Thank you!
A longtime Islander fanatic.
Chris could you please tell me why the media cares so much about the specifics of player injuries? As a fan, I for one only care about how long the player will be out. Logan is screaming from the mountain tops on a daily basis as if he were being left out of some secret club and is being discriminated against. So why all the whining?
By the way I am from the Albany area and MSG showed the Buffalo game,MSG plus showed a fight and the Isles AND Rangers were not shown at all! There are tons of Rags fans up here and a few less Isles fans but hardly any Sabre fans that I know of. Does anyone know why they would snub the Isles/rags like that in this area?
Hey CB,
Those japan hits were probably from me lol. I live in brooklyn but my wife is from japan and we brought our newborn over to her family over there to show off. I had A LOT of free time on my hands there and was pretty consistantly logged in to pointblank. It helped a lot to pass the time. Thanks! Or arigatou!!! P.S. We brought the baby over in an islanders onesy to spread the blue and orange to children worldwide! :p
@Dave
I couldn’t agree with you more. It would be nice to know what a player might be suffering from, but all I want to know is when he’s expected back. And even that isn’t all that important. When they get close to coming back, let me know. Otherwise, I just consider them ‘out’. I mean, either way, they’re not playing and the team still has a game.
Mikko and Dave: I don’t see where the disagreement is with Logan on the injury policy. Have the Islanders announced yet how long their No. 1 goalie is going to be out?…CB
Note to Dave:
MSG Networks is only allowed by the NHL to show about half of the schedule outside the metro-nyc area.
Find out which half by going here:
http://www.msg.com/sports/islanders-tv-schedule.html
If there’s a “2″ listed in the blackout code, it will not be seen upstate.
Before someone hollers, “It’s a conspiracy”!, you should know that the Rangers and Devils have similar blackouts.
Since there is no NBA team in upstate NY, all Knicks games are seen there … even the ones that Stephon Marbury plays.
To Joe RVC:
Isles night games are on 94.3FM, which can be very difficult to hear in SE Nassau County.
(Ironically in NW Nassau County, 94.3 comes in fine, but 1050 does not.)
THey had some technical problems last night — I think the broadcast got on a bit late and we didn’t hear from Chris King for about half a period.
To Dave and Mikko…I think it’s important to know the nature of an injury. The key is to know if it’s something that might be chronic or recurring. There’s a big difference between DP being out a week for an ingrown toenail vs. a hip problem. One is a short-term issue, the other casts a major shadow over the next 13 years of the franchise. I think they owe it to the fans to let us know.
And Chris, keep up the continued great work. I have one question for you…have there been any scoops or stories you’ve censored yourself from writing since you started the new Point Blank?
In this version of Point Blank? No, and I don’t plan on ever doing that…CB
I subscribe to the RSS feed and reading your stuff on the blackberry is the only thing that I need to tolerate my 2-hr-each-way commute (its 1hr on the train - i don’t read and drive!)
Anyway, I thought your columns were “must reads” back on blogspot, and now it’s even better. It was like christmas when you decided to come here “full time”. Keep your independent and targeted focus on the team and you’ll keep spinning up your hundreds of thousands hits!
awesome work, CB.
This is pretty much the only site i check for my islanders news. Thanks to CB for the objective, non - sugar coated info. Hope it stays this way.
Can barely get any postgame analysis on the isles team site anymore. It’s great on the game preview / promo - but seems like they hide the results (losses). We all know it’s a bad time to be a fan, but hiding the game results on a team site? c’mon. .
@CB
No, they haven’t. And, personally, I don’t care. He’s out. When (if) he gets close to coming back, let me know. How will you know when he’s coming back? He’ll be practicing for all to see.
@Islanders 360
To this degree, I do agree with you. But there’s a huge difference between a hang-nail and a career-ending injury.
CB, this is a definite stop on my blog route during the day. One suggestion? Broaden the scope of the blog. Always remain Islander-centric, but i actually enjoy your Tuesday post the most. Bring more of the funny. Let your personality come out a little more. Oh, and bait the Ranger fans so they can tell us about their great attendance some more.
The Blog is wonderful. One suggested topic, if I may. Your thoughts on Mike Milbury. I’m just curious as to what a former insider thinks or thought about him. From afar the guy struck me as a huge Phoney and BS Artist. Sort of like the lead character in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” A weasel. How did he have Wang’s trust and loyalty for so long? Inquiring minds want to know.
Chris,
Dominick here from Wake Forest, NC.
Don’t know why your suprised at the hits. We the People of Islander Country (and the hockey world for that matter) love your opinion and point of view. You say what I think and feel, only the words you choose are a thousand times better than anything I can ever come up with!
Maybe the NHL Network can offer you a daily spot! Keep up the great work & Thanks.
Everyone has already said what I was going to, so I’ll just say thanks. Thank you Chris.
There are some Isles’ fans in small Slovenia as well…Thank You very much Chris, I really enjoy reading NYI PB !
Has anybody noticed that on the Islanders’ website the link to the blog has been moved down from where it originally was? It’s much less prominent on the site now. Could this be because Point Blank’s coverage of the team is much better and more popular than the official team site?
thank you so much to everyone for the kind words and the suggestions!…CB
hey chris just want to let you know that i truly love and appreciate this site. i think the isles as an organization are finally starting to understand that there still is a living breathing fan base, and you need to address them. in comes pointblank and who would think that the islanders would have bragging rights for best internet coverage in the NHL? i am drop dead broke and living day to day so i haven’t been able to get to the NVMC once this year, but i have been able to check this site several times a day. i can’t thank you enough for the insider info i’ve gotten and to know that there’s MANY fans who feel the same way as i do. lets build smart, keep this team on long island, and let’s start the journey to 5!!
It’s great to hear that the blog is doing very well. With your previous 20 years of experience working for the Islanders and the numerous amount of people you know in hockey circles, you are a very well respected source of information ragarding Islanders hockey. Your willingness to share this knowledge and information with us fans is greatly appreciated.
Instead of giving away all your secrets about your unique experiences with the Islanders here in the blog, have you considered writing a book? I would think it would prove financially beneficial to you. I think Alan Hahn did pretty well with his two books.
Lastly, how is the parking availability near Gabrielle’s? Do you need a resident parking permit to park in the municipal lots?
Chris,
As previously stated the blog is outstanding. I’m glad there have been no uprising as of yet (that we know of) from the Isles about you being a tad bit too independent (read - critical.) Your brutal honesty coupled with your proximity and understanding of the machinations of this team make this a must read, and the number one source for unfiltered, fair and balanced Isles news (I think I just compared you to Fox News - sorry.)
Sadly I can’t attend Point Blank Night because I will be traveling in Denmark and Sweden next week. I’ll see if I can bring the hits in those locales up a little.
Again, keep up the good work!
hi there!
xoxoxo
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Thank you for your website