PERSPECTIVE
We know gong shows. This is not one.
A “gong show” is the 1999-2000 Islanders as the only team in professional sports travelling to games on commercial flights. It is the travel guy getting to Laguardia two hours before the team bus arrives so he can beg for emergency row seats for what was the worst and the tallest team in hockey.
Oh, you should have been there to see the seating arrangements: 6-7 Mathieu Biron, really sweet senior citizen, 6-9 Zdeno Chara…tallest-ever NHL goalie Steve Valiquette, serious businesswoman hoping to nap, 6-6 Eric Cairns.
A gong show is your team’s head coach, the man you count on for leadership more than any other, whining on and off the record to sportswriters whose names he doesn’t know about the pettiest of details on the day of a game. It is the same head coach creating lies about some of his own players.
A gong show is June 24, 2000.
A gong show is the day Neil Smith was hired, fired and about 33 of the 38 days in-between.
A gong show is a team dinner at John Spano’s house and thinking it’s a nice place, but for a billionaire’s it’s surprisingly just as cozy as Lappy Lapointe’s in Hicksville.
The Islanders have produced as many gong shows as Chuck Barris, we get that. My pal Adam Proteau of The Hockey News used the term yesterday to describe the current version of the Islanders. When you’re in Ontario and not around the team, it’s easy to go with the tried and false formula.
The Times dispatched Dave Caldwell to the Coliseum for a story he’s already written a few times about the Islanders, Blackhawks and other teams. From the Times, one would have hoped for a discussion of the franchise’s glaring need for a centerpiece young star and an interview with someone at the Town of Hempstead. Instead, we got (yawn) another “Glory Days” headline, (yawn) more on the DiPietro contract and (excuse me?) the line, “It was not supposed to be this way.” What, did Islanders Illustrated pick the boys to win the Cup?
Best of all, we got quotes from a fan in the stands wondering why Charles Wang - who’s lost about $200 million in eight years trying to keep the franchise afloat - spends money on Lighthouse ads instead of pumping more than an additional $43 million into a rebuilding team. Oy.
This is a hurtin’ team right now. This is a bad team right now. This is a team that’s 10-18-3 in a league where there’s only six teams under .500.
It’s also a franchise that’s finally trying to build a team the right way. It’s a group of players working together through a soul-sucking stretch - not against each other, as witnessed a few times. It’s a team whose coach has a vision (and a clue), whose GM has a plan and whose owner is working on a new facility so he can save the hockey team from going to Kansas City. It’s a franchise 3/8ths closer to landing a centerpiece young star and maybe, just maybe, six months away from getting a shovel in Nassau ground. Whether it all works out in the next couple of years, no one can say at this point.
But I do know a gong show when I see one. Anyone can pile on at 10-18-3. After a while, it becomes a sport for writers (and some fans) taking the easy route.
This is not your older brother’s Islanders gong show. This is simply a bad sports team, working on a plan to get better. They’re downright normal.
ETC: Okposo and Comrie off IR, Sillinger back on it. No returns to Bridgeport yet. Everyone was on the flight to Minnesota.
Comments.
67 Responses to “PERSPECTIVE
We know gong shows. This is not one.”
Please Wait
I’d like the media to do more homework on the Islanders instead of the usual rip. Are the Islanders the first team to rebuild, media?
dave caldwell must know nothing about hockey if he thought we were going to be a good team this year. the media really seems to get a kick out of making fun of us. i can’t wait to see the looks on their faces in the sold out renovated coliseum in 3 or 4 years when we’re winning.
I am curious about CB’ ETC note - makes one wonder if someone is not coming back:)
although it is back to back games
Excellent job, Chris… you are speaking for so many of us.
Nice write up, I think you meant Chuck Barris and not chuck Norris.
thanks for the catch, Spinner…CB
well put
I assume and hope that the coach who was guilty of sniping in the media was Bill Stewart, not Butch.
Spinner - never question Chuck Norris. He knows all and sees all.
And CB, THANK YOU for saying this again. Sadly we’ll always have a large part of the fan base whining about things they don’t understand and writing off both guys we just drafted 6 months ago and guys we haven’t drafted yet. You’re right - this is a bad team that is working to secure a new arena to secure its future and is trying to win a Cup the right way. For once, give them credit.
Good
Nicely put, CB. This piece speaks for many of us. Thanks.
It is an annoyance how hard it is to find a good and accurate article on this team. Often times you find just plain wrong info or reporters who seem to know nothing (apparently they went to the Sgt. Schultz school of Journalism).
People who follow the team closely know it is headed in the right direction in terms of coaching and players and hopefully with the new arena. They also know it is not easy to watch this year but we have to fight through the pain to return to being a dominante organization.
Very interested to see Fritz vs. Boogard tomorrow.
Noone gets it.
Detroit wasnt always hockey town, The rangers had a lot of empty seats just a few years ago, Pittsburgh nearly moved away… ITS ALL ABOUT WINNING. and this is how it starts…
Sorry about above, I hit the submit button by accident.
Good Job Chris! It is just the envogue thing for these media puds and an easy target to put down the Isles Org.
Media, let us clarify……Yes we suck!
Unloyal Whiny Fan Base, let us clarify….Yes we suck!
Now please go write about something else!
We LOYAL fans will be enjoying one hell of an Islander Team in a few years and the rest of you are not invited!!!!!!
every islander fan gets it ken
How many years did Detroit suck? How about Pittsburgh? San Jose? I haven’t followed hockey much until the last 2 years.
I’m glad that everyone was on the flight. It’s a great chance for the team to gel as a group. Methinks the revolving door to the Bridge has to stop for a while.
The Fans get it. Everyone on the outside don’t. They’ll see.
Well done C-Botts. Well done. So tired of the time tested “form article” as I call them being mailed in to different publications around the hockey workd about the Isles.
Here’s all you need to know about Dave Caldwell’s knowledge of the NHL:
“We’re desperate to get out of this,” Bill Guerin, their 38-year-old center and captain, said.
Guerin’s a center? Case closed.
If Chuck Norris were coach of the Islanders, we would win the Stanley Cup this year AND get the 1st pick in the draft in June 2009. That’s how Chuck rolls!
who will be the coach next year ?
Most of us know what’s going on and have made peace with it. We’re still here and hopefully we can enjoy the results in a few years. That’s good enough for me, regardless of what so many of those writers say.
Good piece, CB.
I guess the Times needed a break from writing about just how wonderful (and white) the Boston Red Sox are and just how wonderful (and whiter) they’ll be next year.
I miss Jason Diamos, at least he was honest. Now it’s an awful, awful sports section.
I wish I could be as positive as most of you guys, unfortunately I’m not. I’m still a fan and always will be, but another few years of this is going to be tough.
My biggest worry is that this team won’t be able to stay on Long Island….I can live with a legit rebuild….but since moving to Jersey 10 years ago, the Islanders are my onlyconnection to my LI (Hicksville ) roots. Playing hockey everyday in the school yard of Woodland ave….watching cup after cup, and being hooked until even today. I remember when they lost to Edmonton, I can still see that dam picture of Duane Sutter crying on theback with the Oiler balloons falling from the rafters. I remember the Islanders being eliminated by Philly the next year (in the first round???) and thinking “They still have more hockey to play??? Right?? Like everyone else here in their late 30’s-early 40’s, we’ve stuck with it.Just please, don’t let this team move, because I have to say…hockey would be done for me…and I love the sport…but I love this Goddam team more.
Bravo. I miss Joe Lapointe covering the Isles for the Times and Jim Smith of Newsday (but Logan does a good job). It’s too bad we don’t have more supporters in the local media. No one on FAN is an Isles fan. As for the columnists outside of Newsday, George Vescey Jr. is a huge fan (he’s on record multiple times about how the Dynasty Team was the greatest team he’s ever covered in NY).
any roster moves before the freeze???
entertaining. far more than the times article.
If Chuck Norris was coach we’d win the Cup, World Series and LPGA Tournament.
OK now this is interesting. Many folks here were wondering if Witt is hurt or if the system isn’t a fit for him. His comments to Logan were beyond interesting. He kept saying it’s risky, we’ll play this way until he (Gordon) tell us something different etc. Will Gordon edit the system or move Witter on?
What Chris wrote about the Spano years was just amazing. Also, I had forgotten when they had to fly commercial. That was crazy. Can you imagine playing a late game, having your flight delayed, hearing the screaming babies, arriving who know’s when for your next game?
I always laughed when I read about my favorite team traveling commercial because during that year I was 16 and living with my parents in Atlanta. I was on a AA Midget team there and due to the fact teams in the Southeast were very spread-out, we sometimes flew commercial to wherever we had to go. The best part of the story is that only two kids later got D-III scholarships… and the Islanders were sitting in the same crappy coach seats as a bunch of crummy hockey playing kids from Atlanta.
WE can’t have it both ways… complain about the plan that will rebuild the team and criticise the way in which it is executed.
I believe that Garth Snow, Scott Gordon and Charles Wang have nothing but the best of interests for the Islanders.
Eventually, maybe next year but definitely in 2 years, the results will be more evident.
Some of our favorite players from this team will not be invited back. Some will remain. This is not the end product. This is a step to the next step.
DOC
Don’t criticize the fat lady when she’s coming back from the gym with sweaty wristbands.
(I may have worded that wrong, but you get the point)
i want to believe that this is the first step towards winning …. but deep down, i feel like this team will eventually have to move.
The New York Times still has a Sports Page?
I thought they did away with it when Dave Anderson passed away and THEIR dynasty ended.
Well stated Doc.
Also, I haven’t bothered checking the NY Times for hockey coverage or anything else in probably 6 years. It ranks below any college newspaper in terms of entertainment and credibility.
For tomorrow I think Sim and Walter will sit.
Well islestherapy it doesn’t have to be like that. We, the FANS and VOTERS of the area (assuming you live in the TOH and/or Nassau) can exercise our power and make sure the process keeps moving forward.
Getcha Kool Aid here… ICE COLD Kool Aid… We gotcha blue and orange KOOL AID…Getcha Kool Aid ry-cheer.
When you were at Spano’s house did all the ash trays have Holiday Inn written on them?
Props for being the only other NYer with a copy of Bang-a-gong… (flip side Raw Ramp)… yep… Bitch Goring reference and the denegration by associaton of the King(or Queen) of Glam Rock in one Blog post… if it wasn’t saved by the vision of Zedno having his knees in his chest this would have been total sacrilige.
You know, we’re all hoping for the same thing… and some positives about what’s going on today rather than a slap to the side of the helmet (with 27 layers of paint on it) might have served that space a little better.
That is assuming that 91 was who you were referring to.
How about a nice story about how Witt and Gueren love OverSpeed so much they are thnking of renaming their dogs Flash.
@ P DeBenedetto - I’m a little older (mid-40’s), but echo your sentiments. I moved from the NY Metro area in late 1992 to CA and have been here since. I love where I live, Napa, CA, but man do I miss going to Isles games! I used to share season tix.
If only we didn’t have so many injuries in ‘84, we would have had “one for the thumb” and Wayne the Wimp’s legacy would have been that rather than “The Great (one-dimensional) One.” I joined Dog and the rest of the team in shedding a tear and will always have the memories.
I am ever hopeful that the organization is slowly righting the ship and the next Isles Dynasty will take root soon. I do believe that after far too long they are finally going about it the right way and wish the mainstream media would give the organization some overdue credit.
Nicely, perfectly put. It’s amazing how many times it needs to be restated in various ways (though “national” media never go there, because they need a club to play the “sad sack” role.
The Cliff Notes version, for the next reporter who colors-by-numbers:
1) There is a known problem
2) The club is addressing it the right way, the only way possible — unlike the past which you’ll use in your article
3) There are original stories to be found in this process — good and bad — if you bother looking
4) Try *looking*
Doc: Totally wrong. You can get on board with the basic idea of a rebuild and still have major concerns about the way it’s being executed. I happen to think that Snow’s done all right so far this season, but that doesn’t mean I’ll agree with every move he makes. I’m sure that when all is said and done, I’ll have concerns about whether he got enough value for some of the players he’ll be dumping this year.
I’m sick of hearing that the Isles have a plan. They do not have a plan. They just stink. If the plan is to rebuild through the draft, why the Ryan Smyth? Why did Garth Snow admit that he attempted to sign several big time free agents but they wouldn’t come here becuse of the building. Why? It makes no sense. If they are rebuilding through the draft, it was a forced rebuild because there plan after trading for Smyth and after being turned down by several FA’s was to not rebuild. Now we have the Isles, through their mouth piece apologist making excuses for the futility.
Just another post that proves this site is Islanders-run. Pathetic.
the current gm is the product of our latest gong show…we may be pathetic now but we were REALLY pathetic in the past therefore this current version of pathetic aint so bad!! i like the positive spin!
Great piece, Chris. I finally had enough of the boys in Toronto taking pot shots at the Islanders over the years and did not renew my subscription to The Hockey News this year. I doubt they’ll notice, though.
What do you want people like Caldwell to say? The Islanders are perhaps the worst team in the National Hockey League. Further, they are not a young team. It’s amazing to me that people will buy the garbage that Botta is throwing out there. The Islanders do not have a plan. They are just an awful, awful team. If being awful is a plan, than the Isles have a plan, Tampa has a plan, Atlanta has a plan. All teams that stink have a plan. Yeah, the Isles trade for Smyth a year and a half ago and now they are a “rebuilding” team with Guerin, Weight, Sutton, Witt, Sillinger, Sim, Streit et al. all over 30 years old (only the Devils in the division have more 30+ year olds). Garth Snow after the Smyth deal “this trade was done to make the Isles a cup contender right now”. Now our plan is to rebuild. Yeah, we’re rebuilding because we are in last place and perhaps the worst team in hockey.
BTW - The part about a fan in the stands wondering why Wang puts so much money in the Lighthouse project instead of the team - - - -
CB “Best of all, we got quotes from a fan in the stands wondering why Charles Wang - who’s lost about $200 million in eight years trying to keep the franchise afloat - spends money on Lighthouse ads instead of pumping more than an additional $43 million into a rebuilding team. Oy.”
Well Oy is a good response, however, what about the way they spend and spend and spend and spend even more on ridiculous brochures (that cost mucho bucks, im a printer) about 3 game plans, Christmas plans, Gift plans, 10 game “losing team” plans, an “odd even” day plan, a plan just about for everything. No one want to buy those stupid plans. Spending all THAT money on advertising is not OY its dumb.$75 Tix at center ice are going for $25 on craigslist and ebay. Spend THAT brochure money on a better product, and they will come back. Build it and they will come……….hmmm I heard that one before somewhere.
Nice post C (as always)
Sometimes the media hype people up for no reasons, we’re an easy target because of what we’re facing.
I think what most of us have to learn to do with this team is ride out the year knowing we’re not contenders for anything, stop putting so much into when they lose, besides some games we’ve seen have been close and well played, so hope to see good games like those and try to enjoy it for what it is.
As with anything else in life there’s highs an lows and true this teams been on a low for so long it’s hard to see that there will be a high again..but there will be! better days are coming..maybe not as soon as most would like, but take into consideration everything this team is going thru like CB said and realize it’s not going to happen over night, this process could take a few seasons.
As fans all we can do is hang in, wait it out, or? the other choice (for some) who can’t, find another team to become a fan of.
To the most recent posters, the Smyth trade was not part of the current plan. The current plan is because of the Smyth trade and the following Summer. Snow took a chance at the trade deadline. I think, in retrospect, I would still make that trade. It showed that they were trying to build something. Having a player like Smyth would bring a certain respect to the team, where other players may have made note. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. When Smyth left, the Free Agents decided against the Isles. At that point, that mass exodus day, put the wheels in motion on the current rebuild.
Guys like Guerin, Weight, Witter are needed on a rebuilding team. They bring experience, leadership, etc. to a crop of young players. To continue to spend on mid level Free agents will give us a mid level team. 7 -8th seed, bounced in the first. Why not stink for a year or two and get the potential studs in the draft.
I truly think you guys that think we are drinking the “kool-aid” are the ones being short sighted here. Yes, we stink, so did the team in ‘72. Why not just build from here?
Tampa has a plan? What was there plan, buy every possible Free Agent this past offseason and then be the WORST team in the NHL. Please, quit whining.
If this team really is in rebuild mode then you will see Weight, Sillinger, Comrie, and probably Witt, Guerin, and maybe Sutton, Park, and Hilbert all traded before the deadline.
You might think Weight is carrying the team offensively, or you might love the example Park sets with his hustle, but neither one figures to be a key component to this team in the years to come.
This is probably the understatement of the decade, but this team is no where near out of the woods yet.
Sell off the vets, keep stocking picks and prospects. Keep building, building, building. Lather, rinse, repeat…
Strummer’s - some good insight in that Witt article. I’ve been saying they look lost defensively, and I guess the reason is they are lost defensively - having to guess and guessing wrong. They really need a defensive-minded assistant coach to draw up the coverage in that zone. I don’t think it’s the odd-man rushes that have really killed them (plus I like the heavy forechecking) as much as the 1:30 long adventures in their own zone where no one seems to be covering anyone. A little tweaking to the defensive scheme would go a long way, imo.
Thoughts on Witt’s comments CB?
Hire Ken Morrow full time as d-coach !
Thank you, Derek….It’s become painfully obvious that the whiners refuse to change their perspective. Amazingly, a team can change its plan based on circumstances on the ground. Trading 3 assets not on your roster for a proven performer in the midst of a playoff run = good move. Continuing to do that after he bolted for free agency and it’s clear the team isn’t attracting the top-tier players in its current state = stupid and willfully ignorant. And to say the team isn’t in a rebuild…I can’t believe this has to be said again. If your prospects aren’t NHL ready, you need some middling veterans (cough, Sim) to fill spots, plus you need old pros to help the young kids as they make it to the show. Most of the vets will probably be dealt, but you can’t have a rudderless ship either. Don’t expect them all to go.
As for those of you who have the gall to say Wang needs to spend more money on the team and less on the Lighthouse….Where? Where would you like him to spend the money? Did you want to offer Ron Hainsey 8 million so he’d play here, or would you rather save that money to spend on our young guys as they mature and complementary pieces? Would you like to write Wang a check for the money he’s lost providing a team for you to complain about? The Lighthouse is important for the community and it keeps the team where it belongs…and it will hopefully allow the team to operate in the black.
Hey CB, I cant think of a reason why the Isles shouldnt throw a ton of money at JayBO this offseason. After Witts comments its clear the Isles need Dmen that can skate and that is def one of Jaybo’s biggest attributes. He is only 25 too so that could go with the youth movement no?
It finally happened…. CB drunk himself blind to the sounds of ol’ T Rex.
Agreed with the folks who are talking positive about the rebuilding. You need guys like Guerin and Weight and Witt for something like this. The Isles aren’t going to sell off every last vet because nobody will be left to show a strong on-ice example. Guerin, Weight, and Sillinger will probably retire in a couple of years, and the kids the Isles have (or will draft) will inherit their positions. Then Trent Hunter and RDP will be the elder statesmen, Neilsen Bailey Okposo etc. will be young veterans coming into their primes, and Hedman/Tavares (PLEASE) and the other draftees from 2008-2010 will be learning from them. That’s how you build a sound foundation for a good team.
It helps to have Crosby/Malkin or Ovie/Semin/Green to speed things up, but if not, what can the Isles do? Fold? Go to Hamilton or KC - and still have the same problems? It’s silly to complain that they haven’t been able to grab a franchise talent; it’s certainly no excuse for the team NOT to develop the talent they do have, the way they’ve done for most of the past fifteen years. Guys like Okposo, Bailey, Neilsen, and Comeau are enthusiastic about building something here; Sillinger and the older guys are eager to teach them. With that attitude the rest of the league will notice (such as Malkin saying that the Isles were the toughest team to play against), their reputation will improve, and it will be easier to attract/keep free agents when the time comes.
1) Jouranlists these days take the path of least resistance. Going by the old tried story line is easier than trying to find the truth.
2) Its those kinds of stories that has led to the explosion of hockey blog popularity. Fans can go to a blog and get better hockey covereage than to the traditional media outlets!
CB! What about Witts comments today about Gordons System. Their might be trouble from within! Dejavu!
I will have a story on Witt and Gordon up in the next half-hour. I’ve got some good stuff, is all I’ll say…CB
Nightfly - spot on
Fauxrumors - couldn’t agree more. Seems like every publication that covers hockey has an instance where they say something along the lines of: “We need to fill space. Send so-and-so to write a hit piece on the Islanders.”
CB - Exciting, something to tide me over as it snows.
of course you do. that’s what you’re here for.
Chris Botta Is My Idol LOL
Full Steam Ahead with the rebuild. Real Isles fans know this is not a “we are close to competing for the cup so let’s get Ryan Smyth” phase. That was so delusional, it’s almost unbelievable! But that was the Gong Show phase, where management were lying to themselves and the fanbase. As much as Wang doesn’t know about hockey, he does know business. He needs to keep his attention on the Lighthouse project in order to build a stable, state of the art home for the Isles, which will ensure them staying here for a long time while boosting the local economy, and making it an attractive place to play and live. In the meantime, let Garth do his thing,(for it Is his thing now), and trade off the older spare parts for picks/almost NHL ready prospects, and continue the suckage. After another successful draft next year, maybe you are looking @ a team with Bailey,Okie,Frans,Comeau,& Tavares. Now maybe you add to the mix a UFA Komiserak and/or Hossa, or poach a RFA with an offer sheet(Krejci), and now you have the start of something. Be patient. The Dynasty team was terrible for years, but they got that right,huh? Stay the course and stick to the plan and in time we will be hoisting a cup instead of crying into one. SPEED!
Chris…ANOTHER great blog!
But many of the Gong Shows of past certainly weren’t called Gong Shows at the time they were happening…June 24th, 2000 was called anything but a Gong Show…BY the org. I distinctly remember the Isles franchise defending that day to the death. I also remember the franchise going out of their way & defending to the death the Milstein era…& you guessed it by talking about the $$$ they lost & the poor lease and ‘woe is me’ garbage. Life is about overcoming challenges. Wang has been a FAIL on hockey.
Get wins. Get respect. Stop being punch lines to jokes. That’s it. Their is no other formula. No other formula exists. This is PRO sports. This is New York. THIS is reality. Reality is NOT a crap Islander team getting a pat on the back for being crap. The insults may not always be accurate, but they are indeed deserved. 30th place teams don’t get worshiped, they get insulted. That’s reality. Fantasy is “support us because THIS time we got it right.” That’s fantasy.
Good read, CB.
Another “Gong Show” you may care to elaborate about, is the late summer day when Steven Gluckstern and Howard Milstein tried to strong arm Nassau County and SMG, by moving the Islanders out of Nassau Coliseum due to un-safe conditions. Please tell us about that debacle. Thanks.
I really love your blog!!
Can anybody tell me whats the best Hotel in Paris for my honey moon? I going to married next month..
Thank you