Monthly Archives: January 2009
The conversation continues into the night in Comments.
The Islanders have earned 5 points over their last 3 games. For good reason that will brighten anyone’s lookout. But the next step for the Islanders is to put together complete performances at home.
Prior to the All-Star break the Islanders had a five-game homestand (1-3-1) in which they scored a total of 6 goals. Tonight they host a Panthers squad that was woeful in their first visit to the NVMC, a 4-2 loss in a New Year’s Eve matinee. Florida is starting to play well, and now they are talking playoffs.
Other than having to reach down the depth chart for No. 3 goaltender Yann Danis, the Islanders are now icing a solid, reasonably healthy squad of kids and vets. Let’s see if they can put together 60 minutes of effective play at home.
*
ETC: Peter Mannino will back up Yann Danis tonight.
In retrospect, did the Islanders make a mistake in not making a strong run at prodigal Long Islander Bryan McCabe? No. That said, it’s good to see the defenseman thriving with a team that appreciates him.
Rangers facing the juggernaut known as the Boston Bruins tonight. Islanders hosting Florida in Uniondale. No hockey stories in the print edition of (The Hockey) Newsday.
For an excellent example of a newspaperman having fun and being informative with this thing they call a blog, I recommend On Frozen Pond by Panthers beat writer George Richards.
*
Starting to wonder if maybe it’s time Kate Murray and the rest of the leaders of the Town of Hempstead just come clean and acknowledge that they really have no idea what they are doing.
The legendarily-generational-iconic sports blog comment-ator Sir William posted on Point Blank yesterday a sad but true story. He sent a letter to Hempstead opposing the Lighthouse Project. What did he receive? A pre-printed response from the Town thanking him for his support of the project. You can’t make this up.
The rest from Sir William:
“I immediately picked up the phone and called (Town attorney) Mr. Ra, insisting that I speak to him, reminding his associate that I am a taxpayer and the Mr. Ra works for me. Mr. Ra was good enough to take my call. I explained to him what happened and asked if anyone in the TOH knew what they were doing? His reply was that all Lighthouse Project emails and mail get routed into a computer and a stock, two page response is generated.
“In other words no one in the TOH bothers to read what you write. I asked him why elected officials can’t be bothered to read emails from the very voters who elected them and was told that the Islander fans are flooding the TOH with emails and that no one has the time.
“Mr. Ra was very gracious and open about this policy. I explained that I was an Islander fan, but was against building large apartment houses on the land. He said that he was also a fan but that the Coliseum was not the only issue involved.”
The positive take: the Town of Hempstead is so bombarded with letters that they can’t find the time to read them.
The negative: the Town of Hempstead is so bombarded with letters that they don’t even take the time to read them.
Do we laugh or cry?
*
“NY Hockey This Week,” with Bob Galerstein again subbing for Don La Greca as my co-host, will be on today at 5:30 pm on 1050 ESPN Radio.
Although I don’t think we can do an entire Lighthouse Project show for the third consecutive week, we will be taking calls and the fans always have their say.
Comments.
Steve Schirripa and I spoke late last night about my post on “The Sopranos” and tickets to sporting events.
The man who played Bobby Baccala made his points. He said I was out-of-line for making him the face of the story, when it was really a horrible few weeks at the Islanders in 2007 with one of his castmates that ticked me off. Fair criticism.
I explained to Steve what sparked the blog entry. Almost two years later, I still can’t believe what we went through with the unnamed “Sopranos” actor. I had heard a long time ago that the story had even become legend with the group of New York actors from the show. (It says it all that, while Point Blank readers guessed all day about the mystery Family member, Schirripa knew exactly who it was).
So with that horror show still in mind, I see Schirripa the other day tell his story on Michael Kay’s show about why he’s not a Mets fan anymore. I think, What the hell is up with these “Sopranos” guys? and turn it into a blog.
Steve told me last night that his tale of dropping the Mets for the Yankees is simply “show-biz,” something he’s told on several talk shows and spins a little Hollywood into. He said that while he was deeply disasppointed because he felt the Mets weren’t honest and professional towards him, it wasn’t the deal-breaker. He said his love for the Yankees pre-dates the incident when he wanted to take his wife and kids to the Mets opener.
I pointed out to Schirripa that, just as my piece may have hurt him, he’s taking down some good people in the Mets franchise every time he tells the story. As a former PR person, I recommended he drop the anecdote from his talk show appearances because it does not reflect the good man I’m told he is. (A friend of mine from the Garden called today to say Schirripa is a prince when it comes to charitable work).
I asked Steve to understand where I was coming from with my blog. I have this crazy experience with another fellow on the show, and then I see him on TV say flatly that he’s not a Mets fan anymore because they didn’t hook him up with good tickets.
Steve said it was BS to have his character assailed because of another guy he was on TV with. When I told him, “Fair or not, your show is so iconic that you are forever linked with the rest of the cast,” he was as direct as Baccala: “Just not with that guy,” he said.
Lesson learned. And almost as valuable, I forever have a sweet voicemail message from Bobby Baccala saying, “Let’s hash this out man-to-man, Chris.” I thank him for doing just that.
(No, the mystery man is not in this photo. Sack and Walnuts would never pull a stunt like that. Gandolfini would never need to.)
Comments.
The Islanders’ plan to draft and develop young players and make them feel at home on Long Island may have its first official adoptee in Josh Bailey.
In the wake of his best NHL game last night, it’s important to note that the 19-year old’s transition to New York and the NHL did not begin in training camp, did not begin when he was told he made the NHL roster. It began the moment the Islanders drafted him 9th overall in June.
The Ontario native had no idea what to expect from Long Island. What did he know about the place? “Nothing,” he said the other day after practice. That’s where the Islanders’ development program and prospect camps kick in.
“I fell in love with Long Island,” said Bailey.
Much of the credit goes to GM assistant Kerry Gwydir, a Long Island native charged with giving Islanders prospects a few weeks to remember. Although the youngsters say that Gwydir’s Paintball etiquette leaves a lot to be desired – “I never saw a guy get shot so many times and keep on playing,” 2008 draft pick Matt Martin told me the other day – it is the hockey ops staffer who shows the prospects what could be if they establish their careers as New York Islanders.
“The beaches, the boardwalks, the restaurants, the East End, the Yankee games, the access to New York City,” Bailey lists. But as much as they love the grand tour, what often sticks with the kids are the smaller jaunts.
“You go over to a town like Long Beach for some dinner,” said Bailey, “and it’s just a phenomenal place. The people are friendly. The hockey fans that recognize us treat us like gold. The weather, the beach…I mean, it’s just the greatest place to be.”
To be sure, the Islanders have run these camps for a while. The long-departed Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt could share some wonderful memories about their summer in the Hamptons. But if the Islanders are truly dedicated to this rebuild, the development program works. In short time, Bailey decided he doesn’t want to be anywhere else.
“I remember the day after the draft,” he said. “I fly in to Laguardia and I’m camped out at the Marriott across from the Coliseum. Those first few minutes, I’m thinking, What’s all this about? I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t know anything about the Island.
“Now, I’m telling you, I love this place. I hope to make it my home.”
Comments.
Until Joe Torre came around, Al Arbour had no competition as the pre-eminent leader of a dynastic New York franchise over the last 50 years.
Ten years ago, Torre joined the conversation. There were the four World Series championships. There were the playoff berths in every season he coached. There was the perfect management of personalities in his stacked lineup, even if Derek Jeter is the only everyday player from the World Series teams going to the Hall of Fame.
Most of all, there was the perception of true leadership. Torre put on a Masters class in public relations with every media scrum in his office, every phoner with “Mike & The Mad Dog.” As brilliant as he was with protecting his team, the Yankees manager was unsurpassed in protecting his own image. “That stuff stays in the room,” he said all the time.
Is there any reason for the rest of our lives to ever believe a coach or player with that one?
Torre wants it every way with this book. Cute idea to have it by Joe Torre & Tom Verducci, as opposed to “As Told To.” Just because it’s well-written and insightful (thanks to Verducci) doesn’t change anything. Torre has now blown what always mattered to him most – his image. He’s going to spend the next week in New York repairing it, masterfully no doubt. But the damage is done.
With each year, the skill, the dignity, the class of the man they called “Radar” only become more untouchable. How blessed we were to have him in New York, on Long Island.
Al Arbour stands alone.
Comments.
9:40 pm - This game will be remembered for Bailey-to-Okposo twice, and for Blake Comeau on that second KO goal making the sort of play his coach is preaching: don’t feel you have to beat the other guys one-on-one. Move the puck forward and make a play.
Mostly good stuff from the kids, but it doesn’t cover up the team-wide breakdowns all over the place in the third period.
The Islanders were up 4-0 after one period. This was not a scene where they were playing in front of a jammed and beer-soaked crowd in Buffalo. This was not November 1, when Uniondale became Montreal for one night. There wasn’t any crowd in Atlanta to spur the Thrashers on. When it was still 4-0 after two periods, there was no momentum to be had.
Especially scary were the pair of golden opportunities the Islanders allowed within two minutes of the Thrashers making it 4-3. No excuse.
14-game road losing streak over. Two wins in a row.
*
Fascinating email I received during the game. It was from a mother of three grown children named Maria who wrote a letter to Kate Murray expressing lack of progress on the Lighthouse Project. Maria made a point of stating in her letter that she was writing purely as a concerned citizen of Long Island.
“I expressed my concerns to her about another major company leaving Long Island and adding more people to the list of unemployed,” said Maria in her email.
How was Maria treated in the response from Murray’s office? Like an Islanders fan. Maria, mother of three writing positively of all the jobs the Lighthouse Project would bring to the Town of Hempstead, got the same patronizing response the Town is sending people they look down at as Islanders fans.
Wrote Maria: “I don’t think the people at the Town of Hempstead office are doing the work they are paid to do.”
I’ve heard some rumblings about a recent high-level meeting between the Town and project developers. This does not necessarily mean anything good came out of it. Until we hear something solid, there remains every reason to be concerned about the future of the Islanders and the Coliseum property.
Comments.
8:40 pm - Hey, for what it’s worth, the men at NHL Central Scouting and a few other bird-dogs have told me that Swedish forward Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi very much belongs in the conversation at No. 3 with Matt Duchene.
(Which could be good, if only so I don’t have to explain to the kid why we use his name to substitute for a profane characterization).
Tonight was not just about Tavheduch. These Islanders-Thrashers games are the Billy Jaffe Bowl. The Jaff was Atlanta’s radio color commentator before getting the Islanders TV gig for The Plus when the Garden hijacked Joe Micheletti. Billy is getting really, really good at his job. The Islanders and MSG are lucky to have him. May The Jaff be here to see a succesful rebuild and beyond.
Congratulations to Yann Danis on becoming a father for the first time. Can the boys help him get a shutout?
As you might be able to see on the tellyvision, the Thrashers are struggling to draw crowds. This kind of performance in front of the home fans is what my colleagues and I used to call Not Good For Ticket Sales.
With one period to play, I give a slight edge to the kids line over Comrie-Weight-Guerin. What do you say?
*
7:43 pm - Yup. That first minute of play, ending in the Streit to Hunter goal, is exactly what we were talking about earlier today: the Islanders playing fast and loose down the home stretch. They looked like they were having fun out there, which I think is also one of the keys of the Go-Go system. The fun continued for the rest of the period.
Best parts of the Okposo goal? Besides Bailey not giving up on the play, I liked the brashness and the style. KO drops to one knee like a confident professional bowler when we slams those home. Bailey reacted with kid-like glee – more than okay, considering he’s a kid. The 19-year old center, ever so subtly, slid his hockey stick back in the holster like Zorro and his sword. Don’t think we didn’t see that, Joshua.
Tim Jackman has progressed to the point where the coaching staff doesn’t even have to consider him as a healthy scratch candidate (Jon Sim and Jeff Tambellini sit this one out). For all of his hard work, Jackman deserved that empty-netter.
We’ll discuss goal scorer No. 4 Doug Weight this weekend in our first installment of True Value, a regular segment between now and the trade deadline analyzing the possible return on Islanders veterans.
Never mind being mercifully relieved of his duties, a la Wayne Fleming in Russia. Will John Anderson resign during the first intermission?
Comments.
← Older posts
