Monthly Archives: July 2009
UPDATED - with a comment at 2:15 pm
If you cannot make the hearing, make your official statement on the Lighthouse Project to the Town of Hempstead at lighthousecomment@tohmail.org
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Noon - The support for Islanders Point Blank over the last 36 hours has been astounding, more than anyone could have expected. I figured it would have died down by now, or the Islanders would sign a free agent and the conversation would return to hockey.
As Adam Rubin said to Omar Minaya, for anyone to think I “planned” my blog announcement six days before a crucial day for the Islanders, that’s “despicable.” Especially after all I’ve written about the project, all the times I guested on ESPN and XM radio and my 20-minute fact-clearing session with Mike Francesa. I’ll just leave it at this: with all due respect, there’s a lot some people out there – including a few of my friends – do not understand.
No matter what happens, I thank you for the support. But now it’s time to put it aside for a bit, because nothing is bigger than the Islanders’ survival on Long Island.
From now through Tuesday, the complete focus of Islanders Country needs to be on the public hearing for the Lighthouse Project. The event is on August 4 at 9:30 am at the Adams Playhouse on the campus of Hofstra University.
The Islanders are hosting a rally beginning at 8:00 am at Field 8 in the lot of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Charles Wang is speaking, Howie Rose is the MC. Josh Bailey and Joel Rechlicz will be there. I’m sure there will be other well-known participants. I expect the unions to be lined up hundreds, if not thousands strong.
For more details on Tuesday’s event, follow Lighthouse executive Katrina Doell’s blog. Nick from Let There Be Lighthouse usually has all the latest on the project and is on a heady playing field that I never tried to match. Follow the Lighthouse on Twitter. If there are Facebook groups you want readers to know about, link them in Comments.
There’s plenty of time to talk about the future of Point Blank, to get back to the Comments and Facebook Group and Petition. The Lighthouse rally-march-hearing, as important for the Islanders as any day (including the Tavares draft), is Tuesday. That’s where all attention must be paid.
It should go without saying that Tuesday is about the Lighthouse and the Lighthouse only.
I thank you for the support but I ask that 100% of our efforts the next few days are placed on the Lighthouse Project.
Respectfully,
CB
Comments on the Lighthouse Project and the rally-march-hearing only in this thread.
UPDATED on Friday at 9:30 am – Newsday sports media guru Neil Best blogs about Point Blank, throws in plug for Newsday coverage of the Islanders. Sports Illustrated media and broadcasting columnist Richard Deitsch Tweets about PB. Thank you, Neil and Richard.
Islanders Independent stands up, and also clears up any misunderstanding.
A beautiful note comes in from the family of Todd Aronovitch about the Islanders and their son. (See Comment #39)
Regarding the future of Point Blank, readers have generated a Petition and a Facebook Group. I don’t know the numbers on the petition, but the Facebook Group has enlisted more than 150 members within a few hours. This is the part where I should say I’m “humbled.” That doesn’t quite do it. I couldn’t possibly articulate my reaction to that.
The reaction from hockey blog pioneer James Mirtle.
Thank you, James.
Kind words from “My Geek Review.”
UPDATED Friday at noon – My thanks and some follow-up thoughts at Comment #456…CB
Islanders Point Blank is no longer the “team-sponsored blog.” As a result, Point Blank may not be around much longer.
Like just about everything in sports, it’s only business. Nothing personal, and it’s certainly not about anything I’ve written that the franchise may not have loved.
The Islanders were my employer for more than 20 years. Last summer Chris Dey came to me with the idea to have this former longtime team exec blogging 24/7/365 about the Islanders. Quickly, the hockey fans responded and I am forever appreciative. Even before the Islanders drafted John Tavares, Point Blank was receiving in excess of 400,000 unique visitors a month. With the expectation the young players will develop and not come in last in the league again, those numbers would only grow in seasons to come.
We praised, criticized and tried to hold the Islanders accountable in a fair manner. We tried to tell every side of the story and elevate the discussion. We were relentless. You and I know about all the stories discussed here first and most often – about the Lighthouse and the draft and prospects and everything else the mainstream media wasn’t covering. No need to list all the stories we broke, often readers and editor in partnership.
We packed a bar and celebrated together as Tavares became an Islander. Readers said the constant connection to the team via the blog strengthened their support of the team and was helping win over new fans. I’ve received tremendous support and suggestions (and page views) from fellow bloggers, NHL reporters and just about every person in the Islanders’ front office. As the team was about to select Calvin de Haan, a trio of NYI scouts were shown on TSN at the draft table reading Point Blank on their laptops.
(I was thinner when this blogging stuff started)
But now it could be over. Blog survival may be a long shot, but you never know. There are some possibilities, just as I open my search to a career without the Islanders as part of it.
To be clear, the Islanders made a very kind offer of support that would have been of great assistance if I chose to develop Point Blank as my own business. I’m grateful for their gesture and hope they respect that running a hockey blog as my personal full-time business at this stage of my life does not work for me. I thank them for the idea for Point Blank and their generous offer of support. I hope the blog was beneficial to the franchise over the last ten months.
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In response to the many readers suggesting they would pay for a subscription, your kindness is incredible. Thanks also to those readers and friends asking about potential sponsorships. It simply is not a wise business model – not with a family, not at my age, in my opinion not in this age. Even with the popularity of the site, the numbers do not add up to a full-time living, do not add up to being able to do this blog the right way – writing and thinking about it every waking hour. These concerns have been confirmed by many people I consider experts in blogging and the business of New Media.
I even went to the lengths of tracking down David Meerman Scott, the best-selling author of “The New Rules of Marketing & PR.” I used David’s book as a textbook for my Masters course at Hofstra. He cited the Blog Box we created at the Islanders as a global innovation in his new book, “World Wide Rave.” This year, he hosted a seminar for Islanders marketing and PR staffers.
This is what the social media guru and marketing consultant for Google, HP, the U.S. Marines Corps and hundreds of other clients told me this afternoon:
People don’t react to paid content no matter how good, valuable or rare it may be. Things they are used to getting or expect to get for free…the consumer will not pay for it. Many fans might offer to pay a subscription, but you would lose at least 90% of your readership. It has not worked. It will not work.
The thought of Islanders fans being the only sports fans paying for my brand of beat coverage is distasteful. Other than for trade rumors, I don’t know anybody who pays money for any sports editorial content on the Internet. Once subscribers started copying-and-pasting Point Blank scoops on message boards, you’d wonder what you were paying for.
Even if subscription sales were moderately successful, as David Meerman Scott said I would lose most of Islanders Country. That would destroy the entire original purpose of Point Blank. Considering the state of sports coverage – as detailed here in the Sports Business Journal – subscriptions would be a lose-lose for the Islanders and the fans.
Perhaps the team can give the opportunity to another writer. David Scott believes Chris Dey and the Islanders gave birth to another New Media innovation with IPB, one they could sell to other teams. My hope was that the Islanders and I could build on what we started only ten months ago. My hope was that the Islanders, in addition to the PR value, could somehow find a way to make the blog work for them.
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(NOT all my children)
So the official pursuit of Act Two of my career begins. Like so many others, I’m unemployed and looking for a full-time job. But I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve been fortunate up to this point in my life to do something I’ve loved doing. The shake-up may be good for me.
If I’m able to find another home for Point Blank or another gig, I’ll write about it in this space. There are many people to thank and final thoughts to be shared. As for writing about the Islanders in the next few weeks, I honestly don’t know. My focus must be on a livelihood and taking care of my family.
Sorry for all the drama. It’s just that I’ve always tried to keep an honest dialogue on the blog – remember this one? – and I will until we reach the end.
If you’ve made it this far, I’d like to ask a personal favor. Constructive Comments, supporting somehow keeping Point Blank alive or finding it another destination, spreading the word if you think I have a half a clue and am not a complete jerk, your thoughts on the blog these last ten months…those would be helpful. Personal attacks on anyone other than me…not helpful. Again, I need everyone’s guidance if I’m going to land on my feet in this economy. Maybe there’s a better home for the blog. Time to build, not burn bridges. Please help me do that.
Point Blank and the Islanders have been a full-time job and all-the-time obsession. I didn’t take a day off for almost 300 days, and I loved every second of it. I’m proud of my record in two jobs with the Islanders this decade. I thank Charles Wang for the opportunity and the franchise for an idea that was ahead of its time. We had something pretty special here. I thank you for joining me every step of the way.
CB
"Amazing. I write about you for six months. You're here. I'm gone."
5:33 pm - Everyone knew young Jack would be the easier of the QO passer-uppers. The defenseman gets quite a wedding gift: an NHL one-way contract for two seasons at $520,000 per. That makes seven defensemen on one-way deals. Let’s see if Blake Comeau is next. Comments.
Over the weekend , I posted the Point Blank Power 25 – a list of the most influential people in Islanders Country. It got lost a bit after the curious leaking of Satan news. More important than all that, this post is about my favorite former colleague…CB
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Phil Forgash, the vocational coordinator of the Rosemary Kennedy BOCES School, figured it couldn’t hurt to make the call. Worst-case, the Islanders would say no.
The BOCES program prepares handicapped children in Nassau County for life after high school. The school’s directors do everything in their power to find jobs for their students, which is why Forgash called the Islanders.
“When our students are approaching graduation,” he told me and a close colleague in that phone call 14 years ago, “we ask them: ‘if you had your choice, where would you like to work’? Some of them say McDonald’s or Blockbuster or in a nice office somewhere. Applebee’s is a popular one. Last week one of our students gave us quite a challenge. He said he wanted to work for the New York Islanders. He asked, so I’m keeping my pledge to all of our students by placing this call.”
Todd Aronovitch, Rosemary Kennedy BOCES School Class of 1995, has been an employee of the Islanders ever since. For at least one day a week, Todd comes to the office and takes care of business. If you have ever received mail from the Islanders, chances are Todd helped make it happen.
Affected by mental retardation and cerebral palsy, the Winnipeg-born Todd is old enough to remember when Dale Hawerchuk and the Jets were a big part of the NHL. When he was 12 his family – mom, dad, older brother and older sister – moved to Long Island so Todd could receive better services. Since hockey was such a big part of his life, and since Todd is not shy about anything, he requested the career placement at the Islanders.
When we worked together all those years, sometimes I would affectionately call Todd “I.P.” for reasons he never knew and was too polite to ask. I.P. stood for Instant Perspective. With Todd around – smiling, laughing, working hard despite the obstacles – really, who were any of us to ever complain?
From time to time, Todd’s grace would extend beyond the office to the rink. There was the day in the late ’90s when the Islanders were going through another endless losing streak. Delivering the newspaper clips to the coaching staff one morning, Todd told them, “Our team needs to wake up and smell the coffee.”
Two hours later, the team meeting in the Islanders locker room was kicked off with Todd telling the boys to wake up and smell the coffee. Overwhelmed by the perspective and charged up to win one for Todd, the next day the Islanders practically flew on to the Coliseum ice and…okay, they only tied Hartford. It was a start. They won the game after that.
Todd Aronovitch may not make miracles, but to everyone he’s ever met, he is one.
Comments. Details on the Lighthouse march and rally below. Working on one more post today.
The Lighthouse Development Corporation has just issued the following press release:
“Starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at the Nassau Coliseum, leaders from the surrounding communities, labor, as well as fans and supporters of the project will rally and march to the Lighthouse project public hearing at the Adams Playhouse on the campus of Hofstra University.
“The rally will be held in Lot 8 of the Nassau Coliseum and feature special guest speakers which will include Islanders owner Charles Wang, Islanders Alumni players and local elected officials. Islanders forwards Josh Bailey and Joel Rechlicz will be on site meeting and greeting fans and supporting the Lighthouse project.
“At 8:45 the rally will conclude and everyone will march from Lot 8 to the Adams Playhouse for the 9:30 a.m. start of the public hearing.
“’Just Build It!’ T-shirts will be available for the first 2,000 people in attendance. Parking at the Coliseum will be free of charge.
“For further questions, please visit www.lighthouseli.com or the Official Blog of the Lighthouse Development Group, The Light Post at lighthouseliblog.blogspot.com. You can follow the Lighthouse project on Twitter at @Lighthouse_LI or join the “I support the Lighthouse at Long Island” on Facebook.”
Comments.
Pat Morris did not really want to speak with me. He’s the agent for Matt Martin, a bruising 20-year old power forward and top-10 Islanders prospect who needs to be signed soon. When I spoke with Matt at prospect minicamp, the young man was a bit on edge about this potential stalemate. It’s the business side of the NHL, and he understands the fans that may eventually love him cannot relate to him right now.
But I put in a few calls to Morris with the goal of sharing an educated view of both sides of this story. He eventually relented, but was very cautious with his words.
We already know that if Matt Martin is not signed by the end of training camp, he’ll play one more season in Sarnia or another town in the Ontario Hockey League. Everyone seems in agreement that Martin will not benefit from another year in the OHL. He needs to begin his pro development in Bridgeport. If Martin is not signed by June 1, 2010, he goes back into the NHL Draft. I could practically feel Morris wincing on the other end of the phone from Toronto at the mere thought. As much as anyone, he wants Martin signed by the team that drafted him.
(Morris)
“The idea of Matt Martin going back into the draft would be inconceivable from the Islanders’ point of view,” said Morris, “and also from Matt’s point of view.”
But it could happen. Drafted in the fifth round by the Islanders in 2008, Martin has become a legitimate NHL prospect. Ask just about any scout in the game and he’ll tell you the 6-3, 210-pound left wing with a frame to knock opponents around and hands to fight and score some goals has an excellent chance of being a big part of the Islanders’ rebuild. The excitable ones hold up Milan Lucic as a comparable, the more cautious ones point to David Clarkson.
My conversation with Morris shed light on what’s really up for debate in this negotiation. Do you sign a player based on where he was drafted, or 100% on the quality of the player?
“Both sides have the ability to assess Matt’s growth as a player in the year since he was drafted,” said Morris. “Garth (Snow) and Ryan (Jankowski) have done an excellent job at the draft the last few years with some picks in the later rounds. But when you attempt to sign a player a full year after he is drafted, it doesn’t matter what round he was picked. This isn’t a slotting system. The goal is to come to an agreement based only on the quality of the player.”
The viewpoint of Morris is a fair one. All that should matter right now is what the Islanders think of Matt Martin as a hockey player in their organization. Same goes for the value Morris believes should be placed on his client. This kind of negotiation happens every day in every walk of life. You try to get what you deserve, and not a penny less. The company gives you what they feel you deserve, and not a penny more. You risk ending up with nothing. The company risks not having you.
In 2007, Atlanta drafted a raw defenseman named Paul Postma in the seventh round. Two years, 37 goals and 136 points with the Calgary Hitmen later, the Thrashers gave Postma the contract of a first-round blue-chipper. Time will tell if they made a wise investment. The Detroit Red Wings have built a consistent contender with contributions from several drafted and developed late-round picks who earned big-buck Entry Level deals.
If you’re wondering what’s the difference between Martin and prospect Justin DiBenedetto – the high scorer drafted by the Islanders a round later – Martin can go back in the draft. Other than going to Europe, DiBenedetto didn’t have any leverage.
The Islanders have to decide what Matt Martin is. They did a good job grabbing him in the fifth round. Now it’s like they have to scout him all over again.
Is Martin’s upside as a dime-a-dozen tough fourth-liner? Is it as a second or third-line power forward with significant intangibles a la Lucic and Nystrom? Most of all, are the Islanders willing to risk watching Martin thrive on another NHL team? These are the kind of tough business decisions you’re faced with when you draft well.
Martin, with the counsel of his agent, also has to make a grown-up decision. Welcome to professional sports, kid.
Comments.
(Thx, Tom Liodice)
Contrary to some buzz on the misinformation superhighway, Blake Comeau is indeed on Long Island this week.
“Yeah, I’m here and very happy to be a part of it,” Comeau clarified in a text.
The restricted free agent forward is scheduled to be part of a series of Islanders-sponsored community events this week with his pal Kyle Okposo. (Details on the official team site). However, he did not join Okposo at his first event yesterday, a private visit to a Long Island day camp. This raised a flag that maybe Comeau stayed home in Western Canada, or was asked to stay home while contract negotiations continued.
Turns out Comeau’s flight on Sunday was canceled and he didn’t make it to the Island on time. Keeping his commitment to the club, he’s here for the rest of the week. Tonight at 6:30 pm, Comeau and Okposo will be signing autographs at the Islanders Team Store in Sunrise Mall. Check that out if you have the time.
ETC: No Tweets from agent Allan Walsh since he first broke the news on Saturday that he was in negotiations with the Islanders on a free agent contract for ex-Isle Miroslav Satan. As I mentioned then, it could have just been a ploy. If it’s the real deal, I want to reiterate that I don’t like it at any price.
You know what they say: if you’re not moving forward, you’re…uh…not moving forward. Or something like that. Miro is an okay pro, but this rebuild does not need him. It could use any one of about 50 other players I can think of off the top of my head.
Kirill Petrov is a lock to make Team Russia at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon. However, the team that pays him – Ak Bars Kazan – has requested that he skip the national team’s first training camp and exhibition games in August. This will not affect Petrov’s standing on Team Russia.
Agent Sasha Tynjynch told Point Blank last night that a visa issue prevented the talented 2008 third round pick from attending Islanders prospect minicamp, but the forward “is excited to be part of the Islanders and will join the team when the time is right.” With three years left on Petrov’s Ak Bars contract, a Lighthouse shovel will hit the ground first.
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I leave you this morning with the kind of personal tale I’m often requested to share from my time with the Islanders. I’ve been asked if I hung out with the players much, especially in my younger years. Fact is, while I liked just about all of them, my approach was to have a friendly, personal relationship, but not pal around. (And yes, I’m sure I wasn’t high on their list either, ha).
But a long, long time ago, the Islanders acquired a young man with a rep for having trouble staying under control – especially after a few drinks. Clearly without any better options, Bill Torrey asked me to befriend the fellow and try to help him out. (My kids would laugh at the idea of me trying to be a role model). Turns out we did hit it off. He was a bit of a tortured soul, but a really kind person. We’d go out to dinner once in a while. We played a lot of tennis. It got way past the point where I felt like I was doing anything for Torrey or the team. We had become good friends.
There was one incident when he and a teammate ended up owing some Marriott a lot of money after they tried to remodel their room. Other than that, he gave the Islanders three years of mostly-good behavior and solid play. A few weeks after he was moved to another team, he invited me and a few other friends to his place down south. I did not go on vacation with players, but this was different. He was no longer on the team and it was going to be kind of a farewell. Honored, I took him up on the invite. (I remember my wife’s friend telling her, “You’re okay with Chris going to a resort town with a professional athlete”?!)
On the last night of our trip, my buddy got completely ripped and out of control. Uh-oh. I don’t remember why, but he wasn’t wearing any shoes when we left the bar. He decided to put on his shoes, not by leaning over a curb, but by jumping on the hood of a parked Corvette. A parked Corvette with the driver inside it. The driver was bigger than my pro athlete pal. The driver also had a large pack of friends who were still hanging around the parking lot.
Long story short, a few months later, I had major back surgery.
Comments.
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