Awkward moment involving a young child and myself during the game: CHECK
Almost get into a fight in the bathroom: CHECK
A delicious pretzel twist: CHECK (although around the midway point of it, it magically turned from very hot to ice cold)
Two points for the Rangers: CHECK
An All-Star performance from Henrik Lundqvist: CHECK
Islanders coming hard at the Rangers: CHECK
An awful third period by the Islanders: CHECK (excluding the last 94 seconds)
An Islander getting injured: CHECK (be sure to note that I don't wish them injuries - far from it - but it seems that every game or every two games, someone is getting hurt)
Rangers shooting from the perimeter and making even 3rd-string goaltenders look like Jacques Plante: CHECK
Guy next to me commenting if Scott Gomez was still a Ranger: CHECK (hey, Gomez had one good shot today, that's a start)
A spirited effort by Petr Prucha: CHECK
An abundance of Nikolai Zherdev jerseys: CHECK
Me and the lady in front of me decreeing that Martin Straka was a warrior: CHECK
Guy behind me yelling "SUCKS" after we chanted "Hen-Rik!": CHECK
Me saying that he did not indeed suck, and that he was a top 3 goalie in the league: CHECK
On a different note, does anybody want to assist me in a letter writing campaign to Newsday? Now, I know that the print media is nearly a dead form because of the Internet, and to be honest, I don't read the hockey articles much because I know what they'll say. However, today's Newsday featured about 4 pages on the Knicks, 4 on the Giants, 2 on the Jets, and articles on the Mets and a full page devoted to Ricky Henderson and Mark McGwire. Uh, is this 1998?
The only mention of the Islander-Ranger game was an advertisement put in by the Islanders. Not one beat writer had a story published about the game. Not one. Yet, the Knicks, the laughingstock of a stupid, corrupt, boring league, get back AND front page mentions and multiple pages.
You KNOW that the well-fought rivalry game that happened tonight will not be back-cover-worthy tomorrow and instead it will be Eddy Curry thinking about suing the driver who claimed he was sexually harassed by Curry.
Despicable. We have a good sport here that is infinitely more entertaining that baseball and basketball. Ah, if only fantasy hockey was as fun as fantasy football. Imagine that?
Back to the original topic. A good night at the Coliseum, and the only thing missing was a vocalist during the National Anthem. That silent version was sort of awkward.
* * *
If you click this link, you will see a picture of my friend Tom (in the blue Drury jersey) and me (in the white Girardi). For some reason, the Islander site wanted our picture, and some kid questioned it. We offered him to sit on my lap for a photo and smile, and he obliged. Quite happily, as well. (I'm pictures 19 and 20.)
I would've put the picture on this blog but I'm having trouble doing it.
I got Tom's drunk anti-Islanders text this morning. Anyway, I love how everyone turns a blind eye to the fact that an Islanders player is injured every game. It's getting kind of old. I mean, this is a lost season, but come on. Might be time for a new Islanders medical staff.
ReplyDeleteOh, and congratulations on the W.
One last thing - the back cover of today's Newsday? "Knicks Rip Accuser; Curry Considering Defamation Suit". Good call. At least the game got the top right hand corner of the back page, and the front page features an ad for upcoming Islanders games.
ReplyDeleteYou know soccer comes before the NHL on the top of ESPN.com now?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, like the letter writing idea except for one thing...it won't work. The truth is no one cares, besides you guys, about hockey. American Idol will get better ratings than the Stanley cup finals. Sad, but true.
The truth is Hockey lacks big stars. Ego and drama bring more marketability to a sport than an actually well played game does. Look at the Cowboys. They are out of the playoffs, have criminals and cry babies on their team but they still find themselves in the spotlight.
It's for the same reason that Sean Avery was the most noteworthy (in terms of national media attention) thing to happen in the NHL all season.
Sad but true.
I just happened to see this picture now - how the hell did you get seats down in the 100s? I know you guys didn't actually pay $100 a ticket to sit down there.
ReplyDeleteGrady's parents got them for him for a Christmas present... he owed me money and i bought him beer.
ReplyDelete