A Successful Night in Nassau...

Mark down January 13, 2009 as a success for me.

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.

New Poll

We're keeping the original poll up because it's still relevant. But Mike Piazza's retirement today got me thinking about all the other New York athletes who are deserving of the ultimate honor - having their number retired.

It seems as though teams go about retiring numbers in phases. For example, the Rangers have begun to honor the 1994 team in recent years. They retired Mike Richter's #35 in 2004, Mark Messier's #11 in 2006, and Brian Leetch's #2 in 2008; they will add Adam Graves' #9 in 2009. Of course, there's another side to this - if you were never part of a big title win or dynasty, it's all but impossible to get your number retired. Off the top of my head, the only New York athletes who had their numbers retired in recent years without any rings are Patrick Ewing and Joe Klecko.

So, then, why can't anybody else join their ranks? Is it really so imperative that someone wins a championship to receive this honor? I hope not, because if that's the case, none of us will be seeing any retired numbers until the Yankees start honoring their late 90's dynasty. Did you know that after they retire Derek Jeter's #2 and Joe Torre's #6, the Yankees will have no single-digit numbers available? They'll have all been retired. Crazy, no?

But let's not talk about the Yankees right now. I'd rather talk about the other teams who haven't won anything, but have legends deserving of praise nonetheless. Here are the main guys who deserve to have their numbers retired, but haven't yet (and possibly never will).

- John Starks, #3. New York Knicks (1990-1998). People love to trash the Pat Riley Knicks for being boring to watch and overly physical, but if you were a Knicks fan back then, you loved John Starks. He was a player with average talent, but became a star because he never backed down. And, let's be honest, Starks deserves to be remembered for something more than his 2-for-18 shooting performance in Game 7 of the 1994 Finals. Put his number up there and exorcise the demons that Stephon Marbury has brought us.

- Gary Carter, #8. New York Mets (1985-1989). His tenure with the Mets was very short, but he was with the Mets as long as Reggie Jackson was with the Yankees. Each had some playoff heroics and brought home a World Series. Yet, when the Hall Of Fame came calling, they gave Mr. October a Yankee hat and stuck Carter with the horrid insignia of the Montreal Expos. Part of me thinks that was done just to get the Expos into the Hall somehow, but still. The fact remains that Carter wanted to go in as a Met, works for the Mets organization, wants to manage the club, and remains very popular with the fans. Why not retire his number?

- Pat LaFontaine, #16. New York Islanders (1984-1991). Perhaps the most egregious oversight on this list. You've got a guy who came up just as the dynasty was crumbling, scored one of the most famous goals in team history, carried a ton of bad Islander teams into the playoffs, did a ton of work in the community, came back to be part of Charles Wang's ill-fated "committee"... and the franchise can't get around to retiring his number? What, is it a rule that you had to have won a Cup to get up there? I mean, come on! Sure, LaFontaine left the organization on bad terms, but so did Clark Gillies and that didn't stop the Islanders from honoring him. Us 20-somethings who are too young to remember the dynasty years grew up idolizing LaFontaine, and it's about time the Islanders acknowledge part of their history that doesn't include four Stanley Cups.

- Keith Hernandez, #17. New York Mets (1983-1989). Hernandez, aside from being an incredible commentator, was the first piece of the Mets' championship puzzle. Aside from being perhaps the greatest fielding first baseman of all-time, he gave the Mets the swagger that brought them the 1986 World Series. He's sort of overlooked (given the other talent on that team, it's understandable), but Mets fans have always had a special place in their heart for the man they call "Mex". Seeing marginal players such as Dae-Sung Koo and Kevin Appier wearing #17 for the Mets hurt... but the organization can make up for it by honoring the man who was the face of the Mets for many years.

- Curtis Martin, #28. New York Jets (1998-2005). Had Curtis Martin been your typical, bragadocious, trash-talking running back, his number would already be hanging in Giants Stadium. Of course, he doesn't get the nod, even though he's the best running back this team has ever seen. He's the kind of player whose accomplishments grow in stature over time; to think about him winning the rushing title in his final full season, at age 31, is just remarkable. You just can't say enough about Curtis Martin. He deserves to be considered one of the all-time greats, just like he deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest Jets.

- Mike Piazza, #31. New York Mets (1998-2005). The inspiration behind this list after his retirement yesterday. It didn't take long for Mets fans to clamor for his number to be retired and for him to go into the Hall Of Fame as a Met. And both should be happening. He might have had better numbers as a Dodger, but he will always be remembered for his home-run after 9/11 (I had tickets to that game and didn't go) and taking the Mets to the World Series. Personally, my favorite memory of Piazza was when he came back as a Padre and hit two home runs (and nearly a third) off Pedro Martinez, drawing the extremely rare curtain call on the road. At least you know Piazza will get his number retired someday, bringing the number of Mets' players with retired numbers to a whopping two.

Honorable Mentions: Carl Banks, Harry Carson, Tiki Barber (New York Giants), Wayne Chrebet (New York Jets), Charles Oakley (New York Knicks).

Check the poll on the right side of this page, and vote for your choice.

A Letter To Bryan, From Bryan

When the Islanders defeated the Penguins on May 14, 1993, I was extra careful to remember the date. It was the cap on the as-yet-unnamed "Miracle of '93"; David Volek's overtime goal completed the Islanders' unfathomable upset of the defending champions. Little did I know that this would be the pinnacle of my sports-watching life to this point.

Channeling my inner Bill Simmons, I'd like to pass along a few words of wisdom to the Bryan of fifteen years ago. I'd like to tell him to enjoy the game - and to be careful about what the future has in store.

Bryan,

I hope this letter found you safe and sound. You should be on the bus right now, heading home from your Academic Enrichment Program trip to Mt. Tone. Knowing you, there's only one thing on your mind right now - getting home to see Game 7 of Islanders-Penguins. Don't worry about running late; you'll get home just in time. I'd strongly advise you not to miss a second of this game for one very important reason - it will be the greatest sports moment of your life.

After this game is over, a lot is going to change for you. Yeah, you'll still get made fun of at school, but you'll turn out okay. As for hockey? Well, that's a different story.

Remember how the cafeteria erupted yesterday morning when Mr. Aronowitz announced that the Islanders won Game 6 by a score of 7-5? Well, that's not going to be happening in the future. Not because of anything the Islanders will or won't do - we'll get to them later - but because hockey will be an afterthought pretty soon. Slowly but surely, goalies will morph into beasts twice their original sizes. This development, in conjunction with something you'll soon know as the "neutral zone trap", will essentially kill the game. In a year and a half, the league is going to cancel the first half of the season; ten years from then, a whole entire season will be wiped out. All of these things you don't care about - free agency, TV ratings, salary caps - are going to ruin the game you love and take it away from you. Worse, you'll be the only one you know who misses hockey.

Sorry to say it, but even though it'll upset you, it won't affect you as much as you might think. You know how you always say you'd hold out if the Rangers drafted you? Well, that won't be a problem, and it's not because the Islanders signed you on your 18th birthday. You could hardly crack the roster of your high school roller hockey team, let alone an NHL franchise. In fact, the closest you ever came to the Stanley Cup was when you won the Cup in NHL Hockey for Sega Genesis. You'll be happy to know that they're still making NHL Hockey games today, and that they're better than ever. These are the games that keep you young, because time isn't doing that great a job.

(Side note: You think Mortal Kombat is awesome? Wait for the sequel.)

Anyway, let's get back to the task at hand - Game 7. Excited, eh? Nervous? You should be. This is the first time you've seen the Islanders in a Game 7. Well, without giving too much away, you're not going to be disappointed.

The real reason I'm writing is that you're going to see everything change after this game is over. Think of it as puberty for a sports fan. After this, nothing is going to come easy. Nothing will shock you. You'll be completely numb to the pain sports inflict on people, and you'll be a much worse person for it. Sorry to say it, but it's true.

- You know Kevin Stevens on the Penguins? Well, in the first period of tomorrow's game, he's going to suffer an awful injury. He will never be the same player, will develop a serious crack habit, and will leave the game with a whimper instead of being inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Speaking of the Hall, this Penguins team has four guys that will make the Hall Of Fame (Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy) and one that will when he retires (Jaromir Jagr).

- You like Glenn Healy and Mark Fitzpatrick? I know you do. They'll both be gone in months to make room for Ron "Five-Hole" Hextall. You might not know what "Five-Hole" means... you will soon. This will eventually turn into a revolving door of goaltenders for the next decade until 2006, at which time the new Islanders owner will give a guy named Rick DiPietro a 15-year deal. Crazy, huh?

- How about Ray Ferraro, Patrick Flatley, Vladimir Malakhov, Darius Kasparaitis, and Rich Pilon? You love them all now... but they'll all play for the Rangers at some point in their careers. Even your favorite non-Islanders - Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, and Pat LaFontaine - will all play for the Rangers. Those same Rangers, by the way, will destroy the Islanders in next year's playoffs and win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. See, I told you the future wouldn't be pretty.

- You know that Pierre Turgeon jersey you have in your closet? Make sure you wear it as often as you can. In two years, Turgeon will be traded for a player whose legacy in an Islanders uniform will be that he was paid to not play for the Isles. Speaking of Islanders uniforms, your team is going to unveil a horrid new design with the Gorton's Fisherman as the centerpiece. Don't buy one - they won't be around for very long.

- You probably don't know this yet, but the Islanders have drafted pretty well over the past few years. Many people are going to predict another dynasty for your beloved Islanders. Well, it's not going to happen. Not only are the Islanders going to miss the playoffs for eight straight years, a guy named Mike Milbury is going to take over the team and trade all of these prospects away for a bucket of hockey pucks. Also, a Mr. John Spano will somehow manage to buy the club without even having any money. He's just one person who will buy the team and sink it further into the ground. When someone named Charles Wang comes along, you'll know you're in the clear.

It's not just the Islanders that are going to break your heart. It's everyone else, too. Below are some spoilers - feel free to avoid them, but remember that you'll eventually be hurt by all of your favorite teams.

- While the Rangers are in the process of winning the Cup next year, the Knicks are going to make a run at the NBA title after Michael Jordan retires. You read that right. On the night of Game 5, you'll be watching the game at John's house, only to find that the camera is focused on O.J. Simpson driving after killing his wife. You read that right, too. Anyway, the Knicks will get to Game 7, only John Starks will blow the whole thing by shooting 2-for-18 on the night.

- You probably know by now that the Jets only serve to let you down. Well, you're right. Next year, you're going to be thinking big things, only to see everything fall apart after a play that will become known as "The Fake Spike". You'll also see them fumble away a chance to play in the Super Bowl and miss two would-be game-winning field goals in the playoffs. Oh, and here's one you're not going to believe - Browning Nagle isn't the quarterback of the future.

- The Mets gave you the only championship you actually remember, but that's not going to stop them from breaking your heart in the future. Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, your idols growing up, are going to join the Yankees and win a World Series. By the time you get to my age, you'll have seen the Yankees play in six World Series. One of them will be against the Mets. The Mets will actually get into the playoffs a number of times, thanks to something known as the "Wild Card". You'll know all about that soon enough. Here are some things you might not want to know about - you'll lose in the playoffs in each of those years in soul-crushing fashion. I'm not even going to bring up that the Mets will author the biggest collapse in baseball history under your watch.

So, having said all that, watch tonight's game intently. Enjoy it for what it is. Notice the amount of space on the ice, knowing you'll never see it again. Notice the spacious nets and realize that they will soon be clogged by oversized players and oversized pads. Enjoy the SportsChannel telecast and try to avoid the fact that fifteen years from now, television ratings will run the sporting world.

When the game is over, if you feel like yelling and screaming, do it. When Mom and Dad yell at you, don't listen. Remember, tonight is going to be special. Again, not trying to give anything away... but fifteen years later, you still have your 1993 Patrick Division Champions t-shirt.

Sincerely,
Bryan