The Excitement of Rick Nash

It's been a struggle for the NY Rangers this season. It was clear at the outset of this season that losing Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Brandon Prust, plus the lack of true training camp created a slow start for a team that was two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final. It will be a struggle for making the playoffs it seems, much less win a Stanley Cup. Fortunately, it appears the Rangers end of the huge trade that brought in Rick Nash is looking good.

With Rick Nash, the Rangers have a player who is capable of not only scoring whenever he touches the puck, but also capable of doing things with the puck that no one else is capable of doing on a regular basis. A buzz is created when he touches the puck, which even with Marian Gaborik, you don't see as much. Nash creates his own offense, and for the most part, makes those he plays with better (just look at Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan's stats since Nash played on a same line with them). His talent is so good, Ryan Callahan has become a more dangerous goal scorer because of it.

One more thing you can say about Nash is that he's come to play every night. I don't remember a game which Nash played where you forgot he played. And it's not a coincidence that Nash misses four games and the Rangers lose all four (related, Brad Richards missed last night's game and the Rangers don't miss a beat). Rangers have been 7-0-1 in the last eight games with Nash in the lineup.

The Rangers have had guys like Nash who are wizards with the puck and scary towards the opposing goaltender, but they are few and far between. He still needs to prove himself in the stretch run of the season, much less the playoffs which he never won a game yet. Let's worry about that when that happens, for now, enjoy Nash's brilliance.

Lundbelivable Linsanity Is SHU Cray

Valentine's Day 2012. No, it wasn't the first time the Knicks, Rangers and Seton Hall Pirates won on the same day, but it was the first time that you can say that it was reasonable to be hopeful for good things to come from all three at the same time (at least since I decided to commit to Seton Hall as the school of my choice, which is when I officially became of Pirates fan).

Consider that Seton Hall had lost six in a row, yet they still hadn't officially knocked themselves out of the NCAA Tournament list. A fact like that in it of itself is surprising as a six game losing streak is more or less typical for a Seton Hall team that always seems to have the deck stacked against them. One tourney appearance in the last seven years and they were the first team eliminated that year against Wichita State (perhaps I was lucky I had a test that day and couldn't just skip class to watch it). That lose in fact started the Gonzo Era, which if you're a SHU alum, student or fan, you wish you can forget existed. It was a time when our school became a laughingstock, punctuated by the time Bobby Gonzalez was arrested for shoplifting a manpurse.

However, out of the rubble from those teams is Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope, both men seniors, both have had terrific years that allowed the Pirates to dominate non-conference play, against a pretty tough schedule. Going 11-1 with wins over St. Joes, VCU on neutral sites and Dayton on the road gave the Hall some breathing room. That breathing room expanded when they beat West Virginia and UConn, starting Big East play 4-1. Then, a missed FT by Theodore in the closing seconds against South Florida started that six-game tailspin. However, when they needed a win against Rutgers, Theodore wouldn't allow them to lose. He did everything possible to win that game, one that would allow him to finish with a perfect 4-0 record at the RAC. Add a comeback win against Pitt and a completely dominant performance over St. John's and now the Pirates are right in the hunt for tourney bid.

While Seton Hall was running St. John's off the gym, I was more concerned with the NY Rangers, who were battling the defending Cup champion Bruins in a game that may have told us who the best team in the East is. Instead of allowing the Bruins to maintain momentum early, the Rangers struck first with a power play goal by Ryan Callahan, then Ryan McDonagh scored on a shot from the boards that tipped in off Zdeno Chara. When the Bruins came out flying in the second period, the Rangers defense gave them so little room to make great chances, and when they did, Henrik Lundqvist was there for the challenge.

The post-lockout Rangers always had a chance to win because of Hank. That's the kind of goalie he is. However, we are witnessing the greatest season for a goaltender in Rangers history. Hank will win the Vezina when it's all said and done and the Hart trophy is also a possibility. His improved play (from regular excellence to unreal greatness) is why the Rangers are tops in the East and why it will be hard to knock them off that perch come playoff time.

When the Rangers had taken control over the Bruins, it was time to flip the Knicks on. They were in Toronto and I knew they were losing for most of the night. Yet, somehow, they came back again and now Jeremy Lin had the ball with seconds left. Instead of finding an open man, he took the shot, swished it and stole a game from the Raptors. It made the fact I had tickets to yesterday's game against the Kings even more anticipated.

Knicks fans for 9 years had nothing to cheer about. No luck in the draft, no competence in the front office in regards to Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas and a horrible roster of players. Until Lin showed up, we were about to rule out the Melo-Stat Era as more of the same. Now? The promise of this team is now wide open. One might think this is just a few games, but what NBA just dominates out of nowhere after a few games? If a player is drafted in the first round, he has pedigree and a level of expectation that won't allow him to sneak up on anyone. While a second round pick generally doesn't have same expectation, it gets nullified if he went to a major college and we remember him (like Gilbert Arenas at Arizona and Carlos Boozer at Duke). Jeremy Lin went to Harvard, was undrafted and bounced around a couple teams and was the 12th man on their bench before he started against the Nets. It's mind-blowing how he can be this good this quick and just fell through the cracks.

I really look forward to Carmelo Anthony returning. Either he will thrive with Lin or he won't, but Lin is here to stay and Melo better understand that. If he doesn't, we'll see what the team looks like as a result. If he does, then the Knicks are about to become interesting.

So here we are, three teams, three examples of the inspiration of hope. The hope of breaking through into the world of relevant for Seton Hall; the hope of becoming contenders for the Knicks and the hope of becoming champions for the Rangers. One things for sure, and with the afterglow of the Giants Super Bowl still there; New York (and New Jersey) can continue to be optimistic. Isn't it a funny feeling?

Thanks For Nothing Dolan

I went to last night's Rangers game against the Penguins. It seems like every time I show up for a Rangers game, they lose. Pittsburgh showed up for 60 minutes and the Rangers didn't and with the way the Penguins play north-south, that's not a good ingredient for winning.

The reason I'm writing about last night's game though is it was the first one since Rangers and Knicks owner James Dolan decided to actually take part in a Rangers press conference and essentially proclaim that the Rangers are Stanley Cup contenders. It was a quote that John Tortorella threw some water on when he said "I have my owner up here talking about a Stanley Cup. That's a bunch of bull----" once Dolan left the room.

Nice try, Torts. Dolan has given your team some interest and when he gets involved, bad things happen. He involved himself in the Carmelo Anthony trade, and now the Knicks seem stuck in neutral (Frank Isola had it right when he tweeted this). My favorite example of this was back in 2007 when the Knicks weren't embarrassing New Yorkers every night and had a team that was winning games in exciting fashion (watch this, this and this for examples of this). So what happens; Dolan proclaims that Isiah Thomas had a successful year and signs him to an undisclosed contract extension. At the time of the extension, the Knicks were 29-34 and in 8th in the East. Afterwards, the Knicks only won 4 more games.

So last night's results, unfortunately was foretold in my eyes once Jim Dolan opened his big mouth, especially after watching how sure of himself he was in that presser. Hopefully (at least for me as a Rangers fan), this won't be a trend that continues, but history isn't on their side.

24/7 Episode Two Review

Part Two of 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic aired last night it's becoming clear to me that the Rangers are more interesting than the Flyers (with the obvious exception to Ilya Bryzgalov, who's more interesting than anyone). Last year, no one on the Caps and Pens talk about themselves on the show and the Rangers didn't either. Why are the Flyers? Seems like the Flyers are forcing Bryzgalov to be Bryzgalov, instead of it being natural. I fully agree with Steve Lepore from Puck The Media's point about the Flyers, that they are almost too aware of being on camera when not on the ice.

The best part on-ice part of last night's episode was anything that dealt with the officials. We see Peter Laviolette say "typical Montreal" on his perceived bias in some calls against the Flyers. Something my father has said on more than one occasion. Then you have the refs locker room during last week's Rangers-Coyotes game, which was like last year when the refs discussed a goal disallowed in a Rangers-Penguins game. And the interaction with the players, like when Tim Peel tells Raffi Torres it was a clean hit that Mike Rupp made and when Max Talbot gets warned he's going to get a penalty, then after getting called for one, is told it was a bad call.

More random thoughts:

-Tortorella looked very good on the show, very much like Bruce Boudreau as we see him absolutely pissed during the first intermission when he laid into the Rangers for a lackluster first period. Then we see him and Liam who has cerebral palsy and we see he has a heart of gold. Now all he has to do is look for a Haagen-Daaz and it would be good. Also, Liam is in my dream bedroom (though mine would include some Giants stuff as well).

-Favorite part of Torts' rant;"If you're not going to be stiff, you're not going to play". I expect a line like that to show up on Cinemax at midnight. Also, I'd like to thank HBO for not letting us know if Brian Boyle was stiff before the game in his hotel room scene with Brandon Prust.

-Bryzgalov was great again as he compares the husky to a hot blonde in his typical (Montreal) style. Then you see his thoughts about goaltending and defensemen, which I won't quote, but instead will leave the video here. Tell me if your mind that exploded last week didn't just burst again.

-It's nice to see Danny Briere take in young players to live with him, but having new teammate with his old, divorced teammate and his kids together is very sitcomish (even though Sean Couturier.

-Landon Girardi is adorable. Better scene than Hank playing guitar with John McEnroe, though my mother will love both equally (huge McEnore fan back in the day and probably the one person in the world who watched his show on CNBC).

-Tough to take as a Rangers fan, but all those shots with Mike Rupp getting cut (great editing to have the thud when the blood dripped on his face) as well as Ruslan Fedotenko and the injured shoulder to Steve Eminger are just more evidence to why 24/7 is the best reality series on TV.

-Liked the soundtrack HBO played tonight. I'm not entirely sure why.

-What I want to see next time; all three Rangers games (particularly the Devils win), Peter Laviolette to show that he's more than a hockey coach, some more natural interaction off the ice by the Flyers.

Rushed for time because of work (can't wait for holiday to be over), so I'm sure I left out other great and not-so-great footage in need of discussion. Meanwhile, the Colts will cover tonight against Houston.

24/7 Review

Tonight was the return of 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic. This year, my favorite team is involved as we get to follow a month in the season of the New York Rangers, as well as one of my most hated teams, the Philadelphia Flyers. I'm not here to tell if this is good or not, because everyone who watches it knows this is the best hockey will ever look. Instead, I'll just give you my random thoughts on what we saw from HBO's access.

-No documentary can ever match 24/7 unless they are allowed to leave expletives unedited.

-Speaking of, while expecting the F-bombs to fly from John Tortorella, Peter Laviolette stormed out of the gate with 5 F-bombs during the intro. Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy tweeted that he found 43 F-bombs tonight, a good start.

-That intro, is as epic as anything that HBO has done. I'm dead serious, very well done.

-It was clear to me that we got to know more Rangers than Flyers in the first episode. The specific players profiled was about even (maybe an edge to the Flyers), but we get to see the Rangers as a group interact amongst themselves. This wasn't true with the Flyers.

-Not enough words can be said for Ilya Bryzgalov. The man who was the star of this interview, stole the show with his first interview. One of the two reasons he's my favorite Flyer (the other being as last playoffs showed, can turn into a sieve at the worst time). He also warned me to never come in contact with a tiger ever. Either the tiger will kill me, or the government will after I kill it to save my own life.

-The Rangers locker room scenes were definitely more compelling, but that's because the Rangers lost some games, while the Flyers are on a winning streak. Flyers didn't find their compelling scene until the Claude Giroux concussion. Probably the reason their comeback win in Buffalo was bumped.

-Fun to see Matt Cooke call Scott Hartnell a "piece of shit", while Hartnell calls Cooke the "dirtiest player in the league". Also smart, since both are right.

-I enjoyed everything that resulted from Artem Anisimov's goal celebration. From the brawl, to the reaction to the penalties that were called, to Sean Avery and Marian Gaborik's reaction upon seeing Anisimov in the locker room. All I saw last week was how everyone tried to tell Arty that it's wrong; turns out it was able to be mocked and brought out the humor of Anisimov. I now expect Russians to be funny if their in the NHL.

-Tortorella is as fiery as I thought he is behind the scenes, while Laviolette seems very serious. While the Flyers seem to have the personality of their coach (seem very boring outside of Bryzgalov), Rangers don't, but are very tight-knit, which help them succeed. Once thing is for sure, his calling out of players makes me think of Bill Parcells (best case Rangers fans, Torts wins a 2nd one like Tuna; worst case, he doesn't win in his remaining coaching stops, including here). Plus, he taught me not to "shit my pants" in regards to Phil Kessel.

-Torts: "...if you start changing some things around because there's some struggles, everyone second-guessing. It's a matter of not losing your patience." I hope he thinks of this quote the next time he decides to switch up the lines again.

-Who knew that we would find a worse victory song then the Washington Capitals "Beat Dat Beat" from last year, but the Flyers found it with Mac Miller.

-I'm pretty sure we won't see Brad Richards again unless something happens to him (the anti-Bryzgalov). I do want more Brandon Prust instead of the quick punchlines he said tonight.

-Finally, I had to end with Ryan Callahan with his family, particularly his 95-year old grandma. You can make a case that she stole the show tonight; her and Bryzgalov. If I was Cally, when I'm arguing with the refs, I'd bring her down to help out. By the way, if you don't feel any type of emotion when Cally embraces her, then you don't have a soul.


So ends the first episode of 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic. I'll be back for each of the 3 episodes with my thoughts. Until then, as Artem Anisimov would say, go reload your weapon.

Randomness That Doesn't Involve The Decision

The biggest sporting event of 2010 will take place today, when Spain and Netherlands will faceoff in the World Cup Final. The Dutch have quietly been the best team in the tournament, while the Spanish have hung around and reached the final. David Villa is the man I've found as the MVP of this tourney and the reason Spain is playing today. Prediction: Netherlands win 2-1 with Robin Van Persie scoring the winning goal.

The scariest story I've ever read, the Daily News reporting that Isiah Thomas could come back to the Knicks. If this was to happen, Isiah officially becomes the Freddy Kruger of sports. He killed the Knicks before, the lost draft pick this year was the sequel and a return would be in my mind, Nightmare on 33rd St III. News like this make me want to drink a Molotov cocktail.

Even worse, what does this mean for Rangers. Does Glen Sather ever leave? Did I just answer my own question?

The Ilya Kovalchuk saga continues in hiatus as almost no news has occurred since the Kings pulled out a second time. We're still waiting to see if he goes to the Devils, Kings, Russia or if there's another team out there (Rangers?) willing to make the move for the great scorer who doesn't play defense. Actually, he sounds like a fit for the Knicks. The Devils, according to Larry Brooks, have offered him 17 years/$100 million. That would be ridiculous and would in a way combine the bad contracts of Alexei Yashin and Rick DiPietro that the Islanders signed them to.

Two weeks until Mad Men is back on.

It's time to change the Home Run Derby. No longer do the top HR hitters participate and waters down the event. Everyone is scared of having a second half like Josh Hamilton had in 2008 which he didn't snap out of until this season. Robinson Cano was supposed to take part, but the Yankees told him not to do it and was replaced with Nick Swisher (so it's okay for Swish to do this?). He's the idea, make it either 6 or 8 contestants and the top two or three get to swing in the final and we go back to 5 outs in the final round. I don't know why they changed the final round to the full 10 outs, 5 was better and more dramatic. It's not that serious where a better HR hitter is really screwed out of victory.

Finally, it's a very sad day as longtime Yankees PA and NY Giants PA Bob Sheppard died at age 99. Let's find a place for him in heaven alongside John Facenda, Marty Glickman and Foster Hewitt, the voices of the NFL, NBA and NHL. Watch this tribute for the great man, the Voice of Yankee Stadium.

Even David Kahn is Laughing

And he just gave Darko Milicic a four year deal, which will lead to Al Jefferson being traded.

It started when the Flyers signed Jody Shelley to a three year/$1.1 million per deal. This says my reaction to the move. Shelley not only filled the void that Colton Orr left as the enforcer, which Donald Brashear never did, he exceeded him by showing ability as a all-around hockey player. The Rangers decided he wasn't worth that much.

It would have been defensible until they signed Derek Boogaard for 4 years/$1.65 per. Boogaard, who's while being one of the most intimidating enforcers, has no ability to do anything other than fight. The last four years, Boogaard hasn't scored a goal, so I guess if he scores once for the Rangers, this move worked. This was the worst contract given of the day because of the length more than the money, though the money sucks. And the entire hockey world was laughing.

Then, Darryl Sutter came in and stole the thunder, by bringing back Olli Jokinen. Yes, that Olli Jokinen. The same guy who's lost the shootout for the Rangers on the last day of the regular season, missing the playoffs and letting the Flyers go to the Stanley Cup Final. The same guy who was such a disaster in Calgary that they took on the remaining two years of Ales Kotalik's deal to get rid of him, when all they needed was to let his contract lapse. Yet, they sign him and Sutter supposedly said they should have never let him go in the first place, or something to that effect, which Darren Dreger of TSN reported on the air. It inspired this tweet from Dreger. It was laugh-out-loud funny to everyone in the hockey world and yours truly.

The question of course, which was the more ridiculous move, Boogey to the Rangers or Olli to the Flames. This one I will have to put as a new poll, already next to the LeBron poll. I'm curious how this poll turns out.

Gonchar to the Sens and more

The biggest signing of the first hour was Sergei Gonchar signing with the Ottawa Senators for 3 years/$5.5 mil per. According to Pierre LeBrun, the Pens would have signed him to that deal if he wasn't over 35. This means Volchenkov is definitely gone and now the Pens might be in on two defensemen. I think three years for Gonchar can work, but the first year must be good. If not, then it will be a bust. Remember, Gonchar gets hurt a lot, and that's why I was wary to sign him.

The Rangers resigned Erik Christensen to a two year deal just days after everyone in NY questioned his sanity for rejecting a deal. Looks like Christensen got a little more with about $975K/year. Good move by Rangers since any move that isn't a cap crippling move is a good thing. That's what its come to for the Glen Sather Era, don't f--- s--- up too much.

Also, Alex Tanguay is going back to Calgary for one year at $1.7 million. If he has anything left, this is the best place to see, with previous success. The big story for the Flames is a rumored Marc Savard-Robin Regehr trade. Both guys have no movement clauses, both solve issues for both teams (Flames need a playmaking center for Iginla, Bruins find a taker for Savard and get a good D-man for their trouble). Stay tuned.

Biron to the Rangers and more

Rangers made the first signing of the Free Agency period by signing Martin Biron to be Henrik Lundqvist's backup (I'd link the story, but almost every relevant NHL writer tweeted this move). The deal is for 2 yrs/$875,000 per. I must say, this move was expected and honestly, you can do a lot worse. Johan Hedberg is only good against the Rangers, so that move would have been a failure. Arturo Nittymaki and Dan Ellis probably wanted to have a chance to start and would of cost more. Biron works and should get about 20 games for the next two years.

The other big move before we started was Andrej Meszaros going from Tampa to Philly for a 2nd round pick. Tampa clears $4 million in cap room which Steve Yzerman can now use to sign a better defensemen or a goalie (Nabokov, perhaps?). Meanwhile, the Flyers keep adding defense, meaning it's Leighton's team next year.

Randomness While Making 40 Cents On The Dollar Trades

-In order to avoid trading Donovan McNabb to the Raiders, the Eagles panicked a traded him for two draft picks to the Redskins. Now Washington gets a properly motivated QB who allowed to play for a rival of the team he's only known. Sounds like Favre parallels to me. Also, wait five years Philly fans on how you feel about McNabb. Believe me, the Ewing/McNabb comparisons are true and you'll find out soon enough. At least when the Eagles trade their guy with one year left, they didn't ruin any chance at competing in free agency like the Knicks did.

-Baseball has started and I didn't give picks. Nothing in my eyes has changed in the past week, so my AL playoff teams are the Yanks, Red Sox, Tigers and Angels, with the Yanks winning the AL. The National League will have the Phillies, Braves, Cards and Giants in the playoffs with the Phillies winning again. This time, the Phils get revenge over the Yanks and win the World Series. As for awards, Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols win MVP's, Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez win the Cy Young, Bobby Cox and Jim Leyland win MOY and Jason Heyward and Austin Jackson will be your top rookies.

-Biggest game of the Rangers season is on Friday as they start a two game series with the Flyers at MSG. Honestly, I've wanted the Rangers to just lose out and improve draft position and add a cornerstone forward, like they have on the blueline with Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto. Unfortunately, they decided to beat up the teams they should beat and now have a chance to get swept by the Caps make the playoffs. It wouldn't matter how they did because making the playoffs and charging Ranger fans for two or three playoff games is enough for Jim Dolan. He remains the only good reason for me to stay with DirecTV, though FIOS is something I might end up getting.

-My Tiger Woods boycott ended with the first round of the Masters, since he was playing golf instead of this over apologizing in this ridiculous scandal that gets too much attention than it should. Of course the latest story was the creepy commercial of Tiger's father voicing over a long take of Tiger staring into the camera. Do yourselves a favor, search through YouTube for all the parodies. This one's my favorite.

-I'm sure it's been said, but if Gordon Hayward makes the halfcourt three to win the National Title for Butler over Duke, it's the greatest shot in the history of basketball. I guess we have to settle for the greatest screen in basketball history that Matt Howard laid on Kyle Singler. Anything to avoid talking about Duke's victory.

-I don't know if league saying they screwed up calls are a good thing or a bad thing. If you haven't watched it, Kevin Durant was clearly fouled at the end of a 140-139 loss to the Jazz, marring the end of a brilliant duel between he and Deron Williams. If the NBA actually punishes the officials who they admitted missed the call, then it's a good thing they told us. If not, then you can take your apologizes and stuff them in a sack. I rather my intelligence insulted by denial, not allowance.

-I agree with Joe West, these Yanks/Sox games are way too long. However, if he can criticize the players like that with no kind of reprimand, then don't reprimand or fine managers and players who criticize umpires. What's fair is fair.

-Finally, on a night where Steven Stamkos scored his 48th and Sidney Crosby scored his 49th goal, the highlight of the night is Mike Smith challenging Chris Neil after Neil slew footed him in the 2nd period of Sens/Lightning. Anytime you see a goalie start fighting or showing anger, it's something that must be shared.

Fire Sather

Enough of the Jedi mindtricks Glen. Now, I don't know how he's been able to keep his job with his decade of incompetence. I mean Isiah Thomas only had five years in charge of the Knicks. Did Glen need to have Wade Redden involved in a truck party while harassing a Garden aide to be fired. That's why I've taken the idea that the Rangers would be better served by missing the playoffs this year. Perhaps the fact that Jim Dolan can't weed extra money from his fan base (including myself in 3 of the past 4 years) will lead to him thinking it would be wise to find someone new.


Today, there will be a "Fire Sather" rally outside MSG at 5 pm, before tonight's Sabres/Rangers game. I unfortunately will be unable to attend, but fully support this action and really, this needs to happen before every Rangers home game; at least on weekend games which work and rush hour can't limit the amount of people who can join in. I know that the chances of Dolan actually listening to those at the rally are about 0.0000001 percent, but at the very least shows the Rangers fans care how their team is run, before a generation of potential Rangers fans are lost like Blackhawks and Bruins fans in the late 90s, early-to-mid 00s.


Finally, I wanted to share this SI Vault article from 1965, notice how sometimes, things never change.

Randomness as Tiger Becomes Human and Favre Remains in Our Lives Forever

Honestly, I'm still in shock over the loss by Tiger Woods in a major after a 54-hole lead to a man named Y.E. Yang. It started when I was checking to leaderboard Saturday and his four-stroke lead was reduced to a tie at one point. Still, I didn't think Tiger would lose. To his credit, Yang hit the shots when he needed to like at 14 when he chipped the eagle and at 18 when his approach was within 8 feet. The thing about Tiger in the majors this year, he has not putt well at all. However, I don't think this will effect Tiger's chase for Jack's record of 18 majors like my good friend Dan of Dan's Take hints at rightly comparing Tiger's loss to Tyson against Buster Douglas (at least as a singular event of itself).

After Tiger's loss, everyone is ready to make Usain Bolt the most dominant athlete in the world and after his 9.58 performance in the 100m yesterday, shattering his record from the Olympics a year ago, who could blame them. The biggest problem Bolt has is he competes in a sport that you can't trust whenever runners put up records because of PED's. When people like Ben Johnson, Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones end up in shame after it comes out they used and were stripped records and medals, you get suspicious. However, if Bolt turns out to be clean, it could save track and field, giving the world its best pure runner since Michael Johnson.

It's stories like this that make the Oakland Raiders not taken seriously. Apparently, head coach Tom Cable punched out his assistant Randy Hanson during the Raiders training camp. Sounds to me that Hanson switched to DirecTV and the Cable Guy taught him a lesson. Just remember the last time a coach punched a coach (Buddy Ryan punching Kevin Gilbride), the Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee four years later.

I'm writing this article after the N.Y. Giants play their first preseason game, so I'm finally getting a look at these players. Big Blue View wrote a post about who should make the team and Matt Mosley at ESPN wrote about the team in camp. Ahmad Bradshaw looks ready to replace and exceed Derrick Ward as Brandon Jacobs new complement at RB, Clint Sintim will be huge as the Giants attempt to win with a 5-man defensive line and more experimental defensive strategy under new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. Also, for the first time that I can remember, I'm excited about the Giants secondary, after Football Prospectus thinks Corey Webster will become a top-10 CB and Kenny Phillips could be a Pro Bowler this season.

It's great to have Mad Men back on in our lives again. If Curb Your Enthusiasm wasn't returning next month, Entourage would be in trouble of going on my shelf, but I'll hang around for the rest of the season and watch Mad Men an hour later.

A couple of moves for the N.Y. Rangers, they sign Vinny Prospal to a one-year deal, reuniting him with John Tortorella and they hired The Captain Mark Messier as Glen Sather's assistant. I think the fact Prospal was willing to play for Torts again is a positive, so anything I read or watch about past Torts-Prospal issues shouldn't be a big deal. On the ice, Prospal adds a scoring touch that the Rangers still need and at a little over a million is a safe investment and Scotty Hockey is right, the first three lines for next season actually looks good. As for Messier, he now takes a job like Steve Yzerman did in Detroit and Cam Neely in Boston as he gets to gain experience before being ready for a GM job in the future. I'm curious though if he gets to be the Rangers GM after Sather retires (or if we're lucky, fired) or do they promote assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld and Messier ends up having to go somewhere else like Don Maloney did. Not to mention that Doug Risebrough, former Minnesota GM, I believe is a Rangers consultant who could get a look (though I wonder why).

Looks like the Nationals avoid letting Stephen Strasburg go to waste as they signed him at midnight. He shattered the record rookie contract by signing for $15.67 million, satisfying Scott Boras I'm sure. To be honest, he ruined my tirade that I was ready to go into. I was planning on a scathing paragraph on how Boras went too far with the demands, how Strasburg is too gullible and just follows Boras and how incompetent the Nats organization is to not sign this guy. I guess I'll save my tirade for Brett Favre since he can't leave the spotlight now that Michael Vick is signed.

I just heard the news that Brett Favre will in fact return to the NFL and play for the Vikings. Already, if you turn on ESPN, they're acting as if the Vikings just picked up '07 Tom Brady or '89 Joe Montana. They think he can just walk in and the Vikings will not only win a Super Bowl, but also help fight hunger, find a way to get the economy working and send people to heaven. Nothing in sports upsets me more than the gushing over Brett Favre, so here are facts to consider: He turns 40 on October 10, how many 40 year old QB's succeed? Also, not only did Favre finish last season with five bad performances, he also had a four-game stretch against the Bengals, Raiders, Chiefs and Bills where he wasn't good either, except the Jets won three of those four so everyone forgets this.

Ask any Jet fan what they think of Brett Favre and for that matter, ask any Jet player from last year. I never advocate injury for a player, but I'm making an exception for Brett, I want someone to knock out Favre with some sort of injury so he would be forced to retire. I'm so tired of hearing about Brett Favre that if I was a Hall of Fame voter, I would never put him in; I don't care if he has all the passing records. The last player who played this game of will I/won't I in sports was Roger Clemens and thankfully for all of us, karma intervened and he became disgraced forever. Let's hope this happens to Favre.

Let's Sign Bettsy

I haven't discussed the Rangers offseason for a while but the one thing I'm sure all you Ranger fans have noticed; Blair Betts is still available. I know that most people think that because the Rangers signed that thug Donald Brashear, Betts was a goner. However, look at Aaron Ward; he was sucker-punched by Scott Walker and now their teammates after the Bruins traded him to dump salary (by the way, what will they do with Phil Kessel). So if Ward can play with guy who gave him a dirty hit, why can't Betts do the same. The Rangers aren't too bad with the penalty kill if they lose Betts because Christopher Higgins, Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky are good PKers. However, this was the best PK in the league and Betts was a big part of it. So Glen, put down the cigar and sign this man. My other NHL offseason thoughts:

-I'm sure Dubinsky will sign and the Rangers should go with him as the center to Marian Gaborik. He flourished as Jaromir Jagr's centerman during the 2007-08 season and I think he will do better this year with Gabby since Dubi is more experienced and should see his numbers grow. Also, I think Scotty Hockey had it right that the Rangers should take a look at Vinny Prospal now that he was bought out by Tampa. I don't think they should go after Todd Bertuzzi because besides being less than what he was was pre-lockout, ever since the Steve Moore incident, Bertuzzi has been bad luck to whomever signs him and doesn't show up in the postseason.

-I have to mention the story about Patrick Kane being arrested for assualting a cab driver in Buffalo. Obviously, this can't be acceptable by anyone, but for a hockey player to do something that someone in the NFL would do is shocking. Kane has a bright future in this game and is the face (along with Jonathan Toews) of the Blackhawks. This is just a terrible thing for the league and Kane should be ashamed of himself for fighting over twenty cents. Besides, you should be tipping more than $1.20 anyway.

-I'm still surprised Alex Tanguay is available. I'll tell you a team that should look at him, Florida. They are going to try to build on last season and it will be hard without Jay Bouwmeester. However, Jay-Bo left a place of strength with the Panthers and Tanguay could be a valuable piece as the Panthers try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000. If he stays healthy, he helps their offense as their young guys develop.

-Finally, I'm tired like everyone else about Dany Heatley. Can't the Sharks just trade for him already. He can't go back to Ottawa, he's become a pariah there and the Oilers thankfully said enough is enough. The Sharks make sense because they need to do something that can help them win, though I don't believe Heatley necessarily is the best example to winning. Honestly, trading for Heatley takes a lot of pressure off Joe Thornton. Thornton has started to develop an A-Rod type reputation for coming up small during the playoffs. However, if the Sharks acquire Heatley, Heatley takes the brunt of the spotlight due to his public trade demand and will be scapegoated if the Sharks lose again. That means Joe can just focus on playing and be under the radar, though if Heatley and Thornton share a line, their successes tie together.

Randomness: Free Agency Edition

Since tomorrow is the start of free agency in both the NHL and NBA, I figured to use my Randomness article to get everyone up to speed in both leagues the start of some hot stove action. Let's start with Glen Sather best trade ever, Scott Gomez and a couple prospects to Montreal for Chris Higgins and a couple of better prospects, including the Habs best prospect, defenseman Ryan McDonagh. For Rangers fans, we're speechless, since we didn't think Slats was able to fleece a team like he did here. Higgins is a hardworker from Long Island who fits well in the 3rd line. McDonagh brings more organizational depth to the defensive side of the ice and can either grow or get flipped in a trade for Dany Heatley.


As for Gomez, he becomes another in the long line of Devils who bombed out with the Rangers, though in the case of Gomez, it was more Sather overpaying like he did with Bobby Holik. He now goes from one of the biggest pressure cookers in the league to the biggest in Montreal and already Habs fans are crucifying Bob Gainey. As an added plus, anytime Leafs bloggers and fans enjoy a Canadiens move the way Ranger fans used to when Mad Mike was running the Islanders into the ground, you have to make the move.


As for the rest of the Rangers preview, now they have $5 million in cap room ($7 million if they don't tender Higgins) to pick up that scoring winger they desperately need. Dany Heatley has been tied to the Rangers for weeks but now Edmonton wants him and the Sens seem willing to take Dustin Penner's awful contract (more fodder for Leafs fans, only Redden-for-Heatley would be better). Signings can start tomorrow and look for Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik to be sought after, though I really don't want either. Hossa isn't a number one scorer and should be paid like one, while Gaborik is too risky unless it's a one-year deal. Of course, Sather is prepared to give the fans who put up with rising ticket prices a big eff you as Blair Betts, Fred Sjostrom and Colton Orr.

UPDATE: The Oilers offered Andrew Cogliano, Penner and Ladislav Smid to Ottawa, but Heatley, after asking for a trade, didn't waive his no-trade clause. How ironic.


As for the rest of the NHL, Jay Bouwmeester signed with Calgary for five years with a cap hit of about $6.68 million. It makes the trade of a guaranteed draft pick to Florida for the right to negotiate early a good one for the Flames. The Gomez trade knocks the Habs out of the Sedin twins sweepstakes and now it's the Canucks, Wild, Leafs and maybe now the Rangers will be after him. The Wild could be players this year with a new regime in Minnesota and I know Brian Burke wants to be active in Toronto. Marian Hossa is as good as gone in Detroit and LA looks like a fit for a veteran scorer.


The Knicks seem interested in Jason Kidd, which would be a colossal mistake because he's not fast anymore for D'Antoni's system and would get eaten alive by guys like Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo. If you follow my Twitter updates from a few days ago, you would know I want the Knicks to trade for Ricky Rubio, even though the pieces that the Knicks could trade aren't really there. As for their two big restricted free agents, David Lee and Nate Robinson, let Nate go and don't go higher than $8.5 million for Lee. Hopefully, if Lee gets a great offer, let's hope that they can do a sign and trade.


Elsewhere, Ben Gordon I think is the best free agent out there in a weak class that has too many old names. He should go either back to Chicago or to Detroit. Hedo Turkolgu opted out of his deal with the Magic and with the trade for Vince Carter, the Magic won't overpay for Hedo. Portland can be a possible destination. Cleveland needs someone in their mid-level exception who can contribute with perimeter defense and a good shooter. Carlos Boozer made a smart move by not opting out and remaining with Utah until next season. It would be ironic if Boozer left Utah for New York and LeBron follows. Then, Cleveland fans can envision what should of happened for them this decade in New York with those two back together since the debacle with Boozer and the Cavs leading to his move to the Jazz.

How to End a Title Drought?

The Cleveland Cavaliers were trailing 3-1 in their series with the Orlando Magic entering tonight's game in need of three straight wins. They are currently the city of Cleveland's best chance to win a championship for the first time since 1964 when the Jim Brown-led Browns won the NFL Championship, before the Super Bowl-era.


This has been probably the most heartbreaking drought with events like Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, and The Error. Two years ago, the Cavs were in the NBA Finals and were promptly swept by the Spurs, while the Indians led the Red Sox 3-1 in the ALCS and lost the last three games, including Game 7 when Kenny Lofton was held up by third base Joel Skinner when he would of scored the tying run in the 7th inning. The Red Sox went on to win 11-2 as they scored eight runs in the last two innings and the drought continued. This also includes the Indians forty years missing the playoffs in a row until 1995, the reign of terror by Ted Septien in the early 1980s almost ending the Cavs franchise, the failure of the NHL's Cleveland Barons, the last major sports team to cease operations and the 1995 Browns move to Baltimore by Art Modell.


So with all that baggage to work with, how is it possible for the years of losing to end? The fact is that years of losing create the thought of "curse" in the minds of the team/cities fans psyche. There is always the feeling that the other shoe is about to drop. You can see it anytime a nervous energy takes over a stadium/arena and the team you root for is suffocated by this. It happened to both the Mets and the Cubs last season; same goes for the Vikings in the playoffs. Unfortunately, it seems like that conventional ways to win never work, there needs to be a moment where a team is seemingly "destined" to win.


Most of the recent "curses" that have been foiled had a moment where a collective fan base no longer thinks the worst will happen. It could occur anytime in the playoffs, and usually comes at the lowest point in the season. The best example of this theory is the Boston Red Sox; they reached their low point after Game 3 in the 2004 ALCS against the N.Y. Yankees when they were down 3-0. As any Bill Simmons reader knows, the Dave Roberts steal is considered that turning point for the Red Sox, mainly because the next play, Bill Mueller knocked Roberts in with a single off Mariano Rivera. After that, and a couple of game-winners by David Ortiz, the Red Sox steamrolled their way to breaking the Curse of the Bambino.


A better example on a personal level was the 1994 N.Y. Rangers when Mark Messier guaranteed victory in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Final series with the N.J. Devils. They trailed the series 3-2 and the game 2-0 when Messier assisted on a goal, then scored a hat trick and the Rangers won 4-2. Unlike the Red Sox, the Rangers didn't steamroll their way to the Cup and actually gave Rangers plenty of reasons to believe it wasn't coming. But, they fought through a late-tying goal by the Devils in Game 7 followed by Stephane Matteau's OT winner and the great Howie Rose call put the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Then, the Rangers took a 3-1 series lead, lost the next two games and held off a final charge by the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup after 54 years.


Those aren't the only droughts that needed the perception of a team of destiny for it to be broken. The Chicago White Sox stole Game 2 of the ALCS against the Angels after a controversial when the umpire said Josh Paul dropped a third strike with two outs to A.J. Pierzynski when he actually just threw it back. Joe Crede would win the game on the next at-bat and the White Sox swept their way to the World Series, their first since 1917. The Phillies ended the 25 year Philadelphia championship drought and their moment of destiny was a 4-run 8th inning in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Dodgers when Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs hit two 2-run HR's that turned a 5-3 deficit to a 7-5 win. They also had a bases-loaded infield single in Game 3 of the World Series to further the team of destiny role. The Detroit Red Wings ended a 42 year Cup drought in 1997, plus being labeled chokers for recent flameouts in the playoffs. In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Steve Yzerman scored on a 60-ft shot and the Flyers were done in four games.


The Cavs ended up winning the game to make the series 3 games to 2 in favor of the Magic. LeBron had a part in 32 straight points but that's in my eyes isn't a turning point that makes the Cavs a team of destiny, which means something needs to happen in Game 6 that changes the fortune of this team, whether it's another game-winner from LeBron, a great block or even LeBron announcing he will stay in Cleveland tomorrow. Whatever it is, there needs to be a sign that this drought will end very soon if the Cavs are going to win this championship, or this season will be known forever in Cleveland as The Letdown (unfortunately I can't come up with a better name than that).

ATTENTION YANKEES: YOU'RE TURNING INTO THE KNICKS AND RANGERS

Remember ten years ago, the Yankees were going through their latest dynasty, with a group of likable guys who would die on the field if they need to. They were managed by the perfect man who could shield the pressure from the media and their owner. Built by a couple of GM's who, instead of just getting the biggest free agents available, used the farm system and made the right trade or signing that fit with the team.


A lot has changed since then, particularly after 2001, and the Yankees have still been unable to replace the best players of the era. A decade of signing flashy names and veteran pitchers have been unsuccessful in leading the Yankees to a title since 2000 and back to a World Series since 2003. However, all these failures are familiar to the failures that the 80s Yankees had. This year, however, the front office has now gone out of its way to screw the fans over and that is a trait that Jim Dolan has been doing for many years at MSG.


If you look at both the Knicks and the Rangers, both teams have had success in the 1990s as the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and the Knicks made two NBA Finals. Both erred in how they got rid of their best players as the Rangers let Mark Messier walk too soon while he still could have a few good years left (also compounding it by re-signing him when it was clear that his skills diminished) while the Knicks decided to trade away Patrick Ewing and take on big salaries from lesser players, when the more prudent plan would of been to have him play out his final year under contract.


The Rangers spent the next seven years after Messier left signing busts like Valeri Kamensky and Stephane Quintal, trading for a finished Pavel Bure and an overrated Anson Carter, trading away all-star Marc Savard for a draft pick which they used to draft a flat bust Pavel Brendl. From Neil Smith to Glen Sather, the Rangers have failed in personnel moves except three: drafting Henrik Lundqvist in the seventh round in 2000, trading for Jaromir Jagr and getting him for half-price and trading for Sean Avery in 2007 which catapulted the team to the playoffs and almost to the East Finals that season. Now with a salary cap, the Rangers have overextended themselves on mediocre talent (aside from Lundqvist) and are trapped in cap hell.


Cap hell is a place the Knicks are very familiar with, but that has stopped them from making moves. For them, it really starts with the 1999 NBA Draft when they picked Fredric Weis over Ron Artest, a man who's only claim to fame is getting dunked on by Vince Carter in the Olympics. They acquired an over-the-hill Glen Rice in the Ewing trade, which they in turn traded for Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson. Under Scott Layden, the Knicks routinely brought in undersized forwards and guards who could drive the ball (plus they gave Allan Houston a max contract). It seemed like a godsend when they fired Layden, but when Isiah Thomas took the job, he made things worse, as hard to believe as it was. He would acquire plenty of questionable players to put it mild and each guy proved why he had a question on him to begin with, whether it's Eddy Curry's laziness or Stephon Marbury's selfishness.


The worst part about the Isiah era goes beyond their record, as the franchise became an embarrassment off the court. The sexual harassment lawsuit involving Anucha Browne Sanders and the truck party with intern Kathleen Decker made the team a punchline. The Rangers had their run of embarrassment this playoffs when John Tortorella attacked a fan with a water bottle and a stick, then the open letter Glen Sather wrote to the league. The Rangers also got into a lawsuit with the NHL for rights over the team website.


So what does this have to do with the Yankees? Because through all this, Jim Dolan continues to keep prices for both teams among the highest in each league and basically continue to steal our money without caring at all about the team. Granted, he did replace Isiah and maybe the Knicks part in this will change, but Glen Sather is almost locked in for life and the Rangers won't be any better than a second-round team under him. Meanwhile, all of a sudden, the Yankees have opened a new stadium and have priced out their fans. Even though Rangers game report sellouts and the Knicks at least report 19,000 a night, it looks like it's less on any ordinary night. The Yankees report 43,000 every game that is clearly not the case when you watch on TV.


Add to that the fact that guys like Randy Levine and Lonn Trost basically rub in it the fans faces by claiming the reason no ones allowed by the dugout during batting practice because they liken the suites to a house and Trost is quoted as saying "If you purchase a suite, do you want someone in your suite? If you purchase a home, do you want someone in your home?" Of course, he mentions the Legends Suites, not the rest of the field level seating that the same rule applies. Now the Yankees are selling off the rest of the old Stadium to more ridiculously high prices for seats, grass, etc. Another problem the Yankees had was the game against the Red Sox when their security guys and "May I Help You" people told fans that the game was going to be rained out, then when it wasn't, refused re-entry.


There are some differences between the Yankees and the MSG teams such as the fact that there won't be any Glen Sathers staying in power too long. Brian Cashman is under the gun this year, though continues to live off the last years of the Yankee dynasty. His failings as a GM lie mostly with his putrid job of building a farm system. This is one area that is the single biggest reason that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are better than the Yankees. There are a whole list of trades and free agent signings that the Yankees have missed this decade. Some of the blame does go to George Steinbrenner, but Cashman has held control of the decisions since the end of the 2005 season and the team has periodically been worse since. We don't know how much Hal Steinbrenner will stand, but I can't see Cashman stick around if the Yanks continue to decline.


So basically, the Yankees are a flawed team despite its $200 million+ payroll. They are old at too many positions, are weak defensively, have no bench and depend to heavily on free agent pitchers because they haven't developed many pitchers on the big league level since the mid-1990s. They still have a long way to go to lower themselves to their fellow NY teams. They could start missing playoffs yearly, have lawsuits that disgrace the team (with A-Rod, there's always that chance), or have either the Steinbrenner sons not care or sell to someone else who won't. That's why, Yankees this is your wake up call. Don't turn into the Knicks or Rangers. Either break up this team and start over, or stop trying to win a fantasy league and start trying to win World Series. Being a tweener in this sport is infuriating, and your fans will see through it, at least the real ones who will show up to the park even if they can't afford it.

Randomness while learning from Rajon Rando that it's okay to slap a man

- You see Charlie Murphy, Rick James was right R.I.P.

- Bill Simmons is right, this Bulls-Celtics series is on it's way to being the best first-round series since the change to a best-of-seven. From the KG subplot to start, Derrick Rose showing us the future, the new Vinnie Johnson (sorry for dated references, but I'm a sports historian) in Ben Gordon, Ray Allen proving to be as certain as death when the game ends, Paul Pierce taking the mantle from Larry Bird officially, Doc and the refs, Vinny Del Negro and his wasting timeouts and Rondo shattering his ceiling for the next 15 years. The Celtics will be a factor is one way or another once KG, Allen and Pierce move on because Rondo will lead this team through it.

- As for last night's controversies, I'm glad the refs didn't charge a flagrant on Rondo because I hate when the refs put the game in their hands, unless its absolutely necessary. As for D-Ho, he should of been thrown out last night, though they got it right with suspending Howard.

- Looks like the Heat are just about finished. I don't doubt Dwyane Wade, unless he's hurt. He was hurt against Detroit in 05, he was hurt against the Bulls in 07 and I don't think his back will help him if they need him for Game 7 on the road with Atlanta, assuming they get there.

- I could opine on the Blazers-Rockets and the Magic-Sixers, but honestly, I'm not interested, aside from Howard's elbow.

- So let's move on to the Spurs losing to Dallas, as predicted on The Cycle. I could tell in Game 1 that I was going to be right with this one when J.J. Barea ran while. The Mavs finally look good since the Jason Kidd trade. Back to the Spurs, obviously the Ginobili injury was a killer, but now Tim Duncan isn't the same player he once was. I thought last year was the last chance for the Spurs to win the title. They remind me of the late 80s, early 90s Celtics when Bird started to get injuries, McHale had been reduced after playing with a broken foot in the 87 playoffs, but had Reggie Lewis leading the team to successful seasons and still had the respect of their opponents and even pushed the Cavs to Game 7 in 1992. The Spurs could have the same thing as Parker and Ginobili will lead this team, but Duncan keeps getting old and they have drafted too low and have too many old men and flyers on the bench.

- We go from one "dynasty" who I hate to the Devils, who completely collapsed last night when Maaaaaaaaarty Brodeur gave up two goals, in the last 90 seconds to lose the series to Carolina in seven games. So after falling on my face when the Rangers lost, the Devils were the pillow I landed on. After being disgusted by John Tortorella benching Sean Avery, then fighting with the fans; the fact Colton Orr wasn't in the lineup after Donald Brasheur bumped him in practice; to the cheap shot Brasheur laid on Blair Betts not getting a major penalty or having to fight Orr; to the ridiculous letter that Glen Sather wrote embarassing me to Isiah-like levels; finally a Game 7 where once again we couldn't score and couldn't even get Lundqvist out of the net for an extra skater. All of that, and the fact that Marty choked makes it even for me, at least for the next two months when Sather continues to make Mike Milbury look good.

- So now hockey fans, and most importantly non-hockey fans, you have your marquee series. Ovechkin vs Crosby, Semin vs Malkin, Caps vs Pens. This is the series that determines the future of the NHL if it's great. Then people who don't know what a blue line is will be ready for this series if it becomes a yearly occurance, like it was back in the 90s. Add three Original Six teams (Boston, Detroit and Chicago) and Vancouver for our fans up north, we could have our best possible Stanley Cup finals for a TV standpoint. Unless of course Carolina and Anaheim win, then we're screwed, especially with Kobe vs LeBron in the NBA. Series picks: Wings in 6, Hawks in 6, B's in 5 and Pens in 6 (unfortunately).

- It's one thing to trade away draft picks for a future QB, it's a whole other thing to trade more to move to the top of the third round to draft a RB. No way to you win a draft if you have three picks, sorry Jets. As for the Giants, I have full confidence in Jerry Reese, so I'm impressed. We drafted a WR in the first round, that's good enough for me.

- Now the bullpen has had trouble for the Mets the past couple days, so my Met fan readers, start to panic. Oh wait, you've already been panicing. But seriously, can they hit after the sixth inning. And David Wright seems to finally lose the Met fan, particularly my friend Brian. Unless something gives, this team won't be a .500 team, let alone playoffs.

- As for the Yankees, I'm off the ledge thanks to Phil Hughes. I couldn't watch much of his start due to the Rangers, Devils and NBA, but he was impressive and finally could have got it and most importantly, placating me as to why he wasn't traded. The hitting is better but let's see what the Yanks do against the Angels for 4 at the new stadium.

- Finally, I want to commend the New Orleans Hornets. Obviously, they read my scathing blog about them laying down Monday and have played better. Seriously, they're giving the Nuggets a game right now and even if they lose (this will be posted before games end), they're pride will be restored. However, if I'm a Hornets fan, I'm still pissed off unless they win.

UPDATED 1:15AM- Scratch that. I rescind my commending of New Orleans. They couldn't get the game to an over for my in Streak for the Cash on ESPN, lost by 19 so nevermind Hornets, you're still in my doghouse.

Ode to Royalty

Many times through the years I have walked into the hallowed ground that is Madison Square Garden. I've been there maybe five times for Knicks games, mostly because my parents aren't basketball fans and they have always been particularly expensive. Since for nearly all of the decade the team has stayed in the bottom, there hasn't been much incentive for me to go back, though I should be back next season.

As for the Rangers, I've been to many games I can't even begin to count how many times I've been there. The first time I went was in October of 1993 when they played the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. That season, my parents bought season tickets (I don't know if they had them in years past) but we ended up sitting in the 200s and the Rangers lost. A month later, I was in our rightful seats in the Blue Seats (for readers not familiar, the 400s) against Vancouver and the Rangers won 6-3. From that time on, I was a blue-seater for life and whenever I have gone to Rangers games, all but once (the night they retired Andy Bathgate and Harry Howell's sweaters and ultimately Tom Renney's last game) I sit where the real Ranger fans sit. Because my parents had the season tickets, they ended up going to all the pivotal games at MSG that the Rangers played in the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoff, which I'm still bitter about not going to any games.

I went to my first playoff game in 1997 when the Rangers played the Devils in the 2nd round. My mother and I went and we actually sat in different sides of the same section upstairs. It was a 3-0 win as Mike Richter continued to steal the series from the Devils which also included this at the end. The year later, the Rangers started their seven year playoff drought all while my family had mini-plans for much of the time. We had them the first year after the lockout thus we had playoff tickets once again, but the series was a sweep at the hands of the hated Devils and I didn't get to go to a game. Last season, I ended up going to Game 3 of the Devils series, but I went alone because I could only get one ticket that was affordable. That ended with a loss on a fluke OT goal of Marc Staal's skate. Fortunately, they won the series however, lost to the Penguins in the second round. By this point, we had stopped getting mini-plans and I was cut back to maybe 2 or 3 games a season that I would go to.

This season, the Rangers have given all us Rangers fans plenty of attitude swings. At the beginning, we were shocked that they started 10-2-1 because we didn't expect them to play so well after losing Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery, among others. Slowly but surely, we would become more and more upset watching this team take the ice. They couldn't score, they didn't play with consistent effort night in and night out, they had no semblence of a power play to the point that we just wanted to avoid short-handed goals and we wondered if there was anyway to decline a penalty. We still looked good, until the start of the 2nd half. The Rangers started by losing 12 of its first 14 games after the All-Star break. As I wrote earlier, I was there when they lost in OT to Toronto in a maddening game which the Rangers couldn't do anything on offense, yet somehow force OT to string us along. It was pretty clear that night that the team needed to make a change. Tom Renney is a good coach, as is one of the main reasons the Rangers became good again, along with Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist. The day after, Renney was fired and the Rangers hired John Tortorella to take over.

He was inheriting a mess. Glen Sather once again showed everyone how much the game has passed him by. He let go of Jagr, Marty Straka, Sean Avery, Brenden Shanahan and signed Wade Redden, a former good offensive defenseman who either lost his talent or stopped caring after the lockout, to a six-year deal; resigned Michael Rozsival, who has been propped up by Jagr; signed Markus Naslund, a forward who's showed his age, to a two-year deal; and traded for Nik Zherdev, a gifted scored who doesn't care about playing. We signed Scott Gomez and Chris Drury the year earlier and they haven't proven worth the money and Henrik Lundqvist wasn't having a typical Lundqvist season, to the point that my father would always say they won't win with him.

However, Tortorella would prove to be important as he has made this team play closer to its potential. Before, the team seemed to always have a lull and there wouldn't be any response as they would continue to play bad. Now, the lull's aren't as abundant, though this team is still able to have a no-show any given night. The acquistions of Nik Antropov, Derek Morris and the return of Sean Avery have mostly helped the Rangers, along with the great play from Ryan Callahan, Staal and Dan Girardi, to make the playoffs as a 7th seed in a series with the Caps.

The inspiration for this article was Lundqvist. He didn't have his typical season, only having a 2.44 goals against average and a .916 save pct. Terrible stats, I know. I've been defending him all year as he has to deal with a poorous defensive, a impotent offense and the need to be perfect every night for the team to be able to win. The last week of the season, the Rangers needed two wins to make the playoffs and Lundqvist was phenomenal. After beating Montreal, he was absolutely brillant against the Flyers, the save of the game occuring in the 3rd period as Hank robbed Daniel Carcillo from the tying goal. He would carry his great play into the series with the Caps, facing the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Semin. For two games, he was a thorn in the Caps side and the Rangers took a 2-0 lead. They came home for Game 3, the Garden excited and noisy and the Rangers fall flat on their face losing 4-0, despite another impressive performance by the King who kept them that close. But Game 4 would be different.

I found tickets and was sitting in section 426 in the last row. The good part about those seats is you can stand all you want. The bad part is that you can see the clock when you do. Now watching a Rangers playoff game at the Garden is a completely different experience as the 18,200 announced attendance is the actual attendance for these games, no empty red seats which you could see against Nashville. It's always good whenever John Amirante is singing the national anthem and it gets the Garden crowd even louder.

This would turn out to be the best hockey game I witness in person, or at the very least, the most exciting. The Rangers came out banging, hitting everyone in sight and taking the action toward the rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov. Soon, a fluke goal from a Paul Mara shot off John Erskine's stick made it 1-0. It was good to see Drury, who's playing with either a broken wrist or hand, come out hitting and taking advantage of a goalie who hasn't learned to play the puck by scoring the second goal. Then, King Henrik took over, as the Caps had all the offense pressure for the rest of the game. Hank made save after save, bringing the crowd to its feet many times, yell HEN-RIK over and over. Early in the 3rd, Ovechkin scored on an absolute rocket to make it 2-1, which I must sidebar and say that Ovechkin is truly an unbelievable talent, always skating, never taking off a shift, willing to take a hit to make a play and will give one as well. He hit the post that had to of bent the iron. Later on, Avery made two dump penalties to force Hank to face more pressure. As the seconds ticked down, the Garden crowd stood for the final minute, one apprieciating the effort Lundqvist and the Rangers gave and hoping there wasn't a late goal to tie it. It would never come as Hank stopped all on net and we held on.

Leaving the Garden, it was gratifying to finally watch the Rangers win, since it has been awhile. But after a game like this, you can't help but think about it, talk with people while walking down the stairs, honking horns, waving towels and just keeping a look on your face that has happiness, exhaustion and relief rolled into one. That's what the Stanley Cup playoffs bring if your team is there. That's why I get puzzled and irritated when people don't respect hockey, at least for the playoffs.

Back to the Rangers, they are leading 3-1 against a team that if we have a lesser goalie, we are swept. Henrik Lundqvist is the reason the Rangers are leading this series, and have a chance to win Friday night in Washington. He's taking the best shots from the young guns of the caps and is still standing and is one win from being the survivor and a date with the Bruins. So this is my chance to say to Hank, when I read people criticizing him, including my dad, thanks for being the goalie I know you are, a great one. And rightfully earning the nickname King.

The Knicks might get LeBron James in 2010. If so, King James would only be the second King, number one belongs to Hank.

Randomness while hoping to get my Wash "Natinals" jersey

- You know you're team is having a bad season when you not only misspell the team name on your jersey, but play in it and embarass yourself further.

- Meanwhile, the Caps are resorting to Ovie acting like Belichick and doing a bad job of it to try to rattle my Rangers. As I'm writing this, the Rangers are just about to play Game 3. They could put the series away with a win tonight. And for one of the few times, I will be very happy to be wrong and might cause me to never pick my teams rationally again.

- While the Washington sports scene is at worst a joke and at best terrible, the Chicago sports scene is looking great. The Hawks look great against the Flames, the Bulls have found their next star (unlike some of the phony stars like Elton Brand, Eddy Curry, etc.), the Bears actually have a QB, and baseball just started and both the Cubs and White Sox can be in the playoffs. Times weren't this good since MJ.

-As for the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers finally sent their message to the Pens; they beat them. Of all this talk I'm hearing about stopping players from sending messages, it don't work when the other team don't bite and you keep losing. At the same time, Colin Campbell has been too inconsistent, as either you don't suspend Daniel Carillo or suspend Mike Cammalleri for the same cheap shot attempt. Also, if Milan Lucic was suspended for using the stick on Maxim Lapierre, that's fair but if suspend him for throw a punch with his glove on, that's ridiculous. Elsewhere, the Sharks are living up to their postseason reputation, but Jonas Hiller is playing great and unfortunately, the Blues can't find the answer to Roberto Luongo.

- Too little time to make broad generalization about the NBA playoffs, though the Lakers and Cavs are who we think they are. I caught only the 4th quarter of Mavs-Spurs, but it seemed like San Antonio had no answer for J.J. Barea, who looked like Tony Parker out there. I'm not too worried about Miami and New Orleans; Blazers and Magic I am a little more worried. Magic lack a real go-to-guy and if they play the Celtics or even the Bulls, I'm not conviced that they beat either team as they have two guys they can go to.

- The Yankees better hope that this is a weird coincidence that the ball is flying out of new Yankee Stadium. The long-term implications on having a bandbox is enormous as the Yankees couldn't buy anymore pitchers and from the lessons of the Rockies and the Rangers, you don't win by mashing them out of the park, unless it's a fantasy title. The weird thing is it seems like left field doesn't seem to keep the ball out as easily. Saturday's game had a few instances where left field can carry the ball out. As for Chien-Ming Wang, I mean 23 runs in 6 innings pitched can't be defended. I heard the Dizzy Dean's career was over after getting hit with a line drive. I won't say it over, but the Yankees should find a way to fake an injury so he can go to the minors on rehab.

- Just finished watching the 1st period of the Caps-Rangers, they look like they went on a two night bender and are hungover watching the Caps put the puck in the net. They're lucky it's not 5-0.

- What else can I say, Johan Santana is by far the best pitcher in the game and the only reason the Mets could make the playoffs are currently constructed. Also, Zack Greinke is leading my sleeper pick the Royals and more importantly my fantasy team to a good start with 20 scoreless innings and 34 since last year.

-Finally, I make my first appearance to Yankee Stadium tomorrow and am eagerly looking forward to it. As for CitiField, I'm hoping to go next week when the Marlins come to town. Now Doc Gooden signed the wall in the bar in CitiField and now the Mets are going to erase it because they don't want "graffiti". I'm sorry but if you consider a tribute to one of the best Mets (despite his troubles) of all-time graffiti, then I guess you must think it's vandalism when movie stars put their hand prints in Hollywood. Seems like the Mets will do everything to avoid putting up anything to do with the franchise.

Stanley Cup preview extravaganza

The Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight and it's time to have the official NHL playoff preview. No teaser today as the games begin in an hour and I want to finish this before the opening games. Let's start in the West:

Western Conference

#1 San Jose vs #8 Anaheim- The worst possible matchup for the Sharks as this team who needs to get rid of the choker label in the playoffs has to play the 07 Cup champ Ducks. The Ducks still have a lot of the same guys who won and could use that experience in this series. For the Sharks, they have to have a big series from Joe Thornton, who needs to shed his label of being the A-Rod of hockey and failing to show up. One of these years, the Sharks have to win and I'm not big on Jonas Hiller. Sharks in 6.

#2 Detroit vs #7 Columbus- Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Blue Jackets, your reward, the defending champ Red Wings. However, the Jackets have the advantage at goal with rookie Steve Mason against the struggling Chris Osgood (or Ty Conklin). The Wings are better in every other way so it comes down to Mason standing on his head. That being said, I think he will and the Wings tend to lose early every few years so I have the Jackets in 6.

#3 Vancouver vs #6 St. Louis- The most surprising team in the playoffs are the Blues who are a year ahead of schedule by making this year's playoffs. John Davidson has done a great job turning around this franchise from doormat to playoffs. They get to play the Canucks who had a great second half to win their division and a lot of pressure to go far in the playoffs with the Sedin twins and Mats Sundin. I would love to take JD's team here and they will make this a long series, but I think the Blues won't have an answer for Roberto Luongo and the Canucks win in 7.

#4 Chicago vs #5 Calgary- The Hawks are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and will play a struggling Flames team. They have been hurt and lost their chance to have home-ice in the first round and now start on the road. The Flames are one of my favorite teams, Jarome Iginla is the best example of a Mark Messier in the NHL that we currently have, and that is ALWAYS a good thing. That said, the Hawks win in 5. They are playing well and the Flames aren't, plus Nikolai Khabibulin knows how to beat the Flames, going back to the 04 Cup Finals.

Now to the East:

#1 Boston vs #8 Montreal- The hatred between the Habs and B's runs deep and these two Original Six foes gave us a preview of things to come last Thursday. The Canadiens have enjoyed a 24-7 series advantage and in 2002 and 2004 have beaten the Bruins as an 8th seed and 7th seed. However, the Bruins are better in every way against the Habs and it will be the B's in 5.

#2 Washington vs #7 NY Rangers- We have come to my team, the Rangers, who played their best week of the year last week after beating the Habs and sweeping Philly to make the playoffs. They now get to play Ovie and the Caps who have Stanley Cup buzz. Like our other 2-7 matchup, the only edge the Rangers have is in net with Henrik Lundqvist. He needs to be absolutely great and hope Jose Theodore is poor in net since the Rags can't score with consistency. Anyone who thinks the Caps will win in 4 or 5 are nuts, but unfortunately I don't pick with my heart in this blog. Caps in 7 and let's move on.

#3 New Jersey vs #6 Carolina- The best goalie battle is here as MAAAAAAAAARRTY Brodeur and the Devils take on Cam Ward and the Canes. Sometimes, like with the Rangers, I have to go against my heart and pick against my team; other times, my heart and brain are in sync and I'm picking the Canes in 5. They have outplayed the Devils all year and only lost the last game to them when they sat out Ward. They have been one of the hottest teams in the East since March 1 and could be a sleeper Cup contender.

#4 Pittsburgh vs #5 Philadelphia- The rematch of last year's East finals will start in the same city as it did last year after the Flyers blew a 3-2 lead Sunday to the Rangers. Now they have to go to the Igloo to face Crosby, Malkin and the Pens. The Flyers had been my sleeper in the East all year since they can score with anyone, but they are maddening inconsistent and the Pens having Game 7 home is the difference, plus they are the other hot team in the East. Pens in 7.

Stanley Cup prediction:

The Sharks will find a way to finally get to the Stanley Cup finals and they will take on the Penguins, as much as it pains me to say. The Sharks win the Cup in 7 as Crosby must wait yet again for his championship. Now watch the Red Wings and Devils go to the finals.