Friday, October 24, 2008

Islanders Esoteric #6-08

Let me start off with the most tell tale stat of the season. Our friend Doug B's GAA while he is in attendence at the games is 6.00 versus 2.25 when he is not there. The numbers have spoken Doug.

One of the biggest tell tale sign that I see of our problems is the lack of face off wins. In this game we won 19 and lost 31. Not one of our players had won more face offs than they lost.

Streit and Sim become the 288th and 289th Islanders to ever score Goals for the Blue & Orange. They are also tied with a bunch of other players holding the #242 ranking in Goals.

Streit becomes the 173rd Islander to score a Power Play Goal.

ESOTERIC SCORING LINE
Guerin (2) Begrenheim Streit
Streit (1) Hunter Weight
Sim (1) Streit Gervais
Okposo, Comrie, Weight, Streit each with 2 PIMs
Bergenheim with 3 Penalties for 6 PIMs

ESOTERIC PACE
Streit is on pace for 13.7 Goals
Sim is on pace for 13.7 Goals
Streit is on pace for 54.7 Asissts
Gervais is on pace for 54.7 Assists

THE ESOTERIC

GUERIN in his #154th ranked 87 game scored his 25th Goal and is #73rd on the all-time Goal roster. He is tied with Jeff Finley in GP, Tom Fitzgerald in Goals and Don Maloney with 48 Points and the #108th Point spot.

STREIT's 3 Point night gives him a grand total of 5 Points and the #255th spot in Points. He has played in 6 Games with us and is ranked with 10 others at the prestigious #355th spot in GP. His 2 Assists, gives him 4 A's on the year and the #245th spot along with 19 other guys. His 1st PPG ties him with 43 others for the #130 spot.

SIM has now quadrupled his GP total from last season with 8GP's under his belt at #342nd. The Goal translates into his 2nd Point with the team at #296th all-time.

WEIGHT has played in 6 Games and matches STREITS GP totals. His single Assist tonight gives him a total of 3 Assists tying him with 17 others at the #264th place. The Point is his 5th which is only tied with 14 and the #255th notch on the big Esoteric Bulletin Board.

What do Oleg, Goring and HUNTER have in common? They have all played in 332 Games with the Islanders. Now the big question is Trent destined for 4 Cups or for matching up hair styles with The Mighty One? This moes Trent into a tie at the
#45th spot. His Assist is his 94th and puts him in sole possession of the #51st ranking. His 171st Point moves him into the top #40 all-time Points scores tied with J.P. Parise and Claude LaPointe.

BERGENHEIM plyed in his 130th GP and is #125th. His 19th Assis is good enough to land him at the #134th spot with 5 others. The Point gives him 35 with the team and is tied with Vasicek at #130th.

GERVAIS is a game behind Mike Kaszycki in the standing at #112th all-time in GP. His 27th Assists ties him with Steve Webb's friend, Eric Cairns and also Nemchinov at #117. The Point, his 30th, gives him an opportunity to share the #140th position with ostracized Islander Chris Simon.

Esoteric Standings 23 October

EASTERN CONFERENCE (7)
1. Buffalo - 13 [7] ---------- vs. 8. Toronto - 7 [7]
2. NY Ranjerks - 13 [9] --- vs. 7. Washington - 7 [7]
3. Carolina - 7 [6] ----------- vs. 6. New Jersey - 10 [6]
4. Montreal - 11 [6] -------- vs. 5. Pittsburgh - 11 [8]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Boston - 7 [7] -0
10. Florida - 6 [6](3W) -1
11. Atlanta - 6 [6](2W) -1
12. Ottawa - 5 [6](2W) -2
13. Tampa Bay - 5 [6](1W) -2
14. NY Islanders - 4 [6] -3
15. Philadelphia - 3 [6] -4

THURSDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE RESULTS
D-Toronto 4 @ Boston 2
I-Dallas 5 @ NY Islanders 3
Carolina 1 @ Pittsburgh 4
I-Buffalo 2 @ Minnesota 1 OT
I-Washington 1 @ Phoenix 2

FRIDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES
I-Anaheim @ Ottawa - 7:00
D-Philadelphia @ New Jersey - 7:00
I-NY Ranjerks @ Columbus - 7:00
I-San Jose @ Florida - 7:30
I-Atlanta @ Detroit - 7:30

SATURDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES
Atlanta @ Boston - 7:00
D-Ottawa @ Toronto - 7:00
I-Anaheim @ Montreal - 7:00
Carolina @ NY Islanders - 7:00
D-Pittsburgh @ NY Ranjerks - 7:00
D-New Jersey @ Philadelphia - 7:00
I-San Jose @ Tampa Bay - 7:30
I-Washington @ Dallas - 8:00
I-Florida @ St. Louis - 8:30
I-Buffalo @ Colorado - 9:00
D=Divisional game
I=Inter-conference game

WESTERN CONFERENCE (7)
1. San Jose - 12 [7] ---- vs. 8. Calgary - 7 [7]
2. Minnesota - 9 [5] --- vs. 7. Colorado - 8 [7]
3. Detroit - 9 [6] --------- vs. 6. Chicago - 8 [7]
4. Edmonton - 8 [6] ---- vs. 5. St. Louis - 8 [6]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Dallas - 7 [8] -0
10. Columbus - 6 [6] -1
11. Phoenix - 6 [6] -1
12. Vancouver - 6 [7] -1
13. Nashville - 6 [7] -1
14. Los Angeles - 4 [5] -3
15. Anaheim - 4 [7] -3

98 games played - 27 into OT - 27.60%.
27 OT games - 13 end in shootout = 48.2% OR 13.3% of ALL games end in shootout.
yesterday - 42 goals scored in 7 games = 6.00 goals per game.
total - 581 goals scored in 98 games = 5.93 gpg.
581 goals minus 13 SO goals = 568 = 5.80 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 11 shutouts = 1 per 8.91 games.
The eastern conference is 11-10-7 for 29 out of a possible 56 points against
the western conference. that equates to 51.8%.
The Isles have scored 14 goals = 2.33 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 21 goals = 3.50 gpg.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Esoteric Standings as of 22 October 2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (7)
1. NY Ranjerks - 13 [9] --- vs. 8. Boston - 7 [6]
2. Buffalo - 11 [6] ---------- vs. 7. Washington - 7 [6]
3. Carolina - 7 [5] ----------- vs. 6. New Jersey - 8 [5]
4. Montreal - 11 [6] -------- vs. 5. Pittsburgh - 9 [7]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Atlanta - 6 [6] -1
10. Ottawa - 5 [5] -2
11. Toronto - 5 [6] -2
12. Tampa Bay - 5 [6] -2
13. Florida - 4 [5] -3
14. NY Islanders - 4 [5] -3
15. Philadelphia - 2 [5] -5

TUESDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE RESULTS
D-Boston 2 @ Buffalo 3 SO
I-Anaheim 3 @ Toronto 2 SO
D-Atlanta 2 @ Tampa Bay 3 OT
I-Washington 1 @ Calgary 2

WEDNESDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES
Florida @ Ottawa - 7:00
I-Dallas @ New Jersey - 7:00
I-San Jose @ Philadelphia - 7:00

THURSDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES
D-Toronto @ Boston - 7:00
I-Dallas @ NY Islanders - 7:00
Carolina @ Pittsburgh - 7:30
I-Buffalo @ Minnesota - 8:00
I-Washington @ Phoenix - 10:00
D=Divisional game
I=Inter-conference game

WESTERN CONFERENCE (6)
1. San Jose - 10 [6] ---- vs. 8. Columbus - 6 [6]
2. Minnesota - 8 [4] --- vs. 7. Nashville - 6 [6]
3. St. Louis - 8 [5] ------ vs. 6. Colorado - 6 [6]
4. Edmonton - 8 [4] ---- vs. 5. Detroit - 7 [5]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Chicago - 6 [6] -0
10. Vancouver - 6 [7] -0
11. Calgary - 5 [6] -1
12. Dallas - 5 [6] -1
13. Los Angeles - 4 [5] -2
14. Phoenix - 4 [5] -2
15. Anaheim - 4 [7] -2

86 games played - 25 into OT - 29.1%.
25 OT games - 12 end in shootout = 48.0% OR 14.0% of ALL games end in
shootout.
yesterday - 24 goals scored in 5 games = 4.80 goals per game.
total - 507 goals scored in 86 games = 5.90 gpg.
507 goals minus 12 SO goals = 495 = 5.76 gpg minus shootout.
there have been 9 shutouts = 1 per 9.56 games.
the eastern conference is 10-8-6 for 26 out of a possible 48 points against
the western conference. That equates to 54.2%.
the Isles have scored 11 goals = 2.20 gpg.
the Isles have allowed 16 goals = 3.20 gpg

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Support the Economy.

Click on the picture to enlarge the image...



I kept seeing this image of the Rangers bench and the advertising below it on TV. Something about it just wasn't quite right. It took me a little while to put my finger on it, but then it dawned on me what was wrong - or right with this picture.

AIG is advertising at MSG. AIG, which is the company that is heading the charge of running our economy into the ground. It then goes and spits on the economy's grave by having those corporate sponsored events that were supposedly "preplanned".

Then you have The Rangers. Whose tactics over the years have laid ruin to the economy of the NHL.

Something needs to be done about both organizations before they destroy everything that is dear to us all!!!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Islanders Esoteric #5-08

Hmmph!!! Not alot to write about tonight. Normally, I am down on doing the esoteric after a loss but since it was a shut out it was pretty easy.

There really are no trends for tonight to speak of, except that Freddy Quatro is taking a few too many penalties for my liking. He has 10PIMs in the last 3 games and has not had a fight or major.

Another not so good trend I am noticing is the lack of winning faceoffs. We only had 1 guy who won more faceoffs than he lost. We won 23 and lost 28.

It is good to see Ricky back.

The only numbers that stuck out in the esoteric are TAMBELLINI moving up to tie the #168th spot with Gerry Desjardins in 80 Games Played. HUNTER is now tied with Ziggy in Games Played with 331 GP all-time and ranked at #45th.

Oh, and the Rangers lost in OT tonight to the Wings =)

Friday, October 17, 2008

Esoteric Rewind

I was looking around some old files and I came across the following blurb. This came from about 2 years ago the day of the trade deadline. Remember HUNTER played in his 330th game with the Islanders last night:
.
HUNTER had a 2-Goal evening. In his 225th Game as an Islander he is 2 Games behind Bryan Smolinski at
#77 all-time in Games Played. His 59th and 60th Goals with the Islanders makes him the 43rd player to ever
score 60 Goals or more tying him with Oleg (332 GP) and 4 Goals behind Jude Drouin. His Points, garner
him the #57 spot all-time with 119 Points 1 Pont behind Brad Dalgarno (321 GP).

Islanders Esoteric 4-08: Tale of Two Bobs.

Our 2nd win. Congrats to COMRIE & WEIGHT for breaking into the top 100. Read more to find out in what category.

HUNTER is the Games Played (GP) all-time leader amongst active players with 330GP. The next three active on the list are MARTINEK, DIPIETRO and CAMPOLI. The next guy on the list that isn’t hurt is PARK with 162GP.

With last nights Game Winner (GWG), HUNTER extends his lead amongst the active players with 9GWG. Incidentally, he is tied for #33 with Travis Green, Izzy, Roman, Marty McInnis and the Mighty One amongst more recent players. He is also tied with Butchy and Lorne amongst the more “senior” alumni.

MEYER IV had his second 4PIM game in a row.

All-time now, there have been 139 players never to score a goal even though they played with the Islanders. This includes 33 of our 34 goalies.

This was the Islanders 2,800 franchise game and was their 1,225th franchise Win.

**JOEY**
2 other Islander Goalies have played in only 6 games – Big Valley & Marcel Coustineau.

2 others have 2 Wins with the Islanders – Big Valley & Chris Terreri.

Joey ranks 26th in Minutes Played (MP) on the all-time Goalies MP list.

**PIMS**
COMRIE has 95PIMs and is #123 overall tied with Wayne McBean and Hector Marini.

MEYER’s 4PIMS allows him to jump 11 players in the standing and ties him with two players at the #54th spot overall, HILBERT and current Philadelphia Phantoms head coach, Craig BERUBE. Ever see this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlQw8cnsvF4

**PACE & STREAKS**
HUNTER 4G in 3 GP
GUERIN is on pace for 41A and 61.5Pts for the season.
COMRIE is on pace for 41G and 61.5Pts for the season
WEIGHT is on pace for 82G for the season
GERVAIS is on pace for 61.5A on the season

**ESOTERIC**

COMRIE in his 80GP is tied with Gerry Desjardins at #168th. His 23rd Goal lands him in the top 80 overall, breaking a tie with Jeff Norton, Uwe Krupp and PARK. His 29th Assist ties him with 4 others at the #111th spot with HILBERT, Mick Vukota, Dave Hudson, and Randy Boyd. His 2-point game gives him a total of 52Pts and enters him into the all-time Islander’s top 100 in scoring.

WEIGHT becomes the 241st player to ever score 2 Goals with the Islanders. He was also the 287th player to ever score a Goal *EVER* with the team. His mere 4GP is #371st and ties him with 14 others. The Goal tonight was his 2nd Power Play Goal (PPG) and breaks him into the top 100 at #99 with 28 others. He is #268th overall in Points tied with 15 others with his 4 Points.

HUNTER is the active leader in a bunch of categories right now. I mentioned above the players he was tied with in the all-time GWG category. Let’s hope Trent tends towards the success of Butchy and Lorne than the other bunch. TRENT had a multi-Goal night in his 330GP with the Islanders. He is tied with Shawn Bates at #47th overall in theh GP category. His 76th & 77th Goals jumps him over Claude Lapointe for the #37 spot on all-time Goal scorers. He is again tied with Bates in Points at #42nd with 170 Points.

GUERIN has been here now for 85GP. Is that true? He just got here, what? Yesterday? 85 GP places him at #155th with Randy Boyd, Mike Hough and Mattias Timander. His Assist is his 23rd and lands him at the #129th spot with MAB, Mike Watt and Big Z. His 47 Points ties him and Bob Bassen together at #109th overall in Points.

GERVAIS now has 142GP under his belt and broke the tie with Sergei Nemchinov to gain sole possession of the #112th spot overall. His 26th Assist with the Islanders ties him with Viktor Kozlov, Mats Lindgren and Dale Henry at #119th. The Assist gives him 29 Points and is #141st tied with Big Z.

OKPOSO
13GP tied with 3 others at #315th.
5A ties him with 110 others at #232nd.
7Pts is #240 tied with 5 others including Brett Lindros and NIELSEN

NIELSEN
35GP ties him with Bob Beers and Jason Dawes at #250th overall. His 2 Assist night gives him 4 total Assists with the team and tied with 18 others at #244th overall. Glenn Healey and Frans are tied with 7 Points a piece and 4 others at the #240th spot.

TAMBELLINI
70GP tied with Roger Kortko at #169th.
14A is his 14th and #156th tying him with 9 others.
18Pts at #167th overall. Tied with 6 others including Webby and Harvard Alumni and current head coach, Ted Donato

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Islanders Esoteric - The First One

Its here – Finally. The first edition of this year’s esoteric.

What do Park, Turgeon and Flately have in common? Read on and you will see.

The Islanders have now played in 1,400 games at home with the loss to St Louis. They will play their 1,400 Away game and their 2,800th Franchise game on Thursday in TB.

Thomas Pock, who was the only player not to play on Friday, gets the distinction of being the 426th player to ever lace up the skates for the Islanders in a regular season game. Thompson would be 425th, Streit would be 424th and Doug Weight would be the 423rd players accordingly.

426!!!

Witt went over 1300 NHL PIMs during the melee the other afternoon. Weight is 3 PIMs shy of 900 total.

I am trying to confirm but I think Park is only at 92 NHL Assists and is 8 Assists away from 100 NHL Assists.

Hunter is on pace for a 54.7 G season
Weight, Streit and Gervais are on pace for a 54.7 Assist season
Weight is on pace for an 82 Pts season.

CURRENT ALL-TIME ACTIVE LEADERS

GP = Hunter @ #47 with 329 GP (1 GP behind Bates)
G = Hunter @ #38 with 75 G (1 G behind Claude LaPointe)
A = Hunter @ #51 with 93 A (Tied with Peca)
Pts = Hunter @ #44 with 168 Pts (Tied with Scatchard)
PIMs = Witt @ #70 with 199 PIMs in 143 GP (Martinek has 199 PIMs in 324 GP)
PPG = Hunter @ #21 with 30 PPG
SHG = Park @ #19 with 6 SHG tied with Turgeon and Flats
GWG = Hunter @ #40 with 8 GWG


HEY HEY GOODBYE

Straight ranking of some of those that left us:

SATAN#71 with 243 GP
#36 with 78 G
T#54 with 88 A with Ken Morrow
#46 with 166 Pts
T#24 with 29 PPG with David Volek
#95 with 139 PIMs
T#40 with 8 GWG

BERARD
#72 with 242 GP
#63 with 31 G
#44 with 100 A
#56 with 131 Pts
#51 with 267 PIMs
T#34 with 17 PPG with Anders Kallur

BATES
#46 with 330 GP
#45 with 58 G
#36 with 112 A
#42 with 170 Pts
#63 with 222 PIMs
#6 with 13 SHG – 3 SHGs behind Bob Bourne
#29 with 10 GWG

SIMON
#145 with 95 GP
#140 with 30 Pts
#103 with 118 PIMs

FEDETENKO
#198 with 67 GP
T#105 with 16 G
T#133 with 33 Pts
T#56 with 8 PPG with 4 others including the Mighty Oleg and Bertuzzi

VASICEK
#166 with 81 GP
T#105 with 16 G
#130 with 35 Pts


I work hard on keeping the stats correct. I use a variety of sources and crunch the numbers. Problems arise. It could be my entering a formula or stat incorrectly. It could also be that one source has one piece of info and another source has another. I crunch the numbers trying to make the numbers make the most sense. So if you see an error let me know.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Esoteric Standings as of 14 October

EASTERN CONFERENCE (3)
1. NY Ranjerks - 10 Pts [5 GP] --- vs. 8. Ottawa - 3 Pts [3 GP]
2. Montreal - 5 [3] -------------- vs. 7. Atlanta - 3 [2]
3. Carolina - 4 [3] -------------- vs. 6. New Jersey - 4 [3]
4. Buffalo - 4 [2] --------------- vs. 5. Washington - 4 [3]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Pittsburgh - 3 Pts [3 GP] -0 Pts out of playoffs
10. Toronto - 3 [3] -0
11. Boston - 2 [2] -1
12. Florida - 2 [2] -1
13. NY Islanders - 2 [3] -1
14. Tampa Bay - 1 [3] -2
15. Philadelphia - 0 [2] -3

MONDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE RESULTS
I-St. Louis 5 @ Toronto 4 SO
Buffalo 7 @ NY Islanders 1
D-New Jersey 1 @ NY Ranjerks 4
Montreal 5 @ Philadelphia 3
I-Vancouver 1 @ Washington 5
I-Detroit 3 @ Carolina 1

TUESDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES
D-Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh - 7:00
I-Minnesota @ Atlanta - 7:00

WEDNESDAY'S EASTERN CONFERENCE GAMES
Buffalo @ NY Ranjerks - 7:00
D-Boston @ Montreal - 7:30

D=Divisional game
I=Inter-conference game

WESTERN CONFERENCE (2)
1. San Jose - 6 [3] ----- vs. 8. Edmonton - 2 [1]
2. Vancouver - 4 [3] --- vs. 7. Minnesota - 2 [1]
3. Detroit - 4 [3] -------- vs. 6. St. Louis - 4 [3]
4. Phoenix - 4 [2] ------- vs. 5. Nashville - 4 [3]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Columbus - 2 [2] -0
10. Dallas - 1 [2] -1
11. Calgary - 1 [2] -1
12. Chicago - 1 [3] -1
13. Colorado - 0 [2] -2
14. Anaheim - 0 [2] -2
15. Los Angeles - 0 [2] -2

38 games played - 9 into OT - 23.7%.
9 OT games - 3 end in shootout = 33.3% OR 7.9% of ALL games end in shootout.
yesterday - 45 goals scored in 7 games = 6.43 goals per game.
total - 223 goals scored in 38 games = 5.87 gpg.
223 goals minus 3 SO goals = 220 = 5.79 gpg minus shootout.
there have been 2 shutouts = 1 per 19.00 games.
the eastern conference is 6-3-1 for 13 out of a possible 20 points against
the western conference. That equates to 65.0%.
the Isles have scored 7 goals = 2.33 gpg.
the Isles have allowed 11 goals = 3.67 gpg.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Less than a Week to Islanders Esoteric #1-08

Just wanted to give a heads up of what is in store for the Esoteric once the season starts. We take a look at the stats from a different angle. Sure you can read the standings in the paper or on the internet but we correlate these numbers to years gone by, alumni and the relation to the other teams fighting to make the playoffs. Get familiar with a couple of our past blogs and see you next week in Jersey.
.
I also want to make mention that we will be keeping close tabs on the Lighthouse Project and upcoming events to get the groundbreaking to happen next summer.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Light Post

A new blog hit the street recently that is written by one of those girls that stand by that table that has the big picture of the new coliseum. In other words, Katrina has been putting all the stuff that have been going on with the Lighthouse Project in an easy to read blog. The main lighthouse page is great for getting the facts but it is nice to read about the behind the scene stuff that goes on and seeing all the hard work that these people are putting forth.

To check out her blog go to: http://lighthouseliblog.blogspot.com/

Sunday, September 14, 2008

A note back from Brandon

I took a moment and shot off an email to Brandon last night to welcome him to the Island.
Here is his response:
"Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. I am going to work the hardest I have worked in my life to make your team, and, I hope that very soon I will call it my team too. see ya soon, Sugar."
This is what I am talking about! I want guys that want to be here. Screw the media saying that guys don't want to play here.
Note that he signed off as "Sugar" a classic nickname in the making.



Saturday, September 13, 2008

Congrats to Brandon!!!

I wanted to say congrats to Brandon and his announcing his official invite to training camp.
As my friend Pat said to night it would be a dream come true to have the Wrecker, Fritz and a little bit of Sugar in the opening line up against the Rangers!!!!
Welcome to Long Island
.



Monday, August 18, 2008

Cool Shots Episode with the 7th Man

This is my segment on NHL Cool Shots:



Deb Kaufman interviewed me in November of 2003:

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Our New Coach - Graphically

Hartley. Blah, blah, blah.
Maurice. Yadda, Yadda. Yadda.
Gordon Who?

I don't have any feeling either way about this whole thing but I knew that out of the three we would end up with the guy with a name that the Ranger fans can shove down our collective throats. This and only this reaon is why I am ho hum about his selection. Here is my graphic representation of how I feel:



It's not just the name. Its the thought of what will happen at the next Islanders-Rangers game and the Coliseum is filled with 50% rag idiots chanting "Gordons Fishsticks" just makes me cringe.

It will only get worse during our regrowth period if these kids don't do well in the beginning.

We can put a man on the moon but we can't figure out how NOT to sell tickets to rag fans. For me this is one of the worst things that happens during my Islanderfandom. It is embarassing and makes it that much more of a challenge for us, as fans, to connect with our boys on the ice. These games are part of one of the greatest rivaries in all of sports. I say a new rule that should be implemented, if there is a scuffle between two guys, one in Isles garb and one in Rag's rags, the rag fan should be automatically tossed no matter what.

***** A GOOD OMEN *****

When I first saw a picture of the new coach I immediately thought of Davey from the old Sunday morning TV show, "Davey and Goliath." If Coach Gordon and his new "Goliath" can instill in our kids the ethics, character and heart that cartoon "Davey and Goliath" did, then our team and the new kids will be alright.

Good Luck Coach and Welcome to Long Island!


Wednesday, July 30, 2008

5 Islanders at Team Canada Development Camp

Sorry for the video quality but I was using my cell phone. A small rink not unlike Iceworks except for more stands. The place was sold out and I almost didn't make it in the game. Very fast game and alot of hitting. It was a smash up derby out there. I was able to catch one of the big hits that happened right in front of me on camera as well. I got to meet all five of our guys at the Spirit of Light festival on Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa later that night. I happened to mention to them that as much as I support them as Islanders I would be rooting for Team USA come December. To this Bailey responds that he will get me immediately deported from Canada.



Bailey:



Bailey Again:



Hamonic:



Trivino:



Spurgeon:

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Roger on Fox & Friends and Today Show as Fan of the Year

The Cool Shots episode that covers my day as 7th Man:




Here is Roger meeting Brian and Steve. I was still a bit drunk, hungover and hoarse from the night before.



Here is Roger with Ann Curry who was one of our emedded reporters in Iraq:

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Bailey Tribute from Isles Illustrated

Captain's Corner - SI & Islander Media Reporting

I love the Isles just as much as anyone....and am an "entrenched customer" of the team......

But the shortest book on Amazon right now - is:

"Islanders 1994-2008 - 15 years of elite hockey"

It has zero pages.....

The recent history of the team *TOTALLY* matters.

What matters more - is - WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY?"

A *totally* valid point - is that the reporting on the team has a lot of info that is not accurate. This is bad reporting - and it diminishes the credibility of who wrote it.

When you get down to brass tacks - why should anyone (other than the NY area papers - who should cater to the readers of the local area) spend any time covering this team? The only reason is to watch the train wreck of achievements this team has made. Its the only thing interesting about the team.....with an occasional "blip" of good things (i.e. The 2001 playoff run, the Shooutout win with Dubie, the Arbour game) The S.I. story did a good job pointing out our shortcomings....and its fair game for the media.

I have a friend who is an executive at ESPN, and I spent an hour with her the other day discussing the NHL - and ESPN does NOT WANT THE NHL AT ALL. Maybe the playoffs, and then, they want the FINALS TOO - but the league wants that on broadcast TV.....hence - a disconnect.

Getting ANY hockey on the media's radar screen is tough enough for WINNING teams...even harder for those who are out of the money.

The bad reporting is usually minor points (Such as saying that Neil Smith quit when he was actually fired - but either way - he's gone) and while annoying - the general direction of the article is accurate.

Its not much we can do about it as fans/customers - and the team cannot do too much about it - except provide media outlets with positive news, etc.

The reason why I am somewhat BULLISH on the Islanders - is that its clear to me
(well, sort of clear) that the team HAS A PLAN....and one that Snow seems intent on sticking to. I think that for the next year or two - EXPECT TO SEE MORE BAD STORIES ON THE TEAM....or worse - NO STORIES ON THE TEAM......as we rebuild.

I am *Totally* hate it when the writers - especially out of market (read:CANADA) write dirt on our team. But we are what our track record says we are. And history does impact that - because IT DID NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. If we held onto the picks and prospects and had a real GM those years - we had a shot to have fielded a good team. Too many GM gaffes and too many wierdo things by the ownership group(s) have cost us dearly. All documented - but its time to draw the line in the sand (starting with THIS offseason) as the time where we make the decision to REBUILD and *MANAGE THE EXPECTATIONS* of the fan base.

To say that what happened in the past does not matter in how the team is perceived in the media - its just wrong. IT DOES. It will take *WINNING* to turn it around.

It will also take a lot of use of asterisks * * * to point out good things the team is doing....and we should all try to find the good in the team too. There is a lot of good stuff going on now - and will be in the future.

Have to give Garth Snow a chance here.

Have to work hard to convince the customers that there is no free lunch, that there is a road to rebuilding and to include them as part of the solution - to make the Coliseum a dreaded place for opposing teams to play. This will take time. But if we make another Trevor Linden type deal - I will FLIP OUT.

BUILD VIA THE DRAFT !!!!!!!! DEVELOP OUR OWN PROSPECTS !!!!!!!!

I hope its less than 5 years from now - but someday soonish - we will be having tailgate parties in late may and early june watching OUR TEAM march on to the Cup. I will settle for the first week in May in 2 years....right now !!! (meaning we win a playoff series - and may that opponent we beat be the NY RAGS)

I want to see the next generation of ISLES ICONS and they aint going to choose to come here - till we develop a CORE GROUP OURSELVES.

Rant over !!!!!

But hockey writers - for our sake - GET THE STORIES RIGHT!

Its not too much to ask for !! :)

And Isles - lets give them some GOOD stuff to write about - and we can start by hiring a GREAT COACH !!

Pat

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Victory Iced Tea Esoteric

On July 17, Dan Sallows, a columnist on the Bleacher Report wrote an article about Quenneville and his liking of Long Island Iced Teas. You can see Dan's story at: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/38795-the-nhl-insider-rumours-and-gossip-from-around-the-league.

Since Dan brought up the potential Iced Tea connection that we may have in our future, I decided to write about a tradition that we have amongst my friends that dates back to the 70's. In fact, Victory Iced Tea and the Esoteric's early beginings are married together.

It’s called Victory Iced Tea. In reality, it is King Kullen brand Iced Tea Mix, that came in the black box, with 10 each 1.5oz. packets, UPC is 010500. The original product had to be from the packets in the box to be valid. Nowadays, with cost reduction, etc. Victory Tea can be found in packets in a plastic bag.

This and only this product, in the packets, has been known, by my family and friends as Victory Tea for four decades. YES, I said 4 decades. VT started for me when my cousin, Larry, who was from Nesconsett at the time, moved in with my Grandmother in East Meadow to attend Nassau Community College. Larry and his friends were all hockey fans and HUGE fans of the New York Islanders. Back then the games were primarily broadcast on Cablevision, this group of friends needed a place to go. Larry, as a college Kid, had cable and my grandmother let him and a half dozen friends stay and watch the games at her house. At the time I was about 10 years old and it was great spending time like that with my grandmother, cousin and his friends. As my own girls, Abby Nystrom, Ally Gillies and Amelia Potvin get older I will pass on the tradition to a fourth generation (4-G-er)of Islander fans. In fact, 4-G-ers have already made an impact as one of the original 6 friend's son actually works at King Kullen. The power of the Tea is just and almighty.

Victory Tea evolved with the Islanders prosperity and along with it came a ritual of the actual VT making process. VT originated in the early 70’s as the guys were underage and could not partake of malted beverages. VT was born and subsequently, we had almost 10 years to hone the process until the 1984 finals. Since that time, we have only had the opportunity to savor pure VT only 29 times in over 20 years and only 9 of those 29 pitchers of VT have been from the second round. Perhaps with the widespread knowledge sharing ability the power of VT can be regained and we can storm through the second round in the coming years.

The process must be followed to the “T”, anything else would be considered sacrilegious against the Islander gods and doom the team to a multi-game losing streak. I continue to question whether any of us had severely violated the VT code in the past which has led to the Islanders dry spell. Do not laugh VT is powerful stuff.

The ritual begins with the hermetically sealed packets. This is important because if any of the mix left the packet early or was exposed the VT would be tainted and destroy the powerful positive energy of the Victory Iced Tea. This seal can not be broken until victory is imminent. I remember times we have made VT too early and the Islanders lost. It has magical powers, do not question it. Original VT has to be made in a green Tupperware pitcher; you know the kind with the round lid that can be turned to allow for just liquid flow on one side or flow to allow ice cubes on the other.

VT evolved as a celebration of playoff victories and is the purest form of Victory Iced Tea. Over the years as I have been away from home for over 21 years in the US Army, Victory Tea has been my own private celebration abroad, after the team wins a game.

Realize that this year I have drank VT during different deployments to Iraq, Korea, Colombia, Poland and Czech Republic to name a few places. During past seasons I have carted VT with me to various corners of the globe and actually have drank of VT in a combat zone. It has been such a meaningful tradition with us that when my grandmother passed away about a year ago, we included a packet of VT when we sent her on her way, since she had always been a huge Islander fan and a 93 year resident of Long Island and East Meadow.

The actually process of making the VT starts with the actual decision to make the Tea. Since as I mentioned early, this is very powerful, you need to take caution and not open the packet too early. Once victory is imminent and you decide to make the Tea, carefully open the packet. Ensure that the packet remains as one piece and you do not tear the top off so there is two separate pieces. This would be considered bad. Next, you take the VT vessel and fill it with water. VT powder must not touch anything besides the packet it is delivered and water.

Once the packet is empty fill the packet with water, swish the water in the packet around and dump the residual water and mix into the VT vessel. This process ensures that all the mix is completely consumed from the tight seals of the packet itself. Place the torn top into as close of an original position as possible and fold the top over at least once. Place the empty packet near a central location in the room, such as the TV where you would watch the game. Nowadays, it would be deemed appropriate to keep it near the computer with the advent of the internet. You will need to keep this packet in hand until the next victory when the process is repeated and the old packet now is obsolete.

The choice of vessel is important. If you can find an old green tuppperware pitcher this will work the best and keep the Islander gods happy. However, whatever vessel you choose it must only be used for VT and nothing else. Once pure VT is made in a vessel it will serve only as the vessel to hold Victory Iced Tea.

The issue we face nowadays is that VT in it's purest form is harder and harder to find, even in the plastic bag pouches. After extensive research into the manufacturing process of VT, it is discovered that VT is actually made at 4C in Brooklyn, who knew it was made here on "Long Island". Yes, Long Island. What body of water do you cross to go from the coliseum to Brooklyn? None. Thus, Victory Tea is actually a Long Island based product.

Do not mess with the power of the Tea.

In order to help find Victory Tea here is a link to King Kullen store locater webpage:

http://kingkullen.mywebgrocer.com/StoreLocator.aspx?s=4384250&f=cir