The Final Score

What about me?!?!
Let's make sure we're clear here: Al Arbour Night sure seemed to be loads of fun for everyone involved, from the fans to the players to Arbour himself. It sure was neat to see him behind the players on the bench for the first time since 1994, providing what had to be an emotional lift.
And that's what Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum was all about -- emotion -- which is truly great for a team and a sport that desperately needs all the love they can get.
But is it right that Arbour gets the credit for the win? Is it right that he will go down in the NHL official records as having coached one game during the 2007-08 season?
I guess there's no rule against it, and it's not like Arbour was breaking any record. So, granted, this isn't the same as Brett Favre looking as if he intentionally fell down so Michael Strahan can record his record-breaking sack.
But I have a hard time accepting the fact that Arbour gets credit for the game and the win when his presence was completely ceremonial. In baseball there is a rule that limits the number of coaches who are in uniform in the dugout during the game, but I skimmed through the NHL record books and I couldn't find a similar rule. So why not bill it as Arbour coming back for his 1,500th game behind the bench with the Islanders and raise the banner after the game? Make him the honorary coach. Just not the head coach.
There's a difference between "coaching" and coaching, but there is no difference between 1,499 and 1,500 in the record books. NHL spokesman Frank Brown confirmed this morning Arbour "will be credited with the victory," meaning the 75-year-old Islanders legend will officially be listed as having coached one game this season.
Meanwhile, up in Toronto at the Hockey Hall of Fame, Craig Campbell was planning to check Arbour's glass plaque to see if the brief biography makes any specific reference to his victory total as a NHL coach or the total number of games that he spent as the Islanders coach.
He initially said in our telephone conversation that he didn't envision a need to change the plaque, but then realized there may be inaccuracies in the numbers. "We try to be historically accurate, so if it's on there, I would envision we would have to make a change," he said.
Islanders spokesman Chris Botta vehemently defended Arbour's win, saying Arbour prepared for a month by reviewing game tapes, scouting reports and line combinations. "At the game he was at the center of the bench, working, encouraging, calling out some line combinations," Botta said. "He earned the game coached, and the win."
Who knows? Maybe this is going to start a trend in sports.
If only the White Sox saw what the Islanders had planned with Arbour, team officials could have taken the focus off their late-season struggles and boosted their attendance by bringing Carlton Fisk out of retirement to right a wrong in his career. The Hall of Famer played in 2,499 games.
Our love of round numbers in sports is funny. Why stop with Red, Fisk and Arbour? Bring back Mike Hargrove to Baltimore so he can manage game No. 700. Maybe Joe Torre should step aside in Los Angeles so that Dodgers icon Tommy Lasorda can go for win No. 1,600. Ron Darling can come out of the broadcast booth to go for his 100th win as a Met. Or, better yet, go get Vince Coleman so the Mets can insert him as a pinch runner and he can take a chance at that elusive 100th stolen base as a Met.
There was nothing wrong with having an Al Arbour night and putting him behind the bench for the 1,500th time with the Islanders. Everyone there still would have had a blast. But let's stop fooling ourselves. In my record books, I'm crediting Ted Nolan with the win.