On the Islanders Beat

Bergie plays with energy and hits people. Why is he an Islander?
The most vanilla soft hockey team on earth does not deserve him.

Lets see, sign Hunter for 2mm a year...that makes Bergie a 4mm a year bargain!

Go Flames Go.

Amen Steady---I'm watching Erskine and Company smash people and Philly throw their bodies around. The Islanders are indeed a softy bunch and its tough to watch.

We need more than one enforcer..we need a whole new team of tougher guys. I cant take another season of Hunter and Co....Richard park on the 4th line, or Tamby...ugh!

Scre the Flames.

Katie, Congrats on an excellent job. This blog has improved tremendously in just the short time since you have taken it over.
Hopefully, Murdoch will dump Logan and the rest of the so called writers who slant everything that is printed in Newsday.

Must be a lot of nervous editorial writers and columnists in the old news room these days.

505, do you remember the Long Island Star Journal and then the Long Island Press? I beleive that both were folded into the Newsday back in the day?.......Sir William

Whats up fellas... haven't posted here in a while because this blog won't allow me to post from my phone anymore, but I have been on here reading every day.

The fact that Bergy is not signed for next year is a tragedy... the worst things that could happen to this team now is not to bring back Nolan and Bergy. Is he RFA or UFA, because if he is the later, there are probably many teams interested in his services for next year.

I know this is late, but the indidviduals here who devote personal time to help with the "project" deserve a lot of credit. I hope it happens so we are assured that our team stays in its rightful home... but as long as they are refered to as the New York Islanders I will have no objections. Some have shown their doubts of the Lighthouse every being built, but to throw jabs at those who are trying to make a difference is wrong.

There is nothing to say to the NYR trolls.... their team is obviously on the right track and our team MAY be starting to take the correct road. On top of that they are trucking along and will be for years to come, while we are wondering when we will make the playoffs again. But this is the beauty of sports... eventually the scripts will be reversed and "Rag Contraction" could go on their blog and spew garbage.

As many already know, I always take a positive outlook on the Isles (I have no idea how I maintain this). Crazier things have happened than the Isles catching fire next year so this is what I am looking forward to. Hopefully the worst case scenario is that we have a sh!!tty team that allows young player to develop (and a healthy DP for the whole season). Lets hope the Snow Man proves us wrong and somehow becomes capable of becoming a REAL GM. Remember.. crazier things have happened.

I've enjoyed reading over the last couple of weeks, and I hope that the posts stay as interesting as they have been.... peace... I'm out!

PS- Katie is way more into this than Greg seems to be.... one question we all need to know..... are you an Isles fan or just assigned a job to do.... doesn't make a difference just curious!

Mass,

Bergie is a RFA ...so he realistically isn't going anywhere ...and to be honest while I love him on this team if some other team wanted to sign him away from us and give us the ton of picks it would take it might be a good thing ...but I doubt that will happen and I'm sure the Isles will be smart and sign him up for a few more years ....

themass -- Thanks for the shout-out re the Lighthouse. Much appreciated!!

For #1 on the previous blog .... to satisfy your curiosity ... No ... I don't drive a "red spors car" ... but my Rotty has a red 1968 convertable mustang ... does that count?

What the hell does having a certain breed of dog have to do with a red sports car? Explain that mentality ... and maybe we'll all have some more insight into the way you think ... and can eventually ::cough:: come around to your way of thinking and become a Rag fan ... please .... ::cough:: help us .... please!!!

Also ... your question asking if my co-worker was also a doctor shows your lack for attention to detail ... where just previous to that I mentioned everything that points to me working in the media. Hellloooooo ... McFlyyyyyyyyyy!!!???

Hamilton ... uhhhh ... think about this for a second ... #1- Hamilton is in the extreme west part of Lake Ontario .... die hard Leaf country ... anyone who is a hockey fan ... and most Canadians love their hockey .... is already a dedicated Leaf fan ... I've been to Hamilton ... it is about a 30-35 minute drive from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. #2- The powers that be in Toronto would never ever let that happen... Hamilton has already been debunked in expansion ... there is no way they'd take a struggling franchise and relocate it in a metro area less than Long Island in population with a die hard Leaf fan base .... not to mention that to the south east at the Niagra corridor has a good base of Sabre fans too. #3 ... it's pointless having an intelligent debate with you since you're obviously blind to rationality.

Katie ~~ Love the updates ... I concur with my fellow bloggers ... you are doing a good job keeping us up to date. Appreciate that.
------------------------------------------
Well ... after the first round of the playoffs ... 3 of the 4 teams I picked in the east advanced .... Habs, Pens, Rags ... but Caps ruined my perfect score in OT last night ...

In the West ... I remained 100% ... thanks Sharks ....

I figured Wings, Avs, Sharks and Stars ... so overall 7 of 8 I picked advanced.

So for the next round I pick Habs and Pens to advance to the Eastern finals ... I think both those series' will go 6 games. In the West I pick the Wings and Sharks... also both will go 6 games. Goaltending with be the key in all series' .. Henrik will keep it interesting for the Raggeds .. but I think the contrast between the Devils and Pens will not serve the Rangers well as the Pens will be able to wear the Rangers down. Not to mention the tendency for the officiating to favor the Crosby led Pens over the NY teams. Not making an excuse for the Rangers ... it's just a fact that we as Isles fans also know.

Habs have a better defensive system then the Caps and the Flyers will not find as many holes to exploit against the Habs as they were able to do against the up and coming Caps. The Habs goaltending will not be as easy for the Flyers to beat.

Out west ... Wings and Avs re-new their rivalry ... this is my favorite series out of all four. Not because I follow the Wings too .. but because I think both teams match up very well against each other ... this series of all 4 has the best chance to go 7 games... I expect a lot of 1 goal difference wins in this series. Throw in a few over times also. Wings will still get out in 6 ... Just too deep for the Avs .. and can play any style.

I've only seen the Sharks and Dallas play a handful of times this year ... but ... I'm going with the Sharks ... just a hunch. They stumbled only briefly in the last quarter of the season .. but they are a western powerhouse ... and I think just might be too much for the Stars ... again ... close games that take the Sharks 6 games to win the series.

The Oracle picked every series correct...Even the Flyers in 7.

He stands by his picks.

Rags over Pitt in 7
MTL over Philly in 6.

Rags vs. Shark in cup !

***Potti with the penalty to kill Washington. ***
***Ovechkin a one man wrecking crew ***

I'm no oracle Steady ... but that Cap / Flyer series was a tough pick... went with the hot hand ... the Flyers practically backed into the playoffs ... and the Caps and Ovy were hot ... took a Game 7 OT to decide .... great series.

I'm sticking with my Wing pick to win the cup ... I know it's easy to pick the Presidents trophy winner ... but just a gut feeling.

Sir William.

Can't say I remember the Star Journal.....but I absolutely do remember the LI Press. Jack Lang was their sport's columnist and he was a baseball icon and a treasure.
And from my memory, the LI Press simply folded, and was in no way "absorbed" or taken over by Newsday....Lang went on to write for the Daily News.

My only predictions regarding the rest of the Cup series is that Billy Jaffe will continue to outshine Chris Simpson as the on ice reporter for Versus. If I hear one more "what was going through your mind" question from Simpson I am gonna puke. While Jaffe is making legitimate observations like "from my angle the Calgary D-men are playing too soft in front of Kiprasov".
I am the 1st one to vote for good looking women being involved in hockey.......but PLEASE....know something about the game, so that barcoloungers like me can enjoy what they are doing.

A case of beer to the 1st hockey player who answers a reporter's "What was going through your mind when you scored the winning goal?" question with one of the following answers.....

A/"I'm gonna have to answer this dumb question if I score here".
B/"Have you seen the goalie's wife?.I was thinkin......If I can score on him, maybe I can score on her".
C/"The Pythagorean Theorem".
D/"Going through my mind??? Lady, I play hockey".
E/"Cuz our owner is so cheap, If I score here, I'm still gonna have to sleep in a Holiday Inn Express tonight".
F/"I had a visual of your clothes draped over my bedpost"
G/"Lady, what goes through any guy's mind every 9 seconds or so in a 24 hour period?"

505 .....

or H/ I'd love to be serving a 10 minute misconduct in the sin bin with the chick that asks dumb questions.

Following up with the beloved Busey from one of the previous entries:

Posted by Busey | April 22, 2008 15:10

"I wasnt attacking anyone. I dont know why you have to get all pissy."

Sure Busey, you weren't attacking anyone when you posted:

"Thats nice that you played well in the Metro Hummer ice challenge. However, that doesn't mean they are anywhere close to even sniffing the playoffs, let alone a cup."

I would actually say you were attacking every Islander fan on this site, and we are supposed to turtle like Trent Hunter during a fight?

And if you noticed, my reply to your post was not just directed at you, it was directed at all the Rags fans with bloated heads because they have accomplished this amazing feat of winning 1 playoff series in each of the last two years.

Sure, better than the Isles, but nothing that would make me jump up and down and proclaim the Rags as some powerhouse when compared to the other up and coming teams you mentioned, or even the "lowly" Isles.

And just to rehash - that is reinforced by the fact the Rags clinched their playoff spot in game #80, despite all the marquee names and talent that is on that team. Yes, my post was a backhanded complement about these guys, but fact is, you cannot tell me that payroll is irrelevant when the Rags probably have one of the highest in the league versus those of teams like the Caps and Bruins who were breathing down your necks (remember, your 5th place finish was only 3 points above the 8th place team, and 5 points above the 9th).

Again, I would be more scared if I were a Rags fan and I have this whopper of a team, but I am just getting into the playoffs by the skin of my teeth late in the season.

I am a lot less scared about the Caps and Bruins as an Isles fan because I see these teams (maybe not the Caps because they have #8) as being in similar positions, and teams we will be and should be fighting with to barely finish in a playoff spot.

Posted by Busey | April 22, 2008 15:12

"D - Money,

Kill Yourself

Regards,
Busey"

I see that you like to resort to 3rd grade playground tactics when someone backs you into a corner and you have no response. Thanks for the well wishes.

One last thing: I'm pissy because the Isles missed the playoffs.

You'd be even more pissy than me if your beloved Rags were out it too.

Busey is generally "okay" with his remarks, but like many people who get kicked off of Zipay's blog or contribute to the myriad of double secret probations that occur there, he has a tendency to regress into the upper Broadway threats and name calling that turn that board into the cesspool it can be at times.

All part of being a Ranger fan?

I know Busey is a good poster, so I was surprised at his backhanded jab at the Isles, and his and other Rags fans short memories when it comes to their preseason expectations and the way they actually got into the playoffs.

Just trying to interject some realism on that side of the fence too...

I would not be pissy if my team was out because I would have accepted the fact that they suck and call for changes.

You guys are crazy if you don't see this team is terrible.
Ted Nolan should be coach of the year for not having the worst record in the league.

And, can you PLEASE stop with the payroll argument. It was true in the past, but not anymore. There is a cap, you have the same opportunity to get players as any other team. Its not my fault you have a cheap ass owner and a team that no one wants to play for.

also, check the cap #'s

you will see how stupid you sound.

Busey,....

"And, can you PLEASE stop with the payroll argument."

Fair enough.....can you lay off the "can't help it if guys like Drury don't want to play in a dump" arguments?
Cuz that really gets old.....along with the "shameless promotions" lines? and the "living in the past" nonsense?
(I suppose the Yankees Old Timer's Days are shameless promotions as well).
And I am talking about the nonsense you fill the regular Newsday pages with.....unless there is a different Busey that posts over there.

BTW....have you ever seen the locker rooms at MSG?

Posted by Busey | April 23, 2008 12:29:

"I would not be pissy if my team was out because I would have accepted the fact that they suck and call for changes."

So, you weren't pissy during the decade the Rangers sucked? You just sat back and said - "oh well, they suck, I hope they change the way they operate." My ass pal. And if you weren't pissed by missing the playoffs and sucking, then I question how big a fan you really are/were.

"You guys are crazy if you don't see this team is terrible.
Ted Nolan should be coach of the year for not having the worst record in the league."

Not gonna debate this much. When did I ever say the Isles were a good team? Not sure I'd call them terrible, and I don't think they are that different from teams like the Caps - just minus a true superstar.

"And, can you PLEASE stop with the payroll argument."

You are the one who latched onto my payroll jab from the get go and have completely ignored my main point. Obviously you feel you can debate that issue but not the other. So, respond to my point about who should be more scared by teams like the Bruins and Caps given the expectations for our teams, and I'll drop the payroll issue.

Also, I took a look at the cap #s, and yeah, Boston's not a great example, but the Rags had a payroll of about $51M vs. that of WSH - about $43M - yet finished with only a few more points despite having the likes of Drury, Gomez, Jagr, Shanahan, and Lundquist?

"Its not my fault you have a cheap ass owner and a team that no one wants to play for."

Please don't contradict yourself, it takes away from the credibility of what you say. The Isles no longer have a "cheap ass owner" and I believe you know that: didn't you post that Drury took LESS money to play for the Rags? I wouldn't feel sorry for us in regards to whether or not Wang will open his checkbook. The "team" issue is the bigger one right now, which we all recognize, and understand needs to change, but thanks for your insight.

"can't help it if guys like Drury don't want to play in a dump" and...
"can't help it Wang is cheap"

The entire "Wang is cheap" point is hypocrisy at it's best.
Busey will say that out of one side of his mouth and then blast the long term contract with DP out of the other side of his mouth.
Simply to come up with new ways to be anti-Islander...
Regardless if there is a conflict between the two points.

I really get a kick out of the "don't wanna play in a dump" argument.
I know of very few people who wouldn't take an inordinate amount of money (more than they deserve) to ply their craft in "a dump".
Offer me a million? Sure, I'll hit a baseball in a sand pit.

My guess is that someone like Busey would take a million in a heartbeat to throw a bowling ball in North Levittown Lanes, yet will blast anyone who plays hockey in NVMC.

Busey is a smart poster who's overall quality on the Isles blog suffers because he can't get away from being an Islander-hater (even when he does try). Aside from that...who cares? The hockey talk has again devolved into which NY team is better and name calling. If we're going to talk Rangers can it at least be about hockey? One great thing about this blog is that the posters are willing to talk hockey with anyone who is willing to have an actual conversation whether its the Islanders or any other team.

Unfortunately we also have the trolls too, but for me at least its pretty easy to ignore, and after reading the same exact b.s. for over two seasons now, sometimes bring a chuckle.

I for one have been enjoying the playoffs, I had expected Washington to beat the Flyers in the end. Every team in the east has been so fickle throughout the season its hard to make a good prediction (don't know how Steady and 19 Isles do it).

Also for all the Greg Logan bashers, the guy does a pretty decent job. Clearly his style of blogging is update once in a while, but each post is usually a longer, well developed entry as opposed to Zip's or Katie's style of shorter more stream of consciousness style. I guess it just depends on which you prefer.

c'mon, you know what I meant.

I mean if the money is similar, and these guys are already filthy rich anyway, then where do you think they are going to go?

My point was that the Isles would have to dramatically overpay to get a big time FA to go there. Which is not unlike most teams in a rebuilding phase. Big time players want to win, not be a part of rebuilding. So you need to overpay to get them.

f5

Thanks for the update, Katie. I was getting worried at the lack of news coming out of Europe. Good to hear it's nothing to worry about!

Busey is a good poster a lot of the time ... but as Healy said ... he gets blinded by his Islander-Hate .... what he relayed to D-$ was totally uncalled for ... there is currently a law suit because someone told a girl that same thing, but that girl was suicidal and she really did killed herself. But Busey's a grown up ... he knows what he's saying.

I think Busey sometimes gets caught on both sides of the arguement and he inadvertently discredits his own posts .... the fact that he said the nobody wants to play for the Islanders even when they offer more money ... and then said Wang is cheap is only one ... I think D-$ and others made a good point that the Rangers didn't qualify till game 80 is valid if you're going to claim the Rangers as a league power house.

Also keep in mind ... that a team that didn't qualify (Carolina) had more wins than the Rangers.

Infact ... it's not just the Rangers ... a lot of point totals are a lot higher than the traditional year end average point totals. The 3 point games inflated a lot of teams' point totals.The Islanders didn't play as many OT games as most teams so that is their problem that they have more regulation losses .... this is an issue of 3 point games.

The point is we can debate these issues without wishing ill will on people. There are Islander fans here that rip into other Isles fans here too ... and they catch hell for it ... so if getting ripped for exchanging mean spirited posts is with an Islander fan is good enough for another Islander fan ... it's certainly good enough for a Ranger fan. Nothing wrong with good hearted jabs ... But keep in mind .... the Rangers will always suck in the minds of Islander fans. As I'd expect the same from a Ranger fan towards the Islanders... pointless to state the obvious sentiments.

Busey ... there is no point in criticizing the Islanders where we also recognize those same concerns .... we debate those here ourselves. Just expect to take some shots when you run across the shooting gallery wearing the Ranger logo on your sleeve.... that is a bulls eye to Islander fans.

That said ... I enjoy reading your contributions when they are civil and honest assertions that aren't designed to be insulting. Ask yourself this honest question ... if the Rangers experienced the man games lost to injury that the Islanders did to their key players .... where would the Rangers be? Probably at the turn with the Islanders for the Hummer golf challenge is my guess.

I understand that injuries are a part of the game ... so before any Ranger fan jumps all over that .... give it up ... it's not that injuries occured ... it's the impact of the injuries that were the key to the Islander collapse.

Typical Islander fans "ohh, the injuries, we were injured". Stop it!!! Whining babies you are.

And are still crying about payroll. Guys there is a salary cap. The Isles offered Ryan Smyth more money than the Avs. He walked.

The Isles (according to this very blog) offered Chris Drury the same exact offer the Rangers did. He wouldn't talk to the Isles.

Stop your whining Islander fans and get back on the golf course.

Anon AKA Coward who doesn't post a handle .....

You know damn well that Raggie fans like yourself would be cursing injuries had you lost Henrik for over a month .. and that he played a half season injured .. so leave your self rightious BS at the door .....

... #2 .. as was said .. but you can't get it through your thick skull .... nobody is complaining about the Ranger salary .... the point that others had made was ..... with the Raggies paying at around the cap limit ... they squeeked into the playoffs barely ..... that is the point .... the original poster was just saying that the Rangers shouldn't feel safe .... that is it .... nothing was mentioned about the Rangers paying more than anyone else being the reason that they made the playoffs.... so learn to read ... or attend 505's hooked on Fonix classes held on monday nights.

So if you insist on writing stupid trash .... do it on your own blog .... because I'll enjoy watching the Ice Birdies do to the Raggies what most birds do on rags ... and that is to use them to catch their bird cage droppings. Enjoy.

BTW .... Chris Drury grew up a Ranger fan .... who can blame him for wanting to play for the team he rooted for ... if I was offered the same exact offer to play for the Rangers and Islanders ... who the hell do you think I'd play for? ... so when you state facts .... bring the whole package to the table ... or else you discredit your post.... and we'll just look at it like another pointless Rag Rant.

505, wish I would have gotten to this earlier.
Andy Hilbert, answering "What was goign through your mind when you scored that goal"

1. What goal?
2. Does a deflection off your chin strap count as a goal?
3. If I go high glove I have a chance, uh... what the ****, who hit me... where am I... is that the goalie's a$$.
4. riiiiiiiiiiiing... sheeet, f'n alarm clock. what time is the morning skate.
5. What the hell are those people yelling, my name is Hilbert, not Passette.

or...

Hey, are those things real?

BTW, I concur... great job on the blog.

Islander fans crying about payroll and injuries. Priceless and typical!

Hey, when your on Year 15 of failing to win a playoff series, you need excuses.

One bought cup since 40 from Edmonton and listen to them talk like they have a clue what winning hockey is unless it's from watching the Isles and Devils.

Newsday forgot to report Drury and Gomez got frontloaded cablevision contracts, that's the biggest reasons they signed and it sure was for no discount.

Now get out of New York, it's ISLANDER COUNTRY.

Just be grateful we did not make the playoffs because we would have gone 4-0 at Msg in the playoffs with half the Garden rooting for the Isles.

We owned you, Boston and Florida owned us.

Now go trap Crosby and Pittsburgh and hurt the league because Henrietta cannot stop a beachball once he faces 26 shots or more.

New York City will be watching baseball.

I agree with Anon......stop crying about the injuries.they didn't prevent the Isles from making the playoffs and winning a playoff series.After all,it's been 15 years since the isles have last won a playoff series.

also,when you sign a goaltender to a 15 year contract you can't complain about injuries.He is a mellon head after all.You should have kept Luongo.

and if you think the Pens will beat us and sh*t all over us,all I can say to that is PLAYOFF HOCKEY IS GREAT....THERE IS NOTHING LIKE PLAYOFF HOCKEY.We are one of the 8 best teams in the league right now.You ,on the other hand root for one of the BOTTOM FEEDERS in the league.Well you actually had a better record the 4 other teams.If the season lasted another couple of weeks the Isles would have had the most ping pong ball chances for that #1 pick.To bad the season ended too soon for you guys.

Enjoy the hockey the next few weeks.PLAYOFF HOCKEY.I know us Ranger fans will enjoy,win or lose.

NYR#1

Hey Look, it's Billy (or is it Rag Contraction) from New York Islander Fan Central. Hey, Billy, its time to go to your Blog and cry about the attention (or lack thereof) the Isles receive. Maybe you can beat up on Greg Logan a bit.

Hey Billy, did you hear Chico Resch cry about all the Ranger fans in Jersey. I'm sure you loved that. Botta brought it up on his Blog, but you didn't. Wonder why?

Yes boys and girls, if you want to read the whining antics of Rag Contraction, type in Islander Fan Central on google and it will take you to its Blog, LOL!