Off Season? What "off-season"?

This normally out-of-control puck junkie that dreads June - August, and who sometimes turns to a private collection of Islanders videos from 2002-2006 (featuring Jason Blake goals of course) in order to get me through the lean months of no-hockey, can’t believe her eyes when she looks at the Islanders website and their summer community calendar.
What the heck? I mean we usually get a week’s worth of prospect mini camp in July and then you don’t see anything with an Islanders logo on it until the end of August, if we were lucky! But I guess this year will be different. “Last Comic Standing” won’t be the only thing to divert my attention while I wait for pages of the calendar to turn.
So as I had mentioned a few weeks ago, the new Islanders Illustrated TV show will be premiering this June 18th on MSG Plus at 6:30 pm, just two days before the draft party on the 20th. Maybe MSG Plus won’t be such a bad thing for the NY Islanders, but we’ll have to make sure of that. If we feel they are continuing to belittle our team and its fans, then we’ll have to speak up. But at least with airing a show produced by ITV for Islander fans, this is a good start.
Speaking of Draft Day… Look forward to a very exciting announcement from some fellow Blog Boxers in the near future. Ok, maybe “very exciting” is a bit much, but when I heard it, it was exciting to me as I‘m extremely happy for them and very proud. Leave it at just another way the NY Islanders will be innovative with their fan base access. You’ll know soon enough what it’s all about.
On a personal note… I had to go to the doctor on Wednesday, and like everything else in my life, the doctor I’ve been going to since I am 19 happens to be about ¼ mile away from the Coliseum. I can’t seem to stay away from the place even when there isn’t anything going on. But since I was in the neighborhood, I had to drive by anyway. Sure, I probably could have stopped in for a cup of coffee and piece of cake as any friend who just “happens to be in the neighborhood “ can do. But my mom always told me to never go anywhere empty handed, and since I didn’t have a crumb cake or bottle of wine with me, I just drove by looking at the parking lot. There were plenty of cars in the executive lot as they seem to be really, really busy. But I also knew there were plenty that are missing from their usual spots.
I stopped at the Starbucks across the street, just because. An older gentleman in a van I parked next to stopped me to say how much he loved the color of my little orange car. I told him it went with my license plate. I ordered my “tall traditional, room for milk” and an apple fritter. Hell… the doctor didn’t yell at me about my weight, so why not. I stood in front of the store and stared across the street at the squat oval behind the chain link fence. I tried to imagine the new landscape when the Lighthouse project is completed. I couldn’t. It’s basically beyond my comprehension even though I’ve seen the plans about 30 times. I drove away shoving the apple fritter in my face and shaking my head.
It’s going to be an interesting “off-season.” I think I’ll need more Starbucks.