Nirvana on my Laptop: The Launch of NHL Network On Line

During my lunch break, while listening to NHL Live on line, I was surfing through my favorite hockey sites, and came across this article on our own Islanders tem website. (http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=359838) And then I wondered… HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS???

I quickly went to NHL.com and there it was at the top, the NEW NHL Network On Line. I clicked on the link and it was as if I just opened the last Christmas present under the tree, the big one, with my name on it. The design is striking, the content amazing and the fact that I could actually WATCH the NHL Live show that I’ve been listening to faithfully for years, just made me giddy.

And then I thought about it… I’m going to get fired. I’m never going to work again!!! How can I have this accessibility while I’m supposed to be working? It’s one thing to just be listening, it’s another to want to WATCH, and watch I did.

Sleek, crisp and well produced, I clicked through category to category in sheer amazement. There are seven button choices Game highlights, Podcasts, NHL Radio, a Playoffs Channel, Livewire which is the live feed where NHL Live can be seen daily from noon - 2 pm, and NHL Productions Presents. This is simply Hockey Heaven. Archives filled with content I have never seen; Podcast archives of radio shows I’ve missed. I could have cried.

I immediately contacted ITV VP extraordinaire, Josh Bernstein, to tell him how amazing this was and he asked me if the feed was ‘choppy’. Nope, it was beautifully clear and perfect. “Our site will look like that soon enough.” he told me.

BE STILL MY HEART!! I can’t take this! This is like crack for a puck junkie like me. What can I say except…?
THANK YOU NHL!! THANK YOU NEULION!!

Check it out, and let me know what you think.

The Town Hall Experience

Yesterday I received an email regarding a Town Board meeting in Hempstead for the Lighthouse Project that was taking place on 4/8 at 10:30 at the Nathan LH Bennet Pavilion. Originally I responded with “You want me to get fired, don’t you.” But then I kept thinking about it, and thinking about it. We know how important this Lighthouse project is to the NY Islanders as well as to Nassau County and Long Island. I’ve personally never been to any sort of town meeting except the one in Babylon Village when I owned a bar and the little old ladies told me what color I could paint the outside of the building I was renting. That was Mickey Mouse compared to what I was about to experience.

I couldn’t bear to lie to the Big Angry Man. Um…. I CAN’T lie to the Big Angry Man, he can see right through me. So when I attempted to leave the house in my tweed suit and freshly straightened hair he stopped me at the sink. “My… don’t you look great today…. WHERE are you going?”

DAMN IT!!! Busted! I try to make light of the fact that I’m way overdressed for work.
“Well, I figured I’d wear this before I have to put it away for the season…. AND THERE’S A TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT THAT I WANT TO GO TO.” Yep, a five year old with their hand caught in the cookie jar. I batted my eyelashes, smiled coyly and bolted out the door.

“DON’T GET FIRED!!!” He yelled behind me.

Why did I really want to go? For the most part, sheer curiosity. Were there hundreds of people protesting the project? Did the legislative panel look with disdain upon this grandiose project? I needed to know. I watched the clock on my wall at the office, and bolted at 10:15 as map quest said it was a 21 minute ride. I made it in 19. I parked in the municipal lot and nervously asked the security guard if I needed any special permits there. He told me No, just that I needed to pay for parking at the machines on the corner. What? Ok… Parking meters have gone high tech, but I can’t even imagine how they would know that you paid. But I’m honest; I couldn’t NOT pay for parking.

The pavilion was impressive. I wondered if I needed to walk through a metal detector and was thinking about what was in my purse. Would they confiscate my portable corkscrew? Was the Mace still in the car? Am I going to get arrested for something I haven’t done? Yes, paranoia runs deep. I filled out a piece of paper with my name, address and email address and walked right in.

It was impressive, and Kate Murray was presiding. I sat down and immediately opened my notebook to start writing. I was tapped on the shoulder and handed an orange ribbon on a pin by non other than the original NYI 7th Man, Roger Farina.

I was surprised that all the people who chose to speak were in favor of the project as something that can grow not only the economy of but as a center of focus, pride and interest. Even the last speaker, Rosalie Norton, a resident of Hempstead for the past 40 odd years, commended the Reckson Corp for reaching out to the communities and civic associations getting their input for the project.

Kate Murray and the Hempstead town board will be taking the leading agency role in the project and they “stand ready, willing and able to expedite this process.” There was one interesting tidbit that I thought was a good thing, until I brought it to the attention of others.

Ms. Murray made the oral option to the developers that the coliseum renovation could be segregated from the other developments so that not everything needed to be done together, and the process for approval of that could be streamlined. Sounds good, no? Um… No. By segregating out the Coliseum renovation, they could hold Mr. Wan hostage for the balance of the development while tying him to the county.

Mr. Paul Lancey, who has been with Mr. Wang for more than two decades, didn’t speak at the meeting. His name was called. But he didn’t seem to be there at the right time. However, Mr. Wang did address the panel. He mentioned that he was pleased to work with the panel to get this process moving and of course, would have liked to busy right now with a team in the Playoffs. (Us too… seriously… us too.) Mr. Wang in a way discounted the segmentation of the arena application, which shows you where his head is at.

There will be a separate meeting regarding the transportation impact of the project as one of the speakers was unceremoniously shut down from discussing it as it was part of another case. But they kept going explaining the benefits of the project. Interesting fact was that the Lighthouse project would be paid for with only 5% of public money. That is the lowest of most other arena development costs. And the Lighthouse project is the last arena project in the NY area, and has become a bit of a laughing stock for the amount of time its taking. Even Boston with the much maligned Big Dig project was able to build a new arena for the Celtics and Bruins. Yet, here, in one of the richest counties in the city, our team plays in a less than stellar building under adverse conditions.

When I look at the renderings of the project, it reminds me of what I saw in Columbus OH. I wanted to move there. It was perfect. This could be more than perfect. This could be Nirvana. The other item that I didn’t know was that the project not only adds to the Nassau County tax base, but it’s also a Green Project.

By 11:26 am, the Lighthouse project was done being presented to the panel and it was my time to leave. It was a good meeting, but there are many questions. Where will the get the power to run this new expansion? A substation needs to be built. That will shut down Hempstead Tpke for months. Knowing that there are numerous consultants working on the details of this project, they are sure to leave no stone unturned or question unanswered. Our questions should only be…

WILL THEY BE ABLE TO BUILD IT BEFORE I FREAKIN DIE????

Challenging the Hummer Challenge.

It’s 10:15 pm, and I can’t help but jump on the anti-MSG band-wagon. I have to tell you though, since Sunday afternoon, that wagon is standing-room only. I’m sure the entire Islander Country let out one huge expletive when it was “announced” the Rangers, with their one point for the regulation tie, had won the Hummer Metro Challenge. After I stopped throwing pillows at the big screen in the living room, I kept looking at the numbers. I didn’t quite get it. Numbers aren’t supposed to lie. The Devils were of no consequence, but somehow it still looked like the NY Islanders had won the challenge. I chalked it up to the truck giving someone on air the wrong info through their earpiece.

And then it happened… the internet lit up like a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. The comments, the emails, the blogs, hit the net fast and furious like a wildfire through California. Here was just another way for the Islander/Ranger rivalry to become even more intense, passionate and down-right UGLY. By some convoluted twist of fair-play, the $50,000 charity prize was to go to the NY Rangers' charity, whatever that is. Did anyone in the media business actually think that Islander Country would sit idly by and let that happen?

Hey! A tie is a tie, and this is for charity. Let the teams split the prize and everyone goes home happy. Award it to the rightful winner (you know the one who actually won more games WITHIN the competition) and most people will be happy. Award it to the team that should have rightfully lost, and you will have a firestorm on your hands that will rival the Richard Riot. (Oh look, a hockey history reference.) We’re Islander fans…. We’ve got plenty of time on our hands right now. And we all have computers and know how to use them.

According to today’s 1st Point Blank entry (http://nyipointblank.blogspot.com/), a proper resolution might have been announced tonight on air. It failed to come. As this may be a legal issue, I’m willing to give them another 24 hours. If it doesn’t come…. We shall release the internet Pitbulls. And I warn you… we're a little hungry right now.

Every New Beginning comes from Some Other Beginning’s End

That’s how I have to look at it as Friday; 4/4/08 we all watched the final game of the NY Islanders 2007-2008 Season. Not quite the Easter Epic of ‘07, but a game that would not go quietly into the good night. A flurry of shots on Dubie, a yo-yo score that kept evening out, an overtime win that didn’t come, and just as last year, a shoot out decision. This year it meant nothing to the team in the standings. This year it was simply … who will return. There are those on that bench that were playing for jobs. There are those behind it that could be worrying about the same thing.

It must be very difficult to not know where you’ll work or if you’ll see your co-workers again. It’s always tough for the fans to let go of the season, but can you imagine how it is for the players? Sure. They have fabulous lives with houses in far-away places and are going to look forward to a little R&R. But many of the players on the Islanders that can do that already started their vacations early as many of them haven’t seen the ice in weeks. But what about those middle-of-the-road players and the young guns looking to make a name for themselves in the league? Friday they left a dressing room not knowing if and when they’d be back.

Thursday, after the last home game at the barn, when we were all huddled into the locker room waiting; one journalist commented “The smell of sweat.” which is considerably noticeable as soon as you hit the hallway. Islesblogger.com Mike retorted “That’s the smell of hockey.” Trying to be glib I shot back, “Much like the smell of your car.”

“I drive a truck.” he responded. But he knew what I meant since he currently PLAYS hockey. “I love it.” he admitted.

“Oddly… I don’t mind it.” I said as I looked around the room for the last time. “It doesn’t bother me.” Some nights I walked out of there and had that scent with me until I hit the Seaford Oyster Bay Expwy. And truthfully, I will probably miss it until I return in October. But you and I don’t walk out of a room one night and not know if we have a job. Nor do we have to wait for months to know the answer. I can’t imagine the mental gymnastics that go on during those weeks before finding out the answer. The families in limbo, the agents making deals that the fans don’t know about, the waiting game that is standard operating procedure for hockey’s off season.

What will happen these next few months? Who will return to the line up, and who will move on? Who of the youngsters will make the cut after camp? We don’t know, and we won’t know until it happens. Certainly we can all prophesize based on what we’ve seen the last few weeks of the season. But the uncertainty will haunt us for months.

Saturday was also the Leafs last game for the season. I wanted to watch it, but didn’t want to pay for Center Ice at this stage of the game just to see it.

“I’ll order it. If you really want it, give me the phone. I’ll call Cablevision; it’ll be on in three minutes. “ How sweet of the Big Angry Man to make such an offer to spend money on something so frivolous. But then I looked at the brand new Guild Acoustic amplifier sitting in my living room that I didn’t know he was buying.

“No. It’s ok. I’ll go online later.” Which I did. But only after cooking up a storm, turning on a classic game from 1979 with the sound off, blaring REM through the house (since I had just scored Jones Beach tickets to see them) and matching B.A.M. shot for shot in the process. Yep. It was an odd night.

It’s also an odd feeling. Just like the one I’ve had since Midnight, Friday morning. I’ve been trying to write, trying to put it all down, and haven’t been able to. I’ve sat down three times, and three times, trashed the words on the page and closed the laptop. My kitchen calendar is now filled with Softball Tournaments and concerts, family gatherings and Fire Dept functions where previous months the word “GAME” in big letters appeared every few days like a religious ritual.

I’ll pencil in the NHL Events such as Draft Day and FA Day as if they are something I should attend, but I know they will go on and I will hardly be a spectator much like my Brother in Florida’s birthday. There are the playoffs and the final round to look forward to but they don’t make the calendar. I think it’s funny I can always remember the last possible day the Stanley Cup can be awarded is… June 9th. That one IS on the calendar. It’s also my husband’s birthday and a few times he’s spent it with me glued to a Big Screen in a New Hampshire bar. And always as the celebration ends my daughter will turn to me and say, “HOCKEY’S OVER! What will you do now? No… REALLY… WHAT will YOU do NOW?”

Oh, the uncertainty of it all. Its all how you approach it I guess. The finality gives rise to starts not previously imagined. So this “off-season” I vow to make it different, to plan correctly and work hard to achieve ultimate goals. I’m already lining up interviews and writing down topics I am looking to investigate to keep myself occupied and the blog continuing. With any luck, Garth Snow had the same epiphany over the weekend. Maybe I should have invited him to dinner and he could have done shots with us.

So, it’s on to the playoffs, without the Islanders this year, but just wait till next year, that should change!

To the Hockey Gods today I pray…Let the Devils beat the Rangers and give Islander Country at least a little something to be thankful for. Amen.