ISLANDERS STAR ORDERED TO PERFORM PUBLIC SERVICE

Did I get your attention?

For years now my cohorts and I have joked that Islanders players were forced into public appearances as a means of punishment for bad behavior ON or OFF the ice. Just as when a celebrity gets caught with an illegal substance in his pants pocket and spends the next few months doing D.A.R.E. programs in LA schools. Same thing here. If you pissed off Mike Milbury, your butt was scheduled for the next Booster Club meeting where you were pelted with questions about your "misbehavior."

But all that has changed now hasn't it? The public service program is now plotted, planned, scheduled and accessorized with the I.C.E. tour. This is a brilliant idea for the Islanders and for the communities and it's working well. But...

(I know... You're thinking what the hell could I possibly be complaining about when this is such a good thing for the kids. Bear with me a second.)

Way back when the season was just winding down, Josh Bernstein and I talked about what would be happening in the "off-season" with this program. The appearances, the open houses and the Islander RV. Brilliant all. He also told me that each player was contracted and scheduled to 4 or 5 day blocks of time for appearances back on the Island. Brilliant too. As many of these men and boys spend their summers in their native homes, they could plan the trip accordingly. I'm impressed with their attention to detail.

Here's the kicker for me, maybe as a mother or maybe because I like to put my hockey players on a pedestal even though I know I shouldn't. Check the last week of July for the I.C.E. tour schedule:

Monday July 28, 10am - 1 pm
Chris Campoli at the Brookhaven Country Day Camp

Tuesday July 29, 2008 10am to 1pm
Chris Campoli and I.C.E. Tour at Lawrence Woodmere Academy
Tuesday July 29, 2008 1:30pm to 5pm
Islanders Day at Long Beach Arena featuring Chris Campoli

Wednesday July 30, 2008 9am to 12pm
Chris Campoli and I.C.E. Tour at Town of Smithtown Recreation Program
Wednesday July 30, 2008 6pm to 8pm
Open House at the Coliseum; Meet Chris Campoli


Thursday July 31, 2008 (Hours undisclosed)
North Shore LIJ - Employees only, Meet (2 guesses) Chris Campoli
Thursday July 31, 2008 6pm to 7:30 pm
Chris Campoli at the Islanders Team Store


Friday August 1, 2008 9am to 12pm
Chris Campoli and I.C.E. Tour at Town of Smithtown Recreation Program

Friday August 1, 2008 1pm to 3pm

Chris Campoli and I.C.E. Tour at Friends Academy Summer Camp

Saturday August 2, 2008 Ok Chris take a breather.

But on the seventh day...

Sunday August 3, 2008 11am to 3pm
Islanders Day at Newbridge Park featuring Campoli and MacDonald

So what does this tell you? Well first, if you see the Islanders RV going by, wave to Chris Campoli and second.... maybe the on ice work isn't the hardest part of the job. Glad this boy has such a winning smile because his face is going to be frozen that way come Sunday.

Good Luck Campoli-oli-oli-O. See ya around (and around... and around... and around...)

DONE DEAL!! 7-16-08 Sean Gets 2 Years

And I get a new number for my necklace.

I was heartsick taking that "55" off that Islander logo. I'm a little LESS heartsick now that I can go buy a "20" for it.

He finally listened, and we were right. Remove the agent, find the deal. Certainly Gandler was telling him how much he could make "elsewhere." But if Snow thought "a half a million dollars is a lot of money," then he certainly believes that $800,000 and $925,000 respectively is a lot of money even adjusting for the new economy on the Island.

And to celebrate his gain, he gives back to Islanders Inspire children's charity. How can you just not love this man? He is everything we WANT on this team and on the Island. He will make us proud, I promise.

And I see someone at the Islanders organization decided they didn't want to hear me again for not mentioning that Sean TOO was their FIRST ROUND choice, and 22nd overall in the 2002 Entry Draft. All the other new puppies get all the attention. But Sean was also at the top of the deck, and that shouldn't be forgotten. Okay, well I don't forget it. But that's me.

Thanks Garth, you made my day. Thanks to Greg Logan for announcing it before the website did, and thanks to my NYIC buddies who KNEW I would want to know immediately and made sure that I did!

Baseball's All-Star Game - all nighter

Baseball....Better than a tranquilizer.

I will say, I really enjoyed the whole night of coverage for Baseball's big event honoring Yankee Stadium and the greats of the game. It was far better than I would have expected. But this is NY, and NY does everything better than everyone else.

From the concerts to the tributes to the parade, everything was just beautiful and perfect.* And then there was the game... that went on forever... and ever... and ever... I finally passed out at 11:45 pm and woke up to Big Angry Man coming home at 1:50 am as I opened one eye and noticed that Fox 5 was just winding up their coverage after a 15 inning outing.

If a hockey game ever lasts from 8:30 pm til almost 2 am, there'd be ambulances lining up in the street. No one would survive.

It was wonderful... and I'm glad it's done.

*wonder what part Chris Botta was involved with... the band choices? Hmm... no. Then we would have seen Bruce instead of Josh Groban and 3 Doors Down.

An Hour at Prospect Camp 7-15-08

That was all I could manage today since I cut my work day short yesterday with the surprise news out of the front office. But I wanted to get there today just at least to be back in the cold air and hear the blades on the ice.

I rushed like hell, and left my phone on my office desk. Of course, I imagined every possible scenario that would be devastating for me to not have my phone with me because that’s the way I’m wired. Always thinking the worst. Especially since no one knew I was going to Iceworks today, so if I was in an accident or kidnapped or developed amnesia, I had no damn phone to call anyone. But I was already late, and I wasn’t turning back. I had my laptop with me and that would have to suffice as the communication device for now.

There were no parking spaces left in the front lot. Wearing heels and carrying those 30 lbs of hardware that I SHOULD be used to by now, there was no way I was parking in the back and walking the ½ mile to the entrance. I parked as best I could and bolted into the lobby.

It wasn’t as crowded as the parking lot had foretold. The regular suspects were there. A few people I recognized from the Booster club. “My Friend” from IslanderMania, Carbons2K from our NYIC board and my friend and mentor, Brad Kurtzberg from Inside Hockey. There were pee wee teams there too, and a few toddlers giving their mothers a run for their money.

But we were there to see the boys on the ice. I must be getting too used to this. They didn’t look as young as they had in the past. A few years ago, when IslanderQueen and I went to this camp, I felt as if I had walked in on a high school game. The squad on the ice LOOKED like College kids, and for the most part, they are.

Brad handed me the printout from the website with all their names and information on it. I glanced at it, but truthfully, I’m just there to be impressed. I don’t go there being armed with information and looking to match the name to the prospect. I look for someone to make me sit up and take notice. I did a LOT of LOOKING, and not too much sitting up.

But to be fair, I only saw half the squad since I couldn’t come back for the 3 pm scrimmage. I came away with this:

Kessel is incredibly graceful skating backwards. It was beautiful to watch. Hillen, on the other hand, tries to make himself invisible when he skates, but there’s something about him I really like. I just don’t know what. If Brian Gibbons is 5’8” then I’m a runway model.

Bailey looks very confident, and there were one or two of the boys that were very fast. But no one was really scoring during this practice and no one on the ice was very big. Hope we’ve still got some enforcers on Bridgeport to call up.

Ted’s absence didn’t seem to have any bearing on anything as there were plenty of coaches on the ice and off. Garth was hard at work upstairs and Carbons2K caught him with Capuano. He caught me too. He’s our own NYIC Paparazzi!

I don’t think I’ll get back there this week. But it was good to see… the Future is Still Bright people. Just about as bright as Okposo’s smile.

CAN I GET AN AMEN!!!

IT FINALLY HAPPENED! Why it had to happen on July 15th and not October 5th of 2007, I don't know, But XM 204 can now be streamed from the web.

THANK YOU NHL and everyone who was involved in getting this done! It was said they were getting about 50 emails a day about it. Finally, we have Home Ice on Line!

Now I don't have to listen to Canadian sports radio all summer just looking for hockey info.

NOICE!!!

Goodbye Teddy 7-14-05

11:43 pm: Okay, everyone backed off the ledge now? The message boards are buzzing and all my Blog Box buddies have weighed in. We certainly have differences of opinion. But that's what makes us a good group.

I guess I should say some parting words before heading off to be... now that I watched every news show to see how they'd cover the subject. Simple. The big 3 took the first two lines of Corey Witt's press release and only CJ Papa had more lines about it. Guess it was by design to announce it today with so much All-Star hoopla taking up editorial space. Who knows.

I'll miss Ted's ability to go from stone cold in front of the cameras to warm and smiling in a matter of seconds. I'll miss the brilliant assortment of ties that look like my grandmother's wallpaper. I'll miss that little boy look he could have, even at 50, like when I caught him at Ice works smoking behind my car. He is easy to talk to and very accessible. He has a good heart, but maybe a thick skull. I personally thought he was sometimes "out of the loop" by design, or he was an excellent actor. Maybe just not academy award caliber to make it seem as if he could manage another year coaching under conditions he wasn't happy with.

Let's not play the blame game. Let's just move forward. We have prospects at camp to take a look at and coaching possibilities to ponder. It's never dull in Islander Country.

3:30 pm:

I have to make this quick, so please excuse the typos.
Just got back from the barn where Garth Snow was giving his statement to the press regarding this morning's events.

He was perfectly fine. I, on the other hand, was a complete and total mess. Not because of the situation. Actually, I am not surprised nor dismayed with the release of Ted Nolan as head coach. I was a mess because I usually get my "unique perspective" from standing behind others who are asking questions and taking notes and reading body language.

I was ambushed. First I was told it would be one-on-one (which was FINE by me) but then I was plopped at a conference table with a front row seat. (No WONDER Garth doesn't like cameras!) If not for Inside Hockey's Brad Kurtzberg, I don't know what I would have done. Probably hide in a closet, but enough about me.

Okay people... everyone relax. Yes, we all know there has been tension for months, and while some have thought it was just journalists trying to stir up stories, this was never the case. There was a serious difference of direction and no compromise could be found. Although this may be a sad day for some in Islander Country, it should not be looked at as devastating.

The search for a new coach could take ".... two days or two weeks. It WILL BE the right coach for this team." And Garth is actually looking forward to the process.

Of course the timing may be odd with prospect camp starting today. But what the heck. It's only prospect camp and there are plenty of coaches there to handle the work that was scheduled to be done. This in no way hinders the schedule.

Actually... if I recall... if you check my posts from way back the last two prospect camps, Ted actually spent quite a bit of time sitting on the bleachers and talking with others. So, the current assistants and the Bridgeport coaches will all be there to evaluate the prospects and keep detailed accounts. Besides, this is supposed to be a fun thing any way.

As I said, Garth is comfortable with this. I'm surprised that the statement release came as early today as it did. But that leads me to believe that communication had been going on all along and not getting anywhere. (which is basically what I said after the last two open houses. but does anyone listen to me? No.)

There are many GOOD NHL coaches out there looking for work. Garth did mention he will be looking for 'communication skills.' As hard as it is for me to say this, but that is certainly something that Ted, while a fine human being, lacked considerably.

More later. The story will be everywhere I'm sure. And Bill Jaffe was even there so perhaps we can get his take on this as well.

So, every one take a deep breath and relax. There were no circus tents in the parking lot when I left. We're still cool and I really, really REALLY have to get back to work.