Nassau County drops the Gloves - Just like the Wrecker

So while Nassau County has decided to make some noise regarding the Lighthouse Project and Charles Wang's commitment to this area in Chris Botta's Islanders Point Blank blog, let's not forget that "politics" is the polite word for "mud-slinging."

We're obviously going to be stuck in the middle of He-Said, She-Said with little control over the actual outcome. Read Chris Botta's interview if you haven't done so as of yet. And then wander over to LetThereBeLighthouse for additional information and a plea for sanity.

And don't forget to who up at the Marriott on 3/26/09 for the Community Outreach meeting at 7 pm. More valuable information can be found at The Lightpost by Katrina Doell and guest blogger Tiger Track Tom Liodice who attended the Point Blank II gathering last week.

Oh... and as of 1:49 pm on Saturday, the Isles are down 2 - 0 to the Bruins and young Phil Kessel. The bright side? We have his brother.

NHL On NBC

Dear NHL: You sent me an invitation to watch Avery and the Rangers "continue their fight against the Flyers."

I'd rather have root canal. Thank you.

Sincerely,

7th

Because KIDS Never DO What you WANT them TO!

That's why the boys won last night over Montreal. They just don't listen. While Islanders Country is clamoring for entertaining LOSSES so that we are 100% ensured June's draft position of numero uno, our upstart boys turn a deaf ear.

"Not play like we want to win? No Way!" was there collective response to the fan base. Of course, Islanders PointBlank Chris Botta had that pegged on his 6 pm drive time stint on XM's Home Ice yesterday when he told the listeners that the boys don't care one bit about who gets the nod in the draft. They are there to play, and play they will.

He also dropped the bomb on the most recent injury (although not on ice related) as Kurtis McLean had a mishap during a friendly in-hallway soccer game.

"How many times do we have to tell you boys not to play soccer in the house?? Some body is going to get hurt!"

And... Some body did. In Bridgeport Jack Capuano is shaking his head. He not only loses boys out of his line up for call ups, now he's losing them for stupidity.

So, how about that Kyle Okposo? He's one hell of a hockey player, ain't he? So much for Garth Snow being blasted for pulling him out of college because he didn't like the way he was being developed there. I'm surprised he didn't get hurt in that celebratory OT win mugging.

Anyone else know that Nate Thompson could win face-offs? Oh, wait, probably Scott Gordon who seemed to be having an enjoyable evening behind the bench. He is really almost as much fun to watch as the boys on the ice.

Josh Bailey was frustrated as he was robbed of another goal. He showed that frustration all the way to the bench as his team mates tried to console him with pats on the head of understanding.

I had a little back and forth on Twitter last night (yes, the techno jerk is on Twitter) with a Habs fan about Mark Streit. He said he was booed by the Habs fans for going for the cash. I told him we were happy to pay the man the $4 mil a year. He certainly looked worth it last night. I think they just miss him too much.

Congrats to "Iggy" on his first NHL goal and congrats to Bruno Gervais who was receiving praise from Billy Jaffe for his recent play.

Okay boys, Saturday in Boston for a day game. See if you can LOSE that one. And another thing, shave for god's sake. This isn't the playoffs. You just all look scruffy!

Happy Friday the 13th and... HAPPY BIRTHDAY CJ PAPA.

Sather Gets His Death Pick

As if I needed yet another reason to dislike the Rangers and the way they operate, they resurrected the "conditional draft pick of death" at the GM meeting in Naples FLA this week, and it passed.

I was disgusted by this idea when it came up in November of 2008, so imagine my surprise when I found out that on Wednesday, it passed. Here's a great article about it from "The Puck Stops Here" explaining the reasons why it's a mistake.

Speaking of things Rangers -- Remember antagonizer Ryan Hollweg that pushed Islander Chris Simon over the edge? He's playing on the Marlies now in the AHL. I guess the Leafs figured out he and his porn star mustache aren't exactly USEFUL for them.

On a sad note, Miro Satan has also been sent to the AHL by the Penguins. Considering how hard it is to get to the NHL level, I must imagine it's devastating to a man who is sent packing the other way.

Unlike Hollweg, Miro Satan doesn't have a bad reputation on or off the ice. Success is fragile in any sport. But in this one, I would expect the fall from grace is more painful than in others.

Oh sure... Baseball, Football, Basketball -- all of these have athletes that get to a point where they can't compete at the levels they used to or want to. They take their money and hit the golf course. But the passion it takes to play this game doesn't dissipate at the same time the quality level of play goes south. There's a gap there. And it's a painful void.

Islanders in Montreal at 7:30 pm with Peter Maninno on the line up card. Let's cross our fingers and hope for no more injuries.

Sean & Joey Mac get bitten by the Bug

It wasn't until late this evening that I finally found out the fate of Sean Bergenheim, even though I had asked about it since last night.

Sad to say, it had to come from a message board post and not from the PR Dept. Sean has been returned to NY for evaluation for a groin strain he suffered during last night's game.

MacDonald seems to have a knee injury and has also been returned to NY and will not be playing in Thursday's match up.

My only question is: Was Joey's injury related to the accidental collision he suffered with Jason Blake?

While there is no one in hockey who has protected that little bug more than I have, I was upset with what happened behind the net when Blake collided with MacDonald. I know this was not intentional, but it speaks to an inherent problem with Blake's play; he keeps his head down far too often.

He lost control, Joey wasn't looking either and Blake tumbled over him and was caught up in the back of the net. That would have been fine, had Blake's skate blade not come precariously close to MacDonald's neck.

Had it not been for the neck guard, MacDonald would not be heading to NY for evaluation. He would be headed to NY in a body bag.

I know how sharp those skates of his are. I was a schmuck and bought a pair from on Ebay. You can slice tomatoes with them.

This was a frightening moment with only a knee injury coming from it. But players have to make a conscious effort to keep their heads up and know what's happening in front of them.

If they don't, there will be more jobs in the NHL and no one to fill them. They'll all be on the IR. How many Sound Tigers do we have to bring up before we start bringing them up from Utah?

Viewing party tomorrow at Dave & Buster's in Westbury with recovering veteran Mike Sillinger @ 7:30 pm. I'm considering it.

One Point in Toronto, But a Bigger Loss?

The Leafs haven't had a great season even with the Pope of Hockey as their GM. They probably didn't expect much from the youngsters on the worst team in the NHL. They were wrong.

But along with the Islanders walking away with one point in Toronto, they added to their long injury list as Sean Bergenheim limped off the ice in pain.

It seemed like an "Uh Oh!" moment for Bergenheim on the ice as he was skating toward the net one minute and wincing in pain against the boards the next. He skated off the ice on his own, but headed straight to the trainers and did not return. Losing him for any length of time will not change where the Islanders are in the standings, but it will certainly interfere with Sean's development into the player Gordon wants him to be.

Also amazing last night was watching lightweight, good guy Bruno Gervais take off the gloves and have at it with Lee Stempniak. The bench was amused. The TV watching fans were stunned.

Kyle Okposo continues to show off his skills and CJ Papa had the most eye-catching tie I've seen in a long time. Although Scott Gordon is the best dressed coach I've ever seen. I'd love to see his closet. I'm certain it's military neat and strategically organized. Just like him.

NY Islanders vs. Leafs (a.k.a. Islanders North)

In my eyes, the two teams are very similar. Earlier this season, I would watch a game on Center Ice and except for the jerseys, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the Leafs and the Islanders. Missed opportunities, blown leads, blind passes and an occasional win.

Tonight the two teams meet again after deadline bench changes. The speed should be blinding. Especially with "My Boy #2" facing off against "My Boy #1." The question will be: Will it be a high scoring game won by only one goal difference or a low scoring game... won by only a one goal difference.

Who am I kidding. I've never been able to guess what's going to happen in a game the entire season. I'm guessing.... I'll enjoy it either way as long as no one is removed from the ice on a stretcher.

All Media Eyes toward The Lighthouse

Sunday was an interesting day for the Lighthouse Project. The Newsday morning edition had a two page spread "discussing" the Lighthouse Project in a "Point/Counter-point" style just a few pages after Obama's new Afganistan policy and the current economic mess.

"Shining a Light on the Lighthouse" by Eden Laikin was a two page spread with more graphic than content. As a matter of fact, Laikin's editorial portion was all of a single column punctuated once again by "a not so subtle ultimatum by Wang: Approve the project so we can build... or I'll move the team...."

The balance of the article covers five major discussion points and the highlights of the project. It is written much like the rest of Newsday, (which is owned by Cablevision who also owns MSG and the Rangers. As if they haven't told you that in every single article in the sports section and you didn't know that.) so simplistic a 3rd-grader can read it.

While the fact the project is getting the exposure it needs, there are some inconsistencies in it's coverage. You can check out the LetThereBeLighthouse.com blog which examines some of the statements in this article. Read it and become more informed.

http://lettherebelighthouse.blogspot.com/2009/03/newsday-shines-phony-light.html

As is the usual outcome of ESPN radio's NY Hockey This Week show with Don LaGreca and Chris Botta, concerned callers begged for explanation and confirmation of Lighthouse news from ex-employee Botta who worked closely with Wang. Botta made one error saying the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement was 16,000 pages when it is indeed only a gargantuan 6,000. (He also noted he had the worst reading comprehension in Hicksville High School, so that may explain the additional 10,000 page over statement.) But as always, the close-to-his-heart topic was covered with sincerity.

The Lighthouse Project was also covered on the NBC NHL Game of the Week as ex-GM Mike Milbury sounded off saying the Islanders and the Island need the project and the team. He also mentioned that in his many years working with Charles Wang, he's seen him walk away from deals before. Once again, indicating the Islanders geography is not etched in stone.

Has our little piece of the map ever been such a hot topic? Yes. There was that whole "Amityville Horror" thing. But because the Islanders are part and parcel of this Long Island development and economic stimulus project, the coverage has transcended states and even north of the US border.

Yep, there are plenty of media eyes on the Lighthouse Project and our NY Islanders. And they are all staring at the Town of Hempstead.... waiting for an answer.

Um. They Won Again.

The magic of Alumni Weekend has gained another two points for the last place Islanders over the Phoenix Coyotes. Three second period goals by Jeff (I waited until now to figure out how to score?) Tambellini, Josh (Okay, that makes THREE!) Bailey and Kyle (Yeah, I'm that good!) Okposo to give the Islanders enough of a cushion for Danis to save 40 of 42 shots on goal.

Better yet -- I didn't hear of any additional injuries today.

That's it for my post game as I wasn't actually AT the game and spent the first two periods in the car listening to Steve Mears and Chris King on 1100 am radio. All I can say about that is THANK GOD for them because I actually don't feel that bad not being able to watch the games when I can at least listen to them.

I spent the third period in a live chat hosted by IslandersOutsider Ken. That is always fun.

The Islanders won't be back in Uniondale for a long time, so we'll have to cheer them on from afar.