Hockey In July? In Uniondale?

Awesome news! The Islanders have scheduled a charity Blue & Orange scrimmage and skills competition for July 10th at the Nassau Coliseum featuring the Islanders prospects.

Check their website for more details. Tickets are only $10 and will benefit the Islanders Children's Foundation.

I am so excited!!!

Giving, Getting, Helping in NHL Style

I'll get back to Isles news in a little while! For now, it's time to Party Nashville style! Check out the Live Video form CellBlock303 of the Nashville Flood Relief Tweetup Party. Live now!

Original post:



Trouble abounds in the world around us and we are inundated with requests to help. In this crippled economy, helping is sometimes difficult. We are all stretched a little thinner than we were, but we have to also think of those who are worse off than ourselves and those who have lost everything through no fault of their own.

Thus is the fate of Nashville, TN. American’s own music capital suffered Mother Nature’s injustice as it was recently drowned by an epic flood. Photos of the devastation hardly made it to the news outlets as they were consumed by the BP oil plume destroying Louisiana’s eco-system and economy. They have someone to blame. Nashville can’t sue the heavens.

But what Nashville has is an NHL family willing to lend a helping hand. The Nashville Predators organization should be exceptionally proud of their intently passionate fan base and their fans should be grateful for the exceptional community involvement of their club.

Now, it’s time for the rest of the NHL family to lend a helping hand to one of its own as the city of Nashville struggles to dry-out, clean-up and get back to normal.

My good friend, and very talented writer, Mark from http://www.TheViewFrom111.blogspot.com first offered up this account of the devastation along with photos of the Bridgestone arena under water and the terrible loses the city endured. But not willing to stand by and watch, an idea was born.

Social media connects people and corporations and spans the globe bringing communities together. So why not use it to help those who truly need it.

The Nashville Flood Relief Tweetup has been set for June 7th at the Tin Roof, located at 1516 Demonbreun St. in Nashville from 6-9:00. Besides the silent auction items from the Predators as well as other items, there will also be guest appearances from players, coaches and the very entertaining Predator broadcast staff.

Okay, let’s not stop there. As much of the NHL family can’t get to Nashville for June 7th, there’s even an on line auction site for the rest of us! New items are being added as they get closer to the Tweetup date, so check the site often and bid. This is buying with a purpose. So you can’t get yelled at for spending money on more hockey memorabilia for no reason. The reason here is HELPING our neighbors.

Buddy Oakes from the BlogTalk radio show and blogspot, PredsOnTheGlass will (most likely) be broadcasting live from the event. As it gets closer, I will post details. I’m hoping they can get some sort of web stream going because these guys in Nashville KNOW how to throw a party.

And this one seems like it’s going to be one for the NHL history books!

SCF: Finish Line is Now Best of 3

For my thoughts on the SCF Game 5, please check HockeyBuzz.
(Thank you Adrien Dater (@adater) for the use of your photo)

I have some very good links to my Tweeps there for their coverage of the games.

So, here’s to a Sunday night filled with Hockey on NBC, starting with a pre-game show at 5 pm with Anthony Curatolo from The Hockey Guys on www.blogtalkradio.com/thehockeyguys, a Live Chat with XM’s Shawn (Big Country) Lagivnestarting at 7pm, some interesting TwitBits from those covering the game live in Chicago all night long and hopefully a Hawks win.

Yeah! I said it! I’m still rooting for the Blackhawks!

Isles Aside: In this morning’s Newsday, Jim Baumbach has a brief article under the title “Islanders: Former owner still believes in Hartford” Sadly, the title (as usual) is misleading. If you don’t actually READ the article, you immediately assume there’s a link between Hartford and the Islanders. The good thing is that within the first paragraph that connection is broken by reading that Howard Baldwin “…does not see relocating the Islanders as an option right now.” The wording “right now” does leave the idea open ended. Perhaps Mr. Baumbach wrote the story just to include the second half of the article news that Charles Wang is STILL waiting to hear from the Town of Hempstead as to what they deem acceptable in the Uniondale parcel. He did note that Kate Murray said she expected to present the ToH’s plans as early as June. Turn the page on your calendar Kate, it IS June.

I suppose any mention of the continuing plight of the Islanders is a good thing. Anything that can light a fire under the local government is appreciated by the fans. Even Gary Bettman on his weekly radio show on Thursday had to take 3 minutes to answer a concerned fan’s questions regarding the Lighthouse project and the Islanders. Even with the attention placed on the impending draft and the possibility of a future star, Islander fans are most concerned with where their team will be after 2015.

Time flies. The question has been pending for years. The only constant has been – Kate Murray.

IceCreeps.com Hockey Fest 6-4-10

I attended two Social Media gatherings in one week? Wow, that’s a record for me. I’m the woman who doesn’t drive far, but I made the trek to McFadden’s of Rockville Centre armed with my MapQuest directions and a renewed sense of adventure. I will be honest; telling me to drive to the border line of Nassau County is like saying “Go drive to Brooklyn.” I’m a country girl. The maze of streets that intersect Merrick Road in that area made me nervous, as did the designated “Shoppers Parking.” I’m from out east. We go some where there’s vast open space with nice lines painted on the pavement. There isn’t a choice of a) try to remember how to parallel park the way you did for your driver’s license 100 years ago or b) walk five blocks from public parking. Yeah, okay. I’m spoiled.

However, it could have been worse. It took Chris Wassel (@TheProgramBTR) from TheHockeyProgram.net only an hour and 15 minutes by train and poor Carlos @SpeakOfTheDevs over 3 hours by car. @TravelChick59 and @namnum had it a little easier as they live within 10 minutes of RVC. @Kathygc and @PeterG11742 made it with plenty of time to spare before puck drop. @Katrina_Doell and @dani3boyz were fashionably late as their schedules are always full. Why am I telling you all this? Because it just goes to prove the lengths that Hockey fans will go in order to gather and be with other like minded individuals. Not only electronically, but physically!



And THAT is the point of IceCreeps.com. Early in the evening I asked Mike where the heck he came up with that name. He told me seeing as Hockey fans are in the minority of sports fans we are sometimes looked down upon and disrespected. “You know -- like we’re creeps. So that’s how we came up with the name. I’m IceCreepsMike, my cousins over there are @IceCreeper and @icecreep. We’re all ‘creeps’.” And the mission has become a family affair.

IceCreeps.com has a simple mission statement: Hockey Fans United. It’s US against the world of Sports fans who can’t understand how we can be so passionate about a sport that garners so little attention. But I asked Mike if he didn’t feel that as hockey fans, we are a lot better off now. “Oh, absolutely! With the Social Media explosion, it’s changed everything.”

How else would you be able to get fans from various teams to actually break bread (or drink shots from an ice sculpture of the Stanley Cup) together in one place without there being bloodshed? You don’t. And I scoff at those who say Hockey fans aren’t interested in the Stanley Cup games once their team is out of contention.
I overheard two men walk into the bar and greet Mike exclaiming. “I’m a Ranger Fan, he’s an Islander fan. This is the only time we can watch a game together and both root for the same team. “

There were those sporting jerseys in the bar; Quite brave on a hot night in June. Mike had an impressive array of raffle prizes and T-shirts, stickers and key chains. This was a first class operation all the way and as the night progressed McFadden’s began to pack out. The game was on all 27 HDTVs in the bar and there was Wi-Fi service. Something us “social” people can’t live without. Okay, maybe just me because I don’t have a blackberry or an iPhone line everyone else in the place. I was the only one sporting my NetBook. I was going to try to get a head count, but knew facing the long drive home ahead of me I had to pack my gear and go.

IceCreeps.com will have a table on the floor at the NY Islanders Draft party at the Coliseum on June 25th. Make sure you get your tickets and come for the party. Not only will you be able to see John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Trevor Gillies (Seriously, you can’t miss Trevor), but you’ll be able to meet a lot of other like minded hockey fans just like you.

And check out Mike Carver on SportsRadioNY.com from WGBB AM 640 for his sports talk shows and many great guests.

Okay, the video is dark, but bear with it. A little footage of the Icy Cup from last night’s Hockey Fest.

Tavares' Boot Gets Picked Up by Yardbarker

So late last night I dashed off an entry that took me a very long time to write because everyone in the house wanted my attention. It was rediculous. All I wanted to do was just dash off a few lines about what had come over my Twitter stream all day that I couldn't report on because - uh -- like I have a day job. No one would let me. The dog, the kid, the husband, the laundry all needed SOMETHING. Throw in a sucky wi-fi connection that causes me to have to stand at the kitchen counter to ger service and it was just not a good night.

By 10:30 pm I finally finished what I had started at 8 pm. Here it is over at HockeyBuzz. But the funny thing is, this morning in my Google Alerts I see it was picked up by YardBarker.

Good Grief. I guess Angry Dee is the way to go to get attention.


Nashville Flood Auction: Don’t forget to check out the online hockey auction at http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=14161&searchString=theviewfrom111#buynp for a good cause.


**Photo from @NHLPA on Twitter from today's Goals & Dreams event. For full information see http://www.nhlpa.com

The Social Media Social: Newsday TweetUp

If you want to talk about hockey first, sure -- here goes. The Flyers won game three of the Stanley Cup finals last night at the Wachovia Center extending their home turf winning streak and ensuring -- The Hawks hoisting the Cup in Chicago.

I called a Flyers win all day. I’m not surprised, but I may be to blame as well. I never donned the boa feathers last night in the third when the Hawks looked like they needed a little extra magic. They looked tired and slow and hardly managed any shots on goal. Once they headed into overtime it was pretty obvious the game was going to the Flyers. Okay, but enough about that.

Earlier in the evening I attended the Newsday TweetUp with a group of prolific Long Island Tweeps. I don’t attend many of these functions because they are usually in places far-far away -- like Manhattan. This was down the street from my office. I couldn’t resist and I’m glad I didn’t.

But it’s not just because I got to meet the people behind the ½” avatars, but also because the discussion solidified the purpose of Twitter. As @stevehaweeli from WordHampton PR explained, Twitter is a Community in it’s truest sense of the word. It is a place to bring like minds together even from across all geographic boundaries. It is a tool, it is entertainment, it is marketing, it is socialization and it is ever expanding.

While social media sites and Apps are springing up faster than the crab grass in my yard, I find myself still behind the times in this ever expanding universe. But it is actually by choice. (I actually JUST downloaded TweetDeck two days ago and am still fighting with it.)

Being easily recognized is something I’m comfortable with -- at a hockey game. That’s my comfort zone. I belong there. Being recognized OUTSIDE of the Nassau Coliseum is something I find surprising. Being not only recognized but warmly greeted and complimented for my work still makes me feel like Sally Fields at an Oscar podium. (Really old Norma Rae reference that 98% of you will not get. Go ask your mother.)

What I am attempting to get at, and taking the long road home to do it, is that Twitter, while classified as a Social Media site, for me is more of an ever expanding news exchange and think tank. I could never imagine following thousands the way @LovelyLu does, I already find myself struggling to keep up with those who really interest me and I know I'm missing out on more.

The “List” grouping function is essential and having certain Tweeps Tweets directed straight to my phone is my hockey news life line. Where would I be as an hockey blogger without @katiestrangNYI’s up-to-the-minute Isles news announcing itself on my Samsung phone? Sunk. That’s where. But it still leaves me thinking I may need to do some judicious pruning in order to maintain clarity of content.

Carl Corry, or @carlcorry, Newsday’s Online Editor, Local News, asked what we all wanted to get out of Twitter, I realized that while we all may look for the same things, we prioritize them differently. I also realized that we all felt the Twitterverse is addictive, so managing time and content is becoming increasingly difficult.

All I know is: Without Twitter I would be lost. (But that still doesn’t mean I’ll jump on 4-Square because the whole idea of people knowing EXACTLY where I am every minute of the day truly freaks me out. No… really… it’s like a stalker tool. Ewwe.)

So thanks to @jonmccarthy, @carlcorry, and @patriciakitchen of Newsday and their invited TwittSpeakers for an informative evening. And thank you to all the Tweeps I was finally able to meet in person. It was truly a treat.

As a hockey aside, the one smallest tidbit I took away from the evening regarding our Islanders came when one reporter said he never knew there were that many Islander fans from all parts of the country until Newsday went pay-wall. It just goes to prove that while hockey may not be one of the "big three" sports, we are a rabid, vocal, electronically connected force to be reckoned with.

Don’t mess with us hockey fans! We’re willing to throw down the gloves any time.

Draft Party Details Set

It's only 25 days away now and the details for the NY Islanders Draft Party 2010 have been set. Check their website to order your free tickets. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun.

Sadly, I missed last year's Draft party because I was supposed to be at a concert. This year -- nothing is keeping me from attending. Especially not now that I see that not only will last year's first overall draft pick, John Tavares, be a guest but also my personal favorite, Matt Moulson will be on hand. Moulson always makes any fan event a lot of fun.

The funny thing is that when I read the Press Release I immediately thought it was CLARK Gillies and not TREVOR Gillies who would also be attending. Clark could have definitely done well with the ‘Stache Station' too. But, Clarkie is not longer under contract and Trevor has a brand new one year deal.

Speaking of "new deals": Yesterday the NY Islanders signed 2008 draft pick David Ullstrom. Of course immediately I uttered "who?" when the news came over my phone from Newsday's Katie Strang's Tweet. But after reading about the 6'3" 200 lb, 21 year old Left Winger I realized -- Hello Sean Bergenheim's replacement.

This is what the Islanders are looking for -- size and youthful energy. Guess they really are "sticking to the plan."

The Peter Strategy

I'm pretty much at a loss for items to write about my NY Islanders at this point since no one is actually saying anything. So while I wait for something to happen, or someone to pick up the phone and CALL me to tell me anything (which is even less likely) I'm struggling.

Of course I could give you the recipe to the Lobster Ravioli I made last night, or the Shrimp Quesidilla I made as the appetizer. But would you really spend the amount of time cooking it the way I do? Probably not. But if you want to know how to turn won ton skins and ricotta cheese into hand-made ravioli, let me know. Then I'll post them.

So, instead, the only thing I could come up with was some memories of Peter Laviolette that were kicked up watching him last night late in the third period. It certainly feels different when he's not YOUR coach.

And if there's anything Islanders related that you'll like to talk about, just let me know. I thought about trying to go over the possibilities for some of their later round draft picks, and that just made my head hurt.

But it's good to recognize that Big Buff was chosen in the 2003 Draft in the EIGHTH round at 245 overall. There can be diamonds everywhere. You just need to dig deep and know what you're looking for.

Have a great Tuesday Hockey fans.