This Entry has no Title because I can't Think of One

It's 7 am and I'm only half awake. I must have been totally asleep when I decided a crab cake on an E-Muffin was a suitable breakfast. One tea down, one more should poke my brain into a semi-alert state.

There were a few things I was kicking around yesterday, but couldn't find the inspiration to generate thoughtful, researched posts. I still can't so here are this morning's Cliff Notes.

1) Cam Fowler: The draft prospect that fell to 12th overall after being tauted as going in the top three has signed his first 3-year entry contract with the Anaheim Ducks. (or is it the Ducks of Anaheim? I always mix that up.) Fowler is already 18 years old. Nino Niederreiter will not be 18 until September 8th. I was wondering if he would get the same treatment because of his talent level. But as noted, Nino was actually one of the youngest draftees because of how his birthday falls. My hopes of seeing him on the Coliseum ice this season are dim.

2) Kirill Kabanov: I found it interesting that the highly talented Russian bad boy that fell to 65th overall, where the Islanders took a chance on him, is STILL here. Yes, Kirill has NOT returned to Mother Russia but is enjoying some time here on Long Island. Okay, that makes me wonder why. Perhaps it's harder to get in and out of Russia right now with that whole "spy" thing going on and they want to just keep him around for training camp in September. Perhaps they have high hopes for him come training camp and he's working towards his goal of getting to the NHL fairly quickly. Whatever the reason, he was right when he said he needs to gain weight. Seeing him in shorts and a tank, you can see how immature his lean muscles are. You can also see that his arms aren't the only place he has decided to "decorate."

3) The Coliseum has received high marks for food safety when compared with the other sports venues in North America. Savor: I applaud you. Especially considering that my first year at the blog box I went around the coliseum taking pictures of violations myself. Having owned a restaurant years ago, I knew what it was like to have to pass food-safety inspections. There were many in 2006. But I see all that has changed and that makes me very, VERY happy. Now -- could they just bring back the Chicken & Broccoli with Brown Rice at the Sushi stand? Please?? That was my favorite! And I miss the pizza ovens downstairs on the lower concourse. You can still get pizza, but when you watched it come right out of the pizza oven -- it was different. More -- Brooklyn-like.

4) AOL's Patch.com websites are cropping up all over the place and at first I didn't think I would like them. But I must say they are very informative and well done. Here's an article on Bobby Nystrom's son, Eric, written in the Plainview Patch.com website by Brendan Manley. Give it a read.

5) Yesterday was Zach Parise's birthday. It was also General Manager Garth Snow's and my friend @IceCreepsMike from the website IceCreeps.com. I hope they all had a great day. I also hope that the Devils can't find a way to keep Zach Parise under the salary cap because they spend so much on Ilya Kovalchuk that the Islanders can make him an offer he can't refuse and Lou can't match and that one day I will see the name Parise on the back of an Isles jersey once again....

Okay, maybe I should switch to coffee. It's obvious the Tea isn't cutting it because I'm still dreaming.

Dreaming of Zach Parise - Not what you think!

Once again, I'm late for work.

But my personal dream sequence on how to right a Mike Milbury wrong can be found here at HockeyBuzz.

And did you know that young Zach shares the same birthdate as our own GM? Yep.

Considering the heat wave we are stuck in here on Long Island, any dreams of ICE are necessary.

Stay cool!

Dear Ryan Miller:

It's not your fault.

It was an amazing game. One that ended as most would have thought as soon as Canada scored the first goal; and then the second. Team USA trailed 2 - 0 until Kesler managed to put Team USA on the score sheet at 12:44 of the second.


The game was so fast, a few times I thought they were skating eight aside. It was just a blur of players. Even without the ability to drop the gloves, it was obvious this was not a gentleman's game. The hitting was big, the shoving ever present. The penalty calls, however, were inconsistent.

In the final minute, with Ryan Miller pulled from his net the coaching staff gathered the team at the bench to draw up the last big push, the joke in my house was "Just get the puck to Parise." That was the only plan. "Just get the puck to Parise."

That must have been the plan, because that's exactly what happened. With under a half minute to to, Zach Parise, the man who COULD have been an Islander, tied the score and sent the game from absolute loss to a possible win.

While waiting for the OT to begin, ex-Olympian Jeremy Roenick sounded as if he was going to cry. He was so excited over the game going into overtime and the fact that someone, some player on that ice would be a hero. Who would have thought that the hero would be the NHL's own poster boy, Sidney (freakin') Crosby.

In the seconds before that historic goal was scored on Ryan Miller, Dan blurted out "He smells hero." Dan saw it coming. I'm guessing Miller did too. But in the blink of an eye, the puck was in the back of Miller's net. The deal was sealed and Team USA was going home with Silver.

Much like the Women's team, the men were despondent. Unlike the women, they didn't break down in tears. Actually, they just looked angry. Even while accepting their Silver medals, Zach Parise looked as if he could have punched a wall. So the men's standings ended the same way the Women's did. Finland, USA, Canada. Interesting.

Brian Burke, without his jacket, tie loosened and shirt opened, and looking like every Irish baretender I've ever known, sat on the bench with his coaching staff and looked at his team. Something caught his eye and he went out onto the ice to talk to one of his players. I wish NBC had kept the camera on him so I could have seen who it was. Perhaps it was Burke being the father figure he is, or the GM he is, or both. During the handshake line, Ryan Miller and his Coach Lindy Ruff had a moment in line, it was heartwarming, but it didn't seem to do much to ease Miller's pain.

Even though you lose to get Silver, Team USA should be proud of their accomplishment. They came into this tournament ranked fifth. (Or so one of the articles said which was the reason the NHLPA scheduled their flights for this morning.) They came in second and it was a historic, hard fought game.

For a few hours today, Hockey was center stage in North America. Will it bring more people to the 30 NHL rinks? I don't know. Will it encourage kids to take up hockey as a sport? Maybe. Will that stunning Game Winner by Sidney Crosby earn him more fans? Yes. It will also earn him more detractors.

But one thing is for sure. That goal solidified the reason why Sidney Crosby is the face of the NHL and not -- Alexander Ovechkin. I'm just saying.

Travel safe Olympians. NHL hockey resumes tomorrow and the trade deadline is Wednesday. No time to rest or enjoy. Just get back to work!

Uh, that's YOU TOO Miller!