This blog is featured on the Long Island press this week, in an article about Citizen Journalists.

Here is a link to that article on line:

http://longislandpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=13615&TM=83473.3

Thanks to Josh Stewart for saying real nice things about it!  I most appreciate the support. 

Have a GREAT DAY!  I know I am now…

Will preview the game in Hot Wing Country tonight.

And Bryan Berard did not make the team….

Here is the roster of 23 names that are going to start with the team on Friday:

GOALTENDERS (2)
34 Wade Dubielewicz
39 Rick DiPietro

DEFENSEMEN (8)
2  Aaron Johnson
8  Bruno Gervais
14 Chris Campoli
24 Radek Martinek
25 Andy Sutton
32 Brendan Witt
44 Freddy Meyer
47 Marc-Andre Bergeron

FORWARDS (13)
7  Trent Hunter
10 Richard Park
11 Andy Hilbert
12 Chris Simon (eligible to return Oct. 13)
13 Bill Guerin
16 Jon Sim
18 Mike Sillinger
20 Sean Bergenheim
26 Ruslan Fedotenko
27 Darryl Bootland
63 Josef Vasicek
81 Miroslav Satan
89 Mike Comrie

17 Shawn Bates (injured)

Interesting… I really thought Berard would make it.  I guess his agent and Garth could not agree on a $ figure, or length…. Oh well - I am also disappointed that Tambellini did not make the cut.  I think that he has a larger upside than Hilbert.  And Bootland is on the team to be a physical presence until Simon comes back.  I wonder if he stays?

OK - we are off….

I just had a real nice conversation with Josh Stewart, the Sports Editor from the Long Island Press. (www.longislandpress.com).  He is writing an article about Long Island Blogs, and we discussed a great deal about why the Blog has been a big success for fans of the game of hockey.

The next issue will be out on Thursday, and it is available for free in many places all over Long Island.  If the article comes on the Net, I will link it.

Islander final roster should be set today.  Will write later about my thoughts of the guys that made the big club.

Off hockey topic for a minute…..

For whatever reason, I decided to go food shopping at around 12:30 PM.  I knew the Mets were playing, but I thought that with Glavine pitching, it would be quiet for the first few innings.  So I thought I can get what I needed and get home in time.

As I am getting to the checkout, someone in front of me, makes a comment about my t-shirt (I had on an old Subway Series shirt from the 2000 Series).  He says to me, (in typical Yankee Fan fashion):

You guys have no chance today!

To that, I simply replied:

If you can pick up a baseball, there is always a chance!

And at time, I figured out that was probably when Glavine was walking off the field….

When I got in the car, I could not believe my ears.  One of the most horrific stretches had occured, and my Mets, 7 games ahead of Philly with 12 games to go - was simply done!

This was the ultimate (or you can now spell it ultimet) choke!  These guys just lost it.  Fundamentals were shot; pitchers could not throw strikes; stupid mistakes at the plate and the bases.  Things that you and I were tought when we were 5 were not done (ask Castillo about running with 2 outs).  And Randolph just sat there like a bump on a log - showing no emotion. 

I am not a professional manager, but if my team was lacking that emotion, I would have kicked around training and meal tables, screamed my bloody head off, and made sure that these dingdongs knew what was going on….

I give Wright, and Beltran passes.  They were just about the only ones doing anything.  Green played great in September, but was not used… That strikes me as odd…

A lot of dead wood needs to come off this team… And I can not wait to see what it is…..

Now that I got it off my chest, I can breathe a little.  I just wait for the Yankee Fans to start on me know….