And this is by no means, a ‘buttering up’ for the lad!

Great show last night – BD was on – and it was a great conversation, touching all sorts of topics, from Dey not getting a congratulations gretting card, to Gordon’s philosophy, to the lineup, and the 2 on 1 assaults that BD got with his Ranger fan siblings.

Must have been quite a household….

Anyway – great interview, but unfortunately, I am peeved, because the last 60 minutes of the show did not appear in the podcast. I have a call into BLOGTALKRADIO to find out what happened. If it corrects, I will let all know.

It was a great show, and I am working on a guest for next week. Keep tuned to this blog for further details.

Have a great Thursday… The weekend is coming.

GH

Posted under Cool A-C League, Islanders 08-09, NY Hockey Report

You have seen his great columns on the Blog Box…

You see him on the ‘center of the page’ list of writers on Hockey Buzz…

Now – you can ACTUALLY HEAR HIS DULCET TONES tomorrow night!!!

That’s right, friends of the Orange and Blue, BD Gallof, will be my guest on the New York Hockey report tomorrow night, August 20th, at 9:00 PM (actually, he will be on the show around 9:15 or so). We will talk about the summer doings around Islander land, get his opinions about what has been going on. We will also talk about NHL, and the tooling (or lack of) for some of the teams that Islanders will concentrate on. I am sure that some interesting banter will come out of this.

If you have not read his columns (and frankly, how could you NOT!??), please make sure to check out HockeyBuzz.com, and get yourself acquainted with the man. You will be glad that you did!

Since I get no love lately from my other two ‘ding dong’ co-hosts, I am making the show more Islander than before. I will get others from our side of the fence to make appearances. I hope to get John Buccigross from ESPN before the start of the season, to get a NHL preview show going. Stay tuned for the latest info.

And for those that commented from the yesislanders.com site, I did correct the spelling on submissions. They just don’t get corrected from there. I have a laptop, whose keys really blow! So thanks for the replies, have patience, and I will do better, I promise.

Have a good day, and please make sure you check out the show tomorrow night. If you wish, please call into the show, and join the discussion. The number to reach the New York Hockey Report is (646) 716-7209.

See ya!

Posted under Islanders 07-08

Now that the coach is in place, (like or dislike) it is not time for the lads to get themselves ready for camp. We are now less than a month from the start of camp in Atlantic Canada. Now is the time to start having those protein shakes, beginning the dry-land workouts. Getting the skates sharpened, and working on the power drills.

Time to concentrate on the fitness.

What does that mean for fans….

Basically no talk at all. There are a few free agents that are still on the market, but for the Isles, I believe that we are done, and with about $12,000,000 in extra money. We are above the salary floor, but we are not that many steps above it.

So relax, faithful of the blue and orange… Enjoy the summer season. The weather is nice (at least this weekend, it is), so get out and get some rays. I will be at the Ducks tonight – so it should be a nice evening at the ballpark.

And my Toffees are back (for you just Islander fans – you can pass on this…). Everton FC have started their English Premier league campaign this day, as Blackburn Rovers visit Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of the Everton side. With US Goalkeeper Tim Howard at the helm, the Toffees are looking to move up this season and reach the top 4 in the league, which gains admission to the Champions League, the best cup competition in soccer each year. As I am writing this, however, Everton is down 1-0, and they do not look sharp at all. The team is missing a few starters (one to injury and a few are at the Olympic Games in Beijing) and they just do not look as sharp as they should be.

Also – I went to see Neil Diamond (no – not the guy in the Islanders Booster Club) at MSG on Thursday night. Good show. He talk lyrics more than he used to, but it is still a good show. A lot of verses of Sweet Caroline….

Wo, wo, wo….

Anyway – have fun as the summer winds down, and we will talk, should anything important come up. BY the way, I am hoping that I will be a part of the Islander Blog Box this season. I hope to hear soon about it. That would be nice for me… Wish me luck!

Posted under Islanders 07-08

Yes – the Gordon’s Fisherman… Yea – I get it…. Shut up Rangers fans, already… Worry about your OWN team….

Scott Gordon is now the newest head coach of the Isles. I was not totally sold on him at first, but the resume does speak volumes… AHL coach of the Year – 70 games over 500 for his career in Providence.

Yes – we got another New Englanduh in the mix. That is no problem. Communicate and motivate the players, and you can have whataver accent you desire.

I was still leaning toward having a face that would be NHL recognizable, but again, I will move forward on it. I see a lot of similarities of Gordon to one Peter Laviolette. That is not bad comparisons. All we now have to do, is KEEP this one….

I think he will work well with the young crop, and he deserves the shot to say the least. It is nice to see that a good number of young guns are now getting shots to take a team at the top level. John Anderson, who won a Calder in Chicago, now takes over the Thrash. New coaches in Florida, and San Jose, are showing that ‘ol boys club is not the norm anymore. Well – Mullet Melrose screwed up that equation for all of us.

Anyhow, I am confident that Garth is putting all his eggs on Scott to lead this team. With 35 days to go, until camp begins, get the homework going now… Islander fans have been beaten more times, that a “B” actor in a spaghetti western. It is time, to make us the aggressors.

Good luck, Scottie!

Posted under Cool A-C League, Islanders 08-09

Paul Maurice

Bob Hartley

Scott Gordon

The final three… Will it resemble a final round of a Miss America Competition, where one answer to one question will give the finalist a chance to win…

My question to each candidate:

1. Maurice. Paul – what motivation tools will you use to get the youngsters going, when it seems that they are struggling with their play?

2. Hartley. Bob, there are times that you have seem to be down on the younger talent. What makes us think that you will not go back to that same attitude that seemed to be your undoing in Atlanta?

3. Gordon. Scott, we know your experience with the young talent; what do you see yourself doing to get the older talent to get moving in your direction?

Look – I am not Bert Parks, but hey – it’s a start.

I still look for Hartley. I am just of the opinion that brining up people to their first NHL coaching job, is enough. I want someone with experience. I know that Hartley is not the best with the youngins, but I think he can be. The relationship with coach and GM is a paramount, and Garth does have it with Bob.

well – that is my hope.

I came back from the NHL Booster Club Convention in Chicago. It was a great time! The five crazy women that ran this whole show, did a tremendous job, and deserve all the kudos.

No other news to report….

Posted under Booster Club, Cool A-C League, Islanders 08-09