A good piece of news in Islander country for a change…

Sean Bergenheim, fresh off the removal of his old agents, got a 2 year deal, for just under 2 million. Here is the quote from Newsday.com.

Forward Sean Bergenheim, who was the only Islander to file for arbitration, avoided a hearing when he reached agreement today on a two-year deal worth $1.725 million. It appears Bergenheim’s recent decision to change agents facilitated the process.

Bergenheim switched to Allan Walsh. His previous agents, Mark Gandler and Todd Diamond, have clashed with Islanders management several times in the past. Once he made the change, negotiations began in earnest. Bergenheim, who will have one more season as a restricted free agent when the contract ends, will make $800,000 this season and $925,000 the following season.

“We’ve always had a high regard for Sean,” general manager Garth Snow said. “The events that transpired a week ago allowed us to get this done.”

Following a trend started a year ago by captain Bill Guerin, Bergenehim plans to donate a significant amount of money to the Islanders Children’s Fund.

First of all - well done by Sean by removing himself from Gandler and the rest of the ding-dongs in his office. Remember this is the guy who is from the village that is missing an idiot (Thanks MM). He lost a year of development by letting his agents dictate some ‘crap’. But now - Sean is the better a person because he has representation that apparently, has a pulse.

Tambellini also got a deal as well. Only Bruno is to be done, and he can’t because the Islanders are sending him all over the place on the summer tour. But that will get done in good time.

Heard Bailey skated on a line with Okposo at camp… Future dream team? Might be….

Wonder where Sundin is going? He is so wishy-washy… get the damn deal done, so we all can shut up about it!!!

Looks like Teddy wont be in LA LA Land?? Terry Murray, who has waited almost as long as Teddy to be a coach in the NHL again, should be announced today. Long overdue… Other than the Islander job, that is the last NHL coaching vacancy.

Who is my hope for the job?

I like Hartley. He is in the middle between angry man, and softie. He knows when chew the proverbial head off, and when coddling needs to be done. I like Tortorella. A USA guy with a Cup on his resume’. However, he can “LOSE IT” at times, and with a team such as this will be, I think that is not the kind of person that should be at the helm. Would I be disappointed if Torts gets the job? Hell no. I just like Hartley better, and that is my $0.02.

Schedule comes out tomorrow at noon. Check the NYIBC site tomorrow night, and we should have trip information out…. Anybody up for a trip to Chicago on New Years??? Also - from what I hear, we open at the ROCK, and then have the Blues the next night at home. Also - I have heard that we have a FLORIDA trip in the middle of October. We will see tomorrow..

Check out the NYHR tonight - I think all three of us should be on. Call the show (646) 716-7209. Let’s hear what you think of these last few weeks….

I think I will be covering the Ducks game Sunday against York. Should be a piece on it here on Monday.

Check this article out from the Toronto Star’s RIck Westhead… What are these netminders thinking…?????
Is this the NHL’s new look?

Feb 17, 2008 04:30 AM
Rick Westhead
Sports business columnist

It’s been 81 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs were given their name by Conn Smythe, a former fighter pilot who bought the team after his return from World War I, and most sports fans would agree few NHL franchises are as steeped in tradition.

That said, the Maple Leafs’ owners have hardly been loath to tinker with the club’s familiar, blue and white game sweater. It has been changed no fewer than 10 times since the Toronto St. Patricks were renamed the Maple Leafs in early 1927. Stripes on sleeves, shoulders and waist have been added and removed, and the Leafs’ distinctive logo has been revamped at least three times.

Now a group of influential NHL players that includes New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Dallas’s Marty Turco, Detroit’s Dominik Hasek and Edmonton’s Dwayne Roloson want the league’s – and inevitably the Leafs’ – uniforms altered again. In what would be a radical overhaul that might incite hockey traditionalists but surely gratify some of the league’s cash-strapped owners, several NHL goalies have asked the league and its players union to consider starting a so-called Goaltender’s Club. Revenue-generating initiatives for the club could include placing a corporate logo on the jerseys of the league’s 60-odd goalies.

The players are working alongside prominent hockey marketer Brad Robins and Edmonton player agent Ritch Winter. Robins and Winter estimate on-uniform ads might generate upwards of $30 million a season for the NHL. Robins has already briefed Gary Bettman on the concept, though it’s uncertain whether the NHL commissioner has endorsed the idea.

A copy of the goaltender’s club proposal, obtained by the Star, shows corporate presence on a jersey could range from subtle to more invasive.

One proposal shows Roloson’s blue and orange team jersey with a small Rexall logo above the Oilers symbol. The drugstore chain’s symbol could also be “sublimated (dyed right into the fabric) on a portion of the sleeve.” A second proposal depicts Brodeur’s Red Devils jersey. The team’s NJ on the chest is positioned above a large tag for the bank UBS and adjacent to an RBC logo. Bank Morgan Stanley’s symbol could be featured on the goalie’s sleeves and shoulders.

A third proposal shows Detroit goalie Hasek’s red jersey, again with the Red Wings’ logo front and centre above the larger symbol of insurance company AIG. The company’s logo could also be displayed on the sleeves and on the bottom of the jersey’s back. The presentation also suggests goalies be allowed to choose the jersey’s colour and depicts Hasek’s in black, blue, green and white styles.

While the prospect of a company’s logo or slogan adjacent to the Maple Leaf and other NHL logos would no doubt have been dismissed out of hand years ago, the timing for such a pitch may never be better. In the wake of a crippling lockout that scuttled the 2004-05 season, the NHL is desperate to make money. The league’s 30 teams earn just a few million dollars apiece from its national TV contract with U.S. broadcaster Versus, and while the league has been aggressive with its Internet ventures, the money to show for it has been slow to materialize. Clubs like the Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers are hemorrhaging money – one investment banker who specializes in pro sports says the Coyotes have lost as much as $30 million (U.S.) a year in recent seasons.

“It’s low-hanging fruit,” Robins says of logos on jerseys. “Advertisers would definitely be interested, and the goalie is the most visible player on the ice. You see the goalie on a broadcast at least 65 per cent of the time, pretty much on every replay, whether it’s a goal or a great save.”

Winter has already been involved with one effort to narrow the gap between uniforms and ads. When he represented goalie Grant Fuhr, then with the Edmonton Oilers, Winter reached an agreement for Fuhr to receive $50,000 from soft-drink maker Pepsi in exchange for wearing a pair of pads that had been fashioned to resemble a blue, red and white Pepsi can in the 1989 All-Star Game.

Former NHL president John Ziegler scotched that effort.

As to the prospect of hockey traditionalists bristling over ads on uniforms nowadays, veteran Anaheim Ducks defenceman Mathieu Schneider, who’s worked on marketing issues on behalf of the NHL Players’ Association, says: “We’ve changed the uniforms so much already over the years. It’s not that far a stretch.”

Roloson echoes that sentiment. “I think it’s a great way to grow (hockey-related revenue). They have (uniform ads) in Europe and it doesn’t take away from the true jersey look.”

The Oilers goalie shrugs off the prospect of criticism from traditionalists, who, he says, will “freak out” even more if the NHL makes the goalie nets bigger, something Roloson expects to happen. “And we have advertising on the boards, don’t we?”

Hollywood heavyweight Jerry Bruckheimer, creator of the popular CSI TV series and a man who’s lobbying the NHL for an expansion team in Las Vegas, would also seem to be a supporter. During the NHL’s recent All-Star Game in Atlanta, he spoke at length at an NHL party about ideas that could reinvigorate the game in the U.S., says a person familiar with the matter. Bruckheimer’s suggestions included giving NHL players licence to individualize a portion of their helmets with artwork or other material – perhaps even corporate logos – and prompting them to remove their helmets during shootouts.

Moreover, many NHL players are acquainted with the notion of advertising on uniforms. The minor-league American Hockey League’s 29 clubs all have the ability to sell a small advertising patch on their jerseys. The Toronto Marlies, for instance, have an ad for McDonald’s near the collars of their uniforms.

And in professional leagues throughout Europe, player uniforms are covered in ads. When former Leafs star Doug Gilmour played in Rapperswil, Switzerland, during the 1994-95 lockout, he was reportedly asked by his team to put advertising stickers on the shaft of his hockey stick. And once, when he skated out for a pre-game warm-up, a team trainer told him to adjust his socks to make a sponsor’s logo more prominent.

Whether it’s changing uniforms, granting an expansion franchise to a movie producer (which the NHL did in 1992 when it awarded the Mighty Ducks to the Walt Disney Co.) or introducing advertising on rink boards or even on the ice, the NHL, like other pro sports leagues, often has a short memory for tradition if it means finding new sources of income.

The introduction of ads on arena rink boards in the late 1970s was a turning point for the NHL’s ties to corporate North America, say several sports-sponsorship experts.

Some 55 years after the six hockey teams banded together to create the NHL, in 1972 The Gillette Co. wanted to build awareness for its new, twin-blade razor, the Trac 2. Gillette agreed to pay about $10,000 to place a five-metre-wide ad on the boards at centre ice in the Moscow arena where Paul Henderson and Team Canada would make history against their Soviet rivals. More than 10 million viewers tuned in to Game 8 of the series, making it one of the top-rated broadcasts in Canadian history, and making Gillette’s purchase one of the marketing industry’s most prescient.

It wasn’t long before NHL owners were debating whether they should follow suit. The Minnesota North Stars were the first franchise to debut rink board ads. The team sold eight pairs at $3,000 a pair. Throughout the 1980s, more ads on rink boards began to sprout in NHL arenas.

Not everyone embraced the idea. In 1980, CBS televised a hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York and refused to show any of the rink-board ads. Whenever players skated near the ads, the camera focused on the players’ skates, gambling the puck would appear in the picture.

“The network figured if there was going to be advertising, it wanted a part of that revenue,” says Jim Spence, a former senior vice-president with ABC Sports. “They eventually backed down, but I figure you’d see the same concern today if there were ads on uniforms.”

At first glance, it seems the NHL has done an admirable job of selling its product since a crippling lockout led to the cancellation of the 2004-05 season.

The league’s overall revenue this season is estimated to be as much as $2.56 billion (U.S.), 10 per cent more than last year’s $2.31 billion and 22 per cent more than the $2.1 billion generated in 2005-06, the first season played under the current labour contract.

Yet some hockey industry executives are skeptical about whether the NHL can take credit for all of its revenue increase.

Consider that while just six of the NHL’s 30 teams are based in Canada, they account for close to one-third of the league’s overall revenue. And since September 2005 alone, the Canadian dollar has surged some 19 per cent in value, from 83.9 cents U.S. to parity. The loonie’s climb may be responsible for as much as half of the league’s revenue gains since the lockout, says one source familiar with NHL finances.

A high-ranking league source says the secret to increasing revenue – aside from counting on the advancing Canadian dollar – has been boosting the box office. The NHL attracted an average of 17,043 fans a game through its first 726 games this season, up 2 per cent from 16,721 over the same period a year ago, the trade publication Sports Business Daily reported last month.

At the same time, it’s rarely been more expensive to attend an NHL game. The average NHL ticket this season costs $48.72, up 7.7 per cent from last year, while the average luxury-box ticket costs $112.10, a 17-per-cent increase, according to Team Marketing Report, a company that tracks ticket prices in pro sports.

Since 2005-06, the first season following the lockout, the NHL’s average ticket price has climbed 18 per cent, and the average luxury-box ticket is 29-per-cent more expensive. (In Toronto, the Leafs’ average ticket is a league-high of $88.32, up an astounding 79 per cent from $49.23 in 2005-06, according to Team Marketing Report.)

“If it wasn’t for the Canadian dollar and our teams increasing ticket prices, we wouldn’t be making a cent more now than we did coming out of the lockout,” says one NHL team executive.

There are also subtle ways to spur revenue. A year ago, the NHL ordered rink-board ads, which sell for as much as $600,000 a pair for a season, to be reduced in width from 3.6 to 3.2 metres, so the league could squeeze more ads in rinks, says Toronto sports marketer Bob Stellick, a former Maple Leafs marketing executive.

An NHL spokesperson said the league would not comment on its marketing efforts if the Star wrote “a story that is set against a backdrop of league revenues, with the financials coming from sources other than the league.”

To be sure, the NHL is far from the first league to face challenges and criticism as it builds closer ties to its corporate supporters. In 1998, organizers of the Rose Bowl began selling naming rights to the historic college football game when it struck a deal with AT&T. And NASCAR has turned itself into a marketing juggernaut thanks to its racing teams’ seamless ties to team sponsors.

Even on-uniform ads have become more commonplace. On Jan. 24, 1976, at a soccer stadium in the middle-class English city of Kettering, an otherwise unremarkable band of players trudged onto the field straight into history books. Wearing red tops with long white sleeves and lettering that read “Kettering Tyres” across the front, the Kettering Town Poppies became the first in British soccer history to compete in a pro game wearing jerseys emblazoned with a sponsor’s logo.

At first, Kettering’s groundbreaking move was poorly received. Britain’s Football Association ordered the corporate logo removed from the team uniform within four days, and TV networks refused until 1983 to show teams wearing uniforms with corporate logos.

Still, resistance to the move eventually ebbed. Now, the revenue soccer teams generate from shirt sponsorships is staggering. Popular English team Manchester United rakes in roughly $30 million (U.S.) a year from its sponsor agreement with insurance firm AIG.

“In this day and age, almost everything is for sale,” says Imraan Ladak, Kettering’s chairman. “Many clubs are also selling the back of the shirt and shorts as well as the front of the shirt.”

Closer to home, the Maple Leafs’ sister team Toronto FC, a Major League Soccer franchise, generates millions of dollars from its sponsorship agreement with the Bank of Montreal. That deal stipulates that TFC jerseys feature the bank’s logo front and centre on player jerseys.

“This is the wave of the future,” says Winter, the Edmonton player agent. “The NHL isn’t as profitable as other leagues, and we have very little choice but to pursue new ways to create revenue so we can reinvest in our sport. It’s just a way to pay the bills.”

Fans of 29 other teams wished they had him in his prime….

Brian Leetch, a certain first ballot hall-of-famer, had #2 sent to the rafters of MSG last night.

Now - we all know about my propensity to dislike anything Ranger.  However, I can never say with any sence of realism that I disliked Brian Leetch.  I respected the man, and appreciated the role he played as the best US Born defenseman ever (in my opinion).  I always had a fear whenever the Rangers went on the PP, because Leetch always killed us.

Also - the way Brian Leetch handled himself, set him miles apart from any other Ranger that wore the Broadway Blue Sweater.  He always exuded class and dignity, and that can be respected.  As an Islander fan, I do not have to start a fan club for the guy, but he is one that I would shake hands, and respect.

In a nice move, he (Leetch) announced that Adam Graves will also have his number ( 9 ) go up next season.  In addition, he is on that list of class individuals that I respect as a hockey fan.

I also think that the Rangers should seriously consider honoring another #2, Brad Park, as well.  Growing up in the late 60’s, I liked watching Park play.  He was always the #2 D-man in the NHL (behind Robert Orr, of course), and was responsible for the rise of the Rangers in the beginning of the 70’s.

Well - that’s for another time… 

It seems that when I look at the stats page of this site, this page gets a lot of hits.  I wrote this piece in January, when Sid the Kid and Jason Blake got into that spat before the All Star Game.

Let me preface and offer my request for new comments by saying this:

when I wrote this at the time, I was incensed by the actions of Sidney.  I can say that in the past year, he has matured a bit, and seems to be letting his game do more of the talking, than his yappering about other playing slapping him around.  In my reactionary comments, I always went back to Mike Bossy.  He took more of a ripping and beating, game in and game out, than any other player, including Gretzky.  But Boss never moaned.  He just did his job.  And when guys went after him more, he made them pay where it really counts; on the scoresheet.

Anyway, here is my original post, and all the comments that came with it.  I am curious of what you all think now… I would really appreciate the comments, and I am interested in the out-of-towners, especially the Pens fans, as to what your perception is about how 87 is received around the league.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Gary

I guess that will pique interest…. 

In no way, shape, or form, am I questioning the hockey skills of Pittsburgh’s #87.  He is a great player, with the world ahead of him.  He is exactly the hype that he was provided at the tender age of 13, and nearly 20, he received the most votes for the All-Star game next week in Dallas.  In addition, he is currently leading the scoring race, a few points ahead of Washington’s wonderkind, Alex Ovechkin.

He is regarded in a similar vein, to a certain young man that came onto the scene over a quarter of a century ago, called Gretzky.  In this age of commercialization and media overload, Monsieur Crosby is a hit with many commercials shown all over Canada, and in a few US markets.

He has the hockey world getting ready to throw the world on his shoulders.  He is the real ‘next one’; a name that was supposed to be reserved for Eric Lindros over a decade and a half ago.

But to this reporter, I see a different person than the one that most Canadians image.  Actually, I see this, because I took off the rose colored glasses..

I see, is a ‘boy’ that has been coddled and given the impression that he can do whatever he wants, and can dish out at anyone without incident.  However, when someone retaliates on him, he drops down to the ground like an Acme Anvil on Wile Coyote, and boom.

When the Great One was coming up, players went at him the same way, however, Gretzky was not that kind of player, and did not retaliate.  He had a Dave Semenko, or Marty McSorely to do that for him.  And that was fine.  Lemieux was able to handle himself, and in many instances, he did just that.

However, in the case of the crying weasel, known as Sid the Kid, he just shoves, slashes and does what he wants, and when he gets his just desserts in return, he cries, wines, and acts like a child.  In the case of Jason Blake, although I do not condone what he did, I am glad that he gave the wining brat a little taste of his own medicine.  He wants rules HIS way, but please overlook it when I do the damage!

And to make matters worse, is that his coach Michel “I am no longer a Francophone and want to be called Michael�? Thierrien, totally lifts him up to a higher level, and coddles the living CRAP out of him.  Hey Coach, give him the birds and bees talk, please!!!!  He needs to know that he (Crosby) has to be accountable for his actions.

You know that somewhere, sometime, someone is really going to clock him for being a little ‘pr!ck’, and they are going to be justified to the hilt.  The NHL is always a little over-protective of their stars, and unfortunately, the NHL needs a little slash to the groin once in a while too.

Well done Jason — with the increase in your salary next season, that fine will be chump change.  I am glad that people are finally standing up to this young twerp.  He has to be shown that if wants to act like a child in a man’s game, that he will get smacked around like a little girl.  Pad up more of your uniform Sid, or Sydney!!!

Wow - that felt good….

11 Responses to “1st Rambling…. Sidney Crosby is a whining little brat!�?

1. John Says:
   January 19th, 2007 at 4:27 pm eLet’s hope that some of the guys out there start drop the hammer a bit more often on this kid. I think the thing that is not helping is this “kinder, gentler�? NHL the league is trying to establish. I’m sorry, but I hate guys who are little cry babies when someone houses them at center ice or takes them hard into the boards. I don’t care who you are. I think it was Darius Kasparites who made the simple observation that “hockey ain’t no baby sport�?. I wish the NHL would not forget that.
2. 7th Woman Says:
   January 21st, 2007 at 9:05 am ePersonally, I can’t WAIT to see what the media does with this little episode at the all star game. Will there be musings over a reconciliation? or fisticuffs in the parking lot? Oh Please! The posterboy of the NEW NHL is a brat. Notice he didn’t tell WITT he was “F***ing Dead!�? three times after HE knocked him on his butt. No no… but he can threaten the little guy. 

   Grrrrrr….

3. Rich in Vermont Says:
   January 25th, 2007 at 1:33 pm eYou guys have absolutely no clue of the garbage he had to endure every single night for two years in the Quebec League. It’s a miracle he came out of it relatively unscathed. He’s always been known as a player who plays on the edge physically (goes from being shadowed night after night from age 10) and over the edge mentally. 

   Of course, if he was wearing blue and orange, he’d be just perfect, right?!?

4. Gary Harding Says:
   January 25th, 2007 at 5:33 pm eRich - it is all documented. And I know of your affinity for the league up there, and I respect it. However, I am not the only one that is remarking about his attitude. I have heard about it from people in Pittsburgh (fans) that have already says he has been buttered so much that he can be shoved in a very tight hole and wont get stuck. 

   I have also heard some ‘off the record’ commentary that not only backs it up - but say that he is nothing but elitist garbage that likes to dish it out, but when it is retributed, that he wimpers like a child.

   I take nothing away from his ability. He is gifted. But you never saw Bossy complain moan and groan. Gretzky either. When it happens to Ovechkin, he doesnt wine, he plays the game.

   We can agree to disagree Rich… Thanks for the thoughts!

5. steve Says:
   April 2nd, 2007 at 1:03 pm ehaha just because he is the biggest stud ecer your going to rip on him like that? i bet if you did more research on some of the players in the NHL they are exactly the same way.
6. Gary Harding Says:
   April 2nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm eSteve - Never said he wasnt a good player… He is just a big whiner…. But when no one is looking he slashes and cheap shots like a six year old not getting his cookie. 

   With the exception of Gretzky, who had his posse take care of things for him, all the stars have the same attitude.

   Just my thoughts.

7. knight Says:
   April 6th, 2007 at 11:32 pm ethe difference between gretzky n crosby is that gretzky’s team mates backed him up, he didnt have to retaliate because his players did it for him. crosby has been on his own. players go after him cuz he’s one of the best if not the best player in the nhl. he has to stick up for himself. im sure many players whine, you only hear it about him because hes what everyone talks about. crosby has many talents and many things going for him. he has to stick up for himself.
8. Kassie Says:
   October 3rd, 2007 at 12:42 pm ei believe that you should as steve said, research other famous and above average NHL players and you will find other whiners, actually just take a look at most of todays athletes. Daniel Briere was a whiner and i don’t see you complaining about him. Due to all the fuss over suspicion of intended injuries and money the NHL is not the only sport where this is happening; maybe if you were paying attention to other sports and your own team instead of ripping on other teams and their players you’d know. Maybe a womens advice will help in this situation, and it’s not just coming from a women who looks at the players I aknowledge their talent, skills, and attitudes as well.
9. Gary Harding Says:
   October 3rd, 2007 at 12:48 pm eKassie - i have no doubt im ny mind that Sidney is a great player… 

   Remember - this was written at the all-star break last season…

   He WAS whining, as young elite players do. Others in his mold did exactly the same thing when they were young…. I am not signling him out… That is just a young player that is coddled all the time.

   I like his skills, and every team wished they had him… Briere was NO WHERE NEAR the star power both on the ice, and marketing wise that 87 possessed.

10. Steve Says:
    December 7th, 2007 at 2:49 pm eThey used to called 99 whine gretzky, and he said that corners were for waiting for buses. Crosby is more physical than gretzky and takes a lot more.
    If this was basketball crosby would be the most polite guy in the league.
    People bashing him dont know hockey and sould sit down
11. Gary Harding Says:
    December 7th, 2007 at 3:48 pm eSteve - this message was created a year ago… 

    I am not bashing his abilities. But maybe he should look at someone like Mike Bossy. He got beat up night after night, and just kept coming back for more. He was class.

    I have no problem with 87 ’s abilities… All he should it shut it and play the game. Perhaps then, he may get more respect.

    A year later, I respect him a little more, but his whining at the time sounded like he is an immature little kid.

I think now, I am just about 100% better (except for the raspy voice).  That will take some time –

Well - another ‘Satan’ic win against the Devils….

i don’t know if the Isles had a scorer of 3 consecutive GWG’s.  Maybe Bossy, but I don’t really know.

Right place at right time syndrome is working well, and points in 8 straight games, is just what the doctor ordered.  Solid play from all 4 lines up front, and 3 in the back.

None of the experts thought we would go 9-4 in the first sixth of the season…..

Yes we are behind the Rangers, but 4 games in hand, going into Philly tonight.

For the Isles to succeed, skating will be paramount.  Creating chances, and eluding the ‘over physicality’ that the Flyers can dish up.  Maybe we can pull off another ‘0′ penalty game…  Probably not, but keeping the discipline, and not making the mad effort to stop a blown assignment with a tug or hold, will be what the Isles will need to do, in order to succeed tonight.

In order to get to Biron, the Isles need to attack on him.  Force him to get out of position.  The Flyer D is ok, but are beatable.  20 shots on goal, will not win this game; that number will need to be at least 50% larger.

Other Rambling thoughts:

• Can you believe that the Rangers FINALLY won a ROAD game?  The LAST team in the league to do so….  Is all of the hype for this team for real?  Makes you wonder.  I thought that the doors were supposed to blow off the east with them.  Again - you can assemble an all-star team, but can you make them win.  (ask a Yankee fan about that for the last 7 years????)
• Giants looked BAD in the 2nd half against the Cowboys.  Well - TO looked good…
• At least the Jets did not lose!
• Where did the Blue Jackets come from this year?  Must be the “peca” effect….
• Luongo looks awfully human this season?  As does Mr. Brodeur…

Metro Mug Update:

Have a great day all - enjoy the game tonight!

The Calgary Flame, and son of Bobby, scored his first NHL goal the other night,

Here is the story on the Flames Web Site.

http://flames.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=341759

Congratulations to another #23.  I hope you get a lot more goals (except against the Isles, of course….)

Chris Campoli was a real great guest last night.  Definitely not as vocal or as charismatic as his roommate Bruno, but he holds his own rather nicely.

He told the crowd a lot about his background, his home life (especially when his family were disagreeing over who should have won the last game of the season last year, Devils (for Toronto) or the Isles.

He also gave some good insights into the locker room, and how the new guys are handling themselves.  He was honest and forthright, and was indeed a pleasure to listen to.

He also told us what fun he had the other day playing “Fireman” with Bruno.

If you tune into the NY Hockey Report tonight (www.blogtalkradio/nyhockeyreport) at 9:00 sharp, you will hear an excerpt from the meeting.  If you wish to call the show, please call (646) 716-7209.

Hope to hear you on the show tonight…. Should be fun.

Interesting news in Atlanta –> Hartley fired after going 0-6.  Win a division one year, get slammed two weeks into the next season.  How can that team start THAT BAD????  Makes you go hmmmmm????

And in Soccer news, I can not believe that England lost to Russia 2-1 today for Euro 2008!!!!!   Just the fact that England had to play on a “Astro Turf” field that made the old Giants Stadium turf feel like Augusta National…. Ugh, now my England lads need some help to get to play on…. Come’on England!