what's going on?

What are the chances the NHL will nullify Wade Redden's contract? Wouldn't that be a dream, especially after Larry Brooks laid out a worst-case Rangers scenario this past weekend. Not that I wasn't trying to find a spot for Avery on my lineup sheet as well, but I'd rather just ignore that possibility as long as possible. All in all I think the Rangers have had a fair free agency. I love Biron, ok with Frolov, preferred Shelley, but will give Boogey a chance. I'm pleased we didn't go all in for Kovalchuk. I kinda figured the arbitration would be more tasty, but Lamoriello V. Bettman is kinda a lose-lose for me. Personally I'd like to see Kovy land in LA. Devils will probably still win the division, those assholes!

So my two sports worlds collided this past weekend when Roger Federer, that extremely cool and handsome guy in white celebrated his birthday with none other than Sidney Crosby! What kinda of demented nightmare was this? Although Crosby looks more like a creepy delivery boy in this pic. Hey Rogers Cup, next time get some Shanny up in there, or anyone but Sid. Federer is currently in Toronto for the main warmup to the US Open. I've been mentally spending a lot of time there because due to the tournament and a screening of Scott Pilgrim V. The World I had the great fortune to see this week. It's excellent and can't be missed. No hockey action for a film set in Canada, still I cannot recommend it enough. Eagle-eyed Sloan fans may recognize a certain bass guitar in battle 3, not too surprising given that Chris Murphy taught the cast how to rock, or at least fake it.

Here's to Roger and his run for a 17th slam at Flushing Meadows. Here's to Scott Pilgrim, may you reign at number 1. Here's to a great training camp (Please sign Marc Staal!). Here's to a great rest of the summer. Enjoy it y'all!

Is it July 1st already?

So heavens, what has happened since I last checked in? Blackhawks pulled it out, no not that way, but the 16 wins needed to lift the Stanley Cup. Congratulations Chicago. I for one am so glad they did, although I had my doubts when Hartnell tied it up off of Hossa's skate, would the curse continue? I wanted the Flyers to lose so badly except for my beloved Blair Betts and who does NBC randomly pick to show all dejected and deflated? My sorely missed Betts. This is the one time I'd like to look at Peter Laviolette - when he's all resentful and unfulfilled. You know who I cannot look at enough? That right, Patrick Sharp! Playoff beard, clean shaven, this guy is eye candy. Why couldn't he be trade bait? I love Byfuglien but I'd much rather have Sharpy in my conference.

Which brings me to the 2010 draft. Everybody knows since the Barely Legal competition in January I've been pulling for the Rangers to draft any of the USA team that's available. Slotted at 10 I thought we were a lock for clutch goalie Jack Campbell, but my heart was kinda set on defensive dynamo Cam Fowler. Projected to go 3rd-5th I thought we may even trade up for him. Then by some miracle (or perhaps the Ducks handed out some "koolaid") he falls past the 9th pick. But does Sather and the Rangers' organization pick him up? Maybe we don't want to draft anymore defensemen. Ok, but then why did we pick one anyway?! Now, Dylan McIlrath seems like a delight. He's nicknamed "The Undertaker" which you gotta love and he's projected to be a stay at home bruiser in the mold of Jeff Beukeboom. Now if McIlrath becomes the next Beukeboom, I'll be ecstatic, but right now I envy Dallas and the Ducks for scoring my two guys at 11 and 12. It just hurts.
In good news we did officially sign the Hobbit. Our new Norwegian will be arriving for training camp in early September. I for one am pumped. I hope some little kids sport his jersey because I'd like to see Zuccarello-Aasen emblazoned on their little backs! I kinda want a Norge jersey myself, except I might look more like a fridge than a cute hockey fan. Now I just hope Sather will resign all my boys who bleed blue, starting with the best Staal, my boy Marc, hopefully Ozone Ken (aka Prospal) and most definitely Jody Shelley. Just give them what they want, Glen. Don't dick around with us or the team. Here's to a great free agency. No big contracts!

the nightmare continues

I cannot believe that nearly two months after Jokinen missed the net on the shootout, those same stinkin' Flyers are headed to the Stanley Cup finals. What a bunch of suck. In fact these whole playoffs have been miserable. One of the only upsides of missing the postseason this year was the feeling I had that I could just sit back and enjoy the games with nothing invested. But that was a crock. I had plenty invested. First off was $20 for a playoff pool of which I'm currently in last place. Next I was nearly certain it was the Capitals year. Not so much. I was also rooting for Boston, but thank God only marginally. Can you imagine being a Bruins fan this season? I'd much rather go out with a whimper during the regular season than hand away a 3 game, 3 goal lead. What a heartbreaker! And what to I get from rooting for Montreal 2 rounds in a row? Nada. Although I did get to hear the name Hamrlik every other day and it always made me giggle. As much as I love Blair Betts I just cannot champion the orange and black.

I fared a little better in the west, after all I like Chicago and now I want them to hoist the cup. I was hoping the Cinderella story would belong to Phoenix, but they had the misfortune of drawing Detroit in the first round. Otherwise it was fairly painless. Even Joe Thorton didn't disgust me the way he normally does. Hopefully the finals will go my way and maybe somethign fun will happen, like Hartnell's hair getting stuck in Toews' sideburns! Only potential problem - the Hossa curse! He's been on the wrong handshake line two years running. Not my favorite guy but please do not let it be the third year!

The World Championships weren't much better, except for the Gold medal game. I though USA had it in the bag once they invited Ranger prospect wunderkind Chris Kreider, after all he's 2-2 in championships this season, but instead USA struggled to even be included in next year's tournament. The only good news in this is that Dubinsky played great in the later stages. Hopefully he steps up like that for us next year or it raises his market value. Either way I'm happy. To be honest I only half followed the World's but I was excited that Russia was so dominent until the Czechs made the final. Love the underdog, especially when that team is headed up by Jaromir Jagr and his beautiful baby face. Congratulations #68! I miss you and love ya. Also Roszy continued his solid play for the CR. I'm pretty sure he'll be in Blue, Red and White next year, so I'm happy to see him pick up his game and sustain it through another tournament. Hopefully he'll bring that confidence back to the Garden next year.

Luckily I have the French Open to distract me. Roger Federer rolled through his first round this morning. I most want his semi-final streak to continue but I'd be ecstatic if Rog defended his title. Go Roger!

Then we'll kick it!

We signed Norway dynamo Mats Zuccarello Aasen this weekend. I'm super thrilled. I think I neglected to mention him during my coverage of the Olympics, but every time I watched Norway he was making plays. The announcers, probably Doc, kept saying his name but I heard it as Tootirello Awesome. It wasn't until about the 3rd game when I saw the back of his jersey that I realized that I had it all wrong. A very Khabibulin moment for me like when I thought his Nickolai's name was Habi Bulin. It's not entirely my fault because for some unknown reason announcers always say, "Danius Zubrus" in its entirety every time although to my knowledge there's not a single other Zubrus in the league.

It's funny that Mr. Awesome (that's what I'll call him) shares a number with Danny Briere because he's short like that. Like remarkably short. Now I was happy to unload diminutive Gomez, but he didn't have a spectacular name. I've been waiting many seasons to zero in on the right player jersey for me, but I may have finally found it. Hopefully the stitching is in font size 2 like the one Mr. Awesome sported during the Olympic fortnight. Definitely a better option than having your name curl all down your back. Look his feet don't remotely touch the floor. It's like me at the park! I need to hug this guy like an emergency. Forget the playoffs, now I'm excited for the new season.

I have been enjoying the playoffs though, Particularly the Caps finally showing the Canadiens what they're made of. Now if the Coyotes can keep up their exceptional play against the Wings my pool picks will be looking pretty strong. Loved Prucha's goal the other day. Let's hope he has plenty more in him.

What strange forces are at work?

Weird things are happening in my brain. The other day I hooted with glee when Jarkko Ruutu scored. You heard me right, that Ruutu. The only explanation I can give is that it was against Marc-Andre Fleury, but really is there any exceptable reason to root for Chris Neil? No, but my mind isn't listening to reason right now.

This problem is at its most disconcerting during Devils' games. It dates back to before the playoffs. Sometime over the two-week Olympic break I developed a type of love for Zach Parise. It's very troubling. I used to give the teeth to his finely formed rough trade face, but now I give fist pumps when he pots a goal. It's just plain wrong, but again it is against the Flyers. I I did remember to grimace at Brodeur last night. Maybe the Devils can win the rest of the games 6-5, that way Marty can suck it all night long and Parise can still score the game-winner. Keep this gal from losing all her Ranger credibility.

For the record I'm rooting for a Caps/Yotes final. Backstrom for Conn Smythe. Hear that Caps, better not let Gomez get any more by you!

Zero percent chance

Well I called it! The Flyers always save Dame Kate Smith for extra help in defeating the Rangers and her special magic from the grave worked yet again. But her rendition of "God Bless America" wasn't the most unsettling part of the pre-game festivities. When I saw that Kerry Fraser was reffing his last game I had a sinking feeling the jig was up. We never benefit from his interpretation of the rules and why would he bother to change with nothing on the line?
No reason at all, so Philly was sanctioned to commit all the little dirty infractions without threat of penalty. Maybe that's why they had the puck so much. That I cannot totally account for. I've seen teams beat us to loose pucks all season and it was no different in this game. Zero anticipation. As always my main concern is Henrik. I never like to see him embarrassed but this type of loss is almost worse. He plays his heart out stopping nearly everything coming his way but still ultimately feels responsible because it came down to a shootout. I don't necessarily think Gaborik would have automatically scored, but how does your whole season fall on the shoulders of Jokinen? Please at least let it be someone who's a real part of the team, has been on the roster for more than a month. I called for Drury before the 3 shooters were announced. Let Captain Clutch show us his stuff. Or Prospal? Too bad Boucher wasn't watching Jokinen's face instead of the puck because then we would have survived one more round. As Henrik said, very empty. Plus I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. With no payoff that's a doubly ucky feeling. Here's to the lottery!

There's was some good winning news in Rangerland this past weekend. Boston College took the college championship off a 5-0 win including a goal by our very own Chris Kreider. If you followed nyhockeygirls during the last World Juniors you know I love this kid. I can hardly wait until he swathed in Blue White and Red on a nightly basis. C'mon the kid has two championships this year alone. Couldn't we use some of that on our roster?

hugs not drugs

It's now really down to the final game tomorrow with Boston having clinched 6th and Montreal a berth today. I have no real idea how tomorrow is gonna play out but I can guarantee one thing, those stinkin' Flyers are gonna trot out poor Kate Smith for a pre-game rendition of God Bless America. Wait don't the Rangers sport red, white and blue not the Flyers? It's bad enough the lady died in 1986 but she's gotta lend her considerable talents to Philly's campaign every year from the grave. Hopefully it won't work tomorrow.
But even if it does I'm very proud of my Blueshirts and particularly the effort they put in Friday night. I don't know if it was just home ice advantage but my guys did everything they could to win that game despite a truckload of nerves and some loose play. I particularly loved Pronger coughing up the puck to Gabby for the game winner. I think if we come out with the same effort and buckle down the defensive lapses we'll have an easier time of it tomorrow. Hopefully Henke plays as solid throughout as he did in the third. I had every intention of rooting for the Caps this year, but not so fast, I'd much rather not.

Saving the best for last?

Well our heroes were bound to lose at least one of the last four and perhaps they picked the right one. The prospect of beating Buffalo in their last home game of the season seemed a little daunting. Add to that the possibility of clinching the northeast division and the loss was written in stone. Plus Cyclops must have used some Visine during the first intermission because he was seeing everything in the 2nd & 3rd.

But my boys came back strong last night and took care of Toronto and I mean that in a molester kinda way, routing the foliage 5-1. Shy and pale Christensen potted two. Hopefully he's isn't sidelined the next two games, because I like how quiet an effective he is. I also hope we keep him around next season, if only to spare him from excessive introspection. Prospal scored too and in a show of true selflessness said he's hell bent on the post-season, tanning be damned. Ok, he didn't really say that, but his eyes did. I want to keep him too. And of course our Henrik bounced back from his premature benching like a pro. I hope he's got two more stellar games in him this week. I believe he does. Here's to shutting down the Flyers, although I'm gonna really miss Avery in these two contests. I could swear last matchup he asked Hartnell last if Carter thinks of Scottie when he's pulling his wife's hair. Comedy gold, that guy.

Sorry Jesus

First off, HappyEaster/Passover/Spring to everyone. No new peeps for all you mallow maniacs this morning, but here's my favorite diorama from a few years ago. The Washington Post has revealed this year's lucky finalists. Love the winner, little underwhelmed by the others. Let's dominate next Easter!

I think this beautiful Easter morning may be a little brighter because those quirky Rangers have gone on a tear winning 6 of their last 7 games and pulling up along the Flyers for the 8th spot in the East. I should give up on the team more often. As soon as I've written off the season they come on like gangbusters. Do they just not need me? I hope this is not ultimately some sick cosmic joke where I get my hopes up only to have Scottie Harnell's dirty hair whipped in my face repeatedly next weekend. Now that the Blueshirts have their destiny in their own hands they had better pull through. Of course that likely means another first round match-up with the Capitals/Peepitals, not an ideal scenario in my eye. Maybe we can manage 7th and the Devils?

On one station I'm a champion

I should have gone to Canada a few weeks sooner because our Rangers have earned 7 out of 8 points since I crossed the border. I had logically given up hope for the playoffs until Saturday night when we were only 4 points behind Philly and play them back-to-back to end the season. I have to say eliminating the Flyers fires me up a little more than Boston. That Winter Classic must have really worked a number on me! So even though I was in close proximity to Leafs v. Blueshirts there wasn't much hockey action to be found on my trip. I did pass an exit sign on the QEW for Wayne Gretzky's Winery and my immediate thought was that Sidney Crosby should open a Whinery when he retires!

Also had a weird "Is this guy following us?" moment. Pull into parking garage of the Toronto hotel, take the glass elevator up to the lobby and who do we see on our way up - A Rangers fan who used to sit in Sec 302 during the 07-08 season and who also happened to be at the very exclusive Fran Healy from Travis gig at Housing Works. I thought for sure we would see him at Thrush Hermit Friday night, but then I was also sure the visiting Rangers would be there too (I'm thinking of you Sean Avery!) PS. If you're that dude, educate me, I need to know why you were rocking Canada the same weekend as us.

As much as I love my team I would give up the playoffs any year to see Thrush Hermit play live. They're simply the best and I couldn't have asked for a better vacation. Still I'm greedy, so I like to have both. Maybe my Blueshirts can pull off a miracle, fingers crossed.