A fine close to a poopy summer week

So last night I left my apartment in the west village around 8pm to go meet some buddies from work over at a bar and I decided for some strange reason to throw my Islander shirt on. Even though I am an Islander fan I rarely wear the shirt especially during the summer. However last night was different and I don't know why. I tell Nemy this all the time but I wish these things would happen to him more than me even though I have the ego of a monsoon at times and could be the most narcisstic person on the planet and may need these encounters more than I think I do.



I walk across Carmine Street and onto Beford and just glance as I often do thru the glass windows facing the street at the Market Table (a nice casual burger beer/wine joint) just to see a pretty face or some city goers enjoying their meals. I thought at a glance what could have been Bill Guerin locking eyes with me but didn't believe it 100 percent so I called Bress and he got excited and hobbled over to verify. We found each other around the corner and he said, "I think he is leaving." I said, "What do I do? I'm not gonna go bother him, yea I know we worked together and he'd probably remember me but he's with his wife..." Bress looked at me and said, "Scotty get ur ass to the corner and catch up with him!" I acknowledged and knew I had to say something to a hero of mine, a former player/captain on my favorite NHL team and a friend/acquaintence in my neighborhood.



I caught up alongside him and his wife and lightly grabbed his arm and said, "So what's the best power forward in the league doin' in my neighborhood?" He recognized me and smiled immediately. Introduced me to his lovely wife and I congratulated him on a job well done. He was like, "I didn't know you guys lived around here, I would have thought you guys were from Canada." No Billy boy, just a bunch of city rebels doing our part of not letting go of a game. I told him about our future plans with the show and such and we parted ways. As I started walking away I screamed on Bleecker street, "I knew you would do it...probably the best American power forward in the game!" He smiled, 100 people turned around not knowing what had just happened...I went on with my drinking problem.



Until next time...and in case I don't see you, good afternoon...good evening and good night folks.



- Barbone

An even more boring summer work day

But the news today is the official retirement announcement of Burnaby Joe. What can you say but raise your glass of Pinot, Jack, Gin or Juice in high praise of this once mighty super power. In my opinion Joe Sakic represents the land of America when factories were booming during World War II. He represents all that is a mid-stride toe tuck top shelf. He portaits me mashed up with Wendel, Nemy and Mac pounding Absolut to our faces. What a player!

625 goals 1,016 assists and up there on the all time list. Put up a hundo even in his 37th year on the planet. That is sick. I wish the snowblower didn't fully ruin last season because I would have liked to see a 60-70 pt. final Joe run. Hoisted the cup twice, got some lady Bing action and was 1000 at all times. Remember the Colorado team that never was. Sakic, Kariya, Selanne, Forsberg, Tanguay, Hejduk. I wish that team was healthy for a full season.

Last night on the opposing team we played there's this kid that I thought...don't quote me but I am pretty sure he has called me this and I thought he said this last night again. He called someone a 'tit.' Like a real serious pasty mean quiet person. Good defenseman but weird in a weird way. I actually heard from someone that he rode the bench for four years at Michigan on their D1 squad. That's fucked up dude. I met some of my best friends forever by playing and bonding with them over my college tenure. The point of the story is that I asked him last night if I could use the phrase 'Tit' because I liked it. He was confused...Nemy just kept laughing on the bench. I was serious. He's the complete opposite of Burnaby Joe and what he stood for.

Congrats to Sakic on his accomplished career as an athlete. His combination of skill, class and leadership are a rarity in sports today and will always be remembered on the ice.

- Barbone

Boring Summer Work Day

I spent the better part of this morning clicking "random article" on Wikipedia and counting how many clicks it took before something that had to do with hockey came up.

At click 121 I got the page for Eric Brewer but it was the scientist Eric Brewer and not the old Islander defenseman.

Finally after roughly 848 clicks (I was keeping tabs by making a mark on a pad after 10 clicks, not an exact science) I got to Dan Bain's page. Per Wiki:

Donald Henderson "Dan" Bain (February 14, 1874 – August 15, 1962) was a Canadian athlete and merchant. He won two Stanley Cup titles playing with the Winnipeg Victorias in 1896 and 1901.

We had a friend in college named Victoria. She used to work at the Roll-N-Roaster (where the Village Pourhouse is on 3rd ave).

Dan (short for Donald?) is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also had some sick Brad McGann wolfhair.

Fantastic. Can someone explain to me what is going on with the Blackhawks?

- Nemmy

Post Merica weekend and into the summer swelter

Can someone tell me what a welter weight is?

There has been some crazy movement since the draft, my goodness!

2/3rds of the egg line will be back in play up in Montreal. Gomer and Gionta and I assume that at the start Cammaleri would be a good fit until proven wrong because he is quick and so is Gomer and Gio. This line could be sneaky spicy this season. Knuble to DC...grab him next season...he WILL be playing with OVY and Backstrom. 1000! on that line as well. Hossa - 12 years! Jeez. They lost Havlat but picked up Hoss. More positive than negative but not THAT much more positive. Injury prone Havlat so maybe HUGE positive in that respects.

The Rangers grabbing Gaborik is sick for them. Obviously the injury prone disaster that he is...but what if he isn't for 3 seasons...HIGHLY unlikely but what if he averages high 60 low 70 game seasons. He is a one man show and he gives the Rangers something that they haven't had in a long time. A one man goal scoring I don't need a center crazy person. Believe me it will help if he has a center but 100% does NOT need one to get 40 on the board this year. Huge pick up for them.
Pronger PIMS to dirty gritty Philly. With him back there the Islanders aren't even gonna come close to beating them this season. All jokes aside, thats a big move for them...they gave up a decent amount for him but I think that it works more than it doesn't. Look for the coming of the Power "I" Mike Richards at the coming of the fourth light with Gandolf the White, Philly will be stark and staunch as usual.

J Black Bouwmeest moving to the northwest. Going to be a different type of landscape for him but I think he will fit in just fine. That powerplay point with Bowmeest and Phaneuf is goign to be very cement like...very intimidating and very Olympic starting D-pair-like for Canadia.

Ryan Smyth to the Kings - pulled pork sandwich without the pork - whatever.

Havlat to the wild - he's probably never gonna play there anyway so whatever again.

Keva Rosenberg from Robocop - an unemployed person depciting the dregs and poverty in Detroit of the future from RoboCop - amazing. Amazing before this morning when it became 10,000 when Weinbrom found out that it was Eddie Van Halen playing this role. Can anyone speculate as to how he got this bit-part. Did he say yes to some producer wasted at an afterparty or something. Best part of July so far.



And this quick one line scene at the end of the movie with Cop and the CEO of the company just gives me the chills...I don't know why. The music fades in...the leg holster...his walk out.

And off RoboCop until maybe Friday and onto this past Thursday night out on the island. Me and my boyz (non-2man affiliates) but very much in the nuclear family headed to this new bar/club/sheaky spot nearing black out points throughout the evening. Chateau Briand, a nice place. We get there and no joke there is at least 150-200 people waiting outside the doors. It's a complete joke until Aaron leads us in thru the side where we walk in, without being ID'd and stopped or questioned. Right up to the main bar and into 1000. Before we approached the main bar Jeff Tambellini looks up and spots me and I the same. A nice embrace of familiarity and onto some drinks. After some chat about his summer plans and me trying to convince him to buy a house (Why, I don't know) Oh I know the shot girl in the short white skirt that was killing us all night long! Weinbrom asked Jeff what he thought of Tavares and such and he seemed very serious about his potential. High hopes and aspirations and long and strong into this upsetting Monday back from a long lengthy awesome weekend. So think of Keva Rosenberg and getting Tan. Think of a glass of Jack and a chicken qusadilla. Think of Thursday and Friday night. They will be here soon. I went to court this morning to get points off a ticket and need someone to guide me from here becuase I'm lost.

- Barbonite

Mike Knuble

Mike Knuble is the man. Ask me what the first words that come to mind when you mention his name. My answer: Solid American, Reliable, Always in position. As a Bruins fans I watched Mr. Knuble develop into a steady right winger and was bummed when he signed with Philly. I broke the news that he signed with DC to my buddy and Philly fan, Matthew. The news stung. Knuble is the man, he's never out of position, every team should have a guy like this.

Matthew and I spent a good part of the afternoon trading emails about the man. We wondered if he was always in such great position off the ice as well. I picture Mike at a bar in close proximity to both the john and bartender. He's got the spot where girls have to walk by him when going to the bathroom but is still far enough away where when they run back into Mike they aren't still thinking about the color of their pee. You are the guy getting bumped into by barbacks and reaching over 4 frat guys to pick up your Bud Light Lime. Nice drink, guy.

Mike Knuble is the guy that after pulling into his driveway takes 30 seconds to stand at the foot of the crease of his kid's ball hockey net. If he were painted in The Last Supper he would be to the right of Jesus in front of a plate of chicken wings and the biggest bottle of wine. The only think about him out of position is the consonants in his last name.

Mike Knuble: Solid American, Reliable, Always in position.

Best of luck in DC.

- Nemmy

Late Weekend Wrap Up OR Its not a Free Agent Preview

Thank goodness the Islanders took John Tavares. I would have been happy with Victor Hedman, and I probably could have sold myself on Matt Duchene. But, it had to be Tavares. I'll call his stat line for next year right now:

32-41-73


I d0n't have much other insight into any other draft picks. It was fun to watch Burke being so pissed when the Kings took the younger Schenn. I was surprised that he (Burke) took Kadri, who's small and had a less than stellar year.

I really really wanted the Islanders to take Ray Ferraro's son in the second round, but they went with a goalkeeper, which I guess make sense.

The Pronger deal was the best hockey trade in a long time. Pronger is perfect for Philly and the Ducks just restocked for another run. Imagine what they'll get for Giguere. I think they are a sneaky pick for Western Conference champs.



Free agency opens tomorrow and I'm excited to see where players go, but have no high expectations for any of the tri-state teams.
I could make wild predictions, but I won't.

Who do you want your team to sign?


-Bress

What is going on in this picture?

*Special thanks to Kerri D'Ambrosio for the unreal photo*