By a large margin:
She's a lesbian. A lesbian!!!!!!
Monday, October 6, 2008
2-0-0: Putting Up Points In Prague
Four games on the old continent, four wins. And two of them actually meant something! The last one came today in a tightly contested 2-1 battle where the Rangers hammered the Lightning with 39 shots and only scored on set plays. There is happiness for Ranger fans worldwide but it should be tempered as they beat on a bad Tampa team and they didn't do so all that convincingly. Hopefully the Blueshirts don't struggle with jet lag as badly as I have been and come out strong against the Hawks in their North American season opener. But before then, let's talk about this game:
*Why couldn't Joe Micheletti's mic be messed up again? Listening to him makes me angry.
*What a depressing way to end the first period for the Rangers. After Scott Gomez lost a defensive zone faceoff to Adam Hall, he let the former Blueshirt slip by and Hall tipped a Andrej Meszaros shot through Hank. It was a simply unacceptable play by the Rangers' first-line center. How soon until Dubi supplants the lackadaisical Gomez for the top spot?
*But on the other side of the ice, after getting stopped on an easy slam dunk goal early in the second period, Gomez didn't miss again when he got an opportunity later in the frame to bang the puck in and he put the Rangers up 2-1. *The defensive duo of Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival looked much better than they did in the season opener. Redden didn't have any defensive gaffs and snuck into the slot to score the Rangers' first goal. Rozy finally seemed to lose his aversion towards shooting and fired away, something that he has needed to do for years and while he didn't score, the goals will come if he keeps it up. Of course, he took two terrible penalties so he ends up par for the course.
*While the Rangers dominated in shots, they were housed in faceoffs. I saw Dubi doing extra work in the circle during practice in Switzerland but the rest of the pivots clearly need more practice as well.
*Nik Zherdev has offensive skills that millions would kill for but why in the world would he choose to unleash a slap shot from the high slot on a breakaway? I am starting to think Rod Gilbert will be right that 20 goals would be a better expectation for the former Blue Jacket. But man, while he makes dubious decisions at times, he certainly can distribute the puck. Once Nigel Dawes finds his scoring touch, the two will make for a scary pair.
*Something that is really scary is that Steve Stamkos is actually living up to his No. 1 overall draft pick status. With the exception of his dumb penalty late, the kid has played with the poise of a veteran, nearly scored in each game and even had the NHL-style interview cliche's down pat in his second intermission interview with Al Trautwig. He was fun to watch and on Friday we will get to see last-year's top pick Pat Kane do the same thing.
*Blair Betts has looked great in both games, driving to the net and getting scoring chances while maintaining his top-flight defensive work. That being said, he will have to start converting some of those chances and soon with Fritsche and Rissmiller lurking. With Betts' speed and hockey smarts, 10 goals shouldn't be too much to ask for this season. *There are good penalties, there are bad penalties. Dubi jumping on Artyukhin after The Russian Bear accidentally collided with Hank was a good penalty. The Rangers need to stand up for themselves and their goaltender. All too often last season they didn't. I had a debate yesterday with a friend about whether or not Colton Orr was a true NHL heavyweight and he made a great point - Colt may fight with the big boys, but his presence doesn't stop other teams from taking liberties. This season more guys have to step up and make a statement.
*That being said, seeing Aaron Voros and Ryan Malone go at it for no reason at center ice was pointless. I love fighting in hockey but not fighting for fighting's sake - neither were involved in the hitting that prefaced the bout. There has to be a direct reason for guys to drop their gloves, otherwise this sport becomes the Slapshot-esque joke that everyone sees it as.
*Is it too much to ask for Joe not to defend
*How soon until Tampa fires Barry Melrose? I have a hunch he won't last the season.
*It definitely seemed like a Ranger home game with the vocal fan support. On Friday we will have to show the Euros how the real home crowd does it.
*PHW Three Stars3-Olaf Kolzig - 37 saves.
2-Wade Redden - one goal and one assist.
1-Scott Gomez - one goal and one assist.
Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3- Andrej Meszaros - Just over 30 minutes of ice time, an assist and constantly involved in the action. He may just be worth everything Tampa gave up for him. Maybe.
2-Blair Betts - Bettsy created chance after chance offensively (even though he couldn't convert) and was his usual stellar self on the penalty kill.
1-Olaf Kolzig - New jersey, same story for the
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Congrats Jason!
I know it's just exhibition, but congratulations go out to former Ranger Jason Studwick for having a helluva game for Edmonton tonight. Struds was always a class act for the Blueshirts who did anything and everything that was asked of him. It is nice that the Oilers are giving him a real shot to be a roster regular and it's even better that he is playing well.
Tonight he slapped around BJ Crombeen minutes into the game:
And then he scored the game-winning goal in the third period:
Great work Struds and continued good luck in Edmonton!!
Tonight he slapped around BJ Crombeen minutes into the game:
And then he scored the game-winning goal in the third period:
Great work Struds and continued good luck in Edmonton!!
Sunday Morning Notes
Just a few things before game-time:
*Holding the viewing party at an Astoria beer garden was a great move by the Rangers yesterday, even if I went the wrong way and ended up in Brooklyn first. It was a fun atmosphere packed with fans having a good time. Too bad the team didn't do anything for Game No. 2 today ...
*Newsday had a 12 page NHL season preview pull-out in today's Sunday paper. It was mediocre, and clearly not written recently. With Steve Zipay covering the Rangers in Prague, no one updated the info he put in there and the dates for the Ranger number retirements were listed as TBA. While that was just lazy, this was just stupid: the pull-out appeared to be sponsored by one of the two teams as the Isles had a full-page ad on the back. No signs of impropriety there ...
*It will be really weird seeing Ollie the Goalie in a Lightning jersey today - almost on the same order as seeing Brian Leetch wearing Toronto's blue and white. There is just something wrong with it ...
*And caption this photo:
*Holding the viewing party at an Astoria beer garden was a great move by the Rangers yesterday, even if I went the wrong way and ended up in Brooklyn first. It was a fun atmosphere packed with fans having a good time. Too bad the team didn't do anything for Game No. 2 today ...
*Newsday had a 12 page NHL season preview pull-out in today's Sunday paper. It was mediocre, and clearly not written recently. With Steve Zipay covering the Rangers in Prague, no one updated the info he put in there and the dates for the Ranger number retirements were listed as TBA. While that was just lazy, this was just stupid: the pull-out appeared to be sponsored by one of the two teams as the Isles had a full-page ad on the back. No signs of impropriety there ...
*It will be really weird seeing Ollie the Goalie in a Lightning jersey today - almost on the same order as seeing Brian Leetch wearing Toronto's blue and white. There is just something wrong with it ...
*And caption this photo:
1-0-0: A Solid Start
After mistakenly ending up in Brooklyn rather than Queens this morning, I missed the beginning of the Rangers' season opener. I arrived at the beer garden just in time to catch the first goal (I am good luck) and caught the rest of the 2-1 win from there but I waited to write this until I could catch Rangers in 60 on MSG. I didn't read any game reports though so this is all me; I apologize if there is any redundancy from the other guys.
*Man, am I glad I did watch it on MSG. Otherwise I would have missed Joe Micheletti's best work on MSG. His microphone was messed up so he couldn't be heard over the air early in the first period and it was fantastic. Sam Rosen called the game Vin Scully-style (by himself) and it was a vast improvement from the norm. There was nothing lost in not hearing from the colour man and much gained. One can only wish that the brass watched and felt the same way.
*Another tv note - MSG's talent were in Prague but they picked up the signal from the European broadcaster so that is the reason why Sam would mention things that you didn't see.
*Is it me or did Henrik Lundqvist pick up Garth Snow's old shoulder pads? Those things were huge. And they seemed to help because he showed a lot more poise than he did in the Victoria Cup; he just seemed more confident. *As good as Hank was, his counterpart was better. Even though Mike Smith was beaten for two goals and at least two posts, he stood on his head and made at least a dozen huge saves, even after his arm got hurt. Remember, he dominated the Blueshirts last year on both the Stars and the Bolts so it really was not a surprise.
*The first time Smith was beaten came on Markus Naslund snapping a wrister from the off-wing a la that Messier guy who used to play for the Rangers. Naslund had at least three other great scoring chances so that was a really pleasant sign. For the one that went in, Scott Gomez made a nifty little pass over a few sticks right to the open Naslund on the wing, something that should happen many times this season.
*Something that will unhappily happen many times this season is Dmitri Kalinin getting beaten.
*Brandon Dubinsky = Jason Arnott crossed with Jaromir Jagr. Big, skillful centerman who is solid in his own end while using his size to get into good scoring positions on the other side of the ice before unleashing a deadly wrister.
*Dubi's game-winner came on the power play, which was impressive to watch - primarily because of the absence of the aforementioned Jagr. The players cycled, moved the puck and shot at will; hopefully they will be able to keep it up even against better teams than the Bolts. But they do need to finish better as they got just one goal on seven chances, granted that was primarily because of Smith but still ...
*The monstrous Evgeny Artyukhin (6'5, 255) was something to watch. Barry Melrose mistakenly gave Artyukin just 9:!5 of ice time and you could see him out there for every second of it. He gave the Rangers some troubles and will definitely warrant more attention as his skills continue to improve. *Speaking of ice time, Matt Carle was on the ice for 29 minutes. 29! By contrast, Redden was out there for just over 22. Going back to the Rangers power play for a second, Redden and Rozy did not look as good as Mara and Girardi, which is worrisome, even if it was the first game. There is a lot of money tied up in the top two guys and they need to produce.
*And on the other side of the coin, Chris Drury didn't score at all but still looked good as the newly-branded captain of the New York Rangers. He played a typical Drury game by working the boards, working the crease, backchecking and hustling. He is leading by example, now we just need to hear from him as well ...
*PHW Three Stars3-Henrik Lundqvist - 20 saves.
2-Markus Naslund - one goal.
1-Brandon Dubinsky - one goal.
Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Dubinsky - Dubi scored the go-ahead goal and was back on the ice moments later to kill a penalty. You can't ask for more from this kid.
2-Mike Smith - 39 saves behind a inexperienced and, frankly, lousy defense.
1-Naslund - The Swede was a scoring threat all game long and he played much, much better than he did in the preseason. Performances like this will go far to justify his contract and the 'A' they put on his chest.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
A Quick Update
After more than 16 hours traveling yesterday, I am back in the ole U.S. of A. It feels weird to tell you the truth, and it didn't help that I came home, dropped off my luggage and went over to a friend's house for a late fantasy draft. When I hit the wall, I hit it hard but I am starting to recover.
While I was running around, Chris Drury was named captain and the Rangers re-assigned Brian Fahey and Corey Potter to Hartford. Both moves were expected and thus not a big deal. Drury is supposedly a "big guy in the locker room" according to a source of mine and let's face it, he is clutch. I am sure Renney was already thinking of giving him the captaincy going into training camp and Dru cemented that C with the game-tying goal the other day. Good for him, but I still think he needs to put himself out there a little more, you know?"
That's all for now as I have to get moving towards the city for the viewing party. Hope to see you all there!
While I was running around, Chris Drury was named captain and the Rangers re-assigned Brian Fahey and Corey Potter to Hartford. Both moves were expected and thus not a big deal. Drury is supposedly a "big guy in the locker room" according to a source of mine and let's face it, he is clutch. I am sure Renney was already thinking of giving him the captaincy going into training camp and Dru cemented that C with the game-tying goal the other day. Good for him, but I still think he needs to put himself out there a little more, you know?"
That's all for now as I have to get moving towards the city for the viewing party. Hope to see you all there!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 7
9:10 pm, October 2nd, 2008
As I get my luggage repacked for my morning flight out of Switzerland, I figured I would throw out some last thoughts on the experience, international hockey and the Rangers:
*It doesn't matter that it was an exhibition game, a four-goal comeback is a four-goal comeback. The Rangers need to keep this game in mind over the grind of season and remember never to say die. Times will get tough - they always do - but they did it in a foreign land against a foreign team playing like in the biggest game of their lives and in front of an international audience.
*After the Rangers went down 2-0, some Metallurg fans started singing and I yelled down at them "We won in Rocky IV, we'll win here!" Someone, not the Russians, called me something in German that I am sure was unsavory but let's face it, I was proved scarily right ...
*If Hank has a bad day, this team is doomed. The team only recovered when he found his game. It has pretty much been a fact since the lockout, but sooner or later you would think the powers that be would do something about it? Do they really think Wade Redden is that something?
*NHL fans, for the most part, know the game better than their international counterparts but we could and should take a page out of their books in terms of getting into the game and creating a loud, powerful and fun atmosphere to back our team. I'm not saying we need to add a drum section or wave massive flags, but chanting something other than "Potvin Sucks" every five minutes would be great.
*With the lockout as the exception, players head to the Swiss league when they want to play under no pressure with little physicality. The large ice is awesome, but these guys appear unable to take full advantage of it, playing a small, slow game. They get away with it because this style is all the fans here really know - much like the fans I met in Basingstoke, England. They were just happy to be out of the house for the night and they don't really follow the sport outside of their home building or league.
*I mentioned the larger ice, which really does have an impact. The players association should flex their muscles to force the owners to blow out some of the expensive rows of each rink to move to the Olympic-sized surface. The skills really can come out when there is more room to play with.
*The Russians were far above the Swiss in terms of talent, but don't for one second think they were NHL caliber. They played their best game against an unsteady Rangers squad that has yet to find their form. If you need to find a basis of comparison for the Russians, think the old IHL back when it was at the height of its talent - better than the A, but certainly not as good as the NHL.
*Bern is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here. Maybe it is because everyone primarily speaks German (and I don't), maybe it is because this 'city' has one main strip, I wouldn't really want to be here for an expended amount of time. Unless I get assigned to cover the IIHF World Championships here in April, I don't think I will come back. I saw most of the sights (missing only the Bear Pits), they were pretty, I'm good.
And on that note, I'm just about out of here. I am going to try to make it to that beer garden on Saturday to watch the season opener from Prague so I hope to see you there!
As I get my luggage repacked for my morning flight out of Switzerland, I figured I would throw out some last thoughts on the experience, international hockey and the Rangers:
*It doesn't matter that it was an exhibition game, a four-goal comeback is a four-goal comeback. The Rangers need to keep this game in mind over the grind of season and remember never to say die. Times will get tough - they always do - but they did it in a foreign land against a foreign team playing like in the biggest game of their lives and in front of an international audience.
*After the Rangers went down 2-0, some Metallurg fans started singing and I yelled down at them "We won in Rocky IV, we'll win here!" Someone, not the Russians, called me something in German that I am sure was unsavory but let's face it, I was proved scarily right ...
*If Hank has a bad day, this team is doomed. The team only recovered when he found his game. It has pretty much been a fact since the lockout, but sooner or later you would think the powers that be would do something about it? Do they really think Wade Redden is that something?
*NHL fans, for the most part, know the game better than their international counterparts but we could and should take a page out of their books in terms of getting into the game and creating a loud, powerful and fun atmosphere to back our team. I'm not saying we need to add a drum section or wave massive flags, but chanting something other than "Potvin Sucks" every five minutes would be great.
*With the lockout as the exception, players head to the Swiss league when they want to play under no pressure with little physicality. The large ice is awesome, but these guys appear unable to take full advantage of it, playing a small, slow game. They get away with it because this style is all the fans here really know - much like the fans I met in Basingstoke, England. They were just happy to be out of the house for the night and they don't really follow the sport outside of their home building or league.
*I mentioned the larger ice, which really does have an impact. The players association should flex their muscles to force the owners to blow out some of the expensive rows of each rink to move to the Olympic-sized surface. The skills really can come out when there is more room to play with.
*The Russians were far above the Swiss in terms of talent, but don't for one second think they were NHL caliber. They played their best game against an unsteady Rangers squad that has yet to find their form. If you need to find a basis of comparison for the Russians, think the old IHL back when it was at the height of its talent - better than the A, but certainly not as good as the NHL.
*Bern is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here. Maybe it is because everyone primarily speaks German (and I don't), maybe it is because this 'city' has one main strip, I wouldn't really want to be here for an expended amount of time. Unless I get assigned to cover the IIHF World Championships here in April, I don't think I will come back. I saw most of the sights (missing only the Bear Pits), they were pretty, I'm good.
And on that note, I'm just about out of here. I am going to try to make it to that beer garden on Saturday to watch the season opener from Prague so I hope to see you there!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 6
12:10 am, October 2nd, 2008
I am still a little exasperated from the game but figured I just had to get this down while it was still fresh, so here are my observations from the Rangers incredible come-from-behind 4-3 victory at the inaugural Victoria Cup:
*My earlier enthusiasm still has yet to wane. The Rangers lose five goal leads, not battle back from three goal deficits. I think it's happened what, once? twice since the lockout??? Wow.
*I met Rene Fasel, the IIHF president, after the game and thanked him for the experience. He asked me if I liked the playing style and explained how he liked the improvisational hockey played by Tom Renney's team, rather than the strategic puck carrying (winning) style of the Detroit Red Wings. I said "well, you definitely rang in the competition with a helluva game and the Rangers managed to improv one amazing recovery." He then said imagine this game in New York ... I didn't have a reply and just smiled. Can you imagine the Rangers playing a Russian league team, falling behind playing awful hockey and then finding life enough to win in the waning seconds? And in the Garden?? What a shocker!! When the Rangers faced Russian competition back in the 70s, they got their asses handed to them; this was quite the turnaround. (Let's Go Rangers!)
*As Joe Whelan, the Rangers producer for MSG, also said to me after the game, "wow, that Chris Drury, boy is he clutch!" What a battler. He got clocked early in the game, appealed for a call and when he didn't get one, hammered the guy who hit in him the first place. Then he disappeared for a while and popped up to score the game-tying goal. Not exactly the way to do it but I'll take it, lol!
*On the other side of the coin, Patrick Rissmiller, thanks for nothing. The German must have felt right at home here in Bern where they primarily speak his language, so let him stay here. Watching him stand there on the point doing nothing while they scored their third goal was quite frustrating. I nearly called him a Nazi and then remembered my surroundings (*whew*). He was useless and should not have a regular roster spot, especially with the renewal of Colton Orr's career and the presence of Aaron Voros.
*For all of their enthusiasm yesterday, the Bern fans showed very little in this one. I got a contingent to start chanting "Let's Go Rangers" and some kids took to the drums to bang along the beat. It was nice as the Metallurg fans were vocal and outnumbered the real Ranger fans by a large number.
*I say real Ranger fans because a good number of the Bern folks seemingly adopted the Rangers - they were buying a ton of shirts and jerseys Tuesday night and seemed to turn out in them today. Too bad they really aren't hockey fans at heart - they just enjoy the spectacle.
*Two shifts into the game the Callahan line forced play and banged bodies. It was exactly what the Rangers needed and unfortunately, it was the only time they did it until late in the third period - something that cost them dearly.
*The Rangers signed Markus Naslund to replace Jaromir Jagr and Naslund played like our fair departed captain today - he took two lazy, inopportune penalties that hurt the team. Thanks dude, welcome to the team.
*As for our other two big summer signings, Dmitri Kalinin was terrible and Wade Redden not much better. Kalinin pulled two Maliks, passing directly to Metallurg players. Where Malik was an idiot, at least Kalinin can say he thought he was still on his former team. As for Redden, well, he couldn't keep the puck in the offensive zone, he fumbled the puck in the defensive zone and he took a penalty. Six miiiiiillion dollars. And that's all I have to say about that.
*Metallurg took advantage of all of the Rangers puck troubles early on - exactly what SC Bern was unable to do. And they had no problem just shooting the puck on net, which was brilliant as Hank didn't show up until late in the second period. After the second goal against, Valley stood up on the bench and I thought he was about to come in ...
*It would have been nice to have had a replacement for the refs. The officiating was just terrible, for both teams. But I guess that it what we should expect nowadays?
*They announced an attendance of just over 13,000 and that had to have all been from the standing room folks as the seating had several mostly-empty sections around the arena.
*Before the game, the Swiss legends lost big to the Russian legends. It was pretty boring but I had to stand through it if I wanted to keep my good spot for the Ranger game. The only impressive thing was former Devil Vladimir Fetisov scoring. Dude is like 65 now and he scored a pretty goal. Good for his grandkids.
*I am totally distracted right now as they have a hot topless woman wearing a corset advertising some lottery on German-language television. There are some good points to being in Europe ... and now she is jumping up and down, sucking on a lollipop as the deadline to enter to win 600 euros approaches. I am not kidding, and this is basic cable. Jesus ...
*Ok, hockey, yeah. So. That Callahan kid, he was good. Nice goal to win it. Nice round, sexy goals. I mean, it was nice that he worked his way around the goaltender to tuck the puck in. Yeah, that's what I mean.
*I really wish you could see this. This is insane television. Let's go Rangers. I'm outta here.
I am still a little exasperated from the game but figured I just had to get this down while it was still fresh, so here are my observations from the Rangers incredible come-from-behind 4-3 victory at the inaugural Victoria Cup:
*My earlier enthusiasm still has yet to wane. The Rangers lose five goal leads, not battle back from three goal deficits. I think it's happened what, once? twice since the lockout??? Wow.
*I met Rene Fasel, the IIHF president, after the game and thanked him for the experience. He asked me if I liked the playing style and explained how he liked the improvisational hockey played by Tom Renney's team, rather than the strategic puck carrying (winning) style of the Detroit Red Wings. I said "well, you definitely rang in the competition with a helluva game and the Rangers managed to improv one amazing recovery." He then said imagine this game in New York ... I didn't have a reply and just smiled. Can you imagine the Rangers playing a Russian league team, falling behind playing awful hockey and then finding life enough to win in the waning seconds? And in the Garden?? What a shocker!! When the Rangers faced Russian competition back in the 70s, they got their asses handed to them; this was quite the turnaround. (Let's Go Rangers!)
*As Joe Whelan, the Rangers producer for MSG, also said to me after the game, "wow, that Chris Drury, boy is he clutch!" What a battler. He got clocked early in the game, appealed for a call and when he didn't get one, hammered the guy who hit in him the first place. Then he disappeared for a while and popped up to score the game-tying goal. Not exactly the way to do it but I'll take it, lol!*On the other side of the coin, Patrick Rissmiller, thanks for nothing. The German must have felt right at home here in Bern where they primarily speak his language, so let him stay here. Watching him stand there on the point doing nothing while they scored their third goal was quite frustrating. I nearly called him a Nazi and then remembered my surroundings (*whew*). He was useless and should not have a regular roster spot, especially with the renewal of Colton Orr's career and the presence of Aaron Voros.
*For all of their enthusiasm yesterday, the Bern fans showed very little in this one. I got a contingent to start chanting "Let's Go Rangers" and some kids took to the drums to bang along the beat. It was nice as the Metallurg fans were vocal and outnumbered the real Ranger fans by a large number.
*I say real Ranger fans because a good number of the Bern folks seemingly adopted the Rangers - they were buying a ton of shirts and jerseys Tuesday night and seemed to turn out in them today. Too bad they really aren't hockey fans at heart - they just enjoy the spectacle.
*Two shifts into the game the Callahan line forced play and banged bodies. It was exactly what the Rangers needed and unfortunately, it was the only time they did it until late in the third period - something that cost them dearly.
*The Rangers signed Markus Naslund to replace Jaromir Jagr and Naslund played like our fair departed captain today - he took two lazy, inopportune penalties that hurt the team. Thanks dude, welcome to the team.
*As for our other two big summer signings, Dmitri Kalinin was terrible and Wade Redden not much better. Kalinin pulled two Maliks, passing directly to Metallurg players. Where Malik was an idiot, at least Kalinin can say he thought he was still on his former team. As for Redden, well, he couldn't keep the puck in the offensive zone, he fumbled the puck in the defensive zone and he took a penalty. Six miiiiiillion dollars. And that's all I have to say about that.
*Metallurg took advantage of all of the Rangers puck troubles early on - exactly what SC Bern was unable to do. And they had no problem just shooting the puck on net, which was brilliant as Hank didn't show up until late in the second period. After the second goal against, Valley stood up on the bench and I thought he was about to come in ...
*It would have been nice to have had a replacement for the refs. The officiating was just terrible, for both teams. But I guess that it what we should expect nowadays?
*They announced an attendance of just over 13,000 and that had to have all been from the standing room folks as the seating had several mostly-empty sections around the arena. *Before the game, the Swiss legends lost big to the Russian legends. It was pretty boring but I had to stand through it if I wanted to keep my good spot for the Ranger game. The only impressive thing was former Devil Vladimir Fetisov scoring. Dude is like 65 now and he scored a pretty goal. Good for his grandkids.
*I am totally distracted right now as they have a hot topless woman wearing a corset advertising some lottery on German-language television. There are some good points to being in Europe ... and now she is jumping up and down, sucking on a lollipop as the deadline to enter to win 600 euros approaches. I am not kidding, and this is basic cable. Jesus ...
*Ok, hockey, yeah. So. That Callahan kid, he was good. Nice goal to win it. Nice round, sexy goals. I mean, it was nice that he worked his way around the goaltender to tuck the puck in. Yeah, that's what I mean.
*I really wish you could see this. This is insane television. Let's go Rangers. I'm outta here.
Miracle 2? Feels Like It ...
There will be a more detailed post later, but right now I just can't articulate how great I feel. We won, we won, we won, we won, we won. I flew all the f--k way to Switzerland and we won.
Was it a exhibition game? Yes. Was it against a team we will never play against again? Yes. Is a meaningless trophy compared to the Stanley Cup? Yes. Did we come back from a 3-0 deficit to win thanks to Ryan Callahan's goal with 20 seconds left? HELL YES!
Let's go Rangers!!!!!!!
Was it a exhibition game? Yes. Was it against a team we will never play against again? Yes. Is a meaningless trophy compared to the Stanley Cup? Yes. Did we come back from a 3-0 deficit to win thanks to Ryan Callahan's goal with 20 seconds left? HELL YES!
Let's go Rangers!!!!!!!
Scotty's Swiss Diary Part 5
11:39 am, Wednesday, October 1st
I woke up late this morning and rushed through breakfast to get to the rink on time, where the cleanup from last night continued. I, of course, got there on time and the Rangers went on the ice 20 minutes late ... typical luck, right?
This morning skate was much more typical than yesterday's grinder. The Rangers stars took it off and Renney wasn't running it so there was less of a crowd on the ice and no line drills ran. The skate lasted less than an hour but the last guys on the ice were Aaron Voros, Colton Orr, Corey Potter, Miika Wiikman and I think Brian Fahey so you can expect them to ride the bench. I guess they aren't expecting a physical game by the Russians so they are keeping Voros and Orr out while keeping an experienced defense on the ice just in case. I eavesdropped on a conversation by one of the Rangers scouts and he said that someone was out with a bad stomach but I didn't catch who - I think Lauri Korpikoski but don't quote me on it.
In the extra drills Voros scored on a sweet shot over Wiikman's shoulder, which got Nik Zherdev banging on the boards in approval. Zherdev hung out for a while talking to Valley on the bench and watching the boys finish their work outs. I spoke with Rod Gilbert for a bit and among the things he said - at least the ones that I can type in this family-friendly blog (let's just say he wasn't impressed with the Swiss atmosphere) - was that 20 goals is a more realistic expectation for Z than the 30 that has been floated.
Gilbert was hilarious. He was hanging out talking to Mike Pelino's dad, who had mistaken me for some Swiss chocolatier that he had met. He gave me a puck and I felt obligated to tell him the truth anyway, that I was just a Ranger season ticket holder. Some cameraman came over and shot me smiling holding my new souvenir so who knows, maybe it will make tonight's broadcast?
Gilbert later asked if I was headed to Prague and I explained the cost was too high; he just kind of nodded. I wasn't all that broken up about it initially but now I'm disappointed at having cheaped out, no matter the cost. Ah well, cest la vie ...
I woke up late this morning and rushed through breakfast to get to the rink on time, where the cleanup from last night continued. I, of course, got there on time and the Rangers went on the ice 20 minutes late ... typical luck, right?
This morning skate was much more typical than yesterday's grinder. The Rangers stars took it off and Renney wasn't running it so there was less of a crowd on the ice and no line drills ran. The skate lasted less than an hour but the last guys on the ice were Aaron Voros, Colton Orr, Corey Potter, Miika Wiikman and I think Brian Fahey so you can expect them to ride the bench. I guess they aren't expecting a physical game by the Russians so they are keeping Voros and Orr out while keeping an experienced defense on the ice just in case. I eavesdropped on a conversation by one of the Rangers scouts and he said that someone was out with a bad stomach but I didn't catch who - I think Lauri Korpikoski but don't quote me on it. In the extra drills Voros scored on a sweet shot over Wiikman's shoulder, which got Nik Zherdev banging on the boards in approval. Zherdev hung out for a while talking to Valley on the bench and watching the boys finish their work outs. I spoke with Rod Gilbert for a bit and among the things he said - at least the ones that I can type in this family-friendly blog (let's just say he wasn't impressed with the Swiss atmosphere) - was that 20 goals is a more realistic expectation for Z than the 30 that has been floated.
Gilbert was hilarious. He was hanging out talking to Mike Pelino's dad, who had mistaken me for some Swiss chocolatier that he had met. He gave me a puck and I felt obligated to tell him the truth anyway, that I was just a Ranger season ticket holder. Some cameraman came over and shot me smiling holding my new souvenir so who knows, maybe it will make tonight's broadcast?
Gilbert later asked if I was headed to Prague and I explained the cost was too high; he just kind of nodded. I wasn't all that broken up about it initially but now I'm disappointed at having cheaped out, no matter the cost. Ah well, cest la vie ...
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