DiPietro set to return on Saturday

I have not posted in a while, but I received what I will call an exclusive tonight. Sources close to Islanders goaltender Kevin Poulin informed NYI Five Hole that the netminder will be returned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this Friday.

Based upon this information, one can surmise that while Rick DiPietro had not been placed on Injured Reserve, he will be returning to active duty on Saturday versus the Buffalo Sabres. I do not have any info whether it will be Lawson or DiPietro in net on Saturday.

Kevin has played well in his brief stint with the big team, but his proper place for now is developing in Bridgeport. Kudos to him on a fine 48 save performance this evening against the Vancouver Canucks. Maybe he will get one more game in net for the big team this Thursday against the Ottawa Senators.

Wiz suspended for two games

Defensemen James Wisniewski received a two game suspension for his actions during the Islanders-Rangers game on Monday October 11th. Per the New York Islanders website, Wisniewski does not plan to appeal his suspension. Expect Jack Hillen or Bruno Gervais to take his place in the lineup.

Happy Comeau Day

Today's tilt with the New York Rangers at Nassau Coliseum was quite an entertaining event. It was a close game throughout. There was never more than a one goal score differential until Frans Nielsen scored an empty netter to finalize the goal scoring sheet for a 6-4 Islanders lead.

P.A. Parenteau and Blake Comeau made the Rangers pay for their undisciplined play late in the third period. Parenteau scored on a five on three advantage to tie the game at 4-4. Fifty-Eight seconds later, Comeau scored the go ahead goal on a five on four power play.

Blake Comeau continued the energetic and smart playing that was evident on opening night against the Dallas Stars. He scored the Islanders' first and fifth goals of the game and was awarded the First Star of the Game. He is hitting and playing with gusto. Mr. Comeau now has three goals in two games. Let's hope this continues.

Josh Bailey continues to play like a new man. Or maybe it is because he is actually a man now physically. No disrespect intended to Mr. Bailey who has been very impressive in these first two games.

Matt Moulson was solid as usual. Logging a goal and an assist. Continuing kudos to Garth Snow and the scouting staff on this find.

Zenon Kenopka and Brandon Prust had a heavy weight fight late in the first period. The fight lasted about 90 seconds and was a draw. Both took the hits and gave them equally until they ran out of gas.

After a verbal altercation with Rangers prime instigator Sean Avery, Islanders defensemen James Wisniewski apparently lost self control and made an over-the-top lewd gesture towards Avery. You can expect Wisniewski to receive a one or two game suspension for this maneuver. Islanders fans will stand behind their new top two defensemen simply because it involved Mr. Avery. http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/10/11/james-wisniewski-makes-obscene-gesture-toward-sean-avery/

Announced attendance at today's matinee was 11,748. This is the smallest crowd on hand for an Islanders-Rangers game that this writer has ever witnessed and is probably the smallest of all time. Is it the fact that it was day game when many adults were not off from work? Is it the fact that the New York Jets are playing the Minnesota Vikings at home this evening? Regardless, it was an extremely disappointing turnout. Primary blame is assigned to Islanders' fans but where were all the Rangers fans that usually tend to dominate our arena?

As reported this morning by Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank, the organization has once again changed the Islanders goal song after a locker room led coup by new resident tough man Zenon Kenopka. When will the organization learn that with simple things like a goal song, fans want consistency. The new song is “Live is Life” by Opus. Don't expect it to last long.

Based upon observations from today and Saturday's games, there are a lot of new Game Ops staffers with the organization this year. There was a problem with security officials not letting patrons re-enter the game from outside with alcoholic beverages before the third period started though no announcement had been made regarding this matter. This was quickly rectified and most patrons re-entered the arena peacefully.

Finally, I attended the game with my father today. Dad, who is 77, is a lifelong Rangers fan. We had a great day together and it refreshing to see the Islanders win, since the Rangers usually win when we go to a game together. Maybe next time Pop!

Parking Price Conundrum

Over this past weekend from Friday to Sunday, I read much conjecture on the ever popular Islanders Point Blank blog (by Chris Botta) about the pending increase in parking prices at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (NVMC). By Sunday afternoon, it seemed pretty clear that the prices for next season would be $15 for Preferred Parking and $10 for General Parking. Preferred Parking would be in what is currently called Breakaway Parking (for Season Ticket Holders) and possibly others areas immediately surrounding the building while General Parking would be in the outlying parking areas on the Coliseum property.

Much to my surprise when I arrived at the game last night versus the Toronto Maple Leafs the new sign above the parking gate that I entered read the prices that are cited above. I am currently a season ticket holder and I had my Breakaway Parking pass so I did not have to pay this rate, but I was rather shocked to see that these new prices were being implemented immediately. I mentioned this to a few season tickets holders inside the game who seemed very surprised to hear this news. But wait, the story does not end there.

My full time job is in within one mile of the NVMC. So today I decided to go out at lunch and capture a picture of this sign on my cell phone for use on this blog. When I got to the Breakaway Parking entrance it was closed and I could not approach the sign so I drove around to the Charles Lindbergh Blvd entrance across from Nassau Community College. When I got there, there were also new signs above each of the approximately five gates, but these signs cited the prices that we are all used to, which is $7 for General Parking and $14 for Oversized Vehicles. Now I was really puzzled. So I drove through the lot and made my way to the Breakaway Parking entrance, where I discovered that out of the signs posted above these four parking gates, three cited the old prices and one cited the new higher prices (this being the gate I entered through last night). Finally I drove to the Hempstead Turnpike entrance where I also saw new signs posted above the approximately seven parking gates at this entrance. These signs all listed the old $7 and $14 prices as well.

So it would appear that Standard Parking, which is the new company handling parking at NVMC, wanted to put up signs that reflected their business. Obviously signs citing the new prices have already been prepared and one of these signs was mistakenly put in place over the weekend. I’ve made a couple of assumptions here but I would fully expect the new prices to immediately go into effect for the first event to take place at NVMC after the Islanders season ends on April 11, 2010.

The State of the Islanders Address

So this is my first post in a long while, I felt like I had something to say that is different from what I have been reading on my regular Islanders stops. This is basically my view on the future of the Islanders as they are currently constructed. Most of our top prospects are either injured, just recovering from injury or are playing in the KHL (Petrov). Money will be spent this summer. Guaranteed!

Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) Forwards - Sim, Weight, and Jackman will not be back. By the way that is $4.5 million in Salary Caps hit combined. Richard Park could stick around for one more year.

UFA Defenseman Frederick Meyer IV will likely be extended before July 1st.

Of the Islanders Restricted Free Agent ‘property’, I only expect Rob Schremp and Matt Moulson to be signed for next year. Moulson XXX should get a $1 million contract as reward for his service this season. If his productivity continues next year expect him to get a two to three year extension at about $2 million a year. Rob Schremp will probably get a modest raise next season from his $715,000 salary this season.

When Coach Gordon is asked if they are still trying to make the playoffs, the answer that follows should not invite further questions. He does not need to answer organizational decisions. That is the General Manager’s job.

Reporter: Are you still trying to make the playoffs?

Coach Gordon: We are trying to win every game.

Reporter: So, you are still trying to make the playoffs?

Coach Gordon: As I said, we are trying to win every game we play.

That would be Jack Ryan style.

I don’t understand the Sutton trade without that second round pick and one of our goalies being packaged for a first round pick. Maybe a potential follow up trade fell apart.

Has anyone ever thought about the fact that if the organization did a buy out of Rick DiPietro’s contract, that it would only cost the team $2.25 million against the salary cap per year even if it is for the next 24 seasons. How can that really be considered different from $4.50 million for the next 12 seasons? You can only plan so far ahead. A buyout could or even possibly should be coming.

Brendan Witt’s contract will be bought out after this season (unless Snow puts him through Re-Entry Waivers knowing there is a taker). This is not going to be a Jon Sim resurrection project where Witter turns into Steve Webb for the 2010-11 season.

It is unfortunate that Joel Rechlicz that was sent to Bridgeport to get game time and experience has spent a lot of game time as a healthy scratch. He is signed for next season.

Au Revoir for next season:

I wish good luck to Sean Bergenheim wherever he lands up, whether it be in the NHL, Sweden or the KHL.

To Jeff Tambellini, I wish you much success with whatever Western Conference team that you sign with.

The New York Islanders will not be competitive for the rest of the season. With the trade of Andy Sutton and the loss of Andrew MacDonald due to injury, our defense is decimated. Welcome to the NHL Dylan Reese, enjoy your stay.

The organization is approaching the line of no return. Suck it up for the rest of the season. That is…almost…okay. Get the best picks you can and then spend some money. Bolster the young talent with some players that can not only protect our younger players but can also contribute to their development.

This Blog is Closed

For anyone that visits this blog, I just want to inform you that it is shut down. I may choose to reactivate in the future. In the meanwhile I recommend IslandersPointBlank.com or Lighthouse Hockey for informative Islanders reading.

Long Island Press report - Lighthouse without Light

Please see the link below to the story on the Long Island Press website. To be honest, I don't give this report much credence, but Islanders Country is up in arms so it is worthy of reporting.

http://www.longislandpress.com/2009/10/14/press-exclusive-plugged-is-pulled-on-lighthouse/

Please also check B.D Gallof's take over at HockeyIndependent.com. This is a great new site that B.D. has set up to attract hockey bloggers from all over the NHL landscape.

http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?p=3231

Finally I always recommend Chris Botta's blog which will be continuing throughout the upcoming Islanders season thanks to a new sponsorship agreement with AOL's NHLFanhouse.

http://www.islanderspointblank.com/2009/10/report-lighthouse-project-goes-dark/

I'll add thoughts on this whole potential debacle as more information becomes available.

(Not so) Listless Bruins

9:49 PM - Though the Islanders garnered another point, this is by far their most disappointing game of the season after a great start that lasted two and a half periods. It'll be interesting to see how they perform on Monday afternoon.

I'm off now to watch the Montreal Canadiens at the Edmonton Oilers on the NHL Center Ice free preview. I may yet sign up for Center Ice this year.

9:43 PM - Blake Wheeler nets it for Boston first. Schremp nets one for the Islanders. Patrice Bergeron hits the left post. Richard Park is denied. Marc Savard nets one for Boston. Kyle Okposo is denied. The Boston Bruins win the game 4-3 in the shootout.

9:39 PM - No Overtime goal. We are now goint to the Shoot Out! My predictions are Tavares, Streit and Schremp in no particular order as the first Islanders shooters.

9:30 PM - The third period ends tied. We are going to Overtime...again.

9:24 PM - At 17:26 the Bruins scores to tie the game at 3. Matt Hunwick is credited with the goal but it looked like it deflected off of Mark Recchi to go into the net. The Islanders third period problems continue in Coach Gordon's second season with the team.

9:20 PM - We have a hockey game now folks. At 15:45 of the third period, Byron Bitz scores off of Meyer's right toe to reduce the Islanders lead to one goal. 3-2 Islanders

9:12 PM - At 11:59 of the third period Marc Savard scores to take away Roloson' shutout chance. 3-1 Islanders

8:49 PM - Late in the second period, Bruins defensemen Dennis Wideman left the ice with what looked suspiciously like a dislocated shoulder after a clean hit along the boards by Matt Moulson. Also I neglected to mention earlier that Trent Hunter did not start tonight and is two to four weeks with a partially torn pectoral muscle. Dwayne Roloson is looking sharp in the net tonight.

8:31 PM - At 15:48 of the period, John Tavares scores his second career goal to make it 3-0 Islanders. This was a beautiful shot on a 2-1 on rush. Freddy "God of Thunder" Meyer gets an assist.

8:25 PM - At 12:43 of the second period, Radek Martinek scores to make it 2-0 Islanders. Assists to Mark Streit and John Tavares.

8:16 PM - Doug Weight is out tonight with the groin again. Nate Thompson takes his place in the lineup. Joel Rechlicz was recalled from Bridgeport to add a little beef to the lineup.

After a first period in which the Islanders failed to capitalize on numerous power play opportunities, Jon Sim scores a power play goal at 4:04 of the second period to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Sim was assisted by Rob Schremp and Kyle Okposo on his first goal of the season. This was Schremp's first point as an Islander.

More on Monday - MSG Plus

Per B.D. Gallof over at IslandersIndependent.com, Monday's game will be broadcast on MSG Plus at 10:30 pm on a half hour delay (which is the same as on the NHL Network). This delay is due to Canadian programming conflicts. This explains the time confusion that I previously mentioned.

No Tavares on Monday

Per Katie Strang of Newsday, John Tavares is not playing in the Hockeyville game which will be broadcast on the NHL Network this Monday. Sorry to those whom I may have misled on this subject.

Islanders Pre-Season Game on TV (Updated)

I hope you have all enjoyed your summer. I took a break from blogging for the most part over the summer. I expect to become more active on this front now that it is time for Pre-Season Camps to start up. The Islanders camp takes place at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Camp starts on Saturday September 12th and runs until Sunday the 20th.


On Monday the 14th, the Islanders will travel to Terrace, British Columbia to compete in the 2009 Kraft Hockeyville game which was awarded to Terrace as result of that community winning the CBC Kraft Hockeyville reality series. This game will be shown on the NHL Network in the U.S. and Canada at 10:30 pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). This will be for most Islanders fans the first chance to see a glimpse of John Tavares in a game situation.

The Islanders will also play the following games during the preseason; none of which will be broadcast on television (don't even ask about Islanders TV). All times are EDT.

09/16/09, 9:00 pm, @ Oilers

09/17/09, 9:00 pm, @ Flames

09/19/09, 9:00 pm, vs. Flames (Saskatoon)

09/20/09, 9:00 pm, vs. Oilers (Saskatoon)

09/22/09, 8:00 pm, vs. Kings (Kansas City)

09/23/09, 7:00 pm, vs. Devils (Uniondale!!!)

09/29/09, 7:00 pm, @ Devils

The Islanders regular season schedule starts at home on Saturday October 3rd versus the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Big Deal is Tomorrow

Nothing original here. Just passing on info from the Islanders about tomorrow's public hearing. I can't attend, but if you can, do so. Please read below.

Starting at 8 a.m. TOMORROW, Tuesday, August 4, 2009, at the Nassau Coliseum, leaders from the surrounding communities, labor, as well as fans and supporters of the project will rally and march to the Lighthouse Project public hearing at the Adams Playhouse on the campus of Hofstra University. BE THERE!

The rally will be held in Lot 8 of the Nassau Coliseum and feature special guest speakers including Islanders Owner Charles Wang, Islanders Alumni and local elected officials. Islanders forwards Josh Bailey and Joel Rechlicz will on site meeting and greeting fans and supporting the Lighthouse Project.

At 8:45 the rally will conclude and everyone will march from Lot 8 to the Adams Playhouse for the 9:30 a.m. start of the public hearing.

"Just Build It!" T-shirts will be available for the first 2,000 people in attendance. Parking at the Coliseum will be free of charge.

If you have a website and you would like to promote the public hearing and the rally, please click the following link to downloadable buttons for your site.

http://www.lighthouseli.com/media/download#logos

For further questions, please visit http://lists.neulion.com/users/link.php?UserID=71194&Newsletter=810&List=4&LinkType=Send&LinkID=1753 or the Official Blog of the Lighthouse Development Group, The Light Post at lighthouseliblog.blogspot.com. You can follow the Lighthouse project on Twitter at @Lighthouse_LI or join the "I support the Lighthouse at Long Island" on Facebook.

Save NYI Point Blank

Yesterday evening after work, I opened my web browser and clicked on the tab for Chris Botta's must read blog to see what was new in Islanders world. I did not go to the official website, I did not go to other blogs which I consider essential Islanders reading, I went to "The Source", also known as NYI Point Blank. I saw the report on Jack Hillen's signing and was very happy with that news. 90 Minutes later, I refreshed that tab and was greeted with news I did not want to see. NYI Point Blank is essentially defunct. Now this was not unexpected, but the reason for it was surprising.

I had thought that Mr. Botta might move onto greener (or more lucrative) pastures based upon his 20 years of experience working for the Islanders including many years serving as the team's Vice President of Media Relations. I never expected the reason to be that the Islanders were pulling the plug on this successful interest generating sponsored blog operation . This may be a bottom line decision about dollars versus the income it creates, however it would seem to be shortsighted decision.

The Islanders have a wide range of community outreach and assistance programs. All of which serve three interlinked purposes. The first to be a good corporate citizen (which is great for public image). The second is to help those who could use some assistance in their lives including but not limited to having a good night out at a hockey game. The third is to generate interest in the team not only from people who will buy tickets and merchandise, but almost more importantly from children who will hopefully become lifelong fans. One could propose that NYI Point Blank contributes to the mission of the third purpose listed above. There is a wide age spectrum to the readership of NYI Point Blank as has been evidenced in comment section of that blog many times.

Finally and most importantly. NYI Point Blank has become the authoritative source for Islanders information. Losing this "voice" will be a major hit to the team's fan base. Don't let it happen. Reach out to the team in any capacity necessary and let them know how you feel.

C. Wang on Mike'd Up on WFAN

Here is a link to today's long winded discussion between two self proclaimed hockey ignorant people about the New York Islanders and the proposed Lighthouse Project.

http://www.wfan.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3898591

The Day After

Luckily this was not the scene last night at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders were in tune with the wants of most of their fans. While everyone was happy that the team was able to trade up to pick number 12 (from 26). There are starting to be rumblings about why they traded that high to pick defenseman Calvin De Haan and the associated cost in picks. My thoughts remain that they really like De Haan and they had a lot of picks (to spare?) obtained in last year's draft. My sober conclusion the day after is that they could have obtained De Haan at pick 16 and they did not need to trade up further to pick 12.

Courtesy of Wikipedia, here are the details the Islanders two moves to trade up from 26 to 12.

1. The Minnesota Wild's first-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 26, 2009 that sent a first-round pick (#16 overall), a third-round pick (#77 overall) in 2009 and a seventh-round pick (#182 overall) in 2009 to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.

2. The Columbus Blue Jackets' first-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 26, 2009 that sent a first-round pick (#12 overall) to the New York Islanders in exchange for a third-round pick (#77 overall) in 2009, a seventh-round pick (#182 overall) in 2009 and this pick. New York previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 26, 2009 that sent a first-round pick (#26 overall) in 2009, a second-round pick (#37 overall) in 2009, a third-round pick (#62 overall) in 2009 and a fourth-round pick (#92 overall) in 2009 to Columbus in exchange for a third-round pick (#77 overall) in 2009 and this pick

On to today's picks. I'm going to start by saying I am not a professional hockey scout and I do not know a lot about the players the Islanders are taking in rounds 2-7 so I will purely analyze the trades of picks and the positions that these players play. If I come up with any interesting tidbits as I am working, I will of course include them.

As I correctly predicted (not in writing, rather while lying in bed this morning) the Islanders used the first pick in the second round, 31st overall, to select a goaltender. I figured this based upon the fact that it is general knowledge that Islanders needed depth in goal and that they picked a forward and a defenseman in the first round. The pick was 6'7" 20 year old Finnish goaltender Mikko Koskinen.

The Islanders traded their remaining second round pick (#56) to the Columbus Blue Jackets to reacquire the first pick in the third round (#62) and the first pick in the fourth round (#92). Please note that their were 31 picks in the second round due to the compensatory pick awarded to the New York Rangers as a result of untimely and sad death of their 2008 first round pick Alexei Cherepanov.

At the start of the third round, the Islanders held picks #62 and #91 (#91 was obtained in the trade that send Bill Guerin to the Pittsburgh Penguins in March 2009). With the first pick in the third round (#62), the Islanders select...another goaltender, 6'5" Swedish goaltender Anders Nilsson. Well that is the second goaltender the Islanders have picked which speaks volumes about how General Manager Garth Snow feels about goaltenders and about one particular goaltender. The Islanders then traded pick #91 to the Phoenix Coyotes for their third round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.

At this point in the draft the Islanders had three remaining picks. The first pick in rounds four through six (#92, #122, #152).

With their fourth round pick (#92), the Islanders selected 5' 10" center Casey Cizikas. Cizikas played junior hockey last season with the Mississauga St Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

With their fifth round pick (#122), the Islanders selected 6'1" Russian defenseman Anton Klementyev.

With their sixth round pick (#152), the Islanders selected Anders Lee. Lee is a 6'2" center out of Edina High School in Minnesota. Per Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank, there is a good chance that Lee could end up choosing football over hockey.


The draft appears to be complete at this point for the New York Islanders unless there are any last minute trades made to obtain additional picks. I want to give special thanks to the New York Islanders, Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank and B.D. Gallof and the crew at Islanders Independent for an exciting draft night and an exciting week leading up to the draft.

All Hail Garth Snow

So I am home now from the Draft Party at NVMC. It was quite a night. I was correct in my prediction that the Islanders would select John Tavares. Now it is not like that was a big reach, so I do not take credit here, but I am glad that Garth Snow and Ryan Jankowski did not go against the grain.

It is such a wonderful night to be an Islanders fan. The moves the Islanders made to go up to pick 12 and select Calvin De Haan came at a very reasonable cost. For all of those who were apoplectic at last years moves to trade down and select Josh Bailey, this is what it was all about.

For all the doubters out there, let it be known that Garth Snow has proven himself to be a smart General Manager. Yes, this last year, the Islanders had to suck on Chef's Salty Chocolate Balls in order to get the first overall pick in the draft. That being said, when you combine the moves and picks in the last two drafts (there are still 6 more rounds left in this draft), my respect for our starting goalie cum backup goalie cum General Manager has just increased significantly.

Further analysis to come over the weekend. Have Stanley Cup (in a few years) dreams tonight.

Updated Estimate

With over 24,000 tickets given away for the draft party, I am upping my estimate to 8,000 - 10,000 people in attendance for the draft party.

Also of course I am going to reiterate what I said back in April. It is this bloggers humble opinion that the Islanders will select John Tavares with the first overall pick in the draft.

Other than that, I am starting to get inpatient waiting for my friend John to arrive so we can leave for the Draft Party. Of course he said between 5:30 and 6:00 so I guess I should just settle down!

MadMen

I may be a bit late on this considering Chris Botta's post on this subject today, but considering I posted a similar theory on the comment section of his blog yesterday, I'm not feeling very plagiaristic about it. Also, I have a different take on the subject.


The Public Relations/Advertising team with the Islanders are touting that 11,000 fans have grabbed their free tickets for the Islanders Draft Party scheduled to take place at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (NVMC) on Friday June 26th. This sounds like a lot of Islanders fans are very excited about the upcoming draft, which is absolutely true. But there is a catch to this public relations ploy.

Public Relations or PR men are a lot like advertising men who are also known colloquially madmen. They spin truth and facts about a product or event to show it in the best light and generate a buzz. Nothing wrong with this in my opinion. After all we live in a capitalistic society. However as a consumer, one should always be aware of this.

So "More than 11,000 Islanders fans have gotten their free tickets" Really? I find this rather entertaining. I would say that the whole reason why you need a ticket is so they can post this little factoid on the Islanders website. I assure you the number will keep going up taboot. After all it was only 10,000 yesterday.

So let's look at the reality of the situation. By going through the Islanders website, you can request up to six free tickets per customer. So let's use myself as an example. I requested six tickets. There is a chance, that I may use all six, but I consider it unlikely. To use all six, my son would need to attend the Draft Party after the Islanders Spring Hockey League "picnic" which coincidentally takes place at NVMC immediately before the Draft Party. My son is 14 and most likely would rather hang out with his friends on the first Friday after school ends. My girlfriend would have to be able to attend and that is iffy since she has responsibilities to her 15 year old daughter as well as to her aging father. The aforementioned 15 year old daughter would have to attend (see the comment about my son). Then my friend John would need to attend and bring either his wife or son or both. If all the above came we would need one extra ticket. I think it more likely that it will just be me and John. If that happens than four of the six tickets requested will go to waste. Using myself as a microcosm and assuming that most people requested six tickets just because they could, then 11,000 becomes 3,666.

That is one way of looking at it. There is also the possibility that many folks requested six (or even less) tickets for themselves and their friends not knowing that their friends have likewise done the same thing. Say a group of four friends, that always go to games together, each requested four tickets, not knowing that each of them has requested the tickets. All four friends are going to go to the Draft Party, but then twelve tickets will go to waste. Using this example, 11,000 becomes 2,750.

Both of the above examples do not take into account that some folks may have requested tickets on the chance that they might want to go to the Draft Party, but will then decide that they do not feel like going that night and being accosted by Sparky and his sweaty paws.

I think it likely that their will be approximately 3000 - 4000 people in attendance. Your thoughts? Hello? Is there anybody out there?

So Nice

I went to see the Mets play today on Mother's Day with my lovely girl Trish who is a fantastic Mom. When we drove into the parking lot, I thought I had taken a wrong turn and arrived at the Domino's headquarters. When we walked into the main entrance and were going up the escalator, I cracked that I felt like I was in a shopping mall. And that is true, but it was a very upscale baseball oriented shopping mall that I was imagining. When we entered an elevator to go up to our seating level (Excelsior), Trish was very confused about the nicely dressed elevator attendant that was pushing the buttons and announcing the levels. To her it just seemed out of place, and to be honest, it did to me too. Picture yourself walking in circles on concrete ramps as you have so many times in the past (if you are baseball or football fan, or if you've seen concerts at the old NY stadiums). Definitely an interesting start to our day at Citi Field.

When we got off the elevator on the 5th floor (Excelsior), I immediately started going towards what I knew was the third base line side of the field. I brought us right to our seats and we sat down and started watching the game. Trish turned to me and said that it seemed like I knew exactly where I was going. I told her that the signage was great and it was very easy to know where you were going if you knew your section number.

After a few innings we decided to take a walk out to out Taste of the City section and walkway behind the outfield. As we first entered the Left Field side of the walkway, I was immediately struck by how it reminded me of KeySpan Park in Coney Island, but of course this is the Major Leagues and it was so much better. It is very cool that they have a lot of tables out there and cup holders for people that lean against the rails. The auction table is in an unobtrusive segment of the walkway and is not a major impediment. It was really nice to be able to just walk around and see the game and check out the accouterments all at the same time.

We returned to our seats for the last few innings and had a good day at TARP field. Being a Yankees fan. I am rather disappointed that I saw the Mets new home before I saw a game at the new Yankee Stadium. That is what a rainout will do to you as I had tickets for last Sunday's Yankees game that was rained out.

My point with this post is remind myself and others what an outdated dump NVMC is and state that the Islanders badly need a new or renovated home. If it takes surrounding infrastructure to make that happen, so be it. Remember folks, the Lighthouse is a privately funded project and not coming out of your tax money.

Draft Choices

As all Islanders fans know at this point, the Isles indeed won the first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Amateur Draft. As I expected, Garth Snow did not follow the lead of Tampa Bay and announce their intention to draft any particular player, whether it be John Tavares or Victor Hedman or anyone else.

Anyone that has followed the Islanders for the last few seasons should know that Islanders are following a very corporate model of not discussing their internal discussions with the media. They also seem to keep their options open. That being said, unless the team is completely blown away with an offer, expect the Islanders to indeed make the first pick in the draft and pick John Tavares.

If you read between the lines of various interviews with Garth Snow, they expect to use that pick wisely. He has stated in multiple interviews that will be getting a great player. Not a good player, not a player with leadership ability, not a player with promise...a great player. Here is a link to an interview yesterday afternoon with Garth on Toronto's AM640 as an example.

http://www.640toronto.com/HostsandShows/LeafsLunch/Audio.aspx

More to come in the next weeks and months folks.