The Islanders goaltender who only has been seen on crutches at a couple of on ice workouts over the summer, has spoken!
Rick said his rehab is on schedule and he is not going to rush back like he did last season.
WOW!
I know as you the reader must be absolutely stunned at this turn of events.
SHOCKING!
Now that he has gotten the ridiculously obvious out the of the way its time to look at the Islanders upcoming season that is sure to be filled with lofty expectations if not for the team, for some of its young players.
Islanders leading scorers - 2009-10 season
1 - Josh Bailey 74GP 14g 42a 56p
2 - Mark Streit 80GP 12g 40a 52p
3 - Kyle Okposo 72GP 26g 20a 46p
4 - John Tavares 78GP 27g 18a 45p
5 - Doug Weight 49GP 10g 22a 32p
I am obviously going out on a bit of a limb here but i think Bailey is poised to be the breakout player from this season. Also on my watch this year radar are Jeff Tambelini, Sean Bergenhiem and Frans Nielson mostly because its make or break time for all of them. Either they become mainstays on the team and contributors or they are out of here.
If it were up to me, and obviously its not Tambs would be in Bridgeport and Alex Tanguay would be here in his place who is inexplicably still a free agent.
Go Get Tanguay Garth!
Tavares is going to have every Islander fan and most of the NHL watching him and a typical slow start followed by a hot end of the season is what seems to be typical with players coming into the NHL. Very few have an impact immediately.
Bailey has come this season to turn heads. Just watch.
Okposo will be expected to improve on his numbers this season. Another 15 goal season will be a disappointment. He has all the tools. 25 goals is not to much to ask.
I don't see how anyone can expect Doug Weight to play more than 50 games. Hes still got the talent that much is evident, but his injuries over the last 3 seasons have cost him way to many games to be penciled in for anything more than 50 games.
Mark Streit will be expected to be exactly what he was last season.
On how the team will perform as a whole this season?
I think the team will challenge and fall short of a payoff spot this year.
They have a lot of growing to do but they have excellent goaltending and good defenseman. The Islanders will hustle and out skate a lot of teams this season. They will work hard and start to make us believe there is something there.
They have a young group of forwards that if all breaks right can be the starting of a Blackhawk like resurgence in the NHL.
The Islanders will play meaningful hockey games this season and that is the best we can hope for right now but for the first time in a long time that's a good thing.
FCT
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Hockeybuzz = The Weekly World News?
Dany Heatley is still a member of the Ottawa Senators.
It seems all other business is on hold waiting to see what happens with the talented Left Winger.
According to Hockeybuzz.com, the Hockey's equivalent to the Weekly World News, Heatley is going to be involved in a 3 way deal to San Jose then Montreal will be involved and Phil Kessel is somehow involved, Jonathan Cheechoo is involved and a 3 way trade will happen and the Blackhawks and Flames and and and....
You know I cannot keep up with all of Eklund's crap. I think his dog knows just as much as to where the next free agent is going to sign or where the next player that will be traded as he does.
He has had Alex Tanguay signed to about 7 different teams on his website, when everyone in the world knows that Tanguay is most likely waiting out the Heatley shenanigans.
The popularity of Hockeybuzz.com amazes me. All it is is a glorified blog that has somehow caught the eye of NHL fans who think Eklund has some sort of inside information.
I do not need to get into specifics. All i need to do it to point to his ridiculous rating system of rumors and state that he has scooped no one nor has he been right on many if any predictions this off season. His "E4" rumor is batting around .089 this season. Not good for a guy who has the sources he says he does.
I am all for capitalism and I am sure Eklund has done very well with his site but I am also for responsibility with your readers. The site is built mostly on the backs of other bloggers who are linked to his site and some of them are very talented writers. If you go to the site for rumors look elsewhere because all you are likely to be is let down on Hockeybuzz.
I really hope there is some real news around hockey soon because it has been a slow month.
The Islanders are making progress towards their lighthouse project and that is great news. Will Charles Wang have his answer before or on his self imposed deadline? That is the single biggest story around the Islanders at the moment.
Once John Tavares takes the ice this all will change but the Lighthouse Project will dominate the news for the Islanders over this coming season and rightfully so. If Wang can get his approval he will have the Islanders a player in the NHL again.
This season's results really don't matter in that regard because no one expects anything out of the Islanders even though I think the team has a a shot to make some noise.
That my friends is an (e3).
FCT
It seems all other business is on hold waiting to see what happens with the talented Left Winger.
According to Hockeybuzz.com, the Hockey's equivalent to the Weekly World News, Heatley is going to be involved in a 3 way deal to San Jose then Montreal will be involved and Phil Kessel is somehow involved, Jonathan Cheechoo is involved and a 3 way trade will happen and the Blackhawks and Flames and and and....
You know I cannot keep up with all of Eklund's crap. I think his dog knows just as much as to where the next free agent is going to sign or where the next player that will be traded as he does.
He has had Alex Tanguay signed to about 7 different teams on his website, when everyone in the world knows that Tanguay is most likely waiting out the Heatley shenanigans.
The popularity of Hockeybuzz.com amazes me. All it is is a glorified blog that has somehow caught the eye of NHL fans who think Eklund has some sort of inside information.
I do not need to get into specifics. All i need to do it to point to his ridiculous rating system of rumors and state that he has scooped no one nor has he been right on many if any predictions this off season. His "E4" rumor is batting around .089 this season. Not good for a guy who has the sources he says he does.
I am all for capitalism and I am sure Eklund has done very well with his site but I am also for responsibility with your readers. The site is built mostly on the backs of other bloggers who are linked to his site and some of them are very talented writers. If you go to the site for rumors look elsewhere because all you are likely to be is let down on Hockeybuzz.
I really hope there is some real news around hockey soon because it has been a slow month.
The Islanders are making progress towards their lighthouse project and that is great news. Will Charles Wang have his answer before or on his self imposed deadline? That is the single biggest story around the Islanders at the moment.
Once John Tavares takes the ice this all will change but the Lighthouse Project will dominate the news for the Islanders over this coming season and rightfully so. If Wang can get his approval he will have the Islanders a player in the NHL again.
This season's results really don't matter in that regard because no one expects anything out of the Islanders even though I think the team has a a shot to make some noise.
That my friends is an (e3).
FCT
Monday, August 10, 2009
Baseball Players Think we are Stupid
David Ortiz held a press conference at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
He proceeded to feign ignorance and wonder allowed that his positive test was probably because of some supplements and vitamins he took carelessly.
We have seen angry denials from Rafael Palmeiro, pointing his finger and angrily denying use only to be outed as a steroid user.
We have seen blank ignorance from Mark McGwire vowing to not talk about "the past".
We have seen Sammy Sosa forget the English language when questions by authorities.
Barry Bonds? Manny Ramirez? Roger Clemens?
The list goes on and on, and these are only the ones we know about.
David Ortiz was one of the players who lined up to take pop shots at Alex Rodriguez when he admitted his steroid use, even though his excuse was laughable at least he came forward and admitted he understood what the substance was he was putting into his body.
Then Big Papi was outed along with his fearsome Red Sox team mate Manny Ramirez as one of the players on the 2003 substance list. You think Papi wishes he kept his rather large mouth shut now?
Micheal Wiener, the latest long winded spin doctor that runs the MLB Players union got in front of the microphone and spoke to baseball fans and the media like we were 7 year old children explaining about how the number of positives could have been less that what was reported because more violators may have been tested twice.
Just how stupid does this guy think we are? As I listened to Wiener spout this inane dribble at the press conference and lauded Ortiz for speaking I wondered how can this guy think that this is going to placate the baseball fans who just want their game to be clean?
I gotta be honest, It made me very angry the more times he basically stated the drug problem in baseball is less that it is, stating that the 108 number was probably around 96, or as little as 83.
I have a statement Mr. Wiener - No one cares about anything you have to say, unless you are going to be honest and forthright.
Stop trying to tell the baseball fans and sports fans in general that drugs are not a big deal in sports.
Stop downplaying the role drugs have played in baseball not only over the last 20 years, but the last 50 years when the drugs of choice were pain killers and amphetamines instead of HGH and steroids.
Shut up or tell the truth because unless your going to present the list of 2003 to the public, ending the controversy and putting the speculation to rest no one really cares.
We as fans are sick of lawyers preparing statements for players who they wont let answer any real questions.
We are sick of holier than thou players bashing other players only to be outed as users themselves.
We are sick of spin control and endless legal babble coming from union officials who know nothing of the pressure these guys feel to succeed.
We are sick of over bloated players and records that mean nothing in terms of who has the most skill and more about who had the best drugs.
I for one am sick of fans who stand and cheer their steroid violators and vociferously boo and taunt opposing players who are outed.
This is not just a baseball issue it is a human issue. Look at the NFL today and how many 300+ pound lineman there are in the league. Now go and see 30 years ago and see how many there were then.
Now lets check the health of these guys when they hit 35 and find that they have 70 year old knees and 80 year old backs and tell me you don't care.
Do you think Ken Caminiti would have done things differently if given a choice to go back in time?
These guys are killing themselves for their sport. That makes them no different from professional wrestlers who for years died young or crippled themselves trying to compete.
The steroid issue is not just cheating in terms of cheating at a game. Its cheating these guys out of their own lives and quality of life.
People may say its their own fault, they are adults and they knew what they were doing.
That is a silly argument for this reason -
How many players do you think are out there that haven't made millions of dollars have destroyed their bodies with drugs in the effort to get to where guys like David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Jason Giambi are at?
Who is cheering for these guys? Who will take care of their families if they cant provide for them?
That my friends is the real crime of it all.
FCT
He proceeded to feign ignorance and wonder allowed that his positive test was probably because of some supplements and vitamins he took carelessly.
We have seen angry denials from Rafael Palmeiro, pointing his finger and angrily denying use only to be outed as a steroid user.
We have seen blank ignorance from Mark McGwire vowing to not talk about "the past".
We have seen Sammy Sosa forget the English language when questions by authorities.
Barry Bonds? Manny Ramirez? Roger Clemens?
The list goes on and on, and these are only the ones we know about.
David Ortiz was one of the players who lined up to take pop shots at Alex Rodriguez when he admitted his steroid use, even though his excuse was laughable at least he came forward and admitted he understood what the substance was he was putting into his body.
Then Big Papi was outed along with his fearsome Red Sox team mate Manny Ramirez as one of the players on the 2003 substance list. You think Papi wishes he kept his rather large mouth shut now?
Micheal Wiener, the latest long winded spin doctor that runs the MLB Players union got in front of the microphone and spoke to baseball fans and the media like we were 7 year old children explaining about how the number of positives could have been less that what was reported because more violators may have been tested twice.
Just how stupid does this guy think we are? As I listened to Wiener spout this inane dribble at the press conference and lauded Ortiz for speaking I wondered how can this guy think that this is going to placate the baseball fans who just want their game to be clean?
I gotta be honest, It made me very angry the more times he basically stated the drug problem in baseball is less that it is, stating that the 108 number was probably around 96, or as little as 83.
I have a statement Mr. Wiener - No one cares about anything you have to say, unless you are going to be honest and forthright.
Stop trying to tell the baseball fans and sports fans in general that drugs are not a big deal in sports.
Stop downplaying the role drugs have played in baseball not only over the last 20 years, but the last 50 years when the drugs of choice were pain killers and amphetamines instead of HGH and steroids.
Shut up or tell the truth because unless your going to present the list of 2003 to the public, ending the controversy and putting the speculation to rest no one really cares.
We as fans are sick of lawyers preparing statements for players who they wont let answer any real questions.
We are sick of holier than thou players bashing other players only to be outed as users themselves.
We are sick of spin control and endless legal babble coming from union officials who know nothing of the pressure these guys feel to succeed.
We are sick of over bloated players and records that mean nothing in terms of who has the most skill and more about who had the best drugs.
I for one am sick of fans who stand and cheer their steroid violators and vociferously boo and taunt opposing players who are outed.
This is not just a baseball issue it is a human issue. Look at the NFL today and how many 300+ pound lineman there are in the league. Now go and see 30 years ago and see how many there were then.
Now lets check the health of these guys when they hit 35 and find that they have 70 year old knees and 80 year old backs and tell me you don't care.
Do you think Ken Caminiti would have done things differently if given a choice to go back in time?
These guys are killing themselves for their sport. That makes them no different from professional wrestlers who for years died young or crippled themselves trying to compete.
The steroid issue is not just cheating in terms of cheating at a game. Its cheating these guys out of their own lives and quality of life.
People may say its their own fault, they are adults and they knew what they were doing.
That is a silly argument for this reason -
How many players do you think are out there that haven't made millions of dollars have destroyed their bodies with drugs in the effort to get to where guys like David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Jason Giambi are at?
Who is cheering for these guys? Who will take care of their families if they cant provide for them?
That my friends is the real crime of it all.
FCT
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