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An embarrassing franchise

Ceetar Nov 18 2010 08:48 PM

The Islanders have apparently revoked the credentials of former PR director and current blogger/SNY guy, Chris Botta. ChrisBottaNHL:#Isles floating that I interviewed players outside guidelines...really? Never told me. How bout a hearing? Stick to the issue. Shame. This after basically cheating to get above the salary floor (using contracts of former players who are actually playing in Russia..) and firing broadcasting guy (Howie's partner) Billy Jaffe after he already had a 4-year deal in place with MSG, for "not being positive enough in his analysis" which is something that doesn't seem like it was true, he was plenty positive. Which is tough to do with the team stinks.. Btw, the Islanders have lost something like 11 straight games now, lest you think the embarassment is only in the off the ice stuff.

metsguyinmichigan Nov 19 2010 05:29 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Horrible. Chris is a great guy. He was my sports editor when I was the editor of the Nassau CC newspaper. Prediction: They'll reinstate his credentials. Soon.

Edgy DC Nov 19 2010 05:45 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

I've long been of the impression that the Wilpons, when they're done building the Flushing Funplex™, and when they've stailized the Mets at a successful level (next week or next decade), had their eyes on the Islanders. The team may well be running on austerity in anticipation of a sale.

soupcan Nov 19 2010 06:13 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Edgy DC wrote: I've long been of the impression that the Wilpons, when they're done building the Flushing Funplex™, and when they've stailized the Mets at a successful level (next week or next decade), had their eyes on the Islanders. The team may well be running on austerity in anticipation of a sale. I think you are right and I think the major reason for that was to build an arena in Willets Point. Unfortunately, I think the Madoff thing took that plan out of play. At least for a while.

metirish Nov 19 2010 07:17 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

A combination of Wang's pigheadedness and the Counties pigheadedness has prolonged the misery for this team . Stupid player deals , stupid non deals with the county , threatening to move to Kansas, Garth Snow....I thought the team had made some progress last season but man they are terrible again.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 19 2010 07:44 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

soupcan wrote: Edgy DC wrote: I've long been of the impression that the Wilpons, when they're done building the Flushing Funplex™, and when they've stailized the Mets at a successful level (next week or next decade), had their eyes on the Islanders. The team may well be running on austerity in anticipation of a sale. I think you are right and I think the major reason for that was to build an arena in Willets Point. Unfortunately, I think the Madoff thing took that plan out of play. At least for a while. Another payoff would be providing something for SNY to show on TV during the winter. They wouldn't necessarily need to own the team for this, but it would make sense.

Ceetar Nov 19 2010 07:46 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: soupcan wrote: Edgy DC wrote: I've long been of the impression that the Wilpons, when they're done building the Flushing Funplex™, and when they've stailized the Mets at a successful level (next week or next decade), had their eyes on the Islanders. The team may well be running on austerity in anticipation of a sale. I think you are right and I think the major reason for that was to build an arena in Willets Point. Unfortunately, I think the Madoff thing took that plan out of play. At least for a while. Another payoff would be providing something for SNY to show on TV during the winter. They wouldn't necessarily need to own the team for this, but it would make sense. I've been wishing this for years. (Isles are frequently only in standard def too, and you gotta hunt for the overflow channel) I think one problem may be the lack of an SNY overflow station for the overlap period when both are playing.

soupcan Nov 19 2010 08:46 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Another payoff would be providing something for SNY to show on TV during the winter. They wouldn't necessarily need to own the team for this, but it would make sense. Where are the Islanders now? MSG?

Ceetar Nov 19 2010 09:10 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

soupcan wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Another payoff would be providing something for SNY to show on TV during the winter. They wouldn't necessarily need to own the team for this, but it would make sense. Where are the Islanders now? MSG? MSG if the Devils and Rangers aren't playing. MSG+ if one of them is playing. and 14/414/MSGoverflowsomewhere in SD if both are playing. Actually, I think the Knicks factor into that too.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 19 2010 10:00 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Ceetar wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: soupcan wrote: Edgy DC wrote: I've long been of the impression that the Wilpons, when they're done building the Flushing Funplex™, and when they've stailized the Mets at a successful level (next week or next decade), had their eyes on the Islanders. The team may well be running on austerity in anticipation of a sale. I think you are right and I think the major reason for that was to build an arena in Willets Point. Unfortunately, I think the Madoff thing took that plan out of play. At least for a while. Another payoff would be providing something for SNY to show on TV during the winter. They wouldn't necessarily need to own the team for this, but it would make sense. I've been wishing this for years. (Isles are frequently only in standard def too, and you gotta hunt for the overflow channel) I think one problem may be the lack of an SNY overflow station for the overlap period when both are playing. This could pose a terrible dilemma during those Islander playof-- I'm sorry; I couldn't keep a straight face, there.

Frayed Knot Nov 19 2010 10:12 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

The Islander's problem - and by that I mean one of at least 100 problems - has been that they're locked into TV contracts and site mgmt deals that might have been OK for the team a few decades back when they signed them but are ruinously outdated today. So while SNY might be a logical alternative who knows how many years they have to wait to act on it (it's like Doubleday/Cablevision deal on steroids). And that one isn't nearly as bad as the site mgmt contract that runs gives them virtually nothing from concessions, parking, and merchandizing and runs I think through Chelsea Clinton's second term in the White House.

soupcan Nov 19 2010 10:23 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

How long are they actually locked into those deals? Anyone know or know where that info can be found?

HahnSolo Nov 19 2010 11:34 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Edgy DC wrote: I've long been of the impression that the Wilpons, when they're done building the Flushing Funplex™, and when they've stailized the Mets at a successful level (next week or next decade), had their eyes on the Islanders. If you are an Islander fan, is that a frying pan/fire scenario? /know nothing about the Islanders at all.

Ceetar Nov 19 2010 11:34 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

They're in teh colliseum deal through 2015 I believe. no idea on the TV.

Frayed Knot Nov 19 2010 11:45 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

That Nassau County ... a) has long been corrupt with patronage, nepotism, one-party rule, pay-to-play, NIMBYism, rigged bids, bloated gov't, union fixing, etc. and b) is now broke on account of being corrupt for too long (see above) hasn't helped matters much.

Ceetar Nov 19 2010 11:47 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Frayed Knot wrote: That Nassau County ... a) has long been corrupt with patronage, nepotism, one-party rule, pay-to-play, NIMBYism, rigged bids, bloated gov't, union fixing, etc. and b) is now broke on account of being corrupt for too long (see above) hasn't helped matters much. and the Town of Hempstead isn't much better.

Frayed Knot Nov 19 2010 11:51 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Hempstead was long the corruption training grounds for Nassau County. It was like the minors, first had to prove yourself there before you could step up to the big time.

Ashie62 Nov 19 2010 06:22 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

It could be worse Isles fans, at least you don't play in Newark.

Ceetar Nov 19 2010 06:33 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Ashie62 wrote: It could be worse Isles fans, at least you don't play in Newark. The only way I'm seeing the Isles this year, is in Newark. It's a great arena.

seawolf17 Nov 19 2010 06:41 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

I was thinking the other night how sad it is that I have no desire to take MiniWolf to an Islanders game. (Mind you, I'm nominally a Flyers fan, so that's a small piece of it.)

Ashie62 Nov 20 2010 10:52 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Ceetar wrote: Ashie62 wrote: It could be worse Isles fans, at least you don't play in Newark. The only way I'm seeing the Isles this year, is in Newark. It's a great arena. If you are driving make sure you know the area, really..

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 20 2010 09:57 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Ashie62 wrote: Ashie62 wrote: It could be worse Isles fans, at least you don't play in Newark. The only way I'm seeing the Isles this year, is in Newark. It's a great arena. If you are driving make sure you know the area, really.. Or else you might accidentally drive into NJPAC, a really amazing Spanish restaurant or three, or Penn Station a block away. It's frightful.

Ceetar Nov 21 2010 05:39 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Ashie62 wrote: Ashie62 wrote: It could be worse Isles fans, at least you don't play in Newark. The only way I'm seeing the Isles this year, is in Newark. It's a great arena. If you are driving make sure you know the area, really.. Or else you might accidentally drive into NJPAC, a really amazing Spanish restaurant or three, or Penn Station a block away. It's frightful. I think the Bears stadium is around there somewhere too. Also, 12 losses in a row now. going for lucky 13 tonight with DiPietro in net.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 22 2010 11:11 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Oh, Howie.

metirish Nov 22 2010 11:21 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Oh, Howie. funny

themetfairy Nov 22 2010 11:23 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Oh, Howie. It's hard to blame him....

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 22 2010 11:46 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Oh, I don't blame him for feeling that way. It's the boner that's embarrassing. /That is, no doubt, what "she" said

metirish Nov 22 2010 11:50 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Add to the fact that Howie is a Rangers fan , I'd be pining for St. Lucie too.......jeez , the Isles are bad when you are pining for St. lucie.

G-Fafif Nov 22 2010 12:17 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Howie referred to the Florida Panthers having had a couple of "rough shifts" on Saturday night, except he didn't pronounce the "f" in shifts. Corrected himself quickly enough. He was probably mooning over the NHL during Mets commercial breaks in August.

Ceetar Nov 24 2010 08:02 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

14 losses in a row. nice.

Frayed Knot Nov 27 2010 06:26 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

ISLANDERS WIN, ISLANDERS WIN !!!

Ceetar Nov 27 2010 07:39 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Frayed Knot wrote: ISLANDERS WIN, ISLANDERS WIN !!! and in a shutout against the Devils no less.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Dec 10 2010 12:26 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Welcome, Quebecois... feel free to take one of 'em home.

metirish Dec 10 2010 12:33 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Welcome, Quebecois... feel free to take one of 'em home. I am all for it.......having teams in Atlanta and Columbus and not in some of the markets in Canada is wrong.

Gwreck Dec 10 2010 12:42 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

I think it's most likely that they move the Phoenix team (bankrupt and being operated by the NHL) back to Canada. What they really need is probably to contract 2-6 franchises.

Ceetar Dec 10 2010 12:54 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Gwreck wrote: I think it's most likely that they move the Phoenix team (bankrupt and being operated by the NHL) back to Canada. What they really need is probably to contract 2-6 franchises. Come on, it's not like the Islanders have any talent on them that's diluting the player pool! Kansas City is looking for a hockey team too. they have an arena built.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Dec 10 2010 01:49 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Gwreck wrote: I think it's most likely that they move the Phoenix team (bankrupt and being operated by the NHL) back to Canada. What they really need is probably to contract 2-6 franchises. Or, say, get some violent triplets, a charming French-Canuck goalie, and a talented Ivy Leaguer with a troubled marriage on the Islanders, and hire, say, Robert Redford to coach them. Should bump up the gates, anyhow.

Gwreck Dec 10 2010 01:56 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Ceetar wrote: Kansas City is looking for a hockey team too. they have an arena built. It's a very nice arena. My guess is that they'd prefer basketball to hockey but will take whatever they can get.

Frayed Knot Dec 10 2010 02:24 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

The NHL abandoning Quebec City was a crime and in the list of brainless moves it ranks up there with leaving the Twin Cities in Minnesota for Dallas, Texas. Some of those cross-the-border moves were as much about U.S. vs Canada pride fights as they were about specific markets. The rush to flood American cities based on the idea that making themselves more attractive to ESPN came after an opposite movement a decade or so earlier where Canadian forces in the league had the upper hand and were crowing about how even minor Canadian towns were better for the NHL than major American cities. St Louis to Saskatoon was a hot topic for a while. Nothing wrong with the NHL that shrinking the size of the league, the length of the season, and the playoff qualifiers by about 1/3 wouldn't solve.

Valadius Dec 11 2010 05:57 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

The State of Washington really ought to get its act together and get a new arena built so Seattle can a) get its Sonics back, probably via New Orleans, and b) get an NHL franchise, which I've never understood why they didn't have in the first place.

Frayed Knot Dec 11 2010 06:16 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Because the "brain-trust" at NHL HQ banked their expansion plans on the idea that covering as much of the country visually as possible was the key to a bigger TV deal. So that meant teams in SoCal, NoCal, the desert south-west, multiple Florida locations, Texas, etc. Seattle is too close to Vancouver and therefore it's an 'already covered' region. The fact that Seattle lost their basketball team on account of its refusal to pay full freight for a new palace for the team reflects well on the city IMO.

MFS62 Dec 11 2010 06:47 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

You have to look inside the numbers when you do your market research before a franchise move. I remember when Jack Kent Cook put a hockey team in Los Angeles because (I paraphrase) the numbers showed there were 500,000 ex-Canadians living in the LA area. After the first year, when he lost gazillions, Cooke said "I guess those people left Canada because they hate hockey". Later

Frayed Knot Dec 23 2010 08:26 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

The Islanders just need to figure out how to play the Devils more often.

Ceetar Dec 23 2010 09:04 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Frayed Knot wrote: The Islanders just need to figure out how to play the Devils more often. That's TWO in a row! I think they've got a winning streak!

Ashie62 Dec 24 2010 08:00 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Frayed Knot wrote: The Islanders just need to figure out how to play the Devils more often. Jacque Tootight will straighten this out. After Brodeur is traded by Lamoriello of course.

Frayed Knot Dec 27 2010 11:13 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Newsday reports 3,136 fans on hand for last night's Islander home win (2 straight !!!) over Montreal. Of course the blizzard is partly responsible for the low number. No question they would have topped at least 6 or 7 thousand otherwise.

Ceetar Dec 27 2010 11:19 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Frayed Knot wrote: Newsday reports 3,136 fans on hand for last night's Islander home win (2 straight !!!) over Montreal. Of course the blizzard is partly responsible for the low number. No question they would have topped at least 6 or 7 thousand otherwise. And most of those were Canadien fans. It sounded like a road game. Howie noted that they were all bused in so here anyway. Also, the Islanders tried to cancel the game, but it was against league policy to cancel a game a in which both teams and the officials are already present. The 7 Islanders fans got to see a nice game, and made a loud "Ole Ole" chant heard at the end of the game after they'd dominated Montreal. 3 in a row, and they're coming for the Rangers tonight, with DiPietro possibly/probably back in goal.

Edgy DC Dec 27 2010 11:46 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Hockey NHL would be an excellent model for introducing a promotion/relegation system to the continent. I don't agree with calls for eliminating franchises. Any notion of saving the village by destroying it misses the point. If you like the sport, root for more of it. But promoting successful franchises in lesser leagues and relegating unsuccessful ones in major leagues? All for it. Let Quebec earn their big-league status on the ice.

Frayed Knot Jan 01 2011 09:02 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Suddenly six wins in the last eight for the Ice-Landers including back-to-back OT wins against the beast of the east Penguins and the best of the west Red Wings. New Motto: We're Sucking Less Often Heading into '11 'Winter Classic' in Pittsburgh (Caps v Pens) rescheduled for 8PM in an attempt to dodge expected rain. Too bad, I think one of the charms of that game is not just that it's outside but that it's in the daytime.

Edgy DC Jan 01 2011 09:36 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

I think it would be interesting if it wasn't just outdoors but in the hazards of outdoors.

Frayed Knot Jan 01 2011 10:19 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

I think it would be interesting if it wasn't just outdoors but in the hazards of outdoors. Yeah, but rain would make the game suck. Snow would be - and has been - great and the players can handle the cold. On the other hand if your idea of 'hazards' is something along the lines of a pond that has a danger of breaking and swallowing up several unsuspecting back-skating defensemen or a big tree in the middle of one of the blue lines that the players would have to skate around then I think the union might raise an objection.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 01 2011 11:48 AM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Yeah, but how cool would it be? Answer? Very.

Ceetar Jan 22 2011 01:01 PM Re: An embarrassing franchise

Evgeni Nabokov left Russia for the chance to play with the Detroit Red Wings. Instead of landing in Hockeytown, the veteran goalie is taking an unexpected detour to Long Island. Nabokov lost his chance to join the Red Wings on Saturday, when he was claimed off waivers by the New York Islanders. Except Nabokov basically took a look at the Islanders said "fuck this" and won't report to the team. (Peter Gammons is expected to go on record as saying Nabokov would rather play in Siberia than Long Island)