Hey everyone! Sorry for no posts yesterday, but I was at Long Island Ducks media day all day.
The new info on Sean Bergenheim is that he's been cleared medically and will practice today. No guarantee he'll play tomorrow when Team Finland faces Team Canada, but this just goes to reassure all you Isles fans that the injury was a total no-biggie.
Hope that's an uplifting note to enter the weekend on.....:)
Also, his agent informed me there has been no recent progress in terms of contract negotiations.
I'll be back at the Ducks tonight for their home opener against the Atlantic League champion Newark Bears. The weather's supposed to be fabulous, so if you and the family are looking for something to do, there are a lot of local guys, including starting pitcher Randy Leek, to support!
Here they are:
Rob Cafiero (Massapequa Park)
Eric Colon (East Meadow)
Dennis Donovan (Center Moriches)
Estee Harris (Central Islip)
Kevin Haverbusch (Massapequa)
Randy Leek (Levittown)
Robert Sandora (West Babylon)
Jon Searles (Huntington)
Kinda funny actually, but I met Colon and Haverbusch at an Islanders practice once in Syosset, so they are both legitimate Isles fans. Talked to Haverbusch yesterday and he said while his offseason went well, the Islanders made him very frustrated. Looks like he's channeled that into something positive however.....he batted .471 in spring training!
Have a good weekend!
--KS
Comments (21)
Who cares.There's PLAYOFF HOCKEY TONIGHT......RANGER PLAYOFF HOCKEY!
The Rangers are in the playoffs? Seriously? Wow....I didn't know. My TV/Computer/Device ignores all things Rangers.
I just called my friend. He said they are playing the Penns...and Crosby has yet to break out this playoffs.
Penguins in 4.
and APRIL.....your name is jinxing your team. They made it in you...but they aren't making it out.
Kevin Haverbush...I used to play travel soccer with him as a kid on the Massapequa Soccer Club back in the 80's. Remember "...keep the ball to the outside..."
Best of luck to him with the Ducks!
Mikemc:
Oh man you just brough back some memories. I played HS soccer on the north shore and our coach was constantly just screaming "kick it to the outside guys, kick it to the outside!" Didn't even matter if we scored as long as we kept the ball away from the middle of the field.
Soccer.....the downfall of the American Civilization.
Just my opinion...
Thanks for the update Katie! I appreciate it. Have a great time at the ball park.
Hey 505... Soccer(futbol) is awesome...there's a reason it dominates everywhere else in the world except here. Even the craziest NFL crouds can compete with the fans at soccer games abroad!
Hey themass,
Soccer(futbol) is just boooooring....you need to drink to not fall asleep.
Hey, DID ANYONE SEE THE NHL PLAYOFF HOCKEY TONIGHT?
Did anyone see the rangers blow a 3-0 lead in the playoffs tonight?
Nolan will announce he is stepping down Monday AM.
I love him and think this sucks. Id rather see Snow go.
Nhlfan... Don't get me wrong, hockey is my #1 but soccer is great too. I compare it to hockey in that it comes across horribly on tv. But if you know the rules and are watching the worlds best its a great game.
Jason- any evidence to that or are you a rags fan talking crap...my guess is the later!
I have to admit ... I tried to go watch soccer once ...comped tickets to see the Metrostars host the Galaxy ..... and when I woke up the damn game was still going on.
There are tons of reasons why soccer hasn't stuck in America ... but it will eventually ... when there are 25M more immigrants here from Europe, Africa and the rest of the Americas... then maybe their will be a big enough fan base.
When that happens .... hockey will be totally shut out of the American fan conciousness.
KH ~ regarding the Islanders fan base at one time in NJ.
I spoke with a manager at Modells yesterday in Manalapan NJ ... which is pretty much in the northern center of NJ closer to the shore ... in other words ... about 15 miles south of the southern tip of NYC .... goes to show you how tight the geographical area the 3 local teams have to fight over for the smallest fan base of the major 4 sports.
That manager told me that he was a life long resident and he's 42 years old ... and he remembered when the Rangers were the only team in town and then in the late 70s the Islanders and even Philly got a lot of attention .... He said during the early 80s he recalls the Islanders having a bigger fan base then even the Rangers ... as you'd see more Islander shirts in school than Ranger shirts .... he admitted he was a luke warm hockey fan at best ... but that he admitted that during the cup years he was a bandwagon Islander fan ... now he'd root for the Devils over the Islanders.
He says they still stock Islander related gear in his store during the winter season ... and that they do sell it ... or they wouldn't stock it... but he said right now they only have a small corner of the store dedicated to hockey apparel and it's mainly Devil and Rangers since they were head to head. He said he expected to sell more Ranger stuff since they won .. but Devils' sales were stronger.
He said it's hard for the Islanders to make inroads in Jersey like they used to because they (1) haven't been winning,(2) they don't market in NJ, and 3) the Islanders are more localized to Long Island then they are regionalized like the Rangers and Devils.
When I asked him to explain about the last part ... he added ... The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers don't limit themselves to marketing in a small geographic area .... The Devils have to fight for marketing and fan loyalty up and down the entire state. They have a very strong Philly fan base below the south-west part of I-195 (That is the interstate that cuts the state in half) .... and a very loyal Ranger fan base to contend with in northern NJ. But because they haven't ceeded those territories to the Flyers and Rangers it keeps the Devils prominently in the fans' conciousness. The Devils market heavily in Staten Island ... which has been NYC's hockey hotbed.
The Islanders on the other hand cut their marketing off at the Cross Island Expressway ... they voluntarilly ceed that market to the Rangers .... and let the NJD & NYR have the run of the NY/NJ hockey market.
Compared to other sports .... like Baseball and Football ... the Giant's and Jets ... Yankees and Mets operate within the same territory ... and that includes the Northern 2/3 of NJ, all of NYC and Long Island ... and south western Connecticut, and south eastern tier of NYS ...... hugeeeeeeee terrritory for the 2 most popular sports ... that is about 15-18M people for 2 teams of each sport to compete for.
Compared to the Islanders who only concentrate on Long Island's population.
They should just read this blog and see where all the people are live that support them without any marketing.
There is something for you to work with KH when convincing them that they need to expand their market base. MSG+ already brings the games to the NJ/NYC market ... they just have to exploit it.
Hey 19---your problem is that you went to see the MLS! Its like the ECHL when compared to european leagues...
Regarding your other post: my old man became a Isles fan in the mid 70's (from astoria) and molded me into one also. I have cousins who live there still and are Isles fans because of their families also. If marketing those areas worked then it should still work now...right.
I don't its necessary though. I was at game 3 vs buffalo last year(monday night) and the place wasa electic...until bottles started flying! They put a competitive squad on the ice and LI'ers will pack the same sh!!tty arena 10 years from now. People are just fed up with a less than average team year after year. I hope for our sake that the fanbase can take this new "rebuilding phase"
A few things about your marketing concepts.
a) Modells as a company only stocks minimal hockey items no matter WHERE they are located.
b) The Islanders have full intentions of marketing inside Manhattan this summer.
So part of your regional marketing concepts are incorrect. But I would like to understand why you think they should attempt to market in NJ. They are after all, the NY Islanders. And the Devils ARE the NJ Devils. Most of the out of state fan base for any team comes not from marketing efforts but from transplants.
The Islanders, before focusing on Manahatten, should just focus on Long Island. They appear to be having a tough time just drawing here.
I think there first priority is appealing to Long Islanders first. I'd love for long Island to become as umfortable for Rag fans as Boston is for Yankees fans.
Seriously, Rangers fans that grew up and live on Long Island are just flat out traitors.
Why should I root for a bush league franchise just because I live on LI.I'm NOT a traitor.I was a Ranger fan long before the Iceies ever laced up skates.Thank goodness I don't root for the Iceies.15 years without winning a playoff series.Man that is pretty bad.You know those 1940 chants.It's KARMA baby.Those chants will come back to bite you in the ass.1983.....last cup you'll ever see!
1994...you rented a team and then no more
Yeah with all those cups the Rangers won, thank god you don't root for the Islanders, nothing is going to top 54 years of futility pal, and those 4 cups in a row, you guys still can't get over it, keep up that fantastic potvin sucks chant, he'll haunt you to your grave!!!!
First off;
Long Island Rangers fan posts like a freakin JUVENILE. I have a hard time believing that anyone over forty posts like that.
Secondly, if your a Long Island hockey fan rooting for the CITY TEAM, that marks you as a bandwagon jumping traitor. LI Ranger Fan's posts pretty much evidences that.
The only excuse one has for not rooting for the home area team is Bandwagon jumping. I'm quite certain that you are the type of fan that when the Rangers really stink out the joint, you don't follow.