No it wasn't as bad as Ray Milland's, Don Birnam, in the Academy Award movie favorite, the Lost Weekend, but it was bad on a personal level. First of all, I had the chills all day Friday. Then watching my grandson Nicholas's team, the Piranhas, losing their first game of the season. And finally on the way home getting a tire blowout on The L.I.E. somewhere between Exit's 55 and 56. I was rescued by number one son and two police officers out of the Sheriff's office. Today, Sunday, sick all day and can't figure it out. It feels like the flu but I got a flu shot in September.
Then there is, was, the Rangers. Can the play get any worse? Sometimes I look back and yearn for the days when we weren't picked to do magical tricks, but we would play a good exciting hockey game that had some ebb and flow. Now with the Rangers it's all ebb. You see a bad game like the one against Vancouver and you figure they got it out of their system. They come back against Ottawa and play worse and then you are reminded that they have no system. The coach, who is as clueless as they come, sometimes speaks in tones and words that only aliens and super terrestials would understand.
The team has no system. Worse than that the team has no character. What is the character of this team? There is no bravado and swagger. They made sure of that when they dumped Jagr and Avery. Nothing wrong with that if it is part of the plan, but what is the backup? What is the plan? They dumped Jagr because of money. They dumped Avery because they didn't like him in the locker room. Don't give me the money line when it comes out to about $500k per year. He was disruptive in the locker room, they said. What, he refused to kiss anybody when he came into the room? They don't need a kiss, they need a kick in the butt.
Coach clueless talks endlessly and admiringly of the Devils winning it on defense: "Not playing defense is not an option." However, those Devils had guys like Scott Stevens and Kenny Daneyko on the blue line among others. There were no Michal Rozsival's and Dmitri Kalinin's in that lineup. They may not have invented the trap but they played it better than anyone has since the trap was implemented. I've asked this question before and no one has answered it to my satisfaction. Why did we go out and spend lots of money to buy offensive players if defense is the number one criteria for this team? Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be sick tomorrow and won't go to the game. But it's Nicholas's birthday and he is going with his dad and that's more important than a Ranger game or win.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The Lost Weekend
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There's no accountability on this team. No one gets disciplined for poor play. Rozy plays no matter bad he's messing up. Drury as captain is as quiet as a church mouse.
All we get from Renney are the perpetual line changes. Which happen so frequently now the players must be as confused as the fans. Renney's tweaking has earned us a losing record this month.
No more tweaks please. Agree that something big is really broken.
Brooklynese-Welcome! That is why he shall forever be known as coach clueless.
I'm with you there too, Brooklynese. Put the fast guys together on a line let them sort it out. Get the forecheck back and throw in some hitting, and we might see something good. When a line works, leave it alone and let them work together for a while.
Could you be any more fickle? Two bad games, and you're ready to throw in the towel? Christ, we're a 1/4 of the way in, the Rangers are near the top of the pack, the Rangers team that people expected would fall off the map after losing "all their offensive firepower" in Jagr & Shanahan, and their "character" in a guy like Avery. The team sets a record for the best start (October) in franchise history, and they have a few bad games, play .500 hockey for a week or two, and suddenly this team is worthless.
Seriously, Mike, I know you're an old man, but GROW UP. It's TWO GAMES.
anonymous-Your last asinine comment aside it is obvious that you are the one who needs to grow up.
We started with 5 straight and since October 15th we have gone 10-7-2. That looks like .500 hockey to me and that is more than a week or two.
We are playing with six defensemen, with the backups in Hartford, and we are trying to hide two of the defensemen by switching them around.
We are trapped in the cap and we have two forwards riding the pines making over 1 Mil each and one of them, Prucha, for all intents and purposes completely destroyed as a Ranger.
We have spent a bundle on high scoring forwards and a big amount on two over rated D Men, yet our team is 95% dependent on their goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, to carry the day. Every game he is either the number one or two star of the game.
As for your comment on being picked to fall off the map, contrare. The drive by media has predicted great things for this team and the great Maven, Stan Fischler, picked them to win the East.
So you grow up and take off those rose colored glasses and look at the team that must be beefed up, defensively and offensively, before the long nights of January, February and March.
There is a difference in loving a team and understanding their shortcomings. That is where I am right now, hopefully you are there also.
Thank you for your comments. Remember one last thing. Some people are old and some people think old.