MOMENT

Been very busy lately and I finally have a minute to check in. 

The NHL playoffs on Long Island are also a big deal. Always have been. The playoffs coming back after a long absence prompts heartfelt outpourings like this and this and reminds critics and media wise-asses that the roots the Islanders laid down decades ago are deep and strong, no matter how wan the trunk and the branches looked above ground.

That’s a pretty purple way of saying that it’s a great time to be an Islanders fan. I’m enjoying it, trying to soak it all in and remember everything. Funny thing is, a week ago - and indeed into Game 1, as the Penguins were cruising to a 5-0 score - I said it was just nice to be in the playoffs. Since then, my tune has changed and I want more. And not just this Spring.

A series win is still a long shot, but the frequency at which the Islanders vibrate has changed. There’s no going back now. This roster has a new level to call acceptable. I don’t expect them to play every game as they have the last two. Nobody does that. But the days of “we’re learning, getting experience” are over. This is the experience.

They know what playoff hockey is like. They know what big stakes are like. They know what real pressure is like. It doesn’t matter that the season was fun-sized. They needed to stop a losing streak and they did. They needed to keep climbing the standings and they did. They needed to clinch the playoffs and they did. They needed to get up to playoff speed and they did.

I believe in the leadership of the team - on the ice and off - to keep the team above this new water level. Of course, me being me, that won’t stop me from worrying about it.

There will probably always be a part of me that’s afraid things will revert back to how they were. Kind of like how people who grew up during The Great Depression become hoarders or take doggie bags home from weddings because they don’t want anything to go to waste. 

But right now, I’m trying to focus Okposo’s strength and Hamonic’s tenacity and Tavares’ drive and the sound of the Coliseum as it shakes with electricity. I remind myself that the story never ends, it just adds newer chapters. And I like this one.

BONUS

Normally, I’d be mad at myself for going so long in between posts here. But the reality is I’ve been writing and having a blast with the great folks at Lighthouse Hockey, been swamped at my “real job,” been enthralled by the Islanders current playoff chase and been working on a pretty expansive pet project. All in addition to spending as much time as I can muster with my family.

The benign hope I had for the Islanders has manifested itself into a persistent drive to see them continue playing as well as they have been. To be honest, I’m so giddy I don’t even want to talk about it. Suffice it to say that this is most exciting spring Islanders fans have had in a long time. As nervous as I get, I don’t want it to end.

The pet project I referred to is the Law & Owners Special Islanders Unit series over at Lighthouse Hockey. What started as some lockout filler expanded into…well into a book. Seven chapters, each a couple of thousand words, each a lot longer than I expected them to be.

Writing it was a highly enjoyable experience and the idea for something like that had been rolling around in my head for a while. A comment at LHH about the Islanders never having a good owner got me to thinking. I knew about John Pickett. Everyone knows about John Spano. More people should remember Steven Gluckstern and Howard Milstein. I didn’t know as much about Sanjay Kumar as I thought I did. And I knew nothing of Roy Boe, other than his association with the Nets and Dr. J.

So after a lot of web searching and few books, the end result is something I’m very proud of. Judging by a lot of the comments, the series contained some fun nuggets that people either didn’t know or forgot like I did.  I’d like to expand it and offer it as an e-book on Amazon in the near future.

But until that time, and in the interest of letting nothing go to waste, here is some extra materials that I couldn’t find room for in the Law & Owners series.

“Islanders Skeptical About Their Fate” (New York Times, May 6, 1991). In which the Islanders lament a lost season, Pat LaFontaine’s hold-out and trading Doug Crossman.

New York Social Diary (Feb. 9, 2010). A pretty recent look into John Pickett’s gilded home in Florida which is described as, “a charming and warm venue with its pine paneled walls and book shelves replete with sparkling Stanley Cup trophies won by John’s former team, the New York Islanders…” followed by a description of what they ate for dinner at the time of writing. Man, I really wanted to shoehorn this in somewhere.

“Flately Begins His Rangers Metamorphosis” (New York Times, Sept. 11, 1996). In which the former Islanders captain and living link to the dynasty era suits up for the Rangers after the Islanders tried to get him to retire. I hated Flatley for a long time after this.

“Islanders Owner May Buy N.J. Nets” (Associated Press, May 8, 1998). In which Howard Milstein finds yet another team to spend money on that’s not the Islanders.

“Spano Fools NHL, Befuddles Potvin (Sun Sentinel, July 27, 1997). Denis Potvin reacts to the untangling of John Spano’s web of lies, one he believed in wholeheartedly. Also a great use of the word “befuddles.”

“Vanishing Act in Fraud Case” (New York Post, (March 10, 2009). It’s not bad enough that Paul Greenwood was indicted on fraud charges, but then his prized horses “disappeared.” Not sure how that happens. Maybe they were pegasuses (pegasi?)

Finally, with the John Spano ESPN 30-for-30 movie “Big Shot” debuting this Friday (I’ll be there at the Tribeca Film Festival to see the world premier), I figured this would be my only chance for my own Spano movie to finally see the light of day.

No, I didn’t actually make a movie. But about 10 years ago, I did write a screenplay (working title: “Cold Hard Cash”) not-so-loosely based on the Spano case. In my version, wheeler-dealer Kermit Lilly tries to buy the Long Island Pilgrims hockey team, but isn’t all he seems to be. Turns out he’s a con man with an unshakable confidence and a belief that he’s doing the right thing by exciting the fans and energizing the franchise. Too bad the crusty coach, cheap owner and idealistic reporter see things a little differently.

Here is an excerpt of a few of the least awful scenes. Standard “IT’S A FIRST DRAFT!” warnings apply. Consider it an insider’s glimpse into what would surely have been one of the most mediocre sports comedies of all time.

I always pictured Kevin Spacey as Kermit Lilly and Jake Gyllenhaal as reporter Tim Bledsoe.

HOPE

The NHL is back and so is this blog.

Thinking back to the start of last season, I have a smidge more hope for the team this year than I did then. By “a smidge” I mean there are more givens and fewer variables at this time. Tavares, Moulson, Nielsen and Hamonic are proven commodities at this point. Any reduction in production from those guys would be a surprise. Nabokov, despite his age, looked to be in good shape and worth an everyday starting job. Streit and MacDonald should be fully recovered from their injuries. Of course, we’re talking about the Islanders which means everyone is just one innocent-looking incident away from being put on the injured reserve list on any given day.

But there are variables. Is Grabner the electric goal machine and rookie of the year candidate from 2011 or the less electric but still productive player he was last season? And will the enigmatic duo of Okposo and Bailey finally find roles they can fill and stick to for the future? And then there are all the rookies, near-rookies, short-termers and stopgaps that make up the rest of the roster.

Okposo and Bailey, I think, are really the keys to this shortened season in a lot of ways. There’s no time for them to go AWOL as they did in the first three months of the 2011-2012 season. Even a mini-slump could put a team out of commission. But more than that is their status going forward as members of this Islanders incarnation.

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STORM

New (old) post at Lighthouse Hockey: FEMA: Hurricane Sandy Causing Delays in People Giving a Shit About NHL Lockout.

Week-long story short: Sandy cut through our neighborhood and we haven’t had power for seven full days now. She left us with no light, no heat and one stinky fridge. We have gas appliances so we were able to eat (and pretty good I may say, ironically). Fortunately my wife’s family, who lives in the same town, got their juice back on Saturday. So we’ve moved in with my mother-in-law for a few days to feel some warmth at night.

All the while, my two-year-old daughter has been awesome; playing, drawing, having tea parties and watching the bare minimum of Dora that our laptops will allow before using too much battery power.

So, yeah, it’s hard to drum up any interest for the NHL lockout, even with jokes, in the middle of (even temporary) life upheaval.

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GIFT

New post at Lighthouse Hockey: Islanders to Brooklyn Reflections: Nassau Loses Its Dynasty Warriors.

So, yeah, the Islanders are moving to Brooklyn.

No need to rehash the details here. Suffice it to say, my head has been spinning for two days. People haven’t known how to talk to me about the move and they seem surprised when I say I’m elated, ecstatic, euphoric, effervescent and various additional happy words that start with E (and other letters).

Mainly I’m happy because finally, at long last, the Islanders’ arena albatross has been killed. They have a home. We know where they’re going to play next year and beyond. It might not be where a lot of people wanted them to play, but at least we know and at least it’s New York.

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COUNCIL

Two posts this week at Lighthouse Hockey:

1. Lockout Lit presents: an excerpt from H.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Revenue”

2. Revealed: The NHLPA’s Unannounced Fourth CBA Proposal.

I’m still not quite sure what to make of this week in the NHL. In reality, nothing happened. And yet, so much happened.

From the leaked focus groups, to the out-of-nowhere CBA proposal by the owners to the flaming wreck of Thursday’s unsuccessful summit meeting and, finally, to today’s cancellation of another swath of games, a lot of sound and fury have thus far signified nothing for hockey fans.

OK, so maybe “nothing” is a little harsh. But the bottom line is the league still has no CBA, still has no games scheduled, still is falling further and further from the public consciousness and still is daring its defenders to continue following.

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