Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Salerno

Adelphi Men's Soccer Left Out of NCAAs

Mike Salerno — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:11:00 -0500

The Adelphi men's soccer team, despite its' 13-2-4 record, was left out of the the NCAA Division-I tournament when the 48-team field was revealed Monday night.

The Panthers, led by freshman sensation Issa Tall, breezed through the Atlantic Soccer Conference. On Sunday, they defeated Longwood, 2-1, to capture the school's second conference tournament championship. Tall, who led the team in scoring with 16 goals, found the back of the net in the second half to extend the lead to 2-0.

But winning both the ASC regular season title and the conference tournament proved to be too little to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, and a chance to play for the College Cup.

"We were hoping to get in, since we tied Princeton early on," said head coach Carlo Acquista. "But the NCAA is very meticulous in the way they grant at-large bids."

Despite good showings against tournament-bound teams like Princeton and Stony Brook, a key early-season loss to Brown University was one of the deciding factors that kept the Panthers on the outside looking in, as Brown secured one of the final at-large bids.

The Atlantic Soccer Conference is not one of the 21 conferences across the country whose tournament champion is granted an automatic bid.

Stony Brook University, who will face Brown in a first round game in Providence, R.I., was granted a spot as the representative of the America East Conference despite finishing the season with a 6-9-4 record.

New York Yankees: Party Like It's 1998

Mike Salerno — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:20:00 -0400

I remember watching games during that magical summer 11 years ago, when the Yankees were a force that couldn't be stopped, not even by their own second baseman.

The greatest team of my generation was fueled by outstanding starting pitching from the likes of Andy Pettitte, David Wells, and David Cone, along with the timely hitting of Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez.

During one weekend day game, Jeter lined a single up the middle to score a runner from second base. As he returned to first base, the late Bobby Murcer, the game's color commentator, made a profound comment that was lost on my spoiled 10-year old mind at the time.

He said, "You know, these are the days we'll look back on years from now and say 'Those were the good ol' days.'"

As the current Yankees continue to surge ahead of both the Red Sox and Rays in the A.L. East division race, I am beginning to think Murcer's statement holds true about the '09 Bronx Bombers, too.

I'm not suggesting the Yankees will win 114 games this year. Hell, I only gave them credit for 94 in my Spring Training prediction. But after witnessing the way in which the Yankees trounced the Red Sox in four games last weekend, you can't help but feel this team is going to do some special things.

The flight back to Massachusetts must have been a tough one for the Sox, knowing they all but lost the division race to their hated rivals after four excruciatingly tough games. They threw their best at the Yankees, and it just wasn't good enough. That's a hard pill to swallow for any team, I'd imagine, especially one with such a lineage of losing like Boston's.

The Yankees have returned to a form that gave the Nation nightmares for 86 years. A 23-6 record since the All-Star break has teams on their upcoming schedule running scared, and their arch nemesis hiding in the bushes.

Robinson Cano's game-winning single on Wednesday gave the Yankees their 11th pie-in-the-sky, walk-off win, which has accounted for more than one-fourth of their home victories this season. Dominant starting pitching from the top of their rotation and timely hitting throughout a circular lineup has this team is running away in the standings, and having a blast doing it.

So let me be the first to welcome you back to the good ol' days, Yankees fans. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.

Kevin Youkilis Just the Latest Boston Red Sox Clown

Mike Salerno — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:37:00 -0400

Stop acting surprised. We are talking about the Boston Red Sox, aren't we?

Yes, we are. Acts of aggression and stupidity are nothing new to Beantown. So refrain from seeming shocked that one of the stars from the most classless organization in Major League Baseball would make a fool of himself, on his home field, no less.

I don't mean that David Ortiz guy, either.

It seems as though since the day the Splendid Splinter bit the dust, Boston has become a city ruled not by democracy, but rather idiocracy. Kevin Youkilis is just the latest in a long-standing line of buffoons that continue to question the moral fiber of the once-omniscient Red Sox.

In case you've yet to see it, (in which case, here) during the second inning of a pivotal game between the Sox and A.L. Central division-leading Detroit Tigers, Youkilis was hit by a pitch from the 20-year-old phenom Rick Porcello. Granted, after seeing Miguel Cabrera leave the game after being hit on the hands by a pitch in the first inning, the second time in consecutive days, it's not so far-fetched to expect some kind of retaliation from the Tigers.

But upon getting beaned, Youkilis quickly turned and sprinted toward Porcello. The rookie pitcher immediately began to backpedal, wanting no part of the charging slugger. With a swift dodge to the right, Porcello simply used Youkilis' own momentum against him and tossed him to the turf as the benches cleared and all hell broke loose at Fenway Park.

Some may argue that Youkilis' act of aggression can be seen as a good thing in Bostonian circles. They will defend Youkilis, saying he sparked the team to victory, much like captain Jason Varitek's attack on Alex Rodriguez in July of 2004, which automatically made them World Series champions (right, because it was the midseason brawl, not the extra help Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were allegedly receiving).

Boston writers caught lightning in a bottle once, why can't they do it again? After all, this would be the same team which found itself waking up as self-conscious as they have since October of 2003, thanks to a swift four-game shallacking at the hands of their archrivals over the weekend, or "The Boston Massacre, Part III," as I prefer to call it.

Sure, for a night that theory almost makes some sense, given the fact that Mike Lowell came off of the bench and supplied the power for not one, but two home runs to pace the Sox to a 7-5 victory.

But anyone with any relative knowledge of what a baseball is knows that the commissioner will come down hard and fast on Youkilis, and probably before Thursday's first pitch, scheduled at 1:35 p.m.

Boston could be without their glorified utility man for a week, in the heat of a pennant race in which they continue to attempt to fend off the Rangers and Rays, all the while, telling themselves they've got a shot at catching the Yankees for the A.L. East division crown.

Yeah, way to fire up the troops, Youk. Here's to hoping you can do the same from the bench.

But why does everyone feel the need to act surprised at anything the Red Sox make news for nowadays? This is the same franchise who has celebrated the actions of Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, and Varitek as leaders and champions.

Up until the New York Times' steroid allegations surrounded Ortiz and Ramirez a few weeks ago, it seemed as though Boston felt they had a moral high ground on the rest of the country, especially New York. But they don't. They never have.

In fact, they had more class as an organization when they were losing all of the time. Whether it be Ramirez's constant disrespect for the game and his opponents, or Martinez's all-too-abrupt way of dealing with the elderly, or Youkilis' charge to the mound (or should I say Porcello's takedown), a consistent pattern of behavior has been established in Beantown.

Perhaps it comes from the heads of the organization?

After all, you'd be hard-pressed to find seven consecutive seconds where either punk general manager Theo Epstein or owner John Henry aren't shooting their mouths off about the Yankees. Maybe they go out and get players who, well frankly, will embarrass the hell out of them en route to a sustained level of success.

You take the good with the bad, I suppose. I mean, playing the game the right way for 86 years wasn't going so well, so it makes a bit of sense to dirty up one of sports' most respected franchises.

The Red Sox sold their soul to the devil. And in return, they were given two tainted championships and a slew of embarrassing moments, like Tuesday night's brawl at Fenway.

Was it worth it?

That might just depend on how many games they lose with Youkilis looking on from the top step of the dugout in the coming week.

Labatt Blues (6-1) vs. Fightin' Irish (2-5)

Mike Salerno — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:09:00 -0400

Hauppauge, N.Y.: The Labatt Blues, in only their second season of existence, have a chance to clinch first place in the Suffolk County Hockey League's B division. Standing in their way, a Fightin' Irish squad, playing for pride having already been eliminated from playoff contention.

The Blues (6-1) have been led by star rookie Anthony Salerno, who is tied for the team lead in goals with seven and leads in assists with 13. He is currently third in all divisions in scoring. Other new additions have made a lasting impact on this summer's team, such as Tommy McAleer, who trails his linemate Salerno by only one assist. Defenseman Nick Cahill, who signed the day before the team's first regular season game, has 11 points—2 goals, 9 assists—in seven games as well.

Goaltender Steve Pace has exceeded expectations this summer as well. The soft-spoken netminder leads all Suffolk County Hockey divisions in wins, with six, and is second in shots faced and saves. Pace made a Luongo-esque save on Vinny Granice in the Blues' previous game against Nuckin' Futs in the second period that proved to be a pivotal moment in the game. With the Blues holding a 5-1 advantage, Granice got loose behind the tired Labatt defense. With Pace already out of position, Granice slid the puck along the ice into what seemed to be an open net. The goalie reached back at the last possible second to glove the puck on the goal line, drawing the ire of the entire Lightning team, who looked on in disbelief.

"That save was insane, probably one of the best I've ever seen," said Lightning forward and oft-criticized loser Mike Perillo. "Granice got Paced."

Co-general managers Mike Salerno and Jimmy Sutton devoted themselves in the offseason to building a team that would greatly improve scoring for a team that missed the playoffs last summer due to a three-way tiebreaker.

"We went out and were competing on the market for some top guys, especially with the Lightning," said Salerno. "We managed to get to [Tyler] Kevorkian and [Billy] Bowerman before [Lightning general manager Rob] Derosa. And when Jimmy went out and got McAleer, I said 'We're going to go places this summer.'"

One offseason signing that hasn't panned out as well as management had hoped is forward Billy Bowerman. Bowerman has managed only one goal in three games played. A mild back injury has forced Bowerman out of the lineup for the rest of the summer.

Earlier this morning, the Blues put Bowerman on waivers, according to ESPN, to make room for late-season call up Matt Bobko. With Bowerman only signed through the end of this season and the Blues publicly announcing they are not interested in re-signing him, one wonders where he will end up next season. The injury-prone forward will become an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

With a win, the Blues will clinch first place, thus locking in the four playoff spots. If they defeat the lowly Fightin' Irish, they will see the fourth-place Penguins in the first round of the playoffs, while the Cobras will face off with the Lightning in the B division's other semi-final.

A Look Back at The Second Annual ESPNzone Sports Spelling Bee

Mike Salerno — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:32:14 -0400

Thursday night, in conjunction with ESPN’s televising of the 82nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee earlier that day in Washington, D.C., ESPNzones across America hosted the second annual ESPNzone Sports Spelling Bee.

Fans were given the chance to sign up and attempt to spell the names of their favorite athletes, coaches and ESPN personalities. I was one of the 35 contestants on hand at the Times Square store, and did some reporting via Twitter in between turns, where I spent most of my time studying how to spell Krzyzewski.

6:12 p.m. – Going to participate in my first spelling bee since I was in seventh grade, when I misspelled “melancholy” and stormed off the stage. This should be interesting…
As of yesterday, I still couldn’t spell melancholy. I had to look it up.

7:06 p.m. – Mingling with the rest of the field in the Skybox, the VIP room at the ESPNzone, overlooking the dining room, and the microphone. Pretty cool.
I had a few friends in my “cheering section” to the right side of the Screening Room, relaxing in reclining chairs near the front.

I had a considerably smaller amount of fans than most of my competition, but hey, it was pretty short notice so I was happy to have anyone there rooting for me.

7:08 p.m. – Rest of the field, not so cool. A lot of goofy lookin’ people in this room.
Now you’re probably saying, “Mike, what did you expect? It’s a spelling bee.” But I got such a kick out of looking around that room, though. There I stood among 34 other “contestants,” five of which were females. Which means there was me, five decent looking women and 29 virgins.

My first impression of the room was the gathering in the middle of a few gentlemen, two of which would later face off in the competition’s final round, and one less-than-stellar looking girl, who was absolutely getting more attention from these guys than she’d ever gotten in her life. I was doing everything in my power not to laugh, too hard, that is.

Now, I’m no Brad Pitt. But looking around that room, I would’ve looked an awful lot like Joe Black, with slightly darker hair, to you if you saw what I was up against.

7:12 p.m. – They gave us a free $20 game card for the arcade upstairs. I can’t wait to beat my friends in air hockey later.

For the record, I beat my friend Kristina once in air hockey and once in basketball. She put me to shame in Daytona USA though. I was pretty embarrassed.

7:15 p.m. – 35 contestants, not 50 like I originally thought. Really liking my chances tonight.

First prize was awarded an official ESPNzone private party, $250 Amex Gift Card, and the “coveted” ESPNzone Sports Spelling Bee trophy, which stood roughly six inches, in all its’ glory.

7:17 p.m. – 2nd place prize: Autographed stick by New Jersey Devils’ Zach Parise. Gross.
This was funny, and showed just how far hockey really has fallen.

The store manager was going over the prizes and she said “second place will receive an autographed hockey stick by number nine, on the New Jersey Devils, who’s name I don’t know, I’ll have to look up.” “Parise,” I chimed in, “Zach Parise.”

You know, the Devils’ star forward who had over 40 goals this season? Ugh, I blame you, Gary Bettman.

7:20 p.m. – We’re going to be asked to spell either the first or last name of the athlete, whichever is harder. That answers that question.

I had been studying for most of the day, and had a list of over 100 names, both first and last names, not knowing which they’d ask. ESPN 1050 Radio personality Robin Lundberg was the host for the event, saying the names and choosing whether you’d spell the first or last name.

You may know him from Around the Herd with Colin Cowherd, a show I always listen to when I can. Cowherd really got my attention with his mockery of Orioles’ fans following this year’s Opening Day. Click here, and read about how right I think he was.

Anyways, Lundberg did a pretty solid job navigating through the competition, throwing out tiny jokes every once in a while that few of us would appreciate. My favorite was when a gentleman wearing a Florida Panthers’ jersey under a blue blazer stepped up to spell.

“Oh wow I should give you a hockey name, shouldn’t I,” he proclaimed. “Okay, here you go. Spell Joakim Noah.” That got a rise out of the remaining contestants, including myself, catching their breath in the Skybox.

7:23 p.m. – Numbers 1-10 getting ready to begin. I hope nine of them get hockey players.

They gave us cards to pin to our shirts, much like the National Spelling Bee does with their contestants. We were to line up 10 at a time, where we would walk down to the dining room level and sit near the microphone.

I was No. 26, so I got the advantage of watching 1-20 from the Skybox. I overheard a few different groups of people saying how they had a lot of trouble with hockey players’ names.

7:31 p.m. – Girl spells “Arroyo” wrong for the first eliminated of the night.
The second person to go, she couldn’t spell Bronson Arroyo. At this point, I was convinced that I had a very, very good shot at winning this.

7:36 p.m. – BRUNEY was just spelled wrong! Are you kidding me?
That’s right, at the Times Square store, someone spelled the name of Yankees’ reliever Brian Bruney wrong. I was so embarrassed for him. This was the funniest moment of the night by far.

I was sitting in the middle of the Skybox, and as soon as the host asked the contestant to spell Bruney, my friends immediately looked up at me. I stopped studying my cheat sheet of over 100 names, and directed all my attention to watching this guy squirm for 30 seconds.

He stumbled to his only life line, “Uhm… what team does he play for?”
Lundberg hesitated, as if almost to say, “Really man?” before answering, “the New York Yankees.” Upon spelling it B-R-O-O-N-E-Y.

I threw my papers up in disgust and had to walk around for a minute to stop from giggling like a schoolgirl. Why couldn’t you ask me how to spell Bruney?

7:38 p.m. – Four of the first ten contestants go down.

These words were pretty easy. I was shocked. At this point, it got a little hard to continue twitting and getting ready to spell my word. So the timeline got a bit skewed as the night went on.

7:51 p.m. – A guy from numbers 11-20 was just given Chris Drury. Really?

7:54 p.m. – Getting ready to go…

I was getting pretty nervous right about now. You could’ve asked me how to spell anything and it would’ve made me a little nervous. Part of me really wanted to get Tim Couch, the Browns’ former quarterback, so I could recite the line from Billy Madison.

“C-O-R……ARE you going to the mall later, that’s what I was asking.” Then, after checking myself and spelling it correctly, I’d proclaim “I am the smartest man alive!”

8:02 p.m. – G-R-I-E-S-E! On to round 2!

Oh what a relief that was. I remember the guy before me got Zach Greinke. As I sat there, I realized that in a rush I would’ve spelled it Grienke. Oddly enough, I got the opposite of the E-I/I-E spectrum.

Lucky for me I used to be a Denver Broncos’ fan as a kid. They really tried to pick up the pace shortly, especially with nearly half the field on their way home already.

After all, they were trying to get this over with as soon as possible so everyone could enjoy the Cavs-Magic playoff game.

8:18 p.m. – Getting ready to go again…

One of the gentlemen in my second group of ten was given Kosuke Fukudome, the outfield for the Chicago Cubs. A daunting name, because of it’s foreign nature, but all in all, not that hard to spell.

8:21 p.m. – Apparently Iannetta has 2 Ns. That does it for me. Damn guy before me got Eric Hinske. That sucks.
Yup, Chris Iannetta, the catcher for the Colorado Rockies, was the name that bounced me. His name wasn’t even on my radar.

I rushed a little bit when I was spelling it, but thought I got it right. That was a bummer.

8:23 p.m. – Made it about halfway through the field. Not bad. I need a beer.

My friends and I stuck around to watch the end of the competition. My money was on the reigning champion, Jeffrey Feldman, who had nearly half the Screening Room pulling for him. It was pretty funny, every time he stepped to the mic it was like Derek Jeter walking to the plate in the Bronx.

8:28 p.m. – Last year’s champ, Jeffrey Feldman, bites the dust, failing to reach the final ten.

I was one of many on hand that was shocked, and slightly disappointed to see Feldman lose. He was one of the few people in the room at the beginning of the night that looked close to normal. So this year’s competition was totally up for grabs.

8:42 p.m. – Teixeira spelled wrong. Awful. Just awful. Not many Yankee fans here I guess.

Oh boy was I mad. I told anyone that would listen all day when I was studying that someone would trip on Teix. Just based on the amount of "die-hard” Yankee fans I’m friends with that can’t spell his name, I was kind of hoping someone would. Sadly, seeing someone get it wrong offered me no consolation.

8:49 p.m. – No apostrophe in D’Antoni! See ya! Wow, this is harsh!

The rules were made clear to us in the Skybox that though we were not responsible for capitalization of letters in the name, all apostrophes had to be accounted for. So when a contestant in the final ten got Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, he didn’t spell it incorrectly, technically. But he didn’t include the apostrophe.

This was an interesting minute in the competition, because it was clear that neither the store manager nor Lundberg was paying much attention to a detail like that, despite it being in the rules. In fact, the crowd in the dining room recognized it, and began to let out a displeased groan, which ultimately forced the manager’s hand.

She disqualified him from the competition, as a roar went up from the overzealous and mostly inebriated crowd. That’s tough.

8:56 p.m. – Down to the final two…words are getting intense. Samardzija, Saltalamacchia, Krzyzewski—this should be over quickly.

As far as spelling bees go, the final round was extremely entertaining. It featured a middle aged man named Kenny Eisenman, from Bellmore, NY, who was overly cocky, motioning to tap the bell after every answer he knew was correct like some kind of trademark celebration, and a slightly younger, much more reserved Dan Sulzer from Long Beach, NY.

I had overheard Eisenman talking about hockey players before we had gotten started in the Skybox.

9:05 p.m. – BOTH MISSPELL THEIR WORDS! SUDDEN DEATH CONTINUES!
Watching this was very much like watching last year’s epic UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea. You know, John Terry misses the winning kick in the rain, blah blah Cristiano Ronaldo blah blah, United wins.

God, I hate Manchester United. But I digress. These two went back and forth for about ten minutes spelling pretty difficult names ranging from Yastremski to Umenyiora to Szczerbiak. Eisenman missed his word, and all Sulzer had to do was spell Tom Thibodeau, the Celtics’ assistant coach, correctly to win.

But he missed it too! The crowd was shocked, I was shocked, the store manager was pissed because she was losing NBA playoff business, but we had more spelling to do!
See, I told you. Pretty damn exciting for a spelling bee.

9:12 p.m. – Dan Sulzer from Long Beach is the winner after his competitor misspells Khabibulin! Shoulda watched more hockey!

I was so excited that Eisenman missed Nikolai Khabibulin, after him saying how he’s not that worried about hockey players’ names. Like thrilled. Then, for all the marbles, Sulzer stepped to the mic and correctly spelled the name of Bills’ linebacker Paul Posluszny for the win. Good for him, though. I was so happy that Eisenman didn’t win. He was entirely too cocky.

I’m such a bitter person. Oh well, score one for hockey.

I went up to Sulzer after he received his trophy and shook his hand, congratulating him on a trophy he certainly earned. “Nice job buddy. I’ll be back for that next year,” I said as I let him go on his merry way and enjoy the moment.

I headed upstairs to the arcade floor, where I would go on to drink and enjoy playing games with my friends until the double consonants in Iannetta no longer bothered me.

A Look Back at the Second Annual ESPNzone Sports Spelling Bee

Mike Salerno — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:40:00 -0400

Fans were given the chance to sign up and attempt to spell the names of their favorite athletes, coaches and ESPN personalities.

I was one of the 35 contestants on hand at the Times Square store, and did some reporting via Twitter in between turns, where I spent most of my time studying how to spell Krzyzewski.

Now, I invite you to relive the event through my running diary, along with some commentary to better explain it. After all, Twitter’s 140 character limit doesn’t give you much to work with.

4:48 p.m. – En route to the ESPNzone in NYC to take part in the Sports Spelling Bee! Wish me luck!

6:12 p.m. – Going to participate in my first spelling bee since I was in seventh grade, when I misspelled “melancholy” and stormed off the stage. This should be interesting…
As of yesterday, I still couldn’t spell melancholy. I had to look it up.

7:06 p.m. – Mingling with the rest of the field in the Skybox, the VIP room at the ESPNzone, overlooking the dining room, and the microphone. Pretty cool.
I had a few friends in my “cheering section” to the right side of the Screening Room, relaxing in reclining chairs near the front.

I had a considerably smaller amount of fans than most of my competition, but hey, it was pretty short notice so I was happy to have anyone there rooting for me.

7:08 p.m. – Rest of the field, not so cool. A lot of goofy lookin’ people in this room.
Now you’re probably saying, “Mike, what did you expect? It’s a spelling bee.” But I got such a kick out of looking around that room, though.

There I stood among 34 other “contestants,” five of whom were females...which means there was me, five decent looking women, and surely 29 virgins.

I was doing everything in my power not to laugh, too hard, that is.
Now, I’m no Brad Pitt. But looking around that room, I would’ve looked an awful lot like Joe Black, with slightly darker hair, to you if you saw what I was up against.

7:12 p.m. – They gave us a free $20 game card for the arcade upstairs. I can’t wait to beat my friends in air hockey later.

For the record, I beat my friend Kristina once in air hockey and once in basketball. She put me to shame in Daytona USA though. I was pretty embarrassed.

7:15 p.m. – 35 contestants, not 50 like I originally thought. Really liking my chances tonight.

First prize was awarded an official ESPNzone private party, $250 Amex Gift Card, and the “coveted” ESPNzone Sports Spelling Bee trophy, which stood roughly six inches, in all its’ glory.

7:17 p.m. – 2nd place prize: Autographed stick by New Jersey Devils’ Zach Parise. Gross.
This was funny, and showed how far hockey really has fallen.

“Parise,” I chimed in, “Zach Parise.” You know, the Devils’ star forward who had over 40 goals this season? Ugh, I blame you, Gary Bettman.

7:20 p.m. – We’re going to be asked to spell either the first or last name of the athlete, whichever is harder. That answers that question.

I had been studying for most of the day, and had a list of over 100 names, both first and last names, not knowing which they’d ask.

ESPN 1050 Radio personality Robin Lundberg was the host for the event, saying the names and choosing whether you’d spell the first or last name. You may know him from Around the Herd with Colin Cowherd, a show I always listen to when I can.

Cowherd really got my attention with his mockery of Orioles’ fans following this year’s Opening Day. Either scroll down, or click here, and read about how right I think he was.

Anyways, Lundberg did a pretty solid job navigating through the competition, throwing out tiny jokes every once in a while that few of us would appreciate.

My favorite was when a gentleman wearing a Florida Panthers’ jersey under a blue blazer stepped up to spell. “Oh wow I should give you a hockey name, shouldn’t I,” he proclaimed. “Okay, here you go. Spell Joakim Noah.” That got a rise out of the remaining contestants, including myself, catching their breath in the Skybox.

7:23 p.m. – Numbers 1-10 getting ready to begin. I hope nine of them get hockey players.

I was No. 26, so I got the advantage of watching 1-20 from the Skybox. I overheard a few different groups of people saying how they had a lot of trouble with hockey players’ names.

I was expecting to see quite a few of them such as Zherdev, Sjostrom, Lundqvist, etc., but was sadly disappointed in the lack of NHL names that would surely trip up my competitors. Once again, thanks Gary Bettman.

7:31 p.m. – Girl spells “Arroyo” wrong for the first eliminated of the night.
The second person to go, she couldn’t spell Bronson Arroyo. At this point, I was convinced that I had a very, very good shot at winning this.

7:36 p.m. – BRUNEY was just spelled wrong! Are you kidding me?
That’s right, at the Times Square store, someone spelled Yankees’ reliever Brian Bruney wrong. I was so embarrassed for him.

This was the funniest moment of the night by far. I was sitting in the middle of the Skybox, and as soon as the host asked the contestant to spell Bruney, my friends immediately looked up at me. I stopped studying my cheat sheet of over 100 names, and directed all my attention to watching this guy squirm for 30 seconds. He stumbled to his only life line, “Uhm… what team does he play for?”

Lundberg hesitated, as if almost to say, “Really, man?” before answering, “the New York Yankees.” Upon spelling it B-R-O-O-N-E-Y. I threw my papers up in disgust and had to walk around for a minute to stop from giggling like a schoolgirl. Why couldn’t you ask me how to spell Bruney?

7:38 p.m. – Four of the first ten contestants go down. These words were pretty easy. I was shocked. At this point, it got a little hard to continue twitting and getting ready to spell my word. So the timeline got a bit skewed as the night went on.

7:51 p.m. – A guy from numbers 11-20 was just given Chris Drury. Really?

7:54 p.m. – Getting ready to go…
I was getting pretty nervous right about now. You could’ve asked me how to spell anything and it would’ve made me a little nervous. Part of me really wanted to get Tim Couch, the Browns’ former quarterback, so I could recite the line from Billy Madison.

“C-O-R……ARE you going to the mall later, that’s what I was asking.” Then, after checking myself and spelling it correctly, I’d proclaim “I am the smartest man alive!”

8:02 p.m. – G-R-I-E-S-E! On to round 2!

They really tried to pick up the pace shortly, especially with nearly half the field on their way home already. After all, they were trying to get this over with as soon as possible so everyone could enjoy the Cavs-Magic playoff game.

8:18 p.m. – Getting ready to go again…

One of the gentlemen in my second group of ten was given Kosuke Fukudome, the outfield for the Chicago Cubs. A daunting name, because of it’s foreign nature, but all in all, not that hard to spell.

Regardless, the man, who went two places in front of me, was flabbergasted by this name. “You’re kidding me,” he said angrily into the microphone. He spelled it F-U-K-O-D-O-M-E, and was dismissed.

8:21 p.m. – Apparently Iannetta has 2 Ns. That does it for me. Damn guy before me got Eric Hinske. That sucks.

Yup, Chris Iannetta, the catcher for the Colorado Rockies, was the name that bounced me. His name wasn’t even on my radar. I rushed a little bit when I was spelling it, but thought I got it right. That was a bummer.

8:23 p.m. – Made it about halfway through the field. Not bad. I need a beer.

Oh boy, was I mad. I told anyone that would listen all day when I was studying that someone would trip on Teix. Just based on the amount of "die-hard” Yankee fans I’m friends with that can’t spell his name, I was kind of hoping someone would. Sadly, seeing someone get it wrong offered me no consolation.

8:49 p.m. – No apostrophe in D’Antoni! See ya! Wow, this is harsh!
The rules were made clear to us in the Skybox that though we were not responsible for capitalization of letters in the name, all apostrophes had to be accounted for. So when a contestant in the final ten got Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, he didn’t spell it incorrectly, technically.

But he didn’t include the apostrophe. This was an interesting minute in the competition, because it was clear that neither the store manager nor Lundberg was paying much attention to a detail like that, despite it being in the rules.

In fact, the crowd in the dining room recognized it, and began to let out a displeased groan, which ultimately forced the manager’s hand. She disqualified him from the competition, as a roar went up from the overzealous and mostly inebriated crowd. That’s tough.

8:56 p.m. – Down to the final two…words are getting intense. Samardzija, Saltalamacchia, Krzyzewski, this should be over quickly.

As far as spelling bees go, the final round was extremely entertaining. It featured a middle aged man named Kenny Eisenman, from Bellmore, N.Y., who was overly cocky, motioning to tap the bell after every answer he knew was correct like some kind of trademark celebration, and a slightly younger, much more reserved Dan Sulzer from Long Beach, NY.

I had overheard Eisenman talking about hockey players before we had gotten started in the Skybox.

“All you need to know is the Russians,” he said, as if to dismiss the sport I have an undying passion for. “Yeah, they’re tough,” I chimed in. “Don’t forget the Swedes, pal. One of those will probably trip you up.” **cough FORESHADOWING cough**

9:05 p.m. – BOTH MISSPELL THEIR WORDS! SUDDEN DEATH CONTINUES!
Watching this was very much like watching last year’s epic UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea. You know, John Terry misses the winning kick in the rain, blah blah Cristiano Ronaldo blah blah, United wins.

The crowd was shocked, I was shocked, the store manager was pissed because she was losing NBA playoff business, but we had more spelling to do!
See, I told you. Pretty damn exciting for a spelling bee.

9:12 p.m. – Dan Sulzer from Long Beach is the winner after his competitor misspells Khabibulin! Shoulda watched more hockey!

I went up to Sulzer after he received his trophy and shook his hand, congratulating him on a trophy he certainly earned.

“Nice job, buddy. I’ll be back for that next year,” I said as I let him go on his merry way and enjoy the moment.

I headed upstairs to the arcade floor, where I would go on to drink and enjoy playing games with my friends until the double consonants in Iannetta no longer bothered me.

Where Do Baltimore Orioles Fans Get Off?

Mike Salerno — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:51:36 -0400

There was a storyline at play in the Yankees' season-opening loss in Baltimore Monday afternoon that was greatly overshadowed by the immediate failures of big-ticket free agents CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. Orioles fans came out in full force for the 2009 season opener, but for the wrong reasons.

Though there were a fair amount of pinstriped supporters that made up the 48,607 on hand, it was impossible to ignore the droves of O's fans booing, hissing and yelling obscenities at Teixeira, which started in warm-ups.

According to the Lower Hudson Journal News, a fan from Teixeira's Maryland hometown held a sign behind the visitors' dugout that read "Severna Park hates you Tex," during an on-field interview with YES Network's Kim Jones.

I mean, realistically speaking, I doubt his family that still lives there hates him. I actually am positive that they're enjoying his new contract quite a bit.

These fans showed up to the first game of the year rooting more against the away team than for their hometown heroes, the true mark of a fan that has hit rock bottom.

How do I know this? Well, it's a pretty good indicator when the boos Teixeira received were twice as loud as the cheers star outfielder Nick Markakis got when he was introduced.

These people don't care about this Orioles' team. Granted, there's not a whole lot to root for, especially in the A.L. East. But to come out and put on a display like that—jeering Teixeira like it's a pivotal game between two bitter rivals on Opening Day—only made a mockery of themselves.

It seems as though Teixeira's "betrayal" of the team that grew up playing in his own backyard for the hated Yankees has rejuvenated a fan base that has been left-for-dead since the team last played a meaningful game, way back in 1997.

See, I didn't even have to bring up that Jeffrey kid to get your blood boiling, eh Baltimore?

The thing that is most hysterical about the whole situation, though, is that these poor little Orioles fans actually think their team had a shot at the gold glove first baseman. Oh boy, that is rich.

Teixeira's free agency, coupled with his union with agent Scott Boras meant he was about to take the next step into baseball's elite by signing a contract with a team from a large market.

Teams in bigger markets don't just have bigger payrolls. They have a relentless demand, and the highest of expectations. Failure is not an option in places like the Bronx, Queens and Boston, but it's become second nature at Camden Yards.

That's why Teixeira was never going to end up in Baltimore, or Washington for that matter. He's done his fair share of losing in his career.

And as if starting in miserable Texas wasn't bad enough, he was given a small taste of what a pennant race feels like after being dealt first to Atlanta and then to Los Angeles. He wants to win, now.

Yeah sure, he was raised in Maryland. Big deal. He grew up a Yankees fan. Do you think he wore 23 in college and the beginning of his pro career as an homage to Tippy Martinez?

What could've possibly sold Teixeira on Baltimore? A solid NFL franchise to watch? The crab cakes? Don't forget the astronomical crime rate!

"Oriole fans are a symbol of what's wrong with America," said ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd on his show yesterday. "Jealously, anger and resentment toward the successful people."

"Oriole fans, you think you won last night," he said. "But you came across as small, petty, clueless and phony. Because you would've taken that contract, too."

The plain truth is that Orioles fans are downright jealous of the Yankees for landing Teixeira. After this week's series, the Yankees will leave the city for a few months and there will be no more crying over spilled millions. Sadly, so will the majority of these so-called "fans."

Ten-Year Old Raises Awareness for Lighthouse Project

Mike Salerno — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:50:18 -0400

Matthew Pemberton, a fourth-grade student at Connolly Elementary in Glen Cove, at his home in Glen Cove. Matthew collected signatures for a Lighthouse project petition and presented it to Charles Wang at the 180th information meeting held Thursday, Mar. 26 at the Long Island Mariott in Uniondale (Photo contributed by Brian Pemberton).

Meet Matthew Pemberton, a fourth grade student at Connolly Elementary School in Glen Cove.

Over the past few weeks, Matthew and his parents, Brian and Tina, along with many Long Islanders, have had growing concerns over the progress of the Lighthouse project’s approval process. But what makes the Pembertons are a bit different than a growing majority.

In the days leading up to the 180th information session held by the heads of the Lighthouse project, Matthew took it upon himself to do his part for both his community and his favorite hockey team.

Over the course of seven lunch periods, Matthew walked around the school cafeteria collecting the signatures of his friends and teachers to help raise community awareness for the Lighthouse project.

After returning from school, Brian Pemberton, Matthew’s father helped him type the names to better organize the list.

“It had, I would say, 130 names on it,” said Brian. “But we weren’t really sure how to get this list to the Islanders, until I got an e-mail from the Lighthouse project telling me about the meeting at the Mariott,” he said. “So I said to Matthew, 'do you want to go?' ”

Matthew’s answer was an emphatic yes. The family attended the meeting that drew over 1,000 people, according to Newsday.

As Charles Wang, the Islanders' owner and financier of the Lighthouse, walked to the podium start the meeting, he made the audience aware of Pembertons’ efforts. The family then presented Wang with the list of names in favor of the Lighthouse project, and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

The Pembertons, who had been attending Islanders’ games casually for a few years, began following the team more closely after Matthew came home from school one December day with two free tickets to an Islanders’ home game.

As part of the “Islanders in the Community” project, the team sent a staff that included former player Steve Webb and team mascot Sparky the Dragon to a number of elementary schools in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and Queens.

Each student was given two free tickets to an upcoming home game, in addition to an assembly about how teamwork is important in every facet of life.

Since the Islanders’ school assembly, Matthew and his family have attended roughly 10 games this year. His parents also threw a birthday party for him and some friends at the Mar. 8 game against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Islanders won 3-2 that night, with Kyle Okposo, Matthew’s favorite player, notching the game-winning goal.

The Islanders have reached out to thousands of children all over Long Island to increase interest in both the Islanders and hockey in general. The Pembertons have even gone ice skating a few times recently, and Matthew has a growing interest in playing hockey.

But with the help of 130 of his friends, it was Matthew who was giving back to the Islanders, and possibly, all of Long Island.

2009 AL Preview, Without The Bias

Mike Salerno — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:26:27 -0400

Okay, now that we've all read Wes' belligerent predictions for how the American League will shape up in 2009, let's explore what might really happen. Finally, thanks in large part to a terrible performance by their starting pitching, the American players that took part in the World Baseball Classic will return to their respective spring camps, except for those that decided to take the rest of the tournament off. I'm looking at you, Pedroia.

Tampa's improbable last-to-first turnaround and subsequent run to the World Series last year took America away from the Yankees and Red Sox of the world for the first time in years. And despite all this discussion about PEDs, it renewed some faith in the game, as well as solidifying that the game's five best teams come from the east coast.

Speaking of the east coast, there have been enough storylines to fill the gap between November and March better than the NFL could've ever tried to. Between big ticket free agents landing in New York and Boston, the construction of two new glorious stadiums in the Bronx and Queens, the Torre book, and of course A-Roid*, the media circus never went away.

But as teams play out their final spring training games, and start naming Opening Day starters, that familiar sense of spring optimism takes hold in anticipation of the start of the regular season. So now, here's a more realistic take on how the American League will shape up this season.

A.L. East-
1. Tampa Bay Rays - Prediction: 98-64, A.L. East champion
Three words: Pat the Bat. You can't say enough about how much he will influence the way pitchers go after Longoria and Pena. Look for Pena to be near the top of the American League in home runs, like he was in 2007. Burrell takes a good lineup and makes it scary, but the strength of this team is on the bump. Top prospect David Price is expected to start the season in AAA Durham to make room for Jeff Niemann, another former first round pick who's out of options, but it won't be long before the big lefty will be giving major league hitters fits. Regardless, a rotation that includes Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, "Big Game James" Shields and Andy Sonnanstine will be playoff bound for years to come.
Name to remember: SP David Price, SP Wade Davis - the crown jewels of the Rays farm system. Both will start the season in the minors, but expect to hear their names called every fifth day by August.

2. New York Yankees - Prediction: 94-68, A.L. Wild Card
You were expecting.... the Red Sox? Yeah, good joke. In the inaugural season at the new Yankee Stadium, the Bombers will pull out all the stops to ensure there is October baseball being played in the Bronx. The Yankees will be in contention with the Rays for the division until late September. The question will be how they will hold up without A-Rod until May. However, the common theme with the Rays and Yanks will be depth on the mound. The Yankees will also start their top prospect, Phil Hughes, in AAA with Scranton Wilkes-Barre. The worst case scenario for Yankee haters everywhere is that C.C.'s big frame will finally break down and A.J. Burnett will inevitably get hurt like he does every year (except last year, I guess, when he won 18 games and led the A.L. in strikeouts). But the emergence of Hughes and Alfredo Aceves in addition to a very underrated bullpen will spell relief for the Bombers. Wait what? They signed Mark Teixeira too? Oh yeah, Boston has a chance.
Name to remember: RF Xavier Nady - X has been the subject of constant trade rumors already since the Teixeira signing, and is playing out the last year of his contract. Will he justify a big payday heading into 2010?

3. Boston Red Sox - Prediction: 89-73
The Red Sox also made some noise this winter, albeit considerably smaller noise. After losing Mark Teixeira to the Yankees over $10 million, president John Henry claimed they simply could not compete with New York's ability to sign players. $10 million, John. Not a deal-breaker. The Sox instead went out and made a number of low-risk, high-reward signings in Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Rocco Baldelli and Takashi Saito. While Epstein, Henry & co. deserve praise for this, there is very little guarantee that Penny and Smoltz will have a definitive impact after missing significant time in 2008 with injuries. The Yankees considered trading for Penny early last season before they discovered he had a severe shoulder problem. That should say enough. The American League East's walking wounded should concern themselves a little less with New York's injury risks and worry about their own, i.e. Drew, Pedroia, Youkilis, Penny and Smoltz. They will also need David Ortiz to hold up for the entire season, which he failed to do a year ago.
Name to remember: SP Jon Lester - I'm convinced the Cy Young winner will come out of this division this year, what with at least seven legitimate candidates (Sabathia, Halladay, Chamberlain, Beckett, Kazmir, Shields, Lester), and the Red Sox' lefty ace could be the one to prove me right. After recently signing a contract extension, Lester seems poised to expand on his breakout campaign last year and become one of baseball's elite starters.

4. Toronto Blue Jays - Prediction: 80-82
Well Wes, I'm pretty sure Roy Halladay pitches in Canada. And yes, he's very good. This Blue Jays lineup has some firepower, but not nearly enough to hang in this division. As the Hamstring Turns, starring Vernon Wells, will make its rounds and give fantasy owners fits by July, and one can't help but wonder if Alex Rios will ever live up to his 30-30 potential.
Name to remember: OF Travis Snider - Baseball America's fourth best prospect for 2009 will be a star, the only question is how soon. He will start the season as a corner outfielder for Toronto, and has potential to be the best left-handed batter they've had since Carlos Delgado.

5. Baltimore Orioles - Prediction: 70-92
Had they signed Mark Teixeira, they may have been able to make some noise this year. But after an offseason filled mostly with disappointment (apart from picking up Felix Pie from the Cubs), the O's find themselves as the prey in a divison full of predators. Nick Markakis will have another productive fantasy season, but that's really the only bright spot on this team.
Name to remember: C Matt Wieters - The top prospect in the nation has been tearing up spring training, but will start the season in the minor leagues. Scouts can't stop salivating over Wieters' trememdous hitting prowess, though. It won't be long before he's a big leaguer.

A.L. Central -
1. Cleveland Indians - Prediction: 93-69
Last year's hottest second-half team will turn a lot of heads this year in the Central. The addition of Mark DeRosa will bolster an already deadly lineup, with Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner fully healthy again. Grady Sizemore, coming off an outstanding 30-30 campaign, will challenge for MVP as well. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee will come back down to earth, but will still be the ace on a staff that's good enough to win a less-than-stellar division.
Name to remember:2B Mark DeRosa - Coming off a career year with the Cubs, it will be interesting to see how DeRosa handles the switch to the American League.

2. Minnesota Twins - Prediction: 85-77
Good pitching and sound baseball has been the Twins' formula since 2002 under Ron Gardenhire, and they've failed to reach 80 wins once. They'll get past that again this year, but with lingering concerns about Joe Mauer's health, the lineup doesn't look so daunting all of a sudden. On the other hand, Francisco Liriano will be 100% healthy after fully recovering from Tommy John surgery, but buyer beware. Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn round out a slightly above average pitching staff, but it doesn't look like this team will go very far.
Name to remember: RF Denard Span - The speedy outfielder is starting his first full season in the bigs, and had a relatively productive rookie season, hitting .294. Expect an increase in steals from 18 into the 30-40 range.

3. Chicago White Sox - Prediction: 81-81
This team is one that's stuck in a transitional state, with players like Carlos Quentin, Chris Getz and Alexei Ramirez on the rise pulling deadweight like Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski. The rotation is no different as veterans Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras are surrounded by two of the most productive young pitchers of 2008, Gavin Floyd and John Danks. This team has some of the pieces together, but is still a good year or two away from contention.
Name to remember: SS Alexei Ramirez - Last year's A.L. Rookie of the Year runner-up is a versatile player that has drawn comparisions to B.J. Upton and even Alfonso Soriano. He and rookie second baseman Chris Getz make up one of the best young middle-infield tandems in baseball.

4. Detroit Tigers - Prediction: 79-83
Don't think that last year's nosedive was a fluke. This team fields one of the toughest lineups in the league, but trots out very few starters that give them a chance to win every fifth day. Justin Verlander will need to have a stellar bounceback season in order for this team to float near .500.
Name to remember: SP Rick Porcello - The Tigers' first round pick in 2007 has been tearing through Spring Training, even though he's never pitched professionally above advanced A ball. It's rumored that the 20-year old will break camp with the team, but even if he doesn't expect him to get the call when Detroit is searching for pitching in May.

5. Kansas City Royals - Prediction: 66-96
The Royals have been trying for years to build a strong team through the draft, along with a couple of free agent signings that haven't exactly panned out. Juan Cruz will join Joakim Soria to make for quite a devastating 1-2 punch in the latter part of games. The question is, how will they get a lead so they can put it into action?
Name to remember: SS Mike Aviles - Aviles broke into the league last year at age 26 and had a very productive year, hitting .325 with 10 HR and 51 RBI in just 102 games. With one major league season under his belt, and more at-bats to come this season, look for those numbers to improve.

A.L. West-
1. Los Angeles Angels - Prediction: 89-73
Even though they're a shadow of their 2008 selves, the Angels will win this division going away. Bobby Abreu won't be able to make up for the two huge voids in the lineup left by Mark Teixeira and Garrett Anderson. The starting rotation may not look as good without Francisco Rodriguez saving all those one-run games, but Brian Fuentes will do a fine job closing most of them. Lucky for them, they play the Mariners, A's and Rangers nearly 60 times.
Name to remember: SP Joe Saunders - Saunders won 17 games in 2008 with a 3.41 ERA. He also surrendered less than a hit per inning. It will be interesting to see if he can follow it up with another successful year.

2. Oakland Athletics - Prediction: 80-81
Billy Beane's deal with Colorado for Matt Holliday nearly reshaped the landscape of the division in one fell swoop. However, even with a vastly improved lineup with the additions of Holliday and Jason Giambi, the rotation still seems too weak to contend with the Angels.
Name to remember: OF Matt Holliday - Billy Beane holds the key to this year's trade deadline with Holliday's expiring contract at season's end. Chances are he'll be traded, even if the A's are reasonably within striking distance at the deadline.

3. Texas Rangers - Prediction: 75-87
Talk about a good lineup and poor rotation! This lineup trots out two of last year's top five fantasy players in Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton. However, they've got worse pitching than the A's. Kevin Millwood is their ace, enough said.
Name to remember: SP Neftali Perez - He is the reason the Braves regret trading for Mark Teixeira in 2007. Perez is the Rangers' best pitching prospect, after trading Edinson Volquez to Cincinnati for Josh Hamilton last year. He won't start the year with the big team but expect him to make his debut in July or August.

4. Seattle Mariners - Prediction: 69-93
Ken Griffey Jr.'s swan song is going to be a rough one in Seattle. The Mariners don't boast a particularly strong lineup, outside of Ichiro and an aged Griffey. Their rotation includes Felix Hernandez and oft-injured Erik Bedard, who is a sleeper to many fantasy gurus after missing significant time in 2008 with a bad throwing shoulder.
Name to remember: OF Endy Chavez - It will be interesting to see what Chavez can do starting every day for Seattle. He was never given a fair chance in Queens, and with his speed, he can really make things happen.

Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit - .293 avg, 41 HR, 131 RBI
Cy Young Award: Jon Lester, Boston - 18-6, 3.15 ERA, 210 IP, 160 K
Rookie of the Year: Matt Wieters, Baltimore - .314 avg, 22 HR, 76 RBI

Playoff results:
American League Divisional Series-
Tampa Bay defeats Los Angeles, 3-1
New York defeats Cleveland, 3-0

American League Championship Series-
Tampa Bay defeats New York, 4-2

In the end, it seems that Tampa's pitching may be too much for the Yankees to handle. One thing Red Sox fans will never fail to point out is the Yanks' lack of postseason performers outside of Derek Jeter. Sabathia and Wang have terrible October resumes, but that won't be a factor as they'll be simply outplayed by the best team in baseball this year, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Besides, what good is an "unbiased" prediction article if I have my favorite team winning it all? Right, Wes?

Sheridan Out, Forcier In at Michigan?

Mike Salerno — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:38:36 -0400

According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Michigan QB Nick Sheridan will miss 4-6 weeks with a "small fracture in his lower right leg" which he sustained at Tuesday's practice.

This news seems to have affirmed the notion that Rivals.com four-star recruit Tate Forcier will be the starter under center next fall for the Wolverines.

Though Sheridan won't need surgery, the feeling coming out of Ann Arbor is that he will be light-years behind Forcier when preseason camp begins in August. Sheridan would have been in a battle he was expected to eventually lose anyway.

Forcier, a dual-threat player who's a perfect fit for Rodriguez's spread offense, would be the third true freshman to start for Michigan in the past five years.

Before Tuesday, it was expected that Sheridan, who started four games last year, would be in competition with Forcier through the spring and into the start of the season. With Sheridan out of commission until the middle of May, the Wolverines are left without a quarterback with any starting experience for the remainder of their spring practices.

Forcier, an early enrollee from San Diego, will take over the first-team duties through the rest of the Spring.

The Wolverines are coming off a season in which they lost nine games, and failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 34 years; thus ending the longest current streak in the country.

If Forcier is given the starting job, look for the Wolverines to bounce back and contend for the Big Ten title.

Michigan fans are hopeful that a year after missing out on Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Forcier can be the catalyst that can take the Wolverines' anemic 2008 offense (109th in the nation, 108th in passing) and turn it into the high-flying show that Rich Rodriguez previously put on at West Virginia.

Far Be It from Me To Agree with Jonathan Papelbon...

Mike Salerno — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:14:37 -0400

(Photo by Steven Senne / AP)

...but that was awesome.

I can't help but applaud the Red Sox' oft-moronic version of Michael Flatley for his comments about Manny Ramirez in his interview with the April edition of Esquire magazine:

"Manny was tough for us. You have somebody like him, you know at any point in the ballgame, he can dictate the outcome of the game. And for him not to be on the same page as the rest of the team was a killer, man! It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that's exactly what was happening...

...Once we saw that, we weren't afraid to get rid of him. It's like cancer. That's what he was. Cancer. He had to go. But that was the only scenario that was going to work. That was it for us. And after, you could feel it in the air in the clubhouse. We got Jason Bay—Johnny Ballgame, plays the game right, plays through broken knees, runs out every ground ball—and it was like a breath of fresh air, man! Awesome! No question."

A cancer. Wow. I could not agree more. I'm just shocked someone in that clubhouse finally had the guts to say what their front office has been alluding to for years.

Now, normally, I hate Papelbon. And for a die-hard Yankee fan, what's not to hate? His overbearing attitude, his outstanding fastball, and Red Sox fans' adamant claims that he belongs in the same sentence as Mariano Rivera. But this is the second time I am taken back by Papelbon's comments, rather than his devastating splitter.

Last summer, in the days before the biggest All-Star celebration in sports history in the Bronx, Papelbon deferred what would be a potential ninth inning save opportunity to Rivera. Despite asserting the fact that if he were managing the game that he would close, he and AL manager Terry Francona decided to give the spot to Mo should it arise, also known as the right thing to do.

For any member of the New York media to take Ramirez' side in this just because he doesn't wear a Boston uniform anymore is simply idiotic. There is a bigger problem at hand with Ramirez, and that is his extreme lack of respect for the game. You'd be hard-pressed to find any player in the league with less respect for his profession than Manny Ramirez.

Papelbon's comments about Ramirez weren't good-natured at all, but they were absolutely accurate. This doesn't make him a "jerk," as some brilliant Newsday blogger suggests, but rather it only solidifies his role as a leader on the 2009 Red Sox.

Comparing Manny Ramirez to Alex Rodriguez is a joke, to say the least. Alex, despite making some boneheaded decisions away from the field, will always be committed to the game, whereas Ramirez has sat out many pivotal games, costing his team greatly over the course of his career.

I remember watching Baseball Tonight's trade deadline show last July, praying the Red Sox would hold onto Manny. I still believe to this day that if they hadn't traded him the Yankees would've made the playoffs. That clubhouse would've imploded in August and September, rather than thriving off Jason "Johnny Ballgame" Bay's stellar play in left field.

This morning, Papelbon refused a chance to apologize for his comments. He opted to rather solidify the idea that Bay was the cure for the burden Ramirez put on the clubhouse. "I'm not going to sugarcoat anything," he told The Boston Globe.

Nor should he. If he were to change his attitude now, he wouldn't be the same. Red Sox fans wouldn't love him as much, and Yankees fans wouldn't hate him as much. And as much as I hate him with every Yankee-loving bone in my body, he is forcing me to respect him.

Like what you see? Read Monument Park: A sports blog through the eyes of a New Yorker.

An Open Letter to Post-Lockout New York Rangers' Fans

Mike Salerno — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:02:44 -0400

Dear Post-Lockout Rangers' fans,

Please stop embarrassing the rest of us.

You know who you are. You are the type of fan that gives the team's true supporters a bad name. You don't know anything about the game, but that doesn't stop you from asserting your stupidity whenever possible.

Just a few years ago, I'm sure most of you didn't know what a hockey puck was, or why there weren't any around in 2004-'05. Before the lockout, or the "strike" as you so often and inaccurately called it, you guys were nowhere to be found.

That's not to say the Rangers didn't have fans before the lockout, despite their constant ability to miss the playoffs. But that those that stuck around through that seven-year drought knew what hockey was.

If anything, they sure knew what bad hockey looked like, since it was on display at the Garden 41 times a year.

Surely, most of you picked up on the team somewhere through the 2005-06 campaign, though I'd venture to guess that 85 percent of you can't tell me who was the captain of the team that year.

Stumped? I thought so. That's because no one player wore the captain's "C," but rather a group of players that included Jaromir Jagr, Darius Kasparaitis, and Martin Straka sported As on their sweaters. Now that you've exposed yourselves, let's quickly recap that season, shall we?

That year, the Rangers were picked by every expert in the know to finish dead-last in the Eastern Conference. However, on the shoulders of a Rangers-record 54 goals by Jagr and the outstanding play of a rookie goaltender (you know him as Henrik Lundqvist), the team surged to take the sixth seed in the playoffs.

The problem is, your numbers are growing. It seems like every day there are more and more Rangers' fans that know very little, but claim to have been a fan from the beginning of time.

It's become an epidemic for hockey fans of this generation, and probably for those to come as well. How can I prove it? Well, many times you guys do the work for me. Let's see:

- You yell "SHOOT!" repeatedly whenever the team carries the puck into the offensive zone, or even sometimes in the defensive zone when on the power play.
- You think Potvin's first name is Felix.
- You had no idea who Harry Howell or Andy Bathgate were before this year.
- You can't name three players from the 1994 team who's jerseys haven't been retired.
- You thought inserting Petr Prucha into the lineup would solve all the scoring problems.
- You think Brandon Dubinsky could be the next Messier or Graves.
- You refuse to acknowledge the talent of some of the NHL's elite, such as Mike Richards, Zach Parise, and worst of all, Sidney Crosby, purely out of hatred for them.

Now, with all that said, it could be worse. This is never more evident than the day after seeing a game in Nassau Coliseum, the home of the most pathetic fans in New York. When the Islanders score a goal, the fans in attendance, which aren't many, stand up and chant at the opposing goalie rather than celebrate a goal for their team.

Really, guys? Watching the Islanders play a home game is like being at a very bad college hockey game. The atmosphere is sadly juvenile, what with a dragon mascot doing the chicken dance and all. It's enough to make hockey purists vomit.

For not being anything like this, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Rangers' fans, both post-lockout and life-long supporters.

I know that you're passionate about your new-found favorite team. But for the sake of the true fans, try to learn something about the game before making a joke out of yourself. Hockey is a great sport that doesn't get enough attention.

Bringing back the casual fan is the only way the NHL will truly make its way back into the same conversation as the other three sports leagues in this country.

So although I can't stand most of you in many respects, I understand that we need you, in addition to a major market team winning the Cup, to make this league breathe again. So if I've offended any of you, which I'm sure I have, take this letter not as an insult, but as a guideline. A guideline on how to not sound like a moron at a hockey game.

The rest of us would really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Mike Salerno

Like what you see? Read more at www.j31salerno.blogspot.com

Islanders-Flyers: The Young and the Hopeless

Mike Salerno — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:27:57 -0500

Since Wednesday, I've had the head cold to end all head colds. I haven't gone anywhere outside my house with the exception of two classes Friday afternoon. My Xbox conveniently broke Tuesday night, on the eve of the release of MLB 2K8. I'm miserable. Now that I'm completely up to date with episodes of The Office, I've turned to any hockey I can find to amuse me enough to pass the time.

With all the different storylines produced from the Rangers' 4-1 spanking of the Islanders Thursday, I realized that was a perfect game to do a running diary. Unfortunately, I realized this after the game.

I wanted badly to do one for the pivotal Rangers-Bruins game tomorrow, but I'll be at work tomorrow for the 3 p.m. start. I can't even blame NBC for the latest in the Blueshirts' weekend afternoon affairs, because they're too busy with Sidney vs. Ovechkin to worry about a game that could more than likely decide the sixth and seventh seeds in the Eastern Conference. In fact, I was originally happy to hear the Penguins-Capitals game was on NBC, because I figured the Rangers would be on at 7, like they should be. I was wrong.

So instead, I turned to another game that would go a long way in shaping the Eastern conference playoff picture, tonight's game between the Islanders and Flyers. With that loss to the Rangers, the Isles fell five points behind Philly, and a loss tonight would all but end any playoff hopes the Islanders still had.

So with this in mind, I sat down right before the puck was dropped at 7:05. Though my head felt ready to explode, surely a matchup between my two most hated teams in the NHL couldn't hurt. Right?

6:56 p.m. - The opening montage is filled with highlights of the two teams' last meeting one week ago. The Flyers won 4-1 on the strength of some "dirty goals" according to Howie Rose. But don't fret Isles fans, he brings good news: Rick DiPietro is back in goal after missing the previous three games. Uhh Howie, wasn't he in goal last week too?

7:03 p.m - Ted Nolan claims "Ricky is ready." Mmm, I'm pretty sure he was ready on Thursday, Ted.

7:06 p.m. - Wow, Deb Kaufman is hot. I wish she still covered the Rangers. I'd trade John Giannonne for her in a second.

7:07 p.m. - Butch Goring just called Mike Comrie a scorer. I just laughed out loud for the first time. I'm going to keep tabs on how many times I laugh at this team tonight.

7:10 p.m. - DP is 26-24-7... So that really means he's 26-31 for those of you scoring at home.

7:12 p.m - Rose describes Brendan Witt like a hero for playing through a knee injury. I'll keep track of this, too. I hate Brendan Witt. Actually, I think he's a great defenseman. But he tries to talk smack to every player, ever. He literally tries to be Sean Avery and it just doesn't work. Just shut up and block shots.

7:13 p.m. - Okay, Blake Comeau does not have that much of an upside. Islanders fans are in love with him. I can't figure out why. Jeff Tambellini, on the other hand, is a budding star. Of course he is, that's a Michigan boy they're talking about. I point this out to my little brother watching with me, as I do pretty much every time I see a Michigan player.

7:14 p.m. - My little brother speaks up, "What about Comrie?" Shut up, you little twerp. Yes it's true, Mike Comrie also went to Michigan. He is one of two people on this earth that I hate, despite the fact that they went to college in Ann Arbor.

7:20 p.m. - The Guinness Proposition 3-17 commercial airs for the first time in the game. I love this one. "I HAVE FLOATS! I'M A BIG DEAL!" I agree wholeheartedly that St. Patrick's Day should be a National holiday. If we ever see this in our lifetime, expect it to officially surpass the Super Bowl and New Year's Eve as the best drinking day of the year.

7:23 p.m. - Flyers coach John Stevens looks like either an evil genius or the nerd that shoots up the whole school. Wow, it really sucks that this is a relevant reference thanks to all the crazies pumping others with lead on campuses across America lately.

7:25 p.m. - Comrie gets a face full of glove from Kimmo Timonen. After a bit of wrestling, the officials jump in to prevent anything further. Color commentator Billy Jaffe claims "Comrie would've been happy to drop the gloves." I'm not so sure.
Jaffe is the other Michigan alum I loathe. He was actually captain of Red Berenson's crew in 1992. Gross. Anyways, both parties got two minutes for roughing.

7:30 p.m. - I keep trying to decide who I want to win. If the Flyers win, the Isles' season is pretty much over since then they'd be seven points behind Philly. But the Flyers would be only one point behind the Rangers again. Hm, still deciding.

7:34 p.m. - If you took Sloth from The Goonies, styled and parted his hair, shrunk him about two feet and put a scarf around his neck, you'd get Danny Briere.

7:38 p.m. - Ryan Hollweg's asthma commercial airs. I've more or less memorized it by now. I'm not necessarily proud of that.

7:40 p.m. - Nice save by Martin Biron on Sean Bergenheim. Bergenheim's been the Isles' only decent player this week. I just laughed again. Two. He had a goal in each game against the Rangers, and the only one on Thursday (though he had to bank it off two defensemen to even get it past Lundqvist).

7:41 p.m. - Ms. Kaufman will be talking in between periods. That gives me something to look forward to other than 20 more minutes of bad hockey.

7:42 p.m. - Camera focuses on Mike Comrie during a stoppage of play. He always looks so pissed off. It pisses me off. If I were in charge of the arena music, I would play a steady dose of Good Charlotte at whistles just for him.

7:44 p.m. - 0-0 after the first. Shots are 10-6 Islanders, though the play has been relatively even. Jaffe calls it "a good road period." I agree. Nothing impressive, but nothing bad either.

7:45 p.m. - Oh no, Stan Fischler. This intermission is going to be more painful than my splitting headache.
I got a text message from my friend the other day that read "Doesn't Stan Fischler look like the old drunk guy from Big Daddy?" To which I replied in typical Mr. Hurley fashion, "Hell yes!"

7:53 p.m. - I missed Butch Goring's analysis of the period searching restlessly for Sudafed and something to get my head to stop pulsating. I usually don't like to take too many pills for minor stuff. But lately, it feels like I've got more pills in me than Heath Ledger.
Thank God for TiVo. I went back to see Deb going over the particulars of the Islanders' newest gimmick to get people to come pay to see them play, the 2-Year Loyalty Season Ticket Plan. You're kidding me, right? You get a price that's locked for two years at the current price AND premium parking for all five remaining home games in addition to next year! Not to mention, you get 12 1/2% off the face value for next year's tickets. Not a bad deal, but let's face it. The only way you're going to get people to come see you on a regular basis (outside of binge-drinking Hofstra students that can pay $16 and still get free parking across the street) is to win.
Sure, maybe you'll get just enough people to buy this package to make it sound like a mild success, but unless you make the playoffs, it's not going to amount to anything.

8:01 p.m. - Al Trautwig takes a shot at the Isles saying they need a deflection to beat Marty Biron, just like they did with Henrik Lundqvist. He's right.

8:03 p.m. - Back to the game. My TiVo is fast forwarded to the current action.

8:04 p.m. - Penalty to Trent Hunter for slashing. Probably a "marginal call" like Jaffe demands.

8:05 p.m. - DP takes a bad tripping penalty. Even I think it should've been a dive. Philly's awarded with 1:31 of 5-on-3 power play time.

8:06 p.m. - Danny "Sloth" Briere scores on a pinball open net goal in front. Braydon Coburn got an assist as he fanned on a shot from the point. The Flyers still have a man advantage for 1:43.

8:10 p.m. - I just decided. I want the Islanders to win this game. I mean, they still won't probably get into the playoffs, but I'm dying to see a Pittsburgh-Washington 1 vs. 8 playoff series. This would be possible if Boston kept up its current pace of allowing 12 goals per game or so, especially tomorrow against my Rangers. 12 should get us a win.
Keeping that in mind, here's my ideal playoff scenario in the East:
1. Pittsburgh vs. 8. Washington- Sidney and Evgeni against Alexander the Great. I know I'm not the only one quietly rooting for this, either. In fact, I bet every league executive wants to see both Sidney and Ovechkin in the playoffs, but against each other that would be something. Besides, it would be a nice reward for both Bruce Boudreau and George McPhee. I'm so pissed I'm going to miss tomorrow's game.
2. Montreal vs. 7. Philadelphia- With all the talk of these big, bad Flyers I don't think any of them have the fortitude to go into the corner with Mike Komisarek. And if they do, I doubt they'd live to tell about it. By the way, where'd Komisarek go to college? Heh.
3. Carolina vs. 6. New York- I've heard people tell me the Rangers still have a shot to finish atop the Eastern conference. Okay, I admit it. Some, if not most, Rangers fans are delusional. But I want us to stay in sixth because the Hurricanes are clearly the worst of the nine or ten teams contending still. If this series went to five games before the Rangers clinched, it should be a moral victory for Carolina.
4. New Jersey vs. 5. Ottawa- This would be probably the most intriguing series of the four. I wonder if the Senators can pull out of this tailspin in time to win a playoff series. On the other hand, the Devils have been red hot and that second round exit courtesy of Ottawa last year cannot sit right with Martin Brodeur and the Devs.

8:17 p.m. - They just showed the second of two Riley Cote vs. Andre Roy fights from last night again. That was hysterical. If you missed it, please, YouTube it immediately. Apparently, he was sent back to Tampa by the team and will miss the next two games. The scoreboard staff played the replay of Cote’s two-punch knockout repeatedly, infuriating Roy. He had to be restrained by linesmen and eventually Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella after attempting to go after Cote a third time. I can just imagine the conversation between the fiery coach and the enforcer:Tortorella: That’s it! We’re sticking you on the next plane back to Tampa. You got your bell rung, then you embarrassed the rest of this team.
Roy: Wait, so you’re suspending me for getting knocked out?
Tortorella: Yes… (pauses and giggles to himself) I mean no. You embarrassed us later when you tried to go back after him. What were you thinking? Those refs probably saved you another beating, anyway.

8:23 p.m. - Witt blocks a heavy shot from the point, Rose mentions his ailing knee again.

8:24 p.m. - Flyers score. DiPietro goes behind the net to play the puck, but it hits his leg and goes right to Scottie Upshall. He passes to Jeff Carter who puts it in the empty net. That is my favorite kind of goal scored on DP. I always wonder if the Isles would be any good if he made a conscious effort to stay in the crease.

8:27 p.m. - Freddy Meyer hits Vaclav Prospal into the padded partition in between the benches, completely wiping him out. Ah, my favorite play in hockey.8:30 p.m. - Martin Biron is playing decent. He hasn't had to be great at all, but he's still got that shutout in tact.
...Can you jinx someone on purpose? I hope so.

8:34 p.m. - Comrie sticks Briere in the face right off the draw, then gets in his face on the way to the box. What could you possibly say to him? Shut up, idiot.

8:38 p.m. - They just showed Kimmo Timonen on the bench which reminded me of how good a job Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren has done putting this team together. When Lupul and Richards come back, this team could make a run in the playoffs if they get any consistency from Biron.

8:39 p.m. - Line brawl! Guerin and Smith, the two captains, fight to a draw along the boards. Guerin started the whole pileup by giving Upshall a shot in the mouth. Stupid penalty or a message to his team?

8:41 p.m. - Well as things are sorted out, the Islanders will carry 1:50 of a power play into the third period. Guerin got two minutes for roughing, but Jason Smith got a double minor, giving New York the man advantage. This could be the break the Islanders needed.

8:45 p.m. - Oh wonderful, another intermission full of Al Trautwig taking shots at the Islanders. He definitely gets my vote for Biggest Rangers' Fan Employed by MSG, at least since the strange disappearance of Bobby Granger.

8:47 p.m. - Stan Fischler just simplified the playoff race as if he was talking to a third grader. Well, I guess most of the audience tonight is Isles fans, so maybe that's not so farfetched. My apologies, Stan. I guess I'm right on par with Al Trautwig, except I'm not being paid by MSG.

8:51 p.m. - Goring is saying the Isles need discipline badly. I agree. But Guerin's forearm into Upshall's jaw seemed to work out for them just fine.

8:52 p.m. - Deb plugs the whole 2-year loyalty ticket plan thing again. I'm now aware that this is an every-period thing. I just wish they didn't take face time away from her in this bi-nightly exercise in futility.

8:55 p.m. - New York is outshooting Philadelphia, 19-16. They need a power play goal here. I hope for the sake of watching bad hockey they get one.

8:58 p.m. - A promo for the Isles' next home game against Toronto on March 18th shows a bevy of Islanders saying how much of a difference the crowd makes. I'm going to rewind the TiVo to make sure I heard this correctly.

8:59 p.m. - Yes, I did. Wow, I'm actually considering suing for false advertising. The only time they manage to get more than a third of that building filled is when they roll out all the fossils from the 1980s Stanley Cup years for some ridiculous anniversary. The one exception to this, of course, is when the Rangers come to town. On these four nights a year, the arena is filled, but not with Islanders' fans. It's fair to assume there are as many people there rooting for the Blueshirts as there are for the home team on those nights.

9:01 p.m. - Halfway through the power play, one shot on goal. The Isles need traffic in front of Biron or they're toast.

9:03 p.m. - And we're back to even strength. The Islanders are going to lose this game. They have their power play to blame for it. It's about as lifeless as DiPietro's grandmother.
Too soon?

9:04 p.m. - Satan misses the net on a terribly executed 3-on-1. It'll be a miracle if they get one goal tonight.

9:04 p.m. (cont.) - Blake Comeau hit the post from the blue line as I wrote the last entry. Solid shift by the "kid line," but it's just not the Isles' night.

9:07 p.m. - Passing shot of the Islanders bench. Not one player looks like he knows where he is. Not exactly the attitude you want down two in a must-win game.

9:10 p.m. - Bergenheim rattles Upshall along the boards and gets two minutes for roughing. Upshall should've gotten one also, but hopefully the Flyers will put this game on ice and I can start watching the Duke-UNC game.

9:13 p.m. - My prayers are answered. Braydon Coburn scores from the point. 3-0 Flyers.

9:16 p.m. - They gave the goal to Hartnell. Oh no. Just as I went to change the channel to ESPN, the Islanders scored. Freddy Meyer's shot from the point eluded both the traffic in front and Biron. 3-1. Hm, traffic in front. I believe I've heard that before.

9:17 p.m. - Turns out the Islanders got a power play too. Upshall took a penalty after the goal for unsportsmanlike conduct. He shoved Meyer, but nothing was really necessary. Eh, he just got away with one on Bergenheim though. Interesting. Maybe the Isles aren't dead yet.

9:20 p.m. - Isles' power play fails them again. They're now 0-5 for the game.

9:21 p.m. - R.J. Umberger misses the net on another 2-on-1, his second of the game without registering a shot on goal. There should be an award given annually in his name to the NHLer who displays a knack for botching the most scoring chances over the course of the season: The R.J. Umberger Award. I like it.
Other players up for consideration: Andy Hilbert of the New York Islanders, Marcel Hossa, now with Phoenix and Michael Ryder of the Montreal Canadians. Feel free to let me know if you can think of a player worthy of consideration.

9:22 p.m. - Speaking of botched scoring chances, Patrick Thoresen just missed the net on a breakaway, but drew a penalty with 7:27 to play.

9:24 p.m. - Surprise! Flyers score again on the power play. Hartnell gets his second of the night with a nice deflection to squeeze it between DiPietro's legs. 4-1. Game, set, match.

9:25 p.m. - Thoresen just got denied on the doorstep after it looked like he hit the puck with his purse.

9:27 p.m. - I thought about changing the channel to the Duke-UNC game, but I can't watch the first half of a basketball game unless there's lots of alcohol and/or money involved. Speaking of basketball, beer and money, it is March and my favorite underdog punched their ticket to the Big Dance today for the fourth straight year. The Winthrop Eagles won the Big South conference tournament to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. You may remember them from last year, as they ousted Notre Dame in the first round of last year's tourney in a 6 vs. 11 matchup that was hardly an upset.

9:32 p.m. - 2:32 to play, and no other fights yet. Fingers are crossed. I don't expect much thought. This rivalry isn't as big as Rangers-Flyers anymore. Besides, since the Islanders traded their chief buffoon Chris Simon, who's their big enforcer now? Brendan Witt? I just laughed again. That make three so far, about 10 less than I thought I'd have by now.

9:34 p.m. - Howie Rose just hit it on the head. The Islanders look dead. They probably think their season's already over. There is no greater letdown as a fan to be able to see your team physically give up. This rag-tag group of guys whose identity was all about outworking more skilled opponents looks like they've finally thrown in the towel. Even the biggest of Islanders' haters such as myself think this is sad.

9:38 p.m. - You really don't need a post-game show after a game like this. They gave up once the Flyers scored the fourth goal. From then on, Rose and Jaffe went into painstaking detail about what went wrong with this team. Trouble is, they're just not that good. No doubt in my mind, I'm going to watch some of it anyway. I can only stay sympathetic to this team for so long. Besides, Duke-UNC is at half. What else is there to watch?

9:42 p.m. - Ooh, Ted Nolan's press conference. Who does he throw under the bus tonight?

9:44 p.m. - He praised Sean Bergenheim, but complained about the ref. Typical Nolan press conference, sans the cocky and crooked smile. He sounds as dejected as his team. Maybe even he knows it's over.

Long Beach’s Best Kept Secret

Mike Salerno — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:31:35 -0500

What? Hofstra has an ice hockey team?

Well, you won’t see them on ESPNU facing off with the likes of Michigan or Boston College any time soon, but contrary to popular belief, Hofstra University does in fact have an ice hockey club team.

Oh, it’s a club team. Well why should I care the slightest bit about a club team when we’ve got all these successful varsity teams here at Hofstra? Oh my, you’ve got me there. I mean, who needs hockey when you’ve got a basketball team who can’t stop beating themselves?

Don’t forget the football team, either. They fooled everyone with a 6-0 start that had us all pinning our hopes on Division 1-AA playoffs. Anyone remember the score of their first significant home game of the season? They lost in dramatic fashion, 40-3.

Wait, you do mean hockey, like real hockey? So, none of that no-contact roller blading around type of stuff, right?

Yes, real hockey with real contact. In case you haven’t noticed (and judging by the low attendance numbers at the Arena of Long Beach, you haven’t), the men’s ice hockey club team has risen to a national championship contender in Division 3 of the American Club Hockey Association.

Since his arrival two years ago, head coach Ian Clugston has brought the team from the cellar of their conference to a program that is garnering recognition nationally.

The team plays at the Arena of Long Beach, roughly 15 minutes from campus. Admission to games is free of charge for everyone, not just Hofstra students.

Well, why would I go all the way to Long Beach to see college hockey when I can go next door to see NHL-caliber hockey with the Islanders?

Hmm, another good question. Well can I answer your question with a question? I suppose I just did. Where’s that sense of school pride? Plenty of students have no trouble going to support our dreadful hoops squad, why not hockey? Not to mention, I’m not sure if you’ve been watching lately, but the Islanders aren’t the most exciting team in the NHL.

Check out a game. Once. You’ll be hooked. Whatever you like, this team’s got it. You want flair? Watch forwards Dan Lio and Craig Zecca weave through opposing defenders like traffic cones.

Had enough scoring and looking for some contact? Defensive bruisers Alex Nucera and Jonathan Morello won’t disappoint. Regardless of what style of play you’re looking for, the grit and tenacity every player shows throughout each game is enough to make you proud they’re representing your school.

Hockey’s pretty expensive from what I hear. They must get a ton of funding from the school to even be able to play, right?

Hardly. In fact, the team barely scrapes by with money granted by the school to pay for ice time in Long Beach. Despite the pathetically low funding given by the school, this year’s team reached new heights and qualified for the Regional tournament in Warwick, Pennsylvania. There they played for a chance to earn a spot in the National Championship tournament in Rochester, Minnesota to be held later this month.

Instead of taking a team bus to the tournament and other venues throughout the season, the guys were forced to split up into cars and get there by whatever means necessary. Though they lost the first game at Regionals, the Pride defeated Robert Morris University the following day in a 6-5 shootout thriller.

Goaltender Steve Pace stopped all three RMU shooters to seal the victory. Though they were knocked from National Championship contention, the win earned them an invitation to the National Showcase Tournament to be held in Roanoke, Virginia prior to the start of next season.

Okay, this sounds pretty cool. When’s the next game?

Unfortunately, the season ended last weekend in a 5-3 loss to Fairfield in the Metropolitan College Hockey Conference playoffs. But the team returns many key players to this year’s regional tournament run and are already gearing up to make a bid for the National tournament next year.

Wow, that’s pretty impressive. Too bad the season’s all done now. Can you let me know when the schedule comes out for next year?

Oh, no problem. I’ve got a feeling you’ll be hearing from me as soon as it does.