Calendar

March 2010
S M T W T F S
« Feb    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

BattlePass FightFeed. MMA and COmbat Events via RSS.

Blog Networks



Loaded Web - Global Blog & Business Directory
NHL

Islanders Lose, But…

The Islanders lost tonight in a shootout against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The cynic in me thinks that these are the same old Islanders who can’t hold a lead against a good team. That part of me is legitimately crestfallen after this loss. After all, this was one of those nights that just seemed too perfect to screw up, and we won’t have many of those nights this season, especially with the specter of the Lighthouse Project looming large.

Having said all that…

How can you possibly be upset about tonight’s game? The Isles looked pretty awesome for much of the game. John Tavares made his debut in just about as grand a fashion as you could imagine, and that’s the biggest thing. For those who attended the game, his first goal is a memory that will never be forgotten. From a practical perspective, it’s great that Tavares got all of his firsts (first point, first goal, first shootout attempt) out of the way in one night. Hard to knock that kind of performance.

I’m not saying wins and losses don’t matter. What I am saying is that this season is about developing young talent, and we saw significant evidence that John Tavares is ready to contribute to this team right now. If the Islanders focus on developing Tavares and his young counterpart, the wins will come soon enough. Good teams always get the lucky bounces, as tonight’s shootout showed. Someday, the Islanders will get those breaks.

For now, we have four days to reflect. Not on the loss or the expiration of Charles Wang’s “certainty” deadline, but on the spectacular debut of John Tavares and what other tricks he may have in store for us. If Tavares is even half the difference-maker he was tonight, we’re in store for a special season, regardless of the Isles’ win-loss record.

NHL

Happy Certainty Day!

Finally, we’re here. October 3. Opening Day… and Charles Wang’s “certainty” deadline.

It comes as no surprise that Wang’s deadline was not met by the Town of Hempstead. Bad news, sure, but not at all unexpected, and that’s good. Because this should not be a sad day for Islanders fans.

Instead, it should be a celebration. Tonight should be a celebration of what we still have. We get to watch this team play instead of worry about the future. We get to spend the night in Nassau Coliseum; warts and all, it’s one of the few remaining arenas with a real home-ice advantage when the crowd’s involved. We get to reacquaint ourselves with pretzel twists, easily the greatest arena food available anywhere. Most importantly, we get to welcome John Tavares to Long Island.

On many occasions, I’ve tried to put into to words what John Tavares means to the Islanders and their fans. I’ve failed each time. You never want to give a player the dreaded “savior” label, and it’s not fair to give it to Tavares. However, it’s okay to admit that Tavares is a bigger deal than just about anybody the Islanders have brought in since Pat LaFontaine. He’s the kind of player the Islanders would never have a prayer of signing as a free agent and the kind of player they’d never be able to trade for, and yet John Tavares begins his NHL career as a New York Islander. Even better, he’s a very willing and happy New York Islander.

It’s a night to forget all the Lighthouse stuff. It’s a night to cheer and to finally be proud of the Islanders. That’s something no politician can take away.

Other Sports

Perry Wows at Travelers

Its been a fun year to watch Kenny Perry play golf. Seven top ten finishes, a victory at the FBR Open, and nearly his first major championship at Augusta in April. But perhaps his most impressive showing came yesterday when he finished up a brilliant week of golf with a win at the Travelers Championship.

Coming into the day one shot back of Paul Goydos, Perry put together a confident seven under, 63 to win by three. The win shot Perry into first place on the FedEx cup leader board and a piece of Travelers Championship history. His winning week number, 258, was the lowest any player has ever shot in the history of the tournament.

Despite the fact that the Sunday sun did not rise with Perry leading, by the time CBS’s TV coverage began at 3pm it wasn’t difficult to see that Perry would be hard to beat. As it turned out, besting the 48 year old proved a nearly impossible task. He sank almost every putt he attempted, long and short, and birdied seven holes. Perry’s round was a perfect example of how to win a tournament like this. Putt well, make par, and let the field crumble around you.

No one really crumbled today. In fact, this is a rare week where I will not give out a choke of the week. A few players played good enough to win. But Perry was unreal. David Toms crept up the leader board and tied for second. He, like Perry, failed to bogey a hole. But he parred to many holes to make that final leap towards first, especially with Perry playing as well as he was. Tom birdied four of the final nine holes, but only one before the turn…not quite enough.

Paul Goydos had to play perfect to hold of Perry. He shot himself in the foot with a bogey on 8 and 10. An eagle of 15 moved him from ninth place into a tie for second, but catching Perry was pie in the sky by that point.

A lot of times in golf, the story is about who lost it, rather than who won. And why not? Generally, it’s easier to criticize then to praise. Theirs only so Manny “atta-boy’s” you can throw out, but seeming an unlimited amount of hypothetical scenarios for the losers. But the story today is no doubt Keny Perry’s day. Was it a Brian Gay-eske crushing? No. But was it a relative certainty that Perry was going to win for most of the day? Yes. He didn’t need a lot of help. He didn’t need anyone to wilt under pressure to win this tournament. Often times, you won’t get a big time collapse in a tournament like The Travelers in Hartford Connecticut. After all, it’s not the Masters.

But it might as well been for Kenny Perry.

Next stop on Tour: AT&T National- The defending champ in this one is Anthony Kim. He returns to defend his crown. Kim’s best finish this year came at the Mercedes-Benz championship when he tied for second. Other big names include U.S Open champion Lucas Glover, Davis Love III, Fred Couples, Jum Furyk, Roco Mediate, Paul Goydos… and the biggest draw in all the land, Tiger Wood.

It’s a Tiger week! Should be fun as we get set for the British 2 weeks from now.

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes