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The Lost Bossy Video Before the “Two Mikes” made...

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:16:10 -0400

The Lost Bossy Video

Before the “Two Mikes” made their debuts, another Mike Bossy campaign video was shot, edited and (sadly) trashed after it was decided “no one would get it.”

This feels like a good home for that sort of content.

There’s nothing better then getting a text from the...

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:43:00 -0400

There’s nothing better then getting a text from the equipment staff during their post-season locker room cleanup.

The only question for this team-issued gem is, “to ebay, or not to ebay?”

I think we all know the answer to this one…

Always get it signed first, then ebay.

Does the fact that it’s a medium make it seem less authentic?

…we’ll just say it was Keith Aucoin’s.

If only I wore a size 11 or 12 shoe, I could wear a new pair of Islanders Zigs every day. Not too many 9.5s floating around the storage room.

More news crews came to film an empty locker room on clean-out...

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:49:33 -0400

More news crews came to film an empty locker room on clean-out day than came to any single regular season game.

Thank You Playoffs.

New playoff banner, same sick banner-hanging skills.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:23:26 -0400

New playoff banner, same sick banner-hanging skills.

Colin McDonald conducts his interviews in John Tavares’ stall,...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:23:00 -0400

Colin McDonald conducts his interviews in John Tavares’ stall, citing its “the only one the media knows how to find.”

Wouldn’t want MSG’s Peter Ruttgaizer getting lost.

Everything Is Easier When You Win

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:38:20 -0400

It’s a mantra that resonates throughout a sports organization, from ticket salesmen who have an easier time putting butts in seats, to PR guys who get to enjoy some positive press.

While the Coliseum has been hopping and the media has swarmed during the team’s recent stretch of success, not every department is benefiting.

It turns out, when you have the world’s most superstitious coaching staff, the tried-and-true mantra is thrown out the window.

There’s been one constant during the Islanders’ exciting playoff push, and it doesn’t involve the starting lineup, line combinations or X’s and O’s.

The coaches’ basketball game has become a pregame institution, much to the dismay of the staff’s ankles, knees and backs.

After several weeks of playing, it’s become evident that the coaches don’t even like basketball. But when they play, we win. So they play.

With countless rolled ankles, twisted knees and jammed fingers, the banged-up coaches spend more time with the team medical staff than most players.

They ditch the crutches, braces and ice in the locker room each night and limp out to the bench to coach through the pain.

Doug Weight debuted his new pair of Dunks on the last trip… they led to a career-high 9% shooting percentage (the games are determined in large part by rebounds, and when you’re under the basket with a bunch of hockey players, those rebound’s also come with an elbow to the face).

Anything to help the team.

Here’s what Matt Martin’s family looks like on the Family Feud video game for...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 16:20:43 -0400

Here’s what Matt Martin’s family looks like on the Family Feud video game for iPad.

Note Team Martin’s score.

I give his family a lot of credit for remaining in good spirits, despite their abysmal performance last week on our flight to Washington.

The Martin’s were routinely quicker on the buzzer, but failed to close out the board, allowing Team Eisenberg to steal the points.

We surveyed 100 people and asked: What’s Marty’s best move going forward against Team Eisenberg?

Once again, Team Martin came through with the top two answers, but left the points ripe for the taking. Team Eisenberg takes another easy steal with the number 3 answer: Denial.

It’s about damn time we had a 1pm road game....

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 09:29:33 -0400

It’s about damn time we had a 1pm road game. #omeletstation

Off (Ice) Day

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:06:41 -0400

Here’s what Assistant Equipment Manager Richard “Shakey” Krouse looks like unloading the team’s dry cleaning.

(Always such exciting stuff on this blog, right?)

This was actually a first for Shakey. You see, the team doesn’t get its workout gear dry cleaned…

At 2 a.m. Wednesday, after the Islanders equipment staff had already driven the equipment from Washington D.C.’s Verizon Center to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, they hauled fresh bags of CLEAN practice apparel to the team hotel in anticipation of an off-ice workout.

Apparently, when they asked the hotel to keep the clean laundry at the front desk for players to pick up in the morning, all the bellhop heard was “laundry.”

The clean gear was sent straight to a dry cleaning service, based (of course) in New Jersey.

The mishap was discovered less than an hour before the day’s scheduled workout, once the laundry had already been dumped out of each player’s bag and locked into a lengthy cleaning cycle.

Four hours after the workout was supposed to begin, the re-cleaned gear arrived, beautifully ironed, folded and tagged in individual dry-cleaning bags.

Sadly, the players weren’t able to appreciate their workout shirts and shorts in such pristine condition, because the equipment staff (and certain honorary members of the equipment staff, who also dabble in PR and blogging) spent the next hour removing every stapled tag from every shirt, sock, boxer and sweatband.

Here’s how many tags I pulled out of my first TWO bags…

…Between players, coaches and trainers, there were 30 bags.

The de-tagged gear was re-sorted into player’s individual laundry bags, which looked like this…

…which was a shame, because I was highly anticipating writing a recap of my first-career NHL Laundry Draft; a pick-by-pick analysis starting with the first-overall pick (a showdown between Radek Martinek’s pricey Skinz spandex pants and Tavares’ barefoot-running footsie thingies) to the final pick, Mr. Irrelevant, a.k.a that loose left sock with a whole in it belonging to a player that I’ll allow to remain nameless.

The JT #frontflow had a night to remember Sunday on NBC’s...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:29:51 -0400

The JT #frontflow had a night to remember Sunday on NBC’s Mike’d Up with Bruce Beck.

It took two stylist and all of Johnny’s focus to keep the wily bangs matted down to a respectable 4-inch peak.

Most head-on camera angles kept the hairdo in check, but the occasional side profile revealed a more compelling story of JT’s front locks, rebelling against jars of pomade and rising toward their full party-in-the-front potential.

Radio interview on the left, TV on the right. I think MSG...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:21:31 -0400

Radio interview on the left, TV on the right.

I think MSG asked for the wrong #91.

Fair to say neither player went to deep into his team’s second period game plan.

MSG sent a crew to Hartford, CT to meet Chiquita the Chihuahua...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:35:00 -0400

MSG sent a crew to Hartford, CT to meet Chiquita the Chihuahua and the rest of the McDonald family for an upcoming feature on forward Colin McDonlad.

Look for the biography piece to air during an upcoming Islanders pregame show.

This guy lost the Byng? A disappointing third-place finish in...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:56:17 -0500

This guy lost the Byng?

A disappointing third-place finish in last year’s Lady Byng voting hasn’t put a damper on Matt Moulson’s most gentlemanly play in the league.

When Casey Cizikas deposited Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk into the Islanders bench, Moulson offered the rookie a helping hand with a boost over the boards.

I would have considered it gentlemanly to not spear Galchenyuk in the ribs, but here’s Moulson, once again taking chivalry to another level.

Here’s the video, for anyone who hasn’t already watched it 50 times.

Overheard: Great - now he’s going to try and do everything...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 08:45:01 -0500

Overheard: Great - now he’s going to try and do everything with one hand…

A-Mac's Green Drank

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:25:29 -0500

Iron-Man Streak Snapped.

After three years with the Islanders, my consecutive games streak came to a close Saturday due to illness.

Beyond my personal devastation, the immediate consequences are as follows:

a) We have a superstitious team (and coach), and we were awesome Saturday without me, so…

b) No one delivers towels and waters like this guy. Players were simultaneously drenched and parched during their intermission interviews.

c) Game Notes have taken a turn for the worse - I get more bitter every time I update Matt Moulson’s iron-man streak.

To start a new streak, I turned to juice-cleanse aficionado Andrew MacDonald, who totes this mason-jar full of sewage-green muck to the rink every day.

A-Mac’s Green Drank

Simply fill a professional-grade juicer with the following ingredients and flip the switch to “pulverize”

Kale
Swiss chard
Parsley
Cilantro
Mint
Ginger
Carrot
Aloe Vera
Lemon
Lime
Wheat grass
Green apple
Celery
Cucumber
Spinach
Collard greens

Chef’s Note

A-Mac: “If we make a vegetable the night before - like if we have roasted beats with dinner…”

Me: “You throw in the beats?”

A-Mac: “Nope. We save the stems and throw them in.”

“It’s My Thing” What’s an...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:43:00 -0500

“It’s My Thing”

What’s an ultra-competitive hockey player to do when his traditional hockey flow is constantly being out-grown and out-greased by his linemate and BFF?

After failing to keep up with Matt Moulson’s ultra-luxurious hairdo for years, John Tavares called an audible Thursday under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, as his patented Frontal Flow reached new heights.

New York newspapers caught the look in all its glory.

“I try and live every day with a ‘Party In The Front’ attitude,” Tavares told no-one, but probably thought to himself after I showed him pictures from the game.

What he actually said, which was later confirmed in a radio interview by Moulson, was that the through-the-helmet quaff is kind of his thing.

We should have all seen it coming after he came to training camp with bangs that indicated he’d spent the off-season tuning up greased-lightning with the other T-Birds.

Give JT points for originality. It’s way better than a signature “jersey tuck” or yellow laces - and you know squirts and pee-wees everywhere are a mere hours of bathroom-mirror time away from perfectly replicating the look.

Thanks to MSG Network’s Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) for the best pic of the night… clearly pulled right off his TV screen.

Scrolling through the Islanders’ comprehensive auction page, which was established to raise...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:41:00 -0500

Scrolling through the Islanders’ comprehensive auction page, which was established to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief, Jordan Mosberg’s parents wisely scrolled past every autographed stick and jersey.

They instead came away with “Islanders Equipment Manager For A Game.”

Maybe they thought it was time for their nine-year-old son to learn how to do laundry.

Fortunately for Jordan, he was quickly promoted from the dryer room to the Islanders bench.

Jordan spent the afternoon in the Islanders locker room handing out towels, and waters, and even running equipment back and forth from the repair room to the players.

He watched pre-game warmups from the home bench and finished the game along side Head Equipment Manager Scott Boggs, meeting every player for an autograph.

Knowing Boggsy, Jordan likely walked away with a new Islanders wardrobe, too.

Here’s Jordan meeting Lubomir Visnovsky after the game.

Here he is playing it cool - clearly not noticing Kyle Okposo - while preparing to hand out waters with Assistant Athletic Trainer Phil Watson.

Locker Room Swag Alert: Our new friends at the Brooklyn Nets...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:11:33 -0500

Locker Room Swag Alert: Our new friends at the Brooklyn Nets just dropped off some crisp new head wear.

I’ll have to send out a team text to remind the boys to leave the stickers on and keep the brims flat.

Is it still too soon for our PR dept. to issue statements on Jay-Z’s behalf?

I see you Hova - good looks on the swag.

Cappy Shiner Update: Day 3 saw some nice new colors grace...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 11:32:48 -0500

Cappy Shiner Update: Day 3 saw some nice new colors grace coach’s face.

Introducing the official pregame drink of the Isles. Looks...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:28:29 -0500

Introducing the official pregame drink of the Isles.

Looks like a Shamrock Shake, tastes like someone blended Count Chocula with Fruity Pebbles and milk… Then added like 90 health supplements.

Derrek Douglas, the team’s strength and conditioning coach (and resident mixologist), came up with the recipe by starting with the team’s official post-game drink, then removing the tequila and scraping the salt off the rims of the Gatorade cups.