The NYI Website has gone ADD

DING DONG THE BIG HEADS ARE GONE!!!...but my head needs to stop spinning from looking at the Isles re-designed site. More to come on it all...

My opinions about the Isles and the organization overall are based on two facts: 1) I wear sneakers, not skates and 2) the distance between me and what goes on in the inner sanctum of each player and of the team is huge. With that said here is a snippet of some stuff I picked up along the way this season.

NYI website stuff: ok so the re-designed site has my eyes moving around like Ricochet Rabbit however at the end of the day the big heads are gone from the players thus the hockey gods worked their magic. Most funny about that was in the right hand corner where you could choose to see the players listed roster style or with the big heads – the link to click between the two was actually titled big head(s). I now humbly ask that the hockey gods work their magic to put back fan photos on the homepage.

Playoff stuff- In the end the Isles lost to a faster, more conditioned and cohesive team. All the non Isles fans I have chatted with near and far have offered nothing but kudos to the Isles for getting this far. The fellas did a heck of a lot they weren’t expected to do (nah nah nah nah you doubters) and for that I am uber thankful for their efforts. The Isles have always been a never say die team and what continues to draw me in, besides loyalty as a long time fan, is that they serve up the unexpected – win or lose. A strategy recommendation for next season is attunement.

Goal/No goal ref stuff- anyone who has played sports knows that poop happens. Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked. An NHL conspiracy? Come on really?

Fans who threw stuff stuff- maybe next season you’ll throw a hat onto the ice instead of a beer bottle and your stupidity will be replaced with respect for your team. Better yet stay home and stupidly throw stuff on your floor. For those ‘fans’ who went beyond venting frustration to trashing your own team with comments like DP is for Dipsh*t and Dunham is garbage- strap some skates on and get drafted into the NHL or zip it.

For all that is holy stuff- someone please make the ice twirls stop overdoing their job by demonstrating Ice Capades moves on the ice. I struggled to answer my sister’s ‘what the #%*$ is that?’ text during the game because I am baffled by it as well. Are all those costume changes necessary? They should have put the wardrobe money towards fixing up the pig pen Isles store at the Mid-Island Plaza. And yes I refuse to call it the Broadway Mall.

Coliseum stuff- our arena has preserved what’s left of hockey as I once knew and loved it to be, GRITTY. If your focus is on the walls around you and not on the ice in front of you then switch to a newer arena where you can focus on being bombarded by advertisements and other money making gimmicks that have nothing to do with hockey but have everything to do with generating revenue and brand loyalty. To put this in lyrical terms…I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain, I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end, I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend but I never thought I’d see a Paxil advertisement during a hockey game (Philly).

Marketing stuff- the Lighthouse cometh and I cringe when wondering just how the organization will once again express their average at best marketing. Hearing “tell em’ DP sent you” for a dental practice radio ad almost made me run off the road. Foreshadowing = asking kids to design a new Isles hat that had a lighthouse logo on it and NOT the Isles logo. It won’t be long until we find a suspicious looking fisherman walking around and someone finds Sparky gagged and duct taped in a locker. For the record I still want our OWN mascot!

Player stuff:
Islander who hasn’t reached his full potential- Mike Sillinger. Faceoff smaceoff. I believe Silly has more to offer all around. I was banking on him at the end of the season and he didn’t let me down. Next season I want to see him haul a$$ and run circles around the younger guys. Envision this Mike – you’ve just stuffed yourself at dinner and the waiter comes around with the dessert menu. You can’t fathom eating another bite but then you remember that little pocket of the stomach that is reserved just for dessert and so you order the biggest dessert they’ve got and you devour the entire thing.

Islander I would like to offer a constructive tip to- Wade Dubielewicz. Not only did he hold his own in net but I believe his doing so contributed to the mental game of the entire team. I mean who wasn’t freaking out when DP got hurt? Wade darling there is this thing called your Kinesphere: ‘the area that the body is moving within and how the mover is paying attention to it.’ In my opinion you tend to get floppy at times with your arms and especially your gloved wrist. May I suggest some upper body strengthening and that you become the master of your range of motion.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laban_Movement_Analysis

Islander that needs to be shown some respect- Mike Dunham. I’ve read some pretty awful rants about this fella, mostly written by Isles fans. You all suckith big time. Did you ever watch him ‘sit’ on the bench? I don’t think there is any player more so than Mike who was chomping at the bit to play. Yes Mike I saw you pacing back and forth in the hallway behind the team bench in Philly. Whatever mental block you struggled with can be overcome including what I perceived to be performance anxiety. Although I think you have a great presence and stance in goal, your opponents came to expect you to drop down with shots on goal. Create a new pathway from your brain to your body and don’t let the turkeys get you down…well unless it’s the best way to stop the shot.

New Isles mantra stuff: no one gets in front of our net for free. At the very least institute a cover charge.

Last but not least stuff- I hope the Isles organization (and anyone else who is contributing to this) will stop kissing the a$$ of the past. WE KNOW they won 4 cups in a row. It was an amazing time at THAT TIME but I can’t imagine the fellas trying to move forward while in the shadow of the past. A suggestion for next season’s platform…learn from the past and play in the present moment with proactive vision.

Wax on wax off grasshoppers!

LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!!