I'm as Islanders as you can get. And I'm not bragging!
I'm as Islanders as you can get. (And I'm not bragging, mind you, just reporting.)
Long Island Arena was my second home when dear Al Baron owned the Ducks and none of us ever thought that the beloved Eastern League team would one day become an inspiration for an NHL club in Uniondale.
It was my pleasure to welcome Bill Torrey's first Draft pick, Billy Harris to the Coliseum. Billy never turned out to be the second coming of Rocket Richard but he was a solid right wing and always had a smile for us media types.
But the fun -- for me, at least -- began when Cablevision genius Chuck Dolan began televising the games and he picked Spencer Ross to do the play-by-play.
A stick tap to Lady Luck because we arrived when the Isles gained their first playoff berth and then knocked off the dudes from MSG.. Who'd have dreamed they'd follow that by winning four straight from Pitt after losing the first three.
There were, of course, potholes along the way but Bobby Ny smoothed over one and Butch paved another in '81 and Boss helped blank Vancouver a year after that. I still can't believe they pulled off the first -- and still only -- American three-Cup hat trick; and I was fortunate to be right on top of it.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfk-vlHiPCg[/embed]
But for The Maven, the sweetest sweep of all was the 1983 finale when the Oilers were broomed all the way back to Edmonton in the sweep of all sweeps. (I still have lovely visions of Kenny Morrow's open netter that sealed the series.)
And all the while, I had a front row seat as the franchise reached elite status while Bow Tie Bill Torrey and Al (Radar) Arbour made this Maven feel like part of the family.
That family includes my choice as the best all round defenseman of all-time, Denis Potvin. I was honored to co-author the captain's book, Power On Ice and thrilled that Denis and I are pals to this day.
As a native of Brooklyn, I got a kick out of the move to Flatbush and Atlantic -- a mere mile from where I was born. (Too bad the architects forgot how to design a hockey arena.)
Time marches on and change is intrinsic in our lives. That explains why I was tickled that Hockey News publisher -- and friend, I might add -- Graeme Roustan selected me to be one-half of the double-dip Isles coverage along with that dynamic word-wizard, the intrepid Stefen Rosner.
If ever there was a ferret on the spoor of a good story, Rapid Rosner is the man
This promises to be a fun one-two combo, bringing you an all-angles view of your favorite team.
And speaking of "team," Islanders devotees are most fortunate to have a pair of
nonpareil owners in Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky, It's safe to say that without their perseverance and dedication we wouldn't have an Islanders team playing out of the best arena in North America.
It's been a fun ride and figures to be even more fun with our intensive Isles coverage in the ever growing Hockey News!