Long Island's own ace sportscaster, Kenny Albert is debuting his brand new book,
Long Island's own ace sportscaster, Kenny Albert is debuting his brand new book, A Mic For All Seasons. The official publication date is next Tuesday. Since Albert's career is closely intertwined with the New York Islanders, Albert and I have had a lot to discuss.
Here are some of his thoughts on topics involving the Orange and Blue.
FAVORITE MEMORIES OF ISLES PLAY BY PLAY: "My first ever broadcast was filling in on Isles radio. It was December 2, 1989, at Winnipeg. My color analyst was Mike Farrell. Later I called several Isles games in the early 1990's. And I did almost three decades of Rangers/Isles games for MSG Networks; not to mention national calls of Isles games on NBC. And how can I forget that last game at Nassau Coliseum when Anthony Beauvillier scored the overtime goal against Tampa Bay."
ISLES COLOR ANALYSTS HE WORKED WITH OVER THE YEARS: "My goalie analyst was the former NHL stopper Marty Biron. For defense, I had Denis Potvin and Mike Milbury. The former forwards included Bob Nystrom, Patrick Flatley, Terry Crisp, and Brian Mullen. Finally, three of the broadcasters were Joe Micheletti, Billy Jaffe, and AJ Mleczko."
HOW THE GAME HAS CHANGED: "I loved watching hockey during my childhood in the 1970s and 1980s, and I don't take anything away from the terrific players of that era. Some of my most vivid memories are of iconic playoff games throughout the Canadiens, Islanders, and Oilers dynasties. But the game has evolved since then, and now the players are even stronger and faster and have been greatly enhanced by technological advances."
THE ISLES RECORD OF 19 STRAIGHT PLAYOFF SERIES WINS: "Perhaps it will be broken someday. But since the last Cup win in 1983, no team has won more than two consecutive Cups. The Stanley Cup is the hardest championship to win in pro sports, and the playoffs are a grueling, two-month process. I'm always amazed to hear about all the injuries the players play through and their collective sacrifice. The Oilers admit that after the Isles beat them in 1983, they walked past the New York locker room and witnessed what the Isles looked like after winning their fourth straight Cup and seeing what the Isles put their bodies through. The Oilers point to that moment as a lesson that helped them win their first Cup a year later."
A Mic For All Seasons can be pre-ordered via Barnes and Noble, Target, and Amazon. It was published by Triumph with Forewards by Wayne Gretzky and Walt Frazier.
And Kenny wrote it all by himself!!