So as I start new beginnings, it’s a new beginning in the hockey world, especially down in Bridgeport where the Sound Tigers seem to have a new look, not just player-wise, but looks wise as well, sporting those new fancy RBK-edge unis.  To be honest, I never really liked those EDGE jerseys when they first started, but now I’m starting to like them more and more.  They look very svelte (I’ve always been looking for an excuse to use that word!) and some just look very very good on the players.  There have been a few bad apples in that group (VANCOUVER Canucks from Vancouver from British Columbia known as the Canucks anyone?)

Starting tomorrow, I’m going to start to do a position by position preview of our Bridgeport Sound Tigers with probably the most likely players that are going to look like they’ll make the team.  Hell, I may do it when I get back from work, but that’s what you’ll be seeing next.  Until then, I’m off to school…

The fact of the matter was that there were some stuff in my life that I needed to take care of for my own sake that forced me to take my attention off hockey for a few weeks, not as serious as you may think…but I just kinda needed to get my life back on track.

I’ll be back with a more full updated report after I get home from my new job (I’m starting today!)  Wish me luck…

Thanks again everyone…

First off, congratulations to Barry Bonds for hitting career home run #756. He absolutely CRUSHED the ball and he and everyone else knew from the moment it left his bat that it was out of there.

Now, lets put away all of this debate of steroids-this and steroids-that, this is an absolutely historic moment that will be remembered for a long time. This was THE record in all of sports to break, and someone actually did it. You’re not going to see this everyday folks.

Kudos to Hank Aaron for preparing a pre-taped speech and for the classy words he said. He didn’t have to do that, but he did, and I applaud that.

Kudos to Mike Bacsik for tipping his cap to Barry afterwards. He didn’t have to do that. His name will now be etched in history, just like Al Dowling when he gave up Hank Aaron’s homerun.

We also saw a very rare moment of emotion by Barry, recognizing his father, Bobby Bonds, up in the heavens. It was something that we’ll probably never see again, just like this moment.

I just missed home run 755 by a few innings, I’m extremely grateful to see this live on TV.

I don’t know about you, but this was a very historic moment and I’m going to revel in it for a little bit. For those who watched this moment on TV just like I did, you should too…

Bridgeport sound Tigers 2007-2008 Schedule 

As like last year, their schedule consists of mainly Friday-Saturday-Sunday games, with the occasional Weds game thrown in there.  This year, the Tigers have four sets of games where they play the same team on back-to-back days on the road.  Kind of odd scheduling, if you ask me…

A couple of games to look forward to:

October 6: Season opener in Hartford
October 12: Home opener vs. Norfolk
November 11-21: More odd scheduling, three straight games against Hershey (2 road, 1 home)
November 23: Hartford’s first visit to the Bridge
December: Ten of 14 games played at home
April 12-13: Home and home with Hartford to finish out the season

Looks like Trent Hunter is in the fold for another year, which is a very good thing for the Isles.  He has proved to be a valuable asset to the team especially over the past two years with his physical, yet not over-agressive style of play.

The $1.55 mil award also seems very fair to both sides.  It’s been reported that Hunter was looking for $1.9 million, so it seems that the arbitrator just cut it down the middle with the $1 million he was earning the previous season.

Anyone also notice has unbelievably reasonable the arbitration awards have been this year?  With Avery getting $1.9 million, and not his asking price of $2.65 million, along with Hunter’s split-down-the-middle reward; they’ve all been very fair.  Remember last year’s atrocities??  York gets $2.5 million??? Puh-lease!!

That’s all for now.  Everyone enjoy your weekend!

Onto some news, it looks like the Islanders will visit the Bridge again this preseason for an exhibition game against the Devils.  This will be the second year in a row that these two teams will be tilting at Harbor Yard.  I, for one, love these games and it brings up some fond memories for me.  the first game I covered was an Islanders preseason game at Bridgeport in 2003 against the Boston Bruins.  I remember it vividly…Islanders 5-3 win over the Bruins, Steve Stirling led the Islanders to a perfect 7-0 preseason that year.  Ah…the memories…

Oh, more good news.  I’ve been named as one of the first members of the NYI Blog Box!   I’m very excited for the opportunity, and in kind, have created my own blog, The Tiger Track.  Over at the Tiger Track, I’ll be focusing on all the former Sound Tigers that are now playing with the New York Islanders in the NHL.  Guys like Trent Hunter, Chris Campoli, Sean Bergenheim, Wade Dubielewicz, and much more.

I’ll also be doing some retrospectives on some of the greatest games from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season as well, from my perspective as a writer being enthralled with the action.  It should be fun.  I’ll place a link in the sidebar as well for easy clicking.  And you’ll be sure I’ll be pimping it every chance I get!

That’s it for now, I’ll be back very soon…

So be good!

See you then!

Well, what a couple of days can do for Islanders fans. Just a few days ago, Isles fans were writing this team off as quickly as their income taxes with the departures of Smyth, Blake, Kozlov, Poti, and Zednik, and honestly, I didnt blame them. I was on the “Rome is burning” bandwagon just like everyone else, but I also held out hope as well that Garth and Teddyhad some sort of plan in their back pockets.

Billy Guerin and Mike Comrie instantly make up for the goal production lost from Blake and Smyth.  Ruslan Fedotenko is almost a perfect replacement for Kozlov, providing that he can return to his 26-goal form in the 2005-2006, plus he seems like a player that Ted Nolan can get the most out of with his speedy and relentless play.  And Jon Sim is a nice little gritty 3rd-4th line center that can pop 10-15 goals.

I think this team is getting better and better.

Also have some other minor signings and trades to report and analyze.  I will get to that in a bit.

Until then…

July 1 is free agent day, and the rumours were flying.  Excitement was in the air at Islanders Iceworks during the Islanders Prospect Camp.  But as the day progressed for Isles fans, the news got dimmer and dimmer…very…slowly…

Lets take a look at who has been lost…

~Jason Blake - Toronto (5 yrs./$20 mil)
~Viktor Kozlov - Washington (2 yrs./$5 mil)
~Richard Zednik - Florida (2 yrs./$3 mil)
~Tom Poti - Washington (4 yrs./$14 mil)

and finally… Ryan Smyth - Colorado (5 yrs./$31.25 mil)

Now, I totally can live with the loss of Zednik (who wasn’t even qualified) and Kozlov.  They won’t be missed much by me.  Poti’s loss hurts, but IMO, he’s not worth $3.5 million a year.  He needed another year to prove that worth.  The loss of Blake was obviously expected, and I wasn’t surprised to see the five years out there.   The Smyth loss though, that hurt the most.  I knew Colorado was the obvious suitor that was trying to lure Smytty away, so that wasn’t surprising.  The fact that surprises me is that Smytty took LESS money to go to Colorado, as opposed to stay here on Long Island.  One would think where Smyth was traded from Edmonton because he wasn’t being offered enough money, that would go to the team that offered him more.  We always knew to expect the unexpected with the ISlanders, and this one certainly came as a shocker for sure.

But now, the Isles have some serious issues to address.  They just lost this season their top three scorers (Smyth [granted w/ EDM], Yashin, Blake), their most reliable defenseman (Poti), and another 20-goal scorer (Kozlov).   When you look around the league, I see the Flyers getting Briere for a ridiculous 8-year deal, the Rangers inking Drury and Gomez, Kariya (who was strongly rumoured as a potential backup to Smyth) going with St. Louis, and all the Isles have to show for it is Jon Sim.  Not a very impressive opening IMO.

Garth and Co. better be making waves instead of splashes now, because the pool is draining…

For those that know me personally, know that I have always been a huge fan of professional wrestling, mainly WWE, but I appreciated the art and sport of professional wrestling. I’ve even interviewed with World Wrestling Entertainment, and am still in the hunt of finding a job there. Sure, there were the over-the-top storylines, the crazy characters, and high-flying action that appealed me as well; but to sit down, and watch an actual solid WRESTLING match, and still be kept on the edge of your seat was most satisfying to me.

There was one man who could pull that off for the past ten years or so, and that man was Chris Benoit. Benoit was arguably my favorite wrestler and I always looked forward to watching him perform. Watching him ply his craft in the ring was almost a thing of beauty. His matches with Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels and HHH were classics that will always be replayed in my mind and in my DVD player for a long time.

Benoit could carry a broomstick to a five-star match, that’s how good he really was. He was a man that commanded respect, both in and out of the ring, and it showed. From the stories I’ve heard, he was a very reserved man, but always made time for the fans to say hi and chat with them. He also apparently put his family above anyone else.

But when my brother knocked on my door around 6:30 on Monday and told me the news about his death, I was devastated. My favorite performer was gone. And then I find out not only him, but his wife and son were also found in the home with him, made me feel even worse. Not only was my favorite performer gone, but his whole family as well. Something had to be amiss. I had first thought it was carbon monoxide poisoning…that seemed like the only logical reasoning from the very few facts we had known when the news broke Monday evening.

As I was watching the Benoit “tribute” show late Monday night, I was still combing the internet, hoping to find anything new that was being reporting. Hoping to find a reason to explain why my favorite performer and his family are now dead. When the show was over, I decided to head over to WWE.com, hoping that they would have some more information. What I found out was shocking, and moreso sickening and very disturbing.

It’s very hard to look at Chris Benoit’s career the same way again. It’s hard to watch some of his greatest matches without thinking to myself, “This man killed a seven-year-old boy.” And not even just a boy, his SON. The circumstances are bizarre. The story is bizarre. Everything surrounding the cause of the deaths, and the mindset he was in is just strange. There really has to be more to it. But for now, I’m angered and saddened at the same time, that such a tragedy has taken place. But moreso angry, knowing I had cheered for a man for the past ten years, who just happens to be now a child murderer.

Stories like this make you really think about life, and how precious it is. Just that night I had an argument with my mom that left a sour taste in my mouth the next morning. I felt bad about the argument, and made sure to go out of my way to give her a call and apologize and let her know I love her. That’s really what everyone should do. Cherish each day you have, and make sure to let your loved ones know how you feel about them. Make sure you appreciate everything you have and everyone around you.

For now, this tragic and bizarre story continues to unfold, and will continue to sadden me for quite a while.  But remember, cherish what you have, for life can be strange, and you never know what is ahead…