Battle Of Hudson

It was a simple formula for Scott Gordon’s club Saturday against their old Patrick nemesis. Special teams were the difference in a well earned 4-2 home victory over the Devils off the Meadowbrook. 


Second period power play goals a minute apart from Jon Sim and Mark Streit along with a momentum turning Sean Bergenheim shorthanded goal midway through the third was enough for the Islanders to snap a four-game winless streak. They victimized former teammate Yann Danis, who made a rare start for Martin Brodeur, who Jacques Lemaire rested in New Jersey’s third game in four days. 

“We wanted to get lots of shots and traffic in front of him,” Streit indicated. “He probably didn’t have a lot of confidence tonight. We wanted to take advantage of that. Marty is a huge goalie, a very good goalie. He plays the puck unbelievable. It’s a big difference if he is in net.”

“None,” a frustrated Patrik Elias said of what went wrong. “We were ready to play. We played fine the first 15 or 17 minutes. Then we just had a couple of bad shifts in a row.”

Beating the Rangers is one thing. But following it up with a sound performance against Sidney Crosby and the defending champion Pens shows that the Devils just might be a factor this Spring. Facing a team they owned earlier in the season in what amounted to a significant game if they’re to comeback and win the Atlantic, the Newark hosts stood up to Pittsburgh, defeating them a fifth straight time by a score of 3-1.

Martin Brodeur bested Marc-Andre Fleury with 34 saves and the New Jersey D we saw earlier this year returned. First half hero Andy Greene was the catalyst, scoring a goal and assist while playing splendid defense on the league’s leading finisher Crosby, whose 45th of the season was the only one that beat Team Canada Olympic teammate Brodeur. For a team that had struggled for over a month, this was a change back to when things were right. Jacques Lemaire’s defensive strategy again foiled the high flying Pens, who now have totaled only three goals in five defeats. The Devils’ second consecutive win pulled them within two of first with two in hand. The old Patrick rivals meet one more time at The Rock next Wednesday.

For the Devils, everything was gravy with big acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk delivering his best game in red and black- finishing with a goal and two helpers along with a game high seven shots. Playing a more workman like game, the electrifying Russian helped set up Greene’s decider with 17:54 left in the third period. At that critical juncture, the teams were deadlocked with the home club wasting a couple of power plays, including a Craig Adams major in which they got nothing done. However, Brodeur made two vital saves late in the stanza to keep that from burning them.

Early on, the teams traded goals 42 seconds apart. Patrik Elias got it started when he cashed in on a wide Greene shot that took a favorable carom, pushing the puck past an out of position Fleury for his 12th at 1:43. Kovalchuk netted a secondary helper. Once again ahead on a team they’ve owned, it looked like the Devils would roll. However, Crosby was having none of it, converting his league best 45th off a break to end a run of 11 straight New Jersey goals in the season series. Taking a quick feed from Chris Kunitz, Sid The Kid waited before going five-hole on Brodeur. A Martin Skoula minor soon followed but the Devils tightened up, keeping it tied.

While there was no scoring in the second, it certainly was highly entertaining with wide open action and plenty of rough stuff. With each trying to get their point across, the penalty fest started when Adams was called for a charging major, earning the rest of the night off. Judging from Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross‘ commentary, it sounded like it was excessive. However, the Devils drove their fans nuts by barely testing Fleury. Ex-Devil Mike Rupp was then nabbed for an unnecessary slash on Brodeur following a puck he covered which led to a scrum. Handed a third opportunity to surge ahead, the Devs couldn’t with Fleury seeing everything as the Pen PK did a solid job in front.

While on it, Dainius Zubrus and Kris Letang exchanged pleasantries following a Fleury save. Each earning matching roughs. The shenanigans continued when instigator Matt Cooke came at Rob Niedermayer, who of course was just releasing the puck. However, the younger Nieds saw him and threw an oldschool high crosscheck that drew the baby’s ire. God forbid someone is prepared for his antics. Of course, Cooke challenged him while other players joined the fracas, including Ruslan Fedotenko and Colin White, who actually paired off. With David Clarkson wanting to step in, nothing materialized as cooler heads prevailed. Evgeni Malkin was also whistled for interference while Niedermayer got an extra two for the crosscheck, forcing Rod Pelley to serve it.

Faced with a little adversity, the Devils easily killed it off with outstanding work done by Greene, who was everywhere breaking up plays. By far his best game in months. The lift eventually led to a huge play which also could’ve been a turning point. A soft backhand pass by Clarkson sprung Kovalchuk for a clean breakaway to which the former Thrasher was denied by a quick Fleury pad. However, Letang got him from behind. Or at least from our vantage point, the side. Be that as it may, they rewarded Kovy a penalty shot. Previously, he was 1-for-1 in his career discounting the gimmick. With a chance to put his new team up, Kovalchuk’s was stoned by Fleury. He tried to go low but nothing doing with even a smattering of boos from an impatient crowd.

It set the stages for a big third. Not shockingly, right off the bat Niedermayer obliged Cooke who got the better of him, earning the KO. It wasn’t that bad. With the game hanging in the balance, Bryce Salvador found an on-rushing Kovalchuk, who backed up the D before sending a wrister on Fleury, which the Pens’ netminder was unable to control kicking it right to Greene, who rifled it top shelf at 2:06- sending the crowd to its feet. It was his first goal since netting two back on Dec.9 versus Carolina, spanning 37 contests. Not only was it big but it marked two in a row in which Greene had at least two points. His offense had been non-existant. Perhaps the break helped because he’s got five points in five games (1-4-5).

The game was far from over. With the Devs nursing a one-goal lead, more theatrics occurred when captain Jamie Langenbrunner got tangled up with Chris Kunitz near the Pens’ bench. In fact, Kunitz pulled Langenbrunner in with him as players from both sides watched. On the sequence, somehow Pitt came out with a man-advantage as they gave Langs an extra two for high sticking. Again, the Devil PK was outstanding keeping the Pens on the perimeter. In particular, they pressured high forcing Letang to make the decisions while giving both Crosby and Malkin little space. It resulted in turnovers leading to routine clears. Brodeur also had a couple of stops, including a strong glove save on Jordan Staal. Even if the shot was heading wide, it was a smart play that allowed his team a breather following some diligent work.

The best Pens’ chance came from Malkin, who all period had it going. Taking a pass in stride, he broke in and seemed to have Brodeur beat but couldn’t tuck in his backhand with it instead hitting the side of the net. Probably the biggest play to that point. An even larger yet more controversial one came next. Off a solid forecheck by Zubrus and Travis Zajac, they worked the puck to Kovalchuk, who let one go from about 35 out. His harmless shot whizzed by Fleury, who vehemently protested immediately. Replays showed that an attacking Zajac waved his stick at it but wound up accidentally shoving Fleury’s glove which looked in position. After much discussion, both Doc Emrick and Chico Resch agreed that maybe the Devils caught a break. Even if not intentional, it probably should’ve been wiped out due to incidental contact.

Instead, Kovalchuk’s 35th (4th as a Devil) stood from Zubrus and Zajac, giving New Jersey a 3-1 lead with 10:01 remaining. A Mike Mottau high-sticking minor handed the Pens another power play. However, Brodeur and Co. again silenced the Pens, who despite a 15-5 edge in shots, couldn’t beat their Kryptonite.

“Brodeur played as well as he can play,” a pleased Lemaire said. “He was on the top of his game and played very solid. He made some great saves in the third period.”

“There is no explanation for it,” the veteran coach added of his team’s dominance of the Penguins. “You need a little luck. But when you do well against one team, it builds confidence and you think you can play at that level all the time.”

“He’s Martin Brodeur, so you can’t expect him not to play well,” Crosby added. “He gets up for games like this and gives a little something extra. Whether he considers it a challenge or not, I don’t know, but he just plays well.”

Whatever it is, one thing’s certain. At least for now, the Devils have the Pens’ number. Whether that changes next week or in the foreseeable future remains to be seen.

3rd Star-Martin Brodeur, NJD (34 saves incl.15/15 in 3rd)
2nd Star-Ilya Kovalchuk, NJD (4th as a Devil plus 2 assists, game best 7 SOG, +3 in 20:51)
1st Star-Andy Greene, NJD (GW goal-5th of season, assist, +3 in 23:34)

Unless you’ve been in a box today, the startling news is that coach pet Sean Avery will be a healthy scratch in tonight’s game against an Atlanta team that’s dropped four straight. Niclas Bergfors is producing and Johnny Oduya has settled in but the Thrashers sit a point behind the ninth seeded Rangers, who trail eighth Boston by five. Seventh seeded Montreal is six clear, meaning that the teams ahead are about to put our fraud of a team in the rear view mirror.

When I said I wasn’t looking forward to the restart of the season following splendid Olympic hockey, I wasn’t kidding. That’s what Ranger hockey has become. The same losing blank identity we had for nearly a decade. It just isn’t fun anymore. Sure. The games we go to are but that’s because of the close friends we’ve made in our section. The product stinks. The Post Jagr Era Error has been a huge turning point. Like in the classic scene from Planes, Trains, Automobile’s with John Candy’s classic Del Griffith babbling on while buddy Steve Martin’s character Neal Page warns he’s “going the wrong way,” it’s Glen Sather doing the steering with John Tortorella in the passenger seat.

How did it all go so wrong? Never mind. I am probably not going to watch much of this loser match because I’m fed up. The loser mentality is back. If they just forfeited the rest, it’d make a lot of suffering Blueshirt fans happier. Right now, they have the ninth worst record but a bunch of teams are close which means if they continue to lose, it’s possible they could crack the top five in what’s a good draft.

As for Avery being made the scapegoat, it’s true he’s done little this season. This despite Tort’s nonsensical claims that he didn’t hold him back. Sean was invisible versus his favorite opponent in that 6-3 dismantling in Newark. Speaking of the Devils, they play what amounts to a huge game against the Crosby Pens, who lead the division by four. Everyone knows New Jersey has owned Pittsburgh winning the first four while frustrating Sid The Kid without a point. The Pens have been a very different team lately as have the Devs. Will it translate or is it psychological? We’ll get a better answer after today and next week’s final regular season meeting also at The Rock. Nice scheduling.

Many Ranger Tweeps are up in arms over Avery being sat out in favor of Enver Lisin. It’s not because Lisin doesn’t deserve another shot as he’s worked when in the lineup but cause Tort only made one defining example back in mid-December, benching Wade Redden. Should Sean be the alibi for a poor coaching job by a man who insisted he was anti-Renney and would hold players accountable and have a fourth line? Anyone who’s watched this three ring circus knows what a crock it is.

We’ll probably keep a closer eye on the big Atlantic showdown while peaking in on our game. Well, at the very least, they won’t risk killing anyone.

This comes from Pens’ coach Dan Bylsma on his team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes, who remarkably are three within new NHL .500 and just three behind the Rangers. Think about that folks. This was a team that lost every way possible and was buried. They probably won’t make the playoffs but Paul Maurice’s team has shown a lot more heart than our guys. What’s echoed below is what I’d like to see from a franchise that’s going the wrong way:

“I think that the team we played tonight has proven all year long that they are not going to stop playing. They are going to work regardless of the standings or what the score is.”

     

 Today’s comes from the leader of the sinking ship:

“Our defense is what our defense is.”

Any questions?

This is actually something I came up with while screwing around on Twitter with a few NYR tweeps. Based on yesterday’s listless performance.

Devil domination. One team showed for tonight’s latest installment of the Battle Of Hudson. Even if it wasn’t exactly an A performance from Jacques Lemaire’s guys, it was plenty good enough to embarrass the Rangers 6-3 at an energized Prudential Center.

Both clubs entered reeling but only one answered the bell. That would be the better team who’s headed to another postseason, improving to 81 points that still trail the Penguins by five for tops in the Atlantic.Even without winning regularly the past month-plus, New Jersey’s 14 points clear of the passionless opponent they beat down- responding to a team meeting following the Calgary/Edmonton debacles. Oddly enough, it was the Devils’ first home game since 2/12 stretching the Olympic Break. Back home off a disappointing 1-2 road trip, they had to be better. Apparently, John Tortorella never got that message across to his club.

Three times, the Newark hosts went ahead of what was supposed to be a desperate Ranger team trying to stay afloat in the playoff race. Playoffs?!?!?!?!?! Amazingly, the trademark Marty vs Henrik goalie match turned into a goal-fest. Especially for two of the lowest scoring Eastern teams who won’t be confused with the Caps or Pens. Rob Niedermayer got it started, steering home a Brian Rolston rebound. Before you blinked, Vinny Prospal finished off a sweet Marian Gaborik dish tying it 57 ticks later. Late in the period, the Devils responded when Bryce Salvador’s shot deflected off Olli Jokinen’s skate past Henrik Lundqvist, giving them a 2-1 lead into the locker room.

The Blueshirts didn’t go away with Erik Christensen converting his sixth 5:01 into the second making it a pair of two’s. Following a near Devil miss, Brandon Dubinsky came the other way and then dished to Christensen, who abused Patrik Elias before whistling one high stick side on a flustered Martin Brodeur, who waved his arms at his D. Imagine Lundqvist doing that. Just once, we’d like to see it.

With the game hanging in the balance, a Zach Parise crosscheck 53 seconds later gave the guests a great opportunity to cease control of the match. Instead, they got nothing done. Shortly after, an undisciplined Wade Redden tug on Parise put the home club on the power play. Judging by the look on Redden’s face, you’d thought he was innocent. But the $6.5 million Tinman was guilty and paid the price when the aforementioned Parise banged home his Devil best 31st from Dainius Zubrus and Travis Zajac. Once again, the Rangers came back quickly with Brandon Prust steered home a Jody Shelley rebound 37 seconds later. Ser—iou—sly. It’s pretty sad when the grinders were our best players. But hey. The Devil trio of Brian Rolston, Niedermayer and David Clarkson dominated all night- combining for two goals, three assists and a plus-seven. That’s what happens when your team should be sponsored by Hostess.

With the game knotted a third time, the Devils bounced back thanks to a great shift from captain Jamie Langenbrunner, who neatly deflected home Mike Mottau’s shot pass for his 16th at 13:06. On the play, somehow the Ranger fourth line got caught out against the Devil second with both Langenbrunner and an otherwise invisible Ilya Kovalchuk controlling the puck. Eventually, it came to Andy Greene who moved it to an isolated Mottau. With nobody pressuring, he had enough time to find Langenbrunner for a nice redirection goal. Both Mike Del Zotto and Dan Girardi got victimized.

Rolston delivered the backbreaker just 2:13 later. In one of the worst periods they’ve played, Ryan Callahan made a huge error overpassing to no one. Instead of firing from the right circle on Brodeur which would’ve been the smart play, his turnover led directly to a 3-on-1 against. Clarkson worked the puck to Niedermayer, who then slipped it to Rolston, whose wrister deflected off Girardi’s stick past Lundqvist.

A pumped up Rolston celebrated his 18th congratulated by pleased teammates while a dejected Lundqvist was given the hook for the first time in 29 career starts versus a team he usually owns. Not tonight. Even if the puck went off Girardi, he still should’ve had it. Granted. The bounces went against him. But that doesn’t excuse it nor does it explain Tortorella’s decision to put in Alex Auld, humiliating his fuming goalie while both Doc Emrick and Chico Resch were left baffled. In a game your team is supposed to be desperate for, wouldn’t it be better to keep Henrik in? Can you imagine what his teammates thought?

With Lundqvist’s night done after permitting five goals on 17 shots, Auld came in and did a decent job turning aside nine of 10 the rest of the way. Too little, too late. When the second ended, so did my desire to watch, opting for sushi. If you caught my brief rant in the prior post, you know why. Not much was missed with Zajac putting the finishing touches on a Devl statement with a new career high 21st goal that made it 6-3 with 3:39 left. Zubrus and Parise added helpers.

Afterwards, Tortorella cited his team’s inconsistency all season. What about yours? The man is so full of it. All he is is hot air and the balloon’s about to burst. The way his players don’t play demonstrate that. The look on the franchise’s most important player tells you everything. This was supposed to be a team that attacked yet in the first of what amounted to a crucial game, they held back. It’s called the trap. He promised a better fourth line…All he ever does is ream players never taking any blame when they lose. As that dreadful character who Heath Ledger’s Joker character ticked off, “E-N-O-U-G-H from the Clown!”

Aside from that, remember when Sean Avery labeled Clarkson a “career minor leaguer.” Care to retract that statement? I didn’t notice Avery the first 40 and doubt it was any different in garbage time. Garbage. A good word to accurately describe the Rangers, who left their own fans furious including a close buddy from our section who messaged me with:

“I actually wasted money for that.“

The fat lady’s warming up.

3rd Star-Mike Mottau, NJD (2 assists, +3 in 22:46)
2nd Star-Jamie Langenbrunner, NJD (16th of season-GW, assist, 4 SOG, +2 in 17:22)
1st Star-Rolston–Niedermayer–Clarkson, NJD (2-3-5, 7 SOG, 5 hits, 2 takeaways, +7 rating)

That second period by our guys was one of the most passionless, careless, dismal displays. If there were a crash course in Hockey 101 on How Not To Play Hockey, the Rangers’ lack there of performance would be primary example No.1.

To not even bother competing against one of your biggest rivals is a writhing indictment of the mismatched soft as Carvel/Hostess roster the GM (General Moron) put together. I’m disgraced, humiliated and thoroughly embarrassed to root for this team.

End of rant.

A day long overdue took place this past Sunday. For a decade, Glen Sather has failed miserably as Ranger Team President/GM. Despite four straight postseason appearances, the former Edmonton architect has eaten his words about having free reign and ‘never losing a game.’ The arrogance of a senile executive who got more than he bargained for when he made the dramatic move from small market to one of the largest that’s front and center.

Perhaps it was that narcissistic attitude which was doomed to fail after replacing Neil Smith. When you’re part of one of the greatest dynasties riding Gretzky and Messier’s coat tails, it’s easy to fall into the trap. Slats probably never realized how good he had it with a dynasty that included Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr and Kevin Lowe. Winning five Cups can spoil you rotten.

Ten years later and Sather has tarnished his squeaky clean reputation by making poor choices that haven’t worked out. Whether it’s the Eric Lindros trade, the hiring of Islander great Bryan Trottier or drafting Hugh Jessiman, embarrassing is one of many adjectives that describes the Slats Era Error. The list goes on and on. Messier II. Pavel Bure. Alex Kovalev II. Vladimir Malakhov. Igor Ulanov. The brutal treatment of John MacLean. The awful mishandling of arguably the franchise’s greatest player BRIAN LEETCH. R & R (Rozsival/Redden). Slats’ humiliating cameo behind the bench. The refusal to talk to the New York media. It’d be easy to cite more but you get the jist.

Even in lucking out with Henrik Lundqvist and the Caps dumping Jaromir Jagr pre-lockout for Anson Carter along with Team Jagr imports Rozsival, Marek Malik, Martin Rucinsky and Michael Nylander, the Rangers only won two rounds with their best run three long years ago under Tom Renney before Chris Drury broke our backs. If only they could get the time machine and transport back. As I said to close pal/Buffalo contributor Brian Sanborn, you only get so many chances. The one instance when Renney should’ve been more conservative sending Blair Betts and Jed Ortmeyer out, it cost us a possible Conference Final. Even if they would’ve been heavy underdogs, you just never know.

The biggest mistake Sather made was investing so much in Redden and Rozsival, really setting back the franchise on one forgettable July day. While he gets credit for taking a waiver on Rozy who contrary to all the hate was a key cog in getting the team back to the playoffs, the $5 million was classic overpayment for a player who was beginning to show wear and tear. That he’d even dare to say Redden was the “best first passer” along with their ‘No.1 target’ speaks to how out of touch he is. Any hockey fan could’ve told him that he was morphing into Tinman those final years in Ottawa. Even if you want to give Slats the benefit of the doubt arguing that Redden was still productive, he hasn’t been the same since Game Seven ECF versus the Devils in which he and Karel Rachunek got victimized by scrub Grant Marshall and immortal Jeff Friesen. If only he’d watched Redden get banged around by the Ducks in 2007.

Even long-term signings like Chris Drury ($7.05 M) and Scott Gomez ($7.357 M), who each helped improve the Blueshirts in Year 1, leading them past the Devils before falling to the Pens- were way too much because you can’t build around either. One could cite the dreaded market value but couldn’t we say the same for Bobby Holik? Sather gets credit for finding a taker for Gomez and using the money on Marian Gaborik, who’s risking health by continuing to play on a weak roster that can’t seriously challenge. He also gets kudos on Brendan Shanahan, who was a good Ranger. Matt Cullen wasn’t a bad move but rather the way Renney used him.

Sather didn’t know what he had in Brandon Dubinsky, who made Gomez expendable. However, there’s nothing he could’ve done about Alexei Cherepanov, whose tragic death while playing in the KHL next to Omsk teammate Jagr on the bench, continues to haunt the Rangers. There’s little doubt the gifted Russian who fell to 17 had a good chance of being an impact player, possessing great hands. Exactly the kind of finisher the club has been unable to produce forever. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how good he might have been.

Asset management is another Sather Achilles’ heel. As evidenced last year in rental deals for Nik Antropov (2nd Rd Pick) and most notably Derek Morris (Petr Prucha + Nigel Dawes), neither move made sense because that team wasn’t capable of advancing. Even Henrik’s great goaltending in the first part of the Washington series wasn’t enough to save them from becoming the first Ranger club to blow a 3-1 series lead. It didn’t help that John Tortorella acted juvenile, costing his team any realistic shot. Even exchanging Lauri Korpikoski for Enver Lisin is still mystifying because the young Finn who was an integral part of the Leetch selloff, was a solid two-way player who could shift to center. When Tort decided to go in a different direction letting Blair Betts go, he had a player on his roster fully capable of replacing the solid fourth line checker/PKer. Instead, Slats wasted a third round pick on Brian Boyle. Blame Colton Orr’s departure/Donald Brashear’s failure on the coach.

Even minor moves like Aaron Voros and Patrick Rismiller haven’t panned out. This doesn’t even explain the Ales Kotalik disaster or whatever happened to Chris Higgins, who at least finally scored his first Flames’ goal into an open net. About the only way possible. Trading Fedor Tyutin for Nikolai Zherdev seemed good at the time because they weren’t re-signing Jagr and gambled on the talented Russian was sensible. Markus Naslund just proved he didn’t have much left. The bigger issue was when Slats subtracted Toots, he added Redden’s disastrous $6.5 million albatross which combined with Rozy’s $5 M put our cap in dire straits while weakening the blueline. At least with Marc Staal-Rozsival and Tyutin-Dan Girardi, the team had a decent top four who could all log important minutes. Perhaps that would’ve been a better way to go setting up for the future (Del Zotto, Sanguinetti, Sauer, Potter).

It’s always easier in hindsight. It still doesn’t explain the organization’s non-committals to Corey Potter and Leetch link Mike Sauer, who’s been riddled by injuries. As for Potter, we see the same qualities he brought to the 2003 Team USA WJC gold medalists. Solid defensively with good first pass and no glaring mistakes in brief Ranger stints. Why isn’t he part of the solution? For the same reason Ilkka “Heineken” Heikkinen will likely return home a la Jarkko Immonen to Suomi. Even with cap constraints, it’s quite baffling, which sums up a dysfunctional organization in a nutshell.

Fire Sather organizer Mike Zippo deserves credit for all the work he did setting up Sunday’s fan pow wow directly across The Garden. We were there and shook the man’s hand. While it’s true he could’ve done even more to promote a protest which still drew in upwards of 150 along with the attendance of Ranger beat writers Larry Brooks, Michael Obernauer and Andrew Gross, it still was a good first step for a fanbase that’s been disrespected. Kudos to close pal The Mouth on ramping it up. Blueshirt Banter’s Joe Fortunato who also attended had the best take on the day.

While the MSG executive might simply be one person with one opinion, his opinion is shared by Dolan, and unfortunately Dolan’s opinion is the only one that matters. The Rangers brass doesn’t look at you and me as people, they don’t look at you and me as fans, instead they look at us as dollar signs. Our support means everything to them, so long as we are paying to get in.

Things will never change so long as Dolan is at the helm. If it isn’t Sather it’s going to be someone else. It’s a horrific blemish on an awesome franchise. We are the laughing stock of the league, we have one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and we still can’t win games, we make horrific trades and free agent signings, and I’m pretty sure that the “brown paper bag” look is coming back into style for us Ranger fans.

Fortunato goes on to add that a brief encounter with Ranger radio analyst Dave Maloney influenced the decision to rip into the franchise, which leads us to a final point. Bringing back Ranger alumni is great because it recognizes past players who represented the logo. However, all the Viewing Parties along with charging even more to meet and greet Ranger Legends is just more of the same from Dolan, who continues to invent new ways to steal our money. When does it ever become about winning? What Fortunato notes is what I have to Dad, bro and friend about why I’m serious about not going next season. Until we take a real stand against the owner, he’ll continue to jack prices so outrageous as the proposed 68 bucks it will cost for Round One if they make it. Four years ago, the Conference Semis ran a cool 45. The difference is we fielded a better team and were closer.

As long as we continue to go, we’re the true suckers.