The best way I can describe my mindset right now is the scene from “Robin Hood: Men In Tights”, after Robin loses the archery contest:  “I lost. … I lost? Wait a minute, I’m not supposed to lose! Let me see the script.”

First, let me give some historical perspective with me and hockey.  It was the fall of 1993, and hockey was everywhere.  Following a parental split I had relocated to Pittsburgh from New York, and while hockey was big nationally, it was becoming the official “What We Watch During The Steelers’ Offseason” sport of Pittsburgh.  Sid Bream had effectively murdered baseball in the city by then, though no one knew it yet, and the Mario Lemieux-led Penguins were one year removed from back-to-back Stanley Cups.   I made the decision to get in on this hockey thing, and after some research, discovered that there were two hockey teams in New York – the Rangers and the Islanders.  Given that I was from New York City, and the Rangers were the City team, I chose the Rangers.

(Sidenote:  Looking back, this is probably one of the best close calls I’ve made in my life.  I was born in Bayside, right against the Nassau County line.  My brother would always go see wrestling shows in Nassau Coliseum – the same Coliseum that exists today.  It was decrepit then and is a shithole now.  By Sports Fan Law, I could have gone with the Islanders, and then where would I be?  Isles fans have it so bad, it’s not even funny.  If I had to live in Pittsburgh as an Isles fan, where they build a brand-new arena but literally – literally – made a Federal case out of trying to keep their old piece-of-shit arena in place too, I would probably be facing multiple life sentences right now.  Great move, 1993 Me.)

Of course, the Rangers won the Cup that year, ending the “1940” chants and the Curse of the Dragon and all other manner of hokum that made back-page sportswriters’ jobs easier. The problem was that I never experienced any of that.  I remember, years later, hearing a couple of long-time Ranger fans discuss the days of following the team pre-Cup victory and I had no idea what they were talking about.  Wait…they DON’T do this every year?

My perception of hockey was forever skewed from 1994 forward.  So when the title drought began anew and the Rangers went into what I like to call the “Yankee-puck” Period (making one move after another for brand-name players with no thought to team chemistry), I started to tune out.  It was also around this time that the Black Shirt Mets were beginning to rise up and get more TV attention, and so that was what I watched.  For all you kids out there, it was a bitch and a half trying to follow your chosen sports team if you didn’t live in their media market back then.  There were no sports blogs or YouTube clips.  Forget the idea of season ticket TV packages entirely.  You were lucky if your team got a few more minutes on SportsCenter or an extra inch or two in a USA Today column.  You begged for your team to be the National Game Of The Week, or else you had to wait for them to come and play where you lived, viewing the game through the kaleidoscope of the local play-by-play guys’ commentary.  And trust me when I tell you, nowhere – then or now – is that a worse experience than in Pittsburgh.

Over the last five years or so, I’d been working my way back into accepting hockey.  I always had a theory that sports are languages – the older you get, the harder it is to pick them up, and they’re usually ranked from most- to least-fluent.  To continue the metaphor, baseball is my first language.  I can hold conversations with anyone for hours, though I stumble a little with the new sabermetrics dialect.  By necessity, football is my second language.  It’s the common tongue in my country, you need to speak it if you want to talk to anyone these days, but I don’t take as much pleasure in it.  Also, much like the actual English language, if I try to speak football in England, it’s a whole other creature entirely.  Then there’s basketball, which is rusty after a decade hiatus from the NBA during the Isiah Thomas Era.  When it comes to talking hockey, I’m not much beyond the level of “Hello”, “Goodbye”, and “Where is the bathroom?”, but I’m working on it.  I kept an eye on the Rangers over the last few years and definitely made a point to watch when they hit the playoffs, but I was reluctant to entirely adopt them.  I witnessed one first-round exit after another, and wondered whether I was allowed to embrace a team that scrapped like mad bastards to eke into the playoffs only to have their hopes dashed just before or just after the postseason started, when I already had the Mets, Giants, and Knicks in my life.  Adding one more might have pushed me over the edge into clinical masochism.

This year, back in Queens, I made the call (reluctantly, I admit) that I would follow the Rangers start to finish.  MSG was readily available since I stayed the hell away from Time-Warner cable.  And as the season rolled on, it all looked like it did the first time I sat down and followed the team.  Rarely if ever did they put up three losses in a row, while the wins kept coming in.  The Winter Classic, and the accompanying HBO 24/7 special, served an extra shot in the arm of “this is awesome”.  On top of that, the Knicks were keeping pace with Linsanity, letting a generation of Garden faithful reach up on the shelf and dust off their 1994 memories.  Come the playoffs, I belonged in one of those “Because It’s The Cup” commercials – normal, laid-back guy turns into super-tense nutjob that Twitter keysmashes on every goal with the best of them.  And then the danger signs began to occur.

It started with 8-seeded Ottawa just not going away.  Well, technically, it started with Game 1 of Knicks-Heat when Iman Shumpert went down and wrecked any chance at all of us stealing that series, ending the basketball side of the 1994 comparisons.  But Ottawa just wouldn’t roll over.  Cognitive dissonance set in and we explained it away by buying into the NHL’s own mantra – “Because it’s the Cup”.  The postseason is a whole new season.  Anyone can catch fire in a seven-game series.  Throw out the record books.  Choose your favorite cliché, stir well, and enjoy.

The Capitals proved equally tenacious, but we chalked that up to recent history.  Even I knew enough about the Rangers to know that the Caps had been a bane of their postseason existence for some time now.  I took solace in a personal pet theory – the Gods of Marketing.  In any playoff situation, the Gods of Marketing will always look favorably upon the best possible storyline.  True story: that’s was how I predicted the Boston-Colorado World Series at the start of the playoffs in 2007, because ESPN couldn’t possibly resist the headline “Rock ‘Em-Sock ‘Em Series”.  Applying the theory here, I saw a potential Rangers-Flyers Eastern Conference Finals in the making.  A possible seven-game Winter Classic to determine the conference champion?  The NBC guys had to be sacrificing goats left and right to make this happen, right?  And then, since the LA Kings Buzzsaw has been going full throttle, there would be a guaranteed bicoastal Cup Final with either NY/LA (nuff said) or the drama of the Flyers and Kings facing off against people that, barely a year ago, were teammates.  Textbook, right?

Wrong.

And, so here we are.  The reports are starting to trickle in on Twitter from Breakup Day in Greenburgh, everyone’s talking about who will stay, who will go, who will make for good trade bait, and to keep calm – Lundqvist is under contract.  Free agent acquisition names are kicked around, as well as who the Rangers are likely to get at 28 in the draft.  Just your typical offseason stuff.  I’ll confess, I’ll likely not catch too much of the Cup.  I’m not so much of a hockey fan that I can watch when I have no stake in the game, and I’m not one of those enemy-of-my-enemy types that actively pulls for a team where I have no idea who the hell’s on the roster, just because they’re playing against someone I don’t like.  Well, once the hangover’s gone, I’m not that guy.

In the meantime, after about fifty games into the season, the Mets are in second place in the division and play the Phillies in about an hour.  I have never seen this script before, and it’s got my attention.

Photo via flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons.

The invitation came the same way all great invitations come: over drinks, at a dive bar, the night before the event was to take place. I was trying to be honest with myself. I knew I had nothing to do the next day anyway, and the opportunity to put on a suit and sit in the audience while the NHL Commissioner spoke was too much for me to pass up. So I pulled out my iPhone, found the event’s website and drunkenly RSVP’d for the event less than 12 hours before it was set to begin. I finished my brew, stumbled home, and pulled out the ironing board to have something presentable to wear the next morning. This was either going to be a terrible or a great decision.

Nostalgia was partially the reason I agreed to attend.  In college I loved attending guest speaker events. However, in graduate school I have felt completely jaded and disconnected with my institution that I immediately delete any event or speaker event that crosses my inbox. But since this event was at a different school, one where I didn’t know any of the other attendees and they had legitimate speakers I was actually interested in going.

The other reasons for going (beside being convinced it was a great idea while I was drinking) was for possible networking opportunities (gimme a job, Bettman!) and possibly representing this new website. Was I going to register as a member of the media? Was I going to get laughed at if I said I was with Halftime Hennessy dot com? Was I representing Michael Bender, the graduate student, or Michael Bender, the online columnist? (or Michael Bender, the hungover idiot?)

So I arrive to at the NYU Law Building on W 4^th Street and am instantly greeted by a trio of welcoming faces. They were very excited and thankful I was there. While this was a shocking introduction, I soon found out the reason for their warmth: the place was almost empty. I can sympathize with this feeling of impending doom. The organizers had spent numerous weeks planning the event, securing the guest speakers, advertising the event and the room was filled with empty chairs and with nervous organizers. All you want is people to file in, grab their seats, and then tell you it was a great event afterwards. Luckily for the organizers that the later the sessions went on, the more people came in, so I’m sure their agita eventually subsided.

After entering the room I immediately began to scout out the refreshment selection and noticed the biggest flop of the event: lack of suitable refreshments. At that very moment all I wanted in the world was a strong cup of coffee and some sort of snack situation. Instead, there was a large ice water container and nothing else. This was a missed opportunity at some easy points. I later find out there was refreshment reception after the event in another part of the building. Too little too late, NYU Law.

I scanned the program and for the first time had a chance to see what I signed myself up for. The event was to be split into 3 event: Part I was titled “Collective Barganing and the Labor Relations” from 10am – 11:50am, Part II was “The Role of Commissioner” from 12pm – 1pm, and Part III was “The Role of Laweyers in the Franchise Sports” from 2pm – 4:30pm. My hangover wanted to know why I hated myself so much, but I really wanted to make the best of this.

The first panel was introduced by a very nervous NYU Law Sports Group leader and all I wanted to do was give him a hug and tell them it was going to be okay. He looked like a younger less athletic version of Ray Kinsella but if when he “built it” then only 15 people came. He awkwardly threw it over to the moderator of the panel, ESPN’s (at the time anyway) Dana Jacobson. The panel consisted of Robert Manfred, Executive Vice President of Labor Relations for Major League Baseball, Russ Granik, former NBA Deputy Commissioner, Charles Grantham, former Executive Director of the NBA Players Association, and Bruce Myer, partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges, LLP.

The premise of the first panel was supposedly a discussion on the collective bargaining process and labor relations, which is highly relevant coming off two lockouts in the NBA and NFL this past year.  While the experts talked about strategies and professional jargon that underlying theme was WAR. The participants used phrases such as “Shot their bullets”, and “using the weapons available to you.” Everything in their business comes down to strategy and eventually being victorious in the end. Both the players and the owners pad their “war chests’ prior to a labor dispute. The discussion turned to a series of moves each side will make and can make during negotiations. In the end it boils down to which side won?

The conversation was very self-contained until over an hour in when they started to open it up to audience questions. I wanted to ask about issues such as: does player salary matter to athletes today as much as it did 30 years ago (with the rise of additional revenue such as endorsements) and whether the professional leagues copy each other in terms of labor deals and negations. Instead, I choked under the pressure of not being competent to form words even though the room was less than full. I allowed others to ask questions that I deemed not as important. While I did enjoy this panel, I had a feeling the participants were too close to the action to see the big picture of what all of these labor battles are doing to our beloved sports. The panelists were all too close to the tree’s to see the forest, or if not then they were just dumbing down the conversation to what we hear on ESPN a million times a day because that’s what people know.

The session ended and there was going to be a short break before the keynote portion of the event. I went to the bathroom quickly and was planning on rushing back as to not lose my coveted seat (joke) but while in there another man entered the bathroom in the stall next to me: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Now, I have had some interactions with celebrities and famous people before, and usually I am very professional (lie) but seeing him next to me froze me mid-stream. Being in the audience during a panel is one thing, but being in the next urinal over is another. I wanted to chat him up one on one, ask him some about the tough issues facing the NHL, but bathroom etiquette barred me from doing so. I left the room without so much as a comment or a glance over and feel ashamed I learned nothing from being in the same small space as the NHL Commissioner.

Luckily, I was able to quickly forget this missed opportunity and enjoy the second portion of the event. The format for this portion had Bettman to be interviewed one on one by NYU professor, Robert Boland of the Robert Tisch Center. Bettman is coming up on the 20^th Anniversary of being the NHL commissioner and Boland was quick to point out that 20 years ago the NY Rangers won the Cup and this year they are one of the favorites to win it again. Bettman countered with the breaking news that the hockey world does not revolve around the Rangers. Bettman talked about changes to his job and his business in the last 20 years including the expansion of media coverage and how his customers are consuming the hockey product today versus 1993.

In general Bettman seemed very sure of himself and positive about the status of the NHL. Any troubles from the lost season seem to have been forgotten and it’s been mostly bright days for the league. Bettman says every year since the lockout has been a record year in terms of revenue and 5 of the 7 years have produced record attendance figures. He had the look of a man who was able to watch two other leagues tear itself to shreds this past year while his own league has discovered its identity and is full of confidence. The NHL is not going to challenge the NFL and might not get top billing on SportsCenter, but that’s okay.

Some other topics of note that Bettman and Boland discussed:

• Competitive balance in the league. Only Toronto and Florida had not made the playoffs since the lockout (With Florida finally getting in this year)
• Dealing with issues of international currency with player salaries in the US and Canada.
• NHL being excited about its new TV contract with NBC, after Comcast bought them.
• How High Definition has made watching hockey better than ever and other ways people are watching the games on their tablets and phones.
• NHL Realignment. An issue that Bettman believes is not apart of collective bargaining (historically it never has been) and how this may lead to a fight next year. Hopefully, the NHL will be able to balance the interests of travel with the interests of rivalries and divisions without going to WAR.

Bettman cracked a few smiles; he made some jokes at the expense of some of the audience question askers and seemed like an overall good guy. As a person who consumes the NHL on a regular basis I felt secure in the knowledge that this man in the power suit was at the helm.

An hour break followed and I was able to refuel my body with coffee and grease. The final session seemed daunting and I was trying to rationalize leaving early as reward for the hard days work already put in sitting in a chair and half-heartedly taking notes. But I couldn’t bring myself to abandon my adoptive NYU brethren in their dark hour, and stayed the course through to the end.

On the panel were: Ari Nissim, Director of Football Administration for the New York Jets, Richard Buchanan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the NBA, Ethan Orlinsky, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for MLBP, and Andrew Brandt, ESPN Sports Business Analyst. Each was interesting in his own right and the discussion flowed through a bevy of topical subjects including: the loyalty of agents, treating the job as a game of fantasy football, league wide concerns, and of course: how they all got their jobs.

The final panel came off as a cruel joke to me. It was four successful lawyers sitting in a row taking turns talking about how they achieved their position in sports and what they do now. They were doing nothing wrong and while I should have had a twinge of envy for their success, I was angrier that they had achieved it at all. I falsely assumed that coming to law school contained the golden keys to the world and any job would be at my disposal upon graduation. While they did nothing wrong talking about their very awesome sounding jobs, I just wished it was myself up there secretly gloating about being an agent or a lawyer for the players association.

The audience which had swelled some during Mr. Bettman’s presentation, and which had now fallen in numbers again, finished the program by asking some more questions and giving a courteous applause to the guests. There was a reception to follow in another room, but it was now late afternoon on a Friday and after sitting through a day of sports, law, and some sports law I felt the need for a pint. My only regret was that the NHL commissioner had already vanished and I wouldn’t be able to debate with him the chances of a Rangers title run and whether there were any jobs in the league office for me.

Sunday April 15, 2012 saw my Knicks taking on the Heat at MSG, the Mets trying to sweep the Phillies in Philadelphia, the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball, and the Rangers awaiting suspension news on their day off. Oh and it was sunny and beautiful outside. And all I cared about from noon to 2am was NHL Playoff hockey. Since it began on Wednesday, I have tried to consume as much playoff hockey as my doctor will allow, and the only teams I have not seen play much at all are the Devils and Panthers which I just always have a conflict with when they play. Here is my breakdown of all 16 teams fighting for the Cup since the puck dropped down Wednesday in Pittsburg.

1. #5 Philadelphia Flyers (Lead series 3-0 vs. Penguins)

I have not had as much fun watching a non-New York Rangers game in a long time, and most shocking was that it would two teams I most wish to have the stadium collapse on: Flyers/Penguins. Every other minute there was a goal, a fight, a powerplay, a Hulk Hogan promo. This game did not lack on the eventful. After pouring in 8 goals in game 2, the Flyers were able to throw in another 8 spot on Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson. Every offensive player is stepping up for the Flyers but especially Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, and Max Talbot who has been scoring short handed. The major concern for the Flyers is what they are always concerned about: goaltending. Bryz looks shaken and without confidence and for good reason. The Universe may not have the answers he’s currently looking for, like how to stop the puck from going in the net.

Hockey purists might point to this game as evidence that the NHL needs to seriously curb fighting and roughing, and there’s plenty of evidence for that. But from watching it I just felt the referees allowed the game to slip away a little too much and should have ejected more players earlier to set the controlled tone. As it is the Flyers have 4 games to get one win and history clearly supports teams with 3-0 leads, although Philly knows the feat can be accomplished as the last team to come back from a 3-0 hole was the 2010 Flyers.

2. #8 Los Angles Kings (Lead series 3-0 vs. Canucks)

The old adage is that a hot goaltender is the best thing to have in the playoffs. Well, Los Angeles is making a case for hottest goaltender in the West right now. Jonathan Quick is leading his team over the team with the best record in the NHL. The Kings are one win away from pulling the upset. After beating up on Roberto Luongo in the first 2 games, Vancouver went to Cory Schneider who only allowed 1 goal but wasn’t enough because Quick allowed 0 goals on 40+ shots. While this might night be Lehigh beating Duke level of upset it certainly reminds me of #8 Golden State Warriors trouncing #1 Dallas Mavericks in 2007. The Kings had the chance at getting as high as a #3 seed in the final week of the season, but couldn’t get over the hump and landed at #8. This might have been a blessing in disguise by getting a beat up Canucks team missing key players and failing on the power play. While it must hurt to watch Wayne Simmonds and and Brandon Schenn flourish with the Flyers, they are happy to be finally getting production and value from Mike Richards. This series is over; only question is if the Kings will be able to celebrate in LA or Vancouver?

3. #4 Nashville Predators (Leading series 2-1 vs. Red Wings)

I can’t get over hearing Pekka Rinne’s name and thinking its one word. Like his first name is “Tom” Pekkarinne or something. It throws me off everytime they say his name. That being said, he might be the best goaltender in the playoffs so far. I was really impressed by the two home games in Nashville, especially with throwing a catfish onto the ice to combat the mighty octopus. Captain Shea Webber has embraced the “heel” role in front of the Detroit crowd after smashing Zetterberg’s head into the turnbuckle glass at the end of game 1. He scored early on Sunday and set the tone for the Preds to take back the lead. Kevin Klien may have had the goal of the playoffs so far by splitting the defense, drawing a penalty, and putting it past Jimmy Howard. Both 4-5 matchups in either conference could argue they are the best teams in the conference and the matchups should be for the Conference title. Unlucky matchup for Detroit and good for Nashville for taking advantage so far.

4. #2 St. Louis Blues (Series tied 1-1 vs. Sharks)

Lucky for the Blues that they have 2 competent goalies. When their starter went down after a collision, they called on Brian Elliot to shut it down. Because they play in the Western Conference and I need my beauty rest I didn’t have much of a chance to watch them this year. But this team plays physical and is not going to back down from the Sharks in this series. Game 1 gave us a great 2OT game and hopefully they keep going to extra periods.

5. #2 Boston Bruins (Series tied 1-1 vs. Capitals)

It may be a cliché, but they are the defending champions and until someone beats them they should be the favorites to come out of the East (especially with the Penguins about to be eliminated). Tim Thomas plays with so much passion and gets involved with every play. The crowd should be tough on him in Washington after his gaffe with the White House, but Thomas is thick skinned and should be fine. If this was Luongo, Boston fans should be worried. Boston knows they missed a great opportunity to go up 2-0, but as long as they regroup in game 3, they should be in control.

6. #1 New York Rangers (Series tied 1-1 vs. Senators)

They went from being on the verge of controlling the series, to having their world flipped upside down and all of a sudden have questions all over the place. Losing Haglin for 3 games hurts and is inconsistent with the penalties being handed out so far these playoffs. I could understand a 3 game suspension for a player who has history of being dirty, but Haglin is a baby and seemed genuine in apologizing. That said its over, and Rangers fans need to move on and get ready because this Senators team is dangerous. Does Torts go with big John Scott or possibly the kid Chris Kreider? The dirty little secret is the Rangers need scoring have relied too heavily on Gaborik to carry them this year, and Scott is just going to add to the fighting that dominated game 2. Lundqvist was solid in game 1 and for the most part in game 2. It’s hard to ask him to play much better, but with adversity now facing the top seed he may need to step up. The Rangers struggled playing in Canada all year and need to tighten the ship and not let the Senators drag them down to their level with the instigations. This series could easily go 7.

7. #6 Chicago Blackhawks (Series tied 1-1 vs. Coyotes)

With Jonathan Toews back Chicago has to feel good about their chances. Shifting the series to Chicago brings electricity. But because I am failing to remember specifics for this game I feel like I need to move on to avoid further embarrassment.

8. #7 San Jose Sharks (Series tied 1-1 vs. Blues)

Until proven otherwise you have to chalk them up for a disappointing first round exit. That’s all.

9. #8 Ottawa Senators (Series tied 1-1 vs. Rangers)

The crowd is going to be whipped into a frenzy for game 3 which will be Ottawa’s secret weapon. They could be without Alfredson because of the elbow attack and already having a concussion this season. Ottawa picked up the rough stuff when they couldn’t  get past the Rangers block parade and it worked. The penalty minutes went up, the Rangers lost their composure and have a real chance in this series. But after the mess of the Philly/Pitt game 3 and all of the other round 1 issues I would not be surprised to see lots more ejections and suspensions for dirty play.

10. #5 Detroit Red Wings (Down 2-1 vs. Predators)

Pavel Datsyuk could play for my team any day. His shifty goal in the second period Sunday seemed to have shifted the game’s momentum. Detroit could easily be up 2-1 if not for a goal that was 0.01 seconds late from crossing the line at the end of the second period. Detroit needs to solve the mystery of Rinne and avoid going down 3-1.

11. #6 New Jersey Devils (Series tied 1-1 vs. Panthers)

I can’t tell if New Jersey reminds me of a veteran basketball team like the Spurs, who have won in the past and just show up every year and compete, or an overrated team like the Atlanta Hawks, who always get a mid seed and have a first round playoff loss. Could they possibly be both? Brodeur reminds me of Tim Duncan but Kovalchuk reminds me of Joe Johnson. I’ll just refer to them as the Atlanta Spurs or the San Antonio Hawks.

12. #3 Florida Panthers (Series tied 1-1 vs. Devils)

I’m happy the South Florida faithful got a home playoff win and hopefully the series will go long and give them a few more chances to cheer on the Panthers. I didn’t get a chance to see the game, but it seems they took care of chances on the powerplay versus a great penalty killing team in New Jersey.

13. #3 Phoenix Coyotes (Series tied 1-1 vs. Blackhawks)

2 games 2 overtimes. I’ll sign up for that everyday of the week. Mike Smith is tough to get back in there for taking that cheap shot behind the net. Too bad no one is talking about either of these teams to advance far.

14. #7 Washington Capitals (Series tied 1-1 vs. Bruins)

The Caps seem to be playing with house money this year in the postseason. They already fired the coach, they are down to the 10^th string goalie, and were not the favorites entering the playoffs. If they lose, they were expected to lose, and if they beat the Bruins they might just give them a parade down in D.C. I love that Crosby is giving Ovi a run for his money on biggest dirty superstar. No love loss with Washington and Boston, so if nothing else there should be some good fisticuffs this series.

15. #1 Vancouver Canucks (Down 3-0 vs. Kings)

In order to overcome a 3 game deficit you need to be able to get to the other goaltender. I just don’t see them being able to getting to Quick. Vancouver could build some momentum with a game 4 win in LA, but history is not on their side to take the series. As exciting as the Canucks forwards are when they are all healthy, nothing can beat the inevitability of seeing Luongo fail to show up again in a big spot.

16. #4 Pittsburg Penguins (Down 3-0 vs. Flyers)

Here’s some unsolicited advice, Sidney Crosby: if you want to garner sympathy from the league office, the refs, and the fans try not to act like scumbag out the other side of your mouth. Crosby was instigating all over the place Sunday and got into fights and shoving matches all throughout the game. Gretsky was the “Great One” for a reason. He carried himself with class and took care of business and didn’t act like an ass. There’s a reason everyone respects Derek Jeter. If you’re going to be the face of the sport don’t kick away an opposing players glove when he’s trying to pick it up. It was a surreal out of body experience watching myself cheer on Claude Giroux to beat down on Crosby on Sunday. We probably won’t be able to see Crosby attempt to redeem himself as the Penguins are down 3-0 and headed for another 1^st round playoff exit. Can’t say I’m sad to see them leave and clear the path in the Eastern Conference. Konichiwa, bitches. 

Well because someone at the NHL scheduling office forgot to call his counterpart at the NBA scheduling office, we get the unique scenario of having both Rangers/Bruins and Knicks/Celtics at the same time on Sunday afternoon. Now this is a blessing and a curse. The curse is clearly that you cannot watch both games in their entirety live. Yes, because there is a thing known as a DVR, one could possible tape the one game and watch it after. But since we live in a world with Twitter and Facebook, you literally have to live in a sealed vacuum to avoid any updates or scores before you got through both of them.

The blessing is that after 21 weeks of the NFL regular season and playoffs, I feel as if I have the chance to be unchained from my flat screen on Sunday’s. I can go to the dog park, the gym, or even visit my parents. If both New York teams are taking on both Boston teams back to back, I feel like its mid-November all over again and I can’t get off the couch. Plus New York is still on a high from beating New England in the Super Bowl a month ago.

So what is a young adult male to do during both of these HUGE regular season contests? Fire up the Mac Book and do a RUNNING DIARY. New York vs. Boston is BACK!!!

12:30pm (EST) – Rangers wearing the Heritage jerseys! Oh, must be a big game for them. We have the “A” announcing team on NBC today: Doc Emrick, Eddie Olchuck, and Pierre McGuire behind the glass. The NHL really does it right with the announcers. Of course every team has affection for their own team’s announcers, at least we have a solid go-to national announcing crew. Shot of Lundqvist warming up. “#30 just turned 30 and won his 30^th game” Nice, Doc.

12:36 — Back from break. We are reminded this is an original 6 matchup and a tough matchup for both teams. Rangers are 2-0 against the Bruins already (both games in Boston). But there is something to say about being defending champs.

12:37 – Pregame interview with Brandon Prust. He’s expecting a physical game. Good, because I was concerned they were going to attack each other with pillows during this one. Meanwhile we are still 25 minutes from Knicks/Celts in Boston. I hope Tyson Chandler tells the pregame crowd it’s going to be physical.

12:39 – Doc mentions how both teams have limited their goalies playing time this year. Except last night backup Rask got injured and now Tim Thomas is playing day game after a night game. Wonder how many times this gets mentioned today.

12:41 – Quick shifts for both teams to start. Mention of the Rangers role players stepping up this year. No mention of Dubinsky thanking his lucky stars he didn’t get shipped to Columbus last week.

12:46 – Doc is just vomiting stats and numbers to start the game. Maybe I was too early to praise him. OOOOOOO LOOOKIT FIGHT!!!!! Rangers Mike Rupp and Bruins McDermot  MacDermid something or other. Apparently, this is his first game and first fight. Well, hes going to have a great story for the kids. Rupp throws the heavy blows, McD gets more volume and a takedown! Impressive, considering the amount of brain cells Rupp has murdered over the years.

12:50 – Chara has a high cross on a charging Dubinsky. Dubi was probably going to do something stupid, but he gets the Rangers Power Play. Chara to the box. Has anyone noticed that Dubi is playing a lot like Avery lately? Or maybe I just miss Avery… Lets move on.

12:51 – Well our Power play is just gross. Let me instead talk about my food options for this running diary. Normally, I would go for a giant pizza and wings, but since I’m going to dinner tonight, I went for cashews and nutrigrain bars. Doesn’t really feel the same. This can’t be a good sign.

12:53 – Oh, what do you know, PP ends with 0 shots. We are anemic on the advantage. This is going to come rear its ugly head in the playoffs. BALLS.

12:54 – STRALMAN!!! That was unexpected! Rangers 1-0. I need a replay… Who needs a power play when you can just throw the puck at the goalie and get lucky? Maybe we should throw the puck at the goal during the power play too. Can’t hurt, right Torts?

12:59 – WHOA! HAGLIN GOAL!!! Rangers 2-0! He spun in front and found Dubinsky. The throw the kitchen sink at the tired goalie game plan seems to working. 1 minute to Knicks tip. I can’t even find the energy to change the channel. MSG is rocking and I’m torn. DAMN YOU SCHEDULE MAKERS!!!

1:01 – Ok, so Fedotenko deflected that first goal from Stralman. For those of you scoring at home. Thomas looks a little old. Chara made 2 bad plays in a row. That’s weird.

1:06 – Turn to basketball… Knicks up 5-0 to start. Well that’s some good news. Clearly we are on pace for a 125-0 win right now. Back to hockey though.

1:08 – Stralman giveaway in the defensive zone leads to a Bruins goal. 2-1 Bruins. Sorry to take anything away from the Bruins, but almost every goal Lundqvist gives up is a giveaway from his defense.

1:09 – FIGHTTTTTTTT!!!! Lucic and Prust going toe to toe. Oh that got ugly fast. Lucic rocked him bad. REAL BAD. Now go sit down, Prust and think about your poor decisions…

1:12 – Ok can’t stop thinking about that fight as the first period continues. I’ve seen Lucic before, I know he can hit. But man, he absolutely destroyed Prust. To his credit, Prust never backs down from a challenge and will often go up against a bigger brawler, but you have to know when to fold them.

1:13 – Knicks down 10-16. So much for that early lead Lin is off the court already. Tirico informs the audience that Lin had 2 fouls in 3 minutes and will sit for the rest of the period. Lot of sloppy play so far. Timeout with 6:15 left.

1:14 – ANOTHER FIGHT!!! This time Bickle vs. Cambell. Well that was a major let down. Neither player got any good shots in, kind of lame. All the enforcers feel like they need to get in some fights early before there ice time is cut in the 3^rd period.

1:15 – We’ve hit a milestone… First Dual Timeout in both games!

1:17 – Rupp off so Boston gets a power play. And then theirs a stoppage for a broken pane of glass. Oh sweet! This game has everything so far! They are going to break. Wonder how long it takes the crew to change the pane. That job must be stressful. Kind of like live blogging in my apartment stressful.

1:18 – Baron Davis doing his best J-Lin impression. His step is just is so slow to the basket. At least he’s trying though. Melo is on the court with the 2^nd Unit, or as Knicks fans call it “The Entire 2^nd Unit”

1:21 – Double Break in the Action Again! Time to catch my breath. And give updated Hockey Fighter Power rankings for this game: 1. Lucic 2. Rupp 3. MacD 4. Bickle 5. Prust 6. Cambell

1:24 – Ok, the hockey game went to 1^st Intermission with a few minutes left in the first to change the glass. Interesting. Celts Peitrus misses 2 wide open threes. Well that’s not going to get it done. Boston’s bench is weak.

1:27 – JR Smith steals the ball, breakaway and Dunks! Crowd is silent with the Knicks up 29-25.

1:29 – 1^st Quarter ends 29-27 Knicks. Novak buried a few three’s when I wasn’t watching. He’s hit 50% from behind the arc in February and has taken 81% of his shots from three. Discount double check.

1:32 – 2^nd Quarter begins and Novak buries another 3. The second team is carrying the Knicks right now. Celtics need to put the starters back in.

1:35 – Lin is back in, and Ray Allen gets a three point play. Hubie Brown reminds us to NEVER FOUL RAY ALLEN. Duly noted.

1:38 – GAME ON! Glass is fixed. Very audible “Potvin Sucks” chant coming through my TV to start. Boston Power Play ends. 1^st Period ends, and the 2^nd Starts right away. Never seen that before, but I’ve also never done a running diary of 2 competing sporting events either.

1:42 – The Rangers are blocking a ton of shots, but the story is how dominating the Bruins have been since their Timeout down 2-0. Almost all of the play is in the Rangers defensive zone.

1:43 –Lin to Shumpert Alley-oop. That would have been a good combo in the Dunk Contest. Garnett is struggling by the way. He is being left open and can’t knock down the 20 footer.

1:46 – Ok, there’s no denying it, the fights and Bruins physical play has changed this hockey game.  Jordan Caron blasts a laser past the King. Game tied at 2.

1:49 – First Lin turnover of the game. But Knicks are up 44-36 and they are shooting 60% from the floor so far. SECOND TEAM IS KILLIN’ IT!

1:50 – Break in the hockey game. Keep flipping back and forth and forth and back and on and on. Update on my mental state… DIZZY.

1:52 – Brandon Bass leads the Celts with 8 points, while the Knicks have 12 assists on 20 field goals. Which brings me to my new favorite website! http://sites.google.com/site/didnickyoungetanassistlastgame/home

Did Washington Wizards guard have an assist in the last game? Never gets old.

1:56 – Girardi has a big hit on Lucic. Crowd is back into the action. Then Rangers get a too many men on the ice penalty. Assistant coach Mike Sullivan bursts a blood vessel in his head screaming at the refs. OMG I can’t wait for playoff hockey.

1:58 – Melo big dunk driving off the dribble. But the physical play is picking up out on the court. Maybe they are being inspired by the fights on the ice in New York.

2:00 – Bruins outshooting Rangers 19-9. One of these teams played the night before on the road. Guess which one? (Hint: not the one from New York). The early momentum is way over for the Rangers.

2:03 – Another bad lob pass. This game got all Rucker Park on me when I was watching hockey. What happened to the fast breaks? Good news is there is another simultaneous break!

2:06 – Halftime. Melo gets the halftime interview. He thinks the team plays the same whether its Lin or Barron on the floor. I will just go ahead and disagree for ALL of us. 56-51, Knicks up 5 and 12 points for Melo.

2:07 – Commercial on NBC for Tiger Woods at the Honda Classic. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Honda Classic is like playing in the summer league for the NBA. Kobe doesn’t lace them up for those games in Las Vegas right after the draft.

2:11 – Sarcastic applause for the Rangers getting a shot on goal. 2^nd Period Intermission. Bruins winning the shots on goal battle 10-3 in 2^nd, 24-11 for the game. Rangers are missing the gritty play of their Captain whose out the last few games.

2:25 – OH SWEET GLORIOUS BREAK! I never looked forward to halftime and intermission as much before. Knicks come back first. Tirico reminds us that Knicks bench is outscoring Celts bench 23-9. But we start with the starters on the court. *Sigh.

2:28 – A few ugly Landry Fields turnovers, and then we get a shot of Lin’s Harvard basketball coach in the stands. Finally! I was waiting for that.

2:29 – Well I just realized that Rondo is the best player on either team. He’s getting to the basket at will. And he has 11 assists already. Celts tie the game and Knicks take a quick timeout.

2:31 – 3^rd Period starts up. Yes, we are still tied 2-2. That’s all I got. The room is closing in on me. I don’t want to watch TV anymore.

2:35 – 3 on 1 break for the Rangers. Stoned by Thomas! Control the puck behind the net and somehow Gaborik gets the puck in the net. Boston fans must be PISSED. First, the “Helmet Catch”, then 3 garbage goals to take the lead in this game.

2:37 – Teardrop bucket for Lin. He’s good when he drives to the lane and gets those herky jerky shots. Not so much at the cross court passes. Meanwhile, Barron is mimicking Lin in one regard; both have 5 turnovers so far. GREAT

2:41 – Knicks are ice cold at this point. Bad jump shots. No offense. This is January all over again.

2:42 – Marchand breakaway on Lundqvist barely goes wide. That was close. Bruins are losing and outplaying the hell out of us.

2:42 – The brick disease is contagious. Novak is long on 2 straight three attempts. Remember when the Celtics swept us last season? Apparently, neither do any of the players.

2:47 – 3 good chances in a row for the Rangers. They finally found their forecheck and put pressure in front of Thomas. No goals however. I also realize I need some more snacks. Meanwhile D’Antoni calls timeout with the Celts running away with this one 80-65. TD Garden is ROCKING!

2:51 – After a Knicks timeout, they go on a 5-0 run to cut the score to 70-80 mid 3^rd quarter.

2:52– Beautiful pressure and passing by Bruins top lin. Put it past the King easily to make it 3-3. New snacks have been removed from eye sight.

2:54 –STEPAN!!! Quick turnaround goal. Sucked all the momentum away from the Burins. Thomas was not ready for that. Still had water bottle in his hand. Sort of.

2:56 – “LETS GO RANGERS” “LETS GO RANGERS” “LETS GO RANGERS” “LETS GO RANGERS” “LETS GO RANGERS” “LETS GO RANGERS”

2:57 – End of the 3^rd Quarter in Boston, Knicks down 72-80.

2:58 – Stupid penalty on Bickle flicking the puck over the glass. Delay of game. Torts trying to explain his way out of it, not unlike trying to talk your way out of a parking ticket, but if while the cop came to talk to you, you screamed in his face and called his mother a naughty word.

3:00 – End of Bruins power play. 3:14 left in the 3^rd and Rangers winning 4-3 still. Rangers block almost every shot every game. How do any of them have teeth or non-broken bones left.

3:02 – Shumpert gets a big dunk, but the game is getting a little ugly out there. Meanwhile, Pierce and Rondo can’t really be stopped, unless it’s Rondo stopping himself.

3:07 – Rangers keeping the pressure in Bruins zone. Thomas can’t get to the bench for the extra attacker. He final gets a window to go at 1:07 left.

3:08 – Haglin misses dump into empty net, flurry of shots at Lundqvist all bounce off, and the buzzer sounds. Lucic sucker punches McDonough at the end of the game behind the net. Didn’t Obama educate us to stop bullying? I can understand his frustration, however. Bruins outplayed the Rangers for the majority of the game, except one team let in garbage goals and one team didn’t.

3:10 – Rangers now 3-0 against Bruins, and 5-0 against Flyers this season. Either of those teams in the playoffs will be just fine.

3:12 – First double break in action since 3^rd intermission.

3:14 – Ok, 82-88 Boston. Lin is not very good this game. You can see the pattern where good point guards take it personally playing against him. Rondo is out there to crush him. Proof? 18 Assists and his 4^th Triple Double. And he should have at least 10 more points if he was a better shooter, finisher at the basket. SCARY.

3:18 – Shumpert might be the only bright spot today. Only if he could guard Rondo or Pierce and Knicks might have a better chance.

3:24 – Lin gets a layup, Pietrus miss on the quick 3, then Lin trailing the ball gets a BIG 3. Knicks back in the game! Pierce is shutting Novak off from the ball, which is the best way to make him ineffective. Timeout at 2 minutes left, 95-96 Boston lead.

3:27 – Pierce for 2. He’s battling Reggie Miller and Jordan for biggest Knicks killers. He might be the winner for pure longevity.

3:28 – Melo gets 4 points on 2 possessions and out entire offense is to get fouled and to get to the line, and its surprisingly effective. 99-98 Knicks leading.

3:36 – Knicks up 3, Boston with the ball with a foul to give. Pierce takes the ball, step back and drains a three…… Game tied 4.9 seconds left. Knicks time out.

3:38 – Melo failed to convert with defenders all over him. I wish I could have placed a bet on that before it happened. Game going to overtime.

3:39 – You know what, no. I’m done. I signed up for regulation running diary. I can’t watch any more sports. You win Television. I am going outside for some fresh air. I already know the Celts are going to win in overtime. That Pierce shot was a back breaker. Good for him.

Postscript: Celts win in overtime 115-111. Lin continued to be ice cold in the extra time. On the plus side I had the rest of the day to enjoy the rest of my weekend.

New York 1, Boston 1. The rivalry is back!

Brian Boyle fucking hates the Boston Bruins. Boyle, 27, born in Hingham Massachusetts hates the hometown professional hockey team. This is not because it is ironic to hate the team everyone around you is cheering for, or because through some circumstance he became a Montreal Canadiens fan growing up. He hates them because he just happens to be a center for the New York Rangers.

It was news recently that Brian Boyle admitted he does not like the Boston Bruins. Shortly before their second meeting of the year, in which the Rangers again beat the defending champions, this time 3-0, Boyle talked about how he was not a Bruins fan. This is newsworthy because it is looking more and more evident that the Eastern Conference is going to come down to either the team from New York or the team from Boston (with the team from Philadelphia on the outside looking in still).

This revelation from Boyle would not have been newsworthy in 2008 when he made his professional debut with the Los Angles Kings. No one in LA gave a second thought as to whether their 1^st Round draft pick (26^th Overall) who played four standout years at Boston College, rooted for the Bruins during the season. They were more concerned about him hating the Sharks and trying to help them make the playoffs. The Kings play in the Western Conference and play the Bruins a maximum of two times during the year. It was no concern of what team he might root for.

Of course, Boyle did not always hate the Bruins. In fact, it is not surprising to find out that he grew up cheering for the likes of Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and Andy Moog. He would have been a freak if he lived that close to Boston, played hockey, and didn’t own at least 50 different black and gold t-shirts and jerseys. For someone as interesting as Boyle it would not be surprising if on draft day in 2003, he was holding out hope that his favorite hockey team would draft him and he could play in front of family and friends. Instead, he is currently a critical piece in the Rangers quest for their first Stanley Cup since 1994.

But did anyone really expect him to say that he rooted for the Bruins now? Wouldn’t that be a far bigger story if the center for the Rangers also had a poster of Tyler Seguin over his racecar bed? I wouldn’t expect Boyle to cheer on the Vancouver Canucks in the Finals last spring, but I doubt he took any pleasure in the team from Beantown parading around his home state with the Cup while he was out on the golf course. Any Ranger fan hoped the team was getting healthier, training, and focusing on getting better for the upcoming season.

For a Massachusetts kid, its not astonishing that Boyle is a huge Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots fan. During the lead up to the Super Bowl XLVI rematch of the New York Giants vs. New England Patriots, Boyle made a joking wager with teammates that his team would win. He boasted that the Brady to Gronk connection was going to take the championship. Eli Manning made sure he didn’t win the bet. On February 6^th, line mate Brandon Prust tweeted a photo of a solemn Boyle adorned in a NY Giants jacked and Super Bowl Champions t-shirt and hat.

The look on his face says it all. The last thing he wanted to see in his locker after practice the day after the Super Bowl was anything with the lower case “NY” on it. Boyle clearly wanted his football team to win and was clearly pissed off that they didn’t pull it off. But as bad as the loss might have been for him personally, it was barely a blip on the radar in the long grind on the hockey season and the pursuit to lock up home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The same day of the Super Bowl the Rangers hosted the Flyers and was able to dispatch of them for the fourth time in four chances this season. It was clear which game had more weight that day to Brian.

This all begs the question of athletes as fans. There is a perception of athletes as being above having rooting interest in other teams or athletes. But in the age of social media, where fans have unprecedented access to their favorite athletes the lines are becoming more blurred. When Blake Griffin posterized Kendrick Perkins, LeBron James was a complete fan boy on twitter. During any given all-star event you will see the majority of athletes with camcorders taking in the other stars and recording the festivities.

But when it comes to competing teams there is certainly no love loss. Everyone is out for number one. And for the Rangers they have one goal in mind and that’s to win the title this year. Boyle is a critical component to achieving that goal. While his offensive production is not as potent as other top centers in the league, at 6’7” he brings a jarring physical presence on the ice. Although the arrival of forward and known enforcer Mike Rupp has eased the burden to fight this year, he is still involved in numerous shoving matches after the whistle is blown, usually protecting his line mates and goaltender. His reliability in the faceoff circle and shot blocking fearlessness is a major bonus for a team that prides itself on getting to the dirty areas. He has become a fan favorite of the Madison Square Garden faithful who respect his blue collar work ethic.

The Rangers and Flyers were the focus of the remarkable four part series 24/7 on HBO leading to the Winter Classic showdown at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. When the Christmas layoff came, the cameras followed Brian to Massachusetts and his parent’s house. Viewers were introduced to his parents, his 12 brothers and sisters and the countless little Boyle family members all over the house. Although Brian is a professional hockey player, he still has to compete for attention against his siblings who hold jobs as lawyers, doctors, and teachers. When he’s home his just the tall middle child in a comically large family.

I am sure I am not the only one who saw this scene and wondered whether ALL the Boyle’s had followed Brian’s footsteps and converted from Bruins fans to Rangers fans. Or whether they just cheer on their boy and still follow the B’s on NESN. Neighbors probably whisper about the traitorous Boyle boy who now plays for the enemy and reflecting on the great shame he has brought his family in his New England community.

It is also worth mentioning 24/7 revealed that Flyers star winger, James van Riemsdyk grew up in New York and was a rabid Rangers fan. He was drafted 2^nd overall in 2007 by the Flyers and instantly gave up his childhood team in favor for his new employer. Although he may have idolized Adam Graves and Brian Leetch growing up, he has no affinity towards Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky.

The Rangers have two more regular season meetings against the Bruins. But they know that if they want to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals their biggest obstacle is most likely going to be through the defending champs. New York against Boston… A sports story as old as time. Brian Boyle wouldn’t have it any other fucking way.