Ends of the Spectrum

I must say that it was very cool hearing Tim Russert congratulate Boston College on the NCAA title at the end of Meet the Press on Sunday morning. Russert's son, Luke, goes to BC...although apparently, he didn't go out to Denver for the Frozen Four, despite the fact that he co-hosts a sports talk show with James Carville on XM. I wonder if anyone told Papa Russ who holds the NHL rights of the Frozen Four's Most Outstanding Player, Nathan Gerbe (that would be Russert's hometown Buffalo Sabres for anyone who didn't know).

It was significantly less cool, of course, seeing the Devils beat the Rangers on Sunday night. It's not like I was expecting a Rangers sweep, but getting beat on some tough bounces is tough to stomach.

What was also annoying was not being able to hear DOC~! call the game. I opted for the Rangers crew over Cangelosi and Chico, the one consolation being that I got to hear Sam Rosen's "It's a POWER PLAY GOAL" call a couple of times, knowing how much it pisses off a certain Isles fan I know, especially when Sean Avery was the goalscorer.

Speaking of Avery, the NHL has declared his little faceguarding technique on Martin Brodeur to be unsportsmanlike conduct. That's fine by me, since it looked like something out of a Mighty Ducks movie, but it was pretty funny. I'm sure Avery will continue to chirp at Brodeur whenever he's in front of the net (albeit without the arm waving), as reporters seem to be the only people that Avery won't talk to these days.

As someone whose seats at the Garden are in the zone the Rangers attack twice, I'm always happy to see someone yelling at the goalie. After all, yelling at goalies is one of my favorite aspects of college hockey fan behavior that doesn't really make the move to the NHL. Of course, the Rangers fans do enjoy taunting Brodeur, and as long as they like that, I have another couple of college chants that apply in this series with the Devils.

- The "KILL THE MIDGET" chant for Brian Gionta, as originated by the fans at BU. The Terrier fans - or as the one and only Pinhead Nation calls them, the "fanboys" - revived this one for the aforementioned Nathan Gerbe this season, but I think it's time to return the chant to its original target. Sadly, I didn't buy tickets for these games (the price jump from $36 to $84.50 is a little tough to stomach when you're unemployed), or I would try to get it going myself.

- RPI's 19:00 tradition of "Ooooooooooooone Minute, and CLARKSON STILL SUCKS!" I wonder if Paul Ranger takes it personally when he's at New Jersey for the "Rangers Suck" chant, or at the Mausoleum for "If you know the Rangers suck, clap your hands." I tend to doubt it, but that's no reason not to apply the same principle to the Devils' David Clarkson.

- Finally, since the Devils are emphasizing their red jerseys with these "Red-outs" and such at the Prudential Center, I'd be amused if some of the Devils fans picked up Cornell and RPI's tradition of yelling out the word "RED" at the appropriate point during the national anthem.

Getting back to the series, someone needs to remind the Rangers TV crew that Mike Mottau isn't the only Devil who went to Boston College...just the only Devil who won a Hobey Baker there. But seriously, it seems like the first mention of Mottau on the last couple of Rangers telecasts (which I watch when DOC~! isn't doing the Devils game) has been followed by a mention of "Mottau's Boston College Eagles" in the Frozen Four, but no mention of Gionta. And a mention of Gionta's history at BC would have been a nice touch in the third period, when he wound up as Chris Drury's dance partner during one of those scrambles in the third period last night.

And in case anyone's wondering, BU and BC never met in the postseason while Drury was at BU and Mottau and Gionta were at BC. BU won the Hockey East championship in 1997, beating UMass-Lowell after the River Hawks beat Mottau and the Eagles in the semifinals. In 1998, Mottau and Hockey East Freshman of the Year Gionta won the Hockey East title with BC, Drury's Terriers having been eliminated in the quarterfinals by...Merrimack in the 1-8 matchup.

I'm typing this as I watch the Wild-Avalanche game on Versus. This may well be the best series of the first round. Personally, I'm looking for the Avs to come out of this one, because with the great rivalries in the first round in the East (Rangers-Devils, Canadiens-Bruins), the Western Conference could use a good Wings-Avs series, especially if T.J. Hensick were to get a taxi squad call-up now that the Lake Erie Monsters' seeason is over.

In general, though, I'd just like to see Colorado win because of David Jones. It's good to see a Dartmouth product (can't call him an alum since he hasn't graduated yet) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It continues to solidify the wisdom of Jones' forfeiture of his last year of college eligibility, since I tend to agree with Red Berenson that a player shouldn't leave college early unless he's ready for the NHL. 27 regular-season games and a regular spot on the playoff roster is pretty darn good, even if it wouldn't have gotten over the threshold in my statistical analysis that I did for CSTV before last year's NHL Draft. Then again, Jones was drafted in 2003, and he would only have had a one-year contract if he'd signed this spring (I finally have a handle on that rule, having looked in the back of the Isles media guide a couple of weeks ago). He's even got a pretty decent playoff beard going.

OK, the game is over, the Wild having won on Pierre-Marc Bouchard's overtime goal, so I'll leave you with one final thought. And since a picture is worth a thousand words...

Good Night For Green

Quick thought on the Rangers: was it just me, or did they look better defensively against the Sabres on Monday night without Marek MaWeak in the lineup? Next question: think the Islanders can take him off the Rangers' hands sometime soon the way they did Tom Poti?

But that was Monday night. From Tuesday night, kudos go to David Jones, who scored his first NHL goal and handed out two assists as the Avalanche beat Atlanta, 5-2. I don't know Dave personally, just professionally, but it's another proud moment for the Dartmouth program.

Lee Stempniak, meanwhile, scored a third-period goal for the Blues Tuesday night, to help send their game in Edmonton to overtime. However, Andrew Cogliano is apparently Mr. Overtime these days, with his third OT goal in as many games to win it for the Oilers. I really had high hopes for the Blues this year, so seeing them basically playing out the string at this point is unfortunate. Of course, since my real team is on a 13-game point streak, I'm not going to spend too much time complaining.

In women's hockey news, congrats to the Dartmouth women on making the NCAA tournament. They managed to sneak in, and they draw Harvard in the first round. I can't say I have terribly high hopes for this one, given how good Harvard is this season, but the Big Green does have Carli Clemis, and as the Big Green learned in painful fashion last season, a career performance by a goaltender can make a world of difference in the NCAA tournament.

As for me, though, I'm actually taking the weekend off from hockey, at least Friday. Dartmouth tied for the Ivy League women's basketball title, and is in a three-way playoff with Harvard and Cornell this weekend for the right to advance to the NCAA tournament. It's being held at Columbia's Levien Gymnasium - aka The Bargain Basement (it is literally in the basement of Columbia's athletic center) - so I get to stay close to home this weekend.

I know I should be at a hockey game somewhere this weekend, but there are a couple of things here. First, no one is paying me to travel, so I may as well support the alma mater...especially since I get to be fully unbridled as a fan when I go to this game (as opposed to having to behave somewhat professionally). Second, I've seen Dartmouth at two Women's Frozen Fours (2004 and 2005). I have never been in the building for Dartmouth at an NCAA women's basketball tournament game. This is notable since every four-year Dartmouth women's basketball player since 1980 has won at least one Ivy League title except for two...those two were my classmates in the Dartmouth Class of 2004. I was working at CSTV when Dartmouth made the NCAAs in 2005 (when the Big Green got crushed by UConn) and 2006 (when Angie Soriaga gave Rutgers one hell of a scare), but this is a time when I plan on watching the Big Green dance. It starts Friday against Harvard.

Oh, one last New York thought, going back to the Rangers: the question of a game at Yankee Stadium. There seem to be two issues at the moment:

Should it Be Played?

I have two minds about this. The venue is a major part of an outdoor game, as far as I'm concerned. Of course, I covered the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic in 2006, and I can tell you that the venue of Lambeau Field made the game truly special. Obviously, it can be special without a storied venue - with all due respect to Spartan Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium - but it would be wonderful for the sport to play at Yankee Stadium.

There are also the people who insist - understandably and justifiably - that a baseball game should be the final event at The House That Ruth Built. It is worth noting, of course, that some serious college football games have been played in the Bronx over the years as well - the "Win One For The Gipper" speech was made there at halftime of an Army-Notre Dame game, for one - but it is a baseball stadium, the most famous one on the planet. If the Yankees want baseball to be the last event there, then so be it (I do understand, however, that Yankees management is on board).

I can see both sides here, but if the Yankees are on board, then I say go ahead. The Yankees were concerned in the past about the effects of building a rink on the field, so this is really the only time they could do this, with the stadium on its way out. The building is being torn down...is anyone really going to be offended in five years that hockey was the last event at the stadium?

Whom Should They Play?

Original plans called for the Islanders. Now, word is that the league and NBC want a different market represented, preferably one from the Western Conference and/or an Original Six team. Obviously, if you're talking Original Six and Western Conference, you mean either Detroit or Chicago. Detroit is a perennial powerhouse, of course, and Chicago certainly does have two of the NHL's stars of the future in Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews. However, I would actually stay away from either of those teams.

If New Year's Day is going to be the day for this game, I'd rather pick a market where minds are less likely to be on a bowl game. Do the names Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame ring a bell?

Staying with the Original Six, though, I like the idea of the Boston Bruins (since BC football isn't likely to play on New Year's Day). If a Yankees game isn't going to close the House That Ruth Built, I do like the idea of a New York-Boston game being the final event. This, of course, leads to talk of a return engagement at Fenway, but I'd want another team involved. Bruins-Canadiens would be my choice for Fenway, since bowl games aren't much of a thought up there, either.

Save that game for 2011, though. 2010: Wings-Blackhawks at Wrigley. It's their time.