Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers Be Brawlin'

On Sunday night, the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers faced off and things got a little chippy nearing the end of the contest.

With the Rangers up 5-2 in the third, Ranger Sean Avery decided to lay the wood on Oiler Colin Fraser.

After that, all hell broke loose:



(Courtesy of It's Always Sunny in Detroit)

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DISH Network pulls plug on Devils, Islanders, Knicks and Rangers

Subscribers of the DISH Network, who also happen to be fans of the New Jersey Devils, the New York Islanders, the
New York Knicks and/or the New York Rangers, woke up Friday morning to the realization they no longer had access to the MSG Network and MSG Plus as well as no idea when their sports viewing experience would be fully restored.

According to the New York Post, DISH Network Corporation, the second-largest United States satellite provider, and the Madison Square Garden Networks failed to reach an agreement before the October 1 expiration of their previous carriage contract. The impasse in negotiations occurred when the two sides could not come to terms on how much of an increase in fees would be paid to Madison Square Garden.

No new talks have been scheduled.

In the interim, MSG has encouraged DISH subscribers to switch to other cable or satellite companies for access to their favorite programming on MSG and MSG Plus.

Meanwhile, DISH has stated it will make ESPN Classic, NBA TV, NFL Network and other pay channels available at no extra charge to those affected by the blackout.

This is small consolation to the nearly 350,000 DISH subscribers in the Tri-State Area who have been looking forward to the start of a new season for their beloved basketball and hockey teams.

"We are disappointed with DISH's decision to drop MSG Network and MSG Plus. DISH has rejected numerous fair and reasonable proposals at rates, terms and conditions consistent with our deals with other operators," said Dan Ronayne, Executive Vice President and General Manager of MSG Networks. "Instead of negotiating for a new agreement, DISH has decided to deprive their customers of our award-winning networks and their favorite New York teams."

On the flip side of the coin, Dave Shull, Senior Vice President of Programming for DISH, had this to say: “These are really tough economic times and we have to make sure we have the flexibility with our customers to meet their needs and provide content at a reasonable price.”

Doesn’t this empty rhetoric between millionaires haggling over huge slices of a billion-dollar pie sound eerily similar to the ramblings of Charlie Brown’s school teacher in the Peanuts' television specials?

And if either side is looking for a sympathetic ear, it won’t find a single one among its loyal customers who are the real losers in this asinine dispute.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation.

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The Magnificent Seven: The Most Important Players in NY Sports Today

As the fiercest hurricane in twenty years prepares to slam the East Coast with winds in excess of 130 miles per hour, another storm is brewing which fans of the major professional sports leagues will embrace with open arms.

Between September 9 and October 26, the 2010 regular seasons for the National Football League (September 9) and the National Hockey League (October 7), as well as the 2010 postseason for Major League Baseball (October 6), will monopolize the airwaves with their respective opening acts.

However, on October 26, the ‘perfect storm’ ensues when the National Basketball Association lifts the curtain on a new season to give rise to that ecliptic moment on the calendar where sports fans can have their pick of meaningful games to watch, at home or in-person, among the four major sports in North America.

And with the steady approach of this annual confluence, player performance, prospectively and retrospectively, is broken down, dissected, and examined ad infinitum like at no other time during the year; especially in New York where the demands for success can overwhelm those with the strongest of resolves.

In light of this information, there’s no time like the present to enumerate the seven players in New York sports who had and/or will have the most significant impact on their teams as baseball’s postseason looms on the horizon and the NBA, the NFL and the NHL prepare for the dawn of their new seasons. One player per team will be named.

CC Sabathia, New York Yankees

It can never be overstated how valuable Charles Carsten Sabathia has been to a New York Yankees starting rotation that has been beset by inconsistent performances from A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez throughout the season, hampered by shoddy post All-Star break showings from Phil Hughes and decimated by an injury to Andy Pettitte.

Sabathia leads the Yankees in wins (18), ERA (3.14) and strikeouts (160), which place him in first, eighth and ninth in the American League in those respective categories.

And although second baseman Robinson Cano may receive more consideration and support for the American League MVP Award, Sabathia’s candidacy should be taken as seriously as his bid to win the Cy Young Award.

Hitting may rule the day in the Bronx but, ultimately, pitching wins championships. And of the current postseason contenders, no starting pitcher has been nor will be more crucial to their team’s success than CC Sabathia.

Angel Pagan, New York Mets

New York Mets third baseman David Wright leads the team in home runs (21) and RBI’s (86), but Angel Pagan has given the Mets hope for the future.

In an outfield where Carlos Beltran’s best days are behind him and their search for another steady corner outfielder is ongoing, Pagan has quietly emerged as a star in his own right.

Pagan leads the Mets in batting average and, among all National League outfielders, he is first in stolen bases (32), sixth in hits (137) and seventh in batting average (.294), all while playing a Gold Glove-like centerfield for the majority of the season.

So along with first base (Ike Davis), shortstop (Jose Reyes) and third base, Pagan has given the Mets’ front office one less position to concern with reloading this coming off-season and opened up intriguing trade possibilities involving Carlos Beltran.

Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks

Prior to the beginning of the 2005–06 NBA regular season, Amar’e Stoudemire underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee and, as a result, ended up playing only three games for the Phoenix Suns during the campaign.

Surprisingly though, the Suns would go on to post a 54-28 record and reach the Western Conference Finals before gallantly falling to the Dallas Mavericks in six games.

The New York Knicks won’t even come close to achieving similar results if their $100 million man misses any significant time due to injury this coming season and beyond.

In the most talent-laden free agent market in NBA history, Stoudemire became the cornerstone in plans to resurrect one of the marquee franchises in the league as well as the best big man the Knicks have had on their roster since Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing.

Fresh off a season in which he averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and played all 82 games in the regular season for the first time in his career, the 27-year-old Stoudemire appears primed to lead the Knicks into an era where mediocre basketball is a thing of the past.

But if Stoudemire’s shoulders aren’t broad enough to carry that burden, the Knicks will have to look to the NBA Lottery for answers.

Eli Manning, New York Giants

When starting quarterback Eli Manning left the New York Giants’ preseason opener against the New York Jets after suffering a three-inch laceration to his forehead, fans of ‘Big Blue’ held their collective breaths knowing full well they could ill afford to lose the Super Bowl XLII MVP.

However, twelve stitches and one missed preseason game later, Manning was back in the saddle again, accompanied by an enormous sigh of relief.

Over his six-year career, Manning has proven to be extremely durable. After starting in 87 consecutive regular season games through last season, Manning has the third longest active streak among NFL quarterbacks; behind only Brett Favre (285) and Peyton Manning (192).

This distinction bodes well for the Giants, who need Manning to play all sixteen regular season games for the sixth straight season more than ever.

With back-up signal caller Jim Sorgi on injured reserve and third-stringer Rhett Bomar still waiting to take his first regular season snap, New York’s depth at the position is severely compromised; which is why the Giants have started to make inquiries about Arizona Cardinals disgruntled quarterback Matt Leinart in a classic demonstration of desperate times call for desperate measures.

Therefore, New York’s hopes for a successful 2010-11 season ride largely on the health and well-being of one Eli Manning.

Darrelle Revis, New York Jets

Click here to read why the Jets’ Super Bowl talk means absolutely nothing without Darrelle Revis.

John Tavares, New York Islanders

Last season, New York Islanders rookie center John Tavares finished first on the team in points (54), second in goals (24) and third in assists (30). Among rookie skaters, Tavares finished second in points, tied for first in goals and third in assists.

Islanders captain Doug Weight said that “John’s going to be a big piece (of an Islander rebuilding effort)” after Tavares’ first NHL game last year, which is why the 19-year-old was taken with the first overall pick by the Isles in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

In his sophomore season, Tavares will be expected to continue the steady progression toward becoming one of the elite players in the league while elevating the play of his teammates in the process.

Tavares has also been a huge draw at the box office for the Islanders. After winning the Draft Lottery, the team’s ticket sales department reported a "300% increase in phone calls and e-mail inquiries” from 2008-2009 and were "on pace" to renew 90% of its season tickets in 2009.

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

Behind a porous defense, Henrik Lundqvist single-handedly carried the New York Rangers to the brink of making the playoffs last season.

Lundqvist faced the third most shots of any goalie in the NHL, but yet finished eighth in the league in goals against average (2.38) and save percentage (.921).

And no one in the Rangers’ locker room took losses harder, as well as take the most responsibility for those defeats, than Lundqvist did.

Entering the 2010-11 season, the Rangers will once again rely heavily on Lundqvist to keep their anemic offense in games and cover for their glaring defensive liabilities.

There it is, folks. Agree? Disagree? Your voice is welcome to be heard.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation featuring one of the most important players in New York sports today.

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New York Rangers Fan Marriage Proposal Gone Wrong

During yesterday's Tampa Bay Lighting-New York Rangers affair, a New York Rangers fan decided to propose to his girlfriend on Valentine's Day.

(Collective, AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW)

Well as you can tell by the title, it did not go well from the Rangers fan.

We here at Outside the Boxscore are still unsure if this is real or just a prank from the New York Rangers, so take the above video with a grain of salt.

UPDATE- We are being told that this actually was a prank pulled by the fans themselves. The New York Rangers had no prior knowledge that this marriage proposal was a prank.

UPDATE PART 2- With Leather has just posted that they were hired actors from an agency to be designed for game entertainment.

Essentially, that means the New York Rangers were in on it.

(Courtesy of The New York Rangers Blog)

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100 RANGERS GREATS interview

This interview, exclusive to Outside the Boxscore, is part of the 21st Century Media Alliance coverage of the release of 100 RANGER GREATS. Russ Cohen of Sportsology and Card Corner Club is one of the co-authors and he provides the answers for these questions.

1 How do you settle on a book like this in the first place? What set the New York Rangers apart as far as having the material to generate something like this?

Well obviously, there are other teams who could generate similar material, but the common thread was we all grew up rooting for the Rangers – so from that standpoint, it was a no-brainer. The one edge that the Rangers have over other teams was the fact that New York has always been the media capital of the world, so there is no shortage of material.

2 Who were some of the biggest characters in Rangers history in terms of being colorful personalities?

Pete Stemkowski, Pat Hickey, Don Murdoch, Vic Hadfield and Davey Kerr come to mind and I’m just scratching the surface here.

3 How did some of the team’s bigger goons and tough guys fare in the rankings?

Very well. Nick Fotiu is #100 and Lou Fontinato is # 96. Vic Hadfield and Barry Beck were tough and they are highly-ranked because of their other gifts.

4 Not long after the Original Six era ended, New York got its second NHL team and by the early ‘80s there were three, making it the only market in Big Four professional sports to be split three ways. Aside from fans that live close to the various arenas, are there any easily definable patterns in terms of hockey fans who stuck with the Rangers and those who chose to follow the newer teams when they materialized?

Well, the fans that moved from Brooklyn into the suburbs like Long Island, like my family, stuck with the Rangers, but fans that were born on the Island became Islanders fans. Unfortunately, the Sabres are on the other side of the state, so there was never any fan crossover and if you want to count the Devils because they are in the metropolitan area, again, Rangers fans who moved to New Jersey help fill their arena whenever the Blueshirts are in town.

5 You’re probably not going to reveal if Mark Messier came in at #1, but walk us through the thought process, the pros and cons as you saw them about slotting him at the top.

Well, I can tell you that he is not #1. He had a terrific career for the Rangers, but a good portion of it was in his later years, and that did count against him. He cornered the market on leadership, intangibles and heart, but the players that were ahead of him just edged him out.

6 Who are the current Rangers with the biggest chances to move up dramatically if this book were to be updated in 10-20 years?

Well, this will be fun to look back at years from now. I’m sure I will be wrong about a few of them. Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal and Brandon Dubinsky all have a chance to be in that group. I can’t think of any other players who could be projected for a list like this right now. Check back in with me at the end of the season.

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He's Back, (Sean Avery)

Usually when we talk about the NHL on Outside the Boxscore has to deal with a weird play, or a goal by Sidney Crosby, or Alexander Ovechkin. Well, I guess I can also add Sean Avery to the list.

Avery who was recently dumped by the Dallas Stars for alleged comments dealing with former girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert has been signed to the New York Rangers. The comment stemmed about current Calgary Flames center Dion Phaneuf who is currently dating Cuthbert and Avery stating in a press interview about “NHL players falling in love with my sloppy seconds.” He was released from Dallas and well was looking to shack up with another NHL squad.

Avery who previous played in New York from 2007-2008, will return to action as soon as the deal is completed. (Avery is expected to practice on Wednesday and play against the Islanders on Thursday.) Avery is always reminded me of an athlete who could deal with the bright lights of New York. He had an internship at Vogue and possibly is still trying to spin this into a movie deal. (I can see it now, Skates and Skirts. I expect my payment now, Sean)

The real interesting point of the story is Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks about suspending Avery after these comments and stating that, “This organization will not tolerate this sort of behavior.”

Wow, someone from Texas is appalled by this. I have heard worse on subway cars, taxi’s, college, and an airport bathroom in Texas. (Where is the blind eye, when you need it?) Sure, there was a line crossed since he was referring to another NHL player but unless he named that player that comment could go to anyone that Avery has dated. I assume that Sean will not be winning any Lady Byng trophy anytime soon.

It is nice to have Avery back since he is one of the best defensive-men in the National Hockey League and one of the colorful characters in the league. I figure you will not have to worry about “sloppy seconds” on the ice but in the end that is for Sean Avery to decide.

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