Four Days In Manhattan: My Blog From NYC During The Rangers Fiascoes
[When I took the train down to BSS HQ on Monday to take part in Jeff D. Lowe's The Dozen trivia program, the New York Rangers were all but officially eliminated from the playoffs yet the organization and its fans could feel good about the team after an atypical NHL season. They lost their star forward when he had to leave the team for awhile (ultimately) due to the dictator in his homeland. The team kicked its second-highest paid D-man out of the organization after his latest transgression---a post-game fight with one of their goalies (they'll buy him out this summer). But they still managed to stick around until the last week of the season and with the further emergence of Adam Fox and a collection of young talent, the future looks bright.
By the time I took our outdated rail system home Thursday night, the organization had embarrassed itself with an owner-dictated statement, abruptly fired two highly-regarded and well-respected executives for not kowtowing to said statement, saw one of its players suspended, and was fined a quarter-mill for the petulant and unprofessional PR missive. Worst of all for Rangers fans, they got a startling reminder out of the blue just exactly who owns their team. For the four days I was down the City, I kept a running blog of events. Here it is...]
MONDAY, MAY 3RD. I catch the late AM train from South Station to Penn Station. Fuck flying if going from Boston to Manhattan, especiallly when work/hotel are a few blocks away from the train. No getting diddled by TSA then schlepping in from Queens. Can bring all the party favors you want. Some nice scenery if you actually pick your face up from your screen. (I do have a major rail beef. It has nothing to do with Amtrak or its many dedicated employees. It's the way the U.S. essentially gave up on travel by train and failed to even try to keep up with our counterparts in Europe and, especially, Japan. BOS ---> NYC should be an hour by train. But something tells me the airlines would hate to see it happen so the public never did. Anyways, I digress.)
I pop into HQ for the first time since circa 2019 Christmas Party to grab a few things then check in at my hotel around the block and do the last of my pre-show prep. Right before we start, I realize my glasses are MIA. First time ever (for 'script specs). I'm rattled but will power on.
We have what I think is a pretty damn good show and the boys concur. Now I'm starving because I haven't eaten since whatever snacks I pilfered from HQ hours ago. Dying for ramen. Unlike Boston, you can find whatever you want to eat pretty much any time down NYC. So I hit up a joint not far away. No booze on menu but waittress informs me it's BYOB so I throw in my order than go for a quick stroll.
I was actually off the fried squid for quite awhile. Once I had it grilled, that was it. But this was just some 'When in Rome' shit. Plus, check out those gams!
Tonkotsu ramen. It's aces. But the name of the joint keeps reminding my of Damone in FAST TIMES...
As I'm eating, I keep tabs on the NHL. A couple of blocks north, the Caps are looking to pick up a pair of points in their quest to grab the top seed in the East. Suddenly, the feed is full of fury. #HockeyTwitter is spazzing out because, per some corners, Tom Wilson busted out the pliers and blowtorch right there on the MSG ice.
In a widely-shared clip, it appears as though one-of-a-kind Capitals forward Tom Wilson pulled some shenanigans that had everyone all up in arms.
My initial gut reaction after a cursory glance at the very slowed-down, takedown-via-salad was that Willie might be missing some time. But I want to do my due diligence and not potentially overreact to Zaprudered clips of plays that happen in under a second in the midst of chaos. Kinda like…
"Arrest him!" L-O-FUCKING-L.
I watch the sequence and ensuing chaos multiple times then wonder if we'll see the suspension seemingly everyone is clamoring for. Voluntarily falling on Buchnevich as he was already falling then giving him a quick poke to the dome is certainly dirty…but nothing the NHL is gonna ring him up for.
As for the Panarin portion of the program, I respect the hell out of him for backing his teammate. He also jumps on the back of an enraged guy who plays a dangerous came and that move came with some risk. In the span of about 5-6 seconds, Panarin goes from Wilson's back to being violently slammed to the ice in the ensuing chaos.
That's not defending Wilson or saying Panarin had it coming. It's just that jumping on any NHL player's back is going to provoke a reaction. When that NHLer is Tom Wilson and you're giving away five inches and 50 pounds, the reaction is probably going to get ugly because that's who Wilson is---it's like provoking a rattlesnake. Reminds of that Maya Angelou quote: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
But the players aren't the only ones who choose violence on this night. Whoever was running the Caps Twitter handle during the game does so as well.
The Tweet is deleted almost as quick as it goes up.
I'll keep it 100 with you---I don't even understand most of what's going on here. But I get the general point: Willie is in all your heads.
The games are over so I'll have another pop or two then hit the rack (even if I don't fall asleep for hours). I don't want to be hurting and wet-brained for the big trivia match tomorrow.
TUESDAY, MAY 4TH. Up and at them for The Dozen. But the hockey world waits with bated breath to see how many games Wilson gets…
SONK!
The DOPS feels like Wilson had a not-quite-equal reaction but a reaction nonetheless and does not even deem the confrontation worthy of a fine as Wilson was fined only for roughing Buchnevich.
Essentially the NHL is saying, "you mess with the bull, you get the horns" because these scrums are common and one guy was giving away too much size and got ragdolled bad. Yeah, it could've been ugly. But it wasn't. And you can't get punished for 'potentially'.
"If you suffer from Tom Wilson Derangement Syndrome, there is help."
Well, that should put a bow on things.
Me, Biz, and Whit are playing Vibbs, Jake, and Large. Three great guys. I'm the only one on my team in studio.
I'm blown away by the job Jeff and the crew did on putting this project together (I hear this is a hard concept for some). I also become a bowling shirt owner.
I do some shit around the office then head back to the hotel for a Chiclets interview. While we record, "the Rangers" drop this online…
"Holy fucking yikes", the Chiclets group text says in unison. NHL teams think they get fucked on every supplemental discipline call and sometimes they're right. But teams always respect the process and final decision. Until this. There's no way John Davidson signed off on this shit. Not only does the statement piss off the NHL, it kinda calls out the players when their owner is crying to the league like this.
I'm gonna meet Grinnelli and a few Chicago boys for dinner. Chicago boys end up grabbing late lunch so we meet them, Reags, and others at a great little Village bar instead. I have Lagunitas for supper. I'm not sure who pulls the 'chute but everyone bails at the same time and relatively early for NYC (before 1AM). But not before I make White Sox Dave promise to watch "The Wire".
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5TH. I getting ready to model clothing for the first time in my life when this stunning news hits the wire…
"Holy shit, that's James Dolan's music!"
Gorton and Davidson want nothing to do with the PR release and Dolan is somehow made aware. So they gone. Just like that, two smart and respected hockey minds are thrown out with last night's hotdogs. Some reporters share the spin that the moves were performance-based. Not a soul is buying it.
Annnd now Chris Drury is GM and interim President. The lifetime winner is patiently waiting in the wings for ages, turning down other jobs elsewhere. Still, I don't think he expected to get the job in this manner. In a total coincidence, Mark Messier, who I can't remember the last time we heard from, just happens to appear on NY radio today with some Rangers takes…
This is after Larry Brooks just happens to float his name as a potential hire.
By the way, buy your RA's Casino hoodies here…
Oh and there's still the matter of a little game tonight. I watch the begining of it from HQ before a bunch of us head to a bar to catch the rest.
Part of me thinks that the Caps know that the Rags need to salvage some pride tonight after Dolan's PR gaffe so they have no problem obliging them.
The bar empties out pretty quick. It's just me, Dante, Chief, and WSD. Somebody suggests slices. Dante gets some food intel and we head to Carmine St. There are so many pizza joints on Manhattan, it's easy to end up with a subpar slice if you don't get pointed in the right direction (if you see "2 slices & Coke for $5", keep walking). That's not an issue tonight.
Place was excellent but the best part of the night was this…
THURSDAY, MAY 6TH. Thank the maker for hotels that have PM check-out times. Before I head to the office to jump on Token CEO with the boss, the Rangers are already making news.
https://twitter.com/PRNHL/status/1390336022823772164?s=20
That's car console money to Dolan. But his statement succeeded in galvanizing only #HockeyTwitter, a collection of people who seemingly forget that the NHL isn't the local Mite league.
I record an interview with Erika. We chat about my Barstool career and the circuitous route I took. I make a pitch to her for Barstool to send Large and I to Ireland in August. I list a shitload of potential places we can visit in our ancestral homeland. We'll see.
I have a big interview at 6PM to finish some prep work for so I head to the livestream room to grab a couch. Troopz greets me at the door and gives me a VIP wristband. He's here to do his livestream for the Arsenal game and wants no trolling. I don't know how to troll English soccer fans. So I'm good.
Oops, the Rangers have gone too long without making news.
I finally appear in a viral clip at Barstool but it's for soccer.
We bang out our interview with a Hockey Hall of Fame member. I need to get crackin' for the train. I quickly order 5 Guys online to pick up on way to Penn Station then say a few goodbyes to co-workers. The train is already at the platform but I'm here in plenty of time. I sit down to scarf down my burger and hear "Where you from?" across the aisle. I wait a beat then say, "Oh me? Boston." Then I look down to my wrapper in dismay. There's no bun. I check my receipt.
Motherfucker.
Brutal error. Always measure twice and cut once, kids. After sloppily scarfing down beef, bacon, mushrooms, and condiments, I wash up and get back to my seat. The presumably drunk guy next to me is talking on speakerphone. The woman on the other end is exasperated. As am I. I grab my gear and head to the back of the car. I whack back about 75 mgs of a Wonka bar, put on old-school hip-hop from Sirius, and keep abreast of things via Twitter until we hit South Station.
10 minutes before South Station, I try to summon an Uber and a Lyft. No dice. No luck when I get there either. I exit on the Atlantic Ave. side where the cab stand is. Empty. And Louie DePalma isn't answering either.
Based on replies, this is a real issue lately. If you're getting in or going out at off-peak hours, make sure to set something up ahead of time or you'll find yourself walking home as I did.
Home. Finally.
Ironically, after all of the drama of the previous four days, the Rangers are still in a good spot. And now they have one of the most-coveted young execs in the game running point for them. So it's only a matter of time until Dolan royally fucks it up.