Sunday, July 31, 2011

THINGS GET BETTER WITH AGE


The Mike Repole's horse Stay Thirsty won the $500,000.00 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga yesterday. Stay Thirsty is a 3 year old horse that ran in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont. During his 2 year old season, Stay Thirsty was always mentioned as the other stablemate of Uncle Mo.

Right before the Kentucky Derby, Uncle Mo was taken out of training and pulled from contention in the Derby because of a rare liver disease. Stay Thirsty was being entered into the Derby as Repole's other horse. As I handicapped the Derby, I saw something in Stay Thirsty. I included him in all of my exotics and also placed a Win/Place bet on him. He ran 12th in the Derby and just didn't fire that day. (See my June 10th blog, "We Got Mushed")

In the Belmont, Stay Thirsty finished a very respectable second. He was beat by only 3/4 of a length. I did not have Stay Thirsty on my tickets in the Belmont.  I was mushed once and I was afraid that I was forever mushed. (See "The Belmont and The Stooges" for more)

Yesterday in the Jim Dandy, Stay Thirsty, with Javier Castellano on board, stalked the pace. The times for the leaders were a 24 second quarter and a 47.66 half. At the top of the stretch, Stay Thirsty moved into a favorable position and passed the leaders. He had a clear run and a hand ride to a four length lead. He went off at 5-2 and paid seven dollars to win.

There are a number of horses that do not hit their stride until they are past the three year old season. Zenyatta is a prime example. Two year old seasons are tough to judge and then when they are entered in the Derby, they have not raced a lot as a three year old. Todd Pletcher is a great trainer and I am glad that he sees something in this horse. Stay Thirsty is just going to get better as he gets older. Its called maturity.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

DOWN GOES FRAZIER

I received a post from Shane Howell. He posted on the, "From the Cheap Seats" Facebook page, "Will heavy weight boxing ever have the same lure as in years past?"

This is a good question that is asked by many a boxing fan. I have asked the same question and
I have a few thoughts on this subject.

I am really old school when it comes to the heavyweight division. I grew up watching Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Norton. I remember ths classic Ali-Frazier fights and Ali doing the rope a dope on Foreman. This was a great time for the heavyweight division. After this era, you had Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield and Klitchko but not at the same time. You had a bit of overlap but never like the division in the seventies.

The heavyweight division in the seventies had it's story lines and some great boxers. The eras after that had great boxers, just not at the same time. If you put Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield and Klitschko in their primes and in the same era, you now have interest.

One of the biggest downfalls for boxing, not just the heavyweight division, is the pay per view medium. I remember watching Ali fight on ABC. I remember hearing the voice of Howard Cosell. Who can forget hearing Cosell screaming, "Down goes Frazier!". This was all for free on network television. In this day and age and in this economy, people are not going to shell out close to sixty dollars to see what might be a sixty dollar stinker. In order to get the masses interested, you need to let them see your product. Let them test drive it, kick the tires and check under the hood. No one will go test drive a car if you charge them sixty dollars.

My second point is the rise of the ultimate fighting. With ultimate fighting growing in popularity and reaching the masses, you are losing a lot of people to that. Ultimate fighting is a street fight will boxing is a dance. Ultimate fighting is non stop action while boxing is a chess match. Ultimate fighting also has many more viewing possibilities. There are free shows on cable as well as the pay per view. They are giving fans the ability to test drive it's product.

Boxing needs to take a different tact if it wants interest in viewers but most importantly it needs to take a different tact if it wants to see another Ali.

Friday, July 29, 2011

ODDS AND ENDS




Hideki Irabu, the extremely brief Yankee sensation, was found dead in his home in Rancho Palos Verdes yesterday. Irabu joined the Yankees in 1997 because he did not want to pitch for the Padres. Steinbrenner made a deal with the then Padres GM, Mr. Lucciano. Lucciano went on to become the Red Sox' GM and coined the phrase, "The Yankees are the Evil Empire." Irabu never became the sensation that he was touted to be and in an exhibition game, Streinbrenner referred to him as a fat toad. Irabu had a few run-ins with the law and the latest one was a drunk driving arrest in Gardena, California. Irabu was 42 when he died and supposedly it was a suicide. The autopsy will be today. Hey Magellen, wanna go, I can get us tickets.



The New England Patriots decide that they will now add a tent to their circus. With the signing of Haynesworth and Ochocinco, you have added two of the biggest clowns in football to your roster. Let me get this straight, Haynesworth had been complaining to the Redskins that he didn't like to play in a 3-4 defense. If you have not noticed, the Patriots have been playing a 3-4 defense for centuries. Ochocinco, the ultimate self promoting wide receiver, is now going to a team that lives by the word T E A M. Hey Belichek, good luck with all of that.  Hopefully they will distract you long enough and you forget about the Jets.



With Brad Smith departing for the Bills and Holmes signed, the receiving end for the Jets is OK, it would be great to re-sign Edwards but we have to be realistic. It is now time to take a look at Nnamdi. Revis and Nnamdi are friends and if they pair those two up at the corners, every team will have to re-think the passing attack. The Jets are in the hunt for him as well as the Texans. Stay tuned because by the end of today there might be a signing.

The trade deadline is looming and the Yankees have not mentioned nor have made any moves to improve the shaky pitching staff. Ubaldo Jimenez and Wandy Rodriguez are two names that are being thrown around. Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros has one thing the Yankees need and that is he is left-handed. The one thing the Yankees don't need is that he is 32. Not sure what that will accomplish in the long haul nor what that will accomplish this year. Ubaldo Jimenez is young but the asking price is steep. He has had one really good season and the rest have been quite average. I don't know but he reminds me of Jefff Weaver. Pass or play? 

And for Magellen, this next tidbit is for you.  I have never seen such a bad start for the BC Lions. They are off to a 0-5 start. Last night they lost to the first place Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-20. Wally your defense needs to get better if you want to keep your job.

In closing, I want to wish my friend Doug a speedy recovery. Doug, you had us all scared the past few days. We are all thinking of you and get better soon.


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

SANTONIO IS HOME


The Jets wasted no time in signing Santonio Holmes. One of the free agents that needed to be signed, has been signed for a 5 year 50 million dollar contract. This signing takes a lot of pressure off the running game.

In a statement earlier in the week Rex Ryan stated that his team will let it fly a little more than in the past. Ryan is definitely signaling that Sanchez will air it out more and with Holmes, he definitely could. There are a few more pieces that need to be put in place and Sanchez has stated that he might re-work his contract to get it done.

A big piece might be the addition of Nnamdi Asomugha and if Sanchez re-works his contract the signing of Asomugha could be done. Cromartie has basically told the Jets that they will not get a "hometown discount."

A HUGHES'ED UP PITCHING STAFF


With the dog days of August almost upon us and the trade deadline approaching, the Yankees have to ask themselves this question, "Do we need to get another starting pitcher?"

I believe that the Yankees have enough right now to make the play-offs but to go past the first round would be a tough task. If you look at the starting rotation you have to scratch your head.

CC Sabathia is having a Cy Young year. The Yankees need to renogotiate his contract otherwise he will walk at the end of this year. After him, the starting rotation looks thin. Joe Girardi thinks they are fine in this department but what he fails to realize is that they won't be playing Oakland A's caliber teams in the play-offs. They will be facing teams like the Rangers and the Red Sox and they will destroy the Yankees pitching after Sabathia.



AJ Burnett is just one of those bad luck pitchers. I said in the beginning of the season that he would have a decent year because Posada is not catching him. Having Russell Martin as the everyday catcher has helped Burnett immensely. He has two problems. Problem one is that the Yankees refuse to score runs when he is pitching a gem and problem two is that one inning when he just seems to lose it. His record of 8-8, as of this writing, does not do him justice. As a number 2 starter he needs to have much more support and some better concentration.



What do you say about Phil Hughes? He was an all-star last year and after starting the season with a dead arm and spending time in the minors, Hughes has come back and has looked average. His curveball is flat and his fastball has no pop. In a 17-7 game with the A's he looked awful. When the play-offs come around you can't be awful and hope your team is going to score 17 runs. Unless he gets better, the Yankees need to bring back Ivan Nova from the minors.



And the two jalopies holding up the backend of the staff, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. They have times that they look good but then they will throw up some stinkers. They also have the luxury of playing on a softball team. The Yankees seem to score runs for them but once again in the play-offs the other team will have some pretty good pitching that won't allow the Yankees to softball it up.

Tough decision to make but last year the tough decision was not made and Cliff Lee beat the Yankees in the play-offs. Take a look at what is out there and weigh your options. Right now, it is all in the art of the deal.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

THERE WILL BE A KICK-OFF


With both sides coming to an agreement, we will have football this year. All teams are now going to have to step it up in order to re-sign or sign free agents. The courting period for free agents basically boils down to a few days.

The Jets are in for a very hectic few days. The Jets need to make some decisions on what they need to do.

On the top of their to do list is wide receiver. The Jets have to make a decision on Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith. I really think that Brad Smith is gone. You can't spend a lot of money on a player that is rarely on the field. If he doesn't want a huge salary, he will stay but I doubt it. Santonio Holmes has made it known that he wants to test the free agent market. Edwards wants to stay in New York but he also has mentioned testing the market. The Jets need to make a decision and I feel the right decision is to go after Santonio Holmes. If the Jets fall short on the wide receivers, they might be looking at Randy Moss and/or Plaxico Buress. Rex Ryan seems not to mind these type of personalities.

The Jets have four players that are untouchable. They have long term contracts and rightfully so. These four are Darelle Revis, Nick Mangold, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and David Harris. I do see the Jets trying to reconfigure Harris' contract so they can open up some wiggle room.

The wiggle room that they need to open up is in the defensive backfield. Cromartie is going to want more money and probably more than the Jets are willing to pay for considering some of the blunders he pulled in the defensive backfield last year. With Justin Leonard not at 100 percent and Wilson not coming along as he should be, the Jets need to get a dependable corner. Revis will always go up against the other teams number one receiver but in order to make the defensive scheme work, they need to find a corner that will not be targeted for his weaknesses.

With the upcoming training camp just a minute away, these decisions need to be figured out in order for the Jets to become cohesive and try to get past the AFC Championship this year.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

THE INNOCENT FAN



When was it that you realized that the ball games that you were watching were more than just a ball game. When did you realize that this was nothing more than a business. I can pin point three moments when I lost my sports innocence. Two of these incidents happened approximately15 days apart.

The first moment happened in October of 1975. The Yankees played the 1974 and 1975 season in Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated. The Yankees centerfielder at the time was Bobby Murcer and he to hit 25 homers a year before the move to Shea. (25 homers a year were huge back then) Murcer was only able to hit 2 homeruns in Shea during 1974. In 1974 Murcer was second in the AL with 12 sacrifice flies, 7th in RBIs with 88 and 9th in intentional walks with 10. He lead all outfielders with throwing out 21 base runners. The Yankees decided that this fan favorite needed to be traded for a right handed hitter, who fit Shea better, and this right handed hitter was the San Francisco Giants Bobby Bonds. Murcer went on to have a spectacular year in San Francisco while Bobby Bonds was never embraced by the Yankees or their fans. After the 1975 season, he was traded to the Angels for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa.

The next moment happened in November of 1975. The Rangers were off to one of their worst starts in their history. Management felt that they needed to dump some of their superstars. On November  7, 1975, the Rangers traded future Hall of Famer, Brad Park, who was always mentioned in the same breath with Bobby Orr, Jean Ratelle, the Rangers high scoring center and Joe Zanussi to the Boston Bruins for Phil Esposito and defenseman Carol Vadnais. The Rangers never became any better with Esposito and Vadnais but the Bruins were rejuvenated with the addition of Park and Ratelle.

The 1974-1975 season for the Rangers brought a young hockey player to the team. His name was Rick Middleton. He produced average stats for a youngster but following the 1975-76 season, Esposito wanted his old line mate, Ken Hodge to join him. The Rangers accommodated Esposito and sent Middleton to the Bruins for Ken Hodge.



Ken Hodge went on to play one season with the Rangers and the fan favorite Middleton went on to have a spectacular career with the Bruins.  Middleton went on to score more than 900 points for the Bruins and had five straight seasons of at least forty goals and ninety points.

Bobby Murcer, Brad Park and Rick Middleton were all favorites of mine. I was 13 years old at that time and I thought my favorite players were going to be playing for my favorite teams forever. Little did I realize that these things happen in sports. Once I awoke to the reality of the sporting world, I realized that any player is expendable to any team, whether the fans like it or not.

I know every sports fan has had these moments and if you care to share your moments, please add your comments. We would all understand.

Friday, July 22, 2011

THE SLICE OF LIFE



Just want to say good morning to the thief that stole my driver. I hope that you have tried to use it and I hope that you have tried to figure out why your ball goes from right to left. Let me make a suggestion, the next time you are at a golf course, instead of stealing a driver, you might want to steal a couple of these Polara Golf Balls, they supposedly will not slice. They also fall right into your realm of thinking, illegal. Hey Stooge, have fun on the links.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

WHERE THE SURF MEETS THE TURF

Hollywood Park closed on Sunday and we say goodbye to the cast of characters at Hollywood. We say goodbye to Sandman, Mush, the Stooges and Coach Stu. I wonder where these guys go when Hollywood Park closes. Maybe I will ask them when Hollywood opens back up in September.

Del Mar opened yesterday and just like the last few summers on the poly track, the bombs were coming in.

As Sandman would say, there were no Stooge bets on the first six races.

The first race was won by Price who stalked the pace and paid $10.40. The second race, KIng Ledley also stalked the pace and paid $18.00. Going into the third race, Classy Lion stalked the pace and came three deep into the stretch and overcame the competition, his payout for first was $15.20. Not bad for the first three races of the meet.

The fifth race had Last Strike chasing the pace and came out in the stretch with some left hand urging and won by a head. He paid $23.80. The sixth race had Mentidoso sitting right next to one rival as they came into the stretch. Mentidoso went five wide and was urged on by Chantel Sutherland and won going away. For this effort, Mentidoso paid $38.40.

That is some serious numbers for the first day at a meet. But that is what Del Mar is all about. Del Mar is a streaky track and you have to be aware of the trends. Right now there is no early speed and it appears that the horses are coming off the pace. Hit it while it is hot because at any given time, the track bias can change, even in the middle of the day.

Try to make it down to Del Mar if you have never been. It is a beautiful track that sits right on the Pacific Ocean. This is the ultimate summer track but remember this meet only goes until September 9th. There are a total of 37 days of racing.

And as Bing Crosby said about Del Mar, "Where the surf meets the turf."

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

CHRISTIAN LOPEZ - THERE ARE SOME GOOD PEOPLE OUT THERE


Before I get into the piece on Mr. Lopez, I want to vent on an item of mine that was stolen from a golf course. I went to the driving range this afternoon at the El Dorado Golf Course in Long Beach. I placed my bag outside of the pro shop like you are supposed to do and when I came back out my driver was gone from my bag. They say they are not responsible and I say yes you are. If you have a rule that says you can't bring your belongings inside of the pro shop than the patron of the course has every right to believe that his or her belongings are safe. The thief has to be left handed or a complete idiot because my Taylor Made R7 Driver is left handed. I hope that 1 - he isn't left handed and 2 - the person he sells the club to won't be able to hit it straight either.  More to follow.

Christian Lopez wouldn't of stole my club. Christian Lopez would of caught the thief and then he would of given the club back to me because that is the type of guy he is.

For what it is worth, Christian Lopez was raised right and he has probably played some sort of competitive sport to know that an item like Derek Jeter's 3000th hit ball, needed to be with Derek Jeter. He also knew that holding it for ransom was not the right thing to do.

Christian Lopez does the right thing and the Yankees and Derek Jeter are happy. Lopez gets gifts from the Yankees in the form of merchandise, seats for the rest of the season and he is part of Yankees history. Everyone is happy, the feel good story of the baseball season until the IRS says, "Nay, Nay."

The IRS is saying that all of these items are not gifts and he is going to have to pay $14,000.00 in tax on them. What kind of asinine world do we live in. Here you have a guy who wants to do the right thing and he ends up taking it in the shorts for $14,000.00. Really?!

Here is an idea, maybe the IRS can go after a few of the fat cats that own those $1500.00 seats. You know what seats I am talking about, the seats no one is ever sitting in. Find these owners and crawl up their ass with a microscope and figure out how much tax they are avoiding when they use those $1500.00 seats for a business write-off.  I'll bet you can get more than $14,000.00 out of at least two of those seat owners.

Can we just let this incident be about a historic moment in baseball and one fans love of the game and it's history.

And if the IRS is reading this, if you do crawl up someones ass and you find a left handed Taylor Made R7 driver, it's mine.

Monday, July 18, 2011

MR. BACCIAGALUPE THE BARBER


I was notified the other day that it is about that time for a haircut. For as long as I can remember, I have dreaded the barber, maybe that is why when I was younger, I wore my hair really long.

Let me tell you a story........

When I was real young, maybe about six or seven, there was a barber that my father always took me to. He was located on Coney Island Ave between Ave. Y and Ave. X. The sign on the store said, "Barbershop." For the life of me, I never knew what the actual name of the place was nor did I know what the barber's name was. All I knew, he was an Italian immigrant with limited English skills. He looked exactly like the character from the Abbott and Costello Show, Mr. Bacciagalupe. That establishment was always known to me as Bacciagalupe's Barbershop.



There was always a whole lot more going on in this barbershop than just cutting hair. If you wanted your taxes done, you went to Bacciagalupe's. If you needed a tip on the horses, you went to Bacciagalupe's. If you needed anything in the neighborhood, you went to Bacciagalupe's.

My father would walk me over to Bacciagalupe's and we would both go in and have a seat. Bacciagalupe's was a very tiny barbershop. It had two chairs, one by the window and one by the backroom. I was always good at math and I was always amazed that such a small place would have two chairs and only Bacciagalupe. If I spoke Italian, I think I would of brought up the waste of prime real estate with that extra barber chair.  Bacciagalupe would always come out of the backroom when he heard us and he would point to the chair. The chair that he would point to was always the one by the backroom. Never did he point to the chair by the door. The amazing thing about this barbershop was I never had to wait, there was never anyone before me or after me. This was another odd thing about Bacciagalupe's. I would hop up in the chair and he would look at my dad and say something in Italian. I guess he was asking, "How do you want it?", but who knew, and I am quite positive that my dad was completely clueless to what Bacciagalupe was asking. My father wouldn't just point to one of the numerous haircut pictures on the wall, he would get up out of his chair and start a conversation with Bacciagalupe, only my father would speak in Yiddish. They would both make hand motions around my head and after a minute they both nodded their heads in agreement and Bacciagalupe would cut away. Needless to say, I always walked out of there with the same haircut. I really do think that Bacciagalupe only knew one haircut.

One time as we walked into the barbershop, and go figure, there was no one there, I decided that when Bacciagalupe came out, I was already going to be in the barber chair by the window. My father sat down and I made my way to the front chair. I almost got to it when my father yelled at me in Yiddish, "Eisen Mishugena?" (Translated, What are you crazy?). I looked at my dad and he was waving me over to the two waiting seats. The man was waving so hard, I definitely was going to round third without stopping. I sat down and he said, "Do you know why you don't sit in that seat?", and I must of had that look on my face, that look I had throughout my childhood, that said, "I got nothing." That expression must of been part of my repertoire because my father also rounded third without stopping. He said, "They call that seat, the get whacked seat, if you sit in it and Bacciagalupe comes out and starts cutting, someone is going to come into the shop and shoot you. If he leans you back and starts to shave you, they will come in and cut your throat." My father reiterated, "It's called, The Get Whacked Seat." Thanks for telling me that. Another piece of information that I could've waited to learn on my own.

I have had a phobia of that first barber chair ever since.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

BC LIONS AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS


On Saturday night the BC Lions travel to Edmonton to take on the Eskimos. The Lions who are off to another lousy start are going to be facing a hot Eskimo team with an extremely Hot Eskimo quarterback, Ricky Ray. As of the present moment, Ray is a 72 percent passer, four touchdown passes with no interceptions and his team starting out 2-0.

The Lions will be playing with a revamped defensive backfield because of a season ending knee injury to Stanley Franks. They are going to have to move David Hyland to Franks spot and Davis Sanchez will have to move from corner to safety. Sanchez has had a problem with one on one coverage and that might make Ray's eyes light up when he has the ball. Rookie Travis Williams will make his first start at wide-side corner taking Sanchez' spot. In order to stay in the game, this defensive backfield needs to come together and play as a unit.

The defense as a whole has to play better. They need to shake off the messy tacking. Last week against Calgary, Nik Lewis scored a touchdown after two Lions missed tackles. That put them up 28-20. The same goes true on the offensive side, the Lions have got to stop dropping passes.

Wally Buono will probably use Kamau Peterson in the slotback position this game. He had a lot of reps this week in practice. There is a reason the Lions picked him up and now they have to use him.

The offensive line is also being re-configured. Jon Hameister-Reis has an arm injury and might not be able to go on Saturday. Hameister-Reis has been the steadiest of the offensive lineman and his loss would be huge. If he can't go on Saturday, left tackle Ben Archibald will be playing next to left guard, Jesse Newman. These two are very familiar with each other because they played the left side of the line together on the Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders in 2008.

The LIons are off to a 0-2 start and they need to change their direction from south to north.









Tuesday, July 5, 2011

IT DON'T MEAN A THING IF YOU AIN'T GOT THAT SWING



It has been a number of weeks since we've seen the likes of Dwayne Bixby. I've not had the opportunity to see Dwayne Bixby yet. With all the stories that I have heard about him, I am waiting for the day when he reappears.

Until then we will keep playing and practicing. Watching Ed Norton teach Ralph Kramden to play golf is a classic bit. If you've never seen it and play golf, this bit will ring true. I wonder if this is how Dwayne started?

Monday, July 4, 2011

NEW YORK STREET GAMES



The Fourth of July always reminds me of my street in Brooklyn. This holiday was always the turning point from the school year to our summer vacation. Our summer vacations were always punctuated with some of the best street games that we ever played.

Since the sun set much later at this time of year, we had time to play further on into the night. The game we chose depended on the amount of people. If we had 2 to 4 people, we could play stickball or stoopball. If we had six people, we would go into the parking lot behind our building and play stoopball. All of these games required one important item, the spaldeen (and there were always chips on the ball). Chips on the ball would especially be called when a game of stoopball started. If you caught the stoop just right, it would take a high bounce and land on the second story fire escape and good luck getting Mrs. Metz to throw it back down. We would play all these games with a transistor radio going. Since my friends and I were equally split between the Mets and the Yankees, the transistor radio, that was also an important item to us, was tuned to either the Yankees or the Mets. If it was the Yankees, you could hear Phil Rizzuto, Bill White or Frank Messer and if it was the Mets, you heard, Ralph Kiner or Lindsey Nelson.

In the picture to your left is my apartment building in Brooklyn. The stoop right in front of the doorway was the battleground for many a stoopball game. The second floor was the fire escape that many a spaldeen was lost.




And what Fourth of July didn't include a trip to Nathan's in Coney Island for a hot dog and some of the greasiest fries known to man. The trip always coincided with the annual fireworks show. This fireworks show would continue every Tuesday night through the summer and just past Labor Day. We were always able to watch the show from my grandmother's apartment.

Once we were done at Nathan's, we would walk back to our apartment. We knew it was summertime because Jimmy the Ice Cream Man was always by our house in the evening. My father always told me that Jimmy ran the guns for the mobsters because you never saw him get ice cream out of the back of the truck, only the side. My father was convinced that the back of the truck was not even refrigerated but was a stash spot for the guns. He always said, "Look, you never see those guys buying ice cream from Jimmy but you see them buying from the Good Humor Man. That means that they don't want to be caught talking to their accomplice." I digress.....

Some of my best memories of New York City were during the summer time. The video below captures New York with Billy Joel's, Miami 2017 for the musical background.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

FREE AGENCY NY RANGERS STYLE

For as long as I can remember, the NY Rangers have signed a bazillion free agents and only one worked out, thank you Mark Messier. Glen Sather, another in a long line of inept General Managers that roam the halls of Madison Square Garden, is notorious for signing over the hill free agents. He is also notorious for signing free agents that are past their prime. Wouldn't be bad if he didn't pay each and everyone of these guys a king's ransom but he does. Here is a list of some of the worthless free agents in recent years, Darius Kasparitis, Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury and the list goes on. I found this great video that satirizes the attempted signing of 31 year old Brad Richards.

Click on this link and it will take you to the video. This is from a blog called Down Goes Brown...good work guys.

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/how-free-agency-works-in-new-york/

The words for the above video and it is so right on.


"Ranger State of Mind" - the lyrics.


[Sather]
Yeah I'm outta Edmonton.
Now I'm down in Manhattan.
Trying to buy a winner
But so far I'm getting flattened.

Been a bust in New York
So far I've won zero
But I won Cups with the Oilers
Back when you were a ten year old

I used to shop for big names
Then the league put a salary cap into the new CBA
But I keep spending away

Probably overpay you
But I wouldn't worry
Can't be any worse
Than the deal I gave Chris Drury

Signed him and Scott Gomez
Majorly mistaken
Luckily I found a team
Dumb enough to take him

Don't listen to my scouts
Not sure what I'm getting
How else could you explain
39 million for Wade Redden


Now he's out in Hartford
Ex-home of the Whalers
But I kept handing out the cash
Like a drunken sailor

Now I hear you're UFA
Looking for a payday
Can tell by your attitude that you're most definitely headed for...
[Torterella]
New York
Our GM will sure overpay you,
But the coach may not play you,
Now you're in New York
Veterans don't even need a tryout
But you might get a buyout
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York
[Sather]
Catch me out at MSG
Watching all the practice drills,
Lighting my cigars
With a wad of hundred dollars bills

Thirty seven point five
Gave it all to Gaborik
Twenty-two goals last year
Plus he makes the coaches sick



Been doing this for years now
Holik and Kaspiritis
Millions on Brashear
Just so he couldn't fight us

Eight figures, muti-year, one way, with a no-trade,
The superstars get here and then they forget how to play,

Seven million cap hit
Pay you till your thirty nine
Finding that your grinding out your minutes
On the fourth line

Surround you with defencemen
Turnovers and giveaways
If Burkie's paying Dion
I'm paying Bryan McCabe,

Put it all on Henrik
Our fans know he can stop pucks
Our fans know we'll need good luck
And our fans still know that Potvin Sucks

Long live Messier,
long live Adam Graves,
Long live 54 years between our Cup parades in…
[Torterella]
New York
Lots of time for hanging out downtown
Once we're out in the first round
When you're in New York

The media will make you shout "May Day!"
But you'll get your payday
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York