Face it.....If you read this site you are a diehard fan. You bleed Ranger Blue and you love hockey more than great sex. (How sick is that ?)You look forward to games with more vigor than you do your next meal. Family members avoid you after losses and ask for favors after a win (and you say yes). You schedule activities around the games and part of your hard earned vacation is a trip to MSG. You own a pair of NYR socks with matching underwear and you wear them to work. You and I are much the same in these respects. Only this season...."Hockey Is Different Here". Boy I'll say. We are all members of the S.I.T. program. That's "Self Induced Torture". I was sure that this season would be different.....I was wrong.

As July 1st became the second, I was ecstatic. Bobby frikkin Holik. Wow! Better than a shark with a laser attached to it's head. Kaspar would soon follow and while I may have added a third free agent (I wanted Selane) I was as excited about this coming season as one could be. Everything seemed to be falling into place. Visions of playoff games danced in my head. I honestly thought that I could finally rid myself of the image in my head of Eric Lindros flipping a no look backhander over Mike Richter's shoulder to end the '97 campaign. We were going back to the playoffs and I proclaimed a trip to the finals was in our future. I was wrong. I was as wrong as I have ever been about anything. Not since the days when people thought the earth to be flat has anyone been so wrong. I was more wrong that any Larry Brooks column published over the last twenty years.....now that's freaking wrong.

It's not just the 6-1 embarrassment at MSG last night. It's this whole season. Time after time, things I thought would be the reason for our return to respectability have been the reason for our failure. Yes, I'm officially off the Trottier bandwagon. I'd swear to you that this was a guy who was a winner by choice, by sheer will. His Stanley Cup rings as a player and coach proved that. Well, Trotts has not shown me anything to warrant my support. He had finally trashed a player (Devo), held him accountable for his soft play only to apologize to him the following day. Sorry Bryan, I thought you had what it took to be a Rangers head coach. I was wrong.

Kaspar.......what the hell are you doing ? What happened to the hardest working guy on the ice from those days when I saw you here on the Island ? You cleared my crease like a possessed zamboni when I skated with you guys, now you skate aimlessly as if a goal of yours is to lead the NHL in minus. Kasparminus they call you. I had no illusion that you'd win the Norris Trophy.....but I was sure you'd help cut down on our goals against. I was wrong.

Bobby Holik will never win an NHL scoring title. He may never score more than 30 in a season. But who knew his hands would turn to stone ? How many "near" goals has he had this season ? No, I don't think that Bobby is to blame here but it would be nice to see him finish a few times. Of course, who knew he'd miss more games in the first half of this season than he did during his entire Devils career ? I really thought you'd be the missing piece that completed our team and made us playoff worthy.....yup, I was wrong.

Glen Sather, it is you that I am most disappointed in. I expect that you'll scoff at the idea that some idiot like me could have the balls to challenge your hockey knowledge but hey, look at your track record here. We have no defensive system, our special teams suck, we have missed the playoffs each year and it appears that the team you assembled for this season couldn't beat my adult league team if we spotted you a goal.....and we came in last place!. Look Mr. Sather, you are the GM and President of the N.Y. Rangers. Who else should I hold accountable ? I could have sworn that you could get us back to the playoffs.....but you know what ? I WAS WRONG !

I could continue with a breakdown on how each member of this organization has failed to live up to my expectations but why ? Just list the names in your head.....fill in a reason as to why they can't get it done and end it with.....I WAS WRONG ! Thanks, you've saved me time and I can avoid that painful reflection.

I know, there's a whole second half of hockey to go. There are four more months of this crap ahead of us. The part that makes this so freaking ugly is that before the season ever started, Ranger hating NHL fans from all over were laughing at us. They continue to laugh at us and now they have good reason. I bristled when you said we were ruining the NHL with our free agent signings and told you all to shove it. Well, guess what.......I still don't think we are ruining the NHL by the free agent signings......we are ruining it with our lousy play!.

Can this ship be righted ? Is it possible that somehow some way this team can win games....enough to get a playoff birth ? Of course it can. Just like it's possible that Palestinians and Jews will live in peace in the middle east or that Elvis will come out of hiding someday. Anything is possible but I wouldn't be so quick to believe that it will happen. In fact, I'll state right here, right now that it won't. Six years and no playoff games for the Broadway Blueshirts. If by some miracle they actually do get in, I'll be happy to proclaim once again....I WAS WRONG !

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