Hockeybird.com: Closer With Each Day

I can almost feel the contact of big, crunching hits.....and I can almost see arms raised in celebration of a goal scored. Of course, then I wake up. But we are getting closer to real hockey and I can hardly wait.

Gabe pens a new Fact or Fiction and takes away the warm and fuzzy thing I had going on Messier. Thanks for killing my buzz, dude.

A number of you sent me the link to Canada.com's article on Bure and his bad knees. Like Larry Brooks' article of a few weeks ago, the thought is that despite any desire or hard work, Bure will not be able to go. What a shame.

Speaking of the Post, we are trying to pry Uncle Larry away from his vacation parties long enough to answer a few questions. And speaking of Larry, we got word here from a reader who is "in the know" that Mike Richter is not going to get doctor's clearance to play in the NHL. While I'm not surprised by this as many have already posted articles saying the same as Mr. Brooks has done, it's still sad.

While Ranger brass and the fans have been reluctant to jettison players of past glory....it's seems that father time is doing it anyway. Both Bure and Richter have done great things in their careers....but age and injuries may have stopped both from being productive members of the Rangers.

Sports Illustrated has a Ranger preview....it's already read by most of you. The writer had a few facts wrong, as our own Rocha pointed out on the boards, the NHL creates the draft pick to compensate Edmonton, not the Rangers. In addition, I have issue with this sentence, "Despite their ignominious run, the Rangers have been in contention late into March in most of those years. But every season they have stumbled down the stretch." In my opinion, the strech run is not the reason the Rangers missed the playoffs. It's been the early and mid-season losses to teams they should beat and in games where they had a real shot at winning. The Rangers (nor any team) shouldn't have to rely on a few late season games to get a playoff birth. Every game from day one has points on the table for the taking.....missing out on those is a season killer.

Pat Quinn doesn't seem like an easy guy to deal with. I say that never having met the man but it sure seems that way as I read about what is taking place in Toronto. He's reluctant to cut short his vacation to be on hand for the public unveiling of the new Leafs GM.

I'll tell you, it's a good thing that I won't make it to many games this season. Last year I was at the game that effectively ended Richter's career, and I was also at the game against Buffalo where Bure wrecked his knee.

Maybe if I stay away things will turn around.

Posted by: Chris on August 28, 2003 11:28 AM