Hockeybird.com: Mike Dunham, Martyr?

Rangers surprisingly beat the Devils 3-1 at the Meadowlands last night, Mike Dunham turns in one of his best games of the season after being criticized last week, Rangers still remain far distant from a playoff position. That's the background...

I was most curious to see what Larry Brooks had to say about last night's game, he of the statement the Rangers season was over if they didn't win yesterday's contest. Larry comes through with the hyperbole, claiming, "It was their finest hour of the season." I'd hardly go that far, but it sure is nice to beat the ducking Fevils no matter where the Rangers are in the standings.

Here's a Post article from the LOSER'S perspective. That's right, I said LOSERS. Hey, this is only the Rangers third win in their last thirty-seven games against New Jersey. The situation calls for milking it a little bit.

Check out today's NY Times article not so much for the article, but for the neato widescreen picture of Boris Mironov catching a ride on Jamie Langenbrunner's back at the top of the article. Not only did the Rangers embarass the Devils last night just by simply beating them, some of them were nearly violated in a carnal sense.

The Daily News and the Star-Ledger make it sound like Sather spit in Dunham's eye then kicked his dog on public TV last week. Can we give this a rest already? It's really getting to be nauseating. Sather said Dunham let in an awful game winning goal in last Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Wild, that the Rangers have to get better goaltending and he is considering trading for a replacement. Exactly which of those statements were inaccurate or over the line? My God. You'd think Sather made Dunham skate laps after the game with his pants around his ankles with the way the local media has been treating this story.

It's amazing. Out of one side of their typewriters the beat writers will tell you Sather is too easy on his team and that Mike Dunham has been awful for most of the season, yet out of the other side they make it seem like a crime against common decency if something is actually said about it by anyone other than themselves. Bunch of babies.

Newsday also uses the silly "Dunham gets his revenge" angle, although thankfully not quite as dramatically as the previous two papers.

Yet more of the Dunham/Sather story in today's Journal News. It's funny, seems like the person who least took offense to Sather's comments last week was Mike Dunham himself.

The Rangers are right back at it against the Flyers and their new goalie Sean Burke tonight, a 7:30 start on ESPN. See you after the game, although there won't be a Report Card. They're pretty difficult to do based on ESPN telecasts thanks to their lack of replays, quirky camera angles and Gary Thorne's thorough unfamiliarity with the teams' rosters.

it's one game that was nice to watch!dunny,the pride of johnson city n.y. is back!the return of the d-men will be the difference from here on out.the lol line needs more ice time.let the kids run amuck!speed kills!you'll been lazy,keep working boys.buff says keep up the work ethic,let renny run the show.out.

Posted by: nivek on February 12, 2004 03:08 PM

Posted by: nivek on February 12, 2004 03:12 PM