Islander News Articles 12/20:

New York Islander Fan Central | 12/20/2007 05:17:00 AM | | | | | | | | |
Newsday: Erik Boland covered the game and had comments from Rick DiPietro, Ted Nolan and Brendan Witt, who credited Bergenheim's screen for his goal.

"I think the focus was good," "We played the type of game we've talked about playing. The last month we seemed to get away from playing our smart kind of style and being opportunistic, and we did that tonight. Unfortunately, we weren't able to score more goals."


Newsday: Greg Logan's afternoon update on Kyle Okposo basically repeats Garth Snow and Don Lucia's comments, he also correctly points out Okposo's recent comments to the media in Minnesota he was not happy.

Newsday: Greg Logan reports Simon is expected to appeal his sentence while Colin Campbell apparently gave the impression Simon had a drug or alcohol problem because he said he will meet with drug and alcohol doctors. Mr Campbell forgot to include the league's program also includes behavioral issues. NHL public relations head Frank Brown clarified Campbell's mistake while Islanders spokesman Chris Botta confirmed confirm that drugs and alcohol is not an issue.

Meanwhile Ted Nolan was incensed with Colin Campbell for a stereotypical remark, who called Garth Snow to clarify his words while Ted Nolan was preparing for the game and defended his player as did Ruslan Fedntenko but in the meantime Nolan ripped Campbell.

"It's a stereotypical comment that people say about ethnic races ... For Colin Campbell to come out and say something like that, it's idiotic.

"It's disrespectful to Chris. For him to come through some of the things he's come through to be where he is in his life, it's very, very disrespectful, and it's hurtful."


Updated 9am
Newsday: Greg Logan in Newsday's blog gives his overall take on all of yesterday's Simon-Campbell-Nolan events and the suspension but also makes a fair point about racial sterotyping and Simon being guilt of a racial slur himself which led to one of his past suspensions.

NY Times: Found someone named Frank Litsky to cover Simon's suspension with more elaboration on Campbell's meeting with Simon but of course did not cover the hockey game which is only hypocritical of the Times sports editor.

“He is very contrite and very apologetic, very quiet, almost to the point he is somewhat humiliated of what he has done,” Campbell said. “He’s been contrite, but he’s never come out and said, ‘I will never do this again.’

“We dug out the clips on the things he has done in the past and looked at them and think we have been fairly kind in assessing as low number of games to a couple of those incidents. It just hasn’t been a deterrent. So what is a deterrent? I am hoping 30 games and the help he is going to get, the counseling.”


Daily News: Peter Botte other than covering the suspension did not write a single word about the Islander game last night or apparently was permitted space for a game article. But did have more from Nolan after the game on Campbell's mistake and a lot of repeat quotes in his limited space.

"It's easy to say you're sorry after the fact," Nolan said following the game. "It really bothered me, the implication, even if it was just a careless omission. These types of things are very damaging for someone in (Campbell's) position to say when he has no factual information. If we said something like that, we'd be suspended. But there are no repercussions.


NY Post: Dan Martin wrote about ten words in one paragraph on the game and made sure to report Nolan's anger with Colin Campbell's mistake. Only thing noteworthy here is Nolan said Simon's suspension could run longer than thirty games.

"I can never predict what's gonna happen down the road," Nolan said


NYI Fan Central Comments:
Total joke sports editors Leon Carver (Daily News) or Greg Gallo/Dick Klayman (Post) did not allow Mr Botte or Mr Martin space to do a proper game article with the Simon suspension update. I cannot blame the writers for space to cover games but the game is the reason people attend and needs to be written about always.

My culture is different from Ted Nolan's so I have to defer to something he would consider offensive. Only Colin Campbell knows if he meant anything ethic about it which seems doubtful if he called Garth Snow to clarify what seems a misunderstanding but frankly I did enjoy reading Nolan blast Campbell for his poor people skills which has a little to do with this and a lot to do with his past conduct in a job I feel he has no place being in.

Nolan is correct in that if a coach or player made this kind of mistake a fine or discipline would follow, mistake or not.

Buffalo News: Bucky Gleason covered the Sabres win.

Globe and Mail: Roy MacGregor has a full feature from Chris Simon with comments about his suspension and reports he has had plenty of support from all circles of the NHL and beyond but they cannot come forward. He gives his full version of what he did on the ice and about some of his career suspensions.

What I did was wrong," Simon said."I'm not a complainer. I've never complained before. I took my suspensions and moved on. But I don't think this one was fair."

Simon anticipated the suspension, but thought 10 games would be "on the high end." Online polls and radio talk shows, on the other hand, have suggested 30 games might be on the low end.

"I wasn't trying to injure him," Simon contended. "I tripped him and I was telling him to [expletive], and I did step on his foot. I pushed down on his skate, I don't deny that, but I wasn't trying to hurt him. I don't think a player has ever missed a game from one of my suspensions.

"I look at other guys who have been repeat offenders. One guy used his skate a second time and he got only five games. What I did was wrong, but this is unfair."

"He plays an agitator role," Simon said. "You have to let him know you're out there. That's not an excuse for stepping on his foot, but it's being described as something it's not. It's letting him know I'm there. It's like a shot in the arm."

At no point, he said, was there any intention to cut. "Guys were laughing on the bench," he said. "I don't think they'd be laughing if they thought he was hurt."


NYI Fan Central Comments:
It's an article Newsday's limited hockey staff or New York's hockey media did not have the time to apparently bring us or Simon knows how poor the NY hockey media is so he did not take their calls. Logan ripped him in his blog and did not cover the game last night.

As for Mr Simon's comments:
I'm a thirty year plus Islander fan who knows the hockey mentality and understands when players like Chris Simon talk about the code. What he did was wrong and despite what he says his intentions were could have seriously injured Ruutu. He not only stepped on his foot but brought his skate down on it like a stomp, he did not just press and there are a lot of ways to let a player know you are there in a game, this is not that way.

And fair or not what he did last year has a carry over effect whether he cares to see this or not.

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio covers the Sound Tigers 3-0 win at home against Steve Stirling's Norfolk Admirals gives Bridgeport a three game winning streak. Jeff Tambellini had a shorthanded goal and assist who skated with Frans Nielsen. Attendance was 1,309, beating out last Wednesday's 1,611 as the team's smallest-ever announced crowd.

"We're keeping the puck, not just throwing it away," said Jeff Tambellini, who had a goal and an assist in the three-goal second period. "When we're all getting more poised with the puck, making plays coming out of the zone, the game's a lot easier."


Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio has an Okposo update where the only new information was Howard Saffin deferred comments to the Islanders.

Ct Post: Sound Tigers weekly was also released with the upcoming games and blogged on the Sound Tigers win
here.

Virginian Pilot: Paul White has the Admirals Coverage of their loss to Bridgeport.

Pioneer Press: Charley Walters reports the maximum bonus that Gophers sophomore hockey player Kyle Okposo can get, is $255,000 spread over three years. He'll make $62,500 if he plays in the minors, $765,000 if he plays in the NHL.