PHWA Member Dennis Bernstein Goes Woodward On Botta?

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A little thing surfaced in my research the other day that I remembered from years ago when Miroslav Satan received the Good Guy Award with the Islanders. A member of the PHWA was from a site called the fourth period.

I admit, this blog completely looks down on such a site being credentialed by the association. I'm very tight and strict with my standards here, have been since day one to a fault.

Apparently now though a different PHWA member from same site named Dennis Bernstein had a lot to write/speculate/opinion about Chris Botta and this ugly situation on Tuesday here. I remembered his article on 12/17 regarding this story here where he included the following but asked questions of Botta and how Lou Lamoriello fired PR people as someone who was from the NY area.

This is the point in the story where the question of credential status and game access comes into focus. Chris Botta is a good guy, he credentialed me for Islanders game back in the day but I’m not a follower of his work. My assumption is that since he writes for more than one website, he’s able to translate his experience of two decades around the NHL to the written word, not a stretch for someone coming out of public relations.

Some Fascinating Points Were Made Today I Wanted To Share:

If the writers wanted to pressure the Islanders into reversing the decision, they should have chose to boycott the games, not withdraw from voting for season ending awards. The best way to show solidarity is to not sit in the same press row at Nassau Coliseum where they used to sit shoulder to shoulder with Botta but it would likely risk their jobs. So let's man a protest that puts us in no jeopardy but does risk our standing with the NHL. Let's start an action that potentially lowers our visibility if we lose the right to vote for the high profile awards. The NHL will likely look at this as a marvelous opportunity to grab a sponsor for fan voting for the awards and find a 'blue ribbon panel' to select the finalists. Sad to say, none of my colleagues took a primer on negotiation and civil disobedience before decided to engage in an ineffective strategy. One of my fans, a New Jersey Devils supporter made a fabulous point that if the PHWA voted for the Vezina Trophy, would Larry Brooks of the New York Post really boycott the voting if he had the opportunity to vote for the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist?

So while a right I've worked hard to earn stands at risk in a matter that has zero to do with me, the politics of the matter isn't what the most egregious part of the story.

When Chris Botta was disavowed in Uniondale, he got an audience with WFAN Radio on Mike Francesca widely listened to afternoon drive time show. On the show, Botta, who was the former PR director of the Islanders, stated he left on amicable terms and had no idea why his credential was pulled. In the days thereafter, he hypothesized that the cause was the jealousy Islanders management and ownership had over his great relationships with the players. If credentials were pulled for every reporter that had good relationships with players, there would be no credentialed reporters, it's just silly logic.

NYIFC Comments:
I have no idea about what was hypothesized or where Mr Bernstein is coming from with this. I cannot endorse or reject that viewpoint.

The leadership of the PHWA has come under fire for not going to the wall in support of a dues paying member of the association. One of the deans of hockey writing, USA Today's Kevin Allen, issued a brief, smart statement questioning the logic of the boycott which I am in total agreement. While I don't want to impair anyone's right to earn a living, membership to the PHWA is granted on an invitation basis only and for a body of work, certainly not a requirement for Botta to possess for continuing employment. My support for Mr. Allen's stance comes from the following logic:

What if Chris Botta's actions earned him expulsion from press row? Was there full disclosure on the nature of his relationship with the team?

I've come to learn a very different version of the reality and have been quiet up to this point but in an effort to get to the other side of the story (and there always is one), I feel a duty to those in the PHWA who feel the same way as I do as well as the public.

An alternate version of the story is that Chris Botta was terminated from the Islanders and as a result, every time he entered the locker room he came with an agenda. He routinely bad mouthed the organization to players, questioning why they would want to play for them and denigrated management. If you were GM Garth Snow or owner Charles Wang and you got wind of a former employee that you granted access was discrediting the organization at every turn, what would your best response be? Like the Islanders, I'd be doing the exact same thing, pull the 'privilege', not the 'right' to be in the building and make no comment about it.

Which of the two scenarios makes more sense? An innocent writer being singled out for doing his job for a team that is in dire need of publicity, or a terminated employee with an agenda to get back at his former boss. I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I'm buying the latter and as for those dues paid to the PHWA, I'm happy to refund the $25 annual fee out of my own pocket if it came down the second way. With the status of the ability to vote for the awards now in potential jeopardy, shouldn't Botta do the right thing? Step away as to serve the great good of the association, thank those chapters for their support and in a public statement urge them to cast their vote to maintain the integrity of the awards and the PHWA, or is it really all about Chris?

Perhaps the PHWA should explore termination for a member that's misrepresented his situation, not enact an ill-planned, ill-advised boycott that damages the reputation and privileges of a long standing international body.

Feel free to check Mr Bernstein's twitter account and ask hard questions here along with researching his background reporting here.


NYIFC Comments:
Mr Botta made clear he had no part of initiating such a boycott in his statement the other day beyond knowing it was discussed.

NYIFC comments are simply we just wanted to bring this PHWA members views to our readers, you have to make up your own minds.

Completely admit NYIFC loves a style where someone is willing to put their credential or themselves on the line for the fans and ask same hard questions like this blog always does when things do not seem fair or add up. The past stories speak for themselves about this PHWA experiences.

Could the writer be wrong about Botta? Absolutely, but the point is there are always two sides.

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A Jolly Good NY Times: Meet Chris Botta's New Bosses

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These things cannot be made up. No folks, I hate writing about this subject or beating a dead horse but I suppose someone has to make an effort to set the record straight.

You think the card-carrying PHWA is going to make any kind of objective effort for the benefit of the fans they claim to serve?

Not a prayer. That would require some work, why do that when it's easy to simply rip the Islanders once again?

Tom Jolly was moved upstairs by the NY Times in December here from the role of sports editor, it does not change NYIFC view of what's transpired that helped set up this problem.

Mr Jolly's twitter account makes clear enough his interest in sports is active.

I contacted the NY Times 4/5/2011 and was told Joe Sexton is the sports editor, some articles list him as the interim sports editor here I did not inquire if his role was interim.

You folks must remember Tom Jolly? Sure he went to an occasional NHL party in NYC and met Crosby/Parise and other NHL stars, he would not approve full-time local coverage of the New York Islanders or a beatwriter, but the Times business reporter will go to Newark and question the workers on the day of Kovalchuk's press conference about the economy here.

Mr Jolly is the long-time (now former) Sports Editor of the NY Times, who in 2005 took on an Islanders former media relations coordinator after the lockout and comments critical of NY Times coverage here by one Chris Botta.

The last part says contact the editors, demand coverage with some other thoughts on the NY Times and Daily News.

Then there were Mr Jolly's Talk to the Editor's mailbags where Islander fans asked questions about why the team was not receiving daily coverage here.

For those wanting to read them all Mr Jolly answered questions in August 2006, February 2008 and December 2008 here you will have to scroll to Mr Jolly's name to find his Q & A's on sports coverage where Islander fans demanded better hockey coverage.

In 2008, Mr Jolly wrote a note to Chris Botta again here with a lot of contention on both sides about coverage problem.

I hope this note doesn’t come off as off-putting or give you the sense that I’m offended. I don’t begrudge your comments, nor am I upset by them. I’ll concede I’m a bit baffled because I can’t figure out your purpose in repeatedly making such remarks, but since you’ve made them several times, I thought I’d at least express our view.

That was basically it from the Times on the Islanders coverage issue.

A very occasional New York Islander game covered, SI-like features on goal judge box moved, feature on Mandarin coverage, Botta's best moment getting Brandon Sugden reinstated which the Times did correctly feature.

George Vecsey showing up with an Islander feature on 5/24 last year suggesting maybe the Islanders should fold or leave.

Correctly the Times media person Richard Sandomir reported the story when Botta's banishment from lockeroom broke on 11/15 here.

Then a funny thing happened after Botta's credential got revoked by the Islanders, Ken Belson/Dave Caldwell of still Mr Jolly's Sports department went off at the Islanders five days after a win which basically parroted many of Botta's blog charges against the organization.

It took several e-mails exchanges to NYIFC for Mr Belson, a Times business reporter who is not a hockey expert to report MSG had no say in the Islanders radio contract.

SI: Stu Hackel of Times, who by his own words was leaving Times in a 11/12 entry for SI here where he thanked Mr Jolly, also went off at Islanders at supposedly his new venue.

What's amusing there is Mr Hackel still writes for Times here on a regular basis.

Now that AOL Fanhouse outsourced/folded to Sporting News and Botta really only had whatever you call SNY video interviews and his blog, also now co-written by another former Fanhouse employee (Kevin Schultz) who roasted Garth Snow in Fanhouse after Botta's credential was revoked but someone who we have no idea if a member of the PHWA?

To say nothing of Botta's first very unfortunate choice to back him up.

Somewhere in the middle of this Tom Jolly or new sports editor/interim editor, Joe Sexton, who would not give our team coverage or assign a beatwriter all these years, who forced the Islanders into hiring bloggers or starting blog boxes in the first place gave Chris Botta a blog to write for them?

I guess all of these people like to insult the fans and believe we all practice the same hypocrisy or have no memory of what's transpired in the past?

Perhaps because of NYIFC and Islanders-Sound Tigers I remember?

It almost begs the question is Botta blogging there short-term to make sure he can retain a credential? After all if the money is not there at the Times to cover Islander hockey according to Mr Jolly (all those years) it should not be there now unless Botta's not getting paid for his work?

If only Tom Jolly listened to Chris Botta in 2005 and paid a full time Islander beatwriter after the lockout and never put the Islanders in this position we would not have this problem today and neither would the NY Times.

Once again, the hypocrisy and double-standards cannot be cut with a chain saw, but like many things it all comes down to money.

The Islanders paid Chris Botta when Tom Jolly's sports department would not spend money to employ an Islander beatwriter or Botta would never have a credential to begin with because media relations coordinators are not professional hockey writers.

Common knowledge from Botta himself, he was out looking for work after he resigned his position before the team hired him to do a blog as he detailed often in his blogspot version of Point Blank with fans (NYIFC included) asking him to stay in his comment section.

One thing for sure is this will clinch that no NHL team will ever employ someone as a blogger (see Msg policy on bloggers) again because it's not worth the aggravation or risk. Rich Hammond was a Kings newspaper writer who joined the Kings organization as their blogger because of..........drum roll.

Declining media coverage by editors because of budget costs which extended to Helen Elliott's declining space. Then the same media claims teams like the Islanders don't spend enough on payroll?

Comical and hypocritical.

Any sportswriter who takes a public stance against the paper that employs them about not spending on sports coverage would be fired by their editor, lose their credential and the PHWA would not be protesting that publication's action. Why do you think Craig Custance, Pierre LeBrun, Rich Hammond and so many writers move around so often?

It's all about money, most markets including NYC papers don't send writers to the finals unless it's markets or teams they care to cover here with Mr Jolly's Times sending a reporter only to the finals opener in 2007.

Sports Business Daily: Has more from Mr Jolly that year along with then-Post sports editor Greg Gallo aka Larry Brooks boss replaced by Chris Shaw according to the sports department as of 4/5/11 confirmed by call.

N.Y. Post Sports Editor Greg Gallo, whose paper will not send a writer to the finals, said, “Anaheim and Ottawa just doesn’t work for us.” N.Y. Times Sports Editor Tom Jolly “feels the interest in the game over the past 10 years has declined.” Jolly: “I think the lockout was the watershed moment. There was a lack of outrage in the United States about the lockout, and people took stock of that.”

I really hate writing about this subject and wish it would simply go away for good so we don't have to write about it any longer and concentrate on hockey.

Unfortunately for hockey fans the Botta issue will not go away and anything regarding the PHWA will keep forcing this issue to re-surface. The only person with a bigger agenda against the New York Islanders is NYC chapter President Larry Brooks, who kept his mouth/column shut when Evan Grossman's full-time Islander beat was pulled in the middle of a season from the Post.

Again hated writing all this, someone had to.

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Hopefully The Final Word Ever On Chris Botta

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I went on my own little media tour Friday and sent Mr Hanikison's comments with Mr Botta's staged story link from Fanhouse to a few outlets I could find who twitted/wrote about this subject.

That would be Paul Martin's agent.

No folks, not to be vindictive, this is about our fans getting fair information, and the entire story, nothing more. If people are going to write/comment about this everything should be included, right?

I also must now also update my previous entry to include more so folks understand the complete story. Mr Botta'a FanHouse preview/staged story comment on 9/11 was no misprint here he made it very clear the Islanders efforts were a staged story, his thoughts on 7/2 confirm this completely.

His first set of comments 7/2 here had the following:

But please, to make the Islanders’ inability to recruit Dan Hamhuis and Paul Martin and anyone else about the Coliseum issue is an insult. Hamhuis went home to BC to play for a contender. Paul Martin got $25 million for five years to sign with a team led by Sidney Crosby and run by Mario Lemieux. What would you have done?

Later that day in another entry.

I thought the leaking of supposedly strong offers for Martin and Hamhuis was beyond lame - and getting agents to back them up - was sadly obvious and regrettable. But that’s old news. The Islanders are in play for a six-time 40-goal scorer now, not a pair of unfalsh defensemen. No way they do this to their fanbase.

NYIFC Comments:
Note-At the time he wrote the Islanders interest in Kovalchuk was genuine and real, as the dancing source game was in full play with media misinformation galore, so I can absolutely give a pass for his enthusiasm along with a lot of contradictions from many that day.

Obviously when September rolled around he felt otherwise, including Kovalchuk as part of his staged story comment.

So long story short, he felt the agents backed up the Islanders months earlier, never mind Snow traded for Wisniewski's contract and signed Mottau for 1.6 million over two years later on when they have a lot of prospects to plug in.

All I can do is reiterate what Mr Hankinson e-mailed to this blog when I gave him Mr Botta's AOL link with full context of what he wrote 9/14:

In my viewpoint Mr Hankinson did not have to respond at all, much less go as far as he did with his information and disclose Doug Weight called also. I'm sure by that point no one in North America cared about Paul Martin's UFA offers back in July based on a season preview.

As I stated before Garth Snow was very aggressive in pursuing unrestricted free agent Paul Martin on July 1, 2010. Garth called my office more than any other NHL GM. Garth directly spoke to Paul on the phone and also had Doug Weight call and speak with Paul. Garth offered more money than any other team. It was not staged. I certainly did not have time on July 1 to waste. I did express our (Paul’s) concerns about playing in an older building when Garth replied “Paul would be sitting on the (bleeping) players bench, not in the stands.” It was not a staged story.

No infomercial from NYIFC but days later (unnamed agents) were also praising Garth Snow.

Now hopefully we move on. I have done my part on this subject. Our team has one point out of twenty two and frankly, two regulation losses this weekend is likely the beginning of the end of any competitive discussion of the 2010-11 season.

Atlanta defeated Washington Friday, Tomas Vokoun before losing to Boston has been dominating recently for Florida.

The twitter box and game coverage resumes Saturday at 3pm.

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Chris Botta Credentials Pulled By Islanders Was Right Thing To Do

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NYIFC announced Chris Botta content last here February was out at NYIFC, the New York Islanders waited nine months longer.

I debated even wasting an entry on this which is why it was released so late.

I emphatically support the teams decision to revoke his credentials for reasons I listed in February which he confirmed in September with an outright misrepresentation on the Islanders efforts to sign Paul Martin here writing general manager Garth Snow's efforts were staged, which Paul Martin's agent, completely refuted.

Our fans are desperate for coverage, but it needs honest reporting more. Never mistake one as a substitute for the other. Right or wrong, good or bad, regardless of teams record you are entitled to that much.

I know many are not getting that behind the Dolan's pay-wall, who have a track record a mile long of regulating/replacing media, which countless beat-writers have been outspoken about.

More and more Mr Botta did not give that to you, instead between his conflicting/contradicting viewpoints (which is his business) he again put his fans in the middle and you had to endure his personal complaints with the General Manager. When he had issues with Greg Logan and seemingly anyone who disagreed with him in the media the fans were placed in the middle.

Hockey did not come first, you did not come first.

Enough folks have told me of moderated comments by him, the one's agreeing with him standing, with others pulled or challenged, but it was your choice to engage in that forum and it belongs to him/sponsors.

Last March he made clear he would no longer request an audience with Snow, so last week he complained again and put his readers in the middle when he went through his AOL employer and was rejected for an interview request.

Scott Gordon still spoke with Mr Botta after being fired Monday, but the team paying him, who could have requested Gordon not do the interview, apparently had no reported issue. Mr Botta never got any thank you cards from Ted Nolan he decided to share.

Chris Botta has his media friends based on his Islander tenure over twenty years, no doubt the uninformed masses in North America media, who don't follow his blog or the hockey team will defend him (some half-hearted/others for page views on slow day) but few will write the truth because no one cares/knows about this stuff in general.

In NYIFC viewpoint the New York Islanders absolutely did the right thing by revoking his credentials, it was long overdue in my estimation. They team is far too easy a target for criticism with their current record, but where I sit this was something that had to be done if they were undefeated.

Don't tell me someone who writes Snow's efforts were staged regarding Paul Martin is providing honest journalism when the agent writes nothing was staged. Ben Hankinson does not owe anyone the time of day.

I debated the headline that day and could have wrote Botta lied in big bold letters for more attention, this blog wrote the truth and that was his claim was refuted, no more, no less.

If I wrote he lied I would be guilty of promoting the same sensationalism Botta creates, and immediately fold NYIFC.

Botta knows the standards as to when things are unfair, he used to write about them often himself here &
here when media or others crossed the line.

The continual innuendo, digs, shots, were going further and further over the line.

Mr Botta will win the PR war because it's a game the New York Islanders are not playing, nor do they have the media cache to ever play. Right now they are about their losing hockey team, but in the process what started out as an outstanding blog simply turned into something very different and unfortunate.

No doubt whatsoever the New York Islanders have taken the correct action. Mr Botta can play page view game, which he was very conscious of here he can go on every hockey program and make himself the story but it does not deflect from the facts, and that is his blog, one he claimed was because of your support, but became more and more about his issues with the New York Islanders.

Full disclosure: Mr Botta placed this blog in the Islanders blog box program for it's initial season under my guidelines of how I would do things. We shared contact via e-mail enough times during that time (also beyond) as a team employee he never told me what to write and was a first class individual.

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NYIFC EXCLUSIVE: Agent Refutes Chris Botta Words Of A Staged Story On Paul Martin Negotiations

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As some may have noted the Islanders former VP of media relations on AOL FanHouse, Saturday wrote in a team preview General Manager Garth Snow's efforts to sign Paul Martin, or placing a call to Ilya Kovalchuk's agent employed the words "staged stories."

I linked to this here, so you could read it in full context.

Jay Grossman, who represents Ilya Kovalchuk in North America, did an interview with Craig Custance, was quoted directly on Islander related negotiations in the Sporting News. NYIFC did an entry on this last week with commentary.

Mr Grossman was contacted requesting an updated comment/reaction, if one is received it will be posted here.

Paul Martin's agent, Ben Hankinson of Octagon Hockey comments on negotiations were widely reported this summer CBC Sports.ca

I forwarded the AOL article in context (with link) to Mr Hankinson, requesting a response, he replied 9/14 with the following:

As I stated before Garth Snow was very aggressive in pursuing unrestricted free agent Paul Martin on July 1, 2010. Garth called my office more than any other NHL GM. Garth directly spoke to Paul on the phone and also had Doug Weight call and speak with Paul. Garth offered more money than any other team. It was not staged. I certainly did not have time on July 1 to waste. I did express our (Paul’s) concerns about playing in an older building when Garth replied “Paul would be sitting on the (bleeping) players bench, not in the stands.” It was not a staged story.

NYIFC Comments:
My Thanks to Ben Hankinson of Octagon Hockey.

It was not a staged story, why use those words?

Sorry folks, NYIFC does not like wasting our time lowering our standard here, but when a former team employee uses such words, it's time to find out what we can.

For those e-mailing why Point Blank was dropped from NYIFC earlier this year, I submit there will be no change in policy here for the reasons given in February which through commentary like this only confirm the decision was the correct one.


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NY Times is the problem, not New York Hockey

All the News that's fit to print?

Long time since we saw that mantra at the Times.

Amazing what you get on a labor day weekend for stories from papers who rarely attempt to cover home games, fail to come out to cover press conferences when coaches are hired or even when franchise players drafted have their initial press conference after 10,000 attend a draft party.

It sure does not apply to New York hockey any longer at this paper. Since Ron Dicker left the Isles beat rare Dave Caldwell game coverage and mostly hit and run articles all negative beyond the Sugden feature last year is about all we have seen unless you are counting that Mandarin broadcast feature by the Times.

The Times even had legendary dynasty writer George Vecesy surface on 5/23 to tell us it may just be hockey has come and gone on Long Island here while claiming the league's biggest money loser at the Garden going into the lockout in 2004 cutting back here is a money machine despite the same paper contradicting him and as late as August 2009 the NY Times is still reporting Msg losses from it's sports division here.

But on this day the Times came out of it's New York Islander coverage cave here here to do a feature about the Isles dwindling coverage written by Mark Messier's biographer Jeff Z. Klein.

His content included an insulting old quote from Jaromir Jagr but he did fairly recap what Mr Botta saw in his tenure with the club over twenty years and noted the draft turnout showed there were a lot more loyal Islanders supporters than most outside observers realized.

And the NY Times are outsiders now, by their own choice and this is where the problem lies.

An expert was brought in to question blog coverage content hired by a team but none of that applied to Chris Botta who won over folks with his honestly and viewpoint regardless if we agreed every day or not as he told his story about Point Blank along with team President Chris Dey who gave his side of why a former team employee was hired to write about the club and in the biggest news out of this article was quoted as saying:

" There might be an opportunity for another entrepreneur to cover the Islanders in a similar manner " which was really the only thing new from the article beyond Mr Botta's efforts to find a new home for Point Blank which he has discussed a few times recently.

Mr Botta and Mr Dey as expected did a very good job here and Mr Dey put it out there about the lack of media coverage as he needed to.

Bottom line here folks is the problem has never been the New York Islanders and it's not about any clubs record or what uniform they wore in 1996 because the Devils receive the same poor coverage regardless of how many Atlantic Division titles they win.

The Rangers have had coverage cuts also, but not nearly to the same degree.

Rangers-Islanders at Msg received only AP coverage this year from the Times (for at least one Msg game) and most Ranger road games were not covered, but the budget has been there for Mr Klein, Stu Heckel and Lynn Zinser to do many Ranger game articles and blog updates plus keep an updated European league page.

If that is the case there should be plenty of resources to cover all the local New York hockey teams regardless of record by blog or print.

This problem goes on the Times editor and their staff, a small part of it goes on a lot of Ranger fans on the print side controlling spin but all of this is old news.

This problem with the Times (and you can absolutely include Newsday, Daily News, Post and the Journal News, SI Advance) is all about selective coverage that says a lot more about their business practice and not the teams they cover.

Mr Botta's Point Blank proved the fan interest is there in New York Islander hockey so excuses by editors and sometimes the writers are about them and their own lack of knowledge.

The Times supposedly went to an SI format for all hockey teams not playing at Msg (likely because they need the Knick ad revenue) but again this goes to their judgment and not how a team performs or the Knicks would not be covered by anyone.

As for the Times, go back to a traditional format, cover all eighty two games from all three local teams and forget Europe.

New York hockey comes first and this is what New York hockey needs.

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Mr Botta's Heimlich Maneuver Saves Mike Francesa

Was listening to WFAN around 3pm and there is Mike Francesa with a copy of Newsday as one man sat on live television/radio and thew about as much guess work and misinformation about a professional sports team than I have seen in a long time.

The man not only put his foot in his mouth but went for the entire shoe store.

On and on about how the Lighthouse is dead and will never be approved in this economic climate, Nassau will never give them all that the money without knowing virtually anything about the project as he sat there and did nothing short of an obituary with the team gone to KC for good.

He never once mentioned Scott Rechler or that that Msg is a dump and even older.

His sources had Charles Wang losing 50m a year owning the club as he quickly waved away any caller who did not agree with him as he put out anything that could stick against the wall including Jonathan Tavares not wanting to play here.

(No I did not attempt a call)

Mr Francesa tried to get Gary Bettman, he tried to get someone from the Islanders.

Finally the man who was shut out last week from information came on and did a good job explaining what was happening with the project and what he felt yesterday's news meant.

Mike Francesa sounded like a man who had no idea about anything when Mr Botta recapped what he knew from his past inside experience including what he told everyone when he contacted some folks around Jonathan Tavares, he did a 180 on virtually everything he was saying afterward.

Charles Wang and the Islanders along with the Lighthouse people owe Mr Botta a big thank you today.

I would guess at some point WFAN will post the interview or Mr Botta will have something on it.

Entertaining watching a man given verbal Heimlich maneuver on live television.

Updated:
WFAN.com: Mr Botta's interview.

Clarification from Mr Botta

In my blog entry regarding Mr Botta on Wednesday I wrote goaltender Rick DiPietro should shut things down for the year regardless and based my comments upon his January 2nd entry of Point Blank here where at one point he wrote the following:

Seriously, is there any case for playing DiPietro more than just every other game for the rest of the way?

Really, what would be the point of him playing any more - to get back in the playoff race, 14 points out of 8th place and with six teams between the Islanders and Pittsburgh?

Mr Botta was kind enough to contact me and clarify he meant that his line on the Islander goaltender is that, at most, he should play every other game.

NYIFC apologizes to Mr Botta for this misinterpretation and thanks him for the clarification.