Newsday: Eden Laiken has the latest on the back and fourth between the Town of Hempstead with their representative Hempstead Town Attorney Joseph Ra this time doing the mantra that the process would go quickly if the Isles would simply renovate while Paul Lancey on the Lighhouse side maintains that is not economically feasible for the area for them just to do a renovation.
Chief Deputy County Executive Marilyn Gottlieb (Tom Suozzi/Nassau side who approved project) voice support for the project given revenue it would create.
Islanders owner Charles Wang had no comment.
Newsday: Neil Best trots out Michael Bair, President of Msg to make a case why their corporation would strongly want the Islanders to stay here despite the enormous television rights fees they have to pay the club until 2030 as Mr Best talks about ratings for a team Msg/Cablevision puts on secondary networks to drive down ratings and regulate fan interest.
"We consider each of the teams [we carry] of equal value. We don't distinguish between the teams.
NYI Fan Central Comments:This is the same Msg President Michael Bair who a few months ago tried to make a case why the Devils receive a pregame and the Islanders do not? Lets put fifty Islander games on Msg with weekly programming and specials and then hide the Cablevision owned club on Msg+2 (with poor picture/no HD at times) for fifty plus games a year and then keep them off television all summer and preseason for a decade and then we will get an honest view of the ratings for the Islanders or who has the most fans.
They are now paid all this money to control interest and perception, so are the Devils, when the Islanders signed this deal in the eighties, Cablevision did not own another NHL club.
What is Michael Bair going to say, the teams primary television carrier that now also owns their primary newspaper wants them to move so they can save hundreds of millions? That would officially end all Newsday credibility in their reporting which has been questionable at times even before Cablevision got on board with a staff of former Ranger beatwriters and admitted fans on the staff writing about the club and creating perception which includes Neil Best.
Far too much of it overtly negative which we did not see the years the Rangers were the biggest disgrace in the NHL going on a decade or for the Knicks of several seasons who have fit every criteria of a laughingstock.
NHL.com: Brian Compton has an excellent feature on Clark Gillies where he talks about his NHL debut for New York in Montreal against the Canadians as well as his Islander career.
Espn: Scott Burnside has a wide range of topics among which is the Islanders arena situation where Gary Bettman says he hopes no one is taking Charles Wang for granted.
NYI Fan Central Comments:Mr Burnside as usual has the glass half empty on the team and makes a mistake on the arena lease which he writes expires on July 31, 2015 but would be voided per the Memorandum of Understanding immediately if the project is not approved but does not include the Smg lease which if I'm correct runs until 2014 which is why there has been so much past talk of buying out the league before Mr Wang bought the club.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio previews Bridgeport's doubleheader Friday and Saturday in Portland against the Pirates.
Kurtis McLean, Jack Hillen and Peter Mannino were sent back to Bridgeport.
