Massive End of the Year Blog: Rangers Reaction, RAW McReview, NFL & More

 Welcome to another blog, here on the new DOINOW.com! As always, make sure to check out the right hand of the site for the archives section, where many topics are discussed in-depth. Everything from the Rangers, WWE, Jets, Giants, #FU13 AROID, Frank Boucher, Strahan vs Barber, Carmelo & much more are discussed.

There's a lot of stuff to get into tonight, here in my final blog of 2014. I will be back with Rangers/Panthers reaction on 1/1/15. Until then, it's time to hit a variety of things.

In a random thought, I can not get the song "FIREWORK" by Katy Perry out of my head. Thanks so much for that Seth Rogen & James Franco. If you haven't seen "The Interview", it's the same character Seth Rogen plays in every movie. This movie is really just Pineapple Express 2 "PYONGYANG NIGHTS".  A funny and mindless movie. Fuck you North Korea!

For my hockey people, I will lead off with the Rangers. For my wrestling people, scroll down. For my NFL people, scroll down even further. Let's get rolling, and always, please spread the news about this DOINOW.com website to your friends, enemies and especially the senior community. They love complaining as much as I do!

RANGERS:

Where to start? Do I go on my Talbot vs Lundqvist rant for the 2000th time or just let you guys know the usual spiel? Lundqvist is the most overrated and overpaid player in the league, hands down. Another blown lead for King Contract. With an 8 game win streak on the line, and tested against a semi-decent team, Lundqvist folded like a cheap suit. It's really comical at this point. Whenever the Rangers score, Lundqvist turns into a new born puppy and shits & pisses himself immediately. I feel like I'm watching a Saturday Night Live parody every time Hank is in goal this year.

I've said it a million times here, so I'm not going to inundate you with this, but Talbot needs to be starting for a bit. You need to save Hank for the playoffs anyway. Hank is not Hank this year. There's not one time this year that a shot in Hank's way doesn't make your asshole clench like Big Bubba is approaching you in a tight jail cell. I am dreading this upcoming west coast trip, and return home game with the Islanders. I get that Hank is the highest paid goalie in the league by far, but he sure as hell is not playing like it.

You can't expect the Rangers to win every game, but it is depressing they let this game get away from them. I put this loss solely on Henrik "Give me 2 goals and I got this" Lundqvist. He just looked lost and out of position many times tonight.

The positives out of this loss comes from different areas. First off, JT Miller came up big with the first goal of the game, a Power Play Goal. Coach Vigneault is going to have many tough decisions coming up. Jasper Fast, JT Miller, and with the production Anthony Duclair is putting up in the Juniors is going to make that 12th forward spot so important. Luckily for me, the NHL Network has been broadcasting these World Junior Championships, and Duclair has been an absolute beast. I can't see how you sit him for the rest of the season.

Rick Nash was all over the puck tonight. Despite not scoring, Nash was to be reckoned with, forcing the puck into scoring positions numerous times. Nash is a first line All-Star this year. Despite no goals, Nash was all over it all night.

Dan Boyle came close on several occasions to making this a tied game. He is starting to play better, but he is not justifying his contract at this point in the year. You can feel his frustration.

I feel bad for Chris Kreider. He's one of these home grown guys. I sympathize with him, dealing with his grandfather's passing. However, he's not been the Kreider of last year. I hope he can turn it around. Under Torts, he'd be benched already. I really hope he can get in front of his funk and start producing again.

Does anyone but AV see  the upside in Tanner Glass? Sure he has some big hits, but I don't see why he's getting paid as much as he is, nor do I see why he gets ice time over everyone else. He's a big forward, but the Rangers need goals and Kevin Klein is owning the hit department right now.

Speaking of Klein, I am enjoying his play, as well as the play of Mats Zuccarello. Congrats to ZUUUUUC on becoming the highest scoring Norwegian player in NHL history. My friend, Michelle STANZI, would be happy to hear this!

How about the HEY HEY Kid, Kevin Hayes? I'm hoping Duke gets as much playing time as he's getting when he comes back. I'm liking the future of the Rangers. Hayes is about 1-2 seasons away from being a bonafide all-star in this league.

It was tough watching Lundqvist blow another game, especially with the Islanders winning and sharing first place with the Penguins tonight. This was a game to keep pace for first place. The Capitals, getting a point tonight, grab third place in the division, although the Rangers have two games in hand. Still, this was a winnable game, that falls squarely on the shoulders of Lundqvist.

Is it me, or does Lundqvist make the "Eli Manning" face more than any other athlete today?

How about that Derek Stepan starting off the game with a killer slap shot, straight out of a video game? That would've been something if it went in.

Overall, I thought Dallas played an aggressive defensive game. The Rangers had opportunities, but really never got a chance to set up an umbrella and find a way to the net. Dallas exploited an overrated goalie and exposed him. Let's hope the Rangers start Talbot on 12/31 against the Panthers, allowing Hank to party early in Miami with his Pantene Pro-V hair.

Tough loss for the blueshirts, in a game they should've won. It's time for the Lundqvist apologists out there to realize it's 2014 and King Contract is also King No-Cups. Time to hold Hank accountable for his 10th blown lead of the season.

Quick thoughts:
WEBLEEDBLUE.com needs to make a MILLER TIME T-Shirt ASAP.

Thanks to Rick Carpiniello for his feedback and plugging these blogs, despite our differences on Lundqvist! I've been reading him for such a long time, so it means a lot to get his reaction. Ditto Stan Fischler, whose books I love. If it wasn't for him, I would've never discovered Frank Boucher, whose number should be retired and hanging in the rafters at MSG. I've always been opinionated and a writer, so their feedback and plugs are deeply appreciated.

Thank you to my facebook/twitter friends, who don't have to deal with me in person, like my real life Ranger friends! The Cam Talbot love is real! I always appreciate people who have a sense of humor and I enjoy all the ball breaking! ICWT!!!!

Ranger talk resumes 1/1. I figure I will do the blog right before the Winter Classic.

As always, LET'S GO RANGERS!!!

 

 I hope my buddy Edwin Crespo is reading this, because here comes a wrestling review. If you're a Ranger fan, just discovering me, I got my writing start with pro wrestling. From time-to-time, I do wrestling recaps here to satisfy my old audience, that I hope keeps clicking onto DOINOW.com.

Originally, I had no plans to recap Raw. However, I'm in that positive New Year spirit. I know I need to go on a diet, because the Miller Lite/Parliament Light diet can only do so much, so I'm embracing positive energy right now and everyone bettering themselves as we head to 2015. The reason I'm deciding to recap Raw is because I thought it was one of the better Raws I've seen in a while.

Before starting, make sure to check out my WWE MSG 12/26 recap in the archives. Lots of wrestling thoughts and opinions in there, and I'm not going to rehash myself. Find out why I think John Cena is the greatest of all time! For readers and my friends, please don't ask me to recap indy wrestling anymore. I will only recap an indy show if I'm being paid (Sell-out) or if Bison Bravado is winning the WORLD title in the main event! And yes, I am, and always will be, a Bison fan. You don't find loyalty and good friends every day, and Bison is just that!

RAW:

The show opened up with Edge & Christian announcing they are the hosts of this show. It's amazing that Edge's retirement is almost four years now. Time flies. He had a solid career, perhaps underrated a bit. He helped carry the WWE and is arguably John Cena's greatest opponent.

E&C did their old spiel, and got to the point they would host a "Cutting Edge Peep Show" in the main event tonight. Good nostalgia here. This led to Lesnar coming out, before Cena coming out to counter him. Cena & Lesnar scuffled, before Lesnar bailing. I feel more hype should be put into Lesnar vs Cena.

IC Champion Dolph Ziggler vs US Champion Rusev w/Lana went to a DQ
Ok match. I'm not a Ziggler guy like the rest of internet nation. I don't ever see him becoming a main eventer. Maybe it's his silly name, which I know, he has no control of.  Rusev got DQ'd when he wouldn't stop attacking Ziggler in the ropes. Seems like a bailout finish, which makes you wonder why they booked this anyway. This didn't do favors for either guy. You could've used the time better by having each champion winning a title match, rather than doing this.

POSTMATCH: Ryback ran out to chase Rusev away.

Ryback, after commercial, cut a heart-felt promo. He was getting the "WHAT" treatment early on, but that quickly quieted down. He basically rehashed everything he said on the "TALK IS JERICHO" podcast, about how became a fan, and ran down his career. This was the best promo Ryback ever did and he gained a lot of stock after this. The only thing he didn't say was "FUCK CM PUNK", but he came off very strong.

Sure Ryback comes off as a big steroid guy, but for the first time, he came off as a person and someone you want to root for. I know people who know him, who all say he's a good guy. He's not just a meat head, despite the way he's portrayed on TV.  The promo wasn't a million dollar thing, but it did a lot to further his career. I'm glad the WWE gave him time to do this. I'm rooting for the Big Guy to do well. Stick your pipebomb up your ass, this was a great promo.

Nikki Bella w/Brie Bella d. Natalya w/Tyson Kidd
This was Total Divas commercial. It sucks how the Bella program went to shits, despite all the attention it was given. No one cares about this Tyson/Natalya split. I hope their marriage in real life, is able to over come the WWE trying to fuck it up. Wrestling has a nasty history when booking real life couples in bad situations.  Nikki wins after Tyson helped Nikki by accident. Brie Bella has been reduced to an afterthought, after dominating WWE storylines for most of the summer.

For the WWE Tag Team Titles
The Usos d. (C) Miz & Mizdow to win the tag team titles
 I was surprised with the title change here, but it was well deserved and a good pace to the show. It's good to know that if you watch Raw, something of historic note can happen. I was shocked they changed the titles on a non-Network event, and I couldn't be the only one.

Uso's win the match. After the match, they got a babyface interview to put over their year with Jerry Lawler. Naomi, who is married to one of these two, came out to celebrate, despite doing a prematch segment with the Miz, thanking him for hollywood burn. Let's hope Naomi's marriage isn't affected with wrestling storyline either. No one wants to become a Nancy Benoit here!

Promos for Daniel Bryan doing a promo & a Rollins vs Reigns match aired next. Rollins vs Reigns shouldn't be a throwaway on Raw match.

Bad News Barrett d. Cesaro
PREMATCH: Cesaro did a promo, akin to Ryback's. I was thinking this would be the start of the turn for Cesaro on the way up, but it wasn't meant to be. Too bad. He has so much talent. Vince buried him during the Austin podcast, and while that was addressed, nothing was done to remedy it. Too bad. The guy could be a major player, but the opinion of only one man matters in pro wrestling.

BNB returned to Raw and defeated Cesaro with the Bull Hammer. The crowd didn't know how to react, as they wanted to see Cesaro do well, but they also wanted to cheer on the returning Barrett.  Bad match making. BNB should've went over on someone meaningless, like one of the blacks in the New Day.  I do like all the new influx of talent that is returning to the WWE and hopefully a logical booking staff has control of them. I fear that though.

Luke Harper d. Jack Swagger
Only thing of note is that Swagger is now a jobber without Colter. Don't like his post Wrestlemania roster cut chances. Harper won with the newly dubbed "CLOTHESLINE FROM SMELL" by JBL. I laughed. If it sticks, it makes Harper a babyface.

Cena & Edge had a backstage skit. Cena and Edge went back and forth on their history, before Cena giving respect to Edge. I enjoyed this. This may be the best feud of the 2000's. I really appreciate what these two did for the business and enjoyed their programs together. Good shout-out for long time fans. (Yes, long time, as their first piece of business was in 2005. Can you imagine that's 10 years now? What the fuck do we do with our lives?)

Roman Reigns d. Seth Rollins with the stooges via DQ
This seems to be an on-going occurrence with Raw. Too many DQ's. Just don't book the match. This should be a Free-Per-View Network match, not a throwaway on Raw. This was going ok, but with the no finish, you just feel like you wasted your time.

Big Show ran in and threw Reigns into the announcers table, then put the table on top of him. I like and respect what Big Show has done for the business, but seeing Big Show being the stepping stone for someone else for the 1893843874809374897389748937894789037th time has lost its appeal on me. You just did the same program with Brock Lesnar a year ago.

Does anyone really care about Reigns vs Big Show? Reigns, unlike Daniel Bryan, has lost a lot of momentum since returning from injury. Blame the bookers.

Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose in an ambulance match was announced for next week. Ugh. I hate Wyatt. I have talked about why before. I've seen everything where he's ripped his gimmick off from before. He's just a fat dude in a Hawaiian shirt. Ambrose could've been big, but they put him on job duty. If Wyatt vs Undertaker is really the plan, it's going to go over like a wet shart in bride's dress.

Daniel Bryan came out for a promo. He did a spiel about his ups and downs and what he's been through. In the end, he announced his return... at the Royal Rumble, the first time the Rumble has been plugged. I'm happy for the guy. I've met him two or three times on the indies and heard countless stories about him. There's no way you can't root for this guy. Fantasy booker in me says, Lesnar is going to UFC and is lame duck, let him beat Lesnar for the title at  Mania and give him the run he deserves. If WWE gets behind Bryan, he can be a star and god knows they need a 1A since no one is on Cena's level.

Miz & Mizdow wanted a title rematch, but Edge and Christian fed them to an 80's tag team.

The Ascension (Victor & Conor) d. Miz & Mizdow
I like to see new talent get elevated, but the Ascension look like a WCW Saturday Night Job team, straight with their LOD/Powers of Pain gear. Look at my NXT recaps for more on them. I don't see these guys amounting to anything. Too generic and Victor looks like he's 40 already.

MAIN EVENT STORYLINE PROMO
E&C did their Cutting Edge Peep show. This amounted to Rollins, The Stooges & Big Show attacking E&C. For some reason, Christian sold a brief case shot for 20 minutes. WWE also hammered home that Christian was done due to concussions.

The main play here was that The Authority was brought back by Cena, after Rollins threatened to paralyze Edge's neck with a curb stomp. I get the angle and all, but this could've been done better. Maybe if Rollins attacked Nikki Bella, Cena's Total Diva girlfriend, this would've been more personal and hit home harder. I get how Cena respects Edge, but this made Cena look like too much of a pussy.  It also made it look like Edge has no friends.

Eventually, Cena traded Edge's health for bringing the Authority back. For some reason, Lesnar celebrated with a returning HHH & Steph to close the show. That came off stupid.

It also killed the Survivor Series stipulation. This just felt rushed to me. I know it's wrestling and stips mean nothing, but you would've like to see this last longer than it did.

Overall:
A good Raw that got 2015 set in motion. If I'm booking, Reigns isn't over, despite the thought that Reigns wins the Rumble & beats Lesnar at Mania. Right now, I'm looking at Lesnar as a lame duck champion, whose contract expires at Mania and will probably go to UFC. A one on one match is always the best route to go, but I could see Bryan vs Lesnar vs Cena vs Reigns at Mania. I'd give the title to Bryan and set up the rematches for Cena and Reigns. Rollins also has to figure in there somewhere with the MITB. Maybe he can steal the title from Bryan, the Raw after Mania, and be chased. Either way, I don't want to see Reigns as champ, despite all directions pointing this way.

Very enjoyable Raw in my opinion and I know it was good, because the jaded fuck in me was compelled to write about it.

 

Lots of NFL news on Black Monday. I guess I'll start with the obvious. Jet fans should be happy that Rex Ryan & John Idzik were fired by Jets owner Woody Johnson. I can sympathize with Idzik. He never had a chance when he wasn't able to pick his own coach. Jet fans are wishing Ryan was able to stick around. I can understand that. Who will the Jets get that will be better? However, it's up to the new GM to make his own decisions, so Ryan had to go.

I think Ryan will wind up in Atlanta, after the firing of Mike Smith. He would fit in well there. Part of me would like to hear Ryan become a frequent guest of MIKE ZAUN, but I believe coaching, not media is in his future. Idzik had a brutal tenure with the Jets, but I don't think it will be held against him because after all, it's the Jets. The Jets have more problems than just their coach/gm situation. I don't see how they compete in 2015.

My beloved Giants basically stated that Coughlin will be coming back for 2015. Fewell hasn't been fired yet, but I'm expecting it. Coughlin should stay. He won two SBs and the future looks bright for the Giants. Have you seen their schedule for 2015? It's an easy 12-4 season, if everything plays out the way it should. As a diehard Giants fan, I'm not upset about missing the playoffs three years in a row, because I got my SB glory, twice, in my adult life time. It's all I can ask for.

As far as these NFL playoffs, I think the Patriots will beat the Seahawks in the Superbowl. It's very rare both number 1 teams make the SB, but it happened last year. I just don't see the Pats or the 'Hawks losing at home. Teams 2-6 each look shaky in their division as well. I'm very surprised by the way the Broncos played down the stretch. I wouldn't bet on Manning vs Brady in Foxboro this year.



In closing, on my last blog of 2014, I would like to send out my condolences once again to the family of Mike Viruet (Morgan) on the loss of their son Mike Viruet Jr. I discussed his passing on other blogs. It is just a tragedy. The Morgan family always treated me great, personally, and I can't imagine the holidays for them right now. A 20 year old life was taken away by a coward. I hope you guys can donate to them anyway you can.

I would also like to express my condolences for the two cops, Liu & Ramos who were killed two weeks ago. Big props to the NY Teams for doing their part in donating and bringing awareness to their families. NYPD LIVES MATTER. My fat ass will be running the Tunnels to Towers race later this year to help bring money & awareness to the NYPD. Bottom line, if you respect cops, they will respect you. I wish all my NYPD friends a safe night, each and every night when they take duty.

It's been real 2014. Sportswise, I will never forget the run the Rangers gave me in June. Life-wise, we live in weird times. I wish the best for everyone reading this.

As always,
LETS GO RANGERS
LETS GO CENA!
LETS GO NYPD!

Thanks for reading,
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@AOL.COM
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter!

Rangers Hit the Great 8, Devils Go To Hell in the Standings & More Rangers/Devils Reaction

Call it a Great 8, a Skate for 8 or whatever clever pun you can come up with, but whatever you want to call it, it's an 8 game win streak for the New York Rangers. The Rangers are playing their best hockey of the season and winning games in a variety of ways. During this streak, they have blown out teams, won shootouts, played strong defensive games, got the powerplay going and getting production from all different players. More impressively, the Rangers have shook up their lines. Despite the different game flows, the end result has been the same - 2 points and a W.

Derek Stepan was tonight's hero, recording his third hat trick of his career, and his first this season. This hat trick came after Rick Nash's hat trick, handed to him by statisticians & the NHL, after the final result in the Washington game on Tuesday night. This marked the first time since 1994, a magical year for the Rangers, that the Blueshirts tallied back-to-back hat tricks.

For the cross-river rivals, the NJ Devils, they are in a complete disarray. Following the firing of coach Peter Deboer, the day after Christmas, the Devils decided to employ a three-man coaching staff, made up GM Lou Lamoriello, Adam Oates & Scott Stevens. Despite the change, the Devils were defeated 3-1. The Devils are a team of transition. After many straight years of being a Cup Contender, and having a constant performer in Martin Brodeur, the Devils are in the bottom of the standings and Marty is now gone. It's similar to the Yankees, a team that was built for deep playoff runs, and with Jeter as their anchor. The times have changed and the Devils have to find a way to evolve.

Goaltending has always been a hot topic on this site. King Contract, Henrik Lundqvist, played one of his better games of the year, making 19/20 saves. Makes you wonder if Cam Talbot would've got the Rangers the shut-out, and not make you sweat out the third period until Stepan's Empty Net goal, but that has been Hank this season. Nothing is ever easy. I do question Hank playing so much as of late, as the Rangers should be a playoff team and you have to hope that Hank is ready to win 16 more games once the regular season is over.

For King Contract, his .950 save percentage was welcoming and kept the Rangers alive. The Rangers were stoned by Devils goalie Corey Schneider, missing on several chances. The Devils mustered up several attacks, with Hank turning back shots every which way. You would like to see Hank make the save on Steve Bernier's goal, because you could see it coming a mile away. Ranger fans have every right to be excited about an 8 game win streak, but a lot of W's have came across bottom of the standings teams. Let's see Hank do this against Tampa.  The Rangers won't have the luxury of facing the Devils, Oilers or Hurricanes in the playoffs. It's just great to see them beat the teams they should beat.

The Rangers are still making up ground due to Hank's terrible performance in the first 33% of the season. The Islanders and Pittsburgh still remain above the Rangers, but with both teams losing on Saturday night, the Rangers continued to move steadily ahead. The Rangers will see a lot of the Islanders in January, and those will be even more heated games than usual. It is pertinent for the Rangers to get home ice advantage in the playoffs. You can argue that's what saved them in the first round against the Flyers last year.
 

Two faces missing for the Rangers during Saturday's win were JT Miller & Matt Hunwick. Both were scratched in favor of Lee Stempniak & John Moore. There's only so many people that can play, but I felt Miller & Hunwick have played great during this recent win streak. Moore is the odd man out to me, but with Marc Staal possibly being trade bait, he needs ice time as well. Hunwick as made Moore easily replaceable. Stempniak was coming back from the mumps, but has been a healthy scratch before.

For Miller, I can see Stempniak and Fast taking ice time away from him. Anthony Duclair is playing great in the World Juniors, and the Rangers do not want to cut him, as he won't be eligible for the team for the rest of the season, if he's cut. I don't see the value in Tanner Glass, in the same way coach AV does. However, it seems that Miller/Fast/Duclair/Stempniak will see their playing time affected the most.

Martin St. Louis kept up his strong play, having a goal possibly taken away from him, due to Stepan's deflection. MSL would get another assist as well. The trade for MSL was one of the best Sather ever made, despite giving up draft picks he may have not had to sacrifice.

Being in the building, this was one of the least heated Rangers/Devils game I've ever been to. Ticket prices were astronomical on the secondary market, due to it being a rival game, a Saturday night, tourists in town and kids home from college. I didn't see as many Devils jerseys as I usually do, perhaps because they suck this year and their fans didn't think spending $200 on shit seats was worth it.

 I've written about this before, and you can go to http://doisports.blogspot.com/2014/10/will-nhl-lose-young-generation-in-ny.html for that column, but the Rangers have priced real fans out of MSG. If one of my good friends didn't have season tickets, that he gives to me for face value, I wouldn't be able to attend as many games as I do. It's just ridiculous what the Rangers charge, but the fans pay it so the Rangers will charge it. I really feel that the Rangers, despite all the charity work they do, are pricing out the younger generation from attending games. Despite an 8 game win streak, Hank playing one of his best games this season, a hat trick, and being a playoff team, MSG is as quiet as its ever been.

In previous columns, I have discussed how much the new MSG layout is horrible. It's great if you have bridge seats, but if you're on that main 200s-400s level, it is miserable going to point A to point B. You're squished in, the bathroom lines are 20 minutes long, the beer lines are 20 minutes long, and forget it if you want to get your kids something to eat. If you go to the Rock in NJ, there are bathrooms at every section, spacious rotundas and merch/food stands everywhere. The Garden is way too cramped. Even the seating in the main 200/400 level is all out of wack, with some rows only being one way in, one way out and no bathrooms at the top of the 200s. Who designed this, Mike Milbury?

Perhaps the building is so quiet not only because real fans are priced out, but the fans that can afford to go, have to run to the bathroom and concessions with 3 minutes left in a period to beat the rush and being trampled over. I'm surprised this isn't a fire hazard.

Couple of quick thoughts:
Thanks for not selling our tickets Jeff! My friend could've made a pretty penny on these tickets. However we are diehards and want to be there. We saw history, with Lundqvist's 325th win in his 600th game and Stepan's hat trick.

- It was great talking to another fellow Cam Talbot nutjob like myself while smoking a cigarette in the staircase! ICWT!

- I think the Rangers expected more production out of Dan Boyle this year.

- Kevin Klein continues to be the Norris winner of the Rangers. He made a huge hit, denied his man the puck several times and made several clears.

- AV continues to mix-match. This is a coach who really knows his team and has trust in his decision making.

- Hayes could become the face of this team one day, but he needs to work on faceoffs.

- Rick Nash better be a first line All Star this year.

The Rangers, already on a 8 game win streak, can really make some magic here. The Rangers go for NEIN NEIN NEIN against the second to last place Dallas Stars on Monday night. The Rangers then take on the Panthers, in a game where the Rangers will finish off the year on the road, but with many Ranger fans present. The Rangers then return home for a match-up against the last place Buffalo Sabres, before embarking on their biggest test of the season - a three game west coast trip against the Ducks, Kings & Sharks, before returning home for a game with the Islanders. Of course, each game is bigger than the last, but that west coast trip & the game with the Islanders, will be the biggest test for the Rangers this season. The Rangers have gobbled up points against the teams they should be beating. The true litmus test will be that four pack. Let's hope the Rangers are on a 11 game win streak by the time they take that 6 hour flight to Hollywood.

Ranger fans like myself have a lot to be excited about these last three weeks. I don't want to put the horse in front of the cart just yet. However, you got to like what you're seeing, especially after the way the season started. It's hard to compare last years team to this squad with the roster changes and the fact that the Rangers started the first 9 games on the road, but you have to expect the Rangers to be in the thick of the Stanley Cup playoffs come April.

Beating the Devils is always a good win for the club and I was happy after seeing Hank give me so many 4 and 5 GAA shit shows this season, in person, to see him win a gritty game like this. All my  Talbot talk aside, Hank needs to be ready to go come April.

I'll be back Monday night after the Rangers head to Dallas. Being a devout Giants fan, let me be the first to say - FUCK DALLAS!

Let's Go Rangers!

Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter!

WWE at MSG 12/26 McReview!

 Welcome everyone to another blog here, at the new DOINOW.com. While this is mostly a NY-centric/NY Rangers blog/site, since I got my start in writing with professional wrestling, I'll be recapping the latest WWE effort at Madison Square Garden. I'll be back tomorrow with my Rangers/Devils thoughts, but since I have many of my old readers checking out this site, I figured I would do this write-up on professional wrestling.

As always, make sure to check out the archive section on the right hand of the site for all previous articles. Many different topics have been discussed.  If you aren't aware of my past, I used to promote, book, review, announce, commentate and referee, amongst other things, in my near 10 year independent wrestling "career." Two of my biggest projects was promoting the all-womens wrestling company, WSU, as well as run the DOI wrestling website. I feel like I have a good grasp on what works and what doesn't work with wrestling, despite leaving the independent game 2 1/2 years ago. 

I have said this before on this site, and I'll say it again. The biggest project the WWE is currently undertaking is their WWE Network, which you can get for $9.99 a month. If you're a wrestling fan, it's a must have. It gives you access to every PPV, tons of old footage, different first run material, in addition to getting every current PPV and even NXT. 

Unfortunately for the WWE, the WWE Network isn't selling the way the WWE thought it would. I think the reason the Network isn't meeting expectations is because while the Network really caters to old-time fans, the current product today is geared towards kids. WWE promotes their network incessantly during their flagship show, Monday Night Raw, a TV show that is rated PG & for kids. They are not reaching people who have money or a credit card, that is required to get the Network. Kids are happy with the nearly 10 hours of free programming a week. The WWE is so worried about their silly Mattel toys deal, that they are hellbent on being PG, while the product that can make or break their stock, the WWE Network, is geared towards adults, with most of the featured content rated PG 13. Basically, it's like advertising fancy cars on Raw, or advertising tampons during an NFL game. The advertising is not meeting their target market. Kids do not care about the WWE network, and that makes up a majority of WWE viewers. Even today, while at biggest WWE house show of the year, at MSG, kids made up 85% of the crowd. There was not one thing promoted or booked towards my interests.

Fortunately for me, the son of one of my close friends is a huge WWE fan. He's 9 years old. He is at that age in life, where most males find pro wrestling. Many outgrow pro wrestling by the time they are in high school. However, I do believe a lot of my generation stuck with pro wrestling in high school because of the Monday Night Wars & the more adult product, with many people my age (I'm 32) falling out of wrestling about a year or two after WCW & ECW folded. 

Attending this show with my friend's 9 year old son gave me a different perspective of this WWE event. While former independent professional wrestler, Bison Bravado, (A former 2 time WXW World Champion & Hogan Knows Best Superstar, just ask him, he will tell you all about it) and myself found this event slow and boring, my friend's son loved it. If you can accept the WWE is not for you and for kids, you can have a good time. If my friends son wasn't with us, I would've never bought tickets, and if by some chance I did attend, I would've been long gone by the time intermission rolled around. 

Let's put it this way, we had MSG bridge seats. You get your own computer chair, a TV monitor and all the open space in the world. It's a luxury to sit up there. While my friend's son would be jumping up and down and enjoying himself, Bison fell asleep the second match at his desk and woke up mid-way during the Cena match. This was all the evidence you need to prove who the target member of the WWE Universe truly is. I would not recommend attending a WWE show live to anyone my age, unless they were mentally slow and had that Forest Gump mind, but to any parent looking to do something fun with their kid, the WWE is for you. Is this the best way to make a profit in today's climate? WWE thinks so. However, their competition, like UFC, NFL, NHL, NBA, Netflix, HBO on the Go, concerts and the like, all think differently and market their product to people with money. I guess WWE just really enjoys what DISNEY ON ICE, when it rolls around once a year,  is doing!

On to the show:

Before our first match, Tony Chimel was promoting some silly WWE app voting thing. We could've chose to see Fandango vs Swagger in a match or in a dance-off. Unfortunately, not having either one of them on the show wasn't an option. More depressing, Howard Finkel wasn't at MSG. I was hoping "The Fink" would be there, considering this is the biggest WWE house show of the year. Fink not being there seemed to be the trend, as there was not one surprise or bonus, that the MSG crowd usually gets.

For the WWE Intercontinental Title
(c) Dolph Ziggler d. Luke Harper
This was a good PPV quality match. These two really work well together. Of course, at a house show, results are predictable, even if my son's friend thought Harper would regain the championship. I guess being older and knowing that the WWE will run this same show in 50 markets gives me a leg up on my sons friend, but for him, this was some real deal heavy shit! Again, it's just who these shows are marketed for. However, WWE should really change titles from time to time on these house shows, just to give you a reason to attend and make little kids think they saw something truly important. Even the WWE Hardcore title, during its day, was a useful prop into making you think you saw something special when it would change hands.

This match was about 20 minutes long, in a bout where both men worked their asses off, with tons of false finishes. Ziggler wins with the Zig-Zag, a finishing move that doesn't sound like one of a main eventer.

POSTMATCH:
Seth Rollins and J&J security ran out to attack Ziggler. They kicked the snot out of him. Rollins said "Happy Holidays from the Authority." I guess they did this to make sure the crowd would cheer Cena in the main event. I don't think it would be a problem anyway, as this crowd was mostly kids. Even the losers in black T-Shirts, who did try to do "CENA SUCKS" chants, would quickly die out and just looked pathetic. Chanting "CENA SUCKS" is basically like telling little kids Santa is fake, you just look like a douchebag.

Ryback d. Curtis Axel
They had a longer than you would expect match. I figured this would be squash city, but this went about 8-9 minutes. Ryback is getting over with the little kids, because my friends son had to pee so bad, but said he wanted to wait until the match was over because he didn't want to miss out on Ryback. Ryback wins with the shell-shock. After a long opening match, I thought this should've been a squash. I guess the thinking was these house shows gives Ryback time to develop and pace himself for longer TV matches. However, that's great and all, but it just extended this event to over 3 hours. No house show should be that long.

For the NXT Championship
(c) Sami Zayn d. Adrian Neville
The black t-shirt crowd perked up for the entrances of both of these guys, while the little kids sought out cotton candy and bathrooms. Zayn wins with his big kick. Came off kinda blah because no one knew what his finisher was. Still, had to be great for both men to make their MSG debuts. WWE needs to start doing NXT recaps on Raw, because the majority of the crowd knew who neither were. WWE is so quick to rush up NXT people, thinking that because they are over in NXT, they will be over here. It's two different fan bases. The NXT fans grew and nurtured wrestlers, while WWE is so quick to throw up NXT gimmicks like Emma & Adam Rose on RAW with no real push or idea.

Dance-Off
Jack Swagger vs Fandango w/Rosa Mendes went to a no-decision
What a waste of time, and we didn't even get a winner. Fandango attacked Swagger, during Swagger doing the "We The People" hand salute to "U Can't Touch This". Swagger is a wrestler for adult crowd, so the black t-shirt people enjoyed saying "WE THE PEOPLE" while the kids seemed restless during all this nonsense. Shit city here.

For the WWE Tag Team Titles
(c) Miz & Mizdow d. The Usos
Mizdow was over with both the black t-shirt people and the kids. He really hammed it up here. He must have supreme cardio conditioning, because he never stops moving. One thing I will say about this show, the wrestlers really worked hard and didn't treat it as just another live event.  This was your typical Raw match, and if you've seen one Uso match, you've seen them all. Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on one of the Usos for the win.

Randy Orton d. Kane
Orton got the biggest pop of the night, up to this point.  Quick match with Orton winning with the RKO. Perfectly booked. Orton looked in good spirits.

INTERMISSION was up next. I didn't know WWE did intermissions during house shows. It was unnecessary because this show was 3 hours and 15 minutes long. House shows should be 2 1/2 hours. There was no reason to drag this show out, especially with no surprises or any moment that you would say "I SAW THIS LIVE."

The worst part about intermission was WWE running their Connor Cause video, about that kid Connor who died of cancer or whatever he had. Try explaining to a 9 year old what happened to a Connor while he's watching this video. Kind of depressing to show this at Xmas time at a show geared towards little kids. Save your self-serving charity (HHH & Stephanie were made to look like heroes during this thing) for the 10PM hour on Raw.

Emma & Alicia Fox d. The Bella Twins with Paige as Special Guest Referee
Horrible, horrible, horrible. Nothing about this match made sense. Isn't Emma a face? Isn't Fox a heel? Are the Bellas heels or faces? Paige, who really needs to learn how to use a toothbrush because her teeth look like buttery churned rocks, would fast count against the Bellas, and slow count in favor of Fox & Emma. Bellas are heels on TV mind you. Why Paige would even care to be a referee for this match and why she would choose sides was not evident either.

Just a terrible match in every facet of the game. Nothing made sense. I understand the principle and concept of popcorn matches, but this was just excruciatingly brutal. Alicia pins Brie after a fast count from Paige. Horribly booked, horribly executed, horrible match.

Santino Marella came out to read a poem. He got the "WHAT" treatment. Austin is still over in 2014. Big Show came out to set up the next match.

Big Show d. Eric Rowan
Just felt bad for the kids expecting Roman Reigns here, not knowing that Roman was in Chicago. The MSG house show is no longer all hands on deck. There was no Roman Reigns merchandise for sale either at the merch stands. While on the merch issue, as you would expect, Cena stuff sold the most, as there was a red shirt/red hat nation amongst the MSG crowd. The fat older people were wearing Seth Rollins shirts, and it just looks sad.

Big Show wins this match when seemingly Rowan blew a spot and just walked into the finish. Terribly executed. Another shit show boring match. How you put this on second to last is beyond me.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT
John Cena d. Seth Rollins w/J&J Security in a Street Fight
The second Cena's music hit, the place erupted. I've heard big pops live and on TV before. Perhaps the biggest pop I ever heard live was HHH's return at MSG. This wasn't like that, but this pop came off so huge because no one else on the show is even 1/10th as over as Cena. And here's the biggest problem. Until John Cena comes out, the whole show is filler.

I'm an 80's kid. Every generation will tell you that their generation was better than the current generation, but I was very fortunate, when it comes to wrestling fandom. I grew up during the Hogan era, with guys like Andre & Savage around. I went to middle school with Shawn Michaels & Bret Hart. I hit high school with Austin & Rock.  I went full circle in college with the returns of Hogan & HBK. I had big stars to watch my entire fandom. Today, the kids got Cena and that's it. You can tell me Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and whoever else, but I'm sorry, NO ONE IS CLOSE TO CENA.

I have done this speech before. John Cena is the greatest wrestler ever, in my opinion. I'm using the term wrestler very loosely here. He's not Lou Thesz. He's not HBK. He's not Flair. However, Cena is the greatest all-around wrestler of all time. NO ONE HAS DONE WHAT HE HAS DONE. He's been on top for 10+ years, with every restriction and handicap against him. He didn't choose to wrestle in the PG era. Throw him in the Attitude era, and I think he gets bigger than Rock & Austin.

Look at Cena's career. Sure he had Edge, Orton and Punk, but guys like Austin  had the Rock and vice versa. Outside of Austin & Rock, you had Taker, HHH, Foley, plus Vince McMahon as the best heel in pro wrestling. You also had WCW that was hitting on all cylinders for a while. Going back, Hogan had Andre, Savage, Warrior, etc.  Cena is not only a victim of the times, but he never had a near equal! He's doing this all alone.

Expanding on this, other headliners never had the pressure or were ever given a chance to be over-exposed. Guys prior the cable TV generation hit your town once a month, or were just locals for the same crowd every week. Cena is on 10 hours of free programming a week. He has to sell a PPV every month. He's the only one who moves rating points. When you hear CM Punk sound like a mark by saying "I EVEN OUTSOLD CENA IN SHIRTS", it's because Cena was hurt &  Punk just released a new shirt, while Cena's latest shirt was at the tail end of its run. Comparing yourself to Cena in this day and age is just the measuring stick.

Cena has been the number 1 guy for ten years with the most things against him in wrestling history. No one, to this day, even matches his merch numbers or ratings points. So when someone says "Cena is stale", like my friend Sean Maxwell, do some fucking research! WWE is not geared for us, it's geared for kids, and those kids got a sugar & molly shot the second Cena's music hit.

Sure, I worked in wrestling for 10 years, but I have no issues or qualms by saying Cena is the greatest thing in wrestling today and the greatest of all time. I'm a proud member of the CeNATION!

I could go on and on. How about the fact that Cena has made the most "Make a Wishes" out of any celebrity, EVER? I know someone whose son got to meet Cena through this. Everyone said he was genuine. He doesn't do this for the cameras. He's the one who even put the Susan Komen deal together.

How about the fact that he is over-the-top professional? You won't be reading about Cena getting DWI's, beating his drunken kid up, scratching limos, being pilled up, killing his wife, or anything else you read about wrestlers doing.

Want me to go on? How about the fact that unlike any other main eventer before him, he will put over anyone and try to get a good match out of anyone? You never hear about Cena burying anyone and if you do, (Ken Kennedy comes to mind), it's usually because the other guy screwed up or was reckless. Can you imagine Austin or Rock allowing Lesnar to squash them at one of the biggest PPV's of the year? No main eventer has tried repeatedly to get over new talent by doing jobs non-stop, while remaining as over as Cena has. Cena is a student of the business and always gives back.

Next time someone chants "CENA SUCKS", tell them to fuck off.

As far as this match, this was another PPV level match. Tons of run-ins. J&J security got a double AA, a spot that Cena has done a few times before, but I'm sure JBL would call as "the first time I've ever seen that!" Kane ran in, but Randy Orton came out, deliving RKO's to Kane & the stooges. Big Show then ran out and chokeslammed Cena. Ziggler ran out to play with Show but got herbed. Cena then AA'd Show. Rollins came back with curb stomp on Cena, but Cena muscled out. The finish saw Cena AA Rollins from the top rope through a table for the win. Good match, even with the ECW run-in booking stuff at the end.

Overall:
Not a show for me, but kids loved it. The only real complaint I would have, with the kids being the audience here, was that the show was too long. Alot of stuff could've been cut out, like the intermission, Santino shit, length of Ryback/Axel, etc. I wouldn't recommend these shows for anyone over the age of 14.

LET'S GO CENA!
LET'S GO RANGERS!

I'm going back to MSG tonight for Rangers/Devils, check back here at DOINOW.com for a report on that game.

Thanks for reading,
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@AOL.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter gimmick

Rangers Hit Lucky 7, Hank Makes You Sweat Again, Helping Two Important Causes & More Ranger Reaction

 Welcome everyone to another blog here on DOINOW.com. As always, make sure to check out the archive section on the right hand of the site, spread the word about this site, clip your toenails and support NYPD.

The Rangers returned for another home game, this past Tuesday night, hosting the Washington Capitals. The Rangers, who won the game, boosting their win streak total to 7, had a lot on the line during this game. The Capitals were ahead, two points in the standings, above the Rangers. However, the Capitals also played two more games, giving the Rangers two games in hand. When it was all said and done, the Rangers are now third place in the Metropolitan division and have played two games less than the Capitals. All in all, an early Christmas present for Ranger fans.

To add even more excitement for Ranger fans, the Islanders lost on Tuesday night. The Rangers have closed the second place gap to 6 points, and have two games in hand on the Islanders. With 2015 coming to a close, the Rangers are quickly ascending in the standings.

This was a major gutcheck game for the Rangers. This blog-article would've had a different tone had the game remained the same from the second period to the third. I was ready to write how I was impressed with goalie Henrik Lundqvist. I was ready to write how Hank was back. I was ready to chant "HEN-RY" with the rest of the Rangerstown. However, Hank proved me right again, as he made every Ranger fan sweat like a fat lady in an elevator. He made Rangers fans sweat more than telling a black joke at an office party and Leroy from accounting just happened to pop up behind you.

You know the drill on this blog/site. Henrik Lundqivst is an overpaid Swedish slug. He's King Contract. He's King No-Cup. He's had every advantage possible, but time and time again comes up short. He's not the reason for this Rangers win streak, it is the play of the defense and the immense goal scoring during certain games. Cam Talbot has a better GAA, a better SV% and has more Shutouts/per game than Hank. When will Blueshirt nation wake up, and realize that Hank is the Hank of 2014 and not the Hank of old? Henrik Lundqvist's disgusting contract will cripple the Rangers going forward, just like Carmelo Anthony's contract will cripple the Knicks. Bank that.


This particular Rangers fan/blogger has been leading the Talbot Train for some time now. I understand due to money and history, Hank will start. However, is there any reason why in any other situation, Cam Talbot wouldn't get more looks? Hank had a 3-0 lead tonight, and by 5 minutes left in the third period, you were waiting for the Caps to come back. There has to be some stat, where when your team scores, how fast the other team scores right back. There's no way Hank isn't leading momentum killer goals this season. Talbot is posting shut-outs left and right. Why isn't he getting more burn? To satisfy the ego of an overpaid Swedish hack who has no Stanley Cups and his prime is behind him?

Great General Managers will tell you that players are assets. Hank has not been an asset for the Rangers this season, he's been a liability. For $7 million less, you have a better goalie, who has just as many Stanley Cups as Hank. He's younger as well. He's not as worn. He has better stats than Hank in every category, except for Games Played. If Hank ever gets the mumps, it would be the best thing for the Rangers.

You've been reading me here, so I'm not gonna go any more into this, but deep down, every Ranger fan's heart beats in this tone, "IN CAM WE TRUST!"



 What more can be said about Martin St. Louis? I can not reneg my original thoughts on him. I thought then, and still think today, that Sather could've traded Callahan for Sather straight up, without sacrificing the two draft picks. However, with still less than a full season as a New York Ranger, MSL has etched himself into Rangers history through his strong playoff run last year and with his play thus far.

MSL, who I think has been better for the Rangers than Gretzky was when he was here, lit up Holtby for two goals, with his signature shot from the dot in the far right circle. The second goal was somewhat a gift from the Capitals netminder, but it was right on target. It was great to see MSL get back on track with a beautiful two goal game.  MSL has been a beast all season with his on-target passes all season. It was nice to see him put two past Holtby tonight.



 Joining MSL in putting two goals past Holtby, was Rick Nash. What more can you about this guy? It's amazing what he's been, in his first full season as a healthy NY Ranger. When Nash first came here from Columbus, this was the production every Ranger fan expected. Let's hope he can keep up this torrid pace in the playoffs.

Nash has been a monster all year, and is a first line All-Star this year. The man can do no wrong. He's using his size to get position. He's finishing on break-aways. He's lighting lamps. Fans sort of expected Nash to own this team when he first got here. Instead, that went to players like McDonagh, King No-Cups, MSL and Girardi. I compared Nash to A-Rod, when it came to playoff time in NY. I hope he makes me the most wrongest motherfucker in the planet, come April. NASHTY is alive and well in MSG.

Player reviews aside, the Rangers played another strong defensive game. The powerplay, which has looked weak of late, produced two goals, both off the stick of Martin St. Louis. As usual, the workhorses, like DG, Klein, ZUUUUUUUC & Hunwick played superbly. These wins during this streak has truly come off as the cliched "team effort." This club is skating well and finding ways to win. It's all you can ask for. This was the biggest win during this streak, gaining two points above a close division rival.

It should also be mentioned, that Anthony Duclair is playing phenomenally during the World Junior Hockey Championship. It will just give the Rangers another weapon as the season moves along. Also missing during the last two games has been Lee Stempniak, who has been solid for the blueshirts all season. He should be back for Saturday, against one of the Ranger's biggest rivals, the NJ Devils.




 Up next for the Rangers, as they try to extend this win streak to a Great 8, are the NJ Devils. The Devils have been up and down all season, and this would be a great way for the Rangers to end the year at MSG, by beating their cross-river rivals. The Devils are coming off a shoot-out loss, against the last place team in the Metropolitan division, the Carolina Hurricanes. As the great John Cena says, "THE TIME IS NOW" for the New York Rangers. With a three day break, it is time for the Rangers to keep this ball rolling, as the Devils are a team searching for answers.

For the 10 or so people who have asked to meet me and for the 3 that have actually offered to buy me a beer at a Rangers game, I'll be in Section 213 this Saturday, to watch the Rangers kick some Devils ass. Hit me up on the twitter, and we'll meet the Obama looking beer vendor at 214 for beers!

This is my last blog until the Rangers/Devils reaction blog on late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. I would like to take time out to bring awareness to two issues.

My friend and NYPD officer, EJ, is doing a fundraiser for the two NYPD officers who were callously murdered. If you can, take time out to donate at:
http://www.gofundme.com/Xmas1013?fb_action_ids=618820461557504&fb_action_types=og.shares

I've mentioned this story several times before, but my friend's son was murdered by an illegal immigrant in a vicious hit-and-run car crash. If you can donate to one of the greatest families I know, please visit:
http://www.gofundme.com/Michaelandadrian

RIP MIKE MORGAN/VIRUET JR.
RIP PO RAMOS
RIP PO LIU
THANK YOU NYPD.

Forever and always, LET'S GO RANGERS!
IN CAM WE TRUST.

Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the TWITTER!

A Rangers 6 Pack of Wins, All Praise To Cam & More Ranger Reaction

Welcome everyone to another blog here on the new DOINOW.com. Thank you as always for reading. I'd like to thank everyone for their feedback on yesterday's column concerning the NYPD. For that article, and for all my articles, check out the right hand of the site, in the archives section.

This past Sunday night, the Rangers extended their winning streak to a season high 6 games. In what seems to be the norm for the great Cam Talbot, Cam Talbot posted another shutout. In his short career, which spans less than 30 games, Talbot leads the league in shutouts per win. Imagine if Swiss Cheese Lundqvist had Cam's GAA, SVPCTG & Shutout to Games Played ratio? Even my friend Garrett Gorton would have to call Cam Talbot impressive!

The Rangers, hosting the second game of a home & home series with the Carolina Hurricanes, who unfortunately for Ranger fans, have more Stanley Cup victories in the last ten years than the supremely overpaid Henrik Lundqvist, seemed a bit off. This was the Rangers first home game since Lundqvist blew a two goal lead to the Pittsburgh Penguins two Monday's ago.

The Rangers got a goal from Captain Ryan McDonagh, early in the first period. In what seems to be old hat for him, it was all the Rangers needed from the mighty Cam Talbot. You have to wonder, if Lundqvist ever gets the mumps, how long will it take before Talbot "Wally Pipps" Lundqvist out of a job?

 

The Rangers peppered back-up goalie Anton Khudobin, who came into the game with an 0-7-2 record, with 31 shots. The Rangers had many scoring opportunities and near-misses. For fellow fans of the NY Football Giants, sometimes I feel the Rangers get like Big Blue, and play down to their competition. The NY Giants became world beaters and have beat the good teams in recent years. However, they put up shit shows against inferior teams. While the Rangers took this home-home with the last place Hurricanes, they were desperate for goal scoring. Luckily, the Rangers had Cam Talbot to hold down the fort, and not Henrik Lundqvist, who despite playing the majority of the games, is 22nd in the league in GAA & 29th in the league in SVPCTG.

It's amazing how the Rangers were able to throw up 4 and 5 spots on the division leading Pittsburgh Penguins or even on the Vancouver Canucks. For some reason, they have struggled against cellar dwellers like the Oilers & Hurricanes. Fortunately, during this win streak, the Rangers have found ways to win games. It just seems like all or nothing with this offense.

While it might not show up in the stat books, Kevin Klein & Mats Zuccarello both had huge games for the Rangers. Each displayed great puck possession and were able to clear the puck when needed. Zucc was all over the ice tonight and seemingly involved in every gut-busting play. 

The story of the game however, was Cam Talbot. If you've been reading me, no more words are needed. Without a shadow of a doubt, he's the best back-up goalie in the league and if it wasn't for King Contract's albatross of a contract, he would have more games under his belt. At this stage in their lives, Talbot is less of a liability than Lundqvist, who seems to practice more on hair tossing and doing Pantene Pro-V commercials than putting practice time in between the pipes. The stats don't lie. Even more impressive, Talbot has had less goal support than Hank as well.

Talbot fans had to be pleased hearing these stats from NYRangers.com:

"Cam Talbot stopped all 18 shots he faced to post his third shutout of the season, tying a career-high. Talbot has posted a shutout in three of his last four games, posting a 3-1-0 record, along with a 0.76 GAA and a .972 SV% in those contests. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Talbot is the first Blueshirts goalie to register three shutouts in a personal four-start span since Andy Aitkenhead from Dec. 2 – Dec. 9, 1933. Talbot has also posted six shutouts in 26 career starts, becoming only the second Rangers goalie to register at least six shutouts in his first 26 career NHL starts (along with Lorne Chabot, who did so in the Rangers’ inaugural season of 1926-27). He is tied for third in the NHL in shutouts in 2014-15, and he is the only NHL goaltender with seven or fewer starts to post three shutouts this season."

IN CAM WE TRUST.

Rangers return Tuesday night, at home, for a huge game with the Washington Capitals. The Caps are right on the Rangers ass in the standings so extending the win streak to 7 would be a nice Christmas present for Ranger fans.



If you've been reading me or know me, you know I'm a Yankee, Giants & Rangers fan. Please read my piece on the NYPD & White America, that was posted last night.

I was very proud of all three of my sports teams today. Giants coach Tom Coughlin wore a black band in honor of the two fallen NYPD officers. The Yankees announced that they would be covering all educational/college expenses for the children of Officer Rafael Ramos. Apparently, the Yankees have been covering tuition for the children of fallen officers for over 30 years but you never hear about it. It just made me very happy to see my teams do what they could to help. It didn't feel like a publicity stunt either, and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. These actions came off of as authentic and genuine.

While I did see Jets lineman Nick Mangold wear a NYPD hat to the game today, I didn't see the Jets do anything for the fallen NYPD officers. Even Saturday Night Live, a NY staple, had no mention of the tragedy. However, the NY Rangers had a moment of silence for the two men and showed their appreciation for the NYPD. Ranger fans took it upon themselves to chant "NYPD!" during puck drop. As a Yankees, Giants & Rangers fan, I was happy with my teams during these unfortunate times. It still disgusts me that no major network interrupted their meaningless, in NY anyway, college games to cover this story live yesterday. I just know if it was a black guy who was killed by a white cop, every network would've ceased transmission of whatever game they were covering.

To any members of the  NYPD reading this and all officers in general, please be safe. There are more and more stories coming out everyday, whether it be copycat killers, gang orders or anything else. Cops lives are not for barter. 

Let's go Rangers. I'll be back Tuesday night, recapping the Caps and the Blueshirts.

Feedback, hate mail, Cam Talbot merchandise can be sent to:
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on twitter

The Rangers Win 5 Straight, But There Are More Important Issues at Hand

The Great Cam Talbot

This is where I would normally recap another Rangers win. The Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, improving their win streak to a season high 5 games. Sure, I could talk about how the Swedish Slug, King Contract, gave up two easy goals or how the referees took away a goal from the Blueshirts. I can talk about how Kevin Klein is keeping his name alive in the Norris race. I can talk about Miller time. I can even talk about how the Rangers re-signed the Great Cam Talbot for another year.

However, in NY, there is a bigger story at hand, even bigger than the Rangers biggest win streak of the season. Unlike every network in NY, I'm willing to interrupt this blog to talk about the two innocent cop lives that were savagely taken away from a black barbarian on Saturday afternoon.

I'm assuming by now, if you live in NY, that you heard about the two cops who lost their lives due to a double homicide in Brooklyn. If you haven't, check out this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/nypd-officers-dead-brooklyn-shooting_n_6360434.html

Please read the above link to its fullest. It is an unbiased article on this story.

Perhaps I may offend you. Perhaps you will never want to read me again, but I feel this story is too important to ignore.

I guess I should preface this that I vote Democrat. I'm a liberal. I'm pro gay-rights, pro-choice, pro-union, pro-religious freedoms. However, to paraphrase the movie "American History X", "There's a war out there, and we're losing."

RIP

These two innocent men, working overtime in the counter terrorist unit, were callously murdered by a black savage at 3PM on Saturday. Unfortunately and ironically, they were stationed in an area to also prevent crime, in a violent black community. Two families were destroyed for life, by the actions of a suicidal coward. The coward bragged about what he was going to do, and even predicted his own death. Most would assume this as another black vs white race issue, but the color the black mongrel was going for, was NYPD blue. Despite the cops being Asian & Latino, Ismaaiyl Brinsle, the gangbanger thug, took these two lives with no thought or abandon.

I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion, but White America needs a voice. I'm not talking about a stupid racist KKK voice, but a realist White Voice. Black America has that self-service cowardly pig Al Sharpton. Gay America has their advocates. Latino America has their people. Jewish America has their voice. Every sect, race and creed has their voice. This is all fine. This is America, everyone should have a voice and a say. What is missing though, is a REAL WHITE VOICE to speak on behalf of white victims. 

The liberal media and black America would make you think it's racist to defend White people. It is taboo to defend white people, because if you're white and you do, you're branded as a racist. FUCK THAT, I'm a realist.

How come there is not one nice black community in the world? Go ahead, think about it. Go to the source. Africa? A motherfucking shithole. How about every top black city in America? Detroit? A dump. Baltimore? A cesspool. Oakland? Harlem? Washington DC? Newark? It is a fact.  There is not one nice and safe black community in all the land. Is it in their DNA? I don't know. It just seems like blacks can't have nice things. They kill property values. Every one of their "urban" (a nice white word for the word "negro") communities is shit. You can't walk into a black neighborhood without several intersections featuring a check cashing place, a fried chicken place, a pawn shop and a liquor store.

You never hear a black community saying, when a white person moves in, 'THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD!" When a black person moves into a white neighborhood, and whether white people want to admit this or not, they say "FUCK!"

I don't want to hear about how the white man has held the black man down. Slavery was over 150 years ago. Get the fuck over it. The Jews were persecuted over 60 years ago. They rebounded quite nicely. Millions of Jews died in World War II. Today, they are captains of industry and the envy of the poor. The blacks? Most of them are looking for handouts. The ones that aren't, call each other "nigga", in all forms of their silly entertainment. Martin Luther King did not take a bullet so Jamal could call Leroy "MAH NIGGA"100 times a day.

The incidents in Ferguson and Staten Island were unfortunate. However, as someone who has had my personal run-ins with the police, if you're doing something wrong, the police will investigate. Own your shit. Personally, I have had two incidents with police. Both my wrong doing. When I was busted, did I attack a cop? Did I fight a cop? No. I was wrong. I admitted my wrong doing and dealt with the consequences. I feel like my interactions in these situations, while a low point in my life, made me stronger and wiser in life.

These black pieces of shit in these two cases mentioned above were gangbangers. They attacked the cops. They fought back. One robbed a store and tried to maim a cop. What do you expect? No retaliation? THE LIVES OF A COP MATTER, just like how any life matters. 

Cop lives are not barter for a new race war in America!

 

Above is the picture of a primate who belonged in the Bronx Zoo with the rest of his family tree. This cocksucker said he was going to give "WINGS to PIGS" and killed the two innocent cops today. WHERE'S AL SHARPTON now to demand a public outcry? Probably at Popeye's chicken.

Listen, I don't blame Al Sharpton, NYC Mayor Bill Deblasio or anyone else for these murders, outside of the creep who did this. This was an isolated incident. You couldn't prevent this. This was the lone action of one criminal. I understand why people are pointing fingers and why cops are turning their backs on these men, but I truly doubt Sharpton or Deblasio wanted this. You can't control the actions of one pyschopath. It is popular to gang up on Deblaso right now, but come on, there is no way anyone can think he wanted this. Siding with anti-cop protestors will define his reign as Mayor, whether he likes it or not. However, to blame him for the actions of one coward, is not fair and just looking for someone to blame.

White America needs a voice. We need our advocate. We have Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, two fucking morons, who call themselves Reverends to make themselves sound important, parading in front of cameras whenever they  feel like their fellow skinman has been wronged. Where's our white face here? I am more than willing to be the voice of White America.

White America is dubbed as evil. White Americans lose jobs because of affirmative action. If pussyfooted people want a black fireman who gets a 60 on their FDNY test over a white applicant who gets a 99 on their test, they can have those firemen. Give me the best man for the job.

I am sick of hearing about oppression and holding people down. Blacks are literally getting away with murder now. Even sickening, and this comes from a huge sports fan, when two NYPD officers were killed by a black savage, you didn't hear one word on any network channel. NCAA sports became first, because NCAA sports equates to more money than the lives of NYPD officers. However, if some lowlife malcontent gangbanger was murdered by a white cop, all these games would be forgotten about for "BREAKING NEWS" flashes.

 

It shouldn't be a crime for White America to support themselves. Blacks have BET. Gay's have Bravo. There are Bollywood, Jewish, Christian, Latino and everything else under the sun TV channels and forms of news, media & entertainment. I support that. The reason for this blog isn't anti-anything, it's a message that White America has no voice. America supports a Black History month, a Latino appreciation month, etc. What's wrong with celebrating White America? If it wasn't for white reform, there would be no welfare, health programs and everything else that allows the majority of black people, who aren't making up the 90% of prison population, to survive.

Be clear as you are reading, the message of this blog isn't to frown upon anyone else, ask for retaliation or to shun any race, sect or creed, the purpose of this blog is simply - White America needs their public figure for times like this.

Don't read this as me being anti-black or anti-anything else. I'm in support of White America and our cops. What happened today was pure racism against NYPD Blue. I'm assuming the stupid negro who murdered these two cops just shot the uniform without realizing neither was pure Caucasian. 

All cops - white, black, latino, asian, gay, straight, bi, Jew or whatever, all take an oath. All live to protect and serve. Without a police, there is no civilization. Why would people want to take this away?

It is tough to be a cop, especially a white one. Everyone has a camera in their pocket. Not all videos are shown. We live in an attention deficit disorder world, where a 6 second Vine video is prefered over a 3 minute video showing the truth. 

The media glorifies anything negative about our cops and not the good they do. I can't imagine being a cop today. Why would any cop with 17, 18, 19 years on the job, risk their pension, life and career going into a "slum" (another word for a negro community) when the chances are they will become a victim, lose their pension or could wind up dead? The negatives outweigh the positives for any white cop than any other time in NYPD history.

How many times will the media, many of themselves victims of having "WHITE GUILT" show images and stories of black "victims" in their high school graduation caps, but ignore the pictures of those same people posing with guns, drugs and their words promoting hate against the police? 

I am not a cop. I hate what this world is becoming. White America needs a voice. I don't know how you get into activism. However, White America, I am here for you, let me roar for you. It is about time that whites take a stand and refuse to become victims anymore. All you hear in the media these days are how about blacks are being wronged. White America is not the majority anymore. Wake up white people. How come for every story where a black person is "wronged", we don't have the same story concerning white victims? What's the agenda?

My black and minority friends may hate me for publishing this blog. If you know me, I'm not a racist, I'm a realist. Not every black person is a gangbanger, just like how not every white person is a public place killer. However, blacks have their voices out there. They have their advocates and PACs. When does White America get their chance?

 

I would like to thank our cops out there. Reading the media, you would think they are all blood thirsty killers. This is not true. There are many good cops out there. Cop lives are not barter material for criminals or for political causes. Families were ruined today. Kids lives were ruined. Two men lost their lives. Instead of feeling sympathetic, you have monkey's like "THE GAME", a musician piece of shit rapper laughing and making jokes about these two dead cops. Fuck that. If a country singer said "thank god, one less negro to worry about" after Ferguson, that singer would lose his career.

I leave you with this, from the NYPD website:

"MISSION
	The MISSION of the New York City Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in our City by working in partnership with the community and in accordance with constitutional rights to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a safe environment.
VALUES
	IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, WE PLEDGE TO: Protect the lives and property of our fellow citizens and impartially enforce the law. Fight crime both by preventing it and by aggressively pursuing violators of the law. Maintain a higher standard of integrity than is generally expected of others because so much is expected of us. Value human life, respect the dignity of each individual and render our services with courtesy and civility."

Thank you NYPD. Many of us know you are not the enemy. My condolences for your tragic losses today. White America must rally for the NYPD and refuse to become more victims for a senseless cause with wreckless motivation.

Ranger hockey talk resumes tomorrow.

LGR.
LGNYPD.
RIP Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, may your deaths not go without punishment, thought or resolution.

Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter

 

"MISSION

The MISSION of the New York City Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in our City by working in partnership with the community and in accordance with constitutional rights to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a safe environment.

VALUES

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, WE PLEDGE TO:

• Protect the lives and property of our fellow citizens and impartially enforce the law.
• Fight crime both by preventing it and by aggressively pursuing violators of the law.
• Maintain a higher standard of integrity than is generally expected of others because so much is expected of us.
• Value human life, respect the dignity of each individual and render our services with courtesy and civility."

Rangers Extinguishing The Flames & More Road-Trip Thoughts

 Welcome everyone to another Ranger Recap, here on DOINow.com. As always, make sure to check out the right hand part of the site for the ARCHIVES section, for game recaps & thoughts, as well as opinion pieces on such topics as Frank Boucher, Yankees/Giants/Rangers vs Mets/Jets/Islanders, Strahan vs Barber, A-Roid & more. I'm always going to assume you've read previous writings here, on the new DOINOW.com and not going to rehash & explain points I've discussed previously.

The Rangers, as a complete team, are playing their best hockey during these last four games, which has produced their longest win streak of the season at 4. Some fans are ecstatic about this fact. It's good news. It also means that they haven't played this well until now, with 33% of the season already complete.

The Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, during their last game at home before this recent Western Canada trip, winning in OT, 4-3. It was another sad game for Henrik Lundqvist, where he choked a two goal lead, to force OT. The Rangers started their road trip beating those mothercanuckers in Vancouver, 5-1. The next night, the Rangers beat the Oilers 2-0, in a brutally boring affair. Last night, the Rangers finished the trip, winning 5-2 over the Flames. This would be a historic win, as this marked the first time in the history of the New York Rangers, that they swept a Western Canada road trip. If there is one thing to be said, the Rangers are getting much more goal production than in recent seasons.

Rick Nash, second in the league in Goals, continued his best season, individually, as a Ranger, with a two goal game. He perhaps was on his way to a hat trick, but Carl Hagelin, once again, struck an empty netter to seal the game for good. Nash is seemingly unbeatable on the breakaway this season and has scored a flurry of breakaway goals during the last few Ranger victories. It's amazing how great he's been this season, as this is the first season he's been truly 100% healthy. All a Ranger fan can hope for, is that this style of play continues come playoff time.

Chris Kreider also got on the board, ending a long goal-less drought, with a fluky type of goal with only 7 seconds left in the first period. Sometimes all you need is to have the announcer call out your name after a goal. He started off the second period hot, with several one-on-one chances, but was denied. For someone who meant so much to this team last season, you really want to see him get going. Hopefully his play last night will translate into something better as the Rangers move along the schedule.

Tanner Glass & Lance Bouma of the Flames, got into a fight during the second period. It looked like Bouma took a dive and went straight down. Perhaps he didn't want to catch the mumps? It looked like he wanted nothing to do with Glass at all. I don't think he was scared of Glass, as much as he was scared of having his face blow up to the point where he looked like Quagmire from "Family Guy".



 King Contract owes Kevin Klein a nice fat steak dinner from Peter Luger's when the Rangers return home from their road trip. It wouldn't be a Rangers blog from yours truly, without me pointing out that Hank looked shaky once again in net. Before Hagelin's empty net goal, the score was 4-1. Hank got bailed out by his best friend the post twice, which means he was beat twice. Then, Klein, not once, but TWICE, took a puck that beat Henry and cleared it out from the goal line, before the puck could pass it. He's done this several times this season. In addition to his scoring, Klein should get some Norris talk, but probably won't. He's been crucial in the Rangers success this season. Hank then looked like a toddler who shit himself in pre-K, and quickly allowed another goal with a minute left to play. It's like he can't control himself.

I've discussed how unworthy Hank is of his disgustingly high contract this season, on this site, and with Ranger fans all year. One of my friends Garrett Gorton said after the Pittsburgh game, that this trip, Hank would turn it around. I would argue that point, although the Rangers are keeping pace in the standings with these 8 consecutive points.

First off, read the Hank articles in the archives. The skinny is that he's blown 8 games for 13 points and is in the bottom half of the league in GAA & SVPCTG. 33% of the season is over. The Rangers, will have to scrape, kick and claw to get a upper echelon playoff seed. However, the money to Hank has been paid in full for those games. Will he refund his money to the Ranger fans who seen him give up 4,5,6 goals at home consistently? I have a better chance of seeing the Knicks win a game.

Now you might wonder how could I complain about a 4 game win streak. I'm not. I'm just putting into perspective. Some fans want to act like that this win streak means a Stanley Cup. Just look how the Rangers won these four games. 4 goals against Pittsburgh, after Hank choked a two goal lead. 5 goals in Vancouver, relieving Hank of any real pressure early on, as it was 3-0 before the game was 5 minutes old. A 2-0 win against the worst team in the league, where the Oilers only put up 16 shots and their coach Dallas Eakins was fired right after the game. Last night, the game was 4-0 at one point, and Hank wasn't only saved twice by the post, he was saved twice by Klein as well. So before you start putting your chest out and chanting "HEN-RY!", take into account that it has been the skaters on the ice that have been winning these games with massive goal scoring and superb defensive plays. Kevin Klein deserves a chant quicker than I would give Henry one, at this point in the season.

On a side note, since I watched the game live and not on DVR, I was looking for pictures of Klein bailing out Henry. There was not one picture on any official or unofficial Ranger fan site. The Rangers official site has pictures of Henry making saves, but conveniently left out pictures of Klein saving two goals. A little questionable if you ask me!

I need to see Hank consistently put up 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 victories where he's making 30+ saves. He hasn't done that really this year. Fans will say he has 5 shutouts, but forget they count shoot-out losses (which Hank has four of) as shut-outs too. Imagine what Brodeur or Roy's stats would be if an overtime loss still counted as a shutout? Cam Talbot has two real shut-outs and has the best game a Rangers goalie has played all season, in his win over Philadelphia, where he made 30+ saves to do so. He also had to deal against a 6 vs 4 advantage for the last 3:55 of a game.

It was funny hearing on "Joe & Evan" on WFAN 660 yesterday, how they were discussing that Cam Talbot's stellar play has lit a fire under Henry's ass and he's feeling the pressure. That's all a Ranger fan could want. Of course, the Billy Beane "Moneyball" in me, think that the Rangers are better off as a whole without Hank's contract, as Cam gives you the same production, but Talbot starting for the Rangers, sans a Hank injury, just isn't going to happen. Not with that disgusting contract. If Talbot continues to play well, the heat is on Henry to stop being a Swedish Slug that allows 4 goals on the regular at home.

Up next for the Rangers is a home-home with the last place Carolina Hurricanes. It is imperative the Rangers make this a 6 game win streak before dealing with a playoff contender in the Washington Capitals and tri-state rivals, the NJ Devils during Christmas week. The Rangers, like they did in Edmonton, have to stop playing to the level of their competition. The Rangers should show the 'Canes why they are a playoff team and handle business. Hank has already cost the Rangers 13 points this season and the Rangers can't afford anymore, with the way the Penguins and Islanders have been playing. Sure, in the NHL, it's about how you finish and not how you start, but there is no excuse for this team to be sweating out a spot come April. Nothing but a sweep against the Canes should be acceptable to any fan.

LET'S GO RANGERS

Feedback, comments, threats and autographed Cam Talbot memorabilia can go to:
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter gimmick