Knicks Get a Lesson

The Knicks couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in Philly tonight. And though they were able to keep it a game for a half, they absolutely got blown out in the second half. Gallinari got a few more minutes in garbage time and hit a pair of free throws. They have a lot to learn about defense.

10-2-1!!!!!!

Rangers beat the Thrashers 3-2 and the best player on the ice was the kid who is turning into a star before our eyes. Nik Zherdev had an insane goal and an assist in the 3rd to create two separate leads, including assisting on Girardi's game winner. Lundqvist was terrific and the two goals allowed were much more the responsibility of Rozsival and Kalinin. Those two may have to be broken up, and if there are any trade takers, please apply! Marcus Naslund had the Rangers' first goal which tied the game at 1 in the first. Zherdev's goal came on a power play, but not on the #1 power play that features Drury, Gomez, Naslund, Redden and Rozsival who were once again terrible with both 1 and 2 man advantages. Good as the record is, and it's great, the Rangers are not gonna challenge for the cup with a powerless powerplay. They've got to clean that up. In the third, Renney reunited the Zherdev/Dubinsky/Voros line and two points quickly followed. It will be interesting to see if he keeps then together going forward. Go Rangers!

Knicks Win

The D'Antoni era of Knicks basketball got of with a bang as the Knicks, looking like a TEAM, for the first time in several years, defeated Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat at the Garden. After dominating the first three quarters, the Knicks did look a little like the Isiah era team as they let the Heat back into the game in the 4th. It was probably not what Coach D'Antoni wanted to see in game one, but it was a welcome site for Knicks fans who just wanted to see some progress. At times they looked spectacular as 5 different Knicks scored 15 or more points and the team collected 27 assists. I don't really want to harp on any individual player in such a team effort, but Wilson Chandler is the deal. Here's the boxscore: http://www.nba.com/games/20081029/MIANYK/gameinfo.html

2 More Points!

The Rangers won their 3rd in a row by beating the Islanders 4-2 to move their overall record to 9-2-1. Captain Chris Drury busted out of his slump with the Rangers first and fourth goals. Callahan and Gomez also scored. Zherdev kept his point streak alive with an assist on Drury's first goal. The two goals the Rangers surendered were pretty annoying: the first with :07 left in the first to tie the game 1-1; the second, was shorthanded. Ugh. Beyond that the Rangers did finally manage to score in a 5 on 3 situation, but, otherwise the powerplay is still lacking. But, a great start is a great start and the passing seemed a little better tonight. Eventually they should play better. Go Rangers!

Giants Smack Steelers to move to 6 and 1!

Tom Coughlin once again put the team first and disciplined Plax by benching him for most of the first half, and the team responded by hanging together in a tough game, on the road, against a great opponent. What a game! The Giant O was a mess for much of the game, and the refs missing a TD and some holds sure didn't help, but once again, in the 4th quarter, Eli was clutch leading two scoring drives keyed by big passes to Toomer, Smith and a TD pass to Boss. The D was even sharper in the fourth, finishing the game with 5 sacks, 4 picks (Butler, Kehl, Webster and Phillips) and close to 20 hits on Big Ben. This was a huge win against as good an opponent as they are likely to see this year, and though they still need to tighten up some areas, they are improving. Go Giants!

Whither Plax

Plaxico Burress has been benched for the start of today's game against Pittsburgh. Apparently he missed some therapy appointments (we can only assume they were physical therapy appointments). Anyway, it's hard to understand what is going on here. Plax got his big deal and his legs are finally healthy, but now his championship level effort and commitment are just not there these days. And when they are not there, he cannot help the Giants. It will be interesting to see what Hixon does in is place.

What a Win!!!!!!!!!!!!

It took overtime and a shootout to get the second point, but the Rangers just electrified the Garden with a tremendous comeback victory. Down 2-0 after 2 the Rangers were able to tie it on a power play goal by Marcus Naslund and a goal at 19:51 by Nik Zherdev. King Hank was sensational in the 3rd, overtime and shootout allowing NOTHING. Freddie Sjostrom scored the only goal of the shootout, and Hank was able to stop Crosby to secure the win. The team has not gelled yet, and Drury, Gomez and some others are still not scoring, but the team does have heart and a great goalie. We saw that again tonight. 8-2-1, Go Rangers!

It's that time of year again!

Yup, as Halloween approaches, we'll once again turn out attention to Hammer and Universal Horror flicks. We'll probably be starting with the Hammer movies in the days leading up to Halloween, then play the Universal classics all day on the 31st. Happy Haunting

A Touch of Evil Alert

A Touch of Evil, Orson Welles' last classic will be on TCM starting at 10:45 EST. It of course features the coolest opening shot in movie history and should be seen at some point even if you can't watch it tonight.

D.O.A. Alert

The classic will be showing on TCM at 3:15pm est (12:15 pst). Catch it. I've seen it recently and will probably watch it again, it really is one of the best noirs and one of the best high concept flicks ever produced.

Saboteur on TCM

Saboteur (1942, Universal) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, Otto Kruger and Norman Lloyd is one of, if not Hitchcock's most underrated films. It basically takes the wrong man theme of 39 Steps to America and runs it West to East instead of North by Northwest and 17 years earlier. I think it is often confused with Hitchcock's earlier movie Sabotage, and I think it gets wrongly confused with the master's other wrong man stories. It's conceivable that the setting - in the munitions business at the dawn of WWII - has dated it for some, but that really shouldn't be the case. The flick is as strong today as it was on release and really deserves another look from everyone. Cummings was ultimately not the star that Donat, Grant or Fonda were, but his wrong man might be even more convincing because of that. Now, this flick is not always classified as a noir, but it certainly has the look (Joe Valentine DP) and feel of Hitchcock's other noirs and I'm pretty comfortable considering it among Hitchcock's large group of outstanding contributions to the cycle. It's on in 15 minutes: check it out!

The Street With No Name

The Street With No Name (1948, Fox) Directed by William Keighley and shot by Joe MacDonald and starring Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark and Lloyd Nolan. This flick crackles from it's opening mob rub out to it's federally finessed finale. This one is done in the semi-documentary style that a lot of law enforcement noirs employed. It gives an excuse for voice over, and lends a sense of truthfulness to an audience eager to believe in such a hip world. The dp was Joe MacDonald, who seems to have been under contract to Fox during the meat of the noir cycle. Though he didn't move around with the freedom of a John Alston or an Ernest Lazslo, he stands atop the same mountain. The enforcement of the law in this one falls to the FBI, and here, Keighley takes pleasure in showing us seemingly authentic training sequences. (A note about training sequences: whether they are taking place in a semi documentary noir, or on Spectre Island, or being taught to three crippled initiates by a Kung Fu Master, training sequences are always, always cool). Anyway, by observing agents training, Lloyd Nolan is able to pick just the right cat to go undercover in the mob who operate out of an old school boxing joint. Storylines just don't come much cooler. Street With No Name is definitely something you should see.

Rangers Lose

Marcus Naslund had a tip-in in the first minute of play and that was it for the Rangers tonight as they eventually lost 2-1 to Dallas at the Garden. Here endeth the hardest part of their schedule and overall, they did well. 6-2-1 is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering the number of new and young faces. Clearly, they've got to be more consistent on the forecheck and better on defense. With not more games till Friday, the Rangers could make a trade for a wing or a defender. The rumors were flying just before the season started, so we might see something now that they've got at least a vague idea of what they have. Rest up, Rangers.

Giants Win

Justin Tuck had a pair of forced fumble/sacks in the 4th quarter, one of which lead to a safety, that helped seal the Giants' 5th win of the season. For whatever reasons, and I'm not gonna play the blame game, the Giants offense couldn't get in rhythm today. Still, the Giants were more dominant than the 29-17 score would make you think. Seven 49er points were collected on a blocked FG which was returned for a TD. The run/pass mix will have to be better next weekend in Pittsburgh, but 5-1 is a great start, and I hope no one was expecting the Giants to peak in October. Go Giants!

Panic in the Streets

Panic In the Streets (1950, Fox) was directed by Elia Kazan and shot by Joe MacDonald and stars Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance and Zero Mostel, with music by Alfred Newman. From the first shots of New Orleans at night through the crazed conclusion this one thrills. Widmark plays a government doctor who has to ride shotgun over a disbelieving NOPD as they chase down a murder, infected with the pneumonic plague, before he can infect the city, the state and the country. This flick features great perfomances by all the stars, with Palance and Mostel really shining at the dawn of their respective film careers. Kazan did his typical great job here, but Joe McDonald really created the perfect noir New Orleans with his games of light and shadow. Do yourselves a favor and check it out.

Rangers Lose in Overtime

The Rangers, after coming back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to take a 4-3 lead in the 3rd period ended up losing 5-4 in overtime. While the Rangers showed lots of heart coming back on goals from Callahan, Dawes, Rozsival, and Voros, they let the Redwings tie it on a power play, then let them score the game winner just 23 seconds into overtime. Hank was not at his best tonight, but the Rangers didn't do him any favors by standing around till it was 2-0. Nevertheless, the Ranger now have 13 points through their first 8 games and we'd be thrilled with that kind of production all year. When they forechecked, the Wings didn't have many answers. They can play with the champs, and who knows? By the end of the year the Rangers might just know how to finish games like tonight's.

Rangers Win by Way of Shootout

The Rangers were flat for the first two periods before picking it up but hitting posts and missing tons of shots in the third. Valiquette was perfect through three periods and the overtime, before giving up a goal in the shootout that the Rangers won 2-1 on goals by Zherdev and Sjostrom. In general it looks like the schedule may be getting to the Rangers as they've been outskated in 4 of the last 6 periods. This is not the best news with another game coming up in Detroit tomorrow night. But, 2 points is 2 points, even if the other team got 1. Having twelve points after 7 games will always work. Go Rangers!

Rest in Peace

This hurts. Levi Stubbs, the legendary lead singer (or stylist, if you will) of the Four Tops has passed away at 72. He was a brilliant "phraser" and you could really hear his heart break on songs like "Bernadette," "Turn to Stone," "Climb Every Mountain," and so many others. "Precious memories keep a lingering on, every time I hear our favorite song..." God bless you, Levi, and thanks for so many precious memories.

Rangers Finally Lose

The Rangers got outskated at home by an injured Sabres team. The relative effort shown was inexcusable, so were the kick in by Betts, and the terrible plays by Rozsival and Drury that allowed the second and third goals. Drury seems to be off to another terrible start, and it's hard to see what the problem is. Maybe he's playing hurt of something, but he certainly isn't playing like a C. Let's hope they can give us a better effort and themselves a better chance next time.

Knicks Lose But...

This guy rocks. Wilson Chandler is looking more and more like a serious scorer who also plays D, hustles and rebounds. Lee, Nate and Randolph continued look impressive, as did Mardy Collins. Curry looked horrific and Duhon is not looking like the answer at the point yet. Crawford has yet to shine in a system that would seem to really benefit him. QRich started off slowly then hit some threes, then slowed down again. Marbury and Rose are just killing time in the Blue, White and Orange. It was a pretty good game, and it's easy to see how the Knicks just might improve in Coach D's system.

Meacham Out

The Yankees have not renewed the contract of 3rd base coach Bobby Meacham and so will have a new 3rd base coach next year. This was a good move, or at least, the first part of a good move. While this seemed necessary, it comes as a bit of a surprise as Girardi said all of his coaches would be kept. Rich Monteleone was also let go. Keep working, Yanks!

Giants Lose

I guess they were entitled to a bad game and they sure played and coached just that.

Rangers Move to 5-0

Dubinsky had a goal and 2 assists, while Aaron Voros had two goals (both redirects) and an assist, as the Rangers beat the Devils 4-1 in their first meeting of the year. Callahan had the final goal on an empty netter and everyone played pretty well. They did let the Devils rise up at times, but Hank limited the damage to a single goal. It doesn't get any easier from here, but the Rangers are off to a 5 and 0 start for the first time since the early `80's. Go Rangers.

Rest in Peace

Grim news has come from Russia that future Rangers superstar Alexei Cherepanov died today. He was 19 years old. My prayers go out to his family, the entire Ranger family and hockey players and fans everywhere. God bless you all.

The Sniper on TCM

The Sniper (Columbia, 1952) was directed by heavy hitter Edward Dmytryk and shot by Bernard Guffey. It stars Adolph Menjou, Marie Windsor(!), Richard Kiley, Frank Faylen, Arthur Franz and Gerald Mohr. This noir, about a young psychopath who goes around shooting women in San Francisco, is thought to have influenced the Zodiac Killer. When you see the gunsight logo's all over it, you'll understand the assumption. It's a taut tale with Menjou playing against type as the top cop. Good stuff and they are showing it on TCM at 2:30 pm est. What better way to spend the pre-Giants Columbus Day?

Gonzo?

Over the past few days there have been plenty or rumor about Tony Gonzalez being on the trading block and wanting to come to the Giants. Far as I can tell, the rumors are true, but a deal is unlikely. Chief GM Carl Peterson characterized talks between the two teams as "unproductive." Though that doesn't really mean anything, I don't see Jerry Reese blinking and capitulating. He's not Hank Steinbrenner. Would Gonzalez improve the team? No question about it, but not at the price of one of our twos or our three. The deadline is Tuesday, and things will be clear one way or another by then. Go Giants.

4 and Oh!

Steven Valiquette got his first win of the season as the Rangers beat the Flyers 4-3 to ruin the Flyers home opener. It was a weird game. The Rangers got out to a 4-0 first period lead on goals by Zherdev, Betts, Rozsival and Sjostrom. It looked like a blowout. But, in the second period the Rangers gave up a short handed goal and then the Flyers were awarded another goal on a play where they knocked down Vali and no goaltender interference was called. They picked up another goal in the third and the Rangers had to kill several penalties, including a 5-3 before it was over. The first line remains snake bit as Naslund and Gomez both hit posts and Drury missed two from point blank. The rest of the Rangers looked like they might be a little burnt over the last two periods. The gift goal from the refs didn't help, and several uncalled interferences by the Flyers were no fun, but the Rangers found a way to hold on and get the two points. That's what matters. Go Rangers.

Knicks Win

David Lee is basically the Brandon Dubinsky of the Knicks, but he's gonna make a lot more dough a lot sooner. The Knicks came back from an early deficit to beat the 76ers 109-101 as Lee added 19 points and 15 rebounds. Duhon and Randolph had 19 and 18 respectively and a total of 6 Knicks scored in double figures in the second action of the D'Antoni era.

Rangers Win!

We are in danger of this becoming a Brandon Dubinsky tribute blog. The kid was once again the best player on the ice tonight as he tallied 1 goal and two assists. His linemates Voros and Zherdev also had a goal and an assist with Wade Redding adding the first goal in the Rangers 4-2 victory over a very game Blackhawk team. I'd say the Blackhawks are futher along with team chemistry, but the Rangers still managed to put them away because of some more great goaltending from Hank and the great play of the Dubinsky line. The Rangers are gonna need to get a little more from their first and third lines, but things are coming along. 6 points in three games is the best they could have done.

Tomorrow, the Rangers take on the Flyers in Philly for the second of their 6 games in 9 nights spell. The Rangers really need to do well in this stretch while they're still gelling. It will start them out in great playoff position. Go Rangers.

Knicks Tonight

The Knicks will tip-off against the substantially improved `76ers tonight in Philly. The game will be cast on MSG2, if you can find it, and will be available in Knicks in 60 format on regular MSG later. As the Knicks are handcuffed by their cap situation, there will be no changes in the line-up. Galinari and Curry are expected to start playing next week.

Rangers Tonight

The Rangers faceoff against the Chicago Blackhawks, in a match-up involving 33.333% of the original six tonight at the Garden. The game will air on MSG starting at 7pm est. So far, Prucha has been scratched for Sjostrom and perhaps a trade. No other line switches have been made public. One wonders what Fritsche, of the lasers blasts from the right circle, will have to do to get a jersey. Anyway, so far, no Shanny, and that's probably a good thing. Go Rangers.

Whither Prucha?

With Shanny apparently on the way back, it appears that Petr Prucha is on the way out. The subject of trade rumors since right after his impressive rookie year, Prucha has become more and more available and now it seems he will be going somewhere to make room for over the hill Shanahan. Hopefully, the Rangers will combine someone whose value isn't at an all time low with Prucha to bring back something good. Hopefully, Prucha will have good luck wherever he lands, he always played hard for the Rangers.

the D'Antoni Era Begins

The Knicks began the D'Antoni era by losing a close one to the Raptors in Toronto. Though the result was more of the same, the effort sure wasn't and it looks like the Knicks can be a lot better once they start hitting their 3's and limiting turnovers. Now, though 3pt % and the turnovers sucked, the team had a lot of assists, and players like Lee, Wilson, Randolph and Nate looked good. Duhon had a rough game as did Crawford and Steph to a certain extent. Steph looked healthier and does seem to have regained his ability to get to the rack and the line. In fact the whole team did a good job of getting to the line in the first half, only to barely get there at all in the second half. Anyway, the energy was good and so was the effort. Let's hope it amounts to something. Go Knicks.

There Goes Team Speed

We are now hearing from all over that the Rangers have indeed re-signed Shanny. Love the guy, but he has been cooked for awhile now. Is it their plan to only used him on power plays? And what does this do for Fritsche, who showed plenty in pre, but hasn't gotten a jersey yet. Oh well. It will be interesting to see how they clear the roster spot to add Shanny. A good trade, like the one for Zherdev would alleviate some of the issues that adding Shanny has created.

Ranger Rumors

It almost seems natural that with so many excess forwards on the NHL roster, the Rangers might be looking to trade a few. The latest rumor is Dawes and Prucha for Ryan Kesler and maybe another player in a bigger deal for the Vancouver Canucks. Kesler is a good sized wing who the Rangers would then add to the second line with Dubinsky and Zherdev. Another less reasonable rumor has the Rangers making a two for one trade to make roster room for Brendan Shanahan. Now all hockey fans love Shanny, but he really needs to retire, and the Rangers really need to stop enabling farewell tours . With so many days between games, you had to expect some rumors, so here they are.

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly (1955, United Artists) Directed by Robert Aldrich, shot by Ernest Laszlo and featuring original music by Frank DeVol is playing - in letterbox format - on TCM this month. KMD is one of the gems of the late peak noir cycle. Ralph Meeker plays Mike Hammer, who, after picking up a pretty hitchhiker, getting jumped and seeing her beaten, goes after the "great whatsit" he heard something about during the beating. The whatsit, as many of you already know, turns out to be the glowing briefcase we would later see in Pulp Fiction this time it carrying an exotic form a radium. Things get awfull messy and never really get better in this one, but it's easily the best of the Mike Hammer flicks, and Aldrich, Laszlo and DeVol as well as a swell cast made it so. Check it out.

The Big Combo

The Big Combo (1954, Security Pictures) Directed by Joseph H. Lewis, shot by the amazing John Alton, and starring Cornell Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donleavy, Jean Wallace, Earl Holliman, Lee Van Cleef, Whit Bissell and a host of other habitual noir habitues, The Big Combo may be the most underrated flick ever. An absolutely brutal story of one detective's obsessive pursuit of a sadistic mobster named Mr. Brown is also among the most inkily beautiful noirs ever put to film. The script is tight and the performances are as understated as they are outrageous. And Alton is once again pouring the ink and shedding the light. If you haven't seen this one, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's one of the greatest noirs ever made.

Chuck Stays Amuck

Chuck's back for a second season and has continued grow as really likable series. Not only do we get our 8 o'clock allotment of danger, but we also get the funniest spy show since Get Smart! was new. Fortunately, it's not another swing at the Get Smart! set-up. It's a little more clever than attempts like those were. The villains are real enough, and the regular cast rocks. This is more school of Flint, Helm or `60's era Bulldog Drummond than what we're used to seeing, supplemented with better character comedy at the BuyMore and Chuck's house than we're seeing in most sit-coms these days. Of the three new shows with the most potential that bowed on NBC last year, only Journeyman is gone. I'm glad they've stuck with Chuck and Life.

Dexter Keeps Slicing and Dicing

Dexter is back for a third season on Showtime and it looks to be off to another interesting and unsettling start. This year, Dexter has already discovered that he's gonna be a dad, and we know that Deb Morgan is under a lot of pressure from IA to rat out another officer, obviously this leads to a lot of cursing from Deb. What's more, Dexter has inadvertantly killed the seemingly stand-up brother of DA Jimmy Smits. Yup, they've brought in Jimmy Smits. Now, I have to admit something, "bringing in Jimmy Smits" always seems like a stale idea to me. But you know what? He's always really fricking good. They've been "bringing in Jimmy Smits" for the past 20 or more years for one reason: he's a really good actor who can create just about every possible reaction you will want from an audience, and the character he's created for Dexter is already both full of pathos and the possibility menace. Looks like we're in for another good season.

No Plax - No Prob

The Giants absolutely destroyed the Seahawks today. But for some inoportune penalties on the D, it would have been a shutout. Eli threw for 267 yeards and 2 TD's to Hixon and Moss in the 3 quarters he played. Carr added another TD pass to Moss in the fourth. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 136 yards and two TD's and Carney was 3-3 on field goals. Frankly, it could have been worse if the Giants had stayed aggressive after the first TD drive of the second half. It was that kind of Giant dominance. Unfortunately, both Hixon and Kareem McKenzie had to leave the game with concussions, Hixon had over 100 receiving yards in the first half when he got his bell rung. Kevin Boothe filled in for Kareem, and gave up a sack before settling in and taking his part in the drubbing.

What this really showed is that the team is bigger than any individual, and that Eli doesn't need Shockey or Plax to get it done. The team responded beautifully to Plax's suspension and the depth, especially Hixon and Moss really shined in his absence. Mario Manningham also had his first NFL catch and special teams tackle.

Great game, Go Giants!

4 Points

Wade Redden had a power play goal and an even strength assist on Scottie Gomez's game winner as the Rangers once again beat the Lightning 2-1 collecting all 4 of the points up for grabs in their opening series in Prague. The Rangers dominated the first period but were down 1 at the break after Hank let an Adam Hall redirect trickle in. The Rangers bounced back with 2 goals in a second period they also dominated, then seemed to play a bit of their famous prevent in the 3rd. Fortunately the Lightning didn't score and the Rangers moved to 2-0 on the season. Kalinin looked a lot better today, and that's a relief. Go Rangers!

Rangers Win!

In an energetic but somewhat sloppy game the Rangers beat the Lightning 2-1 on a Brandon Dubinsky power play goal. Marcus Naslund had the other Ranger goal off a great assist from Gomez. Lundqvist was great early and the only goal he gave up was just a terrific play by Martin St. Louis. The O and the D looked a little off, which lead to lots of turnovers as the players are getting to know each other. But, the Rangers played with heart and came away with the first two points of the season. The first three lines looked really good, as did Staal on D. Let's hope they look even better tomorrow. Go Rangers!

Prucha Will Play

Petr Prucha will be in the line-up afterall for the Rangers as they open the season against the Lightning in Prague. He will take Sjostrom't spot on the 3rd line with Korpikoski and Callahan. I'm feeling very good right about our top three lines, but realize all of the forwards will have to backcheck to help the possibly soft D all they can. The game starts in about a half an hour. Go Rangers!

Life

Life is back, and has settled into it's new spot on Friday night's at 10est. This show that was interrupted last year by our WGA strike, remains one of the best on TV. Charlie Crews is simply one of the best and most fun cops we've ever seen on network, and Sarah Shahi does a great job playing way against type as his troubled partner with a past of her own, and whose father may or may not have set Charlie up in the first place. And Adam Arkin, as Crews's ex-con accountant is better than he's ever been before. The main characters are all haunted as hell, but it doesn't stop them for going after justice. Catch it or record it Friday night's at 10, or watch it at NBC.com when you have the time. Check it out.

Just heard the next episode will be on this coming Monday after Heroes.

Captain Chris

In what was not a suprise to most Ranger fans, Chris Drury was named the 25th captain in Ranger history tonight in Prague. Drury will be assisted by Scottie Gomez and Mats Naslund, making for a very officious #1 line to start the season. Drury was the obvious choice because he is tough, responsibly and big in the clutch. Naslund had been the captain of the Canucks, but Scottie Gomez will be wearing his first letter. Let's hope it doesn't slow him down.

The second line will be Dawes/Dubinski/Zherdev, and Dawes needs to pick it up. T he 3rd line will be Sjostrom/Korpikoski/Callahan and the fourth line to start the season will be Voros/Betts/Orr. The scratches look like Fritsche/Rismiller/Prucha and that, to me, looks like a better 4th line than the one we will be rolling out. I'm having a little trouble believing Sjostrom is starting over Fritsche and Prucha and that Betts is starting over Rismiller. Hopefully, the Rangers will finally be a meritocracy this year and things will be straightened out as the season moves forward.

Less than 24 hours till the puck drops in the Czech Republic. Go Rangers!

Noir Night on TCM

Tonight, starting at 8 pm est. TCM will be showing Boomerang followed by He Walked by Night, Naked City, Brute Force, The Captive City and Down Three Dark Streets. They're showing a documentary about crime films to start the evening. You want to see these flicks if you haven't yet. The first four are more or less classics, the last two are lesser known, but cool none the less. Use your DVR's where necessary and just wait till you get a load of Hume Cronyn as the most sadistic captain of the guard in prison flick history in Brute Force. Enjoy.

BTW, TCM has been showing a bunch of noir's lately, so, by all means keep checking their schedule: http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=10/02/2008&timezone=EST&cid=N

Rangers Win the Victoria Cup!

In what was a tremendous bonus for hockey fans, The Rangers came back from a 3-0 mid secod deficit to win the first annual Victoria Cup by defeating Mettalurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Central League in Bern, Switzerland. Drury keyed the comeback scoring the first and third goals, Fritsche scored the second goal, and Callahan scored the Cup winner on a takeaway and a great move. It was a really exciting game, and there was even a cheesy Cup ceremony following the contest. I hope what we saw during the comeback was the Rangers starting to gel. This is a skilled team that's defensively responsible and really knows how to capitalize on turnovers. Hank was shaky in the early going but came around and made some big saves to keep the comeback coming in the 3rd. In all, I don't think the Rangers couldn't have had a better preseason finale, and Drury seems to have earned the C. The real games start Saturday and I hope the effort carries over. Go Rangers!