Stay away from Flynn, Smith, etc and REBUILD

The NFL Playoffs.  An exciting time for fans of the few teams still competing and for fans that finally get to see what real football looks like.  It’s also the time when coaches and GMs are getting hired and stating the ‘new direction’ they will be taking their team in.  Unfortunately for my Jets, we don’t have a GM yet because running this team is a Mark Sanchez size black mark on their resume`.

Seriously.  It has been reported that between the current roster, our cap situation, and our coaching situation potential GMs are turning down promotions and saying ‘thanks, but no thanks.’  David Caldwell even went so far as to turn down the Jets offer which included a reported $1 million housing allowance.  Let that sink in for a moment…This man chose to go to a team that has drafted worse than the Jets, finished 2-14 last season, and has agreed to play home games in London because their attendance is so bad OVER the big market Jets AND a housing allowance in addition to a great salary.  If that doesn’t give you an indication of how desperate this team is nothing will.

Whoever the Jets coerce persuade to become GM will have a big decision to make regarding this team’s realistic chance of competing.  Will he upgrade the roster as best as possible, get lucky in the draft, and improve the Jets to 8-8 for the next few seasons in hope of signing an extension?  Probably.  That is the safe bet, and that is the bet that makes Woody Johnson more money by keeping butts in the seats.  It would, however, be the wrong choice.

For lack of better words this team needs to be blown up.  This should include (as much as I hate to say it) trading Revis, Cromartie, and anyone else that can bring back draft picks.  Before you call me crazy answer this question: Will the Jets win a Super Bowl in the next 3-4 years?  The answer, undoubtedly is no.  By the time the Jets have enough talent on this team their current ‘super stars’ will be past their prime.  This team had their chance of players in their prime ready to win 4 years ago, but decided to trust that team with a rookie quarterback.  Now it is too late.  They need to let their young guys develop (although they don’t have many) and stockpile enough draft picks over the next 2-3 years to mold as a solid team one or two pieces away from being a contender.  Only then will they be able to do what they’ve done up in New England-compete every year.

It would be a mistake to think that this team is a quarterback away from being a contender.  With all due respect to Payton Manning and Tom Brady I don’t think even they would make this team a contender.

It might force Woody to look at more empty seats and declining profits but it is the only way to properly re-build.

Why I’m Returning to the NHL

Anger, disappointment, rage and bitterness.  All of these are decent adjectives to describe how I have felt since September reading about the Lockout.  I don’t need to share my thoughts on how unnecessary this lockout was; many have shared these thoughts for months.  I’m also not here to point fingers or assign blame because that has been done as well.

The reason I am writing is maybe more for me than for anyone else.  I don’t know why I feel the need to justify my decision to welcome back hockey even after they have shut the doors three times in Gary Bettman’s reign of terror, but I do.  Ultimately it is true, that fans like me allow the owners to continue these lockouts knowing their bottom lines will suffer a little in the immediate term, but will continue to soar as they did after the 04 lockout.  Yes, it is also true that if fans spoke with their wallets we wouldn’t be abused so frequently.

It is also true, however, that this is a game and for those of us not directly involved it is simply entertainment.  I look forward to rushing home from work to catch the Rangers game in the 2nd period, crack open a cold beer and grade some papers while enjoying the best athletes in the world put it all on the line.  I enjoy wearing my Red, White, and Blue and screaming at the TV while others mockingly ask me what sport I am watching.  I grew up watching and playing this game and it brings me great joy.

I have simply chosen that I have enough to worry about in my own life-bills, work, home responsibilities, etc. that I do not want to feel responsible for proving a point.  Sure, if there were an organized boycott that would send a loud message I would consider, but what would actually need to happen to send a message would be the destruction of a game I enjoy.  How would anyone ‘win’ if that were to happen?

There will always be bitterness and mistrust between myself (and many other fans) and the NHL but at the end of the day it is still the greatest game on earth and I don’t see the benefit in depriving myself of enjoying a cold beer, the New York Rangers, and a stack of quizzes and tests.

Another One Bites the Dust!

Oh Copenhagen, it is too bad that our time together was so short.  I think that we were on tot he start of a promising relationship…

While my flight into Copenhagen was delayed the rest of the trip operated at full speed.  After arriving at the Central Train Station I easily found my hotel which was only 2 blocks away situated between about 12 7-11s.  Seriously, I have never seen so many 7-11′s before.  It was as if we were in the corporate capital of the company.  After checking in I met up with Chris and Jackie and we went straight to the harbor.  Along the way we saw some magnificent buildings.  Some of these were extremely old, others were more modern, but all fit into the city culture beautifully. Combined with the canals and the waterfront the city had a glow to it without any sunlight needed.

After seeing some of the tourist attractions we found a wonderful cafe and watched the events in the town square; some incredible jump roping, a guitar/drum playing musician with a great voice, and many locals strolling about for the evening.  We stopped into a few shops and decided to head back for a little rest before exploring the night-life.

Our goal was to go to a local jazz club but the exchange rate was a little more than we were prepared to handle.  We bounced around from a few squares and stayed out long enough for me to make my St. Mary’s conference call.  We then enjoyed a nice park and called it a night just before A.J. Burnett saved the Yankees season.

This morning we met nice and early and explored the other half of the city, culminating with the Carlsberg brewery.  Carlsberg is the 5th largest brewery in the world which was a surprising fact.  The history and the tour were incredible, as were the complimentary beers.  We then had some Carlsberg that is only sold in Denmark, and we are quite mad it is not available in the states.  After having some lunch we enjoyed a few of the main parks and a beautiful labyrinth where we waited out the rain.  From there I headed back to the hotel to take the train back to the airport, which is where I sit.

Unfortunately I decided to treat myself to a nice scarf since Stockholm will be pretty cold.  A beautiful sales person told me I would look great in a particular scarf, and even showed me how to properly put it on.  I was surprised to see the pricetag of only 82 Krone (about $16) but was ecstatic at the great find.  At checkout I had a wonderful conversation about life in California and about where I should go in Stockholm.  I was so enamored that I just signed blindly, knowing I had made a great purchase.  It wasn’t until I saw the receipt and the tag in my bag that I noticed it was actually 82 Euro (about $100).  This was quite upsetting, but well worth the scarf and the time we had together!!

I sit here waiting for flight 4170 on Norwegian Air and can’t wait to get into Stockholm.  My cousin Catrina and her friend Emily are already waiting, and Chris and Jackie will get in in the morning.

Clearly the 5 of us will have a good time!

LETS GO RANGERS!!!

Copenhagen Here We Come!

Wow!  If I get back to Amsterdam next week it will have been too long.  I know what everyone thinks of when they think of Amsterdam and yes, that is one side of the city, but the richness of the culture and the beauty of the city cannot be easily put into words.  

Amsterdam is one of the few cities where you can walk from a crowded town square with bars and restaurants to a quiet waterfront cafe in 2 minutes.  It is also the only city where you can walk for an entire day without seeing one stop sign or traffic light.  Somehow the bikes, mopeds, cars and pedestrians find a way to coexist without the need for regulation and laws.  

Here is a brief rundown of what we did in Amsterdam (the PG version of course!)

Saturday Night Arrival:

After arriving at about 6pm after about 14 hours of travel the only thing I wanted to do was go out.  I met up with Chris and Jackie and we went to New Market which is a beautiful square.  We enjoyed several beers before walking around and visiting a few cafes.  We then decided that our goal was to find the Yankee game (2:30 local start).  We stopped into several bars which looked promising but after several beers realized Jackie was the only female in the entire bar.  Finally at our 6th choice we found a place with the game and an incredible burger spot next door.  5 minutes before gametime we realized we were exhausted and headed back!

Sunday:

Sunday was a promising day from the very beginning.  We met around 10am and went to a cafe and an incredible pancake spot.  The Nutella pancake was probably the greatest breakfast in the entire world.  We then went on a 2 hour walking tour (self guided) of the city featuring many canals and points of interest.  As we approached the van Gogh museum we spotted a quiet park where I took about a 30 minute nap since there is nothing quite as good as park sleeping.  From there we went to a cafe for some lunch and some beers.  Our waitress, while friendly was probably the only person in the world (in the food business at least) that has never heard of Jameson…

We then strolled to the van Gogh museum only to find a 2 hour line.  Clearly not in the mood for waiting we decided to come back to the museum tomorrow and to go to the Heineken brewery instead…  The brewery tour was awesome.  It combined old world artifacts with new world technology to bring the brewery alive.  At the end of the tour is the Heineken experience bar where you get two complimentary drinks.  Following the tips from FourSquare we stood near the exit and everyone that was leaving that didn’t drink gave us their free drink vouchers.  Needless to say this greatly enhanced the experience.

Upon our walk back we encountered a beautiful corner cafe and decided to sit outside at sunset for a couple of beers.  I set up my camera on the tripod to take time lapse photos which I plan on turning into a video.  The amount of people we got to talk to simply due to a camera flash was incredible.  We had the time of our lives simply watching peoples reactions as they walked by.  The ones that came over for conversation were even more interesting!  Unfortunately for me that is where my nose bleeds picked up.  Either from blowing my nose too much (dam cold) or the weather, I was getting uncontrollable nose bleeds.  After returning to the hotel it was obvious I would be unable to go out that night as I lay in bed bleeding every 20-30 minutes.

Monday

Monday was perfect.  We went for a canal ride around the city which not only taught us a lot but allowed us to just relax in the beauty that is Amsterdam.  We arrived at the van Gogh museum and was blown away by the paintings.  I’ll admit I’m not a huge art fan, but this guy was pretty dam good.  The highlight, however, was my astute observation at one photo.  Setting: In the middle of the museum there is one of 3 known photographs of van Gogh.  It is him and a friend sitting at a table along the water, and a man standing in the street.  Everyone is admiring van Gogh when I comment (much louder than I thought…) about the ridiculously huge pile of horse shit in the middle of the street that a man is just staring at.  Everyone turns around and tries to identify the source of such observation only to be shocked (I’m sure) when they find it was me…

After the museum we went to an ‘Irish pub’ right on the waterway.  The weather was uncharacteristically gorgeous we were told.  We walked around the square a little bit and then jumped on another canal cruise back to the hotel.  Since this cold is still bogging me down I took some medicine and went to sleep while Chris and Jackie went out.

Tuesday

We woke up early to head to Central Station for the train to the airport.  Upon our arrival it was pointed out to me that my flight is delayed 45 minutes.  Security was a breeze and we went to a cafe/bar in the airport.  After having a few drinks we went our separate ways to our planes.  My flight is delayed 45 minutes but still hasn’t arrived so we will see how long the delay really is.

I will update again from Copenhagen.  Thanks for reading!!

All Aboard!

We’ve got a pretty empty flight to Amsterdam which is only 45 minutes once in the air.  The announcements were in Dutch which reminded me that it has been a long time since I’ve been in a country with a different official language.  I think as long as I learn how to say bier I will be ok!

9 and a half Hour Flight

It’s incredible how quick the time goes when you have free movies, drinks, and food.  It is also incredible how annoying certain people are on planes, like the French guy behind me that wouldn’t turn off his computer and sneezed/coughed on me the entire time.  Of course now that I am awaiting my connection in London all I can do is sneeze and cough, wonderful!

I hope to shake this cold by tomorrow morning, keep your fingers crossed!

And So Begins My Trip

As I sit at the FireWood grill at SFO I can’t help but think how lucky I am to begin this trip to Northern Europe.  It seems like only a few months ago I was thinking about how great this trip could be, traveling to Stockholm to see the Rangers.  After thinking, and dreaming, and thinking some more it morphed into an eleven day journey that will take me from San Francisco, to Amsterdam, to Copenhagen and finally Stockholm.

Some people think I am crazy when they hear I am going for a hockey game, but to me it is much more.  In my family sports are sacred, and time spent watching the game is like time spent with family.  I know the first time I hear the Potvin chant I will recall my dad teaching me about Denis Potvin, and why he sucks!  I’m also blessed to be joined by some friends and family who will undoubtedly make the trip even more enjoyable.

As I finish my second Guiness and head to the British Airways gate I hope you decide to join me along my journey.  I will update with photos, videos, and thoughts of life abroad.