IT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST EXPERIENCES OF MY NATURAL LIFE!!!!!
Hope that wasn't too loud for you. See, there we are, Section 402, row F, hanging over the corner to the left of Mike Richter, for two fantastic nights, two fantastic Ranger wins.
First was Tuesday, as the Rangers blow a 2-0 lead only to score on a pulled-goalie, frantic goal-mouth scramble chip-in by Lucky Robitaille, who I'll admit was one of my whipping boys through the year. Then Esa Tikkanen, the man without a knee, streaked down the right side directly in front of us, wound, fired, and...hit the post? Weird-sounding ''thunk'' and no ''clang,'' though...Marouelli goes up to replay, and...IT'S IN! GOAL! GOAL! THE RANGERS WIN! And we're jumping up and down, pounding on the roof of the Blueseats, singing the goal song (Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh.....oohhhh, ohhh ohh,...... ohhhh ohh ohhhhh....ohhh ohhh ohhhh.... HEY! HEY! HEY-HEY-HEY!) and the Ranger Victory Song and flat-out going nuts.
And then less than 24 hours later, we got to watch Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player in the history of the world, score a hat trick, all three goals again right in front of us. It was sorta mind-boggling. I know from now on I'll be facing Brantford and saying ''Thanks, Wayne-o!!!!!''
Two nights later, my boys put the Panthers away, and now we're waiting to see who's next on the Playoff run. And, well, future wins will be more important, but it's going to be tough to find two more fun.
And of course, I have to thank my family. They supported me when I needed it, bawled me out when I deserved it, and basically make this whole life experience worthwhile. I owe that piece of paper to them above all others.
It's over.
Off to the links!
Okay, I'm giving in: My WHAT'S NEW! page.
Just in case any of you are frequent visitors, I'll point out big changes and highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be).
Some info. and nostalgia about a good team that barely deserved to die. If you can contribute, please let me know.
The Classic Sports Network Homepage--my new favorite television station (hell, if you give me Wings-Leafs from 1964 and Home Run Derby, what else could you be?).
My baseball page, with some amazing links and neat stuff (including a link to the official homepage of my 'hometown' New Haven Ravens, plus some New York Met farm team sites)
We got the Cup! We got the Cup! Well, OK, it's been two years now, but the rush is still there. And besides, we got Gretzky. Link here for a tribute to the 1985-86 Rangers, who got halfway to the Cup although they deserved to have been halfway through great golf courses...
I leave it here because you can still get some scores through it--gotta admit, though, I'm kinda ticked off that it now requires a (paid) subscription for some services. Anyway. Great source for Ivy and Patriot League college FB scores late on a Saturday afternoon.
A more general hockey page of links, with links to pages that include the NHL's and the NHLPA's pages
Dave Barry's Columns at the Miami Herald's web site.
Radio links--don't get excited, just three stations
A coupla musically related things, still being built but functional anyway--Help figure out the connection to my musical tastes! A question that has stumped the experts....
My newspaper page with a couple of cool links
My Columbia Fencing page, the fruits of my labor...and my trips across the nation with the fencing team.
A link to the web page of my favorite basketball team (sorry, Alma Mater)--the Fordham Basketball homepage
My top ten ways to improve golf as a spectator sport
The Official Ivy League Homepage, kept at Princeton, where the office is located. Makes eminent sense, no? Anyways, some decent stuff, including good updates on some sports (especially the ones that are done...)
The Simpsons Archive, at the clever name of ''snpp.com.'' On here is Don Del Grande's Upcoming Episodes Guide.
My Beavis and Butthead parody page--done in loving imitation. Huh huh.
United Features Syndicate's comics page, featuring several of my favorite comics including Peanuts (still one of my two must-reads), Dilbert, Rose is Rose and Jump Start.
CBS's home page, which includes some interesting Letterman links.
Joe Brennan's transit page, a must-checkout for a subway buff of any kind.
The Official Columbia homepage, if you're interested
The Official Hopkins homepage, currently sparse but still devoted to my high school!
Some notes on my beloved family
Despite their pathetically small number, my Friends' homepages.
And of course, some boring notes about me
POSTSCRIPT: Why there just aren't any pretty pictures here