Botta "falls off the couch" as Rangers awarded Hummer

from Chris Botta's blog....
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Sunday, April 6, 2008
Metro Ice Capades (or someone owes the Children's Foundation at least 25 grand)
If you're like me, you probably fell off the couch when Sam Rosen announced after the Rangers' loss today to the Devils that the Blueshirts had won the Hummer Metro Ice Challenge and would receive $50,000 for their charity.

The Islanders, by virtue of their shootout win in the Garden on Friday night, had a one-point lead in the Challenge going into today's game. When the Rangers only got a point in New Jersey today, I had assumed the Challenge was a tie and perhaps 25 K each would go to the Islanders' and Rangers' charities.

Then Sam made his most stunning announcement since the one last year when he said the NYI were eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs.

(This paragraph serves as my official statement that, of course, I would much rather be blogging about the Islanders going into the playoffs than this. But it is what it is. And what it is, I think, is a scam).

You would think there might be two logical tie-breakers - if there was a need to break the tie:

1. wins within the Challenge (Islanders win)
2. Islanders-Rangers head-to-head (Islanders win)

After Sam's stunner - I mean, there wasn't even an explanation! - I called Al Trautwig in the studio. Al was suitably sympathetic but didn't have an answer for me. He said, "Are you officially protesting"? My response was as profane as it was affirmative.

I called an "impeccable source" at the Garden next. He/she told me there was a rumor that it was decided recently that if the Rangers and Islanders ended the Challenge in a tie, the title would go to the Rangers because they had the better regular season record.

Now if you can tell me what Rangers victories against teams outside of the, uh, Metro area have to do with this, I'll give you $50,000.

This is about right and wrong. This is about not laying down. This is about $50,000, or at least $25,000, for the New York Islanders Children's Foundation.

This, my friends, is not over.
Posted by Chris Botta>>

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.