Isles to honor cancer survivors

In a subject close to my heart - since my mother has recently battled and fought leukemia - the Islanders will take time to honor cancer survivors during the month of October. Sponsored by OSI Pharmaceuticals, the team will look to "increase cancer awareness by telling the inspirational stories of the numerous cancer survivors that support the team," according to an Islanders press release.

Fans can submit stories of their own battle or from someone they know, in order to be considered for free tickets on October 28 - a Hockey Fights Cancer game - against the Rangers. Click here for more information on this.

(Photo courtesy of the Islanders website)

Isles innovative with "Cup of Coffee" posts

Many people are still trying to get used to reading news on the Internet - some may never go to the dark side. The Islanders' online media staff has taken it upon themselves to launch small news blurbs called "NYI Cup of Coffee," so fans do not have to sit and read full-length stories.

The image to the right is what appears on the Islanders' website. Click here to see an example of this coffee blurb.

Newsday has new Isles beat reporter

Katie Strang (not pronounced Strange) replaced Greg Logan on the Islanders' beat at Newsday earlier this month. It has been years since Alan Hahn covered the team - my early favorite writer and a die-hard Islanders fan - so for me, Katie has big shoes to fill. Not Logans (although he did a solid job covering the team), but Hahns.

So far, Strang has done a good job with the limited coverage she can provide in the summer. A graduate of Michigan State and Columbia University's J-School, Strang is on the fast track. She barely spent anytime on the high school staff, where other journalism careers have died at Newsday.

I have covered college lacrosse games with Strang at Stony Brook on a number of occasions and she always spoke the loudest and asked the most thought-provoking questions. Based on that, I know she'll do the same with her new beat.

Good luck, Katie!

Higgins, Gilroy playing for Blue Shirts

Matt Gilroy and Chris Higgins share something in common with me - they're Long Island natives. They are also separated by one distinct measuring point that creates enemies - they are members of the New York Rangers.

Higgins, who hails from Smithtown and was recently acquired by the Rangers from Montreal, grew up a die-hard Habs fan, so playing for the Blue Shirts isn't as sweet as it sounds. However, when I spoke to Higgins last month he was more than thrilled to be playing for one of the Original Six teams.

Gilroy, who is from North Bellmore, finished a stellar career at Boston University, leading the Terriers to a national title and grabbing the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top college hockey player. He signed with the Rangers shortly after his unthinkable senior season.

Both Higgins and Gilroy have very likable personalities. It's a shame they aren't playing for the other New York hockey team - the one on their native island. But, they are both happy with their place in the hockey world. They both have also been working out and skating at The Rinx in Hauppauge over the summer.

So, Islanders fans, when you are watching the Islanders-Rangers games this year and see Higgins and Gilroy on the ice, be proud. Don't hate on them - just the rest of the team.

Isles send out game operations survey

If you subscribe to the Islanders Insider email service - which rarely sends interesting emails - this week you got a note asking you to fill out a "game operations" survey. So, here are the questions and my answers to each one:

They are rated on a scale of 1-5 (1 being very dissatisfied and 5 being very satisfied).

1. The music played at Islanders games, such as warm-up music, songs on whistles, audio prompts, and pump-up songs: I said 4, which is satisfied. It's fine. The experience is good because it's a hockey game of NHL quality. It's not mind-blowing and I've seen better, but it is sufficient.

2. The quality and frequency of the live organ: I said 3, neutral. It's good, but I could always use a little more. I was at Citi Field for a Mets game the other day and the organist was amazing, playing 70s and 80s songs with the natural organ flair. We need more of that at the Nassau Coliseum.

3. The intermission t-shirt giveaways, such as the t-shirt guns and the 12-barrel gatling cannon: I said 2. Once again, just fine. I just caught a t-shirt in the Pepsi Porch upperdeck area of Citi Field's right field. It was a real blast from the on-field gun. The Coliseum Ice Girls, who are responsible for the t-shirt throws, need to bring more shirts, take bigger blasts and spread the wealth. People love swag, especially after paying the disgustingly high prices for tickets nowadays.

4. The 1st intermission Ball Blaster cannon: I said 3. Why? Because I don't even know what this is. This means get rid of it. There is no need for ball blasting in the NHL - or anywhere for that matter.

5. The usage, quality, and frequency of replays on the video board: 5. I always enjoy a good replay and the Coliseum staff is usually on the mark with their visualization queues.

6. The pre-game opening sequence, from the Ice Girls with Islanders flags to the open video, to the National Anthem with the giant American flag: 5. This is good. They could pick better people to sing the National Anthem sometimes, but of the 41 home games almost each one features someone decent.

7. In-arena host, Rich Barrabi, and the pre-game and intermission game analysis and player interviews: 3. I'm only neutral because C.J. Papa did the in-game video interviews for the last two seasons and rumor has it that he is no longer with the team. So, I need to see Rich a little more before I got and give him a 4 or 5.

8. The usage and frequency of noise meters, noise prompts, and the general atmosphere at Islanders games: 4. The meters are used enough. I could care less about what they say. For years, crowds were able to make noise and be sufficient without an electronic meter on a fancy scoreboard telling us that the crowd is cheering loud. That's what my ears are used for.

9. The exposure of the NHL out-of-town scores and the NHL highlights shown pre-game and during both intermissions on the video board: 5. This has gotten better in recent years with various smaller video boards being placed around the Coliseum.

10. The intermission on-ice games, such as the Human Puck Shoot, Nathan's Hot Dog Race, and the American Airlines' Fly Away game: 2. Generally, people are interested, but I'm not. It's the same stuff over and over again, every game, for years. I really want to see something new and fresh. These events are not major parts of the Coliseum or Islanders culture - they're just space fillers that no one cares about.

11. The Kid's Day game experience and the NHL and local mascots in attendance: 2. I've never seen "local mascots" at an Islanders game. I've seen the Islanders' sorry excuse for a mascot - Sparky the Dragon - but nothing else. I also don't see much for kids to do.

12. The in-game texting features, such as text-2-screen, pix-2-screen, and the second intermission song poll: 2. I've tried this feature - both good and bad texts, but have never had one appear on the screen. Sometimes, I feel like it's all an intricate way the team can get money from the phone companies. So many of the texts keep reappearing from time to time, like it never was meant to add new texts in the first place.

13. The in-game trivia contests, such as Tongue Twister Trivia, Hollywood Line Trivia, and Name That Islander: 5. Half the time an average fan gets an easy question and still manages to screw it up.

14. The overall Islanders game entertainment experience: 3. Maybe I am being generous with a 3, but the Islanders and everything about the organization is really anything but top-notch. Things should be different this season with John Tavares on the ice and a core of solid goal tenders (we'll get to them in the weeks to come), but in recent years I have not had much enthusiasm to attend games.

Good job by the organization to ask these survey questions, but let's see if the answers die-hard fans provide actually help change policy.

Islanders featured on HBO's Entourage, again

Long Island native Kevin Connolly, who plays the role of "E" in HBO's fantastic series "Entourage" showed more love to his hometown Islanders in last Sunday's episode.

An Islanders logo appeared on his computer desktop at Murray Berenson's office building - E's new place of work.

It's not strange that E is seen wearing an Islanders hat or shirt on the show. In fact, Connolly, who hails from Patchogue, NY, does it in real life. He also dropped the ceremonial first puck at a game last season. My girlfriend, who used to work for Starbucks, served him once and he was wearing an Isles shirt then, too. He signed a coffee cup for me "Chris, Best Wishes!!! Kevin Connolly." Had he signed it "Let's Go Islanders!" it probably would have brought a tear to my eye.

Anxiously waiting for NHL season to start

How many of you are anxiously waiting for the new hockey season to begin? Maybe it's just me because my beloved Mets are God-awful and the boys of summer from Queens just don't cut it anymore. Perhaps it's the desire to see John Tavares suit up for the Isles and bring some credibility back to the ice (the Draft Party was amazing by the way). Perhaps it's the uneasy tension from the Lighthouse situation - with the ever-so-possible idea of the Islanders actually moving off Long Island - to Kansas of all places?!

There are so many on-ice and off-ice situations plaguing the organization that it creates for some interesting story lines. Through it all, the true die-hard Islanders fans have stuck by their team and will continue to do so, no matter what.

With that, I will try and give my honest opinion about the Islanders with this blog. I will bring a citizenly report on all the happenings of the team. It helps that I am a sportswriter from Long Island and have connections to the team, but will still be objective as much as possible.