THE DEVILS WERE IN THE DETAILS

The NY Rangers had a fantastic season. They won their division outright, had the second best record in the NHL and got far in the playoffs, but it wasn’t good enough. 1994 was in the past, should have been forgotten and the revenge factor of the NJ Devils goalie Martin Brodeur for what occurred in 1994.

So the game went into overtime, and not even 2 minutes in and the whole season came crashing down on the Rangers. All that great season doesn’t matter anymore. No one will remember who the loser was, and worst still, no one will even care. All the hope of training camp, all the excitement of the season, the final standings and even the playoffs mean absolutely nothing to the Rangers and their fans now.

MIKE WOODSON GETS HIS

The NY Knicks and Dudley Dolan did the right thing: they signed Mike Woodson to a decent contract. Woodson received a deal for three years worth between ten and twelve million, for taking the Knicks to a new level of play, getting the respect of the players and securing them a place in the playoffs. His record of: 12-6 proved that he should have the job and deserves it. To Dudley’s credit, he never entertained talking to Phil Jackson, perhaps the greatest coach in NBA history.

If you have the pieces to win you win, that was what Phil Jackson proved, as did Casey Stengel and Joe Torre once, what you do with the pieces is what makes you a great coach.

Mike Woodson earned his chance to coach on the greatest stage in sports, the New York stage, and he is a great basketball mind. He has most of the pieces, and now he has to shape it into something called a winner, with his own imprimatur.

That’s all I wrote, folks!