Guess who?
-
- May
- 12
For today’s post, I got an email from Adam suggesting that I take you backstage to the locker room, and give you a glimpse of what people are like. So I am going to do three vignettes about three players, without telling you who is who. Your job is to match the player with the story.
No. 1: The first time I walked into the Rangers LR it was with The Great Sam Weinman. TGSW had been covering the beat for three years and knew everyone. He was really cool about introducing me to a couple of different players and coaches. Scott Gomez, Tom Renney, Paul Mara, Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky made small talk for a few minutes and told TGSW how much they would miss him.
About five days later I was sent to cover a game. I hadn’t seen any of them since, but when I walked into the locker room to do postgame interviews after a loss, one person passed by and said, “Hey Jane, welcome back.” I thought hockey players really deserved their reputation for being so friendly. Who was that person?
No. 2: I was covering a game in the Garden against Ottawa and doing a sidebar on a Senator (if I say who it’s a dead giveaway), who is engaged to a woman from our area. They are getting married in Westchester this summer, so I was trying to flesh out the story a little bit when I noticed the guy played college hockey in the same town as one of the Rangers.
It was a 2-1 loss and after the game I went to the locker room to get general quotes and seek out the Ranger to see if he knew the Senator. The Ranger wasn’t in there, so I asked a PR rep to see if he’d come out from a back room and he did. There was a large crowd of press who also wanted to talk to the Ranger, but he knew I’d asked for him so turned to me first. I asked if he knew the Senator given the possible connection and he said, “You called me out here for that?”
I thought possibly hockey players were not as friendly as I first thought. Who was the Ranger?
No 3: This Ranger always stays late at practice, and is one of the last guys to come off the ice. He is also pretty engaging, and will talk about one of his favorite shows, Gossip Girl, with anyone who knows him well enough to ask.
Who is the Ranger?
First one to get all three right gets a media or postseason guide. (I think Carp has an extra!) Also, I am officially on Twitter. Follow janesports to see all my updates on the Rangers, the Jets and my debillitating writer’s block which I write volumes about.
SPOILER ALERT: Due to a request I will post the anwswers up here. Dave was the first to get all three, with Justin close behind. No. 1 was Paul Mara, No. 2 was Chris Drury and No. 3 was Aaron Voros.
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on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 1:09 pm by Jane McManus.
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Josh Thomson Josh, who is 26 and a native of Carmel, graduated from Boston University in 2002 and began working for The Journal News the following March. 
could brandon dubinsky be #1 ?
could Henrik Lundqvist be #3?
could Dreary be #2?
just some wild guesses. hmmm maybe avery could be #3
I like this, great idea. I’m guessing:
1) Paul Mara
2) Sean Avery
3) Aaron Voros
Lundqvist – “Don’t Bring Me Down” – ELO
Megan Fox – “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” – The Smiths
Tom Renney’s New York Rangers – Saved By The Bell theme song
Vally Cat !!
GO HAWKS !
I think #2 is Cally.
Oh wow you guys are good! No one is 100 percent yet.
1. Gomez (although I could see Renney doing something like that)
2. Drury (he’s the only Ranger that I’m aware of that came from the NCAA)
3. Avery (While a horrible show, Gossip Girl is uber-trendy and so is Aves)
1 Dubinsky
2 Cally
3 Lundqvist
I have to say
1) Gomer
2) Drury
3) Avery
Dubi
Cally
Girardi
Mara
Drury
Vally
I would think Dubinsky for #1 and Valiquette for #3
Does the location of the town in #2 mean the town where the player grew up or where he played college hockey himself? If so I think Drury is the only Ranger to get most of his amateur experience in the NCAA.
ok miss jane, who’s the closest? heehee
this is a great idea, i’m gonna go with:
1. mara
2. callahan
3. avery
could cally be prickly like #2 seems ( i still think thats drury)
#3 is either Hank or Aves, even though didnt Prucha like Gossip Girl? Jane, are the guys in each scenario STILL Rangers????
Out with the answer !!
Mara
Girardi
Voros
Linda I see the suspense is getting to you! I like UESBlueshirt that you showed your work. I will say that some of you are Soooooooooooo close, but no one has gotten all three straight.
1. Dubi
2. Redden
3. Voros
avery and engaging? Somehow I don’t think that fits!!! if the players are not necessarily still on the team, I’m going with Prucha for number 3, if they are still on the team I’d think Hank.
Yes, all three are still Rangers.
Mara
Drury (meant to type him before, not Girardi)
Voros
mara, drury , avery
Betts
Drury
Korpikoski
Mara
Drury
Voros
Maybe Avery is the first one?
Who’s been the closest so far?
Jane, two for two on great topics!!! Rick is going to get an awesome report!!!
I’d have said voros for #3 if you said it was a food network show!
SPOILER ALERT if you are scrolling and don’t want to know the answer yet.
We have a winner—Dave is correct! Well done and I am impressed with everyone’s intuition regarding the players on your favorite team.
1. Dubi (seems like a good natured kid)
2. Drury (still sticking with my original reasoning)
3. Avery (same as above)
maybe Mara could be #3, he does seem the type to stay on the ice the longest! also maybe Korpi, i dont see Mara as the gossip girl type, maybe Deadliest Catch!
YES! :)
Damn !!
I wanted to win
Gomez is #1
Drury is definitely #2. The sidebar was on Ryan Shannon.
Voros. Avery not engaging enough.
Does Voros watch Gossip Girl from the scratched players box?
Justin you were a close second.
It’s Paul Mara, always friendly, professional and personable; Chris Drury, who had just lost a tough one and probably didn’t like that I was off topic; and Voros, who takes a lot of heat but is a pretty nice guy to deal with.
WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO Dave!! good going!
Avery, Cally and Gomez!
Yeah Mara looks like he works on fishing boats during the off-season except they dunk him in the water and he catches 500 lbs. tuna with his bare hands.
The 2nd one was the hardest. I was pretty deadset on 1 and 3, but had to remember who actually went to college on the Rangers.
Wow Jane you got the biggest reaction we have seen from Drury all season!
1. Mara
2. Drury
3. Valliquette
If the prize was Megan Fox, id totally win this. HANDS DOWN !!!
Jane, I don’t think losses bother Drury, we know they don’t ruin his Christmas ;-) He’s fallen even more down the poop list if he was snide or snippy with you!! I guess he doesnt realize you probably could wipe him out!
ORR you were impressive, and I’d want you on my side in a back-alley knife fight.
Drury has never been short with me before or after. We all have bad days so I really don’t hold it against him.
And Ryan Shannon was indeed the Senator.
Gomez
Drury
Vally
Jane- That was a really fun post! I would love to hear more stories like that! Gossip Girl, really? LOL
I had the first two but the third I was stumped on. FUN!
Thank you Jane. That was a lot of fun.
Jane,
GREAT GAME.
I knew 3 was voros cause he never played and always stayed late. The people who stay late never play.
god i had work for the last 45 min- hr
missed all the fun, lol.
Jane – Thanks for an always entertaining post. Great stuff. On a non-Rangers note, how good was yesterday’s action?? It’s a travesty that the NHL playoffs is on VS because yesterday’s five hours of action was about as good as it gets for hockey and pro sports in general. I’m happy to see ESPN showing a little more coverage but its not enough. The NBA playoffs are a joke until the conference finals anyway. I can’t wait for game 7. Still unsure on who to root for. I’m thinking Caps. I hate Cindy more than Ovie. Oh, and go Hawks! They are my team for this spring with our boys all golfing.
NOT FAIR !!
I just woke up & missed it !
Mara
Drury
Voros
Jane, that was fun—I missed on Voros.
As to the Caps/Pens series, it was amusing when the announcers said the Caps defense managed to hold the Rangers to about 22 shots per game, but the Pens were averaging 40 shots per game, as if it was a flaw in the Caps defense. Could that problem possibly have to do with the Rangers lack of any offensive prowess at all?
On the other hand, the Rangers penalty kill still looks better than either the Caps’ or Pens’ pk. At least that’s something.
Wow I got here too late. My life story i will be following you on twitter. don’t forget to follow me :) @rangercrisis
If you run into Rich Cimini covering the jets tell him The Mouth says hello.
http://www.rangercrisis.com
the reason why our PK was good is we have a bunch of 3rd and 4th line players.
Jane,
Great post. Can we get some more of these?
JANE
Im really good with a steak knife, you’d be in great hands.
BTW – I got a weiiird man-crush on Patty Kane. It’s freaking me out. I wish he was a fuggin Ranger.
Either way, it’s good to see some young American talent, ugh even Parise, as much as it pains me to say it.
They better get some fuggin Gold in the next Olympics !
renney = #1
drury= #2
avery = #3
please!!!
renney, drury, gomez
Gomez
Drury
Hank
We all have bad days so I really don’t hold it against him.
..............................................
Bad days? What are those?? $14 million Dolan Dollars in my bank account with another $21 million on the way!
*“You called me out here for that?”*
Ha-Ha! I remember saying that! So clutch! What a winner!
Jane after losses I gotta get outta there quick! Who needs to stick around for THAT? I was in the parking lot warming up the Clutchmobile, and I wasn’t gonna let questions about some doofus from Ottawa getting married ruin my Sunday!
Nap time! Happy Limerick Day! Gonna party again at Redden’s tonight! Best offseason ever!
chris
i love that you actually bought that domain.
Not sure if anyone caught it, but Sports Illustrated ranked the best and worst owners in each sport. Shockingly, Dolan didn’t rank in the bottom five for the NHL, but was ranked the #2 worst owner in the NBA. In the write up, Dolan was also shamed for screwing up the Rangers:
“Subterfuging two of the most storied franchises in pro sports at once takes hard work, but Dolan has managed both. The business tycoon took a controlling stake in Cablevision in 1999, and immediately both of his marquee sports properties—the Knicks and the NHL’s Rangers—tailspun into the most futile eras of their respective histories. The Knicks have been particularly bad, with eight straight seasons of less than 40 wins and one playoff appearance. Most embarrassing was Dolan’s stubborn loyalty to Isiah Thomas who, in his 4 1/2 years with the team, failed miserably in his countless attempts to retool the roster, including continuing Dolan’s habit of grossly overpaying for oft-injured and underperforming stars like Stephon Marbury.”
shannon got the game winner that game. Sens could be back next year. Played well under the new coach and got a pretty good goalie in leclaire at the deadline.
That’s right, I forgot Shannon had the game winner
I don’t know why I find this site so funny, but I can’t help but just laugh out loud at a lot of the texts. It is a site of random texts that people send it.
http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/
I hope you are laugh as much as I have.
Jane,
In keeping with this thread, how about we all contribute one good Rangers player and one bad Rangers player personal encounter story.
Warren
the guy who says ” this is a presentation of the national hockey league” on versus kinda sounds like keifer sutherland! lol
Voros likes Gossip Girl? That’s hilarious!
This was fun… can we do more please?
Trivia tidbit – while not playing there at the same time as Drury has about 8 years on Ryan Shannon, not only did both play their college hockey in Beantown (Drury at BU, Shannon at BC) but they both grew up in Fairfield County CT and played in the same leagues there growing up (Drury in Bridgeport perhaps for Mid Fairfield but not sure, Shannon for Darien). I know this because I live around here.
Peter, I knew they were pretty far apart years wise, but I thought maybe they met at a clinic or some kind of mentor thing.
Aparently, should have kept it to myself. :)
And I like your idea Warren. Sally. I will try to come up with another three later in the week and give more warning for when I’ll post so you can be ready.
Jane – BU and BC are bitter rivals worse than Rangers Islanders. Sort of like Duke and N Carolina. so that might explain Drurys reaction besides the loss where the guy scored the winning goal against the Rangers.
all three are Drury
Reporters always used to rave about Jagr & Shanahan and Renney—coincidentally, all three won the reporters’ best interview award at the end of the season. Reporters don’t seem to be that crazy about Drury. Is he just not comfortable with the media or is he plain boring? Or both?
Why were there so few off the ice anecdotes about the team this year—did they avoid the press, or were they just dull? There wasn’t even Inside the Rangers video much this year—is that for budgetary reasons or just lack of availability?
Jane Excellent idea! Can you keep doing this?
Peter:
I’m pretty sure that Drury played for Greater Bridgeport Youth Hockey, but a few years ago the organization split into the Greater Bridgeport team which plays in Shelton and the Wonderland Wizards who have a banner up at the “Wonderland of Ice” in Bridgeport commemorating Drury’s experience there.
Just FYI
Carp-
Can Gilroy be sent to the minors without going through waviers if he has a rough camp?
A couple of thoughts on the salaries of some players. The Rangers should look at other teams players before they go crazy with there RFA’s. In all honestly BOTH Cally and Dubi should get a Petr Purcha type contract. Two years at 1.6 million a year. THe Canucks gave Alex Burrows an ext a four year deal at 2 miilion a year. He scored 28 goals this year. Also I think they have to make a decision whether to keep Sjostrom or Korpy. They are the same type of player. Korpy is alittle younger and a better finnisher. I think at least. It is going to be intersting what they do.
ROC …
thats exactly what i’ve been saying. I dont see Dubi or Cally making more then 1.5 mill a season. And i have this whole philosophy that the Rangers seem to have too many players that are too similar in style.
In the off-season, i would get rid of 1 player in each pairing because they seem to be able to do the same job…
Sjo or Korpi—- i’d keep Korpi
Mara or Morris—- i’d keep Mara or neither
Rozy or Redden—- i’d keep Rozy but we’re stuck with Redden
Naslund or Zherdev—- Obviously, that one is solved
Gomez or Drury—- We’re stuck with both and honestly (call me crazy) i dont really mind, i think Torts will bring out the best in them next season
This will be the best way to clear up cap space to bring in 1 good sniper and fill in the rest of the roster with youth from Hartford
Roc – I think if its done before the first week of October, Gilroy can go to the minors. With his 1-way contract we can call him up without him clearing waivers, I just think it means his salary is guaranteed even in the AHL.
Most young contracts have an NHL pay grade and an AHL pay grade and you are paid depending on where you are playing. I think Gilroy is guaranteed his NHL dollars even if he is playing in Hartford.
Valiquette – 1
Redden – 2
Avery – 3
Mara
Drury
Gomez
If Gilroy is sent to the minors after camp, he has to come up through re-entry waivers to join the NHL. If he makes the NHL squad out of camp, and is sent to the AHL, he has to go through regular waivers.
1. Dan Fritsche
2. Aaron Voros
3. Patrick Rissmiller
Oh wait, sorry… those are just the guys we signed in the off season and then traded/waived shortly after.
I usually don’t watch too much after a Rangers ouster but I was watching the Canes-Bruins last night. I see Aaron Ward and Matt Cullen and it got me to thinking about Sather. Those were the 2 biggest FA signings for him after the Canes cup and how did it work out? How did any Sather FA signings work out? I mean Holik, Lindros, Drury, Gomez, Redden, etc, were any of these signings really necessary? Did any of them really propel the Rangers to a higher level? How this moron Dolan doesn’t bring in some young blood in the front office just shows how dumb he really is.
The problem is Sather is too impatient on UFA day…. he just had to get Gomez AND Drury… Redden AND Rozsival… instead, he could’ve signed Gomez the one year… then signed a forward AND top pair d-man the next year… and this coming July, we’d be in better cap shape to resign the necessary UFAs.
Pavel
Not to mention his EGO too. He just threw all that money at them so they would take up the offer so no other team would sign them. Ugh the mistakes that cost this club for YEARS! Im sorry but when I look at the BIG picture… Gomez, Drury and Redden havent proven their “worth” at all. Those point totals they put up, another teams 2nd line players would put up those same numbers for 1/2 the price those 3 clowns are worth.
New post.
Also, I can’t believe that little prick Drury gave you a hard time, Jane. I simply cannot for the life of me believe that man had the nerve to question you. He, of ALL ATHLETES, should bow down to the media at EVERY OPPORTUNITY that he is afforded.
The MEDIA has made him what he is. The New York media especailly, has been SO DAMN LENIENT on this hack hockey player.
WOW. Seriously, if he said that to me “You called me out here for that?” I would have said something like _“Well maybe you’d rather comment on how piss poor your numbers have been since you’ve been in NY, how you are clearly not the leader we the media have gereously painted you to be, how you seem to have lost a few steps on the ice and gained a few pounds in the face, and how the team appeared to play with more heart when you are NOT IN THE LINE UP?”_
I swear man, I seriously hate that guy and EVERYTHING about him and surrounding him.
He is LUCKY the NY media has been so easy on him. He’s had 2 seasons to settle in and he has only gone from bad to worse.
bastard.