Live John Tavares press conference coverage
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 11:06 AM EDT
in This, That & What-Not
29 comments
Welcome to the new age of sports promotion. Last time the Islanders had a player to hype this much, let's just say streaming video and live-blogging weren't available to the masses.
John Tavares is introduced today at 12:30 p.m. EDT, at the Coliseum, in a press conference open to the public.[Update: Watch it live (or on replay) here in the embedded video feed after the jump.]
But seeing as how most people work, I thought I'd do some live-blog commentary in comments. Also:
- You can watch it live at the Islanders official site (or here at the end of this post, in the embedded video)
- Chris Botta will live-blog it at IslandersPointBlank
- Twitter: Several, including @hockeynightli, @Carey303, and @Lighthouse_LI uh, "tweeting," live from the Coliseum
- As always, you can leave your wit and insight here; pretty sure I'll be
indodging a meeting
I am as excited as the next guy -- but I must admit the cynic in me wonders how interesting the proceedings will be. He's already had to talk a lot about the draft and the Islanders. ("Excited ... can't wait ..." etc.) Hopefully the attending press will ask interesting questions beyond, "How does it feel ... to have a franchise on your shoulders at 18?" I'd like to hear about his game, insights into his approach on the ice, about his meetings with Garth Snow (and Scott Gordon?), about what he's seen on Long Island. And of course his favorite fruit -- always, one's favorite fruit.
If you were there, what would you ask him? (e.g. "Aren't you relieved you didn't have to play for the Leafs?")
0 recs |
29 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Five minutes 'till showtime
… and on the Web feed, they’re playing one of those modern angst-rock songs from the late ’90s/early ’00s. Not sure how to take this.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Ah, never mind – it’s just a direct radio station feed. {Whew} Thought they’d selected the specific soundtrack for a moment there.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Howie Rose in da house
Wearing a blue and orange polo only an Islanders fan can appreciate.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Rose: “Today we celebrate the rebirth of the Islanders franchise.”
… “but not because of one person in particular.” MMmmkay.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Garth Snow steps up
Is it just me, or did he used to smile more when he was a player? These days he always seems to be in Serious GM mode.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh dear, we have a music video
Clips of fans celebrating on draft day. They are going all out. It’s surreal what one #1 pick can do to franchise psychology.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Tavares stands up
Ahhhh … #91 looks so much better than draft generic #09.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Tavares:
“A dream since I was drafted into the OHL at 14.”
In other words: “I could do more on the rink as a pre-teen than you will do in the entirety of your life. Hop on my shoulders, bishes.”
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Wang
Charles Wang looks positively giddy, grinning ear to ear like he just scored a big development deal.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Perfect
Jaffe asks Snow to share the PG version of the line he cracked to JT up on the Montreal stage, and Snow sticks to the “we don’t share injuries/contract negotiations/player confidence” policy.
The Snow Regime: Tight-lipped first and foremost.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Scott Gordon weighs in
Essentially: “Goals … mmm, goals salivates”
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Howie cracks a Long Island traffic joke
And somewhere, a Lighthouse Project opponent pastes the quote on a flyer.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good grief
The first reporter question is to Gordon on whether he’ll name Tavares captain. Hello?
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Snow on Tavares:
“When you watch John play, everyone thinks goal scorer, but the games I’ve watched him play, he’s equally adept at making the seam passes and setting up teammates.”
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Some tool asks
“Does it discourage you to come to a team that has not been very successful in the last 20 years” and then peppers it with Rangers references.
You know what kind of teams pick first overall, right?
Anyway, JT nails it; essentially: We’re rebuilding.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 12:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
And that's it?!?
What the … it’s over?! It turned into a sort of pep rally, so maybe it was clearly not the environment to ask better questions. Huh. I suspect Logan and Co. (you know, all those other Islanders beat writers) will get (or already got) their sit-downs separately with Tavares.
Ah, the new media era: Where the line between old media and fan pep rally blurs.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 1:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Ah yup
Here’s the real media scrum.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m so mad that I couldn’t be there. The two days I took off to be there when he was selected ate into any kind of time I could have used. Oh well. At least I was there live to hear Garth Snow say, “The New York Islanders select…John Tavares!”
A memory I will never forget. (Much like the Bates penalty shot goal in Game 4 of the ’02 Playoffs. I was there live for that one too. Gotta love this stuff.)
From the Penalty Box to the Blog Box! Check it out at Isles Official's Outlook!
by IslesOfficial on Jul 8, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Gotta love those sweet memories. I actually watched the first pick again last night because it was on the DVR, just begging me to be seen.
Based on the live video I watched, you made the right choice (Montreal over today).
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I must have watched that a million times on You Tube
One of those moments all always remember what I was doing when it happened.
by Chickendirt on Jul 8, 2009 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Definitely. It’s pretty funny now, in retrospect, to recall how nervous and uncertain I was at that moment. No matter how logical it was to take Tavares, Snow had me prepared to fear the worst.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder how much Garth snow keeping it a secret screwed up the draft order. Especially when a lot of folks were certain he was picking Duchesne or Hedman. You could obviously see Burke was really thrown when they took the consensus pick. That guy acted like he was conviced they were gonna move up.
I was surprised to Magnus Paajarv slip all the way down to ten. The ISS had him ranked 4th. Overall I think Edmonton was the luckier at the draft.
Doubt we pick as high as #1 next season but a guy like Magnus slipping down that far certainly gives cause for hope.
by Chickendirt on Jul 8, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I bet Burke was the most affected. Everybody else got what they want, or at least expected to get, but the uncertainty probably took away some of Burke’s trade options. That said, if TB considered trading down (Lawton said they did), they probably would only do it if the Isles took Hedman.
On Magnus’ fall, I’m rooting for as good a season as possible next year, but I’d be lying if I pretended not to worry about dropping too low in the draft. A 20th-place finish would be pretty rough.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
We’ll be picking in the top ten again. Somewhere betwen 6-10.
Don’t think this team is bad enough, even with all the holes, to finish in the bottom five. Last season much of that was due to injury and inconsistent net minding by Danis and Joey Mac.
by Chickendirt on Jul 8, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Exactly. It would take another injury scourge — no, god no! — to repeat it. And if that happens, I’m coming for the training staff.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 8, 2009 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Unless of course Roloson gets injured early and DiPietro won’t be able to start till the 2nd half. That makes me think, have they said what type of condition DiPietro is in?
by WebBard on Jul 9, 2009 1:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Injury is always the possibility, and Roloson is older so we can almost expect at least some bump or pull.
That’s why I think signing Munroe was intriguing (and smart). If DiPietro isn’t ready, I’m ready for a parade of goalies to audition their stuff.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 9, 2009 2:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
For the record, Burke shot himself in the foot big time when he announced right after the Lottery that he was going to explore every option to move up and get Tavares. When that didn’t work he was praying that Brayden Schenn would fall into his lap at either 5-7 (depending on whether he could trade up or not).
When the Kings took Schenn at 5 that’s what threw a monkey wrench into Burke’s plans. Not the Isles taking Tavares at 1.
From the Penalty Box to the Blog Box! Check it out at Isles Official's Outlook!
by IslesOfficial on Jul 9, 2009 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, the most achievable scenario was for Burke to somehow get Schenn. But I think the Islanders’ poker game made it a lot harder for anyone to gameplan moves. If the Islanders pass on Tavares, there’s a great chance for TB to milk Burke for him. When Burke doesn’t know who’s going where — a key to his previous draft day trades — his attention is divided, his trading partners unsure.
(Ultimately, of course, as long as everyone picked according to slot, Burke had no recourse. Ha! Eat it and spend all your dough on blueliners, Irish.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jul 9, 2009 3:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
Related FanPosts on Lighthouse Hockey
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
Atlantic Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pittsburgh
|
71 | 42 | 24 | 5 | 89 |
|
New Jersey
|
70 | 42 | 24 | 4 | 88 |
|
Philadelphia
|
70 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 79 |
|
New York Rangers
|
71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 71 |
|
New York Islanders
|
70 | 29 | 32 | 9 | 67 |
(updated 3.19.2010 at 9:06 AM EDT)
Islanders Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
@
Anaheim
|
Fri 03/19 | 10:00 PM EDT |
|
@
Los Angeles
|
Sat 03/20 | 10:30 PM EDT |
|
@
New York Rangers
|
Wed 03/24 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Calgary
|
Thu 03/25 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
@
Columbus
|
Sat 03/27 | 7:00 PM EDT |
Last 5 Games
|
@
Vancouver
|
Tue 03/16 | W 5 - 2 |
|
Toronto
|
Sun 03/14 | W 4 - 1 |
|
New Jersey
|
Sat 03/13 | W 4 - 2 |
|
St. Louis
|
Thu 03/11 | SO - L 1 - 2 |
|
@
Philadelphia
|
Tue 03/09 | L 2 - 3 |
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
