I finally made it here at lunch time!  What a way to play hookey!  Hookey for hockey nothing better.

Sutton is just a building going for a walk.  You put him next to Comrie and he's a midget... with a black eye.  Well Bates is out there and considering what I said about him on Sunday, I'm pleasantly surprised.  He's not quite as slow as I would lhave expected. 

Nice to see that they're not taking it easy on Miro.  He's getting checked into the boards by the assistants.

Not as many people here as I would have expected since there seemed to have been so much chatter on the boards, but there really is only a handful of people here.  And a few kids... Hey!!! Shouldnt you be in school?  Or are you sick?  Damn it!  Don't breath on me!

Bootland stopped long enough to smile for my camera.  That was very nice of him.  Hopefully I got it. (I didn't, of course... but he is a very nice guy.  Shut up Gary...he he he)

Um... ok... they keep scoring on Dubie... over and over... um... someone want to tell him he should try and stop them?    Ok.. he finally got the hint.

When you come down here ,you'll notice that there is so much going on on the ice that it's hard to keep track of it.  Skaters and shooters at both ends of the ice, and you know you're missing something good every time you blink.

Ricky's not having as hard a time at the right side of the ice.  HE's blocking everything.

My hands are cold, and I'm shocked to see some people here in short sleeves.  Do they not know this is an ice rink?

Lots of confidence here... holy crap. 

Ok... so now I can continue from the comfort of my home where my laptop is not ON my lap and I can actually READ what the hell I'm typing!

Just as I was posting all of that, the rink went dark!  Some sort of power outage had caused everything to shut down momentarily at 12:40 pm.  They do have backup genatators of course because ... duh... Ice?  yeah...  So as the auxillary power came on, there were only a few overhead lights on.  It looked like a warehouse.  You could see the fog waft up from the ice.  The players didn't really stop.  They regrouped for a moment and went right on with practice.  Of course the internet was lost to me because the "Iceworks" wireless router had shut down.

Out came the notebook.  Here's the rest of what I saw:

The sound of the shrill whistle was now easy to hear as the rink was quiet.  All the players were in skating in two circles around and around.  The outter ring faster than the inner ring.  I'm shocked at how fast Ricky can skate in all that equipment.

At the far end of the building, there's a loud crash, like that of a waiter dropping an entire tray of champagne glasses.  No one flinches but me, and no one moves to see what the problem is.  Obviously, it will just correct itself.

Slowly, the lights are returning, in waves over head.  While watching what "Bossy" called akin to musical chairs on the ice, it was interesting to see which player was badly winded and which were still skating with ease.

I watch Mike Comrie and Sillinger engage in conversation while still skating, one going backwards while the other forward.  It's like a dance, they never miss a stride or skip a beat.

Gary, NYHockeyReport, tells me that Simon came out sporting a Mohawk at first, but I missed that.  Would have been good to see.  But Simon did look comfortable and happy enough, even today when that SI article came out.

I introduced myself to one of the admins from IslanderMania.  I will be certain to say hello to him any time I see him in the future.  Chris Botta was doing his usual PR thing flanked by what I'm assuming (and I only assume as I don't really know) were two reporters.  Perhaps one covering for Greg while he is on his Newsday inflicted Vacation.

Just as practice was ending, Sean Bergenheim DID stop by the glass to give me a wave and a hello.  I've gotten more recognition out of that little boy in two meetings than I ever got out of Blake in six years.  But I shouldn't compare them.  This is a man with a clear cut understanding of where he came from, where he is, and where he wants to go.  He has always been excellent with the fans and everyone else around him.

I'm not one to come up with anything earth shattering from these practices.  I don't notice line combinations or who is getting special treatment.  I only notice how they react to each other.  And they react like a group who are really enjoying themselves.  I have a great photo of Miro and Sillinger really smiling.  They work hard, but they are having fun.  And after all... this is a GAME they play, isn't it???

Special thanks to my friends who kept me company in the cold, hard stands.  Hardlee Playinoff, Bossy, NYHockeyReport.  And here I'm going to out someone.  Thanks to Shooter for taking time for himself to come out and see a practice.  And to the cute brown haired girl with the adorable smile that turned from the glass and said "hi" to me... I've got a feeling... You just may be one of US....

NYIC:  We're everywhere!!!