The names of Henrk Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, and Ryan McDonagh would not be familiar to you if you're not a hockey fan. But these guys have propelled the New York Rangers into relevancy this season. The Rangers are in the NHL playoffs and are doing their best to represent New York by remaining in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. Hockey is not the most renowned sport in NYC but right now every New Yorker should be ecstatic that the New York Rangers are in the playoffs as the number one seed in the entire eastern conference and have a great chance to win it all. And hey why not root for a team that represents your city and brings home a championship. 
    Sure a lot of New Yorkers may not care about hockey just like they don't care about soccer but if this team you don't care about is on the precipice of something special, shouldn't you get up, root them on and embrace them as the only relevant team in New York, at least for now? Look, the Yankees just started their season and baseball is a loooong season. Yet fans know the Yankees WILL be in the playoffs, it's either championship or failure. Football season will not start for another while but the Giants have given the city another trophy. As for the Knicks, well they're getting ready for war against the Miami Heat. That's going to be a hell of a series in which the Knicks will come out victorious and shut down all the critics once and for all. So for the time being the Rangers are the only team in the playoffs right now and they deserve our undivided attention. 
    The Rangers are going up against the Ottawa Senators, a Canadian team who is fighting tooth and nail to upset the Rangers. But remember hockey is a Canadian sport. This matchup is like a Canadian football team going against an American football team in the playoffs. We all know who would have the advantage there but that doesn't necessarily mean the American football team would win or would it? Right now the Rangers have put us in the running for another championship. This city can become the city of champions! That would be beautiful. With the addition of another Lombardi trophy and then to get the Stanley Cup and then win an NBA championship would put this city at the very top in sports which is where our city belongs. We've longed to be up there, this city deserves to be up there. There are other cities which have become triple crown champions but New York has yet to do it. Well I think it's time. Come on Rangers! Let's go Knicks! We got this! It's time to make the fat lady sing.   

    

     So the game was as I expected: The New York Knicks blew out the Washington Wizards out of the Garden. And as promised, I've posted pictures of the newly remodeled Garden (which is not finished by the way). What a wonderful experience! You can feel the electricity in the air. The crowd was lively and cheered for every positive play the Knicks made. At one point the crowd was even having fun at the expense of the lowly Washington Wizards. It was the fourth quarter and the Wizards had only been able to put up 47 points. There were six minutes left in the quarter and the scoreboard read 89-47. The Wizards could not score for their life and the Garden crowd kept chanting For-ty-Se-ven. It was hilarious! Every time the Wizards had the ball, the crowd (including myself of course) started the chant and made them either throw up a brick (missed badly) or commit a turnover. The Wizards looked nervous, embarrassed, discombobulated, tentative, and pathetic. I couldn't believe an NBA team could get so rattled by the crowd. Even if it was a New York crowd, you have to keep yourself composed out there. 

    Man, the Knicks looked so good out there. They were destroying the opposition like they should and they were giving me an early birthday present and best of all, they made me look forward to their Sunday game against the Miami Heat. It was turning out to be a great birthday weekend, I attended the game with my beautiful girlfriend, got wasted on my actual birthday (Saturday) but unfortunately the icing would not be added to the cake because the Knicks lost on Sunday against the overrated Miami Heat. I was pleased with their level of effort and the resilience the Knicks showed out there but they just didn't have enough to pull it off at the end which should change once Amare and/or Lin come back. 

    

    I'm telling you, if you haven't gone to the Garden to watch the Knicks play you have to go. It doesn't matter if you're a Knicks fan or not you will enjoy the venue. My girlfriend for example dislikes the Knicks because til this day she still thinks they are bums because before last season I made her watch four years of agony. She still hasn't forgiven me for that but every time she is in the Garden she will root for them like she's been a Knicks fan her whole life. But this last visit to the Garden was even better because every seat in the house is a great seat. We were seating in section 400 and I kid you not its like the players are right there. The pictures barely do it justice. I felt like everything I screamed at either team could be heard. And the energy is just contagious, just about everyone was laughing and screaming, waiting for something exciting to happen and the Knicks did not disappoint.

    The Knicks organization also did a phenomenal job keeping the crowd alive during timeouts, halftime and throughout the blowout. The game was over in the first quarter but dance competitions like the one between a guy who might have been Jerry Garcia's younger brother and a big black woman kept the crowd enthusiastic. I mean this woman didn't seem like the type to do a split but she did and won the competition with that move. There were also boys and girls between the ages of five and seven playing a five on five game during halftime and those little kids had some skills! They could very well be playing on the Garden floor a few years down the road as professionals. And of course we cannot forget about celebrity row. You literally can't miss it. Its the very first section courtside that literally outshines the rest of the Garden - their bling bling sparkles from miles away. Those in attendance that day included Spike Lee (of course), C.C. Sabathia, and Mobb Deep to name a few.      

    

    After the game, my night wasn't over as I stood by the players entrance to get a glimpse of the players. First out was Jeremy Lin. Instead of getting his autograph, I stood by Carmelo Anthony's car for about 20 minutes while the Wizards team came out. Although he might have been scared off by the 12 year old children screaming at the top of their lungs, "Jeremy come give me your autograph!!!!!" There was also one fake crying and screaming, "How can you do this to me Jeremy? Why won't you give me your autograph? How dare you not give me your autograph!?" It was great! I look forward to going to the Garden once again this year. I'm planning to see them in the Finals raising the championship trophy. Let's go Knicks!! 

    Ladies and gentlemen yours truly is going to MSG on Friday to watch the Knicks take on the sad Washington Wizards. It's going to be my first visit to the garden since the renovation this summer. I can't wait to see it. I will post some pictures of the new Garden so you guys can see what you have been missing by not attending a Knicks game. I just hope the Knicks win the game.
     The Wizards don't have anything to play for but they are still an NBA team and I'm sure they are not going to just lay down and let the Knicks run all over them. I expect the Knicks to force them to lay down and embarrass them for stepping in on their home court. I mean after what they did to the Bulls on Sunday and what they are about to do to them tonight, I expect the Knicks to get the ball rolling and make it known to the NBA that they are a team to be reckon with. Lin is out, Stoudemire is out but Melo is still in and the Knicks are winning. Let's go Knicks!!! 












These are some pictures of the old Garden. You'll see how the new Garden looks in just a few days.