barry beck's spotlight on jason strudwick...

love the new spotlight feature. the rangers deserve so much more love than they get in the press here in new york and there's no one better than barry to spread the gospel. at first it was tough to find pics of jason strudwick, but the good folks at jasonstrudwick.ca really hooked me up.



Although Marek Malik get's much of the press for Saturday's dramatic 15th round shootout win over the Washington Capitals, () it was Jason Strudwick's 14th round goal that may have been more unlikely and suprising. Coach Renney called upon the Defenseman in the 14th round to answer the Caps goal in that round which ultimately allowed Malik's goal to be the game winner. Strudwick admits he was nervous and it wasn't pretty.

"I was really nervous," Strudwick said. "I'm not going to lie to you. I was super-nervous. I wish I could tell you I made a great move, but I just shot it and it went under his arm, I think."

Earlier in the day Renney designated Strudwick as an alternate captain for the game, a gesture that was no doubt a nod in appreciation of his patience, hard work, leadership and being the ideal teammate that Strudwick has been thus far into the '05-'06 season. Strudwick has
been a healthy scratch in 14 of the Rangers first 26 games. Further, has appeared in the line up as both a defenseman and forward where he uses his 6'-3" and 230 lb frame to create havoc in front of the net and provide physical play and control the puck deep in the offensive
zone. In fact, during Saturday's game "Srtud", as teammates call him, played the first 2 periods up front and moved back to D when Tom Poti went down with a groin injury. Mostly he has been used as a solid stay at home defensman and has been an enforcer on the ice. He has 10
PIMs this year - 2, 5 min fighinting majors. He threw down with Grant Marshall in a Rangers win against the Devils in early November and again with Jesse Boulerice from Carolina at MSG (This writer was in the ol' barn for both fights).

The Edmonton, Alberta native and former Islander, Strudwick grew up idolizing the likes of The Great One and The Captain during the Oliers dynasty years in the mid 80s and early 90s in Edmonton. He followed Messier's carrer and was happy to be picked up as a free agent this past July for a salary of $475,000 with the Blueshirts.

While new to the organization there is no doubt that Strud has gained the respect of the Garden faithful but maybe most importantly his temmates and coach. Role players like Strud are critical to the success of an NHL team built like the Rangers. Expect to see Strudwick as a candidate for the Steven McDonald Extra Effort award voted on by the fans in April.

Keep up the good work Strud, I'd go to war with you anyday!

OIther News:

The Rangers picked up Colton Orr off waivers from the Boston Bruins today. Orr is of no relation to Bobby. Orr is a certified tough guy. He led the Providence Bruins of the AHL last year with 279 PIMs. Thankfully Sather realized that a little grit and toughness is needed
on this team to protect the skilled players. Now Strud is not alone as the only enforcer Renney has to go to. There is lots of talk about the Rangers picking up Petr Sykora from Anaheim. This would add some much needed scoring depth to the second and third lines.

for the ladies...

and speaking of loyal lady readers, what does the little birdie think of the biennial? might there be an art attack in our future?

all i think about is paddle...

over the weekend me and andre hit the hood to play a little "street" paddle. we blew a big lead against barry and earl a couple of weeks earlier and we wanted to really bring the thunder if we were to play again this weekend. i certainly felt that it helped. here's a shot of andre practicing his stroke uptown.

how does this make player/coach reg dunlop feel?

i bet it makes him mad...and in need of a miracle.



The Grateful Dead, the business, is testing the loyalty of longtime fans of the Grateful Dead, the pioneering jam band, by cracking down on an independently run Web site that made thousands of recordings of its live concerts available for free downloading.

although for all of his hippie ways i know for a fact that this is what's in his heavy rotation right now:

war games with india? Arre, wa! Oh, wow!

NEW DELHI – Mingling over a few rounds of golf, dogfighting a bit over the jungles of West Bengal - this month's Cope India 2005 war games were billed as a standard two-week exercise between Indian and American top guns.

But in website chat rooms devoted to the arcania of fighter aircraft, there was a buzz. Arre, wa! Oh, wow! Had the Indian Air Force beat the Americans?

Not exactly, according to observers and participants. The exercises had mixed teams of Indian and American pilots on both sides, which means that both the Americans and the Indians won, and lost. Yet, observers say that in a surprising number of encounters - particularly between the American F-16s and the Indian Sukhoi-30 MKIs - the Indian pilots came out the winners.

"Since the cold war, there has been the general assumption that India is a third-world country with Soviet technology, and wherever the Soviet-supported equipment went, it didn't perform well," says Jasjit Singh, a retired air commodore and now director of the Center for Air Power Studies in New Delhi. "That myth has been blown out by the results" of these air exercises.

For now, US Air Force officials are saying only that the Cope India 2005 air exercises were a success, and a sign of America's growing appreciation for the abilities of its newfound regional ally.

But there are some signs that America's premier fighter jet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, is losing ground to the growing sophistication of Russian-made fighter planes, and that the US should be more wary about presuming global air superiority - the linchpin of its military might.

here'a a spot for a light pole in the pants joke...

here's an intriguing story out of baltimore. it's a little old but it's amazing and it has a great correction at the end.



BALTIMORE, Nov. 24 - Given that they stand some 30 feet tall, their disappearance is attracting a good deal of attention here - even as their final destination remains a mystery.

Thieves are sawing down aluminum light poles. Some 130 have vanished from Baltimore's streets in the last several weeks, the authorities say, presumably sold for scrap metal. But so far the case of the pilfered poles has stumped the police, and left many local residents wondering just how someone manages to make off with what would seem to be a conspicuous street fixture.

The poles, which weigh about 250 pounds apiece, have been snatched during the day and in the middle of the night, from two-lane blacktop roads and from parkways with three lanes on either side of grass median strips, in poor areas and in some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. Left behind are half-foot stubs of metal, with wires that carry 120 volts neatly tied and wrapped in black electric tape.

"It's a newfound phenomenon; I have to say we haven't seen this before," said David Brown, a spokesman for the city's transportation department . "Apparently, the culprits know what they're doing because we're talking about 30-foot poles here. It's not like you can stick one in a grocery cart and get rolling."

The culprits seem to have pole-snatching down to a model of precision and efficiency, city officials say. They appear to have gone so far as dressing up as utility crews, the police say, and placing orange traffic cones around the poles about to be felled, to avoid arousing suspicion among motorists.

The missing poles have become yet another measure of the desperation in one of the country's most violent cities. Last year, Baltimore, with a population about one-twelfth that of New York City's, had a homicide rate more than five times as high.

Correction: Nov. 29, 2005, Tuesday:
An article on Friday about the theft of light poles in Baltimore misstated the cost of replacing them. Each pole costs $1,200, not $156,000. (The larger amount is the cost of replacing all 130 stolen poles.)

the giants game was such crap sandwich on sunday and one of the real lowlights was watching giant players on the sidelines thinkng a kick was good and then realizing that it wasn't.



there's fredeeky favorite jeremy shockey, but strahan even ran out onto the field on one of feely's other gag jobs. they gots to beat dallas this weekend.

famous freds wearing skirts and making cash...

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- He who wears the skirt laughs last.

Proving that he's one of the best sports around, Fred Funk wore a pink-flowered skirt for the third hole of the Skins Game on Saturday, his penalty for being outdriven by Annika Sorenstam.

Funk then ended one of the silliest front nines ever by sinking a 25-foot eagle putt from the fringe to win $225,000 and six skins.

"It was beyond expectations," said the 49-year-old Funk, who was making his Skins Game debut. "I was a nervous wreck on one, then I had to pull the skirt out on three, and that was a lot of fun. It was just an unbelievable front nine."

unexplained...

annual monkey buffet festival?

A monkey enjoys softdrink during an annual monkey buffet festival at an ancient temple in Lopburi province in northen Thailand. (AFP/Saeed Khan)

get my hair cut correct, like anthony mason...

Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest stands with the words 'Tru Warier' shaved in his head during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. Artest had 22 points in the Pacers' 97-92 win.

drug companies know what's what...

As an ambitious college student, Cassie Napier had all the right moves - flips, tumbles, an ever-flashing America's sweetheart smile - to prepare for her job after graduation. She became a drug saleswoman.

Ms. Napier, 26, was a star cheerleader on the national-champion University of Kentucky squad, which has been a springboard for many careers in pharmaceutical sales. She now plies doctors' offices selling the antacid Prevacid for TAP Pharmaceutical Products.

Ms. Napier says the skills she honed performing for thousands of fans helped land her job. "I would think, essentially, that cheerleaders make good sales people," she said.

Anyone who has seen the parade of sales representatives through a doctor's waiting room has probably noticed that they are frequently female and invariably good looking. Less recognized is the fact that a good many are recruited from the cheerleading ranks.

Known for their athleticism, postage-stamp skirts and persuasive enthusiasm, cheerleaders have many qualities the drug industry looks for in its sales force. Some keep their pompoms active, like Onya, a sculptured former college cheerleader. On Sundays she works the sidelines for the Washington Redskins. But weekdays find her urging gynecologists to prescribe a treatment for vaginal yeast infection.

loved these...

A new book, Signs of Life, by Dave Askwith and Alex Normanton, features spoof signs which lampoon officious notices and labels that inform and instruct.

talk about it barry....

gagging all over himself...

hall of famers...

rock and roll hall of fame seems a little stupid, but i do like the sex pistols. they'll go in with miles davis, blondie, skynard and black sabbath. weird group, no?

first place rangers....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jaromir Jagr spent the first 20 games of the season reintroducing the NHL to his scoring touch.

During the New York Rangers' perfect home weekend, Jagr showed off his playmaking side, too.

Jagr snapped a third-period tie with his 19th goal and set up two others Sunday night in the Rangers' 3-2 victory over Boston, the Bruins' sixth straight loss.

Jagr had five assists in New York's wins over Carolina and Boston on consecutive days, giving him 16 on the season.

mic in the hotpants? g.a.y.?

MADONNA finds a novel place for her mic as she strips down to a skin-tight pink leotard at London’s G.A.Y. on Saturday.

The Queen of Pop — in fantastic shape at the age of 47 — whipped the crowd into a frenzy by ripping off her top during the five-song gig and popping the mic into her hotpants.

Thousands had screamed her name as Madge emerged from a huge glitter ball and then launched into Hung Up — the first track on her new album Confessions On A Dance Floor.

After pausing for breath the singer then dedicated the album to her huge gay faithful.

Watanabe a 'Man of Sexiness'

NEW YORK (Kyodo) Ken Watanabe, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance alongside Tom Cruise in "The Last Samurai," has now been named one of People Magazine's "International Men of Sexiness."

that's a lot of mayo off the streets...

MEXICO CITY - Mexican agents arrested a former medical student who seized control of the remnants of the Juarez cartel, the country's attorney general said Monday, shedding light on a split within what was once Mexico's most powerful cocaine smuggling gang.

Ricardo Garcia Urquiza, captured in a shopping mall in Mexico City on Nov. 11, is accused of overseeing an organization that moved up to 5 tons of Colombian cocaine a month into Mexico and on to the United States.

Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca said that since late 2004, Garcia Urquiza was responsible for as much as 20 percent of the narcotics that reached America's streets from Mexico.

"This was a mega-cartel, perhaps not as violent, perhaps operating in a different manner, but a mega-cartel," he said.

Garcia Urquiza, his brother Jesus Omar, and Maria Nereida Garcia, a suspected cartel accountant who was arrested leaving her home with nearly $3 million in cash, were among 11 people captured as part of an investigation dubbed "New Generation."

Cabeza de Vaca said the name reflects the fact that the suspects fall into a modern category of drug lords who live in relatively modest homes and drive ordinary vehicles without small armies of attention-attracting body guards.

"They act more like businessmen," Cabeza de Vaca said.

it looks lovely in this photo..

CAMDEN, N.J. - For the second year in a row, this destitute city has been named the nation's most dangerous, according to a company's annual ranking based on crime statistics.

Last year, the distinction seemed to hurt city boosters' feelings more than it harmed revitalization efforts. This time, city leaders are offended by the ranking, calling it unfair.

"We're doing so many nice things now. It's unfortunate that somebody always wants to bad-mouth Camden," Mayor Gwendolyn Faison said.

The city took the top spot last year from Detroit, which remained No. 2 in the most dangerous city rankings, to be released Monday by Morgan Quitno Press. The Lawrence, Kan.-based company publishes "City Crime Rankings," an annual reference book.

$15,000 doesn't seem like enough...

LONDON, Nov. 20 - In the end, the zobo and the ogive could not quite triumph over the qanat and the euripi on Sunday, and thus the contender was birsled - Scottish dialect for scorched or toasted.

It was with such linguistic acrobatics that the eighth World Scrabble Championships came to an end in a north London hotel, when Adam Logan, a 30-year-old mathematician from Canada, scored 465 points to beat Pakorn Nemitrmansuk, a 30-year-old architect from Thailand, with 426 points in the final game of a playoff.

Over four days of triple-letter scores and usages involving q's without u's, like qanat, and qi, it had been a time of abstruse words, canny tactics and high tension for 102 contenders from more than 40 countries from Australia to Zambia, including the United States. It was a time, too, when language divorced itself from meaning in the competition for the $15,000 winner's prize.

cause my viv richards t-shirt never came...

i want to love cricket. i really do. but the foreigners don't want an american to get into the cricket. i order a viv richards t-shirt and it never comes. i buy e.a. cricket 2005 on ebay for 20 something pounds and it won't work on andre's american console. f 'em all. i love the cricket even more cause. here's some info on sir viv richards, one of the greatest batsmen of all-time:



The Antiguan lit up two decades of Test cricket in the 1970s and '80s with a series of dazzling innings, marked by rare panache, power and grace.

Richards was a player brimming with charisma, who enlivened matches simply by his presence, which always carried a promise that something special could happen at any moment.

Such was his confidence, he rejected the helmet in favour of the cap - a sign of his superiority whatever pace of delivery he was facing.

As a captain, he was a shining example who always led from the front - he is still the only West Indies captain never to have lost a Test series.

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was also a brilliant county player. He made his debut for Somerset in 1974, and made 191 first-class appearances in a 13-year career.

With fellow West Indian Joel Garner and England all-rounder Ian Botham, one of his closest friends, he was part of the Somerset side which was one of the most thrilling to watch in the late 1970s and early '80s.

It is little wonder then, that the bible of cricket, Wisden, named him one of the five greatest cricketers of the century.


1980: A delicate sweep shot during a Test in Pakistan

these are great photos of the village from the sixties. so many pictures of macdougoo and the vicinity. cafe wha? was obviously off the hook as was a place called "hip bagel" that i wish was still there. i think i may sell "hip bagel" t-shirts in heeb magazine.

for the beaneaters...

only teams like the sawx and the yankees can just agree to pay lowell $18 mil over the next two years. only schilling and manny made more than $9 mil for the sawx last year. speaking of sawx salaries, big papi has to be one of the most underpaid players in the majors.



The Red Sox and Marlins have come to a tentative agreement on a trade that would send Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to Boston for shortstop Hanley Ramirez, right-handed prospect Anibal Sanchez and a minor-league pitcher.

sorry mac fu....

i got a voice mail from miami spice on sunday that was peppered with the terms terrible, brutal and painful. i feel your pain. hope it wasn't due to those terrible unis.



also, can we just give this guy the heisman:

from the files of reggie dunlop...

Newsflash: The Golf Channel recently announced plans for a 13-episode reality series starring John Daly, titled "The Daly Planet." The program will follow Daly's day-to-day life on and off the golf course.

The first thought that comes to mind: So John Daly's past 15 years in the public eye -- the two major victories, the multiple marriages and divorces, the battle with alcoholism, the country music album, the sponsorship deal with a restaurant known for its waitresses who, uh, serve buffalo wings -- were actually real?

We always figured Long John was a figment of our imagination, a real guy just playing the role of mythical figure. He is a modern-day Paul Bunyan, only instead of swinging an axe, Daly wields an oversize driver, much to the delight of folklore enthusiasts.

He's too good to be true.

too good...

BEIJING — Irked by a reporter who told him he seemed to be "off his game" at a public appearance here, President Bush sought to make a hasty exit from a news conference but was thwarted by locked doors.

The final reporter he called on assessed Bush's performance earlier in the day when he stood beside Hu in the Great Hall of the People near Tiananmen Square to deliver a statement.

"Respectfully, sir — you know we're always respectful — in your statement this morning with President Hu, you seemed a little off your game, you seemed to hurry through your statement. There was a lack of enthusiasm. Was something bothering you?" he asked.

"Have you ever heard of jet lag?" Bush responded. "Well, good. That answers your question."

The president then recited a list of what he viewed as positive developments from his meetings in Beijing, including cooperation on North Korean nuclear disarmament and the ability to engage in "frank discussions" with his Chinese counterpart.

When the reporter asked if he could have "a very quick follow-up," Bush cut him off by thanking the press corps and telling the reporter, "No, you may not," as he strode toward a set of double doors leading out of the room.

The only problem was that they were locked.

great story...

LAS VEGAS - When Doris Payne went to work, she stepped into her fancy dress, high heels and donned a wide-brimmed hat. Her creamy, mocha skin was made up just so, her handbag always designer. Sometimes a pair of plain gold earrings would do. Always, she looked immaculate, well-to-do.

She is 75 now, and she remembers the things she has done with amusement. Yes, she says, that was me, and she throws back her head and laughs.

There was the February day, eight years ago, when she strolled into the Neiman Marcus store on the Las Vegas Strip and asked to see a pair of diamond earrings.

Hmm, she said. She’d think about it over lunch.

She returned and asked to see diamond rings. Employee Linda Sbrocco showed her several — this one ... no, this one ... how about that one? Soon Sbrocco was swapping jewelry in and out of cases at a dizzying pace. Payne slipped rings on and off, and had Sbrocco do the same.

Then Payne was gone. And so was a $36,000 marquis cut, 2.48-carat diamond ring.

This was how Doris Payne went about her work as an international jewel thief.

Never did she grab the jewels and run. That wasn’t her way. Instead, she glided in, engaged the clerk in one of her stories, confused them and easily slipped away with a diamond ring, usually to a waiting taxi cab.

She is, says retired Denver Police Detective Gail Riddell, like a character from a movie — a female Cary Grant, smooth and confident.

“She is very good at what she does,” said Riddell. “She has the style.”

And she has been very, very successful. Every month or every other month — no one knows how many times over more than 50 years — she strolled into a jewelry store and strolled out with a ring worth thousands of dollars.

Occasionally, she was caught. Mostly, she was not.

nice job by big blue...

i walk by this place every day...

and i've always been curious about this sign.



People have been saying for years that the old Times Square - the seedy, lowbrow ancestor of what is now a largely sanitized, Disneyfied tourist haven - is dead. But those people have never spent a night at the Hotel Carter. The 615-room hotel at 250 West 43rd Street offers travelers a cheap room in an expensive city, and something more: an adventure. In the middle of Manhattan and at the neon-bright Crossroads of the World, the hotel has been a little-known source of grimy hospitality, low-budget accommodations and equal numbers of satisfied and dissatisfied customers from around the world.

"We're not a four-star or five-star hotel," she said. What they are, she said, is "the best bargain for the location."

A two-night stay at the hotel last week illustrated the benefits and the drawbacks of bargain lodging in Times Square. The hotel can be humorously disorienting. People have stood on the sidewalk outside the hotel and tried to decipher, without success, the meaning of one of the hotel's slogans, displayed above its bronze-colored awning: "You Wanted in Time Square & Less."

fredeeky loves paddle tennis...

thanks to barry beck for hosting a saturday night paddle jamboree in beautiful jersey. along with andre the giant and earl babst, we played three hours of paddle in about 30 degree weather. it was my first time, but i felt that my game was strong. paddle now ranks with pong, bowling, bar shuffleboard and pinball as an all-time favorite. here's the unoffical blizzy of the hinsdale, il. paddle scene.

still an incredible site...

we've seen these guys before, but post secret has become one of the most popular sites on the web, yet has no advertising to speak of. they have made a book however and i hope that they do well with it.

what happened to rhazes spellizzi?

what barry wants for christmas...

AT THE MARK MESSIER LEADERSHIP CAMP YOU WILL TRAIN, PLAY, COMPETE AND CELEBRATE WITH LEGENDARY LEADER, MARK MESSIER, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK RANGERS, 1994 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM.

LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN EFFECTIVE LEADER. COMPETE. COMMUNICATE. MOTIVATE. BOND. BE A TEAM PLAYER. DO WHAT IT TAKES!

the most expensive car in 2005...

1. Saleen S7 Twin Turbo
Country of Origin: United States
Price: €535,000* in Europe ($670,384)
Price in U.S.: $555,000

Budweiser says it's the "King of Beers." The Saleen S7 has earned the right to call itself the "King of Cars." It is the world's fastest and most expensive automobile.

mac fu finds this both hilarious and terrible...

can't believe the canes get get in any real trouble for this, but it can't help their b.c.s. hopes any. the guy who posted it seems real unhappy that this got so blown out. this is what got it all kinds of blown up. here are some throwback unis to make fu feel better.



A 2-year-old profanity-laced recording that denigrates women and minorities surfaced on the Web on Tuesday, putting the University of Miami's athletic department on the defensive about its image.

Miami's carefully cultivated image as a school well-past the days that earned it the reputation as a program lacking institutional control may have taken a blow when the rap song, which sources told ESPN.com includes the voices of several football players, surfaced on the Internet.

A group calling itself the 7th Floor Crew -- the name reportedly comes from the seventh floor of the Mahoney Residential College, campus housing at Miami -- made a recording referencing multiple acts of group sex, derogatory terms for women and minorities and dozens of curse words that lasts approximately 9 minutes. School officials say the song was recorded two years ago, but that seems to offer little solace.

seems pricey, but also intriguing...

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unauthorized hipster report...

this is actually an e mail high life sent me, but knowing that jim mclivaine helped shape his record collection in anyway forced me to share it. for the record he earned $27,725,000 in an eight year n.b.a. career. shawn kemp left the sonics cause he was mad that big jim earned more than he did.



this was my camp growing up - 6 years as a camper, 5 as staff. Jim McIlvaine was one of my first counselors there. his brother Steve was responsible for the majority of my record collection in sixth grade. Jim is only famous as receiving one of the most ridiculous contracts
in NBA history. That contract contributed (along with a minor donation from High Life) to Saving Camp. I have been known to rock a "Save Camp" T-Shirt.

the deezy checks in...

look at what he found. how are things up in the shire? here's something for the rest of the bean eaters up north:


National League Boston Beaneaters, c. 1897

randy's a favorite...

i like that he never talks to the media and i like that he went to marshall. however, when he does talk he's got some pearls. although i sort of got no idea what he's talking about here,"straight cash, homey" is one of the great sports quotes ever.



ALAMEDA, Calif. - Randy Moss wants no part of playing alongside Terrell Owens. Nor does he see any similarity between himself and Owens. In his first interview in more than two months, Moss addressed several topics with ESPN for a program scheduled to air in full Sunday morning.

"No, I'm not here," Moss said when asked how he would respond if Owens were to come to Oakland.

"I mean, T.O. could be good here with the Raiders but I don't think with his baggage and everything he's been through, and my baggage and what I've been through, I don't think that would work. As far as being compared to the league and myself, I mean they don't talk to me, I don't talk to them, so we don't even have a relationship. No communication."