spotlight on brian leetch...

Brian Leetch's return to Madison Square Garden already had been delayed twice, once by the lockout and then by injury. Had he been traded by the Boston Bruins before the deadline, it might have been delayed a third time. I had tickets to the pre-season game against the B's and for their last visit so I've been waiting for a long time to thanks one of my favorite NY Sports heros of my lifetime.

But all Rangers fans finally will get a chance to cheer him tonight when he makes an odd and emotional appearance.

Odd because Leetch wearing any other sweater just doesn't look right.

Emotional because of what he meant to the Rangers franchise.

Leetch won two Norris Trophies and was selected to 11 All-Star games as a Ranger. Though a defenseman, he scored more points (981) than anybody in club history other than Hall of Fame winger Rod Gilbert.

Other than ranking second to fellow defenseman Harry Howell on the team's all-time games played list (1160 to 1129) and sitting way down the penalty minutes chart, Leetch holds all the career franchise records for defensemen by a wide margin. That includes goals (240), assists (741) and points (981).

The only defenseman among the six Rangers in history to have scored 100 points in a single season (102 in 1991-92), Leetch also holds the franchise records for points in 17 straight games and assists in 15 straight.

Leetch, 38, has five goals and 25 assists in 48 games. A free agent after the season, he recently told Boston-area reporters he is unsure if he will play in 2006-07. So this could be his last time on Garden ice. However the Rangers did make an effort to bring the veteren back to the franchise this year. In one attempt in December Slats offered up Poti for Leetch straight up. At the deadline the Rangers also inquired about #2 but by then the front office at the TD Bank Center (Such a lame name to replace the old Boston Garden by the way) was asking way too much.

It will be emotional on another level because of the type of guy Brain was. Humble and gracious with the media and fans on Broadway, he always wanted the puck in big moments but never the spotlight. He remains an example for all professional athletes in my opinion.

No Ranger fan will forget Eddie Gociaman's return to the garden at a member of the Red Wings in which the Garden faithfull showered him with "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie" throughout the game and rooted him to a shutout against the home team he was traded from just days before. Then Mark Messier's return to the Garden Ice came roughly 20 years later. A video tribute for him brought tears to his eyes literally seconds before the opening face-off and again the Garden shook for the man who brought Lord Stanley's Cup to the building in 1994. Adam Graves was also given the treatment when he returned in the odd looking visitors uniform. Brian Leetch gets the treatment tonight — the player who fashioned the greatest Rangers career of them all returning for the first time to the building that was his second home for 16 years and to play against the team he never wanted to leave.

Rangers fans, who have had a lot to cheer about this season, will have one more reason tonight. Leetch will have to try to hold it together and then play a hockey game. This Deeky reporter will be in the old barn tonight. Section 409, Row C. There may even be a few tears dripping into my large beer. The reality tonight is this. A member of the family is coming back home to the Garden and the Rangers are in first place. Cheers.

upset central...

didn't fill out a bracket this year and i'm glad i didn't. tourney seems more random than ever these days. george mason beats n.c.? bradley takes down kansas and pitt? this was unthinkable back in the day. now it's a free for all, which is totally entertaining, but also real hard to predict.

the player/coach's footy report...

With US sucking arse in Hockey, being humiliated in Baseball, all we have left is the sport we do not care about, but are surprisingly good at... Yes I am talking about Soccer. I suggest we all start getting behind this team and get ready for the World Cup. I will be watching the matches at what ever soccer crazy bar is out there and plan to get going hooligan style. Here is a clipping from the US Soccer federation site. Followed up with a little break down of my favorite players.

CHICAGO (March 15, 2006) – A little less than three months before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men's National Team received their highest ever position in the FIFA World Rankings, moving up one spot to fifth place. Their record-setting position puts them two spots ahead of CONCACAF rival Mexico and in front of such powerhouses as Spain, France and England

The U.S. has begun 2006 in solid form, going 4-0-1 and netting 13 goals while only surrendering two. After drawing with Canada on Jan. 22 in San Diego, the U.S. has produced four straight victories against Norway, FIFA World Cup finalists Japan and Poland, and Guatemala, three by shutout.

The U.S. was drawn into Group E for the 2006 FIFA World Cup along with the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana. The U.S. plays their opening match against the Czechs on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen before meeting Italy in Kaiserslautern on June 17 and then finishing off group play against Ghana on June 22 in Nuremberg. The U.S. has chosen the northern port city of Hamburg as their base of operations throughout the tournament.

Clint Dempsy




Influenced by Diego Mardonna and Carlos Valderrama he likes to play South American style. Meaning flashy and fiesty. What is not to Like?












DeMarcus Beasley



Had an explosive year for both club and country, making the jump to European soccer while registering career highs in goals scored at the domestic and international level











Eddie Lewis
A speedy left-sided winger, Lewis continued his second coming with the USA displaying his ability to serve a dangerous ball from the left flank … Landed a perfectly placed cross on the head of Landon Donovan to insure the historic 2-0 win against Mexico in the Round of 16




Eddie Johnson
One of U.S. Soccer's top scorers across all age groups in the last four years with 71 goals. Johnson is known to fans affectionately as "grown-ass man" or "GAM". He received the nickname after an interviewer asked him what video games he played. He responded, "I don't play video games. I'm a grown-ass man"



Landon Donavan


One of the elite players in the U.S. arsenal and already a World Cup star, he has established an incredible international pedigree at the age of just 21 … The leader in goals scored and minutes played in 2003, he was named U.S. Soccer's Chevrolet Male Athlete of the Year… Possesses speed of foot and thought, and is a deadly finisher from the run of play and set pieces ... (This guy is not really a Fav but he is sicky at footy)

miami spice is is going to be a daddy...

you heard it here first. fredeeky is the site for all the latest miami spice related news. let me be the first to offer my heartiest congratulations. observe and respect the power of miami spice's seed. all the best mac-fu and keep us up to date. big ups to the wifey as well.

the winner was given a set of gold teeth...

"Flavor of Love," the VH1 reality show following the rapper Flavor Flav's search for a mate, concluded on Sunday night with the channel's highest ratings ever. Nielsen's numbers for the show grew significantly over its run, and for the finale, 5.88 million viewers watched Flav, pick Hoopz over a woman named New York; the winner was given a set of gold teeth.

i find this trial so intriguing...

The witness was a geriatric pot dealer who, along with smuggling drugs, had illicit fingers in everything from Burkina Faso diamonds to leisure suits.

The two detectives were career policemen who had risen in the ranks — one to an elite investigative team that tracked the mob — before retiring to a subdivision in the Las Vegas desert sands.

Nonetheless, testimony suggested that the unlikely group had formed a partnership, one in which for years gangland cash was swapped for blood. The witness said he served as the crucial link between the lawmen and their patron in the mob, a brutal Brooklyn mobster who, the witness said, employed them as his spies and as executors of his wrath.

Yesterday, the witness, Burton Kaplan, took the stand and in measured tones told jurors of a secret meeting in a Staten Island cemetery, a kidnapped mobster screaming in a trunk and a bullet-laced Mercedes, its driver dead, abandoned on the shoulder of the road. These were a few of the vivid details offered at the racketeering trial of the retired detectives, Louis J. Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. They stand accused of taking part in at least eight murders for the mob.

big start for clemens tonight ...

ANAHEIM -- Every time he goes out there, the words "last start" are attached to the name Roger Clemens.

And so, this is the way it is: If Clemens doesn't help Team USA defeat Mexico on Thursday night at Angel Stadium in the third and final game of the second round, the U.S. will most likely be out of the World Baseball Classic, and the Rocket may have thrown his last game as a professional, again.

getting worse every day...

The building known as Madison Square Garden is not one space but two — a hallowed arena attached to a less venerable theater. The Knicks, having proven themselves inept on the hardwood, might consider relocating to the stage next door. At the moment, they are far more compelling as a soap opera than as a basketball team.

With the season lost and the next makeover months away, there is nothing left to do but point fingers, grouse and feud, and Stephon Marbury and Coach Larry Brown have perfected the routine this week.

Their dramatic sideshow moved into its third day as Brown and Marbury took turns assailing each other's character and motives. Theirs is not a dialogue but a series of monologues. All that is missing in their theater of the absurd is the microphone, curtains and overpriced drinks.

In a caustic debate over playing styles, Brown played his trump card Tuesday, citing 30-plus years of coaching success. Marbury fired back yesterday by playing the psychoanalysis card: He called Brown insecure.

"If Coach is comparing his career to my career, he's got like a 20-year edge on me," Marbury said after the morning shoot-around. "To me, that sounds like there's a lot of insecurities going on."

Marbury added: "I think it's personal now. I don't think it's about basketball anymore."

everyone loves duct tape....

Models use it to create cleavage. Sled-dog drivers use it to prevent frostbite. Athletes use it to support weak joints. Veterinarians use it to repair horses' hooves.

What's this wonder tool? Duct tape.

sounds like a pat benatar video...

Women involved in prostitution in Daytona Beach, Fla., have reportedly armed themselves and are searching for a serial killer behind the slayings of three residents, according to a Local 6 News report.

"We will get him first," streetwalker Tonya Richardson said. "Yeah, we are going to get him first. When we find him, he is going to be sorry. It is as simple as that."

Richardson said she and other women are carrying weapons on the streets after Laquetta Gunther, Julie Green and Iwana Patton were found dead in the city.

"I carry a switch blade with me now," Richardson said. "Everyone else does now too."

earl d. basbt's steak rankings...

I am quite sure I have posted these before, but here they are again. The truth is, if you can get a really hot oven, a good cut of Prime beef, and a chef that does not overcook his food, you have a hard time getting something bad. The things that make the biggest difference are the sides, wine list, decor, and other diners. I will admit, Morton's is my most despised steakhouse, which is funny since I used to hit it in Columbus with frequency before Mitchell's opened.




Best Overall
1. BLT Steak
2. Strip House

Best Old School


1. The Palm (original)
2. Bobby Vans





Best Casual
1. Wollensky's Grill
2. Houston's




Best Ethnic
1. Pietro's


Best "Experience"


1. Peter Luger's
2. "21"
3. Strip House
4. Keen's (but the food is not in the same league as any of the ones listed above)



Best Bargain
1. Angelo Maxie's
2. Houston's





Most Overrated
1. Morton's
2. Wolfgang's
3. Del Frisco
4. Smith & Wollensky's (Not the Grill)
5. Any Palm other than the original

u.s. close to being eliminated...

we need a korean victory over japan tonite, but i'm not totally sure as the tie breaker system couldn't be more complicated.

great photos of old timey computers...

not right....

Homer Simpson would love the newest taste sensation in minor league baseball: the doughnut burger.

We kid you not. The Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League promised to create "Baseball's Best Burger" in time for the team's opener in late May. And they appear to have succeeded.

The ballpark sandwich will include a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon -- all between a "bun" made of a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut.

If you can find a (loop)hole in your cardiologist's advice, calorie counters predict the monster will set you back about 1,000 calories and 45 grams of fat.

it's starks nite at the garden...

this video made my day. takes for ever to load so be patient. this is really only for andre the giant and barry beck, but they ought to enjoy it.

i was a big fan of this guy back in the day...

again, i'd prefer that my ball players be on the mayo than on the 'roids, but that's just me.



TAMPA, Fla. - Former baseball star Dwight Gooden was ordered held without bond Wednesday and faces up to five years in prison for violating the terms of his probation, a prosecutor said.

Gooden, 41, pleaded guilty in November to speeding away from police after a DUI traffic stop in August 2005 and was sentenced to three years probation. On Tuesday he went to a regular meeting with a probation officer where he admitted to using cocaine, according to Jo Ellyn Rackleff, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.

from the new yorker...

I own only one piece of art depicting a musician. It’s a photograph of an m.c. known as Ghostface Killah. He is smoking a cigarette and singing into an old-fashioned ribbon microphone. In his knit cap and sunglasses, he looks a bit like Frank Sinatra crossed with a jewel thief. “Fishscale,” Ghostface’s new album, is his fifth, and it is the most exciting record I’ve heard recently. This is more than a little surprising, because Ghostface is thirty-five, and rappers seldom have long careers, let alone ones in which the quality of the work steadily improves.

who knew?

ANAHEIM -- Who are these guys, anyway?

The only unbeaten team in the World Baseball Classic powered its way to another victory Monday night as surprisingly adept-at-everything Korea defeated Team USA, 7-3, before 21,288 at Angel Stadium.

First baseman Seung-Yeop Lee hit another home run, his fifth of the tournament, Hee-Seop Choi slugged his first -- in a pinch-hit role -- and the Korea pitching staff stymied the best lineup it has seen so far in the 16-team tournament as Korea improved to 2-0 in Round 2 and 5-0 overall.

Korea is sitting in the semifinals cat-bird seat heading into Wednesday night's game against Japan. The top two teams here advance to the semis in San Diego. Japan, Mexico and the United States each have one loss in this round-robin. If Mexico beats Japan Tuesday night, Korea reaches the semis.

"Something happened tonight which nobody could believe," Korea manager In Sik Kim said. "Not just the USA team, which is (some) of the best of all the best Major Leaguers, but our players (beat) these players and it's very difficult to believe what happened.

"But this is baseball and you never know what might happen."

an afternoon at the reef...

that's johnny's reef in city island, where andre the giant, barry beck, the player/coach and myself spent this past saturday afternoon. why city island you may ask? well, split rock was a shit show (pelham/splick rock can go f itself) and we had nothing else to do. there was seafood, a trip to the driving range and even some swings in the batting cage. all in all a surprisingly enjoyable afternoon espesciall since our golf dreams had fallen through.

one of a-game's all time faves....

art attack: biennial edition...

fredeeky loves the art attacks and feels that little birdie is making us all smarter by sharing the contents of her brainal cord with the rest of us. love it when readers share the expertise with the blizzy. love sharing in general. speaking of which, we're all looking for an upper east side report soon.



It's been so long since I did an Art Attack! Here's the scoop on the Biennial: The Whitney is The Whitney Museum of American Art, but they are pretty loose about the "American-ness" and included foreign born artists living here and American born artists living abroad. I don't think it matters as much as it once did.

In 2004 the show was up-beat and included a lot of young artists that are now highly popular, like the amazing Corey Archangel who has a blog here. Look here for when he hacked into Atari Games.

This year's show is much darker. The title is "Day for Night", which is the name of a French Noir film by Truffaut from 1973. The French title is "La nuit americaine" that literally translates to The American Night. It's a film about making a film (art about art).

Here are some highlights, but as I was looking at the site I realized that I liked more than I originally thought.



1) Richard Serra's "Stop Bush" Abu Gharib prisoner drawing from 2004 - You'll remember he stated that this was not a work of art, but a protest.



2) Troy Brauntuch's series of untitled white crayon on black canvas drawings - This was my favorite thing in the show.



3) Mark Grotjohn's paintings: This is a hot young artist who will get bigger and bigger.



4) Lisa Lapinski's sculpture - I liked the caning and thought this was striking.

courtesy of earl d. babst...

first potvin, now hasselhoff...

love iverson and america's funniest...

expect a lot more of these you tube videos on the blizzy. loving both of these for vastly different reasons.

the newest ranger, sandis ozolinsh...

of course this is brought to us by the great barry beck, who did not lose a set is last night's paddle fest.



The Rangers did there due dil on Ozolinsh because many of his former teammates are on this current team. No one really knows about his subsutance abuse because he checked himself into the program administered by the NHLPA. Also, he played in the olympics so GM Sather assumed he'd been checked over by the Latvians as well.

"As you know, everyone that goes to Olympics was checked for everything," Sather said. "So we knew he didn't have a problem there. I know his agent (Paul Theofanous) very well. And everybody I talked to thinks he's a great guy and a great team guy."

A torn pectoral muscle that required surgery limited him to just 36 games in 2003-04. And a knee sprain suffered in late November had him shelved until he checked himself into the NHL/NHLPA substance abuse program on Dec.29.

Cleared to return just in time to play for Latvia at the Olympics, Ozolinsh played impressively for a team short on NHL players. He wowed Sather, who was one of only a handful of GMs to attend the Games.

And after doing some checking into Ozolinsh's personal problems, and checking with former Anaheim teammates Steve Rucchin and Petr Sykora and former World Junior championship teammate Darius Kasparaitis, Sather was convinced this was a risk worth taking. Besides, the price wasn't very high - defensemen went for larger ransoms yesterday - and
the Rangers have plenty of room under the cap to absorb the $2.75 million Ozolinsh is due next season.

He's a big guy but also fast and a great passer in the mold of the Eastern European defensman. Think a stronger, older and wiser version of Sergi Zubov, member of the '94 Rangers.

paddle photo!

¡Un Fenómeno!

Camilo Villegas began last week as a promising young golfer with a chance to make inroads on the PGA Tour.

Four spectacular days at Doral were all it took to elevate that image.

The 24-year-old Colombian has become ''¡Un Fenómeno!'' -- so dubbed by one of his homeland's largest newspapers after finishing behind only Tiger Woods at last week's Ford Championship at Doral.

Golf fans, countrymen and fellow tour pros alike have taken notice of his fusion of talent and GQ looks, stamping the young golfer as a poster boy for the circuit's next generation.

At Doral's Blue Monster, the largely Hispanic multitude that crowded the ropes for a glimpse at the 24-year-old heartthrob was larger than that following any other golfer except Woods.

a-game hits us with some science...

FIVE brothers and sisters who can only walk naturally on all fours are being hailed as a unique insight into human evolution, after being found in a remote corner of rural Turkey.

Scientists believe that the family may provide invaluable information on how Man evolved from a four-legged hominid to develop the ability to walk on two feet more than three million years ago.

A genetic abnormality, which may prevent the siblings, aged 18 to 34, from walking upright, has been identified.

The discovery of the Kurdish family in southern Turkey last July has triggered a fierce debate. Two daughters and a son have only ever walked on two palms and two feet, with their extended legs, while another daughter and son occasionally manage a form of two-footed walking. The five can stand up, but only for a short time, with both knees and head flexed.

more jazz...

ON the wall of his wood-paneled basement in his suburban Long Island home, the drummer Roy Haynes has a large poster of his idol, the Count Basie-band drummer Jo Jones. In the picture, taken in 1940, Jones stands outside of a building in a hat, suit and full-length overcoat, holding a cymbal with his left hand and a brush with his right. The stance is all casual defiance: Jones's feet are spaced apart, his chin and his eyebrows are raised. "He was the man," Mr. Haynes said. "And he carried himself like that."

starting to percolate over the college hoops...

great work by cuse, seems like g-mac has been there for ever.

going to see ahmad jammal tonite...

intrigued...

It's called "J.M.T.," which stands for "Jamaica Mean Time," and it's a collection of new-ish tracks from Vybz Kartel, a wicked and witty rhymer who has spent the last four years near the top of Jamaica's dancehall reggae heap. He rushes through 20 songs in less than an hour, sometimes rattling off his smutty puns so quickly that the words disappear into a blur of clickety-clack consonants. Keeping up is hard work, especially for any listener not fluent in Jamaican patois. But it's worth it.

so disturbing...

Feb. 20, 2006 — Jasmine Roberts never expected her award-winning middle school science project to get so much attention. But the project produced some disturbing results: 70 percent of the time, ice from fast food restaurants was dirtier than toilet water.

The 12-year-old collected ice samples from five restaurants in South Florida — from both self-serve machines inside the restaurant and from drive-thru windows. She then collected toilet water samples from the same restaurants and tested all of them for bacteria at the University of South Florida.

In several cases, the ice tested positive for E. coli bacteria, which comes from human waste and has been linked to several illness outbreaks across the country.