According to sports blog RickyVaughn99, the Rangers clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive year, thanks to two goals by Jaromir Jagr and solid play from “fellow foreign sensation Henrik Lundqvist.”

According to wikipedia:

Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round disc called a puck, into the opponent’s net or goal, using a hockey stick. The dominant version of hockey in a particular region tends to be known simply as hockey, other forms being more fully qualified.

After further research, it was determined by LairdNYC researchers that the Rangers play a form of ice hockey, which (again, according to wikipedia),

is played on a large flat area of ice, using a three inch (76.2 mm) diameter vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is contested between two teams of skaters. The game is played all over North America, Europe and in many other countries around the world to varying extent. It is the most popular sport in Canada and in Finland.

Congratulations to the Rangers and best of luck in the professional hockey league playoffs!

The World’s Most Famous Arena will undergo a $500 million renovation instead, which will widen hallways, raise ceilings and add a number of restaurants and luxury boxes to the building that has stood since 1968. Smaller renovations were completed during the 1990s, but this overhaul should drastically change the way the building looks (and probably smells).

Cablevision, which is headed by SUNY-New Paltz dropout Jimmy Dolan, backed out of a government plan to move the Garden to the Manhattan Post Office site across Eighth Avenue, which would allow further renovations to Penn Station, which currently sits below the Arena.

Madison Square Garden executive Hank Ratner says the renovation will start sometime in 2009 and should be finished by 2011. Plans include a 25-foot skylight at the main entrance, more bathrooms, bars and restaurants and upgraded luxury suites, which currently sit very far away from the court/ice.

It comes as a surprise that Cablevision decided to pull out, as they have shown over the years that they have no qualms in wasting money, especially when it comes to executives and players for the New York Knicks. However, I suppose one could say this is in line with their historical decisions, as fans have repeatedly called for a new arena and now Cablevision is choosing to go in the opposite direction.

And here it is!

According to hockey expert Doug Skinner, this is not the first fight that Patrick Roy has been involved with. So, here are some of those!

The Russian left winger will receive $9 million per season through the first six years of the deal and then $10 million per season after that. The contract also includes a “limited-movement” clause, which allows Ovechkin to name several teams each season where he cannot be traded.

Ovechkin was the #1 pick overall in the 2004 NHL Draft. He joined the team for the 2005-06 season because of the NHL lockout and was the landslide winner of the NHL’s Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year, earning 124 of a possible 129 first-place votes to beat out second place finisher Sidney Crosby.

The NHL will be assisting the Capitals in paying for the contract, as no team in the league has the financial resources to pay for a deal of this size. To facilitate the funding required, the NHL has announced that they will be dissolving franchises in Phoenix, Columbus, Nashville, and Tampa Bay, despite massive protests from fans in each city. In one instance, all 17 fans of the Nashville Predators turned out screaming obscenities towards Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL. Unfortunately for the diehards, their calls fell on deaf ears.

Drury signed a five-year contract worth $35.25 million, with the first two years of the deal paying him $7.1 million annually. Gomez signed a seven-year contract worth $51.5 million, paying him $10 million next season. When asked regarding the Gomez signing, former Devils season ticket holder Doug Skinner replied “the back of his jersey next year should have $$ as the number.”

Drury is from nearby Trumbull, CT, which should draw a slightly bigger fan base to Madison Square Garden than was experienced last season. The NHL has been working through significant problems in gaining, or even keeping, fans active in the league and they are hoping to build on last year’s season and bring hockey back as a major sport in America. Bringing in two highly skilled players to its biggest market certainly helps.

2. Vice Lombardy Trophy
Given to the winner of the National Football League’s Super Bowl, the Vince Lombardi Trophy is handcrafted every year by Tiffany & Co. and is valued at $25,000. Initially named the World Championship Game Trophy, it was renamed in 1970 to honor legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, who won the first two Super Bowls.

3. World Series Trophy
The World Series Trophy is given to the winning team in Major League Baseball’s World Series. Today’s trophy has thirty different flags, representing each team in the league. Technically known as the Commissioner’s Trophy, the 24 inch tall, 11 inch round trophy is created every year for each new champion. The first trophy was awarded in 1967 to the St. Louis Cardinals after beating the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

4. Larry O’Brian NBA Championship Trophy
Awarded to the winner of the National Basketball Association finals, the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy is roughly sixteen pounds and made of sterling silver and vermeil, with a 24 karat gold overlay. At roughly two feet tall, it is designed to look like a basketball about to fall into the basket. The trophy was created in 1977 and named after former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien in 1984.