Peppy Square

Archive for February, 2010

When you hear the name Madison Square Garden, there are a lot of things that pop into you mind, if you are a Knicks fan, then only one name comes to the front of your head. This name is Patrick Ewing. Those that are die-hard fans of the Knicks know that the team is a one of a kind mixture of players that come from various backgrounds and have a wide array of talents. Patrick Ewing is one of these players that had great success in the NBA with the Knicks.

Known for his large frame, Ewing was a force that was to be admired in dealing with opponents. There were several players that made the statement “I hate playing against Patrick, he’s like shooting around a brick wall.” These players thought that they had no chance to overcome the most dominant basket protecting force in the league at the time. Patrick Ewing made quite a name for himself while on the court for the Knicks. There are a lot of plays that would have never seen daylight had Ewing not been in place to assist. With nearly 3000 points to his credit there was little doubt that the Knicks with the help of Ewing would dominate the NBA for a long time.

Marc Jackson was another player that made an impression while with the team. This was during what is known as the “rebuilding” years. During this time, the Knicks made a run for a championship that was impressive in the fact that they were doing it after the Patrick Ewing era. This was a time of change for the team and as such led them to believe that they had a renewed chance for championship glory, especially after the Jordan era ended.

These hopes as great as they were, ended up being unfounded. The team still struggled on the line against their opponents, and regularly found themselves asking “what now?” Without the power of Patrick Ewing to lead them, the Knicks fell into a deep dark hole that even today they are trying to dig out of. Fans of the Knicks are a true blue group that will not desert their home team under any circumstances. These fans all know that it is simply a matter of time before the Knicks return to their winning ways, and their patience is slowly being rewarded.

Many of the Knicks fans believe that there will be another great era to begin in the next few years. These fans are under the belief that Patrick Ewing Jr. will be the next extraordinary player that will step up and fill his fathers shoes. “EJ” as fans call him is being billed as a basketball messiah for the team. The “Knicks Nation” is pinning all their hopes and prayers for a glorious comeback on this son of a legend. This may very well be just the shot in the arm that the Knicks need. Of course, only time will tell if the Knicks will return to their former championship glory.

If you’re already a New York Rangers fan, then you know that this great hockey team lives up to the name and reputation that hockey stands for in every sense of the word. On Wednesday, January 20, 2010, the New York Rangers’ Patrick trophy winner John Halligan passed at the age of 68. Halligan served the New York Rangers for four decades as one of their public relations executives and gained the respect from members industry wide for his passion for the game.

The New York Rangers are truly a force to be reckoned with on the ice. Their strategies on the ice have led them to a great number of victories both at home and away in games against formidable adversaries from around the country and in Canada. The Rangers are currently in third place, surpassed only by Pittsburgh and New Jersey for the division. The Rangers currently have 55 points with 12-11-4 for home games and 12-8-3 for away games. In the Eastern Conference, the Rangers are in sixth place behind Washington, New Jersey, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Ottawa. Marian Gaborik heads the top of the list in stats for forwards and defensemen with 61. Vinny Prospal (36), Brandon Dubinsky (28), Ryan Callahan (27) and Michael Del Zotto (24) round out the top five team players.

The Rangers take on Philadelphia on their own ice on the 21st at the Wachovia Center. This is a great matchup for the Atlantic Division rivals and represents the third match of the season between the two. The Rangers will take on the Flyers again on March 14 at home, April 9 at home and April 11 again at Wachovia Center. The Rangers will then take on the Penguins on January 25 and continue as scheduled through the rest of the 2009-2010 season. With so much of the season remaining, it’s very possible that this formidable New York team will take their best game playing skills to the top of the division and beyond.

Madison Square Garden commands respect on the strength that this venue has built over the years. The fact that it is home to the New York Rangers only adds to the credibility of this venue that is recognized around the world as one of the greatest locations for many different types exciting events from concerts to hockey games featuring the New York Rangers. When it comes to fantastic venues, Madison Square Garden holds a place of distinction above most. Located at 4 Pennsylvania Avenue in New York, New York, Madison Square Garden has been providing many satisfied patrons with opportunities to experience a world class venue for their events.

Seating differs depending on the particular type of event you plan to attend. When it comes the New York Rangers, fans pack into Madison Square Garden to support their Rangers for every home game. It is the 84th years that the Rangers have set their sights on the Stanley Cup again this season. Players, coaches, fans and even opponents have to give credit to the Rangers where it’s due because they’ve had four consecutive playoff appearances in Stanley Cup playoffs and are contender again this season.

Whether you want to sit rink side and catch all of the action right beside the glass or club suites on the 9th and 10th floor, there are excellent sites to the action on the ice. Four towers provide entrance to the Garden and proximity to seating. VIP Boxes, Lofts and Legends Box provide unique seating arrangements for entertaining guests, family and friends. The Club Bar & Grill and Play By Play Sports Bar offer exclusive dining experiences for patrons seated in the suite and club seating areas.

It seems that the kids in our neighborhood were always building something. If it wasn’t stilts, it was rubber guns (probably a lost art). If it wasn’t airplanes, it was scooters. If it wasn’t go-carts, it was pigeon coops. It never ended.

A supply of suitable materials was the main problem faced by us early builders. Junk is what things were built from. That often showed in the final product. But we always looked on our great creation with pride until a disaster destroyed our masterpiece.

In pioneer days, the Jordan River that runs through the Salt Lake Valley was a clear stream full of trout. We had never seen it that way. It was totally polluted in our day. We were told it was a clean, clear fishing stream by Mr. Foster (who grew truck crops on a two or three acre plot to feed his family). He had caught many trout from the river when he was a boy.

We sometimes caught trout from the river too, but we had to fish where fresh water streams entered the filthy waters of the river. Sometimes the state dumped trout into the river at the fairgrounds after their exhibition at the State Fair, but that was rare, and the trout were either quickly fished out or died in the muck.

Still, the river was our playground. We were told never to get into the water or we would die of the bubonic plague or be drowned in a whirlpool. None of us died of the plague but some of us did drown. One of my friends tried to rescue his brother while by grandfather played his accordion in the park only a few hundred yards away. Both boys were lost while we enjoyed the music, not knowing what was going on.

Things were tough on kids in those days. Two of our friends were killed when their bike was hit by a cement truck racing down the street to get concrete to the arms plant.

A brother and sister we knew where killed by a truck taking ammunition from the arms plant to the railroad dock. The WAC driver fell asleep.

One of our friends died when he fell from a fence while he and his siblings were stealing a few lumps of coal from the coal yard.

A baby was lost when a sibling closed the drawer where the mother kept the child.

Our widower shoemaker lost two children when a son tried to save his sister from highway traffic. (Later the shoemaker, who did not trust banks, lost his life’s savings when his last surviving son stole the money.)

There were the diseases too. Polio scared us all, but kids died of a number of other ailments because there was no penicillin or sulfa drugs to help them.

Death was all around us, but the scariest thing was when young mothers died from giving childbirth.

We needed not to think to much on these things. So maybe that is partly why we built a wide range of contraptions.

Following is a poem about a boat that was built in my backyard.

The Square Boat Which Wouldn’t Float by Taylor Jones

Saturday, April 19, 1999 (Modified November 3, 2005)

Aaron had the idea:

A boat on the Jordan to float.

So Dick and Aaron and all the big guys

Built a boat before our eyes.

It was shaped appropriately

Like a coffin.

It had square sides

And a flat bottom.

They nailed and tarred;

It weighed a ton.

It took forever to get it to the river

Where we could have some fun.

Well, every kid in town

Watched the show.

We pushed the boat in the water

To see if it would go.

Aaron was in the middle

And Dick was in the stern.

Would the thing float or not?

That we would soon learn.

They paddled it out into the middle

Of that muddy Jordan River.

At first things looked pretty good.

It was quite a clipper.

Then slowly, slowly, did we see,

Right before our eyes,

That Aaron and the boys would be swimming;

It was the boat’s demise.

Yes, it sank like that concrete ship

That lay’s on Cape May’s shore.

That bungling concrete vessel

Made just for the war.

And just before “Abandon Ship!”

There was our little war

Because there was a good supply of mud

On good Old Jordan’s shore.

So began the mud fight

Until the ship did sink.

They were covered with mud from head to foot

Until they gulped the drink

So all the work on that great boat

Was lost in just a wink.

It sank so fast from bow to mast,

I could hardly blink.

I miss those days of carefree youth,

Of boats, and planes, and cars.

But then the boys all left home

To fight in a real war.

Orville and Virgil never came home.

They were not alone.

But the boat builders survived,

Thank God they did come home.

Copyright?John T. Jones, Ph.D.1999-2005