Are You Out There, Can You Hear Me?

I'm afraid that's what Steve Mears and Chris King may be asking this hockey season as the radio voices of the New York Islanders.

The Islanders today announced the formation of the New York Islanders Radio Network. The press release issued by the team describes the venture as a "Multi-Media Radio Network" whose purpose is to provide "Comprehensive Distribution" of Islanders radio broadcasts.

The cross-platform network includes terrestrial, satellite, and Internet radio delivery. It certainly sounds like comprehensive distribution. But consider that the satellite and Internet options are not new, and the terrestrial portion of the network is being carried by two stations from the Long Island Radio Group, the largest radio group on Long Island. Specifically, WMJC 94.3 FM will handle the night games and WHLI 1100 AM will take care of the afternoon affairs.

No offense to these stations—they know the strength of their signals—but this is a step back in the development of the organization's tri-state-area media presence. Below are maps of the approximate coverage areas for each of these stations, as charted by Radio-Locator. You can read more detailed definitions of the colored lines on their site, but here's a summary legend:

Red lines (Local Coverage) = good to very good reception on almost any radio
Purple lines (Distant Coverage) = weak reception without a good radio with a good antenna
Blue lines (Fringe Coverage) = very weak reception without a good radio, possibly no reception

WMJC 94.3 FM Coverage Map

























WHLI 1100 AM Coverage Map


I tried to tune into both stations from Manhattan today. 94.3 FM was static and WMJC was nowhere to be found. The area around 1100 on the AM dial was dominated by the signal from 1130 AM Bloomberg Radio, the previous radio home of the Islanders. Below that, the most discernable signal was from 1050 ESPN Radio, another former home of Islanders radio broadcasts.

I understand that the Bloomberg signal was not strong for some on Long Island, and the team's presence on the station apart from the games was minimal at best. And if Bloomberg was unable to sell what it thought was sufficient advertising for the games, then that relationship was not ideal for either side.

I never feared that the Islanders wouldn't be on the radio this year, but I hoped they would remain on a powerful station, both for the good of the perception of the team and for those fans who live and/or travel in other parts of the tri-state area. Apparently finding such a partner was just not possible.

As it appears now, fans without satellite radios likely won't able to hear the Islanders anywhere in New York City or in most of Westchester and Connecticut when they drive. And the Islanders are the only major league franchise in the area that doesn't have a presence on one of the major AM stations.

On the plus side, the Long Island Radio Group encompasses six stations and will enable the Islanders to reach deeper into the demographics of Long Island with promotions and advertising.

We've been through this before. Hopefully the team's performance over the next several years will make it more marketable. Pushing out the geographic borders of the fan base is in the Islanders' best interest. Having their radio broadcasts limited to satellite and the Internet outside of portions of Long Island is not.

And thanks to Dar Williams for another lyrical reference.

Hippy-Dippy Flaky-Shaky Fun-in-the-Sun...

...Rickless wonders

Ai-yi-yipee-yipee-yi-yi-ay
Going west of Mississippi got a faulty kind of hippy
And you don't risk the franchise and you don't want to panic
If the young kid wants to drop his pads on down

(Thanks, and apologies, to Dar Williams)

This one's for you, Ken D! My thoughts? At least Rick doesn't have any more hips to injure.

Seriously, though, I know there's a wide range of feelings about the latest catastrophe to befall the Isles. It's completely reasonable to be worried about whether DiPietro is going to get anywhere near playing 13 more years after breaking down two years in a row at the tender age of 26. His fun-in-the-sun months will once again be spent in intense physical rehabilitation. Rick knows no other way but intense, which he demonstrated by entering the 2007-08 season in stellar condition.

I can't get caught up in worrying about what's going to be eight years from now. Here's what I know: Over the first three and half months of this season, DiPietro played the best hockey of his career and inspired new levels of confidence in large portions of the fan base on a repaired hip. That hip, as far as we know, remains fine. The other hip, which dragged DiPietro down from All-Star to sub-par will now be similarly repaired. I am hopeful that this one will come back just as strong as the other one.

Is playing goalie in the NHL too much stress for two surgically repaired hips? It's certainly possible. For now, I am choosing to be optimistic. I am relieved to believe once again that the DiPietro we saw in the first half is the real deal, and the one we saw in the second half was sorely compromised. There is precedent for elite athletes to come back from significant surgeries and go on to have uninterrupted, successful careers. Since we don't have much of a choice, let's hitch our wagon to that idea. Because, as I said, it's not as though he can freshly injure another hip (although a three-hipped goalie would really be something). The fixed one held up. If he re-injures one of them, yeah, then I'll be very concerned. Otherwise, Rick can simply look forward to when his hips can vote in 2025 and 2026.

By the way, I don't know why the writer(s) at Rotoworld sometimes refer to DiPietro as "Dippy," but I wish they would stop. It is not an acceptable alternative to DP or Dipi. I also acknowledge that there are more complex issues surrounding this injury, such as the potential disaster of the contract, how much Rick should really play during the season, and whether the team handled the injury properly. We have plenty of time to kick those around.

The End of the Summer

And so we have reached the unofficial end of the summer. Although my favorite weather generally occurs in spring and fall, I don't relish the transition from summer to fall. The end of winter signals three seasons of light and warmth to come. Labor Day sounds the alarm that those three seasons have been reduced to one, and it is the one that leads us back to cold days and long nights.

Growing up, Labor Day meant going to the U.S. Open and then back to school. In college, Labor Day had little significance because we were already back in school and didn't get the day off. These days the first Monday in September represents a return to normalcy in NYC. Starting tomorrow commutes will be longer and more crowded, mornings with light traffic will be the exception, and movies will be sold out before you even think of going. There's something to be said for summer in the city.

So I am left to fight the feeling of good things slipping away. How does one do that? Fortunately, there are countermeasures that may bring just the necessary thrill. If your rooting interests lie in the correct corner, October baseball may await you. If you are an angler, the next 2-3 months are your surfcasting playoffs. And the best thing about Labor Day? The opening of training camp for the New York Islanders is only 11 days away.

Soon we will be treated to daily updates from Moncton. The exhibition schedule commences September 17th. October 5th and a rematch with the Sabres is barely more than a month away. The days may grow shorter and colder, but a full season of Islanders hockey brings with it all of the hope and excitement necessary to warm the heart through a long winter.

And you know what else? While you're speculating on line combos and who will survive the last cut, don't forget that the unofficial end of summer is truly that. Summer doesn't end for another few weeks. September and October are beautiful months. Whether your preference is Montauk Point, Jones Beach, Cape May, or the local park, get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Note: If your musical tastes permit, End of the Summer is just one of several great albums by contemporary pop-folk artist Dar Williams.


Update: I just read that Chris Botta has sworn off including "culture things" in his NYI Point Blank blog, so maybe now that I've done that once, I'll try to do more of it here.