Let the 2007-08 Season Begin

For Yankees fans like me, it'll hopefully take until the end of October to get fully involved with the Islanders, but for Mets fans, welcome to the 2007-08 NHL season!

Hi, I'm Dr. Hook. You might remember me from such blogs as ... well, none actually. I did work on sports webpages about 10 years ago where I wrote some semi-regular editorial copy (sort of a forerunner of blogs), but this is my first true blog post. First off, thanks to Ken for the opportunity to join this blog - it should be a fun ride this season, and I look forward to Ken's eventual postings from the Isles' new Blog Box, where I hope he is able to break several exclusives, such as which show does Ted Nolan watch -- Grey's Anatomy, CSI or The Office? Inquiring minds want to know.

By way of quick background, I've been an Isles fan for about 25 years - first watching the Isles during the Stanley Cup dynasty, following them through the Easter Epic, going crazy in Bayville after Volek's goal, cringing through 1995-2000, and finally glad to see playoff hockey back making more regular appearances on the Island. The Isles still have some work to do (and a new building wouldn't hurt either - I love the Coliseum, but as we've learned in recent months, free agents do not), but at least one thing seems guaranteed: with Ted Nolan at the helm, these guys will play their asses off.

So once again this year, the Isles are expected by the "experts" to finish out of the playoffs. Personally, with the additions of Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Andy Sutton, and the return of Sean Bergenheim, I believe the Isles could surprise once again this season. And if they show as much fight during the season as they did during that preseason brawl with the Rangers (poor Al Montoya never stood a chance), it should make for a very fun season.

I'll be checking in every so often with various thoughts on the Isles, the Coliseum, the Atlantic Division, etc. -- but until then, I'm looking forward to October 5 at a much weaker Buffalo.