The summer of life

First off, take a look at that guy in the picture. How much do you hate that commercial? I mean, the guy is literally the worst "acting musician" I have seen since Davy Jones of The Monkees when he would have to pretend to play the drums. And are we supposed to seriously believe that those old dudes are really surfing, playing guitar, and enjoying life more because they color over their gray hairs? And why do they want us to not trust anyone over 90? Hell, if you can make it to 90, you probably have seen some pretty good stuff and if you are still together enough to talk about it, we all should probably listen.

Also, and I don't want to really know the answer to this so spare me--are any of those Just for Men actors pulling double-time in a Flomax commercial? I'm just talking out loud here so save yourself the time of doing the research.

Yes, this morning I have on my big boy cranky pants. You know why? Well, because it is summer, we don't have hockey and because we don't have hockey, I tend to believe that summer really, really sucks.

As I write this, the upcoming Islanders season looks like it is going to be closed captioned for the hearing impaired and filmed live in front of a studio audience full of canned laughter. The organ-eye-zation is going to be treating their paying customers to some seriously jacked up prices for AHL caliber hockey this year. That doesn't bother me as much because I have wanted this rebuild to happen in earnest for a while now. What does bother me is the way the Islanders are perceived in the media and by the rest of the league. Yes, it's a circus. It is insanity. It's also business as usual and man, is that some tiring horsecrap to put up with.

I can't tell you how many people emailed me the link to the history of Islanders' shenanigans from SI.com yesterday. (Yes, I can. It was seven...before noon.) I'm not upset at friends or whatever rubbing salt into my festering sores at all. What bugs the heck out of me is going through the pictures and reliving the Gang of Four; fish stick sweaters; Spano perp walks; and Don Maloney.

That just adds to the summer of discontent. We have the Olympics coming up and nothing about the summer Olympics interests me. I may watch some of the soccer but that is it. Plus, forgive me on this one, but race running is the most boring thing this side of golf. They're just running, people--nobody's chasing them! When that happens, let me know. Then I will watch.

Plus, can we cut down on the commercials, NBC? No one cares about 08-08-08 and if they do, they already know when the games start. Plus, just think: on 08-09-08 we get to start reading media columns about how NBC is going overboard on their coverage that no one is watching and that the ratings are in the toilet swishing around like last night's chicken fried rice.

So, yeah, I'm a pisser today. Still don't have a coach for the Islanders and all we can find is that Paul Maurice is interviewing this week and that John Tortorella and Mike Sullivan have been cleared to talk to Garth Snow. Joel Quenneville--who I failed to mention as a possible candidate last week (mea cupla) is without contractual obligations so he is free to talk to the Islanders whenever he wants to--assuming that he does want to coach the Long Island Circus.

A friend who is a Bruins fan also filled me in a bit on Providence's Scott Gordon. The reigning AHL coach of the year signed a two-year deal before last season and the Bruins hold the option on the third year. The Bruins are very high on Scott Gordon but reports are that they would not stand in his way if he wanted to talk to teams about a job in the NHL.

Greg Logan also reported that Gordon is considered quite the coaching prospect because of his success with the Providence Bruins over the past two years. Gordon also reportedly "runs high-tempo practices, uses video extensively, and is well-respected by current and former players."

In other words: might be a great fit in Long Island. Not the name hire with NHL pedigree that a lot of the disgruntled fan base is clamoring for, but an intriguing guy nonetheless. Plus, the way the organization reportedly likes to have a measure of control over their employees, an American League coach trying to get his career in gear may be more inclined to tow the company line than an established coach with a NHL reputation. Just a thought; not an endorsement.