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Well, tonight was amazing. I attended my first ever pro sports Game 7 - the New York Rangers vs. the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. Plus, it was the first playoff hockey game in 3 days, with Los Angeles, Phoenix and New Jersey having already wrapped up their respective series, so all eyes were literally on this game across North America this Saturday night.
The Rangers pulled off the win 2-1 to join the others above in the conference finals, improving to 5-0 all-time in Game 7’s at MSG, and Washington was eliminated. Above, here’s video I took of the final 39 seconds of the game. I also have video of fans celebrating the game winning goal, plus the national anthem, opening faceoff, and a random standing ovation in the final minutes. And of course, photos, including me before the game!
Thoughts on the game: There were several times I was at a loss for words on what I was witnessing, it was really memorable. It was loud, energetic, the atmosphere was second-to-none. And the jumbotron reminded us all game long to be LOUD, to give the Rangers that home ice advantage they fought for in the season for a pivotal Game 7. There was also considerable pre-game festivities/videos focused on us getting loud. From the start, it was awesome; the Rangers scored a minute and a half in! It was tense much of the rest of the way, you could just sense the nerves in the arena, until the Rangers made it 2-0 with just over 9 minutes to go in the third. The Caps quickly answered, but that just set up the ending. And the end was amazing, as we stood for much of the final minutes and the energy kept building and building til the climactic final horn. Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto scored the goals for New York, and Henrik Lundqvist played his way to a well-deserved First Star.
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Only in New York? Get this… A woman on the subway tonight who was painting this eyeball ping pong ball saw I was fascinated by it, and she said, “Here. It’s yours.” Surprised, I responded, “Really?” She said, “Yes, of course,” handing it to me. “What is it?” I asked, curious the story behind this mysterious artwork and starting to turn it around. “I make magnets out of them,” she said, pulling out a plastic bag of dozens more.
The most curious thing is I took a closer look, this had text written all around it. But it’s not the easiest to decipher, written in some kind of crooked cursive. I’ve found phrases though like “Always believe in angels.” and “Go forward into something else.” This feels like the DaVinci Code. There are literally words all around. So fascinating! -
Ha, the photographer got this pic of Arianna and I at HuffPost’s 7th birthday party today in our newsroom. (Photo credit: Damon Dahlen, AOL) -
So, the New York Rangers scored with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force OT, won in overtime, and THEN to top it all off the Rangers official Twitter retweeted me (see above). Not a bad night. New York takes a 3-2 series lead back to Washington.
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10 Takeaways From Guardian Summit
On Thursday, I attended the Guardian Activate Summit here in New York. It brought together media and tech thought leaders to discuss how to make the world a better place through the Internet. Here are 10 key takeaways from the event, followed by a more comprehensive overview I put together.
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Today a friend introduced me to Russell Martin of the New York Yankees. What an awesome guy, a great Canadian with a great sense of humor, even after a tough loss. And he drove me from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to the 59th Street subway in Manhattan after the game. (How nice of him is that?) And we passed Nick Swisher on the way. Good day. I’ll definitely be rooting for Russell the rest of the season. -
Tonight I went to my first ever NHL playoff game that the Buffalo Sabres were not playing in. Previously, I’ve seen the Sabres play at Philadelphia (last year 5-4 loss), and a number of games in Buffalo, including the 2-1 OT win over the Rangers after Drury tied the game with 7.7 seconds left in regulation.
There was a GREAT atmosphere at Madison Square Garden tonight and the game did not disappoint. There was a bit of everything - fights, excellent goaltending, exciting chances, 2-on-1’s, etc. The Rangers led 1-0 and 2-1 before losing 3-2 in OT (Ottawa forced overtime with 4 minutes left in the 3rd). I recorded the first goal of the game (video above). Here’s when Ottawa tied it 1-1, and here’s the game winning goal. Photos here.
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Today I met Bernie Williams!! It was really awesome to meet him as I grew up watching him as a big Yankees fan. And he’s a really nice guy. Shook my hand. We chatted for a few. He was really laid back and happy to talk to fans.
