Celebrating the Rangers' 20th Anniversary of their 1994 Stanley Cup victory

"The Wait is Over" / sportspubbooks.com

For New Yorkers, the Rangers are a big part of their sports world with a following that spans multiple generations. With the Stanley Cup playoffs still in progress, they are glad to see that the New York Rangers have made it so far. The last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup was in 1994, making this year the 20th anniversary of their title. That championship ended a 54 year championship drought.

John Kreiser’s book, "The Wait is Over," tells the tale of the Rangers team that battled all season long to ultimately win the championship in 1994. Prior to that year, the Rangers suffered a disappointing season in 1992-1993 by not making the playoffs. What made it even worse was the fact that their 1991-1992 season was successful. They placed first in the Patrick division holding 50 wins and 25 losses. It was devastating to go from a top tier team, to a team that could not even qualify to play for the Stanley Cup.

John Krieser opens with those contrasting seasons and then moves on to the rebuilding process after the 1992-1993 season. The Rangers had a lot question marks and wondered who would be their key pieces on the team. They knew that they had to qualify for the playoffs this season. These questions resulted in answers in the form of future Hall of Famers like Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, and Steve Larmer. Mike Keenan became the head coach and the team looked ready to make a playoff run.

With the team built, Kreiser shifted the focus to the regular season. With a good mix of storytelling and dialogue from the players, people can relive the entire 1993-1994 year starting from the Ranger's Mustard Cup run in London, to the dramatic weeks before the trade deadline, and the race for the President’s Trophy. Every highlight of every game is mentioned and it feels like reading the game recap on the actual National Hockey League (NHL) website; however, this may be a negative for casual fans or readers. People may be looking for the highlights of the season rather than every single game played by the Rangers.

The Stanley Cup playoffs is a better part of the book. John Kreiser gave breakdowns of the statistics of the teams that the Rangers faced. He answered questions like, “Why will this team make this series easy or hard?”, and “Which player or players should the Rangers look out for?”, while describing every game of each series in high detail similar to the regular season games. Since it was the playoffs for the championship, reading the recap of the games was not as tedious as reading the regular season games.

A positive aspect about Kreiser’s writing in this book is that he portrays the emotions of the players during and after each game. The dialogue by the former players that are incorporated into the book depicts the intensity of each game, the players' determination to win, and happiness that came with winning. It helps put life to the games and players.

"The Wait is Over" provides great insight on the minds, effort, and management of the Rangers team that won the Stanley Cup in 1993-1994. Kreiser delves deep into the regular season and some readers may probably only want the highlights of what happened during each month rather than every game. Dialogue from the players on the Rangers brings life to this work. The playoff run for the Stanley Cup is probably the best part of the book. Neil Smith believes that this work brings back old memories for fans and helps younger generations of fans envision themselves as being there to watch the game. "The Wait is Over" is a worthy pick up for anybody who is a fan of the Rangers or wants to read about a championship in New York.

Clyde Frazier's styling and profiling

Walt "Clyde" Frazier/ Scott Mecum - flickr

Walt “Clyde” Frazier is one of the most recognizable figures in the history of the New York Knicks. He played with them for 10 years, helping them to win their only two championships, and stills continues bounding and astounding his fans. Although he is very well known for his playing career, his achievements after his retirement are just as recognizable. 

Frazier's time playing is nothing to be overlooked. He was born in Atlanta on March 1945, went to Southern Illinois University in 1964 and was the fifth draft pick in the ‘67 NBA Draft. His effervescent playing helped the Knicks win a championship in 1970, and then again in ‘73. Clyde’s swishing and dishing skills were like no other. After his voyage with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he retired three games into '79-'80 season. Only a few months later in December 1979, the Knicks retired his number ten and it is hanging for the rafters in Madison Square Garden every night. 

Clyde was Frazier's nickname, and it was given by a Knicks trainer when Frazier wore a Borsalino hat made of brown velour which resembled the hat Clyde Barrow wore in the movie Bonnie and Clyde. The nickname has stuck with him ever since.

Frazier also designed his own style of shoe for Puma. 

“The Puma Clyde. They came out with a suede shoe. The

The Puma Clyde/ Stephen Michael Barnett - flickr

other shoes were canvas [and] blue suede with a white stripe. Even before that, when I wore my Converse, I had one orange string and one blue string in the sneakers. Nobody else was doing that.” Frazier said in a 2013 interview with GQ magazine.

Frazier is very well known for his announcing. He is currently an announcer for the Knicks on the MSG network. Much like Craig Sager, another NBA announcer who wears bright outfits, Frazier is recognized for wearing amazing, expensive and fashionable suits. Style and fashion is a big part of being an announcer to Frazier. He has every style of suit from cow print to bright green and beyond. 

“I like unusual combinations,” Frazier said in a 2011 interview with the New York Times “I have to entertain myself. I like combinations that people wouldn’t think would go normally together.” 

Frazier is also known for his outstanding vocabulary while commentating games. He has a prodigious vocabulary and is known for using words that seem as if they would be on the SAT. “Hustling and Bustling,” “Posting and Toasting,” and “Wheeling and Dealing” are a few of his many used rhymes.

Not only is he a figure for Just for Men hair products, he also has his own restaurant. Clyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine is located in Manhattan. It is a fancy bar / restaurant that actually has a mini basketball court inside! New Yorkers love going there especially when Frazier makes a guest appearance. 

Frazier is known as much for his career off the court, as well as on. It is incredible how he was able to style and profile his way from a town in Atlanta with eight siblings all the way to the NBA and above. He was dressed in a white pullover and sweatpants going into his first game announcing for the Knicks and his style has changed much since then. Two rings and several suits later, he is still grooving his way around the NBA and New York. 

Injuries hold the Yankees back from victory

Derek Jeter / By Keith Allison - Flickr.com

The New York Yankees are off to a rocky start this season due to their loss of three superstar players. Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson all were injured prior to the start of the 2013 season, leaving only three players from the 2012 starting lineup present on opening day.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter has been at every opening day for the past 16 seasons; however, he was not able to play in the season opener due to a broken ankle he suffered in the American League Championship Series last October. He played during spring training even though he was in pain, which is what he believes led to breaking his ankle once again. "It was something that I hurt it, I continued to play on it, probably when I shouldn't have," he said to BleacherReport.com. "But I continued to play on it and then eventually it broke."

First baseman Mark Teixeira is also not able to play for the first few months of the 2013 season due to a wrist injury. Teixeira is still staying healthy by working with the team's strength and conditioning coach for two-and-a-half hours each day attempting to stabilize his wrist muscles. It is not known when he will return because the recovery time for a wrist injury is unpredictable."You never know when you're coming back from a wrist. You can have a setback. Everything's always a timetable. Timetables change. Sometimes it's shorter, too," Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi said to Newsday.com.

The Yankees’ center fielder and leading home run hitter Curtis Granderson was also injured during spring training when he took a fastball to his right forearm. He is expected to return to play in mid-May; however, the Yankees want to make sure that he is fully recovered before including him in the lineup. “It’s just something that I’ve thought about. I don’t know how many games he would have in his rehab coming back, and that’s a concern for me. So I want him to be comfortable wherever he’s at, because his bat’s real important to us,” said Girardi to MLB.com.

All three of these players made a tremendous contribution to the 2012 season. Both Jeter and Granderson helped their teams offense, while Teixeira impacted the defense. Jeter had an incredible year, finishing with 216 hits, the most in baseball. Granderson also had a great season; he hit 43 home runs, drove in 106 runs, and was chosen to play in the All-Star game. Teixeira was able to contribute to the defense with his elite fielding; he won the Gold Glove Award for his superior individual fielding performance.

They have acquired new players that will need to help the team both defensively and offensively until their three starters return. Lyle Overbay was acquired by the Yankees from the Boston Red Sox during spring training and has been playing first base due to Teixeira’s absence. Eduardo Núñez and Jayson Nix have replaced Derek Jeter and Vernon Wells is a substitute for Granderson. “You’re talking about high-character guys,” Girardi said of the newcomers in a New York Times article. “Guys that have been calming forces in a clubhouse for many years, guys who have played at a high level, guys who have been in the A.L. East, guys that have been in the championship series.”

The Yankees will need to continue working together as a team without these three starters and make plays that will help them win more games. As of now, the Yankees have lost a few games because they do not have the power that Granderson, Teixeira and Jeter normally provide. “The same goals are going to be there: to win every night,” said Youkilis in a New York Times article.

Contributed by Sahar Saedi and Anya Batista 

NY Athletes Remebrance of 9/11

The attacks on 9/11 affected everyone in New York. Area professional athletes were unsure how to react and how to get back to work. New York Jets coach Herm Edwards said in an interview to the New York Post, "I got the team together and said, ‘Boys, let me tell you something. If you're not focused today, I get it, because I ain't focused.’ I said, ‘You guys go home. What we need to do right now is pray. We need to pray as Americans.’”

Michael Strahan, who was the Giants defensive end was deeply affected, changed his feelings about going on the road. He said in an ESPN interview, “The feeling of going on the road, playing an NFL game, it definitely changed ... because there was patriotism.”

After 9/11 baseball had a huge impact on the emotions of New Yorkers. The two major baseball teams that had a major effect were the Yankees and the Mets. Before 9/11, the Yankees players were resting at home. The Mets were traveling back from Pittsburgh. As they entered New York they noticed a large puff of black smoke. Feelings of sorrow, grief and fear passed through their minds. Despite their feelings they had to move on.

Ten days after the attack, the Mets had their first game. Although the Mets were very depressed, they had to play. The crowd wasn’t too happy before that game, but Mike Piazza’s home run turned their frowns upside down.

Now ten years after 9/11 the Mets look back and remember the event as if it were a picture. Bobby Parnell, the closer for the Mets, still remembers the exact number of firefighter and paramedic casualties. This year the Mets third baseman David Wright said, "The whole week was special leading up to tonight." Obviously, we remember and honor those heroes, but at the same time, I think it should be done a little more often than once a year."

Mike Piazza was present at the 10th anniversary game. During that day,Piazza had a chance to reflect, “It definitely is painful looking back, thinking about that week and reflecting on it,I thought the ceremony was very moving and just very well done. I'm very proud to be a part of it, very humbled to be a part of it.”

During the aftermath of 9/11, Yankee players came to lower Manhattan to see how the situation was. The level of pain that victims’ families were facing emotionally made visiting it awkward for the players, but they eventually learned that families appreciated them coming. In a previous interview, Derek Jeter said, “I think after that we had a better appreciation of what we represented.”

MLB eventually restarted and the Yankees were back to the World Series. Mariano Rivera and Jeter both sensed a boost in the importance of winning. “That’s when it seemed like most of the city was rallying around us,” said Jeter. The New York Yankees won all three of their next games, two of which where late-inning rallies.

Ten years later, the effects of 9/11 are still in the minds of athletes. Each day goes by in remorse. Now the athletes are more aware of their role on the general public.


By: Shafat Choudhury, Nasif Chowdhury and Velid Mulic