Barclays Center ~ What a Difference a Year Makes

BARCLAYS CENTER

Ground Breaking Day ~ One Year Later

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today, Ground Breaking Ceremonies for the Barclays Center took place in this white tent erected on the site where Major Professional Sports would return to Kings County for the first time since the Dodgers left for California.  Inside, Bruce Ratner beamed during the press conference announcing construction of the new arena for the New Jersey Nets Basketball Club was finally beginning after extensive delays and lawsuits that almost killed the project.  As a minority share holder of the team, Jay-Z was also on hand to field questions about the Nets' new future in his home-town of Brooklyn.



Of course there was the obligatory Photo-Op with then-New York's Governor Paterson, New York City's Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President; Marty Markowitz.  However, of those on hand for the day's ceremonies, none was lovelier than Beyonce.

The signs went up and the construction barriers were put in place.  Through much of the Spring and Summer of 2010, much of the initial work took place below street level preparing the arena's foundation while providing unchanging views for passers-by during the first several months.

October 2010

Intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue

Autumn rolled around and with the change in season, the next phase of Barclays' construction would start to offer visible progress.  With the foundation roots in place, by November 2010 Brooklyn's arena began it's ascension above street-level.  By December, steel beams would be piercing the sky.

December 12, 2010

December 13, 2010

December 17, 2010

December and the year 2010 ended with a major snow storm.  And to usher in 2011, New York City set a new record for January snow fall.  And yet, it seemed to do little to hamper the pace and progress at the Barclays site.  I remember watching the construction of the Brooklyn Cyclones' park in Coney Island a decade ago.  Now, as a regular visitor to the Brooklyn arena site, I find the amount of work accomplished thus far to be nothing short of remarkable.

The initial build-up was concentrated along Atlantic Avenue.  Since then, steel decks have made their way east and around the turn at Sixth Avenue.  Currently, the steel decks are pushing west along Atlantic Ave and have made the turn onto Flatbush Avenue headed north.

January 14, 2011

January 24, 2011

January 29, 2011

February 9, 2011

February 12, 2011

February 16, 2011

MARCH 2011

View from Flatbush Avenue at Fifth Avenue.

May the next year of construction be safe and productive.

First Tip-Off = T-Minus 19 Months



Related Articles:

Architect: Barclays a Dream Project - From NetsDaily.com

Arena Still Ahead of Schedule - From NetsDaily.com

A Year After The Ceremonial Ground Breaking: Where's the Affordable Housing....? - From Atlantic Yards Report

Mike,BTB

N.Y. RANGERS ~ A California Point Rush

NEW YORK RANGERS:  Go West Young Men.  There's Points In Them Thar' Hills!  Let's Go Git' Some.

If the Rangers are indeed a better road team than they are at home, then travelling 3,000 miles to California is optimal for us and would seem to fit right in with the plan.  The Plan?  Yea, the plan; - to win every game left on the schedule. - That plan.  Teams have two and three games on us, so wins are paramount to the Rangers from here on out.

There is even less doubt today if there was any, as to how huge that win against Philadelphia last Sunday turned out to be.  It planted New York firmly in seventh place while Buffalo, New Jersey, and Toronto all played before the Rangers could take the ice again three days later.  Since Sunday, Buffalo swapped spots with Carolina putting them in the eighth spot and two points behind the Rangers.  Then Tuesday night turned out to be very helpful to the Blueshirts' cause while they remained idle.  The Devils, Sabres and Maple Leafs all lost.  And so, the Rangers get to pick-up where they left off on Sunday.
 
I'm thinking this game against the Ducks is winnable.  I don't think this game is winnable because we've done so well there before.  Rather, I think Anaheim is one of those teams we can flat-out, out muscle for a win.  I think we can pound on Teemu Selanne and Corey Perry and make them go away.   In addition to Teemu, Anaheim is relying on fossils like Saku Koivu and Jason Blake.  Those were some great Hockey names, once.  But they are mummies now.  I had those guys on my fantasy team back in 1993!  Remember when the Rangers used to rely on old guys like that?  I know you do.  But we're the new young Rangers now.....right?   (Ponderous).   Fire Glen Sather!!!!

Their goalie; Jonas Hiller?  He's over-rated (That will come back to bite me, I'm sure.  But if I'm going to be cocky about this, gotta go all the way).   Henrik is better and now that he knows he has to carry this team, I think we'll be getting the more consistent King down the stretch.

Yea, I'm feeling pretty confident about tonight's game.  That must mean only one thing; we're going to lose!  I hate West Coast trips (although I love the 10:30pm starts).  It's been proven flights exceeding three hours in length dehydrate the body.  The longer in the sky, the more you dehydrate.  Having said that, after a few days to acclimate, I hope they've had to go to the bathroom with uncontrollable frequency these last two days.  And I don't like that whole "body-clock" thing either.  That's just me.

But the Rangers created a break for themselves by winning Sunday.  The teams chasing them were agreeable enough to lose along the way.  Now the Rangers need to capitalize on their small bit-o-luck and seize the moment tonight in Anaheim.  These are two points the Rangers can't afford to Quack-away.  The way I see things, the Rangers will need to end their schedule by at least 6 or 8 points ahead of the eighth place team.  Because when their schedule ends, the teams behind them still have games in hand.  There's your best case scenario.  Falling short of that, you know exactly what we would potentially have to do in order to secure a spot in the playoffs.  You want me to say it too, because like me, you're a glutton for punishment.

So here goes, because you want to hear it.  The last thing we want to do is have to play the Devils on the last game of the season for the eighth spot.  Then we'll have more problems than a math book, because things won't add up for us if it comes down to that last game.

GET POINTS!!

TONIGHT

NEW YORK RANGERS

vs.

Anaheim Ducks

Somewhere on the Left Coast

Mike.BTB

N.Y. METS ~ Time Bandits

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET



New York Mets:  Mr. Mets' DeLOREAN is Spinning it's Tires In The Flushing Mud.


Welcome to Day 797 of the 2009 Baseball season. 

So when exactly do we get to move on and enter this new decade?  When do we finally get to Pass Go and collect our $200 dollars?  Oh...That's right; Bernie Madoff's dog ate it. 

Of course I know the answers to my own questions.  So, in the mean time, can someone just kick me instead?  After all, we have become the Fan Base with the "Kick Me" sign on our backs.  Haven't we?  So please, tap into your inner-Nike and just do it; Kick Me...and make all this ridicule worth the aggravation.   That's right!...That's us! - The Fans with the sign.  Do I speak truth or am I just angry?

Today Ladies and Gentlemen, I am just plain and simply...TIRED!  I have to open up the release valve because somewhere down the line I'll bust if I don't.  I've been trying to bury myself in Hockey and trying to pay the Mets as little mind as possible before the season kicks off, for the sake of not being repetitive or sounding like a malcontent.  I'll have six months for that so there's no need to rush The Spew.  But being in your forties and learning to compartmentalize doesn't necessarily insure you for 365 days a year.  The Mets have given me no choice but to pick and chose my battles because it seems they present the same dilemma everyday.   General talk regarding the Mets will invariably sound awfully similar to all the garbage we've been heaping on them for over two years now.

But Mike...what about the good? - The Thole's and the Ike's and Parnell's?  Yea;  I know.  But that's not what's coming out of my radio or being printed in my paper.  So, what you're getting from me today is a rant because I'm sick and tired of hearing about Carlos Beltran's "good" knee - or is it his "bad" knee?  I'm fatigued with Luis Castillo's mock battle for the second-base job.  Oliver Perez has me completely lethargic with apathy.  And the more we learn about the Wilpons' legal mess and their money woes, the more the whole "Hey Brother, can you spare a few Million?" - just makes me want to throw up huge chunks of Blue and Orange ambivalence.

When does the circus show stop and Sandy Alderson finally makes the clean-up type moves the new GM of the Mets was hired to handle?  After today's outing, what can the possible justification for retaining Oliver Perez beyond tomorrow be?  What of Luis Castillo?  One of these gentlemen have to go.  I'm not asking for both.  But certainly one has to go.....and soon.  I need more done to tell me we are moving away from the year 2009.  This isn't a woe is us thing.  This isn't a "My team sucks" deal either.  I'm just tired of being locked-in to the year 2009.  Seven hundred and ninety-seven days after the calendar marked January 1st, 2009, here we are juggling the same flaming torch, razor-sharp axe, and lit stick of dynamite like a blindfolded clown with no one watching.


The season hasn't started and I'm already fed-up with all the derisiveness coming out of my radio when the Mets are topic one.  But I just forgot to recharge the Anti-Met Rhetoric Shield last night and now today I'm cranky and paying the price for it.  I don't mind when "We" do it.  Quite the opposite; I find find the Met Bloggers very entertaining and engaging.  But sometimes the Media really rubs me the wrong way.  Today is just one of those days.


Wasn't it Einstein who said Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result?  Or was that Joan Rivers?  ...Or something like that?  They had equally bad hair and pale complexions.  Regardless, STOP The Insanity!  If you know me, I like dabbling in sarcasm like the rest, but I try hard to stay away from mindless anger.  And that's why a little release today will serve my Mets' Loyalty better later.

Like Time Bandits, the Mets have stolen years from us.  Wake me when the Mets arrive in 2011 or when Wilpon the Clown stops juggling our team in front of anyone with pocket change.


Pfffff!!




Mike.BTB

N.J. DEVILS ~ Can Devils Beat The Clock?

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Only Time Can Beat The Devils Now.

20-2-2

Last 24 games

Since taking the second game of a home-and-home series against Philadelphia back on January 8th, the New Jersey Devils have been playing like a team possessed and spitting green pea soup on anyone in their path.  The power of Jacques LeMaire compels them.  In the second half of this season they are winning games at a rate of eighty-seven percent.

Yesterday's 3-2 win over the New York Islanders featured a Shoot-Out with extra-extra shots needed for a decision.  Brian Rolston, while continuing to laugh in the face of adversity after suffering through an earlier release by the Devils, netted the final Shoot-Out goal that notched win number twenty for the Devils in their last twenty-four games played.  They trail the eighth place Buffalo Sabres by eight points now with seventeen games remaining in their schedule.

Against the Islanders, I saw some saves made by Martin Brodeur that looked like they were made by a Brodeur ten years younger.  They were just flashes.  But they could be haunting glimpses of the near future.  If the Devils can indeed close an eight point gap between them and eighth place, and gain a playoff spot; and if Martin Brodeur sharpens his game between now and then and establishes a rhythm again....  You know what I'm thinking right?

Oh Hell!

At this point achieving a .500 record is inconsequential to the real prize which is well in sight.  So, that plateau of mediocrity is mute in this conversation even though they can achieve the feat with a win over the Senators.  Eight points is what matters after being as much as 25+ points away from a playoff spot at one point.  And with Zach Parise coming back any game now, the Devils just might get enough help here in the end to pull this improbable season out of the depths Tartaros and deliver the Devils into the playoffs where they are sure to unleash chaos on the rest of the Conference if their current play is any indication.

The Devils' next game is Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators.  Buffalo will be playing Pittsburgh.  Carolina and the Rangers will be idle.  We'll pick up this improbable chase for a playoff spot when the Devils/Sens goes final tomorrow.  At stake; Devils' points sixty-five and sixty-six.  The Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing a key game for themselves and for the Devils' interests against the Islanders.

This is not a drill.

Mike.BTB

N.Y. AVIATORS ~ FHL Playoffs; First Round Series Tied 1-1

"The Coolest Guys in Brooklyn"

NEW YORK AVIATORS:

First Round Playoff Series; Tied 1-1

After winding down the inaugural season of the Federal Hockey League with a most furious 21 game winning streak, the coolest guys in Brooklyn are currently tied at one game apiece with the Danbury Whalers in the first round of the FHL Playoffs.

With the Aviators outstanding finish, they recorded  32-13-2 record and were able to over-take Akwesasne for first place in the Federal Hockey League's first season of operation.  The Aviators first round opponent, the Danbury Whalers finished the season in fourth place with a record of 24-18-5.

After starting the series in Brooklyn and taking Game One, the Aviators dropped Game Two to Danbury at Hangar #5 in Floyd Bennett by a score of 5-2.  Games Three and Four will be played back in Danbury, Connecticut.  If Necessary, Game Five will be played at the Hangar on Sunday, March 13th.

2010 NEPHL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
New York Aviators

Let's get another Trophy for the display case Boys!

2010-1011

ROUND ONE

Federal Hockey League Playoffs

Game One ~ N.Y. Aviators 9;  DAN Whalers 2 @ Brooklyn

Game Two ~ Dan Whalers 5;  N.Y. Aviators 2 @ Brooklyn

GAME THREE

Friday; March 11, 2011

FINAL SCORE:

Danbury Whalers 3;  New York Aviators 2  OT

Dandury leads series 2-1

GAME FOUR

Saturday; March 12, 2011

NEW YORK AVIATORS

vs.

Danbury Whalers

@ Danbury Ice Arena

NewYorkAviators.com

Mike.BTB

N.Y. RANGERS ~ Blueshirts Pound Philly; Stay Ahead of Buffalo

NEW YORK RANGERS:  Sunday Philly Sunday;
The Blueshirts are Alive and Well!


FINAL:  Flyers 0;  RANGERS 7


The saying is, this is the time of year when your team's stars are supposed to shine.  In today's most critical game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers had two who stepped up when many prognosticators leaned towards them getting stepped-on this afternoon.  Instead, the Rangers' first win in five tries against the Flyers turned out to be one of their biggest and most convincing victories of the season.

Henrik Lundqvist recorded his second shut-out in five games and his 9th of the season which leads the League.  The Rangers are dependent on their King more now than ever with Marty Biron out for the season.  The hope here is that Henrik is coming into form and his inconsistencies this season are hopefully behind him.  Even though the Rangers scored seven goals today,  the problem of the month is not enough scoring.  And so in Henrik we must trust.

The incumbent yet still ineffective Rangers' star, Marian Gaborik, returned from his second absence due to injury.  But it was the team's un-named Captain; Ryan Callahan who decided to shine brightest when his team needed it most.  His two first period goals were all Henrik Lundqvist would need to secure victory, but the goal-starved Rangers decided to score five more for good measure.  Ryan Callahan would net four of the Ranger seven goals.  You can't shine any brighter than that.

The game was Philly's fourth loss in a row and second loss in consecutive days.  If we caught the Flyers at a bad time, so be it.  It still goes in the books as a HUGE WIN made even more satisfying by the fact we played a dominating game on home-ice for a change.  It's not like Mike Richards didn't try to inspire his Flyers to play better.  He did.  The problem was he picked on Brandon Dubinsky with which to try and send his team a message.  But when Dubz answered Richards with a series of left fists, Brad and his message had a little blood on the cheek and a big look of bewilderment on the face.

If anyone was sending messages, it was Brian Boyle.  He let Philly and Jody Shelley know their Broad Street Bull wasn't going to be tolerated today.  Prior to that, I saw Michael Sauer immediately jump in-between Marian Gaborik and potential Philly harassment; - which in days gone by was a major criticism about this team.

This game needed to happen exactly the way it did.  First off it finally relieved the building skull-pressure of not being able to score in spite of routinely out-shooting their opponents.  In Brian Boucher, the Rangers finally played a mediocre goalie who didn't have a career game against the Rangers.  Instead, Boucher stunk up The Garden like hot garbage should.

Secondly, this game is a marvelous example of how the younger Rangers were once intimidated by the Flyers earlier in the season and how they are no longer unsettled by them today.  In an earlier match-up, Sean Avery took it upon himself  in their third game against each other to show the youngsters the way.  Prust and Boyle also set examples of what it took to play-up the Flyers.  This Sunday afternoon, our young twenty-somes remained stalwart.  Philly was met at every challenge  Today, even Mats Zuccarello was seven feet tall.

And so tonight, the New York Rangers can sleep knowing they are back on firm ground for the moment.
Losses to the Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres are what put us on shaky ground to begin with.  Tonight those same two teams square off against each other in Minnesota while Carolina (and their 71 points) are idle.  With 74 points in their pockets now, the Rangers at least know what position they'll be in when they wake-up in the morning, regardless of what happens with Buffalo later this evening.

Sure the Rangers didn't maximize their opportunities on home-ice during this home stand but they recovered very well with this defeat over Philly.   Now they'll take a trip to the Left Coast for games against the DUCKS and the SHARKS.  And maybe that's where we want them right now, because after-all, they have been Road Warriors.  What ever edge we have, perceived or other-wise, must be utilized at this point.  

This week started out looking like the end for the Rangers.  But after today, The Rangers showed everyone they are far from dead.  So this is what your team did for you today Ranger fans; they allowed us to feel good tonight and be able to have more positive-based conversations about them at work tomorrow.  We only get to enjoy it until the plane touches down in California though.  Then we go right back to nothing being guaranteed. 

So between then and now, that statue in Philadelphia of Rocky Balboa would look awfully good with a Rangers jersey on it; Wouldn't it?

Update:  Buffalo defeats Minnesota in O.T.  3-2

7th Place ~ N.Y. Rangers 74 Points

8th Place ~ Buffalo Sabres 72 Points

9th Place ~ Carolina Hurricanes 71 Points

Mike.BTB

N.Y. RANGERS ~ Broad Street Bullies Are Thuggin' To Town

NEW YORK RANGERS:  BLUE SUNDAY

They managed to not freeze under pressure, but the Rangers are still skating perilously on thin ice.  Within the span of a few days, the Rangers flip-flopped the seventh playoff spot, dropping to eighth, then back again.  They staved off a looming disaster for another day with a convincing win over Ottawa.  But the two losses previous to that and to Buffalo in particular, are still setting the conditions the Blueshirts must play in.

Back in seventh place the Rangers lead Carolina by just a point; seventy-two versus seventy-one.  Buffalo, who stumbled out of the gate this season have made their poor play in October and November a distant memory and have charged back to gain their seventieth point with a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night.  With fifteen games left in the Blueshirt season (the least number of games among the contenders), the Sabres arrive just in time to reign chaos all over the Rangers' situation.

The Rangers are 5-10 in their last fifteen games.  And they have exactly fifteen games left in their schedule.  The numbers don't allow me to paint a prettier picture than this; -    Carolina, Buffalo, the Devils, and even a resurgent Toronto all have a game or two more to play than we do.  The best I can do to sugar-coat the Rangers' 5-15 slide is to say we are 3-3 in our last six.  Did I mention Buffalo beat the Flyers yesterday?   ..sigh

Let's set this up.  It's Sunday; which means Matinee Kid's Day at Madison Square Garden; which means NBC Network game; which means it must be against the Flyers; who are probably quite angry over losing to Buffalo Saturday.  All these ingredients are a recipe for disaster. 

Did I mention what happened last time the Rangers and Flyers met at MSG during a Kid's Day Matinee game?  We lost 4-2 on Feb. 20th.  There; consider yourself updated.  So it would seem then, the planets couldn't have aligned more out of kilter for us this afternoon than if a cross-eyed Galileo were looking through a cracked telescope.

We've gotten ourselves into a very tough spot.    Today, another fight is needed to stave off a Blue Sunday.  So be ready to put up your dukes Boys.  The Broad Street Bullies are coming.  After last night's loss to Buffalo, Philly Clause is Thuggin' to town.  Count on it.


Oh yea......Can we get Sean Avery 18:30 minutes of ice time today please?




Let's Go Rangers!!!




Mike.BTB