So Close, Yet So Far ...

So the New York Rangers training camp has opened with interviews, meetings and physicals. Tomorrow the boys will step on the ice for the first time and the final chapter of the summer will commence. I couldn't be happier, but there is a cloud in the blue skies ... the Rangers camp is taking place at the Training Center in Tarrytown.

While the place is gorgeous - my ticket rep set up a Adam Graves-guided tour for me last season - it also is not fan friendly at all. The public is not allowed in to watch practices and there, frankly, isn't any place to put them if there was. It is marvelous for the players but for the fans, not at all and the Rangers only practice there. In other cities, people can go watch practice often and usually for free ... heck, you used to be able to watch the Rangers back when they were in Rye.

So what all my whining comes down to is the fact that I won't be there to see camp; just members of the accredited media (not freelance fan bloggers) are. So while I will still diligently place updates and opinions where I can, the two best places to look for up-to-date reports and info are in the Sites I Surf to the right - Sam Weinman's Rangers Report and the Blueshirt Bulletin.

Oh, and just a side note, there have been several new jerseys released/leaked in the last few days ... look here for pics.

What?!?!?

You know, the NHL has some gall. The league's new jerseys are far more expensive than the current designs. The Rangers just put up on their website that replica's of the new designs will cost $145 - (check it out here). That is almost twice what a replica costs now. That is insane. First the league takes a year off to ensure team cost certainty, then they increase ticket prices this offseason and redesign the jerseys, doubling their costs???



I could tolerate the third jerseys - no matter how ugly so many were - because the teams still had the same primary uniforms. Now you change it (thanks RBK) and force fans to buy an entire new kit? Its just more proof that Gary (Scrooge McDuck) and the rest of the owners just don't care about the fans, just their wallets.

I am an obsessive fan of the Rangers and own nine of their jerseys but you had better believe that I won't shell out $145 for a new one. My customized jerseys even cost far less than that. And as I have mentioned many times, I already work six, seven days to pay for the escalating cost of my season tickets ... there aren't enough days in the week for me to afford a new jersey. Sooner or later the league's merchandising will face maximum saturation among the diehard fans and what will they do then? It scares me to imagine what they will come up with then ...