Mores pics from Bristol

Here are some more pictures of Bill Guerin at the ESPN studios.

Meet the San Jose Sharks

When Islanders radio play-by-play man Steve Mears went to college at Bowling Green, he had a roommate named Tom Holy. Mr. Holy, as you can see below, is the Sharks Media Relations Manager and is San Jose’s version of the Islanders’ Shakey.

Last year when the teams played, Mears and Holy made a side (friendly) wage on the outcome of the game. Mears had to buy dinner after the game back in October of 2006. No word yet if a similar wager has been made, but it’s safe to say this Monday matinée will have a little more meaning in the Coliseum press box then usual.

ROAD TRIP: Stuck on the Plane / Mears Correction

The team’s chartered flight up to Montreal is supposed to take a little over an hour. But as I blog this, we’ve been waiting on the plane for an hour and half because the Montreal airports are closed down due to snow and inclement weather.

As of now, we’re planning on waiting out the weather and try to get in today.

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Yesterday I wrote that Islanders radio play-by-play man Steve Mears admitted that a Britney Spears concert was “the best he’s ever been to.” That was incorrect. Mearsy actually stated: “It was ONE OF the best concerts I have ever been to.” Clearly there’s a difference.

So Mearsy, again… Really?

MORNING SKATE: Kings at Isles

The flu bug hasn’t hit the NYI Media Blog (yet, knock on wood..), so here are some notes from the morning skate…

- Wade Dubielewicz will get the start in net tonight. With Rick DiPietro getting over the flu, he’ll likely back-up tonight. For the Kings, expect Jason LaBarbera to start.

- Ruslan Fedotenko (flu) is very questionable/doubtful for tonight’s game. Andy Sutton (flu) will be a game-time decision. Every other skater, according to Ted Nolan, is healthy and able to play.

- Islanders assistant coach Gerard Gallant made his return to the team after battling through the stomach flu/virus.

- At 12:15, Islanders defenseman Bruno Gervais will be guest of Billy Jaffe on the radio show, NHL Live. You can find it on XM 204.

- Dan Rosen from NHL.com came to the skate this morning. Amongst the Islanders players he spoke to were Bill Guerin and Blake Comeau. Expect a feature on Comeau soon.

- Longtime Islanders radio analyst Chris King will take part in his 1,000th Islanders radio broadcast. That includes time as the engineer, intermission/post-game host and in-game duties. Congratulations, Kinger!

- Amongst the hot topics with the media this morning was Britney Spears being admitted for psychiatric treatment. Islanders radio play-by-play man Steve Mears admitted that her 2002 concert in Louisiana was the best concert he’s ever been to. Really Steve? Really? ...

TV: Mears on FSN, Butch on Radio

Due to family reasons, Howie Rose will be unable to join the Islanders in Philadelphia for tonight’s game versus the Flyers. Stepping in for him will be Islanders radio play-by-play announcer Steve Mears, who will be making his NHL TV debut. He will of course call the game with Billy Jaffe.

This will be Mears’ first foray into live TV, but not TV altogether. When he was with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, Mears occasionally called the CHL Game of the Week for Leafs TV.

On the radio side, Chris King will slide over to play-by-play and will be joined by FSN analyst Butch Goring for tonight’s broadcast.