Snowman On Fire

Almost precisely 3 months ago I posited that Scott Gomez and Alex Rodriguez were increasingly alike.

Let me add to the list: neither one has shown up for big games in October. At least Gomez recorded three shots tonight (plus one miss, and one blocked, is it me or are the new NHL statistics not bad once you learn to decode them)? A-Rod is A-WOL for the Division Championship Series (let’s hear John Sterling make a big deal out of that one). That giant sucking sound you hear is the extra $7 million or so that Rodriguez thought he’d coax out of a team next year when he exercises his contract option. I think I’ve invented a new unit of measure: The Gomez, more specifically, $7M paid for non-performance when people are watching.

Some other random thoughts, two games into the season:

I like Kevin Weekes. He brings his A-game, a solid effort, and he has no fear. Goalies are always a few sigma off of normal anyway, but he has impressed.

The Islanders are 2-0, and the Sabres are 0-2 as a result. So much for the predictive power of the hockey press. Yes, it’s early, but c’mon. Shuffle off to Buffalo for some ugly practices this week.

The Capitals are better than anyone thinks, and the Rangers will miss Nylander as they realize why.

Mike Cammalleri is now in my top five favorite players. Three goals, same pace as Dany Heatly through week one. The Kings aren’t as bad as everyone thinks, and the Ducks might not be as good as everyone predicted.

Normally this space is reserved for Devils, Yankees, Mets and occasionally a sci-fi or writing reference. But I’m expanding my horizons and frontiers, literally: I’m now a member of the Mike Cammalleri fan club. To be honest, I noticed him two years ago when he was fed by Matthieu Schneider for a goal, creating what is probably the first (and only) all-Jewish goal/assist scoresheet combination. It doesn’t exactly sound like a High Holiday pledge sheet, but it’s true (read The Jewish Sports Review should you doubt my Jewish geography).

After Schneider motored to Detroit, Cammalleri proceeded to utterly rock the record for most points by a Jewish player, putting up 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points in 06-07. For the Los Angeles Kings, where he didn’t get the benefit of consistently high-scoring teammates. So this year I’m going to be watching Cammalleri along with Anze Kopitar, hoping that at last hockey lights up the Staples Center.

How’s this for a perfect start to the season: Cammalleri has two goals as the Kings knock off the defending Stanley Cup champs, earning first star of the game honors? Yeah, the game was in London, but it was a regular season game. And #13 wasn’t lucky, he was just good. And during Sukkot (for those of you observing) — the “season of rejoicing” starts 5 hours earlier for fans of the black, silver and purple. Camalleri’s sukkah (temporary shelter, in Biblical terms) is lit by a red light. And there is much rejoicing.