Former New York Rangers fan favorite, Sean Avery, has written his autobiography, the cleverly-titled “Ice Capades” (Blue Rider Press). It’s clear that the irrepressible Avery did not use a ghost writer because this book is clearly in his voice.
Not surprisingly he attacks his old coach, the martinet John Tortorella. He more or less questions Tortorella’s sanity in both the way he treated his players and the way he reflexively called the team’s beat writers idiots. He was really ticked off at Torts however for wondering aloud whether his side businesses or his going to trendy New York nightclubs after games were affecting his performance on the ice and commitment to the team.
At a time when homophobia was rampant in professional sports, Avery was an outspoken advocate for marriage equality and couldn’t give a crap what anyone thought because of his interest in fashion or his friendship with Vogue doyenne Anna Wintour which resulted in a highly publicized internship at the magazine that was the basis for the film, “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Avery is married to model Hilary Rhoda and is now studying acting. He adds that he has always been interested in performing Shakespeare since he grew up near Stratford, Ontario, which is famous for its summer production of The Bard’s works.
Three cheers to the Yankees for showing common sense. They announced two weeks ago that they would start all of their April Monday through Thursday night games at 6:35 PM. The Mets will probably not do the same since Citi Field is farther from Manhattan than Yankee Stadium is. However while we’re on the topic of scheduling there is no reason why the Mets can’t slate all of their Saturday games for 1 PM at least until Memorial Day weekend.
Tickets for individual games for the Mets 2018 season go on sale tomorrow, Friday, November 17.
Two Mets players have just changed their tax filing status from single to joint. Travis d’Arnaud got married in LA over Veterans Day weekend while Brandon Nimmo had his nuptials that weekend in Savannah. Brandon met his wife when he was playing with the Mets’ Savannah Sand Gnats five years ago.
Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Josh McCown and the New York Jets 15-10 on Sunday in the Journeyman Bowl held at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. CBS play-by-play anchor Kevin Harlan pointed out that never before in NFL history had the two starting quarterbacks combined to play for 15 different teams.
To be fair, Josh McCown really didn’t have a chance to show what he could do since the Jets offensive line was basically a sieve. McCown received scant protection as he was tossed around like a rag doll by the Buccaneers’ linebackers.
You have to wonder how Giants CEO John Mara is keeping his sanity this season.
The Louisiana Department of Tourism was in town last week to tout the Bayou State as a great place to vacation, particularly for foodies, to media. Various city representatives and some of their top chefs were present to dish out samples of gumbo and various shrimp delicacies. According to the Baton Rouge rep, crayfish tacos have suddenly become a favorite dish at LSU football games.
In a nice touch, the dixieland band that was performing at the Louisiana event performed flawless versions of “Blueberry Hill” and “I’m Walking” in honor of the great rock & roll piano player Antoine “ Fats” Domino who died a few days earlier.
The Consumer Electronics Show, which is held in Las Vegas the first week of January every year, has proven to be a pretty good harbinger of the gizmos and gadgets that we will be using in the very near future.
The Consumer Technology Association, the organization that runs the massive Consumer Electronics Show, always holds a press preview in New York two months before comprised of selective exhibitors called CES Unveiled.
While the emphasis at CES Unveiled was understandably on new apps and cyber security, there were some offbeat products including men’s briefs that purport to protect guys from harmful radiation that comes from cellphones and tablets; a device that is able to both extract wine and pour it without removing the cork that preserves that extends both the tastiness and shelf life of the open bottle; and a palm-sized apparatus that lets food shoppers know how fresh various foods on supermarket shelves are.