AGRI Biz

Oh, that magical time of year has begun once again! It's springtime, a time of renewal. It is the season of Lord Stanley's tournament to decide hockey dominance.  There will be heroes.  There will be tragedy.  There will be victory and defeat. The one burning question on everyone's mind is who will prevail when spring begins to give way to summer? It is the time, friends, for the swami to don his ...

One has to wonder where the Rangers that stormed through the final three weeks of the season were when they were going through a midseason slump that led them to a less-than-glorious 24-31-9 stretch. The Rangers that showed up for the first eight games of the season—and the last nine, for that matter—were clearly not the same team.   One thing is for certain: Once they had a stable framework in ...

It's been 10 days since the men's hockey team of Canada woke up with a gold medal. Looking back on the marquis tournament that took place in Vancouver over two weeks in February, players, coaches, general managers, and fans can take a few things away, in retrospect. Let's start with the current hotbed topic in the NHL coming back from the Olympic break. A few days ago, diminutive Boston Bruin forward Marc Savard ...

The Olympic break couldn't have ended fast enough for the Rangers. After going 3-9 over a 12-game stretch leading up to the Olympics, they began to find their rhythm again at the end and won three out of the final four contests heading into the two-week respite. The Rangers sent five players to the Olympics, and three of them came back with hardware. Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan helped Team USA reach silver, ...

The look on Tampa Bay Goalie Mike Smith's face said it all. áYou couldn't see it, but you knew it was there. áRangers' Bad Boy Sean Avery had just scored on himùa penalty shot, no less. á And there was a confused and flustered look from Smith afterwards. á It is akin to the look that Rangers fans have had all season long. á Generally there is a similarity that runs through games, ...

Every single game, it seems, a different Rangers team shows up. Last night we saw a team that thrived in the face of adversity.  Marian Gaborik was active for the game, and had 4:02 in mainly useless ice team before calling it quits for the night. Michael Del Zotto got sliced by a Gino Malkin skate midway through the first period and was sent to the locker room for stitches. Yet, the Penguins ...

With the New York Rangers currently on the outside looking in with regards to the playoffs, the Penguins are all ready to retake the Atlantic division lead. The Rangers seem to be reeling from their losses in recent weeks despite Henrik Lundquist standing on his head. King Henrik has returned to regular form over the last few starts, but The Rangers continue to squander chances, and struggle on offense. The real question ...

There is a certain amount of fear you hear in the voices of players when they talk about someone like Chris Pronger. áBehind the facade of toughness and testosterone, any time a forward has to face Pronger, there's a reverence and sense of doom whenever you hear them comment on Pronger's play. It's like they're speaking of their own demise. When Henrik Lundquist has spoken in postgame sessions, his eyes widen and ...

I will fully admit to my skepticism, as it pertains to anything having to do with the Rangers. áBut, this writer is beginning to want to believe. Often as I have watched this Rangers team, I have turned to my mate (a Devils fan, by the way) and said that I want so much to believe in this team. áThey play differently. They skate hard. They stick up for each other. ...

After all the changes and personnel shifting that occurred in this offseason for the New York Rangers organization, the question that needs to be asked is this: Is this team really all that different? Rangers' general manager Glen Sather seems to be convinced that there is a formula to this. So, it seems he hits a lab, adds a pinch of high-talent winger, some leadership, a great goaltender, some serious snarl, ...