How could you not love this guy?

The Daily News' hilarious President Bush photos. Enjoy.

Big Bust Update

Remember this guy Rangers fans? Hugh "Huge Specimen" Jessiman? Slats do you even remember? Anybody?

Don't worry if you can't recall the fella, not many people do, considering he is the only player from the first round of the 2003 draft to have never played a regular season or playoff NHL game. I'll give you a minute to collect yourself after looking at that draft list and vomitting Rangers fans. It's all better now, Zherdev is here.

Just thought I'd give you folks (well the few that care about him anyway) a little update on the recently traded bust.

The new Milwaukee Admiral (is it that hard to put the roster in some kind of order? Alphabetical, number, position...something?) has three goals and one assist since the Rangers traded him to the Nashville Predators for future considerations earlier this season. Maybe the Rangers are just trying to get even with the Preds for that Adam Hall disaster. But check out this goal by Jessiman (Click here) in a game this past week against the Detroit Red Wings farm club, Grand Rapids Griffins. Not too shabby, but I am actually more concerned for the Red Wings. Goaltender Jimmy Howard is supposed to be the future and he's letting in weak shots...from Hugh Jessiman...on his backhand...from his knees? Dom Hasek, you may want to wait by your phone again.

By-the-way, what are the odds that Glen Chervin drew the Admirals logo?

Hey, they'll take it

When you're a New York Islander you'll take whatever you can get in order to win five of your last six (Click). As for Ryan O'Byrne, don't be down on yourself, just remember you don't live in Colombia. Someone might want to let Canadiens fans know that as well.

Of course, the irony is that Sean Bergenheim of the Islanders got a penalty which caused Montreal's Carey Price to head to the bench for the extra attacker to begin with. That along with the 10 other penalty minutes accumulated in the game keeps the team with the 7th most penalty minutes in the league. Hey, every team has to have goals right? I believe next item on the agenda is worst plus/minus.

Kudos

Thanks to an avid reader of The Black and White Cookie, I have received some much-deserved praise regarding a prediction I made back in May about Mike Mussina.

Touche to me, and touche to you, mystery reader. You have just earned Black and White Reader of the Month. Read on my friend, read on.

Where's the Love?

On February 3rd Adam Graves' #9 will hit the Garden rafters, joining his 1994 Stanley Cup teammates Mike Richter, the Gary Coleman-loving Mark Messier, and Brian Leetch. Call it coincidence, but Graves 2k8 has emerged on the notoriously awful Garden ice wearing #24.

Ryan Callahan has been the most consistent Rangers forward so far this season. I dare you to argue. Consistency doesn't always mean that you have to put the puck in the net every game.

Consistency means that you show up every game and make yourself effective in every area of the rink. If you can point out a player who has displayed more tenacity, more will, and more heart in every game this season for the Rangers, I'll show you my prepubescent "cooking show" that I made for English class in 7th grade (for the record, my homemade potato chips were a thing of beauty).

With his heart on his sleeve, Callahan has played every shift like it is his last and is a constant force around the net. At only 5'11" and 185 pounds, the man is fearless and effective when throwing his weight around. If only I could say the latter for another player with similar size.

Not only is he a player who will stand up for teammates, and skate his guts out every time he spills over the boards, but the guy can actually score. He's got a quick pair of hands and a great shot to boot. He is not flashy. He doesn't have the puck carrying grace or public wit that Scott Gomez has, but he is starting to find his game and is due to break out at any moment.

Adam Graves was a player built in the same mold as Callahan (they are actually almost the same size too). Graves put up very small numbers offensively in his first five years, but then erupted once he donned Rangers blue. This is Callahan's second full season in the NHL and he has proven that he is a sniper at the AHL level. Of course, just because you score at the AHL level doesn't necessarily mean it will translate in the NHL, but by watching Callahan on a consistent basis you'll soon see why I consider him the best Rangers forward up to this point. As he continues to grow in this league, he will develop into - at the very least - a terrific 2nd line winger. His hockey IQ simply won't let him be anything less than that.

He doesn't get much attention from the media and hockey "experts," but that just helps him fly under the radar and maybe will give him a New York Giants mentality. Is it a guarantee that Callahan becomes what I say he will be? Well, I'm not considered an "expert," and we all know they always get it right.

Play the Super Bowl at Giants Stadium

If the Giants and the Jets (Click here to find out just how big I think that "if" is) end up meeting each other on Super Sunday, why would you send these two teams that play in the same stadium all the way to Tampa?

If pigs decide to fly, and hell freezes over, and the Jets should actually make it to the Super Bowl, where the Giants will be waiting for them, why can't they play the game at Giants Stadium?

People are already calling up WFAN asking what they're going to do if the Jets and Giants both get home-field in the playoffs and have to play games back-to-back in January.

I guess these "fans" don't quite remember last year's playoffs. There are games on Saturday and Sunday during the NFL playoffs. So, just by thinking about it for a half-second, I have solved this conundrum: One team plays on Saturday; the other team on Sunday. I can't take all the credit though -- they've been doing it this way forever. This will give the stadium's crew plenty of time to hang up the green wallpaper they use to cover the red walls. Genius.

Confident Jets Fan*

For those non-Jet fans out there, the asterisk is because there is no such thing as a confident Jets Fan.

As Jets fans, we know we have to be cautiously optimistic of anything good that may come from Gang Green on Sundays. We know they have let us down time after time in the past, and they will let us down again. And we know that Jets/Giants Super Bowl talk is about as dumb as Donovan McNabb. Well -- maybe not that dumb.

After their 34-13 thumping of the previously undefeated and, in my opinion, overrated Tennessee Titans, the Jets moved into a tie with the Steelers for the second best record in the AFC at 8-3. The future looks bright.

Aside from awful play-calling after the opening drive, a Favre interception, and a Leon Washington fumble, the Jets played like, I can't believe I'm saying this, a true contender.

The remainder of the Jets' schedule is as easy as that one girl from high school (You know the one), and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that they could end up 12-4.

But, any true Jets fan is prepared to finish 8-8. Sadly, it's the unfortunate "True Life: I'm a Jets fan" reality. They should win next week at home against the Broncos, but we'll see what happens.

But yes, if you're wondering, I would consider myself a confident Jets fan*.