We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For

Things have been quiet in 360-land for quite some time. In the next couple of months, I'll be deciding whether to continue with the blog or bid my small handful of readers a fond farewell. Frankly, with the plethora of high-quality Islanders blogs out there, it's very difficult to keep this site relevant given the (very) limited time I have to devote to it.

In the meantime, I might as well use my little piece of Internet real estate for something productive.

The message is simple. The next several months are critical in determining the future of the Islanders on Long Island. I know this isn't a revelation, but I still think the message hasn't truly hit home for many. All the talk about Tavares vs. Hedman is great, but it is meaningless if we do not get to enjoy the fruits of this draft here on Long Island.

And it is a very real possibility if we do not all make our voices heard. So I am here to ask each of you to get involved as much as possible, whatever form that may take. Step 1, however, is to get educated. Sadly, the best source for information at this point is the blogosphere. I mean that as no disrespect to my fellow bloggers, but rather as a sad commentary on the role of the mainstream media on this issue.

So here are some good, independent sources for news and opinions on the Lighthouse project:

Let There Be Light(house) - THE definitive source for Lighthouse coverage. For those needing an education on the issues, I'd recommend reading through his archived posts as well as his current ones.

Islanders Independent - BD Gallof and friends have a relatively new blog that, to date, has focused fairly equally on both hockey related issues as well as Lighthouse related issues.

NY Islanders 7th Woman - Somewhere along the way, Dee's hockey blog has evolved into a good source for some first-hand Lighthouse reporting and opinion pieces. Check out this piece for a good example an item I haven't seen covered anywhere else.

Islanders Point Blank - I'm confident there is literally no one that is reading my blog that hasn't already checked out Chris Botta's blog at least a few hundred times, so no need to say anymore.

I don't want to slight any of the other bloggers out there doing great work. This is just a sampling to get you interested and involved.

I'll leave you with a small excerpt of a comment I left on Nick's Let There be Light(house) site earlier today regarding many people's inclination to write-off the Lighthouse and focus on alternatives in Queens/Brooklyn/Suffolk:

Over the past 12 months, the majority of Lighthouse news has skewed towards the "discouraging" end of the spectrum. I think a lot of passionate Islanders fans are starting to panic and are looking for quick-fix alternatives.

The problem is that many of these people genuinely believe Queens/Brooklyn/Suffolk are viable and EASY alternatives. And why not? The little droplets of "news" we hear regarding these areas, unlike the Lighthouse, is all positive (Queens will welcome us with open arms! We already share a color scheme with the Mets!!). Of course, the reason the news is all encouraging is because there's been no substantive dialogue AT ALL up to this point (correct me if I'm wrong). But to someone relying on sound bites, these sure seem like good options to keep the Islanders on the Island.

So here's what I think needs to happen. First, we need to get people away from promoting alternatives (I know you've been working this point already). It's creating divisiveness within the one group that should demonstrate the greatest solidarity. We share a common goal, we need to share a common strategy to achieve that goal.

MC