READ THIS: 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters by Russ Cohen, John Halligan and Adam Raider

It is 100 degrees out in Manhattan!  There is no hockey now, but one great way to beat the heat is to think about fabulous New York Rangers hockey games!  Peachy Deegan is here to put you in a chilly state of mind....A

re you enjoying the World Cup, Wimbledon, and the like, but finding yourself wishing for the Blue Shirts in Madison Square Garden?  They may not be playing, but you can read about them in 100 Ranger Greats and there is a player in this book for everyone.

Of course, as he also is from Connecticut and went to Boston College (although he only attended his freshman year we believe), Brian Leetch is number one.  We totally agree with this choice but believe that there should have been 2 number ones-Upcoming Mover and Shaker Rod Gilbert is #2 and we'd put him as co-number one.  Remember Judy and Rod Gilbert's excellent costumes from the Star Vodka ball:http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/02/nightlight-hrh-crown-prince-alexander.html

The players are counted down from highest number to lowest, but as Peachy cannot stand to be in suspense she almost read this book backwards.  Among other favorites of ours are Pierre LaRouche, #94: we saw him play in Hartford in the 1980's quite often and was one of Peachy's earliest kisses on the cheek at an autograph session when she was about six, much to the dismay of the older teenage girls there at the time; #90 Henrik Lundqvist, current goalie with amazing skills and Henrik if you are reading contact Peachy to be a Mover and Shaker please; #89 Brian Mullen, you've got to love a kid that grew up in Hell's kitchen who's dad drove the zamboni for the Rangers we believe we have heard; #84 Jaromir Jagr, this almost needs no explanation-Jarmoir is a hockey god and we wish you were still here; #68 Wayne Gretzky, this needs even less explanation, here is one of our favorite Gretzky quotes, not from the book but a personal favorite of Peachy Deegan:

A reporter interviewing Wayne Gretzky said: "Wayne, I don't get it. I've been watching you play for years, what makes you such a great hockey player? You're not the best skater. You're not the best puck handler. You're certainly not the meanest, most intimidating guy. Why are you so much better than everybody else in the world?" Gretzky's reply was: "Everybody else skates to where the puck is. I skate to where I think the puck is headed."; and we could go on and on about different players but the point is, we want you to read the book.

The history of the sport of hockey, particularly in New York, is also a focus of this book as it looks at the 100 Ranger Greats on a historical basis.  Totally comprehensive, it is a must read for everyone that loves hockey, and if you don't love hockey, we highly recommend you begin doing so!

Whom You Know highly recommends 100 Ranger Greats!

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In 1926, hockey fans welcomed the New York Rangers to the NHL. Since then, more than 900 players have worn the colors of the Rangers and won the devotion of fans in New York and beyond. 100 Ranger Greats is about the best of the best of these players—the legends of yesteryear and the heroes of today, the men whose accomplishments on the ice have thrilled fans for over eight decades.But who are the best? Of the 900-plus players, who are the ones that stand out in the team’s storied history? Many are easily recognizable by even the most casual of hockey fans—Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr are just a few of these superstars – but no team is made up of its stars alone. There are always the players who aren’t as well known in the public eye but who bring skills and character that make the whole team buzz and help to win championships. They might have played in the earliest days of media coverage—no websites, blogs or internet radio to raise their profiles to household names. Players like Andy Aitkenhead, Arnie Brown or Lorne Chabot to name just three.


Through research and personal interviews, and with the addition of over 200 color and black and white photos, 100 Ranger Greats presents personal profiles that combine statistics with personal and often humorous stories so that the reader gets a real understanding of that man’s life as a player in the National Hockey League and with the New York Rangers.


A richly illustrated history and a fascinating and entertaining look at a cast of colorful characters, 100 Ranger Greatsis for the young fan who wants to learn about the New York Rangers history and the veteran looking for stories about the players they grew up with. For every Rangers fan who wants to know their team and its history better, this is the book.

100 RANGER GREATS (Wiley, October 2009, $34.95/Cloth, ISBN: ISBN 978-0-470-73619-7), celebrates over 80 years of New York Rangers hockey and ranks, for the first time ever, the team’s 100 greatest players.

Co-authored by career Ranger experts Russ Cohen, John Halligan, and Adam Raider, 100 RANGER GREATS ranks the team’s greatest players and provides in-depth anecdotal essays on each, along with dramatic photography, much of which has never been published before.

 “This book will definitely spark debates among Rangers fans, and it’s designed to do just that,” said Halligan, a public relations executive with the Rangers and the National Hockey League for 44 years. “We are expecting a lot of feedback, both positive and negative, especially when you get to the top ten. We’re ready for that.”

 “All of the players on our list were graded according to their contributions to the overall success of the teams on which they played,” said Cohen. “Then we factored in individual achievements such as points scored, awards won, popularity and length of service.”

 “This is an exhaustive list, and in many instances, a painstaking one to compile,” commented Raider. “It has 26 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, an even dozen goaltenders, nine members of the 1994 Stanley Cup team, four Dons, three pairs of siblings, two Finns, a Civil War buff, and even a ‘Polish Prince.’”

Over the course of their long history, the Rangers have been the subject of 25-30 major books, but never has such a comprehensive listing of the team’s best players been attempted.

Russ Cohen is a die-hard sports fan and co-host of two hockey programs on XM Satellite Radio. He is one of the founders of a highly visited network of websites at www.sportsology.net and has hosted live webcasts from the NHL All-Star Game, the NHL Entry Draft, the Heritage Classic, and the Hockey Hall of Fame. He has also contributed to NHL.com and Goalie News magazine. Cohen lives in Glassboro, New Jersey.

The author of three previous books about the Rangers and a 2007 recipient of the prestigious Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States, John Halligan spent 24 years with the New York Rangers as Public Relations Director, Business Manager and Vice President of Communications. He lives in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

Adam Raider's career as a journalist began in 1997 at The Winsted Journal newspaper. Since then, he has covered the NHL for numerous publications including The Hockey News, Hockey Business News, Hockey Digest and Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Raider is also a former columnist and contributing editor at the New England Hockey Journal. He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.