About one-third of the way through the NHL season, I decided to make a bet with my boss. He's a Ranger fan and I'm an Islander fan. So the stakes had to be pretty high.

Our first deal was that whichever team won more games, the loser had to ride around until next hockey season with the opponent's license plate frame on his car.

That would have been so degrading...to ride around all summer with a Rangers license plate frame while the rest of my car had Islanders stickers and decals all over it. People would have been looking at my car saying, "That doesn't make sense," and they never would have gotten the point. Forget the fact that I just would have added a small sign that said, "SUCK," underneath the word Rangers.

So that didn't work.

My boss was actually a little forgiving and we decided to re-think the wager. So we came up with the idea that the loser would wash the winner's car in the other team's jersey.

Need I say more?

I made the bet when the Islanders were actually playing well, before they went on their seven-game winless streak. Before we suffered more injuries than M*A*S*H. Before the New York Islanders became the Bridgeport Islanders. Before I went to the April 3 game at the Coliseum with 16 Rangers fans. Before...well, you get the picture.

So, at least I got to wash the car in warm weather.

When I got to work at midnight, the night before, there it was hanging on my locker. A bright blue - the most disgusting bright royal blue you could ever imagine - Rangers jersey with the red and white number 68 and name JAGR on the back. The only thing that could have been worse would have been an Avery jersey.

I hate Jagr. He's such a wuss and wouldn't take a hit if he was a crash test dummy.

So I was working all night thinking about the morning's festivites to come. As the hours wasted away and it got closer to 8 a.m. the guys started coming in for the 8 a.m. shift and the ragging began. I just jooked about it and went on my way.

Once I got off work and got changed, I had to take the jersey off my locker. I could barely touch it. I took it outside and waited until the last possible minute to put it on.

Then came the moment of truth. I pulled the jersey over my head and I immediately began to feel a numbing sensation come over my body. The hair onmy arms stood up straight and my skin began to itch. But I stood there and took it like a man. No complaints.

I started powerwashing one side of the car with soap and then I began to rinse it when the winner of the bet yelled, "Whoa, wait a minute!" I didn't know what he was talking about and then he told me I had to fill up the bucket with soap and water, and scrub the car, too. This was turning into a nightmare. If I had to keep the stupid Jagr jersey on one minute longer than I had to, I was going to die.

There were yellow jackets spot-welded on the front of the hood that took a while to wash off and the wheels were caked with brake dust. But I got the job done.

There were more digital cameras and video cameras than you'd see following Britney Spears. The paparazzi was at my job.

After all the shutter-clucking was over, I took off my jersey faster than you could say, "THE RANGERS SUCK!"

So go ahead all you friggin' Ranger fans. Bask in the glory of making, and eventually losing in, the playoffs. This is the last time I will ever put on the worst jersey in the history of the NHL.

Kyle Okposo assisted on Blake Comeau's goal for his first NHL point as the Islanders took a 1-0 lead against the Devils on Friday. Then he scored his first NHL goal and it proved to be the game-winner as the Isles beat New Jersey 3-1 to improve to 6-1-0 against the red horns this season.

With DiPi out with his second hip surgery in two seasons, Wade Dubielewicz got the start and looked sharp. But the defense did their job, too. The Islanders have to be careful now that DiPi has shown a proneness to this injury. No more 70-75 starts for him. Time to knock it down to about 55-60 so he doesn't get worn out. No need to let Dubie go either. When on his game, he has shown us that he is able to start on many teams.

Okposo is sure making a name for himself and he is using these final nine games as a proving ground and to give Ted Nolan something to think about come September when training camp begins.

There will be and should be some nervous Islanders who don't want to lose their starting spots next year.

WHAT'S NEXT? Next, GM Garth Snow has to decide if he is going to re-sign Miroslav Satan, Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko - all unrestricted free agents. They also need to quickly sign restricted free agents Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen and Sean Bergenheim to keep from another team making an offer.

But Kyle is here for now and he could be next year. So, heads up Islander fans...there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Kyle Okposo assisted on Blake Comeau's goal for his first NHL point as the Islanders took a 1-0 lead against the Devils on Friday. Then he scored his first NHL goal and it proved to be the game-winner as the Isles beat New Jersey 3-1 to improve to 6-1-0 against the red horns this season.

With DiPi out with his second hip surgery in two seasons, Wade Dubielewicz got the start and looked sharp. But the defense did their job, too. The Islanders have to be careful now that DiPi has shown a proneness to this injury. No more 70-75 starts for him. Time to knock it down to about 55-60 so he doesn't get worn out. No need to let Dubie go either. When on his game, he has shown us that he is able to start on many teams.

Okposo is sure making a name for himself and he is using these final nine games as a proving ground and to give Ted Nolan something to think about come September when training camp begins.

There will be and should be some nervous Islanders who don't want to lose their starting spots next year.

WHAT'S NEXT? Next, GM Garth Snow has to decide if he is going to re-sign Miroslav Satan, Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko - all unrestricted free agents. They also need to quickly sign restricted free agents Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen and Sean Bergenheim to keep from another team making an offer.

But Kyle is here for now and he could be next year. So, heads up Islander fans...there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Kyle Okposo assisted on Blake Comeau's goal for his first NHL point as the Islanders took a 1-0 lead against the Devils on Friday. Then he scored his first NHL goal and it proved to be the game-winner as the Isles beat New Jersey 3-1 to improve to 6-1-0 against the red horns this season.

With DiPi out with his second hip surgery in two seasons, Wade Dubielewicz got the start and looked sharp. But the defense did their job, too. The Islanders have to be careful now that DiPi has shown a proneness to this injury. No more 70-75 starts for him. Time to knock it down to about 55-60 so he doesn't get worn out. No need to let Dubie go either. When on his game, he has shown us that he is able to start on many teams.

Okposo is sure making a name for himself and he is using these final nine games as a proving ground and to give Ted Nolan something to think about come September when training camp begins.

There will be and should be some nervous Islanders who don't want to lose their starting spots next year.

WHAT'S NEXT? Next, GM Garth Snow has to decide if he is going to re-sign Miroslav Satan, Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko - all unrestricted free agents. They also need to quickly sign restricted free agents Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen and Sean Bergenheim to keep from another team making an offer.

But Kyle is here for now and he could be next year. So, heads up Islander fans...there is a light at the end of the tunnel.