Though it's a few days late and everyone's all agog about football right now I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the coverage of Mark Messier, retired Stanley Cup-winning Rangers captain and all-around hockey legend, along with his just-retired jersey.

The glowing hour-long tribute at the Garden last Thursday was followed by glowing treatment in the pages of the New York press, including a full-page front page of the Daily News featuring a joyful Messier hoisting the Cup (won under his leadership in 1994 - and, at least since 1940, only 1994). The Post gave it the back page, natch, plus a flurry of articles, and the NYT had the story and a slideshow, plus a nice look-back from Dave Anderson (plus everyone had preview coverage of Messier's teary press conference the night before). Also, Mark Messier is Canadian.

An interesting coverage note: you'd have been hard-pressed to find references to Messier's stint with the Vancouver Canucks, which interrupted his time with the Rangers. Reading most articles you'd assume that Messier was with New York from his 1991 trade (from the Oilers Dynasty -- where he'd won 5 cups, four teamed up with Gretzky) to the recent walkout and his subsequent retirment. It was of course noted, however, that the '94 Cup was won against the Canucks in Game 7.

Also interesting: most coverage also noted that he was holding his 2 1/2 year old son Douglas during some of the proceedings (see pic left); none of it mentioned his five-month old daughter Jacqueline Jean, next to him held by his gorgeous Canadian fiancée and longtime girlfriend Kim Clark. To be fair, it also didn't mention his other son, Lyon, 18. Still, it strikes me as a strange omission not to mention that two babies, clearly Messier's, clearly visible at the event and in photos, were on the ice.

Mess, Garden in '11' Heaven [NYDN]
Captain For Life [NYT]
Night of the Living Legend (plus 8 more articles) [NYP]

Nice Background:
On Night Saved For Messier, A Moment Remains Frozen [NYT]
Special Night For Messier[CP]

Disclosure: Fishbowl knows Clark, which is probably why we noticed that she and Jacqueline Jean weren't mentioned with little Douglas above. We swear, everyone in Canada does not know each other, it just sometimes seems that way.

Side note: With this post Fishbowl once again achieves blog synchronicity, wherein two non-related posts somehow unite in a common theme. In this case we have double-blog-synchronicity, because here we have the Rangers, also invoked by Carol Alt in the previous post on Skin Deep via her former marriage to Ron Greschner, but also because both posts involved weird tangential hockey disclosures. Other recent blog synchronicities include Laurel Touby-Jon Fine wedded bliss synchronicity here and here, and also TM synchronicity here and here.