B R O A D W A Y***B L U E S H I R T S

NY PJ1 wrote:

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Rangers' season already SRO

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BY JOHN DELLAPINA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Friday, September 7th 2007, 4:00 AM

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If you aren't a Rangers season-ticket holder or a personal friend of Brian Leetch, good luck trying to get into the Garden Jan. 24 to see No. 2 retired.

Overwhelmed by ticket requests for their entire season, the Rangers have only about 350 seats available for any given game. And for Leetch Night, they must set aside every seat not assigned to a season-ticket holder for family members and guests, leaving none available when individual game tickets go on sale Sept. 15.

"It's unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it," Brian Lafemina, the club's senior VP/team sales said of the frenzy to buy Rangers tickets for this season.

To be sure, the July 1 signings of free-agent centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury have Rangers fans thinking big. But Lafemina said that he had been inundated with season-ticket inquiries even before the Rangers retooled the team that stunned with its success two seasons ago and advanced to within two victories of the Eastern Conference finals last spring.

Most of those inquiries did little more than earn callers a chance to be placed on a waiting list the Rangers plan to construct next month. That is because 96.2% of last year's season subscribers renewed their tickets.

"Last year, we had a very strong year and sold out of season tickets at some point during the season," Lafemina said. "Our renewal rate for this year was through the roof even before the signings. After that, it took off even more.

"We had 15,000 inquiries about season tickets. Since July1, we've had over 4,000 inquiries....I've been here for almost 20years. And even as hot as Knicks tickets have been, it's never been like this."

It didn't figure to be like this as recently as three seasons ago. That was when Rangers season tickets had to be discounted by 10% to keep a promise Garden chairman Jim Dolan made if the team missed the playoffs for a seventh straight season in 2003-04.

It was at the end of that season, during a roster purge of veterans, that GM Glen Sather made the controversial trade that sent Leetch to Toronto for a collection of young players and draft picks. Leetch, who was drafted by the Rangers and went on to become the franchise's greatest defenseman - its greatest player, many would argue - was crushed by the trade as he never wanted to play for any other team.

Rangers coach Tom Renney tried to convince Leetch to return to New York last season and run the team's inconsistent power play. But Leetch didn't believe he could play up to his exacting standards - particularly in a Rangers sweater - and announced his retirement in late May.

On Jan. 24, his No. 2 will become the fifth retired by the Rangers, following the jersey numbers of Rod Gilbert (7), Eddie Giacomin (1), Mike Richter (35) and Mark Messier (11) to the Garden's spoked ceiling.

NY PJ1 wrote:

not this time ,, i dont think