(Charles Wang, left, exhibits his ruthless streak by punching Garth Snow in the neck)

The New York Islanders, frustrated in their attempts to build an arena to replace the Nassau Mausoleum, have scheduled a preseason game next September versus the Los Angeles Kings in Kansas City, MO.  If this is a not-so-subtle message on the part of the Fishsticks, Newsday’s Jim Baumbach applauds the move, opining “they are sending a clear doom-and-gloom message to the Town of Hempstead: Work with us on The Lighthouse Project, or else.”

And of course you know what the ‘or else’ stands for. They’re telling the Town of Hempstead not to dare us to sell the Islanders, because – hey, what do you know – Kansas City seems like a nice place to visit in October. The city has great barbecue, the weather is still nice, and – what’s that – oh, yeah, the city does not have its own hockey team. Some coincidence, right?

Some praised Charles Wang for refusing to play the game of public threats, of refusing to scare Islanders fans by threatening to move, but at the same time there’s something to be said about saying enough is enough. We all know the Islanders have no future here if something isn’t done about Nassau Coliseum. So remaining quiet while nothing was happening with his submitted plans could only last for so long.

Now, finally, Wang has spoken. And you have to give him credit for getting his point across. Instead of simply saying, “If we don’t get this arena, we’re going to be forced to sell,” Wang has simply bypassed that step in the negotiation. If he had done that, people would have wondered if he means it.