Right after that incident occurred, the New York Rangers Chapter of the PHWA – which Botta and I are members – decided to see about forming a protest and not vote in the NHL postseason awards. At that time is was an informal vote, because no one suspected Botta’s ban would last.

But the NHL didn’t do anything about it and the PHWA “discussed” the situation, yet nothing formal happened.

So last week, Chapter President Larry Brooks put it to a formal vote, where the Rangers chapter decided 7-3 not to participate in the voting.

For the record, I was a member of the three. I voted that way at the time, because I perceived it as an Islander issue and why should the Rangers be punished for something that happened in Uniondale. Certainly the Islander Chapter should take the lead on the matter, but not the Rangers.

Furthermore, since Botta was an executive with the club, this is a personal matter between him and the team. Remember, Botta was the PR Director for 20 years and during that time, he performed the same actions on various writers – including myself –  as the team did to him. Yet now, because the shoe is on the other foot, it’s some sort of national crime.

I also felt any protest would fall on deaf ears, since nothing was done about the Botta situation since October.

So I voted no to the boycott, yet told the group, I would abide by the decision of the majority.

My opinion has changed in the past 36 hours.

After Brooks informed the PHWA and the NHL of the chapter’s boycott, PHWA president Kevin Allen released these statements.

“The idea of a national boycott was discussed briefly, but my sense was that the majority of our members opposed the disruption of the voting process. But no motion was ever made to boycott,” Allen said. “In talking to members, it’s clear to me that they consider the voting process to be highly important.

“Although the Rangers’ chapter doesn’t reflect the sentiment of the other 30 chapters, I’m respectful of its decision. In America, the idea of using one’s vote as a means of protest is as old as the country itself. And the issue here is important. The PHWA doesn’t believe that a NHL team should be able to deny access to one of our members. Chris Botta is one of our members. And he was denied access by the New York Islanders.

“I’m satisfied that the New York Rangers chapter conducted its vote in a democratic, professional manner. I have been informed that it was a 7-3 decision. There will be no effort made to change anyone’s mind. As president, I am willing to say who is eligible to vote, but I’m not going to suggest how someone should vote, or say whether he or she should vote at all.

“I’m confident that the integrity of the voting procedure will not be compromised by the loss of one chapter. Every year, we have some voters who don’t exercise their right to vote for a variety of reasons.  Even without the New York Rangers chapter, there will be 160 eligible voters.  At some points during my 25 years in the organization fewer than 60 voters decided trophy winners. I believe we have more than enough voters to get the job done.”

It seems to me the PHWA is more concerned about voting rights than protecting its members. The first and foremost mission for any writing organization is advocacy of its members. By not looking out for its own, the PHWA exposes its writers to the whims of the various organizations it covers. Teams want positive news, but our readership demands fair and accurate reporting. The association is supposed to protect writers and allow them to do their jobs.

Even if Botta’s situation is unique and may come with unclean hands, the association should have been more concerned about a writer doing his job rather than who should get the Hart Trophy.

And apparently the Rangers chapter’s statement is echoing through the NHL. Yesterday, the Islanders and Devils chapters – both of which voted 5-0 – decided to join the boycott and now we are told the NHL is weighing its options.

So maybe some good will come out of this and maybe this boycott will make the PHWA a stronger organization. If that’s the case, then this protest is worth it and I am glad my fellow writers voted for it.

“We have come to completed terms in filling our No. 1 need in signing Francisco Rodriguez to a three year contract with the New York Mets,” Minaya said. “Our goal, from day one, was to improve our bullpen and I can not think of a better reliever than Francisco Rodriguez.”

K-Rod set a Major League record in 2008 with 62 saves. He also converted 23 saves when entering the game with a one-run league and 22more with a two-run cushion. He went 2-3 with a 2.24 ERA.

“I am thrilled to join the Mets,” Rodriguez said in a statement.”Mets fans are very passionate and playing in a new ballpark is going to be great. I am going to do everything I can to help bring a championship to Citi Field.”

Rodriguez, who wore Johan Santana’s No. 57 with the Angels, will switch the number around and go with No. 75 in Queens.

The Mets have seemingly reached this deal after two days of talk between the club and agent Paul Kinzer.

“He’s a tremendously skilled closer,” said manager Jerry Manuel during his media session. “I was impressed with the energy he had when he came out and with that energy came confidence.”

With Rodriguez, the Mets are signing one of the top closers in the game, who went 2-3 last year with a 2.24 ERA and a Major League record 62 saves for the Los Angeles Angels. Over his six year career, the righthander went 23-17 with a 2.35 ERA and 208 saves.

“K-Rod” will fill the void left by the injured Billy Wagner who had to get Tommy John surgery back in August, leaving the Mets short in the bullpen to say the least.

“We lost a lot of games late,” Manuel said. “We did a good job of overcoming them. To have someone of that magnitude, our chances would be much greater.”

This was goal No. 1 for the Mets as they came to Vegas with the goal of obtaining a closer. After having dinner with Rodriguez on Sunday and then meetings the last two days, the two sides came to the agreement this morning.

Originally the club offered a two year deal with an option, but that was a starting off point, and upped the offer to three years with an incentive based option, which would bring the total up to $51 million if everything kicks in.

Yet, the deal is not done yet and something could go wrong in the physical. Rodriguez did lose some speed off his fastball over the past few seasons, which could be a red flag. Yet, it may be nothing, because K-Rod also developed a tremendous curve, which complimented his other pitches.

All this means the Mets got their man. Rodriguez is the first step in revamping an awful bullpen, which derailed the club’s chances last season.

“In the way we lost some close games, we it was critically for us to theoretically address this thing here,” Manuel said. “In the way we lost games and myself trying to interchange pieces late, it wore on the players.

Now the Mets will concentrate on the rest of the bullpen. Reportedly they could offer Fuentes a contract for the eighth inning or they can revisit a trade with Colorado for Huston Street.

Also the club will sign a starting pitcher. Manuel said he was confident in Jon Niese as the No. 5 starter, but general manager Omar Minaya will have to either re-sign Oliver Perez or someone to replace him in the rotation.

Finally the Mets are looking at options in the lineup, but as of right now, they will concentrate on pitching.

And as of today, it looks like they got their first priority done.

The Knicks and Nets have both been horrible with little end in sight.

And the hockey teams haven’t been much better.

Even the New York Rangers, who were coming on, but couldn’t follow though this week with two bad games at the Garden, including last night’s loss 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks.

“You are not going to win games by working hard,” said coach Tom Renney. “You are going to win games by having poise and composure, whether you are winning or losing.”

It was lost poise and composure that cost the Rangers, with the Ducks capitalizing on Blueshirt mistakes and creating odd man rushes, which was too much for Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 15 shots on the night.

“We are just making mistakes and we can’t do that at this time of year,” said center Scott Gomez. “Every mistake we made they capitalized on. I’m not taking anything away from anybody, guys are going hard, but we have to learn quickly. It doesn’t get any easier for us.

“If you look at the goals they scored, we made the mental mistakes. When mistakes were made they capitalized on them. They are a patient team, until the other team makes a mistake. The guys worked hard today, but it’s not good enough.”

Although outshot 33-19, the Ducks were able to take the Ranger turnovers and turn them into points. In the first, former Ranger Mathieu Schneider put one past Henrik Lundqvist, after the goalie was screened by George Parros.

And in the second, Corey Perry was able to get a soft goal by Lundqvist that went through his left arm, trickling into the net.

“The second goal, I should have had it,” Lundqvist said. “When I look at the games, we let up a lot with a lot of odd man rushes. That’s the toughest part of the play when you pick the corners. Parts of your game you have to play better. Right now, the opponents don’t have to work that hard to get their goals.”

And the Rangers have to fight for each score, as well. Their only tally tonight came on a Ryan Callahan score after the Blueshirts crashed the net on Jean-Sebastien Giguere at 7:42 into the second. But those type of chances were few and far between.

Yet Anaheim kept the pressure on. Later in the second after the score was 2-1, Chris Kunitz was able to bank one in off of a sprawled out Lundqvist.

“We need to be a little more intelligent in front of [Lundqvist],” Renney said. “We need to take advantage of our power play and do a little better on the penalty kill. And have a defenseman come down in to pinch and offense his own play.

“Game, set, match.”

It’s easier said than done, but the Rangers, still in seventh place, need to get it fixed quick. With five days off next week, the rest of the league will be able to catch up on games and the Rangers can do nothing but watch.

And have nothing to cheer about.

Notes: Ryan Callahan scored his first goal since his recall from Hartford…This was the Ducks first game at the Garden since Oct. 28, 2003…The Rangers go to Philadelphia and Washington this weekend before their week sabbatical…The Blueshirts remain winless against the west this year going 0-7-2…Their final game will be on Feb. 17 against the San Jose Sharks at the Garden.

The Super Bowl Champs were the road warriors of the NFL, winning a record 11 straight away from the Meadowlands.

And the Rangers started emulating the G-Men, by getting three hard fought road wins.

And then they came back home to the league worst Lost Angeles Kings. The 4-2 loss just highlights what’s wrong with the Rangers this season.

“We talked about a good young team that was 6-3-1 before tonight,” Renney said. “They were just getting better and had nothing to lose. We needed a start to possibly put them on their heels and give us the room that we were looking for and take control of the game early.”

Bt the time Renney called a time out at 13:08 in the first, the Rangers were outshot 14-1 and the Kings led 2-0. That kind of start cost the team and the Rangers never recovered.

“The first period they came out hard, kept it simple,” Michal Rozsival said. “They dumped it in and forechecked hard, and we had trouble getting out of our own zone. They played well. We have to give them credit. They are a young, talented team. Basically we got outworked, especially the first half of the game.”

Sure Chris Drury was able to cut the lead in half after one, but a costly mistake by Sean Avery in the second, which allowed Alexander Frolov to whisk past Jason Strudwick to make it 3-1 killed any hopes of a comeback., even though the Rangers had 40 shots on former Ranger Jason LaBarbera for the final 2 ½ periods.

“You need to outwork your opponent, which we didn’t do to start with and without working we weren’t thinking,” Renney said. “We weren’t the more intelligent team and it cost us two points on a night that could really make a difference.”

Now, the Rangers have to get it done against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday before going on the road over the weekend and then having a rare five days off between games.

“We have to show some video and close the door,” Renney said. “It’s in our hands. Just look at the standings, these are very big games for us. We have to sit back and watch for five days next week while everyone else catches us, as games are played.

“We have to do, what we have to do, now.”