Sports

At the Homestretch Pub Bar at 214 Kings Highway, the usual baseball-crazed crowd appeared to be more concerned with the outcome of the Giants vs. Cardinals game than with the deciding Yankee game.

“I’m a Mets fan, I know the Yankees are going to win, but I want them to lose,” Frankie “Star,” a Bensonhurst local and a bartender at the pub,  said as the game began,. As a baseball lover, Frankie still continued to watch the game, but he was hoping on a loss for the New York team.

The rest of the 15-or-so bar-flies were peeking at the game out of the corners of their eyes, some watching halfheartedly, but the passion that only true baseball fans carry was missing. That’s when it became clear – the room was full of Mets fans!

“When you hate, you hate with your heart. We hate the Yankees!” said Frankie.

After wrapping up a successful playing career -- which included a season with the Brooklyn Aces where he scored 23 points in 22 games and served as assistant coach and team captain -- Rob Miller is ready to take the New York Aviators of North Eastern Professional Hockey League to the ice.

Here is the final of our two-part exclusive interview:

Bay Currents: Since you said this is going to be a local team, do you feel like you're going to have a tougher time fielding good players when compared to the teams in the hockey bed New England?

Rob Miller: I think there are players from all over these areas that have played college hockey and pro. I think the level of play is going to be highly comparable to last season, possibly even better, who knows. I think the bigger thing is that all the local guys all the teams are going to have other jobs. It's not going to be like a kid coming down here just to play hockey who will survive on 250 bucks a week. You'll be able to get an upper echelon guy who can supplement his income by having a real job. He's going to be able to play and this is going to be something I know a lot of guys I've spoken to are interested in doing. I'm going to have to plan practices around work schedules and things like that.