SPORTS FOLDEROL

  It took too long for them to wise up but …  ZAC JONES  finally is appreciated by just about everyone … except the one that counts. Check some of the latest comments by hardened fans of the NHL New York Rangers, and you’ll find they prefer Jones, 23, who has spent most of the season a healthy scratch, over  ERIK GUSTAFSSON , 32, who joined the team as a free agent prior to season’s start … and immediately was installed (over Jones) on the third defensive pairing.  “ No question Jones is better than Gus.” “ More energy … smarter player. Like his game more.” “ His game does not look like an accident waiting to happen.  Gus, on the other hand, is accident prone.” That was a mere sample of opinion … most of which favored  Jones, the Richmonder who remains the only player to suit up  in the NHL born AND raised in Virginia. OK, so one observer  did request caution: “ Pump the brakes a little on Jones here. He looked spectacular  last game [he...

GO FIGURE: New York Rangers have newcomer Erik Gustafsson slotted on the left side of their No. 3 defense despite a reputation for not being very good in his own end. This will be his eighth team in the last five years including a failed training camp with the Islanders. Last year he had a brief scoring streak with Washington before being shipped to Toronto. Inability to pass the puck to teammates has always been a problem yet new Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, who had Gustafsson in Washington, apparently gave him the job ahead of Zac Jones, the native Richmonder who probably would be better off being traded to a team that really wants him. Jones cannot be sent back to AHL Hartford without first going through waivers which he undoubtedly would not clear. In Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss to New Jersey, which finished its preseason schedule unbeaten (6-0), Gustafsson, paired with Braden Schneider, was, for the most part, inconspicuous. His primary contribution was a perfect hip check ...