le sigh

I couldn't think of any pictures for today, so I went with this. Sue me.

I didn't really watch the Habs game last night, because it was just too stressful and sad. I guess that makes me a bad fan, but it was really just self preservation. I watched the Rangers/Caps game instead, because Rod really hates Sean Avery, and he gets so mad when Avery does something douchey. It's funny to watch Rod get mad! I personally find Sean Avery amusing. His antics are so douchey and over the top. This is not to say I like him, so hold your fire please. I think he is a very effective player for the Rangers, and he does silly things that make me laugh.

Flyers return to the ice tonight, and I return to the Wachovia Center for what I expect will be my last game this season. I don't think the Flyers will be able to pull another game like Sunday's out their asses, but we'll see. Can't wait to see if Giroux can tear shit up again. Maybe I will record the starting lineups and let you hear how loud the cheer for him will be. Bet it's louder than anyone else.

I had to get up at 6 am on Sunday to work 7-1 and then go to the game!

So you Flyers are lucky that was a good game, or I would be pissed.

I'm amazed that the crowd was so into it. I was apparently the only person who had no hope for a win (or even a good effort). I was pleasantly surprised.

I came home and watched the game on TV (weird, I know) and was amazed at how Pierre McGuire has the biggest boner for the Pens. But then I read the Pensblog, and they were pissed at how McGuire has a boner for Mike Richards. Amazing how two different fan bases can hate McGuire so much, but about the exact opposite thing. Honestly though, if you think the NBC broadcast had bias towards the Flyers, you are either retarded or deaf (no offense to either group). Seriously, NBC's job is to sing the praises of the annointed one and his team, no matter what.

I still hold no delusions that the Flyers can win this series, or even another game, but it was nice to be rewarded for getting up at the asscrack of dawn.

Also:

• I bet 4 out of 5 Flyers fans have a Giroux jersey by the end of the week.
• I do a lot of hockey card shopping on ebay (*cough* Kovalev *cough*) and I can tell you that Giroux cards today were going for 30 bucks and up. No lie. Check it yourself!
• I really need to get to sleep now!
• I think the Luden's are causing my tonsils to swell.
• I am so glad the Habs are not playing the Flyers. I would have gotten killed for wearing a Habs shirt.
• Oh Jared Ross...sorry about what I said about you earlier in the week. My bad.

Also, a quick word on penalties. Um. Hmm. Actually, no, I'm not going to get into it, but wow. Maybe a quick refresher course for the refs on what consitutes hooking, slashing, and what have you. Because honestly, I don't know what the fuck the refs are seeing out there, but it's getting kinda outta control...

Flyers get ready for loss number two, I get ready for a long nap.

I have no plans to watch tonight's Flyers game. I'm in need of sleep, and I am going to take a long nap and not set my alarm. So there. Take that Flyers! If you're not going to show up for the game, neither am I!

Oh gosh, not the Pens again.

I had no idea Iceburgh was gay!

Sigh. Here we go again. Battle of Pennsylvania and all that crap. Seriously, the Flyers better get their shit together and quick. They've been playing like a team who doesn't care. Perhaps it's part of their master plan to lull opponents into thinking they're not a serious threat. Yeah, maybe that's it! Let's hope so, or we're all going to be rooting for Carolina in the next round.

So take a day to rest up, watch Sudden Death to get yourself in the mood to kick Iceburgh's ass, and let's go Flyers. Or something.

Thank you Sabres, let's go Flyers!

As a Flyers blogger, I am legally obligated to use this picture in a post today. Or else.

Buffalo kept me on the edge of my seat last night, but ended up beating the Panthers with help from a beautiful goal off of Bouwmeester's stick. They must have replayed it about 12 times, and I loved it every time.

So tonight, the Flyers need to take care of the Panthers. I think the Flyers are 1-1 this season vs. the Cats so far. As I'm sure you have heard already, tonight is Scott Hartnell wig night. Apparently, some of the Flyers will be wearing the wigs during warmups. I'll try to get some pictures!

Sorry for the lamest post ever, I'll try to get back on track soon....

Home sweet home!

Yay! Home at last! Montreal was fantastic, and I'm happy to hear that it's even better in the summer, since I will back there at the end of June for the NHL draft. Heh.

My Lord, there's a lot of hockey going on this week: Flyers Monday, Habs Tuesday, Habs and Flyers Thursday, Habs and Flyers Saturday, Flyers Sunday. Good thing I have the rest of the week off from work to keep up with everything. Thanks to the NHL scheduling gods, last night's Habs game is the only one I'll be able to see live, since I'll be at the Flyers games for the other ones. Next week looks a little busy too. Sheesh. This stretch run is going to kill me!

Last night's win was good. It was great to see the boys actually scoring goals and holding on to a lead for once. But....well, okay, I won't start with the "buts" now. We can only hope that this boosts their confidence, but not so much that they decide they don't need to play anymore! Take it one game at a time, blah blah blah. Oh my god, this team is turning me into a basket case!

Over the next 10 games, the Flyers play the Panthers twice. So.....LET'S GO FLYERS!!!

Carbo-no and double game day preview

Oh sign making fan, you are wise beyond your years...

Well wow, that was shocking. I was on my way home from work yesterday and listening to Jeff Marek on HNIC Radio when I heard the news. I'm sad for Guy, but this move gives me hope that perhaps all is not lost. I'm hoping Bob has his pulse on the finger of the team and can get all of them to live up to their potential. We'll see. I particularly like this piece on Gainey's press conference yesterday. Robert always has quality stuff over there.

Two games for me tonight, one at the Wachovia Center and one on Tivo. I was trying to get out of going to the Flyers game, but I can't talk Rod out of it. Plus, I hear Soph and Jess might be there, so that's always something to look forward to! Here's hoping we can continue our non-jinxing being at the game at the same time streak.

I was surprised to see that the Flyers have won both meetings with the Sabres this year. I'm not sure why I'm surprised, but I am. Looks like Briere is out for tonight, which can only be good for the Flyers considering their record in the 12 games he's played in this season.

As for the Habs game...ugh. I don't know what to expect. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. (I'll even take a loss, as long as the boys show a little jump and consistency...)

(Also, thanks to everyone for leaving me Montreal restaurant recommendations. Much appreciated!)

Cote vs. Roy: The Rematch

If you're like me (and obviously, you're not), you've had this day circled on your calendar since the schedule came out last year. Roy vs. Cote: The Rematch. Let's review the video, shall we?


Fight number 1


Fight number 2


Roy having an absolute meltdown on the bench after fight #2


Okay, it looks like Roy pwned Cote in fight #1. Riley got pretty lucky with a quick takedown on fight #2. And man oh man, Roy was riled up. (Pun intended)

Roy has played 38 games for 67 PIM this year. He has been playing pretty regularly, but before playing on March 3rd, hadn't been in a game since February 17th. I am willing to say it's even money whether or not he actually plays tomorrow. Best part is that this is almost exactly one year to the day since they fought. Let's see if Riley has been saving up for this one...

Marty Biron wants me back. Flyers win.

Oh Flyers, you keep trying to win me back. It's starting to work.

Every game has playoff implications, and you're starting to play like you know it.

I was enjoying last night's game, up until the point where they had a "Great Goalies in Flyers History" montage on the jumbotron. They showed all the greats, and threw in a couple shots of Marty. It was heavy on the Hextall, of course. Then at the end, they cut to a shot of Hextall in his box, waving and smiling.

*clank*

The last time we had a tribute to Hextall, we lost to the Caps in amazingly shitty fashion. So now, with 8 minutes left in the game, I go into jinxed fan mode. I flip out and say "great, now we're going to lose." I was so pissed that they showed Hextall that I sulked and pouted for the rest of the game. This, my friends, is what happens when you care about a team. I HATE CARING ABOUT A TEAM! It's so stressful! I want to go back to the days of not caring whether or not the Flyers lose. I don't like being invested in what happens to them, it hurts too much.

Even when they win.

Damn you Flyers!

Every day is like Christmas!

Careful kid, someday he'll crush your dreams!

First off, let me start by saying thanks Flyers for beating the Buffaslugs. It was a good game for Mike Richards fans, with his 2 goals and 3 assists. I hadn't realized we had such a hatred of Buffalo fans, but I was quickly reminded by the Flyers fans in our section every time a Buffalo jersey entered. Also, when Buffalo scored, it sounded like we were in Buffalo.

Sadly (for the Flyers fans who read this), I spent most of the game watching the out of town scoreboard. Pens 1, Habs 0. 1-1. 2-1. 2-2. 3-2. 3-3. Okay, you get the point. I was excited to see the Habs keep tying it up. Unfortunately, once it got to 5-4, they never tied it up again.

Gonchar. Gonchar, Gonchar, Gonchar. The past few years, you have been a Flyer killer, always putting up a goal when we least wanted you to. Now we meet again as you take down the Habs. I love having you on my fantasy team, but please stop killing my real teams.

I came home after the game to catch up on any Kovalev news, and lo and behold, more drama out of Montreal. Big news story today with criminal charges! I woke up early like a kid on Christmas to see what all the buzz was about. So far, all I can say is meh. Who hasn't hung out with the local drug kingpin. That's your big news? We'll see.

Anyhow, I do agree with this article that bringing Kovalev back now is a bit early. I think another game or two would have been better. Just as long as he plays next Friday!

Oh, and thanks to my upstairs tivo for sucking and not properly changing the channel to record the Habs game. I'll never see the look on Gonchar's face as he crushes the Habs dreams of a win!

Flyers can't buy a goal, the curse of the starter, and Gator returns

Well okay, technically, they bought 2 goals, but man, getting anything past Elliott was a challenge. Looks like maybe that Sens coaching change might work out okay for them. Might have to pick up Elliott for my fantasy team.

Flyers did not look bad. However, watching the Habs may have skewed my view of what a good game looks like. Really though, they had lots of chances and just weren't able to capitalize. A few turnovers here and there (I'm looking at you, Jones and Carter) but overall, not bad at all.

Oh wait. I forgot about the 5 goals that the Sens scored. Look, no way was Nitty gonna get the W tonight. It's the curse of being the starter. Too much pressure and it gets into your head. Nitty actually looked solid for most of the game, and most of the goals he let in were just bad breaks. Well, except for that last one where he was totally out of position. I'll have to watch the replay and see what the hell happened there.

I tell ya though, start calling Marty the #1, and Nitty will spring back into form just fine.



Best part of the game (well second best really) was seeing Gator again. I missed him back in December, so tonight was my first time seeing him since he left us. He was scruffalicious as usual and still looks like a Flyer to me!

Best part of course, was seeing Jess and Soph, because not only do they rock, but they shower me with gifts at every opportunity. Yay! Tonight's haul was a Valentine's card with a picture of Gator rocking the fu manchu, a big Tits card, and a half naked picture of Kovalev. Wait...what?

So there's a game today or something...

Mmmmmm, baked Iceburgh...

It's hard not to get excited for a game like this. Pens are in a bit of a slump right now, but I'm sure playing against Hartnell will bring out their douchey best. Poor guy better skate like there's a target on his back.

For actual previews and whatnot, check out the usual crew:
Pensblog....undergoing construction, not sure if they will have a gameday post up or not.
Frozen Fan...nothing up yet, maybe later today.
Four Habs Fans...oh wait, that one's for me
Empty Netters...lots of great links
and of course, those crazy boyz over at FGSB. I think they eat crazy for breakfast just like Scottie Upshall

I'll be at the game of course. Any requests for pictures? I'm going to try and actually take some this time. Haha!

Leighton=stunned

No worries Leights, Cam is still out for a while. Like they're gonna start Peters? Pshht.

Poor Leighton, he had it all wrapped up. Then John Stevens called the Flyers pansies during the second intermission and they decided to make things interesting.

I actually liked the second period, because all the bullshit calls got the crowed riled up. It made the third period that much sweeter. The organist even played the chicken song riff so we could chant "hey ref you suck!" He did it at least twice, and possibly three times. He hasn't done that since last year's favorite game. This game reminded me a lot of that game.

I loved watching player interviews today, and seeing how they were still revved up from last night's game. Lupes said he had trouble falling asleep!

Next up, the Pens at home. Hope it's a good one!

A few random grumblings...

*NHL.com, your new interface sucks. It looks pretty, but damn if I can figure out where the hell to find stuff.


*Brian Engblom cut his hair. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. It looks better, yet weirder somehow. Thanks to Puck Daddy for the pic. I was totally gonna screen cap it myself, but damn if I'm too lazy.

*How many fantasy hockey teams is too many? Why do all my fantasy hockey teams have crap goalies?

*Why haven't I seen any of these "Is this the year?" commercials that everyone is yapping about?

*Why does Ed Snider look more and more like George Hamilton in "Love at First Bite"? Anyone who has seen the commemorative ticket from the Phantoms/Flyers game knows what I'm talking about.

*I hope that Saturday's game will not be overshadowed by political bullshit.

*Why don't I know any of the players numbers for this season? I got some studying to do!

*If Pat Maroon is gonna be with the Phantoms all year, I may have to make a few trips over to the Spectrum. Sign me up now for the jersey auctions.

I guess that's all for now. See you Saturday!

I'm kind of excited about Eminger!

Eminger does not look excited at all though...probably the Caps uniform!

Ya know, it's strange, but I hardly ever read news about the Flyers. I usually just read blogs. But I've been reading news the past few days, hence the more newsy focus over here. Anyhow, all that aside, I gotta say I am pretty excited about Eminger after reading what he had to say to the press.

You can read the full interview/articles here and here. They are good, I promise.

Basically, it sounds like the Caps were deep on d-men, and just kinda didn't need him. He was a healthy scratch most of the year and never really got to develop. He also didn't get much feedback on what he needed to improve.

From Chuck Gormley at the Courier Post:

Eminger said he simply wants to establish his identity as an NHL defenseman. In Washington, Eminger said he was asked to be a defensive defenseman under Cassidy, an offensive defenseman under Glen Hanlon, and he didn't play much at all under Bruce Boudreau, who replaced Hanlon early last season as Capitals coach and used Eminger in just 20 regular season games.

"I'm not a one dimensional offensive guy," Eminger said. "There were a lot of different signals, and that led to not having my own identity. I think a player should be his own player.

"The frustrating thing is I really didn't know what the reason was (for being benched). I was pretty much a depth player and at 23 or 24 years old, I didn't think I was a depth player. I knew I wasn't a depth player."

Okay, so it sounds like we just need to define his role and play him in 82 games. I think we can do that. He sounds like he has a good attitude, and that can go a long way:

“I was really honored to be traded for a first-round pick,'' the 6-2, 217-pound Eminger said. “Now everything is up to me. I have to prove myself. I'm looking ahead to the challenge.''

Sounds good to me!

Flyers building team around Richards...

Is it just me, or do the last two Flyers acquisitions have something in common?

Both have a connection with future captain Mike Richards.

Now look, I understand that in the hockey world, pretty much everyone has played on a team with everyone at some point. It's just how the system works. However, the two latest pickups, Danny Syvret and Steve Eminger, have both played with Richards before. And the fact that they have played with Richards was highlighted by Homer.

Here's what Homer had to say about Eminger:

"Steve is a player we’ve always liked," said Holmgren. "He’s a former teammate of Mike Richards in Kitchener, so those two have a connection. He’s still just 25 years old. I don’t believe he’s reached his peak yet and still has a ways to go. We think he’s going to be a nice fit."

And of Syvret, he says:

"Danny is a puck-moving defenseman that sees the ice well and will improve our depth,” said Holmgren in making the announcement. “He had some success playing with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards at the 2005 World Junior Championship as a member of the Team Canada."

So look out, anyone who has ever played with Richards! The Flyers are looking for you!

Trash Talking

(Rusty Kennedy, AP)

I'm not a trash talker at all. Trash talking comes back to bite you in the ass once your team loses. I'm amazed to see the amount of arrogant predictions and post after post using the word Flyers and cheapshots or Broad St Bullies in the same sentence.

Can anyone find me an analyst who picks the Flyers in this series?

Let's get ready to rumble!

Actually, I'd just prefer if we won by scoring lots and lots of goals. I can't be at the game tonight (stupid work! how dare you! how dare you supply me with the money to fuel my hockey obsession!) but I imagine things are gonna get a little chippy.

If anyone has a clip of Upshall taking out DiPietro yesterday, please send it my way. It was a tad hilarious!

no gator pics today...

I was having some technical difficulties during warmups on Saturday, and by the time I fixed them, Gator was pretty much done warming up. (He leaves the ice early to leave personalized notes for each player in their stall...)

So, all I got were some lame Biron and Hartnell shots. Great, just great.

I am fascinated by this picture of Randy Jones blowing a bubble during warmups. A few of the guys appeared to be chewing gum before the game. Weird.


Two great games this weekend...the loss on Saturday was a tough one, but it was still a great game. (how many times have I said that after a home game this year? Let me count...)

Gator needs a haircut! During his fight on Sunday, he lost his bucket, and damn is he furry! I may just tell him that this week if I see him at the STH meet the team party (yep, I'm going!)

Got my ticket for the Pittsburgh game...sitting in the same seats as the Boston game. There were some awesome fans there, and I hope to see them again! (I just hope they don't mind all the swearing I will be doing...)

hmmm...I think that's all for now....

Gatorsmile!

Hey All,

Sorry for the noticeable lack of posting lately, but work has been, er, challenging. Oh, who am I kidding, it has been insane there and even hockey has hardly been able to keep me sane!

I went to the Sabres game on Saturday. A crushing loss...maybe the most crushing one (yet) this season. When the Sabres tied it up late in the third, that was it, the Flyers were mentally out of the game from that point on.

Anyhow, I won't bore you with too much info, but here are some things you should know from the Sabres game:

The new guy, Jim Vandermeer, looks similar Ben Eager. Similar enough that you might not notice Eager is gone. In addition, Vandermeer's play is similar to Ben Eager's. He looked slow and confused out on the ice. Not looking like a great trade so far. Seems like we may have picked up another Rory Fitzpatrick....

Paul Gaustad is, um....wow. I guess I have a type, and apparently he is it. It is weird that he is not a defenseman, because he is built like one. I know this is not relevant, but I thought y'all needed to know.

My seats were awesome....second row and across from the locker room. Watching the boys walk down the hallway at the beginning of the game gave me chills. If I ever get season tickets for real, I would try to get those.

WHY oh WHY did Stevens put Briere in for the shootout? Did he not see Danny blow it against the Canes the previous Saturday? Cmon John, you and I are usually on the same page here, but this time you disappointed me. Plus, I bet a guy 5 bucks that you wouldn't put Briere in. I feel like you owe me 5 dollars, sir!

Um, I think that is all for now. Hope everyone had a great holiday!