Hearting Lauren Hart

ESPN's EJ Hradek files an article today on ten things he likes about hockey:

Forsberg has left Philadelphia, but (thankfully) Lauren Hart is still there. The Flyers' terrific anthem singer has a great voice. I've been fortunate enough to see her sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" several times during my various ventures to Philly. She's something special. She's someone the Flyers should never trade!

EJ, I couldn't agree more. And not just about her singing, either. I've seen her in person and she's just stunningly beautiful.

Classless

That's the cleanest word I can come up with right now for how I feel about the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo was well on it's way to victory last night against Philadelphia when I witnessed something that should have been contemptible at the least and downright inexcusable at the most.

With all of five seconds left in the third period and trailing 6-3, the Flyers were whistled for a penalty. The faceoff was in the Flyers' defensive zone, to the left of goalie Antero Niittymaki. Remember, Buffalo was winning 6-3 with five seconds left in the game. There was absolutely zero chance for the Flyers to win this game. All that was left was for the linesman to drop the puck and for the timekeeper to run off five seconds.

So, what does Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff do? He sends out his number one powerplay unit to take the draw -- with five seconds left!! The worst part is that the players actually went for it. Sabres center Daniel Briere, who, in the interest of full disclosure, is on my fantasy team, won the draw back to the point and the defenseman actually took a shot that was, thankfully, blocked.

What was the point to this? For the players, it's a chance to pad the stats. For Ruff, a chance to run up the score on a team that he's had a few run-ins with over the years. (One incident that comes to mind is when Ruff was pelted in the face with a beer after the Sabres eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs a few years back. Talk about wasting a beer.)

This whole incident displays to me the complete lack of respect and classlessness -- if that's even a word -- that the Sabres embody. Once upon a time I felt bad about the no-goal Stanley Cup loss they suffered. I could even get onboard with them in the whole small market, underdog thing they had going for awhile. Not anymore.

Combine the worst uniform/logo in all of hockey with the utter disrespect they show to their opponents and you come up with a team that deserves nothing but disdain from every self-respecting hockey fan.

POST-SCRIPT: You know what the worst part of this is? This incident didn't receive one mention in either Tim Panaccio's or Ed Moran's recount of the game. For all the talk lately of how the Flyers have started to stand up for one another, where was it last night at the end of the game? They just rolled over and took it from the Sabres. So long as that keeps happening, they have no chance of improving.

Something is better than nothing, but . . .

I thought I wouldn't get around to blogging about the deal, but wound up pulling my thoughts together pretty quickly. All in all, a shrug of the shoulders is about all I can manage in response to the deal.

On one hand, it would have been nice to have seen Forsberg stick around, since, with the right moves made in the offseason, the team -- contrary to popular opinion -- most likely won't be as bad next year as they are this year.

On the other hand, since he would not sign an extension I'm glad they got anything for him at all.

Now, that being said, I am a little bothered over what they did get.

Scottie Upshall is a high-energy, character-type guy who has yet to find his way in the NHL after putting up good numbers in junior and the AHL. This season, he has missed around three months with a groin injury. This is not a good sign for a player who is (a) only 23 years old and (b) relies on his skating ability for a good portion of his game. This has all the makings of a career-long, nagging injury.

Ryan Parent is allegedly the centerpiece of the deal, as he projects to be a top-flight, stay-at-home, shutdown defenseman. Another big character guy, Parent is already troubled with a bad back at the tender age of 19. Another situation that sounds like it will be a career-long injury.

Also included in the deal is a first-round pick -- which will likely be somewhere between 28th and 30th overall -- and a conditional third-round pick which will go to the Flyers if Forsberg re-signs with Nashville.

So, the sum total of the Forsberg trade will be two young players who have some upside but already have injury troubles and a first-round pick in a draft that most experts consider to be one of the weakest in years.

While it's better than nothing, it won't go down as the greatest deal in Flyers' history. Now, if only they could get rid of Hatcher . . .

LINK: More on Parent and Upshall.

Forsberg deal done?

610 WIP is reporting that Peter Forsberg was on the ice for the pre-game skate but has been pulled from the lineup and will be a healthy scratch.

UPDATE: Comcast Sportsnet is reporting that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren will hold a press conference during the second intermission. TSN is reporting that Forsberg has been traded to Nashville. Details to come.

UPDATE 2: Tim Panaccio is also reporting the trade now, which seems to be Forsberg to Nashville for forward Scott Upshall, prospect Ryan Parent, a first round pick and a third round pick.

The Usual Suspects

It's that time of the year again as the Phillies have officially opened their training camp with pitchers and catchers reporting today. The easy theme to go with today would be to discuss the irony of Old Man Winter dumping an awful winter storm upon us that caused nasty car accidents and power outages -- I'm talking to you, PSE&G -- while at the same time in Florida spring has sprung in the form of grown men playing baseball. As I said, that would be the easy route but I won't take it since writing about baseball isn't my bag. Instead, I'll point you around the phlogosphere to five of the best bloggers -- let alone phloggers -- around for spring training coverage far better than I could provide.

• Balls, Sticks & Stuff


• BeerLeaguer


• Philling Station


• Shallow Center


• Swing and a Miss

The hardest working man in hockey

Well, maybe in hockey blogging. Eric McErlain, who runs Off Wing Opinion and Winging It along with co-hosting a weekly podcast on the Washington Capitals called Caps Corner, has yet another gig on these here internets:

Welcome to the NHL on NBC blog, a new feature that my friends at NBCSports.com have agreed to let me experiment with for the remainder of the season. Throughout the week, we'll be talking about the teams that will be featured on NBC's regional NHL coverage for that coming weekend. The goal is simple: To capture what hockey fans are talking about across the country and get them all talking to one another in the run-up to that weekend's big game. With that in mind, we'll be reviewing all the best blogs, podcasts, message boards and other online content and sharing it with you.

Flyers, Kapanen agree to extension

The Flyers announced yesterday that they signed forward Sami Kapanen to a two-year contract extension.

Yesterday, the Flyers announced that they have signed the 33-year-old Finn to a 2-year, $2.5 million contract extension through the 2008-09 season.

"We are excited about having Sami around for a few more years," [GM Paul] Holmgren said. "We feel that he brings a lot of qualities to our hockey team in terms of what he does both on and off the ice. He is a quality person and he's a good utility player who can play anywhere in our lineup."

Kapanen's contract is for $1.25 million per year. His current salary is $1.52 million.

I like this signing a lot. $1.25 million for a cap number is completely manageable and two years isn't that long to have to deal with. Kapanen can literally play anywhere on the ice, and has been used on every line this season by coach John Stevens. He can kill penalties and play on the power play. For once, this is something that I agree with Holmgren on.

NHL going overseas

ESPN.com is reporting that the NHL may open the 2007-08 season with a pair of games in Europe:

According to multiple sources, the Los Angeles Kings will open next season with a pair of games at The O2 in London. The O2 is a state-of-the-art arena scheduled to open with a series of Justin Timberlake concerts in early July. It is operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which also owns the Kings.

Bettman talks, Forsberg walks?

Sportsnet is reporting that commissioner Gary Bettman "[w]hen grilled on the unbalanced schedule and lack of geographic rivalries, Bettman candidly revealed the prospects of realignment are 'good.'"

TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has begun contacting teams he thinks Peter Forsberg might be interested in playing for if Forsberg decides he would like to move on. The catch?

However, an added twist is word that Forsberg has been asked to meet with Flyers chairman Ed Snider.

Penguins to go public?

Throwing another wrench into the works of the Penguins and their immediate future, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that a candidate for Pittsburgh controller thinks the city should have the right to purchase the team.

The public should have the right to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, former Allegheny County Commissioner Mike Dawida argued yesterday, in a letter to the state's U.S. senators and three congressmen.

Mr. Dawida, a lawyer and candidate for Pittsburgh controller in the May 15 Democratic primary, said the public's investments in Mellon Arena give it legal standing to challenge any attempt by the team to move. Public officials or fans could go to federal court to seek the right to turn the team into a public asset.

This is certainly an interesting take on the situation, though it's easy to conclude that Mr. Dawida is merely trying to make waves for his political campaign.

Bettman here to stay

As reported last week by ESPN.com's Terry Blount, "people involved with the NHL" approached Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage "about joining the league and eventually replacing commissioner Gary Bettman . . . Bettman's contract expires after the 2007-08 season."

Canadian Press files an article today clearing up some misconceptions about Gary Bettman and his contract status.

"I've watched with fascination some of the newspaper reports having me going on sabbatical shortly," Bettman said prior to the Vancouver Canucks playing the Chicago Blackhawks. "That isn't the case, wasn't the case.

"I think people were somehow under the impression my contract had a year to run and got fixated on that. Those stories were, to say the least, inaccurate."

TSN's Bob McKenzie also checks in on the scrum and sets the facts straight on Bettman's contract status.

Bettman's contract does not expire at the end of next season. Or the one after that.

In fact, an NHL owner tells TSN that Bettman has another five full years left on his deal after this season.

The owners are apparently happy enough with his work that last fall they extended his deal to one year beyond the expiry of the current cba. that will take him through to the summer of 2012.

So it doesn't look as though Bettman will be leaving office any time soon.

This is essentially the same thing I said last week. Off Wing, meanwhile, posts about something buried deeper in the CP article -- a possible change in the points system for next season.

Operation Slap Shot: One year later

The Associated Press takes a look at the status of the gambling case against former NHLer Rick Tocchet. It was one year ago today that the charges against Tocchet, New Jersey State Trooper James Harney and a third man, James Ulmer, were announced. Harney and Ulmer have both plead guilty and are cooperating with authorities in the case against Tocchet.

And though it's been a year since he was arrested, charges have yet to be filed against Tocchet in the case.

"Waiting a year suggests the evidence may not be as strong as they'd like," said George C. Thomas, a professor at the Rutgers University School of Law in Newark.

But Mike Pinsky, a prominent New Jersey defense lawyer, said it's not unusual for the state attorney general's office to take more than a year to comb through evidence between filing charges and seeking an indictment.

"With wiretap cases, I don't consider a year a long time for a state grand jury," Pinsky said. "After year and a half or two years, I'd wonder what's going on."

Dynamo girls

I opened my e-mail tonight and found this picture waiting for me:















These are two of my nieces from northern Virginia. All I can say is that I'm one lucky uncle.

MLS on the way to Philly?

Officials in Salt Lake City killed a deal last week that would have paved the way for a new stadium for Real Salt Lake. Real will play the 2007 season in Salt Lake City, but has no home for 2008 and beyond. Could this lead to MLS finally bringing a team to Philadelphia? Here's hoping so.

Check out Sons of Ben -- Philadelphia's first MLS supporter group -- for more info on the MLS-Philadelphia connection.

Crazy like a . . . well, like a nut

I've been pretty busy at work lately, so I haven't had much time to surf around. However, I did come across this gem from DC SportsChick about a woman claiming to be Michael Jordan's mistress and who has decided to start her own blog about their "relationship." DCSC deconstructs a post from the woman which is funny enough, but the best part is the comments section. The woman actually posts comments in response to DCSC. It's both hilarious and extremely scary.

Time to get my geek on

I recently watched "Star Trek: First Contact" for the umpteenth time. In so doing, I once again noticed something that bothered me almost to the point of distraction.

First, a little summary. The enemy in this movie is The Borg, a race of cybernetic beings (of all species) that have no individuality and function as a collective unit. Their mission is to conquer Earth and assimilate mankind into their collective. The Federation gather (almost) every available starship to stop them, but are unable.

Violating direct orders to stay out of the battle, Capt. Picard -- himself once assimilated into the Borg collective -- leads the Enterprise into the battle where he takes command of the fleet and destroys the Borg ship.

Before the ship is destroyed, however, the Borg launch an escape pod on a direct course for Earth. This pod is equipped with some sort of time travel device and allows the Borg to travel back to April 4, 2063, the day before humanity makes first contact with an alien species. Their intent is to stop this first contact and assimilate Earth in the past in order to control the future. The Enterprise follows the Borg ship back in time in order to stop the Borg and preserve First Contact.

So, as the movie goes, the Borg gain control of part of the Enterprise itself. One of the areas they control is the "deflector dish," which can be modified into a sort of satellite to communicate with the Borg that are on the other side of the galaxy in 2063.

In order to stop them, Capt. Picard, Lt. Worf, and Lt. Hawk attack the Borg modifying the deflector dish -- on the outside of the ship. To do this, the three don spacesuits and magnetic boots in order to walk on the hull.

Here is where the problem comes in. They are also carrying weapons with them -- phaser rifles, to be exact. At one point, all three men lay their rifles down on the hull. Can someone please explain to me how physics goes out the window here? The rifles do not float away as they should in a zero-gravity environment. They remain lying on the hull, where they are picked up by each man at one point or another.

Look, I can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy a good time travel movie. But when something simple like gravity is completely forgotten . . . well, let's just say I cannot make it so.