Flyers vs. Islanders

So I broke my nearly two year absence from Flyers home games today. I picked Soph and Jess up from Rosemont around noon, and then fought the monster truck rally traffic to get to the rink on time. We parked exactly at 1 pm, so we missed about five minutes of the game as we walked in. Here is a pic of us in all our glory: http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=RedBowflyers&gallery_id=1430891&image_id=45

We went up and got some food (all you can eat tix FTW!) and walked into the game just as Giroux scored his goal. We sat down and Asham immediately drops the gloves with Jackman, and they go at it for awhile, Asham clearly won the fight. Once play got started up again Hartnell (originally credited to Carter) scored the Flyers second goal in 45 seconds.

The second period, and the first part of the third period sucked. The Flyers played nearly the entire time in their own end, and thanks to some great play by Biron, only gave up one goal. Then about three minutes after the Islanders got their goal, the Flyers fourth line woke up and put the game out of reach. Matt Carle poked in a loose puck on a scrum in front (the goal was originally credited to Glen Metropolit) then 13 seconds later, Asham skated down the left wing, and tried to make a pass to Scottie Upshall, but it deflected off an Islanders skate and caromed in past Danis (again, the goal was originally credited to Upshall). Gagne completed the scoring on a penalty shot just under a minute later.

Anyways, the game was fun, and I was glad that it was a win. I may be back in three weeks for the Predators game.

Oh, and thanks girls for the Malkin card :P

5 days!

5 days, one economics exam, one book report, one quiz and one 2 page essay is all that separates me from my first Flyers game in 2 years! I'm excited!

AO Update

So I was a little off in my predictions, but not way off. Actual quarterfinal matchups in the Mens' Draw were as follows:

1 Rafael Nadal v. 6 Gilles Simon (I picked Gael Monfis who retired in his match against Simon, after going down 2 sets to 1)
14 Fernando Verdasco v. 5 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (I picked the wrong upset here. I figured that Blake would finally break through against tougher competition, but he didn't. Verdasco and Murray played a great five set match which Verdasco pulled out in the end)

3 Novak Djokovic v. 7 Andy Roddick (dead on)
2 Roger Federer v. 8 Juan Martin del Potro (dead on)

So I did pretty well, getting 5/8. I'm 1/2 on semi-final predictions so far. Roger Federer only lost three games en route to destroying del Potro and securing his place in the semis. Andy Roddick's improved fitness was extremely evident in his three and a third set win over Djokovic. Djokovic won the first set in a tie-breaker and then promptly ran out of gas. Roddick pushed him all over the court for the next two sets, and for the first three games of the fourth set before Djokovic finally retired. Here's hoping Nadal and Verdasco win tonight!

Tennis is BACK!

And I'm strongly considering staying up until 3:30 AM to watch Rafael Nadal play. The Australian Open started Sunday, and it's shaping up to be a good tournament.

-Nadal is still ranked #1 in the world, which makes me happy. It'll be interesting to see how he does here. Traditionally, Nadal does alright at the Aussie Open, he's made the semis once and the quarters a few times I believe, but he's never played the type of tennis he brings at Roland Garros or Wimbledon.

-Novak Djokovic is starting his first Slam defense and he looked pretty good dispatching Stoppini in the first round.

-Roger Federer won his opener in straight sets as well, but he played a lot of long games in the second and third set and still does not look like the player that dominated the tennis world for the better part of four years. He's still better than any player ranked below #4, but I think he'll lose to Djokovic in the semis again this year and he'll eventually slip to #3 in the world this season.

-Can Andy Murray finally break through at a Slam? He made it to the finals of the U.S. Open, but was man-handled by Federer, so I'm guessing he's still not quite ready to win.

-Conversely, James Blake and Andy Roddick need to come up big in this tournament or I'm pretty much writing them off as afterthoughts in Slams from here on out.

Predictions:
Quarterfinals:
1 Rafael Nadal vs. 12 Gael Monfils
4 Andy Murray vs. 9 James Blake
3 Novak Djokovic vs. 7 Andy Roddick
2 Roger Federer vs. 8 Juan Martin del Potro

Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray
Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic

Finals:
Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic

Winner:
Novak Djokovic

The Double Standards in the NHL

The NHL's double standard for its players is disgusting. Thursday night, Sidney Crosby decided the best way to fight someone was to punch someone in the back of the head and in his groin while his teammate held the guy in a headlock. It was a clear attempt to injure, and just an awful display of sportsmanship. However, it's been three days, and by not punishing him at all, the NHL is giving tacit approval to Crosby's actions. Crosby already acts like he's above the rules of the game, and this latest incident is just further proof that he knows he can get away with whatever he wants. Had this been anyone besides Crosby, he would have been suspended for several games. Case in point: Sean Avery uses the phrase "sloppy seconds" and is shut down for the rest of the season. Or last year, Steve Downie gets suspended for punching Jason Blake in the face. Here's a clip of Crosby's actions from Thursday:

And here's a clip of the punch that got Downie suspended:

Which is more worthy of a suspension? If Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell refuse to act upon Crosby's situation, then they are practically admitting that they will let the stars of the game run wild, but if you're not one of the league's superstars, you'd better never step out of line. Prove me wrong Bettman. And please, Penguins fans, I want to hear you defend his actions. I really want to see what you'll come up with.

This Just In: The Flyers Love to Party... College Style

After the Flyers historic rally from a four goal deficit, several Flyers decided to go party at a Temple fraternity. SPORTSbyBROOKS posts several pictures here But I'll post a few of my favorite below. I just find it funny that many of these players are making millions of dollars a year, but they decide to go to a frat party to get their drinks. It's also cool that they feel comfortable enough and safe enough to go to Temple's campus and get drunk there. Anyways, picture time!

Mike Richards looks like he's trying to get some action:




















Richards is cleverly hiding the two beers he's holding. Double fisting like a champ:
















Nitty looks like he's drunk:















Aaaaaand there is Carter hanging out at the bar:

lolPenguins

Ahh it's always nice to beat the crap out of the Penguins. And what's a Penguins loss without them pulling a chicken move? I mean really, why do you try and fight Hartnell with six minutes left in the game? What a loser move, but then again, I've come to expect that lack of class from the Pittsburgh organization. But I would bet that the next time the Flyers and Penguins play, it'll take about two seconds into Godard's first shift for Cote to send him a message. Anyways, I'll take the win as it will move us a couple points behind the Rangers for first in the Atlantic. The Flyers are 12-1-3 in their last 16 games which has taken them from fourth in the division to second. They're one of the hottest teams in the league right now and This was also the first game in which Cindy hasn't scored against the Flyers, so it's nice to know that we can keep her quiet from time to time. 4 power play goals was the difference today, as the Flyers special teams continue to completely dominate the competition. Next up for the Flyers is a mediocre Colorado team, but the Flyers have struggled to beat Colorado in past years despite being the better team. So we'll see how it goes.