Brian Dawkins Announces his Retirement

Brian Dawkins, the Philadelphia Eagles second round pick in 1996 has decided to retire. Arguably the most beloved Eagle of all time, Dawkins spent 13 of his 16 years in the NFL with the Eagles(the last 3 with the Denver Broncos). 

Brian Dawkins brought everything you want in a leader to the Eagles.  He was passionate, intense, proud, humble, skilled and everyone wanted to play along with him.  He led the Eagles defense so well that the team competed in 4 consecutive NFC Championship games.

In recent memory, there has not been an Eagles player who was as humble and proud as B-Dawk.  A devout Christian, Dawkins doesn't curse or get angry.  He is a very devoted man who loves to play football as well as spend time with his family.

Brian Dawkins will reportedly, sign a one-day contract with the Eagles this year so he can retire as a member of the team that drafted him all those years ago.  He will also have his #20 jersey retired, the eighth number to be retired in the Eagles 80 year history.

Brian Dawkins will always be a fan-favorite in Philadelphia.  He embodied what it meant to be a Philadelphia Eagle.  He was proud to play for the team and for its fans and fans will always appreciate that.

Good luck with retirement B-Dawk, you are truly a role model for countless people.  I feel priviledged to have watched you wear midnight green as I grew up.

Some of my Favorite Hockey Players of All-Time

As you can probably tell from reading my previous posts, I am a HUGE hockey fan.  I grew up in South Philadelphia right down the street from the sports complex so obviously I am a Flyers fan, and I'm damn proud of that. Because of this, most of my favorite hockey players are former Flyers.

I am not just a Flyers homer though, I enjoy watching all types of hockey.  I had an idea of listing some of my favorite non-Flyers players of all time.

Jarome Iginla

Without a doubt, one of my favorite players of all time is Jarome Iginla, the current Captain of the Calgary Flames.  On the ice, he is one tough guy.  He'll hit you, fight you, and then he'll score on you.  The perfect example of a captain, Iginla can do it all.  Off the ice, he is an even better guy.  All I've ever heard about Iginla is how he is a really nice, stand-up guy.  He is good at communicating with his team and the media and he is very active in his community.  If there is one player that deserves a Stanley Cup, it is Jarome Iginla.

Peter Forsberg

The Super Swede, Peter Forsberg was technically drafted by the Flyers and played here for 2 years later in his career, but Forsberg was primarily a member of the Avalance in Colorado, so I chose to put him on my list.  Peter Forsberg is another example of a player that can do everything on the ice.  One of the best playmakers of all time (assists per game is 4th all time), Forsberg was as gritty as he was skilled.  He had a bit of a slow start to his career, but once he got going, there was no stopping my favorite Swedish player of all time.  Like Iginla, Forsberg is also a class act.  His #21 jersey was recently retired in Colorado and the fan reaction was unbelievable.  An all-time great.

 Teemu Selanne

The Finnish Flash.  The Ageless Wonder. Terrific Teemu. Currently second among active players in points (behind Jaromir Jagr), Teemu Selanne has constantly been an offensive force to be reckoned with.  This all starts with his rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets.  He scored 76 goals and had 56 assists. Let me repeat that; HE HAD 76 GOALS in his rookie season.  76 goals in a season is good for the fifth best of any player in the history of the game.  To be honest I didn't know that until recently (I've always liked hockey, but just in the past couple of years is when I started getting interested in statistics).  When I was younger, all I really knew was the Flyers.  I didn't really know about any teams on the west coast, until I saw the movie the Mighty Ducks.  I learned about the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim shortly after that and was amazed by the skill level of both Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.  Both guys who were not the biggest and strongest (something I can relate to as a kid) but were so talented that it didn't matter, they were that good.  Paul Kariya has since retired, but Teemu, at age 41 continues to be a serious contributor for the Anaheim Ducks and I am still a huge fan.

Jeremy Roenick

 JR was a member of the Flyers for a few years in the early 2000's but I included him because he spent most of his career with Chicago (along with a few other teams after).  Roenick is noted as one of the most outspoken players in the history of the NHL.  He always made the time to interact with fans, as he mentions that without the fans, professional sports wouldn't exist.  Another reason why I am a big fan of Jeremy Roenick is that he is American.  In a sport where there are not a lot of Americans, as a young kid growing up in Philadelphia, you become fans of American players just as they did when they were little (Anaheim's Bobby Ryan (from Cherry Hill, NJ) wears #9 because of his hockey hero Mike Modano, who is regarded as the best American player of all time).  Jeremy Roenick is a player who has had a long, successful career while staying true to himself and giving back to his fans, a fan favorite for sure.

There are plenty of other non-Flyers that I like, but these are just a few of the players I am a fan of.  To me, they are all hard workers who respect the game.  They are good guys who are easy to root for.

FLYERS IN 6!!!

The first round is now over for the Philadelphia Flyers.  The Flyers have beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins in a best of 7 series 4 - 2.  The team now advances to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against and undetermined team at this point.

In a very unpredictable and outrageous series, the Flyers were able to overcome the consensus Stanley Cup favorites.  In a quick recap, the Flyers were able to win the first three games even though the defense and goaltending wasn't too great.  Game 4 gave the Flyers a chance to sweep the Penguins.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen as the Penguins won 10-3.  Game 5 was a better game for both teams defensively but the Penguins were able to win again 3 - 2.

In every game, the team to score first has lost.  However, the Flyers were able to break that trend.  Claude Giroux started the game with a monster shift.  He decks Sidney Crosby and finishes with a laser wrist shot to put the Flyers on top.

This shift reminds me a lot of Mike Richards in 2010 in the playoffs against Montreal.  He absolutely set the tone for the rest of the game.

The Penguins would get some momentum shortly after with a powerplay but were shut down by the Flyers defense and the goaltending of Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Flyers would add on 3 more goals by Scott Hartnell, Erik Gustafsson and Danny Briere before the Penguins had to pull their goalie, Marc Andre Fleury.  Brayden Schenn would score in an empty net.

The Flyers, the underdogs before this series had started have now turned into a team to be reckoned with in the postseason.  Our defense was suspect, but no other team has an offense with the potency of Pittsburgh, and our offense can beat even the toughest goalies and defenses.  The future is looking bright on Broad Street.

Cliff Lee is from a Different Planet

Cliff Lee did something last night in San Francisco that I have only seen in video games.  He pitched 10 innings!

Cliff Lee vs. Matt Cain are 2 of the better pitchers in the National League.  A matchup between the two would be a sight to see.  Fortunately, this is what happened last night.  Both pitchers had great performances.  Matt Cain of the Giants went 9 innings, let up only 2 hits and 1 walkd and no runs.  Cliff Lee was also impressive, going an astounding 10 innings with 7 hits, no walks, 7 strikeouts and also no runs.  The craziest thing about this matchup was the pitch count.  Lee threw 102 pitches while Cain threw only 91.  This is absolute top of the line pitching.

Obviously this game went into extra innings.  There was a serious lack of hitting in this game.  In the top of the11th inning, the Phillies had a chance to take a lead as Carlos Ruiz hit a leadoff double.  He would advance to third on a sacrifice, but the Phillies would leave him stranded. 

Antonio Bastardo would relieve Cliff Lee and it would turn out to be the game changer.  Bastardo would have trouble getting batters out and let up the walk off hit to Melky Cabrera.  Final, Giants 1, Phillies 0.

The Phillies offensive struggles continue.  They need a spark somehow as they are currently 5 - 7 and are in last place in the NL East.

That Sucked.

The Flyers lost to the Penguins 10 - 3 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.  Awful goaltending and terrible defense.  Bryz and Bob were not good at all.  Very disappointing to watch.

Hopefully Lavy can light a fire under this team and smack some sense into them.  Game 5 will take place in Pittsburgh, a place we have played extremely well at.  Hopefully we'll be able to close the Pens out then.

Zac Rinaldo was involved in an incident that resulted in a game-misconduct.

He was obviously over the line and deserves to be suspended.  In my opinion, what Rinaldo did tonight was bad, but not as bad as what Arron Asham did during Game 3 to Brayden Schenn.

Just to keep it even, I would say since Asham has a 4 game suspension, Rinaldo should get a 4 game suspension as well.

Are We Stooping Down? My Reaction to Cowardly Crosby News Cover

The cover of the Wednesday edition of the Philadelphia Daily News depicts Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby as the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz.  As most people in the Philadelphia region know, Sidney Crosby was a big topic of discussion after Sunday's playoff game (See my last post for more details).  Crosby was instigating a lot of fights in an immature way but always backed off when someone actually stood up to him.  This is what prompted the Daily News.

Now, I'm all for making fun of Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.  After they played the last few games, I would even say they deserve most of the verbal abuse that is going on.  However, I really don't like the idea of photoshopping Crosby on a lion for a joke, especially on the cover of a newspaper.  

In 2010, when the Flyers were in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago Tribune made a similar decision in making fun of Chris Pronger (for no real reason, he was playing well and physically dominating the Blackhawks (now that I think about it, he got knocked down once by Dustin Byfuglien, ooooh)).

Clearly, people from Chicago (Chicagoans?) don't like Pronger.  Because of a couple games they thought he was a joke and fraud because he had a bad +/-.  

The bashing of Sidney Crosby has similar roots.  This series, he's played like a little child.  However, this is how he usually plays, hiding behind the refs when someone looks at him wrong, and slashing everyone when no one looks.  That being said though, I was really annoyed when the Tribune posted this picture and I am annoyed by the Daily News.  

I understand making fun of Crosby.  In fact, I've done it quite a bit the past few days.  But to me, this cover seems petty.  It really feels like we are stooping down to what Chicago did, something very immature (like Crosby) in an official media setting.  We've been in this situation before and it certainly wouldn't make us look good if Crosby has a good game or if they win any games.

So far this series, the Flyers have taken the high road when it comes to the Penguins antics.  With this cover, I feel like we are just throwing maturity out the window. Not cool.

That being said, LETS GO FLYERS!! TIME TO BUST OUT THE BROOMS!!

Game 4 will take place tonight, April 18th at 7:30 on the NBC Sports Network (Formerly VS.)

In other news, Happy Birthday to Scott Hartnell! Hopefully he'll have a good game on his 30th birthday.  Follow Scott on Twitter @Hartsy19

The Penguins are a JOKE

Disclaimer: If you are reading this and you are a Penguins fan (which is unlikely) too bad. I don't like your "hockey team."

If you have any interest at all in hockey, you likely saw or heard about the Flyers Penguins game this past Sunday.  The Philadelphia Flyers hosted Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to their in-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins.  The term "rival" doesn't do enough justice. These teams absolutely hate each other.  From the players all the way up to the coaching and management, nothing nice goes on between these two teams.

This picture sums up what happened on Sunday.  Brawl after brawl after brawl.  The game started as one would expect, the Pens take a quick lead.  The Flyers, uncharacteristically tied the game up rather quickly, with a shorthanded goal by former-Penguin Max Talbot.  Then there was a bit of a scrum, nothing major though.

Later in the first period, Brayden Schenn leveled a Penguin with a somewhat questionable hit (possibly charging).  The crowd went nuts.  Then they got angry as former Flyer Aaron Asham steps up to Schenn with a blatant crosscheck to the throat and then proceeded to punch Schenn in the head as he was down.  This lack of respect for the game and your opponents is what made a lot of people, including myself, very mad.  Asham clearly went after Schenn to cheap shot him so he could take him out of the game (which didn't work).

Aaron Asham should be ashamed of himself.  He should be suspended well into next season for this (maybe 10 games?).  Asham was given a match penalty and has an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety today (good).

Sidney Crosby is a player that people either love or hate.  Anywhere in the northeast besides Pittsburgh will consist of mostly Crosby-haters.  And he sure gave reason to hate him Sunday.  Not only did he start most of the fighting in this game, but he cowered when he was confronted.  And he was acting very juvenile, he knocked away Jake Voracek's glove as he went to pick it up off the ice.

Hopefully the national media will start to realize how much of a joke Crosby is.  He makes him teammates stick up for him and skates to the refs when something goes wrong.  Crosby's post game interviews weren't much better.  When asked about the Flyers players, Sid the Kid (certainly fitting) responded with "I don't like there guys" "Why?" "Because I don't like them."  Great insight from the teams captain.

I would like to continue this rant but I will need to stop here.  For even more Penguins hating fun, listen to what radio color commentator and former Flyers defenseman Chris Therien said as Crosby was up to his childish ways.

http://www.the700level.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/news/Watch-Chris-Theriens-Fantastic-Crosby-Ra?blockID=690902&feedID=8510

The700level.com is a great Philly Sports website, Check Them Out!

Until next time,
Steve

P.S. The Flyers ended up winning 8-4 and lead the series 3 games to none. The Flyers can sweep at home on Wednesday, I can't wait!