Friday, June 20, 2014
Witherspoon returns to action in West Deptford
West Deptford, New Jersey - Heavyweight contender Chazz Witherspoon will returns to the ring after a two-year absence when he takes part in an eight-round bout at the Riverwinds Community Center in West Deptford, New Jersey on Saturday, July 12.
Witherspoon (30-3, 22 KOs) of nearby Paulsboro established himself as one of the top American heavyweights by winning his first 23 bouts, including triumphs over solid fighters like Michael Alexander, Talmadge Griffis and Jonathan Haggler.
The St. Joseph's product's first defeat came at the hands of two-time world title challenger Chris Arreola via a controversial disqualification and he also struggled against another two-time world title challenger in veteran Tony Thompson.
Witherspoon did, however, top Adam Richards in a bout voted Ring Magazine's 2008 Heavyweight Fight of the Year.
He is trying to get back to winning form after a third-round stoppage defeat to then-undefeated prospect Seth Mitchell on April 28, 2012 in a bout where Witherspoon had Mitchell badly hurt in several occasions.
"I feel good and rejuvenated after the layoff," said Witherspoon. "I haven't been out this long because I wanted to. I had several fights fall through, so I decided to start my own company and do my own shows and I can't wait until July 12 to put on a great event not far from where I live."
Witherspoon's opponent will be named shortly.
Witherspoon (30-3, 22 KOs) of nearby Paulsboro established himself as one of the top American heavyweights by winning his first 23 bouts, including triumphs over solid fighters like Michael Alexander, Talmadge Griffis and Jonathan Haggler.
The St. Joseph's product's first defeat came at the hands of two-time world title challenger Chris Arreola via a controversial disqualification and he also struggled against another two-time world title challenger in veteran Tony Thompson.
Witherspoon did, however, top Adam Richards in a bout voted Ring Magazine's 2008 Heavyweight Fight of the Year.
He is trying to get back to winning form after a third-round stoppage defeat to then-undefeated prospect Seth Mitchell on April 28, 2012 in a bout where Witherspoon had Mitchell badly hurt in several occasions.
"I feel good and rejuvenated after the layoff," said Witherspoon. "I haven't been out this long because I wanted to. I had several fights fall through, so I decided to start my own company and do my own shows and I can't wait until July 12 to put on a great event not far from where I live."
Witherspoon's opponent will be named shortly.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Short distance runaround: Flyers who have come back to the fold
Add to that the consternation thrown towards the Inquirer's hockey beat writer for the bordering-on-fetishization of the immediate success of three Los Angeles Kings who used to wear the Orange and Black over the last month, the eyelids begin to twitch and the gears began to turn.
That gave rise to a joke about looking up the shortest time a player spent away from the franchise before coming back.
Drawing inspiration from those tweets from Tuesday, I decided to scan the record books and try to locate as many players -- skaters and goaltenders -- as possible who suited up for the Flyers in at least two separate stints throughout their history and track how long it took for those Prodigal Sons to return.
With a margin of error in the 1-2 person range, and removing certain technicalities like Keith Acton being stashed in separate deals with Winnipeg in the offseason prior to the 1989-90 campaign, the totals were still startling, primarily because of the number of transactions which took place before Bob Clarke and Paul Holmgren started to call their boys back home.
In all, at least 38 different players have had their Flyers tenure interrupted by time spent with at least one other organization before returning. Six have been goaltenders, and the rest skaters, with 11 of those defensemen and 20 forwards.
The recently departed Keith "Thief" Allen was responsible for five of those, with the biggest of all happening on his watch: the re-acquisition of Bernie Parent from the Toronto Maple Leafs in May of 1973 after having traded him to the Leafs in February of 1971. In that bunch, the most obscure name is Larry Wright, a center who logged 36 games over parts of two seasons from 1971-73 and came back for two more in 1975-76. Current Phantoms bench boss Terry Murray got his second go-round in 1980-81 after a stint in Detroit thanks to Allen, and the first enforcer retread, Jack McIlhargey, was returned on Day 2 of 1980.
The unlamented Bob McCammon, coach here for parts of four seasons and General Manager for 1983-84, was responsible for another surprise move -- re-signing Rick MacLeish on the eve of that season after Allen had shipped him to Hartford in July of 1981.
And even Russ Farwell, the bridge between the Bob Clarke front-office eras, has two retreads to his credit: bringing back defenseman Moe Mantha for five games after his Olympic experience with Team USA in 1992 and snagging Dave Brown back from the Edmonton Oilers in June of 1991 in a deal which saw the Flyers briefly obtain Jari Kurri.
Over 17-plus seasons in two separate tries in the GM's chair, Clarke spun the wheel and took a chance a whopping 18 times. Mirroring the man who selected him in the second round of the 1969 draft, Clarke's biggest turnabout was also in the acquisition of a goaltender, this time Ron Hextall from the Islanders for Tommy Soderstrom in September of 1994.
The franchise icon also brought back Pete Peeters (1989) and Sean Burke (1998) for the 2004 stretch run after Jeff Hackett retired due to vertigo. He provided a fresh infusion of grit into the lineup for anticipated playoff runs by welcoming Craig Berube (1999, Washington) and Rick Tocchet (2000, Phoenix), bolstered the blueline with deals and signings to net Kjell Samuelsson (1995), Kerry Huffman (1996), Karl Dykhuis (1998), Steve Duchesne (1999), Dmitri Yushkevich (2003) and Chris Therien (2005), and added forward depth with Dan Quinn (1996), Mikael Renberg (1998), Mark Recchi and Jody Hull (1999).
There were also the head-scratchers of taking in former Canucks captain Kevin McCarthy (1986) only to have him play the rest of his career in Hershey; misplaced faith in a washed-up Ken Linseman (1990) for Dave Poulin, and taking back Phantoms hero Mike Maneluk (1998) after a 13-game audition was enough to ship him to Chicago.
Holmgren's handiwork was all over the last lockout-shortened season, as Ruslan Fedotenko, Mike Knuble and Simon Gagne all took their NHL bows here between January and April of 2013. Homer also dug deep to bring back Steve "Human Missile" Downie for Max Talbot on Halloween, and how can we forget the other rocket-fueled miscreant Jesse Boulerice, whose second tenure didn't last long after a 20-game suspension for charging Vancouver's Ryan Kesler. Todd Fedoruk had the honor of his face caving in thanks to a Colton Orr punch in his second time around.
It wasn't all bad, though. Vinny Prospal charged up his line and the power play during the 2008 playoffs, Danny Syvret notched the franchise's first-ever outdoor goal and was so essential he was returned twice more to the organization. Ray Emery, once starter whose career was in jeopardy, provided a rock-solid backup to Steve Mason, Brian Boucher came back so much he decided to retire to South Jersey and Michael Leighton spelled him in the 2010 postseason until the goal that dare not be named.
The Long and Short of It
Upon further review, Jody Hull garners the honor of the player whose two tenures with the Flyers occurred the quickest. After playing the 1998-99 season in Philly in the first of a two-year deal, Hull was exposed in the expansion draft and taken by Atlanta on June 25, 1999. Yet, after 13 days of the 1999-2000 season elapsed, and having not seen a single second of ice time with the nascent Thrashers, he was sent back here for cash on October 15, 1999.
Syvret is the next closest. His glory as the lone goal scorer in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park was no buffer when let go and signed as a free agent by the Anaheim Ducks on July 21, 2010, and given back exactly four months later following six appearances in a deal which saw problem child Patrick Maroon exiled to Southern California.
It's no contest when trying to ascertain the Flyer with the longest period between tenures. Ruslan Fedotenko wins the crown of laurels. The native of Ukraine was shipped to Tampa Bay by Clarke on June 21, 2002 in a package deal which included the draft pick used on Joni Pitkanen, and returned via free-agent signing by Holmgren on September 16, 2012.
Ed "Boxcar" Hospodar was the first player to be dealt in the middle of one season only to return the next, sent packing with Todd Bergen to Minnesota for Dave Richter and the forgettable Bo Berglund on November 29, 1985 and then re-signed in June of 1986.
Who is Gord Murphy?
The Flyers' newest assistant coach arrived in Philadelphia in the Fall of 1988, as one of the new vanguard on the club's blue line under first-year head coach Paul Holmgren. He joined fellow rookie Jeff Chychrun, along with new acquisition Terry Carkner and Jay Wells. Aided by the steady influence of Mark Howe and Kjell Samuelsson, the lanky, somewhat gawky-looking Murphy totaled four goals and 31 assists with a minus-7 rating in 75 games for a club at .500 whose goal differential stood at plus-22 -- adding nine points (2G, 7A) in the memorable 19-game run to the Wales Conference Finals.
In the following season, Murphy set career highs with 14 goals and 43 points over 75 games, one of the few players, skaters or goaltenders, to be relatively healthy. With Howe sidelined for most of the first of his three Hellish seasons given over to severe back issues, Murphy had to be leaned on more to carry the defense as part of the primary pairing. It was a baptism by fire, and he did well considering the Flyers dropped to last in the Patrick Division and out of the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.
Over the next two seasons, though, mirroring the club's frustrating slide into a slot below mediocrity, Murphy was one of several key players counted on to carry the load who either peaked or plateaued well short of expectations. When the chance came for then-GM Russ Farwell to pull the trigger on a deal, he made it with Boston, exchanging Murphy -- who needed a change of scenery and would presumably benefit from Ray Bourque's aegis -- for veteran Garry Galley just after the New Year in 1992.
Flash forward to the second round of the 1996 postseason, where Murphy had settled into his role as a second-pairing stopper for Florida. The first line of defense against the Legion of Doom being mammoth rookie Ed Jovanovski, who primarily went head-to-head against Eric Lindros, Murphy was counted on to take up the cerebral part of Doug MacLean's passive neutral-zone trap along with Jason Woolley and former Philly teammate Carkner. The Panthers ended up winning that series in six games, largely handcuffing Lindros and the Legion, and neutralizing the scattershot second line.
In a strange twist, if it weren't for the Bruins being bounced from the 1993 playoffs in a first-round sweep by fourth-place Buffalo, Murphy never would have had the chance to haunt his former team. After less than two seasons with the B's, and in the wake of the Sabres' infamous "May Day" victory, he was designated expendable by Harry Sinden and left to be picked up by either expansion club. Florida snagged him, and Murphy played six capable seasons there.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Former Flyers D Murphy hired as assistant coach
Reshaping the franchise has taken on a different dimension, as the Flyers announced on Wednesday that Gord Murphy has been named an assistant coach, taking over for the recycled John Paddock, who will not return next year.
"Gord brings a wealth of experience as a player and as a coach at the NHL level." Flyers GM Ron Hextall said. "We are excited to have Gord on our staff and look forward to him working with our defensemen and the rest of our coaching staff. "We'd like to thank John for being an integral part of our organization and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."
Murphy, taken in the ninth round of the 1985 draft from the Oshawa Generals, made his NHL and club debut in October of 1988 and remained with the Orange and Black until a January 2, 1992 trade which saw him shipped to Boston for Garry Galley. Prior to arriving here, Murphy was part of the Hershey Bears' one and only Calder Cup championship as a Flyers' affiliate, in the Spring of 1988.
He played 261 games for Philadelphia, accumulating 31 goals and 97 assists while participating in 19 playoff games during his rookie campaign. All told, Murphy patrolled NHL blue lines for 14 seasons with Philly, the Bruins, Panthers and Thrashers, totaling 85 goals and 238 assists in 862 contests.
"I’m very excited and really looking forward to the opportunity and challenge of working with the Flyers organization and with Craig Berube and his staff," Murphy said. "I couldn’t be more thrilled for this opportunity for myself and my family coming back to Philly. As a former player and now the last 11 years in my role as an assistant coach, I consider myself a good teacher with a good balance of experience. I really look forward to working with and mentoring the defensemen everyday by having them continue to improve and get the Flyers to where we all want to be."
While with Florida, Murphy was one of the core of defenseman charged with shutting down the Legion of Doom line during the 1996 Eastern Conference Semifinals -- a series the Panthers ended up winning in six games en route to the club's first and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
The 47-year-old native of Ontario has logged 11 seasons as an NHL assistant, first with Columbus (2002-10) and recently with Florida (2010-13). It's not surprising, even with Paddock's removal, that another former player with coaching experience and a connection to the Flyers was reeled in.
Paddock had been more or less a loyal person within the organization ever since his days as a player beginning with the 1979-80 season, though his multiple tenures with the franchise were interrupted by stints as head coach in Winnipeg and Ottawa.
"Gord brings a wealth of experience as a player and as a coach at the NHL level." Flyers GM Ron Hextall said. "We are excited to have Gord on our staff and look forward to him working with our defensemen and the rest of our coaching staff. "We'd like to thank John for being an integral part of our organization and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."
Murphy, taken in the ninth round of the 1985 draft from the Oshawa Generals, made his NHL and club debut in October of 1988 and remained with the Orange and Black until a January 2, 1992 trade which saw him shipped to Boston for Garry Galley. Prior to arriving here, Murphy was part of the Hershey Bears' one and only Calder Cup championship as a Flyers' affiliate, in the Spring of 1988.
He played 261 games for Philadelphia, accumulating 31 goals and 97 assists while participating in 19 playoff games during his rookie campaign. All told, Murphy patrolled NHL blue lines for 14 seasons with Philly, the Bruins, Panthers and Thrashers, totaling 85 goals and 238 assists in 862 contests.
"I’m very excited and really looking forward to the opportunity and challenge of working with the Flyers organization and with Craig Berube and his staff," Murphy said. "I couldn’t be more thrilled for this opportunity for myself and my family coming back to Philly. As a former player and now the last 11 years in my role as an assistant coach, I consider myself a good teacher with a good balance of experience. I really look forward to working with and mentoring the defensemen everyday by having them continue to improve and get the Flyers to where we all want to be."
While with Florida, Murphy was one of the core of defenseman charged with shutting down the Legion of Doom line during the 1996 Eastern Conference Semifinals -- a series the Panthers ended up winning in six games en route to the club's first and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
The 47-year-old native of Ontario has logged 11 seasons as an NHL assistant, first with Columbus (2002-10) and recently with Florida (2010-13). It's not surprising, even with Paddock's removal, that another former player with coaching experience and a connection to the Flyers was reeled in.
Paddock had been more or less a loyal person within the organization ever since his days as a player beginning with the 1979-80 season, though his multiple tenures with the franchise were interrupted by stints as head coach in Winnipeg and Ottawa.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Point/Counterpoint: What to do when confronted with a Cup you didn't win
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| Photo courtesy of Crossing Broad |
This time around, heading into the ring with me, it's the mastermind @4who4whatsports, as we discuss proper fan protocol when you're in the presence of a major professional sports trophy located in a likely place during an unlikely situation.
One significant part of hockey's "Code," whether you believe it or not, revolves around the public and its right to handle the Stanley Cup once a team -- and it doesn't necessarily have to be the one you like or that's representing your hometown -- wins it and it is put on display or is carried by a winning player for their one day with the trophy.
The Los Angeles Kings have wrapped up their second title in the last three seasons, and that means ex-Flyers and Jersey Shore homeowners Justin Williams and Jeff Carter will be bringing their silver, 35-pound reward to Margate and Sea Isle, respectively. It may be unlikely that the Philadelphia Flyers will win the Cup in our lifetimes, so what happened in 2012 with the Cup's tour of the Shore and what is likely to occur again this Summer is the closest many fans may get to see the oldest and most prestigious trophy in professional sports up close.
Is it your right to touch the Cup or not?
Point, Bob: It's been told and shown to me over the years by various hockey personnel (including Chris Therien and Keith Jones) that the "Code" is most likely to be obeyed, no matter how ridiculous the "rules" are at the moment -- like the furor and superstition about touching/not touching the Prince of Wales Trophy or Campbell Bowl before reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. Therefore, no member of the public should just up and touch the Cup when presented, and it should only be done once a player who has won it gives express permission.
Even then, it's verboten to lift it or drink from it, because the hard work and sacrifice as a fan to wait however long it was to witness the Cup up close isn't anything compared to the same experienced by the player who put in his time to win it. So, when you're out at the Jerome Avenue playground or sitting on a deck somewhere off Landis Avenue, just wait until a signal is given. If none is forthcoming, tough luck. See with your eyes, not with your hands.
Counterpoint, 4Who: Did I just play through the most emotionally and physically demanding tournament in the Big Four to win the best looking trophy in all of sports? No, I'm just
some schlub who tweets during those games and makes snide remarks. But
if you think that if I'm going to be in the immediate vicinity of the
Stanley Cup and not touch it you're dead wrong, "Code" be damned.
That being said, being the respectful person that I
am, I definitely don't have the gall or stupidity to grab Lord
Stanley's Cup without permission. Will it take every fiber in my being
not to run over and lay a finger on it? Probably. Then again I didn't
win the thing. So out of respect I'll wait until a member of the team
offers the opportunity to touch, and if I'm lucky enough drink from, the
Cup because they are the ones who put their blood, sweat and tears into
winning the thing. If they so choose to let some random guy have that
opportunity who am I to say no?
Bob: Scenario: we're finished with the SeaGoal Cup and through some machinations, bribery, internet stalking and plain ol' good luck, we end up at a certain Sea Isle condo owned by a certain Los Angeles King and the Cup...it's right there in the living room. Every other partygoer, male and female, is fawning over the Cup, taking shots from the bowl, passing it around,. feeling it up, whatever.
What do you do...what do you do?
I do nothing. Well, I try and locate at least one member of the winning team and make my intentions clear: one picture of me drinking out of the Cup, but only if two persons connected with the team lift it for me. If they agree to the plan, then I get one of the thrill moments of my life and a picture to last forever. But...if a winning member just waves it off and says they don't care what I do, then it's time to spring into action.
I quote the "Code" back and express my disappointment that a professional hockey player wouldn't abide by the rules, bacchanalia or not. This lack of aggression will not stand, man. Without the go-ahead, the closest I get is right next to the Cup, hands folded behind my back. Anything less would be uncivilized.
4Who: You're worried about being civil at a house party in Sea Isle?
Bob: Ills, you ignorant slut.
Alcohol
adds a different variable to this argument. The deeper in the hole you
are the more inhibition goes out the window. But let's say I'm fairly
with it by the time we grace the Carter house and the Cup is being
passed around (among other things), I may be feeling a little bullish
and straight up ask if I can drink from it. Now, if they say no I might
get us kicked out of said party but when they say yes I will be doing
the holding. It is my Hockey Gods-given right to do so, in my opinion,
because that might be the only way I ever get to be with the pristine 35
pounds of sterling silver.
Don't give me that this would jinx the Flyers chance
to win it all for years to come. For the same reasons no person should
ever use "we" when discussing their favorite sports team, a fan has
NOTHING to do with a teams success. Not that I don't believe in jinxes
and bad juju but that is for players in the National Hockey League.
Neither you or I are members the league nor the organ-eye-zation and because
we are not we have zero involvement of the fortune and mojo of the
Philadelphia Flyers.
Bob: Ills, you ignorant slut.
Rules are rules and someone clean and sober has to enforce them. All the Hockey Gods do is based upon how we treat things down on Earth. Maybe it's not about sinking any chances of this city winning or losing a Stanley Cup, but just for us to win or lose a SeaGoal Cup or league title. Either way, I'm not hedging.
See this? This is a major violation. It's TSN of Canada "reporter" Cabbie partying with the Cup, filled with
M&M's and he's holding it with both hands.
Last I checked, this guy is not a member of the Los Angeles Kings, its coaching staff, front office, nor does he hold a position in any NHL organization which has won it previously.
Media personages, myself included, are not exempt from the "Code." Maybe he received permission, but maybe not. My guess is, in this instance, he was just allowed to handle the thing in the middle of a celebration, which does not fly.
Therefore, Toronto gets five more years tacked onto its title drought, which has already reached 47 years. Can't risk that for the team I was taught to love and which I cover on a semi-regular basis.
See this? This is a major violation. It's TSN of Canada "reporter" Cabbie partying with the Cup, filled with
Last I checked, this guy is not a member of the Los Angeles Kings, its coaching staff, front office, nor does he hold a position in any NHL organization which has won it previously.
Media personages, myself included, are not exempt from the "Code." Maybe he received permission, but maybe not. My guess is, in this instance, he was just allowed to handle the thing in the middle of a celebration, which does not fly.
Therefore, Toronto gets five more years tacked onto its title drought, which has already reached 47 years. Can't risk that for the team I was taught to love and which I cover on a semi-regular basis.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Loyal to the end: Timonen back for another year
On Friday, he and his hockey club ended months of speculation by signing a one-year contract agreement with the Flyers, meaning the 39-year-old pending unrestricted free agent will be back patrolling the blue line for his eighth season in Philadelphia.
"I think the biggest key is whether Kimmo thinks he can play and whether Kimmo has enough in the tank to go through another offseason and be in shape in September," said Flyers GM Ron Hextall.
An ESPN source indicates that the deal is for a base salary of $2 million with another possible $4 million in bonuses, but there was something greater at stake which led to his decision to return.
"For me, it really wasn't about the money. I wanted to see how I felt, I went away and thought about if I could really do it, to be able to play at a high level," Timonen said at an afternoon conference call with local media members. The biggest thing (about staying) is my family really likes it there, so they were on board saying 'play one more year, go for it.'"
The five-time Barry Ashbee Trophy winner as the club's top defenseman, Timonen saw his playing time cut by almost a minute per contest (from 21:46 to 20:20) and effectiveness reduced last season, one in which he still recorded six goals and 29 assists in 77 regular-season contests. Those six goals were his most since 2010-11.
However, he looked labored at times and picked up a lone assist and was a minus-2 in a seven-game, first-round loss to the New York Rangers.
"Kimmo’s going to dictate that, in part," offered Hextall when asked how many minutes his most-respected defenseman will play. "We had a wide range of conversations, and we had conversations on different things like roles, and where he sees himself and where he fits."
Heading into his 16th -- and presumably final -- NHL season, the former 10th-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings back in 1993 has racked up 117 goals and 454 assists over 1,092 games with the Predators and Flyers since arriving in North America for the 1998-99 campaign.
At 38, Timonen carried an incredible $6 million salary for his previous one-year pact, which outpaced all other battery-mates last season, including the newly-acquired Andrew MacDonald, who now has a $5 million cap hit following his recently-awarded multi-year extension.
Despite his advancing age, it's not a stretch to believe that Hextall might be throwing Timonen more money than he's worth, just to acknowledge his time served. If the deal is accurate as reported, it's a promising sign that Hextall understands the vagaries of the cap world slightly better than his predecessor while honoring a solid player.
"I will say to his credit that the first time he talked to me about coming back and playing, he said I understand the situation we’re in, and in saying that, I want to play for the Philadelphia Flyers and nowhere else," Hextall added.
What the deal doesn't address, is the need for the defense to have an anchor who is in the prime of his career. Braydon Coburn is the longest served of the corps, but has shown he's not a leader either on-ice or in the dressing room. Mark Streit will only enter his second season here, McDonald hasn't been here for a half-season yet, and Nick Grossmann has enough trouble staying upright and skating.
Say what you want about why he feels this way, but Timonen sees things differently, and if he didn't, then it's reasonable to assume he wouldn't have ventured back to North America for any other team.
"I like the team. I like our chances. We have a fairly young team and we contend every year. The biggest thing is I still want to win the Stanley Cup," he intoned.
That loyalty and belief stands in sharp contrast to the litany of recent ex-Flyers who have had less say in their transaction process and eventually went on to win the Cup multiple times. He did admit, in talking with other players and personnel in the offseason, that he was advised to keep playing if a team wanted him and he was still mentally and physically invested in hockey. Naturally, he went to the Orange and Black first and naturally, they'd have him back in a second.
It will be Philadelphia come September, and in typical understated Finnish fashion, Timonen isn't looking for a farewell tour or special treatment for his final go-round for a franchise which has most likely given him less than he has given it.
"When I come to camp, I don't want to think that I'm 39. I want to feel like I'm one of the guys. I still want to play a lot of minutes. Anything after that, it's up to the coaches in the way they want to use me."
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Couturier has abdominal surgery
The offseason saw its first surprise on Wednesday, as new GM Ron Hextall announced that forward Sean Couturier underwent successful abdominal surgery.
Couturier was not on the list of maladies which accompanied the usual end-of-season triage list, but Paul Holmgren hinted he had a sports hernia which might need fixing. He went under the knife this past Friday and is looking at a 5-to-6 week rehab.
The 21-year-old native of Phoenix posted career highs of 26 assists and 39 points over 82 games last season, his third in the NHL.
Speculation about his trade value is sure to continue throughout the off-season as Hextall gets his first crack at shaping a roster.
Couturier was not on the list of maladies which accompanied the usual end-of-season triage list, but Paul Holmgren hinted he had a sports hernia which might need fixing. He went under the knife this past Friday and is looking at a 5-to-6 week rehab.
The 21-year-old native of Phoenix posted career highs of 26 assists and 39 points over 82 games last season, his third in the NHL.
Speculation about his trade value is sure to continue throughout the off-season as Hextall gets his first crack at shaping a roster.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Sixers to practice in Camden
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia 76ers have confirmed they will locate a new 120,000 square foot training center along the revitalized Camden waterfront in New Jersey, situated near popular tourist attractions that include the Adventure Aquarium and Campbell’s Field.
The team expects to break ground on the new facility in October.
“Our commitment to player development will shine through in this facility,” said Sixers President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Sam Hinkie. “Our goal is to provide our players and staff with a Training Center that fosters development, encourages hard work, and allows for innovation.”
The decision comes following the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) unanimously approving an incentive package that is integral to the decision to locate the largest and most advanced facility in the league – which will house the team’s basketball and business operations staffs – along the New Jersey waterfront.
“This marks the culmination of an exhaustive and collaborative effort, which would not have been feasible without the New Jersey Economic Development Authority incentive package,” said Sixers Chief Executive Officer Scott O’Neil. “The new 76ers Training Center speaks volumes about the vision and commitment of our ownership group, led by Josh Harris and David Blitzer. I would like to recognize and offer a special thanks to Mayor Dana Redd, the EDA and Coopers Ferry Partnership for their tireless efforts and assistance in making this project a reality. We are focused on improving every facet of the organization and this is a big step on that journey.”
The firms involved in the Training Center project include AthenianRazak, a Philadelphia-based real estate services company, which will serve as the Development Manager for the project. In this role, they will assist with the process of designing and erecting the facility, which includes obtaining required approvals and permits, assembling and coordinating a team of design professionals, contractors and other consultants for the project, managing cash flow and financing sources, overseeing the detailed hands-on management of the construction process and helping the Sixers prepare the facility for efficient acceptance and operation.
Also involved in the project is INTECH Construction, a Philadelphia-based contractor, which will serve as the project’s Construction Manager, and architecture and engineering provided by Jacobs Global Buildings Design as the architect of record, along with nationally recognized architecture firm Threesixty Architecture as the consulting design architect.
“Today marks another significant step toward making the Philadelphia 76ers a premier destination for the best players and executives in the league,” said Harris. “We are committed to building an elite team and a top priority in pursuit of that goal is the new Training Center, one which will define our culture and is befitting of an organization that strives for excellence in every area.”
“It is imperative we are able to provide our players, coaches and staff with the resources necessary for success,” added Blitzer. “This facility – the size and scope of which will be unmatched in the NBA – will allow our team to make great strides on and off the court as we work to join the league's elite.”
The team expects to break ground on the new facility in October.
“Our commitment to player development will shine through in this facility,” said Sixers President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Sam Hinkie. “Our goal is to provide our players and staff with a Training Center that fosters development, encourages hard work, and allows for innovation.”
The decision comes following the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) unanimously approving an incentive package that is integral to the decision to locate the largest and most advanced facility in the league – which will house the team’s basketball and business operations staffs – along the New Jersey waterfront.
“This marks the culmination of an exhaustive and collaborative effort, which would not have been feasible without the New Jersey Economic Development Authority incentive package,” said Sixers Chief Executive Officer Scott O’Neil. “The new 76ers Training Center speaks volumes about the vision and commitment of our ownership group, led by Josh Harris and David Blitzer. I would like to recognize and offer a special thanks to Mayor Dana Redd, the EDA and Coopers Ferry Partnership for their tireless efforts and assistance in making this project a reality. We are focused on improving every facet of the organization and this is a big step on that journey.”
The firms involved in the Training Center project include AthenianRazak, a Philadelphia-based real estate services company, which will serve as the Development Manager for the project. In this role, they will assist with the process of designing and erecting the facility, which includes obtaining required approvals and permits, assembling and coordinating a team of design professionals, contractors and other consultants for the project, managing cash flow and financing sources, overseeing the detailed hands-on management of the construction process and helping the Sixers prepare the facility for efficient acceptance and operation.
Also involved in the project is INTECH Construction, a Philadelphia-based contractor, which will serve as the project’s Construction Manager, and architecture and engineering provided by Jacobs Global Buildings Design as the architect of record, along with nationally recognized architecture firm Threesixty Architecture as the consulting design architect.
“Today marks another significant step toward making the Philadelphia 76ers a premier destination for the best players and executives in the league,” said Harris. “We are committed to building an elite team and a top priority in pursuit of that goal is the new Training Center, one which will define our culture and is befitting of an organization that strives for excellence in every area.”
“It is imperative we are able to provide our players, coaches and staff with the resources necessary for success,” added Blitzer. “This facility – the size and scope of which will be unmatched in the NBA – will allow our team to make great strides on and off the court as we work to join the league's elite.”
Phillies sign Nola
PHILADELPHIA - The Phillies have signed their first-round pick, right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola.
Nola, an LSU product who was selected seventh overall, was one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to college baseball’s top player.
The 21-year-old went 11-1 in 16 starts with a 1.47 ERA and 134 strikeouts to only 27 walks in 116.1 total innings. The Tigers went 15-1 this season in his 16 starts.
Nola, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, finished his career at LSU going 30-6 with a 2.09 ERA. He was honored as the Southeastern Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in both 2013 and 2014, the only player in conference history to win the award twice.
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Nola was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft, but did not sign. He is the younger brother of Austin Nola, a shortstop in the Miami Marlins farm system.
Nola, an LSU product who was selected seventh overall, was one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to college baseball’s top player.
The 21-year-old went 11-1 in 16 starts with a 1.47 ERA and 134 strikeouts to only 27 walks in 116.1 total innings. The Tigers went 15-1 this season in his 16 starts.
Nola, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, finished his career at LSU going 30-6 with a 2.09 ERA. He was honored as the Southeastern Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in both 2013 and 2014, the only player in conference history to win the award twice.
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Nola was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft, but did not sign. He is the younger brother of Austin Nola, a shortstop in the Miami Marlins farm system.
Union fire Hackworth
Chester, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union fired team manager John Hackworth on Tuesday.
Assistant coach Jim Curtin will take over as interim team manager effective immediately.
A native of Oreland, Pennsylvania., Curtin, 34, played over two hundred games for the Chicago Fire and was named an MLS All-Star and the Fire’s defender of the year in 2004. He helped the squad to two U.S. Open Cup titles in 2003 and 2006, as well as the 2003 MLS Supporters Shield. Curtin played his final two seasons in the League with Chivas USA before retiring in 2009.
"We are a very ambitious club and although we are just in our fifth season we expect to win and be in the top tier of MLS,” said Philadelphia Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz. “Today we will begin a serious global search for a Team Manager who will help guide us to our goal of competing to win the MLS Cup. Philadelphia is a major market and we expect that there will be significant interest from a wide variety of qualified candidates to become Philadelphia Union’s Team Manager.
"Our great fans, partners and community deserve a winning team and we will doing everything in our power to win. We appreciate the work, time and efforts John Hackworth put into building the club and his influence on our growing youth academy. He is a first class person and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
In November of 2012, Curtin was hired as an assistant coach for the Union’s First Team after spending three years working with the Union Academy. In addition to working as YSC’s Director of Curriculum Development, Curtin was also the Union’s Under-18 Academy head coach and was instrumental in the U-18s capturing the 2012 Generation Adidas Cup.
Curtin attended Villanova University, where he was named BIG EAST rookie of the year in 1997 and a three-time team MVP for the Wildcats. The All-American defender was a two-time first team All-BIG EAST selection in 1999 and 2000 and was the 2001 Philadelphia Soccer Seven Player of the Year. He became the first player from Villanova to be drafted into the MLS when he was selected by the Chicago Fire in 2002.
Hackworth posted a 23-30-20 all-time MLS record since taking over as interim team manager on June 13, 2012. He led the Union to a franchise best 12 wins in 2013.
Curtin’s first game as interim team manager will be Tuesday, June 17 when the Union host the Harrisburg City Islanders in the fifth round of the U.S. Open Cup at PPL Park.
Assistant coach Jim Curtin will take over as interim team manager effective immediately.
A native of Oreland, Pennsylvania., Curtin, 34, played over two hundred games for the Chicago Fire and was named an MLS All-Star and the Fire’s defender of the year in 2004. He helped the squad to two U.S. Open Cup titles in 2003 and 2006, as well as the 2003 MLS Supporters Shield. Curtin played his final two seasons in the League with Chivas USA before retiring in 2009.
"We are a very ambitious club and although we are just in our fifth season we expect to win and be in the top tier of MLS,” said Philadelphia Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz. “Today we will begin a serious global search for a Team Manager who will help guide us to our goal of competing to win the MLS Cup. Philadelphia is a major market and we expect that there will be significant interest from a wide variety of qualified candidates to become Philadelphia Union’s Team Manager.
"Our great fans, partners and community deserve a winning team and we will doing everything in our power to win. We appreciate the work, time and efforts John Hackworth put into building the club and his influence on our growing youth academy. He is a first class person and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
In November of 2012, Curtin was hired as an assistant coach for the Union’s First Team after spending three years working with the Union Academy. In addition to working as YSC’s Director of Curriculum Development, Curtin was also the Union’s Under-18 Academy head coach and was instrumental in the U-18s capturing the 2012 Generation Adidas Cup.
Curtin attended Villanova University, where he was named BIG EAST rookie of the year in 1997 and a three-time team MVP for the Wildcats. The All-American defender was a two-time first team All-BIG EAST selection in 1999 and 2000 and was the 2001 Philadelphia Soccer Seven Player of the Year. He became the first player from Villanova to be drafted into the MLS when he was selected by the Chicago Fire in 2002.
Hackworth posted a 23-30-20 all-time MLS record since taking over as interim team manager on June 13, 2012. He led the Union to a franchise best 12 wins in 2013.
Curtin’s first game as interim team manager will be Tuesday, June 17 when the Union host the Harrisburg City Islanders in the fifth round of the U.S. Open Cup at PPL Park.
Monday, June 09, 2014
If not Emery, then who?
Last season, the 31-year-old Ontario native performed pretty much how a veteran backup on a team with wild momentum swings would, going 9-12-2 with a 2.96 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts over 28 appearances.
Subbing for Steve Mason in the first round of an eventual seven-game loss to the New York Rangers, he played to his capabilities given the defense in front of him, going 1-2 in three starts.
Emery also provided counterpoint in the crease. While Mason is a wide-eyed kid looking to revitalize his career, showing his leadership through performance as the No. 1 guy going forward, Emery was the wily vet, his best days behind him, providing guidance and a bit of a push for the new guy and the looming spectre of brutal assault to the opposition.
And yes, "Emory and Ivory" was a clever way to market the duo, an opportunity for promotion that doesn't come along very often unless you're stockpiling the Phillies pitching staff.
While Paul Holmgren cited Emery's 17-1-0 record with the Chicago Blackhawks two seasons prior as a deciding factor in his signing last July, there's simply no way Emery could ever live up to those numbers here with a defense we'll be charitable and say isn't very close to Stanley Cup caliber. So, the question becomes, how can Hextall justify re-signing a goalie over 30, with a losing record and GAA approaching three-per-game even with the salary cap due to increase?
Let's look at the options.
Unrestricted Free Agents: It's a bonanza of big-name talent at the high end of the cap among UFA goaltenders, automatically disqualifying the top nine names (Ryan Miller, Martin Brodeur, Jonas Hiller, Tim Thomas, Devan Dubnyk, Evgeni Nabokov, Ilya Bryzgalov, Nikolai Khabibulin, Tomas Vokoun) with Emery holding the 10th highest cap hit of those available.
Below that, it's the sure-to-retire Jean-Sebastien Giguere, but the next two names following practically leap off the page: Jonas Gustavsson and Scott Clemmensen.
Gustavsson, an imposing agile presence in the crease at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, went 16-5-4 with a 2.63 GAA in 27 games for the Red Wings. His cap hit was just $1.5 million last season for the final season of a two-year, $3 million deal, and at age 29, has only slight wear-and-tear thanks to 141 games in parts of four NHL seasons under his belt.
He did well to keep Detroit afloat last season in the face of its bizarre and never-ending string of injuries, which included incumbent Jimmy Howard, and was a factor in keeping the Wings in the thick of the playoff race in spite of that. A multi-year deal where a cap hit reaches the $1.5-1.75M range will work to the Flyers' benefit while Hextall attempts to rebuild the defense and try to shop some of the bigger albatross forward contracts.
Clemmensen, like Emery, is a journeyman with some additional miles, but you know right off the bat there's no chance he'll do enough to take over a starting spot. At 36, the Iowa native and national champion with Boston College has played 188 games for three other NHL organizations plus 199 AHL appearances for their affiliates since 2001. He was 6-7-1, 3.09 in 17 games for the Panthers in 2013-14.
It's been five seasons since he took over for an injured Martin Brodeur, going 25-13-1 with a 2.39 GAA and two shutouts in 40 appearances for the Devils -- but nice to know he can take the mantle if Mason should be sidelined long-term. It wouldn't make much sense to sign him to anything more than a one-year deal, and for something close to his $1.2M cap hit from last season, it's another no-brainer to kick the tires.
Below that, we start heading into the remainder bin as the cap hits quickly shrink below $1 mil: Jason LaBarbera, Joey MacDonald, Thomas Greiss, Cristopher Nilstorp and the Phantoms' Yann Danis.
Restricted Free Agents: The talent pool drops off considerably. Top name on the list is Toronto's James Reimer at a cap hit of $1.8 million, but since he'll be looking to get out of Hogtown and go somewhere quieter in pursuit of a starting job, he shouldn't be on the Flyers' radar. Emery was signed to give Mason a push, but Reimer's the kind of goaltender who might want to shove Mason out of the spotlight and this franchise cannot stand another crease controversy.
After that, only three other names leap out: Anders Lindback, Antti Raanta and Robin Lehner.
Lindback ($1.8M cap hit) is Bob Clarke's wet dream: a goaltender attractive because of the way he performed against the Flyers. The rangy 26-year-old Swede (6-foot-6) went 3-0-0 while stopping 88-of-95 Philadelphia shots in three games this past season. Overall, he went 8-12-2 with a 2.90 GAA and one shutout in 23 appearances for the Bolts, and is just 34-35-5 in 85 appearances in four NHL seasons with Nashville and Tampa Bay.
Raanta ($1.4M) took Emery's slot as Corey Crawford's backup in Chicago. The 25-year-old Finn survived his first season of North American hockey by going 13-5-4 with a 2.71 GAA and one whitewash in 25 contests for the defending champions. Small-ish at 6-foot and 187 pounds, Raanta nonetheless moves well and is positionally sound, but has none of the emotion, spirit or flair the Flyers might be looking for.
Lehner, at 22 already having seen parts of four NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators, might be the pick of the crop. With a cap hit of just $870,000 and more experience than most goaltenders his age, one can overlook a 12-15-6 record, goals-against above three and a .913 save percentage in 36 games for a struggling Senators club and see how those numbers might improve on a Flyers team presumably on the upswing.
Emery should recognize that he's in the portion of his career where he shouldn't be looking to get rich or find a franchise that needs a starter, so it's tough to imagine his demands being unreasonable on Hextall if he wants to remain in Philadelphia. If he wants to find a comfortable situation on a potential Cup winner, then it's likely we've seen the last of Razor here.
One potential cringeworthy destination in that case, is Pittsburgh, which needs to find a suitable replacement for Tomas Vokoun, whose potential for recurring blood clot issues plus his advancing age, puts his career at risk.
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Flyers lock down Royals as ECHL affiliate
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| Photo courtesy of WFMZ |
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Reading Royals of the ECHL have agreed to an affiliation, with the parent club providing a two-year contract.
Reading had most recently been joined with the Washington Capitals for the last two seasons, but the club let that agreement lapse following the end of last season, in spite of the Caps and Hershey Bears aiding in the Royals' 2013 Kelly Cup championship with an influx of talent including Drew McIntyre, T.J. Syner, Barry Almeida Philipp Grubauer and Riley Gill -- the former netminder who saw time in the NHL this past season and the latter goaltender who stoked the fires of the successful playoff run.
The Royals were unable to defend their crown in 2013-14, bowing out in the first round against Fort Wayne despite winning the three-team Atlantic Division with a 46-22-4 record.
"I’m looking forward to working with the Flyers coaching and scouting staffs," Royals’ Head Coach Larry Courville said in a statement issued shortly after the announcement was made. “Our goal in Reading has not changed—to put a championship team on the ice."
A long-standing Flyers' affiliation with Trenton, begun in 1999 with the Titans' founding and interrupted by the club's purchase and operation by the Devils from 2007-11, finally went belly up in April of 2013 when the Titans revealed the franchise would fold. The Flyers then transferred their players to the Greenville Road Warriors at the start of last season, only to see that agreement dissolved upon Greenville's request so that it might align itself with the New York Rangers.
“We are pleased to announce an ECHL affiliation agreement with the Reading Royals,” Flyers GM Ron Hextall stated. "We’re excited to be entering a new era for the Flyers with respect to player development and look forward to working closely with them in a winning environment. "The geographic proximity of our minor league affiliations in the Lehigh Valley and Reading will give our coaches and scouting department the best possible platform to monitor, and promote the growth and advancement of our young prospects.”
Hextall has stated publicly that one of his main goals in his new position of power is player development, something which was spotty at best in the Orange and Black's second tenure with Trenton, which struggled financially. The Royals, now one of the longest-tenured ECHL franchises which has remained in one place, offer more stability.
Carsen Chubak and Doug Clarkson did end up spending time last year with Reading after the Greenville debacle.
"A big part of our success is linked to having an affiliate who is committed to stocking their minor professional system with young, talented players and getting these players as much game time as possible in the early phases of their career," added Courville, who spent a brief NHL stint with the Vancouver Canucks. "Of course, I’m sure our fans will enjoy watching the Flyers’ prospects assigned to Reading as they pursue their goal of advancing to the highest level of the game, while helping us achieve our team goal of winning another ECHL championship.”
The Royals are entering their 14th season in the ECHL, the primary Double-A league affiliated with the NHL.
Philadelphia and the Schuylkill Valley have a long history of connection through sports, as the Phillies have operated their Double-A farm club in Reading continuously since 1967.
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
Union's Hatch inked to AHL deal
The Lehigh Valley/Adirondack Phantoms continue to be an ongoing experiment in stocking a roster with a glut of college talent.
Per Ken Schott, the Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Matt Hatch -- late of the national-champion Union Flying Dutchmen -- to an American Hockey League contract.
Hatch completed his senior season by recording a personal bests of 13 goals and 22 points in 42 contests. One of the players who engineered the program's swift rise to prominence under Rick Bennett, the 24-year-old native of upstate New York completed his college career with 35 goals and 39 assists over 147 appearances.
Hatch's most productive game of the NCAA tournament was a two-goal effort in Union's opener, a 5-2 decision over Hockey East's Vermont.
“I’m really very excited to get going and being a part of a world-class organization," Hatch stated to the Daily Gazette.
As of this moment, the nomadic spectres feature a staggering 14 players on the roster with decent experience at the American Division I level, including, of course, Hatch's former teammate and Flyers' draft choice, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. At the end of the past season, each Adirondack's four goaltenders (Yann Danis, Matt Weninger, Carsen Chubak and Tony Capobianco) arrived via the college route.
At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Hatch is nothing more than a line filler. He'll need a major leap forward in size, weight and skill set, plus a rash of injuries at Philadelphia, to have a shot at making the big club after a year or two.
Per Ken Schott, the Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Matt Hatch -- late of the national-champion Union Flying Dutchmen -- to an American Hockey League contract.
Hatch completed his senior season by recording a personal bests of 13 goals and 22 points in 42 contests. One of the players who engineered the program's swift rise to prominence under Rick Bennett, the 24-year-old native of upstate New York completed his college career with 35 goals and 39 assists over 147 appearances.
Hatch's most productive game of the NCAA tournament was a two-goal effort in Union's opener, a 5-2 decision over Hockey East's Vermont.
“I’m really very excited to get going and being a part of a world-class organization," Hatch stated to the Daily Gazette.
As of this moment, the nomadic spectres feature a staggering 14 players on the roster with decent experience at the American Division I level, including, of course, Hatch's former teammate and Flyers' draft choice, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. At the end of the past season, each Adirondack's four goaltenders (Yann Danis, Matt Weninger, Carsen Chubak and Tony Capobianco) arrived via the college route.
At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Hatch is nothing more than a line filler. He'll need a major leap forward in size, weight and skill set, plus a rash of injuries at Philadelphia, to have a shot at making the big club after a year or two.
Eagles extend OL Barbre through 2017
PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles have agreed to terms with versatile swing tackle Allen Barbre on a three-year contract extension through the 2017 season.
The six-year veteran has appeared in 47 games with seven starts during his career and provided depth on the Eagles' offensive line in 2013, his first year in Philadelphia.
Prior to arriving here, Barbre had appeared in 32 games, splitting time between Green Bay (2007-09), Miami (2010) and Seattle (2010-12).
"Allen has great versatility and his ability to play both outside and inside on the offensive line makes him so valuable to what we do," said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. "He's been in this league for a number of years and we know we can count on him to step up and fill in whenever he is called upon. When Jason Peters went down in Green Bay last season, Allen jumped right in and our offense didn't miss a beat."
Originally a fourth-round pick of the Packers in 2007, Barbre was a four-year starter at Missouri Southern State where he was named a consensus All-American, All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and All-Region first-team selection as a senior in 2006.
The six-year veteran has appeared in 47 games with seven starts during his career and provided depth on the Eagles' offensive line in 2013, his first year in Philadelphia.
Prior to arriving here, Barbre had appeared in 32 games, splitting time between Green Bay (2007-09), Miami (2010) and Seattle (2010-12).
"Allen has great versatility and his ability to play both outside and inside on the offensive line makes him so valuable to what we do," said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. "He's been in this league for a number of years and we know we can count on him to step up and fill in whenever he is called upon. When Jason Peters went down in Green Bay last season, Allen jumped right in and our offense didn't miss a beat."
Originally a fourth-round pick of the Packers in 2007, Barbre was a four-year starter at Missouri Southern State where he was named a consensus All-American, All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and All-Region first-team selection as a senior in 2006.
Monday, June 02, 2014
Soul dominate Talons
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Soul (6-5) took control of the game early by outscoring the San Antonio Talons (1-10) 28-0 in the first quarter. With their new season high score, the Soul won 76-40 in front of 7,811 fans at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday night. Plenty of forced turnovers and offensive balance led to this victory.
“This win was great for us. We came out strong in the beginning and didn’t let up throughout all for quarters,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “We have moved passed last week’s game, but still continue to better ourselves.”
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 14-of-17 passes for 224 yards and five touchdowns. Leading the Soul receivers was Tiger Jones with seven receptions for 118 yards and four touchdowns. Emery Sammons had four receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while Markee White added three catches for 33 yards and V’Keon Lacey tallied two receptions for 30 yards and one touchdown.
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game, Rayshaun Kizer led the defense with 7.0 total tackles, two pass breakups and a nine-yard interception returned for a touchdown. Joe Goosby added 5.5 total tackles, a forced fumble and a fumbled recovery for a touchdown. James Romain chipped in with 3.5 total tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
The Soul started off the game scoring their first touchdown with an eight-yard pass to Tiger Jones. Two minutes later, Kizer had a nine-yard interception return gaining a second touchdown for the Soul. With 9:18 left in the first quarter, Goosby recovered a fumble in the end-zone bringing the score to 21-0. James Romain stole an interception giving the Soul the ball sparking Raudabaugh’s connection with Jones for a 10-yard pass, leading to the fourth Soul touchdown of the game. The score at the end of the first quarter was 28-0.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Derrick Ross runs the ball two yards to the end-zone for a Soul touchdown. The Talons make it on the board with a 12-yard pass from Shane Boyd to Doug Pierce, leaving the score at 35-7 with 11:07 left in the quarter. Jones scored his second touchdown of the game by catching a 31-yard pass from Raudabaugh. Talons then score again with another connection for six yards by Boyd and Pierce. With 4:08 left in the half, Ross grabs another touchdown by running the ball four yards. Boyd threw a 45-yard pass to David Little resulting in another touchdown for the Talons. In the last seconds of the half, Raudabaugh threw a seven-yard touchdown to V’Keon Lacey, ending the second quarter at 55-20.
Sammons kicked off the third quarter with his first touchdown of the night, catching a 35-yard pass from Raudabaugh, making the score 62-20. The Talons follow up with a touchdown by Mykel Benson who caught a four-yard touchdown from Boyd. At the end of the third quarter the score stood at 62-27.
With 11:43 left in the fourth quarter, Sammons connected with Bryan Randall who caught another 35-yard pass into the end-zone. Two minutes later, Benson ran seven yards to complete his second touchdown for the night. Jones then caught a 28-yard pass from Randall to make the score 76-33. The Talons answered with a five-yard touchdown caught by Moqut Ruffins. The Soul defeated the Talons with a final score of 76-40.
Next week, the Soul will hit the road and take on the Tampa Bay Storm for the third time this season. The game will take place on Saturday, June 7 at 5 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia’s Rayshaun Kizer
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s Tiger Jones
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: San Antonio’s Kelvin Rodgers interception at the end of the third quarter
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Philadelphia’s Joe Goosby off the net recovery fumble touchdown
“This win was great for us. We came out strong in the beginning and didn’t let up throughout all for quarters,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “We have moved passed last week’s game, but still continue to better ourselves.”
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 14-of-17 passes for 224 yards and five touchdowns. Leading the Soul receivers was Tiger Jones with seven receptions for 118 yards and four touchdowns. Emery Sammons had four receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while Markee White added three catches for 33 yards and V’Keon Lacey tallied two receptions for 30 yards and one touchdown.
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game, Rayshaun Kizer led the defense with 7.0 total tackles, two pass breakups and a nine-yard interception returned for a touchdown. Joe Goosby added 5.5 total tackles, a forced fumble and a fumbled recovery for a touchdown. James Romain chipped in with 3.5 total tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
The Soul started off the game scoring their first touchdown with an eight-yard pass to Tiger Jones. Two minutes later, Kizer had a nine-yard interception return gaining a second touchdown for the Soul. With 9:18 left in the first quarter, Goosby recovered a fumble in the end-zone bringing the score to 21-0. James Romain stole an interception giving the Soul the ball sparking Raudabaugh’s connection with Jones for a 10-yard pass, leading to the fourth Soul touchdown of the game. The score at the end of the first quarter was 28-0.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Derrick Ross runs the ball two yards to the end-zone for a Soul touchdown. The Talons make it on the board with a 12-yard pass from Shane Boyd to Doug Pierce, leaving the score at 35-7 with 11:07 left in the quarter. Jones scored his second touchdown of the game by catching a 31-yard pass from Raudabaugh. Talons then score again with another connection for six yards by Boyd and Pierce. With 4:08 left in the half, Ross grabs another touchdown by running the ball four yards. Boyd threw a 45-yard pass to David Little resulting in another touchdown for the Talons. In the last seconds of the half, Raudabaugh threw a seven-yard touchdown to V’Keon Lacey, ending the second quarter at 55-20.
Sammons kicked off the third quarter with his first touchdown of the night, catching a 35-yard pass from Raudabaugh, making the score 62-20. The Talons follow up with a touchdown by Mykel Benson who caught a four-yard touchdown from Boyd. At the end of the third quarter the score stood at 62-27.
With 11:43 left in the fourth quarter, Sammons connected with Bryan Randall who caught another 35-yard pass into the end-zone. Two minutes later, Benson ran seven yards to complete his second touchdown for the night. Jones then caught a 28-yard pass from Randall to make the score 76-33. The Talons answered with a five-yard touchdown caught by Moqut Ruffins. The Soul defeated the Talons with a final score of 76-40.
Next week, the Soul will hit the road and take on the Tampa Bay Storm for the third time this season. The game will take place on Saturday, June 7 at 5 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia’s Rayshaun Kizer
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s Tiger Jones
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: San Antonio’s Kelvin Rodgers interception at the end of the third quarter
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Philadelphia’s Joe Goosby off the net recovery fumble touchdown
Union capture rare road win vs. Chivas
Carson, Calif. – The Philadelphia Union (3-7-5) defeated Chivas USA, 3-0 Saturday night at StubHub Center behind two goals from forward Conor Casey and another from Cristian Maidana.
“We tried to emphasize that we needed to be better defensively,” said Union manager John Hackworth postgame. “We feel like we are a team that can play…tonight we felt like we really needed to keep a zero [on the Chivas side of the scoreboard] and the longer we did that we gave ourselves a chance. Our performances all year have been better than our results show, but you have to get these results in order to get that confidence.”
It was Casey who got the night going in the 28th minute, after a Chivas handball in the box saw the striker step up to the spot and score his first goal of the season, blasting a rocket past Goats goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. In the second half, a ball into Chivas’ 18-yard-box from Maidana found the head of an onrushing Casey to make it two. Maidana also closed the affair in the 76th minute when he made a run into the box off a ball from midfielder Vincent Nogueira, cut into the middle and firmly placed his shot just Kennedy.
“We were able to find ourselves in some good spots and although we didn’t always pull off the play, we were trying to just get balls into the box which is important,” Casey said postgame. “We’ve played against some tough opponents this year and this [was] a game that we definitely wanted to win. Hopefully we’ll be able to take the confidence from this week and use it to follow up with getting points at home.”
As result of the three points, the Union (3-7-5, 14 points) improved to 5-0-2 all-time as the club has never lost to Chivas (2-6-4, 10 points) in its five-year history. In the 83rd minute, Osvaldo Minda was ejected from the match, dropping Chivas down to 10 men for the sixth time this season. It was an ejection that helped secure three points for the Union and saw things go from bad to worse for the Goats, which dropped their fifth straight loss at home.
The stats portray a good night for the Union, who held the edge in shots on target (6-1), final third entries (118-82) and 63 percent of the possession throughout the contest.
As for the Union, it hopes a much improved defensive effort and strong midfield play – aided by the insertion of Fred into the starting lineup – will continue as the Union look to close out on a high before the League takes a hiatus during play of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Before that happens, the Union will host Vancouver next Saturday, June 7 (7 p.m. ET) its third Western Conference opponent in as many games.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve felt like this,” Fred who earned his first MLS start since June 11, 2011 told reporters after the win. “We got three points from playing well and we feel confidence now. Now we just need to stick together and try to get these three points at home so we can go into the break feeling good and confident about the second half of the season once we come back from this break.”
BOX SCORE
Philadelphia Union 3, Chivas USA 0
Saturday, May 31; 10:30 p.m. ET
StubHub Center
Carson, California
SCORING SUMMARY
PHI: Casey 28’ (PK)
PHI: Casey 66’ (Maidana)
PHI: Maidana 76’ (Nogueira)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
CHV: Barrera 63’ (yellow)
CHV: Torres 64’ (yellow)
PHI: Fabinho 65’ (yellow)
CHV: Avila 73’ (yellow)
CHV: Minda 83’ (red)
UNION STARTING 11
MacMath, Fabinho, Williams, Okugo, Gaddis,Fred, Edu, Nogueira, Maidana, Cruz (Pfeffer 86’), Casey (Wenger 75’).
CHIVAS STARTING 11
Kennedy, Toia, Lochhead, Zavaleta, Avila, Rivero, Minda, Barrera (Pelletieri 87’), Alvarez (Finley 68’), Delgado (Rosales 45’), Torres.
“We tried to emphasize that we needed to be better defensively,” said Union manager John Hackworth postgame. “We feel like we are a team that can play…tonight we felt like we really needed to keep a zero [on the Chivas side of the scoreboard] and the longer we did that we gave ourselves a chance. Our performances all year have been better than our results show, but you have to get these results in order to get that confidence.”
It was Casey who got the night going in the 28th minute, after a Chivas handball in the box saw the striker step up to the spot and score his first goal of the season, blasting a rocket past Goats goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. In the second half, a ball into Chivas’ 18-yard-box from Maidana found the head of an onrushing Casey to make it two. Maidana also closed the affair in the 76th minute when he made a run into the box off a ball from midfielder Vincent Nogueira, cut into the middle and firmly placed his shot just Kennedy.
“We were able to find ourselves in some good spots and although we didn’t always pull off the play, we were trying to just get balls into the box which is important,” Casey said postgame. “We’ve played against some tough opponents this year and this [was] a game that we definitely wanted to win. Hopefully we’ll be able to take the confidence from this week and use it to follow up with getting points at home.”
As result of the three points, the Union (3-7-5, 14 points) improved to 5-0-2 all-time as the club has never lost to Chivas (2-6-4, 10 points) in its five-year history. In the 83rd minute, Osvaldo Minda was ejected from the match, dropping Chivas down to 10 men for the sixth time this season. It was an ejection that helped secure three points for the Union and saw things go from bad to worse for the Goats, which dropped their fifth straight loss at home.
The stats portray a good night for the Union, who held the edge in shots on target (6-1), final third entries (118-82) and 63 percent of the possession throughout the contest.
As for the Union, it hopes a much improved defensive effort and strong midfield play – aided by the insertion of Fred into the starting lineup – will continue as the Union look to close out on a high before the League takes a hiatus during play of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Before that happens, the Union will host Vancouver next Saturday, June 7 (7 p.m. ET) its third Western Conference opponent in as many games.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve felt like this,” Fred who earned his first MLS start since June 11, 2011 told reporters after the win. “We got three points from playing well and we feel confidence now. Now we just need to stick together and try to get these three points at home so we can go into the break feeling good and confident about the second half of the season once we come back from this break.”
BOX SCORE
Philadelphia Union 3, Chivas USA 0
Saturday, May 31; 10:30 p.m. ET
StubHub Center
Carson, California
SCORING SUMMARY
PHI: Casey 28’ (PK)
PHI: Casey 66’ (Maidana)
PHI: Maidana 76’ (Nogueira)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
CHV: Barrera 63’ (yellow)
CHV: Torres 64’ (yellow)
PHI: Fabinho 65’ (yellow)
CHV: Avila 73’ (yellow)
CHV: Minda 83’ (red)
UNION STARTING 11
MacMath, Fabinho, Williams, Okugo, Gaddis,Fred, Edu, Nogueira, Maidana, Cruz (Pfeffer 86’), Casey (Wenger 75’).
CHIVAS STARTING 11
Kennedy, Toia, Lochhead, Zavaleta, Avila, Rivero, Minda, Barrera (Pelletieri 87’), Alvarez (Finley 68’), Delgado (Rosales 45’), Torres.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Flyers to gain a new full-time ECHL affiliate
The Philadelphia Flyers will be taking another crack at a full-time ECHL affiliate.
According to the Reading Eagle's hockey reporter, there will be a press conference scheduled for 11 AM Wednesday morning at which time the Royals and Flyers will officially announce a partnership.
Philly had a long-standing affiliation with the Trenton Titans beginning in 1999, only interrupted by the franchise being acquired by New Jersey and resurrected as the Devils from 2007-11. Three seasons ago, the Titans once again became a Flyers farm club, but that agreement was terminated last April 23 when the Titans shocked many with the announcement they had ceased operations.
This past season, the Greenville Road Warriors agreed to an affiliation, only to dump the Flyers before the midpoint of the campaign in favor of the New York Rangers.
The Royals began operation prior to the 2001-02 season, and were originally affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings. In later years, that switched between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, then in 2012, the Washington Capitals announced that Reading would serve as the franchise's primary Double-A club.
That change paid off better than anyone expected, as the Royals took home the 2013 Kelly Cup in a victory over the Stockton Thunder thanks in large part to goaltender Philipp Grubauer, whose stellar performance in Berks County two years back precipitated his rise to the AHL and NHL in his brief career.
In 2013-14, Reading finished first in the Atlantic Division with a 46-22-4 record, but fell short in its title defense after losing a five-game first-round series to the Fort Wayne Komets.
This past Wednesday, the Royals front office gave head coach Larry Courville a legitimate vote of confidence with a contract extension. Courville, who played briefly for the Vancouver Canucks in the late 90s and was a member of the Royals' inaugural roster, is the winningest coach in franchise history and has led the club to five straight postseason berths.
According to the Reading Eagle's hockey reporter, there will be a press conference scheduled for 11 AM Wednesday morning at which time the Royals and Flyers will officially announce a partnership.
Philly had a long-standing affiliation with the Trenton Titans beginning in 1999, only interrupted by the franchise being acquired by New Jersey and resurrected as the Devils from 2007-11. Three seasons ago, the Titans once again became a Flyers farm club, but that agreement was terminated last April 23 when the Titans shocked many with the announcement they had ceased operations.
This past season, the Greenville Road Warriors agreed to an affiliation, only to dump the Flyers before the midpoint of the campaign in favor of the New York Rangers.
The Royals began operation prior to the 2001-02 season, and were originally affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings. In later years, that switched between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, then in 2012, the Washington Capitals announced that Reading would serve as the franchise's primary Double-A club.
That change paid off better than anyone expected, as the Royals took home the 2013 Kelly Cup in a victory over the Stockton Thunder thanks in large part to goaltender Philipp Grubauer, whose stellar performance in Berks County two years back precipitated his rise to the AHL and NHL in his brief career.
In 2013-14, Reading finished first in the Atlantic Division with a 46-22-4 record, but fell short in its title defense after losing a five-game first-round series to the Fort Wayne Komets.
This past Wednesday, the Royals front office gave head coach Larry Courville a legitimate vote of confidence with a contract extension. Courville, who played briefly for the Vancouver Canucks in the late 90s and was a member of the Royals' inaugural roster, is the winningest coach in franchise history and has led the club to five straight postseason berths.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
UFC releases full Atlantic City card
ATLANTIC CITY - The UFC has announced the full undercard for its July 16 event at Revel Resort.
The UFC Fight Night card, which will be televised on FOX Sports 1, is headlined by a five-round lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Garden State native Jim Miller.
Cerrone (23-6, 1 NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) is currently riding a three-fight win streak and is the fifth-ranked lightweight contender while Miller (24-4, 1 NC, fighting out of Whippany, N.J.) is No. 7 in the world.
The other fights will be:
Welterweights Rick Story (16-8) vs. John Howard (22-9).
Lightweights Gleison Tibau (37-10) vs. Pat Healy(31-18, 1 NC).
Twelfth-ranked lightweight Edson Barboza (13-2) vs. Evan Dunham (14-5).
Flyweights John Lineker (23-7) vs. Alptekin Ozkilic (9-2).
Bantamweights Aljamain Sterling (9-0) vs. Hugo Viana (8-2).
Featherweights Lucas Martins (14-1) vs. Jim Alers (13-1).
The UFC Fight Night card, which will be televised on FOX Sports 1, is headlined by a five-round lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Garden State native Jim Miller.
Cerrone (23-6, 1 NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) is currently riding a three-fight win streak and is the fifth-ranked lightweight contender while Miller (24-4, 1 NC, fighting out of Whippany, N.J.) is No. 7 in the world.
The other fights will be:
Welterweights Rick Story (16-8) vs. John Howard (22-9).
Lightweights Gleison Tibau (37-10) vs. Pat Healy(31-18, 1 NC).
Twelfth-ranked lightweight Edson Barboza (13-2) vs. Evan Dunham (14-5).
Flyweights John Lineker (23-7) vs. Alptekin Ozkilic (9-2).
Bantamweights Aljamain Sterling (9-0) vs. Hugo Viana (8-2).
Featherweights Lucas Martins (14-1) vs. Jim Alers (13-1).
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
For Flyers, playing is easy; comedy is hard
What the organization is missing is one sense of humor, about itself, its former players, its history and its current situation.
Think about it. Ed Snider has set himself up in the history books as the guiding force for this team since before it ever set foot on NHL ice. Over nearly five decades, that's an exhausting prospect, one which requires constant vigilance that the brand and the man should never be disparaged for his time of service and dedication. When was the last time you saw Bob Clarke, or Paul Holmgren -- the men who have guided the on-ice product for 26 of the last 30 seasons from the GM's chair -- crack a smile at anything other than the perfunctory free-agent press conferences?
Maybe when Jeremy Roenick took to the ice pre-game wearing a curly blonde wig, a Clarke #16 jersey from the early 80s along with the requisite first-generation Cooperalls -- and that was more than 10 years ago. I think there was something resembling an upturned mouth from Clarkie's face during the Alumni Game as part of the Winter Classic here 2 1/2 years ago, but, like Bigfoot, concrete evidence has been fleeting.
While the organization projects a serious, single-minded approach to winning, the players themselves are laughing all the way to the bank. A collection of Canadians both urban and country, American kids and slick Europeans provide ample material for the ribbing and inside jokes than punctuate locker-room sessions and various modes of transport during road trips over an 82-game season plus playoffs. Why not tone down the humor from R to PG-13 and make some memorable vignettes?
Given any lingering bad feelings from the league's third lockout in 20 years, the Flyers' subsequent playoff-less Spring in 2013 and the nightmarish start to this past season, it's long past due that the franchise, as a whole, should embrace those cultural and age differences and strike out with some finely-tuned goodwill so the fan base knows that beneath those suits of armor beats the heart of a human being. And I'm not talking about a re-boot of Coatsey's Corner.
Type in "Philadelphia Flyers sense of humor" and the results are right on par with the typical German book on the subject. One picture that did stand out from the crowd was this gem, generated by the Boston Bruins in time for the clubs' NHL-record-making Eastern Conference Semifinal series four years ago. More on them later in this column.
That hasn't always been the case. Although it's regrettably not online, I have several game tapes from the 1990-91 season where the Flyers' Wives Fight for Lives Carnival is advertised in 30-second blurbs.
One particular spot features a mixture of players speaking about the cause in their native tongues. Rick Tocchet speaks in English, Kjell Samuelsson in Swedish, Jiri Latal in Czech, and when it comes time for Craig Berube to have his say, all he can speak is garbled nonsense. After his teammates yell at him to put in his teeth, what comes out is clear: the number to call for tickets. Another bright idea was to outfit the guys in fedoras, sunglasses and musical instruments and do a "so-bad-it's-good" send-up of the Super Bowl Shuffle to promote the Carnival. It wasn't fall-on-the-floor brilliance, but typical understated, clever humor that can only come from players taught to be humble in whatever they do.
Years pass, and golden opportunities to showcase the Crazy Eights Line, the Legion of Doom, the Minnesota Line, Carter & Richards, the Ginger Savior and others fall by the wayside. Roenick arrives in 2001 and tries to liven things up, but he's stuck musing about how to figure out when 95 North becomes 295 South while shilling for BMWs. Even the following memorable ads featuring some likely and unlikely players weren't promoting the Philadelphia Flyers, but the league as a whole and a phone company:
What the rest of the NHL does
It doesn't seem to matter. Whether you're a successful club in southern California trying to compete with the weather and a million other distractions, or an Original Six franchise trying to recapture the hearts and minds of the next generation, you're not too cool for school and satisfied living off your reputation to poke a little fun.
To wit, a commercial featuring Cherry Hill's Own Bobby Ryan for the Anaheim Ducks:
How about Ollie Kolzig going up against a paperboy:
Sometimes, the Evil Empire can poke fun at itself with ease:
Still, one team stands out above all others when lampooning parts of their culture which many opposing fans have derided over the years: the Boston Bruins.
Starting in 2009, the B's rolled out an ad campaign aimed at getting their fans ready for the coming resurgence. It had been roughly a decade and a half since hockey really mattered in the Hub, so the wizards who put the package together had a broad canvas with which to paint. Featuring a massive, yet non-threatening grizzly as the team mascot and arbiter of what's good as a Bruins fan, there has been four years' worth of chuckles.
They've addressed dating. Visiting fans packing TD Garden. Proper bathroom etiquette. Manners. Interspecies love. And more.
However, where the club really leaves no left turn unstoned, is in the serial, zany and unhinged episodes of "Bear and the Gang." Everyone is involved, from the players to the head coach, front office personnel along with the broadcasters and national anthem singer which local social media seems to drown in Haterade over and over again.
Episode One dragged them all out at once:
After that, we had Claude Julien breaking up a romantic interlude, the 80's sitcom intro, the ultimate cheeseball Christmas short, and...uhhh...this "exercise" clip.
What Flyers can do to spice things up
They can move away from using those under contract for blatant advertising, like in this 1996 clip featuring LeClair, Lindros and Renberg, and open themselves up to something greater than the typical in-house "humor" regarding which player is the worst gift giver at Christmas.
The club missed a golden opportunity two years back to turn the locker room "controversy" over Ilya Bryzgalov's play and personality and cut the press off at the knees with a humorous commercial or two. No reason to think Bryz couldn't have been paired up with Neil DeGrasse Tyson to explore the cosmos. A large part of effective humor is learning how to use a player or goaltender's uniqueness and spin it into something the fan base can get behind. It definitely could have humanized him.
Aside from actual skill set, personality is what lures people to the team and to the sport, but the Flyers have consistently acted as if they're above advertising -- besides the laughs we might get in guessing at which point in a nationally-televised playoff game the crawl will appear promoting ticket plans for the following season.
Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux actually participating in a Harlem Globetrotters game this past season was practically begging for a crossover ad with the Sixers, but that was another missed opportunity. Hartnell and his interactions with Cy Clark, the Hulk Hogan look-alike in Pittsburgh two years ago, was aces as well.
How about something involving all the college kids Holmgren signed at the end of the season to populate the Phantoms' roster, along with Matt Read, trying to "teach" the players who came up through juniors about the basics of hockey? Steve Mason in his crease, actually constructing a wall to keep pucks away? The possibilities are endless, if one member of the front office with some wild ideas and a sense of playfulness exists.
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