Flyers busy in return of Phanatic Front Page

Yes, as Phanatic columnist Bob Herpen aptly stated, Philadelphia is not a hockey town. But on Monday, Flyers fans from the Main Line to the stoop of the Wachovia Center generated plenty of excitement.

As first detailed on our web site's real-time blog (daily.phanaticmag.com) before reaching the front page of our new web home (http://www.phanaticmag.com/), the Flyers acquired the rights to Kimmo Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell from the Nashville Predators in exchange for the 23rd pick in Friday's 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Not only did they reach terms on acquiring the two players, but The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported Monday that both players agreed to six-year contracts. The paper reported that Timonen's deal is for $37.8 million, while Hartnell's will total $25.2 million.

Mike Rushton then sifted through the area sports pages to post an interesting rumor concerning Buffalo's Thomas Vanek. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer and our Rumor Mill section, the Flyers are considering offering the restricted free agent an undisclosed offer sheet.

Off the ice, Cole Hamels was rocked in a 10-1 loss to Cleveland Monday night. Inside the game, MLB handed down fines and suspensions to third base coach Steve Smith and catcher Carlos Ruiz for their involvement in Sunday afternoon's argument with umpires Bill Welke and Laz Diaz. Smith served the first of a three-game suspension last night at Jacobs Field. Ruiz is appealing his one-game ban.

Did the blowout loss signal Charlie Manuel is losing the clubhouse? Tim McManus believed so even in the midst of the Mets sweep, stating that Manuel must go. Jared Trexler writes that if Manuel is shown the door, Joe Girardi should not walk through.

In Eagles news, CNN's pigskin guru Peter King ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks at this point in time. Where is D-McNabb? 12th, with this explanation.

"It's not that I don't like Donovan McNabb. I do. I just don't trust him to stay healthy. I rank the Eagles' QB 12th because I have no confidence that McNabb, at 30 and having missed a combined 13 games over the last 2 years, will be upright in December."

Finally, The Phanatic Magazine unveiled its new web home at http://www.phanaticmag.com/. The press release detailed all of the new features, including separate column and team pages, a rumor mill, fantasy sports section and the most in-depth Philadelphia Soul coverage in the region.

You can still click on our real-time blog (daily.phanaticmag.com) for up-to-the-minute news and a first glance at features and opinion pieces before they hit our web home. Once they do, a short excerpt will still appear in the blog while inviting you to read more at the developed web site.

Each morning, wake up with a cup of coffee at work, catching up on the previous day in Philadelphia sports with the Phanatic Front Page.