Flyers Re-Up with Simmonds

I’d be lying if I said this off season has gone as planned for the Flyers. I’d also be lying if I said the Flyers would be opening the regular season on time with the pending lockout hanging over everything. However, until September, business must go on and the Flyers have made a move to lock up their own in Wayne Simmonds. Acquired in the Mike Richards trade last summer, Simmonds collected career highs in goals and points this year and showed nice grit. A nice move by the Flyers, however they still need either a.) two defensemen (all star to elite level) or b.) a goalie upgrade.

Down Goes Fraser!

On March 4, 2009, the Philadelphia Flyers traded fan favorite Scottie Upshall (forward) and a 2011 second-round draft pick to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for forward Daniel Carcillo. Carcillo, who grew up a Flyers fan, amassed 254 penalty minutes while playing for Phoenix and Philly in the 2008-2009 season. No other player in the league eclipsed 200. Said GM Peter Chiarelli of the Boston Bruins upon hearing news of the trade last year, “That will make them funner to play against.” This video might demonstrate what he meant.

JR’s Ramblings: Weekend Recap, NFL Mini-Preview, and Other Random Thoughts

by John Ryan

Well, another summer in the books and on to bigger and better things like MLB playoffs, NFL weekend kicking off, Enticing College Football match-ups, and of course the return of 90210 and Melrose Place to “The CW.” I always love Labor day weekend. It signifies the end of summer and opens up aforementioned new adventures in sports and pop culture. Anyway, It was a great weekend, let’s recap it all and get ready for this coming weekend.

1.) Old Powerhouses Michigan and Notre Dame looked good. And I thought Rich Rodriguez would fold under pressure like “Chunk” getting the third degree from the “Fratelli’s.” Michigan faded in the second half, but was very impressive none the less. Ditto Notre Dame. They shut out a Nevada squad who looked to be a big time offense in 2009. I thought BYU showed some great moxie against Oklahoma, but as I’ve discussed in this space before, BYU players have the built in advantage of not being smokers/drinkers/gamblers/fornicators that virtually every other college kid has working against him while competing. Just the way of the world for the Mormons. Has there ever been a greater advantage than that? Why haven’t they won more national titles?

2.) Brad Lidge is scaring me now, for real. And Brett Myers is back. Does that not make perfect sense. Look, I get it, Manuel is loyal to his guys and Lidge has looked much better of late. But here’s two reasons why Manuel will eventually replace Lidge

"I wasn't drunk in public, I was drunk in a bar. They threw me into public!"

with Myers or someone else: 1.) Manuel, despite being loyal to a fault to his guys, knows he needs a eliable option at the end of games. He can and will replace ANYONE on his roster. 2.) Lidge’s confidence is his own worst enemy. As soon as he misses on a few pitches or can’t get the slider over early he falls apart like a mid-week Fox comedy. It’s just over before it starts. Speaking of which, what are the odds before FOX throws out a new buddy comedy or life-crisis comedy involving any of the following actors: David Alan Grier, Jay Mohr, James Belushi, any of the Wayans brothers, or any one of the “Blue Collar Tour” comedians who are as overrated as the Jets this year as a sleeper pick (editor’s note – Gary Unmarried wasn’t half bad and it’s unfair to lump Ron White with those other pathetic slapdicks).

Return of The Mack: JR’s Ramblings Return!

by John Ryan

Well, in the time since I’ve done a “Ramblings” for pcpsports.com, the following have happened:

1.)    I’ve attended a live WWE event (first since 1999)

2.)    The Eagles have more players injured than Grateful Dead fans have pot

3.)    The Phillies have traded for a bona fide ace

4.)    Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcet, Billy Mays, Jim Johnson and John Hughes died, eliminating 2 of my most favorite entertainers from the 1980’s (Hughes and Jackson).

5.)    The Stone Temple Pilots played a live concert again with their original lead singer intact and drug free

6.)    The 76ers have added exactly ZERO impact players

7.)    The Flyers acquired a bona fide #1 Defensemen and may have weakened their goaltending.

So…in honor of the recently departed, I am going to make “Ramblings” a John Hughes edition. (The reason for no Michael is because there are already 16,456,789,097 tributes to him and it happened a few weeks ago, so overkill is in play here.

Now and Later: Flyers Acquire D Pronger with eye towards 2009-2010

by John Ryan

While the Philadelphia 76ers were still celebrating their drafting of Jrue Holiday, the Flyers made a strong move towards making a Cup run in 09-10 by acquiring stout defensemen Chris Pronger from Anaheim. The move was a cost cutting move for Anaheim who had to contend with defensemen Scott Niedermeyer deciding to return next season with the Ducks. The move was costly for the Flyers, however, as they had to give up Jofrey Lupul and Lucas Sbisa and two first round draft picks (2009 and 2010).

PCP Analysis: While I don’t profess to be an expert in hockey, I do like the move. Sbisa is going to be a terrific defensemen in the league for a long time in my opinion, but they sorely needed a guy like Pronger who can score, hit, and intimidate. Lupul also was a key loss. He has scored 49 goals the past two season. Some other ramifications to consider: The move leaves the Flyers approx. 2.5 million under the NHL salary cap. They still need a backup goalie, and maybe another defensemen and maybe another winger. They also stand to lose Mike Knuble, as some are speculating that Knuble will get his desired long term pact from the Penguins. He will be hard to replace in a lot of ways. They are closer to a cup, though. They still run forwards out there such as Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, and Scott Hartnell. Key this year will be, as always though, the play of the defense and newly acquired Ray Emery. I still see a few missing pieces before they dethrone the Penguins. Meanwhile, the 76ers still seem a few years away from even cracking the top 4 in the suddenly “Beast” of the East.

Philly Rumblings

by Michael DeLuca

There have been rumblings of an Elton Brand for Kirk Hinrich & Tyrus Thomas trade, but Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald argues that Thomas will not be traded.

Mark Eckel of the Newark Star Ledger thinks Jeff Van Gundy is the right choice for the Sixers head coaching vacancy now that Jay Wright is out of the picture.

Chuck Gormley of the Courier Post Online links the Flyers to trade talks for goaltenders Carey Price and Roberto Luongo.

It’s a Ramblings Miracle! (They’re Back!)

by John Ryan

Before we start with the last edition of Rambling’s 2008, let me first apologize for my month long hiatus. My “day job” has been busier than usual lately, and well Christmas season can get crazy in the Northeast. Anyways, away we go…….

1.) First, the shameless shout out to my alma mater, as is custom. If you haven’t already picked up on this from reading anything I’ve ever written, I attended Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fl. The ironic part is that there’s a blossoming college with a new football stadium about to erect right in the heart of retirement country. The great part is: 1.) It’s 20 minutes from Lauderdale, 45 from South Beach (hence my sometimes used nicknames “The South Beach Guy,” The Notorious S.B.G, and “Johnny Ry the South Beach Guy) and about 3.5 hours from Key West, 2.) The women are gorgeous and there’s great variety (blondes, latins, haitians, dominicans, etc.) 3.) The school is rapidly expanding, including its athletics, and 4.) The school consists of mostly transplants from Philly, New York, and Boston leading to GREAT e-mails with friends, bitter Madden and fantasy outcomes, and enough ball breaking to fill up a dozen Don Rickles comedy shows. ANYWAYS……..They now have won 2 straight bowl games in a row, which happened to be there first 2 in their 8 year history in football (only 3 of which they were bowl eligible). Great stuff all around, especially in 2 games in which they were underdogs and the de facto road team, as they played Central Michigan in Detroit this year, and Memphis in Tennessee last year. Congrats, Owls.

Worst of the Worst: Ugliest NHL Goalies’ Masks

by Kevin Collins

As I promised in my last post about the coolest goalies’ masks, here is the follow up entry: The Worst. I feel like I first have to say why I think certain masks are cool and others aren’t. I use pretty much three criteria to make my judgments. One: Does the mast properly represent the player’s team? Two: Is there anything on the mask that just doesn’t belong or is incredibly out of place? And three: Basically, does it look cool? Most of these masks failed in every category. Some of them will truly make you wonder just what in the hell some of these people were thinking when they submitted their ideas to their designers. So here we go: the ugliest goalie masks in the NHL… (In no particular order)

The Best Part of the NHL: Goalies’ Masks!

by Kevin Collins

Well, the NHL has been in full swing now for a little over a month and yet there seems to be a lack of hockey posts here at PCP…I wonder why?…Anyway, I decided to write about something that everyone has at least a little interest in…the goalies’ masks.  How many times have you seen a shot on TV of the goaltender and you see his mask for a split second and yell at the TV to go back because you didn’t quite get a good look.  Well, you can sleep easy now America, because I have compiled a list of my favorite masks throughout the National Hockey League.

Flyers Make a Deal for Defense

Carle is a former first round pick.

By Mike Gill
(from www.philadelphiaflyers.com)

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have acquired 6’0”, 205-pound defenseman Matt Carle and the San Jose Sharks’ third round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Steve Eminger, Steve Downie and Tampa Bay’s fourth round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, according to club General Manager Paul Holmgren.

“Matt Carle is a good young defenseman and we are thrilled to add a player with his abilities to our roster,” said Holmgren in making the announcement. “He will add skill and speed to our lineup and should fit in great with our team.”

“I also would like to thank Steve Eminger and Steve Downie for their professionalism as players here and we wish them nothing but the best in the future.”