Happy Holidays!!!

Here's hoping you get everything you want this season! Me, I asked Santa for a hockey team.

I just had a thought, and bear with me on this because this may be the Johnnie talking (that's Johnnie Walker Blue for the uninitiated), but this team started to go downhill ever since Derien Hatcher's knees went out. If you recall, the last time the Flyers went deep in the playoffs, we had both Hatcher and Jason Smith on the blueline. Both of those guys, while giving the Flyers a physical presence in defence, also kept the younger guys in check. They took the role of leadership while allowing guys like Mike Richards and Jeff Carter to come into their own. Now, I have nothing against Richards or Carter. I think they're both great players who will contribute to this team for years to come. But Richards is not exactly captain material. Leading by example is great, if that example means not hanging out all night in Center City, being the first one in and the last one out for practice, and leaving it all on the ice every night. My advice - give the "C" to Chris Pronger and let the young guys just focus on playing the game.

In other O&B news, the end of the year means that the Winter Classic is fast approaching in Boston. I'm psyched for this game, mostly because I can see it on TV, but because it should be a great game. I watched the Bruins play the Leafs last night on HNIC, and even though they lost (to a Toronto team that's starting to grow on me), the Bruins are going to be tough. They're as physical, have stronger goaltending so long as Rask is playing, and have a solid defense. Add in the fact that these two teams simply don't like each other, and this will be a fun one to watch. As for the next outdoor game, my money's on the Capitals and the Rangers in New York.

Yes I'm still here. But for how long...

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't posted in about two months. Most of that time has been taken up with work (and the neverending quest to hold on to my job), but it's not like things have been quiet around here. For starters, we have a new coach. Now, I've always liked John Stevens. Good guy, came up through the organization, won a Calder Cup, and took the team to the East finals a couple years ago. From what I heard about him, the players liked him, the management liked him, everyone liked him. Which might have been the problem. If you look at all of the great coaches in sports, whether it's football or hockey or whatever, the best coaches weren't concerned about being liked. They were about winning. Even if it meant ruffling some feathers and getting in some faces. John Tortorella is like that, and look how far the Rangers have come. Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football (that's soccer, by the way, and he can be a right bastard when he wants to. Stevens's problem was that he was too nice, too unwilling to challenge the team, and too unwilling to be seen as the bad guy. And in true Flyer fashion, he took the fall for the team's struggles, which are getting embarrassing. Seriously, guys, 8-2 against Washington?

The other reason I haven't been posting is, quite simply, I haven't seen a single Flyers game this season. Not one. Granted, I have DirecTV, which means that in the Philadelphia region, I get blocked out of all Flyers, Phillies, and Sixers games due to Comcast acting like a spoiled brat. However, I could still rely on games shown on Versus and the NHL Network's Hockey Night in Toronto broadcasts. Well, scratch Versus due to a feud between the two providers. DirecTV decided that instead of charging its customers a ridiculous fee for Versus, it would simply drop the channel. To make up for it, we got a free month of NHL Center Ice, but even that didn't allow me to watch the Flyers since Center Ice restrictions don't allow you to see your home team. Adding it all up, and I've seen the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Rangers, Canucks, Flames, and Bruins this year, but not my team. Kinda makes it hard to post when I can't watch the game live.

Which brings me to my final point today. What the hell happened to NHL hockey? I understand and support the new rule changes protecting players from getting hit from behind, especially with the concussion rate going up. That I'm fine with. What I'm not OK with are the ridiculous amount of penalties being called and the lack of consistency when it comes to the league stars. Dan Carcillo got a NINE MINUTE PENALTY against the Caps. Nine minutes!!!! Back in the '80s, we called that a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Nine minutes, come on. From what I understand (and remember, I didn't see it live), Carcillo got in a faster first punch than Matt Bradley. That's not a violation, that's a quick draw. And on top of that, he got suspended for four games. Don't get me started on the selective suspension process the NHL implements.

Maybe I'm just spoiled because I got into the game in the mid-1980s when hockey was in one of its finest periods. Maybe I'm just used to seeing guys be accountable for themselves on the ice instead of this reckless, dangerous behavior you see now. Mark my words, someone's going to get killed out there someday. It could be that I'm just pining for the days when hockey catered to its true fan base instead of trying to woo soccer moms in North Carolina and Arizona, and marketed its teams and heritage rather than the NBA-style focus on a few star players (Kobe vs. Lebron!! CP3 vs. D-Wade!!! AI and some other guys vs. the Boston Garnetts!!). I'm only 31 and I feel like an old geezer telling every kid within earshot how we would walk to the Spectrum in the snow to watch hockey, and that during the intermission we had to resurface the ice ourselves using only a straight razor and a squirt bottle, and we were THANKFUL FOR IT. Right now, even if I could watch the Flyers, how much of it would I enjoy? They're my team, and I'll stick with them until the end, but if the NHL can't improve its product, that end may come sooner that expected.