Would the Phantoms still work in Philly?

By Bob H
Posted on 10/20/2012 at 2:00 pm

The NHL is on indefinite hiatus. It’s hard to forget that there’s no minor-league team just down the street, and across a parking lot from the big empty building that has a perfect sheet of ice laid down with no skaters to stain it. People want hockey, something to replace the lack of Flyers games, and they want it now. But you have to ask yourselves, just because you need hockey, will it really work in Philadelphia again, with the Spectrum still standing and the Phantoms taking their turn once more? Check out the following bar graph: You’ll notice that …

It’s a trap!

By Bob H
Posted on 10/17/2012 at 8:00 am

Have you fans already forgotten the wisdom and warning of one Admiral Ackbar? Man, the NHL really has you by the short and curlies, don’t they? Go ahead. Admit it. It’s the first step. Stand up in the circle, announce your first name and last initial, and say you’re an addict. Wait for the affirmation, because it’s there. Darth Vader himself, Gary Bettman, goes on record in making a conciliatory overture to the players which involves a seductive come-on to get the deal done and play a full season. You’re so desperate to see top quality hockey action that in …

Bettman: Let’s go splitsies

By Bob H
Posted on 10/16/2012 at 12:54 pm

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has baited the hook with some delicious chum, and now must wait for a shake on the line. The National Hockey League’s new proposal to break the deadlock on a new Collective Bargaining Agreeement, borne from talks which stretched into this afternoon in Toronto, includes the following as chief conciliation points: A 50-50 split in all Hockey Related Revenues No salary rollback A full 82-game schedule, to start in early November, should the NHLPA accept those terms “We very much want to preserve a full 82-game season and in that light we made a proposal, an …

This Week in Flyers History 10/14-10/20

By Bob H
Posted on 10/14/2012 at 2:00 pm

Welcome to the next installment of the second series of “This Week in Flyers History,” which aims to dredge up old memories, good and bad, of Flyers feats in the recent to distant past and to provide good fodder for trivia buffs. As it was during the second half of last season, we’ll be here every Sunday through what would have been the first part of this season, choc full of facts, figures, names and dates you need to know to gain that true depth as a Flyers fan. October 14, 1979: Flyers 4, Maple Leafs 3 – An NHL …

Bitter Harvest

By Bob H
Posted on 10/08/2012 at 5:00 pm

Yes, in addition to Columbus Day — a.k.a the time of the year we Americans celebrate some old, white disease-ridden Europeans who crossed the seas and invaded a land already populated by native peoples and gave them gifts of assimilation and annihilation — today is also Canadian Thanksgiving (Jour l’Action de grace). Fun fact: while the U.S. day of tryptophan worship and football viewing was brought into being by George Washington in 1789 and celebrated annually since 1863, the Canadian version was not solidifed until an act of Parliament in January of 1957. It is also three days until what …

This Week in Flyers History 10/7-10/13

By Bob H
Posted on 10/07/2012 at 2:00 pm

Gary Bettman: The Lightning Rod

By Bob H
Posted on 10/06/2012 at 4:00 pm

As a public service to those fans simply not interested in hunting down stories about the lockout across the continent on the weekend, Flyers Faithful is pleased to reprint portions of a Friday piece from the Globe and Mail, profiling NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. This week in New York, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sat down for a Q and A with Globe and Mail columnist Roy MacGregor to answer questions on the league’s lockout of players. Q: Does the court of public opinion matter? A: Ultimately it does. What our fans want, what our fans believe, what our fans are …

Donald Fehr: The players’ defender

By Bob H
Posted on 10/06/2012 at 1:00 pm

As a public service to those fans simply not interested in hunting down stories about the lockout across the continent on the weekend, Flyers Faithful is pleased to reprint portions of a Friday piece from the Globe and Mail, profiling NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr. The NHL had just announced that it was cancelling 82 regular-season games due to the owners’ lockout of players when NHLPA chief Donald Fehr sat down for a Q and A with columnist Jeff Blair. Among his thoughts? There is some merit to the concept of a soft salary cap and luxury tax — and …

The first cut is the deepest

By Bob H
Posted on 10/04/2012 at 2:17 pm

So, it’s come to this: We will apparently not enjoy a full 82-game slate for our favorite teams this season, as the NHL announced a short time ago that it will excise the first two weeks of the year: “The National Hockey League announced today the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through October 24. A total of 82 regular-season games were scheduled for Oct. 11 through Oct. 24. The cancellation was necessary because of the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL.” While it does mean that games can be rescheduled, let’s …

Point/Counterpoint: Shut up and do something!

By Bob H
Posted on 10/02/2012 at 1:00 pm

Welcome to another edition of Point/Counterpoint, where a pair of Flyers Faithful scribes square off, debating an issue with their own unique style and flair. This week, Bob H and Nick D find some common ground, though with different voices, over how we should feel now that the NHL is in the throes of another lockout. Point, Nick: I grew up watching hockey. This city became enamored with the way the Broad Street Bullies played the game: grind it out, blue-collar, arrive in ill-humor type stuff. They won by outworking other teams. It is an incredible spectacle. Even now, with much of …

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