With Giroux Back, Flyers Look for a Win

9/30/14

Claude Giroux is back in the lineup for tonight’s game against the New York Rangers. I was very happy to read this considering the news we got about his injury about a week and a half ago. I trust that he is feeling 100% because the team said that they would not rush his return. Hopefully the captain can help put the Flyers back on the board. They did not play well at all during their last couple of games. Last night, the Rangers beat them 6-3. I was watching the game and I did not see any good defense from the Flyers. I’m sure they worked hard on that during their pre-game skate this morning. Giroux will be playing center between Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek tonight, and it looks like for the rest of the season if it goes well. I think that the three of them have good chemistry while playing on a line together. Flyers fans should be giving Brayden Schenn, who took over center in Giroux’s absence. He definitely impressed and showed that he can cover the whole ice. He was looking faster as well. Hopefully the boys in the orange and black are ready for revenge on the Rangers tonight.

Jaromir Jagr- The Ageless Legend

9/27/14

Jaromir Jagr is 42 years old. His age does not stop him from being an absolute star on the ice. Drafted in 1990 by the Pittsburgh Penguins (ugh), Jagr has just about seen and done it all. So far, he has played for seven NHL teams. He won consecutive Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992. That is so hard to do, especially so early in a player’s career. It’s cool to think that Jagr has been playing hockey my whole life. However, it was not always in the NHL. After the 2008 season, the New York Rangers informed him that they would not be resigning him. So from 2008-2011, Jagr played for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). 2011 was a big year. One of the players I grew up idolizing was finally a Philadelphia Flyer. It was so cool to see. The summer of 2011, Jagr expressed interest of coming back to the NHL. Instead of signing with Pittsburgh, he shocked the hockey world and signed one year with the Flyers. Even though it was just one year, I think it is safe to say that all Flyers fans absolutely fell in love with him. His commitment to the team never failed. He was always the first one on the ice and the last one to leave. He even had a key to the practice rink. Instead of going out at night like a lot of the players, Jagr would go to the rink, strap weights to himself, and skate his heart out. If that isn’t dedication, I really don’t know what is. He is really such an amazing role model. Unfortunately, the Flyers did not sign him again after his one season with the team. It was heart breaking. I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet him that season. I was so star struck. I have met many of the Flyers over the past few years, but this encounter was probably one of the coolest. He is really down to earth and very sweet. We got a pretty awesome picture together too! To this day, I still continue to root for him. I wish nothing but the best for him. Except against the Flyers, of course. Sorry for the longer post, I just really think this legend deserves endless praise.

Giroux Out 2 Weeks

9/22/14

It took 15 minutes. Only 15 minutes into the first practice of training camp. Now the captain of the Flyers, Claude Giroux is out at least two weeks. Training camp in the NHL has an extremely fast pace. There are many guys playing for a spot on the team, skating their hearts out. Even for a player who knows they have a spot on the team, their goal is to still impress. That’s exactly what Giroux was doing when he stepped on the ice for the first day of camp. While skating fast on a drill, he sustained a lower body injury. At first, the Flyers were pretty quiet about the situation. Fans knew that he was not on the ice, but we didn’t know what exactly the problem was. We still don’t know much other than that he is out for two weeks with a “lower body” injury. He mentioned that he “tweaked something” which is usually a sign of a groin injury in the NHL. Looks like it may be another slow start for Giroux this season. In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about how Giroux turned his slow start last year into an amazing season. I have no doubt that he can do the same thing this season! 16 more days until puck drop!

Catching Up With Ed Snider

9/16/14

Ed Snider, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers, had a lot to talk about this weekend when he caught up with reporters. The biggest and most important announcement in my opinion is that he is now cancer free! What a relief! Snider, 81, was diagnosed with cancer in May. After chemotherapy and radiation, he found out on August 13^th that he is in remission. He did not talk much about his health, however. He was eager to talk about his team and the upcoming season. The Flyers had salary cap restraints this year so not many moves were made during the past off season. Still, Snider says that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the 2014-2015 Flyers. That’s nice to hear. Later in the conversation, he mentioned that he needs to be more patient like he was when the franchise was starting up. They have a lot of young talented players. It’s important that they don’t rush these guys into the NHL before they are ready. They all need time to develop in the AHL. Lastly, Snider spoke about how him and the team are only looking forward. They will not look back on mistakes that have been made in the past. Yes, they made some bad trades in the past few years. The only thing to do now is work with the players that they have. New head coach, Craig Berube, has his team in the best shape they have ever been in. I think now all Flyers fans can be “cautiously optimistic.”

Utley to First?

9/15/14

The rumor going around is that Phillies second baseman, Chase Utley could be moving to first base. Hearing this news is relieving, considering the rumors that were going around earlier this season. Before the trade deadline, we all thought that Chase was going to be traded. This was heartbreaking for me. Chase, yes all Phillies fans are on a first name basis with him, has been my favorite baseball player since 2004. That is ten years of me having the pleasure to watch him give it his all, 100% percent of the time. He is a great role model when it comes to sports. On game days, he gets to the ball park seven hours prior to the game. During this time, he studies video of the pitcher he will be facing that night. He also goes through an intense stretching ritual for his knees, which are plagued with cartilage damage. He never gives up and it is amazing to see. He also will never admit that he is an amazing player. The Phillies need him in the club house. Chase has experience playing first base in the past. I like the idea of moving him there. This means that the up-and-coming Cody Asche can start training to be the starting second baseman. With Chase possibly moving to first, where will starting first baseman Ryan Howard go? In my opinion, it is time to release him.

Captain G!

9/10/14

Flyers fans, remember the beginning of the 2013-2014 season? Yeah, I like to block that out too. Captain Claude Giroux would agree with that statement. He did not score a single goal until the 16^th game of the season. For a superstar like Giroux (also known as G), or any player in fact, that is just plain frustrating. The slow start by him and his team caused the firing of head coach, Peter Laviolette. It also caused Giroux a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, which everyone would argue that by the time the Olympics rolled around, Giroux should have been on that team. Despite the terrible start of the season, G ended up with 86 points and finished third in scoring! He also won the Hart trophy which is given to a Flyers player that shows the most heart and dedication on the ice. I’m telling you, one he broke out of that slump last year, it was amazing to watch what he did on the ice. He scored from every possible angle. I will never forget the spin-o-rama backhand goal that he scored against Columbus, putting them in the lead with about a minute left to go. In fact, I just had to look it up again because I love watching it. Coming into this season, G is still upset about the Game 7 playoff loss against the Rangers. It was a heartbreaker. He wants to take this loss “as an experience.” Here’s to hoping that Captain G is ready to break out from the start.

Sorority Sport

9/9/14

This blog post is going to be a bit different than my last one. This one is about how sport communication personally impacted me recently. Over the weekend, I was involved with my chapter’s sorority recruitment. Sorority recruitment involves a lot of talking to many girls that may potentially join your chapter. I always get nervous about this, considering I am different than many of the girls, one of the reasons being that I have a strong love for sports. Even though I am the minority when it comes to a situation such as recruitment, I was able to make a few special connections with some of the girls this weekend. I did this through sport. Once we got past the questions such as “what is your major?” or “what brings you out to recruitment?” we got to know more about each other. One of my favorite things about my chapter that I like to brag about is how great our intramural teams are. Whether it’s football, soccer, or basketball, we always put together a great team. Bringing up a topic such as intramurals usually leads to talking about sport. I specifically remember this happening with at least five of the girls I talked to. Even though five is nothing compared to how many girls in total I spoke to, it is enough to make special connections, and to have an impact in another girl’s life. Now they know that they won’t be the only one who likes sports in their sorority. The best part of how sport communication affected my recruitment experience this weekend was how I related with this one girl. She started talking about how she was missing the Redskins game that day for recruitment. I totally related with her because, like her, I was missing the Eagles game (don’t worry, I kept checking the score in between parties.) I just felt like this was a good thing to blog about, because it really shows how far sport communication can go.

NHL Expansion? Bettman Says No

9/4/14

There has been a lot of rumors going around lately that the NHL will be expanding. Reports say that the league is looking to expand in Quebec City, Las Vegas, and Seattle. They are also interested in placing a second team in Toronto. This all would be done by the year 2017. Now, before you get all excited about the possibility of more professional hockey games to watch, the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, wants to put all of these silly rumors to rest. Bettman doesn’t believe that the league is in need of expansion. In an interview he said, “ Our franchises have never been healthier. Our league, in terms of its economic footing, has never been healthier.” Personally, I am not a fan of Gary Bettman. The two NHL lockouts I have been through during my hockey fan-life were way too difficult for me. However, I do agree with him when it comes to the expansion of the NHL. If there were to be four more teams added, I believe that it would take away from the competition of the game. Think about it. There will be so many more players needed for the expanded league. How good could all of the needed players possibly be?

Phillies Fans Have a Reason to Smile Again

9/1/2014

For my first post on here, I’m going to talk about some exciting Phillies news! The word exciting has been used sparingly this season, may I add. Today was different. Today the Phillies completed a combined no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves. It was the twelfth combined no-no in Phillies franchise history. Even though the Phillies are last in their division, it was still a great accomplishment that put smiles on the players’ and fans’ faces. Cole Hamels had a dazzling start, going six innings without giving up a hit. Next up on the mound was Jake Diekman, followed by Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon. In a humble post-game interview, Hamels said that he did not have as much control as he would have liked during his six innings. When asked if he had any “butterflies” watching the game, Hamels stated that “I had a lot of confidence in these guys, (Diekman, Giles and Papelbon) I think it’s just really fun to see the pitching staff as a whole, because the bullpen has been lights out.” It sure is exciting, especially watching how animated Ken Giles gets when he strikes a player out! The thrill of this game is still with me. Even though I am not in the city to see the reactions of many Phillies fans, I still have my cousins texting me about it, and my dad calling me to make sure that I have the game on. I believe good things will follow for the Phillies.