Some Rambling Random And Shirtless Stuff

I've got a few things that popped through my head recently that fit into the TLFT (Too Long For Twitter) category, so I figured lumping them together into a single blog post would work...

• When did songs like "Sleigh Ride," "Winter Wonderland" and especially "Baby It's Cold Outside" become Christmas music? There's nothing about Christmas in any of them. I'm not complaining. Would the beautiful voice of Annie Lennox have ever been heard singing "Winter Wonderland" if not for the holiday connection? I just got to wondering how it happened. Who was the first person to link these songs to Christmas? A singer, record producer or radio DJ, perhaps?

• On Christmas morning there was still tons of leftover snow from the storm 6 days earlier. Except for the areas shoveled -- paths along the sidewalk, people's driveways and some parking spots, and the part of the street that was plowed -- snow was piled up all over the place. The next day, virtually all of it was gone. Thanks to a soaking rain that started Christmas evening and temperatures that soared into the 50s the next day, you would never know that we had 23.1 inches of snow (the official total, although in my neighborhood I think it was more like 14 or 15 inches, which is, believe it or not, a lot more manageable) a little over a week ago.

• Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is my favorite non-Flyers player. I love the fact that he's not just a goal-scorer. He doesn't shy away from hard hits or complain to the referees about them (unlike a certain whiny Pittsburgh Penguin); in fact, he revels in the physical aspect of the game. It does concern me that some of those hits lately have trended towards being dirty, and he recently received a two-game suspension for one such hit. I hope he reins himself in enough without completely losing that component of the game. Meanwhile, he was kind enough to pose shirtless for a Russian publication. Should we be concerned that he seems to have a tramp stamp on his lower back?

• I have an ethical dilemma. Would it be wrong for me to wish that my TV would die? I really want to join the HDTV age but I can't justify the expense, especially with my finances in their present state, unless the old TV dies. It's over 10 years old now (I've had it at least as long as I've been in my house, if not longer) and stubbornly refuses to die! Is there any way I could throw a brick through the screen and make it look like an accident?
  

Strong start for the Flyers

I still can't quite get around the fact that it's fall, the NFL and college football have been in full swing for weeks, and now it's hockey season. Where does the time go? At any rate, the Flyers began the 2009-10 season with 2 fine road wins. Last night's 2-0 win at Carolina was followed by tonight's 5-2 win at New Jersey. Beating Martin Brodeur and the Devils has been difficult over the years, so to get 5 goals off him (in his 1,000th career game, no less) is very nice. And if the info I'm getting from the post-game show on TV is correct, it's the first time in about a decade that the Flyers have started a season with two wins.

Prior to the season I was skeptical about the additions of Chris Pronger (due to his age and how much he'll count against the salary cap) and Ray Emery (due to his various team-disruption issues). But the Flyers' retooled defense, anchored by Pronger, looks much more secure than it has in recent years, and Emery has been very strong. These two games don't exactly end my skepticism. After all, Pronger is still getting up there and there's plenty of time for Emery to self-destruct. But so far, so good.

The Flyers start the home portion of their schedule with games on Tuesday and Thursday against two Eastern rivals, the Washington Capitals (featuring the awesome Alexander Ovechkin) and Pittsburgh Penguins (featuring the whiny Sidney Crosby). If anyone has extremely inexpensive (or better yet, free) tickets for me, please get in touch.