More Gay Media Fail, More Flyers Annoyance

Okay, I don't want to keep picking on writers for gay media outlets when they delve into the world of sports. (Of course, I'm talking about the mainstream outlets and not sites like Outsports or Wide Rights.) Whether it's just that this particular writer isn't that familiar with sports, or is trying to dumb down the article to try and appeal to an audience that isn't sports-friendly or sports-knowledgable, I don't know. But this article from the Philadelphia Gay News about Flyers' scout Patrick Burke, brother of Brendan Burke, regarding Patrick's advocacy on behalf of LGBT issues, has a flaw. The beginning of the article refers to Patrick Burke as "a recruiter for the Philadelphia Flyers," as does the headline. Ummmm, no. He's a scout, not a recruiter. Colleges recruit athletes. Professional teams don't.

(Well, I suppose the process of signing high-priced free agents is a form of recruitment, but that is handled by front-office personnel much higher up the food chain.)

Meanwhile, the article mentions the Wayne Simmonds incident...

Flyers player Wayne Simmonds was criticized for allegedly using a slur during a game that was caught on camera, although, because there was no sound on the video, he did not face a fine or other repercussions, as some other professional sports players have.

Burke noted that he has never spoken with Simmonds — or most other Flyers players, as he is based in Boston and his role as a scout keeps him on the road most of the season.

He said he could not comment on the specific incident because of legalities but did say that the NHL’s follow-up is an important, yet often overlooked, addition to the story.

“The NHL released a statement in the aftermath where they announced that going forward the league would treat gay slurs in the same way they do racist comments. They took a firm stance that gay slurs are not acceptable,” Burke said. “That got lost in everything else that was going on, but I think it was a very important statement and one that other leagues are now starting to follow up with. But I think the NHL is well ahead of some other leagues in encouraging diversity and a safe atmosphere for gay athletes.”

I don't think the league's follow-up has been overlooked. I think the entire story has been overlooked.

Flyers Follow Up Classic With Debacle

The national overnight TV ratings for the 2010 NHL Winter Classic dropped 10.3 percent from last year's game, back to the figure achieved by the first New Year's Day outdoor game in 2008. It might seem surprising that the local ratings here were much lower than in Boston: while the game got a 14.4 rating and a 29 share there, in Philadelphia the rating was only 6/11, behind both the Penn State-LSU bowl game and (this is the shocker to me) the Mummers Parade.

I think there were two factors in the lower rating here, one being that the game was played in Boston. Had it been played in or near Philadelphia (such as at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, as has been proposed) there would have been a lot more local hype, which would have led to more interest. The main reason, however, has to be the season the Flyers are having, as evidenced by yesterday's ugly game in Ottawa.

The Flyers had a four-game winning streak snapped at Fenway Park on Friday, but they got a point since it went to overtime and they didn't play badly. They wasted a lot of scoring chances, botching 2-on-1 breaks a number of times. But they got away from what was working for most of the game, and when a questionable penalty call gave Boston a late power play, you knew the 1-0 lead wouldn't stand up. The Bruins' OT winner may have been helped by having too many men on the ice when they scored.

Still, it wasn't a bad effort. Unfortunately, they followed it up by allowing 4 first-period goals after taking an early 1-0 lead. The Flyers actually rallied to tie the game in the second period, but proceeded to give up 3 more goals in the third period to lose 7-4. I assume these guys were on the same line yesterday because the plus-minus figures are ridiculous: Claude Giroux -6, Simon Gagne -5, Mike Richards -4. It's games like this that lead me to be increasingly pessimistic about the Flyers' chances of even getting into the playoffs, let alone winning a Stanley Cup.

Flyers' 09-10 schedule includes Winter Classic

Every year there's one day when a team officially releases its schedule for the upcoming season. Today was that day for the Flyers and the rest of the National Hockey League. The biggest news of the day was the official announcement that the Flyers will play the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park (a baseball park, for those who may not know) in the 2010 Winter Classic, the league's new showcase event, on New Year's Day. This will be the third year that the NHL will take a game outdoors for January 1st; the first two were hugely successful.

I always like to look at the road schedule in particular, because if the Flyers are playing in a particular location and I have friends there (or just if it's not far away, such as Newark, NJ, where the New Jersey Devils play in a new arena that's right next to the Amtrak station) , I think about how fun it would be to visit them and see the game. (I do this for the Phillies and Eagles as well.) Of course, this is all a huge fantasy right now because of a lack of money.

So here's the list of road games I'll be seeing if I should win the Poweball lottery between now and October:

At Boston: Dec. 14, Jan. 1
At Buffalo: Nov. 6, Mar. 5
At Dallas: Mar. 18
At Minnesota: Feb. 6
At Nashville: Mar. 16
At New Jersey: Oct. 3, Dec. 12, Feb. 10
At Ottawa: Jan. 3, Mar. 23
At NY Islanders: Nov. 25, Dec. 27, Apr. 1
At NY Rangers: Dec. 30, Mar. 14, Apr. 9
At Phoenix: Nov. 21
At San Jose: Nov. 20
At Toronto: Jan. 14, Apr. 6
At Washington: Oct. 27, Jan. 17

In case I don't win a huge jackpot, the following are highly encouraged ;-) to send me plane tickets:

• anyone from a location listed above who knows me
  
• anyone from a location I didn't list because I've somehow forgotten you
• anyone living in any location who doesn't know me but would like to
• anyone else.

I think that covers everyone. ;-)