Should Richards Have Been Suspended?

Mike Richards is my favorite Flyer. He is my favorite Flyer since Keith Primeau, and before that probably John LeClair and Brian Propp (I still hate Chris Chelios). I'm usually pretty quick to defend the team, even though I've seen three cup finals, all losses, in my life.

Should Richie have been suspended for his hit on David Booth on Saturday? In a word, probably. Richards had his elbow down and tucked, and he wasn't taking any additional strides, but it appeared he left his feet and ended up hitting a guy in the jaw with his shoulder, knocking Booth out before he even hit the ice.

Richards probably should have been suspended, but only in a world where the NHL knew what they were doing (see Phoenix/Hamilton Coyotes).

The reason they can't suspend Richards is because they didn't suspend Dion Phaneuf for his hit on Kyle Okposo, and because of Scott Stevens making a HOF career out of head hunting. The link is from Sportcenter's "Top 10 Scott Stevens Hits." All but #10 are hits very similar, some worse than Richards' or Phaneuf's hits. Of course we (Flyer Fans) remember #1 vividly, when he basically ended Lindros' career.

There have been countless other hits all over the NHL that were "legal" but incredibly dangerous. The league had a chance to make a rule against hits to the head, much like the OHL did, but they didn't. SO....they can't have it both ways. It's not the NHL's fault for not suspending these guys, but they do hold the blame for not taking the reigns and trying to protect its players' health.

I played hockey, and I loved to hit hard. I took my share of shots too. I was made to look like Sami Kapanan once, stumbling all over the ice trying to get to the bench after being caught with my head down crossing the blue line with the puck in my skates. I'm not one of these "Penguin/New NHL fans" that like the touch fouls called like it is the last 2 minutes of an NBA game. I love seeing guys rocked into the boards with hard shoulder checks, but there is nothing fun about seeing a player laid out motionless on the ice like David Booth was, no matter what team you cheer for.

However, until the NHL wants to put it in writing, they can't suspend some and glorify others. That is what we in the world outside of NHL league office like to call arbitrary.

Until then, keep your head up.

Flyers Break the Ice on Winter Classic Jersey

It is finally hockey season! The rookies are capping off rookie camp today with a scrimmage against the Washington Capital rookies at the SkateZone in Voorhees. Veterans officially report tomorrow, but a few were on hand today to unveil the jersey that will be worn during the NHL Winter Classic, January 1st against the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park.

Simon Gagne, Braydon Coburn, and Danny Briere shot pucks at an ice sculpture branding the flying P, breaking away the ice and revealing the new threads.

Following the trend set by the Winter Classic alumni Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Redwings, the Flyers are going with the retro look, bringing back the 1967 "road" white jerseys. Of course the Flyers debut the throwback orange jerseys last year, which have since become their official home sweater.

The WC jersey is white, with the bright orange band across the waist and down the shoulder. The NHL Winter Classic patch is on the right chest. The most noteworthy thing about the jersey is the black name plate with white letters on the back, similar to the white plate that dons the orange jerseys. One would think that the plate should be orange, but with white letters, the names could be tough to read. I would assume that the socks are white with a single orange band around the middle. I have to be honest, I'm a little disappointed that they didn't go with the "Cooperalls."

The Bruins will unveil their jersey next week.

More on the Flyers in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping to get to training camp this weekend.

Plaxico Gets Jail Time

I'll make this short because frankly, I don't care, but Plaxico Burress struck a deal with the D.A. that earned him a 2 year jail sentence.

Two years seems a little steep, since Donte Stallworth received 28 days for running a pedestrian over on a freeway while intoxicated, but Plax wanted to be gangsta.

I understand that athletes who go to clubs become targets for robbery, his teammate Steve Smith was robbed at gunpoint days later, but be smart about it. Guys who have so much to lose have such a liaise fare attitude about the decisions they make.

If he had registered his gun, and gotten a license to carry, he would've gotten off with a bullet wound in his own leg.

Now he'll be in jail for 2 years, at the peak of his career. But it's aight, he's gangsta.

Happ vs Pedro

Ok, so the Fightins didn't get Roy Halladay, but did get Cliff Lee, for a much cheaper price. *Applause*

I have to hand it to Ruben, because Lee is a fantastic pitcher as we've already seen and if the rain clears we'll get to see him again at CBP today. Sure I pushed for Halladay, but I didn't really think that Lee would be available. It is hard to complain about the reining AL Cy Young who went 22-3 last year. His record is not great this year, but think about this; In Lee's first 8 losses, the tribe scored a total of 11 runs. Put down the calculators, it is 1.38 support runs per game.

Of course, it can't ALWAYS be sunny in Philly. With the addition of Lee, along with Pedro roaming the farm, the Phillies have six "starting pitchers." They are of course Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, J.A. Happ, and Martinez.

Someone has to go. A 6 man rotation doesn't work in today's Major Leagues. Too much rest can actually hurt a pitcher, feeling stronger and throwing harder and getting the ball up in the zone. The Phillies also don't have the typical power pitcher. They have guys who rely much on location, which requires feel, which requires them to go out on their normal 5th day.

Platooning the 5th & 6th guy doesn't work either, especially when they'd be Martinez and Moyer. Again, it goes back to having feel for the pitches, and the only thing that would be worse than 6 days rest would be 10 days.

The idea that has been getting the most air time has been to move one guy to the pen, and for whatever reason, that guy is J.A. Happ. Yes the J.A. Happ who is 8-2. The same Happ who is the team leader in ERA (not counting Lee's 1 start). The same ROY candidate that recently played the role of stopper, throwing his 2nd complete game shutout of the season against a pretty good Colorado lineup.

It makes the most sense, if you were to make Pedro a starter, to move Happ to the pen. It obviously isn't going to be Lee or Hamels. Blanton has been very good since he arrived in Philadelphia, hitting a rough patch early but has been terrific lately. Jamie Moyer does not have the skill set to come out of the pen. He is not a strikeout pitcher, who has to get a feel for the plate and the umpires strike zone to be effective.

I am not one of the people who believe that if you rearrange the letters of JA Happ, you can somehow manage to spell Koufax. However I do not think that the Phillies would be wise to put their most consistent starting pitcher in the bullpen for someone who has yet to prove themselves...AGAIN!

Sure, Park pitched well enough to get the job in the spring, but in all seriousness, who is Pedro? This is not 2003, when Martinez was one of the best in the game and body slamming Yankee bench coaches. While Happ was helping this team with spot starts and winning the World Series last year, Pedro was at home in the DR gaining weight, as a former MET pitcher who couldn't go past 5 innings. Charlie Manuel should not let this Prima Donna waltz into a starting job and demote Happ, who has earned the right to be there, just because Pedro Martinez has a certain future in the hall.

Pedro should earn his spot on this team by going to the bullpen. His skill set could make him productive coming out of the pen. He fanned 11 AA hitters in 6 innings last night, still giving up 3 earned runs. Pedro, along with Park, and maybe even Brett Myers should make a solid option should one of the starters get touched up early.

Jim Johnson

This is a bit overdue, so of course by now everyone knows that Eagles defensive mastermind Jim Johnson succombed to Melanoma last week.

He and his wife Vicky are great friends of my family. Jim would invite my dad to go golfing with him and some other Eagles assistants from time to time, and Vicky is very dear friend of my aunt. It was great, at the 2003 family christmas party, Vicky was there and absolutely incensed that Sheldon Brown was not part of the recently announced Pro Bowl selections.

I could go on about Jim as a football innovator, who blitzed with what seemed like reckless abandon, but in reality it was all controlled chaos. It made the Eagle teams of this decade a joy to watch.

However Jim Johnson was a terrific man, with apparantly a very dry sense of humor. I had the pleasure of meeting him one time in person. He had gotten me, my two brothers, and my dad field passes for the Sunday Night Dallas game 2 years ago. It was Dawk's first game back after missing 9 games from a neck stinger. We were standing behind the endzone when he came out of the tunnel, turned around to face the crowd, and in true Dawk fasion completely lost his mind. I turned to my brother to ask if he had gotten a picture and he said "no, I couldn't move, I was afraid he was going to punch me in the face."

The birds got crushed in that game. Jason Witten ran about 35 yards after the catch with no helmet on, and I'm pretty sure the Eagle's punt team led the time of possession battle. It was still so much fun. We were on the field at the Linc, following the play up and down the sidelines, my brother mingling with the cheerleaders. I also have a newfound appreciation for the hits.

Afterwards, I got to meet Jim and thank him for what was a really great night despite the loss. He shook my hand and apologized to me for having to see that performance.

One year in college, I had an assignment to interview a coach. While most of my classmates were calling up their old high school football coaches, I swung for the fence and called my dad. I asked if there was anyway at all that I could e-mail Jim some questions for my assignment. My dad called my aunt, who got Jim's direct line to the Nova Care complex from Vicky. He was expecting my call.

I was able to conduct a phone interview with Jim that I tried to keep short (he was game planning for Randy Moss that week) but he gave me all of the time I needed. He gave me very in depth answers about what it takes to coach, at any level - the ability and desire to teach, not just coach.

Jim made good on that principle. His pupil, Steve Spagnuolo, won the Super Bowl as the D Coordinator of the Giants. John Harbaugh made the play-offs in his first season as head coach of the Ravens. Of course Sean McDermott has the task of being Jim's successor in Philadelphia.

He also had his players selected to the pro-bowl 26 times. He also has a huge hand in the Hall of Fame career of Brian Dawkins.

Jim is going to be missed in so many facets of life.

Roy Halladay - Everything I've learned, I've learned from Cartoons

There was a David Murphy report that Jason Knapp, a 19 yr old pitching prospect in Lakewood went on the 7 day DL. It is also reported that Knapp is being called an "untouchable" prospect, meaning that Amaro wouldn't pick up the phone if the Jays wanted to include Knapp, whom at best will be major leage ready in 3-4 years, in a deal for arguably the #1 pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay.

There is a lot of debate about not selling out the future in order to win now. Let's put this in perspective:

We could have Roy Halladay, and all we have to do is go with the sure thing and not be tempted by what is in "the mystery box." Have we learned nothing from Peter Griffen? "A boats a boat but the mystery box could be anything. It could even be a boat! You know how much we've wanted one of those! We'll take the box!"

This isn't just about Knapp, but Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor as well. I would try and hold on to Taylor with Kung-Fu grip, but I understand that while these prospects could be Utley, Hamels, and Howard in a few years, they could be Randy Wolf, Brandon Duckworth, and Marlon Byrd (Byrd at one point was also labeled an "untouchable").

So instead of the sure thing in Halladay, people are suggesting we opt for two free tickets to a crappy comedy club.

Permission to come aboard.