NHL Stadium Series: Players 'completely worn out' playing on 120-yard-long rink

Philadelphia--Saturday's NHL Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field marked the first outdoor NHL game with a rink as long as the football field (including the end zones) beneath the ice. The teams were clearly spent by the end of the first period."Playing on a rink that long is ridiculous," said Flyers captain Claude Giroux. "That's nearly double the size of a normal rink. It's too much. It was comical." The NHL approved the longer rink in order to "draw more NFL fans to improve television ratings." The exhausted hockey players also somehow found the energy to perform elaborate group celebrations after scoring goals. "My favorite celebration was when [the Flyers] pretended to drill a hole in the ice and use their sticks to go ice fishing ," said one young fan.

Eagles credit Gritty's fiery pregame 'speech' for victory over Rams

Los Angeles--Yes, that was Gritty, the Flyers wacky new mascot, on the Eagles' sideline at the Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night. The Orange blob of hair was personally invited to the game by head coach Doug Pederson in an effort to 'spark the team to victory.' "I was just about to address the team before taking the field and coach told me to 'zip it' because we have a special guest here in LA," said QB Nick Foles. "All of the sudden Gritty walks in and just gives a very intense and inspiring routine...without saying a word. Guys were going nuts." Pederson stood in the corner of the locker room and took in the scene. "I was amped up," said the coach. "Gritty came in and you should have seen the faces on the players. Gritty's eyes said it all when they moved independently of each other: go out there and beat the Rams and keep your season alive. Be wacky and wild." Several players said their kids were going to be very jealous. Pederson laughed during the postgame press conference when he revealed that the bright orange mascot was actually on the flight with the team to LA, but was wearing a disguise so that no one would recognize him. "He had an exit row seat," said the coach, "and was wearing glasses and a fake mustache."

Unclear if frustrated Flyers fans derisively chanting Hextall or Hakstol

Lindros to enter Hall of Fame as Quebec Nordique

Scheduling conflict: Andrea Bocelli concert to be played between 2nd & 3rd periods of Stanley Cup Final game 3

San Jose, CA--After eighteen hours of intense negotiations, recording artist Andrea Bocelli and the NHL's San Jose Sharks came up with a compromise to the scheduling conflict at the SAP Center for Saturday, June 4. Bocelli is scheduled to perform at the nearly 18,000-seat arena on this night, but the deep playoff run by the Sharks into the Stanley Cup Final--their first-ever appearance--now has the team hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on the same date. The two sides have agreed to both play in the center on the same night. At the conclusion of the second period, hockey fans will exit the building to make way for Bocelli concert ticketholders. The Italian tenor will play for thirty-five minutes, then, after a likely extended encore, the SAP will be emptied again for Sharks fans to re-enter for the third period. "It will probably be about an hour and fifteen minutes of intermission time," said one nervous NHL official. "It's going to be tricky, but we'll pull it off."

New Flyers coach makes first big change: wear full face shield or lose your scholarship

Flyers GM Hextall says new phone cord definitely longer than previous phone cord

NHL noticing media attention given to Deflategate, 'will likely' move to inflatable pucks

New York--Could the NHL move to inflatable pucks? Reports out of the Big Apple seem to think that the league is "blown away" by the media circus that deflategate has spurred around the NFL and "wants a piece of the action." An NHL puck is one inch thick, three inches across and about six ounces in weight. A move to an inflatable puck would dramatically reduce the weight and nearly double the dimensions, but the league wants higher television ratings and more media spotlight. Controversy over the proper inflation of a puck could provide exactly that. "Maybe we could have our own deflategate," said one NHL official. "We could use the same 12.5 to 14.5 psi thing that the NFL has. Maybe [Sidney] Crosby likes them at 11.5 psi and reporters from all over the world question him about how he may have let some air out. I'm just blown away by the media hype from [deflategate]. Just blown away."

Stanley Cup Final: Mark Messier guarantees a game four, not a victory, but just that a game four will be played

The former Rangers captain, who once promised a game six victory over the New Jersey Devils in the 1994 semi-finals, swears he made the guarantee 'before the series even started.'

Flyers to stick with Berube, but dismiss team's longtime Zamboni driver to 'give club a much needed spark'

Ed Snider, Comcast Spectacor chairman, assured the veteran ice resurfacer that it wasn't anything specific he did, but that a second person had to take the fall for the club's continued slow start to the season. "We can't fire another coach just yet, but someone had to be fired," said Snider. "Oh, we're definitely going to fire [Craig] Berube, but we just can't do it yet. I mean, how would that look? For God's sake, we're living in a society."

Bryzgalov on Flyers missing playoffs: 'It's just very, very disappointed. The whole situation is very not sexy.'

Siren song of the Barclays Center: Devils, Rangers, Knicks moving to Brooklyn

Brooklyn--Move over Nets. Watch your step Islanders. A few new housemates are moving in. The brand new Barclays Center is apparently the place to be these days in the metropolitan New York sporting world.

Several months ago, the Islanders announced they would move from Nassau County to Brooklyn beginning in 2015. The team was unable to secure a new, much-needed facility on the Island. (Technically, Brooklyn is on the western tip of Long Island, so...)

Yesterday, the Devils, Rangers, and Knicks all announced plans to move from their current home arenas to Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City's most populous borough with 2.5 million people (roughly the same size as Chicago).

The Devils move from Newark may be the most surprising of the three teams given that the Prudential Center, the team's home stadium, was completed only in 2007. The Prudential Center was meant to keep the team in New Jersey for "a friggin' longtime."

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called the Devils' move "cowardly," but added that his focus was still on Superstorm Sandy recovery. Christie said that once Sandy work was complete he would attempt to lure the Phoenix Coyotes to North Jersey.

Pretty sneaky, sis: NHL uses new four-division realignment plan to inform several teams league is contracting

Flyers ready for franchise's first day-night doubleheader in Florida

Sunrise, FL--The Philadelphia Flyers, already depleted by injuries and looking up in the standings, face a tough stretch in the schedule, including today's day-night doubleheader, the first in franchise history. However, it is not the only day-night double header of the season, it is merely the first of four--an unfortunate and unavoidable consequence of the lock-out-shortened, 48-game NHL schedule. After a 1 p.m. game today against the Florida Panthers the team will board a one-hour flight from Miami to Tampa for an 8 p.m. contest with the Lightning. "It's tough but you just psych yourself up and do what you have to do," said first-year captain Claude Giroux. Coaches and players expressed that the main concern was if the first game went into overtime or a shootout, delaying the arrival in Tampa. All thirty NHL teams will play at least three doubleheaders this year, while twelve teams play six, the maximum the league would allow. "The health of our players comes first," said Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner. "However, we needed to cram in games during days and times that were not ideal, and that, unfortunately, included scheduling many doubleheaders." The Flyers will fly from Tampa immediately following the game tonight to New York for a 10 a.m. Sunday matchup tomorrow morning with the Rangers.

Seeking 'any publicity whatsoever,' NHL claims full responsibility for Te'o hoax

"Yeah, it was all us," said one NHL official. "Our bad. We did it. Yep, the whole thing. We're very sorry. Now, just show our logo everywhere and mention the NHL all over the place and we can all move on."

NHL Lockout over: Not all players thrilled with new four-blade skate requirement

The move allows players to wear sneakers with the skates, which, league officials say, will increase comfort and safety exponentially for the high-flying athletes. Others claim it will slow down the game exponentially. "Yeah, I've used four-blade skates before ... when I was six-years-old," said one NHL right winger. "Yes, it's very comfortable, but, man, is it slow. You're basically running."

ESPN secures rights to air NHL-NHLPA CBA negotiations, expecting much higher ratings than actual NHL games

NBA saves Winter Classic: Raptors to play Pistons outdoors at Michigan Stadium on New Year's Day

Detroit, MI--The two cities originally slated for the NHL's cancelled January 1st Winter Classic, Toronto and Detroit, will now have their respective NBA teams, the Raptors and Pistons, attempt to play an outdoor basketball game in front of more than 100,000 fans at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. NBA commissioner David Stern denies the move is "kicking hockey when it's down," but instead argues the game is giving NHL fans a chance to "become better NBA fans and leave hockey for good." Because of legal reasons, the NBA cannot refer to the match up as the Winter Classic, but, after careful research and market testing, has decided to name the spectacle the Cold Weather Classic. (The other name finalist: The Colder Season Between Fall and Spring Classic.) The Pistons and Raptors have a combined eleven wins this season, but holding the game between two bad teams outside, in possible snow and wind, is expected to sell plenty of tickets.

N.H.L Lockout: Should out-of-work Zamboni drivers be operating school buses during work stoppage?

New York--The N.H.L. lockout continues to drag on, threatening the 2012-'13 season and economically impacting thousands. The trickle-down effect of the labor dispute has put players, coaches, officials, cotton candy vendors, concession stand workers, security guards, agents, parking attendants, and even Zamboni drivers out of work or has dramatically reduced working hours.

Zamboni drivers. What does an N.H.L. Zamboni driver do when there is no need for Zamobi-ing-ing?

Cliff Cargill, the Zamboni driver for the Flyers for the past eighteen years, has been out of pro hockey work since the lockout began. Fortunately, he has been able to make up for a few of his lost hours on the Wells Fargo Center ice with a part-time job on week nights driving the Zamboni at Gary's Ice Rink & Roll in Lansdowne, Pa, a venue catering to peewee ice hockey games during the week and roller skating on the weekends. (Yes, the patrons attempt to roller skate on ice. It is quite the sight and worth the $20 entrance fee.)

However, most of Cargill's income during the unscheduled break comes from driving a school bus for the School District of Philadelphia.

There's a slight problem, though. Cargill, 53, a South Philadelphia native who has been without a car since he was 20-years-old, has also been without a valid driver's license since that time, too. So, how on earth is Cargill driving a school bus filled with young children?

"Cliff has been a model driver for the District for the past two months," said Dana Halpert, the District's assistant superintendent managing director. "His background is driving on ice, which probably makes him overqualified for the position. Neither Cliff nor the District has committed any wrong doing, as a Zamboni license is an acceptable document verifying proficiency in operating a motor vehicle."

That is correct. The public transit- and bicycle-dependent Cargill, who has not driven an automobile in nearly thirty-three years, secured the bus driving job with a Zamboni license. A Zamboni license! The district was dangerously short on drivers this school year and allowed Cargill to use the "ice license" in place of an automobile license, which is permitted by the District and by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

It must be noted that Zamboni licenses are not distributed in cereal boxes or found at the bottom of Pringles cans, as the process to certification is rigorous and must be renewed every eighteen months at the Zamboni Academy and Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. The initial exam consists of an intense ten-hour multiple choice, essay, and short-answer computer test, followed by a six-hour behind-the-wheel hands-on test. The renewal is five hours and three hours, respectively.

Nonetheless, Cargill has not driven a vehicle on the road for quite some time and there are differences--like, the difference between eastern Washington state apples and western Washington state apples--from driving the ice smoothing machine.

"I can do circles no problem," laughed the father of three, who literally drove a bus in circles in the vast parking lots at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex to prepare for the job. "My bus route is mostly circular, but when I have to make a right and then a left--or vice versa--I get somewhat disoriented. But, I'm working on that."

Cargill also says he gets very anxious and disappointed when he drives over pot holes with the bus, looks in the rear-view or side-view mirror, and sees that the pot hole is still there. "That's one part of the job I don't think I'll ever get used to. The Zamboni takes care of all ice 'pot holes.'"

Parents of the school children riding the bus have, for the most part, supported the driver despite the lack of hours behind the wheel of the big yellow bus. "I'm a big Flyers fan, I mean, huge. I have all orange and black in my row house windows. So, if I get to tell my friends and family that the Zamboni driver for the Flyers takes my kid to school, than I'm not too concerned about what kind of experience he's got," said Donna Scioli of Shunk Street, wearing an autographed Jaromir Jagr jersey.

Nationals win N.L. East: City goes absolutely, er, D.C. Police put on high, er, Montreal fans take to streets ... because of N.H.L. lockout?