Phightins

Well the sign falling is irrelevant, but it is not a good thing if structural issues are popping up all over the stadium, haha.

Well, up until the last month or so, Leighton hasn't really been regarded as anything up a fringe NHL goaltender, and the pessimist in me is still waiting for the shoe to drop with him and for him to start playing like the career-AHL guy he has always been. Obviously with Ray Emery likely done for the season, I pray this doesn't happen. Also, apparently the Predators asked for Ryan Parent AND Braydon Coburn for Dan Hamhuis. Easy to see why the Flyers turned that down. I'd be fine with trading one of the two (preferably Coburn) and a draft pick but both is crazy for a guy who is good but will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Some of the Flyers writers I follow on Twitter still seem to think a trade might happen before tonight's game.

http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/landing?Iverson-Finished-for-the-Season=1&blockID=189213&feedID=704 We all knew it was probably coming, but now it is official...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/mets_lost_at_lsZU4pO5WXtJIAZQQY4TbP This isn't the first I have read about potential structural issues, though.

I heard the Mets are already having problems with Citi Field. Lots of cracking concrete, mold, other random structural issues, and today part of the big "Citi Field" sign fell down. Hopefully everything works out alright...as much as I dislike the Mets I loved Citi Field.

I really didn't think Boucher was bad at all when he was "the guy". He just happened to be in there when the rest of the team was complete and utter garbage, hence why his record is so bad. Just sort of rotten luck for Boucher that Leighton stepped in when he was hurt and was lights out.

Plus, Ryan Miller should still be good at that point unless he falls off the face of the earth, and Jonathan Quick is only 24 and getting better by the year.

Ok...after waiving Cote and putting Emery on IR the Flyers are now just about $2 million under the cap. So I think if they want to make a trade of importance, they are still going to need to lose some salary. Not really sure what that could possibly be, without completely [expletive]ing with the core of the team.

I agree. The NHL postseason is absolutely my favorite postseason of any sport.

Also... I heard this game had a higher television rating than any World Series game since 2004, any Final Four game ever, and any NBA Finals game since 1998. Here is to hoping that some of this carries over to the NHL. Hopefully some of the casual hockey fans (or non-hockey fans who just happened to watch) realize that the NHL postseason is just as exciting. It's really a shame that the NHL isn't on ESPN anymore. There are so many people who do not get Versus.

I agree with ECN. I was very, very impressed with team USA. There were at least 4 teams with far more talent than them, yet they still won silver, as well as beating Canada once and taking them to OT another time. Very impressive. Brian Burke did a fantastic job putting this team together. Great blend of skill, size, and grit. And having the best goaltender in the NHL didn't hurt either. Hopefully James van Riemsdyk can lead team USA to gold in 2014!

Interesting... Looks like a trade will be happening today. Flyers put Ray Emery on IR and waived Riley Cote. Apparently Holmgren told Cote he'd only waive him if he had to clear cap space for a trade, so there we have it. Not sure who it might be, but there is speculation it might be Dan Hamhuis.

With as good as this Olympic hockey tournament was, I certainly hope they continue to allow NHL players to compete. I understand the owner's frustrations though. The NFL just ended, it is time for their sport to take some of that spotlight, and all of a sudden they are taking a three week break. Also, the compressed schedule sucks for everybody, and you know the NHL can't be happy about losing the All Star Game during Olympic years. But with that said, the positive (the fantastic hockey we saw over the past 2 weeks) far outweighs all of those negatives, IMO. I think hockey is the only sport this really is an issue with. Basketball is in the Summer Olympics, so there is no conflict with the NBA season, MLB players would never be able to compete in the Summer Olympics due to the 162-game schedule and the fact that they are playing every day, and football is not in the Olympics. So no, I have no problem with professional athletes competing in the Olympics, it is just a matter of conflicts with the pro leagues. The NHL is the only league that has to deal with this.

Blowdeur....I like it lol. I will have to remember that one.

Hopefully this will fire Mike Richards up for the rest of the season. I don't think I have ever seen him play as hard for a full 60+ minute hockey game this season as he did tonight. It'd be nice if he starts doing that for the Flyers!

That was a hell of a game and a hell of a tournament. Some of the best hockey you will see was played over the past 2 weeks.

That goal was 100% Mike Richards.

Well, no matter what happens today, it has been a great Olympics for USA hockey. Pretty cool to see hockey be the main sport on ESPN for the last week or so. Worst case, USA loses and gets silver, which is a hell of a lot more than most people expected going in. But with that said, a win today would be sweet.

Well, separating them would really be the only point of realigning. So if they aren't separated, I don't think any realignment will happen. But I am personally happy with it as it is. I like having 16 teams in one league and 14 in the other, which means teams only play teams in their own league except for during the interleague period. If there are 15 in each, that means at least one NL team will have to be playing an AL team at all points of the season, which would also mean that both leagues would probably have to have the same rules as far as DHs/pitchers hitting. So, as far as those aspects, I like things as they are set up now. But then again, I'm not an Orioles or Jays fan, haha. I am sure they would kill for the East to get split up.

Owned!!!

Haha, that would actually be the main purpose, to help out them and the Orioles.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/rosenthal-realignment-proposal-022510 To summarize, Ken Rosenthal seems to think that when Major League Baseball gets a new CBA in 2011, Bud Selig will push hard for divisional realignment, and perhaps even something more radical, completely realigning the leagues. Rosenthal thinks the main focus would be to split up the Yankees and Red Sox, to help with competitive balance. They may also take a team from the NL Central and put them in the AL West, which would even things at 15 teams per league. That would also mean that there would be at least one interleague series going on at all times, which will likely mean either completely abolishing the designated hitter, or forcing National League teams to add it. Anyway, Rosenthal proposes a few possible ideas. It does sound a bit ridiculous to mess with the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry by putting them in different divisions, but it honestly does make a bit of sense. And it's not like Major League Baseball will suffer as a result. People will still go to the games and watch games on TV, nothing will change, there will just be fans complaining about Bud Selig [expletive]ing with baseball lore. I am really not sure how I feel about this, but at least it makes for good conversation!

I know that +/- is relatively insignificant in basketball, but when you have the worst +/- on the team pretty much every game, it starts to become significant, to me anyway. To no surprise, Lou Williams led the way with a -11 last night.

Halladay vs. Sabathia on Thursday.

It is going to be very tough indeed, but definitely can be done. Canada has not impressed me at all this entire tournament, with the exception of the Russia game. And every single ounce of pressure will be on them. USA can definitely do it, especially with Ryan Miller in there.