THE DISCONNECT caused by rooting against Mike Richards and Chris Pronger during the Olympic gold-medal men's hockey game, now in the second period, is a keen reminder that in a couple of hours, Philadelphians will stop being Team USA fans and resume being Flyers fans. And that leads one to wonder which Flyers team we'll see as the NHL season gets back underway.
Continue reading "Gold-Medal Hockey Is Great, But It's Time to Wonder Which Flyers Team Will Show Up When the NHL Returns" »
The Flyers have shaken off a rough start and are tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers are scuffling a bit but not so far down that they can't reasonably harbor playoff aspirations. Yet their respective seasons are so, so long, and so damn many teams make the postseason in each sport that it's about impossible to invest any emotional capital in either squad.
I enjoy hockey well enough to watch an individual Flyres game for the sheer pleasure of it, but cannot discern any long-term meaning or satisfaction; it's merely a discrete event with little connection to the meaningful games in the springtime. As for the Sixers, pro hoops is such an ugly thing to see that I all but refuse to involve myself until the games count. The bad shooting, nonexistent defense, and indifferent play are just so opposite the precision and passion of the college game that I have no choice but to wait for the playoffs. The prospect of a Philadelphia-Charlotte tilt, say, in mid-December is simply too painful to contemplate.
Continue reading "The Meaningless Spectacle of December Games in the Wachovia Center" »
