I sit here with a bag of frozen peas strapped to my testicles and I’m thinking I must love you hooligan’s to try to be creative a couple hours after my vasectomy, sorry if I seem a bit testy today.

Another week another Flyer suspended, enough is enough let’s just play hockey boys.

I hate this 3 point game crap, the Leafs have 9 wins in 26 games but have 24 points, seriously that is bloody foolish.

The NHL is changing the schedule, thank God they finally have something right, rumours abound that it will be a 84 game schedule with less pre-season games, sounds good at first glance.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are crap, they have 4 great players, one of which is hurt and my beer league goalie Geoff Isley is better then either goalie they have, I’m not joking either.

Here’s a prediction,Cowboys beat the Colts in the Superbowl, yeah I know I’m nuts.

I wouldn’t want to be the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, the Skins will have a tear in their eye and some extra motivation, I don’t know what was going on in that young man’s life but anybody who gets killed from a bullet to the groin gets sympathy from me, rest in peace Sean Taylor.

AJ Feeley almost beat the Pats on a Monday night in New England, that would have been something to see. Donovan McNabb it is true you can go home again, enjoy being the starting QB of the Chicago Bears next year.

Special thanks to Tyler and the rest of his crew at www.nhldigest.com for enjoying some Saturday Morning Coffee, we serve it hot every Saturday.

Surprise of the week, stopped at a bar called The Duke and Duchess Wednesday night after hockey and had a couple pitchers of beer and when we went to pay the tab the owner Billy said “it’s on me boys.” You give me free beer you get a shout out in my blog, that’s a deal I can live with. They also serve deepfried pickles, I have no clue what the hell that is but the boys love them.

Sakic, Gonchar,Jason Williams,Frolov,Cammelleri and Chris Clark are all out this week with groin injuries, not sure if the ice is bad but that sure is a lot of fire power out with the same injury, that’s just NUTS.

Anybody have an extra suitcase? As of 6:09pm Friday night as I type this Mark Recchi is still a Penguin, by the time you read this he probably won’t be.

Markus Naslund is on fire baby, he is playing with the martian twins and having a great run. Great to see, Marcus always seemed like a good guy.

Draper hurts his knee and Maltby hurts his shoulder and they both miss a game for the 1st time in a long time, they always have each others backs but that seems to be taking it a bit far.

I need some new Christmas lights, should I go old school or kick it into high gear and get some of those crazy icicle lights?

I have a bag of cheesies for the weekend, I love them, they are by far the most underrated snack in my mind, seriously there are so many different types of cheesies and I love them all.

I have to give props to Danny Briere, Sabres fans told any of us who would listen that Briere was a product of there system and he would suck in Philly. Atta boy Danny, he has almost as many points as Gomez and Drury combined.

Watch out folks, Jagr is about to explode, his old running mate Straka is back and if you can trade for him in your hockey pool do it.

Coming soon to the Anaheim area, both Niedermayer boys, Scotty is coming back, take that to the bank.

Rest in peace Evil Knievel, he had many good jumps and bad jumps and some crazy things to say such as……….Women are the root of all evil, I ought to know, I’m Evel.

Luongo just recorded his 3rd shutout in row Thursday night and to think the Flyers turned down Pitkanen and Carter for him before he was moved to Vancover, ugh.

Well enough of my rambling I’m sure you folks have stuff to do, have a great weekend.

We may be smack dab in the middle of the hockey season, but it seems that Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is not done wheeling and dealing his way into rebuilding the Flyers franchise deep into the future.

The Flyers announced yesterday prior to their 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes that they have extended the contract of young defenseman Braydon Coburn by 2 years, and that those extra years will earn him $2.6 million. Holmgren has said that he would like to have signed him for a longer term, but it is currently difficult to discern his true market value because they anticipate his scoring will increase over the next couple years.

This is great news for the Flyers, who basically stole the big, yet speedy young D-man from the Atlanta Thrashers last February in exchange for Alexei Zhitnik. Coburn has shown some impressive maturity in his own zone, but even more exciting is the consistency with which he seems to find a recipient for his long outlet passes.

Coburn is also a top notch physical specimen, and was described by head coach John Stevens as the second fastest skater on the team, only outdone by Jeff Carter despite his 6’5″ frame. In fact, he was the first (by a large margin) to cross the finish line during a traning camp long-distance run back in September.

But Coburn is only the first of a number of players that Holmgren will seek to get under new contracts or extensions before the end of the season. A daunting task lies before Holmgren to find ways to lockup alot of crucial talent both before players become eligible to entertain offer sheets, and without creating a salary cap crisis.

Perhaps the most important of these players is Mike Richards, who has been without a doubt the Flyers’ most explosive force this season and could hit the market as an RFA next offseason. Expectations were high for Richards coming into his 3rd NHL season, but no one would have anticipated that after 24 games, he would be leading the Flyers in goals (14) , and be tied with Danny Briere for the team points lead (30). Richards was mostly seen as a checking line center that poses a good scoring threat. Instead, Richards has supplanted Jeff Carter as the team’s 2nd line center, while still showing a tremendous amount of defensive skill. Then add in his special teams play. Richards has taken on the pointman position on the power play, scored 4 goals with the man advantage, and is tied for 2nd in the NHL with 3 shorthanded goals. No wonder Holmgren has made him his top contract priority.

Another Flyers forward who is scheduled to hit RFA status in July is R.J. Umberger, who the Flyers originally signed as a free agent back in June of 2004. That seems like quite a bargain for Umberger, the 16th overall pick from the 2001 draft. But Umberger will likely be looking for a raise from the $1.25 million he is making this year. He has emerged as one of the Flyers’ premiere playmakers as he has piled up 11 assists so far, as well as 3 goals of his own. but R.J.’s defensive play is what makes him so valuable. Expect him to be sealed up before the end of the season.

Flyers captain Jason Smith will also almost certainly be resigned before the end of the season to keep him from becoming a UFA. Smith is making just under $2 million this year, and will command a sizable increase, especially considering his role as the Flyers’ emotional leader.

Randy Jones and Riley Cote may also have an impact on Holmgren’s decisions, especially Jones, who has rebounded nicely from a disappointing showing last season to be one of the Flyers most solid defenseman this year.

But the most intriguing case would be that of Jeff Carter. Carter is also scheduled to gain RFA status this summer, but it is not quite so immediately clear whether or not Holmgren will persue a new contract very soon. In fact, common thinking says that Holmgren just might allow Carter to hit the market and sign an offer sheet, rather than assume another top shelf contract for a young player. Carter has 8 goals and 5 assists this season, and that would be plenty after 24 games on almost any team to prove your worth. However, Richards’ explosion and better defensive play, as well as Umberger’s two-way game may end up making Carter a salary cap liability. Just a year ago, this was an almost unimaginable scenario, but because of the high salaries of a handful of top-tier players, and the expected big-time raise Richards will likely get, Carter may just turn into the next hot young commodity to hit the RFA list.

Alexandre Picard, Nate Guenin, and Stefan Ruzicka also could become RFA’s in July, but resigning those players should come relatively cheap and will likely not have a major impact on the Flyers salary cap, even if any of them are steadily on the roster next season.

And let’s not forget one more contract extension that is being contemplated…that of head coach John Stevens. Stevens certainly has his critics, and has been in the unenviable position of having to form team chemistry from absolute scratch with a totally retooled roster. But despite the criticism, Stevens has his team atop the Atlantic Division and in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. Quite an accomplishment considering where this club was a year ago, and one that makes his current contract worthy of a second look.

Scott Hartnell Suspended for Two Games

Scott Hartnell was hit today with a two game suspension after checking Boston defenseman Andrew Alberts into the boards. During the play Alberts was on his knees attempting to get control of the puck. Hartnell then hit him while he was on his knees causing Alberts to collapse near Boston’s blue line. Alberts laid on the ice for a few minutes before skating off under his own power.

After seeing the hit last night I didn’t think it was that bad of a hit. Granted, Hartnell should have tried to avoid hitting him but I guess when you’re going that fast you can’t really stop at will. I really thought that Hartnell was going to get a huge suspension somewhere along the lines of 10-15 games. I’m sure there are also tons of hockey fans out there calling for a fine for Stevens and the Flyers organization.  I really doubt that anything will be done to them but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. All in all I think the suspension fits the crime and not just because I’m a Flyers fan. I guess, if anything, there seems to be a bit of consistency now with suspensions.

Well folks another year has passed and another thanksgiving is in the record books. I certainly hope everyone had a good thanksgiving. I got to thinking today about a few things and what I’m thankful apart from the pretty standard stuff. Here’s a few or them.

I’m thankful for:

The Flyers being above .500!

Daniel Briere, Jason Smith and Kimo Timonen. Without these three new guys I’m pretty sure the Flyers wouldn’t be winning as much, if at all.

Mike Richards. What a force he is out on the ice. No words can describe how great he’s been playing.

Paramore. I’ve just started to listen to this band and I can’t stop! It will be interesting to see how they develop as artists if they make it really big.

Well there are a ton more things I’m thankful for but I can’ t think of any at the moment so that’s it for today. Have a good weekend everybody and Go Flyers!

Thoughts on the 1st quarter of the NHL season.

Brian Burke promised Bryzgalov that he would move him by this week so he could get a shot at being a #1 goalie somewhere. He put him on waivers so Bryzy could get his shot because he had no offers on the table, that is pure class keeping a promise like that.

The Leafs are a 3 ring circus, It is beyond belief.

Zetterberg is a MONSTER.

So is Vinny.

Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts have hung around too long, it is always sad to see great players hang around past the due date.

Gary Bettman still has no clue.

Patric Kane and Jonathon Toews are bringing sexy back, great to see the Hawks having a solid team again, that is good for the NHL and the city of Chicago.

The Coyotes are suppossed to be horrid and dead last, Gretzky has them playing some pretty good hockey, great to see.

Did I mention the Leafs are a fiasco? Thought so.

Kovalchuk is a machine.

Teemu and Niedermayer are still in limbo and so are the Ducks, seriously boys make a decision.

Flyers have another superstar out with a conky, I hope Gagne isn’t the next Flyer great to lose part of his career to conky’s, this happens too often in Philly

Ken Hitchcock is a defensive genius, he has Jackets and Pascal Leclaire playing out of there minds.

My wife Rebecca loves Dancing with the Stars, did anybody else notice 98% of the people on the show aren’t really stars anymore.

Watch out for the Sharks, they are the real deal.

Tomas “The Demolistion Man” Holmstrom is the most underrated player in the NHL.

Best of luck to Eric “Big E” Lindros as he is now Ombudsman for the NHLPA, Say what you want about him, in is prime he was a beast.

My beloved Flyers are great for a game, then they are horrid for a game, Biron is best goalie in the NHL for a week, then he is crap and gets pulled. I have no clue if the Flyers are good, bad or maybe just ugly?

Happy Thanksgiving to my American borthers and sisters and please pray for my Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night, it could get really ugly.

The Flyers lost again Saturday night to the New Jersey Devils making it official that they have trouble against good teams. Not to say that the Flyers are not a good team but they seem to lose their focus when playing against a divisional team. The thing that I have noticed about this team is the lack of emotion during the first period. It’s been said all across Flyers-related internet message boards and chat rooms that they start the first period flat footed and looking bland. It’s almost as if they seem lost at the beginning of the period. Whether its the lay off between games or exhaustive practices but something is making them come out to start the game flat footed. I sure don’t know the answer to the problem and its not by call but something needs to be done. This team has been vastly out shot in almost all of their games and especially during the first period. I guess the silver lining in this is that they usually have very good second periods and third periods. Of course this has not been the case during the last two games in which the Flyers lost.

Of course the thing that doesn’t seem to affect this team too much, from what I see, is injuries. They are missing the experience of Simon Gagne, Sami Kapanen, who actually will be returning soon if he hasn’t already, and Derian Hatcher. Personally I believe the injury that has had the most impact is the injury to Simon Gagne. This is pretty obvious since he is one of the star players on the team. When he is in the line up the Flyers play well and manage to win their games. It’s almost as if they become lost when he is not there.

It’s almost as if they have no identity when he is not there.

/rant off

I have decided to fix the NHL, I found these ideas on another site and thought they where brilliant.I have tweaked it a bit.

The NHL wants more goals so they start with crazy ideas like the shoot out, make the nets bigger, remove centre ice blah blah what a bunch of tools. In the 50′s the Habs scored multiple times on the power play so they changed the rules that once a power play goal is scored the penalty is over. Why not allow the team on the power play to score as many goals as they can? This will allow more goals scored and players won’t be so inclined to take penalties resulting in better flow.

In the 80′s whenever two players went off the ice for coincidental penalties they played 4 on 4 and this resulted in many goals. The Oilers got so good at it they changed the rules. Again switch it back, thus having more 4 on 4 play which in turn creates more goals and more excitement for the fans.

I’m not the smartest guy in the world but doesn’t that make sense?

OK back to my regular foolish blog.

I started my computer the other morning and the msn homepage popped up and the first thing I saw was the headline…….”Paris Hilton helps drunk elephants” Honest to God what the hell does that mean. I am so very proud to say I moved on and didn’t click on the link. Why are elephants drunk and why is Paris Hilton anywhere near them, insanity.

Funny thing, in my earlier blogs I always had an ugly NHL player of the week, they happened to be Datsyuk, Hudler and Kopitar. All 3 are having great seasons, I’m the opposite of the Sports Illustrated jinx. Players should pay me to call them ugly.

Anybody see the Jim Vandermeer/Rick Nash scrap the other night. Nash may not have won but he took on one tough kid and did very well, ladies and gentlemen Rick Nash has arrived.

Pascal Leclaire you have 1 minute left, your 15 minutes are about up.

Does anybody actually care if Barry Bonds goes to jail? Who cares, get off my radar you jerk.

Seriously, how much booze does it take to get an elephant drunk?

I saw a resume the other day and the guys name was Chip Donat, if that “a” was a “u” in his last name that would be the greatest name ever. Funny thing I swear a couple of my buddies played hockey against him when they were younger. Two Chip Donat sightings in one lifetime is not a coincidence.

I am putting up my Christmas tree today, is November 17th too early? My 3 year old says it’s long overdue, don’t argue with 3 year olds, they are always right.

Simon Gagne has a concussion, it looks like the Flyers misdiagnosed this. How does this happen with the Flyers history with Primeau and Lindros.

Ted Nolan must be a voodoo witch doctor. He has 20 misfits playing like a bunch of warriors almost every night. Coach of the year, Ted is the man.

Speaking of the Fishsticks (Islanders) remember everybody laughing at the DiPietro contract of 15 years at $4.5 million a year. I think that is actually a steal now.

Keep swimming and don’t look back kids, the Sharks are back.

It looks like Sandis Ozolinch has kicked the bottle and he’s back playing solid hockey, great to see a player beating his demons.

Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi there is something to be said about quitting on your own terms, too bad you didn’t pack it in last season.

Well I’m out of here, I’m off to meet a couple elephants at the bar.

PHILADELPHIA – A goal in both the shootout and regulation by Brendan Shanahan spelled an end to the Philadelphia Flyers’ undefeated home record and a win for the New York Rangers on Thursday night at the Wachovia Center.

The Flyers were looking to defend their 6-0-0 home record this season, and nearly did so had it not been for the shootout goal that Shanahan scored on the Rangers’ second attempt.

The 4-3 win for the Rangers pulled them into a tie with the Flyers for first place in the Atlantic Division. Philly had held first place by themselves since October 14th.

Henrik Lundqvist also stopped 20 Philadelphia shots in regulation as well as all 3 Flyers’ shootout attempts. Danny Briere, Mike Richards, and Scottie Upshall were all unable to get one through to force a sudden death round. Lundqvist has been exceptionally good in shootouts this season, stopping all but one puck in three shootout games.

Martin Biron had another solid night in net for the Flyers, making 26 saves and keeping his team in the game during a somewhat lackluster effort in the 2nd period.

But despite the loss, the Flyers’ home crowd was still treated to an exceptionally entertaining game. The Flyers and Rangers traded end-to-end rushes through most of the night, as well as goals on the scoreboard.

The Rangers held a 3-2 lead in the 3rd period off Petr Prucha’s 2nd goal of the season at 5:17. Flyers defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick struggled at center ice with two turnovers and the Ranger made a move into the Flyers’ zone. In the shuffle, Prucha emerged all alone at the top of the right circle safely away from defenseman Braydon Coburn and blasted a slapshot past Biron.

But the Flyers would tie the score back up at 3 apiece just over 5 minutes later when surprising rookie forward Denis Tolpeko tallied his first NHL goal. A couple of consecutive scoring chances for the Flyers finally led to a big blueline slapshot by Jason Smith, which was stopped but turned into a scramble for the puck in front. Tolpeko gained control with a quick kick of the puck to his stick and a shot through the five-hole.

Tolpeko’s 3rd period goal was the second of two Flyers’ comebacks from one-goal deficits to force the shootout. Danny Briere closed a 2-1 Rangers lead in the 2nd period with a power play goal and his 7th of the season. Mike Richards cleanly won the first faceoff of the power play to Lundqvist’s right, and the puck squirted back to Briere, who unleashed a huge slapshot through a screen and into the twine.

Jim Dowd gave the Flyers an early 1-0 lead at 3:23 of the 1st period on an usual shot taken from the right corner. Dowd was simply trying to put the puck toward the net when he caught Lundqvist cheating away from the post. The shot hit Lundqvist in the shoulder and squeezed through between the post and his arm. It was Dowd’s 2nd goal of the year.

Fedor Tyutin scored the Rangers’ other regulation goal to tie the game at 1-1 in the first period.

The Flyers will now look forward to Saturday night, when they will finish their 4 game home stand with another inter-division rival, the New Jersey Devils.