MVN - Most Valuable Network

Prospal Traded to Tampa Bay

His non-interest in resigning with the Flyers, forced GM Paul Holmgren’s hand into dealing Vinny Prospal’s rights back to Tampa Bay for a 2008 seventh-round pick and a conditional pick in 2009.

This will be his second stint with the Lightning after his second stint with the Flyers.  Since arriving, Prospal played mediocre at best.  Even placed on a line with Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell, Prospal was invisible (just as much as Briere). 

At least the Flyers don’t have to over-pay him this offseason. 

Kapanen To Retire From NHL

Another memorable Flyer will be leaving Philadelphia without a Cup.  Flyers forward, Sami Kapanen has made the decision to retire from the NHL and play in his native land of Finland, he has one year left on his contract with Philly.

Kapanen came to South Philly in February of 2003 from Carolina for Bruno St Jacques and Pavel Brendl.  Clarke got the better of that deal.  Sami was always a tough player and will probably be remembered for playing defense during the 2004 playoffs.  After that season, he contemplated retirement, as well.  Unfortunately, the only highlight fans will remember is when Kapanen was erased by Darcy Tucker during Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinals in Toronto.  That hit actually worked in the Flyers favor as Jeremy Roenick was able to score the series winner on the next shift.

This season, Kapanen was moved to the fourth line and battled some injuries in the middle of the year.  The once, ‘fastest skater in the NHL’ lost a few steps, thus seeing decreasing ice time.  He was a true Flyer with his heart and determination.  I wish him the best.

The Philly Fan

So, you’re done licking your wounds after that ass-kicking by the Penguins.  The summer is among us and what not better to do than see why the average Philadelphia sports fan is the most misunderstood species on the planet. 

Tom McCarthy, fresh off of his stint on The Wire, will be performing his one-man-act of The Philly Fan from June 10-15.

Theatre Exile presents a return engagement of its hit show The Philly Fan by Bruce Graham, starring Tom McCarthy, and directed by Joe Canuso. A one-man tour-de-force in which two-time Barrymore Award winner Tom McCarthy takes audiences on a hilarious journey through the frustrations of the past fifty years of Philadelphia sports. This production is an in-your-face, tell-it-like-it-is romp through the memories of a hard core fan used to seeing sure-thing victories turn into “oh-my-God-they-blew-it” defeats. June 10-15 at The Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street. Tickets are $25 - $30 ($50 for the Opening Night Gala); call (215)922-4462 or visit www.ThePhillyFan.net.

I’ve seen this show 3 times and it is updated everytime for the current fan. Check it out.

Here is a column I wrote, about 4 years ago on another blog. It was a response to another columnist from New York, who basically didn’t know what he was talking about.

Philly Fan is Misunderstood.

I have not come to bury the Philadelphia sports fan; I have come to mourn him.

In Mr. David Stroller’s column, he paints a black & white portrait of a species whom has been unceremoniously tortured since the dawn of this great nation. An individual who’ll never receive the full appreciation he truly deserves from the national sports media, and sequentially himself. The Philadelphia sports fan is the Old Man and Sea. He will be persistent, God-fearing and resentful in his pursuit of a personal goal – to enjoy an afternoon with a bunch of lifelong friends on Broad St., as he watches champions roll by waving.

Unlike the mansion-on-the-hill New York fans, Philly fans have experienced tyrants, wimps, momma’s boys and free agency. When his teams stink; he lets them know. Just like a good older brother would tell his sibling when he was wrong, but at the end of the day, the love is still there. When a team is a fraud, Philly fans will let them know. The New York Knicks squads of the 90’s were the biggest frauds in professional sports history. Never has a team, that has won nothing, been so revered by its fans and media. Yes, they made it to the finals twice. Yes, they lost both of them. The Sixers haven’t won a championship since 1983, and the Philly fans loathe them. They do not show up and they do not use them in an argument about who is better. We all know the answer – neither.

The Philly sports fan does not, and will not, enjoy the luxery of poetic torture like Boston or Chicago. He does not have a magical, spooky, curse that a sports-caster, who was picked last in gym, gets to revel in. He gets criticized for expressing a God-given right of free speech. Booing as been around since the dawn of time, and I believe if everyone got booed occasionally during their lives, it might make us work harder and be better people.

The President of the United States deserved to get booed at Shibe Park. He presided over a country that outlawed alcohol. The national media had a field-day with this. He deserved it. We should boo politicians more often. A laize fare Santa Claus during a disappointing Eagles season is allowed. If you lose game because you don’t have the horses to win, that’s one thing. But at least put some money into a halftime show involving Santa. It’s for the kids.

It’s not the Philly fan’s fault that the Phillies are the most losing team in professional sports history. They are the first professional franchise to lose 10,000 games. It’s not the Philly fan’s fault that Jim Fergosi is as predictable as snow in the North Pole. There is no fault to the paying customer that Bob Clarke can not find a goaltender since 1987, and that he trades for players on an average 5 years past their prime. Where’s the Philly fans fault when Eric Lindros could not take a hit, and then proceeded to cry to his mom? Did the Philadelphia sports fan throw 3 interceptions in the Super Bowl and then next year lose the confidence of his teammates? No. The fans were just spectators in this horrific crash. Witnesses to some amazing debacles, and rare regular season joys.

If you break it down, a sports fan is cheering for a millionaire who doesn’t even care if you can make this month’s mortgage payment or not. They’re like politicians that way. The way the Philly fan sees it, with this in mind; the “athletes” should deserve to be booed, cheered and scrutinized. He helps pay salaries when he purchases a lower level seat for $85 at a Flyers game. He helps make lives better to those who wouldn’t have amounted to anything in this world if it wasn’t for professional sports.

The Philadelphia sports fan does not smell. It is the sweat from the brow of working hard each day, taking crap from outsiders for not conforming to the national landscape. He deserves better for his time put in. He deserves to see the sun as opposed to the grey that lights the local sports community. He doesn’t have the deep pockets of Wall Street or 5th Avenue, but he has the passion, love, and true American spirit of Broad & Pattison. And for that I’m glad to call myself a Philadelphia sports fan.

Holmgren Confident on Signing Carter

The other day, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was on the radio discussing the state of the Flyers and was asked about the top priorities during the offseason.  One of the them clearly is the signing of the streaky-twins, Jeff Carter and RJ Umberger.  Not only should they sign Carter but other RFA, Randy Jones should also come back to the Orange&Black.

On Howard Eskin’s show on 610WIP, Homer stated that Carter returning to the team is a non-issue.

I hope he’s right.  Later in the interview, Homer said that signing Umberger maybe a little more difficult.  With his arbitration eligibility and the negotiations with his agent in previous offseasons, I can see Umberger not returning.