Two minutes for cross-checking

Juciy tidbits that don't mean much? Involved parties merely keeping mum? What do you think?

So far I have not been crazy about any of the new jerseys that have to date been revealed. The new Senators jersey (as shown here) is another one that I think is just ... why did they bother to change it? The old one was better. I very much dislike the lack of horizontal striping at the bottom. If the Flyers do away with that on their new jerseys, I'm just going to stamp my foot and cry.

This is a good time for getting stuff. The other day my daddy bought me an 8x10 glossy picture of Peter Forsberg (not autographed). Cost: $1. He also bought me an autographed, 8x10 glossy picture of Joni Pitkanen. Cost: $6. He also bought me one of those fake street-sign type thingies, black with orange letters that read 21 PETER FORSBERG BLVD (well, now that I'm sitting here, at work, I think it's BLVD). What did that set him back? $5. The store we were at in Christiana also had pucks signed by Pitkanen that were $5. I already have one, or I'd have gotten it.

What killed me was the signed stuff by Robert Esche. The funny part was seeing the original price above what they are currently asking for it. Autographed Forsberg stuff was discounted, too, but still, most things cost a hefty sum (helmet, used stick, whatever).

EDIT: It's PETER FORSBERG DR.

The Flyers would be interested in having Forsberg play for them this season, according to this article in a South Jersey paper.

Months to wait to see if he does, though.

Months.

Yesterday, I was having the oil in my car changed at the Jiffylube on the Kirkwood Highway, and a postman came into the waiting room. He had on shorts, and on his leg, the side of his calf, he had a tattoo of the Penguins logo.

Clearly, not the brightest light bulb in the box. Not only does he follow a pointless team, but he was fool enough to tattoo evidence of his admiration for it on his leg??

Gee.

Hey, the subtitle at the top claims nothing but bias from a Flyers fan, here. Look somewhere else for your Penguins love.

I finished this book today while on my lunch break. (The Best Game You Can Name by Dave Bidini.)

It is an excellent read. I recommend it. You will laugh. I promise.

Well, J. committed us to the home opener last night by purchasing three (!) tickets to the Flyers/Islanders game on October 13. They are in section 124 and in row 2. I am not sure I will confess as to how much we have paid for these tickets. But you know what?

Yeah, you know what.

We're crazy like that.

Come on! It's going to be amazing, down that close, a few feet to the side of the tunnel/bench, a few feet from the board-slamming action. The only thing that makes the situation less than perfect is, well, two things that make the situation less than perfect, are 1) no Forsberg and 2) no Joni. All the same, the excitement with the new guys and the whole open slate of the home Flyers season? All I have to do is think back to last October and the 13-round shootout; even with the gut-wrenching result, I know it was one of the most exciting evenings of my life, and it will pretty much be the same this year. Probably even more, since we will be 7 or 8 rows closer.

Stating the obvious: I love hockey. A month or so now until the preseason, and then we're underway.

(Just need to find someone willing to pay ... what we paid ... for the third ticket.)

The Phantoms' schedule has been released. Actually I've known about it for a couple days, but I've been lazy with respect to posting. Summer hockey lethargy, or something. Maybe I can blame it on the atrocious heat. My ticket representative called me Tuesday afternoon to give me a heads-up about the schedule, and was surprised when I said, "Oh, yeah, I saw that earlier." Well, except for the AHL schedule release, what else have I had to look forward to (hockey-wise) so far in August? Don't be shocked. But I look forward to hearing from him again when tickets are printed and so forth. I've never had season tickets to anything before. This is going to be excellent.

Anyway, the Phantoms open with a home game on October 5 vs. Norfolk.

I intend to be at as many games as possible, though I can tell you right now that I won't be at the 11:00 a.m. game on Wednesday, November 14 (I am not going to take time off work to be at a game with 10,000 kids on the School Day game).

I will have to closely examine the Iowa Stars' schedule as well, to see what games might be available while I am home (for Christmas, certainly, and perhaps also a weekend in October?). I skimmed it on Tuesday, and if I remember correctly they Stars play the Flames on the 26th. Either in Des Moines or Quad Cities, that would be a serious possibility.

This post was made in a thread about "your favorite pictures for your team." These are the best that the poster could find for the Capitals?? Look at the bottom picture. Donald Brashear scoring his first goal as a Capital, against the Flyers.

No, really. Take a good look at the picture. Seriously. Robert Esche is in net. Jussi Timonen and David Printz are the defenders.

I'm not intending to be a jerk, but really. We all know what kind of season Esche had; and J. Timonen and D. Printz were AHLers called up to do business in a place in which they had no business being. I could have scored that goal.

I wouldn't be too proud if I were Donald Brashear. And if I were a Caps fan I wouldn't be too proud of that, either.

Next Tuesday, at 11 a.m., I will know the 40 evenings I will be in Philadelphia.

Reportedly, Forsberg played well in that charity game of Icebreakers (all Swedes but Gagne) vs. some Finns, scoring 2 goals and having 3 assists.

That's the Foppa I like to hear about.

[whisper] Come back to Philadelphia, Peter. You know you want to.

Also, I read a rumor that the AHL will have its schedule out tomorrow. Going to www.theahl.com right now does nothing to confirm or rule out this rumor. While knowing what games and when has very little effect on my actual life right now, I am starting to grasp at any straw, however faint and short, to slake the hockey thirst.