Blogs > In The Room with Anthony SanFilippo

Daily Times beat writer Anthony J. SanFilippo takes you inside the locker rooms of the Philadelphia Flyers and the rest of the NHL.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

POWER PLAY COULD BE LETHAL

With all of the supposed talent on the Flyers roster last season, their power play finished ranked 19th in the NHL.

Not good.

Yes, missing the hammer on the point that is Chris Pronger for 32 regular season games and eight playoff games had a little something to do with that, but the biggest problem for the Flyers was the unwillingness of the players to keep moving in the zone, and things grew stale and easy to defend.

No more.

You add Jaromir Jagr to the mix, sprinkle in some Wayne Simmonds, who isn't afraid to play in front of the net and the guys who tried so hard last year - Claude Giroux and Danny Briere - can get even more creative.

“We’re doing a good job of moving and not staying stagnant,” Pronger said. “We got some interchangeable parts that can move around. We can set up on the left, the right, no matter who is out there. That’s a nice luxury to have and it allows us different looks.”

And those different looks create havoc for opposing penalty kills because you never know what the Flyers are going to do.

“I think both units are going to really click," coach Peter Laviolette said. "(We're) just really starting to get it together. We’ve got to get James (van Riemsdyk) in there when he gets back. But both units have had a lot of time, it’s been every day now for four or five days.
"I think the more time we spend on it, work on it, find some continuity with the groups, the more successful we’ll be. I definitely think there’s a lot of options that are available. They’re both set up just a little bit different. A lot of things can happen.”

In the last two games, the power play is 5-for-12.

Yeah, it's the preseason, you get the sense that these guys have some instant chemistry... and that's rare for Jagr, who has fallen in love with the idea of playing with Giroux, whom he dubbed the "Little Genius."

"It’s not easy to play with me, trust me," Jagr said. "I couldn’t find many guys who would get used to me or who I was happy with.”

He then put Giroux into a very select group.

"No. 66 (Mario Lemieux) and No. 10 Ron Francis. That's about it."

Once again, high praise. Once again something for the Flyers to be excited about. Because believe it, Jagr still has a lot left in the tank, and the power play should be the initial beneficiary.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

FLYERS TO TRADE SALARY THIS WEEK?

The Flyers are right up against the salary cap. No surprise there.

They'll need to clear some salary before the season begins, sure, especially since they are only $175,000 below the cap and if someone were to get hurt and they'd need to call up an AHL fill-in, they wouldn't have the space to do so.

They can get enough room with a simple waiver move - or minor trade - before opening night in Boston next week.

Or they could do something bigger.

Excited by the prospect of many of their young forwards - namely Matt Read, Zac Rinaldo, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn, and even their younger forward acquisitions from the summer with NHL experience - Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek - as well as some players who they've already sent back to the Phantoms, the Flyers think they might be able to move some veteran salary elsewhere to create space.

A Flyers source confirmed for me today that they are "thinking of moves" and that general manager Paul Holmgren "may have (made) calls today."

The hot rumor had them talking to the Nashville Predators, who have about $14 million in cap space.

Could the Flyers look to move Scott Hartnell back to Nashville, a place he adored when playing there several years ago?

The Predators would like to bring in another veteran forward to help convince other players like Shea Weber (restricted free agent after the season) and Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne (both unrestricted at season's end) to stay in Nashville because it would show a commitment to winning on a longer-term basis.

Hartnell has a cap hit of $4.2 million for the next two seasons and could bring back a more inexpensive player in return, or future draft picks.

Now, Hartnell has a no-trade clause, and he could stymie the whole conversation, if in fact it were to take place, but considering how much Hartnell enjoyed Nashville, there are good odds that he would waive his no-trade to go there.

One underground rumor had the Flyers taking back Sergei Kostitsyn, who makes $2.5 million and would save the Flyers the much-needed cap room, but a separate Flyers' source indicated the team isn't interested in Kostitsyn.

While the talk of moving Hartnell is just a rumor at this point, it's hard to find another veteran player on the Flyers that they'd be willing to move that would also interest Nashville.

It should be interesting to see what crops up for the Flyers over the next few days, but it's a certainty that they are seriously considering moving a known salary at this point.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A RAW DEAL FOR SIMMONDS; HIGH PRAISE FROM JAGR

It's been a rough week for Wayne Simmonds, and he deserves none of the attention he's received.

In the first case, he was a victim of an ugly racial demonstration when a fan at a preseason game in London, Ontario threw a banana at him during his shootout attempt.

In the second case, he was the victim of a peer talking out of school.

While the first incident was certainly egregious, it can easily take a backseat to the second because the latter involved another player breaking a code.

Here's the short story.

Simmonds and Sean Avery were jawing back and forth all night. It got heated. Much like many, many, many other exchanges in the pro sports landscape between rivaling players, things were said that were not for the ears of babes.

However, Sean Avery felt the need to bring it up with the New York media after the game.

If you want full transcriptions of those post game interviews, scroll down on the right and click on the link to this blog from last night. There is also video there.

From there, the New York media turned a typical on-ice exchange between combatants into a can-you-believe-he-said-that indictment of a hockey player with highly-regarded character.

We all followed suit here in Philly, writing about it as if it was breaking news last night.

Frankly, it's all pretty pathetic.

Avery is a crumb, for lack of a more printable word, for bringing this to light and turning it into an issue. He's the last person who should be talking about on-ice banter getting out of control, because, as many people pointed out last night, some of the things he said in the first period of last night's game, if taken literally, could have been construed as death threats.

Luckily, those of us who saw it or heard it have enough sense in our noggins to know that again is just part of the on-ice vernacular during a game. It's part of the machismo. It's part of the bravado.

Then again, this is Avery and as one player who played with him earlier in his career once told me, "Avery is the worst teammate I have ever had. It's not even close."

So if Simmonds used a derogatory word in an exchange of barbs between the two, it wouldn't surprise many rational folks.

Which is why it is disappointing that the New York media then took that ball and rolled with it.

They rushed to the Flyers locker room and requested Simmonds. The Flyers' forward took all their questions and gave non-committal answers for more than three minutes - but really, was this necessary?

Are there not worse things said on the line of scrimmage in the NFL? How about with all the chirping between dugouts over the course of a long 162-game season in major league baseball? You think all the trash-talking in the NBA just takes place on Twitter?

Curse words, derogatory comments and otherwise snide and often personal remarks are fired between hockey players in every game. It's part of the culture of sports. It's never going to change.

So just because one troublemaker tips off reporters about the specifics of one of those conversations, we have to highlight it as an example of intolerance?

Come on fellow hockey scribes, we are better than that.

.........................................................

So much happened in the game last night that I really feel the following stuff is being shrugged to the backburner, but there's some good stuff here.

First, Jaromir Jagr was very good for the Flyers with two goals and an assist. He especially looked good on the power play were he created a lot of space for Danny Briere and Claude Giroux.

When Chris Pronger is healthy and able to man the point on that power play, and big-bodied players like Scott Hartnell or James van Riemsdyk, neither of which dressed for yesterday's exhibition game, are parked in front of the net, this power play could be dangerous - a big upgrade from last season's inconsistency.

Here's Jagr after the game. Please pay attention to what he says about Giroux, who will be his linemate this season probably with JVR on the other wing. It's pretty effusive praise.

Q: You seemed to be especially comfortable on the power play, is that something that’s starting to come along here?

“The power play is the same everywhere, big ice or small ice, so that’s okay. We did it a little better than last game, and when (Claude Giroux) in the center it makes it a lot easier. He's that good. You guys have a good future here. Don't worry about anything. He's a little genius.”

Q: Does he remind you of anyone that you played with?

"(Me) when I was younger (a lot of laughter). He's a little Mario Lemieux. He's a little smaller but he can see and he's got great hands. You have to be watching all the time because you never know when the puck is coming."

Drawing comparisons to two of the 10 greatest point producers in NHL history is some kind of praise, especially when one of those players is offering the compliment, no?

...........................................................................

Expect a lengthy suspension for Tom Sestito for his hit on Andre Deveaux. He came from a long way away to make that hit and the league, which has been laying the hammer down with suspensions in the preseason, will likely come down hard on him.

Here's Sestito:

Q: Tom, are you concerned at all that there will be a hearing after what happened?

“Yeah For sure, I think there could be one. I hoping there is not. I don’t consider myself a dirty player. I am a person that is going to finish out my checks. And hopefully it wasn’t that bad.”

Q: Can you explain what happened on the play?

“Yeah, I saw him go down and he was on the ice and we were in on the forecheck and I was just getting there as fast as I could and I think he turned a little on me before I hit him.”

Q: How tough of a break is this for you?

“Yeah, it’s definitely not what I wanted to do – sit and watch when I’m supposed to be playing and showing them what I can do. But everything happens for a reason and I just have to bounce back and show them what I can do when I get the chance.”

And here's Paul Holmgren's reaction:

Q: For a guy like Sestito, doing a lot to make the team…

“That’s exactly right, trying to make the team and he got a little over zealous and that’s unfortunate. I haven’t heard anything yet but I do expect an e-mail or a call or a text or something. “

Monday, September 26, 2011

SIMMONDS RETURNS AND MORE SLURS FLY

First the banana incident, now this.

New York Rangers pest Sean Avery accused Flyers' forward Wayne Simmonds of calling him a homophobic slur during a penalty-filled exhibition game between the Flyers and Rangers Monday night that ended in a 5-3 Flyers win.

Here is a link to my good friends over at CrossingBroad.com where there are three videos involving Simmonds and Avery, the latter two seem to show Simmonds calling Avery some choice words.

You be the judge of what was said by watching the videos.

Here is a transcript of Avery post game:

Q: Did he call you what we think he called you?

“Well, yeah.”

Q: Is he going to say that there was anything as a precursor?

“I mean, I certainly hope not. Are you implying that it would be from something that I said?”

No, I was just asking.

“No, I mean from my end. I certainly wasn’t.”

Q: Are you familiar with what happened with him last week?

“Yeah, it is really disappointing. First of all, who would do that? And why would you do it? It just such an unnecessary thing. It’s something that’s not even an issue with us or our sport. So to be here now and having to answer your questions about what he did is disappointing for me.”

Q: Do you feel like when someone does something like that they should be treated in a similar context (inaudible)?

“I mean Kobe got fined 100 grand. Everything is different now. You know, it’s an issue. It is an issue that people are dealing with and trying to overcome. And I guess ten years ago, maybe it was not such an issue. But it is such an issue politically with people in the game and just in life in general.”

Q: Is there concern that you were kind of vocal with the video you did this summer that players will come back against you?

“I mean, it has been said. It has been said for years. Whether I thought about it in that sense, I don’t know.”

Q: So, you think he just said it out of emotion?

“I can’t. I have no idea.”

Q: Would you like to see the league take a stand on this?

“That’s something that I’m not really going to comment on. First of all, me commenting on things like that, the backlash that I could receive is unknown and I don’t want to put the team in a situation where they would have to deal with something because of me wanting to see something happen. So, I’m not going to get into it.”

The slur, if it was in fact used by Simmonds, may be stemming from this video made by Avery last summer in support of gay marriage.

For his part, Simmonds didn't admit to calling Avery the slur, but he didn't really deny it either.

Here's a transcript of his interview postgame:

(question inaudible)

"We were just at the bottom of the scrum and I felt that (Avery) sucker-punched me and we were just going back and forth the rest of the game. Emotions run high and we exchanged words with each other."

Q: On the video it looks like there might have been a slur of some kind...

"Honestly, we were going back and forth for awhile there and I don't recall every single thing I said to him, but he said some things I didn't like and I said some things he didn't like. But, I can't recall every single word I said."

Q: What did he say to you?

"Things got said out there... (inaudible)... but I'm not going to say what he said."

Q: Avery said very definitely that you called him a homophobic slur and he said he didn'tthink he said anything that would have prompted that.

"He didn't think he said anything? It's Sean Avery, come on now. Who knows what comes out of his mouth."

Q: (Inaudible)

"Well we were going back and forth battling the whole time. He definitely said some things to me that I wasn't too happy about. That's the way it is.

Q: Did he say anything that crossed the line?

"I don't know. I can't recall every single word that he said. I'm not here to say that or he said this. I'm not going to rat him out. It doesn't really matter to me. It's in the heat of a hockey game, that's what it is."

Q: Do you feel that you said anything to him that crossed the line?

"I don't think so. It just got heated like I said before. I may have thrown a couple swear words at him, but that's just what happens sometimes."

Q: Considering what just happened with you last week, is it surprising to find yourself at the other end of this?

"It's something that happens every game. Guys say stuff. It's the heat of the battle of the game. It's not necessarily that things are said to hurt people. It's just something that happens."

I will have an opinion on this later after I give you all some time to take all this in.

Here's a preview of my thoughts:

Wayne Simmonds did nothing wrong. Sean Avery is a troublemaker. The New York Media (and in an effort to keep pace, we, the Philadelphia media) have blown this out of proportion.

Stay tuned...

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

STRANGE TRIP FOR HYKA COULD LEAD TO CONTRACT

When Tomas Hyka makes it to the NHL, he'll have a funny story to tell about his road getting there.

Hyka was announced as one of 15 training camp cuts by the Flyers Monday. He was slated to be returned to Gatineau of the QMJHL, his junior team and preseumably, since he had joined the Flyers in camp as an undrafted free agent on an amateur tryout contract, would end up going unsigned before the October 1 deadline and then be eligible for the 2012 draft.

Hyka packed up his gear and was in a car on the way to the airport to fly back to Gatineau to start working out with the Olympiques when his phone rang. It was Flyers G.M. Paul Holmgren.

Holmgren told Hyka there was a mistake and that he wasn't waived. He should report back to the Flyers.

Meanwhile, nobody bothered to explain this to Gatineau, and the Olympiques coach Ben Groulx was confused that Hyka hadn't returned for practice Wednesday morning as expected.

Instead, Hyka was in the Flyers lineup at Wells Fargo Center against the Toronto Maple Leafs, playing wing alongside Claude Giroux, who starred at Gatineau before making the leap to the NHL.

"We thought about drafting Hyka in the third or fourth round," one Flyers executive told me prior to the game. "But the draft goes in a lot of different directions all the time, and sometimes you forget about guys - and that's what happened with Hyka.

"By the time we realized he was still on the board it was the seventh round and we were debating between him and a big and tough kid (Derek Mathers) and we decided to draft the tough kid hoping we could get Hyka into camp as an undrafted kid. It worked out for us."

Hyka has done nothing but impress the Flyers with his skating ability and his skill, but has really been a surprise with his puck possession skills for such a small player.

"I think the knock on him going into the draft was his size," said the Flyers exec. "But we don't think that's going to be a problem for him. He actually reminds a lot of us of Giroux a little bit in that way."

Hyka, 18, is 5-10, but needs to put on some bulk, weighing just 158 pounds. The native of the Czech Republic had just one goal in 13 games with Mlada Boleslav BK of the Czech Elite League last season and played two games this season for Gatineau, registering one assist.

The Flyers wanted to give him a look in a game situation before deciding if they want to offer him an entry level contract, which, according to a team source, is something the Flyers are seriously considering.

If they do, that will make something else he and Giroux have in common. Giroux's name escaped then-Flyers' GM Bob Clarke when he went to announce the Flyers' pick at the 2006 draft. Hyka was mistakenly put on a cut list by the Flyers' staff.

If they sign Hyka, he will be the second 18-year-old to sign with the team in camp as first round pick Sean Couturier signed a three-year, entry level deal with the team earlier on Wednesday.

The Flyers are at the limit on allowable contracts (50). However, neither Hyka nor Couturier would count against that limit until they turn 20 or play in their 11th NHL game, whichever comes first.

If, though, veterans like Adam Mair or Michal Nylander, both of which are in camp on a professional tryout contract, were to sign with the Flyers, the team would have to waive or trade somebody to get them on the roster.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

PRIMEAU TO BE HONORED IN DELCO

Former Philadelphia Flyer Keith Primeau will be honored by Neumann University next month when he will be the first recipient of the University's Institute for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development Award.

The award is presented to individuals who exemplify the development of strong character through athletics and the embodiment of the good that exists in sports.

Primeau has become a very public spokesperson about the dangers of concussions in ice hockey. He was diagnosed with the injury four times during his career, the last incident forcing his premature retirement.

He appears on behalf of “Play It Cool,” a concussion prevention program that hosts education days for minor league hockey players across North America. His message is that players can be courageous and competitive without risking brain damage.

Primeau has also agreed to donate his brain for scientific study upon his death.

After receiving the award, Primeau will speak on “The Ethical Value of Sports: Building Character through Competition.” A question-and-answer period will follow his presentation.

The presentation and special lecture will take place Wednesday Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Mirenda Center on the University's campus.

Tickets to the event cost $5 and are available by writing ISSCD@neumann.edu or calling 484-840-4707. Independence Blue Cross (IBC) is the presenting sponsor of the inaugural award.

The Institute for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development at Neumann University is committed to the concept that sport possesses an inescapable spiritual and ethical dimension that merits academic exploration and practical application.

Led by former Delaware County basketball legend Ed Hastings, who played at Monsignor Bonner High School and Villanova University, the Institute supervises Neumann’s team chaplains, trains team captains in leadership, produces practical resources for area coaches, and teaches University courses.

Monday, September 19, 2011

FLYERS SWING FOR THE FENCES...UPDATED

Here's a quirky little side note.....

Nine Flyers will get a chance to take batting practice with the Phillies today at Citizens' Bank Park.

In what will turn into a little competition between teammates, each of Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Wayne Simmonds, Braden Schenn, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Max Talbot, Jody Shelley and Matt Carle will each get their swings to try to hit one out of the park.

My money is on van Riemsdyk, who played baseball in New Jersey as well as hockey. But, he predicted Shelley would win because he's the biggest and strongest competitor.

The nine Flyers will then stay to watch the game.

We'll update you on the results later.

.......

Well, it's later, and not to be an I told you so, but JVR was the only Flyer to go yard.

"It was pretty cool," he said. "I got a little lucky. I think I caught it just right and it just carried. It was fun, this is something I wanted to do for awhile and I'm glad we were able to set it up."

Van Riemsdyk said he played baseball growing up but was never a power hitter and was more successful as a pitcher.

Hey, if the hockey thing doesn't work out, maybe he can get a summer job as a right-handed bat off the bench for the Phillies.

SCHENN V. SCHENN?

Braden Schenn talks about possibly playing against his brother Luke in the Flyers' first preseason game Tuesday in Toronto:

(If the video doesn't play below, try this link.)


YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PRONGER SKATES WITH TEAMMATES

It was just a half hour of skating and shooting. It wasn't anything incredibly taxing. And, it was an abbreviated practice for the Flyers captain, but Chris Pronger was on the ice with his teammates this morning.

And that, is a bit surprising.

While uncertainty about his timeline for an actual return to game action remains up in the air, Pronger did get on the ice sooner than expected, and that's certainly a positive sign for the Flyers.

In other news that may or may not be pertinent, Peter Laviolette had some crazy line combinations at the first session of practice this morning. They could suggest the grouping that is flying up to Toronto for the first preseason game tomorrow, or they could mean nothing at all.

Here they are for your perusal - in case you put any stock in this sort of thing:

Hartnell-Nylander-Nodl
Schenn-Talbot-Simonds
Shelley-Betts-Mair
Read-Couturier-Voracek

Carle-Walker
Coburn –Lilja
Gustafsson-Timonen
Meszaros-Bartulis

Obviously one of those defensive pairs wouldn't make the trip (if in fact this has anything to do with tomorrow's roster).

Also Bryzgalov and Bobrovsky were with the first group on the ice.

When Pronger did practice, it was with Andreas Lilja.

The Flyers also sent 15 guys packing at camp Monday, returning players to the collegiate or junior squads.

The 15 are:

Etienne Boutet, Ricard Blidstrand, Shayne Campbell, Nick Cousins, Campbell Elynuik, Austin Fyten, Sam Grist, Simon Gronvaldt, Michael Houser, Tomas Hyka, Derek Mathers, Jonathan Narbonne, Marcel Noebels, Brendan Ranford and Colin Suellentrop.

None were under contract, so the team still has 50 contracts. Meanwhile, 55 players remain in camp.

Friday, September 16, 2011

CAPTAIN PRONGER

The Flyers will announce later tonight that they have named Chris Pronger the 18th captain in team history.

In what amounts as a shock to no one, Pronger replaces the traded Mike Richards as the team's leader on the ice.

Pronger, 36, who has served as a captain in previous stints with St. Louis and Anaheim, was the locker room leader the past two seasons for the Flyers despite wearing an "A" as alternate captain.

“With Chris’s experience and presence, we felt that he was the perfect player to take over as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers,” general manager Paul Holmgren said.

Kimmo Timonen remains an alternate captain while Danny Briere takes over the other "A" from the traded Jeff Carter.

Both Timonen (Nashville) and Briere (Buffalo) have been captains before.

“Having Kimmo and Danny, both former captains in the NHL, serving as alternates, really gives us a strong, dedicated leadership group," added Holmgren. “All three of these players know what it takes to win and are excellent role models both on and off the ice.”

The veteran trio serving as team leaders is a switch from the team's M.O. in previous seasons when they relied on players under the age of 30 to lead the team.

Rob Parent will have more on this story tonight as I am at the Garnet Valley-Upper Darby football game, but I'll be back in the Flyers saddle (finally) tomorrow with reports from the first official day of training camp.

Monday, September 5, 2011

HOLMGREN INJURED IN BIKE ACCIDENT, HOSPITALIZED

According to a report on CSNPHilly.com....

Flyers' General Manager Paul Holmgren was seriously injured while biking in Avalon, N.J. Monday.

Reports are sketchy at this time, but it appears Holmgren suffered significant injuries including broken ribs, a broken shoulder and wounds that required stitching.

It is not known how the accident happened, or if any other vehicle was involved, but Holmgren was admitted to Cooper University hospital where he is spending the night.

Several attempts to reach Flyers executives and staff went unanswered late Monday.

Check back for more on this Tuesday.

Friday, September 2, 2011

IT'S FALL, HOCKEY'S AROUND THE CORNER... AND I'M ORNERY.

I always look forward to September.

While I'm often bummed to let go of the summer and the vacations that accompany that season, there's a lot to look forward to when we flip to the ninth page on the calendar.

1. The kids go back to school - meaning peaceful mornings at home.

2. Fantasy football - because it's better than the actual product the NFL produces anymore.

3. Hockey training camp - just two weeks away and I'm Jonesin' for it.

Now, of course, once we're in camp mode for a few days, I'll be complaining about how it's dragging (yes, I can be insatiable), but there is something invigorating about returning to my beat on a regular basis after months of constant uncertainty.

And while I can envision several stories that I'll be writing from camp in a couple weeks, I thought I still had a little more hockey down time left.

Until I woke up this morning and read a story on NHL.com about a months-long investigation into the Vancouver riots following Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last June.

Cory Masisak, a fine reporter, does a nice job in providing all the nuts and bolts of this news story, so I don't want my impending outrage to be geared toward him. I'm going to spare the messenger up front.

However, I can't even begin to describe the incredulity that washed over me when I read these opening two paragraphs:

Two months of investigation into the events that transpired the night of June 15 in Vancouver have led 53 recommendations for future preparation and prevention of events like the riot that occurred after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, according to the report released Thursday by an independent review.

The review, co-chaired by former Nova Scotia deputy attorney general Douglas J. Keefe, QC and former head of the Vancouver Olympic Committee, John Furlong, concluded the main problems on the night of the riot were too many people in the downtown core and too much alcohol involved.


Really?

We needed two months of investigations and countless dollars to be paid to these investigators to come to that conclusion?

Next thing you know a report will come out to tell us that sitting in the sun all summer will change the complexion of your skin.

HELLO INVESTIGATORS! It was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, in a hockey-mad Canadian City. WHAT DID YOU FREAKIN' EXPECT!!!!!

I don't know, maybe it's only in Philadelphia that thousands of sports fans gather outdoors for major sporting events to tailgate, carry on and imbibe alcohol - or at least that's how the national media wants to present it at times - but anyone who didn't think Vancouver wasn't going to be an alcohol-laced pressure cooker that day is a clueless clod.

Oh... there's more... but here's something that wasn't included in that report: those riots would have happened in Vancouver even of the Canucks won! You know how much research that took on my part? NONE! You know why? I USED COMMON SENSE!

Then there's this:

"There were too many people," (Keefe said). "Not too many people for the police but too many people for the venue. ... They were too drunk. Alcohol sales that day were 68 percent higher than they were the year previous on the same Wednesday."

Yet another shocker. Alcohol sales were increased by 68 percent over a random June Wednesday in 2010? How mind-boggling! I never would have anticipated that. Hmm. Oh well, excuse me while I go and try and buy a Super Bowl commercial spot for $20,000.

The report also pointed out that the crowd management plan was solid, but didn't anticipate such an early-arriving crowd that started to form in the afternoon for a night game.

Again, HAVEN'T YOU PEOPLE EVER SEEN A FOOTBALL TAILGATE? Sunday night football? No problem, we'll be setting up the Winnebago in the parking lot at 9 a.m. Stop by! Seriously... how moronic is this report?

I had to stop reading at this point (apologies Cory). There is nothing else that Mr. Keefe could have said that would have made me think that this investigation wasn't a complete and utter waste of time.

What I want to know is, how can I get a gig like that - get paid for two months of ... ahem... work to publicly proclaim the emperor, in fact, wasn't wearing any clothes all along?

Yeah, I'm fired up... and there's more that's eating at me. But I'll save the next rant for tomorrow.

My son is calling me out for a duel on Madden 12. Just four more days until school starts.

Til then. I'm out.