Just in case you’re wondering how this little cameo happened in the first place, the owner of the Philadelphia Flyers is Edward Snider, a well-known Republican corporate grunt. This is just one more example of how far out of touch the suits tend to be with their most loyal customers. However, do keep in mind that the fans at the Wachovia Center will boo just about anything.
A few interesting notes from the video description:
The arena had to raise the music volume to drown out the booing. Some have claimed they also piped in cheers. Palin has said she put her 7-year-old daughter Piper in a Flyers jersey to discourage some of the booing.
Nice. For the curious, the Rangers went on to thump the Flyers 4-3.
I’m not usually an avid follower of women’s sports, even if we are talking about hockey. I don’t mean to come off as sexist (or one who revels in the sight of his fellow man, not that there’s anything wrong with that) but usually when a league places a W in front of its name, the product suffers.
Maybe it’s just be the lack of physicality. Can we ever expect a bench-clearing brawl and goalie fight in women’s hockey? Probably not. That would be a sight to see, though.
Still, 82 unanswered goals on 139 shots (with no shots recorded by the opposing team), ten goals by a single player, with 14 players recording at least one goal? In a traditionally low-scoring game like hockey, no less. It’s hard to imagine any men’s team anywhere topping that any time soon.
Among many other things, 37 year-old Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin is one hot commodity in what still remains of this offseason’s rather modest batch of free agents. He’s also making a name for himself as a measured, cautious decision maker - perhaps approaching the point of parody. Of course, at his age and with his record, he can afford such indulgences.
If you’re a masochist, try explaining that to the fans and management of the Vancouver Canucks. Coming off a disappointing 39-33-10 campaign in the 2007-2008 season culminating in their second failure to reach the playoffs in three attempts, the Canucks are once again in the midst of a roster makeover with most of this decade’s core now flipping through real estate catalogues in other cities. Chief among them is Markus Naslund, who left the Canucks in July to find a new role in New York, thus leaving Vancouver without a captain.
Even someone who doesn’t particularly care about hockey can probably connect the dots. With a great payroll burden lifted and another losing season to erase, Canucks GM Mike Gillis has been going after Sundin’s contract hard, putting down an offer worth $20 million over two years. This would make him the highest paid player in the game… that is, if he signs. But he won’t. Find out why after the break.
