Since 2008, the biggest game of NHL’s regular season has been the New Year’s outdoor game called the Winter Classic. The fifth edition of the game saw the classic rivalry between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers take center stage. The game was originally scheduled to start early in the afternoon but concerns over glare forced it to be pushed back two hours. The result was a great game that looked spectacular under the lights of Citizens Bank Park as the scene shifted from day to night. Here are some of the best images of this year’s NHL Winter Classic. Continue reading
Philadelphia Flyers
Lowdown BlogCast: August 9, 2011
To show that we don’t always take months between podcasts, here’s another episode of The Lowdown BlogCast. This edition starts on a serious note as Steve and Jackie talk about the colossal failure that is the solution to the US Debt Crisis. They then debut the new Lowdown Pub Quiz in which Steve and Jackie compete in a battle of inferior intellect. (Well, at least in Steve’s case.) Hockey talk starts up with a quick analysis of the Winnipeg Jets’ new logos. The boys look at Philadelphia’s “Dry Island” policy that allegedly led to Mike Richards and Jeff Carter getting traded and what say should have in their players’ personal lives. Entertainment features Lights as Jackie’s single of the week and a throwback to the guys’ childhoods in It Came From YouTube. Lights also leads the boys to look at the schedule for UWO’s 2011 O-Week and how it’s changed since their O-Week in 2005. They talk about film nudity after news came out that Olivia Wilde’s nudity in The Change Up was CGI’d in. Entertainment wraps up with a discussion of the upcoming Battleship movie and director Peter Berg’s credits. The show wraps up with the return of the Car Wall as the boys break down another website’s list of eight cars guaranteed to pick up women and determine that it’s catastrophically wrong. In total, we have over two hours of great Lowdown action.
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NHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Preview
Just a quick look at the two eastern conference semi finals match ups.
Washington Capitals (1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5)
Washington charged through the end of the regular season. They surpassed Philadelphia to finish up first and head into the playoffs for the first time looking like a solid cup contender. Naturally goaltending questions hang over them. The still have massive fire power available to them but now they do play a more defensive minded game (a switch that is remarkable for Bruce Boudreau to pull off). The adjustments they have made them look like more like every other past Stanley Cup Champions. They rolled the Rangers in a rather unexciting manner and have been waiting for a week to see that their opponent is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay is back in the second round for the first time since their Stanley Cup Championship season. Led by a solid seasons by Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, the Lightning have a ton of talent up front and depth. Dwayne Roloson has had a good season and a stellar playoff performance in the first round. Depending on which Washington style we see this could be a fascinating series or a rather dull series. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: The Drought Is Over
A moment of confusion quickly gave way to the biggest moment in a young player’s career. Patrick “20 Cent” Kane danced out from the corner and slid the puck under Michael Leighton but no one realized it except for him. The party was on hold for a moment as the play was briefly reviewed but in the end it was the Chicago Blackhawks lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: Got Defense?
How do you make up for leaky goaltending? Just score plenty of goals! With the series knotted at two, the series headed back to the United Center where the Blackhawks hope to use the home advantage to snatch a win. Goals were exchanged regularly on both ends but only one came up on top and is now another step closer to the Stanley Cup. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: Make It Best of Three
Game four saw the teams coming in with two different agendas. The Flyers dropped Dan Carcillo for James van Riemskyk to add some scoring punch and lose some careless penalty minutes. The Blackhawks were looking to recapture the dominant play that’s been missing since the midpoint of game two. This could be the most important game of the series. A Flyers win would make the series best of three. A Hawks win would give them a chance to clinch the series in game five. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: Upon Further Review
On a night when instant replay would have preserved a perfect game in the hockey stronghold of Detroit, it was used to perfection in Philadelphia. A pair of instant replays of close goal calls were used that swung momentum in the game and possibly in the series. Continue reading
Wednesday Link-Off: Greatness
Well, everyone I was planning to lead off the WLO with was either eliminated or a WAG of a player eliminated from the French Open. So here’s Irina Shayk.
The Great One is coming back to the NHL… At least, in the latest EA Sports NHL video game. (Toronto Sun)
Doc Halladay laughed in the collective faces of Blue Jays fans when he pitched his first career perfect game on the weekend. But this didn’t shock one Phillies fan. (Deadspin)
Did you know there’s a cap on the number of friends you can have on Facebook? I guess #5,001 will cause Facebook to explode. (New York Times) Of course, you can like us on Facebook here.
After the jump, some athletes in trouble, an ode to Philly hockey, and barbeque failures. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: It’s Not About the Big Guns
Last night was game 2 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Unlike the first game, each team was playing a lot more carefully and there were fewer offensive blows on each end. Once again it wasn’t the big names that made the difference in the game and by the end of the night, one of the teams managed to squeeze in a narrow victory. Continue reading
Hockey (Last) Night In Canada: One Down…
Game one of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals were last night. It definitely didn’t go according to the script as the two offenses traded blows, the defences stood idly by and goalies worked on their tan thanks to the goal light. In all, 11 goals were scored over the sixty minutes of play. At the end of those three periods, one team was one win closer to winning Lord Stanley’s Cup. Continue reading
The Lowdown 