Dan Cleary

A Random Sampling of Flyers Fights and Brawls Through the Ages

Yes - I am a proud, knuckle-dragging hockey Neanderthal.

Deal with it!

Thankfully, this season the Flyers found a way to be good (well, good enough to squeak into the playoffs on the last day of the season) and tough (2nd in the NHL in fights, with 77). Believe it or not, that is actually a Broad Street Bullies-era fisticuffs total, although still well below the mid/late-'80's era when the Flyers were cranking out around 100 fights per season.

In fact, let's kick this off with a little 'Tocchie Hockey' - Rick Tocchet vs. Boston's Cam Neely (a.k.a. Sea Bass), circa December 1986 or thereabouts:

And who could ever forget Ron Hextall going ape on Chris Chelios in Game 6 of the 1989 Wales Conference Finals? Sure, it cost Hextall the first 12 games of the '89-'90 season, but darn it if it wasn't worth it:

Speaking of Hextall, how about a little rock 'em, sock 'em goalie robots? Hextall was always itchin' to drop the gloves, and he jumped at the chance to pound on the Leafs' Felix Potvin on November 10, 1996:

Of course, the mid-'90's gets me to thinkin' of the Eric Lindros glory years. A perpetual candidate for the Gordie Howe hat trick (goal/assist/fight in the same game), here's Lindros vs. the Kings' renowned enforcer Marty McSorley, from November 21, 1995 (this may be the one where Lindros was later accused of biting McSorley's ear, I'm not sure):

Ooh, here's a good one: Dan Kordic vs. Rob Ray (pre 'Rob Ray Rule'), February 23, 1996. Check out Hextall, trying to goad Ray into dropping the gloves. Didn't take much convincing.

Gotta throw one really old school Flyers fight in here. Let's go with Dave Schultz vs. the Leafs' Dave Dunn, April 19, 1975:

Flyers vs. Senators, March 5, 2004. JACKPOT! The teams combined for 419 penalty minutes in this game, an NHL record.

And let's throw in one from this year. Ian Laperriere set his career high in fights this season (see below), but I'm going to go with Aaron Asham. I like his style - he seems to favor 'gentleman's fights', i.e., somewhat premeditated, right off the face-off and with a little square-off before the punches start flying. This is from January 1, 2010 vs. the Rangers' Aaron Voros:

Here are all the Flyers' fighters from this season (click to view fight cards and videos):

• Ian Laperriere (25)
• Daniel Carcillo (17)
• Aaron Asham (14)
• Scott Hartnell (7)
• Mike Richards (4)
• Riley Cote (4)
• Simon Gagne (1)
• Chris Pronger (1)
• Claude Giroux (1)
• Daniel Briere (1)
• Darroll Powe (1)
• Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (1) (now with the Detroit Red Wings)

Go Flyers!

Bill Clinton Goes Conveniently Stone-Deaf When Asked About Joe Sestak

But if nothing improper took place in the alleged Sestak job offer, then why not answer a few questions, Bubba?

Via Breitbart.

Obama "Frustrated and Angry" Over Oil Spill - But Manages to Pull It Together Long Enough to Point Out That It Jibes Quite Well With His No-Energy Policy

And he's certainly not going to a five-weeks-and-running oil gush stand in the way of a perfectly good Memorial Day weekend in the Windy City!

Via Breitbart.

Iran Could Cease All Foreign Intelligence Operations, Subscribe to the New York Times, and Hardly Miss a Beat

The Grey Lady sure does blab a lot, doesn't she?

The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents.

******

The precise operations that the directive authorizes are unclear, and what the military has done to follow through on the order is uncertain. The document, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times, provides few details about continuing missions or intelligence-gathering operations.

Several government officials who described the impetus for the order would speak only on condition of anonymity because the document is classified. Spokesmen for the White House and the Pentagon declined to comment for this article. The Times, responding to concerns about troop safety raised by an official at United States Central Command, the military headquarters run by General Petraeus, withheld some details about how troops could be deployed in certain countries.

How thoughtful of the reporters to leave out a few details.

Wouldn't want to give Iran the entire playbook now, would we?

Hat tip Mark Levin.

New Jersey School Teacher Plays Costanza to Christie's NBC Exec

Remember the Seinfeld finale, where Jerry and George pitch "Jerry" to the network one last time, and the NBC executive suggests that one idea for the show might be to have Jerry and Elaine get together as an item?

George: I tell you, I really don't think so-called relationship humor is what this show is all about.

NBC Exec: Or we could not do the show altogether, how about that?

George: Or we could get them together. Woo!

Well, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and public school teacher Rita Wilson did a little recreation of that scene today at a town hall today in Rutherford:

Wilson told the governor she was one of the educators he criticized as having a "me, first" attitude, but she's making a smaller salary than she would as a baby-sitter.

"I'm not a rabble-rouser. I'm a simple English teacher," whose students perform well, Wilson said. "I work really hard."

Wilson said she used the babysitter example to make a point as Christie has pressured teachers to take a one-year wage freeze and contribute at least 1.5 percent of their salary toward health benefits. She and Christie then testily talked over each other for several questions and answers.

"You know what, you don't have to do it," Christie said.

Yowza!

Hey, New Jersey school teachers - take a look around you. Workers still fortunate enough to be employed in the private sector have been on salary freezes for the last couple of years. We wish we only paid 1.5% of our salary towards health benefits.

Be thankful Christie isn't going completely bad-ass on you and calling for outright layoffs - especially considering that the state's $10.7 billion budget deficit was caused in no small part by overpromised, underfunded public union benefits.

Hat tip: Cubachi.

Your Daily Reminder From the Obama Administration: The Oil Spill is BP's Fault

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know - the oil spill is BP's fault and they're gonna pay for it.

Now how about pitchin' in to help contain the spill?

Via Politico.

Finally, A Bracelet That Lets Everyone Know You Favor Wide-Open Borders and Probably Didn't Even Read the Arizona Immigration Bill

Hey, look - we're BOTH jerks!

Hmm, I wonder what other brilliant ideas the Democrats have in the hopper...

My guess is t-shirts with "I Voted For ObamaCare!" emblazoned on the front, just in time for the fall campaign trail.

Via Allah.

The Commercial That Almost Makes You Think John McCain Really Wants to Seal the US-Mexican Border

Eh, but not quite.

Via DrewM at Ace of Spades.

How to Stimulate the Unemployment Rate - Pass a $787 Billion Bill Using Borrowed Funds and Watch the Magic Unfold

The GOP realized from the outset that the so-called 'stimulus' bill would be a pathetic waste of money that we don't have, which is why Arlen Specter (now a lame-duck Democrat), Susan Snowe and Olympia Collins (whatever) were the only Congressional Republicans to vote for this monstrosity in February 2009.

Turns out it was not only smart politics - it was smart policy.

Just imagine what this chart is going to look like once we actually 'spend' (i.e., borrow) the remaining 50% of the funds. I'm sure U.S. News and World Report will figure out a way to spin it as good news, but who are you going to believe - them, or your lying eyes?

If you're not a charts/numbers person, here is a simpler illustration of the effectiveness of the 'stimulus' bill, sixteen months after its passage:

Via Flopping Aces.

Stock Trader Witnesses Precipitous Market Drop, Loses Control of Bowels

"All right. ALL RIGHT! WE'RE IN BEAR MARKET!!"

Via Ace of Spades.