Ed Rendell Is A Faygo Freak

In the above photo of Ed Rendell settling his Stanley Cup bet with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, you will notice he is drinking Faygo, the soft drink produced in Detroit and the official drink of the Insane Clown Posse (Wikipedia: “We toss out, kick out, and shoot out into the crowd about three to four hundred two-liters of Faygo soda at every show”).

This is, incidentally, how governors and mayors should settle sports bets.

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 … No Make That 10,000 Words. [Capitol Ideas]

Flyers Being Mean To Other Teams

Ever since they racked up 500 suspensions earlier in the season, the Flyers have been playing it by the rules. Or maybe they haven’t. But they haven’t had any player suspended for 25 games since that one dude, so clearly they’ve learned their lesson.

Of course, now they’re in trouble for showing a replay the opposing team didn’t like:

Replays of Riley Cote’s one-punch knockout of Tampa’s Andre Roy were shown repeatedly during the second half of the game, angering some of the Lightning players.

According to NHL spokesman Frank Brown, “League policy prohibits the use of scoreboards for replays that are provocative or present the opposition in an unfavorable light.”

You see, kids, beating each other up while on hockey skates is perfectly okay, but making fun of the opposing team is just a violation of ethics.

Wanted: Hockey Lovers for NHL Front Office. Lawyers Need Not Apply. [Broad Street Bully]

Flyers Another High Cause Of Occupational Homicide

Flyers winger Riley Cote recently became the fifth Flyer to be suspended this year, and the NHL has warned the team to stop hitting players in the head with sticks.

Let’s just quote the rest:

Scott Hartnell on Nov. 26 - Hartnell was suspended for two games for a dangerous hit on Boston’s Andrew Alberts, who was kneeling on the ice.

Randy Jones on Oct. 27 - Jones was banned for two games for hitting Boston’s Patrice Bergeron while chasing the puck. Bergeron suffered multiple injuries, including a concussion that has kept him sidelined.

Jesse Boulerice on Oct. 10 - Boulerice received a league-record 25-game suspension for cross-checking Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler across the neck.

Steve Downie on Sept. 25 - Downie was suspended for 20 games for a leaping shoulder hit to the head of Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond in an exhibition game.

And now the team is fighting itself at practice. Looks like things are slowly getting back to normal.

NHL suspends Cote, warns Flyers [Inquirer]

Breaking: Robert Esche tastes first cappuccino

As part of my goal to be your No. 1 source for shallow, snarky shit, I’d like to take a moment to look at an article by Inquirer reporter Tim Panaccio, whose last name may have inspired his intro for yesterday’s story about Flyers goalie Robert Esche starting in goal for the United States. Yes, it’s another Overwritten Lead of the Moment:

TURIN, Italy - Last week, Robert Esche sat in a cafe off via Filidelphia, just outside the Palasport Olimpico ice rink, sipping on his very first cappuccino.

“This is really good stuff,” the Flyers goalie marveled. The topic of the day was not the coffee, but playing in the Olympics.

If the Americans rally and win an improbable gold medal, you know he’s getting an endorsement deal with Starbucks. Esche, that is. Maybe Panaccio, too.

Flyers’ Esche to start for U.S. hockey team [Inky]

Quickies: He’s outta here!

• Little late on this one, but Phillies organist Paul Richardson is retiring after 35 years. It was nice to see him in the CBP concourse the first two years of the park, though. [AP/Yahoo!]

• In Bucks County, things are going so well people are still up in arms over a bad video game nobody’s heard of except for people protesting it. If I ever have a really bad idea that I want to sell, I’m just pepper it with references to killing cops, eating babies and gutting puppies. Hmm, maybe I should do that here. [Bucks County Courier Times]

• Of course, the cops did just catch two eighth graders who made bomb threats. So maybe everything is safe up there. Seriously, though: Bomb threats? How 1999. [Bucks County Courier Times]

• And, hey, the U.S. men’s hockey team managed to advance to the gold medal round of the Olympics without even playing. Now that’s sport! U-S-A! U-S-A! [AP/Philly.com]