Philly’s magic number of 58 still evades them as they remain at 51 with seven games to go. The good news is a two-year deal being finalized on Biron. So far his GAA has been as rotten as Esche and Nitty. This season was declared a wash months ago but the new year grants Biron a clean slate with the expectation of results as the new number one goalie. The bad news is Fedoruk getting KO’d in a recent fight that is fueling the latest “agonizing” over the future of fighting in the game. I need to hear the latest pearls of wisdom from Don Cherry to silence Bettmann and non-hockey fans who never know what they’re talking about.
I originally took March 27-28 off to see JR play his last game in Dallas due to his pending retirement. Then money issues cropped up (nothing serious) and I decided not to bother. Judging from last night’s thumping by the Stars of 6-0, I made the smarter move by seeing Southern Culture on the Skids instead. Another rationalization I justified against going pertained to JR. Over three years ago, I met him while he was on the verge of beating Pat LaFontaine’s record and his future was brimming with potential, especially on winning the race to beat Joe Mullen’s record. That’s how I want to remember meeting him, not playing third-line center for an underwhelming team shut out of the playoffs for the fifth season in a row. No one is remembering Michael Jordan during his awful performance on the Wizards, it’s Da’ Bulls and the two Threepeats. Same goes for JR with his amazing seasons on the Blackhawks’ teams and the grit he brought to the Flyers.
Austin’s season officially ended this Sunday. I wish I could’ve attended the post-season party last night but the joys of HOA-style democracy beckoned. No word on where they will play next season. I think the players will be heading home and getting ready to audition for other teams, live in Austin or quit hockey altogether.